Kamala Harris has Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé.

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President Joe Biden has honored acclaimed filmmakers, writers and others who have made their mark on American culture, awarding the prestigious National Medals of Arts and National Humanities Medals to 39 recipients.

Spike Lee had a memorable first trip to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Michael Jordan welcomed a couple newcomers to it.

Honored for his devotion to a basketball team that doesn’t have a Hall of Fame history, Billy Crystal couldn’t help but note the irony.

Jack Nicholson, Spike Lee and Billy Crystal are entertainment superstars.

Napheesa Collier’s turnaround jumper with 8.8 seconds left lifted the Minnesota Lynx to a 95-93 win over the New York Liberty in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals.

Not long after Edwin Moses figured out how to attack the solution to track’s ultimate math problem, he transformed himself into the best hurdler in history.

The Democratic National Convention transformed what should have been the driest part of the evening — the roll call — into a party, featuring lively music and several celebrity appearances.

Simone Biles stole the show at the Paris Olympics with a captivating comeback that had everyone watching everything she did both in and out of the gymnasium.

Nearly 20 years after their last collaboration, Spike Lee and Denzel Washington are reuniting for an adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s “High and Low.”.

A pair of rare Nike sneakers donated to an Oregon homeless shelter in Portland sold for nearly $51,000 at auction on Monday.

A pair of rare Nike sneakers donated to a homeless shelter in Portland, Oregon, are up for auction and are expected to raise as much as $20,000.

Houston, we have a problem: Where's Kevin.

The Student Academy Awards may not be as glitzy or high profile as the Oscars, but in its 50 years it has proven to be a vital launching ground for emerging filmmakers.

Police have arrested a 17-year-old high school student on a hate-motivated murder charge in the fatal stabbing of a professional dancer during an altercation between two groups of friends at a New York City gas station last weekend.

Bill Lee, a well-regarded jazz musician who accompanied such artists as Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel and Harry Belafonte and scored four of his son Spike’s early films, has died.

An Associated Press reporter has spent the past several years watching from an opera box that gives him a unique perspective on the audience at the Oscars.

After breaking through in 2019’s “The Last Black Man in San Francisco,” 33-year-old Jonathan Majors has been steadily bulking up as an actor.

A celebration of Black business success and opportunity is back for its third year.

Sarah Collins Rudolph lost an eye and has pieces of glass inside her body from a Ku Klux Klan bombing that killed her sister and three other Black girls inside an Alabama church 59 years ago.

The Oprah Winfrey-produced documentary “Sidney” has arrived eight months after the death of Sidney Poitier.

The Jackie Robinson Museum has opened in Manhattan with a gala ceremony attended by the 100-year-old widow of the barrier-breaking ballplayer and two of his children.

William “Poogie” Hart, a founder of the Grammy-winning trio the Delfonics who helped write and sang a soft lead tenor on such classic “Sound of Philadelphia” ballads as “La-La (Means I Love You)” and “Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time),” has died at age 77.

The legacy of Jackie Robinson showed in Major League Baseball’s draft.

Aaron Judge drove a three-run homer in the 10th inning for his second walk-off hit against Houston in four days, and the New York Yankees recovered after nearly being no-hit for the second consecutive game, beating Houston 6-3 to split a four-game series between the AL’s best teams.

On the eve of Juneteenth, the Tribeca Festival came to a close with the Rev_ Al Sharpton documentary “Loudmouth.”.

Jon Batiste wears so many hats he may need a closet for them all — recording artist, bandleader, musical director, film composer, museum creative director and scion of New Orleans musical royalty.

Lincoln Center will honor Cate Blanchett with its 47th Chaplin Award at the arts organization’s annual fundraising gala.

Samuel L.

Spike Lee will direct a multi-part documentary for ESPN on Colin Kaepernick that features extensive interviews with the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback and access to his personal archive.

When the 1980's began, the NBA “was in trouble.”.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Licorice Pizza” has been named the best film of the year by the National Board of Review.

In this world, there’s a book for everybody.

“Spike” is a new photograph book to be published November 17.

As he brings “American Utopia” back to Broadway following the pandemic pause, David Byrne says it's evident how thrilled people are simply to be enjoying live entertainment again.

It's premiere time for the film academy's long-awaited museum.

The projectors are rolling.

