Lunch with Amandla and Russell

by Murtada Elfadl

At a lunch to celebrate The Hate U Give at The Whitby Hotel in midtown New York, I got the chance to chat with the film’s stars Amandla Stenberg and Russell Hornsby about the film and their performances.

During the Q&A portion of the luncheon Amandla told the audience about how she read the book early on and pursued the project because it really spoke to her. So when I had a moment to speak to her later, I asked her what other ideas would she like to push forward with her upcoming projects. She informed me that she’s taking her time with a project she’s working on as a writer and director. However she also wanted to share the truth on screen:

I would love to be in a narrative that was not heteronormative where I don’t have to play straight where I could express myself  with authenticity.

As we discussed on a recent podcast, Russell Hornsby has the very difficult task of having to spell out the themes of The Hate U Give in a few speeches he gives to his onscreen children. In particular I asked him about the speech in which he tells his kids about how to behave if ever stopped by the police. Hornsby talked about doing research but then discarding it to be in the moment and finding the truth in the scene:

I looked at Amandla, I looked at those kids and in every turn I was talking to my kids. It wasn’t Maverick, it was Russell talking to his children. This is a passionate honest moment for me as a father, trying to hold my emotions at bay because it hurts so much that I have to do this.

The Hate U Give is still playing in a few screens nationwide so there’s still time to catch these two amazing performances! 

Fatal Distraction

This exquisite screengrab posted by Peter Knegt here.

All I see when I look at this picture is Glenn thinking of boiled bunny rabbits. She's not going to be ignored, Dan. 

'97 til Oscar

It's 97 days til Oscar so we thought it might be fun to discuss Best Actress 1997. When I asked on twitter and here at the site what everyone's first Oscar ceremony was, this one came up alot. Titanic-mania was in full force in March 1998, bringing the Academy Awards many new young viewers! In fact, Titanic which had opened for Christmas had never left the number one spot at the top of the box office by the time Oscar night rolled around 14 weeks later. (Titanic spent 15 weeks at #1 in total. Can you imagine? in today's movie culture you're basically a true phenomenon if you can stay on top for more than 3 weeks - only Black Panther managed it this year with 5 weeks)

Do you remember these gowns? And who would you have voted Best Actress that year?

click to embiggen

• Judi Dench, Mrs Brown
• Helen Hunt, As Good As It Gets
• Kate Winslet, Titanic
• Helena Bonham-Carter, Wings of the Dove
• Julie Christie, Afterglow

Kate Winslet wasnt winning anything (besides millions upon millions of fans), but the rest of them divvied up the Best Actress gongs. Helena and Julie were neck and neck when it came to critics awards; Bonham-Carter snagged the NBR, BSFC, and LAFCA while Christie swiped the NYFCC and NSFC. That was it for both of them because Dench and Hunt both took home Golden Globes. It was something of a nail-biter between them on Oscar night, though Hunt had the edge given her SAG win. But would they really give a TV star the Oscar (remember the TV and movie divide was so much greater in the 1990s) ???

It's 100 Days until the Oscars! Do you remember your first time watching?

How will you countdown? This upcoming Oscar ceremony will be the 91st annual event. In just 9 years, if the world survives that long, we'll have the Centennial of the Oscar! Can you imagine?! And do you remember the first ceremony you ever watched?

The first one I ever remember watching was the 56th ceremony...

Click to read more ...

Honors Keep Piling up for Glenn Close

by Nathaniel R

One of the sneakily quiet Oscar campaigns that's really been working for maximum January presence is Glenn Close's for The Wife. Close has distracted herself from all the hoopla with an acclaimed performance Off Broadway in Mother of the Maid, but future honors keep lining up so she'll be busy once that plays shutters just before Christmas.

In January she'll be honored at both the Palm Springs and the Santa Barbara film festivals (which are basically elaborate Oscar-courting events because the A-listers and the Academy members come out in droves) and now comes word that the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens New York will have a screening program called "Getting Close: Ten Great Performances by Glenn Close" which runs November 23rd through December 2nd. All six of her Oscar-nominated performances will be screened plus Reversal of Fortune, 101 Dalmatians, Cookie's Fortune (interesting choice) and, of course, The Wife. (If Close is nominated for The Wife, which we fully expect her to be, she'll be tough to beat. Only two performers in Oscar history have ever remained "losers" with a record of 7 or more nominations: Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole.)

The movies are affordable but the celebration ends with a "Salute" dinner with cocktails, film clips and speeches from Close's friends and colleagues. You can also attend the glitzy dinner provided you have $1500 to burn on a ticket. It's for a good cause, though, as the proceeds benefit this worthwhile museum's many exhibits, screenings, and community engagement programs.