The Jessica Jones final season trailer dropped. Considering the disappointment of season 2 of JJ and the rolling disappointments of other favorites like Luke Cage season 2, one wonders if it’s worth watching the finale at all.
What made Jessica Jones first season so good was the convincing villain Kilgrave (David Tennent), the themes of sexual assault without unnecessary gratuitous rape scenes and the believable character development.
Season 2 fell short, with lacking action scenes (which is odd for a Marvel show), weird family drama as conflict and rushed portrayal of opioid addiction, and too many useless characters.
Jessica Jones season 3 trailer hints at the overall theme of Jessica’s hero status.
They brought back a male villain who is said to be very smart, smarter than Jessica and Trish combined. The villain Gregory Salinger is hellbent on proving that Jessica is not a hero? And that she’s actually a ‘fraud’? I guess we’ll find out what that means.
Also, there are no distinct feminist themes in sight in this trailer. A disappointment we already went through with season 2’s lack of real women’s issues commentary. Will Jessica Jones’ conflict with this new villain spark some kind of dialogue about gender? Or will season 1 live in infamy as the best Jessica Jones story?
At least we know that Jeri is still in the show, maybe she’ll save it again like last season when she was the only character with a good arch. But then again, she was based on a male character in the comics, so maybe the writers are having trouble writing female roles.
Nonetheless, we also have Malcolm to look forward to who’s been working for Jeri. He’s very likely to butt heads with Jessica who disrespected him almost every episode last season.
Will Jessica Jones bring back powerful feminist themes? Or will the villain plot focus more on existential questions of what is a hero?
Only one way to find out. The full final season drops June 14 on Netflix.
It’s that time again. The Handmaid’s Tale season 3 has begun and Hulu dropped 3 new episodes.
Known for its masochistic level of oppression and crimes against women, the story continues building Gilead as a post-coup America with a religious theocracy where women are subject to cruel practices in order to promote fertility.
Margaret Atwood, the original writer of the novel upon which the story is based, states that all the torture is based on real events in our history. So how close is the Handmaid’s Tale to American History?
Spoilers Ahead…
We’ve all heard the recent reactions to the slew of anti-abortion laws comparing them to The Handmaid’s Tale. Forcing women to suffer through pregnancy because of a twisted sense of the sanctity of life.
In The Handmaid’s Tale season 1, we learn that Gilead’s creation relies on a few key events and people. We learn that there was a continuous retraction of rights, specifically women’s rights and LGBTQIA+ rights.
Women could not obtain birth control without a husband’s consent. Women could no longer work. Non-normative non-heterosexual people are persecuted and executed. Other religions are persecuted. Women could no longer read.
In season 2, we learn that Serena, the wife of Commander Fred (Offred/June’s captive family), is one of the inspirations and public figures that promoted and supported the creation of Gilead. Serena, a white upper class educated woman, points to sin as the reason for the fertility panic in the world.
She holds speeches and rallies and writes books about how feminism hurts women and their natural roles as child bearers. And when Gilead is created she subjugates and despises Offred/June her handmaid.
Gilead was created in a matter of months. Will our Gilead come to be too?
In our world, there is a similar trend to the initial creation of Gilead. Protections for LGBTQIA+ folk are degrading. Structures continue to limit access to birth control.
Women can no longer access safe abortions in many states. And we have entire bans against religions as well as frequent hate crimes.
What got us here? Government.
Who makes up the government? Old white men mostly.
And who keeps electing them? White women.
The Serena’s of our world elected Donald Trump.
The Serena’s of our world indirectly supported the crumbling of women’s rights in America. But this is not a recent trend.
White women have historically thrown other oppressed demographics under the bus if it meant they would have more access to the spoils of patriarchy.
Take the suffragette movement. We know that white women opposed Black men getting the right to vote before women, despite Black women making up much of the organizations for the suffragette movement.
White women fought for rights that would let them acquire and hold land, putting off the economic struggles of lower class women who did not have access to wealth. And white women pushed out Lesbians from their organizations, Betty Friedan calling them the “Lavender Menace,” and refusing to fight for their rights.
White Feminism feeds off of the Patriarchy
We’ve called a more modern version of these behaviors and trends “White feminism” and opted for more “Intersectional Feminism” and the way to topple the patriarchy.
The Handmaid’s Tale ends season 2 with a breakthrough of Serena siding with Offred/June and doing what’s best for her ‘daughter’, the symbol for all women of the future. She does this after realizing that Gilead is bad for women when they cut off her finger for reading scripture.
