Posts tagged as “Morgan Freeman”
Idris Elba is poised to make a big splash at the movies this year. Not only is the sexy British actor headlining Guillermo del Toro‘s latest sci-fi epic Pacific Rim, he will be also playing Nelson Mandela in the biopic Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. His performance as the legendary South African leader is already generating tremendous buzz. Elba himself has not been shy about touting his upcoming movie. In a recent interview with The Guardian, Elba called his version of Mandela “hands down the best.”
He went on to clarify, “Not in terms of performance…but my film’s about his entire life. Anyone wanting to understand who Mandela was should go and watch my film.” “Morgan Freeman is outstanding. Terrence Howard is an outstanding actor. But my film is about his life,” Elba added, referring to Freeman’s 1999 movie Invictus and Howard’s depiction of Mandela in Winnie – a 2012 film which never made it to theaters.
Now we’re getting our first glimpse of Elba as the iconic man. A promo poster for the movie has been released (pictured above). Elba may have some stiff competition from his fellow black actors come awards season with both Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale) and Forest Whitaker (The Butler) earning early praise for their starring roles in prestige pictures due out this fall. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is expected to be released on November 27, 2013.
article via thegrio.com
Morgan Freeman will receive a special award in Canada next month for his efforts to combat racism.
The veteran actor, currently starring opposite Tom Cruise in “Oblivion,” will be given the Key of Knowledge Award in Toronto by Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
During the event, to be held May 6, Freeman will take part in a question-and-answer session moderated by Canadian filmmaker Paul Saltzman, who worked with the actor on “Prom Night” in Mississippi, a 2009 documentary about the first ever racially integrated prom in Charleston.
Proceeds from ticket sales will go towards establishing the Morgan Freeman Scholarship Fund for international students at the university, according to Canada’s National Post.
article via eurweb.com
The $120 million-budgeted Tom Cruise/Morgan Freeman science fiction flick launched a week ago overseas to lengthen its playtime before Disney begins rolling out “Iron Man 3″ on April 24. The Marvel tentpole bows May 3 domestically.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
Actor Idris Elba arrives for a State Dinner in honor of British Prime Minister David Cameron at the White House on March 14, 2012 in Washington, DC. Cameron is on a three day official visit to Washington. (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)
“Not in terms of performance,” he clarifies. “But my film’s about his entire life. Anyone wanting to understand who Mandela was should go and watch my film.” Although the British-born actor is aware that his movie won’t be the first to portray Mandela’s story on the big screen, he does believe that it will capture a more complete portrayal of the South African leader’s experiences.
Angela Bassett at Sardi’s restaurant in New York. Bassett co-stars in the action flick, “Olympus Has Fallen.” (AP Photo/Carlo Allegri, file)
That all changed once they started working together on a set outside Shreveport, La., where they recreated parts of Washington, D.C., including the White House. “He was nothing but professional and kind and warm and fun, and you know, a treat,” Bassett recalled.
The actress plays Secret Service Director Lynn Jacobs alongside Freeman’s Speaker of the House Trumbull, who assumes presidential power when the president and vice president are incapacitated after a terrorist attack on the White House. “He’s been in so many great roles and he works all the time, you know? Who am I going to be in a world with him? His right hand! And he was at my left. So it was great,” Bassett said.
Morgan Freeman accepted the American Film Institute’s 39th Life Achievement Award on a Sony Studios sound stage in Culver City on Thursday night, basking in 3 1/2 hours of film clips and tributes from Clint Eastwood, Tim Robbins, Forest Whitaker, Garth Brooks, Betty White and more.
“I’m proud to be an actor, although for this one night, you’ve made me feel like a star,” Freeman said.
The AFI celebration included clips of Freeman’s legendary films and early performances interspersed with recorded segments of Freeman and other actors and filmmakers reflecting on his career. And yes, his singing and dancing on public TV’s ’70s kids show “The Electric Company” was included.
Freeman blew Robbins a kiss when “The Shawshank Redemption” star said, “It was an honor being locked up with you, Morgan.”
Also on hand at the star-studded event, to name a few (and only a few): Helen Mirren, Samuel L. Jackson,Matthew McConaughey, Cuba Gooding Jr., Cary Elwes, Djimon Honsou, Kimora Lee Simmons and film critic Leonard Maltin.
“This is easy to take but hard to believe. Where I come from in Mississippi, they call this walking in high cotton,” he said. “For me, heaven has always been about acting in the movies.”
by Christie D’Zurilla via latimes.com