Here Are The 2022 Nominations of the Costume Designers Guild!

Posted on January 15, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

My favorite guild, the Costume Designers Guild, announced their nominations for the best of 2022 on January 12th! The winners will be announced on February 27th.

Excellence in Sci-Fi / Fantasy Film
“Avatar: The Way of Water” – Deborah L. Scott
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” – Ruth E. Carter
“Everything Everywhere All at Once”- Shirley Kurata
“Hocus Pocus 2” – Salvador Perez
“Thor: Love and Thunder” – Mayes C. Rubeo

Excellence in Contemporary Film
“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” – Jenny Eagan
“Nope” – Alex Bovaird
“Tár” – Bina Daigeler
“Top Gun: Maverick” – Marlene Stewart
“Women Talking” – Quita Alfred

Excellence in Period Film
“Babylon” – Mary Zophres
“Don’t Worry Darling” – Arianne Phillips
“Elvis” – Catherine Martin
“Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” – Jenny Beavan
“The Woman King” – Gersha Phillips

Excellence in Sci-Fi / Fantasy Television
“House of the Dragon: The Heirs of the Dragon” – Jany Temime
“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: A Shadow of the Past” – Kate Hawley
“Westworld: Generation Loss” – Debra Beebe
“What We Do in the Shadows: The Wedding” – Laura Montgomery
“The Witcher: Blood Origin: Of Mages, Malice, and Monstrous Mayhem” – Lucinda Wright

Excellence in Contemporary Television
“Emily in Paris: What’s it All About…” – Marylin Fitoussi
“Euphoria: Trying to Get to Heaven Before They Close the Door” – Heidi Bivens
“Hacks: The Captain’s Wife” – Kathleen Felix-Hager
“Wednesday: Wednesday’s Child is Full of Woe” – Colleen Atwood & Mark Sutherland
“The White Lotus: In the Sandbox” – Alex Bovaird

Excellence in Period Television
“Bridgerton: The Choice” – Sophie Canale
“The Crown: Ipatiev House” – Amy Roberts
“The Gilded Age: Let the Tournament Begin” – Kasia Walicka-Maimone
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Maisel vs. Lennon: The Cut Contest” – Donna Zakowska
“Pam & Tommy: I Love You, Tommy” – Kameron Lennox

Excellence in Variety, Reality-Competition, Live Television
“Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration” – Marina Toybina
“Dancing with the Stars: Halloween Night” – Daniela Gschwendtner & Steven Norman Lee
“Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls: Girl Run That Sh*t Back” – Carrie Cramer & Jason Rembert
“RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race: RuPaul-A-Palooza!” – Tony Iniguez
“Saturday Night Live: Miles Teller/Kendrick Lamar” – Tom Broecker, Ashley Dudek & Cristina Natividad

Excellence in Short Form Design
Disney+ Has All the GOATs (Commercial) – Melissa DesRosiers
McDonald’s: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Commercial) – Sarah Kinsumba
Nike: Father Time (Commercial) – Shawna Trpcic (For Jason Momoa)
Not Today Flu feat. Jason Alexander (Commercial) – Dawn Ritz
Yeah Yeah Yeahs: “Spitting Off the Edge of the World” (Music Video) – Natasha Newman-Thomas

Film Review: The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker (dir by Colette Camden)

Posted on January 15, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

How dumb can people be?

That is the question that’s posed by the new Netflix documentary, The Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker, and the answer would appear to be that they can be extremely dumb. The documentary takes a look at the story of Caleb “Kai” McGillvary, who went from being an internet sensation to an accused murderer over the course of three months in 2013. Even more so, though, it’s about the people who enabled him, through a combination of their own stupidity and greed.

Kai first found fame when he was credited with stopping a hate crime. A man named Jett McBride smashed his car into a black pedestrian and, while the pedestrian was trapped between the car and a parked truck, McBride attacked the people who attempted to help. Kai, who was a hitchhiker who McBride had apparently picked up just a few hours before, jumped out of the car and proceeded to hit McBride three times with a hatchet. A local news reporter interviewed Kai afterwards and was immediately taken with Kai’s spaced-out style.

At the time, it’s perhaps understandable that people were so happy that Kai had prevented McBride from killing several people that they didn’t stop to ask themselves why Kai had a hatchet with him in the first place. Still, it does seem like it would have been a good thing to consider before the reporter uploaded his interview with Kai to YouTube. And when Kai became a viral sensation (though I have to admit that I had never even heard of him until I saw this documentary so perhaps viral is in the eye of the beholder), maybe a few people should have said, “Before we try to make him a star, maybe we should consider that the only thing we know about him is that he’s been traveling around the country with a freaking hatchet in his backpack.”

Instead, the reporter tracked down Kai for a second interview. Kai played guitar and expounded on his philosophy of life. (Jack Kerouac would have kicked Kai out of a moving car but other people were impressed.) Jimmy Kimmel had him on his show as a guest, though the interview was cut short by the fact that Kai was obviously unstable. Despite the fact that Kai was an unpredictable alcoholic with a violent streak, there was talk of giving Kai his own reality show. One of the documentary’s cringiest moments comes when someone says that it was felt Kai could be an unhoused Kardashian and that he could star in a show about how happy people were to be living on the streets. None of those plans really came to fruition but Kai still remained popular enough that someone was always willing to buy him a drink or let him crash at their place for the night. When a prominent New Jersey attorney was found beaten to death in his home, police were surprised to discover that the last man the attorney had been seen with was Kai, the Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker.

This documentary is about the odd nature of fame in the internet age. It’s been said that, due to social media, everyone has at least 15 devoted fans and that’s probably true. That said, this documentary is even more about stupidity. Kai is not interviewed but the people who made him famous are spoken with and, with one or two exceptions, every single one of them comes across as being either extremely stupid, extremely callous, or both. Everyone was so eager to discover (and profit off of) the newest sensation that none of them stopped to consider that Kai was an obviously unstable alcoholic who was hitchhiking across the country with a hatchet. Indeed, he would later brag that Jett McBride went crazy specifically because Kai gave him a joint laced with LSD. (For the record, when Jett McBride was arrested and taken to prison, he tested positive only for marijuana. So, Kai probably was lying about that but who would brag, even falsely, about inspiring someone to commit a hate crime?) Everyone was so eager to make Kai a star that no one stopped to wonder if they should.

Anyway, it’s an interesting documentary. The main lesson is don’t trust anyone who just happens to have a hatchet on them, regardless of whether or not they’re a funny stoner who can play the guitar. It’s a good lesson to learn.

