On the Come Up, directed by actress-turned-director Sanaa Lathan and written by Zora Howard (Premature) and Kay Oyegun, is based on the book by acclaimed author Angie Thomas (The Hate U Give). The film explores the many facets of Black girlhood through hip-hop music and the general music industry. The novel is 464 pages, and the movie tries to cram all that information into two hours, which sometimes overshadows the messaging. But what works is that it speaks to a demographic that is often ignored and the culture of rap that is seldom explored from a woman’s perspective.
The film starts with Bri (Jamila Gray) being abandoned by her drug-addicted mother Jay (Lathan). The memory traumatizes her throughout her adolescence until the point she’s introduced as a 16-year old She’s also mourning the death of her father, a former rapper called Law from the Garden Heights. She wants...
The film starts with Bri (Jamila Gray) being abandoned by her drug-addicted mother Jay (Lathan). The memory traumatizes her throughout her adolescence until the point she’s introduced as a 16-year old She’s also mourning the death of her father, a former rapper called Law from the Garden Heights. She wants...
- 9/9/2022
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Elisabeth Murdoch, Stacey Snider and Jane Featherstone’s indie studio Sister has entered a first-look deal with the new production company Wychwood Media, from Harry Potter filmmaker David Yates and his producing partner, Lewis Taylor. Under the pact, the pair will develop and produce both scripted and unscripted film, television and documentary content for Sister’s offices in both the U.S. and UK. Yates will also have the option to direct projects coming together through the deal.
The new pact strengthens Sister and Wychwood Media’s existing relationship, which includes a commitment to a feature film adaptation of New York Times bestselling author Rory Power’s contemporary horror-thriller, Burn Our Bodies Down, penned by Moira Walley-Beckett.
“David Yates is one of the most versatile filmmakers working today. His films are visually stunning and deeply human,” said Sister’s Co-Founder and CEO, Stacey Snider. “David and Lewis are passionately committed...
The new pact strengthens Sister and Wychwood Media’s existing relationship, which includes a commitment to a feature film adaptation of New York Times bestselling author Rory Power’s contemporary horror-thriller, Burn Our Bodies Down, penned by Moira Walley-Beckett.
“David Yates is one of the most versatile filmmakers working today. His films are visually stunning and deeply human,” said Sister’s Co-Founder and CEO, Stacey Snider. “David and Lewis are passionately committed...
- 5/3/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Katori Hall’s comedy-drama play The Hot Wing King, which was given a world premiere by Off Broadway’s Signature Theatre Company just before the pandemic shutdown, was awarded the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Drama today.
Hall, a Memphis native currently Tony-nominated for writing the book for Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, is also the executive producer and showrunner of Starz’s P-Valley, a drama series based on her play Pussy Valley. She won an Olivier Award for her 2009 play The Mountaintop, which starred Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett on Broadway.
Set in Memphis, Tennessee, just in time for the annual “Hot Wang Festival,” the play follows two Black gay men and “their culinary clique, The New Wing Order,” as they prepare their culinary entry. As described by Signature, “When Dwayne takes in his troubled nephew however, it becomes a recipe for disaster. Suddenly, a first place trophy isn...
Hall, a Memphis native currently Tony-nominated for writing the book for Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, is also the executive producer and showrunner of Starz’s P-Valley, a drama series based on her play Pussy Valley. She won an Olivier Award for her 2009 play The Mountaintop, which starred Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett on Broadway.
Set in Memphis, Tennessee, just in time for the annual “Hot Wang Festival,” the play follows two Black gay men and “their culinary clique, The New Wing Order,” as they prepare their culinary entry. As described by Signature, “When Dwayne takes in his troubled nephew however, it becomes a recipe for disaster. Suddenly, a first place trophy isn...
- 6/11/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Welcome to September, ladies and gentlemen. With the summer coming to and end, the fall almost upon us, and the Covid-19 pandemic still very much impacting the industry, much is still up in the air. Such is life with the coronavirus holding up much of the film industry. As fitting this weird year, not much has changed since July when I looked at the best of the first half of the year. Mostly, this just means the best is (hopefully) still to come here. We shall see, but just keep in mind that the midpoint of 2020 has been somewhat of a holding pattern, for obvious reasons. Let’s get right down to it. Below you’ll find my top ten of the year so far, along with my awards for the first two thirds of 2020. Here you go folks, and enjoy: 10. Crshd 9. The Outpost 8. Buffaloed 7. Da 5 Bloods 6. The Invisible Man...
