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‘American Fiction’ Starring Jeffrey Wright and Sterling K. Brown Explores the Many Ways You Can’t Put Black People in a Box — and It Deserves All the Awards

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‘American Fiction’ (Photo: @americanfictionmovie / Instagram)

With five major Oscar nominations and a BAFTA win for Best Adapted Screenplay, there’s a lot of buzz around it Cord Jeffersonthe glorious directorial debut of “American Fiction” is about to succeed in a glorious crescendo.

A superb, astutely self-aware and outrageously funny drama about a frustrated black professor-writer’s literary prank gone awry, based on Percival Everett’s 2001 novel “Erasure.” Written for the screen by Jefferson, it’s the story of Thelonious Ellison (Jeffrey Wright), under the pseudonym Monk, the creator of smart, academic books that do not sell. Deeply irritated by the largely white publishing industry’s refusal to take a look at the African American experience beyond masking and blaxploitation, obsessive about “killer dads, rappers, crack” and their constant “fascination with black traumatic porn”, he decides one evening “Rub their noses in the horse bullshit they are asking for.”

“American Fiction” actors (from left) Sterling K. Brown, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jeffrey Wright, Issa Rae, Erika Alexander. (Photo: @americanfictionmovie/Instagram)

The result was “My Pafology” – a book highlighting all the stereotypes about the Black community in obscene hyperbole, written by Monk under the pseudonym “Stagg R. Leigh” – an imaginary convict. “My Paphology” is Monk’s way of giving the middle finger to a literary industry that wishes to cut back the complex identity of its people to race, and race alone. But, to his surprise, the elite white publishing house doesn’t just take it at face value. For this, they provide him a ridiculous advance of $750,000. Even a distinguished Hollywood director approached him with a proposal for a film adaptation. Soon, the profession he had worked diligently over many years to construct snowballed, but in a completely unexpected way.

“American Fiction” is a scathing commentary on how we now have nurtured a culture that likes to stifle people into boxes, relegating the fullness, richness, and diversity of our human experience to a trivial category. But Jefferson fights with all his might. Perhaps his hero has unknowingly written the best novel in a genre he despises. But Jefferson doesn’t do silly things like that. He assures that his film is greater than just obvious racism. Along with Monk’s skilled disillusionment, there’s parallel turmoil inside his well-educated, upper-middle-class family.

The way Jefferson seamlessly blends the two dimensions of Monk’s life is harking back to a recent Andrew Scott film “We Are All Strangers” (2023). It’s a heartbreaking portrait of a lonely screenwriter who, in his old childhood home, begins to fulfill his deceased parents and check with them about the whole lot he never could because they died in a automotive accident when he was only 12 years old. Around the same time, he also begins to open up and fall in love with a young man who lives in the same constructing as him. Director Andrew Haigh’s delightful psychological fantasy, All of Us Strangers, is like a fever dream that can haunt you at unexpected moments.

While it’s a very different, sharply subversive and categorically humorous film, “American Fiction” hits just as hard. It greater than deserves all five Oscar nominations. Jefferson has been creating tragicomedy for hundreds of years. A former journalist, he has previously written for various highly acclaimed television shows – Succession (2018-2023), The Good Place (2016-2020), Master of None (2015-2021) – and won an Emmy Award for his work on the HBO series “Watchmen” (2019).

In American Fiction, his uncanny skill with the pen gives you a mirror to reflect on, encouraging you to query your deep-seated prejudices. The film’s dialogues deserve a detailed evaluation of their very own. He is piercingly sensible, razor sharp, unflinchingly honest, and crammed with irony and exuberance.

A couple of scenes stand out. There’s one where Monk is humming “My Paphology” late at night. When he writes dialogue, his characters – father and son – jump off the page into the room and start acting out the scene. Then there are all the conversations he has on the landline along with his white editors, each another outrageously silly than the last. Another standout feature is the sparring discussion he has with renowned creator Sintara Golden (Issa Rae), one other black author who he believes has made her popular.

It’s hard to assume anyone apart from Wright playing the touchy-feely, snobbish Monk. There is a lot noise inside and around him that it might crumble in the hands of a lesser actor. But Wright plays him with such assured restraint that I enjoy watching him unravel, turn out to be the butt of his own joke, unlearn, and then learn a little and loosen up his tight ass. It’s a good, career-defining performance that deserves not only critical acclaim, but additionally a shiny gold trophy.

