Four years ago, Barry Jenkins experienced one of the best and strangest nights of his life. The filmmaker behind the Oscar-winning film, “Moonlight,” was awarded Best Picture but the situation involved a huge mess-up on the part of the presenters of the award falsely claiming that “La La Land” won instead. It’s still a situation that gets brought up every year when the Oscars are being awarded and will likely continue to be mentioned for decades to come just for how strange it is.

Continue reading Barry Jenkins Says Oscars Mix-Up Affirmed “Unsavory Thoughts” That ‘Moonlight’ Won Because It’s A Black Film at The Playlist.

Believe it or not, it’s only been less than two years since Barry Jenkins released “If Beale Street Could Talk.” And though his last feature arrived two years after “Moonlight,” it feels like it’s been forever since we’ve seen new work from Jenkins. Well, thankfully, the filmmaker is still working on his new Amazon series, “The Underground Railroad,” which should be coming soon (hopefully, at least).

Continue reading ‘Underground Railroad’: Barry Jenkins Eased Into TV Directing With The Help Of Soderbergh & Fukunaga at The Playlist.

What qualifies a film for the top of a Best of the Decade list?  Well, it should obviously be transcendent. It should be masterful. It should stick with you for days (maybe even weeks or months). But those are all easy adjectives to throw out there. Perhaps it’s influence should be taken into account the most.  And that’s one reason Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight” is at the top of my list for the best films of the past 10 years.

Continue reading Gregory Ellwood’s Top 75 Films Of The 2010 Decade: Moonlight, I Am Love, Under The Skin at The Playlist.

Look, making a Best of Decade list is an impossibility. As the 2010s come to a close, we’ve been agonizing over this (long-delayed) list for half a year now and even had to take a break and put it away this summer when things got too contentious and overwhelming. And then there’s the notion of resonance and what really lasts and is released too late (Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women” is phenomenal, for example, but it’s not even released yet, and it’s just going to have to sit this one out).

Continue reading The 100 Best Films Of The Decade [2010s] at The Playlist.

For a while, A24 had been teasing a new project that seemed like it could be a streaming service. The indie distributor seemed like it was poised to have a go at the Streaming Wars with its own brand of critically-acclaimed low-budget films. However, today the plan was officially announced and A24 Public Access isn’t a streaming service, in the most traditional sense at least.

A24 has announced a new Public Access promotion where the company will stream a curated selection of films in specific cities across the US on specific days.

Continue reading A24 Public Access Will Screen “Moonlight,” “Lady Bird,” & Other Films On Billboards Across The Country at The Playlist.

The discussion about whether or not the film industry’s streaming future means the death of the traditional theater-going experience has been raging on for years, and will likely continue to do so in the immediate future. As Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Apple, Disney, and other companies begin filling up their libraries with major, big-budget films, the public’s desire to leave their home to watch a film gets lessened more and more. But not all filmmakers are troubled by this.

Continue reading Barry Jenkins Talks Netflix/Streaming & Explains Why He Bought A ‘Moonlight’ Bootleg DVD In Mexico at The Playlist.

Happy (early) Pride Month (in two days of course)! Though we’ll all already be plenty busy dodging our exes at parades and scrubbing glitter out of our clothes, this June offers LGBTQ people everywhere a chance to reflect on how far we’ve come. This year is an especially important one, as it marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, when an uprising at a gay club in New York City galvanized gay and transgender people across the country.

Continue reading The Best LGBTQ Films Of The 21st Century (So Far) at The Playlist.

Barry Jenkins‘ follow-up to his 2016 Best Picture-winning film, “Moonlight,” came out of the festival circuit with tremendous praise. “If Beale Street Could Talk” takes on the words of writer James Baldwin, giving breath to his phrases and filling the screen with images of the monumental novel. Much like “Moonlight,” ‘Beale Street”s praise comes in part from Jenkins’ tender love of Baldwin’s story.

Continue reading An Examination Of Barry Jenkins Before ‘Moonlight’ at The Playlist.

With a stellar writer and director attached to its name and a glowingly-received and sold-out reception at the Toronto International Film Festival (apparently one of the runners-up of the coveted Audience Award), “If Beale Street Could Talk” is poised for further awards-season acclaim. The film is based on the novel of the same name by James Baldwin and directed by Barry Jenkins who is fresh off the Oscar stage and, it seems, ready to step right back on.

