Adrienne Shelly[/caption]
Andy Ostroy, the husband of director Adrienne Shelly, whose life was tragically cut short in 2006, spoke out against the right-wing attempts to use his wife’s brutal murder to aid their anti-immigration campaign in an opinion piece for The New York Times
It was a decade ago (almost to the date), when Adrienne Shelly, an indie director and actress best known for her film Waitress was found dead in her West Village Office. Shelly was killed by an undocumented construction worker named Diego Pillco, who ended her life by staging a fake suicide after fearing she would have him deported. Though the tragedy would be a prime example to justify Trump’s anti-immigration position, Andy Ostroy artfully spurned the offer. In the article, Ostroy admits “Given the anger and grief I still feel, I could easily be seduced by Donald J. Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric that is the cornerstone of his presidential run.”
Yet Ostroy is committed to his pragmatic perspective, writing “Adrienne was not murdered by an illegal immigrant, per se. She fell victim to a depraved killer who simply happened to be an undocumented immigrant. It is an obvious distinction, almost too obvious, but it’s an important one to consider as the country goes further down the dangerous path of demonizing those not born here.”
In addition to being approached by Trump’s campaign, Ostroy has also been asked to speak out by Bill O’Reilly and Megyn Kelly in order to give legitimacy to their anti-immigrant argument. However, refusing to let Shelly’s murder be used as “a political prop”, Ostroy writes “It’s politically expedient for xenophobic agitators like Mr. Trump to scapegoat the millions of foreigners who have come to the United States in search of a better life. But his malevolence toward immigrants runs counter to the principles on which our great nation was founded. It’s disheartening to see so many people being swept out to sea in a riptide of ignorance and hate.”
Ostroy also mocked the Republican’s the futile attempt to have him speak out by saying “Who better than a Democrat to attack an entire segment of our population, right?”
While Ostroy agrees, “We have an immigration problem that is in desperate need of reform.”, he is against the foreseeable damage that Trump has proposed “His “solution” includes a deportation force that would separate people from their families and “send them back to wherever they came from.”
The right-wing attempt of using Shelly as a poster girl for their arguments backfired, driving Andy Ostroy to use his position to serve as a model example of how to keep a moral standing despite having been through circumstances that could easily deviate our dispositions.News
All the News.
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Adrienne Shelly’s Husband Speaks Out Against Trump’s Attempted Anti-Immigration Exploitation
[caption id="attachment_17761" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] Adrienne Shelly[/caption]
Andy Ostroy, the husband of director Adrienne Shelly, whose life was tragically cut short in 2006, spoke out against the right-wing attempts to use his wife’s brutal murder to aid their anti-immigration campaign in an opinion piece for The New York Times
It was a decade ago (almost to the date), when Adrienne Shelly, an indie director and actress best known for her film Waitress was found dead in her West Village Office. Shelly was killed by an undocumented construction worker named Diego Pillco, who ended her life by staging a fake suicide after fearing she would have him deported. Though the tragedy would be a prime example to justify Trump’s anti-immigration position, Andy Ostroy artfully spurned the offer. In the article, Ostroy admits “Given the anger and grief I still feel, I could easily be seduced by Donald J. Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric that is the cornerstone of his presidential run.”
Yet Ostroy is committed to his pragmatic perspective, writing “Adrienne was not murdered by an illegal immigrant, per se. She fell victim to a depraved killer who simply happened to be an undocumented immigrant. It is an obvious distinction, almost too obvious, but it’s an important one to consider as the country goes further down the dangerous path of demonizing those not born here.”
In addition to being approached by Trump’s campaign, Ostroy has also been asked to speak out by Bill O’Reilly and Megyn Kelly in order to give legitimacy to their anti-immigrant argument. However, refusing to let Shelly’s murder be used as “a political prop”, Ostroy writes “It’s politically expedient for xenophobic agitators like Mr. Trump to scapegoat the millions of foreigners who have come to the United States in search of a better life. But his malevolence toward immigrants runs counter to the principles on which our great nation was founded. It’s disheartening to see so many people being swept out to sea in a riptide of ignorance and hate.”
Ostroy also mocked the Republican’s the futile attempt to have him speak out by saying “Who better than a Democrat to attack an entire segment of our population, right?”
While Ostroy agrees, “We have an immigration problem that is in desperate need of reform.”, he is against the foreseeable damage that Trump has proposed “His “solution” includes a deportation force that would separate people from their families and “send them back to wherever they came from.”
The right-wing attempt of using Shelly as a poster girl for their arguments backfired, driving Andy Ostroy to use his position to serve as a model example of how to keep a moral standing despite having been through circumstances that could easily deviate our dispositions.
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Film Review: Lorcan Finnegan’s WITHOUT NAME
The woods are scary. This isn’t a concept that’s too difficult to grasp. Nature scares people. The uncontrollable elements scare people. Bears scare people. Witches scare people. All these things are in the woods and, unless I’m with at least three other people who run slower than me, I won’t be. However, if your inclination is to tell me that I’m more afraid of myself than I am the forest, not only would you be correct, you’d be the perfect audience for Lorcan Finnegan’s debut feature, Without Name.
