Joel Daniel Coen and Ethan Jesse Coen, together known as the Coen brothers, are an American filmmaking duo. Their films span many genres and styles, which they frequently subvert or parody. Their most acclaimed works include Blood Simple (1984), Raising Arizona (1987), Miller's Crossing (1990), Barton Fink (1991), Fargo (1996), The Big Lebowski (1998), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), No Country for Old Men (2007), A Serious Man (2009), True Grit (2010) and Inside Llewyn Davis (2013).
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is an American actor, producer, and director. Known for his work spanning over four decades of screen and stage, he has been regarded as one of the best actors of his generation, with The New York Times naming him the greatest actor of the 21st century in 2020. Washington has received a number of honors, including two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, three Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Cecil B. DeMille Award and AFI Life Achievement Award, and nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards.
The Hurricane is a 1999 American biographical sports drama film directed and produced by Norman Jewison. The film stars Denzel Washington as Rubin "The Hurricane" Carter, a former middleweight boxer who was wrongly convicted of a triple murder in a bar in Paterson, New Jersey. The script was adapted by Armyan Bernstein and Dan Gordon from Carter's 1974 autobiography The Sixteenth Round: From Number 1 Contender To 45472 and the 1991 non-fiction work Lazarus and the Hurricane: The Freeing of Rubin "The Hurricane" Carter by Sam Chaiton and Terry Swinton.
Remember the Titans is a 2000 American biographical sports drama film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Boaz Yakin. The screenplay by Gregory Allen Howard is loosely based on the true story of coach Herman Boone, portrayed by Denzel Washington, and his attempt to integrate the T. C. Williams High School football team in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1971. Will Patton portrays Bill Yoast, Boone's assistant coach. Real-life athletes Gerry Bertier and Julius Campbell are portrayed by Ryan Hurst and Wood Harris, respectively.
Crimson Tide is a 1995 American submarine action thriller film directed by Tony Scott and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. It takes place during a period of political turmoil in Russia, in which ultranationalists threaten to launch nuclear missiles at the United States and Japan.
He Got Game is a 1998 American sports drama film written, produced and directed by Spike Lee and starring Denzel Washington and Ray Allen. The film revolves around Jake Shuttlesworth, father of the top-ranked basketball prospect in the country, Jesus Shuttlesworth. Jake, in prison for killing his wife, is released on parole for a week by the state's governor to persuade his son to play for the governor's alma mater in exchange for a reduced prison sentence.
Lynn Whitfield is an American actress. She began her acting career in television and theatre before progressing to supporting roles in film. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie and received a Golden Globe Award nomination for her breakout performance as Josephine Baker in the HBO biographical film The Josephine Baker Story (1991).
Salli Richardson-Whitfield is an American actress and television director. Richardson is known for her role as Angela in the film A Low Down Dirty Shame (1994) and for her role as Dr. Allison Blake on the Syfy comedy-drama series Eureka (2006–2012).
Doctor Detroit is a 1983 American comedy film directed by Michael Pressman with writing by Bruce Jay Friedman, Carl Gottlieb, and Robert Boris. The film stars Dan Aykroyd, Howard Hesseman, Lynn Whitfield, Fran Drescher, and Donna Dixon, with a special appearance by James Brown. It was the first film Aykroyd made after the death of John Belushi, and the first one in which he is not sharing top bill with other actors. Aykroyd and his co-star Dixon married soon after the film's release.
Kimberly Elise Trammel is an American actress. She made her feature-film debut in Set It Off (1996), and later received critical acclaim for her performance in Beloved (1998).
Jurnee Diana Smollett is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress appearing on television sitcoms, including On Our Own (1994–1995) and Full House (1992–1994). She gained greater recognition with her role in Kasi Lemmons's independent film Eve's Bayou (1997), which earned her a Critics' Choice Movie Award.
The Great Debaters is a 2007 American historical drama film directed by Denzel Washington from a screenplay by Robert Eisele and based on a 1997 article for American Legacy by Tony Scherman. The film follows the trials and tribulations of the Wiley College debate team in 1935 Texas. It stars Washington, Forest Whitaker, Denzel Whitaker, Kimberly Elise, Nate Parker, Gina Ravera, Jermaine Williams, and Jurnee Smollett.
George Washington Preparatory High School is a public four-year high school of Los Angeles Unified School District in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located in the Westmont census-designated place and has a Los Angeles postal address.
Power is a 1986 American political drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Richard Gere. The original screenplay by David Himmelstein focuses on political corruption and how power affects both those who wield it and the people they try to control.
The Book of Eli is a 2010 American post-apocalyptic neo-Western action film directed by the Hughes Brothers, written by Gary Whitta, and starring Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, and Jennifer Beals. The story revolves around Eli, a nomad in a post-apocalyptic world who seeks to deliver his copy of a mysterious book to a safe location on the West Coast of the United States. Filming began in February 2009 and took place in New Mexico.
The Josephine Baker Story is an American television film that first aired on HBO on March 16, 1991. It stars Lynn Whitfield as Josephine Baker, who was an international African-American star, who was especially successful in Europe. The film was generally well received by critics and has become a success on home video and DVD. The original music score was composed by Georges Delerue.
The Planet of Junior Brown, retitled Junior's Groove in some releases, is a 1997 Canadian drama film. Directed by Clement Virgo, the film was written by Virgo and Cameron Bailey as an adaptation of Virginia Hamilton's 1971 novel The Planet of Junior Brown. The adaptation changes the novels setting from 1970s Harlem to 1997 Toronto, where Virgo grew up.
Roman J. Israel, Esq. is a 2017 American legal drama film written and directed by Dan Gilroy. The film stars Denzel Washington and Colin Farrell and follows the life of a civil rights advocate and defense lawyer (Washington) who finds himself in a tumultuous series of events that lead to a personal crisis and the necessity for extreme action.
Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary is a 2017 American documentary film, written and directed by John Scheinfeld.
George J. McKenna III is an American politician and former educator currently serving as a member of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education for District 1, a position he has held since 2014. Prior to his board tenure, McKenna served as the principal of George Washington Preparatory High School. During his tenure, he led reforms to address issues related to gang violence in the school. His initiatives at the school were recounted in the 1986 biographical film The George McKenna Story where he was portrayed by Denzel Washington.