She finds that even if she is close to power as a commander’s wife she is not immune from the oppression and torture of being a woman in Gilead.
It seems that in season 3 we might be seeing more cooperation from Serena to fight against the Gilead regime and with her fellow women.
Will white women in America change their ways and do the same?
Whatever happens, nolite te bastardes carborundorum, bitches.
We get it, it was a long and sad trek to the final episode of Game of Thrones, but it’s over now. We can all take a deep breath and be thankful that all the fan theorizing (read: hyperventilating) can be put to rest.
That is until HBO kicks off the rumored prequel series because they’ll only stop kicking a dead horse once it stops spitting out money.
While an average of 32.8 million of the company’s 140 million subscribers tuned into Game of Thrones every Sunday this season, it’s important to note that HBO is also giving a platform to some pretty incredible projects.
Now that the whole Iron Throne thing has been settled (don’t worry, no spoilers), here are three shows that might be a little more satisfying to spend some serious R&R with the summer.
Something to binge watch: Barry
If you haven’t already found a show to binge-watch over the next few weeks or days, depending on your dedication, Bill Hader’s HBO original series Barry is the perfect place to start.
Just finishing up its second season the show follows Barry, an ex-Marine-turned-hitman who decides after carrying out a job in LA to become an actor. One part laugh-out-loud comedy, one part grisly examination of the realities of violence, Barry pairs both its comedic and tragic elements in an excellent push-pull relationship that never allows one to outweigh the other.
Watch out for the episodes directed by Hiro Murai, who also served as the director on some of the most breathtaking episodes of Atlanta (2016-2018). You can catch up on Barry on HBO GO before its third season airs in Spring of 2020.
Something to catch up on before the season is over – Chernobyl
This mini-series is a drama following the horrific effects and subsequent socio-political turmoil following the massive 1986 explosion from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine.
The wide cast of characters represents the scientific, political, and civilian levels of understanding the disaster in the greater context in which it occurred. The first episode alone is enough to get anyone completely hooked, however, the meticulous research that went into creating the series really shows.
Writer and executive producer of the show, Craig Mazin began research in 2014 and studied everything from government reports to first-hand accounts to gain a better understanding of the larger political, scientific, and cultural scope this event had. The last episode of the season is set to premiere Monday, June 3.
Something to look forward to – Euphoria
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuAzkZIiGxI
In the wake of big commercial successes like Gossip Girl, Riverdale, and Pretty Little Liars, HBO has decided to take a stab at its own version of a teen drama. The upcoming show, Euphoria, stars Zendaya and was written by Sam Levinson (Assassination Nation).
HBO positions the series as a contemporary examination of what it is like to be a teenager navigating the world while working through trauma, social media, relationships, drugs, sex, and alcohol.
While this does seem to be a tired take, with big-name producers like Drake, Future the Prince, and the production/distribution company A24 (Lady Bird, Moonlight, 20th Century Women) supporting the project, it seems to be a promising series.
From the trailers that have already been released, we seem to be following Rue Bennett (Zendaya), a recovering drug addict, who befriends a trans girl Jules Vaughn (Hunter Schafer) after returning home from rehab.
The cast includes Maude Apatow (Girls), Sydney Sweeney (Sharp Objects), and Jacob Elordi (The Kissing Booth). The first episode is set to premiere on Sunday, June 16.
Ramy, Hulu’s coming-of-age comedy, follows the life of its co-creator Ramy Youssef in a fictitious character arc that carries the viewer throughout protagonist Ramy Hussein’s day-to-day life, as well as an altering rotation and extension of his grapples.
The show is a breath of fresh air, covering topics of Arabian culture that have been stifled throughout the years. The series received controversial reviews regarding its depictions of Muslims — in particular, Muslim women. Still, there’s something to be said about the show that truly encapsulates the daily lives of those practicing modern Islam.
There is a quintessential portrayal of quotidians found in the series, from feeling the pressure of marriage, instilled restrictions on the female gender, the interaction, and impressions within the community. Plus, there’s a curtailment of culture that seems to tie into every episode.
While these are seldom heard and even more seldom understood, the takeaway from Ramy is not the differences in treatment between men and women. It is not found in the disaggregation of family dynamics or disunion of a bicultural home.
Instead, the show’s natural aptitude comes from something much larger and distinct; the internal struggle that Muslim millennials face on a consistent basis, from family to friends to relationships.
As Ramy’s character navigates his life of a 20-something, he finds it pertinent to become heavily involved with his religion and culture. We watch as his transformation is contrasted in his decisions.