Retro Television Reviews: The Last Child (dir by John Llewellyn Moxey)

Posted on January 15, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Sundays, I will be reviewing the made-for-television movies that used to be a primetime mainstay. Today’s film is 1971’s The Last Child! It can be viewed on YouTube!

Welcome to the “near future.”

Panicked by hysterical claims about overpopulation and environmental catastrophe, Americans have sacrificed the majority of their civil liberties. Smiling policeman stand on every corner and in every public hallway. Of course, once their authority is challenged, those smiles quickly disappear. Crude posters have been put up everywhere, demanding that everyone watch their consumption of natural resources. The social engineers and the eugenicists are in charge. Anyone over the age of 65 is ineligible for medical care and encouraged to consider euthanasia. Couples are allowed to have only one child and the government requires that anyone who gets pregnant a second time have an abortion. Anyone who questions the policy is told that they have no choice but to follow the law. It’s their civic duty. The media, meanwhile, runs headlines declaring that the one child policy has led to world peace.
Alan and Karen Miller (played by Michael Cole and Janet Margolin) have already had their one child. That their child died shortly after birth doesn’t matter in the eyes of Barstow (Ed Asner), the Himmleresque head of the Population Control Police. Every couple is allowed one child and that’s it. When Karen gets pregnant a second time, she is determined to have the baby. She and Alan know that their only hope is to cross the border into Canada. Helping them is a retired U.S. Senator (Van Heflin, in his final performance) who is opposed to the government’s policies. Caught in the middle of Karen’s brother, Howard (Harry Guardino). Howard works for the Population Control Police and he knows just how far Barstow is willing to go to keep Karen from having her baby.

The Last Child opens with a title card informing us that the film takes place in the “not-too-distant future.” Along with all of the propaganda posters, that’s the only real sign that this film is meant to be taking place in the future. There’s no “futuristic” technology. Everyone dresses in the latest 1971 fashions. Everyone drives the latest 1971 automobiles. Though the decision may have been motivated by the film’s low-budget, the lack of the typical sci-fi trappings serves the film well. The Last Child does not take place in a sleekly designed future and it doesn’t takes place in an apocalyptic wasteland. Instead, it takes place in a world that is just as shabby as you would expect a world controlled and decorated by a government bureaucracy to be. It’s a gray dystopia, populated by people who have given up their individuality. It’s a world that’s visually boring by design and that makes it all the more disturbing.

The Last Child is an effective and well-acted film. It probably feels more plausible today than it did when it aired back in 1971. In many ways, with its portrait of unfeeling government officials and bland authoritarianism, it’s the perfect film for the age of COVID. Indeed, the government’s policy of refusing to provide life-saving care for people over the age of 65 is reminiscent of what many pundits advocated for at the height of the COVID pandemic. As for the film’s one child policy, that too is a concept that has become recently popular with many American academics. Among many members of the so-called “elites,” there’s a definite need to try to control people and that very real need is what makes The Last Child so disturbingly plausible. In The Last Child, sanctuary is found in Canada. Today, of course, Canada is at the forefront of the euthanasia trend. Of course, in 1971, the Prime Minister of Canada was Pierre Trudeau and not Justin.

Pierre Trudeau’s personal motto was “Reason before passion” and that’s certainly the philosophy that fuels the dystopian society at the center of The Last Child. It’s a film that holds up today as both a thriller and a prophecy,

Here Are The 2022 Nominees For The NAACP Image Awards!

Posted on January 15, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

On the 12th, the nominees for the 2022 NAACP Image Awards were announced. The winners will be announced on February 26th and the nominees can be seen below!

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR NOMINEES

Angela Bassett
Mary J. Blige
Quinta Brunson
Viola Davis
Zendaya

MOTION PICTURE CATEGORIES

Outstanding Motion Picture
A Jazzman’s Blues (Netflix)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Marvel Studios)
Emancipation (Apple TV)
The Woman King (Sony Pictures Releasing)
TILL (United Artists Releasing/Orion Pictures)

Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
Daniel Kaluuya – Nope (Universal Pictures)
Jonathan Majors – Devotion (Sony Pictures Entertainment)
Joshua Boone – A Jazzman’s Blues (Netflix)
Sterling K. Brown – Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul (Focus Features)
Will Smith – Emancipation (Apple)

Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
Danielle Deadwyler – TILL (United Artists Releasing/Orion Pictures)
Keke Palmer – Alice (Vertical Entertainment)
Letitia Wright – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Marvel Studios)
Regina Hall – Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul (Focus Features)
Viola Davis – The Woman King (Sony Pictures Releasing)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Aldis Hodge – Black Adam (Warner Bros. Pictures / New Line Cinema)
Cliff “Method Man” Smith – On The Come Up (Paramount Pictures)
Jalyn Hall – TILL (United Artists Releasing/Orion Pictures)
John Boyega – The Woman King (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Tenoch Huerta – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Marvel Studios)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Angela Bassett – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Marvel Studios)
Danai Gurira – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Marvel Studios)
Janelle Monáe – Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Netflix)
Lashana Lynch – The Woman King (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Lupita Nyong’o – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Marvel Studios)

Outstanding Independent Motion Picture
Breaking (Bleecker Street)
Causeway (Apple TV)
Mr. Malcolm’s List (Bleecker Street)
Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story (Hulu)
The Inspection (A24)

Outstanding International Motion Picture
Athena (Netflix)
Bantú Mama (ARRAY)
Broker (NEON)
Learn to Swim (ARRAY)
The Silent Twins (Focus Features)

Outstanding Breakthrough Performance in a Motion Picture
Jalyn Hall – TILL (United Artists Releasing/Orion Pictures)
Joshua Boone – A Jazzman’s Blues (Netflix)
Ledisi – Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story (Hulu)
Y’lan Noel – A Lot of Nothing (RLJE)
Yola – Elvis (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture
A Jazzman’s Blues (Netflix)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Marvel Studios)
Emancipation (Apple TV)
The Woman King (Sony Pictures Entertainment)
TILL (United Artists Releasing/Orion Pictures)

Outstanding Animated Motion Picture
DC League of Super-Pets (Warner Bros. Pictures / WAG / DC)
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (Netflix)
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (Universal Pictures)
Turning Red (Pixar Animation Studios)
Wendell & Wild (Netflix)

Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance – Motion Picture
Angela Bassett – Wendell & Wild (Netflix)
Keke Palmer – Lightyear (Walt Disney Studios)
Kevin Hart – DC League of Super-Pets (Warner Bros. Pictures / WAG / DC)
Lyric Ross – Wendell & Wild (Netflix)
Taraji P. Henson – Minions: The Rise of Gru (Universal Pictures)

