The Primetime Emmy nominations were announced this morning, and we got some decent representation, which is more than we can say for the Oscars. Check below to see if your favorite Black actor/filmmaker was nominated for an Emmy. Who do you think was snubbed?

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Anthony Anderson – Black-ish

Don Cheadle – House of Lies

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Niecy Nash – Getting On

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Andre Braugher – Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Keegan-Michael Key – Key & Peele

Titus Burgess – Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Viola Davis – How to Get Away with Murder

Taraji P. Henson – Empire

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Uzo Aduba – Orange Is the New Black

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie

Queen Latifah – Bessie

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie

David Oyelowo – Nightingale

Outstanding Variety Sketch Series

Key & Peele

Outstanding TV Movie

Bessie

Nightingale

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series

Cicely Tyson – How to Get Away with Murder

Khandi Alexander – Scandal

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series

Reg E. Cathey – House of Cards

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie

Regina King – American Crime

Angela Bassett – American Horror Story: Freak Show

Mo’Nique – Bessie

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie

Michael Kenneth Williams – Bessie

Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special

John Ridley – American Crime, “Episode One”

Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special

Dee Rees – Bessie

Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series

Key & Peele

The 67th Primetime Emmy Awards will air September 20 at 8/7c on FOX.

The post The 67th Primetime Emmy Award Nominations appeared first on Films of Color.

We’ve seen some cool stuff happen in films. There’s been films with crazy CGI stuff like giant robots. We’ve seen whole worlds created. There’s been films shot like one continuous shot. But sometimes the simple stuff is the coolest of all.

Characterization is one if the biggest parts of telling a story, and character interaction fuels characterization. So to have just one character to carry a film is risky. David Oyelowo was up to the task. He stars in Nightingale as a war veteran who, while waiting for a friend’s visit, starts to unravel.

Nightingale airs on HBO. Check your TV listings for times.

The post Nightingale appeared first on Films of Color.

The winners of the 2015 Black Reel Awards were announced Thursday, February 19, 2015. Selma, Dear White People, Gun Hill, and The Trip to Bountiful were big winners. The full list can be found below.

Film

Outstanding Motion Picture

Selma

Outstanding Actor, Motion Picture

David Oyelowo – Selma

Outstanding Actress, Motion Picture

Gugu Mbatha-Raw – Belle

Outstanding Supporting Actor, Motion Picture

Wendell Pierce – Selma

Outstanding Supporting Actress, Motion Picture

Carmen Ejogo – Selma

Outstanding Director, Motion Picture

Ava DuVernay – Selma

Outstanding Screenplay, Motion Picture

Chris Rock – Top Five

Outstanding Documentary

Anita: Speaking Truth to the Power

Outstanding Ensemble

Selma

Outstanding Foreign Film

Fishing Without Nets (Kenya)

Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Male

Tyler James Williams – Dear White People

Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Female

Teyonah Parris – Dear White People

Outstanding Voice Performance

Morgan Freeman – The LEGO Movie

Outstanding Score

Jason Moran – Selma

Outstanding Original Song

“Glory” from Selma – Performed by: John Legend & Common

INDEPENDENT

Outstanding Independent Feature

The Retrieval

Outstanding Independent Documentary

25 to Life

Outstanding Independent Short

#AmeriCan

TELEVISION

Outstanding Television Documentary or Special

Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown

Outstanding TV Movie or Mini-Series

The Trip to Bountiful

Outstanding Actor, TV Movie or Mini-Series

Larenz Tate – Gun Hill

Outstanding Actress, TV Movie or Mini-Series

Cicely Tyson – The Trip to Bountiful

Outstanding Supporting Actor, TV Movie or Mini-Series

Blair Underwood – The Trip to Bountiful

Outstanding Supporting Actress, TV Movie or Mini-Series

Anika Noni Rose – A Day Late and a Dollar Short

Outstanding Director, TV Movie or Mini-Series

Reggie Rock Bythewood – Gun Hill

Outstanding Screenplay, TV Movie or Mini-Series

Reggie Rock Bythewood – Gun Hill

The post 2015 Black Reel Awards Winners appeared first on Films of Color.

Even after slavery ended, for years many Black people were relegated to domestic work. They took what they could get and made the best of it. Some even worked at The White House.

Eugene Allen was one such butler. The Butler is loosely based on his life. The Butler follows fictional character Cecil Gaines, played by Forest Whitaker, from his childhood on a plantation to being a butler at The White House to meeting the first Black president.

The Butler manages to weave the experiences of Gaines with the plight of Black people during the Civil Rights Movement and beyond. Gaines’s son, played by David Oyelowo, was a Black radical who served as a foil to Gaines. Their relationship provided much of the conflict in the film as they rarely saw eye to eye.

The Butler was nominated for several awards and won a few, including NAACP Image Awards for Whitaker and Oyelowo for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture. It is available here.

The post Black History Month Day 10 – ‘The Butler’ appeared first on Films of Color.

Ava DuVernay – @AVAETC

Did you watch the NAACP Image Awards last night? Whether you did or you didn’t, we have a list of of the winners for the film/television categories. Congratulations to all the winners and to those who were nominated. The Awards were a fantastic watch. Everyone looked good and proved that good Black don’t crack.

