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Ava DuVernay has only made five narrative features, but she’s one of the busiest women in Hollywood.

Before 2023, the California-born filmmaker’s last feature was her “A Wrinkle in Time” adaptation, released in theaters in 2018 — a five-year gap between releases that’s partially attributable to projects that sputtered in development like DC’s “New Gods” film and a Prince biopic. And yet, DuVernay has remained a constant presence during that relatively long gap, translating her numerous talents to producing and TV work. She created and directed the acclaimed Netflix miniseries “When They See Us,” about the controversial Central Park Five case. Several other TV projects followed, including OWN’s “Cherish the Day,” Netflix’s “Colin in Black and White,” and The CW’s “Naomi.” But while many of those projects have been terrific, it’s great to see the director of great films like “Middle of Nowhere” and “Selma...

Ava DuVernay's latest movie, Origin, has received a "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, continuing her positive trend on the review site. Origin has been praised for its incredible performances, writing, and directing, as it explores heavy topics of race and class while telling the inspiring story of a powerful woman. Compared to DuVernay's other films, Origin is her fourth highest-rated movie, with a rating very close to her top three films and higher than her lowest-rated movie, A Wrinkle in Time.

Ava DuVernay continues an impressive and rare trend on Rotten Tomatoes as her latest movie, Origin, earns a "Fresh" rating. The biopic drama centers on Isabel Wilkerson's (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) journey to writing her acclaimed nonfiction work Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents while navigating a tragedy in her personal life. It received high recognition at the Venice Film Festival last year, where it was selected to compete...

Ava DuVernay’s return to feature filmmaking doubles as a thematic homecoming. Origin, loosely adapted from Isabel Wilkerson’s tome Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, is, at its core, a deeply sincere story of love and grief.

DuVernay’s interest in animating the inner lives of Black women stretches back to her feature debut, I Will Follow, in which she explored the contours of a young woman’s heartache after the death of her aunt. She built on it with Middle of Nowhere, a remarkable second feature about a nurse confronting her relationship with her incarcerated husband. And although Selma is about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the film complicates Coretta (Carmen Ejogo), positioning her as King’s strategic co-conspirator instead of just a dutiful wife. In all of these films, DuVernay centers the emotional landscape of Black women, reflecting on how interpersonal and structural constrictions shape their behaviors.

Neon has acquired the rights to Ava DuVernay's movie Origin, based on Isabel Wilkerson's book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. The movie, debuting at the Venice International Film Festival, features a star-studded cast including Jon Bernthal, Vera Farmiga, and Nick Offerman. Origin explores the societal impact of the caste system and how power and social classes govern daily life, similar to DuVernay's previous works like Selma and When They See Us.

Neon has acquired the rights for Ava DuVernay's next movie, Origin, based on the highly acclaimed non fiction book written by Isabel Wilkerson, originally titled Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents and published in 2020.

The movie is set to debut this month at the Venice International Film Festival, and stars Jon Bernthal, Aunjanue Ellis, Niecy Nash-Betts, Vera Farmiga, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Nick Offerman, Connie Nielsen, Audra McDonald, Myles Frost, Blair Underwood, Victoria Pedretti, Isha Blaaker, Leonardo Nam,...

Ava DuVernay knows what it’s like to be busy as hell. The Los Angeles native, who made the leap from film publicist to filmmaker in 2010 with the celebrated indie I Will Follow, has added project after project since her work on Selma minted her as one of Hollywood’s most sought-after directors. But, with a suite of TV series, distribution company Array and a massive new initiative to make film sets more inclusive, DuVernay recently admitted to herself that she might have a bandwidth issue. “We have seven shows, and we’re a pretty small company,” she says. “...

Ava DuVernay knows what it’s like to be busy as hell. The Los Angeles native, who made the leap from film publicist to filmmaker in 2010 with the celebrated indie I Will Follow, has added project after project since her work on Selma minted her as one of Hollywood’s most sought-after directors. But, with a suite of TV series, distribution company Array and a massive new initiative to make film sets more inclusive, DuVernay recently admitted to herself that she might have a bandwidth issue. “We have seven shows, and we’re a pretty small company,” she says. “...