- 9/1/2020
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Audra McDonald, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical and its star Adrienne Warren, Lachanze, Aziza Barnes’ play Blks and the Off Broadway revival of Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf were among the big winners at tonight’s inaugural Antonyo Awards for black theater artists on Broadway and Off Broadway.
McDonald took the award for Best Actor in a Play on Broadway for her performance in the Broadway revival of Terrence McNally’s Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune directed by Arin Arbus. Warren, who plays Tina Turner in Tina, was named Best Actor in a Musical on Broadway.
Blks was named Best Play, and Tina took Best Musical.
Created by Broadway Black, a multimedia organization that includes a website and podcast, the Antonyos’ Juneteenth inaugural ceremony included such presenters and performers as McDonald, Tituss Burgess, Alex Newell, Jordan E. Cooper,...
McDonald took the award for Best Actor in a Play on Broadway for her performance in the Broadway revival of Terrence McNally’s Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune directed by Arin Arbus. Warren, who plays Tina Turner in Tina, was named Best Actor in a Musical on Broadway.
Blks was named Best Play, and Tina took Best Musical.
Created by Broadway Black, a multimedia organization that includes a website and podcast, the Antonyos’ Juneteenth inaugural ceremony included such presenters and performers as McDonald, Tituss Burgess, Alex Newell, Jordan E. Cooper,...
- 6/20/2020
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
The first annual Antonyo Awards honoring black Broadway and Off Broadway theater artists is set for streaming on June 19.
Created by Broadway Black, a multimedia organization that includes a website and podcast, the new awards ceremony will feature presenters and performers including Audra McDonald, Tituss Burgess, Alex Newell, Jordan E. Cooper, Teyonah Parris, Ephraim Sykes, Lachanze, Derrick Baskin, Nicolette Robinson, Jelani Alladin, Christiani Pitts, James Monroe Iglehart, Amber Iman, Kalen Allen, Nzinga Williams, Jackson Alexander, Cody Renard Richard, Ashton Muñiz, Shereen Pimentel, Kirsten Childs, Aisha Jackson, Antoine L. Smith, Griffin Matthews, Michael McElroy, Jocelyn Bioh and L Morgan Lee.
Online voting is open to the public through midnight Friday, June 12. Four special “Kinfolk Awards” – the Lorraine Hansberry Award, the Langston Hughes Award, Welcome Award and The Doors of the Theatre are Open Award – will be presented to members of...
Created by Broadway Black, a multimedia organization that includes a website and podcast, the new awards ceremony will feature presenters and performers including Audra McDonald, Tituss Burgess, Alex Newell, Jordan E. Cooper, Teyonah Parris, Ephraim Sykes, Lachanze, Derrick Baskin, Nicolette Robinson, Jelani Alladin, Christiani Pitts, James Monroe Iglehart, Amber Iman, Kalen Allen, Nzinga Williams, Jackson Alexander, Cody Renard Richard, Ashton Muñiz, Shereen Pimentel, Kirsten Childs, Aisha Jackson, Antoine L. Smith, Griffin Matthews, Michael McElroy, Jocelyn Bioh and L Morgan Lee.
Online voting is open to the public through midnight Friday, June 12. Four special “Kinfolk Awards” – the Lorraine Hansberry Award, the Langston Hughes Award, Welcome Award and The Doors of the Theatre are Open Award – will be presented to members of...
- 6/10/2020
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
The Inheritance, Sea Wall/A Life, Slave Play and Girl From The North Country are among the Broadway nominees of this year’s Drama League Awards, along with a significant shows of Off Broadway productions.
Honoring productions that opened during the Covid-shortened 2019-2020 season, the nominations were announced by Beetlejuice’s Alex Brightman and Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer via livestream last night. Voting is currently open for Drama League members through May 22, with winners to be announced via livestream in June.
More from DeadlineWatch: Terrence McNally Video Tribute Set For Drama League Awards Online EventBroadway's 'Moulin Rouge!' Star Aaron Tveit Tests Positive For Covid-19, Symptoms "Very Mild"Broadway's 'Moulin Rouge! The Musical' Cancels Today's Performances "Out Of Abundance Of Caution"; No Positive Tests For Coronavirus - Update
Among the individual performers nominated for the League’s Distinguished Performance Award were Raúl Esparza, David Alan Grier, Jonathan Groff, Jake Gyllenhaal,...
