In an oddball metaphor, John Lennon compared The Beatles to flags on top of a boat. However, he said that the Fab Four weren’t the ones getting the boat to move. In other words, he felt the band were products of their society as much as they were trendsetters. Paul McCartney made some similar remarks about his own musical legacy.
John Lennon said ‘Maybe The Beatles were in the crow’s nest shouting ‘Land Ho!”
The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono features an interview from 1980. In it, the “Imagine” singer was asked what “moved The Beatles.” “Whatever wind was blowing at the time moved The Beatles, too,” he replied. “I’m not saying we weren’t flags on the top of the ship. But the whole boat was moving.
“Maybe The Beatles were in the crow’s nest shouting ‘Land Ho!
John Lennon said ‘Maybe The Beatles were in the crow’s nest shouting ‘Land Ho!”
The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono features an interview from 1980. In it, the “Imagine” singer was asked what “moved The Beatles.” “Whatever wind was blowing at the time moved The Beatles, too,” he replied. “I’m not saying we weren’t flags on the top of the ship. But the whole boat was moving.
“Maybe The Beatles were in the crow’s nest shouting ‘Land Ho!
- 3/11/2024
- by Matthew Trzcinski
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Today, Jan. 1, isn’t just New Year’s Day — it’s also Public Domain Day, where thousands of cinematic treasures, literary classics, Great American Songbook selections, and works of art see their copyrights expire and enter the public domain.
The headliner this year is the fair use of Mickey Mouse — at least, the Steamboat Willie version of the beloved character — as that copyright expiration has been anticipated for years. However, there’s much more than just Mickey entering the public domain in 2024.
Jennifer Jenkins, Director of Duke’s Center for...
The headliner this year is the fair use of Mickey Mouse — at least, the Steamboat Willie version of the beloved character — as that copyright expiration has been anticipated for years. However, there’s much more than just Mickey entering the public domain in 2024.
Jennifer Jenkins, Director of Duke’s Center for...
- 1/1/2024
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Sandra Reaves-Phillips, the actress and singer who appeared in the films ’Round Midnight and Lean on Me and portrayed six legendary divas in a one-woman, tour de force stage show, has died. She was 79.
Reaves-Phillips died Friday at her home in Queens, family spokesperson Sandra Lanman told The Hollywood Reporter. She had been in failing health since falling off a stage during a performance of Raisin in St. Louis in 2004 and enduring serious auto accidents in 2014 and ’15 in New York.
The South Carolina native worked opposite Maurice Hines in his 2006 Broadway musical Hot Feet, and she portrayed Mama Younger and Bertha Mae Little, respectively, in Raisin on Broadway and national and European tours and in a 1999 off-Broadway production of Rollin’ on the T.O.B.A.
Reaves-Phillips was featured with saxophonist Dexter Gordon in Bertrand Tavernier’s ’Round Midnight (1986) in the role of Buttercup, and in the Morgan Freeman-starring...
Reaves-Phillips died Friday at her home in Queens, family spokesperson Sandra Lanman told The Hollywood Reporter. She had been in failing health since falling off a stage during a performance of Raisin in St. Louis in 2004 and enduring serious auto accidents in 2014 and ’15 in New York.
The South Carolina native worked opposite Maurice Hines in his 2006 Broadway musical Hot Feet, and she portrayed Mama Younger and Bertha Mae Little, respectively, in Raisin on Broadway and national and European tours and in a 1999 off-Broadway production of Rollin’ on the T.O.B.A.
Reaves-Phillips was featured with saxophonist Dexter Gordon in Bertrand Tavernier’s ’Round Midnight (1986) in the role of Buttercup, and in the Morgan Freeman-starring...
- 12/31/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Opening with a fiddle and banjo straight out of a folk recital, “You’re the One,” the title track on Rhiannon Giddens’ third album under her own name, starts the way one would expect a Giddens song to open. Addressing one of her children, she sings in a voice that’s warm and comforting, yet firm and watchful. Then the unexpected happens: With a jolt of drums and crashing chords, the music erupts in a mini-maelstrom, and you’re neither in Kansas, or a typical Giddens album, anymore.
With each record in her extensive discography,...
With each record in her extensive discography,...
- 8/15/2023
- by David Browne
- Rollingstone.com
Los Angeles, Aug 15 (Ians) Tina Knowles shut down rumours that her daughter Beyonce travels with personal toilet seats while on tour.
“That is so ridiculous,” the mom of two told TMZ, reports pagesix.com.
Tina explained that the leaked backstage picture of a black container labeled “Beyonce Toilet Seats” was merely a part of the singer’s Renaissance World Tour set.
“Those are stands that you put fans on, they’re called toilet seats,” she said.
Tina, 69, added that the idea of her daughter requesting her own custom toilet seat for the bathroom was “too much”.
The rumours about Beyonce’s tour rider started earlier this month when a source told the US Sun that the “Cuff It” hitmaker can get anything she wants.
“Beyonce is such an elite performer she can literally request anything,” the insider claimed.
“Her team makes great effort to ensure she has her own comforts...
“That is so ridiculous,” the mom of two told TMZ, reports pagesix.com.
Tina explained that the leaked backstage picture of a black container labeled “Beyonce Toilet Seats” was merely a part of the singer’s Renaissance World Tour set.
“Those are stands that you put fans on, they’re called toilet seats,” she said.
Tina, 69, added that the idea of her daughter requesting her own custom toilet seat for the bathroom was “too much”.
The rumours about Beyonce’s tour rider started earlier this month when a source told the US Sun that the “Cuff It” hitmaker can get anything she wants.
“Beyonce is such an elite performer she can literally request anything,” the insider claimed.
“Her team makes great effort to ensure she has her own comforts...
- 8/15/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Beyoncé’s back-to-back nights at Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, this past weekend were two of the most star-studded shows of the Renaissance tour thus far. Greta Gerwig and America Ferrera watched the show from risers, while singer and songwriter Kehlani was close enough to the stage to snap a selfie with Beyoncé. Laverne Cox attended both nights and penned a heartfelt, revelatory caption about how the concert made her feel born again. Also in the audience was Madonna, who received a shoutout from one queen to another.
- 8/1/2023
- by Larisha Paul
- Rollingstone.com
David Simon, co-creator of The Wire, has asked a Manhattan judge to grant leniency to a man being charged in connection with the 2021 drug overdose death of actor Michael K. Williams.
Carlos Macci, 71, is one of four men charged in connection with Williams’ death. All have pleaded guilty, with Macci’s sentencing scheduled for later this month. While Macci’s recommended sentence is 10 years, Simon sent a three-page letter on his behalf to Judge Ronnie Abrams, urging a shorter sentence.
