Exclusive: Actor, writer, director, producer Tosin Morohunfola has signed with ColorCreative for management.
Morohunfola will next be seen starring opposite Shannon Thornton in Tyler Perry’s upcoming drama feature Joy Ridge at Amazon MGM Studios.
His numerous television credits include a series regular role on Starz’s Run the World, and recurring on Max’s Julia, Showtime’s The Chi and NBC’s Chicago Med. He also recently had a key recurring role as Jackson ‘Jackrabbit’ Cole in Taylor Sheridan’s Lawmen: Bass Reeves.
Additional film credits include Amazon’s Blackbox opposite Phylicia Rashad, Oscar winner Kevin Willmott’s The 24th, which was nominated for a NAACP Image award, the bromantic comedy North of the 10, erotic thriller, Friend Request, and BET’s romantic comedy Always A Bridesmaid. Up next, he’ll also co-star in the heist film 1992 with Ray Liotta and Tyrese Gibson.
Morohunfola also wrote and directed Endowed, a parable on fatherhood,...
Morohunfola will next be seen starring opposite Shannon Thornton in Tyler Perry’s upcoming drama feature Joy Ridge at Amazon MGM Studios.
His numerous television credits include a series regular role on Starz’s Run the World, and recurring on Max’s Julia, Showtime’s The Chi and NBC’s Chicago Med. He also recently had a key recurring role as Jackson ‘Jackrabbit’ Cole in Taylor Sheridan’s Lawmen: Bass Reeves.
Additional film credits include Amazon’s Blackbox opposite Phylicia Rashad, Oscar winner Kevin Willmott’s The 24th, which was nominated for a NAACP Image award, the bromantic comedy North of the 10, erotic thriller, Friend Request, and BET’s romantic comedy Always A Bridesmaid. Up next, he’ll also co-star in the heist film 1992 with Ray Liotta and Tyrese Gibson.
Morohunfola also wrote and directed Endowed, a parable on fatherhood,...
- 3/21/2024
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
The films in contention for the 2024 Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar are “American Fiction,” “Barbie,” “Oppenheimer,” “Poor Things,” and “The Zone of Interest.” Our odds currently indicate that “American Fiction” (7/2) will win the award, followed in order of likelihood by “Oppenheimer” (18/5), “Barbie” (4/1), “Poor Things” (9/2), and “The Zone of Interest” (9/2).
This marks only the 14th instance in 96 years of all five Best Adapted Screenplay-nominated films also being in the running for Best Picture. Prior to the last time in 2017 – the year “Moonlight” achieved dual victories – this had happened only twice during the 21st century (2011; 2013) and once during the latter half of the 20th (1965). The bulk of cases occurred almost annually from 1934 to 1943, with the only inapplicable year being 1937.
Respective “The Zone of Interest” and “Oppenheimer” writers Jonathan Glazer and Christopher Nolan are simultaneously nominated for Best Director, while Nolan is also set to face off against “American Fiction” scripter Cord Jefferson in the Best Picture race.
This marks only the 14th instance in 96 years of all five Best Adapted Screenplay-nominated films also being in the running for Best Picture. Prior to the last time in 2017 – the year “Moonlight” achieved dual victories – this had happened only twice during the 21st century (2011; 2013) and once during the latter half of the 20th (1965). The bulk of cases occurred almost annually from 1934 to 1943, with the only inapplicable year being 1937.
Respective “The Zone of Interest” and “Oppenheimer” writers Jonathan Glazer and Christopher Nolan are simultaneously nominated for Best Director, while Nolan is also set to face off against “American Fiction” scripter Cord Jefferson in the Best Picture race.
- 3/7/2024
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
Tyler Perry has wrapped production on the third movie in his four-picture deal with Amazon MGM Studios, a drama led by “P-Valley” and “Mea Culpa” star Shannon Thornton and “Run The World’s” Tosin Morohunfola.
Perry wrote, directed and produced the film, which recently wrapped filming on location in Colorado and at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta under the working title “Joy Ridge.”
“Amidst the picturesque landscapes of Colorado, Joy (Thornton) finds herself on a holiday trip with a man she envisions as ‘the one,” the film’s official logline reads. “However, her journey takes an enchanting turn as she stumbles upon someone who might just redefine her notions about the life she once knew back home.”
Tyler Perry Studios executives Angi Bones and Will Areu produced the film alongside Perry, who has now announced three of the movies in the four-picture deal he inked with Amazon in November 2022. Last June,...
Perry wrote, directed and produced the film, which recently wrapped filming on location in Colorado and at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta under the working title “Joy Ridge.”
“Amidst the picturesque landscapes of Colorado, Joy (Thornton) finds herself on a holiday trip with a man she envisions as ‘the one,” the film’s official logline reads. “However, her journey takes an enchanting turn as she stumbles upon someone who might just redefine her notions about the life she once knew back home.”
Tyler Perry Studios executives Angi Bones and Will Areu produced the film alongside Perry, who has now announced three of the movies in the four-picture deal he inked with Amazon in November 2022. Last June,...
- 2/29/2024
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
With just four days remaining until final Oscar voting officially opens, the race has taken a few unexpected turns at the BAFTA Awards.
Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” a biographical drama about the father of the atomic bomb, has continued to surge ahead after seven wins, including best film and director. Its trajectory towards a triumphant night on the Dolby Theatre stage on March 10 seems assured.
However, surprises abound with other awards contenders making pronounced showings. Yorgos Lanthimos’ sci-fi black comedy “Poor Things” garnered four prizes, including leading actress for Emma Stone, production design, special visual effects, costumes and makeup and hair. The unexpected success, particularly in makeup, could foreshadow a possible upset for presumed favorite “Maestro” at the upcoming Academy Awards. Notable, since Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan missed out on their respective lead acting prizes, signaling the Netflix feature will need a rebound sooner rather than later.
Read: Variety...
Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” a biographical drama about the father of the atomic bomb, has continued to surge ahead after seven wins, including best film and director. Its trajectory towards a triumphant night on the Dolby Theatre stage on March 10 seems assured.
However, surprises abound with other awards contenders making pronounced showings. Yorgos Lanthimos’ sci-fi black comedy “Poor Things” garnered four prizes, including leading actress for Emma Stone, production design, special visual effects, costumes and makeup and hair. The unexpected success, particularly in makeup, could foreshadow a possible upset for presumed favorite “Maestro” at the upcoming Academy Awards. Notable, since Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan missed out on their respective lead acting prizes, signaling the Netflix feature will need a rebound sooner rather than later.
Read: Variety...
- 2/18/2024
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
“Poor Things,” “Oppenheimer,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “American Fiction,” “All of Us Strangers,” and “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” all received Best Adapted Screenplay bids from the Critics Choice Awards thus giving their Oscar hopes in this category a timely boost. Some of them were lauded even further at the Golden Globes, which nominated “Poor Things,” “Oppenheimer,” and “Killers of the Flower Moon” alongside “Barbie,” “Past Lives,” and “Anatomy of Fall” in a combined Best Screenplay category.
So, those are the preferences of those two awards groups. But what about the tastes of the academy? Well, below is a chart detailing the last 10 Oscar winners for Best Adapted Screenplay. We’re going to break this down to see what the academy likes and try to apply the findings to this year’s race.
As you can see, novels are the academy’s favorite source material, accounting for...
So, those are the preferences of those two awards groups. But what about the tastes of the academy? Well, below is a chart detailing the last 10 Oscar winners for Best Adapted Screenplay. We’re going to break this down to see what the academy likes and try to apply the findings to this year’s race.
As you can see, novels are the academy’s favorite source material, accounting for...
- 12/27/2023
- by Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
Proud New Yorker Spike Lee took time to address the 22nd anniversary of Sept. 11 during a keynote talk at the Toronto Film Festival on Monday.
Specifically, Lee recalled he was in Los Angeles on that Tuesday in 2001 and was scrambling to get back to his hometown in crisis to be with his family.
“The world has changed since that day,” Lee said of 9/11 on Monday during a Visionaries session presented by The Hollywood Reporter.
Lee began his keynote with a 30-minute episode of NYC Epicenters 9/11 -> 2021 1/2, his 2021 four-part documentary for HBO that filters the Covid-19 pandemic, the racial reckoning of the summer of 2020, the Jan. 6 insurrection and the tragedy of 9/11 through the director’s New York city perspective.
