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Back in the fall of 2003, Femi Oguns — then a working British actor who had appeared in a number of well-known U.K. TV shows — was on the streets of London handing out flyers for his yet-to-open school.

Having felt that his own experience at drama school had been stifled due to his race (he was one of just two non-white students in his year) and that there was a distinct lack of diverse talent in such institutions and a major gap in the market, he decided to launch a part-time alternative. It was to be somewhere, says Oguns — the eldest son of a British-born Nigerian mother and a Nigerian immigrant father — that would give “actors of color and from all different backgrounds the opportunity to celebrate their identity through acting.”

And so, having parked his own on-screen ambitions (although he would star alongside Helen Mirren in Prime Suspect soon after...

John Boyega has signed with UTA.

The Hollywood Reporter can confirm that alongside signing the British star in all areas, the talent agency has also signed Boyega’s production company UpperRoom Productions.

The deal marks Boyega’s return to Hollywood agencies after four years away, having left WME in 2019. Since then, he’s been solely repped by Femi Oguns at the U.K.’s Identity Agency Group.

Boyega — who found global fame thanks to the Star Wars trilogy sequel — has been on something of a roll recently. He landed a Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award for his turn in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology in 2021, while last year he earned critical praise for his lead performance in Breaking — which he also exec produced — and also starred in Gina Prince-Bythewood’s historical epic The Woman King.

His latest feature, the sci-fi comedy They Cloned Tyrone in which he stars alongside Jamie Fox,...

Identity Agency Group, the London-based talent agency whose list of clients includes the likes of John Boyega, Simone Ashley, Malachi Kirby, T’Nia Miller and David Gyasi, has promoted its two most senior agents.

Ikki El-Amriti and Jonathan Hall, who have each been with the company for 13 years and were among the first to join Iag after it was set up by founder and CEO Femi Oguns, have both been made partners.

Oguns, who established the agency as the sister company to his groundbreaking Identity School of Acting drama school, aimed at offering quality drama lessons to diverse talent and this year celebrating its 20th anniversary (and whose alumni includes Boyega, Letitia Wright and Damson Idris), praised his two colleagues for contributing to Iag’s “success and growth.”

El-Amriti, he said, had “consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership in talent management,” adding that her guidance had been “instrumental in propelling artists’ careers to new heights,...

John Boyega is remembering how he set out his stall at the very beginning of his career. Fresh out of drama school, he told his agent: “Don’t put me in no EastEnders, don’t put me in no The Bill, don’t put me in any of that.” He says this with force, from a room in Los Angeles, eyes steely. Distancing himself from some of the traditional routes into the industry for young actors was a mark of supreme confidence. Boyega knew the kind of projects he wanted – and didn’t want – to be associated with.

He was clear with his friend and agent Femi Oguns about the way forward. “Not to toot my own horn, but I had strict rules for Femi when I first signed with him. I want something that can be relatable, but unique. It has to have a spin on it.” So far,...

Exclusive: John Boyega has been set to star in sci-fi romance The Freshening from director Cathy Yan (Birds Of Prey), we can reveal.

Filming is due to get underway later this year on the project, which hails from producers FilmNation Entertainment, Ali Wong, Hyperobject Industries’ Adam McKay and Betsy Koch, and Rewild’s Cathy Yan and Ash Sarohia. The team are underway on additional casting.

The project is inspired by Rachel Khong’s short story in the Paris Review, which was set in a near future where tensions over race and gender have reached a violent extreme and the U.S. government institutes a public health initiative known as ‘The Freshening’: every American receives an injection, after which everyone only sees others as the same race and gender as themselves. The film will chart what happens when a street drug hits the scene, promising a chance to see the world as it really is,...

Hillman Grad said Wednesday that its Hillman Grad Mentorship Lab, the eight-month, tuition-free program that has offered support and opportunities to marginalized creatives for the past two years, will return for a third year.

A program of the Hillman Grad Foundation, the lab was founded by Lena Waithe, Rishi Rajani and Justin Riley in 2021. The one-of-a-kind program offers mentees the opportunity to enhance their creative skill-set through personalized instruction from entertainment professionals, creating pathways to bring more people from diverse backgrounds into the industry.

