Tabitha Jackson And Gina Duncan Have A New Vision For The Sundance Film Festival

For nearly 40 years, the goal of the Sundance Film Festival has been to connect storytellers and audiences through the medium of cinema. As the film industry has shifted and transformed to become more expansive, diverse, and inclusive, Sundance has also evolved. In 2021, amid the coronavirus pandemic, the film festival was entirely virtual, pulling in people from the safety and comfort of their homes into an expansive and connected online festival. 

Using the experiences of last year, Festival Director Tabitha Jackson and Producing Director Gina Duncan are forging ahead. They had hoped to debut a new format for the 2022 festival, redesigned as a hybrid. Sundance wanted attendees to have the option to attend the festival in person on the mountain in Park City, Utah. For others who preferred the comfort of their own homes, screenings, talks, and events would be available online.

Continue reading at ESSENCE.

As She Prepares To Tell All In Her Biopic And Documentary, Wendy Williams Doesn't Need Your Pity

For more than three decades, Wendy Williams has taken the world by storm with her bold personality and shocking commentary on celebrities and popular culture. From the radio to a syndicated talk show, the media personality has established a mega-brand as well as some major adversaries. Despite her past candor about her addiction, relationships, and self-image issues, in the past several years, whispers about Williams’ personal life and her long-term marriage to her now ex-husband, Kevin Hunter, have been front-page news.

Continue reading at ESSENCE.

No Time To Die Set Visit Report: Lashana Lynch & Ana de Armas Are Taking ‘Bond Women’ To New Heights

Nearly 60 years after Sean Connery brought James Bond to the big screen — Daniel Craig is taking his final turn as the 007 agent, in his fifth and final film, No Time to Die. The BAFTA-Award nominee has brought an emotional depth to the beloved character that we haven’t seen before previously. Though his successor has not yet been revealed — No Time to Die hints at a new direction of the James Bond franchise through two of the film’s leading women.

The 25th Bond film opens with the retired 007 agent living in Jamaica. However, when his old friend, CIA’s Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright), summons him to go on a quest for a missing scientist in Cuba, he encounters two women. Ana de Armas’ Paloma, a CIA agent, tasked with assisting Bond on his mission, and Lashana Lynch’s Nomi — a mysterious woman who turns out to be a 00 agent.

Late last year, on a rainy day at Pinewood Studios just outside of London, BlackFilm.com sat down to speak with de Armas and Lynch on the No Time to Die set. We talked about the secrecy surrounding their characters, continuing the Bond franchise, bringing their diverse backgrounds to the story, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s imprint on the narrative.

Continue reading at Black Film.

Black Romance In Film Makes A Glorious Return On The Set Of 'The Photograph'

Love and romance are integral parts of the human experience. However, romantic dramas in cinema starring Black people have been few and far between. Some of the most beloved have been Love Jones, The Best Man and Love & Basketball. Also, recent projects like Beyond the Lights, Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk have shown Black love.  However, there have been limited films that solely focus on love and relationships between young Black people in the 21st century. In her New York City-based romantic drama, The Photograph, writer and director Stella Meghie is putting the spotlight on Black love stories.

The Photograph follows Mae Morton (Issa Rae), a museum curator grappling with the death of her estranged mother, a famed photographer. After uncovering a forgotten photograph in her late mother's safety deposit box, Mae embarks on a quest to unpack who her mother truly was. Her journey connects with journalist Michael Block (Lakeith Stanfield), who is working on his own story about Mae's mom.

"I was 16 watching Love Jones on repeat," Meghie explained when Shadow And Act visited The Photograph set in New York City. "It was an adult, very sexy, intellectual, sophisticated kind of love. That film shaped me a lot. Love & Basketball was a big thing for me. Gina Prince-Bythewood is a definite inspiration. Hav Plenty as well."

The Photograph is a story that the Canadian-born director has been wanting to create for years. "I talked to Will [Packer] about a romantic drama like five years ago," she revealed. "I ended up doing my first film Jean of the Joneses and then Everything, Everything. However, I wanted to come back to this script. I finally ended up writing it a few years later after we spoke about it."

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

Image: Universal Pictures.

Meagan Tandy Is The Girl With The Guns: EXCLUSIVE

For the past two decades, popular culture has had a laser-sharp focus on the superhero genre. From Spider-Man to Iron Man–we’ve been enamored with various meta-humans from the Marvel and DC Universes. Unfortunately, only a handful of these superheroes have been women. Now, with The CW’s Batwoman, Meagan Tandy is proving that women hardly need superpowers to be badass.

