New Season of Profile Series Features Jane Goodall + Charlize Theron, Lenny Kravitz + Lee Daniels, Hugh Jackman+Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Cate Blanchett + Tim Flannery, Ron Howard + Steve Nash, and David Blaine + Chuck Close
NEW YORK, Sept. 9, 2010 – Sundance Channel and GREY GOOSE ENTERTAINMENT® are set to debut the fifth season of Iconoclasts on Sundance Channel on Saturday, Oct. 2 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Each one-hour episode pairs two trailblazing creative visionaries in unique encounters that reveal unseen, and often unexpected, sides of these public personalities.
The new season features an unprecedented roster of innovators in the fields of entertainment, science, food, sports and the arts including: Academy Award®-winning actress Charlize Theron (Monster, North Country, The Cider House Rules) and award-winning primatologist Jane Goodall; Grammy Award®-winning musician Lenny Kravitz and Academy Award®-nominated film director and producer Lee Daniels (Precious, Monster’s Ball); Tony Award®-winning actor Hugh Jackman (X-Men, Australia, The Boy from Oz) and world-renowned chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten; Academy Award®-winning actress Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age, The Aviator, I’m Not There) and prominent professor and climate-change scientist Tim Flannery; two-time MVP NBA player Steve Nash and Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13, Parenthood); and illusionist David Blaine and artist Chuck Close.
"When you look at the 60 people we’ve covered in Iconoclasts over these five seasons you see a roster of some of the brightest and most creative stars in the worlds of the arts and entertainment, business and community. And the unique and intimate format of this show allows us to not only understand their work, but to be inspired by their risk-taking and originality," comments Sarah Barnett, EVP and General Manager of Sundance Channel.
"Iconoclasts is unique in that it provides viewers with an inside glimpse into the real people behind the public personae," comments Emil Jattne, Senior Brand Manager, GREY GOOSE ENTERTAINMENT. "Over the years, we have featured an incredible array of leading innovators who have had a profound impact on culture, and this year’s lineup is no different."
Set against such unique and personal backdrops as Jane Goodall’s chimpanzee refuge in the Republic of Congo and Lenny Kravitz’s recording studio in the refuge refugee in the Republic of Congo and Lenny Kravitz’s recording studio in the Bahamas, each episode of Iconoclasts provides an intimate look into the lives, work, past experiences and aspirations that have made each iconoclast who they are today.
Episodes include:
ICONOCLASTS: Jane Goodall + Charlize Theron
Saturday, Oct. 2
In ICONOCLASTS: Goodall + Theron, award-winning primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall welcomes Academy Award®-winning actress Charlize Theron to the Tchimpounga sanctuary in the Republic of Congo, where Dr. Goodall works to save endangered, orphaned chimpanzees. Theron is introduced to adolescent chimps as she and Dr. Goodall discuss the issues facing the young people of Africa and African wildlife. Theron explains how the loss of her father at a young age affected her, while Dr. Goodall describes what it was like being sent into the dense African jungle in her early ’20s and discovering just how similar chimpanzees are to humans. The episode also features Theron working with the young people of South Africa through her philanthropy, teaching them how to protect themselves from AIDS.
ICONOCLASTS: Lenny Kravitz + Lee Daniels
Saturday, Oct. 9
In ICONOCLASTS: Kravitz + Daniels, Grammy Award-winner Lenny Kravitz welcomes his close friend and collaborator movie producer/director Lee Daniels to the secluded island paradise of the Bahamas, where Kravitz lives and works. The two discuss their collaborations on both PRECIOUS, Daniels’ Oscar®-winning film, and on his upcoming drama, SELMA, about Martin Luther King, Jr., and the fight for Civil Rights, in which Kravitz will act. Kravitz shares his process with Daniels in his personal recording studio and Daniels does some Hollywood wheeling and dealing on the phone in his hotel room. The episode ends on a highpoint, as Kravitz plays Daniels for the first time the song he has written for SELMA.
ICONOCLASTS: Hugh Jackman + Jean-Georges Vongerichten
Saturday, Oct. 16
ICONOCLASTS: Jackman + Vongerichten features Tony Award®-winning actor Hugh Jackman and world renowned chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, who are both friends and neighbors. The two discuss their creative processes, the importance of family and taking risks, all while putting together a benefit dinner at Jean-Georges’ new restaurant, ABC Kitchen. Vongerichten and Jackman shop for the dinner they are preparing, and Jackman takes Vongerichten to boxing practice where he is preparing for his next role. The episode culminates with the presentation of a delicious gourmet dinner prepared by the pair.
ICONOCLASTS: Cate Blanchett + Tim Flannery
Saturday, Oct. 23
ICONOCLASTS: Blanchett + Flannery features Academy Award®-winning actress Cate Blanchett and eco-scientist Tim Flannery. Blanchett shows Flannery around the Sydney Theatre Company, discusses her work as co-artistic director and reveals her plans to green the theatre with high-tech solar panels. Blanchett follows Flannery to the Sydney Zoo where the two come face-to-face with the nearly extinct Komodo dragon. Flannery shares his plans to reintroduce the animal back into the Australian wild. The friends then travel to North Head, the place where the earth nearly died, to understand the stark risks of not taking actions towards fighting climate change.
