It seems that awards season itself played a small part in the formation of a Paul Robeson biopic that “12 Years a Slave” director Steve McQueen announced as his next film on Tuesday.
McQueen disclosed that Robeson’s fellow iconic singer/actor Harry Belafonte will be involved in the film in an unspecified capacity, and it was the director’s “12 Years a Slave” campaign trail that led him to the legendary singer — the two met at the New York Film Critics awards.
McQueen revealed his plans at an event in New York that was covered by The Guardian.
“His life and legacy was the film I wanted to make the second after ‘Hunger,’ but I didn’t have the power. I didn’t have the juice,” said McQueen, who certainly has the juice now following “12 Years a Slave’s” Best Picture win.
The British director got hooked on the cinematic potential of Robeson’s story after reading a newspaper article about the singer’s support of Welsh miners.
While Robeson may be best known for singing “Ol’ Man River” and starring in “Othello,” he’ll also be remembered as a political activist. He died in 1976 at the age of 77.
McQueen is coming off an Oscar nomination for directing “12 Years a Slave,” which won him Best Picture as one of the film’s producers. His follow-up film is no doubt highly anticipated by film fans worldwide.
Golden Globes 2013: The Nominees (Photos)
BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA: "12 Years a Slave" (pictured), "Captain Phillips," "Gravity," "Philomena," "Rush"
BEST MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY: "American Hustle" (pictured) "Her," "Inside Llewyn Davis," "Nebraska," "Wolf of Wall Street"
BEST DIRECTOR, MOTION PICTURE: Alfonso Cuaron, "Gravity"
Paul Greengrass (pictured), "Captain Phillips"; Steve McQueen, "12 Years a Slave"; Alexander Payne, "Nebraska";
David O. Russell, "American Hustle"
BEST TV SERIES, COMEDY: "The Big Bang Theory," "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (pictured), "Girls,""Modern Family," "Parks and Recreation"
BEST ACTOR IN A TV SERIES, DRAMA: Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"; Liev Schreiber (pictured), "Ray Donovan"; Michael Sheen, "Masters of Sex"; Kevin Spacey, "House of Cards";
James Spader, "The Blacklist"
BEST ACTRESS IN A TV SERIES, DRAMA: Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"; Tatiana Maslany, "Orphan Black"; Taylor Schilling, "Orange is the New Black"; Kerry Washington (pictured), "Scandal"; Robin Wright, House of Cards
BEST ACTOR, TV SERIES COMEDY: Jason Bateman, "Arrested Development"; Don Cheadle, "House of Lies"; Michael J. Fox (pictured), "The Michael J. Fox Show"; Jim Parsons, "The Big Bang Theory"; Andy Samberg, "Brooklyn Nine-Nine"
BEST ACTRESS IN A TV SERIES, COMEDY: Zooey Deschanel, "New Girl"; Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie"; Lena Dunham, "Girls"; Julia Louis Dreyfus, "Veep"; Amy Poehler (pictured), "Parks and Recreation"
BEST ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA: Cate Blanchett, "Blue Jasmine"; Sandra Bullock, "Gravity"; Judy Dench, "Philomena";
Emma Thompson (pictured), "Saving Mr. Banks"; Kate Winslet, "Labor Day"
BEST ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA: Chiwetel Ejiofor, "12 Years a Slave"; Idris Elba, "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom"; Tom Hanks, "Captain Phillips"; Matthew McConaughey, "Dallas Buyers Club"; Robert Redford (pictured), "All Is Lost"
BEST ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL: Amy Adams, "American Hustle";
Julie Delpy (pictured), "Before Midnight"; Greta Gerwig, "Frances Ha"; Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Enough Said";
Meryl Streep, "August: Osage County"
BEST ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL: Christian Bale, "American Hustle"; Bruce Dern, "Nebraska"; Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Wolf of Wall Street"; Oscar Isaac, "Inside Llewyn Davis"; Joaquin Phoenix (pictured), "Her"
BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE, MOTION PICTURE: Sally Hawkins, "Blue Jasmine"; Jennifer Lawrence, "American Hustle"; Lupita Nyong’o, "12 Years a Slave"; Julia Roberts, "August: Osage County"; June Squibb (pictured), "Nebraska"
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE, MOTION PICTURE: Barkhad Abdi (pictured), "Captain Phillips"; Daniel Bruhl, "Rush"; Bradley Cooper, "American Hustle"; Michael Fassbender, "12 Years a Slave"; Jared Leto, "Dallas Buyers Club"
BEST TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA:
"Breaking Bad," "Downton Abbey," "The Good Wife," "House of Cards," "Masters of Sex" (pictured)
BEST TV MINISERIES OR MOVIE:
"American Horror Story: Coven" (pictured), "Behind the Candelabra," "Dancing on the Edge," "Top of the Lake," "White Queen"
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION: Helena Bonham Carter, "Burton and Taylor"L Rebecca Ferguson, "White Queen";
Jessica Lange, "American Horror Story: Coven"; Helen Mirren, "Phil Spector"; Elisabeth Moss, "Top of the Lake"
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINSERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION: Matt Damon, "Behind the Candelbra," Michael Douglas, "Behind the Candelabra"; Chiwetel Ejiofor, "Dancing on the Edge"; Idris Elba, "Luther"; Al Pacino, "Phil Spector"
BEST ORIGINAL SONG, MOTION PICTURE: “Atlas,” The Hunger Games: Catching Fire; “Let It Go,” Frozen (pictured); “Ordinary Love,” Mandella; “Please Mr. Kennedy,” Inside Llewyn Davis; "Sweeter Than Fiction," One Chance
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE, MOTION PICTURE: "All Is Lost," "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" (pictured), "Gravity," "The Book Thief," "12 Years a Slave"
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
"Blue Is The Warmest Color (France, pictured)," "The Great Beauty (Italy)," "The Hunt (Denmark)," "The Past (Iran)," "The Wind Rises (Japan)"
BEST SCREENPLAY, MOTION PICTURE: Spike Jonze, "Her"; Bob Nelson, "Nebraska"; Jeff Pope and Steve Coogan, "Philomena"; John Ridley, "12 Years a Slave"; David O. Russell, "American Hustle"
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR TV MOVIE: Jacqueline Bisset, "Dancing on the Edge"; Janet McTeer, "The White Queen"; Hayden Panattiere, "Nashville"; Monica Potter, "Parenthood"; Sofia Vergara, "Modern Family"
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE: Josh Charles, "The Good Wife"; Rob Lowe (pictured), "Behind the Candelabra";
Aaron Paul, "Breaking Bad"; Corey Stoll, "House of Cards"; Jon Voight, "Ray Donovan"
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM: "The Croods," "Despicable Me 2" (pictured), "Frozen"
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”12 Years a Slave“ and ”American Hustle“ tied for most nominations during this year’s unveiling by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association on Thursday
BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA: "12 Years a Slave" (pictured), "Captain Phillips," "Gravity," "Philomena," "Rush"