Netflix
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Is an Exclamation Point on Chadwick Boseman’s Inspiring Life: Review
The Pitch: By definition, the word value means “the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something.” A person’s value, however, is most often overlooked, under-appreciated or even unknown. To understand one’s worth is a unique ability that not many possess – that attribute alone can change the trajectory of an individual’s life, drastically. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom digs deep into the core of one of America’s most beautiful artforms, during a time where segregation and racial oppression escalated across the country. Based on August Wilson’s Broadway play, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom chronicles an emotional recording session housed within a Chicago studio in 1927. Along with a string of talented actors, George C. Wolfe’s direction explores the dicho...
Composers of the Year Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross: “It’s Been an Intimidating Journey”
“You’re naming us Best Composers of All Time, right,” Trent Reznor asks over the phone. His partner-in-crime Atticus Ross laughs on another line. He’s joking, of course, but he’s also not exactly out of his element. While all-time might be a stretch — at least, for now — the two are certainly in contention for the last decade. After all, it’s been a wild 10 years for Reznor and Ross, one that began with a deafening bang. That big bang arrived at the 83rd Academy Awards in 2011, when Reznor and Ross triumphed over the likes of Hans Zimmer and Alexandre Desplat to win Best Original Score for David Fincher’s The Social Network. Their debut score wound up being an opening salvo as Hollywood came calling — and fast. Since then, they’ve amassed an eclectic resume that most composers spend decade...
HBO Max Also Pulls Chappelle’s Show at Dave Chappelle’s Request
Last month, Netflix removed Chappelle’s Show from their service at the behest of Dave Chappelle himself. The beloved comedian has now asked HBO Max to pull the iconic sketch series from their library, and they’re granting his request. In a lengthy Instagram video posted in late November, Chappelle explained that because of the contract he signed with ViacomCBS back when the show was made in the mid-2000s — years before streaming services even existed — he actually doesn’t see a penny of the money that ViacomCBS receives when it licenses the show out to companies like Netflix and HBO Max. “They [ViacomCBS] didn’t have to pay me because I signed the contract,” Chappelle said in the clip, which compiles footage from recent stand-up gigs. “But is that right? I found out that these people were ...
Top 25 Films of 2020
Our Annual Report continues as we reveal the Top 25 Films of 2020. Stay tuned for more awards, lists, and articles in the days and weeks to come about the best music, film, and TV of the year. If you’ve missed any part of our Annual Report, you can check out all the coverage here. Going to the movies ain’t like it used to be, right? What an understatement. With theaters shuttered up and movie chains filing for bankruptcy, one might argue it’s been a pretty crap year for cinema. Financially speaking, they’re not wrong. But, art is a funny thing. It has a way of enduring even the most arduous obstacles — you know, that whole Ian Malcolm, Jurassic Park, “life finds a way” bit — and this year was a testament to that truth. Art had no issue finding a proper stage. That stage, as fate...
George Clooney’s The Midnight Sky Blandly Goes Where Plenty of Sci-Fi Has Gone Before: Review
The Pitch: It’s 2049, and the Earth is plagued by a mysterious apocalyptic event – details are scarce, but it seems as though the world is in its last gasps, and time is running out. Perhaps the only man left on Earth is Augustine Lofthouse (George Clooney), an astronomer dying of cancer who chooses to stay behind while the rest of the personnel evacuate their observatory in the Arctic Circle. As he whiles away the days and weeks waiting for the world to end, two events force him into action: the arrival of a mute girl (seven-year-old newbie Caoilinn Springall) seemingly left behind in the evacuation, and the realization that a spaceship called the Aether is on its way back to the planet. They’ve spent the last few years scoping out a new planet for humanity called K-23, and are comin...
Queen Latifah Tapped To Executive Produce and Star In New Netflix Film ‘End Of Road’
Source: CBS Photo Archive / Getty Queen Latifah is taking her talents to Netflix with her latest announcement. According to Deadline, Queen Latifah has signed on as Executive Producer and lead in the Millicent Shelton directed Netflix thriller End of the Road, a film that follows recently widowed Brenda who, after losing her job, drives her family cross-country to start a new life. In the New Mexico desert, cut off from help, they must learn to fight back when they become the targets of a mysterious killer. In addition to Queen Latifah leading the feature film, End of the Road is produced by Tracey Edmonds’ imprint Edmonds Entertainment with Mark Burg for Twisted Pictures and Brad Kaplan. Latifah and Shakim Compere will serve as executive producers on behalf of Flavor Unit E...