Video Version of this Article Photo/Video: Ava DuVernay/Silvia Elizabeth Pangaro/Shutterstock/Hollywood Insider YouTube Channel 48-year-old Ava DuVernay, otherwise known as the first Black American female director to receive a Golden Globe nomination, has been an activist ever since she entered the industry. From the beginning, DuVernay has clearly set herself apart from her White peers. Even her first feature, ‘I Will Follow’ told the story of a Black woman instead of the usual white, male protagonist we see in Hollywood. Unafraid to speak her mind and address the diversity issues in Hollywood today, DuVernay has become a huge figure who is actively trying to make the silver screen more inclusive. Related article: Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us Is Activism At Its Finest Bringing To Light The Injustices Wreaked Upon Innocent African-American Boys Due To The Law Being Infested With Systemic Prejudice Related article: 8 Glass-Ceiling Breaking...

To celebrate Variety’s 115th anniversary, we went to the archives to see how some of Hollywood’s biggest stars first landed in the pages of our magazine. Read more from the archives here.

Ava DuVernay is a force of nature. She was virtually unknown six years ago but now she’s one of the most recognizable filmmakers in Hollywood. Her background in PR was certainly a help — but her talents go way beyond a sense of promotion.

Her role as a publicist was the focus of her first mention in Variety, on March 8, 2000. The story began “Ava DuVernay, former mPRm Public Relations senior exec, has gone solo with the formation of the DuVernay Agency.”

The story said the client roster at her “boutique agency” already included CBS and Columbia TriStar Television, as well as individual film projects from companies including Miramax and Trimark. The company was said to specialize...

Ava DuVernay is producing the first-ever Native American family drama developed for network television. Titled “Sovereign,” the potential series has received a put pilot commitment, the broadcaster said Friday.

The “When They See Us” creator will executive produce the project, with Bird Runningwater, who belongs to the Cheyenne and Mescalero Apache Tribal Nations, acting as co-executive producer. The pilot for the family drama was written by Sydney Freeland (“Drunktown’s Finest”), a member of the Navajo Nation, and Shaz Bennett (“Bosch”) from a story by DuVernay.

Per NBC, “The groundbreaking project chronicles the lives, loves and loyalties of a sprawling, contemporary Indigenous family struggling to control the future of their tribe against outside forces and themselves.”

DuVernay’s Array Filmworks will produce “Sovereign” in association with Warner Bros. Television, where the filmmaker has an overall deal. Freeland and Bennett are executive producers with DuVernay, alongside Array’s Sarah Bremner and...

HBO Max has given the greenlight to a new docuseries called One Perfect Shot, inspired by a popular Twitter account of the same name. According to Deadline, Ava DuVernay will narrate and executive produce the series, in which celebrated filmmakers will take deep dives into the most famous shots of their careers.

The show is being produced by Warner Horizon Unscripted Television and DuVernay’s Array Filmworks, with DuVernay saying, “I’ve long wanted to create a series about the art of directing. To chronicle the craft of great filmmakers is a dream come true for me and all of us at Array Filmworks. We’re thrilled that our partners at Warner Horizon Unscripted Television embraced this idea and look forward to fully geeking out over movies with our friends at HBO Max.”

A statement from HBO Max described how the series will operate, saying, “Using state of the art technology,...

When the details of U2’s new SiriusXM radio channel U2 X-Radio were announced earlier this week, they didn’t spell out a specific role for Adam Clayton. But the bassist explained to Rolling Stone that he’s been intimately involved with the creation of the channel and will continue to work on it going forward.

“When we get up and running my role will be to help keep it on track and to be available for comments and interviews as much as possible,” he says. “Edge has taken on...

After making the jump to blockbuster studio filmmaking with her 2018 Disney adaptation “A Wrinkle in Time,” Oscar-nominated filmmaker Ava DuVernay is preparing for the next stop on her ascent up the Hollywood ladder: a DC superhero comic book adaptation with some serious cosmic energy. The “Selma” and “Middle of Nowhere” director was hired into the DC Extended Universe fold in March of 2018, where she will take on a long-hinted at side of the DC world.

“The New Gods” is based on the comic book series of the same name, the brainchild of creator/designer Jack Kirby. It first appeared in 1971 and focuses on the warring inhabitants of two planets: New Genesis and Apokolips. Highfather rules the former in relative harmony, whereas Darkseid lords over its dystopian neighbor.

