It really shouldn’t be newsworthy that “Hidden Figures” is being released in countries beyond the USA; but given how much American cinema has bought into the false notion that “black films don’t sell overseas” or “black films don’t travel,” whenever one does, especially if it’s a relatively high-profile film, we like to sometimes mention it, if only as a reminder.
“Hidden Figures” is set to open in France on February 1, 2017; and with that announcement comes a new trailer made for the film’s French release, which includes footage not seen in the American trailer, and is maybe more serious in tone. Watch it below.
Director Ted Melfi’s “Hidden Figures,” the much-anticipated feature film adaptation of Margot Lee Shetterly’s book of the same name, published this month by HarperCollins (you can order a copy here), tells the untold true story of some of the African American women mathematicians who worked at NASA during the Civil Rights era.
At the center of Shetterly’s “Hidden Figures” are Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, Dorothy Vaughan, Kathryn Peddrew, Sue Wilder, Eunice Smith and Barbara Holley, who all worked at NASA during the Civil Rights era, often referred to as “the colored computers.”
Shetterly, whose father was one of the first African American engineers employed by NASA, is a journalist.
Starring in the film are Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monae, as the unsung scientists.
They are joined in supporting roles by Mahershala Ali, Aldis Hodge, Kevin Costner, Jim Parsons, Kirsten Dunst and Glen Powell.
The adaptation was developed by producer Donna Gigliotti (producer of Oscar-caliber fare like “Shakespeare In Love” and “Silver Linings Playbook”), with Allison Schroeder penning the screenplay adaptation, which 20th Century Fox picked up, with a January 2017 release date eyed, although it might get a late 2016 Oscar-qualifying run in a limited number of theaters (NYC and LA specifically), and then open wide in January 2017.
Watch the new French-release trailer below, followed by a set of images from the film (click to enlarge each one):
Shetterly’s book will be published on September 6; you can preorder your copy right now via Amazon. Click on the image below.