When Eric (Alan McKenna) is contracted to survey a land known as gun ainm (literal translation being, you guessed it, “without name”), he finds himself spending more time investigating the area’s history than the land itself. Leaving behind a wife (Olga Wehrly) and teenaged son (Brandon Maher) but accompanied by his colleague and occasional mistress, Olivia (Niamh Algar), Eric becomes obsessed with the land’s previous owner, William Devoy (Brendan Conroy), who left behind a field guide to the surrounding forests, its plants, and potentially supernatural properties before succumbing to its powers, where he was found catatonic and nearly dead with no concrete explanation.
Undisturbed but morbidly curious, Eric’s grasp on reality grows thin as the mysteries surrounding Devoy’s current mental state and explorations in the forest pose more questions than they answer. Meanwhile, Eric and Olivia become close with a traveling local, Gus (James Browne), who tries to open their minds to the possibilities of nature as sentient beings that communicate with each other in a complicated ecosystem beyond human comprehension.
Bursting with an energy rarely seen outside of a debut feature, Without Name is a challenging, unnerving, and ultimately rewarding film about the relationship between man and the surroundings which he cannot control through distinctly human concepts like infrastructure and property lines. Finnegan, with cinematographer Piers McGrall, uses the camera to breathe a life into these woods that’s rarely seen in the movies. The film’s most visceral moments have a tendency to erase the barrier between viewer and screen, leaving you as disoriented as the characters you’re watching.
While we’re on the topic of character, it took watching this movie to realize how long it’s been since I’ve seen a horror movie with three-dimensional human beings to root for. I can’t emphasize enough how refreshing it was to hear people talking on-screen without desperately wanting one of them to be murdered mid-sentence. By avoiding the “creepy local” trope entirely and allowing the horror to come from within Eric and as a result of his surroundings, Finnegan is able to foster these distinct relationships amongst the characters that imbue his film with a sense of purpose with which the worst horror films don’t even bother.
However, that same energy and attention to detail that characterize the best debut features are occasionally offset by a narrative structure commonly associated with first films on the negative end of that spectrum. For all of its risks, Without Name‘s screenplay sometimes slips into more telegraphed territory, which actively works against the mystery that makes this film a lot of what it is. All the more disappointing because the film’s highs are high. It’s a confident debut that sometimes doesn’t trust itself to go the distance and shed any semblance of the reference points and visual cues that most first-time directors rely on to find an audience.
Similarly, Without Name has a tendency to bare its micro-budget teeth that no amount of editing can hide, including a third act that, while visually stunning and genuinely breathtaking to behold, utilizes overly simplistic (read: cheap) setups to get its point across, including an altercation between two nude men in a forest that’s probably a lot goofier than it was intended to be.
These are all minor gripes, though. The bottom line of Without Name is that it’s daring, it’s unnerving, it’s gorgeously shot, impeccably scored, masterfully edited, and only occasionally clunky. I predict nothing but good things for director Lorcan Finnegan and his writing partner, Garret Shanley, who are well on their way to being the next Adam Wingard/Simon Barrett one-two punch of a writer who understands the genre with a bold vision, and a director who’s able to manifest that vision into something that’s not only watchable, but potentially transcendent. In its closing shot, Finnegan confirms that he already knows the one thing most horror directors tend to avoid: killing your characters isn’t the best or only way to scare your audience, as there are many, many fates worse than death.
Grade: B+
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd4K6qICqC8
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THE ISLAND PRESIDENT’s Mohamed Nasheed, Granted Refugee Status in Britain
Mohamed Nasheed, the former president of the Maldives, and subject of the award winning documentary The Island President has reportedly been granted refugee status in Britain.
Nasheed was in Britain on medical leave from a 13-year prison sentence on terrorism charges.
The former president, Mohamed Nasheed, the country’s first democratically elected head of state, was jailed for ordering the military to arrest a sitting senior judge, which the court said was an abduction punishable under a section of an antiterrorism law. He was found guilty of terrorism and sentenced to thirteen years in prison.
Mohamed Nasheed had earlier resigned the presidency in February 2012, after weeks of demonstrations and a mutiny by some police officers.
The Island President, directed by Jon Shenk, is the story of President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives, a man confronting a problem greater than any other world leader has ever faced—the literal survival of his country and everyone in it. After bringing democracy to the Maldives after thirty years of despotic rule, Nasheed is now faced with an even greater challenge: as one of the most low-lying countries in the world, a rise of three feet in sea level would submerge the 1200 islands of the Maldives enough to make them uninhabitable.
