Thug Life Army

Filmmaker and author Maxie D. Collier has announced that Paper Chasers, his much anticipated documentary on Hip-Hop entrepreneurship, will premiere on the Independent Film Channel (IFC) on July 3rd. The film was co-produced and financed by the IFC. 

"My goal was to provide an authentic, unglamorous documentation of what is required to take a business or artistic endeavor from the idea stage, through delivery to an audience. It has taken me three very challenging years to complete Paper Chasers and three, even more difficult years, to achieve mass distribution," says Collier.

After debuting at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2003, Paper Chasers received substantial press for documenting multi-platinum hip-hop rap artist and actor Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, months before Ludacris independently released his first album. Ludacris and his hip-hop crew continued to offer Maxie numerous follow-up interviews over a three year period.

The film also features hip-hop and rap notables Fat Joe, Master P, Damon Dash, Russell Simmons, Chuck D, Flavor Flav and more than 50 other Hip-Hop artists, executives, and CEOs from across the country. Additionally, the documentary shares some of the real life personal challenges Collier faced to bring the film to life.

"The current film only reflects a small bit of what I experienced over the course of this project. After Tribeca, I spent ten and a half months battling shady distributors, agents and lawyers. Then six more months completing the DVD materials, only to have a wack DVD release. But with the airing of Paper Chasers on the IFC, I can finally say that this project is wrapped up."

Maxie is also the author of the IFILM Digital Video Filmmaker's Handbook, one of the first guides book on digital filmmaking.

"I self-published the first edition of the DV Handbook, back in 1998, then licensed it to IFILM when the company was just a start-up. Working with the founders of IFILM, in silicone valley during the dotcom boom, was one of the things that inspired me to go on a quest and study entrepreneurship."

The DV Handbook has become an influential best-seller, with over 40,000 copies in print. It has been used as an instructional text at more than two dozen colleges and universities.

"I started working at BET in 1990, when I was 21 years old. I''ve been navigating, networking and hustling among the Hip-Hop and indie film underground for a long time. Now I''m ready to share some of the many encouraging and discouraging lessons I have learned about dreamers, Hip-Hop, entrepreneurship, and show business. And I''ve got to give much, much thanks to the countless number of people who have been unconditionally supportive along the way. "

Collier is also the co-producer and co-director of Exit Strategies, a documentary about former gang members and drug dealers sharing their methods of exiting from gang and street life. The film premiered this month at the Hollywood Black Film Festival. His next feature film, BMORE, will begin making festival rounds this Fall. Paper Chasers TV , an internet TV show, is available on YouTube and other internet video services.

Paper Chasers airs on the IFC on Monday July 3rd, at 9PM. The film will be rebroadcast on July 4th at 1AM and again at 7PM. For additional information, visit www.paperchasers.net  or www.ifctv.com