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Jordan Peele is an Oscar- and Emmy-winning director, writer, actor, producer, and founder of Monkeypaw Productions. Peele's first feature film, "Get Out," was a critically acclaimed blockbuster, recognized with four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. The film would earn Peele the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. His second feature, "Us," broke numerous box-office records, becoming the biggest opening for an R-rated original film in history when released in March of 2019 to widespread critical praise. Peele's third feature, the original horror epic, "Nope," opened in the summer of 2022 to rave reviews, the No. 1 slot at the box office, and once again becoming a widely discussed cultural phenomenon. Five years in the making, Peele produced and co-wrote Henry Selick's stop-motion animated feature, "Wendell & Wild," to which he also lent his voice as one of the title characters. Under the Monkeypaw banner, Peele co-wrote and produced Nia DaCosta's "Candyman" which made history as the first film helmed by a Black woman director to open at No. 1 at the box office. He also produced Spike Lee's "BlacKkKlansman," which earned a nomination for Best Picture and won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. He has also served as executive producer for numerous television series, including "Hunters" (Amazon), "Lovecraft Country" (HBO), and "The Twilight Zone" (CBS). Prior to becoming a filmmaker, Peele was a celebrated comedian who was the co-star and co-creator of "Key & Peele" on Comedy Central.- Producer
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Ryan Kyle Coogler is an African-American filmmaker and producer who is from Oakland, California. He is known for directing the Black Panther film series, Creed, a Rocky spin-off and Fruitvale Station. He frequently casts Michael B. Jordan in his works. He produced the Creed sequels, Judas and the Black Messiah and Space Jam: A New Legacy. He is married to Zinzi since 2016.- Director
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Daniel Kwan with Daniel Scheinert, collectively known as Daniels, are a duo of film directors and writers. They began their career as directors of music videos, including the popular DJ Snake promotional for the single "Turn Down for What" (2013). They have since ventured into film, having written and directed the surreal comedy-drama Swiss Army Man (2016) and the science-fiction action comedy Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022), the latter became A24's highest-grossing film of all time.- Director
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Daniel Scheinert was born on 7 June 1987 in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. He is a director and actor, known for Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022), Swiss Army Man (2016) and Foster the People: Houdini (2012).- Writer
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Ashley Nicole Black was born in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is a writer and actress, known for Ted Lasso (2020), A Black Lady Sketch Show (2019) and The Simpsons Movie (2007).- Producer
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Jo-Issa Rae Diop credited professionally as Issa Rae, is an American actress, writer, producer, and comedian. Rae first garnered attention for her work on the YouTube web series Awkward Black Girl. Since 2011, Rae has continued to develop her YouTube channel, which features various short films, web series, and other content created by black people.- Producer
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Robert Anthony Rodriguez was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, USA, to Rebecca (Villegas), a nurse, and Cecilio G. Rodríguez, a salesman. His family is of Mexican descent.
Of all the people to be amazed by the images of John Carpenter's 1981 sci-fi parable, Escape from New York (1981), none were as captivated as the 12-year-old Rodriguez, who sat with his friends in a crowded cinema. Many people watch films and arrogantly proclaim "I can do that." This young man said something different: "I WILL do that. I'm gonna make movies." That day was the catalyst of his dream career. Born and raised in Texas, Robert was the middle child of a family that would include 10 children. While many a child would easily succumb to a Jan Brady sense of being lost in the shuffle, Robert always stood out as a very creative and very active young man. An artist by nature, he was very rarely seen sans pencil-in-hand doodling some abstract (yet astounding) dramatic feature on a piece of paper. His mother, not a fan of the "dreary" cinema of the 1970s, instills a sense of cinema in her children by taking them on weekly trips to San Antonio's famed Olmos Theatre movie house and treats them to a healthy dose of Hollywood's "Golden Age" wonders, from Sergio Leone to the silent classic of Charles Chaplin and Buster Keaton.
In a short amount of time, young Robert finds the family's old Super-8 film camera and makes his first films. The genres are unlimited: action, sci-fi, horror, drama, stop-motion animation. He uses props from around the house, settings from around town, and makes use of the largest cast and crew at his disposal: his family. At the end of the decade, his father, a salesman, brings home the latest home-made technological wonder: a VCR, and with it (as a gift from the manufacturer) a video camera. With this new equipment at his disposal, he makes movies his entire life. He screens the movies for friends, all of whom desperately want to star in the next one. He gains a reputation in the neighborhood as "the kid who makes movies". Rather than handing in term papers, he is allowed to hand in "term movies" because, as he himself explains, "[the teachers] knew I'd put more effort into a movie than I ever would into an essay." He starts his own comic strip, "Los Hooligans". His movies win every local film competition and festival. When low academic grades threaten to keep him out of UT Austin's renowned film department, he proves his worth the only way he knows how: he makes a movie. Three, in fact: trilogy of short movies called "Austin Stories" starring his siblings. It beats the entries of the school's top students and allows Robert to enter the program. After being accepted into the film department, Robert takes $400 of his own money to make his "biggest" film yet: a 16mm short comedy/fantasy called Bedhead (1991).
Pouring every idea and camera trick he knew into the short, it went on to win multiple awards. After meeting and marrying fellow Austin resident Elizabeth Avellan, Robert comes up with a crazy idea: he will sell his body to science in order to finance his first feature-length picture (a Mexican action adventure about a guitarist with no name looking for work but getting caught up in a shoot-'em-up adventure) that he will sell to the Spanish video market and use as an entry point to a lucrative Hollywood career. With his "guinea pig" money he raises a mere $7,000 and creates El Mariachi (1992). But rather than lingering in obscurity, the film finds its way to the Sundance film festival where it becomes an instant favorite, wins Robert a distribution deal with Columbia Pictures and turns him into an icon among would-be film-makers the world over. Not one to rest on his laurels, he immediately helms the straight-to-cable movie Roadracers (1994) and contributes a segment to the anthology comedy Four Rooms (1995) (his will be the most lauded segment).
His first "genuine" studio effort would soon have people referring to him as "John Woo from south-of-the-border". It is the "Mariachi" remake/sequel Desperado (1995). More lavish and action-packed than its own predecessor, the movie--while not a blockbuster hit--does decent business and launches the American film careers of Antonio Banderas as the guitarist-turned-gunslinger and Salma Hayek as his love interest (the two would star in several of his movies from then on). It also furthers the director's reputation of working on low budgets to create big results. In the year when movies like Batman Forever (1995) and GoldenEye (1995) were pushing budgets past the $100 million mark, Rodriguez brought in "Desperado" for just under $7 million. The film also featured a cameo by fellow indie film wunderkind, Quentin Tarantino. It would be the beginning of a long friendship between the two sprinkled with numerous collaborations. Most notable the Tarantino-penned vampire schlock-fest From Dusk Till Dawn (1996). The kitschy flick (about a pair of criminal brothers on the run from the Texas Rangers, only to find themselves in a vamp-infested Mexican bar) became an instant cult favorite and launched the lucrative film career of ER (1994) star George Clooney.
After a two-year break from directing (primarily to spend with his family, but also developing story ideas and declining Hollywood offers) he returned to "Dusk till Dawn" territory with the teen sci-fi/horror movie The Faculty (1998), written by Scream (1996) writer, Kevin Williamson. Although it's developed a small following of its own, it would prove to be Robert's least-successful film. Critics and fans alike took issue with the pedestrian script, the off-kilter casting and the flick's blatant over-commercialization (due to a marketing deal with clothing designer Tommy Hilfiger). After another three-year break, Rodriguez returned to make his most successful (and most unexpected) movie yet, based on his own segment from Four Rooms (1995). After a string of bloody, adult-oriented action fare, no one anticipated him to write and direct the colorful and creative Spy Kids (2001), a movie about a pair of prepubescent Latino sibs who discover that their lame parents (Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino) are actually two of the world's greatest secret agents. The film was hit among both audiences and critics alike.
After quitting the Writers' Guild of America and being introduced to digital filmmaking by George Lucas, Robert immediately applied the creative, flexible (and cost-effective) technology to every one of his movies from then on, starting with an immediate sequel to his family friendly hit: Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002) which was THEN immediately followed by the trilogy-capper Spy Kids 3: Game Over (2003). The latter would prove to be the most financially-lucrative of the series and employ the long-banished movie gimmick of 3-D with eye-popping results. Later the same year Rodriguez career came full circle when he completed the final entry of the story that made brought him to prominence: "El Mariachi". The last chapter, Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003), would be his most direct homage to the Sergio Leone westerns he grew up on. With a cast boasting Antonio Banderas (returning as the gunslinging guitarist), Johnny Depp (as a corrupt CIA agent attempting to manipulate him), Salma Hayek, Mickey Rourke, Willem Dafoe and Eva Mendes, the film delivered even more of the Mexican shoot-'em-up spectacle than both of the previous films combined.
Now given his choice of movies to do next, Robert sought out famed comic book writer/artist Frank Miller, a man who had been very vocal of never letting his works be adapted for the screen. Even so, he was wholeheartedly convinced and elated when Rodriguez presented him with a plan to turn Miller's signature work into the film Sin City (2005). A collection of noir-ish tales set in a fictional, crime-ridden slum, the movie boasted the largest cast Rodriguez had worked with to that date. Saying he didn't want to mere "adapt" Miller's comics but "translate" them, Rodriguez' insistence that Miller co-direct the movie lead to Robert's resignation from the Director's Guild of America (and his subsequent dismissal from the film John Carter (2012) as a result). Many critics cited that Sin City was created as a pure film noir piece to adapt Miller's comics onto the screen. Co-directing with Frank Miller and bringing in Quentin Tarantino to guest-direct a scene allowed Rodriguez to again shock Hollywood with his talent.
In late 2007, Rodriguez again teamed up with his friend Tarantino to create the double feature Grindhouse (2007). Rodriguez's offering, Planet Terror (2007), was a film made to be "hardcore, extreme, sex-fueled, action-packed." Rodriguez flirts with his passion to make a showy film exploiting all of his experience to make an extremely entertaining thrill ride. The film is encompassed around Cherry (Rose McGowan), a reluctant go-go dancer who is found wanting when she meets her ex-lover El Wray (played by Freddy Rodríguez) who turns up at a local BBQ grill. They then, after a turn of events, find themselves fending off brain-eating zombies whilst trying to flee to Mexico (here we go off to Mexico again). Apart from directing, Rodriguez also involves himself in camera work, editing and composing music for his movies' sound tracks (he composed Planet Terror's main theme). He also shoots a lot of his own action scenes to get a direct idea from his eye as the director into the film. In El Mariachi (1992), Rodriguez spent hours in front of a pay-to-use, computer editing his film. This allowed him to capture the ideal footage exactly as he wanted it. Away from the filming aspect of Hollywood, Rodriguez is an expert chef who cooks gourmet meals for the cast and crew. Rodriguez is also known for his ability to turn a low-budgeted film with a small crew into an example of film mastery. El mariachi was "the movie made on seven grand" and still managed to rank as one of Rodriguez' best films (receiving a rating of 92% on the Rotten Tomatoes film review site).
Because Rodriguez is involved so deeply in his films, he is able to capture what he wants first time, which saves both time and money. Rodriguez's films share some similar threads and ideas, whilst also having differences. In El Mariachi (1992), he uses a hand-held camera. He made this decision for several reasons. First, he couldn't afford a tripod and secondly, he wanted to make the audience more aware of the action. In the action sequences he is given more mobility with a hand-held camera and also allows for distortion of the unprofessional action sequences (because the cost of all special effects in the film totaled $600). However, in Sin City (2005) and Planet Terror (2007), the budget was much greater, and Rodriguez could afford to spend more on special affects (especially since both films were filmed predominately with green screen) and, thus, there was no need to cover for error.
Playing by his own rules or not at all, Robert Rodriguez has redefined what a filmmaker can or cannot do. Shunning Hollywood's ridiculously high budgets, multi-picture deals and the two most powerful unions for the sake of maintaining creative freedom are decisions that would (and have) cost many directors their careers. Rodriguez has turned these into his strengths, creating some of the most imaginative works the big-screen has ever seen.- Actress
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Rose McGowan is an American actress and director, known for her contribution to independent film. Since the age of nineteen, she has appeared in acclaimed films by Gregg Araki, Wes Craven, Brian De Palma, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. In 2014, her directorial debut Dawn (2014) was nominated for the Short Film Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Rose Arianna McGowan was born on September 5, 1973 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy, to American parents Terri and Daniel Patrick McGowan. She is the second eldest of six siblings, and has Irish, French, and English ancestry. As a young child, she was raised within the Italian chapter of the Children of God. During the early 1980s, her family severed ties with the community and migrated to Eugene, Oregon, USA. Following the divorce of her parents, Rose relocated to Gig Harbor, Washington, to live with her grandmother. At age 14, McGowan was accused of drug use by a family friend and committed to rehabilitation. She has consistently maintained the decision was unjustified. Upon release, she spent a year without a home and was emancipated from her parents by the age of 15. McGowan's career as an actor began with The Doom Generation (1995). Originally intended for Jordan Ladd, the character of Amy Blue was, coincidentally, awarded to McGowan by an associate of director Gregg Araki. For her performance, she was nominated at the 1995 Independent Spirit Awards for Best Debut Performance. Subsequently cast in Wes Craven's Scream (1996), she experienced further success when the project defied expectations to become one of the highest grossing films of the year. The innovative career of McGowan was overshadowed throughout much of the 1990s by her high-profile relationship with musician Brian Warner (aka Marilyn Manson). Strong performances in Going All the Way (1997), Lewis & Clark & George (1997), Southie (1998) and Jawbreaker (1999) were largely unseen by the general public. When the relationship ended between Rose and Manson in 2001, she remarked: "There is great love, but our lifestyle difference is, unfortunately, even greater". Rose continued to work solidly, appearing in a string of soft-sounding studio and independent films. Performances from this period included: a political activist in Showtime's The Killing Yard (2001), a grifter in Roads to Riches (2002) and a factory worker in "Stealing Bess" (aka Vacuums (2003)). She was re-introduced to the mainstream as Paige Matthews in Aaron Spelling's Charmed (1998), a popular television series for which she devoted five consecutive years. When "Charmed" finished its run in 2006, McGowan emerged in top form. Critics praised her efforts in Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror (2007), and Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof (2007). In several interviews, McGowan has expressed a general apathy and disdain for Hollywood. Despite this, her work ethic remains strong. Following her recent marriage to LA-based artist Davey Detail, the actress has resolved to purse further projects as a director.- Writer
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Quentin Jerome Tarantino was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. His father, Tony Tarantino, is an Italian-American actor and musician from New York, and his mother, Connie (McHugh), is a nurse from Tennessee. Quentin moved with his mother to Torrance, California, when he was four years old.
