News

Biopic movies have always been a go-to genre for those seeking gripping real-life stories, and Netflix has leaned heavily into this trend of true-story films. The streaming platform boasts well-acclaimed biographical films like Dumb Money (2023), which chronicles the Redditor behind the GameStop stock surge, and Scoop (2024), based on the journalists who interviewed Prince Andrew on his relationship with Jeffery Epstein, that have captivated audiences with their compelling narratives delivered in the form of infotainment.

Netflixs recent biopics to come to streaming, like the British drama film Joy (2024), following the doctors who pioneered the first successful IVF treatment, have been embraced by audiences. The platform's investment in biographical dramas also reflects a growing trend. Films that struggled in theaters are finding an entirely new audience on the platform, sometimes even outperforming expectations. This shift has allowed lesser-known stories to reach millions of viewers worldwide, offering a second life for films that...

Quick Links Rob Peace Spent His Childhood in Newark, New Jersey Rob Peace's Father Was Incarcerated Rob Peace Had a Dual Identity 'Rob Peace' Includes Fictionalized Characters

Written and directed by the talented Chiwetel Ejiofor, following his impressive directing debut in The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, Rob Peace weaves the story of the late Robert DeShaun Peace. Rob's life made it to the headlines when he was shot and killed in a basement in Newark, New Jersey. Despite being exceptionally skilled and intelligent, a Yale graduate majoring in molecular physics and biochemistry, Rob was plagued with struggles and trauma, which ultimately paved the way to his demise in 2016.

Rob Peace, starring Jay Will in the titular role, is based on Jeff Hobbs' biography 'The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace.' Staying largely faithful to its source text, the film delves into Rob's remarkable intelligence, commitment to his family,...

Netflix's Rob Peace tells the moving true story of the late Robert DeShaun Peace, a New Jersey native who went to Yale University while also attempting to help his incarcerated father. Rob Peace's courageous true story of a young Black man working to survive systemic oppression and break patterns of generational trauma has long resonated with audiences, since the late Peace's friend Jeff Hobbs published the novel on which it is based. The Short And Tragic Life Of Robert Peace was published in 2014.

Much of Rob Peace's central story and characters is based in reality, as Hobbs was a Yale classmate and close friend to Peace prior to his untimely death in a drug-related shooting. However, there are several pivotal changes made in this dramatized version of Peace's life. The film boasts a star-studded cast, including Mary J. Blige, Mare Winningham, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Camila Cabello, and rising talent Jay Will.

Warning! This article contains spoilers for Rob Peace (2024).

After walking through its titular figure's true story, Rob Peace ends on a tragic note, reflecting on how consequential and unpredictable life can be. Based on the 2014 biography The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace by Jeff Hobbs, Rob Peace takes viewers on a journey through all the major highs and lows of the titular figure's life. From his early childhood experience that inspired him to study the law to his journey after getting a prestigious education at Yale, the movie gives a glimpse into many segments of his timeline before revealing how things eventually ended for him.

One of the main character beats in Rob Peace revolves around how the titular figure always believes in his father's innocence after he gets arrested for murdering two women. Even when his mother tries to stop him, Peace does everything he can to...

Rob Peace, directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor, tells the life story of Robert Peace from his childhood to his tragic death. The movie was based on the biography, The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace, written by his college roommate and friend Jeff Hobbs. Rob Peace focuses largely on Peace's intelligence and drive, as well as his commitment to his father and how that commitment shaped his life.

Rob Peace's reviews have passed the performance of Jay Will, who creates an emotional backbone and honors the truth of the story in his performance as Peace. Ejiofor's movie doesn't shy away from the tough aspects of Rob Peace's life, though neither does it wallow in them, showing Peace as a resilient hard worker with positive relationships with friends and family throughout his life. While the movie format necessitates some small changes and additions to the story, much of what Rob...

A few years back, we interviewed Chiwetel Ejiofor in Berlin, for the European premiere of his directorial debut, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. The talent filmmaker now returns with his second stint behind the lens, this time telling the stirring and impactful story of Rob Peace.

