Directed by Blitz Bazawule from a script by Marcus Gardley, Alice Walker’s novel comes to life on the big screen once again with this stage-to-screen adaptation of the classic coming-of-age story. Fantasia Barrino leads the cast in her feature film debut as Celie, who, despite a life of hardships (from personal to societal), finds strength and solace in sisterhood. Featuring an A-list ensemble including Danielle Brooks, Halle Bailey, Colman Domingo, Taraji P. Henson, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., and more, the Oscar-nominated “The Color Purple” makes its streaming debut on Max on Friday, Feb. 16. You can watch with a 7-Day Free Trial of Max.
How to Watch 'The Color Purple' When: Friday, February 16, 2024 Where: Max Stream: Watch with a 7-Day Free Trial of Max. 7-Day Free Trial$9.99+ / month Max via amazon.com About 'The Color Purple'
“The Color Purple” takes on a new hue as Brenda Russell, Allee Willis,...
How to Watch 'The Color Purple' When: Friday, February 16, 2024 Where: Max Stream: Watch with a 7-Day Free Trial of Max. 7-Day Free Trial$9.99+ / month Max via amazon.com About 'The Color Purple'
“The Color Purple” takes on a new hue as Brenda Russell, Allee Willis,...
- 2/16/2024
- by Ashley Steves
- The Streamable
Event cinema title Dear England is the widest new release at this weekend’s UK-Ireland box office, playing in 716 UK venues through National Theatre Live.
The play first screened in 694 venues yesterday (Thursday 25), grossing £541,000 with several venues still to report. As well as cinemas, it is screening in many non-cinema venues such as community centres and village halls.
Dear England is a recording of James Graham’s play, following the fortunes of the England men’s football team across three tournaments: the 2018 World Cup, the 2020 European Championships, and the 2022 World Cup.
Directed by Rupert Goold and starring Joseph Fiennes as England manager Gareth Southgate,...
The play first screened in 694 venues yesterday (Thursday 25), grossing £541,000 with several venues still to report. As well as cinemas, it is screening in many non-cinema venues such as community centres and village halls.
Dear England is a recording of James Graham’s play, following the fortunes of the England men’s football team across three tournaments: the 2018 World Cup, the 2020 European Championships, and the 2022 World Cup.
Directed by Rupert Goold and starring Joseph Fiennes as England manager Gareth Southgate,...
- 1/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
Event cinema title Dear England is the widest new release at this weekend’s UK-Ireland box office, playing in around 800 UK cinemas through National Theatre Live.
The play first screened in 694 cinemas yesterday (Thursday 25), grossing £541,000 with several venues still to report. The exact weekend location number is to be confirmed; should it be above the 777 sites of James Bond film No Time To Die from 2021, it would be the widest opening ever in UK-Ireland cinemas.
Dear England is a recording of James Graham’s play, following the fortunes of the England men’s football team across three tournaments: the 2018 World Cup,...
The play first screened in 694 cinemas yesterday (Thursday 25), grossing £541,000 with several venues still to report. The exact weekend location number is to be confirmed; should it be above the 777 sites of James Bond film No Time To Die from 2021, it would be the widest opening ever in UK-Ireland cinemas.
Dear England is a recording of James Graham’s play, following the fortunes of the England men’s football team across three tournaments: the 2018 World Cup,...
- 1/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
Experience the extraordinary sisterhood of three women who share one unbreakable bond when “The Color Purple” arrives for purchase Digitally at home on January 16. This bold new take on the beloved classic is directed by Blitz Bazawule and produced by Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones. The film will also be available to purchase on 4K Uhd, Blu-ray and DVD on March 12. “The Color Purple” is directed by Blitz Bazawule from a screenplay by acclaimed playwright and WGA Award winner Marcus Gardley (“The Maid”). Bazawule is a Ghanaian multimedia artist who ... Read more...
- 1/16/2024
- by Thomas Miller
- Seat42F
The winter holiday season can be a lucrative one at the box office, but this year's was on uncertain ground. 2021 brought us "Spider-Man: No Way Home" and 2022 brought us "Avatar: The Way of Water," both of which now rank amongst the highest-grossing movies in history. 2023 has no such clear-cut smash hit, with "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" ultimately disappointing in its opening frame. Luckily, another Warner Bros. movie has emerged to provide the Christmas box office with a much-needed jolt: "The Color Purple."
Directed by Blitz Bazawule and produced by Oprah Winfrey, the musical adaptation of the classic book of the same name lit up the charts on Christmas Day, taking in a massive $18.1 million, per The Numbers. That made it easily the number one movie of the holiday ahead of "The Lost Kingdom" ($10.6 million) and "Wonka" ($10.3 million). Interestingly, all three of these are Warner Bros. releases.
Circling back to the movie at hand,...
Directed by Blitz Bazawule and produced by Oprah Winfrey, the musical adaptation of the classic book of the same name lit up the charts on Christmas Day, taking in a massive $18.1 million, per The Numbers. That made it easily the number one movie of the holiday ahead of "The Lost Kingdom" ($10.6 million) and "Wonka" ($10.3 million). Interestingly, all three of these are Warner Bros. releases.
Circling back to the movie at hand,...
- 12/27/2023
- by Ryan Scott
- Slash Film
From left: Taraji P. Henson, Fantasia Barrino, and Danielle Brooks in The Color PurplePhoto: Warner Bros.
About 70 minutes into The Color Purple, there’s a scene that doesn’t appear in many Hollywood studio musicals. A big number set on a gorgeous soundstage with a full brass band showing two...
About 70 minutes into The Color Purple, there’s a scene that doesn’t appear in many Hollywood studio musicals. A big number set on a gorgeous soundstage with a full brass band showing two...
- 12/19/2023
- by Murtada Elfadl
- avclub.com
Warner Bros. has debuted another new trailer for the reimagining of the classic movie ‘The Color Purple.’
Based on the novel by Alice Walker and the musical stage play by Marsha Norman, experience the extraordinary sisterhood of three women who share one unbreakable bond
This bold new take on the beloved classic is directed by Blitz Bazawule and produced by Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones.
The cast includes Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Halle Bailey, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, and Fantasia Barrino (in her major motion picture debut).
Also in trailers – “It’s complicated…” Trailer drops for ‘Good Grief’
The film will be released across the UK and Ireland on January 26, 2024.
The post Third trailer lands for the reimagining of ‘The Color Purple’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.
Based on the novel by Alice Walker and the musical stage play by Marsha Norman, experience the extraordinary sisterhood of three women who share one unbreakable bond
This bold new take on the beloved classic is directed by Blitz Bazawule and produced by Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones.
The cast includes Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Halle Bailey, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, and Fantasia Barrino (in her major motion picture debut).
