Covid isn’t done with New York’s theater scene just yet. At least four Broadway and major Off Broadway productions have either canceled or postponed performances or temporarily replaced principal cast members in the last week due to the virus.
07.10.2022 - 17:09 / variety.com
Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Samuel L. Jackson, Laurence Fishburne, Whoopi Goldberg and Zendaya are just some of the stars who appear in Elvis Mitchell’s “Is That Black Enough for You?” Netflix documentary. Mitchell’s doc bows this weekend at the New York Film Festival. Mitchell, a film critic who has written for LA Weekly and The New York Times takes on the role of writer, director and narrator as he traces the history of Black representation in cinema. The documentary examines Black cultural achievement in the 1960s and ’70s and debunks the notion that Black cinema in that period only meant Blaxploitation films.
Speaking with Variety, Mitchell says he was inspired by his life experience to make the documentary: “As a Black viewer, I found myself confronted with what wasn’t being voiced about my people, and wondered why the movies were so slow to respond to Black audiences — who were paying good money to see movies — and even social shifts brought about by the civil rights movement.”
Adds Mitchell, “When Black films from the late ’60s and the ’70s come up, they’re dismissed with the term ‘Blaxploitation’. I have nothing against that word, but any era that includes ‘Killer of Sheep’, ‘Lady Sings the Blues’, ‘Blazing Saddles’ and ‘Symbiopsychotaxiplasm’ can’t be disregarded with that phrase.” Steven Soderbergh and David Fincher both serve as producers on the documentary, which Mitchell says was 23 years in the making. At one point, the documentary was going to be a book, but Mitchell says it was “turned down by every publisher you can think of — and probably several you couldn’t — even with an introduction that Toni Morrison offered to write.” However, Soderbergh’s support moved the project along. “He was my DP for the
Covid isn’t done with New York’s theater scene just yet. At least four Broadway and major Off Broadway productions have either canceled or postponed performances or temporarily replaced principal cast members in the last week due to the virus.
Naman Ramachandran After 10 years of living with characters he created on the page, Soman Chainani, author of the bestselling “The School for Good and Evil” series of novels, is delighted to see his world come to life. The Netflix film “The School for Good and Evil,” directed by Paul Feig, had a glitzy Los Angeles premiere on Oct. 18 and began streaming worldwide the following day. It follows best friends Sophie and Agatha who find themselves on opposing sides of a modern fairy tale when they’re swept away into an enchanted school where young heroes and villains are trained to protect the balance of good and evil. The cast includes Sophia Anne Caruso, Sofia Wylie, Laurence Fishburne, Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Flatters, Kit Young, Peter Serafinowicz, Rob Delaney, Mark Heap, Patti LuPone and Rachel Bloom, with Kerry Washington and Charlize Theron.
In 2011, I was shot in the head while meeting with constituents. In 2013, two years to the day from being shot and a month after the horrific tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary, I founded a gun violence prevention organization today known as Giffords. I’ve spent the past 10 years fighting for gun safety — and I’m also a gun owner.
Danielle Brooks celebrated the opening night of her Broadway show The Piano Lesson just days ago and she sadly has to take a break from performing as she just tested positive for COVID-19.
UPDATED, 11:45 AM: Netflix has unveiled a new trailer for its YA fantasy pic The School for Good and Evil, directed by Paul Feig (Last Christmas), which is slated for a global release on the streamer on October 19.
For over two decades, Elvis Mitchell, a film critic for LA Weekly and The New York Times, has wanted to put Blaxploitation in its proper historical place. While the results of his desire would prototypically arrive from Mitchell in the form of a book, sadly, those plans went for naught.
Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur has gotten an early Season 2 renewal. Disney Branded Television has ordered a second season of the animated series ahead of its Feb. 10 premiere. The animated show debuts first Disney Channel and shortly thereafter on Disney+. The news, along with a clip from the theme song, “Moon Girl Magic,” written and produced by executive music producer Raphael Saadiq and performed by series star Diamond White (voice of Lunella aka Moon Girl), was revealed today during the series’ panel at New York Comic Con.
Paramount+ today debuted the official mid-season trailer for season one of its original animated kids’ series, Star Trek: Prodigy. The trailer was introduced by executive producers Kevin and Dan Hageman, during the “Star Trek” universe panel at New York Comic Con.
A brand new look for Jason Momoa‘s upcoming movie, Slumberland, is here!
James McAvoy speaks on stage during the His Dark Materials interview at New York Comic Con 2022 on Thursday (October 6) in New York City.
“One decade answered the question: what happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun, or does it explode?” That’s film critic, now filmmaker Elvis Mitchell narrating in his new documentary “Is That Black Enough For You?!?” Mitchell’s new doc, executive produced by David Fincher and Steven Soderbergh, centers on the 1970s Black film revolution and the rise of Blaxploitation in that decade. Continue reading ‘Is That Black Enough For You?!?’ Trailer: Samuel L.
The conversation around Chris Pratt’s casting as the voice of Mario in Illumination and Nintendo’s upcoming The Super Mario Bros Movie was well underway before Thursday. But it hit a new gear after the first trailer – and first listen of Pratt’s interpretation of the video game icon — was released at New York Comic-Con. It hits theaters April 7, 2023.
At New York Comic-Con today, attendees finally got a look at Illumination Animation/Universal’s The Super Mario Bros Movie, which features the voices of Chris Pratt as Mario, Charlie Day as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Jack Black as Bowser, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong and Keegan-Michael Key as Toad.
William Earl Variety has announced the lineup for its annual Business of Broadway breakfast presented by City National Bank in New York on Oct. 17. Samuel L. Jackson and LaTanya Richardson Jackson will join the event for a keynote conversation about their collaboration on the revival of August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson,” currently playing on Broadway. The programming will also include a Broadway producers panel moderated by Erik Piecuch, senior vice president and entertainment banking leader of City National Bank. The panel will feature Lee Daniels (“Ain’t No Mo’”), Cindy Tolan (“Death of a Salesman”), LaChanze (“Kimberly Akimbo” and “Topdog/Underdog”) and Ken Davenport (“A Beautiful Noise”). The producers will speak about their experiences premiering new productions on Broadway this season and how the business has changed since Broadway’s return.
Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman have had a Pulp Fiction reunion backstage on Broadway.The actors, who played Jules Winnfield and Mia Wallace respectively in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 film alongside John Travolta, met up last Saturday (October 1) at the Broadway revival of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson.The play is currently being performed in previews at the Barrymore Theatre in New York.