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Posts tagged as “Black Panther”

Academy Award-Winning Costume Designer Ruth E. Carter Honored with Hollywood Walk of Fame Star

In 2019 when Ruth E. Carter won the Academy Award for her work on Disney/Marvel’s 2018 global box-office smash Black Panther, she made history as the first Black woman to receive the Oscar for costume design.

Carter made history again today as she became the first Black and only the second costume designer ever (Edith Head was the first) to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Carter started her costume design career on films with Spike Lee including School Daze, Do The Right Thing and Malcolm X. Carter also worked on Amistad, The Five Heartbeats, What’s Love Got to Do With It, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Lee Daniels’ The Butler, Selma and most recently, Coming 2 America, which debuts March 5 on Prime Video.

Carter currently sits on the Academy of Arts and Sciences Board of Governors and recently started the Mildred Blount Scholarship Fund in honor of “the Black woman who did the millinery work in Gone With the Wind” who was the first African American member of the Motion Pictures Costumers Union.

You can watch a recap of Carter’s career, tributes from Oprah Winfrey, Eddie Murphy and the virtual Walk of Fame ceremony below:

EDUCATION: College Board Creates Advanced Placement Curriculum on African Diaspora for High School Students

(Photo of high school students by AP/Jaime Henry-White via Creative Commons)

Years in the making, the influential College Board is launching an ambitious national curriculum on race with an Advanced Placement (AP) program on the African diaspora, the Washington Post reports.

Given AP’s current importance on high school transcripts and influence on college admissions, the program has the potential to make Black studies a college-prep offering in coming years.

Black students’ scores on AP tests in recent years have remained significantly lower than those for other groups. In 2019, Black students passed 32 percent of the AP exams they took, compared with 44 percent for Latino students, 65 percent for White students and 72 percent for Asian students.

The College Board collaborated on the project with African Diaspora Consortium a not-for-profit organization, as well as Columbia University’s Teachers College.

In Tribute to Chadwick Boseman, ’42’ to be Re-Released in Theaters

According to Variety.com, AMC Theatres will pay tribute to beloved actor and Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman, who died last week of colon cancer at 43, by screening 42, Boseman’s leading man debut as Major League Baseball barrier breaker and icon Jackie Robinson. (To read GBN’s review of 42, click here.)

Warner Bros. and Legendary, the studios behind the 2013 film, have teamed up with the theater chain to make “42” viewable in more than 300 locations. That’s nearly every AMC venue that’s open as coronavirus closures start to lift. Tickets for 42 will only be $5 and will go on sale by the end of Tuesday.

MUSIC MONDAY: “Black Panther”-Inspired Playlist In Memory Of Chadwick Boseman (LISTEN)

Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa / Black Panther (Art by Marlon West)

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

With the passing of the great Chadwick Boseman, I am inclined to hold the playlist I made to share today until next week. I thought instead I’d share this playlist I created in celebration of Black Panther two years ago.

[spotifyplaybutton play=”spotify:playlist:18oEW1p7SRWOt908mBKC7K”/]

I won’t say how many times I’ve seen the film, so far. Though I made this playlist by imagining what genius Princess Shuri would listen to in her lab.

It was made before the film grossed over $1.3 billion worldwide and broke numerous box office records, including the highest-grossing film by a Black director. Before it became the ninth-highest-grossing film of all time, the third-highest-grossing film in the U.S. and Canada, and the second-highest-grossing film of 2018.

I made before it received seven nominations at the 91st Academy Awards including Best Picture, with wins for Best Costume Design, Best Original Score, and Best Production Design. Black Panther is the first superhero film to receive a Best Picture nomination.

Director Ryan Coogler wrote of Boseman this weekend:

Michael B. Jordan and Racial Justice Organization Color of Change Partner to #ChangeHollywood

Actor and Producer Michael B. Jordan (“Just Mercy,” “Raising Dion,” “Black Panther”) has teamed up with racial justice organization Color of Change to launch the #ChangeHollywood initiative, with the goal of transforming the entertainment industry’s inequitable power infrastructure.

Through #ChangeHollywood, Jordan and COC plan to offer recommendations as well as forthcoming resources to companies within the industry (e.g.  directories, consulting, task forces, templates) that support actionable follow-through.

The ultimate goal of #ChangeHollywood is to put forth concrete, measurable solutions for Hollywood to affirm, defend and invest in Black lives. Some key aspects include producing authentic Black stories, investing in Black talent and Black communities.

