Premiering on Hulu beginning March 10th is the new half-hour comedy series ‘UnPrisoned,’ which was created by Tracy McMillian and loosely based on her own life.
What is the plot of ‘UnPrisoned?’
‘UnPrisoned’ follows Paige Alexander (Kerry Washington), a therapist and single mom whose life is turned right-side-up when her father, Edwin (Delroy Lindo), gets out of prison and moves to her house to live with her and her teenage son, Finn (Faly Rakotohavana).
(L to R) Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo star in Hulu’s ‘UnPrisoned.’
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo about their work on ‘UnPrisoned,’ creating their characters, working with each other, and why Paige is reluctant to let her father back in her life.
Kerry Washington stars in Hulu’s ‘UnPrisoned.’ Photo: Kelsey McNeal/Hulu.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Washington, Lindo, Faly Rakotohavana, Marque Richardson, and Jordyn McIntosh, as well as series creator Tracy McMillian.
Moviefone: To begin with, Kerry, as an actress and as a producer, what were some of the aspects of this character and this story that you were excited to explore with this series?
Kerry Washington: I mean, I was excited about so much. I’m a huge Tracy McMillan fan, so I love that this was a story inspired by her life and her work. I was inspired really by the story of this family. I thought this is such an important story to tell. There are 80 million Americans living with a criminal record, and for each of those people, there’s a family and a circle of loved ones around them who are also impacted by the criminal justice system, and this is a story that we’re just not telling.
So, I love the opportunity to open it up and to tell the story, and I really was drawn to the father/daughter stuff. Anybody who’s on my social media knows that I have my own really charismatic dad who I love very much, and the father/daughter thing was really profound for me and interesting, and the opportunity to work with this team.
Delroy Lindo in Hulu’s ‘UnPrisoned.’ Photo: Kelsey McNeal/Hulu.
MF: Delroy, can you talk about your approach to playing Edwin, and did you recognize who he was from the first time you read the script?
Delroy Lindo: I did not recognize who the guy was from the first time I read the script. It was a process of learning, but I had some guideposts in the process. One of the guideposts was Tracy saying to me that, “Had you not known that her dad had been incarcerated, you would not know.” That was a guidepost for me. Another guidepost was Tracy and Kerry saying that they wanted to illuminate what people think of when they think about a formerly incarcerated person.
We wanted to turn that on its head, from day one. How was I going to do that? I wasn’t sure, but what I did know was it’s a human being. It’s like building blocks, man. You put one block in place, and then you put another, and another, and it was one step, one foot in front of the other, and building it like that. But I had these guideposts that were very important in terms of me beginning the process of creating this man, and Tracy’s dad himself, who I spent time with. All of it became part of the data, the information, the stuff that I had to work with.
(L to R) Delroy Lindo, Faly Rakotohavana and Kerry Washington in Hulu’s ‘UnPrisoned.’ Photo: Kelsey McNeal/Hulu.
MF: Kerry, can you talk about Paige’s reluctance to let Edwin back into her life and introduce him to his grandson, Finn?
KW: It’s so beautiful to watch these relationships bloom throughout the first season of the show, because you really see how tentative everyone is. That they’ve been in each other’s lives, but in different kind of guarded ways, through bars, and through glass walls. That their relationship has mostly been over the phone for years, that there is this kind of unfolding of the relationship that’s necessary for them to be able to coexist.
I think what happens between Edwin and my son is just so meaningful and beautiful to witness, and I love that it happens despite Paige’s intentions to try to control their interaction, that like so much of life, it takes on a life of its own, and is one of the most beautiful love stories on the show, I think.
(L to R) Delroy Lindo and Faly Rakotohavana in Hulu’s ‘UnPrisoned.’ Photo: Kelsey McNeal/Hulu.
MF: Finally, Delroy, can you talk about Edwin’s relationship with Finn, and what it was like for you working with Faly Rakotohavana?
