Jharrel Jerome on How ‘Concrete Cowboy’ Disrupts the Gangster Stereotype: ‘You Don’t Stop to See What Else He Is’ (Video)
TIFF 2020: Jerome stars alongside Idris Elba and Caleb McLaughlin in urban cowboy tale
Beatrice Verhoeven | September 15, 2020 @ 2:27 PM
Last Updated: September 15, 2020 @ 5:52 PM
Idris Elba and producer Lee Daniels were drawn to “Concrete Cowboy” because of writer and director Ricky Staub, but Jharrel Jerome wanted to be a part of the film because of how his character disrupts stereotypes.
“I think the challenge was making sure I had the arc along in the right way and making sure that at the beginning you don’t understand who [my character] is because that’s how it is in the real world,” Jerome told TheWrap’s Steve Pond. “When you look at someone who may be considered a drug dealer or a gangster or someone who is a thug, you don’t stop to see what else he is and you don’t stop to see why he is doing what he is doing or what got him there… The challenge was allowing the truth to shine slowly but surely so that hopefully next time you see someone in the street who has their pants a little low and look like they may move aggressively, maybe they’re not aggressive — maybe they’re just a man with a dream or a woman with a dream, and someone who wants to make it out of the circumstances they are in.”
“Concrete Cowboy,” written by Dan Walser and Ricky Staub, who also directed, stars Idris Elba, Caleb McLaughlin, Jerome, Lorraine Toussaint and Byron Bowers.
It follows a 15-year-old boy (McLaughlin) who is sent to live with his estranged father in Philadelphia, where he learns about the local urban cowboy community. Jerome plays Smush, who used to be a rider but became involved in the drug trade.
Staub said his company Neighborhood Film Co. hires people who recently came out of incarceration, and that’s how he met an urban cowboy through whom he learned all about the riders in Philadelphia.
“I knew nothing about the stables in north Philadelphia at all, I saw horses when I was kid and black men on horses as a kid but I didn’t know the story,” producer Lee Daniels added. “When [Staub] presented a short to me, I was blown away by it… What he wanted to do was not only hire people of color on the screen but people of color behind the screen and people in Philadelphia [maybe] knew nothing about film and cinema so it was important for the community.”
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 13.
Watch the video above.
10 Buzziest Movies for Sale in Toronto, From Idris Elba's 'Concrete Cowboy' to Mark Wahlberg's 'Good Joe Bell' (Photos)
What the Cannes virtual marketplace proved earlier this year is that even without the in-person meetings, the red carpet galas and all the press hype, there's still room for a lucrative sales market surrounding these virtual events. While that's true of this year's Toronto International Film Festival, the hybrid physical and virtual fest is operating on a slimmed-down lineup of movies. And with Oscar eligibility requirements pushed back to 2021, there isn't the same need for all of these movies to make a splash. That said, we are looking forward to quite a bit at this year's TIFF, and so are buyers.
Halle Berry takes a beating as a washed-up MMA fighter looking to make her redemption fight in "Bruised," which is also Berry's directorial debut. The film is set in New Jersey and explores her fight to get back into shape and win back her child. It also stars Adan Canto and Sheila Atim.
Romulus Entertainment/Thunder Road Pictures
"Concrete Cowboy"
Idris Elba and "Stranger Things'" Caleb McLaughlin play father and son in this family drama from Ricky Staub that draws on the history of Black cowboys in its adaptation of a novel by Greg Neri. McLaughlin is a troubled teen who is sent to live with his quiet, absentee father and is taught to work at his father's stables. Jharrel Jerome, Byron Bowers, Lorraine Toussaint and Clifford "Method Man" Smith also co-star.
Lee Daniels Entertainment/Tucker Tooley Entertainment
"Good Joe Bell"
Mark Wahlberg is getting early hype for his performance based on a true story of a father who takes a cross-country trip to honor his son and educate people about the dangers of bullying. The movie flashes back to show Wahlberg's conflicted and grudging relationship with his son's homosexuality and how he grows, even as it becomes too late. "Monsters and Men" director Reinaldo Marcus Green directs the film from the writers of "Brokeback Mountain."
