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Gary Smith, the prolific producer of awards shows and TV specials for such performers as Frank Sinatra, Luciano Pavarotti, Neil Diamond, Tony Bennett, Dolly Parton, Sammy Davis Jr., Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gormé, and many others, died Friday, July 18, in Los Angeles. He was 90.

His death was announced by a spokesperson for his family.

Nominated for 30 primetime Emmy Awards (and winner of eight), Smith was and business partner Dwight Hemion formed the production team Smith-Hemion Productions in the early 1960s and developed an approach that was noted for bringing artistry, innovation, and elegance to the world of variety and music specials. The partnership ended in 2001.

Smith produced the first television specials for Paul McCartney and Bette Midler, and the final television performances of Elvis Presley and Bing Crosby. His collaborations with Barbra Streisand led to many of her most iconic televised events, including her acclaimed 1973 special Barbra Streisand and Other Musical Instruments.

Fledgling US distributor and international sales agency The Forge, led by longtime producer and Vashon Island Film Festival director Mark Mathias Sayre, is heading to Cannes with a slate including Civil War epic Freedom’s Path.

Brett Smith’s drama stars Gerran Howell, Rj Cyler, and Ewen Bremner and centres on a Union solider who flees battle and is rescued by a free Black man operating a section of the Underground Railroad.

The roster includes Matthew Mishory’s documentary Fioretta, which will open in the US through Gravitas Ventures and profiles lawyer and philanthropist Randy Schoenberg’s search for his oldest recorded ancestor.

Exclusive: A documentary about legendary Pacific Northwest band The Sonics, who influenced the likes of Nirvana, Mudhoney and The White Stripes, has been picked up by nascent distributor The Forge.

Jordan Albertsen’s Boom: A Film About the Sonics will get a limited theatrical release across North America in the first quarter of next year after local premieres in Seattle and LA and The Forge will represent worldwide sales and start looking for international deals at AFM next week.

The Forge was set up by producer and Vashon Island Film Festival director Mark Mathias Sayre and recently released Brett Smith’s directorial debut and Civil War-epic Freedom’s Path.

The Sonics were formed in 1960 in Tacoma and had a large roster of members, who have reunited regularly over the years. The band also influenced the likes of The Stooges and The Cramps. Kurt Cobain once said that The Sonics’ drum sound...

Freedom's Path is a brutal Civil War drama about the horrors of slavery, an unlikely friendship, and the courageous few who risked death to run the Underground Railroad, a secret network that shepherded escaped slaves to the northern states. The film, gut-wrenching at times with its unflinching portrayal of racial oppression, regrettably treads into melodrama as characters stay rigidly defined to support the narrative's agenda. Pacing also becomes an issue as excessive flashbacks and an overly stylized approach stretches an already long runtime. That said, its powerful themes and unvarnished truth lessens the flaws for a worthwhile viewing experience.

In the Deep South, Union soldier William (Gerran Howell) marches with his regiment toward battle in a fog-shrouded forest. He wonders aloud to his best friend if he can actually kill another man. Lewis (Harrison Gilbertson) scoffs at his reticence. They'll make short work of the enemy. The newly enlisted men...

Freedom's Path is a historical war drama starring Gerran Howell, Rj Cyler, and Ewen Bremner. The film follows the Union soldier's journey as a ruthless slave catcher discovers the Underground Railway and conspires to destroy it. Directed by Brett Smith, Freedom's Path has received critical acclaim, winning awards at various film festivals.

An exclusive clip from Freedom's Path teases the historical war drama starring 1917’s Gerran Howell, The Harder They Fall star Rj Cyler, and Trainspotting’s Ewen Bremner, which tells the story of a Union soldier who is rescued by a free Black man. The Forge acquired North American rights to Brett Smith’s feature film Freedom's Path back in June, with the drama all set to be released in select theaters later this month, followed by VOD later this year. You can check out our exclusive clip from Freedom's Path below.

The official synopsis for Freedom's Path reads...

Animated fairy tale The Amazing Maurice voiced by Emilia Clarke, Hugh Laurie, David Thewlish, Gemma Arterton and Himesh Patel, jumps from Sundance to 1,700 screens via Viva Pictures, the distributor’s widest release to date and a big one for any independently produced animated film.

And Civil War drama Freedom’s Path starring Gerran Howell, Rj Cyler, and Ewen Bremner, debuts at 128 AMC and Regal Cinemas. In limited release, Let It Be Morning by the director of The Band’s Visit resurfaces, Kit Harrington is back in Baby Ruby and Call My Agent’s Laure Calamy stars in Full Time.

Maurice, directed by Toby Genken and written by Terry Rossio, a family action/comedy from the U.K., follows a streetwise cat and his gang of rats who come up with a perfect moneymaking scheme. Based on the novel The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Sir Terry Pratchett, it’s produced by Emely Christians,...

