Denzel Washington: ‘I'm Not That Interested' in Winning Oscars
'I've been at this a long time, and there's times when I've won, shouldn't have won, didn't win, should have won,' Washington said in the below video. 'Man gives the award, God gives the reward. I'm not that interested in Oscars.'
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And he isn't even that big of a fan of the two he already has: 'People say, 'Well, where do you keep it?' I say, 'Next to the other one,'' he said of his pair of Oscars. 'I'm not bragging. I'm just telling you how I feel about it. On my last day, it ain't going to do me a bit of good.'
Washington won Best Supporting Actor for 'Glory' in 1990 and Best Actor for 'Training Day' in 2002. He has also been nominated for his work in 'Cry Freedom' (1987), 'Malcolm X' (1992), 'The Hurricane' (1999), 'Flight' (2012), 'Fences' (2016), 'Roman J. Israel, Esq.' (2017), and 'The Tragedy of Macbeth' (2021). He was notably snubbed in 2024 for 'Gladiator II.'
Washington's 'Malcolm X' lose has since been deemed by many as one of the biggest Academy snubs of all-time (Al Pacino won the Best Actor award for 'Scent of a Woman' instead in 1993).
Washington previously told Esquire that, after losing for 'Malcolm X,' he asked his wife Pauletta Washington to start voting in his place for the Academy Awards. 'I went through a time then when [my wife] Pauletta would watch all the Oscar movies — I told her, I don't care about that,' he said. ''They don't care about me? I don't care. You vote. You watch them. I ain't watching that.' I gave up. I got bitter. My pity party.'
Washington has also been outspoken about his 'Gladiator II' and 'American Gangster' auteur Ridley Scott never having won Best Director. 'Ridley is overdue,' Washington told The Hollywood Reporter. 'How can he not have won an Oscar? That doesn't even make sense. I don't believe it, actually.'
Washington also told 'BBC Radio 1' that Scott not having an Oscar is proof that the Academy can't do their 'job' recognizing deserving talent. 'Would you tell somebody how can this man not have an Academy Award? Do your job,' he said. 'I mean seriously, though. … Believe me, and I'm not talking out a turn, he doesn't give a…'
Washington's frequent collaborator Spike Lee, who directed the actor in both 'Malcolm X' and 'Highest 2 Lowest' among many other films, previously said, 'We don't do our work for awards, which are nice, but it's the work that is going to stand above all awards.'
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
I took 3 kids and my 70-something mom to see 'Freakier Friday.' No one laughed harder than grandma.
The movie is rated PG — that's "perfect for grandma." This story contains spoilers. Don't say we didn't warn ya. Hello, Yahoo readers. I'm Suzy Byrne, and I've been covering entertainment in this space for over a decade. I'll be the first to tell you I'm no hardcore cinema buff. Since I had a child, though, I've made it a point to see as many kid-friendly movies as possible. Maybe it's because I'm a big kid ✔ and love a cheerful ending ✔. But also, as a busy working parent, getting two hours to turn off my phone, put up my feet and eat whatever I want while my child is fully entertained is the definition of movie magic. So that's what this is — one entertainment reporter + her 10-year-old child + friends seeing family-friendly fare and replying all to you about the experience. Welcome to Kids' Movie Club. Now playing: The adults outnumbered the kids six to three for our family movie trip, which should clue you in that nostalgia was the real star of the Freaky Friday sequel. That said, when we walked into the theater, someone in our group admitted, 'I don't think I even watched Freaky Friday' — and it turns out they weren't alone. Seeing the 2003 original definitely adds context, but our crew — which spanned three generations and two continents (my sister's family was visiting from Australia) — felt the sequel stood on its own just fine without revisiting its predecessor. Jamie Lee Curtis stole the show, especially with my 70-something mom, who guffawed at every senior citizen joke like it was written for her. Lindsay Lohan was like a fast-forwarded version of her younger self; she had the same cadence, delivery and spark. The PG-rated movie isn't chasing Oscars, though; it's chasing laughs and delivers enough of them. With a mix of punchlines about aging and early 2000s nods, it knows exactly who it's playing to. Maybe because it felt a little old school to the 10-year-olds among us, Freakier Friday was a harder sell to the kids than the other movies we've seen this summer. I had to promise to take them to Cat Video Fest first (yes, two hours of cat videos) in exchange for them seeing this. Apparently, they don't hold LiLo in their Y2K hearts the way I do. The plot 🎬 Like in the first film, Freakier Friday has