While news about the project has been relatively slim since DuVernay came on board last year, the social media-savvy creator has recently started...

U2’s hardcore fans unearthed an important piece of the band’s history earlier this month with the discovery of an audience recording from an August 1979 gig the group played at Dublin’s Dandelion Market. It’s the earliest U2 concert recording known to exist, containing not just early versions of “Out of Control” and “Stories For Boys,” but also two songs that have never been heard before: “In Your Hand” and “Concentration Cramp.”

Some of the songs later appeared on their debut LP Boy, released in October 1980. U2 promoted...

Spider-Man: Far from Home is weaving an expansive web over the Fourth of July holiday frame, pushing new specialties to find space in upcoming weeks. There are a few brave indies hoping to grab some residuals over the long weekend, however. Sundance doc Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love will launch in several L.A. and New York locations. Distributor Roadside Attractions is hoping to ride a wave of music docs that have scored well in the box office with summer rollouts in recent years. Thriller Skin in the Game dramatizes the human trafficking in America. Specialty label Kandoo Films, which also produced the title, is releasing it day-and-date. Gravitas Ventures, meanwhile, is spearheading on-demand for the Armed Forces action-drama Above the Best. The producers are organizing limited theatrical events/showings for the feature, including one this weekend in Houston.

Additional limited releases over the holiday include Screen Media action-thriller Cold Blood...

I don’t mean to humble brag or even full-on brag. But even though I am the new Gold Derby editor on the block, I scored the best percentage of correct picks among my colleagues. I also tied with three other Experts – Chris Harnick of E!, Kelly Lawler of my former alma mater USA Today and Lynette Rice of Entertainment Weekly, all who cover TV for a living.

You can see the final leaderboard displaying the scores of our Experts here. Click on my name to see my right/wrong predictions.

But here is the thing: I am no TV expert. I am far more movie-motivated and Oscar-crazed. Sure, I have watched more than my share of “Chopped,” continue to indulge in “Survivor” and “The Amazing Race” and am addicted to CBS’ “The Good Fight.” Ok, I scored 61.54 percent correct, which would barely translate into a passing grade on anything.

When a stadium-sized artist does a “club show,” they usually play an acoustic-ish set or a scaled-down (i.e. intimate but incomplete) version of their usual headlining concert. Sometimes, they do something special.

For their concert at Harlem’s legendary Apollo Theater on Monday night — presented by and broadcast on SiriusXM — U2 truly did something special, delivering a unique, carefully curated show, mixing classics and new songs with several deep cuts, including an encore set with the 13-piece Sun Ra Arkestra that featured three rarely played, Harlem-centric songs from their 1988 album “Rattle and Hum.” There were none of the dazzling special effects that have become a hallmark of their big-room shows; just lights, a stage, and one of the greatest live rock bands in history at full throttle, roaring through 20 songs from their nearly 40-year catalog.

The show promised to be a special one even before the band took the stage.

U2’s May 15 opener of its two-night stay at Los Angeles’ Fabulous Forum (the second is tonight) marked just a little under a year since the band sold out two dates at the Rose Bowl on their victory lap “Joshua Tree” tour, which ended up grossing $316 million for just 51 shows. Presumably, those who craved hearing the likes of “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” “With or Without You,” “Bullet the Blue Sky” or “Where the Streets Have No Name” got their fill last time, because none of those concert staples is on the current set-list for the band’s new Experience + Innocence tour. This latest trek builds upon the previous 10-city North American outing in which the album titles were reversed.

Like that series of shows, the new indoor-arena concerts once more boast a giant, two-sided Led screen that bifurcates the venue three-quarters of the way from front to back,...

Just a week after her big-budget Disney adventure A Wrinkle in Time hit theaters, Ava DuVernay has a new gig, bringing the director into the superhero world. The filmmaker is closing a deal with Warner Bros. and DC to direct a big-budget adaptation of Jack Kirby's The New Gods, although this report also claims that The New Gods will have "no connection to the other DC worlds being exploited for film," including the Dceu. The studio is currently searching for a screenwriter to concoct the story, while working closely with the director.

Ava DuVernay already made history on A Wrinkle in Time, becoming the first female African-American director to make a film budgeted at more than $100 million, following Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins as the first female director to do so. This project comes in the wake of Warner Bros. bringing in Walter Hamada as the new DC production president,...

