May 12, 2016, 11:05am EDT, James Fink, Reporter, Buffalo Business First
Actor Chadwick Boseman isn’t in town yet, but key pre-production crews for “Marshall” have arrived and are prepping for an extensive filming period in Buffalo and other locales.
Filming for “Marshall” is scheduled to begin in earnest around May 23, said Tim Clark, Buffalo Niagara Film Commission executive director, with many of the scenes centered in and around the now-vacant Michael Dillon Courthouse in downtown Buffalo.
The vacant Michael J. Dillon Federal Courthouse will have a role in a film about Thurgood Marshall, the Supreme Court justice.
Officials peg the economic impact from the movie about Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall to be “north of $5 million.”
“The economic impact will be better than the ‘Turtles,’” Clark said.
Last year, portions of the Kensington Expressway were used as the backdrop for a chase scene the upcoming “Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles” film — due to be released next month. That three-week production left behind a $3 million local economic impact.
Many of the more than 400 crew and extras will be from the immediate Buffalo Niagara region.
“Marshall” tells the early legal career days of Marshall. The movie focuses on Marshall’s career as a young attorney before he was named to the Supreme Court in 1967.
The script centers on Marshall defending a black chauffeur who was accused of sexually assaulting his wealthy socialite employer. The case generated tabloid fodder.
Buffalo was selected, thanks tax credits offered by New York state, an aggressive pitch made by Clark and some additional lobbying from Sen. Charles Schumer. The region’s deep supply of early 20th century architecture was another key factor.
Boseman, whose acting credits include “Draft Day,” “Get on Up,” and “42” stars in the movie. Noted Hollywood director Reginald Hudin, whose resume includes “Django Unchained” and “Boomerang”, is already in Buffalo working with pre-production crews.
Besides the Dillon Courthouse, scenes are expected to be shot elsewhere in Buffalo, Niagara Falls and Batavia.
And, because the movie is set in the 1930s, expect to see a lot of period cars, actors in clothes from that era and, even, street lights and highway signs that reflect that decade.
“It is going to be quite the spectacle,” Clark said. “Everything, even the most minute details, will be true to form.”
Clark said there may be some minor street closures during certain filming periods but the crews are
“Everyone wants it to be as least disruptive as possible,” Clark said.
Clark said he hopes to use “Marshall” as a marketing tool to lure other major movie productions to the region.
“We are building up a resume,” Clark said.
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By MICHAEL CIEPLY and BROOKS BARNES MAY 9, 2016
Madina Nalwanga, left, and Lupita Nyong’o star in “The Queen of Katwe,” a film from Walt Disney Studios directed by Mira Nair. Photo Credit Edward Echwalu/Disney Enterprises Inc.
LOS ANGELES — Just last week, Margot Lee Shetterly finished the manuscript for “Hidden Figures,” her nonfiction book about black women who worked as mathematicians for the United States rocket program during the Cold War era.
The film adaptation? It started shooting over a month ago in Atlanta, with Taraji P. Henson in a lead role. Chernin Entertainment, the company behind the movie, is already anticipating a year-end release to qualify for Oscar consideration.
Without a doubt, a castigated Hollywood is in a hurry to find what was largely missing during its last two awards seasons: diverse prize contenders.
More than a dozen pictures with black issues, actors and, often, filmmakers are poised to surface once the summertime superheroes have their moment, with many of these diversity-minded films pointed toward the Academy Awards. Several movies — including Paramount’s “Fences” and Disney’s “The Queen of Katwe” — are being assembled by major studios. Others, like the slave revolt drama “The Birth of a Nation” and “Southside With You,” about a young Barack and Michelle Obama, were snapped up at the last Sundance Film Festival.
Yet another batch is coming together from independent or nontraditional players. “Underground,” a Netflix-financed fraternity hazing drama, will be the directing debut of Gerard McMurray, a producer of “Fruitvale Station.” In “A United Kingdom,” directed by Amma Asante, David Oyelowo will play a prince from Botswana. And Barkhad Abdi, an Oscar nominee for “Captain Phillips,” has been shooting another Somali pirate story, “Where the White Man Runs Away.”
The push comes in the wake of the #OscarsSoWhite outcry that humiliated the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences after its acting branch put forward an all-white field of nominees for the second consecutive year, and of subsequent casting controversies. It is a chance for Hollywood to show a strong slate of movies made by black filmmakers, as it did in 2013, with the release of “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”; the Gugu-Mbatha Raw vehicle “Belle”; and “12 Years a Slave,” which won the best picture Oscar.
Photo Credit Elliot Davis
Fox Searchlight, which powered “12 Years a Slave” to that victory, bought “The Birth of a Nation” at Sundance in a six-studio bidding war. Fox Searchlight’s strong track record at the Academy Awards, as well as a sense that there could be a correction of sorts following the last two awards cycles, has already prompted prognosticators to pronounce “The Birth of a Nation,” directed by and starring Nate Parker, as this year’s film to beat.
