Ava Duvernay Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Ava DuVernay has ended her rich overall deal with Warner Bros. Television Group, multiple sources confirm to Variety.

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Ashley Madekwe is putting her baby bump on display!

NBC’s Today, the morning news show that launched more than 70 years ago, has received this year’s Peabody Institutional Award, the group said Wednesday.

Ms. Foundation, a Brooklyn-based organization that “works to bring attention to the real challenges facing women, especially women of color and low-income women who are living in poverty” and advocates for policy changes at both a statewide and national level.The Ms. Foundation announced that Markle will be receiving the award “for her global advocacy to empower and advocate on behalf of women and girls.”“We are thrilled to announce this year’s honorees for the Women of Vision Awards and to celebrate 50 years of progress and power,” Teresa C.

Meghan Markle. The 41-year-old Duchess of Sussex has been announced as one of the honorees for the 2023 Women of Vison Award.

Podcaster (and Duchess of Sussex) Meghan Markle, actors Christina Applegate and Ava DuVernay, and country music star Faith Hill are among the winners of this year’s Gracie Awards recognizing outstanding achievements of women in media.

Meghan Markle is receiving a high honor for her work amplifying women's voices. On Thursday, the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation announced the Duchess of Sussex as one of more than 100 winners of a 2023 Gracie Award. Markle -- who is being recognized for her headline-making podcast,  -- is in esteemed company, winning along with fellow stars like Christina Applegate, Ava DuVernay, Faith Hill, Amanda Seyfried and many more content creators spanning radio, television and digital. «This year's theme, 'Storytelling,' highlights and celebrates the narratives shared by the winners, which not only inform, inspire, and captivate audiences, but also enrich our collective comprehension of the world,» a press release stated.

Sophia Scorziello editor The Alliance for Women in Media Foundation has announced the winners of its 48th Annual Gracie Awards, an event that recognizes women-centered achievements and programming in media and entertainment. A gala honoring Gracie winners will be held on May 23 at the Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire in Los Angeles. Local and student winners will be recognized on June 20 at a luncheon in New York City.  Winners of this year’s Gracie Awards include Christina Applegate, Meghan Markle, Ava DuVernay, Faith Hill, Amanda Seyfried, Danielle Monaro, Shelley Wade, “Abbott Elementary,” “Today,” “The Drew Barrymore Show” and “48 Hours.” Showtime’s “The First Lady” will be honored with this year’s Grand Award, an accolade that recognizes immense levels of effort and achievement in production. Rachel Lindsay of “Extra” and “The Bachelor” will return as AWMF’s social media ambassador.  

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor What better way to officially close the door on an exhausting awards season than to look ahead –blindly — to what studios and production companies could bring to the screen in 2023. As Variety‘s awards coverage transitions into the Emmy season, this annual tradition (albeit highly inaccurate due to release shifts and other varying factors) creates some fun and wonder as Cannes looms two months away. One first impression is that the streamers are back with a vengeance with an arsenal of big names and titles aiming to take the trophy from reigning best-picture champ A24 with “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” Apple Original Films has a duo of master auteurs on deck.

Marion Cotillard, Nicole Kidman, and Kristen Stewart pose together for a photo at last night’s star-studded pre-Oscars party!

CAA is kicking off Oscars weekend with a star-studded-party!

EXCLUSIVE: Marsha Stephanie Blake(When They See Us), Gabrielle Graham (Twenties), John Ortiz (Promised Land) and Tamsin Topolski (Slow Horses) have been cast opposite Colman Domingo in Netflix’s The Madness limited series. The conspiracy thriller hails from Chernin Entertainment via its first-look deal with Netflix, creator and co-showrunner Stephen Belber (O.G., The Laramie Project) and co-showrunner VJ Boyd (Justified, S.W.A.T.)

Blair Underwood (American Crime Story), Victoria Pedretti (You), Isha Blaaker (The Flight Attendant) and Finn Wittrock (Ratched) are among the final major additions to Academy Award nominee Ava DuVernay’s latest film Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, based on the bestseller of the same name by Pulitzer Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson.

Six-time Tony winner, Audra McDonald, and Best Actor in a Musical, Myles Frost, have joined the cast of Oscar nominee Ava DuVernay’s latest film inspired by Pulitzer Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson’s Caste: The Origins of our Discontents.

Award-winning writer, producer, comedian, and actor Quinta Brunson, creator of ABC and Warner Bros. Television’s TV series , will receive the ICG Publicists (International Cinematographers Guild, IATSE Local 600) 2023 Television Showperson Award. 

