Oscars Topics

Democracy Now! stories, posts and pages that relate to Oscars

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  • The Japanese Schindler

    "Visas and Virtue" won the Oscar for Best Short Film at this year’s Academy Awards. A Japanese "Schindler’s List", it is the true story of Japanese Consul General Chiune "Sempo" Sugihara, who was stationed in Lithuania in 1940. When he found his consulate besieged by Jewish refugees in need of visas to escape the Nazi horror, he wrote some 2,000 visas without stop, right up until the moment his train pulled...
    Jun 29, 1998 | Story

  • Elia Kazan and the Blacklist

    On March 21, the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences will award a lifetime achievement award to director Elia Kazan, who is known for his work in "Gentleman’s Agreement," "On the Waterfront" and "A Streetcar Named Desire." He is also known for cooperating with the House Un-American Activities Committee, and informing on what McCarthyism referred to as "subversives"–fellow directors, screenwriters...
    Mar 19, 1999 | Story

  • The Whitelist: No African-Americans Nominated for Oscars

    This year, with one exception, there were no African-Americans nominated for the Oscars. Wilbert Rideau, publisher of the prison newspaper The Angolite, who is serving a life sentence at Louisiana’s Angola Penitentiary, is the one exception. He was nominated in the category of best documentary for co-directing "The Farm," a film about Angola, the largest prison in the United States.
    Mar 19, 1999 | Story

  • Kazan Controversy

    Hundreds of protesters stood outside the Oscars ceremony this past Sunday at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles to protest this year’s lifetime achievement Academy Award, which was given to director Elia Kazan , director of On the Waterfront and A Street Car Named Desire, who in 1951 informed on many of his Hollywood colleagues before the House Un-American Activities Committee. The protesters included some of those on Kazan’s...
    Mar 23, 1999 | Story

  • Changing the Face of Hollywood: Black Filmmaker Sues Hollywood Over Racial Discrimination

    Well, the Academy Awards are approaching, and the Oscars that were stolen were recently found in a trashcan. It seems that if you are a person of color in the film industry that’s the only way you are going to get an Oscar. Since 1940, when Hattie McDaniel won an Academy Award for her role in Gone with the Wind, only five other African Americans have won the award. And an African American has not won for best supporting actor since 1963,...
    Mar 24, 2000 | Story

  • As "Black Hawk Down" Director Ridley Scott Is Nominated for An Oscar, An Actor in the Filmspeaks Out Against Its Pro-War Message

    It was announced yesterday that Ridley Scott was nominated for "best director" in the Oscars. And the film is still in the top ten movies on the charts in the US and Europe. Mark Bowden’s book Black Hawk Down, which the film is based on, is number one on the New York Times paperback bestseller list this week. The book has been on the bestseller list for 26 weeks.
    Feb 19, 2002 | Story

  • The Hollywood Film "John Q" Takes On the Health Insurance Industry

    The Oscars are this Sunday. In 74 years of the Oscars, the most prestigious movie awards, only six acting trophieshave gone to African-Americans. But this year, much is being made about it being a good year for African Americans.The honorary Oscar will go to Sidney Poitier for his life’s work. 38 years ago, Poitier won best actor for Lilies ofthe Field. This year is the first time African-American performers could win both major acting categories....
    Mar 22, 2002 | Story

  • "Angels of the Public Interest" Gather in Front of the Federal Communications Commission Todemand An End to Media Consolidation

    Last night was the 74th annual Academy Awards — the entertainment industry’s Big Night, Hollywood’s prom. Thisyear’s event had all the glitz and glamour of year’s past, combined with a solid dose of flag-waiving,sentimentality, and self-congratulation. There were also overwrought tears, long speeches, and not a fewdeclarations of the industry’s continued relevance, even in the wake of 9/11. But there were also...
    Mar 25, 2002 | Story

  • Breaking the Hollywood Race Barrier: Was a Door Really Opened at This Year's Academy Awards? A Roundtable Discussion

    They are calling it a "historic" night. A groundbreaking night. A milestone event. They are calling it the firstreal Academy Awards show of color in 74 years of history. On Sunday evening, Halle Berry became the first AfricanAmerican woman to earn an Oscar for best actress. She won for her role in "Monster’s Ball", in which she played agrief-stricken mother who becomes involved with her husband’s racist executioner....
    Mar 26, 2002 | Story

  • Breaking the Hollywood Race Barrier: Did the 74th Annual Academy Awards Really Open Anydoors?

    Yesterday on Democracy Now! we began a long and sometimes heated discussion about race, representation, and theentertainment industry. The discussion came just a day Halle Berry became the first African American woman to earnan Academy Award for best actress. She won for her role in "Monster’s Ball", in which she played a grief-strickenmother who becomes involved with her husband’s racist executioner. Just minutes after her...
    Mar 27, 2002 | Story