Tag Archives: Oscars

Oscars revert back to old ways

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Not that I need validation, but guess what? CNN.com is asking the same questions about diversity and the Oscars. There were high hopes –well, sort of– when Hattie McDaniel won Best Supporting Actress for her role as “Mammie” in the big screen version of Gone with the Wind… then it took 62 years for a Black woman to get another Oscar®. Then there was a breath of fresh air as Mo’Nique won Best Supporting Actress for her role in the movie Precious, and Geoffrey Fletcher won for Best Adapted Screenplay. As the years between Oscar-wins for African Americans got shorter, there were many people in the film industry who assumed that would indicate that Black actors were now just being considered “actors” and not “Black actors” who are relegated to straight-to-video “urban” gangsta films.

Wrong!

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Regardless of the slew of Blacks in front of and behind the camera at last year’s Academy Awards, apparently 2010 just couldn’t cut it. Even though there were some brilliant Black actresses in leading films (Rashida Jones, The Social Network and Yaya DaCosta, The Kids Are Alright) a sister (or a brother) just couldn’t get any recognition.

According to CNN.com:

This year there was a decided dearth of diversity in the Oscar nominations. There are no women or people of color among the director nominees, and the acting nominees are all white. Javier Bardem, who is up for best actor for his role in “Biutiful,’ is a Spaniard and therefore European.

So what does it take for Black actors and filmmakers to get any real recognition at the Oscars? I have no clue. And apparently neither does the Academy of Motion Pictures and Science.

Read the entire article at CNN.com.

Who Rocked the Oscars? Take the Poll!

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There’s something to be said for Oscar(tm) fashions… the competition is usually fiercer than the actual award ceremony!

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Sisters came out in glamorous and fabulous dresses that were sophisticated, tasteful, and beautifully structured. When it comes to the Oscars(tm), Black actresses seemed to have a more flavorful flair than some of their peers –good or bad.
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In 2002, Halle Berry set the standard for dreamy, higher end couture that made all of the press notice that we are gorgeous, too!

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This year was a standout year, and curvy sisters ruled the runway!

Unlike the unflattering, shapeless, and drab plus-size dresses of the past, these actresses found a happy medium in the plus-size realm.

What was the trend?

Flowing trains! It seemed like almost every actress had a clueless actor stepping all over her dress, including the gorgeous George Clooney fumbling over her royal highness’ train, Queen Latifah. During the Red Carpet event, E! Channel’s Ryan Seacrest pulled Queen over for an impromptu interview. Less than 30-seconds into the interview, George Clooney stepped and tugged on her train like some tipsy frat boy. All ended well when Clooney profusely apologized and was genuinely clueless to the latest Oscar(tm) dress trend.

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The other trends ranged from soft, muted pastels and ombres, to an on-going favorite of bright, rich, jewel-tones –which look fabulous on darker skin tones!

Judge for yourself! Who rocked it?

Congratulations to Mo’Nique

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It was a long and arduous road for comedienne and actress Mo’Nique. Many in Hollywood dismissed her as a comedic actress in “low-budget” movies that only appealed to a small, niche audience.

Even when she won the Golden Globes, the only thing the media could talk about were her unshaven legs –which is not so unusually in the Black community, but apparently it’s close to patricide in other communities.

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Facebook and Twitter have been all a flutter about the Best Supporting Actress race. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences even acquiesced to the masses and dropped last year’s Best Supporting Actrtess winner, Penelope Cruz, into the race for the awful “Nine”! Nine? Really?

Industry insiders were positive that Mo’Nique wouldn’t get the award, even though the Golden Globes are a good indicator of Oscar(tm) wins –and losses.

What was the fallout about?

Some speculate that it was the celebrity backing of the film that turned some people off. However, if it hadn’t been for the backing of multi-gazillionaires Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey, according to Tyler Perry at last night’s Oscars(tm), “…they thought it would go straight to DVD.”

Mo’Nique said it best during her acceptance speech: “First, I would like to thank the Academy for showing that it can be about the performance and not the politics. ”

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Mo’Nique, in an usually appearance of understatement, was royal, regal and classy, in addressing her peers and the detractors.

Will her win translate to new, non-comedic roles? Will she find more leading actor doors opened for her in Hollywood. The future will determine how Hollywood handles her unconventional earthiness and authenticity, especially in such a plastic-focused industry.

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Is Hollywood ready to return to the rawness of reality, and to shirk the glossy, Stepford Wife look of their leading ladies? Hopefully so.

But it is Mo’Nique’s decision to figure out how she will work her new found fame and success. She will determine what is best for herself, her family and her future.

All that to say, Congratulations, Mo’Nique!

Mo’Nique’s Acceptance Speech:

First, I would like to thank the Academy for showing that it can be about the performance and not the politics.

I want to thank Miss Hattie McDaniel for enduring all that she had to so that I would not have to.

Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey because you touched it, the whole world saw it.

Ricky Anderson, our attorney of Anderson & Smith, thank you for your hard work.

My entire BET family, my Precious family, thank you so much.

To my amazing husband Sidney, thank you for showing me that sometimes you have to forego doing what’s popular in order to do what’s right.

And baby, you were so right.

God bless us all.