body-swap chaos, but this time it's not just two people in the mix, it's four: Tess (Curtis), her daughter Anna (Lohan), Anna's daughter Harper (Julia Butters) and Anna's soon-to-be stepdaughter Lily (Sophia Hammons). Everyone in my group was confused trying to keep track of who was in whose body. We could have used some good old-fashioned Pop Up Video captions — 'Lily is in Tess's body' — just to stay on track. Saturday Night Live alum Vanessa Bayer has a scene-stealing role in the magical mix-up. From there, most of the film is the four women working to undo the switcheroo while stepping into each other's very different lives. Meanwhile, teens Harper and Lily are on a mission to sabotage Anna's wedding to Lily's dad Eric (Manny Jacinto), which adds another layer of chaos and comedy to the generational tension and family drama. But naturally, the heart of the film is about walking a mile in someone else's shoes — and learning something along the way. Parts that had the kids talking 👧🏻👧🏻👦🏻 Again, the trio of cousins preferred the cat videos to Freakier Friday. After the movie, they were talking about cats. And none of them begged to watch Freaky Friday when we got home. The real highlight for them? The snacks. And the mix-up. In what felt like our own Freakier Friday moment, our server kept bringing us food we hadn't ordered — and couldn't take back. A large popcorn somehow turned into three small ones. Three drinks multiplied to eight. The kids were giggling about it for half the movie. So if Madame Jen had a hand in that little magic trick, thanks. Parts that had the adults talking 👩🏻👩🏻👱🏻♀️🙎🏻♂️👵🏻 Curtis could do no wrong. Whether the therapist turned author Tess was playing pickleball, shopping for senior care items, gushing about her love of Parcheesi or getting her lips plumped, she had us laughing. It was all about the old-age jokes. When they first changed bodies, the zingers came fast: 'I'm bloody decomposing!' My 'butt is so high!' 'My face looks like a Birkin bag left out in the sun to rot.' What the film lacked in plot, it made up for in one-liners about adult diapers, Fixodent, toots, enemas and the giant letter virus that is older people using the oversize font setting on their iPhones, like grandma. The parents weren't spared, either. There were jokes about Coldplay and John Mayer — what we grew up on — as being dated. Not to mention Facebook being a 'database of old people.' (Hold on while I delete my account.) The women were the stars of the show, but the men held their own. Jacinto doing Dirty Dancing was a great moment. I also found myself staring at Chad Michael Murray's hair (he's back as Anna's ex, Jake) and wondered what he's doing to keep it so shiny. Meanwhile, Mark Harmon's return — with a full head of white hair — was shocking in the best way. Of course, the movie had its tropes — the future stepsisters who hate each other, the dead mom and the very soap opera way Eric called off the wedding in a room full of people vs. a side conversation with Anna. But the confetti-filled, crowd-surfing reconciliation scene? I ate it up. Dumb things I searched after the movie 💻 I don't surf. I don't live near the beach. But that didn't stop me from Googling how to get the floral wetsuit Lohan wore. (It's Cynthia Rowley. Yes, I still want it and, no, I don't need it.) Stay for the credits? 🎞️ Yes, it's cute with a lot of funny outtakes, like Curtis biting into 34 donuts to get a scene just right. There's also some cheeky fourth-wall breaking. Trailers 🎥 My daughter is counting down the days until Zootopia 2, but I also got, 'Can we see that?' for films targeting older audiences — A Big Bold Beautiful Journey and Regretting You. It made me wonder: Are we aging out of the kids' movies? Maybe, but I hope we never outgrow watching them together, especially as a family. Looking for more recs? Find your next watch on the Yahoo 100, our daily updating list of the most popular movies of the year.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Colin Kaepernick docuseries produced by Spike Lee no longer moving forward at ESPN amid 'creative differences'
An ESPN docuseries on quarterback Colin Kaepernick that was being produced by acclaimed director Spike Lee and Jemele Hill is no longer moving forward. The six-time Academy Award nominee revealed to Reuters during a red carpet entrance at a fundraising dinner for the Harold and Carole Pump Foundation dinner on Friday that the multi-part documentary will not be released. "I can't. I signed a nondisclosure," he said. "I can't talk about it." Asked why the series — tentatively titled "Da Saga of Colin Kaepernick" — won't be seen, Lee cited a nondisclosure agreement in talking about the development. "I can't. I signed a nondisclosure," he added. "I can't talk about it." ESPN issued a statement to Reuters on Saturday in response to an inquiry about the