This week’s new entertainment releases include Mary Elizabeth Winstead starring in the brutal assassin thriller “Kate” on Netflix and a filmed version of the Tony-nominated Broadway musical “Come From Away.”.

“Titane” has won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, making Julia Ducournau the second female filmmaker to win the festival’s top honor in its 74 year history.

After a year off due to the pandemic, the lavish amfAR gala to raise money for AIDS and HIV research retuned in movie-star style Friday.

The pandemic is far from invisible at Cannes.

In the first two days of Cannes, one thing everyone can agree on is that Jodie Foster really speaks terrific French.

The Cannes Film Festival rolled out the red carpet for the first time in more than two years on Tuesday, launching the French Riviera spectacular with the premiere of Leos Carax’s “Annette,” the introduction of Spike Lee’s jury, and with high hopes for shrugging off a punishing pandemic year for cinema.

Cannes is back.

On Tuesday, the Cannes Film Festival will reopen.

“Zola” is very possibly the first feature film adapted from a Twitter thread.

The Tony Awards may be months away, but three groups can already celebrate: The Broadway Advocacy Coalition, “David Byrne’s American Utopia” and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Freestyle Love Supreme” are going to get special awards.

The Philadelphia 76ers have not played like a top seed in the East against the Atlanta Hawks.

The hype for “In the Heights” has brought great expectation to the Latino community in the United States, which has been historically underrepresented or stereotyped on the screen.

A street-level song-and-dance spectacle to rival the MGM musicals of old, “In the Heights” is an exuberant celebration of the Latino immigrant experience, of a neighborhood, of a teeming summertime New York, of life.

Phoenix’s Deandre Ayton had Guy Fieri leaping out of his courtside seat.

An activist Roman Catholic priest cleared by an Archdiocese of Chicago investigation into decades-old sexual abuse claims has returned to lead worship at his longtime Chicago church.

The Cannes Film Festival on Thursday unveiled a lineup of films from big-name auteurs — including Wes Anderson, Asghar Farhadi, Mia Hansen-Løve and Sean Penn — for its 74th edition in July.

Trae Young put the finishing touches on his impressive first playoff series with 36 points and nine assists, and the Atlanta Hawks beat the New York Knicks 103-89 in Game 5.

A play about young Black men trapped on a street corner has positioned itself as the first Broadway show audiences can watch live when the Great White Way restarts.

Derek Chauvin may get sentenced to decades behind bars when he returns to a Minneapolis courtroom for sentencing.

Nationally known activist Chicago priest the Rev. Michael Pfleger will be reinstated as the leader of his parish after an investigation found “insufficient reason to suspect” he sexually abused children.

Paul Mooney, a boundary-pushing comedian who was Richard Pryor’s longtime writing partner and whose bold, incisive musings on racism and American life made him a revered figure in stand-up, has died.

The 93rd annual Academy Awards were always going to be a bit surreal this year.

The premise was simple at the Oscars.

Leo Carax’s “Annette,” starring Marion Cotillard and Adam Driver, will open the 74th Cannes Film Festival on July 6, festival organizers said Monday.

When Jimmy Rollins made his first All-Star team as a rookie with the Philadelphia Phillies 20 years ago, the percentage of Black players in the majors was 13.

FILE - Filmmaker Spike Lee poses for a portrait in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Oct. 7, 2015. Lee will be president of the jury for the 74th Cannes Film Festival. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)NEW YORK – Spike Lee, who was set to lead last year's jury for the Cannes Film Festival that was ultimately canceled by the pandemic, will preside over this year's jury instead. Usually held in May, this year's Cannes Film Festival has been delayed by the health crisis. Lee is the first Black person to head the Cannes jury, which selects one of cinema's top prizes, the Palme d'Or.

10 — Nominations for “Mank," the most of any film this year, with nods for best picture, best director for Fincher, best actor for Gary Oldman and best supporting actress for Seyfried. In the best supporting actor category, Heath Ledger and Ralph Richardson were nominated, with Ledger winning for “The Dark Knight” in 2009. 5 — African nations that have received nominations for best international feature, now that Tunisia has its first nominee, “The Man Who Sold His Skin." 4 — Nominations received by “Nomadland” director Chloé Zhao, a record for a woman in a record year for women. 1 — Man nominated for both best actor and best original song.

