Status: Development Status Unknown as of July 17, 2014 Release Date: TBA Genre: Drama/Biography Rating: Not Available Studio:Not Available Director: Not Available Cast: Nick Cannon (‘Freeway’ Rick Ross) Story: The story of ‘Freeway’ Rick Ross, a notorious drug dealer during the 1980s, who at the height of his game, distributed 100 kilograms of cocaine across the country on a daily basis. Ross claims that he was supplied by the Contras who were fighting the Nicaraguan government at the time and were funded by officials in Ronald Reagan’s administration.
Details: According to The Hollywood Reporter in March 2013, Nick Cannon will portray former drug kingpin ‘Freeway’ Rick Ross in an upcoming film. Cannon appeared alongside Ross in a YouTube video posted to Ross’ Facebook page to announce the biopic. Director and screenwriter Nick Cassavetes is set to pen the script, according to the post.
The brief video offers little other information regarding the planned film, but does note in a caption that the script will be penned by the writer of Blow, and includes the following description: “This is more than a movie it’s a movement. This is the story of the real Scarface.” Source(s): The Hollywood Reporter, Shadow and Act, IMDB.
Status: Development Status Unknown as of 7/3/14 Release Date: TBA Genre:Drama/Biography Rating: Not Available Studio:Scott Rudin Productions/Veritas Films Director: Paul Greengrass Cast: Forest Whitaker (Martin Luther King, Jr.)
Story: The script depicts Dr. King’s final days as he struggled to organize a protest march on behalf of striking black municipal sanitation workers in Memphis, TN, where he was slain. That storyline is juxtaposed with an intense manhunt for King’s assassin, James Earl Ray, involving some of the federal authorities who, at Hoover’s direction, had dogged King’s every step with wiretaps and whispering campaigns before the civil rights leader’s death.
Details: Universal Pictures backed out of director Paul Greengrass’s would-be project in April 2012, after reportedly getting cold feet about the MLK estate’s issues with the allegations of infidelity in the screenplay. Then Greengrass turned his attention to CaptainPhillips, his Somali pirates picture and the project was essentially abandoned. Now it is back on again with producer Scott Rudin in tow, but just not right away.
In May 2013, The Wrap revealed that Oscar winner Forest Whitaker may be adding another prestige project to his plate, as he’s in talks to play Martin Luther King, Jr. in writer-director Paul Greengrass’ drama Memphis.” However, Greengrass, in an interview reported by Deadline in January 2014, promised that he will make the film, he just wants to do something else beforehand as he takes his time to find the right actor to play the Civil Rights leader. Source(s): Deadline, IMDB.
Check back for further details on Memphis as this story develops. See also Selma.
Status: Development Status Unknown Release Date: TBA Genre: Biography Rating: Not Available Studio: Not Available Director: Not Available Cast: Denzel Washington (Thelonius Monk, rumored)
Story: A rumored biopic based on the life of jazz great Thelonious Monk.
Details: On February 13, 2012, The Playlist reported, in an interview with The Observer, [Denzel] Washington reveals he has ambitions to play jazz legend Thelonious Monk, has a script in place, and says that “I’m talking about it more, so maybe I’m talking myself into it.” Monk, was the pianist and composer behind standards like “Round Midnight” and “Straight No Chaser,” whose inventive, idiosyncratic style helped to make him the second most recorded jazz artist in history. This isn’t the first time that Washington’s been linked to the role; back in 2007, El Cantante director Leon Ichaso told MTV that he wanted Washington or Wesley Snipes to play the musician in a biopic, but it’s unclear whether Ichaso is still involved, or if the actor is considering making this his third directorial effort, following Antwone Fisher and The Great Debaters.
Playlist goes on to say, given Washington’s age, the film might focus on the later stages of Monk’s life when he was plagued with mental health issues. Source: The Playlist.
Status: Development Status Unknown as of July 1, 2014 Release Date: TBA Genre: Drama/Biography Rating:Unknown Studio: Landscape Entertainment Director: TBA Cast: Terrence Howard, Topher Grace Story: A dedicated young lawyer becomes the only white member of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and fights side by side with Thurgood Marshall in the courts to destroy segregation. The landmark 1954 Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education helped to end segregation in schools.
Details: Based on the Jack Greenberg’s “Crusaders in the Courts.” (Source: Movie Insider.com).
Release Date: (2015) Genre: Drama/Biography Rating: R Running Time: 100 mins. Studio: Bifrost Pictures, Crescendo Productions, Naked City Films Director: Don Cheadle Cast: Don Cheadle (Miles Davis), Ewan McGregor (Dave Brill), Emayatzy Corinealdi (Frances Taylor), Keith Stanfield (Junior), Michael Stuhlbarg (Harper), Lakeith Lee Stanfield.
