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The Oscars will continue their long-running tradition of honoring celebrated filmmakers with their "In Memoriam" segment on Sunday. ABC will broadcast the event hosted by Conan O'Brien with Hulu streaming the ceremony live at 7 p.m. Et; 4 p.m. Pt.

Among the Oscar winners and nominees who will have their lives celebrated are Teri Garr, Louis Gossett Jr., James Earl Jones, Jon Landau, David Lynch, Joan Plowright, Gena Rowlands, Albert S. Ruddy, David Seidler, Richard M. Sherman, Maggie Smith, Robert Towne, and honorary recipients Roger Corman, Quincy Jones, and Donald Sutherland.

There are more than 100 movie professionals who died since the last Academy Awards ceremony. Each person who was an Academy member is designated below with **. Keep in mind that producers usually choose between 40 and 50 for the segment and that a performer has not yet been confirmed.

Edited to add two-time Oscar winner Gene Hackman.

Jim Abrahams — Director/Writer

Anouk Aimée...

Queen of the Ring brings out the beast within fan-favorite Daredevil star Deborah Ann Woll.

Fans got an early look at Woll as real-life pro wrestler Gladys "Kill 'Em" Gillem in writer and director Ash Avildsen's hotly anticipated Queen of the Ring courtesy of a series a photos posted to Instagram on January 22. The images feature Woll both in and out of the ring, looking her fiercest, friendliest, and most contemplative throughout a variety of scenes and locations.

Related Martin Scorsese & Leonardo DiCaprio in Talks to Make Their Next Movie Together

Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio are reportedly in talks to produce a long awaited thriller series as their next feature film instead.

Based on Jeff Leen's book The Queen of the Ring: Sex, Muscles, Diamonds, and the Making of an American Legend, Avildsen's feature film follows the life and career of Mildred Burke, portrayed by Arrowverse and...

Acclaimed New Jack City screenwriter Barry Michael Cooper has passed away. He was 66 years old.

Per Variety, Cooper passed away on January 22, 2025, in Baltimore, Maryland. Cooper's passing was announced by a representative for award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee, with whom Lee collaborated for Netflix's streaming series adaptation of She's Gotta Have It.

Born in Harlem, New York sometime in 1957 or 1958, Cooper grew up in Little Washington Heights, spending much of his youth in the Esplanade Gardens co-op. Cooper served as an investigative reporter for The Village Voice throughout the 1980s. His time with the alt-weekly paper led to the publication of his article "Tedd Riley's New Jack Swing: Harlem Gangsters Raise a Genius," which is largely attributed for naming the genre itself back in 1987. Later that year, The Village Voice published Cooper's article "Kids Killing Kids: New Jack City Eats Its Young," which drew the attention of Quincy Jones, who...

Barry Michael Cooper, the groundbreaking screenwriter who shed light on urban experiences through film and journalism, died Tuesday in Baltimore. He was 66 years old.

Filmmaker Nelson George confirmed Cooper’s death, though the cause was not immediately known. Cooper leaves behind a significant legacy in Black cinema and journalism, best known for his influential “Harlem Trilogy” of films: New Jack City, Sugar Hill, and Above the Rim.

A Harlem native, Cooper began his career as an investigative journalist for The Village Voice and Spin Magazine in the 1980s. His reporting on the crack epidemic, particularly a 1986 Spin article titled “Crack, a Tiffany Drug at Woolworth Prices,” would later inspire his screenwriting work.

Cooper’s breakthrough came with New Jack City in 1991, a film that dramatized the crack epidemic through drug kingpin Nino Brown, played by Wesley Snipes. The movie was a major success, earning nearly $50 million on an $8 million budget...

Barry Michael Cooper, the screenwriter behind the influential “Harlem Trilogy” of films New Jack City, Sugar Hill and Above the Rim and the man who coined the term New Jack Swing, has died. He was 66.

Cooper died in Baltimore, his friend the writer and filmmaker and former The Village Voice colleague Nelson George confirmed on his Substack. A cause of death was not immediately available.

After starting his career as a journalist in the 1980s, writing important pieces for The Village Voice and Spin Magazine, Cooper transitioned to penning screenplays drawing on the crime and culture of his native New York. His Harlem Trilogy of crime dramas were among the definitive Black films of the 1990s, and became hugely influential on hip hop music and culture.

Born in Harlem, Cooper grew up in the Little Washington Heights neighborhood and also lived in Esplanade Gardens. In interviews, he has spoken of Harlem’s rich literary,...

Barry Michael Cooper, a writer and producer who co-wrote the blaxploitation ’90s classic “New Jack City” and finished his “Harlem trilogy” writing “Sugar Hill” and “Above the Rim,” died in Baltimore, Md. on Tuesday. He was 66.