“There’s some rough things you’ll see. But as a filmmaker, I’ve never been one to hide shit. It’s not simulated computer stuff. This is real, what happened to,...
Specifically, Lee recalled he was in Los Angeles on that Tuesday in 2001 and was scrambling to get back to his hometown in crisis to be with his family.
“The world has changed since that day,” Lee said of 9/11 on Monday during a Visionaries session presented by The Hollywood Reporter.
Lee began his keynote with a 30-minute episode of NYC Epicenters 9/11 -> 2021 1/2, his 2021 four-part documentary for HBO that filters the Covid-19 pandemic, the racial reckoning of the summer of 2020, the Jan. 6 insurrection and the tragedy of 9/11 through the director’s New York city perspective.
“There’s some rough things you’ll see. But as a filmmaker, I’ve never been one to hide shit. It’s not simulated computer stuff. This is real, what happened to,...
- 9/11/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Celebrated directors Pedro Almodóvar and Spike Lee will be honored at at the fifth annual TIFF Tribute Awards on Sept. 10, during the 2023 Toronto Film Festival, organizers said on Thursday.
Spanish auteur Almodóvar will receive the Jeff Skoll Award in Impact Media from Participant, while the Do the Right Thing and Da 5 Bloods filmmaker Lee will receive the TIFF Ebert Director Award at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel gala.
Toronto tips its marquee awards show as an awards-season bellwether, as past honorees include Michelle Yeoh, Brendan Fraser, Jessica Chastain, Roger Deakins, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Joaquin Phoenix, Taika Waititi and Chloé Zhao.
Almodóvar has been among the most successful European directors since his 1988 melodrama Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown won the best young film honor at the inaugural European Film Awards and went on to art house success worldwide. He has won five more European Film honors, as well as five BAFTAs,...
Spanish auteur Almodóvar will receive the Jeff Skoll Award in Impact Media from Participant, while the Do the Right Thing and Da 5 Bloods filmmaker Lee will receive the TIFF Ebert Director Award at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel gala.
Toronto tips its marquee awards show as an awards-season bellwether, as past honorees include Michelle Yeoh, Brendan Fraser, Jessica Chastain, Roger Deakins, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Joaquin Phoenix, Taika Waititi and Chloé Zhao.
Almodóvar has been among the most successful European directors since his 1988 melodrama Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown won the best young film honor at the inaugural European Film Awards and went on to art house success worldwide. He has won five more European Film honors, as well as five BAFTAs,...
- 8/3/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sav Rodgers’ documentary feature debut, Chasing Chasing Amy, is at its core a transition story. Not so much about his own transition, though it is addressed in the 95-minute movie examining the cultural and personal impact of the 1997 Kevin Smith-directed Chasing Amy. But the transitory process that is coming of age; being in love; being a fan; and perhaps most significantly, the realization that under its glitz and glamour, Hollywood is not inherently the romantic place it’s sold as onscreen.
“My mom would always say this thing to me when I was a kid, which is, ‘I need you to understand that I am just a person and your parents are just people. We’re not exceptional. We make mistakes,'” Rodgers recalls, while discussing the takeaways of his doc with The Hollywood Reporter during the film’s 2023 Tribeca Festival run.
That transitory through line is not just...
“My mom would always say this thing to me when I was a kid, which is, ‘I need you to understand that I am just a person and your parents are just people. We’re not exceptional. We make mistakes,'” Rodgers recalls, while discussing the takeaways of his doc with The Hollywood Reporter during the film’s 2023 Tribeca Festival run.
That transitory through line is not just...
- 6/19/2023
- by Abbey White
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Do you understand why I love this movie so much?” asks Sav Rodgers, the director whose adoration of Kevin Smith’s 1997 rom-com Chasing Amy has led them on a pilgrimage to parts of New Jersey so ungentrified that, 25 years later, they’re — seriously — almost all still there. “No,” says Shana Lory. Which is a bit of a shock, given that she was the casting director.
Although it set out to be a love letter, Rodgers’ never-less-than-engaging film always was facing an uphill struggle, and it’s to their credit — to prevent spoilers, they/them pronouns will be used here just for the purposes of this review — that they’re even prepared to debate such “problematic” material at a time when pop culture is cheering on the cancellation of major artists such as Pablo Picasso by people with less gravitas than the UK’s Princess of Wales, who at least can...
Although it set out to be a love letter, Rodgers’ never-less-than-engaging film always was facing an uphill struggle, and it’s to their credit — to prevent spoilers, they/them pronouns will be used here just for the purposes of this review — that they’re even prepared to debate such “problematic” material at a time when pop culture is cheering on the cancellation of major artists such as Pablo Picasso by people with less gravitas than the UK’s Princess of Wales, who at least can...
- 6/9/2023
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Movies mean different things to different people. Predicting which films will strike a chord for any individual is impossible, and some movies become more personal than others. For Sav Rodgers, Kevin Smith‘s Chasing Amy helped him discover truths he could not define. In today’s Chasing Chasing Amy trailer, we find Rodgers going on a journey of self-discovery for a documentary focusing on Smith’s confrontational LGBTQ+ romance film.
The feature documentary explores the transformational impact of the ’90s rom-com on a 12-year-old queer kid from Kansas, coming of age and coming to terms with his identity. The Kevin Smith cult classic became a life raft for young Sav Rodgers. As Rodgers examines the film and its making as a cornerstone of LGBTQ+ cinema, he finds himself at a difficult crossroads. While Sav finds Chasing Amy a gateway to becoming more comfortable with his identity, sections of the LGBTQ...
The feature documentary explores the transformational impact of the ’90s rom-com on a 12-year-old queer kid from Kansas, coming of age and coming to terms with his identity. The Kevin Smith cult classic became a life raft for young Sav Rodgers. As Rodgers examines the film and its making as a cornerstone of LGBTQ+ cinema, he finds himself at a difficult crossroads. While Sav finds Chasing Amy a gateway to becoming more comfortable with his identity, sections of the LGBTQ...
- 5/5/2023
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
Exclusive: Hyde Park Entertainment Group has won rights to the latest memoir by BlacKkKlansman author Ron Stallworth, From BlackKklansman to Hip Hop Cop, a project which will see that work back in the hands of scribe Kevin Willmott, who won an Oscar for adapting the author’s BlacKkKlansman.
BlacKkKlansman, directed by Spike Lee, alsowas based on Stallworth’s life.
From BlacKkKlansman to Hip Hop Cop continues Stallworth’s stranger-than-fiction true story as he goes undercover for the Salt Lake City Police Department, the only Black officer on the white Mormon force, to investigate the root cause of rising gang violence and a brand-new craze threatening local parents and taking their kids by storm: gangster rap. Over the course of one year in 1990-91, he navigates bias and bloodshed as he tries to bridge the gap in this culture war while also trying to catch Utah’s biggest criminal kingpin, with ramifications spanning across America.
BlacKkKlansman, directed by Spike Lee, alsowas based on Stallworth’s life.
From BlacKkKlansman to Hip Hop Cop continues Stallworth’s stranger-than-fiction true story as he goes undercover for the Salt Lake City Police Department, the only Black officer on the white Mormon force, to investigate the root cause of rising gang violence and a brand-new craze threatening local parents and taking their kids by storm: gangster rap. Over the course of one year in 1990-91, he navigates bias and bloodshed as he tries to bridge the gap in this culture war while also trying to catch Utah’s biggest criminal kingpin, with ramifications spanning across America.
- 4/21/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Hyde Park has a big package here heading into the Cannes Market: The feature take of Kevin Barry’s New York Times Top 10 Book of the Year, Night Boat to Tangier starring Michael Fassbender, Domhnall Gleeson and Ruth Negga. The Ashok Amritraj studio will be presenting the James Marsh-directed project to global buyers at the Cannes Marche Du Film next month, with the Oscar-winning filmmaker and Fassbender in tow. Barry is adapting the screenplay from his novel.
Set in Spain and Ireland, Night Boat to Tangier follows Maurice and Charlie, a colourful pair of gangsters from Ireland. Drug-smugglers, partners with a long history of violence and intertwined personal lives,
they’re back in southern Spain re-visiting old haunts, old flames and dangerous local criminals, searching for Maurice’s estranged daughter, Dilly…
Two-time Oscar nominee/3x Golden Golden nominee and 4x BAFTA nominee Fassbender plays Maurice Hearne and Gleeson...
