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What happens when you win an Academy Award? Life is filled with a bounty of rewards -- for some. For others, it's back to basics.
Since winning an Oscar for best actor in 2006 for his performance as dictator Idi Amin in 'The Last King of Scotland,' Forest Whitaker hasn't had much luck landing a release date for his others films. With the exception of 'Street Kings,' which also stars Keanu Reeves, Common, and Cedric the Entertainer, Whitaker's other movies have gone straight to DVD or are in limbo.
Most recently, Nikke Finke's Deadlinehollywooddaily mentioned that the Weinstein Co. has yet to set a release date for 'Hurricane Season,' which Whitaker filmed after winning an Oscar. The film was slated to be released last Christmas, when studios were vying for Oscar nominations but was pushed back until March 2008. Well, March has come and gone and still no release. The film, directed by Tim Story, who's coming off back-to-back blockbusters with the 'Fantastic Four' films, was also supposed to feature rapper Lil' Wayne's acting debut. To add more weight to the project, Taraji P. Henson, who was nominated last year for 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,' is also in the film.
'Hurricane' is the exciting true story of an unlikely group of high school basketball champions who, in the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, learn the true meaning of survival.
This is the first of several post-Oscar Whitaker films that has been stuck in limbo. ''Winged Creatures,' which also stars Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson, Kate Beckinsale, Guy Pearce and Dakota Fanning, doesn't have a release date and rumors are that it's going straight to DVD. Pearce Arch Films produced that film.
A few weeks ago, 'Powder Blue' was released on DVD. Whitaker is part of an ensemble that includes Jessica Biel, Patrick Swayze, Lisa Kudrow, Ray Liotta and Sanaa Lathan.
Whitaker is currently shooting 'Family Wedding' for Fox Searchlight. The movie pairs him with America Ferrera, Lance Gross and Regina King. More than likely, that film will hit theaters in 2010.
In an earlier interview, Oscar Winner Lou Gossett Jr. told Black Voices that roles weren't coming his way after his win for best supporting actor in 'An Officer and a Gentlemen.' He stated, "Not me. My friends did. I didn't get the work I thought I was going to get. It was a bit of a struggle for me. There are still not enough films about our history. We are still playing catch up. My peers like Paul Newman, Marlon Brando and Gregory Peck had a chance to do European history by doing films such as 'Napoleon' and 'Alexander the Great.' They got their rocks off. African Americans didn't get a chance to do history on the big screen."
In an unrelated matter, Ice Cube is still seeking a distributor for his latest film 'Janky Promoters,' after Dimension Films decided to sell the film instead of releasing it.
With the closing of Senator Films last week, Antoine Fuqua's film, 'Brooklyn Finest,' no longer has a distributor. The film was picked up following its showing at the Sundance Film Festival and would have marked a comeback for Wesley Snipes, who stars in it with Don Cheadle and Richard Gere. The company also had the Michael Sheen-Samuel Jackson thriller 'Unthinkable,' in its slate.
Comments: (5)
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By: coleman on 6/18/2009 1:43AM
Give them the typical spring or fall release date, and go on with your business.
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By: sandra on 6/19/2009 8:09PM
I agree with you. Unfortunately, this is a sign of the continued racism that the African-American artistic community experinces when they don't ascribe to the sterotypes imposed by the status quo.
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By: Selina Kelly on 6/19/2009 3:05PM
Its a shame that so many talented people of color cant't get their films out to the public. When it comes to the African American, its back page. What would happend if all the people of color just stoped going to the movies for a month or longer to let the film industry realize that a lot of people of color go to the movies. I say, stop going until all people of color get the same breaks. When we stand up and say enough is enough then a change can happend. These are great actors and why shouldn't they get the same breaks?
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By: kando on 6/19/2009 9:04PM
I understand the name of the game is how many fannies can the stars put in the seats. The powers that be in hollywood still put blinders over their eyes when the cast is mainly black or hispanic. Melvin van peebles prove them wrong in the pass with his movie, sweetback which made hugh sums of money from the black audience. Blacks make up a good chunk of the money they make, and it's fool hearty of them to forget that. Blacks start to keep their fannies out of them seats, no doubt a lot of those movies will start to be seen in the movie houses because at this point, they are taking our buying power for granted, presuming that everyone always want to see white movies. Get real!!
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By: sharkchops on 6/23/2009 9:09AM
Blacks in the entertainment field need to start putting their money together and start our own film industry. Production companies are not enough. All the other ethnicities have their own film markets watched primarily by their own people. Asian, mexican, european, indian. Even Africans have an burgeoning industry now. African Americans need to get it together and stop waiting for white Hollywood to give them parts in their movies. We're still begging for nanny roles when we've proven we are just as good at lead roles as the Streeps and Redfords. When we have our own industry making great films and huge profits, Hollywood will come calling with hat in hand, begging to buy our scripts so they can make lousy remakes.
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