Category Archives: biography

Jaafar Jackson Stars as “Michael”

biography, drama, legend, music, , , , ,

Written by John Logan and directed by Antoine Fuqua, Michael follows the life and legacy of the influential artist Michael Jackson.

From the producers of Bohemian Rhapsody, the film production is in good hands. Fuqua orchestrates a cinematic story of Jackson’s life, delving deeper than his music, tracing his journey from his childhood singing discovery to his role as lead singer of the Jackson Five. He eventually becomes a visionary artist whose creative ambition rocketed his relentless pursuit to become one of the biggest entertainers in the world.

The film highlights his life on and off stage, featuring solid, iconic performances from his solo career. Jackson’s nephew Jaafar plays his uncle with striking and realistic visuals of a story never told before.

Miles Teller, Nia Long, and Colman Domingo also star in Michael.

Notable films by director Fuqua include Emancipation, The Magnificent Seven (remake), The Equalizer, and Southpaw.

Screenwriter Logan has an impressive list of films as well, including Skyfall, The Aviator, Gladiator, and Rango.

Unstoppable

“Unstoppable” Turning Challenges into Strength

based on a book, biography, sports, true stories, , , , ,

Inspiring Lessons from Anthony Robles’ Journey

Based on the book Unstoppable: From Underdog to Undefeated: How I Became a Champion by Anthony Robles and Austin Murphy, Unstoppable follows Robles, played by Jharrel Jerome, as a champion wrestler. Despite being born without a right leg, Robles became an NCAA Division 1 Champion wrestler, ultimately winning a national championship against the school that rejected him, national powerhouse Iowa.

Cast and Characters in Unstoppable

William Goldenberg directed Unstoppable, which features an all-star cast that includes Jharrel Jerome, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, Anthony Robles, Don Cheadle and Jennifer Lopez. The story celebrates the glory of overcoming all obstacles to win.

Goldenberg is best known for his editing talents, for which he won an Oscar for the movie Argo.

Pharrell Williams

“Piece By Piece” Unique LEGO Animation Style

animation, biography, comedy, documentary, true stories
Piece by Piece Lego movie about Pharrell Williams

Pharrell Williams always saw music as a portal to another dimension. He imagined wondrous swirls of sound and color that immersed him in another world.

Lego Movie about Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams stars in director Morgan Neville’s PIECE BY PIECE, a Focus Features release.
Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC

What Is Piece by Piece About?

In Piece By Piece, Morgan Neville brings to life the global icon’s singular way of seeing, in vivid color, against the grain. The film opens up a new form of the cinematic experience. 

The film is Pharrell’s brainchild, and he adamantly believes that anyone can bring their dreams to life. LEGO animation tells his story, an improbable idea if audaciously original. The film deftly flits between genres to create a new animated biopic about an inimitable superstar. 

Pharrell Williams stars in director Morgan Neville’s PIECE BY PIECE, a Focus Features release.
Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC

The Life and Career of Pharrell Williams

In the film, Pharrell tells his story in a way he has never done before. He recounts his journey as a young dreamer from the projects of Virginia Beach. He wills his way to success and redefines the sounds and styles of multiple generations in hip-hop and beyond.

Pharrell Williams stars in director Morgan Neville’s PIECE BY PIECE, a Focus Features release.
Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC

Memorable Moments and Visual Storytelling

Pharrell shares this incredible journey with superstars from Jay-Z and Missy Elliott to Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar. Explore raw, behind-the-scenes moments from Pharrell’s life, reimagined in Neville’s cinematic vision through playfully vibrant animation.

It is a kaleidoscopic jukebox odyssey that reveals Pharrell’s inner world and some of his most iconic creations.

Other films directed by Morgan Neville:

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

They’ll Love Me When I am Dead

STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces

Ridley Scott's Napoleon

“Napoleon: The Director’s Cut” Performances That Shine

Apple TV, biography, drama, historical, ,

What Does the Director’s Cut Add?

