SOURCE: American Film Institute
January 25, 2021

Today, AFI announced the recipients of the 2020 AFI AWARDS. AFI’s global Movie Club program will showcase the official selections beginning in February, with new and exclusive content released daily, including special guests from the honored works introducing the titles and AFI “Behind the Scene” conversations with filmmakers and actors. Sign up to be the first to receive exclusive AFI AWARDS content here.

Deadline

SOURCE: Deadline.com | Dino-Ray Ramos
January 24, 2021

In Judas and the Black Messiah filmmaker Shaka King dives deep into the story of Fred Hampton, chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, and William O’Neal, who served as an FBI informant to help silence Hampton and the BPP. King, who co-wrote the movie with Will Berson, tells the overlooked story of the iconic revolutionary, the conflicted man who brought him down and how it reflects the current landscape when it comes to the country’s treatment of the Black community and activism. Not only that, it also makes people realize that there is a part of Hampton and O’Neal in all of us.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter | Tatiana Siegel
January 22, 2021

Ashley Levinson, Marc Platt and Eric Roth also discuss adapting to a year of seismic changes in the film industry: “We started rethinking everything.”

Shepherding a film from a nebulous idea to a locked print is fraught with interruptions and surprises. As such, no profession in Hollywood requires greater dexterity than that of a producer. And unlike any other time in cinematic history, 2020 was a year of overnight transformation amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, leaving producers with no choice but to adapt fast.

Two producers from this year’s roundtable — Judas and the Black Messiah‘s Charles D. King and The Trial of the Chicago 7‘s Marc Platt — saw their theater-bound films take a detour to a streaming platform (HBO Max and Netflix, respectively). Although Eric Roth, who produced David Fincher’s Mank, was always poised for a streamer release via Netflix for that film, he also experienced the great sweep to HBO Max with the upcoming tentpole Dune, which he wrote. Ashley Levinson, whose Pieces of a Woman and Malcolm & Marie are both in the awards season conversation, oversaw the writing and production of the latter during the COVID-19 lockdown. Minari‘s Dede Gardner, the only female producer with two best picture Oscar wins (for 12 Years a Slave and Moonlight), and Palm Springs‘ Andy Samberg were the lone two of the group lucky enough to see their films premiere in a packed, mask-less theater (both films made their debuts at Sundance in January 2020).

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter | Maya Tribbitt
January 22, 2021

In Warner Bros.’ Judas and the Black Messiah, Daniel Kaluuya plays Fred Hampton, the former chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party and a co-founder of the Rainbow Coalition, whose killing in a 1969 raid was the result of an FBI counterintelligence operation. That government plot placed a petty thief named William O’Neal (played in the film by LaKeith Stanfield) undercover to infiltrate the party’s dealings and undermine its community organizing. Speaking with THR, Kaluuya reveals the extensive research he did to prepare for the role, working with rising-star director Shaka King and how Hampton’s philosophy can be applied in our current political moment.

SOURCE: IndieWire | Chris Lindahl
January 22, 2021

From falling in love and fighting a war to plunging into the depths of addiction and robbing a bank, the Apple TV+ drama “Cherry” puts Tom Holland’s titular character through an emotional wringer. The film is split into six different chapters, and cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel says it was his task to create six unique looks for each section — the challenge was making sure they all worked together to form a cohesive whole.

SOURCE: The Cinemaholic | Deepra Sarkar
January 21, 2021

‘The Marksman’ is a 2021 action thriller film directed by Robert Lorenz. The film boasts of a diverse cast with Liam Neeson in the lead playing the character of Jim Hanson. The plot of the film revolves around a rancher and former Marine residing in an Arizona border town. He is burdened with the unusual responsibility of delivering a young boy (Jacob Perez) safely to his family while escaping the clutches of a Mexican drug cartel. It takes the audience on a ride through deserts and country roads dotted with several action-packed scenes. We were intrigued by the places the film was shot in, and here’s what we could find out about the locations.

KALUUYA: PHOTOGRAPH BY WILLIAMS + HIRAKAWA; HOLLAND: MICHAEL SCHWARTZ/TRUNK ARCHIVE

SOURCE: Variety | Ramin Setoodeh
January 20, 2021

Tom Holland (“Cherry”) and Daniel Kaluuya (“Judas and the Black Messiah”) sat down for a virtual chat for Variety‘s Actors on Actors, presented by Amazon Studios. For more, click here. 

In “Cherry,” Tom Holland transforms into a war veteran-turned-bank robber, broken by PTSD and drug addiction. The role is intentional counter-programming from Holland’s heroic Peter Parker, although it comes from the same team that brought you several Marvel movies, including “Avengers: Endgame.” The Russo brothers — directors Anthony and Joe — recruited Holland for this Apple TV Plus indie, which unspools in vignettes.

It was a Marvel connection, too, that brought Daniel Kaluuya his next great role. While shooting “Black Panther” — in which Kaluuya plays warrior W’Kabi — director Ryan Coogler approached him about a movie he was producing. The project became “Judas and the Black Messiah” (soon to launch in theaters and on HBO Max), a film about Fred Hampton, a leader of the Black Panther movement during the civil rights era. Two days before Christmas, both in lockdown in London, Holland and Kaluuya spoke to each other about their past superhero adventures and the gritty departures they recently took.