Also in trailers – “It’s complicated…” Trailer drops for ‘Good Grief’
The film will be released across the UK and Ireland on January 26, 2024.
The post Third trailer lands for the reimagining of ‘The Color Purple’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.
- 12/12/2023
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
From left: Taraji P. Henson , Fantasia Barrino, and Danielle Brooks in The Color PurpleImage: Warner Bros.
The Color Purple has had a fascinating journey through popular culture over the past four decades. Ever since Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel was published in 1982, the story of a young Black woman...
The Color Purple has had a fascinating journey through popular culture over the past four decades. Ever since Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel was published in 1982, the story of a young Black woman...
- 12/11/2023
- by Cindy White
- avclub.com
Max is nothing if not a goldmine of content, with basically something to watch for everyone, and today we are making a list of the best new movies coming to Max in December 2023 that you can watch in the upcoming month. The movies in this list are ranked according to their availability dates.
Paranormal Activity (December 1)
Synopsis: After a young, middle-class couple moves into what seems like a typical suburban house, they become increasingly disturbed by a presence that may or may not be demonic but is certainly most active in the middle of the night. Especially while they sleep. Paranormal Activity builds suspense all the way to the shocking ending.
Skyfall (December 1)
Synopsis: Daniel Craig is back as Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007 in Skyfall, the 23rd adventure in the longest-running film franchise of all time. In Skyfall, Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her.
Paranormal Activity (December 1)
Synopsis: After a young, middle-class couple moves into what seems like a typical suburban house, they become increasingly disturbed by a presence that may or may not be demonic but is certainly most active in the middle of the night. Especially while they sleep. Paranormal Activity builds suspense all the way to the shocking ending.
Skyfall (December 1)
Synopsis: Daniel Craig is back as Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007 in Skyfall, the 23rd adventure in the longest-running film franchise of all time. In Skyfall, Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her.
- 12/7/2023
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
As far as movies with history go, The Color Purple — about Celie, an abused teenage Black girl in the early 20th century — is as storied as they come. Based on Alice Walker’s seminal Pulitzer-winning 1982 book, it has been a 1985 Steven Spielberg pic, a Broadway musical in the mid-2000s and a Tony-winning revival play.
So when Blitz Bazawule got the call asking him to direct a film musical for 2023, his first question was: “Why?”
“It has been done and done and done, so what can you possibly do with this?” he said at Deadline’s Contenders Film: Los Angeles event Saturday at the DGA Theater. “It’s sacred work and hallowed ground. The Color Purple is a critical and important text for so many people who are healing, so if you have nothing to say, you better shut up.”
Related: The Contenders Film: Los Angeles – Deadline’s Full Coverage
Bazawule,...
So when Blitz Bazawule got the call asking him to direct a film musical for 2023, his first question was: “Why?”
“It has been done and done and done, so what can you possibly do with this?” he said at Deadline’s Contenders Film: Los Angeles event Saturday at the DGA Theater. “It’s sacred work and hallowed ground. The Color Purple is a critical and important text for so many people who are healing, so if you have nothing to say, you better shut up.”
Related: The Contenders Film: Los Angeles – Deadline’s Full Coverage
Bazawule,...
- 11/18/2023
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
The Criterion Channel is closing the year out with a bang––they’ve announced their December lineup. Among the highlights are retrospectives on Yasujiro Ozu (featuring nearly 40 films!), Ousmane Sembène, Alfred Hitchcock (along with Kent Jones’ Hitchcock/Truffaut), and Parker Posey. Well-timed for the season is a holiday noir series that includes They Live By Night, Blast of Silence, Lady in the Lake, and more.
Other highlights are the recent restoration of Abel Gance’s La roue, an MGM Musicals series with introduction by Michael Koresky, Helena Wittmann’s riveting second feature Human Flowers of Flesh, the recent Sundance highlight The Mountains Are a Dream That Call To Me, the new restoration of The Cassandra Cat, Lynne Ramsay’s Morvern Callar, Wong Kar Wai’s The Grandmaster, and more.
See the lineup below and learn more here.
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Terry Gilliam, 1988
An American in Paris, Vincente Minnelli,...
Other highlights are the recent restoration of Abel Gance’s La roue, an MGM Musicals series with introduction by Michael Koresky, Helena Wittmann’s riveting second feature Human Flowers of Flesh, the recent Sundance highlight The Mountains Are a Dream That Call To Me, the new restoration of The Cassandra Cat, Lynne Ramsay’s Morvern Callar, Wong Kar Wai’s The Grandmaster, and more.
See the lineup below and learn more here.
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Terry Gilliam, 1988
An American in Paris, Vincente Minnelli,...
- 11/13/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
In 1985, Steven Spielberg brought Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Color Purple, to the big screen and racked up Academy Award nominations for himself, for the film’s stars, Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg and Margaret Avery, and the film’s composer, Quincy Jones. Warner Bros. now re-adapts the story based on the musical version from director Blitz Bazawule, a multi-medium artist whose breakout first feature is the highly acclaimed The Burial of Kojo.
The official synopsis from Warner Bros. reads,
“A story of love and resilience, The Color Purple is a decades-spanning tale of one woman’s journey to independence. Celie faces many hardships in her life, but ultimately finds extraordinary strength and hope in the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.”
This new incarnation of the classic story features an ensemble cast that includes Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), SAG Award winner and Tony Award nominee Danielle Brooks,...
The official synopsis from Warner Bros. reads,
“A story of love and resilience, The Color Purple is a decades-spanning tale of one woman’s journey to independence. Celie faces many hardships in her life, but ultimately finds extraordinary strength and hope in the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.”
This new incarnation of the classic story features an ensemble cast that includes Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), SAG Award winner and Tony Award nominee Danielle Brooks,...
- 10/10/2023
- by EJ Tangonan
- JoBlo.com
Warner Bros. has launched a brand new trailer for the reimagining of the classic movie ‘The Color Purple.’
Based on the novel by Alice Walker and the musical stage play by Marsha Norman, experience the extraordinary sisterhood of three women who share one unbreakable bond
This bold new take on the beloved classic is directed by Blitz Bazawule and produced by Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones.
The cast includes Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Halle Bailey, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, and Fantasia Barrino (in her major motion picture debut).
Also in trailers – Teaser trailer drops for 6th & final season of ‘The Crown’
The film will be released across the UK and Ireland on January 26, 2024.
The post New trailer drops for ‘The Color Purple’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.
Based on the novel by Alice Walker and the musical stage play by Marsha Norman, experience the extraordinary sisterhood of three women who share one unbreakable bond
This bold new take on the beloved classic is directed by Blitz Bazawule and produced by Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones.
The cast includes Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Halle Bailey, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, and Fantasia Barrino (in her major motion picture debut).
