'The Wire' Cast, Creator Reflect On Show After 20 Years: Only Individuals, Not Institutions, Can Be Fundamentally Reformed

Twenty years after its debut, The Wire continues to speak to the present just as it commands us to look back at the past. Set in Baltimore, Maryland, in the early 2000s, The Wire was not a ratings hit or even an award-winner when it was on the air. However, David Simon and Ed Burns’ masterpiece is considered one of the most significant pieces of television ever conceived. 

Composed of five seasons tackling institutions and social issues, including The War on Drugs, Capitalism and Economics, Politics, Public Education and the Media, The Wire is a searing and compelling examination of our failing structures told through the lives of some truly remarkable characters. 

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LaToya Ruby Frazier, Devin Allen And Jamel Shabazz On Gordon Parks' Legacy And Black Photography Today

By the time Gordon Parks shot his first photograph for Life Magazine, his mother had died, racism had forced him out of his hometown of Fort Scott, Kansas, and he’d worked in brothels, as a singer, and as a professional basketball player. He was not yet 30 when he captured the infamous image titled “American Gothic” and the follow-up sequence of photos of Ella Watson. Watson worked as a cleaner in the Farm Security Administration building where Parks had a fellowship. HBO’s documentary, A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks, doesn’t simply examine the photographer’s extensive body of work. It also explores his activism and what it meant to preserve the 20th-century Black experience through his camera lens.

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HBO's Tina Turner documentary is her way of saying thank you — and goodbye — to all of us

HBO's "Tina" opens with a thunderous greeting from Tina Turner: a clip from 30 years ago of the then-50-year-old singer in all of her silver-sequined, long-legged glory, demanding that a stadium full of people ask her how she feels. She then, of course, blows them, and us, away with her song "Ask Me How I Feel."

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'We Are The Dream' Reminds Us That Kids Have A Voice Too

Each year in Oakland, California, children from over 120 schools, ages ranging from preschool level through 12th grade are given the opportunity to compete in the Martin Luther King Oratorical Festival. More than a competition, the MLK Oratorical Festival becomes a learning moment for the youth and an opportunity for them to speak confidently in front of large crowds, sharing both the words of Dr. King and their own original content, while also mastering their posture and cadence in a way that may have never been available to them before.

Now, the history behind the competition, the organizers and the children who participate are being highlighted in the new HBO documentary We Are The Dream: The Kids of the Oakland MLK Oratorical Fest. Directed and produced by Amy Schatz and executive produced by Oscar-winning actor Mahershala Ali and Amatus Karim-Ali, the documentary is a warm reminder that if we continue to pour into our children, not all hope is lost. 

A moving, feel-good documentary, We Are The Dream chronicles the 2019 competition, which also aligns with the 40th anniversary of the MLK Fest. While presenting the Oakland community as a backdrop, Schatz makes it clear that the MLK Oratorical Fest is a tradition that is deeply embedded into the hearts of the city's long-term residents. Still, what stands out in the doc are the educators who have remained committed to the children, despite dwindling resources and an increasingly fast-paced digital world. These teachers and mentors take the time to foster relationships with young people so they can feel encouraged and supported, allowing the audience to learn from these fresh and unjaded minds

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I Watched the Season 2 Premiere Of ‘Big Little Lies’ & I Have So Many Questions

The Monterey Five are back, and this season, their past secrets and lies just might bury them all alive. These Big Little Lies Season 2 series premiere spoilers will reveal everything that’s happening to our favorite ladies. A new school year has begun, and new characters will infiltrate Monterey. During the Season 1 finale, the women witnessed Celeste (Nicole Kidman) being tormented and physically abused by her husband, Perry (Alexander Skarsgård). Rushing to defend her, Bonnie (Zoë Kravitz) accidentally pushed Perry to his death while the other ladies, Madeline (Reese Witherspoon) Jane (Shailene Woodley), and Renata (Laura Dern) rushed to her side to cover up the crime.

Summer has passed since we last saw the ladies and while Madeline, Jane, and Renata seem determined to put the past behind them–the arrival of Perry’s grieving mother, Mary Louise (Meryl Streep) threatens to expose them all. Meanwhile, Bonnie is now a shell of the vibrant spirit she once was. Unable to cope with her role in Perry’s death, she’s wholly retreated into herself disconnecting with her family and the women who are implicated with her.

