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Quendrith Johnson is filmfestivals.com Los Angeles Correspondent covering everything happening in film in Hollywood... Well, the most interesting things, anyway.
@Quendrith I Facebook I screenmancer.tv
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Tonight the Directors Guild of America revealed the final winners of the 73rd Annual DGA Awards. First a quick look at some of the creative artists honored for the show.
Enough to be nominated…
And now the final cut:
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Limited Series
SUSANNE BIER | The Undoing (HBO)
SCOTT FRANK | The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)
THOMAS KAIL | Hamilton...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Hey, the German trailer for THUNDER FORCE starring Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer is almost more hilarious than the English version of the Netflix superhero flick to be released April 9.
Can you imagine more unlikely Super Friends from childhood? No, you can’t, trust me. This is one caped caper worth the subscription fee alone for the super streamer. Watch…
You’ll never listen to Seal again without a trigger-wa...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Recently someone said how many "steps" they took according to their FitBit or whatever, which reminds some of us how many hours we sit a bit. But never mind that, because Dance Camera West's Virtual Film Fest breaks out on Ovid TV today through April 30. This will move the needle on your fitness.
How can you sit still watching the dance speak through the vocabulary of movement from dancers worldwide? It's awesome, and full dis...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
What many remember about the past US Presidential administration is likely a trigger warning, but there's one area that got the attention it deserved: The Opioid Crisis. It's the other deadly epidemic that was killing 130 Americans a day prior to this Pandemic. It still is. Meet the Opioid Epidemic in America. But it's a worldwide crisis. First Run Features presents the Streaming Premiere of the new documentary Uprooting Addicti...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
As if penning and directing THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 to Oscar notice wasn't enough for Aaron Sorkin, his BEING THE RICARDOS from Amazon Studios promises quite a piquant punch bowl of comedic homage to Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz. This backgrounder of the "I Love Lucy" show is one to watch for, as Sorkin rounds out his considerable writing chops with JK Simmons in a turn here in the cast, and Amazon Studios ann...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondence
One of the best Oscar categories to enter is the short subject for film, insiders say, because there are less entries and the field is still wide open for newcomers worldwide. Whether this is true or not can only be tested by entering your short, however there is a great way to find out what the nominated films look like for 2021. ShortsTV is displaying a slate of combined films for digital and theatrical release on April 2.
From Screenmancer
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by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
You're going to feel like you are at the WGA Awards 2021 show right now. Because this is a live write-cast, or on the fly coverage. And it begins at 7 pm Eastern and 4 pm Pacific (California time here), the Writers Guild Awards held their virtual ceremony from New York and LA with some exciting reveals of the winners for WGA Awards 2021. And now it is live with a montage of writers saying they “wanted to be” architects, docto...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
A brief and incomplete Irish-related Hollywood romcom highlight reel includes THE MATCHMAKER where comedian Janeane Garofolo goes to Ireland, followed by Amy Adams who also flees to Ireland to propose to a man in LEAP YEAR. Now in 2021? There’s FINDING YOU from Roadside Attractions coming on May 14, with actors you have mostly never heard of except the supporting veteran cast members Patrick Bergin and Vanessa Redgrave.
But don’...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
It’s not enough that this Award Season 2021 went virtual right out of the gate due to the Pandemic? But the Academy actually decided that the foreboding Ides of March, or March 15, would be an auspicious date for the Nominations Announcement for the 93rd Oscar Presentation. Who knows what else will happen on show date April 25, 2021. That’s where we find ourselves in the Year of COVID, where even the things we count on go awry.
...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Headlines read: “Palace Paralyzed” about the Meghan Markle and Prince Harry disclosures from the Harpo Productions Oprah Winfrey interview on CBS that shook the world (of privilege). But America, these United States, that broke from the UK have no judgments to make on that situation once you see WHO WE ARE: A CHRONICLE OF RACISM IN AMERICA. It is a frank exploration of the unspeakable for many, in relatable terms for all. March 1...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Instead of Red Pill and Blue Pill, we have Red Planet and Blue Planet? Who doesn't feel like taking a break from the Blue Planet right now? There's a crisis of identity for the US, a Royal rift, and garden variety Pandemic-related problems all over our world.
So how about Mars, the Red Planet?
Wait for GOOD NIGHT OPPY coming from Director Ryan White, about the Opportunity Mars Explorer Rover, which is the location scout advance team fo...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Variety Film Awards Editor Clayton Davis has a great gig coming up on Mar. 11 with Variety Deputy Awards and Features Editor Jenelle Riley. They will co-host the Writer’s Guild of America’s open-to-the-public virtual special BEYOND WORDS 2021. This comes as part of an insider tradition whereby the WGA presents award-nominated screenwriters who open up about the intricate facets of writing scripts for screen. These informal and en...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
When filmmaker Céline Sciamma made PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE, there was a use of silence or negative space, in the picture not seen since the French New Wave. That's just my critical opinion. That said, Sciamma’s work can also frighten and shake up audiences, critical viewers, and some would say, even voting members. You want to read that with a wink, because who knows what lurks in the hearts of Member Voters, to ...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Okay, so Elon Musk had a point about Fear of AI, but luckily there’s a tell to these new “MetaHumans” from Unreal Engine dropping by your eyeballs in 2021. That tell? Well, their teeth for example, kind of cookie cutter, as well as the mouth cavity. Where’s the tongue movement, geniuses?
