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When Jonathan Majors was a student at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, he taped a photocopied black and white headshot of Oscar-winning actor, director and activist Sidney Poitier on his wall.

“That’s the thing about Sidney, a lot of people know him from all his beautiful film work, but this is a theater-trained actor, that’s how I got to know him,” Majors tells Variety of the impact Poitier had on his career. “That’s why he was up in my dorm room — because I didn’t know anything about film — I just knew this man played Walter Lee [Younger from ‘A Raisin in the Sun’] on Broadway — the Hamlet, the King Lear of the African American canon.”

When Poitier died in January, at age 94, tributes poured in from across the industry and among the salutes was the Gotham Film and Media Institute’s posthumous presentation of the 2022 Icon tribute, which Majors,...

The challenge in making Sidney — about the pioneering Black actor, filmmaker and activist Sidney Poitier — was knowing where to stop, director Reginald Hudlin said during an appearance for Deadline’s Contenders Film: New York event at The Times Center in Manhattan.

“He had a long life, and every year of his life was consequential,” Hudlin said in a live video interview discussing the Apple Original Films documentary. “His teenage years were consequential. The circumstances of his birth were consequential. His retirement — he was an incredible mentor to an amazing range of people. So we wanted to get everything.”

Related: Contenders New York 2022: Deadline’s Complete Coverage

“And honestly, there’s always a slight period of mourning after you finish a movie like this over the things you weren’t able to put in,” Hudlin said.

Poitier, who died in January at age 94, did not live to see the finished film,...

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Here’s a look at this week’s biggest premieres, parties and openings in Los Angeles and New York, including red carpets for Sidney, Amsterdam, Bros, Reboot and Meet Cute.

A Jazzman’s Blues special screening

After debuting at TIFF, Tyler Perry, Milauna Jackson and Brad Benedict brought their film to Los Angeles for a special screening at Tudum Theater on Sept. 16.

Tyler Perry, Milauna Jackson and Brad Benedict

Amsterdam premiere

Writer-director David O. Russell and stars Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Andrea Riseborough, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Rami Malek, Timothy Olyphant and Robert De Niro, as well as producers Matthew Budman and Anthony Katagas and executive producers Drake and Adel “Future” Nur celebrated the world premiere of Amsterdam at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center on Sunday. Ben Stiller also moderated a Q&a with the cast and filmmakers following the screening.

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“I just saw what I saw,” an elder Sidney Poitier says in an interview reflecting on his early childhood in the Bahamas, when he’d never seen a mirror — or water coming through an indoor faucet — in the new Apple TV+ documentary Sidney. Out Friday on the platform, the Reginald Hudlin-directed, Oprah Winfrey-produced retrospective exists not only as a summary of Poitier’s singular career in Hollywood as an actor and filmmake,r but also as the first public memorial for the trailblazing visionary who died in January at age 94.

The youngest son of two principled tomato farmers who a soothsayer (rightly) predicted would touch all corners of the world at the time of his premature birth, Poitier would go on to top summits; in 1963, he won the best actor Academy Award for Lilies of the Field, the first Black actor...

Sidney Poitier’s barrier-breaking legacy is now back on the big screen.

The Documentary “Sidney,” directed by Academy Award nominee Reginald Hudlin (“Marshall”), focuses on Poitier’s career as an actor, filmmaker, and activist during the Civil Rights Movement. Interviews with Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, Robert Redford, Lenny Kravitz, and Barbra Streisand frame the film, which is produced by Oprah Winfrey and Derik Murray in close collaboration with the Poitier family.

Winfrey’s Harpo Productions and the Network Entertainment produce the Apple Original Film, set to debut September 23 on AppleTV+ and in select theaters. Jesse James Miller wrote the documentary, with Terry Wood, Catherine Cyr, Brian Gersh, Paul Gertz, Reginald Hudlin, Joanna Shimkus Poitier, Anika Poitier, and Barry Krost executive producing.

Poitier says in the trailer, “I left the Bahamas with this sense of myself. And from the time I got off the boat, America began to say to me,...

Apple has unveiled the trailer for the new documentary film ‘Sidney,’ produced by Oprah Winfrey.

Directed by Academy Award nominee Reginald Hudlin, this revealing documentary honours the legendary Sidney Poitier and his legacy as an iconic actor, filmmaker and activist at the centre of Hollywood and the Civil Rights Movement. Featuring candid interviews with Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Robert Redford, Lenny Kravitz, Barbra Streisand, Spike Lee and many more, the film is also produced by Derik Murray, in close collaboration with the Poitier family.

Produced by Oprah Winfrey, and hailing from Harpo Productions and Network Entertainment, the documentary is directed by Reginald Hudlin and written by Jesse James Miller. Derik Murray also serves as producer. Terry Wood, Catherine Cyr, Brian Gersh, Paul Gertz, Reginald Hudlin, Joanna Shimkus Poitier, Anika Poitier and Barry Krost executive produce.

Also in trailers – “Tonight will be madness…” Full trailer drops for ‘The Menu’

The doc...

