Brehs, we present to you a new episode of DOPENESS where every (other) week Nick Delmacy is joined by a guest and they discuss dope movies, dope music, dope web series and all things dope in pop culture (except celebrity gossip). Some topics will be gay/bisexual related, some will not…but every discussion will be from a POV that you won’t hear anywhere else!
The episodes will be available in four ways: You can listen to them on the site, watch on YouTube, download a MP3 version or subscribe to us on iTunes or YouTube for automatic updates!
In this episode, host Nick Delmacy introduces The Dope List (1:00).
Then Filmmaker Lamont Pierre joins Nick (4:55) to not only discuss his decision to end his long-running hit web series, “Freefall” after four years, but to also stop producing LGBT content altogether.
First, he discusses the early days of the series and his disappointment with it (15:33).
Then he clap-backs at all of Cypher Avenue’s harsh comments & criticism of his series over the years (19:55).
He explains difficulties in working with his untrained actors while shielding them from the negative reviews (27:50).
After they both clear the air, Pierre announces that he will no longer be producing LGBT content in the near future and explains why (42:35).
They discuss the success of Moonlight and why it winning the Oscar won’t help independent Black Gay Filmmakers (53:25).
He reveals that the cast & crew of “Freefall” weren’t best friends, they were merely co-workers (1:11:20).
He claps-back at “The D.L. Chronicles” creators for what he perceived as disrespect in a past interview (1:12:40).
They discuss how much Pierre inspired the new crop of LGBT content creators, who took that inspiration and turned it into soft-core porn (1:18:45).
They talk about the LGBT community’s lack of support for quality-content over trash-content (1:29:00).
Nick asks Lamont Pierre why all of his content is so dark, serious and melodramatic (1:34:00).
Pierre briefly discusses his feelings on Signal23TV’s “About Him” (1:45:00).
He speaks more about his decision to walk away from producing LGBT content (1:46:25).
They wrap up the discussion with advice for up-and-coming content creators (1:50:00).
Enjoy Brehs!
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Ok, I see Mr Pierre got him a few hours of podcast time…should be a good one
This was a Great Discussion Nick! Thanks for all the hard work u guys do!
Don’t get to come thru as often as I’d like. Anyway…
I am glad to have finally heard from LAMONT PIERRE’S side of things after like 5yrs it seem. Listening to his perspectives, ideas, views and overall concept of his work, left me thinking differently towards him in the sense of what truly inspired his work in the beginning and maybe why things were so possibly misunderstood -from the viewer/fans side of things, sorta?! You can hear his frustration and hurt in how passionate he truly was about the work with FREEFALL and the work he does with his other projects. I always loved his visual aesthetics, the classic nuances and the approach and ambition of his work in trying to do something very different. In my book he’s better than most of those cats out there and sits among the mainstream cats in that sense of great visual-work alone! What I get from LAMONT is that, he doesn’t want to be labeled on just being an LGBTQ centered film maker/writer/producer (that seem to not ever been his main intent) but to be recognized moreso as an Artful-Indy-Styled/Arthouse-Creative who does great work. And it’s apparent that he wasn’t just gearing his work towards a LGBTQ crowd. I get the feeling that he was just trying to be unconventional in his approach to film, art etc…and never really scoured the myriads of LGBTQ life as far as storytelling goes or maybe that just was not his angle. And then also, hearing his acknowledging the fact that a lot of the actors weren’t great thespians or world class actors, say everything because they’re the ones telling and showing the story. I was looking for some type of balance.
