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Posts tagged as “Academy Award Winner”

Grammy and Academy Award Winner H.E.R. to Star as Belle in ABC’s “Beauty and the Beast” 30th Anniversary Special

Grammy and Academy Award Winner H.E.R. to Star as Belle in ABC’s “Beauty and the Beast” 30th Anniversary Special

By goodblacknews on July 20, 2022

According to Variety.com, award-winning musical artist H.E.R. will play Belle in ABC’s upcoming hybrid special celebrating the 30th anniversary of Disney‘s animated musical classic Beauty and the Beast.

H.E.R. is a five-time Grammy Award winner, including last year’s Song of the Year Grammy for “I Can’t Breathe” inspired by George Floyd, from her 2021 album Back of My Mind.

In 2021, H.E.R. also won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Fight For You” from the film Judas and the Black Messiah.

“I can’t believe I get to be a part of the ‘Beauty and the Beast’ legacy,” H.E.R. said. “The world will see a Black and Filipino Belle! I have always wanted to be a Disney princess, and I get to work with two wonderful directors Hamish Hamilton and my favorite, Jon M. Chu. It is very surreal and I couldn’t be more grateful.”

Beauty and the Beast was originally released in 1991 and achieved box office success as well as critical acclaim. In 1992, it became the first animated film to be nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture, which helped motivate the creation of a separate Oscar category for animated films.

Although it didn’t win Best Picture that year, Beauty and the Beast won Oscars for Best Original Score and Best Original Song.

In addition to re-screening the film in its entirety, the special will also include live, never-before-seen musical performances and feature brand-new sets and costumes inspired by the story.

The special will air on ABC on Dec. 15 at 8pm and will stream the following day on Disney+.

H.E.R. will make her feature acting debut in the upcoming Warner Bros. adaptation of the Broadway musical version of The Color Purple.

GBN’s Daily Drop: “We Got Game” – For Which Movie Did Denzel Washington Win His Best Actor Oscar? (LISTEN)

GBN’s Daily Drop: “We Got Game” – For Which Movie Did Denzel Washington Win His Best Actor Oscar? (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on February 25, 2022

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Today’s GBN Daily Drop podcast is based on the Friday, February 25 entry in the “A Year of Good Black News” Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022 and is the year’s first foray into our Black Trivia category called “We Got Game”:

You can follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Amazon, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website (transcript below):

FULL TRANSCRIPT:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Friday, February 25th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing. It’s in the category for Black Trivia we call “We Got Game”:

Okay, so today’s daily drop episode is going to be a little unique, as it’s the first time presenting the Trivia category, which is a multiple choice question that we want to give you time to answer. So, what I’m going to do is read the question, I’ll read the choices, and then I’ll prompt you to pause the episode if you want to take longer than the 10 seconds that I’m going to let pass before I share the answer. Sound good? Ready to see if you got game? All right, here we go:

For which movie did Denzel Washington win the Academy Award for Best Actor? Was it…

A. Malcolm X?  B.Training Day  C. Glory… or D. Fences?

Now go ahead and pause the episode now if you want to take more than 10 seconds before you hear the answer. Otherwise, I’ll be back in 10… Okay, time’s up. The answer is… B. Training Day.

Including his recent nod for The Tragedy of MacBeth, Washington has been nominated by the Academy for his acting ten times, and so far, he’s won twice, once in 1989 as Best Supporting Actor for Glory and then for Best Actor in 2001’s Training Day.

Washington was nominated for his role in Fences in 2017 but lost the Best Actor gold guy to Gary Oldman, star of The Darkest Hour. Still, a win might have felt like déjà vu to Washington that year – he won the Best Actor Tony Award for the same part in 2010.

To learn more about Denzel Washington and his award-winning career, check out the links to sources provided in today’s show notes and in the episode’s full transcript posted on goodblacknews.org.

Sources:

This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022,” published by Workman Publishing, and available at workman.com, Amazon, Bookshop and other online retailers.

Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot.

If you like our Daily Drops, please consider following us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You could give us a positive rating or review, share your favorite episodes on social media, or go old school and tell a friend.