DL: It was a joy for me to participate in with Faly. It really was. He’s such an open, pure talent. He’s present, just there, and it was really incredibly rewarding to work with him. I mean, with Kerry, of course, but I didn’t know what to expect from Faly. I didn’t know him as an actor, and as we say, he brung it, man. He grew in the work, and that was interesting because as my relationship with my grandson was growing, he was growing. So, it was all happening simultaneously, and made it that much more rich as a working process.
(L to R) Delroy Lindo and Kerry Washington star in Hulu’s ‘UnPrisoned.’ Photo: Kelsey McNeal/Hulu.
No, they haven’t somehow signed up for the military, they’ll instead lead the cast of Tyler Perry’s new film for Netflix, ‘Six Triple Eight’.
In case that title has you furrowing your brow, here’s some background details: ‘Six Triple Eight’ tells the true story of the 855 women who joined the war effort with little knowledge of their Herculean task at hand, which was to sort through and fix the three-year backlog of undelivered mail. Facing discrimination, unfamiliar land and a war-torn country, they persevered and succeeded—in record time—in sorting over 17 million pieces of mail. Their efforts allowed American soldiers to reconnect with their families and loved ones back home. Per a press release from Netflix when the film was originally announced last month, “The motto that kept them going each day was one they created themselves: ‘No Mail, Low Morale.’ The women of the 6888 weren’t just delivering mail, they were delivering hope.”
Drawing from an article written by Kevin M. Hymel and published in WWII History Magazine about the 6888th Postal Directory Battalion, Perry sparked to the story and wrote the script for the new movie, his fourth for Netflix.
Oprah Winfrey from OWN’s ‘Super Soul Sunday.’
The real-life heroes have largely been written out of, or ignored by, history books, but their recognition took a step forward when President Joe Biden signed the bill for the women to receive the Congressional Gold Medal, Congress’ highest honor last March.
Having juggled a few ideas in the wake of working on his most recent movie, ‘A Jazzman’s Blues’ (also for Netflix), Perry decided to push ahead on his World War II project, moving quickly to lock in the cast he needed.
The director started the cameras rolling on this one this week, so the battalion will finally see their story told on screen for the first time. He had considered turning the idea into a TV series (with Krystal M. Harris providing the script), but the movie version has leapfrogged past that.
Washington, probably still best known for TV series ‘Scandal’, was last seen on screen in ‘The School for Good and Evil’. Winfrey, who built a huge media career in addition to winning awards as an actor, is among the producers of an upcoming film adaptation of ‘The Color Purple’ musical, itself based on the 1985 movie that launched Winfrey’s movie career with an Oscar nominated role.
Tyler Perry at the BET Awards.
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Currently available on Netflix is the fantasy comedy ‘The School for Good and Evil,’ which is based on the popular novels of the same name by Soman Chainani and was directed by Paul Feig.
The film stars Sophia Anne Caruso as Sophie, a young girl from the village of Gavaldon who wants to be a princess. Sophie’s dreams come true when she and her best friend the cynical Agatha (Sofia Wylie) are selected for The School for Good and Evil, but Sophie’s dream becomes a nightmare when she is admitted to the School of Evil and Agatha is delivered to the School for Good.
Upon arrival, they meet the Dean of the School for Good, Prof. Clarissa Dovey (Kerry Washington), and the Dean of the School for Evil, Lady Leonora Lesso (Charlize Theron), as well as the mysterious School Master (Laurence Fishburne).
Believing a mistake has been made, Sophie and Agatha must now find Sophie’s true love and receive her true love’s kiss in order for her to be accepted at the School for Good, and so Agatha can return to Gavaldon.
Paul Feig may have begun his career as an actor on ‘Sabrina, the Teenage Witch,’ but he has transitioned into an acclaimed writer and director, and one of the most successful filmmakers working today.
Feig has directed such beloved television shows as ‘Freaks and Geeks,’ ‘Arrested Development,’ ‘The Office,’ ’30 Rock,’ and ‘Mad Men.’
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Paul Feig about his work on ‘The School for Good and Evil,’ adapting the source material, his casting process, working with Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington, using practical vs. visual effects, his next project, and the possibility of making more ‘Good and Evil’ movies.
Paul Feig attends the World Premiere Of Netflix’s ‘The School For Good And Evil’ at Regency Village Theatre on October 18, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix.
