Release Date: 10/21/16 (In Theaters) Genre: Comedy Rating:NR Running Time: Unknown Director: Tyler Perry Studio: The Tyler Perry Company, Lionsgate. Cast: Tyler Perry (Madea/Joe/Brian), Bella Thorne (Rain), Jimmy Tatro (Sean), Diamond White (Tiffany), Yousef Yousef Erakat (Jonathan), Cassi Davis (Aunt Bam), Andre Hall (Quinton).
Story: Tyler Perry will write, produce, direct and star in Boo! A Madea Halloween. The film originated from Perry and Chris Rock including a fictitious Madea Halloween movie in Rock’s 2014 film Top Five. Lionsgate then approached Perry and suggested that they actually make the movie which will be the ninth Madea film since the release of the first – Diary of a Mad Black Woman – back in 2005. This time Madea spends Halloween fending off killers, paranormal poltergeists, ghosts, ghouls and zombies while keeping a watchful eye on a group of misbehaving teens. Source: Variety.
Release Date: 1/6/17 (In Theaters) Genre: Drama Rating: NR Running Time:Unknown Director: Theodore Melfi Studio: 20th Century Fox Cast: Taraji P. Henson (Katherine Johnson), Octavia Spencer (Dorothy Vaughn), Janelle Monae (Mary Jackson), Kevin Costner (Al Harrison), Kirsten Dunst (Vivian Michael), Jim Parsons (Paul Stafford), Mahershala (Jim Johnson),
Aldis Hodge Aldis Hodge (Levi Jackson)
Details:the incredible untold story of Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughn (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe) — brilliant African-American women working at NASA, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, a stunning achievement that restored the nation’s confidence, turned around the Space Race, and galvanized the world. The visionary trio crossed all gender and race lines to inspire generations to dream big. Source: 20th Century Fox, official site.
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Update 8/15/16: Today People reported that the film tells the true story of Katherine Johnson, the African-American physicist and mathematician who calculated the trajectory for Project Mercury and later Apollo 11’s 1969 flight to the moon.
In the trailer, Johnson, along with her colleagues Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, work to discover the calculations that helped the first American astronaut make a complete orbit around the Earth. Henson takes on the role of Johnson while Octavia Spencer and Monáe star as Vaughan and Jackson, respectively.
The clip gives the first look at Henson, Spencer and Monáe as the three legendary women who overcame adversity and discrimination to ultimately change the course of history and win the Space Race for NASA. Source: People.com.
Update: 3/7/16:The Wrap reports that pop star Janelle Monae has landed the third lead alongside Taraji P. Henson and Octavia Spencer in the Fox 2000 drama Hidden Figures. The story follows three African-American women who served as the brains behind NASA’s Friendship 7 mission, which saw astronaut John Glenn become the first American to orbit the Earth in February 1962. Henson will play Katherine Johnson, Spencer will play Dorothy Vaughan and Monae will play the youngest member of the trio, Mary Jackson. Kevin Costner will co-star as the head of the space program. Source: The Wrap.
Story:The project follows Katherine Johnson, a brilliant African-American mathematician who, along with her colleagues Dorothy Vaughn and Mary Jackson, served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in U.S. history — the momentous launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, and his safe return. The script is based on Margot Lee Shetterly’s upcoming book Hidden Figures: The African American Women Mathematicians Who Helped Nasa and the United States Win the Space Race. Source: Flickering Myth. Photo Sources: More; Wikipedia.
Release Date: 2/12/16 (In Theaters); 3/29/16 (DVD); 2014 Genre: Drama Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 97 mins. Studio(s): Monterey Video; Una Vida Productions Director: Richie Adams
Cast: Joaquim de Almeida (Dr. Alvaro Cruz), Aunjanue Ellis (Una Vida), Bill Cobbs (Stompleg), Ruth Negga (Jessica), Sharon Lawrence (Angela Cruz), Andre Royo (Kenny).
Story: A story about a beautiful street musician suffering from memory loss and a disheartened neuroscientist intent on helping her, bringing together the city of New Orleans and the jazz that made it famous. Sources: IMDB; Shadow & Act.
Release Date: 4/29/16; In theaters Genre:Comedy Rating: Unknown Running Time: Unknown
Studio: Warner Bros., New Line Cinema Director: Peter Atencio Cast: Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Luis Guzmán, Will Forte, Nia Long, Method Man Story: Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele star as Clarence and Rell, two cousins who live in the city but are far from streetwise. When Rell’s beloved kitten, Keanu, is catnapped, the hopelessly straight-laced pair must impersonate ruthless killers in order to infiltrate a street gang and retrieve the purloined feline. But the incredibly adorable kitten becomes so coveted that the fight over his custody creates a gang war, forcing our two unwitting heroes to take the law into their own hands. Source: JoBlo.
Release Date: 3/11/16 (In Theaters) Genre: Romantic Comedy Rating: Unknown Running Time: Unknown Studio(s): Jorva Entertainment Productions, Lionsgate, Codeblack Films, Flavor Unit Entertainment Director: Bille Woodruff
Cast:Terrence Jenkins (Charlie), Paula Patton (Sherry), Kali Hawk (Karen), Lauren London (Ginger), Brandy Norwood (Avatia), Cassie Ventura (Eva), Donald Faison (Rick), Robert Christopher Riley (Victor), Dascha Polanco (Pressie).
Story: Charlie (Terrence Jenkins) is a playboy who’s convinced that relationships are dead even though his sister (Paula Patton), a therapist, tries to tell him otherwise. His best friends bet him that if he sticks to one woman for one month, he’s bound to fall in love. Charlie takes the bet because he believes that he’s immune to love… until he crosses paths with the beautiful and mysterious Eva (Cassie Ventura). Turning on his irresistible charm, Charlie coaxes Eva into a casual affair but soon finds out that Eva has turned the tables on him. Now Charlie is questioning whether he may actually want more than just a one-night stand. Source(s): Flickeringmyth.
Release Date: 3/11/16 (In Theaters; Limited) Genre: Drama Rating: NR Running Time: Unknown Studio(s): Codeblack Films, Lionsgate, Spoken Productions. Director: RZA
Cast: Common (Coltrane), Azealia Banks (Coco), John David Washington (Mahlik), Hana Mae Lee (Julie), Lorraine Toussaint (Nichelle), Jill Scott (Professor Dixon).
Story: Coco (Azealia Banks) dreams of pursuing a hip-hop career, but is persuaded by her parents to finish college. In a poetry class, she is transfixed by “the power of the spoken word,” developing a verbal strength that ends up propelling her toward her rap goals.
The Hollywood Reporter notes that Scott will play a “a professor who believes that rapping and slam poetry cannot co-exist;” Toussaint will reportedly play Coco’s mother, and Common will appear as a “mentor figure.”
Source: Rolling Stone; Photo Source: Billboard/Christie Goodwin/Redferns via Getty Images.
Release Date: 10/21/16 (In Theaters)
Black Cinema Connection 