For more Good Black News, you can check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

R.I.P. Sidney Poitier, 94, Legendary Actor, Director, Author and Ambassador

R.I.P. Sidney Poitier, 94, Legendary Actor, Director, Author and Ambassador

By goodblacknews on January 7, 2022

Sidney Poitier, whose portrayal of self-possessed, unapologetic and dignified characters in films such as To Sir With Love, In the Heat of the Night and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner established him as Hollywood’s first Black box-office star and Academy Award winner for Best Actor (for Lilies in the Field), has died at 94.

Though born in Miami, FL ,Poitier grew up primarily in the Bahamas. As an adolescent he returned to the U.S., eventually making his way to New York, washing dishes as he struggled to become an actor. He soon landed theatre roles but broke through as an emerging talent primarily in film.

Breakout movie dramas like No Way Out, Blackboard Jungle and The Defiant Ones set the stage for Poitier’s superstardom. In 1959, Poitier returned to New York theater to star in the Broadway production of Lorraine Hansberry‘s A Raisin in the Sun and its 1961 film adaptation.

Movies especially beloved starring Poitier were the ones he also directed, such as the action comedies Uptown Saturday Night, Let’s Do It Again, and A Piece of the Action. Poitier also scored a massive hit as director of the classic Richard Pryor 1980 comedy Stir Crazy.

To see Poitier’s extensive filmography, click here. And to see one of the most iconic film moments ever delivered by Poitier, check out the clip from In The Heat of the Night below:

In April 1997, Poitier was appointed ambassador from the Bahamas to Japan, a position he held for a decade, until 2007.He was also the author of his highly-regarded 2000 autobiography, The Measure of a Man, 2009’s Life Beyond Measure: Letters to my Great-Granddaughter and his 2013 fiction foray Montaro Caine: A Novel.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/07/movies/sidney-poitier-dead.html

https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/07/entertainment/sidney-poitier-death/index.html

(paid links)

Academy Award Winners Regina King and John Ridley Re-Team to Make Shirley Chisholm Biopic

Academy Award Winners Regina King and John Ridley Re-Team to Make Shirley Chisholm Biopic

By goodblacknews on February 17, 2021

The universe’s desire to honor Shirley Chisholm continues! Yesterday, Good Black News posted a Black History Month tribute to Chisholm, the first Black woman to be elected to U.S. Congress and a one-time candidate for U.S. President.

Today, Variety.com reported Regina King will produce and star in a new biographical feature on Chisholm, to be written and directed by John Ridley (12 Years a Slave, All is By My Side):

“Regina’s passion for bringing a complete and very human portrait of Shirley to life has been evident since literally the day we first met,” Ridley said. “I’m very thankful to both Regina and Reina trusting me to partner in telling the story of this truly remarkable individual.”

The film is being produced based on the life story rights through an exclusive agreement with the Chisholm Estate.

Ridley and King previously worked together on the ABC anthology series American Crime, for which King garnered two Emmys as Best Supporing Actress in a Limited Series.

“Hair Love” Academy Award-Winner Matthew Cherry Gets Deal from HBO Max for Animated Series “Young Love”

“Hair Love” Academy Award-Winner Matthew Cherry Gets Deal from HBO Max for Animated Series “Young Love”

By goodblacknews on July 7, 2020

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Matthew Cherry recently landed a deal with HBO Max for a 12-episode season of “Young Love,” an animated series based on the characters from Cherry and Sony Pictures Animation’s short, “Hair Love.”

Cherry will jointly run the series with Carl Jones, who is best known for his work on “The Boondocks” and “Black Dynamite.” Blue Key Entertainment’s Monica A. Young, who produced “Hair Love,” will executive produce the show alongside Lion Forge Animation’s David Steward II and Carl Reed.

Matthew Cherry (photo via Twitter)

“Hair Love” explored the relationship between a father and his daughter, Zuri, as he does her hair for the first time. “Young Love” will expand on the story of the family of father Stephen, mother Angela, daughter Zuri and her pet cat Rocky.

To quote from variety.com:

“I am beyond excited to continue telling the story of Stephen, Angela and Zuri and further explore the family dynamics of a young Black millennial family we established in our short film “Hair Love” as an animated series,” said Cherry.

“Couldn’t ask for better partners in Sony Pictures Animation and HBO Max in helping us get ‘Young Love’ out to the world.”