For example, his willingness to go to mosque, a development from the first episode where he fails to understand why he needed to wash between his toes before prayer is far from the final episode. In comparison to the first episode, for the last episode, Ramy joins a Sufi prayer gathering and falls into a spell of feverish devotion, finally finding peace within his company.
His transformative path is also mirrored in his attempt at failed relationships. Ramy finds himself going for women who are unavailable from a central variation, like his affinity towards Jewish women, which always seems to result in an abrupt and unexpected end. This causes him to seek a more interchangeable connection, looking for love in Muslim women, which he finds is even less agreeable.
Furthermore, within his North Jersey community of Arabs, Ramy tries his best at holding onto the little threads of culture that he has left over through the wash of American formalities he experiences growing up.
The heart of the show is centered, like most Arabian dramas, around finding love. This love is not limited to romantic love, but love in all aspects; for his “God,” (which, in the earlier episodes seems to pose a scrap of skepticism) for a partner, and for his culture.
Throughout the series, we see a persistent underlying theme of sex. To some, this is nothing more than a veneer meant to brighten the plot with a more acceptable and relatable viewing.
However, the focus on sex isn’t only meant to serve the viewer a digestible plot-line. Instead, sex is meant to present a bona fide lesson that at the end of the day, whether Muslim, Christian or Jewish, the characters remain human with human needs.
Furthermore, the subject of sex has been taboo in Arabian culture for ages. In the seventh episode, we follow Ramy’s mother, Maysa, (Hiam Abbass) as she tries to arouse what was once hers; the feeling of being a lively and desirable woman.
Ramy’s mother mentions to his father Farouk (Amr Wakeed) that they’ve watched the same movie over and over again (another commonality in Arabian culture), and though her husband seems to be engaged, she is frustrated in the mundanity of life. The episode ends on an unanticipated note as she and Farouk end up having sex in front of the television, which continues to play an old Egyptian film in the background.
Human sexuality is also used in navigating difficult topics through humor. The subject of self-pleasure is the central focus throughout the season, but particularly in what should be the heaviest episode of the season, Ramy experiencing September 11, 2001.
Here, we watch as a young Ramy dreams that he comes face to face with Osama Bin Laden himself. Bin Laden then attempts to coerce him into accepting his natural inclination as a bad person, calling him out on lying that he was able to masturbate to his friends. While this can be taken as tawdriness, the simple engagement of such a topic shifts darker themes into more light-hearted authenticity.
The show explores the lives of other objective characters, dedicating an entire episode to the matriarch of the family, as well as Ramy’s sister Dena (May Calamawy). In her journey, we see Dena struggling to figure out her “issue” of virginity, breaking free from strictness at home, being 25 and unwed, as well as her forced inexperience.
This recurring subject is demonstrated in the very first episode, as Ramy attempts a date with “Nour” (Dina Shihabi) who turns out to be nothing that he expected from a Muslim girl. Dena and Nour share a common difficulty in breaking free of women living in a man’s culture through seemingly failed attempts at free sexuality.
Ironically, in the episode prior to Dena’s, Ramy finds a lover in the one woman no one would have expected: A wed, hijabi mother of one, whom Ramy meets walking back home from the mosque during Ramadan. After relations with his mother, her son Ali comes into the room and asks Ramy a question which is substantial to his overall confliction. “Are you a bad guy?”
And we see it again in Dena’s episode, where one of her best friends Fatima (Jade Eshete) talks about losing her virginity and the fact that it “just happened” with a guy in her program, before throwing on her hijab to grab the Chinese Food from the delivery man at the door.
At an earlier time, the idea of hijabi women engaging in lewd acts on the television would be frowned upon, but this innovative show looks beyond the prohibitions of the past. In Ramy, these scenes remind us that the characters are, at their very core, humans with human needs and wants. In traversing their lives, we arrive at questions left for interpretation, inspection and open conclusions: What makes a real Muslim “devout?”
Season 1 is concluded with juxtaposing conditions, when in the second to last episode, Ramy decides to embark on a journey back to the Middle East after his friend Steve (Steve Way) seems to push him to the limit in an uncomfortable evening with two underage girls. There, Ramy hopes to cleanse himself of anything “American,” and he lands in Egypt in hopes that he can spend time with his family and lose himself in the sweep of the Middle Eastern culture.
Unfortunately (and unexpectedly) for him, he quickly comes to grips with the fact that the culture has long been marred by the American mindset. Upon arrival, his cousin Shadi (Shadi Alfons) promises him a night of everything he was trying to escape — women, nightlife, drugs, and alcohol. Ramy is caught off guard in his attempts to salvage whatever he can to immerse himself in culture but comes out empty handed as he finds himself more lost than ever before.
