Ryan Coogler Emotionally Tributes ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Star Angela Bassett: ‘A Revelation’ (Exclusive Video)

Julia MacCary editor Will Smith was the surprise guest that set the room abuzz Wednesday night at the 14th annual African American Film Critics Assn. Awards at the Beverly Wilshire hotel. But Smith had tough competition in the emotional-speech department from fellow honorees that included Danielle Deadwyler, Viola Davis, Angela Bassett and Gina Prince-Bythewood. Deadwyler, who won lead actress honors for her tour de force role in “Till,” drew the crowd’s the attention to the world-changing impact of Mamie Till-Mobley, whose provocative decision to show pictures of her son’s brutalized corpse helped ignite the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and ’60s.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Ryan Coogler’s Proximity Media is launching a podcast featuring one-on-one conversations between the production company’s execs and key creative partners — with Coogler sitting down with longtime partner Michael B. Jordan for the first episode. The “In Proximity” podcast promises listeners a deep dive into the creative process of making movies, TV, music and podcasts, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at Proximity’s projects and future titles. The show premieres with Coogler and Jordan’s episode on Sunday, March 12, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other podcast platforms as well as proximitymedia.com, with new episodes to be released weekly.

The stars are hitting the red carpet!

Thirty years after her first Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Tina Turner in What’s Love Got to Do With It, Angela Bassett is once again a contender. But this nod, for her heart-wrenching turn in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, feels different. “I was just shell-shocked last time,” Bassett says. “It’s still very exciting. But last time, it was just mind-blowing.” Her second nomination is no less meaningful — it’s the first performance in a Marvel movie to be recognized by the Academy. Bassett talks about the historical and emotional nature of Wakanda Forever and finding the marrow in everything she does.

Michael B. Jordan's directorial debut has been a long time in the making! The 36-year-old pulled double duty as director and star for the highly anticipated third installment of the spinoff franchise, , and according to critics, he did the thing.«It feels good, it feels like people are getting the work, you know? They understand what we're trying to say, what we are doing and it feels good to be understood a little bit,» the star tells ET's Nischelle Turner.

Angela Bassett has been doing the thing!ET spoke to the decorated actress at the 54th NAACP Image Awards Saturday, where she reflected on finding success after decades in the business.«Oh my gosh I need to sit down somewhere,» Bassett joked when asked about her busy career. «And fan myself, oh my God.

A decades-long romance. Angela Bassett and husband Courtney B. Vance met as classmates at the Yale School of Drama in the 1980s, but the duo didn’t spark a romantic connection until years later.

Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, performed an original song at the ceremony earlier this week that name-checked various Best Actress nominees including Bassett, Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh.“Angela Bassett did the thing, Viola Davis my Woman King, Blanchett Cate you’re a genius, Jamie Lee you are all of us,” sang the West Side Story star as she danced around the stage. After the performance was widely mocked online, DeBose deactivated her Twitter account and BAFTAs awards producer Nick Bullen described the criticism as “incredibly unfair.”Speaking to Variety at the NAACP Image Awards last night (February 25), Bassett said she checked up on DeBose after the incident and the criticism that followed.“I DM’d her last night.

Ariana DeBose's now-infamous rap performance at the 2023 BAFTA Awards has officially come full circle. During Saturday night's 54th NAACP Image Awards, the breakout star of DeBose's viral rap, Angela Bassett, proved she knows how to carry a joke while accepting her Entertainer of the Year award onstage.«I guess Angela Bassett did the thing,» she quipped to the audience's laugher.«I guess Angela Bassett did the thing» — Angela Bassett as she accepts her entertainer of the year award at the #NAACPImageAwardspic.twitter.com/mevSTcKhUSThe reference is to DeBose's opening for the 2023 BAFTA Awards, in which she performed «Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves» and «We Are Family,» and the infamous original rap where she shouted out the awards show's female nominees. “Angela Bassett did the thing, Viola Davis my 'Woman King,' Blanchett Cate you're a genius, Jamie Lee you are all of us,” sang DeBose. The camera panned to the women as they were name-dropped. Memes quickly made their rounds on social media among a wide range of responses, which seemingly led DeBose to deactivate her Twitter account. But on Instagram DeBose reacted graciously, commenting on a carousel of memes with, «Honestly I love this.»In a preview for an upcoming interview on BBC Radio 2's  posted on TikTok, the  star brushed away the criticism and focused on the love she's received.

Angela Bassett wins big at the NAACP Image Awards. The actress took home three trophies for Outstanding Actress in a drama series for 9-1-1, Supporting Actress for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and the biggest award of the night, Entertainer of the Year.

much-publicized dust-up with Chris Rock occurred at the 94th Academy Awards.Angela Bassett was a triple winner, taking home Entertainer of the Year, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (a performance for which she’s also Oscar-nominated) and Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for “9-1-1.”ABC’s “Abbott Elementary,” meanwhile, dominated the TV awards, taking home four trophies in all including Outstanding Comedy Series, Best Actress (Quinta Brunson), Supporting Actress (Janelle James) and Supporting Actor (Tyler James Williams). James bested Emmy-winning costar Sheryl Lee Ralph in the supporting category, giving her a boost as Emmy season approaches.Starz’s acclaimed “P-Valley” surprised by picking up a number of major awards, including Outstanding Drama Series, Nicco Annan for leading actor, and Loretta Devine for supporting actress.

Angela Bassett opened up about being told she “did the thing” by Ariana DeBose during a now-viral performance that opened the 2023 BAFTAs.

