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The Annihilation of Fish.The cinematic event of the year so far is the rerelease of Charles Burnett’s long-unavailable romantic masterpiece, The Annihilation of Fish (1999). It has weathered Todd McCarthy’s snide, vicious Variety review that sealed its obscurity until now. McCarthy falsely claimed it was “a drear moment in the careers of all concerned” and even had the temerity to suggest that “theatrical release other than via self-distribution is out of the question.” Whatever reputation it’s had up until this point has been due to the burning-candle cinephiles on Letterboxd and online film boards who have claimed it an unjustly forgotten work. We now know how right the burners were: Fish is a sophisticated, beautifully acted, and innovative romantic comedy for grown-ups. Unfortunately, because of that disastrous McCarthy review, Fish did not get the wide distribution it so obviously merited until now. It’s too late for its stars,...

“It’s also getting hot in here, so I think I’ll get more serious and roll my sleeves up by taking the jacket off.”

When it comes to the Criterion Closet, “Nickel Boys” writer/director RaMell Ross didn’t come to mess around. Trying to emulate the feeling of what it was like when he first discovered cinema in the library of the Rhode Island School of Design where he earned his Mfa degree, Ross let his focus turn towards the many shelves of titles for him to choose from. After grabbing Volker Schlöndorff’s 1979 adaptation of “The Tin Drum,” Ross was drawn to the work of Wong Kar-Wai, as both an admirer and a student interested in learning more.

“I know his work, but I haven’t digested it,” said Ross. “I think people should digest work, not encounter it. You need to bring it in. You need to eat it.

Making movies is a hard business, but it’s much easier when you’re doing it with someone you value and respect. It seems the same can be said of picking movies, as collaborators Mike Leigh and Marianne Jean-Baptiste joined forces once again to take on the Criterion Closet. The two are currently promoting their most recent film together, “Hard Truths,” which is garnering Jean-Baptiste tremendous awards buzz, including recognition from the NYFCC, the Lafca, and the BIFAs this past weekend. She was previously nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Leigh’s 1996 Palme d’Or winner, “Secrets & Lies,” a film the pair look back on with fondness in the video below.

“Here’s a film you’re really going to like,” Leigh said, reaching for the film, to which Jean-Baptiste jokingly responded, “What’s that one about?”

After they both grabbed Charles Burnett...

Prime Video’s November programming will dip its toe into Christmas and other holiday offerings such as The Holiday (2006) starring Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz and Jack Black. The streamer will also add some films with sequels arriving in theaters this month, like Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) and Ridley Scott’s 1992 film Gladiator.

For the full list of Prime Video programming in November 2024, see below.

Related: New On Netflix For November 2024: Movies, TV Shows and More

Nov. 1

Movies:

12 Days of Christmas Eve (2004) 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up (1995) 50 To 1 (2014) A Knight’s Tale (2001) Absolute Deception (2013) Across The Universe (2007) Agent Cody Banks (2003) Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (2004) Airplane II: The Sequel (1982) Airplane! (1980) All Saints (2017) Almost Christmas (2016) Anacondas: The Hunt For The Blood Orchid (2004) Anger Management (2003) Apache (1954) Bad Company (2002) Battlefield Earth (2000) Battleship (2012) Big Night (1996) Blizzard (2003) Blown Away (1993) Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004) Boomerang (1992) Bucky Larson Born To Be A Star (2011) Carrie...

Tubi, Fox’s free streaming service, has announced its list of August titles. The Tubi August 2024 slate features new Tubi Originals and numerous action, art house, Black cinema, comedy, documentary, drama, horror, kids and family, romance, sci-fi and fantasy, thriller, and Western titles.

As a leading ad-supported video-on-demand service, the company engages diverse audiences through a personalized experience and the world’s largest content library: over 200,000 movies and TV episodes, a growing collection of Tubi Originals, and nearly 250 Fast channels.

You can watch the Tubi August 2024 lineup for free on Android and iOS mobile devices, Amazon Echo Show, Google Nest Hub Max, Comcast Xfinity X1, and Cox Contour.

You can also watch the service on connected television devices such as Amazon Fire TV, Vizio TVs, Sony TVs, Samsung TVs, Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and on the Tubi site.

Tubi Originals

Documentary

Defying Death:...

Before Ayo Edebiri broke out in “The Bear” and “Bottoms” or even as a voice on “Big Mouth,” she was a huge Letterboxd influencer, offering a mix of hilarious and thoughtful commentary on a wide range of cinema. She has largely tempered her posting, still contributing a brief review from time to time, but is now returning to the film criticism forum with some recent Criterion Closet picks.

“I be on these sales. I’m on these sales. I’m getting 50 percent off these DVDs just like you are, so I’m very excited to be here,” Edebiri said as she scoured shelf upon shelf of classic cinema.

Edebiri’s first pick was Akira Kurasawa’s pulpy crime drama and the inspiration for Spike Lee and Denzel Washington’s latest collaboration, “High & Low.” Discussing the film, Edebiri said, “I’ve been seeing this popping off Letterboxd, which I think...

