Former Philadelphia Eagles Linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Stars in ‘The North Star’ Red Carpet Premiere September 17th in Philadelphia

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LuckPig Studios’ The North Star, a Thomas K. Phillips feature film based on true events, will celebrate its theatrical release with a Philadelphia Red Carpet Premiere at the Perelman Theater at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts on Thursday, September 17th before the local theatrical release on Friday, September 18thThe North Star, starring former Philadelphia Eagles Linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, was filmed in Bucks County, PA over 24 days during the summer of 2012.

Red carpet attendees will include Jeremiah Trotter, Doylestown, PA native Writer and Director Thomas K. Phillips, and Producer and former Executive Director of the NAACP, Dr. Benjamin Chavis Jr., along with key members of the cast.  Tickets for the 5:30 PM screening and 8:00 PM red carpet premiere start at $12.99 and are available at kimmelcenter.org.

The North Star has been acquired by RLJ Entertainment (NASDAQ: RLJE) for all rights, excluding theatrical, in the US and Canada.  The film will be featured on RLJE’s proprietary digital channel UMC – Urban Movie Channel, a premium subscription-based video streaming service created by Robert L. Johnson, chairman of RLJ Entertainment and founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET), and released on DVD and Digital HD in early 2016.

The North Star is the story of BENJAMIN “BIG BEN” JONES (Jeremiah Trotter) and MOSES HOPKINS (Thomas C. Bartley Jr.), two slaves who escaped from a Virginia plantation and made their way to freedom in Buckingham, Pennsylvania in 1849.  The North Star is the first film from Doylestown, PA native Thomas K. Phillips.  It tells an uplifting story of people from different races and backgrounds coming together to triumph over slavery in this piece of local history.

In addition to Trotter and Bartley, cast members for The North Star include Clifton Powell (Ray, Norbit, Rush Hour, Friday After Next) Lynn Whitfield (HBO’s Josephine Baker Story), John Diehl (Stripes, Pearl Harbor, Jurassic Park III), Keith David (Platoon, Crash, The Thing, ATL),  Christopher Mann (“The Wire”, Bourne Legacy, Michael Clayton) and April Woodall (Broadway actress and vocalist).

Director Thomas K. Philips notes, “My wish is that The North Star will resonate positively with its audience and show the good of humanity at such a dark time in American history. One of my goals is to shed light on the thousands of courageous individuals that took the perilous journey to freedom, leaving the only life known to them; a life of forced servitude and inhumane treatment, for a better life for themselves and future generations. In addition and most important to me, I hope that The North Star will create a dialog with its audience about how people came together for the cause of abolishing slavery; people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds who heard the word of God in their hearts and risked a great deal by their actions. I believe it is still relevant in solving some of today’s issues.”

The North Star original score was composed and performed by Grammy Award winner Ramsey Lewis with his son Frayne Lewis.   American Idol finalist Jermaine Jones is featured on two tracks.  A young adult novel adaptation of The North Star will be published this fall.

THE NORTH STAR will open at the County Theater and Penn Cinema in Wilmington on Friday, September 18th and will expand to theaters in NY, LA, Miami, Washington, DC and Chicago later this fall.

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