Continue reading ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ Trailer: Barry Jenkins Returns With A Festival Winner at The Playlist.

One of the most interesting Academy Awards moments of all time is when “La La Land” was wrongfully announced as the Best Picture winner back in 2017. Luckily, it was rectified and “Moonlight” was announced as the rightful winner of the award, but the confusion on stage quickly went viral and the rest is history. That award capped off an incredible awards season run for Barry Jenkin’s film.

Continue reading Barry Jenkins Recalls Being Called A Racial Slur During ‘Moonlight’ Awards Season at The Playlist.

As far as sentiment goes, “Moonlight” may live with the unfortunate burden of being remembered as the film that caused great commotion at the 2017 Academy Awards. Its win for Best Picture marked a nudge for the Academy in a more artful, progressive direction. Barry Jenkins‘ enthralling, rich film shouldn’t be remembered for this one night alone. The picture produced enrapturing images that are haunting, reflexive, and cool in their hues.

Continue reading Visual Reflections In ‘Moonlight’ And The Work Of Wong Kar-Wai at The Playlist.

At this year’s Oscars, Price WaterhouseCoopers will be working extra hard to prevent a repeat of the colossal embarrassment at the close of last year’s show. In case you somehow didn’t hear or don’t remember, when it came time to announce Best Picture, presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway were accidentally handed the envelope for Best Actress in a Leading Role, and proceeded to announce “La La Land” as the winner, with the producers coming up to take the trophy.

Continue reading Barry Jenkins Says Oscars “Won’t Be The Same” For Him After Envelope Mix-up at The Playlist.

After Guillermo del Toro won the DGA Award this weekend for “The Shape of Water” it would appear the Fox Searchlight fantasy is on its way to ruling Oscar night.  It’s incredibly rare for a film to win both the DGA and PGA Award as “Shape” has and not win Best Picture although it’s not unheard of.  In fact, it’s slightly more common than we tend to remember, but it’s also slightly complicated.

Continue reading Is ‘The Shape of Water’ Your Slam Dunk Best Picture Winner? [Contender Countdown] at The Playlist.

It seemed improbable that anything could top the dramatic ups and downs of 2016, but 2017 found a way. And for Hollywood, it was a year where it often felt like the entire town was on fire (and we’re not just referring to the annual wild fires that smolder in the hills).  Especially in the second half, where it seemed like a day didn’t go by when the facade of a favorite actor, director or television personality was justifiably shattered into a million pieces.

Continue reading The Biggest Entertainment News Stories Of 2017 at The Playlist.

It feels a bit strange to think about “Moonlight” right now. The Oscar envelope flap feels like it was eons ago, but it was around this time last year that Barry Jenkins‘ lovely, little film was making a huge noise. The movie went from critical darling, to arthouse hit, to adored Best Picture winner, confirming that the tastemakers at A24 had the goods to bring their films the distance in the awards seasons, while putting major Hollywood studios on notice.

Continue reading Luca Guadagnino Talks ‘Call Me By Your Name’ Sequels, Praises ‘Moonlight’ at The Playlist.

It didn’t take much time for the screening of Bong Joon Ho‘s “Okja” to create a stir at Cannes. The film started off being booed not for its alliance to producer Netflix, but because of a technical glitch which projected the film in the wrong aspect ratio. The film came to a screeching halt and a seven-minute delay followed. Once the film started again, booing happened for the reason we all thought it would: the Netflix logo appearing on the screen.

Continue reading Noah Baumbach Defends Netflix, But Explains Why Smaller Movies Must Be Seen In Cinemas at The Playlist.

The surreal mix-up on Oscar night has enshrined “Moonlight” as one of the biggest upsets and flubs in movie history. But that giant shocker on live television resulted from many more intimate moments experienced in theaters across the country — viewers feeling surprise that a movie with a tiny budget, a low-profile cast, and a doubly marginalized protagonist could speak to them so personally and profoundly. That “Moonlight” could prove so unexpectedly universal is a testament to Barry Jenkins as a director, and perhaps more specifically, to the immensely powerful images he created along with cinematographer James Laxton.

Continue reading Images Echo & Haunt The Characters In Best Picture Winning ‘Moonlight’ In Side By Side Video Essay [Watch] at The Playlist.

The expectation from everyone was that “Logan” was going to draw serious blood at the box office this weekend, and the R-rated movie didn’t disappoint.