The Island President captures Nasheed’s first year of office, culminating in his trip to the Copenhagen Climate Summit in 2009, where the film provides a rare glimpse of the political horse-trading that goes on at such a top-level global assembly. Nasheed is unusually candid about revealing his strategies—leveraging the Maldives’ underdog position as a tiny country, harnessing the power of media, and overcoming deadlocks through an appeal to unity with other developing nations. When hope fades for a written accord to be signed, Nasheed makes a stirring speech which salvages an agreement. Despite the modest size of his country, Mohamed Nasheed has become one of the leading international voices for urgent action on climate change.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x10EbJymLz4
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Ten Narrative Film Projects Selected for 2016 IFP Filmmaker Labs
Ten narratives have been selected for the 2016 IFP Filmmaker Labs, IFP’s annual yearlong fellowship for first-time feature directors.
The creative teams of the selected films are currently attending the first week’s sessions – The Time Warner Foundation Completion Labs – taking place May 23-27th in New York City.
The IFP Narrative Filmmaker Labs are the only labs that support first-time feature directors with projects in post-production as they complete, market and distribute their films. The Labs provide filmmakers with the technical, creative and strategic tools necessary to launch their films and careers.
Now entering its twelfth year with over 100+ first-feature filmmakers supported, the community of Labs alumni is comprised of some of the most exciting and critically-acclaimed artists working today across film, television, new media and VR; these include multi-hyphenate creators such as Amy Seimetz (“The Girlfriend Experience”), Alex Karpovsky (“Girls”), David Lowery (PETE’S DRAGON), Dee Rees (BESSIE), Andrew Dosunmu (MOTHER OF GEORGE), Tim Sutton (DARK NIGHT), Jennifer Phang (ADVANTAGEOUS), and Terence Nance (AN OVERSIMPLIFICATION OF HER BEAUTY).
Recent 2015 IFP Labs Fellows have been already making their mark on the festival circuit. Just this year, THE ARBALEST won SXSW’s Narrative Grand Jury Prize and DONALD CRIED received distribution from The Orchard. Of the ten selected projects, seven have already premiered at top festivals including SXSW, Tribeca, Los Angeles Film Festival, Slamdance and Bentonville and two fellows are shooting new projects this summer.
“To highlight and support diverse stories and storytellers has always been the mission of the IFP Labs and of IFP as a whole,” says Joana Vicente, Executive Director of IFP and the Made in NY Media Center. “This year’s Narrative Lab Fellows are a perfect example of this, and the boundless creativity and diversity in their work is evident in just how wide-ranging these films’ settings are: from Kyiv, Ukraine, to the Alaskan fish canneries, to right here in Brooklyn’s Borough Park neighborhood.”
Under the artistic direction of IFP Head of Programming Amy Dotson and Program Manager and Producer Zach Mandinach, the supervising 2016 Narrative Lab leaders include Jon Reiss, director/producer and author (BOMB IT!; Think Outside the Box Office), Susan Stover, producer (WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE; HIGH ART; HAPPY ACCIDENTS); Pierce Varous, producer (ALWAYS SHINE; H.) and founder of Nice Dissolve; Scott Macaulay, Filmmaker Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief and producer (JULIEN-DONKEY BOY). Individual Workshop Leaders include composer Keegan Dewitt (I’LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS; QUEEN OF EARTH), film editors Sabine Hoffman (MAGGIE’S PLAN; THE BALLAD OF JACK AND ROSE), Lee Percy (MARIA FULL OF GRACE; BOYS DON’T CRY), Jennifer Ruff (A WOMAN, A PART; GLASS CHIN),) and Marc Vives (MUSEUM HOURS; I USED TO BE DARKER), marketing experts Adam Kersh (Brigade Marketing) and Nick Camacho (Oscilloscope Laboratories), producers Anne Carey (THE DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL; THE SAVAGES), Mollye Asher (SONGS MY BROTHERS TAUGHT ME), Jodi Redmond (THE WITCH), and Darren Dean (TANGERINE), festival programmers Tom Hall (Montclair Film Festival) and Dan Nuxoll (Rooftop Films), and fellow filmmakers Ingrid Jungermann (WOMEN WHO KILL), Leah Meyerhoff (I BELIEVE IN UNICORNS), and Takeshi Fukunaga (OUT OF MY HAND).
In addition to lead support from the Time Warner Foundation, additional support for the IFP Filmmaker Labs includes grants from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Ford Foundation, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, and SAGIndie. Lab partners include The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, BMI, and Rooftop Films.
The selected narrative projects for the 2016 IFP Filmmaker Labs and their attending Lab Fellows are:
ALASKA IS A DRAG
An aspiring superstar’s diva fabulous dreams are hard fought working at a fish cannery in Alaska. He dreams of escaping the monotony of fish guts and fist fights, but in the meantime, out of necessity he has learned to fight and is scouted by the local boxing coach and a new boy moves to town and wants to be his sparring partner. Shaz Bennett (Director, Writer, Producer), Jean-Pierre Caner (Producer, Consulting Editor). Los Angeles, CA.