Also in trailers – Teaser trailer drops for 6th & final season of ‘The Crown’
The film will be released across the UK and Ireland on January 26, 2024.
The post New trailer drops for ‘The Color Purple’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.
- 10/10/2023
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The “A Bold New Take” behind the scenes featurette from The Color Purple begins with producer Oprah Winfrey saying, “There’s nothing that’s been more vital to me culturally, artistically, than The Color Purple.” Interviews with the cast , including Halle Bailey, Fantasia Barrino, and Taraji P. Henson, and director Blitz Bazawule describe the importance of the story and why it’s still incredibly relatable.
Fantasia Barrino stars as the adult Celie, with Phylicia Pearl Mpasi playing the young Celie. Halle Bailey plays young Nettie, Ciara is adult Nettie, Danielle Brooks plays Sofia, Taraji P. Henson stars as Shug Avery, and Colman Domingo stars as Mister. Corey Hawkins is Harpo, H.E.R. is Squeak, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor is Mama.
Taraji P Henson, Fantasia Barrino, and Danielle Brooks in ‘The Color Purple’ (Photo © 2023 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc)
Blitz Bazawule (The Burial of Kojo) directed and Marcus Gardley (The Chi) wrote the screenplay...
Fantasia Barrino stars as the adult Celie, with Phylicia Pearl Mpasi playing the young Celie. Halle Bailey plays young Nettie, Ciara is adult Nettie, Danielle Brooks plays Sofia, Taraji P. Henson stars as Shug Avery, and Colman Domingo stars as Mister. Corey Hawkins is Harpo, H.E.R. is Squeak, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor is Mama.
Taraji P Henson, Fantasia Barrino, and Danielle Brooks in ‘The Color Purple’ (Photo © 2023 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc)
Blitz Bazawule (The Burial of Kojo) directed and Marcus Gardley (The Chi) wrote the screenplay...
- 9/15/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Warner Bros. has debuted the first trailer for the reimaging of the classic movie ‘The Color Purple.’
Based on the novel by Alice Walker and based on the musical stage play, book (of the musical stage play) by Marsha Norman, experience the extraordinary sisterhood of three women who share one unbreakable bond
This bold new take on the beloved classic is directed by Blitz Bazawule and produced by Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones.
The cast includes Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Halle Bailey, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, and Fantasia Barrino (in her major motion picture debut).
Also in trailers – Trailer lands for Gareth Edwards’ sci-fi action thriller ‘The Creator’
The film will be released across the UK and Ireland on January 26, 2024.
The post Trailer debuts for the reimagining of ‘The Color Purple’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.
Based on the novel by Alice Walker and based on the musical stage play, book (of the musical stage play) by Marsha Norman, experience the extraordinary sisterhood of three women who share one unbreakable bond
This bold new take on the beloved classic is directed by Blitz Bazawule and produced by Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones.
The cast includes Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Halle Bailey, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, and Fantasia Barrino (in her major motion picture debut).
Also in trailers – Trailer lands for Gareth Edwards’ sci-fi action thriller ‘The Creator’
The film will be released across the UK and Ireland on January 26, 2024.
The post Trailer debuts for the reimagining of ‘The Color Purple’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.
- 5/23/2023
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The first The Color Purple trailer has arrived with American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino reprising her Broadway role. The epic musical reunites Steven Spielberg, the director of the 1985 film, with Oprah Winfrey, who made her feature film debut playing Sofia. Quincy Jones, a producer on the original film, is also back as an executive producer along with Spielberg and Winfrey.
Fantasia Barrino’s picked the perfect project as her movie debut, starring as the adult Celie, with Phylicia Pearl Mpasi as the young Celie. Halle Bailey plays young Nettie, Ciara is adult Nettie, Danielle Brooks is Sofia, Taraji P. Henson is Shug Avery, and Colman Domingo stars as Mister. Corey Hawkins is Harpo, H.E.R. is Squeak, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor is Mama.
Blitz Bazawule directed the musical and Marcus Gardley wrote the screenplay based on the novel by Alice Walker and the musical stage play, book (of the musical stage play) by Marsha Norman,...
Fantasia Barrino’s picked the perfect project as her movie debut, starring as the adult Celie, with Phylicia Pearl Mpasi as the young Celie. Halle Bailey plays young Nettie, Ciara is adult Nettie, Danielle Brooks is Sofia, Taraji P. Henson is Shug Avery, and Colman Domingo stars as Mister. Corey Hawkins is Harpo, H.E.R. is Squeak, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor is Mama.
Blitz Bazawule directed the musical and Marcus Gardley wrote the screenplay based on the novel by Alice Walker and the musical stage play, book (of the musical stage play) by Marsha Norman,...
- 5/22/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
A bold new take on the beloved classic, here’s a first look at the brand new trailer for The Color Purple.
Warner Bros. Pictures invites you to experience the extraordinary sisterhood of three women who share one unbreakable bond in “The Color Purple.” This bold new take on the beloved classic is directed by Blitz Bazawule and produced by Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones.
The screenplay is by Marcus Gardley, based on the novel by Alice Walker and based on the musical stage play, book (of the musical stage play) by Marsha Norman, music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray.
“The Color Purple” stars Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Halle Bailey, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, and Fantasia Barrino (in her major motion picture debut).
The executive producers Alice Walker, Rebecca Walker, Kristie Macosko Krieger, Carla Gardini, Mara Jacobs,...
Warner Bros. Pictures invites you to experience the extraordinary sisterhood of three women who share one unbreakable bond in “The Color Purple.” This bold new take on the beloved classic is directed by Blitz Bazawule and produced by Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones.
The screenplay is by Marcus Gardley, based on the novel by Alice Walker and based on the musical stage play, book (of the musical stage play) by Marsha Norman, music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray.
“The Color Purple” stars Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Halle Bailey, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, and Fantasia Barrino (in her major motion picture debut).
The executive producers Alice Walker, Rebecca Walker, Kristie Macosko Krieger, Carla Gardini, Mara Jacobs,...
- 5/22/2023
- by Michelle Hannett
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Alice Walker’s timeless novel “The Color Purple” is returning to the big screen for the first time in four decades.
Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-nominated 1985 adaptation followed a young Black woman named Celie (then played by Whoopi Goldberg) trying to find her identity in rural Georgia while coping with her abusive father and the prejudices of the post-Antebellum South and forming a close connection with jazz singer Shug. A stage musical adaptation of Walker’s book debuted on Broadway in 2005, with Celie played by the likes of Lachanze and Cynthia Erivo throughout its run and revival. Now, in director Blitz Bazawule’s Warner Bros. film version of the musical (out Christmas Day), R&b star Fantasia Barrino, who appeared on Broadway in the show from 2007 to 2008 and then in the national tour two years later, takes on the role of Celie, with Taraji P. Henson as Shug. Watch the first...
Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-nominated 1985 adaptation followed a young Black woman named Celie (then played by Whoopi Goldberg) trying to find her identity in rural Georgia while coping with her abusive father and the prejudices of the post-Antebellum South and forming a close connection with jazz singer Shug. A stage musical adaptation of Walker’s book debuted on Broadway in 2005, with Celie played by the likes of Lachanze and Cynthia Erivo throughout its run and revival. Now, in director Blitz Bazawule’s Warner Bros. film version of the musical (out Christmas Day), R&b star Fantasia Barrino, who appeared on Broadway in the show from 2007 to 2008 and then in the national tour two years later, takes on the role of Celie, with Taraji P. Henson as Shug. Watch the first...
- 5/22/2023
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Without giving away a single favorite thing, Oprah Winfrey brought the house down with a surprise appearance at CinemaCon 2023.
Revelers at the annual convention of movie theater owners were delighted by the mogul’s cameo at Tuesday’s presentation from Warner Bros. Pictures. Winfrey is a producer on the studio’s upcoming movie musical “The Color Purple,” based on the 1985 Steven Spielberg classic in which the former daytime host starred.
“‘The Color Purple’ in 1985 was the biggest and most important thing that happened to me. This is a full circle moment to be part of this film. It holds great personal meaning,” Winfrey told the crowd.
Appearing with director Blitz Bazawule, the pair showed the first footage ever screened from the project — a rousing and lush production that particularly showcased femme fatale Taraji P. Henson.
The film will open this coming Christmas Day, and boasts serious musical and Hollywood star power.
Revelers at the annual convention of movie theater owners were delighted by the mogul’s cameo at Tuesday’s presentation from Warner Bros. Pictures. Winfrey is a producer on the studio’s upcoming movie musical “The Color Purple,” based on the 1985 Steven Spielberg classic in which the former daytime host starred.
“‘The Color Purple’ in 1985 was the biggest and most important thing that happened to me. This is a full circle moment to be part of this film. It holds great personal meaning,” Winfrey told the crowd.
Appearing with director Blitz Bazawule, the pair showed the first footage ever screened from the project — a rousing and lush production that particularly showcased femme fatale Taraji P. Henson.
The film will open this coming Christmas Day, and boasts serious musical and Hollywood star power.
- 4/25/2023
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Array Releasing, the distribution arm of Ava DuVernay’s Peabody Award-winning narrative change collective, has picked up rights to the feature drama Learn to Swim for the U.S., the UK, Australia and New Zealand, slating it for release on select screens and on Netflix on August 15.
The first feature from director Thyrone Tommy dives into the world of contemporary jazz with a musical meditation on love and loss, following the doggedly private and talented saxophone player Dezi (Thomas Antony Olajide) and a vivacious, but less experienced singer named Selma (Emma Ferreira). When the two meet, sparks fly, but their respective emotional baggage and temperaments make the road to romance bumpy at best.
An official selection of the 2021 Toronto Film Festival, Learn to Swim was written by Tommy and Marni Van Dyk, with Alona Metzer producing.
“With Array Releasing’s summer acquisition of Learn To Swim, we are thrilled to...
The first feature from director Thyrone Tommy dives into the world of contemporary jazz with a musical meditation on love and loss, following the doggedly private and talented saxophone player Dezi (Thomas Antony Olajide) and a vivacious, but less experienced singer named Selma (Emma Ferreira). When the two meet, sparks fly, but their respective emotional baggage and temperaments make the road to romance bumpy at best.
An official selection of the 2021 Toronto Film Festival, Learn to Swim was written by Tommy and Marni Van Dyk, with Alona Metzer producing.
“With Array Releasing’s summer acquisition of Learn To Swim, we are thrilled to...
- 8/2/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
A competitive bidding war between networks for rights to the TV adaptation of "The Scent of Burnt Flowers" concluded with FX landing a deal for the six-episode limited series (via Deadline).
Based on Blitz Bazawule's upcoming novel of the same name, the "Scent of Burnt Flowers" adaptation will be written, directed, and produced by Bazawule himself under his newly-launched banner, Inward Gaze. Currently, Emmy winner Yahya Abdul-Mateen is attached to the project, and he is also set to executive produce under his production banner House Eleven10, alongside Macro Television Studios.
"The Scent...
The post The Scent of Burnt Flowers TV Adaptation, Starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Lands at FX appeared first on /Film.
Based on Blitz Bazawule's upcoming novel of the same name, the "Scent of Burnt Flowers" adaptation will be written, directed, and produced by Bazawule himself under his newly-launched banner, Inward Gaze. Currently, Emmy winner Yahya Abdul-Mateen is attached to the project, and he is also set to executive produce under his production banner House Eleven10, alongside Macro Television Studios.
"The Scent...
The post The Scent of Burnt Flowers TV Adaptation, Starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Lands at FX appeared first on /Film.
- 3/18/2022
- by Debopriyaa Dutta
- Slash Film
For me, Black History Month is best illustrated by my 92-year-old grandmother Ella Queen Johnson’s recall of our family stories. She shares these stories knowing that the wider world lacks a true and full recognition of the African American family legacy. For most of her long life, she has known that she should not look for depth and dimension in film and television as it relates to families like ours. This is the very reason why she told our history to us herself. My grandmother is a dynamic woman who is not formally trained as a teacher or a historian, but nonetheless, she is both. I am drawn to distributing films created by indie Black filmmakers through Array as a continuation of her calling. By supporting storytellers in the telling of their truths, I am celebrating a great legacy and making my grandmother proud.
I was a young girl...
I was a young girl...
- 2/10/2022
- by Tilane Jones
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Tilane Jones, President of inclusive film collective Array, was honored with the Slamdance Founders Award on Saturday during a virtual presentation. The award is Slamdance’s highest accolade and Jones is the fifth recipient to receive the award. Previous winners include Chris Nolan, The Russo brothers and Steven Soderbergh.
The Founders Award is given to an individual that supports the filmmaker community of Slamdance well into their careers.
“Tilane has helped our community of artists grow through recognizing talent, launching and sustaining careers,” said Peter Baxter, President and co-founder of Slamdance. “We recognize she has worked tirelessly, with great dedication to nurture emerging artists who become the next generation of filmmakers. We want to thank Tilane and her company Array for her ongoing support of these artists, inspiration and being part of Slamdance’s community. For these reasons, we are honored to present Tilane Jones with Slamdance’s Founders Award.
The Founders Award is given to an individual that supports the filmmaker community of Slamdance well into their careers.
