article via thegrio.com
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith are serious about seeing women succeed in Hollywood. The couple just donated $30,000 to New York University’s film school as part of a foundation project designed to help female filmmakers and to finance student television projects.
“Will and Jada Smith have a strong desire and commitment to the education of tomorrow’s storytellers, and we’re thrilled that they have decided to support some of out standout students and programs,” said Joe Pichirallo, chair of Tisch’s undergraduate film and TV department.
The money will go to finance two student-created television pilots and will also go toward the Fusion Film Festival, which supports up to five female filmmakers whose work is submitted to the festival.
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article via thegrio.com
Since the OWN cable network debuted in 2011, its popularity has skyrocketed among African-American women, particularly in the last two years.
At a time when many cable networks have been experiencing declines in their viewership, OWN’s average prime-time viewership has grown roughly 30%, climbing to 537,000 in the past two years, as many network have suffered significant declines. According to The Wall Street Journal, the network’s new lineup has resonated strongly with women and black audiences.
Since signing on writer-producer Tyler Perry in 2012, who has four shows on the network now, and adding recent shows like Ava DuVernay’s “Queen Sugar” and the megachurch drama “Greenleaf,” OWN has been able to grow its viewership and visibility.
OWN is now the highest-rated cable network among African-American women, and it is also in the top 20 for all women, according to Discovery.
It remains to be seen whether or not OWN can keep up its momentum while at the same time battling the problems of recent economic pressures as well as the rise of Internet-based television.
Read more: http://thegrio.com/2016/03/23/oprah-winfrey-network-african-american-women/
article via thegrio.com
After a heated bidding war over the rights to Angela Thomas’ “The Hate U Gave” novel, Fox 2000 is now set to begin work on a film inspired by the Black Lives Matter book.
The film will see Hunger Games actress Amandla Stenberg as its star, playing the role of a 16-year-old girl named Starr who grew up in the slums but now attends a prep school. When Starr sees her unarmed best friend shot by a police officer, Starr must find a way to speak truth to what she knows even as she walks the balance of two very different worlds.
George Tillman Jr. is set to direct the film, with Audrey Wells writing the script for the film adaptation. Stenberg, 17, has been extremely outspoken about cultural appropriation and also police violence on social media.
When protests broke out in Baltimore last year in response to the death of Freddie Gray, Stenberg tweeted, “My prayers go out to all my brothers & sisters in Baltimore. This battle is hard but crucial. The revolutionary youth will change the world.”
“Don’t condemn our anger. Don’t denounce our pain as savage. What’s savage is the cruel inhumanity and brutality of the police. Condemn that,” she added.
To read more, go to: http://thegrio.com/2016/03/24/hunger-games-amandla-stenberg-black-lives-matter/
article by Taryn Finley via huffingtonpost.com
Kelly Rowland’s new makeup line will cater to women with darker complexions. Makeup options can be scarce for those blessed with a bit more melanin than others. Luckily, Kelly Rowland has a solution for the dark brown beauties out there.
The Grammy award-winning artist announced to Essence on Monday that she’ll be launching a makeup line which specifically caters to women with darker complexions.
“My makeup artist Sheika Daley and I are actually starting a makeup line we’re making sure we make, well, we’re starting off with lashes and then we’re going to have it grow for all women,” Rowland told . “But definitely making sure we have our chocolate girls covered. Gotta get the chocolate girls in there! We have to have that, you know. I think Iman has done a beautiful makeup line and I want to do it too!”
Rowland’s line will join a growing number of products that ensure darker skin tones don’t get overlooked in the beauty world, including Cocoa Swatches, Queen by CoverGirl, among others.
To read more, go to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kelly-rowlands-new-makeup-line-will-celebrate-chocolate-girls_us_56f3f9bbe4b02c402f6693b6?utm_hp_ref=black-voices&
“My makeup artist Sheika Daley and I are actually starting a makeup line we’re making sure we make, well, we’re starting off with lashes and then we’re going to have it grow for all women,” Rowland told . “But definitely making sure we have our chocolate girls covered. Gotta get the chocolate girls in there! We have to have that, you know. I think Iman has done a beautiful makeup line and I want to do it too!”
