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    John Boyega Describes Big Movie Franchise as 'Luxury Jail'

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    The British-Nigerian actor admits he’s starved to explore other opportunities after playing the role of Finn in the new trilogy of Galaxy Far Far Away movie.

    Jan 26, 2021
    AceShowbiz – John Boyega has compared starring in a big film franchise to being in a “luxury jail.”
    The British-Nigerian actor played the role of Finn in the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy but he admitted the part left him hungry to explore other opportunities.
    “Being in a big franchise, it’s kind of like luxury jail sometimes for an actor when you want to do something else,” he told CinemaBlend. “Because remember, in a franchise you’re working on one character for many years, which can starve your other muscles.”

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    So when he was offered the chance to play policeman Leroy Logan in Sir Steve McQueen’s anthology series “Small Axe”, John jumped at the opportunity.
    “In wanting to be in something where I knew that I’d play a different type of role, a different type of man, and then knowing Steve, we’re all part of the same industry so I’d heard about Steve’s directing style, I was really really curious and excited to have the opportunity anyway to be a part of it,” he grinned. “And when it came through I was on the telly like ‘this is my moment.’ ”
    “Small Axe” consists of five parts. “Mangrove” stars Letitia Wright, “Lovers Rock” stars Micheal Ward, Alex Wheatle stars Sheyi Cole, “Education” stars Kenyah Sandy, and “Red, White and Blue” star John Boyega.
    The anthology series won Best Picture and Best Cinematography at Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards. It additionally helped cinematographer Shabier Kirchner earn a trophy at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards. It also got multiple nominations at Chicago Film Critics Association Awards and a nod at Boston Society of Film Critics Awards.

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    John Boyega Gets Call From Studio Boss After Accusing Disney of Using His 'Star Wars' Role as Token

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    The ‘Attack the Block’ actor who plays the former Stormtrooper Finn in the new ‘Star Wars’ trilogy reveals he had a heart-to-heart conversation with Kathleen Kennedy following his public complaints.

    Nov 24, 2020
    AceShowbiz – John Boyega had a heart-to-heart with Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy after he went public with his frustrations with his role in the “Star Wars” franchise.
    John’s portrayal of ex-Stormtrooper Finn was key to reboot instalment “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, but became less central to the plot of its two follow-ups – and he went public with his disappointment in a GQ interview this summer (20).
    He had previously revealed that he had buried the hatchet with Disney chiefs, but has now detailed how Kathleen offered him support once he had outlined his case to her.

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    “So I got on a phone call with Kathleen Kennedy and she verbally showed support and we got to have a really nice, transparent, honest conversation that is beneficial to both of us,” he tells BBC News.
    “I think these kinds of conversations, you can go into the realm of sounding like you’re just trying to save your own career, but what is great now is that it is a conversation that anyone has access to.”
    “Now people can express themselves about this knowing that any character we love, especially in these big franchises like the Marvels and Star Wars, we love them because of the moments that they are given, we love them because of those moments, and they’re heroic moments that these producers all decide for these characters so we need to see that in our characters that are maybe black and from other cultures.”
    In his chat with GQ, the “Attack the Block” star accused Disney bosses of marketing his character as, “much more important in the franchise than they are and then have them pushed to the side,” and made a similar point about Finn’s on screen love interest Rose Tico, played by Kelly Marie Tran.

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    John Boyega Admits to Have 'Very Transparent' Conversation With Disney Over 'Star Wars' Dispute

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    Since voicing his anger over the treatment of his character Finn, the ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ actor shares hopes that his decision to take a stand will encourage the increase of cast and crew diversity.

    Nov 3, 2020
    AceShowbiz – John Boyega has settled his differences with Disney executives over his character’s role in the “Star Wars” franchise – but wants them to hire more black filmmakers.
    The British actor went public with his anger at “Star Wars” producers earlier this year, accusing them of sidelining his character, Finn, after the opening 2015 instalment of the latest trilogy.
    Since his criticisms were made public in GQ magazine, he says he’s spoken to executives – and hopes his decision to take a stand will encourage them, and other Hollywood studios, to increase the diversity of their casts and crews.
    “It was a very honest, a very transparent conversation,” Boyega tells The Hollywood Reporter. “There was a lot of explaining on their end in terms of the way they saw things. They gave me a chance also to explain what my experience was like.”

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    “I’d hope that me being so open with my career, at this stage, would help the next man, the guy that wants to be the assistant DOP (director of photography), the guy that wants to be a producer. I hope that the conversation is not such a taboo or elephant in the room now, because someone just came and said it.”

