COMING SOON: Chiwetel Ejiofor and Thandie Newton to star in ‘2012′ November 20, 2008
Posted by Black Film Academy in Film Watch.1 comment so far
The end of the world is near! Check out this frightening teaser trailer for the upcoming summer blockbuster. Newton and Ejiofor aren’t in it, but it’s still worth watching:
NEWS: White House/Black Butler - the Movie November 20, 2008
Posted by Black Film Academy in Black Film News.1 comment so far
Columbia is bringing the story of Eugene Allen, a black man who served as a White House butler for 34 years, to the big screen, according to Hollywood Reporter.
Columbia has picked up Allen’s life rights as well as the rights to a Washington Post article by Wil Haygood that was published Nov. 7, three days after Barack Obama was elected president. Laura Ziskin is producing.
Allen started at the White House as a “pantry man” in 1952 when blacks weren’t allowed to use public restrooms in his native Virginia. He served presidents as racial history was being made, from Brown v. Board of Education to the 1963 march on Washington to the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and President John F. Kennedy.
Allen left the job in 1986, when Ronald Reagan was in office.
Allen and his wife of 65 years talked and marveled at the fact that a black man could be president. But on Election Day, Allen cast his vote alone; his wife died the day before.
Haygood will act as an associate producer and help research the movie, working with family to bring out details of Allen’s life. Allen’s son Charles was instrumental in securing the deal, with ICM repping Haygood and the Allen family.
Ziskin, not known as a frivolous buyer of a material, said the movie would act “as a portrait of an extraordinary African-American man who has lived to see the world turn. It’s about the essence of this man and what he saw, as well as the love story with his wife.”
Matt Tolmach and Rachel O’Connor are overseeing for the studio.
DOCUWATCH: “Rough Aunties” November 19, 2008
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Fearless, feisty and resolute, the “Rough Aunties” are a remarkable group of women unwavering in their stand to protect and care for the abused, neglected and forgotten children of Durban, South Africa. This newest documentary by internationally acclaimed director Kim Longinotto (SISTERS IN LAW, DIVORCE IRANIAN STYLE) follows the outspoken, multiracial cadre of Thuli, Mildred, Sdudla, Eureka and Jackie, as they wage a daily battle against systemic apathy, corruption, and greed to help the most vulnerable and disenfranchised of their communities. Neither politics, nor social or racial divisions stand a chance against the united force of the women. Once again Longinotto has managed to bring us an intimate portrait of change from Africa, this time from post-apartheid South Africa, a nation being transformed with hope and energy into a new democracy.
NEWS: Spike Lee to pen film about L.A. Riots November 18, 2008
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Mr. Lee has been off of his groove lately (for the past 3-4 years). Maybe this project will bring him back to his “Do the Right Thing” groove?
Spike Lee may be close to filming his movie about the 1992 Los Angeles riots with producer Brian Grazer, who tells ComingSoon.net that it might hit theaters before their sequel to “Inside Man.”
Grazer, the founder of Imagine Entertainment with filmmaker/partner Ron Howard, said the L.A. riots film would be a “360 degree view of what that is, an autopsy of how a riot works.”
Like Spike, Grazer has been trying to get the project made for a long time.
“‘Cause I grew up in Los Angeles, and I was six or seven miles from this riot,” said Grazer. “It was a fascination. It was threatening and a fascination, both. I’ve always wanted to make a war movie, I haven’t done that. The visuals of that would be interesting and this is a way of doing a war movie in a modern environment and one that I know really well.”
OPPORTUNITIES: Write ‘The Nutty Professor 3′? November 18, 2008
Posted by Black Film Academy in Black Film News, Opportunities.3 comments
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Universal and Imagine are looking to pen a third film in the Nutty Professor franchise. Eddie Murphy is not yet attached, but could be depending on writer and director. Check out the story below:
Will Universal and Imagine Entertainment get nutty again?
The studio and production company are in the early stages of developing a new “Nutty Professor” movie, in what would be the third installment of the remake of the 1963 Jerry Lewis vehicle. An open call is out to writers for their take on a potential third entry.
Although it has been eight years since the last “Nutty” came out, executives are interested in a new version that would follow “The Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps.”
Like “The Nutty Professor,” “Klumps” focused on Sherman Klump, a portly, gentle scientist (Eddie Murphy) who turns obnoxious after trying one of his own cures. In the second film, which expanded to include more of Klump’s family members (many also played by Murphy), it was eternal youth that Klump sought.
The sequel to 1996’s “The Nutty Professor,” “Klumps” had a less corpulent boxoffice gross than its predecessor, earning $162 million worldwide vs. the $270 million of the first installment.