Committed to infusing new narratives and perspectives in front of and behind the camera, the Hillman Grad Mentorship Lab provides a slate of workshops, educational resources, professional development, and networking opportunities for a cohort of diverse writers, actors and aspiring creative executives. Tracks include television writing, screen acting and executive development, with instructors including Carolyn Michelle Smith and Behzad Dabu (co-directors of Acting Track) and Michael Svoboda...

It’s hard to go two or three months without an internet rumor claiming John Boyega is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. One unconfirmed report from May said Boyega had already filmed a secret Marvel role, while another rumor dating back to 2021 claimed Boyega was involved in the “Captain Marvel” sequel “The Marvels.” However, Boyega has now shut down those rumors in an interview with Men’s Health, saying he is not interested in the MCU at this time.

“That’s not in the vision for me now,” Boyega said about Marvel movies. “I want to do nuanced things…I want to donate my services to original indie films that come with new, fresh ideas, because I know it’s real hard to top ‘Iron Man’ in that universe.”

Femi Oguns, Boyega’s agent, told the publication that Boyega’s goal as an actor has always been “to disrupt the...

John Boyega reaches a breaking point in his latest true-story drama.

“Breaking” tells the powerful story of Marine Veteran Brian Brown-Easley (Boyega), who was denied support from Veterans Affairs and turned to taking an Atlanta bank hostage in 2017. In the trailer, Boyega is an apologetic bank robber who threatens the staff with a bomb. The late Michael K. Williams plays an officer determined to talk Brown-Easley down; Connie Britton also stars as an operative tasked with diffusing the situation.

Formerly titled “892,” “Breaking” premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and is distributed by Bleecker Street. The ensemble cast also includes Nicole Beharie, Olivia Washington, and Selenis Leyva. The film premieres August 26.

In real life, Brown-Easley let everyone besides two bank employees flee the building and told police he had no intention of robbing the bank; he just wanted the 892 owed to him by the Va.

Directed by Abi Damaris Corbin, who...

Bleecker Street has acquired the U.S. rights to Abi Damaris Corbin’s “892,” starring John Boyega and the late Michael K. Williams, following its Sundance premiere.

News of the acquisition comes after the film was awarded the special jury award for ensemble cast in the U.S. Dramatic Competition on Friday.

The deal was brokered between Bleecker Street’s Head of Acquisitions Kent Sanderson alongside Avy Eschenasy, with WME Independent on behalf of the filmmakers. Bleecker Street is planning a late summer nationwide theatrical release.

Based on the true story of former U.S. Marine Brian Brown-Easley (Boyega), who finds himself on the brink of poverty after his disability check fails to materialize from veterans affairs. Desperate and with no other options, he walks into a Wells Fargo Bank and says “I’ve got a bomb.” What follows is an edge-of-your-seat thriller that reminds us of the social responsibility we have to our soldiers,...

Bleecker Street said Tuesday that it acquired U.S. rights to the dramatic thriller 892, starring John Boyega (Star Wars franchise) and the late Michael Kenneth Williams (The Wire). The film recently made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in U.S. Dramatic Competition, where it won its Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast. The independently financed distributor is planning a late-summer release in theaters nationwide.

Based on a true story, the feature directorial debut of Abi Damaris Corbin picks up with former U.S. Marine Brian Brown-Easley (Boyega) as his disability check from Veterans Affairs fails to materialize, watching as he finds himself on the brink of poverty. Desperate and with no other options, he walks into a Wells Fargo Bank and says, “I’ve got a bomb.” What ensues is an edge-of-your-seat narrative that reminds us of the social responsibility we have to our soldiers, our colleagues,...

Bleecker Street has acquired the U.S. rights to “892,” a thriller starring John Boyega and Michael K. Williams that made its premiere in competition at Sundance.

Abi Damaris Cobrin directed the film that won the Special Jury Prize for an Ensemble Cast at Sundance. Bleecker Street is planning a theatrical release for the film later this summer.

“892” is based on a true story of a former U.S. Marine Brian Brown-Easley, who after his disability check failed to materialize from Veterans Affairs and he found himself on the brink of poverty, went into a Wells Fargo Bank and announced “I’ve got a bomb.”

