Amazon next month (January 2021) plans to add two original movies, including a boxing-related film that could become an Oscar contender.
The new titles will include One Night In Miami, an Amazon original movie about a fictionalized meeting in 1964 between Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Malcolm X and Sam Cooke in a Miami hotel room after Ali’s upset win over Sonny Liston. Directed by Regina King (her directorial debut), the film is getting real-life raves (and Oscar buzz) from the critics, scoring a 97 at Rottentomatoes.com, based on 133 reviews.
“A hauntingly powerful reflection on larger-than-life figures, One Night in Miami finds Regina King in command of her craft in her feature directorial debut,” the site states, summarizing the reviews.
Ann Hornaday, a Washington Post movie critic, gives One Night in Miami three stars out of a possible four.
“Regina King makes an assured feature directing debut with One Night in Miami, an engrossing adaptation of Kemp Powers’s 2013 stage play,” Hornaday writes.
Amazon Studios is pushing for a Best Actor nomination for Eli Goree’s performance as Ali, writes Variety. but the film could also land a Best Picture nod and a Best Director spot for King. (Kingsley Ben-Adir plays Malcolm X; Aldis Hodge plays Jim Brown, and Hamilton star Leslie Odom Jr. plays Sam Cooke.)
Amazon next month will also premiere Herself, an Amazon original film starring Claire Dunne as a homeless woman who decides to build her own home while fighting a custody battle with her ex-husband. Rottentomatoes.com gives Herself a score of 90 out of 100, based on 40 reviews.
“Sensitively directed by Phyllida Lloyd and brought to life by co-writer Clare Dunne’s starring performance, Herself charts one woman’s journey with empathy and grace,” the site writes.
Featured image: Kingsley Ben-Adir as Malcolm X in One Night in Miami.