A BAD IDEA GONE WRONG
A comedy about two would-be thieves who accidentally arm the alarm system and have to break out of the house they just broke into. When they discover an unexpected housesitter, they suddenly have to deal with a hostage situation, double crosses, and discoveries that make their difficult escape even more dubious. Jason Headley (Director, Writer), Tim Fender (Editor). San Francisco, CA.
COLD NOVEMBER
A 12-year-old girl being raised within a matriarchal household is taken through the right of passage of killing a deer for the first time. Expectations dissolve into chaos, and Florence finds herself alone, relying on instinct and training to follow through with her decisions and pull herself together while simultaneously living through the aftermath of a recent family trauma. Karl Jacob (Director, Writer, Producer), Pete Ohs (Editor). Hibbing, MN.
DAYVEON
Dayveon is a twelve-year-old boy who is coming to terms with the death of his older brother. Torn between a loving sister who has become his sole caretaker and the sense of camaraderie offered by his local gang, he’s forced to make decisions that threaten to rob him of his innocence. Amman Abbasi (Director, Writer, Producer), Steven Reneau (Writer, Producer). Little Rock, AR.
HEARTLOCK
A convict realizes his best shot at escaping is to master the art of “ducking,” a specialized form of prison manipulation in which an inmate befriends a flawed guard for the purposes of blackmail. He targets a tough-as-nails female guard with an underlying vulnerability. However, it doesn’t take long for his plan to hit a snag: he falls in love with her. Jon Kauffman (Director, Writer), Chris Cummings (Writer), Dominic Laperriere (Editor). New York, NY.
JULIA BLUE
Julia, a bright university student, is preparing for a life abroad when she meets English, a damaged soldier returning from the war zone in eastern Ukraine. An unexpected romance sparks between the two, as Julia and English fall deeply for each other. From metropolitan Kyiv to a remote Carpathian village, Julia and English must decide if they are ready to build a future together in a homeland that is slowly being torn apart. Roxy Toporowych (Director, Writer), Nilou Safinya (Producer), Ben Kim (Editor). Brooklyn, NY.
THE MISSING SUN
After a solar flare powers down her remote community, Alma discovers her husband Terry comatose. Pursuing a series of bizarre clues, she soon believes Terry is astral traveling to reunite with his deceased ex-wife. Determined to bring him back, Alma seeks helps from Terry’s estranged, psychedelic son and from the leader of a new-age religion who believes the sun-storm may signal the end-times. Brennan Vance (Director, Writer, Producer, DP, Editor), James Christenson (Producer). Minneapolis, MN.
POOR JANE
Jane and Henry are in a loving marriage. Another man humiliates Henry at a Christmas party and Jane decides she no longer loves him. The following morning Jane tells Henry she’s going to Target, but instead checks into a hotel and stops answering her phone. Jane spends the holidays drinking, having impulsive encounters with men and contemplating whether or not she wants to remain married. Katie Orr (Director, Writer), Alex Orr (Producer), David Swinburne (Co-Producer). Atlanta, GA.
SOLACE
When her father dies, Sole, 17, numbs her emotions with food. She unwillingly lives with her estranged grandmother. Desperate to escape her grandmother’s controlling love and illicit relationship with the pastor, Sole enters a forbidden friendship with the rebellious teenage neighbors. Juggling these relationships spirals Sole out of control with food but it ultimately forces her to confront her pain. Tchaiko Omawale (Director, Writer, Producer), Eileen Cabling (Associate Producer), Amanda Griffin (Editor). Los Angeles, CA.
UNTITLED HASIDIC FILM
Given unprecedented access to New York’s Orthodox Jewish community, the film is a story of faith and fatherhood – performed entirely in Yiddish. Joshua Z Weinstein (Director, Writer, Producer, DP), Daniel Finkelman (Producer), Danelle Eliav (Co-Producer), Royce Brown (Co-Producer). Brooklyn, NY.
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Film Review: ma ma Starring Penlope Cruz
[caption id="attachment_13820" align="alignnone" width="1000"]
ma ma[/caption]
Ma ma is set in Madrid, Spain, and stars Academy Award®-winning actress Penelope Cruz as Magda, a woman recently diagnosed with breast cancer who’s also going through a separation from her self-centered husband Raul (Alex Brendemuhl), who left her for one of his students.
It’s a few of several devastating hardships Magda endures in Spanish director Julio Medem’s film, written and produced by himself, Cruz and Alvaro Longoria.
After a few months of ignoring a lump on her right breast, Magda decides to get it checked out. Her doctor, Julian (Asier Etxeandia), biopsies the lump for cancer.
Shortly afterwards, much to her dismay, he delivers the terrible news that she indeed has cancer, and will require grueling chemotherapy sessions to shrink the nodules before having a mastectomy.
Each chemo session is accompanied by a glaring white background that distracts the viewer more than adding anything to the scenes. But the wonderful cinematography and camera work pull you back in.
