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!

Hidden Figures Beats Out Rogue One in Weekend Box Office

Hidden Figures may not have won big on awards night, but the biopic about NASA’s black female engineers pulled out what many are calling an underdog victory at the weekend box office. The New York Times initially reported that Hidden Figures had tied with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, but final numbers showed Figures slightly outpacing the sci-fi epic by about $700,000. The fact that Hidden Figures was playing in about half as many theaters as its competitor lends extra weight to the accomplishment. Cast member Janelle Monae took a moment to celebrate the achievement in a post on her Instagram page that has garnered more than 41,000 likes. And yes, Rogue One is in its fourth week, and yes, it’s still on track to gross way more than Hidden Figures could ever hope for, but just...let us have this one, mkay?

[h/t Variety]

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.