Honoring productions that opened during the Covid-shortened 2019-2020 season, the nominations were announced by Beetlejuice’s Alex Brightman and Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer via livestream last night. Voting is currently open for Drama League members through May 22, with winners to be announced via livestream in June.
More from DeadlineWatch: Terrence McNally Video Tribute Set For Drama League Awards Online EventBroadway's 'Moulin Rouge!' Star Aaron Tveit Tests Positive For Covid-19, Symptoms "Very Mild"Broadway's 'Moulin Rouge! The Musical' Cancels Today's Performances "Out Of Abundance Of Caution"; No Positive Tests For Coronavirus - Update
Among the individual performers nominated for the League’s Distinguished Performance Award were Raúl Esparza, David Alan Grier, Jonathan Groff, Jake Gyllenhaal,...
- 5/1/2020
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
A third of the way through the year, it’s safe to say that 2020 is unlike any we’ve ever faced. Cinemas are shut, large scale wide releases are on pause, and the only things being put out are independent titles, through Video On Demand services. Still, there are a great deal of quality films have that come out, along with several award worthy performances. Today, much like we did last month, we’re going to focus on these movies and acting turns, as a way of keeping a positive frame of mind. To be fair, a lot of these flicks and acting jobs will be repeats, but we’re just in a sort of holding pattern right now. Still, superior cinema is superior cinema… Let’s get right down to it. Below you’ll find my top ten of the year so far, along with my awards for the...
- 5/1/2020
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
In some ways, it feels very silly to do this annual look at the best of the first quarter of the cinematic year. After all, the world has changed and the film world especially has come to a screeching halt. At the same time , a sense of normalcy however possible is always good. So, I’m pressing on and listing my favorite titles and work from the first three months of 2020. Obviously, a lot of high profile flicks were delayed, so whether I saw them or not, I’m not including them here. Still, including things I saw late in 2019 but hit this year, I had over 90 options to pull from. So, hopefully this is a Farley exhaustive list, even if it’s very much skewed by my personal taste. Let’s get right down to it. Below you’ll find my top ten of the year so far, along...
- 4/1/2020
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Zora Howard is a juggernaut. She stars in Premature and co-wrote the script with director Rashaad Ernesto Green. Her performance has an assured authenticity and a new brand of quiet desperation that is remarkable for a first feature. She’s been an award-winning creator for years though. Plays, poems, spoken word performances. Her play Stew just closed off-broadway to great acclaim. I gush about it and ask where her love of words began, and which of these various paths of creation she’s anxious to continue down. She talks about the necessary step of taking off the writer’s hat in order to […]...
- 2/25/2020
- by Peter Rinaldi
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Zora Howard is a juggernaut. She stars in Premature and co-wrote the script with director Rashaad Ernesto Green. Her performance has an assured authenticity and a new brand of quiet desperation that is remarkable for a first feature. She’s been an award-winning creator for years though. Plays, poems, spoken word performances. Her play Stew just closed off-broadway to great acclaim. I gush about it and ask where her love of words began, and which of these various paths of creation she’s anxious to continue down. She talks about the necessary step of taking off the writer’s hat in order to […]...
- 2/25/2020
- by Peter Rinaldi
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
by Murtada Elfadl
Zora Howard is having a moment. Premature, a film she co-wrote and stars in, is out today. At the same time Stew, a play she wrote but doesn’t star in, is playing Off Broadway. The two works are different but announce the emergence of a perceptive writer and a sensitive actor. Premature is a Harlem-based love story, the kind of languid gorgeous storytelling you want to cozy up with. While Stew is more confrontational and heartbreaking, both works are steeped in Howard’s memory and experiences.
Premature is directed by Rashaad Ernesto Green who co-wrote with Howard, and tells the story of 17 year old poet Ayanna (Howard) and her passionate summer romance with a charming music producer Isaiah (Joshua Boone). The film announces Howard as an actor to watch, we said as much when we saw it at last year’s Sundance. We recently met with...
Zora Howard is having a moment. Premature, a film she co-wrote and stars in, is out today. At the same time Stew, a play she wrote but doesn’t star in, is playing Off Broadway. The two works are different but announce the emergence of a perceptive writer and a sensitive actor. Premature is a Harlem-based love story, the kind of languid gorgeous storytelling you want to cozy up with. While Stew is more confrontational and heartbreaking, both works are steeped in Howard’s memory and experiences.