In January of 1992, first-time writer-director Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992) appeared at the Sundance Film Festival. The film garnered critical acclaim and the director became a legend immediately. Two years later, he followed up Dogs success with Pulp Fiction (1994) which premiered at the Cannes film festival, winning the coveted Palme D'Or Award. At the 1995 Academy Awards, it was nominated for the best picture, best director and best original screenplay. Tarantino and writing partner Roger Avary came away with the award only for best original screenplay. In 1995, Tarantino directed one fourth of the anthology Four Rooms (1995) with friends and fellow auteurs Alexandre Rockwell, Robert Rodriguez and Allison Anders. The film opened December 25 in the United States to very weak reviews. Tarantino's next film was From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), a vampire/crime story which he wrote and co-starred with George Clooney. The film did fairly well theatrically.
Since then, Tarantino has helmed several critically and financially successful films, including Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004), Inglourious Basterds (2009), Django Unchained (2012) and The Hateful Eight (2015).- Producer
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Son of Danny Singleton, a mortgage broker, and Sheila Ward, a pharmaceutical company sales executive, and raised in separate households by his unmarried parents, John Singleton attended the Film Writing Program at USC, after graduating from high school in 1986. While studying there, he won three writing awards from the university, which led to a contract with Creative Artists Agency during his sophomore year. Columbia Pictures bought his script for Boyz n the Hood (1991) and budgeted it at $7 million. Singleton noted that much of the story comes from his own experiences in South Central LA and credited his parents with keeping him off the street.- Producer
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Stan Lee was an American comic-book writer, editor, and publisher, who was executive vice president and publisher of Marvel Comics.
Stan was born in New York City, to Celia (Solomon) and Jack Lieber, a dress cutter. His parents were Romanian Jewish immigrants. Lee co-created Spider-Man, the Hulk, Doctor Strange, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Daredevil, Thor, the X-Men, and many other fictional characters, introducing a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. In addition, he challenged the comics' industry's censorship organization, the Comics Code Authority, indirectly leading to it updating its policies. Lee subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
He had cameo appearances in many Marvel film and television projects, with many yet to come, posthumously. A few of these appearances are self-aware and sometimes reference Lee's involvement in the creation of certain characters.
On 16 July 2017, Lee was named a Disney Legend, a hall of fame program that recognizes individuals who have made an extraordinary and integral contribution to The Walt Disney Company.
Stan was married to Joan Lee for almost 70 years, until her death. The couple had two children. Joan died on July 6, 2017. Stan died on November 12, 2018, in LA.- Writer
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Guillermo del Toro was born October 9, 1964 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Raised by his Catholic grandmother, del Toro developed an interest in filmmaking in his early teens. Later, he learned about makeup and effects from the legendary Dick Smith (The Exorcist (1973)) and worked on making his own short films. At the age of 21, del Toro executive produced his first feature, Dona Herlinda and Her Son (1985). Del Toro spent almost 10 years as a makeup supervisor, and formed his own company, Necropia in the early 1980s. He also produced and directed Mexican television programs at this time, and taught film.
Del Toro got his first big break when Cronos (1992) won nine Ariel Awards (the Mexican equivalent of the Oscars), then went on to win the International Critics Week Prize at Cannes. Following this success, del Toro made his first Hollywood film, Mimic (1997), starring Mira Sorvino.
Del Toro had some unfortunate experiences working with a demanding Hollywood studio on Mimic (1997), and returned to Mexico to form his own production company, The Tequila Gang.
Next for del Toro, was The Devil's Backbone (2001), a Spanish Civil War ghost story. The film was hailed by critics and audiences alike, and del Toro decided to give Hollywood another try. In 2002, he directed the Wesley Snipes vampire sequel, Blade II (2002).
On a roll, Del Toro followed up Blade II (2002) with another successful comic-book inspired film, Hellboy (2004), starring one of Del Toro's favorite actors, Ron Perlman.
Del Toro is divorced, has a daughter and a son and lives in Los Angeles and Toronto.- Director
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Stella Meghie is known for Jean of the Joneses (2016), The Weekend (2018) and The Photograph (2020).- Writer
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Misha Green was born on 22 September 1984 in Sacramento, California, USA. She is a writer and producer, known for Lovecraft Country (2020), The Mother (2023) and Underground (2016).- Director
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Matthew A. Cherry was born in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Matthew A. is a director and writer, known for Hair Love (2019), Young Love (2023) and Swagger (2021). Matthew A. has been married to Candice Wilson since 2020.- Actor
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The multi-talented Donald Glover is a writer, actor, musician, comedian, producer and director, who performs under the stage names Childish Gambino and mcDJ. He was born Donald McKinley Glover at Edwards Air Force Base, California, and was raised in Stone Mountain, Georgia. His mother, Beverly (Smith), ran a daycare center, and his father, Donald Glover, is a retired postal worker. He is not, despite rumors, related to actor Danny Glover. He has a younger brother, Stephen Glover, a screenwriter and producer. Donald graduated from New York University with a degree in Dramatic Writing in 2006.
In 2006, at age 23, while still living in the NYU dorms, Glover joined the writing staff of NBC comedy 30 Rock (2006), for which he received a Writers Guild of America Award nomination in 2009. Later credited as an executive story editor, he also had several cameos in front of the camera. In 2009, he left "30 Rock" for a role on the comedy series Community (2009), in which he played an athlete in a rather odd study group, opposite Chevy Chase and Joel McHale. The show ran for six seasons.
Glover is the creator, writer, producer, director and star of the series Atlanta (2016), which debuted on FX in 2016. The series was an immediate critical and commercial hit, winning the 2017 Golden Globe Award for Best Series and Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series (Musical or Comedy) for Glover. At the 2017 Primetime Emmy Awards, Glover won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, while the show also earned four other nominations: Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series, and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for Glover (for the episode B.A.N. (2016)) and his brother, Stephen (for the episode Streets on Lock (2016)).
His first stand-up special aired on Comedy Central in March 2010. As Childish Gambino, Glover has released the studio albums "Camp" (2011), "Because the Internet" (2013) and "Awaken, My Love!" (2016). In 2015, he was nominated for Grammy Awards in 2015 for Best Rap Album for "Because the Internet" and Best Rap Performance for his single "3005" In 2018, he was nominated for five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year for "Awaken, My Love!" and Record of the Year for the hit "Redbone," winning the Grammy for Best Traditional R&B Performance.
On the big screen, Glover's credits include Magic Mike XXL (2015), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), and The Martian (2015). He will star as the young Lando Calrissian in the upcoming Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) and will provide the voice of Simba in a remake of The Lion King (2019).
In April 2017, Glover was named among Time Magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World."- Producer
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Hiro Murai was born on 15 July 1983. He is a producer and director, known for Station Eleven (2021), Atlanta (2016) and The Bear (2022).- Writer
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Charlton "Charlie" Brooker (born 3 March 1971) is an English humourist, critic, author, screenwriter, producer, and television presenter. He is the creator and co-showrunner of the anthology series Black Mirror and has written for programmes such as Brass Eye, The 11 O'Clock Show, and Nathan Barley. He has presented a number of television shows, including Screenwipe, Gameswipe, Newswipe, Weekly Wipe, and 10 O'Clock Live. He also wrote the five-part horror drama Dead Set. He has written comment pieces for The Guardian and is one of four creative directors of the production company Zeppotron.
Charlton Brooker was born on 3 March 1971 in Reading, Berkshire. He grew up in a relaxed Quaker household in Brightwell-cum-Sotwell, Oxfordshire. He first worked as a writer and cartoonist for Oink!, a comic produced in the late 1980s. After attending Wallingford School, he attended the Polytechnic of Central London (which became the University of Westminster during his time there), studying for a BA in Media Studies. He claims that he did not graduate because his dissertation was written on video games, which was not an acceptable topic. Brooker listed his comedic influences as Monty Python, The Young Ones, Blackadder, Chris Morris, and Vic Reeves.
From 1999 to 2000, Brooker played hooded expert 'the Pundit' in the short-lived show Games Republic, hosted by Trevor and Simon on BSkyB.
In 2000, Brooker was one of the writers of the Channel 4 show The 11 O'Clock Show and a co-host (with Gia Milinovich) on BBC Knowledge's The Kit, a low-budget programme dedicated to gadgets and technology (1999-2000). In 2001, he was one of several writers on Channel 4's Brass Eye special on the subject of paedophilia.
In 2003, Brooker wrote an episode entitled "How to Watch Television" for Channel 4's The Art Show. The episode was presented in the style of a public information film and was partly animated.
Together with Brass Eye's Chris Morris, Brooker co-wrote the sitcom Nathan Barley, based on a character from one of TVGoHome's fictional programmes. The show was broadcast in 2005 and focused on the lives of a group of London media 'trendies'. The same year, he was also on the writing team of the Channel 4 sketch show Spoons, produced by Zeppotron.
In 2006, Brooker began writing and presenting the television series Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe on BBC Four, a TV review programme in a similar style to his Screen Burn columns in The Guardian. After an initial pilot series of three editions in April, the programme returned later in the year for a second run of four episodes plus Christmas and Review of the Year specials in December 2006. A third series followed in February 2007 with a fourth broadcast in September 2007, followed by a Review of the Year in December 2007. The fifth series started in November 2008 and was followed by another Review of the Year special. This series was also the first to be given a primetime repeat on terrestrial television (BBC Two), in January 2009.
In December 2011, three episodes of Brooker's Black Mirror, a science fiction anthology series, aired on Channel 4 to largely positive reviews. As well as creating the show, Brooker wrote the first episode and co-wrote the second with his wife Konnie Huq. He also wrote all three episodes of series two. In September 2015, Netflix commissioned a third season of 12 episodes, with Channel 4 losing the rights to the programme A trailer for the third season was released in October 2016. This was later split into two series of six episodes. The third season was released on Netflix worldwide on 21 October 2016. Brooker has solely written four of the episodes in series three, and has co-written the remaining two.
Beginning on 11 May 2010, Brooker presented a 5-part BBC Radio 4 series celebrating failure titled So Wrong It's Right, in which guests compete to pitch the worst possible ideas for new franchises and give the 'most wrong' answer to a question. Also featured are guests' recollections about their own personal life failures and their complaints about life in general in a round called 'This Putrid Modern Hell'. Guests have included David Mitchell, Lee Mack, Josie Long, Frank Skinner, Helen Zaltzman, Holly Walsh, Graham Linehan and Richard Herring. The second series began on 10 March 2011, and a third was broadcast in May 2012. In common with Screenwipe's use of a Grandaddy track (A.M. 180) from the album Under the Western Freeway as its theme tune, So Wrong It's Right uses another track from the same album, Summer Here Kids.- Writer
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Gina Prince-Bythewood (Writer/Producer/Director) studied at UCLA Film School, where she received the Gene Reynolds Scholarship for Directing and the Ray Stark Memorial Scholarship for Outstanding Undergraduate. She was a member of UCLA's track and field team, qualifying for the Pac-10 Championships in the triple jump.
Upon her graduation, she was hired as a writer on the television series "A Different World." She continued to write and produce for network television on series such as "Felicity," "South Central," and "Sweet Justice" before making the transition to directing.
Prince-Bythewood wrote and directed the widely-acclaimed feature film "Love and Basketball", which premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. Prince-Bythewood won an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay and a Humanitas Prize for her work on the film. She followed that success with the HBO film "Disappearing Acts."
In 2008, she wrote and directed the celebrated adaptation of the best-selling novel, "The Secret Life of Bees." The film won two People's Choice Awards and two NAACP Image Awards. Her third feature "Beyond the Lights" came in 2014 and garnered an Oscar nomination for best song and landed on a number of top critics Best of 2014 lists including the NY Times, Washington Post and Vulture.
She is the first Black woman to direct a superhero film, "The Old Guard," based on the celebrated graphic novel by Greg Rucka for Skydance and Netflix. It premiered on Netflix July 10, 2020 to record ratings, and 6th most popular film of all-time on Netflix.
Prince-Bythewood, along with her husband Reggie Rock Bythewood, created and produced "Shots Fired," a ten hour special event series for Fox, which premiered in 2017. TIME magazine praised, "An achievement...a testament to how ambitious even broadcast television has become."
She directed the pilot for the Marvel series "Cloak and Dagger" starring Olivia Holt and Aubrey Joseph, which debuted to record ratings for Freeform. She directed the pilot for the ABC limited event series "Women of the Movement," about Mamie and Emmett Till which is currently at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
She directed the feature film "The Woman King" for Tri-Star and Sony. The historical epic action drama features an amazing ensemble including Oscar-winner Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, John Boyega, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim and Adrienne Warren, releasing theatrically September of 2022.
