Cosmic Slop (film)

Cosmic Slop
Television release poster
Genre
Created byReginald Hudlin
Based on
Written by
Directed by
  • Reginald Hudlin ("Space Traders")
  • Warrington Hudlin ("The First Commandment")
  • Kevin Rodney Sullivan ("Tang")
Presented byGeorge Clinton
Music byJohn Barnes
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
  • Reginald Hudlin
  • Warrington Hudlin
ProducerErnest Johnson
CinematographyPeter Deming
Editors
  • Stephen Semel ("Space Traders")
  • Richard Candib ("The First Commandment")
  • Victor DuBois ("Tang")
Running time83 minutes
Production companies
  • HBO
  • Hudlin Bros.
Original release
NetworkHBO
ReleaseNovember 8, 1994 (1994-11-08)

Cosmic Slop is a 1994 American anthology television film created by Reginald Hudlin, who executive produced with his brother Warrington Hudlin.[1] The film is hosted by musician and Parliament-Funkadelic frontman George Clinton, and derives its title from the 1973 album and song of the same name by Clinton and Funkadelic.[2]

Cosmic Slop features three short segments. The first, "Space Traders", was directed by Reginald Hudlin, written by Trey Ellis, and based on the short story "The Space Traders" by Derrick Bell. The second, "The First Commandment", was written and directed by Warrington Hudlin. The third, "Tang", was directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan, written by Kyle Baker, and based on the short story "Tang" by Chester Himes.[3] The film's ensemble cast includes Robert Guillaume, Jason Bernard, Edward Edwards, Larry Anderson, Nicholas Turturro, Richard Herd, Paula Jai Parker, and Chi McBride.

Cast

"Space Traders"

"The First Commandment"

"Tang"

Release

Cosmic Slop premiered on HBO at 10:00 pm Eastern Standard Time on November 8, 1994.[2]

Reception

Ken Parish Perkins of the Chicago Tribune likened Cosmic Slop to "a multicultural Twilight Zone filled with political and racial angst," calling it "offbeat, humorous and disturbingly effective."[4] Perkins concluded that "the Hudlin brothers have created a politically charged anthology that doesn't flinch or apologize for its views. This could ultimately prove unsettling, even to the usually risk-taking executives at HBO."[4] Mike Duffy of the Detroit Free Press wrote that Cosmic Slop "suffers erratic, hit-and-miss moments," save for the "Tang" segment; Duffy wrote that "Tang" "echoes the provocative intelligence of the original Twilight Zone", and praised the performances of Baker and McBride.[2]

References

  1. ^ Moon, Spencer (1997). Reel Black Talk: A Sourcebook of 50 American Filmmakers. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 168. ISBN 978-0313298301.
  2. ^ a b c Duffy, Mike (November 8, 1994). "HBO's 'Cosmic Slop' is pleasantly weird". Detroit Free Press. Detroit, Michigan. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  3. ^ Berry, S. Torriano; Berry, Venise T. (2015). Historical Dictionary of African American Cinema. Historical Dictionaries of Literature and the Arts. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 223. ISBN 978-1442247017.
  4. ^ a b Perkins, Ken Parish (November 7, 1994). "Red flag issues: 'Cosmic Slop' rushes in where TV often fears to tread". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. Retrieved July 26, 2022.