Exclusive: Following the success of their Academy Award-winning Warner Bros drama King Richard, based on their own life stories, tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams have teamed with Oscar-nominated Tár producer Alexandra Milchan to develop En Garde, a new feature to be adapted for the screen and directed by the duo known as Bush Renz (Antebellum).
The forthcoming film is based on the New York Times bestselling book Black Brother, Black Brother by award-winning author Jewell Parker Rhodes, which was published by Little, Brown in 2020. It tells the story of two bi-racial brothers — one white-presenting; the other, Black — who must navigate the unforgiving social constructs and institutions of an elite Connecticut prep high school. When the darker-skinned brother’s future is threatened by his arch-nemesis, he seeks out the counsel of an Olympic fencing champion to beat him at his own game.
Venus Williams will be joined as a producer...
The forthcoming film is based on the New York Times bestselling book Black Brother, Black Brother by award-winning author Jewell Parker Rhodes, which was published by Little, Brown in 2020. It tells the story of two bi-racial brothers — one white-presenting; the other, Black — who must navigate the unforgiving social constructs and institutions of an elite Connecticut prep high school. When the darker-skinned brother’s future is threatened by his arch-nemesis, he seeks out the counsel of an Olympic fencing champion to beat him at his own game.
Venus Williams will be joined as a producer...
- 4/19/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Opening with William Faulkner's famous lines 'The past is never dead. It's not even past,' Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz's blistering mystery thriller blends its tenses even as it builds its tension. It beckons the viewer in with the romance which, to many Americans, is still conjured up by the title, with golden light and green fields and a rustle of colourful skirts, only to draw back and reveal a landscape where white men on horseback leer downwards at cowed black cotton pickers. You can't daydream about the past unless you're willing to face the brutal reality - but of course, it's precisely that brutality that some people want back.
Are the events that we see in these opening scenes a piece of the past or something else? When her alarm goes off, Veronica (Janelle Monáe) wakes up in the present day. Her partner soothes her, asks if it was another.
Are the events that we see in these opening scenes a piece of the past or something else? When her alarm goes off, Veronica (Janelle Monáe) wakes up in the present day. Her partner soothes her, asks if it was another.
- 7/26/2021
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Sky plans to broadcast one new film a week from 2022.
UK pay-tv broadcaster Sky is to launch 30 new Sky Original films this year and will increase this to one a week from 2022 in a bid to become “the best home cinema service in the world”.
It represents a major push into film for the UK pay-tv operator, taking on streaming giants Netflix and Amazon as well as Disney, whose channels were removed from Sky last October following the launch of Disney+.
The plan to launch one original film per week from next year echoes a similar commitment made by Netflix earlier this month.
UK pay-tv broadcaster Sky is to launch 30 new Sky Original films this year and will increase this to one a week from 2022 in a bid to become “the best home cinema service in the world”.
It represents a major push into film for the UK pay-tv operator, taking on streaming giants Netflix and Amazon as well as Disney, whose channels were removed from Sky last October following the launch of Disney+.
The plan to launch one original film per week from next year echoes a similar commitment made by Netflix earlier this month.
- 1/25/2021
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz, the directing duo known as Bush+Renz, crafted one of 2020’s best films with their debut Antebellum. I had the chance to speak with directors on the making of their film. A brief conversation on impact, inspirations and several of the various notable elements of the film, including cast and musical inspirations, wraps up with mention of several forthcoming projects from the filmmakers. Lionsgate released the film September 18th.
Ioncinema.com is a media outlet featuring daily news, reviews and interviews in American indie, world cinema, documentary film & film festivals. Our motto: We heart subtitles!…...
Ioncinema.com is a media outlet featuring daily news, reviews and interviews in American indie, world cinema, documentary film & film festivals. Our motto: We heart subtitles!…...
- 1/19/2021
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz are former advertising creative executives who founded their agency Bush/Renz in 2008. The duo has a long and successful history of viral and effective short form marketing and entertainment. Their debut feature Antebellum, is about a woman who finds herself trapped in a horrifying reality involving slavery.
Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz took the time to talk to We Are Movie Geeks about their careers and about how Antebellum came to be.
Interview conducted by Tom Stockman January 13th, 2021
Tom Stockman: I recently watched your movie Antebellum and found it very entertaining. Gerard, I heard that this story was inspired by a nightmare that you had.
Gerard Bush; Yes it was shortly before we moved to LA . I was having a lot of weird dreams at that time. This particular nightmare felt different. It felt like this woman Eden was so desperate for help that she was screaming across dimensions.
Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz took the time to talk to We Are Movie Geeks about their careers and about how Antebellum came to be.
Interview conducted by Tom Stockman January 13th, 2021
Tom Stockman: I recently watched your movie Antebellum and found it very entertaining. Gerard, I heard that this story was inspired by a nightmare that you had.
Gerard Bush; Yes it was shortly before we moved to LA . I was having a lot of weird dreams at that time. This particular nightmare felt different. It felt like this woman Eden was so desperate for help that she was screaming across dimensions.
- 1/19/2021
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix unveiled the premiere date for “Death to 2020,” and HBO Max announced the Season 3 premiere date for “Gomorrah.”
Dates
HBO Max announced plans to drop the entirety of “Gomorrah” Season 3 on Jan. 21, foregoing the typical waterfall release schedule of the prior seasons. The Italian crime drama series stars Marco D’Amore as a member of the Savastano Camorra clan and follows the power struggles that break out when a main member of the criminal organization is arrested. The show also stars Salvatore Esposito, Cristina Donadio, Cristiana Dell’Anna, Arturo Muselli, Loris De Luna, Ivana Lotito, Gianfranco Gallo, Carlo Cerciello, Pasquale Esposito, Carlo Caracciolo and Andrea Di Maria. Watch a trailer below.
Facebook Watch announced an end-of-year special entitled “Peace Out 2020” will stream Dec. 29 at 12 p.m. Pt. Hosts Keke Palmer and David Dobrik will lead the special through its various comedy bits and special appearances. The...
Dates
HBO Max announced plans to drop the entirety of “Gomorrah” Season 3 on Jan. 21, foregoing the typical waterfall release schedule of the prior seasons. The Italian crime drama series stars Marco D’Amore as a member of the Savastano Camorra clan and follows the power struggles that break out when a main member of the criminal organization is arrested. The show also stars Salvatore Esposito, Cristina Donadio, Cristiana Dell’Anna, Arturo Muselli, Loris De Luna, Ivana Lotito, Gianfranco Gallo, Carlo Cerciello, Pasquale Esposito, Carlo Caracciolo and Andrea Di Maria. Watch a trailer below.