Panel hears from passionate advocate of theatrical experience.

Neon is in the early stages of putting together a programme to support what co-founder Tom Quinn referred to as the “sustainable theatrical release” of documentaries.

Quinn (pictured), whose company acquired Tim Wardle’s Sundance Us Documentary Competition selection Three Identical Strangers in January, teased the initiative at a Hollywood panel on the evolution of the industry although he declined to go further, adding that it was still too soon to unveil comprehensive details.

His comments came in a discussion about the non-fiction form as part of the ‘Make it or Break...

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and Nissan North America are launching a nationwide search for the next visionary filmmaker in celebration of the upcoming release of A Wrinkle in Time. The contest seeks to inspire innovative directors, especially female filmmakers, to step up and share their voice. Aspiring directors ages 18 and up must submit a 2-minute video showcasing their journey as a filmmaker. Submissions will be judged on their unique storytelling voice, their creativity and originality and their depiction of one of the most powerful lines of dialogue in the film, "Be a Warrior."

Director Ava DuVernay wrote, produced and directed her first narrative feature I Will Follow in 2010 on a budget of $50,000. What makes this filmmaking challenge unique is that the winner will receive the financial resources to make their own film, which is one of the biggest hurdles facing aspiring filmmakers. The new video released by Disney features...

For Lena Waithe, slowing down is not an option.

Coming off her 2017 Emmy win for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for the Master of None episode “Thanksgiving,” Waithe feels like she still has a lot to prove. “I was very blessed to be nominated and receive an award from an industry that I respect a lot. But my hustle doesn’t stop. I don’t rest on that,” she tells Et of the many upcoming projects she has coming up, including Step Sisters, about the president of a black sorority who is forced to help repair the reputation of a white sorority by teaching them how to step, on which she’s a producer, and a supporting role in Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One. “I’m still out here grinding -- you know, I got things in the pot.”

That pot also happens to contain her highly anticipated Showtime series, The Chi, which she created...

Sunday’s American Music Awards will be a family affair, with Tracee Ellis Ross hosting and mom Diana Ross doing double duty as a performer and the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.

“She’s a bit of an international treasure in my opinion,” the black-ish star, 45, tells People. “I’m excited that a younger generation gets to witness that, even just through the television screen. Also I think it’s a really extraordinary thing to honor somebody who’s had such an everlasting career, whose music has touched lives in such a poignant and special way. Music reaches into your heart,...

When Greta Gerwig’s already-lauded “Lady Bird” hits limited release later this week, the actress-writer-director will join a long line of other female filmmakers who used their directorial debut (this one is Gerwig’s solo directorial debut, just for clarity’s sake) to not only launch their careers, but make a huge mark while doing it. Gerwig’s Saoirse Ronan-starring coming-of-age tale is an instant classic, and one that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone who has enjoyed Gerwig’s charming work as a screenwriter in recent years, bolstered by her ear for dialogue and her love of complicated and complex leading ladies.

While Hollywood still lags when it comes to offering up opportunities to its most talented female filmmakers, many of them have overcome the dismal stats to deliver compelling, interesting, and unique first features. In short, they’re good filmmakers who made good movies,...

Witchy halloween classic “Hocus Pocus,” which starred powerhouse trio Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy, will get a television remake from Disney Channel, Deadline reports. Original producer David Kirschner will conjure the follow-up; unfortunately none of the original cast are slated to return. “The Royals” scribe Scarlett Lacy will pen the screenplay.

The 1993 horror comedy paired Midler, Parker, and Najimy as deliciously evil trio of witchy sisters. After a group of kids accidentally resurrect the sisters, they magically return to Salem, Massachusetts from 300 years in the past. In their quest to suck the souls out of all the children in the town, they must adjust to the new world order, contending with the marvels of paved roads and electricity. It was written by Neil Cuthbert and Mick Garris, and directed by Kenny Ortega, who has directed two of Disney Channel’s biggest TV movie franchises, “High School Musical” and “Descendants.

Older Millennials are typically hesitant to claim the much-maligned label, but slap some “Sister Act” on the TV and you’ll soon see who was born after 1982. One look at Whoopi Goldberg in that nun’s habit, and they won’t be able to stop from singing, “Oh Happy Day.” It’s been 25 years since the comedy first debuted, and Goldberg used her post on “The View” to reunite members of the original cast for a rousing version of “I Will Follow Him.”

