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For Malcolm Washington, an appreciation for August Wilson plays runs in the family. Several years ago, his father Denzel committed to producing film adaptations of Wilson’s Century Cycle plays — a collection of 10 works, each covering one decade of the Black experience in 20th-century America. Denzel started with the Oscar-nominated Fences, which he also directed and starred in, and followed that with Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which won Chadwick Boseman a posthumous Best Actor Oscar nomination. In 2022, Malcolm’s brother, the actor John David Washington, starred in a Broadway revival of The Piano Lesson.

The movie version of The Piano Lesson–– based on August Wilson’s 1987 play of the same name and part of the playwright’s iconic 10-play American Century Cycle –– is the latest Wilson film produced by Denzel Washington and Todd Black.

The series of loosely interconnected dramas, which also includes Fences and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, chronicles the African American experience decade by decade throughout the 20th century, roughly bookended by the birth of Richard Wright and the death of Thurgood Marshall. Wilson’s plays observe the advance and retreat of vast social changes from one largely fixed perspective: They’re mostly set in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, where Wilson grew up and which The New York Times has called “a bastion of Black history, arts and culture.” To generations of actors, the American Century Cycle has proved a rich, encyclopedic source of inspiration.

“I was a theater nerd growing up,...

Play-to-film adaptations can often flourish thanks to the little tricks and turns that only the silver screen can provide: whether it’s Jack Nicholson’s claustrophobic close-up as he exclaims guilt in A Few Good Men, or the frantic editing of Amadeus. On the other hand, some adaptations do too little and end up feeling literally ‘stagey’ as a result. With The Piano Lesson in particular, it feels like not much has been gained by re-rendering this Pulitzer- winner on celluloid.

Adapted from August Wilson’s play — part of the ‘Pittsburgh Cycle’ that includes Fences and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (all three now Denzel Washington-produced films) — The Piano Lesson is set in 1936 in Pittsburgh, where the Charles family live, with a large piano sitting unused in their house. Doaker (Samuel L. Jackson) explains the musical instrument’s tragic backstory: enslaved ancestors were traded so that the white head...

Denzel Washington is heading from Rome to Wakanda: the Academy Award-actor has revealed that he’s set to star in Black Panther 3.

Washington shared the news during an appearance on the Today Show Australia. “I’m only interested in working with the best — I don’t know how many more films I’m going to make, probably not that many. I want to do things I haven’t done.” The 69-year-old actor then rattled off a few of his upcoming projects, which includes a “part in the next Black Panther.”

Marvel has yet to officially announce a third Black Panther film following the release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in 2022. However, Marvel head Kevin Feige previously confirmed he has had “conversations” with writer-director Ryan Coogler about a potential sequel.

It would make sense why Washington might want to be involved in a Black Panther movie given his close personal connection...

Exclusive: Eiza González (Baby Driver), Poppy Liu (Hacks), Taylour Paige (Zola), and Will Poulter (The Bear) have closed deals to join I Love Boosters, Boots Riley’s next film for Neon, which commences production this fall.

The actors join a stacked cast which also includes Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Lakeith Stanfield, and Demi Moore, as previously announced. Pic is about a ring of enterprising boosters, who take aim at a cutthroat fashion maven. Further plot details are being kept under wraps for the moment.

Aaron Ryder and Andrew Swett will produce on behalf of their Ryder Picture Company with Savage Rose Films’ Allison Rose Carter and Jon Read, under their production and development partnership with Neon. Exec producers include Mike Jackman, Gus Deardoff, Ken Kao and Josh Rosenbaum for Waypoint Entertainment, Megan Ellison for Annapurna, and Neon, which is financing the film with Waypoint Entertainment. Neon...

The Piano Lesson is the third film adaptation of the work of playwright August Wilson, whose bibliography and legacy have been championed by Denzel Washington. It serves as the feature directorial debut of Washington’s son, Malcolm Washington, and is not only an excellent adaptation of its source material but also one of the most auspicious first features in recent memory.

The Piano Lesson Review

The Piano Lesson follows a family who get into conflict over the future of a valuable family heirloom — a piano dating back to their freed slave ancestors, which they come to believe might be haunted. Wilson has a very dense, complex style that previous cinematic adaptions have struggled to navigate, but The Piano Lesson stands up to the challenge.

Unlike many playwrights, Wilson was known for his more naturalistic approach to dialogue, with heavy use of vernacular and other devices to allow him to tell...

Exclusive: Filmmaker Edward Berger says that Ralph Fiennes’ sublime performance as the cardinal charged with overseeing the election of a new pope in awards-season contender Conclave has a “whisper” of the inscrutability Anthony Hopkins displayed in his portrait of a veteran butler in James Ivory’s 1993 film The Remains of the Day.