Set in Spain and Ireland, Night Boat to Tangier follows Maurice and Charlie, a colourful pair of gangsters from Ireland. Drug-smugglers, partners with a long history of violence and intertwined personal lives,
they’re back in southern Spain re-visiting old haunts, old flames and dangerous local criminals, searching for Maurice’s estranged daughter, Dilly…
Two-time Oscar nominee/3x Golden Golden nominee and 4x BAFTA nominee Fassbender plays Maurice Hearne and Gleeson...
- 4/13/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
The People’s Choice Awards are feeling a little bit a lot country.
The PCAs franchise is expanding by way of the first-ever People’s Choice Country Awards, to air in September across NBC and Peacock, live from the world-famous Grand Ole Opry stage in Nashville.
More from TVLineDid The Flash Botch Baby News? Can Poker Face Stop Spoiling Itself? Did Sheldon Misuse 'Kitty'? More TV Qs!Chicago Fire Vet Jesse Spencer to Return During Taylor Kinney's AbsenceThe Blacklist's James Spader Weighs In on Why the Show Should End Now -- Plus, Will We Learn Red's True Identity?...
The PCAs franchise is expanding by way of the first-ever People’s Choice Country Awards, to air in September across NBC and Peacock, live from the world-famous Grand Ole Opry stage in Nashville.
More from TVLineDid The Flash Botch Baby News? Can Poker Face Stop Spoiling Itself? Did Sheldon Misuse 'Kitty'? More TV Qs!Chicago Fire Vet Jesse Spencer to Return During Taylor Kinney's AbsenceThe Blacklist's James Spader Weighs In on Why the Show Should End Now -- Plus, Will We Learn Red's True Identity?...
- 3/9/2023
- by Erianne Lewis and Vlada Gelman
- TVLine.com
Deadline reports that Peacock has an exciting project in development: “Excellence: 8 Fights,” an eight-part events series about boxing legend Muhammed Ali. But it’s more who’s involved with the series that’s exciting. “BlackKklansmen” co-writer Kevin Willmott will pen the series, and Morgan Freeman and Regé-Jean Page are on board to help produce.
Read More: The 70 Most Anticipated TV Shows & Mini-Series Of 2023
Willmott will write the series for the streamer, using Jonathan Eig‘s “Ali: A Life” as his primary source material.
Continue reading Peacock Has Muhammed Ali Event Series In The Works From ‘BlackKklansmen’ Writer, Morgan Freeman & René-Jean Page at The Playlist.
Read More: The 70 Most Anticipated TV Shows & Mini-Series Of 2023
Willmott will write the series for the streamer, using Jonathan Eig‘s “Ali: A Life” as his primary source material.
Continue reading Peacock Has Muhammed Ali Event Series In The Works From ‘BlackKklansmen’ Writer, Morgan Freeman & René-Jean Page at The Playlist.
- 3/9/2023
- by Ned Booth
- The Playlist
An eight-part event series about boxing icon Muhammad Ali is in the works at Peacock from Rege-Jean Page, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Willmott.
Titled ‘Excellence: 8 Fights’, the scripted drama series hails from Oscar-winning writer Willmott and is based on Jonathan Eig’s definitive biography ‘Ali: A Life’. ‘Bridgerton’ breakout Page and Freeman are both on board as executive producers, as well as Willmott, Lori McCreary for Revelations Entertainment and Emily Brown, reports ‘Variety’.
According to the show’s official description, ‘Excellence: 8 Fights’ will “chronicle eight distinct and defining moments in the iconic life of Muhammad Ali. Each episode will be framed by one fight from Ali’s life, but the essence of the episode, what it’s really about, is the internal fight – the drama outside the ring – where we will explore the struggle going on in the heart and mind of one of the most consequential and controversial figures of the 20th century.
Titled ‘Excellence: 8 Fights’, the scripted drama series hails from Oscar-winning writer Willmott and is based on Jonathan Eig’s definitive biography ‘Ali: A Life’. ‘Bridgerton’ breakout Page and Freeman are both on board as executive producers, as well as Willmott, Lori McCreary for Revelations Entertainment and Emily Brown, reports ‘Variety’.
According to the show’s official description, ‘Excellence: 8 Fights’ will “chronicle eight distinct and defining moments in the iconic life of Muhammad Ali. Each episode will be framed by one fight from Ali’s life, but the essence of the episode, what it’s really about, is the internal fight – the drama outside the ring – where we will explore the struggle going on in the heart and mind of one of the most consequential and controversial figures of the 20th century.
- 3/9/2023
- by News Bureau
- GlamSham
Muhammad Ali Series in Development at Peacock From Regé-Jean Page, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Willmott
An eight-part event series about boxing icon Muhammad Ali is in the works at Peacock from Regé-Jean Page, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Willmott, Variety has confirmed.
Titled “Excellence: 8 Fights,” the scripted drama series hails from Oscar-winning writer Willmott and is based on Jonathan Eig’s definitive biography “Ali: A Life.” “Bridgerton” breakout Page and Freeman are both on board as executive producers, as well as Willmott, Lori McCreary for Revelations Entertainment and Emily Brown. Eig will serve as a producer, with CBS Studios and UCP.
According to the show’s official description, “Excellence: 8 Fights” will “chronicle eight distinct and defining moments in the iconic life of Muhammad Ali. Each episode will be framed by one fight from Ali’s life, but the essence of the episode, what it’s really about, is the internal fight – the drama outside the ring – where we will explore the struggle going on in the...
Titled “Excellence: 8 Fights,” the scripted drama series hails from Oscar-winning writer Willmott and is based on Jonathan Eig’s definitive biography “Ali: A Life.” “Bridgerton” breakout Page and Freeman are both on board as executive producers, as well as Willmott, Lori McCreary for Revelations Entertainment and Emily Brown. Eig will serve as a producer, with CBS Studios and UCP.
According to the show’s official description, “Excellence: 8 Fights” will “chronicle eight distinct and defining moments in the iconic life of Muhammad Ali. Each episode will be framed by one fight from Ali’s life, but the essence of the episode, what it’s really about, is the internal fight – the drama outside the ring – where we will explore the struggle going on in the...
- 3/9/2023
- by Ellise Shafer
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: As we mark the 52nd anniversary of the first Ali-Frazier fight today, Deadline can reveal that Peacock is developing Excellence: 8 Fights, a scripted eight-part event series about boxing great Muhammad Ali, based on the definitive biography Ali: A Life by Jonathan Eig.
Related Story How MGM Synergized With Amazon To Make ‘Creed III’ The Streamer’s Biggest Box Office Blockbuster Ever At $100M+ Related Story Kevin Costner, Bradley Cooper, Morgan Freeman, Michael Imperioli & Dan Aykroyd Line Up Docs For The History Channel Related Story 'Puss In Boots: The Last Wish' Sets Peacock Premiere Date
The project hails from Oscar-winning BlackKklansman co-writer Kevin Willmott, Morgan Freeman and Lori McCreary’s Revelations Entertainment, Bridgerton alum Regé-Jean Page and Emily Brown. Page is executive producing, but there currently is no deal in place for him to star as Ali. CBS Studios and UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, serve as the studios.
Related Story How MGM Synergized With Amazon To Make ‘Creed III’ The Streamer’s Biggest Box Office Blockbuster Ever At $100M+ Related Story Kevin Costner, Bradley Cooper, Morgan Freeman, Michael Imperioli & Dan Aykroyd Line Up Docs For The History Channel Related Story 'Puss In Boots: The Last Wish' Sets Peacock Premiere Date
The project hails from Oscar-winning BlackKklansman co-writer Kevin Willmott, Morgan Freeman and Lori McCreary’s Revelations Entertainment, Bridgerton alum Regé-Jean Page and Emily Brown. Page is executive producing, but there currently is no deal in place for him to star as Ali. CBS Studios and UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, serve as the studios.
- 3/9/2023
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
The Writers Guild of America East has named the latest recipient of its career achievement award: Spike Lee.
The Do the Right Thing and Da 5 Bloods filmmaker will receive the East Coast guild’s Ian McLellan Hunter Award at the 75th Annual Writers Guild Awards when their New York ceremony takes place at the Edison Ballroom on March 5. The award, established in 1992 in appreciation of the namesake British screenwriter (who wrote The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and famously put his name to the screenplay for Roman Holiday, which was actually co-penned by the then-blacklisted Dalton Trumbo), lauds a writer for the quality and breadth of their filmography. Nora Ephron, David Simon, John Waters and John Sayles have all been past recipients.