The film also stars Nicole Beharie, Connie Britton, Olivia Washington, Selenis Leyva and London Covington. And “892” is the last film for Williams, who died last year.

Corbin co-wrote the film along with Kwame Kwei-Armah, who is the artistic director for the Young Vic in London.

Distributor plans late summer theatrical release.

Bleecker Street has acquired US rights to Sundance drama 892 starring John Boyega as Brian Brown-Easley, the former U.S. Marine who walked into a bank claiming to have a bomb after his disability cheque failed to materialise.

Abi Damaris Corbin directed the film which also stars the late Michael Kenneth Williams in what was his final film role, Nicole Beharie, Connie Britton, Olivia Washington, Selenis Leyva, London Covington and Jeffrey Donovan.

Bleecker Street plans a late summer nationwide theatrical release for the film, which won the special jury award for ensemble cast in U.

Lena Waithe and Rishi Rajani’s development and production company Hillman Grad Productions has announced the return of its mentorship lab which offers support and opportunities to marginalized creatives.

The Hillman Grad Mentorship Lab is an 8-month, tuition-free program that offers mentees the opportunity to enhance their creative skillset through personalized instruction from industry professionals, creating additional pathways to bring more people from diverse backgrounds into the entertainment industry.

As part of the program, mentees will participate in a variety of workshops, educational resources, professional development, and networking opportunities for a cohort of diverse writers, actors, and aspiring creative executives.

Tracks include television writing, screen acting, and executive development, instructed by Carolyn Michelle Smith (co-director of Acting Track), Behzad Dabu (co-director of Acting Track), and Michael Svoboda (director of Writing Track), among others.

Participants will also have the opportunity to work with and directly interact with notable actors, directors, casting directors,...

Applications are now open for Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad Productions’ second annual mentorship lab, which provides opportunities for Bipoc creatives in TV and film.

The development and production company founded by Waithe and Rishi Rajani is again presenting the Hillman Grad Mentorship Lab, an eight-month tuition-free program focused on helping marginalized storytellers connect, grow and accelerate their entertainment careers.

In its second year, the lab will be spearheaded by program director Lacy Wright and program advisor Justin Riley, who will handle day-to-day operations under the direction of Hillman Grad CEO Waithe, president of TV and film Rajani and chief operating officer Ericka Pittman.

“Since the inception of Hillman Grad, it has been our ultimate goal to break down barriers to entry into Hollywood for new and diverse artists, while also ensuring they are paid for their art,” the Hillman Grad executive team stated.

“The program was built around the...

Eighteen years ago, Femi Oguns was handing out flyers around London offering youth the chance to learn at the UK’s first ever Black-centric drama school.

Today, Identity School of Acting and sister agency Identity Agency Group are creative powerhouses. Iag reps dozens of established and emerging stars, including John Boyega, Letitia Wright, Malachi Kirby, Ella Balinska, Melanie Liburd, and Simona Brown. Most of the company’s leading lights trained at Identity School of Acting.

Identity’s aim from the outset was to increase diversity in an entrenched industry, and to shake up a homogenous and establishment system. Oguns wanted to foster an environment where actors would be judged on their merit and ability rather than the color of their skin.

Oguns has done just that. So successful was the drama school, that the Londoner launched an L.A. offshoot in 2018. And that’s not all. In this chat with the actor-writer turned agent-producer-entrepreneur,...

Hello, and welcome to International Insider. Jake Kanter here, as usual, bringing you everything worth knowing from the past seven days in global film and TV. It’s been a memorable week, with the film biz reuniting for a little-known event by the French seaside and football fever gripping Europe. Apologies to readers in Italy, but Come On England!

Early in the month, John Boyega left the Netflix movie Rebel Ridge for "family reasons" according to the statement released at the time by the streamer. While many offered their best wishes to whatever he was going through, some doubted whether the reason given was indeed the case, claiming that his reputation for making demands could have been more likely the reason for his departure. Sources have now claimed that Boyega actually just left the production without even telling anyone he was going, to the point that it was only discovered he had gone when looking for him in his hotel and finding he had checked out.

The sources have claimed that there was not just one reason for John Boyega's exit, but rather a whole host of reasons including issues with the script to disliking the accommodation he was given during production. It seems that a number of Netflix...

