News Analysis India

Tag: Kelvin Harrison Jr

  • Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr to lead ‘The Lion King’ prequel from Barry Jenkins 

    By PTI

    LOS ANGELES:  Filmmaker Barry Jenkins has roped in actor Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr for two major roles in his upcoming prequel movie to “The Lion King”.

    The Oscar-winning director will direct the new project from a script by Jeff Nathanson, who had also worked on the Jon Favreau-directed 2019 live-action movie, which was a remake of the 1994 animated classic, reported Deadline.

    The logline is being kept under wraps, but it is expected that the film will further explore the mythology of the characters, including Mufasa’s origin story.

    Pierre, who recently worked with Jenkins on the historical TV series “The Underground Railroad”, will voice Mufasa, a role that was earlier played by veteran actor James Earl Jones in both the 1994 and 2019 films.

    Harrison Jr, best known for starring in filmmaker Trey Edward Shults’ drama “Waves”, will portray Scar, whose birth-name is Taka.

    The untitled prequel will continue with the photorealistic animation technology that Favreau used for the live-action remake.

    Voice starring Donald Glover as Simba and Beyonce as Nala, the 2019 film was a massive hit for the studio.

    Pierre was most recently seen in M Night Shyamalan’s “Old” and Jenkins’ Amazon series “The Underground Railroad”.

    Harrison Jr will next star in filmmaker Joe Wright’s “Cyrano”.

    He is also playing the late singer-songwriter BB King in upcoming Elvis Presley biopic, being helmed by Baz Luhrmann.

  • Searchlight Pictures’ film ‘Chevalier de Saint-Georges’ adds Minnie Driver

    By PTI

    LOS ANGELES: Oscar-nominated actor Minnie Driver has joined the cast of Searchlight Picture’s movie “Chevalier de Saint-Georges.”

    Driver will feature alongside Kelvin Harrison Jr, Samara Weaving and Lucy Boynton in the movie, which will be directed by Stephen Williams from an original script by Stefani Robinson, reported Deadline.

    The true-life period drama centres on Joseph Bologne, or the Chevalier de Saint-Georges (Harrison Jr), who is known as the Black Mozart.

    Born in the Caribbean, Bologne was the illegitimate son of a plantation owner and a slave who was then educated in France and became a fencing master, which served as an entree into French high society.

    With his music and operas, he ascended to the upper echelons of Marie Antoinette’s Paris society until a court scandal laid him low.

    Driver will play La Guimard, a favourite dancer of Queen Marie Antoinette (Boynton) who took exception to the Chevalier’s rise.

    Weaving will be starring as Marie-Josephine, a woman who yearns for creative fulfilment outside of her empty, loveless marriage and defies her controlling husband to become the voice of Bologne’s opera.

    The movie will be produced by Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe of Element Pictures along with Robinson and Dianne McGunigle.

    Driver, who was nominated for an Oscar for performance in “Good Will Hunting”, currently stars in Amazon’s anthology show “Modern Love”.

    She will be next seen in “Cinderella”, alongside Camila Cabello, Pierce Brosnan, James Corden and Billy Porter.