The award is generally given annually, but wasn’t bestowed in the past two years because the Writers Guild Awards went virtual due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Do the Right Thing and Da 5 Bloods filmmaker will receive the East Coast guild’s Ian McLellan Hunter Award at the 75th Annual Writers Guild Awards when their New York ceremony takes place at the Edison Ballroom on March 5. The award, established in 1992 in appreciation of the namesake British screenwriter (who wrote The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and famously put his name to the screenplay for Roman Holiday, which was actually co-penned by the then-blacklisted Dalton Trumbo), lauds a writer for the quality and breadth of their filmography. Nora Ephron, David Simon, John Waters and John Sayles have all been past recipients.
The award is generally given annually, but wasn’t bestowed in the past two years because the Writers Guild Awards went virtual due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
- 1/12/2023
- by Katie Kilkenny
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Nearly 30 years after The Joy Luck Club changed Asian and Asian American representation in cinema, a sequel is in development with author Amy Tan and Oscar-winning screenwriter Ron Bass continuing from the former’s bestselling novel.
Also producing are Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment Group and The Judge producer Jeff Kleeman.
Amy Tan, Getty Images
The original leading cast are in talks to return to their roles, now the mothers and grandmothers of their families. The Wayne Wang-directed movie was a breakout role for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and The Mandalorian actress Ming-Na Wen and also starred Tamlyn Tomita, and Lisa Lu.
Ron Bass, Getty Images
The Joy Luck Club, released in 1993, tells the multigenerational saga of Chinese and Chinese-American mothers and daughters, whose histories, stories and lives interweave as they navigate life. The original Disney Touchstone theatrical paved the way for such Asian-led movies as Crazy Rich Asians...
Also producing are Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment Group and The Judge producer Jeff Kleeman.
Amy Tan, Getty Images
The original leading cast are in talks to return to their roles, now the mothers and grandmothers of their families. The Wayne Wang-directed movie was a breakout role for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and The Mandalorian actress Ming-Na Wen and also starred Tamlyn Tomita, and Lisa Lu.
Ron Bass, Getty Images
The Joy Luck Club, released in 1993, tells the multigenerational saga of Chinese and Chinese-American mothers and daughters, whose histories, stories and lives interweave as they navigate life. The original Disney Touchstone theatrical paved the way for such Asian-led movies as Crazy Rich Asians...
- 10/12/2022
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
The Gersh Agency has promoted literary agent Sandra Lucchesi and talent agent Matt Vioral to partners, expanding its total leadership to 28 people.
Gersh, which ranks as the lone privately-owned full service agency, makes the move amid consolidation and rapid ground-shifting in the representation landscape. A spokesperson told Variety the elevations serve to “highlight the strength and history of our resources while taking advance of our business around multi-hyphenate clients.”
Agency co-presidents David and Bob Gersh, along with managing partner Leslie Siebert, said they were “very proud of the leadership Sandra and Matt have brought to the agency and their respective departments and how well respected they are by their industry peers. We are thrilled to promote them both to partner.”
Lucchesi has been involved with award winning films, representing notable writers and writer-directors such as Andrea Arnold, Oscar winner Kevin Willmott (“BlacKkKlansman”), Richie Mehta (“Amal”), Anna Konkle (“Plus One”), Vera Herbert...
Gersh, which ranks as the lone privately-owned full service agency, makes the move amid consolidation and rapid ground-shifting in the representation landscape. A spokesperson told Variety the elevations serve to “highlight the strength and history of our resources while taking advance of our business around multi-hyphenate clients.”
Agency co-presidents David and Bob Gersh, along with managing partner Leslie Siebert, said they were “very proud of the leadership Sandra and Matt have brought to the agency and their respective departments and how well respected they are by their industry peers. We are thrilled to promote them both to partner.”
Lucchesi has been involved with award winning films, representing notable writers and writer-directors such as Andrea Arnold, Oscar winner Kevin Willmott (“BlacKkKlansman”), Richie Mehta (“Amal”), Anna Konkle (“Plus One”), Vera Herbert...
- 9/30/2022
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Gersh is expanding the ranks of its partner class with the promotion of two agents.
The Beverly Hills-based talent firm upped literary agent Sandra Lucchesi and talent agent Matt Vioral to partners, the company said Thursday. The promotions bring Gersh’s partners to 28, out of the 150 agents in its ranks across Los Angeles and New York locations.
“We are very proud of the leadership Sandra and Matt have brought to the agency and their respective departments and how well respected they are by their industry peers. We are thrilled to promote them both to partner,” said co-presidents David and Bob Gersh and managing partner Leslie Siebert in a joint statement.
Vioral started as an exec assistant at Gersh in 2006, became an agent four years later and was named to The Hollywood Reporter‘s “Next Gen” executive list in 2018. This June, he was part...
Gersh is expanding the ranks of its partner class with the promotion of two agents.
The Beverly Hills-based talent firm upped literary agent Sandra Lucchesi and talent agent Matt Vioral to partners, the company said Thursday. The promotions bring Gersh’s partners to 28, out of the 150 agents in its ranks across Los Angeles and New York locations.
“We are very proud of the leadership Sandra and Matt have brought to the agency and their respective departments and how well respected they are by their industry peers. We are thrilled to promote them both to partner,” said co-presidents David and Bob Gersh and managing partner Leslie Siebert in a joint statement.
Vioral started as an exec assistant at Gersh in 2006, became an agent four years later and was named to The Hollywood Reporter‘s “Next Gen” executive list in 2018. This June, he was part...
- 9/29/2022
- by Erik Hayden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This review of “Citizen Ashe” was first published on Sept. 3, 2021 after the film’s premiere at the Telluride Film Festival.
There are the sports icons who inspire fans and wannabe players. Then there are the athletes who, apart from the stat sheet, change their sport for the better, use their position to help others, and generally spur us to want to be better people. Tennis has a few of those throughout its history, and two of them won singles titles at Wimbledon in 1975: women’s pioneer Billie Jean King, and men’s champion Arthur Ashe.
Long overdue as a multifaceted documentary subject for his sports achievements, influence and activism, he is finally the center of one with “Citizen Ashe,” an engaging, moving portrait co-directed by Rex Miller (“Behind These Walls”) and Sam Pollard (“MLK/FBI”).
The ins and outs of Ashe’s groundbreaking win in England over rival Jimmy Connors are thrillingly depicted,...
There are the sports icons who inspire fans and wannabe players. Then there are the athletes who, apart from the stat sheet, change their sport for the better, use their position to help others, and generally spur us to want to be better people. Tennis has a few of those throughout its history, and two of them won singles titles at Wimbledon in 1975: women’s pioneer Billie Jean King, and men’s champion Arthur Ashe.
Long overdue as a multifaceted documentary subject for his sports achievements, influence and activism, he is finally the center of one with “Citizen Ashe,” an engaging, moving portrait co-directed by Rex Miller (“Behind These Walls”) and Sam Pollard (“MLK/FBI”).
The ins and outs of Ashe’s groundbreaking win in England over rival Jimmy Connors are thrillingly depicted,...
- 7/3/2022
- by Robert Abele
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment Group and Warner Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group’s film and television division have launched the Hyde Park Entertainment & Warner Music Entertainment Asian Women Fellowship.
The initiative, run in partnership with Film Independent, will showcase women-identifying writers and writer-directors who are Asian or part of the Asian diaspora. The Fellowship is aligned with Hyde Park Entertainment and Warner Music Group’s shared, ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion.
With guidance from leading industry advisors, the winners will continue to develop and package their feature projects, with the goal of shopping the final screenplays to major studios and streamers. Industry advisors and supporters include Academy Award-winner Chloé Zhao; Gemma Chan; Independent Spirit Award winner Lulu Wang; and Gurinder Chadha.
Sari Arambulo, the program’s inaugural fellow, was chosen from an initial set of ten finalists and has been awarded a $12,5K grant and development support.
The initiative, run in partnership with Film Independent, will showcase women-identifying writers and writer-directors who are Asian or part of the Asian diaspora. The Fellowship is aligned with Hyde Park Entertainment and Warner Music Group’s shared, ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion.
