In the six years since first hitting Park City, Justin Simien has had a modest, successful career. His debut feature, Dear White People, swiftly got picked up and hit American theaters in the fall of 2014 to more than quintuple its budget. It was messy, sure, but it had a lot of its mind and energy to spare. In fact, it had so much that it was able to spawn an adaptation in the form of a Netflix series, and as that heads into its fourth and final season, it would appear that Simien is looking ahead while also dipping into the past.
Such brings us to Bad Hair, a horror-comedy that aims to continue his quick dialogue and world-building that blurs the line between the fictional and the all-too-real. Meet Anna (newcomer Elle Lorraine), a young woman making her way in the TV industry. The production design from Scott Kuzio...
Such brings us to Bad Hair, a horror-comedy that aims to continue his quick dialogue and world-building that blurs the line between the fictional and the all-too-real. Meet Anna (newcomer Elle Lorraine), a young woman making her way in the TV industry. The production design from Scott Kuzio...
- 1/26/2020
- by Matt Cipolla
- The Film Stage
Many of us who have tried to dye, bleach, relax or chemically treat our hair at home may relate to the anxiety in the first scene of Justin Simien’s follow-up to “Dear White People,” “Bad Hair.” An older cousin tries to help her younger cousin relax her hair for the first time, but the little girl begins to complain that the product is burning her.
Like many first-time attempts, the experiment doesn’t go well, but this is just the start of many hair-related frights to come in the film, which had its world premiere on Thursday, the opening night of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.
After that initial scene, the film jumps ahead to 1989 Los Angeles. The little girl, Anna (Elle Lorraine), is now an aspiring TV producer in an industry that’s ruthless on black women and their hair. Under new management led by a former model, Zora...
Like many first-time attempts, the experiment doesn’t go well, but this is just the start of many hair-related frights to come in the film, which had its world premiere on Thursday, the opening night of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.
After that initial scene, the film jumps ahead to 1989 Los Angeles. The little girl, Anna (Elle Lorraine), is now an aspiring TV producer in an industry that’s ruthless on black women and their hair. Under new management led by a former model, Zora...
- 1/24/2020
- by Monica Castillo
- The Wrap
Plus: SXSW reviews and perfect shots.
You’d think someone like David Fincher would have proven their case for autonomy by now. You’d think that by hiring someone as stylistic and accomplished as Fincher, the studio would understand that the best way to help him make the best movie possible is to get out of his way and just let the man work. It’s merely a case of looking at Alien 3 versus Se7en: in the case of the former, the studio meddled, asserted control, and as a result the film was an utter disaster that Fincher doesn’t even like having his name attached to; in the case of the latter, he put his foot down, made the movie the way he wanted it made, and as a result he became an overnight sensation and a powerful new presence in cinema.
But when it came time for the American remake of the international...
You’d think someone like David Fincher would have proven their case for autonomy by now. You’d think that by hiring someone as stylistic and accomplished as Fincher, the studio would understand that the best way to help him make the best movie possible is to get out of his way and just let the man work. It’s merely a case of looking at Alien 3 versus Se7en: in the case of the former, the studio meddled, asserted control, and as a result the film was an utter disaster that Fincher doesn’t even like having his name attached to; in the case of the latter, he put his foot down, made the movie the way he wanted it made, and as a result he became an overnight sensation and a powerful new presence in cinema.
But when it came time for the American remake of the international...
- 3/14/2017
- by H. Perry Horton
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Writer/Filmmaker, and S&A contributor, Nijla Mu'min is currently raising production funds on Kickstarter for her first feature film,"Jinn," a "sweet & serious" coming of age dramedy about a carefree black girl whose world is turned upside down when her mother converts to Islam, sending her on a quest for self-definition. It's a fun, fresh exploration of identity, Islam, millennial culture, and new media. The story is loosely drawn from the filmmaker's upbringing and explores religious interpretation and shifting family dynamics. The script has garnered good ratings on the industry site "The Black List," and Topher Osborn, the...
- 3/7/2016
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Cinematographer Topher Osborn told Indiewire about shooting "Dear White People," writer-director Justin Simien's satire about four black students at an Ivy League school where a riot breaks out following an "African American" party held by white students. The film, which was Indiewire and Tribeca's first-ever Project of the Year, played in the Dramatic Competition of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. Osborn's previous credits include the documentary "African Election" and the short film "Little Canyon", which played at Sundance in 2011 and 2009, respectively. Which camera and lens did you use? [Red] Epic X, Cooke 18 - 100, Cooke S4 set.What was the most difficult shot on your movie, and how did you pull it off? Justin Simien loves the wide angle lens. I find myself drawn to medium lenses, the 32mm is my favorite focal length. So he would really push me to go wider and wider. This had me thinking differently about compositions...
- 1/23/2014
- by Max O'Connell
- Indiewire
By Terence Johnson
Managing Editor
There are movies that manage to touch upon current issues and then there are films that speak to you, as an audience member, and your life experiences. Luckily, for me, Dear White People managed to be both of those films, and extremely successful at that. While Justin Simien does encounter some minor stumbles, in his capable hands Dear White People is a perfect film for today’s generation.
The plot for Dear White People is pretty simple. Samantha White (a revelatory Tessa Thompson), a media arts major and host of the popular show “Dear White People”, is fed up with the state of the all-black residence hall Parker/Armstrong and decides to run for Head of House against the golden boy son of the Dean of Students, and her former flame, Troy (Brandon P. Bell). She wins just as a reality TV show comes onto...
Managing Editor
There are movies that manage to touch upon current issues and then there are films that speak to you, as an audience member, and your life experiences. Luckily, for me, Dear White People managed to be both of those films, and extremely successful at that. While Justin Simien does encounter some minor stumbles, in his capable hands Dear White People is a perfect film for today’s generation.
The plot for Dear White People is pretty simple. Samantha White (a revelatory Tessa Thompson), a media arts major and host of the popular show “Dear White People”, is fed up with the state of the all-black residence hall Parker/Armstrong and decides to run for Head of House against the golden boy son of the Dean of Students, and her former flame, Troy (Brandon P. Bell). She wins just as a reality TV show comes onto...
- 1/19/2014
- by Terence Johnson
- Scott Feinberg
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