News of an Ethiopian Airlines crash has the Internet reeling. Multiple media outlets are reporting Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 crashed en route to Nairobi, Kenya. The control tower lost contact with the flight six minutes after take off, landing went near Bishoftu, southeast of Addis Ababa. According to CNN, of the 157 victims, 32 different nationalities were represented including 32 Kenyans, 18 Canadian, nine Ethiopians, eight Americans, eight Italians, seven UK nationals and eight Chinese passengers.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed offered condolences to the victims and their families. He was the first to break the news of the crash via Twitter.
The new plane was being piloted by a veteran pilot who had contacted the control tower to ask to return back to Addis Abba due to technical difficulties and was cleared to do so. Flight 302 was a Boeing 737 Max 8, the same type of plane involved in the Indonesian Lion Air jet that crashed soon after takeoff from Jakarta in 2018, killing 189 people.
Black Panther set designer and costume designer Hannah Beachler (L) and Ruth E. Carter.
(Photo: Google Images)
Black Panther set designer and costume designer Hannah Beachler (L) and Ruth E. Carter. (Photo: Google Images)
Tonight is the night. The 91st Annual Academy Awards ceremony is taking place and being broadcast live on ABC. This year’s broadcast will be a little different. There will be no Oscar host and two categories that actually make motion pictures distinctive from other arts — cinematography and editing — won’t be shown live. Not to worry, you can watch the disrespected categories via live stream on ABC.com.
As you know, there are some outstanding folks to watch in spite of the oversight. We’ll be looking to see if seminal filmmaker Spike Lee will finally take home an Oscar in a competitive category. Spike Lee’s longtime costume designer Ruth E. Carter is nominated in the Best Costume Design category for her amazing work on Marvel’s and Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther. Hannah Beachler could also make #BlackGirlMagic if she wins the best set design award, also for Black Panther. Black Panther isn’t the only superhero film nominated. Peter Ramsey may be the first black person to win the Best Animated Feature for Spider-man: Into the Spiderverse. If that doesn’t float your boat, then RaMell Ross could very well win best documentary feature for Hale County: This Morning, This Evening.
In the interest of keeping it short and cute, The Burton Wire has pulled together a crib sheet for you on categories to watch tonight. While we’re impressed by most of the nominations, especially Roma, and unimpressed with others — see The Favourite.Like Issa Rae, we’re rooting for everybody black including Roma‘s Yalitza Aparicia and of course the incomparable Alfonso Cuarón. Barry Jenkins is always a winner to us and we recognize the soundtrack as one of the stars of his character driven films. Sorry to Bother You bothered us by not being nominated, but Hollywood isn’t quite ready to acknowledge that type of film coming from a black person yet.
Check off the list as we go through the categories and find out if we’ll have an #OscarsSoBlack moment in 2019.
“The Place Where Lost Things Go” – Mary Poppins Returns
“When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” – The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Incredibles 2
Isle of Dogs
Mirai
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse*** (Peter Ramsey)
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
BlacKkKlansman***
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
If Beale Street Could Talk
A Star Is Born
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
First Reformed
Green Book***
Roma
The Favourite
Vice
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Christian Bale, Vice
Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born
Willem Dafoe, At Eternity’s Gate
Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody***
Viggo Mortensen, Green Book
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Yalitza Aparicio, Roma
Glenn Close, The Wife
Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born
Olivia Colman, The Favourite
Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
DIRECTOR
Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman
Pawel Pawlikowski, Cold War
Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite
Alfonso Cuarón, Roma***
Adam McKay, Vice
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Black Panther *** (Hannah Beachler)
The Favourite
First Man
Mary Poppins Returns
Roma
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Cold War
The Favourite
Never Look Away
Roma*** Alfonso Cuaron
A Star Is Born
COSTUME DESIGN
Mary Queen of Scots
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Mary Poppins Returns
Black Panther*** (Ruth E. Carter)
SOUND EDITING
A Quiet Place
Black Panther
Bohemian Rhapsody***
First Man
Roma
SOUND MIXING
Black Panther
Bohemian Rhapsody***
First Man
Roma
A Star Is Born
ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Animal Behaviour
Bao
Late Afternoon
One Small Step
Weekends
LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
Detainment
Fauve
Marguerite
Mother
Skin
ORIGINAL SCORE
Black Panther***
BlacKkKlansman
If Beale Street Could Talk
Isle of Dogs
Mary Poppins Returns
VISUAL EFFECTS
Avengers: Infinity War
Christopher Robin
First Man***
Ready Player One
Solo: A Star Wars Story
FILM EDITING
BlacKkKlansman
Bohemian Rhapsody***
Green Book
The Favourite
Vice
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Border
Mary Queen of Scots
Vice***
Check back later as we will be updating the winners as the ceremony unfolds. *** indicates category winner.
