TV: Roots Remake Fills Out Its Incredibly Large Cast, Premieres TONIGHT 5/30

[playahaitian]

A&E Networks' Roots remake has already found its Alex Haley, and now the mini-series has filled out the rest of its cast. As you might expect from a project spanning more than a hundred years of of American history, it's a large ensemble, including two Oscar winners, veterans of The Good Wife and The Wire, and two newcomers in crucial roles.

In the parts of Haley's ancestors, we have:

• British actor Malachi Kirby in the pivotal part of Kunta Kinte, played by LeVar Burton in the original. In the Roots book, Kinte was Haley's Gambian ancestor who was brought to America in the Atlantic slave trade, though aspects of this account have been disputed.

• The Good Wife's Anika Noni Rose as Kinte's daughter Kizzy, the first member of the family born into slavery. Rose played ambitious prosecutor Wendy Scott-Carr on the legal drama, and voiced Tiana in The Princess and the Frog. In 2004, she won a Tony for her role in Tony Kushner's Caroline, or Change.

• British newcomer Regé-Jean Page as Kizzy's son Chicken George, the first member of the family to be granted his freedom. A veteran of British TV, Page most recently played an inexperienced teacher in the school drama Waterloo Road.

And the supporting cast:

• Forest Whitaker, last seen being portrayed by Jordan Peele in baby form, as a fellow slave who befriends Kunta Kinte and assists him in his escape attempts.

• Anna Paquin as a Confederate officer's wife "who has her own agenda when it comes to the handling of slaves."

• Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Tom Lea (called "Tom Moore" in the original mini-series), a slaveowner with a twisted relationship to Kizzy and Chicken George.

• The Wire's Chad Coleman as "a stern no-nonsense slave who keeps the Lea plantation afloat."

• Justified's Erica Tazel as Matilda, a Christian slave who later marries Chicken George.

• Derek Luke, late of Empire, as Silla Ba Dibba, a Gambian military leader.

Production is already under way in New Orleans, with a simultaneous premiere on History, A&E, and Lifetime at some point next year. Good luck at either the 2016 or 2017 Emmys, all of you!

http://www.vulture.com/2015/09/roots-remake-finds-its-cast.html#

 

[playahaitian]

Hollywood just can't get enough of slave stories: A&E Networks has officially announced that a remake to Roots, the hugely popular miniseries from the '70s (and inspiration for Kendrick Lamar's "King Kunta"), is set to air simultaneously on History, A&E, and Lifetime in 2016. Based on Alex Haley's novel, the update will be executive-produced by LeVar Burton, who starred as the slave Kunta Kinte in the original, and Will Packer. But that's not all! A&E Networks has also picked up a six-part adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, starring Lily James and Paul Dano, from the BBC and the Weinstein Co., which will also be simulcast on History, A&E, and Lifetime next year.​

 

[playahaitian]

Laurence Fishburne to Play Alex Haley in Roots Remake

Laurence Fishburne will play author Alex Haley in A&E Networks' upcoming Roots remake, Variety reports. ABC's original Roots mini-series was based on Haley's novel about the life of his ancestors; the new version will air simultaneously on A&E, Lifetime, and the History Channel and will reportedly include story lines from the book as well as "carefully researched, new scholarship" of the slave trade. (Haley's claim that everything in his narrative was based on historical fact has been widely disputed.) If Fishburne's casting means the remake dives into the controversy over Haley's scholarship, expect that to be the 97th-saddest thing to happen on Roots.

 

[2 ONE 3]

why do we need a remake tho...

 

[ORIGINAL NATION]

ROOTS REVEALED A LOT BUT IT STILL DID NOT TELL THE WHOLE STORY. AND I JUST KIND OF FEEL THIS IS GOING TO BE EDITED TO WAY OF THE WORLD JUST ACCEPTING WHAT HAPPENED WITHOUT ALL THE REAL FACTS.

