The Human Rights Campaign (Hrc), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, brought together more than 650 LGBTQ+ advocates and supporters for its annual Los Angeles Dinner over the weekend.
Sterling K. Brown speaks onstage during the 2024 Human Rights Campaign dinner
Credit/Copyright: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Human Rights Campaign
This year’s event offered a powerhouse line-up of talented, influential advocates including Academy-Award nominee and three-time Emmy Award winning actor and producer Sterling K. Brown, Tony, Grammy, and seven-time Emmy nominated actress Jean Smart and long-time LGBTQ+ advocate and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden. Other special guests included co-founder of The Roots Tariq Trotter, Moonlight co-writer and LGBTQ+ playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, actress, writer and star of Hacks Hannah Einbinder and comedian Dana Goldberg.
First Lady Jill Biden, delivered the keynote speech addressing the growing rise of anti-lgbtq+ political attacks and the path forward towards full equality.
Sterling K. Brown speaks onstage during the 2024 Human Rights Campaign dinner
Credit/Copyright: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Human Rights Campaign
This year’s event offered a powerhouse line-up of talented, influential advocates including Academy-Award nominee and three-time Emmy Award winning actor and producer Sterling K. Brown, Tony, Grammy, and seven-time Emmy nominated actress Jean Smart and long-time LGBTQ+ advocate and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden. Other special guests included co-founder of The Roots Tariq Trotter, Moonlight co-writer and LGBTQ+ playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, actress, writer and star of Hacks Hannah Einbinder and comedian Dana Goldberg.
First Lady Jill Biden, delivered the keynote speech addressing the growing rise of anti-lgbtq+ political attacks and the path forward towards full equality.
- 3/27/2024
- Look to the Stars
The Human Rights Campaign honored Jean Smart and Sterling K. Brown at its 2024 Los Angeles Dinner, held on Saturday night at the Fairmont Century Plaza and featuring a keynote speech by First Lady Dr. Jill Biden.
The night — which toasted those working for LGBTQ+ equality — kicked off with Biden’s speech following a short introduction from both First Daughter Ashley Biden and Hrc president Kelly Robinson. Early into the her address, the first lady was interrupted by protesters shouting, “Ceasefire now.” One person who was escorted out by security held up a sign that read, “Queer Jews Say Ceasefire Now.” Biden momentarily paused her speech, but didn’t directly address the protesters.
Biden spoke about her relationship with the president before jumping into issues the LGBTQ+ are currently facing. “This community is under attack,” Biden told the crowd. “Rights are being stripped away. Freedoms are eroding. More and more state laws are being passed,...
The night — which toasted those working for LGBTQ+ equality — kicked off with Biden’s speech following a short introduction from both First Daughter Ashley Biden and Hrc president Kelly Robinson. Early into the her address, the first lady was interrupted by protesters shouting, “Ceasefire now.” One person who was escorted out by security held up a sign that read, “Queer Jews Say Ceasefire Now.” Biden momentarily paused her speech, but didn’t directly address the protesters.
Biden spoke about her relationship with the president before jumping into issues the LGBTQ+ are currently facing. “This community is under attack,” Biden told the crowd. “Rights are being stripped away. Freedoms are eroding. More and more state laws are being passed,...
- 3/24/2024
- by Nicole Fell
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Oppenheimer” is the juggernaut Oscar contender that is predicted to take home not just Best Picture but a whole bunch of other Academy Awards, too, including Best Director for Christopher Nolan and Best Supporting Actor for Robert Downey Jr. However, we thought that “La La Land” had Best Picture all wrapped up in 2017 but come Oscars night, “Moonlight” swept in to claim the evening’s biggest prize in a shock win. So, is “Oppenheimer” as safe as everyone thinks?
“The Holdovers” is well-poised to pull off an upset. The movie follows Paul Giamatti as a curmudgeonly professor who is forced to look after students staying behind during the Christmas holidays. The film has been a hit with critics, audiences, and awards groups, too.
As such, it could be a major dark horse to win the Oscar for Best Picture. In the last 10 years, four movies have claimed the top prize...
“The Holdovers” is well-poised to pull off an upset. The movie follows Paul Giamatti as a curmudgeonly professor who is forced to look after students staying behind during the Christmas holidays. The film has been a hit with critics, audiences, and awards groups, too.
As such, it could be a major dark horse to win the Oscar for Best Picture. In the last 10 years, four movies have claimed the top prize...
- 2/16/2024
- by Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
Both Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay are full of beautiful writing, with a variety of genres and writers being acknowledged for their work this year.
We have previous Oscar winners nominated, such as Josh Singer, who co-wrote “Maestro” with Bradley Cooper; previous nominees such as “Oppenheimer” scribe Christopher Nolan and “Poor Things” penman Tony McNamara; and we have a whole bunch of first-time nominees such as “Past Lives” writer and director Celine Song.
But… could we have two first-time nominees win both writing categories? Oscar history says this is unlikely; this has not happened a single time in the last 10 years. There have, however, been five instances in both categories where rookie contenders have won the Oscar.
Best Original Screenplay
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for “Everything Everywhere All at Once” in 2023 Emerald Fennell for “Promising Young Woman” in 2021 Bong Joon-ho and Han Jin-won for “Parasite” in 2020 Brian Currie,...
We have previous Oscar winners nominated, such as Josh Singer, who co-wrote “Maestro” with Bradley Cooper; previous nominees such as “Oppenheimer” scribe Christopher Nolan and “Poor Things” penman Tony McNamara; and we have a whole bunch of first-time nominees such as “Past Lives” writer and director Celine Song.
But… could we have two first-time nominees win both writing categories? Oscar history says this is unlikely; this has not happened a single time in the last 10 years. There have, however, been five instances in both categories where rookie contenders have won the Oscar.
Best Original Screenplay
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for “Everything Everywhere All at Once” in 2023 Emerald Fennell for “Promising Young Woman” in 2021 Bong Joon-ho and Han Jin-won for “Parasite” in 2020 Brian Currie,...
- 2/9/2024
- by Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
At the 2022 Oscars, Sian Heder won Best Adapted Screenplay for “Coda,” her adaptation of the French film “La Famille Bélier.” “Coda” also claimed Best Picture, thereby becoming the fifth remake to win the top Oscar. In 2021 playwright Florian Zeller shared in the Oscar win for Best Adapted Screenplay with Christopher Hampton for bring his stage hit “The Father” to the screen. In his directorial debut Zeller bagged Anthony Hopkins his second Best Actor Oscar. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2024 Oscar predictions for Best Adapted Screenplay.)
Screen versions of stage works had won Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars 15 times before. The most recent of these was in 2017 when “Moonlight” director Barry Jenkins and playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney prevailed for adapting the latter’s un-produced play “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue.” Prior to that you have to go all the way back to 1989 when Alfred Uhry won for adapting...
Screen versions of stage works had won Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars 15 times before. The most recent of these was in 2017 when “Moonlight” director Barry Jenkins and playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney prevailed for adapting the latter’s un-produced play “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue.” Prior to that you have to go all the way back to 1989 when Alfred Uhry won for adapting...
- 1/11/2024
- by Paul Sheehan and Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
When “Monica” premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 2022, the response was immediate: The movie received a standing ovation that clocked in at 11-and-a-half minutes. Andrea Pallaoro’s powerful tale of a woman returning home to care for her ailing mother who hasn’t seen her since before her gender transition had already made history by being the first film to feature a trans lead to play the fest. Praise was heaped on star Trace Lysette in the title role and Patricia Clarkson, who portrays her mother, Eugenia.
Still, it wasn’t until November when IFC Films, whose parent company is AMC Networks, picked up North American distribution rights. “‘Monica’ is a terrifically textured film anchored by multiple riveting performances,” says Scott Shooman, head of AMC Networks Film Group. “We really responded to Andrea’s vision and felt that it is the type of boundary-pushing, auteur filmmaking we always seek to be associated with.
