Bill Nunn Movies

Sean Combs, Phylicia Rashad, Audra McDonald, Sanaa Lathan, and John Stamos all return to reprise the roles they originally played on Broadway in this made for television take on Lorraine Hansbury's timeless play about a 1950s-era Chicago family longing for a better life. Walter Lee has died, and now his widow Lena Younger (Rashad) is about to receive a $10,000 check from her late-husband's insurance company. Everyone in the family dreams about the ways their lives will be changed with the arrival of the money, family matriarch Lena - who longs to retire from her job as a domestic servant for a wealthy white family - in particular. Having lived in a one room tenement apartment ever since she and her late husband originally married, Lena is eager to purchase a house of her own and provide her family with a real home. Lena's son Walter Lee, Jr. (Combs), currently employed as a chauffer, and has recently become taken with the idea of purchasing a liquor store as a means of solving his family's financial woes. Like her mother-in-law, Walter's wife Ruth (McDonald) is also a domestic servant for a white family, and dreams of the day she can walk away from her job. While Walter's sister Beneatha (Lathan) strives to become a medical professional, tuition is expensive and she is currently being pursued by two men - wealthy but superficial George Murchison (Sean Patrick Thomas) and intellectual classmate Joseph Asagai (David Oyelowo). Much to everyone's surprise, Lena uses the lion's share of the money to purchase a home in the all-white residential neighborhood of Cllaybourne, splitting the remainder between Walter (for his entrepreneurial endeavor) and Beneatha (for tuition). Around the same time Walter loses his share of the inheritance to a smooth talking con man who claimed he could help finance the liquor store, the Claybourne "home improvement" association makes the discovery that the Youngers are black and sends emissary Mr. Lindner (John Stamos) to try prevent their neighborhood from becoming integrated by buying the house back. Now faced with the prospect of losing it all, Walter considers making a deal with Mr. Lindner in order to recover his losses. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

This holiday drama stars Chrystale Wilson as single mom Nina, who moves to a new town in Georgia with her son, Mason. An older man named Gaitus (John Lawhorn) meets the boy and they begin an unlikely friendship by saving stray dogs. Also stars Bill Nunn and Thomas Jefferson Byrd. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

In a real change-of-pace role, Barbara Mandrell is cast as Texas widow Ruth Wagner, the mother of Leslie Wanger (Tracey Gold), who is expecting a baby of her own. Both mother and daughter are plunged into despair when Leslie's infant son is kidnapped, almost literally from the womb, by ex-prostitute Karen (Lisa Zane), who desperately hopes that her "instant" family will prevent her drug-dealing husband Cody (William Moses) from tossing her back on the street. Adding to the burden of the Wagner family is the fact that Ruth is suffering from a heart condition that could snuff her out at any moment. Described by one TV critic as "the stupidest TV-movie of the century thus far" (it wasn't, but it came mighty close), Stolen from the Heart debuted January 26, 2000 on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Michael Apted (Gorillas in the Mist) directed this Walter Mosley script adaptation of Mosley's short story collection, Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned. Ex-con Socrates Fortlow (Laurence Fishburne) returns to L.A., looks for work, becomes friends with Right Burke (Bill Cobbs), is told he's too old for a construction job, helps youngster Darryl (Daniel Williams), and romances cafe-owner Iula Brown (Natalie Cole). Socrates provides a moral uplift to the neighborhood, while Burke's voiceover narration has a Sunset Boulevard twist. The TV movie premiered March 21, 1998 on HBO. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Jasmine Guy returns as Monica's old nemesis, the "fallen angel" Kathleen . Now the girflriend of Frank Champness (Bill Nunn), a detective with the Center for Missing Children, Kathleen is bound and determined to undermine Frank's job performance and totally destroy his self-esteem. Fortunately, Angel of Death Andrew (John Dye) is one of Frank's coworkers at the Center, and he joins forces with Monica (Roma Downey) to save Frank from Kathleen's clutches by helping the dispirited detective resolve a missing-child case that has baffled authorities for fifteen years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While coming of age in the inner city, Darryl Crawford (Amir Williams), a young African-American man with a tremendous sense of familial loyalty, happens to witness a gang-related bloodbath and is horrified to discover that his beloved older brother Sly (Richard Chevolleau) is one of the perpetrators, in Bruce Pittman's made-for-cable urban dramaBlood Brothers. Primarily, Darryl grapples with his conscience over informing on Sly -- but this fear becomes second-string when the remaining gang members close in on both brothers and threaten their lives. Blood Brothers features acclaimed black character playerBill Nunn (Regarding Henry) in a key supporting role as the boys' father. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

In White Lie, a drama based on Samuel Charters' novel Louisiana Black, Gregory Hines plays Len Madison Jr., a New York-based mayoral press secretary who learns that his father was lynched in the South three decades earlier. Madison returns to the South, where he is intent on learning the truth about his father's death. Along the way, he is helped by a doctor (Annette O'Toole), the daughter of the white woman whom Madison's father allegedly raped and killed. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

