Tag Archives: Mekhi Phifer

The Bobby Brown Story

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Release Date:  9/4/18; BET
Genre:  Biography
Rating:  NR
Director:  Kiel Adrian Scott
Studio(s):   Jesse Collins Entertainment, Black Entertainment Television (BET)
Running time:  Unknown
Cast:  Woody McClain (Bobby Brown), Gabrielle Dennis (Whitney Houston), Mekhi Phifer (Tommy Brown), Laz Alonso (Louil Silas, Jr.), T.K. Carter (Herbert Brown), Lance Gross (Steven Sealy), LilRel Howery (Brian Irvine), Sandi McCree (Carole Brown), Alyssa Goss (Alicia Etheridge), Tyler Marcel Williams (Young Bobby), Donshea Hopkins (Bobbi Kristina Brown).

Story:   Whitney and Bobby’s roller-coaster marriage played out on the covers of tabloids and even reality TV, and the film will showcase their successes and struggles during their turbulent relationship.  The New Edition Story broke BET ratings records when it aired in January 2017, and The Bobby Brown Story picks up where that pic left off, following Brown’s successful solo run.  McClain is reprising his role as Brown, one of the genre’s original “bad boys” whose life epitomizes the meaning of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll.  His hits may have kept him at the top of the charts, but his antics kept him on the front page. 

Gabrielle Dennis will play iconic diva, Whitney Houston in the two-part miniseries while Bobbi Kristina will be portrayed by Donshea Hopkins.  Phifer plays Tommy Brown, Bobby’s brother. Howery is Brian Irvine, Bobby’s business manager. Carter plays Herbert “Pops” Brown, Bobby’s father. Alonso is Louil Silas, Jr., an MCA producer-executive who helps make Bobby a solo star. Gross is set as Steven Sealy, a childhood friend of Bobby’s who is killed in a gunfight after hanging with him at a hometown bar. Goss plays Bobby’s current wife, Alicia Etheridge, and McCree will reprise her New Edition Story role as Bobby’s mother Carole Brown.  Source:  Deadline; Photo Source:  Deadline (Rex/Shutterstock; Associated Press).

Trailer:

Canal Street

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Release Date:  1/18/19; In Theaters
Genre:  Drama/Thriller
Rating:  NR
Running Time:  Unknown
Director:  Rhyan LaMarr
Studio(s):   BondIt, Canal Street, NYC Films, Red Guerilla Productions, Smith Global Media
Cast:  Mykelti Williamson (Jackie Styles), Bryshere Y. Gray (Kholi Styles), Clayne Crawford (Brian), Yancey Arias (D. J. Wado), Lance Reddick (Jerry Shaw), Mekhi Phifer (Prosecutor A.J. Canton), Michael Beach (Ronald Morgan), Harry Lennix (DJ Terrance Palmer).

Story:  The story centers on a father and his teenage son who uproot from the South Side of Chicago and move to Winnetka after a death in the family.  The fish-out-of-water lead-up in Canal Street — moving from the South Side and readjusting to life in Winnetka — is something of a fake-out, and the story soon takes an entirely different turn.  Writer-director Rhyan LaMarr states, “The son, his name is Kholi, eventually befriends Brian, a jock at the school. They end up getting invited to a homecoming party, and Kholi brings some of his friends from the old neighborhood. At the end of the night, kids being kids, they’ve been drinking, Kholi gives Brian a ride home, and then he’s going to drop his friends from the South Side off at the Red Line.

Halfway to the train, he realizes Brian has left his wallet in the car, so he turns around and he’s headed back to drop the wallet off when he sees a body lying in front of the house — and it’s Brian. Kholi’s friends are like, ‘It’s 3 o’clock in the morning and we’re in the wrong neighborhood — we need to leave.’ But Kholi, being the guy he is, says, ‘I’m not going to leave him like this’ … and in a matter of minutes, Kholi is pinned for the murder.”  Kholi’s father is an attorney and takes up his son’s case.   Source:  Chicago Tribune.

Trailer:

Teaser:

Roots

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Roots (2016)Release Date:  5/30/16 (Made-for-TV)
Genre:  Drama/Historical
Rating:  NR
Running Time:  Unknown
Studio:  History Channel
Directors:  Bruce Beresford, Thomas Carter, Phillip Noyce, Mario Van Peebles

Cast:  Emayatzy Corinealdi (Belle), Laurence Fishburne (Alex Haley), Carlacia Grant (Irene), Malachi Kirby (Kunta Kinte), Rege-Jean Page (Chicken George), Mekhi Phifer (Jerusalem), Anika Noni Rose (Kizzy), T.I. (Cyrus), Forest Whitaker (Fiddler).

Story:  Remake of the classic TV mini-series that remains one of history’s most watched U.S. broadcasts.  The historical portrait of American slavery recounts the journey of one family and their will to survive and ultimately carry on their legacy despite hardship. Roots will be simulcast on the History Channel, A&E and Lifetime with a May 30th.  Source:  Dark Horizons.

Trailer:

A Day Late and a Dollar Short

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A Day Late and A Dollar ShortRelease Date: April 19, 2014 (Lifetime)
Genre: Drama
Rating: N/R
Studio: Lifetime Television
Director: Stephen Tolkin

Cast: Whoopi Goldberg (Viola), Lyriq Bent (Randall), Ving Rhames (Cecil),  Mekhi Phifer (Lewis), Anika Noni Rose Rose (Paris), Kimberly Elise (Janelle), Tichina Arnold (Charlotte).

Story:  Based on The New York Times bestseller by Terry McMillan. When irascible matriarch Viola Price learns that her next asthma attack will likely kill her, she is determined to fix her fractured family before she leaves this world, from her relationship with her husband to the lives of her four children and grandchildren. Viola must contend with sibling rivalry, teen pregnancy and drug addiction with one child while her jailbird son needs to learn how to be a better father, her granddaughter is in bigger trouble than her daughter is willing to admit and Viola’s estranged husband needs saving from his scheming younger girlfriend. Viola won’t have an easy time bending her loved ones to her will. Source: Shadow and Act. Photo: mylifetime.com

The Suspect

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The SuspectRelease Date: April 22, 2014 (DVD);
January 23, 2014 (Film festival)
Genre: Thriller
Rating: Unknown
Running Time: Unknown
Studio: Modoc Spring; One Village Entertainment
Director: Stuart Connelly
Cast: Mekhi Phifer (The Suspect)
William Sadler (Sheriff Dixon)
Sterling K. Brown (The Other Suspect)
Derek Roché (Deputy Riley)
James McCaffrey (Polaski Sheriff)

Story: Two African American social scientists pose as bank robbers in an effort to understand the racial dynamics of small-town law enforcement. However, their experiment takes an unplanned, deadly turn. (Synopsis taken from IMDB).

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