Napoleon: The Director’s Cut stars Joaquin Phoenix as the French emperor and military leader. The film is a fresh and personal look at Napoleon’s origins and swift, ruthless climb to the emperor, viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine, played by Vanessa Kirby.

Napoleon and Josephine

Napoleon’s passionate and often turbulent relationship with Josephine is at the heart of the story. The film presents their relationship as a key influence on both his personal life and political decisions.

Napoleon extended edition

The film highlights key events in Napoleon’s life, such as the Siege of Toulon and his imperial coronation. Among the events in the movie are the Battle of Austerlitz, the invasion of Russia, his first exile to Elba, the Battle of Waterloo, and his eventual defeat.

Vanessa Kirby

What Is Different in the Director’s Cut?

The Director’s Cut significantly elevates the theatrical release. Director Ridley Scott introduces new material, delivering a far more penetrating exploration of Napoleon’s ambitions, military genius, and complex personal life.

The director’s cut also delves deeper into Josephine’s origin story and features more extravagant costumes, new, larger-than-life sets, and the previously unreleased Battle of Marengo scene.

The audience is also given more details about Napoleon’s demise, from his attempted assassination to his failed invasion of Russia.

Disney The Beach Boys

“The Beach Boys” Documentary

biography, Disney+, documentary

If you are lucky enough to have Disney+, catch the documentary celebrating The Beach Boys.

Frank Marshall directed the film about the legendary band that turned pop music on its ear. The iconic boy band created a harmonious sound that personified the California dream. Generations after generations listened to their music.

The documentary follows the band’s humble beginnings with family and features footage you may not have seen before. The film includes new interviews with the band and other luminaries in the business.

Firebrand with Jude Law and Alicia Vikander

“Firebrand” Jude Law and Alicia Vikander

based on a book, biography, British, drama, historical, true stories, , , ,

Karim Aïnouz directed Firebrand, based on a screenplay by Jessica Ashworth and Henrietta Ashworth from the 2013 novel Queen’s Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle. 

The story is about the royal relationship in blood-soaked Tudor England. Twice married, accomplished, and educated, Katherine Parr, played by Alicia Vikander. She reluctantly agrees to become the sixth wife of the tyrannical King Henry VIII, played by Jude Law. 

Katherine’s decision to marry Henry carries immense personal risk, considering the fate of her predecessors, who were either divorced, beheaded, or dead. Her situation becomes even more perilous when Henry appoints her as regent, the nation’s ruler, during his absence for overseas battles, setting her on a treacherous path. 

Amid Henry’s court’s political intrigue, Katherine’s sympathies for the radical Protestant beliefs that have taken root in the kingdom spark suspicion. The courtiers, fearing the threat to their power, conspire against her and sow seeds of doubt about her loyalty to the increasingly ailing and paranoid king. 

Once Henry returns to England, his courtiers convince him to turn his fury on the nation’s radicals, including Katherine’s childhood friend Anne Askew, played by Erin Doherty. Anne becomes one of the many people convicted of treason and burned at the stake. 

Horrified and privately grieving, Katherine finds herself under ever-increasing scrutiny and suspicion. Knowing that even a whisper of scandal might lead to her downfall, Katherine must unleash her own scheme to fight for survival. 

Other supporting cast include Eddie Marsan, Simon Russell Beale and Sam Riley.

Aïnouz is an award-winning director and screenwriter. Firebrand is his first British/American film. 

What is the Movie “Lee” About?

biography, drama, , , , ,

I had the pleasure of meeting Ellen Kuras at a film festival, where we were both on a panel discussing women and minorities in film. It was shortly after 9/11, and Kuras talked about her experience. Living across the water, she invited friends who had no place to stay after the horrific incident to her large home. Together, they watched the smoking rubble. Surprisingly, Kuras said it was both depressing and healing. 

