Black in Period Films

The newest Chevalier trailer from Searchlight Pictures introduces us to 18th century superstar composer, Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges.  The trailer shows a quick overview of his arrival in France as a young boy, the nurturing of his talent, his rise to fame, and what happens as a result of that fame.  Because of his talent, Joseph Bologne Chevalier de Saint-Georges is often called the "Black Mozart". Which I hate because Mozart would not be called the White Bologne. So, if  Mozart isn't the White Bologne then the comparison doesn't work and Bologne isn't the Black Mozart. It also belittles Joseph Bologne's lived experiences as well as his legacy as a talented composer.  Bologne is a historical figure whose life many have wanted to see on screen. This will be the first narrative film about Joseph Bologne, there however have been documentaries and stage productions about his life.  The 2003 Raymond St-Jean directed performance documentary, Le Mozar

Gloria Obianyo has been added to the season 7 of the Outlander series, based on the book series by Diana Gabaldon.  Obianyo will be playing a character named Mercy Woodcock. Mercy Woodcock is a free woman of color in colonial era South Carolina. She is connected to the storyline because of her relationship with Henry Grey, who is the nephew of the beloved character Lord John Grey. She appears in An Echo in the Bone and Written in My Own Heart's Blood. Book Mercy is a self assured woman, whose husband may or may not have died on the battlefield. As she nurses Henry Grey back to health, they fall in love with each other. I'm eager to see how much of Mercy makes it to the series.  Honestly speaking I'm not at all optimistic about how much we'll see of her (for various reasons). Chiefly because she is already a minor character. Secondly, because the character Phaedre was erased from the tv series after a brief appearance, even though her role in the books is bigger than Mer

Based on the best-selling novel by Octavia Butler, FX’s Kindred premieres December 13.  A young aspiring writer discovers secrets about her family's past when she finds herself mysteriously being pulled back and forth in time to a 19th century plantation. All eight episodes will premiere December 13 on Hulu.

The Interview with the Vampire series has been renewed for Season 2 at AMC.  The series renewal comes before the series premiere on Oct. 2. This is great news for Anne Rice fans who were hoping to see the entirety of Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles novel series brought to life on screen. It seems the fandom is one step closer to getting their wish. The early renewal and the amazing reviews bode well for fans.  The 8-episode second season will be set in Europe. Based on the Anne Rice novel of the same name, the series stars Jacob Anderson as Louis de Pointe du Lac, Sam Reid as Lestat de Lioncourt, Bailey Bass as Claudia, and Eric Bogosian as Daniel Molloy.

Lashana Lynch has been casted to play Bob Marley’s wife, Rita , in the untitled Bob Marley pic for Paramount.  Kingsley Ben-Adir will be portraying the legendary Reggae singer with King Richard director Reinaldo Marcus Green helming the project. Lynch was casted during a lengthy casting search, her c asting process was similar to the casting for Bob Marley.  The production put a lot into finding the right person to play Rita. One of the requirements was that the actress be someone of Jamaican descent. Lynch was born in London, England but to a family from Jamaica. After several tests and chemistry reads with Ben-Adir,  Lynch won over execs, Rita, and the Marley family.  I personally love when time and effort like this is put into casting black historical figures. So often biopic castings can feel like the execs closed their eyes and picked the nearest popular actor to take on the role. Knowing that the Marley family all gave their blessing to the casting makes me happy.  (Source:  Dead

     Most of us know who Emmett Till is. But far less know who his mother Mamie Till-Mobley is. Till takes us behind the powerful story of Mamie Till-Mobley’s quest for justice for her son, Emmett.      The cast includes Danielle Deadwyler (The Harder They Fall), Whoopi Goldberg, Jalyn Hall, Frankie Faison, Jayme Lawson, Tosin Cole, Kevin Carroll, Sean Patrick Thomas, John Douglas Thompson, Roger Guenveur Smith, and Haley Bennett.      Director Chinonye Chukwu has previously wrote and directed Clemency. Till was written by Michael Reilly (producer/director The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till), Keith Beauchamp, and Chinonye Chukwu.       There was some online discourse around the film. Some believe that at this point in time, this particular story has been covered enough. There have been two major projects featuring the Till story in recent times: the Women of the Movement series that premiered in January of this year and the 2020 Lovecraft Country episode "Jig-a-Bobo". Othe

Set in the 1930s, it follows three friends who witness a murder, become suspects themselves, and uncover one of the most outrageous plots in American history.  This exciting trailer is chalk full of one star appearance after another. The cast includes John David Washington, Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, as the leads along side Chris Rock, Zoe Saldaña, Anya Taylor-Joy, Taylor Swift, Robert De Niro, Rami Malek, and so many more.  It hits theaters November 2022. 

  The Woman King is the remarkable story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen. Inspired by true events, The Woman King follows the emotionally epic journey of General Nanisca (Viola Davis) as she trains the next generation of recruits and readies them for battle against an enemy determined to destroy their way of life. Some things are worth fighting for. The film features a star-studded cast including Viola Davis,Lashana Lynch,Sheila Atim,Thuso Mbedu,John Boyega,Jayme Lawson,Jordan Bolger and is directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood.  See The Woman King rise exclusively in cinemas September 16.

