When you have the SAG Award nominated ensemble of “American Fiction” – John Ortiz, Erika Alexander, Tracee Ellis Ross and Jeffrey Wright (also individually nominated in male lead and Oscar nominated for the film) you have to ask them where it all began. In discussing their first jobs for the union, Ross revealed that, like many actors, she started with a commercial – this one for Infiniti cars.
But her co-stars soon revealed surprisingly momentous stories for their first SAG-AFTRA jobs. Wright noted his onscreen debut was opposite Burt Lancaster and Sidney Poitier in the 1991 miniseries “Separate but Equal” about the Brown v. Board of Education court case. “My first single was opposite Sidney Poitier,” Wright revealed. Alexander started in a 1986 film called “My Little Girl” that starred Mary Stuart Masterson, Geraldine Page and – in her film debut – Jennifer Lopez. And Ortiz
Ross joked, “My Infiniti commercial is getting smaller and smaller…...
But her co-stars soon revealed surprisingly momentous stories for their first SAG-AFTRA jobs. Wright noted his onscreen debut was opposite Burt Lancaster and Sidney Poitier in the 1991 miniseries “Separate but Equal” about the Brown v. Board of Education court case. “My first single was opposite Sidney Poitier,” Wright revealed. Alexander started in a 1986 film called “My Little Girl” that starred Mary Stuart Masterson, Geraldine Page and – in her film debut – Jennifer Lopez. And Ortiz
Ross joked, “My Infiniti commercial is getting smaller and smaller…...
- 2/18/2024
- by Jenelle Riley
- Variety Film + TV
“American Fiction” cast members Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross and Erika Alexander opened up to TheWrap about their past experiences with racism in Hollywood, from being racially typecast to colorism and racial microagressions on set.
It’s pretty clear Hollywood still has a ways to go to tackle systemic racism — from “Oscars So White,” institutionalized racism that’s led to disparities in hiring and pay discrepancies between white people and people of color, to the recent exodus of Hollywood Dei executives.
While Cord Jefferson’s “American Fiction” stands as a comedy that highlights a struggling novelist and his family’s standard imperfections, beneath that plot, the film spotlights the limits that have historically been placed on Black stories. It also explores how Black creatives are fighting to provide a wide variety of Black narratives to the world.
That’s an experience Jefferson said he had himself just months before stumbling...
It’s pretty clear Hollywood still has a ways to go to tackle systemic racism — from “Oscars So White,” institutionalized racism that’s led to disparities in hiring and pay discrepancies between white people and people of color, to the recent exodus of Hollywood Dei executives.
While Cord Jefferson’s “American Fiction” stands as a comedy that highlights a struggling novelist and his family’s standard imperfections, beneath that plot, the film spotlights the limits that have historically been placed on Black stories. It also explores how Black creatives are fighting to provide a wide variety of Black narratives to the world.
That’s an experience Jefferson said he had himself just months before stumbling...
- 12/16/2023
- by Raquel 'Rocky' Harris
- The Wrap
They make a big deal about songwriting in Nashville. The country music industry throws parties when a song hits Number One, banners crowing about chart success are staked in the yards of the publishing offices lining Music Row, and the craft itself is spoken about in hushed, reverent tones — even if that mystical art is sometimes just three dudes in a room trying to find a new word to rhyme with “beer.”
But some songwriters do in fact “brush the cheek of God,” as Tom Douglas describes the elusive goal...
But some songwriters do in fact “brush the cheek of God,” as Tom Douglas describes the elusive goal...
- 2/21/2022
- by Joseph Hudak
- Rollingstone.com
Streaming platform Pandora has unveiled its Most-Thumbed Movie Songs Playlist. Based on Pandora listeners’ thumbs-up activity, 102 of the most popular movie songs were rounded up.
Among the most-thumbed tracks are “Earned It” by the Weeknd from “Fifty Shades of Grey,” “See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth from “Furious 7” and “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri from “Twilight.”
Other classic movie songs featured include “Titanic’s” “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion, “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston from “The Bodyguard” and “Mrs. Robinson” from “The Graduate” by Simon and Garfunkel.
Oscar winners for best original song also making the playlist are Adele’s “Skyfall,” from the James Bond movie of the same name, and the 2018 winner “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper from the “A Star Is Born” remake.
The playlist can be streamed here. Here’s the full list of...
Among the most-thumbed tracks are “Earned It” by the Weeknd from “Fifty Shades of Grey,” “See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth from “Furious 7” and “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri from “Twilight.”
Other classic movie songs featured include “Titanic’s” “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion, “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston from “The Bodyguard” and “Mrs. Robinson” from “The Graduate” by Simon and Garfunkel.
Oscar winners for best original song also making the playlist are Adele’s “Skyfall,” from the James Bond movie of the same name, and the 2018 winner “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper from the “A Star Is Born” remake.
The playlist can be streamed here. Here’s the full list of...
- 7/10/2020
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
Jennifer Lopez has had a successful career as both a singer and an actress for decades. The native New Yorker began her acting career at the age of 16 with a small role in the 1986 movie “My Little Girl”. Her big break came when she won the role of a “Fly Girl”, a dancer on the comedy sketch show “In Living Color” in 1991. Movies including “Selena” and “Out of Sight” would help launch her acting career and also inspired her to start a singing career. She’s also a reality show judge. Here are the top uses of Jennifer
The Top Uses of Jennifer Lopez Songs in Movies and TV...
The Top Uses of Jennifer Lopez Songs in Movies and TV...
- 7/13/2018
- by Nat Berman
- TVovermind.com
Jennifer Lopez is telling her own #MeToo story.
The singer, 48, shared her experience with sexual harassment in Hollywood, recalling an uncomfortable encounter with a director in her early years of acting.
“I haven’t been abused in the way some women have. But have I been told by a director to take off my shirt and show my boobs? Yes, I have. But did I do it? No, I did not,” Lopez told Harper’s Bazaar for its April issue.
“When I did speak up, I was terrified. I remember my heart beating out of my chest, thinking, ‘What did I do?...
The singer, 48, shared her experience with sexual harassment in Hollywood, recalling an uncomfortable encounter with a director in her early years of acting.
“I haven’t been abused in the way some women have. But have I been told by a director to take off my shirt and show my boobs? Yes, I have. But did I do it? No, I did not,” Lopez told Harper’s Bazaar for its April issue.
“When I did speak up, I was terrified. I remember my heart beating out of my chest, thinking, ‘What did I do?...
- 3/15/2018
- by Karen Mizoguchi
- PEOPLE.com
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