Sunday, 8 February 2015

Photos: Gugu at the Louis Vuitton 'Series 2' The Exhibition 5.2.15 (Updated 23.9.15)

Gugu Mbatha-Raw arrives at Louis Vuitton "Series 2" The Exhibition on February 5, 2015 in Hollywood, California.

Thursday, 5 February 2015

2014 Video: CBS This Morning - Gugu Mbatha-Raw is turning heads in first starring film role

Published on 8 May 2014

The actress is mesmerizing movie audiences with her first role in the 18th century true story of "Belle." Mbatha-Raw discusses her Dido Elizabeth Belle role with the "CBS This Morning" co-hosts.

Tuesday, 3 February 2015

2010 Photos: Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Boris Kodjoe – Undercovers Promos

ABOUT UNDERCOVERS

From acclaimed writer/producer/director J.J. Abrams ("Star Trek," "Fringe," "Lost," "Alias") and executive producer/writer Josh Reims ("Brothers and Sisters," "What About Brian") comes a sexy, fun, action-packed spy drama that proves once and for all that marriage is still the world's most dangerous partnership.

Outwardly, Steven Bloom (Boris Kodjoe, "Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Vacation," "Soul Food," "Resident Evil: Afterlife") and his wife, Samantha (Gugu Mbatha-Raw, "Dr. Who," "Bonekickers"), are a typical married couple who own and operate a small catering company in Los Angeles - with help from Samantha's easily frazzled handful of a sister, Lizzy (Mekia Cox, "90210," "This Is It"). Secretly, the duo were two of the best spies the CIA had ever known, until they fell in love on the job five years ago and retired.

When fellow spy and good friend Leo Nash (Carter MacIntyre, "American Heiress," "Nip/Tuck") goes missing while on the trail of a Russian arms dealer, the Blooms are reinstated by boss and agency liaison, Carlton Shaw (Gerald McRaney, "Deadwood," "Jericho"), to locate and rescue Nash.

With assistance from resourceful CIA field agent Bill Hoyt (Ben Schwartz, "Parks and Recreation," "Bronx World Travelers"), whose professional admiration for Steven isn't hard to miss, the pair are thrust back into the world of espionage, disguises and hand-to-hand combat.

Following leads that take them to cities spanning the globe, Steven and Samantha quickly realize that perhaps this supercharged, undercover lifestyle provides exactly the kind of excitement and romance that their marriage has been missing.

"Undercovers" is from Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Bad Robot Productions and Warner Bros. Television. Abrams directed the pilot and co-wrote it, along with Reims. They also serve as executive producers along with Bryan Burk ("Star Trek," "Fringe," "Lost, "Alias").

GUGU MBATHA-RAW

SAMANTHA BLOOM

Gugu Mbatha-Raw stars as Samantha Bloom, wife of Steven Bloom (Boris Kodjoe) and one of the best operatives the CIA has known in NBC's spy drama Undercovers.

Born in Oxford in the United Kingdom, Mbatha-Raw was classically trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Having studied Shakespeare, her first professional role was in an Open Air production of "As you Like It," playing the role of Celia. This was followed by roles at Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre in "Antony and Cleopatra," and the title role of Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet," for which she was nominated for the Manchester Evening News Award for Best Actress in 2005.

Her British television credits include "M15," "Dr. Who," "Marple: Ordeal By Innocence," "Bonekickers," and "Fallout." It was this latter role that led to her being selected as a Star of Tomorrow 2008 by industry magazine Screen International.

Other stage credits include the critically acclaimed "Big White Fog" at the Almeida Theatre, and "Gethsemane," a production at the National Theatre that later toured the U.K. Mbatha-Raw made her West End debut as Ophelia in "Hamlet" opposite Jude Law, a production that transferred to New York's Broadhurst Theatre for a limited run and became a hit on Broadway in 2009.

She's currently shooting her first feature film "Larry Crowne" in Los Angeles, directed by Tom Hanks and co-starring Julia Roberts. She currently divides her time between London and Los Angeles.

Monday, 2 February 2015

2014 Video: The Making of 9 Kisses

GREAT PERFORMERS

The Making of 9 Kisses

BY Joshua Davis | Dec. 10, 2014 | 2:49

This year’s New York Times Magazine Great Performers issue paired 18 actors in nine films — each ending in a kiss. Here, we go behind the scenes with the director Elaine Constantine.

2014 Video: Gugu Mbatha-Raw & Miles Teller | Great Performers: 9 Kisses | The New York Times

Gugu Mbatha-Raw & Miles Teller | Great Performers: 9 Kisses | The New York Times

Published on 11 Dec 2014

This year’s best actors pair up in a series of intimate encounters.