Finally, the last episode brings to light another, more controversial topic. The topic of cousins falling in love. While this is an open tradition in Middle Eastern cultures, there’s very little understanding of the origins of this practice or why.
We catch a brief explanation when Ramy’s American friends urge him to pursue her, but Ramy’s struggle to first accept his feelings is readily apparent. Even though it tapers off as they seal the end of the season with a kiss, opening up a new can of worms for fights of morality, righteousness and more importantly, the act of keeping the culture alive.
If anything, Ramy gets one thing right, and that’s summarizing the different capacities of millennial Muslims today into one humor-filled sitcom, brimming with lessons, clashing morals and contentious identifications left for the viewer to answer.
Jordan Peele’s new horror film US, hit theaters on Mar. 22. The film centers on a family who is terrorized by their doppelgängers.
Playing up imposter syndrome, there’s a lot to unpack while watching the film. Much like Get Out, there is a mystery to solve. A mystery that Americans are afraid of.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu_49ZWFZIf/
Peele says in multiple interviews that there’s a connection between the two films, but that could mean anything. They’re in the same universe and they share Peele’s love for horror, but could Peele be warping the truth.
Or perhaps they’re both about privilege. And both about very distinctly American social fears.
Get Out is about the fear of powerful white people controlling black bodies. US is about “privileged” Americans worried about a hidden underground “other” that will be coming to take over.
That “other” could be anything from immigrants and the lower class to a forgotten past. Any combination of these groups could be represented by the red suits. What we do know is that they are us, they are Americans. It’s even indicated in the title—US, as in the United States.
Overall, US seeks to make you question the intention of the story, the message, and underlying themes. In time, Get Out reveals its meaning and if you pay attention enough you’ll see the layered clues in the film.
US decides that you need to do the work to figure out the themes of the story. While you watch you’ll be building your theories only to have them thrown out at every twist of the story.
The craziest twist comes at the very end giving you little time to adjust. But there are more hidden gems. Just like Get Out was made to be rewatched, you should definitely rewatch US in order to pick up on more clues.
Also unlike Get Out, the protagonists in the film just happen to be Black and there is no apparent racial commentary based on this. Perhaps the commentary is just that Black people can be in horror films without there being a racial theme or reason. The film seems to be more about class and fate.
This “underclass” is part of America, they’re not necessarily pretty and they’re here to bring about the end of American life as we know it. Sound familiar?
But Peele isn’t here to tell us these red revolutionaries are evil, or even good. We’re made to understand that they are us and we are them after all. And that perhaps we should look in the mirror and find ourselves in them.
Whatever theories begin to surface about the mythology of US, we can’t wait for the next American fear to come up from the tunnels.
Representing over 30 countries in 15 languages, over four weekends, February 22 to March 17, 2019, the NYICFF presents the best new animation, live action, documentary, and experimental film from across the globe.
With all-age-spanning narratives that draw on themes of youth, the NYICFF invites audiences, to join the colorful on-screen characters for fun, exciting and daring adventures — expanding worldviews, exploring new territory and igniting our imagination.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BstK3LVhubY/
Highlights of this year’s NYICFF:
The New York premiere of Juan Antin’s animated indigenous story and adventure quest, Pachamama follows the story of a boy living in a small village in the Andes Mountains and who dreams of becoming a shaman.
The newest feature from renowned French writer and animation director, Michel Ocelot, Dilili in Paris, will have its U.S. premiere at the festival. Ocelot’s latest animation follows the story of two friends investigating the disappearance of girls.
The festival will also host the World Theatrical Premiere of the Finnish-British animated family drama fantasy series, Moominvalley. The series is a brand new adaptation of the much-loved Moomin stories of Finnish-Swedish writer and artist Tove Jansson. Her books have been translated into over 50 languages.
The series utilizes brand-new techniques in CGI. The innovative style combines state-of-the-art 3D with classical illustrative aesthetics. It also features the voice of British actresses Kate Winslet, Rosamund Pike, and Jennifer Saunders.
For all you anime fans: The festival will screen the World Premiere English-language version Okko’s Inn, by Kitarō Kōsaka as well as Penguin Highway, the first feature from the new Japanese animation start-up studio spun off from Miyazaki’s stable of younger animators.
The opening night of NYCIFF will screen Chiwetel Ejiofor’s directorial debut, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. The film follows the inspiring true story of 13-year-old William Kamkwamba, who is thrown out of the school he loves when his family can no longer afford the fees.
