Release Date: 11/19/21; In Theaters & HBO Max Genre: Drama/Biography Rating:Unknown Director:Reinaldo Marcus Green Studio(s):Overbrook Entertainment, Star Thrower Entertainment, Warner Bros., Westbrook Studios.
Cast:Will Smith as Richard Williams; Demi Singleton as Serena Williams; Saniyya Sidney as Venus Williams; Aunjanue Ellis as Brandi Williams; Jon Bernthal as Rick Macci; Tony Goldwyn as Paul Cohen; Susie Abromeit as Robin Finn; Dylan McDermott.
Story:Biopic about Richard Williams, the father and early coach of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams. King Richard details the sisters’ journey from Compton to global recognition, looking at the man who raised and trained them and shaped them into two of the best tennis players in the world. The movie’s official description calls Richard “an undeterred father [with a] relentless drive and unapologetic vision to change the game” who is “instrumental in raising two of the most extraordinarily gifted athletes of all time, who will end up changing the sport of tennis forever.” Source: Nypost.com.
In 1955, Emmett Till was just 14 years old when he was lynched in Mississippi, after being accused of flirting with or whistling at a white woman. The brutality of his murder and the fact that his killers were acquitted, drew attention to the long history of violent persecution of African Americans in the United States. Till became an icon of the civil rights movement, due in part to the unrelenting efforts of his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, a major face of racial justice, following her son’s death, devoting her life to the issue until her own passing in 2003. Recently, several projects to bring Emmett’s tragic story to the screen have been announced, each based on different source material.
Chinonye Chukwu, director of the 2019 film Clemency, starring Alfre Woodard, has signed up to direct a feature film about Till’s death. It will also follow the life of his mother Mamie Till-Mobley, whose fight for justice and insistence of an open casket funeral became a launching point for the civil rights movement. The film will be based on the extensive research of award-winning documentarian Keith Beauchamp and his relationship with Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till’s cousin, Simeon Wright who was an eyewitness to the kidnapping of Till and who served as a consultant to the project before his death in 2017. For more than 27 years, Beauchamp has investigated the kidnapping, torture and murder of Emmett Till for whistling at a white woman. His efforts succeeded in getting the United States Department of Justice to reopen the case in 2004. Produced by Whoopie Goldberg and James Bond franchise head Barbara Broccoli, the Chinonye Chukwu-directed film is scheduled to launch production in 2021, coinciding with what would have been Emmett Till’s 80th birthday, on July 25, 1941.
Another project is ABC’s Women of the Movement, a six-episode limited series focusing on Mamie Till Mobley, who devoted her life to seeking justice for her son, following his brutal death. The series, from writer Marissa Jo Cerar and a producing team that includes Jay-Z, Will Smith and Aaron Kaplan, is set to premiere in 2021. Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Old Guard, Shots Fired) is set to direct the first episode of the series, inspired by the book Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights Movement by Devery S. Anderson. Women of the Movement is being written/exec produced by Cerar and executive produced by Jay-Z, Jay Brown and Tyran “Ty Ty” Smith of Roc Nation; Will Smith and James Lassiter of Overbrook Entertainment; Aaron Kaplan, Dana Honor and Michael Lohmann from Kapital Entertainment; Rosanna Grace of Serendipity Film Group; Alex Foster and John Powers Middleton of The Middleton Media Group; and David Clark at Mazo Partners. Kapital Entertainment is the studio.
Cedric Joe has landed the coveted role of Emmett Till in the limited series. Joe, who will also appear in the upcoming Space Jam revamp, won the role of Till following a nationwide search to find a young African-American actor who could embody the tragic character. Adrienne Warren, fresh off her Tony nomination for Tina: The Tina Turner Musical will headline as Mamie Till-Mobley. Niecy Nash will play Alma, Emmett Till’s grandmother. After Emmett’s 1955 murder in, a young grandmother who had been like a second mother to Emmett, fought to protect her family in Chicago while her daughter Mamie traveled the country seeking justice in Emmett’s name. A force of nature, Alma was Mamie’s rock in the face of unbelievable tragedy.
A separate Emmett Till biopic was previously in the works with Taraji P. Henson set to depict Mamie Till-Mobley, but has been halted due to director John Singleton’s death earlier this year. Source(s): Newsone; Deadline; BET. Photo Source(s): Inside Edition; history.com; Vulture.com; Blacklivingknowledge.com; IMDB.
Status: Pre-Production Genre: Drama/Biography Rating:TBD Director: Peter Landesman Studio(s):Anonymous Nobodies, Jackson Pictures, Overbrook Entertainment, Netflix Running Time:TBD Cast: Will Smith
Story: The thriller centers on a crime syndicate consisting of seven African-American men who ruled Harlem in the 1970s and early 80s with the goal of establishing a self-sufficient and self-policing African American city-state, funded by revolutionizing the drug game. The movie centers on the Shakespearean court intrigue between The Council’s king, Nicky Barnes, dubbed ‘Mr. Untouchable’ by the New York Times, and all the different members as one unlikely rising protégé emerges.
The real-life Barnes partnered with the Italian-American Mafia on international drug distribution until his arrest in 1978. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and became a federal informant under the witness protection program. Barnes died in 2012. Barnes has been a secondary character in films before, he was portrayed by Sean Combs in the 2005 film “Carlito’s Way: Rise to Power” and by Cuba Gooding, Jr., in the 2007 film “American Gangster.” The new film will be the first to focus squarely on Barnes and his criminal enterprise. Source(s): Variety; Indiewire; Slash Film; Pintrest; Vibe.