Prefacing his comments by jokingly suggesting that “Ralph will crucify me for saying this“ and “I don’t know if this is a bad comparison,” Berger thought that the way Fiennes plays the impenetrable Cardinal Lawrence “has something of, a whisper of, Anthony Hopkins” in the Merchant and Ivory movie “that has that sort of just keeping everything inside and keeping quiet and doing it just with his eyes.”

Even though Cardinal Lawrence, the Dean of Cardinals, is undergoing a crisis of doubt, he nonetheless “projects absolute competency before a word is uttered.”

That’s a peculiarly English trait,...

The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a prestigious honor that celebrates the contributions of entertainers across various fields. Each year, a select group of individuals is chosen to receive their stars, immortalizing their achievements in the entertainment industry. The Class of 2024 is no exception, featuring a diverse lineup of talents. Here’s a closer look at five notable celebrities who will be honored this year.

What is the Hollywood Walk of Fame?

The Hollywood Walk of Fame is an internationally recognized icon located on both sides of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Los Angeles. It features over 2,700 brass stars embedded in the sidewalks, honoring the achievements of notable figures in the entertainment industry. The Walk of Fame was conceived in 1953 by E. M. Stuart, who served as the volunteer president of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. He proposed the idea to celebrate the glamour and excitement associated with Hollywood...

Toronto film festival: fantastic performances from Danielle Deadwyler and Samuel L Jackson enliven a soulful, if imbalanced, Netflix adaptation

The Piano Lesson is the third film, after Fences and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, that Denzel Washington has produced from playwright August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle. It’s also the finest. And this time, it’s a family affair.

The film stars Washington’s oldest son, John David, and is directed by his youngest, Malcolm. His daughters, Katia and Olivia, are also involved, as producer and actor in a small role respectively. And as the credits roll, there’s a dedication to the children’s mother, Pauletta. Call it projection, but it’s hard not to get sentimental about the kids getting together to grapple with this story. The Piano Lesson is about siblings fighting over the legacy their parents and ancestors passed down to them.

Halle Berry is one of the biggest movie stars of all time. That is a fact. Sure, she’s played Catwoman in that abomination of a movie, but her career includes major credits such as Monster’s Ball (2001), the role of Storm in four installments of the X-Men film series (2000–2014), the henchwoman of a robber in the thriller Swordfish (2001), and Bond girl Jinx in Die Another Day (2002). She also has significant roles in Perfect Stranger (2007), Cloud Atlas (2012), and The Call (2013), as well as Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017) and John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019).

Her role in Monster’s Ball earned her an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role, which is when she became the (so far) only African-American woman to win the Academy Award for Best Actress, and the first woman of color.

In a recent big interview for Marie Claire, the actress, among other things, discussed her career in...

Halle Berry made history in 2001 when she won the Best Actress Oscar for her role in Monster’s Ball.

The now 58-year-old actress was the first Black actress to win the top actress prize at the annual awards ceremony, after being only the seventh nominated.

Since her historic win, seven more Black actresses have been nominated for Best Actress In a Leading Role at the Academy Awards, but none have won.

In a new interview, Halle said she is saddened every year and calls out the Academy for there still not being another Black Best Actress winner.

Keep reading to find out more…

“I’m still eternally miffed that no Black woman has come behind me for that best actress Oscar, I’m continually saddened by that year after year,” she told Marie Claire. “And it’s certainly not because there has been nobody deserving.”

Halle noted that the last two Black nominees,...

Courtney B. Vance is a Tony- and Emmy-winning actor and the president of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. To Vance, legendary actor James Earl Jones was known as “Jimmy.” The two first met in the 1980s while starring in August Wilson’s drama “Fences,” which went on to win the Pulitzer Prize and four Tony Awards, including Jones’ prize for best leading actor in a play. Here, Vance reflects on the “Fences” family, their enduring friendship and his final visit with his onstage father.

James lived in upstate New York, and I was there about six months ago. The whole family was there, and we were all just laughing, talking about old times. He said to me, “Courtney, they’ve got me so ensconced in this bubble, I think I’m gonna live to be 100.” I said, “Jimmy, I know you will.” We didn’t have a chance to reminisce about our experience with “Fences,...

Exclusive: Pauletta Pearson Washington says that the film adaptation of August Wilson’s acclaimed play The Piano Lesson has been a family affair. “All my babies are involved in this,” the actor, musician and philanthropist declares.

“My son directed it,” she says pointing to filmmaker Malcolm Washington, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Virgil Williams.

“And John David’s in it,” Washington adds, referring to her eldest child, the actor John David Washington.

“And so is Olivia, we play the same role at different ages,” she says proudly of daughter Olivia Washington.