Goldberg was joined by supporting players Kathy Najimy and Wendy Makkena, as well as Sheri Izzard, Darlene Koldenhoven, Beth Fowler (of “Orange is The New Black” renown), Andrea Robinson, and Prudence Holmes. The cast was backed up by a few extra choir members to round out the harmonies, which might not have been a bad idea judging from how some of their voices have aged. One thing...

Whoopi Goldberg, Harvey Keitel, Kathy Najimy, Wendy Makkena, and composer Marc Shaiman had a Sister Act reunion on The View in honor of the hit movie's 25th anniversary. Goldberg hosted the 25th anniversary reunion interview as well as a performance of "I Will Follow Him" for the ecstatic studio audience. As it turns out, much of the cast has kept in sporadic contact over the years and through the interview today, we learned a whole lot about the behind-the-scenes fun that the cast had making the movie.

"I Will Follow Him" is featured as the finale hit song in the 1992 movie, which starred Whoopi Goldberg as Deloris Van Cartier, a lounge singer who goes into hiding at a convent after witnessing her mobster boyfriend kill a man. The Academy Award winning actress stepped out onto the stage of The View to lead co-stars Wendy Makkena (Mary Robert), Kathy Najimy (Mary Patrick), Sherri Izzard,...

“Sister Act” celebrated its 25 year anniversary with a special reunion on “The View” on Thursday. Related: Whoopi Goldberg Throws Shade At ‘The Talk’ Whoopi Goldberg, 61, performed the unforgettable song “I Will Follow Him” with former cast-mates Kathy Najimy and Wendy Makkena, just to name a few. Harvey Keitel even showed up to surprise Goldberg with a […]...

Oh Happy Day!

Whoopi Goldberg and cast members from the 1992 film Sister Act reunited Thursday on The View for a joyful (joyful) performance of “I Will Follow Him” in honor of the film’s 25th anniversary.

Joining the 61-year-old Oscar winner — who played Deloris Van Cartier, the lounge singer forced to go into hiding in a convent after witnessing a murder — in the celebratory tune were cast members Kathy Najimy, Wendy Makkena, Sherri Izzard, Darlene Koldenhoven, Beth Fowler, Andrea Robinson and Prudence Holmes.

The film’s music supervisor, Marc Shaiman, sat in on the piano for actress Rose Perenti (Sister...

Twenty-five years after Whoopi Goldberg first donned that iconic habit, the Sister Act star reunited with several of her castmates Thursday on The View.

VideosAisha Tyler’s Final Day on The Talk: Watch Her Emotional On-Air Goodbye

Kathy Najimy (aka Sister Mary Patrick) and Wendy Makkena (aka Sister Mary Robert) joined Goldberg — who scored a 1992 Golden Globe nomination for playing Deloris Van-Cartier — to reminisce about filming the iconic comedy. One particularly exceptional story involved Najimy and Makkena putting porn on their hotel room TV, then ordering room service. (Oh, did I mention they were still wearing their full nun costumes?...

John Boyega has sparred off with galaxy’s biggest baddies, but now he needs some help back on earth – with women.

The Star Wars: The Force Awakens actor revealed in his new GQ August cover story that he’s sought advice on dating in Hollywood from two of the industry’s biggest names: Orlando Bloom and Robert Downey Jr.

Boyega, 25, said just before the sci-fi franchise’s big return in Dec. 2015, he realized, “It was time for me to sit down with someone who’s been through the extremes of Hollywood and to be given some tips as to how to stay stable.

Ava DuVernay is gearing up to join Patty Jenkins in the female-directed blockbuster club with Disney’s “A Wrinkle of Time,” and the movie’s inevitable success hopefully means more and more opportunities for women at the head of studio tentpoles. DuVernay is already the first woman of color to be directing a live-action $100 million movie, but that could just be one of several history-making benchmarks she could set with the adaptation of the beloved Madeleine L’Engle novel.

Read More: Ava DuVernay Reunites With Netflix to Write and Direct Central Park Five Limited Series

“A Wrinkle in Time” stars newcomer Storm Reid as our hero Meg Murry, a 13-year-old who embarks on an epic adventure through the universe to rescue her scientist father with the help of her genius brother, an older classmate and three very peculiar neighbors, played by Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling.

