The Czar of Black Hollywood is a 2014 documentary film by Bayer Mack that chronicles the early life and career of African-American filmmaker Oscar Micheaux (1884–1951).[1] Mack conceived of and produced the film about Micheaux using Library of Congress archived footage, photos, illustrations and vintage music.[2] The documentary, which is the first devoted exclusively to Oscar Micheaux's life, is narrated by William Bell, features an original score by Nicholas Jones and art direction by Julie Anderson.[3][4]
Oscar Micheaux was America's preeminent black filmmaker for three decades, having directed or produced 22 silent movies and 15 talking pictures. The Czar of Black Hollywood chronicles the real life experiences that inspired Micheaux's films, including the production of the first feature-length film, The Homesteader (1919), and sound motion picture, The Exile (1931), by an African-American.[5]
DevelopmentEdit
In an April 2014 interview with The Washington Times, Block Starz Music founder Bayer L. Mack said that he read the 2007 biography Oscar Micheaux: The Great and Only by Patrick McGilligan and was inspired to produce Oscar Micheaux: The Czar of Black Hollywood because Micheaux's life mirrored his own.[6] In an interview with The News and Advance, Mack said he “scoured the archives of all the great major black weeklies” for information and imagery to recreate Micheaux's world, saying the documentary film was a "restoration project".[7]
ReleaseEdit
On February 13, 2014, Oscar Micheaux: The Czar of Black Hollywood was announced by American radio host Tom Joyner on his nationally syndicated program, The Tom Joyner Morning Show, as part of its "Little Known Black History Fact" on Micheaux.[8] In a June 2014 interview with The Huffington Post, Mack said he was shocked there "was virtually nothing out there about Micheaux's life" in spite of his historical significance.[9] A screening of Oscar Micheaux: The Czar of Black Hollywood was held at the Boca Black Film Festival on July 17 in Boca Raton, Florida.[10] In a lead up to the event, the film's executive producer, Frances Presley Rice, told Florida's Sun Sentinel that Micheaux was the first "indie movie producer."[11] The film had a special screening on September 26, 2014, at the 99th Annual Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) Convention in Memphis, TN and its first public screening on October 17, 2014, at the Academy of Fine Arts in Lynchburg, Virginia.[12][13]
ReceptionEdit
The documentary was critically acclaimed upon release and remains popular with film historians. Fans of African-American cinema often screen The Czar of Black Hollywood along with one of Oscar Micheaux's movies. The film has aired on public television and is available at several libraries in North America. The Czar of Black Hollywood was one of four feature films selected to be screened and discussed at the 2020 March on Washington Film Festival, which finds, encourages, and brings to life stories of both icons and foot soldiers from the Civil Rights Movement.[14][15][16][17][18]
CastEdit
Oscar Micheaux: Himself (archive footage)
William Bell: Narrator
Nicholas Jones: Oscar Micheaux (voice)
M. Ayodele Heath: Claude McKay (voice)
ReferencesEdit
^. tv.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 2014-12-18.
^"New Documentary Underway on America's First Black Filmmaker Oscar Micheaux".
^"Watch 'Oscar Micheaux: The Czar of Black Hollywood' - Rar | Shadow and Act". Blogs.indiewire.com. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
^"Black Royalty! Meet 'The Czar of Black Hollywood' [Watch]". EURweb. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
^"Oscar Micheaux: The Czar of Black Hollywood [Part 1] « Freedoms Journal". Freedomsjournal.net. 2014-02-15. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
^Wetzstein, Cheryl (2014-04-30). "Love of history spurred rap mogul Bayer L. Mack to make Micheaux documentary". Washington Times. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
^"'It's a treasure trove of black social history' | Movies | newsadvance.com".
^Taylor, Erica L. (2014-02-13). "Little Known Black History Fact: Oscar Micheaux". Black America Web. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
^"New Documentary About Black Filmmaker Oscar Micheaux". HuffPost. 5 June 2014.
^"Boca Gets a New Film Festival | Boca Raton Magazine". Bocamag.com. 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
^Anne Geggis (2014-07-10). "Boca Black Film Festival aims to feature Florida's homegrown talent". Sun Sentinel. Articles.sun-sentinel.com. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
^"Oscar Micheaux: Homesteader, Bestselling Author, Filmmaker". America Comes Alive. 1939-08-26. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
^. www.academyfinearts.com. Archived from the original on 2014-10-20.
^"From Straight Outta Compton to Empire and Shondaland, Hollywood is betting again on black — and the International Black Film Festival of Nashville is ready | News | nashvillescene.com".
^"Program 4 - Oscar Micheaux: A Retrospective - FREE".
^. www.cctvcambridge.org. Archived from the original on 2017-08-01.
^"The March on Washington Film Festival Goes Virtual in 2020, Keeping Our Stories at the Center". 9 September 2020.
