Motion Picture: New ATL Studio, Indies, Disney Blockbuster
Action/Fantasy/Sci-Fi: Releasing Thanksgiving weekend, Queen and Slim stars Get Out's Daniel Kaluuya and newcomer Jodie Turner-Smith, a black couple whose encounter with the police turns into a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde. Running from the police and becoming a hero to many, the couple's choices make for a controversial film about police brutality in America.
New action-comedy starring Emily Blunt, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Edgar Ramirez is Disney's new film, Jungle Cruise. The film centers around Blunt’s character in search of a sacred tree hidden in the Amazon. The Disneyland’s 1950’s theme park ride in which the film is based on, takes a group of travelers down a not so lazy river, filled with dangerous animals and high-stake situations. The film make for an interesting blockbuster for summer 2020.
Drama: Starring Emmy award-winning Uzo Aduba in a true story based on a single- mother striving to protect her son from the violent city streets in the film, Mrs. Virgina. Struggling to provide her fifteen-year-old son a decent education, Mrs. Virgina starts a movement to help low-income families provide their children with better educational opportunities. The film will be out in select theatres this weekend.
Up and coming young filmmaker, Philip Youmans directed and wrote the film stars Wendell Pierce (The Wire) in his debut, Burning Cane. Director of Beast of the Southern Wild, Benh Zeitlin was an executive producer for the production. The film is centered around a worried mother living in rural Louisiana coping with her devotion to her family and religious faith. Already receiving raving reviews from acclaimed critics in Variety and the Hollywood Reporter makes nineteen-year-old filmmaker a must-see. Burning Cane premiered in Tribeca film festival and won Best Narrative Feature, Best Actor (for Pierce), and Best Cinematography award.
Directed and written by Tayarisha Poe, Selah and the Spades tells the story of a boarding school in Pennsylvania that student body is split into five factions, The Spades, The Sea, The Skins, The Bobbies, and The Prefects. The film debuts Lovie Simone as the queen bee Selah Summers with a young cast including Celeste O’Connor, Jesse Williams, Gina Torres, Henry Hunter Hall, Evan Roe, and Emmy award-winning Jharrel Jerome. Premiering at Sundance earlier this year, the film was picked up by Amazon Studios and will be turned into a series. Director Poe wants to share stories “about the marginalia of black life, and more generally about the minutiae of being a human being.” Making her debut film the modern coming of age film that will capture the attention of young audiences.
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Industry Update: This past week Tyler Perry celebrated the start of his production company based in Atlanta, Georgia. The studio has reported to have “12 sound stages and is bigger than Paramount, Warner Brothers, Disney and Sony Studios combined.” From Oprah Winfrey to Samuel L. Jackson the stars were truly aligned in support of the Tyler Perry Studio opening Gala. Tyler Perry has become the first African American filmmaker to “own a studio outright with no partners or corporate backing.” Creating new opportunities for different walks of life, Perry says “I get to share it. I get to inspire people and encourage them. That is what it's all about." The reception started with Tyler describing his experience of coming to Atlanta in 1992 and witnessing black excellence in which he took inspiration from to start something bigger than himself. Fortunately, Perry was not the only one among the crowd to share his words, Will Smith expressed his thoughts to actors by saying “Don't make it hard to make hits. Tyler went out on a limb to make this happen, now hits have to come out of this studio. There's so much on the line. Many people have suffered for us to be standing here." Mary J. Blige performed in company with an offhand performance featuring Tevin Campbell, Johnny Gill, Monica, and Keith Washington. The night was a celebration of black excellence and the future work that will be done to grow black cinema.