“Tilane has helped our community of artists grow through recognizing talent, launching and sustaining careers,” said Peter Baxter, President and co-founder of Slamdance. “We recognize she has worked tirelessly, with great dedication to nurture emerging artists who become the next generation of filmmakers. We want to thank Tilane and her company Array for her ongoing support of these artists, inspiration and being part of Slamdance’s community. For these reasons, we are honored to present Tilane Jones with Slamdance’s Founders Award.
- 2/13/2021
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
The Black List founder Franklin Leonard kicked off the virtual Sundance panel “Array 10: A Decade of Disruption” by chatting with Array founder and Emmy-winning Ava DuVernay, President Tilane Jones and VP of Public Programming Mercedes Cooper about the origin of the narrative change collective which puts shine on creators and artists of color as well as women filmmakers.
Leonard and DuVernay reminisced about special dinners of Sundance past where, at the first one DuVernay hosted included “more Black folks in the room than at Sundance” as a whole. The conversation shifted to a dinner party icebreaker which Leonard loves to ask his guests: “What is your guilty pleasure movie?”
Cooper claimed the classic Mahogany as her guilty pleasure while Jones said Breakfast at Tiffany’s was hers — DuVernay quickly intervened.
“These are not guilty pleasures ladies!” said DuVernay. “A guilty pleasure is a film you slightly feel hesitant to share — which I will share.
Leonard and DuVernay reminisced about special dinners of Sundance past where, at the first one DuVernay hosted included “more Black folks in the room than at Sundance” as a whole. The conversation shifted to a dinner party icebreaker which Leonard loves to ask his guests: “What is your guilty pleasure movie?”
Cooper claimed the classic Mahogany as her guilty pleasure while Jones said Breakfast at Tiffany’s was hers — DuVernay quickly intervened.
“These are not guilty pleasures ladies!” said DuVernay. “A guilty pleasure is a film you slightly feel hesitant to share — which I will share.
- 2/1/2021
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: In the wake of a hot 2020 which saw Blitz Bazawule’s Beyonce visual album Black Is King debut on Disney+, in addition to scoring the directing gig for The Color Purple feature musical, the filmmaker’s debut novel The Scent of Burnt Flowers has just been acquired by Ballantine Books.
Senior Editor Chelcee Johns at Ballantine acquired North American publishing rights from CAA. The novel is scheduled for publication in 2022.
The Scent of Burnt Flowers is steeped in the history of Ghana, specifically the 1966 coup of then-president, Kwame Nkrumah. The novel follows an African American couple, who are on the run after one commits a murder in self-defense in the Deep South of the United States. Unaware a coup is underway in Ghana, the couple’s plan for safety is to flee the United States and reunite with their old friend Nkrumah who they believe will grant them asylum.
Senior Editor Chelcee Johns at Ballantine acquired North American publishing rights from CAA. The novel is scheduled for publication in 2022.
The Scent of Burnt Flowers is steeped in the history of Ghana, specifically the 1966 coup of then-president, Kwame Nkrumah. The novel follows an African American couple, who are on the run after one commits a murder in self-defense in the Deep South of the United States. Unaware a coup is underway in Ghana, the couple’s plan for safety is to flee the United States and reunite with their old friend Nkrumah who they believe will grant them asylum.
- 2/1/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
The New York Times put prestigious specialty home-video distributor The Criterion Collection under a microscope late last week, and the headline said it all: “How the Criterion Collection Crops Out African-American Directors.” The report looked at all 22 years and more than 1,000 titles in the Criterion’s revered selection of Blu-rays and DVDs of films, finding that only four African Americans are represented: Oscar Micheaux (“Body and Soul”); William Greaves; Charles Burnett (“To Sleep With Anger”); and Spike Lee (“Do the Right Thing” and “Bamboozled”).
It’s a glaring omission for a company that prides itself on licensing and releasing what it describes as “important classic and contemporary films,” but also reflective of an industry-wide practice of shutting out Black filmmakers.
Despite America’s changing demographics, the industry’s most powerful leaders have been slow to respond to a demand for films that reflect cultural and racial shifts that have long been underway.
It’s a glaring omission for a company that prides itself on licensing and releasing what it describes as “important classic and contemporary films,” but also reflective of an industry-wide practice of shutting out Black filmmakers.
Despite America’s changing demographics, the industry’s most powerful leaders have been slow to respond to a demand for films that reflect cultural and racial shifts that have long been underway.
- 8/25/2020
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
Ghana-born filmmaker Blitz Bazawule who most recently directed Beyoncé’s Disney+ visual album “Black Is King,” is set to direct Warner Bros. movie-musical “The Color Purple,” according to an individual with knowledge of the project.
Marcus Gardley wrote the screenplay.
Based on Alice Walker’s 1982 novel, the story centers on a black woman named Celie, who grows up in intense poverty in the American South and endures harsh treatment from her stepfather, husband and others in her life, which tests her faith in God and humankind. Walker won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, becoming the first black woman to do so.
Also Read: 'The Color Purple' Broadway Musical to Get Movie Adaptation
Scott Sanders, who produced the Tony-winning Broadway version, will produce the big-screen musical with Oprah Winfrey and Quincy Jones. Steven Spielberg is back as well, as producer.
The book was previously adapted as a 1985 feature film...
Marcus Gardley wrote the screenplay.
Based on Alice Walker’s 1982 novel, the story centers on a black woman named Celie, who grows up in intense poverty in the American South and endures harsh treatment from her stepfather, husband and others in her life, which tests her faith in God and humankind. Walker won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, becoming the first black woman to do so.
Also Read: 'The Color Purple' Broadway Musical to Get Movie Adaptation
Scott Sanders, who produced the Tony-winning Broadway version, will produce the big-screen musical with Oprah Winfrey and Quincy Jones. Steven Spielberg is back as well, as producer.
The book was previously adapted as a 1985 feature film...
- 8/24/2020
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Hot off of co-directing Beyoncé’s Disney+ visual album feature Black Is King, Ghana-born filmmaker Blitz Bazawule is set to direct Warner Bros. musical film The Color Purple, based on the Tony-winning Broadway musical.
I hear that the feature’s producers Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders, and Quincy Jones caught Bazawule’s movie The Burial Of Kojo on Netflix, and were wowed by his vibrant visual style.
“We, were all blown away by Blitz’s unique vision as a director and look forward to seeing how he brings the next evolution of this beloved story to life,” Winfrey tells Deadline.
Bazawule is a composer and musician of four studio albums: Stereotype (2009), Native Sun (2011), Afropolitan Dreams (2014) and Diasporadical (2016), and his musical sensibility, and what he could bring to The Color Purple, also impressed the producers as well. Bazawule co-directed Black Is King with Beyoncé and Emmanuel Adjei, helming the South African shoot.
