Cuba Gooding Jr. and Wendell Pierce Join MLK Biopic 'Selma'

For a film that no longer boasts Lee Daniels in the director's chair, current helmer Ava Duvernay is gathering a high-powered cast for the MLK biopic, Selma. Already set to star David Oyelowo as the civil rights leader, with Carmen Ejogo, Tom Wilkinson, Martin Sheen, Tessa Thompson, Common, Stephan James, and Andre Holland co-starring, the film has gotten even better with the additions of Wendell Pierce and Cuba Gooding Jr.

Pierce, probably best known for memorable roles in HBO's The Wire and Treme, will take on the part of Reverend Hosea Williams, one of King's most trusted advisers. Gooding will bring his Oscar-winning chops to the role of famed civil rights activist and attorney, Fred Gray. The story chronicles King's landmark voting rights campaign in 1965, which many consider to be the height of the civil rights movement.

Oprah Winfrey and Brad Pitt are lending their considerable muscle to this one as producers, so expect it to be a a major awards player. Filming is currently underway in Atlanta. [THR/Deadline]

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Movie Review: Life of a King

For a few years now I’ve been pretty leery about seeing movies starring Cuba Gooding Jr. since I’ve usually been very let down by them. Life of a King piqued my interest since it’s based on a real story in Washington DC.  This is one of the times that I have been surprised and pleased with what I saw. While it’s another one of those movies about a person going into a school and helping kids that everyone else has forgotten about, it’s well done and in an angle different enough that it’s doesn’t become just a fill in the numbers affair.

Cuba Gooding Jr. portrays a Eugene Brown a man who just served an 18 year prison sentence and is released back into the world. While still inside he befriended a man named Searcy who taught him to change his way of thinking by using chess as a metaphor for life. Eugene, once released, has a hard time finding work until he gets a job as a high school janitor. After some issues with control in detention the principal asks Eugene to take over watching the detention class. To pass the time, and to help the kids avoid the same mistakes he made, he decides to teach them chess. From there it becomes a journey to help the kids how to play the game of chess, and of life. To show them that it's all about making the right choices to fulfill their potential. All the while he is also trying to fix his relationships with his own estranged children.

Cuba Gooding Jr. gives a great performance as Eugene here. This performance reminds you why he was in so many of those great dramas in the 90s and why he has that Academy Award. He gives a subtle performance as Eugene especially when showing his frustration and caring. The film does what you'd expect it to, but doesn’t make it too saccharine.  Gooding all but carries the film as the other actors, who are decent enough, don’t really grab you amazing. Malcolm Mays, who plays Tahime, is an exception. Mays plays a kid from a bad home who's on the line between a normal life and a life of crime and boy does he sell the struggle well. Along with Gooding’s Eugene these two characters are the main reason to watch this film.

In terms of negatives of the film Paula Jai Parker, who is usually a fine actress, doesn’t really have much to do here. Her character is just terrible and for no apparent reason. There is no depth on why she acts or continues to treat her son Tahime in the way she does. Richard T. Jones’ character Perry is also poorly handled as a temptation for Eugene to fall back into the life of this bad influence. Also the film is color corrected in a gray and very washed out way. You lose some details in the shots by going that route. It could’ve pushed the values more so that darks and lights didn’t seem so close.

All in all this is a good movie. It’s something decent to see in a month of terrible competition by the film industry as they pat themselves on the back for last fall.  Take some time to go see this in the theater or watch it on VOD you shouldn’t be disappointed. 

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Terrence Howard, Matthew McConaughey, and Cuba Gooding Jr. in talks for Lee Daniels' 'The Butler'

It's been a weird ride for Lee Daniels post-Precious. Despite all the accolades and offers coming his way, it didn't exactly make it easier for him to get projects off the ground. Rather than haggling with historical estates to get his planned biopics done, Daniels stepped into The Paperboy, which Pedro Almodovar had spent a decade developing. So the major legwork was already done. With that impressive crime flick set to premier at Cannes in just a few days, Daniels has been busy casting up his next project, and running into a few hurdles along the way.

Daniels will next direct the civil rights themed The Butler, which initially had Denzel Washington eying the lead role of Eugene Allen, the White House butler who spent decades serving under numerous administrations. The true story follows his view of the changing world from a unique, insider perspective. Denzel never panned out, and Forest Whitaker stepped into the role. Now THR reports that Matthew McConaughey, Terrence Howard, and Cuba Gooding Jr. are in talks to join the film.

With Oprah Winfrey, Jane Fonda, and John Cusack said to be confirmed, THR throws an interesting curveball into the mix. David Oyelowo, who we long thought was set to play Allen's young son(and once was rumored to play Allen himself), isn't mentioned at all in the story. It could just be an oversight. Or maybe Daniels thought it'd be a bad idea to have three Red Tails alums all in one place considering how sh*tty that film was. Variety also notes that Alan Rickman has joined the cast, playing the role of Ronald Reagan.

With an initial draft written by Danny Strong(Game Change, Recount) and redone by Daniels, there are obviously Academy Award aspirations for this one, and Whitaker in particular looks to be making his strongest move since The Last King of Scotland. Allen's story is an incredible one, first brought to our attention in 2008 just after the election of Barack Obama. Allen, who had served under eight Presidents since 1952, watched along with his wife of 65 years as the first African-American with a legitimate shot at becoming President ran for office. Unfortunately, Allen's wife passed away just before Election Day, so he was forced to cast his vote alone.

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