    The “Detroit” star has earned plaudits for his honest outspokenness on racism and other issues, and says it’s just his way of cutting through a “system” in which there’s a lot of “pretence.”
    “I don’t care about trying to mesh in with the system in order to secretly work it,” he adds. “That’s just not my way. Everyone’s just got to have an honest and open conversation. It doesn’t have to be conflicting or rude, but it’s a chance for us to actually, really and truly understand where each other is coming from.”
    His next role comes in “Red, White and Blue”, a part of director Steve McQueen’s “Small Axe” anthology of films about black Britons.

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  • Michael Rapaport and John Boyega Clash on Twitter Over the 'Star Wars' Actor's Complaint for Disney

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    The ‘Dr. Dolittle 2’ star has since come under fire after telling Boyega to ‘be grateful’ for his ‘Star Wars’ role after the latter criticized the movie studio for using his black character as a token.
    Sep 3, 2020
    AceShowbiz – Michael Rapaport and John Boyega had a short back-and-forth on Twitter as the former weighed in on the latter’s interview with GQ magazine. During the sit-down, the British actor criticized Disney for using his black character in “Star Wars” as a token and then pushing it aside, but the comedian thinks that Boyega shouldn’t complain because he was lucky enough to have done so much more than other actors are able to.
    “@JohnBoyega Yo my man you have done so much in such a short period of time. Congrats.. but you ain’t the first actor to have an un nuanced character in a Star Wars movie #beniciodeltoro,” the former “The War at Home” star tweeted on Wednesday, September 2 in response to Boyega’s claims. He added, “Welcome to show business. S**t doesn’t always go ur way.”
    Boyega caught wind of Rapaport’s tweet and was unsure if the 50-year-old really understood what he said, so he asked, “Did you read the article ? Eyes thanks for the additional name to my list though.” Rapaport responded, “Ya I read the article. That’s why I tweeted u.”
    He then doubled down on his comment that “it’s show business” and “things don’t always work out the way YOU plan. Happens to ALL of Us.” He reiterated, “Again be grateful for all u done so far which is a lot more than TONS of great actors of all races who also had roles cut down & will continue to.”
    Boyega, however, refused to take Rapaport’s suggestion, writing back, “no. Thanks though,” while adding a smile character.

    Michael Rapaport and John Boyega clashed on Twitter over the ‘Star Wars’ actor’s complaint for Disney.
    While their argument ended there, Rapaport has caught endless backlash from social media users who think that he, as a white actor, doesn’t have the right to tell Boyega to be grateful for his “Star Wars” role. One person accused him of being racist, writing, “Please block that racist POS.”
    “Always saying the most! This is a pattern….Michael is a hinderance to our community,” another called him out. A third user told Rapaport to shut up, “Being in Black films doesn’t give you a pass – mind your business.”
    “not the NON-BLACK man telling you to ‘be grateful’ okay microaggressions. change starts with calling out the problem, not accepting it for what it is,” another slammed Rapaport, before praising Boyega, “blackness is a key part to the problem. thank you for standing your ground-i applaud you.”
    In the said interview, Boyega aired out his displease with Disney for marketing the presence of a black character in the latest “Star Wars” trilogy but failing to bring Finn’s story to a satisfying conclusion. “What I would say to Disney is do not bring out a black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are and then have them pushed to the side. It’s not good. I’ll say it straight up,” he said.
    He continued, “So what do you want me to say? What they want you to say is, ‘I enjoyed being a part of it. It was a great experience…’ Nah, nah, nah. I’ll take that deal when it’s a great experience. They gave all the nuance to Adam Driver, all the nuance to Daisy Ridley. Let’s be honest. Daisy knows this. Adam knows this. Everybody knows. I’m not exposing anything.”

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  • John Boyega Calls Out Disney for Making 'Star Wars' Black Character Nothing More Than Just a Token

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    The actor who plays ex-stormtrooper Finn in the ‘Star Wars’ sequel trilogy accuses the movie studio of being fake as they push the characters of color to the sideline.
    Sep 3, 2020
    AceShowbiz – John Boyega has slammed Disney chiefs for failing him and his “Star Wars” co-star Kelly Marie Tran by sidelining their characters in the latest instalment, “The Rise of Skywalker”.
    The film, which concludes a new trilogy of “Star Wars” films that began with 2015’s “The Force Awakens”, focused heavily on Daisy Ridley’s character Rey and Adam Driver’s villain Kylo Ren – with ex-stormtrooper Finn, played by John, and mechanic Rose Tico, played by Kelly, taking a backseat.
    In a new interview with GQ magazine, the “Detroit” star criticised bosses at Disney for marketing the presence of a black character in the movies but failing to bring Finn’s story to a satisfying conclusion.
    “You get yourself involved in projects and you’re not necessarily going to like everything,” he says. “What I would say to Disney is do not bring out a black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are and then have them pushed to the side. It’s not good. I’ll say it straight up.”
    Warming to the theme, he says he and Asian-American Kelly were also underserved by the failure to foreground their charaters’ blossoming romance and stories.
    “Like, you guys knew what to do with Daisy Ridley, you knew what to do with Adam Driver,” he rages. “You knew what to do with these other people, but when it came to Kelly Marie Tran, when it came to John Boyega, you know f**k all.”
    “So what do you want me to say? What they want you to say is, ‘I enjoyed being a part of it. It was a great experience…’ Nah, nah, nah. I’ll take that deal when it’s a great experience. They gave all the nuance to Adam Driver, all the nuance to Daisy Ridley. Let’s be honest. Daisy knows this. Adam knows this. Everybody knows. I’m not exposing anything.”