“What happened to Mike is a grievous tragedy,” Simon wrote,...
Carlos Macci, 71, is one of four men charged in connection with Williams’ death. All have pleaded guilty, with Macci’s sentencing scheduled for later this month. While Macci’s recommended sentence is 10 years, Simon sent a three-page letter on his behalf to Judge Ronnie Abrams, urging a shorter sentence.
“What happened to Mike is a grievous tragedy,” Simon wrote,...
- 7/7/2023
- by Emily Zemler
- Rollingstone.com
Hot off her 2022 Best Film Actress SAG Award victory for “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” Jessica Chastain is now in the running for the organization’s Best TV Movie/Miniseries Actress prize as the star of Showtime’s “George and Tammy.” This would be her third SAG Award win in as many categories, as she achieved her first one as an ensemble member of the 2011 film “The Help.” It would also make her only the fourth person to ever pull off back-to-back solo SAG Award wins for two different performances.
The special consecutive champions club Chastain is looking to join was formed in 2000 by Angelina Jolie, who was honored that year for her supporting turn in the film “Girl, Interrupted” immediately after her TV movie performance in “Gia” was lauded by the acting guild. She has since been followed by Renée Zellweger and Viola Davis.
Chastain would, of course, be...
The special consecutive champions club Chastain is looking to join was formed in 2000 by Angelina Jolie, who was honored that year for her supporting turn in the film “Girl, Interrupted” immediately after her TV movie performance in “Gia” was lauded by the acting guild. She has since been followed by Renée Zellweger and Viola Davis.
Chastain would, of course, be...
- 2/21/2023
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
Pearl Jam were about halfway through their special concert for SirusXM at Harlem’s Apollo Theater on Saturday night when Eddie Vedder’s mind went to Bessie Smith’s residency at the venue way back in 1935. “She played here four weeks in a row at one point,” he told the audience. “She was the singer, so she was probably standing right where I’m standing. We never got to be in this room before. The fact that we get to be on this stage is just remarkable.”
Vedder’s reverence...
Vedder’s reverence...
- 9/11/2022
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Beyoncé and Madonna have teamed up for a royal collaboration, “Break My Soul (The Queens Remix).” The latest remix of Beyoncé’s Renaissance single arrived on Friday, just in time to get the weekend party started.
The percolating remix interpolates Madonna’s “Vogue” with Beyoncé flipping the script for the iconic spoke-sung section of the 1990 song, where the Material Girl lists Hollywood stars from the Golden Age. In Bey’s take, she pays homage to both current and past influential Black women who have been game-changers for the culture — from Aaliyah,...
The percolating remix interpolates Madonna’s “Vogue” with Beyoncé flipping the script for the iconic spoke-sung section of the 1990 song, where the Material Girl lists Hollywood stars from the Golden Age. In Bey’s take, she pays homage to both current and past influential Black women who have been game-changers for the culture — from Aaliyah,...
- 8/5/2022
- by Althea Legaspi
- Rollingstone.com
Back in 1953 CBS premiered “Topper,” a fun fantasy sitcom based on the 1937 film of the same name about a stuffy banker (Leo G. Carroll) who buys the former estate of a young couple (Robert Sterling and Anne Jeffreys). The two had died in an avalanche along with the St. Bernard who tried to save them. But no sooner does Carroll’s Topper move into the estate with his wife that he discovers the couple and the dog haunt the house and he happens to be the only one who can see and interact with the spirits. The series, which ran for two seasons (a young Stephen Sondheim wrote a few scripts) was Emmy nominated for Best Comedy Series in 1954. And “Topper” has lived on in syndication, DVD and now on streaming services ever since.
And nearly seven decades later, CBS returned to the paranormal last fall with another spirited fantasy comedy “Ghosts,...
And nearly seven decades later, CBS returned to the paranormal last fall with another spirited fantasy comedy “Ghosts,...
- 5/27/2022
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
On the CBS comedy “Ghosts,” young couple Samantha (Rose McIver) and Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) inherit a decaying country estate and decide to convert it into a bed and breakfast — the only problem is that it’s inhabited by the spirits of all the people who have died on the property over the past several centuries. The eclectic group of ghosts includes a Prohibition-era crooner (Danielle Pinnock), a 1700s militiaman (Brandon Scott Jones), a ‘60s flower child (Sheila Carrasco), a ‘90s yuppie (Asher Grodman), a sarcastic Lenape tribesman from the 1500s (Román Zaragoza), and others who provided a wealth of opportunities for Heather Pain, who costume designed the series pilot.
They also provided major challenges, given that each character — like their counterparts in the show’s British predecessor — would be wearing whatever costume Pain conceived for them for the duration of the series. “I had to ask myself, ‘How do you...
They also provided major challenges, given that each character — like their counterparts in the show’s British predecessor — would be wearing whatever costume Pain conceived for them for the duration of the series. “I had to ask myself, ‘How do you...
- 5/13/2022
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
The Critics Choice Assn. has selected Billy Crystal to receive this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s ceremony on March 13.
A Billy Crystal life achievement reel might look a lot like a history of American showbiz. Crystal’s family roots are embedded in the greatness of American music via his father and his uncle Milt Gabler’s Commodore Records, home to recordings by blues and jazz greats such as Bessie Smith, Bix Beiderbecke and, most stunningly, Billie Holiday. How many showbiz family trees include Holiday’s landmark 1939 record, “Strange Fruit,” named by Time magazine as best song of the century?
In his 20s, Crystal worked his share of 1970s comedy club stages, first as part of a comedy trio known as “3’s Company,” then as a solo act. Variety caught the trio in 1973 and it’s clear from the review that Crystal’s trademark skills as the...
A Billy Crystal life achievement reel might look a lot like a history of American showbiz. Crystal’s family roots are embedded in the greatness of American music via his father and his uncle Milt Gabler’s Commodore Records, home to recordings by blues and jazz greats such as Bessie Smith, Bix Beiderbecke and, most stunningly, Billie Holiday. How many showbiz family trees include Holiday’s landmark 1939 record, “Strange Fruit,” named by Time magazine as best song of the century?
In his 20s, Crystal worked his share of 1970s comedy club stages, first as part of a comedy trio known as “3’s Company,” then as a solo act. Variety caught the trio in 1973 and it’s clear from the review that Crystal’s trademark skills as the...
- 3/12/2022
- by Steven Gaydos
- Variety Film + TV
As soon as Kevin Greene got up to speak, he noticed people walking out. Greene was in Washington D.C., about to begin his presentation on Black music, copyright law, and social justice at the annual conference for the Association of American Law Schools in the mid-2000s, when he saw a group of older IP scholars fleeing the conference room.
“I’ll never forget it. They just stood up and walked out, like they had something better to do,” says Greene, a professor at Los Angeles’ Southwestern Law School.
