Review: ‘3RD STREET BLACKOUT’ shines through the dark.

Paladin

presents

3rd street blackout poster

3RD STREET BLACKOUT

Opening TODAY April 29th

Co-created by and co-starring
Negin Farsad 
(“The Muslims Are Coming!,” “Nerdcore Rising,” TED Fellow)
and
Jeremy Redleaf
(Streamy Award Winner “Odd Jobs,” “Sesame Street”)

Also starring
Ed Weeks (“The Mindy Project”),
Phyllis Somerville (“Little Children”),
Janeane Garofalo (“Wet Hot American Summer”)
John Hodgman (“Pitch Perfect 2,” “The Daily Show”)
Jordan Carlos (“The Nightly Show”)
Sasheer Zamata (“Saturday Night Live”)

If you’re in your thirties, you can easily remember a time in your youth when IMing was mind-blowing, chat rooms were presented as a thing of fun and danger, and MySpace was the coolest new awesomeness to ever exist. Nowadays, we live and breathe by texting, messaging, tweeting, instagramming, you name it, but most of it is online and very little exists as person to person interaction. The convenience and commonality of our technological advances has, in a lot of cases, destroyed the way we communicate as human beings. Swiping right (or perhaps left? I’m not sure, I’m married) is the new way to “date”. Now don’t get me wrong, I have four very close friends who are now married because of Match.com, but have we become too reliant on technology to really connect anymore? 3RD STREET BLACKOUT tackles that very question in the funniest way possible.
3rd street still negin farsad and jeremy redleaf
Mina, a neuroscientist and TED-talker, and Rudy, an app developer, live life like any typical NYC couple today.  Texting, skyping, Netflixing and chillling their way through a seemingly healthy relationship. What happens when Hurricane Sandy rolls in and knocks out all of the power and signal, forces Mina and Rudy to confront a new conflict in old fashioned ways. Emoticons are no longer an option. Rudy escapes to Brooklyn to cool off while Mina flails in her own Manhattan environment. The two are lost without  the other and it’s not  until they break “social norms” and actually talk to one another does the problem get attention.
3rd street janeane garofalo and negin
The script is ultra intelligent and incredibly timely. I was genuinely laughing out loud the entire 87 minute run. It felt more like a sit down with my closest friends, drinking and thinking, and less like a formulaic Hollywood rom-com. The dialogue is a super natural and sailor-mouthed delight. The cast is outstanding. Co-writers/Directors/Stars, Negin Farsad and Jeremy Redleaf are fanatstic. With and “every-man” (and woman)  feel in their presence and NY attitude, I was with them from go. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the comedy stylings of Katie Hartman. Hartman plays one of Rudy’s app developer cohorts and could not be funnier. I would watch an entire film about her character, any day. Overall, I was impressed by this charming indie, chock filled with great performances from hilarious cast. I look forward to seeing more from Farsad and Redleaf in the near future.

3RD STREET BLACKOUT opens today in  NYC!
About Negin Farsad
Though this is her first collaboration with Redleaf, Farsad previously produced, directed, and starred in the documentary hit, “The Muslims Are Coming!,”  which also featured Jon Stewart, Lewis Black, Janeane Garofalo and David Cross.  She also recently completed the feature, “Nerdcore Rising” starring “Weird” Al Yankovic and MC Frontalot.   In addition to being selected as a TED Fellow, she was named one of the “50 Funniest Women” by the Huffington Post, and her first book, a memoir/manifesto entitled “How to Make White People Laugh,” will be published this May, as 3RD STREET BLACKOUT expands nationally, by Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette. She has also written for and appeared on various shows on Comedy Central, BBC & IFC among others.
About Jeremy Redleaf
Redleaf is an Emmy Award winning actor/writer/director/producer who has created award-winning digital, transmedia, and experiential productions through his Brackets Creative shingle, including “Odd Jobs,” winner of “Best New Web Series” at the Streamy Awards, and “Best Writing” at the International Television Festival.  As a performer, he plays Gonnigan on “Sesame Street,” narrates numerous shows for MTV, and has appeared across television, films, and commercials.

SNL Documentary to Open the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival

PressRelease-Image-LFNY_

Connect with Live From New York! at www.livefromnewyorkmovie.com. Like the Facebook page at facebook.com/Livefromnewyorkmovie. Follow the film on Twitter at @lfnymovie and on Instagram @lfnymovie

Tickets for the opening will go on sale on March 23 for American Express Card Members at www.tribecafilm.com. General Public can buy tickets starting March 28. In the meantime, keep checking back for more TFF 2015 announcements.

The Tribeca Film Festival (TFF), presented by AT&T, announced today that the world premiere of the documentary Live From New York!, will open the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival on Wednesday, April 15. “Saturday Night Live” has been reflecting and influencing the American story for 40 years. Live From New York! explores the show’s early years, an experimentthat began with a young Lorne Michaels and his cast of unknowns, and follows its evolution into a comedy institution. Archival footage is interwoven with stolen moments and exclusive commentary from “SNL” legends, journalists, hosts, crew and others influenced by the comedy giant. Live From New York! captures what has enabled “SNL” to continually refresh itself over nearly 800 episodes and keep America laughing for 40 years.  Live From New York! is directed by Tribeca alum Bao Nguyen and produced by JL Pomeroy and Tom Broecker. Tickets for the TFF 2015 Opening Night Gala go on sale on March 23 at tribecafilm.com/festival. The Tribeca Film Festival runs April 15 to April 26.

“’SNL’s’ contribution to the arts and to pop culture has been—and continues to be—groundbreaking, and Live From New York! offers an inside look at the show’s inimitable ability to both reflect and impact American news, history and culture,” said Jane Rosenthal, co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival. “This is the story of a creative journey from pilot to institution and a tribute to the moments that kept us laughing and talking long after the episodes aired. We are excited to welcome Bao Nguyen back to Tribeca to open our 14thFestival with the world premiere of Live From New York!.”

“After 40 years, the timing just felt right,” said Lorne Michaels.

“The selection of Live from New York! to open the 14th Tribeca Film Festival is personally gratifying to me on several levels. Having hosted SNL three times, and guested on several occasions, I speak from a first-hand experience about “SNL’s” rightful place in our culture as well as a welcome addition to our Festival,” said Robert De Niro, co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival.

“’Saturday Night Live’ is such a revered institution and we really wanted to make a film that reflected its significance not just to the American comedic tradition but also to American culture and society,” said director Bao Nguyen. “I want to thank Lorne Michaels for allowing us to film in the storied halls of Studio 8H.   I’d also like to thank JL Pomeroy and Tom Broecker for trusting me with their creative vision. Finally, I can’t thank Tribeca enough for all their support. We couldn’t dream of a better place to world premiere Live From New York! than at New York City’s own Tribeca Film Festival.”