Looking to for a bit of escapism, Magda attends her son Dani’s (Teo Planell) football game, where she meets a man, Arturo (Luis Tosar), a talent scout for the famed football (soccer) team, Real Madrid.
Arturo is interested in recruiting her son, a standout player on his youth squad, in Real Madrid’s junior program, which helps develop young talent into future professionals.
While there, Arturo receives unimaginable news of his own, that there has been a car accident, which has claimed the life of his daughter, and left his wife in a comma.
Magda accompanies Arturo to the hospital, subsequently visiting him while undergoing her own chemo treatments, which she hasn’t divulge to anyone at the time.
However, she eventually tells Arturo, who winds up losing his wife, and the two become each other’s support system. As she recovers from her operation, and is in the clear for the time being, they predictably fall in love, and form the perfect family unit.
But cruel misfortune steps in again on the hard-luck Magda, as Dr. Julian, who belts out beautiful, romantic songs in a bedside attempt to soothed her, informs his patient that the cancer has spread to her other breast, and metastasized to wall of her lungs. Subsequently, the doctor delivers a gut-wrenching prognosis of only six months to live.
What follows is an over-the-top attempt of series of events intent on extracting more tears from movie-goers, with the final scene cumulating in another foreseeable outcome.
Overall, though, ‘Ma ma’ is worth seeing despite its campy, overdramatic feel—which is only exaggerated by a few scenes in which beating hearts are splashed across the screen for shameless, emotional effects—because of its positive message of strength, courage, and hope amidst tragedy.
‘Ma ma’ opens in New York City on May 20th, and in Los Angeles and Miami on May 27th, with national expansion to follow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxtB15K-nN4
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Alamo Drafthouse Greets Brooklyn with FREE Outdoor Film Screenings
[caption id="attachment_13970" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
BEST IN SHOW[/caption]
With its Downtown Brooklyn theater set to open later this summer, the Alamo Drafthouse Brooklyn will offer a taste of its movie programming with three free admission outdoor screenings at Fort Greene Park.
Featuring three revered contemporary classics, these outdoor shows are a chance for Alamo to introduce itself and connect with New York’s movie-lovers. Each screening will take place at sundown and will be complimented by themed festivities before the show.
“We’re excited for the opportunity to finally share movies with the community before our venue opens. With the Brooklyn sky as our roof, these Fort Greene Park screenings represent the perfect opportunity to meet our new neighbors and introduce them to Alamo Drafthouse,” says NY Creative Manager/Programmer Cristina Cacioppo.
One-of-a-kind film experiences have long been a hallmark of Alamo Drafthouse’s unique approach to programming: for over fifteen years the company has produced screenings of iconic films in iconic locations across the globe. Such high profile signature events have included Sergio Leone’s FISTFUL OF DOLLARS in Spain, ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ on Alcatraz Island, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND at the foot of Devil’s Tower, and JAWS on the famed sandy beaches of Martha’s Vineyard.
“Alamo Drafthouse primarily operates in a theater environment but we’re not limited to that experience,” says Henri Mazza, VP of Special Events. “We exist to create unique and memorable cinematic experiences for audiences everywhere, whether it’s in a theater, on a lake, or in a beautiful park in the heart of Brooklyn. These screenings are a sample of what’s in store for the coming years.”
May 27 – Bring Your Own Dog Screening of BEST IN SHOW
Enjoy Christopher Guest’s uproarious mockumentary along with your pooch! Dog owners are welcome to bring their pets and will have the chance to parade them before the audience in a pre-movie dog show.
June 3 – Quote-Along®: LABYRINTH
Alamo’s beloved version of LABYRINTH allows the audience to sing-along with the David Bowie tunes and quote the best lines of the movie. Free souvenir props will also be available for the first to arrive at the park!
June 10 – FINDING NEMO
One week before the release of FINDING DORY, kids big and small can revisit Pixar’s original aquatic adventure with the Tank Gang. Costumes are encouraged, and surprises are in store!
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Robert De Niro, TANGERINE, Honored at 27th GLAAD Media Awards
Robert De Niro, the film TANGERINE, were among the best in film, television, and journalism honored at the 27th GLAAD Media Awards hosted by Laverne Cox, at the Waldorf Astoria New York on Saturday.
The GLAAD Media Awards recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the LGBT community and the issues that affect their lives. The GLAAD Media Awards also fund GLAAD’s work to amplify stories from the LGBT community and issues that build support for acceptance.
At the ceremony, Academy Award-winning actress and surprise guest Jennifer Lawrence presented Robert De Niro with GLAAD’s Excellence in Media Award, which is presented to media professionals who, through their work, have increased the visibility and understanding of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5zm67vgX1w
In his acceptance speech, De Niro celebrated the Supreme Court’s landmark decision for marriage equality, while cautioning to “also remember oppressive laws like the ones in North Carolina that let us know the struggle continues and challenges us to be vigilant and aggressive in protecting all our rights.” De Niro continued, “Thank you for this honor, I’m proud to stand with you, I’m GLAAD.”
