BLUE HORIZON ENTERTAINMENT ("BHE")
MISSION STATEMENT
The Mission
BHE specializes in providing and creating quality alternative programming that will captivate audiences and expand the landscape of our network partner's viewership. BHE focuses on developing original urban gay programming ("UGPG"), a niche market that is growing exponentially. The mainstreaming of gay culture is evident across all genres of entertainment—movies ("Brokeback Mountain," "Notes On A Scandal" the forthcoming "Tipping the Red Velvet"), television ("Ellen", "Will & Grace," "The Wire," "Noah's Arc") and even literature (E. Lynn Harris, James Earl Hardy). The marketplace is poised to receive more dramatic, comedic and reality programming showcasing Gay and Lesbian characters in featured roles.
The Process
There is no "I" in TEAM. That's the mantra of CEO Shahid Manning when speaking of Blue Horizon Entertainment (BHE). Through BHE, he has created a unique production company that harnesses creative professionals (writers, producers, graphic artists, et al.) to form a company that focuses on creating and developing programming and video content (e.g. for Television, Cable and music video concepts). BHE's business concept bifurcates the creative development process allowing the professionals in each aspect of the process to focus on what they do best, with Shahid Manning overseeing the overall vision of the project as it takes shape.
The Vision
The structure of BHE allows the company to focus on providing network and other creative professionals with original content and ideas. For programming networks and producers, visual experts and various artists, BHE develops original concepts, through galvanizing an active and cohesive team of experts, who, while working diligently in their various fields, are brought together to create a virtual uber-team of creative input and execution, for everything from programming to photography, concepts to commercials, BHE has the resources to pull it together and pull it off!
Further broadening its creative base, BHE has recently developed music video concepts and stage production for a multi-talented Columbia Records recording artist for her upcoming world tour and music videos. In this exciting and rapidly changing new world of popular television programs and constant flow of music, BHE is committed to and confident in becoming one of the key creative forces in the television music video arenas. BHE also plans on expanding to create original music and scores for television and recording artists. To date, BHE has been in contact with such artists as Jerome Benton and various other music producers to expand the creative team of BHE and its vision.
The Summary
With stars like Taye Diggs and Jesse L. Martin (RENT), Alicia Keys (SMOKIN' ACES), Anthony Mackie (BROTHER 2 BROTHER), Queen Latifah (SET IT OFF), Nia Long (IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK), Keith Hamilton Cobb and Victoria Rowell (NOAH'S ARC), Rockmond Dunbar (PUNKS), and (yes) Isaiah Washington (the Spike Lee masterpiece GET ON THE BUS), all taking on gay and lesbian roles that have proven pivotal points in their careers, this genre is open to all audiences who can appreciate quality programs, strong acting and good, solid stories. BHE realizes what any network that wants to increase viewership understands that by joining forces to bring to fruition quality urban gay programming audacious enough to appeal to this ever-increasing marketshare (e.g. $450 billion in disposal revenue per annum), increase audiences and result in advertising revenue to vast to ignore.