Domingo, Colman

Subterms

    Latest story

    125 Shares99 Views

    Gotham Awards Go to ‘A Different Man’ and ‘Sing Sing’

    by

    The kickoff to awards season has a mixed record but can help lift small films like the two surprise winners.“A Different Man,” a dark indie comedy starring Sebastian Stan, was the surprise best-feature winner at the 34th annual Gotham Awards, which took place Monday night at Cipriani Wall Street in New York.Directed by Aaron Schimberg, the film stars Stan as an actor with neurofibromatosis who undergoes an experimental surgery to remove tumors from his face, giving him a more conventional appearance. That makeover puts him in danger of losing a leading role to a local bon vivant (Adam Pearson) who also has neurofibromatosis but owns his appearance without shame.Though “A Different Man” is distributed by the hot studio A24, it was considered the lowest-profile contender in its category. Most pundits expected the Palme d’Or winner “Anora” to cruise to victory here and even Schimberg was caught off-guard by the win. “I think I’m not the only person in the room who’s totally stunned by this,” the director said onstage, admitting he had not prepared a speech in advance, fearing it would be “hubris” to do so.In a very fluid Oscar season, the Gotham win could raise the chances of Stan, who also stars in the Donald Trump biopic “The Apprentice,” and Pearson, a dark-horse supporting-actor candidate. Though the Gothams’ effectiveness as an Oscar bellwether can fluctuate, three of the four most recent films to triumph there — “Past Lives,” “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “Nomadland” — also went on to be nominated for best picture at the Oscars.The Gothams are most valuable when it comes to helping smaller films like “A Different Man” that rely on an awards-season run to stay in the conversation. Though the ceremony recently lifted its $35 million budget cap for eligible contenders, its nominating juries, which are mostly made up of a handful of film journalists, still tend to favor movies that were made on a shoestring.That includes “Sing Sing,” a prison drama that won the night’s lead and supporting-performance honors for Colman Domingo and Clarence Maclin. (The Gothams are gender-neutral.) “Let’s keep doing work that really matters, that makes a difference,” Domingo, who starred in “The Color Purple” and “Rustin” last year, told the audience. “That’s what we can do right now. That can be a light in the darkness.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    More stories

    • 88 Shares149 Views

      in Television

      Colman Domingo Makes Sense of ‘The Madness’

      by

      The Netflix thriller uses a murder mystery to explore the dangers of misinformation and conspiracy theories. “It’s this flood of not knowing what to believe,” the actor says.The actor Colman Domingo had recently finished back-to-back shoots for the films “Rustin” and “The Color Purple.” He was not looking to star in a series, let alone a series in which the main character seemingly never stops talking. “I’ll be very honest,” he said. “I was trying to rest.” But when his agent sent him the scripts for “The Madness,” he couldn’t help himself.“I thought, Yeah, this is just too good,” he said.This was on a recent evening, and Domingo had joined a video call to discuss “The Madness,” an eight-episode thriller that premieres Thursday on Netflix. Domingo stars as Muncie Daniels, a CNN pundit who has become increasingly alienated from his family, his community and even his own beliefs. When a white supremacist is murdered and Muncie is falsely accused of the crime, he goes on the run, embarking on a journey that reconnects him with what he values. (It also connects him to television’s current favorite villain: a shady billionaire.)A suspenseful series, set largely in Philadelphia and the Poconos, “The Madness” is a showcase for Domingo and a meditation on the dangers of misinformation, disinformation and conspiracy theories, though some of those theories turn out to be true. Domingo, who is currently shooting a new project in Beacon, N.Y. (he is bad at resting), joined the showrunners Stephen Belber, based in New York, and V.J. Boyd, who called in from Los Angeles, to discuss conflict, repair and why cable news is never the answer. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.Why did you want Colman?STEPHEN BELBER I’ve been a fan since his theater days. I wanted this weirdly beautiful blend of grace and force that Colman brings to everything he touches. It was what Muncie required. There’s a certain bombast to him, but there’s a certain vulnerability. And then remembering that Colman is from West Philly, the universe was speaking to us.V.J. BOYD It was very important that we had someone who had great presence, because this is a show where the protagonist is front and center.And Colman, why did you want to do the series?COLMAN DOMINGO I had questions about our society, about who’s pulling the strings, about disinformation, about why we’re so divided. All these questions that I had, they were uncovering. They were saying, “Let’s bring this to the forefront.” I wanted to be the instrument. I understand this character deeply.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 150 Shares99 Views

