{"id":4194,"date":"2012-11-30T14:20:31","date_gmt":"2012-11-30T22:20:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/?p=4194"},"modified":"2012-11-30T14:20:31","modified_gmt":"2012-11-30T22:20:31","slug":"black-nativity-back-on-track-with-forest-whitaker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2012\/11\/black-nativity-back-on-track-with-forest-whitaker.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Nativity<\/i> back on track with Forest Whitaker"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>The on-again, off-again film adaptation of Black Nativity<\/i> seems to be on again, now.<\/p>\n

Two months ago<\/a>, it was reported that the film, which is based on a 1961 musical and concerns a young black teen who spends Christmas with his grandparents, had been shelved because Samuel L. Jackson dropped out of the project.<\/p>\n

But now BlackFilm.com<\/a> reports that Forest Whitaker has stepped into the role \u2014 playing both the grandfather, a pastor who delivers the Christmas Eve sermon, and \u201cmultiple characters\u201d who re-enact the Christmas story when the sermon is brought to life in a Nativity sequence \u2014 and that the film will start shooting in January.<\/p>\n

The site notes that Whitaker, who won an Oscar for playing Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland<\/a><\/i> (2006), has worked with his Black Nativity<\/i> castmates Angela Bassett and Jennifer Hudson before: he directed Bassett in Waiting to Exhale<\/i> (1995) and co-starred with Hudson in Winged Creatures<\/i> a.k.a. Fragments<\/i> (2008). In the latter film, the 51-year-old Whitaker played the 31-year-old Hudson\u2019s father, which is what he will do in the new film, too; Bassett, who will play Hudson\u2019s mother, is 54.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The on-again, off-again film adaptation of Black Nativity seems to be on again, now. Two months ago, it was reported that the film, which is based on a 1961 musical and concerns a young black teen who spends Christmas with his grandparents, had been shelved because Samuel L. Jackson dropped out of the project.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1116,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[33,31,261,34],"class_list":["post-4194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-angela-bassett","tag-black-nativity","tag-forest-whitaker","tag-jennifer-hudson"],"yoast_head":"\nBlack Nativity back on track with Forest Whitaker<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The on-again, off-again film adaptation of Black Nativity seems to be on again, now. Two months ago, it was reported that the film, which is based on a\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2012\/11\/black-nativity-back-on-track-with-forest-whitaker.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Black Nativity back on track with Forest Whitaker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The on-again, off-again film adaptation of Black Nativity seems to be on again, now. Two months ago, it was reported that the film, which is based on a\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2012\/11\/black-nativity-back-on-track-with-forest-whitaker.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"FilmChat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-11-30T22:20:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/files\/2012\/11\/forest-whitaker-300x198.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Peter T. Chattaway\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Peter T. Chattaway\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2012\/11\/black-nativity-back-on-track-with-forest-whitaker.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2012\/11\/black-nativity-back-on-track-with-forest-whitaker.html\",\"name\":\"Black Nativity back on track with Forest Whitaker\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-11-30T22:20:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-11-30T22:20:31+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#\/schema\/person\/5759ddf28b81af08b29eb15b4e071fde\"},\"description\":\"The on-again, off-again film adaptation of Black Nativity seems to be on again, now. Two months ago, it was reported that the film, which is based on a\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2012\/11\/black-nativity-back-on-track-with-forest-whitaker.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2012\/11\/black-nativity-back-on-track-with-forest-whitaker.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2012\/11\/black-nativity-back-on-track-with-forest-whitaker.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Black Nativity back on track with Forest Whitaker\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/\",\"name\":\"FilmChat\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#\/schema\/person\/5759ddf28b81af08b29eb15b4e071fde\",\"name\":\"Peter T. Chattaway\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9c4b809df092b410d749a6995bcf4f3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9c4b809df092b410d749a6995bcf4f3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Peter T. Chattaway\"},\"description\":\"Peter T. Chattaway was the regular film critic for BC Christian News from 1992 to 2011. In addition to his award-winning film column for that paper, his news and opinion pieces have appeared in such publications as Books & Culture, Christianity Today, Bible Review and the Vancouver Sun. He has also contributed essays to the books Re-Viewing The Passion: Mel Gibson\u2019s Film and Its Critics (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004), Scandalizing Jesus?: Kazantzakis\u2019s The Last Temptation of Christ Fifty Years on (Continuum, 2005) and The Bible in Motion: A Handbook of the Bible and Its Reception in Film (De Gruyter, 2016).\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/author\/peterchattaway\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Black Nativity back on track with Forest Whitaker","description":"The on-again, off-again film adaptation of Black Nativity seems to be on again, now. Two months ago, it was reported that the film, which is based on a","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2012\/11\/black-nativity-back-on-track-with-forest-whitaker.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Black Nativity back on track with Forest Whitaker","og_description":"The on-again, off-again film adaptation of Black Nativity seems to be on again, now. Two months ago, it was reported that the film, which is based on a","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2012\/11\/black-nativity-back-on-track-with-forest-whitaker.html","og_site_name":"FilmChat","article_published_time":"2012-11-30T22:20:31+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/files\/2012\/11\/forest-whitaker-300x198.jpg"}],"author":"Peter T. Chattaway","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Peter T. Chattaway","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2012\/11\/black-nativity-back-on-track-with-forest-whitaker.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2012\/11\/black-nativity-back-on-track-with-forest-whitaker.html","name":"Black Nativity back on track with Forest Whitaker","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-11-30T22:20:31+00:00","dateModified":"2012-11-30T22:20:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#\/schema\/person\/5759ddf28b81af08b29eb15b4e071fde"},"description":"The on-again, off-again film adaptation of Black Nativity seems to be on again, now. Two months ago, it was reported that the film, which is based on a","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2012\/11\/black-nativity-back-on-track-with-forest-whitaker.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2012\/11\/black-nativity-back-on-track-with-forest-whitaker.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2012\/11\/black-nativity-back-on-track-with-forest-whitaker.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Black Nativity back on track with Forest Whitaker"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/","name":"FilmChat","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#\/schema\/person\/5759ddf28b81af08b29eb15b4e071fde","name":"Peter T. Chattaway","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9c4b809df092b410d749a6995bcf4f3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9c4b809df092b410d749a6995bcf4f3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Peter T. Chattaway"},"description":"Peter T. Chattaway was the regular film critic for BC Christian News from 1992 to 2011. In addition to his award-winning film column for that paper, his news and opinion pieces have appeared in such publications as Books & Culture, Christianity Today, Bible Review and the Vancouver Sun. He has also contributed essays to the books Re-Viewing The Passion: Mel Gibson\u2019s Film and Its Critics (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004), Scandalizing Jesus?: Kazantzakis\u2019s The Last Temptation of Christ Fifty Years on (Continuum, 2005) and The Bible in Motion: A Handbook of the Bible and Its Reception in Film (De Gruyter, 2016).","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/author\/peterchattaway"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1116"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4194\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}