Summary
Rob Peaceis a biopic based onThe Short and Tragic Life of Rob Peace. The movie follows Rob Peace, an extremely intelligent young black student whose father is convicted of murder, although he adamantly maintains his innocence. Rob is determined to help his family and community even after being accepted into Yale. In his quest not to leave his family or home behind, Rob makes choices that pull him into dangerous territory with tragic consequences.
The Short and Tragic Life of Rob Peacewas written by one of Peace’s college roommates, Jeff Hobbs.Rob Peaceisdirected by Chiwetel Ejiofor, who also plays the protagonist’s father. The film examines the systemic failures that led to the tragedy in Rob’s life through the lens of his loyalty and love for his family and community. Jay Will brings depth and vulnerability to hisperformance as Rob Peace, leading an impressive cast that includes Mary J. Blige, Camila Cabello, and Michael Kelly.
The 25 Highest-Grossing Biopics Of All Time, According To Box Office Mojo
Between a 3.5-hour World War II movie and a low-budget British period piece, it’s impossible to tell which biopic will become a phenomenal success.
Screen Rantinterviewed Chiwetel Ejiofor about his new movieRob Peace. He revealed what drew him to this project and how Rob Peace’s story changed his perspective of the world. Ejiofor also explained what were the key elements he wanted to tap into with this adaptation, praised Will’s skills as an actor, and shared hisexcitement forVenom: The Last Dance.
Chiwetel Ejiofor Describes His First Reaction To Rob Peace’s Story
“I Was So Struck By Trying To Bear Witness To This”
Screen Rant: What inspired you to take on Rob’s journey and tell this story? Where did you find this project?
Chiwetel Ejiofor: I read the book not long after it came out, this is the book by Jeff Hobbs, Rob’s roommate at Yale, and I was just really struck by the fact that, I guess I had been thinking in a slightly sort of not constructed way about some of these issues. About some of these things, about some of the kind of systemic challenges that can center on individuals.
And then reading the book and understanding Rob’s journey it highlighted and just shed this incredible light on all of these systemic intersections. Rob is existing as a brilliant young man full of all of this potential, I mean extraordinary, limitless potential really, and this brilliant mind. He’s existing in these intersections of race, of housing, of education, of the criminal justice system. These intersections, for all of his capacity to rise above or engage the world, has this effect on him.
And almost by definition it’s almost in a way, designed to have that effect. So I was so struck by trying to bear witness to this. The stories that came out around Rob after all these events took place were I think in the sort of media world and the media landscape were incredibly judgmental of Rob and were judgmental of his choices in a way that missed, to my thinking, the real point of what was going on. That Rob was challenged ultimately by systems. I really wanted to talk about that on film.
When you adaptedThe Short And Tragic Life Of Robert Peace, what were some of the most important themes that you wanted to preserve in the biography? Also, can you talk about how Antoine Fuqua and Rebecca Hobbs helped contribute to the vision to execute the film?
Chiwetel Ejiofor: Just to deal with the second part, first, Antoine and Rebecca asked me to come on board. So I’d been aware of the book, but for various reasons I thought the rights had gone. I wasn’t sort of pursuing it. I loved it. I just didn’t think I could do it in that context. They had seen my film, The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind, so they reached out to talk to me about the adaptation and directing this film.
And I kind of jumped at the opportunity and told them that how much I had loved and responded to the book. So they were sort of instrumental in the process of it all. I think that through it all, the themes kind of remained the same. I was interested in exploring the complex nature of social mobility.
I think that so many of us experience that, obviously this is an extreme version of that. Rob’s journey is an extreme version of that, but it is something that isn’t spoken about that is an added pressure on people and their lives as they navigate these systems.
Rob had these kind of familial pressures, this real connection to family, to community, the idea that as sometimes is talked about and was talked about in relation to him, that he should have simply moved away from his family and all of those dynamics, is I think a complete misunderstanding of how people work or a misinterpretation of what are the motivating factors of people. And for sure, if somebody can do that, then great.