This post was written by Nsenga K Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. An expert in intersectionality and media industries, Dr. Burton is also a professor of film and television. Follow her on Twitter @ Ntellectual or @TheBurtonWire.
In 1963, 250,000 students boycotted the Chicago Public Schools to protest racial segregation. ’63 Boycott connects the forgotten story of one of the largest Northern civil rights demonstrations to contemporary issues around race, education, and youth activism. The same number of people who showed up for the March on Washington just two months earlier, showed up for the 1963 boycott. Directed by MacArthur award winner Gordon Quinn and distributed by Kartequim films, ’63 Boycott’ explores the lost story of a community that fought back against racial segregation and discrimination.
Join GPB (PBS) for an online screening and filmmaker discussion Tuesday, February 26 at 8 p.m. on GPB.org. To RSVP for the online screening, click here.
Follow The Burton Wire on Twitter or Instagram @TheBurtonWire.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - FEBRUARY 08: Actor Robin Givens attends the 'Wonder Women: Acting For Television' press junket during SCAD aTVfest 2019 at Four Seasons Hotel on February 08, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for SCAD aTVfest 2019 )
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – FEBRUARY 08: Actor Robin Givens attends the ‘Wonder Women: Acting For Television’ press junket during SCAD aTVfest 2019 at Four Seasons Hotel on February 08, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for SCAD aTVfest 2019 )
Enduring actress Robin Givens has been in the acting game for three decades and shows no signs of slowing down. While promoting her latest project, “Ambitions” at the 2019 SCAD aTVfest televison festival held in Atlanta (Feb. 7-9), “The Fix” actress discussed staying power, strong women and BET’s television series “Boomerang.”
Produced by Will Packer Media in association with Lionsgate and Lionsgate-owned distributor Debmar-Mercury, and starring Givens (“Riverdale,” “The Fix,” “The Bold and the Beautiful”), “Ambitions” is a multigenerational family saga centered around one woman who, having recently relocated and intent on revitalizing her marriage, finds herself going head to head with some of the most powerful and deceitful players in the city of Atlanta. The soapy drama also co-stars Essence Atkins, Brian White and Kendrick Cross.
Givens stars as ‘Stephanie Carlisle,’ the powerful wife of Atlanta Mayor Evan Lancaster (Brian White), whose true loyalty is to her family’s prestigious law firm, where she is the latest in a long line of distinguished lawyers. In a word, she’s a sparkplug looking to take over her father’s law firm and the city of Atlanta in the process.
Givens has played a variety of characters, many of whom have been strong women like Lancaster. She recently starred as Mayor Sierra McCoy on CBS’ “Riverdale” and will star in the Marcia Clark executive produced ABC show, “The Fix.” Although Givens took some time off to be a mother to her two sons, she has managed to stay relevant and employed in a sometimes fickle industry. She believes her training as an actress is what gives her staying power.
“I’m kind of old school. I really believe in studying. In this time where we have these phones and things move so fast with social media, I still believe in the craft and being good at what you do,” says the Gully actress. “The people who really love acting typically agree the key to longevity is respecting the craft.”
