‘Moana,’ left, one of many new films to showcase diversity,
Fall movie slate brings better representation
Could next year be #OscarsSo White all over again? With a film slate as diverse as this fall’s, there’s reason to hope it won’t.
“What we’re seeing now is Hollywood is listening,” says Erik Davis, Fandango.com managing editor, referring to the intense social media backlash that erupted after two years of allwhite acting nominations. “It began with more diversity added to the academy voting pool, and we’re beginning to see it course its way throughout the films. This fall especially, we’re seeing more diversity — and not just in the smaller independent movies that are hoping for awards.” Western remake The Magnifi
cent Seven (in theaters Sept. 23), for example, stars Denzel Washington, Byung-hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo and Martin Sensmeier. Female, Mexican and Chinese actors lead the ensemble of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Dec. 16), and erotic thriller When
the Bough Breaks (Friday) has a primarily African-American cast.
There are also many bright spots in awards contenders featuring black actors and stories. Cannes Film Festival darling Lov
ing (Nov. 4) tells the true story of a couple in 1950s Virginia jailed for violating the state’s law prohibiting interracial marriage. Nate Parker’s controversial The
Birth of A Nation (Oct. 7) re- counts Nat Turner’s slave rebellion in 1831, and Telluride Film Festival breakout Moonlight (Oct. 21) follows the coming of age of a gay black man. Nine more to look for this fall: QUEEN OF KATWE (Sept. 23). A young Ugandan girl from the slums (Madina Nalwanga) becomes an international chess champion with the support of her mother (Lupita Nyong’o) and teacher (David Oyelowo). DESIERTO (Oct. 14). Gael García Bernal stars in a gritty drama about a group of immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border who face off against a deranged, racist vigilante (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Stoker THE HANDMAIDEN (Oct. 14). director Chan-wook Park returns with this South Korean psychological thriller, which earned rave reviews at Cannes.
TYLER PERRY’S BOO! A MADEA
HALLOWEEN (Oct. 21). Cantankerous matriarch Madea (Tyler Perry) is trapped in a haunted house in the latest installment of the long-running franchise.
ALMOST CHRISTMAS (Nov. 11). Mo ’Nique, Danny Glover and Gabrielle Union lead the stacked ensemble of this holiday comedy, about a dysfunctional family coming together for the first time since their mother died.
MOANA (Nov. 23). A young girl (Auli‘i Cravalho) teams up with a rambunctious demigod (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) in this South Pacific-set animated adventure, featuring songs by Hamilton‘ s Lin-Manuel Miranda.
LION (Nov. 25). A young man (Dev Patel) returns to India to search for his family, from whom he was separated as a child before being adopted by an Australian couple (Nicole Kidman, David Wenham).
FENCES (Dec. 16). Denzel Washington and Viola Davis are husband and wife in this adaptation of the August Wilson play about a former baseball star (Washington) working as a trash collector in 1950s Pittsburgh.
HIDDEN FIGURES (Dec. 25). Empire’s Taraji P. Henson and Oscar winner Octavia Spencer star as NASA scientists at the forefront of the 1960s space race in this untold true story.