Batwoman is set in Gotham–three years after Batman aka Bruce Wayne has vanished into thin air. In the caped crusader’s absence–Gotham is being protected by Jacob Kane and his military-grade Crows Private Security. However, the rise of the diabolical Alice (Rachel Skarsten) and the disappearance of Crows’ top security agent, Sophie Moore (Tandy) brings a new superhero to town.

Kate Kane (Ruby Rose)–Batman’s cousin and the daughter of Jacob Kane returns home to Gotham after a long absence. An out lesbian–Kate is still struggling with demons from her past and a heartwrenching end to her romantic relationship with Sophie. However, in her cousin’s absence and fearing for Sophie’s safety forces Kate to do the one thing her family is against–becoming the city’s new cloaked vigilante.

Ahead of Batwoman’s debut–STYLECASTER chatted with Tandy about the series, being a badass and why this is so much more than a “superhero” series.

Continue reading at STYLECASTER.

Image: Instagram.

Da’Vine Joy Randolph On 'Dolemite Is My Name,' Bonding With Eddie Murphy And Becoming Ruth Carter's Muse

In the 1970s, comedian Rudy Ray Moore was forcefully pushed out of entertainment. Though he'd seen some minor success with a few albums and some work in comedy, doors quickly closed in his face. Against all rational sense, and with the money that he was able to piece together from family and friends, Moore reinvented himself as the character Dolemite, garnered major attention on the comedy stage and eventually made his own Blaxploitation film, Dolemite, off of the strength of his own tenacity.

Amid his come up, Moore met Lady Reed. She became his protégée, subverted Black female stereotypes of the Blaxploitation era and appeared in several films including Dolemite along with him. Now, Eddie Murphy along with Tony Award-nominated actress Da'Vine Joy Randolph, have immortalized Moore and Reed on the big screen with Netflix's Dolemite is My Name. 

Beautifully crafted, heartfelt and hilarious, Dolemite Is My Name carries an impactful message about following your dreams. Its robust cast, in addition to Murphy and Randolph, includes Keegan-Michael Key, Mike Epps, Craig Robinson, Tituss Burgess, Tip "T.I." Harris and Wesley Snipes. The ensemble brings a rich and very Black experience to the big screen.

At the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, Shadow And Act sat down with Randolph to talk about becoming Lady Reed, working with Murphy and the stunning costuming from the hands of the legendary Ruth Carter.

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

Image: Netflix.

Ebony Obsidian Has The Range: EXCLUSIVE

It’s always challenging to step into someone else’s shoes. However, Wu-Tang: An American Saga actress Ebony Obsidian has mastered the act of not only becoming someone else–but stepping back in time entirely. Though Obsidian has been working in Hollywood for the past several years–she first garnered significant attention in Barry Jenkins’ breathtaking 2018 film, If Beale Street Could Talk. Bringing James Baldwin’s words to life–Obsidian slide seamlessly into a heartbreaking love-story set in the 1970s.

With Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Obsidian is transporting us back into time once again. Now, she’s bringing the real-life story of hip-hop pioneers the Wu-Tang Clan to the forefront of television. Set in Staten Island in the ’90s–Hulu’s Wu-Tang: An American Saga is a stellar miniseries based on Bobby “The RZA” Diggs’ novels The Wu-Tang Manual and The Tao of Wu. It is an unlikely story that brought together RZA, GZA, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God and Masta Killa to form a group that would become one of America’s most unlikely success stories.

Ahead of the series premiere on Sept. 4–STYLECASTER sat down to chat with Obsidian who plays Divine’s (Wu-Tang Productions CEO and RZA’s brother) girlfriend Nia. We talked stepping into Wu Tang’s world, finding the right roles and her upcoming Tyler Perry project, Sistas.

Continue reading at STYLECASTER.

Image: Instagram.

‘Triple Threat’ Doesn’t Even Begin To Define Gabrielle Dennis: EXCLUSIVE

When you’re a multi-hyphenate talent, who can do it all, being defined is the least of your concerns. A Black Lady Sketch Show’s Gabrielle Dennis is used to taking on every opportunity that she encounters with guts and gusto. With roles in everything from HBO’s Insecure and Netflix’s Luke Cage to her portrayal of Whitney Houston in The Bobby Brown Story–Dennis is a chameleon when it comes to sinking into her characters and their stories.

Though she spent the last few years on the Fox dramedy Rosewood opposite Morris Chestnut–her starring role in the groundbreaking A Black Lady Sketch Show just propelled her career to a whole other level.