Read more: https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/hbo-max-young-love-matthew-cherry-sony-1234700022/

John Legend to Produce Jason Reynolds' Best-Selling Novel ‘Long Way Down’ for Universal Pictures

By goodblacknews on December 12, 2017

Author Jason Reynolds (top); Producer John Legend (bottom) [Images via Kia Chennelle/Simon and Schuster; Owen Kolasinski/BFA/Rex/Shutterstock]
by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)
According to Variety.com, Universal Pictures has optioned the rights to Jason Reynolds‘ best-selling young adult novel “Long Way Down,” which was also a National Book Award finalist. John Legend‘s Get Lifted Film Co. and Michael De Luca‘s Michael De Luca Productions have signed on to produce the film.
Reynolds’ book has an unusual premise – the whole story takes place in 60 seconds, as a young man struggles to decide whether or not he’s going to murder the person who killed his brother.  Additionally, the book is written in free verse and is set in an elevator.
Although Legend is best known for his work as a singer and songwriter, but he has also racked up some major film credits, appearing in the likes of “La La Land” and “Soul Men,” and has produced the television series “Underground.” Legend also shared an Academy Award with rapper Common for best original song in 2015 for writing “Glory” from the film “Selma.”
Reynolds’ novels include “All American Boy” and “As Brave as You.” De Luca is the former president of New Line Cinema as well as an Oscar-nominated producer whose credits include the “Fifty Shades” trilogy, “The Social Network,” and “Moneyball.”

Academy Award Winner Mahershala Ali to Star in HBO's ‘True Detective’ Season 3

By goodblacknews on September 1, 2017

Mahershala Ali (photo via popsugar.com)

by Debra Birnbaum via Variety.com
“True Detective” is back on the case. HBO’s limited series will officially return for a third season, this time starring Oscar winner Mahershala Ali. Showrunner and creator Nic Pizzolatto is set to direct, along with Jeremy Saulnier (“Green Room,” “Blue Ruin”). The next installment tells the story of a macabre crime in the heart of the Ozarks, and a mystery that deepens over decades and plays out in three separate time periods.
Ali will play the lead role of Wayne Hays, a state police detective from Northwest Arkansas. It does not currently have an air date, nor is there a set date for the start of production.“Nic has written truly remarkable scripts,” said Casey Bloys, HBO’s president of programming. “With his ambitious vision and Mahershala Ali and Jeremy Saulnier aboard, we are excited to embark on the next installment of ‘True Detective.’”
To read full article, go to: ‘True Detective’ Season 3 Set at HBO Starring Mahershala Ali | Variety

Morgan Freeman Wins Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award

By goodblacknews on August 23, 2017

Morgan Freeman (photo via variety.com REX/SHUTTERSTOCK)

by Dave McNary via Variety.com
Morgan Freeman has been named the 54th recipient of the SAG Life Achievement Award for career achievement and humanitarian accomplishment. Freeman will be presented the accolade at the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Jan. 21 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The award is given annually to an actor who fosters the “finest ideals of the acting profession.”
Freeman has won a Screen Actors Guild Award, an Academy Award, HFPA’s Cecil B. DeMille Award, an AFI Lifetime Achievement Award, seven Image Awards, a Silver Berlin Bear and a Kennedy Center Honor. SAG-AFTRA made the announcement Tuesday. “I am thrilled to announce Morgan Freeman as this year’s recipient of the SAG Life Achievement Award,” said SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris. “Some actors spend their entire careers waiting for the perfect role. Morgan showed us that true perfection is what a performer brings to the part. He is innovative, fearless and completely unbound by expectations… It has been a privilege to see his genius at work.”
Freeman won an Academy Award in 2005 for Best Supporting Actor for “Million Dollar Baby.” He was nominated for Oscars for “Street Smart” (1987), “Driving Miss Daisy” (1989), “The Shawshank Redemption” (1994) and “Invictus” (2009). He also won a SAG Award for “Million Dollar Baby.”
He has nearly 100 feature film credits including “The Dark Knight,” “The Bucket List,” “Glory,” “Lean on Me,” “Se7en,” “Amistad,” “Bruce Almighty,” and “Along Came a Spider.” Recent credits include “Going In Style,” “Ben-Hur,” “Now You See Me 2” and “London Has Fallen.” Freeman’s upcoming films include “Villa Capri” and Disney’s “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms.”
To read full article, go to: Morgan Freeman Wins SAG Life Achievement Award | Variety

