Fans love Taraji P. Henson. Is it the pouty lips, the almond eyes, or the hour glass figure? Perhaps it’s the way she can add the special little bit of sister-tude to just about any role she picks up. When we found out that Taraji had a movie coming out in 10 days, the staff of The Shadow League looked at one another with bewilderment. Quick research and a glimpse at a story on Shadow and Act brought it full circle.
The film, which stars Henson and the late Michael Clarke Duncan, is titled From The Rough and tells the story of Catana Starks, the first woman to ever coach a men’s collegiate golf program at HBCU Tennessee State.
The plot is the thing Hollywood feel-good stories are made of, so why did it take so long for this burgeoning masterpiece to get distribution? According to published reports, From The Rough had a patch of internal drama. At the center was a control battle between director Pierre Bagley and producer Michael Critelli.
The second more obvious issue was money. An IndieGoGo campaign set up back in August 2013 by Critelli was meant to raise the $500,000 need to help with the film’s release. However, the campaign was a dramatic failure and raised less than 1% of what was needed with a paltry $3800. Now, the release date of Friday, April 25 will serve as a marker of success for the movie thanks to a service deal with Freestyle Releasing.
We can now plainly understand why the film has been delayed. But we still don’t get why wind of the release is just getting to the media. Is there a PR team on this film? Can they afford the budget for a good one with an effective campaign? Maybe not.
From The Rough also stars Letoya Luckett, Tom Felton and Henry Simmons. Check out the newly-released trailer below.