Premature is directed by Rashaad Ernesto Green who co-wrote with Howard, and tells the story of 17 year old poet Ayanna (Howard) and her passionate summer romance with a charming music producer Isaiah (Joshua Boone). The film announces Howard as an actor to watch, we said as much when we saw it at last year’s Sundance. We recently met with...
- 2/21/2020
- by Murtada Elfadl
- FilmExperience
“Premature” is the provocative sophomore feature from Rashaad Ernesto Green (“Gun Hill Road”), headlined by a breakthrough performance by Zora Howard, who co-wrote the screenplay with Green. Adapted from their award-winning 2008 short of the same name, the coming-of-age drama serves as both an ode to a vanishing piece of New York City and a universal story of love among black youth.
“We asked ourselves what we felt was missing in present-day black cinema, and we felt there was an overabundance of black films with narratives driven by themes of black victimization, black fear, and black pain,” Green said. “Although we understood the impulse to explore these narratives, we decided instead to explore black life and black love. In the current cinematic climate, we viewed simply telling a young black love story as a radical act.”
They trusted their instincts and culled from their own life experiences as black Harlemites who...
“We asked ourselves what we felt was missing in present-day black cinema, and we felt there was an overabundance of black films with narratives driven by themes of black victimization, black fear, and black pain,” Green said. “Although we understood the impulse to explore these narratives, we decided instead to explore black life and black love. In the current cinematic climate, we viewed simply telling a young black love story as a radical act.”
They trusted their instincts and culled from their own life experiences as black Harlemites who...
- 2/21/2020
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
There’s poetry in “Premature” — literally, if not always cinematically. Zora Howard, a spoken word artist and sometime actor who reunites with director Rashaad Ernesto Green for his second feature (they collaborated more than a decade earlier on a short of the same name), plays Ayanna, a tentatively romantic Harlem teenager navigating a relationship for which neither side seems ready.
When confronted with questions, Howard’s character can be found scribbling in her private journal. “What did I know of my heart before you gave it shape?” she recites at one point, an evocative line that will later inspire the lyrics to her first love song. Ayanna writes what she knows, as do Green and Howard (the verses heard in voiceover are her contribution), resulting in one of those labors of love made on almost no budget that rather clumsily retreads familiar ground, doing so from a less common perspective...
When confronted with questions, Howard’s character can be found scribbling in her private journal. “What did I know of my heart before you gave it shape?” she recites at one point, an evocative line that will later inspire the lyrics to her first love song. Ayanna writes what she knows, as do Green and Howard (the verses heard in voiceover are her contribution), resulting in one of those labors of love made on almost no budget that rather clumsily retreads familiar ground, doing so from a less common perspective...
- 2/20/2020
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
The 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards were handed out Saturday in recognition of the best in indie films from 2019.
Willem Dafoe won the first award, Best Supporting Male, for his role in “The Lighthouse.” “Uncut Gems” won Best Editing, while the Best Documentary award went to “American Factory.” Best Cinematography went to Jarin Blaschke for “The Lighthouse.”
Kelly Reichardt was awarded The Bonnie Award, which recognizes a mid-career female director with a $50,000 unrestricted grant. The John Cassavetes Award, given to the best feature made for under $500,000, was given to “Give Me Liberty.”
Also Read: Independent Spirit Awards 2020: Aubrey Plaza's Best Jokes (So Far)
“Parasite” won Best International Film. Zhao Shuzhen won Best Supporting Female for her role in “The Farewell.” “Marriage Story” won Best Screenplay. Adam Sandler won Best Male Lead for his performance in “Uncut Gems” and Renée Zellweger received the Best Female Lead for her role in “Judy.
Willem Dafoe won the first award, Best Supporting Male, for his role in “The Lighthouse.” “Uncut Gems” won Best Editing, while the Best Documentary award went to “American Factory.” Best Cinematography went to Jarin Blaschke for “The Lighthouse.”
Kelly Reichardt was awarded The Bonnie Award, which recognizes a mid-career female director with a $50,000 unrestricted grant. The John Cassavetes Award, given to the best feature made for under $500,000, was given to “Give Me Liberty.”
Also Read: Independent Spirit Awards 2020: Aubrey Plaza's Best Jokes (So Far)
“Parasite” won Best International Film. Zhao Shuzhen won Best Supporting Female for her role in “The Farewell.” “Marriage Story” won Best Screenplay. Adam Sandler won Best Male Lead for his performance in “Uncut Gems” and Renée Zellweger received the Best Female Lead for her role in “Judy.
