"Till" Trailer and Director's Notes

by Nathaniel R

United Artists has released the trailer for Till, which begins its platform release on October 7th, 2022. The new feature film documents the long determined journey of Mamie Till-Mobley (Danielle Deadwyler) as she sought justice for the lynching of her 14 year-old son Emmett Till which occurred on a 1955 trip to visit his cousins in Mississippi. Through her determination her son's murder raised major awareness of social injustice and racism and became a major catalyst in the then nascent Civil Rights Movement. Emmett Till's death has inspired or been referenced in multiple books, poems, plays, movies, and television episodes. Documentaries and shorts about Emmett Till and his family have also been made but, as far as we can tell, Till is the first narrative feature film adaptation. Might it be heading to Oscar nominations?

We had the pleasure of attending a conversation with the director Chinonye Chukwu about the film last week. Highlights from that conversation and the Till trailer are after the jump...

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An appeal to the Academy (and the wonder of Lady Gaga)

by Cláudio Alves

The 94th Academy Awards were marked by a scene that will surely live in infamy, one of those immortal Oscar moments destined to overshadow everything else about the ceremony, its winners, and the overall season. Whatever one might think about it, AMPAS wasn't to blame for it. However, there's no way to deny their responsibility for the night's other failings. Indeed, The Slap wasn't the reason I'd call the 94th Academy Awards the worst ceremony of my lifetime. That would be its overall contempt for the art of the movies. This came through in the ceremony in ways that Nathaniel and Eric have already written about.

And yet, hope is everlasting.  The 94th Academy Awards ended on a positive note that might point us towards a better future, a return to form...

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Emmy Watch: Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie

By Nathaniel R

Whoopi Goldberg in "The Stand"

The Emmy nominations are just under two weeks away so soon we'll have actual shortlists to discuss rather than speculation. But let's wrap up the acting categories with a discussion of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series Or Movie. This category isn't quite as heavy on honoring a single show as the parallel supporting actor category tends to be -- we'll generally get two nominees from one series here (though last year Mrs America took up half the list). According to Emmy ballots there are 116 women in the running which means there will be 6 nominees which has become the standard for this category.

MOVIES
Though this category includes stand-alone movies made for television, and stage shows that were filmed,  there's generally little room in the nominee circle for performances that weren't in limited series. It's been three years since a live event muscled in here (Sara Bareilles in Jesus Christ Superstar: Live in Concert) and four years since an actress from a standalone telefilm was nominated (Michelle Pfeiffer in Wizard of Lies)...

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Gay Best Friend: Jane in "Boys on the Side" (1995)

a series by Christopher James looking at the 'Gay Best Friend' trope 

Incredibly disappointed I only now realized there was a road trip dramedy with Whoopi Goldberg, Mary-Louise Parker and Drew Barrymore.Long live the era of Whoopi Goldberg vehicles (aka the 90s).

Goldberg kick-started the 90s by winning a (well-deserved) Oscar for Ghost and headlining the smash-hit Sister Act. From there, we got a string of movies where Goldberg was the leading lady. Though they varied in quality and weren’t always progressive, it was impressive to see movie after movie built around a black actress. Who else could do Eddie, Bogus, The Associate AND Ghosts of Mississippi all in 1996? We’re going a year earlier for this week’s gay best friend. No, we’re not talking about Theodore Rex (though… should we). Instead, we are talking about the messy dramedy I didn’t know I needed in my life, Boys on the Side.

Unlike in past weeks, our gay best friend (technically) takes center stage. Jane (Goldberg) is a lesbian musician looking to get out of New York and move Los Angeles after a tumultuous breakup...

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Academy's New Governors: Whoopi Returns, Ava Rises.

by Nathaniel R

Ava DuVernay is now on a Governor in the Director's Branch of the Academy

As you might imagine, steering a behemoth institution like The Oscars is no small task. To do that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has about 8 "officers" (including the current President David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson) as well as a 3 "Governors" from each of the 17 branches.

Each governor serves a 3 year term so there aren't huge upheavals from year to year since only 33% of a board might change). Some of the Officers are also Governors within their respective branches. The Academy recently held elections again for the 2020/2021 season and these folks will be helping to make the difficult decisions like "what to do about the upcoming Oscar ceremony given COVID-19" and such...

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