She is proud to fund a scholarship for African American students in UCLA's film program. She resides in Southern California with her husband Reggie and their amazing sons, Cassius and Toussaint.- Sound Department
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Juel Taylor was born on 1 May 1987 in Tuskegee, Alabama, USA. He is a writer and director, known for They Cloned Tyrone (2023), Creed II (2018) and Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021).- Writer
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As an EMMY- and WGA-nominated writer, actor, show runner, and moonlighting DJ, Diallo Riddle has proven to be one of the most creative and multi-faceted talents in the entertainment industry today. Riddle, with his creative partner Bashir Salahuddin, have created two critically-acclaimed series to television: HBO Max's "South Side" and AMC/IFC's Emmy Award-winning "Sherman's Showcase." Both shows instantly hit 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, a rare feat for two series premiering within one week of each other.
Created, written, and starring Riddle and Salahuddin, "South Side" follows a rent-to-own business on the south side of Chicago. Shot on location in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood, the series gives an authentic look into what life on the South Side is all about. Season two of "South Side" is now streaming on HBO Max.
In addition to "South Side," Riddle and Salahuddin also created, wrote, and starred in AMC/IFC's Emmy Award-winning scripted musical variety/sketch comedy "Sherman's Showcase." Executive Produced by John Legend, the stylish sketch show moves to its own groove and invites everyone to laugh along including A-list guest stars like Tiffany Haddish, Common, Quincy Jones, and Lil Rel, just to name a few.
On June 19, 2020, an hour-long "Sherman's Showcase: Black History Month Spectacular" aired, garnering multiple award nominations and wins including: Outstanding Writing in a Television Movie or Special at the 2021 NAACP Image Awards, Outstanding Costumes for a Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Program (WON) at the 2021 Primetime Emmy Awards, and Best Period and/or Character Makeup - Television Special, One Hour or More Live Program Series, or Movie for Television at the 2021 Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards. "Sherman's Showcase" will return for season 2, in 2022.
While "South Side" and "Sherman's Showcase" keep Riddle and Salahuddin busy, they also recently closed a multi-year overall deal with Warner Bros TV, to create and produce television projects in a wide range of genres, from animation and superhero series, to comedies and dramas.
Riddle got his start in television as a writer on "Chocolate News" for Comedy Central. He went on to write and perform for "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" from 2008-2012, arriving three months before the show premiered. Some of the stand-out segments he wrote included Slow Jam the News featuring Barack Obama, and the first three editions of A History of Rap with Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake. Riddle's writing credits include working with Jordan Peele and Tracy Morgan on "The Last O.G.," Maya Rudolph on both "The Maya Rudolph Show" and "Maya and Marty," and with Drake for his hosting duties at the ESPYs and the NBA Awards. In 2015, Riddle and Salahuddin joined forces with Lorne Michaels on the HBO pilot "Brothers in Atlanta," which landed him on Variety's Top 10 Scribes to Watch list.
As an actor, Riddle is well known for playing the character "Stevie" on the Netflix comedy series "Marlon," opposite Marlon Wayans. Riddle has also appeared on several seasons of the HBO series "Silicon Valley," as well as the most recent season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm."
Born and raised in Atlanta, Riddle attended Harvard University, majoring in History. While in school, he picked up side gigs as a DJ, with it later becoming a second career. As a DJ, Riddle has played the MainStage at KABOO Music Festival and has DJ'd on Diplo's international radio show Diplo & Friends on BBC Radio 1. He has held residencies at the Dream Hotel's Highlight Room, Beauty & Essex, Skybar LA Mondrian, Soho House, and The Standard Hotels. He has also DJ'd for A-list events including the Golden Globes and the People's Choice Awards.
On the charity front, he is an active supporter of The Children's Institute, a nonprofit organization that provides services to children and families healing from the effects of family and community violence within Los Angeles' most challenged neighborhoods.- Producer
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Shonda Lynn Rhimes is an African-American producer, author and screenwriter. She is known for working on the Britney Spears and Zoe Saldana film Crossroads, Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, Private Practice, the Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement and the Halle Berry film Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. She has three children.- Actress
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Jessica Renee Williams, born July 31, 1989 in Los Angeles County, California, is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for her work as a senior correspondent on The Daily Show, where she was the youngest correspondent ever at the age of twenty-two, and as co-host of the podcast 2 Dope Queens.- Writer
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Sam Jay was born on 13 January 1982 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. She is a writer and actress, known for You People (2023), Saturday Night Live (1975) and Bust Down (2022).- Producer
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An actor, comedian and writer, Seth Rogen has come a long way from doing stand-up comedy as a teen.
Rogen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, to Sandy (Belogus), a social worker, and Mark Rogen, who worked for non-profits. His father is American-born and his mother is Canadian. He is of Russian Jewish descent. He attended Vancouver Talmud Torah Elementary School and Point Grey Secondary School (although he dropped out of high school to move to Los Angeles) and was known for the stand-up comedy he performed at Camp Miriam, a Habonim Dror camp. At sixteen, Rogen placed second in the 1998 Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest.
Soon after that he landed his first role in Judd Apatow's short-lived but well regarded TV series Freaks and Geeks (1999), taking on the role of Ken Miller. Though the show only lasted one season, it was the launching pad for many careers, including Rogen, Apatow, James Franco, and Jason Segel. This early work sharpened Rogen's keen improvisational skills, which he's used on many projects since.
Following Freaks and Geeks (1999), he participated in a few unsuccessful television projects, and then joined the American television version of Da Ali G Show (2000) as a writer during its second and last season, along with his childhood friend and writing partner Evan Goldberg. The writing team received an Emmy nomination. As a huge fan of the first season, Rogen was thrilled to get the chance to work with Sacha Baron Cohen.
Continuing his work with Apatow, he joined the cast of Apatow's debut film The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) and is credited as co-producer. After that he took the lead in Knocked Up (2007), Apatow's second movie and a huge success. He's since been a frequent collaborator with Apatow, in projects such as Superbad (2007), Pineapple Express (2008) and Funny People (2009). He co-wrote Superbad (2007), with Goldberg; the pair started the project when they were teens. They won the Canadian Comedy Award for Best Writing in a Film in 2008. They later wrote Pineapple Express (2008) and The Green Hornet (2011), also starring Rogen.
A talented voice artist, Rogen is in the animated films Horton Hears a Who! (2008), Kung Fu Panda (2008), and Monsters vs. Aliens (2009), and has voiced characters for The Simpsons (1989) and American Dad! (2005).
Rogen was named the Canadian Comedy Person of the Year by the Canadian Comedy Awards in both 2008 and 2009.
Rogen lives in Los Angeles with Lauren Miller Rogen, whom he met in 2004. They became engaged in September 2010 and married in October 2011.- Actor
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Dev Patel was born in Harrow, London, to Anita, a caregiver, and Raj Patel, who works in IT. His parents, originally from Nairobi, Kenya, are both of Gujarati Indian descent. His first role was in the UK TV series Skins (2007). His breakout role was in the Oscar winning film Slumdog Millionaire (2008). In May 2012, he played Sonny Kapoor in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011). In March 2015, he had a leading role in two major motion pictures released in the theaters at the same time: Chappie (2015) and The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015).- Director
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Spike Lee was born Shelton Jackson Lee on March 20, 1957, in Atlanta, Georgia. At a very young age, he moved from pre-civil rights Georgia, to Brooklyn, New York. Lee came from artistic, education-grounded background; his father was a jazz musician, and his mother, a schoolteacher. He attended school in Morehouse College in Atlanta and developed his film making skills at Clark Atlanta University. After graduating from Morehouse, Lee attended the Tisch School of Arts graduate film program. He made a controversial short, The Answer (1980), a reworking of D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915), a ten-minute film. Lee went on to produce a 45-minute film Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads (1983) which won a student Academy Award. In 1986, Spike Lee made the film, She's Gotta Have It (1986), a comedy about sexual relationships. The movie was made for $175,000, and earned $7 million at the box office, which launched his career and allowed him to found his own production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks. His next movie was School Daze (1988), which was set at a historically black school, focused mostly on the conflict between the school and the Fraternities, of which he was a strong critic, portraying them as materialistic, irresponsible, and uncaring. With his School Daze (1988) profits, Lee went on to make his landmark film, Do the Right Thing (1989), a movie based specifically his own neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. The movie portrayed the racial tensions that emerge in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood on one very hot day. The movie garnered Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay, for Danny Aiello for supporting actor, and sparked a debate on racial relations. Lee went on to produce and direct the jazz biopic Mo' Better Blues (1990), the first of many Spike Lee films to feature Denzel Washington, including the biography of Malcolm X (1992), in which Washington portrayed the civil rights leader. The movie was a success, and garnered an Oscar nomination for Washington. The pair would work together again on He Got Game (1998), an excursion into the collegiate world showing the darker side of college athletic recruiting, as well as the 2006 film Inside Man (2006). Spike Lee's role as a documentarian has expanded over the years, highlighted by his participation in Lumière and Company (1995), the Oscar-nominated 4 Little Girls (1997), to his Peabody Award-winning biographical adaptation of Black Panther leader in A Huey P. Newton Story (2001), through his 2005 Emmy Award-winning examination of post-Katrina New Orleans in When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006) and its follow-up five years later If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise (2010). Through his production company 40 Acres and A Mule Filmworks, Lee continues to create and direct both independent films and projects for major studios, as well as working on story development, creating an internship program for aspiring filmmakers, releasing music, and community outreach and support. He is married to Tonya Lewis Lee, and they have two sons, Satchel and Jackson.- Writer
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The actress Tessa Lynn Thompson was born on October 3, 1983 in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of singer-songwriter Marc Anthony Thompson and the granddaughter of actor-musician Bobby Ramos. She was raised in Los Angeles before moving to Brooklyn, New York. Her father is of Afro-Panamanian ancestry and her mother is of Mexican and British Isles ancestry. Thompson attended Santa Monica High School, where she was featured in numerous theatre productions. After graduation, she enrolled at Santa Monica College, where she obtained a degree in cultural anthropology.
She starred as Juliet in William Shakespeare's drama "Romeo and Juliet" in a production held at the Boston Court Theatre in Pasadena, California. Her performance from earned her the NAACP Theatre nomination the same year. Away from the theatre stage, In 2005, Tessa made her first television appearance when she starred in the CBS series Cold Case (2003). Talented like her father Marc, Tessa's versatility extends to music, as a member of Electro Band, through which she has produced many songs, including one used in her film Dear White People (2017).
Since her acting career began in 2002, Tessa has played remarkable roles in popular television series and movies including Murder on the 13th Floor (2012), Make It Happen (2008), Red & Blue Marbles (2011), Selma (2014), Creed (2015), Creed II (2018), War on Everyone (2016), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Sorry to Bother You (2018), Annihilation (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Men in Black: International (2019), Lady and the Tramp (2019) and Sylvie's Love (2020).- Art Department
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Bryian Keith Montgomery Jr. is an up-and-coming African American film director and LA native. He created the brand "Alternative Horror" in 2016 to infuse current events into his horror films, and highlight touchy issues in American culture through a unique lens. His previous short film, "Chickens", dealt with police brutality and institutionalized racism. It's been shown in film festivals around the world, and has proven to be a crowd favorite, having taken home "The Audience Award" multiple times. Bryian feels that he can use horror genre tropes to make social commentary and further extend his voice as an activist. He believes that people should come to the movies for thrills and leave with new insight on the topic he's canvassing.
Bryian's newest short film, "Good Guy with a Gun", is told from the perspective of a narcissistic incel. In true "ALT-Horror" fashion, the film plays out like an appalling satire, and aims to start a conversation about gun control and how it relates to toxic masculinity in America.- Actress
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Kristen Schaal is an American actress, voice artist, writer, and comedian. She is best known for her roles as Mel on the HBO series Flight of the Conchords, Louise Belcher on FOX animated comedy Bob's Burgers, and Mabel Pines on Gravity Falls. Other notable roles include her appearances as a commentator on The Daily Show, Amanda Simmons on The Hotwives of Orlando, Hazel Wassername on 30 Rock, Victoria Best on WordGirl, Trixie from the Toy Story franchise, and Anne on Wilfred. Since 2015, she has co-starred alongside Will Forte in the Fox comedy The Last Man on Earth, playing the role of Carol.- Actress
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Edi grew up in Texas and lives in Los Angeles. She is a Groundlings Main Company member, and regularly performs there in improv and sketch comedy shows. She is also a member of improvisational theatre company Impro Theatre, which performs full-length, completely improvised plays. Edi likes fun and she also likes you.- Writer
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An unlikely firestorm was ignited on the 19th of April, 1999. The Universal Press Syndicate made the largest launch ever of a single comic strip in the history of the printed page when it debuted an off-beat work in more than 160 newspapers that day (and 40 more by year's end). The strip, centering on two prepubescent Black youths transplanted from the inner-city of South Chicago to the lily-white fictional suburb of Woodcrest, immediately set off controversy with its daily skewerings of race, politics, music and every other slice of Americana considered taboo to the "funnies". And yet both the success and controversy of the comic happened so fast that few knew about the man behind it all. The strip is "The Boondocks", brainchild of Aaron McGruder.
Born in Chicaco, Illinois in 1974 under the sign of Gemini, Aaron and his parents soon moved to from their largely-Black neighbourhood to a mostly-white suburb in Baltimore, Maryland when Aaron was about to start school. Spending the majority of his life there, young Aaron got a first-hand education on race relations; often feeling like an outsider as a minority. Yet, he was never unhappy. It was during his productive and highly influential youth that McGruder would come in contact with the things that would change his life forever. The first was Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). After his first viewing of George Lucas' galaxy far, far away, McGruder become one of many children his generation to have a life-long obsession with the film (not unlike Jersey-borne filmmaker Kevin Smith). The second was Hip-Hop. The uniquely African-American musical style became to new generations what jazz and the British invasion had been years before. As the civil rights movement ended and Reaganomics took over, Hip-Hop became the only viable, uncensored outlet for Black youth to express themselves unchallenged. The third was comics. Not just the "funny books" containing the adventures of Superman and Spider-Man, but comic strips. Aaron's tastes over the years ranged from the funny-yet-true child's POV as shown by Charles M. Schulz with "Peanuts" to, eventually, the irreverent humour of Berkeley Breathed and Bill Waterson "Bloom County" and "Calvin & Hobbes" (respectively) to the biting political satire of Garry Trudeau's "Doonesbury."