Sneaking back into the school library, he finds a way, using the bones of the bicycle belonging to his father Trywell (Ejiofor), to build a windmill which then saves his Malawian village from famine. The film recently screened at Sundance and the Berlinale and will be available on Netflix on Mar. 1.
In 2011 New York International Children’s Film Festival became an Oscar-qualifying event. Winners of the festival’s juried prizes are eligible for Academy consideration in the categories of Best Live Action and Best Animated Short Film.
This year’s jury racks up to a talented and star-studded list of directors, producers, writers and actors including; Sofia Coppola, Gus Van Sant, Geena Davis, John Canemaker, Julianna Margulies, Hope Davis, Uma Thurman, Zoe Saldana, Christine Vachon, and more.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BqsCoTsll6S/
Programming Director Maria-Christina Villaseñor says,
“We are thrilled to showcase the diversity of outstanding filmmaking from around the world at NYICFF 2019 and demonstrate that multidimensional storytelling and artful approaches know no boundaries in terms of age range, genre or country. Kids and families are as hungry for artful, meaningful stories as adult audiences, whether told through live action, documentary, or animation, and all will be richly rewarded through an impressive slate of international titles at NYICFF 2019.”
LOCATIONS of NYICFF: Alamo Drafthouse City Point, Cinépolis Chelsea, IFC Center, Museum of the Moving Image, Quad Cinema, Scandinavia House, and SVA Theatre
Three months after moving to Los Angeles, actress Kiki Layne had her first audition.
The role was for Barry Jenkin’s screen adaptation of If Beale Street Could Talk, based on James Baldwin’s 1974 novel of the same name.
After being blown away by her audition, Jenkins’ requested a script reading with her on-screen romantic partner, Stephen James. The rest is history.
Beating out 300 other actresses for the lead role, she was cast in an Academy-Award winning director’s film. It was as if Layne’s journey to La La Land was written in the stars. Beale Street was the 26-year-old Cincinnati native’s feature film debut. Layne’s performance was lauded by critics who were impressed by her newcomer’s compelling portrayal of the lead character.
The film follows the story of Tish (KiKi Layne) and Fonny (Stephan James), childhood friends who fall in love but whose communion is interrupted when Fonny is accused of a crime he did not commit.
With the help of those around her, Tish fights to free her husband from prison before the birth of their child. Shifting between the past and present, Beale Street is a crucial depiction of young Black love.
Since the story is transmitted through Tish’s POV and her narration drives the film, a lot of screen time is dedicated to the young actress.
The audience is intimately aligned with her subjectivities as the gentle and tender romance is transmitted through eyes and we watch her grow and mature as she goes through life in the devastatingly beautiful film.
After attending DePaul University and graduating with a degree in acting, Layne had begun to build a name for herself in the theater scene in Chicago, until she, like many others, was hailed by the allure making it big in Los Angeles.
Layne was introduced to Jenkins’ script by her friend who was also auditioning for the lead part that James eventually landed. Speaking on the role, Layne recalled to the Chicago Sun-Times,
“Something just told me that this was the role I was waiting for. I just had to get in the room…When I read Baldwin’s book, I knew I absolutely had to get this. It’s a beautiful love story, and a role like this doesn’t come around often.”
Next, Layne will appear in a screen adaptation of the beloved and much-studied Richard Wright novel, Native Son.
The film is directed by Rashid Johnson and the screenplay was adapted by Suzan-Lori Parks. Native Son will have its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 24. She told the Chicago Times,
“This is another adaptation of a really important piece of black literature. I’m super excited for it and thankful to be working in the industry at a time when these adaptations are happening.”
Layne told Variety,
“I’m just feeling thankful that right out of the gate, I get to let audiences know that this is the type of work that really matters to me, and that I recognize that I have the ability to say something with my art, with the projects I choose.”
While her acting career has been kicked off by two screen adaptations, Layne doesn’t want to be pigeonholed as an actress and is committed to having her name attached to a variety of projects. She continued,
“I could do comedy, action, or even science fiction. The only thing I’m sure of is that I want to keep doing work that speaks to me.”
As more and more Marvel and DC comic book characters take over the silver screen, Layne wants in on the Marvel Franchise. She revealed in an interview with ESSENCE that she has her eyes set on the role of a superhero — X-Men’s Storm. She told Variety,
“She was an image of myself, of a powerful chocolate black woman, and I just think that’s an amazing image to have and I really want to play Storm,”
She disclosed that her agents and managers are actively plotting to make it happen.