Kidding aside, you may want to check for these subtle tells on your mobile screen, tablet, or even ye old Desktop PC in the comin...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
With talent galore, and a range from MOONSTRUCK to DOUBT and more, writer/screenwriter John Patrick Shanley is primarily a playwright but probably one of the most admired screenwriters among screenwriters. That said, he has some news. He has just signed on to write a comedy called THE TWINKLE BROTHERS. Read on...
LOS ANGELES, CA: Rivulet Media announced today that Academy Award® and Pulitzer Prize winning writer John Pa...
By Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
The International Press Academy's 25th Annual Satellite Awards wins are out, and NOMADLAND pulled into the drive-in's with a Motion Picture, Drama topper, plus Best Director for Chloé Zhao, and Best Actress for Frances McDormand. Sacha Baron Cohen won for Motion Picture, Comedy, Best Actor for BORAT: SUBEQUENT MOVIEFILM, as did his controversial co-star Maria Bakalova.
Amanda Seyfried won Best Supporting for MANK, and Chad...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
If you don't feel ready for Valentine's Day, or have to brush off the passion in your relationship, just remember it took 50 years for LOVE STORY stars Ryan O'Neal and Ali McGraw to get their stars aligned. In honor of that half-century-long wait? Read on...
HOLLYWOOD, CA: In celebration of the 50th anniversary of LOVE STORY, actors Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw will be honored with stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame ...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
There are so many takes on the Arts & Crafts movement, and the striking furniture of Gustav Stickley (1858-1942), the self-taught innovator of wooden designs. He manufactured furniture, metal fasteners, and nature-inspired textiles from 1900 to 1916. While Stickley dubbed his style “Craftsman," and published a magazine of the same name, collectors often refer to his work as Mission or Mission Oak.
But the work of Stickley, explo...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
What we know of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life and times has been incomplete up until now. Newly declassified documents from the FBI form the spine of Sam Pollard's documentary MLK/FBI. For Black History Month, the film will receive a nationwide screening cycle with some very prestigious organizations and partners. Finally the complete MKL portrait has emerged.
LOS ANGELES, CA: MLK/FBI is an essential expose of the surveillance and ...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Multi-hyphenate Hollywood legend Edward James Olmos just announced some dates for an upcoming LALIFF event, but also the opening date of today through March 12 for submissions, read on...
LOS ANGELES, CA: Academy Award®-nominated actor Edward James Olmos, founder of the Latino Film Institute, announced today that the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) will host a virtual festival for the 2021 edition that will run Wedne...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Gotta love Jack Black, because when he picks a project to produce? It goes HAPPILY never after. In this anti-rom-com Joel McHale and Kerry Bishé star as a married couple who are in trouble and in a trouple with surveillance. BenDavid Grabinski wrote and directed this timely chic fright-fest of technological doings, and that’s just the teaser. Oh, and Stephen Root is in it, which is also awesome. Thanks five eyes.
Watch Out, Th...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
The buzz about MINARI is deafening lately, and AFI Movie Club had some announcements today that show just what a contender this film really is for Award Season 2021. Read on...
LOS ANGELES, CA: AFI AWARDS celebrates MINARI with brand new content featuring one of the stars and the writer/director of the film. Alan S. Kim, who made his film debut in MINARI, accepts the AFI AWARDS honor on behalf of the creative ensemble and introdu...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Leslie Zemeckis is a filmmaker known for bringing lost voices of burlesque into the world with her film BEHIND THE BURLY Q, but she is also a champion of women who tell stories not just with their bodies in dance. Based in Santa Barbara, she’s a multi-hyphenate actor, writer, mentor, and more who has created "Stories Matter" as a way to tap under-heard voices.
In 2020, Leslie was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of ...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
There’s a scene in MANK from Netflix where the reading of a love letter turns into a rollover accident for Herman J. Mankiewicz, so with the Hollywood Foreign Press putting this movie in the lead of Golden Globes Nominees with six possible wins? Let’s hope that scenario in the gorgeous black and white film doesn’t turn out to be prophetic as this love letter to Old Hollywood as frontrunner but a red herring.
Over all, the 78...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
AOC, or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is the US Congressional representative from the 14th district in New York who just revealed she is a "survivor of sexual assault," and this is where we are in the zeitgeist right now. Disclosures like this are no longer career-wrecking shamers, but a kind of re-purposed empowerment for many women. In context, her description of the situation is analogous to working with the opposing party in Congress. ...
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