Nelsan Ellis

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'True Blood' Actor Nelsan Ellis Dies At 39


Nelsan Ellis

Most recognisable from his role as Lafayette Reynolds in HBO's series 'True Blood', actor Nelsan Ellis has passed away at 39-years-old following complications that stemmed from heart failure. The news was sudden and came today - Saturday, July 8 - without any warning.

The actor never seemed to be without a smileThe actor never seemed to be without his signature smile

A brief statement released by the actor's manager Emily Gerson Saines reads: "Nelsan has passed away after complications with heart failure. He was a great talent, and his words and presence will be forever missed."

Continue reading: 'True Blood' Actor Nelsan Ellis Dies At 39

The Stanford Prison Experiment Trailer


It's 1971 and University professor Dr. Philip Zimbardo wants to try a new social and psychological experiment. The idea was to take 18 young, well-adjusted males and put half in the role of a prison guard and half in the role of a prison inmate. It quickly became apparent that the guards would dominate this situation and take their new job roles to the extreme.

Though all the volunteers know they're being watch by Zimbardo and his colleagues, this didn't seem to make much difference to how the guards react. Not willing to put up with the actions of the guards, soon the submissive prisoners decide to rebel and take matters into their own hands. As the volunteers fall deeper into their new lives, Zimbardo becomes fascinated by the results and how quickly the situation escalates. When rules start to get broken, when should enough be enough?

The Stanford Prison Experiment is a psychological thriller based on true events. The results of Zimbardo's test were published in a book named The Lucifer Effect.
The Stanford Prison Experiment was directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez and stars a number of young actors including Michael Angarano, Moises Arias & Ezra Miller.

Get On Up Review


Very Good

With an appropriately jarring sense of energy, this James Brown biopic acutely captures the Godfather of Soul's iconic musical talents, although the fragmented script undermines any emotional kick in his story. The film also struggles to build up momentum, because it continually leaps between various chapters in Brown's life. Which means that it never quite connects these disparate episodes into one coherent narrative. Even so, Chadwick Boseman delivers an electrically charged central performance.

Boseman plays James from the time he was 16, thrown into prison for stealing a suit in 1949, until his comeback in the 1990s. Raised in a brothel run by his Aunt Honey (Octavia Spencer) after his parents (Viola Davis and Lennie James) abandoned him, James is in prison when he meets visiting gospel singer Bobby Byrd (Nelsan Ellis), who takes him in on his release. Together they form The Famous Flames, gaining small-time success as James catches the eye of a manager (Dan Aykroyd), a record executive (Fred Melamed) and the public. A string of major hits followed in the 1950s and 60s, then James went solo in the 70s before the usual issues of fame caught up with him: money, drugs and guns. But he returned to the stage in the 1990s.

The film completely skips over his Hollywood years in the 80s, which wouldn't be a problem if the decade was so notably missing from the film. As the story skips back and forth through the years, the audience is forced to make sense of the disparate scenes, filling in several holes along the way. Aside from one rather surreal scene in a Southern Gospel church, there's never much of a sense of how Brown found his voice or developed his inimitable style. It also never quite captures his impact on the music industry as a whole.

Continue reading: Get On Up Review

Video - Chadwick Boseman Makes His Entrance At The 'Get On Up' NY Premiere - Part 5


The stars of James Brown biopic 'Get On Up' including leading man Chadwick Boseman arrive for the New York premiere of the movie which was held at the city's Apollo Theater. The movie is scheduled to hit cinemas in September 2014.

Continue: Video - Chadwick Boseman Makes His Entrance At The 'Get On Up' NY Premiere - Part 5

Get On Up Trailer


Since he was a child, he knew he'd become a star. He may not have had the easiest life growing up in a poor family and enjoying frequent brushes with the law (something that continued for the rest of his life despite his illustrious career), but he was a pioneer in what he did best. Following his first stint in prison as a teenager, he embarked on a musical career that would create a whole new way of looking at music. His funky rhythms, mind-blowing voice and effortless moves on stage would go on to inspire artists for generations even if his troubled personal life left much to be desired. He even took his soul magic to Vietnam during the 20-year conflict - a venture that demonstrated both his patriotism and his bravery. This is the story of James Brown.

Continue: Get On Up Trailer

Get On Up - Featurette


The stars of the upcoming James Brown biopic 'Get On Up', Viola Davis, Nelsan Ellis and Octavia Spencer, talk about the legendary musician alongside artists Ice Cube, Pharrell, Mick Jagger, Cee-Lo Green and Aloe Blacc in a short featurette ahead of the film's release on September 26th 2014.

Continue: Get On Up - Featurette

Get On Up Trailer


James Brown didn't have the easiest childhood being born to two young parents who were so poor they could barely afford to live. After just a few years, his mother left him and he was raised by his aunt who, although was equally as financially insecure, resolved to love him as her own. Naturally, given his tough background, James turned to crime as a youth and spent time in a juvenile detention centre following an armed robbery conviction. It was there he took his passion for music seriously and decided to form a gospel band with some fellow inmates. Following his parole, he joined another gospel group and from there spiralled an illustrious career in funk and soul music that took the entire world by storm. Just as he dreamed, he became one of the music industry's most revered stars, but, alas, he also became one of the most troubled.