With guidance from leading industry advisors, the winners will continue to develop and package their feature projects, with the goal of shopping the final screenplays to major studios and streamers. Industry advisors and supporters include Academy Award-winner Chloé Zhao; Gemma Chan; Independent Spirit Award winner Lulu Wang; and Gurinder Chadha.
Sari Arambulo, the program’s inaugural fellow, was chosen from an initial set of ten finalists and has been awarded a $12,5K grant and development support.
- 3/10/2022
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
“Diversity sells” is the clarion call of the industry, yet progress with the Academy Awards has been incremental, as seen in today’s nominations for the 94th Oscars. Social media movements like #OscarsSoWhite have compelled the Academy to react. And, to their credit, they have, implementing broad changes designed to increasingly diversify its membership. But no matter how diverse, voters can’t vote for films and performances that aren’t always there. That’s up to the studios.
Diversity contenders like “King Richard,” “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” and “West Side Story,” don’t need Academy Awards to validate them, but the Academy may need these films to draw viewers. Ratings for the Oscar telecast reached an all-time low in 2021, but it was a strange year. And in a year as wacky as the last one was, surprises shouldn’t surprise.
Let’s take a look at the major categories.
Best Picture
Last year “Nomadland,...
Diversity contenders like “King Richard,” “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” and “West Side Story,” don’t need Academy Awards to validate them, but the Academy may need these films to draw viewers. Ratings for the Oscar telecast reached an all-time low in 2021, but it was a strange year. And in a year as wacky as the last one was, surprises shouldn’t surprise.
Let’s take a look at the major categories.
Best Picture
Last year “Nomadland,...
- 2/8/2022
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
Filmmaker earned Guild’s DGA Honor in 2002.
Spike Lee will receive the Directors Guild Of America’s (DGA) lifetime achievement award, joining a roster of previous winners that includes Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott and Akira Kurosawa.
Lee will collect the Guild’s highest honour at the 74th Annual DGA Awards on March 12. The Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Achievement in Motion Picture Direction has only been bestowed 35 times in the history of the DGA – and so far never to a woman. The Guild presented the filmmaker with a DGA Honor in 2002 for his “distinguished contributions to our nation...
Spike Lee will receive the Directors Guild Of America’s (DGA) lifetime achievement award, joining a roster of previous winners that includes Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott and Akira Kurosawa.
Lee will collect the Guild’s highest honour at the 74th Annual DGA Awards on March 12. The Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Achievement in Motion Picture Direction has only been bestowed 35 times in the history of the DGA – and so far never to a woman. The Guild presented the filmmaker with a DGA Honor in 2002 for his “distinguished contributions to our nation...
- 1/19/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Kaycee Moore, star of “Killer of Sheep” and “Bless Their Little Hearts,” died on Aug. 13. She was 77.
Born in Kansas City in 1944, Moore met director Charles Burnett while he was still in film school at UCLA, booked her first major role as Stan’s wife in his 1978 film “Killer of Sheep.” Burnett received an honorary Oscar in 2018 for his films such as “Killer of Sheep,” which depicted the realities of socioeconomic oppression faced by the Black community in Los Angeles in the 1970s.
Five years later, Moore starred as Andais Banks in “Bless Their Little Hearts,” which was written by Burnett and directed by Billy Woodberry. The film, which followed a family in Watts as it navigates race, money and gender, was met with critical acclaim.
Moore also appeared in Julie Dash’s “Daughters of the Dust” and the 1999 film “Ninth Street,” directed by Tim Rebman and Kevin Willmott.
Three...
Born in Kansas City in 1944, Moore met director Charles Burnett while he was still in film school at UCLA, booked her first major role as Stan’s wife in his 1978 film “Killer of Sheep.” Burnett received an honorary Oscar in 2018 for his films such as “Killer of Sheep,” which depicted the realities of socioeconomic oppression faced by the Black community in Los Angeles in the 1970s.
Five years later, Moore starred as Andais Banks in “Bless Their Little Hearts,” which was written by Burnett and directed by Billy Woodberry. The film, which followed a family in Watts as it navigates race, money and gender, was met with critical acclaim.
Moore also appeared in Julie Dash’s “Daughters of the Dust” and the 1999 film “Ninth Street,” directed by Tim Rebman and Kevin Willmott.
Three...
- 8/25/2021
- by Ethan Shanfeld
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Independent streaming company Cinedigm has named Ashok Amritraj to its Board of Directors, effective immediately.
Amritraj is Chairman and CEO of Hyde Park Inc. and brings an exceptionally diverse resume that has seen him wearing the whites of Wimbledon, excelling as an award-winning producer and serving as a United Nations India Goodwill Ambassador. The former professional tennis player turned Hollywood producer has a feature career that has spanned more than 100 movies in a 35-year-plus career including such titles as Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Bringing Down the House, Walking Tall and the SAG and Golden Globe nominated drama 99 Homes. Amritraj has worked with some of the biggest stars in the business including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Bruce Willis, Sandra Bullock, Idris Elba, Angelina Jolie, Queen Latifah, Michael Shannon, Andrew Garfield and Jennifer Aniston. He also established Hyde Park Entertainment Asia to produce films and television series from Asian and Indian creators.
Amritraj is Chairman and CEO of Hyde Park Inc. and brings an exceptionally diverse resume that has seen him wearing the whites of Wimbledon, excelling as an award-winning producer and serving as a United Nations India Goodwill Ambassador. The former professional tennis player turned Hollywood producer has a feature career that has spanned more than 100 movies in a 35-year-plus career including such titles as Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Bringing Down the House, Walking Tall and the SAG and Golden Globe nominated drama 99 Homes. Amritraj has worked with some of the biggest stars in the business including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Bruce Willis, Sandra Bullock, Idris Elba, Angelina Jolie, Queen Latifah, Michael Shannon, Andrew Garfield and Jennifer Aniston. He also established Hyde Park Entertainment Asia to produce films and television series from Asian and Indian creators.
- 8/10/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
‘The Dropout’: Dylan Minnette, Bashir Salahuddin & Alan Ruck Among Nine Added To Hulu Limited Series
Hulu’s upcoming limited series The Dropout, about the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, continues to expand its cast with the addition of Dylan Minnette, Alan Ruck, Bashir Salahuddin and Mary Lynn Rajskub. Also joining the cast are Hart Bochner, James Hiroyuki Liao, Nicky Endres, Camryn Mi-Young Kim and Andrew Leeds. They will appear opposite Amanda Seyfried in the series from Liz Meriwether, Seachlight Television and Disney Television Studios’ 20th Television.
Created and executive produced by Meriwether, who also serves as showrunner, The Dropout is based on the ABC News/ABC Radio podcast. Holmes (Seyfried), the enigmatic Stanford dropout who founded medical testing start-up Theranos, was lauded as a Steve Jobs for the next tech generation. Once worth billions of dollars, the myth crumbled when it was revealed that none of the tech actually worked, putting thousands of people’s health in grave danger. Money. Romance. Tragedy.
Created and executive produced by Meriwether, who also serves as showrunner, The Dropout is based on the ABC News/ABC Radio podcast. Holmes (Seyfried), the enigmatic Stanford dropout who founded medical testing start-up Theranos, was lauded as a Steve Jobs for the next tech generation. Once worth billions of dollars, the myth crumbled when it was revealed that none of the tech actually worked, putting thousands of people’s health in grave danger. Money. Romance. Tragedy.
- 8/3/2021
- by Alexandra Del Rosario
- Deadline Film + TV
Historians may now acknowledge Oscar Micheaux as a pioneering Black filmmaker, and the industry could be catching up. However, that acclaim certainly didn’t follow him through his lifetime, when the hustling novelist and director made complex dramas about Black life in America across three decades, starting with the silent era and continuing for many years after that. By the time of his death in 1951, the child of former slaves in Kentucky had written six novels and directed 44 films, but around 80 percent of them have been lost.
Needless to say, most people have been late to the party when it comes to Micheaux’s career, including Cannes. But the festival’s Cannes Classics sidebar made up for that this year by screening a new restoration of Micheaux’s 1935 crime thriller “Murder in Harlem,” alongside a new documentary about the filmmaker’s contemporary resonance, “Oscar Micheaux – The Superhero of Black Cinema,...
Needless to say, most people have been late to the party when it comes to Micheaux’s career, including Cannes. But the festival’s Cannes Classics sidebar made up for that this year by screening a new restoration of Micheaux’s 1935 crime thriller “Murder in Harlem,” alongside a new documentary about the filmmaker’s contemporary resonance, “Oscar Micheaux – The Superhero of Black Cinema,...
