‘The Banker’ brings out the stars for Memphis
In one of the more star-studded events in Memphis movie history, actors Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Mackie and Nia Long converged Monday night at the National Civil Rights Museum for the world premiere of their new movie, “The Banker.”
Set mostly in the 1960s, “The Banker” — which opens Friday in Memphis at the Malco Wolfchase Cinema — is a drama inspired by the true story of Joe Morris and Bernard Garrett, black business
partners who bypassed the racism of the banking and real estate establishments by hiring a working-class white man to be the public face of their company, in order to secure deals for black borrowers who otherwise would be denied.
In a sort of reunion of Nick Fury and the Falcon from the Marvel “Avengers” series, Jackson and Mackie play Morris and Garrett, respectively. The working-class man is portrayed by Nicholas Hoult, who did not attend Monday’s event. Long — recognizable from such popular films as “Boyz n the Hood,” “Friday,” “The Best Man” and “Big Momma’s House” — plays Garrett’s wife, Eunice.
“Usually movie premieres are in New York or Los Angeles, but they wanted to bring it to the museum,” said Faith Morris, the National Civil Rights Museum’s chief marketing and external affairs officer.
“We don’t always do everything we’re asked to do, but we try to do things that are meaningful and are tied in with the story we want to share,” said Morris, in a reference to the movie’s historical and racial themes. “It’s a big thing for Memphis, it’s a great thing for the museum.”
“To be here in this place, with this movie, is humbling,” said Mackie, who pointed out that his “long history with Dr. King” is particularly personal: He has played the civil rights leader both on stage and on screen (the 2016 HBO production “All the Way”).
Producer Jonathan Baker said screening the movie at the museum caused the themes of the film to “resonate and magnify.” Other filmmakers echoed this sentiment, suggesting that the movie’s mission might not be dissimilar to the museum’s, as enumerated in the museum’s mission statement: “We educate and serve as a catalyst to inspire action to create positive social change.”
Talking with reporters at the so-called “red carpet” event before the movie’s 7:30 p.m. premiere (installed inside a makeshift corridor outside the museum on Mulberry Street, the carpet actually was gray), Jackson — minimalistically resplendent in burgundy cap and matching sneakers — compared “The Banker” to “Hidden Figures,” another true story of African American pride and determination in the face of entrenched racism.
“We do more than most people give us credit for,” he said. “We accomplish things that get buried in the history books.”
“The story doesn’t take place in Memphis,” said Mayor Jim Strickland, who attended the premiere, “but it could have.”
More than 50 media representatives attended the event, arriving from such cities as New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, Houston, Kansas City, St. Louis, Detroit, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Tampa. Some of the reporters attended a pair of special screenings at the Malco Powerhouse in the afternoon, while others were at the invitation-only premiere at the museum, conducting interviews with the dozen or so actors, producers, local dignitaries and Apple executives who ran the gauntlet of the red carpet. The evening concluded with an elaborate party at the Bishop restaurant at Central Station, with music by Scott Bomar’s Bo-keys with soul stalwarts Percy Wiggins and Don Bryant on vocals. (Bomar composed the score for Craig Brewer’s “Black Snake Moan,” the made-inmemphis movie that starred Jackson.)
In addition to the entertainment and mainstream media, the “faith” press was out in force, including reporters from the Christian Broadcasting Network, the Baptist Press, and a pair of nuns, representing the National Catholic Reporter and the Pauline Center for Media Studies.
Asked if they attend many movie premieres, Sister Rose Pacatte of Los Angeles — “Culver City, actually” — said “yes, if the movies have social justice content.”
She said she recently attended the premiere of “Call of the Wild.” “This ordinary nun’s hand shook Harrison Ford’s, twice,” she said. “I put that on Twitter and got 3,000 hits.”
Although the event seemed a natural for the National Civil Rights Museum, the museum was not the first choice for the movie’s premiere.
“The Banker” had been scheduled to debut Nov. 21 on the closing night of the 33rd annual AFI (American Film Institute) Fest in Los Angeles, but the film’s distributor, Apple, pulled the movie from the festival and also canceled its Dec. 6 theatrical release after Cynthia Garrett, the daughter of Bernard Garrett, accused her half-brother, Bernard Garrett Jr., of sexual abuse. Bernard Garrett Jr. was one of the film’s producers, although his credit has since been expunged.
According to the entertainment industry journal Deadline, the filmmakers were “blindsided” by the accusations. Director George Nolfi — who attended the Memphis premiere — told Deadline that Garrett Jr. was not involved in the creative process of the film, and that whatever might have happened years after the events depicted in the movie does not diminish the value of the story of Morris and Garrett Sr.
In December, the filmmakers released a public statement signed by Nolfi (whose best-known previous movie as a director is the science-fiction adventure, “The Adjustment Bureau”), Jackson (also an executive producer of “The Banker”), and much of the cast and crew:
“We set out to tell a story we were very passionate about, recounting the remarkable lives of Bernard Garrett Sr and Joe Morris, and their ground-breaking achievements combating racial inequality in the 1950s and 60s,” the statement said. “Though we have no way of knowing what may have transpired between Mr. Garrett’s children in the 1970s, including the allegations of abuse we have recently been made aware of, our hearts go out to anyone who has suffered. The film itself is not based on the recollections of any of Bernard Garrett Sr’s children, but rather, on recorded interviews with Bernard Garrett Sr himself, conducted in 1995, supported by congressional transcripts, court rulings, and other media articles from the era. We stand by the film, and its positive message of empowerment.”
For the filmmakers, hosting the premiere at the museum was a way to turn the conversation around the movie back to the civil rights and social justice themes of its story of black entrepreneurs defying Jim Crow racism.
For the museum, the event was an opportunity to raise awareness of various issues, to partner with Apple, and to be associated with one of the most popular and recognizable actors in movies, Samuel L. Jackson, who is no stranger to Memphis: In 2006, he was here while shooting “Black Snake Moan,” and in 2008 he was back to star alongside Bernie Mac in “Soul Men,” a comedy about a pair of estranged soul singers.
Jackson said that although “The Banker” is set in the past, it remains timely.
“There’s still a serious wealth gap,” he said “There’s still redlining. There’s still a lot of people preventing black businesses from getting started.”
Whatever its merits, “The Banker” is the biggest film yet for Apple TV+, as the subscription streaming service attempts to position itself as yet another rival to Netflix. The movie is set to arrive on the service March 20, following a limited theatrical release.
Locally, Malco generally does not book films with imminent streaming-service debut dates (notably, Martin Scorsese’s ballyhooed Netflix production, “The Irishman,” did not receive a Memphis theatrical run). Nevertheless, Malco made a place for “The Banker” at the Wolfchase in recognition of the likely local interest generated by its subject and by the publicity attendant to its National Civil Rights Museum premiere.
Jackson said he hopes people will see the film, because he believes it accomplished its goal, which was “to tell a story that is meaningful and still be entertaining.”
Asked about his success, he said: “I’m not worried about the wolf at the door.” But he said what motivates him is his passion for his art — the art of acting.
“I’m an artist,” he said. “I love acting. Painters get up and paint, writers get up and write. I’d get up and act every day if I could.”