Most filmmakers only really get going when the pain of not making a movie finally boils over to the point where it exceeds the pain of making a movie. And once this pivotal point-of-no-return is reached, the accumulated velocity of ambition will not allow petty inconveniences to impede the ultimate realization of its goal. Not even a punishing lack of start-up capital–or even, it turns out, a torrential Southern California downpour choking the streets of LA to a frigid standstill.

So despite being rescheduled from February 6 due to an aggressive late-winter rainfall, Fi’s Filmmaker Tuesday session, The Evolution of Microbudget Filmmaking, finally happened last week on March 19, featuring a panel of four acclaimed indie producers and directors (not to mention Fi Fellows!) who have all managed to make big waves with their work despite microscopic production budgets. They were: Iram Parveen Bilal, Ron Najor, Gia Rigoli and Avril Speaks.

Sheryl Lee Ralph has signed with CAA for representation.

An Emmy, Critics Choice and Independent Spirit Award winner, Ralph is currently seen starring in ABC’s hit comedy series “Abbott Elementary” opposite Quinta Brunson. In 2022, she won the Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series, becoming the first black woman in 35 years to take home the trophy.

In 2023, she was nominated for her second Emmy Award, a Golden Globe and a Film Independent Spirit Award for her portrayal of straight-laced kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard, winning the Critics Choice Award for best supporting actor in a comedy series.

Ralph made her feature film debut at 20 years old, opposite Academy Award winner Sidney Poitier in “A Piece of the Action.” She has also appeared in “The Mighty Quinn” opposite Denzel Washington, “Mistress” with Robert De Niro, “The Distinguished Gentleman” with Eddie Murphy, “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit” opposite...

Detective Murtaugh sees a mysterious man pull out a weapon in the middle of a police station. He heroically jumps into action to protect, serve, and tackle. But it turns out it is just good ol’ Mel Gibson, who overpowers and flips this 50-year-old character, played by a 40-year-old actor, Danny Glover. Humiliated and hurt, Danny Glover spits out an iconic line that has come to define his career and become a meme, “I’m too old for this shit.” Danny Glover was too old for this shit three decades ago… but he has kept on grinding, making motion pictures ever since. But maybe Danny Glover is too old for this shit… if that “shit” is good movies. Oh, I kid! I kid!

Glover may not have any Oscars, but he did get a late start in his movie career, having broken out in his 40s. So, what has Danny Glover,...

Industry vets Dominic Glynn, Rob Legato, Nancy Richardson, Deborah Scott, Tom Sito and Sharon Smith Holley have accepted invitations to join the Science and Technology Council of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Visual effects supervisor and VFX branch member Legato won Oscars for Titanic, Hugo and The Jungle Book. His VFX credits also include Apollo 13, The Aviator and Jon Favreau’s The Lion King. He most recently served as VFX supervisor and second unit director on Emancipation.

Costume designers branch member Scott also won an Oscar for her work on Titanic and her additional costume design credits include E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Back to the Future, Heat, The Patriot, Minority Report and Avatar: The Way of Water. She was the Costume Designers Guild’s 2023 Career Achievement Award recipient.

Pixar senior scientist Glynn’s work as an imaging and audio specialist helped to launch the world’s first...

An impressive lineup of stars including such Oscar-buzzed contenders as Colman Domingo, America Ferrera, Jeffrey Wright, Greta Lee, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and the cast of the upcoming Christmas release The Color Purple are among the honorees of the Critics Choice Association’s Celebration of Cinema & Television: Honoring Black, Latino and Aapi Achievements.

Hosted by Nicco Annan of Starz’s P-Valley, the event is December 4 at the Fairmont Century Plaza with Starz serving as the official media partner and televising the awards during the month of January (it will also air on Nexstar stations in February). Additionally, Starz will bestow one of the honorees with a special Starz #TakeTheLead designation as part of its ongoing commitment to amplifying narratives by, about and for women and underrepresented audiences.

Unlike last year, when the Cca held separate ceremonies for Black, Latino and Aapi Achievements, this year, because of the strikes, the Cca is presenting a one-time-only combination show,...

Who doesn’t love watching a series that tells the true-life (or at least somewhat true-life) stories of real people? That’s what HBO’s hit series “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” provides for NBA fans, Angelenos and TV viewers alike.

“Winning Time” doesn’t feature any of the real-life people that the series depicts, though some of the actors bear striking resemblances to their counterparts.

The show has a massive cast, with Quincy Isaiah (Earvin “Magic” Johnson”), John C. Reilly (Jerry Buss), Adrien Brody (Pat Riley) and others taking center stage as leads. There were also newcomers who stepped onto the court as guest stars for the second season, included Joel Allen as Kurt Rambis, Jay Davis as Byron Scott, Quentin Shropshire as James Worthy, Matthew Barnes as Mitch Kupchak, Darryl Reynolds as Robert Parish, Andrew Stephens as Kevin McHale and Larry C. Fields III as Eddie Jordan.

Charles Burnett is best known for his landmark portraits of Black American life, from the aching neorealism of “Killer of Sheep” to the mordant mysticism of “To Sleep with Anger,” his films aim to depict the broken contract the country made with its African American citizens in the aftermath of World War II.

His lesser-known masterpiece “My Brother’s Wedding,” however, is emblematic of a different continuum running through Burnett’s films: the theme of becoming.

