class act Tagged Articles at Cinematical

After appearing in a string of thrillers and superhero flicks, it looks like Halle Berry is itching to get back to where she was after winning a best actress Oscar for her role in Monster's Ball. Though it's been sitting in a vault for some time now, Lionsgate is finally ready to move forward on Tulia with Berry attached to star. Essentially a courtroom drama, Tulia is based on real-life events surrounding the arrests of 46 black men during a Texas drug bust -- a sting operation where, in the end, no money, drugs or illegal weapons were found. However, the men were convicted solely on the testimony of one crooked cop.

Berry will play the lead attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense; a group that immediately got involved and helped to ultimately free the wrongly accused. Based on the Nate Blakeslee's book Tulia: Race, Cocaine, and Corruption in a Small Texas Town, Carl Franklin (Out of Time) is in talks to direct while Karen Croner penned the script. Tulia isn't the only straight-up drama Berry is working on; in fact, two of her next three films are potential awards contenders. In Things We Lost in the Fire, Berry plays a widow who invites her troubled best friend to come live with her and her children; Class Act find Berry portraying another real-life figure -- this time, it's a Nevada school teacher who uses her sixth-grade students to help boost her congressional campaign. While it's a bit premature for us to say Berry is officially back, it's nice to see she's adding a bit more meat to her roles instead of settling for the big paycheck and a Catwoman franchise.

Writer/director/producer Morgan Spurlock, who became known to the world at large with his 2004 doc Super Size Me (in which we learn that eating greasy fast food and giant sodas every day just might make you fat) is busy these days expanding the waistline of his distribution label, Morgan Spurlock Presents. Variety reports that Spurlock is working with Hart Sharp Video, and has acquired three new films, two of which have planned theatrical releases.

Indie Spirit nominee Chalk is one of the acquisitions; the mockumentary about a group of high school teachers won the narrative feature award at the Austin Film Festival earlier this year. Jette Kernion reviewed the film during the AFF; she liked the film, but wondered if she found all the in-jokes about teaching and copying machine politics funnier because she saw it at a screening packed with teachers. Spurlock has also picked up tsunami doc Third Wave, about a group of idealistic volunteers who travel to South Asia after the tsunami to help rebuild a village. The third film, Class Act, a documentary about the importance of arts funding in public schools, focuses on Miami Beach drama teacher Jay W. Jensen, was exec produced by Spurlock, whose prodco provided finishing funds for the film. It is scheduled for home video distribution.

Spurlock's label previously acquired The Future of Food, about genetically engineered food, and Czech Dream, a doc about mass marketing. It was supposedly controversial in Czechoslovakia, but the official website is in Czech, natch, so I can't figure out exactly why, other than some folks felt misled or betrayed (hey, join the line forming behind Borat if you want to complain about that, folks). Spurlock plans to release six to eight socially relevant films per year on his label.

Personally, I think it's cool that Spurlock is supporting films that he feels are socially important, documentary or otherwise. Do you have an interest in any of Spurlock's new acquisitions?

After winning an Oscar for her performance in Monster's Ball, Halle Berry went on to star in a slew of "major pay-day flicks," instead of taking her newfound attention and spinning it into an assortment of difficult, meaningful roles. I mean, Catwoman? Gothika? Die Another Day? Girl, you just won a freaking Oscar for Best Actress -- c'mon, show us you're not a one-hit wonder. Give us something juicy. Give us something controversial. Give us something, um, good.

Well, perhaps that time is upon us, as Berry is now attached to star in Class Act for Dreamworks. Based on real-life events, pic revolves around a teacher (Tierney Cahill) from Nevada who, when challenged by her sixth-grade students to run for Congress back in 2000, actually stepped up to the plate and gave it a shot. Though the single mother eventually lost, she did end up with 35% of the popular vote -- thanks, in part, to the students who helped run her campaign.

The casting choice here is a bit peculiar seeing as Cahill is white, not black. According to Variety, someone close to the film felt "it was more important to find the right actress to play the role rather than the right white actress." Hmm, I'm still not sold ... something feels shady here. Regardless, Doug Atchinson is set to write and direct the flick, which is eying a May/June production start.