Facebook Watch announced an end-of-year special entitled “Peace Out 2020” will stream Dec. 29 at 12 p.m. Pt. Hosts Keke Palmer and David Dobrik will lead the special through its various comedy bits and special appearances. The...
- 12/21/2020
- by Eli Countryman
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: HBO Max has put in development Inkwell, a drama from writers-directors-producers Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz (Antebellum) and their Gloaming Productions banner.
While the plot is under wraps, Inkwell is said to follow a pod of uber affluent Black surfers that suddenly find themselves catapulted into a battle against a mysterious dark superpower consuming the country.
Bush and Renz created and will executive produce the series, which will be produced under their Gloaming Productions banner. The duo will write and direct both the pilot and finale episodes.
Most recently, the duo wrote, directed, and produced their first feature film, thriller Antebellum, distributed through Lionsgate and starring Janelle Monae. They are currently working on their next feature film, Rapture, also distributed through Lionsgate, after a highly competitive bidding process. The film follows a family who is torn apart by warring beliefs and must come together to unravel the mystery around...
While the plot is under wraps, Inkwell is said to follow a pod of uber affluent Black surfers that suddenly find themselves catapulted into a battle against a mysterious dark superpower consuming the country.
Bush and Renz created and will executive produce the series, which will be produced under their Gloaming Productions banner. The duo will write and direct both the pilot and finale episodes.
Most recently, the duo wrote, directed, and produced their first feature film, thriller Antebellum, distributed through Lionsgate and starring Janelle Monae. They are currently working on their next feature film, Rapture, also distributed through Lionsgate, after a highly competitive bidding process. The film follows a family who is torn apart by warring beliefs and must come together to unravel the mystery around...
- 12/21/2020
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Joe Mantello, the “Hollywood” actor and director of “The Boys in the Band,” is the model for one of four magazine covers for the Out100, Out magazine’s annual list of today’s most influential LGBTQ+ figures, TheWrap can exclusively share.
Mantello fronts the film edition of the magazine, which will also profile other creators and performers like actress Brigette Lundy-Paine, actress and writer Jen Richards, documentary filmmakers P. David Ebersole and Todd Hughes, animator Steven Clay Hunter and “Antebellum” filmmakers Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz.
“Joe Mantello’s breathtaking performance in ‘Hollywood’ moved me unlike any performance I’ve seen this year,” Out’s editor in chief David Artavia said in a statement. “A man of many hats, Joe’s work in theater as both an actor and a director is timeless and continues to exist at the pulse point of many generations. Beloved by many in the entertainment industry,...
Mantello fronts the film edition of the magazine, which will also profile other creators and performers like actress Brigette Lundy-Paine, actress and writer Jen Richards, documentary filmmakers P. David Ebersole and Todd Hughes, animator Steven Clay Hunter and “Antebellum” filmmakers Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz.
“Joe Mantello’s breathtaking performance in ‘Hollywood’ moved me unlike any performance I’ve seen this year,” Out’s editor in chief David Artavia said in a statement. “A man of many hats, Joe’s work in theater as both an actor and a director is timeless and continues to exist at the pulse point of many generations. Beloved by many in the entertainment industry,...
- 11/17/2020
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
A horrifying, suspenseful thriller, Antebellum arrived on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray and Digital), Blu-ray Combo Pack (plus DVD and Digital), DVD, Digital, and On Demand November 3 from Lionsgate.
The film is currently available on Premium Video On Demand and was the top grossing title over the first two weeks of its debut. Featuring an all-star cast including Janelle Monáe, Eric Lange, Jena Malone, Jack Huston, Kiersey Clemons, and Gabourey Sidibe, and the film aims to spark a “new and innovative way of talking about modern issues” (Janelle Monáe).
Successful author Veronica Henley (Janelle Monáe) finds herself trapped in a horrifying reality that forces her to confront the past, present and future – before it’s too late.
Gerard Bush + Christopher Renz, the writer-producer-directors of Antebellum, said, “We are thrilled Antebellum will continue its forward march into homes across America. Ultra 4k HD, Blu-ray & DVD will include never before...
The film is currently available on Premium Video On Demand and was the top grossing title over the first two weeks of its debut. Featuring an all-star cast including Janelle Monáe, Eric Lange, Jena Malone, Jack Huston, Kiersey Clemons, and Gabourey Sidibe, and the film aims to spark a “new and innovative way of talking about modern issues” (Janelle Monáe).
Successful author Veronica Henley (Janelle Monáe) finds herself trapped in a horrifying reality that forces her to confront the past, present and future – before it’s too late.
Gerard Bush + Christopher Renz, the writer-producer-directors of Antebellum, said, “We are thrilled Antebellum will continue its forward march into homes across America. Ultra 4k HD, Blu-ray & DVD will include never before...
- 11/16/2020
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
In anticipation of the upcoming release of Antebellum on 4K Ultra HD™, Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital November 3 from Lionsgate, we have two special feature clips that highlight actresses Janelle Monae and Gabourey Sidibe, as well as the writer/director/producers Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz. Watch as they share their thoughts on how the film explores aspects of the horror genre, as well as …
The post Antebellum arrives on 4K, Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital 11/3 – New clips appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.
The post Antebellum arrives on 4K, Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital 11/3 – New clips appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.
- 11/2/2020
- by Adrian Halen
- Horror News
For much of the world, 2020 has embodied the exact traits of a well-crafted horror movie: twisted, uncompromising, and something nobody really saw coming. If nothing else, the unsettling nature of a year that has been hobbled by both a global pandemic and a divisive election cycle (among other eerie twists) is a reminder that scariness comes in many forms, and the traditional horror formula that many of us celebrate on Halloween is just one piece of the equation. Many of the movies released this year are scary in unexpected ways, either because they tap into timely anxieties or illustrate the precise nature of terror in these uncertain times.
Here are 13 recent disturbing highlights. Don’t watch them alone.
“Antebellum”
Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz’s feature debut may lack subtlety, but often makes up for it with a bone-chilling terror that suggests everything onscreen is very real. The Janelle Monae-starring...
Here are 13 recent disturbing highlights. Don’t watch them alone.
“Antebellum”
Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz’s feature debut may lack subtlety, but often makes up for it with a bone-chilling terror that suggests everything onscreen is very real. The Janelle Monae-starring...
- 10/26/2020
- by Eric Kohn, David Ehrlich, Kate Erbland and Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Following its VOD release in September, the Janelle Monáe-starring Antebellum is coming to 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on November 3rd from Lionsgate, and we have a look at the full list of special features, including deleted scenes and a two-part documentary:
From the Press Release: Santa Monica, CA – A horrifying, suspenseful thriller comes home when Antebellum arrives on 4K Ultra HD™ Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray and Digital), Blu-ray Combo Pack (plus DVD and Digital), DVD, Digital, and On Demand November 3 from Lionsgate. The film is currently available on Premium Video On Demand and was the top grossing title over the first two weeks of its debut. Featuring an all-star cast including Janelle Monáe, Eric Lange, Jena Malone, Jack Huston, Kiersey Clemons, and Gabourey Sidibe, the film aims to spark a “new and innovative way of talking about modern issues” (Janelle Monáe).
Successful author Veronica Henley (Janelle Mona...
From the Press Release: Santa Monica, CA – A horrifying, suspenseful thriller comes home when Antebellum arrives on 4K Ultra HD™ Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray and Digital), Blu-ray Combo Pack (plus DVD and Digital), DVD, Digital, and On Demand November 3 from Lionsgate. The film is currently available on Premium Video On Demand and was the top grossing title over the first two weeks of its debut. Featuring an all-star cast including Janelle Monáe, Eric Lange, Jena Malone, Jack Huston, Kiersey Clemons, and Gabourey Sidibe, the film aims to spark a “new and innovative way of talking about modern issues” (Janelle Monáe).
Successful author Veronica Henley (Janelle Mona...
- 10/7/2020
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
After being pulled from its theatrical run, Lionsgate released its social horror Antebellum on premium VOD last month. Now, the Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz-directed film will be getting a Digital, 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray & DVD release on November 3. Antebellum stars Janelle Monáe as successful author Veronica Henley, who finds herself trapped in a horrifying reality and must uncover the […]...
- 10/6/2020
- by Brad Miska
- bloody-disgusting.com
‘Antebellum.’
While the school holidays are giving ticket sales a modest uplift, the crisis for Australian cinemas shows no signs of abating, at least until Boxing Day.
The decision by MGM, Universal and James Bond producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli to shift the global release of No Time to Die from November to April 2021 is the latest blow to product-starved exhibitors.
The fourth quarter schedule looks threadbare after Disney decided to premiere Pixar’s Soul on Disney+ on December 25 and moved Kenneth Branagh’s Death on the Nile to January 7 and Marvel’s Black Widow to April. Meanwhile Warner Bros. booted Denis Villeneuve’s Dune reboot to October 2021.
“The current situation seems absolutely catastrophic for exhibitors right now,” says Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace Gm Alex Temesvari, whose top title last weekend was David Attenborough: A Life on our Planet.
“While it’s easy to understand on a case...
While the school holidays are giving ticket sales a modest uplift, the crisis for Australian cinemas shows no signs of abating, at least until Boxing Day.
The decision by MGM, Universal and James Bond producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli to shift the global release of No Time to Die from November to April 2021 is the latest blow to product-starved exhibitors.
The fourth quarter schedule looks threadbare after Disney decided to premiere Pixar’s Soul on Disney+ on December 25 and moved Kenneth Branagh’s Death on the Nile to January 7 and Marvel’s Black Widow to April. Meanwhile Warner Bros. booted Denis Villeneuve’s Dune reboot to October 2021.
“The current situation seems absolutely catastrophic for exhibitors right now,” says Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace Gm Alex Temesvari, whose top title last weekend was David Attenborough: A Life on our Planet.
“While it’s easy to understand on a case...
- 10/6/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Making movies is arduous, but the appreciation that follows can make it all worthwhile. For writer-director duo Bush|Renz, comprised of Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz, that experience has so far evaded them. Their feature debut “Antebellum,” which premiered on PVOD last week, aimed to recontextualize what American slavery meant. To put it kindly, it found a blistering reception.
The film, a glossy twist on the so-called “slave narrative,” stars Janelle Monáe as a woman “trapped in a horrifying reality that forces her to confront the past, present and future.” The filmmakers made “Antebellum” to catalyze a national dialogue around a host of urgent topics, including race.
Critics don’t see it that way. Rotten Tomatoes currently scores “Antebellum” with a 28 percent rating, with the critical consensus that it’s “a largely unpleasant experience.” It has its supporters — Stephanie Zacharek at Time praises Monáe as “electrifying” and said the film is “a tense,...
The film, a glossy twist on the so-called “slave narrative,” stars Janelle Monáe as a woman “trapped in a horrifying reality that forces her to confront the past, present and future.” The filmmakers made “Antebellum” to catalyze a national dialogue around a host of urgent topics, including race.
Critics don’t see it that way. Rotten Tomatoes currently scores “Antebellum” with a 28 percent rating, with the critical consensus that it’s “a largely unpleasant experience.” It has its supporters — Stephanie Zacharek at Time praises Monáe as “electrifying” and said the film is “a tense,...
- 9/27/2020
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” – William Faulkner
Directors Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz begin their hybrid horror film Antebellum with this quote from William Faulkner’s story “Requiem for a Nun.” The line, specific about the history of the American South, describes how the past still haunts the present. When Barack Obama used a variation of that line during a speech in 2008, it framed William Faulkner’s environment of the South and how the legacy of racial atrocities found in history still linger so prevalently today.
It doesn’t take much to find horror in the world these days. Amid a global pandemic, the makings of a horror film already, the injustices happening across the world continue to pile on one right after the other. And cinema, consistently one of the best mirrors of present times in the world, has taken to genre film to discuss and dissect the issues.
Directors Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz begin their hybrid horror film Antebellum with this quote from William Faulkner’s story “Requiem for a Nun.” The line, specific about the history of the American South, describes how the past still haunts the present. When Barack Obama used a variation of that line during a speech in 2008, it framed William Faulkner’s environment of the South and how the legacy of racial atrocities found in history still linger so prevalently today.