However, I still agree with you, when saying that possibly some of Lamont’s concepts weren’t exactly well executed. That’s where the problem was!!! Until now, I didn’t know he was inspired by the WIRE?! I never got that from watching FREEFALL, but now I kinda get it?! The problem within that, is that it would’ve never worked is, having a story that originally started out as more of a Gay themed idea of sorts, then out of nowhere shifts to a crime-ridden, hard grit of urban gang life by almost all gay characters were unrealistic and too unbelievable. And now having listened to this podcast/interview- I am certain that there were glitches in the stories of FREEFALL, but overall not a bad production/project. My drawbacks of the show, as I have said in the past was the constant depressive/dark melancholic way he told the stories and the sometimes poor acting and execution of the actors, which sometimes became hard to follow. Realizing again, that I was still judging the show from it’s early inception of LGBT life and all that comes with that. But I also feel a little sorry we didn’t give Lamont a chance to truly express himself in the work that he was doing. In the midst of all that goes into making a well executed project and that being told from a Black Gay Male perspective is even more difficult! I think overall, Lamont Pierre was having to fight too too many battles that weren’t dealt with outright in LGBTQ and probably wasn’t his at all! He was just trying to tell a story…
Continual success to him!
I kind of hate the restrictions we imagine for ourselves and then project into the world eventually limiting us the way it has. Best of luck to LP sad to hear his feelings but I hope someone else fills the space it's necessary.
SO SORRY TO HERE THAT ‘LAMONT PIERRE’ IS SORTA FLUSTRATED WITH AUDIENCE OF ‘FREEFALL’. HE IS RIGHT TO SOME DEGREE, AT TIMES THE COMMENTS SHOW THAT THE PEOPLE CAN BE FICKLE. I THINK ALOT OF US REALLY WANT STORIES LIKE THE 2000 MOVIE ‘PUNKS’ WITH THE HOT FINE MAN OR SEMI-STRAIGHT MAN INTERTWINED IN OUR LIVES LIKE ‘NOAH’S ARC’. > . THEN THE ‘D L CHRONICALS’ CAME AND CAPTURED US WITH IT’S SHORT STORIES SOME OF WHICH COULD AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN MADE INTO A LONG FORM FILM. BOTH PROJECTS COULD US MORE TASTEFUL NUDITY BUT WE ALL SUPPORT THEM ANYWAY. TO ME WHATS NEEDED IT A BLACK GAY NETWORK. THESE MOVIES & SHOWS & WEBSERIES NEED A UNRESTRICTED CABLE NETWORK HOME. THIS WOULD GIVE THEM REGULAR INCOME TO FINANCE THOSE MOVIE PROJECTS MR. PIERRE WANTS TO DO. I HOPE TO GET ALL OF HIS WEBSERIES ON DVD [ I PERFER DVD THEN TO STREAM EVERYTHING. ] ; BLACK GAY NETWORK << MAKE IT HAPPEN SOMEBODY
Moonlight was written by Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney and is adapted from McCraney’s unpublished semi-autobiographical play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue. It”s a commentary on the toxic hyper masculinity that is forced upon little black boys and the destructive impact that has on their mental and emotional growth. That is a major issue in the black community both gay and straight, so to say that Moonlight is somehow invalid or not relatable is absolutely ridiculous.
The reason why Chiron fantasized about Kevin having sex with a girl was because Kevin was talking about having sex with a girl earlier at school and Chiron is so emotionally and physically stunted that he has no concept of what gay sex actually entails. Kevin was the focus of that scene anyway not the girl. That’s not so out of the ordinary. I know a lot of gay men who watch straight porn, myself included.
Black people gay or straight are not a monolith. There is no universal gay experience. You criticize these web series for focusing too much on sex and partying and then criticize Moonlight for not focusing more on sex. I for one am glad Moonlight wasn’t all about sex. I’m tired of that always being the focal point of every gay black movie or show. Moonlight was about some real shit that black people always seem to want to ignore.
Also, to say that there’s too many gay shows and content out there is ridiculous as well. I’ll agree that there’s not enough QUALITY gay content, but compared to all the straight content that gets produced on a daily basis, there can never be too much gay content
KJD, this podcast was about Lamont Pierre and Freefall, not Moonlight. Sorry if you meant to comment this on a different page and it got mistakenly posted here.