You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview with Paul Feig about ‘The School for Good and Evil.’
Moviefone: To begin with, how did you get involved with this project and what excited you about the characters and mythology established in the source material?
Paul Feig: I got sent this from Netflix almost three years ago, and fantasy’s never been top of my list of genres to do. But when I read it, I just so fell in love with this friendship between these two leading characters. I’m always looking for good, three dimensional roles for women. It just really spoke to me and I realized that the fantasy genre was such a great way to explore it, and to challenge it, and to have it ultimately come out on top. So, I was in the minute I read it, I should say.
MF: The film deals with themes such as finding your power and your place in the world, nature versus nurture, and the thin line between good and evil. What were some of the themes of the novel that you really wanted to explore with this movie?
PF: Well, those are all part and parcel with it. I’m very fascinated with the idea of good and evil, and how I think it’s such a simplistic dynamic that we rely on that causes most of our problems. The fact that we’re so divided right now, and it is because we’re going like, “Your side is evil, and our side is good.” I thought this was a really non-preachy, interesting way to deconstruct that so that the message is there, but we’re not hanging a hat on it.
So that really, I do love. Then as far as finding out who you are, that’s a theme I feel like I explored my entire career and will continue to do that. Because I think so many of us just don’t know our place in the world, or don’t feel like we know what our place in the world is and truly who we are. It takes a big event to focus you on that and to be challenged, and then have that challenge make you have a little more clarity. I mean, do we ever fully have clarity? No, probably not. But I think life is a constant movement towards trying to figure that out.
MF: Can you talk about your casting process in general and specifically in terms of this movie?
PF: Yeah, I cast like a fan. I don’t have people in mind, especially when I’m writing something. I tend not to write for anybody because I just explore the characters. But when something comes to me that I haven’t written the first draft of, you start to get ideas and you start to see archetypes in your head of who could play things. Then I just really spend a lot of time being thoughtful, like “Who would be great in these roles?”
It’s been said before, one of the biggest things a director does is cast the movie. Because once you’ve got the right cast, then it makes my job easier in that regard because I know those people are then going to make it great. It’s just up to me to make sure I record them correctly and I give them the right direction to steer them into different places with it. But I also want their creativity from it.
So, it’s really just who’s going to bring the most to these roles? Not just show up and read the lines, but who’s going to add their personality into it? Who’s going to add their creativity to it? So, it’s my favorite part of the process and we work very hard on it when we’re putting it together. The casting is a really long process, but at the same time I always walk out of it going like, “Oh man, I think we got a great cast.”
MF: Can you talk about the friendship between Sophie and Agatha and also casting Sophia Anne Caruso and Sofia Wylie in those roles?
PF: Yeah, I always amass people in my travels and watching stuff. A friend of mine was an investor in ‘Beetlejuice’ on Broadway. So, I went to see that and saw Sophia Anne Caruso in the lead. This was before I even knew ‘The School for Good and Evil’ existed. I was just like, “Who is that young woman? She’s amazing.” So, I kind of wrote her name down, and said “Okay, remember her, we got to put her in something.”
Then when we started casting though, I didn’t know Sophia Wiley, I hadn’t seen ‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’ or anything. But she was just somebody who had sent an audition tape. So, I was watching that and just going, “Who is this young woman? She’s so good.”
But there was a few candidates and I was kind of like, “How do I decide?” I was like, “You know what, let’s have them record the big death scene at the end.” And even my casting director was like, “That’s really a hard thing for somebody to do on their phone.” I was like, “I know, but let’s just see what happens.” Literally, this is every actor’s nightmare.
I was out for a walk, my morning walk, with my phone and my earbuds in and just was like, “Oh, let me watch that audition.” Which is terrible. It’s a really, really terrible way to do it. But she was so good, and I was literally crying as I’m walking. If you can make a director impressed when they’re watching on their phone walking through their neighborhood, that was it. But then what we had to do is, you always kind of end the process of casting a duo by having them do a chemistry read.