While early front-runners often falter — “The Revenant” was once the leader for this year’s Oscars, but “Spotlight” ultimately won best picture — Mr. Parker’s film is expected to capture attention with a bold marketing campaign that may well stretch beyond the confines of Hollywood, to trade on the energy, and potentially the outrage, brought on by an already unpredictable presidential election. Fox Searchlight has scheduled an Oct. 7 release date.
Other black-themed films are likely to be vying for awards votes, too. On Nov. 4, Focus Features, an art house rival to Fox Searchlight, will release the period drama “Loving,” about the interracial couple (played by Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton) whose arrest for marrying in 1958 and subsequent legal battle led to the end of America’s anti-miscegenation laws. Directed by Jeff Nichols, “Loving” will play in competition at this month’s Cannes Film Festival.
Paramount, which pushed Ava DuVernay’s “Selma,” released in 2014, for the Oscars, has high hopes for “Fences,” an adaptation of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning play about the black experience in the 1950s. Denzel Washington, a two-time Oscar winner for his roles in “Training Day” and “Glory,” is directing “Fences” and playing a lead role. Mr. Washington won a Tony in 2010 for his performance in a Broadway revival of the play.
“It’s his passion project,” said Aaron L. Gilbert, managing director of the Bron group of companies, which is backing the film, and who is an executive producer on a team that includes the producer Scott Rudin. (Mr. Rudin, of course, is an Oscar perennial, whose “No Country for Old Men” won best picture in 2008.)
If “Fences,” currently shooting in Pittsburgh, is indeed finished in time for awards consideration, Mr. Gilbert may end up competing against himself. He also served as a backer of “The Birth of a Nation.”
Walt Disney Studios — which recently drew criticism for casting Tilda Swinton as a hitherto Tibetan character in “Doctor Strange,” from its Marvel unit — may well join this year’s awards conversation with “Queen of Katwe.” Directed by Mira Nair, an Indian, “Queen of Katwe” is based on the true story of Phiona Mutesi, a Ugandan chess champion. It features Lupita Nyong’o, an Oscar winner for “12 Years a Slave,” and David Oyelowo, who played the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in “Selma” but was overlooked by the academy, in prominent roles.
Disney plans a Sept. 23 release.
In late August, Miramax will join Roadside Attractions to release the love story “Southside With You,” which recounts the Obamas’ first date. Around that time, A24, represented at this year’s Oscars by “Room” and the documentary “Amy,” is likely to roll out the hip-hop-infused “Morris From America,” a coming-of-age comedic drama starring Craig Robinson and Markees Christmas.
A24 is also looking at an awards season release for “Moonlight,” a 1980s-era drama based on the play “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue.” The movie, directed and written by Barry Jenkins, has production support from Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment, known for “12 Years a Slave” and “The Big Short,” which scored five Oscar nominations and won one, for adapted screenplay.
The list goes on: Will Smith, snubbed by the academy this year for “Concussion,” though twice nominated in the past, will star as a depressed advertising executive in the drama “Collateral Beauty,” to be released in December. It is directed by David Frankel, a past Oscar winner for the 1996 short film “Dear Diary,” and also stars Kate Winslet, who has been nominated for seven Oscars, and won one for “The Reader.”
Black youth, and young black directors, may have their moment in Steven Caple Jr.’s “The Land,” a drama acquired by IFC about four impoverished friends in Cleveland, and in Mr. McMurray’s “Underground,” which counts the producer Reginald Hudlin (“Django Unchained”) as a member of its creative team.
Mr. Hudlin is just now resuming his work as the director of “Marshall,” an independent film in which Chadwick Boseman plays a young Thurgood Marshall in a quest for racial justice that predated Marshall’s years on the Supreme Court.
“We’d love to get it out this year, but it has to be right,” said Paula Wagner, a producer of the film. Mr. Hudlin, Ms. Wagner noted, had interrupted work on the film to help produce this year’s Oscar ceremony.
If “Marshall” indeed makes it to the screen soon, with its story of a black lawyer in a United States just emerging from its Jim Crow era, it will share the stage with “Hidden Figures,” a tale of black women using math to rise in the same, often difficult milieu. Theodore Melfi (“St. Vincent”) directed the adaptation of Ms. Shetterly’s book.
“It’s been such a whirlwind,” said Ms. Shetterly, who described her forthcoming book’s part in the sudden eruption of the kind of films that only months ago were said to be on Hollywood’s endangered list.
“It’s an African-American story,” she said. “It’s a woman’s story. Now it’s part of the national narrative.”
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By Mike Pettinella, genesee correspondent, on June 1, 2016 – 8:08 PM
BATAVIA – If you happen to be in a movie theater late this year – or possibly in the fall of 2017 , depending upon the release date – watch intently as Chadwick Boseman in his portrayal of Thurgood Marshall climbs the 17 steps to a 1940s Oklahoma courthouse door. Here’s some insight: It was filmed around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in Batavia.
