• Virginia News
  • West Virginia News
  • National News
  • Login
  • My account
  • Subscribe
Subscribe For $2.50/month
Mountain Media, LLC
  • National News
  • WV State News
  • WV Newspapers
    • Calhoun Chronicle
    • Clay County Free Press
    • Mountain Messenger
    • Moorefield Examiner
    • Parsons Advocate
    • Pocahontas Times
    • Shinnston News & Harrison County Journal
    • Pendleton Times
    • Hashtag
  • WV Counties
    • Calhoun County
    • Clay County
    • Hardy County
    • Greenbrier County
    • Pocahontas County
    • Harrison County
    • Tucker County
  • VA State News
  • VA Newspapers
    • The Enterprise
    • Henry County Enterprise
    • Fincastle Herald
    • New Castle Record
    • News Journal
    • News Messenger
    • Roanoke Tribune
    • Salem Times Register
    • Vinton Messenger
  • VA Counties
    • Botetourt County
    • Craig County
    • Henry County
    • Montgomery County
      • News Messenger
      • News Journal
    • Patrick County
    • Salem County
      • Salem Times Register
      • Roanoke Tribune
      • Vinton Messenger
  • Press Releases
  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
Mountain Media, LLC
No Result
View All Result
Mountain Media, LLC
No Result
View All Result

Gregory Allen Howard who wrote ‘Remember the Titans’ dies

January 29, 2023
in National News
0
0
SHARES
1
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

NEW YORK (AP) — Screenwriter Gregory Allen Howard, who skillfully adapted stories of historical Black figures in “Remember the Titans” starring Denzel Washington, “Ali” with Will Smith and “Harriet” with Cynthia Erivo, has died. He was 70.

Howard died Friday at his home in Miami after a brief illness, according to a statement from publicist Jeff Sanderson.

Howard was the first Black screenwriter to write a drama that made $100 million at the box office when “Titans” crossed that milestone in 2000. It was about a real-life Black coach coming into a newly integrated Virginia school and helping lead their football team to victory. It had the iconic line: “I don’t care if you like each other or not. But you will respect each other.”

Howard said he shopped the story around Hollywood with no success. So he took a chance and wrote the screenplay himself. ″They didn’t expect it to make much money, but it became a monster, making $100 million,” he said. “It made my career,” he told the Times-Herald of Vallejo, California, in 2009. The film made the Associated Press’ list of the best 25 sports movies ever made.

Howard followed up “Remember the Titans” with “Ali,” the 2002 Michael Mann-directed biopic of Muhammad Ali. Smith famously bulked up to play Ali and was nominated for a best actor Oscar.

Howard also produced and co-wrote 2019′s “Harriet,” about abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Erivo lead a cast, that included Leslie Odom Jr., Clarke Peters and Joe Alwyn.

“I got into this business to write about the complexity of the Black man. I wanted to write about Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Marcus Garvey. I think it takes a Black man to write about Black men,” he told the Times-Herald.

Born in Virginia, his family moved often due to his stepfather’s career in the Navy. After attending Princeton University, graduating with a degree in American history, Howard briefly worked at Merrill Lynch on Wall Street before moving to Los Angeles in his mid-20s to pursue a writing career.

He wrote for TV and penned the play “Tinseltown Trilogy,” which focused on three men in Los Angeles over Christmastime as their stories interconnect and inform each other.

Howard also wrote “The Harlem Renaissance,” a limited series for HBO, “Misty,” the story of prima ballerina Misty Copeland and “This Little Light,” the Fannie Lou Hamer story. Most recently, he wrote the civil rights project “Power to the People” for producer Ben Affleck and Paramount Pictures.

He is survived by a sister, Lynette Henley; a brother, Michael Henley; two nieces and a nephew.

___

Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits

Tags: exclusive
Previous Post

AP Exclusive: Emails reveal tensions in Colorado River talks

Next Post

WV Hive, WVU Tech Launch Lab Call for Business Pitch Applications by Feb. 27

Next Post
WV Hive, WVU Tech Launch Lab Call for Business Pitch Applications by Feb. 27

WV Hive, WVU Tech Launch Lab Call for Business Pitch Applications by Feb. 27

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • National News
  • WV State News
  • WV Newspapers
  • WV Counties
  • VA State News
  • VA Newspapers
  • VA Counties
  • Press Releases
  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Subscribe

Mountain Media, LLC PO Box 429 Lewisburg, WV 24901 (304) 647-5724 Email: frontdesk@mountainmedianews.com

  • Login
  • Sign Up
Forgot Password?
Lost your password? Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.
body::-webkit-scrollbar { width: 7px; } body::-webkit-scrollbar-track { border-radius: 10px; background: #f0f0f0; } body::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb { border-radius: 50px; background: #dfdbdb }
No Result
View All Result
  • National News
  • WV State News
  • WV Newspapers
    • Calhoun Chronicle
    • Clay County Free Press
    • Mountain Messenger
    • Moorefield Examiner
    • Parsons Advocate
    • Pocahontas Times
    • Shinnston News & Harrison County Journal
    • Pendleton Times
    • Hashtag
  • WV Counties
    • Calhoun County
    • Clay County
    • Hardy County
    • Greenbrier County
    • Pocahontas County
    • Harrison County
    • Tucker County
  • VA State News
  • VA Newspapers
    • The Enterprise
    • Henry County Enterprise
    • Fincastle Herald
    • New Castle Record
    • News Journal
    • News Messenger
    • Roanoke Tribune
    • Salem Times Register
    • Vinton Messenger
  • VA Counties
    • Botetourt County
    • Craig County
    • Henry County
    • Montgomery County
      • News Messenger
      • News Journal
    • Patrick County
    • Salem County
      • Salem Times Register
      • Roanoke Tribune
      • Vinton Messenger
  • Press Releases
  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Subscribe

Mountain Media, LLC PO Box 429 Lewisburg, WV 24901 (304) 647-5724 Email: frontdesk@mountainmedianews.com