I hear that the feature’s producers Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders, and Quincy Jones caught Bazawule’s movie The Burial Of Kojo on Netflix, and were wowed by his vibrant visual style.
“We, were all blown away by Blitz’s unique vision as a director and look forward to seeing how he brings the next evolution of this beloved story to life,” Winfrey tells Deadline.
Bazawule is a composer and musician of four studio albums: Stereotype (2009), Native Sun (2011), Afropolitan Dreams (2014) and Diasporadical (2016), and his musical sensibility, and what he could bring to The Color Purple, also impressed the producers as well. Bazawule co-directed Black Is King with Beyoncé and Emmanuel Adjei, helming the South African shoot.
- 8/24/2020
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
With readers turning to their home viewing options more than ever, this daily feature provides one new movie each day worth checking out on a major streaming platform.
From the moment a blue Volkswagen Beetle is consumed by a fireball on the edge of a sprawling beach, director Blitz Bazawule’s 2018 “The Burial of Kojo” announces a striking vision of beauty in disarray. The New York-based Ghanian musician-turned-filmmaker’s debut follows a young girl growing up in the shadow of her troubled family, trying to make sense of her father’s dark past through haunting visions and enigmatic bursts of sorrow. Even when the story turns on blunt metaphors, it maintains an absorbing lyrical foundation. It’s one of the great modern fairy tales of recent years, less hindered by its rough edges than enhanced by them.
The saga of Esi is a familiar sort of supernatural coming-of-age story, in...
From the moment a blue Volkswagen Beetle is consumed by a fireball on the edge of a sprawling beach, director Blitz Bazawule’s 2018 “The Burial of Kojo” announces a striking vision of beauty in disarray. The New York-based Ghanian musician-turned-filmmaker’s debut follows a young girl growing up in the shadow of her troubled family, trying to make sense of her father’s dark past through haunting visions and enigmatic bursts of sorrow. Even when the story turns on blunt metaphors, it maintains an absorbing lyrical foundation. It’s one of the great modern fairy tales of recent years, less hindered by its rough edges than enhanced by them.
The saga of Esi is a familiar sort of supernatural coming-of-age story, in...
- 7/21/2020
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Ava DuVernay’s Array Releasing is adding to its library of inclusive narratives with the critically acclaimed drama Lingua Franca directed, written, produced, edited by and starring Isabel Sandoval. The film will debut on Netflix and open theatrically in select cities on August 26.
Lingua Franca made history at the 2019 Venice International Film Festival Venice Days program as the first film directed and starring an openly trans woman of color to screen in competition. The film follows the story of an undocumented Filipina trans woman Olivia (Sandoval) who is the live-in caregiver for Olga (the late Lynn Cohen), an elderly Russian woman in Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach neighborhood. Olivia’s main priority is to secure a green card to stay in America, but when she unexpectedly becomes romantically involved with Olga’s adult grandson Alex (Eamon Farren), issues around identity, civil rights and immigration threatens Olivia’s very existence.
“The release...
Lingua Franca made history at the 2019 Venice International Film Festival Venice Days program as the first film directed and starring an openly trans woman of color to screen in competition. The film follows the story of an undocumented Filipina trans woman Olivia (Sandoval) who is the live-in caregiver for Olga (the late Lynn Cohen), an elderly Russian woman in Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach neighborhood. Olivia’s main priority is to secure a green card to stay in America, but when she unexpectedly becomes romantically involved with Olga’s adult grandson Alex (Eamon Farren), issues around identity, civil rights and immigration threatens Olivia’s very existence.
“The release...
- 7/9/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Ava DuVernay’s Array is presenting its fourth filmmaker tweet-a-thon, Array Film Fellowship. The annual daylong social media event is set to kick off on April 30 at 9 am Pt and will run for a staggering 10 hours and feature the voices of over 50 directors.
From Academy Award winners to veterans to legends to new voices the Twitter takeover will feature Guillermo Del Toro, Patty Jenkins, Jon M. Chu, Julie Dash, Jill Soloway, Patricia Cardoso, Mira Nair, George Tillman, Victoria Mahoney, Diane Paragas, Nisha Ganatra, Prentice Penny, Numa Perrier and many more.
More from DeadlineRusso Brothers To Celebrate One-Year Anniversary Of 'Avengers: Endgame' With Live Tweet RewatchSnap Surges 37%, Facebook Follows As Social Media Stocks Rally In Upbeat MarketTwitter Founder-ceo Jack Dorsey Made $1.40 In 2019, Even With Year Before
The filmmakers will wax poetic on the social media platform and share details about their craft, latest projects, take questions from film lovers...
From Academy Award winners to veterans to legends to new voices the Twitter takeover will feature Guillermo Del Toro, Patty Jenkins, Jon M. Chu, Julie Dash, Jill Soloway, Patricia Cardoso, Mira Nair, George Tillman, Victoria Mahoney, Diane Paragas, Nisha Ganatra, Prentice Penny, Numa Perrier and many more.
More from DeadlineRusso Brothers To Celebrate One-Year Anniversary Of 'Avengers: Endgame' With Live Tweet RewatchSnap Surges 37%, Facebook Follows As Social Media Stocks Rally In Upbeat MarketTwitter Founder-ceo Jack Dorsey Made $1.40 In 2019, Even With Year Before
The filmmakers will wax poetic on the social media platform and share details about their craft, latest projects, take questions from film lovers...
- 4/27/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Macro, the production company founded by former CAA agent Charles D. King, is adding managing talent to its list of responsibilities.
Having focused on producing content centered on people of color, and becoming somewhat of a haven for young black Hollywood, Macro is now launching a management vertical to represent filmmakers, actors, writers and multi-hyphenates.
The new division will be led by Gaby Mena and Jelani Johnson, who joined Macro from CAA in December. Both Mena and Johnson will serve as partners.
Also Read: Charles King's Macro Inks First-Look Deal With Warner Bros
“Macro was founded with a mission to uplift communities and empower the voice of authentic and multi-dimensional storytellers from the global new majority,” King said in a statement. “The launch of Macro Management with this incredible team of experienced, entrepreneurial artists’ advocates like Gaby and Jelani expands that mission to further support and amplify the next...
Having focused on producing content centered on people of color, and becoming somewhat of a haven for young black Hollywood, Macro is now launching a management vertical to represent filmmakers, actors, writers and multi-hyphenates.
The new division will be led by Gaby Mena and Jelani Johnson, who joined Macro from CAA in December. Both Mena and Johnson will serve as partners.
Also Read: Charles King's Macro Inks First-Look Deal With Warner Bros
“Macro was founded with a mission to uplift communities and empower the voice of authentic and multi-dimensional storytellers from the global new majority,” King said in a statement. “The launch of Macro Management with this incredible team of experienced, entrepreneurial artists’ advocates like Gaby and Jelani expands that mission to further support and amplify the next...
