Pras Michel, former member of legendary Hip Hop group, The Fugees, Indie Rights, Inc. and Eventful, Inc., announced today that fans across the country will use Eventful's Demand service to decide which cities will receive a screening and special appearance by Pras of the powerful documentary, Skid Row, produced by and starring Pras. In this astonishing film, Pras exchanged the comforts of his posh digs for an earthier experience on the streets of Los Angeles in hopes of exposing one of the most forgotten problems in America -- homelessness.
To further create awareness of the issue-based documentary, the hip hop artist will use Eventful Demand to let thousands of movie-goers determine which five cities will receive a special appearance where he will speak about his experience filming Skid Row. In his documentary, Pras takes a look at this crisis in Los Angeles' five-block radius of 'Skid Row,' by experiencing it firsthand. "I panhandled and slept on the sidewalk," said Pras. "I had to keep warm with what I had."
Launched on January 24, 2008, the Demand competition will continue through 2:00 p.m. PST, March 25, 2008, at Eventful. The winning cities will be announced on March 26.
"You'll be shocked, as I was to see what's going on in L.A. and in all our major cities. I hope it gets you to talk about it and even better, help do something about it," Pras Michel said, encouraging fans to Demand the screening on Eventful. "It's changed my life and I hope it changes yours. It's easy to ignore someone else's problems; to turn your head the other way, but we have brothers and sisters who have fought for our freedom that aren't being taken care of, children with no place to lay their head but the concrete."
Along with MySpace, YouTube and iTunes, Eventful is quickly becoming an essential part of the online marketing toolkit for performers and entertainment properties. Eventful is transforming the way that shows get routed by empowering fans to influence where they take place and by enabling performers to make the best decisions about where to book shows.
"We are excited to help movie-goers put their city on the screening schedule for such an impactful documentary," said Jordan Glazier, CEO of Eventful. "We are delighted that Pras Michel is using Eventful Demand to give his fans a voice, allowing them to share his crusade to build awareness around a very real problem: homelessness in America."
Fans can log on to http://www.eventful.com/pras, http://www.myspace.com/prasmichel and http://www.skidrowthemovie.com to join the competition and 'Demand' a screening of Skid Row in their city.
About Eventful, Inc.
San Diego based Eventful, Inc., operates Eventful.com, the leading events Web site, which enables its community of users to discover, promote, share and create events throughout the world. Eventful users select from more than 4 million events taking place in local markets throughout the world, from concerts and sports to singles events and political rallies. Eventful's Demand service enables users to influence where their favorite performers appear by creating grass-roots campaigns to "Demand" them in their town. Visit Eventful at http://www.eventful.com
About Pras Michel
Prakazrel Samuel Michel, known as Pras, is a Grammy Award-winning Haitian-born American rapper, actor, producer and member of the superstar Hip Hop trio The Fugees, considered one of the most influential groups of the 1990s for their album The Score. Pras has also forged a successful solo career, beginning with the international hit single from his first solo LP, "Ghetto Superstar" [That Is What You Are," featuring Mya and Ol' Dirty Bastard. In June 2008, Pras will release an album under the Sony/BMG label, titled "Experience." He will also be featured on the upcoming Swami album, Equalize. The experience of living on the street inspired Pras to launch prAsperity project in May 2007. prAsperity is a non-profit organization that jump-starts awareness and solutions for intractable problems affecting the human condition. The organization takes on humanity "projects" as distinct crusades that need attention, working on behalf of established community groups to inject energy and progess towards issues ranging from homelessness to social injustice.
About Skid Row
Skid Row is a 50 square block area in downtown Los Angeles where an average of 100,000 homeless and transient people live on any given night. In the feature documentary SKID ROW, Pras Michel -- one-third of the successful hip-hop group The Fugees -- lives on the streets of Skid Row for 9 straight days and nights as a homeless person. The entire time he and the filmmakers are undercover, using surveillance cameras in an area where cameras present a threat to anonymity. His goal: to find out what it really means to be homeless, and to put a human face on an issue that has plagued our country for generations. His journey is riddled with hunger, exposure to the elements, criminals, drugs and danger. Pras learns not only how to fend for himself, but discovers the dangerous, very human and, at times, humorous underbelly of Los Angeles. Produced by: Teryn Fogel, Rob Wisdom and, Pras Michel; Directed by: Niva Dorell, Marshall Tyler, and Ross Clarke.
About Indie Rights
Nelson Madison Films is an independent studio founded by Linda Nelson and Michael Madison. Their passion is producing economical, independent features that utilize innovative, high-tech production techniques. In addition to developing projects in-house, they have a subsidiary, Indie Rights that offers distribution services for indie filmmakers utilizing new digital platforms and technology partners.