Outstanding Short-Form (Live Action)
Dear Mama… (Film Independent)
Fannie (Chromatic Black)
Fathead (University of Southern California)
Incomplete (20th Century Digital, Hulu)
Pens & Pencils (Wavelength Productions/Black TV & Film Collective)

Outstanding Short-Form (Animated)
I Knew Superman (Houghtonville Animation)
More Than I Want To Remember (MTV Entertainment Studios)
Supercilious (York Cinemas)
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse (Apple Studios)
We Are Here (271 Films)

Outstanding Breakthrough Creative (Motion Picture)
Elvis Mitchell – Is That Black Enough For You?!? (Netflix)
Ericka Nicole Malone – Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story (Hulu)
Krystin Ver Linden – Alice (Vertical Entertainment)
Mo McRae – A Lot of Nothing (RLJE)
Stephen Adetumbi, Jarrett Roseborough – This Is My Black (Campus of Pine Forge Academy)

TELEVISION + STREAMING CATEGORIES

Outstanding Comedy Series
Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Atlanta (FX)
black-ish (ABC)
Rap Sh!t (HBO Max)
The Wonder Years (ABC)

Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson – black-ish (ABC)
Cedric The Entertainer – The Neighborhood (CBS)
Donald Glover – Atlanta (FX)
Dulé Hill – The Wonder Years (ABC)
Mike Epps – The Upshaws (Netflix)

Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series
Loretta Devine – Family Reunion (Netflix)
Maya Rudolph – Loot (Apple TV+)
Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Tichina Arnold – The Neighborhood (CBS)
Tracee Ellis Ross – black-ish (ABC)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Brian Tyree Henry – Atlanta (FX)
Deon Cole – black-ish (ABC)
Kenan Thompson – Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Tyler James Williams – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
William Stanford Davis – Abbott Elementary (ABC)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Janelle James – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Jenifer Lewis – black-ish (ABC)
Marsai Martin – black-ish (ABC)
Sheryl Lee Ralph – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Wanda Sykes – The Upshaws (Netflix)

Outstanding Drama Series
Bel-Air (Peacock)
Bridgerton (Netflix)
Euphoria (HBO Max)
P-Valley (Starz)
Queen Sugar (OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network)

Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series
Damson Idris – Snowfall (FX)
Jabari Banks – Bel-Air (Peacock)
Kofi Siriboe – Queen Sugar (OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network)
Nicco Annan – P-Valley (Starz)
Sterling K. Brown – This Is Us (NBC)

Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
Angela Bassett – 9-1-1 (FOX)
Brandee Evans – P-Valley (Starz)
Queen Latifah – The Equalizer (CBS)
Rutina Wesley – Queen Sugar (OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network)
Zendaya – Euphoria (HBO Max)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Adrian Holmes – Bel-Air (Peacock)
Amin Joseph – Snowfall (FX)
Caleb McLaughlin – Stranger Things (Netflix)
Cliff “Method Man” Smith – Power Book II: Ghost (Starz)
J. Alphonse Nicholson – P-Valley (Starz)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Adjoa Andoh – Bridgerton (Netflix)
Bianca Lawson – Queen Sugar (OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network)
Loretta Devine – P-Valley (Starz)
Susan Kelechi Watson – This Is Us (NBC)
Tina Lifford – Queen Sugar (OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network)

Outstanding Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special
Carl Weber’s The Black Hamptons (BET Networks)
From Scratch (Netflix)
The Best Man: The Final Chapters (Peacock)
The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey (Apple TV+)
Women of the Movement (ABC)

Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special
Morris Chestnut – The Best Man: The Final Chapters (Peacock)
Samuel L. Jackson – The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey (Apple TV+)
Terrence Howard – The Best Man: The Final Chapters (Peacock)
Trevante Rhodes – Mike (Hulu)
Wendell Pierce – Don’t Hang Up (Bounce TV)

Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special
Niecy Nash-Betts – Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (Netflix)
Regina Hall – The Best Man: The Final Chapters (Peacock)
Sanaa Lathan – The Best Man: The Final Chapters (Peacock)
Viola Davis – The First Lady (Showtime)
Zoe Saldaña – From Scratch (Netflix)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special
Glynn Turman – Women of the Movement (ABC)
Keith David – From Scratch (Netflix)
Omar Benson Miller – The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey (Apple TV+)
Russell Hornsby – Mike (Hulu)
Terrence “TC” Carson – A Wesley Christmas (AMC)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special
Alexis Floyd – Inventing Anna (Netflix)
Danielle Deadwyler – From Scratch (Netflix)
Melissa De Sousa – The Best Man: The Final Chapters (Peacock)
Nia Long – The Best Man: The Final Chapters (Peacock)
Phylicia Rashad – Little America (Apple TV+)

Outstanding News/Information (Series or Special)
Roland Martin Unfiltered: Black Votes Matter Election Night 2022 Coverage (Black Star Network/YouTube)
ABC News 20/20 Michelle Obama: The Light We Carry, A Conversation with Robin Roberts (ABC)
Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (PBS)
OWN Spotlight: Viola Davis – The Woman King (OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network)
The Hair Tales (Hulu)

Outstanding Talk Series
Hart to Heart (Peacock)
Red Table Talk (Facebook Watch)
Sherri (Syndicated)
Tamron Hall (ABC)
Uninterrupted: The Shop (YouTube)

Outstanding Reality Program, Reality Competition or Game Show (Series)
Legendary (HBO Max)
Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls (Amazon Studios)
Shark Tank (ABC)
Sweet Life: Los Angeles (HBO Max)
The Real Housewives of Atlanta (Bravo)

Outstanding Variety Show (Series or Special)
A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO Max)
BET Awards 2022 (BET Networks)
Deon Cole: Charleen’s Boy (Netflix)
Martin: The Reunion (BET Networks)
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Comedy Central)

Outstanding Children’s Program
Family Reunion (Netflix)
Raising Dion (Netflix)
Raven’s Home (Disney+)
Tab Time (YouTube Originals)
Waffles + Mochi’s Restaurant (Netflix)

Outstanding Performance by a Youth (Series, Special, Television Movie or Limited-Series)
Alaya “That Girl Lay Lay” High – That Girl Lay Lay (Nickelodeon)
Cameron J. Wright – Family Reunion (Netflix)
Elisha Williams – The Wonder Years (ABC)
Khali Spraggins – The Upshaws (Netflix)
Ja’Siah Young – Raising Dion (Netflix)

