The purpose of this blog is to highlight the presence of the people of the African Diaspora in period costume dramas. It is also to provide a historical context to the films featured.
Apple TV+ has given us the trailer for their up and coming series Manhunt.
The seven part miniseries is based on the nonfiction book Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson. Its the story of the hunt for John Wilkes Booth in the aftermath of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.
In the trailer you can see Lovie Simone as Mary Simms, Antonio J Bell as Milo Simms, and Roger Payano as Oswell Swann. According to the series IMDb page Mary Simms will be in 4 episodes while both Milo Simms and Oswell Swann will be in 2 episodes.
Lovie Simone and Antonio J Bell as Mary and Milo Simms
Lovie Simone as Mary Simms
Lovie Simone as Mary Simms
Roger Payano as Oswell Swann
Roger Payano as Oswell Swann
Roger Payano as Oswell Swann
All of these characters are based on real people who were involved with the real life events surrounding the trail of John Wilkes Booth. There isn't much from the POVs of these people, but I'm looking forward to seeing these little known historical figures brought to life.
In more Zendaya film news! Deadline recently mentioned in an article that Zendaya has signed on to play Ellen Craft in the adaptation of the book, Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom: Or, the Escape of William and Ellen Craft from Slavery. As of 2016 the project was in development at Alloy Entertainment and Alloy Features, with Suzanne Allain attached to script. The History : In 1848, William and Ellen Craft made an amazingly clever escape from slavery in Macon, Georgia. Ellen, the daughter of a biracial slave and her master used her light skin and features to disguise herself as a white male planter. With her husband William posing as her servant the Crafts traveled to freedom in plain sight. This will be the third period production that Zendaya will be taking part of. She was first in the 2017 musical, The Greatest Showman . In the musical the actress played one of P. T. Barnum's circus acts; a trapeze artist. News also broke of her casting as Anita Hemmings
Water White is based on the 2011 children’s book which was co-authored by Michael Bandy and Eric Stein. The film is based on a childhood experience of author Bandy and tells the story of a boy in 1963 Alabama who is obsessed with drinking water from the “Whites Only” fountain. I was drawn to this movie premise because my grandfather told me about his experience as a child in 1950’s Georgia wanting to drink from the white fountain. Like Michael, my grandfather found that the water wasn’t all he thought it would be. The narrative style and tone of the film fit perfectly as it is from the point of view of a 7 year old little boy. Watching the shenanigans that Michael and his older cousin Red get into was hilarious. Amir and Amari O'Neil were perfectly cast as Michael. Although twins they played the character in the same way. I was not even aware that Michael was being played by twins until I looked up the trailer to write this review. I was also impressed by the actin
As a child I regularly watched syndicated television shows in historical settings like Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie, and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman with my mother. I remembered that some of the episodes featured black characters and dealt with race. I thought it'd be fun to rewatch these episodes and give my thoughts here. The first episode I dug up was the season 5 episode 30 of Bonanza, titled "Enter Thomas Bowers" which aired April 26, 1964. The episode starts with three women discussing a benefit concert for the local Native American tribe. One of the women proudly states that she has gotten the internationally famous singer Thomas Bowers to perform and that he is coming in on the next stagecoach. Only when Thomas Bowers (William Marshall) arrives, he's not exactly who she thought he'd be. Once she realizes that the singer is a black man the entire atmosphere changes. I have to stop here is point out the irony of them not wanting a blac
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