RELATED: Michael B. Jordan Teams With Warner Bros. to Launch Diversity and Inclusion Policy for All Future WarnerMedia Productions

“This roadmap is just the beginning of the journey to racial justice. We are all accomplices in the fight to transform Hollywood, and we invite content creators and industry leaders to join us in working together to #ChangeHollywood,” Jordan said. “We look forward to including a variety of voices in doing what we do best: telling authentic stories, bringing people together, partnering with influential artists, and changing the rules of the game.”

“The legacy of racism in Hollywood is long and unforgivable: excluding Black talent, silencing Black voices, derailing Black careers, and using the economic power of the industry to prop up police who target and enact violence on Black communities,” Rashad Robinson, president of Color Of Change, said in a statement.

“We know from our advocacy that the industry won’t change on its own, so we’re building off our current work to hold Hollywood accountable to offer these resources and a roadmap toward enacting racial justice. From the writers’ rooms to the streets, we are energized and ready to help Hollywood follow through on their statements that Black lives matter.”

“Black Panther,” “Black KkKlansman,” Regina King, Spike Lee and More Nominated for 2019 Academy Awards

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

The nominees for the 91st Academy Awards were announced early this morning by Black-ish star Tracee Ellis Ross and The Big Sick star Kumail Nanjiani, and among them were for the first time a superhero movie nominated for Best Picture, Black Panther, and the prolific Spike Lee‘s first nomination in the Best Director category for Black KkKlansman, which also was nominated for Best Picture.

Ever since the #OscarsSoWhite controversy of 2016, the demand for more diversity in movies and television has gained and retained attention. Although there are no African-Americans among the Best Actor or Best Actress nominees, Mexican actress Yalitza Aparicio was recognized for her work in Roma, and among the nominees in the Best Supporting Actress category are Golden Globe winner Regina King for her turn in If Beale Street Could Talk, and Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali, who garnered his third Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in Green Book.

Other notable African-American Oscar nominees this year are Kendrick Lamar and SZA in the Original Song category for “All The Stars” from Black Panther, and Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson, who might win for what she first became known for as she is also nominated (with Diane Warren) in the Original Song category for “I’ll Fight” from RBG.

“Black Panther” nominees Hannah Beachler and Ruth E. Carter; “Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse” co-director Peter Ramsey

Peter Ramsey, who is co-director on Best Animated Feature Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and Barry Jenkins in the Adapted Screenplay category for If Beale Street Could Talk. Spike Lee earned a second nod in the Adapted Screenplay category as one of the writers of Black KkKlansman.

Another first this year is Hannah Beachler‘s nomination for Production Design for Black Panther, the only African American woman to receive one in this category. Ruth E. Carter earned her third nomination for Costume Design (the first two were for Malcolm X and Amistad) for Black Panther and  composer Terence Blanchard, who has scored more than forty films and all of Spike Lee’s, finally earned an Original Score nomination this year for his work on Black KkKlansman.

The Oscars will be broadcast live by ABC on Feb. 24 at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET. Below is a complete list of all the nominees:

Marvel to Launch ‘Black Panther’ Comic Book Series Spinoff ‘Shuri’ in October

(Image via hollywoodreporter.com)

by Graeme Sullivan via hollywoodreporter.com

Marvel Entertainment is preparing to launch a new comic book series centered around T’Challa’s sister, Shuri, months after the character stole the show in Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther movie.

As revealed at Bustle, the new series — to be called, simply, Shuri — will be written by award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor, who penned the digital comic series Black Panther: Long Live the King for Marvel, with art by Hawkeye artist Leonardo Romero.

“[Shuri is] an African young woman of genius level intelligence who is obsessed with technology and has traveled spiritually so far into the past that she’s seen Wakanda before it was Wakanda. The Ancestors call her Ancient Future. And she’s super ambitious. What do I love about her? Alllll that and more,” Okorafor is quoted as saying.

The series will fit into the continuity of Ta-Nehisi CoatesBlack Panther comic book series, where T’Challa has moved into space to explore the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda, leaving the actual nation without a leader…which means that Shuri, as the next in line to the throne, has to step up as monarch, whether or not she likes it.

The series will launch in October.