      in Movies

      For This Drama, Some Actors Had to Return to Prison by Choice

      by

      Alongside Colman Domingo and Paul Raci, ex-inmates shot “Sing Sing” in a decommissioned correctional facility. Then came the screening in the actual prison.Between the jangle of keys and the beeps of walkie-talkies, the men watched.The occasion was an advance screening of the new A24 film “Sing Sing,” and at the prison it’s set in, the men were taking in a fictional version of their lives.Amid a heat wave, the audience — a mix of the studio’s guests and incarcerated men in hunter-green pants — crowded into the correctional facility’s chapel-turned-cinema. With the sun streaming through a stained-glass window of Christ kneeling before the cross, the viewers fanned themselves with paper plates.It was the first time Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin had been to the prison in Ossining, N.Y., since 2012, when he finished serving more than 17 years for robbery.While incarcerated, Maclin had starred as Hamlet in the prison’s makeshift auditorium. Now he was free and returning for his screen debut. He entered the chapel with a grin and a triumphant bounce.Based on the work of the nonprofit Rehabilitation Through the Arts, “Sing Sing,” directed by Greg Kwedar, follows the production of a prison troupe’s first comedy, a fever dream of a play featuring time travel, ancient Egypt and Shakespeare. Maclin and the recent Oscar nominee Colman Domingo star as fellow prisoners alongside Paul Raci (also an Oscar nominee) as their earnest director.Maclin watching himself at the screening. “I always knew I wanted to act,” he said, but “I thought I would be doing it for free somewhere.”Hiroko Masuike/The New York TimesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 63 Shares119 Views

      in Movies

      ‘Sing Sing’ Review: Divine Interventions

      by

      A deep-tissue turn by Colman Domingo and a breakout performance by Clarence Maclin lift this moving drama about a prison theater program.Spoken by the two key characters in the prison-set drama “Sing Sing,” the word “beloved” is as moving as it is unexpected. It uplifts and gently shatters. It makes a case for the deep respect and deeper amity forged in a theater program set up at the eponymous maximum-security facility.Colman Domingo imbues his character John Whitfield, a.k.a. Divine G, with a steadfast compassion but also the tamped-down frustrations of a man convicted of a crime he says he didn’t commit. And Clarence Maclin — a formerly incarcerated newcomer whose story, along with that of the actual Whitfield, the film is built upon — burrows into his former self in a finessed and fierce performance as Divine Eye, the prison-yard alpha who auditions for Sing Sing’s Rehabilitation Through the Arts theater program. That program is the movie’s other star.The film, directed by Greg Kwedar from a script written with Clint Bentley, orbits the prickly relationship between G, a much-respected member of the R.T.A. ensemble, and Eye. We first meet Eye shaking down a wan mark and conducting his drug business in the prison yard. G and his best friend, Mike Mike (Sean San José in a poignant turn), watch, waiting to gauge Eye’s genuine interest in the acting program. There’s a long wait-list.A published writer, G spends his time away from the rehearsal room in the library or at his typewriter building his clemency appeal or researching the cases of fellow inmates. Eye, possessing a gap-tooth smile he’s slow to reveal, is a psychological pugilist looking for the soft spot to land the hurtful punch.From the jump, Eye challenges G’s standing. He’s the prince of the hard gaze. Nothing sits right with him. He thinks the warm-ups are goofy. (They are until they aren’t.) When a fellow actor crosses behind him during the blocking of a scene, he’s ready to pummel.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 100 Shares179 Views

      in Movies

      Our Favorite Photos From the Oscars Red Carpet

      by

      The 96th Academy Awards bowed on Sunday with a return to tradition: The red carpet was, well, red. A year after Hollywood’s stars made their way across a champagne-colored rug, and several months after work stoppages led by actors’ and writers’ unions came to an end, they were greeted once again by the familiar décor.And judging by the bright smiles captured by our photographer, Sinna Nasseri, who was on hand at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, those in attendance were in the mood to celebrate. The starry arrivals included cast and crew of the year’s most-talked-about films, from “Barbie” to “Oppenheimer” (the night’s big winner with seven Oscars) to “Poor Things.” A few of our favorite Oscars snaps are below for your scrolling pleasure. — REBECCA THOMASColman Domingo, joined by Steven Spielberg, was one of several first-time Oscar nominees. Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons arrive at the ceremony.On Oscar night, the arrivals are often as closely watched as the show.Paul Giamatti, a best actor nominee this year.Dominic Sessa, a star of “The Holdovers,” has his photo snapped.Jamie Lee Curtis greeted Yi Yan Fuei, a star of the documentary short “Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó,” as her director and grandson Sean Wang looked on. Bradley Cooper with his mother, Gloria Campano, at left.Sandra Hüller. The best actress nominee had two films in contention for awards: “Anatomy of a Fall” and “The Zone of Interest.”Emily Blunt and John Krasinski, hand in hand.At center, Milo Machado-Graner and Swann Arlaud, stars of “Anatomy of a Fall.”Emma Stone was honored for her performance in Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Poor Things.”Anya Taylor-Joy makes an arrival.Danielle Brooks, nominated for supporting actress in “The Color Purple,” has said she spent six months auditioning for the part of Sofia.Cillian Murphy, the star of “Oppenheimer,” and his wife, Yvonne McGuinness. The film won seven Oscars, including a best actor statue for Murphy.Billie Eilish became a two-time winner in the best original song category with her win for “What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie.”Lily Gladstone, who has Blackfeet and Nez Percé heritage, made history with her best actress nomination for Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.”Ariana Grande makes a grand entrance.Greta Gerwig with her partner and “Barbie” collaborator, Noah Baumbach.Jeffrey Wright, at right, the Oscar-nominated star of “American Fiction,” strikes a pose.Martin Scorsese with his daughter Francesca Scorsese.Nicolas Cage hit the red carpet.Florence Pugh sparkled.Robert Downey Jr., the winner for best supporting actor for his role in the much-celebrated “Oppenheimer.” More

