Black or White (film)

Last updated

Black or White
Black or White poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Mike Binder
Written byMike Binder
Produced by Kevin Costner
Mike Binder
Todd Lewis
Starring
CinematographyRuss T. Alsobrook
Edited byRoger Nygard
Music by Terence Blanchard
Production
companies
Sunlight Productions
Treehouse Films
Treehouse Productions
Venture Forth
Distributed by Relativity Media (United States)
IM Global (International)
Release dates
  • September 6, 2014 (2014-09-06)(TIFF)
  • January 30, 2015 (2015-01-30)(United States)
Running time
121 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$9 million [1]
Box office$21.7 million [2]

Black or White is a 2014 American drama film written and directed by Mike Binder. The film stars Kevin Costner, Octavia Spencer, Jillian Estell, Bill Burr, Jennifer Ehle, Andre Holland, Gillian Jacobs, and Anthony Mackie. The film premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in the United States on January 30, 2015.

Contents

Premise

Elliot Anderson is widowed after a car crash leads to the death of his wife. At the funeral, Rowena, his granddaughter Eloise's paternal grandmother, offers to care for Eloise, but Elliot angrily declines. Elliot raises his granddaughter as he struggles with his grief by binge-drinking. Elliot's world is turned upside-down when Rowena demands that Eloise be brought under the care of her father Reggie, Rowena's son, who is addicted to drugs and whom Elliot blames for the negligence that led to the death of his own daughter. Elliot finds himself deeply entrenched in a custody battle and will stop at nothing to keep his granddaughter from coming under the watch of her reckless father.

Cast

Production

On September 25, 2014, Open Road Films was in talks to acquire the US distribution rights to the film. [3] On October 17, Relativity Media acquired the US rights to the film. [4]

A thousand girls auditioned for the part of Eloise. [5]

Costner financed the film using his own money. [5]

Post production

Principal photography of the film began on July 15, 2013, in New Orleans [6] with the filming lasting for five weeks. [7] [8]

Release

Relativity planned to release the film in time to qualify for the Oscar race, [4] starting with a limited release on December 3, 2014, then opening wide on January 30, 2015. [9] [10]

Home media

Black or White was released on Blu-ray and DVD on May 5, 2015. [11]

Reception

Box office

Black or White grossed $21.6 million in North America against a budget of $9 million. [2]

In its opening weekend of January 30, 2015, the film made a gross of $2.3 million on Friday, $3 million on Saturday, and $986,312 on Sunday for a weekend total of $6.2 million, playing in 1,823 with a per-theater average of $3,408 and ranking #4. [12]

Critical response

Black or White received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 39% rating, based on 102 reviews, with an average rating of 5.19/10. The website's consensus reads: "Black or White has more on its mind than your average family drama, but the film's approach to its thought-provoking themes too often lives down to its title." [13] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 45 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [14] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. [15]

Jordan Mintzer of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "Black and White never panders too easily to sentiments, creating characters who are riddled with flaws but likeable all the same." [16] Scott Foundas of Variety praised Costner for his performance calling it "some of the finest, most deeply felt work of his career" but was critical of the film "this well-intentioned family drama never quite shakes free from its didactic, movie-of-the-week dramaturgy and a hand-holding approach to race-relations." [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Spacey</span> American actor (born 1959)

Kevin Spacey Fowler is an American actor. Known for his work on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, and two Laurence Olivier Awards. Spacey was named an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2015.

<i>Field of Dreams</i> 1989 film by Phil Alden Robinson

Field of Dreams is a 1989 American sports fantasy drama film written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson, based on Canadian novelist W. P. Kinsella's 1982 novel Shoeless Joe. The film stars Kevin Costner as a farmer who builds a baseball field in his cornfield that attracts the ghosts of baseball legends, including Shoeless Joe Jackson and the Chicago Black Sox. Amy Madigan, James Earl Jones and Burt Lancaster also star.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Costner</span> American actor and filmmaker (born 1955)

Kevin Michael Costner is an American actor, producer, and director. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award.

<i>Waterworld</i> 1995 post-apocalyptic action film

Waterworld is a 1995 American post-apocalyptic action film directed by Kevin Reynolds and co-written by Peter Rader and David Twohy. It was based on Rader's original 1986 screenplay and stars Kevin Costner, who also produced it with Charles Gordon and John Davis. It was distributed by Universal Pictures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Ehle</span> American-British actress (born 1969)

Jennifer Anne Ehle is an American actress. She gained recognition and acclaim for her role as Elizabeth Bennet in the BBC miniseries Pride and Prejudice (1995), for which she received the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress. Known for her roles on Broadway and the West End she has won two Tony Awards as well as a nomination for a Laurence Olivier Award.