Still, it wasn’t until November when IFC Films, whose parent company is AMC Networks, picked up North American distribution rights. “‘Monica’ is a terrifically textured film anchored by multiple riveting performances,” says Scott Shooman, head of AMC Networks Film Group. “We really responded to Andrea’s vision and felt that it is the type of boundary-pushing, auteur filmmaking we always seek to be associated with.
- 1/4/2024
- by Jenelle Riley
- Variety Film + TV
Apparently screenwriters Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach didn’t do quite Ken-ough to get “Barbie” considered as an original work for this year’s Oscars, as the candy-colored saga will hereforth only be considered by voters in Adapted Screenplay category, in a decision confirmed Wednesday by the Academy.
The determination was made by the Writers Branch executive committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and when Oscar nomination voting begins on Jan. 11, voters will only be permitted to consider “Barbie” in the set category.
The film will join a fairly crowded field of strong contenders of adapted works, including “Oppenheimer,” “American Fiction,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Poor Things,” and “All of Us Strangers” just for starters. It is assumed that Warner Bros., the studio behind “Barbie,” assumed the Original Screenplay would be less competitive and the property is based more on IP than a previously-produced work.
The determination was made by the Writers Branch executive committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and when Oscar nomination voting begins on Jan. 11, voters will only be permitted to consider “Barbie” in the set category.
The film will join a fairly crowded field of strong contenders of adapted works, including “Oppenheimer,” “American Fiction,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Poor Things,” and “All of Us Strangers” just for starters. It is assumed that Warner Bros., the studio behind “Barbie,” assumed the Original Screenplay would be less competitive and the property is based more on IP than a previously-produced work.
- 1/3/2024
- by Jason Clark
- The Wrap
This Barbie is now getting ready for a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar campaign.
Despite Warner Bros.’ campaign for the IP summer box office juggernaut to land in this year’s Best Original Screenplay race, Greta Gerwig and her husband Noah Baumbach’s “Barbie” screenplay will now compete as adapted. Oscar nominations will be announced on Tuesday, January 23. Voting runs January 11 through 16 this year.
Variety first reported news of the category shake-up, with IndieWire confirmed independently and with the Academy. The Writers Branch executive committee — led by Academy governors Howard A. Rodman, Eric Roth, and Dana Stevens — ultimately deemed “Barbie” an adapted screenplay. Eligible voting members of the branch can now only vie for the film in that category.
“Barbie” was previously deemed an original script by the Writers Guild of America (WGA), whose own awards will take place on April 14 due to the since-ended strikes. That’s over a month after the Oscars,...
Despite Warner Bros.’ campaign for the IP summer box office juggernaut to land in this year’s Best Original Screenplay race, Greta Gerwig and her husband Noah Baumbach’s “Barbie” screenplay will now compete as adapted. Oscar nominations will be announced on Tuesday, January 23. Voting runs January 11 through 16 this year.
Variety first reported news of the category shake-up, with IndieWire confirmed independently and with the Academy. The Writers Branch executive committee — led by Academy governors Howard A. Rodman, Eric Roth, and Dana Stevens — ultimately deemed “Barbie” an adapted screenplay. Eligible voting members of the branch can now only vie for the film in that category.
“Barbie” was previously deemed an original script by the Writers Guild of America (WGA), whose own awards will take place on April 14 due to the since-ended strikes. That’s over a month after the Oscars,...
- 1/3/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
“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
Jeremy Pope conquered Broadway (and earned two Tony nominations in the same year) for work in Choir Boy and Ain’t Too Proud — The Life and Times of the Temptations. He earned an Emmy nomination for a starring role in Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood, and drew raves last year for his dramatic work on the big-screen in The Inspection. With his latest, the 31-year-old is shifting focus to photography as a way to investigate a childhood growing up as gay with a pastor father who also happened to be a professional bodybuilder. The result is a photo series called “Flex (bitch)” that challenges gender norms, finds Pope in drag for the first time and casts RuPaul’s Drag Race star Symone as a shirtless, masculine man puffing on a cigarette. Days before traveling to Miami to debut the series at Scope Art Show (where he’ll also sit for a...
- 12/5/2023
- by Chris Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Tarell Alvin McCraney does not shy away from the toughest — and what he calls “provocative” — question facing theater-makers today: Who’s going to the theater to help them stay afloat?
Theater as an art form has stood the test of time — but times have rarely been as existentially daunting for the business as they are today. The last year has seen programming suspensions, layoffs and rounds of emergency fundraising at such rock-steady institutions as the Public Theater in New York City, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Los Angeles’ own Mark Taper Forum. Per a July report from American Theatre, 35 regional theaters and counting have closed since March 2020.
And so it’s in the midst of historic, industry-wide downturns since Covid that McCraney — the Oscar-winning screenwriter (and original playwright) of Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight” and creator of OWN’s “David Makes Man” — took the reins as artistic director for Geffen Playhouse in...
Theater as an art form has stood the test of time — but times have rarely been as existentially daunting for the business as they are today. The last year has seen programming suspensions, layoffs and rounds of emergency fundraising at such rock-steady institutions as the Public Theater in New York City, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Los Angeles’ own Mark Taper Forum. Per a July report from American Theatre, 35 regional theaters and counting have closed since March 2020.
And so it’s in the midst of historic, industry-wide downturns since Covid that McCraney — the Oscar-winning screenwriter (and original playwright) of Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight” and creator of OWN’s “David Makes Man” — took the reins as artistic director for Geffen Playhouse in...
- 11/17/2023
- by Benjamin Lindsay
- The Wrap
The Oscars celebrate excellence in the world of filmmaking, and the people who write the stories and scripts are a huge part of it.
Variety exclusively reported “Barbie” would be campaigned for best original screenplay for the upcoming awards season rather than in adapted screenplay as had been presumed. The decision brought about some interesting debate on social media, and even some Academy members contacted me directly with questions and opinions about it. But it’s not a black-or-white question. The categories in which a movie competes aren’t always as clear as you’d think, as seen through the history of nominees and winners.
Let’s start with the existing definitions. What does it mean to be an original script vs. an adapted one? As most people know, an original work creates an entirely new narrative, while an adapted one transforms pre-existing material into a screenplay.
“Barbie” scribes Greta Gerwig...
Variety exclusively reported “Barbie” would be campaigned for best original screenplay for the upcoming awards season rather than in adapted screenplay as had been presumed. The decision brought about some interesting debate on social media, and even some Academy members contacted me directly with questions and opinions about it. But it’s not a black-or-white question. The categories in which a movie competes aren’t always as clear as you’d think, as seen through the history of nominees and winners.
Let’s start with the existing definitions. What does it mean to be an original script vs. an adapted one? As most people know, an original work creates an entirely new narrative, while an adapted one transforms pre-existing material into a screenplay.
“Barbie” scribes Greta Gerwig...
- 9/15/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
The Geffen Playhouse has a new artistic director: Oscar winner Tarell Alvin McCraney.
Announced Tuesday by the Westwood nonprofit theater’s board of directors, McCraney’s appointment is effective immediately and his first order of business is joining Geffen staff to build a slate for the 2024-2025 season. His duties will include programming “new works along with re-envisioned classics with a focus on innovative storytelling, community engagement and audience experience,” per the Geffen. He’ll also be charged with setting the artistic course for the Geffen’s Gil Cates and Audrey Skirball Kenis theaters and leading the artistic and production teams.
McCraney replaces Matt Shakman in the role. Shakman, a director of TV, film and theater projects, joined the Geffen as artistic director in 2017. In August 2022, he announced he would be departing come February 2023, and a committee commenced a months-long search for a replacement.
McCraney has history with the Geffen.