    • 113 Shares159 Views

      in Movies

      How to Watch the Oscars: Date, Time and Streaming

      by

      An earlier airtime and an unusual presenter approach are among the changes at this year’s ceremony.Watching the Oscars doesn’t usually require an instruction manual.But this year, to make sure you catch the goodness of Ryan Gosling performing “I’m Just Ken” — in what we can only hope will be a faux fur coat — there are two crucial steps you must take.One: Be in your preferred watching position — popcorn popped, possibly in a “Dune” bucket, Snuggie on — an hour earlier on Sunday. In a break from the traditional 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Pacific start, this year’s ceremony is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m., an effort by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to stick to prime-time hours.And two: When we say 7 p.m., we mean what-was-until-2-a.m.-on-Sunday 6 p.m., because — that’s right — daylight saving time is here once again. Don’t forget to set your clocks — if you still have clocks — forward an hour.You may have heard that “Oppenheimer,” with a pack-leading 13 nominations, is a lock to win best picture. This is accurate. But even if we’re certain how the night will end, the getting there is the fun part. Here’s everything you need to know.What time does the show start and where can I watch?In a perk for those who like going to bed early, this year’s show begins at 7 p.m. Eastern, 4 p.m. Pacific, at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. Sunday is also the start of daylight saving time, so remember to set your clocks an hour forward before you go to bed on Saturday night.On TV, ABC is the official broadcaster. Online, you can watch the show live on the ABC app, which is free to download, or at abc.com, though you’ll need to sign in using the credentials from your cable provider. There are also a number of live TV streaming services that offer access to ABC, including Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, AT&T TV and FuboTV, which all require subscriptions.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 100 Shares169 Views

      in Movies

      How Much Say Should Families Have in Biopics?

      by

      The Oscars slate this year is packed with films rooted in historical events and biographies. How much influence should the subjects have?When Walter Naegle was first approached over a decade ago by producers who wanted to make a feature about his late partner, the civil rights leader Bayard Rustin, Naegle needed to be talked into it.Rustin, who had been the main organizer of the 1963 March on Washington — and an openly gay public figure at a time when few were — had already been the subject of the nonfiction “Brother Outsider” (2003). Naegle remembers saying to the producers, “What do I need you guys for? We have a very good documentary.”But Naegle was persuaded, in part by knowing that a vast audience could be reached with a fictionalized feature, and he gave his blessing, starting a yearslong process of consultation with filmmakers that culminated in “Rustin,” directed by George C. Wolfe and starring Colman Domingo, who has been nominated for an Oscar for his performance.When Naegle saw the film for the first time, he felt overwhelming relief. “Colman’s performance had really captured this person who I cared about,” he said.At Sunday’s Academy Awards, Rustin is one of several historical figures who are the focus of nominated films. Other real-life subjects include the father of the atomic bomb, a lauded American conductor and the victims and perpetrators of the Reign of Terror in the Osage Nation in 1920s Oklahoma.JaNae Collins, left, Lily Gladstone, Cara Jade Myers and Jillian Dion in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which was refocused after a meeting with relatives of the real-life Osage subjects.Melinda Sue Gordon/Apple Original FilmsWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 75 Shares129 Views