After graduating high school, McGruder enrolled in the University of Maryland where the budding artist found his first widespread outlet for his creativity. After fellow UofM student Frank Cho (author of the cult comic "Liberty Meadows") graduated in the mid-90s, the school newspaper, The DiamondBack, was left without a leading comic strip. The paper's lead editor, Jayson Blair (who would later court his own controversy with his infamous run at The New York Times), doubted that anything would grab as much attention as Cho's work. Aaron gladly volunteered for the job, creating a strip that would combine elements of his own life with an all-around "Hip-Hop perspective" of world events as told through the eyes of young Black children wise beyond their years. With that, "The Boondocks" premiered in The Diamondback and became an instant hit, introducing UofM students to Huey Freeman, an afro-sporting, self-appointed revolutionary (named after Huey P. Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense); Riley Freeman, Huey's unapologetic "gangsta"-wannabe younger brother; and Jazmine DuBois, a bi-racial girl with little more control over her racial identity than her own fussy hair.
With the help of fellow student and aspiring DJ, Rhome Anderson, McGruder began showing the strip on the internet. The strip achieved enough popularity to the point where in 1998 it received its first national print publication in the pages of the Hip-Hop magazine "The Source" for three months straight (details of why it was removed vary). After graduating UofM with degrees in Afro-American studies, McGruder and Anderson courted several offers to publish the strip in national newspapers before finding an agreeable one with Universal Press Syndicate. The strip made its national premiere April of 1999 with the largest debut for a new comic in a record 160 papers nation-wide. The strip immediately caused controversy. Everything from the characters' (anime-influenced) designs to the handling of the bi-racial Jazmine seemed to stir the ire of someone no matter where the strip was published. Some Blacks claimed it was stereotypical and derogatory; many whites claimed it was outright racist, hurtful and divisive. Parents found such common strip activities like the boys being spanked by their Grandfather and young Riley's bullying of other children undeserving of print space alongside such veteran "G"-rated fare as "Garfield" and "Peanuts". Even fellow UofM alum Frank Cho--whose strip "Liberty Meadows" was taking heat for its blatant sexual content and toilet humour--called McGruder's strip "racist and hateful."
Yet for all the angry resentment, the positive response to the strip was equally-strong. In fact, many papers struggled with whether or not to drop the strip because of strong following. Many fans celebrated its genuine Hip-Hop references and championed it as a long-silent voice for the Black community now having the opportunity to be heard. The characters were championed for the way Aaron had the characters ask questions from "Why are there no good Black TV shows?" to "Why is Black History Month in the shortest month of the year?" McGruder himself seemed to take it all in stride frequenting the late-night rounds on such series as Politically Incorrect (1993), BET Tonight with Ed Gordon (1998), and 20/20 (1978) among others.
Over the years, the strip's controversy and popularity have only continued to grow. McGruder has had his characters speak on everything from exploitative rap videos, the NRA, Black conservatives, and inter-racial marriage to such trivial pursuits as lawn-mowing as a form of illegal child labour and the surge of rappers as movie stars over the past ten years. The strip is constantly a hot topic with several paper often moving it out of the "comics" section to "Editorials" and some removing it from the paper altogether. Recognizable personas from BET founder Robert L. Johnson to conservative columnist Ward Connerlly have publicly condemned the strip (and have often found themselves the subjects of its jibes). Right-wing "avengers" often criticise the strip's constant "attacks" on George W. Bush.
Nothing seemed to escape the wrath of the Freeman brothers, not even McGruder's beloved "Star Wars". In the weeks leading up to the highly-anticipated released of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), Huey and Riley were shown lining up in eager anticipation. After the film was released, the boys expressed reactions felt by many life-long fans when they skewered the movie and its supposedly racist character Jar-Jar Binks. Ironically, the strip found one of its biggest fans in that film's co-star, Samuel L. Jackson. In late 2001/early 2002, the strip found itself with more controversy than usual (if that's at all possible) when, after the attacks of 9/11, McGruder swayed away from mainstream opinions of the country and had his characters criticise every thing from the mainstream media's cheerleader-like support of war and Bush to the false patriotism of flag-wavers in light of the attacks. The strip was pulled from several major papers (particularly in New York). Rather than back down from this position, McGruder satirized his "banning" by pretending the strip was being replaced with mock characters in the form of a US flag and ribbon. Many assumed that the strip has actually been canceled and that the new "patriotic" comic was permanent, unknowing that McGruder himself was proving his point all the more.
In the years since its introduction, the strip has gone through minor changes: Rhome Anderson is no longer involved with the strip; several new characters have been added; McGruder has compiled two books of collected strips (with a third due late 2003); he's gotten the opportunity to meet his influential heroes, including Garry Trudeau and he is currently teaming up with filmmaker Reginald Hudlin in an attempt to get an animated version of "The Boondocks" off the ground. Love him or hate him, Aaron McGruder finds himself in that great pantheon of classic satirists: his opinion may not be yours, but he has a basis from which he speaks that makes his a voice worth listening to. Were his strip nothing more than senseless rambling (something he himself has often joked about), it wouldn't have nearly gotten the amount of attention it has. It is a sharp perspective from someone whose generation is constantly said to have none. You needn't agree, but you'd do best to give it a listen.- Producer
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Adam McKay (born April 17, 1968) is an American screenwriter, director, comedian, and actor. McKay has a comedy partnership with Will Ferrell, with whom he co-wrote the films Anchorman, Talladega Nights, and The Other Guys. Ferrell and McKay also founded their comedy website Funny or Die through their production company Gary Sanchez Productions. He has been married to Shira Piven since 1999. They have two children.- Actress
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Constance Wu was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. Her mother is a computer programmer and her father is a college professor. Both are immigrants from Taiwan. Constance grew up in Richmond performing in the local community theater scene. At 16, she moved to New York City to study at the famed Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and she's been busy ever since. While in New York, she worked in classical theater and quickly transitioned to film work. She soon appeared in several Sundance Feature Films including Stephanie Daley (2006) and Year of the Fish (2007). In 2010, she moved to Los Angeles where her theater and film background helped land her a role in another Sundance Feature, Sound of My Voice (2011). In 2014, she was cast as Jessica Huang in the ABC comedy series Fresh Off the Boat (2015), which premiered in 2015. Based on Eddie Huang's memoir, it is set in the 1990s and revolves around a Taiwanese family that moves to suburban Orlando. Wu enjoys long-distance running, camping, piano, and reading. She lives in Silverlake, Los Angeles, with her pet rabbit, Lida Rose.
In 2018, she starred as Rachel Chu, an American college professor who dates a Singaporean multimillionaire (Henry Golding), in the smash romantic comedy hit Crazy Rich Asians (2018).- Actress
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Lauren Keyana "Keke" Palmer was born on August 26, 1993 in Harvey, Illinois and raised in Robbins, Illinois to Sharon and Larry Palmer, both former actors. Palmer showed vocal promise as a five-year-old, when she belted out "Jesus Loves Me" in her church choir. A year later the singer-actress had a solo in her kindergarten play but, to her mom's dismay, the mike had not been adjusted to suit her daughter's height. Without missing a beat, Palmer lowered the mike and moved the crowd with her heavenly voice. At that very moment, her family knew there was something special about Keke (a nickname given to her by her sister).
Although music was still her passion, Palmer's first big break came via her acting skills, making her big-screen debut in Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004) as Queen Latifah's niece. Immediately recognizing her star potential, the film's producers encouraged her parents to take their daughter to California to explore other acting opportunities. Relocating required that Palmer's parents leave behind the security of their jobs, a newly purchased home and uproot their other three children. However, it didn't diminish the family's support of Palmer's aspirations.
Once settled on the West Coast, Palmer did not waste any time. Within six weeks she had booked an episode of the critically acclaimed CBS series Cold Case (2003), a national K-Mart commercial and was chosen from a nationwide search to play opposite William H. Macy in a TNT movie, The Wool Cap (2004). Her performance was so amazing that it earned her a Screen Actors Guild nomination--to date, she is the youngest actress (then at age ten) ever to receive a nomination in a Lead Actress Category.
In 2006 Palmer appeared as the lead character "Akeelah Anderson" in the critically acclaimed, award-winning film Akeelah and the Bee (2006). The film, about a young South Los Angeles girl who attempts to win a national spelling bee, won the hearts of audiences everywhere. Her breakthrough performance has received praise from many film critics and organizations. Among the list of nominations received, "Akeelah and the Bee" was listed as one of NBR's 2006 Top Independent Films of the Year, as well as four nominations from the NAACP Image Awards. Palmer, alone, won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture, as well as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture by the Black Movie Awards. She has also received nominations for Most Promising Newcomer by the Chicago Film Critics, Best Actress by the Black Reel Awards, and Best Young Actress by the Broadcast Film Critics Association. Keke held her own in scenes with veteran co-stars Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne.
That very same year, Palmer appeared in Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion (2006), which was #1 at the box office for two consecutive weeks. Palmer went on to win a 2007 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for her breakout role in "Akeelah and the Bee". She also received a ShoWest Award for Rising Star of the Year. Shortly after, Palmer lit up the small screen starring in the Disney Channel's hit movie, Jump in! (2007). This one-two punch of big-screen success coupled with small screen ratings power made Keke Palmer a household name in Hollywood.
Palmer contributed her first recording, which was featured on the "Akeelah and the Bee" soundtrack, titled "All My Girlz", and followed it up with the ever popular "My Turn Now" on the "Jump In!" soundtrack. As if two soundtracks were not enough, she was also asked to sing "Tonight", an end title song from the smash-hit Ben Stiller movie, Night at the Museum (2006). Her Atlantic Records debut album, "So Uncool", is jammed with up-tempo R&B tracks, inspirational moments, and love songs. In 2008, Palmer starred in the Weinstein Co. feature, The Longshots (2008). The film was based on the true story of a young female quarterback, played by Palmer, that makes Pop Warner history; she starred opposite Ice Cube, for first time director and Limp Bizkit front man, Fred Durst.
Palmer also starred as the title character in the hit Nickelodeon series, True Jackson, VP (2008), for 68 episodes. She played a high-school student who becomes the head of a major fashion label. In the fall of 2008, "True Jackson" bowed with over 4.8 million viewers, setting a record for Nickelodeon's largest audience for a live-action premiere. She has received four NAACP Awards for Best Actress in Children's Television for her role as "True Jackson". In 2011, Keke joined the voice cast of Nickelodeon's Winx Club (2004). She played Aisha, the Fairy of Waves. For her voice work on Winx Club, she received another NAACP Award nomination, this time for Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Series or Special.
Keke starred in the movie, Abducted: The Carlina White Story (2012), for the Lifetime Network. She had a voice role in the 20th Century Fox animated film, Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012), as the character "Peaches". Her co-stars include Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Jennifer Lopez and Queen Latifah.
Palmer was seen on the big screen in the Alcon/Warner Bros movie, Joyful Noise (2012), singing alongside legendary Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton, however, it was Palmer who the critics singled out for her "young and inspiring" rendition of the Michael Jackson song, "Man in the Mirror".
Palmer resides in Los Angeles, CA.- Writer
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Derek Waters was born on 30 July 1979 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. He is a writer and actor, known for Drunk History (2013), Hall Pass (2011) and The Brothers Solomon (2007).- Actor
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Keegan-Michael Key was born in Southfield, Michigan and raised in Detroit. He was adopted as a child by a black father and a white mother. In 1989, he graduated from Shrine Catholic High School in Royal Oak, Michigan. Key attended the University of Detroit Mercy as an undergraduate and earned his Master of Fine Arts in Theater at Pennsylvania State University. While at The University of Detroit Mercy, he was a brother of Phi Kappa Theta.- Director
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Ricardo Castro Velazquez was born on 13 September 1989 in Mexico, Distrito Federal, Mexico. He is a director and writer, known for El Club Perfecto, The (Almost) Legends (2023) and Encarnación (2017).- Writer
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A director, producer, writer, marketer and film distributor, Ava DuVernay made her feature film debut with the documentary This is the Life (2008), a history on hip hop movement that flourished in Los Angeles in the 1990's. This was followed by series of television music documentaries which included My Mic Sounds Nice (2010) which aired on BET.
DuVernay's first narrative feature film, I Will Follow (2010), secured her the African-American Film Critics Association award for best screenplay. Her follow-up, Middle of Nowhere (2012) won the Best Director Prize at the 2012 Sundance film festival, making her the first African-American woman to receive the award.- Melina Abdullah was born on 18 September 1972 in East Oakland, Oakland, California, USA. She is an actress, known for Good Trouble (2019), 13th (2016) and Waking the Sleeping Giant: The Making of a Political Revolution (2017).
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Timothy Walter Burton was born in Burbank, California, to Jean Rae (Erickson), who owned a cat-themed gift shop, and William Reed Burton, who worked for the Burbank Park and Recreation Department. He spent most of his childhood as a recluse, drawing cartoons, and watching old movies (he was especially fond of films with Vincent Price). When he was in the ninth grade, his artistic talent was recognized by a local garbage company, when he won a prize for an anti-litter poster he designed. The company placed this poster on all of their garbage trucks for a year. After graduating from high school, he attended California Institute of the Arts. Like so many others who graduated from that school, Burton's first job was as an animator for Disney.
