Russell Simmons Says ‘White Bread Dynasty Was in Full Effect’ at Oscars

by Jorge Rivas on March 2 2012, 3:11PM

Hip-hop pioneer and entrepreneur Russell Simmons published a scathing critique of the film industry Friday and said the problem with those funding movies “is that while they believe in the concept of an all-inclusive, post-racial America, they don’t trust in it enough to bank on it.”

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog

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Natalie Portman Used the Term ‘Undocumented’ to Introduce Demián Bichir

by Jorge Rivas on February 27 2012, 4:08PM

Speaking to Bichir, Portman said “As Carlos Domingo, an undocumented immigrant fighting to give his son the opportunities he never had, you made us face very true portrait of a human being no one had ever dared us to consider before.”

Topics: Arts & Culture, Immigration, /NOW Blog

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More on Oscar for Best Documentary Short ‘Saving Face’ and Where to Watch [Trailer]

by Jorge Rivas on February 27 2012, 1:54PM

Directors Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy won a Best Documentary Short Oscar for their film “Saving Face” at the 84th annual Academy Awards on Sunday.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog

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And the Oscar for Most Racist Host Goes to Billy Crystal in Blackface?

by Jorge Rivas on February 26 2012, 11:51PM

During the opening sequence of the Oscars on Sunday night a blackfaced clad Billy Crystal revived his Sammie Davis Jr. impression.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog, Oscars 2012

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Viola Davis Walks the Oscar Red Carpet with Her Natural Hair

by Jorge Rivas on February 26 2012, 7:19PM

Viola Davis walks the Oscar red carpet with her natural hair.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog

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No Acting Oscar in the Last Decade Has Gone to Latino, Asian, or Native American

by Jorge Rivas on February 26 2012, 5:20PM

And Oscar winners and nominees of color are less likely than their white peers to receive subsequent nominations.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog

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True Story: Oscar Statue Modeled After Mexican Man

by Jorge Rivas on February 26 2012, 3:08PM

The most recognized trophy in the world known simply as “Oscar” is modeled after Mexican filmmaker and actor Emilio Fernandez.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog, Oscars 2012

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Viola Davis at Black Women In Hollywood Luncheon [Photo]

by Jorge Rivas on February 24 2012, 3:30PM

Viola Davis attended Essence Magazine’s Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon at the Beverly Hills Hotel last night.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog

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Domestic Workers Use Oscar Buzz Around ‘The Help’ to Create Change

by Rinku Sen on February 24 2012, 10:05AM

The film isn’t perfect, to be sure, but it offers a strategic opening to organizers fighting for domestic workers’ rights. And they’ve been smart enough to exploit it.

Topics: Oscars 2012, Rinku Sen, The Help

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Love for the First Black Oscar Winner Sidney Poitier on His Birthday

by Jorge Rivas on February 20 2012, 6:33PM

The actor turns 85 today.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog

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Who Picks the Oscars? White Men.

by Jorge Rivas on February 20 2012, 9:32AM

An L.A. Times study of Oscar voters finds that their demographics are much less diverse than the moviegoing public.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog, Oscars 2012

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Oprah Meets Viola Davis’ 19-Month-Old Daughter, Genesis [Video]

by Jorge Rivas on February 17 2012, 3:36PM

Watch a rare side of Viola Davis and Oprah Winfrey.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog

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Viola Davis to Tavis Smiley: ‘That Mindset You Have is Destroying Black Artists’

by Jorge Rivas on February 10 2012, 1:45PM

The interview was more of a heated debate but it offered insight in to the minds of both actresses and how they feel about the criticism ‘The Help’ has received.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog, The Help

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Jose Antonio Vargas: Demian Bichir in ‘A Better Life’ Represents Today’s ‘The Help’

by Jorge Rivas on February 10 2012, 11:03AM

The Pulitzer Prize-winning Filipino-American journalist who revealed he was undocumented in a NY Times Op-Ed last year says Bichir represents the help of today — gardeners, farmhands, and other undocumented workers — at the mercy of present-day laws in Georgia and Alabama.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog

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Viola Davis Goes With Her Natural Hair for LA Times Mag

by Jorge Rivas on February 6 2012, 6:18PM

Viola Davis like you’ve never seen her before.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog, The Help

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‘The Help’ Sweeps SAG Awards, Octavia Spencer Clear Frontrunner for Oscars

by Jorge Rivas on January 30 2012, 9:50AM

“The Help” took three of the top honors at the Screen Actors Guild Awards Sunday night, turning it into the movie everyone else has to beat as the Oscar awards approach next month.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog, The Help

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Artist Reimagines ‘The Help’ Poster: ‘White People Solve Racism’

by Jorge Rivas on January 25 2012, 3:20PM

British movie review site TheShiznit.co.uk has taken the advertising for ‘The Help’ to a whole new level.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog, The Help

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2012’s Predictably (Mostly) White Oscar Nominees

by Jamilah King on January 25 2012, 9:39AM

We shouldn’t be surprised that this year’s crop of Oscar nominees largely ignored people of color. But it’s still disappointing.

Topics: Arts & Culture, Oscars 2012

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Calif. Domestic Workers Celebrate Oscar Nod for “The Help”

by Jorge Rivas on January 24 2012, 5:45PM

Just before 6am this morning more than 500 domestic workers and children were in buses from around the state of California to march for domestic workers rights at the State Capitol in Sacramento when they learned about the Oscar nominations for ‘The Help.’

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog

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Latinos See Strong Presence in 2012 Oscar Nominees List

by Jorge Rivas on January 24 2012, 11:30AM

Latinos, the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States, are seeing themselves in several Oscar categories.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog

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