Outstanding Host in a Talk or News/Information (Series or Special) – Individual or Ensemble
Jada Pinkett-Smith, Adrienne Banfield-Norris, Willow Smith – Red Table Talk (Facebook Watch)
Jennifer Hudson – The Jennifer Hudson Show (Syndicated)
Kevin Hart – Hart to Heart (Peacock)
Lester Holt – NBC Nightly News (NBC)
Tracee Ellis Ross – The Hair Tales (Hulu)

Outstanding Host in a Reality/Reality Competition, Game Show or Variety (Series or Special) – Individual or Ensemble
Keke Palmer – Password (NBC)
Lizzo – Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls (Amazon Studios)
Tabitha Brown – Tab Time (YouTube Originals)
Taraji P. Henson – BET Awards 2022 (BET Networks)
Trevor Noah – The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Comedy Central)

Outstanding Guest Performance
Amanda Gorman – Sesame Street (HBO Max)
Chance the Rapper – South Side (HBO Max)
Colman Domingo – Euphoria (HBO Max)
Glynn Turman – Queen Sugar (OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network)
Gabourey Sidibe – American Horror Stories (FX)

Outstanding Animated Series
Central Park (Apple TV+)
Eureka! (Disney Junior)
Gracie’s Corner TV (YouTube)
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder (Disney+)
Zootopia+ (Disney+)

Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance (Television)
Billy Porter – The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder (Disney+)
Cedric the Entertainer – The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder (Disney+)
Chris Bridges – Karma’s World (Netflix)
Cree Summer – Rugrats (Nickelodeon)
Kyla Pratt – The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder (Disney+)

Outstanding Short Form Series – Comedy or Drama
Between The Scenes – The Daily Show (Comedy Central)
Oh Hell No! With Marlon Wayans (Facebook Watch)
Rise Up, Sing Out (Disney+)
Sunday Dinner (Youtube)
Zootopia+ (Disney+)

Outstanding Short Form Series or Special – Reality/Nonfiction
Black Independent Films: A Brief History (Turner Classic Movies)
Daring Simone Biles (Snap)
Historian’s Take (PBS)
NFL 360 (NFL Network)
Omitted: The Black Cowboy (ESPN)

Outstanding Breakthrough Creative (Television)
Amy Wang – From Scratch (Netflix)
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins – Kindred (FX)
Hannah Cope – Karma’s World (Netflix)
Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Syreeta Singleton – Rap Sh!t (HBO Max)

RECORDING CATEGORIES

Outstanding New Artist
Adam Blackstone – Legacy (BASSic Black Entertainment Records/Anderson Music Group/Empire)
Armani White – Billie Eilish (Def Jam Recordings)
Coco Jones – ICU (Def Jam Recordings)
Fivio Foreign – B.I.B.L.E (Columbia Records)
Steve Lacy – Gemini Rights (RCA Records)

Outstanding Male Artist
Brent Faiyaz – Wasteland (Lost Kids)
Burna Boy – Love, Damini (Atlantic Records)
Chris Brown – Breezy (Deluxe) (RCA Records/Chris Brown Entertainment)
Drake – Honestly, Nevermind (OVO/Republic Records)
Kendrick Lamar – Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (pgLang/Top Dawg Entertainment/Aftermath/Interscope Records)

Outstanding Female Artist
Ari Lennox – age/sex/location (Dreamville/Interscope Records)
Beyoncé – Renaissance (Columbia Records/Parkwood Entertainment)
Chlöe – Surprise (Columbia Records/Parkwood Entertainment)
Jazmine Sullivan – Hurt Me So Good (RCA Records)
SZA – S.O.S. (RCA Records/Top Dawg Entertainment)

Outstanding Gospel/Christian Album
All Things New – Tye Tribbett (Motown Gospel)
Hymns – Tasha Cobbs Leonard (Motown Gospel)
Kingdom Book One – Maverick City Music & Kirk Franklin (Tribl Records, Fo Yo Soul Recordings and RCA Inspiration)
My Life – James Fortune (FIYA World/MNRK Music Group)
The Urban Hymnal – Tennessee State University (TSU/Tymple)

Outstanding International Song
Bad To Me – Wizkid (RCA Records/Starboy/Sony Music International)
Diana feat. Shenseea – Fireboy DML, Chris Brown, Shenseea (YBNL Nation / EMPIRE)
Last Last – Burna Boy (Atlantic Records)
No Woman No Cry – Tems (Def Jam Recordings)
Stand Strong – Davido feat. Sunday Service Choir (RCA Records/Sony Music UK)

Outstanding Music Video/Visual Album
About Damn Time – Lizzo (Atlantic Records)
Be Alive – Beyoncé (Columbia Records/ Parkwood Entertainment)
Lift Me Up – Rihanna (Def Jam Recordings)
LORD FORGIVE ME feat. FAT, Pharrell and OLU of EARTHGANG – TOBE NWIGWE (THE GOOD STEWARDS COLLECTIVE)
The Heart Part 5 – Kendrick Lamar (pgLang/Top Dawg Entertainment/Aftermath/Interscope Records)

Outstanding Album
age/sex/location – Ari Lennox (Dreamville/Interscope Records)
Breezy (Deluxe) – Chris Brown (RCA Records/Chris Brown Entertainment)
Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers – Kendrick Lamar (pgLang/Top Dawg Entertainment/Aftermath/Interscope Records)
Renaissance – Beyoncé (Parkwood/Columbia Records)
Watch the Sun – PJ Morton (Morton Records)

Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation Album
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Music From and Inspired By – Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson, Archie Davis and Dave Jordan (Hollywood Records)
Bridgerton Season Two (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series) – Kris Bowers (Capitol Records)
Entergalactic – Kid Cudi (Republic Records)
P-Valley: Season 2 (Music From the Original TV Series) – Various Artists (Lions Gate Records)
The Woman King – Terence Blanchard (Milan Records)

Outstanding Gospel/Christian Song
All in Your Hands – Marvin Sapp (Elev8 Media & Entertainment LLC)
Fly (Y.M.M.F.) – Tennessee State University (TSU/Tymple)
Positive – Erica Campbell (My Block Inc.)
Whole World In His Hands – MAJOR. (MNRK Music Group)
Your World – Jonathan McReynolds (MNRK Music Group)

Outstanding Jazz Album – Instrumental
Detour – Boney James (Concord Records)
JID014 (Jazz is Dead) – Henry Franklin, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Adrian Younge
The Funk Will Prevail – Kaelin Ellis (NCH Music)
The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni – Javon Jackson (Solid Jackson Records)
Thrill Ride – Ragan Whiteside (Randis Music)

