Goal of the Year 2011

     Soccer is the world's game and one of the beautiful things about it, is the wonderful amount of super goals we get to see year in and year out.  All corners of the globe claim their favorite players are the best and there's no denying the magic they create with their feet.  This year, readers of FIFA.com voted on the 2011 Goal of the Year and the Brazilian uber star, Neymar, beat out the likes of Leo Messi and Wayne Rooney, for goal of the year.  The 19 year old uber star, who's been compared to other legendary Brazilian greats, puts on a display for the ages as he scores an unbelievable goal for his professional club, Santos, in Brazil.  Although his team lost that game, he gave fans in the stadium and YouTube a memorable moment that will never be duplicated.  The award is formally called the FIFA Piskas 2011 Award and I'm sure Neymar will be in the running for many years to come.  He's been courted by many top European clubs, like Real Madrid and West Ham United, but he's chosen to stay at Santos in Brazil for the moment.  Enjoy the video and replay as much as you can, it's worth it.  The commentators screaming in Portuguese just add to the flavor.  SenSationallll!!!

Kaws X Hennessy

     The holiday season wrapped up a couple weeks ago, but it's never too late to give a nice gift to your friends and bring a bottle to the next social gathering.  An easy way to kick it up a notch is with the limited edition Hennessy X Kaws bottle of their infamous French cognac.  Brian Donnelly, better known as Kaws, has collaborated with the Hennessy brand to put an artistic view on their bottle label.  The Jersey native worked with Dos Equis in 2010 on their bottle (See here) and this year, he visited Cognac, France to see first hand what he's putting his mark on.  Check the video for his own take on the visit and his thought process when doing these collaborations for these world renowned brands.   His design is very recognizable from his recent exhibitions with the bright color, 3-D type layout.  The trademark Kaws double "X" is on the bottle along with the "chompers" and he included a sweet message on the back of each bottle, check the picture below.  It's a simple idea, but at the same time should open up some eyes to some alternative interests and appreciation of art.  Kaws is quite popular and has worked on multiple exhibitions,  album and magazine covers. Hennessy speaks for itself.
Each bottle is individually numbered up to 420,000, so there's enough to share, but they won't be around forever.  Cheers!

IceGrill,USA - Part 2 Interview with Greg Santarsiero

     We watch movies every day and we never really consider how that film became reality.  They just don't show up in the theatre, DVD, and cable.  There are endless hours of creating, writing, casting, shooting, editing and the guts to put it in the public spotlight.  Even then, it doesn't equal success but sometimes it does and you can see why.  I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to  interview Ice Grill,USA movie co-creator, writer, and director, Greg Santarsiero, and ask some questions about his movie.  
     We spent an afternoon at the South Philly institution, Tony Lukes, and after some cheesesteaks, we got to talking about his inspirations, what got him into films, what inspired Ice Grill,USA, hip hop and everything in between.  It was great to get an inside look at the film making process, but more so, the passion, drive, and dedication from someone who is doing all they can to pursue their dream.  It was definitely inspiring to see and listen to an artist that is still very hungry and truly believes in his talent.  After you watch Ice Grill, USA, it's hard to not be a fan and connect with both the movie and what made the movie a reality, especially if you're from the South Jersey region, but really from any region where the struggle continues.  I see very big things in the future for these guys and I'm honored to have Greg as my first interview for ElephantSmart, as he represents a lot of the same things that drives me everyday.

The sky is truly the limit for Greg and his collective, Enlightened Party Multimedia.  You can find more information about him and the other co-creator, Mark Bernardi, on their movie site, IceGrillUSA.com along with a ton of additional information about the film. 
Follow Greg and the film on twitter @GSantarsiero and @icegrillusa.  Big thanks to Alex Errico for the pictures, follow him @aerricomediallc and to contact him.  You can find my review for the movie HERE.

KingRizza: You wanna say a little bit about yourself, what inspired you to make films?