It’s a rare year when most of the Oscar nomination surprises are good ones, but 2020 was also a rare year for moviegoing and awards campaigns. Here’s our rundown of the snubs and surprises in the 93rd Academy Award nominations. FEMALE DIRECTORS GET THEIR SHOTFor 92 Academy Awards, only 5 women had ever been nominated for best director and never more than one in the same year. This year, the dubious honor goes to Glenn Close for her portrayal of Mamaw in Ron Howard’s adaptation of J.D. Starring Mads Mikkelsen, the film was well received, but seemed like a long shot for the major Oscars categories.

This image released by Netflix shows Michael Potts, from left, Chadwick Boseman and Colman Domingo in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom." (David Lee/Netflix via AP)NEW YORK – Half a year after his death, Chadwick Boseman was posthumously nominated for an Academy Award on Monday for his final performance in “Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.”The nomination for best actor was widely expected but still historic. Boseman is the first Black performer ever nominated posthumously for an Oscar. He was nominated alongside Steven Yeun ("Minari"), Riz Ahmed ("Sound of Metal"), Anthony Hopkins ("The Father") and Gary Oldman ("Mank"). Three months later, the August Wilson adaptation “Ma Rainey's Black Bottom” was released by Netflix.

Michael Pfleger, a charismatic priest of a thriving Black Catholic parish, inspired her to become an activist and recruited her to run his South Side church's violence prevention office. Stories like Bosley’s are recurrent at St. Sabina Church, a close-knit community that’s been a social activism hub for 40 years under Pfleger. Black Catholic parishes are few and dwindling. Of roughly 21,000 American Catholic parishes, about 800, or less than 4%, are mostly Black, according to a University of Notre Dame and National Black Catholic Congress study. Black priests are more rare, making up 250, or under 1%, of roughly 36,500 Catholic priests, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Zhao, the first woman of color nominated for best director, is the most nominated woman in a single year in Oscar history. She was also tipped for the film’s adapted screenplay, editing and as a producer in the best picture category. “I just quietly gave thanks and felt some gratitude.”Davis, who won for her performance in 2016’s “Fences,” landed her fourth Oscar nomination, making her the most nominated Black actress ever. The Academy Awards would typically have happened by now but this year will be telecast April 25. “Collective,” the Romanian documentary about investigative journalism and government corruption, became just the second film nominated for both best documentary and best international film.

FILE - In this Jan. 12, 2020, file photo, Eddie Murphy accepts the lifetime achievement award at the 25th annual Critics' Choice Awards in Santa Monica, Calif. Murphy will be inducted into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame this month. The NAACP announced Thursday, March 11, 2021, that Murphy will be inducted during the March 27 ceremony, which will air on CBS. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)LOS ANGELES – Eddie Murphy will be inducted into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame this month. The NAACP announced Thursday that Murphy will be inducted during the March 27 ceremony, which will air on CBS. The NAACP Image Awards honoring entertainers and writers of color will also simulcast on BET, MTV, VH1, MTV2, BET HER and LOGO.

(AP Photo)NEW YORK – One of the country's oldest cultural instititutions, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, is undergoing some of its biggest changes in more than a century. AdHarjo, the first Native American to be appointed U.S. poet laureate, said she looked forward to having an influence on future academy choices. “There are so many incredible Native visual artists,” she told the AP, while also citing such authors as N. Scott Momaday and Leslie Marmon Silko. But the academy will still call itself an academy, while working to make itself more accessible to artists and to the general public. Besides choosing members, the academy also gives dozens of prizes and grants each year, totalling more than $1 million.

This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Andra Day in "The United States vs Billie Holiday." (Takashi Seida/Paramount Pictures via AP)“The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” “Minari,” “Da 5 Bloods” and “One Night in Miami” are among the films AARP is honoring at its annual Movies for Grownups Awards, the nonprofit organization said Thursday. Director Lee Daniels’ “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” starring Andra Day as the jazz singer, was named best picture, while the Korean American family drama “Minari” got best intergenerational film. “We focus on films made by and for grownups,” said Tim Appelo, the film and television critic for AARP. Catherine O’Hara took best actress for “Schitt’s Creek,” Mark Ruffalo got best actor for “I Know This Much is True” and “This Is Us” was named best series.

