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BGN interviews actors Chiwetel Ejiofor and Naomie Harris for the Showtime series The Man Who Fell to Earth.
Based on the Walter Tevis novel and the iconic 1976 film that starred David Bowie, The Man Who Fell to Earth will follow a new alien character (Ejiofor) who arrives on Earth at a turning point in human evolution and must confront his own past to determine our future.
Interviewer: Jeandra LeBeauf
Video Editor: Jamie Broadnax
The Man Who Fell to Earth premieres April 24th on Showtime.
There aren’t many vocalists whose voices embody a movement; their deeply rich tone can uplift and inspire. Mahalia Jackson had that effect on those who heard her sing. Now, Ericka Nicole Malone Entertainment is giving us the opportunity to learn more about her in Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story. Written and executive produced by Ericka Nicole Malone and directed by Denise Dowe, the film takes “a poignant look into the life and rise” of an iconic gospel singer.
Grammy Award winner Ledisi stars as Mahalia Jackson. She is accompanied by Columbus Short, Janet Hubert, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Vanessa A. Williams, Keith David, Corbin Bleu, and Keith Robinson. This ensemble cast pieces together Jackson’s early childhood trauma with her devout belief that her gift was God’s and God’s alone. The film chronicles how through many adversities, Jackson never gave in to the pressures of a husband or a manager to sing any other music besides gospel.
BGN had a telephone conversation with Ledisi about playing Mahalia Jackson, the parallels between herself and the gospel singer, and whether she’d like to do more acting.
How did you get the role of Mahalia Jackson? What interested you in portraying her?
I was actually on set at Pose working in New York. I got an email asking me if I would read for this part of Mahalia from Erica Malone. I sent it to management and wasn’t really interested because I had already played Mahalia in Selma. Doing a feature … I wasn’t really sure.
My management convinced me to just go ahead and audition at least. When I did, they really wanted me for the part. I got an email from the casting director and Erica, then I was on the phone with Denise Dallas, a wonderful actress who’s now directing; I didn’t know she was connected to the film.
Talking to them reassured me that I should try. I was very nervous. On the second day, I didn’t know if I could do it because it was overwhelming, but I had a wonderful experience. I’m glad I did it. It worked out, but I didn’t look for this part. It found me.
Besides music, are there any parallels between the two of you that drew you in?
When I did Selma, I studied a lot about Mahalia, even just to sing that little part I sang. With this, I dove in deeper. It started with the music, but you have to understand the reason why she’s singing and her anointing.
It was really studying more of the Bible and particular songs and what she wanted people to be ignited from. Her purpose was to ignite, uplift, and spread the word of the gospel of the Lord. So all of that mattered. I couldn’t ignore that part. That part meant more than anything, and then when you look at her life, she never let anything get in the way of that.
It wasn’t just the words and not performing here or performing there. She had a purpose. Understanding her purpose helped me get into the part. It also taught me that’s why I do what I do. What’s my purpose? It’s always to leave a legacy that’s rich, but for her, it was to tell people about God and remind them you can win and persevere with knowing Jesus.
Was there anything that you learned about Mahalia during developing this role that surprised you or gave you a new understanding of who she was?
She was a strong businesswoman. In that era, she was about her business. She knew when she was being cheated, and she would say it. She was not hiding. She was very vocal about everything. She was a superstar.
She was huge in her presence, not just globally but also as a human. That’s why she could stand next to Martin, give advice, and be a sister-brother relationship in that whole movement. She was the great Mahalia Jackson, so that’s her power. She knew her power, and I love that part. I did understand it fully, then I got it. I love that a woman who wrote this, Erica Malone, and a woman director were very clear about making sure that other women saw this woman in that way. We didn’t focus just on her relationships. We focused on her business etiquette as well. It took women to make sure that was seen. I love that.
What was the most challenging part of filming this movie?
Filming during COVID and it turning from a short to a feature. All of that was challenging because it started one way and ended up being bigger. The forces against it were bigger, but it prevailed. We still finished our work, but it was a lot. It was a lot going on. I’m very proud of the cast and crew and Erica for believing in it in a bigger way.
You mentioned you weren’t sure about playing Mahalia. After completing your first feature, are you interested in doing more acting?
