Where Dreaming Is Believing . . .
Director/writer Theodore Melfi crafted a first rate tale with his 2014 feature St. Vincent, and now he’s behind the camera with Hidden Figures, the true story of three African-American women (Empire’s Taraji P. Henson, Janelle Monáe, Octavia Spencer) who were part of NASA’s operation to send astronaut John Glenn (Glenn Powell) in orbit.
Continue reading “Trailer: Taraji P. Henson Works For NASA With ‘Hidden Figures’”
Further complicating matters is his ex-wife Cookie (Taraji P. Henson), who’s been recently released from prison and plans to stake her claim to the family fortune.
With filmmaker Lee Daniels (Lee Daniels’ The Butler, The Paperboy) serving as an executive producer and Timbaland on board as the music supervisor, Empire has collected an impressive cast and crew (the series was created by actor/scribe Danny Strong, who penned the script for Lee Daniels’ The Butler).
For Taraji P. Henson, who previously had a successful run on the CBS series Person of Interest, one reason she joined the series was her overall belief in Fox’s creative direction:
“They’re not afraid to push the envelope. I think Fox is one of the major networks that’s beginning to take that leap – they’re seeing why primetime television shows aren’t being recognized at award shows. Because on HBO and Showtime, they’re making people think. It’s not so safe – that’s life.”
To hear Taraji P. Henson talk about Cookie’s fashion sense on Empire (as well as Cookie’s character arc), click on the audio below:
Taraji P. Henson co-stars as the housewife who lets the convict enter her home after his car breaks down in the rain. Her “good deed” leads to nightmarish repercussions for her family and best friend (Leslie Bibb), as the delusional criminal won’t stop until he gets exactly what he wants.
I actually liked this thriller, and there’s an interesting twist that occurs in the third act which makes No Good Deed into a cut above your average B-movie experience. I won’t give out any spoilers, but this flick was one of my cinematic guilty pleasures this year.
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Living in a spacious house in a nice area should only be a good thing, but sometimes the creepiness factor can set in, especially when no one’s around.
“I decided to stay in a five bedroom house in Atlanta,” said Henson, who plays a housewife who’s terrorized by an escaped convict (Elba) in No Good Deed. “By myself – filming this thriller. All night shoots, so I’m getting home at weird hours at night. If you could see me making a mad dash to that other room – I don’t know what the other rooms look like. There was this one door that stayed lock – I was like something is going to come out of that room and get me!”
To hear Taraji P. Henson explain why the house reminded her of a scene from The Shining, click on the Soundcloud audio below:
Today is also Taraji P. Henson’s birthday, and she posted this following tweet on her Twitter account (@TherealTaraji):
MY GOD you guys are filling my heart with so much love and joy today!!!! THANK YOU FOR MY BIRTHDAY WISHES. I appreciate you all!!
Elba talked about his own familiarity with No Good Deed director Sam Miller. “Sam and I have worked on Luther quite a bit,” said Elba. “He’s a very good director (and has) a good eye for thriller and tension, and we needed that. We also wanted to bring a slightly different aesthetic to the film. It’s an American film and it has that Friday night popcorn (feel). But this is quite dark and edgy – the way we shot it. We tried to make it feel really claustrophobic and Sam does that really well.”
Elba, who also served as an executive producer No Good Deed and is an associate producer on Luther, is also setting his sights on directing a feature down the road. Thanks to his extensive work on television (The Wire, Luther) and film (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Pacific Rim), directing should be a natural process for Elba.
I asked Elba what strengths he would bring to a project as a director. Click on the Soundcloud bar to hear Elba’s answer:
No Good Deed opens nationwide September 12.
Realizing she’s helping the wrong guy, Terri ends up fighting for her family’s survival on a storm drenched night.
I’ll be posting more about No Good Deed closer to its release date, but I wanted to share Taraji P. Henson’s comments regarding the reception she received playing determined NYPD homicide detective Joss Carter on Person of Interest. Her answer is below:
“I didn’t realize the love people have for Carter until she was gone. The outpouring is still coming in. (Fans are saying) ‘When are you coming back?’ They’re giving the writers ideas to bring her back in flashbacks! That makes me feel good, because art is powerful in life. It can change a life – save a life. And that’s why I do what I do. I feel like God gave me a gift and I have to share it with the world. Sharing it means helping somebody. That’s why I don’t judge my characters.”
To hear the audio version of Taraji P. Henson’s answer click on the Soundcloud bar below:
