Regina King’s first feature film is set on a night in February 1964 and centres on a meeting between four legendary Black men: Muhammed Ali (when he was still known as Cassius Clay), Malcolm X, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke. For the most part, One Night in Miami takes place in a motel room in which these four icons of athletics, music, and politics argue, debate, and build upon friendships that stretch back through time. The project, which has its North American premiere at a drive-in theatre with other presentations digitally and at a physically-distanced cinema as part of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, nearly didn’t make it to the screen in time—thanks, of course, to the COVID-19 pandemic. The movie was short three scenes and King was unsure about how her actors would feel about regrouping with a small crew to shoot the missing moments. Luckily they were all for it, because King says that now is the exact right time for One Night in Miami to make its way into the cinematic world. "We were going to push [the release] back because we were short three scenes. Because the things that are being discussed in the film are just as relevant now as they were 60 years ago, that was the reason [for continuing]," said King at Friday’s press conference where she was backed by screenwriter Kemp Powers and the film’s principle cast Leslie Odom Jr., Kingsley Ben-Adir, Aldis Hodge, and Canadian Eli Goree. [video_embed id='2033511']FROM THE TIFF LOUNGE: Eli Goree scores the role of a lifetime as Cassius Clay in Regina King's 'One Night in Miami'[/video_embed]
"We didn’t know what the filmmaking protocols were going to be. A lot of us had already gone on to other projects, and our projects had been canceled because of COVID," King continued. "Luckily I was able to be editing while we were waiting to see what the climate of the world was going to be, and then Ahmaud Arbery happened. And then George Floyd happened. And then Breonna Taylor happened… We all talked and we were like, 'We’ve got to figure out a way to get this out now.'” One Night In Miami is centred around the celebration of Clay’s biggest triumph as a fighter—he’s just won the title of heavyweight champion of the world but instead of a wild party to follow the victory, King’s four characters (friends in real life, even though the film is a fictionalized account of events) spend the evening debating what it’s like to be Black and successful in America. They argue over how best to use that success, how their enjoyment of it is still limited by racial injustice, and who truly benefits from Black men succeeding in a system ruled by institutionalized racism. “I had never seen conversations like this happen on the screen—small screen or big screen,” said King. “And while it was through the voices of these legendary men, I felt like I was listening to conversation with just Black men speaking about the Black men’s experiences. And I wanted in on that.”One Night In Miami is part of TIFF’s Gala Program and streams again online this Sunday, September 13 at 6pm. You can also catch a screening at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on Wednesday, September 16 at 4:30pm. [video_embed id='-1']BEFORE YOU GO: The sky in Colorado is truly apocalyptic due to fires[/video_embed]