Announced Tuesday by the Westwood nonprofit theater’s board of directors, McCraney’s appointment is effective immediately and his first order of business is joining Geffen staff to build a slate for the 2024-2025 season. His duties will include programming “new works along with re-envisioned classics with a focus on innovative storytelling, community engagement and audience experience,” per the Geffen. He’ll also be charged with setting the artistic course for the Geffen’s Gil Cates and Audrey Skirball Kenis theaters and leading the artistic and production teams.
McCraney replaces Matt Shakman in the role. Shakman, a director of TV, film and theater projects, joined the Geffen as artistic director in 2017. In August 2022, he announced he would be departing come February 2023, and a committee commenced a months-long search for a replacement.
McCraney has history with the Geffen.
- 9/12/2023
- by Chris Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Moonlight and Choir Boy writer Tarell Alvin McCraney has been named artistic director for Los Angeles’ Geffen Playhouse, the non-profit theater’s Board of Directors announced today.
Effective immediately, McCraney joins the Geffen staff to begin building the 2024-2025 season. He’ll report to the theater’s Board of Directors.
McCraney shared a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar with director Barry Jenkins for the 2016 film Moonlight, and was Tony-nominated for the 2018 Broadway production of Choir Boy, his play that had been staged at the Geffen in 2014.
In a statement, McCraney said, “I see my role as continuing a legacy of exceptional artistry, reinvesting in the Geffen’s unique capability to nurture and support artists, build upon collaborative partnerships including with UCLA, and reach audiences that we share a community with across Los Angeles. I am excited to foster intimate innovation in performance, digging deep into our collective need for live connection here at Geffen Playhouse.
Effective immediately, McCraney joins the Geffen staff to begin building the 2024-2025 season. He’ll report to the theater’s Board of Directors.
McCraney shared a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar with director Barry Jenkins for the 2016 film Moonlight, and was Tony-nominated for the 2018 Broadway production of Choir Boy, his play that had been staged at the Geffen in 2014.
In a statement, McCraney said, “I see my role as continuing a legacy of exceptional artistry, reinvesting in the Geffen’s unique capability to nurture and support artists, build upon collaborative partnerships including with UCLA, and reach audiences that we share a community with across Los Angeles. I am excited to foster intimate innovation in performance, digging deep into our collective need for live connection here at Geffen Playhouse.
- 9/12/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
The Sundance Institute has announced the participants in their famed screenwriters, directors and Native labs.
The directors and screenwriters labs will support 12 fellows, with five fellows selected for the Native lab. Lab participants will develop their original works under the mentorship of notable advisors. Paul Thomas Anderson, Ryan Coogler, David Gordon Green, Sterlin Harjo, Taika Waititi, Lulu Wang and Chloé Zhao are among previous Sundance lab participants.
The directors lab advisor cohort includes Miguel Arteta, Joan Darling, Rick Famuyiwa, Stephen Goldblatt, Keith Gordon, Randa Haines, Ed Harris, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Polly Morgan, Ira Sachs, Michelle Tesoro and Joan Tewkesbury. The screenwriters lab advisor cohort, led by artistic director Howard Rodman, includes Justin Chon, Sebastian Cordero, Cherien Dabis, D.V. Devincentis, Scott Frank, John Gatins, Nicole Kassell, Kasi Lemmons, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Elena Soarez and Robin Swicord. The Native Lab creative advisors include Andrew Ahn, Alex Lazarowich (Cree), Dana Ladoux Miller (Sāmoan) and Jennifer Reeder.
The directors and screenwriters labs will support 12 fellows, with five fellows selected for the Native lab. Lab participants will develop their original works under the mentorship of notable advisors. Paul Thomas Anderson, Ryan Coogler, David Gordon Green, Sterlin Harjo, Taika Waititi, Lulu Wang and Chloé Zhao are among previous Sundance lab participants.
The directors lab advisor cohort includes Miguel Arteta, Joan Darling, Rick Famuyiwa, Stephen Goldblatt, Keith Gordon, Randa Haines, Ed Harris, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Polly Morgan, Ira Sachs, Michelle Tesoro and Joan Tewkesbury. The screenwriters lab advisor cohort, led by artistic director Howard Rodman, includes Justin Chon, Sebastian Cordero, Cherien Dabis, D.V. Devincentis, Scott Frank, John Gatins, Nicole Kassell, Kasi Lemmons, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Elena Soarez and Robin Swicord. The Native Lab creative advisors include Andrew Ahn, Alex Lazarowich (Cree), Dana Ladoux Miller (Sāmoan) and Jennifer Reeder.
- 4/27/2023
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Sundance Institute on Thursday announced the fellows set for the 2023 edition of their Directors, Screenwriters and Native Labs.
Native Lab participants will include Eva Grant (Degrees of Separation), Quinne Larsen (Trouble), Anpa’o Locke (Growing Pains), Jana Schmieding (Auntie Chuck) and Cian Elyse White (Te Puhi’).
Those taking part in the Directors Lab and/or the Screenwriters Lab include Hadas Ayalon (In a Minute You’ll Be Gone), Dania Bdeir & Bane Fakih (Pigeon Wars), Rashad Frett & Lin Que Ayoung (Ricky), Masami Kawai (Valley of the Tall Grass), Gabriela Ortega (Huella), Audrey Rosenberg (Wild Animals), Abinash Bikram Shah (Elephants in the Fog), Walter Thompson-Hernández (If I Go Will They Miss Me), Sean Wang (DìDi (弟弟)) and Farida Zahran (The Leftover Ladies).
A significant part of supporting Indigenous filmmakers for nearly two decades, the Native Lab will kick off online this year from May 1–5 before continuing in person in Santa Fe,...
Native Lab participants will include Eva Grant (Degrees of Separation), Quinne Larsen (Trouble), Anpa’o Locke (Growing Pains), Jana Schmieding (Auntie Chuck) and Cian Elyse White (Te Puhi’).
Those taking part in the Directors Lab and/or the Screenwriters Lab include Hadas Ayalon (In a Minute You’ll Be Gone), Dania Bdeir & Bane Fakih (Pigeon Wars), Rashad Frett & Lin Que Ayoung (Ricky), Masami Kawai (Valley of the Tall Grass), Gabriela Ortega (Huella), Audrey Rosenberg (Wild Animals), Abinash Bikram Shah (Elephants in the Fog), Walter Thompson-Hernández (If I Go Will They Miss Me), Sean Wang (DìDi (弟弟)) and Farida Zahran (The Leftover Ladies).
A significant part of supporting Indigenous filmmakers for nearly two decades, the Native Lab will kick off online this year from May 1–5 before continuing in person in Santa Fe,...
- 4/27/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: M88 on Tuesday said it has signed in-demand director Erica Watson for management.
Watson is best known for helming the penultimate and final episodes of the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning Hulu miniseries The Dropout, charting the rise and downfall of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes (Amanda Seyfried). She most recently directed two episodes of the epic drama series King Shaka, produced by Antoine Fuqua for CBS Studios, which will now likely be shopped after being cut loose by Showtime.
Watson is otherwise known for directing two episodes of Snowpiercer for TNT/Tomorrow Studios, along with half of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s David Makes Man for OWN/HBO Max. She also previously helmed episodes of Manifest, Power Book III: Raising Kanan, Gossip Girl, All Rise, Power Book II: Ghost, For Life, All American, The L Word: Generation Q, Claws and Krypton among other series.
A directing fellow for Film Independent’s Project Involve,...
Watson is best known for helming the penultimate and final episodes of the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning Hulu miniseries The Dropout, charting the rise and downfall of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes (Amanda Seyfried). She most recently directed two episodes of the epic drama series King Shaka, produced by Antoine Fuqua for CBS Studios, which will now likely be shopped after being cut loose by Showtime.
Watson is otherwise known for directing two episodes of Snowpiercer for TNT/Tomorrow Studios, along with half of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s David Makes Man for OWN/HBO Max. She also previously helmed episodes of Manifest, Power Book III: Raising Kanan, Gossip Girl, All Rise, Power Book II: Ghost, For Life, All American, The L Word: Generation Q, Claws and Krypton among other series.