- 7/11/2021
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment and West Madison Entertainment’s Christina Papagjika and Matthew Salloway have partnered to produce the feature biopic Bury the Lede, based on the true story of Connie Lawn, who was the longest-serving White House correspondent ever with a tenure that spanned over 50 years.
Broadway director Anna D. Shapiro will helm the script written by Joy Gregory (Madam Secretary). Shapiro also serves as the Artistic Director of the celebrated Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago and will soon be directing the Broadway-bound musical The Devil Wears Prada with music by Sir Elton John.
Lawn started her career covering the 1968 Robert F. Kennedy presidential campaign. From conducting one of the last interviews with Kennedy standing inches away during the assassination, living at the Watergate complex during the break-in and Nixon fallout, being abducted in Lebanon and staging her escape,...
Broadway director Anna D. Shapiro will helm the script written by Joy Gregory (Madam Secretary). Shapiro also serves as the Artistic Director of the celebrated Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago and will soon be directing the Broadway-bound musical The Devil Wears Prada with music by Sir Elton John.
Lawn started her career covering the 1968 Robert F. Kennedy presidential campaign. From conducting one of the last interviews with Kennedy standing inches away during the assassination, living at the Watergate complex during the break-in and Nixon fallout, being abducted in Lebanon and staging her escape,...
- 4/22/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Da 5 Bloods Netflix Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net linked from Rotten Tomatoes by: Harvey Karten Director: Spike Lee Writer: Danny Bilson, Paul De Meo, Kevin Willmott Cast: Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors, Clarke Peters, Norm Lewis, Isiah Whitlock Jr. Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 12/14/20 Opens: June 13, 2020 Spike Lee’s testosterone picture is no […]
The post Da 5 Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Da 5 Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 3/13/2021
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
The Sundance Institute has selected the 11 screenwriters that will participate in the ninth annual Screenwriters Intensive which will take place digitally on March 4-5. The writers selected are Radhika Apte, William Kwok, Tulica Singh, Timothy Ware, Daniel Klein, Jo Hatcher, Chy Chi, Xavier Coleman, Joyce Sherri, Brian Robau and Jessica Mendez Siqueiros.
The Intensive is a two-day workshop for emerging independent writers and writer/directors developing their first fiction features. The writers, which are from traditionally underrepresented communities, will have the opportunity to refine their stories under the guidance of established writers and the Institute’s Feature Film Program, led by Ilyse McKimmie, Deputy Director, Sundance Institute Feature Film Program, and the program’s Founding Director, Michelle Satter.
“We are inspired by this group of dynamic artists, who are each telling indelible stories with specificity, boldness, and their own distinctive style,” said McKimmie “It’s a privilege to bring them...
The Intensive is a two-day workshop for emerging independent writers and writer/directors developing their first fiction features. The writers, which are from traditionally underrepresented communities, will have the opportunity to refine their stories under the guidance of established writers and the Institute’s Feature Film Program, led by Ilyse McKimmie, Deputy Director, Sundance Institute Feature Film Program, and the program’s Founding Director, Michelle Satter.
“We are inspired by this group of dynamic artists, who are each telling indelible stories with specificity, boldness, and their own distinctive style,” said McKimmie “It’s a privilege to bring them...
- 3/4/2021
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Since the academy expanded the Best Picture category at the Oscars in 2010, Best Original Screenplay has gone to writers of a wide-range of genres: dramas; comedies (“Midnight in Paris”); biopics; true-life stories (“Spotlight”); period pictures (“Django Unchained”); war movies (“The Hurt Locker”); sci-fi (“Her”), thrillers (“Parasite”) and horror (“Get Out”). (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2021 Oscars predictions for Best Original Screenplay and be sure to check out our predictions for Best Adapted Screenplay.)
Regardless of the type of film, a nominee needs broad academy support to win this race. Indeed, all 11 of these most recent Best Original Screenplay winners were, at the least, Best Picture nominees. And six of them won the big prize, bringing the total number of Best Picture champs with Oscar-winning original screenplays to 18. By comparison, 41 films have done this on the adapted side.
In 2019, all five nominees for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards...
Regardless of the type of film, a nominee needs broad academy support to win this race. Indeed, all 11 of these most recent Best Original Screenplay winners were, at the least, Best Picture nominees. And six of them won the big prize, bringing the total number of Best Picture champs with Oscar-winning original screenplays to 18. By comparison, 41 films have done this on the adapted side.
In 2019, all five nominees for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards...
- 2/26/2021
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
Black filmmakers are offering an unvarnished look at the legacy of the 1960s civil rights era, examining America’s tortured history of racism and drawing parallels to contemporary cries for social justice in some of the year’s most captivating films.
Regina King’s “One Night in Miami,” Shaka King’s “Judas and the Black Messiah” and Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods” serve as a triptych of the Black experience, inviting viewers inside the great debates that accompanied an earlier generation’s fight for equality. Together, they chart the course of that turbulent decade.
Lee has spent his career spotlighting Black stories that have gone unshared or were framed inauthentically in the history books, most famously with 1992’s “Malcolm X,” which gave audiences a new view of the man behind the fiery speeches, but the director “practically killed myself to get made.”
“Black folks are part of American history,...
Regina King’s “One Night in Miami,” Shaka King’s “Judas and the Black Messiah” and Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods” serve as a triptych of the Black experience, inviting viewers inside the great debates that accompanied an earlier generation’s fight for equality. Together, they chart the course of that turbulent decade.
Lee has spent his career spotlighting Black stories that have gone unshared or were framed inauthentically in the history books, most famously with 1992’s “Malcolm X,” which gave audiences a new view of the man behind the fiery speeches, but the director “practically killed myself to get made.”
“Black folks are part of American history,...
- 2/19/2021
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
“The Trial of the Chicago 7,” “One Night in Miami,” “Da 5 Bloods,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “Minari” are among the top nominees from AARP The Magazine’s annual Movies for Grownups Awards, which were announced on Monday.
Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods” led all films with six nominations in the 15 film categories, followed by Regina King’s “One Night in Miami” and George C. Wolfe’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” with five. But of those films, only “Chicago 7” and “One Night” were nominated in the top category, Best Movie for Grownups, along with “Minari,” “Nomadland” and “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.”
The six nominations for “Da 5 Bloods” included best director for Lee, best actor for Delroy Lindo, best supporting actor for Clark Peters and best ensemble.
Other films that were conspicuously missing from the Best...
Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods” led all films with six nominations in the 15 film categories, followed by Regina King’s “One Night in Miami” and George C. Wolfe’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” with five. But of those films, only “Chicago 7” and “One Night” were nominated in the top category, Best Movie for Grownups, along with “Minari,” “Nomadland” and “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.”
The six nominations for “Da 5 Bloods” included best director for Lee, best actor for Delroy Lindo, best supporting actor for Clark Peters and best ensemble.
Other films that were conspicuously missing from the Best...
- 2/8/2021
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
“Minari,” “Nomadland,” “One Night in Miami,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and “The United States vs Billie Holiday” are vying for the Best Picture/Best Movie for Grownups Award announced Monday by AARP The Magazine. AARP’s Movies for Grownups have for the past two decades promoted films for grownups by grownups, fighting for the 50-plus audience and industry ageism. The Movies for Grownups Awards also celebrate television.
“Each year at Movies for Grownups, we spotlight the films that feature today’s crucial issues and top grownup talents,” said Tim Appelo, AARP film and TV critic, in a statement. “In this pandemic year, when movies loomed larger than ever in our lives, we are excited to have a bumper crop of masterworks-and to recognize achievements on TV for the very first time.”
The Mfg Awards winners will be announced on March 4; Hodo Kotb of NBC’s “The Today Show...
“Each year at Movies for Grownups, we spotlight the films that feature today’s crucial issues and top grownup talents,” said Tim Appelo, AARP film and TV critic, in a statement. “In this pandemic year, when movies loomed larger than ever in our lives, we are excited to have a bumper crop of masterworks-and to recognize achievements on TV for the very first time.”
The Mfg Awards winners will be announced on March 4; Hodo Kotb of NBC’s “The Today Show...
- 2/8/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
The envelope, please. No, not the one inviting your aging bones to join the AARP. The one announcing the nominees for the upcoming Movies for Grownups Awards. This year, Minari, Nomadland, One Night in Miami, The Trial of the Chicago 7 and The United States vs. Billie Holiday are contending for the Best Picture/Best Movie for Grownups category. The awards have also added categories in television/streaming for the first time.