We had the pleasure to catch up once more with Ejiofor, to discuss the project at hand, and of course, go into detail on the joys of collaborating with the talent that is Mary J. Blige.

Watch the full interview with Chiwetel Ejiofor now:

Synopsis

Directed, adapted by, and starring Academy Award nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor, the film follows the true story of a brilliant young man (Jay Will) torn between his father’s shadowed past and his own promising future. Raised by his devoted yet struggling mother (Academy Award nominee Mary J. Blige), Rob risks everything he has worked for to free his...

Mary J. Blige remembers the first time she got positive feedback for her acting. “When I was 7, I did a Christmas play in school, and the word from the other students and teachers was that me and this guy who was also in the play did very, very, very well,” she says. “It put something in me like, ‘Okay maybe I can really do this,’ and I always wanted to act [after] getting that feedback. At some point, I kind of left it alone and got into the music business.”

Choosing the music business early in her career has more than worked out for Blige. To date, the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul has sold over 100 million albums worldwide, won nine Grammys and is set to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in October. And she’s not stopping. She just released “Breathing” with rapper Fabolous, the lead...

The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace. That’s the name of the biography Chiwetel Ejiofor has adapted and starred in. So there’s no surprise about what awaits Robert Peace, an astonishingly brilliant mind who deserved way better than the hand life dealt him, at the end of his journey. In a biopic, the premise is the easy bit. What makes Rob Peace a moving, practically timeless modern classic is how Chiwetel and Jeff Hobbs, the writer of the book and the friend you saw Rob make at Yale, have navigated the emotional and sociopolitical undercurrents of the course that Rob’s life took.

Spoiler Alert

What happens in the film?

Shaun’s childhood was as fleeting as the time Rob Peace spends on the anecdotes that defined little Shaun’s future on a significant level. It came and went. And in between, Shaun saw his parents, Jackie and Skeet,...

Your browser does not support the video tag.

The great Chiwetel Ejiofor not only stars in the new film Rob Peace, but directed it and adapted it to the screen. He spoke with MovieWeb's Greg Archer about why he was so passionate about making the film, which is in theaters Aug. 16, 2024, from Republic Pictures.

Directed, adapted by, and starring Academy Award nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rob Peace follows the true story of a brilliant young man (Jay Will) torn between his father's shadowed past and his own promising future. Raised by his devoted mother (Academy Award nominee Mary J. Blige), Rob risks everything he has worked for to free his imprisoned father (Ejiofor). Also starring Camila Cabello and based on the New York Times bestseller by Jeff Hobbs.

From facial wars to a penguin friend, wandering surfers and Haitian immigrants in Miami, the independent film market is fun, thoughtful, varied and contending with a faster cadence of high performing studio wide releases. That’s exhilarating on one hand but, indie distribution executives say, is making it increasingly difficult to date their films after having a pretty clear field for the first half of 2024.

New this weekend: IFC Films’ Elizabeth Banks-starring Skincare on 768 screens. Banks is Hope Goldman, a legendary Hollywood facialist to the stars preparing to enter the next phase of her career with a new line of skincare products in this dark comedy. Sensing that someone is trying to sabotage her business and destroy her life, she starts investigating to save what she’s built by any means necessary.

Loosely inspired by a real case involving aesthetician Dawn DaLuise, who did some prison time for putting...

A casual glance at Chiwetel Ejiofor’s upcoming lineup of films — spanning a superhero franchise (“Venom: The Last Dance”), a beloved rom-com return (“Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy”), a Stephen King adaptation (Mike Flanagan’s “The Life of Chuck”) and an A-list directorial debut (Scarlett Johansson’s “Eleanor the Great”) — hints at an insanely hectic work schedule for the actor.

But even while being busy in front of the camera, the Brit — best known for roles in films such as “12 Years a Slave,” “Love, Actually” and “Doctor Strange” — has somehow managed to carve out time behind it. Six years on from his well-received directorial debut, “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind,” he returns with sophomore feature “Rob Peace,” released Friday with Paramount’s Republic Pictures.