^Gray, Tim (October 23, 2020). "Tyler Perry's Role Model: Pioneering Black Filmmaker Oscar Micheaux". Variety. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
czar, black, hollywood, major, contributor, this, article, appears, have, close, connection, with, subject, require, cleanup, comply, with, wikipedia, content, policies, particularly, neutral, point, view, please, discuss, further, talk, page, august, 2021, le. A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia s content policies particularly neutral point of view Please discuss further on the talk page August 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Czar of Black Hollywood is a 2014 documentary film by Bayer Mack that chronicles the early life and career of African American filmmaker Oscar Micheaux 1884 1951 1 Mack conceived of and produced the film about Micheaux using Library of Congress archived footage photos illustrations and vintage music 2 The documentary which is the first devoted exclusively to Oscar Micheaux s life is narrated by William Bell features an original score by Nicholas Jones and art direction by Julie Anderson 3 4 The Czar of Black HollywoodDirected byBayer MackWritten byBayer MackProduced byBayer MackFrances Presley RiceHal CroasmunStarringOscar MicheauxNarrated byWilliam BellEdited byBayer MackEdith BushMusic byNicholas JonesDistributed byBlock Starz Music TelevisionRelease datesSeptember 26 2014 2014 09 26 ASALH Film Festival October 17 2014 2014 10 17 Running time67 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Development 3 Release 4 Reception 5 Cast 6 References 7 External linksSynopsis EditOscar Micheaux was America s preeminent black filmmaker for three decades having directed or produced 22 silent movies and 15 talking pictures The Czar of Black Hollywood chronicles the real life experiences that inspired Micheaux s films including the production of the first feature length film The Homesteader 1919 and sound motion picture The Exile 1931 by an African American 5 Development EditIn an April 2014 interview with The Washington Times Block Starz Music founder Bayer L Mack said that he read the 2007 biography Oscar Micheaux The Great and Only by Patrick McGilligan and was inspired to produce Oscar Micheaux The Czar of Black Hollywood because Micheaux s life mirrored his own 6 In an interview with The News and Advance Mack said he scoured the archives of all the great major black weeklies for information and imagery to recreate Micheaux s world saying the documentary film was a restoration project 7 Release EditOn February 13 2014 Oscar Micheaux The Czar of Black Hollywood was announced by American radio host Tom Joyner on his nationally syndicated program The Tom Joyner Morning Show as part of its Little Known Black History Fact on Micheaux 8 In a June 2014 interview with The Huffington Post Mack said he was shocked there was virtually nothing out there about Micheaux s life in spite of his historical significance 9 A screening of Oscar Micheaux The Czar of Black Hollywood was held at the Boca Black Film Festival on July 17 in Boca Raton Florida 10 In a lead up to the event the film s executive producer Frances Presley Rice told Florida s Sun Sentinel that Micheaux was the first indie movie producer 11 The film had a special screening on September 26 2014 at the 99th Annual Association for the Study of African American Life and History ASALH Convention in Memphis TN and its first public screening on October 17 2014 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Lynchburg Virginia 12 13 Reception EditThe documentary was critically acclaimed upon release and remains popular with film historians Fans of African American cinema often screen The Czar of Black Hollywood along with one of Oscar Micheaux s movies The film has aired on public television and is available at several libraries in North America The Czar of Black Hollywood was one of four feature films selected to be screened and discussed at the 2020 March on Washington Film Festival which finds encourages and brings to life stories of both icons and foot soldiers from the Civil Rights Movement 14 15 16 17 18 Cast EditOscar Micheaux Himself archive footage William Bell Narrator Nicholas Jones Oscar Micheaux voice M Ayodele Heath Claude McKay voice References Edit Dear White People Selma lead 15th annual Black Reel Awards nominations Yahoo TV tv yahoo com Archived from the original on 2014 12 18 New Documentary Underway on America s First Black Filmmaker Oscar Micheaux Watch Oscar Micheaux The Czar of Black Hollywood Rar Shadow and Act Blogs indiewire com Retrieved 2014 08 25 Black Royalty Meet The Czar of Black Hollywood Watch EURweb Retrieved 2014 08 25 Oscar Micheaux The Czar of Black Hollywood Part 1 Freedoms Journal Freedomsjournal net 2014 02 15 Retrieved 2014 08 25 Wetzstein Cheryl 2014 04 30 Love of history spurred rap mogul Bayer L Mack to make Micheaux documentary Washington Times Retrieved 2014 08 25 It s a treasure trove of black social history Movies newsadvance com Taylor Erica L 2014 02 13 Little Known Black History Fact Oscar Micheaux Black America Web Retrieved 2014 08 25 New Documentary About Black Filmmaker Oscar Micheaux HuffPost 5 June 2014 Boca Gets a New Film Festival Boca Raton Magazine Bocamag com 2014 07 15 Retrieved 2014 08 25 Anne Geggis 2014 07 10 Boca Black Film Festival aims to feature Florida s homegrown talent Sun Sentinel Articles sun sentinel com Retrieved 2014 08 25 Oscar Micheaux Homesteader Bestselling Author Filmmaker America Comes Alive 1939 08 26 Retrieved 2014 08 25 Academy of Fine Arts www academyfinearts com Archived from the original on 2014 10 20 From Straight Outta Compton to Empire and Shondaland Hollywood is betting again on black and the International Black Film Festival of Nashville is ready News nashvillescene com Program 4 Oscar Micheaux A Retrospective FREE Oscar Micheaux The Czar of Black Hollywood Cambridge Community Television www cctvcambridge org Archived from the original on 2017 08 01 The March on Washington Film Festival Goes Virtual in 2020 Keeping Our Stories at the Center 9 September 2020 Gray Tim October 23 2020 Tyler Perry s Role Model Pioneering Black Filmmaker Oscar Micheaux Variety Retrieved October 30 2020 External links EditOfficial website The Czar of Black Hollywood at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Czar of Black Hollywood amp oldid 1162213939, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