His early film career was fueled by almost unbelievable good luck, but it's his talent and originality that have kept him at the top of the Hollywood tree. He worked on such films as The Fox and the Hound (1981) and The Black Cauldron (1985), but had some creative differences with his colleagues. Nevertheless, Disney recognized his talent, and gave him the green light to make Vincent (1982), an animated short about a boy who wanted to be just like Vincent Price. Narrated by Price himself, the short was a critical success and won several awards. Burton made a few other short films, including his first live-action film, Frankenweenie (1984). A half-hour long twist on the tale of Frankenstein, it was deemed inappropriate for children and wasn't released. But actor Paul Reubens (aka Pee-Wee Herman) saw Frankenweenie (1984), and believed that Burton would be the right man to direct him in his first full-length feature film, Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985). The film was a surprise success, and Burton instantly became popular. However, many of the scripts that were offered to him after this were essentially just spin-offs of the film, and Burton wanted to do something new.
For three years, he made no more films, until he was presented with the script for Beetlejuice (1988). The script was wild and wasn't really about anything, but was filled with such artistic and quirky opportunities, Burton couldn't say no. Beetlejuice (1988) was another big hit, and Burton's name in Hollywood was solidified. It was also his first film with actor Michael Keaton. Warner Bros. then entrusted him with Batman (1989), a film based on the immensely popular comic book series of the same name. Starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson, the film was the most financially successful film of the year and Burton's biggest box-office hit to date. Due to the fantastic success of his first three films, he was given the green light to make his next film, any kind of film he wanted. That film was Edward Scissorhands (1990), one of his most emotional, esteemed and artistic films to date. Edward Scissorhands (1990) was also Burton's first film with actor Johnny Depp. Burton's next film was Batman Returns (1992), and was darker and quirkier than the first one, and, while by no means a financial flop, many people felt somewhat disappointed by it. While working on Batman Returns (1992), he also produced the popular The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), directed by former fellow Disney Animator Henry Selick. Burton reunited with Johnny Depp on the film Ed Wood (1994), a film showered with critical acclaim, Martin Landau won an academy award for his performance in it, and it is very popular now, but flopped during its initial release. Burton's subsequent film, Mars Attacks! (1996), had much more vibrant colors than his other films. Despite being directed by Burton and featuring all-star actors including Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Pierce Brosnan and Michael J. Fox, it received mediocre reviews and wasn't immensely popular at the box office, either.
Burton returned to his darker and more artistic form with the film Sleepy Hollow (1999), starring Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci and Casper Van Dien. The film was praised for its art direction and was financially successful, redeeming Burton of the disappointment many had felt by Mars Attacks! (1996). His next film was Planet of the Apes (2001), a remake of the classic of the same name. The film was panned by many critics but was still financially successful. While on the set of Planet of the Apes (2001), Burton met Helena Bonham Carter, with whom he has two children. Burton directed the film Big Fish (2003) - a much more conventional film than most of his others, it received a good deal of critical praise, although it disappointed some of his long-time fans who preferred the quirkiness of his other, earlier films. Despite the fluctuations in his career, Burton proved himself to be one of the most popular directors of the late 20th century. He directed Johnny Depp once again in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), a film as quirky anything he's ever done.- Producer
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Daniel Levy is a multi-hyphenate Emmy® award winning showrunner, writer, actor, director, and producer who has built his career telling vibrant and comedic stories, establishing himself as a Hollywood mainstay.
Levy recently launched his new film and television production company, Not a Real Production Company. Not A Real Production Company debuted its first series, The Big Brunch, on HBO Max in November 2022. Levy not only created the series but also hosts and serves as a judge alongside Chef Sohla El-Waylly and restaurateur Will Guidara. Additionally, the company has several projects in various stages of development including an adult animated comedy Standing By for Hulu, which he co-created with Ally Pankiw. Levy is currently in post-production on his directorial debut Good Grief, an original film at Netflix, which he wrote, produced and stars in. The company recently began its new overall television deal with Netflix, where it also has a first-look feature film deal.
Up next, Levy will be joining the season 4 cast of Netflix's acclaimed dramedy Sex Education playing the character Thomas Molloy, a famous author, and Maeve's (Emma Mackey) US course tutor at her Ivy League college. Levy has also joined the ensemble cast of HBO Max's upcoming series The Idol, created by Sam Levinson and The Weeknd, as well as Disney's upcoming Haunted Mansion remake. Recently, Levy appeared in Hulu's holiday rom-com Happiest Season, and starred alongside Bette Midler, Sarah Paulson, Issa Rae, and Kailtyn Dever in HBO's Coastal Elite. Levy made his hosting debut on Saturday Night Live in February 2021.
Levy is best known for his work on one of the most beloved shows on television, Schitt's Creek, which he co-created with his father Eugene Levy. The series received nine Emmy® wins for its sixth and final season, breaking major records becoming the most awarded comedy series in a single year, the first comedy or drama series to sweep all four acting categories and receiving the most wins for a comedy series in its final season. Levy and his father also became the first father-son pair to win Emmys in the same year, and Levy impressively tied the record for most wins by an individual in a single season with four total wins. Additionally, in its final season, Schitt's Creek garnered dozens of awards and more than 100 nominations including: five Critics Choice Award nominations, securing two wins for Best Supporting Actor and Best Actress in a Comedy Series; five SAG Award nominations, collecting two wins for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble and Actress in a Comedy Series; GLAAD Media Award win for Best Comedy Series; won a Canadian Screen Award for Best Comedy; two TCA Award nominations, winning for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy; and a Costume Design Guild Award for Excellence in Contemporary Television. Levy was also recognized as one of the Grand Marshals for NYC Pride 2020. In 2019, the show received four Emmy® nominations including Best Comedy Series, a 2019 TCA Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy, Levy won Best Comedic Performance at the MTV Movie & TV Awards, and was honored by GLAAD with the Davidson/Valentini Award.
Levy began his television career co-hosting MTV Canada's flagship show MTV Live and later co-wrote, co-hosted, and co-produced the critically-acclaimed ratings hit The After Show and its various incarnations, including The Hills: The After Show and The City: Live After Show. Levy also wrote, produced, and starred in his own Christmas special for MTV, Daniel Levy's Holi-Do's & Don'ts, co-hosted the MTV Movie Awards Red Carpet, the X-Factor pre-show, national coverage of the Vancouver Olympic Games for CTV, co-hosted The Great Canadian Baking Show, and has also made a guest appearance on Modern Family. Levy made his film debut opposite Tina Fey in "Admission".
Levy and Not A Real Production Company are repped by WME, MGMT Entertainment, 42West and Morris Yorn.- Producer
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After attending the Million Man March, Bythewood wrote the screenplay for Spike Lee's indie film, "Get On The Bus." Bythewood was also one of the film's investors. Bythewood did the rewrites for the Fox Searchlight film, "Notorious" and was awarded first-position written by credit along with the film's initial writer,
He made his feature film directorial debut on the acclaimed indie flick, "Dancing in September." It was acquired by HBO and became an HBO original movie. Bythewood has also written and directed "Biker Boyz," the Laila Ali documentary, "Daddy's Girl," the ESPN 30-for-30 documentary, "One Night In Vegas" and "Gun Hill," the two hour action pilot for BET which won the 2014 NAACP Image Award for Best Director.
In 2014, Bythewood produced, "Beyond The Lights" written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood.- Writer
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Best known for his cerebral, often nonlinear, storytelling, acclaimed Academy Award winner writer/director/producer Sir Christopher Nolan CBE was born in London, England. Over the course of more than 25 years of filmmaking, Nolan has gone from low-budget independent films to working on some of the biggest blockbusters ever made and became one of the most celebrated filmmakers of modern cinema.
At 7 years old, Nolan began making short films with his father's Super-8 camera. While studying English Literature at University College London, he shot 16-millimeter films at U.C.L.'s film society, where he learned the guerrilla techniques he would later use to make his first feature, Following (1998), on a budget of around $6,000. The noir thriller was recognized at a number of international film festivals prior to its theatrical release and gained Nolan enough credibility that he was able to gather substantial financing for his next film.
Nolan's second film was Memento (2000), which he directed from his own screenplay based on a short story by his brother Jonathan Nolan. Starring Guy Pearce, the film brought Nolan numerous honors, including Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay. Nolan went on to direct the critically acclaimed psychological thriller, Insomnia (2002), starring Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank.
The turning point in Nolan's career occurred when he was awarded the chance to revive the Batman franchise in 2005. In Batman Begins (2005), Nolan brought a level of gravitas back to the iconic hero, and his gritty, modern interpretation was greeted with praise from fans and critics alike. Before moving on to a Batman sequel, Nolan directed, co-wrote, and produced the mystery thriller The Prestige (2006), starring Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman as magicians whose obsessive rivalry leads to tragedy and murder.
In 2008, Nolan directed, co-wrote, and produced The Dark Knight (2008). Co-written with by his brother Jonathan, the film went on to gross more than a billion dollars at the worldwide box office. Nolan was nominated for a Directors Guild of America (D.G.A.) Award, Writers Guild of America (W.G.A.) Award and Producers Guild of America (P.G.A.) Award, and the film also received eight Academy Award nominations. The film is widely considered one of the best comic book adaptations of all times, with Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker receiving an extremely high acclaim. Ledger posthumously became the first Academy Award winning performance in a Nolan film.
In 2010, Nolan captivated audiences with the Sci-Fi thriller Inception (2010), starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role, which he directed and produced from his own original screenplay that he worked on for almost a decade. The thought-provoking drama was a worldwide blockbuster, earning more than $800,000,000 and becoming one of the most discussed and debated films of the year, and of all times. Among its many honors, Inception received four Academy Awards and eight nominations, including Best Picture and Best Screenplay. Nolan was recognized by his peers with a W.G.A. Award accolade, as well as D.G.A. and P.G.A. Awards nominations for his work on the film.
As one of the best-reviewed and highest-grossing movies of 2012, The Dark Knight Rises (2012) concluded Nolan's Batman trilogy. Due to his success rebooting the Batman character, Warner Bros. enlisted Nolan to produce their revamped Superman movie Man of Steel (2013), which opened in the summer of 2013. In 2014, Nolan directed, wrote, and produced the Science-Fiction epic Interstellar (2014), starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain. Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. released the film on November 5, 2014, to positive reviews and strong box-office results, grossing over $670 million dollars worldwide.
In July 2017, Nolan released his acclaimed War epic Dunkirk (2017), that earned him his first Best Director nomination at the Academy Awards, as well as winning an additional 3 Oscars. In 2020 he released his mind-bending Sci-Fi espionage thriller Tenet (2020) starring John David Washington in the lead role. Released during the COVID-19 pandemic, the movie grossed relatively less than Nolan's previous blockbusters, though it did do good numbers compared to other movies in that period of time. Hailed as Nolan's most complex film yet, the film was one of Nolan's less-acclaimed films at the time, yet slowly built a fan-base following in later years.
In July 2023, Nolan released his highly acclaimed biographic drama Oppenheimer (2023) starring Nolan's frequent collaborator Cillian Murphy- in the lead role for the first time in a Nolan film. The movie was a cultural phenomenon that on top of grossing almost 1 billion dollars at the Worldwide Box office, also swept the 2023/2024 award-season and gave Nolan his first Oscars, BAFTAs, Golden Globes, D.G.A. and P.G.A. Awards, as well as a handful of regional critics-circles awards and a W.G.A. nomination. Cillian's performance as quantum physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer was highly acclaimed as well, and became the first lead performance in a Nolan film to win the Academy Award.
During 2023, Nolan also received a fellowship from the British Film Institute (BFI). In March 2024, it was announced that Nolan is to be knighted by King Charles III and from now on will go by the title 'Sir Christopher Nolan'.
Nolan resides in Los Angeles, California with his wife, Academy Award winner producer Dame Emma Thomas, and their children. Sir Nolan and Dame Thomas also have their own production company, Syncopy.- Actress
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Aidy Bryant was born on 7 May 1987 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Saturday Night Live (1975), Shrill (2019) and Human Resources (2022). She has been married to Conner O'Malley since 28 April 2018.- Writer
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The trail-blazing linchpin of a sprawling family dynasty of comic entertainers, it was multi-talented writer/director/producer Keenen Ivory Wayans (born June 8, 1958, in New York City) who led the familial pack and was the first to achieve national prominence when he successfully created, launched, wrote, hosted and starred in In Living Color (1990), a landmark 1990s black-oriented comedy sketch satire on Fox TV that beat the odds and transcended the then-narrow periphery of TV comedy to became a defiant movement of inclusion. It was a brilliant showcase for up and coming comics and not only ignited/advanced the careers of his own younger talented siblings (Damon Wayans, Kim Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans), but the superstar film careers of Jim Carrey and Jamie Foxx.
The second of ten children of Howell Wayans, a grocery store manager, and Elvira Wayans, a social worker and singer, Keenan attended Seward Park High School, then majored in engineering at Alabama's Tuskegee University. He dropped out during his senior year when the comedy bug hit him full force. Heavily influenced by Richard Pryor, he found only lukewarm success on the New York stand-up stage, deciding later to relocate to Los Angeles in order to pursue film and TV opportunities. After being glimpsed in bit parts in such TV shows as "CHiPs" "The Renegades" and "Cheers" along with the minor part of a stand-up comic in the Bob Fosse-directed biopic Star 80 (1983), Keenen found his first real break in the sudsy ensemble TV military series For Love and Honor (1983) as Army Pvt. Duke Johnson, part of an artillery unit who aspired to become a professional boxer. From this, he moved onto more visible roles on nighttime TV, including "Hill Street Blues," "Benson" and "A Different World."
