Rustin
Rustin is a 2023 American biographical drama film directed by George C. Wolfe, from a screenplay by Julian Breece and Dustin Lance Black, and a story by Breece about the life of civil rights activist Bayard Rustin. Produced by Barack and Michelle Obama's production company Higher Ground, the film stars Colman Domingo in the title role, alongside Chris Rock, Glynn Turman, Aml Ameen, Gus Halper, CCH Pounder, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Johnny Ramey, Michael Potts, Jeffrey Wright, and Audra McDonald. It is based on the true story of Rustin, who helped Martin Luther King Jr. and others organize the 1963 March on Washington.
| Directed by | |||
| Produced by |
|
||
| Written by |
 written by
|
||
| Screenplay by |
|
||
| Story by | Julian Breece
|
||
| Based on |
based on
|
||
| Starring | |||
| Narrated by |
narrated by
|
||
| Music by | |||
| Cinematography | |||
| Edited by | |||
| Animation by |
animation by
|
||
| Layouts by |
layouts by
|
||
| Backgrounds by |
backgrounds by
|
||
| Color process |
color process
|
||
| Production company | |||
| Distributed by | |||
| Release date |
|
||
| Running time | 106 minutes
|
||
| Country | United States
|
||
| Language | English
|
||
| Budget |
budget
|
||
| Box office |
box office
|
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
| Type |
type
|
||
| Class |
class
|
||
| Theme |
theme
|
||
| Tone |
tone
|
||
| Mood |
mood
|
- One of the producing partners for this movie is Higher Ground Productions, the banner under which former president Barack and former first lady Michelle Obama have produced several Netflix projects. While Obama was president of the United States, he posthumously awarded Bayard Rustin the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. At the November 20, 2013, White House ceremony, President Obama presented Rustin's award to Walter Naegle, Rustin's surviving longtime romantic partner.
- Screenwriter Julian Breece penned the screenplay in 2015 for HBO Films with Lee Daniels originally attached to direct. Breece researched the project for two years, conducting over fifteen hours of interviews with Rustin's friends and colleagues from the Civil Rights Movement. Michelle and Barack Obama's Higher Ground Productions picked up the project in 2019, making it the first feature film under their Netflix deal (though they have produced several documentaries).
- Jeffrey Wright has a role in this movie (as Rep. Adam Clayton Powell Jr.). Wright also appeared in 2001's Boycott, in which he played Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Bayard Rustin was also depicted in that movie, played by Erik Todd Dellums.
- Bayard Rustin was a member of the board of trustees at the prodemocracy and human rights organization Freedom House. One of the marchers in the March on Washington is played by Elizabeth Rosen, who works at Freedom House today.
- Fellow Civil Rights leader Julian Bond often quoted Bayard Rustin as joking that "Martin Luther King couldn't organize vampires to go to a bloodbath," meaning that despite King's enormous gifts as a leader and an orator, King needed Rustin's and others' help with the organizational aspects of the movement.
More...
This page is the FamousFix profile for Rustin. Content on this page is contributed by editors who belong to our editorial community. We welcome your contributions... so please create an account if you would like to collaborate with other editor's in helping to shape this website.
On the Rustin page you will be able to add and update factual information, post media and connect this topic to other topics on the website. This website does skew towards famous actors, musicians, models and sports stars, however we would like to expand that to include many other interesting topics.