Lena Waithe
Lena Waithe Gets Candid About Career Ups and Downs During Barnard Commencement Speech: “I Didn’t Know How to Exist as This Ideal Icon”
Lena Waithe took a moment to share what she’s learned from the successes and struggles she’s had throughout her career during a commencement speech for Barnard College’s class of 2023. “Things were good for a while, but, eventually, the bloom fell off the rose,” she said. “I wrote a movie that people wished had a […]
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‘Chang Can Dunk’ Review: A Disney+ Coming-of-Age Charmer That’s Not as Formulaic as It Appears
A not-so-tall teenager sets out to prove he can dunk a basketball in this film from writer-director Jingyi Shao.
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Sundance: Macro Lodge Returns With Programming Featuring Ryan Coogler, Lena Waithe, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Sanaa Lathan
The MACRO Lodge is back in time for the weekend. The sixth annual MACRO Lodge opens today in conjunction with the Sundance Film Festival in Park City with a slate of (invitation-only) programming of inclusive screenings, panels and parties, many of which serve to champion inclusion and people of color at its prime location on […]
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Jordan E. Cooper on Saving Broadway’s ‘Ain’t No Mo,’’ His “Love and Loathe” Letter to American Theater
Just one week after its opening, new Broadway play Ain’t No Mo’ announced it would soon be ending its run. Written by and starring Jordan E. Cooper — the youngest Black American playwright in Broadway history — and produced by Lee Daniels, the play is set to close on Dec. 18, unless the production can rally audiences […]
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‘Beauty’: Film Review
A singer on the cusp of fame struggles to balance family life, love and self-worth in a Netflix feature written by Lena Waithe and directed by Andrew Dosunmu.
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How a Soul Food Spot Became Black Hollywood’s Top Restaurant for Power Dining
There are dozens of L.A. restaurants that draw actors dining with agents and directors imbibing with studio executives. Only one, however, lays claim to an outdoor space where said guests also will do the electric slide, mid-meal, while belting out Luther Vandross. Such was the scene at Alta Adams a few months ago, when Lena […]
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Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad, Indeed Extend BIPOC Filmmaker Initiative With $3M Investment
In February, Lena Waithe’s production company Hillman Grad partnered with the job listings company Indeed to launch Rising Voices, an initiative to help ten up-and-coming BIPOC filmmakers boost their careers by creating their own short films budgeted at $100,000 each. After a successful inaugural outing, which yielded more than 650 jobs and saw the shorts […]
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Lena Waithe Prepping ‘Hoop Dreams’ Series as Part of WBTV Overall Deal
Lena Waithe is changing her TV home. The Master of None Emmy winner has moved her overall deal from Amazon to Warner Bros. Television Group. As part of the multiple-year deal, Waithe and her Hillman Grad Productions banner are developing a scripted adaptation of the landmark documentary Hoop Dreams. Waithe had been based at Amazon […]
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Black Hollywood Is Snapping Up Paintings by This Young Artist
As art collectors such as Cynthia Erivo, Lena Waithe, Rich Paul, and Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys snap up his work, gallerist Sarah Griffin remembers how she discovered artist Corey Pemberton in 2019 on a jaunt in Beverly Hills. Her outing that day — a visit with family to the Beverly Hills Art Show, which […]
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Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad Productions, Audible Strike Multi-Project Deal
Audible has struck a multi-project development deal with Lena Waithe and Rishi Rajani’s Hillman Grad Productions. The first project in the deal is an original comedy series, Kym, inspired by the actress and comedian Kym Whitley’s life. Whitley will star in the series and executive produce through her Kwik Whit Productions banner. “We’re so excited to […]
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Showtime Donates $500K to Chicago Nonprofits to Help Beautify Lots, Neighborhoods
Showtime is continuing its investment in Chicago. The network today announced a $500,000 donation to a pair of local nonprofits — Chicago Greencorps and Chicago Public Art Group — as a way to invest and beautify parts of the city. Specifically, the grants will fund clean-up and beautification of 32 empty lots and six accompanying art […]
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Mary Tyler Moore Doc ‘Being Mary’ in the Works From Lena Waithe, Endeavor Content
A Mary Tyler Moore documentary is in the works from Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad Productions and Endeavor Content. Directed by James Adolphus, Being Mary: The Mary Tyler Moore Documentary will follow the personal and professional journey of the star, businesswoman and advocate best known for her portrayal of a single, successful and professional woman of […]
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