Motion Picture: Color-Blind Casting
Action/Fantasy/Sci-Fi: Disney was on everyone’s lips this weekend as the studio dropped its first teaser trailer for the live-action version of Mulan and revealed singer/actress Halle Bailey to be their new Little Mermaid.
Actress Liu Yifei stars in the action-packed trailer for Mulan alongside Jet-Li and actor Yoson An, as audiences are introduced to new characters and see some of their favorites come to life. Set to be released March 2020, the film is directed by Niki Caro, the director of The Zoo Keepers Wife.
Halle Bailey’s casting as Ariel in the upcoming live-action The Little Mermaid remake was a huge milestone for color-blind casting. The film will follow suit with other classic remakes, bringing in new music composed by the original film’s composer Alan Menken.
Spider Man: Far From Home swooped in over the 4thof July weekend and saved the box office from a summer of duds. Summer 2019 has not seen much success, which some attribute to franchise fatigue, but the latest marvel entry has greatly surpassed expectations.
Comedy: Sony’s reboot of the 90’s classic Jumanji, featuring none other than Dwayne Johnson, was nothing short of a box office hit. A trailer for Jumanji: The Next Level was released July 1st and is set to be in theaters December 13.
Disney’s animated spy film, Spies in Disguise, will also be releasing this December with an all-star cast including Will Smith, Rashida Jones and DJ Khalid. The movie follows Will Smith’s character as he goes undercover as a pigeon with the help of a tech genius voiced by Tom Holland.
Drama: The first 13 minutes of the highly anticipated film Queen & Slim, written by Emmy winner Lena Waithe and directed by Melina Matsoukas, were shown at this year’s 25th Annual Essence Fest. The Universal Pictures and Makeready film follow the unfolding of a first date gone bad after the two main characters are pulled over by the police. During a Q & A session Waithe and Matsoukas discussed how they fought to have final cut over the film in efforts to safeguard their vision and guarantee the final product was “not put through a white gaze.” Queen & Slim is set to be released November 27th.
Moonlight actress Naomie Harris brings to life Director Deon Taylor’s cop film Black and Blue alongside Tyrese Gibson. The film follows a cop who witness’s and captures police corruption on her body cam. The trailer touches on the struggles the main character will face throughout the film, set to release in October of this year, as she navigates her identity as a black police officer.
Documentary: Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison speaks her truth in her bio-pic directed by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders.Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am documentary discusses her life, work and the need for more people of color critics in the industry.
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Industry Update: Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith have announced Westbrook Inc. a new media venture which will house Red Table Talk Enterprises, Overbrook Entertainment, and Westbrook Studios.
The Wolf of Wall Street producer Riza Aziz has been charged with embezzling $248 million from the Malaysian government.
Netflix has reached a deal with Shepperton Studios creating a permanent production space in the UK as the company looks to expand the number of projects filmed overseas.