The Screen Actors Guild has nominated the cast for a SAG Award for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture. But the SAG Awards, presented by SAG-AFTRA, are considered a far better barometer for the Academy Awards, where actors account for the largest percentage of the academy. Usually, the eventual Oscar best picture winner is first nominated for best ensemble by the SAG Awards, though “Green Book” and “The Shape of Water" were two recent exceptions. In 2019, he memorably a ccepted the SAG ensemble award for “Black Panther." Aside from Boseman and Oldman, the nominees for best male actor in a lead role were Riz Ahmed (“Sound of Metal”), Anthony Hopkins (“The Father”) and Steven Yeun (“Minari”).

Technically they even snubbed an entire category when best supporting actress was skipped over by mistake. From the Kate Hudson movie that no one has heard of to the very awkward shut out of Spike Lee, here’s a look at some of the biggest surprises of the morning. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who wasn’t surprised to hear Kate Hudson’s name announced among the best actress nominees. That movie is called “Music,” a fantasy musical drama with Hudson, Leslie Odom Jr. and Maddie Ziegler that marks pop star Sia’s directorial debut. Lee’s acclaimed Vietnam drama “Da 5 Bloods” was expected to be a shoo-in for any number of categories: Best picture, best director, best actor for Delroy Lindo or supporting actor for Chadwick Boseman, who died last year.

In this image released by Netflix, Gary Oldman portrays Herman Mankiewicz in a scene from "Mank." On Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021 the film was nominated for a Golden Globe for best motion picture drama. “Mank,” about “Citizen Kane” co-writer Herman Mankiewicz, landed nominations for best film, drama; best actor for Gary Oldman; best director for Fincher, best supporting actress for Amanda Seyfried; best score; and best screenplay for Jack Fincher, the director’s father who penned the script before dying in 2003. Netflix, which topped all studios at the Globes last year, too, led with a commanding 42 nominations, with 22 coming in film categories and 20 in television. AdThe Globes are typically the first major show of Hollywood’s awards season, which ends with the crowning of the best picture winner at the Oscars.

Nominations for the 78th annual Golden Globes will be announced on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2021. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)NEW YORK – Whether anyone will be attending the Golden Globes in person remains uncertain and improbable. On Tuesday, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association said the Globes — typically a bubbly dinner gathering with flowing drinks — will be held bi-coastally for the first time. digital channels and the Golden Globes' website. Last year's Golden Globes culminated in awards for “1917” and “Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood."

This image released by Netflix shows, from second left, Norm Lewis, Clarke Peters Isiah Whitlock Jr., and Delroy Lindo in a scene from "Da 5 Bloods," named one of the top 10 films of the year by The American Film Institute. (David Lee/Netflix via AP)The American Film Institute on Monday announced its top 10 films of the year, including Pixar’s jazz themed “Soul” and two of Chadwick Boseman’s final films: the August Wilson adaptation “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and Spike Lee’s Vietnam drama “Da 5 Bloods,” both of which are Netflix films. AFI also selected Warner Bros.’ Black Panther Party film “Judas and the Black Messiah” which will have its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on Feb. 1. The AFI also named its top 10 television shows, including Netflix’s “The Queen’s Gambit,” the Disney+ phenomenon “The Mandalorian” and Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso.”The selection jury included filmmakers Rian Johnson and Lulu Wang. The group also included a special citation for “Hamilton.”In lieu of the annual luncheon celebrating the honorees, AFI will hold a virtual benediction on Feb. 26 streaming on YouTube and the AFI website.

Yet only two days later, on Aug. 28, 1963, the FBI’s head of domestic intelligence, William C. Sullivan, sounded an internal alarm on King. Absolutely not.’ In some ways, you could even say we were a little bit complicit.”On one hand, “MLK/FBI” enhances the legacy of King. Not just King’s indiscretions but an explosive and controversial allegation discovered by Garrow in FBI records that King watched while a woman was sexually assaulted. “A big part of my thinking two years ago is that everyone needs to be prepared for what will be in the full transcripts and the surviving tapes," Garrow said. The FBI’s recordings of King are under court seal at the National Archives until Jan. 31, 2027.

