To glamorous Streatham, where the Odeon hosted the premiere of Half of a Yellow Sun. Thandie Newton, who gave birth to a son five weeks ago, left husband Ol Parker holding the baby while she walked the red carpet with co-star Chiwetel Ejiofor, star of 12 Years a Slave.
The film is set during the Biafran war and while the scenes were harrowing, Newton had to leave the drama on set. “You switch off when you go home, you have to,” she said. “But shooting in Nigeria you are surrounded by the legacy from that time. There were people I would speak to who had family members who’d been involved in the war, Chiwetel’s family even. I was glad of that: you have to walk that path closely.”
The film is based on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel of the same name.
Can we look forward to an adaptation of her most recent novel Americanah? Adichie was coy on developments last night but she has previously hinted that Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o has been slated for the lead role.