News broke at the start of June that John Boyega was abruptly exiting Jeremy Saulnier’s Netflix movie “Rebel Ridge” due to “family reasons.” The movie, Saulnier’s second Netflix original feature after “Hold the Dark,” was only a week into filming in Louisiana after being delayed for a year because of the pandemic. A new report from The Hollywood Reporter alleged via sources that “Boyega simply walked away from the production with filming underway.” Boyega’s London-based agent, Femi Oguns, denied the claim and stressed “family reasons” were the cause of the exit.

As reported by THR: “According to one person with knowledge of the situation, the filmmakers only discovered [Boyega had exited the film] when they looked for him at his hotel and found that he had checked out…According to sources, there seemed to be no one incident that prompted Boyega to leave in the midst of shooting. Several insiders, however, say...

Givanni is a curator and archivist who specialises in African and African diaspora cinema.

The British Independent Film Awards (Bifa) has awarded its special jury prize to film curator June Givanni.

The award honours an unsung hero of the film industry and is normally handed out at the Bifa awards ceremony - the 2020 edition of which was held online in February.

Givanni is a curator and archivist who specialises in African and African diaspora cinema and has worked in film and broadcasting for over 30 years. She founded the June Givanni Pan African Cinema Archive, based on her personal collections.

In...

Support includes 30 scholarships for Identity School of Acting.

Netflix has made the latest investment from its $5m fund for causes supporting the Black community, with £350,000 of investment in scholarships and training for underrepresented young people in the UK.

With the aim of “amplifying diverse British voices in front of and behind the camera”, the investment will fully fund 30 year-long scholarships for students at London’s Identity School of Acting (Idsa), double the number of people media organisation Million Youth Media works with across the UK, and expand the remit of training body Mama Youth.

Established by Femi Oguns in 2003, Idsa...

As it further embeds in the U.K. ecosystem, Netflix is investing in a group of grassroots organizations to create more opportunities in the film and TV industries for youth from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds.

The streaming giant is investing £350,000 across three organizations: the Identity School of Acting, where “Small Axe” actor John Boyega trained; Million Youth Media, one of the U.K.’s top youth-oriented digital platforms; and Mama Youth, which operates an extensive network of training programs.

Netflix will support 30 full, year-long scholarships for students from the Identity School; double the number of youth in the Million Youth Media talent pool; and help Mama Youth expand its work in training more aspiring film and TV professionals.

The investment is part of the $5 million earmarked by Netflix in July to support Black creators and youth, propelled by the renewed Black Lives Matter movement in June. The streaming giant also launched a U.

Netflix has doubled down on its commitment to improving diversity in the U.K.’s film and TV industries, announcing a significant investment that it says will help nurture the next generation of British talent from Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities.

The £350,000 ($480,000) investment — part of a $5 million fund the streamer created in July 2020 — will be split three ways, including going to support 30 full, year-long scholarships for students at the Identity School of Acting. Founded by Femi Oguns, the pioneering London college has been behind the U.K.’s recent crop of ...

Netflix has doubled down on its commitment to improving diversity in the U.K.’s film and TV industries, announcing a significant investment that it says will help nurture the next generation of British talent from Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities.

The £350,000 ($480,000) investment — part of a $5 million fund the streamer created in July 2020 — will be split three ways, including going to support 30 full, year-long scholarships for students at the Identity School of Acting. Founded by Femi Oguns, the pioneering London college has been behind the U.K.’s recent crop of ...

Exclusive: iHeartRadio, FlynnPictureCo., Psychopia Pictures and UpperRoom Productions have defied the pandemic to complete production on There Be Monsters, a 10-part narrative sci-fi thriller podcast. Starring are Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker‘s John Boyega and American Crime: The Assassination of Gianni Versace‘s Darren Criss. There Be Monsters is produced by Beau Flynn of FlynnPictureCo., Dan Bush of Psychopia Pictures and Boyega’s UpperRoom Productions, and it will be available later this year on the iHeartPodcast Network.