“American Fiction”, which is currently competing for Oscars in the categories for Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Score and Best Adapted Screenplay, features an all-star forged: Jeffrey Wright, Sterling K. Brown, Tracee Ellis Ross, Erika Alexander, Issa Rae and Leslie Uggams. The film is now available to observe in theaters and rent on Prime Video.

This article was originally published on : atlantablackstar.com
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5 Questions for Jocko Sims

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Hulu’s newest series, How to Die Alone , is the proper mix of comedy with little gems of life lessons hidden in between. Series creator Natasha Rothwell, best known for her role as Kelly on HBO’s Insecure , is an executive producer and co-showrunner who writes and stars within the series.

How to die alone” follows Mel (Rothwell), “a paid-off, fat, black JFK airport employee who’s never been in love and forgotten how to dream until a chance encounter with death catapults her on a journey to finally take flight and start living life by any means possible.” Actor Jocko Sims, who plays Alex, Mel’s boss and ex, stopped by theGrio for our latest “5 Questions” series to debate the brand new show, what it was like working with Rothwell, what drew him to the project, and more.

Sims says Rothwell and the indisputable fact that the show is a comedy drew him to the project. “I’m just grateful to Natasha for giving me that opportunity, you know, for helping me believe in myself after years of not being able to do it. I wanted to do it. It’s a dream come true. I’m 43. So thank you, Natasha,” the actor says.

Six episodes of (*5*) are actually available on Hulu. Watch the complete interview above and head to theGrio.com for more “5 Questions.”

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Maury Povich’s shocking double life of numerous affairs and sex parties revealed after publication of his wife Connie Chung’s memoir

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Former talk show host Maury Povich and former news anchor Connie Chung have remained married for 40 years. (Photo: @TheMAURYShow/X)

Connie Chung’s latest memoir hit stores on September 17. While the celebrity host was promoting her book, “Connie,” rumors about her marriage to speak show host Maury Povich resurfaced.

Maury Povich, 85, married Connie Chung, 78, in December 1984. The couple has one son, Matthew Jay Povich. Unconfirmed allegations of infidelity have plagued the couple for nearly 20 years.

In 2006, a producer of The Maury Povich Show filed a $100 million sexual harassment lawsuit against the show’s host and other staff members. Bianca Nardi alleged that Povich had a sexual relationship with one other producer, Donna Benner Ingber.

Former talk show host Maury Povich and former news anchor Connie Chung have been married for 40 years. (Photo: @TheMAURYShow/X)
Former talk show host Maury Povich and former news anchor Connie Chung have been married for 40 years. (Photo: @TheMAURYShow/X)

Povich was 20 years older than Ingber. Nardi said the alleged extramarital affair fueled a hostile work environment that included sexual remarks, pornographic videos and parties known to “invite open and familiar sexual activity,” in line with Online radar.

“We do not believe that Ms. Nardi was a victim of unlawful sexual harassment and we intend to vigorously defend this lawsuit,” an NBC spokeswoman said. Rebecca Marks said on the time. The judge ultimately ruled that Nardi’s lawsuit needs to be dismissed decided in closed-door arbitration.

Reports claimed that Connie Chung was “humiliated” over the sexual harassment lawsuit. She was also reportedly upset that her personal life had grow to be a subject of public discussion and divorce was an option. However, the previous CBS Evening News anchor remained married to Povich.

“I did it backwards, but it turned out perfectly,” Chung quotes People in a September 2024 article. “First I forgot about the wedding, then I forgot about the baby. And so I ended up having a career — a long, flourishing career. And then I had a long, flourishing period to raise my son.”

Of the difficulties in her marriage to Povich, Chung said: “If we fight at night, he wants to make up before we go to bed. But when I wake up in the morning, I want to keep fighting. I’m not done yet.”

Connie Chung was born and raised in Washington, D.C. Her media profession began within the Seventies when she was a Washington correspondent for the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite.

Maury Povich, a D.C. native, met his future wife in 1969 while they were each working at television station WTTG within the nation’s capital. Povich was a reporter, while Chung was what was then called a “copy girl” within the newsroom.

“Maury never paid any attention to me,” Chung explained in a May 2022 interview with CBS News. “I would rip the text off the typewriters and give it to him.”

Connie Chung and Maury Povich met again in 1977 in Los Angeles while working at CBS’s KNXT. They dated for seven years before officially marrying in 1984.

Povich returned to the East Coast to launch “The Maury Povich Show” in September 1991. The popular daytime talk show aired until September 2022. Chung has hosted news shows throughout her profession, including “Eye to Eye” for CBS and “20/20” for ABC.


