Mayor Chuck Espy was looking for another way to bring the Clarksdale community together and used one of the latest movie releases to accomplish his goal.
The city of Clarksdale showed the latest release of The Lion King at the Clarksdale Civic Auditorium Sunday night and more than 200 individuals showed up. Espy said he was anticipating a turnout of around 50. The movie was originally scheduled to be at the main stage by the Delta Blues Museum, but the weather caused a change in venue.
Vendors sold popcorn and other snacks, while raffle prizes were given away. Everyone got to see the movie at no cost.
After seeing the success, Espy said the city would show more movies in the future.
“It’s Clarksdale,” he said. “Just think about it. I’m so proud of my little city. I’ve been doing politics for a long time and it’s finally where it’s a scenario where the entire community’s come together. We’ve got black and white people in there watching one of the latest releases of Lion King coming together on a Sunday night. I can’t ask for anything more of a city. It’s a beautiful night. The city is peaceful. Everybody is happy and guess what? I can’t ask for anything more.”
The Lion King, a 2019 American musical film, was released in July. Jon Favreau was the director and producer, Jeff Nathanson was the writer and, and Walt Disney Pictures produced the film. It is a photorealistic remake of Disney's animated 1994 film. Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alfre Woodard, Billy Eichner, John Kani, John Oliver and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and James Earl Jones are voices in the film. The plot revolves around Simba, a young lion is the rightful king of his native land following the murder of his father, Mufasa, at the hands of his uncle, Scar.
Espy himself did not see this version of The Lion King until Sunday night, but he did watch movie trailers of it.
“It’s one of the newest releases and it gained so much attention globally,” he said. “There were so many people that gravitated to this movie. And guess what? It’s a tearjerker. It’s a heart grabber. Your heart races and your soul stirs and that’s what I love about this movie. It’s just like where we are in this community. It’s new growth and we’re doing it in Clarksdale.”
Kerry Lee, the radio station director at Coahoma Community College, who has a bachelor’s degree in communications with a concentration in radio and television broadcasting, did much of the technical work behind the scenes so the movie could be shown. He was also the emcee for the raffle to give away prizes.
“We would like to thank the mayor and his administration for making this possible, bringing the community together in a fun way for the kids to enjoy,” Lee said. “We don’t have a movie theater of our own and this is an excellent way for the kids to see popular movies that’s out right now.”