It doesn’t take much to find horror in the world these days. Amid a global pandemic, the makings of a horror film already, the injustices happening across the world continue to pile on one right after the other. And cinema, consistently one of the best mirrors of present times in the world, has taken to genre film to discuss and dissect the issues.
- 9/22/2020
- by Monte Yazzie
- DailyDead
‘Antebellum’ Leads Weekly Streaming Lists
Janelle Monae horror thriller “Antebellum” has topped the the lists of the week’s movies streaming on Fandango’s streaming services Vudu and FandangoNOW.
Lionsgate decided in early August to ditch a domestic theatrical release for “Antebellum” amid an uncertain outlook for launching movies at brick-and-mortar theaters due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The movie, directed by Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz, had originally been set for an April 24 release that was delayed several times amid the outbreak.
Monae portrays a successful modern-day author who finds herself trapped during the era of American slavery and must find a way to escape from the horrifying reality. The cast includes Eric Lange, Jena Malone, Jack Huston, Kiersey Clemons and Gabourey Sidibe.
‘Residue,’ ‘Feather & Pine’ Win at Mammoth Lakes
The Mammoth Lakes Film Festival has awarded its top prizes to Merawi Gerima’s “Residue” for top narrative feature and...
Janelle Monae horror thriller “Antebellum” has topped the the lists of the week’s movies streaming on Fandango’s streaming services Vudu and FandangoNOW.
Lionsgate decided in early August to ditch a domestic theatrical release for “Antebellum” amid an uncertain outlook for launching movies at brick-and-mortar theaters due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The movie, directed by Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz, had originally been set for an April 24 release that was delayed several times amid the outbreak.
Monae portrays a successful modern-day author who finds herself trapped during the era of American slavery and must find a way to escape from the horrifying reality. The cast includes Eric Lange, Jena Malone, Jack Huston, Kiersey Clemons and Gabourey Sidibe.
‘Residue,’ ‘Feather & Pine’ Win at Mammoth Lakes
The Mammoth Lakes Film Festival has awarded its top prizes to Merawi Gerima’s “Residue” for top narrative feature and...
- 9/22/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Spoiler Alert: Do not read if you have not seen “Antebellum,” now available on PVOD.
Filmmakers Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz weren’t worried about pushing the envelope too far with “Antebellum,” their twisty tale of a contemporary Black woman, a slave living on a brutal Southern plantation and the way their fates are intertwined. In fact, one could argue that was their intention.
“I think that we are in this place where art is being policed in such a way that the potency of the medicine that needs to be delivered, is being greatly diluted. Good art, our art is meant to activate and trigger,” Bush told Variety shortly before the film’s release. “I would prefer that you be triggered within the safety of your own home and activated into action, than for this to happen in reality and for us to continue to live in an open-air shooting gallery.
Filmmakers Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz weren’t worried about pushing the envelope too far with “Antebellum,” their twisty tale of a contemporary Black woman, a slave living on a brutal Southern plantation and the way their fates are intertwined. In fact, one could argue that was their intention.
“I think that we are in this place where art is being policed in such a way that the potency of the medicine that needs to be delivered, is being greatly diluted. Good art, our art is meant to activate and trigger,” Bush told Variety shortly before the film’s release. “I would prefer that you be triggered within the safety of your own home and activated into action, than for this to happen in reality and for us to continue to live in an open-air shooting gallery.
- 9/22/2020
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
The directing team Bush + Renz — that would be Gerard Bush, 47, and Christopher Renz, 39, partners in life and work — were well into preproduction on their first feature, the psychological thriller Antebellum, when they learned they’d have to face a DGA tribunal. “We did not realize that 95 percent of the time they deny duos,” explains Renz. Reality quickly set in: They would have one shot to convince the guild they were duo-worthy. If they blew it, there went their Hollywood dreams.
The former advertising creative execs had met a dozen years earlier at a party ...
The former advertising creative execs had met a dozen years earlier at a party ...
- 9/21/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The directing team Bush + Renz — that would be Gerard Bush, 47, and Christopher Renz, 39, partners in life and work — were well into preproduction on their first feature, the psychological thriller Antebellum, when they learned they’d have to face a DGA tribunal. “We did not realize that 95 percent of the time they deny duos,” explains Renz. Reality quickly set in: They would have one shot to convince the guild they were duo-worthy. If they blew it, there went their Hollywood dreams.
The former advertising creative execs had met a dozen years earlier at a party ...
The former advertising creative execs had met a dozen years earlier at a party ...
- 9/21/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Antebellum is the debut feature-length film by writer/director duo Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz. In the film, they aim to explore what happens when the past, present, and future collide in a time where activism against injustice is prevalent. And it comes from one of the producers of the successful thriller, Get Out, which seems to be a regular announcement made among horror and thriller films these days. When you see those words pop up on the screen, expect a movie with a strong social message. It’s like woke cinema is its own genre now.
But a film that focuses on beating its themes to death is rarely entertaining, and such is the case with Antebellum, an aimless movie with no purpose other than shock value. What’s the purpose of displaying such overt brutality without reprieve? Does the film need to revel in disturbing imagery to tell us something we already know?...
But a film that focuses on beating its themes to death is rarely entertaining, and such is the case with Antebellum, an aimless movie with no purpose other than shock value. What’s the purpose of displaying such overt brutality without reprieve? Does the film need to revel in disturbing imagery to tell us something we already know?...
- 9/18/2020
- by Mike Cecchini
- Den of Geek
[Content Warning: This piece contains information and description of troubling current and historical events, reference to racism, and some upsetting language. This piece contains spoilers for Antebellum.]
The United States is wracked with a fever, and we’re reaching the breaking point. We are in a cultural moment of being weary of systems and institutions that have done harm to others, weary of upholding “ideals” that conceal and excuse that harm, and weary of glossing over the sins that are woven into the fabric of this country. Horror, as it always has, is the first to rise to the occasion and meet this cultural moment on the field. Horror is the first place that we begin to deconstruct, discuss, and work through our greatest cultural anxieties.
Horror films like Get Out and Candyman, to name a few, have already begun to do the work of placing horror firmly within a Black scope. Speaking directly to the horrors of the Black experience using a language, a shorthand, and a history that is expressly for and pertaining to Black people.