The Season 2 Big Little Lies opener, “What Have They Done?” picks up just a few months after the Season 1 finale, and  I have a slew of burning questions.

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'What’s My Name | Muhammad Ali' Is The Legendary Boxer's Eulogy to Himself [Tribeca Review]

“If I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive.” --Audre Lorde

During a time when Black people as a whole were being labeled with various stereotypes, or forced into certain boxes, Muhammad Ali was redefining what it meant to be a Black celebrity and athlete. Bold and fearless, he used his platform to speak out against racial injustices and inequality; Ali refused to allow the world to define him.

In his exquisitely done two-part documentary, What’s My Name | Muhammad Ali, acclaimed director Antoine Fuqua chronicles Ali’s life and legacy. Beginning with his early days in the 1950s as an amateur boxer in Louisville, Kentucky to the later years when he became a global citizen and political ambassador while battling Parkinson’s disease, Fuqua paints an extensive portrait of an extraordinary human being.

Composed entirely of archival footage, and void of talking head interviews, input from historians, or people who knew Ali— Fuqua allows the sports legend and civil rights icon to speak entirely for himself—and he’s darn good at it! Pulling from never-before-seen interviews, both audio and video, newspaper clippings, and footage from his Deer Lake Training Camp in Pennsylvania, What’s My Name is Ali's eulogy to himself. Born with the gift of gab, the heavyweight champion never stops talking--not even when he's in the boxing ring.

A brilliant and graceful competitor with panther sharp instincts and reflexes, Fuqua shows all facets of the sports icon's personality. Normally jovial in spirit, Ali is often seen playfully taunting his opponents before and during matches. However, when provoked, he wasn’t afraid to get vicious.

In 1964, at the age of 22, Ali converted to the Nation of Islam shedding his birth name Cassius Clay for Muhammad Ali.  In doing so, Ali effectively made himself even more of a target for the U.S. government, Islamophobia, and racism. Three years later Ali was still fighting to shed his old name. He would use both his fists and his words to get his point across.

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Moonlight’s Ashton Sanders gives a hauntingly dark Native Son some 21st-century texture

Adapting Richard Wright’s 1940 novel, Native Son, to the big screen in the 21st-century was always going to be a monumental feat. The controversial story had already been actualized on the big screen twice—once in a 1951 film starring Wright himself, and then again in 1986 for PBS starring Oprah Winfrey. For his feature film debut, conceptual artist-turned-director Rashid Johnson thrusts Wright’s narrative into the modern day, bringing with it all of society’s failings surrounding race, class, and privilege.

Using Wright as a guide along with Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks’ screenplay, Johnson invites us into Bigger Thomas’ (Moonlight standout Ashton Sanders) world. Separated into three parts—Fate, Fear, and Flight—the film opens with Bigger’s voice-over. Arrogant and peculiar, Bigger is a lanky and quiet young black man. His green hair sits in sharp contrast to his shea butter-slathered dark skin. Bigger seems aloof, and he has an aura of superiority, though he still lives in his widowed mother’s (Sanaa Lathan) tiny apartment along with his younger siblings.

Set in present-day Chicago, a city that Johnson presents in all of its grandeur on screen, Bigger complains about the complacency he sees around him. Yet he seems almost offended when others suggest he spread his wings to seek something more meaningful than his job as a bike messenger. As Bigger weaves in and out of the towering skyscrapers in downtown Chicago, he stands out. Bigger desperately wants to be thoughtful and radical, but it’s clear from the film’s opening that he’s sleepwalking through life.

Continue reading at The A.V. Club.

Sandra Bland's Sisters Speak On Her Life, Legacy And HBO's 'Say Her Name: The Life And Death of Sandra Bland'

We know her name. Sandra Annette Bland — affectionately known as Sandy by her friends and loved ones— was just 28 years old in July 2015, when she was pulled over for what should have been a routine traffic stop in Prairie View, Texas. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Bland was ripped from her vehicle by a Texas State Trooper and jailed in Waller County. Three days later, she was found hanged in her jail cell. From the moment the news of her death was reported, it was met with immediate outrage and suspicion. Her story became a leading face in the #SayHerName movement that focus on the Black women and girls who have been victims of police violence but have often been overshadowed in the #BlackLivesMatter movement by male victims whose stories have received more attention. 

