Regina Kingis red-hot following HBO’sWatchmenand an Oscar-winning turn inIf Beale Street Could Talk, and now the actress has unveiled the first image from her upcoming directorial debutOne Night in Miami.
The film is based on the 2013 stage play of the same name byKemp Powers, who also wrote the screenplay. Set on the night of February 25th, 1964, the story follows a youngCassius Clay— before he was known as Muhammad Ali — fresh off his victory overSonny Listonfor the heavyweight title, which shocked the entire boxing world. While thousands of people hit the night clubs of Miami Beach to party the night away, Jim Crow-era segregation laws forced Clay (Eli Goree) to celebrate at the Hampton House Motel in Miami’s Overtown neighborhood, where he was joined by three of his iconic friends – activistMalcolm X(Kingsley Ben-Adir), football starJim Brown(Aldis Hodge) and singerSam Cooke(Leslie Odom Jr.). In addition to their private lives, they also discuss the responsibility of being successful Black men during the civil rights movement. The next morning, they all emerged from that room determined to define a new world.
EW reports that Oscar-nominated composerTerence Blanchard, who just worked withSpike LeeonDa 5 Bloods, has agreed to do the film’s score.One Night in Miamiwas, oddly enough, filmed in New Orleans for tax purposes, and was produced byJody KleinandBlindspottingproducersKeith CalderandJess Wu Calder.
King’s directorial debut doesn’t have distribution yet, so its release date is unclear, but this would be the perfect movie to release next February during Black History Month, which would also allow it to compete for the 2021 Oscars. We’ll see if a studio or streamer puts its money where its mouth is and picks up this important film.