For two decades, AARP’s Movies for Grownups program has championed what it calls “movies for grownups, by grownups.” It claims to advocate for the 50-plus audience, fighting industry ageism and encouraging films that resonate with older viewers. AARP’s Movies for Grownups continues its commitment to celebrate quality content by expanding to honor standout TV programs in new categories.
Hoda Kotb, NBC News’ Today coanchor and cohost of Today with Hoda & Jenna, will host the awards ceremony...
For two decades, AARP’s Movies for Grownups program has championed what it calls “movies for grownups, by grownups.” It claims to advocate for the 50-plus audience, fighting industry ageism and encouraging films that resonate with older viewers. AARP’s Movies for Grownups continues its commitment to celebrate quality content by expanding to honor standout TV programs in new categories.
Hoda Kotb, NBC News’ Today coanchor and cohost of Today with Hoda & Jenna, will host the awards ceremony...
- 2/8/2021
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
In 2016, Spike Lee was given an Honorary Academy Award for being “a champion of independent film and an inspiration to young filmmakers.” After Sidney Poitier, he was the second Black director to be so honored and said in his acceptance speech that it had “been a long time coming.” As he reflected on his long career, he said that it had “not been easy” and shed light on the struggles of Black creatives in the film industry. Indeed, there are still seven competitive Oscar categories in which a Black person has never won, including the most prestigious: Best Director. However, Lee may be the one to make Oscar history this year.
Lee’s 25th narrative feature film has been hailed as one of his greatest achievements since its Netflix release last June. Jocelyn Noveck of The Associated Press calls it “the right movie for right now,” citing the “current national reckoning over racial justice.
Lee’s 25th narrative feature film has been hailed as one of his greatest achievements since its Netflix release last June. Jocelyn Noveck of The Associated Press calls it “the right movie for right now,” citing the “current national reckoning over racial justice.
- 1/28/2021
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
It’s that time of the month where we can give you a look ahead at what Sky Cinema has planned for the coming weeks, and since it doesn’t look like many of us are going very far, hopefully some of these upcoming movies will help to keep us busy during lockdown.
Without further ado, he’s what Sky Cinema has lined up for us…
Premieres
The 24th – 2nd February
BlacKkKlansman and Da 5 Bloods writer Kevin Willmott brings us the story of the all-black Twenty-Fourth United States Infantry Regiment, and delves into the the Houston Riot of 1917.
Weathering With You – 3rd February
In this acclaimed animated film, impressionable young Hodaka meets the conflicted Hina, who can control the weather. It’s really touching, funny and wonderful, and also a perfect movie for fans of Makoto Shinkai’s Your Name.
Bull – 4th February
Bull, which was a hit at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival,...
Without further ado, he’s what Sky Cinema has lined up for us…
Premieres
The 24th – 2nd February
BlacKkKlansman and Da 5 Bloods writer Kevin Willmott brings us the story of the all-black Twenty-Fourth United States Infantry Regiment, and delves into the the Houston Riot of 1917.
Weathering With You – 3rd February
In this acclaimed animated film, impressionable young Hodaka meets the conflicted Hina, who can control the weather. It’s really touching, funny and wonderful, and also a perfect movie for fans of Makoto Shinkai’s Your Name.
Bull – 4th February
Bull, which was a hit at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival,...
- 1/27/2021
- by Kirsten Howard
- Den of Geek
One of Spike Lee’s most audacious films is actually based on a true story; the infiltration of the Ku Klux Klan by an African-American police officer named Ron Stallworth. John David Washington plays the persevering Stallworth—the Oscar-winning screenplay was written by Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, and Lee.
The post Blackkklansman appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
The post Blackkklansman appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
- 1/15/2021
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Spike Lee loves cinema and he loves making movies, but, perhaps more than either, he loves filmmakers who are willing to share that kind of love for the art and its craft.
For Lee, it began in the early ’80s at NYU’s film school, where his classmates included Ernest Dickerson and Ang Lee, and where Jim Jarmusch, two years his senior, gave him the confidence to believe that his goals were achievable. It was in 1985, however, that he had an epiphany, when NYU old boy Martin Scorsese returned to his alma mater with a print of his new film After Hours. “After the screening,” Lee recalls, “he didn’t run out of the theater. He stayed around. I went up to him and told him my name and what I wanted to do. In that very moment, Marty took an interest in me as a filmmaker, and we’ve...
For Lee, it began in the early ’80s at NYU’s film school, where his classmates included Ernest Dickerson and Ang Lee, and where Jim Jarmusch, two years his senior, gave him the confidence to believe that his goals were achievable. It was in 1985, however, that he had an epiphany, when NYU old boy Martin Scorsese returned to his alma mater with a print of his new film After Hours. “After the screening,” Lee recalls, “he didn’t run out of the theater. He stayed around. I went up to him and told him my name and what I wanted to do. In that very moment, Marty took an interest in me as a filmmaker, and we’ve...
- 1/12/2021
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
While there are still months to go in the Oscars race, many of the frontrunners seem to be falling into place. Variety’s experts took a look at the Circuit Contenders — films that have a shot at two or more nominations in categories including: picture, director, screenplay, foreign film and all acting races.
Ammonite
(Neon)
Over the course of Francis Lee’s period movie, Kate Winslet’s Mary Anning slowly lets down her guard with Saoirse Ronan’s sickly Charlotte, teaching the forlorn wife of a fellow fossil hunter how to unearth hidden artifacts along a forbidding English seaside as a mutual attraction grows. Winslet could land another Oscar nomination for her fierce performance, and Ronan could as well in supporting actress. Lee directed from his own original screenplay and could score in either category; a best picture nomination is also a possibility.
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
(Amazon)
While comedies don...
Ammonite
(Neon)
Over the course of Francis Lee’s period movie, Kate Winslet’s Mary Anning slowly lets down her guard with Saoirse Ronan’s sickly Charlotte, teaching the forlorn wife of a fellow fossil hunter how to unearth hidden artifacts along a forbidding English seaside as a mutual attraction grows. Winslet could land another Oscar nomination for her fierce performance, and Ronan could as well in supporting actress. Lee directed from his own original screenplay and could score in either category; a best picture nomination is also a possibility.
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
(Amazon)
While comedies don...
- 1/6/2021
- by Tim Gray and Jenelle Riley
- Variety Film + TV
The North Carolina Film Critics Association has announced this year’s winners, with A24’s “Minari” nabbing best picture — its first prize of the awards season. The film took four awards overall, including best supporting actress (Youn Yuh-jung), original screenplay (Lee Isaac Chung) and the Ken Hanke Memorial Tarheel Award for actor Will Patton.
“Nomadland” filmmaker Chloé Zhao continued her winning streaking, taking best director, in addition to adapted screenplay. At this current state, the Searchlight Pictures feature is the one to beat in the top categories, including best picture, although there are many other movies that could rival it down the line.
Sacha Baron Cohen won his first award for best supporting actor for his work in Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7.” Although fellow nominee Paul Raci leads in critics’ prizes for “Sound of Metal,” five different actors have picked up supporting actor statuettes from the 10 awards announced thus far.
“Nomadland” filmmaker Chloé Zhao continued her winning streaking, taking best director, in addition to adapted screenplay. At this current state, the Searchlight Pictures feature is the one to beat in the top categories, including best picture, although there are many other movies that could rival it down the line.
Sacha Baron Cohen won his first award for best supporting actor for his work in Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7.” Although fellow nominee Paul Raci leads in critics’ prizes for “Sound of Metal,” five different actors have picked up supporting actor statuettes from the 10 awards announced thus far.
- 1/4/2021
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
The Rubik’s Cube is getting the big screen treatment.
Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment Group and Endeavor Content have partnered with the eponymous brand for a feature film based on the best-selling puzzle toy. Hyde Park is also working with Endeavor Content-backed “The Wall” producer Glassman Media for a game show based on the Rubik’s Cube.
The film — details of which are still sparse — will be produced by Amritraj and executive produced by Priya Amritraj and Addison Mehr for Hyde Park. Meanwhile, the game show will be executive produced by Amritraj and Andrew Glassman of Glassman Media.
