AfroBrit - Film

CHIWETEL EJIOFOR

Chiwetel Ejiofor Picture

Ejiofor was born to Nigerian parents in Forest Gate, East London; his father was a doctor and his mother a pharmacist. Though his calling may not have been readily apparent in his early childhood, by the time Ejiofor was 13, the aspiring young actor was taking to the stage in numerous school and National Youth Theater productions. His love of the stage growing with each passing year, by the time Ejiofor got to Dulwich College, his calling was clear. Soon attending the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, he gained a reputation as a formidable stage talent, and following appearances in high-profile productions at the Almeida Theater Company and the Royal National Theater, Ejiofor's talents found him drawn to the medium of television, where he would make his debut in the 1996 made-for-TV thriller Deadly Voyage.

It wasn't long before Ejiofor's talent caught the eye of legendary film director Steven Spielberg, and the following year, the up-and-coming actor was back on the high seas for Spielberg's historical drama Amistad. Of course, a role in such a high-profile release was bound to attract the attention of other filmmakers as well, and though Ejiofor would remain true to his theater roots, he would balance his stage work with roles in such films as Greenwich Mean Time (1999), It Was an Accident, and Mind Games (both 2000). Cast opposite Amélie star Audrey Tautou in Stephen Frears' 2001 drama thriller Dirty Pretty Things, Ejiofor essayed the role of a Nigerian immigrant living in London who makes a horrible discovery that puts his life in grave danger

Ejiofor would subsequently return to the big screen for Love Actually (2003) and Slow Burn (2004), a pair of films that virtually ensured him a high recognition factor and a bright future on stage and screen. He continued to work steadily in a variety of character roles. He anchored the dramatic sections of Woody Allen's Melinda and Melinda in 2004. He showed of his remarkable versatility in 2005 with roles in the urban thriller Four Brothers, the science fiction film Serenity, and starring as a flamboyant cross-dresser in the comedy Kinky Boots. In 2006 he worked with a pair of high-powered directors. He played the partner to Denzel Washington's hostage negotiator in the hit thriller Inside Man, and played a large part in Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men and played a brother to Denzel Washington in American Gangster.

Ejiofor was cast in the 2009 apoloyptic blockbuster hit '2012' starring John Cusack, Thandie Newton and Danny Glover. Internationally, since it's November release the movie has grossed $591, 749, 736.

FILMS

2012 - 2009

REDBELT – 2008
AMERICAN GANGSTER – 2007
TALK TO ME – 2007
SLOW BURN – 2007
TONIGHT AT NOON – 2007
CHILDREN OF MEN – 2006
KINKY BOOTS – 2006
INSIDE MAN – 2006
TSUNAMI: THE AFTERMATH – 2006
SERENITY – 2005
FOUR BROTHERS – 2005
MELINDA AND MELINDA – 2005
SHE HATE ME – 2004
RED DUST – 2004
LOVE ACTUALLY – 2003
DIRTY PRETTY THINGS – 2002
THREE BLIND MICE – 2002
IT WAS AN ACCIDENT – 2000
G.M.T (Greenwich Mean Time)

Michael Cera

Michael Fassbender

Rebecca Hall

Toby Kebbell

INNER: NOEL CLARKE

BEST FILM

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Christian Colson

CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, THE

Kathleen Kennedy

Frank Marshall

Ceán Chaffin

FROST/NIXON

Tim Bevan

Eric Fellner

Brian Grazer

Ron Howard

MILK

Dan Jinks

Bruce Cohen

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READER, THE

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Sydney Pollack

Donna Gigliotti

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FILMS IN 2008 / 2009

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Cool Hunt > Film

Joseph Marcell
Film >>

Sometimes fate takes in hand the course of a person's destiny, and the most seemingly casual encounter changes the course of their life, One Saturday night a teenaged Joseph Marcell and a group of friends decided to see a performance of the Negro Ensemble Company in London. He was never the same again.

Joseph realized what he wanted to do with his life He had never acted before, didn't know any actors, or even how to start the process of taking acting lessons. But the one thing that Joseph was sure of, he had to be an actor.

His family, who had emigrated from Saint Lucia in the Caribbean to London, expected Joseph to become an electrical engineer. After Joseph rebelled at age 19, his father insisted that his son support himself and his acting dreams. No one really understood the depth of Joseph's new-found desires.

After working in children's theatre, Joseph had the opportunity to audition for the Royal Shakespeare Company. At his call-back, director Trevor Nunn signed Joseph for the 1972 season. When the Royal started a small theatre company to perform modern plays at midnight, he was cast, along with colleagues Patrick Stewart, Richard Johnson, Janet Suzman, Calvin Lockhart, David Warner and Ian Holm, to perform that debut season. The new company was a rousing success, turning away hundreds at the door.

Joseph became “bi-continental” performing both in England and America (on Broadway, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. as well as with Shakespeare & Co. in Massachusetts) on a regular basis. During this time, he received public and critical praise for his performance as “Othello”, and still found time to develop a one-man show which premiered at the Royal Shakespeare Company. The acclaim he received came to the attention of director Richard Attenborough, who cast him in his film production of “Cry Freedom”.