“I’ll never forget it. They just stood up and walked out, like they had something better to do,” says Greene, a professor at Los Angeles’ Southwestern Law School.
- 3/5/2022
- by Jonathan Bernstein
- Rollingstone.com
(Updated with social media postings by Dear White People EP) A day before Dave Chappelle’s Untitled documentary is set to screen at the Hollywood Bowl and the comedian is expected onstage, his new Netflix special The Closer is generating a growing backlash over remarks about the trans and LGBTQ+ communities.
“Gender is a fact,” Chappelle declares in the special, which debuted on the streamer Tuesday. “Every human being in this room, every human being on earth, had to pass through the legs of a woman to be on earth,” he adds, conspicuously negating C-sections, which make up about a third of all births in America alone. “That is a fact,” Chappelle goes on to say before launching into an anatomy line that “trans women” genitalia are “not quite what it is.”
Chappelle also supported Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling’s 2020 much criticized tweets about the transgender community and exclaiming he is “Team Terf!
“Gender is a fact,” Chappelle declares in the special, which debuted on the streamer Tuesday. “Every human being in this room, every human being on earth, had to pass through the legs of a woman to be on earth,” he adds, conspicuously negating C-sections, which make up about a third of all births in America alone. “That is a fact,” Chappelle goes on to say before launching into an anatomy line that “trans women” genitalia are “not quite what it is.”
Chappelle also supported Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling’s 2020 much criticized tweets about the transgender community and exclaiming he is “Team Terf!
- 10/6/2021
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
The Wire star Wendell Pierce — among other cast members — paid tribute to fellow series actor Michael K. Williams Monday after news broke that Williams died at the age of 54.
“The depth of my love for this brother can only be matched by the depth of my pain learning of his loss,” Pierce, who played Detective William “Bunk” Moreland on the HBO series, wrote on Twitter. “An immensely talented man with the ability to give voice to the human condition portraying the lives of those whose humanity is seldom elevated until he sings their truth.
“The depth of my love for this brother can only be matched by the depth of my pain learning of his loss,” Pierce, who played Detective William “Bunk” Moreland on the HBO series, wrote on Twitter. “An immensely talented man with the ability to give voice to the human condition portraying the lives of those whose humanity is seldom elevated until he sings their truth.
- 9/6/2021
- by Brenna Ehrlich
- Rollingstone.com
Lifetime’s biopic Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia stars Danielle Brooks in the story of gospel icon Mahalia Jackson and her journey to becaming one of the most revered singers in American history. She also melded her music to the civil rights movement — she stood with Martin Luther King Jr at the March on Washington where she performed in hopes her music would encourage and inspire racial equality.
Jason Dirden, Olivia Washington, Rob Demery and Joaquina Kalukango star in the film alongside Brooks, the Orange Is the New Black alum who scored a Tony nom for The Color Purple. She was approached for Mahalia by Kenny Leon, who had previously worked with Brooks on the stage production of Much Ado About Nothing.
The script, from Bessie writer Bettina Gilois (Bessie Smith was an early Mahalia influence) and first-time feature scribe Todd Kreidler, is the latest installment of Deadline’s It Starts...
Jason Dirden, Olivia Washington, Rob Demery and Joaquina Kalukango star in the film alongside Brooks, the Orange Is the New Black alum who scored a Tony nom for The Color Purple. She was approached for Mahalia by Kenny Leon, who had previously worked with Brooks on the stage production of Much Ado About Nothing.
The script, from Bessie writer Bettina Gilois (Bessie Smith was an early Mahalia influence) and first-time feature scribe Todd Kreidler, is the latest installment of Deadline’s It Starts...
- 6/25/2021
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
The churchy feeling that Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia inspires is especially fitting, because that’s where Danielle Brooks first discovered the gospel great.
The Juilliard grad, who is best known for her role as prison inmate Taystee on Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black, grew up in a small church in Simpsonville, South Carolina. And that’s where she first saw a poster of Mahalia Jackson in all her glory. (Mahalia premieres this Saturday, April 3 at 8/7c on Lifetime.)
More from TVLineGenius: Aretha Director: We Wanted to Show 'The Cost of Being a Genius'Genius: Aretha EP Suzan-Lori Parks: 'Black...
The Juilliard grad, who is best known for her role as prison inmate Taystee on Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black, grew up in a small church in Simpsonville, South Carolina. And that’s where she first saw a poster of Mahalia Jackson in all her glory. (Mahalia premieres this Saturday, April 3 at 8/7c on Lifetime.)
More from TVLineGenius: Aretha Director: We Wanted to Show 'The Cost of Being a Genius'Genius: Aretha EP Suzan-Lori Parks: 'Black...
- 4/2/2021
- by Mekeisha Madden Toby
- TVLine.com
When Paula Cole released her 2016 album, Ballads, a double LP of folk and jazz standards, she felt her work was incomplete. “It didn’t sit right,” the singer-songwriter tells Rolling Stone over the phone from her home in Massachusetts. “I needed it to be more of a diverse patchwork, incorporating my roots as a typical American and also as a daughter of a professional musician. I’ve been in this melting pot of music since I was a little girl, and I needed the album to reflect that diversity.”
American Quilt,...
American Quilt,...
- 3/19/2021
- by Angie Martoccio
- Rollingstone.com
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” based on August Wilson’s 1982 play, is set in Chicago the summer of 1927 during a particularly contentious recording session between Ma Rainey and her band. It is a crucial time in her career. Ma has been usurped by blues singers Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters and “Queen of the Moaners” Clara Smith. Jazz has also become more popular than the blues. In fact, the 20s was known as the “Jazz Age.” Levee realizes that and wants to add jazz to Ma’s repertoire.
Produced by Denzel Washington, the Netflix release was directed by George C. Wolfe, who won Tony Awards for his helming of 1992’s “Angels in America: Millennium Approaches” and 1996’s “Bring in ‘Da Noise, Bring in ‘Da Funk.” Ruben Santiago-Hudson, who picked up a Tony in 1996 for his performance in Wilson’s “Seven Guitars,” penned the adaptation. Viola Davis portrays the famed blues singer and...
Produced by Denzel Washington, the Netflix release was directed by George C. Wolfe, who won Tony Awards for his helming of 1992’s “Angels in America: Millennium Approaches” and 1996’s “Bring in ‘Da Noise, Bring in ‘Da Funk.” Ruben Santiago-Hudson, who picked up a Tony in 1996 for his performance in Wilson’s “Seven Guitars,” penned the adaptation. Viola Davis portrays the famed blues singer and...