Outstanding Jazz Album – Vocal
Legacy – Adam Blackstone (BASSic Black Entertainment Records / Anderson Music Group / Empire)
Linger Awhile – Samara Joy (Verve Records)
Love and the Catalyst – Aimée Allen (Azuline)
New Standards Vol. 1 – Terri Lyne Carrington (Candid Records)
The Evening : Live at Apparatus – The Baylor Project (Be A Light)

Outstanding Soul/R&B Song
About Damn Time – Lizzo (Atlantic Records)
Cuff It – Beyoncé (Columbia Record/Parkwood Entertainment)
Good Morning Gorgeous Remix feat. H.E.R. – Mary J. Blige (300)
Hurt Me So Good – Jazmine Sullivan (RCA Records)
Lift Me Up – Rihanna (Def Jam Recordings)

Outstanding Hip Hop/Rap Song
Billie Eilish – Armani White (Def Jam Recordings)
City of Gods – Fivio Foreign (Columbia Records)
Hotel Lobby – Quavo, Takeoff (Motown Records/Quality Control Music)
The Heart Part 5 – Kendrick Lamar (pgLang/Top Dawg Entertainment/Aftermath/Interscope Records)
Wait for U – Future feat. Drake and Tems (Epic Records)

Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration (Traditional)
Kendrick Lamar feat. Blxst & Amanda Reifer – Die Hard (pgLang/Top Dawg Entertainment/Aftermath/Interscope Records)
Mary J. Blige feat. H.E.R. – Good Morning Gorgeous Remix (300)
PJ Morton feat. Alex Isley and Jill Scott – Still Believe (Morton Records)
Silk Sonic – Love’s Train (Atlantic Records)
Summer Walker, Cardi B, and SZA – No Love (LVRN/Interscope Records)

Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration (Contemporary)
Beyoncé feat. Grace Jones and Tems – MOVE (Columbia Records/Parkwood Entertainment)
Chris Brown feat. Wizkid – Call Me Every Day (RCA Records/Chris Brown Entertainment)
City Girls feat. Usher – Good Love (Motown Records/Quality Control Music)
Future feat. Drake and Tems – Wait For U (Epic Records)
Latto feat. Mariah Carey and DJ Khaled – Big Energy (Remix) (RCA Records)

DOCUMENTARY CATEGORIES

Outstanding Documentary (Film)
Civil (Netflix)
Descendant (Netflix)
Is That Black Enough For You?!? (Netflix)
Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues (Apple TV+)
Sidney (Apple TV+)

Outstanding Documentary (Television)
Black Love (OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network)
Everything’s Gonna be All White (Showtime)
Frontline (PBS)
Race: Bubba Wallace (Netflix)
Shaq (HBO Max)

WRITING CATEGORIES

Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
Aisha Muharrar – Hacks – “Episode 206” (HBO Max)
Ayo Edebiri, Shana Gohd – What We do in the Shadows – “Episode 405” (FX)
Brittani Nichols – Abbott Elementary – “Student Transfer” (ABC)
Karen Joseph Adcock – The Bear – “Episode 105” (FX)
Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary – “Development Day” (ABC)

Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series
Aurin Squire – The Good Fight – “Episode 603” (Paramount+)
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins – Kindred – “Episode 101” (FX)
Davita Scarlett – The Good Fight – “Episode 604” (Paramount+)
Joshua Allen – From Scratch – “Episode 105” (Netflix)
Marissa Jo Cerar – Women of the Movement – “Episode 101” (ABC)

Outstanding Writing in a Television Movie or Special
Bree West – A Wesley Christmas (BET Networks)
Ian Edelman, Maurice Williams – Entergalactic (Netflix)
Jerrod Carmichael – Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel (HBO Max)
Lil Rel Howery – Lil Rel Howery: I said it. Y’all Thinking it (HBO Max)
Matt Lopez – Father of the Bride (HBO Max)

Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture
Charles Murray – The Devil You Know (Lionsgate)
Dana Stevens, Maria Bello – The Woman King (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Jordan Peele – Nope (Universal Pictures)
Krystin Ver Linden – Alice (Vertical Entertainment)
Ryan Coogler – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Marvel Studios)

DIRECTING CATEGORIES

Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series
Angela Barnes – Atlanta – “The Homeliest Little Horse” (FX)
Bridget Stokes – A Black Lady Sketch Show – “Save My Edges, I’m a Donor!” (HBO Max)
Dee Rees – Upload – “Hamoodi” (Amazon Studios)
Iona Morris Jackson – black-ish – “If A Black Man Cries in the Woods” (ABC)
Pete Chatmon – The Flight Attendant – “Drowning Women” (HBO Max)

Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series
Debbie Allen – The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey – “Robyn” (Apple TV+)
Giancarlo Esposito – Better Call Saul – “Axe and Grind” (AMC)
Gina Prince-Bythewood – Women of the Movement – “Mother and Son” (ABC)
Hanelle Culpepper – The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey – “Sensia” (Apple TV+)
Kasi Lemmons – Women of the Movement – “Episode 106” (ABC)

Outstanding Directing in a Television Movie or Special
Anton Cropper – Fantasy Football (Paramount+)
Marta Cunningham – 61st Street (AMC)
Sujata Day – Definition Please (Netflix)
Tailiah Breon – Kirk Franklin’s The Night Before Christmas (Lifetime)
Tine Fields – Soul of a Nation: Screen Queens Rising (ABC)

Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture
Antoine Fuqua – Emancipation (Apple)
Chinonye Chukwu – TILL (United Artists Releasing/Orion Pictures)
Gina Prince-Bythewood – The Woman King (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Kasi Lemmons – I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Ryan Coogler – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Marvel Studios)

Outstanding Directing in a Documentary (Television or Motion Picture)
Nadia Hallgren – Civil (Netflix)
Reginald Hudlin – Sidney (Apple TV+)
Sacha Jenkins – Everything’s Gonna Be All White (Showtime)
Sacha Jenkins – Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues (Apple TV+)
W. Kamau Bell – We Need to Talk About Cosby (Showtime)

LITERARY CATEGORIES

Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction
Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction – Sheree Renée Thomas (Macmillan)
Light Skin Gone to Waste – Toni Ann Johnson (University of Georgia Press)
Take My Hand – Dolen Perkins-Valdez (Penguin Random House)
The Keeper – Tananarive Due, Steven Barnes (Abrams Books)
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty – Akwaeke Emezi (Simon & Schuster)

