The 82nd Annual Golden Globe Nominations: See if Your Favorites Made the List!
Hollywood is preparing to celebrate the best in film and TV. The nominees for the 82nd Golden Globe Awards were revealed by Mindy Kaling and Morris Chestnut, kicking off the unofficial start of award season. The list includes some nice surprises (Pamela Anderson, The Substance, Nobody Wants This), some non-surprises (The Bear, Hacks, Wicked) and several snubs (Saoirse Ronan, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Paul Mescal). The film Emilia Pérez earned 10 nominations including Best Motion Picture - Music or Comedy. The Bear continued its lead across TV categories with five nominations. Selena Gomez picked up noms for both film and TV (for Emilia Pérez and Only Murders in the Building) as did Kate Winslet (for Lee and The Regime), plus Sebastian Stan picked up two, both for film (The Apprentice and A Different Man).
Smackdown at the Oscars: Will Smith Claps Back
Will Smith made quite the statement at the Oscars last night, and believe me, nothing was left to interpretation. While preparing to announce the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, Chris Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith appearing in G.I. Jane 2 because of her shaved head. Even though Smith appeared to laugh, both he and Jada found it disrespectful. Not a moment later, Will Smith was on stage in front of Rock -- and the world -- where he open-hand slapped the renowned comedian. That was followed by Rock going, "Oh wow! Will Smith just smacked the shit out of me!" Now obviously, this is beyond a big deal. These are important guys, and there are many levels to this shit. So, let's really break down the ins, outs and impact of what Rock himself called "the greatest night in the history of television." This wasn't the first Smith Smackdown (see video below).
Queen Latifah Evens the Score on CBS's "The Equalizer"
Words lose power when they're bandied about indiscriminately. Consider the overworked "awesome." When someone hands you a coffee you just paid for, that's not awesome. However, watching the sun seemingly dip into the Pacific Ocean exemplifies the word. Such is the way of "badass." It gets tossed around so much that any female who can lace up a pair of Converse and fix a steely gaze is heralded as a badass. Allow us to introduce you to a bona fide badass: Queen Latifah.
The Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream Mystery. Where Can This Award-Winning Anti-Racism Biography Be Watched (Legally)?
In 1995, Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream, a 95-minute documentary won the Peabody Award and was nominated for both an Oscar and Emmy Award as Best Documentary. It won the Crystal Heart Award, the top honor, at the Heartland Film Festival. Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream is one of the best and most honored sports documentaries in film history. Yet the original has been buried since its original VHS release and nowhere is this story of Hank's extraordinary role in racial justice and civil rights available to be seen to honor his passing. There are seven (probably none after today) used VHS copies available at Amazon, but the film was never converted to DVD and is not available on any streaming platform. The mystery is why?
Chadwick Boseman: Young, Black and Gifted
I still remember the feeling I had after seeing Black Panther back in 2018. I remember walking out of the theater into the cool night air, the smell of buttered popcorn dissipating in my wake, and feeling this almost electric kind of excitement; I was damn near literally buzzing with what I would later realize was pride. No, it wasn't an authorial kind of pride (as I had nothing to do with the film's production or subsequent success), but rather a communal kind, born from ingesting just over two hours of Black people being all types of amazing -- and in a Disney movie, no less. In all honesty I was genuinely taken aback by it because, unfortunately, that just isn't something that happens all the time. I even wrote about it, saying "It's not just a great 'black' movie; it's a great movie in general," and you know what? It still is. That, somehow, was my first time experiencing the late, great Chadwick Boseman carry a film as its lead, and while I understood the impact that the movie he was in and the character he played had on the culture -- and the world -- I still didn't understand the true impact of the man himself. Now, after his unexpected and unfortunate passing, it only makes sense that I use this platform to shine a light, not only on Boseman's life, but also on what he gave us before he was gone.
“Black Panther” Is a Billion-Dollar Phenomenon and an Opportunity
Black Panther, the latest entry in Marvel's cinematic universe, has far exceeded box office expectations, with numbers that have made it a myth-busting game changer with significant implications for content producers of all genres -- and Hollywood in particular. The conventional myth masquerading as wisdom in Hollywood has been that films featuring a primarily black cast would not provide significant financial returns. This film’s transcendence from blockbuster status to full-blown phenomenon -- it has now made $1 billion at the box office -- heralds a new status quo that can’t be overstated.