- 3/5/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
With The United States vs. Billie Holiday streaming on Hulu, both longtime and new fans will likely be clamoring for more of the legendary jazz singer, who died in 1959 at the age of 44. Born Eleanora Fagan, Billie Holiday was among the targets of Federal Bureau of Narcotics head Harry Anslinger, whose racist agenda fueled a so-called crackdown on marijuana and heroin. That torment, as well as the music icon’s life, is the subject of the upcoming Lee Daniels biopic starring Andra Day as Holiday and Trevante Rhodes as undercover FBI agent-turned-lover Jimmy Fletcher.
- 2/16/2021
- by Danielle Directo-Meston
- Rollingstone.com
Netflix’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom stars Viola Davis as one of the most influential blues singers of all time. The real Ma Rainey was the first stage entertainer to bridge the gap between the white and the Black performance circuits. “If you don’t like my ocean, don’t fish in my sea,” Rainey warned in her 1927 song, “Don’t Fish in My Sea,” but the crowds couldn’t stay away. She was one of the first entertainers to play integrated shows in the Jim Crow South, and the first popular singer with authentic blues in her setlist.
“Madame” Gertrude Rainey was the “Mother of the Blues,” but the world knows her as Ma. She wasn’t the first woman to sing the blues. She’d actually heard it while playing vaudeville, tent shows, and cabarets. Rainey wasn’t even the first woman to record the blues. She...
“Madame” Gertrude Rainey was the “Mother of the Blues,” but the world knows her as Ma. She wasn’t the first woman to sing the blues. She’d actually heard it while playing vaudeville, tent shows, and cabarets. Rainey wasn’t even the first woman to record the blues. She...
- 12/19/2020
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” which bows on Netflix on Dec. 18, features Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis as the legendary blues singer and Chadwick Boseman in his final on-screen performance.
“Ma was really successful and super famous, and preceded Bessie Smith,” says composer Branford Marsalis, who delivered the film’s score and music. “Without Ma Rainey, there wouldn’t be a Bessie Smith. Without a Bessie Smith, there wouldn’t be a Billie Holiday.”
Speaking as part of the new Netflix Playlist series, Marsalis explains how Ma Rainey, as a mother of the blues, had an influence on music through the decades. “By the time Prince does [his legendary 1987 album] ‘Sign O’ the Times,’ you don’t know that it’s the blues — and maybe you shouldn’t know, because it’s a sound imprinted onto the culture and the country.”
Set in Chicago on a hot summer day in 1927, the film follows Rainey as...
“Ma was really successful and super famous, and preceded Bessie Smith,” says composer Branford Marsalis, who delivered the film’s score and music. “Without Ma Rainey, there wouldn’t be a Bessie Smith. Without a Bessie Smith, there wouldn’t be a Billie Holiday.”
Speaking as part of the new Netflix Playlist series, Marsalis explains how Ma Rainey, as a mother of the blues, had an influence on music through the decades. “By the time Prince does [his legendary 1987 album] ‘Sign O’ the Times,’ you don’t know that it’s the blues — and maybe you shouldn’t know, because it’s a sound imprinted onto the culture and the country.”
Set in Chicago on a hot summer day in 1927, the film follows Rainey as...
- 12/10/2020
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
Bettina Gilois, a screenwriter who worked on “McFarland USA” and “Bessie,” has died from cancer. She was 58.
Gilois passed away on Sunday, her friend told multiple media outlets. TheWrap has reached out to representatives for Gilois.
Along with “McFarland USA,” Gilois co-wrote the film “Glory Road” about Texas Western college basketball team of the 1960s, and “The Lost Wife of Robert Durst,” a 2017 Lifetime TV movie that starred Katharine McPhee. The HBO pic “Bessie” starred Queen Latifah as Bessie Smith. Gilois received an Emmy nomination for co-writing the biopic about the legendary blues singer, which she shared with Dee Rees, Christopher Cleveland and Horton Foote.
Also Read: Charlie Daniels, Country Music Singer of 'The Devil Went Down to Georgia,' Dies at 83
Gilois was in the middle of writing the series “Muscle Shoals” about the famed Alabama recording studio, which was being produced by Johnny Depp, with Nancy Wilson of Heart composing the music.
Gilois passed away on Sunday, her friend told multiple media outlets. TheWrap has reached out to representatives for Gilois.
Along with “McFarland USA,” Gilois co-wrote the film “Glory Road” about Texas Western college basketball team of the 1960s, and “The Lost Wife of Robert Durst,” a 2017 Lifetime TV movie that starred Katharine McPhee. The HBO pic “Bessie” starred Queen Latifah as Bessie Smith. Gilois received an Emmy nomination for co-writing the biopic about the legendary blues singer, which she shared with Dee Rees, Christopher Cleveland and Horton Foote.
Also Read: Charlie Daniels, Country Music Singer of 'The Devil Went Down to Georgia,' Dies at 83
Gilois was in the middle of writing the series “Muscle Shoals” about the famed Alabama recording studio, which was being produced by Johnny Depp, with Nancy Wilson of Heart composing the music.
- 7/6/2020
- by Tim Baysinger
- The Wrap
I’m never more black than when I talk about country music. By which I mean: I’m never more aware of my blackness than when I’m rambling on about my love of the genre, receiving quizzical looks back. The unspoken onus in the moment is: Explain yourself — how do you like country?
The look is, in part, because everyone is pretty sure they know country music. They don’t have to like it to think this. In fact, the folks who don’t listen to country are more...
The look is, in part, because everyone is pretty sure they know country music. They don’t have to like it to think this. In fact, the folks who don’t listen to country are more...
- 6/5/2020
- by Elamin Abdelmahmoud
- Rollingstone.com
Crooks and lawyers this week on Trailers From Hell. What’s the difference, you may ask? Lawyers drink better wine. Let’s see if we can find a good match for this week’s featured flicks.
2007’s Michael Clayton was nominated for seven Oscars, and it would have been eight had there been a category for Worst Title. Lawyer Clayton cleans up his clients’ messes, referring to himself as a janitor. He is played by George Clooney, who looks like he knows his way around a wine list but does not look anything like a janitor. In the wine biz, a lawyer would handle permits, labels, sales and acquisitions – not exactly the stuff of cinematic legend.
Since it takes so much scratch to buy a winery, mostly lawyers and doctors retire to vineyards. Let’s drink to Law Estate Winery of Paso Robles, owned by Don and Susie Law. Their...
2007’s Michael Clayton was nominated for seven Oscars, and it would have been eight had there been a category for Worst Title. Lawyer Clayton cleans up his clients’ messes, referring to himself as a janitor. He is played by George Clooney, who looks like he knows his way around a wine list but does not look anything like a janitor. In the wine biz, a lawyer would handle permits, labels, sales and acquisitions – not exactly the stuff of cinematic legend.