‘Moonlight’ Filmmaker Barry Jenkins to Adapt and Direct TV Series for Amazon Based on Colson Whitehead's NYT Bestseller "The Underground Railroad"

By goodblacknews on March 27, 2017

Barry Jenkins (Photo: ROB LATOUR/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK)

article by Joe Otterson via Variety.com
“Moonlight” director and Academy Award winner Barry Jenkins will write and direct a one-hour drama series about the Underground Railroad currently in development at Amazon. The series will be based on Colson Whitehead’s best-selling book, “The Underground Railroad.”
“Going back to ‘The Intuitionist,’ Colson’s writing has always defied convention, and ‘The Underground Railroad’ is no different,” Jenkins said. “It’s a groundbreaking work that pays respect to our nation’s history while using the form to explore it in a thoughtful and original way. Preserving the sweep and grandeur of a story like this requires bold, innovative thinking and in Amazon we’ve found a partner whose reverence for storytelling and freeness of form is wholly in line with our vision.”
Published by Doubleday, “The Underground Railroad” has sold over 825,000 copies in the United States across all formats. An Oprah’s Book Club 2016 selection, New York Times bestseller, and the winner of the 2016 National Book Award for Fiction, the book chronicles young Cora’s journey as she makes a desperate bid for freedom in the antebellum South. After escaping her Georgia plantation for the rumored Underground Railroad, Cora discovers no mere metaphor, but an actual railroad full of engineers and conductors, and a secret network of tracks and tunnels beneath the Southern soil.
This will be Johnson’s first attempt at directing a TV series in its entirety. He recently directed an episode of the upcoming Netflix adaptation of the film “Dear White People,” and previously directed one episode of the PBS series “Futurestates.” Jenkins’ Pastel Productions will executive produce along with Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment. Pitt and Plan B also produced “Moonlight.”
To read full article, go to: ‘Moonlight’ Director to Write, Direct Underground Railroad Series | Variety

"Moonlight" Triumphs at Oscars, Wins Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay and Supporting Actor

By goodblacknews on February 26, 2017

Barry Jenkins accepts Best Picture Oscar for "Moonlight" (Patrick T. Fallon via nytimes.com)
Barry Jenkins accepts Best Picture Oscar for “Moonlight” (Patrick T. Fallon via nytimes.com)

article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)
Moonlight topped off its amazing awards-season run by earning the Best Picture Oscar at the 89th Academy Awards. Moonlight director/writer/producer Barry Jenkins accepted the award at the end of the night after a shocking turn of events where La La Land was mistakenly called to stage to receive the Academy’s highest honor. Jenkins also won with co-writer Tarell Alvin McCraney for Best Adapted Screenplay, and Mahershala Ali became the first Muslim actor in Oscar history to win the Best Supporting Actor Award.
The star-studded evening also saw an energizing opening performance of “Can’t Stop The Feeling” by Original Song nominee Justin Timberlake, a medley of two songs from “La La Land” by its co-star John Legend (“City of Stars” went on to win the Original Song award) and a standing ovation for Best Feature Documentary presenter, Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree and NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, who was introduced by “Hidden Figures” stars Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae (and wheeled out on stage by current NASA astronaut Yvonne Cagle).
There were also Oscar presentations from Samuel L. Jackson, Halle Berry and Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs, but one of the biggest highlights of the evening was the speech delivered by three-time nominee and Best Supporting Actress winner Viola Davis:
Viola Davis (photo via Parade.com)
Viola Davis (photo via Parade.com)

People ask me all the time, what kind of stories do you want to tell, Viola? And I say, exhume those bodies, exhume those stories, the stories of the people who dreamed.  I became an artist, and thank God I did, because we are the only profession that celebrates what it means to live a life. So here’s to August Wilson, who exhumed and exalted the ordinary people.

Davis went on to thank her co-stars and Best Director/Best Actor nominee Denzel Washington, her family and her parents.