Channing Godfrey-Peoples: Last News

Brent Lang Executive Editor Neon, the Oscar-winning studio behind “Parasite” and “Anatomy of a Fall,” and UFO, a nonprofit organization that supports filmmakers, are launching a new residency program to help artists making their sophomore features. The first participant will be filmmaker Channing Godfrey Peoples, who garnered widespread acclaim for her 2020 debut feature “Miss Juneteenth.” Dubbed the Neon X UFO Second Feature Development Residency, the month-long program was designed to support underrepresented filmmakers and stories.

John Boyega has been tapped to star as Otis Redding in an upcoming biopic of the late soul icon’s life.The film, titled Otis & Zelma, per a Variety report is being directed by Channing Godfrey Peoples (Miss Juneteenth) and will see Danielle Deadwyler as Otis’ widow Zelma Redding.Otis & Zelma will reportedly chronicle the life and career of Otis Redding and “the 10 short years Otis and Zelma had together, and their eternal love story after his passing.” The logline continues: “Zelma’s resilience and determination to preserve his musical legacy for the last 56 years fuels her, just as much as Otis’ love for Zelma fueled him.”With revisions by Godfrey Peoples, Otis & Zelma is written by acclaimed playwright, screenwriter and actor Donnetta Lavinia Grays.Best known for his hits like ‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay’, ‘Respect’, ‘These Arms Of Mine’, ‘I’ve Been Loving You Too Long’ and ‘Hard To Handle’, Otis Redding rose to prominence as a soul musician in the 1960s. Prior to his fame, Otis at the age of 18 met Zelma and they got married in 1961.