Ava Duvernay: Last News

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.

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”.  

Film Academy chief executive Bill Kramer dropped a reminder in Toronto on Saturday, that his group’s movie museum will in February devote space to the late director John Singleton’s Boyz N The Hood.

Kate Aurthur editor On Aug. 15, a coalition of showrunners, TV creators and directors sent a list of demands to studios, outlining the urgent need for abortion safety protocols for productions in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in June to overturn Roe v. Wade. It was the organization’s second letter — the studios had collectively answered the first one, sent on July 28 — with a response one member of the group, who spoke anonymously to Variety, called “patronizing” in an interview. The group’s second letter more clearly detailed the medical dangers for pregnant women in states where abortion is illegal because of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision — not only for those who want an abortion, but for women whose medical care might be otherwise compromised. Ignoring the collective response, which had been issued by the Motion Picture Association, the Aug. 15 appeal was sent directly to studio presidents, and members of the boards of directors at AMC Networks, Amazon Studios, Apple TV+, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Discovery. They gave a deadline of Labor Day for responses from the studios.

Hollywood’s major studios are stepping up to ensure that employees who work in states where abortions are illegal can have access to abortions, according to a statement released today by a coalition of nearly 1,500 showrunners and directors.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Hillary Clinton and Universal’s Donna Langley praised U.S. director, producer and social justice activist Ava DuVernay for being “a pathbreaker, a change-maker, a historical filmmaker,” as Clinton put it, during the 13th DVF Awards. The gala was held Thursday on the sidelines of the Venice Film Festival by fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg to honor extraordinary women.  The former U.S. secretary of state noted that DuVernay – who is among this year’s DVF honorees – “became the first African American woman ever nominated for an Academy Award as director [for “Selma”]. “Yes, her visionary works about Black histories and experiences are more relevant today than ever,” Clinton added. But Clinton went on to further praise DuVernay for “opening doors not just for herself, but for so many others.”

HELLO! where we are going to be shining a light on the kindest acts from celebrities each week. At HELLO! we are passionate about the power of kindness and the impact it can have on the world around us. Small acts of kindness can go a long way.We are recognising the stars from all walks of showbiz who have gone to great lengths to help others... We've just found out that Prince Harry gave $1.5 million of his own money during Covid to support children and young people in Botswana and Lesotho.We caught up with Sentebale charity's CEO Richard Miller at Harry's polo match: "The donation was a fantastic kindness and showed that his commitment to charity is not about him just turning up, it's deeply personal for him, giving his money.

Oprah Winfrey doesn't know how to pull off a birthday celebration! The media mogul recently took to Instagram to share a behind-the-scenes look at the lavish, three-day blowout she hosted in honor of Ava DuVernay's 50th birthday. The duo has been close friends for almost 10 years and have worked together on numerous projects throughout the decade, such as  Disney's  and OWN's Queen Sugar, for which they both serve as executive producers. In a video posted to her page, the 68-year-old surprises DuVernay with a tall bouquet of fresh-picked sunflowers from her garden. Winfrey reminisces on their first meeting in the caption and credited actor David Oyelowo for introducing her to the director through her indie film, «I googled who directed the movie because I had not heard of Ava DuVernay at the time.

Oprah Winfrey proved that she knows how to throw a one-of-a-kind birthday celebration.

Oprah Winfrey sure knows how to throw a party.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter The upcoming “Spiderwick Chronicles” TV series at Disney+ has cast Joy Bryant, Variety has learned exclusively. Bryant joins previously announced cast members Lyon Daniels and Noah Cottrell as well as Christian Slater. The show is based on the popular book series of the same name by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. In the show, upon leaving New York and moving to Michigan and into their run-down ancestral home—The Spiderwick Estate—with their mother, twin brothers Jared (Daniels) and Simon Grace (Cottrell), along with their sister Mallory, find themselves pulled into an alternate, fantastical world.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Chika Chukudebelu Igwilo has joined FX as senior vice president of development Chukudebelu Igwilo joins FX from HBO Max, where she most recently served as vice president of original programming, drama. In her new role, she will report to Gina Balian and Nick Grad, co-presidents of original programming at FX. “Chika is an extraordinarily talented creative executive with a proven track record of discovering and nurturing talent and guiding projects to success in an incredibly competitive environment,” said Grad and Balian. “We are honored to add such a gifted creative executive to our development team, building on the strength of the team to continue FX’s tradition of fearless storytelling.”

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Is Hillary Rodham Clinton making the fall film festival rounds? The former U.S. secretary of state will be attending the DVF Awards charity gala being held on the sidelines of the Venice Film Festival on Sept. 1 by fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg to honor extraordinary women.  Clinton will be flying into Venice prior to her previously announced appearance as a guest speaker at the Toronto International Film Festival. Diane von Furstenberg and The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation founded the DVF Awards more than a decade ago. They are being held in Venice for the first time after taking place in Paris last year. This year’s DVF honorees include groundbreaking U.S. director, producer and social justice activist Ava DuVernay; European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde; Ukrainian educator Zoya Lytvyn; climate activist Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim and 10 outstanding women from Afghanistan “who are working to ensure a safe and sustainable future for the most at-risk Afghan women and girls,” a DVF statement said.

Colin Kaepernick and Nessa Diab are now a family of three! On Sunday, the radio personality revealed that she and the former NFL star recently welcomed their first child.«I thought long and hard about sharing our life changing news today. I decided to do so because today is the first day in a few weeks where I stepped out for work with a new life title — MOM,» the 41-year-old wrote alongside a photo of herself, Kaepernick and their baby resting together in what appears to be a hospital bed.«Colin and I welcomed our amazing baby to the world a few weeks ago and we are over the moon with our growing family,» she continued, promising that she would get later into the «journey» of recovering after her delivery.

Chris Pine was turning heads as he stepped out for dinner in the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles Thursday, the night before his birthday. The star, who turned 42-years-old on Friday, appeared quite dapper in a light weight blue pinstripe suit.The All The Old Knives star paired the pants and jacket with a white button down shirt and brown shoes with no socks. Turning head: Chris Pine was turning heads as he stepped out for dinner in Los Angeles Thursday, the night before his birthdayThe Star Trek star's trademark dark hair hung down to collar and appeared to be sun bleached as a few strands of gray peaked at the roots.

José Andrés, Clive Davis, Ava DuVernay, Marian Wright Edelman, Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., Serena Williams and Venus Williams will be honored at the National Portrait Gallery’s Portrait of a Nation Awards on Nov. 12.

Sam Mendes is set to be honoured by the Toronto International Film Festival following the Canadian premiere of his latest fil, “Empire Of Light”.