Still, the franchise has proved profitable, and a third installment could prove attractive for Universal, which like other studios has been relying increasingly on established brands.
Murphy is not attached to a new “Nutty”; his involvement would be contingent on the writer, director and other elements. Murphy’s comic versatility was seen as key to the success of the two “Nutty” movies, and it seems unlikely that a third installment could go forward without him.
EVENT: Dance On Camera Festival Returns November 17, 2008
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Dance Films Association’s 37th Dance On Camera Festival (DOCF) co-sponsored by the Film Society of Lincoln Center returns to The Walter Reade Theater, Lincoln Center Plaza, New York City January 7-11, 16-17, 2009 Co-sponsored by the Film Society of Lincoln Center since 1996, DOCF celebrates the immediacy, energy, and mystery of dance as combined with the intimacy of film. This year’s festival features innovative works shot in India, Africa, Spain, France, Russia, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Latvia, and the United States. Photo from Richard Move’s “Bardo.” Visit: http://dancefilms.org/DanceOnCamerMain.html
EVENT: Doc Watchers presents “TULIA, TEXAS” November 14, 2008
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Has the “War On Drugs” been a war on African-Americans?
On Monday, November 17th, 7:00 PM
Doc Watchers presents:
TULIA, TEXAS
Through its scrupulous investigation of a landmark case, this documentary uncovers the deep-rooted assumptions about race and crime that still permeate our society and undermine our justice system. The film convincingly shows how the ‘war on drugs’ has become a war on due process, waged against African Americans. Today America has the largest prison population in the world; in some states as much as 15 percent of the black male population is incarcerated. Tulia, Texas shows one reason why.
Reception to follow screening.
Screening Location:
MAYSLES CINEMA
343 Lenox Avenue (between 127th & 128th)
For more information, visit http://www.docwatchers.com.
DOCWATCH: Music Saves - War Child Emmanuel Jal November 14, 2008
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It’s very easy to acknowledge that the political situation in Darfur and Sudan is messed up, particularly when you’re reading about it from the safe distance of a newspaper. The profound trick of C. Karim Chrobog’s documentary War Child, which won the Cadillac Award at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, is that by meeting and following Emmanuel Jal, a former child soldier turned successful rap artist, the terror and inhumanity of Darfur and Sudan become vividly real in this young man’s fascinating, horrifying, tragic, and ultimately inspiring life story.
The Cadillac Award is voted for by the audience of the Festival; as a result, it’s a telling prize that points out a truly moving, must-see work that has affected the viewers, and War Child fits firmly within that tradition. (War Child and Pray the Devil Back to Hell, a documentary of similar importance and urgency, were locked in a tight battle.)
With the film set to open this weekend, Tribeca trekked up to the lobby of the Hudson Hotel to meet with Jal, fresh off a flight from London. We found a slim, good-looking ball of energy, eager to talk further about the film, his music, his charity work, and his plans for the future.
For the full interview, click here. Otherwise, check out the trailer below.
OPPORTUNITIES: Apple’s 2008 Insomnia Film Festival November 13, 2008
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On November 15 at 9:00 a.m. EST, the clock starts ticking.
Apple will post the list of required elements for entries in the 2008 Insomnia Film Festival. Then you and your team will have the next 24 hours to make and upload your 3-minute movie. That’s the easy part.
Once your movie’s up, you’ll need to get everyone you know—and then some—to watch and rate it online. If your movie makes the top 25, you can host a showing at the Apple Retail Store. Your adoring fans can download it from the iTunes Store. And it’ll be screened by some big-time industry players: John August, Doug Ellin, Jody Hill, Masi Oka, Jason Bateman, Paul Haggis, Greg Mottola, Barry Sonnenfeld.
Earn the #1 rating from either the public or the pros, and you’ll land one of two grand prizes. Everyone on your team will get a MacBook Pro, Final Cut Studio 2, Logic Studio, Shake, and a year’s worth of One to One personal training to help you use them. Not a bad trade for one night’s sleep.
Click here for official website.
NEWS: Music Producer Timbaland to produce films? November 13, 2008
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(from Hollywood Reporter) Music producer Timbaland, born Tim Mosley, is making his first foray into Hollywood as executive producer of the upcoming feature “Vinyl.”
Timbaland’s Mosley Media Group is teaming with Effie T. Brown’s Duly Noted Inc. to produce the film, which follows five young women facing life-altering decisions about their relationships with members of a rock band.
Writer-director Richard Zelniker’s film is set to begin shooting in the spring, with Brown, Marcus Spence and Timbaland’s wife, Monique Idlett-Mosley producing.
The Mosleys plans to promote the film with behind-the-scenes content designed for mobile devices.