An intimate window into early ’80s Los Angeles, where confluences of Black Southern roots were still trying to flower in a hostile urban environment — “My Brother’s Wedding” is a heated tale about the perils of upward mobility, the rising drug epidemic, and the tight alliance shared by two Black men, Pierce (Everett Silas) and Soldier (Ronnie Bell), the latter of whom has just been released from prison as the film begins.

Young and proudly working-class,...

It’s showtime! Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Jerry Buss and the rest of the Lakers squad is back for a second season of “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.”

Viewers got to get a glimpse into executive producer Adam McKay’s portrayal of the Lakers golden era and the drama that came with it. This time around fans will get to see even more of the Lakers legacy. Newcomers are stepping onto the court as guest stars, including Joel Allen as Kurt Rambis, Jay Davis as Byron Scott, Quentin Shropshire as James Worthy, Matthew Barnes as Mitch Kupchak, Darryl Reynolds as Robert Parish, Andrew Stephens as Kevin McHale and Larry C. Fields III as Eddie Jordan.

The show announced on Aug. 24, 2022 that it started production, and it’s making its return on Sunday, Aug. 6 at 9:00 p.m. Et/Pt on HBO and will also be available to stream on Max.

Mubi is adding over 50 features from the Sony Pictures’ library to its U.S. streaming service. The mix of studio and arthouse fare includes Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence, The Last Picture Show by Peter Bogdanovich and films from Wes Anderson, Pedro Almodovar and Guillermo Del Toro.

The company’s growing and global streaming service currently offers over 900 titles in the U.S., where it adds one new film to the platform daily. The Sony deal is a significant haul, especially since studios have become more aggressive in retaining content for their own services. Sony, uniquely, doesn’t have a streaming platform in-house.

Each Sony film has its own window, with some available already and all cycling onto the service at some point through the end of 2024. Others titles in the deal include 2046 by Wong Kar-wai; Volver by...

Edward R. Pressman, the prolific Hollywood indie producer behind Wall Street, Badlands, American Psycho, Das Boot and The Crow, among dozens of others, died Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 79.

His death was confirmed to Deadline his company, Pressman Films.

With dozens of acclaimed and impactful films and TV movies stretching back to the late 1960s and including now-classics like Conan the Barbarian, Talk Radio, Bad Lieutenant and Brian De Palma’s 1972 Sisters, Pressman was noted for discovering talented directors early in their careers. In addition to Sisters he produced De Palma’s Phantom of the Paradise, and, with the acclaimed 1973 TV-movie Badlands, Terrence Malick. Jason Reitman made his directing debut in Pressman’s 2005 Aaron Eckhart starrer Thank You for Smoking.

An early collaboration with Oliver Stone on the 1981 drama The Hand paved the way for Talk Radio (1988) and the 1987 Oscar-winning Wall Street. He and Stone produced Kathryn Bigelow’s early film Blue Steel (1990).

Among the other directors with whom Pressman would forge early bonds were Alex Proyas (The Crow), Sylvester Stallone (Paradise Alley) and Sam Raimi (Crimewave).

Among his many other credits both domestic and international, either as producer or executive producer, are Fred Schepisi’s Plenty, starring Meryl Streep; Wolfgang Petersen’s Das Boot; Mary Harron’s American Psycho, with Christian Bale; James Toback’s Two Girls and a Guy; Harold Becker’s City Hall, starring Al Pacino; Danny DeVito’s Hoffa, starring Jack Nicholson; Charles Burnett’s To Sleep With Anger, starring Danny Glover; Barbet Schroeder’s Reversal of Fortune, starring Jeremy Irons in an Oscar-winning performance as Claus von Bülow; and John Frankenheimer’s The Island of Dr. Moreau, with Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer.

Pressman also earned Emmy and PGA Award nom as an executive producer of the 2018 HBO telefilm Paterno, and former longtime Penn State football coach Joe Paterno. The producer also was nominated for back-to-back Indie Spirit Awards in 1992 and ’93 for Homicide and Bad Lieutenant, respectively, and received Film Independent’s John Cassavetes Award in 1991. He also received a Tribute Award from the Gothams in 2003.

A native New Yorker and Stanford University graduate who also studied at the London School of Economics, Pressman has been honored by the French Cinematheque, The National Film Theatre in London, New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the Pacific Film Archives and the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Cinematék, among others.

Pressman is survived by his wife of 39 years, Annie McEnroe Pressman, and son Sam Pressman, who has worked for Edward R. Pressman Productions for the past decade and says he will continue producing films for the company in honor of his father.

When Sheryl Lee Ralph first read Quinta Brunson’s pilot script to “Abbott Elementary,” she knew exactly which character she wanted to play: Ava Coleman, the inappropriate principal who only seems to have her own best interests at heart.

But Brunson had another idea. “She was just short of [saying,] ‘Oh, hell no!’” Ralph says. “She said, ‘We need a queen for Barbara Howard. And you are that queen!’ And I was just like, ‘Baby, if you put it that way, How do I say no? What else do I need to know about that? I’m going to be the queen. I love it. Yes, I’m ready.’”