Tangerine (Magnolia Pictures) was given the award for Outstanding Film – Limited Release.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALSwWTb88ZU
The complete list of GLAAD Media Award recipients announced Saturday in New York.
Excellence in Media Award: Robert De Niro (presented by Jennifer Lawrence)
Ally Award: Mariah Carey (presented by Lee Daniels)
Outstanding TV Journalism – Newsmagazine: “Bruce Jenner: The Interview” 20/20 (ABC) [accepted by: Diane Sawyer, Caitlyn Jenner, and David Sloan, senior executive producer]
Outstanding TV Journalism Segment: “Interview with Jim Obergefell” Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN) [accepted by: U.S. Supreme Court plaintiff Jim Obergefell]
Outstanding Magazine Overall Coverage: Cosmopolitan [accepted by: Laura Brounstein, special projects director]
Outstanding Film – Limited Release: Tangerine (Magnolia Pictures)
Outstanding Individual Episode: “The Prince of Nucleotides” Royal Pains (USA Network)
Outstanding Digital Journalism – Multimedia: “Stopping HIV? The Truvada Revolution” Vice Reports (Vice.com)
Outstanding Newspaper Article: “Cold Case: The Murders of Cosby and Jackson” by Dianna Wray (Houston Press)
Outstanding Magazine Article: “Behind Brazil’s Gay Pride Parades, a Struggle with Homophobic Violence” by Oscar Lopez (Newsweek)
Outstanding Digital Journalism Article: “This Is What It’s Like To Be An LGBT Syrian Fleeing For Your Life” by J. Lester Feder (Buzzfeed.com)
SPANISH-LANGUAGE NOMINEES
Outstanding Daytime Program Episode: “¿El marido de mi padre o yo?” Caso Cerrado (Telemundo)
Outstanding TV Journalism – Newsmagazine: TIE: “Amor que rompe barreras” Un Nuevo Día (Telemundo) and “En cuerpo ajeno” Aquí y Ahora (Univision)
Outstanding TV Journalism Segment: “Víctimas de abusos” Noticiero Univision (Univision)
Outstanding Digital Journalism – Multimedia: “Campeones de la igualdad” (Univision.com)
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Dates Announced for 23rd Screen Actors Guild Awards
SAG announced the key deadlines and dates leading up to the 23rd Screen Actors Guild Awards. The award ceremony will be simulcast live on TNT and TBS on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017.
SUBMISSIONS FOR NOMINATION CONSIDERATION OPEN JULY 11
Submissions for nomination consideration for the 23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will open on Monday, July 11, 2016. With the actor’s permission, producers, studios/networks, agents, managers, or publicists may submit a performance from 2016 for consideration in a category of the actor’s choosing. Actors may also submit their own performances. Submissions may only be made online and will close on Monday, Oct. 24, 2016.
NOMINATING COMMITTEES HAVE BEEN CHOSEN
Of the top industry honors presented to actors, only the SAG Awards are selected entirely by performers’ peers in SAG-AFTRA. Potential members of this year’s separate film and television nominating committees–now grown to 2500 members each–were randomly drawn on March 3rd and were required to opt-in by April 8th. SAG-AFTRA actor/performers, singers, dancers or stunt performers from around the country who had not served on the same nominating committee in the past eight years and who paid their November 2015 membership dues by February 26, 2016 were eligible. The SAG Awards was the first televised awards show to acknowledge the work of union members and the first to present awards to motion picture casts and television ensembles.
NOMINATIONS VOTING CLOSES DEC. 11
Nominations voting will close on Sunday, Dec. 11 at 5 p.m. PT. Nominations will be announced on Wednesday, Dec. 14. Once nominees are selected, all active members of SAG-AFTRA may cast votes to determine who will receive the coveted Actor(R) statuettes for this year’s outstanding performances. Last year’s voting body numbered 116,741 SAG-AFTRA members.
CREDENTIAL APPLICATION DATES ARE SET
Media credential applications for the nominations announcement and ceremony open on Monday, Oct. 3 and close Oct. 31. Publicists credential applications for the nominations announcement open on Monday, Nov. 7 and close Dec. 5.
