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Twitter Isn't Feeling Halle Berry and Daniel Craig's Upcoming Movie About the LA Riots

Many people called the film "a bad idea."
Twitter Isn't Feeling Halle Berry and Daniel Craig's Movie About the LA Riots
Frederick Brown/MTV1415/Getty Images
By Toni Akindele ·
Last week, Deadline reported that Daniel Craig would possibly be starring opposite Halle Berry in a film titled Kings, which is set against the backdrop of the 1992 LA riots. Craig will star as Ollie, one of the few white residents of South Central, who “befriends Berry’s character, a tough, protective mother who looks after a group of kids.” When the riots explode, Craig’s character aids Berry (whose character is secretly in love with him) in tracking down the kids from the violence of the riots. Here is the Twitterverse’s reaction to the premise of Kings: Even news outlets have found fault with the synopsis. Huffington Post writer Zeba Blay implores, “We must remember Kings is in development during a cultural moment wherein conversations about Hollywood diversity and representation parallel conversations about racism and police brutality.” While Hollywood Reporter’s Miriam Bale pens, “Why the Daniel Craig-Halle Berry LA Riots Film Is a Bad Idea,” in which she recalls her memory of the Rodney King verdict. “Every time new camera-phone footage of police brutality is released, I think back to Rodney King. Indeed, the reaction to the Rodney King verdict was a defining moment for every Black person I knew (and those I didn’t). It’s the day I learned that Black is Black is Black is Black. But what is it to Erguven? An interesting setting for a romance? A disaster film in which Craig is the white savior?” In an epoch where the movement to value Black lives and end police brutality is long from being over, the storyline for Kings, to many, feels insensitive. WANT MORE FROM ESSENCE? Subscribe to our daily newsletter for the latest in hair, beauty, style and celebrity news.
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