Though Bland’s family is no closer to having answers than they were three years ago, they’ve partnered with Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning filmmakers Kate Davis and David Heilbroner to bring Sandra’s story to the big screen while ensuring that her legacy and her name continues to echo loudly around the world. HBO’s Say Her Name: The Life & Death of Sandra Bland begins just ten days after the young activist’s death and follows Bland’s family and the Black community as they desperately search for answers. 

Ahead of the film’s debut, Shadow and Act sat down with Bland’s older sisters Sharon Cooper and Shante Needham to discuss the movie, who Sandy was, and how they’ve continued to push forward in the midst of overwhelming grief. 

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Situationships, Sex And Shenanigans: Our Predictions For Season 3 Of 'Insecure'

After an emotionally tumultuous and eye-opening season 2 of Insecure, the critically acclaimed series is set to drop its third season on August 12. This time it looks like Issa (Issa Rae) and Molly (Yvonne Orji) are entering their dirty thirties with the same ol’ shenanigans. Season 2 was the final nail in the coffin in Issa and Lawrence’s (Jay Ellis) relationship, and from what Ellis has told Angie Martinez, it doesn’t look like the former Best Buy employee will be penetrating Issa’s world anytime soon. In fact, after some much-needed closure, it looks like the man who forgot Issa's birthday is officially Black History. Even though we love Ellis as an actor, we aren’t mad that Lawrence and Issa are no longer circling one another. After all, we want to see Issa grow and prosper, and that’s just not going to be possible if she and her ex are still holding on to one another (symbolically or otherwise). But let's get back to the ladies on the show because that's what's so enchanting about the series. Rae and showrunner Prentice Penny are putting black women at the center and giving them the opportunity to tell their stories. Still, that’s not to say that even without the drama of Lawrence that Issa’s life is flawless.

The last time we saw the Stanford grad, she was moving out of the apartment she and Lawrence once shared and in with Daniel (Y'lan Noel), her college bae and the man with whom she cheated on Lawrence. Originally, Issa was supposed to move in with her brother, Ahmal (Jean Elie), but that quickly changed. Now, Issa is supposed to be sleeping on Daniel's s couch. But we’ve all seen Daniel, and we’ve indeed all witnessed the chemistry between the pair, so we'll give the new "roommates" until episode three before they fall back into bed together.

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HBO 'King In the Wilderness' Executive Producer On The Film And Examining Dr. King's Final Years

It’s been fifty-years since Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated leaving an unfulfilled dream, a blueprint for humanity, a turbulent country, and a furious race of people behind. In these past five decades, Dr. King has been immortalized; hoisted up as an almost mythical being – a martyr of the Civil Right's Movement. Though history has painted Dr. King in a certain light, his closest friends and allies haven’t forgotten the last few years of his life – years that were full of confliction and uncertainty. In his searing HBO film, King in the Wilderness director Peter Kunhardt chronicles the last few years of the Civil Right’s pioneer's life – a time where even his beliefs and doctrine toward peace and non-violence were tested. A week before the film’s premiere I chatted with novelist, screenwriter, and professor Trey Ellis who served as an executive producer and interviewer for the project. For Ellis, it was essential to look back at Dr. King’s life and legacy through the memories of those who stood by his side day after day. King in the Wilderness gives an alternative view of a man who stood in the midst of an increasingly unstable country, rallying for the end of racism, war, and poverty.

Ellis had been yearning for a project on Dr. King’s life for some time, so when he heard that Kuhardt was putting something together at HBO, he jumped at the chance to get involved. "I talked to HBO a long time ago, but then around January of 2017 Peter approached me about this new take on Dr. King to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his assassination," Ellis explained. "We all decided that the later King, King in the Wilderness was the least told and also the most important for what we're going through today. So I was really excited, to come on board to do most of the interviews. Taylor (Branch) interviewed Harry Belafonte, Andy Young, and Reverend C.T. Vivian and I had the pleasure of interviewing the rest of them. We spent a year traveling around the country talking to real-life heroes for two to four hours at a time. Some of them were heroes that I knew, like John Lewis, or Jesse Jackson and others like Cleveland Sellers or Bernard Lafayette were people that I’d never heard of before, but once I got to speak with them, I was just so amazed by their strength."

