Singer, actor, and activist Harry Belafonte has passed away at the age of 96. Along with his rich, prolific musical career, Belafonte leaves behind an impressive legacy on screen. From one of his earliest roles in Otto Preminger's "Carmen Jones" to his last appearance in Spike Lee's "BlacKkKlansman," Belafonte left an unforgettable impression. The actor worked with talented filmmakers like Robert Altman, Robert Wise, Ava DuVernay, and Sidney Poitier, and appeared in Lee's 2006 look at the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, "When The Levees Broke." But he and Lee would also work together one more time, in a role that the then-elderly Belafonte had to get approved by a doctor.
Belafonte's scene in "BlacKkKlansman" gives the darkly funny movie about a Black cop infiltrating the KKK a sense of gravity and history; in a nine-minute scene, Black students and activists sit rapt and engrossed around a seated Belafonte as he...
Belafonte's scene in "BlacKkKlansman" gives the darkly funny movie about a Black cop infiltrating the KKK a sense of gravity and history; in a nine-minute scene, Black students and activists sit rapt and engrossed around a seated Belafonte as he...
- 4/25/2023
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
The star with the gorgeous calypso voice was also a naturally passionate actor who appeared in heists, colonial confrontations – and even the last love triangle on Earth
In the middle of the 20th century, Harry Belafonte was at the dizzying high point of his stunning multi-hyphenate celebrity: this handsome, athletic, Caribbean-American star with a gorgeous calypso singing voice was at the top of his game in music, movies and politics. He was the million-selling artist whose easy and sensuous musical stylings and lighter-skinned image made him acceptable to white audiences. But this didn’t stop him having a fierce screen presence and an even fiercer commitment to civil rights. He was the friend and comrade of Paul Robeson and Martin Luther King Jr – and his crossover success, incidentally, never stopped him being subject to the ugliest kind of bigotry from racists who saw his fame as a kind of infiltration.
In the middle of the 20th century, Harry Belafonte was at the dizzying high point of his stunning multi-hyphenate celebrity: this handsome, athletic, Caribbean-American star with a gorgeous calypso singing voice was at the top of his game in music, movies and politics. He was the million-selling artist whose easy and sensuous musical stylings and lighter-skinned image made him acceptable to white audiences. But this didn’t stop him having a fierce screen presence and an even fiercer commitment to civil rights. He was the friend and comrade of Paul Robeson and Martin Luther King Jr – and his crossover success, incidentally, never stopped him being subject to the ugliest kind of bigotry from racists who saw his fame as a kind of infiltration.
- 4/25/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
On Tuesday, the world lost an icon in the legendary performer, civil rights activist, and humanitarian Harry Belafonte. The Emmy, Grammy, and Tony winner passed away at the age of 96. After starting his career in his native New York City as a jazz singer in the late 1940s and early ’50s, often backed by the likes of Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and Max Roach, he released his first hit song “Matilda” in 1953. Then, a year later, he won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for “John Murray Anderson’s Almanac.” His first album “Calypso” was released in 1956 and brought unquestionably the most enduring song of his career, “Day-o (The Banana Boat Song).”
Belafonte went on to regularly perform with the Rat Pack in Las Vegas throughout the years while also transitioning to the screen. During the 1950s, he starred in such films as “Carmen Jones,” “Island in the Sun,...
Belafonte went on to regularly perform with the Rat Pack in Las Vegas throughout the years while also transitioning to the screen. During the 1950s, he starred in such films as “Carmen Jones,” “Island in the Sun,...
- 4/25/2023
- by Matt Tamanini
- The Streamable
Harry Belafonte, a beloved Hollywood star, iconic singer, and prominent civil rights activist, died on Tuesday at his home in Manhattan's Upper West Side, The New York Times reported. He was 96 years old. That outlet noted that Belafonte's longtime spokesperson Ken Sunshine confirmed the actor died of congestive heart failure.
Belafonte rose to astronomical heights in the 20th century as one of the most renowned entertainers of his time, who blazed trails for other Black performers alongside icons like his late friend Sidney Poitier. The actor became known as one of the first Black leading men in Hollywood, starring in iconic films like 1954's "Carmen Jones," as well as many TV variety specials. Belafonte also forayed into film production with features like "The World, the Flesh and the Devil" and heist picture "Odds Against Tomorrow," both from 1959.
According to Variety, Belafonte then stepped back from the big screen for...
Belafonte rose to astronomical heights in the 20th century as one of the most renowned entertainers of his time, who blazed trails for other Black performers alongside icons like his late friend Sidney Poitier. The actor became known as one of the first Black leading men in Hollywood, starring in iconic films like 1954's "Carmen Jones," as well as many TV variety specials. Belafonte also forayed into film production with features like "The World, the Flesh and the Devil" and heist picture "Odds Against Tomorrow," both from 1959.
According to Variety, Belafonte then stepped back from the big screen for...
- 4/25/2023
- by Njera Perkins
- Popsugar.com
Harry Belafonte, the civil rights and entertainment giant who began as a groundbreaking actor and singer and became an activist, humanitarian and conscience of the world, has passed away. He was 96.
Belafonte passed away Tuesday due to congestive heart failure at his New York home, his wife Pamela by his side, said Paula M. Witt, of public relations firm Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis.
With his glowing, handsome face and silky-husky voice, Belafonte was one of the first Black performers to gain a wide following on film and to sell a million records as a singer; many still know him for his signature hit “Banana Boat Song (Day-o),” and its call of “Day-o! Daaaaay-o.” But he forged a greater legacy once he scaled back his performing career in the 1960s and lived out his hero Paul Robeson’s decree that artists are “gatekeepers of truth.”
He stands as the model and...
Belafonte passed away Tuesday due to congestive heart failure at his New York home, his wife Pamela by his side, said Paula M. Witt, of public relations firm Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis.
With his glowing, handsome face and silky-husky voice, Belafonte was one of the first Black performers to gain a wide following on film and to sell a million records as a singer; many still know him for his signature hit “Banana Boat Song (Day-o),” and its call of “Day-o! Daaaaay-o.” But he forged a greater legacy once he scaled back his performing career in the 1960s and lived out his hero Paul Robeson’s decree that artists are “gatekeepers of truth.”
He stands as the model and...
- 4/25/2023
- by Divya Goyal
- ET Canada
Iconic actor, musician, and lifelong activist Harry Belafonte has died at the age of 96. The cause, per his longtime spokesman Ken Sunshine, was congestive heart failure.
Belafonte’s singing shaped a musical consciousness for generations of Americans, from traditional folk music and spirituals to Caribbean calypso and protest songs. His acting in films such as “Carmen Jones” and “Odds Against Tomorrow” won praise and helped pave the way for Black performers who would follow. And his activism took him to the front lines of the civil rights movement, where he marched with Martin Luther King Jr., lobbied for the release of an imprisoned Nelson Mandela, and joined other stars to raise money for famine relief on the African continent. Realizing from an early age the power of celebrity to advance social change, Belafonte was among the rare few to have been equally entrenched in the worlds of entertainment and politics with genuine results to spare.
Belafonte’s singing shaped a musical consciousness for generations of Americans, from traditional folk music and spirituals to Caribbean calypso and protest songs. His acting in films such as “Carmen Jones” and “Odds Against Tomorrow” won praise and helped pave the way for Black performers who would follow. And his activism took him to the front lines of the civil rights movement, where he marched with Martin Luther King Jr., lobbied for the release of an imprisoned Nelson Mandela, and joined other stars to raise money for famine relief on the African continent. Realizing from an early age the power of celebrity to advance social change, Belafonte was among the rare few to have been equally entrenched in the worlds of entertainment and politics with genuine results to spare.
- 4/25/2023
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
Singer, actor, producer and activist Harry Belafonte, who spawned a calypso craze in the U.S. with his music and blazed new trails for African-American performers, has died of congestive heart failure at his Manhattan home. He was 96.
An award-winning Broadway performer and a versatile recording and concert star of the ’50s, the lithe, handsome Belafonte became one of the first black leading men in Hollywood. He later branched into production work on theatrical films and telepics.