The United States is wracked with a fever, and we’re reaching the breaking point. We are in a cultural moment of being weary of systems and institutions that have done harm to others, weary of upholding “ideals” that conceal and excuse that harm, and weary of glossing over the sins that are woven into the fabric of this country. Horror, as it always has, is the first to rise to the occasion and meet this cultural moment on the field. Horror is the first place that we begin to deconstruct, discuss, and work through our greatest cultural anxieties.
Horror films like Get Out and Candyman, to name a few, have already begun to do the work of placing horror firmly within a Black scope. Speaking directly to the horrors of the Black experience using a language, a shorthand, and a history that is expressly for and pertaining to Black people.
- 9/18/2020
- by Caitlin Kennedy
- DailyDead
Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on Wbgr-fm on September 18th, 2020, reviewing the new films “The Nest” (in theaters) and “Antebellum” (VOD).
Rating: 4.5/5.0
The Nest Jude Law is Rory, a hard charging financial speculator in the 1980s, who decides to pull up stakes with his wife Allison (Carrie Coon) and two children, moving from New York City to his native London. What is revealed is that he is nearly broke, and he’s using his remaining money to pretend he is wealthy to impress his new employers. This unintentionally starts a downward spiral for the whole family. In select theaters. 4.5/5 stars.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
Antebellum The film features Veronica (singer Janelle Monáe), who is an author and activist. She is being followed by a shadowy group of people and ends up being abducted. This group places her onto a plantation that is similar to...
Rating: 4.5/5.0
The Nest Jude Law is Rory, a hard charging financial speculator in the 1980s, who decides to pull up stakes with his wife Allison (Carrie Coon) and two children, moving from New York City to his native London. What is revealed is that he is nearly broke, and he’s using his remaining money to pretend he is wealthy to impress his new employers. This unintentionally starts a downward spiral for the whole family. In select theaters. 4.5/5 stars.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
Antebellum The film features Veronica (singer Janelle Monáe), who is an author and activist. She is being followed by a shadowy group of people and ends up being abducted. This group places her onto a plantation that is similar to...
- 9/18/2020
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
While the premise of “Antebellum” has been shrouded in mystery, activist filmmakers Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz (credited as Bush + Renz) worked with their crew to deliver a wild ride delving into the current climate of racism.
In choosing to deal with the pandemic situation, “Antebellum” will only be available on VOD in the United States, beginning Sept. 18, even though it will see a theatrical release internationally. “It’s still not the same,” Bush says, “Because the movie is for America.”
“We consider ourselves activists who use art to communicate our very specific point of view and amplifying a host of issues that felt urgent,” says Bush, who worked with his partner and crew to deliver the story of an accomplished woman trapped in a horrifying reality.
Janelle Monáe stars as Veronica Henley, the woman caught in this mind-bending mystery somehow connecting to Eden (also Monáe), a Civil War-era enslaved woman.
In choosing to deal with the pandemic situation, “Antebellum” will only be available on VOD in the United States, beginning Sept. 18, even though it will see a theatrical release internationally. “It’s still not the same,” Bush says, “Because the movie is for America.”
“We consider ourselves activists who use art to communicate our very specific point of view and amplifying a host of issues that felt urgent,” says Bush, who worked with his partner and crew to deliver the story of an accomplished woman trapped in a horrifying reality.
Janelle Monáe stars as Veronica Henley, the woman caught in this mind-bending mystery somehow connecting to Eden (also Monáe), a Civil War-era enslaved woman.
- 9/18/2020
- by Aaron Neuwirth
- Variety Film + TV
Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz, directors of the new psychological horror film Antebellum, weren’t originally planning on casting Janelle Monáe in the starring role. But the lightbulb moment to bring her onto the project came about in a pretty unusual way.
“We saw her in an award show audience; I want to say it was the Grammys in 2018,” Bush recalls. “She was looking up at someone onstage, and she had this incredibly stoic but beautiful expression. But under that stoicism was a furnace that was burning so bright that...
“We saw her in an award show audience; I want to say it was the Grammys in 2018,” Bush recalls. “She was looking up at someone onstage, and she had this incredibly stoic but beautiful expression. But under that stoicism was a furnace that was burning so bright that...
- 9/18/2020
- by Claire Shaffer
- Rollingstone.com
Antebellum, the debut horror/thriller from filmmaking duo Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz, wasn’t initially scheduled to be released this week. Originally slated for a late April theatrical bow, the film’s public exhibition was indefinitely put on hold once the Covid-19 pandemic hit and closed all movie theaters for the foreseeable future. After waiting in the wings for several months, Lionsgate decided to move forward with a North American digital release (opening the film elsewhere theatrically around the globe) and the unintended timing couldn’t be more apt. Antebellum’s much-dissected trailer, portraying an African-American woman (played by Janelle Monáe) enslaved in the […]...
- 9/18/2020
- by Erik Luers
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Antebellum, the debut horror/thriller from filmmaking duo Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz, wasn’t initially scheduled to be released this week. Originally slated for a late April theatrical bow, the film’s public exhibition was indefinitely put on hold once the Covid-19 pandemic hit and closed all movie theaters for the foreseeable future. After waiting in the wings for several months, Lionsgate decided to move forward with a North American digital release (opening the film elsewhere theatrically around the globe) and the unintended timing couldn’t be more apt. Antebellum’s much-dissected trailer, portraying an African-American woman (played by Janelle Monáe) enslaved in the […]...
- 9/18/2020
- by Erik Luers
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
As box offices start to test the waters, Roger Michell’s family drama Blackbird starring Susan Sarandon is set to open in theaters and on demand starting today.
Known for My Cousin Rachel and Notting Hill, Michell directs a script by Christian Torpe, who wrote the 2014 Danish film, Silent Heart on which the family drama is based. In it, Sarandon plays Lily who, along with Paul (Sam Neil) invite their loved ones to their beach house for one final gathering after Lily decides to end her long battle with Als on her own terms. The weekend starts as a loving weekend with holiday tradition but as things unfold, unresolved issues between Lily and her daughters Jennifer (Kate Winslet) and Anna (Mia Wasikowska) come into the forefront. Rainn Wilson, Lindsay Duncan, Bex Taylor-Klaus and Anson Boon join the all-star roster in this ensemble drama.
The film made its world premiere last...