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  • John Boyega Says 'No Thank You' About Possible 'Star Wars' Return

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    The ‘Attack the Block’ actor says ‘no’ when asked about his possible return to the galaxy far far away but is keen to reprise his role in his other movie directed by Joe Cornish.
    Jul 21, 2020
    AceShowbiz – John Boyega has left his “Star Wars” role of Finn behind him.
    The British star debuted as the rogue stormtrooper, who flees the First Order’s and joins forces with Rey (Daisy Ridley) and later the Resistance, in 2015’s “The Force Awakens”, and most recently appeared in the role in last year’s (19) “The Rise of Skywalker”.
    However, addressing fan speculation surrounding a possible return, after the actor shared a snap of himself back on set, he put to bed any rumours of a reprisal.
    In response to one fan, who wrote, “Force Finn in action with Green lightsaber dressed in black is all I want from the next SW film,” Boyega replied, “lol no thank you. I’ve moved on.”
    When another user added, “Really just got those Disney bucks and dipped,” he explained, “Nope. Not into playing one role for too long. I have more to offer than that. That’s all.”
    The star was noticeably quiet when a third fan offered that he’d stepped down as Finn due to the quality of recent instalments of the science fiction franchise, but insisted he’s not opposed to revisiting other past roles.
    After a user questioned whether Boyega would ever return as Moses, his breakout role in Joe Cornish’s 2011 “Attack the Block”, he replied, “I haven’t played Moses in over a decade. I’d love to revisit him. Now he is a BADA*S.”

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    Jordan Peele Assures John Boyega Won't Be Blacklisted After Actor Joins Black Lives Matter Protest

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    Boyega’s ‘Star Wars’ co-star Mark Hamill and Lin Manuel Miranda also show their support for the Finn depicter after the British actor said, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to have a career after this,’ during a protest in London.
    Jun 5, 2020
    AceShowbiz – Jordan Peele has got John Boyega’s back. The comedian/filmmaker has assured that the actor won’t be blacklisted in Hollywood after he joined a Black Lives Matter protest at London’s Hyde Park on Wednesday, June 3,
    During the protest, the 28-year-old delivered a powerful speech, while also revealing his fear about the future of his career. “I don’t know if I’m going to have a career after this [speaking out], but f**k that,” he said to the cheering crowd.
    Seeing news about Boyega’s participation in the protest, Peele later let him know that he won’t be out of work after this. “We got you, John,” he simply wrote in response to the actor’s concern, while sharing photos of the British star holding his bullhorn.
    Many fellow actors have also shown their support for Boyega, with his “Star Wars” co-star Mark Hamill tweeting, “Never been more proud of you, John.” He affectionately signed off the message by referring to himself as Boyega’s “dad.”
    The official “Star Wars” Twitter account praised him, writing, “Lucasfilm stands with John Boyega and his message that now is the time. Black lives have always mattered.” It added, ” ‘Black lives have always been important. Black lives have always meant something’. The evil that is racism must stop. We will commit to being part of the change that is long overdue in the world. John Boyega, you are our hero.”
    Actor/writer Lin-Manuel Miranda tweeted, “Oh god I WISH, Ojala! From Attack The Block to this day!”, referring to Boyega’s 2011’s film “Attack the Block”. Olivia Wilde posted, “I would be honored to work with @JohnBoyega and can only hope to have the chance. We’ve got your back, John. Don’t hold back.”
    Movie producer and writer Seth Grahame-Smith similarly assured the Finn depicter, “Any project. Any role he wants.” Rodney Rothman, the co-writer and co-director of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”, said he had immediate offer for the actor, “I have something great I would offer him today. Tell yer agents man.”
    Director Edgar Wright and playwright Jack Thorne said they would love to work with Boyega again, while Paul Feig joined the chorus of support as writing, “My hand is up high. It would be an honor to work with John.”

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