They Call Me Magic

Composer

TERENCE BLANCHARD

MODERATED BY TIM GREIVING (Film Music Journalist)

Screening Link available upon Registration

YouTube Live Stream Q&A 

Wednesday, August 10, 6:30PM (PT)

For global sports icon Earvin Johnson, “Magic” has many meanings. It’s the sparkle of his megawatt smile and dazzling style of play that forever changed the game of basketball. It’s the magnetic connection that led him to the love of his life. It’s the shock of an HIV diagnosis that he transformed from grief into triumph — shifting global dialogue about the disease and overcoming its staggering odds. It’s his transcendence from sports superstar to business titan, blazing new trails for former athletes and revolutionizing the way corporate America does business in Black communities. Featuring intimate interviews with Magic and an all-star lineup, They Call Me Magic charts the cinematic life of one of the biggest cultural icons of our era with unprecedented access in a definitive four-part documentary series. TV-MA | 60mins

Terence Blanchard is a two-time Oscar nominee and six-time Grammy winner who has been a consistent artistic force for making powerful musical statements concerning painful American tragedies – past and present. From his expansive work composing the scores for almost 20 Spike Lee projects over three decades, ranging from the documentary When the Levees Broke to the latest Lee film, Da 5 Bloods (which earned Blanchard his second Oscar nomination), Blanchard has interwoven beautiful melodies that created strong backdrops to human stories. Blanchard previously received an Oscar nomination for his original score for Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman. More recently, Blanchard has composed his second opera, Fire Shut Up in My Bones, based on the memoir of celebrated writer and The New York Times columnist Charles Blow, the first opera composed by an African American composer to premiere at the Met. Blanchard’s first opera, Champion also premiered to critical acclaim in 2013 and will be coming to the Met in April 2023. Some of Blanchard’s other film and television credits include Spike Lee’s Malcolm X, 25th Hour, and Inside Man; Kasi Lemmons’ films, Eve’s Bayou and Harriet;  Regina King’s directorial debut One Night in Miami…; the critically acclaimed drama series Perry Mason; HBO’s NYC Epicenters 9/11 – 2021½ documentary miniseries produced and directed by Spike Lee; the Apple TV+ series Swagger; and Apple TV’s docuseries They Call Me Magic for which he received an Emmy nomination and Father of the Bride directed by Gaz Alazraki.  Upcoming film projects include The Woman King directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood starring Viola Davis which is being released on September 16, 2022; A Jazzman’s Life written, directed, and produced by Tyler Perry for which Blanchard arranged and produced songs and is scheduled for release in Fall 2022; and the Apple TV+ documentary Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues which is directed by Sacha Jenkins and produced by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Documentaries and will be released in Fall 2022.

In his thirtieth year as a recording leader, Blanchard delivers Absence, a masterwork of sonic zest in collaboration with his longtime E-Collective band and the acclaimed Turtle Island Quartet.

*** IMPORTANT – PLEASE READ ***

FREE for current SCL members (click HERE to check membership status).

Attendees will be emailed a Screening Link upon Registration and a Q&A YouTube Live Stream link on Wednesday, August 10, 10 minutes before Q&A start.

Attendees can ask questions on YouTube chat, and the SCL Host will pass them on to the Moderator. The SCL Member Code of Conduct applies to online Q&As.

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