Tessa Thompson, Eva Longoria, and Nnamdi Asomugha bring 'Sylvie's Love' to Sundance and reimagine ol

(28 Jan 2020) "SYLVIE'S LOVE" PREMIERES AT SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL Tessa Thompson is no stranger to Sundance, but each time she premiere's a film at the festival, she can't help but watch the audience reaction more than the movie itself. "Well you know, I remember the first time I was ever in Eccles," she said. "I had a movie here called 'Dear White People,' and I remember William H. Macy was watching the film, and he was across from me, and I couldn't stop staring at William H. Macy. I don't even think I saw the movie, I just watched William H. Macy watch the movie. And then I turned behind me and happened to see Tracy Chapman also in the cinema and then really freaked out. So, it's always nerve wracking to see it with an audience, and for me I just end up seeing the audience, so I'm excited to see the audience today!" Thompson stopped by the Eccles Theatre Monday morning to debut "Sylvie's Love," a story about two star-crossed lovers who meet in 1950s Harlem and keep finding their way back to one another throughout their lives. The film is reminiscent of many classic Hollywood romance movies, but its African American leads make the story even more impactful, Thompson said. "I love that it's a sort of, you know, very classic sort of throwback love story in the tradition of many of the films that were made in the 50s and 60s. But many of those films just don't include black characters, and certainly they don't center them as the romantic leads. That's something in the sort of history of film iconography hasn't existed a lot. So, I think that's something that feels satisfying for me. It feels like in a weird way revisionist history to say like, 'What kind of films could we have made with us at the center if we were allowed to make them at that time in film. So, I love that. And then beyond the sort of politics of that, it's just really a film that makes you feel good, and I think those films are in short supply these days," she said. Thompson's co-star Nnamdi Asomugha, said that the simplicity of the script and the love at the center of the story convinced him to sign on for the film. "I mean the moment I got it, it was a couple of weeks after that Sundance where we had 'Crown Heights,' and they sent me the script. You know, it was just a beautiful love story with no other side stories to it. It was just two people who were falling in love. I thought it was something that would be nice to put out there," he said. Actress Eva Longoria also appears in the film, albeit in a smaller role as a jazz singer. Though, she said her little screen time didn't equate to less preparation for the role. "Carrie called me and said 'Nnamdi's gonna call you. I'm not saying anything else.' And I was like, 'Okay.' And so then he called and he said will I do this part. I didn't read the script. I didn't read anything. I said yes, yes. Of course. Then later found out like, oh yeah, you have to sing and dance and here's rehearsals and here's times. I was like, 'Oh my gosh.' You know, I sing but I've never sung in a role. So, it was really fun to flex a different muscle. And just great to be part of this cast. You know, Tessa's amazing in it and Nnamdi's incredible. So, I can't wait to see it. I haven't seen it!" Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...