A directing fellow for Film Independent’s Project Involve,...
- 4/11/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
At the 2022 Oscars, Sian Heder won Best Adapted Screenplay for “Coda,” her adaptation of the French film “La Famille Bélier.” “Coda” also claimed Best Picture, thereby becoming the fifth remake to win the top Oscar. In 2021 playwright Florian Zeller shared in the Oscar win for Best Adapted Screenplay with Christopher Hampton for bring his stage hit “The Father” to the screen. In his directorial debut Zeller bagged Anthony Hopkins his second Best Actor Oscar. He returns to the race this year with an adaptation of his play “The Son.” (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2023 Oscars Best Adapted Screenplay predictions.)
Screen versions of stage works had won Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars 15 times before. The most recent of these was in 2017 when “Moonlight” director Barry Jenkins and playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney prevailed for adapting the latter’s un-produced play “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue.” Prior to that you...
Screen versions of stage works had won Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars 15 times before. The most recent of these was in 2017 when “Moonlight” director Barry Jenkins and playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney prevailed for adapting the latter’s un-produced play “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue.” Prior to that you...
- 2/6/2023
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
When "Moonlight" came out in 2016, it was unlike anything that had come before it. Based on the play, "In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue" written by Tarell Alvin McCraney, the film follows Chiron, a young Black man, throughout his childhood and early adult life living in Miami, Florida. It is a movie about many things — masculinity (particularly Black masculinity), sexuality, the way our past affects our future — and it is significant in how it centers Black narratives, treating them with a tenderness that has inspired many Black filmmakers and helped to usher in a long overdue renaissance in Black filmmaking.
But before "Moonlight" won the Oscar for Best Picture, Jenkins had worked on one other film eight years earlier: An indie flick, "Medicine for Melancholy," about a Black couple who, after having a one-night-stand, spend the next day exploring the streets of San Francisco. This film garnered a lot of quiet praise,...
But before "Moonlight" won the Oscar for Best Picture, Jenkins had worked on one other film eight years earlier: An indie flick, "Medicine for Melancholy," about a Black couple who, after having a one-night-stand, spend the next day exploring the streets of San Francisco. This film garnered a lot of quiet praise,...
- 2/5/2023
- by Miyako Pleines
- Slash Film
Somewhere in the multiverse, there's a reality where Ben Affleck directed and starred in "The Batman," resulting in a very different David Fincher-styled take on the Caped Crusader than the one Matt Reeves gave us in 2022. Instead, the true story basketball industry drama "Air" will serve as Affleck's long-awaited return to the director's chair and the followup to his 2016 period gangster flick, "Live By Night." Despite being generally considered Affleck's first real misfire behind the camera (though he still has fond feelings about it), that movie's not enough on its own to make you forget about his gripping direction on "Gone Baby Gone" or the propulsive thrills he delivered with "The Town" and "Argo" (even with the way the latter bends the facts of the actual historical events that inspired it and resorts to stereotypes in its depiction of the Middle East).
Thankfully, "Air" finds Affleck operating more in...
Thankfully, "Air" finds Affleck operating more in...
- 1/23/2023
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
With the 2010s firmly in the rear-view mirror, we can now look back on which films from that decade stand the test of time. And you couldn't possibly compile the best of the best without including "Moonlight." History will remember it as an Oscar best picture recipient, but to those who watch it, the coming-of-age tale means so much more.
Barry Jenkins possesses the ability to get to the intimate pulse of a character's journey, and in "Moonlight," we get to see that through three perspectives and three different ages. Little (Alex Hibbert), Chiron (Ashton Sanders), and Black (Trevante Rhodes) represent the evolution of a queer Black man -- as a child, a teenager, and then an adult -- in a turbulent world that opens itself up to him in the most unexpected ways. The things that we see at such critical points in our lives shape us into either who we want to become,...
Barry Jenkins possesses the ability to get to the intimate pulse of a character's journey, and in "Moonlight," we get to see that through three perspectives and three different ages. Little (Alex Hibbert), Chiron (Ashton Sanders), and Black (Trevante Rhodes) represent the evolution of a queer Black man -- as a child, a teenager, and then an adult -- in a turbulent world that opens itself up to him in the most unexpected ways. The things that we see at such critical points in our lives shape us into either who we want to become,...
- 1/19/2023
- by Matthew Bilodeau
- Slash Film
Jeremy Pope doesn’t break into a new medium quietly. The actor not only earned a Tony nomination for his Broadway debut in 2018’s “Choir Boy” by Tarell Alvin McCraney, he also became one of only six actors in history to earn two acting nominations in different categories in the same year, also scoring a nom for the musical “Ain’t Too Proud.” His television debut, as the lead in Ryan Murphy’s “Hollywood,” landed him his first Emmy nomination. And now his first leading role in a movie, “The Inspection,” has earned Pope rave reviews and nominations from both the Independent Spirit Awards and the Golden Globes.
While Pope’s charisma and talent has been evident from his work on stage and television, it’s never a guarantee on the big screen. But from the opening moments of “The Inspection,” it becomes clear that Pope is not just a great actor,...
While Pope’s charisma and talent has been evident from his work on stage and television, it’s never a guarantee on the big screen. But from the opening moments of “The Inspection,” it becomes clear that Pope is not just a great actor,...
- 1/6/2023
- by Jenelle Riley
- Variety Film + TV
Brian Tyree Henry and Paul Dano started in theater —— which will come as no surprise to anyone who sees them in their latest films, playing characters with carefully crafted backstories. In Lila Neugebauer’s “Causeway,” Henry portrays James, a New Orleans mechanic and amputee who bonds with Lynsey (Jennifer Lawrence), an injured soldier desperate to return to combat. And Dano has had an immense year, going from the Riddler in “The Batman” to embodying a benevolent 1950s dad named Burt, based on Steven Spielberg’s father, Arnold, in “The Fabelmans.” For Dano, moving from darkness to light not only showed his range, it’s what he needed in his life.
Paul Dano: I’m really happy to meet you.
Brian Tyree Henry: Not as excited as I am to meet you. I’ve been a huge fan of yours for quite some time.
Dano: Did you know you were going...
Paul Dano: I’m really happy to meet you.
Brian Tyree Henry: Not as excited as I am to meet you. I’ve been a huge fan of yours for quite some time.
Dano: Did you know you were going...
- 12/17/2022
- by Ramin Setoodeh
- Variety Film + TV
Brian Tyree Henry is one of the most brilliantly resourceful actors working today. A Yale School of Drama graduate, he made his bones on the New York City theater scene with acclaimed performances in the 2007 Shakespeare in the Park production of "Romeo Juliet" and Tarell Alvin McCraney's "The Brother/Sister Plays." He gradually segued to television, booking roles on prestigious shows like "Boardwalk Empire" and "The Knick" before blowing up as Paper Boi on Donald Glover's "Atlanta." His big-screen coming out party arrived in 2018 with memorable performances in Steve McQueen's "Widows" and, most piercingly, Barry Jenkins' "If Beale Street Could Talk."
Henry has been doing it well enough, long enough that it's beginning to get a tad disconcerting that he's yet to win a major award for his work. This might be about to change thanks to his incredibly nuanced portrayal of a quietly haunted auto mechanic...
Henry has been doing it well enough, long enough that it's beginning to get a tad disconcerting that he's yet to win a major award for his work. This might be about to change thanks to his incredibly nuanced portrayal of a quietly haunted auto mechanic...
- 11/30/2022
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
For Jeremy Pope, “The Inspection,” writer/director Elegance Bratton’s auto-fictional drama about a Black gay man entering a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” era Marine Corps to escape homelessness and earn respect from his homophobic mother, was itself “a job of service.”