Boyega plays Jack Locke, a mysterious hero with a vendetta who infiltrates a Silicon Valley body hacking startup run by an enigmatic CEO Max Fuller (Criss), whose highly secretive creations promise to enhance human biology in incredible ways. Of course, every drug has a side effect.

iHeartRadio began developing this with the producers in late 2019 as part of its expanding slate of immersive PodFiction audio dramas. As the creative team was...

The Identity School of Acting, the groundbreaking, diversity-focused acting school that first opened in London in 2003, branched out into repping with the Identity Agency Group, and has helped launch the careers of major stars, such as John Boyega and Letitia Wright, has set up its own production arm, Identity Filmworks.

The expansion, revealed to The Hollywood Reporter by founder Femi Oguns, comes just as the school’s L.A. branch — based in East Hollywood’s Thymele Arts center — celebrates its one-year anniversary with a major showcase of its pupils’ work.

“Basically, the money that we gain ...

The Identity School of Acting, the groundbreaking, diversity-focused acting school that first opened in London in 2003, branched out into repping with the Identity Agency Group, and has helped launch the careers of major stars, such as John Boyega and Letitia Wright, has set up its own production arm, Identity Filmworks.

The expansion, revealed to The Hollywood Reporter by founder Femi Oguns, comes just as the school’s L.A. branch — based in East Hollywood’s Thymele Arts center — celebrates its one-year anniversary with a major showcase of its pupils’ work.

“Basically, the money that we gain ...

The Skywalker Saga's final trailer will debut on ESPN's "Monday Night Football" on Monday, October 21st, during halftime of the National Football League (NFL) game between the New England Patriots and the New York Jets. The game starts at 5:15 p.m. Pdt/8:15 p.m. Edt. Tickets for&#160Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker&#160will also go on sale everywhere tickets are sold following the trailer launch.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker&#160releases in U.S. theaters on December 20. Lucasfilm and director J.J. Abrams join forces once again to take viewers on an epic journey to a galaxy far, far away with&#160Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the riveting conclusion of the seminal Skywalker saga, where new legends will be born and the final battle for freedom is yet to come.

The film stars Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac,...

There’s been an awakening. Can you feel it? Oh, sorry, I guess that was just my roommate getting ready for work! However, I did have a strong disturbance in my personal force when I saw some great news. That being that we’re getting another (presumably final) Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer on Monday night, right smack-dab in the middle of a football game.

That’s right: ESPN, one of Disney’s sub-networks, has their holocrons at the ready for Monday, October 14th. During the Monday Night Football match-up between the dastardly Detroit Lions and this year’s future Super Bowl champs the Green Bay Packers, we’ll get some extra footage from the upcoming finale.

This was confirmed via Femi Oguns’ Instagram. Who is Femi Oguns, you ask? Oh, just John Boyega’s talent agent. As such, we know he isn’t lying.

View this post...

With stars such as John Boyega (Star Wars), Letitia Wright (Black Panther), Cynthia Erivo (Widows) and Ella Balinska (the upcoming Charlie's Angels) on his books, actor turned agent Femi Oguns is the man behind the recent crop of diverse British talent laying claim to Hollywood.

It all began with his groundbreaking Identity School of Acting — initially dubbed the U.K.'s "first black drama school," it has grown from 10 students to a truly multicultural mix of 900 — followed by the Identity Agency Group, launched to offer representation for its best pupils.

Now, 16 ...

With stars such as John Boyega (Star Wars), Letitia Wright (Black Panther), Cynthia Erivo (Widows) and Ella Balinska (the upcoming Charlie's Angels) on his books, actor turned agent Femi Oguns is the man behind the recent crop of diverse British talent laying claim to Hollywood.

It all began with his groundbreaking Identity School of Acting — initially dubbed the U.K.'s "first black drama school," it has grown from 10 students to a truly multicultural mix of 900 — followed by the Identity Agency Group, launched to offer representation for its best pupils.

Now, 16 ...

Universal Pictures has unveiled a new poster for Pacific Rim Uprising. This new one-sheet offers a glimpse at a group of Jaegers that are standing tall, "rising up" against humanity's common enemy, the kaiju. This poster reveals that these Jaeger robots have some much different weapons this time around. The studio also announced that this poster arrives just before the final trailer will debut tomorrow, January 24, although an exact time for the trailer debut has not yet been given.

