DPA's Anthony Papa on HBO's OZ with Tom Fontana
3,156 views 14 years ago
Artist , author and activist Anthony Papa manager of media relations for the Drug Policy Alliance who wrote This Side of Freedom: Life after Clemency & 15 to Life (www.15tolife.com) which is about his 12 years in a maximum security prison ( Sing Sing) appears in this clip with Tom Fontana the creator of HBO's Oz . Oz was a dramatic TV series that chronicled life in prison. Papa appeared in the opening montage of Oz during its first season. Originally producers approached him with the idea to shoot the opening playing a prisoner painting in a cell who loses it and destroys his cell and picks up his painting punching his fist through it and the episode of Oz would begin. Papa was commissioned to paint a copy of his famous self portrait "15 to Life" which was exhibited at the Whitney Museum.. An 8 hour shoot was conducted but in the end it hit the cutting floor. The good news was that a segment of the shoot was retained and Papa was put in the opening montage of season one Actor Uma Thurman narrates this documentary about Victor Hugo's novel Les Miserables which was made through Walter Cronkite's (who supported DPA) "Great Books" Series.