Normally what you’ll do is you’ll fly them in or have them come into the office and sit together and do the scene, and you kind of watch how they play off each other. But we were in COVID, so we couldn’t do that. So, we had to do it on Zoom. I had to do a chemistry read between our two leading actors on Zoom. Their chemistry was so strong through the computer, that I was like, “Okay, if they can kill it on Zoom, then when they get together on the movie set, it’s going to be magic.” And it was.
MF: What was it working with iconic actors like Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, Michelle Yeoh, and Laurence Fishburne?
PF: I’d worked with Charlize back in 2005 on ‘Arrested Development’ and we’d had a ton of fun together. So, we always stayed in contact of “What do we do together? We got to find something to do.” So, when I read Lady Lesso, I was like, “Okay, this is Charlize, she will just absolutely destroy this role.”
Kerry is somebody who I’ve been dying to work with. I became friendly with her because one of my best friends is Betsy Beers, who’s Shonda Rhimes‘ producing partner. So, I was always like, “You got to introduce me to Kerry.” We met and hit it off. Again, same situation, “What do we do together? We got to find something.” It was when I saw her on ‘Saturday Night Live’ when she hosted that time, I was like, “Oh my God, Kerry’s really funny.” So, I was just like, there’s no other Professor Dovey that I want than Kerry Washington.
Then Michelle Yeoh and I had worked together on ‘Last Christmas,’ and she’s one of my closest friends. I was just like, “Would you come in and do this? It’s not a giant part, but it’s a really fun part.” She’s like, “Of course.” She came in and quarantined for 10 days in Belfast. I was like, oh my God, that’s a real friend that will come in and do that, especially when you’re about to win an Oscar, which I’m sure she’s going to, if there’s any justice in the world.
Then Laurence Fishburne I’d never worked with before, but I was always a fan and he’s just delightful. Absolutely a delightful person. So, that was great. Then Cate Blanchett, who I’ve kind of had the same thing with. We had lunched a few years ago and we’re always trying to figure out something to do, and when we had this, I was like, “Oh Cate, would you want to play the voice of a pen?” And she’s like, “Sure.” I said, “Okay, cool.”
MF: Obviously you’ve used visual effects before in movies like ‘Ghostbusters,’ but can you talk about using VFX versus practical effects in a fantasy film like this?
PF: Well, I love it. It’s really fun, but my goal is always to make sure we do as much as we can in camera, practical. Even if it’s something that then we’re going to augment with CG. But I just never want my cast acting against tennis balls in front of a green screen. So, it’s really important to me to build these sets. Those sets are all real. I mean we built those giant sets, all the interiors of the school, that’s ours.
We did a little bit of green screen on some of the outdoor work, but even when they’re in the forest, the blue forest, that looks like CG, but that is a real place. I’m telling you. We added some of the blue smoke, but otherwise it’s this place called Big Dog Forest, which is outside of Belfast. It’s about two hours outside and is one of the hardest locations to get into. It’s just in the middle of nowhere. I’ve never seen something that looked like this in a movie. So, we slept out there and worked in the rain for several days.
But our wolf guards are real, those are guys in animatronic suits. Even when we’re doing things that are full CG, like Hester’s demon that comes out of her tattoo, we built these big green screen puppets and we had this puppeteer named Mikey who would then put on a green suit and he would fly around, run around and actually act out the thing with the actors. So, the actors are interacting with it. Then we just replace it with CG. But again, it’s not a tennis ball, they’re actually getting to act and I’m getting to see how I’m going to shoot it because I know what’s in the frame.
MF: Finally, you have both a sequel to ‘A Simple Favor’ and ‘Spy’ recently announced, which movie do you think will be your next project?
PF: Well, we’re figuring that out right now, to be honest. There’re about three different projects that are kind of in contention to go next. I’m just trying to figure out which one I want to do. Scheduling wise, Hollywood is a rough business. Just trying to get everybody’s schedules together is literally impossible.
So, one of those, but then hopefully another one of these, if we continue doing as well as we are on the platform so far, we’d love to make more. I mean, there’s six plus books in the series, so there’s a lot more to explore in ‘The School for Good and Evil.’
MF: Do you have a dream project? A movie that you are dying to get made?