Cooper’s death was confirmed by a representative for Spike Lee. The pair collaborated on the Netflix series adaptation of Lee’s debut feature “She’s Gotta Have It.” Cooper served as a producer for both seasons, and a write for three episodes.

Cooper made his feature screenwriting debut with Mario Van Peebles’ “New Jack City,” which he co-wrote with Thomas Lee Wright. The film starred Wesley Snipes and Ice-t as a gang leader and a hardened cop, dodging one another amid a crack epidemic in Harlem. The production represented a career change for Cooper, who had been working as an investigative reporter at The Village Voice beforehand — a tenure that produced the 1989 cover story...

Almost immediately after its founding in 1955, the Village Voice became the most raucous, irreverent and important alternative newspaper in America. At one point the Voice was the most read weekly in the country, serving as Andy Warhol put it “the entire liberal thinking world.” In her excellent new book The Freaks Came Out to Write: The Definitive History of the Village Voice, the Radical Paper That Changed American Culture, Voice veteran Tricia Romano has compiled an oral history of the seminal alt-weekly. Romano’s book is a vital and wildly...

New Jack Swing pioneer Teddy Riley — who produced iconic hits including Doug E. Fresh’s “The Show” and Bobby Brown’s “My Prerogative” — has announced his new memoir, Remember the Times, published by Simon & Schuster’s 13A / Gallery Books imprint.

Riley tapped music biographer Jake Brown to collaborate on the tome, which will chronicle his five decades of hits and trace the past 40 years of his influential impact on hip-hop and R&b for generations. Beyond helming earlier classics, including Kool Moe Dee’s “Wild Wild West” and Keith Sweat...

Exclusive: Rtg Features, the sister studio to basketball media company Slam, is partnering with arts organization Heartland Film to launch the first annual Slam Film Festival dedicated to basketball-themed movies.

The festival, which will take place February 16-18, 2024, at Living Room Theaters in Indianapolis, will be a mix of world premiere titles, recent festival circuit movies and iconic films. The event will be the first-ever film festival exclusively focused on basketball, and is launched in celebration of Slam’s 30th anniversary in 2024. Scroll down for the lineup.

There will be 30th anniversary screenings of Steve James’ classic doc Hoop Dreams, William Friedkin’s Nick Nolte and Shaquille O’Neal film Blue Chips and Jeff Pollack’s Above The Rim. Newer films set to screen will include Palm Springs 2024 title Amongst The Trees, exec-produced by NBA star Paul George, and recent doc biopic Stephen Curry: Underrated (2023).

In addition to screenings and post-screening Q&As,...

As part of the 2023 Tribeca Festival, director Mario Van Peebles opened up about his directorial debut, 1991’s “New Jack City,” alongside Fab 5 Freddy, Vanessa Williams and Michael Michele with an at-capacity crowd at the Sva Theater for an illuminating 35 minutes full of joy, surprises and honesty.

It can’t be understated how jovial Van Peebles—the son of prolific Black filmmaker Mario Van Peebles—was from the moment he stepped on stage to quickly introduce the film, which chronicles the rise of a ruthless drug lord in the dilapidated slums of late-1980s New York City. By the time the opening credits began to roll he was encouraging a major clap-along in the audience to the groove-worthy opening track. His energy, which stayed high until his final goodbyes at the end of the night, was infectious.

The filmmaker, who directed “New Jack City” from a script penned by Thomas Lee Wright and Barry Michael Cooper,...

Tupac Shakur's socially conscious poetry and fiery, political lyrics are forever cemented in music history, but the legendary rapper also had a burgeoning career in acting. Upon the time of his tragic murder in September 1996, Tupac was becoming all the more prolific as a performer, his filmography growing even after his death. What's more, there was a chance that, eventually, audiences would have seen the rapper/actor pop up in big-budget movies like the "Star Wars" prequels, in which George Lucas may have cast him as Mace Windu.

Tupac was always involved in the world of the stage ever since his childhood days at the Baltimore School for the Arts, where he acted in Shakespeare productions that would influence his depictions of gang conflicts. The artist's breakout lead role was in the 1992 crime drama "Juice," in which future Mace Windu actor Samuel L. Jackson also appeared in. Besides this,...

In fall 2021, "New Jack City" screenwriter Barry Michael Cooper announced in a tweet that he was working on a prequel to the 1991 neo-gangster flick. The tweet came two years after Deadline reported that Warner Bros. had tapped filmmaker and "Power Book III: Raising Kanan" actor Malcolm M. Mays to pen a reboot to the film. No matter who writes the eventual script for the "New Jack City" follow-up, it appears the project will be made without the services of the original's leading star, Wesley Snipes.