As his career stretched into the new millennium, his commitment to social causes never took a back seat to his professional work.
An intimate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he was an important voice in the ’60s civil rights movement, and he later embarked on charitable activities on behalf of underdeveloped African nations. He was an outspoken opponent of South Africa’s apartheid policies.
Belafonte was set to receive the Motion Picture...
An award-winning Broadway performer and a versatile recording and concert star of the ’50s, the lithe, handsome Belafonte became one of the first black leading men in Hollywood. He later branched into production work on theatrical films and telepics.
As his career stretched into the new millennium, his commitment to social causes never took a back seat to his professional work.
An intimate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he was an important voice in the ’60s civil rights movement, and he later embarked on charitable activities on behalf of underdeveloped African nations. He was an outspoken opponent of South Africa’s apartheid policies.
Belafonte was set to receive the Motion Picture...
- 4/25/2023
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Harry Belafonte, the pioneering Calypso singer, actor, and civil rights leader, has died at the age of 96.
According to The New York Times, Belafonte passed away on Tuesday from congestive heart failure.
Born on March 1st, 1927 in Harlem, New York to Jamaican-American parents, Harold Bellanfanti, Jr. served in the Navy in World War II before becoming enamored with the stage while attending shows at the American Negro Theater with close friend Sidney Poitier. Eventually, he began performing at the venue after taking acting classes at The New School and won a Tony Award for the 1953 musical revue John Murray Anderson’s Almanac.
Belafonte began his musical career performing in nightclubs as a way to afford his acting classes. In 1953, he signed a recording contract with RCA Victor and released his debut single, “Matilda,” ahead of his breakthrough album Calypso. The 1956 LP topped the Billboard album chart for 31 weeks and spawned...
According to The New York Times, Belafonte passed away on Tuesday from congestive heart failure.
Born on March 1st, 1927 in Harlem, New York to Jamaican-American parents, Harold Bellanfanti, Jr. served in the Navy in World War II before becoming enamored with the stage while attending shows at the American Negro Theater with close friend Sidney Poitier. Eventually, he began performing at the venue after taking acting classes at The New School and won a Tony Award for the 1953 musical revue John Murray Anderson’s Almanac.
Belafonte began his musical career performing in nightclubs as a way to afford his acting classes. In 1953, he signed a recording contract with RCA Victor and released his debut single, “Matilda,” ahead of his breakthrough album Calypso. The 1956 LP topped the Billboard album chart for 31 weeks and spawned...
- 4/25/2023
- by Eddie Fu
- Consequence - Music
The legendary RZA joins hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante to discuss a few of his favorite movies.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
The Man With The Iron Fists (2012)
Cut Throat City (2020)
Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003)
Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004)
Cooley High (1975) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary
Car Wash (1976) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary
Grease (1978)
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
Gremlins (1984) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review, Tfh’s Mogwai Madness
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020) – Dennis Cozzalio’s best of 2020
The Devil You Know (2022)
The Last American Virgin (1982)
The Beastmaster (1982)
Porky’s (1981)
Sixteen Candles (1984)
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982) – Karyn Kusama’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
There Will Be Blood (2007)
Carmen Jones (1954)
An American In Paris (1951)
Singin’ In The Rain (1952) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
The Wizard Of Oz (1939) – John Badham’s trailer commentary
Is That Black Enough for You?!?...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
The Man With The Iron Fists (2012)
Cut Throat City (2020)
Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003)
Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004)
Cooley High (1975) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary
Car Wash (1976) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary
Grease (1978)
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
Gremlins (1984) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review, Tfh’s Mogwai Madness
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020) – Dennis Cozzalio’s best of 2020
The Devil You Know (2022)
The Last American Virgin (1982)
The Beastmaster (1982)
Porky’s (1981)
Sixteen Candles (1984)
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982) – Karyn Kusama’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
There Will Be Blood (2007)
Carmen Jones (1954)
An American In Paris (1951)
Singin’ In The Rain (1952) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
The Wizard Of Oz (1939) – John Badham’s trailer commentary
Is That Black Enough for You?!?...
- 2/14/2023
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Turner Classic Movies, TCM for short, today announced that the fourth annual Robert Osborne Award will be given to Donald Bogle. Bogle, considered to be among the foremost authorities on African Americans in Hollywood, will receive the award at the 2023 TCM Classic Film Festival prior to a screening of “Carmen Jones.” That 1954 feature first ignited Bogle’s interest in Black artists in the movies.
The award, recognizing an individual who has helped keep the cultural heritage of classic film alive for future generations, has been previously awarded to director Martin Scorsese, film preservationist Kevin Brownlow and film author and historian Leonard Maltin.
Bogle is a pioneer in the study of Black artists working in cinema. He is also an award-winning author, having written nine books, including (but not limited to) “Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies” and “Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films. The latter will this year celebrate its 50th anniversary.
The award, recognizing an individual who has helped keep the cultural heritage of classic film alive for future generations, has been previously awarded to director Martin Scorsese, film preservationist Kevin Brownlow and film author and historian Leonard Maltin.
Bogle is a pioneer in the study of Black artists working in cinema. He is also an award-winning author, having written nine books, including (but not limited to) “Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies” and “Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films. The latter will this year celebrate its 50th anniversary.
- 2/8/2023
- by Scott Mendelson
- The Wrap
Click here to read the full article.
Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’ second major temporary exhibition, opening Aug. 21, is a nuanced exploration of the ways in which Black filmmakers and performers have impacted, defined and expanded American movies. The exhibition (which was five years in the making) takes a comprehensive look at film history and Black visual culture more broadly, highlighting notable items like original costumes worn by Lena Horne in Stormy Weather (1943) and Sammy Davis Jr. in Porgy and Bess (1959), tap dance shoes from the Nicholas Brothers and one of Louis Armstrong’s trumpets.
The beginning of the show, 1898, marks the creation of “the first known moving image footage of African American performers onscreen, [seen] in a dignified way,” says Doris Berger, co-curator and vp curatorial affairs at the Academy Museum. The show concludes with material from 1971, the dawn of the Blaxploitation subgenre, acknowledging the...
Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’ second major temporary exhibition, opening Aug. 21, is a nuanced exploration of the ways in which Black filmmakers and performers have impacted, defined and expanded American movies. The exhibition (which was five years in the making) takes a comprehensive look at film history and Black visual culture more broadly, highlighting notable items like original costumes worn by Lena Horne in Stormy Weather (1943) and Sammy Davis Jr. in Porgy and Bess (1959), tap dance shoes from the Nicholas Brothers and one of Louis Armstrong’s trumpets.
The beginning of the show, 1898, marks the creation of “the first known moving image footage of African American performers onscreen, [seen] in a dignified way,” says Doris Berger, co-curator and vp curatorial affairs at the Academy Museum. The show concludes with material from 1971, the dawn of the Blaxploitation subgenre, acknowledging the...
- 8/21/2022
- by Evan Nicole Brown
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Academy Museum’s Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971 is not to be missed. Not only does the exhibition celebrate Black representation in film, it serves as an important reminder and lesson about the contributions of Black filmmakers and stars to the world of cinema.
Opening Aug. 21, seven galleries make up the exhibit exploring Oscar Micheaux’s low-budget dramas in the silent-film era to the works of Melvin Van Peebles.
The exhibition also introduces audiences to stars largely unknown to mainstream moviegoers — Ralph Cooper, Clarence Brooks and Francine Everett — alongside iconic screen legends Paul Robeson, Josephine Baker, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier and Lena Horne.
Poiter’s Oscar for “Lillies of the Field” is just one of the many artifacts on display in this historic exhibition. Alongside the award are tap shoes worn by the Nicholas Brothers and one of Louis Armstrong’s trumpets.
Cowboy Boots worn by Herb Jeffries in 1937’s...
Opening Aug. 21, seven galleries make up the exhibit exploring Oscar Micheaux’s low-budget dramas in the silent-film era to the works of Melvin Van Peebles.
