Music News

Jeymes Samuel's star rising, SXSW for 'They Die By Dawn,' Jay Z 'Gatsby' collaboration

By April Neale Mar 16, 2013, 15:20 GMT

The cast and crew are in Austin with film sponsor Bulleit Bourbon to meet with reporters, with musician Erykah Badu (cast as Stagecoach Mary) DJing the after party. The Sundance channel will be airing the short film in 2013 at a to be announced date and time.

Director and musician Jeymes Samuel is currently at SXSW to premiere the film "They Die By Dawn" this March 16, 2013.

The cast and crew are in Austin with film sponsor Bulleit Bourbon to meet with reporters, with musician Erykah Badu (cast as Stagecoach Mary) DJing the after party.  The Sundance channel will be airing the short film in 2013 in a to-be-announced date.

The film boasts a cast led by Michael K. Williams (Boardwalk Empire), Jesse Williams (Grey's Anatomy), Nate Parker, Rosario Dawson, Isaiah Washington and Giancarlo Esposito.

The early 1890's territory of Oklahoma is dramatized, as the short film's action is centered on four outlaws who converge in a showdown for a bounty. The film is loosely based on the history surrounding Langston, Oklahoma, where an American native Brandon Guage Curtis led black settlers there to live.

Samuel is also the creative helmer of free-form ‘supergroup’ The Bullitts.  The amalgamation of various talent fuses funk, soul, hip hop and combines the talents of actress Lucy Liu (who narrates The Bullitts’ album, They Die By Dawn & Other Short Stories), Jay Electronica and British actor Idris Elba (Luther). The Bullitts recorded works also include collaborative efforts with Wretch 32, Mos Def and Tori Amos.

It was also announced recently by Warner Bros. and Samuels (via Twitter) that he and Jay-Z will collaborate on the soundtrack for "The Great Gatsby."

Jay-Z and Samuel will bring a modern energy to the soundtrack for the adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel of 1920s America.

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio is cast as the lead character in the Baz Luhrmann film. DiCaprio starred in Luhrmann's "Romeo + Juliet " opposite Claire Danes in 1996.

"As soon as I spoke with Baz and Leonardo, I knew this was the right project," Jay-Z said in a press statement.

"'The Great Gatsby' is that classic American story of one's introduction to extravagance, decadence and illusion. It's ripe for experimentation and ready to be interpreted with a modern twist. The imagination Baz brought to 'Moulin Rouge' made it a masterpiece, and 'Romeo + Juliet's' score wasn't just in the background; the music became a character. This film's vision and direction has all the makings of an epic experience," the statement said.

The soundtrack of the film, which opens on May 10, will be released on Interscope Records.