PF: Well yeah, I’ve got a few. I don’t know if they’ll ever get made. I got my monster movie over at Universal, ‘Dark Army’ that I love. Whether it’ll get made, I don’t know. But that, and I’m dying to do a musical. I don’t even know what it is. We’ve been trying to develop an original musical for a while, we still aren’t happy with what we have, but at the same time, that would be fun.
I just want to work my way through all the genres. I think that’d be really fun. One of my heroes is Howard Hawks, who went from screwball comedies to a gangster movie, to a Western, just so effortlessly. That’s fun, I want to live in that world.
(L to R) Jeff Kirschenbaum, Soman Chainani, Kit Young, Charlize Theron, Jamie Flatters, Laurence Fishburne, Patti LuPone, Sofia Wylie, Paul Feig, Sophia Anne Caruso, Kerry Washington, Michelle Yeoh, Laura Fischer, Kane Lee, and Jane Startz attend the World Premiere Of Netflix’s ‘The School For Good And Evil’ at Regency Village Theatre on October 18, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix.
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Adapted from Soman Chainani’s best-selling book series, our story starts in the village of Gavaldon, where two misfits and best friends, Sophie (Sophia Anne Caruso) and Agatha (Sofia Wylie), share the unlikeliest of bonds. Sophie, a lover of fairy tales, dreams of escaping her ordinary village life, while Agatha, with her grim aesthetic, has the makings of a real witch. Then one night under a blood red moon, a powerful force sweeps them away to the School for Good and Evil — where the true story of every great fairy tale begins.
Yet something is amiss from the start: Sophie is dropped into the School for Evil, run by the glamorous and acid-tongued Lady Lesso (Theron), and Agatha in the School for Good, overseen by the sunny and kind Professor Dovey (Washington).
As if navigating classes with the offspring of Cinderella, Captain Hook, and the dashing son of King Arthur (Jamie Flatters) wasn’t hard enough, according to the Schoolmaster (Laurence Fishburne), only true love’s kiss can change the rules and send the girls to their rightful school. But when a dark and dangerous figure (Kit Young) with mysterious ties to Sophie reemerges and threatens to destroy the school and the rulebook entirely — the only way to a happy ending is to survive the fairytale first…
As the new, full trailer suggests, Sophie is all too ready to embrace her bad side, while Agatha will have to fight to save her.
They’ll have help from the likes of Yeoh as Professor Anemone, who teaches beautification at the School for Good. From the looks of the trailer, she’s got a nice line in zingers to go with her powers.
There’s plenty of subversive fantasy action to be found here, which will hopefully lift this above the many movies that have come along in the wake of the ‘Harry Potter’ franchise, many of which wouldn’t even make the grade at Hogwarts.
And given the presence of Feig (who wrote the script with David Magee) behind the camera, there’s plenty of scope for this to have a decent vein of humor running through it.
Things have changed since then, however, as Deadline report that, while the film remains set up at the studio, only Washington is still attached from that original list.
Joe Carnahan, who wrote the movie with the superbly named Leon Chills, is stepping up to direct it.
‘Shadow Force’ follows an estranged couple with a bounty on their heads who must go on the run with their son to avoid their former employer, a shadow ops unit that has been sent to kill them.
Omar Sy, known for ‘Jurassic World’ and Netflix’s crime drama ‘Lupin’ is on board to star opposite Washington. Brown, though he’s no longer in the cast, is still a producer via his Indian Meadows Productions company.
Omar Sy in 2016’s ‘Inferno.’
“Omar is at the top of his powers – combined with his global stardom, he’s ideally suited to co-lead this action-drama with Kerry, whose talent as an actress and a producer is unbounded,” says Lionsgate Motion Picture Group President Nathan Kahane. “We’re thrilled to be working with the production team of Stephen, Kerry, Sterling, and Pilar, who have shepherded this story of a family in peril from the beginning, and with Joe, who will bring a unique, visceral style to the film.”
Carnahan, of course, has made a trademark of frenzied action movies, and most recently brought ‘Copshop’ and ‘Boss Level’ to the screen, both of which starred his regular collaborator Frank Grillo. Could that mean we’ll see Grillo pop up in ‘Shadow Force’ as part of the former employer-turned-threat? Don’t count out the idea.
