Slam

Includes the screenplay to the motion picture, the poetry featured in the film, and behind-the-scenes filmmaker's and actor's diaries telling the story of the making of Slam, a movie about urban poverty and the redemptive power of art. Cover......Page 1 Copyright......Page 6 Contents......Page 8 Foreword by Annie Nocenti......Page 9 Introduction......Page 11 The Slam Diaries......Page 20 Marc Levin (Director)......Page 21 Saul Williams (Raymond Joshua)......Page 46 Sonja Sohn (Lauren Bell)......Page 63 Henri M. Kessler (Producer)......Page 69 Bonz Malone (Hopha)......Page 77 Mark Benjamin (Director of Photography)......Page 83 Robert Leaver (Production Assistant/Driver)......Page 88 Beau Sia (Jimmy Huang)......Page 119 Bob Holman (Slam Host)......Page 125 Liza Jesse Peterson (Slam Poet)......Page 137 John Kirby (2nd Assistant Camera)......Page 142 Slam Poets......Page 145 DJ Renegade......Page 146 Taylor Mali......Page 151 Jessica Care Moore......Page 154 John Sinclair......Page 160 Beans......Page 162 The Screenplay......Page 166 Slam Goes to Sundance......Page 263 And the Winner Iz (Bonz Malone)......Page 264 When I Get Backfrom Sundance (Beau Sia)......Page 268 The Spirit of One (Alfre Woodard)......Page 269 Production Credits......Page 271 Back Cover......Page 275

Set in a war-zone housing project known as Dodge City and in the infamous Washington, D.C. city jail, Slam tells the story of Ray Joshua, a talented young poet and rapper who is busted on petty drug charges and sucked into the black hole of the criminal justice system. In jail, Ray meets Lauren, a volunteer teaching a writing class for prisoners. She encourages Ray to use his gift to give voice to the anguish of a generation of young men who have been thrown away.

Slam: The Book is more than just a screenplay. It also contains the poetry featured in the film, as well as behind-the-scenes filmmakers' and actors' diaries telling the story of the making of Slam in a two-week guerilla shoot inside the walls of the D.C. jail and on the killing streets of the Anacostia housing projects in southeast Washington, D.C.

Owen Gleiberman

Slam...seizes hold of your imagination. It's the kind of movie that makes you believe in movies. -- Entertainment Weekly

Set in a war-zone housing project known as Dodge City and in the infamous Washington, D.C., city jail, Slam tells the story of Ray Joshua, a talented young poet and rapper who is busted on petty drug charges and sucked into the black hole of the criminal justice system. In jail, Ray meets Lauren, a volunteer teaching a writing class for the prisoners. She encourages Ray to use his gift to give voice to the anguish of a generation of young men who have been thrown away. And this book is more than just a screenplay. It also contains the poetry featured in the film, as well as behind-the-scenes filmmakers' and actors' diaries telling the story of the making of Slam in a two-week guerilla shoot inside the walls of the D.C. jail and on the killing streets of the Anacostia housing projects in southeast Washington, D.C. A 1998 Sundance Film Festival winner, "Slam"--set in a war-zone housing project known as Dodge City and in the infamous Washington, D.C., city jail--presents a gritty, inspiring portrait of urban poverty and the redemptive power of art. The book includes the full screenplay, poetry from the film, behind-the-scenes diaries, and more