That’s because Bratton, who based the narrative on his own experiences, was making an ambitious jump from documentary work with delicate material that required care at every stage of the production. “It felt like everyone was working to make sure that his first feature film as a Black man was going to be successful so that he could feel successful,” Pope said.
So far, it has been worth the effort: “The Inspection” was met with raves after its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September; in its first week in limited release this month, the A24 film has done solid business in a...
That’s because Bratton, who based the narrative on his own experiences, was making an ambitious jump from documentary work with delicate material that required care at every stage of the production. “It felt like everyone was working to make sure that his first feature film as a Black man was going to be successful so that he could feel successful,” Pope said.
So far, it has been worth the effort: “The Inspection” was met with raves after its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September; in its first week in limited release this month, the A24 film has done solid business in a...
- 11/21/2022
- by Marcus Jones
- Indiewire
“David Makes Man” is a drama television series that takes an intriguing look into race, brotherhood, and identity issues. This coming-of-age drama first appeared on screens on August 14, 2019, on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). The storyline is about David, a teenage prodigy whose life revolves around two different worlds.
South Florida is the setting for this lyrical story created by Tarell Alvin McCraney (co-writer of “Moonlight”). The executive producers of the Peabody Award-winning show include Oprah Winfrey, Mike Kelley, Michael B. Jordan, Dee Harris-Lawrence (showrunner), and Melissa Loy. Warner Bros. produced it.
This television series got a warm reception from viewers for season 1, with an average rating of 4.1 out of 5 on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s currently in the second season comprising 10 episodes that premiered June 22, 2021, and ended August 24, 2021.
This quintessential guide covers the show’s synopsis, season two cast, whether season three will come out, what happened in season two,...
South Florida is the setting for this lyrical story created by Tarell Alvin McCraney (co-writer of “Moonlight”). The executive producers of the Peabody Award-winning show include Oprah Winfrey, Mike Kelley, Michael B. Jordan, Dee Harris-Lawrence (showrunner), and Melissa Loy. Warner Bros. produced it.
This television series got a warm reception from viewers for season 1, with an average rating of 4.1 out of 5 on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s currently in the second season comprising 10 episodes that premiered June 22, 2021, and ended August 24, 2021.
This quintessential guide covers the show’s synopsis, season two cast, whether season three will come out, what happened in season two,...
- 6/16/2022
- by Buddy TV
- buddytv.com
Well, we survived the great content crush of spring 2022. Now we can just sit back, take a nice little breather and … wait, what’s that you say? There’s still tons of great television, streaming every week, including this week which contains the return of “For All Mankind,” the launch of a terrific Marvel Studios series on Disney+ and a new Adam Sandler sports drama on Netflix? All the better! May the content crush never end!
On with the television!
“For All Mankind”
Friday, June 10, Apple TV+
Apple TV+
“For All Mankind” has been heralded as one of the greatest shows on TV. And that isn’t an unfair assessment. It’s an alternate history look at the space race. Instead of beating Russia to the moon, the U.S. followed them. Real-life heroes are dramatized alongside wholly made-up characters. And everything is rendered in such vivid detail, both conceptually and emotionally,...
On with the television!
“For All Mankind”
Friday, June 10, Apple TV+
Apple TV+
“For All Mankind” has been heralded as one of the greatest shows on TV. And that isn’t an unfair assessment. It’s an alternate history look at the space race. Instead of beating Russia to the moon, the U.S. followed them. Real-life heroes are dramatized alongside wholly made-up characters. And everything is rendered in such vivid detail, both conceptually and emotionally,...
- 6/4/2022
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
‘for colored girls’ reviews celebrate ‘riveting’ Broadway revival and ‘resplendent’ Kenita R. Miller
Forty-six years after the original production of Ntozake Shange’s legendary choreopoem “for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf,” a sterling revival has returned to Broadway in the very same house where the original ran for nearly two years. Shange’s classic work consists of poems performed by seven different Black women – identified as different colors of the rainbow – that chronicle their joys, triumphs, and struggles. This mounting features the work of Tony-nominated choreographer Camille A. Brown, who also directs. The revival opened on April 20 at the Booth Theatre.
The ensemble cast stars Amara Granderson, Tendayi Kuumba, Kenita R. Miller, Okwui Okpokwasili, Stacey Sargeant, Alexandria Wailes, and D. Woods, the majority of whom are making their Broadway debuts. The late Shange’s voice also opens the play, in a short address to a young Black girl that invites the audience to imagine with them the...
The ensemble cast stars Amara Granderson, Tendayi Kuumba, Kenita R. Miller, Okwui Okpokwasili, Stacey Sargeant, Alexandria Wailes, and D. Woods, the majority of whom are making their Broadway debuts. The late Shange’s voice also opens the play, in a short address to a young Black girl that invites the audience to imagine with them the...
- 4/26/2022
- by David Buchanan
- Gold Derby
A fourth season of “True Detective” is officially in development at HBO, Variety has learned from sources.
The new season is currently titled “True Detective: Night Country.” The plot is largely being kept under wraps, but sources say that it would take place in the Arctic, where night can last more than 24 hours. It is also believed that the season would feature two female leads. No casting is confirmed at this time.
Issa López is attached to serve as writer and executive producer on the new season in addition to directing the pilot. Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski, and Mark Ceryak of Pastel will also executive produce. Pastel is currently under a first-look deal at HBO and HBO Max. Anonymous Content, which has produced past seasons of the show, and several other executive producers from past seasons are expected to board the project as well.
HBO declined to comment.
This is...
The new season is currently titled “True Detective: Night Country.” The plot is largely being kept under wraps, but sources say that it would take place in the Arctic, where night can last more than 24 hours. It is also believed that the season would feature two female leads. No casting is confirmed at this time.
Issa López is attached to serve as writer and executive producer on the new season in addition to directing the pilot. Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski, and Mark Ceryak of Pastel will also executive produce. Pastel is currently under a first-look deal at HBO and HBO Max. Anonymous Content, which has produced past seasons of the show, and several other executive producers from past seasons are expected to board the project as well.
HBO declined to comment.
This is...
- 3/19/2022
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Ever since “Coda’s” victory for best ensemble cast at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, Oscar pundits have been reconsidering it as a possible dark horse to win Best Picture at the Oscars. But can a film win top honors with only three total nominations, especially when none of those nominations are for directing or editing? Well, the three nominations the film did get line up perfectly with the Oscar wins for other recent Best Picture champs.
“Coda” is nominated for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Troy Kotsur), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Sian Heder). If it wins all of those it would join three other films in the past 10 years that won the same trifecta of Picture, supporting acting, and writing. First came “12 Years a Slave” (2013), which won Picture, Supporting Actress (Lupita Nyong’o), and Adapted Screenplay (John Ridley). Then came “Moonlight” (2016) which won Picture, Supporting Actor (Mahershala Ali), and...
“Coda” is nominated for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Troy Kotsur), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Sian Heder). If it wins all of those it would join three other films in the past 10 years that won the same trifecta of Picture, supporting acting, and writing. First came “12 Years a Slave” (2013), which won Picture, Supporting Actress (Lupita Nyong’o), and Adapted Screenplay (John Ridley). Then came “Moonlight” (2016) which won Picture, Supporting Actor (Mahershala Ali), and...
- 3/10/2022
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
“Moonlight” director Barry Jenkins will receive the Writers Guild of America West’s 2022 Paul Selvin Award in recognition of his script for the ninth episode of his Prime Video limited series “The Underground Railroad,” which tells an alternate history of the legendary network that helped Black people free slavery.
Jenkins will be honored at the 2022 Writers Guild Awards joint virtual ceremony on Sunday, March 20. The award is named after the late Paul Selvin, general counsel to Wgaw for 25 years, and is given each year to “the member or members whose script best embodies the spirit of the constitutional and civil rights and liberties that are indispensable to the survival of free writers everywhere.”
“It is a humbling honor to receive an award given in Mr. Selvin’s name and in the spirit with which he went about his life and work, defending the civil rights of everyday people and protecting...
