![]() And I kept saying, "Don't worry, you're going to make the money back. And so even though that wasn't voiced as an objection, when people see something that's brand new that they've never seen before, there's a hesitation because they're going to spend a lot of money on this movie. It's the first time it's ever happened that I can think of. Also, this is-I've asked, I've challenged everybody I've met with to tell me another one, because I can't think of one-the first major theatrical release from his studio on the big screen where an African-American little girl is in every scene in a movie but one. ![]() When I wrote Akeelah in 1999, none of these other spelling bee projects were even known about at the time. The difficulty was I was a relatively unknown director, but I was determined to direct this. Was it difficult to get financing for this film? Laurence talked to her, and we were able to put that together. And I met with Angela, we met her together, and she wanted to do it, we wanted her to do it. I thought that that would be fantastic to have them in a movie together. The next cast member that we got was Keke, and it seemed logical to me at that point to re-team Laurence and Angela. He got involved in, I think, 2003 he signed on as a producer and an actor. Whose idea was it to reunite Laurence Fishburne and Angela Bassett, and how easy was that to pull off? And I also knew it would be exciting, and it would be like Rocky when I was 10-years-old, and I saw that movie, and it made me cheer. And around that same time, I started mentoring and tutoring and a place called Home which is a youth center in South LA, and I got to know a lot of the kids there, and realized how important it was to tell this story about these kids. "Who am I to go to the national spelling bee?" So after thinking about it for four or five years and telling people the story aloud, it just kind of reached a critical mass where I surrendered to it, and I wrote it. So I have the idea, and I didn't write it for a long time because I realized that in telling the story, you would be telling the story about the black experience in America, and who am I to tell that story? Right? But that's exactly what Akeelah thinks. And I had gone to the USC film school, which is in South LA, and I knew that neighborhood, I knew families that lived there, and I thought this would be a great opportunity to tell a story about a kid who's truly talented but doesn't have those advantages, and to tell a story about a kid that I would root for. But then, as I watched it, I realized that most of these kids came from pretty privileged backgrounds, and they had a lot of time in their lives where parents had set aside to devote to the studies of this. I was fascinated by the kids, I was fascinated by the tension, it was so tense watching these kids, and I thought it would be a great venue, a great competition to focus a story on. MEDIA: What inspired you to do this story?ĭOUG: I had been watching another sporting event, and one of my destination channels during commercial breaks is ESPN so I just switched over, and I was like, "Am I on the right channel? There's like kids here." And I was fascinated by it. Special features include audio commentary, behind the scenes video, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and a featurette on director Doug Atchison and the film's young star, Keke Palmer.Īnd thanks to a partnership with Lions Gate, the DVD is also available at your local Starbucks! One of the best reviewed films of the year, Akeelah and the Bee is now available to own on DVD. In this interview, writer/director Doug Atchison talks about the making of the movie. The cast is strong across the board, but Keke Palmer in the title role particularly shines-she should definitely be remembered during awards season for her performance as Akeelah, a stalwart and sympathetic heroine audiences will cheer till the very end. In her quest to win the prestigious academic competition, she is coached by a stern but passionate professor (Laurence Fishburne), even as she grapples with the implications of her natural gift and a strained relationship with her hard-working single mom (Angela Bassett).Īlthough Akeelah resorts to just about every trick in the book to pull on the heartstrings of the viewer (lost relationships, selfless sacrifice, regrets, and triumphing against long odds, all set to overtly sentimental music), it manages to do so in a surprisingly acceptable way that imparts a feel-good vibe. In the inspirational drama Akeelah and the Bee, an 11-year-old girl named Akeelah (Keke Palmer) uses her talent for spelling to make it all the way to the Scripps National Spelling Bee. ![]() RADIOFREE.COM - MOVIE COVERAGE - BOX OFFICE - CONTESTS - TWITTERĬontributed by Michael J. Interviews: Doug Atchison, Akeelah and the Bee
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |