Just as Beyoncé released her latest album without a word of warning (as only Queen Bey can), tongues are wagging after she posted photos of Frenchy's fried chicken to her Facebook album from her recent trip to Houston, causing speculation about her adherence to her new vegan diet.
She presented contradictory evidence on her Instagram account Friday with photos of vegan cupcakes to celebrate the 100th show of her Mrs. Carter Show World Tour, indicating that the superstar may be sticking to the 22-day vegan challenge — incited by husband Jay Z — after all.
Beyoncé showed the world that she can do just about whatever she wants when she unexpectedly dropped her new "visual album" late Thursday night.
"I see music. It's more than just what I hear."
The self-titled album — released exclusively on iTunes — is Beyoncé's fifth studio effort and her first album since 2011's "4." The 14-song collection features "Drunk In Love," a collaboration with Jay Z; "Mine," featuring Drake; "Superpower," with Frank Ocean; and "Blue," a song with her daughter, Blue Ivy Carter. "XO," which has long been rumored to be a single from a new album, also appears on the track list.
Always one to do it her own way, Beyoncé's new album not only features 14 tracks, but 17 accompanying videos as well.
"I see music," Beyoncé said in a video announcement on her Facebook page. "It's more than just what I hear. When I’m connected to something, I immediately see a visual or a series of images that are tied to a feeling or an emotion, a memory from my childhood, thoughts about life, my dreams or my fantasies.
"And they’re all connected to the music."
Frenchy's Chicken, located on Scott St. in the MacGregor neighborhood of Houston, was one of only a few local spots that Beyoncé included in the Facebook album from her most recent visit to her hometown.
Photo by Rob Hoffman IAm.Beyonce.com
Frenchy's Chicken, located on Scott St. in the MacGregor neighborhood of Houston, was one of only a few local spots that Beyoncé included in the Facebook album from her most recent visit to her hometown.
Some of Dallas-Fort Worth's most notable theater practitioners recently turned their talents toward a different medium: film.
The Finale, a theater-themed horror film, is being released on Friday, July 28, to stream on Amazon Prime, Apple, VUDU, and YouTube VOD.
It's penned by Michael Federico and directed by Christie Vela (associate artistic director at Theatre Three), who also co-host a horror movie podcast called Terror and Tacos.
The film is from Octane Multimedia and produced by Max Hartman and Brandon Potter, with Desiree Fultz acting as production manager and first assistant director.
It stars Gabrielle Reyes as Sagan Riley, a triple-threat who has her sights set on Broadway. When she’s accepted to the legendary Stage Left Theater Camp, she thinks her dreams are within reach.
Sagan spends her days singing, dancing, acting, and dreaming of love. But soon the Stage Left instructors and Sagan’s fellow campers start dying off one by one. Now, Sagan will have to survive rehearsal and discover the killer, if she’s ever gonna make it.
Eagle-eyed viewers will spot local actors Kenneisha Thompson, Madison Calhoun, Parker Gray, Paul Taylor (Pinhead from the Hellraiser franchise), Liza Marie Gonzalez, Katy Tye, Drew Wall, Lydia Mackay, Danielle Georgiou, Jason Villareal, Theatre Three artistic director Jeffrey Schmidt, and noted DFW director and choreographer Joel Ferrell.
Patrons will also recognize Dallas' Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Kalita Humphreys Theater and Uptown's Theatre Three, where most of the film takes place.
Boasting an all-DFW film crew and post-production team, The Finale is a true Texas film through and through.
"I acted as executive producer and funded the project because when I heard my hilarious and uber-talented old friends Christie and Michael talk about making their own horror film and who they had already cast in it, I immediately asked to meet with them," says Hartman. "I read the first 30 pages of the script on the way to meet them at a coffee shop and loved it. I proposed right then that I help fund the project and help find and hire a film crew that was down to work with a bunch of theater folks on their first feature."
"Apart from this being a life-long goal for me, the best part about this was that two amazing groups of artists, from two seemingly related but separate disciplines, theater and film, all local (we're super proud of this), came together to make this film happen," Vela tells CultureMap. "We all learned from each other every day. The toughest days are still some of the best days of my life, and there were days. I will forever be grateful to all of my Dallas theater colleagues who took this leap of faith with Mike and I."
"There was a night we were shooting in the woods. It was our second overnight shoot in a row, so everybody was tired. And it was July, and so hot, and the cicadas were actively trying to destroy us. It could have been miserable," shares Federico. "But I remember watching Christie, the cast, and crew shooting a scene. And they were all so good at their jobs, and so much fun to be around all the time, that I remember thinking, there’s really no place I’d rather be than in the Texas heat, in the middle of the woods, working with these people."
"My driving mission besides helping my friends make a movie was to dispel the oft-heard notion that 'theater actors' can’t act in film," says Hartman. "It was also always bizarre to me that the film and theater communities in town were so segregated. Very rare to see them mix. Every actor in the film is a 'theater actor' and they’re all amazing. It was hilarious to hear the crew go, 'Where did you get these actors? They all know all of their lines.'"
Watch the trailer below, and follow The Finale on Facebook and Instagram for updates:
