‘Rewind with Ellen‘ hosts Ellen J. Wanjiru and Rougét Carter discuss Judas and the Black Messiah, a biographical drama film about the betrayal of Fred Hampton (played by Daniel Kaluuya), chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in late-1960s Chicago, by William O’Neal (played by Lakeith Stanfield), an FBI informant.
The film also stars Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback, Ashton Sanders, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Lil Rel Howery, Algee Smith, Dominique Thorne, and Martin Sheen. The film is directed and produced by Shaka King, who wrote the screenplay with Will Berson, based on a story by the pair and Kenny and Keith Lucas. Watch ep. 7 below!
Judas and the Black Messiah premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on February 1, 2021, and was released in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures on February 12, simultaneously in theaters and digitally on HBO Max. The film was lauded by critics, who praised King’s direction, the performances (particularly Kaluuya’s and Stanfield’s), and its timely themes. The film earned six Oscar nominations at the 93rd Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor for both Kaluuya and Stanfield, and won Best Supporting Actor for Kaluuya and Best Original Song (“Fight for You”). For his performance, Kaluuya also won Best Supporting Actor at the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and BAFTA Awards.
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