“And here’s Katia,” who was seated by her at a cocktail party hosted by Netflix to celebrate the streamer’s roster of movies being screened at the Telluride Film Festival.

Katia is an executive producer of The Piano Lesson.

Pauletta, Malcolm, John David and Katia Washington. Photo by Baz Bamigboye/Deadline

Her husband Denzel Washington is a producer of The Piano Lesson,...

The US actor heads a cast largely made up of former inmates in Greg Kwedar’s low-key tale about the redemptive power of theatre

Colman Domingo is at the peak of his considerable powers in Greg Kwedar’s inspirational, fact-based prison drama Sing Sing. The actor, who was Oscar-nominated last year for his lead performance in Rustin, and who has given eye-catching supporting turns in If Beale Street Could Talk, The Color Purple, Zola and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, to barely scratch the surface, has an effortless magnetism that draws the eye and makes him the focus of every frame. The kind of performer who doesn’t need to say a word to speak volumes, he is, without doubt, one of the finest actors currently working. All of which makes his casting in this small-scale, intimate, ripped-from-reality tale an unexpectedly risky decision.

Domingo, who plays real-life prisoner (now released) John Whitfield,...

The Piano Lesson, a big screen adaptation of August Wilson’s 1987 Pulitzer Prize-winning play — the fourth in the late playwright’s celebrated “Pittsburgh Cycle” about the Black experience in that city during the 20th century — had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on Saturday morning at the Herzog Theatre. Reactions on the ground were largely positive, but prospects with the Academy may be somewhat limited.

Produced by the team of Denzel Washington and Todd Black, who previously oversaw the transfer of two other Wilson plays into films — 2016’s Fences, which is set in the 1950s, and 2020’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which is set in the 1920s — The Piano Lesson, which is set in the 1930s, is a Washington family passion project. It was EP’d by Denzel’s daughter, Katia Washington. It was co-written (with Mudbound Oscar nominee Virgil Williams) and directed by one of Denzel’s sons,...

Exclusive: Tony-nominated composer Branford Marsalis (Fences) is joining a revised music team for the upcoming fall Broadway production of A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical to create new musical arrangements and orchestrations, producers said today.

The new team, which also includes music supervisor Daryl Waters, dance music arranger Zane Mark and music director Darryl G. Ivey, replaces Annastasia Victory and Michael O. Mitchell who served those functions at the show’s pre-Broadway engagements last year in New Orleans and Chicago.

A spokesman for the production declined comment on the reasons for the switch.

The musical, starring Tony-winner James Monroe Iglehart (Disney’s Aladdin) as the groundbreaking jazz great, begins previews at Studio 54 on Wednesday October 16 ahead of an opening date of Monday November 11.

In its announcement about the Marsalis hire, producers, including singer-actor Vanessa Williams, described the new team as “powerhouse” and New Orleans native Marsalis as a virtuosic...

Over the years, the world of cinema has given us some exceptional movie family dynasties. The Coppolas, the Skarsgårds, the Sheens, the Carradines, and the Arquettes to name but a few. Now, with Netflix's upcoming August Wilson play adaptation The Piano Lesson, the Washingtons are set to solidify their place amongst them. Directed by first-time feature filmmaker Malcolm Washington, son of Denzel, and starring Tenet and BlacKkKlansman's John David Washington (Malcolm's older brother), the movie — which also stars Samuel L. Jackson, Danielle Deadwyler, and Ray Fisher — looks set to honour Wilson's seminal exploration of racial identity, familial legacy, and the ties that bind. Watch the emotionally provocative trailer below:

"You feel that," says Washington's Boy Willie as he places his niece's hand on the titular heirloom at the start of this charged first look at The Piano Lesson, "that's your family, that's your blood." And in this film,...

Colman Domingo is remembering his late co-star Chadwick Boseman.

While appearing in the new episode of Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? on Max, released on Friday, the Oscar-nominated actor reflected on acting with the late Boseman in 2020’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

“Chad came in with so much energy and passion,” Domingo said. “Because he was so sick, he worked like a tornado.”

“He had so much fun and so much passion for doing the work,” Domingo said. “He would say, ‘Hey Colman, I’m ready to dance with you today.’ We’d just start rehearsing and working on our lines together. And then we tried to outshine each other when we’re learning our instruments. It was really a great spar fest. So I didn’t know he was sick at all, to be honest.”

Boseman shockingly died in 2020 at the age of 43 after a private four-year battle with colon cancer,...

