Delfonics lead singer William 'Poogie' Hart dead at 77
William โPoogieโ Hart, a founder of the Grammy-winning trio the Delfonics who helped write and sang a soft lead tenor on such classic โSound of Philadelphiaโ ballads as โLa-La (Means I Love You)โ and โDidnโt I (Blow Your Mind This Time),โ has died at age 77.
Yankees' Judge walks off Astros for 2nd time in 4 days
Aaron Judge drove a three-run homer in the 10th inning for his second walk-off hit against Houston in four days, and the New York Yankees recovered after nearly being no-hit for the second consecutive game, beating Houston 6-3 to split a four-game series between the ALโs best teams.
Terence Blanchard's opera: "Fire Shut Up in My Bones"
In its 138 years, New York's Metropolitan Opera had never staged an opera by a Black composer โ until now. The jazz trumpeter talks about his opera, based on Charles Blow's memoir of growing up in small-town Louisiana in the 1970s and '80s.
cbsnews.comSpike Lee, 'Annette' kick off 74th Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Film Festival rolled out the red carpet for the first time in more than two years on Tuesday, launching the French Riviera spectacular with the premiere of Leos Caraxโs โAnnette,โ the introduction of Spike Leeโs jury, and with high hopes for shrugging off a punishing pandemic year for cinema.
MasterClass: In a class of its own
CEO David Rogier founded MasterClass in 2015: "I started trying other figure out, 'Okay, how can I get a hold of the best people in the world? Correspondent David Pogue said, "An armchair observer might say, 'Wow, did MasterClass get lucky when the pandemic came along.' "You know, if you go to a class in a university, you know, maybe got 40 people in front of you," Mirren said. From their course, Teller offered a tip on misdirection: "When you don't talk, the audience has to tell itself the story. Last year, venture capitalists poured $100 million into the company; this year, MasterClass hopes to add 50 new celebrity courses.
cbsnews.comSpike Lee to head Cannes Film Festival jury
FILE - Filmmaker Spike Lee poses for a portrait in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Oct. 7, 2015. Lee will be president of the jury for the 74th Cannes Film Festival. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)NEW YORK โ Spike Lee, who was set to lead last year's jury for the Cannes Film Festival that was ultimately canceled by the pandemic, will preside over this year's jury instead. Usually held in May, this year's Cannes Film Festival has been delayed by the health crisis. Lee is the first Black person to head the Cannes jury, which selects one of cinema's top prizes, the Palme d'Or.
A by-the-numbers look at a year of Oscar diversity, firsts
10 โ Nominations for โMank," the most of any film this year, with nods for best picture, best director for Fincher, best actor for Gary Oldman and best supporting actress for Seyfried. In the best supporting actor category, Heath Ledger and Ralph Richardson were nominated, with Ledger winning for โThe Dark Knightโ in 2009. 5 โ African nations that have received nominations for best international feature, now that Tunisia has its first nominee, โThe Man Who Sold His Skin." 4 โ Nominations received by โNomadlandโ director Chloรฉ Zhao, a record for a woman in a record year for women. 1 โ Man nominated for both best actor and best original song.
Oscars surprises, snubs include Glenn Close, โDa 5 Bloodsโ
Itโs a rare year when most of the Oscar nomination surprises are good ones, but 2020 was also a rare year for moviegoing and awards campaigns. Hereโs our rundown of the snubs and surprises in the 93rd Academy Award nominations. FEMALE DIRECTORS GET THEIR SHOTFor 92 Academy Awards, only 5 women had ever been nominated for best director and never more than one in the same year. This year, the dubious honor goes to Glenn Close for her portrayal of Mamaw in Ron Howardโs adaptation of J.D. Starring Mads Mikkelsen, the film was well received, but seemed like a long shot for the major Oscars categories.
Chadwick Boseman is posthumously nominated for an Oscar
This image released by Netflix shows Michael Potts, from left, Chadwick Boseman and Colman Domingo in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom." (David Lee/Netflix via AP)NEW YORK โ Half a year after his death, Chadwick Boseman was posthumously nominated for an Academy Award on Monday for his final performance in โMa Rainey's Black Bottom.โThe nomination for best actor was widely expected but still historic. Boseman is the first Black performer ever nominated posthumously for an Oscar. He was nominated alongside Steven Yeun ("Minari"), Riz Ahmed ("Sound of Metal"), Anthony Hopkins ("The Father") and Gary Oldman ("Mank"). Three months later, the August Wilson adaptation โMa Rainey's Black Bottomโ was released by Netflix.
Chicago parish fiercely backs priest after sex abuse claims
Michael Pfleger, a charismatic priest of a thriving Black Catholic parish, inspired her to become an activist and recruited her to run his South Side church's violence prevention office. Stories like Bosleyโs are recurrent at St. Sabina Church, a close-knit community thatโs been a social activism hub for 40 years under Pfleger. Black Catholic parishes are few and dwindling. Of roughly 21,000 American Catholic parishes, about 800, or less than 4%, are mostly Black, according to a University of Notre Dame and National Black Catholic Congress study. Black priests are more rare, making up 250, or under 1%, of roughly 36,500 Catholic priests, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
โMankโ leads Oscar nominations with 10 nods
Zhao, the first woman of color nominated for best director, is the most nominated woman in a single year in Oscar history. She was also tipped for the filmโs adapted screenplay, editing and as a producer in the best picture category. โI just quietly gave thanks and felt some gratitude.โDavis, who won for her performance in 2016โs โFences,โ landed her fourth Oscar nomination, making her the most nominated Black actress ever. The Academy Awards would typically have happened by now but this year will be telecast April 25. โCollective,โ the Romanian documentary about investigative journalism and government corruption, became just the second film nominated for both best documentary and best international film.