Sy will be back on our screens this summer reprising his role as Barry Sembène in ‘Jurassic World Dominion’, which stomps in on June 10th and sees the original ‘Jurassic’ trio of Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum reunited onscreen for more dino-chaos. And while there’s no set date, there should be another season of ‘Lupin’ on the way, which has proved to be one of the most entertaining series on Netflix’s roster.
With luck, ‘Shadow Force’ will actually kick off shooting this year, though we must admit we’re a little sorry to see Mahoney drop out of directing. Still, if Carnahan brings his visual zip and anarchic sentiments to the movie, it could be something really fun, and very different for Washington in particular.
Welcome to Female Filmmakers in Focus, where you will find a recommendation for films directed by women to seek out each week. This week features ‘Moxie,’ a new film from Amy Poehler, and ‘Night Catches Us,’ an older film from Tanya Hamilton.
Moxie (2021) – directed by Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler (2nd from left) and the cast of ‘Moxie’
Mostly known for her work in front of the camera, Amy Poehler stepped behind the camera in 2019 to direct the ensemble comedy ‘Wine Country.” When asked what advice she’d give to other women who may be hesitating to start directing she said, “Do it even if you don’t think you’re ready… a lot of women wait until they think they’re really really ready for something. And I’ve worked with a lot of guys who aren’t ready for what they’re doing.” In the early 1990s, Poehler studied acting and improv at Chicago’s Second City and ImprovOlympic before co-founding the improvisational-comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade and cutting her teeth as a writer and performer on Saturday Night Live. Along with her extensive writing and acting credits, she has also served as an executive producer for many female-led shows including Difficult People, Russian Doll, Broad City, and Parks and Recreation. Her latest directorial effort ‘Moxie’ debuted on Netflix this week. Up next, Poehler is in the midst of filming a documentary about the romantic and creative partnership of comedy legends Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz.
For her second feature film as a director, Poehler has moved into the young adult genre with an adaptation of the novel Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu. The result is a poignant coming-of-age dramedy starring Hadley Robinson as Vivian, a shy teenage girl who finds inspiration in her mother’s rebellious teenage past. Poehler plays her mother, Lisa, who in the early 90s was active in the Riot Grrrl subculture. Vivian and best friend Claudia (Lauren Tsai) are happy to just keep their heads down and coast through her senior year of high school until new girl Lisa (Alycia Pascual-Peña) opens their eyes to their complacency in the victimization of other girls. When Vivian finds her mother’s old feminist zines, she decides to strike back against the rampant sexist culture at her high school. The zine – titled Moxie – criticizes the casual misogyny of the boys at her school and even ousts a sexual predator in the making. Vivian and Claudia’s relationship is strained as Vivian moves further out of her shell, and even tests the waters of dating, but ultimately the girls find strength in each other and learn the might of a united voice. Get your sharpie out, draw some hearts and stars on your hands, power up Netflix, and you might just learn a thing or two about grrrl power.
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Night Catches Us (2010) – written and directed by Tanya Hamilton
(L to R) ‘Night Catches Us’ stars Anthony Mackie & Kerry Washington and director Tanya Hamilton
Born and raised in Jamaica, Tanya Hamilton came to the United States to study filmmaking at Cooper Union and Columbia University. Her short film ‘The Killers’ won an award at the 1996 Berlin International Film Festival, and she then spent the next decade developing her feature film debut ‘Night Catches Us.’ That period drama about Black Panthers debuted at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for Best First Feature that same year at the Independent Spirit Awards. In the decade since the film’s release, she has directed quite a television episodes, including ‘Queen Sugar,’ ‘Black Lighting,’ ‘The Deuce,’ and ‘The Chi.’ Hamilton’s work is rooted where the personal and political collide. As she told the Washington Post, “I am interested in making films that have social and political relevance.”