Rowland’s line will join a growing number of products that ensure darker skin tones don’t get overlooked in the beauty world, including Cocoa Swatches, Queen by CoverGirl, among others.
To read more, go to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kelly-rowlands-new-makeup-line-will-celebrate-chocolate-girls_us_56f3f9bbe4b02c402f6693b6?utm_hp_ref=black-voices&
article by Toni Akindele via essence.com
Comedian Kevin Hart has found success both on stage and on the big screen. He recently announced that he will soon publish an inspirational memoir appropriately titled, From the Hart.
“My kids know I’m a big deal. They’re very aware,” claims the comedian. “I let them know every day, I say, ‘Look, daddy’s a big deal. Now I’ll have a book out to prove it.”
The book will explore Hart’s childhood, from his difficult upbringing in Philadelphia with a drug-addicted father, to the struggle of starting a career in stand-up, to what motivates him now. According to EW, Hart has the star power to sell 50,000 tickets for one show and gross $100 million worldwide for a comedy tour.
From the Hart is being published via 37 Ink, the Atria Publishing Group imprint that published The Butler. Dawn Davis, vice president of 37 Ink, acquired world rights to Mr. Hart’s book that is scheduled to be published on Father’s Day of 2017.
“I’ve been watching Kevin’s star rise ever since he stole the show in Think Like a Man,” Davis said in a statement. “He not only has a comedic sensibility that is perfectly–pitched for our time, he has a bounty of stories form hi life that are wise, funny, and entertaining.”
To read more, go to: http://www.essence.com/2016/03/23/kevin-hart-to-publish-memoir
TNT is now developing Conviction, a legal drama inspired by the life of Kym Worthy, the chief prosecutor of Wayne County, MI, known as the toughest woman in Detroit.
How To Get Away With Murder star Viola Davis is executive producing the project with Debra Martin Chase (Sparkle). Empire co-executive producer Ayanna Floyd is writing the script and executive producing. The project was originally developed at ABC during the 2014-2015 season with another writer. ABC has a legal drama pilot Conviction this season, which is unrelated to this project.
Worthy became the second African-American to serve as a county prosecutor in Michigan when she was appointed chief prosecutor of Wayne County in 2004. She is known for a number of high-profile cases, like filing charges against Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, and her campaign to clear a massive backlog of 11,000 unprocessed rape test kits in Detroit.
Davis and and her producing partner Julius Tennon executive produce through their JuVee Productions, Martin Chase through her Martin Chase Prods. Both companies have deals with ABC Studios, which originally developed the project when it was at ABC but is not actively involved in the TNT version. Also executive producing are Floyd as well as Kim Swann and Leah Keith who brought Worthy’s story to Hollywood. Worthy is a consultant.
To read original article, go to: http://deadline.com/2016/03/conviction-legal-drama-kym-worthy-viola-davis-debra-martin-chase-empire-tnt-1201724486/
article by Andrew R. Chow via nytimes.com
John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” and The Supremes’ “Where Did Our Love Go,” are part of the incoming class added to the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress this year. The diverse crop of new inductees also includes the Vienna Philharmonic’s 1938 recording of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony, Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” and live coverage from Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game.
The registry adds 25 recordings — deemed significant to American history and culture — each year. The field this year includes pop, (Billy Joel’s “Piano Man”), classic R&B (“Where Did Our Love Go,” The Impressions’ “People Get Ready”), field recordings (W.H. Stepp’s “Bonaparte’s Retreat,” captured by Alan and Elizabeth Lomax in 1937) and comedy (George Carlin’s “Class Clown”). Joining these performers is Secretary of State George C. Marshall proposing what became known as the Marshall Plan to aid Europe after World War II.
The National Recording Registry now totals 450 recordings, the library said. A full list can be found at www.loc.gov.
To read original article, go to: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/03/23/john-coltranes-a-love-supreme-and-billy-joels-piano-man-join-national-recording-registry/?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0
article by Mike Fleming Jr. via deadline.com
Gina Prince-Bythewood will direct and Gugu Mbatha-Raw will star in An Untamed State, an adaptation of Roxane Gay‘s debut novel that the director will co-write with the author for Fox Searchlight. Michael De Luca will produce through his Michael De Luca Productions banner with Prince-Bythewood.
