The Black Film Critics Circle Honors Ma Rainey!


The Black Film Critics Circle announced their picks for the best of 2020 on the 21st!  Here are the winners from the BFCC:

TOP 10 FILMS OF THE YEAR
1. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
2. Minari
3. Nomadland
4. One Night in Miami
5. Soul
6. Judas and the Black Messiah
7. Da 5 Bloods
8. The Trial of the Chicago 7
9. Sound of Metal
10. The Forty-Year-Old Version (TIE)
10. Sylvie’s Love (TIE)

BEST DIRECTOR
Regina King – One Night in Miami (TIE)
Chloé Zhao – Nomadland (TIE)

BEST LEADING ACTOR
Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

BEST LEADING ACTRESS
Viola Davis – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Leslie Odom Jr. – One Night in Miami

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Yuh-Jung Youn – Minari

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Lee Isaac Chung – Minari

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Ruben Santiago-Hudson – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Hoyte van Hoytema – Tenet

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Time

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Soul

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Night of the Kings ​

Artwork of the Day: The Six-Weekers (by Ernest “Darcy” Chiriacka)


by Ernest “Darcy” Chiriacka

This book was first published in 1962.  Judging from the blurb, the main message seems to be that women should stay out of Las Vegas.  Not only will it cause them to get a quickie divorce but the atmosphere was created to “stimulate their passions and play upon their need for men!”  Divorce was still considered to be scandalous in 1962 so it should came as no surprise that it was the topic of several pulp novels during the era.  Las Vegas, with its quickie weddings and quickie divorces, was the city of sin.  I’m just wondering how they managed to find a beach in Nevada.

This cover was done by Ernest “Darcy” Chiriacka, much of whose work has been shared on this site in the past..

Music Video of the Day: The Big Crash by Eddie Money (1984, directed by Martin Kahan)


In his video, Eddie Money returns to his roots.

Eddie was born in Brooklyn.  His father was a cop.  His grandfather was a cop.  His brother was a cop.  It was expected that Eddie would become a cop too.  Even while he was pursuing a career in music, Eddie joined the NYPD.  However, while he was still in training, Eddie was told that he would not be allowed to wear his hair long if he was a member of the NYPD.  That was the last straw for Eddie, who later said that he could not imagine spending the next 20 years of his life with short hair.  He left the force and returned to music.  Unfortunately, the band he was in suspected that he was an undercover narc and kicked him out.  Meanwhile, his father tore down and destroyed every Jimi Hendrix poster that Eddie had hanging in his room.  Perhaps realizing that New York was no longer going to be a friendly place to live, Eddie headed for California and the rest, as they say, is history.

In this video, though, Eddie is back in New York and working out the of the 18th precinct.  While he investigates crimes on the streets, a runaway is sucked into a dangerous lifestyle.  Eddie has longish hair in the video so he finally got to be a cop without having to cut his hair.

This video was directed by Martin Kahan, who also did videos for KISS, Scandal, Michael Bolton, and a lot of other people who probably would never have made it as a member of the NYPD.

Enjoy!