Motion Picture: Matthew A. Cherry, Common
Matthew A. Cherry -YouTube
Comedy: A new comedy is coming up! Academy award winner Matthew A. Cherry is set to direct The Come Up, a heist movie described as “Friday meets Oceans 11”. Cherry recently won an Oscar for his animated short, Hair Love. Michael Starrbury of When They See Us wrote the screenplay. Jermaine Fowler, Lil Rel Howery as well as Keith and Kenneth are set to star. Fowler will also executively produce.
An upcoming feature has landed two fierce stars. Shriver, a new comedy based on the book by Chris Belden, will star Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Aja Naomi King. The movie follows a college who attempts to locate a famously missing author. The college locates an imposter and trouble ensues when the real author shows up to take his place. Kate Hudson, Don Johnson and Michael Shannon will also star.
A The Good Fight actress is getting ready for her greatest days. Cush Jumbo is in negotiations to star in Greatest Days, a movie musical about the popular UK pop group, Take That. The movie is adapted from the musical, The Band, which is also based on the group. Coky Giedroyc will direct while Ruth Wilson and Rosamund Pike are also in negotiations to play the leads alongside Jumbo.
Common - Official Common Facebook
Drama: The upcoming KeKe Palmer thriller has casted a few new stars. American Soul star Sinqua Walls is set to star in Alice, the upcoming movie about a woman who escapes her plantation only to discover its 1973. Walls will play the role of Joseph, a fellow slave as well as Alice’s husband. Recording artist Common has also been tapped for the thriller. Palmer will play the titular role and Krystin Ver Linden is directing.
Two Oscar-winning powerhouses are teaming up. Moonlight’s Barry Jenkins and The Revenant's Leonardo Di Caprio are joining forces to adapt Virunga, a documentary written and directed by Orlando von Einsiedel. The movie follows a group of rangers trying to save Africa’s most precious national parks and the gorillas who inhabit it.
Yance Ford - Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
Industry: A prominent filmmaker has signed with a new agency. Yance Ford, the first openly trans person to be nominated for an Oscar as well as the first to win an Emmy, has signed with CAA. Ford is best known for his documentary, Strong Island.
Opportunities for diverse content creators will be boosted by a very helpful ensemble. Ensemble, the new company founded by #OscarsSoWhite founder April Reign, has been created in partnership with Overture Global as a studio to advance opportunities for people of color in front and behind the camera. The studio will offer a variety of services from development to marketing. It aims to develop projects as well as leverage distribution to create a wider audience for films created by and for people of color.