Halle Berry famously played Storm in the first four X-Men movies, while Alexandra Shipp took on the role for 2016’s X-Men: Apocalypse, as well as in the upcoming Dark Phoenix, set to hit theaters on this year.
On her strategy to stay grounded, Layne admitted that she takes it one day at a time.
She revealed to the Chicago Sun-Times, that she intends on returning to Chicago and reimmersing herself in the theater scene saying,
“I left before I had the opportunity to pursue work more widely in Chicago. I want a career filled with a lot of variety. It’s important for me to not be put into any type of box because that steals the fun of acting. I want to do everything.”
Writing a screenplay is an underrated art form. If you’ve ever glanced at a screenplay, you may have thought writing a script isn’t such a difficult task.
Yet, don’t let the minimalist and simple layout fool you and take away from the fact that making a good screenplay is anything but easy. It’s hard to write dialogue that actually sounds like how people talk in everyday life without it being arbitrary. It’s difficult to, not completely on dialogue, move the plot forward or totally provide exhibition on the background of your characters.
In a conventional narrative arc, the protagonist has to have a clear objective and the antagonist, whether that is another person, an entity or perhaps, the protagonist themselves, must function as the primary obstacle in preventing the main character from achieving their goal.
In short, you have to put your protagonist through the wringer and raise the stakes along the way, so that once we get to the end of the story, the protagonist has earnt that goal — whether it is getting someone out of jail, saving the world from a zombie apocalypse or winning over the heart of a love interest. In a screenplay, the characters’ actions reveal who they are and therefore, why we as viewers, should stick with them along on their journey.
Here is a list of screenwriters that made a name for themselves in 2018 by pushing the boundaries of genre, creating complex characters who we root for despite their problematic actions, and of course created compelling narratives that left an impression on us, days after our viewing.
Sara Colangelo, The Kindergarten Teacher
In Colangelo’s film, audiences watch a kindergarten teacher go to extraordinary and somewhat problematic lengths to shepherd the talent of her student who she deems a child prodigy.
Written and directed by Colangelo, the tense narrative explores the power dynamics that are embedded in being a teacher and mentor.
A graduate of NYU, Colangelo is a New York-based writer and director whose short films have screened at festivals around the world, including Sundance, Tribeca, and SXSW.
Colangelo’s debut feature, Little Accidents, had its world premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and was subsequently nominated for a 2015 Independent Spirit Award.
Raymond Lawrence Riley, aka Boots Riley, Sorry to Bother You
Before making his feature film debut, Boots Riley spent years working as a community organizer and as the frontman of the leftist hip-hop group, The Coup. At 47, the Bay Area activist and rapper ultimately created a highly original, satirical, blistering critique of capitalism with one of this year’s best films, Sorry To Bother You.
Starring Lakeith Stanfield as a young telemarketer in Oakland, the film follows the protagonist as he climbs the ranks of his corporate company after realizing he can make more sales by speaking with a “white voice” (David Cross dubs these lines). Though the film has an absurdist and surrealist quality, it is grounded through its unapologetic examination of race in America.
The notion of “the white voice” in the film is emblematic of the kind of racial performativity that characterizes everyday life and the kind of the code-switching that are at times necessary for Black folk to employ as a means of social and economic mobility. In other words, sometimes you need to “use your white voice” to get ahead within a political-economic system that is dependent on exploitation in order to be sustained.
On what is next for Riley, he disclosed in an interview with The Guardian that he is currently writing two films. He has also linked up with Michael Ellenberg who brought Game of Thrones to HBO in a TV series deal. He is also writing and directing an episode for Guillermo del Toro’s horror anthology series 10 After Midnight.
Joe Robert Cole, Black Panther
Joe Robert Cole is responsible for co-writing the screenplay to the groundbreaking Marvel hit film Black Panther with the director, Ryan Coogler. Cole first began writing screenplays in college at UC Berkeley and his career as a screenwriter includes the 2006 coming-of-age drama ATL and the 2011 indie thriller Amber Lake, which he also directed.
A year later, Cole was invited to join Marvel Studios’ writer program, where in-house writers help develop possible screenplays for lesser-known Marvel characters.
Cole’s work on American Crime Story: The People v O.J Simpson earned him an Emmy nomination and it was after this critical-acclaim that the writer landed his biggest project yet, the opportunity to write what is now the third highest grossing film — ever. The Black Panther co-writer is now set to write and direct the Netflix drama, All Day and a Night.
