Release Date: 4/7/17 In Theaters (2016) Genre: Drama/Thriller/Sci-Fi Rating: NR Running Time: 90 mins. Studio: Diablo Entertainment Director: J. D. Dillard
Cast: Jacob Latimore (Bo), Dulé Hill (Angelo), Seychelle Gabriel (Holly), Storm Reid (Tina), Sasheer Zamata (Georgi), Cameron Esposito (Luna).
Story: A young street magician (Jacob Latimore) is left to care for his little sister after their parents’ passing and turns to illegal activities to keep a roof over their heads. When he gets in too deep, his sister is kidnapped and he is forced to use his magic and brilliant mind to save her. Source: MPRM Communications.
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Update: On 1/29/16, Shadow and Act reported that WWE Studios and Blumhouse Productions announced that they have acquired all worldwide rights to the Sundance Film Festival 2016 selection, Sleight, directed by JD Dillard.
The dramatic thriller is directed by JD Dillard and blends science fiction and street magic in a tale set in Los Angeles. Dillard wrote Sleight with Alex Theurer, and it stars Jacob Latimore, Dulé Hill and Seychelle Gabriel. Eric B.Fleischman produced with Sean Tabibian and Alex Theurer. Blumhouse’s BH Tilt, run by John Hegeman, will oversee the release and marketing and WWE Studios prexy Michael Luisi plans to use the brand’s might to create awareness on Monday Night Raw, Smackdown and its various social media outlets to try to give it a bit of a zeitgeist vibe. CAA sold it. Source(s): Shadow and Act; Deadline.
Release Date: 11/18/2015 Genre: Drama Rating: NR Running Time: 109 mins. Studio(s): Supremacy Films Director:Brandon Thaxton
Cast:Rockmond Dunbar (James), Lynn Whitfield (Dr. Layne), E. Roger Mitchell (Coach Patterson), Charmin Lee (Dehra), Neko Parham (Mr. Lodholdt).
Story:Curve Ball is the coming of age story of a boy name Nolan as he faces several challenges in his life which he must learn to conquer without the help of his mother or counselor. Source: supremacyfilms.com; IMDB.
Release Date: 12/4/15 Genre: Drama Rating: Unknown Running Time: Unknown Studio(s):40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, Amazon Studios Director: Spike Lee Cast:Nick Cannon (Chi-Raq), Teyonah Parris (Lysistrata), Anya Engel-Adams (Rasheeda), Wesley Snipes (Cyclops), Angela Bassett (Miss Helen), Michelle Mitchenor (Indigo), Ebony Joy (Marcy), Felicia Pearson (Dania), Samuel L. Jackson (Dolmedes), La La Anthony (Hecuba), Val Warner (Electra Johnson), Jennifer Hudson (Irene), John Cusack (Fr. Mike Corridan), D.B. Sweeney (Mayor McCloud), Steve Harris (Ole Duke).
Story: According to Shadow and Act ,Teyonah Parris is playing the central character, in a story set against the backdrop of Chicago’s gun violence, and said to be a modern spin on the Greek comedy “Lysistrata” – the women of Greece refused to have sex with their husbands, all in an effort to bring an end to the Peloponnesian War, via the signing of a peace treaty. In Spike’s film, the story will center on a woman’s quest to end gang warfare in Chicago, likely via similar methods as used by Lysistra. Possibly in consideration of an Awards season run (pre-screenings for the film have apparently impressed audiences so far) as an Oscar-qualifying run, Amazon Studios has set the release date for Spike Lee’s curious Chi-Raq, for December 4, in a theatrical release deal that involves both Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate.
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Details:Deadline reported on 10/29/15, that the film is inspired by the Greek comedy Lysistrata but it has a hot-button subject, and that is one of the reasons it will be released five weeks out. The film is set in Chicago’s South Side, and covers the subjects of gang violence and clashes with police, a subject that most certainly has been in the news.
In April Shadow and Act wrote that the film has caused something of a firestorm in Chicago, with many people publicity speaking out in the media against the film – especially against the title, which they say further perpetrates the image of Chicago as Dodge City in 1885; Shootouts and drive-bys with people being killed left and right every day, everywhere. Source(s): Deadline, Shadow and Act, IMDB.
Release Date: 10/7/16 (In Theaters) Genre: Biography/Historical/Drama Rating: R Studio(s): Bron Studios, Mandalay Pictures, Phantom Four, Tiny Giant Entertainment Running Time: 110 mins. Director: Nate Parker
Cast: Nate Parker (Nat Turner), Aunjanue Ellis (Nancy Turner), Armie Hammer (Samuel Turner), Colman Domingo (Hark), Aja Naomi King, Gabrielle Union, Jackie Earle Haley, Mark Boone Junior, Penelope Ann Miller (Elizabeth Turner), Roger Guenveur Smith (Isaiah), Dwight Henry (Isaac Turner), Chiké Okonkwo.
