Marion “Pooch” Hall, a Massachusetts native, began acting while in college at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth as a member of the school’s theatre company. As for many actors, his career started doing commercials and modeling.
Hall currently plays “Daryll Donovan” in Showtime’s “Ray Donovan,” but is best known for his role as Derwin Davis, the football player on the The CW/BET sitcom “The Game” and as Ricky in 2011’s “Jumping the Broom.”
His genre work is less well known: Drawing on his boxing skills, Hall guest starred as a fighter on the Syfy channel’s “Warehouse 13” in 2012.
He also had a role in “Snoop Dogg’s Hood of Horror” (2006), a movie made in the style of “Tales From the Crypt” and “Tales From the Hood” that features Danny Trejo, Ernie Hudson, Aries Spears, Billy Dee Williams, and of course Snoop Dogg, who also provided the soundtrack.
In the film’s segment “Rapsody Askew,” Hall played “SOD,” a rapper who meets a violent end after betraying a friend. Snoop Dog narrates the movie and plays “Devon,” a human-become-demon with the power to decide who goes to heaven — and who goes to hell.
Hall is to appear in horror film “But Deliver Us From Evil”, to be released in 2016 and written/directed by Joshua Coates.
Interesting fact about “Pooch” Hall:
* In 1994, Hall won the Southern New England Golden Gloves for boxing.
Sources: Wikipedia, IMDB, http://www.starpulse.com
Sam Rockwell in still from “Ironman”
Susan Heyward
Kennedi Clements
Robert Townsend might be primarily known for his comedy work, but his résumé also includes experience as actor, writer, producer, director, and network-programming CEO.
A Chicago native, Townsend first appeared on stage in a high school reading of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex — a far cry from comedy. Apparently his performance was so compelling, however, that he was encouraged to go further and performed in local plays. His life in comedy began when he began studying at the Second City comedy workshop for improvisation.
Over a decade later, and after acting in New York City, Townsend wrote, directed and produced “Hollywood Shuffle” (1987), a satire based on the hardships and stereotypes black actors face in the film industry — even now, “Hollywood Shuffle” is probably the work he’s best known for by those of us outside the industry.
It’s often a surprise to some, but Townsend has, in fact, done work in multiple genre productions: “Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child,” “I Was a Teenage Faust (2002),” “Amazing Stories,” “Streets of Fire” and “The Meteor Man.” Townsend actually wrote, directed and starred in “The Meteor Man,” for which Marvel created a spin-off comic!
The multi-talented Townsend has worked with an impressive list of performers, including Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Morgan Freeman, Alfre Woodard, Louis Gossett, Jr., Natalie Cole, Andre Braugher, Keenan Ivory Wayans, Beyoncé, Mos Def and Chris Tucker. He also directed Eddie Murphy in his comedy stand-up performances “Eddie Murphy Delirious” (1983) and “Eddie Murphy Raw” (1987).
A humanitarian, Townsend has a long history with social justice, community and philanthropic work. He’s a long-time spokesman for the Negro College Fund; he’s traveled to major cities across the U.S. with The Milken Family Fund, honoring exceptional teachers and inspiring a love of education in students; and in 2014, he initiated a mentorship program with the NAACP in his home neighborhood in Chicago.
Interesting facts about Robert Townsend:
* Townsend has made history by being nominated for over 30 NAACP Image Awards for film and television, and at the 2001 NAACP Image Awards he directed three performers nominated in the best actor/actress category in three different films: Leon, for his role in NBC’s “Little Richard”; Alfre Woodard in the Showtime Movie “Holiday Heart” and Natalie Cole for her self-portrayal in “Livin’ for Love: The Natalie Cole Story.” (Cole won the Image Award for best actress.)
* His first film appearance was in the classic “Cooley High” (1975).
* Townsend is often referred to as one of the “Godfathers” of the Independent Film World — in good company with Robert Redford, John Sayles, and John Cassavetes, among others.
Sources: Wikipedia, IMDB, http://www.qasas.com/projectarchives.
Gibson wrote spec script with Mike Le.
Tyrese Gibson in still from “Fast Five.”
Find out about the movie at its website.
…Don’t know what to think, especially with the movie yet unseen. This (white) director apparently has good intentions, and who knows? *If* it does what he says it wants to, the film could be just what a lot of us want to see in black, female horror heroes.
Orrrrrrrrrr, it could be a hot mess. The word “savage” is in the title, and the use of the term “archetype” in the description below is off the mark. Maybe that’s ’nuff said.
From savagesistas.com:
Quiet & mild-mannered, the creator of SAVAGE SISTAS is writer / director Dan Smith. He has worked behind the camera for over twenty years directing commercials, corporate videos and multimedia events. Although he has enjoyed a lot of success in the field, it was time to pursue his ultimate passion… to make a feature film. As a big fan of horror films from the 70s and 80s, Dan was inspired to write the SAVAGE SISTAS screenplay by desert road trips to Las Vegas. The story is a love letter to the redneck-psycho sub-genre, which includes the films THE HILLS HAVE EYES, WRONG TURN, DELIVERANCE and of course THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE.
SAVAGE SISTAS puts a new spin on this familiar premise, by combining the bloodthirsty hillbilly element with a new kind of hero … tough African American women. Where did this heroic archetype go? Once a driving force in the Blaxploitation genre of the 70s, these no-nonsense, kick-ass females have all but disappeared from cinema. Where have they all gone? Dan is determined to make a film where the heroes have strong roles, make smart decisions in dangerous situations, and just happen to be black women. These female characters don’t make silly choices and they react to danger totally different than their white counterparts. “I’m a huge horror fan… and I’m making the kind of movie that fans want to see.”
Dark Matters 
You must be logged in to post a comment.