Anthony Hemingway

Director Anthony Hemingway Talks RED TAILS, TREME, and THE WIRE

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: January 20th, 2012 at 11:39 am

Opening today is director Anthony Hemingway‘s World War II action-drama Red Tails.  Produced by George Lucas and Rick McCallum, the movie is based on the real-life story of the first all African-American squadron and their fight to defend our country.  They were given second-hand planes and the most dangerous missions, and it makes their story all the more incredible. Red Tails stars Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., Bryan Cranston, Brandon T. Jackson, Nate Parker, David Oyelowo, Ne-Yo, Elijah Kelly, Tristan Wilds, Cliff Smith, Rick Otto, Daniela Ruah, and Michael B. Jordan.

Last week I did an exclusive phone interview with Hemingway. During our wide ranging conversation we talked about how he got involved in Red Tails, what it was like to meet and collaborate with Lucas, how much of the film was “Hollywoodized,” the boot camp for the actors, deleted scenes, test screening, and if they ever think about releasing the film in 3D.  In addition, with Hemingway having worked on The Wire and Treme, we talked about both of those series and what it’s like to direct TV.  Hit the jump to either read or listen to the interview.

RED TAILS Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 19th, 2012 at 3:00 pm

World War II was the last “great” war, especially for storytellers.  It was the last time we could take the horrors of war and safely rely on the knowledge that the allied forces were fighting evil.  Not an evil that was constructed by propaganda, but indisputable evil bent on world domination and ethnic cleansing.  Recent war films and mini-series have centered on the gritty realism of battle, but Red Tails leaves that conflict on land and flies to the safety of the moral high-ground.  It embraces the exhilaration of battle, throws back to the excitement of World War II dogfights, and puts its black heroes indisputably on the side of right in the face of adversity both at home and abroad.  Elevated by stellar performances from Terrence Howard and David Oyelowo, Red Tails can be a bit shaky at times, but for the most part it’s always steady and hits its target.

6 Movie Clips and 52 Images from George Lucas’ RED TAILS

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: January 6th, 2012 at 10:41 pm

With director Anthony Hemingway‘s World War II action-drama Red Tails opening January 20, 20th Century Fox has provided us with six clips and fifty-two images from the film.  Produced by George Lucas, the movie is based on the real-life story of the first all African-American squadron and their fight to defend our country.  They were given second-hand planes and the most dangerous missions, and it makes their story all the more incredible.

I actually spoke to someone tonight that recently saw the film and they said the action scenes are incredible and the film was better than they expected.  Which is always good to hear.  Red Tails stars Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., Bryan Cranston, Brandon T. Jackson, Nate Parker, David Oyelowo, Ne-Yo, Elijah Kelly, Tristan Wilds, Cliff Smith, Rick Otto, Daniela Ruah, and Michael B. Jordan.  Hit the jump to watch the clips.

New Trailer and Poster for RED TAILS

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: August 17th, 2011 at 10:19 am

20th Century Fox has released a new trailer and poster for Anthony Hemingway’s World War II action-drama Red Tails.  The film tells the true story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first all-black squadron in American history.  Despite given second-hand planes and equipment, the squadron still managed to accomplish some of the war’s most dangerous missions.  I far prefer this new trailer to the previous one.  Instead of heaping on the historical importance (and it was indisputably significant to American history, but we already know it before we’ve even see the movie), this new trailer plays up the characters and the action.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer along with the poster.  The film was produced by George Lucas and stars Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., Bryan Cranston, Brandon T. Jackson, and Nate Parker.  Red Tails opens January 20, 2012.

Trailer and Release Date for Producer George Lucas’ RED TAILS

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: July 29th, 2011 at 8:57 am

The first trailer has been release for the action-drama Red Tails.  Produced by George Lucas and directed by Anthony Hemingway, the movie is based on the true story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first all-black African-American combat squadron who fought in World War II.  Red Tails has been in development for years but now it looks like it has finally become a reality and that reality is filled with cool aerial combat and grandiose speeches.  No one in this trailer makes a statement that is not of monumental importance to the dignity of our nation and the history of the human race.  But that’s what the trailer is designed to sell: action and gravitas but I hope the film is, at least where the dialogue is concerned, a little more grounded.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film stars Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, Bryan Cranston, Brandon T. Jackson, and Nate Parker.  Red Tails opens January 20, 2012.

George Lucas-Produced WWII Film RED TAILS to Finally Be Released in January 2012?

