Cursed Films is a five part documentary series which explores the myths and legends behind some of Hollywood's notoriously cursed horror film productions. Filmmaker Jay Cheel explores the facts, myths and mysterious surrounding iconic films and franchises whose casts and crews have been struck by misfortune and tragedy. The release of The Exorcist was surrounded by controversy, as reports of fainting theatre-goers and mysterious on-set accidents raised questions as to whether or not the film itself was evil.
A look at public shaming in modern day culture. This original documentary film examines social behavior by embedding with individuals from across the U.S. who have been publicly shamed or cyber-harassed – while exploring the bullies, the bystanders, the media, psychologists, politicians and experts in between.
Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastian Elcano set sail to gain control of the global spice trade, but end up becoming the first expedition to circumnavigate the earth. The yearslong voyage—along with the suffering, the violence and the loss of life and property—were all in pursuit of a shorter route to the so-called Spice Islands (now the Maluku Islands) and their much-coveted aromatics. The film puts in perspective the 16th century—the Age of Exploration, the Age of Discovery and the Age, problematically, of Colonialism. It also was an age of heroes. As the documentary insists, the journeys undertaken by the men whose names we learned in grade school and whose exploits straddled the 1400s and 1500s—including Ponce de Leon, Vasco da Gama, Lope de Aguirre and even Columbus—were about money, sometimes trade, sometimes plunder. But just as advances in medicine have often been propelled by war, knowledge about the world has been a byproduct of profit-seeking. Likewise, heroism.
From crunchy crickets to nutty fly grubs, the film takes a tasty look at insect foods and how they could benefit our health and our warming planet. From Thailand to Texas, insect farmers are showing how the tiny critters stack up as an environmentally friendly alternative to beef protein and can, pound for pound, deliver better nutritional value than the finest steak. But will western people overcome the 'ick' factor and share the appetite of many cultures around the world for insect feasts?
Richard Stanley had a dream of making a screen adaptation of the H.G. Wells classic The Island of Dr. Moreau. In the mid nineties, he finally managed to get the project up and running, but its shooting turned into a battle between art and industry interests that ended with the director being fired from the film. This documentary examines the story of a movie that could have been a masterpiece of fantasy that ended in an epic failure.
In astronomy, we've been looking at different kinds of light and opening up the universe a little bit more of the time. But then in 2015, the roof came off. Something happened that changed everything, the ability to see waves in space and time itself. Gravitational waves help us roll back the clock to the dawn of time, discover epic cosmic collisions, on make Earth-shaking discoveries. Gravitational waves are the biggest game changer since the invention of the telescope. We have a completely new universe to view now. A new exploration of space is just beginning.
The release of The Exorcist was surrounded by controversy, as reports of fainting theatre-goers and mysterious on-set accidents raised questions as to whether or not the film itself was evil.