The exhibition also introduces audiences to stars largely unknown to mainstream moviegoers — Ralph Cooper, Clarence Brooks and Francine Everett — alongside iconic screen legends Paul Robeson, Josephine Baker, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier and Lena Horne.
Poiter’s Oscar for “Lillies of the Field” is just one of the many artifacts on display in this historic exhibition. Alongside the award are tap shoes worn by the Nicholas Brothers and one of Louis Armstrong’s trumpets.
Cowboy Boots worn by Herb Jeffries in 1937’s...
- 8/19/2022
- by Jazz Tangcay and Michaela Zee
- Variety Film + TV
Nichelle Nichols, who broke down barriers with her portrayal of translator and communications officer Lt. Nyota Uhura in the original Star Trek TV series and later in its film franchise, died Saturday night in Silver City, N.M. She was 89 years old.
Nichols’ death was confirmed by Gilbert Bell, her talent manager and business partner of 15 years.
A popular part of the principal players on Star Trek, Nichols shared one of the first interracial kisses in television history with costar William Shatner.
Nichols also played Lt. Uhura by voicing her on “Star Trek: The Animated Series,” and appeared in the first six “Star Trek” films. She became a lieutenant commander in “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” and then a full commander in “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.” Throughout, she was a powerful symbol for African Americans and a fan favorite in the various projects.
NASA later employed Nichols...
Nichols’ death was confirmed by Gilbert Bell, her talent manager and business partner of 15 years.
A popular part of the principal players on Star Trek, Nichols shared one of the first interracial kisses in television history with costar William Shatner.
Nichols also played Lt. Uhura by voicing her on “Star Trek: The Animated Series,” and appeared in the first six “Star Trek” films. She became a lieutenant commander in “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” and then a full commander in “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.” Throughout, she was a powerful symbol for African Americans and a fan favorite in the various projects.
NASA later employed Nichols...
- 7/31/2022
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Nichelle Nichols, who portrayed communications officer Uhura on the original “Star Trek” series, died Saturday night in Silver City, N.M. She was 89 years old.
Nichols’ death was confirmed by Gilbert Bell, her talent manager and business partner of 15 years.
Nichols shared one of the first interracial kisses in television history on “Star Trek.” That moment, with her co-star William Shatner, was a courageous move on the part of her, “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry and NBC considering the climate at the time, but the episode “Plato’s Stepchildren,” which aired in 1968, was written to give all involved an out: Uhura and Captain Kirk did not choose to kiss but were instead made to do so involuntarily by aliens with the ability to control the movements of humans. Nevertheless, it was a landmark moment.
There had been a couple of interracial kisses on American television before. A year earlier on “Movin’ With Nancy,...
Nichols’ death was confirmed by Gilbert Bell, her talent manager and business partner of 15 years.
Nichols shared one of the first interracial kisses in television history on “Star Trek.” That moment, with her co-star William Shatner, was a courageous move on the part of her, “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry and NBC considering the climate at the time, but the episode “Plato’s Stepchildren,” which aired in 1968, was written to give all involved an out: Uhura and Captain Kirk did not choose to kiss but were instead made to do so involuntarily by aliens with the ability to control the movements of humans. Nevertheless, it was a landmark moment.
There had been a couple of interracial kisses on American television before. A year earlier on “Movin’ With Nancy,...
- 7/31/2022
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Producer Sam Okun and his Sam Okun Productions banner have optioned worldwide film and TV remake and sequel rights to a pair of classic films directed and produced by three-time Oscar nominee Otto Preminger: 1959’s Anatomy of a Murder and 1962’s Advise & Consent.
The former courtroom drama based on Michigan Supreme Court Justice John D. Voelker’s novel watched as an upstate Michigan lawyer defended a soldier who claimed he killed an innkeeper due to temporary insanity after the victim raped his wife. The drama starring James Stewart, Lee Remick and Ben Gazzara landed seven Academy Award nominations upon its release, including Best Picture, Screenplay and Actor.
Advise & Consent was a political thriller based on Allen Drury’s 1959 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, in which the polarizing search for a new Secretary of State had far-reaching consequences. Henry Fonda, Charles Laughton, Don Murray, Walter Pidgeon, Peter Lawford,...
The former courtroom drama based on Michigan Supreme Court Justice John D. Voelker’s novel watched as an upstate Michigan lawyer defended a soldier who claimed he killed an innkeeper due to temporary insanity after the victim raped his wife. The drama starring James Stewart, Lee Remick and Ben Gazzara landed seven Academy Award nominations upon its release, including Best Picture, Screenplay and Actor.
Advise & Consent was a political thriller based on Allen Drury’s 1959 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, in which the polarizing search for a new Secretary of State had far-reaching consequences. Henry Fonda, Charles Laughton, Don Murray, Walter Pidgeon, Peter Lawford,...
- 3/21/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman (Rain Man), Emmy nominee Sam Neill (Jurassic Park), BAFTA winner Eileen Atkins (The Crown), BAFTA winner Derek Jacobi (Gladiator), IFTA nominee Aidan Turner (The Hobbit), Endeavour star Roger Allam and Pitch Perfect star Brittany Snow are set to lead cast in feature comedy Mr. Shaw Goes To Hollywood, which is being launched for the TIFF market.
Set in 1933, the movie will chart how celebrated playwright, George Bernard Shaw (Jacobi), visited Hollywood with his formidable wife, Charlotte (Atkins). The idea of turning Shaw’s most successful play, Pygmalion, into a film was a hot topic of conversation as the great and the good of Hollywood vied for his attention, desperate to be part of the next big motion picture. How would the Irish-born writer and social reformer rub along with the Hollywood elite and, perhaps more importantly, did he have any intention of selling the rights...
Set in 1933, the movie will chart how celebrated playwright, George Bernard Shaw (Jacobi), visited Hollywood with his formidable wife, Charlotte (Atkins). The idea of turning Shaw’s most successful play, Pygmalion, into a film was a hot topic of conversation as the great and the good of Hollywood vied for his attention, desperate to be part of the next big motion picture. How would the Irish-born writer and social reformer rub along with the Hollywood elite and, perhaps more importantly, did he have any intention of selling the rights...
- 9/8/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Now that’s how you get away with making history. After earning her fourth career nomination in Best Actress for Netflix’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” on Monday morning, Viola Davis is now the most nominated Black actress in Oscar history.
Up until now, Davis had shared that title with Octavia Spencer, who triumphed for “The Help” (2011) in Best Supporting Actress and received two additional noms in that same category for “Hidden Figures” (2016) and “The Shape of Water” (2017). The only other Black actress to have bagged more than one acting bid is Whoopi Goldberg, who was shortlisted for her lead performance in “The Color Purple” (1985) and won for her supporting role in “Ghost” (1990).
This is the second time Davis has earned a bid with a film adaptation of an August Wilson play, having triumphed for the 2016 adaptation of the playwright’s “Fences” in Best Supporting Actress. She earned her other...
Up until now, Davis had shared that title with Octavia Spencer, who triumphed for “The Help” (2011) in Best Supporting Actress and received two additional noms in that same category for “Hidden Figures” (2016) and “The Shape of Water” (2017). The only other Black actress to have bagged more than one acting bid is Whoopi Goldberg, who was shortlisted for her lead performance in “The Color Purple” (1985) and won for her supporting role in “Ghost” (1990).
This is the second time Davis has earned a bid with a film adaptation of an August Wilson play, having triumphed for the 2016 adaptation of the playwright’s “Fences” in Best Supporting Actress. She earned her other...
- 3/15/2021
- by Luca Giliberti
- Gold Derby
Writer, producer, director Lee Daniels discusses some of his favorite films with Josh & Joe.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Infested (2002)
Shadowboxer (2005)
The United States Vs. Billie Holiday (2021)
A Star Is Born (1937)
Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013)
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
Lady Sings The Blues (1972)
Island In The Sun (1957)
Carmen Jones (1954)
Claudine (1974)
Mandingo (1975)
Drum (1976)
Caligula (1979)
Gloria (1980)
The Exorcist (1973)
Abby (1974)
Blacula (1972)
Scream Blacula Scream (1973)
Cabaret (1972)
Lenny (1974)
Sounder (1972)
All That Jazz (1979)
I Am A Camera (1955)
Travels With My Aunt (1972)
The Emigrants (1971)
Star 80 (1983)
Harold And Maude (1971)
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather Part II (1974)
Pickup On South Street (1953)
In The Mood For Love (2000)
Leave Her To Heaven (1945)
Laura (1944)
Dragonwyck (1946)
The Baron of Arizona (1950)
His Kind of Woman (1951)
Explorers (1985)
Innerspace (1987)
Jack Reacher (2012)
Them (1954)
Revenge of the Creature (1955)
Tarantula! (1955)
Coogan’s Bluff (1968)
Going In Style (1979)
Going In Style (2017)
Judas And The Black Messiah (2021)
Stroszek (1977)
Fitzcarraldo (1982)
Land of Silence and Darkness (1971)
Cave Of Forgotten Dreams...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Infested (2002)
Shadowboxer (2005)
The United States Vs. Billie Holiday (2021)
A Star Is Born (1937)
Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013)
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
Lady Sings The Blues (1972)
Island In The Sun (1957)
Carmen Jones (1954)
Claudine (1974)
Mandingo (1975)
Drum (1976)
Caligula (1979)
Gloria (1980)
The Exorcist (1973)
Abby (1974)
Blacula (1972)
Scream Blacula Scream (1973)
Cabaret (1972)
Lenny (1974)
Sounder (1972)
All That Jazz (1979)
I Am A Camera (1955)
Travels With My Aunt (1972)
The Emigrants (1971)
Star 80 (1983)
Harold And Maude (1971)
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather Part II (1974)
Pickup On South Street (1953)
In The Mood For Love (2000)
Leave Her To Heaven (1945)
Laura (1944)
Dragonwyck (1946)
The Baron of Arizona (1950)
His Kind of Woman (1951)
Explorers (1985)
Innerspace (1987)
Jack Reacher (2012)
Them (1954)
Revenge of the Creature (1955)
Tarantula! (1955)
Coogan’s Bluff (1968)
Going In Style (1979)
Going In Style (2017)
Judas And The Black Messiah (2021)
Stroszek (1977)
Fitzcarraldo (1982)
Land of Silence and Darkness (1971)
Cave Of Forgotten Dreams...
- 3/2/2021
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
7 random things that happened on this day, February 24th, in showbiz history...
Judy and Marlon seated together at the Globes; They both won that night.
1955 The 12th annual Golden Globes are held honoring 1954 cinema. On the Waterfront (Drama) and Carmen Jones (Comedy/Musical) took the Best Picture prizes. Both James Mason and Judy Garland (neither of whom ever won a competitive Oscar) of A Star is Born won Globes for their leading work in the Comedy/Musical fields but the fact that the picture lost (when it's a hundred times the film Carmen Jones is) was an ill omen of what would happen later at the Oscars... ...
Judy and Marlon seated together at the Globes; They both won that night.
1955 The 12th annual Golden Globes are held honoring 1954 cinema. On the Waterfront (Drama) and Carmen Jones (Comedy/Musical) took the Best Picture prizes. Both James Mason and Judy Garland (neither of whom ever won a competitive Oscar) of A Star is Born won Globes for their leading work in the Comedy/Musical fields but the fact that the picture lost (when it's a hundred times the film Carmen Jones is) was an ill omen of what would happen later at the Oscars... ...
- 2/24/2021
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Most moviegoers who witnessed the 2020 Sundance Film Festival premiere of “Palm Springs” probably did not expect that it would be the only traditional comedy nominated for Best Musical or Comedy at this year’s Golden Globes. After all, comedies (and dramedies) have disproportionately dominated the category for the past decade, while only eight musicals have managed to snag bids. However, the 2021 lineup turned out to be another deviation from the norm in a year full of them.
Joining “Palm Springs” is the unconventional mockumentary “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” which takes the subversiveness of its predecessor to a whole new level. The other three slots are filled by “The Prom,” a standard musical adaptation of the Broadway musical, “Hamilton,” a live stage recording of the legit hit, and “Music,” an original musical drama. The last time three musicals competed against each other for the top honor was in 2008, and it only happened six times before that.
Joining “Palm Springs” is the unconventional mockumentary “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” which takes the subversiveness of its predecessor to a whole new level. The other three slots are filled by “The Prom,” a standard musical adaptation of the Broadway musical, “Hamilton,” a live stage recording of the legit hit, and “Music,” an original musical drama. The last time three musicals competed against each other for the top honor was in 2008, and it only happened six times before that.
- 2/8/2021
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
After teaching us “How to Get Away with Murder,” Viola Davis is singing the blues as the titular character in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” a stage-to-screen adaptation of August Wilson‘s 1984 play of the same name, which starts streaming on Netflix on Dec. 18.
Written by Ruben Santiago-Hudson and directed by George C. Wolfe, “Ma Rainey’s” centers on a planned recording session in 1927 Chicago that falls behind schedule when Ma Rainey, the iconic “Mother of the Blues,” arrives late to the studio. As they await her advent, the singer’s band members engage in a lively conversation, with temperatures rising between the young hot-headed trumpeter Levee (Chadwick Boseman) and two veteran members, Cutler (Colman Domingo) and Toledo (Glynn Turman). When a fiery, fearless Ma finally enters, she clashes with her enraged white producers and uber-passionate trumpeter, who has an eye for her girlfriend.
An Emmy and a two-time Tony winner,...
Written by Ruben Santiago-Hudson and directed by George C. Wolfe, “Ma Rainey’s” centers on a planned recording session in 1927 Chicago that falls behind schedule when Ma Rainey, the iconic “Mother of the Blues,” arrives late to the studio. As they await her advent, the singer’s band members engage in a lively conversation, with temperatures rising between the young hot-headed trumpeter Levee (Chadwick Boseman) and two veteran members, Cutler (Colman Domingo) and Toledo (Glynn Turman). When a fiery, fearless Ma finally enters, she clashes with her enraged white producers and uber-passionate trumpeter, who has an eye for her girlfriend.
An Emmy and a two-time Tony winner,...
- 11/28/2020
- by Luca Giliberti
- Gold Derby
Act Like a Man is a column examining male screen performers past and present, across nationality and genre. If movie stars reflect the needs and desires of their audience in any particular era, examining their personas, popularity, fandom, and specific appeals has plenty to tell us about the way cinema has constructed—and occasionally deconstructed—manhood on our screens.Harry Belafonte has lived so many lives. He has walked among the giants of politics and culture, from Martin Luther King Jr. to John F. Kennedy to Bob Dylan, and become a respected elder of the civil rights struggle in America. His impact on American mid-century life has been so significant that it’s difficult to define him as any single thing, or to see him occupying only one role. His reputation as the "Calypso King" helped to popularize Caribbean music in the states, and his chart-topping 1956 record Calypso would be...
- 7/20/2020
- MUBI
Coming to Film Forum in New York City is “Black Women,” a 70-film screening series that spotlights 81 years – 1920 to 2001 – of trailblazing African American actresses in American movies.
Scheduled to run from January 17 to February 13, the series is curated by film historian and professor Donald Bogle, author of six books concerning blacks in film and television, including the groundbreaking “Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films” (1973).
“Last year, Bruce Goldstein, the repertory programmer at Film Forum, asked me if there was something I was interested in doing, and this was a topic that I had been thinking about, because I recently updated my book on the subject, ‘Brown Sugar,’ which dealt with African American women in entertainment from the early years of the late 19th century to the present,” said Bogle. “That’s really the way it came about, and it just developed from there.
Scheduled to run from January 17 to February 13, the series is curated by film historian and professor Donald Bogle, author of six books concerning blacks in film and television, including the groundbreaking “Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films” (1973).
“Last year, Bruce Goldstein, the repertory programmer at Film Forum, asked me if there was something I was interested in doing, and this was a topic that I had been thinking about, because I recently updated my book on the subject, ‘Brown Sugar,’ which dealt with African American women in entertainment from the early years of the late 19th century to the present,” said Bogle. “That’s really the way it came about, and it just developed from there.
- 1/17/2020
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
Carroll as the glamorous Dominique Deveraux in "Dynasty".
By Lee Pfeiffer
Actress Diahann Carroll has passed away at age 84 from breast cancer. Carroll was the consummate performer, making her mark on stage, in recordings and In television and feature films. The Bronx native had a modest start in life before winning a television talent contest that ultimately led her to being cast in director Otto Preminger's film "Carmen Jones" in 1954. The mercurial Preminger was pleased with her work and cast her again in his 1959 big screen production of "Porgy and Bess", though Carroll's singing voice was dubbed in the film, an ironic decision considering she was known for her ability to impress audiences with her crooning. Carroll caught the attention of legendary composer Richard Rodgers, who wrote the Broadway production "No Strings" for her. The 1962 production saw Carroll winning a Tony award.
Carroll with Marc Copage in the landmark...
By Lee Pfeiffer
Actress Diahann Carroll has passed away at age 84 from breast cancer. Carroll was the consummate performer, making her mark on stage, in recordings and In television and feature films. The Bronx native had a modest start in life before winning a television talent contest that ultimately led her to being cast in director Otto Preminger's film "Carmen Jones" in 1954. The mercurial Preminger was pleased with her work and cast her again in his 1959 big screen production of "Porgy and Bess", though Carroll's singing voice was dubbed in the film, an ironic decision considering she was known for her ability to impress audiences with her crooning. Carroll caught the attention of legendary composer Richard Rodgers, who wrote the Broadway production "No Strings" for her. The 1962 production saw Carroll winning a Tony award.
Carroll with Marc Copage in the landmark...
- 10/5/2019
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Another legend has left us. Diahann Carroll has passed away at 84 years of age. She was a major pioneer for black actresses in Hollywood, emerging just as things were beginning to happen (a little bit) for actors of color in Hollywood. She made her debut in the historic Carmen Jones (1954) starring Dorothy Dandridge, who then became the first black woman nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress. Then in 1962 Diahann Carroll achieved a "first" herself, becoming the first black woman to win a Tony for Best Actress in a Musical with No Strings. By 1968 she was also a TV star headlining a sitcom for three seasons when black stars didn't do that (1968's Julia) and winning a Golden Globe in the role.
More after the jump including lots of gorgeous photos...
More after the jump including lots of gorgeous photos...
- 10/4/2019
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Diahann Carroll, the groundbreaking actress who starred in Dynasty and Julia, has died at age 84. She was one of the first black actresses to have a major role on television.
Carroll’s daughter Suzanne Kay confirmed that her mother died at home in Los Angeles following a long battle with cancer, Variety reports.
“Diahann Carroll walked this earth for 84 years and broke ground with every footstep. An icon. One of the all-time greats,” filmmaker Ava DuVernay tweeted. “She blazed trails through dense forests and elegantly left diamonds along the path...
Carroll’s daughter Suzanne Kay confirmed that her mother died at home in Los Angeles following a long battle with cancer, Variety reports.
“Diahann Carroll walked this earth for 84 years and broke ground with every footstep. An icon. One of the all-time greats,” filmmaker Ava DuVernay tweeted. “She blazed trails through dense forests and elegantly left diamonds along the path...
- 10/4/2019
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Diahann Carroll, TV’s history-making star of NBC’s 1960s sitcom Julia and Broadway’s first black Tony Award-winner in a leading role for the 1962 musical No Strings, died today of cancer. The Dynasty star was 84.
“My personal world has taken a downward spiral,” said singer and friend Dionne Warwick in a statement. “Losing my dear friend and Mentor comes as a true hurt to my heart!! I know I’ll miss her as I’m certain all that knew her will. Rest In Peace my dear friend.”
Carroll’s death was announced by her daughter, Suzanne Kay.
Already a popular stage and nightclub performer when she signed on to star in Julia, Carroll is credited with being the first African-American actress to lead a primetime series in a non-stereotypical role, and the first overall since Beulah, the 1950s sitcom about a maid.
Julia became an immediate hit when it...
“My personal world has taken a downward spiral,” said singer and friend Dionne Warwick in a statement. “Losing my dear friend and Mentor comes as a true hurt to my heart!! I know I’ll miss her as I’m certain all that knew her will. Rest In Peace my dear friend.”
Carroll’s death was announced by her daughter, Suzanne Kay.
Already a popular stage and nightclub performer when she signed on to star in Julia, Carroll is credited with being the first African-American actress to lead a primetime series in a non-stereotypical role, and the first overall since Beulah, the 1950s sitcom about a maid.
Julia became an immediate hit when it...
- 10/4/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Singer and Tony-winning, Oscar-nominated actress Diahann Carroll, the first African American woman to star in her own TV series, has died at at her home in Los Angeles after a long bout with cancer. She was 84.
Her daughter, Suzanne Kay, confirmed the news.
Carroll is perhaps best remembered by younger audiences for her role as the conniving Dominique Deveraux on the nighttime soap “Dynasty” in the mid-’80s. But her first major television assignment was starring as the middle-class single mother Julia in a 1968 sitcom that was praised for featuring an African American in the title role — as much as it was criticized for ignoring the civil rights struggle. The series, which ran for three years, was a trailblazer in leading to greater visibility for African American characters on series television.
The actress characterized by svelte cosmopolitan sophistication had come to television via the musical theater. In the early 1960s...
Her daughter, Suzanne Kay, confirmed the news.
Carroll is perhaps best remembered by younger audiences for her role as the conniving Dominique Deveraux on the nighttime soap “Dynasty” in the mid-’80s. But her first major television assignment was starring as the middle-class single mother Julia in a 1968 sitcom that was praised for featuring an African American in the title role — as much as it was criticized for ignoring the civil rights struggle. The series, which ran for three years, was a trailblazer in leading to greater visibility for African American characters on series television.
The actress characterized by svelte cosmopolitan sophistication had come to television via the musical theater. In the early 1960s...
- 10/4/2019
- by Richard Natale
- Variety Film + TV
On August 14, 2019, Halle Berry will celebrate her 53rd birthday. It has been a long and interesting journey for the actress who has seen her career go from being first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant to making history as the first and only (to date) black women to win an Oscar for Best Actress.
After her beauty contestant run, Berry would then go on an acting career with a string of roles on television in somewhat forgettable roles. Her big break would come in Spike Lee‘s film “Jungle Fever” which offered her a juicy supporting role and got her noticed by filmmakers.
SEESpike Lee movies: 15 greatest films ranked from worst to best
Berry seemingly almost ended her career before it really got started when she made the mistake of passing up the lead role in the movie “Speed” that made Sandra Bullock into a star. She bounced back though...
After her beauty contestant run, Berry would then go on an acting career with a string of roles on television in somewhat forgettable roles. Her big break would come in Spike Lee‘s film “Jungle Fever” which offered her a juicy supporting role and got her noticed by filmmakers.
SEESpike Lee movies: 15 greatest films ranked from worst to best
Berry seemingly almost ended her career before it really got started when she made the mistake of passing up the lead role in the movie “Speed” that made Sandra Bullock into a star. She bounced back though...
- 8/14/2019
- by Robert Pius and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Nearly two decades after he helped bring back the movie musical with Best Picture Oscar winner “Chicago,” director Rob Marshall has made Hollywood history again. By casting 19-year-old singer Halle Bailey as Ariel in his upcoming remake of the 1989 animated film “The Little Mermaid,” he’s about to give the big-screen its first black live-action Disney princess.
What took Hollywood’s casting agents so long to appreciate what’s always been right in front of them? We’ve seen one animated black Disney princess before, but Tiana in 2009’s “The Princess and the Frog” came only after other princesses of color — Chinese Mulan, Native American Pocahontas, and “Aladdin” Arabic heroine Jasmine — made their debuts.