Known for My Cousin Rachel and Notting Hill, Michell directs a script by Christian Torpe, who wrote the 2014 Danish film, Silent Heart on which the family drama is based. In it, Sarandon plays Lily who, along with Paul (Sam Neil) invite their loved ones to their beach house for one final gathering after Lily decides to end her long battle with Als on her own terms. The weekend starts as a loving weekend with holiday tradition but as things unfold, unresolved issues between Lily and her daughters Jennifer (Kate Winslet) and Anna (Mia Wasikowska) come into the forefront. Rainn Wilson, Lindsay Duncan, Bex Taylor-Klaus and Anson Boon join the all-star roster in this ensemble drama.
The film made its world premiere last...
- 9/18/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
The provocative and timely thriller/pseudo horror film Antebellum arrives at a particularly divisive time in American history that, perhaps mirrors the period it depicts so splendidly onscreen. As the country struggles to finds its moral way amidst a tide of social change that seems to be pushing the ideals of the Constitution aside for those of individuals, this film serves as a reminder of exactly what this country is capable of when it lives up to its potential and what it can be if it fails to do so as well.
Set in a pseudo-what if the South had won the Civil War American horrorscape, the film follows author Veronica Henley (Janelle Monáe) as she becomes trapped in an alternate reality that may just be too much for her to survive. This is achieved most effectively by thrusting the viewer into the horrors of slavery for the first third...
Set in a pseudo-what if the South had won the Civil War American horrorscape, the film follows author Veronica Henley (Janelle Monáe) as she becomes trapped in an alternate reality that may just be too much for her to survive. This is achieved most effectively by thrusting the viewer into the horrors of slavery for the first third...
- 9/18/2020
- by Mike Tyrkus
- CinemaNerdz
For the team behind “Antebellum,” the film couldn’t be coming at a more important moment in history, addressing America’s original sin of slavery through the lens of the horror-thriller film.
“I think this film highlights what it’s like for Black women to carry the burden of deconstructing and dismantling systemic and white supremacy on our backs — what it’s like every single day for Black women to do that, who are out in the front lines,” Monáe tells Variety.
The film, directed by first-time feature filmmakers Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz, follows Monáe’s characters Veronica (a sociologist and bestselling author who focuses on the disenfranchisement of Black people) and Eden (a slave plotting her escape) as the audience learns how their paths are intertwined. The multi-hyphenate entertainer admits that she didn’t immediately jump at the opportunity to star in the film.
“It wasn’t an easy ‘Yes,...
“I think this film highlights what it’s like for Black women to carry the burden of deconstructing and dismantling systemic and white supremacy on our backs — what it’s like every single day for Black women to do that, who are out in the front lines,” Monáe tells Variety.
The film, directed by first-time feature filmmakers Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz, follows Monáe’s characters Veronica (a sociologist and bestselling author who focuses on the disenfranchisement of Black people) and Eden (a slave plotting her escape) as the audience learns how their paths are intertwined. The multi-hyphenate entertainer admits that she didn’t immediately jump at the opportunity to star in the film.
“It wasn’t an easy ‘Yes,...
- 9/18/2020
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
When Zimbabwean actor Tongayi Chirisa first read Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz‘s script for Antebellum, he leapt at the chance to star in the ambitious horror parable. It was something new, envelope-pushing, and powerful, even if Chirisa is playing one of the most common roles offered to Black actors: a slave. “I didn’t have any qualms […]
The post In ‘Antebellum,’ Tongayi Chirisa is Playing More Than a Slave Role [Interview] appeared first on /Film.
The post In ‘Antebellum,’ Tongayi Chirisa is Playing More Than a Slave Role [Interview] appeared first on /Film.
- 9/17/2020
- by Hoai-Tran Bui
- Slash Film
It’s Lily Cowles‘ Sarah who gets to say the opening text of Antebellum: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” It’s a quote by William Faulkner around which directors Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz frame their horror film, the idea that racism is as well and truly alive as it was in the Antebellum South. But […]
The post ‘Antebellum’ Star Lily Cowles on Learning to Be an Ally [Interview] appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘Antebellum’ Star Lily Cowles on Learning to Be an Ally [Interview] appeared first on /Film.
- 9/17/2020
- by Hoai-Tran Bui
- Slash Film
Before 2020, drawing a connection between Gone with the Wind and the alt-right would seem flimsy at best. But not only did that already happen in our headlines, it’s happening in Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz’s horror film Antebellum. The upcoming psychological horror thriller from the first-time feature directors imagines a world where the pre-Civil War South […]
The post ‘Antebellum’ Villains Jena Malone and Jack Huston on Drawing Inspiration From ‘Gone With the Wind’ and the Alt-Right [Interview] appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘Antebellum’ Villains Jena Malone and Jack Huston on Drawing Inspiration From ‘Gone With the Wind’ and the Alt-Right [Interview] appeared first on /Film.
- 9/17/2020
- by Hoai-Tran Bui
- Slash Film
Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz’s Antebellum begins where you can rightly expect a film with a title this brash to begin: on a plantation. This is the kind of movie that makes a point of throwing its audience, to say nothing of its characters, into the deep end.
And so, in the disconcertingly smooth and showy tracking shot that opens the movie, we’re treated to American chattel slavery’s greatest hits, the summarizing details spilling out onscreen like a neat cascade of bullet points. The proud march of...
And so, in the disconcertingly smooth and showy tracking shot that opens the movie, we’re treated to American chattel slavery’s greatest hits, the summarizing details spilling out onscreen like a neat cascade of bullet points. The proud march of...
- 9/16/2020
- by K. Austin Collins
- Rollingstone.com
There are many villains in Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz’s feature debut “Antebellum,” but none quite as vivid as Jena Malone’s nefarious plantation owner Elizabeth. A nasty piece of work in her own right, the character also emblematizes the forces of oppression that power the film’s narrative. Built upon a consciously convoluted timeline, complete with editing misdirection and a chopped-up storyline, “Antebellum” follows Janelle Monáe as both successful modern author Veronica Henley and antebellum-era slave Eden, presenting the wholly different experiences of two Black women, until the film mashes them together in unpredictable ways.
Suffice to say that Veronica and Eden intersect (to get into deeper detail would spoil the film), and while they are bonded by a litany of shared problems, none feel as immediate as the evil Elizabeth. It’s the kind of role that seems scary for a performer: Not only is she such a monster,...
Suffice to say that Veronica and Eden intersect (to get into deeper detail would spoil the film), and while they are bonded by a litany of shared problems, none feel as immediate as the evil Elizabeth. It’s the kind of role that seems scary for a performer: Not only is she such a monster,...