Bill Cobbs has died. The character actor known for his work across television and in films such as Demolition Man, The Bodyguard, and many more was 90 years old. Cobbs died Tuesday, June 25 at his home in Riverside, California, according to his publicist Chuck I. Jones. The cause of Cobbs’ death has not been revealed at this time. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Cobbs served in the Air Force and worked for Ibm before he moved to New York in 1970 to pursue acting at the age of 36. Cobbs with Kevin Costner in The Bodyguard (Warner Brothers/courtesy Everett Collection) Ultimately, he found success on stage and onscreen in film and television, despite being a latecomer in his acting career. Joining the Negro Ensemble Company in New York, Cobbs made his Broadway debut in productions such as The First Breeze of Summer, Master Harold… and the Boys, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

At long last, Eddie Murphy is reprising his role as street-smart cop Axel Foley in the fourth instalment of the Beverly Hills Cop franchise, which is set to hit Netflix this summer. But, it isn’t easy being a middle aged action star. It’s been nearly thirty years since we last saw Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, and in a recent interview with People Magazine he admitted that the shoot was a “rough one”.“I did Axel Foley when I was in my 20s. I am not in my 20s anymore,” he said. At any rate, Murphy won’t be the only aged actor from the original to show up, with many of the classic Beverly Hills Cop cast members are set to join him in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley. Here’s everything we know about Beverly Hills Cop 4!

Who’s making it?

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley...

Before his Black Panther fame, Chadwick Boseman was a rising actor, proving his mettle as an actor in many of his incredible films. The actor has confidently played three real-life people with great conviction over the years in Get On Up, Marshall, and 42. The latter became his breakthrough film which got Hollywood to get up and take notice.

Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson in 42 | Warner Bros

The actor played famed baseball player Jackie Robinson in the latter. The film was directed by Brian Helgeland and his casting director brought in several actors for the role including Boseman. The actor was the second one to go for a read through and he impressed Helgeland big time. He was blown away by the actor’s aura of a great movie star.

Brian Helgeland Instantly Knew Chadwick Boseman Was the One for 42

For Brian Helgeland, Chadwick Boseman was the best candidate to...

Netflix has released the official trailer and poster for Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, which will begin streaming globally on July 3, 2024. The film is rated R for language throughout, violence, and brief drug use.

In the action-comedy, Detective Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) is back on the beat in Beverly Hills. After his daughter’s life is threatened, she (Taylour Paige) and Foley team up with a new partner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and old pals Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and John Taggart (John Ashton) to turn up the heat and uncover a conspiracy.

Mark Molloy directed the new installment, which was based on a screenplay by Will Beall, Tom Gormican, and Kevin Etten. The movie is based on the characters created by Danilo Bach and Daniel Petrie, Jr.

The Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F cast includes Eddie Murphy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Taylour Paige, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Paul Reiser, Bronson Pinchot, and Kevin Bacon.

Directors Jack O’Brien and George C. Wolfe will each receive a 2024 Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre.

Wolfe is a five-time Tony-Award winning director, helming shows including Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk, and has worked as a writer, a producer and artistic director of The Public Theater from 1993 to 2005. O’Brien is a three-time Tony Award-winning director for Hairspray, Henry IV and The Coast of Utopia, among many other credits on Broadway, including last season’s Shucked, All My Sons, Carousel, The Front Page, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Porgy and Bess. He led the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego from 1981 to 2007 and has also directed projects in London and Off-Broadway.

In addition to his work in the theater, which includes writing the score to and directing the musical Jelly’s Last Jam and directing...

A jam-packed weekend of last-gasp Oscar campaigning — the film Academy’s final round of voting opened on Feb. 22 and will close on Feb. 27 — kicked off on Saturday night with the 30th SAG Awards, the first major awards show ever to be streamed on Netflix. But do Saturday night’s results actually provide reliable clues about what will happen two weeks from Sunday night at the 96th Oscars?

I would argue that they probably do.

SAG Award winners are determined by the roughly 160,000 members of SAG-AFTRA, the world’s largest union of actors, whereas Oscar winners are determined by the roughly 9,500 voting members of the film Academy, 86 percent of whom are not actors, which would suggest that any overlap is purely coincidental.

But it is quite a statement that SAG-AFTRA members voted best actor in a film — which has long looked to be neck-and-neck between Cillian Murphy for Oppenheimer over Paul Giamatti...

Actor Colman Domingo is best known for his work as Victor Strand in Fear the Walking Dead. However, Domingo achieved critical acclaim for his performance as Bayard Rustin in the biographical drama film Rustin. For the role, Domingo also received his first Best Actor Academy Award nomination.

Colman Domingo in Zola.

In a recent interview, Domingo spoke about his long tenure in Hollywood and how he is only just being recognized for his work. Domingo, who became the first African-Latino man to be nominated for a Best Actor Oscar, also shed light upon why it took so long for him to come to the forefront and showcase the full range of his talent. Here is how Colman Domingo reflected on his career in an interview ahead of the Oscars.

SUGGESTED5 Great Colman Domingo Movies To Watch Before He Appears as Joe Jackson in the Michael Jackson Biopic Oscar-Nominee Colman Domingo...

