Join Creator and Exec. Producer Reggie Rock Bythewood for Insider Discussion on his latest APPLETV Series "SWAGGER"

Bythewood discusses the impact of his artistic collaboration with artist Lisa Whittington, the color palette for the series, and the influence of Emmet Till.

LOS ANGELES, CA, USA, December 15, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Black Hollywood Education and Resource Center announced the last BHERC's Black Carpet Speaker Series for 2021. BHERC members, friends, and the general public are invited to participate in a free ZOOM insider discussion featuring Reggie Rock Bythewood and the series main title sequence artist Lisa Whittington for an intimate and insiders discussion on his latest project, AppleTV outstanding Series, Swagger. Register today online at www.bherc.TV.

"Swagger" is a new series from Apple TV Plus inspired by retired great Kevin Durant's experiences that explore the world of youth basketball, the players, their families, and coaches who walk the fine line between dreams, ambition, and opportunism, and corruption. Off the court, the show reveals what it's like to grow up in America. Bythewood and Whittington will include in their discussion the meaning and impact of their artistic collaboration, how they arrived at a color palette for the series, and the influence of civil rights icon Emmet Till.

The new series is led by an ensemble cast of stars, including O'Shea Jackson Jr., Isaiah Hill, Shinelle Azoroh, Academy Award-nominee Quvenzhané Wallis, Caleel Harris, James Bingham, Solomon Irama, Ozie Nzeribe, Tessa Ferrer, Tristan Mack Wilds, and Jason Rivera. "Swagger" was created by Reggie Rock Bythewood, who also writes, directs, and serves as showrunner and executive producer alongside Kevin Durant, Brian Grazer, Francie Calfo, Rich Kleiman, and Samantha Corbin Miller. The series is produced for Apple by Thirty-Five Ventures, Imagine Television Studios, CBS Studios, and Undisputed Cinema.

Reggie Rock Bythewood attended the Million Man March on October 16, 1995. It sparked his first produced screenplay, "Get On The Bus," directed by Spike Lee. Bythewood grew up in the Bronx, NY He attended the High School of Performing Arts. He received a BFA in theater from Marymount Manhattan College. Reggie acted in the soap opera "Another World" alongside Morgan Freeman and Joe Morton as a teen. After playing a role in the John Sayles film "The Brother From Another Planet," he was inspired to write and direct. He moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in television and screenwriting when he became one of the first members of Disney's prestigious Writer's Fellowship Program. He joined NBC as a writer on the hit comedy series "A Different World." In addition, he wrote and produced the drama series "New York Undercover." "Get On The Bus" was financed by 15 Black men, including screenwriter Bythewood, and was released in October 1996.

Bythewood made his feature film directorial debut on the acclaimed indie flick "Dancing in September," which examined race-related challenges within the TV industry. Acquired by HBO, the film became an HBO Original
Movie. Bythewood has also written and directed "Biker Boyz," the Laila Ali documentary "Daddy's Girl," the ESPN 30-for-30 documentary "One Night in Vegas." In addition, he co-wrote the Fox Searchlight film "Notorious" and wrote and directed "Gun Hill," the two-hour original movie that garnered him the NAACP Image Award for Best Directing. In addition, he produced "Beyond the Lights," directed by his wife Gina Prince-Bythewood, is the co-creator and executive producer of the Fox special event series "Shots Fired." Currently, Bythewood is the creator and exec producer of "Swagger," which will air on Apple TV+. Bythewood is also co-president of the production company, Undisputed Cinema.

Lisa Whittington, Ed.D, is an artist and storyteller. Reggie Rock Bythewood tapped her to create the motion title art for "Swagger." Reggie also uses her artwork of Emmett Till as the color palette and a narrative source of inspiration to develop the 10 part series. Lisa is a native of New York City, where she learned to take a provocative approach to art. She is dedicated to artistically narrating the stories and history of Black people and educating people about African Americans. She delivered a TED talk entitled "What Does Art Want With You?" in the hope of inspiring artists and creators to find more meaning in what they create. In 2017 her artwork of Emmett Till was able to diffuse a protest that shut down the Whitney Museum. In 2019 several pieces of her work, including "Under A Soprano Sky" and "I Am a Man A Man I Am," were the muse and feature for a stage play called "The Unbound Trilogy. In 2020 her autobiographical artwork "A Harlem Story" was recreated on a wall in Brooklyn to inspire other artists to tell their stories. Lisa Whittington also wrote a play called "Black in the Box," which a theater virtually produced in Baltimore during the pandemic.

The BHERC Black Carpet Series is a free series providing Black filmmakers a platform to discuss their careers, influences, latest works, and filmmaking insights. In addition, the series offers access to a broad range of audiences and communities, including colleges and universities. Past discussions have included a timely and rich conversation between groundbreaking female directors, Gina Prince-Bythewood and Kasi Lemmons, on the urgency to tell black women stories and disrupt the status quo.

The BHERC strives to highlight the critical roles that blacks have played and continue to play in film and television. To that end, the BHERC annually celebrates and promotes Black history and culture through a series of annual film festivals. In addition, the festivals showcase the richness and power of young filmmakers who lead strive for positive and quality diverse films in the Millennium.

Do not miss this incredible event. Make your reservation today. Log on to www.BHERC.TV. For more information about all of the programs of BHERC, log on to www.bherc.org Or call 310-284-3170. Log on to www.BHERC.TV to check out our streaming service.

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Swagger — Official Trailer | Apple TV+