- 9/16/2020
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
(Re)Birth of a Nation: The Past is Our Present in the Auspicious Debut from Bush & Benz
Genre filmmaking has always been the most fruitful forum in which audiences can experience the superficial elixir of both entertainment or catharsis alongside subtexts which are usually watered down or avoided in presentations of the reality of our past or present. A case in point is a formidable debut from directors Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz with Antebellum, a horror film which uncomfortably marries past and present to showcase an America which, in shirking atonement for its original sin, has instead let it run rampant like an infection so symbiotic with our conditioned understanding of cultural heritage we have normalized an inherent evil in ways which seem irrevocable.…...
Genre filmmaking has always been the most fruitful forum in which audiences can experience the superficial elixir of both entertainment or catharsis alongside subtexts which are usually watered down or avoided in presentations of the reality of our past or present. A case in point is a formidable debut from directors Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz with Antebellum, a horror film which uncomfortably marries past and present to showcase an America which, in shirking atonement for its original sin, has instead let it run rampant like an infection so symbiotic with our conditioned understanding of cultural heritage we have normalized an inherent evil in ways which seem irrevocable.…...
- 9/16/2020
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Janelle Monáe stepped onto the black carpet at the premiere of “Antebellum” on Monday night in Los Angeles in an Elie Saab gown, Xiv Karats jewels, Christian Louboutin heels, a clutch from Carolina Santo Domingo and a custom-made N95 face mask by Aliona Kononova.
“It’s so weird, but you know what? I’m rolling with it,” Monáe, who stars in the horror-thriller as a successful author who finds herself seemingly transported back in time to the Civil War as a slave, told Variety. “Safety first, but I also just really needed a reason to get dressed up. I feel like I’m the most overdressed person but that’s because I haven’t been out in so long.”
Weird because, unlike any of Monáe’s previous premieres, this one took place at a drive-in on top of the Grove’s parking structure. Guests were invited to take photo ops...
“It’s so weird, but you know what? I’m rolling with it,” Monáe, who stars in the horror-thriller as a successful author who finds herself seemingly transported back in time to the Civil War as a slave, told Variety. “Safety first, but I also just really needed a reason to get dressed up. I feel like I’m the most overdressed person but that’s because I haven’t been out in so long.”
Weird because, unlike any of Monáe’s previous premieres, this one took place at a drive-in on top of the Grove’s parking structure. Guests were invited to take photo ops...
- 9/15/2020
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
For this review round-up, I’ll be talking about a trio of recent releases that include Antebellum from directors Christopher Renz and Gerard Bush, the wrestling documentary Nail in the Coffin: The Fall and Rise of Vampiro, as well as McG’s latest horror comedy, The Babysitter: Killer Queen, which recently debuted exclusively on Netflix.
Antebellum: I had such high hopes for Antebellum going into it, but there’s a very precise moment in the film where it decides to take a huge left turn, and that’s when everything, to me, fell totally and completely apart with the story. Before that, I absolutely loved the characters, the performances, the costume design, as well as some fantastic production design that was a real highlight as well, and both the pacing and a palpable sense of tension made Antebellum an enthralling experience to watch unfold.
But when Antebellum makes its...
Antebellum: I had such high hopes for Antebellum going into it, but there’s a very precise moment in the film where it decides to take a huge left turn, and that’s when everything, to me, fell totally and completely apart with the story. Before that, I absolutely loved the characters, the performances, the costume design, as well as some fantastic production design that was a real highlight as well, and both the pacing and a palpable sense of tension made Antebellum an enthralling experience to watch unfold.
But when Antebellum makes its...
- 9/15/2020
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Exclusive: Producer/financier QC Entertainment has sealed a multi-year first look deal with Paramount. The company — QC stand for Quality Control — has credits highlighted by the Jordan Peele-directed Get Out and the Spike Lee-directed BlackKklansman, both of which were Best Picture nominees. They have upcoming Antebellum, the thriller that stars Janelle Monáe and was written and directed by the advocacy filmmakers Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz, who make their feature film debut.
QC is led by founding partners Sean McKittrick, Raymond Mansfield and Edward H. Hamm, and a team that includes Creative Executive Maya Rodrigo and Coordinator Okey Onyiuke. The multi-year deal covers scripted feature film projects and allows for QC to co-finance projects the company brings to the studio.
McKittrick also recently produced Jordan Peele’s box office hit Us.
QC Partners Mansfield and McKittrick said they found an ideal partner for their films in Paramount: “We...
QC is led by founding partners Sean McKittrick, Raymond Mansfield and Edward H. Hamm, and a team that includes Creative Executive Maya Rodrigo and Coordinator Okey Onyiuke. The multi-year deal covers scripted feature film projects and allows for QC to co-finance projects the company brings to the studio.
McKittrick also recently produced Jordan Peele’s box office hit Us.
QC Partners Mansfield and McKittrick said they found an ideal partner for their films in Paramount: “We...
- 9/10/2020
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Lionsgate’s Antebellum is releasing *at home* next Friday, September 18th, and a trio of new clips from the Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz-directed horror movie has arrived today. Antebellum stars Janelle Monáe as successful author Veronica Henley, who finds herself trapped in a horrifying reality and must uncover the mind-bending mystery before it’s too late. In the first clip, we see […]...
- 9/8/2020
- by Brad Miska
- bloody-disgusting.com
If you’ve been paying attention to what’s happening these past four years, you’ve certainly seen your share of open racism spewed with an angry sense of entitlement only a white person believing themselves to be a descendant of God and inheritor of earth could possess. If you’ve been keeping tabs more recently on the subject of Kenosha, Wisconsin (or watch Last Week Tonight with John Oliver), you’ll know the county’s Sheriff is one such man. David Beth spoke back in 2018 without even the thinnest of veils about how we must “stop being politically correct” and finally “put these people away” so they stop procreating. He posited that Black concentration camps could even be reused once the imprisoned generations die off by selling the real estate to Amazon.
People like him speak these words with impunity because they believe it to be true and assume...
People like him speak these words with impunity because they believe it to be true and assume...
- 9/7/2020
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
How does the historical nightmare of slavery inhabit the present day? “Antebellum,” the feature-length debut of directing duo Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz, tackles this question, once explored with originality and nuance by Jordan Peele’s “Get Out,” with shallow simplicity. For all its ideas—the existential threat to white supremacy posed by Black success, the lingering effects of intergenerational trauma, and the insidious romanticization of the Confederacy— “Antebellum” contains symbols rather than people and intrigue without meaningful discovery.
