MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It was a big night in downtown Memphis as the screening of the movie “The Banker” was hosted at the National Civil Rights Museum.
The film has a big historical significance, and WREG’s Stephanie Scurlock was in attendance as the stars walked the red carpet.
Samuel L. Jackson, Nia Long, Anthony Mackie and other actors made their way down the red carpet for the screening of the Apple TV movie, “The Banker.”
The film is based on a true story of two African-American entrepreneurs in the 1950s who owned banks and other businesses when black people weren’t allowed to get loans at banks.
“It’s like some guys doing something un-thought of, unimaginable for people during that time, and for what they were able to accomplish and how they were able to do it, to present yourself in one way and really be about something else, to be smart and courageous in a whole other way, I think that’s something worthy of telling,” Samuel L. Jackson said.
Jackson plays the business partner of true-life revolutionary business man, Bernard Garrett. The two hire a white man to pose as the head of their company while they run the business.
“Bernard Garrett … would not allow himself to lose,” Anthony Mackie said.
Actress Nia Long said this story is one young people now can learn from.
It took 10 years for the film to become reality. The director said he never gave up. Having it premier at the National Civil Rights Museum, where the story of the fight for civil rights is told, was the perfect place for a screening.
“Of all the places to tell this story, this is the one excuse, there’s been many many travesties, and what happened here is one of the most egregious,” director James Dumont said.
It’s stories like Bernard Garrett that are told over and over again in the National Civil Rights Museum, so the museum said they couldn’t think of a better place to preview the film.