DuVernay got...

Exclusive: Howard Barish’s Kandoo Films to fully finance low-budget features; Paradigm to handles sales.

Howard Barish, the Canadian Los Angeles-based producer of the Oscar-nominated documentary 13th who helped launched Ava DuVernay’s directing career, has set up a fund for low-budget features.

Barish, the founder and president of Kandoo Films who established a successful promos and branding business after he relocated from Toronto to Los Angeles in the early 1990s, has revealed details of the first two projects.

Little Star and Skin In The Game are in post and shot last year over 14-16 days in Los Angeles.

Kandoo fully financed the titles as it will do on the entire slate and Barish expects to back six to eight low-budget features in all. Paradigm will handle sales on the slate.

Little Star is directed by Dave Schwep and stars Analeigh Tipton and Tyler Labine in the tale of a troubled starlet who engages with a reclusive...

Exclusive: Howard Barish’s Kandoo Films to fully finance; Paradigm to handles sales.

Howard Barish, the Canadian Los Angeles-based producer of the Oscar-nominated documentary 13th who helped launched Ava DuVernay’s directing career, has set up a fund for low-budget features.

Barish, the founder and president of Kandoo Films who established a successful promos and branding business after he relocated from Toronto to Los Angeles in the early 1990s, has revealed details of the first two projects.

Kandoo will fully finance all titles and Barish expects to back six to eight low-budget features. Paradigm will handle sales on the slate.

The first two projects are in post and both shot in Los Angeles over 14-16 days in 2016.

Little Star is directed by Dave Schwep and stars Analeigh Tipton and Tyler Labine in the tale of a troubled starlet who engages with a reclusive landlord.

Lauren Bowles and Monique Coleman also star in the psychological drama.

Human trafficking drama Skin In The Game...

Watching Ava DuVernay’s trajectory as a director, producer, distributor, and now civil rights leader has been interesting. The jump from making I Will Follow to Middle of Nowhere, which won Best Director at Sundance,...

ABC is developing a new Marvel series for television based on the cocoon emerging race-altered beings known as The Inhumans. The show will begin with a special in-theater premiere this fall, so one can assume a 2018 air date, and will reportedly feature the royal family of the genetically modified race. Before you get "tired head" and think that you have seen enough of them from Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D, you must be aware that the show will be closer to the comic adaptation and focus on the royal family that controls the Inhuman nation.

ABC has tried hard to keep everything a secret, but thanks to a tip received by ThatHashtagShow, they were able to correlate SAG-aftra casting call to the actual series. The Inhumans are no secret in the comicbook world, and it was fairly easy to line up which characters will be involved. Here...

Here at Et, we love an anniversary -- whether it’s the 20th anniversary of Scream or Clueless, 10 years in the life of The Hills or the magical time making No Doubt’s Magic Kingdom 20 years later. And as we settle in 2017, it’s time to look ahead at all those upcoming moments that will have you saying, “I remember when…”

Here’s a brief look at our favorite TV and film milestones of 2017:

Jan. 25, 2002: A Walk to Remember (15 Years)

While fans are crying over Mandy Moore’s Golden Globe-nominated performance on NBC’s hit new series This Is Us, it was just 15 years ago that they cried over her performance in the weepy adaptation of Nicholas Sparks’ book about a girl with cancer who falls in love with a rebellious classmate.

Let’s not also forget that 2002 gave us Naomie Harris in 28 Days Later, Barbershop, Ryan Gosling in Murder by Numbers, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, [link...

Leonard Cohen and his muse Marianne Ihlen were close in life and in death — in fact, they died just months apart from each other, and the “So Long, Marianne” singer-songwriter said goodbye through a letter that predicted his own death would come “very soon.” “Well Marianne, it’s come to this time when we are really so old and our bodies are falling apart and I think I will follow you very soon,” the letter read, according to Letters of Note. “Know that I am so close behind you that if you stretch out your hand, I think you can reach.

Born in Canada and based in Los Angeles, where he enjoyed picking up coffee at the Starbucks at Highland and Wilshire, singer/songwriter/poet Leonard Cohen has died at age 82, per his Facebook page, after suffering various illnesses.

