paul robeson Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I'm typically a fan of all the movie-related stamps produced by the U.S. Postal Service, and I'm very glad to read the news that important early African American movie stars are being recognized and celebrated with a new series of 42-cent stamps (see them all here). However, I am a little disappointed that it carries on the usual exclusion of mostly forgotten non-musical race films, which are a significant part of both film history and African American history. Considering the stamps are tagged "Black Cinema USA," a number of people may assume this was the height of what African Americans were offered in the first half of the 20th century (Oscar Micheaux deserves a stamp).

Gripes aside, though, it is nonetheless a wonderful set. The five stamps feature vintage poster designs from old movies starring musical artists Josephine Baker (Princess Tam-Tam), Duke Ellington (Black and Tan) and Louis Jordan (Caldonia), plus King Vidor's monumental Oscar-nominated musical, Hallelujah! (it was one of the rare studio films featuring an all black cast) and the 1921 silent film The Sport of the Gods. In previous, separate years, Showboat costars Paul Robeson and Hattie McDaniel have also received their own postage stamps.

The new stamps come out Wednesday and there will be a ceremony on their behalf that day at the Newark Museum, which is currently holding the 34th annual Newark Black Film Festival. The festival is also holding free screenings of Hallelujah on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

For those who were confused, irritated or just plain disappointed with the ridiculous Yahoo Serious comedy Young Einstein, you'll be happy to know that everyone's favorite physicist is getting a legitimate early-years biopic soon. According to Variety, Lionsgate has purchased the worldwide life rights to Albert Einstein, which kinda sounds like they now own the guy and could make a clone army (that probably wouldn't be so bad). Lionsgate has also bought the rights to Walter Isaacson's book Einstein: His Life and Universe, which was the first biography to dip into the genius' private archives. Isaacson will also serve as a consultant on the film, which also gained access to Einstein's correspondence and papers, which are currently owned by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The story will focus on Einstein's life from about 20 to 40, at which age he won the Nobel Prize in Physics. The film will apparently show the man as a rebel who challenged existing scientific theories but will also deal with personal and romantic plots.

All I can say is, it's about time. But this is me, a total geek who wears Einstein t-shirts. Of course, this is also me, the guy who is really bad at science and has never really read much on Einstein's actual work. I'm mostly interested in his personality, which is why I'm excited to see him get a decent biopic. As far as I can tell or remember, there hasn't ever been a good Einstein movie -- even if you have a guilty spot for Yahoo Serious, his movie was by no means about the real genius. Aside from Serious, we've seen Walter Matthau play the guy in I.Q. and Michael Emil sorta play him in Insignificance. According to the IMDb, there are at least three Einstein biopics in the works, one of which is probably Lionsgate's. One of them is about the friendship between Einstein and Paul Robeson, played by (last we heard) Ben Kingsley and Danny Glover, respectively, and another is being directed by Liliana Cavani with Vincenzo Amato (The Golden Door) playing the lead (I guess Giovanni Ribisi jumped the gun when he said he was cast in that film). There's also a British TV-movie in the works with Andy Serkis as Einstein.

At Cannes supporting Bamako, a film on which he served as executive producer, Danny Glover is also taking the opportunity to talk up other projects in which he's involved, a couple of which will probably get a fair amount of attention in the US. All produced by his Louverture Films, which currently is focusing on "global African experiences and people from the global south," the upcoming films address a wide range of subjects and themes.

Among the higher-profile projects, the first to go into production is likely to be Toussaint, a drama that will be Glover's directorial debut. The movie will tell the story of "18th century Haitian revolution hero Toussaint L'Ouverture," and features a cast that is a virtual who's who of African American Hollywood. According to Glover, names attached to the project include Wesley Snipes, Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Mos Def, though he didn't say who would play the title role. The film will shoot in South Africa ("as a commitment to supporting filmmaking there"), starting either late this year or early in 2007.

In addition, Glover will star in an untitled film about the relationship between Albert Einstein and Paul Robeson. Playing Einstein will be Ben Kingsley; both actors will also be producing the film. According to Glover, the men were not only friends, but also political allies: They "formed part of the campaign in 1948 which tried to persuade U.S. President Harry Truman to make lynching a federal crime," and subsequently were investigated by the FBI. Screenwriters for this project are currently being courted; there's no production timeline as of yet.