Pigment Me This

King Goes Hollywood

DreamWorks will be making a film about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The company has acquired the rights to his life story and also has the support of the King estate, run by Dr. King’s son Dexter King.  This will be the first film made about Dr. King’s life that has the  official authorization of the King Estate.

Steven Spielberg is set to direct the film (Surprise surprise…it is his company) and casting has not yet been reported. However, I am really excited already about the film. I believe Spielberg and Co. will be able to pull off an amazing and in depth biopic. My question is will they do shooting for the film at King’s alma mater Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA? Or the question better yet is, will Morehouse let them film there? Spike Lee had attempted to shoot his School Daze on the grounds of Morehouse but was denied (he shot at other neighboring schools instead), perhaps this film will be different?

This is an ideal time to release the movie with the first Black president in office (bi-racial if we want to get specific-but let’s face it….there is a one drop rule). I hope that it will encourage and stimulate some dialogue about the progress that Black America has made as a people, rather than focusing on where we have yet to go. We should start the dialogue here, what has changed since King’s time? Let me know.

Anywho, I hope someone really talented plays Dr. King. No clue who that would be though. They better not just slap a Denzel on it, although I do love Mr. Washington. That’s neither here nor there.

I will be following this film’s progress closely, so stay tuned.