Today Apple unveiled the trailer for the new documentary film “Sidney,” produced by Oprah Winfrey.

From producer Oprah Winfrey and directed by Academy Award nominee Reginald Hudlin, this revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier and his legacy as an iconic actor, filmmaker and activist at the center of Hollywood and the Civil Rights Movement. Featuring candid interviews with Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Robert Redford, Lenny Kravitz, Barbra Streisand, Spike Lee and many more, the film is also produced by Derik Murray, in close collaboration with the Poitier family.

The actor was recognized twice by The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. The first time was when Actress Anne Bancroft presented Poitier the Oscar for Best Actor for Lilies of the Field at the 36th Academy Awards.

Sidney Poitier received an Honorary Oscar, presented by Denzel Washington, for his body of work at the 74th Annual Academy Awards.

Produced by Oprah Winfrey,...

The first trailer for “Sidney,” Apple TV+’s upcoming documentary on legendary film icon Sidney Poitier, has been released.

The film examines the legacy of Poitier, who died earlier this year at 94. One of the most acclaimed and recognizable movie stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood, and the first Black man to receive a best actor award, Poitier was also a director and an activist for the Civil Rights Movement. Interview subjects featured in the film include Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Robert Redford, Lenny Kravitz, Barbra Streisand and Spike Lee.

“Sidney” is directed by Reginald Hudlin, from a script by Jesse James Miller. Oprah Winfrey produces with Derik Murray for Harpo Productions and Network Entertainment. Hudlin executive produces with Poitier family members Joanna Shimkus Poitier and Anika Poitier, as well as Terry Wood, Catherine Cyr, Brian Gersh, Paul Gertz and Barry Krost.

“Sidney” releases Sept. 23. Watch the full trailer below.

Sidney Poitier is 94 years young and has lived an extraordinary life both on and offscreen. Now, his life is on its way to becoming a stage play, bound for Broadway.

Producers — including Poitier's own daughter, Anika Poitier — have announced that "Sidney," a play dramatizing the actor's life, will be written by Charles Randolph-Wright and directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson. The play is based on Poitier's autobiography, "The Measure of a Man," and it will chart his background growing up in the Bahamas to his time as a performer and activist.

The official description of "Sidney" (via Deadline) notes that the play will "explore the nature of sacrifice and...

The post The Life of Legendary Actor Sidney Poitier is Becoming a Broadway Play appeared first on /Film.

Gal Gadot, Ben Stiller, Billy Crystal, Tiffany Haddish, Josh Gad, Ben Platt, Beanie Feldstein, Henry Winkler and slated to appear during 45 Minutes of Inspiration, a live stream benefit gala for Holocaust Museum L.A.

Scheduled for Oct. 21 at 5:45 p.m Pst, the event serves as a fundraiser for the museum’s education programs. Hosted by Melissa Rivers, 45 Minutes of Inspiration will also feature appearances by Jack Black, Mayim Bialik, Jason Alexander, Mona Golabek, Michael Lawson, Richard Lewis, Anika Poitier, Sydney Poitier Heartsong, Paul Shaffer, Marc Shaiman, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, and others.

“With the rise in antisemitic ...

Gal Gadot, Ben Stiller, Billy Crystal, Tiffany Haddish, Josh Gad, Ben Platt, Beanie Feldstein, Henry Winkler and slated to appear during 45 Minutes of Inspiration, a live stream benefit gala for Holocaust Museum L.A.

Scheduled for Oct. 21 at 5:45 p.m Pst, the event serves as a fundraiser for the museum’s education programs. Hosted by Melissa Rivers, 45 Minutes of Inspiration will also feature appearances by Jack Black, Mayim Bialik, Jason Alexander, Mona Golabek, Michael Lawson, Richard Lewis, Anika Poitier, Sydney Poitier Heartsong, Paul Shaffer, Marc Shaiman, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, and others.

“With the rise in antisemitic ...

After the death of George Floyd and the protest aftermath, some films that came out in recent years take on added resonance, particularly those that involve the murder of black youths at the hands of quick triggered and fearful cops. Features include Fruitvale Station and The Hate U Give. I was fascinated by a most prescient 2019 short film sent to me by its makers, who intend on turning it into a limited series. On a leisurely Sunday, have a look at About The People, a Sterling Milan-directed drama that got strong reaction on the festival circuit last year, starting with an attempt by a powerful group of Black men to use their collective influence to force change, rather than waiting for it to be implemented by a white establishment that is only now reacting to the serious injustice people of color endure too often. I’ve got more after...

Attention, handbag fanatics: There's a newest "it" bag, and it's the Ferragamo Fiamma bag, named after Salvatore Ferragamo's late daughter. The Italian label has a family history of three generations, so in honor of the new launch, Ferragamo is releasing a series of short films of famous families talking about what it's like to have such a legendary last name. There are seven short films, including Sydney and Anika Poitier, Lola and Stella Schnabel and Mariel and Langley Hemingway. Mariel Hemingway is the granddaughter of—you guessed it—great American author Ernest Hemingway. She and her daughter Langley talk about their family legacy in the...