One of the most recognizable global toys around, 450 million Rubik’s Cubes have been sold around the world. Created by Hungarian sculptor and architecture professor Erno Rubik in 1974, the toy requires the player to unlock a web of six, mixed-up colors, twisting the cube to show just one color per side.
Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment Group and Endeavor Content have partnered with the eponymous brand for a feature film based on the best-selling puzzle toy. Hyde Park is also working with Endeavor Content-backed “The Wall” producer Glassman Media for a game show based on the Rubik’s Cube.
The film — details of which are still sparse — will be produced by Amritraj and executive produced by Priya Amritraj and Addison Mehr for Hyde Park. Meanwhile, the game show will be executive produced by Amritraj and Andrew Glassman of Glassman Media.
One of the most recognizable global toys around, 450 million Rubik’s Cubes have been sold around the world. Created by Hungarian sculptor and architecture professor Erno Rubik in 1974, the toy requires the player to unlock a web of six, mixed-up colors, twisting the cube to show just one color per side.
- 1/3/2021
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
A movie based on the invention of the iconic, colorful 3D puzzle toy the Rubik’s Cube is in the works from Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment Group and Endeavor Content.
The film — produced by Amritraj and executive produced by Priya Amritraj and Addison Mehr for Hyde Park — will be about how Professor Erno Rubik’s toy became a pop culture phenomenon in the ’80s and beyond. No specific logline was given.
Hyde Park is also developing a game show centered around the toy brand along with Glassman Media (“The Wall”), an Endeavor Content Company. The game show will be executive produced by Amritraj and Andrew Glassman of Glassman Media.
The Rubik’s Cube was invented by Erno Rubik in 1974 and was licensed as a toy in 1980. To date, over 450 million Rubik’s Cubes have been sold around the world. Since 2018, amateur and professional “speedcubers” from all over the world have faced each other,...
The film — produced by Amritraj and executive produced by Priya Amritraj and Addison Mehr for Hyde Park — will be about how Professor Erno Rubik’s toy became a pop culture phenomenon in the ’80s and beyond. No specific logline was given.
Hyde Park is also developing a game show centered around the toy brand along with Glassman Media (“The Wall”), an Endeavor Content Company. The game show will be executive produced by Amritraj and Andrew Glassman of Glassman Media.
The Rubik’s Cube was invented by Erno Rubik in 1974 and was licensed as a toy in 1980. To date, over 450 million Rubik’s Cubes have been sold around the world. Since 2018, amateur and professional “speedcubers” from all over the world have faced each other,...
- 1/3/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment Group and Endeavor Content are teaming for a big feature take of famed global-selling toy, the Rubik’s Cube.
Hyde Park is also partnering with Glassman Media (The Wall), an Endeavor Content Company, to create a game show based on the global brand.
The combination puzzle was invented by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture, Erno Rubik, in 1974. The puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980. To date, the Rubik’s Cube has sold over 450M cubes worldwide. Since 2018, amateur and professional speedcubers from all over the world have faced each other battling for the chance to prove their skills in the Rubik’s Cube World Championship Finals
at Boston.
The Rubik’s Feature Film will be produced by Amritraj and Executive Produced by Priya Amritraj and Addison Mehr for Hyde Park. The Game Show will be Executive...
Hyde Park is also partnering with Glassman Media (The Wall), an Endeavor Content Company, to create a game show based on the global brand.
The combination puzzle was invented by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture, Erno Rubik, in 1974. The puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980. To date, the Rubik’s Cube has sold over 450M cubes worldwide. Since 2018, amateur and professional speedcubers from all over the world have faced each other battling for the chance to prove their skills in the Rubik’s Cube World Championship Finals
at Boston.
The Rubik’s Feature Film will be produced by Amritraj and Executive Produced by Priya Amritraj and Addison Mehr for Hyde Park. The Game Show will be Executive...
- 1/3/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Hyde Park also partnering on game show with Endeavor Content-owned Glassman Media.
Endeavor Content and Hyde Park Entertainment are partnering on a feature adaptation based on the iconic Rubik’s Cube puzzle.
The project is out to writers and is being produced by Hyde Park chairman and CEO Ashok Amritraj (pictured), with Hyde Park’s Priya Amritraj and Addison Mehr serving as executive producers.
Hyde Park is also partnering with Endeavor Content-owned Glassman Media on a game show, on which Ashok Amritraj and Andrew Glassman will serve as executive producers.
The Rubik’s Cube, invented in the 1970s by Hungarian architect Erno Rubik,...
Endeavor Content and Hyde Park Entertainment are partnering on a feature adaptation based on the iconic Rubik’s Cube puzzle.
The project is out to writers and is being produced by Hyde Park chairman and CEO Ashok Amritraj (pictured), with Hyde Park’s Priya Amritraj and Addison Mehr serving as executive producers.
Hyde Park is also partnering with Endeavor Content-owned Glassman Media on a game show, on which Ashok Amritraj and Andrew Glassman will serve as executive producers.
The Rubik’s Cube, invented in the 1970s by Hungarian architect Erno Rubik,...
- 1/3/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Another critics group has weighed in today, as the precursor season continues. This one is the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and their nominees highlighted a contender that’s currently doing a bit better than expected. It’s Spike Lee’s movie Da 5 Bloods, which some worried would get lost in the shuffle among Netflix awards contenders. In fact, it’s arguably doing better than any, showing up enough so far to give Delroy Lindo a boost in Best Actor and Chadwick Boseman a potential double nomination with a citation in Best Supporting Actor. It’s early days still, but Lee’s flick is doing very well. Read on below for all of the nominees out of North Carolina… Here now are the Ncfca nominations: Best Narrative Film Da 5 Bloods Minari Nomadland Promising Young Woman The Trial of the Chicago 7 Best Documentary Film All In: The Fight for...
- 12/28/2020
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
The Chicago Film Critics Association has named Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland” as this year’s big winner, netting five prizes, including best picture, director, actress (Frances McDormand), adapted screenplay and cinematography. Leading the Cfca nominations with seven, the Searchlight Pictures drama has performed astoundingly with the half dozen critics awards that have been announced thus far. Zhao is currently 6/6 for critics wins.
With two awards, Focus Features’ “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” walked away with best original screenplay for writer Eliza Hittman and most promising performer for Sidney Flanigan.
The rest of the honorees won a single mention for their respective films. Chadwick Boseman won best actor for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” while Paul Raci netted another trophy for “Sound of Metal.” Maria Bakalova’s work in “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” was also rewarded, marking her third win this season thus far.
The full list of winners are below:
Best Picture
“Da 5 Bloods...
With two awards, Focus Features’ “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” walked away with best original screenplay for writer Eliza Hittman and most promising performer for Sidney Flanigan.
The rest of the honorees won a single mention for their respective films. Chadwick Boseman won best actor for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” while Paul Raci netted another trophy for “Sound of Metal.” Maria Bakalova’s work in “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” was also rewarded, marking her third win this season thus far.
The full list of winners are below:
Best Picture
“Da 5 Bloods...
- 12/22/2020
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland” has earned seven nominations for 2020 honors from the Chicago Film Critics Association, followed by six each for Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods,” Kelly Reichardt’s “First Cow” and Charlie Kaufman’s “I’m Thinking of Ending Things.”
David Fincher’s “Mank” and Emerald Fennell’s “Promising Young Woman” took five nominations each. With 28 nominations, Netflix is the most recognized studio, followed by Amazon with 16 and and A24 with 15. Zhao and Fennell each earned three nominations.
The Best Director category is comprised entirely of women and people of color with Fennell, Lee, Steve McQueen, Reichardt and Zhao. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross achieved a double nomination in the same category, earning Best Original Score nominations for their work in both “Soul” and “Mank.” The late Chadwick Boseman earned nominations for Best Actor in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and Best Supporting Actor in “Da 5 Bloods.”
The...
David Fincher’s “Mank” and Emerald Fennell’s “Promising Young Woman” took five nominations each. With 28 nominations, Netflix is the most recognized studio, followed by Amazon with 16 and and A24 with 15. Zhao and Fennell each earned three nominations.
The Best Director category is comprised entirely of women and people of color with Fennell, Lee, Steve McQueen, Reichardt and Zhao. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross achieved a double nomination in the same category, earning Best Original Score nominations for their work in both “Soul” and “Mank.” The late Chadwick Boseman earned nominations for Best Actor in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and Best Supporting Actor in “Da 5 Bloods.”
The...
- 12/18/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
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