I TELL YOU JONESTOWN IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT WE ALL WERE BORN IN. A PERSON IN JONESTOWN STOPPED GOING TO THE CLINIC TO TAKE THE DAILY VITAMINS (WHICH WE REALLY PSYCHOTIC DRUGS) THEN THEY WOULD KNOW. AND THEY FORCE THEM TO TAKE IT OR DIE.

TODAY IF A BLACK MOTHER AND A BLACK FATHER HAVE A BABY AND RAISE IT OFF OF BREAST MILK AND WATER. THEN WHEN IT STARTS TEETHING FEED IT ONLY RAW ORGANIC FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. THE WHEN IT STARTS WALKING PUT IT ON AN EXERCISE PROGRAM. YOU WILL ACTUALLY HAVE A CHILD OF LOVE. ONE NOT CONTROLLED BY THIS WHITE MAN'S WORLD. ONE THAT WILL NOT HAVE TO BOW DOWN TO WHITE FALSEHOOD THAT EVERYBODY HAS TO LOOK AT AS THOUGH IT IS TRUTH AND ACCEPT A WHITE REALITY OVER TRUTH.

AFRICA WAS NAMED AFTER A WHITE MAN AND EVERY COUNTRY IN AFRICA WAS NAMED AFTER A WHITE MAN. YET WE CONSIDER IT THE MOTHERLAND WITH A WHITE FATHER. AS THOUGH THE WHITE MAN IS THE MAN AND EVERY BODY ELSE IS GAY DEMONS THAT HAVE TO BE CONTROLLED BY A WHITE MALE AND HIS WORLD.

JUST LIKE THEY WOULD KILL YOU FOR KNOWING HOW TO READ AND WRITE. WHAT THEY HAD TO PROTECT IS WHAT THEY WILL KILL YOU FOR FINDING OUT NOW. OR KILL ANYONE THAT TRIES TO FREE YOUR SOUL FROM THEIR CONTROL.


http://oneblacknation.webs.com/

http://blacknation.vpweb.com/default.html

 

[DjMorpheus]

This gon be some bullshit. Kinder, gentler slaveowners...

 

[3mpimp]

Why not a show about Africa before slavery.... that would be cool

 

[Soul On Ice]

 

[ak_rep]

why do we need a remake tho...

Because people ate them recent slave movies up.

 

[Winslow Wong]

I wish Black American recognized the importance of constantly putting the issue of slavery back in the face of the American public. It is one of this countries greatest disgrace - along with the genocide of the Native Ammerican - and has shaped the way Black have been, are and will be treated for generations.

Books have been written, songs have been sung but nothing is more powerful than film - and movies that show the plight of our ancestors in the bondage of chattel slavery is critical to shaping minds.

this article talks about the need for teachers to put Slavery front and center in education -

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/13/magazine/teaching-slavery-to-reluctant-listeners.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0

 

[Race Harley]

I wish Black American recognized the importance of constantly putting the issue of slavery back in the face of the American public. It is one of this countries greatest disgrace - along with the genocide of the Native Ammerican - and has shaped the way Black have been, are and will be treated for generations.

Books have been written, songs have been sung but nothing is more powerful than film - and movies that show the plight of our ancestors in the bondage of chattel slavery is critical to shaping minds.

this article talks about the need for teachers to put Slavery front and center in education -

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/13/magazine/teaching-slavery-to-reluctant-listeners.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0

Yeah, ok! Tell that to the kats getting beaten and arrested daily by law enforcement.

 

[SpiritualPorn]

why do we need a remake tho...

This

I have yet to see a Nat Turner movie

 

[playahaitian]

A&E’s Roots Remake Just Cast a Whole Lot More Random People, Including T.I., Mekhi Phifer, and a Dude From The Good Wife

A&E's upcoming Roots remake is no movie, but it still has Mekhi Phifer: The 8 Mile star is part of a new batch of actors who've signed on for supporting roles in the upcoming mini-series, which already cast Malachi Kirby, Anika Noni Rose, and Regé-Jean Page as its leads back in September. Fortunately, 200 years of oppression provide more than enough meaty roles for working actors. Here are all the names who will be competing with Anna Paquin and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers for those sweet supporting-actor-in-a-mini-series Emmys:



• Phifer will be playing Jerusalem, a silent slave who is holding a secret.

