Zebulun Koenig Blog Site

With the 93rd Academy Awards show just a week away (April 25th), the following categories are my favorites. Every category (and then some) with an award attached is pivotal to producing a film. Out of all the art-forms, producing a film is vastly collaborative. "It takes a village" as they say. If I were a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, here is how I'd vote throughout my favorite categories presented during the prestigious evening. Writing (Original Screenplay) --  SOUND OF METAL  Screenplay by Darius Marder & Abraham Marder; Story by Darius Marder & Derek Cianfrance Headlined by Riz Ahmed (Ruben) and Olivia Cooke (Lou), SOUND OF METAL follows the story of a metal band drummer, Ruben, and his girlfriend/lead-singer, Lou. After realizing his hearing is rapidly deteriorating, Ruben and Lou find their lives turned upside-down as they cope with their new reality. The first step of the process, the screenplay. One of the golden rules in scre...

With the Major League Baseball (MLB) opening day slated for a week from today, I find no better method to peak my interest (other than tossing the ball outside) for the new season than watching my favorite baseball films. While opening day isn't a calendar holiday, I can watch these five films year-in-year-out to prepare myself for the start of a new MLB season. Anchored by phenomenal performances from Chadwick Boseman (Jackie Robinson) and Harrison Ford (Branch Rickey), "42" is my favorite baseball movie produced to this date. Boseman's inspiring and courageous performance of Robinson gives viewers an insight to the struggles black men faced breaking into "white baseball" and the countless acts of hate and segregation they encountered in 1947 (Robinson's first appearance in Major League Baseball). Additionally, Harrison Ford's stardom doesn't distract from the civil and emotional weight of the film. The genius of "42" is its ability to...