Release Date:3/20/20; Netflix – Limited Series Genre: Drama/Biography Rating: NR Director(s): Kasi Lemmons and DeMane Davis Studio(s): Netflix, SpringHill Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television
Story: The four-part limited series Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker will debut on Netflix on March 20. In the series, Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer stars as Sarah Breedlove, known as Madam C.J. Walker, the black hair care pioneer and mogul who overcame hostile turn-of-the-century America, epic rivalries, tumultuous marriages and family challenges to become America’s first black, female self-made millionaire. The series is inspired by the book, On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J.Walker by Walker’s great-great-granddaughter A’Lelia Bundles. Walker overcame post-slavery racial and gender biases, personal betrayals, and business rivalries to build a ground-breaking brand that revolutionized black hair care, as she simultaneously fought for social change.
Self Made also stars Blair Underwood as her husband C.J. Walker, Tiffany Haddish as her daughter Lelia, Carmen Ejogo as Walker’s business rival Addie Munroe, Garrett Morris as Walker’s father-in-law, Kevin Carroll as her longtime lawyer Freeman Ransom and Bill Bellamy as Ransom’s cousin, Sweetness. Source(s): Deadline; Elle.com.
Details: As the United States raced against Russia to put a man in space, NASA found untapped talent in a group of African-American female mathematicians that served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in U.S. history. Based on the unbelievably true life stories of three of these women, known as “human computers”, we follow these women as they quickly rose the ranks of NASA alongside many of history’s greatest minds specifically tasked with calculating the momentous launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, and guaranteeing his safe return. Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Katherine Gobels Johnson crossed all gender, race, and professional lines while their brilliance and desire to dream big, beyond anything ever accomplished before by the human race, firmly cemented them in U.S. history as true American heroes. Source(s): 20th Century Fox, official site; IMDB.
Release Date:12/6/19; Apple TV+ – Limited Series Genre: Thriller Rating:NR Studio(s): Chernin Entertainment, Endeavor Content, Hello Sunshine, Orit Entertainment, Apple TV+
Cast:Octavia Spencer (Poppy Parnell), Michael Beach (Ingram Rhoades) Aaron Paul (Warren Cave), Lizzy Caplan, Elizabeth Perkins, Mekhi Phifer, Tracie Thoms, Haneefah Wood, Brooklynn MacKinzie (young Poppy), Tami Roman (Lillian Scoville) and Ron Cephas Jones.
Story: The limited drama series follows podcaster Poppy Parnell (Octavia Spencer) as she is compelled to reopen the murder case that made her a national sensation and comes face-to-face with Warren Cave (Aaron Paul), the man she may have mistakenly helped to put behind bars. Based on the novel by Kathleen Barber, Truth Be Told provides a unique glimpse into America’s obsession with true crime podcasts and challenges its viewers to consider the consequences when the pursuit of justice is placed on a public stage.
Beginning December 6, the first three episodes of Truth Be Told will be available to watch on Apple TV+ in over 100 countries and regions around the world. New episodes will continue to roll out weekly, every Friday. Executive producers include Reese Witherspoon Octavia Spencer. Source: Apple.com.
Release Date: 5/31/19; In Theaters Genre: Horror/Thriller Rating:NR Director: Tate Taylor Studio(s): Blumhouse Productions, Wyolah Films Running Time: Unknown
Cast:Octavia Spencer as Sue Ann/Ma, Diana Silvers as Maggie, Juliette Lewis as Maggie’s mom, Luke Evans as a local dad, Missi Pyle as his girlfriend, and McKaley Miller, Corey Fogelmanis, Gianni Paolo and Dante Brown as Maggie’s friends.
Story: Everybody’s welcome at Ma’s. But good luck getting home safe. Oscar winner Octavia Spencer stars as Sue Ann, a loner who keeps to herself in her quiet Ohio town. One day, she is asked by Maggie, a new teenager in town (Diana Silvers, Glass), to buy some booze for her and her friends, and Sue Ann sees the chance to make some unsuspecting, if younger, friends of her own.She offers the kids the chance to avoid drinking and driving by hanging out in the basement of her home. But there are some house rules: One of the kids has to stay sober. Don’t curse. Never go upstairs. And call her “Ma.” But as Ma’s hospitality starts to curdle into obsession, what began as a teenage dream turns into a terrorizing nightmare, and Ma’s place goes from the best place in town to the worst place on earth. Source: Mamovie.com, official site.
Release Date: 10/29/19; DVD
(Original Release – 1/27/19; Sundance Film Festival) Genre: Drama Rating: NR Director: Julius Onah Studio(s): Dream Factory Group, Altona Filmhaus Running Time: 109 mins. Cast: Octavia Spencer, Kelvin Harrison, Jr., Tim Roth, Naomi Watts, Norbert Leo Butz.
Story: It’s been ten years since Amy and Peter Edgar (Naomi Watts and Tim Roth) adopted their son from war-torn Eritrea, and they thought the worst was behind them. Luce Edgar (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.) has become an all-star student beloved by his community in Arlington, Virginia. His African American teacher, Harriet Wilson (Octavia Spencer), believes he is a symbol of black excellence that sets a positive example for his peers. But when he is assigned to write an essay in the voice of a historical twentieth-century figure, Luce turns in a paper that makes an alarming statement about political violence. Worried about how this assignment reflects upon her star pupil, Harriet searches his locker and finds something that confirms her worst fears. Source: Sundance.org.
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.
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Black Cinema Connection 