Erica Nlewedim, former Big Brother Naija reality star has been unveiled as one of the lead stars in a new Chinneylove Eze production (‘Hire A Woman’) titled ‘Devil In Agbada’.

The forthcoming movie follows the tale of three strangers who team up on a mission to bring down a ruthless politician. ‘Devil In Agbada’ also stars Linda Osifo and Efe Irele in leading roles. Uche Jombo, Desmond Elliot, Uzor Arukwe, Soso Sobrekan, and Nosa Rex join the film’s cast in supporting roles.

Actress, TV personality, UN goodwill ambassador, and entrepreneur with big-name recognition in South Africa, Nomzanzo Mbatha having been cast in ‘Coming 2 America’ is grateful to have encountered such a great opportunity after taking a leap of faith to play in the big ocean. Nomzamo left the cast of the popular telenovela Isibaya, where she had captured the hearts of local audiences’ for seven years in the role of Thandeka because she felt it was time to take the next step.

‘Coming 2 America’ features the lead star, Eddie Murphy, and shows all the major new and returning cast and characters joining the sequel, including the beautiful Mbatha.

Set in the lush and royal country of Zamunda, “Coming 2 America” continues to follow newly crowned King Akeem and his trusted confidante, Semmi, who embark on an all-new hilarious adventure that has them traversing the globe from their great African nation to the borough of Queens, New York – where it all began.

David Oyelowo’s feature directorial debut “The Water Man” has acquired worldwide distribution. RLJE Films will distribute the film in North America, with Netflix handling the rest of the worldwide rollout.

RLJE, a business unit of AMC Networks, plans to release the project day-and-date in theaters and on PVOD on May 7, 2021, with Netflix set to release the film internationally later in 2021.

“While in some ways this film is a father and son story, at its core it’s also a love letter to mothers everywhere and is dedicated to my own,” Oyelowo said in a statement announcing the acquisition. “To be able to share my directorial debut, ‘The Water Man,’ with the world through the hands of RLJE Films and Netflix is a dream come true for me.”

“The Water Man” follows a young boy named Gunner (“This Is Us” star Lonnie Chavis) as he sets out on a quest to save his ill mother (Rosario Dawson) with the help of a mysterious local girl (Amiah Miller). As the pair go in search of The Water Man, a mythic figure who possesses the secret to immortality, the more dangerous the journey becomes, and, eventually their only hope for rescue is Gunner’s father (Oyelowo). The film is based on a Black List script from Emma Needell, and Alfred Molina and Maria Bello round out the cast.

In addition to directing the family adventure film, Oyelowo also produced the project under his Yoruba/Saxon Productions banner. The film is also produced by Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films and ShivHans Pictures. Carla Gardini, Shivani Rawat and Monica Levinson produced the film, with Winfrey, Darren M. Demetre, Connor Flanagan and Needell serving as exec. producers.

Oyelowo’s film made its world premiere at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, where the first time director opened up to Variety about the project during a virtual conversation alongside his cast.

“The film is partly inspired by [the] films I grew up loving, like ‘E.T.’ A lot of them directed by the amazing Steven Spielberg,” he said. “But the truth of the matter is I didn’t see myself in those movies even though I related to those characters. So one of the amazing things for me is getting to make a film for a family that looks like mine, a boy who looks like I did and looks like my three sons get to be front and center.”

Explaining how important it is for people to see themselves represented on TV and in movies, Oyelowo added, “We all go to storytelling to see ourselves, to learn about ourselves or to learn about other people within whom we see ourselves.”

source: variety.com

La Femme Anjola, the buzzy crime thriller, directed by Mildred Okwo and starring Rita Dominic and Nonso Bassey (in lead roles) will launch locally in theatres nationwide on March 19, 2021.

The film, which is from the stables of ‘The Audrey Silva Company Limited,’ will be distributed by, Silverbird Distribution, the company which distributed their earlier releases – ‘The Meeting’ and ‘Surulere’.

The film was shot in locations in Lagos, Nigeria, and Cape Town (South Africa).

In response to the prevalent realities of the film industry, the producers said ‘La Femme Anjola’ will also release digitally for the rest of the world on a paid platform using assets specifically created for this.

This movie is expected to be a landmark one. The producers said ‘La Femme Anjola’ will become the highest-profile Nollywood film to explore distribution and exhibition opportunities outside of the mainstream avenues currently existing.

The coronavirus pandemic has radically altered the way the film industry does business with lockdowns and social distancing measures preventing audiences from experiencing films communally.

In the United States, Warner Bros’ revolutionary new direction put its entire 2021 theatrical slate on their streaming platform HBO Max for the films’ respective first month of release, concurrent with a global cinema release.

Background

The long-awaited thriller, which borrows heavily from the film noir elements of Hollywood’s golden age, has been at least five years in the making.

The producers, Okwo and Dominic, said the bulk of this time was spent sourcing the big-budget funding that could deliver a film on the scale they both envisioned.

Source : Premiumtimesng.com