Givens has done just that studying and preparing for roles and surrounding herself with legendary talents like Cicely Tyson. “Cicely Tyson is like my mom in the business and kind of took me under her wing,” says Givens. “We spend hours up at night talking about acting,” says the “Ambitions” actress. “One of the things we talk about is respecting the craft,” says Givens who has appeared in over 100 television and film projects.
Givens is excited about the role of Stephanie Lancaster because she is a strong woman, who she plays with humor.
Givens is no stranger to playing strong women with her iconic performance as Jacqueline Broyer in the classic film Boomerang (1992). Givens starred as a powerful, man-eating, advertising executive who takes no prisoners along her professional journey. When asked about BET‘s “Boomerang,” a television series executive produced by Halle Berry and Lena Waithe, which centers around the children of the film’s main characters, Givens says she didn’t know anything about the show. “I really don’t know anything about it. Everybody asks me about it, but I know nothing about it.” She then elaborates a bit. “I saw Eddie [Murphy} in passing and he said, “Robin Simone, who knew we were going to do a classic?’ That’s the only thought I have because I really don’t know anything about it,” she says matter-of-factly.
The character of Stephanie Lancaster is one of a long line of strong women characters Givens has played and will play. In addition to “The Fix,” she also stars as Irma in the indie film Gully, starring Amber Heard, John Corbett, Charlie Plummer and Terrence Howard. Givens, who still auditions for roles, is ready at all times for whatever opportunity awaits her. It’s part of her training, which she advises younger actors interested in longevity in the business to consider. “When you get a chance to walk in the room, know what you’re doing and respect the craft.”
This post was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of the award-winning news blog The Burton Wire. Follow her on Twitter @Ntellectual or @TheBurtonWire.
SCAD aTVfest, Atlanta’s only TV festival, kicks off today with a screening of their sitcom G.R.I.T.S. (Girls Raised in the South) starring American Idol season 12 winner Candice Glover and George Lovett from ‘Showtime at the Apollo.’ G.R.I.T.S. is an all-original student-produced sitcom written, directed, produced and performed by African-American SCAD students. The show was creatd by SCAD alum Chad Morton. The series centers around a family-owned restaurant in Atlanta, in the midst of gentrification, and the many challenges around race that arise.
2019’s aTVfest programming includes 21 exclusive screenings, 19 panels and over 6 master classes and workshops with visiting content production professionals. The TV festival is showcasing two season premieres from critically acclaimed shows, “Bosch” (Amazon Video Pime, Season 5) and “American Gods” (STARZ, Season 2). aTVfest will also have five series premieres: “Miracle Workers” (TBS), “PEN 15” (Hulu), “The Village” (NBC), “The Enemy Within” (NBC), “Proven Innocent” (FOX), and “Dark/Web” (Showtime).
“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”‘s Ellie Kemper will be honored this year as well as NBC/Universal‘s “New Amsterdam” which will receive the Outstanding Cast Award. The SCAD40 prize will be presented to SCAD alumnus, Mir Zafar Ali (B.F.A. visual effects, 2015).
SCAD is also celebrating its 40th Anniversary as an academic and media training institution. Notable alumni include DeRon Horton (Dirt, Burning Sands, Dear White People), Chloe Lipp (Hidden Figures, Allegiant), Clayton Haskell (independent filmmaker), Kayli Carter (Rings, Godless, The Beginning of Everything,” and Jett Steiger (producer, Sundance Creative Producing Fellow).
For the festival schedule or ticket information, click here.
This post was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of the award-winning news blog The Burton Wire. She also serves as entertainment and culture editor for the National Newspaper Publisher’s Association.
President Donald Trump will deliver his State of the Union Address tonight at 9 p.m. EST. Georgia Gubernatorial Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams will make history tonight following his address becoming the first first black womanto make such a nationally televised address in U.S. history.
