- Original name: Judas and the black messiah
- Country: USA
- Genre: drama, biography, history
- Producer: Sh. King
- World premiere: January 29, 2021
- Starring: D. Fishback, J. Plemons, D. Kaluya, L. Stanfield, M. Shin, E. Sanders, L. Rel Hoveri, E. Smith, R. Longstreet, J. Fowler, and others.
The trailer for Judas and the Black Messiah was released on Friday, August 7, 2020. The biopic tells the story of Fred Hampton, deputy chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party, who was killed in 1969 by a Cook County tactical unit on orders from the FBI and the Chicago Police Department. In particular, we will talk about Fred's betrayal by the FBI informant William O'Neill. Fred Hampton is played by Oscar nominee Daniel Kaluuya. The release date for Judas and the Black Messiah, scripted by Lucas Velazquez, is expected in early 2021. The details of the plot, the cast and the behind-the-scenes crew have already been announced, and there's even footage from the set!
Expectations rating - 94%.
About the plot
Criminal William O'Neill, in an attempt to avoid confinement, agrees to a deal with the FBI. He is sent to monitor the activities of the radical organization "Black Panthers" in Chicago. O'Neill is rubbing into the credibility of their leader, Fred Hampton, and begins to sow discord from within.
On the night of December 4, 1969, at 4:45 am, a group of police raided an apartment in Chicago, Illinois, where Fred Hampton, a prominent political activist for the Black Panther, was sleeping. The night ended with Hampton shot dead in a pool of his own blood.
Fred Hampton was the chairman of the Illinois branch of the national Black Panther Party. He founded the Rainbow Coalition, a multicultural political organization that has allied with the BPP and the big Chicago street gangs. The Hampton was declared a national threat by the FBI.
Production
The director and co-writer of the script is Shaka King ("High with Delivery", "Upstart", "Earthlings").
Voiceover team:
- Screenplay: S. King, Will Berson (The Clinic), Keith Lucas (Developmental Delay), etc .;
- Producers: W. Berson, Jason Clot ("Joker", "Drug Courier"), Ryan Coogler ("Creed: Rocky's Legacy", "Fruitvale Station"), etc .;
- Cinematography: Sean Bobbitt (12 Years a Slave, Trash, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, The Place Beyond the Pines, The Queen of Katwe);
- Artists: Sam Lysenko (Sweet Francis, Diamonds in Rough), Jeremy Woolsey (Hidden Figures, Pitch Perfect, A Million Hand), Charlize Antonietta Jones (Raising Dione, Dangerous Passenger, "See you yesterday"), etc .;
- Editing: Kristan Sprague (Free Flight);
- Music: Craig Harris, Mark Isham (The White Captive, The War Diver, The Warrior, The Freedom Writers, October Sky, Once Upon a Time, The Godfather of Harlem).
- Bron Creative
- MACRO
- Participant Media
Filming Locations: Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Shaka King about the movie:
"We started filming it before the assassination of George Floyd and the uprisings that followed."
“I have never been in a position where the audience was so caught up in the message we are trying to convey. But I think that the message of the film is not controversial, no matter when it is seen. "
Producer Ryan Coogler, who joined the project shortly after the end of the Marvel blockbuster Black Panther, says Hampton's story "has become more relevant in context."
“Many of the people who were responsible for this are still alive. These ideas are still there, this system that the chairman fought against must be destroyed. The constant attacks on poor people, blacks, are still happening. We are still fighting the same monster, we are still fighting the same monsters, we are still fighting the same system, you know, and it hasn't gone anywhere. "
Actors
Cast:
- Dominic Fishback (Knickerbocker Hospital, Deuce2, The Americans, The Lovers, Show Me a Hero);
- Jesse Plemons (Foes, El Camino: Breaking Bad, Made in America, Irishman, Spy Bridge);
- Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out, Killer, Black Mirror, Skins, Psychoville, Doctor Who);
- Luckit Stanfield (Rough Diamonds, Knives Out, Voice of the Streets, Short Term, 12, Get Out);
- Martin Sheen ("Catch Me If You Can", "The Departed", "The Subway Incident or Incident", "Apocalypse Now", "Wasteland");
- Ashton Sanders (Voice of the Streets, Wu-Tang: The American Saga);
- Lil Rel Hoveri (Rapunzel: A New History);
- Algie Smith (Euphoria, Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams, Army Wives);
- Robert Longstreet (Doctor Sleep, Haunting of Hill House, Dawson's Creek);
- Germaine Fowler (The Eric Andre Show, BoJack Horseman, Robot Chicken2, Tuka and Bertie, Family Guy).
Interesting Facts
Did you know that:
- The film is also known as: "Jesus Is My Homeboy".
- In February 2019, it was announced that Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield had joined the cast of the film.
Judas and the Black Messiah (2021) is a symbol of the oppression that the African American community struggled with long before the Fred Hampton story began. Watch the trailer and be inspired by its story coming to the big screens in 2021.