Outstanding Literary Work – Nonfiction
Finding Me – Viola Davis (HarperCollins Publishers)
Grace: President Obama and Ten Days in the Battle for America – Cody Keenan (HarperCollins Publishers)
Requiem for the Massacre – RJ Young (Counterpoint)
Under the Skin – Linda Villarosa (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group)
Who’s Black and Why? A Hidden Chapter from the Eighteenth-Century Invention of Race – Henry Louis Gates, Andrew S. Curran (The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press)

Outstanding Literary Work – Debut Author
America Made Me a Black Man – Boyah Farah (HarperCollins Publishers)
Illustrated Black History: Honoring the Iconic and the Unseen – George McCalman (HarperCollins)
Marriage Be Hard – Kevin Fredericks, Melissa Fredericks (Penguin Random House)
Truth’s Table: Black Women’s Musings on Life, Love, and Liberation – Ekemini Uwan, Christina Edmondson, Michelle Higgins (Penguin Randomhouse Convergent Imprint)
What the Fireflies Knew – Kai Harris (Penguin Random House)

Outstanding Literary Work – Biography/Autobiography
A Way Out of No Way: A Memoir of Truth, Transformation, and the New American Story – Raphael G. Warnock (Penguin Random House)
Scenes from My Life – Raphael G. Warnock (Penguin Random House)
The Light We Carry – Michelle Obama (Penguin Random House)
Walking In My Joy: In These Streets – Jenifer Lewis (HarperCollins Publishers)
You’ve Been Chosen – Cynt Marshall (Ballantine Books)

Outstanding Literary Work – Instructional
Black Joy: Stories of Resistance, Resilience, and Restoration – Tracey Lewis-Giggetts (Gallery/Simon and Schuster)
Cooking from the Spirit – Tabitha Brown (William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers)
Eat Plants, B*tch: 91 Vegan Recipes That Will Blow Your Meat-Loving Mind – Pinky Cole (Simon & Schuster)
Homecoming: Overcome Fear and Trauma to Reclaim Your Whole Authentic Self – Thema Bryant (Penguin Random House/TarcherPerigee)
The Five Principles: A Revolutionary Path to Health, Inner Wealth, and Knowledge of Self – Khnum Ibomu (Hachette Book Group)

Outstanding Literary Work – Poetry
Best Barbarian – Roger Reeves (Norton)
Bluest Nude – Ama Codjoe (Milkweed Editions)
Concentrate – Courtney Faye Taylor (Graywolf Press)
Muse Found in a Colonized Body – Yesenia Montilla (Four Way Books)
To the Realization of Perfect Helplessness – Robin Coste Lewis (Alfred A. Knopf)

Outstanding Literary Work – Children
Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas – Jeanne Walker Harvey, Loveis Wise (HarperCollins)
Black Gold – Laura Obuobi, London Ladd (HarperCollins)
Blue: A History of the Color as Deep as the Sea and as Wide as the Sky – Nana Brew-Hammond, Daniel Minter (Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers)
Stacey’s Remarkable Books – Stacey Abrams, Kitt Thomas (HarperCollins – Balzer + Bray)
The Year We Learned to Fly – Jacqueline Woodson, Rafael Lopez (Penguin Random House)

Outstanding Literary Work – Youth/Teens
Cookies & Milk – Shawn Amos (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Inheritance: A Visual Poem – Elizabeth Acevedo (HarperCollins – Quill Tree Books)
Maybe An Artist, A Graphic Memoir – Liz Montague (Random House Studio)
Me and White Supremacy: Young Readers’ Edition – Layla F. Saad (Sourcebooks)
Opening My Eyes Underwater: Essays on Hope, Humanity, and Our Hero Michelle Obama – Ashley Woodfolk (Feiwel & Friends, Macmillan)

PODCAST CATEGORIES

Outstanding News and Information Podcast
SundayCivics (LJW Community Strategies)
Beyond the Scenes – The Daily Show (Central Productions, LLC)
Black Tech Green Money (The Black Effect Podcast Network)
Holding Court with Eboni K. Williams (Interval Presents & Uppity Productions)
Into America with Trymaine Lee (MSNBC)

Outstanding Lifestyle/Self-Help Podcast
Chile, Please (Honey Chile)
GoOD Mornings with CurlyNikki (Walton Media, LLC)
Man to Man: A Black Love Wellness Series (Black Love Inc.)
Maejor Frequency (Audible)
Therapy for Black Girls (Therapy for Black Girls)

Outstanding Society and Culture Podcast
Comeback with Erica Cobb (Erica Cobb LLC/One Street Studios)
Higher Learning with Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay (Spotify & The Ringer)
Into America with Trymaine Lee (MSNBC)
LeVar Burton Reads (SiriusXM’s Stitcher Studios)
The Sum of Us (Higher Ground)

Outstanding Arts and Entertainment Podcast
Angie Martinez IRL (Media Noche Productions)
Black Girl Songbook (Spotify & The Ringer)
Jemele Hill is Unbothered (Unbothered Inc, Spotify, Lodge Freeway Media, Exit 39)
The Read (Loud Speakers Network)
Two Funny Mamas (Mocha Podcasts Network)

COSTUME DESIGN, MAKE-UP & HAIRSTYLING CATEGORIES

Outstanding Costume Design (Television or Film)
Francine Jamison-Tanchuck – Emancipation (Apple Studios)
Gersha Phillips, Carly Nicodemo, Heather Constable, Christina Cattle, Sheryl Willock, Becky MacKinnon – Star Trek: Discovery (Paramount+)
Gersha Phillips, Carly Nicodemo, Lieze Van Tonder, Lynn Paulsen, Tova Harrison – The Woman King (Tristar Pictures)
Ruth Carter – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Marvel Studios)
Trayce Gigi Field – A League of Their Own (Prime Video)

Outstanding Make-up (Television or Film)
Angie Wells – Cheaper by the Dozen (Disney+)
Debi Young, Sandra Linn, Ngozi Olandu Young, Gina Bateman – We Own This City (HBO Max)
Michele Lewis – The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey (Apple Studios)
Ren Rohling, Teresa Vest, Megan Areford – Emergency (Amazon Studios)
Zabrina Matiru – Surface (Apple Studios)

Outstanding Hairstyling (Television or Film)
Camille Friend – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Marvel Studios)
Curtis Foreman, Ryan Randall – RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars (Paramount+)
Louisa V. Anthony, Deaundra Metzger, Maurice Beaman – TILL (United Artists Releasing/Orion Pictures)
Mary Daniels, Kalin Spooner, Darrin Lyons, Eric Gonzalez – All American (The CW)
Tracey Moss, Jerome Allen, Tamika Dixon, Lawrence “Jigga” Simmons, Jason Simmons – Fantasy Football (Paramount+)

OUTSTANDING SOCIAL MEDIA PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR NOMINEES
@Theconsciousless- George Lee
@thechristishow – Christianee Porter
@earnyourleisure – Troy Millings & Rashad Bilal
@KevOnStage – Kevin Fredericks
@lynaevanee – Lynae Vanee (Lynae Bogues)

Here Are The Nominees For the 2022 Dorian Awards!