A trailer for the drama Freedom's Path was exclusively unveiled today by Deadline, and it teases the upcoming Civil War film. The latest from writer-director Brett Smith follows a Union soldier who flees from battle only to receive an unexpected rescue from a free Black man and his friends. They take the risk of bringing the soldier back to their adopted home where he soon discovers that they are a part of the Underground Railroad helping other slaves find freedom. The trailer sees the soldier William (Gerran Howell) finding courage from the people around him who are desperately fighting for their futures.

There’s something to be said about films centered around slavery and/or the fight towards freedom. There’s always an embedded trauma no matter how uplifting or positive a spin the story takes. For Black moviegoers, there’s an unwritten consensus that viewers are no longer in need of these types of stories. Or, at least, these audiences would rather see themselves in fun action movies or even rom-coms. Yet, these narratives continue to get made, oftentimes by white filmmakers. It's easy to point one’s finger at first-time feature director Brett Smith and simply ask, “Why?” But Freedom’s Path, which showed at the San Diego International Film Festival, has been 12 years in the making — seven years after the debut of his short film of the same name.

The story follows William (Gerran Howell), a Union soldier during the American Civil War. After deserting a battle and intentionally injuring himself to avoid death,...

Jeremy Strong as Irving Graff and Anne Hathaway as Esther Graff in ‘Armageddon Time’ (Photo Courtesy of Focus Features)

Writer/director James Gray’s Armageddon Time will open the 2022 San Diego International Film Festival on October 19th and writer/director Sam Mendes’ Empire of Light has been selected as the festival’s closing night film. The 21st annual SDiFF’s lineup will also include the San Diego premiere of Taurus as well as screenings of Close, Good Night Oppy, and The Banshees of Inisherin.

This year’s festival will honor Taurus star Colson Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly) with the Spotlight Award. Baker, who made his acting debut in the Showtime series Roadies, will be presented with the honor following a special Spotlight Screening of Taurus from writer/director Tim Sutton on October 23rd.

“This year, our slate has been curated from over 3000 film submissions from 82 countries with compelling Social...

“The Harder They Fall” actor Rj Cyler has signed with CAA and Management 360 for representation.

Ronald “Rj” Cyler II was most recently seen in the Sundance selection “Emergency,” which is set to hit theaters and begin streaming on Amazon Prime Video in May. He also portrayed real-life cowboy Jim Beckwourth in Jeymes Samuel’s Netflix western “The Harder They Fall,” stealing scenes amid the star-studded ensemble of Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Regina King, Lakeith Stanfield, Zazie Beetz, Edi Gathegi, Danielle Deadwyler and Delroy Lindo.

Cyler will next be seen in the HBO Max comedy series “Rap Sh*t,” created by Issa Rae, and will play a leading role in “Freedom’s Path,” an upcoming film set in and around the Underground Railroad, written and directed by Brett Smith. Cyler serves as an executive producer on the project.

The actor’s breakthrough role came with the critically acclaimed 2015 film “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl,...

Back in October 2019, before the pandemic, we brought you news about American Civil War movie Freedom’s Path.

The feature, which charts the friendship between a Union soldier and a runaway slave who is helping facilitate the Underground Railroad, stars Ewen Bremner (Trainspotting), Rj Cyler (Me And Earl And The Dying Girl) and Gerran Howell (Catch 22). Post-production has just wrapped.

As it turned out, the project would mark the final stops on the journey of two veteran actors who died while the movie was in post-production: Thomas Jefferson Byrd, a frequent Spike Lee collaborator, and New Orleans native Carol Sutton, both of whom had supporting roles.

Both actors died in sad circumstances. Tony-nominee Byrd was murdered in Atlanta and Sutton died of complications from Covid.

Today, the production has chosen to release two images of the admired actors in their final film, marking the first official stills from the movie.

Exclusive: Shoot is underway in the U.S. on American Civil War-set film Freedom’s Path, starring Ewen Bremner (Trainspotting), Rj Cyler (Me And Earl And The Dying Girl) and Gerran Howell (Catch 22).

The story follows the friendship forged between a Union soldier and runaway slave William who is helping facilitate the Underground Railroad. The feature marks the feature directorial debut of writer-director Brett Smith and is based on his short of the same name.

Supporting cast includes Harrison Gilbertson (Picnic At Hanging Rock) as William’s best friend; Afemo Omiliami (Poms) as Ellis Freeman, a leader of the underground railroad who has decided to stay in the south and help runaway slaves move North; Carol Sutton (Poms) as Caddy, a compassionate matriarch of a group of slaves facilitating the underground network; and Thomas J Byrd (Chi-Raq) as Abner, the tough adopted father of a group of former slaves running the railroad.