The actress / comedian
reserved an entire theater
to share the film’s
“powerful message”
with family, friends,
supporters, and students
from Chicagoland
Actress and comedian Sherri Shepherd felt so strongly about the message contained in the film Brian Banks that she rented out an entire theater to share it with students, friends, family, and supporters in Chicago.
Brian Banks is the tragic, powerful, and triumphant true story of Brian Banks, a USC-bound, high school athletic star whose life and career were nearly destroyed by a series of injustices. Shepherd — a Chicago native whose career includes roles in The Jamie Foxx Show, 30 Rock, and Everbody Loves Raymond — plays his mother in the film.
“It was really important for me to come back to my Chicago hometown and buyout a theater to host this screening because I particularly wanted young people to be inspired by Brian Banks’ story and the powerful and timely message in this film,” she explains. “This is a young man whose resilience, faith and courage kept him going despite the circumstances he faced. He is a hero.”
To get her point across, she booked the AMC River East on August 11 and let it roll.
The majority of Shepherd’s guests at the screening hailed from Urban Prep Academy, Creative Cypher, B.A.M (Becoming A Man), College Mentoring Experience, and S.O.S. Villages. They were joined by cast members from Showtime’s hit series The Chi — Yolanda Ross, Tai Davis and Cedric Young.
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A legion of local fans — as well as Shepherd’s Chicago-based family, including her father Mr. Lawrence Shepherd and his wife — also turned out to show their support.
BLEECKER STREET
BRIAN BANKS | OFFICIAL TRAILER
The real-life Brian Banks story
Brian Banks tells the inspirational true story of Brian Banks (played by Aldis Hodge), an All-American high school football star bound for USC until his life was upended when he was wrongly convicted of a crime, railroaded through the justice system, and sentenced to a decade of prison and probation despite lack of evidence. Years later, with the support of Justin Brooks (played by Greg Kinnear) and the California Innocence Project, he fights to reclaim his life and fulfill his dreams of playing in the NFL.
Shepherd portrays Leomia Delaney, Brian Banks’ devoted mother who loved her son and never gave up hope or belief in her son’s innocence.
The Brian Banks cast includes Aldis Hodge, Sherri Shepherd, Greg Kinnear, Morgan Freeman and Melanie Liburd. The film is in theaters now.
For more information on Brian Banks click here.
Send your film news to Reel Chicago Editor Dan Patton, dan@reelchicago.com.
