TIME Magazine on Women Who are First
Posted on August 20, 2017 at 2:17 pm
Can’t wait to see/read this!
A Wrinkle in Time: Teaser Trailer from Oprah Winfrey and Ava DuVernay
Posted on July 16, 2017 at 11:52 pm
I could not be more excited about seeing one of my all-time favorite books brought to screen by one of my all-time favorite directors. Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time is a magnificent story of a brave girl named Meg who has to save her scientist father (Chris Pine). He disappeared while testing a theory about traveling through space. The book was rejected at first by publishers because it did not fit into any one category — it has adventure and science fiction and romance and questions of faith and philosophy. Meg, like Jo March and Mary Lennox, is smart, strong, and brave — and, crucially, succeeds because of her faults, not in spite of them. I interviewed L’Engle’s granddaughter on the 50th anniversary of the book.
And now Ava DuVernay (“Selma”) is directing the movie version. This early glimpse of the film, which will be out next spring, looks thrilling. The trio of otherworldly creatures wonderfully named Mrs. Which, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Who, are played by Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Mindy Kaling.
I hope she signs up to do the whole series.
If You Ever Responded to #BlackLivesMatter with “All Lives Matter,” You Need to See “13th”
Posted on October 12, 2016 at 3:33 pm
Ava Duvernay’s new documentary, a nominee for the inaugural Critics Choice documentary award, is “13th,” named for the amendment to the Constitution that abolished slavery — and, as this film shows, triggered racial injustice in other insidious, law-enabled ways. This is the movie that shows the strikingly different way that black Americans and white Americans interact with law enforcement and the prison system.
Black Reel Awards: Selma Ties the Record
Posted on February 20, 2015 at 7:37 am
Outstanding Motion Picture
Selma | Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner & Christian Colson (Paramount)
Outstanding Actor, Motion Picture
David Oyelowo | Selma (Paramount)
Outstanding Actress, Motion Picture
Gugu Mbatha-Raw | Belle (Fox Searchlight)
Outstanding Supporting Actor, Motion Picture
Wendell Pierce | Selma (Paramount)
Outstanding Supporting Actress, Motion Picture
Carmen Ejogo | Selma (Paramount)
Outstanding Director, Motion Picture
Ava DuVernay | Selma (Paramount)
Outstanding Screenplay, Motion Picture
Chris Rock | Top Five (Paramount)
Outstanding Documentary
Anita: Speaking Truth to the Power | Freida Lee Mock
Outstanding Ensemble (Awarded to Casting Directors)
Selma | Aisha Coley (Paramount)
Outstanding Foreign Film
Fishing Without Nets (Kenya) | Cutter Hodierne (Drafthouse Films)
Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Male
Tyler James Williams | Dear White People (Lionsgate/ Roadside Attractions
Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Female
Teyonah Parris | Dear White People (Lionsgate / Roadside Attractions)
Outstanding Voice Performance
Morgan Freeman | The LEGO Movie (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Outstanding Score
Jason Moran | Selma (Paramount)
Outstanding Original Song
“Glory” from Selma | Performed by: John Legend & Common;
Written by: John Legend, Common & Che Smith (Paramount)
INDEPENDENT
Outstanding Independent Feature
The Retrieval | Chris Eska
Outstanding Independent Documentary
25 to Life | Mark Brown
Outstanding Independent Short
#AmeriCan | Nate Parker
TELEVISION
Outstanding Television Documentary or Special
Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown | Alex Gibney (HBO)
Outstanding TV Movie or Mini-Series
The Trip to Bountiful | Bill Haber, Cicely Tyson, Hallie Foote & Jeff Hayes (Lifetime)
Outstanding Actor, TV Movie or Mini-Series
Larenz Tate | Gun Hill (BET)
Outstanding Actress, TV Movie or Mini-Series
Cicely Tyson | The Trip to Bountiful (Lifetime)
Outstanding Supporting Actor, TV Movie or Mini-Series
Blair Underwood | The Trip to Bountiful (Lifetime)
Outstanding Supporting Actress, TV Movie or Mini-Series
Anika Noni Rose | A Day Late and a Dollar Short (Lifetime)
Outstanding Director, TV Movie or Mini-Series
Reggie Rock Bythewood | Gun Hill (BET)
Outstanding Screenplay, TV Movie or Mini-Series
Reggie Rock Bythewood | Gun Hill (BET)
Women Talk About Making Movies
Posted on January 27, 2015 at 3:55 pm
“What’s wrong with bossy? It’s O.K. for a man.” Barbra Streisand, Director (“The Prince of Tides”)
It’s a conundrum: We can’t change it ourselves, but no one can change it but us.” Jennie Livingston, Director (“Paris Is Burning”)
“It was Gina Bythewood who told me, ‘If someone is just a pig to you on set, don’t deal with it behind closed doors, because you have to show the whole crew that you will deal with it and you will not have it.’ ” Ava DuVernay, Director (“Selma”)