Since it takes so much scratch to buy a winery, mostly lawyers and doctors retire to vineyards. Let’s drink to Law Estate Winery of Paso Robles, owned by Don and Susie Law. Their...
- 3/31/2020
- by Randy Fuller
- Trailers from Hell
Filmmaker Alma Har’el helped conceive Time’s 100 Women of the Year issue, designed to recognize the contributions of female leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the century from 1920 through 2019. Along with original portraits, the magazine will release 100 covers reflecting the era of each year.
“I don’t think Time has ever done anything this big,” “Honey Boy” director Har’el says, speaking exclusively to Variety. “They usually do one of these covers a year. We’re doing 100 of them.”
“If I felt hungry to take solace in some of the histories of some of these women, I immersed myself in it in the most encompassing way I could,” she adds. The idea was born out of Ha’rel’s frustration and a need to “do something that takes me outside of myself.”
Har’el spent much of 2019 on the awards trail discussing “Honey Boy,” a drama written by and starring Shia Labeouf.
“I don’t think Time has ever done anything this big,” “Honey Boy” director Har’el says, speaking exclusively to Variety. “They usually do one of these covers a year. We’re doing 100 of them.”
“If I felt hungry to take solace in some of the histories of some of these women, I immersed myself in it in the most encompassing way I could,” she adds. The idea was born out of Ha’rel’s frustration and a need to “do something that takes me outside of myself.”
Har’el spent much of 2019 on the awards trail discussing “Honey Boy,” a drama written by and starring Shia Labeouf.
- 3/5/2020
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
As a young woman in the early Sixties, Janis Joplin was pushing the era’s boundaries well before she ever recorded a note, whether she was hitchhiking solo to San Francisco as a teen or refusing to hide her bisexuality at a conservative Texas college. And all the while she was studying American roots music – in particular, blues singers like Bessie Smith (whose gravestone she would eventually help pay for) – and finding her voice. Holly George-Warren, author of the illuminating new book Janis: Her Life and Music, joins host Brian Hiatt...
- 11/30/2019
- by Brian Hiatt
- Rollingstone.com
It’s been nearly half a century since her tragic death at 27 from an accidental heroin overdose, but Janis Joplin’s life and music are still hugely resonant. In her landmark new biography, Janis, writer Holly George-Warren cites Pink, Amy Winehouse, Lady Gaga, and Lucinda Williams among the many artists who have been influenced by the first female rock star’s courageous passion, earthy, genre-defying sound, and self-emptying vocal power. Joplin was a white kid from a small town in Texas who fell in love with the blues and went...
- 11/5/2019
- by Jon Dolan
- Rollingstone.com
Queen Latifah is set to star in a potential reboot of the TV series “The Equalizer” at CBS.
The new series has received a pilot production commitment at the broadcaster. It is described a reimagining of the classic series in which Queen Latifah portrays an enigmatic figure who uses her extensive skills to help those with nowhere else to turn.
The original series starred Edward Woodward and ran for four seasons on CBS between 1985 and 1989. It was co-created by Richard Lindheim and Michael Sloan. It was then adapted into two feature films starring Denzel Washington in the title role, with the first debuting in 2014 and the second in 2018.
Andrew Marlowe and Terri Miller will serve as writers, executive producers, and showrunners on the new series. Queen Latifah will also serve as an executive producer in addition to starring. John Davis, John Fox of Davis Entertainment, Debra Martin Chase of Martin Chase Productions,...
The new series has received a pilot production commitment at the broadcaster. It is described a reimagining of the classic series in which Queen Latifah portrays an enigmatic figure who uses her extensive skills to help those with nowhere else to turn.
The original series starred Edward Woodward and ran for four seasons on CBS between 1985 and 1989. It was co-created by Richard Lindheim and Michael Sloan. It was then adapted into two feature films starring Denzel Washington in the title role, with the first debuting in 2014 and the second in 2018.
Andrew Marlowe and Terri Miller will serve as writers, executive producers, and showrunners on the new series. Queen Latifah will also serve as an executive producer in addition to starring. John Davis, John Fox of Davis Entertainment, Debra Martin Chase of Martin Chase Productions,...
- 11/4/2019
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
In today’s film news roundup, “The Two Popes” wins an audience award, “A Night with Janis Joplin” and “Fittest in Dubai” get releases, Artists First reorganizes, SAG-AFTRA expands its headquarters and Film Fest 919 announces its winners.
Audience Award
Fernando Meirelles’ “The Two Popes” has won the audience award at the Miami Gems Film Festival.
Inspired by a true story, “The Two Popes” stars Anthony Hopkins as Pope Benedict XVI and Jonathan Pryce as the future Pope Francis in a verbal battle of wits over the future direction of the Catholic Church. The film is produced by Netflix, which has scheduled a limited theatrical release on Nov. 27 in the U.S. prior to its release on streaming on Dec. 20.
Festival audiences also chose Bong Joon ho’s dark comedy “Parasite” as first runner-up, with Alma Har’el’s “Honey Boy” and Craig Brewer’s “Dolemite Is my Name” tying for second runner-up.
Audience Award
Fernando Meirelles’ “The Two Popes” has won the audience award at the Miami Gems Film Festival.
Inspired by a true story, “The Two Popes” stars Anthony Hopkins as Pope Benedict XVI and Jonathan Pryce as the future Pope Francis in a verbal battle of wits over the future direction of the Catholic Church. The film is produced by Netflix, which has scheduled a limited theatrical release on Nov. 27 in the U.S. prior to its release on streaming on Dec. 20.
Festival audiences also chose Bong Joon ho’s dark comedy “Parasite” as first runner-up, with Alma Har’el’s “Honey Boy” and Craig Brewer’s “Dolemite Is my Name” tying for second runner-up.
- 10/15/2019
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
The 20th installment of AmericanaFest is in full swing in Nashville. While evening showcases and parties get most of the attention, the conference portion of the festival is just as rich a resource for incredible music, as well as insight into how it’s made.
On Thursday afternoon, NPR Music hosted a special “Turning the Tables” event at the Country Music Hall of Fame as part of the festival’s official programming. NPR Music’s Ann Powers moderated a panel featuring Carlene Carter, Shawn Colvin, Amythyst Kiah, and Maria Muldaur,...
On Thursday afternoon, NPR Music hosted a special “Turning the Tables” event at the Country Music Hall of Fame as part of the festival’s official programming. NPR Music’s Ann Powers moderated a panel featuring Carlene Carter, Shawn Colvin, Amythyst Kiah, and Maria Muldaur,...
