Ava Duvernay Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Award-winning writer, producer, comedian, and actor Quinta Brunson, creator of ABC and Warner Bros. Television’s TV series , will receive the ICG Publicists (International Cinematographers Guild, IATSE Local 600) 2023 Television Showperson Award. 

Ava DuVernay‘s “Caste” has been shooting in Savannah, GA for weeks without any casting news save for “King Richard” star Aunjanue Ellis leading the cast. But now Deadline has the scoop on who joins Ellis for the upcoming film, and it’s an intriguing list.  Niecy Nash-Betts, Jon Bernthal, Vera Farmiga, Nick Offerman, Jasmine Cephas Jones, and Connie Nielson are all on board for DuVernay’s race drama.

The Berlin Film Festival today unveiled the titles selected for its retrospective section chosen by a collection of international directors and actors, including Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson, Nadine Labaki, and Tilda Swinton.

The United Kingdom swept the two marquee categories at the 50th anniversary International Emmy Awards, which here handed out Monday night in New York. Vigil took Best Drama Series, and Sex Education took the Comedy Series prizes.

Anthony Fauci said that when he was approached by the National Portrait Gallery of an “unusual person” they suggested to create his portrait, “not only was I not reluctant about it, I got very excited about it.”

EXCLUSIVE: Award-winning director, actress, dancer, choreographer and producer Debbie Allen is adding talk show host to her resume.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Amazon Prime Video has scored a pair of deals with Warner Bros. Discovery and Sony to bolster its programming in France with premium titles. The agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery gives Prime Video the first-window rights to exclusive TV series from Warner Bros. Discovery in France, including “Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin,” the first two seasons of “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” Ava DuVernay’s miniseries “DMZ” and “Peacemaker” Season 1. Also part of the pact are library TV titles, on a non-exclusive basis. These include “Legacies” (Seasons 1 through 3), “Pretty Little Liars,” “Fringe,” “One Tree Hill,” “The Originals” and “Shameless.”

Oprah Winfrey revealed that she had to undergo not one, but two knee surgeries in 2021. During a conversation as part of her, the focus was gratitude. After one of the guests mentioned having an appreciation for every limb and every organ, Winfrey decided to share her story.

Selome Hailu Brooke Karzen is stepping down from her post as executive vice president and head of Warner Horizon Unscripted Television, Variety has learned. She shared the news with staff via a memo on Monday. See the full memo below. Dear Team, I’m reaching out today, so you hear the news from me that I’ve decided to leave my position as Executive Vice President and Head of Warner Horizon Unscripted Television. Leaving Warner Bros. after 22 years was not an easy decision, but the time is right for a change. I will take some time to consider new opportunities and am excited to start a new chapter.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer If it’s possible to pull off solemn conversations about the stakes for women around the world and also have a fantastic party that toasts their remarkable achievements, Variety did just that on Wednesday in Beverly Hills. In a sprawling takeover of the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, heavy-hitting executives, producers, writers, talent and glitterati convened to celebrate the annual event and magazine feature. Cover stars Hillary and Chelsea Clinton, Oprah Winfrey and Ava DuVernay, activist icon Malala Yousafzai, and actor Elizabeth Olsen were all in attendance to speak on behalf of causes important to each – as well as a path forward to equity in a time of unrest for women and other marginalized communities in the U.S.. 

Angelique Jackson Oprah Winfrey delivered an inspiring speech to close out Variety’s Power of Women dinner, presented by Lifetime. Winfrey was honored at the event alongside her “Queen Sugar” partner Ava DuVernay, both of whom turned the OWN series into a launching pad for female directors. Winfrey championed “Queen Sugar” for “defining the OWN network” and for “reflecting black families.” “We are all looking for the same thing,” Winfrey said. “This is the one lesson I came away from doing ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show.’ The common denominator of our experiences is that we all want to know that we matter and we want a show that reflects our values.”