20 Black filmmakers who have changed Hollywood in the last century
These films used Black stereotypes about poverty and drug abuse to put Black actors at the center of the action. While Black filmmakers are more prevalent and celebrated in Hollywood in the 21st century, there's still a lot of work to be done. The meta-documentary, as it has come to be called, featured a documentary, a documentary about a documentary and a documentary that documented a documentary about a documentary. Parks became Hollywood's first major Black director, bringing the iconic "Shaft" to theaters in 1971. "Get Out" was nominated for four Oscars, including best picture, best director, best actor and best screenplay.
cnbc.comSome HBCUs are seeing record increases in enrollments, but still grapple with funding challenges
Oprah Winfrey, Spike Lee and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are some household names who have graduated from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Since 1867, Howard University in Washington, D.C., has awarded more than 100,000 degrees. "Over the past 50 years, the number one producer of African Americans who went to Harvard's MBA program was a Harvard undergrad, and number two was Howard," Howard University President Wayne Frederick said. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, the first woman of color to be vice president, graduated from Howard University in 1986. But despite the important role HBCUs have played in America's education system, Newkirk said many of the colleges and universities are facing funding challenges.
cbsnews.comThe NBA made it through its pandemic season, now it looks to 5G and VR in a post-Covid world
"It's been our longest season in NBA history, and so much was thrown at us collectively as a league." Following the March 11 Covid-19 interruption, the NBA was able to restart its season in a bubble campus in Orlando. Noel Vasquez | GC Images | Getty ImagesThe future courtside seatFacebook continues to work behind the scenes to improve its virtual reality courtside seat offering. Facebook can use the content to better authenticate the courtside experience and integrate with its Oculus virtual reality headsets. "That has been the problem with [virtual reality] NBA games," said Burden referring to resolution issues.
cnbc.com10 Sports Movies to Watch While We Wait for Live Sports to Return
Instead of freaking out, settle in for some greats sports movies to pass the time. We also wanted to go for relevance, so much older films or movies about less popular sports got the boot. See, you already have nine movies for your list even before you read our 10. In a complex and dramatic plot, Lee's film stars former NBA star Ray Allen as a young basketball prospect courted by the governor's alma mater. The film also stars Susan Sarandon as the eccentric Annie, who tutors Nuke in the ways of the heart, while ultimately falling for Davis.
houstonpress.comDanny Aiello, "Do the Right Thing" actor, has died at age 86
Aiello died Thursday night after a brief illness, said his publicist, Tracey Miller, who runs Tracey Miller & Associates. Actor Michael Rapaport tweeted that Aiello was a "huge inspiration," and actor Kirk Acevedo said, "We lost a great actor today." The ambitious Aiello rose to become president of the transit union. Danny Aiello, bus announcer"I wanted to become a politician," he told a reporter in 1995. A fourth child, stuntman and stunt coordinator Danny Aiello III, died in May 2010 of pancreatic cancer.
cbsnews.comHISD teacher turned actor gets guest role on NBC's New Amsterdam'
HOUSTON - Houston teacher Kedrick Brown is in the classroom by day, and on your television and movie screens by night, working in Hollywood projects alongside stars like Spike Lee, Tracy Morgan and Oprah Winfrey. The multitalented actor shared with Houston Life how he could shoot an episode of the hit NBCS show New Amsterdam, while teaching at Audrey H. Lawson Middle School, one of HISD's performing arts magnets schools. For him it's all about time management and the support of school principal Kasey Bailey. And I think that my passion behind this is one of the key things that keeps it going for me, he said. You can catch Kedrick on NBCs "New Amsterdam," tonight at 9 on KPRC channel 2.
Beyonc overwhelmed at opening of Tyler Perry's new studios
Copyright 2019 CNNATLANTA - Beyonc has revealed she "could not stop crying" when she attended the opening of Tyler Perry's gigantic new film studio. The 38-year-old singer, who joined famous faces including Oprah Winfrey and director Spike Lee at the grand opening of the 330-acre Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, congratulated the award-winning writer and producer on Sunday night. Surrounded by my heroes, I watched Denzel, Queen Oprah, Spike, Whoopi, Sir (Sidney) Poitier, Will, Halle, Dame Cicely (Tyson) and our angels John Singleton and Diahann Carroll honored," she captioned the gallery. Perry's film credits include producing 2009's Oscar-winning drama "Precious" and writing and directing the 2007 hit comedy-drama "Why Did I Get married?". "It feels like encouragement, it feels like gratitude," he said at the studio's launch.
'Do The Right Thing' still has something to say
The Spike Lee film "Do the Right Thing," critics and columnists said, would provoke violence and disrupt race relations. "Spike Lee had done an almost impossible thing. The passion of "Do the Right Thing" is obvious: "Opinion will always be divided on ... 'Do the Right Thing,' " wrote The New Yorker's Anthony Lane. But perhaps the real reason people talk about "Do the Right Thing" three decades on is because it's still relevant. If you have yet to see "Do The Right Thing," try checking your local theater listings; the film is being re-released in 4K this weekend in select theaters.
Yankees' Aaron Hicks hits MLB's first home run in Europe
London Yankees center fielder Aaron Hicks has hit Major League Baseball's first home run on European soil. The shot came during a 27-minute top of the first inning Saturday when the New York Yankees batted around against the Boston Red Sox. Hicks drove a changeup from Rick Porcello 386 feet over the Boston bullpen in right field. The two-run drive on Porcello's 33rd pitch gave the Yankees a 6-0 lead just one out into the game. pic.twitter.com/10f2q6BfiY New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 29, 2019Saturday's game at London Stadium marked the first-ever MLB game played in Europe and the first time the Yankees and Red Sox play each other on artificial turf.
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