Mike Binder is an American filmmaker, stand-up comedian, and actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abigail Spencer</span> American actress

Abigail Leigh Spencer is an American actress. She began her career playing Rebecca Tyree on the ABC daytime television soap opera All My Children (1999–2001) before going on to star in the Lifetime crime drama series, Angela's Eyes (2006). From 2013 to 2016, Spencer starred as Amantha Holden in the SundanceTV drama series Rectify, for which she received a nomination for a Critics' Choice Television Award; she then starred as history professor Lucy Preston in the NBC science-fiction series Timeless.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Octavia Spencer</span> American actress

Octavia Lenora Spencer is an American actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Relativity Media</span> American media company

Relativity Media, LLC is an American independent media company founded in 2004 by Lynwood Spinks and Ryan Kavanaugh. The company brokered film finance deals and later branched into film production and other entertainment ventures. The company was commercially successful prior to bankruptcy.

<i>The Help</i> (film) 2011 drama film by Tate Taylor

The Help is a 2011 period drama film written and directed by Tate Taylor and based on Kathryn Stockett's 2009 novel of the same name. The film features an ensemble cast, including Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Allison Janney, Cicely Tyson, and Sissy Spacek. The film and novel recount the story of a young white woman and aspiring journalist Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan. The story focuses on her relationship with two black maids, Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson, during the Civil Rights Movement in 1963 Jackson, Mississippi. In an attempt to become a legitimate journalist and writer, Skeeter decides to write a book from the point of view of the maids, exposing the racism they face as they work for white families. Black domestic workers in 1960s America were referred to as "the help", hence the title of the journalistic exposé, the novel and the film. "The Help" brings to light the challenges and discrimination that African American people faced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morgan Saylor</span> American actress

Morgan Frances Saylor is an American actress. She is best known for starring as Dana Brody in the Showtime series Homeland, 2019's Blow the Man Down and for her critically acclaimed portrayal of Leah in the 2016 Sundance film White Girl. Along with the rest of the cast of Homeland, Saylor was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2013 and 2014.

The presence of African Americans in major motion picture roles has stirred controversy and been limited dating back decades due to lingering racism following slavery and segregation. "Through most of the 20th century, images of African-Americans in advertising were mainly limited to servants like the pancake-mammy Aunt Jemima and Rastus, the chef on the Cream of Wheat box." While African American representation in the film industry has improved over the years, it has not been a linear process; "Race in American cinema has rarely been a matter of simple step-by-step progress. It has more often proceeded in fits and starts, with backlashes coming on the heels of breakthroughs, and periods of intense argument followed by uncomfortable silence."

<i>3 Days to Kill</i> 2014 international action thriller film by McG

3 Days to Kill is a 2014 action thriller film directed by McG and written by Luc Besson and Adi Hasak. It stars Kevin Costner, Amber Heard, Hailee Steinfeld, Connie Nielsen, Richard Sammel, and Eriq Ebouaney. It was released on 21 February 2014, received mixed reviews, and grossed $52.6 million against its $28 million budget.

<i>McFarland, USA</i> 2015 American film

McFarland, USA is a 2015 American sports drama film directed by Niki Caro, produced by Mark Ciardi and Gordon Gray, written by Christopher Cleveland, Bettina Gilois and Grant Thompson with music composed by Antônio Pinto. The film was co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Mayhem Pictures. Based on the true story of a 1987 cross country team from a mainly Latino high school in McFarland, California, the film stars Kevin Costner as Jim White, the school's coach, who leads the team to win a state championship. The film also stars Maria Bello and Morgan Saylor.

<i>Criminal</i> (2016 film) 2016 film by Ariel Vromexx

Criminal is a 2016 American action thriller film directed by Ariel Vromen and written by Douglas Cook and David Weisberg. The film is about a convict who is implanted with a dead CIA agent's memories to finish an assignment. The film stars Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, and Tommy Lee Jones, in the second collaboration among all three following the 1991 film JFK. The film also features Alice Eve and Gal Gadot, with the death of Ryan Reynolds's character, early in the film, setting the plot in motion.