Colman Domingo, who this week earned a lead actor Oscar nomination, has been cast as Michael Jackson’s father Joe Jackson in the upcoming biopic Michael.

The film has begun production and Lionsgate and Universal Pictures International have scheduled an April 18 2025 global release.

Domingo will portray the hard-driving and focused patriarch of the Jackson family, who was known to have subjected his musical children to physically and emotionally demanding rehearsals.

The late Michael Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson plays the lead under the direction of Antoine Fuqua, based on a screenplay by John Logan. Graham King/Gk Films is producing.

Lionsgate’s Michael Jackson biopic has cast Colman Domingo to play Joe Jackson, the controversial patriarch of the celebrated musical family.

Domingo, coming off a critically acclaimed and Oscar-nominated performance in Rustin, joins Michael, the biopic in production from Lionsgate and slated for a global release on April 18, 2025. Joe Jackson, the father of Michael, Janet and their eight siblings and the architect of the Jackson 5, died in 2018, aged 89. Michael Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson will play the pop singer.

“Not only am I fortunate to have a rich, complex and flawed character to portray in Joe Jackson, but I also have a front row seat for Jaafar’s incredible transformation. After seeing him in rehearsal, my mind was blown,” Domingo said in a statement. “There is something divine about the way that Jaafar is channeling his late uncle. His talent and embodiment of Michael’s essence is simply on another level.

The powerful true story of Bayard Rustin, the openly gay Black Civil Rights leader who dedicated his life to a quest for racial equality, is finally getting the spotlight. Colman Domingo plays the driving force behind the 1963 March on Washington in a new film from DGA Award and three-time Tony Award-winning director George C. Wolfe (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom). The performance marks the Emmy winner’s first leading role in a feature film.

You can take a look at the trailer for Rustin — and Domingo’s transformation — above. From the back rooms of power to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, the film tells the story of the Civil Rights Movement from a never-before-seen perspective.

For director George C. Wolfe, the project was an opportunity to spotlight Rustin as an example to aspire to. “He is a role model for what it means to be an American, what it...

“Oppenheimer” composer Ludwig Göransson and editor Jennifer Lame, “Killers of the Flower Moon” cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, and Billie Eilish and Finneas are among the recipients of Variety’s Artisans Awards.

The honorees will be feted at the Santa Barbara Film Festival on Feb. 11 at the Arlington Theatre.

Now in its tenth year, Variety‘s partnership with the Santa Barbara Film Festival celebrates the artisans who have showcased the most innovative work of the year in their craft.

“With writers and actors on strike for the better half of 2023, it was artisans who held the entertainment industry up. They showed their vitality to the filmmaking process and championed their respective films,” said Variety’s senior artisans editor Jazz Tangcay. “At Variety, we cherish the craft and are passionate about hearing their stories. This year, there was an embarrassment of riches in the world-building of films, and it’s wonderful to partner with Roger Durling,...

Here’s the latest episode of The Filmmakers Podcast, part of the podcast roster here on Nerdly. If you haven’t heard the show yet, you can check out previous episodes on the official podcast site, whilst we’ll be featuring each and every new episode as it premieres.

For those unfamiliar with the series, The Filmmakers Podcast is a podcast about how to make films from micro-budget indie films to bigger-budget studio films and everything in between. Our hosts Giles Alderson, Dom Lenoir, Dan Richardson, Andrew Rodger and Cristian James talk about how to get films made, how to actually make them and how to try not to f… it up in their very humble opinion. Guests will come on and chat about their filmmaking experiences from directors, writers, producers and screenwriters, to actors, cinematographers and distributors.

The Filmmaker’s Podcast #375: Rustin & Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom writer...

After spending 30-plus years honing his craft for stage and screen, Colman Domingo is more than ready for his close-up. Considering the actor’s versatile resume, which includes memorable performances in Selma, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Fear the Walking Dead, or his Emmy-winning role on Euphoria and a handful of Tony nominations, it’s bewildering that his recent portrayal of civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, in Netflix’s Rustin, marks his first leading role and Golden Globe nomination. Also, this year, Domingo features in another highly acclaimed film, The Color Purple, where he plays the dastardly Mister.

Here, the actor reflects on his career and playing Black icons.

Deadline: With five films under your belt this year alone, it feels like the year of Colman Domingo. But you’ve been creative in front of and behind the camera as a writer, director, actor and producer for over three decades.

“It goes without saying: congratulations on your work.” So said Film Independent President, at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Award nominee brunch on January 6. Held for the second consecutive year at Santa Monica’s beachfront Casa Del Mar hotel, the purpose of the annual gathering was twofold: to celebrate our current cohort of Spirit Award nominees, and to hand out the three Emerging Filmmaker Awards, each carrying with it a $25,000 unrestricted cash grant for its recipient. Welsh added, “The excellence you’ve brought this year has enlivened and inspired us at a critical time.”

