Behind The Camera
Idris Elba’s move behind the camera began with Legacy: Black Ops, on which he served as executive producer, as well as star. Like his acting career, his roles as producer and writer have involved television – such as Playhouse Presents, Walk Like A Panther, Milk & Honey, and Luther – as much as film. It’s with movies that he’s making the biggest off-camera waves, though – and those waves are about to get a lot bigger.
Having produced No Good Deed, Beasts Of No Nation, and 100 Streets, Idris Elba has also directed his first feature length film, titled Yardie. It’s based on the novel of the same name – written by Victor Headley – which in itself found its way to fame outside of the traditional publishing channels. Rather than having been published and distributed by a large brand, Yardie was first distributed in 1990 by a small, start-up label, through clothing retailers and hair salons – building up a readership through word-of-mouth and personal recommendation. The story, which has now been adapted for the screen by writers Brock Norman Brock and Martin Stellman, follows a young cocaine courier travelling from Jamaica to London, who decides to break from his employers upon arrival in the U.K, and escape into the communities of Hackney.
This will undoubtedly be one of the most highly anticipated releases of 2018, since – in addition to being the directorial debut of Idris Elba – it represents the very thing that’s made this hard-working filmmaker so successful: a commitment to story above all else. By maintaining the principle that story is king, Idris Elba has ridden the wave of media evolution to merge starring roles on the big and small screens effectively – culminating in a year full of high profile leading and supporting roles in cinema, a star-turn in a television miniseries in the same year, and the opportunity to direct a story about the social history of his home town. Make no mistake – this is Idris Elba’s time, and he has earned every moment.
Published: Sep 30, 2017 12:25 pm