Story: A remarkable portrait of Davis, refracted through his crazy days in the late-70s. Holed up in his Manhattan apartment, wracked with pain from a variety of ailments and fiending for the next check from his record company, dodging sycophants and industry executives, he is haunted by memories of old glories and humiliations and of his years with his great love Frances Taylor (Emayatzy Corinealdi). Source: Blackfilm.
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Update: On 7/26/15 The L. A. Times reported that Don Cheadle’s Miles Davis tale Miles Ahead will make its world premiere at The 53rd New York Film Festival’s closing night on Oct. 11. Cheadle directed the film, his first such effort, and also co-wrote the script and stars as its lead character.
The film does not yet have U.S. distribution, a break from recent tradition in which NYFF world premieres are studio award hopefuls for the current season. In fact, the film was partly financed by an IndieGogo campaign. In making his case for contributions, Cheadle explained his motivations and approach.
“I’ve taken my marching orders from Miles’ mandates (“Play what’s not there.” “Fear no mistakes. There are none.”) and focused in on a very specific point in his life to explore his relationship with his muse, his voice, his fears and challenges to come out of his silent period and return to the music. “
Emayatzy Corinealdi stars as longtime love interest Frances Taylor and Ewan McGregor as a man who finagled his way into Davis’ apartment. Source: L.A. Times.
Update 7/20/14: In an Entertainment Weekly 7/7/14 exclusive of the actor in character, Cheadle gave fans a first look at his interpretation of the icon during the period leading up to his 1969 jazz-rock fusion recording In a Silent Way.
From June 3, 2014 to July 10, 2014 Cheadle’s Indiegogo campaign surpassed it’s goal of $325,000, raising $343,496. Photo Source: Entertainment Weekly; Source(s): Entertainment Weekly, Indiegogo.com.
Update 7/6/14: Don Cheadle has initiated an Indiegogo campaign to raise $325,000 towards the overall budget of $10 million for his long in development Miles Davis project titled Miles Ahead. As of July 6th, the campaign, which started June 3rd and will close July 10th, has raised $214,661 which will contribute to principal photography when the film goes into production later this summer. On Indiegogo’s official site, Cheadle states:
“Music has always been one of my passions. Since 6th grade, when I started listening to my parents’ Miles Davis records, his artistry has been an inspiration to me; he was someone who only ever followed a path as a runway to create a new one.
Surprisingly, Miles’ life, his passion, his creativity, his fire have never been brought to life in a film and the fact that his family has chosen me to do this now is an honor. I want to tell a story that Miles himself would have wanted to see, something hip, cool, alive and AHEAD. I’ve taken my marching orders from Miles’ mandates (“Play what’s not there.” “Fear no mistakes. There are none.”) and focused in on a very specific point in his life to explore his relationship with his muse, his voice, his fears and challenges to come out of his silent period and return to the music. I’m hopefully making a movie that tells a story many people can relate to, jazz fan or not.
MILES AHEAD is not just about the music. It’s about what we all face at one time or another in our lives; questions about who we really are, what we have to say and how will we say it. How will we ultimately be defined and who gets to say so?”
Cheadle will direct and is producing the film through his Crescendo Productions banner, along with Bifrost’s Daniel Wagner, and Robert Ogden Barnum. Also producing are Darryl Porter and Vince Wilburn on behalf of the Davis estate, Lenore Zerman and Pam Hirsch. It was previously reported that Zoe Saldana was to play the musician’s ex-wife, Frances Taylor, but due to a scheduling conflict she has since been replaced by Emayatzy Corinealdi. (Sources: Indiegogo, Shadow and Act, Cincinnati.com; Photo Source: Indiegogo.com).
Release Date: 2016 Studio(s): Ealing Studios, Londinium Films, RLJ Entertainment Director: Cynthia Mort Genre: Drama/Biography Cast: Zoe Saldana (Nina Simone), David Oyelowo (Clifton Henderson), Mike Epps (Richard Pryor), Alexa Davalos (Olivia), Ella Thomas (Lorraine Hansberry), Ella Joyce (Clifton’s Mom)
Story: She was one of the century’s most extraordinary talents, a 15-time Grammy nominee and Grammy Hall of Fame Recipient; her mesmerizing songs and passionate politics combined to make her the unforgettable Nina Simone (Zoe Saldana). But fame and fortune came with a price, and her later years were riddled with depression, alcohol abuse and isolation. Rediscovering the meaning of her life and work took courage, strength and one true friend: Clifton Henderson (David Oyelowo), the man who started out as her assistant and eventually became her loyal manager. With Clifton’s encouragement, the “high priestess of soul” began a courageous journey back to her music … and, eventually, herself. Source: Shadow and Act.