Janelle James wound up being cast as Ava, and landed an Emmy nomination this year for the role. But tapping Ralph to play Barbara, the no-nonsense, seen-it-all veteran teacher in “Abbott Elementary,” also turned out to be the right move. On Monday night,...

Sheryl Lee Ralph won the Emmy award for supporting comedy actress on Monday night. For playing Barbara Howard in “Abbott Elementary,” this was not only the veteran actor’s first-ever Emmy win, but her first nomination.

Ralph was clearly shocked to win the award, at first unable to stand when her name was called. After being lifted up by her husband and castmates, she took the stage to accept her award, which was presented by Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler.

In tears, she opened her speech by singing “Endangered Species” by Dianne Reeves: “I am an endangered species / But I sing no victim’s song / I am a woman I am an artist / And I know where my voice belongs.”

“To anyone who has ever, ever had a dream and thought your dream wasn’t, wouldn’t, couldn’t come true, I am here to tell you that this is what believing looks like,...

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSDavid Warner in The Wars of the Roses.David Warner, who died earlier this week, is warmly paid tribute to by artist and filmmaker Tacita Dean in the Guardian. In the piece, Dean talks about her admiration for the actor's performance in Alain Resnais' Providence and how she convinced him to star in her own film of the same name.Mary Alice also passed away this week, aged 85. A Tony- and Emmy-winning actor, Alice was known for her roles in Charles Burnett’s To Sleep With Anger, Brian De Palma’s The Bonfire of the Vanities, and Penny Marshall's Awakenings, among many other performances on both stage and screen.As part of a series of events investigating "the new languages of the contemporary," the Locarno Film Festival will host a 24-hour-long talk titled "The Future of Attention,...

Click here to read the full article.

Mary Alice, the Tony- and Emmy-winning actress who starred in the original Broadway production of Fences, portrayed the mother of three singing daughters in Sparkle and appeared as The Oracle in The Matrix Revolutions, has died. She was 85.

Alice died Wednesday in her Manhattan apartment, an NYPD spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter.

In 1990 films, Alice played Nurse Margaret opposite Robin Williams and Robert De Niro in Awakenings, directed by Penny Marshall; the family matriarch dealing with a disruptive guest (Danny Glover) in Charles Burnett’s To Sleep With Anger; and a woman whose son was struck by a car in the South Bronx in Brian De Palma’s The Bonfire of the Vanities.

The onetime Chicago schoolteacher received back-to-back Emmy nominations in 1992 and ’93 — winning in the second year — for her supporting turn as Marguerite Peck, whose child is murdered, on the Atlanta-set NBC legal drama I’ll Fly Away,...

Emmy-winning actress Mary Alice, known for her roles as Leticia “Lettie” Bostic on NBC‘s “A Different World” and as Effie Williams in the 1976 musical drama “Sparkle,” died Wednesday in New York City, according to the NYPD. Her birth year had been reported both as 1936 and 1941 in various sources.

In “The Matrix Revolutions,” she played the Oracle and also played the role in the video game “Enter the Matrix.”

She appeared in “A Different World” for two seasons, and also played Ellie Grant Hubbard on “All My Children” in the 1980s.

In films, she appeared in “Malcolm X,” “The Inkwell,” “Down in the Delta,” “Beat Street,” “To Sleep With Anger,” “Awakenings,” “The Bonfire of the Vanities” and “Sunshine State,” among many others.

Born Mary Alice Smith in Indianola, Miss., she pursued acting at a very early age, starting her stage career in her hometown. After a brief stint as an elementary school teacher,...

HBO’s “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” concluded its breakout first season on May 8 with the Los Angeles Lakers beating the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1980 NBA Finals, the team’s first of five titles in eight years. But much like the real Showtime Lakers of the 1980s, there is no rest for the weary. The “Winning Time” cast is already training for Season 2, as star DeVaughn Nixon, who plays his father Norm Nixon, tells Gold Derby during a break in practice.

“You’ve got the authentic interview,” the son says with a laugh while taking a breather inside the show’s training facility.

See‘Winning Time’ reviews praise HBO’s flashy Lakers series from Adam McKay

Nixon has been an actor since he was a child – his first screen credit was in the acclaimed Charles Burnett film “To Sleep With Anger” and he later appeared in blockbuster...

Sheryl Lee Ralph has been tirelessly working in television since the late ’70s, on shows like “Moesha,” “It’s a Living,” “Instant Mom” and “Ray Donovan.” The accomplished actress earned a Tony nomination for the original production of “Dreamgirls” and an Independent Spirit Award for the film “To Sleep with Anger” (1990), but she has egregiously never received an Emmy nomination in her career. That could very well change this year thanks to her hysterical yet nuanced work in the acclaimed ABC sitcom “Abbott Elementary.”

The comedy, created by “A Black Lady Sketch Show” alum Quinta Brunson, centers on a group of hardworking teachers working at an underfunded elementary school, with Ralph playing one of the school’s most respected teachers, Barbara Howard. Barbara’s wealth of experience, having worked in the Philadelphia school for 30 years, makes her an idol to series protagonist Janine (Brunson). Barbara’s no-nonsense approach to teaching extends...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has postponed the 12th annual Governors Awards ceremony as Covid-19 cases surge.