After hooking up with star comedian Eddie Murphy and earning a writing credit for the opening sketch of the star's raunchy live performance documentary Eddie Murphy: Raw (1987) and a TV writing nod for Joan Rivers's nighttime chat show The Late Show (1986), Keenen's name became known as an actor and writer. Partnering with actor/writer/producer/director Robert Townsend, he had his first film hit with the film Hollywood Shuffle (1987), a biting satire highlighting the plight of the black actor in 70's Hollywood. Done in hilariously stereotypical fashion, one great bit had detective Townsend battling a blaxploitation villain named Jerry Curl (Wayans). Keenan went solo (writer/director/star) for his next similar 70s blaxploitation parody, the even bigger hit I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988). Here he played the revenge-minded, but not particularly macho Jack Spade alongside such icons of blaxploitation cinema as Jim Brown, Isaac Hayes, Bernie Casey and Antonio Fargas, as well as several members of his family.
These two major successes led to the irreverent, controversial, Emmy-winning TV satire In Living Color (1990). This Fox show would become Keenen's creative baby and prized pièce de résistance that would effectively showcase his deviously scathing social humor. He also turned the show into a family act as well with Damon, Kim, Marlon and Shawn all part of the wild and woolly ensemble. Opening each episode surrounded by the beautiful dancing "Fly Girls" (one of the season's replacements would be Jennifer Lopez), the nattily-dressed Keenen would graciously spotlight his comedy troupe more than himself. The show caught on quick; however, squabbles with the network over creative control, censorship and financial issues led to an incensed Keenen abruptly leaving his show in 1992, after only two seasons. His exit was quickly followed by his family performers.
When it comes to outrageous satire, Keenen has few peers and immediately picked up where he left off as a writer, director and star of in his own film comedy vehicle, the action-filled A Low Down Dirty Shame (1994) in which he plays a private detective named Shame who takes on drug lords. He next supported brothers Shawn and Marlon with a bit role as a mailman in their own popular crime comedy vehicle Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996), then was given the chance to hang opposite action star Steven Seagal in Seagal's producing vehicle The Glimmer Man (1996) as two cops out to solve some murders. With his next film vehicle project, Keenen decided to write but left the directing chores to David Hogan in a dramatic change of pace with Most Wanted (1997). He plays a Marine and special operations officer on a top secret mission who gets framed for an attempted assassination.
Towards the end of the 1990's Keenen attempted his own nighttime talk show, described as ("late night talk the Wayans way"). As host, writer and executive producer, The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show (1997) had heavy competition and did not catch fire, barely lasting a couple of seasons. Come the millennium, however, Keenen set his sights on directing (and appearing in a minor role) the riotously crude horror film spoof Scary Movie (2000), which prominently displayed brothers Shawn and Marlon (also co-writers). This would become a blockbuster hit. The following year he also directed the first sequel Scary Movie 2 (2001).
Continuing to keeping things more or less a family affair, he directed and co-wrote (only) Shawn and Marlon's crime comedy vehicles White Chicks (2004), as two FBI agents who go undercover in drag, and Little Man (2006), as criminal brothers, one being a dwarf(!); appeared as a guest on brother Damon's sitcom "My Wife and Kids"; and co-wrote and had a featured part in another all-inclusive Wayans project Dance Flick (2009), which mercilessly pokes fun at dance movies. This film was directed by nephew Damien Dante Wayans, co-written by Keenen, Shaun, Marlon, Damien and Craig Wayans, produced by Keenen, Shawn, Marlon, Damien and Craig, and starring nephew Fast Girl (2008) with other performances by Keenen, Shawn, Marlon, Damien, Kim, Craig, niece Chaunte Wayans and nephew Michael Wayans.
After laying low for several years, Keenen, the divorced father of five children, returned to direct several episodes of the comedy series The Last O.G. (2018) starring Tracy Morgan as an ex-con adjusting to the outside.- Actor
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Adam Richard Sandler was born September 9, 1966 in Brooklyn, New York, to Judith (Levine), a teacher at a nursery school, and Stanley Alan Sandler, an electrical engineer. He is of Russian Jewish descent. At 17, he took his first step towards becoming a stand-up comedian when he spontaneously took the stage at a Boston comedy club. He found he was a natural comic. He nurtured his talent while at New York University (graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1991) by performing regularly in clubs and at universities. During his freshman year, he snagged a recurring role as the Huxtable family's friend Smitty on The Cosby Show (1984). While working at a comedy club in L.A., he was "discovered" by Dennis Miller, who recommended him to Saturday Night Live (1975) producer Lorne Michaels and told him that Sandler had a big talent. This led to his being cast in the show in 1990, which he also wrote for in addition to performing. After Saturday Night Live (1975), Sandler went on to the movies, starring in such hit comedies as Airheads (1994), Happy Gilmore (1996), Billy Madison (1995) and Big Daddy (1999). He has also starred in Mr. Deeds (2002) alongside Winona Ryder; Eight Crazy Nights (2002), an animated movie about the Jewish festival of Chanukah; and Punch-Drunk Love (2002). He also writes and produces many of his own films and has composed songs for several of them, including The Wedding Singer (1998). Sandler has had several of his songs placed on the "Billboard" charts, including the classic "The Chanukah Song".- Director
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Melina Matsoukas was born on 14 January 1981. She is a director and producer, known for Queen & Slim (2019), Insecure (2016) and Beyoncé: Formation (2016).- Producer
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Lena Waithe was born on 17 May 1984 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She is a producer and writer, known for Master of None (2015), Ready Player One (2018) and Queen & Slim (2019). She has been married to Alana Mayo since November 2019.- Producer
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Akil is a native of Los Angeles, but was raised primarily in Kansas City. She is a graduate of Northwestern University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in journalism.
Akil began her writing career on Fox's critically acclaimed "South Central." She later moved on to writing for the UPN series "Moesha," where she earned her Producer title after four seasons. She received the 1999 SHINE (Sexual Health in Entertainment) Award presented by The Media Project for her "Moesha" episode "Birth Control."
Akil later served as Supervising Producer on the comedy series "The Jamie Foxx Show." For the 2000-01 television season, Akil created her first show, Girlfriends (2000), which she and Kelsey Grammer executive produce. 'Girlfriends' was presented with a 2001 SHINE Award for "The Burning Vagina Monologues" episode. It was also honored with 2002 and 2003 NAACP Image Awards nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series.
Akil draws inspiration for the storylines from her own group of good friends, including Felicia D. Henderson (creator of Showtime's "Soul Food") and Gina Prince-Bythewood (writer/director of New Line Cinema's "Love & Basketball").
She is married to Executive Producer/Director Salim Akil. Recently, VIBE listed Akil on its "Top 100 Hottest People List" and Honey magazine named her as one of the "Top 25 Hottest Women in Urban Entertainment." She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority and a board member of Center Theatre Group (Mark Taper Forum and Ahmanson Theatre). She also enjoys mentoring young people, especially aspiring writers.
She recently gave birth to her first child.- Director
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Jorge Daniel Espinosa is a Swedish-Chilean film director, screenwriter and film producer from Trångsund, Stockholm. He graduated from the National Film School of Denmark in 2001. He notably directed the Sony's Marvel Universe film Morbius starring Jared Leto and other films including Life, Easy Money, The Boxer, Babylon Disease, Outside Love and Child 44.- Writer
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Kenya Barris was born on 9 August 1974 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Black-ish (2014), #BlackAF (2020) and You People (2023). He has been married to Rainbow Barris since 3 December 1999. They have six children.- Producer
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Jada Koren Pinkett Smith was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Robsol Grant Pinkett, Jr., a contractor, and 'Gammy' Adrienne Banfield Norris, a nurse. They divorced after only a few months of marriage. Her father is of African-American descent and her mother is of Afro-Caribbean ancestry (from Barbados and Jamaica). Jada majored in dance and choreography at the Baltimore School for the Arts, where one of her classmates was Tupac Shakur. She spent a year at the North Carolina School of the Arts before dropping out to pursue her career in acting. Her big break came in 1991 when she was cast in the part of a college frosh on the television sitcom A Different World (1987). She made her feature film debut two years later in Menace II Society (1993). She did not gain widespread recognition, however, until her role opposite Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor (1996). In addition to being in front of the camera, she has spent time behind it directing music videos. Pinkett-Smith is married to Will Smith, and they have a son, Jaden Smith; and a daughter, Willow Smith.- Director
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Timothy Kevin Story was born on March 13, 1970 in Los Angeles, California. Attended Westchester High School in Los Angeles, California with jazz pianist Eric Reed and actresses Regina King and Nia Long. Graduated from USC film school.- Actress
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Michelle Buteau was born on 24 July 1977 in Hamilton Township, New Jersey, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Survival of the Thickest (2023), Always Be My Maybe (2019) and Happiest Season (2020). She has been married to Gijs van der Most since 31 July 2010. They have two children.- Writer
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Whitney Ann Cummings is an American stand-up comedian, actress, writer, director, producer and pod-caster. A native of Washington, D.C., Cummings pursued a comedy career in Los Angeles after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, where she had studied with the intention of becoming a journalist. After beginning stand-up in 2004, she secured regular appearances as a round-table guest on Chelsea Lately. She subsequently created, produced, and starred in NBC's Whitney, a sitcom in which she portrayed a semi-fictionalized version of herself. The series ran for two seasons before being canceled in 2013. Simultaneously, Cummings created the CBS sitcom 2 Broke Girls, which also began in 2011, and concluded in 2017.
Cummings released her first hour-long stand-up special, Money Shot, in 2010 on Comedy Central. She followed this with a second stand-up special for the network, entitled I Love You (2014). Her third special, I'm Your Girlfriend, was released on HBO in 2016, and later delivered as an audio streaming album in 2021. Beginning in 2018, Cummings served as a producer and writer for the ABC revival of Roseanne, but left the project prior to its cancellation. Cummings's fourth special, Can I Touch It?, premiered on Netflix in July 2019.- Actress
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Tasha Smith is a multifaceted actress and director whose work brings style and intensity to the projects she works on, whether in front of or behind the camera. From her roles as "Carol" on Fox's hit drama Empire, "Brenda" in Netflix's Running Out Of Time, to her critically-acclaimed portrayal of the drug-addicted "Ronnie Boyce" in HBO's Emmy Award winning mini-series The Corner, Tasha embodies her characters and gives them life. Tasha's memorable portrayal of "Angela" in Why Did I Get Married? and its sequel Why Did I Get Married, Too? sparked the creation of the spin-off series For Better Or Worse on OWN, for which she earned an NAACP Image Award nomination for "Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series." Other feature credits include Lionsgate films Addicted and Daddy's Little Girls (opposite Idris Elba), Sony's Jumping The Broom, and Universal's romantic comedy Couples Retreat, among others.
Most recently, Tasha has directed episodes of 9-1-1 for Fox, Black Lightning for The CW, the Untitled Tracy Oliver project for Amazon, Star on Fox, P-Valley on Starz, Tales on BET, as well as her directorial debut feature film for TV1 titled When Love Kills, which was nominated for a NAACP Award.
Tasha Smith's infectious optimism and enthusiasm command attention in her professional and private lives. She takes time to share her inspirational life story through motivational speaking and mentoring emerging actors through the Tasha Smith Actors Workshop (TSAW).- Producer
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Natasha Rothwell was born on 18 October 1980 in Wichita, Kansas, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Saturday Night Live (1975), The Characters (2016) and Insecure (2016).- Writer
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Tracy McMillan was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. She is known for Mad Men (2007), Unprisoned (2023) and Life on Mars (2008).- Actor
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Pete Davidson is an American comedian and actor who is a featured player on Saturday Night Live (1975), as of September 2014. He was raised on Staten Island, New York, and is the son of Amy (Waters) and Scott Matthew Davidson. Pete's father, a firefighter, died during the 9/11 attacks.
Davidson attended St. Joseph High School, a Catholic school. Before SNL, he appeared on the shows Wild 'N Out (2005), Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2003), Guy Code (2011), and in the film School Dance (2014).- Writer
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Larry Wilmore was born in Los Angeles and grew up in suburban Pomona. He graduated from Damien High School in La Verne in 1979. He studied theatre at California State Polytechnic University but dropped out because he wanted to get his Actors' Equity Association card and begin his career as a stand-up comedian. He began his acting career in the 1980s on shows like The Facts of Life (1979) and Sledge Hammer! (1986) but was then always miscast.
He got his behind-the-scenes career started on Into the Night (1990) as a writer. He also wrote for a sketch comedy, In Living Color (1990), and a sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990). He created (with Eddie Murphy and Steve Tompkins) and produced The PJs (1999), a prime-time animated series. He also created and executive produced The Bernie Mac Show (2001), which won him an Emmy for writing. He executive produced Whoopi (2003), a sitcom developed by Whoopi Goldberg. He was a consulting producer on the first three seasons of The Office (2005). He is also an executive producer on Black-ish (2014).
In 2006, he began appearing on Comedy Central's The Daily Show (1996) as the Senior Black Correspondent. His many guest starring roles on various TV shows include Mr. Brown, a diversity consultant on The Office (2005), Dr. Roland on Accidentally on Purpose (2009), The Boss on Love Bites (2011), Mr. Forristal on Happy Endings (2011), and the voice of Principal Larry on Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero (2014). He has also appeared in movies, including I Love You, Man (2009), Dinner for Schmucks (2010), Vamps (2012), and Date and Switch (2014).
After Stephen Colbert left Comedy Central and The Colbert Report (2005), Larry was announced as the host of the new show, titled The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore (2015). Since the beginning of 2015, he has hosted, been one of the executive producers, and one of the writers on the show. He is also the host of 2016 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner (2016). In 2009, he wrote a political humor book, "I'd Rather We Got Casinos: And Other Black Thoughts".- Producer
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Jeymes Samuel, also known as The Bullitts, is an English writer, director, singer-songwriter and music producer from London.