Ariana Grande Announces New Sweetener Concert Film for Netflix
Following a few sneaky teasers earlier this week, Ariana Grande has officially announced her new Netflix concert film capturing her “Sweetener Tour”. Titled excuse me, i love you, it will be available to stream in just a few weeks on December 21st — exactly one year after the tour closed out. “I know this project only captures some of one tour (out of all the other hundreds of shows and moments we have shared over the past six or seven years… jesus lol) but I just wanted to thank u all for showing me more in this lifetime already than I ever dreamed of,” the 27-year-old pop star wrote on social media today. Grande’s “Sweetener Tour” originally kicked off March 2019 and ran for about nine months. The concerts saw the Grammy winner perform hit songs off both Sweetener and thank u, ...
Black Mirror Creators Announce Netflix Comedy Special “Death to 2020”
If you’ve been laughing to keep from crying this hellish year, then the dystopian creators of Black Mirror have something right up your alley: a star-studded Netflix comedy special aptly titled “Death to 2020”. The TV special from Black Mirror masterminds Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones was announced early Monday, alongside its impressive guest list. Samuel L. Jackson, Hugh Grant, and Leslie Jones, Joe Keery, Lisa Kudrow, Kumail Nanjiani, Tracey Ulman, Cristin Milioti, and Diane Morgan are all set to appear in “Death to 2020” The Hollywood Reporter notes that the comedy special will be filmed “documentary-style”, and a synopsis from Netflix reads: “2020: A year so [insert adjective of choice here], even the creators of Black Mirror couldn’t make it up… but that doesn’t mea...
Netflix Confirms Elliot Page for Umbrella Academy Season 3
Elliot Page will return as Vanya Hargreeves in the third season of Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy. The streaming giant confirmed the news hours after Page announced he is a gender non-binary transgender person on Tuesday morning. “So proud of our superhero! WE LOVE YOU ELLIOT! Can’t wait to see you return in season 3!” the official Netflix account tweeted at Page in support. In the series, which wrapped up its second season this past summer, Vanya is a cisgender woman with superhero powers. Insiders tell Variety that there are no are no plans to change the character’s gender as of now. On that topic, Nick Adams, director of transgender media at GLAAD, told Variety: “Trans actors can and do play both trans and cisgender characters. I’m sure Elliot will continue to be brilliant in Umbrella A...
Netflix Developing ‘Forty Acres’ Film With Cheo Hodari Coker, Jay-Z Producing
Source: Mat Hayward / Getty One of the most popular entertainment platforms continues to show that they are for our culture by their actions. Netflix is curating a new film based on a must read story. As spotted on Deadline the streaming giant has announced they will be developing a movie based on the novel Forty Acres. Written by Dwayne Alexander Smith the book details the fictional story of Martin Grey, a Black lawyer working out of a storefront in Queens. He soon becomes friendly with a group of some of the most powerful, wealthy, and esteemed Black men in America. Martin finds out that his glittering new friends are part of a secret society dedicated to the preservation of the institution of slavery—but this time around, the Black men are called “Master.” According to the press re...
Hollywood Will Never Stop Loving the Music Biopic
This past week saw the release of Stardust, a biopic about David Bowie’s first trip to the United States. If you’ve seen any piece of media related to the film, you probably know that the movie was received poorly — to say the least. This isn’t surprising, though. When the film’s first trailer dropped months ago, the film was immediately scorched online for being a very blatant and very poorly executed attempt to piggyback off the recent success of other musical biopics such as 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody and last year’s Rocketman. Whereas those two films at least had the wherewithal to secure the rights to their stars’ likeness and discography, Stardust opted out of either of those things. Even so, the film chugged along on the strength of its premise alone, but mostly because it’s a musical...
David Lynch to Begin Production on New Project for Netflix
David Lynch is set to begin production on a new project for Netflix. As the fan site Welcome to Twin Peaks points out, the industry trade Production Weekly revealed news of the project in its latest issue. Lynch will write the direct the project, which carries the working title of Wisteria. Filming is scheduled to begin in May 2021 at Los Angeles’ Calvert Studios. Citing its own sources, Welcome to Twin Peaks reports that the project will take the form of a limited episodic series. Lynch kickstarted his partnership with Netflix earlier this year when he brought his short film What Did Jack Do? to the streaming platform. Over quarantine, he’s kept busy by resurrecting his weather reports and uploading original videos to YouTube. While we wait for more details on Wisteria, revisit the ...