- 9/13/2019
- by Brittney McKenna
- Rollingstone.com
On August 26th, 2005, as Hurricane Katrina stewed above the Gulf of Mexico, the Drive-By Truckers played a show at Tipitina’s in New Orleans. It was a two-and-a-half hour set, 27 songs, most of them from the band’s previous three records, Southern Rock Opera, Decoration Day and, their most recent at the time, The Dirty South. Released a year prior, almost to the day, just a few months before George W. Bush won re-election, The Dirty South is an album about people pushed by outside and outsized forces that flattens...
- 9/6/2019
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Exclusive: Dee Rees has been set to direct The Kyd’s Exquisite Follies, a musical fantasy based on her own original script. Rees’ previous film, 2017’s Mudbound, got four Oscar nominations including one for her adapted script, and her Bessie Smith HBO biopic Bessie got her two Emmy noms for writing and directing, with the film winning Outstanding Television Movie among its four Emmys.
Rees will reteam with Mudbound producer Cassian Elwes, and Santigold is set to compose the music, with Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light & Magic creating the film’s visual effects. Endeavor Content is repping the project. Rees most recently wrapped The Last Thing He Wanted for Netflix, with Anne Hathaway and Ben Affleck starring.
The filmmaker announced herself as a voice to watch with her Sundance debut Pariah, and I watched her wage what then was an uphill battle to get awards season attention for her Netflix film Mudbound,...
Rees will reteam with Mudbound producer Cassian Elwes, and Santigold is set to compose the music, with Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light & Magic creating the film’s visual effects. Endeavor Content is repping the project. Rees most recently wrapped The Last Thing He Wanted for Netflix, with Anne Hathaway and Ben Affleck starring.
The filmmaker announced herself as a voice to watch with her Sundance debut Pariah, and I watched her wage what then was an uphill battle to get awards season attention for her Netflix film Mudbound,...
- 6/17/2019
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
There’s a massive, mostly empty room at the center of Wynonna Judd’s house with a large picture window that looks out across her farm south of Nashville. The view from the only chair in the room, which Wynonna calls her “prayer chair,” is a serene pasture and pond. The high, vaulted ceilings make singing in that room an acoustic dream, with the bare walls providing natural reverb.
This is where Wynonna recorded her a cappella performance of the standard “Feeling Good” (premiering today), and it all just happened...
This is where Wynonna recorded her a cappella performance of the standard “Feeling Good” (premiering today), and it all just happened...
- 1/30/2019
- by Hunter Kelly
- Rollingstone.com
Dee Rees has quietly become one of the most important voices in filmmaking over the last few years. Her debut feature film ‘Pariah‘, about a teenage African-American lesbian struggle with coming out to her family was, probably underrated by most, including myself, and I admired that movie a lot; I probably should go back to that one honestly. Her last work was the TV movis biopic ‘Bessie‘ about the great blues legend Bessie Smith, and now comes a sweeping tragic epic called ‘Mudbound‘, that examines two families, one white and one black, and the struggles they both go through living in the Jim Crow South, both before and after World War II.
Plotwise, I’m gonna skip to the middle of the story, ’cause it doesn’t quite get going until then, but after World War II, two soldiers in the families come home. For the McAllen’s, led by...
Plotwise, I’m gonna skip to the middle of the story, ’cause it doesn’t quite get going until then, but after World War II, two soldiers in the families come home. For the McAllen’s, led by...
- 2/22/2018
- by David Baruffi
- Age of the Nerd
Dee Rees is a tall woman of fierce charisma. She’s the kind of director who talks fast, ideas coming so quickly that those less inclined can barely keep up. And yet her output has been slow: After Focus Features snapped up her breakout 2011 feature debut “Pariah” at Sundance, it was four years before HBO Film’s Emmy and DGA-award-winning 2015 biopic “Bessie.”
“There’s an assumption that men who do small personal movies can leap to deliver larger things,” said “Bessie” producer Shelby Stone. “It’s much harder for women.”
Finally, we get to see Rees fulfill her promise with “Mudbound,” a Sundance triumph that set the 2017 festival sales record with its $12.5 million sale to Netflix, and opened AFI Fest November 9 after wowing crowds at seven film festivals.
When Rees received the Sundance Next Fest Vanguard Award in August, her presenter, “Pariah” star Kim Wayans, said it best: “The introverted,...
“There’s an assumption that men who do small personal movies can leap to deliver larger things,” said “Bessie” producer Shelby Stone. “It’s much harder for women.”
Finally, we get to see Rees fulfill her promise with “Mudbound,” a Sundance triumph that set the 2017 festival sales record with its $12.5 million sale to Netflix, and opened AFI Fest November 9 after wowing crowds at seven film festivals.
When Rees received the Sundance Next Fest Vanguard Award in August, her presenter, “Pariah” star Kim Wayans, said it best: “The introverted,...
- 11/13/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Dee Rees is a tall woman of fierce charisma. She’s the kind of director who talks fast, ideas coming so quickly that those less inclined can barely keep up. And yet her output has been slow: After Focus Features snapped up her breakout 2011 feature debut “Pariah” at Sundance, it was four years before HBO Film’s Emmy and DGA-award-winning 2015 biopic “Bessie.”
“There’s an assumption that men who do small personal movies can leap to deliver larger things,” said “Bessie” producer Shelby Stone. “It’s much harder for women.”
Finally, we get to see Rees fulfill her promise with “Mudbound,” a Sundance triumph that set the 2017 festival sales record with its $12.5 million sale to Netflix, and opened AFI Fest November 9 after wowing crowds at seven film festivals.
When Rees received the Sundance Next Fest Vanguard Award in August, her presenter, “Pariah” star Kim Wayans, said it best: “The introverted,...
“There’s an assumption that men who do small personal movies can leap to deliver larger things,” said “Bessie” producer Shelby Stone. “It’s much harder for women.”
Finally, we get to see Rees fulfill her promise with “Mudbound,” a Sundance triumph that set the 2017 festival sales record with its $12.5 million sale to Netflix, and opened AFI Fest November 9 after wowing crowds at seven film festivals.
When Rees received the Sundance Next Fest Vanguard Award in August, her presenter, “Pariah” star Kim Wayans, said it best: “The introverted,...
- 11/13/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
It’s 1930s America as seen in the movies, through music, and the evasions of newsreels. Franklin Delano Roosevelt preaches prosperity while James Cagney slugs out the decade as a smart-tongued everyman — in a dozen different roles. Director Philippe Mora investigates what was then a new kind of revisionist info-tainment formula: applying old film footage to new purposes.
