Black in Period Films

American Soul a series on BET has casted singer actress Kelly Rowland as legendary singer Gladys Knight.  BET’s American Soul, is a 1970s period drama about the rise of the classic music-dance television program Soul Train. I believe Kelly Rowland is an awesome choice for Knight circa 1970. For some time now, Gladys Knight has said that she'd want Kelly Rowland to play her in a biopic. In the video below (Start at 2:09) Gladys campaigns for Kelly Rowland again. I really love that The Empress of Soul will get to see her top choice play her in the multiple episode arc. We have multiple videos and photos of Gladys Knight and her various performances so I'm hoping the costumes, hair, and makeup are accurately portrayed. Actress singer Kelly Price has also be casted as a series regular.  Will you be watching American Soul?

More of the cast for the upcoming Focus Feature Harriet Tubman biopic has been announced. Actress Deborah Ayorinde Actor Clarke Peters (Underground) Actress Vanessa Bell Calloway (Stompin at the Savoy, The Temptations, What's Love Got to Do with It) Actor Henry Hunter Hall IMdB has him credited as a character named, Walter.  Zackary Momoh (A United Kingdom) The Harriet cast is shaping up nicely. I am excited about the possibilities.  What do you think about the cast update?

This is the full length trailer for Barry Jenkins' stunning film 'If Beale Street Could Talk'; based on the 1974 novel by American writer James Baldwin. The film follows a pregnant Clementine “Tish” Rivers (Kiki Layne) as she sets out to clear the name of her falselt imprisoned fiance Alonzo “Fonny” Hunt (Stephan James).  The film currently has a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and was named first runner-up for the People's Choice Award at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.  Cast:  Kiki Layne as Clementine “Tish” Rivers  Stephan James as Alonzo “Fonny” Hunt  Regina King as Sharon Rivers  Teyonah Parris as Ernestine Rivers  Colman Domingo as Mr. Rivers  Brian Tyree Henry as Daniel Carty  Aunjanue Ellis as Mrs. Hunt

Peter Farrelly’s Green Book deserves a round of applause for its win this weekend at The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The Toronto International Film Festival Grolsch People's Choice Award is an annual film award, presented by the Toronto International Film Festival to the film rated as the year's most popular film with festival audiences. The film portrays the true story of Don Shirley, an African-American classical pianist (Mahershala Ali) and his working-class Italian-American chauffeur Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen) as they go on a tour of venues through the 1960s American South. The name of the film is taken from the famous Negro Motorist Green Book Book by Victor Hugo Green. The book served as a guide to help black travelers safely traverse the violent segregated south. Barry Jenkins' take on James Baldwin's novel If Beale Street Could Talk, came in as first runner up. Previous winners include 12 Years a Slave in 2013  and Hotel Rwanda

We have great news about the Focus Feature Harriet Tubman biopic ( source ). Not only has the cast been fleshed out, but we also know that production for the film has been set. Focus Features and Universal Pictures International will distribute the film worldwide. The film will chronicle the life of heroic abolitionist and spy Harriet Tubman.  The cast includes Cynthia Erivo (The Color Purple) as Tubman. Fellow Tony Award®-winner and Grammy Award®-winner Leslie Odom Jr. (Hamilton, Murder on the Orient Express), Joe Alwyn (Boy Erased, The Favourite, Mary Queen of Scots), Jennifer Nettles, and Clarke Peters (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) round out the cast.  The amazing director Kasi Lemmons (Eve’s Bayou) will be directing the screenplay that she co-wrote with Gregory Allen Howard (Ali, Remember the Titans). They’re joined by cinematographer John Toll and costume designer Paul Tazewell. Josh McLaughlin, Focus Features president of production, will oversee t