- 2/8/2020
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
"You don't want me to stay?" IFC Films has released a new Us trailer for an New York City indie romantic drama titled Premature, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival one year ago. It also went on to play the San Francisco, Dallas, Montclair, Seattle, London, Denver, and Hawaii Film Festivals. Premature a romantic drama in the vein of If Beale Street Could Talk or Blue Valentine. Set in Harlem, Zora Howard stars as a young woman who meets "handsome and mysterious outsider" Isaiah, played by Joshua Boone. Then "her entire world is turned upside down on her path towards self-discovery as she travails the rigorous terrain of young love the summer before she leaves for college." Of course. Also starring Michelle Wilson, Alexis Marie Wint, Imani Lewis, & Tashiana Washington. This looks particularly sweet and honest. Here's the official Us trailer (+ poster) for Rashaad Ernesto Green's Premature, from...
- 1/23/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
"When I close my eyes, you are there..." Signature Ent. UK has debuted a trailer for an indie romance titled Premature, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last year - one year ago. It went on to play the San Francisco, Dallas, Montclair, Seattle, London, Denver, and Hawaii Film Festivals in 2019. Premature a romantic drama in the vein of If Beale Street Could Talk or Blue Valentine. Set in Harlem, Zora Howard stars as a young woman who meets "handsome and mysterious outsider" Isaiah, played by Joshua Boone. Then "her entire world is turned upside down on her path towards self-discovery as she travails the rigorous terrain of young love the summer before she leaves for college." Of course. Also starring Michelle Wilson, Alexis Marie Wint, Imani Lewis, & Tashiana Washington. I dig the grainy, old school look and feel. Here's the official UK trailer for Rashaad Ernesto Green's Premature,...
- 1/9/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Two dark and unruly films released by A24, Robert Eggers’ “The Lighthouse” and the Safdie brothers’ “Uncut Gems,” led all films in nominations for the 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards, Film Independent announced on Thursday.
In the Best Feature category, “Uncut Gems” was joined by Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell,” Terrence Malick’s “A Hidden Life,” Chinonye Chukwu’s “Clemency” and Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story.”
“Uncut Gems” was the only film nominated in both the Best Feature and Best Director categories, though “Marriage Story” was nominated in the former category and was also voted the special John Cassavetes Award, which goes to a film’s director, cast and casting director.
Also Read: 'Marriage Story,' 'The Farewell,' 'Uncut Gems' Top Gotham Award Nominations
“Honey Boy” and “Give Me Liberty” received four nominations each, while “Hustlers,” “Clemency” and “Luce” received three.
As usual, the Spirit Awards’ system of...
In the Best Feature category, “Uncut Gems” was joined by Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell,” Terrence Malick’s “A Hidden Life,” Chinonye Chukwu’s “Clemency” and Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story.”
“Uncut Gems” was the only film nominated in both the Best Feature and Best Director categories, though “Marriage Story” was nominated in the former category and was also voted the special John Cassavetes Award, which goes to a film’s director, cast and casting director.
Also Read: 'Marriage Story,' 'The Farewell,' 'Uncut Gems' Top Gotham Award Nominations
“Honey Boy” and “Give Me Liberty” received four nominations each, while “Hustlers,” “Clemency” and “Luce” received three.
As usual, the Spirit Awards’ system of...
- 11/21/2019
- by Brian Welk and Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Premature will screen at The Tivoli Theater (6350 Delmar) Tuesday, Nov 12 at 7:15pm as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival.Ticket information can be found Here
On a summer night in Harlem during her last months at home before starting college, 17-year-old poet Ayanna (co-writer Zora Howard) meets Isaiah (Joshua Boone), a charming music producer who has just moved to the city. It’s not long before these two artistic souls are drawn together in a passionate summer romance. But as the highs of young love give way to jealousy, suspicion, and all-too-real consequences, Ayanna must confront the complexities of the adult world — whether she is ready or not. Emotionally raw, intimate, and honest, “Premature” — directed by Rashaad Ernesto Green — is at once timeless and bracingly contemporary in its portrait of a young woman navigating the difficult choices that can shape a life. When “Premature” screened...