The novel tells the powerful, unflinching story of a Haitian-American woman kidnapped for ransom in front of her husband and child. The novel explores the privilege that made her a target and the strength she must draw on to survive and reclaim her life. Prince-Bythewood is best known for directing Love and Basketball, Beyond the Lights, and The Secret Life of Bees, and with husband, Reggie Rock Bythewood, she is executive producing the 10-hour event series Shots Fired for Fox, Imagine Television and Undisputed Cinema. Mbatha-Raw most recently starred in Concussion and Belle, and she teamed with Prince-Bythewood on Beyond the Lights.
To read more, go to: http://deadline.com/2016/03/gugu-mbatha-raw-to-star-gina-prince-bythewood-to-helm-an-untamed-state-1201724469/
article by Joshua Barone via nytimes.com
Camille A. Brown, the socially conscious dancer and choreographer, is this year’s winner of the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award, an honor that comes with a $25,000 cash prize and an engagement at the summer festival.
She was chosen by the incoming Jacob’s Pillow Director Pamela Tatge, who takes over on April 18. In an interview, she called Ms. Brown “hugely important,” and lauded her offstage work advocating for black female artists. “Someone who generates dialogue in communities is the kind of artist that really excites me,” Ms. Tatge said. She added that Ms. Brown is a “deep researcher” who tackles social issues through “extremely present, theatrical” choreography.
As part of the award, Ms. Brown will have a creative development residency at Jacob’s Pillow, where she will spend one or two weeks shaping her new work, “ink.” In addition, her dance “Black Girl: Linguistic Play,” which received favorable reviews when it appeared at the Joyce Theater in September, will be staged at Jacob’s Pillow in 2017. “When I started creating this work, I wanted there to be a duality, a culturally specific work with universal themes,” Ms. Brown said in a statement, referring to “Black Girl.” “This work speaks to the human condition, and because of that, I hope people are able to see themselves in the work, regardless of race or gender.”
Ms. Brown, who won a Bessie award for her 2014 work “Mr. TOL E. RAncE,” began dancing with Ronald K. Brown’s company in 2001. She also appeared with other troupes before founding Camille A. Brown & Dancers several years ago.
To read more, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/23/arts/dance/jacobs-pillow-dance-to-honor-camille-a-brown.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0
article by Nellie Andreeva via deadline.com
The story of the 1973 Palace of Versailles fashion show that put American designers and black models on the map is the subject of The Battle Of Versailles, an HBO Films movie co-written and directed by Selma helmer Ava DuVernay.
She is co-writing the project, now in development, with Michael Starrbury (The Inevitable Defeat Of Mister And Pete). It is based on the 2015 book The Battle Of Versailles: The Night American Fashion Stumbled Into The Spotlight And Made History by fashion journalist Robin Givhan.
The movie will chronicle the November 28, 1973 fashion show that took place at the Palace of Versailles. A fundraiser for the restoration of King Louis XIV’s palace, it pitted the top five French designers (Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Cardin, Emanuel Ungaro, and Marc Bohan of Christian Dior) against five then-unknown Americans (Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, Anne Klein, Halston, Stephen Burrows and Anne Klein, who brought along her then-assistant Donna Karan) in front of an audience of the world’s social elite. By the end of the night, American fashion would be born, racial barriers broken, and the industry would be left forever transformed.
The French designers kicked off the evening with a big-budget, two-hour extravaganza featuring elaborate set pieces and a live orchestra playing classical music. The Americans followed with a 35-minute show to a pre-recorded Al Green soundtrack, backed by a simple line drawing of the Eiffel Towel. Against all odds, the Americans emerged victorious, hailed for the energy of their presentation, with a lot of the credit going to the fearless 30 models, 10 of whom, in a groundbreaking move, were African American.
The event was also chronicled in Deborah Riley Draper’s 2012 feature documentary Versailles ’73: American Runway Revolution.
DuVernay recently signed on to direct A Wrinkle In Time for Disney. In TV, she is writing, directing and executive producing the upcoming OWN drama series Queen Sugar, which she co-created with Oprah Winfrey.
To read more, go to: http://deadline.com/2016/03/ava-duvernay-battle-of-versailles-hbo-films-1201722419/