Conceived, produced and written by Robin Thede and produced by Issa Rae-the series is the very first sketch comedy series written, produced, and starring Black women.

For Dennis, who began her career on the sketch stage, but has done a great deal more drama work since–it was like coming home. Just days before, A Black Lady Sketch Show was renewed for Season 2–STYLECASTER sat down to chat with Dennis about her expansive career–why she’s in no rush to define herself, and why her experience on ABLSS has been a dream.

Continue reading at STYLECASTER.

Image: James Anthony.

La La Anthony Just Stepped Into The Spotlight: EXCLUSIVE

Five years ago, television creator Courtney A. Kemp teamed up with Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and delivered a massive mega-hit drama for Starz. Over the past five seasons of Power, La La Anthony’s Lakeisha Grant has slowly taken center stage. Since it first premiered in 2014, the series has exploded and become the most-watched cable drama following HBO’s Game of Thrones. The compelling epic centers James “Ghost” St. Patrick (Omari Hardwick). Ghost is a New York drug kingpin turned club owner desperately trying to turn legit and shed his criminal past. However, dismissing your past is easier said than done, especially if death, dirt and blood are lurking in the shadows.

Though Ghost anchors Power, the women in the show are the ones who have shifted, guided and changed the course of the narrative. There’s Angela Valdes (Lela Loren)–an assistant district attorney and Ghost’s childhood sweetheart who finds herself enamored with ex-lover again. Ghost’s now-estranged wife, Tasha St. Patrick (Naturi Naughton)–has sacrificed nearly everything for her husband, and is seeking revenge. Then there is La La Anthony’s Lakeisha, who has had one of the most transformative character arcs on the series.

When we first meet Lakeisha in Season 1, she’s just Tasha’s best friend. A hairstylist and single mom–Lakeisha values her friendship with Tasha, but she also envies the lavish lifestyle that the St. Patricks live. However, what she soon discovers is that even the most lavish lives can be built amidst smoke and mirrors. As the seasons have pressed forward– we’ve watched Lakeisha get further entangled into Ghost and Tasha’s dark work. Though she’s found “love” with Tommy (Joseph Sikora), Ghost’s oldest friend–a volatile and murderous drug dealer, her relationship with Tasha and her business have suffered along the way.

Continue reading at STYLECASTER.

Image: Starz

Phylicia Rashad, Dee Harris-Lawrence & The Cast Of ‘David Makes Man’ On Memory & Storytelling

When playwright and poet Tarell Alvin McCraney gave us Moonlight–he showed the magic and nuances of Black men–specifically those struggling with their sexuality, in a way that we’d never seen them before. With his stunning new arthouse coming-of-age series, David Makes Man–starring Phylicia Rashad and a slew of newcomers, McCraney delivers once again.

Based on the events of McCraney’s own life growing up in Miami, the OWN series follows 14-year-old David (newcomer Akili McDowell), a young Black man growing up in the Miami projects. Still haunted by the death of a close friend–David is also grappling with caring for his little brother (Cayden K. Williams) and his relationship with his mother, Gloria (Alana Arenas)–a hard-working woman who is recovering from drug addiction. Each day, David is bused miles away to his affluent magnet school where his teacher Dr. Woods-Trap (Phylicia Rashad) prompts him to expand his mind in new ways.

Breathtakingly stunning and compelling, David Makes Man presents a poetic picture of Black identity, masculinity and what it means to “make man.” Ahead of the series premiere–STYLECASTER sat down to chat with the showrunner, Dee Harris-Lawrence, the legendary Phylicia Rashad, Akili McDowell and Nathaniel Logan McIntyre who plays David’s best friend Seren.

“This project, from day one of meeting Tarell Alvin McCraney, became very much my story,” Harris-Lawrence revealed. “There have been coming of age stories but I don’t think there have been coming of age stories like this where you get into the mind of a young Black boy–and we have such a young Black cast. When I first met with Tarell after I read the script I said, ‘I’m pretty much the female version of David, in terms of growing up in the hood and having to be bused miles away to go to school.’ I used my imagination in a big way, and I was a huge dreamer. I had a teacher named Ms. Brown who got me writing stories. As I started writing more stories, my daydreams began to wane. That’s when I realized, ‘This is what I have to do.'”

Continue reading at STYLECASTER.

Image: OWN.

