Blog

Selma Blair, Hollywood Star And Part Of The #MeToo Movement, Explains How She Got There

She has said she was attacked, and threatened, by James Toback, and she wasn’t really planning to come forward. “I was the only one who was somewhat known, so I thought this is all gonna be on me, this lawsuit. I won’t be able to put my kid through school. Then it turned out there were 38 other women accusing him, and he called them cunts and cocksuckers and liars, so I thought, OK, I’ll lose everything, I’ll go to court. I will be on the right side of history. Now he’s up to 396 women, and I’m sure there are thousands.”

Let’s Talk About That General Character In Black Panther, And What She Means

You might know Danai Gurira as a major character on The Walking Dead or as the playwright of Eclipsed, which starred Lupita Nyong’o and ran on Broadway to much acclaim. In the Marvel movie, she plays the leader of a group of women warriors who protect the king. “When I sat down with [director Ryan] Coogler, what’s so very important to me as an African woman and as a playwright who writes from the African perspective — because of the lack thereof, or the misrepresentation thereof, or the distortion thereof — it was very important that an African narrative is treated with the respect and authenticity.”

‘Black Panther’ Smashes Records And Hollywood Myths This Weekend

Analysts predicted an eye-popping $165 million North American weekend take – and their predictions were promptly dismantled by $218 million in ticket sales in North America alone, and almost $400 million globally. The records are almost too many to name: “Black Panther instantly became the top-grossing film in history by a black director (Ryan Coogler) and featuring a largely black cast. … Theaters scrambled to add show times to accommodate crowds; AMC Southlake 24 in suburban Atlanta squeezed in 84 show times on Friday alone.”

Six Young Opera Singers Win George London Awards

For the mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis, “the victory completed something of a full-circle journey: She applied to the competition seven years ago without knowing its pedigree, and was promptly told by her teacher to withdraw. ‘She broke it down for me: ‘I appreciate how eager you are, but you are in no way ready for something on this level.’ I was quite bitter,’ Ms. Bryce-Davis said in an interview.”

Top Posts From AJBlogs For The Weekend Of 02.18.18

Norma Winstone’s Movie Music
Norma Winstone, Descansado: Songs For Films (ECM) In an album striking for its quietness and its daring, British vocalist Norma Winstone and her augmented trio interpret music from motion pictures. The augmentation … read more
AJBlog: RiffTidesPublished 2018-02-16

Replay: Igor Stravinsky conducts his Firebird Suite
Igor Stravinsky leads the NHK Symphony Orchestra in a performance of the 1945 version of his Firebird Suite, performed at the Osaka International Festival on May 1, 1959: (This is the latest in a … read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2018-02-16

Pianist Menahem Pressler at age 94: Fragile, fallible but still a credit to his legacy?
Pianist Menahem Presller, still playing at age 94 Human beings are living longer – and so are performing artists. The question of when do they retire gracefully isn’t going away, and if anything, will only … read more
AJBlog: Condemned to MusicPublished 2018-02-15

Correspondence: Oscar Peterson And Nat Cole
Frequent Rifftides correspondent Svetlana Ilicheva writes from Moscow: I wonder if it is a well-known thing that Oscar Peterson sang? It was a great surprise to find this recording, not only for … read more
AJBlog: RiffTidesPublished 2018-02-15