OutKast duo André "Andre 3000" Benjamin and Antwan Andre "Big Boi" Patton star as two Prohibition-era performers determined to fend off the vicious gangsters currently attempting to gain a stake in the pair's lucrative club in this musical drama directed by longtime collaborator Bryan Barber and featuring choreography by three-time Tony award winner Hinton Battle. In the 1930s, Idlewild was the hottest speakeasy in the South thanks to the impressive showmanship of flamboyant manager/lead performer Rooster (Patton) and the notable talents of introverted pianist Percival (Benjamin). Everything changes, however, when a powerful gangster and his ruthless henchmen move in on the scene with every intention of landing a healthy portion of the club's considerable profits. Ving Rhames, Terrence Howard, Faizon Love, Patti LaBelle, Macy Gray, Ben Vereen, and Cicely Tyson co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A woman finds having a high profile career and a romance with a famous musician can have both ups and downs in this urban-themed comedy-drama. Mia Moore (Chrystale Wilson) is a young woman who is trying to get her career as an entertainment reporter off the ground, but so far the best she's been able to do is hosting a video show on public access cable. Short on money, Mia gets a rommate, Pancake (Naki Brown), which turns out to be a major stroke of luck for Mia -- Pancake is able to introduce Mia to Marvin (Machion Garrison), who works for television producer Derrek Lassten (Bill Nunn). Lassten is looking for hosts for his new show "Backstage Entertainment," and Marvin thinks Mia might be just what he's looking for. Lassten agrees, and Mia has finally landed the sort of job she's been dreaming of. One of Mia's first assignments is to interview rapper Gipp (Big Gipp), and Mia and Gipp soon discover they have a more than professional interest in one another. But while Mia is in love with Gipp, she doesn't want to seem unprofessional to her employers, while Gipp isn't sure if Mia is sincere, or if she's only interested in him as a way of advancing her career. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Rap music star and No Limit Records boss Master P, after a series of successful straight-to-video features and one theatrical release, I Got The Hook-Up, made a bid for wider big-screen success with Foolish, which teamed him with comedian Eddie Griffin. "Fifty Dollah" Waise (Master P) is involved in a crime ring that earns him good money but worries his grandmother (Marla Gibbs), who dotes on him and encourages him to follow a more righteous path. Fifty Dollah's brother "Foolish" (Eddie Griffin) is an aspiring comedian, but his inability to get his career going convinces his older sibling he's wasting his talents. While Fifty Dollah tries to get his own life in order and give Foolish the push he needs, he also has to deal with a sudden conflict with criminal leader Eldorado Ron (Andrew Dice Clay) and a painful romantic triangle when he and Foolish fall for the same woman (Amy Petersen). In addition to music from Master P and a host of other No Limit artists, Foolish features an original score by former Prince associates Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman. Master P also wrote the film's screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

On the 1st of January in 1900, Danny Boodmann (Bill Nunn), the mechanic of the transatlantic liner Virginian bound for America, finds an abandoned baby on board and decides to keep him. Nicknamed Novecento (1900), the boy grows up on the ship hidden from everyone. His presence is revealed when Danny dies in an accident. The young '1900' manages to hide again despite threats from the captain. Discovering a passion for music, he teaches himself to play the piano without being able to read the notes, and he soon becomes a virtuoso whose reputation spreads beyond the confines of the ship. Even the famous jazz piano player, Jelly Roll Morton (Clarence Williams III), gets on board for a challenge because he has heard rumors about the greatest piano player in the world living on a ship. The story is told by Max Tooney, Novocento's old trumpeter friend, who reminisces about the incredible pianist who never set foot on land. After two films about cinema, Giuseppe Tornatore comes up with the story of a highly imaginative artist who lives only for and through his art. Tornatore was inspired by a theatre monologue written in 1994 by Alessandro Baricco, and the film was shot partly in Odessa, on a sixty-year-old Russian freighter, and partly in the Cinecitta studios in Rome. Tim Roth's performance as the talented but reserved Novocento is remarkable, and the music of Ennio Morricone plays a vital role in the film. La leggenda del pianista sull'oceano, which was retitled The Legend of 1900 for US distribution after forty-five minutes have been cut, was originally two hours and forty minutes when it was shown to great success in Italy in autumn of 1998. The US version had its world premiere at the 1999 Locarno International Film Festival. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide

This thriller is adapted from the 1995 novel by James Patterson about a serial killer prowling a Southern university. Washington, D.C., forensic psychologist Dr. Alex Cross (Morgan Freeman) is also a best-selling author. After his niece Naomi (Gina Ravera) is reported missing, he heads his Porsche for Durham, North Carolina, where eight young women have been reported missing. Bodies are found by local policemen (Cary Elwes and Alex McArthur), along with the killer's signature, "Casanova." Casanova is a "collector" of strong-willed women who are forced to submit to his demands. Soon, local doctor Kate McTiernan (Ashley Judd) is abducted from her home and taken to a dungeon -- where other women are imprisoned in underground chambers. After McTiernan succeeds in escaping, she joins Cross and other detectives in the search for Casanova -- a trail that leads to Los Angeles, where similar crimes are being committed by someone known as "The Gentleman Caller." Are these two criminals in competition with each other or are they working together? ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Comic leading man Hugh Grant gets serious in this drama about a physician who uncovers a truly disturbing secret. Guy Luthan (Hugh Grant), a British doctor serving a residence in a hospital in New York City, is very puzzled by a patient brought to the emergency room one night. Naked, disoriented, and bearing a hospital bracelet and a fresh surgical scar, the mystery man is suffering from a baffling variety of symptoms, and though he dies not long after he's admitted, Luthan can't get the patient out of his mind. When he asks to see the records on the patient a few days later, he's told they no longer exist, and the more he digs, the more he's convinced that someone knows something they're not telling. Against the advice of his friend Jodie Trammel (Sarah Jessica Parker), a nurse and colleague, and the instructions of his superiors, Luthan keeps digging into this and other strange cases that have come through the hospital lately. Luthan's sleuthing eventually brings him to the door of Dr. Lawrence Myrick (Gene Hackman), a well-known surgeon who is doing research in experimental surgery that could allow patients with severe spinal injuries to walk again. While Myrick's work is done with the most noble of intentions, there turns out to be a sinister undercurrent to his research techniques. Actress Elizabeth Hurley, Grant's offscreen significant other, was co-producer for this picture, the first from their joint production company. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide