In today’s film news roundup, Djimon Hounsou fills in for Brian Tyree Henry in the “Quiet Place” sequel, “Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am” gets a wide release and a Louis Armstrong documentary has been set.
CASTING
Paramount Pictures has cast Djimon Hounsou as a replacement for Brian Tyree Henry in its sequel to “A Quiet Place.”
Henry left the project due to scheduling conflicts. The sequel has been set for release on March 20, 2020.
John Krasinski is returning to direct the still-untitled movie with Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe reprising their roles.
“A Quiet Place” grossed $340 million at the global box office last year, and Blunt won the Screen Actors Guild Award in the supporting actress category for her role. Krasinski wrote the screenplay with Bryan Woods and Scott Beck, and the trio received a Writers Guild nomination in the original category. Krasinski also directed and starred in the story, which followed an isolated family of four forced to live in silence while hiding from creatures that hunt by sound.
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Hounsou has previously starred in “Captain Marvel” and “Shazam!” and will be seen next in “Charlie’s Angels” and “The King’s Man.” He is repped by CAA, Elevate and The Safran Company. News was first reported by Deadline.
EXPANDED RELEASE
Magnolia Pictures will begin re-opening Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ documentary “Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am” starting on Aug. 16.
Morrison died on Aug. 5 at the age of 88. The movie has taken in $638,453 in North America in two months with its widest release at 61 locations.
“I’ve been privileged to know Toni Morrison for nearly 40 years,” said Greenfield-Sanders. “During that time, she won many awards and accolades — the Nobel, a Pulitzer, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. But for me, Toni has been a treasured collaborator, a monumental inspiration and, most importantly, a cherished friend. We will all miss her, but the gifts she left us — her written works that have transformed so many lives around the world — live on to educate, empower and nourish us.”
ARMSTRONG DOCUMENTARY
Imagine Documentaries has agreed with the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation to produce a feature documentary on Armstrong.
“I find it difficult to imagine a voice more globally recognized than that of Louis Armstrong”, said Imagine Documentaries’ president Justin Wilkes. “And yet, the story behind the voice; of the music, the man, and the impact he had on our world have never been fully recognized on film.”
Stanley Crouch, president of the foundation, said, “He was born in poverty in one of the roughest neighborhoods in New Orleans, Louisiana. Absorbing the multilayered music and culture of that fascinating place and time, he went on to heal and educate the country and world with the depth of his playing, singing and undying belief in the value of our common humanity. The life and times, trials, tribulations and triumphs of Louis Armstrong still has much to show the world.”
The deal includes access to hundreds of hours of audio recordings, film footage, photographs and personal diaries, including an almost daily audio diary from the early 1950’s until the day he passed in 1971. News was first reported by Deadline.