“We have made the difficult decision to change our plans in hosting the Governors Awards in person on January 15,” an Academy spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday. “Given the uncertainties around the variants, and the impact this could have on our community, we feel this is the best and safest decision for our honorees and guests. Rescheduled plans will come at a later date as we continue to prioritize the health and wellbeing of all those involved.”

A new date has not been announced yet.

The Academy was set to fete Samuel L. Jackson, Elaine May and Liv Ullmann with honorary Oscars, and Danny Glover with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at an in-person event on Jan. 15, 2022. The ceremony is the latest event planned for early 2022 to face major...

by Cláudio Alves

Danny Glover's cameo in Bamako

Despite his fantastic career as an actor, Danny Glover isn't receiving an Honorary Oscar to recognize that work. Instead, AMPAS is honoring him with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award as a way of celebrating his lifelong actions as a community activist, fighting for worldwide justice, and other such efforts. If anything, those values are more imminently evident in Glover's filmography as a producer rather than as an actor. Since the early 90s, after becoming a box-office star, the American thespian started leveraging his success to try and make specific projects happen. Charles Burnett's To Sleep with Anger marked Glover's first experience as a producer, and the funding was mainly secured through his participation in Lethal Weapon 2. From then on, Danny Glover has been a strong supporter of underrepresented filmmakers, helping them make their cinematic dreams come true…...

We'll be celebrating each of the upcoming Honorary Oscar winners with a few pieces on their career. First up is Danny Glover.

First and foremost, a big fucking congratulations to Danny Glover, whose long, reliable, multi-pronged career is tremendously deserving of the Jean Hersholt Award he will be awarded this year. 2021’s absolutely superb group of Honorary winners makes it all the more fucking absurd these shows aren’t televised, but that’s a whole other tangent. We here at The Film Experience are paying tribute to our favorites among Glover’s remarkable body of work, and when pressed about my favorite of his performances, I immediately went for Charles Burnett’s 1990 feature To Sleep With Anger.

As with Places of the Heart, Glover’s arrival comes just around the fifteen minute mark, by which time we have not only met most of the cast but have gotten acquainted with...

Danny Glover is getting celebrated by friends and fans in honor of the actor's 75th birthday. Danny Glover, who's been lamenting that he's "too old for this s--t" since the first Lethal Weapon was released in 1987, reached his milestone 75th birthday on Thursday. Because he's such a beloved actor, his name is starting to trend as his fans everywhere post birthday wishes in celebration of the Hollywood star.

"Some actors/actresses play their role so well, you can never look at them the same. That's how I feel about Danny Glover & his role as "Mister" in The Color Purple," reads one tribute post. "Today, this actor/director/activist celebrates 75 years of life. Happy Birthday, sir!"

Some actors/actresses play their role so well, you can never look at them the same. That's how I feel about Danny Glover & his role as "Mister" in The Color Purple.

Filmmaker Dee Rees made history on June 29 when her debut feature “Pariah” joined the Criterion Collection, making the Oscar and Emmy nominee the first Black American woman to have her work included. Before Rees, Euzhan Palcy, who is from Martinique, was the lone Black woman to have a film (1989’s “A Dry White Season”) selected.

“It feels like a formal acknowledgment of the film’s impact to the canon and being a part of the culture,” Rees tells Variety of having her movie chosen. “Even though artists have to try to find your validation from inside, it’s nice to be seen.”

And as a Black filmmaker in particular, Rees adds, “it’s important to be included for future generations of filmmakers, if [Criterion] is the thing that’s being taught in schools.”

“When they’re absent, then the assumption is there’s none in existence,” she explains. “There’s no Black filmmakers here,...

When Harry Belafonte accepted the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 2014, he recounted how the racial and cultural insensitivities he witnessed on film screens as a child began his “rebellion against injustice and human distortion and hate.” He also quoted his hero, Paul Robeson, by saying, “Artists are the gatekeepers of truth. They are civilization’s radical voice,” and encouraged his audience to use their power and skills for positive change. Belafonte followed in the footsteps of Danny Kaye and Audrey Hepburn as the third Unicef Goodwill Ambassador to receive this special Academy Award. Next year, a fourth will be added to the list, as performer and philanthropist Danny Glover has been chosen as the newest honoree.

Along with honorary award recipients Samuel L. Jackson, Elaine May, and Liv Ullmann, Glover is set to be recognized at the upcoming 12th annual Governors Awards. The 74-year-old has earned this accolade for his...

Samuel L. Jackson, Elaine May and Liv Ullmann will receive honorary Oscars this year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Thursday. Danny Glover will also receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. The four Oscar statuettes will be presented at the Governors Awards ceremony on Jan. 15, 2022.

“We are thrilled to present this year’s Governors Awards to four honorees who have had a profound impact on both film and society,” Academy president David Rubin said in a statement. “Sam Jackson is a cultural icon whose dynamic work has resonated across genres and generations and audiences worldwide, while Elaine May’s bold, uncompromising approach to filmmaking, as a writer, director and actress, reverberates as loudly as ever with movie lovers. Liv Ullmann’s bravery and emotional transparency has gifted audiences with deeply affecting screen portrayals, and Danny Glover’s decades-long advocacy for justice and human rights reflects his dedication...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Thursday that its Board of Governors voted to present the annual Honorary Awards to Samuel L. Jackson, Elaine May, and Liv Ullmann. The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award will be given to Danny Glover. The four Oscar statuettes will be presented at the Academy’s 12th annual Governors Awards on Saturday, January 15, 2022, in Los Angeles.