Posted on January 15, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

On the 12th, GALECA, the Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, announced their nominations for the 2022 Dorian Awards. The winners will be announced on February 23rd. Here are the nominees:

Film of the Year

Aftersun (A24)

The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight)

Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24)

The Fablemans (Universal)

Tár (Focus Features)

LGBTQ Film of the Year

Benediction (Roadside Attractions)

Bros (Universal)

Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24)

The Inspection (A24)

Tár (Focus Features)

Director(s) of the Year

Todd Field, Tár (Focus Features)

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24)

Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight)

Sarah Polley, Women Talking (United Artists)

Charlotte Wells, Aftersun (A24)Screenplay of the YearTodd Field, Tár (Focus Features)
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24)
Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight)
Sarah Polley, Women Talking (United Artists)
Charlotte Wells, Aftersun (A24)

Non-English Language Film of the Year

All Quiet on the Western Front (Netflix, Amusement Park)

Close (A24)

Decision to Leave (Mubi, CJ Entertainment)

EO (Sideshow, Janus Films)

RRR (DVV Entertainment, Variance Films)

Unsung Film of the Year (to an exceptional movie worthy of greater attention)

Aftersun (A24)

After Yang (A24)

Benediction (Roadside Attractions)

The Eternal Daughter (A24)

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (Searchlight)

The Menu (Searchlight)

Emily the Criminal

Film Performance of the Year

Cate Blanchett, Tár (Focus Features)

Austin Butler, Elvis (Warner Bros.)

Viola Davis, The Woman King (Sony)

Danielle Deadwyler, Till (United Artists)

Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight)

Brendan Fraser, The Whale (A24)

Mia Goth, Pearl (A24)

Paul Mescal, Aftersun (A24)

Jeremy Pope, The Inspection (A24)

Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24)

Supporting Film Performance of the Year

Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Disney, Marvel)

Hong Chau, The Whale (A24)

Jaime Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24)

Dolly De Leon, Triangle of Sadness (Neon)

Nina Hoss, Tár (Focus Features)

Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24)

Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight)

Janelle Monáe, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Netflix)

Keke Palmer, Nope (Universal)

Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24)

Documentary of the Year

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Neon)

Fire of Love (Neon, National Geographic)

Good Night Oppy (Amazon Studios)

Moonage Daydream (Neon)

Navalny (Warner Bros.)

LGBTQ Documentary of the Year

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Neon)

Framing Agnes (Kino Lorber)

Moonage Daydream (Neon)

Nelly & Nadine (Auto Images)

Sirens (Frameline)

Animated Film of the Year

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (Netflix)

Marcel The Shell with Shoes On (A24)

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (DreamWorks, Universal)

Turning Red (Disney, Pixar)

Wendell & Wild (Netflix)

Film Music of the Year

Babylon – score by Justin Hurvitz (Paramount)

Elvis – score and music production by Elliott Wheeler; the music of Elvis Presley; various artists (Warner Bros.)

RRR – score by M.M. Keeravani (DVV Entertainment, Variance Films)

Tár – score and curation by Hildur Guðnadóttir (Focus Features)

Women Talking – score by Hildur Guðnadóttir (United Artists)

Visually Striking Film of the Year
Avatar: The Way of Water (20th Century)
Babylon (Paramount)
Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24)
Nope (Universal)
RRR (DVV Entertainment, Variance Films)

Campiest Flick of the Year
Babylon (Paramount)
Bodies Bodies Bodies (A24)
Elvis (Warner Bros.)
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Netflix)
Pearl (A24)
RRR (DVV Entertainment, Variance Films)

Rising Star Award
Austin Butler
Frankie Corio
Stephanie Hsu
Gabriel LaBelle
Jenna Ortega
Jeremy Pope

Wilde Artist Award (to a truly groundbreaking force in film, theater and/or television)

Cate Blanchett

Billy Eichner

Janelle Monáe

Keke Palmer

Michelle Yeoh

Timeless Award (to an actor or performer whose exemplary career is marked by character, wisdom and wit; alternates yearly between male and female / non-binary honorees)

RuPaul Andre Charles

Nathan Lane

Tom Hanks

Anthony Hopkins

Bill Nighy

Artwork of the Day: Weird Tales (by Margaret Brundage)

Posted on January 15, 2023 by Dazzling Erin

by Margaret Brundage

As Margaret Brundage shows with this cover, you can’t keep a good man down, even if he’s dead!

Music Video of the Day: Where Do We Go Now? by Gracie Abrams (2023, dir by Gia Coppola)

Posted on January 15, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

For today’s music video of the day, we have a music video directed by Gia Coppola! Gia is the granddaughter of Francis Ford and the niece of Sofia and Roman. She also directed one of my favorite films of the past ten years, Palo Alto.

Enjoy!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 1/8/23 — 1/14/23

Posted on January 14, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week did not leave much time for television watching. I had a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday. I drove my father to and from a doctor’s appointment on Friday. And I had a lot of movies to watch!

Here’s some notes on the five (yes, only five) television programs that I watched this week!

Abbott Elementary (Wednesday Night, ABC)

“FIGHT!”

What a wonderful episode, this was. Sometimes, kid just don’t get along and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Hell’s Kitchen (Thursday Night, FOX)

It’s time for the blind taste test! The blind taste test is an annual Hell’s Kitchen tradition but it’s hard for me to think of another season where the chefs failed quite as dramatically as they did during this season. It was a bit odd because, for the most part, the chefs have been pretty strong this season. Last night proved that anyone can have an off-day.

Brett was sent out of Hell’s Kitchen as the end of this week. To be honest, I don’t think anyone was surprised, as it was obvious that Brett will be a great head chef once he gets more experience but he wasn’t quite ready just yet. Still, it was kind of sad to see Brett go. He was always entertaining and he definitely always seemed like he was doing his best to improve with each dinner service. Brett also seems like the type who will be back whenever the show does another all-star season.

Law & Order (Thursday Night, NBC)

For the second week in a row, Samantha Maroun actually got to do something more than just gaze lovingly Price. This week, she led the prosecution of a rich teenager who was arrested for beating an ex-con to death. The teenager’s defense was that he had been driven temporarily mad by super-strong marijuana. (Yes, I can hear everyone rolling their eyes. Look, I’m just reviewing. I didn’t write the episode.) Maroun was determined to get a murder conviction until Price told her that she was taking the case personally and that she needed to set aside her personal feelings and her own guilt about the death of her sister.