Entertainer of the Year
Taraji P. Henson

Outstanding Motion Picture
Selma

Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
David Oyelowo – Selma

Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
Taraji P. Henson – No Good Deed

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Common – Selma

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Carmen Ejogo – Selma

Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture (Theatrical)
Antoine Fuqua – The Equalizer

Outstanding Independent Motion Picture
Belle

Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance
Loretta Devine – Doc McStuffins

Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture (Theatrical)
Misan Sagay – Belle

Outstanding Comedy Series
black-ish

Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson – black-ish

Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series
Tracee Ellis Ross – black-ish

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Laurence Fishburne – black-ish
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Yara Shahidi – black-ish

Outstanding Drama Series
How to Get Away with Murder

Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series
Shemar Moore – Criminal Minds

Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
Viola Davis – How to Get Away with Murder

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Joe Morton – Scandal

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Khandi Alexander – Scandal

Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
The Trip to Bountiful

Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
Blair Underwood – The Trip to Bountiful

Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
Cicely Tyson – The Trip to Bountiful

Outstanding Children’s Program
Doc McStuffins

Outstanding Performance by a Youth in a Youth/Children’s Program (Series or Special)
Fatima Ptacek – Dora and Friends: Into The City!

Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
Sara Hess – Orange is the New Black – “It Was the Change’

Outstanding Writing in a Dramatic Series
Erika Green Swafford – How to Get Away with Murder – “Let’s Get To Scooping”

Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture (Television)
Shernold Edwards – A Day Late and a Dollar Short

Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series
Ken Whittingham – Parks and Recreation – “Prom”

Outstanding Directing in a Dramatic Series
Carl Franklin – House of Cards – “Chapter 14”

Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture (Television)
Reggie Bythewood – Gun Hill

The post 46th NAACP Image Awards Winners appeared first on Films of Color.

Yesterday we featured Malcolm X, so it’s only appropriate that we feature Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. today. He’s the flip side of that coin. A proponent of nonviolence, he is one of the most well known leaders of the Civil Rights Movement.

MLK might’ve been nonviolent but don’t get it twisted. He advocated civil disobedience and was no stranger to jail. His work was instrumental in tearing down segregation.

MLK has received many honors, such as Nobel Peace Prize, Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal, and having a federal holiday named after him, but what he gave us was much greater.

MLK was known for his speeches and nonviolent demonstrations and marches. One of his greater successes was the passage of the Voting Rights Act. The events leading up to its passage was chronicled in the film, Selma.

Selma is a powerful film with an amazing cast and crew. David Oyelowo brought MLK alive again. The cinematography was above the level of any other film in its genre. It’s a film not to be missed. It’s a film that needs our support, so make sure you get a ticket.

The post Black History Month Day 2 – ‘Selma’ appeared first on Films of Color.

Mira Nair is set as director. The script is penned by William Wheeler, who wrote Nair’s Reluctant Fundamentalist. Shooting for Queen of Katwe is expected to start in the spring. The budget is rumored to be $15 million.

Synopsis:

Katwe is based on Tim Crothers’ 2011 ESPN The Magazinearticle and subsequent book The Queen Of Katwe: A Story Of Life, Chess, And One Extraordinary Girl’s Dream Of Becoming A Grandmaster. It tells the story of Phiona Mutesi, who emerged out of a slum in Uganda to reach the World Chess Olympiad with the help and belief of her coach-mentor Robert Katende. Oyelowo, who’s up for a Golden Globe this weekend, will play Katende. Nyong’o will play Harriet Mutesi, Phiona’s young mother.

David Oyelowo can be seen in Selma. Lupita Nyong’o has several projects in the work including the new Star Wars film. Nyong’o is already an Academy Award winning actress with several other awards under her belt, and Oyelowo is up for several awards for his performance in Selma, so the talent will be abundant. It looks like we’ll get two chances to see how their combined acting abilities play out on the big screen.

Source: Deadline

The post David Oyelowo and Lupita Nyong’o in Talks to Star in ‘Queen of Katwe’ appeared first on Films of Color.

The pushback to this film only proves how great it must be. Publications are popping up everywhere trying to fact check the film. Out of all the historical films out there, most wrought with errors, fact checking arises at the same time as Selma‘s release. I just take it as the inability to find anything else wrong with it, a testament to the cast and the brilliant director, Ava DuVernay. Selma has already won numerous awards and is nominated for numerous more. Let’s start out 2015 right with a strong showing. It’s a must see for adults and children alike.

Synopsis:

The unforgettable true story chronicles the tumultuous three-month period in 1965, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition. The epic march from Selma to Montgomery culminated in President Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant victories for the civil rights movement. Director Ava DuVernay’s “Selma” tells the story of how the revered leader and visionary Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and his brothers and sisters in the movement prompted change that forever altered history.

Cast:

David Oyelowo – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Carmen Ejogo – Coretta Scott King

Common – James Bevel

Cuba Gooding, Jr – Fred Gray

Lorraine Toussaint – Amelia Boynton Robinson

Oprah Winfrey – Annie Lee Cooper

Niecy Nash – Richie Jean Jackson

Wendell Pierce – Hosea Williams

Crew:

Director/Executive Producer – Ava DuVernay

Writer – Paul Webb

Cinematographer – Bradford Young

Opens in theaters everywhere January 9, 2015. Get your tickets here.

Source: IMDB

The post ‘Selma’ appeared first on Films of Color.