The Moonlight discussion has taken place in great detail on many other reviews and podcasts here. Everything is not Black and White, you can both want MORE sexuality in a film and also want LESS of it. There is what is called a “gray area.” Check out “The D.L. Chronicles,” a television series from 10 years ago. It showed how you can display hints of sexuality without depicting it as soft-core porn.
Also, no where have we complained about there being there being too much gay content. That is a good thing, in fact, we need even more of it!
Thanks for visiting the site.
Great work, a sustained and focused discussion that touched on so many areas, points that you've been making for a long time and now amplified by Pierre's experience and thoughts. There were so many good moments.
I subscribe to Arthouse and at times I've been frustrated – more by waiting for the next installment of a series I dig while a number of installments of ones I'm not so hot for come out. That said, I watch all.
At some point I noticed that Freefall carried the SAG tag at the end in credits and I didn't pay much attention. So glad that Pierre had the opportunity to explain why he felt this was so important and it does set his work and his team apart.
When he moved from BOA to Arthouse i wondered what was going on. I grew up cinematically in the mid to late 60s. Lots of cities had movie theaters that were known as arthouses – it's where I saw my first Fellini, Bergman, Antonioni and countless others. When I moved to DC in 81, DC still had two theaters that played these type of films – whether foreign or domestic. You went there expecting to see a type of film. After my first year of watching the offerings on Arthouse, I woke to what he was shooting at.
I understand his frustration but i am still sad that we won't be getting more of Freefall or Red Skins.
I return to my comments about episode 2, that you are so well prepared and work hard at getting a good interview. This was long, two mornings on the bike and an errand or two in the car, but when it was over I wanted to hear more. And I realize I will have to listen again because there was so much to think about. So tomorrow, while the rest of DC panics in the snow, I'll shovel my walk and dig out my car listening to the cast again. Keep this coming.
Great interview, it was nice hearing from him.
I wasn't exactly feeling "Red Skin" but I haven't seen Lamont's entire catalog of work to really have much of an opinion. I did get into Freefall kinda late and based off of that and comparing it to the people that have came after, I can say I appreciate him as a film maker and his vision because all the gay content on youtube these days is all the way foul IMO.
I just want to say.. was really happy to hear from Lamont, I can totally understand his position, and also was pleasantly surprised to hear his journey with Free Fall. I was one that was fan from beginning & trailed off at the end. The crime drama aspect was an obvious turn, while I didn't follow the story turn, still respected the craft of Lamont & actors. The industry discussion Lamont & Nick had about Moonlight was less of a point of view & more about just the facts. This interview for someone following the twist & turns of Free Fall sure did appreciate hearing his unrestrained feeling on the "web series of today" on today.
BTW, kick ass interviewer, Nick, you made me wanna dust off my interview skills, cause you direct interviews with ease & confidence.
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OK, trying to catch up on all the recent podcasts that I’ve missed. Hopefully get caught up this weekend.
Well @Nick Delmacy first let me say, I like how you and Ock are branching out in the different kinds of podcasts and building your CA brand. This new line of thought (Dopeness) is pretty good and highlights your interviewing skills. I’m not bullshitting you, you got on-air skills that puts all those boring old farts at NPR to shame. I look forward to more of the diversity that you and Ock are trying to bring. It’s also good that there’s an intelligent gay voice out there critiquing cinema. It’s a shame that the two most well-known gay film critics, Rex Reed and Armond White, have become nothing more than bitter old queens with nothing important to contribute any longer and no one wants to read them anymore due to their angry old man bs. Thanks for keeping up the intelligent gay perspective on films out there.
Second, I enjoy listening to you moreso than reading you, lol. No shade, it’s just that you and Ock remind me of Siskel and Ebert. I used to liked listening to Ebert, but I preferred reading Siskel, and vice versa. I think the podcasts express more of the depth and breadth of your thinking than the threads on the site can. For example, I have a whole different take on your view of Moonlight (even though that wasn’t the focus), and now even agree with you on most points.