On a summer night in Harlem during her last months at home before starting college, 17-year-old poet Ayanna (co-writer Zora Howard) meets Isaiah (Joshua Boone), a charming music producer who has just moved to the city. It’s not long before these two artistic souls are drawn together in a passionate summer romance. But as the highs of young love give way to jealousy, suspicion, and all-too-real consequences, Ayanna must confront the complexities of the adult world — whether she is ready or not. Emotionally raw, intimate, and honest, “Premature” — directed by Rashaad Ernesto Green — is at once timeless and bracingly contemporary in its portrait of a young woman navigating the difficult choices that can shape a life. When “Premature” screened...
- 11/7/2019
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Werner Herzog’s ’Family Romance LLC’, his first Japanese-language film, is to be released in the UK by Modern Films.
London-based production, finance and sales outfit Film Constellation has secured UK deals on three of its titles screening at this year’s BFI London Film Festival.
Firstly, German auteur Werner Herzog’s Family Romance LLC, his first Japanese-language film, is to be released in the UK by Modern Films. The film premiered as a special screening at Cannes.
Rashaad Ernesto Green’s second feature, Premature, which premiered at Sundance, will be distributed by Signature Entertainment. It stars Zora Howard, who also co-wrote the script.
London-based production, finance and sales outfit Film Constellation has secured UK deals on three of its titles screening at this year’s BFI London Film Festival.
Firstly, German auteur Werner Herzog’s Family Romance LLC, his first Japanese-language film, is to be released in the UK by Modern Films. The film premiered as a special screening at Cannes.
Rashaad Ernesto Green’s second feature, Premature, which premiered at Sundance, will be distributed by Signature Entertainment. It stars Zora Howard, who also co-wrote the script.
- 10/8/2019
- by 57¦Geoffrey Macnab¦41¦
- ScreenDaily
In today’s film news roundup, “After the Wedding,” “Premature” and “Encounter” get distribution, Jacqueline Lyanga gets a new gig, Quiver Distribution launches and “The Aeronauts” sets an Imax release.
Acquisitions
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired all rights in North America, France, India and several other Asian countries to “After the Wedding,” starring Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams.
Directed by Bart Freundlich, “After the Wedding” is an adaptation of Susanne Bier’s Academy Award-nominated Danish film of the same name. It premiered as an opening night selection at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.
Williams portrays a woman who has dedicated her life to working with the children in an orphanage in Calcutta. She travels to New York to meet her benefactor, played by Moore.
Sony Classics is planning an August release. The distributor released “Still Alice,” for which Moore received a best actress Academy Award. The news was first reported by Deadline.
Acquisitions
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired all rights in North America, France, India and several other Asian countries to “After the Wedding,” starring Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams.
Directed by Bart Freundlich, “After the Wedding” is an adaptation of Susanne Bier’s Academy Award-nominated Danish film of the same name. It premiered as an opening night selection at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.
Williams portrays a woman who has dedicated her life to working with the children in an orphanage in Calcutta. She travels to New York to meet her benefactor, played by Moore.
Sony Classics is planning an August release. The distributor released “Still Alice,” for which Moore received a best actress Academy Award. The news was first reported by Deadline.
- 5/15/2019
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
IFC Films has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Premature, the Rashaad Ernesto Green coming-of-age drama based on his short film that premiered this year at the Sundance Film Festival. It will get a theatrical release later this year and is next up screening next month at BAMCinemaFest.
Co-written by Green and Zora Howard, Howard stars as Ayanna, a teenager making the most out of her last summer in Harlem before heading to an out-of-state college. She’s not really looking for love until she meets handsome twentysomething musician Isaiah (Joshua Boone). After falling for him, Ayanna finds herself torn between her own vulnerability and self-sufficiency, depicted by the poetry she writes to express how she feels. Michelle Wilson, Alexis Marie Wint, Imani Lewis and Tashiana Washington co-star.
“Rashaad’s daring filmmaking coupled with a brilliant performance by Zora Howard is exactly the kind of film that we work to support,...
Co-written by Green and Zora Howard, Howard stars as Ayanna, a teenager making the most out of her last summer in Harlem before heading to an out-of-state college. She’s not really looking for love until she meets handsome twentysomething musician Isaiah (Joshua Boone). After falling for him, Ayanna finds herself torn between her own vulnerability and self-sufficiency, depicted by the poetry she writes to express how she feels. Michelle Wilson, Alexis Marie Wint, Imani Lewis and Tashiana Washington co-star.
“Rashaad’s daring filmmaking coupled with a brilliant performance by Zora Howard is exactly the kind of film that we work to support,...
