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Posts tagged as ““Pariah””

Dee Rees and Shonda Rhimes Developing Historical Drama ‘Warmth of Other Suns’ For FX

By goodblacknews on May 5, 2015
Shonda Rhimes, Dee Rees Developing 'Warmth
“Pariah” and “Bessie” director Dee Rees (CINDY ORD/GETTY IMAGES FOR HBO)

FX is developing a limited historical drama series with writer-director Dee Rees and Shondaland based on Isabel Wilkerson’s 2010 book “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration.”
The book chronicles the movement of some 6 million African-Americans from the south into the north and western regions of the country from the period of 1915 to 1970. “Warmth of Other Suns” tells much of the story through the eyes of three characters who made the journey in different decades. Wilkerson, a Pulitzer Prize winner for her work at the New York Times, earned a host of critical acclaim for the book.
The TV adaptation is in the early stages of development. FX Prods. is shepherding with ABC Signature, the cable arm of ABC Studios, where Shondaland is based. Rees is writing the adaptation and exec producing with Shonda Rhimes and Shondaland’s Besty Beers.
Rees most recently wrote and directed HBO’s Bessie Smith biopic “Bessie,” which bows May 16. She made her feature directing debut in 2011 with the Sundance hit “Pariah.”
article by Cynthia Littleton via Variety.com

Film Independent + FOX HBCU Media Alliance Award Nekisa Cooper Inaugural Fellowship, Grant

By goodblacknews on March 14, 2013
It was exactly a month ago when it Fox announced what it called “a transformative new partnership” with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) designed to further the development of diverse voices across the company’s entertainment businesses.

Called the FOX/HBCU Media Alliance (FHMA), the union would bring HBCU students, faculty and alumni together with executives from Fox’s media and entertainment businesses in an effort to build a stronger pipeline for students interested in pursuing careers in the film and TV industry, and advance the careers of HBCU alumni already working in media and entertainment within Fox businesses.
As part of that partnership, FOX Audience Strategy established and funded the first-of-its-kind Fox Film Grant that will enable one FHMA member to participate in Project Involve, the year-long program of Film Independent.
A month later, it’s been announced today that producer Nekisa Cooper (Pariah) will be the first recipient of this newProject Involve Fellowship, which comes with a $10,000 production grant from FHMA that will go towards production of a feature film she’s producing (to be directed by her Pariah collaborator, Dee Rees) titled Bolo, described as a Southern crime thriller about a Memphis police detective who investigates a murder in her community, which in turn challenges her notion of home, human nature, and the difference between right and wrong.

Howard University has Become Incubator for Cinematographers

By goodblacknews on February 1, 2013

Matt McClain/For The Washington Post – Bradford Young poses for a portrait at Howard University on Monday January 28, 2013 in Washington, D.C. Young won the Excellence in Cinematography award at the Sundance Film Festival for his work on “Mother of George,” and “Ain’t them Bodies Saints.”
At the Sundance Film Festival last weekend, Howard University graduate Bradford Young won the dramatic-feature cinematography award for his work on the films “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints” and “Mother of George” — his second time accepting the honor, having won in 2011 for the coming-of-age drama “Pariah.”
The Sundance recognition reinforces what many in the industry have known for a few years now: Howard, best known for its law and medical schools, has become an incubator for people whose work with lighting, lenses, camera movement, film stocks and visual textures has profoundly influenced contemporary cinematic grammar.
“The interesting thing about it is that there is no formal cinematography department,” filmmaker Ava DuVernay says. “It’s jaw-dropping that you’ve had so many come out [of Howard] with such distinct styles.”
The floating-camera dolly shot and super-saturated color palette that are trademarks of Spike Lee’s work are the best known among several innovations that Howard-trained cinematographers have contributed to the films they’ve worked on. Early in his career, Lee developed these techniques in close collaboration with a Howard graduate, Ernest Dickerson.