“At a moment when our nation needs to hear from leaders who can unite for a common purpose, I am honored to be delivering the Democratic State of the Union response,” Abrams, 45, said in a statement. “I plan to deliver a vision for prosperity and equality, where everyone in our nation has a voice and where each of those voices is heard.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she chose Abrams, a non-sitting member of Congress which is also a first to offer the Democratic response because she “embodies the American Dream.” NY senator Charles Schumer called Abrams “a present and future leader in this country” who offered a strong contrast to Trump.
Watch the State of the Union (SOTU) Address and response live on CSPAN.
This post was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. Follow her on Twitter @Ntellectual.
Actor Kristoff St. John holds his 2008 Emmy award for best supporting actor in a daytime series. (Photo: Google Images)
The internet is buzzing with news of the death of fan favorite Kristoff St. John, who played Neil Winters on the long running daytime soap opera Young and the Restless. The popular star’s death was confirmed by his attorney Mark Geragos. The actor was nominated nine times for Daytime Emmys. In 1992 and 2008, St. John won Emmys for best supporting actor for his role on Young and the Restless. He also won 10 NAACP Image awards for best actor in a daytime series. Many don’t know that St. John was also a writer and producer, creating, producing and hosting the CBS series, ‘CBS Soap Break,’ an up close and personal look at CBS soap stars. The D.C. raised actor wrote, produced and hosted two installments of a behind-the-scenes video series entitled, ‘Backstage Pass to the 25th and 26th Annual Daytime Emmys’. He also produced and starred in an exercise video for children along with his late son Julian and daughter Paris.
Photo: Twitter
Many remember St. John from his childhood work including ‘That’s My Mama,’ ‘The Cosby Show,’ ‘Roots the Next Generations’ and feature films like The Champ (1979), starring Jon Voight and Ricky Schroeder. He also guest-starred on many series including ‘Martin,’ ‘Living Single’ ‘The Jamie Foxx Show,’ ‘A Different World,’ ‘Love that Girl’ and ‘Charlie and Company.” St. John, the son of actor Christopher St. John of Shaft fame, became a fan favorite for his role as Adam Marshall on ‘Generations,’ the first black soap opera on television. He won his first two Emmy nominations for his performance on that show. Co-stars and fans have taken to Twitter to express condolences.
Photo: Google Images
St. John had been struggling recently with the death of his son Julian, who committed suicide in 2014 while in a mental health facility. The actor had recently been released from a psychiatric facility where he was being treated for depression. He previously took a leave of absence from ‘Young and the Restless’ in October 2017 to undergo psychiatric treatment after a reported mental health related scare.
On Jan. 21, St. John retweeted a tweet about the loss of a child that reads: “Grieving the loss of a child is a process. It begins on the day your child passes, and ends the day the parent joins them.”
He responded to the tweet, “Never a truer word was spoke. Thanks for posting this.”
St. John’s death has not yet been ruled a suicide and there are no signs of foul play. He was 52.
This post was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. Follow her on Twitter @Ntellectual.
For more news about this story, follow The Burton Wire on Twitter @TheBurtonWire.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s J.D. Capelouto is sharing new details about the arrest of Grammy-nominated rapper 21 Savage the morning of Superbowl LIII. The U.S. Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) arrested Sha Yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, whose entertainment moniker is 21 Savage, in a targeted raid in metropolitan Atlanta. The popular rapper is allegedly from the U.K. Abraham-Joseph, who recently gave out thousands of dollars of school supplies to DeKalb County School children, was previously arrested in 2014 on a drug charge of which he was convicted. Apparently authorities were not aware of his immigration status at the time of that arrest and conviction. Abraham-Joseph was apparently arrested during a traffic stop along with three other people.
In addition to buying school supplies, Abraham-Joseph’s charity Leading by Example also launched an anti-gun violence social media campaign (Paintballs Up, Guns Down). He also paid for the funeral of 3-year-old T’Rhigi Digg who was killed in a shooting attributed to the social media campaign.
