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It's still hard to imagine how musical biopics can exist in a post "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" world, but the last few years have been bursting with big-budget biopics centered on some of the most iconic performers in music history. Jennifer Hudson belted her face off as Aretha Franklin in "Respect," Taron Egerton was downright dazzling as Elton John in "Rocketman," Austin Butler may be looking at an Oscar nomination for his turn in "Elvis," following a trend set by Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury in "Bohemian Rhapsody." Now, the queen of R&b is getting a high-profile film of her own, with Naomi Ackie as Whitney Houston.

The upcoming film "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" comes from "Bohemian Rhapsody" screenwriter Anthony McCarten and groundbreaking director Kasi Lemmons, with Ackie lip-syncing to Houston's unbelievable voice while embodying the remarkably talented woman the world lost too soon. The...

If being the most decorated female singer of all time and being dubbed “The Voice” aren’t honorific enough, Whitney Houston is now getting the biopic treatment. Now, the first trailer for I Wanna Dance With Somebody has dropped, showcasing Houston in all of her glory.

The trailer for I Wanna Dance with Somebody opens with Whitney Houston being forced to take the stage after her mother can’t perform. With famed record producer Clive Davis in the audience, Houston is soon in the spotlight. Guided by early single “How Will I Know”, various clips show Houston as both a commanding presence and the target of scrutiny for not making “black enough” music. Another key highlight is her performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Super Bowl Xxv, one of the most iconic renditions of the song.

I Wanna Dance With Somebody plot: “The joyous, emotional, heartbreaking celebration of the life and music of Whitney Houston,...

Indonesian thriller ‘Autobiography’ and Mexican documentary ‘Sanson And Me’ among line-up.

Australia’s Adelaide Film Festival (Oct 19-30) has unveiled its first line-up since shifting from a biennial to an annual event, including 12 titles in competition.

This year’s event comprises 129 films, of which 22 world premieres, from more than 40 countries.

The competition features include Indonesian thriller Autobiography, which scooped a Fipresci prize at the weekend after playing in the Horizons strand of the Venice Film Festival. The debut feature of film critic-turned-director Makbul Mubarak is about a young man who keeps house for a retired general, finding himself torn between...

Snoop Dogg is asking a Los Angeles judge to reject a lawsuit claiming his company bears liability in the fatal backstage stabbing of fellow rapper Drakeo the Ruler at the “Once Upon a Time in L.A.” music festival last December.

In new court filings obtained by Rolling Stone, a lawyer representing both Snoop Dogg’s LLC and Bobby Dee Presents says that his clients – who helped promote the festival – should be cut loose from the negligence lawsuit filed by Drakeo’s brother Devante Caldwell last February or, at the very least,...

Exclusive: Legendary British actor Stephen Fry has boarded Netflix’s The F**k it Bucket from The Crown producer Left Bank Pictures, joining a clutch of highly-rated newcomers including lead Sophie Wilde (You Don’t Know Me) and Boiling Point’s Lauryn Ajufo.

Fry will play the role of Mia Polanco (Wilde)’s doctor, Dr Nell, in his latest Netflix show, having appeared as Headmaster Barnes in hit young adult drama Heartstopper and Gilbert in Neil Gaiman’s upcoming The Sandman.

Unveiled on a UK slate last year, The F**k it Bucket is Netflix’s latest big UK young adult bet, following on from the critical and commercial success of Heartstopper.

Newcomer Ripley Parker’s show follows a 17-year-old Londoner who is released from hospital after a lengthy battle with anorexia nervosa. She is thrust back into the chaotic world of sixth form, only to find that her friends have...

It’s last call for a number of great movies leaving HBO and HBO Max in March. Fortunately, the month is also packed with new movies and shows, but if you were planning to revisit any of the films below, now’s your chance.

The good news is you won’t have to squeeze in any binge-watching – there are no series leaving HBO Max this month, just films. Expiring titles of note include Sam Raimi’s definitive horror films “The Evil Dead” and “Evil Dead 2,” Wes Anderson’s charming coming-of-age romance “Moonrise Kingdom,” the Charlize Theron-led dramedy “Tully,” Judd Apatow’s “The King of Staten Island” starring Pete Davidson, and the musical drama “Dreamgirls,” starring Jennifer Hudson in the role that earned her the Oscar.

There are also several comedy favorites expiring in March, including both “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” and “Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey,...

Hundreds of mourners gathered Tuesday to say goodbye to Drakeo the Ruler, the West Coast rap star fatally stabbed on Dec. 18.

Family, friends, and fans attended the funeral at the Greater Emmanuel Temple Church in Lynwood, a few miles east of the South Los Angeles community where the highly inventive Mc — known for his breakout 2017 mixtape Cold Devil, and the Drake-assisted 2021 single “Talk to Me” — grew up.

“It really hit me last night. Reality is setting in. This is my baby,” Drakeo’s mother Darrylene Corniel told Rolling Stone as...

The rapper Drakeo the Ruler, born Darrell Wayne Caldwell, had a wide, ready smile and was said by friends and family to have had a good heart. The 28-year-old musician, who was fatally stabbed last Saturday in Los Angeles, often rapped about the grisly realities of life in America’s inner cities with a wit that transcended what others have achieved with the medium.

Drakeo always rapped from the vantage of an artist — not some martyr who saw death lurking around the corner. Earlier this year, he told Rolling Stone,...

Rapper Drakeo the Ruler has died at age 28 after being stabbed backstage at the Once Upon a Time in LA music festival on Saturday night, according to People. According to the LA Fire Department, the 28-year-old rapper, whose real name is Darrell Caldwell, was in critical condition when he was rushed to the hospital around 8:40 p.m. The all-day festival was canceled shortly after 10 p.m. Drakeo as well as Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Yg, The Game, and Ice Cube were scheduled to perform at the festival.

A source close to Drakeo told The Los Angeles Times that the rapper was attacked by a group of people. As of Sunday, no arrests were made in connection to the fatal stabbing, reports the outlet.

"There was an altercation in the roadway backstage," a statement from Live Nation read. "Out of respect for those involved and in coordination with local authorities, artists...

Rapper Drakeo the Ruler was killed in Los Angeles late Saturday night after he was stabbed during an altercation near the Banc of California Stadium in Exposition Park, during the Once Upon a Time in L.A. concert where Drakeo and dozens of performers, including Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent, were scheduled to appear.

According to the Los Angeles Times, paramedics arrived on the scene around 8:40 p.m. after reports of a stabbing. While the L.A. coroners office could not identify the victim at press time, a rep...

Showtime has given a pilot order to comedy The Wood, based on the 1999 feature film, from Justin Hillian, Rick Famuyiwa and Showtime sibling Paramount Television Studios.

Famuyiwa, who co-wrote and directed the film, will direct the pilot and executive produce with Hillian, who will pen the script. The pilot order was announced during Showtime’s virtual TCA presentation Tuesday.

The Wood is an honest look at friendship and dating from the perspective of three young Black males born and raised in the gentrifying L.A. suburb of Inglewood, fondly referred to by locals as the City Of Champions. The trio’s struggles to balance fatherhood, ambition and loyalty force them to question if they are growing apart … or closer together. With a knowing nod back to the characters of the 1999 film on which it is based, this romantic comedy showcases the humor and heart...

Exclusive: UK sales company Bankside Film has inked a development overhead deal with Sydney-based production company Causeway Films, which has credits including Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook and The Nightingale.

The agreement will see Bankside provide development finance in exchange for a first look on international sales rights and production finance. The companies have worked previously and are already teaming on three projects in the pipeline: Racka Racka’s horror feature Talk To Me; Catriona McKenzie’s drama Stolen; and Goran Stolevski’s second feature Of An Age.

Alongside Kent’s hit horror The Babadook, which premiered to raves at Sundance, and her follow-up The Nightingale, which was at Venice, Causeway’s credits also include Yolande Ramke and Ben Howling’s Cargo, which Bankside sold to Netflix in Aus, and the upcoming You Won’t Be Alone starring Noomi Rapace, which is in post and Bankside has pre-sold to Focus Features.

When we get on the phone, it’s only been 18 hours since Drakeo the Ruler’s first mixtape of the year dropped. Even though the South Los Angeles rapper doesn’t sound like he’s in a celebratory mood, he says the project surpassed his expectations. Released on February 24th, The Truth Hurts is crisp, ominous, and darkly funny. Drakeo deploys nursery rhymes and Disney metaphors to unload coded shots with his signature West Coast cool. “It’s work, but I try to have fun with it too,” he says of rapping.

Country star Morgan Wallen returned to Number One on the Rolling Stone Artists 500 chart after briefly ceding the top spot to Taylor Swift.

Wallen picked up 118.4 million song streams for the week of February 19th through February 25th, which was actually about 2 million more than he got last week when he slipped to Number Two. Wallen’s latest LP, Dangerous: The Double Album, held on at Number One on the Top 200 Albums chart for another week as well, racking up 96.5 million song streams to help it move 84,400 album-equivalent units. Wallen...

