[Ohio-Talk] Movies and Friends

[Steve Cook]

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We hope you will join us for 2 great movies and trivia this month! 

The below events take place at 8:00 PM Eastern and on the NFB of SC Zoom Platform. More about each movie below the Zoom information. 
Friday, January 3, 2023 Emancipation
Friday, January 10, 2023 Respect
Friday, January 17, 2023 Trivia Night

NFB of SC Zoom

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Meeting ID: 803 254 3777
Passcode: 124578
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Emancipation

In the 1860s, the African-American enslaved Peter escapes from Louisiana to freedom. In the opening scene, Peter is seen sitting on the floor kneeled before his wife. His children are sitting around him, eagerly listening to the words he speaks as he washes his wife’s feet. Suddenly a group of white men appear in the doorway and tells Peter to “come on boy”. They snatched him out of the house and Peter puts up a brief fight until one of the men points a gun at his wife’s head. He then tell the men that he will walk. Peter is then hit in the back of his head, put into the back of a cage and taken from his family. Destination unknown. [4]

Cast
Will Smith as Peter
Ben Foster as Fassel
Charmaine Bingwa as Dodienne
Steven Ogg as Sergeant Howard
Mustafa Shakir as Andre Cailloux
Timothy Hutton as Senator John Lyons
Gilbert Owuor as Gordon
Grant Harvey as Leeds
Ronnie Gene Blevins as Harrington
Jabbar Lewis as Tomas
Michael Luwoye as John
Aaron Moten as Knowls
Imani Pullum as Betsy
David Denman as General William Dwight 

Respect

In 1952, 10-year-old Aretha Franklin lives with her father C.L., pastor of Detroit’s largest Baptist church, and her siblings Cecil, Erma, and Carolyn. Aretha’s father often has her sing for parties at their home, while her mother Barbara, separated from C.L., encourages her independence. The predatory actions of a family friend, combined with the sudden death of Barbara, traumatizes Aretha, who ceases to speak for weeks until her father demands that she sing at church.

Seven years later, Aretha is a teen mother of two boys, but refuses to name their father. Touring as a gospel singer with family friend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., she meets local producer Ted White, but C.L. warns him to stay away. C.L. surprises Aretha with a meeting with Columbia Records executive John Hammond. She accepts a contract to record jazz standards, including "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive."

Four albums later, Aretha lacks a signature hit. At a club, she attempts to honor family friend Dinah Washington by performing one of Dinah’s songs; outraged, Dinah advises Aretha to find songs that move her. Struggling with the controlling influence of her father, Aretha begins a relationship with Ted. She brings him home to meet her family, leading C.L. to nearly shoot him, but announces Ted as her manager.

Two years later, Ted and Aretha are married with a child. After nine albums with no real success, Aretha is dropped by Columbia. Ted secures a deal with veteran producer Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records, who introduces her to a group of white musicians in Muscle Shoals in 1967. There, Aretha records "I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)", but a jealous Ted becomes violent with her.

Returning to Detroit with a black eye, Aretha reconnects with her family. Realizing her song has been released, becoming her first hit, Aretha takes a more hands-on role in her career. She makes her sisters her new backup singers and, despite their misgivings, reunites with Ted. Aretha and Carolyn are inspired to re-arrange Otis Redding's "Respect"; their version becomes a #1 single, launching Aretha to stardom by her 25th birthday.

At a Detroit concert, Dr. King honors Aretha for her support of the Civil Rights Movement, proclaiming February 16 "Aretha Franklin Day". She has another signature hit, "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", but her career is complicated by Ted’s increasingly volatile behavior. Embarking on a European tour in 1968, Aretha is confronted with a Time magazine cover story about Ted’s abuse, and finally casts him out of her life.

Dating her tour manager Ken Cunningham, Aretha eventually has her fourth child. In the wake of Dr. King's assassination, Aretha's father drunkenly argues with her over the direction of the Movement, telling her that she no longer walks in the spirit. Aretha continues to release hits but overworks herself, coping with the pressure through alcohol, and rejects her family’s attempts to help her.

During another overseas performance, a drunken Aretha falls from the stage. On a downward spiral and estranged from Ken and her family, she is consoled by a vision of her late mother. Aretha finds the strength to quit drinking, leading Ken to reconcile with her, and returns to her gospel roots. She approaches Wexler with the idea to produce her own gospel album, and he agrees on the condition that the recording of the album be filmed for a documentary.

Beginning rehearsals, Aretha confides in family friend James Cleveland, now a respected gospel artist. The day of the album’s recording, her father arrives to reconcile with her. The service begins and, with her family in attendance, Aretha sings her arrangement of the hymn, Amazing Grace. An epilogue reveals Aretha Franklin’s legacy as a world-famous artist and the “Queen of Soul”.

Cast
Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin[7]
Skye Dakota Turner as young Aretha
Forest Whitaker as C. L. Franklin, Aretha's father
Marlon Wayans as Ted White, Aretha's abusive husband and manager
Audra McDonald as Barbara Siggers Franklin, Aretha's mother
Marc Maron as Jerry Wexler
Albert Jones as Ken Cunningham
Leroy McClain as Cecil Franklin, Aretha's older brother
Tituss Burgess as James Cleveland
Saycon Sengbloh as Erma Franklin, Aretha's older sister
Hailey Kilgore as Carolyn Franklin, Aretha's younger sister
Tate Donovan as John Hammond
Mary J. Blige as Dinah Washington
Kelvin Hair as Sam Cooke
Heather Headley as Clara Ward
Lodric D. Collins as Smokey Robinson[1]
Gilbert Glenn Brown as Martin Luther King Jr.
Brenda Nicole Moorer as Brenda Franklin-Corbett, Aretha's cousin