Kate Aurthur editor The coalition of showrunners, TV creators and directors formed in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in June to overturn Roe v. Wade are continuing to put pressure on Hollywood studios to put safety protocols into place in abortion-hostile states. But on Sept. 28, in a full-page ad in the Power of Women issue of Variety, the still-unnamed coalition thanked those studios “for fully engaging and being thought leaders with us,” as the message reads in part. (The page was donated to the coalition by Variety‘s sales team without charge. The full letter is included below.) The coalition’s efforts became public on July 28, when Variety reported that 411 showrunners had sent nine major studios a letter demanding that new safety protocols be established for productions in states where abortion has been outlawed. Four days later, 594 male showrunners and creators backed up that demand — and the group was soon joined by nearly 400 directors.

Oprah Winfrey and Ava DuVernay are two of the creative leaders honored for Variety’s 2022 Power of Women presented by Lifetime. For more, click here. Oprah Winfrey has spent most of her career talking, so it’s a little surprising that the only sound you hear from the porch of her second home in Maui is absolute silence. Forget about the ocean waves or rustling palm trees. OK, if you’re lucky enough to hang with Oprah for an entire afternoon, this zen will be interrupted by the periodic squawking of wild roosters. In such a tranquil retreat, you can think clearly, cradled in the beauty of all that Hawaii has to offer. It’s this very place of refuge, in fact, where Winfrey set a trap for filmmaker Ava DuVernay that would launch one of their greatest collaborations: OWN’s “Queen Sugar.”

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Oprah Winfrey and Apple TV+ have concluded their mega overall deal, first announced in 2018. Both sides have confirmed the evolution, but declined to comment. It’s understood that both sides have agreed to continue to work together, but on a project-by-project basis, now that their previous deal is ending. Winfrey and Apple TV+ are already currently collaborating on the documentary “Sidney,” about the life of iconic Oscar-winning actor Sidney Poitier. That project, directed by Reggie Hudlin, is through Apple Original Films and debuted this past Friday on Apple TV+. Winfrey and Apple also continue to collaborate on “Oprah’s Book Club,” which is available on both OprahDaily.com and Apple Books. 

William Earl The “On the Carpet” pre-show powered by DIRECTV at Variety Power of Women presented by Lifetime will be livestreamed on Variety.com and Variety’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages starting at 6:45 p.m. PT on Sept. 28. The red carpet will feature this year’s honorees: Ava DuVernay and Oprah Winfrey, Chelsea and Hillary Clinton, Malala and Elizabeth Olsen. Presenters include Kathryn Hahn, Sandra Oh, Quinta Brunson and Diane Guerrero. Halsey will give a special musical performance to kick-off the night. Variety senior entertainment writer Angelique Jackson and senior TV features editor Emily Longeretta will host the carpet with commentary provided by senior culture and events editor Marc Malkin and senior correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister, live from the Variety HQ Studio.

Taking a hike with Oprah is serious business.

Meghan Markle’s upcoming Variety cover has been postponed due to the Queen’s death. The Duchess Of Sussex was named one of the magazine’s Power of Women honourees, along with Oprah Winfrey, Elizabeth Olsen, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton, Ava DuVernay, among others. As a Power of Women honouree, Meghan, 41, was set to appear on the magazine's cover.

Meghan Markle’s Variety magazine cover has been postponed following the Queen’s death at age 96 on Thursday.

sundown town. The film tumbles giddily though a montage of late-breaking endorsements, from Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (truly the model for what Booker is doing in Kentucky), Elizabeth Warren and Hollywood power players like Ava DuVernay, Kerry Washington, Regina King and Kentucky’s own Jennifer Lawrence. Some of the transitions are a bit stilted, and the film’s present-tense presentation feels awkward (the news itself is a spoiler). We know how the primary ends, but it is a nail-biter to the very end, nevertheless, from a last-minute injunction called in to beg judges to allow polls to stay open longer for those voters caught in traffic to the weeklong process of counting the mail-in votes.

William Earl Variety is pleased to announce the honorees for its upcoming Power of Women issue and event on Wednesday, Sept. 28. The event, in partnership with Lifetime, celebrates the Power of Women honorees, who will appear on the cover of the issue, as well as the women profiled in the publication’s annual Women’s Impact Report, which highlights the top women working in entertainment.   This year’s honorees include Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton, who will be speaking about the importance of celebrating women and sharing their stories, as they do in their eight-part Apple TV+ documentary series “Gutsy,” which premiered on Sept. 9; Oprah Winfrey and Ava DuVernay, who will highlight the importance of hiring female directors as they did throughout the production of “Queen Sugar” currently airing it’s seventh and final season on OWN; Extracurricular Productions president and the world’s youngest Nobel laureate Malala, who will be speaking about young people in film and television and supporting the Pillars Artist Fellowship; and award-winning actress, producer, and star of Marvel’s WandaVision and this summer’s blockbuster “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”, Elizabeth Olsen, who will be speaking about her support of the The Rape Foundation/ Stuart House. The program will be hosted by Megan Stalter, the breakout star of “Hacks”.  