Set in 1986 Harlem, "New Jack City" follows undercover detective Scotty Appleton (Ice-t) as he plots...

The post Why Wesley Snipes Walked Away From The New Jack City Sequel appeared first on /Film.

Those of a certain generation of people who thrive when they hear songs like Boyz II Men’s “Motownphilly” or Tony! Toni! Toné!’s “Feels Good” or Bobby Brown’s “My Prerogative”. There’s an incomparable sense of nostalgia when any song by Guy, Jade, Troop or the iconic Bell Biv DeVoe hits the airwaves. That era of music known as New Jack Swing is the subject of the new six-part podcast series “Jacked: The Rise of New Jack Swing” hosted and produced by Taraji P. Henson. Barry Michael Cooper will serve as a consulting producer. Wondery and Universal Music Group (Umg) will partner to produce the series which will premiere on November 17 on wherever you listen to podcasts.

Jacked will be written by Rico Gagliano and Andy Hermann and focus on the rise and fall of the New Jack Swing genre. The series will focus on the complex relationships...

As the music world today is reeling from the news of Andre Harrell’s death at the age of 59, his colleagues and friends are celebrating the career of the Uptown Records founder. Harrell’s milestone career and personal story also are the subject of Uptown, a three-part original scripted miniseries, which was greenlighted by BET Networks in early December 2019.

Harrell was executive producing the project, which had been in pre-production when the coronavirus pandemic suspended all filming in Hollywood. The production held a series of open casting calls in December and January for performers to play 90s versions of Heavy D & The Boyz, Mary J. Blige, Jodeci, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Kim Porter and Aaron Hall, among others.

No cast and production start date have been set for the miniseries, which originally was supposed to premiere in 2020. Because of the uncertainty over when Hollywood production will be able to safely resume,...

A miniseries about the rise of the late Andre Harrell’s Uptown Records is still in the works and moving ahead at Bet following the veteran music executive’s death. But with production throughout the television business shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, no premiere date or timetable for the start of shooting has been set.

“We are mourning the loss of a cultural icon, Andre Harrell, a chief architect of the modern hip-hop and R&b sound,” Bet president Scott Mills said in a statement. “Andre was tremendously excited about sharing the origin story of Uptown Records, and its pivotal role in the urban music landscape. With his tragic passing, Bet is committed to ensuring that the Uptown limited series event tells both the Uptown story and Andre’s story — that of the incredible music innovator, man and friend to so many.”

In December, Bet ordered “Uptown,” a...

Bet is exploring the story behind Andre Harrell’s iconic hip-hop record label, Uptown Records.

The network has ordered a three-part miniseries titled “Uptown,” with Harrell on board to executive produce. The series is scheduled to hit the airwaves in 2020.

Launched in 1986, following a joint venture deal with McA, Uptown Records played a key role in launching the careers of some of the most influential voices in hip-hop and R&b, including Heavy D & The Boyz, Russell Simmons, Lyor Cohen, Mary J. Blige, Jodeci, Father Mc, Al B. Sure, Christopher Williams, Teddy Riley, Notorious B.I.G., Sean “Diddy” Combs, and others.

Each episode of “Uptown” will take viewers from the label’s inception to current day, featuring the music and hit-makers that helped mold the label.

“We are proud to bring the story of Uptown Records to life and celebrate the indelible imprint the label has made on the industry,...

Bet Networks has given a green light to Uptown, a three-part original scripted miniseries that will chronicle the story of Andre Harrell’s iconic New York City record label, Uptown Records, from Harrell and Jesse Collins Entertainment. Uptown is scheduled to premiere on Bet in 2020.

Launched in 1986, following a joint venture deal with McA, Harrell’s Uptown Records played a vital role in the careers of some of the most influential voices in hip hop, soul and R&b, including Heavy D & The Boyz, Russell Simmons, Lyor Cohen, Mary J. Blige, Jodeci, Father Mc, Al B. Sure, Christopher Williams, Teddy Riley, Notorious B.I.G., Sean “Diddy” Combs, and many more. Each episode will take viewers from the label’s inception to current day, featuring the music and powerhouse hit-makers that helped mold what would come to be...

Bet has ordered a three-part scripted series about the famed record label Uptown Records, the network announced Wednesday.

Launched in 1986, Andre Harrell’s Uptown Records played a vital role in the careers of some of the most influential voices in hip hop, soul and R&b, including Heavy D & The Boyz, Russell Simmons, Lyor Cohen, Mary J. Blige, Jodeci, Father Mc, Al B. Sure, Christopher Williams, Teddy Riley, Notorious B.I.G., Sean “Diddy” Combs and more.

“Uptown,” which will be executive produced by Harrell and Jesse Collins, will span the label’s inception to current day, featuring the music and hit-makers that defined its success and the sound of the era.