Many baby boomers grew up on Cohen, advertised as “the master of erotic despair,” whose 60s songs like “Suzanne” and “The Sisters of Mercy” and later entries “Calling All Angels” and especially, “Hallelujah,” were performed by many other top recording artists, from Judy Collins, U2 and Bob Dylan to Rufus Wainwright and K.D. Laing.

Over 45 years Cohen carefully produced about a dozen albums (his most recent, “You Want it Darker,” was released last month), but more than 2000 recordings were made of his songs. The incantatory sacred/profane “Hallelujah,” which took Cohen five years to write, appeared in many television shows and movies, from “Shrek” and “American Idol” to Aaron Sorkin’s “The West Wing.

Mubi is proud to present the first-ever online retrospective of renowned Filipino auteur Lav Diaz. To give audiences the proper time to spend immersed in Diaz’s cinema, Mubi will debut one film each month during the retrospective.Illustration by Leah BravoFilmmaker Lavrente Indico Diaz, named after Soviet statesman Lavrentiy Beria (1899-1953), was born on December 30th 1958 in the municipality of Datu Paglas, province of Maguindanao, Mindanao Island, Southern Philippines. The son of a fervently Catholic woman from the Visayas (Central Philippines) and a Socialist intellectual from Ilocos (Northern Philippines) who, firmly believing that education is the key to improve Man's condition, devoted their lives to schooling peasants in the poorest, remotest Maguindanao villages, Diaz has always had an utilitarian conception of culture and, by extension, of all forms of artistic expression. To Diaz, art should not be an end to itself, a purely formalist exercise, but—to paraphrase a...

With its elegiac tone and leisurely pace, director Ava DuVernay’s first foray into television feels true to its showrunner while being entirely different than a lot of what is on TV. “Queen Sugar” shares the most DNA with DuVernay’s films “Middle of Nowhere” and “I Will Follow,” as well as SundanceTV’s “Rectify.” Here, there’s a […]

The post Ava DuVernay’s ‘Queen Sugar’ Is A Beautifully Shot, Character-Driven Drama [TV Review] appeared first on The Playlist.

Ava DuVernay is beloved for her intimate independent films (“I Will Follow,” “Middle of Nowhere”) and prestige dramas (“Selma”), but she’s about to head into blockbuster territory for Disney’s “A Wrinkle Of Time,” based on the beloved science fantasy novel by Madeleine L’Engle. The film will make DuVernay the first person of color to direct a $100 million feature, and it seems like she’s already having the time of her life in pre-production.

Read More: Ava DuVernay Continues To Break Hollywood Barriers, and She’s The Perfect Person To Do It

Over the last couple weeks, DuVernay has been sharing photos directly to her Twitter page as she travels California and the world with her location scout team to find the perfect locales for her epic adaptation. “A Wrinkle In Time” centers around 13-year-old Meg Murry, who embarks on an epic adventure through the universe to rescue...

Comic Book Reviews: Marvel Round-Up Week 07-20-2016

After a nice vacation overseas, I’ve returned to see how much has Civil War II invaded the nice worlds of my favorite comic book series! In some cases it’s bad! And in others, not so bad. Regardless, I know a bunch of big changes are coming to the Marvel U, and Civil War II is just the tip of the iceberg. So sit back, read some reviews and see if anything strikes your fancy this week!

A-Force #7

Story: Kelly Thompson Art: Ben Caldwell, Scott Hanna Colors: Ian Herring

Review: We are finally getting the wrap up issue of the Countess Saga! Not an official name, just what I’m calling it. For the past several issues, we’ve seen the team completely fail to stop the Villainess and become powerless to the mind controlled Nico. Well no more! Kelly...

Jesse Williams has issued a response regarding the petition to get him fired from Grey's Anatomy due to his Bet Awards acceptance speech.

Following his June 26 remarks on racial injustice, a Change.org user organized a petition claiming that the actor delivered a "racist, hate speech against law enforcement and white people." The petition has nearly quadrupled with more than 22,000 signatures to date.

"Not a single sane sentence in their claim. Not One," Williams, 34, tweeted on Wednesday.

"A system built to divide and impoverish and destroy us cannot stand if we do. It's kind of basic mathematics. The more we...

