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CONSTELLATION
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CONSTELLATION,
A compelling story about the redemptive power of love,
honesty, and the bonds of family loyalty, stars Billy Dee
Williams, Zoe Saldana, Hill Harper, Gabrielle Union, Lesley
Ann Warren, Rae Dawn Chong, Ever Carradine, David Clennon,
Melissa De Sousa, Alec Newman, and Shin Koyamada.
CONSTELLATION chronicles the lives
and loves of an African-American family in the Deep South as
they are forced to come to terms with a tumultuous past marked
by an unrequited interracial love affair. The film
explores the way in which the family patriarch, Helms Boxer
(Williams), must confront his demons amidst the changing
racial fabric of society and his own family. When the
beloved matriarch Carmel Boxer (Union) passes away, her entire
family returns to Huntsville, Alabama to celebrate her life
and legacy. As the Boxer family comes together for the
first time in many years, revelations of Carmel’s painful
past begin to force each person to address their pent up
emotions and true feelings for one another.
“I hope the audience for CONSTELLATION
comes out feeling what the characters in the movie ultimately
experience, which is that even if you have let it slip away at
anytime in your life, it is never too late to take a giant
step back towards love,” explains Jordan.
The Crew
Writer/Producer/Director
Jordan Walker-Pearlman is a name the filmmaking industry will not soon forget. His new film, CONSTELLATION, slated for release in 2005, chronicles the lives and loves of an African American family in the deep South as they are forced to come to terms with a tumultuous past marked by an unrequited interracial love affair. The film explores the way in which the family patriarch must confront his demons amidst the changing racial fabric of society and his own family.
Shot on location in Huntsville, Alabama, CONSTELLATION features an all-star cast that includes Gabrielle Union, Zoe Saldana, Hill Harper, Melissa De Sousa, Rae Dawn Chong and Billy Dee Williams. Born and raised in New York City, Jordan began making films at age 11. As the nephew of famed actor/comedian Gene Wilder, he often visited his uncle's movie sets as a child, and saw first-hand the technical aspects of filmmaking. So intrigued by the filmmaking process, he knew instantly it was his calling. His interest was further motivated by Sidney Poitier, who mentored young Jordan for three weeks while directing a film called Hanky Panky in the early 1980's. "Mr. Poitier took me aside one day and told me I was born to direct, that I could do it, and he knew it for a fact. He knew my instinct for filmmaking came more naturally to me than even the English language, so he forced me to believe I could actually do it," says Jordan.
At the tender age of 13, Walker-Pearlman began making short films. Nickelodeon, a then-fledging children's network, was looking for programming content and featured Jordan's early short films on their show, Livewire. At the age of 15, he directed a 38-minute movie, Through The Night, about the last 24 hours in the life of a man who owed money to the mob. He shot the film at night in his native New York, and some of the camera techniques he used then, he still likes to use now in his storytelling. Jordan took a few years off from the entertainment industry to attend college and study International Affairs and Foreign Policy in Washington, D.C. He soon realized he missed his "true calling" as a filmmaker, and began directing a series of short films for European Television, which aired in the European and Asian markets. From there, he was asked to direct the snowboarding documentary, Snow Taxi. The project premiered at the first X-Games Film Showcase and continues to be screened at snowboarding and extreme sports events around the world. Walker-Pearlman formed his owned production company, DaWa Movies in 1998, and the following year, co-produced the feature film, The Simian Line, starring Lynn Redgrave, Harry Connick Jr., William Hurt and Tyne Daly.
In 2001, Jordan received international acclaim for his feature film, The Visit, which he directed, produced, and wrote the screenplay. Starring Hill Harper, Billy Dee Williams, Marla Gibbs and Rae Dawn Chong, The Visit is a moving story about one man's attempts to reconcile with his family from behind prison walls. For this work, Walker-Pearlman was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards (for directing and screenwriting). The film has won various awards, including special recognition from the National Board of Review, and audience awards at several film festivals around the country.
Producer Shannon Murphy is CEO/President of Encounter Studios in Los Angeles. Ms. Murphy's background in design, photography and corporate imaging lead her to media production. Her involvement in the industry in the past few years has included producing and directing two pilots for cable television, producing two foreign broadcast specials for Shin Koyamada, the co-star of the Warner Bros' epic The Last Samurai as well as producing the winner of the 2004 Woods Hole Film Festival The Retreat. Her company also manages and develops actors. Currently she represents Shin Koyamada, Daniel Bess and Winsor Harmon. Shannon decided to join the CONSTELLATION team as producer after a chance meeting with Director Jordan Walker-Pearlman in Alabama while scouting locations for another project. She is excited to be a part of a project with such vision, depth and promise. Ms. Murphy is presently in development on the movie of the week The Wu Shu Kid for the Disney Channel and another feature film to be released in 2005. Encounter Studios also holds the rights to the popular children's series The Belltown Mysteries which is currently in development with publishers to be released in 2005 and media soon to follow.
Music Supervisor Howie Dorough, aka Howie D, is best known as a member of the five time Grammy nominated band The Backstreet Boys. The Backstreet Boys took the world by storm in 1995 and became an international phenomenon. They have sold over 65 million records worldwide, had several top ten singles, and won multiple awards including Billboard, MTV Video, American Music and People's Choice Awards. They have consistently sold out concert venues in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. As an actor, Howie has appeared on television series such as Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Saturday Night Live and Roswell, and has done voice acting on animated series such as Arthur and Dora the Explorer. He has also appeared in feature films including Parenthood and Cop and a Half. In addition, Howie takes time to raise money and create awareness for lupus through his very own Dorough Lupus Foundation, created in memory of his sister who lost her life to the disease.
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