FILE - Director Spike Lee, second right, and his family, from left, son Jackson Lee, wife Tonya Lewis Lee and daughter Satchel Lee, right, arrive at the 76th annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Jan. 6, 2019. Lees daughter and son have been chosen as the Golden Globe ambassadors to assist with the awards ceremony. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)LOS ANGELES – Spike Lee’s daughter and son have been chosen as the Golden Globe ambassadors to assist with the awards ceremony. Jackson is partnering with Big Brothers Big Sisters, the volunteer-supported mentoring network. Callen-Lorde and Big Brothers Big Sisters will each receive a grant from the HFPA for $25,000 made on the Lees' behalf.

FILE - Cardboard cutouts rest in seats at Oracle Park as the San Francisco Giants play the San Diego Padres during the first inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, in this Wednesday, July 29, 2020, file photo. What wasn’t odd in 2020, when the coronavirus was the commissioner of all sports? And, before long, the odd became the new normal. Masked coaches patrolled the sidelines looking as if they had been lifted from the set of a cheesy cops-and-robbers movie. But with no fans in the park -- in Oakland and San Francisco -- and plenty of balls landing in the seats, AP Baseball Writer Janie McCauley had an idea.

The New York Film Critics Circle on Friday, Dec. 18, 2020, voted Kelly Reichardts Western fable First Cow the best film of 2020. (Allyson Riggs/A24 via AP)NEW YORK – The New York Film Critics Circle on Friday voted Kelly Reichardt's Western fable “First Cow” the best film of 2020, while also giving special honors to Spike Lee and the art-house distributor Kino Lorber for their roles in a movie year deeply marred by the pandemic. The film critics, assembling virtually, gave its top award to “First Cow,” a delicate tale of friendship and capitalism in mid-1800s Oregon Territory. The critics pointedly said the honor was for a service “designed to help support movie theaters, not destroy them.”The New York Film Critics Circle Awards are usually part of a wave of critics group honors that can occasionally influence awards season. Other NYFCC picks include: “Time” for best non-fiction film; “Bacurau” for best foreign language film; “The Forty-Year-Old Version” for best first film; “Wolfwalkers" for best animated film; and the five-film anthology “Small Axe” for best cinematography.

on Aug. 31, 2020, actor Chadwick Boseman in character as T'Challa in "Black Panther" and 10-year old twins Lenny, left, and Bobby Homes paying tribute to Boseman at their home in in Mesa, Ariz. on Aug. 31, 2020. (Takiyah Dupas, Marvel Studios, Annalie Homes via AP)And now, for our annual look at the year in pop culture…. Truth is, people turned to culture of all kinds in 2020 — highbrow and lowbrow — to satisfy varied and sometimes conflicting needs: Distraction, inspiration, consolation, escapism, hope. A Broadway star serenaded health workers from his apartment window, and ballet dancers performed “Swan Lake” from their bathtubs. The world mourns an actor of immense talent who, like many of his characters, radiated a regal sense of dignity.

This image released by Searchlight Pictures shows Frances McDormand in a scene from the film "Nomadland" by Chloe Zhao. Here are our picks for the best movies of 2020:JAKE COYLE1. “David Byrne’s American Utopia”: Spike Lee’s fiction films make more noise but he’s quietly one of the best documentary filmmakers we have. He may have made the best film of the year in his short film “New York, New York,” a tribute to an undefeatable pandemic-stricken city. It's also, with a glorious rendering of Harlem, one of the best New York movies in years.

In this Friday, Oct. 16, 2020, photo made from video and released by the Atlanta Police Department, Antonio Demetrice Rhynes surrenders to an APD drone with officers outside his apartment in Atlanta. Atlanta police announced Friday that they have arrested Rhynes on a felony murder charge for the shooting death of actor Thomas Jefferson Byrd. (Atlanta Police Department via AP)ATLANTA – Atlanta police announced Friday that they have made an arrest in the shooting death of actor Thomas Jefferson Byrd. It wasn't immediately clear whether he had an attorney who could comment on his arrest. In drone footage of the arrest released by Atlanta police, the camera enters a second-floor apartment with a damaged front door.

This image released by HBO shows David Byrne, foreground, in a scene from "David Byrne's American Utopia." (HBO via AP)If you need help with the Public File, call (954) 364-2526.

Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week. — Gretchen Sorin and Ric Burns' “Driving While Black: Race, Space and Mobility in America” was, unfortunately, always going to be of the moment. — Rocker Tommy Lee is in a collaborative state of mind on his new album, “Andro,” out Friday. Sundance Now’s true crime drama “Des” stars David Tennant (“Doctor Who”) as Dennis Nilsen, a serial killer who targeted young men, including the homeless. The three-part “Des,” debuting Thursday on the streaming service, was a recent U.K. TV hit and drew raves for Tennant’s performance.

Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week. — AP Film Writer Lindsey BahrMUSIC— Jay-Z’s Roc Nation entertainment company has curated an album focused on social justice to be released Friday. — It’s taken nearly three decades but Scandal rocker Patty Smyth is releasing her first album of original material on Friday. Fans of that show will find similar style, cars, clothes and alpha male energy in “The Right Stuff,” an eight-part series based on Tom Wolfe's book. The show, about demon-hunting brothers Dean and Sam Winchester (Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki), debuted the same year as YouTube.

This image released by the Toronto Film Festival shows David Byrne in a scene from "David Byrne's American Utopia, a documentary of Byrnes concert musical, directed by Spike Lee. The film opened the Toronto Film Festival on Thursday, Sept. 10. (Toronto Film Festival via AP)NEW YORK – In a film festival season that’s been turned largely virtual, Spike Lee’s “American Utopia,” a documentary of David Byrne’s concert musical and the opening-night film of the Toronto International Film Festival, has nevertheless supplied the giddy rush of live performance in a packed house. “American Utopia” is full of plenty darker realities of American life, touching on police brutality (with her endorsement, he performs Janelle Monáe’s 2015 protest song “ Hell You Talmbout "), immigrant rights and the 2020 election. Byrne: The film is going to be in the New York Film Festival and at drive-in screenings.

This year, three of the four major fall film festivals, including Venice, are going forward despite the pandemic. This year, three of the four major fall film festivals all but Telluride, which had to cancel are going forward despite the pandemic. For a season predicated on badge-wearing throngs and marquee movies, its meant rethinking what a film festival is. A situation like this forces you to assess what is fundamental, says Dennis Lim, director of programming for the New York Film Festival. Anyone in Canada will be able to buy tickets to TIFF screenings, and New York Film Festival films will be briefly available nationwide.

Authorities have been reluctant to release even the most basic information about the incident or details about the white officer who shot Blake seven times in the back. They shot my son seven times seven times, like he didnt matter, Blakes father, Jacob Blake Sr., said. In 2014, for example, a union spokesman rushed to the scene where a white Chicago officer fatally shot 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. As for the shooting itself, authorities, citing the need to protect the integrity of the investigation, have raised far more questions than they've answered. Instead, he said a knife was found after the shooting on the drivers side floorboard of the SUV.

FILE - In this March 4, 2018 file photo, Chadwick Boseman arrives at the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Actor Chadwick Boseman, who played Black icons Jackie Robinson and James Brown before finding fame as the regal Black Panther in the Marvel cinematic universe, has died of cancer. When the former playwright suited up as Black Panther, he brought cool intellectual gravitas to the Marvel superhero whose Wakanda forever! salute reverberated worldwide. You dont have the same exact experience as a Black actor as you do as a white actor. Before an auditorium full of actors, Chadwick Boseman stepped to the microphone.

LOS ANGELES A politically charged episode of black-ish from 2017 that was shelved by ABC has found a home on Hulu, a corporate sibling of the Disney-owned broadcast network. I cannot wait for everyone to finally see the episode for themselves, series creator Kenya Barris posted Monday on social media. The change of heart comes amid ongoing protests and calls for broad social change prompted by the death in May of George Floyd, a Black man, while in Minneapolis police custody. The Emmy-nominated series has tackled thorny social issues during its ABC run, which began in 2014. Black-ish has four nominations for next month's Emmys on ABC, including lead actor nods for Anderson and Ross.

This combination photo shows actor-director Werner Herzog, left, and actress-director Regina King. The Toronto International Film Festival on Thursday unveiled a lineup featuring the directorial debut of Regina King and the latest documentary from Herzog. Toronto, which is set to run Sept. 10-19, has plotted a largely virtual 45th edition due to the pandemic. In normal years, TIFF is the largest film festival in North America. Some of the films will play first at the much smaller Venice Film Festival the week prior in September.