Kasi Lemmons is the rare filmmaker as comfortable in dreamworlds as histories. This week, Be Reel celebrates the groundbreaking director’s 60th trip around the sun by discussing three of Lemmons’ best-known films: “Eve’s Bayou” (1997), “Talk To Me” (2007), and “Harriet” (2019).

We’re thrilled to be joined by Christina Baker, a professor of critical race and ethnic studies at the University of California, Merced and the author of “Kasi Lemmons: Interviews.” Baker has written extensively on Lemmons’ films and interviewed the director herself, crafting new theories about Lemmons’ expertise with symbolism and her commitment to storytelling via deep, complex character relationships.

Listen: Alan J.

Continue reading Kasi Lemmons: The Power of Myth, History, And Black Love [Be Reel Podcast] at The Playlist.

Ahead of the release of his new mixtape, The Truth Hurts, Drakeo the Ruler has shared a new single featuring his near-namesake Drake. “Talk to Me” marks the first collaboration between the two artists, and finds Drakeo poised for a bona fide crossover hit. The Los Angeles rapper, who was released from prison in November following a contentious legal battle, seems aware of the stakes; on the track listing for The Truth Hurts, there’s even a radio edit for the Drake-assisted cut.

Back in 2019, Drakeo spent a year in...

Will there ever be a cultural phenomenon like The Queen’s Gambit again?

Yes, but it may take a while, according to the show’s executive producer William Horberg.

The prominent Hollywood producer chatted today with critic Luke Buckmaster as part of this year’s Screen Forever conference, where he was given the chance to reflect on how the show rose to become Netflix’s most-watched limited series of all time.

Horberg said the final product was the culmination of a vision spanning three decades.

“My partner [co-creator] Allan Scott got the rights to this 30 years ago and has been trying to make it since then,” he said.

“I joined him on this journey 20 years ago and we shot it in 2019.

“It was a long, long road uphill with a lot of rejection along the way.

“The marketplace just didn’t judge this as commercial material and yet it became the most-watched limited series in Netflix history.

Next week’s Screen Forever conference will feature insights from Netflix juggernaut The Queen’s Gambit with executive producer for the miniseries, William Horberg, set to appear in conversation.

The prominent Hollywood producer will chat with critic Luke Buckmaster, sharing his observations on how the global cinema business has changed, what makes a quality popular film, and the rise of the streamers.

Horberg is the former president of production at Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, where he produced or executive produced a number of successful films including Talk to Me, Death at a Funeral and Lars and the Real Girl.

He was also senior vice president of production at Paramount Pictures and spent 11 years with Academy Award-winning filmmakers Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella in their production company, Mirage Enterprises, where he produced films such as Cold Mountain and The Talented Mr. Ripley.

Horberg’s appearance coincides with the addition of another international session to the program,...

In a competitive situation, Skydance Television has acquired the rights to P. Djéli Clark’s fantasy historical novella “Ring Shout” with plans to develop it as a television series.

KiKi Layne is attached to star in the project, with Kasi Lemmons attached to write, direct, and serve as showrunner. Both Lemmons and Layne will executive produce along with Clark, Marc Evans, Matt Jackson, and Skydance Television’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Bill Bost. The book was originally published by Tor Books in October.

“Ring Shout” tells the story of an otherworldly evil that has risen in the 1920s South in the form of monsters who take up residence within the bodies of people filled with hate – namely the Ku Klux Klan. D.W. Griffith’s “Birth of a Nation” is helping to swell the Klan’s ranks and the monsters are drinking deep from the darkest thoughts of racism. Across...

Rick Famuyiwa will direct the upcoming docuseries on Lakers great Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Variety has learned.

The “Dope” filmmaker will work alongside editor Dirk Westervelt (“Ford Vs. Ferrari”) and Rachel Morrison (“Black Panther”), who have already begun pre-production on the film. The series, which has been likened to ESPN’s penetrating look at Michael Jordan, “The Last Dance,” is jointly produced by Xtr, H.wood Media, Nsv and Delirio Films.

It currently lacks a title, but is expected to be completed in 2021. The docuseries will feature archival footage of the Basketball Hall of Famer’s on-court heroics, as well as interviews with Johnson, his family, teammates, and business associates.

Famuyiwa made his feature film debut as writer and director on “The Wood,” a Paramount release with Taye Diggs and Omar Epps that scored with critics and at the box office, going on to gross $25 million on a $6 million budget. He...

