How the Film 'Mother of George' Got Made

Danai Gurira in Mother of George

In February 2013 Tambay A. Obenson did an extensive interview with SimonSays Entertainment Founder & President Ron Simons & Producing Associate April Yvette Thompson for Shadow & Act. Below is an excerpt from their talk about Mother of George.

____________________________________________________

Tambay A. Obenson: With regards to Mother Of George; this is a whole other world for you, we could say. A first for you in terms of the part of the Diaspora that it focuses on. I like that you're moving around the Diaspora. And, with Andrew's background in Fashion photography, as well as Bradford Young's cinematography, I'm expecting a beautifully shot film, like their last collaboration, Restless City, but with a more conventional story line than Restless City's. Speak on how you got involved with Mother Of George, your interests in it, and your expectations for it?

Ron Simons - It was actually mentioned to me by Tanya Hamilton who said, Ron, you really need to read this script; it's called Mother Of George, and it's really, really, well-written. I was working on Gun Hill Road then, and didn't really have the time to get knee-deep into it. But eventually I read it, and when I read it, I thought, wow, it's an incredibly well-written story. And it also had to do with a part of the Diaspora that I wasn't very well familiar with, about an African immigrant. And the uniqueness of the storyline as well; although any well-told story could speak to universal human challenges. But for me, the fact that the story was so well written, and required so little tweaking and adjusting, really drew my attention to it. And the fact that Bradford Young was going to shoot it, also got my attention. I'm a huge fan of his work, like Andrew's Restless City, which was so beautifully dark. I actually went to see Restless City at Sundance that year, because we actually had the same sales rep for our films. One of the producers on Restless City was my line producer on Night Catches Us. And so there were some things that tied us and our projects together. So, at the end of the day, I read the script, fell in love with the script. I thought it was a story that had to be told. And when I was about to come on-board, and I learned that Danai [Gurira] was going to play the lead - Danai who I think is a gifted actress, with her own personal aesthetic, her background, her just natural raw talent - I just knew that this was definitely an amazing project to get involved with. So I wasn't all that surprised when Mother Of George made the [Sundance] competition because it is so beautiful, and the colors, the clothing, are so rich in texture, rich in color. Bradford seems to catch every single light, he picks up every single color in the spectrum. It's just really extraordinary to look at. Even if you don't have the sound on, or you're not even really sure what's going on as you're watching; just to watch the film - it's a work of artistry.

April Yvette Thompson - The script is beautifully written; when I read it, I said, a serious writer wrote this. A serious writer who writes novels. I knew Danai's work. She's a brilliant actress. So that certainly helped. And I'd never really seen this story; even though I had written about lives that are very similar to this. I'd never seen it told with as much integrity and complication, and the struggle of merging this totally western identity with *home.* This was a no-brainer.

Ron Simons - Also in reading it, I felt almost like a fly on the wall, or a peeping Tom into the world of these individuals. And I know Andrew and Darci [Picoult, the screenwriter] were able to give us the privilege of looking into the lives of real people; not archetypes; not stereotypes, but real people. It all feels real. You feel like you're really there.

Read the full interview here

_____________________________________________________

I saw Mother of George in May 2013 and it is really as good as they say it is! Read my review at Shadow & Act here

'Mother of George' Secures Distribution

Oscilloscope Acquires North American Rights To Andrew Dosunmu's 'Mother of George'

BY TAMBAY A. OBENSON, Shadow & Act

JANUARY 26, 2013 

Good news, and congrats to Andrew Dosunmu, Bradford Young, Danai Gurira, Ron Simons and company!

All the details on the acquisition follow in the press release just received (although no specific release date is given yet)

Oscilloscope Acquires Critically-Acclaimed Sundance Competition Film "Mother of George"

(New York, NY) January 26, 2013-Oscilloscope Laboratories announced today that it has acquired North American rights to Andrew Dosunmu's MOTHER OF GEORGE. The film made its world premiere this past week as part of the U.S. Dramatic Competition in Sundance, to widespread critical acclaim and enthusiastic audience response.

In the poetic and moving MOTHER OF GEORGE, Adenike (Danai Gurira) weds the charismatic Ayodele (Isaach De Bankolé), the owner of a small Nigerian restaurant in Brooklyn. Their traditional wedding culminates in a ceremony where Adenike is named for her yet-to-be-conceived son, George. But as the months pass without pregnancy, Adenike faces uncomfortable and unfamiliar choices in her desperate struggle to save her marriage. The film stars THE WALKING DEAD's Gurira in the title role and veteran actor De Bankolé as her husband, and co-stars Yaya Alafia and Tony Okungbowa. This is Dosunmu's second feature, following his critically heralded 2011 debut RESTLESS CITY.

Beautifully shot by cinematographer Bradford Young (AIN'T THEM BODIES SAINTS, PARIAH), the film skillfully folds large,universal themes and ideas into a very personal and intimate story.

It has already received many critical accolades at Sundance; Manohla Dargis of the New York Times singled it out as one of thehighlights of the festival and called it "visually splendid." Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly wrote that the film is "dazzlingly shot" and praises Gurira's performance, saying she "inhabits this role with a fire and pride, a devotion, and, at times, a despair bordering on instability." Guy Lodge begins his review in Variety by saying, "Simply relating the narrative of Andrew Dosunmu's seductive immigrant drama MOTHER OF GEORGE would do little to convey the film's stark, poetic power, much less its extraordinary visual and sonic acumen."

About the acquisition, David Laub and Dan Berger from Oscilloscope said, "We couldn't be more excited to be releasing MOTHER OF GEORGE-it is exactly the kind of gem which we love to champion. In only his second feature, Dosumnu shows not only tremendous style and visual flair, but a deep empathy for his characters and the ability to portray the complexity of a traditional culture adapting to the modern world. We are thrilled to be working with this wonderful and talented group of filmmakers and to have the opportunity to bring this film to audiences."

Filmmaker Andrew Dosumnu says, "I am thrilled to be working with Oscilloscope having been a fan of their roster of films. I am honored to beworking with such a great team who support filmmakers and their vision. It is a perfect fit."

The film was written by Darci Picoult and produced by Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy of Parts & Labor and Matt Parker & Carly Hugo along with Picoult, Chris Maybach, Saemi Kim and Okungbowa. Executive producers on the film are: Saerom Kim of Maybach Film Productions; Ron Simons of SimonSays Entertainment; Jerry Tankersley, Laura Bernieri & Joseph Sorrentino of Fried Alligator Films and Rhea Scott & Fady Salamé. The deal was negotiated by David Laub and Dan Berger from Oscilloscope with Ben Weiss of Paradigm, who represented the filmmakers.

Oscilloscope Sets 9/13 Theatrical Release Date For Andrew Dosunmu's 'Mother of George'

BY TAMBAY A. OBENSON, Shadow & Act

May 21, 2013 

Oscilloscope Laboratories acquired North American rights to Andrew Dosunmu's lauded Sundance competition drama Mother of George in January, not long after its premiere at that festival, to critical-acclaim and enthusiastic audience response.

We just learned that the film will make its theatrical debut on September 13, 2013. Closer to that date, we should know more about the release strategy that Oscilloscope has planned for the film.

The poetic and moving drama stars Danai Gurira as Adenike, who weds the charismatic Ayodele (Isaach De Bankolé), the owner of a small Nigerian restaurant in Brooklyn. Their traditional wedding culminates in a ceremony where Adenike is named for her yet-to-be-conceived son, George. But as the months pass without pregnancy, Adenike faces uncomfortable and unfamiliar choices in her desperate struggle to save her marriage. 

Beautifully shot by award-winning cinematographer Bradford Young, the film co-stars Yaya Alafia and Tony Okungbowa. 

The film's script was penned by Darci Picoult and produced by Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy of Parts & Labor as well as Matt Parker, Carly Hugo, Chris Maybach, Saemi Kim, along with Picoult and Okungbowa. 

Executive producers on the film include Ron Simons of SimonSays Entertainment; Saerom Kim of Maybach Film Productions; Jerry Tankersley, Laura Bernieri & Joseph Sorrentino of Fried Alligator Films and Rhea Scott & Fady Salamé.