Adapted by Ejiofor from Jeff Hobb’s 2014 book “The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace,” the film tells the true story of...

Your browser does not support the video tag.

Jay Will (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) spoke with MovieWeb's Greg Archer about his starring role in the emotional new drama Rob Peace, from filmmaker and actor Chiwetel Ejiofor. Peace delved into his process and working with Ejiofor as a director, not to mention his time with Sylvester Stallone doing Tulsa King. Rob Peace is in theaters Aug. 16, 2024, from Republic Pictures.

Directed, adapted by, and starring Academy Award nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rob Peace follows the true story of a brilliant young man (Jay Will) torn between his father's shadowed past and his own promising future. Raised by his devoted mother (Academy Award nominee Mary J. Blige), Rob risks everything he has worked for to free his imprisoned father (Ejiofor). Also starring Camila Cabello and based on the New York Times bestseller by Jeff Hobbs.

Author Jeff Hobbs wrote about his Yale University roommate of four years in the 2014 biography The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League. It chronicled the true story of an exceptional student who defied the odds to transcend his impoverished background yet still couldn't overcome the gravitational pull of a certain fate the book title alluded to. The bestseller now serves as the basis of Chiwetel Ejiofor's sophomore directorial outing, Rob Peace, following the similarly real-life-based 2019 Netflix film The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. Many of the praises and criticisms conferred on his directorial debut still apply. He is adroit with directing actors, but his storytelling is pedestrian.

Quick Links A Deeply Layered but Simply Told Tale Three Actors Elevate the Story Hail, Chiwetel Ejiofor

As an actor and director, Chiwetel Ejiofor possesses richness and depth. Between the characters he embodies and the films he backs, the 12 Years a Slave Oscar nominee and star of the upcoming Venom: The Last Dance romp seems determined to tug at the heartstrings and remind us of our humanity.

Ejiofor captures our attention again in such subtle yet significant ways in his second directing effort, Rob Peace. Hes also the co-screenwriter (with Jeff Hobbs), and star of the vehicle, as he delivers a real-life story that is both timely and engaging, yet never overly political. The film is based on Hobbs biography, The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace. Its an absorbing yet tragic story of a young, brilliant math wiz (Jay Will playing Rob Peace), who vigilantly risks his...

Rob Peace is a biopic based on the tragic life of a brilliant young black student navigating systemic challenges. Chiwetel Ejiofor directed and starred in the film, highlighting the failures that led to Rob Peace's tragedy. Jay Will's performance as Rob Peace brings depth and vulnerability to the narrative, alongside a star-studded cast.

Rob Peace is a biopic based on The Short and Tragic Life of Rob Peace. The movie follows Rob Peace, an extremely intelligent young black student whose father is convicted of murder, although he adamantly maintains his innocence. Rob is determined to help his family and community even after being accepted into Yale. In his quest not to leave his family or home behind, Rob makes choices that pull him into dangerous territory with tragic consequences.

The Short and Tragic Life of Rob Peace was written by one of Peace's college roommates, Jeff Hobbs. Rob...

Chiwetel Ejiofor’s latest film as director, Rob Peace, has a brand new trailer. More details on the film here as well.

Appreciating it’s done the festivals circuit a little, we’ve still not had the pleasure of the latest directorial outing from Chiwetel Ejiofor. Primarily known of course for his acting work, Ejiofor has also stepped behind the camera for Rob Peace. He’s also in the film’s ensemble cast, which is led by Jay Will, Mary J Blige and Camila Cabello.

Ejiofor has penned the script for the film as well as directing, using the book The Short And Tragic Life Of Robert Peace by Jeff Hobbs as his source material. It’s been in the works for over five years.

The film has been picked up by Paramount in the US, and we’re reading that Elysian has the UK distribution rights. What we don...