- 1/15/2020
- by Trey Williams
- The Wrap
Ava DuVernay returns to Own: Oprah Winfrey Network for what will be her second project for the cabler, the romantic anthology series “Cherish the Day,” which is set for a February 2020 premiere. Each season will document the ups and downs of a relationship between a single couple, capturing the everyday and the extraordinary, with each episode spanning 24 hours.
Chapter One stars Xosha Roquemore (“The Mindy Project”) as Gently James and Alano Miller (“Underground”) as Evan Fisher, a young couple who meet and fall in love in Los Angeles. The first season will span five years and unfold over eight episodes.
The legendary Cicely Tyson joins Roquemore and Miller as Miss Luma Lee Langston, a renowned star of stage and screen of decades past. Gently James is Miss Langston’s live-in assistant and is encouraged by her wise employer to enter into a romance with Evan Fisher.
Additional cast members in recurring roles include Michael Beach,...
Chapter One stars Xosha Roquemore (“The Mindy Project”) as Gently James and Alano Miller (“Underground”) as Evan Fisher, a young couple who meet and fall in love in Los Angeles. The first season will span five years and unfold over eight episodes.
The legendary Cicely Tyson joins Roquemore and Miller as Miss Luma Lee Langston, a renowned star of stage and screen of decades past. Gently James is Miss Langston’s live-in assistant and is encouraged by her wise employer to enter into a romance with Evan Fisher.
Additional cast members in recurring roles include Michael Beach,...
- 12/19/2019
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Ava DuVernay’s Array Releasing has acquired the coming-of-age drama Jezebel directed, written, produced by and co-starring Numa Perrier. The film is set to stream on Netflix starting January 16, 2020, and will open theatrically in New York, Los Angeles and other select cities that same month.
Jezebel made its world premiere at SXSW this year and details Perrier’s real-life experiences. The film follows 19-year-old Tiffany (Tiffany Tenille) as she navigates her dying mother’s financial struggles. By working as an Internet fetish cam girl in the ’90s, the young woman uses her fantasy world as an escape from her real-life circumstances.
As Perrier’s feature debut, Jezebel won Best Director and Best Narrative Feature at the American Black Film Festival as well as the Craig Brewer Emerging Filmmaker Award at the Indie Memphis Film Festival.
“Numa Perrier’s directorial debut delivers a beautiful balance of poignancy and humor to reveal truths about women,...
Jezebel made its world premiere at SXSW this year and details Perrier’s real-life experiences. The film follows 19-year-old Tiffany (Tiffany Tenille) as she navigates her dying mother’s financial struggles. By working as an Internet fetish cam girl in the ’90s, the young woman uses her fantasy world as an escape from her real-life circumstances.
As Perrier’s feature debut, Jezebel won Best Director and Best Narrative Feature at the American Black Film Festival as well as the Craig Brewer Emerging Filmmaker Award at the Indie Memphis Film Festival.
“Numa Perrier’s directorial debut delivers a beautiful balance of poignancy and humor to reveal truths about women,...
- 12/4/2019
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Blitz Bazawule, Aurora Guerrero and Deborah Kampmeier have been added to the director roster for Ava DuVernay’s forthcoming romantic anthology drama Cherish the Day. The Own series has also added Michael Beach (ER), Anne-Marie Johnson (For The People) and Kellee Stewart (Guess Who) in recurring roles.
The new trio of directors will join previously announced director Tanya Hamilton while the actors will join series regulars Xosha Roquemore, Alano Miller and, of course, the legendary Cicely Tyson. Cherish the Day is blazing the trail when it comes to inclusion as it achieved full gender parity with a production crew of over 50% women, including 18 female department heads.
Chapter one of Cherish the Day chronicles the relationship of one couple, with each episode spanning a single day. The narrative will unfold to reveal significant moments in a relationship that compel us to hold true to the ones we love, from the extraordinary to the everyday.
The new trio of directors will join previously announced director Tanya Hamilton while the actors will join series regulars Xosha Roquemore, Alano Miller and, of course, the legendary Cicely Tyson. Cherish the Day is blazing the trail when it comes to inclusion as it achieved full gender parity with a production crew of over 50% women, including 18 female department heads.
Chapter one of Cherish the Day chronicles the relationship of one couple, with each episode spanning a single day. The narrative will unfold to reveal significant moments in a relationship that compel us to hold true to the ones we love, from the extraordinary to the everyday.
- 12/3/2019
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Ava DuVernay’s Array Releasing has added another title to their slate of films that champion people of color and women. This time it is the Tribeca Film Festival winning drama Burning Cane from 19-year-old filmmaker Phillip Youmans. Array has acquired the worldwide rights to Burning Cane and plans to release the film later this fall.
In addition to winning Best Narrative Feature, Best Cinematography and Best Actor for Wendell Pierce, the film was also a 2019 Venice Film Festival Official Selection. Burning Cane marks Youmans’s feature directorial debut. Written, photographed and co-edited by Youmans, the intimate drama captures the complexity and complacency of family life and religion in rural Louisiana.
A New Orleans native, Youmans was only 17 years old when he made Burning Cane. He is currently an NYU film student and is the youngest director ever to have a film in competition at the Tribeca Film Festival...
In addition to winning Best Narrative Feature, Best Cinematography and Best Actor for Wendell Pierce, the film was also a 2019 Venice Film Festival Official Selection. Burning Cane marks Youmans’s feature directorial debut. Written, photographed and co-edited by Youmans, the intimate drama captures the complexity and complacency of family life and religion in rural Louisiana.
A New Orleans native, Youmans was only 17 years old when he made Burning Cane. He is currently an NYU film student and is the youngest director ever to have a film in competition at the Tribeca Film Festival...
- 9/5/2019
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Paradigm has signed musician and The Burial of Kojo director Blitz Bazawule. They will represent Bazawule across film and music touring.
Born in Ghana and based in New York, Bazawule made his feature directorial debut with The Burial of Kojo which was acquired by Netflix through Ava DuVernay’s Array Films. The film, which was released in March, was met with critical acclaim and won Best Narrative Feature in the World Cinema category at the Urbanworld Film Festival. Bazawule’s collaborator Terence Nance (Random Acts of Flyness) served as associate producer on the film and Jesse Williams (Grey’s Anatomy) stepped in as executive producer.
Known by his stage name, Blitz the Ambassador, Bazawule’s other credits include his short film Native Sun (2012), directed and produced by Nance as well as the short film Diasporadical Trilogia (2016). As a composer and musician, Bazawule has released four studio albums: “Stereotype” (2009), “Native...