Jenkins will be honored at the 2022 Writers Guild Awards joint virtual ceremony on Sunday, March 20. The award is named after the late Paul Selvin, general counsel to Wgaw for 25 years, and is given each year to “the member or members whose script best embodies the spirit of the constitutional and civil rights and liberties that are indispensable to the survival of free writers everywhere.”
“It is a humbling honor to receive an award given in Mr. Selvin’s name and in the spirit with which he went about his life and work, defending the civil rights of everyday people and protecting...
- 3/10/2022
- by Sharon Knolle
- The Wrap
The Broadway revival of Ntozake Shange’s for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf, directed and choreographed by Camille A. Brown, has postponed its opening by a month, with performances now set to begin Friday, April 1, at the Booth Theatre. The official opening night is now Wednesday, April 20.
The revival previously had been set to begin performances on March 4, with the opening night of March 24.
No reason was given for the delay. Broadway recently has seen a number of productions close or go on hiatus as the Omicron variant takes a toll on box office.
Full casting and creative team for for colored girls… will be announced at a later date.
The much anticipated production will mark the Broadway directorial debut of Brown, who will become the first Black woman to serve as both director and choreographer on a Broadway production in more than 65 years.
The revival previously had been set to begin performances on March 4, with the opening night of March 24.
No reason was given for the delay. Broadway recently has seen a number of productions close or go on hiatus as the Omicron variant takes a toll on box office.
Full casting and creative team for for colored girls… will be announced at a later date.
The much anticipated production will mark the Broadway directorial debut of Brown, who will become the first Black woman to serve as both director and choreographer on a Broadway production in more than 65 years.
- 1/25/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
At the 2021 Oscars, playwright Florian Zeller shared in the Oscar win for Best Adapted Screenplay with Christopher Hampton for bring his stage hit “The Father” to the screen.In his directorial debut Zeller bagged Anthony Hopkins his second Best Actor Oscar. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2022 Oscars predictions for Best Adapted Screenplay and be sure to check out our predictions for Best Original Screenplay.)
Screen versions of stage works had won Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars 15 times before. The most recent of these was in 2017 when “Moonlight” director Barry Jenkins and playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney prevailed for adapting the latter’s un-produced play “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue.” Prior to that you have to go all the way back to 1989 when Alfred Uhry won for adapting his hit play “Driving Miss Daisy.”
At the 2020 Academy Awards, “Jojo Rabbit” director Taika Waititi won for bringing Christine Leunens novel...
Screen versions of stage works had won Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars 15 times before. The most recent of these was in 2017 when “Moonlight” director Barry Jenkins and playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney prevailed for adapting the latter’s un-produced play “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue.” Prior to that you have to go all the way back to 1989 when Alfred Uhry won for adapting his hit play “Driving Miss Daisy.”
At the 2020 Academy Awards, “Jojo Rabbit” director Taika Waititi won for bringing Christine Leunens novel...
- 1/22/2022
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
John Earl Jelks, currently appearing in the HBO Max series Love Life, has joined the previously announced Debra Messing and Enrico Colantoni in the cast of the upcoming Broadway production of Noah Haidle’s Birthday Candles.
The Roundabout Theatre Company production, which begins previews March 18 and opens April 10, was originally set to debut in spring 2020 but was postponed due to the Covid shutdown. At the time, Andre Braugher was set to co-star with Messing and Colantoni.
The limited engagement of Birthday Candles will run through May 29 at the American Airlines Theatre. Vivienne Benesch directs.
Jelks is known to Broadway audiences for his role in Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Sweat (2017) and his Tony-nominated 2007 performance in August Wilson’s Radio Golf. He had previously appeared in Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean. Other stage work includes Tarell Alvin McCraney’s Head of Passes, co-starring Phylicia Rashad, at the Public Theater Off Broadway and L.
The Roundabout Theatre Company production, which begins previews March 18 and opens April 10, was originally set to debut in spring 2020 but was postponed due to the Covid shutdown. At the time, Andre Braugher was set to co-star with Messing and Colantoni.
The limited engagement of Birthday Candles will run through May 29 at the American Airlines Theatre. Vivienne Benesch directs.
Jelks is known to Broadway audiences for his role in Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Sweat (2017) and his Tony-nominated 2007 performance in August Wilson’s Radio Golf. He had previously appeared in Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean. Other stage work includes Tarell Alvin McCraney’s Head of Passes, co-starring Phylicia Rashad, at the Public Theater Off Broadway and L.
- 1/13/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
In 1992 the presidential race came down to three main candidates: the Republican incumbent, President George H.W. Bush, Democrat Bill Clinton, and Independent Ross Perot. But they weren’t the only contenders for the office. Terence Alan Smith also campaigned—as “America’s first drag queen for president.”
Smith, under his drag name Joan Jett Blakk, ran as the nominee of the Queer Nation Party on a platform of universal health care, defunding police and the military, and increased funding for education.
“Smith championed policies that are mainstream today,” writes Whitney Skauge, director of the Oscar-contending short documentary The Beauty President, which recounts Smith’s 1992 bid. “Against a social and political environment of homophobia in the 1990s, it was a defiant act of bravery for Smith to be an openly gay Black man, dressed in full drag, running for the highest seat in government.”
Skauge became acquainted with Smith’s history-making candidacy through a play,...
Smith, under his drag name Joan Jett Blakk, ran as the nominee of the Queer Nation Party on a platform of universal health care, defunding police and the military, and increased funding for education.
“Smith championed policies that are mainstream today,” writes Whitney Skauge, director of the Oscar-contending short documentary The Beauty President, which recounts Smith’s 1992 bid. “Against a social and political environment of homophobia in the 1990s, it was a defiant act of bravery for Smith to be an openly gay Black man, dressed in full drag, running for the highest seat in government.”
Skauge became acquainted with Smith’s history-making candidacy through a play,...
- 12/11/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Tarell Alvin McCraney & Glenn Davis Launch Chatham Grove Production Company With Overall Deal At UCP
Exclusive: Oscar-winning writer-playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, creator of the acclaimed series David Makes Man, has teamed up with actor-producer Glenn Davis, artistic director of Steppenwolf Theatre Company, to launch Chatham Grove, a production company which has inked an overall deal with UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group.
Under the multi-year deal, McCraney, Davis and their team at Chatham Grove will develop and produce projects across genres and formats for broadcast, cable and streaming platforms.
McCraney and Davis, who have been friends for 20 years, since meeting as undergraduates at The Theatre School at DePaul University, created Chatham Grove with the clear goal of creating content that promotes and is centered around voices and artists from communities that have been historically underrepresented and often marginalized.
The duo, who named their company after the areas that each of them are from — the Chatham neighborhood on the Southside of Chicago (Davis), and the...
Under the multi-year deal, McCraney, Davis and their team at Chatham Grove will develop and produce projects across genres and formats for broadcast, cable and streaming platforms.
McCraney and Davis, who have been friends for 20 years, since meeting as undergraduates at The Theatre School at DePaul University, created Chatham Grove with the clear goal of creating content that promotes and is centered around voices and artists from communities that have been historically underrepresented and often marginalized.
The duo, who named their company after the areas that each of them are from — the Chatham neighborhood on the Southside of Chicago (Davis), and the...
- 12/10/2021
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Highest ranking script by a woman is Bridesmaids at number 12.
Writers Guild Of America (WGA) has anointed Jordan Peele’s Get Out the best screenplay of its top 101 of the 21st century so far in a list that contains no female writers in the top 10.
Charlie Kaufman’s screenplay for Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind based on a story by Kaufman, Michel Gondry and Pierre Bismuth came second, while Aaron Sorkin’s script for The Social Network based on Ben Mezrich’s book The Accidental Billionaires ranked third.
Rounding out the top five are Parasite by Bong Joon Ho...