The crew of the feature film “Marshall,” about 70 strong, shot a trial scene and an entrance scene on Wednesday at the old Genesee County Courthouse at the intersection of Routes 5 and 63 in downtown Batavia.
The movie focuses on a pivotal case in the career of Marshall, an attorney for the NAACP who later became the first African-American justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. Marshall, who died in 1993, served on the nation’s highest court from 1967-1991.
In the first shooting, Boseman – who starred as Jackie Robinson in “42,” James Brown in “Get on Up” and T’Challa in the Marvel Studios film “Captain America: Civil War” – walked up to the courthouse door with a bounce in his step, showing that he was ready to defend his client in the Choctaw, Okla., courtroom. In the second, he had to walk past five “locals” who formed a wall in front of the steps.
Director Reginald Hudlin said he wasn’t sure which scene would be used, saying he shot the second one after something told him to try a different angle. “I’m leaning on the first one,” said Hudlin, who said the crew’s two days in Batavia, as well as their time filming in Buffalo, has been a tremendous experience.
The scenes from the Oklahoma trial are a very small piece of this story – about three to five minutes covering a case Marshall defended while traveling across the country for the NAACP.
“This courthouse was fantastic. In fact, we have been to so many great locations in the Buffalo area,” he said. “Everywhere we go people have been welcoming and cooperative.”
Hudlin said filming is expected to take place through this month.
Producer Jonathan Sanger (“Elephant Man”) said he was brought into the production by Paula Wagner, who also is producing the film, and both of them knew that Hudlin was the right person to direct the movie.
“He knew an awful lot about the subject,” Sanger said. “He’ll also wind up getting a producing credit with this. He’s a scholar; very bright.”
Sanger, who looks much younger than his 70 years with his head band and light gray beard, said the film is based on a true story.“It’s not a biopic; it’s a story of one of his (Marshall’s) major trials,” he said. “These are the types of projects I like. I’ve done a lot of movies based on real people.”
Filming a major motion picture brings together executive and assistant producers, construction workers and technicians from throughout the country, including Western New York.
Kameron D. Wood, a production assistant, said he travels back and forth between Buffalo, his hometown, and the New York City area. A film program graduate from SUNY Purchase, he called it an “extraordinary project.”
“When the opportunity opened up for me to be back home, it was great,” Wood said. “We’re involved in everything … we’re the thread, the wire that helps make the production happen.”
Five tractor-trailers along with cargo trucks, production trailers and equipment circled the area around the courthouse, which is across the street from the new Genesee Court Facility. Boseman and a couple dozen extras stayed in the St. Mary’s Church hall on Ellicott Street, a stone’s throw from the old courthouse.
Filming ended late Wednesday night at a house that burned down on Oak Orchard Road, north of the city, for a scene that ties in with the trial at the Old Courthouse, Sanger said.
The production company agreed to make a $1,000 donation to Genesee County for the use of the courthouse and to pay for overtime costs for a Batavia city police officer and Genesee County sheriff’s deputy who provided security during the filming.
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Wednesday, August 31, 2016 – 8:00pm
at The Hollywood Bowl
ARTISTS:
- Marcus Miller
- Philip Bailey, Verdine White, and Ralph Johnson of Earth Wind and Fire
- Full Force
- Additional special guests to be announced
Craig Robinson, host
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Vince Mendoza, conductor
I’ve produced a lot of popular projects in my careers…BET Awards, the NAACCP Image Awards, the Oscars…but few things have generated more excitement than the Salute to Black Movie Soundtracks that I did at the Hollywood Bowl several years ago. The audience loved every minute of the show from start to finish, and the word of mouth was so strong that I got angry calls and emails from friends who didn’t see the show, blaming me for not making them attend.
After weekly requests, the show is back this year and it’s going to be bigger than before. The show will cover the whole sweep of black music in the movies from Stormy Weather to Shaft and Superfly to Selma. Movie clips will show onscreen while the music plays.
Vince Mendoza will be conducting the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra so the sound of the music will be properly widescreen.
Marcus Miller, who has produced everyone from Miles Davis to Luther Vandross, will assemble an all-star band to keep it funky.
The hilarious Craig Robinson is the host, who will jam along with the band as he jokes:
There will be special tributes to the movie music of Babyface (Boomerang, Waiting to Exhale); Maurice White of Earth Wind and Fire (That’s the Way Of The World, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Soul Food) and Prince (Purple Rain, Under The Cherry Moon, Batman, Graffiti Bridge).
We can’t announce all the performers yet, but the line up of guest artists is crazy.
But we can tell you that Phillip Bailey, Verdine White and Ralph Johnson will be there, doing classics like this:
Full Force from House Party and Krush Groove will be there, and they will do jams like this one from my first movie:
As I am able to announce more of the line up, I will post updates. But don’t sleep, buy your tickets now. Don’t complain to me later that the show is sold out and you need a hook up for a seat. I got nothin’ for ya. Handle your business now. Order your tickets by clicking here.
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