Ava DuVernay‘s “Caste” has been shooting in Savannah, GA for weeks without any casting news save for “King Richard” star Aunjanue Ellis leading the cast. But now Deadline has the scoop on who joins Ellis for the upcoming film, and it’s an intriguing list.  Niecy Nash-Betts, Jon Bernthal, Vera Farmiga, Nick Offerman, Jasmine Cephas Jones, and Connie Nielson are all on board for DuVernay’s race drama.

Regina King has returned to Instagram one year after her son Ian Alexander Jr.’s death. The Harder They Fall actress took to t

The Berlin Film Festival today unveiled the titles selected for its retrospective section chosen by a collection of international directors and actors, including Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson, Nadine Labaki, and Tilda Swinton.

The United Kingdom swept the two marquee categories at the 50th anniversary International Emmy Awards, which here handed out Monday night in New York. Vigil took Best Drama Series, and Sex Education took the Comedy Series prizes.

Anthony Fauci said that when he was approached by the National Portrait Gallery of an “unusual person” they suggested to create his portrait, “not only was I not reluctant about it, I got very excited about it.”

EXCLUSIVE: Award-winning director, actress, dancer, choreographer and producer Debbie Allen is adding talk show host to her resume.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Amazon Prime Video has scored a pair of deals with Warner Bros. Discovery and Sony to bolster its programming in France with premium titles. The agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery gives Prime Video the first-window rights to exclusive TV series from Warner Bros. Discovery in France, including “Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin,” the first two seasons of “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” Ava DuVernay’s miniseries “DMZ” and “Peacemaker” Season 1. Also part of the pact are library TV titles, on a non-exclusive basis. These include “Legacies” (Seasons 1 through 3), “Pretty Little Liars,” “Fringe,” “One Tree Hill,” “The Originals” and “Shameless.”

Oprah Winfrey revealed that she had to undergo not one, but two knee surgeries in 2021. During a conversation as part of her, the focus was gratitude. After one of the guests mentioned having an appreciation for every limb and every organ, Winfrey decided to share her story.

Selome Hailu Brooke Karzen is stepping down from her post as executive vice president and head of Warner Horizon Unscripted Television, Variety has learned. She shared the news with staff via a memo on Monday. See the full memo below. Dear Team, I’m reaching out today, so you hear the news from me that I’ve decided to leave my position as Executive Vice President and Head of Warner Horizon Unscripted Television. Leaving Warner Bros. after 22 years was not an easy decision, but the time is right for a change. I will take some time to consider new opportunities and am excited to start a new chapter.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer If it’s possible to pull off solemn conversations about the stakes for women around the world and also have a fantastic party that toasts their remarkable achievements, Variety did just that on Wednesday in Beverly Hills. In a sprawling takeover of the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, heavy-hitting executives, producers, writers, talent and glitterati convened to celebrate the annual event and magazine feature. Cover stars Hillary and Chelsea Clinton, Oprah Winfrey and Ava DuVernay, activist icon Malala Yousafzai, and actor Elizabeth Olsen were all in attendance to speak on behalf of causes important to each – as well as a path forward to equity in a time of unrest for women and other marginalized communities in the U.S.. 

Angelique Jackson Oprah Winfrey delivered an inspiring speech to close out Variety’s Power of Women dinner, presented by Lifetime. Winfrey was honored at the event alongside her “Queen Sugar” partner Ava DuVernay, both of whom turned the OWN series into a launching pad for female directors. Winfrey championed “Queen Sugar” for “defining the OWN network” and for “reflecting black families.” “We are all looking for the same thing,” Winfrey said. “This is the one lesson I came away from doing ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show.’ The common denominator of our experiences is that we all want to know that we matter and we want a show that reflects our values.”

Kate Aurthur editor The coalition of showrunners, TV creators and directors formed in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in June to overturn Roe v. Wade are continuing to put pressure on Hollywood studios to put safety protocols into place in abortion-hostile states. But on Sept. 28, in a full-page ad in the Power of Women issue of Variety, the still-unnamed coalition thanked those studios “for fully engaging and being thought leaders with us,” as the message reads in part. (The page was donated to the coalition by Variety‘s sales team without charge. The full letter is included below.) The coalition’s efforts became public on July 28, when Variety reported that 411 showrunners had sent nine major studios a letter demanding that new safety protocols be established for productions in states where abortion has been outlawed. Four days later, 594 male showrunners and creators backed up that demand — and the group was soon joined by nearly 400 directors.