Upcoming key deadlines and events leading to the 23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards are:
Monday, July 11, 2016 Submissions Open at sagawards.org/submissions
Monday, Oct. 3, 2016 Period to Request Paper Final Ballots in Lieu of Online Voting Begins
Monday, Oct. 3, 2016 Media Nominations and Ceremony Credential Applications Open
Monday, Oct. 24, 2016 Submissions Close at 5 p.m. PT at sagawards.org/submissions
Monday, Oct. 31, 2016 Media Nominations and Ceremony Credential Applications Close
Monday, Nov. 7, 2016 Publicists Nominations Credentials Applications Open
Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016 Nominations Balloting Opens
Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016 Deadline for Paying November 2016 Dues and/or Changing Address with SAG-AFTRA to be Eligible for Final Balloting
Monday, Dec. 5, 2016 Publicists Nominations Credentials Applications Close
Thursday, Dec 8, 2016 Records Pulled for Final Balloting
Sunday, Dec. 11, 2016 Nominations Balloting Closes at 5 p.m. PT
Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2016 Nominations Announced
Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016 Publicists Ceremony Credentials Applications Open
Monday, Dec. 19, 2016 Final Voting Opens
Monday, Jan. 9, 2017 Publicists Ceremony Credentials Applications Close
Friday, Jan. 13, 2017 Final Day to Request Paper Final Ballots in Lieu of Online Voting
Friday, Jan. 27, 2017 Final Votes Must be Cast Online or Ballots Received by the Elections Firm by 12 Noon PT
Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017 23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards(R)
About the 23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards(R)
The 23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards(R) presented by SAG-AFTRA with Screen Actors Guild Awards, LLC will be produced by Avalon Harbor Entertainment. Inc. and will be simulcast live on TNT and TBS on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017 at 8 p.m. (ET) / 5 p.m. (PT).
Image: LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 30: (L-R) Actors Billy Crudup, Brian d’arcy James, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, John Slattery, Michael Keaton and Liev Schreiber, winners of the award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for “Spotlight,” pose in the press room during The 22nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on January 30, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. 25650_015 (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images for Turner) *** Local Caption *** Billy Crudup;Brian d’arcy James;Mark Ruffalo;Rachel McAdams;John Slattery;Michael Keaton;Liev Schreiber
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Film Review: Weed, Religion & Trouble in DOUGH
Weed, religion & trouble make up the ingredients for the award winning film Dough directed by John Goldschmidt.
Dough stars Jonathan Pryce and Jerome Holder, and is the winner of the Audience Award at Hartford Jewish Film Festival 2016, Green Mountain Film Festival 2016, and New Hampshire Jewish Film Festival 2016.
The film is set in London and tells the story of a Jewish bakery owner (Nat) played by Jonathan Pryce who is in need of a boost to his bakery so he hires a new apprentice Ayyash played by Jerome Holder. While working one day in the bakery Ayyash drops his weed in the bread dough and Nat business started to get a major boost in sales but in the end the shop was turned upside and unlikely friendship was created.
Dough puts off highly realistic vibes and all the actors worked really well together. I loved the fact “Dough” tackled religion and still had the ability to add comedy and weed in the same film. My only dislike about the film is that at times it got a little too predictable, however, over all I would recommend this film.
So with that said Dough will be opening this weekend in city near you, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, DC, and right here in New York City at Village East Cinema so if you have a chance to view this film you should just do it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPAcqo7ZzlU
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Tisha Campbell-Martin, Naturi Naughton, Fran Burst Honored at Black Women Film Summit
[caption id="attachment_11980" align="aligncenter" width="720"]
Fran Burst, Mikki Taylor, Naturi Naughton, Sheryl Gripper, Tisha Campbell-Martin at The Black Women Film Network[/caption]
Last week, the Black Women Film Network (BWFN) hosted the 2016 Black Women Film Summit, featuring the popular “Untold Stories Awards Luncheon.” Actress/singer Tisha Campbell-Martin (ABC’s “Dr. Ken”), actress/singer Naturi Naughton (“POWER”), ESSENCE editor-at-large Mikki Taylor and film director and producer Fran Burst were honored at the2016 Black Women Film Summit held at the Intercontinental Buckhead.
TV and radio personality Ebony Steele (“Coffee with America”) hosted the affair with music provided by DJ Salah Ananse. Scholarships were awarded to aspiring filmmakers Anita Salley and Martha Carswell. Additional luncheon attendees included comedian/writer Myra J, actress Charmin Lee and media personality Spirit.
The Summit that day also included the “Reel Sista Talk” and “Marketing Your Film to Hollywood” panel discussions featuring Haj Chenzira Pinnock, Mikki Taylor, Shante Bacon and Saptosa Foster.
On Saturday, the Summit hosted a number of seminars and panels including a Kids Acting Workshop, a Comedy Class led by Myra J, a “Screenwriting 101” workshop and “The YBF: Young, Black & Filming” panel.
Additionally, authors James E. Chandler, Sr., Amber Saunders, Saunya M. Williams, Ph.D, and BWFN founder Sheryl Gripper showcased their titles at the Book Festival, while various black women filmmakers from around the country debuted their film shorts during the competitive Film Festival. At the end of the day, the winning films were announced:
Best of Festival
Masquerade
Meleisha Edwards, Writer/Producer
Best of Festival (Student Category)
Suga Water
Nakia Stephens, Writer/Producer
Audience Participation Award
Ms. Glo
Angela Edmond, Writer/Director
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Brie Larson, Alicia Vikander, Cast of Spotlight Win SAG Awards
The Screen Actors Guild Awards presented its coveted Actor statuettes for the outstanding motion picture and primetime television performances of 2015 at the 22nd Screen Actors Guild Awards held Saturday, January 30 at the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center. Honored with awards were the cast of Spotlight, along with Brie Larson and Alicia Vikander for performances in motion pictures.
