The Lathe of Heaven PART THREE: POLITICAL RUIN In the realm of speculative fiction, few authors have captured societal upheaval and the potential for political ruin as incisively as Octavia E. Butler and Ursula K. Le Guin. Their works, particularly Butler’s Xenogenesis series (Lilith’s Brood) and Parable Duology, along with Le Guin’s The Lathe of … Read more
Another big award show took place this weekend (in addition to the SAG Awards), the Film Independent Spirit Awards, which celebrates indie film and TV. One thing about this awards show is that their idea of independent sometimes makes me scratch my head a bit, with HBO’s big-budget The Last of Us nominated a whole … Read more
Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction is the most sophisticated, and moving comedy of the year, with superb acting by Jeffrey Wright. PLOT: A black university professor (Jeffrey Wright) who’s frustrated that all of his non-race related books are being deemed “black” writes a stereotypical, deliberately bad novel about “the hood,” and, to his dismay, it becomes … Read more
A new American Fiction trailer is out from Orion and Amazon MGM Studios, previewing the upcoming Jeffrey Wright-led comedy film. The film, which had its world premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, follows Wright’s Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison, a respected author who creates a pseudonymous novel that embodies every Black cliché, and is shocked … Read more
Resentful to that response and juggling uneasy family dynamics back home, Monk is left to navigate the conditions under which his work is deemed desirable and marketable, as well as the personal demons that prevent him from moving forward in his own story. Stagg R. Leigh is revered while Thelonious Ellison is stagnant, digging his nails into … Read more
And I knew that in her scenes with Monk, you had to have a formidable woman. Monk is somebody who steamrolls a lot of people in his life. When we were casting for that role, you know, people send names from agencies for actors that they think would be good for the parts. And it … Read more
Rounding out the Best Picture nominees are two more romances, Andrew Haigh’s “All of Us Strangers” and Ira Sachs’ “Passages”, as well as Minhal Baig’s Chicago-set drama “We Grown Now.” Nominated for Best Documentary are “Bye Bye Tiberias,” “Four Daughters,” “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project,” “Kokomo City” and “The Mother of All Lies.” Best International … Read more
American Fiction has edged out films by Hayao Miyazaki, Alexander Payne, Richard Linklater and more to win TIFF’s People’s Choice Award. American Fiction, Cord Jefferson’s drama starring Jeffrey Wright, Sterling K. Brown and Tracee Ellis Ross has officially moved ahead in the Best Picture race, winning the People’s Choice Award at this year’s Toronto International … Read more
“American Fiction” is about the bias and prejudices in the media and how such an imbalanced relationship with Black creatives places an undue burden on Black artists. A confrontation between Wright and Issa Rae’s character—who has published a book similar to Monk’s fake one—exemplifies how such philosophical battles play out between Black folks. But it’s also … Read more