ICE is alleging the rapper, who is from Atlanta, came to the United States from the U.K. illegally at age 14 and overstayed his visa. He is being scheduled for removal from the United States.
Mama Colonel film still. Copyright: Cinedoc Films and Mutotu Productions
AfroPop Season 11 is hosted by Orange is the New Black’s Danielle Brooks. (Photo: AfroPop)
Tonight, the eleventh season of AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange continues with a documentary placing the #MeToo and women’s struggle center stage. The award-winning public television series of documentaries on the global Black experience, hosted by Danielle Brooks (Orange Is the New Black), will continue with Mama Colonel. Dieudo Hamadi’s film follows a tenacious woman in charge of a special police force addressing sexual assault and violence against women and children in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Check out a clip of tonight’s episode which airs tonight at 8 p.m. EST:
The 11th season premiere of AfroPoP aired Monday, January 21, at 8 p.m. ET/ 10 p.m. PT. placing Africa’s first global music icon — Miriam Makeba — back in the spotlight with Mama Africa: Miriam Makeba! The season’s opening episode followed Makeba’s rise to global stardom as a musical legend and as a powerful voice of the South African anti-apartheid movement.
Mama Colonel film still. Copyright: Cinedoc Films and Mutotu Productions
New episodes air every Monday through February 18 on WORLD Channel and viewers can also stream it on world.org, PBS.org, and PBS apps for iOS, Android, Apple TV, and more.
Follow AfroPop on Twitter @BLKPublicMedia or @worldchannel.
The cast of Black-ish in the 'Black Like Us' episode. (Photo: ABC)
The cast of Black-ish in the ‘Black Like Us’ episode. (Photo: ABC)
Writing for The Grio, The Burton Wire‘s founder & editor-in-chief Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D. talked to Kenny Smith, co-showrunner and executive producer of ABC‘s hit sitcom Black-ish about the “Black Like Us” episode on colorism. African-American writer Peter Saji wrote the episode. What is colorism? Colorism refers to discrimination based on skin color. Colorism disadvantages dark-skinned people while privileging those with lighter skin. Research has linked colorism to smaller incomes, lower marriage rates, longer prison terms, and fewer job prospects for darker-skinned people. Colorism has existed for centuries, in the world community and is persistent and pervasive and should be fought with the same urgency as racism. The episode explores colorism in the world community and how it is dealt with within black families – the Johnson family specifically. Check out an excerpt from the interview with the Hampton University graduate below:
theGrio: How did you come up with the idea of tackling colorismin this episode?
Kenny Smith: We have been kicking around the topic of colorism for a number of seasons. It even came up in season three, but we couldn’t find the right story to put it out there. At the top of this season when we were prepping, Peter Saji, the writer of the episode, who also wrote the “Purple Rain” and “Juneteenth” episodes, started championing it. He said we’ve got to tell this story. We started discussing it and then sharing our personal stories.
theGrio: How did ABC respond when you told them you were working on an episode around colorism in Black families?
Kenny Smith: The network was great. Even when we said we’re thinking about this idea for a show, but weren’t quite sure of what story to tell, they said they trusted us. We had an amalgamation of everything that people in the writer’s room had gone through. We wanted to take this big mess and whittle it down to a story that could be told in 21 minutes. The studio trusted us to make something out of all of this information.
theGrio: Why was it so important to pull from personal stories for this?
Kenny Smith: Whenever you’re very specific about a story in your life, you usually find people who have a similar story to tell as well and that’s where it becomes global. The more specific you get, the more widespread of an understanding people will have of that story or topic. When we started the process of writing this episode, we started with personal stories. This is what happened to me in grade school. This is what happened to me the other day. Doing that allows you to be authentic. The show itself is about authenticity. In fact, authenticity allows us to have these conversations translated through the characters to speak to large audiences.
