Black Reel Awards 2014: 12 Years a Slave Breaks the Record

Posted on February 17, 2014 at 1:37 pm

I always look forward to the announcement of the Black Reel Awards, which each year pay tribute to the greatest achievements of African-Americans and people of the African Diaspora in feature and independent films and television. This year, I was especially interested in the results because 2013 was unquestionably the best year in history for African-Americans in film — behind the screen, on the screen, and in the range of stories presented, from the real-life tragedies of “12 Years a Slave,” “Fruitvale Station,” and “Captain Phillips” to the genre films that may not have had lofty artistic aspirations but still gave African-American performers and film-makers a wider range of opportunities to tell their stories, even thrillers and romantic comedies.

“12 Years a Slave,” a stunning achievement with a good chance of winning this year’s Best Picture Oscar, was the big winner at the Black Reel Awards, breaking the all-time record set by “Precious” with a sweep of eight awards: Outstanding Motion Picture, outstanding actor for Chiwetel Ejiofor, Outstanding Supporting Actress for dazzling newcomer Lupita Nyong’o, who also won Outstanding Female Breakthrough Performance, Outstanding Director for Steve McQueen, Outstanding Screenplay for John Ridley, Outstanding Ensemble, and Outstanding Score for Hans Zimmer. “The fact that in one of the strongest years for Black film in recent memory, one film was able to be so dominant is a testament to the vision of Steve McQueen, the screenplay by John Ridley and the fantastic performances of the trio of actors led by Chiwetel Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong’o,” said Black Reel Awards creator and Executive Director, Tim Gordon. “This will be a year no one forgets.”

Other notable awards went to “Captain Phillips'” Barkhad Abdi (Outstanding Supporting Actor and Outstanding Male Breakthrough Performance) and Danai Gurira (Outstanding Actress) for her role in “Mother of George,” the story of Nigerian immigrants living in Brooklyn and struggling with infertility. Documentary honors went to “20 Feet from Stardom,” about the back-up singers who perform on hit records and are usually overlooked. A documentary about gay rights in the African-American community, “The New Black,” won the award for Outstanding Independent Documentary. Outstanding Independent Feature went to “Blue Caprice,” the story of the DC snipers.

The full list of awardees:

Outstanding Motion Picture
12 Years a Slave

Outstanding Actor
Chiwetel Ejiofor | 12 Years a Slave

Outstanding Actress
Danai Gurira | Mother of George

Outstanding Supporting Actor
Barkhad Abdi | Captain Phillips

Outstanding Supporting Actress
Lupita Nyong’o | 12 Years a Slave

Outstanding Director
Steve McQueen | 12 Years a Slave

Outstanding Screenplay
John Ridley | 12 Years a Slave

Outstanding Documentary
20 Feet From Stardom | Morgan Neville

Outstanding Ensemble
12 Years a Slave | Francine Maiser

Outstanding Foreign Film
War Witch | Canada

Outstanding Score
Hans Zimmer | 12 Years a Slave

Outstanding Original Song
“Desperation” by Judith Hill | 20 Feet From Stardom

Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Male
Barkhad Abdi | Captain Phillips

Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Female
Lupita Nyong’o | 12 Years a Slave

Outstanding Voice Performance
Samuel L. Jackson | Turbo

Outstanding Independent Feature
Blue Caprice | Alexandre Moors

Outstanding Independent Documentary
The New Black | Yoruba Richen

Outstanding Independent Short
Black Girl in Paris | Kiandra Parks

Outstanding Television Documentary
Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley | Whoopi Goldberg

Outstanding TV Movie or Mini-Series
Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth

Outstanding TV Movie Actor
Chiwetel Ejiofor | Dancing on Edge

Outstanding TV Movie Actress
Anika Noni Rose | The Watsons Go to Birmingham

Outstanding Supporting Actor, TV Movie
Omari Hardwick | Being Mary Jane

Outstanding Supporting Actress, TV Movie
Octavia Spencer | Call Me Crazy: A Five Film

Outstanding Director, TV Movie
Spike Lee | Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth

Outstanding Screenplay, TV Movie
Mara Brock Akil | Being Mary Jane

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Awards Race and Diversity

Faith-Based Oscar Disqualified Song Creates Controversy

Posted on January 31, 2014 at 3:59 pm

For the first time ever, the Motion Picture Academy has disqualified a nominee for ethical reasons. The nomination of “Alone Yet Not Alone” as best song came as a surprise. Most people had not heard of the song or the movie it came from, a small, faith-based film of the same name.

The song was disqualified because its composer, Bruce Broughton, sent out an email to his friends in the Academy asking them to consider it for an award. While “for your consideration” lobbying is widespread, what concerned the Academy was that in this case it was coming from a former official of the Academy and was therefore seen as implicitly and improperly endorsed.

Now, according to the LA Times, there is a backlash, accusing the Academy of applying a different standard to small, independent films than it does to big studio movies.

Broughton has cried foul, saying he was simply trying to draw attention to his independent movie, as many in Hollywood do during awards season.