With this movie now exactly two months away from hitting theaters on March 23, it will continue the story from the first Pacific Rim, helping to solidify a new cinematic universe. Pacific Rim: Uprising director Steven S. DeKnight revealed in an interview back in October that this movie was always intended to be a "launching pad" for a Pacific Rim movie franchise that would open other worlds, and that he has...

Dustin Clare.

Aussie actor Dustin Clare has joined the newly retitled Pacific Rim: Uprising (previously Pacific Rim: Maelstrom) alongside John Boyega and Scott Eastwood.

Steven S. DeKnight is directing the project, with Thomas Tull, Mary Parent, Jon Jashni, and Guillermo del Toro (the director of the original) producing alongside Boyega and Femi Oguns..

Cale Boyter is exec producing the Universal/Legendary pic, which will bow in theaters February 23 next year.

Clare appeared in Stan's recent Wolf Creek series. His other credits include All Saints, McLeod's Daughters, Underbelly, The Eye of the Storm and Goddess.

The actor is probably best known internationally for starring roles in Spartacus: Gods of the Arena and Spartacus: War of the Damned. Starz's Spartacus franchise has form with Australians, with the late Andy Whitfield and Suicide Squad's Jai Courtney starring in the first season..

Clare moved into writing and producing with 2014 indie feature Sunday,...

Today brings about some surprising news on Pacific Rim 2, specifically in that the lead for the upcoming sequel has been formally cast, and they're bringing in Star Wars actor, John Boyega. Come inside to learn more!

Last we heard about Pacific Rim 2, it'd been presumably saved from it's "indefinite hold" by bringing on a new director to take over the project. Now, they don't seem to be wasting any time in getting the project back on its feet by casting John Boyega in the lead. He'll be playing the son of Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba's character in the original) to defend the world against Kaiju once again. Here's the announcement:

Legendary Pictures has tapped John Boyega, one of today’s most talented rising stars, the lead role for the second installment of its Pacific Rim franchise. The film, which is targeting a 4th Quarter start date is rapidly taking...

When Star Wars: The Force Awakens breakout star John Boyega won the BAFTA Rising Star award last month, he made a point of praising Identity founder Femi Oguns, describing him as, “my agent, my manager, my best friend, my brother…who has repped me since I was 16.” That close relationship sums up the hands-on approach Oguns takes with both his clients and his business. The Identity Agency Group, which he launched in the UK, now has on its roster some of the most exciting…...

Identity Agency Group CEO Femi Oguns talks diversity challenges ahead of Screen Film Summit appearance.Click here to book your place at the Screen Film Summit

Identity Agency Group CEO Femi Oguns MBE has warned “there is a storm coming” for those in the UK industry who are unwilling to take adequate steps to improve diversity.

Speaking to Screen as part of an upcoming feature about diversity in the UK film sector, agent Oguns - whose clients include Star Wars actor John Boyega, Roots reboot star Malachi Kirby and Urban Hymn actress Letitia Wright – claimed that black actors are still treated differently in the UK compared to the Us, a trend he believes hurts the UK commercially.

“If you believe in something here, it’s glazed eyes, it’s a smile, it’s ‘cool, that sounds great,’ and it never really goes anywhere,” he told Screen.

“Because a lot of the decision-makers feel that black doesn’t sell...

Exclusive: The Casual Vacancy actress joins A+E miniseries as as would-be girlfriend.

Up-and-coming British actress Simona Brown has joined the cast of A+E Networks miniseries reboot Roots. In the first episode, Brown will play the would-be girlfriend of lead character Kunta Kinte before he is taken from her.

Production is underway on the anticipated series, which will be directed by Mario Van Peebles, Bruce Beresford, Phillip Noyce and Thomas Carter.

Last month, Screen broke the news that former Screen Star of Tomorrow Malachi Kirby would play the lead in the historical portrait of American slavery, which will air over four nights as an eight-hour event miniseries.

Brown joins a cast that includes Forest Whitaker, Anna Paquin, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Laurence Fishburne.

The actress was recently cast in ABC pilot Guilt and prior to that had roles in AMC series The Night Manager and HBO/BBC Film drama The Casual Vacancy, written by J K...