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: June 2nd, 2011 at 5:52 pm

Word has been increasingly scarce on the George Lucas-produced World War II film Red Tails for quite some time. Directed by Anthony Hemingway, the flick underwent some significant reshoots overseen by Lucas himself when he decided he wanted to change some of the tone of the film. Today, Hemingway tweeted (via Shadow and Act) “Red Tails hits screens January 2012.” Now, this isn’t an official release date, but it’s coming from the director himself so that may in fact be the target.

That seems pretty far off for a movie that was filmed back in 2009, but Lucas is probably just busy making sure he does everything he can to ruin the film before it hits theaters. The story centers on the United States’ first all African-American air combat squadron, The Tuskegee Airmen. Red Tails stars Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., Method Man, Ne-Yo and Bryan Cranston.

First Images from the George Lucas-Produced WWII Film RED TAILS

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 9th, 2010 at 9:32 pm

Anthony Hemingway’s World War II film, Red Tails, has managed to keep a low profile ever since it began casting back in April 2009.  While there was a report back in February that the film was undergoing massive re-shoots directed by Lucas, that report later turned out to be false.  Now, the first images from the set have come online.  For those who don’t know, Red Tails (which is being produced by George Lucas), is about the United States’ first all African-American air combat squadron, The Tuskegee Airmen.  The film stars Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Bryan Cranston (who spoke with Steve back in March about his role in the film).

These set photos focus mainly on the cameras and the set design, but what’s really impressive are the fighter planes.  You should hit the jump to check out those bad boys alone, but we’ve included all the images for your viewing pleasure after the jump.

Exclusive Interview: Bryan Cranston on Andrew Stanton’s JOHN CARTER OF MARS and Anthony Hemingway’s RED TAILS

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: March 9th, 2010 at 9:17 am

While AMC’s Mad Men gets most of the press, the network has another amazing show called Breaking Bad.  The show’s about a brilliant high school chemistry teacher that finds out he’s dying. To help provide for his family after he’s gone and also to pay for medical treatment, he gets into cooking crystal meth. The problem is…the guy has always been a straight shooter and completely honest, so he doesn’t understand how the drug trade works. Trust me, this is a show you should be watching and the lead performance by Bryan Cranston is amazing.  That’s probably why he won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series the past two years.

With season three getting ready to air in a few weeks and season two about to be released on home video, I was able to speak with Bryan Cranston yesterday to help promote the series.  While I’ll be posting the full interview closer to the air date of season three, since he’s in both Andrew Stanton’s John Carter of Mars and Anthony Hemingway’s Red Tails, I wanted to get what he said about the two films online today.  In both movies he plays a member of the military, but his characters could not be more different.   He talks about exactly who he plays and when he shot both films after the jump:

George Lucas Is Radically Re-Shooting Anthony Hemingway’s Tuskegee Airmen Drama RED TAILS

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 17th, 2010 at 10:16 am

There was reason to be excited for George Lucas’ next movie, Red Tails.  It didn’t take place in a galaxy far, far away, but in 20th century U.S. history and told the compelling story of America’s first African-American air combat squadron, the Tuskegee Airmen.  Best of all, Lucas didn’t write or direct it.  He was only going to produce.

And then FirstShowing had to go and ruin my day. The site reports that Lucas is unhappy with director Anthony Hemingway’s work (shooting wrapped in November), and is now conducting extensive re-writes in preparation for massive re-shoots.

Hit the jump for details on how Lucas plans to bring his “magic” to this project.

George Lucas Producing CGI Musical. With Fairies. Sure. Why not.

by Keith Demko    Posted: January 27th, 2010 at 9:55 am

Anyone who sat through the agony of what he did with The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones probably knows George Lucas will do just about anything with CGI, but is he really producing a CGI-animated musical … with fairies?

According to Heat Vision Blog, that’s exactly what’s in the works as a “top-secret” project at Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch. Kevin Munroe, who directed the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie TMNT, is reportedly directing the project with a script by David Berenbaum, who penned the screenplays for Elf and The Spiderwick Chronicles.

But more importantly than all that: fairies? Really? That’s the only plot detail HVB reports about the project. If Lucas has proven anything, though, it’s that when he gets an idea in his head – no matter how crazy or downright awful it might seem to the rest of the world – he usually just does it anyway.

Hit the jump to find out what else Lucas and Munroe also have on their movie plates.

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