“They had previews and parties and huge promotion,” Broughton said of the studio campaigns for Oscar-nominated songs from other films, which include box-office hits such as Disney’s “Frozen” and Universal Pictures’ “Despicable Me 2.””We had no budget. There’s no Oscar campaign. All there is is this really stupid email that went out to about 70 people saying, ‘Please look at my song.'”

After sending out its statement Wednesday, the academy offered no further comment on Thursday. But already the story had gained traction, with “CBS This Morning” bringing Broughton on the air and conservative-leaning outlets such as the Drudge Report and the Washington Times setting up a Hollywood vs. Middle America battle.

“Christian Film Stripped of Oscar Nomination,” a headline blared on Drudge.

Even some in Hollywood thought that Broughton, a music personality, longtime head of the music branch and a USC professor, had been given a raw deal.

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Awards Music

Critics Choice Awards 2014

Posted on January 16, 2014 at 10:16 pm

I’m very proud of all of our nominees and winners:

BEST PICTURE
12 Years a Slave

BEST DIRECTOR
Alfonso Cuaron – Gravity

BEST ACTOR
Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Spike Jonze – Her

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
John Ridley – 12 Years a Slave

BEST ART DIRECTION
Catherine Martin (Production Designer), Beverley Dunn (Set Decorator) – The Great Gatsby

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Emmanuel Lubezki – Gravity

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Catherine Martin – The Great Gatsby

BEST EDITING
Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger – Gravity

BEST MAKEUP
American Hustle

BEST SONG
Let It Go – Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez – Frozen

BEST SCORE
Steven Price – Gravity

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Gravity

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Frozen

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Blue Is the Warmest Color

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
20 Feet from Stardom

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Adele Exarchopoulos – Blue Is the Warmest Color

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
American Hustle

BEST ACTION MOVIE
Lone Survivor

BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Mark Wahlberg – Lone Survivor

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Sandra Bullock – Gravity

BEST COMEDY
American Hustle

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Amy Adams – American Hustle

BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE
Gravity

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Awards

And the Oscar Will Go To….Oscar Nominations 2014

Posted on January 16, 2014 at 9:07 am

This year’s Oscar nominees were announced this morning. I’m sorry to see “Inside LLewyn Davis,” “The Butler,” “Fruitvale Station,” “Saving Mr. Banks” and “Enough Said” overlooked and I really wanted to see Scarlett Johansson get a nomination for “Her,” but overall, it’s an impressive list that spreads recognition among some outstanding films.

Best Picture
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
The Wolf of Wall Street
Best Actor
Christian Bale (American Hustle)
Bruce Dern (Nebraska)
Leonardo DiCaprio (Wolf of Wall Street)
Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)
Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)
Best Actress
Amy Adams, (American Hustle)
Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
Sandra Bullock (Gravity)
Judi Dench (Philomena)
Meryl Streep (August: Osage County)
Best Supporting Actor
Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)
Bradley Cooper (American Hustle)
Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)
Jonah Hill (Wolf of Wall Street)
Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)
Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)
Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave)
Julia Roberts (August: Osage County)
June Squibb (Nebraska)
Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine)
Best Director
Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street)
David O. Russell (American Hustle)
Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity)
Alexander Payne (Nebraska)
Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave)
Best Adapted Screenplay
John Ridley (12 Years a Slave)
?Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke & Richard Linklater, (Before Midnight?)
Terence Winter, (The Wolf of Wall Street?)
Billy Ray, (Captain Phillips)
?Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, (Philomena)
Best Original Screenplay
David O. Russell and Eric Singer (American Hustle)
Bob Nelson (Nebraska)
Spike Jonze (Her)
Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack (Dallas Buyers Club)
Woody Allen (Blue Jasmine)
Best Foreign Film
Denmark, The Hunt
Belgium, The Broken Circle Breakdown
Italy, The Great Beauty
Palestine, Omar
Cambodia, The Missing Picture
Best Documentary Feature
20 Feet from Stardom
The Act of Killing
Dirty Wars
The Square
Cutie and the Boxer
Best Animated Feature
The Wind Rises
Frozen
Despicable Me 2
The Croods
Ernest & Celestine
Best Song
“Alone Yet Not Alone” (Alone Yet Not Alone)
“Happy” (Despicable Me 2)
“Let It Go” (Frozen)
“The Moon Song” (Her)
“Ordinary Love” (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”

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Awards

Be Sure to Watch the Critics Choice Awards on Thursday

Posted on January 14, 2014 at 1:15 pm

I love the Critics Choice Awards, and not just because I get to vote. The critics are the only ones who sit through most of the movies released each year and who have no ties to the industry to influence our votes. This year’s Critics Choice Awards will include special tributes to Forest Whitaker, who will be presented with the Joel Siegel Award, by his co-star in “Lee Daniels’ The Butler.” Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater will receive this year’s Critics’ Choice LOUIS XIII Genius Award at the 19th annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards. The rest of the night’s winners will be announced live at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards ceremony on Thursday, January 16, 2014 from the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif. Hosted by Aisha Tyler, the star-studded awards gala will be broadcast live on The CW Network at 8:00 PM ET/PT. Red Carpet Pre-show coverage will also air in various local markets immediately before the awards ceremony.

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Awards