Jesse Williams has issued a response regarding the petition to get him fired from Grey's Anatomy due to his Bet Awards acceptance speech. Following his June 26 remarks on racial injustice, a Change.org user organized a petition claiming that the actor delivered a "racist, hate speech against law enforcement and white people." The petition has nearly quadrupled with over 22,000 signatures to date. "Not a single sane sentence in their claim. Not One," Williams, 34, tweeted on Wednesday. "A system built to divide and impoverish and destroy us cannot stand if we do. It's kind of basic mathematics. The more we learn...

Jesse Williams has issued a response regarding the petition to get him fired from Grey's Anatomy due to his Bet Awards acceptance speech. Following his June 26 remarks on racial injustice, a Change.org user organized a petition claiming that the actor delivered a "racist, hate speech against law enforcement and white people." The petition has nearly quadrupled with over 22,000 signatures to date. "Not a single sane sentence in their claim. Not One," Williams, 34, tweeted on Wednesday. "A system built to divide and impoverish and destroy us cannot stand if we do. It's kind of basic mathematics. The more we learn...

TV legend Norman Lear is putting his full support behind “Grey’s Anatomy” star Jesse Williams, as critics of the actor float a petition demanding his firing.

“I’ve seen and attended a ton of awards shows in my time, and no one has ever put his soul and his ass on the line so fully and so truthfully as Jesse Williams did at the Bet Awards last week,” Lear told IndieWire in a statement. “Wither thou goest, Mr. Williams, I will follow.”

Lear is an executive producer on the upcoming Epix documentary series “America Divided,” which takes a look at inequality in the United States. Williams, a former teacher, is featured in a segment as he looks at the battle to address this in education.

Read More: Jesse Williams’ Bet Speech Sparks Petition To Get Him Fired From ‘Grey’s Anatomy’

“Grey’s Anatomy” executive producer Shonda Rhimes is...

Director Ava DuVernay founded the African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement in 2011, and as if she wasn’t busy enough, has now added another project to her plate. Array is a multi-platform distribution campaign intended to aid people of color and women who are in the filmmaking business. Where Affrm was primarily dedicated to telling black stories, Array is focused on all minorities who have faced difficulty or prejudice within the filmmaking industry.

Read More: Ava DuVernay Wants You to Be a Rebel and Join the Movement for Diverse Films

DuVernay founded Affrm in 2011 as a “distribution collective of minority arts organizations dedicated to diverse independent films.” Affrm’s Array Releasing has distributed a variety of films, including 2012 Sundance Best Director Winner “Middle of Nowhere,” 2011 Sundance selection “Restless City,” 2011 NAACP Image Award Nominee “I Will Follow” and 2015 Spirit Award Nominee “Out of My Hand.”

In a new video, DuVernay joins other...

Last Thursday, Brock Turner, a 20-year-old former Stanford University student, was sentenced to six months in county jail for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman outside a fraternity party in January 2015. The sentence drew widespread criticism; prosecutors had asked Turner be sentenced to six years, according to CNN.Turner was convicted of three felony counts of sexual assault. Turner had admitted to the sexual contact but maintained it was consensual.Below is the 12-page victim impact statement written by the victim and read in court to Turner after his sentencing. The statement is printed in its entirety.Your Honor, if it is all right,...

Last Thursday, Brock Turner, a 20-year-old former Stanford University student, was sentenced to six months in county jail for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman outside a fraternity party in January 2015. The sentence drew widespread criticism; prosecutors had asked Turner be sentenced to six years, according to CNN.Turner was convicted of three felony counts of sexual assault. Turner had admitted to the sexual contact but maintained it was consensual.Below is the 12-page victim impact statement written by the victim and read in court to Turner before his sentencing. The statement is printed in its entirety.Your Honor, if it is all right,...

No wonder Vanessa & Co. were feeling reflective in this week’s Penny Dreadful, “Good and Evil Braided Be”: Their pasts weren’t just impacting their presents but dictating the courses of their futures as well. But which of them wanted to revisit yesterday, and which wanted to bring about the last tomorrow? Read on and find out!

‘I Will Follow You To Hell’ | While Rusk and Ostow, and Sir Malcolm and Kaetenay, pursued Ethan across the New Mexico Territory, Hecate — much to the wolfman’s chagrin — continued to “help” in hopes that he’d eventually allow her to “liberate...