Also Read: 'First Wives Club' Star Ryan Michelle Bathe on Getting 'Hot as Fish Grease' for Bet+ Series (Video)

Charles Murray, Carlito Rodriguez and Barry Michael Cooper each serve as writer on one of the three parts of the miniseries,...

Spike Lee’s “She’s Gotta Have It” is ending after two seasons at Netflix. Lee is expected to shop the series to other platforms, according to a person familiar with the situation.

“Spike Lee is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time and we’re thrilled he brought the series She’s Gotta Have It to Netflix. While this is our last season, we’re very proud that it will be on our service for years to come, and excited to be working with Spike on his upcoming Netflix film Da 5 Bloods,” said Ted Sarandos, chief content officer at Netflix.

The series is a television adaptation of Lee’s 1986 indie film of the same name. Lee created and produced the series, which was his first foray into series television.

“She’s Gotta Have It” starred DeWanda Wise as Nola Darling, a woman in her late 20s living in Brooklyn juggling her job,...

Editor’s note: Last week, John Boyega and others expressed outrage over an exchange from the fifth episode of Season 2 in Spike Lee’s Netflix series, “She’s Gotta Have It.” The scene finds Nola Darling (DeWanda Wise) and her black British lover Olu (Michael Luwoye) debating the impact of black British actors in Hollywood. The conversation eventually expands to the British involvement in the transatlantic slave trade and other major historical issues. Many viewers have taken particular issue with Nola describing black British actors as “cheap” and essentially ignorant of their own history, suffering from “Stockholm Syndrome.” Boyega saw a viral clip of the scene circulating online and simply labelled it “Trash.”

Boyega’s tweet was picked up by numerous media outlets. In response, the episode’s writer, Barry Michael Cooper, wrote a letter to Boyega, which he has provided to IndieWire below.

A Letter To John Boyega: The...

This film was originally reviewed on Sept. 2. It opens wide today.

Sugar Hill was the high point neighborhood of Harlem, the place of dreams and success. In this earnest drama, it is the low point of decline and despair, as two young men struggle to survive its drug streets. Starring Wesley Snipes, ''Sugar Hill'' will likely bring in some sweet initial business for 20th Century Fox, but the film's ponderous and preachy exposition will sour word-of-mouth.

Shrouded in muted golden hues and coarsed by a smudgy trumpet's cry, ''Sugar Hill'' is a melancholy tale of urban desperation. In dramatic terms, it's a Cain-and-Abel story as two Harlem brothers, the cool and thoughtful Roemello (Snipes) and the brash and impetuous Raynathan (Michael Wright) deal with the hard life's hand that drugs have left them. Their mother (Leslie Uggams) overdosed before their eyes, while their jazz musician-dealer father (Clarence Williams III) withers in a heroin haze.

Although once a promising student, Roemello has taken the fork too often traveled on his Harlem streets -- he and his brother have become drug lords. They live the good life, frequenting clubs, sporting the threads and turning on the women.

Despite his kingly status on the streets, Roemello despairs. He wants to get out of the cesspool of drug dealing and even feels a responsibility to the neighborhood, the once-great promise of Harlem. He's the good son, taking his skeletal father chicken soup and sagely smoothing out disputes between the neighborhood gangsters and the crime lords from New Jersey.

He laments that ''everyone wants to be a gangster nowadays.''

Roemello's personal turmoil is, in essence, screenwriter Barry Michael Cooper's thematic focus -- how promising young black men can be easily sucked into the gangster lowlife.

While Cooper's screenplay is eminently insightful, it is unfortunately weighted down with clunky expository scenes, sometimes redundant sociologizing, and a decidedly schmaltzy romantic subplot between Roemello and a soft-spoken, upright actress (Theresa Randle) that, in the film's own jargon, is ''extra.''

Overall, Cooper's screenplay attempts to have it all ways and overdoses on its own ambition: Hard and piercing questions are deadened with soft and swoony answers, including an ending so out-there it seems to have been penned not by someone who knows and loves Harlem, but rather by the North Carolina Tourism Division.

In addition, the fact that Roemello is overridingly presented only from his saintly side smear the film's painful power with, well, too much sugar.

Director Leon Ichaso's plodding pace has further sapped the film's power, although he has nicely fused the superb technical contributions -- cinematographer Bojan Bazelli's muted golden hues and composer Terence Blanchard's tormented tones -- into an eloquent force of dignity.

As the epicurean Roemello, Snipes smartly conveys the torment of a man torn between his lifestyle and his morals. Wright is terrific as his hairtrigger brother, while Williams wins our hearts with his portrayal of their junkie father. Theresa Randle is touchingly vulnerable as Roemello's beacon of goodness.

(c) The Hollywood Reporter...