Armed with glowing reviews and an audience eager to finally see Wolverine unbound from franchise requirements and four-quadrant appeal, the superhero movie carved up $88.3 million and added another $152.5 million abroad for a total global haul of $240.8 million. It’s the fifth-highest R-rated movie opening of all time, falling well short of the $132 million debut of “Deadpool,” which, as a whole, was a complete outlier.

Continue reading ‘Logan’ Draws Blood With Blockbuster Launch [Box Office] at The Playlist.

The 89th Academy Awards will go down in history for the inspiring choice of “Moonlight” as Best Picture and the mess that found “La La Land” mistakenly announced as the winner beforehand.  On this week’s podcast, Dan Fienberg, the television critic of The Hollywood Reporter (and also our first returning guest), and I break down the telecast and that moment which has become a modern Zapruder film.  A mistake so unexpected that the more you watch it the more details you catch.

Continue reading 4 Quadrant Podcast: Breaking Down The Oscars Best Picture Mistake With Dan Fienberg at The Playlist.

It’s the biggest bungle in Oscars history, so it only follows that the Hollywood trades are covering it with all the intensity of a congressional hearing. And while it might not have all the sizzle of a Washington-based scandal — this one involves mishandled envelopes and tweeting — the players are high-profile, and an entire industry has been left embarrassed. In case you’re just visiting from the planet Mars, you’ll know that on Sunday night, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway‘s presentation of Best Picture was marred when “La La Land” was initially announced, only for the trophy to be taken away and given to “Moonlight” instead.

Continue reading Oscars 2017: Jimmy Kimmel, Damien Chazelle & Producer Michael De Luca React To Best Picture Bungle at The Playlist.

Something that has actually been lost in the entire Best Picture envelope mix-up over the past two days is a pretty monumental fact about this year’s winner, “Moonlight.” Barry Jenkins’ acclaimed drama is the first gay movie to ever win Best Picture. That’s, um, sort of a big deal.

Yes, “Moonlight” is many things but it’s profoundly a gay movie. Just like “Carol,” “Milk,” “The Kids Are All Right” and “Brokeback Mountain” are.

Continue reading Your Daily Reminder: ‘Moonlight’ Is The First LGBTQ Movie To Win Best Picture at The Playlist.

It wasn’t the best way to win Best Picture, but Barry Jenkins and the folks behind “Moonlight“ handled it with class, even if the biggest moment in their career was marred by “envelope gate.” It’s been a helluva journey for Jenkins and co. ever since the film first unspooled last fall, and undoubtedly everyone is still spinning a bit. But in the clearer light of day and away from the glitz and intensity of the Oscars, Jenkins reveals what he would’ve said on that stage had things gone smoothly.

Continue reading ‘Moonlight’ Director Barry Jenkins Reveals The Best Picture Speech He Would’ve Given at The Playlist.

We’ve covered last night’s stunner of an Oscars ceremony from a whole bunch of angles — from the Best & Worst of the ceremony and all the acceptance speeches to the reasons why “Moonlight” picked up the top prize — but we haven’t really gone in depth into the major thing everyone’s talking about it today: the unprecedented balls-up that saw “La La Land” announced as Best Picture, its producers give their speeches, only to announce from the stage that actually, “Moonlight” had won.

Continue reading Why The 2017 Best Picture Fiasco Was One Of The Very Worst & Very Best Oscar Moments Ever at The Playlist.

Yes, the entire world knows “Moonlight” was the huge upset shocker of last night’s 89th Annual Academy Awards ceremony. Though there’s obviously a huge argument to be made that the biggest surprise of the night was the painful mix up itself. Still, as we continue our comprehensive post-mortem on the Oscars, we analyze the winners and losers, what films were snubbed and what surprises the evening had in store.

Continue reading Oscars 2017: The Biggest Snubs & Surprises, Minus ‘Moonlight’ Of Course at The Playlist.

It’s only because it came hot on the heels of one of the biggest shocks in the near-90 year history of the Academy Awards — that the wrong name was read out, and “La La Land” had not, in fact, won Best Picture — that “Moonlight” taking the top prize last night isn’t being appreciated as the biggest Oscar surprise in over a decade.

Continue reading Oscars 2017: Why ‘Moonlight’ Beat ‘La La Land’ To Win Best Picture at The Playlist.