Simone, who died in 2003, was a singer, songwriter and civil rights activist who performed in a wide range of styles including classical, jazz, blues, gospel and pop. She was a 15-time Grammy nominee and received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 2000. The story follows Simone’s struggle to balance music, family and what she believes in, which leaves her living alone in France feeling exiled from her own country until she meets Clifton Henderson (David Oyelowo), who helps her rediscover meaning in her life and music, and to once again embrace America. Source/Photo Source: Variety.
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Update 9/11/15:Variety reported on 9/10/15 that RLJ Entertainment has acquired all North American rights to Nina, starring Zoe Saldana as American singer-songwriter Nina Simone. RLJ announced the deal Thursday at the start of the Toronto Film Festival, and plans a December release.
Update 6/11/15: On 5/26/15 Shadow and Act stated that it looks like Nina Simone biopic starring Zoe Saldana is going to see the light of day, as Ben Latham-Jones of the UK’s Ealing Studios (the company behind the film) revealed in an interview with The Hollywood ReporterNina will be released by eOne and Universal worldwide later this year. Shadow and Act goes on to report that last year, the project was taken to the Cannes Film Market (Marche du Film), where it was screened for potential international distributors, and where eOne and Universal apparently picked up rights. Source: Shadow and Act.
Update 9/1/14: The long-planned market screening of the biopic about legendary jazz singer Nina Simone starring Zoe Saldana went ahead on May 15th despite a lawsuit filed by director Cynthia Mort claiming its British production company hijacked the film.
Mort, a well-known TV writer, making her feature directorial debut, alleges producer Ealing Studios Enterprises, breached the terms of the director deal by cutting her out of the final editing process. According to the Complaint filed May 14th in Los Angeles, Mort had rights over the developing picture and “got approval over the final shooting script, the cast and crew, the line producer, the designer and all department heads as well as consulting rights on advertising, distribution, shooting schedule and budget.” However, as the suit further states, “throughout the course of the film’s production and post-production, defendants consistently acted to frustrate Mort’s involvement in the film, thereby breaching the Director Agreement. These breaches by the Defendants include, but are not limited to: taking complete control of editing the Film in June 2013 and failing to consult with Mort about subsequent cuts and changes; abandoning Mort’s previous cuts of the Film; failing to disclose the Film’s financials, finishing budget, and financing deals; and failing to keep Mort informed of other crucial creative and budgetary developments and decisions throughout production and post-production of the Film.”
Mort says the film doesn’t reflect her vision of Simone as a woman, musician and civil rights activist. She is seeking monetary damages, as well as “a declaration that the defendants can’t make decisions without her meaningful approval and consultation.”
The film first came under fire when it was announced that Saldana would be playing the title role (Shadow and Act reported that Mary J. Blige was initially attached to star in the film, but was eventually replaced by Saldana who brought more international box office gravitas to the production). Many Simone fans voiced their disappointment in the choice, citing racial differences, departure in appearance between Simone and Saldana and the fact that Saldana’s voice would not be up to par. Adding to the casting controversy, is the release of a recent photo of Saldana as Simone, which shows the actress with her skin darkened, a prosthetic nose and even possibly what looks like fake teeth to push her lips out and make them bigger. The “makeover” is being compared by some to the offensive tradition of blackface in which white performers donned theatrical makeup to portray blacks.
Another point of contention is the story. According to Shadow and Act, the film’s official synopsis reads:
A rare and poignant love story about a tormented genius who eventually finds love and peace. The story of the late jazz musician and classical pianist Nina Simone including her rise to fame and relationship with her manager Clifton Henderson.
But as reported in The Daily Mail, Simone’s daughter, Lisa stated:
“They did not ask me or the Nina Simone estate to participate in the film at all. It is based on a lie because it is based on the life of my mother’s assistant, Clifton Henderson. Clifton was gay so he could not have had an affair with my mother, which is what the film implies.
Zoe Saldana portraying her is a bad joke because there are more gifted actresses who are more in keeping with my mother’s appearance. I know how my mother would feel about Zoe, so they are making a mockery of her experiences to construct their own truth.”
In spite of all the controversy and the filing of the lawsuit, it was business as usual as far as the production company was concerned and the film was screened to buyers at the Cannes Film Festival. Buyers polled by The Hollywood Reporter after the screening said they liked the film they saw. Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, Essence.com, Shadow and Act, The Grapevine, SheKnows, Daily Mail.
Details: According to Black Actors, photos of The Avatar actress on set, show her sporting dark make-up and an afro wig. Saldana received backlash after she was cast to play the titular role for “not being dark enough.” (Source(s): Black Actors; Movie Insider).
Black Cinema Connection 