Stephen Williams Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer If there’s an Avengers of television directors, “The Last of Us” just assembled it.

EXCLUSIVE: Mark Mylod, coming off his Outstanding Drama Directing Emmy win for HBO’s Succession, is headed to another HBO drama series tipped to succeed Succession as an Emmy juggernaut, The Last Of Us.

Hello and welcome to the Scene 2 Seen podcast I am your host Valerie Complex and we are back for another splendid episode!

Kelvin Harrison, Jr. stars as a forgotten musician and composer in Chevalier.

After posting giant per screen numbers at four theaters last weekend, A24’s Beau Is Afraid  jumps to 926 for the distributor’s third outing with Ari Aster. It’s a very different film from his horror favorites Hereditary and Midsommar but one the distributor hopes will cement the director’s place as a modern auteur.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor It took the combined talent of composers Kris Bowers and Michael Abels to help filmmaker Stephen Williams ensure Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges’ music lives on after his life story was erased from the history books. Williams’ new film, “Chevalier” tells the story of the illegitimate son of a plantation owner and slave. Played by Kelvin Harrison Jr., Chevalier is a promising young Black musician who excels at fencing, playing the violin and wooing the court of Marie Antoinette. In dividing their tasks, Abels wrote the music for the on-camera performances while Bowers composed the film’s score.

One sister isn’t letting the truth stay buried.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, should have been as famous as Mozart — except he wasn’t. Stephen Williams‘ new film “Chevalier” starring Kelvin Harrison Jr. as the titular violinist explores why. From Searchlight Pictures, the film opens in theaters on April 21 and follows Chevalier, a name bestowed on him after he caught the attention of Marie Antoinette, the illegitimate son of an African slave and plantation owner. Before bursting onto the scene, he performed violin concertos while building his fencing skills, becoming known as the “Black Mozart.” In a clip from the film, Bologne takes on a challenge against Mozart (Joseph Prowen), accepting a violin duel.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic Though his life and accomplishments were largely erased under Napoleon, the extraordinary figure at the center of Stephen Williams’ “Chevalier” really did exist. Born on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, the son of a white plantation owner and his Black slave, Joseph Bologne went on to excel in spheres rarely accessible to people of color in 18th-century French society. Here was a champion swordsman and celebrated musician invited to play his violin at Versailles, where Marie Antoinette reportedly accompanied him on the harpsichord. So why has it taken so long for his story to be told? The time certainly seems right to rediscover the Chevalier — an honorary title that reveals how high Bologne rose under France’s overtly racist Code Noir, as well as a fitting name for the film. A compelling example of Black excellence dating back even before the French Revolution, the English-language “Chevalier” doesn’t feel nearly as fusty as its powdered wigs and period setting might suggest. Like “Chocolat” (not the Johnny Depp confection, but the 2016 Omar Sy vehicle about the circus clown who broke barriers on the Paris stage), this modern-minded if occasionally under-nuanced costume drama fills a historic gap, starting with its fanciful opening scene: a violin showdown between Bologne (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Joseph Prowen) choreographed like a rap battle.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Kelvin Harrison Jr. spent up to six hours a day playing the violin in preparation for his latest film “Chevalier.” The period drama, set before the French Revolution, follows the life of composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, also known as Black Mozart. The Searchlight Pictures film also stars Samara Weaving, Lucy Boynton, Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo, Marton Csokas, Alex Fitzalan and Minnie Driver. Speaking with Variety, Harrison Jr. said despite being raised in a musical family (his father was a classical musician and a music teacher) he didn’t know about Chevalier. “I had no clue who he was, but he was pretty bold, and I was blown away by him,” he says.

Carmen,” a musical starring Paul Mescal, will have its West Coast premiere March 25 at the 2023 Sonoma International Film Festival (SIFF). Another debut set to take place during the five-day festival is the world premiere of “Jules,” with director Marc Turtletaub and stars Ben Kingsley and Jane Curtin planning to make an appearance for the occasion. The screening will kick off the opening night of the festival on March 22. Capping off the event are closing night films “The Eight Mountains,” which received a grand jury prize after its Cannes premiere, and Stephen Williams’ “Chevalier.”

EXCLUSIVE: Actor Alex Fitzalan (Chevalier) has signed with Mosaic for representation.

Betsy Brandt and Michael Park have joined the cast of Hulu’s psychological drama Saint X.

Lucy Boynton is gracing the red carpet at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.

Carson Burton Variety has announced this year’s list of 10 Screenwriters to Watch. The selected screenwriters will be honored at the 45th annual Mill Valley Film Festival with a dinner on Oct. 15. Andrea Berloff, the writer behind upcoming film “The Mother,” will also be honored with the Creative Impact in Screenwriting Award. The annual 10 Screenwriters to Watch program celebrates breakthrough screenwriters, actors, directors, comics, animators, producers and cinematographers in the industry. Some of the screenwriters are being honored for films that have already been released and received critical acclaim, including “Fire Island” or “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande.” Others, including the Brendan Fraser film “The Whale,” have yet to see wide release but are highly anticipated.