Alex White.

Babyteeth producer Alex White has joined Causeway Films as a development producer.

White will work with company co-founders Samantha Jennings and Kristina Ceyton to advance the company’s slate while it heads into simultaneous production on two feature films: Del Kathryn Barton’s drama Puff and Goran Stolevski’s supernatural You Won’t Be Alone.

Babyteeth is currently in cinemas after its world premiere in competition at Venice last year, where it received rave reviews. The bittersweet comedy directed by Shannon Murphy was White’s debut feature, following on from successful short films such as Trespass and Florence Has Left the Building. The producer spent years working alongside Jan Chapman (who EP’d Babyteeth), and was also the associate producer on Simon Stone’s The Daughter.

Other projects on the Causeway Films slate include Danny and Michael Philippou’s Talk to Me, due to go into production in...

Michael and Danny Philippou.

YouTube sensations RackaRacka – aka Danny and Michael Philippou – will make their big screen debut with horror feature Talk to Me, produced by Causeway Films.

The project is one of six announced today as sharing in $6 million of production funding from Screen Australia.

Other projects backed include anthology feature Here Out West from Co-Curious and Emerald Productions, set in Western Sydney, as well as second seasons of Every Cloud Productions’ Ms Fisher’s MODern Murder Mysteries and Northern Pictures’ kids series Hardball; recently announced children’s series MaveriX; and Lgbtiqia teen series Flunk for YouTube.

Screen Australia head of content Sally Caplan said: “Australian creators continue to capture audiences around the world, such as the RackaRacka team which has built a huge following on YouTube and are now set to deliver a new experience for fans and newcomers alike with their debut feature film. Fans will be delighted...

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars and filmmakers and not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones they made in between.

Today we celebrate an impressive artist: writer-director Kasi Lemmons! After breaking out as an actress in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, Lemmons impressed with her directorial debut Eve’s Bayou in 1997. Roger Ebert championed it and the film emerged as one of the biggest indie hits of the year. What followed for Lemmons were three films that disappointed at the box office, though all of them offer plenty to chew on: The Caveman’s Valentine in 2001, Talk To Me in 2007 and Black Nativity in 2013. We admire the performances Lemmons gets from her actors, the aesthetic flourishes that bolster each work and a frequently unapologetic look at race, identity, and stereotypes.

We reference multiple interviews the filmmaker has given over the years,...

Second World War story takes place in 1935 as Mussolini’s army invades Ethiopia.

Harriet director Kasi Lemmons will write and direct the adaptation of Maaza Mengiste’s historical fiction novel The Shadow King for Wonder Woman 1984 producer Atlas Entertainment.

The story takes place in 1935 as Mussolini’s army invades Ethiopia expecting an easy victory. Aster, the wife of a commander in Haile Selassie’s overwhelmed army, and her household servant Hirut rally their fellow Ethiopian women and rise up against the invading Italian forces.

Charles Roven and Richard Suckle are producing, and. Stephanie Haymes-Roven and Curt Kanemoto will oversee the...

“Harriet” director Kasi Lemmons has come on board to write and direct World War II drama “The Shadow King,” set during Benito Mussolini’s 1935 invasion of Ethiopia.

The Atlas Entertainment project is based on Maaza Mengiste’s historical fiction novel, set during the first real conflict of World War II and spotlighting the Ethiopian women soldiers who were left out of the historical record. The project will be produced by Charles Roven and Richard Suckle and executive produced by Stephanie Haymes-Roven and Curt Kanemoto, who will oversee the project for Atlas Entertainment.

“Harriet” garnered an Academy Award nomination for Cynthia Erivo for her portrayal of slave-turned-abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Lemmons’ credits include “Eve’s Bayou,” “Dr. Hugo,” “The Caveman’s Valentine,” “Talk to Me” and “Black Nativity.”

“Kasi’s films are epic and intimate all at once,” said Roven and Suckle. “It makes her the perfect filmmaker to bring to life Maaza’s...

The determined struggles of true-life heroes, whose tales look to resonate loudly this awards season, were at the heart of Focus Features’ Contenders NY presentation Saturday at the DGA Theater in New York City.

For Harriet writer/director Kasi Lemmons (who helmed both Eve’s Bayou and Talk To Me) the task was to offer up the grueling human struggle of one of U.S. history’s most famous figures: abolitionist Harriet Tubman. But Lemons didn’t really see the embodiment of Tubman until meeting singer/actress Cynthia Erivo (Tony and Grammy winner for Broadway’s The Color Purple), whom she could truly picture playing the American hero who escaped slavery and led hundreds to freedom on the Underground Railroad.