Source: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/shuri-comic-book-will-spinoff-black-panther-1127689

Denzel Washington Paid for 'Black Panther' star Chadwick Boseman to Study at Oxford

"Black Panther" star Chadwick Boseman
“Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman (Albert L. Ortega | Getty Images)

by  via cnbc.com
Chadwick Boseman, the 41-year-old star of Black Panther, may have Oscar-winner and 2018 nominee Denzel Washington to thank for some of his success. While studying at Howard University in the late ’90s, Boseman and some of his peers applied to a prestigious summer theater program at The University of Oxford. The group of students got in, but they couldn’t afford to go.
One of their acting teachers at Howard, actress Phylicia Rashad from The Cosby Show, “pushed for us,” Boseman told Rolling Stone. “She essentially got some celebrity friends to pay for us to go.” It wasn’t until after the program when he got a beneficiary letter and found out who funded the program: “Denzel paid for me. I’m sure he has no idea. … I’ve been waiting to meet him, so I can tell him.”
Boseman wrote Washington a thank-you letter, but he didn’t tell anyone else about it for two decades. “I’ve basically been holding this secret my whole career,” he told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, explaining that he didn’t want Washington to feel like he owed him anything else.
Boseman wanted to meet Washington in person before saying anything. He hadn’t met him before the Rolling Stone interview but, after 20 years, he figured it was OK to reveal the detail. As Boseman told Fallon: “I think I’ve made it to the point where he’s not going to think I’m trying to get something from him by saying it.”
Coincidentally, just before the Rolling Stone feature came out, Boseman got to meet his benefactor. Washington came to the New York premiere of “Black Panther,” and, “I met him, before the article came out,” Boseman told Fallon. “So I actually lived up to what I originally wanted to do. It was amazing.”
When Fallon asked how the introduction went, Boseman recalled how he thanked him for paying for Oxford a while back, to which Washington jokingly replied: “Oh, so that’s why I’m here. You owe me money! I came to collect!”
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/02/denzel-washington-paid-for-chadwick-boseman-to-study-at-oxford.html

‘Black Panther’ Becomes 1st Film to Premiere in Saudi Arabia Since 35-Year Cinema Ban

by Camille Augustin via vibe.com
The cultural impact of Black Panther has continued to increase in magnitude since its Feb. 16 release. Shattering records with each tick of the clock, the Marvel film gained historic steam with praise from moviegoers and positive reviews. Now, while the superhero reel plans to surpass the Titanic, it aims to break yet another record, this time in Saudi Arabia.
According to Variety, Black Panther will premiere on April 18 in the Middle Eastern country, dissolving its 35-year ban on movie theaters. The debut will be accompanied by a gala and take place in the newly-constructed AMC theater, based in Riyadh.
A plan to cease the cinema ban occurred in Dec. 2017, CNN reports. The Saudi Ministry of Culture gave AMC the green light to begin rolling out 30 theaters across the country, possibly projecting a $1 billion revenue stream for Saudi Arabia’s economy.
The billion-dollar movie currently holds the title as the highest-grossing superhero motion picture. Upon its release, director Ryan Coogler wrote an open letter thanking fans for their insurmountable support. “For the people who bought out theaters, who posted on social about how lit the film would be, bragged about our awesome cast, picked out outfits to wear, and who stood in line in theaters all over the world,” he wrote, “all before even seeing the film.”
Source: https://www.vibe.com/2018/04/black-panther-becomes-first-film-to-premiere-in-saudi-arabia-since-35-year-movie-theater-ban/

'Black Panther' Becomes Top-Grossing Superhero Film of All Time in U.S. with $630.9 Million in Domestic Box Office

The Disney and Marvel tentpole wrests the crown from 'The Avengers.'
‘Black Panther’ (Courtesy of Marvel Studios)

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Director/writer Ryan Coogler‘s Black Panther, as of this weekend, has officially become the highest-grossing superhero film in North America, taking the title from another Disney/Marvel tentpole, The Avengers.

According to hollywoodreporter.com, the Chadwick Boseman/Lupita Nyong’o/Michael B. Jordan starrer achieved the milestone on Saturday after passingThe Avengers, $623.4 million gross from 2012. Black Panther is also only one of seven films to ever earn $600 million or more domestically, finishing Sunday with $630.9 million, putting it at No. 5 on the all-time list.Black Panther finished the weekend with $1.237 billion in ticket sales internationally, surpassing Iron Man 3 ($1.214 billion) to rank as the No. 3 superhero title of all time at the worldwide box office, just behind Avengers ($1.518 billion) and Avengers: Age of Ultron ($1.405 billion).
Black Panther finished in second-place overall in its sixth weekend with $17 million in sales, behind the newly-released Pacific Rim: Uprising, which earned approximately $28 million in its debut weekend.