To which I have to say, really? Like, who is Price to tell anyone not to take a case personally? Price takes every case personally. Price put a pharmaceutical CEO in prison because Price has never gotten over the death of his junkie brother. Price may have been correct about Maroun but it still feels a bit hypocritical on his part. That said, I think the writers may have figured out that having two prosecutors who take everything personally doesn’t always work dramatically. Ever since the show returned from its holiday break, Price has suddenly been a lot more pragmatic.

There’s a lot of people online who, after last night’s episode, are convinced that Price and Maroun are in love with each other. They’re probably right. McCoy’s not in any position to forbid it, either. (It’s kind of funny how McCoy has gone from being a self-destructive, alcoholic womanizer to being the voice of wisdom.)

Night Flight (Night Flight Plus)

This week, we finished up watching Night Flight’s 1982 New Year’s Eve special. Most of it was made up of footage of Grace Jones performing and being interviewed. It was weird but entertaining. Apparently, 1983 got off to a very trippy start.

Project Greenlight (YouTube)

On Wednesday night, I watched three episodes of the third season of Project Greenlight. This is the season that aired on Bravo and which detailed John Gulager’s efforts to direct Feast. No one had any faith in Gulager but he did a pretty good job with Feast and he’s the only one of the Project Greenlight winners to go on to have a notable career. The episodes that I watched deal with the casting of the film and it was once again infuriating to watch as the film’s casting director went out of her way to undercut Gulager and cast her best friend in the film. The third season of Project Greenlight is the one that really makes the viewer hate Hollywood.

Retro Television Reviews: California Dreams 3.8 “The Princess and the Yeti” and 3.9 “Winkle/Wicks World”

Posted on January 14, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Saturdays, I will be reviewing California Dreams, which ran on NBC from 1992 to 1996. The entire show is currently streaming on YouTube!

This week the Dreams go to Colorado and Public Access Television. To quote Matt Garrison, “Let’s do it!”

Episode 3.8 “The Princess and the Yeti”

(Dir by Patrick Maloney, originally aired on October 29th, 1994)

The Dreams have left California for Colorado! It’s on temporary, however. They’ve been hired to play at the ski resort that’s owned by Lorena’s father, Mr. Costas (Abraham Alvarez). Lorena is looking forward to skiing and showing off her new outfit. Her father wants her to work the front desk. “I’m allergic to work,” Lorena says, which leads to everyone saying that Lorena is spoiled.

Which is not true at all! Listen, Lorena is on vacation. You don’t work when you’re on vacation. At no point does Lorena’s father say that he’ll pay for Lorena to work the front desk. Instead, he just says, “I need you to work the front desk tonight.” Nah, old man. It doesn’t work like that. I, myself, have been called spoiled enough time to know that everyone is being way too hard on Lorena. Lorena has every right to expect a chance to ski while on a SKI VACATION!

Anyway, Mr. Costas wants to expand his resort but there’s an old man (Sandy Ward) who lives in a cabin and he refuses to move off his property. If the stubborn old man wasn’t bad enough, there’s also a Yeti running around the forest. But what if that Yeti is just a man dressed in a costume? Who would have the motive? Mr. Costas? No, he would be costing himself money by doing that. How about the Old Man? Other than the Dreams, he’s the only other person in this episode.

After Tony gets scared by the Yeti, he runs into the forest. The rest of the Dreams follow him and come across the Old Man’s cabin and his yeti costume. When Mr. Costas finds out, he wants to press charges but the Dreams are like, “He’s just an nice old man!” Yeah, and you’re a bunch of high school kids from California. Your opinion really isn’t that important.

The Dreams get mad at Lorena for not telling her father that the Old Man deserves to stay in his cabin. (Again, I’m not sure how it’s any of their business.) Miffed, Lorena goes skiing alone and injures her knee. The Old Man saves her life and Lorena offers to help pay off whatever money the Old Man is costing her father by working the front desk and not taking an allowance for a year. Mr. Costas agrees and everything works out …. except, of course, Lorena lives in California so how is she going work the front desk of a Colorado resort?

Also, I don’t care how nice the Old Man is. He still dressed up like a Yeti and did a lot of property damage to Mr. Costas’s business. Drag his his ass to jail!

This episode mostly serves to remind us that the California Dreams belong in California and on the beach. It just doesn’t seem right whenever they appear in a different location. It’s like one of those weird episodes of Saved By The Bell: The New Class where the gang all ended up working at a ranch. As much of a misfire as this episode was, I did laugh at the scene where Jake had to wear Lorena’s pink snow jacket while searching for Tony. A few years ago, in the middle of a torrential rain storm, Jeff informed me that he would rather get soaked and risk pneumonia than borrow my hot pink umbrella. What do men have against the color pink?

Anyway, let’s move on!

Episode 3.9 “Winkle/Wicks World”

(Dir by Patrick Maloney, originally aired on November 12th, 1994)

Tony and Sly get a show on public access TV! What was the deal with people in Peter Engel-produced shows always ending up on Public Access Television? Anyway, The Goo-Ga-Moo Guys becomes a big hit, despite being just a lame Wayne’s World rip-off. (To the show’s credit, Jake refers to show as being a “Wayne’s World rip-off.”) Unfortunately, this means that Tony no longer has time to play drums and Sly no longer has time to manage the band. Lorena takes over as manager and teaches the band how to be classy so that they can play an upper class gig that is, for some reason, being held at Sharky’s.

Anyway, fame goes to Tony and Sly’s heads. In the end, though, they decide that friendship is more important than fame. *Yawn* This is a plot that was used and reused by so many Peter Engel-produced shows that, at times, it seems as if the entire Englverse was an autopilot.

Hopefully, next week’s episodes will encourage us to seek good vibrations and feel mellow.

Everything And Mia Goth Wins In Hawaii

Posted on January 14, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Hawaii Film Critics Society has announced their picks for the best of 2022! You can check out the nominees by clicking here and you can see the winners belows!

BEST PICTURE
Everything Everywhere All At Once

BEST DIRECTOR
The Daniels, Everything Everywhere All At Once

BEST ACTOR
Brendan Fraser, The Whale

BEST ACTRESS
Mia Goth, Pearl

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All At Once

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Everything Everywhere All At Once

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Women Talking

BEST ART DIRECTION
Babylon

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Top Gun: Maverick

BEST EDITING
Everything Everywhere All At Once