- Title: USA: 'ROSEWOOD' PREMIERES IN LOS ANGELES
- Date: 12th February 1997
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 12, 1997) (REUTERS) VING RHAMES SAYS THAT HE "THERE WAS SOMETHING ON SIXTY MINUTES AND I SAW THAT, BUT I NEVER THOUGHT THAT ANYONE WOULD HAVE THE COURAGE TO DO THE FILM. AS AN ACTOR IT WAS A PRIVILEGE TO WORK ON SOMETHING THAT IS SOCIALLY RELEVANT AND SOMETHING THAT'S MEAT FOR AN ACTOR LIKE MYSELF TO BITE INTO." (ENGLISH) VOIGHT SAYS "ONE OF THE REASONS I WAS INVOLVED WAS THAT THE SAME CASTING DIRECTOR WHO CAST ME FOR 'MIDNIGHT COWBOY' GRABBED ME AND SAID, 'JON YOU SHOULD DO THIS PICTURE' AND SHE INTRODUCED ME TO JOHN SINGLETON AND WE GOT ALONG AND WE BEGAN THIS PROCESS, I WAS VERY BLESSED TO BE PART OF IT, AND I THINK IT'S AN IMPORTANT PICTURE." (ENGLISH)
- Embargoed: 27th February 1997 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA AND VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
- City:
- Country: USA
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVALPMJDBMJ4G8GLIB97TMCRAX4
- Aspect Ratio:
- Story Text: Director John Singleton who burst onto the Hollywood scene with his first picture "Boyz N the Hood" reunites "Mission Impossible" co-stars John Voight and Ving Rhames in his latest film "Rosewood", based on the true story of a black town in Florida burned to the ground by residents of a neighbouring white community. The film had its world premiere in Los Angeles on February 12.
"Rosewood" tells the story of the town of the same name. In the first week of January 1923 a woman from the neighbouring white town of Sumner falsely claimed that she has been assaulted by an unidentified black man. The accusation was enough to prompt the residents of Sumner, many of whom resented the relative prosperity of Rosewood, to declare war on their neighbours.
The real incident was kept a secret for over sixty years and it was only in the early 1980's that a local reporter uncovered the traces of the Rosewood incident. His discovery prompted the respected U.S. television newsmagazine "60 Minutes" to do a feature on Rosewood, a feature which eventually attracted the interest of Hollywood producers Jon Peters and Tracy Barone.
"Rosewood" is John Singleton's fourth feature film. In addition to the acclaimed "Boyz N the Hood" he was behind the cameras for "Poetic Justice", starring Janet Jackson and Tupac Shakur and "Higher Learning", a drama about a university with Laurence Fishburne, Ice Cube and Michael Rapaport.
Jon Voight plays John Wright, the only white merchant in Rosewood. He plays an instrumental role in saving the lives of many of the residents who are forced from their homes by the racist mob. Voight won an Oscar for his performance as a Vietnam Veteran in "Coming Home" and was nominated for his roles in "Midnight Cowboy" and "Runaway Train" Voight was also seen in "Deliverance", "The Odessa File", "Conrack", "The Champ", "Table for Five" and "Desert Bloom". He starred in 1996's "Mission Impossible" with Tom Cruise and Ving Rhames, who co-stars with him in "Rosewood".
Rhames who also appeared opposite Demi Moore in "Striptease" and in the 1994 hit "Pulp Fiction" plays the role of Mann, a black World War I veteran who arrives in Rosewood and becomes caught up in the events that unfold there.
Esther Rolle plays the matriarch of Rosewood's preeminent family and the only witness to the assault against the white woman from neighbouring Sumner. Rolle is probably best known to audiences for her role as the mother in the 1970's television series "Good Times". Among the other "Rosewood" cast members are Don Cheadle, Bruce McGill, Loren Dean and Elise Neal who plays "Scrappie' the young girl who falls in love with Ving Rhames' character "Mann".
"Rosewood" is being released by Warner Brothers. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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