- 5/14/2019
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Murtada Elfadl reporting from Sundance
Once in a while, a film comes along where the actual experience of watching it is so enjoyable, it stirs a cozy reaction. A certain contentment, a satisfied smile washes over you as you spend time with the characters and the story. The type of film, the rhytyms, the stories that stir that reaction in me can differ but Rashaad Ernesto Green’s Premature is one of those movies.
The film follows Ayana (played by Zora Howard who co-wrote the screenplay with the director) through her last summer in Harlem before she leaves New York for college...
Once in a while, a film comes along where the actual experience of watching it is so enjoyable, it stirs a cozy reaction. A certain contentment, a satisfied smile washes over you as you spend time with the characters and the story. The type of film, the rhytyms, the stories that stir that reaction in me can differ but Rashaad Ernesto Green’s Premature is one of those movies.
The film follows Ayana (played by Zora Howard who co-wrote the screenplay with the director) through her last summer in Harlem before she leaves New York for college...
- 1/27/2019
- by Murtada Elfadl
- FilmExperience
Things are already tense between lovers Ayanna (Zora Howard) and Isaiah (Joshua Boone) by the time he blows up at her friends in a crowded restaurant, running out on them (and her), later sniffing to his teenage girlfriend that they’re “so young.” Ayanna, of course, is just as young as they are, but she’s so consumed by her burgeoning relationship that Isaiah’s insults fail to land with her. And yet the implication is unmissable. The somewhat unwieldy title of filmmaker Rashaad Ernesto Green’s second feature film is better read as “pre-mature” — the title card even plays up the intent, presenting the two parts in different colors — and its meaning should influence every moment that unspools: Ayanna is not yet mature, but she will be. But when?
Read More: Sundance 2019: 21 Must-See Films At This Year’s Festival, From ‘Honey Boy’ to ‘Velvet Buzzsaw’
Initially introduced during...
Read More: Sundance 2019: 21 Must-See Films At This Year’s Festival, From ‘Honey Boy’ to ‘Velvet Buzzsaw’
Initially introduced during...
- 1/27/2019
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
There’s a moment that encapsulates the essence of “Premature,” director and co-writer Rashaad Ernesto Green’s eagerly awaited sophomore feature following 2011’s criminally underrated “Gun Hill Road.”
It’s when 17-year-old Ayanna (co-writer Zora Howard) and her friends are on the subway in Harlem, looking cute with their braids and sneakers, when they spot a group of guys across the car who they think are hot. The train stops and they all get off. Ayanna, in a bold move, stops one of the guys walking in front of them on the platform and asks for his number for her friend who’s been eyeballing him. He gives it to her with a smile, and the two groups walk their separate ways.
It’s because this moment is about being young and just graduating high school and thinking you’re cool enough to approach a guy you like on the...
It’s when 17-year-old Ayanna (co-writer Zora Howard) and her friends are on the subway in Harlem, looking cute with their braids and sneakers, when they spot a group of guys across the car who they think are hot. The train stops and they all get off. Ayanna, in a bold move, stops one of the guys walking in front of them on the platform and asks for his number for her friend who’s been eyeballing him. He gives it to her with a smile, and the two groups walk their separate ways.
It’s because this moment is about being young and just graduating high school and thinking you’re cool enough to approach a guy you like on the...
- 1/27/2019
- by Candice Frederick
- The Wrap
“Premature” captures a young woman who knows she’s on the precipice of immense change, is hungry for that change, but when it finally comes is still surprised, hurt, yet ultimately strengthened by it. The second feature from director and co-writer Rashaad Ernesto Green, “Premature” gives a sensitive look at being young, black, and in love in New York City through the relationship of Ayana (Zora Howard) and Isaiah (Joshua Boone).
Continue reading ‘Premature’: The Passion And Pain Of First Love [Sundance Review] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Premature’: The Passion And Pain Of First Love [Sundance Review] at The Playlist.
- 1/27/2019
- by Joe Blessing
- The Playlist
Sometimes a movie’s most potent asset — its not-so-secret weapon — is the face of its lead performer. Such is the case with Premature, a modest, lovely slice of New York City naturalism about a black teen and her steamy summer fling with a slightly older man. The face in question — that of Zora Howard, who also co-wrote the film — is not an immediately accessible one; it’s long and watchful, suggesting a spiky, searching intelligence, a glimmer of mischief and secrets closely kept. When, late in the movie, a flood of feelings burst through that stoicism, their ...
