Second Season Features Guests Including Marilyn Manson, Ben Stiller, William Shatner, John Waters and Musical Performances by Peaches, The Stooges,
Ryan Adams and The Mars Volta
Season Kicks Off With IFC Special Event
Henry Rollins: Uncut From Israel
New York, NY, March 19, 2007 – Independent Film Channel (IFC) is set to launch the second season of its cutting edge series, The Henry Rollins Show. This season marks an eclectic line-up of guests ranging from William Shatner to Marilyn Manson, and provides viewers with a unique environment for electrifying musical performances ranging from The Stooges to Peaches television debut. In addition, the new season kicks off with the television event, Henry Rollins: Uncut From Israel on Friday, April 13 at 9:30pm ET. This 90-minute special was taped during Rollins' recent trip to Israel where he performed two nights in Tel Aviv. The Henry Rollins Show airs at 11:00pm ET immediately following the special.
Henry Rollins: Uncut From Israel weaves Rollins' latest spoken word show in Tel Aviv with documentary footage chronicling his tour around often politically infused locations in Jerusalem including The Wailing Wall, Church of the Holy Sepulcher and The West Bank Security Wall. In this special, Rollins returns to Israel for the first time in ten years with relevant commentary on pop culture, world events and the resilience of the Israeli people. The documentary footage includes candid conversations with world-renowned photojournalist and Israeli native Ziv Korren, who leads Rollins on a personal tour throughout Israel. A member of the USO, Rollins has traveled to Afghanistan, South Korea, Iraq, Kuwait, Honduras, Djibouti, Turkey, Egypt, Qatar and other locations to entertain and meet US troops, as well as gain an up-close understanding of these regions rife with conflict.
The Henry Rollins Show takes a straightforward approach to late-night talk. With one guest and one musical performance per week, Rollins engages guests such as Ben Stiller and John Waters in raw discussions on politics, world affairs, religion and pop culture. New this season, writer, actress and comedian Janeane Garofalo offers special commentary from her New York City apartment in a segment called The Disquisition.
At "The Bombshelter" recording studio, the Los Angeles based studio where Rollins' musical performances tape, artists such as Ryan Adams and The Mars Volta are given the freedom to perform outside of the restrictions of the usual three-minute time slot that is common on most late night shows. Each artist will perform two songs: one for the episode and one to be featured on IFC.com one week prior to the artist's appearance.
"We work in a completely uncensored environment, without the constraints of conventional network programming. Hopefully, this allows for candor and spontaneity from our guests and perhaps makes our show somewhat different than the usual talk show. I don't spend much time in front of a television. I try to make a show that I would watch," says Rollins.
Andrew Johnston of Time Out New York calls last season of The Henry Rollins Show, "refreshing…invigorating…thoughtful…" Tim Goodman from the San Francisco Chronicle offers: "Rollins puts some grit into the normally soft interview/entertainment genre." Meanwhile, TV Guide's "The Hot List" says of Rollins: "Rocker. Poet. Pundit? The coolest talk show on the planet returns."
Other projects for Rollins this year include performances with Janeane Garofalo and Marc Maron for six nights at New York's Gramercy Theatre April 10-15, and six nights at the Silent Movie Theatre in Los Angeles April 24-29. "It's Not A Play and There's No Music" offers a triples-threat combination of uncompromising attitude, sharp commentary, engaging and provocative observations, and mystical ruminations.
Always outspoken and never dull, Rollins accepts dozens of speaking engagements each year and is known for bringing a raw energy to his talks and has won a Grammy Award for best spoken word record. A constant fixture on the Indie film scene, Rollins hosts a weekly radio show "Harmony In My Head" on Indie 103.1 FM in Los Angeles. Most recently, Rollins appeared in 2006's Lies and Alibis with Steve Coogan and Rebecca Romijn and has a lead role in the Project Greenlight feature Feast. Meanwhile, the DVD from Henry's 2004 tour 'Shock and Awe' and his latest written works, Roomanitarian and Fanatic! were released on the 2-13-61 imprint, a publishing company owned by Rollins which releases books, CDs and DVDs. In 2006, Rollins' spoken word tour '25 Years of Bullshit' made its way through the U.S. and Europe.
The Henry Rollins Show is created and executive produced by Swift River Productions, a Los Angeles based film and television production company. Richard Bishop, Rollins' manager, is also a producer. Swift River's principles are Paul J. Morra, Kevin Morra and Rhett Bachner. Their credits include producer roles on Project Greenlight, The Mole, Bands on the Run and MTV's Posse. Additionally, this Emmy-nominated team has worked on features such as Titanic, Bowfinger, Six Days and Seven Nights and The Peacemaker.
About IFC Television:
The Independent Film Channel (IFC) is the first and most widely distributed network dedicated to independent film 24 hours a day, uncut, uncensored and commercial-free.
The network is part of IFC Companies – the only brand to operate in every area of independent film to include television, production, financing, distribution, digital, on-demand and exhibition. IFC Companies uses its unique cross-platform to broaden the audience of independent film and to provide independent filmmakers with a strong voice. IFC Companies is a division of Rainbow Media Holdings, LLC.
IFC'S Executive Producers:
Christine Lubrano, Debbie DeMontreux and Evan Shapiro are executive producers for IFC.