The complete list of recipients for the 22nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards follows:
22nd SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS Winners
THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
LEONARDO DiCAPRIO / Hugh Glass – “THE REVENANT” (20th Century Fox)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
BRIE LARSON / Ma – “ROOM” (A24)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
IDRIS ELBA / Commandant – “BEASTS OF NO NATION” (Netflix)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
ALICIA VIKANDER / Gerda Wegener – “THE DANISH GIRL” (Focus Features)
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
SPOTLIGHT (Open Road Films)
TELEVISION PROGRAMS
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
IDRIS ELBA / DCI John Luther – “LUTHER” (BBC America)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
QUEEN LATIFAH / Bessie Smith – “BESSIE” (HBO)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
KEVIN SPACEY / Francis Underwood – “HOUSE OF CARDS” (Netflix)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
VIOLA DAVIS / Annalise Keating – “HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER” (ABC)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
JEFFREY TAMBOR / Maura Pfefferman – “TRANSPARENT” (Amazon)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
UZO ADUBA / Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren – “ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK” (Netflix)
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
DOWNTON ABBEY (Masterpiece/PBS)
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK (Netflix)
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
“MAD MAX: FURY ROAD” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series
“GAME OF THRONES” (HBO)
LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
52nd Annual Life Achievement Award
CAROL BURNETT
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‘Son of Saul’ Wins Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film
Son of Saul continues its streak as the best foreign film of 2015, winning the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film at the 73rd Golden Globe Awards. Son Of Saul, the winner of Grand Prix at the Cannes, Film Festival is the directorial debut of Lászlo Nemes. October 1944, Auschwitz-Birkenau. Saul Ausländer is a Hungarian member of Sonderkommando – the Jewish prisoners’ unit isolated from the rest of the camp. They are in charge of taking other prisoners to gas chambers and burning corpses. While working in one of the crematoriums, Saul finds the body of a boy and is convinced it is his son. Shaking off his lethargy, he decides to secretly arrange a real Jewish funeral for the boy. While other members of Sonderkommando are planning to rebel and escape, Saul takes upon himself the impossible mission of saving the boy’s body from the flames. To this end, he makes his way through the concentration camp in search of a rabi who would perform the ritual.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwC9DsWyxQc
The winners at the 73rd Golden Globe Awards
Best motion picture, drama
“The Revenant”
Best motion picture, musical or comedy
“The Martian”
Best performance by an actress in a motion picture, drama
Brie Larson, “Room”
After winning the category of BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA for her role in “Room,” actress Brie Larson poses backstage in the press room with her Golden Globe Award at the 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA on Sunday, January 10, 2016.
Best performance by an actress in a motion picture, musical or comedy
Jennifer Lawrence, “Joy”
Best performance by an actor in a motion picture, drama
Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Revenant”
Best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a motion picture
Sylvester Stallone, “Creed”
Best performance by actress in a supporting role in a motion picture
Kate Winslet, “Steve Jobs”
Best director, motion picture
Alejandro González Iñárritu, “The Revenant”
Best performance by an actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy
Matt Damon, “The Martian”
Best screenplay, motion picture
Aaron Sorkin, “Steve Jobs”
Best original score, motion picture
Ennio Morricone, “The Hateful Eight”
Best motion picture, animated
“Inside Out”
Best original song, motion picture
“Writing’s on the Wall,” “Spectre”
Best motion picture, foreign language
“Son of Saul”
Best television series, drama
“Mr. Robot,” USA
Best television series, musical or comedy
“Mozart in the Jungle,” Amazon Video
Best television limited series or motion picture made for television
“Wolf Hall,” PBS
Best performance by an actor in a television series, drama
Jon Hamm, “Mad Men”
Best performance by an actor in a television series, musical or comedy
Gael García Bernal, “Mozart in the Jungle”
Best performance by an actor in a leading role in a series, limited series or motion picture made for television
Oscar Isaac, “Show Me a Hero”
Best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a series, limited series or motion picture made for television
Christian Slater, “Mr. Robot”
Best performance by an actress in a TV series, drama
Taraji P. Henson, “Empire”
Best performance by an actress in a supporting role in a series, limited series or motion picture made for television
Maura Tierney, “The Affair”
Best performance by an actress in a leading role in a series, limited series or motion picture made for television
Lady Gaga, “American Horror Story: Hotel”
Best performance by an actress in a television series, musical or comedy
Rachel Bloom, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”
image: For BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM, the Golden Globe is awarded to “Son of Saul” (Hungary), directed by László Nemes. (L-R) Actors Levente Molnar and Geza Rohrig, director Laszlo Nemes, producers Gabor Sipos and Gabor Rajna pose with the award backstage in the press room at the 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA on Sunday, January 10, 2016.