Kemp Powers

Kemp Powers is an American film co-director, screenwriter, and playwright. He is best known for his work on the play One Night in Miami, the 2020 film adaptation of the same name, Star Trek: Discovery, and Soul. In 2020, he became the first African-American to co-direct a Disney animated feature with Soul.[1]

Kemp Powers
NationalityAmerican
EducationHoward University
Occupation
  • Film co-director
  • screenwriter
  • playwright
Years active2012–present
Notable work

Career

After writing the 2012 short film This Day Today, he scripted the 2013 play One Night in Miami.[2][3][4] In 2017, Powers was brought onboard to write several scripts for Star Trek: Discovery season one episodes.[5] In 2018, he co-wrote the script for Pixar's Soul, with Pete Docter and Mike Jones, as well as co-directing the film with Docter, making his directorial debut.[6][7] On July 9, 2019, it was announced that actress Regina King would be directing a film adaptation of Powers' play One Night in Miami.[8] On December 16, 2020, Powers hosted the first three episodes of the podcast Soul Stories, which was released as a Spotify exclusive. In the episodes, Powers interviewed several people who worked on the film mainly about their mentors and careers, as well as some behind-the-scenes stories behind the making of the film.[9] An alumnus of Howard University, Powers is the first African-American co-director in Pixar history.[10]

Filmography
Year Title Credited as Notes
Director Writer
2012 This Day Today No Yes Short film
2017 Star Trek: Discovery No Yes 5 episodes[5]
2020 One Night in Miami No Yes Feature film[11][12]
2020 Soul Co-director Yes Co-screenwriter (with Pete Docter and Mike Jones)[13]

Plays

References
  1. How Pete Docter and Kemp Powers brought the first Black Pixar protagonist to life in 'Soul'
  2. Verini, Bob (August 5, 2013). "L.A. Legit Review: 'One Night in Miami...'". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  3. Meisel, Myron (June 11, 2013). "'One Night In Miami...': Theater Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Valence Media. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  4. Dowd, Vincent (October 11, 2016). "Muhammad Ali play puts icons of black America on stage". BBC News. Archived from the original on January 28, 2019. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  5. Trumbore, Dave (August 24, 2019). "First Images for Pixar's 'Soul' Revealed; Cast and More Musical Details Announced". Collider. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  6. Romano, Nick (November 6, 2019). "Pixar bares its Soul in first look at film with Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey". Entertainment Weekly. Meredith Corporation. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  7. Sherlock, Ben (October 13, 2019). "Kemp Powers And Mike Jones Have Co-Written The Script With Pete Docter". Screen Rant. Valnet, Inc. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  8. Ray-Ramos, Dino (July 1, 2019). "Regina King To Direct Adaptation Of 'One Night In Miami'". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  9. "Soul Stories by Disney". Spotify. December 16, 2020. Archived from the original on December 24, 2020. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  10. Miller, Natalie (December 5, 2020). "From the Halls of Howard to the Director's Seat at Pixar: How a Howard Alumni Found His Passion". The Hilltop (newspaper). Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  11. Bui, Hoai-Tran. "Regina King to Make Feature Film Directorial Debut With 'One Night In Miami'". /Film. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  12. Fleming Jr., Mike (January 7, 2020). "Regina King Directing Debut 'One Night In Miami' Underway With Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge & Leslie Odom Jr As '60s Icons". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  13. Snetiker, Marc (August 24, 2019). "Pixar's 'Soul' cast Tina Fey, Jamie Foxx, Daveed Diggs and more". Entertainment Weekly. Meredith Corporation. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  14. LADCC Awards Turn Critical CTG
  15. "'One Night in Miami' with Malcolm X, Ali Brown, and Cooke". This Stage. June 7, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  16. "Olivier awards 2017: full list of nominations". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. March 6, 2017. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  17. Marchese, Eric (April 17, 2018). "'Little Black Shadows' Reflects the Everyday Savagery of American Slavery". Orange County Register. Digital First Media. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  18. "Press Photos 'Little Black Shadows'". South Coast Repertory. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.