In 2013 Jeymes worked alongside Baz Luhrmann and Jay Z on the music for the blockbuster The Great Gatsby. Jeymes served as the film's Executive Music Consultant.
2013 also saw Jeymes debut his directorial debut They Die by Dawn at SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas. The film is a western based on real life characters and takes place in the town of Langston, Oklahoma in 1890.
Jeymes wrote and directed They Die by Dawn which coincided with The Bullitts' debut album 'They Die By Dawn & Other Short Stories'.
They Die by Dawn is a prelude to the feature film The Notorious Nine which begins shooting 2014.- Producer
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Rick Famuyiwa was born on 18 June 1973 in the USA. He is a producer and director, known for Dope (2015), The Mandalorian (2019) and The Chi (2018). He has been married to Gienita Mosley since 1999.- Writer
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Lee Sung Jin was born in Seoul, Korea. He is a writer and director, known for Beef (2023), Undone (2019) and Dave (2020).- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Maggie Gyllenhaal was born on November 16, 1977 in New York City, New York as Margalit Ruth Gyllenhaal, the daughter of producer/screenwriter Naomi Foner and director Stephen Gyllenhaal, and the older sister of actor Jake Gyllenhaal. She is of Ashkenazi Jewish (mother) and Swedish, English, and German (father) descent.
She made her film debut in Waterland (1992). She had sporadic roles throughout her teenage years though she took a break to attend Columbia University where she graduated w/ a degree in literature in 1999. In addition, she briefly studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, which helped w/ her post-graduation transition back into acting.
Soon after graduating, she had supporting roles in Cecil B. Demented (2000) & Donnie Darko (2001). Her breakout role came later when she starred in Secretary (2002), which earned her a Golden Globe nomination. She followed that up w/ supporting roles in 40 Days and 40 Nights (2002), Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), Adaptation. (2002), & Mona Lisa Smile (2003) among other movies. She received her 2nd Golden Globe nomination for playing a recent prison parolee in Sherrybaby (2006). She followed that up w/ roles in World Trade Center (2006), Stranger Than Fiction (2006) & The Dark Knight (2008).
In 2009, she received great acclaim for her role in Crazy Heart (2009), which earned her 1st Oscar nomination. Since then, she has been seen in Nanny McPhee Returns (2010), Hysteria (2011) & Won't Back Down (2012).- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Ilana Glazer was born on 12 April 1987 in Long Island, New York, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Broad City (2014), Rough Night (2017) and Broad City (2010). She has been married to David Rooklin since 25 February 2017.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Abbi Jacobson is an American comedian, actress, writer, and illustrator. She is best known for co-creating and co-starring in the Comedy Central series Broad City (2014) alongside Ilana Glazer, which was based on a web series of the same name that the two have created three years prior. Jacobson is also known for voicing Katie Mitchell in The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021) and Princess Bean in Disenchantment (2018), and would later go on to co-create and star in the series A League of Their Own (2022), which was based on the 1992 film of the same name.- Actor
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Arturo Castro is a Guatemalan actor best known for his portrayal of Jaimé Castro on the Comedy Central series Broad City, and David Rodríguez on the Netflix series Narcos. Castro hosted his own show, Conexion, on Guatemala's national network, a year before moving to New York City. In New York, he attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and where he met Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer and landed the role of Jaimé in Broad City. Castro had one of the leading roles in Ang Lee's war drama Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, playing Marcellino "Mango" Montoya, a member of Billy Lynn's Bravo Squad.- Actress
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Wanda Sykes has been called one of the funniest stand-up comics by her peers and ranks among Entertainment Weekly's 25 Funniest People in America. Her smart-witted stand-up has sent her career in many different areas.
She was previously seen in Comedy Central's Wanda Does It (2004), where she tried various non-showbiz jobs. Her first book, "Yeah I Said It," published by Simon and Schuster, hit bookstores in September 2004, which is a hilarious collection of essays touching on life, family, and current events.
In 2003, she was seen on Fox's Wanda at Large (2003), in which she wrote, produced, and starred. She also has a one-hour Comedy Central special called Wanda Sykes: Tongue Untied (2003). In addition, she can be seen on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000) or heard on Comedy Central's Crank Yankers (2002) as the voice of Gladys Murphy.
Wanda was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, and raised in Maryland, the daughter of Marion Louise (Peoples), a banker, and Harry Ellsworth Sykes, a US Army colonel. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Hampton University. Her stand-up career began at a Coors Light Super talent Showcase in Washington, DC, where she performed for the first time in front of a live audience.
She spent 5 years as part of the HBO's critically acclaimed The Chris Rock Show (1997). As a performer and writer on the show, she was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards and in 1999 won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Special. In 2001, she won the American Comedy Award for Outstanding Female Stand-Up Comic. She won a second Emmy in 2002 for her work on Inside the NFL (1977). In 2003, Wanda earned a Comedy Central Commie Award for Funniest TV Actress. Other writing credits include the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards (1999), The MTV Movie Awards, The 74th Annual Academy Awards (2002), The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show (1997), and Wanda at Large (2003).
She also appeared in the feature films Pootie Tang (2001), Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000), Down to Earth (2001), and Monster-in-Law (2005).- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Angel Kristi Williams is known for Really Love (2020), Colin in Black & White (2021) and Beacon 23 (2023).- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Felicia Pride is a TV writer / producer and an award-winning filmmaker. She wrote on Ava DuVernay's Queen Sugar and was most recently a producer on Grey's Anatomy. She's currently developing shows with Amazon, Netflix, and FX. In film, she's the writer and executive producer of Really Love, produced by MACRO, which debuted on Netflix and became a Top Ten Movie on the platform. And she's sold features to Universal, Sony, and AGC Studios. She made her directorial debut with tender, a short film which aired on STARZ, and she is currently on the festival circuit with Look Back At It, a proof of concept for her directorial feature debut by the same name. She founded and runs HONEY CHILE, a production company catering to Black women 40+ and is the co-host of their NAACP-nominated podcast Chile, Please.
Felicia was a Film Independent Screenwriting Lab Fellow and a graduate of NBC's Writers on the Verge program as a comedy writer. She started her writing career nearly twenty years ago as an entertainment journalist before going on to write several books, including the essay collection, The Message: 100 Life Lessons from Hip-Hop's Greatest Songs. Prior to transitioning to screenwriting, she worked as a film distribution exec and an impact producer. Felicia holds an M.A. in writing from Emerson College and runs The Create Daily, a resource for underrepresented storytellers that she founded in 2012.- Actor
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- Producer
Born in 1986 in Coventry, England as Ghulam Dustgir Khan he is a British comedian, impressionist, and actor, best known for his comedy-drama series Man Like Mobeen (2017). He is of Pakistani descent and grew up in Coventry; he has two older sisters. After graduation from Coventry University he worked as a teacher. His career in comedy took off when he started publishing YouTube videos in 2014 and the following year he performed his stand-up for the first time. In the same year, a video of Khan performing as his character Mobeen and feigning an outrage at a scene from Jurassic World (2015) went viral and he gained popularity and recognition, prompting Khan to quit his job as a teacher and focus on his comedy career full-time. In 2017, Man Like Mobeen debuted on BBC iPlayer to much critical acclaim. Since then, he's appeared on game shows such as Taskmaster (2015), Would I Lie to You? (2007) and QI (2003), scripted shows such as Four Weddings and a Funeral (2019) and Our Flag Means Death (2022) and movies such as Army of Thieves (2021) and The Bubble (2022). He lives in the West Midlands with his wife and their four children.- Producer
- Writer
- Music Department
Born November 9, 1965 in Indianapolis, Indiana, US as Ryan Patrick Murphy, he is an American writer, director, and producer, responsible for creating such hits as Nip/Tuck (2003), Glee (2009) and American Horror Story (2011). His mother, J. Andy Murphy, was a writer and communications worker and his father was a circulation director in the newspaper industry. He has one brother. He attended a Catholic school till the eighth grade and graduated from Warren Central High School. He went on to study journalism at the Indiana University Bloomington, where he was also a member of a vocal ensemble, and went on to intern in the style section of the The Washington Post in 1986. In 1990 he got into screenwriting, but only in 1999 was his first story produced: it was Popular (1999), a teen comedy show, which he co-created with Gina Matthews and which run for two seasons. In 2003 he created Nip/Tuck (2003), which brought him his first Emmy nomination. He won the award six years later, when in 2009 he directed the pilot of his hit series Glee (2009) which he co-created with Ian Brennan and Brad Falchuk. In 2011 he and Falchuk co-crated another highly popular series, American Horror Story (2011). in 2015 he was awarded the Award for Inspiration from amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research. In 2018 Murphy signed a five-year $300 million development deal with Netflix. He is a pan equal opportunities activist, both through his movies and television projects which very often focus on the LGBTQ+ community, and as a creator of the Half Initiative, which aims at making Hollywood more inclusive for women and minorities. He's been married to photographer David Miller since 2012. They have three sons, Logan Phineas, Ford, and Griffin Sullivan.- Writer
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- Additional Crew
Marco Ramirez is known for The Defenders (2017), Daredevil (2015) and Orange Is the New Black (2013).- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
A former boxer, paratrooper and general all-around angry young man, Rod Serling was one of the radical new voices that made the "Golden Age" of television. Long before The Twilight Zone (1959), he was known for writing such high-quality scripts as "Patterns" and "Requiem for a Heavyweight," both later turned into films (Patterns (1956) and Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962)). The Twilight Zone (1959) featured forays into controversial grounds like racism, Cold War paranoia and the horrors of war. His maverick attitude eventually drove him from regular network television.- Director
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Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone, Essex, England. He was the son of Emma Jane (Whelan; 1863 - 1942) and East End greengrocer William Hitchcock (1862 - 1914). His parents were both of half English and half Irish ancestry. He had two older siblings, William Hitchcock (born 1890) and Eileen Hitchcock (born 1892). Raised as a strict Catholic and attending Saint Ignatius College, a school run by Jesuits, Hitch had very much of a regular upbringing. His first job outside of the family business was in 1915 as an estimator for the Henley Telegraph and Cable Company. His interest in movies began at around this time, frequently visiting the cinema and reading US trade journals.
Hitchcock entering the film industry in 1919 as a title card designer. It was there that he met Alma Reville, though they never really spoke to each other. It was only after the director for Always Tell Your Wife (1923) fell ill and Hitchcock was named director to complete the film that he and Reville began to collaborate. Hitchcock had his first real crack at directing a film, start to finish, in 1923 when he was hired to direct the film Number 13 (1922), though the production wasn't completed due to the studio's closure (he later remade it as a sound film). Hitchcock didn't give up then. He directed The Pleasure Garden (1925), a British/German production, which was very popular. Hitchcock made his first trademark film in 1927, The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927) . In the same year, on the 2nd of December, Hitchcock married Alma Reville. They had one child, Patricia Hitchcock who was born on July 7th, 1928. His success followed when he made a number of films in Britain such as The Lady Vanishes (1938) and Jamaica Inn (1939), some of which also gained him fame in the USA.
In 1940, the Hitchcock family moved to Hollywood, where the producer David O. Selznick had hired him to direct an adaptation of 'Daphne du Maurier''s Rebecca (1940). After Saboteur (1942), as his fame as a director grew, film companies began to refer to his films as 'Alfred Hitchcock's', for example Alfred Hitcock's Psycho (1960), Alfred Hitchcock's Family Plot (1976), Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy (1972).
Hitchcock was a master of pure cinema who almost never failed to reconcile aesthetics with the demands of the box-office.
During the making of Frenzy (1972), Hitchcock's wife Alma suffered a paralyzing stroke which made her unable to walk very well. On March 7, 1979, Hitchcock was awarded the AFI Life Achievement Award, where he said: "I beg permission to mention by name only four people who have given me the most affection, appreciation, and encouragement, and constant collaboration. The first of the four is a film editor, the second is a scriptwriter, the third is the mother of my daughter Pat, and the fourth is as fine a cook as ever performed miracles in a domestic kitchen and their names are Alma Reville." By this time, he was ill with angina and his kidneys had already started to fail. He had started to write a screenplay with Ernest Lehman called The Short Night but he fired Lehman and hired young writer David Freeman to rewrite the script. Due to Hitchcock's failing health the film was never made, but Freeman published the script after Hitchcock's death. In late 1979, Hitchcock was knighted, making him Sir Alfred Hitchcock. On the 29th April 1980, 9:17AM, he died peacefully in his sleep due to renal failure. His funeral was held in the Church of Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills. Father Thomas Sullivan led the service with over 600 people attended the service, among them were Mel Brooks (director of High Anxiety (1977), a comedy tribute to Hitchcock and his films), Louis Jourdan, Karl Malden, Tippi Hedren, Janet Leigh and François Truffaut.- Producer
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Liz Flahive was born on 23 April 1979 in Highland Park, Illinois, USA. She is a producer and writer, known for GLOW (2017), Nurse Jackie (2009) and Roar (2022).- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Boots Riley was born on 1 April 1971 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is a writer and director, known for Sorry to Bother You (2018), I'm a Virgo (2023) and The Losers (2010).- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning actor Woodrow Tracy Harrelson was born on July 23, 1961 in Midland, Texas, to Diane Lou (Oswald) and Charles Harrelson. He grew up in Lebanon, Ohio, where his mother was from. After receiving degrees in theater arts and English from Hanover College, he had a brief stint in New York theater. He was soon cast as Woody on TV series Cheers (1982), which wound up being one of the most-popular TV shows ever and also earned Harrelson an Emmy for his performance in 1989.
