How David and Jessica Oyelowo Turned Hollywood Frustration Into a Disney Production Deal

It’s a studio ritual almost as old as Hollywood: announce a production deal right before the release of a filmmaker’s new movie. For David and Jessica Oyelowo’s Yoruba/Saxon, the twinning of “The Water Man” (David’s directorial debut, which opened theatrically last week) and a two-year first-look Disney deal is more than industry rite. After seven years and six films, it means that the industry has started to catch up to them.

Like many actors, the Oyelowos created a company to improve their own opportunities. In their case, the struggles they faced mirrored a much larger one. “One of the main reasons we wanted to start the company was to have a voice and to provide a place for voices that weren’t being heard,” Jessica said in a recent interview with IndieWire. “For Hollywood to finance certain projects, they required a certain perspective on someone else’s story. We were looking at this as actors thinking, ‘How can we be the voice? How can we be the protagonist in our own stories when there’s always somebody else’s point of view to tell our stories?’ And particularly for Black voices. It’s been a massive problem for such a long time.”

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'Soul' Review: Pixar's First Film With A Black Lead Is A Dazzling Journey About Dreams And Commitment

In 2020, many people no longer adhere to archaic understandings of life paths and the impact that one individual can make on the world. Though life certainly isn't without its challenges, many of us are beginning to understand that you can have many passions, journeys, and dreams throughout your lifetime. If you are lucky and brave enough to embark on one or more of them, then you've really lived. In Disney/Pixar's latest film, Soul co-directors Pete Doctors and Kemp Powers remind the wisest and youngest among us that life isn't about the destination; it's about the journey.

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Disney+ is spending billions on sequels, reboots and remakes. But where are the new ideas?

For years, Hollywood has leaned into reboots and remakes, trying to put a newer spin on classics like "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" or "The Italian Job" — and some have even been wildly successful, like Al Pacino's turn in "Scarface" (a remake of the 1932 movie) and the Bradley Cooper-directed "A Star Is Born." Still, others almost certainly could've been left in the past, since the original versions were and are easily accessible for current and future generations to enjoy at their leisure.

Yet, reboots and remakes aren't going away anytime soon. And in these unprecedented times, when regularly going out to the movies may very well become a relic of the past, Disney has decided to double down on its reboot efforts in a significant way. Deadline reported the company will be spending $14 billion to $16 billion for new content — but few new ideas — on its Disney +, Hulu and ESPN+ streaming services by 2024.

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‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’ Coulda Been A Bad B*tch

It’s always intriguing to examine Disney fairytales through the perspective of the villains. Five years ago with her sharp cheekbones and spectacular horns, we fell in love with Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent. Now years later with this Maleficent: Mistress of Evil movie review–-we expected the “good girl” to go bad again. Unfortunately, instead of the diabolical dark fey that we grew to love–the follow up to Maleficent showcases the powerful fairy in a much more reserved light.

Picking up years after the first film–we find Aurora (Elle Fanning) living as the Queen of the Moors. There’s been peace for many years and with an impending marriage between Prince Phillip (Harris Dickinson) and Aurora, there is hope that the Moors and the prince’s kingdom might be formally united in peace once and for all. However, as we all know–we cannot simply skip to the “happily ever after.”

While Jolie’s Maleficent still gets rilled up when she feels threatened or when the connection that she and Aurora share is hanging precariously in the balance–she’s not actually the villain in this mistitled film. Instead, that honor goes to Prince Philip’s diabolical mother– Queen Ingrith (Michelle Pfeiffer). Rather than centering the film on Maleficent and all of the ways she’s misunderstood–or giving her a better Achilles’ heel than iron– the villainous crown in this flick goes to Pfeiffer’s Queen Ingrith.

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Image: Disney.

Yes, We’ve Seen ‘The Lion King’ Before But This Movie Is Next Level

From the moment the light rose on screen, and the animals begin singing “The Circle Of Life,” I knew this film would be something special. Disney’s The Lion King 2019 movie will be adored by generations of people– those who have been enamored with the 1994 animated film since it debuted, and a slew of others who are newcomers to the tale.

No matter when you first discovered Simba’s story, the live-action Lion King will leave you speechless. There has been a ton of anticipation surrounding the return to Pride Rock. The Lion King is one of the most-beloved from Disney’s vault. Therefore, there was a great deal of pressure on director Jon Favreau to make sure that the film looked terrific visually–while maintaining the integrity of the story.

The craftsmanship in 2019’s The Lion King is breathtaking. The CGI looks so hyperrealistic that the audience will feel like they’re in Subsaharan Africa right along with the animals. Though there is some sameness when it comes to the lions’ coloring –the distinctive voices of James Earl Jones’ Mufasa, Donald Glover’s adult Simba, and Chiwetel Ejiofor’s sinister Scar are enough to distinguish them easily. Also, the majority of the audience will know the story well–so there should be little cause for confusion.

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The new 'Little Mermaid,' Halle Bailey, is Disney's second Black princess. Her casting is real magic to some girls.

In 1997, millions of Black girls watched in awe as actress and singer Brandy Norwood was transformed into the iconic princess, Cinderella, in the television movie version of the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic musical. Delivering outstanding vocals, Norwood (and a diverse cast that included Whitney Houston as the Fairy Godmother and Filipino-American actor Paolo Montalbán as Prince Christopher) gave millions of kids (and adults) the chance to see themselves reflected in a fairy tale for the first time.