Writers Guild Of America (WGA) has anointed Jordan Peele’s Get Out the best screenplay of its top 101 of the 21st century so far in a list that contains no female writers in the top 10.
Charlie Kaufman’s screenplay for Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind based on a story by Kaufman, Michel Gondry and Pierre Bismuth came second, while Aaron Sorkin’s script for The Social Network based on Ben Mezrich’s book The Accidental Billionaires ranked third.
Rounding out the top five are Parasite by Bong Joon Ho...
- 12/6/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has published its list of the 101 greatest screenplays of the 21st century, topped by Jordan Peele’s “Get Out.” Peele won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay with the script for his horror movie, which also marked his solo feature directorial debut. Bong Joon Ho’s Oscar-winning “Parasite” screenplay cracked the WGA’s top five along with Charlie Kaufman’s “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” Aaron Sorkin’s “The Social Network,” and the Coen Brothers’ “No Country for Old Men.” All of these aforementioned films won screenwriting Oscars.
The remainder of the WGA’s top 10 consists of Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight,” Paul Thomas Anderson’s “There Will Be Blood,” Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds,” Cameron Crowe’s “Almost Famous,” and Christopher Nolan’s “Memento.” Anderson has three scripts in the top 101, as does Tarantino. Writers with multiple ranked scripts include Aaron Sorkin, Charlie Kaufman,...
The remainder of the WGA’s top 10 consists of Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight,” Paul Thomas Anderson’s “There Will Be Blood,” Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds,” Cameron Crowe’s “Almost Famous,” and Christopher Nolan’s “Memento.” Anderson has three scripts in the top 101, as does Tarantino. Writers with multiple ranked scripts include Aaron Sorkin, Charlie Kaufman,...
- 12/6/2021
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
“Now, you’re in the sunken place.”
If you recognize that line, you know the film whose script the Writers Guild of America just voted as the best of the past 22 years. Jordan Peele’s Oscar-winning Get Out tops the WGA’s just-released list of the “101 Greatest Screenplays of the 21st Century (So Far)”. See the full list below.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Social Network, Parasite, No Country for Old Men and Moonlight round out the top six. All of them won a Screenplay Oscar, but three of the next four on the WGA’s list — There Will Be Blood (No. 7), Inglorious Basterds (No. 8) and Memento (No. 10) — did not. The No. 9 script, Almost Famous, took Academy Award for Adapted Screenplay.
Christopher Nolan wrote four of the 101 top screenplays — 2000’s Memento, 2008’s The Dark Knight (No. 26), 2010’s Inception (No. 37) and 2006’s The Prestige (No. 82). Dark Night and Prestige...
If you recognize that line, you know the film whose script the Writers Guild of America just voted as the best of the past 22 years. Jordan Peele’s Oscar-winning Get Out tops the WGA’s just-released list of the “101 Greatest Screenplays of the 21st Century (So Far)”. See the full list below.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Social Network, Parasite, No Country for Old Men and Moonlight round out the top six. All of them won a Screenplay Oscar, but three of the next four on the WGA’s list — There Will Be Blood (No. 7), Inglorious Basterds (No. 8) and Memento (No. 10) — did not. The No. 9 script, Almost Famous, took Academy Award for Adapted Screenplay.
Christopher Nolan wrote four of the 101 top screenplays — 2000’s Memento, 2008’s The Dark Knight (No. 26), 2010’s Inception (No. 37) and 2006’s The Prestige (No. 82). Dark Night and Prestige...
- 12/6/2021
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
The first Broadway revival of Ntozake Shange’s groundbreaking for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf will begin preview performances at the Booth Theatre on Friday, March 4, 2022, with the opening night set for Thursday, March 24, producers announced today.
Casting for the production, directed and choreographed by Camille A. Brown, will be announced at a later date. For colored girls… will mark Brown’s Broadway directorial debut; she was Tony-nominated for her 2019 choreography of Tarell Alvin McCraney’ Choir Boy.
“Of all the shows to be given as an opportunity to debut as a first-time Broadway director and choreographer, for colored girls… feels like a gift,” said Brown in a statement. “I’m thrilled that I’ve been entrusted to combine all the parts of myself — dance, music and theater arts — to shape and share this timeless story again with the world.”
With for colored girls… Brown...
Casting for the production, directed and choreographed by Camille A. Brown, will be announced at a later date. For colored girls… will mark Brown’s Broadway directorial debut; she was Tony-nominated for her 2019 choreography of Tarell Alvin McCraney’ Choir Boy.
“Of all the shows to be given as an opportunity to debut as a first-time Broadway director and choreographer, for colored girls… feels like a gift,” said Brown in a statement. “I’m thrilled that I’ve been entrusted to combine all the parts of myself — dance, music and theater arts — to shape and share this timeless story again with the world.”
With for colored girls… Brown...
- 11/15/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
After Barry Jenkins’ second feature, Moonlight, earned best picture at the 2017 Academy Awards — where he also scored a best adapted screenplay win, shared with Tarell Alvin McCraney — the director likely could have picked anything he wanted as his follow-up. He turned to American literature, first adapting James Baldwin’s 1974 novel If Beale Street Could Talk (the film would earn Regina King a 2018 Oscar for best supporting actress) and then to Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning 2016 novel, The Underground Railroad.
The latter, now nominated for seven Emmys, including outstanding limited series, is much larger ...
The latter, now nominated for seven Emmys, including outstanding limited series, is much larger ...
- 8/19/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
After Barry Jenkins’ second feature, Moonlight, earned best picture at the 2017 Academy Awards — where he also scored a best adapted screenplay win, shared with Tarell Alvin McCraney — the director likely could have picked anything he wanted as his follow-up. He turned to American literature, first adapting James Baldwin’s 1974 novel If Beale Street Could Talk (the film would earn Regina King a 2018 Oscar for best supporting actress) and then to Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning 2016 novel, The Underground Railroad.
The latter, now nominated for seven Emmys, including outstanding limited series, is much larger ...
The latter, now nominated for seven Emmys, including outstanding limited series, is much larger ...
- 8/19/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Tony Award-nominated choreographer Camille A. Brown will make her Broadway directing debut with a 2022 production of Ntozake Shange’s 1976 classic for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf, becoming what producers say is the first Black woman to serve as both director and choreographer on a Broadway production in more than 65 years.
Brown previously choreographed director Leah C. Gardiner’s 2019 Off Broadway production of the play at The Public Theater. Her upcoming directing debut was announced today by producers Nelle Nugent, Ron Simons and Kenneth Teaton.
“I’m extremely thrilled and honored to helm this new production of for colored girls…,” Brown said in a statement. “It’s an amazing feeling to bring this seminal show back to Broadway 45 years after it opened at the Booth Theatre on September 15, 1976. I look forward to diving into the divine Ntozake Shange’s choreopoem and celebrating her legacy.”
Brown...
Brown previously choreographed director Leah C. Gardiner’s 2019 Off Broadway production of the play at The Public Theater. Her upcoming directing debut was announced today by producers Nelle Nugent, Ron Simons and Kenneth Teaton.
“I’m extremely thrilled and honored to helm this new production of for colored girls…,” Brown said in a statement. “It’s an amazing feeling to bring this seminal show back to Broadway 45 years after it opened at the Booth Theatre on September 15, 1976. I look forward to diving into the divine Ntozake Shange’s choreopoem and celebrating her legacy.”
Brown...
- 8/16/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Women have played a pivotal role on OWN’s coming-of-age drama David Makes Man from the start. But in Season 2 (airing Tuesdays at 9/8c), the ladies in David’s life will take on an even greater importance, producers say.
As fans saw when the series returned this week for its sophomore run, the title character is all grown up now and played by Snowfall and The Wire alum Kwame Patterson. But being an adult doesn’t mean you have it all figured out, and when Adult Jg (played by The Magicians‘ Arlen Escarpeta) accidentally gets shot trying to break up a fight,...