“Having Cynthia is everything,” Lemmons told the appreciative DGA Theater crowd. “Harriet is very much a woman and almost a superhero and was so important to so many people and I thought,...

Ava DuVernay is the director of films such as “Selma,” “13th,” and “A Wrinkle in Time,” and she’s had an amazing 2019 thanks to her hugely successful four-part Netflix limited series “When They See Us.” The Central Park Five drama earned 11 Primetime Emmy nominations, including a win for leading actor Jharrel Jerome, and it’s expected to be a strong contender at the upcoming Golden Globes and SAG Awards. Indeed, DuVernay is having a remarkable year professionally, but it has nothing to do with “Harriet” or “Queen & Slim.” We repeat, it has nothing to do with “Harriet” or “Queen & Slim.”

DuVernay revealed on social media that she has “now been congratulated by non-black folks in Hollywood 11 different times about my direction” of ‘Harriet’ and ‘Queen & Slim.'” The filmmaker added, “When I share that I didn’t direct those films, that they are made by black women directors who are not me?...

When you see photographs of Harriet Tubman (and many exist), she appears, in an eerie way, to be staring right at us. Her implacable scowl throws down a gauntlet that cuts across the ages. Cynthia Erivo, the British singer and actress who takes on the title role of “Harriet,” nails that thousand-yard glare with a furious and mournful eloquence. She looks just like you’d imagine Harriet Tubman might have looked when she wasn’t staring down a photographer’s lens. As Harriet, Erivo communicates anger and anguish, fear and resolve, all held together by something like possession.

Fleeing from the Maryland plantation on which she was born and raised, Minty, as she’s first known, winds up on a bridge suspended over a rushing river, with armed men hemming her in from either side. She takes a leap into the rapids — her smartest strategy, but it’s also a mortal plunge.

Exclusive: Oscar- and Emmy-nominated actor, director and producer Don Cheadle has launched a new production company, Radicle Act, which will focus on creating TV and film content for all platforms. As part of the launch, Radicle Act has signed an exclusive first-look deal with Industrial Media (American Idol) to produce television and digital programming.

On the film side, through Radicle Act, Cheadle has set up the adaptation of the book Amari and the Night Brothers with Universal Pictures, which he will produce alongside Mandeville and Genius Productions. It also was announced today that Mika Pryce will join the company as Svp and Head of Development to lead Radicle Act’s efforts to produce innovative content for all platforms.

“With the advent of Radicle Act, we hope to live up to the namesake and seed the landscape, producing new and exciting material across multiple platforms,” said Cheadle. “Mika and I are...

Bruce Springsteen was the guest of honor at the Wednesday night (Aug. 7) premiere of “Blinded by The Light” at the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

Springsteen walked the red carpet with his wife, Patti Scialfa, and stopped to take a photo with stars Viveik Kaira and Aaron Phagura, writer/director/producer Gurinder Chadha, and screenwriter/author Sarfraz Manzoor, whose story is the basis of the film.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer was seated inside the theatre with 1,500 guests to screen the movie, which is set for release on Aug. 16. The film follows a Pakistani-British teenager and his life-changing journey through Springsteen’s music.

“It was so cool watching it with Bruce,” Chadha said to the audience. “We want the whole world to understand the music and the words of Bruce Springsteen. … The reason why I wanted to make this film is because of what is happening in the world.

Bruce Springsteen fans that flocked to Asbury Park, New Jersey on Wednesday evening for the premiere of Blinded By The Light got an incredible surprise near the end of the evening when Springsteen himself showed up to perform four songs. Joined by Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, they played “Talk to Me,” the Wilson Pickett classic “634-5789,” “Sherry Darling” and Sam Cooke’s “We’re Having a Party.”

Blinded By the Light is an adaptation of Sarfraz Manzoor’s memoir Greetings from Bury Park: Race, Religion and Rock N’ Roll.

Oscar bait biopics and prestige dramas aren't the only things on the menu in November. Terminator: Dark Fate and Charlie's Angels bring the action sequel bombast, with Midway giving the Roland Emmerich big-budget spectacle treatment to World War II.

The Shining sequel Doctor Sleep arrives hot on the heels of It: Chapter 2 with horror indie The Lodge also on tap for those who like a little post-Halloween darkness.

