{"id":67990,"date":"2014-01-24T11:59:57","date_gmt":"2014-01-24T11:59:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/0de2709a84.nxcli.net\/0-kjasnb\/2014\/01\/24\/attack-the-blocks-john-boyega-tapped-to-star-in-jesse-owens-biopic\/"},"modified":"2018-12-18T04:10:07","modified_gmt":"2018-12-18T04:10:07","slug":"attack-the-blocks-john-boyega-tapped-to-star-in-jesse-owens-biopic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/attack-the-blocks-john-boyega-tapped-to-star-in-jesse-owens-biopic\/","title":{"rendered":"Attack the Block’s John Boyega tapped to star in Jesse Owens Biopic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Attack the Block’s John Boyega tapped to star in Jesse Owens Biopic<\/strong>Posted by Wilson Morales<\/p>\n

January 25, 2014<\/p>\n

Source: Variety<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>John Boyega<\/strong>, who starred in Joe Cornish’s Attack The Block<\/strong>, will portray Olympic athlete Jesse Owens<\/strong> in the biopic \u201cRace,\u201d<\/strong> states Variety<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The film will be directed by Stephen Hopkins<\/strong> (\u201cThe Life and Death of Peter Sellers\u201d) from a script by Anna Waterhouse<\/strong> and Joe Shrapnel<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cRace\u201d will focus on how Owens, the son of an Alabama sharecropper, shattered Adolf Hitler\u2019s myth of Aryan supremacy at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by winning a record four gold medals in the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, the long jump and the 400-meter relay. Owens\u2019 victories are considered among the greatest atlhetic feats of all time.<\/p>\n

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Hitler had insisted Jews and Blacks not be allowed to participate in the games, but relented when threatened with a boycott. He shook hands only with the German victors on the first day of competition and then skipped all further medal presentations.<\/p>\n

Production on the film will start in May in Berlin and Montreal, with locations to include the actual Berlin Olympic stadium where Owens won the four gold medals.<\/p>\n

Boyega will soon be seen in Malik Vitthal<\/strong>\u2019s inner-city drama \u201cImperial Dreams,\u201d<\/strong> which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. He will also appear in \u201cHalf of a Yellow Sun\u201d <\/strong>opposite Thandie Newton<\/strong> and Chiwetel Ejiofor<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Variety also states that \u201cRace\u201d is supported by the Jesse Owens Foundation, the Jesse Owens Trust and the Luminary Group. It has been been in development for the past two years.<\/p>\n

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