Continue reading ‘Antebellum’ Relies On Exploitation And Rehashed Ideas To Tackle Racial Dynamics [Review] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Antebellum’ Relies On Exploitation And Rehashed Ideas To Tackle Racial Dynamics [Review] at The Playlist.
- 8/31/2020
- by Beatrice Loayza
- The Playlist
You can tell that something is “off” about the world of Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz’s “Antebellum” from the very first shot. An exorcism thriller about the moral inertia of a country that refuses to give up its ghosts, this provocative debut opens with a five-minute oner that wends through a Louisiana plantation with a supernatural grace, as if the slaves, jailers, and soldiers who drift through the frame aren’t going about their lives so much as they’re performing a choreographed roleplay of America’s original sin, like robots following their loops in a horribly problematic new amusement park from the company behind “Westworld.”
Maybe it’s the sinewy camera movements, and the super-real beauty they layer over the darkest chapter of a national history that’s speckled with blood on every page. Maybe it’s how the shot eventually lands on the broken face of a...
Maybe it’s the sinewy camera movements, and the super-real beauty they layer over the darkest chapter of a national history that’s speckled with blood on every page. Maybe it’s how the shot eventually lands on the broken face of a...
- 8/31/2020
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
It’s been said about the Civil War that the South lost the war but won the narrative, rewriting history to soften its motives while enacting laws to uphold a uniquely American form of apartheid. In the face of more than a century and a half of such malignant propaganda, terrifying social thriller “Antebellum” lands like an explosive mortar — by being forced back into bondage.
How could any form of slavery still be possible in the year 2020? That’s the haunting enigma at the heart of this mind-blowing — and incredibly timely — horror movie from activist writer-directors Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz, who saw their astonishing feature debut delayed by the coronavirus, only to resurface all the more relevant as the Black Lives Matter movement surges anew.
In a way, Jordan Peele opened the door for this kind of harrowing anti-racist social critique via “Get Out” and “Us,” inviting more supernatural...
How could any form of slavery still be possible in the year 2020? That’s the haunting enigma at the heart of this mind-blowing — and incredibly timely — horror movie from activist writer-directors Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz, who saw their astonishing feature debut delayed by the coronavirus, only to resurface all the more relevant as the Black Lives Matter movement surges anew.
In a way, Jordan Peele opened the door for this kind of harrowing anti-racist social critique via “Get Out” and “Us,” inviting more supernatural...
- 8/31/2020
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
The word that caused so much trouble for the country band that now wants to be known as Lady A isn’t a problem for the movie “Antebellum,” because the last thing the Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz drama wants to be is a romanticization of the pre-Civil War South.
In fact, it’s pretty much an attack on the antebellum world in the guise of a horror thriller — or, to be more precise, an attack on our world in the guise of a horror thriller about the antebellum world.
That makes the Lionsgate release, which was supposed to have received a theatrical release in April before that was scuttled in favor of a Sept. 18 VOD premiere, an extremely timely film. Within the thriller structure is an exploration of racism in America that manages to incorporate the social justice movement, a Confederate flag, white-nationalist conspiracy and even a statue of Robert E. Lee.
In fact, it’s pretty much an attack on the antebellum world in the guise of a horror thriller — or, to be more precise, an attack on our world in the guise of a horror thriller about the antebellum world.
That makes the Lionsgate release, which was supposed to have received a theatrical release in April before that was scuttled in favor of a Sept. 18 VOD premiere, an extremely timely film. Within the thriller structure is an exploration of racism in America that manages to incorporate the social justice movement, a Confederate flag, white-nationalist conspiracy and even a statue of Robert E. Lee.
- 8/31/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Three years after the runaway success of Get Out, directors Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz have followed in Jordan Peele’s footsteps with another allegorical social thriller about the state of race relations in America. Much like the earlier film, Antebellum is a feature directorial debut that takes a big swing. But instead of just making reference to slavery, Bush and Renz have constructed a film that appears to take place in that painful past and our present simultaneously. Too bad the result is shallow, more interested in making a Big Point than digging meaningfully into its subject.
Because of the widely buzzed-about ...
Because of the widely buzzed-about ...
- 8/31/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Three years after the runaway success of Get Out, directors Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz have followed in Jordan Peele’s footsteps with another allegorical social thriller about the state of race relations in America. Much like the earlier film, Antebellum is a feature directorial debut that takes a big swing. But instead of just making reference to slavery, Bush and Renz have constructed a film that appears to take place in that painful past and our present simultaneously. Too bad the result is shallow, more interested in making a Big Point than digging meaningfully into its subject.
Because of the widely buzzed-about ...
Because of the widely buzzed-about ...
- 8/31/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Lionsgate’s Antebellum is releasing *at home* on September 18th, and a new clip from the Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz-directed horror movie has arrived today. Antebellum stars Janelle Monáe as successful author Veronica Henley, who finds herself trapped in a horrifying reality and must uncover the mind-bending mystery before it’s too late. Veronica, in this particular clip, has a creepy […]...
- 8/24/2020
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Sony and Milan Records have released the first single, “Opening,” from the soundtrack to the Janelle Monáe-led horror film Antebellum. The movie will be released on September 18th, with the soundtrack available for download on the same day.
The score to the film was written by Nate Wonder and Roman GianArthur, who have worked with Monáe on her albums as part of her Wondaland Arts Society collective. This will be their debut film score, inspired by the work of Colin Stetson (Bon Iver, Arcade Fire).
Antebellum was written and...
The score to the film was written by Nate Wonder and Roman GianArthur, who have worked with Monáe on her albums as part of her Wondaland Arts Society collective. This will be their debut film score, inspired by the work of Colin Stetson (Bon Iver, Arcade Fire).
Antebellum was written and...
- 8/20/2020
- by Claire Shaffer
- Rollingstone.com
Lionsgate will release Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz’s horror movie Antebellum with Janelle Monae on VOD come September 18th. And today we learned that the film has officially earned an R-rating via the MPAA for “disturbing violent content, language, and sexual references.” Inspired by a nightmare that Bush had following his father’s death, in which his ancestors […] More...
- 8/19/2020
- by Mike Sprague
- DreadCentral.com
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