Slick Woods Reflects On Her Turbulent Past In Her Film Debut ‘Goldie’

At 22, she has already taken the fashion world by storm. Now, Slick Woods is sizzling in her film debut, Goldie, which recently premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. The stunning model has strutted her stuff in all of her gap-toothed, shaved-head glory on runways for Marc Jacobs and in campaigns for Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty and Savage x Fenty. But for Goldie–helmed by director Sam De Jong, Woods had to get super personal. In the film, the Minneapolis native stars as the titular character, Goldie, an 18-year-old dancer determined to follow her dreams. Unfortunately, an opportunity to star in a music video for rapper Tiny (A$AP Ferg), is undermined when Goldie’s mother, Carol (Marsha Stephanie Blake), is arrested and she’s left to care for her younger sisters Sherrie, 8, and Supreme, 12 (Alanna Renee Tyler-Tompkins and Jazmyn C. Dorsey).

Determined to follow her dreams and keep her sisters out of the foster care system–Goldie uses every trick in her toolbox to keep her sisters safe while plotting to buy a gorgeous canary yellow fur-coat for the video. Though Goldie’s story is fictional and set in the Bronx–the character’s trajectory is eerily similar to Woods’. The Instagirl was homeless for many years after her mother was imprisoned for manslaughter.

Reliving her past wasn’t always easy for Woods, and throughout the 21-day shoot during a blazing hot New York summer in 2017, she often found herself at odds with De Jong. “Me and Sam argued the whole damn time,” she revealed. “But we got very close, and I respect everything about him because he always stood up to me. When I argued with him, he’d be like ‘No.’ Even times when I was crying, he was like ‘I need more! I need more!’ And I was like, ‘Fu*k this!’ Every time I cried, it was real. Goldieresonated with me because of what I’ve been through in my life. I was homeless on the street for twelve years –so being on the street again…it’s like I had PTSD.”

Ahead, this is what Woods had to say about her film debut, why Goldie was like therapy for her, and why acting forces her to step outside of her comfort zone.

Continue reading at STYLECASTER.

Image: Instagram.

Director Storm Saulter On His New Film 'Sprinter' And How Jamaican Cinema Is Dashing Into The Future

"No man can outrun the choices he makes." A police commissioner delivers these lines to Akeem Sharp (Dale Elliott) —the protagonist in filmmaker Storm Saulter's second feature, Sprinter. Beautifully shot and delivering an expansive view of Jamaica, Sprinter follows Akeem, a burgeoning teen track and field phenom who is desperate to qualify for the World Games in Los Angeles and snag a scholarship to a U.S. school.

Despite his obvious talent, Akeem's family life —an absent mother (Lorraine Tousant) who has lived in the U.S. illegally for years sending money home, a drunken father (Dennis Titus), a criminally minded brother (Kahdeem Wilson)—and his own immaturity threaten to derail Akeem's success before he even gets started. However, a no-nonsense coach (David Allen Grier), a track legend, and his own self-determination might just get Akeem across the finish line.

Ahead of Sprinter’s U.S. debut, Shadow And Act sat down to speak with Saulter about his sophomore feature, the landscape of Jamaican cinema today, and why he’s already looking for what's next.

"I always wanted to create a story in the world of track and field," Saulter explained. "Obviously with Jamaica's dominance, I knew there was a massive audience and interest in track. Beyond that, I wanted to tell a story about a modern Caribbean family that did not rely on stereotypes. It wasn't this extreme life and death situation, because that's not our lives, and everyone's not fighting to survive. People are living normal lives; they're trying to make the team, they're trying to pass the test, they miss their mom, they're trying to get with a girl they like that's not paying them any attention. In telling a story that's not relying on these major extremes, it's actually slightly more radical."

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

'The Things We’ve Seen' Is Unsettling & Predictable

Mistakes are what make us human. No matter how old we might be —or what paths we’ve taken in life, we’ve fallen, grumbled, and being flat out wrong at one time or another. Luckily, for many of us, we’re able to walk away unscathed —leaving our mistakes in the past where they belong. We are able to move forward learning from bad choices, while embarking on new journeys and experiences. Unfortunately, not everyone has the chance for reinvention.

In his dark drama, The Things We’ve Seen, filmmaker Tre Manchester turns his lens on a small Indiana town. The film centers around a close-knit community full of working-class people. However, things begin to fracture and crack when the town’s mill burns to the ground, leaving two-thirds of the workforce unemployed --imploding the already precarious local economy. Economic devastation is crippling in and of itself, but when the sheriff (John D. Carver) and the townspeople decide they need a scapegoat for the fire, an entire family’s wellbeing is put on the chopping block.

