Ava DuVernay
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Ava DuVernay Secures the Bag With $100 Million Warner Bros. TV Deal
Ava DuVernay’s ascension to Hollywood black royalty status has been something of a Cinderella story, and with her most recent achievement, her tale just got that much richer—so to speak. From her brief affair with a career in journalism that included covering the OJ Simpson trial for CBS News to her turn as a film…
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The Coronation of Our Queen Cicely Tyson at the 2018 Governors Awards
Last night, I had the privilege to attend the 2018 Governors Awards in Hollywood, Calif., and saw Cicely Tyson receive her honorary Oscar. She is the first black woman to ever win the honor. In a career that has spanned nearly 70 years, the 93-year-old actress has starred with some of the best and the…
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At 93, Cicely Tyson Gets Her 1st Oscar—and Danai Gurira Gets Mistaken for Viola Davis?
It was an honor more than 45 years in the making, but Cicely Tyson finally took home an Oscar on Sunday night at the 10th annual Governors Awards in Hollywood, Ca. Voted on by the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Governors Awards were created to grant honorary…
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As California Is Engulfed in Flames, Celebrities Unload on Trump for Remaining as Callous as Ever
If you were the President of the United States, and one of the biggest states in the country was being ravaged by rampant wildfires that have caused unspeakable deaths and damage, I would imagine that casting blame and threatening to pull federal funding while people are literally running for their lives would be the last…
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A Prince Documentary Is in the Works at Netflix—with Ava DuVernay at the Helm
“Black excellence” is a phrase oft-used at The Root, but we’re not sure it’s quite adequate to describe this news: In the midst of completing her highly anticipated drama for Netflix, The Central Park Five, Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated filmmaker Ava DuVernay is also in production on another documentary for the network, this time about…
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It’s a Wrap! Urbanworld Closes Its 22nd Year With a Very Promising Slate of Fall Films
Collaboration, innovation and the power of women—these were recurrent themes at the 2018 Urbanworld Film Festival, which brought unseen gems, highly-anticipated box office hits, and established and up-and-coming filmmakers and talents from all over the world together for five incredible days in New York City. The week, which opened with the Tiffany Haddish and Kevin…
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When Black Women Rock the Vote
Let’s be clear, the black vote is crucial in each and every election. And as history has shown, when it comes time to vote, black women get the job done. “The black woman’s voice is, in fact, the black vote,” said political commentator Symone Sanders. “I know the political apparatus or many folks in the…
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Janet, Lena, Latifah and More: Black Girls Rock! Returns to the Red Carpet
The ceremony won’t be televised until Sept. 9, but on Sunday night at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, N.J., black girl magic was on full display as an array of our established and future icons hit the red carpet for Black Girls Rock! 2018. Honorees Janet Jackson, Mary J. Blige, Naomi Campbell,…
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Looks Like Tevin Campbell Is Having the Best Week Ever
Timing, as they say, is everything. Aretha Franklin went home to see the King last week and almost as soon as she passed, the discussions about who should (and shouldn’t) be involved in any tributes to and for the Queen started on the social medias. Discussions were started about who should play her in a…