This article was originally published on : atlantablackstar.com
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Joseph Sikora: The Man Behind ‘Tommy’ and His Rise to Television Fame on POWER

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While his breakthrough role could also be Tommy Egan on Power, Joseph Sikora’s acting profession dates back to the Nineteen Eighties. As a baby, Sikora even appeared in a business with music icon Michael Jackson. Learn more about TV, film and stage star Joseph Sikora below.

Józef Sikora’s personal life

Joseph Sikora is a component of Dutch and Polishalthough he was born in Chicago. He has two brothers and was drawn to acting early on. His college education and early success in the teenager industry indicate that acting is a profession he has pursued as doggedly as Tommy Egan pursued revenge within the fictional world of Power. Sikora attended theater school at DePaul University before graduating from Columbia College Chicago in 1998.

Sikora is usually protective of her private life — a typical approach for a lot of actors and actresses who don’t want their spouses, love lives or children to turn into tabloid fodder or social media topics.

“Power” star Joseph Sikora attends the Lexus Uptown Honors Hollywood at Neue House Hollywood in February. (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images)

Despite his commitment to staying undercover, it’s common knowledge that Sikora is married to Tania Ribalow, award-winning makeup artist. Sikora married Ribalow in 2014 after they met and fell in love on the set of “Boardwalk Empire.” The wedding was a non-public affair, and most individuals didn’t realize the 2 were married until Sikora revealed the actual fact 4 years later on social media — a formidable feat in an era when many celebrities should not exactly unknown.

Whether Sikora is a parent or not isn’t something that the general public knows. As of mid-2024, there was no news or record of Sikora having children of her own.

Józef Sikora’s profession

Although Sikora landed a number of minor acting roles as a young person, he was not a breakout child star. His first roles were more like one-episode cameos on television series, although he did appear in a number of notable shows. Some of his earliest appearances include one-episode roles on shows like “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” “Walker, Texas Ranger,” and “Frasier.” He also had supporting roles in movies like “Rudy” and “My Best Friend’s Wedding.”

Power
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 20: (L-R) Omari Hardwick, Lela Loren, Joseph Sikora and Naturi Naughton attend the red carpet premiere of Season 6 of the series “Power” at Madison Square Garden Concert and Party on August 20, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for STARZ)

This trend continued throughout his adult profession. Sikora has end credits in programs including Grey’s Anatomy, ER, NYPD Blue, and several CSI series, to name a number of. If there was a serious television drama within the 2000s, Sikora appeared in at the least one episode. He also appeared in Dollhouse, Lost, Prison Break, Without a Trace, JAG, and Monk. During this time, he continued to land small roles in feature movies, including Charlie Wilson’s War and Shutter Island.

Sikora performed in different rolesincluding comedies, although he became known for his gritty, realistic performances in thrillers and crime stories. He played each law enforcement officers and the criminals they pursued.

Actors Joseph Sikora and Omari Hardwick
Actors Joseph Sikora (left) and Omari Hardwick speak onstage in the course of the “Power” panel in the course of the 2015 Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour on the Langham Hotel on January 9, 2015 in Pasadena, Calif. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Sikora also put his theater background and skills to use, appearing on stage in various shows during this time. However, achieving success in Hollywood can sometimes be a marathon, not a sprint, and Sikora’s profession reflects that. He has appeared in one- or two-episode roles on quite a few television shows, including “White Collar,” “Boardwalk Empire” and “The Good Wife.” He has also landed small roles in feature movies, including “Jack Reacher.”

It wasn’t until he landed the role of Tommy Egan in Power that his big break got here. From 2014 to 2020, Sikora appeared in 63 episodes. The HBO series spawned spin-offs Power Book II: Ghost and Power Book IV: Force, with Sikora reprising his role in each. In Force, Tommy Egan is the lead character, allowing Sikora to further his profession.

Power Series Finale Screened at Paley Center
“Power” stars (from left) Michael Rainey Jr., Joseph Sikora and Naturi Naughton chat after a screening of the series finale in New York City in February (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images for STARZ)

Going Beyond “Tommy”

Sikora and others have confirmed the tip of the spin-off series, “Power Book IV: Force.” In statements regarding the plot, the team says the series has come to an end. However, Sikora said that this isn’t the tip of the “Tommy” character and that other concepts are within the works.

As for other projects, Internet Movie Database says Sikora has credits on a project called “Atypical Pirate,” which is in post-production as of August 2024. Sikora also has small screenwriting and directing credits, and given the success of his breakout role, it’s possible he’ll be showing off his creative chops again soon.

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This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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