There is no levity in Manchester’s work which is why the tone of The Things We’ve Seen is so convincing. The film opens with a standoff between the police and mill workers as the fire blazes in the background. The man at the center of the chaos is Rayford Boem (Randy Ryan) —a former musician with a notorious reputation. Whether he has anything to do with the blaze or not, Rayford is blamed for the fire which leaves his entire family vulnerable.

The Things We’ve Seen isn’t really about Rayford and his failings as a father, husband, and man. Instead, the film examines how his actions affect his loved ones and leave them helpless to the abuse and judgments of others. When Rayford vanishes after the fire and standoff, his wife, Ivory Joy (Shani Salyers Stiles) and teen sons, Reagan (Jarrett Maier) and Neely (Noah McCarty-Slaughter) are left defenseless and exposed.

With a dark tone and themes, what’s most interesting here are Manchester’s examinations of broken familial bonds. Despite the town's opinions of Rayford, the eldest Boem son Reagen—honors his father at the expense of his relationship with his loving and ever-present mother. The issue here is that though Rayford is positioned as the villain of sorts —he lacks a complexity that makes antagonists interesting in films. Instead —his troublesome and selfish actions lead everyone around him on a path of destruction that never really seems to engulf Ray himself.

On the surface —The Things We’ve Seen certainly has some compelling themes. Unfortunately, they are never truly explored. As Reagen clings to the idolized version of Rayford, his mother and younger brother are left to suffer in the wake of his anger and the Boem patriarch’s abandonment. In fact, it the most innocent in the film bear the most burdens.

Since the movie lacks a ton of dialogue it needed a lot more twists and turns, and at times, more poignant acting to keep the audience invested in the narrative. With so little story, The Things We’ve Seen meanders towards a predictable end with very little resolution or character development. It would have been more intriguing to dig a bit deeper not just into Rayford and Reagan’s relationship —but into Ray’s past as a whole. At one point Rayford says, "Sheriff, if I was to put out half the abuse that was put into me, I would’ve burnt this town down a long time ago.” Unfortunately, the audience is never given the opportunity to learn exactly what that means.

The Things We’ve Seen is now available on iTunes, GooglePlay and Amazon as well as on DVD and Cable VOD

Aramide A. Tinubu is a film critic and entertainment writer. As a journalist, her work has been published in EBONY, JET, ESSENCE, Bustle, The Daily Mail, IndieWire and Blavity. She wrote her master’s thesis on Black Girlhood and Parental Loss in Contemporary Black American Cinema. She’s a cinephile, bookworm, blogger and NYU + Columbia University alum. You can find her reviews on Rotten Tomatoes or A Word With Aramide or tweet her @wordwitharamide 

'Legacies' Stars Peyton Alex Smith and Quincy Fouse Talk Magic And Mystique In The CW's New 'TVD' Spinoff Show

Nearly a decade after The CW first introduced us to Mystic Falls' bloodthirsty characters in The Vampire Diaries, and the New Orleans set-The Originals, executive producers Julie Plec and Brett Matthews are presenting the final installment of their supernatural saga, Legacies. Set in the distant future, Legacies follows a group of magical teens who all live in safe confines of the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted as they struggle to control both their magical and hormonal urges. 

Run by headmaster and TVD alum Alaric Saltzman (Matt Davis), the Salvatore student population also boasts a few familiar faces. The Originals alum, Danielle Rose Russell stars as Hope Mikaelson, the first ever vampire/werewolf/witch hybrid who witnessed her parents' destruction during the final season of The Originals. Fans of the original television dramas will also remember Josie (Kaylee Bryant) and Lizzie Saltzman (Jenny Boyd), Alaric’s twin daughters who have their own battles to face. 

While Mystic Falls is no stranger to supernatural events, vampires, werewolves and witches, Legacies is set to unveil something fans of The Vampire Diaries universe have never seen before. 

Ahead of the series premiere, Shadow and Act traveled to Atlanta where Legacies is filmed. We spoke with The Quad alum, Peyton Alex Smith, who stars as Rafael -- a troubled young man just uncovering his true nature as a werewolf and Quincy Fouse, who plays M.G., a cheeky vampire trying to find his footing in the world. 

For Smith, stepping into a world that was already 236 episodes deep with The Vampire Diaries and The Originals, wasn’t as intimidating as one would think. After all, before becoming Rafael, he wasn’t uber-familiar with the franchise. "I’d seen a couple of episodes, but I wasn't really familiar with the world at all," he explained. "It was an eye-opening experience for me because, on the back end, I've been able to catch up on everything. " 

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.