Continue: Get On Up Trailer

The Butler Review


Good

This is an strangely slushy movie from Lee Daniels, whose last two films (Precious and The Paperboy) bristled with unexpected life. By contrast, this star-packed drama uses a true story to trace the Civil Rights struggle from the 1950s to the present day. But it's been so fictionalised that it feels kind of like a variation on Forrest Gump.

Cecil Gaines (Whitaker) grew up on a Georgia cotton plantation, where the cruel master's kindly mother (Redgrave) taught him to be a house servant. Years later, he marries Gloria (Winfrey) and moves to Washington DC, where he gets a job in the White House as a butler to presidents from Eisenhower (Williams) to Reagan (Rickman). His job description is simple: "You hear nothing, you see nothing, you only serve." And yet as the nation grapples with its racist culture, he has a quiet influence on each leader who moves through the house.

Whitaker narrates the film in drawling flashbacks, while the story flickers between Cecil and his eldest son Louis (Oyelowo), an activist who is involved in every key moment in the Civil Rights movement. And their younger son (Kelley) is sent to Vietnam. So it's like a condensed version of late 20th century American history, made notable by the lively cast of cameo players including Marsden (as JFK), Schreiber (LBJ), Ellis (MLK) and Cusack (Nixon), plus Fonda as a lively Nancy Reagan.

Continue reading: The Butler Review

Video - Lenny Kravitz Brings Cicely Tyson To 'The Butler' NY Premiere - Part 2


Members of the cast including singer Lenny Kravitz and 'Jack Reacher' actor David Oyelowo arrive at the premiere of 'The Butler' in New York. Lenny plays the role of James Holloway in the film while David stars as Louis Gaines.

Continue: Video - Lenny Kravitz Brings Cicely Tyson To 'The Butler' NY Premiere - Part 2

Oprah And Forest Hit 'The Butler' NY Premiere, While Mariah Carey Makes A Fashion Statement Out Of An Arm Injury [Photos]


Forest Whitaker Oprah Winfrey Mariah Carey Liev Schreiber James Marsden Minka Kelly Jane Fonda Lenny Kravitz Nelsan Ellis Lee Daniels

'The Butler' looks set to be one of the most memorable movies of the year with an all-star cast that glittered on the red carpet at the New York premiere  last night (August 5th 2013).

Sparkling the brightest was Oprah Winfrey in a pretty pink sequined gown with her hair in full afro form, alongside her onscreen husband Forest Whitaker who plays the title role, and her real partner Stedman Graham. Nursing a dislocated shoulder in a funky studded sling was Mariah Carey, who has not been letting her injury get in the way of anything she does at the moment as this wasn't the first time she has stepped out in a quirky bling sling. Some of the presidents from the movie also showed up, including Liev Schreiber who played Lyndon B. Johnson and James Marsden who was John F. Kennedy, as well as First Ladies Minka Kelly as Jackie Kennedy and Jane Fonda as Nancy Reagan.

Forest Whitaker
Forest Whitaker plays the title character in 'The Butler'

Continue reading: Oprah And Forest Hit 'The Butler' NY Premiere, While Mariah Carey Makes A Fashion Statement Out Of An Arm Injury [Photos]

Nelsan Ellis - New York Premiere of Lee Daniels' The Butler - Red Carpet Arrivals - New York City, NY, United States - Monday 5th August 2013

Nelsan Ellis

Nelsan Ellis - Tuesday 8th June 2010 at Arclight Cineramadome Hollywood, California

Nelsan Ellis
Nelsan Ellis

Nelsan Ellis Quick Links

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Nelsan Ellis Movies

The Stanford Prison Experiment Movie Review

The Stanford Prison Experiment Movie Review

Based on real events, this sharply well-made film shifts from a rather light-hearted comedy into...

The Stanford Prison Experiment Trailer

The Stanford Prison Experiment Trailer

It's 1971 and University professor Dr. Philip Zimbardo wants to try a new social and...

Get On Up Movie Review

Get On Up Movie Review

With an appropriately jarring sense of energy, this James Brown biopic acutely captures the Godfather...

Get On Up Trailer

Get On Up Trailer

Since he was a child, he knew he'd become a star. He may not have...

Get On Up Trailer

Get On Up Trailer

The stars of the upcoming James Brown biopic 'Get On Up', Viola Davis, Nelsan Ellis...

Get On Up Trailer

Get On Up Trailer

James Brown didn't have the easiest childhood being born to two young parents who were...

The Butler Movie Review

The Butler Movie Review

This is an strangely slushy movie from Lee Daniels, whose last two films (Precious and...

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The Butler Trailer

The Butler Trailer

Cecil Gaines is a modest and dedicated butler at the White House who manages to...

The Butler Trailer

The Butler Trailer

Cecil Gains is a devoted White House butler who grew up on a simple cotton...

The Reluctant Fundamentalist Movie Review

The Reluctant Fundamentalist Movie Review

A terrific story is compromised by the demands of commercial filmmaking, adding action-thriller scenes to...

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