The awards portion of the Saturday gathering–grand ballroom windows giving way to a spectacular beach view–was hosted by two of Hollywood’s buzziest performers and past Spirit Award nominees, Colman Domingo and Lily Gladstone. “It really feels incredible to be here and see all of you,” said Domingo, enthusiastically.

The sentiment was shared by Brenda Robinson,...

The Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild (IATSE Local 706) has revealed the nominees for its annual Muahs Awards, with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 leading the feature competition with four nominations and Maestro close behind with three noms.

Disney/Marvel’s Guardians 3 earned noms in the categories for contemporary makeup, period and/or character makeup, period hairstyling and/or character hairstyling and special makeup effects. Bradley Cooper’s Netflix Leonard Bernstein drama Maestro collected noms for period and/or character makeup, period hairstyling and/or character hair styling and special makeup effects.

The Muahs Guild’s feature nominees vary quite bit from this season’s Oscar shortlist for the category. In fact, Guardians 3 was already snubbed in the makeup and hairstyling Oscar race, failing to make the shortlist of 10 films that advanced to the upcoming branch bake-off.

The films shortlisted for the makeup and hairstyling Oscar are Maestro; Poor Things,...

Sandra Reaves-Phillips, the actress and singer who appeared in the films ’Round Midnight and Lean on Me and portrayed six legendary divas in a one-woman, tour de force stage show, has died. She was 79.

Reaves-Phillips died Friday at her home in Queens, family spokesperson Sandra Lanman told The Hollywood Reporter. She had been in failing health since falling off a stage during a performance of Raisin in St. Louis in 2004 and enduring serious auto accidents in 2014 and ’15 in New York.

The South Carolina native worked opposite Maurice Hines in his 2006 Broadway musical Hot Feet, and she portrayed Mama Younger and Bertha Mae Little, respectively, in Raisin on Broadway and national and European tours and in a 1999 off-Broadway production of Rollin’ on the T.O.B.A.

Reaves-Phillips was featured with saxophonist Dexter Gordon in Bertrand Tavernier’s ’Round Midnight (1986) in the role of Buttercup, and in the Morgan Freeman-starring...

Natalie Portman is making something of a comeback with her lead role in Todd Haynes‘ “May December,” which was released in US theaters on November 17. The Netflix movie will drop on the streaming service on December 1 but head to the big screen now to catch Portman’s best role in some time. She is Elizabeth, an actress heads to the home of a couple played by Julianne Moore (Gracie) and Charles Melton (Joe) to do research about them for a movie based on their past. Their dark past?

The older Gracie had an affair with Joe when he was just 13 and eventually had his baby when she was in prison. Portman delivers a multi-faceted performance here as an actress who acts like a star, a journalist, a seducer, and, most impressively, as Gracie herself. Portman’s transformation into Moore’s Gracie is special. Critics have described Portman’s performance as one of her very best.

After three decades as a jobbing character actor in films such as Selma and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Domingo is finally taking on a starring role, but his charismatic presence was always apparent

‘The stars aligned,” says Colman Domingo, “that’s why I’m wearing stars on my boots.” He is laughing as he shows me his spotless white Chelsea boots, each with three blue stars up the back. Domingo has an explosive, contagious, almost filthy laugh that often bursts out of his otherwise mellow, succulent baritone. In voice, in dress and in person he is immensely charming.

Quite a few stars have aligned into a Domingo-shaped constellation lately. He has breakout roles in two movies and the actors’ strike has ended just in time for him to talk about them. One is The Color Purple – a lavish adaptation of the musical of Alice Walker’s seminal novel (the...

Bayard Rustin is a name that should be known better. A tireless civil rights activist who Barack Obama posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, he was one of the key organizers of the famous March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which climaxed in Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Rustin’s brilliance was in his organizational skills and amazing ability to unite groups for a common goal. Yet, he never received the acclaim of his peers and was notably open about being a homosexual in an era where that was beyond taboo.

Now, Rustin has finally gotten a big-screen Hollywood biopic, with Netflix releasing a full trailer for their star-studded biopic, which premiered at TIFF in September. Colman Domingo plays the title role and is already generating serious Oscar buzz, even if – due to the ongoing strikes – he’s not able to campaign for...

Plot: The true story of civil rights icon Bayard Rustin (Colman Domingo), who never got his due as one of the key figures behind the 1964 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

Review: Bayard Rustin is a name that, until recently, wasn’t uttered with the same reverence afforded to his fellow giants of the civil rights movement. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama, who’s also one of the producers of this reverent biopic, which aims to make Rustin’s contributions to the Civil Rights Movement more widely known.