Brother Can You Spare a Dime
DVD
The Sprocket Vault
1975 / B&W / 1:33 flat full frame / 106 min. / Street Date ?, 2017 / available through The Sprocket Vault / 14.99 (also available in Blu-ray)
Film Editor: Jeremy Thomas
Research by Michael Barlow, Jennifer E. Ryan, Susan Winslow
Produced by Sanford Lieberson, David Puttnam
Directed by Philippe Mora
Years before he was briefly sidetracked into sequels for The Howling, Philippe Mora was an accomplished artist and documentary filmmaker. Backed by producers Sanford Lieberson and David Puttnam, his 1974 documentary Swastika pulled a controversial switch on the usual historical fare about...
Brother Can You Spare a Dime
DVD
The Sprocket Vault
1975 / B&W / 1:33 flat full frame / 106 min. / Street Date ?, 2017 / available through The Sprocket Vault / 14.99 (also available in Blu-ray)
Film Editor: Jeremy Thomas
Research by Michael Barlow, Jennifer E. Ryan, Susan Winslow
Produced by Sanford Lieberson, David Puttnam
Directed by Philippe Mora
Years before he was briefly sidetracked into sequels for The Howling, Philippe Mora was an accomplished artist and documentary filmmaker. Backed by producers Sanford Lieberson and David Puttnam, his 1974 documentary Swastika pulled a controversial switch on the usual historical fare about...
- 6/19/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Linda Hopkins, who starred in musicals like Inner City and the one-woman show Me and Bessie, has died at 92. Her death was confirmed by her great-niece Hazel Lindsey, according to the The New York Times.
The famed gospel singer performed for over 40 years before making her Broadway debut in Inner City, later winning a Tony for her role in 1972.
“So far as I’m concerned, they can throw away the rest of Inner City and just let a lady named Linda Hopkins stand there all night, tapping one foot slightly, opening her composed mouth to let miraculous sounds come out of it,...
The famed gospel singer performed for over 40 years before making her Broadway debut in Inner City, later winning a Tony for her role in 1972.
“So far as I’m concerned, they can throw away the rest of Inner City and just let a lady named Linda Hopkins stand there all night, tapping one foot slightly, opening her composed mouth to let miraculous sounds come out of it,...
- 4/12/2017
- by Ale Russian
- PEOPLE.com
Netflix has acquired the drama “Mudbound,” which premiered on January 21 in the Sundance Film Festival’s Premieres section. Netflix paid $12.5 million for the U.S. rights and other select rights to the film, Deadline reports. Good Universe previously sold the rights to multiple territories for the film.
Read More: ‘Mudbound’ Review: Dee Rees Enters the Big Leagues With Sweeping Period Epic — Sundance 2017
Directed by Dee Rees and set in the post-World War II rural Mississippi, “Mudbound” tells the story of two families pitted against the social hierarchy of 1940’s American south. When Ronsel (Jason Mitchell) and Jamie (Garrett Hedlund) return from war to life on a farm, their unique friendship challenges the already strained relationship between the two families. “Mudbound” is based on author Hillary Jordan’s 2009 novel of the same name, and features an ensemble cast that includes Jason Clarke, Carey Mulligan, Rob Morgan, and Mary J. Blige.
Rees...
Read More: ‘Mudbound’ Review: Dee Rees Enters the Big Leagues With Sweeping Period Epic — Sundance 2017
Directed by Dee Rees and set in the post-World War II rural Mississippi, “Mudbound” tells the story of two families pitted against the social hierarchy of 1940’s American south. When Ronsel (Jason Mitchell) and Jamie (Garrett Hedlund) return from war to life on a farm, their unique friendship challenges the already strained relationship between the two families. “Mudbound” is based on author Hillary Jordan’s 2009 novel of the same name, and features an ensemble cast that includes Jason Clarke, Carey Mulligan, Rob Morgan, and Mary J. Blige.
Rees...
- 1/30/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
Expectations are very high for filmmaker Dee Rees. The Tennessee-born writer-director’s 2011 debut “Pariah” and 2015 HBO drama “Bessie” were both critically acclaimed, award-winning films, and her newest feature, “Mudbound,” is one of the the most anticipated movies at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Read More: Michael Showalter’s Second Act: How the ‘The Big Sick’ Filmmaker Reinvented His Career — Sundance 2017
Set in the post-World War II rural Mississippi, the film tells the story of two families pitted against the social hierarchy of 1940’s American south. When Ronsel (Jason Mitchell) and Jamie (Garrett Hedlund) return from war to life on a farm, their unique friendship challenges the already strained relationship between the two families. “Mudbound” is based on author Hillary Jordan’s 2009 novel of the same name, and features an ensemble cast that includes Jason Clarke, Carey Mulligan, Rob Morgan, and Mary J. Blige.
Rees was not familiar with...
Read More: Michael Showalter’s Second Act: How the ‘The Big Sick’ Filmmaker Reinvented His Career — Sundance 2017
Set in the post-World War II rural Mississippi, the film tells the story of two families pitted against the social hierarchy of 1940’s American south. When Ronsel (Jason Mitchell) and Jamie (Garrett Hedlund) return from war to life on a farm, their unique friendship challenges the already strained relationship between the two families. “Mudbound” is based on author Hillary Jordan’s 2009 novel of the same name, and features an ensemble cast that includes Jason Clarke, Carey Mulligan, Rob Morgan, and Mary J. Blige.
Rees was not familiar with...
- 1/22/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
Film historian B. Ruby Rich credits the 1992 Sundance Film Festival as the cradle of New Queer Cinema, and a quick survey of this year’s festival lineup confirms that Lgbt films stand an excellent chance of attracting audiences. Lesbian filmmaker Dee Rees’ “Mudbound” is one of the most talked about films of the year, trans director Yance Ford’s deeply personal “Strong Island” has been years in the making, and we may have the British “Brokeback Mountain” (but better) with Francis Lee’s “God’s Own Country.”
Perusing the slate of queer films, filmmakers, and performers at Sundance this year, 2017 is set to be the best year queer cinema has seen in a long time. Here’s 10 reasons why:
Read More: 10 Surprises and Hidden Gems from the 2017 Sundance Lineup
Dee Rees is About to Become the Most Successful Black Lesbian Director in Hollywood
Queer audiences have known Dee Rees since...
Perusing the slate of queer films, filmmakers, and performers at Sundance this year, 2017 is set to be the best year queer cinema has seen in a long time. Here’s 10 reasons why:
Read More: 10 Surprises and Hidden Gems from the 2017 Sundance Lineup
Dee Rees is About to Become the Most Successful Black Lesbian Director in Hollywood
Queer audiences have known Dee Rees since...
- 1/18/2017
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Hollywood seems to pride itself on biopics of historical Black figures. Over the past several years, Jackie Robinson, James Brown and Bessie Smith’s stories have all gotten the film treatment. This year, it’s Olympic Gold medalist and track star Jesse Owens’ turn in the film “Race”. During the Great Depression and the height of Hitler’s Nazi regime in Germany, Owens defied all odds. He was not only the fastest man in the world, but he also became the face of America at the Berlin Olympic Games in 1936. “Race”, which stars “Selma” actor Stephan James, is about Owens' incredible rise and unprecedented success. Film studios often get biopics wrong because they present a glossy...