Academy President David Rubin summed up the recipients’ impact, cinematic and otherwise, in the following statement: “Sam Jackson is a cultural icon whose dynamic work has resonated across genres and generations and audiences worldwide, while Elaine May’s bold, uncompromising approach to filmmaking, as a writer, director and actress, reverberates as loudly as ever with movie lovers.”

Rubin added, “Liv Ullmann’s bravery and emotional transparency has gifted audiences with deeply affecting screen portrayals, and Danny Glover’s decades-long advocacy for justice and human rights reflects his...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Board of Governors voted to present Honorary Oscars to Samuel L. Jackson, Elaine May and Liv Ullmann, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to Danny Glover, the Academy announced on Thursday.

The four Honorary Oscars will be presented at the Academy’s 12th Governors Awards on Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022, in Los Angeles.

“We are thrilled to present this year’s Governors Awards to four honorees who have had a profound impact on both film and society,” Academy president David Rubin said in a statement. “Sam Jackson is a cultural icon whose dynamic work has resonated across genres and generations and audiences worldwide, while Elaine May’s bold, uncompromising approach to filmmaking, as a writer, director and actress, reverberates as loudly as ever with movie lovers. Liv Ullmann’s bravery and emotional transparency has gifted audiences with deeply affecting screen portrayals, and Danny Glover...

Exclusive: Verve has acquired veteran TV lit agent Paul Alan Smith’s New Deal Mfg. Co., a boutique lit agency representing a bevy of television and film directors.

New Deal’s founding partner Smith and agent Tyler Reynolds will join Verve where they will continue to represent their clients, some of whom have been with Smith for decades. New Deal’s other founding partner, Lee Rosenbaum, who has served as chief operating officer and general counsel to the firm, will continue as an adviser to the agency.

New Deal’s clients joining Verve include Niels Arden Oplev, Allen Coulter, Tawfik Abu Wael (Our Boys), Oded Ruskin, Adam Arkin (Rebel), Milena Govich (FBI), Elodie Keene (Glee), Leslie Libman (The Manson Murders), Daniel Syrkin (Tehran), Sheelin Choksey (Stargirl), Charles Burnett (To Sleep With Anger...

The Oscars don’t always get it right, and that’s why they have the Honorary Award. Countless actors and actresses have contributed greatly to the cinematic medium, but not every impact is deemed “Oscar-worthy.” Until the Academy at large begins embracing all genres and performance, the prize is given to reward a career that has had an influence in film.

The honor was created for achievements not covered by existing competitive categories and has been used for a few “course corrections” or significant milestones worth celebrating. In the past, the special award has been bestowed on artists such as Jackie Chan, Steve Martin, Gena Rowlands, Donald Sutherland and most recently David Lynch, Wes Studi and Lina Wertmüller, (“Seven Beauties”), the first female directing nominee.

There’s no limit to the number of awards that can be handed out each year, and giving suggestions can be tricky. Below are my...

Actress Carrie Coon joins Josh and Joe to discuss the Best of what she’s been watching during the pandemic.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The Nest (2020)

Gone Girl (2014)

The Philadelphia Story (1940)

Sabrina (1954)

The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957)

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Opening Night (1977)

Husbands (1971)

Too Late Blues (1961)

Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

Faces (1968)

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)

Gloria (1980)

Mephisto (1981)

The Cremator (1969)

Zama (2017)

Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts (2017)

Wanda (1970)

Blue Collar (1978)

The Lunchbox (2013)

63 Up (2019)

To Sleep With Anger (1990)

Killer of Sheep (1978)

The Glass Shield (1994)

My Brother’s Wedding (1983)

Rita, Sue and Bob Too (1987)

Rio Bravo (1959)

Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979)

Cutter’s Way (1981)

Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

The Magician (1958)

The Silence (1963)

The Magic Flute (1975)

The Last House on the Left (1972)

The Virgin Spring (1963)

Summer with Monika (1953)

The Seventh Seal (1957)

Wings of Desire (1987)

Black Girl (1966)

Fat Girl (2001)

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

Parasite (2019)

Jesus of Montreal (1989)

Other Notable Items...

For the 30th anniversary of “To Sleep with Anger” (1990), Be Reel dives into the work of principal “L.A. Rebellion” director Charles Burnett.

Part of the first generation of Black directors to come out of American film school, Burnett brought a daring cinematographer’s eye and a watchful activist’s pen to films like “Killer of Sheep” (1978) and “The Glass Shield” (1994).

Continue reading ‘To Sleep With Anger’: Charles Burnett’s Divine Comedy And Career-Long ‘Rebellion’ [Be Reel Podcast] at The Playlist.