Indeed, Rustin was an outlier in the party. As an openly gay man, he was the subject of rumours and innuendoes, making his role in the movement more behind the scenes, although his powers of persuasion and genius at organization proved invaluable. Gregory C. Wolfe’s film should be required viewing for anyone interested in that period,...

Chris Evans as Brenner, Andy Garcia as Neel and Emily Blunt as Liza in ‘Pain Hustlers’ (Photo Cr. Brian Douglas / Netflix © 2023)

Netflix’s fall slate of films includes a new entry in the Spy Kids franchise, a rom-com with a meet-cute on an airplane, and a psychological thriller starring Alden Ehrenreich and Phoebe Dynevor. Emily Blunt and Chris Evans headline Pain Hustlers, Sylvester Stallone’s life and career is examined in Sly, and Michael Fassbender plays an assassin in David Fincher’s The Killer.

The streaming service’s lineup also includes a film that’s generating Oscar buzz following its premiere at the 2023 Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2023. Colman Domingo stars as gay civil rights leader Bayard Rustin in Rustin, directed by DGA award winner George C. Wolfe. Rustin will open in select theaters on November 3, 2023 before streaming on Netflix on November 17, 2023.

September 2023 New Films:

Scouts Honor: The Secret Files...

New prison-based drama about theatre troupe to premiere in Toronto.

Toronto International Film festival (TIFF) will present Colman Domingo with the TIFF Tribute Performer Award on September 10.

The award “recognizes an overall body of exceptional work” and is one of seven being handed out at the fifth annual TIFF Tribute Awards gala at Fairmont Royal York Hotel.

In light of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, now in its 46th day, TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey has told Screen that following conversations with SAG-AFTRA, actor tributees will be allowed discuss the body of their work on stage but not latest films by struck companies.

Netflix released the teaser trailer and poster for Rustin on the 60th anniversary of the historic March on Washington. Colman Domingo (Fear the Walking Dead) stars as gay civil rights leader Bayard Rustin, the man who organized the march and whose place in history has been largely overlooked since the 1963 march.

“We are committed to the cause of altering the trajectory of this country towards freedom. They either believe in freedom and justice for all – or they do not,” states Domingo as Rustin in the first teaser for the awards-season release.

Joining SAG award nominee Colman Domingo (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) are Emmy winner Chris Rock as Roy Wilkins, Emmy winner Glynn Turman as A. Philip Randolph, Aml Ameen as Martin Luther King Jr., Gus Halper, Emmy nominee Cch Pounder, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Johnny Ramey, Michael Potts, and Lilli Kay. The talented ensemble also includes Jordan-Amanda Hall, Jakeem Powell,...

Since hip-hop's inception, the culture has been a male-dominated space. Women have had to fight for their right to exist alongside their male peers, exercise autonomy over their bodies, and rap without restrictions. It's no secret that the culture of hip-hop is inherently fueled by misogyny and patriarchy; female rappers have been ostracized, while their male counterparts stand to gain. But in recent years, an influx of women rappers have emerged, ushering in a resurgence of sexually explicit lyrics that have jolted mainstream music, social media, and even politics. Yes, women in music have always talked about their sexual prowess; women rappers are simply continuing a long and strong tradition of Black women loudly reclaiming their own sexuality, most notably under the umbrella of "pussy rap."

For hip-hop's 50th anniversary, it's important to honor those who gave rise to and continued to iterate on the subgenre - one of the...

For fully half of Bob Dylan’s career, his primary focus has been the road. Since the late Eighties, he’s done plus-or-minus a hundred shows a year, pandemic excepted. Along the way, he’s been remaking his catalog, twisting the classics into drastic new shapes. He’d always done that, of course, from turning his folk songs into electric rock in the mid-Sixties, on down to his infamous speed-snarl through “Masters of War” at the Grammy Awards in 1991. That sense of constant evolution also seems to have played a...

Four-time Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Erykah Badu (What Men Want) has been set to make a cameo appearance with musical performances in Netflix‘s film The Piano Lesson, based on the play by August Wilson.

Leading the pic, as previously announced, are John David Washington and Samuel L. Jackson, who starred in a Broadway revival of the play at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, which has just recently landed Tony noms for Best Revival of a Play and Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play (Jackson).

Part of Wilson’s famed 10-play “American Century Cycle,” also encompassing such titles as Fences and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The Piano Lesson is set in 1936 Pittsburgh during the aftermath of the Great Depression. The film centers on the lives of the Charles family in the Doaker Charles household and an heirloom, the family piano, which is decorated with designs carved by an enslaved ancestor.

Exclusive: Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kandi Burruss and husband/entrepreneur Todd Tucker have joined the producing for the Broadway-bound revival of The Wiz, Deadline has learned.

