Release Date:11/30/18; In Theaters Genre:Crime/Drama Rating: R Director: Barry Jenkins Studio(s):Annapurna Pictures, PASTEL, Plan B Entertainment. Running Time:117 mins.
Cast:KiKi Layne (Tish Rivers), Stephan James (Alonzo ‘Fonny’ Hunt), Regina King (Sharon Rivers), Colman Domingo (Joseph Rivers), Teyonah Parris (Ernestine Rivers), Michael Beach (Frank Hunt), Aunjanue Ellis (Mrs. Hunt), Ebony Obsidian (Adrienne Hunt).
Story: If Beale Street Could Talk follows a pregnant woman from Harlem named Tish (Kiki Layne), whose lover (Stephan James) is falsely accused of rape. When Tish finds out she is pregnant while James’ character Fonny is in prison, she races against the clock with help from her family and her lawyer to find evidence to exonerate Fonny. Based on the novel by James Baldwin Source: Variety.
Release Date:6/1/16 (TV One) Genre: Biography Rating: NR Running Time: Unknown Director:Christine Swanson Cast: Teyonah Parris (Miki Howard), Gary Dourdan (Augie Johnson), Darius McCrary (Gerald Levert), Amari Cheatom (Eddie Phelps), LisaRaye McCoy (Sylvia Rhone), Vanessa Bell Calloway (Josephine Howard).
Story: Teyonah Parris stars in the TV One Original Movie The Miki Howard Story. Parris plays the R&B/Jazz singer and actress who enjoyed mainstream success in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with a string of top 10 hits including “Come Share My Love,” “Baby, Be Mine,” “Love Under New Management,” and others.
The film will cover 30+ years of Howard’s life, including both professional and personal trials and triumphs. Also starring Darius McCrary as Gerald Levert, Gary Dourdan as Augie Johnson, LisaRaye is Sylvia Rhone, Amari Cheatom as Eddie Phelps and Vanessa Bell Calloway as Josephine Howard. Christine Swanson is directing from a script written by Rhonda Baraka, which is based on a yet to be released biography by Miki Howard. Source: Shadow and Act.
Story: A young African American man, reeling from the tragic loss of his wife, travels to rural Maine to seek answers from his estranged mother-in-law, who is herself confronting guilt and grief over her daughter’s death. Source: IMDB. Photo Source: Thompson on Hollywood.
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.
Trailer:
——————————————————————————————————————
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: 12/1/15 (DVD) Genre: Drama Rating: NR Running Time: 106 mins. Studio: Turning Point Pictures Director:Leila Djansi
Cast: Brian White (Jeremy Spencer), Teyonah Parris (Bellissima McCain), Leon (David McCain), Macy Gray (Helen Harold), Edwina Findley Dickerson (Gayle McCain), Miranda Bailey (Paige), Kylee Russell (Ruby).
Story: Film centers on a young woman who extricates herself from a violent family situation in an act of self-preservation but to find herself, she must face her fears. Estranged from her family for ten years, Bellissima, ‘Bell’ Mccain, returns to Compton for her mother’s funeral and then is forced to stay and care for her sick father. The house becomes flooded not only with vivid memories of the abuse doled out by the very man whom Bell must nurse, but also her teenage sister, Ruby, who had died in the house has long awaited Bell’s return. Source(s): IMDB, Blackflix.
Trailer:
———————————————————————————————————–
Details:On 4/5/15, The Wrap reported that Where Children Play has been acquired by the Urban Movie Channel. The film is slated for a limited theatrical release in June and will also run on the Urban Movie Channel. Source: The Wrap.
Cast: Tyler James William (Lionel Higgins), Tessa Thompson (Samantha White), Teyonah Parris (Colandrea Conners), Brandon P. Bell (Troy), Kyle Gallner (Kurt), Dennis Haysbert (Dean).
Story:Dear White People follows the stories of four black students at an Ivy League college where a riot breaks out over a popular “African American” themed party thrown by white students. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, the film will explore racial identity in “post-racial” America while weaving a universal story of forging one’s unique path in the world. (Source(s): comingsoon.net; official site, dearwhitepeoplemovie.com).
Release Date: 11/30/18; In Theaters
