Black in Period Films

 I think this is an amazing casting. Just see for yourself! Raven Goodwin has been chosen to play Hattie McDaniel, the legendary actress who was the first African American to ever win an Oscar; for her role as Mammy in 1939’s Gone With the Wind. The biopic will be called Behind the Smile. I think its an apt name because I have always loved Hattie McDaniel's smile. Additionally, I'm quite positive McDaniel had to hide a lot of her feelings behind her smile. Her acting career options were limited and she faced many injustices. But, she preserved and became a legend in the process. I look forward to seeing her story brought to screen.  Jami McCoy-Lankford of Hillionaire Productions and Global Genesis Group is producing the indie film. Regarding the casting of Raven Goodwin McCoy-Lankford said, “Raven Goodwin is such a phenomenal talent and a gift to this project. In our first meeting on Zoom, she already showed the kind of passion that is befitting such a complex and iconic chara...

Production has begun on Kenneth Branagh's adaption of Agatha Christie's 1937 crime fiction novel, Death on the Nile.  The star-studded novel was announced today via a 20th Century Fox tweet .  Actresses Letitia Wright and Sophie Okonedo have been casted in the production. According to the film's imdB page, Wright will be playing Rosalie Otterbourne a role originated by Olivia Hussey. This will be director Kenneth Branagh's second Agatha Christie adaption, after his 2017 adaption of Murder on the Orient Express .   Death on the Nile will be released on October 9, 2020!

There's a Teddy Pendergrass biopic in the works!! Warner Bros. has acquired the singer’s life rights. After actively campaigning to play the singer for a while now, Tyrese Gibson has been cast as singer Teddy Pendergrass. On playing his dream role Tyrese said: “I am honored to take this journey… this is the role that I feel I was born to play,“ Gibson said. "Teddy Pendergrass embraced me and before he passed put the responsibility on my shoulders to tell his story. Being here in this time and in this space and moment with Lee Daniels, Donald De Line, Little Marvin and Warner Bros is an answered prayer. Teddy, I just hope we make you, your wife and family proud… Here we go!!” Donald De Line, Lee Daniels and Gibson are producing the film. Little Marvin is the scriptwriter, and  Pendergrass' widow, Joan Pendergrass, will be an executive producer. 

According to Variety , the Aretha Franklin biopic titled Respect is set for an August 14, 2020 theatrical release.  The biopic will be directed by Liesl Tommy and the script will be written by Callie Khouri. The film is being produced by Straight Outta Compton producer Scott Bernstein and songwriter and producer Harvey Mason Jr.. Mason has written and produced for both Franklin and Hudson. As previously discussed ,  Jennifer Hudson was  handpicked for the role, by the Queen of Soul herself. Respect will follow Franklin's rise to fame from her childhood in the church to her life as a soul/R&B star.  I look forward to this biopic!! 

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 ...

Zendaya and Anita Hemmings According to Deadine , Zendaya will be playing a white passing woman in a film called 'A White Lie'. The film is an adaptation of the Karin Tanabe novel, The Gilded Years. The novel is a thriller based on the true story of Anita Hemmings time passing as white at a prestige school at the turn of the century. Anita Florence Hemmings (born June 8, 1872 in Boston) became the first Black woman to graduate from Vassar College in 1897. She was only able to attend because no one knew she was Black. Interestingly, when the school found out there were not any real repercussions for Anita. She still participated in her graduation festivities and received her diploma without much trouble. I haven't read the novel so it might happen differently in the film. Lebanon Daily News, September 11, 1897 Source: Lebanon (Pennsylvania) Daily News (public domain) Anita was an "exotic beauty" who saw all sorts of attention from Harvard and Y...

The news about an adaption of Oney Judge’s life has made me extremely happy. According to (news site) the film will be based on author and historian Erica Armstrong Dunbar’s book titled, Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge. I’ve heard about this brave woman on multiple occasions and have always thought a film or series about her life (if done correctly) would be awesome. The book was optioned by Lisa Ellis of Provenance Media and Richard Abate of 3 Arts Entertainment and they will co-produce the film. Oney Judge’s Story: Born on January 1, 1773, Oney "Ona" Judge was a mixed-race slave on George Washington's plantation, Mount Vernon, in Virginia. Ona stands out because she was a favored slave of the first president’s wife Martha. Additionally, she ran away from bondage and was never caught. Her being born to a white indentured servant named Andrew Judge and an enslaved black woman named Betty Davis adds additional la...