‘Night Catches Us’ was written over a ten-year period and was inspired by the story of Carol Lawson-Green, a close friend of Hamilton’s mother. In 1965, Lawson-Green took part in a student-organized protest at the White House to address the treatment of Black people in Selma, Alabama. Her involvement in the protest led to a six-month jail sentence for a crime normally punished by a simple fine. Hamilton became interested in exploring the interpersonal dynamics of the protest movements during this era and the inequality of the justice system. Set in Philadelphia in 1976, ‘Night Catches Us’ follows former Black Panther Marcus (Anthony Mackie), returning home for the first time since his incarceration. He reconnects with Patricia (Kerry Washington), whose husband’s death he may or may not have caused. Sparks fly immediately, and it’s clear there’s something more to their story, as Patricia’s daughter Iris (Jamara Griffin) slowly learns. The film is buoyed by strong performances from Mackie and Washington (whose chemistry is hot, hot, hot) as well as an unsettling supporting turn from Wendell Pierce as a crooked cop. Shot on location and featuring a soul-stirring score by Philadelphia natives The Roots, ‘Night Catches Us’ finds the universal in the situation, while feeling distinctly of a certain time and place. Hamilton’s film doesn’t offer easy answers or a happy ending, a bit like life itself. ‘Night Catches Us’ is available on Amazon Prime.
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Hulu’s upcoming adaptation of bestselling novel “Little Fires Everywhere” has found its male lead, with TV vet Joshua Jackson landing a key role in the limited series.
a Shaker Heights attorney who hails from modest means, Bill is the perfectly suited counterweight to his energetic and strong-willed wife, Elena (Reese Witherspoon). But when Bill agrees to represent their friends in a fiery custody battle, the couple begin to fight about more than just their challenging youngest daughter, Izzy (Megan Stott).
“Little Fires Everywhere,” based on the book by Celeste Ng, is set to run for eight episodes, and will explore the intertwined relationship between two families. Washington stars as a mysterious single mother who, along with her daughter (Lexi Underwood), brings chaos to the Richardsons’ seemingly perfect lives.
No word yet on when the series is expected to make its debut on Hulu.
Kerry Washington is the latest star to join ABC’s upcoming “Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s ‘All in the Family’ and ‘The Jeffersons.’”
The “Scandal” vet has boarded the special, which will see an episode from each of the popular ’70s sitcoms recreated live. Washington is set to play Helen Willis, a neighbor of George and Louise Jefferson in “The Jeffersons,” Deadline reports. Her TV husband, Tom Willis, will be portrayed by Will Ferrell.
The special was announced in April, and it boasts a number of high-profile actors, both in front of and behind the camera. The cast includes the likes of Marisa Tomei, Jamie Foxx, Woody Harrelson, and Wanda Sykes, among others. Washington will take on the role that was Roxie Roker‘s in “The Jeffersons,” while Ferrell takes up the baton from Franklin Cover. The former “Scandal” star is well-known to ABC audiences, having starred as Olivia Pope for seven seasons.
The upcoming special is set to be produced by Smoking Baby Productions, ACT III Productions, Gary Sanchez Productions, and Sony Pictures Television. Norman Lear is returning to executive produce and he’s joined by Ferrell, Jimmy Kimmel, Adam McKay, and Justin Theroux.
“Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s ‘All in the Family’ and ‘The Jeffersons’” is scheduled to air live on Wednesday, May 22 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
A random suggestion on Twitter for people to come up with ideas for a movie starring Chris Evans and Kerry Washington generated lots of great premises, including rom-coms, spy thrillers, and a “Mr. and Mrs. Smith“-style action film. (Yes, please!)
The thread got so much traffic, it even attracted the attention of Kerry Washington herself, who tweeted: “Okay, Chris Evans, we are gonna have to figure this out!”
One of the best ideas is a period film based on the true story of Albert and Lucy Parsons, a mixed race couple in the 1800s who were also labor activists. We can taste those Oscar noms already!
As fans pointed out, the two already shared the screen in “Fantastic Four” in 2005: He was Johnny Storm, she was Alicia Masters, the blind girlfriend of The Thing (Michael Chiklis).
20th Century Fox
Evans has yet to respond, but thousands of Twitter fans can’t be wrong. Let’s make this happen!