The film follows the POV of a young criminal after his arrival in prison as he looks back on the days preceding his arrest and the circumstances of his childhood to find clues to his way forward in life and his survival, and will take place across three parallel narratives. Cole will also team up with Netflix for Failsafe, a film adaptation of a Vault Comics story by F.J. DeSanto and Todd Farmer.
Cole will write the script while Michael B. Jordan is set to produce the project through his company Outlier Society Productions. It is unclear whether Jordan will star in the project since the actor is in high demand at the moment and is taking his turn at the director’s chair himself. Plus, Cole will also pen the script to the Call of Duty sequel.
Cheo Hodari Coker, Creed II
Annapurna Pictures
Being a former music journalist turned television writer, seems like the perfect equation to write the script for the biopic on the legendary The Notorious B.I.G.
Before landing the epic gig of depicting the life and death of one of the biggest names in music and culture, Coker’s made a name for himself at outlets such as The Los Angeles Times and The Source. Coker biggest deal yet has to be penning a co-writing deal to write the eighth installment of the Rocky franchise, Creed II, with Rocky himself, Sylvester Stallone.
The film has been a monumental success and has brought in $109.6M domestically and is expected to surpass the first film’s box office figure of directorial $109.7M. The sequel has also made been a huge success at the global box office, earning $138M.
Coker’s producing credits include cop drama Southland, and the critically acclaimed Showtime series, Ray Donovan. And though Marvel and Netflix pulled the plug on Luke Cage, the former showrunner of the superhero series has found a new long-term home with Amazon Studios.
Jordana Spiro, Night Comes On
After premiering at the Sundance Film Festival this year and winning a NEXT Innovator Award at the festival, Spiro’s first feature film for Night Comes On is a visual declaration of her talent as a filmmaker and powerful storyteller.
The film’s premise is as follows: On the eve of her 18th birthday, Angel LaMere a young Black queer woman is released from serving time in a juvenile detention facility. Haunted by her past, she embarks on a journey of retribution for her mother that threatens to destroy her future.
Jordana Spiro is also an actress that has starred in numerous films and television series including Netflix’s, Ozark and TBS comedy television program, My Boys. Spiro co-wrote the script with Angelica Nwandu.
Angelica Nwandu, Night Comes On
TEDx
Night Comes On may officially mark Nwandu’s entry into the film industry, yet Nwandu is widely known as the CEO and founder of the Instagram-based media company, The Shade Room.
Amazingly, The Shade Room was her backup plan after she and Spiro received a grant to fund the film after they submitted the script got accepted in the Sundance Screenwriters Lab.
Nwanda combined her love of celebrity gossip with her love of writing and founded the company in 2014. Within the first year the account garnered over 700k followers and now the media empire has close to 15 million followers on Instagram.
Now with one of the biggest platforms, she is creating a lane for herself in entertainment unlike anyone else.
Courtney Kemp Agboh, Power
Though 50 Cent is the face of the hit Starz drama Power, he is not the one scribing the dialogue to one of Ghost’s intense and powerful monologues. The creator and showrunner of the hit cable series, Courtney Kemp Aghboh, however, admits the rap superstar-actor is a source of constant creative inspiration for the series.
But Kemp Agboh didn’t just come out of nowhere. Like many women of color in the entertainment industry, she has been grinding and climbing her way to the top. Her drive is indicative of the show she has created.
She has had a long stint in the industry. After writing an article for GQ magazine, titled “How to Date a Black Woman,” her authorial voice garnered the attention of two comedy producers and it was here she looked to make moves within the industry.
She landed a spot as a writer on the series The Bernie Mac Show, in 2015. Her other writing credits include CSI, In Justice, Eli Stone, My Own Worst Enemy, Happy Town, Hawaii Five-O, and finally, her big break, The Good Wife.
Kemp Agboh continues to boss up and has signed a multi-year overall deal with the premium channel’s parent company, Lionsgate. The deal includes several commitments from Starz to develop series through her End of Episode company, including potential spinoffs of Power.
Jordan Peele, Us
Though Get Out was Peele’s directorial debut, many know Peele as the other half of the hilarious comedy duo, Key and Peele. Their skit comedy show, also starring Keegan-Michael Key, garnered a huge fan following and Peele became known for his uncanny impersonation of President Obama.
When Jordan Peele wrote the screenplay for Get Out, it began as a playful writing process with Peele exploring his favorite film genre, horror. As he continued to write, however, he realized the social gravity embedded in the narrative he was crafting.
For Peele, pairing the plot of a Black man going to meet his white girlfriend’s family with the genre of horror, was the most fitting way to tell the story of being a Black man in America. Recently, the director interrupted the Christmas festivities by releasing the creepy and spine-tingling official trailer for his new film, Us.