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Jess Hilarious on HBO's 'All Def Comedy,' talking that mess and taking it all in (EXCLUSIVE)

Jess Hilarious (née Jessica Robin Moore) is here for the mess, and we love her for it. The Baltimore native has risen quickly to the top of the comedy world -- a male-dominated sphere with her jokes, roasts and outlandish entertainment commentary. Just a few years ago, she was studying mortuary science. Now, the Wild 'n Out comedian appears in HBO’s Def Comedy Jam reboot, All Def Comedy. Ahead of the series premiere, I chatted with Jess who is currently touring the country and performing her stand-up routines. Comedy has always been a significant part of the 25-year-old's life. “It was just something effortless for me because I've always been a humorous person --just socially humorous, “ she explained. “It started at family reunions and just general conversation with my family, friends, and boyfriend. One day I was just sitting, and I was like let me just start making videos. They went viral. I saw a response from that my following was growing. I started doing stand-up. I jumped into it, and it was good. It hasn't even been that long. I’ve only been doing stand-up for like 18 months. The comedy all-together, like two and half years."

With her hands in improv, stand-up and her Instagram segment, Jess with the Mess -- the comedy phenom feels most at home on the stage. “Honestly, I like stand-up better, “ she reflected, “I'm not a big fan of improv. I'm not a big fan of acting on the spot. I can on the spot roast somebody like on the Wild 'n Out shows and that type of stuff. But unless it's a person that I have to roast, it's not going down.

Jess' knack for roasting is what has helped propel her to the center of social media comedy. With spats with the likes of Azealia Banks, Hazel E and a major controversy surrounding an innocent photo with her son, Jess has remained unphased by it all. “I don’t regret anything. Not ever,” she said adamantly. “The problems I choose, I choose them wisely. I don't regret anything that I've done. I don't regret picking on anybody. It's a difference between bullying and roasting and if you need to be roasted you gonna get roasted. That's just how it is. That's just who I am. That's how I was brought up. I have an older brother -- all he did was crack on me. He made me real tough and got me together for the world. He just prepared me to be quick on my feet for when somebody comes at me. It's all fun and games until people get serious. Then when they get serious, I still be playing.”

The spot-on impressionist has obtained a massive following that topples over 2.5 million on Instagram alone by being engaging and talking directly to her fans. “I just talk about my everyday life,” she explained. “You know, relatable situations that people go through every day. I find a way to make it funny. It's gonna make you laugh not only because it's funny, but because you can relate to it. So that's what makes me likable. That's how I keep my audience’s attention -- that's how I build my set. That's how I build my material.”

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Interview: The cast & creators of 'The Deuce' on selling sex, the '70s and misogyny

Sex is everywhere. From beverage commercials to lipstick ads, hardly anything in popular culture is sold without some semblance of eroticism embedded in it. Since the 1970's, depictions of sex and sexuality have only gotten raunchier, more explosive and often exploitative. It's a subject also now stands at the forefront of our society -- and yet the way in which we discuss sex and more importantly sex work is not exactly progressive. The Wire creators George Pelecanos and David Simon wanted to shift the conversation. The duo has returned to HBO with a spectacular new drama, The Deuce. The series focuses on the rise of the porn industry and its legalization in New York City's seedy Time's Square beginning in 1971. By honing in on the people on the streets -- the bartenders, mobsters, the sex workers and their pimps, The Deuce is both incredibly detailed and piercing. Once again, Simon and Pelecanos have worked diligently to flesh out characters who would typically be cast aside as one-dimensional fixtures in other series and films. On a late Thursday morning, at the HBO building which sits just two avenues over from the tourist trap that birthed the porn industry, I sat down with Pelecanos, Simon, James Franco who stars as identical twins Vincent-- a bartender and Frankie, a gambler and degenerate. Also present was Maggie Gyllenhaal who is exquisite as self-made prostitute Candy, Gary Carr who plays the volatile and charismatic pimp C.C. and The Wire alum Lawrence Gilliard, Jr who portrays kind-hearted cop, Chris Alston.

For Simon, this moment in our history was the perfect time to bring The Deuce to life. "You can't tell me that after 50 years of the increasingly ubiquitous nature of pornography in the culture hasn't made it more and more permissible for everybody from the President of the United States to the anonymous voice on Twitter to basically call women whores," he emphasized. "It's become our discourse, almost a default any woman tries to say anything publicly. There's something pornographic in our whole demeanor."

