Oscar-caliber director Barry Jenkins is working with Fox Searchlight on a new biopic.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jenkins, who directed the Academy Award winning “Moonlight,” and followed up that with last year’s “If Beale Street Could Talk” (which made my top 10 list) is now working on a biopic about Alvin Ailey. A choreographer and dancer, Ailey was an influential artist who received Kennedy Center Honors and, posthumously, the Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama.
THR reports the movie will be based on “Alvin Ailey: A Life in Dance,” a biography written by Jennifer Dunning. Additionally, THR reports the film will be in cooperation with the Alvin Ailoey Dance Theater for choreography.
The script for the movie was written by Julian Breece, according to THR.
In other Hollywood news, stars Matt Damon and Christian Bale are teaming up for a 2019 biopic. THR reports the duo are playing automotive experts Carroll Shelby (Damon) and Ken Miles (Bale).
THR reports the film, titled “Ford V. Ferrari,” will focus on the duo building a new racing car fast enough to surpass the Ferrari. The film is directed by James Mangold and will hit theaters Nov. 15.
Watch the trailer here:
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Coming to theaters this past weekend was the King of the Monsters, “Godzilla.” A sequel to the 2014 picture, this “Godzilla” hauled in $49 million for its first weekend.
Unfortunately, though, it was somewhat disappointing. The 2014 movie made $93.1 million in its first weekend and another movie in the monster-universe, “Kong: Skull Island,” opened with $61 million.
Additionally, the “Jurassic World” creature features opening in the time in between, easily out-grossed both the “Godzilla” opening weekends, with the first making $208 million and the sequel earning $148 million.
The full top five for the weekend was:
1. Godzilla: King of the Monsters – $49,025,000
2. Aladdin – $42,335,000
3. Rocketman – $25,000,000
4. Ma – $18,260,000
5. John Wick 3 – $11,100,000
For the upcoming weekend, meanwhile, new releases are “X-Men: Dark Phoenix” and the animated sequel “The Secret Life of Pets 2.”
On the small screen, home releases this week are:
- Gloria Bell, Rotten Tomatoes rating: 91%.
- A Madea Family Funeral, Rotten Tomatoes rating: 12%.
Matthew Liedke on Film 