In a statement, Burruss and Tucker said, “We are thrilled to be part of The Wiz. The songs, choreography, costumes, everything about The Wiz is epic.

“We have always said we want to help open the doors of theatre to all people,” they continued. “Theatre has the power to influence and inspire people to create change through art, and that is what we all need now. Art can heal and art can change you. It has changed us. So, come on and ease on down the road with us.”

The Wiz will be the latest Broadway production credit for Burruss and Tucker, following the recent Tony-nominated revival of The Piano Lesson and last season’s Thoughts of a Colored Man. Burruss also has...

Netflix is turning August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, The Piano Lesson, into a new film starring an all-star cast. John David Washington and Samuel L. Jackson star in the upcoming drama, with Ray Fisher (Justice League), Danielle Deadwyler, Michael Potts (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), and Corey Hawkins (The Tragedy of Macbeth). Washington’s brother, Malcolm Washington, will make his screenwriting and directorial debut on the project.

The story takes place in 1936 Pittsburgh, after the Great Depression. The Piano Lesson revolves around the Charles family in the Doaker Charles household and an heirloom, the family piano, adorned with carvings by an enslaved ancestor. Throughout the tale, a brother and sister argue about what to do with the piano. One wants to sell the priceless instrument, while the other wants to keep the artifact in the family.

Virgil Williams (Mudbound) and Washington adapted the screenplay, with Constanza Romero, Jennifer Roth, and Katia Washington executive producing.

August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning stage play The Piano Lesson is set for a film adaptation for Netflix, with Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington starring after they wrapped a successful Broadway revival co-starring Danielle Brooks.

The film will also follow Netflix’s adaptation of another August Wilson play, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which starred Viola Davis, who also appeared alongside John David Washington’s father, Denzel Washington, in a movie adaptation of another Wilson play, Fences. Denzel Washington and Davis also starred in the 2020 Netflix documentary Giving Voice, which explored the legacy of Wilson as a playwright.

Denzel’s son Malcolm Washington will direct the film adaptation of The Piano Lesson, based on a screenplay he penned with Virgil Williams. Denzel Washington will produce the film along with Todd Black.

The Piano Lesson screen adaptation follows Latanya Richardson Jackson directing her husband, Samuel L. Jackson, on Broadway...

John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman) is set to star opposite Honorary Oscar winner Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) in The Piano Lesson — a Netflix film adaptation of August Wilson’s classic play, which will mark the feature directorial and screenwriting debut of his brother, Malcolm Washington. Pic’s starry ensemble will also include Ray Fisher (Rebel Moon), Danielle Deadwyler (Till), Michael Potts (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) and Corey Hawkins (The Tragedy of Macbeth).

Set in 1936 Pittsburgh during the aftermath of the Great Depression, The Piano Lesson follows the lives of the Charles family in the Doaker Charles household and an heirloom, the family piano, which is decorated with designs carved by an enslaved ancestor.

Virgil Williams (Mudbound) and Washington adapted the screenplay for the film, to be exec produced by Constanza Romero, Jennifer Roth and Katia Washington, which will mark the latest in a series of stage-to-screen adaptations of Wilson’s...

HBO Max‘s It prequel series has added four new cast members, including Dexter alum James Remar and Perry Mason actor Chris Chalk. As reported by Variety, Remar and Chalk will be joined by Taylour Paige (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) and Jovan Adepo (Watchmen) for the upcoming series, which is currently titled Welcome to Derry. Character details are not yet known as the series is keeping things under wraps, but we do know that the show is set in the world of Stephen King‘s It universe and is based on his It novel. It is expected to expand the vision established by director Andy Muschietti in the feature films It and It Chapter Two. Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Vanity Fair; Frazer Harrison/Getty Images The series was ordered at HBO Max in February and is developed by Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, and Jason Fuchs, with the latter...

Don’t call it a comeback. Call it a reintroduction.

After 13 years of an uphill struggle, Mo’Nique’s emphatic return to Hollywood promises to be a new chapter for the comedian as she rebuilds her career — and reassesses her relationships.

After an astonishing 2010 Oscar win for best supporting actress in “Precious,” the comedian quickly found herself embroiled in a public back-and-forth with her collaborators Lee Daniels and Oprah Winfrey after Mo’Nique claimed the producers behind the critically acclaimed film were purposefully pushing her out of Hollywood. The high-profile spat was prompted by Mo’Nique’s refusal to promote the 2009 film, or even to campaign for a supporting actress Oscar.

Her roles for the next decade would be sparse. In 2015, she co-starred as Ma Rainey in Queen Latifah’s made-for-hbo film “Bessie.” She followed up that performance with a role in the Will Packer-produced holiday flick “Almost Christmas” in...