Movies
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Green Book Writer Nick Vallelonga Faces Stop Sign—Deletes Twitter Following Backlash Over 2015 Anti-Muslim Tweet
There’s no sugar-coated way to say it—Green Book is in deep shit. The film, based on the (supposed) friendship between Tony “Lip” Vallelonga and acclaimed pianist Dr. Don Shirley, is just what the white “I have black friends” audience ordered to soothe their souls for another year. Following its Golden Globe wins, many people took…
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What You Want? Baby, You Got It: Aretha Franklin’s Biopic Lands Black Female Director
As long rumored, the late Queen of Soul is finally getting her just due respect via the silver screen. The biopic on the late great Aretha Franklin is aptly titled Respect, after her most noteworthy song. According to Variety, the film is making progress as a director has been secured— Liesl Tommy will be helming…
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Sterling K. Brown Almost Had His Challenge Day as M'Baku in Black Panther, but Ryan Coogler Had Other Ideas
IT’S CHALLENGE DAY—Well, it was for Sterling K. Brown. Almost. The This Is Us actor chatted with Variety and gave insight into how he became N’Jobu in Black Panther, particularly pointing out how he originally auditioned for M’Baku. As we know, the part of T’Challa’s (Chadwick Boseman) challenger eventually went to the bombastic brick house…
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2019 BAFTAs: Nominations Are Out and The 'Rising Star' Category is Particularly Black AF
It’s that time again: the film industry across the pond is staking their claim within awards season with The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards nominees for 2019. Fun fact: some awards prediction experts also use what happens at the BAFTAs to determine what will happen at the Academy Awards because the…
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Only 5 of the Top-Grossing Films Since 2007 Were Directed by Black Women—and 2 Were From Ava DuVernay
We’re making some progress, but we have quite a ways to go. In a recent study conducted by USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative (pdf), 2017 showed a notable increase in black filmmakers within the top 100-grossing movies of that year. Fourteen percent of the directors in that coveted group were black, which is a 270 percent…
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Black Girl Magic Indeed: Letitia Wright is Crowned 2018's Queen of the Box Office
Letitia Wright did the damn thing this year. Whether it was stealing scenes with her acerbic wit as Shuri in Black Panther, popping up as the evocatively named Jules Skateboarder in The Commuter, portraying the rebellious Reb in Ready Player One, or giving Thanos the business in Avengers: Infinity War, this was unquestionably a breakout…
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Bandersnatch Stole 3 Hours of My Life Last Night, and Will Get Even More of My Time Over the Weekend
Let me tell you how I am operating on about four hours of sleep right now. My night started out with an Erykah Badu concert at the Novo in Los Angeles, but that is a story for another time. My only point in mentioning it is that I got home rather late—at 1 a.m. to…
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Netflix's Bird Box Is Really About How White People Don't Want to See Racism
Spoiler alert: Some major plot points will be revealed in this article. And by “some,” I mean “all of them.” If you haven’t seen or read the viral social media discussions of the Netflix thriller Bird Box, you’re missing one of the greatest race allegory movies that has ever been released in the last part…
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Nicki Minaj Has Found the Perfect Role: An Angry Bird
When art imitates life: Nicki Minaj may be voicing an Angry Bird! According to Variety, Nicki has been cast in The Angry Birds Movie 2, the sequel to the film about the popular smartphone/tablet game. The character Nicki will be portraying isn’t clear, but it has to be a bird, right? Specifically, a miffed member…