Born in Ghana and based in New York, Bazawule made his feature directorial debut with The Burial of Kojo which was acquired by Netflix through Ava DuVernay’s Array Films. The film, which was released in March, was met with critical acclaim and won Best Narrative Feature in the World Cinema category at the Urbanworld Film Festival. Bazawule’s collaborator Terence Nance (Random Acts of Flyness) served as associate producer on the film and Jesse Williams (Grey’s Anatomy) stepped in as executive producer.
Known by his stage name, Blitz the Ambassador, Bazawule’s other credits include his short film Native Sun (2012), directed and produced by Nance as well as the short film Diasporadical Trilogia (2016). As a composer and musician, Bazawule has released four studio albums: “Stereotype” (2009), “Native...
- 6/4/2019
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Folk tales have always existed to give shape and meaning to the formless randomness of ordinary life, and to account for why certain occurrences — the death of a parent, the rejection of a lover, the rivalry between brothers — can have an impact on our psyches disproportionate to their un-mythic scale. This is a function of storytelling brought to gloriously vivid, lyrical life in Ghana-born, Brooklyn-based Blitz Bazawule’s intimate yet resplendent debut “The Burial of Kojo,” in which until it’s impossible to tell which is which.
Bursting onto the screen in striking image after striking image, the film is a collection of fragments about Kojo (Joseph Otsiman) the sad-eyed, shiftless but charming father of little Esi. We meet him in his recurring dream-that-might-not-be-a-dream, narrated in melodic, accented English by Esi as an adult (Ama K. Ababrese). Kojo stares out at the breaking waves of the seashore where an incongruous...
Bursting onto the screen in striking image after striking image, the film is a collection of fragments about Kojo (Joseph Otsiman) the sad-eyed, shiftless but charming father of little Esi. We meet him in his recurring dream-that-might-not-be-a-dream, narrated in melodic, accented English by Esi as an adult (Ama K. Ababrese). Kojo stares out at the breaking waves of the seashore where an incongruous...
- 5/30/2019
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
At the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, Ava DuVernay launched a tiny distribution company. Nine years later, it’s part of a multimedia empire contained in a sprawling Los Angeles compound. The gated property in Echo Park, which includes two buildings separated by a courtyard, is a physical manifestation of DuVernay’s own rising stardom. It contains distribution, arts, and advocacy collective Array, post-production facilities (where DuVernay’s longtime editor Spencer Averick cuts DuVernay’s film and TV projects), and the “Queen Sugar” writers’ room.
It’s an impressive achievement, but the next step in the compound’s buildout is a state-of-the-art, 50-seat theater that will screen the half-dozen Array titles it plans to release in 2019 and work by local artists, and will be made available for rental. Located west of downtown Los Angeles — a part of the city that doesn’t house many media moguls — it’s also the area’s only independent theater.
It’s an impressive achievement, but the next step in the compound’s buildout is a state-of-the-art, 50-seat theater that will screen the half-dozen Array titles it plans to release in 2019 and work by local artists, and will be made available for rental. Located west of downtown Los Angeles — a part of the city that doesn’t house many media moguls — it’s also the area’s only independent theater.
- 4/15/2019
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
Two dazzling straight-to-streaming releases underline the importance of online distribution to left-field directors
The film industry battle between Netflix and advocates of traditional cinema distribution was a sore point for much of last year, and still the fighting continues. The streaming giant recently confirmed that its conflict with the Cannes film festival remains unresolved: no Netflix films will play on the Croisette next month. Over in Hollywood, meanwhile, a Steven Spielberg-headed campaign to ban Netflix releases from future Oscars contention has run into sticky legal territory, with the Us department of justice, no less, weighing in to warn the Academy that such a move may violate antitrust law.
Among those opposing Spielberg on this matter is Ava DuVernay, who knows the value of Netflix for independent film-makers better than most. Her excellent, Oscar-nominated documentary 13th was released on the platform; her forthcoming miniseries based on the Central Park Five rape case will be too.
The film industry battle between Netflix and advocates of traditional cinema distribution was a sore point for much of last year, and still the fighting continues. The streaming giant recently confirmed that its conflict with the Cannes film festival remains unresolved: no Netflix films will play on the Croisette next month. Over in Hollywood, meanwhile, a Steven Spielberg-headed campaign to ban Netflix releases from future Oscars contention has run into sticky legal territory, with the Us department of justice, no less, weighing in to warn the Academy that such a move may violate antitrust law.
Among those opposing Spielberg on this matter is Ava DuVernay, who knows the value of Netflix for independent film-makers better than most. Her excellent, Oscar-nominated documentary 13th was released on the platform; her forthcoming miniseries based on the Central Park Five rape case will be too.
- 4/15/2019
- by Guy Lodge
- The Guardian - Film News
In his feature film debut The Burial of Kojo, Blitz Bazawule tells a story of two brothers through the gaze of a gifted girl who travels between gorgeous lands that exist in life and death. It’s not your ordinary narrative film, but a cinematic fable that is surreal, magical and infused with Afrofuturistic elements. Yes, it is complex and yes, it will probably make your brain bleed with its visual prowess, but Bazawule isn’t here to give you normal. He’s here to change the game while rattling your senses with a dose of global and inclusive storytelling. As Bazawule said, “Nobody cares about normal, right?”
The Burial of Kojo (which landed at Ava DuVernay’s Array and is currently streaming on Netflix) is quite a marvel that flexes visual storytelling muscles that you didn’t know existed. It takes risks with unexpected camera work and off-center choices...
The Burial of Kojo (which landed at Ava DuVernay’s Array and is currently streaming on Netflix) is quite a marvel that flexes visual storytelling muscles that you didn’t know existed. It takes risks with unexpected camera work and off-center choices...
- 4/4/2019
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Pharrell will launch a new multi-day music festival, Something In the Water, this spring featuring performances from Missy Elliott, Migos, Janelle Monáe, Travis Scott and more. The festival will take place on the beach in the musician’s hometown, Virginia Beach, Virginia, April 26th through 28th.
The lineup for Something in the Water boasts a diverse array of artists including J Balvin, Sza, Lil Uzi Vert, Diplo, Anderson .Paak and the Free Nationals, Kaytranada, Jhené Aiko, Maggie Rogers, Mac DeMarco and Jaden Smith. The lineup also boasts a handful of Virginia artists including Pharrell,...
The lineup for Something in the Water boasts a diverse array of artists including J Balvin, Sza, Lil Uzi Vert, Diplo, Anderson .Paak and the Free Nationals, Kaytranada, Jhené Aiko, Maggie Rogers, Mac DeMarco and Jaden Smith. The lineup also boasts a handful of Virginia artists including Pharrell,...
- 3/4/2019
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
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