“‘This is what happens when you have the SAG group — a group of very diverse people who understand the work that we all put in and that we all deserve the same opportunities,’ Queen Latifah told The Times backstage. ‘That’s about it. I feel very positive about this day.'”
Category: media
I’m Female, Gay And Older, And You Want To Kick Me Out Of Oscar Voting?
“I happen to be female and I’m also gay, another underrepresented minority, and yet, because I haven’t been hired on a film in the last 10 years, I am to be booted into the “emeritus” status and replaced by younger members who are being asked to join in order to help you deal with a publicity nightmare.”
Take That, Borat! And Putin! Kazakhstan Creates Its Own ‘Game Of Thrones’
Spurred by a remark from the Russian president that “the Kazakhs had never had statehood” as well as ongoing chagrin that their nation is best known to much of the world for a fictional, dysfunctional journalist in a mankini, the country’s film industry is producing a lavish 10-part miniseries about the founding, amid the collapse of the Golden Horde, of the Kazakh Khanate in 1465.
Abolish The (So White) Oscars, Says Danny Glover. Just Let Them Fade Into Irrelevance, Says Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Who Nails The Real Problem.
Andrew O’Hehir: “So what we’re talking about here … is not so much a failure of representation as a failure of perception and vision and imagination. By invoking [Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man], Abdul-Jabbar suggests that Oscar voters literally cannot see certain kinds of non-white performers and certain kinds of films.”
Netflix Banned By Indonesia’s State Telecom
“State-owned telecommunications and internet provider Telekomunikasi Indonesia has blocked Netflix from all of its platforms … because of a permit issue and its unfiltered contents.”
A Danger To ‘Moral Values And National Security’: Kenya’s Film Censor On Netflix
The chairman of the Kenya Film Classification Board cited the threat of terrorism alongside the usual sex, drugs and bad words as reasons that his body should be able to regulate Netflix. But the country’s infotech minister says the Board does not have that power.
All Those Newer Disney Movies With A Strong, Non-Passive Princess Heroine? Turns Out They Have A Problem
“The plot of The Little Mermaid, of course, involves Ariel literally losing her voice – but in the five Disney princess movies that followed, the women speak even less. On average in those films, men have three times as many lines as women.”
The Real-Life Model For ‘The Little Mermaid”s Ursula The Sea Witch? Divine
“Although the sea witch is singular among Disney villains, there is a person behind this character. She is [sic] a real-life Ursula with a crimson mouth, eyebrows sharp as switchblades and a homicidal gleam in her eye. She is Divine.” Yes, John Waters’s Divine.
Spotify Is Finally Ready To Stream Videos
“The Swedish music-streaming service is planning to introduce video content on its Android app starting this week, followed by the iOS app by the end of next week … Spotify had originally announced the plans to begin distributing videos and podcasts in May, with a lineup of traditional and digital content providers that included ESPN, Comedy Central, the BBC, Vice Media and Maker Studios.”
Oscar Voter Says Academy’s Diversity Push Is “Insulting” To Black People
“What bothers me most is how insulting this is to black people. I’m also shocked at the presumption of the president of the Academy to meet with David Oyelowo to explain to him “what went wrong” because he wasn’t nominated last year for his portrayal of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma. I’m sorry, but are we missing the 800-pound gorilla in the room?”