      in Movies

      ‘Drive-Away Dolls’ Review: A Mirthless Joyride

      by

      Directing without his brother, Ethan Coen brings the usual mix of highbrow references and petty crimes, but this road movie just stalls out.The title of Ethan Coen’s leaden romp “Drive-Away Dolls” summons up the vulgar excesses of old-school exploitation cinema, with its horrors and pleasures, carnage and flesh. If only! The promising setup involves two friends — the dreary duo of Margaret Qualley as Jamie and Geraldine Viswanathan as Marian — who, during a 1999 road trip from Philadelphia to Florida, come into possession of a briefcase wanted by some bad, violent men. There will be blood, yup, if not enough to obscure the inert staging, D.O.A. jokes and wooden performances.This is the most recent movie that Ethan Coen has made without his brother, Joel, his longtime collaborator. (Ethan also made the 2022 documentary “Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind.”) To a degree, “Drive-Away Dolls” seems of a piece with the Coens’ practice of playing with story forms (film genres and otherwise), which they have consistently satirized, upended and all but gutted. Mixing the ostensibly high with the putatively low, they sample and riff on populist and rarefied sources, the spiritual and the material. This can create a fascinating doubling in the sense that there’s the movie in front of you and its layered references, all of which can flow together when they don’t congeal, which alas happens here.Written by Coen and his wife, Tricia Cooke, “Drive-Away Dolls” opens on an old-style neon bar sign spelling out the word “Cicero,” immediately suggesting that you’re in familiar Coen territory. This nod to the philosopher puts you on alert, but it also feels like bait for those aficionados eager to sift through signs and meanings (which can be a self-flattering exercise for filmmakers and for viewers). Soon enough, the camera is prowling inside the bar where a panicked-looking man (Pedro Pascal as the Collector) sits in a booth clutching a briefcase to his body. After exchanging words with a curiously hostile waiter, the Collector scurries down a shadowy Chandleresque mean street before taking a fatal turn into a nightmarish alley.This particular briefcase contains another of moviedom’s great whatsits, one of those mysteries that, like knowledge itself, some people have, others are desperate to obtain and still others eventually regret having. After some character introductions — enter Jamie, Marian et. al. — and pro forma scene-setting, the movie gets down to business and the briefcase changes hands. For reasons that make sense mostly as a screenwriting contrivance, the two friends secure a car from a guy named Curlie (Bill Camp) and hit the road, with plans to visit Marian’s aunt in Tallahassee. There’s some sweet, sticky stuff, too: Jamie, who has broken up with her girlfriend, a tough cop named Sukie (Beanie Feldstein), thinks Marian needs to get laid. Marian does too, so there are more bars in their future.The women’s journey proves eventful; yet while they rack up both miles and conquests, and despite some flashy editing, “Drive-Away Dolls” remains inert. After their car blows a tire, Jamie and Marian find the briefcase in the trunk along with a hatbox. The two cases contain clues — by turns grisly and notionally amusing — which fit into a larger story that incorporates enough dildos to secure the movie its R rating; nods to Henry James; a dog named after Alice B. Toklas; and assorted attractions, including a family-values politician (Matt Damon), a dapper gangland boss (Colman Domingo as the Chief) and a couple of quarrelsome cartoon minions (Joey Slotnick and C.J. Wilson as the Chief’s Goons).We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 138 Shares189 Views

      in Movies

      What Will Be Nominated for Oscars Next Week, and What Won’t?

      by

      While “Oppenheimer,” “Barbie” and “Killers of the Flower Moon” are likely to do well, the directors race is hardly set and other categories are open, too.When it comes to predicting the Oscars, you ultimately have to go with your gut … and mine is in a state of agita.That’s what happens when there are simply too many good movies and great performances to all make the cut: Even the hypothetical snubs I’m about to dole out have me tied up in knots.Which names can you expect to hear on Tuesday, when the Oscar nominations are announced? Here is what I project will be nominated in the top six Oscar categories, based on industry chatter, key laurels from the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards, and the nominations bestowed by the Screen Actors Guild, Producers Guild of America and Directors Guild of America. Well, all of those things, and my poor, tormented gut.Best PictureLet’s start with the safest bets. “Oppenheimer,” “Barbie” and “Killers of the Flower Moon” scored top nominations from the producers, directors and actors guilds last week and I expect each film to earn double-digit Oscar nominations. “The Holdovers” and “Poor Things” are secure, too: Though they didn’t make it into SAG’s best-ensemble race, both films boast lead actors who’ve won the Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award. If this were an old-school race, these would be the five nominees.But there are five more slots to fill, and I project the next three will go to “Past Lives” and “American Fiction,” passion picks with distinct points of view, as well as “Maestro,” the sort of ambitious biopic that Oscar voters are typically in the tank for. I’m also betting that the French courtroom drama “Anatomy of a Fall” and the German-language Holocaust drama “The Zone of Interest” find favor with the academy’s increasingly international voting body. (Even the Producers Guild, which so often favors big studio movies over global cinema, found room to nominate that pair.)There are still a few dark horses that hope to push their way into this lineup, like “The Color Purple,” “May December,” “Society of the Snow” and “Origin.” But I suspect these 10 are locked and loaded.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?  More