You may be wondering how exactly you're supposed to see all of these highly anticipated movies while saving up for Thanksgiving groceries and Christmas gifts. Well we've got your solution: the fantastic new program at Cinemark called Movie Club.

Stuff your November full of must-see movies for ten bucks or less (depending on where you live) with a Movie Club at Cinemark membership that gets you a movie ticket, 20 percent off concessions, and the chance to grab two tickets per transaction at...

After struggling to stand out from the retro-dressed songwriters and singers in East Nashville, Cale Tyson ditched his hat, sold his stuff, and relocated west to Los Angeles. It’s a move that, so far, has done the Texas native good. His new song “Fade Me Away” is a pleasant mix of synthesizers, beats, and Tyson’s droning vocals.

While sunny and brightly lit, the video for “Fade Me Away,” directed by Austin Leih, doesn’t mask Tyson’s disenchantment with the world — or specifically his own life. He’s...

The trailer for Kasi Lemmons’ new film Harriet has been released by Focus Features. (You can check it out above!) The film stars Cynthia Erivo and Leslie Odom Jr. and is scheduled to be in theaters on November 1, 2019.

Based on the thrilling and inspirational life of an iconic American freedom fighter, Harriet tells the extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman’s escape from slavery and transformation into one of America’s greatest heroes. Her courage, ingenuity, and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and changed the course of history.

The film was written by Gregory Allen Howard and Lemmons.

Genre: Biography, Drama, History Director: Kasi Lemmons Writers: Gregory Allen Howard and Kasi Lemmons Producers: Debra Martin Chase, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Gregory Allen Howard Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr., Janelle Monáe, Joe Alwyn, Jennifer Nettles, Clarke Peters

Focus Features will release Harriet in theaters November 1, 2019!

For More Information, Please Visit:

Official Site...

Focus Features has revealed the first trailer for Harriet, which looks like it's instantly putting itself squarely in this year's Oscar race. The biopic stars Cynthia Erivo as Harriet Tubman, the famous abolitionist who freed dozens of slaves during the Civil War, utilizing the Underground Railroad. If this first footage is any indication, Erivo has just positioned herself as a surefire bet to land a Best Actress nomination later this year at the Academy Awards. Beyond that, it looks like a compelling take on a truly legendary real-life American tale of heroism and bravery.

The trailer kicks off by showcasing the titular figure's escape from slavery which, all on its own, would make for a compelling tale. Yet, as we see, that's just the beginning. As we see, Tubman bravely made the choice to go back to the North to free her family, which led her to free many others as well.

Based on the thrilling and inspirational life of an iconic American freedom fighter, Harriet tells the extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman’s escape from slavery and transformation into one of America’s greatest heroes. Her courage, ingenuity, and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and changed the course of history.

The film stars Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr., Janelle Monáe, Joe Alwyn, Jennifer Nettles, Clarke Peters.

Directed by Kasi Lemmons and written by Gregory Allen Howard and Kasi Lemmons, watch the powerful first trailer now.

Focus Features will release Harriet in theaters November 1, 2019

Visit the official site:

https://www.focusfeatures.com/harriet

Credit: Glen Wilson / Focus Features Credit: Glen Wilson / Focus Features

The post Cynthia Erivo Is Harriet Tubman In First Trailer For Harriet From Focus Features appeared first on We Are Movie Geeks.

Based on the life of abolitionist Harriet Tubman, “Harriet” showcases the heroism of the freedom fighter as she helped save slaves via the Underground Railway.

Read More: Summer Movie Preview: 35 Films You Shouldn’t Miss

The film, which is directed by Kasi Lemmons (“Eve’s Bayou” and “Talk To Me”) and co-written with Gregory Allen Howard (“Remember the Titans”), showcases the life of Tubman as she not only escaped slavery, but also help end it.

Continue reading ‘Harriet’ Trailer: Kasi Lemmons’ Biopic On The Life of Harriet Tubman at The Playlist.

Although she was celebrated on stage, Cynthia Erivo finally made a major splash on the big screen last fall with Widows and stealing the show in the underseen Bad Times at the El Royale. This year, she returns with a major lead performance as Harriet Tubman in the aptly named Harriet, the trailer for which has now arrived.

Directed and co-written by Kasi Lemmons with Gregory Allen Howard the biopic includes an impressive supporting cast, featuring Leslie Odom Jr., Janelle Monáe, Joe Alwyn, Jennifer Nettles, and Clarke Peters. Set for a November release, we’ll imagine Focus Features will bring this one to the fall festival circuit.