In his follow-up to “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind,” Chiwetel Ejiofor makes noticeable improvements as a filmmaker through a real-life story that, while often unfocused, features piercing moments of dramatic and political engagement. Based on a biography by Jeff Hobbs, “Rob Peace” follows a gifted young Black student from his childhood all the way through Yale, as he deals with economic downturn and trying to free his wrongfully convicted father. To navigate his financial and legal troubles, Rob uses his intellect for stealthy drug dealing, though his ambitions are far bigger and more community-centric.

Voiceover from Rob (Jay Will) adequately paints his proclivity for math and science when the film begins, flashing back to his childhood in the 1980s. These occasional narrations fill the gaps in Ejiofor’s storytelling, detailing Rob’s interests, goals, and curiosities far more than the character’s actions ever seem to. Such is the...

Paramount Pictures label Republic Pictures has revealed the official trailer for Rob Peace, which will open in theaters on August 16, 2024. The film is rated R for drug content and language.

Directed, adapted by, and starring Academy Award nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave), Rob Peace follows the true story of a brilliant young man (Jay Will) torn between his father’s shadowed past and his promising future.

Chiwetel Ejiofor as Skeet Douglas and Jay Will as Robert Peace

Raised by his devoted mother, Rob risks everything he has worked for to free his imprisoned father (Ejiofor). The film is based on Jeff Hobbs’s New York Times bestseller, The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace.

The cast includes Jay Will, Mary J. Blige, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Gbenga Akinnagbe, with Michael Kelly, Mare Winningham, and Camila Cabello.

Mary J. Blige as Jackie Peace and Jelani Dacres as Rob Peace

The producers include Antoine Fuqua,...

Following his 2019 directorial debut The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, Chiwetel Ejiofor returned behind the camera five years later for Rob Peace, adapting Jeff Hobbs’ biography of a slightly longer and perhaps revealing title, The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace. Starring Jay Will, Mary J. Blige, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Michael Kelly, Mare Winningham, and Camila Cabello, the drama premiered at Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and will now arrive in theaters beginning August 16.

Here’s the synopsis: “Directed, adapted by, and starring Academy Award® nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave), Rob Peace follows the true story of a brilliant young man (Jay Will) torn between his father’s shadowed past and his own promising future. Raised by his devoted mother, Rob risks everything he has worked for to free his imprisoned father (Ejiofor). Also starring Camila Cabello and based on the New York Times bestseller by Jeff Hobbs.

After Selena Gomez’s Only Murders in the Building season 3 went out with a bang, Hulu renewed the highly appreciated show for its next season. Set to premiere on Tuesday, August 27, the show introduces new cast members Molly Shannon, Eugene Levy, Eva Longoria, and Melissa McCarthy.

Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez in Only Murders in the Building (2021) | Hulu

But as the news about Only Murders in the Building season 4 hit social media, speculations sparked over the fate of the show beyond its upcoming fourth season. Fans started anticipating that the upcoming season might be the end of the high-rated series. Even Selena Gomez seemed to add a hint of apprehension to the show’s future.

Selena Gomez’s Only Murders in the Building Returns With Season 4

After Selena Gomez’s Only Murders in the Building season 3 achieved new levels of acclaim, Hulu made up its mind to return...

Exclusive: Republic Pictures has acquired North American rights to Rob Peace, the sophomore feature from actor-turned-filmmaker Chiwetel Ejiofor (The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind), in which he stars opposite Jay Will, Mary J. Blige and Camila Cabello.

World premiering to solid reviews at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, the film will be released in 500 theaters on August 2.

Written and directed by Ejiofor, Rob Peace is based on a bestselling work of non-fiction by Jeff Hobbs. The film tells the story of Robert Peace (Will), who grew up in an impoverished section of Newark and later graduated from Yale on scholarship. Peace led a dual life in academia, earning degrees in molecular biophysics and biochemistry while also selling marijuana to aid his father who he believed was unjustly imprisoned for murder.

Pic’s producers are Antoine Fuqua, Rebecca Hobbs, Kat Samick, Andrea Calderwood, Jeffrey Soros, Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet and Simon Horsman.