Shazmine: The Life of a Popstar

A web series pilot directed by Sunny Outlaw, written by Jazmine Cornielle and starring herself, Roxie Pell and Kohlman Thompson.

Filmed as a documentary, this short introduces Shazmine (Cornielle), a troubled young popular singer just out of rehab due to drug addiction, who is now planning a comeback by releasing a new album. Unfortunately, her time in rehabilitation does not seem to have done much good as she is still an addict. The crew follows her as she embarks on a series of outrageous outbursts, while her assistant, Noxie (Pell), desperately tries to prevent her from going off the rails.

The premise is a celebrity who is out of control and that celebrity is Shazmine, who is pretty much the heart and soul of this pilot, with her wild behaviour, doing drugs, swearing, shouting, generally acting like an utterly obnoxious person. And yes, she does do some singing in the recording studio, where she insults the producer (Wilder Troxell). The only person who appears to be a challenge to her is DJ Pop Rock (Thompson), another pop singer.

As the writer of this show, Cornielle creates Shazmine, a character who is unrepentant for her disrespectful actions (actually, she does not seem to have respect for anyone). She is a substance addict, a troubled individual and a narcissist. DJ Pop Rock is depicted as being her nemesis, a cheerful youngster who enjoys teasing people. As for poor Noxie, she is the unfortunate assistant who is constantly mistreated by Shazmine and probably puts up with her for the money.

This pilot is giving the impression that this series is going to be focused on themes involving fame, narcissism, drug addiction and the world of the music industry, while also dealing with self-reflection and having a passion.

This is an intriguing pilot and those who enjoy rude humour and have an interest in the world of celebrities are the ones who are most likely to be the key audience of this series. It would be interesting to find out how things are going to turn out for Shazmine.