See the trailer below.



Based on the story of iconic freedom fighter Harriet Tubman, Harriet follows Tubman on her escape from slavery and subsequent missions to free dozens of slaves through the Underground Railroad in the face of growing pre-Civil War adversity.

Harriet...

It wouldn’t be awards season without an Oscar hopeful from Focus Features, and this year the specialty arm of Universal looks to have a big one with “Harriet.” From “Eve’s Bayou” director Kasi Lemmons, “Harriet” is a biographical drama that tells the story of the abolitionist icon Harriet Tubman. Born into slavery, Tubman breaks free and embarks on a mission to help slaves escape North using the Underground Railroad.

“Harriet” stars rising Hollywood star Cynthia Erivo in the title role. Erivo is best known to theater-goers for her breakout work on Broadway, including winning a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2016 for her acclaimed run as Celie in the revival of “The Color Purple.” Last fall, the actress broke big at the movies with supporting turns in Drew Goddard’s “Bad Times at the El Royale” and Steve McQueen’s “Widows.” “Harriet” marks Erivo’s debut as a leading star.

Exclusive: Coming off the second-biggest-grossing film of all time, Avengers: Endgame ($2.77 billion), Don Cheadle is joining LeBron James in Warner Bros.’ Space Jam 2, which is currently in production.

Terence Nance is directing the follow-up to the 1996 movie which grossed over $230M at the global box office. The pic is seen as a reboot of the studio’s classic Looney Tunes stable. Cheadle’s role is being kept under wraps.

Most recently Cheadle starred in the Showtime Wall Street comedy series Black Monday set in the year leading up to October 19, 1987 stock market crash (aka Black Monday). Showtime renewed the series and Season 2 will premiere in 2020.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Cheadle is known for his role as War Machine in the Avengers, Captain America and Iron Man movies. Cheadle will also star in the upcoming sci-fi drama series Don’t Look Deeper for Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman’s...

Bruce Springsteen made a surprise appearance Saturday evening near the end of Southside Johnny’s annual July 4th weekend concert at the Stone Pony Summer Stage in Asbury Park, New Jersey. He came onstage to join his old friend on a spirited rendition of “Sherry Darling” and stuck around for seemingly unrehearsed takes on “The Fever,” “Talk to Me,” “Kitty’s Back,” ‘I Don’t Wanna Go Home,” ‘Mona/Not Fade Away” and “Having a Party.”

Southside Johnny and Springsteen rose out of the late Sixties Asbury Park rock scene...

Editor Terilyn A. Shropshire felt “a huge responsibility” working on “When They See Us.” In piecing together the first episode of Ava DuVernay‘s limited series the veteran cutter had to “introduce an audience to these men” who were more than just the name the media gave them: the Central Park Five. “These are living human beings who endured insurmountable types of atrocities as young boys, and you thought about them every day” that “you were coming into the cutting room.” Watch our exclusive video interview with Shropshire and fellow editor Michelle Tesoro above.

See Michael Kenneth Williams interview: ‘When They See Us’

“When They See Us” tells the tragic true story of Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise, known at the time as the Central Park Five, and since redubbed the Exonerated Five. In 1989 the five teenagers were wrongly convicted of raping a white...

You are invited to attend our Q&A discussion with four of TV’s top costume designers who now compete for Emmys. Join us on Thursday, June 6, at 7 p.m. at the Landmark Theater at 10850 W. Pico Blvd. in Los Angeles. Admission and parking are free. TV Academy and guild members will get priority seating.

To RSVP, make your reservation here: https://goldderbycostumedesign2019.splashthat.com/

Gold Derby senior editor Joyce Eng will moderate the Q&A with the following contenders for 2019 awards consideration:

Ruth Carter represents Paramount Network for “Yellowstone”

Carter won at the Oscars this year for “Black Panther” and was nominated twice before for “Malcolm X” and “Amistad.” She has been nominated at the Costume Designers Guild Awards for “Selma” and won for “Black Panther.” Her prior Emmy nomination was for “Roots.”

Michelle Cole represents ABC for “Black-ish”

Cole was nominated at last year’s Emmy Awards for “Black-ish.

“Angie, are you tough enuh-uff/To let it go?” asks Mary Timony over sugared electric guitar churn at the outset of Ex Hex’s latest, immortalizing a new rock’n’roll Angie with as much performative heartache and swagger as Jagger, maybe more. Ex Hex’s second album is about garage-rock thrust at its core, like prime Stones and their own debut Rips. Like that LP, it draws a through-line from the Shangri-Las to Blondie to Sleater-Kinney to, well, Ex-Hex.

