BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Film academy president John Bailey has welcomed this year’s Oscar nominees to the annual pre-show luncheon, playfully reminding guests to update their profiles on the industry site IMDb. Bailey says there are 205 members of the 2018 class of Oscar nominees. Most were in attendance at the private luncheon Monday […]
Author Archives: Sandy Cohen
AP Entertainment Writer
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Jordan Peele Talks Oscars, ‘Get Out’ and Whoopi Goldberg
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jordan Peele has been dreaming of his Oscar moment since he was 13, but now that it’s happened, he can hardly believe it. The 38-year-old received Academy Award nominations last week for best picture, director and original screenplay for his directorial debut, “Get Out.” The star of the horror/satire, Daniel Kaluuya, […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Mary J. Blige Thrilled at Becoming a Double Oscar Nominee
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mary J. Blige is still getting used to the idea of being a double Oscar nominee. Mary J. Blige, was nominated for two Academy Awards on Tuesday: Supporting actress and original song for “Mudbound”. (AP Photo) The nine-time Grammy winner was nominated for two Academy Awards on Tuesday: Supporting actress and […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
DuVernay, ‘Black-ish,’ ‘Power’ Win at NAACP Image Awards
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A jubilant Ava DuVernay was named entertainer of the year at the NAACP Image Awards ceremony that focused on the Black community’s power to create change. DuVernay lauded other Black artists from the stage as she accepted her award Monday night, naming writers and directors such as Shonda Rhimes, Gina Prince-Bythewood, […]
Posted inNational News
Anita Hill Says Thomas, Weinstein Part of Arc Toward Justice
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Anita Hill told a room full of entertainment industry professionals that her 1991 testimony about Clarence Thomas and the flood of sexual harassment allegations surfacing now are part of “an arc that had been bending toward justice.” Hill and National Women’s Law Center President Fatima Goss Graves spoke to Hollywood […]
Posted inNational News
Can’t See the Solar Eclipse? Tune in Online or On TV
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ronald Dantowitz has been looking forward to Monday’s solar eclipse for nearly 40 years. An astronomer who specializes in solar imaging, he’s been photographing eclipses for more than three decades, and will be using 14 cameras to capture the Aug. 21 celestial event. The cameras have solar filters to capture the […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
HBO Documentary ‘Baltimore Rising’ Explores Life after Freddie Gray
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — The producers and participants in “Baltimore Rising” say national and local media sensationalized the protests that erupted after the death of Freddie Gray, but that their new documentary humanizes the narrative. Activists Kwame Rose and Makayla Gilliam-Price appeared alongside director Sonja Sohn Wednesday at the Television Critics Association’s summer meeting […]
Posted inNational News
Civil Rights Icon John Lewis Leads March Through California Comic-Con
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Civil rights leader John Lewis led a march through Comic-Con on Saturday. About 1,000 people joined the Georgia Democrat on a march through the crowded San Diego Convention Center following a panel discussion about his trilogy of graphic novels, “March.” Andrew Aydin, from center left, Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., Nate Powell […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Temporary Restraining Order Issued Against Rob Kardashian
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A court commissioner on Monday issued a temporary restraining order against Rob Kardashian in response to the reality television star’s posting of explicit images of his ex-fiancee on social media last week. Blac Chyna and her attorney Lisa Bloom, left, arrive for a hearing seeking a restraining order against her former […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
New Spotlight, New Baby for Oscars-Bound Mahershala Ali
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mahershala Ali’s universe is expanding, personally and professionally. After almost 20 years as an actor, he’s attending his first Academy Awards as a star of two of its best picture nominees: he’s Taraji P. Henson’s love interest in “Hidden Figures”; and he’s favored to win the supporting actor Oscar for his […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
John Legend, Cynthia Erivo to Perform Grammys’ In Memoriam
LOS ANGELES (AP) — John Legend and Broadway star Cynthia Erivo will be singing a Beach Boys song at Sunday’s Grammy Awards. Singer John Legend and Broadway star Cynthia Erivo will perform during the Grammy Awards In Memoriam segment on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017. They will perform the Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows.” (Photo by […]
Posted inNational News
Harry Belafonte Talks Trump, Women’s March, Peaceful Protest
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Entertainer and activist Harry Belafonte, who’s been advising organizers of Saturday’s Women’s March on Washington, says peaceful protest is the best way to show political leaders that the electorate is paying attention. FILE – In this Dec. 6, 2014 file photo, Harry Belafonte arrives at the charity gala Ein Herz fuer Kinder (A […]