BARRY JENKINS

In film and television, Black creators are making critically acclaimed work with big budgets for big audiences. What’s changed in Hollywood to make this possible?

It began as a prize-winning magazine issue and became a cultural flashpoint, and now “The 1619 Project” is coming out as a book.

An 11th-hour deal has been reached and a strike that would have shut down film and television productions across the U.S. was averted.

A major Hollywood strike could be on the horizon for some 60,000 behind-the-scenes workers in the entertainment industry.

“The Crown” tied with “The Mandalorian” for the most Emmy nominations Tuesday, 24 each, but the Marvel universe also got bragging rights with runner-up “WandaVision.”.

U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland approved a new constitution for the Cherokee Nation on Wednesday, ensuring citizenship for descendants of its Freedmen, the Black people once enslaved by tribal citizens. “The Cherokee Nation's actions have brought this longstanding issue to a close and have importantly fulfilled their obligations to the Cherokee Freedmen," Haaland said in a statement. The issue of tribal citizenship for Freedmen has long been the subject of litigation for the Five Tribes, known historically as the Five Civilized Tribes: the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Muscogee and Seminole nations.

Barry Jenkins brings Colson Whitehead's "The Underground Railroad" to TV for Amazon in a hard-to-watch adaptation that is a huge achievement.

The film was nominated for seven Independent Film Spirit Awards including one for best feature. The 36th annual Spirit Awards, like most awards shows during the pandemic, are adjusting to the difficult circumstances. Eliza Hittman's “Never Rarely Sometimes Always,” a Pennsylvania's teen's odyssey in getting an abortion, racked up nominations for best feature film, best director and best female lead for Sidney Flanigan. Chloe Zhoe's “Nomadland,” starring Frances McDormand, scored five nods, including best feature, best director and best female lead for McDormand. None of the nominees for best feature film were directed by a white male.

Following “Fences” and “Ma Rainey,” he intends to continue adapting Wilson’s famed American Century Cycle, a 10-play series spanning each decade of the 20th century. All of Wilson's plays hum with the sorrowful beauty of the blues but “Ma Rainey" is soaked through. On a sweaty, summer day, a band has gathered at a white-owned recording studio to cut a new record with Ma Rainey (Davis), the pioneering “Mother of the Blues,” and an unapologetically liberated woman from the South. It’s Cutler and Slow Drag and Ma Rainey talking," says Wolfe. For Davis, Ma isn't a character she wants to let go of, or stop admiring.

NEW YORK – The Walt Disney Co. will make a follow-up to the 2019 live-action “The Lion King,” with Barry Jenkins, the director of the Oscar-winning “Moonlight” and the James Baldwin adaptation “If Beale Street Could Talk,” set to direct. The new “Lion King” grossed more than $1.6 billion worldwide, so a sequel was perhaps always likely. Less expected was a “Lion King” with Jenkins directing. The film, Disney said, will explore the mythology of “The Lion King,” including Mufasa's origin story. Disney didn't announce any further plot details or casting on the new “Lion King” project, which was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.

A still from Disney's "The Lion King" featuring Nala (Beyonce Knowles) and Simba (Donald Glover). Disney has tapped Academy Award-winner Barry Jenkins to direct a sequel to "The Lion King." "The Lion King" remake garnered more than $1.5 billion in sales at the global box office in 2019. While "The Lion King" had box office success, the film was highly criticized by reviewers and audiences. "The Lion King" strayed too far into the "uncanny valley" for some critics.

FILE - Julie Dash attends the New York Film Critics Circle Awards on Jan. 3, 2017, in New York. Dash's work will be featured in Turner Classic Movies' four-month Women Make Film series, airing every Tuesday night through December. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)Associated Press Film Writers Lindsey Bahr and Jake Coyle pick some programming highlights from Turner Classic Movies' four-month Women Make Film series, airing every Tuesday night through December. In her 1976 film (airing Sept. 15 on TCM), Kopple intimately documents a grueling, 13-month coal miner's strike in a small Kentucky town. They just thought I was a funny little girl who carried a tape recorder and a camera. The film won Kopple her first Oscar.

God bless Chadwick Boseman. Denzel Washington, via a statement. During the premiere party for Black Panther, Chadwick reminded me of something. My friend and fellow Bison Chadwick Boseman was brilliant, kind, learned, and humble. We are devastated by the tragic loss of Chadwick Boseman. From Black Panther to Da 5 Bloods, Chadwick Boseman brought strength and light to the screen, every time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, via Twitter.