Jovan Adepo and Juliana Canfield will star as abolitionist couple William and Ellen Craft in the upcoming film Everlasting Yea!. Everlasting Yea! will follow the love story of the Crafts and their rise to international fame in the abolitionist movement after escaping their enslavement in Georgia.  The Crafts are famous for the way that they escaped their enslavement. Ellen disguised herself as a white Southern gentleman, and William played the role of her obedient slave. The film is set in the North before the Civil War and will follow the couple as the fall in love, escape slavery, and handle the fame that comes along with becoming an international news story and celebrities of the abolitionist movement. Lynn Nottage has commented on the project stating, “Our film centers the complex reality of free Blacks in the antebellum North, posing the question, what is freedom, and what price must one pay in order to maintain it?” Lynn Nottage and Tony Gerber co-wrote and will also co-direct th

I love a good murder mystery and this trailer fits the bill for me. So many actors that I enjoy watching are in it too. Watch it down below.  Summary: In the West End of 1950s London, plans for a movie version of a smash-hit play come to an abrupt halt after a pivotal member of the crew is murdered. When world-weary Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and eager rookie Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan) take on the case, the two find themselves thrown into a puzzling whodunit within the glamorously sordid theater underground, investigating the mysterious homicide at their own peril.  Cast: Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan, Adrien Brody, David Oyelowo, Ruth Wilson, Harris Dickinson, Shirley Henderson, Sian Clifford, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, Reece Shearsmith, Charlie Cooper

  A video about the 2013 adaptation of Christopher Paul Curtis’ 1995 novel The Watsons Go To Birmingham 1963 and the history changing events surrounding the story. Sources American History TV C-Span Colored Conventions Project Documenting the American South (DocSouth) Democracy Now! Hallmark Channel Jet Magazine JFK Library Library of Congress PBS The Library Company of Philadelphia The Martin Luther King, Jr.Research and Education Institute Wikimedia (Uploader: N-gio)

At long last! We finally have a trailer for the long awaited feature length film, Mr. Malcolm's List.   Summary: When she fails to meet an item on his list of requirements for a bride, Julia Thistlewaite (Zawe Ashton) is jilted by London’s most eligible bachelor, Mr. Malcolm (Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù). Feeling humiliated and determined to exact revenge, she convinces her friend Selina Dalton (Freida Pinto) to play the role of his ideal match. Soon, Mr. Malcolm wonders whether he’s found the perfect woman...or the perfect hoax. This film is based on Suzanne Allain's 2009 novel of the same name. What makes this trailer so exciting is this film and its history with period film lovers. Starting with The Black List podcast script reading of Allain's highly rated script. After filmmaker Emma Holly Jones heard this reading she pursued the rights and brought on producers Laura Rister and Laura Lewis to begin the film adaptation. A short film was made as a teaser for the feature length film and

  Great news Bridgerton fans! A Queen Charlotte limited prequel series is in the works.      The prequel will tell the story of young Queen Charlotte’s marriage to King George, how it sparked a great love story, and created a societal shift that created the world of the Ton as inherited by the characters in Bridgerton. The series is to be written by Shonda Rhimes is to be the showrunner, writer, and executive producer.        India Amarteifio has been cast to play young Queen Charlotte. After being betrothed to the mysterious King of England against her will, she arrives in London only to realize she is not what the royals were expecting. The limited series follows young Queen Charlotte as she learns to navigate the palace, the ‘ton and her unpredictable husband all while growing as a monarch.      Golda Rosheuvel will be appearing in the series to reprise her role as the older version of the season 1 and 2 character.      Corey Mylchreest will play young King George. George is

Lovie Simone has been casted in the Apple TV+ true crime limited series "Manhunt" based on Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer  by James Swanson. The series follows the Lincoln assassination and the resulting aftermath. It will be lead by Tobias Menzies ("Rome, “The Crown,”, “Outlander”) as Edwin Stanton, Lincoln’s war secretary and friend. Simone has been casted as Mary Simms, the first Black American to testify on May 25, 1865 during the conspiracy trial for the assassination of President Lincoln. Mary Simms was the former slave of Samuel Mudd, the doctor who treated the leg injury of John Wilkes Booth (to be played by Anthony Boyle) and gave him safe harbor after his crime. Simms remembered her former enslavers dislike for Lincoln and discussed specific conversations during her testimony. Mary Simms' brothers Elzee Eglent,14 year old Milo Simms, and seven other formerly enslaved people also testified in the case so I'm looking forward to their c

  Official Film Summary : Alice (Keke Palmer) yearns for freedom as an enslaved person on a rural Georgia plantation under its brutal and disturbed owner Paul (Jonny Lee Miller). After a violent clash with Paul, she flees through the neighboring woods and stumbles onto the unfamiliar sight of a highway, soon discovering the year is actually 1973. Rescued on the roadside by a disillusioned political activist named Frank (Common), Alice quickly comprehends the lies that have kept her in bondage and the promise of Black liberation. Inspired by true accounts, Alice is a modern empowerment fable tracing Alice’s journey through the post-Civil Rights Era American South. I love KeKe Palmer and the premise of the story is interesting so I'm looking forward to seeing this film. When the trailer says that the film is "inspired by true events" it is most likely referencing the story of Mae Louise Walls Miller. Mae Louise Walls Miller and her family were enslaved well into the 1960s. 

Inspired by real events and set in the roar of the 1920s, THE PORTER follows the journeys of an ensemble of characters who hustle, dream, cross borders and pursue their ambitions in the fight for liberation - on and off the railways that crossed North America. It is a gripping story of empowerment and idealism that highlights the moment when railway workers from both Canada and the United States joined together to give birth to the world’s first Black union.  Set primarily in Montreal, Chicago and Detroit as the world rebuilds after the First World War, THE PORTER depicts the Black community in St. Antoine, Montreal - known, at the time, as the “Harlem of the North.” They’re young, gifted and Black, from Canada, the Caribbean, and the U.S. via the Underground Railroad and through the Great Migration, and they find themselves thrown together north and south of the color line, in an era that boasts anything is possible - but if change isn’t coming for them, they will come for it. By any