‘American Fiction’ Writer-Director Cord Jefferson On Oscar Noms And Pushing Boundaries Beyond Black Cinema: “Hopefully It Cracks The Door Open For More Filmmakers Behind Us”

Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group is making sure the producer of the studio’s highest grossing movie of all-time, Barbie, isn’t going anywhere.

The Taste Of Things, a meditation on turn-of-the-century French cooking — no chicken wings or nachos in sight — is stirring up a nice weekend for IFC Films with $126k and the best per-theater opening of the year so far on Super Bowl weekend.

“I want to do an erotic thriller and I’m also working on a neo-western that is also is like a noir,” beamed American Fiction filmmaker Cord Jefferson about his potential sophomore directorials.

her movie was—and more controversially, wasn't—nominated for.“Obviously I think Greta [Gerwig] should be nominated as a director, because what she did is a once-in-a-career, once-in-a-lifetime thing, what she pulled off, it really is,” Robbie said at a recent SAG screening of the film, , before adding magnanimously, “But it’s been an incredible year for all the films.”“There’s no way to feel sad when you know you’re this blessed,” she said during a panel discussion, explaining that she's actually very happy with the warm reception the summer received. “[I'm] beyond ecstatic that we’ve got eight Academy Award nominations, it’s so wild…. We set out to do something that would shift culture, affect culture, just make some sort of impact.

American Fiction, a new film based upon the book ‘Erasure’ by Percival Everett. Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, John Ortiz, Erika Alexander, Leslie Uggams, Adam Brody, Keith David, Issa Rae and Sterling K.

Angelique Jackson Film Independent has made notable additions to its ranks with Dan Stern elected to the board of directors, while Chaz Ebert, Kasi Lemmons and Lulu Wang join the nonprofit arts organization’s advisory board. The new appointees are the first under Film Independent board chair Brenda Robinson’s tenure after her January 2022 election.

Eva Mendes is expressing her support for her partner Ryan Gosling after the actor scored an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Ken in the Greta Gerwig-directed Barbie film.

Sterling K. Brown received his first Oscar nomination and his This Is Us family is sending love to the actor.

Elemental director Peter Sohn received an Oscar nomination on Tuesday morning for Best Animated Feature. Even with a story that’s very personal to him, Sohn’s first thoughts go towards his entire crew. “I think about all the work and passion and love that they put into the film, and it fills me up in a way that is very emotional.”

Composer Laura Karpman received her first Oscar nomination on Tuesday for Amazon MGM Studios’ American Fiction in Music (Original Score). 

Marc Malkin Senior Editor, Culture and Events Shortly after the Oscar nominations were announced on Tuesday morning, “Oppenheimer” director Christopher Nolan recalled watching Cillian Murphy transform into J. Robert Oppenheimer for the first time. “It was really in the hair and makeup tests, which we shoot on Imax and in black-and-white,” Nolan told Variety.

2024 Oscar nominations are here, and the snubs are brutal – including Margot Robbie, Leonardo DiCaprio and more. Many of the nominations were expected: “Oppenheimer” got a total of 13 nods – including “Best Actor” for Cillian Murphy, “Best Supporting Actor” for Robert Downey Jr. and “Best Director” for Christopher Nolan.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor The Oscars nominations might not have given everything the people wanted, but diversity in the acting categories had several high points to celebrate. Lily Gladstone made history as the first Native American nominated for best actress, for her towering role as Mollie Burkhart in the crime thriller “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Colman Domingo became the first Afro Latino nominated in best actor for his powerhouse performance in the civil rights drama “Rustin.” He’s joined by fellow Black nominee Jeffrey Wright for “American Fiction.” This is only the second time in Oscar history where more than one Black actor, who wasn’t either Will Smith or Denzel Washington, was nominated for the leading prize.

Golden Globes and Emmy Awards aired. This year’s ceremony will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, marking his fourth time as emcee.“We are thrilled about Jimmy returning to host and Molly [McNearney] returning as executive producer for the Oscars,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang previously said in a statement.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic For some of us, “American Fiction” has a satirical audacity that’s funny right out of the gate, gathers speed and force on the runway — and then, somehow, just when the comedy should be taking off, it turns muted and moralistic instead. I think the hitch is that after Jeffrey Wright’s Monk sells his fake memoir of Black street life, there’s a strong urge to see him — and the film — take a certain vengeful joy in how the book’s popularity skewers the racism of clueless white people. Instead, Monk is made so miserable by what happens that the movie never allows itself to discover that joy.

Alex G has announced a record deal with RCA, along with details of a 2024 tour.The Pennsylvania indie musician had formerly been signed to Domino since 2015, with his most recent release being ‘God Save The Animals‘ (2022).Now following his RCA deal, Alex G will be touring across the US. Presale will begin on Tuesday (January 23) 10:00am local time here, whilst general sale will follow on Friday (January 26) at 10:00am local time here.

Good afternoon Insiders, Jesse Whittock back with you. So much news to get through this week — here’s a pick of the biggest and best stories. Sign up for the newsletter here.

Michaela Zee The African American Film Critics Association has announced the winners of the 15th annual AAFCA Awards, which honors outstanding achievement in film. “American Fiction,” “The Color Purple” and “Origin” all scored multiple honors, with “American Fiction” and “The Color Purple” leading with four wins apiece.

Valerie Wu Intern “Black-ish” star Anthony Anderson is hosting the 75th annual Primetime Emmys on Jan. 15. The Compton native, who has received 11 Emmy nominations himself for his work on “Black-ish,” is no stranger to the primetime awards show.

Ava DuVernay’s time-hopping drama Origin, debut filmmaker Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction, and Blitz Bazawule’s musical take on The Color Purple lead the winners at the 15th annual African American Film Critics Awards. Scroll down for the full list.