Although black women have been a vital part of the American fabric since the first Independence Day, they continue to be far too under-represented and misrepresented on screen. For years, they were relegated to thankless maid and mammy roles,...
What took Hollywood’s casting agents so long to appreciate what’s always been right in front of them? We’ve seen one animated black Disney princess before, but Tiana in 2009’s “The Princess and the Frog” came only after other princesses of color — Chinese Mulan, Native American Pocahontas, and “Aladdin” Arabic heroine Jasmine — made their debuts.
Although black women have been a vital part of the American fabric since the first Independence Day, they continue to be far too under-represented and misrepresented on screen. For years, they were relegated to thankless maid and mammy roles,...
- 7/10/2019
- by Jeremy Helligar
- The Wrap
The Off-Broadway League announced nominations for the 34th Annual Lucille Lortel Awards on April 3rd. As the first nominations announcement of the theatre awards season, several Tony Award hopefuls got an early boost thanks to their previous Off-Broadway incarnations. It’s common for Broadway shows to begin their New York life Off-Broadway before transferring to the Great White Way. Several of this season’s high profile productions followed this trend.
Of the Broadway transfers, “Be More Chill” performed the best with the Lortels. The teen sci-fi musical netted four nominations: Outstanding Musical, Featured Actor in a Musical (George Salazar), Featured Actress in a Musical (Stephanie Hsu), and Projection Design.
This is great news for the hit show. It has a cult teen following, but is narrowly holding onto fourth place in Gold Derby’s combined Tony odds for Best Musical. At the Lortel Awards, “Be More Chill” will have...
Of the Broadway transfers, “Be More Chill” performed the best with the Lortels. The teen sci-fi musical netted four nominations: Outstanding Musical, Featured Actor in a Musical (George Salazar), Featured Actress in a Musical (Stephanie Hsu), and Projection Design.
This is great news for the hit show. It has a cult teen following, but is narrowly holding onto fourth place in Gold Derby’s combined Tony odds for Best Musical. At the Lortel Awards, “Be More Chill” will have...
- 4/3/2019
- by Sam Eckmann
- Gold Derby
Exclusive: Bunny Lake is no longer missing. A remake of the 1965 crime thriller Bunny Lake is Missing, is in the early development stages under Sony’s Screen Gem label. The original was directed and produced by Otto Preminger and starred Laurence Olivier, Carol Lynley, and Keir Dullea.
Based on the novel of the same name by Merriam Modell, the gripping story follows a mother who comes to pick up her daughter Bunny from school only to find her missing. She and her brother begin looking for the child and eventually call the police. When the police start investigating, they can’t find any evidence of a child ever living at the home and learn that Bunny was the name of the mother’s imaginary childhood friend. It’s not clear whether the mother is crazy or she is being set up by someone who is glasslighting her.
The new twist...
Based on the novel of the same name by Merriam Modell, the gripping story follows a mother who comes to pick up her daughter Bunny from school only to find her missing. She and her brother begin looking for the child and eventually call the police. When the police start investigating, they can’t find any evidence of a child ever living at the home and learn that Bunny was the name of the mother’s imaginary childhood friend. It’s not clear whether the mother is crazy or she is being set up by someone who is glasslighting her.
The new twist...
- 2/20/2019
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
Over the decades, the presenters and performers on the Academy Awards have become more diverse. And this year is no exception with Awkwafina, Whoopi Goldberg, Maya Rudolph, Amandla Stenberg, Tessa Thompson and Constance Wu already announced as presenting on the 91st annual Oscars, as well as Jennifer Hudson performing the Oscar-nominated tune “I’ll Fight” from “Rbg.”
But it was a long time coming. Let’s look back at the milestone first appearances of minority performers and presenters at Hollywood’s biggest night.
Though he was not a presenter per se, New Jersey native Cesar Romero of Cuban and Spanish heritage was featured with several writer/directors including Robert Riskin and John Huston who reminisced about their experiences in World War II at the 18th annual Academy Awards in 1946.
Puerto Rican-born Jose Ferrer, who earned a supporting actor nomination for 1948’s “Joan of Arc” appeared on the March 23, 1950 ceremony from...
But it was a long time coming. Let’s look back at the milestone first appearances of minority performers and presenters at Hollywood’s biggest night.
Though he was not a presenter per se, New Jersey native Cesar Romero of Cuban and Spanish heritage was featured with several writer/directors including Robert Riskin and John Huston who reminisced about their experiences in World War II at the 18th annual Academy Awards in 1946.
Puerto Rican-born Jose Ferrer, who earned a supporting actor nomination for 1948’s “Joan of Arc” appeared on the March 23, 1950 ceremony from...
- 2/11/2019
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Lady Gaga has leaped into the lead in our combined Gold Derby odds for Best Actress at the Oscars. Her first on-screen feature film role in “A Star Is Born” has 19/5 top odds over more traditional actresses Glenn Close (“The Wife”), Olivia Colman (“The Favourite”), Melissa McCarthy (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”) and Viola Davis (“Widows”). But a win by a music star in an acting category wouldn’t be a first at the Academy Awards.
Two of the all-time greats took home Oscar gold decades ago. Frank Sinatra managed to parlay his huge success as a singer to a pretty solid film career. The results included an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for “From Here to Eternity” in 1953 and a second nomination for “The Man with the Golden Arm” in 1955 as Best Actor.
SEEOscar Best Actor Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History
A few years earlier, crooner Bing...
Two of the all-time greats took home Oscar gold decades ago. Frank Sinatra managed to parlay his huge success as a singer to a pretty solid film career. The results included an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for “From Here to Eternity” in 1953 and a second nomination for “The Man with the Golden Arm” in 1955 as Best Actor.
SEEOscar Best Actor Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History
A few years earlier, crooner Bing...
- 10/24/2018
- by Robert Pius and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
When Hollywood discusses diversity and inclusion, the focus naturally tends to be on the future — diversifying writers’ rooms and executive suites; tackling pay inequality; erasing the many long-held myths about box office performance and films with people of color. But there’s an all-too-important counterpart to that discussion: How to address Hollywood’s past, and reevaluate the film canon, in a way that takes into account perspectives from outside of the white establishment that has typically served as gatekeeper for which films are considered classics.
That was part of the motivation for the African-American Film Critics Assn.’s partnership with Turner Classic Movies, “The Black Experience on Film,” which launched this week. For the next month, an Aafca-curated program of 32 films, stretching from the 1920s to the early 1990s, will screen on the network, presented and contextualized by a pair of Aafca members each night. Organized by theme, the offerings...
That was part of the motivation for the African-American Film Critics Assn.’s partnership with Turner Classic Movies, “The Black Experience on Film,” which launched this week. For the next month, an Aafca-curated program of 32 films, stretching from the 1920s to the early 1990s, will screen on the network, presented and contextualized by a pair of Aafca members each night. Organized by theme, the offerings...
- 9/7/2018
- by Andrew Barker
- Variety Film + TV
Turner Classic Movies and the African American Film Critics Association have partnered on The Black Experience on Film, a monthlong programming initiative showcasing portrayals of African-Americans throughout cinematic history.
Hosted by 13 different members of the Aafca from print, online and broadcast outlets, programming begins September 4 and continues every Tuesday and Thursday in primetime.
The Black Experience on Film provides a wide-ranging retrospective from the 1920s through the 1990s including:
Exploring Black Identity airing Sept. 4 – Aafca president Gil Robertson and cultural critic Ronda Racha Penrice explore films ranging from Oscar Micheaux’s look at racial violence in Within Our Gates (1920) to Julie Dash’s 1991 story following three generations of Gullah women in Daughters Of The Dust; Hollywood Confronts Racism airing Sept. 6 – Aafca co-founder and film critic Shawn Edwards and HipHollywood.com’s Jasmine Simpkins examine A Raisin in the Sun (1961), about a black Chicago family searching for a better life, and...