“Is all or a portion of your spouse's income deposited in a checking account, joint checking account, your spouse's separate checking savings account, your separate checking and savings account…?” The administrator's tedious voice continues in this fashion, stern and unforgiving. More questions concerning money, welfare checks, and the daily American grind, asked by faceless system operators on the other end of a telephone line build layers of sound on top of metallic instruments, bells, and the buzzing of Los Angeles and the advertisements of an American dream. The dissonance of this swirling sound design, the intro of Haile Gerima’s Bush Mama (1979), takes one specifically to a place, a class, and a people: The Black working class experience, the sounds of a restless city. The opening of this mixtape encapsulates the vitality and experimentation of sound design and music in the films of the L.A. Rebellion, a film movement...

The New York Times put prestigious specialty home-video distributor The Criterion Collection under a microscope late last week, and the headline said it all: “How the Criterion Collection Crops Out African-American Directors.” The report looked at all 22 years and more than 1,000 titles in the Criterion’s revered selection of Blu-rays and DVDs of films, finding that only four African Americans are represented: Oscar Micheaux (“Body and Soul”); William Greaves; Charles Burnett (“To Sleep With Anger”); and Spike Lee (“Do the Right Thing” and “Bamboozled”).

It’s a glaring omission for a company that prides itself on licensing and releasing what it describes as “important classic and contemporary films,” but also reflective of an industry-wide practice of shutting out Black filmmakers.

Despite America’s changing demographics, the industry’s most powerful leaders have been slow to respond to a demand for films that reflect cultural and racial shifts that have long been underway.

Around the nation, protesters continue to march against racial injustice, despite a deadly pandemic that has already ended more than 163,000 American lives, disproportionately affecting Black people. This has given rise to a vast American reckoning with racism, as countless episodes of police brutality against Black Americans, and protesters in general, are captured on video.

Director Charles Burnett has been documenting Black struggle for decades, and said he was optimistic about the filmmaking that could emerge from these tumultuous times.

“I look forward, hopefully, that something really amazing will come out of storytellers that talk about this particular period, because this is probably one of the most unusual periods that we’ve confronted in every respect,” he said. “With this pandemic, we don’t know at this moment who’s going to live or die. And it’s frightening in a way — the politics and everything behind it, and the fact...

The earliest Charles Burnett film to survive is his second, Several Friends (1969); the first is lost. Several Friends ambles in and out of a day in the lives of different friend groups who don’t intersect but are bound by a looming sense that, for reasons big enough to know but too abstract to confront, they can’t seem to get where they’re trying to go. This sense of a confinement beyond comprehension and just short of being acknowledged has something akin to Luis Buñuel’s The Exterminating Angel, where aristocrats find themselves inexplicably bound to a dinner party. There are no barriers between them and the exit, not so much as a locked door, but whenever the ne’er do wells get up to go, they find themselves turning back. Other than the obvious class differences, there is a key distinction between the two films. In Several Friends,...

The 2020 Sundance Film Festival has broken a record weeks before it begins: Of the 16 films in Dramatic Competition, seven tell stories primarily about the lives of black characters: “The 40-Year-Old Version,” “Charm City Kings,” “Farewell Amor,” “Miss Juneteenth,” “Nine Days,” “Sylvie’s Love” and “Zola.”

Surveying the last 30 years of Sundance, there’s usually been at least one in-competition film with black leads. In 1992 and 1989, there was one black film in competition, while 1993 had two. But prior to 2020, there had never been more than five.

Black filmmakers saw a renaissance in the late ’80s and early ’90s, a period that introduced Spike Lee, Wendell B. Harris Jr, Robert Townsend, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Julie Dash, Matty Rich, the Hudlin Brothers, Leslie Harris, and others. Some of their films premiered and competed at Sundance, but even then they never composed a significant presence.

Between 1989 and 1993, a total of 10 films with black leads...

The fifth edition of the Folk Film Gathering runs at Edinburgh Filmhouse this weekend, focusing on the theme of storytelling.

The festival offers a global showcase, including classics like Eric Blomberg's The White Reindeer, Pier Paolo Pasolini's The Decamaron and Charles Burnett's To Sleep With Anger, alongside rare gems like Alexander Dovzhenko's 1927 silent Zvenigora, which will be screened with a a newly commissioned score from Folklore Tapes, performed live for one performance only.

Festival director Jamie Chambers said: "One of the things I'm most excited about this year is the new score that Folklore Tapes have composed for Alexander Dovzhenko's silent masterpiece Zvenigora. I feel the film has a lot of resonance for Scotland, given it's depiction of how oral storytelling traditions allow the past to live within the present, dormant within the landscape.

"Folklore Tapes are ideally placed...

Stars: Danny Glover, Mary Alice, Richard Brooks, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Paul Butler | Written and Directed by Charles Burnett

Made in 1990, the title To Sleep With Anger may make it sound like a straight-to-vhs domestic abuse thriller but this film is actually a sensitive, sad and funny drama about an African-American community in Los Angeles. Although this isn’t the standard Hollywood depiction of black La as a hotbed of gang violence and hopelessness, but instead a middle class made up of the working young and the comfortably retired.

As we join the story, connections are already frayed. Gideon (Paul Butler) and Suzie (Mary Alice) are tired of taking care of their grandson (DeVaughan Nixon), whose parents, Samuel (Richard Brooks) and Linda (Sheryl Lee Ralph), are trying to maintain careers whilst raising a child. Samuel, somewhat disparagingly nicknamed “Babe Brother”, is a reluctant father, and he’s full of repressed rage and resentment.