I guess the moral of y’alls conversation can best be summed up in those old lyrics by Ricky Nelson: “well it’s alright now/ I learned my lesson well/ you see you can’t please everyone / so you got to please yourself.” I can see why Pierre is frustrated and wants to move in another direction. He’s expressing an angst that many that came before him, like James Baldwin, felt. You want to express your views as an artist that incorporates both your cultural and personal experience, but the Black audience doesn’t often want to go to the more artistic depths and the white/mainstream audience always just wants to see you as “that black voice” not an individual. Some quick thoughts I had while listening (you know I can’t do anything that isn’t tldr lol):
· Honest Criticism IS NOT shade or gossip – it was good to hear a reviewer and a creator have an honest discussion where both men expressed his views, respectful of the other’s opinion, but each holding his own ground. Nice to hear a mature discussion, not more of the TMZ-type shit that so many people like to consume nowadays. That alone was worth the “price of admission.”
· Pierre’s frustration with his audience and their tastes – in that respect, the gay audience is no different than American film audiences in general. It’s why movies like Moonlight make millions, but Fast and Furious No. 2,378 makes hundreds of millions. I don’t see it as a gay audience problem as much as an American audience problem. The mass of viewers don’t like anything in film that is cognitively more challenging than a video game. It is what it is. As H.L. Mencken said, no one will ever go broke underestimating the tastes of the American people. It would be nice if Pierre gets a chance to interact with international venues and audiences more often.
· Trying to specifically please a black audience – As an artist myself that’s dealt with that my whole life (white folks instantly getting my message, black folk and relatives scratching heads and saying, “I don’t get it”), I wouldn’t advise Pierre to even try. The reality is that if you’re trying to be the socially conscious black artist or business person, you get caught up in trying to simultaneously educate and propagate. While all businesses have to do that to a degree (e.g. Whole Foods educating people on why their so-called organic products are “better” than regular groceries), at some point you just got to be a business person and step off. If the black audience gets it, fine, if not, you just got to move on and do what works for you.
Honestly, this podcast out of all the previous ones had me furiously taking down notes, so the stuff above isn’t half of what I wrote down while listening to y’alls discussion (ha!). Really looking forward to your future interviews.
I agree with the interviewer on many of the points he made. I have tremendous respect for Lamont. He has a great eye; his films are visually stunning. And, for all of the series, I’d find myself saying, “this is kinda different. I wonder where it’s going?” But, I have struggled with story development and the stories consistently do tend to have a dark, somewhat depressing quality. For commercial appeal, they need to be lighter. I too stopped watching Freefall, but solely because the story became too convoluted (not because of the rape). I’ve continued watching some of Lamont’s projects thinking that, at some point, they will provide for storytelling that’s more commercially appealing (to complement the excellent cinematography) but, after listening to this interview, I’m not so sure anymore. And, yes, I listened to the whole interview.
This was a such a dope podcast @Nick Delmacy .
I was def not a fan of 'Freefall' but I def don't want him to throw in the towel on lgbt_____ content. Perseverance is one of the most difficult attributes to maintain w all of the doors that are consistently slammed in your face. The bottom line/most difficult part is that you have to keep showing up.
Very well conducted interview, particularly appreciate giving Lamont full space to finish his answers and keep it a discussion rather than anything else.
To each their own, but I do find a little to take issue with and that is the general sense that skin is something to turn one’s nose up at, so to speak. While I understand the frustration at stereotype and oversexualization, I don’t think there’s anything inherently inferior about a focus on skin. From the gay (gay white?) perspective, a condemnation of sexuality is precisely part of the historical oppression. I’m not even sure that aiming at fitting into the industry is a superior goal to changing the industry’s sensibilities on gay skin.
Just a thought, nice interview.
My review of Red Skin: http://temporarylife.net/index.php/2017/08/04/review-red-skin-web-series/