A documentary film by Anastasia and Will Lyman, featuring Johnny Donnels, with Herman Leonard, Jerry Jeff Walker, Pete Fountain, Matt Clark, Tom Toner
and others. Music by David Torkanowsky. Director of Photography, Peter Krieger.
Running time: 53:49.
The Pink Satin Suit documents the struggles, perseverance, and discipline that
go into the making of a Self-Made Man.
Over sixty years ago in New Guinea, a homesick New Orleans kid swore the Army
would be the last employer he ever had. Today, Johnny Donnels’ photography is
known all over the world. Johnny himself was an icon of the French Quarter, where
he ran a gallery filled with his own art. Successfully unemployed right up until his
death in 2009, he continued to produce a body of work that remains “vastly under-
exploited.” Revealed in a lover’s embrace with the life he created, he was, to many,
the last of the great Bohemians: a symbol of freedom and ease, who, by the
sparseness of his demands, lived a life of luxury. Johnny crossed the intersection of
art and commerce with humor and grace. This special film reveals the surprising
discipline that underpins a life of freedom.
This film was shot before the flood and offers a view of the city that is very different from present day New Orleans.
Empire Picture Corporation, a joint venture of Will Lyman's Whitethroat Productions and Jerri Sher's Jerri Productions, is currently offering for broadcast,
SOUL OF AN EMPIRE, a 54-minute story about the largest urban redevelopment project in history which transformed legendary 42nd Street in New York
City from flophouse to theme park.
The fabled strip between Times Square and Eighth Avenue, known as "The Deuce,"
was slated for destruction, to be rebuilt as high rise corporate offices. But, through the
determination of a few who remembered what 42nd Street once was, and, ultimately,
through a fateful twist of economic fate, the famous theater row was preserved as an
entertainment district.
Narrated by Robert Guillaume (”Benson”), SOUL OF AN EMPIRE tells the story of
America's lingering love affair with a street that, by 1980, had become a public
nuisance. The plans to obliterate the icon by turning it into a business and financial
center galvanized the public and made clear how reluctant we are to let go of the
past. The largely corporate entertainment center that exists on the site today is a
city's attempt to rediscover the gritty exuberance of a street that was always "slightly out of control." The New 42nd Street houses nearly fifty movie screens and embraces three magnificently restored theaters as
legitimate stages.
Co-producers Will Lyman and Jerri Sher worked for three years with veteran cinematographer Jeri Sopanen (MY DINNER WITH ANDRE), to create an
unusually lush image of the two billion dollar makeover. The film also includes remarkable and unique six-camera, time-lapse footage of the moving
of the Empire Theater. The original score was written by Billy Novick.
For more information, please call Jerri Sher at 800.244.8044.
Whitethroat Productions, Ltd., presents Leaving the Post, a 22-minute film short featuring
Natacha Roi and Jack Willis. Photography by Ed Slattery. Original score by John Kusiak.
Production Design: Chipman Nagid & Pfeiffer. Produced by Chris Lenge.
Written and directed by Will Lyman.
On April 19, 1995, on the recommendation of its parent company, the profitable
one hundred-eleven-year-old Houston Post closed its doors forever, leaving over
1,900 former employees out of work.
Many of the laid-off journalists had been on staff for over 20 years. The difficulties
in finding new jobs were greatest for those journalists who had married each other
while employed at the Post. The likelihood of both spouses finding new employment
on the same paper was slim.
Sometimes the thing you want happens to the right person.
The fabled strip between Times Square and Eighth Avenue, known as "The Deuce,"
was slated for destruction, to be rebuilt as high rise corporate offices. But, through the
determination of a few who remembered what 42nd Street once was, and, ultimately,
through a fateful twist of economic fate, the famous theater row was preserved as an
entertainment district.