Hosted by 13 different members of the Aafca from print, online and broadcast outlets, programming begins September 4 and continues every Tuesday and Thursday in primetime.
The Black Experience on Film provides a wide-ranging retrospective from the 1920s through the 1990s including:
Exploring Black Identity airing Sept. 4 – Aafca president Gil Robertson and cultural critic Ronda Racha Penrice explore films ranging from Oscar Micheaux’s look at racial violence in Within Our Gates (1920) to Julie Dash’s 1991 story following three generations of Gullah women in Daughters Of The Dust; Hollywood Confronts Racism airing Sept. 6 – Aafca co-founder and film critic Shawn Edwards and HipHollywood.com’s Jasmine Simpkins examine A Raisin in the Sun (1961), about a black Chicago family searching for a better life, and...
- 8/23/2018
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Classic Stage Company's new production of the musical Carmen Jones featuring Tony Award winner Anika Noni Rose, which began performances Saturday, June 9 at Csc 136 East 13th Street, will have its official opening is Wednesday, June 27. Directed by Csc's Tony Award-winning Artistic Director John Doyle and choreographed by Tony Award winner Bill T. Jones, Carmen Jones features book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and music by Georges Bizet.
- 6/20/2018
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Mubi's retrospective For Ever Godard is showing from November 12, 2017 - January 16, 2018 in the United States.Jean-Luc Godard is a difficult filmmaker to pin down because while his thematic concerns as an artist have remained more or less consistent over the last seven decades, his form is ever-shifting. His filmography is impossible to view in a vacuum, as his work strives to reflect on the constantly evolving cinema culture that surrounds it: Godard always works with the newest filmmaking technologies available, and his films have become increasingly abstracted and opaque as the wider culture of moving images has become increasingly fragmented. Rather than working to maintain an illusion of diegetic truth, Godard’s work as always foreground its status as a manufactured product—of technology, of an industry, of on-set conditions and of an individual’s imagination. Mubi’S Godard retrospective exemplifies the depth and range of Godard’s career as...
- 11/19/2017
- MUBI
All the Cities of the NorthSundance has the clout, Cannes the razzle-dazzle. Toronto’s epic film selection is world class. But ask any serious cinephile which of the world’s grand festival institutions deserves your undivided attention, their answer more often than not would be Locarno. Since its inception in 1946, the annual Swiss film festival is a haven for innovative new works by veteran and freshman auteurs alike. The Golden Leopard, Locarno’s equivalent of the Palme D’or, has gone to a diverse group of winners that includes both Otto Preminger’s Carmen Jones and Hong Sang-soo’s Right Now, Wrong Then. Sensing an egregious lack of this progressive programing spirit in their Southern California megalopolis, film critics Jordan Cronk and Robert Koehler have masterminded a curatorial anecdote: Locarno in Los Angeles. Running April 21 through April 23, the event will showcase 10 features and a number of shorts that screened at...
- 4/17/2017
- MUBI
Pablo Larrain’s Chilean foreign language Oscar contender and Amat Escalante’s latest film will feature among the festival’s World Cinema selection.
Joining Neruda (pictured) and The Untamed on AFI Fest’s 33-strong programme are Bertrand Bonello’s Nocturama selection, Denis Côté’s Boris Without Beatrice, Pedro Almodóvar’s Julieta, Thomas Vinterberg’s The Commune, Yang Chao’s Crosscurrent, Death In Sarajevo from Danis Tanović, and Juho Kuosmanen’s The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Mäki.
Cinema’s Legacy highlights include Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane (1941), Ida Lupino’s The Hitch-Hiker (1953), Carmen Jones (1954) starring Dorothy Dandridge, and Julie Dash’s Daughters Of The Dust.
The inaugural Masters In Conversation series features screenings followed by on-stage talks for Raoul Peck’s I Am Not Your Negro, Lav Diaz’s The Woman Who Left, and Gianfranco Rosi’s Berlinale Golden Bear winner Fire At Sea.
AFI Fest runs from November 10-17. Click here for the full line-ups...
Joining Neruda (pictured) and The Untamed on AFI Fest’s 33-strong programme are Bertrand Bonello’s Nocturama selection, Denis Côté’s Boris Without Beatrice, Pedro Almodóvar’s Julieta, Thomas Vinterberg’s The Commune, Yang Chao’s Crosscurrent, Death In Sarajevo from Danis Tanović, and Juho Kuosmanen’s The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Mäki.
Cinema’s Legacy highlights include Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane (1941), Ida Lupino’s The Hitch-Hiker (1953), Carmen Jones (1954) starring Dorothy Dandridge, and Julie Dash’s Daughters Of The Dust.
The inaugural Masters In Conversation series features screenings followed by on-stage talks for Raoul Peck’s I Am Not Your Negro, Lav Diaz’s The Woman Who Left, and Gianfranco Rosi’s Berlinale Golden Bear winner Fire At Sea.
AFI Fest runs from November 10-17. Click here for the full line-ups...
- 10/19/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
With the Oscars historically skewing white and male, women of color have been especially disadvantaged. Specifically noting the history for black performers, our forum poster AwardsConnect points out, "Over the 88 years since the Academy Awards were first established, 20 black leading men, 17 supporting men and 18 supporting women have garnered Oscar nominations for their work. These are paltry numbers to be sure, particularly as you consider more than 400 performances have thus far been nominated in each of these categories. The numbers are especially anemic, however, in the Lead Actress category -- a mere 10 black women have garnered Best Actress nominations." -Break- Subscribe to Gold Derby Breaking News Alerts & Experts’ Latest Oscar Predictions Those 10 women were Dorothy Dandridge ("Carmen Jones," 1954), Diana Ross ("Lady Sings the Blues," 1972), Cicely Tyson ("Sounder," 1972), Diahann Carroll ("Claud..."...
- 2/19/2016
- Gold Derby
There's a semi-hidden Hollywood treasure in Deadpool. No, it's not star Ryan Reynolds, although he is perfectly cast; it's prolific, award-winning actress Leslie Uggams, who plays Deadpool's no-nonsense elderly roommate, Blind Al. Uggams' entertainment career spans six decades, countless stages and screens. One which began at the ripe old age of 6 and includes a Tony, an Emmy and performances with icons like Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Charlton Heston. "I was a ham at 5, I was working at 6," Uggams, 72, tells People via a phone call from Chicago, where she is currently filming a guest arc on Empire.
- 2/18/2016
- by Kara Warner, @karawarner
- PEOPLE.com
Film was a particularly difficult industry for black actresses to break into. Hattie McDaniel was the first black actress to ever win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1939, for playing Mammy in Gone With The Wind, opening the door for more black women to appear in prominent roles in film. Specifically for screenings in the 1940s South, where a black actress couldn’t play anything but a servant on screen, beautiful women like Lena Horne were given roles that were expendable, able to easily be cut out of films without affecting the plot. Eventually, movies would reflect the real-life improvements in race relations, leading to Halle Berry becoming the first black woman to win a Best Actress Oscar in 2001. The St. Louis Classic Black Film Festival is proud to present a new film festival celebrating the roles and careers of eight pioneering black actresses in a variety of films spanning four decades.
- 9/25/2015
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Talk about a legacy. Acclaimed titles designer Saul Bass worked with some of Hollywood’s most legendary directors during his 40-plus year career, and on some of their best pictures. His first title credit was on Otto Preminger’s 1954 “Carmen Jones.” From there, Bass went on to collaborate on over 60 films, many of which have become much deserved cinema classics. In this hour-long compilation, YouTube user FlaneurSolitaire pieces together scores of Bass’ revered title sequences in chronological order, starting with “The Man with the Golden Arm” (also directed by Preminger), from 1955. (Bass’ credits from that year alone also include Robert Aldrich’s “The Big Knife,” “The Shrike” helmed by José Ferrer, Billy Wilder’s “The Seven Year Itch,” and “The Racers,” which starred Kirk Douglas and was directed by Henry Hathaway.) “The Racers” wasn’t the only Kirk Douglas film Bass did the titles for; he also designed them for...