Film Academy chief executive Bill Kramer dropped a reminder in Toronto on Saturday, that his group’s movie museum will in February devote space to the late director John Singleton’s Boyz N The Hood.

specific demands for each studio. They were shortly joined by nearly 600 male creatives and around the same number of directors.

Kate Aurthur editor On Aug. 15, a coalition of showrunners, TV creators and directors sent a list of demands to studios, outlining the urgent need for abortion safety protocols for productions in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in June to overturn Roe v. Wade. It was the organization’s second letter — the studios had collectively answered the first one, sent on July 28 — with a response one member of the group, who spoke anonymously to Variety, called “patronizing” in an interview. The group’s second letter more clearly detailed the medical dangers for pregnant women in states where abortion is illegal because of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision — not only for those who want an abortion, but for women whose medical care might be otherwise compromised. Ignoring the collective response, which had been issued by the Motion Picture Association, the Aug. 15 appeal was sent directly to studio presidents, and members of the boards of directors at AMC Networks, Amazon Studios, Apple TV+, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Discovery. They gave a deadline of Labor Day for responses from the studios.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Hillary Clinton and Universal’s Donna Langley praised U.S. director, producer and social justice activist Ava DuVernay for being “a pathbreaker, a change-maker, a historical filmmaker,” as Clinton put it, during the 13th DVF Awards. The gala was held Thursday on the sidelines of the Venice Film Festival by fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg to honor extraordinary women.  The former U.S. secretary of state noted that DuVernay – who is among this year’s DVF honorees – “became the first African American woman ever nominated for an Academy Award as director [for “Selma”]. “Yes, her visionary works about Black histories and experiences are more relevant today than ever,” Clinton added. But Clinton went on to further praise DuVernay for “opening doors not just for herself, but for so many others.”

HELLO! where we are going to be shining a light on the kindest acts from celebrities each week. At HELLO! we are passionate about the power of kindness and the impact it can have on the world around us. Small acts of kindness can go a long way.We are recognising the stars from all walks of showbiz who have gone to great lengths to help others... We've just found out that Prince Harry gave $1.5 million of his own money during Covid to support children and young people in Botswana and Lesotho.We caught up with Sentebale charity's CEO Richard Miller at Harry's polo match: "The donation was a fantastic kindness and showed that his commitment to charity is not about him just turning up, it's deeply personal for him, giving his money.

Oprah Winfrey doesn't know how to pull off a birthday celebration! The media mogul recently took to Instagram to share a behind-the-scenes look at the lavish, three-day blowout she hosted in honor of Ava DuVernay's 50th birthday. The duo has been close friends for almost 10 years and have worked together on numerous projects throughout the decade, such as  Disney's  and OWN's Queen Sugar, for which they both serve as executive producers. In a video posted to her page, the 68-year-old surprises DuVernay with a tall bouquet of fresh-picked sunflowers from her garden. Winfrey reminisces on their first meeting in the caption and credited actor David Oyelowo for introducing her to the director through her indie film, «I googled who directed the movie because I had not heard of Ava DuVernay at the time.

Oprah Winfrey sure knows how to throw a party.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter The upcoming “Spiderwick Chronicles” TV series at Disney+ has cast Joy Bryant, Variety has learned exclusively. Bryant joins previously announced cast members Lyon Daniels and Noah Cottrell as well as Christian Slater. The show is based on the popular book series of the same name by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. In the show, upon leaving New York and moving to Michigan and into their run-down ancestral home—The Spiderwick Estate—with their mother, twin brothers Jared (Daniels) and Simon Grace (Cottrell), along with their sister Mallory, find themselves pulled into an alternate, fantastical world.