Zebulun Koenig Blog Site

For many, Memorial Day weekend amounts to an extra-long weekend or some early summer travel. I encourage you to check out one of the following films, pick up a book, or speak with someone you know who's served in the United States Armed Forces. While there are many great films that memorialize the Armed Forces, the following are five films/series I routinely gravitate towards this time each year. Band of Brothers  (Miniseries - 2001) Created By: Steven Spielberg & Tom Hanks From Producers, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, comes the story of "Easy Company," 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. From their initial training (1942) to the end of World War II, we follow the men of "Easy Company" as they navigate paratrooping behind enemy lines of D-Day, Operation Market Garden, liberating a Concentration Camp, and finding strength through brotherhood to push through these seemingly impossible missions. The decision to tell "Band of Brothers" thr...

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...