- 2/18/2016
- by Aramide A Tinubu
- ShadowAndAct
Hollywood seems to pride itself on biopics of historical Black figures. Over the past several years, Jackie Robison, James Brown and Bessie Smith’s stories have all gotten the film treatment. This year, it’s Olympic Gold medalist and track star Jesse Owens’ turn in the film “Race”. During the Great Depression and the height of Hitler’s Nazi regime in Germany, Owens defied all odds. He was not only the fastest man in the world, but he also became the face of America at the Berlin Olympic Games in 1936. “Race”, which stars “Selma” actor Stephan James, is about Owens' incredible rise and unprecedented success. Film studios often get biopics wrong because they present a glossy version...
- 2/16/2016
- by Aramide A Tinubu
- ShadowAndAct
The Screen Actors Guild Awards presented its coveted Actor statuettes for the outstanding motion picture and primetime television performances of 2015 at the 22nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards held Saturday, Jan. 30 at the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center.
Honored with individual awards were Leonardo DiCaprio, Idris Elba, Brie Larson and Alicia Vikander for performances in motion pictures, and Uzo Aduba, Viola Davis, Idris Elba, Queen Latifah, Kevin Spacey and Jeffrey Tambor for performances in television.
The Screen Actors Guild Awards originated awards for the outstanding performances by a motion picture cast and by television drama and comedy ensembles. The Actor for a motion picture cast performance went this year to Spotlight, while the Actors for television drama and comedy ensemble performances went this year to “Downton Abbey” and “Orange is the New Black”.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler presented Carol Burnett with the 52nd Life Achievement Award, following a filmed salute to the comedic trailblazer,...
Honored with individual awards were Leonardo DiCaprio, Idris Elba, Brie Larson and Alicia Vikander for performances in motion pictures, and Uzo Aduba, Viola Davis, Idris Elba, Queen Latifah, Kevin Spacey and Jeffrey Tambor for performances in television.
The Screen Actors Guild Awards originated awards for the outstanding performances by a motion picture cast and by television drama and comedy ensembles. The Actor for a motion picture cast performance went this year to Spotlight, while the Actors for television drama and comedy ensemble performances went this year to “Downton Abbey” and “Orange is the New Black”.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler presented Carol Burnett with the 52nd Life Achievement Award, following a filmed salute to the comedic trailblazer,...
- 1/31/2016
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
In naming Spotlight one of the best ensembles of 2016, we said, “Tom McCarthy’s procedural moves with the precision of a fine timepiece. Rarely does one find a film where all is tune, from the pacing, writing, direction and acting. Highlighting the heroic work of the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team, the group is headed by Robby Robinson (Michael Keaton) who risks life long friendships to get the story right. His team includes Mike Rezendes (played by a compulsive Mark Ruffalo), Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams) and Matt Caroll (Brian d’Arcy James). Encouraged by a Boston outsider, editor Marty Baron (Live Schreiber), the team undertakes a long-term investigation of abuses in the Catholic Church. In the mix are the lawyers on both sides, played by Stanley Tucci and Billy Crudup. Rightfully overshadowing that other journalism docudrama, James Vanderbilt’s incompetent Truth, the difference here amongst many things is perhaps access:...
- 1/31/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
It's time for the 22nd annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, where film and TV actors celebrate other film and TV actors, and the big screen winners cross their fingers that this means they'll be getting Oscars, too. Lookin' at you, Leo!
Here is the full list of SAG Awards winners from the Saturday, January 30 show (8 to 10 p.m. on TNT and TBS), along with the nominees they beat for the trophies:
Winners: Movies
• Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Winner: Spotlight
Beasts Of No Nation
The Big Short
Straight Outta Compton
Trumbo
• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Winner: Leonardo DiCaprio / Hugh Glass – "The Revenant"
Bryan Cranston / Dalton Trumbo – "Trumbo"
Johnny Depp / James "Whitey" Bulger – "Black Mass"
Michael Fassbender / Steve Jobs – "Steve Jobs"
Eddie Redmayne / Einar Wegener/Lili Elbe – "The Danish Girl" )
Here's a vine of Leo running to Kate Winslet after he won.
Here is the full list of SAG Awards winners from the Saturday, January 30 show (8 to 10 p.m. on TNT and TBS), along with the nominees they beat for the trophies:
Winners: Movies
• Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Winner: Spotlight
Beasts Of No Nation
The Big Short
Straight Outta Compton
Trumbo
• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Winner: Leonardo DiCaprio / Hugh Glass – "The Revenant"
Bryan Cranston / Dalton Trumbo – "Trumbo"
Johnny Depp / James "Whitey" Bulger – "Black Mass"
Michael Fassbender / Steve Jobs – "Steve Jobs"
Eddie Redmayne / Einar Wegener/Lili Elbe – "The Danish Girl" )
Here's a vine of Leo running to Kate Winslet after he won.
- 1/31/2016
- by Gina Carbone
- Moviefone
In February 2015, Mo'Nique roiled the industry by revealing to The Hollywood Reporter that Lee Daniels — who directed her to an Oscar victory in 2009's Precious — told her she'd been "blackballed" over "difficult" behavior. Turns out that wasn't quite the case. In the year that followed, the Georgia-based actress-comedian reemerged from a six-year screen hiatus, playing singer Ma Rainey in Bessie, an HBO movie about blues legend Bessie Smith, and the religious mother of a gay teen son in the indie drama Blackbird. Now 48, Mo'Nique divides much of her time between touring as a comic and raising three
read more...
read more...
- 1/29/2016
- by Seth Abramovitch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
17 TV Things Worth Celebrating In 2015 17. The Left Shark Katy Perry’s Super Bowl Xlix halftime performance amped up the camp with dancing sharks, but the choreographically challenged Left Shark stole the show. It was probably his idea to pass on second and goal from the 1-yard line. 16. Empress of the Blues Queen Latifah brilliantly embodied blues music legend Bessie Smith in HBO’s Emmy-winning biopic Bessie, a visually and audibly engrossing examination of Depression-era social issues that linger today. 15. Here for the Fear AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead helped sate Twd fans’ late-summer cravings for zombie-head-busting fun … Continue reading →
The post Yet Another 2015 year-end best-of-tv list! appeared first on Channel Guide Magazine.
The post Yet Another 2015 year-end best-of-tv list! appeared first on Channel Guide Magazine.
- 12/15/2015
- by Ryan Berenz
- ChannelGuideMag
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