Always on the lookout for new challenges, Joseph became involved with directing a production of “Othello” for the West End, London's version of Broadway which had never been done before. Another interesting opportunity arose when renowned poet, Stephen spender wrote the play, “Creon”, the Oedipus trilogy in play form, for Joseph. Joseph also toured India performing Shakespeare for several months. And, with the emerging popularity of American playwright, August Wilson in England, Joseph starred in the title role of Joe Turner’s “Come and Gone”. He also starred in several hit British TV series.

For the production, “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, executives at NBC-TV developed the role of “Geoffrey”, the snooty English butler, specifically for Joseph. As they say, the rest is history. The hit series was a comedy sensation for six seasons, and brought this acclaimed Shakespearean actor to national attention.

As Fate worked in Joseph's favor, he wanted to create opportunities for other minority actors, to perform and hone their acting skills. He conducted a Shakespearean acting workshop, leading to a full-scale production of William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”, sponsored by the Screen Actors Guild and their Equal Economic Opportunity Committee.

Marcell continues to be active on both sides of the Atlantic, with the Arts Council of Great Britain, The London Roundhouse Arts Project and as an Artistic Directorate of the Shakespeare Globe Theatre. Joseph Marcell believes in having dreams, trusting in your destiny and then working like hell to make it all come true.

http://www.josephmarcell.com/

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Chiwetel Ejiofor Films

HOT FILM PREVIEW: NINE

Having reached the age of fifty, director Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis) is facing a midlife crisis that is stifling his creativity and leading him into a variety of complicated romantic involvements. As he struggles to complete his latest film, he is forced to balance the numerous formative women in his life, including his wife (Marion Cotillard), his mistress (Penélope Cruz), his film star muse (Nicole Kidman), his confidant and costume designer (Judi Dench), an American fashion journalist (Kate Hudson), a prostitute from his youth (Fergie), and his mother (Sophia Loren).

http://www.apple.com/trailers/weinstein/nine/

NEW RELEASES IN 2010

4.3.2.1

While Jo (Roberts) is chained down in a dead end supermarket job, her friends are all out on their own separate adventures: Cassandra (Egerton) is jetting off to New York to meet her Internet boyfriend; Kerrys (Warren-Markland) is on a one woman crusade fighting for female liberation and Shannon (Lovibond) is on a one way trip to meet her maker. But a chance encounter with some diamond thieves sends their separate worlds on a collision course with not only each other, but fate itself. These 4 girls are about to have 3 days they will never forget, spanning to 2 cities. That is ... if they survive.

ROBIN HOOD

Oscar winner Russell Crowe stars as the legendary figure known by generations as Robin Hood, whose exploits have endured in popular mythology and ignited the imagination of those who share his spirit of adventure and righteousness. In 13th century England, Robin and his band of marauders confront corruption in a local village and lead an uprising against the crown that will forever alter the balance of world power. And whether thief or hero, one man from humble beginnings will become an eternal symbol of freedom for his people.

Robin Hood chronicles the life of an expert archer, previously interested only in self-preservation, from his service in King Richards army against the French. Upon Richards death, Robin travels to Nottingham, a town suffering from the corruption of a despotic sheriff and crippling taxation, where he falls for the spirited widow Lady Marian (Oscar winner Cate Blanchett), a woman skeptical of the identity and motivations of this crusader from the forest. Hoping to earn the hand of Maid Marian and salvage the village, Robin assembles a gang whose lethal mercenary skills are matched only by its appetite for life. Together, they begin preying on the indulgent upper class to correct injustices under the sheriff.

With their country weakened from decades of war, embattled from the ineffective rule of the new king and vulnerable to insurgencies from within and threats from afar, Robin and his men heed a call to ever greater adventure. This unlikeliest of heroes and his allies set off to protect their country from slipping into bloody civil war and return glory to England once more.

IRON MAN 2

With the world now aware of his dual life as the armored superhero Iron Man, billionaire inventor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) faces pressure from the government, the press, and the public to share his technology with the military. Unwilling to let go of his invention, Stark, along with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), and James "Rhodey" Rhodes (Don Cheadle) at his side, must forge new alliances -- and confront powerful enemies.

The A-Team

“..Like the original series, the story follows the adventure of four United States soldiers who were arrested for a crime they did not commit. After managing to escape from military prison, the four join forces as a team of soldiers of fortune..”

Feature film based on The A-Team television series, planned for release on June 11, 2010 by 20th Century Fox. It is directed by Joe Carnahan and produced by brothers Ridley and Tony Scott. The plot will involve a shift from Vietnam to the Middle East, and both Jules Daly and series creator Stephen J. Cannell are involved in the project.

THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG

Walt Disney Animation Studios presents the musical "The Princess and the Frog," an animated comedy set in the great city of New Orleans. From the creators of "The Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin" comes a modern twist on a classic tale, featuring a beautiful girl named Tiana (Anika Noni Rose), a frog prince who desperately wants to be human again, and a fateful kiss that leads them both on a hilarious adventure through the mystical bayous of Louisiana.

CLASH OF THE TITANS

Born of a god but raised as a man, Perseus (Sam Worthington) is helpless to save his family from Hades (Ralph Fiennes), vengeful god of the underworld. With nothing left to lose, Perseus volunteers to lead a dangerous mission to defeat Hades before he can seize power from Zeus (Liam Neeson) and unleash hell on earth. Leading a daring band of warriors, Perseus sets off on a perilous journey deep into forbidden worlds. Battling unholy demons and fearsome beasts, he will only survive if he can accept his power as a god, defy his fate and create his own destiny. Release date March 26th.