Exclusive: UK actor cast as Kunta Kinte in A+E Networks’ scripted event series.

UK actor Malachi Kirby (Gone Too Far) has been cast in the lead role in A+E Networks’ anticipated remake of landmark 1977 miniseries Roots.

Former Screen Star of Tomorrow Kirby is set to play Kunta Kinte in the seven-part series, which is described as a historical portrait of American slavery recounting the journey of one family’s will to survive.

The narrative spans multiple generations, beginning with young Kunta Kinte, who is captured in his homeland in the Gambia and transported in brutal conditions to colonial America, where he’s sold into slavery.

Throughout the series, the family continues to face adversity while bearing witness and contributing to notable events in Us history - including the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, slave uprisings and eventual emancipation.

Rising star

The fast-rising Kirby, who played in 2013 comedy drama Gone Too Far and Toronto-bound Afghan war thriller...

The Good Lie

Written by Margaret Nagle

Directed by Philippe Falardeau

Kenya/India/USA, 2014

The Good Lie is an earnest, well-meaning film that overcomes its many flaws to tell a life-affirming story about survival and second chances. No work of fiction could ever convey the atrocities of the Second Sudanese Civil War, but this is an effective glimpse into the lives of a lucky few who escaped. It’s not looking to raise awareness or rabble-rouse. It only wants to show us that as long as there is life, there is hope. On that count, it most certainly succeeds.

Mamere (Arnold Oceng) and his older brother, Theo (Femi Oguns), are like any other young boys; they fight, they test each other’s limits, they play games reciting their familial names down through the generations. To the cattlemen of the Sudan, tribal connections are a source of both history and renewal.

The Good Lie Warner Bros Reviewed for Shockya by Harvey Karten. Data-based on Rotten Tomatoes Grade: B+ Director: Philippe Falardeau Screenplay: Margaret Nagle Cast: Corey Stoll, Reese Witherspoon, Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal, Corey Stoll, Kuoth Wiel, Femi Oguns, Lindsay Garrett Screened at: Lincoln Square, NYC, 10/1/14 Opens: October 3, 2014 You jumped the turnstile at the #4 train at Grand Central Station and the police are on your trail. You read about Riker’s Detention Center in a recent issue of New York magazine, and you’re not going to Rikers. You toss a dart at a map of the world. It lands on London. No good. Toss another and [ Read More ]

The post The Good Lie Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

The Good Lie is titled after the lies in Huckleberry Finn, the type of lie that is a lie for the greater good, even if lying is wrong. The Good Lie, the movie, has a small opening this weekend in under 500 theaters and will hopefully begin to slowly expand to more theaters with it’s poster of smiling Reese Witherspoon’s head miraculously floating over an African desert. The poster for The Good Lie and the trailer for The Good Lie are, themselves, actual good lies because what looks like The Blind Side but with Reese Witherspoon is not, instead it’s one of those movies that will be shown to our children in school.

You remember the type of movie I’m talking about: you have a substitute or your teacher got a little ahead in the lesson plan or you have a half-holiday day so the class gets...

Fresh off this morning’s excellent Toronto International Film Festival lineup announcement, we have debut images from some of the films that will be screening at the fest. Briefly: Before We Go – (Directed by Chris Evans) Starring Chris Evans and Alice Eve. Good Kill – (Directed by Andrew Niccol) Starring Ethan Hawke and January Jones. The Good Lie – (Directed by Philippe Farlardeau) Starring Reese Witherspoon, Corey Stoll, Arnold Oceng, Kuoth Wiel, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal, and Femi Oguns. Hungry Hearts – (Directed by Saverio Costanzo) Starring Adam Driver, Alba Rohrwacher, and Roberta Maxwell. Hit the jump to chceck out the images and synopses. Tiff 2014 runs from September 4th – 14th. Before We Go Set in Manhattan, the story follows two strangers after their serendipitous meeting in Grand Central. Over the course of one night, they form an unlikely bond and the conflicts in their own lives become the basis for exploration into each other and themselves.

The 39th Toronto International Film Festival has announced its initial slate of galas and special presentations, which includes 37 world premieres and several films with Oscar ambitions. The Judge, which stars Robert Downey Jr. as a big-city lawyer who reluctantly returns home and ends up defending his revered father (Robert Duvall) against criminal charges, will have its world premiere in Toronto. His Avengers pal, Chris Evans, will unveil his own directorial debut in Toronto, titled Before We Go.

Also noteworthy: James Gandolfini’s final film, The Drop, which also stars Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace; another Jason Reitman Toronto world premiere,...

The Toronto International Film Festival announced its initial wave of 2014 premieres and galas this morning and it features some familiar awards titles, some big stars and some unexpected studio titles. Among the major studio films, David Dobkin's "The Judge" with Robert Downey Jr. and Antoine Fuqua's "The Equalizer" each received gala slots and should premiere over the festival's opening weekend. Other announced galas so far include Bennett Miller's acclaimed "Foxcatcher," which debuted at Cannes, and Mike Binder's "Black and White" starring Kevin Costner, Octavia Spencer and Anthony Mackie. Toronto has also scheduled special gala screenings for David Cronenberg's "Map to the Stars" with Julianne Moore and Robert Pattinson, François Ozon's "The New Girlfriend," Ed Zwick's "Pawn Sacrifice" with Tobey Maguire, Lone Scherfig's "The Riot Club," Jean-Marc Vallée's "Wild," Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano's "Samba" and Shawn Levy's "This is Where I Leave You...

Reese Witherspoon stars in the feel good film on the fall – The Good Lie. Produced by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, the movie opens in theaters on October 3rd.

They were known simply as “The Lost Boys.”

Orphaned by the brutal Civil war in Sudan that began in 1983, these young victims traveled as many as a thousand miles on foot in search of safety. Fifteen years later, a humanitarian effort would bring 3600 lost boys and girls to America.

In The Good Lie, Philippe Falardeau, (writer and director of the Oscar- nominated Foreign Language film “Monsieur Lazhar”) brings the story of their survival and triumph to life. Academy Award winner Reese Witherspoon (“Walk the Line”) stars alongside Sudanese actors Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal, and newcomer Nyakuoth Weil, many of whom were also children of war.

Mamere and Theo are sons of the Chief in their village in Southern Sudan.

The question of quotas for diversified talent in the UK film industry was a hot topic at Screen International and Broadcast’s Diversify conference today; experts’ views were decidedly mixed.

Femi Oguns, founder of Identity Drama and Identity Agency Group, said emphatically, “We should force a quota.” Director Penny Woolcock agreed: “I actually think it’s worth a try…it could open the door to new kinds of stories. It’s the only way of changing it to force people.”

But writer/director Amma Asante said: “I’m nervous about quotas. I’ve heard too many times even today, ‘Oh she’s there because she’s black or she’s a woman’… it’s not the reality I’m worried about, it’s the perception.”

Jason Bradbury of Lgbt-friendly distribution company Peccadillo Pictures was also fearful of quotes: “I’m not sure quotas would work, it’s a dangerous route to go down.”

Writer/actor/director...

What's this? @JBoyega starring as lead in the feature film Dream Collect in South Africa and also the executive producer?! #powwww That was a tweet last night from John Boyega's manager in the UK, Femi Oguns. Nothing followed it, so I of course immediately asked Oguns for more details on this project, tagging Boyega as well, hoping one of them will respond. But, as of this morning, still no reply. I doubt that I'll get one. So this is all we have to go on right now. As the tweet states, Boyega will apparently be starring in and exec producing a South Africa-set feature film titled Dream Collect. I searched, using various combos, hoping that I'd find something...

In 2003, with just a few hundred pounds, actor Femi Oguns set up Britain's first 'black' drama school. It's now a powerhouse in the promotion of black talent to the entertainment industry here and abroad

Sandwiched between a hipster pub and an empty shop front, you are likely to hear the Identity drama school in east London before you see it. As I loiter outside, the passing traffic is punctuated with the hubbub of student recitals, which filter down from the window above. It may not compete with Rada's lavish Bloomsbury setting or Lamda's 150-year-old history, but what goes on behind these walls serves an arguably more vital and immediate purpose than any of the country's more established drama schools.

Inside, a class of students line up, their backs pushed up against the walls of the studio, the room already thick with the warmth and odour of hard work. "In," bellows...