Greg:  Yeah, myself and my associate Mark Bernardi, pretty much my best friend since 6th grade, co-collaborator, have done everything together from the ground up.  We met in 5th and 6th grade and found our way into film making right around the Pulp Fiction era, our later years in high school.  We started to get into indie films and I realized around that time that I had a gift for writing. I know Mark is a brilliant guy, one of the smartest people I know.  We started to think what we were going to do with our lives, the big picture.  At that time, we were both into sports time big time, especially basketball.  The idea of making a career of that was far fetched, but the idea was how do you live an extraordinary life, make an impact, do something that touches peoples lives.  We grew up in a colorful area, where there is such a diverse group of people in Brigantine, South Jersey, right outside of Atlantic City.  We were around such a diverse group of guys, people of all walks of life, class, ethnic groups, ages, from people 5 years younger to people 25 years older, so we really had an appreciation for the region and plight of the working class, with how much depth and color to the people of that realm.  I’m from a blue collar background, middle class background, surrounded with people with such interesting personalities and diverse backgrounds.  So many instances where people made indelible impressions on you and themselves were characters.  
I’ve always been into hip hop.  My first encounter was when my mom bought me a Run DMC, King of Rock, tape.  I had a buddy who had an older brother who had Eric B and Rakim posters on his wall and we looked up to him. My mom worked at a bookstore and they sold tapes.  I had a record collection at the time, my dad was into Motown.  Having that hip hop cassette pretty much from that point on in 3rd grade, it was strictly hop hip, I’m 33 now, so since i was 8 years old, i’ve been basically listening to nothing but hip hop.  I think hip hop has directly influenced our view of the world, basically as class and the sociology of growing up in america in the 80’s and 90’s and it directly impacted our view of the world and impacted the kind of art we wanted to create.  So we came from this working class background with all walks of life and the influence of hip hop.  Those things impacted directly, the kind of films we wanted to make.

Click below for the full interview and believe me, it's worth the read:

Ice Grill,USA - Part 1 Review

     "Drugs. Sex. Gambling. All In A Day's Work." is the subtitle for the movie ICE GRILL, USA, which sets the tone of the film before you even hit play.  Local New Jersey filmmakers Greg Santaserieo and Mark Bernardi wrote and directed the drama that takes place in Atlantic City, where the movie was filmed,  as well as where they grew up.  I appreciate the regionalism and authenticity since I myself grew up about a half hour outside of the city of bright lights and dark alleys.  They do a fantastic job of using the resort city as it's own role in the movie as the characters shuffle through the environment trying to figure out how to make the best of their lives.  The life of money, night life, booze, girls, and the party never stopping is what is always offered but the line between good fun and illegal trouble is always blurred.  Especially when you live, work, play and survive in that environment all of your life.
     Auggie Logan, played by Connor Fox, is the man in the middle of the journey as he comes back to Atlantic City to embark on adulthood and make career decisions that will affect him the rest of his life.  He rekindles his relationships with his family along with long time friends who have never left.  Immediately, he's faced with two different avenues in which he knows the consequences of, but it's a matter of getting immediate satisfaction or what he knows to be the "safer" route.  Consistent pressure from both sides progresses as he plays the middle constantly juggling his own thoughts.  Does the promise of gorgeous arm candy, money, and respect make him cave to a life of watching over his shoulder, possibly jail, and even death or does he follow society's morals and climb the corporate ladder, pay taxes, and be "normal" even though that lacks the sex appeal and great times the former offers?  It's actually a pretty common life question that a lot of people probably face at some point, especially in a community such as Atlantic City or thousands of cities, towns across the country.  In these situations, it sometimes seems easier (and enjoyable) to sell drugs, quick cash, pop bottles and shorties, then it is to wake up at 6 am, do your 9 to 5, listening to crap from your boss, always feeling broke.
     The movie elevates the emotion when these options could possibly be the same thing.  Love, hate, pride, jealousy, …there is a thin line between such different emotions.  A lot of times, it can be the same thing that triggers both.  Auggie is presented with all these contrasts as the two lives he lives starts to become the same.  He's forced to make choices that will shape his future along with the people around him.  His brother and boss on one side of his casino job and his "boss" on the other side of his illegal life.  At the same time all this is going on, there's another driving force that affects everybody involved and affects all of their decisions.  That magnetic force is bombshell cocktail waitress, Claudia.  She plays her role to perfection as she is the main trophy of anyone she comes in contact with and she knows it. Like many situations, common sense loses to passion when matters of the heart are concerned, especially when she's wanted by many in an environment where image is everything.  Take the journey with Auggie, Claudia, and the rest of Atlantic City's finest, as he chooses his direction, the aftermath, and everything else in between.  
     This emotionally and though provocative movie is very refreshing and entertaining.  It brings new talent and creativity to the forefront of filmmaking.  I look forward to future projects from Enlightened Party Multimedia.  For more on Ice Grill,USA, click HERE for the interview with co-creator, writer, director, Greg Santarsiero, where he gives even a deeper look into the film and the movie making process.