- 2/19/2015
- by Zach Hollwedel
- The Playlist
By Anjelica Oswald
Managing Editor
Last year’s Oscar ceremony made history when director Steve McQueen became the first black filmmaker to win for best picture with 12 Years a Slave and Alfonso Cuaron became the first Latin American to win for best director with Gravity. This year’s ceremony could make history as well: Ava DuVernay could become the first black female to be nominated for best director for Selma, and if Angelina Jolie lands a nomination for Unbroken, it will be the first time two women are nominated in the same year.
In 2012, DuVernay became the first black woman to win for best director at the Sundance Film Festival with Middle of Nowhere.
Lee & Low Books found that 99 percent of best director winners are male and 99 percent of best actress winners are white (93 percent of best actor winners are also white).
The lack of diversity at the Oscars does...
Managing Editor
Last year’s Oscar ceremony made history when director Steve McQueen became the first black filmmaker to win for best picture with 12 Years a Slave and Alfonso Cuaron became the first Latin American to win for best director with Gravity. This year’s ceremony could make history as well: Ava DuVernay could become the first black female to be nominated for best director for Selma, and if Angelina Jolie lands a nomination for Unbroken, it will be the first time two women are nominated in the same year.
In 2012, DuVernay became the first black woman to win for best director at the Sundance Film Festival with Middle of Nowhere.
Lee & Low Books found that 99 percent of best director winners are male and 99 percent of best actress winners are white (93 percent of best actor winners are also white).
The lack of diversity at the Oscars does...
- 12/1/2014
- by Anjelica Oswald
- Scott Feinberg
“If I love you, that’s the end of you.” — Carmen x
Following Passion (1982) and Scenario du film passion (1982), Jean-Luc Godard directed First Name: Carmen (1983), starring Marushka Detmers, Jacques Bonnaffe, and himself. Godard was inspired by Otto Preminger’s Carmen Jones (1954), a musical-comedy about a woman that seduces a soldier ordered to escort her to the authorities. Preminger’s film is an adaptation of a 1943 stage production by Oscar Hammerstein II, which is itself an adaptation of the 1845 novella Carmen by Prospere Merimee. Anne-Marie Mieville was very interested in writing a script that was similar to the spirit of Preminger’s film, and Godard loved that film as well but wanted to change the music. Exit Bizet’s music and enter Beethoven’s “Late Quartets”, which are integral for First Name: Carmen.
Godard again collaborated with Raoul Coutard, but this time the famous New Wave cinematographer was billed as “lighting...
Following Passion (1982) and Scenario du film passion (1982), Jean-Luc Godard directed First Name: Carmen (1983), starring Marushka Detmers, Jacques Bonnaffe, and himself. Godard was inspired by Otto Preminger’s Carmen Jones (1954), a musical-comedy about a woman that seduces a soldier ordered to escort her to the authorities. Preminger’s film is an adaptation of a 1943 stage production by Oscar Hammerstein II, which is itself an adaptation of the 1845 novella Carmen by Prospere Merimee. Anne-Marie Mieville was very interested in writing a script that was similar to the spirit of Preminger’s film, and Godard loved that film as well but wanted to change the music. Exit Bizet’s music and enter Beethoven’s “Late Quartets”, which are integral for First Name: Carmen.
Godard again collaborated with Raoul Coutard, but this time the famous New Wave cinematographer was billed as “lighting...
- 11/21/2014
- by Cody Lang
- SoundOnSight
The 6th Annual Governors Awards took place on Saturday, November 8, 2014 in The Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, CA.
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award recipient Harry Belafonte, Honorary Award recipient Hayao Miyazaki, Honorary Award recipient Jean-Claude Carrière and Honorary Award recipient Maureen O’Hara were honored by their peers during the evening.
The Honorary Award, an Oscar statuette, is given “to honor extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding service to the Academy.”
The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, also an Oscar statuette, is given “to an individual in the motion picture industry whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry.”
Pictured (left to right): Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award recipient Harry Belafonte, Honorary Award recipient Hayao Miyazaki, Honorary Award recipient Jean-Claude Carrière and Honorary Award recipient Maureen O’Hara
Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs introduces the 2014 Governors Awards
Carrière,...
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award recipient Harry Belafonte, Honorary Award recipient Hayao Miyazaki, Honorary Award recipient Jean-Claude Carrière and Honorary Award recipient Maureen O’Hara were honored by their peers during the evening.
The Honorary Award, an Oscar statuette, is given “to honor extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding service to the Academy.”
The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, also an Oscar statuette, is given “to an individual in the motion picture industry whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry.”
Pictured (left to right): Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award recipient Harry Belafonte, Honorary Award recipient Hayao Miyazaki, Honorary Award recipient Jean-Claude Carrière and Honorary Award recipient Maureen O’Hara
Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs introduces the 2014 Governors Awards
Carrière,...
- 11/10/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Welcome to "The Honoraries". We're celebrating the careers of the Honorary Oscar recipients of 2014 and the Jean Hersholt winner (Harry Belafonte). Here's longtime Tfe reader and new contributor Teo Bugbee, whose work you might have read at The Daily Beast, on Belafonte's biggest film...
Even in the fantastic canon of classic Hollywood musicals, Carmen Jones is a standout. It’s got all the colors—Deluxe, not Technicolor, which as any John Waters fan will tell you is the real deal—it’s got the timeless score by Georges Bizet, but before we talk about the film itself, let’s take a minute to look at the backstory, if only because what was going on behind the scenes in Carmen Jones is at least as interesting as what made it on film.
Though he never really made particularly political films, director Otto Preminger was a modern man when it came to his politics,...
Even in the fantastic canon of classic Hollywood musicals, Carmen Jones is a standout. It’s got all the colors—Deluxe, not Technicolor, which as any John Waters fan will tell you is the real deal—it’s got the timeless score by Georges Bizet, but before we talk about the film itself, let’s take a minute to look at the backstory, if only because what was going on behind the scenes in Carmen Jones is at least as interesting as what made it on film.
Though he never really made particularly political films, director Otto Preminger was a modern man when it came to his politics,...
- 10/30/2014
- by Teo Bugbee
- FilmExperience
The 21st Annual Austin Film Festival and Conference is in full swing. Movies are taking place from now through Thursday at venues across town including the Paramount, Stateside and Hideout theaters downtown, Rollins Theater at the Long Center, both theaters at the Texas State History Museum and Alamo Drafthouse Village. Badges are still available to purchase for you procrastinators. Keep an eye out here on Slackerwood for daily reports and reviews from the fest.
The Alamo Ritz is going to be hosting a special event tomorrow afternoon with author Anne Helen Peterson, celebrating the release of her new book Scandals Of Classic Hollywood. She'll present a special double feature of 1927's It starring Clara Bow (35mm) and 1954's Carmen Jones starring Dorothy Dandridge (Dcp) and discuss the tragic careers of both actresses. On Monday night, you can enjoy another Universal Horror double feature. This week, they've got Murders In The Rue Morgue...
- 10/24/2014
- by Matt Shiverdecker
- Slackerwood
Proving the Honorary Oscars are not simply lifetime achievement awards given as a consolation prize, two of this year’s four Governors Award recipients are already Academy Award winners. And of those two, there are seven nominations among them. Japanese animation legend Hayao Miyazaki was recognized in the Best Animated Feature category in 2003 for Spirited Away, in 2006 for Howl’s Moving Castle and in 2014 for The Wind Rises. He won the first of those. French screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere was nominated in 1973 and 1978 for collaborating with Luis Bunuel on scripts for The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (original) and That Obscure Object of Desire (adapted), then in 1989 for working with director Philip Kaufman on the adaptation of The Unbearable Lightness of Being. His first nomination and win came in 1963 for writing and directing the short film Happy Anniversary with Pierre Etaix. As for the other two honorees who’ll receive their statuettes in a special ceremony on November...
- 8/28/2014
- by Christopher Campbell
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
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