by: J. K. Schmid Special to the AFRO / (Photo by J.K. Schmid) / August 2, 2017
Chadwick Boseman, star of films such as “42”, “Get on Up”, and “Captain America: Civil War”, recently sat for a Q&A about the meaning of superheroes at the Landmark Theater in Baltimore’s after a screening his next film, “Marshall.”
Actor Chadwick Boseman and director Reginald Hudlin talk “Marshall” and “Black Panther” at Landmark Harbor East. (Photo by J. K. Schmid)
Boseman, having already portrayed Black heroes such as Jackie Robinson, and James Brown, was asked to compare his recent role as the United States’ first Black Supreme Court Justice in “Marshall” and his upcoming role of T’Chall, King of Wakanda, in “Black Panther.” Specifically, which is the greater challenge, real or fictional heroes?
“They’re both intimidating,” Boseman said. “Maybe if I play something other than Black Panther, maybe I can answer that question. Yeah, I think that both are intimidating in their own way. That’s really the only answer that I can give you.”
The conversation, which was held during the NAACP’s annual convention July 22-26, was moderated by Roland Martin, Host and Managing Editor of News One Now, and also featured “Marshall” director and producer Reginald Hudlin.
“The beauty is that we have both,” Hudlin said. “I’m involved in both. You know when I wrote the Black Panther comic book, 10 years ago, there was no chance that movie would ever get made. But, this story has to be told, because if we can’t dream it, we can’t achieve it. Our greatest heroes are almost all outlaws: Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, they all spent time in jail-fighting for good-but, for us to go to the next level, we have to imagine ourselves running our own world. That’s what Black Panther is in Wakanda. And that’s what Thurgood Marshall is.”
Hudlin, an Academy Award-winning producer for “Django Unchained” and writer and director of “House Party,” developed, produced and wrote 2010’s “Black Panther” six episode TV series and is the author of the comic book arc where T’Challa marries Storm of the X-men.
Boseman was also asked by Martin what moved him to take on the role of a “real life superhero.”
“You can’t do anything in your day-to-day life as an American without bumping into the impact of Thurgood Marshall. So, I would say, if you were gonna put another face on Mount Rushmore, he is the person that makes the nation live up to its creed.”
“We have to go from fighting the power to being the power,” Hudlin said. “This is where we are as a culture and as a people so we have to celebrate that. So, I couldn’t be more happy that these two projects are happening right now. Because, we deserve it all. We deserve to celebrate our past, celebrate our triumph and be inspired to fulfill a future that may be beyond our imagination.”
“Marshall” is slated to be released Oct. 13. “Black Panther” is slated for release Feb. 16, 2018.
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Chadwick Boseman and I in front of the Thurgood Marshall statue in Baltimore.
Chadwick Boseman and I appeared at the NAACP convention in Baltimore to host a special preview of MARSHALL, who founded the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
The journey begins with an arrival at the Thurgood Marshall Airport. Which, in my opinion, needs a statue of Thurgood.
Very exciting to the Marshall poster on display in a movie theater!
Chadwick charms the audience.
Modern day civil rights hero Marilyn Mosby talks about her impressions of the film.
Nick and Marilyn Mosby with myself and host Roland Martin after the screening.
Here’s a clip from the Q&A from an audience member.
NAACP’S Robin Harrison, Chadwick Boseman, Marilyn Mosby and Roland Martin after the screening.
The audience loved the trailer for the film.
Chadwick gave a brilliant and challenging speech in his keynote address at the closing of the NAACP convention.
The crowd burst into applause throughout.
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MARSHALL is screening at the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival as the opening night film on Tuesday. Sorry, it’s already sold out.
By Hannah LaClaire / [email protected]
Now in its 15th year, the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival ayAfricfestival, which runs Monday through Aug.12, will showcase documentaries, features and short films, the majority of which have been made by and star African Americans, according to organizers.
“Marshall” is about a landmark case in the career of Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court justice. “Detroit” tells the story of three African-American young men who were murdered at a hotel during the Detroit riots in 1967. “Crown Heights” is about a man wrongfully convicted of murder and his friend’s quest to prove his innocence.
These three based-on-real-life movies are just three of more than 50 films that will be featured in this year’s Runshoot Filmworks’ Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival.
Now in its 15th year, the festival, which runs Monday through Aug.12, will showcase documentaries, features and short films, the majority of which have been made by and star African Americans, according to organizers.
When it first began, husband-and-wife team Floyd and Stephanie Rance noticed that Martha’s Vineyard was a “great place for art, film, and culture for the African-American community,” says Kelley Jackson, MVAAFF publicity director.
If you go
What: Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival
When: Monday through Aug. 12
Where: Centered at Martha’s Vineyard Performing Arts Center, 100 Edgartown Road, Oak Bluffs, unless otherwise noted
Admission: $10-$20, plus various passes and packages available
Tickets and information: mvaaff.com
She referred to the island as “a friendly place for people of color” and said people on the island are typically “really open to all kinds of art.”
The aim was to start just a small film festival, “but it has grown exponentially every year,” Jackson says, with several thousand visitors expected this summer.
One of the festival’s main attractions, and its “signature event,” is the “Color of Conversation” series, which will include a number of moderated talks led by and featuring prominent people in the field, often accompanied by film clips and screenings.
The opening night film, “Marshall,” will screen at 7 p.m. Tuesday at The Martha’s Vineyard Performing Arts Center, 100 Edgartown Road, Oak Bluffs. After the screening, there will be a conversation with producer Reginald Hudlin (“Django Unchained”).
Director Spike Lee has been a longtime supporter of the festival, and will be there for a few events, including a screening of clips (at 7 p.m. Aug. 12 at MVPAC), followed by a conversation about his new show “She’s Gotta Have It,” an episodic adaptation of his 1986 film of the same name.
Lee also directed “Rodney King,” a film of the solo show performed by Roger Guenveur Smith, retracing events during the police beating of Rodney King and the Los Angeles riots of 1992, also known as the “Rodney King Riots.” The event will be at 7 p.m. Thursday at MVPAC.
Spotlight screenings also include the films “Detroit” at 4 p.m. Monday, and “Crown Heights” at 8 p.m. Monday, both at MVPAC.
“The Defiant Ones”, directed by Allen Hughes, is a four-part HBO documentary series chronicling the relationship between rapper/record producer Dr. Dre and record producer Jimmy Iovine. The screening of the series (7 p.m. Aug. 11 at MVPAC) will be followed by a conversation with Hughes and Henry Louis Gates Jr., director of the Hutchins Center for African African American Research at Harvard University.
The festival will also include a number of films that are finalists for an HBO Film Competition.
There has been a divide present in Hollywood, with people of color feeling like they are largely underrepresented, prompting the recent social media movement #OscarsSoWhite.
This festival is just one attempt to close that gap, Jackson says, but the festival also strives to be 100 percent inclusive of people of all backgrounds and for all types of art. “We are never exclusive,” she adds.
The festival is “not about looking for approval or acceptance, but (Hollywood representation) is like being at a party you weren’t invited to, which is a feeling everyone can relate to,” Jackson says. “We want to celebrate what artists of color have done, and to open doors for them.”
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