NEW YORK The 45th Toronto International Film Festival will be a much diminished event this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, but it has an opening-night film. Spike Lee's filmed version of David Byrne's Broadway theatrical concert American Utopia will kick off the largely virtual fall festival. TIFF's Toronto headquarters currently remain closed. The former Talking Heads frontman's American Utopia played at New York's Hudson Theatre from October 2019 through February 2020. With David Brynes American Utopia, he brings Byrnes classic songs and joyous stagecraft to the screen just when we need it.

LOS ANGELES The American Film Institute announced Monday that it is offering free rentals of Do The Right Thing all week and will host a discussion of the 1989 film about racism, protests, police brutality and a New York neighborhood in turmoil with director Spike Lee. The AFI says it's partnering with Universal Pictures to offer the film for free from Monday through Sunday on Amazon, Apple, Charter, Comcast, Google, Redbox, Vudu and several other platforms. The discussion with Lee will be held Thursday at 8 p.m. EDT on the AFI YouTube channel. The announcement does not directly mention recent nationwide protests brought on by the death of George Floyd, but AFI President Bob Gazzale said in a statement that the film is a timeless and timely classic and that Lee has forever proven himself the voice for change that we need now more than ever.Do The Right Thing, which stars Lee, Giancarlo Esposito, Ossie Davis and Danny Aiello, was nominated for two Academy Awards and is on the AFI's list of 100 greatest films of all time.

Hughley announced he tested positive for COVID-19 after collapsing onstage during a performance in Nashville, Tennessee. The stand-up comedian, 57, lost consciousness while performing at the Zanies comedy nightclub on Friday night and was hospitalized, news outlets reported. On Saturday, Hughley posted a video on Twitter in which he said he was treated for exhaustion and dehydration afterward. I also tested positive for COVID-19, which blew me away," he says in the video. Thank you for your prayers and your well wishes and a few more of them wouldn't hurt, Hughley says in the video.

NEW YORK In the jungle of Spike Lees sprawling and anguished Da 5 Bloods, Delroy Lindos titanic performance as a Vietnam veteran rises to a ferocious, even Shakespearean pinnacle. In Lindo's intense performance, Da 5 Bloods turns almost mythic in its deconstruction of African American history in U.S. combat and in war films. Lindo's gravity has long been felt in roles large and small, from Get Shorty to Heist, but Da 5 Bloods gives Lindo one of his fullest showcases. Lindo built his performance on research, meeting with two cousins who served and a number of Vietnam vets. Lindo: I remember saying to Spike, Spike, Im a father and a parent.

NEW YORK After voicing support for Woody Allen and criticizing cancel culture, Spike Lee apologized Saturday for words he said were wrong.In an interview Friday on the New York radio station WOR 710, Lee called Allen a great, great filmmaker.This cancel thing is not just Woody. Woodys a friend of mine, said Lee. "I know hes going through it right now.The following day, Lee tweeted an apology. Earlier this year, he released a memoir through Arcade Publishing after his original publisher, Hachette Book Group, dropped the book amid widespread criticism. Lee's latest film, the Vietnam War drama Da 5 Bloods, debuted Friday on Netflix.

In this image released by NBC, Jason Beghe portrays Hank Voight, left, in a scene from the crime series "Chicago PD." The divide between crime fiction and real life dates back to the genre's origins, more than 200 years ago. Law enforcement violence and corruption were extreme in the mid-19th century and some police forces were rooted in the patrols that used to chase down runaway slaves. Meanwhile, The police in early crime fiction were depicted as good, courageous, and brilliant, says Otto Penzler, the crime fiction publisher and bookseller. Over the past 50 years, the image of law enforcement has sometimes mirrored debates between liberals and conservatives.

(AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)CHARLOTTE, N.C. Bubba Wallace can count Spike Lee and Demi Lovato in his corner since he became the leader of NASCARs push for change. Wallace is the only black full-time driver at NASCAR's top level and has had to scrap for sponsorship money his entire career. The opportunity for RPM to support Wallace with the paint scheme was possible only because no other corporation had bought the hood space to advertise. His 2013 victory in a Truck Series race was the first national series win by an African American driver, and helped push him into NASCAR's elite Cup Series. Wallace isn't sure what comes next in his role as activist but he said he is determined to fight for equality.