- 1/27/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Sometimes a movie’s most potent asset — its not-so-secret weapon — is the face of its lead performer. Such is the case with Premature, a modest, lovely slice of New York City naturalism about a black teen and her steamy summer fling with a slightly older man. The face in question — that of Zora Howard, who also co-wrote the film — is not an immediately accessible one; it’s long and watchful, suggesting a spiky, searching intelligence, a glimmer of mischief and secrets closely kept. When, late in the movie, a flood of feelings burst through that stoicism, their ...
- 1/27/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
‘Premature’ Clip: Sundance Drama Unpacks Gender Semantics And Treatment Of Black Men Vs. Black Women
Exclusive: In a new clip from the Rashaad Ernest Green-directed film Premature, we are thrown into a heated debate about gender semantics and the treatment of Black men and Black men.
The film, which is co-written by Green and star Zora Howard, follows Ayana (Howard), who is making the most out of her last summer in Harlem before heading to college. She’s bold, confident, and not really looking for love — until she meets the slightly older Isaiah. After one of those rare first dates that lasts for hours, she knows there’s something different about him. Ayana has found herself at an intimidating crossroads: one foot is still under her mother’s roof, while the other is primed to step out on her own with Isaiah.
The film also stars Joshua Boone, Michelle Wilson, Alexis Marie Wint, Imani Lewis, and Tashiana Washington. Premature screens under Sundance’s Next banner...
The film, which is co-written by Green and star Zora Howard, follows Ayana (Howard), who is making the most out of her last summer in Harlem before heading to college. She’s bold, confident, and not really looking for love — until she meets the slightly older Isaiah. After one of those rare first dates that lasts for hours, she knows there’s something different about him. Ayana has found herself at an intimidating crossroads: one foot is still under her mother’s roof, while the other is primed to step out on her own with Isaiah.
The film also stars Joshua Boone, Michelle Wilson, Alexis Marie Wint, Imani Lewis, and Tashiana Washington. Premature screens under Sundance’s Next banner...
- 1/26/2019
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Co-writer and actress Zora Howard from Premature is among the voices, faces and creative folks that are a part of the ten films selected for our favourite section at the Sundance Film Festival. Added to the fest at the beginning of the decade, over time, the Next section (formerly referred to as “<=>”) has unearthed some of the best voices in micro American indie film projects with the likes of Sebastian Silva, Josh Mond, Rick Alverson, Anna Rose Holmer, Andrew Dosunmu, Craig Zobel, David Lowery and Janicza Bravo. We return with Sundance Trading Card Series focusing on the 2019 Next section selected films and personalities.…...
- 1/26/2019
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Film is second feature from director Rashaad Ernesto Green.
London-based sales and financing house Film Constellation has picked up international rights to Rashaad Ernesto Green’s second feature, Premature.
The film will premiere in the Next strand of the upcoming Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, Jan 26.
Director Green’s debut was Gun Hill Road, which was at Sundance in 2011.
Premature follows Ayanna - played by Zora Howard, who also co-wrote the script - who is making the most of her last summer in Harlem, New York, before heading to college. When she meets the slightly older Isaiah (Joshua Boone), she...
London-based sales and financing house Film Constellation has picked up international rights to Rashaad Ernesto Green’s second feature, Premature.
The film will premiere in the Next strand of the upcoming Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, Jan 26.
Director Green’s debut was Gun Hill Road, which was at Sundance in 2011.
Premature follows Ayanna - played by Zora Howard, who also co-wrote the script - who is making the most of her last summer in Harlem, New York, before heading to college. When she meets the slightly older Isaiah (Joshua Boone), she...
- 1/21/2019
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
Bhm: The Black InfluentialsWho's Got Next?Every Black History Month we pay respect to those who have already paved the way to make history. But hardly do we celebrate the young Black women and men who are adding to and changing that very same history. No longer constrained by the boundaries that confined those who came before us, Black culture is moving at the speed of light, and these influentials are part of the change. Whether in fashion, beauty, or entertainment, these young people are determining what is next, and shaping what our future Black history lessons will be. Take a look at 20 Black influencers of the next generation.Terry KennedyAge: 25, The Shot Caller Professional skateboarder Terry Kennedy, not only wrapped the first season of his Bet reality series "Being Terry Kennedy," but he's also designer of his own sneaker line, and now plans to venture into music.Kennedy shows...
- 2/10/2011
- Essence
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