Oh, absolutely! I would love to. What I was uncomfortable with was the weight of it. I started to understand the weight. It had nothing to do with being a feature. It was the weight of a character. Who wants to play Mahalia? Yeah, go ahead. No joke. I’m R&B. Gospel is different, so you really have to understand what you are doing.
Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story premiered Tuesday, April 19, 2022, at the 30th Annual Pan African Film & Arts Festival in Los Angeles, California. Tickets for the festival viewing are available here and make sure you keep your ear to the ground to find out when this film will come to a screen near you.
Writer: Jeff Lemire / Artist: Dustin Nguyen / Image
Jeff Lemire is out here just forcing me to confront the fact that I actually love horror. I love the visceral viscera. I love the tension of humanity and monstrosity. I love how the genre is grounded in a more defined atmosphere, a very specific space with a very specific confrontation. Little Monsters #2 is perhaps the perfect embodiment of this exact atmospheric, adrenaline inducing world, and it’s incredible how much more invested I got into the survival of the last kids on earth (who happen to be vampires).
Little Monsters #2 opens with a flashback all the way back to 1763, where we actually get to witness the start of the vampire pack in the eerily named Black Forest. Given the snowy setting, the chopping of wood, and the eventual conclusion of events, I get a little bit of Nezuko from Demon Slayer vibes, and I mean that in the best way possible. The innocent being corrupted by the malevolent is a fascinating trope to view, and Lemire’s exposition gives it a decidedly unique tone and almost treats the curse as a type of kindness.
After that interlude, we return back to the present, where we get some vignettes with Romie and Billy before their actions incite the group to come together as a whole, and then the story just accelerates in an entirely different vector. The last page reveal changes the trajectory of the story dramatic, and Lemire pulls off the pivot perfectly.
Nguyen’s artwork is absolutely phenomenal. The black and white pages with very intentional use of color makes each a spectacle. It’s utterly enthralling how the various volumes of red change the intensity and tone of the moment, and the use of kinder blues, greens, and orange help indicate that these are still children at heart, even if their teeth indicate that they are capable of more violent actions. The somber moments of sadness and the scary moments of sadism stand out in different measures and makes for a thrilling second chapter.
Little Monsters #2 has officially sunk its teeth into me. It’s a brilliantly constructed, expertly illustrated comic that any horror fan deserves to be current on.
9.4 “Axes” out of 10
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Writer: Chip Zdarsky / Artist: Marco Checchetto / Marvel Comics
Vengeance has been the name of the game in Devil’s Reign, and this final issue ramps that bloodlust up to Stain levels in these Marvel streets. The big difference this time is that the hate filled motivation comes from our titular character, Daredevil himself.
This 6-issue mini-series contained a lot of fun plot threads surrounding Kingpin’s mission of memory altering vengeance. While I enjoyed this story, there seemed to be some missed opportunities on the part of Chip Zdarsky, who I absolutely love as a writer. Perhaps the scope was too small, which is rarely a critique for most modern superhero tales. Perhaps the scope was just right but didn’t include enough voices to make this feel like a genuine Marvel comic book “event.” And perhaps I’m just mad there was minimal X-Men action in Devil’s Reign #6, but I digress. Let’s jump into what went down.
Off the strength of Checchetto’s first couple of fire pages of Devil’s Reign #6, you know this issue is about to be a bloody affair. Captain America taking on an evil Wolverine Doc Oc from another universe, The Purple Man mind controlling hundreds of civilians right into harm’s way, and Daredevil with murderous intentions in his eyes after finding out that Wilson Fisk just murdered his brother in cold blood, after impersonating him this whole time.
As arguably the most pious high-profile Marvel character, it was very intriguing to see Matt Murdock fight his demons desire for revenge. As Daredevil and Kingpin went toe to toe, your mind really wondered if one of them was going to step over that line there’s no coming back from. A huge chunk of this book wound up a brutal slugfest reminiscent of an attitude era Big Show vs. Shawn Michaels type matchup and I was here for every bruise, busted lip, kick, and haymaker!
The results of the title match will divide fans on how a story like this should close out, and things were a tad too tidy by the turn of the last page; however, it was a fun ride to get there. Despite Marco Checchetto’s gorgeous artwork all throughout this 6-issue run, we won’t be calling Devil’s Reign the book that erased the bad taste Civil War II left in fan’s mouths like I once hoped, but it is one that will allow fans to keep saying Daredevil always has the best written stories in Marvel.
7 Convict Calvary’s out of 10
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