Story: According to Shadow and Act, the official synopsis reads: Set against the antebellum South, this story follows Nat Turner, a literate slave and preacher, whose financially strained owner, Samuel Turner, accepts an offer to use Nat’s preaching to subdue unruly slaves. After witnessing countless atrocities against fellow slaves, Nat devises a plan to lead his people to freedom. Photo Source: Shadow and Act.
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Update: According to Deadline, on 1/26/16, in a record-breaking deal for the Sundance Film Festival, Fox Searchlight is wrapping up a deal to pay around $17.5 million to acquire world rights for The Birth Of A Nation. Sony Pictures and The Weinstein Company bid in the mid-eight figures for Birth Of A Nation, and Netflix went all out and bid $20 million, sources said. Aside from the high bid among traditional theatrical distributors, Fox Searchlight is the company that guided 12 Years A Slave to an Academy Award for Best Picture in 2014. Many who saw the film feel that is a realistic goal for The Birth Of A Nation. Buyers were buzzing immediately after the premiere screening Monday (1/25/16) afternoon where Parker and his cast received a thunderous, sustained standing ovation for a movie that left attendees shaken, and some sobbing.
The Birth of a Nation won both the US dramatic audience award and the grand jury prize at the 32nd Sundance film festival awards. Source(s): Deadline, The Guardian.
Details: On 5/27/15, Variety reported that Jackie Earle Haley and Mark Boone Junior (Sons of Anarchy) will star in Nate Parker’s historical drama The Birth of a Nation, based on the story of the 1831 slave rebellion led by Nat Turner. The film was first announced in November with Armie Hammer and Parker starring, with Parker also producing and directing from his own script.
Prompted by religious visions, Turner and a band of about 70 rebel slaves killed between 55 and 65 people in Virginia — the most ever killed in a slave uprising. The rebellion was stopped after two days, but Turner survived in hiding for more than two months.
Haley will portray a slave patrol captain who takes pride in controlling the movements of the county’s slaves. Boone Jr. will play a crafty preacher. Aja Naomi King, Aunjanue Ellis, Colman Domingo, Dwight Henry, Roger Guenveur Smith and Gabrielle Union are also starring.
Variety also previously reported that the producers have opted to use the same title as the 1915 American silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith, which covered the Civil War and Reconstruction eras. The film was controversial due to its portrayal of black men as unintelligent and the Ku Klux Klan as heroes. Source: Variety.
Status: Pre-Production Release Date: TBA Genre: Biography/Historical/Drama Rating: Unknown Studio(s):TMG Entertainment Running Time: 120 mins. Director: Bill Duke
Cast: Blair Underwood (Nat Turner), Keith David (Nathanial), Eric Roberts (Captain Hunt), Mindy Robinson (Mary Barrows), Mike Epps (Nelson), Kym Whitley (Momma Bridgette), Lester Speight (Hark), Todd Bridges (Jack Waller), LisaRaye McCoy (Esther), Kendrick Lamar (Young Nat Turner).
Details: On 3/6/15, the Daily Film Forum reported Blair Underwood to star as Nat Turner. Robinson Squared announces Nat Turner | Story of a Prophet, set to star Blair Underwood as Nat Turner, Lester Speight as Hark, Keith David as Nathanial Turner and Kendrick Lamar as the young Nat Turner. Bridging generational gaps and historical divides to tell the true story of this man of God that has been perceived by many as a diabolical religious fanatic is written and produced by the award-winning filmmaker Kenya Cagle.
Cagle with his passion for filmmaking and creative literary mind has aligned forces with Bruce L. Turner, one of the descendants of the Nat Turner family to bring the amazing talents of Blair Underwood, Lester Speight, Keith David, Kendrick Lamar and a host of other Black Hollywood stars to feature in the new motion picture Nat Turner | Story of a Prophet based on the best-selling, top-rated screenplay novel written by award-winning filmmaker to highlight the facts that the textbooks seem to omit. This film is about the greatest slave insurrection in United States history and will be directed by Hollywood veteran director Bill Duke.
Nat Turner led an insurrection that changed the course of American History and African American pride. This is not only a story from historical court records and books on the subject matter, but actually features elements from oral family history that Cagle received while interviewing Turner’s descendants. Source(s): Daily Film Forum; IMDB. Book Cover: Official Facebook Page
Update: On 12/17/15 Shadow and Act announced that Lifetime’s next Original Movie, “Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart,” starring newcomer Lex Scott Davis (“The Exes”), will premiere on Saturday, January 23 at 8pm.
“Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart” follows the singer’s journey from her discovery by mega producers L.A. Reid and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, to her battle with Lupus. The movie also delves into how she made it through her public divorce all while navigating her son’s autism and family struggles. Source: Shadow and Act. Photo Source: Blackfilm.
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Details:Based on Braxton’s 2014 memoir, “Un-Break My Heart” is an authorized biopic chronicling her divorce, financial difficulties and struggles with her son’s autism. The chart-topping singer will serve as executive producer and appear in the film, which begins production later this year. Source(s): The Wrap, IMDB. Photo Source: The Wrap.
Release Date: 4/7/17 In Theaters (2016)
Black Cinema Connection 