This time, though, pop-metal production shine adds a new meta-textual layer,...

A clutch of film buffs and staff writers at my favorite newspaper, the Washington Post, devoted considerable time, thought and space to a weekend article challenging 1939’s claim to the title of “Best Movie Year Ever.” Prompted by the number of critics appending “great” to 2018, the Post decided to look back and single out the greatest years in film, and after a brainstorming session, its writers settled on 1939 and six subsequent years — 1946, 1955, 1974, 1982, 1999, and 2007 — and assigned a sponsor to each one.

It was a cute idea and a fool’s errand if anyone’s ever been sent on one. It also produced fun reading, even if 1939 need not worry about its place in film history. There were unique reasons for 1939 (and ‘40 and ‘41) turning out so many enduring movies.

Hollywood had been recently and grudgingly unionized, giving directors in particular more power over their studio assignments. The country was in a dark mood,...

Earlier this month, Stevie Nicks learned that she was going to become the first woman ever inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on two occasions. “My biggest hope is that I have opened the door due to the fact that there’s 22 men who have gone in twice and zero women,” she told Rolling Stone. “I think that’s really a little off balance. That’s what I’m hoping, that what’s happened here to me will give all the little rock and roll stars that...

Musical star and actress Cher is having an incredible year! She co-starred in the hit summer film “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.” She has her life story on Broadway in November. She will receive the Kennedy Center Honors in December. And she just overwhelmingly won our Rock and Roll Hall of Fame poll about which female artist should be inducted next.

See Cher, Reba McEntire and ‘Hamilton’ to receive Kennedy Center Honors

Over the past week, we offered you a poll featuring 12 female artists who have been overlooked by Hall of Fame voters in recent years. In our results from over 900 people worldwide, Cher received a whopping 50% of support. The only other person with double digit results was Cyndi Lauper with 28%.

The 2019 nomination list from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will be released in a few weeks. Look for our other polls in the near future asking...

When we suggested 12 female rockers late last summer to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame voters, not one of them was chosen for induction. It’s still one of the biggest hot button issues for this group that they continue to insanely overlook some of the greatest ladies in this genre, almost always choosing male groups and solo men instead.

The only female artist inducted this year was the late Nina Simone, known more in her career for soul, R&B and blues than rock. Sister Rosetta Tharpe was recognized at the 2018 ceremony for her early influence. In fact, some of the only female artists inducted in recent years have been Joan Baez (2017), Darlene Love (2011), Linda Ronstadt (2014) and Donna Summer (2013).

So we provide you with the same dozen ladies below for consideration to be inducted in 2019 because we feel like they all eventually deserve to join the Hof. Vote now...

Netflix has given a series order to “Madam C.J. Walker,” starring Octavia Spencer as black hair care pioneer and mogul Madam C.J. Walker. LeBron James is an executive producer on the series, which is based on the book “On Her Own Ground,” by A’Lelia Bundles.

Kasi Lemmons is director and executive producer on the first episode, while Janine Sherman Barrois and Elle Johnson are showrunners.

“Madam C.J. Walker” follows the mogul (real name: Sarah Breedlove) “and how she overcame hostile turn-of-the-century America, epic rivalries, tumultuous marriages and some trifling family to become America’s first black, self-made female millionaire.”

Spencer will also executive produce, along with James, Maverick Carter, Mark Holder, and Christine Holder. James’ SpringHill Entertainment will produce with Zero Gravity, in association with Warner Bros. Television.

Also, Netflix announced that it has ordered the series “White Lines,” from writer and showrunner Alex Pina (“La...

Netflix has given the green light to Madam C.J. Walker, an eight-episode limited series starring and executive produced by Oscar winner Octavia Spencer and executive produced by LeBron James. The announcement was made by VP original programming Cindy Holland during Netflix’s TCA executive session.

Janine Sherman Barrois and Elle Johnson are set as showrunners on the Zero Gravity-produced series about the legendary African American entrepreneur and philanthropist, with Kasi Lemmons on board to direct the first episode.

Written by Nicole Asher based on the book On Her Own Ground by A’Lelia Bundles, Madam C.J. Walker tells the untold and highly irreverent story of black hair care pioneer and mogul Madam C.J. Walker and how she overcame hostile turn-of-the-century America, epic rivalries, tumultuous marriages and some trifling family to become America’s first black, self-made female millionaire.

Spencer stars as Sarah Breedlove,...