Shooting black-and-white still photography has long been a passion for “Clemency” cinematographer Eric Branco. So it seemed serendipitous when he received an inbox message that included a script fo…
Shooting black-and-white still photography has long been a passion for “Clemency” cinematographer Eric Branco. So it seemed serendipitous when he received an inbox message that included a script for’s “The-Forty-Year-Old Version” with a title page that read, “A New York tale in black and white.”
Blank, a writer-producer on Spike Lee’s Netflix series “She’s Gotta Have It,” wrote and directed the semi-autobiographical comedy about Radha, a playwright who hasn’t sold anything in a while and teaches high school theater to make ends meet. On the brink of turning 40, she finds her creative juices reinvigorated one day when she goes to an underground rap club and is lured into the world of hip-hop battles.
In framing Radha, Branco wanted to portray her in an “honest and raw way.” When we first meet her, she’s very much down on her luck. But as her circumstances change and she finds herself not only recording a rap demo but also seeing opportunity come her way in her theater career, the DP got in tighter and closer with his lens to show the decision she has to make about which dream she wants to pursue. “It was a great choice to start the script where the character was at a low point,” Branco says.
Blank says the film’s focus on hip-hop was one of the reasons she chose to shoot in black and white. “I wanted to give [the characters] a kind of sophisticated and vulnerable treatment,” she says. “Hip-hop culture is often presented as oversexualized, and I feel like taking the color out forces you to see a certain level of humanity.”
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
The Forty-Year-Old Version Is a Perfect Close-Up Of the Perils of Selling OutIn 2019 when a long-awaited biopic of Harriet Tubman was finally released, the movie’s co-screenwriter Gregory Allen Howard revealed that at one point during the 26 years (26 years!) the film languished in production purgatory, a Hollywood executive actually suggested that Julia Roberts play Tubman. “It was so long ago. No one is going to know the difference,” Howard quoted the executive as saying.
Read more »
What to stream this weekend: Netflix's 'The Forty-Year-Old Version,' 'Hubie Halloween'New films are opting for streaming amid the pandemic. Out this weekend: Netflix's 'The Forty-Year-Old Version' and Adam Sandler's 'Hubie Halloween.'
Read more »
Radha Blank isn't here to convince you to watch 'The Forty-Year-Old Version' (but you should)In her autobiographical film, Radha Blank stars as a New York playwright and teacher about to turn 40 who decides to pursue rapping after failing to find commercial success in theater.
Read more »
New Movies to Watch This Week: Treat Yourself to ‘The Forty-Year-Old Version’ or Adam Sandler’s Latest TrickHalloween and politics are just two of the major themes onscreen in a month that offers a flood of brand-new movies on streaming services and VOD. October naturally brings its share of pre-Hallowee…
Read more »
Radha Blank isn't here to convince you to watch 'The Forty-Year-Old Version' (but you should)In her autobiographical film, Radha Blank stars as a New York playwright and teacher about to turn 40 who decides to pursue rapping after failing to find commercial success in theater.
Read more »
What to stream this weekend: Netflix's 'The Forty-Year-Old Version,' 'Hubie Halloween'New films are opting for streaming amid the pandemic. Out this weekend: Netflix's 'The Forty-Year-Old Version' and Adam Sandler's 'Hubie Halloween.'
Read more »