But there are people like Rob who its simply not in their makeup to do that. They’re not designed that way and they’re not going to be able to be like, Oh, okay, this is what I need to do and goodbye to all this. It just doesn’t work like that. He felt a keen responsibility to all of those factors around him. And I feel like in a slightly more supported dynamic, he would’ve been able to thrive.
Jay Will “Was The Only Person To Play Rob”
You’re a brilliant director. Let me just say, there are these beautiful shots in this film where as Rob’s anger rises, we see the scene kind of go red. It evokes such emotion. Can you talk about working with your DP, Ksenia Sereda on making those shots happen?
Chiwetel Ejiofor: Right from the beginning, the conversations that I was having with Ksenia, who’s an amazing cinematographer, we talked about the colors, the colors of the film. How oranges and reds those hues would depict a lot of Rob’s story and Rob’s kind of connection, not just with Skeet. It starts with the fire, just the oranges and reds of the fire and how as well with the kind of nomenclador predestination of being from the oranges.
From being from East Orange, how he is surrounded by these colors and how those colors are the colors in some ways of Skeet’s own chaos and how that chaos is infused into Rob’s life. So these hues sort of are involved in the story as they kind of engulf and encompass Rob’s own vision and worldview. So there was a deep sort of conversation about how color would help tell our story and move the audience to the inside of Rob’s psychology.
I don’t want to overlook your acting. You are brilliant in this film and so is Jay Will. He blew me away in his performances, Rob. Yyou guys have some intense scenes together, most notably the scene where your character’s trying to get money for a new trial, a new lawyer. Can you talk about working on that chemistry with Jay and working with him as an actor and what he brought to the role?
Chiwetel Ejiofor: Jay is a brilliant actor. He’s a real extraordinary find. I was very, very lucky that somebody showed me, he came out of Julliard. He was in the covid year, so he didn’t have a showcase and a formal showcase. So his materials were all online from the school and somebody showed me some of his monologue work. I was like, this guy has an incredible amount of charisma. He’s got an extraordinary amount of authenticity. He’s committed to the truth of a scene, absolutely committed to it.
I could see that immediately and the work that he was doing. So we did some workshops together as an audition for this part. It became very clear, very quickly that he was the only person to play Rob. To really carry us through these different spaces, to hold that authenticity, to hold this truthfulness and all of these dynamics. So playing those scenes was, I think it was just a real pleasure for me.
I think with all of the complexity of directing something, this sort of juggernaut is moving and there’s all these different components, but when you’re in the silence and the quiet of an interaction with an actor of his capability, everything else falls away and it becomes very purely about these two characters and these dynamics. I’m really grateful to him for working on this film and giving it as much as he did. It was really beautiful to watch.
Chiwetel Ejiofor Is Ready For Venom: The Last Dance
“I Just Can’t Wait For People To See It”
Switching gears for a second. I know that you’re going to be inVenom: The Last Dance. There’s very little that we know about your role. What can you tease about your role inVenom: The Last Dance?
Chiwetel Ejiofor: I think that the project is incredibly exciting and I feel like, I think the audiences are really in for a treat. I just can’t wait for people to see it. It was a real blast to do. I think that world, the world of Venom is really special. I think it’s completely unique. I think Venom holds a really, really special place in a lot of people’s hearts, mine included. So I’m very excited for people to see the film.
About Rob Peace
Based on a biography by Jeff Hobbs, “Rob Peace” follows a gifted young Black student from his childhood all the way through Yale, as he deals with economic downturn and trying to free his wrongfully convicted father.
Rob Peace
Cast
Rob Peace is a biographical drama written and directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor and was released in 2024. Based on the biography by Jeff Hobbs, Rob Peace follows the titular man who grew up in a life of poverty and crime in New Jersey but still managed to attain an Ivy League education at Yale while making money selling marijuana on the side.