• T.I. will appear in the final episode as Cyrus, a slave who fights for the Union in the Civil War.

• James Purefoy of Rome and The Following will play John Waller, the Virginia plantation owner who buys Kunta Kinte (Kirby).

• The Good Wife's Matthew Goode will play Purefoy's "charming and well-educated" brother, Dr. William Waller.

• Disney star G Hannelius will play Purefoy's daughter Missy, who antagonizes Kizzy (Rose).

• Lane Garrison, who starred in A&E's Bonnie and Clyde remake, will play Pfifer's owner Frederick Murray, who fights for the Confederacy in the Civil War.

• Emayatzy Corinealdi (Miles Ahead) will appear as Kinte's wife, Belle.

We think we speak for everyone when we say this Roots (cast) is on fire.

 

[therealjondoe]

Remake it to water it down?

 

[Dr. Truth]

Cac responce. But what about the Irish slaves!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Cock Head Jones]

Why not a show about Africa before slavery.... that would be cool

"Niggas might learn to love themselves and that's bad for biz..."
- Uncle Sam

 

[Helico-pterFunk]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbi...ress-parties-Jonathan-Rhys-Meyers-Cannes.html

 

[superfusion]

Do we really need a remake, just go back and watch the original.

 

[ThaBurgerPimp]

• Disney star G Hannelius will play Purefoy's daughter Missy, who antagonizes Kizzy (Rose).

Disney Channel fans will be turning on her once they hear her say the N word

 

[Mrfreddygoodbud]

I think a lot of caucasions have slave era

fetish...

 

[ORIGINAL NATION]

Why not a show about Africa before slavery.... that would be cool

Yea like "The History Of The World" but this one will not be a comedy.

 

[hussla's paradice]

When this malarkey hitting the airwaves?

 

[playahaitian]

​

 

[4 Dimensional]

This

I have yet to see a Nat Turner movie

There is one that came out this year.

http://www.theguardian.com/film/vid...ilm-festival-birth-of-a-nation-robert-redford

 

[4 Dimensional]

A "Roots" remake, huh?

I feel like a broken record when it comes to stuff like this.

Creativity blah blah blah, several slave movies blah blah blah.

I guess I'll be watching Roots, AGAIN. No problem.

 

[militantmidget]

Why not a show about Africa before slavery.... that would be cool

Don't you know, there was nothing in Africa before slavery but a bunch of savages and wild animals. Nothing worth writing a movie or tv series about it.

 

[The Untouchable GDFOLKS]

oh look another slave movie...Yaaaay! Fucking CACS man...

 

[Tuco]

It just kills me that black ppl r RUNNING to be a part of a remake of yet another slave story, much less one whose very integrity is suspect.

Hollywood is sumthin else, and we are all too happy to cosign da fuckery instead of doin our own shit, tell our own REAL stories.

Fuck it all to HELL!!!

 

[Coldchi]

Shaka Zulu remake coming next.
with a cac playing Shaka.

 

[playahaitian]

 

[playahaitian]

http://roots.history.com/?mkwid=s4v...+ALONE_roots&gclid=CKnfqeaVg80CFZRahgodOfUDZw​

 

[Black A. Camus]

I tried watching it, but I just can't. How is this benefiting me? What, really, am I, or any other Black person supposed to get out of watching this? All it's doing is reminding me how fucked up cacs are.

 

[DJCandle]

Quite alotta cameos in this surprisingly.

Anyhow, cant stand white people but watching this just maximizes the hatred even more.

 

[godofwine]

I'll watch this, but not right now. I'm watching game 7 right now. I don't know why this needed to be done when the first one, the original is still relevant and still holds up. The first one was done with great actors on all sides. I don't know how this benefits us, but I'll watch it later on. The original story was good enough IMO

 

[militantmidget]

Man fuck this BULLSHIT.

Media wanna show some black history, put hidden colors on the history channel. Parts 1 thru 4.