J. Kim Murphy Angela Bassett has simply done the thing once again. After being name-dropped by Ariana DeBose in a rap that opened the BAFTA Film Awards, the “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” star tells Variety that she reached out to DeBose in the aftermath to check in on her. “I DM’d her last night. I did. It was beautiful,” Bassett told Variety senior entertainment writer Angelique Jackson on the red carpet at the NAACP Image Awards on Saturday evening. “I just wanted to make sure she was okay because, you know, it’s a lot of attention. And she is A-Okay.”Angela Bassett DM'd Ariana DeBose. "I just wanted to make sure she was okay, because it's a lot of attention." https://t.co/JAcEviI0Qj pic.twitter.com/anzVhOZ0cc Bassett’s mention was one of the catchier lyrics in DeBose’s opener. DeBose, who won last year’s BAFTA and Academy Award for best supporting actress for her performance in “West Side Story,” kicked off the British Academy Film Awards on Feb. 19 with a rap that name-dropped several of the evening’s nominees, including directors honored in debut feature and women competing in both the lead actress and supporting actress categories. The production also featured renditions of “Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves” and “We Are Family.”

Brendan Fraser and Angela Bassett were among the big winners at the 2023 Hollywood Critics Association’s HCA Film Awards!

BreAnna Bell The show continued on at the 54th Annual NAACP Image Awards despite an emergency flash flood warning and a torrential downpour effectively stopping the awards show red carpet. Attendees made the trip through the pouring rain to make the show, carefully treading through the rain-soaked pink carpet to find their seats at the L.A. Live Event Deck in Los Angeles, Calif. where they were treated to performances from gospel artist Tye Tribett and Too $hort as well as appearances from celebrities like Tichina Arnold, Katori Hall, the cast of Amazon Prime Video’s “Harlem,” and an impromptu wedding proposal. After Major gave the convocation, Tribett opened the show with his lively rendition of “Get Up,” which quickly pushed guests out of their seats and onto their feet to dance. The dinner’s host Bresha Webb announced her recent nuptials in her welcoming address and proceeded to poke fun at Ariana Debose with her own version of the Oscar winner’s now-viral BAFTA’s rap when honoring the night’s nominees.

Rihanna will officially be heading to the Oscars next month.The singer, having recently performed this year’s NFL Super Bowl halftime show, will be performing her Original Song nominee ‘Lift Me Up’ on the Academy Awards stage.‘Lift Me Up’ was performed and written by Rihanna alongside Black Panther: Wakanda Forever director Ryan Coogler, Tems, and Ludgwig Goransson, the film’s composer.Last October, Coogler explained how he convinced Rihanna to join the Marvel project, after not releasing new music sincce her 2016 album ‘Anti’.“I can’t take sole credit for that,” Coogler said, per Metro. “We got an incredible composer, Ludwig Goransson, who is also a music producer, he’s got a great reputation.

Ludwig Göransson Composer Ludwig Göransson won an Oscar in 2019 for his “Black Panther” score, and is again nominated for the original song Academy Award for “Lift Me Up” from the sequel, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” along with Rihanna, Tems and director-writer Ryan Coogler. In the film, Coogler wrestles with the loss of Chadwick Boseman, T’Challa, the original Black Panther, the impact of that loss on the other characters, including T’Challa’s sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) and introduces audiences to a new, underwater civilization in the Gulf of Mexico, Talokan, led by Namor (Tenoch Huerta). Göransson reflects on how the song came together: Four years ago, while I was recording in Senegal, I was introduced to a beautiful West African instrument called the kora. The first seeds of “Lift Me Up” came from that trip, and I used a part of the melody in the first “Black Panther” when T’Challa travels to the ancestral plain for the first time and sees his father who has passed on. Hearing it now in a song meant to memorialize Chadwick Boseman himself has been both devastating and cathartic.

electric Super Bowl halftime performance earlier this month, Oscar nominee Rihanna will perform at the awards ceremony on March 12.The “Shut Up and Drive” crooner, 35, will sing “Lift Me Up” — the theme from the Marvel film “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Thursday.Rihanna — who is pregnant with her second child — wrote the song with Tems, “Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Göransson.The track is nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar. It’s Rihanna’s first Academy Award nomination.The other nominees for Best Original Song are “Applause” from “Tell It Like a Woman” by Diane Warren, “Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick” by Lady Gaga and BloodPop, “Naatu Naatu” from “RRR” by M.M.

The Oscars are getting a big dose of RiRi.

Rihanna is tackling another first! On Thursday, it was announced that the singer will perform her Oscar-nominated single, «Lift Me Up,» from  at the 95th Academy Awards.The nine-time GRAMMY winner earned her first Oscar nomination for the film soundtrack's lead single, which plays during the end credits of the  sequel. The song was penned by singer Tems, Oscar winner Ludwig Göransson, Rihanna and director Ryan Coogler, and serves as a eulogy to Chadwick Boseman, who played King T'Challa, aka Black Panther, and died at the age of 43 after a four-year battle with colon cancer. In the Best Original Song category, the song is up against Diane Warren's «Applause» (Lady Gaga's «Hold My Hand» (NTR and Ram Charan's«Naatu Naatu» (and Son Lux, Mitski and David Byrne's «This Is a Life» (The release of «Lift Me Up» marked the soon-to-be mom of two's first single in six years and the first foray in the next era of Rihanna's iconic career. The single picked up a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song (Motion Picture), but ultimately lost to «Naatu Naatu» from . In October 2022, Coogler opened up to ET about being «forever grateful» for Rihanna's contribution to the emotional track — and for coming out of musical hibernation. «I'll say this, I didn't get [Rihanna] to do anything.