Genre: Action/Sci-Fi Rating: Unknown Director: Ang Lee Studio(s): Fosun Group Forever Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Skydance Media, Paramount Pictures Running Time: Unknown
Cast: Will Smith (Henry Brogen/Junior), Clive Owen (Clay Varris), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Danny), Benedict Wong (Baron), Linda Emond (Lassiter), Theodora Miranne (Kitty).
Story: Henry Brogan is an elite assassin who becomes the target of a mysterious operative who can seemingly predict his every move. To his horror, he soon learns that the man who’s trying to kill him is a younger, faster, cloned version of himself. Source: Google.
Release Date: 11/10/15 (AFI Fest); 12/25/15 (In Theaters) Genre: Drama/Sports/Based on Actual Events Rating:PG-13 Running Time: Unknown Studio(s): Scott Free Productions, Sony Pictures. Director: Peter Landesman Cast: Will Smith (Dr. Bennet Omalu), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Prema Mutiso), Alec Baldwin (Dr. Julian Bailes), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Dave Duerson), Stephen Moyer (Dr. Ron Hamilton), Luke Wilson (Roger Goodell-rumored), Albert Brooks (Dr. Cyril Wecht), Richard T. Jones (Andre Waters).
Story: Will Smith stars in Concussion, a dramatic thriller based on the incredible true David vs. Goliath story of American immigrant Dr. Bennet Omalu, the brilliant forensic neuropathologist who made the first discovery of CTE, a football-related brain trauma, in a pro player and fought for the truth to be known. Omalu’s emotional quest puts him at dangerous odds with one of the most powerful institutions in the world. Source: Sony Pictures.
Release Date: 1/17/20 Directors:Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah Genre: Action Rating: R
Studio(s): 2.0 Entertainment, Columbia Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Platinum Dunes
Cast: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Charles Melton, Paola Nunez, Kate Del Castillo,, Nicky Jam, Joe Pantoliano.
Story: Miami detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett must face off against a mother-and-son pair of drug lords who wreak vengeful havoc on their city. Source: IMDB.
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Update 5/10/18: According to Shadow & Act, Sony has announced the movie will be released Martin Luther King weekend 2020 on January 17. A plot summary has also surfaced via That Hashtag Show: The film will see Lawrence’s character, Marcus Burnett, working as a private eye after a falling out with Smith’s Mike Lowery, who is going through a midlife crisis as a bachelor who finally wants to mature, all while dealing with a new, young and cocky partner who is loyal to Lowery but that loyalty is not reciprocated, and finds a bond with Burnett when he returns to the fray. Lowery and Burnett are brought together again when a lean, mean, skilled, Albanian mercenary with a vendetta puts a death order on Lowery and Burnett for the death of his brother. Now the two must work together once again to bring him down. Source: Shadow & Act; Photo Source: MovieWeb.
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Update 9/1/17: Producer Jerry Bruckheimer is optimistic about Bad Boys 3 since the project just received a new writer. Titled Bad Boys for Life, the sequel has been talked about since the release of the first sequel 14 years ago. The project has been in varying stages of development, with Will Smith recently stating that it was “very, very, very close.” But the movie recently lost its release date and its director, leading many, including co-star Martin Lawrence, to believe the movie is dead and not ever going to happen. Now, Jerry Bruckheimer is claiming that there is still life left in the project. In an interview with Yahoo Movies, the producer stated that a new writer has lifted his spirits about Bad Boys 3 actually happening. Now this isn’t exactly a confirmation that the movie is on the fast track, but it most certainly lets us know that Bad Boys 3 isn’t down for the count just yet. A new writer is promising and proves that the studio is putting effort into finally making the movie happen. Source: Movieweb.
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Update 8/11/16: According to Variety Bad Boys 3 has been pushed back to early 2018. The threequel will now hit theaters January 2, 2018, according to Sony. The movie’s official title also has been revealed: Bad Boys for Life. Sony insiders add there will be additional casting. There had been some question as to whether Smith would return to the franchise, but he made it clear earlier this year that he would indeed reteam with Lawrence.
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Update:Movies.com reported on Aug. 14, 2015 that two new Bad Boys sequels are heading to theaters in 2017 and 2019. But will either Will Smith or Martin Lawrence return as the titular rule-breaking police detectives? It’s not clear. Reportedly, Smith will be involved in some capacity, but that could be limited to serving as a producer and not as a star; his deal is not finalized.
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Update: On 6/9/15 Deadline wrote, Sony Pictures has been building up its franchises quickly, and Bad Boys 3 is looking like a strong possibility to get going. Safe House scribe David Guggenheim wrote a strong draft that now has Joe Carnahan in early talks to do a quick pass to possibly direct. This is moving quickly as the studio wants to have the movie for Will Smith to consider as his next slot after Suicide Squad.
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Details: Columbia Pictures is developing a third installment of the Bad Boys franchise. The studio hopes to have a script that would reunite director Michael Bay, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. The first Bad Boys was released in 1995 and grossed $66 million domestically and $141 million worldwide. The 2003 sequel grossed $138 million domestically and $273 million worldwide. As reported by Worst Previews in December 2013, Sony Pictures has signed David Guggenheim (Safe House) to write the script for a third Bad Boys installment. Michael Bay, who directed the first two films, is not currently involved with the third movie. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are in talks to return as Mike Lowery and Marcus Burnett. Source(s): Comingsoon.net, IMDB, Worst Previews.