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

Gbenga Akinnagbe talks HBO's 'The Deuce' — a series on the porn industry's rise in '70s NYC (S&A Fall TV Preview)

George Pelecanos and David Simon — the dynamic team behind HBO's The Wire and Treme have returned to television with a breathtaking drama. The Deuce is a '70s set series that follows the rise and legalization of pornography in New York City's Times Square, once termed 'The Deuce.'  As always, the creators present a meaty and fully fleshed out cast, encompassing everyone from sex workers, cops, pimps, journalists, mobsters and beyond to lend their perspective to this time. Starring James Franco as identical twin brothers Vincent and Frankie Martino; Maggie Gyllenhaal as a self-made prostitute Candy, Gary Carr as pimp C.C., and Gbenga Akinnagbe as the vicious pimp Larry Brown among many others, The Deuce is certainly a timely piece that comments on the misogynist- filled era that we live in today.

Ahead of the series premiere, Shadow and Act's Aramide Tinubu sat down to speak with Akinnagbe about The Deuce, returning to Pelecanos and Simon and what he discovered about himself from embodying Larry Brown.

Aramide Tinubu: What intrigued you about The Deuce overall, and why did decide that you wanted to work with David Simon, George Pelecanos and the team from The Wire again?

Gbenga Akinnagbe: That's my Wire Family. I love working with them. I grew up on TV working with them, so they've influenced how I tell stories, the stories I like to watch and be a part of. Aside from that, we all remained tight even off screen for years. Knowing the quality of the work that David and George do, I knew that this show would give an interesting perspective to people who are easily dismissed as one sided criminals on TV -- pimps, hooker, gangsters. And also, the time period, the '70s -- those clothes, come on.

AT: It's fantastic to look at. The series is really rich in texture as well. How did you come on board The Deuce to play Larry?

GA: I went in, and I read for that, and that's how that worked. I was fortunate enough to book the role. Initially, I read for a different character and then they brought me in for . It just kind of clicked. It made sense.

AT: Can you tell me a little more about Larry? What interested you about him specifically? He's a pimp in New York City in the '70s which is very different from your character Chris from, The Wire. However, both men have that same level-headed ferociousness that drives them.

GA: Larry is very different from Chris. Chris was very methodical, and he wasn't a drug dealer. He didn't really care about those things -- the fancy things. He was a sociopath but looked out for his boys and the people he cared about. Larry is in for the business of it. He's much more of a business man. He's got hopes and dreams and aspirations, and he's going to do what he needs to do; apply his skill set, which is pandering sex to get what he wants. Chris did what was necessary. Larry does what is flashy. There's a drive there obviously with Larry that's complicated, and it unfolds throughout the season.

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Review: David Oyelowo is Breathtakingly Brilliant in HBO’s 'Nightingale'

It takes a great deal of courage to embark on a solo performance; a one-man cast with a singular location. It’s such a vulnerable experience for the actor, giving himself over the character and that character’s experiences entirely.  Often it doesn’t work; the audience is unable to remain enamored with the story. However, when it does work, when the actor becomes infused in the character and with the story, the results are breathtaking.  In HBO’s "Nightingale," David Oyelowo gives the best performance of his career as Peter Snowden, a man quickly and violently descending into madness.

Director Elliott Lester requires his audience to do the work of piecing Peter’s story together for themselves. Through Peter’s manic though at times humorous monologues, we began to get a fuller picture of his life, and the circumstances that have led him to this particular moment in time.  Set in modern-day Minneapolis, Peter is desperately trying to step into the 21st century though his surroundings have stalled him. He lives with his elderly mother and everything from the drapery on the windows, to the clothing in the closets are relics from the 1960’s.  In one of the most striking scenes of the film, Peter enters the house and begins un-boxing a new iPhone.  He kneels before it, worshiping its sleek design as if praying at the feet of God himself.  It’s obvious that he’s been waiting a long time for this moment, the new device is so unlike the house phone that the audience had grown accustom to seeing him with. Though Peter is in many ways stuck in a past time, his story is one for this century.  He documents his days through a series of vlogs, which he posts on the Internet. When he’s not on the phone, he speaks to his viewers, his mother, to God or to himself.

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

Image: HBO