While he dabbled in film during his time on Cheers (1982), that area of his career didn't fully take off until towards the end of the show's run. In 1991, Doc Hollywood (1991) gave him his first widely-seen movie role, and he followed that up with White Men Can't Jump (1992), Indecent Proposal (1993) and Natural Born Killers (1994). More recently, Harrelson was seen in No Country for Old Men (2007), Zombieland (2009), 2012 (2009), and Friends with Benefits (2011), along with the acclaimed HBO movie Game Change (2012).
In 2011, Harrelson snagged the coveted role of fan-favorite drunk Haymitch Abernathy in the big-screen adaptation of The Hunger Games (2012), which ended up being one of the highest-grossing movies ever at the domestic box office. Harrelson is set to reprise that role for the sequels, which are scheduled for release in November 2013, 2014 and 2015. Harrelson has received two Academy Award nominations, first for his role as controversial Hustler founder Larry Flynt in The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) and then for a role in The Messenger (2009). He also received Golden Globe nominations for both of these parts. In 2016, he had a stand-out role as a wise teacher in the teen drama The Edge of Seventeen (2016).
Harrelson was briefly married to Nancy Simon in the 80s, and later married his former assistant, Laura Louie, with whom he has three daughters.- Writer
- Actress
- Producer
Elizabeth Stamatina Fey was born in 1970 in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, just west of Philadelphia, to Xenobia "Jeanne" (Xenakes), a brokerage employee, and Donald Henry Fey, who wrote grant proposals for universities. Her mother is Greek, born in Piraeus, while her father had German, Northern Irish, and English ancestry. Going by the name of Tina, Fey considered herself a "supernerd" during her high school and college years. She studied drama at the University of Virginia, and after graduating in 1992, she headed to Chicago, the ancestral home of American comedy. While working at a YMCA to support herself, she started Second City's first set of courses. After about nine months, a teacher told her to just skip ahead and audition for the more selective Second City Training Center. She failed but about eight weeks later, she re-auditioned and got into the year-long program. She ended up spending many years at The Second City in Chicago where many SNL cast members first started out. Then in 1995, Saturday Night Live (1975) came to The Second City's cast, including Fey's friend, Adam McKay, as a writer, searching for new talent. What they found was Tina Fey. When Adam was made Head writer, he suggested Fey should send a submission packet over the summer with six sketches, 10 pages each. Tina took the advice and sent them. After Lorne Michaels met her and saw her work she was offered a job a week later. She admitted that she was extremely nervous working in the legendary Studio 8H; being a foot shorter than everyone else, younger, and being one of the only female writers at the time. After a few years, Tina made history by becoming the first female head writer in the show's history. Tina also made her screen debut as a featured player during the 25th season by co-anchoring Weekend Update with Jimmy Fallon. Since Tina and Jimmy have taken over Weekend Update it has been considered the best ever. This year she made it to full fledged star by becoming a regular cast member, though she is hardly on the show, besides Update. And during the past two summers, Tina and Rachel Dratch performed their two-woman show to critical acclaim in both Chicago (1999) and New York (2000) and made their Aspen Comedy Festival Debut. Tina is married to Jeff Richmond, a Second City director and lives in New York City.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Producer
Ice Cube was born in South Central Los Angeles, to Doris (Benjamin), a custodian and hospital clerk, and Hosea Jackson, a UCLA groundskeeper. He first came to public notice as a singer and songwriter with the controversial and influential band N.W.A. His compositions with that group included many of the classic cuts from their debut LP "Straight Outta Compton" (Ruthless/Priority, 1989), including the title track, "Gangsta Gangsta" and "Express Yourself". He quit the band over business differences in 1990 and began a still-growing series of commercially and critically acclaimed solo albums, starting with "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted" (Priority, 1990). His second solo album, "Death Certificate" (Priority, 1991), a concept album about the fall and rise of the Black man, sold two million copies, and his subsequent solo output (six albums to date total) has sold over ten million copies. He has also discovered Yoyo, Del the Funky Homosapien, K-Dee and Mack 10. He has also produced, written, toured and recorded with Public Enemy, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, George Clinton, The D.O.C., Michel'e, Big Daddy Kane, WC & The Madd Circle (which spawned the solo career of Coolio), former N.W.A. bandmate Dr. Dre and Cypress Hill. He has also recorded with two post-N.W.A. side-project bands, Da Lench Mob ("Guerillas In Tha Mist", Street Knowledge/East-West, 1991) and Westside Connection ("Bow Down", Priority, 1996). His movie career has been no less stellar. Ice Cube's debut in Boyz n the Hood (1991) led to more roles in such films as Trespass (1992), Dangerous Ground (1997) and Anaconda (1997). He also appeared as himself in the comedy CB4 (1993). He is also no stranger to the other side of the camera, directing videos for himself as well as Prince and Color Me Badd, as well as co-writing his screenwriting debut, Friday (1995).- Actress
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Regina King was born in Los Angeles, California, to Gloria, a special education teacher, and Thomas King, an electrician. She began her career in the television show 227 (1985), followed by a role in Boyz n the Hood (1991). She began to be recognized by a mainstream audience after her role as Cuba Gooding Jr.'s character's wife in Jerry Maguire (1996). She co-starred in Enemy of the State (1998) as Will Smith's character's wife.- Director
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- Actor
Felix Gary Gray is an African-American music video director, film producer and film director from New York City known for directing films such as Friday, Men in Black: International, Be Cool, The Fate of the Furious, Set It Off, The Negotiator, Straight Outta Compton and The Italian Job. He directed 22 music videos.- Music Artist
- Actress
- Composer
Janelle Monáe is an American musical recording artist, actress and model signed to their own imprint, Wondaland Arts Society, and Atlantic Records.
They were born in Kansas City, Kansas, to Janet, a janitor, and Michael Robinson Summers, a truck driver. In 2010, Monáe released her first full-length studio album, The ArchAndroid. In March 2012, "We Are Young" by Fun., on which Monáe appears as a guest vocalist, reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, their first appearance in the US Top 10. Monáe's music has garnered them six Grammy Award nominations.
Monáe has excelled at film acting and picking roles, having had major parts in Moonlight (2016), Hidden Figures (2016), Lady and the Tramp (2019) and Harriet (2019). In 2020, they played the lead in the horror film Antebellum (2020).- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Leslie Odom Jr. was born on 6 August 1981 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Hamilton (2020), One Night in Miami... (2020) and Central Park (2020). He has been married to Nicolette Robinson since 1 December 2012. They have two children.- Producer
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- Director
Rian Johnson was born in Maryland and at a young age his family moved to San Clemente, California, where he was raised. After graduating from high school, he went on to attend the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. His first feature film, Brick (2005), was released in 2005 and was the metaphorical building block that launched his career. He is a director, writer, and musician, among other areas of expertise.
His second feature, The Brothers Bloom (2008), proved his ability to tell an exciting story with A-list actors, and the visionary Looper (2012) cemented him as a modern science-fiction icon. Among his highest-rated work are three episodes of the critically acclaimed Breaking Bad (2008). His filmography made him a strong candidate to write and direct Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017), the penultimate episode of the 'Star Wars' series. Lucasfilm was pleased with his work and announced that we would write and direct a 'Star Wars' trilogy separate from the main Skywalker story.- Producer
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Albert and Allen Hughes began making movies at age 12, but their formal film education began their freshman year of high school when Allen took a TV production class. They soon made a short film entitled How To Be A Burglar and people began to take notice. Their next work, Uncensored videos, was broadcast on cable, introducing them to a wider audience. After high school Albert began taking classes at LACC Film School: two shorts established the twins' reputation as innovative filmmakers and allowed them to direct Menace II Society (1993), which made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and grossed nearly 10 times as much as its $3 million budget. After following up with Dead Presidents (1995) they directed the feature-length documentary American Pimp (1999) .- Music Artist
- Composer
- Music Department
Born in New York City, Tupac grew up primarily in Harlem. In 1984, his family moved to Baltimore, Maryland where he became good friends with Jada Pinkett Smith. His family moved again in 1988 to Oakland, California. His first breakthrough in music came in 1991 as a member of the group Digital Underground. In the same year he received individual recognition for his album "2Pacalypse Now," but this album was also the beginning of his notoriety as a leading figure of the gangster permutation of hip-hop, with references to cop killing and sexual violence. His solo movie career also began in this year with Juice (1992), and in 1992 he co-starred with Janet Jackson in Poetic Justice (1993).
However, law confrontations were soon to come: A 15-day jail term in 1994 for assault and battery and, in 1995, a conviction for sexual assault of a female fan. After serving 8 months pending an appeal, Shakur was released from jail.- Director
- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Ernest Roscoe Dickerson A.S.C., aka. Ernest R. Dickerson, is an American film director and cinematographer. As a cinematographer, he is known for his frequent collaborations with Spike Lee. As a director, he is known for films such as Juice (1992), Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995), Bones (2001) and Never Die Alone (2004). He has also directed several episodes of acclaimed television series such as Once Upon a Time (2011), The Wire (2002), Dexter (2006), and The Walking Dead (2010).- Writer
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Jeff Pollack was born on 15 November 1959 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Above the Rim (1994), The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990) and Monster (2003). He was married to Solange White Pollack. He died on 23 December 2013 in Hermosa Beach, California, USA.- Music Artist
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- Composer
Janet Damita Jo Jackson was born on May 16, 1966 in Gary, Indiana, to Katherine Jackson (née Katherine Esther Scruse) and Joe Jackson, a musician. She is the youngest of ten children. Before her birth, her brothers formed a band later called The Jackson 5. She lived at home with her sisters, while her brothers and father lived an extravagant life in Los Angeles. She later moved in with them while her brothers were making a name for themselves, and signed a deal with Motown. Janet was in the shadow but later also made a name for herself.
As she was touring, and making appearances with her brothers, and the rest of the family, she co-starred with the rest of them in "The Jacksons". In 1977, she got the part of Penny Gordon on "Good Times". That showed her acting abilities early on. She also made a few memorable appearances on the hit TV show "Diff'rent Strokes" as Charlene Dupree. Soon afterwards came her role on "Fame".
She married boyfriend James Debarge, but they divorced just months later. She signed with A&M Records, and recorded her first solo album titled "Janet Jackson". The album did poorly on the music charts. Two years later she recorded "Dream Street" which turned out to be another disaster. A year later she signed on Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to record a third album, this time called "Control". It was a hit, selling 5 million copies in the U.S. alone, spawning six hits, and the #1 "When I Think of You". Afterwards, she fired her father, her manager to truly gain control.
Janet was determined to make this happen again. She then recorded "Rhythm Nation 1814". This time it sold 9 million copies in the U.S. - a bigger hit than "Control"! She happened to fall in love with a dancer named René Elizondo, Jr. from one of her sister's, LaToya Jackson's music video and later secretly married him in March of 1991. The year before she got a star on the Hollywood walk of fame. Janet went to work on her fifth album simply called "Janet.". It was her biggest hit to date selling over 10 million copies in the U.S. alone and includes her biggest hit single to date, "That's The Way Love Goes". Two years later she released a Greatest Hits album "Design of a Decade" which included two new hits "Runaway", and "Twenty-Foreplay". Her sixth album "The Velvet Rope" clarified her pop culture status.
In the midst of the release of "Nutty Professor II", René Elizondo filed for divorce, which is when it emerged they had been secretly married. Janet recorded her seventh album "All For You". Another hit. She was honored by MTV as an MTV Icon. In 2003, Janet went to work on her next album "Damita Jo" - it was another hit.- Actress
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Greta Gerwig is an American actress, playwright, screenwriter, and director. She has collaborated with Noah Baumbach on several films, including Greenberg (2010), Frances Ha (2012), for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination, and Mistress America (2015). Gerwig made her solo directorial debut with the critically acclaimed comedy-drama film Lady Bird (2017), which she also wrote, and has also had starring roles in the films Damsels in Distress (2011), Jackie (2016), and 20th Century Women (2016).
Greta Celeste Gerwig was born in Sacramento, California, to Christine Gerwig (née Sauer), a nurse, and Gordon Gerwig, a financial consultant and computer programmer. She has German, Irish, and English ancestry. Gerwig was raised as a Unitarian Universalist, but also attended an all-girls Catholic school. She has described herself as "an intense child". With an early interest in dance, she intended to get a degree in musical theatre in New York. She graduated from Barnard College in NY, where she studied English and philosophy, instead. Originally intending to become a playwright, after meeting young film director Joe Swanberg, she became the star of a series of intellectual low budget movies made by first-time filmmakers, a trend dubbed "mumblecore".
Gerwig was cast in a minor role in Swanberg's LOL (2006) in 2006, while still studying at Barnard. She then appeared in many of Swanberg's films, and personally co-directed, co-wrote and co-produced one entitled Nights and Weekends (2008). She has worked with good quality directors such as Ti West (The House of the Devil (2009)), Whit Stillman (Damsels in Distress (2011)), or Woody Allen (To Rome with Love (2012)) but success and (international) recognition did not come until Frances Ha (2012), directed by Noah Baumbach, a film she also co-wrote. Both tall and immature, awkward and graceful, blundering and candid, annoying and engaging, Greta has won all hearts in the title role of Frances Ha(liday).
In 2017, she wrote and directed the highly acclaimed, semi-autobiographical teen movie Lady Bird (2017), set in 2002-2003, and starring Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, and Timothée Chalamet.
In 2011, Gerwig received an award for Acting from the Athena Film Festival for her artistry as one of Hollywood's definitive screen actresses of her generation.- Actress
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Vera Mindy Chokalingam is an Indian-American actress, comedienne, producer, writer and director from Cambridge, Massachusetts known for playing Kelly Kapoor in The Office, Disgust in Inside Out, and creating The Mindy Project. She also appeared in Wreck-It Ralph, Despicable Me, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Ocean's 8, and Monsters at Work. She has two children.