Moonlight Star Uses Money to Fund Cancer Research

A good number of successful celebrities use their riches to acquire material things - fast cars, flashy clothes, access to exclusive events and venues - as is their right, but one young actor is putting his money toward more philanthropic ends. Alex R Hibbert, the actor who plays Young Chiron in last year’s excellent drama Moonlight, shared his noble future plans in a recent interview with HeyUGuys.com. When asked what he plans to do with his earnings, Hibbert said he plans to “take...some of [his] money, and build a lab...and take the best scientists to work on curing cancer and stuff like that.” At just 12 years young, Hibbert’s dream is well within reach, and there’s certainly a great demand for research dealing with “cancer and stuff like that.” More power to you, young brother!

Oscar Nominees Announced

In awards season news, the academy of motion picture arts and sciences announced the nominees for the 89th Academy Awards earlier this week. La La Land once again leads the nominations with a whopping 14, tying Titanic and All About Eve for most of all time. This is also a historically diverse batch of nominees, with black actors nominated in every acting category for the the first time in Oscars history. A black director is making history too, with writer-director Barry Jenkins becoming the first African-American to be nominated in all three major categories (Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay) for Moonlight. It’s not all good news, though. This reviewer was disappointed to learn that both Deadpool and anime film Your Name were left out of this year’s nominations while nobody’s favorite summer blockbuster, Suicide Squad, walked away with a nomination for Best Makeup. The offbeat superhero comedy and the Japanese animated feature were among my favorite films of 2016, and it’s disheartening to see that the academy is still not giving comic book movies and non-Studio Ghibli anime their proper due. Oh well, it only took nearly a century for #OscarssoWhite to have an effect, so maybe they’ll eventually have their day. Baby steps, I guess. You can find the full list of nominees below:
BEST PICTURE Arrival Fences Hacksaw Ridge Hell or High Water Hidden Figures La La Land Lion Manchester by the Sea Moonlight BEST DIRECTOR Denis Villeneuve, Arrival Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge Damien Chazelle, La La Land Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea Barry Jenkins, Moonlight BEST ACTOR Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge Ryan Gosling, La La Land Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic Denzel Washington, Fences BEST ACTRESS Isabelle Huppert, Elle Ruth Negga, Loving Natalie Portman, Jackie Emma Stone, La La Land Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Mahershala Ali, Moonlight Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea Dev Patel, Lion Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Viola Davis, Fences Naomie Harris, Moonlight Nicole Kidman, Lion Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Hell or High Water La La Land The Lobster Manchester by the Sea 20th Century Women BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Arrival Fences Hidden Figures Lion Moonlight BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Arrival La La Land Lion Moonlight Silence BEST FILM EDITING Arrival Hacksaw Ridge Hell or High Water La La Land Moonlight BEST VISUAL EFFECTS Deepwater Horizon Doctor Strange The Jungle Book Kubo and the Two Strings Rogue One: A Star Wars Story BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN Arrival Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Hail, Caesar! La La Land Passengers BEST COSTUME DESIGN Allied Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Florence Foster Jenkins Jackie La La Land BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING A Man Called Ove Star Trek Beyond Suicide Squad BEST ORIGINAL SCORE Jackie La La Land Lion Moonlight Passengers BEST ORIGINAL SONG “Audition (The Fools Who Dream),” La La Land “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” Trolls “City of Stars,” La La Land “The Empty Chair,” Jim: The James Foley Story “How Far I’ll Go,” Moana BEST SOUND EDITING Arrival Deepwater Horizon Hacksaw Ridge La La Land Sully BEST SOUND MIXING Arrival Hacksaw Ridge La La Land Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi BEST ANIMATED FEATURE Kubo and the Two Strings Moana My Life as a Zucchini The Red Turtle Zootopia BEST DOCUMENTARY Fire at Sea I Am Not Your Negro Life, Animated O.J.: Made in America 13th BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM Land of Mine A Man Called Ove The Salesman Tanna Toni Erdmann BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT Extremis 4.1 Miles Joe's Violin Watani: My Homeland The White Helmets BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT Ennemis Entreniers La Femme et le TGV Silent Nights Sing Timecode BEST ANIMATED SHORT Blind Vaysha Borrowed Time Pear Cider and Cigarettes Pearl Piper

2017 WGA Nominees Announced

In awards season news, the WGA has announced its nominees for best screenplay. Categories include Original, Adapted, and Documentary screenplays, and there’s a good amount of diversity in this year’s nominees. In the Original category there’s Loving, inspired by the true story of the first interracial marriage in American history, and Moonlight, an exploration of black masculinity and sexuality written and directed by Barry Jenkins. I have gone on the record about my deep and abiding love for Moonlight, so it’s safe to assume which script I’m pulling for this year. There are two more highlights in the Adapted screenplay category, with the late great August Wilson’s Fences and Taraji P. Henson vehicle Hidden Figures. Win or lose, it’s nice to see stories by people of color and about people of color finally getting some well-deserved recognition.