Interlopers have long been meddlesome disruptors in cinema and literature. From those whose presence is expected to those who are unpleasant surprises, their catalyzing arrival pervades the often-tranquil rhythms of nuclear dysfunction they’ve come to unsettle. Whether unpleasant mirror images of their hosts, murderous relatives or seductive strangers, hosting outsiders always has a detrimental tangible effect. And such is the case with the old friend who arrives in Charles Burnett’s masterful third feature, To Sleep with Anger, stirring up forgotten memories full of joy, shame and tragedy for a black South-Central Los Angeles family navigating several strands of familial discord.…...

Charles Burnett, director of the classic film “Killer of Sheep,” will develop a new film with Amazon called “Steal Away,” about the true story of Robert Smalls, who commandeered a Confederate ship to save himself and his family from slavery.

At the age of 23, Smalls rallied together a small crew and seized a Confederate ship docked near Fort Sumter in South Carolina. With his wife and two children joining him, Smalls navigated the ship through blockaded waters to the North.

TheWrap’s Trey Williams made the case for why it would be a great movie last year on the “Shoot This Now” podcast, where we talk about stories that should be films. You can listen on Apple or right here:

Also Read: Hollywood Heads to Sundance: 5 Things to Expect, From a Hot Doc Market to Post-Harvey Vetting

After the Civil War, Smalls returned to South Carolina and was elected to the state legislature,...

Exclusive: Amazon Studios is developing the film Steal Away about the daring theft and escape of Robert Smalls, a slave in 1862 Charleston, Sc. To Sleep With Anger filmmaker Charles Burnett is attached to direct with Cotty Chubb and George Plamondon producing. Andy Froemke wrote the script.

With a crew of fellow slaves, their families and Smalls’ own wife and children on board, the young boatman risks his and their lives to steal a paddlewheel steamer. Smalls was assigned to steer the Css Planter, a lightly armed Confederate military transport, and one night while its three officers were away, he put on the captain’s uniform and wore a straw hat similar to the captain’s and navigated it past the five forts guarding Charleston Harbor out into the Atlantic to the blockading Union Navy — and freedom.

After the American Civil War, Smalls returned to his home of Beaufort, Sc and became a politician,...

Ethel Ayler, a prolific character actress whose credits include “The Cosby Show,” died Nov. 18 at the age of 88.

She died in Loma Linda, California of undisclosed causes, her family announced Friday.

Ayler’s character on “The Cosby Show,” Carrie Hanks was the mother of Phylicia Rashad’s Claire Huxtable, appearing in six episodes over the course of the series. The actress, whose career spanned five decades, was also known for her roles in “Eve’s Bayou” and “To Sleep With Anger.”

Also Read: Donald Moffat, 'The Right Stuff' and 'The Thing' Actor, Dies at 87

She also appeared in the original 1980s Broadway production of “Fences” and played Addie in a 1997 revival of “The Little Foxes.” In “Eve’s Bayou” Ayler played Garn Mere, a believer in voodoo, and in “To Sleep With Anger,” she played the role of Hattie, for which received a Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Female.

Ethel Ayler, whose career spanned prominent Broadway, film and TV roles for five decades, died at age 88 on Nov. 18 in Loma Linda, Calif., according to her family. The cause of death was not given.

Born on May 1, 1930 in Whistler, Alabama, Ayler attended Nashville’s Fisk University as a voice major. But the lure of show business overcame the academic life, and she moved to Chicago to pursue a singing career. Her breakthrough came as a member of a touring company of Porgy and Bess.

Langston Hughes’s musical Simply Heavenly marked Ayler’s Off-Broadway bow in 1957, and she soon moved on to a role as Lena Horne’s understudy in the Broadway play Jamaica. She also worked on other Broadway productions, including The Cool World, Kwamina, Black Picture Show and The First Breeze of Summer.

Ayler was a long-standing member of the Negro Ensemble Company, and appeared with them many times.

Ethel Ayler, the standout stage actress who appeared in Eve's Bayou and To Sleep With Anger and portrayed the mother of Clair Huxtable on The Cosby Show, has died. She was 88.

Ayler died Nov. 18 in Loma Linda, California, her family announced.

Ayler appeared in the original 1987-88 Broadway production of August Wilson's Fences, and then played Addie in a 1997 revival of The Little Foxes.

A longtime member of the Negro Ensemble Company, she starred in the 1960s in Jean Genet's long-running off-Broadway play The Blacks: A Clown Show in a cast that included Maya Angelou, James Earl Jones,...

Ethel Ayler, the standout stage actress who appeared in Eve's Bayou and To Sleep With Anger and portrayed the mother of Clair Huxtable on The Cosby Show, has died. She was 88.

Ayler died Nov. 18 in Loma Linda, California, her family announced.

Ayler appeared in the original 1987-88 Broadway production of August Wilson's Fences, and then played Addie in a 1997 revival of The Little Foxes.

A longtime member of the Negro Ensemble Company, she starred in the 1960s in Jean Genet's long-running off-Broadway play The Blacks: A Clown Show in a cast that included Maya Angelou, James Earl Jones,...