Kemp Powers is an American filmmaker and playwright. He is best known for his work on the play ''
One Night in Miami
''One Night in Miami'' is the debut play written by Kemp Powers, first performed in 2013. It is a fictional account of the real night of February 25, 1964. It pinpoints a pivotal moment in the lives of four, still nascent, Black American icons w ...
'', the 2020 film adaptation
of the same name, and ''
Soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
''. His screenplay for ''One Night in Miami...'' earned him a
Best Adapted Screenplay nomination at the
93rd Academy Awards
The 93rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released from January 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021, at Union Station in Los Angeles. The ceremony was held on April 25, 202 ...
in April 2021.
His work on ''Soul'' meant that Powers became the first African-American to co-direct a
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
animated feature.
Career
After writing the 2012 short film ''This Day Today'', he scripted the 2013 play ''
One Night in Miami
''One Night in Miami'' is the debut play written by Kemp Powers, first performed in 2013. It is a fictional account of the real night of February 25, 1964. It pinpoints a pivotal moment in the lives of four, still nascent, Black American icons w ...
''. In 2017, Powers was brought onboard to write several scripts for ''
Star Trek: Discovery''
season one episodes.
In 2018, he co-wrote the script for
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californ ...
's ''
Soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
'', with
Pete Docter and
Mike Jones, as well as co-directing the film with Docter, making his directorial debut. On July 9, 2019, it was announced that actress
Regina King
Regina Rene King (born January 15, 1971) is an American actress and director. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and four Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2019, ''Time'' magazine named her o ...
would be directing a
film adaptation of Powers' play ''One Night in Miami''. On December 16, 2020, Powers hosted the first three episodes of the podcast ''Soul Stories'', which was released as a
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
exclusive. In the episodes, Powers interviewed several people who worked on the film mainly about their mentors and careers, as well as some behind-the-scenes stories behind the making of the film. An alumnus of
Howard University
Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...
, Powers is the first African-American co-director in Pixar history. In April 2021, Powers was revealed to be directing ''
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse'' and its sequel ''
Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse'' with
Joaquim Dos Santos
Joaquim Dos Santos is a Portuguese-born American storyboard artist, director, producer, writer, and designer. He is best known for his directing work on the television series ''Justice League Unlimited'', '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'', '' G.I. J ...
and Justin K. Thompson.
Filmography
Plays
* ''
One Night in Miami
''One Night in Miami'' is the debut play written by Kemp Powers, first performed in 2013. It is a fictional account of the real night of February 25, 1964. It pinpoints a pivotal moment in the lives of four, still nascent, Black American icons w ...
'' (2013)
* ''Little Black Shadows'' (2018)
* ''Christa McAuliffe's Eyes Were Blue'' (2021)
* ''The XIXth (The Nineteenth)'' (2023)
Accolades
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Powers, Kemp
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American screenwriters
African-American screenwriters
American male screenwriters
Annie Award winners
Howard University alumni
Living people
Pixar people
Sony Pictures Animation people
Year of birth missing (living people)