Left-wing Hollywood filmmaker Ava DuVernay will devote her new Spotify podcast to the subjects of police brutality against black people and cops who kill, focusing on what she sees as the lack of accountability in law enforcement. Spotify announced on Monday its new lineup of podcasts, which include an eight-episode series featuring Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen titled “Renegades: Born in the USA.” DuVernay’s series is titled “The LEAP Files” and is focused on the Law Enforcement Accountability Project (LEAP) — an activist organization that she founded last year to fund media projects around police brutality. “One of the things that defines artists is our curiosity — always wanting to learn more, reach further,” she reportedly said in Monday’s announcement. “And so this is a non-scripted project called The LEAP Files . We analyze high-profile cases that have been in the news as it relates to police brutality against black people. This podcast pulls back the curtain.” DuVernay’s podcast is expected to spotlight a new case of police brutality each week, exploring “the blue wall of silence” that she believes protects officers who are accused of killing black people. Ava DuVernay has increasingly devoted her Hollywood career to social justice, having recently directed the Netflix miniseries When They See Us, a dramatization of the Central Park jogger case. She recently launched a Hollywood diversity project intended to promote women and minorities for below-the-line crew jobs. Last year, Spotify teamed up with Michelle Obama to launch her own podcast devoted to various subjects including race and the coronavirus. Follow David Ng on Twitter @HeyItsDavidNg . Have a tip? Contact me at [email protected] ...
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Anti-BLM Demonstrators Threaten to Derail Production of Colin Kaepernick’s Netflix Series
Colin Kaepernick’s Netflix film production was briefly plunged into turmoil over fears that anti-Black Lives Matter activists were planning a protest during a location shoot. The film project, entitled Colin in Black and White , is being produced by Emmy-winning Director Ava DuVernay and will star Jaden Michael as a young Colin Kaepernick. Producers became worried that the production was going to be targeted on Friday by a protest sponsored by the conservative group, the Proud Boys. While no protest ever materialized, the producers sent a list of instructions to crew and staff just in case, TMZ reported. A memo was sent about the possible protest telling staff that “anti-BLM sentiments may protest against the production.” Insiders also told TMZ that someone claiming to be a member of the protesters had called the production offices to warn about the protest plans. It is unclear why no protest was mounted, but Kaepernick was not onset during last week’s location shoot. The film claims to chronicle Kaepernick’s teenaged years as he made his way through high school and worked to become the national anthem protester we all now know. Director DuVernay has long been an admirer of the former NFL player. “I think his actions have been inspiring to so many people. I see what he’s done as art. I believe that art is seeing the world that doesn’t exist. You know a lot of people excel at creativity — making TV, movies, painting, writing books — but you can be an artist in your own life. Civil-rights activists are artists. Athletes are artists. People who imagine something that is not there,” DuVernay told GQ last year. “His resistance, his protest, the manner in which he’s gone on living life in his interactions with the NFL have been extremely inspiring to me as an artist,” DuVernay added. “Extremely motivating and nourishing. I just feel fortunate that I’ve had a chance to get to know him personally, to talk to him.” Colin in Black and White may ...
Major Hollywood Studios Going All in On Diversity Hiring
The major Hollywood studios and streamers have signed on to a diversity initiative spearheaded by Selma filmmaker Ava DuVernay that will promote women and ethnic minority crew members for jobs on TV and movie productions. DuVernay has officially launched ARRAY Crew , a database for Hollywood’s below-the-line crew members who work behind the scenes to keep sets running and who work in post-production in such jobs as editing, mixing, and visual effects. Hollywood’s major media companies are supporting the project — WarnerMedia., Disney, Sony, ViacomCBS, and NBCUniversal. In addition, Netflix and Amazon have also thrown their weight behind it. “Our goal is simply to amplify more professionals in an effort to build inclusive film and television crews,” DuVernay said in a statement. “The overwhelming support of the studios and streamers has bolstered our belief that our industry can become a more balanced place to work for more kinds and cultures of people, resulting in stronger and more dynamic content for viewers and moviegoers.” Deadline reported that the database currently covers Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, New Orleans, Miami, Washington D.C., and Chicago, with plans to expand. Last year, DuVernay issued a threat to white men who would attempt to criticize her diversity initiatives, saying that she and other powerful black producers may choose not to hire them if they criticize or question diversity in ways that “diminish” people of color. “Everyone has a right to their opinion. And we — Black producers with hiring power — have the right to not hire those who diminish us,” DuVernay tweeted. “So, to the white men in this thread… if you don’t get that job you were up for, kindly remember… bias can go both ways.” DuVernay was one of Hollywood’s most outspoken anti-Trump voices. The filmmaker called the president a “ white supremacist ” and a “disgrace” last year, vowing that she would work to vote him out of office. Follow David Ng ...