Now, more than 20 years later, and 10 years after adding its first and only Black princess to its roster, Disney is about to do it again.

Disney announced on Wednesday that they had cast 19-year-old singer and actor Halle Bailey as Ariel in their forthcoming live-action version of “The Little Mermaid.” The animated feature, released in 1989, is still one of Disney's most beloved films and features a rebellious mermaid who is desperate to escape her constrained life under the sea to live above water with humans.

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Image: Instagram

‘Inside Out’ Is the Children’s Movie Millennials Needed In the ’90s

It was an astounding feat when Inside Out debuted in theaters four years ago. It was almost as if someone realized that kids were people too. When we think of children’s movies–the ’80s and ’90s were full of classics. It was the era that gave us The Lion King, Oliver and Company, Beauty & the Beast, and The Great Mouse Detective, among others. However, despite the legendary soundtracks and the way our hearts shattered after Mufasa’s death–children’s movies of the 20th century were still very much centered around giving generic life lessons or pushing the narrative that girls needed to be rescued by boys. Luckily, society has gotten some sense knocked into it, and these days we’re getting much more nuanced stories like Brave, Zootopia, and The Incredibles. However, Inside Out truly pushed the envelope when it comes to kiddy flicks.

The movie followed 11-year old Riley whose life is uprooted when her father gets a new job, and she and her parents move from Minnesota to San Francisco. Change is difficult for anyone, but for adolescents and teens, in particular, they can be exceptionally challenging. Instead of just analyzing Riley’s brain on a surface level, the movie does a deep dive into her psyche where we meet the five emotions, Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust.

It’s these emotions that rule Riley’s world–but what Disney does that’s so profound, which is why the movie resonates well across generations, is that there is actual psychology behind the storytelling. Even as an adult, it can be challenging to sort through your feelings, and it can be particularly jarring when you realize that you’re feeling more than one emotion at once. Thankfully, Disney and Pixar decided to give us the perfect visual of what this might look like if our feelings were human-like figures running rampant in our brains.

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Image: Disney.

Will Smith Is the Best Part of the Live-Action ‘Aladdin’—Honestly, Truly

So you know we had to do it. We saw the live-action version of Disney’s Aladdin and here’s a reviewof our many thoughts. When Disney first announced that they were bringing the epic tale of Princess Jasmine and the thief from Agrabah to the big screen, we were a bit taken aback. After all,Aladdin is a ’90s classic from our childhoods, and since Robin Williams passed away in 2014, we had no idea who would take over the legendary role of Genie.

As more details about the Guy Ritchie-led film began to leak to the press, we’re just going to admit that our uncertainty grew. There were whispers about the cast not being Middle-Eastern or North African enough for their roles, and once the first photos leaked people literally rioted on the internet.

However, we knew we had to give Aladdin a chance–the man has a magic carpet after all–and we’re glad we did. Despite that tragic top-knot and Yaki braid, Will Smith is legendary as Genie. He makes the character his own, adding a bit of the flair and charm that Robin Williams delivered in 1992. Also, the animation is genuinely extraordinary. When you consider what the animated film looked like and juxtapose it against this flick less than 30-years later, Disney deserves a reward. Aladdin isn’t perfect. It’s a bit too long at 2 hours and 8 minutes, the opening sequence is puzzling, the soundtrack is full of autotune, and we couldn’t really take Jafar serious as a legit villain, but it has a lot of the whimsy of the original.

Feel free to dive into the Cave of Wonders with 7 magical things we love about the live-action Aladdin.

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The Cast Of 'The Lion King' On Broadway Unpack The Show's Majestic Blackness And Its Incredible 20-Year Legacy

For twenty years, Simba’s coming of age story has reigned on the Broadway stage. I saw it once as a child in the mid-'90s and again a few weeks ago to celebrate the show’s 20th anniversary. The experience was even more magnetic than I'd remembered. As the sun rises (literally) over the darkened theater, actress Tshidi Manye’s voice reigns out loud and clear as she belts, "Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba" opening the show with the iconic song "The Circle of Life." And with that, the audience is transported to Africa's Sahara. Giraffes move nimbly across the stage, and birds and elephants come swooping up through the aisles. It's enchanting to watch the majority black cast electrify the audience. It’s an experience that has become ingrained in actors Lindiwe Dlamini, James Brown-Orleans and Bonita Hamilton -- veterans of the show. Dlamini has been with the show since it opened in 1997. A lioness and shadow puppets operator, the South African native also acts as a den mother helping to integrate newer cast members into the show. Brown-Orleans and Hamilton aren’t novices either. Brown-Orleans has been with the production for sixteen years handling the puppets and portraying the hyena Banzai, while Hamilton has been with The Lion King for fourteen years as the hyena Shenzi. All three of the actors sat down to chat with Shadow and Act about The Lion King’s legacy and what the show has meant to them.

For Hamilton, The Lion King was an awakening. "It's one of the first shows that I'd ever seen," she said. "I saw it when it was in LA like in 1998 when I was in graduate school. I was sitting there, and I was watching it and it was the most amazing thing that I had ever seen in my life. The whole show I was like, ‘I don't know who I would play or what I would do in this show, but somehow I have to be a part of it.’ I'm from Montgomery, Alabama, and I had never seen such African influences on stage and African American excellence on stage. I'd never witnessed anything like that. It was a coming of age thing for me. I also think that it resonates with audiences throughout the world because it transcends. It transcends cultural barriers, race barriers and age barriers."

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