<i>Hidden Figures</i> 2016 film by Theodore Melfi

Hidden Figures is a 2016 American biographical drama film directed by Theodore Melfi and written by Melfi and Allison Schroeder. It is loosely based on the 2016 non-fiction book of the same name by Margot Lee Shetterly about three female African-American mathematicians: Katherine Goble Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson, who worked at NASA during the Space Race. Other stars include Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Mahershala Ali, Aldis Hodge, and Glen Powell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margot Lee Shetterly</span> American nonfiction writer

Margot Lee Shetterly is an American nonfiction writer who has also worked in investment banking and media startups. Her first book, Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Who Helped Win the Space Race (2016), is about African-American women mathematicians working at NASA who were instrumental to the success of the United States space program. She sold the movie rights while still working on the book, and it was adapted as a feature film of the same name, Hidden Figures (2016). For several years Shetterly and her husband lived and worked in Mexico, where they founded and published Inside Mexico, a magazine directed to English-speaking readers.

Yellowstone is an American neo-Western drama television series created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson that premiered on June 20, 2018, on Paramount Network. The series stars Kevin Costner, Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille, and Gil Birmingham. The series follows the conflicts along the shared borders of the Yellowstone Ranch, a large cattle ranch, the Broken Rock Indian reservation, Yellowstone National Park and land developers. The fifth season will be its last and is followed by a sequel series titled 2024. The first part of the fifth and final season premiered on November 13, 2022, with the second part scheduled to premiere on November 10, 2024.

<i>Ma</i> (2019 film) 2019 American psychological horror film

Ma is a 2019 American psychological horror film, co-produced and directed by Tate Taylor. It stars Octavia Spencer, Juliette Lewis, Diana Silvers, Corey Fogelmanis, Gianni Paolo, McKaley Miller and Luke Evans and follows a group of teenagers who befriend a lonely middle-aged woman. She lets them party in her basement, and they end up being terrorized by her. The film was produced by Jason Blum through his Blumhouse Productions company, along with Tate Taylor and John Norris.

<i>Self Made</i> (miniseries) American drama streaming television limited series

Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C. J. Walker is an American drama television limited series, based on the biography On Her Own Ground by A'Lelia Bundles, that premiered on March 20, 2020, on Netflix. It received generally positive reviews with praise for Octavia Spencer's performance; however it received criticism for various historical inaccuracies and artistic licence. For her performance, Spencer received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie.

References

  1. Hinds, Julie (December 9, 2014). "Costner-led 'Black or White' gets local release date". Detroit Free Press . Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Black or White (2015)". Box Office Mojo . IMDB. Archived from the original on June 5, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  3. Siegel, Tatiana (September 25, 2014). "Toronto: Open Road in Talks to Acquire Kevin Costner, Octavia Spencer's 'Black and White'". hollywoodreporter.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  4. 1 2 Fleming, Mike Jr. (October 17, 2014). "Relativity Buys Kevin Costner-Starrer 'Black Or White'". deadline.com. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  5. 1 2 Hammond, Pete (January 7, 2015). "Oscars: Kevin Costner Put His Heart – And Own Money – Into 'Black Or White'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 31, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  6. "Kevin Costner's 'Black and White' Ready to Start Shooting". mxdwn.com. July 12, 2013. Archived from the original on July 15, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  7. "'Black and White,' starring Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer, begins production in New Orleans". nola.com. July 15, 2013. Archived from the original on July 18, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  8. "Kevin Costner, Octavia Spencer & Andre Holland shooting 'Black and White' in New Orleans". onlocationvacations.com. July 23, 2013. Archived from the original on July 30, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
  9. Austin Siegemund-Broka. "Kevin Costner-Octavia Spencer Drama 'Black and White' Gets Oscar-Qualifying Run". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 9, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2014. It will run for one week in December, then will receive a platform release on January 23, 2015, and will expand on January 30.
  10. Johnson, Ted (December 7, 2014). "PopPolitics: Kevin Costner on 'Black or White,' Ferguson and the Future (Listen)". Variety . Archived from the original on March 31, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022. now in limited release
  11. "Black or White". Dvdsreleasedates.com. 2015. Archived from the original on April 1, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  12. "Black or White daily gross". Box Office Mojo . IMDB. Archived from the original on February 16, 2015. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  13. "Black or White". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media. Archived from the original on May 6, 2024. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  14. "Black or White Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
  15. D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 3, 2015). "'American Sniper' Misses Super Bowl Record; Most Top 10 Films Off – Monday B.O. Actuals". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 31, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022. With an A- Cinemascore, the film saw a 32% uptick between Friday and Saturday.
  16. Mintzer, Jordan (September 6, 2014). "'Black and White': Toronto Review". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on March 31, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  17. Foundas, Scott (September 12, 2014). "Toronto Film Review: 'Black and White'". Variety . Archived from the original on March 31, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.