Endeavor Content
"I Care a Lot"
Rosamund Pike, Eiza González, Dianne West and Peter Dinklage star in this thriller about two women who use loopholes in the legal system to defraud elderly retirees of their family fortunes, only for them to end up angering a crime lord with their latest mark. J Blakeson wrote and directed the film.
Black Bear Pictures
"MLK/FBI"
This documentary from Oscar nominee Sam Pollard is based on recently unclassified FBI documents and examines the surveillance and harassment the FBI used against Martin Luther King Jr. over years, including how J. Edgar Hoover hoped to discredit him and break his spirit. The film includes a discussion of how filmmaking and historians should use official materials from the FBI and other sources and how those sources color history.
Field of Vision
"New Order"
Mexican filmmaker Michel Franco's film first played Venice and is a drama set amid a violent protest in Mexico City. The film draws on sociopolitical themes and the class divide to show how the wealthy unwittingly empower an encroaching military rule in their attempt to keep power.
The Match Factory
"Penguin Bloom"
Naomi Watts is said to give a stellar performance in this true story based on the life of Sam Bloom, a woman who suffered a traumatic accident who finds an inspiring road to recovery after befriending a magpie bird as her companion. Glendyn Ivin directs the film that also stars Andrew Lincoln, Jacki Weaver and Rachel House.
Getty Images
"Pieces of a Woman"
Hungarian filmmaker Kornél Mundruczó directs Shia LaBeouf and Vanessa Kirby in this film inspired by '70s character dramas about a couple expecting a child who winds up grieving over a tragedy in two different ways. Kirby steals the show, but the film also includes a stand-out moment from Ellen Burstyn as Kirby's mother.
BRON Studios
"Shadow in the Cloud"
As part of the Midnight Madness section, Chloe Grace Moretz in "Shadow in the Cloud" is like "Alien" on a WWII bomber. Moretz is a fighter pilot on a mission to carry a piece of classified information and is sequestered from her sexist male counterparts but soon discovers a mysterious presence that threatens the safety of everyone aboard. Roseanne Liang directs the film.
Four Knights Films
"The Water Man"
Another actor making their directorial debut, David Oyelowo's "The Water Man" is a mythical family film with an homage to the family movies of the 1980s. It's the story of a man who looks for a mystical creature with the secret to everlasting life in an effort to rescue his ailing mother. Oprah Winfrey executive produces the film that stars Oyelowo alongside Rosario Dawson, Lonnie Chavis, Amiah Miller, Alfred Molina and Maria Bello.
Photo Credit Karen Ballard
There are still some other movies playing as part of the festival that already have homes, including Chloé Zhao's "Nomadland" at Searchlight, Regina King's "One Night in Miami" at Amazon, the Kate Winslet-Saoirse Ronan drama "Ammonite" (pictured) at Neon, and Dawn Porter's documentary "The Way I See It" at Focus Features. Amazon Studios also recently acquired director Matthew Heineman's "The Boy From Medellín" about musician J Balvin.
Neon
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TIFF 2020: “Pieces of a Woman,” “The Water Man,” “I Care A Lot” and more are getting attention from buyers
What the Cannes virtual marketplace proved earlier this year is that even without the in-person meetings, the red carpet galas and all the press hype, there's still room for a lucrative sales market surrounding these virtual events. While that's true of this year's Toronto International Film Festival, the hybrid physical and virtual fest is operating on a slimmed-down lineup of movies. And with Oscar eligibility requirements pushed back to 2021, there isn't the same need for all of these movies to make a splash. That said, we are looking forward to quite a bit at this year's TIFF, and so are buyers.
Romulus Entertainment/Thunder Road Pictures