The new horror film follows the story of Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o) and Gabe Wilson (Winston Duke), who take their children to Adelaide’s childhood beach house in Northern California for the summer. Adelaide, however, becomes increasingly paranoid about her family’s well-being as she is haunted by a past trauma.
The ominous pair of gold scissors that are of front and center in the film’s poster has been inscribed in the mind of horror film enthusiasts and admirers’ of the filmmaker who are keenly awaiting the film’s premiere in March next year.
While Peele is continuing to work within the generic conventions of horror, he has also entered into a different dimension. Peele is rebooting the classic sci-fi/horror series, The Twilight Zone, set to be released and streamed on CBS All Access next year
It’s been one year since the #TimesUp campaign officially launched but its message and agenda was visibly present at last night’s Golden Globes Award Ceremony.
Charlize Theron and Amber Heard wore Time’s Up ribbons, while stars such as Julianne Moore donned bracelets designed by Oscar-nominated costume designer, Arianne Phillip.
Since last year, actresses and actors have increasingly used their star status to address the systemic inequality, injustices, and violations that have been rampant in Hollywood.
After winning the Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, Regina King used her platform to announce the pressing need to improve the gender gap in Hollywood and other industries, despite the orchestra attempting to usher her off stage.
King persisted and pledged in her acceptance speech that she will ensure that all projects she produces will be staffed by 50% women in the next two years.
Regina King makes a vow to ensure that everything she produces will be at least 50% female, and challenges others to do the same #GoldenGlobespic.twitter.com/qpiDLb4zdI
King won for her role as Sharon Rivers in Barry Jenkins’ screen adaptation of the James Baldwin novel If Beale Street Could Talk.
The also thanked Jenkins and his vision for storytelling in her speech, asserting,
“Thank you for your empathy, for telling stories so rich and for giving us a film that my son said when he saw it, it was the first time he really saw himsel“giving us a film that my son said to me when he saw it, that it was the first time he really saw himself.”
She went on to emphasize the cultural influence actors have in catalyzing change, expressing,
The reason why we do this is because we understand that our microphones are big and we are speaking for everyone. And I just want to say that I’m going to use my platform right now to say in the next two years everything that I produce I am making a vow — and it’s going to be tough — to make sure that everything that I produce — that is 50% women. And I just challenge anyone out there — anyone out there who is in a position of power, not just in our industry, in all industries, I challenge you to challenge yourselves and stand with us in solidarity and do the same.”
In a statement last week, Time’s Up, which aims to address systemic inequality and injustice in the workplace, in its second year, is calling for the number of women in leadership roles throughout all industries to be doubled.
“We created the fund because all people deserve to be safe at work, but safety alone is far from our end goal,” the statement read. “It’s the bare minimum. Sexual harassment stems from an imbalance of power. Issues of workplace safety for women, and especially for women of color, are but a symptom of the power imbalance that plagues nearly every sector. We won’t stop fighting until there is gender balance in leadership and all women have the opportunity to reach their full potential at work.”
As a film buff who currently resides in New York, it’s easy to come across so many landmarks that have been the site for some of the most iconic scenes from our many beloved movies and television series.
I mean, you only need to stand outside Tiffany’s window on Fifth Avenue taking a bite out of a delicious danish to channel the Hollywood icon Audrey Hepburn, or take a stroll along Perry Street in the West Village and take a photo in front of Carrie Bradshaw’s brownstone.
Admittedly, I am one of these tourists. Plus, a short walk from Perry Street you take you to Bedford Street, where you will undoubtedly come across a flock of tourists taking a photo in front of the Friends‘ building.
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Evidently, so many films and television series have been shot in the Big Apple. While a quick google search can direct you to sign up for a movie sites tour around the city, why not take matters into your own hands?
That’s exactly what film enthusiast, Andrea David did.
David combines her love of film, as well as music and TV, with her love for travel by visiting iconic locations around the world. Once there, David takes stunning photographs, matching up the film still with the real-life location.
During her studies on tourism management in Germany, David recognized and argued in her thesis how pop culture has an instrumental influence in people’s travel decisions.
While her travels began by proving her thesis, she became enthralled by her intellectual project and has continued to journey around the world in discovering locations and recapturing our favorite cinematic, television and music video moments.
David documents her travels on her website, Film Tourism US that is frequented by many film enthusiasts seeking to replicate David’s ventures around the world.
The self-titled “Film Tourism” Instagram accounts currently has 274k followers. Peep below to see a dope selection of iconic film and television locations from around the world.