L.A. Times: Hollywood Press Group That Selects Golden Globe Winners Has No Black Members
The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn., the group behind the annual Golden Globes awards, has no black people in its membership and has reportedly rejected legitimate journalists in favor of those who aren’t serious journalists. The findings come just a week before the 78th Golden Globes ceremony is set to take place, with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hosting the show braodacasting on NBC on Sunday. Widely considered a joke in the entertainment industry, the organization is also facing accusations that it pays its own members using money from from the organization’s TV deal with NBC. The group continues to allow its voting members to receive lavish perks from the studios, including gifts and overseas junkets. Watch below: The Los Angeles Times reported that the HFPA has no black journalists among its 87 members, with members coming from Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. This year’s Golden Globes nominations came under fire from the mainstream media for marginalizing black-centric movies, including Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods , which was completely shut out. A representative for the group told the Times it is aware of and is “committed to addressing” the issue. Hollywood director Ava DuVernay responded to the report, tweeting that “people are acting like this isn’t widely known.” Regina King, who is nominated this year for her directorial debut One Night in Miami, seconded DuVernay’s comment. Reveals? As in, people are acting like this isn’t already widely known? For YEARS? pic.twitter.com/FOSuRq4F7o — Ava DuVernay (@ava) February 22, 2021 pic.twitter.com/tHwg75LVop — Regina King (@ReginaKing) February 22, 2021 Through its history, HFPA has rejected credentialed foreign journalists who have applied for membership over concerns that they would encroach on the territory of existing members. “Lots of members aren’t serious journalists,” one anonymous member told the Times . “We admit people that are not real journalists ...
Dozens of celebrities call on Joe Biden, Kamala Harris to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline
close Video Fox News Flash top entertainment headlines for February 10 Fox News Flash top entertainment and celebrity headlines are here. Check out what's clicking today in entertainment. Dozens of celebrities signed a letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris calling on their administration to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline for good. The letter comes just three weeks after the Democratic president signed an executive order on his first day in office to stop the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline . The move effectively revoked the permit for the project, which demonstrated the new administration’s commitment to "a sustainable climate pathway to protect Americans and the domestic economy from harmful climate impacts," according to the order . Now, more than 200 celebrities, climate activists, indigenous leaders and more have signed a letter calling on the Biden administration to continue its commitment by ending the long-disputed Dakota Access Pipeline. KATY PERRY, MORE STARS ATTEND GOOGLE SUMMIT ON CLIMATE CHANGE IN PRIVATE JETS, MEGA YACHTS "Thank you for your administration’s early focus on climate change, tribal sovereignty, and racial justice and equity, including your decision to stop the Keystone XL Pipeline," the letter begins . Scarlett Johansson, Ryan Reynolds and Jane Fonda are among the dozens of celebrities who signed a letter asking Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline. (AP/Getty Images) It continues: "As your Administration takes action to address the climate crisis and strengthen relationships with Indigenous communities, we respectfully urge you to reverse another harmful Trump Administration decision and immediately shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) during its court-ordered environmental review." GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS WINNER JOAQUIN PHOENIX CALLS OUT HOLLYWOOD CLIMATE ACTIVISTS FOR USING PRIVATE JETS ...