Produced by: Elaine Constantine for The New York Times

Visit the interactive here: http://nyti.ms/1676FzQ
Watch the making of '9 Kisses' here: http://nyti.ms/1GkPx4w
View the '9 Kisses' slideshow here: http://nyti.ms/1un1RvB
Read "A Brief History of Kissing in Movies" here: http://nyti.ms/1up8JY8

Subscribe to the Times Video newsletter for free and get a handpicked selection of the best videos from The New York Times every week:http://bit.ly/timesvideonewsletter

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Watch more videos at: http://nytimes.com/vide

Gugu Mbatha-Raw & Miles Teller | Great Performers: 9 Kisses | The New York Times
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Sunday, 1 February 2015

Belle Featurette - Behind The Painting (2014) - Gugu Mbatha-Raw Movie HD

Published on 8 May 2014

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Belle Featurette - Behind The Painting (2014) - Gugu Mbatha-Raw Movie HD

BELLE is inspired by the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), the illegitimate mixed race daughter of Admiral Sir John Lindsay (Matthew Goode). Raised by her aristocratic great-uncle Lord Mansfield (Tom Wilkinson) and his wife (Emily Watson), Belle's lineage affords her certain privileges, yet her status prevents her from the traditions of noble social standing. While her cousin Elizabeth (Sarah Gadon) chases suitors for marriage, Belle is left on the sidelines wondering if she will ever find love. After meeting an idealistic young vicar's son bent on changing society, he and Belle help shape Lord Mansfield's role as Lord Chief Justice to end slavery in England.

BAZ BAMIGBOYE: All twerk and no play for Gugu's troubled diva in Oscar-nominated film Beyond The Lights

By BAZ BAMIGBOYE FOR THE DAILY MAIL

PUBLISHED: 23:31, 29 January 2015 | UPDATED: 10:42, 30 January 2015

Rising star Gugu Mbatha-Raw studied video vixens like Rihanna, Beyonce, Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga to understand the bump and grind of today's crop of in-your-face pop princesses for her latest role.

The actress also looked at more serious artists like Adele, Nina Simone and Lauren Hill. All of those women are wrapped up in the character of Noni, the troubled hip-hop sensation at the heart of Gugu's terrific new Oscar-nominated film Beyond The Lights.

Among other things, the movie addresses the misogyny and sexualisation of young women trying to get to the top in the music business.

'You don't have to fall out of your clothes to sing for your supper,' Gugu told me, when we met up in West Hollywood recently.

The movie starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw (pictured) addresses the misogyny and sexualisation of young women trying to get to the top in the music business

Of course, grooming young talent for stardom is a tale as old as time. Judy Garland's mother used to hawk her schoolgirl daughter around somewhat questionable gigs to get her noticed. Minnie Driver, who plays Noni's British mum in the movie, manipulates and manages her in a similar way.

RADA-trained Gugu started prepping for the movie before she filmed her award-winning performance in Amma Asante's picture Belle, where she portrayed Dido Elizabeth Belle, daughter of an 18th-century Royal Navy admiral and an African slave, who was raised by her aristocratic uncle in Hampstead.

Of her role as Noni, she told me that unless you have a very strong sense of self before you become famous, 'you very easily, and quickly, become swamped with the pressures of pleasing people'.

She added that it's a tricky balance for children in the entertainment industry, who grow up with their parents handling the business side of things. 'Where do you find someone who's just going to be your mum?' she wondered.

Marilyn Monroe was another personality Gugu studied, at the suggestion of Beyond The Lights director Gina Prince-Bythewood.

'I looked at the idea of becoming a sex symbol. What does that really do to you psychologically, when you have to be 'on' all the time? With people expecting you to be 'her'?'

Laurieann Gibson, who choreographs Katy Perry and Beyonce, worked with Gugu for six months. 'She was a tough cookie,' Gugu laughed. 'I was sweating it out with her until dancing like Beyonce became second nature.'

Beyond The Lights is a heart-warming, powerful picture that deserves a wide audience but, infuriatingly, no release date in the UK has been set

Then she worked with songwriter The-Dream on the original numbers she sings in the film.

Beyonce, Rita Ora, our own Cynthia Erivo and others sing on the movie's soundtrack. One song, Grateful, written by Diane Warren, is up for a best original song Oscar.

'I was definitely out of my comfort zone,' Gugu confessed. 'Having to channel that sexually aggressive energy and the swagger required.'

Kim Kimble, hair stylist to the stars who has shaped Beyonce's mane attractions, created wigs and hair extensions for her.

'It's all fake — but it's Noni's armour,' Gugu said. 'The hair's sewn in, the nails are glued on, and there's even a scene where I have chicken cutlets down my bra.

'Fake ones!' she added quickly, as she saw my eyes going out on stalks. 'They're made of gel, and seeing me slide them in my bra, you see the mechanics, the scaffolding, that props up our pop idols.'

But Noni wants to be free of all the artificial trappings. 'I hope young women see it,' Gugu said of the film. 'It's romantic, it's fun — but I also feel it has a serious message about being free to be who you are.'

Beyond The Lights is a heart-warming, powerful picture that deserves a wide audience but, infuriatingly, no release date in the UK has been set.

However fans can see Gugu in another film: Concussion, which stars Will Smith. Then there's a courtroom drama The Whole Truth, with Keanu Reeves and Renee Zellweger; and she's also preparing to film The Free State Of Jones with Matthew McConaughey.

First, though, Gugu will be heading to Covent Garden Opera House on February 8 for the EE British Film Academy Awards, where she's a contender for the EE Rising Star Award, voted for by the public.

Her fellow nominees are: Jack O'Connell, Margot Robbie, Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley.

Visit ee.co.uk/bafta for more details.

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