Since the film festival, Kuras and I stayed in touch at first, with me lining up an interview with a now-defunct film website. The last time I heard about her was when she received an Oscar nomination for the documentary The Betrayal, which she co-wrote, co-directed, and also shot. Kuras has won many awards for her cinematography. Kuras directs Lee based on a pivotal decade in the life of American war correspondent and photographer Lee Miller, played by Kate Winslet. Miller’s singular talent and unbridled tenacity resulted in some of the 20th century’s most memorable images of war, including an iconic photo of Miller herself, posing defiantly in Hitler’s private bathtub.

Miller had a profound understanding and empathy for women and the voiceless victims of war. Her images display both the fragility and ferocity of the human experience. Above all, the film shows how Miller lived her life at full throttle in pursuit of truth, for which she paid a huge personal price. This forced her to confront a traumatic and deeply buried secret from her childhood.

The supporting cast includes Josh O’Connor, Andrea Riseborough, Andy Samberg, Alexander Skarsgård and Marion Cotillard.

When I saw that Kuras had directed this film, I was super excited for her and delighted at her success. 

“Steve! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces”

Apple TV, biography, documentary
Steve Martin in the early days.

STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces explores his extraordinary life from two distinct points. The film includes never-before-seen footage with raw insights into Steve Martin’s professional and personal life.

The film focuses on his struggles to a meteoric rise, revolutionizing stand up and walking away at 35.

The documentary also presents what he is doing today, retracing his transformation.

“Frida” Documentary Poster and Images

biography, documentary,

Ron Howard and his producing buddy Brian Grazer bring us an intimate, raw, and magical journey through the life, mind, and heart of iconic artist Frida Kahlo. Frida is told through her own words for the first time, drawn from her famed illustrated diary, revealing letters, essays, and candid print interviews — and brought vividly to life by lyrical animation inspired by her unforgettable artwork. The feature-film directorial debut of acclaimed editor Carla Gutiérrez, Frida posits a striking context for why the artist—and her art—remains as powerful as ever.

Howard directed the documentary about legendary opera singer Luciano Pavarotti, and he’s continued the genre as a producer.

Spanning over 40 years of her life, the filmmakers received unrestricted access to research materials that had never been shown to the public before. What is extraordinary about Kahlo’s life and art is how her images would galvanize multiple generations of admirers worldwide, doing more than solidifying her status as a modern artist of timeless import.

In an intensive two-year journey, Gutiérrez and her formidable team of artisans, primarily women and proudly Latine, gathered together to craft a singular cinematic experience that could be no ordinary art history lesson. A living portrait emboldened by the magical realism befitting Kahlo’s remarkable life emerges. Yet, her voice ultimately stands supreme, a complex and powerful sound of many Fridas: fearless, seductive, defiant, vulnerable, raucous, and wonderfully alive.

“Back to Black” The Story of Amy Winehouse

biography, drama, music, true stories,

We know the end of this story is sad, but the film Back to Black is a pseudo-celebration of the talented artist Amy Winehouse, played by Marisa Abela.

Marisa Abela as Amy Winehouse and Jack O’Connell as Blake Fielder-Civil in BACK TO BLACK, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Dean Rogers/Focus Features.

Love and Heartbreak

Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, the movie portrays her turbulent relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil, played by Jack O’Connell, which motivates her to write and record the groundbreaking album Back to Black.

Marisa Abela and director Sam Taylor-Johnson on the set of BACK TO BLACK, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Dean Rogers/Focus Features.

A Tribute to a Lasting Legacy

The Amy Winehouse biopic follows her rise to fame, focusing on her influential album Back to Black. The narrative also delves into her battles with addiction and the demands of fame. It highlights the emotional and artistic path that shaped her music, as well as the influence of her lifestyle decisions.

Sam Taylor-Johnson’s films include: Fifty Shades of Grey, Nowhere Boy, and A Million Little Pieces. Like Back to Black, Nowhere Boy is a biopic. The story takes a slice of John Lennon’s life during his teenage years, focusing and his conflicts with his mother.