academy awards Archives - Rolling Out

The 2020 Oscars got off to a scorching start as superstar comedic actors Chris Rock and Steve Martin went in hard at the Academy Awards for a conspicuous lack of diversity among this year’s nominees. After a few pedestrian jokes, Rock shined the light on Cynthia Erivo, who was nominated for her dynamic portrayal of…

Barack and Michelle Obama once took possession of the highest office in the land. Now, they are in possession of the highest award in American movies. The former president and first lady took home an Academy Award when their production company, Higher Ground, won the Oscar statue for American Factory for best feature-length documentary on…

Award-winning director Ava DuVernay blasted legendary horror author Stephen King after he made some questionable statements regarding diversity and the Academy Awards. King — who has penned a blizzard of classic horror novels that subsequently have been adapted into equally iconic motion pictures — wrote the following response to the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite2020 on Twitter: As…

Former President Barack Obama and his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, have added an Oscar nomination to their very long lists of life achievements. The Obamas scored an Academy Award nod in the best documentary for American Factory, which probes the struggle of U.S. workers in a changing global economy. The nomination actually goes…

Cynthia Erivo could make history if she wins in her Academy Award categories. Erivo, the British-Nigerian actress and songwriter, would become the youngest-ever EGOT winner if she takes home the best actress Oscar for her riveting role as Harriet Tubman in Harriet. She would join her songwriting brethren John Legend, who also is an EGOT…

Would Kevin Hart be open to hosting next year’s Academy Awards? The actor and comedian admitted he would be interested in hosting the 2020 Oscars with his Jumanji: The Next Level co-star Dwayne Johnson. Hart was lined up to host the Academy Awards this year but pulled out following a controversy over homophobic tweets but said…

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee (Photo by Derrel Johnson of Steed Media Service)

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee and MeToo movement founder and activist Tarana Burke discussed using radical storytelling to foster social justice at BlackStar Film Festival in Philadelphia. Here is an excerpt from that conversation.

John Singleton continues to fight after experiencing a stroke several days ago. The award-winning director is currently in a coma. According to reports by TMZ, Singleton’s family revealed that his health issues may be more serious than previously expected. As a result, they are in the process of establishing a conservatorship for him. Last week,…

When Spike Lee won his first competitive Academy Award Sunday night at the Oscars, he subtly blasted the current president during his acceptance speech, without mentioning his name. Donald Trump, right on cue, fired back at Lee via his favorite platform, Twitter, accusing Lee’s speech of being racist. Trump also claims he has done more…

The 91st Annual Academy Awards, hosted on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, was full of applause-worthy moments. It was a big night for Black Panther, earning Marvel Studios its first recognition by the Academy. Even more significant, the night commemorated a history-making moment for underrepresented Black women in Hollywood. Costume designer, Ruth E. Carter won her first Oscar, becoming the first…

While actors were out celebrating Hollywood’s biggest night, Kevin Hart went on with his life as usual. He spent the evening Boxing, while the Oscars took place on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019. The Jumanji actor was originally announced in December as the host of the 2019 Academy Awards, but he stepped down weeks later following an outcry over past…

Kevin Hart has confirmed he is “evaluating” hosting the Oscars again. The Night School star initially refused to say sorry for past jokes made on his Twitter account because he had done so years ago and decided to step down from his role hosting the Academy Awards in February — but it is said that he could be brought back…

Several big-name celebrities are adamantly defending comedic actor Kevin Hart, who was “encouraged” to step down as the host of the 2019 Academy Awards after a fierce backlash over his past homophobic comments. Snoop Dogg, 47, in all his profane glory, basically told the Oscars academy to go and perform a crude act (and with…

Michael B. Jordan has pledged to have “inclusion riders” on his future projects. The Black Panther actor has vowed to do what he can to promote equality and diversity by having the contractual amendment inserted into all projects developed by his production company, Outlier Society. He revealed on Instagram: “In support of the women &…

From Donald Trump’s perspective, the record low ratings for the Academy Awards on Sunday night was due to a glaring void of major celebrities. On Tuesday, Trump climbed onto Twitter to gleefully slam the annual Oscar gala and poke fun at the “lowest rated Oscars in History.” He went on to say, “the Problem is,…

Two of the biggest and most conspicuous losers at the 90th edition of the Academy Awards was the most daring and devastating movie of 2017, by far, and the man simply known as Denzel. Get Out, comedian Jordan Peele’s masterpiece horror flick about an interracial couple’s insidious visit to relatives, was the most profitable film…

The 90th edition of the Academy Awards was a glam gala punctuated by acknowledgments of Hollywood’s recently exposed history of sexual harassment and abuse, President Donald Trump’s policies and featured an outpouring of diversity in pop culture. In direct contrast to the Golden Globe Awards, where most people donned all-black in homage to the revolutionary #MeToo…

Get Out writer and director Jordan Peele is looking to dominate at the 2018 Academy Awards.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers robbed Moonlight of its chance to give their acceptance speech at Sunday’s Oscars. La La Land, with 12 Academy Award nominations was announced as Best Picture, but to everyone’s surprise, Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight was actually the industry fave for the highly coveted prize. For more than 80 years, PwC has administered the Oscars balloting…

My family. Thank you everyone for your love and support! pic.twitter.com/5thsM7y3HT — Viola Davis (@violadavis) February 27, 2017 On Hollywood’s biggest night, Viola Davis was awarded Best Supporting Actress at the 89th Annual Academy Awards for her role in Fences. Here’s her speech: Thank you to the academy. You know, there’s one place that all…