EXCLUSIVE: Searchlight Pictures has acquired and set a September start date for The Greatest Hits. Ned Benson (The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby) is directing his script and he has just set Lucy Boynton to star. Boynton takes the role after exiting over creative differences her plan to star as rock singer Marianne Faithfull in a biopic.

GALA PRESENTATIONS 2022*Previously announcedAlice, Darling Mary Nighy | Canada, USAWorld PremiereBlack Ice Hubert Davis | CanadaWorld PremiereButcher’s Crossing Gabe Polsky | USAWorld PremiereThe Greatest Beer Run Ever Peter Farrelly | USAWorld PremiereThe Hummingbird Francesca Archibugi | Italy, FranceWorld PremiereHunt Lee Jung-jae | South KoreaNorth American PremiereA Jazzman’s Blues Tyler Perry | USAWorld PremiereKacchey Limbu Shubham Yogi | IndiaWorld PremiereMoving On Paul Weitz | USAWorld PremiereParis Memories Alice Winocour | FranceNorth American PremierePrisoner’s Daughter Catherine Hardwicke | USAWorld PremiereRaymond & Ray Rodrigo García | USAWorld PremiereRoost Amy Redford | USAWorld PremiereSidney Reginald Hudlin | USAWorld PremiereThe Son Florian Zeller | United KingdomNorth American PremiereOpening Night Film*The Swimmers Sally El Hosaini | United KingdomWorld PremiereWhat’s Love Got To Do With It? Shekhar Kapur | United KingdomWorld Premiere*The Woman King Gina Prince-Bythewood | USAWorld PremiereSPECIAL PRESENTATIONS 2022*Previously announcedAllelujah Sir Richard Eyre | United KingdomWorld PremiereAll Quiet on the Western Front Edward Berger | USA, GermanyWorld PremiereThe Banshees Of Inisherin Martin McDonagh | United Kingdom, Ireland, USANorth American PremiereBlueback Robert Connolly | AustraliaWorld PremiereThe Blue Caftan Maryam Touzani | Morocco, France, Belgium, DenmarkNorth American PremiereBroker Hirokazu Kore-eda | South KoreaCanadian Premiere*Brother Clement Virgo | CanadaWorld Premiere*Bros Nicholas Stoller | USAWorld Premiere*Catherine Called Birdy Lena Dunham | United KingdomWorld PremiereCauseway Lila Neugebauer | USAWorld PremiereChevalier Stephen Williams | USAWorld PremiereCorsage Mari

Samara Weaving (The Valet) and Tony Revolori (Spider-Man: No Way Home) are the latest additions to the cast of Scream 6, Deadline can confirm. They join an ensemble that also includes Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding and Jenna Ortega, who toplined the fifth film in the franchise, along with Hayden Panettiere, Courteney Cox, Dermot Mulroney, Jack Champion, Liana Liberato, Devyn Nekoda, Josh Segarra and Henry Czerny.

Hulu’s upcoming series Saint X is undergoing a major casting change. Victoria Pedretti (You) who had been tapped as the lead, has departed the psychological drama over creative differences. She has been replaced by Fear the Walking Dead‘s  Alycia Debnam-Carey on the show, produced by ABC Signature, which is shooting in the Dominican Republic.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterVictoria Pedretti will no longer star in the “Saint X” series at Hulu, Variety has learned, with Alycia Debnam-Carey stepping in to take over her role.According to an individual with knowledge of the production, Pedretti decided to leave the show over creative differences. The news also comes after it was reported that production on the series had shut down in the Dominican Republic after a large number of crew members walked off the show reportedly over a pay dispute.“Saint X” is based on the Alexis Schaitkin novel of the same name.

EXCLUSIVE: Jayden Elijah (School’s Out Forever) rounds out the lead cast of Saint X, joining Victoria Pedretti, Josh Bonzie and West Duchovny in Hulu’s eight-part series from writer Leila Gerstein and director Dee Rees.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterWest Duchovny has signed on to star in the upcoming Hulu drama series “Saint X,” Variety has learned.Duchovny joins previously announced cast members Victoria Pedretti and Josh Bonzie in the show, which is based on the Alexis Schaitkin novel of the same name. It is described as a psychological drama, which is told via multiple timelines and perspectives.

West Duchovny (Linoleum) is set as a lead opposite Victoria Pedretti and Josh Bonzie in Saint X, Hulu’s eight-part series from writer Leila Gerstein and director Dee Rees.

EXCLUSIVE: Josh Bonzie (The Politician) is set as a lead opposite Victoria Pedretti in Saint X, Hulu’s eight-part series from writer Leila Gerstein and director Dee Rees.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterVictoria Pedretti has signed on for a lead role in the upcoming Hulu drama series “Saint X,” Variety has learned.The series is based on the Alexis Schaitkin novel of the same name. It is described as a psychological drama, which is told via multiple timelines and perspectives.