ICONOCLASTS: Ron Howard + Steve Nash
Saturday, Oct. 30
In ICONOCLASTS: Howard + Nash, Academy Award®-winning director Ron Howard invites Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash to Chicago where his new film, WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW, is in production. They share a mutual love of filmmaking and sports so Howard shows Nash the first dailies of his film and Nash challenges Howard to a game of one-on-one at a nearby court. They then go to a White Sox game where Howard throws out the first pitch. Throughout episode they talk about discipline, collaboration, family, and maintaining a level head, while excelling in very public lives.
ICONOCLASTS: David Blaine + Chuck Close
Saturday, Nov. 6
In ICONOCLASTS: Close + Blaine, the revered visual artist Chuck Close and the legendary illusionist and endurance artist David Blaine show how they manipulate reality and ignore accepted limits to create awe-inspiring work. While on the surface it might seem that the work of these two friends is completely divergent, Close and Blaine are both driven by a desire to challenge notions of reality and defy expectations. The pair demonstrates their various tricks and reveals the meticulous technique and unwavering dedication to hard work behind their art. The episode features the artists visiting various studios and museums in New York City and even includes a trip to Houdini’s grave.
The fifth season of Iconoclasts is co-produced by @radical media and GREY GOOSE ENTERTAINMENT and directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky (the filmmakers behind Brother’s Keeper and Metallica: Some Kind of Monster). Former pairings include: Samuel L. Jackson and Bill Russell, Tom Ford and Jeff Koons, Mario Batali and Michael Stipe, Brian Grazer and Sumner Redstone, Renee Zellweger and Christiane Amanpour, Robert Redford and Paul Newman, Eddie Vedder and Laird Hamilton, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Alice Waters, Quentin Tarantino and Fiona Apple, Isabella Rossellini and Dean Kamen, Paul Simon and Lorne Michaels, Dave Chappelle and Maya Angelou, Sean Penn and Jon Krakauer, Alicia Keys and Ruby Dee, Mike Myers and Deepak Chopra, Howard Schultz and Norman Lear, Wynton Marsalis and John Besh, Madeleine Albright and Ashley Judd, Desmond Tutu and Richard Branson, Stella McCartney and Edward Ruscha, Tony Hawk and Jon Favreau, Bill Maher and Clive Davis, Venus Williams and Wyclef Jean and Cameron Diaz and Cameron Sinclair.
Iconoclasts is executive produced by Robert Redford; Jon Kamen, Frank Scherma, Justin Wilkes and Sidney Beaumont of @radical.media; Emil Jattne of GREY GOOSE ENTERTAINMENT and Sarah Barnett and Michael Klein of Sundance Channel; and co-executive produced by Joe Berlinger. The series producer is Caroline Suh.
SUNDANCE CHANNEL
Under the creative direction of Robert Redford, Sundance Channel is the television destination for independent-minded viewers seeking something different. Bold, imaginative and uncompromising, Sundance Channel offers audiences a diverse and engaging selection of films, documentaries, and original programs, all unedited and commercial free. Launched in 1996, Sundance Channel is subsidiary of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC. Sundance Channel operates independently of the non-profit Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival, but shares the overall Sundance mission of encouraging artistic freedom of expression. Sundance Channel’s website address is www.sundancechannel.com.
RAINBOW MEDIA HOLDINGS LLC
Rainbow Media Holdings LLC is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC). Rainbow Media is a leading producer of targeted, multi-platform content for global distribution, creating and managing some of the world’s most compelling and dynamic entertainment brands, including AMC, IFC, WE tv, Sundance Channel and VOOM HD Networks. Through IFC Entertainment, Rainbow Media also owns and manages the following: IFC Films, a leading distribution company for independent film; IFC Productions, a feature film production company that provides financing for select independent film projects; and IFC Center, a three screen, state-of-the-art cinema in the heart of New York’s Greenwich Village. Rainbow Media also operates Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation, its advertising sales company; Rainbow Network Communications, its full service network programming origination and distribution company; and 11 Penn TV, a company that manages Rainbow Media’s NYC studios and post-production facilities.
GREY GOOSE ENTERTAINMENT®
Founded in April 2005, GREY GOOSE ENTERTAINMENT is dedicated to producing original and unique content for television, music and film. Each innovative project reflects the spirit of GREY GOOSE Vodka and celebrates the interests of its consumers. ICONOCLASTS was the first production from GREY GOOSE ENTERTAINMENT. GREY GOOSE ENTERTAINMENT also supports THE ARTISTS DEN, an innovative enterprise that curates the best new music from around the globe, as well as RISING ICONS, a television program and national concert tour celebrating some of the most influential new artists on their journey to stardom.
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@radical.media
@radical.media is a global transmedia company that creates some of the world’s most innovative content. The company produces and distributes television, feature films, commercials, music programming, digital content and design. @radical.media has produced award-winning projects, including the Academy Award®-winning documentary The Fog of War; the Grammy Award-winning Concert for George; the Independent Spirit Award-winning Metallica: Some Kind of Monster; the pilot episode of the Emmy® and Golden Globe winning series Mad Men; the Emmy-winning 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America for the History Channel; the critically acclaimed series Iconoclasts for the Sundance Channel and more recently, the documentary Summit on the Summit for MTV. The company is currently in production on programs for HBO, MTV, Discovery’s Planet Green and OWN.
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