Spike Lee was named today the recipient of the Directors Guild of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Achievement in Motion Picture Direction. The award is the top honor bestowed by the DGA for film directors.
Ian Alexander Jr., the only child of award-winning actor and director Regina King, has died. He turned 26 on Wednesday.
“King Richard,” the Will Smith-starring film about the childhood rise of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams and the father who raised them for greatness, was named today the winner of the Los Angeles Press Club’s seventh annual Veritas Award. The award recognizes the “best film based on or inspired by real events and people.” Films are judged “on fidelity of subject matter and artistic excellence,” according to the Press Club.
That the organization is proceeding with any kind of event came as a surprise to many in Hollywood. The HFPA came under fire after a Los Angeles Times investigation revealed in February ethical lapses and a stunning lack of diversity _ there was not a single Black journalist in the 87-person group.
Nominations were unveiled today for the 28th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, with the casts of “Belfast,” “CODA,” “Don’t Look Up,” “House of Gucci” and “King Richard” named as contenders in the best motion picture category days after a lackluster Golden Globe Awards ceremony that garnered little attention.
Bounce, the nation’s popular entertainment television network serving African Americans, is rescheduling the 2022 Bounce Trumpet Awards, which had been originally planned to take place live on Jan. 15 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and air on Bounce on Jan. 17. The date has yet to be determined.
Sidney Poitier, the groundbreaking actor and enduring inspiration who transformed how Black people were portrayed on screen, became the first Black actor to win an Academy Award for best lead performance and the first to be a top box-office draw, has died. He was 94.
Holiday Bowl organizers today announced cancellation of the game, acknowledging they were unable to find a replacement team for UCLA, which was unable to play due to COVID-19 protocols within the Bruins’ program.
Henry Aaron made history with one swing of his bat. A year later and on the other side of Georgia, Lee Elder made history with one swing of his driver. They both overcame racist threats to reach milestones that will always be part of sports lore. “Hammerin’ Hank” supplanted Babe Ruth at the top of baseball’s all-time home run list and Elder became the first Black golfer to play in the Masters.
Just hours before kickoff, the SDCCU Holiday Bowl between UCLA and North Carolina State at San Diego’s Petco Park was abruptly canceled today due to COVID-19 issues within the Bruins football program.
Court officials are edging closer to dividing up pop superstar Prince’s estate.
Former USC linebacker Abdul-Malik McClain was arrested today on federal charges alleging he orchestrated a scheme that fraudulently sought hundreds of thousands of dollars in COVID-related unemployment benefits.
A judge has handed the organizers of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival a win by granting a temporary restraining order against the advertisers of a New Year’s Eve event with a similar name, according to court papers obtained today.
California is facing a stormy holiday week, with heavy mountain snowfall and widespread rain elsewhere, forecasters said Monday.
People’s Sexiest Man Alive of 2021 is set to be inducted into the vaunted Five-Timers Club on “Saturday Night Live,” but the surging omicron variant of the coronavirus means there won’t be a live audience to see it happen.