Oprah Winfrey and Ava DuVernay are two of the creative leaders honored for Variety’s 2022 Power of Women presented by Lifetime. For more, click here. Oprah Winfrey has spent most of her career talking, so it’s a little surprising that the only sound you hear from the porch of her second home in Maui is absolute silence. Forget about the ocean waves or rustling palm trees. OK, if you’re lucky enough to hang with Oprah for an entire afternoon, this zen will be interrupted by the periodic squawking of wild roosters. In such a tranquil retreat, you can think clearly, cradled in the beauty of all that Hawaii has to offer. It’s this very place of refuge, in fact, where Winfrey set a trap for filmmaker Ava DuVernay that would launch one of their greatest collaborations: OWN’s “Queen Sugar.”

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Oprah Winfrey and Apple TV+ have concluded their mega overall deal, first announced in 2018. Both sides have confirmed the evolution, but declined to comment. It’s understood that both sides have agreed to continue to work together, but on a project-by-project basis, now that their previous deal is ending. Winfrey and Apple TV+ are already currently collaborating on the documentary “Sidney,” about the life of iconic Oscar-winning actor Sidney Poitier. That project, directed by Reggie Hudlin, is through Apple Original Films and debuted this past Friday on Apple TV+. Winfrey and Apple also continue to collaborate on “Oprah’s Book Club,” which is available on both OprahDaily.com and Apple Books. 

William Earl The “On the Carpet” pre-show powered by DIRECTV at Variety Power of Women presented by Lifetime will be livestreamed on Variety.com and Variety’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages starting at 6:45 p.m. PT on Sept. 28. The red carpet will feature this year’s honorees: Ava DuVernay and Oprah Winfrey, Chelsea and Hillary Clinton, Malala and Elizabeth Olsen. Presenters include Kathryn Hahn, Sandra Oh, Quinta Brunson and Diane Guerrero. Halsey will give a special musical performance to kick-off the night. Variety senior entertainment writer Angelique Jackson and senior TV features editor Emily Longeretta will host the carpet with commentary provided by senior culture and events editor Marc Malkin and senior correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister, live from the Variety HQ Studio.

Taking a hike with Oprah is serious business.

Meghan Markle’s upcoming Variety cover has been postponed due to the Queen’s death. The Duchess Of Sussex was named one of the magazine’s Power of Women honourees, along with Oprah Winfrey, Elizabeth Olsen, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton, Ava DuVernay, among others. As a Power of Women honouree, Meghan, 41, was set to appear on the magazine's cover.

Meghan Markle’s Variety magazine cover has been postponed following the Queen’s death at age 96 on Thursday.

sundown town. The film tumbles giddily though a montage of late-breaking endorsements, from Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (truly the model for what Booker is doing in Kentucky), Elizabeth Warren and Hollywood power players like Ava DuVernay, Kerry Washington, Regina King and Kentucky’s own Jennifer Lawrence. Some of the transitions are a bit stilted, and the film’s present-tense presentation feels awkward (the news itself is a spoiler). We know how the primary ends, but it is a nail-biter to the very end, nevertheless, from a last-minute injunction called in to beg judges to allow polls to stay open longer for those voters caught in traffic to the weeklong process of counting the mail-in votes.

William Earl Variety is pleased to announce the honorees for its upcoming Power of Women issue and event on Wednesday, Sept. 28. The event, in partnership with Lifetime, celebrates the Power of Women honorees, who will appear on the cover of the issue, as well as the women profiled in the publication’s annual Women’s Impact Report, which highlights the top women working in entertainment.   This year’s honorees include Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton, who will be speaking about the importance of celebrating women and sharing their stories, as they do in their eight-part Apple TV+ documentary series “Gutsy,” which premiered on Sept. 9; Oprah Winfrey and Ava DuVernay, who will highlight the importance of hiring female directors as they did throughout the production of “Queen Sugar” currently airing it’s seventh and final season on OWN; Extracurricular Productions president and the world’s youngest Nobel laureate Malala, who will be speaking about young people in film and television and supporting the Pillars Artist Fellowship; and award-winning actress, producer, and star of Marvel’s WandaVision and this summer’s blockbuster “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”, Elizabeth Olsen, who will be speaking about her support of the The Rape Foundation/ Stuart House. The program will be hosted by Megan Stalter, the breakout star of “Hacks”.