As fans saw when the series returned this week for its sophomore run, the title character is all grown up now and played by Snowfall and The Wire alum Kwame Patterson. But being an adult doesn’t mean you have it all figured out, and when Adult Jg (played by The Magicians‘ Arlen Escarpeta) accidentally gets shot trying to break up a fight,...
- 6/23/2021
- by Mekeisha Madden Toby
- TVLine.com
When last we saw David (Akili McDowell), the hero of the gorgeous drama series David Makes Man, he was 14 years old, nearing the end of his time in middle school, and still very much an anxious kid hoping to one day feel comfortable in any of the disparate social worlds in which he traveled. As Season Two begins this week on OWN, the show’s title has been literalized. David is now in his thirties (and played by Kwame Patterson) with a flourishing white-collar career, living in a luxury apartment...
- 6/21/2021
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Rollingstone.com
Greetings from Variety Awards Headquarters! Today is June 14, 2021, which means it’s 3 days until nomination-round voting starts on June 17; 11 days until the Daytime Emmys telecast on June 25; 14 days until nomination-round voting ends on June 28; 29 days until nominations are announced on July 13; 66 days until final-round voting starts on Aug. 19; and 97 days until the Primetime Emmys telecast on Sept. 19.
All right, here we go! Nominations-round voting gets underway on Thursday, which explains why you may have seen For Your Consideration messages almost everywhere you went this weekend. Or even if you just looked up in the sky (via “Girls5eva”!) Or if you just ordered a pizza from Jon & Vinny’s (did any of you play chess on “The Queen’s Gambit” pizza box?).
Also, California opens up on June 15, which should make the world a little easier to move around… but please be smart. It’s a transition. If a store asks you to wear a mask,...
All right, here we go! Nominations-round voting gets underway on Thursday, which explains why you may have seen For Your Consideration messages almost everywhere you went this weekend. Or even if you just looked up in the sky (via “Girls5eva”!) Or if you just ordered a pizza from Jon & Vinny’s (did any of you play chess on “The Queen’s Gambit” pizza box?).
Also, California opens up on June 15, which should make the world a little easier to move around… but please be smart. It’s a transition. If a store asks you to wear a mask,...
- 6/14/2021
- by Michael Schneider
- Variety Film + TV
Festivals
The Banff World Media Festival (Banff) has unveiled its masterclass lineup for this year’s online festival taking place June 14–July 16. Classes will be held by creative team members of major global programs including “It’s a Sin,” hosted by creator Russel T. Davies, director Peter Hoar and actor Nathaniel Curtis; Warner Bros. Television’s Peabody-winning series “David Makes Man,” led by creator Tarell Alvin McCraney; “Transplant” with creator and showrunner Joseph Kay; Finnish animated series “Moominvalley”; CBC’s “Sort Of”; and a previously announced presentation from the creative team behind FX’s new series “Reservation Dogs.”
*****
Thong Kay Wee has been appointed as program director of the Singapore International Film Festival, taking over from Kuo Ming-Jung. He will work alongside executive director Emily J. Hoe from June 21. Thong was previously program and outreach officer at the Asian Film Archive. There, he has presided over multiple film-centric programs with a...
The Banff World Media Festival (Banff) has unveiled its masterclass lineup for this year’s online festival taking place June 14–July 16. Classes will be held by creative team members of major global programs including “It’s a Sin,” hosted by creator Russel T. Davies, director Peter Hoar and actor Nathaniel Curtis; Warner Bros. Television’s Peabody-winning series “David Makes Man,” led by creator Tarell Alvin McCraney; “Transplant” with creator and showrunner Joseph Kay; Finnish animated series “Moominvalley”; CBC’s “Sort Of”; and a previously announced presentation from the creative team behind FX’s new series “Reservation Dogs.”
*****
Thong Kay Wee has been appointed as program director of the Singapore International Film Festival, taking over from Kuo Ming-Jung. He will work alongside executive director Emily J. Hoe from June 21. Thong was previously program and outreach officer at the Asian Film Archive. There, he has presided over multiple film-centric programs with a...
- 6/7/2021
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Stacey Abrams has been tapped to receive the inaugural Harry Belafonte Voices for Social Justice award as part of the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival.
The new award named for Belafonte — the Emmy-winning actor, activist and civil rights leader — is intended to recognize individuals who have used storytelling and the arts to enact change in their communities.
Abrams, in addition to her work as a politician and voting rights activist, also produced last year’s gripping documentary “All In: The Fight for Democracy,” which illuminated America’s history of voter suppression. As such, Tribeca announced that Abrams will be honored for her “outstanding leadership, service and commitment to fighting against injustices through her work as a political leader, voting rights activist and novelist.”
“We are proud to salute the brilliant and inspiring actor, activist and friend, Harry Belafonte with this award created in his honor,’” said Tribeca Chief Content Officer, Paula Weinstein.
The new award named for Belafonte — the Emmy-winning actor, activist and civil rights leader — is intended to recognize individuals who have used storytelling and the arts to enact change in their communities.
Abrams, in addition to her work as a politician and voting rights activist, also produced last year’s gripping documentary “All In: The Fight for Democracy,” which illuminated America’s history of voter suppression. As such, Tribeca announced that Abrams will be honored for her “outstanding leadership, service and commitment to fighting against injustices through her work as a political leader, voting rights activist and novelist.”
“We are proud to salute the brilliant and inspiring actor, activist and friend, Harry Belafonte with this award created in his honor,’” said Tribeca Chief Content Officer, Paula Weinstein.
- 5/13/2021
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
It’s been over four years since the infamous 89th Academy Awards, where “La La Land” was mistakenly announced as the Best Picture winner over the true victor “Moonlight,” and Barry Jenkins believes the gaffe will continue to be the most visible moment of his career for the next four years and beyond. Jenkins appeared on a recent episode of the “Jemele Hill Is Unbothered” podcast and looked back at the pros and cons of his Best Picture moment. While the gaffe created a boom of publicity around “Moonlight,” thus boosting its exposure, it was also frightening for Jenkins to endure in the room.
“Because we were awarded Best Picture in that way, that clip was shown so many places,” Jenkins said. “I have no doubt in my mind, out of anything I ever do in my life, and who knows what’s to come ahead, but that particular moment...
“Because we were awarded Best Picture in that way, that clip was shown so many places,” Jenkins said. “I have no doubt in my mind, out of anything I ever do in my life, and who knows what’s to come ahead, but that particular moment...
- 5/4/2021
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
OWN has unveiled the premiere date and trailer for the second season of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s David Makes Man.
Set to premiere on OWN on June 22 from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. Et/Pt, David Makes Man‘s sophomore season finds David (Kwame Patterson) in his 30s, a rising businessman facing an opportunity that will change him and his community forever; the mounting forces David to choose between the instincts that helped him survive or finding a new way to truly live.
The series also features series regulars Arlen Escarpeta Akili McDowell, Alana Arenas, Travis Coles and Cayden K. Williams. McCraney serves as executive producer alongside showrunner Dee Harris-Lawrence who serves as showrunner. Mike Kelley and Melissa Loy also executive produce under their production banner Page Fright. Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society and Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films are also executive producers.
The trailer gives David Makes Man...
Set to premiere on OWN on June 22 from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. Et/Pt, David Makes Man‘s sophomore season finds David (Kwame Patterson) in his 30s, a rising businessman facing an opportunity that will change him and his community forever; the mounting forces David to choose between the instincts that helped him survive or finding a new way to truly live.
The series also features series regulars Arlen Escarpeta Akili McDowell, Alana Arenas, Travis Coles and Cayden K. Williams. McCraney serves as executive producer alongside showrunner Dee Harris-Lawrence who serves as showrunner. Mike Kelley and Melissa Loy also executive produce under their production banner Page Fright. Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society and Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films are also executive producers.
The trailer gives David Makes Man...
- 4/21/2021
- by Alexandra Del Rosario
- Deadline Film + TV
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