docuseries' status. "ESPN, Colin Kaepernick and Spike Lee have collectively decided to no longer proceed with this project as a result of certain creative differences," the statement said. "Despite not reaching finality, we appreciate all the hard work and collaboration that went into this film." Kaepernick played in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers for six seasons from 2011-16. He quarterbacked the 49ers to the 2013 NFC championship game, where they lost to the Seattle Seahawks. However, he is most known for protesting the U.S. national anthem before games by taking a knee as a gesture to protest systemic racism in the culture and police brutality. That made him a nationally controversial figure, drawing criticism from many including President Donald Trump, and presumably led to no NFL teams signing him after he became a free agent. He never played in the NFL again after the 2016 season. Last September, Puck's Matthew Belloni reported that creative differences between Kaepernick and Lee stalled the docuseries' development. Kaepernick preferred for the series to focus more on his career and personal experience. Yet Lee wanted the scope of the project to cover wider cultural issues, including the history of Black athletes in professional sports, social justice and police brutality. Though the series was reportedly completed, Kaepernick held ultimate approval over the project and wanted material added to Lee's final cut. The project stalling over creative differences between Kaepernick and Lee was confirmed to The Athletic, though specifics beyond what Belloni originally reported were not provided. Yet as Richard Deitsch and Andrew Marchand point out, ESPN's relationship with the NFL is different now than when the project was initially being developed in 2022. In an agreement worth billions of dollars, ESPN will acquire NFL RedZone and other NFL Media properies with the NFL taking a 10% equity stake in the network. A docuseries that potentially casts the NFL, commissioner Roger Goodell and the league's 32 teams in a bad light likely wouldn't be viewed favorably under those circumstances. Kaepernick filed a collusion grievance against NFL team owners with teammate Eric Reid. That lawsuit was eventually settled in 2019. The Kaepernick docuseries is reportedly finished or close enough to where it could air on another network or streaming platform. According to Belloni's report, Kaepernick and Lee largely worked out their differences. Yet based on the finality of Lee's remarks to Reuters, it appears that the project will not be shopped around to other outlets.
Forbes
2 hours ago
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Pulisic Controversy Has Turned Into A USMNT Off-The-Field Soap Opera
From now until the end of the 2026 World Cup, there will be an intriguing generational competition concerning the U.S. Men's National Team. No, not inside the team, but heroes of the past and the current squad. It has turned into an interesting off-the-field, he-said, he-said soap opera. The most recent bruhaha came after U.S. standout Christian Pulisic decided to sit out the team's involvement in the Concacaf Gold Cup, saying that he needed a rest after a grueling Serie A season for A.C. Milan. He got slammed by critics, including former USMNT stars that have a voice on TV, streaming, podcasts and blogs. His critics have included Landon Donovan, Alexi Lalas and Tony Meola, among others, who have shared their thoughts, opinions and analysis. Donovan makes his point "This is what it means to represent your country," Donovan said on the FOX broadcast of the UEFA Nations League final in June. He then citied Portugal superstar Ronaldo, who is 40 years old. "He's played a long season. He's tired," Donovan added. "He's out there grinding, hurt himself in the process. And I can't help but think about some of our guys on vacation, not wanting to play in the Gold Cup. It's p---ing me off." It should be noted that Donovan took time off from the national team in 2013. Pulisic makes his point In the latest episode of the docuseries PULISIC, the talented forward claimed that his critics 'disrespected me in a lot of ways, and just completely forgotten about what I've done for this national team." Pulisic, who turns 27 on Sept. 18, made his international debut in 2016. He has become the team's talisman, making 78 appearances while scoring 32 goals, a current team high. "To talk about my commitment? The commitment that I've given to this game? That I've given to my national team, you know, for 10 years?" said on docuseries. "I have paid the price. That's the only thing that starts to get on my nerves. But to be honest, it just fuels me to get back on the field and just shut everyone up and show everyone what I'm about, at the end of the day." Weah isn't happy Wait! It doesn't stop with Pulisic. USMNT teammate Tim Weah, who recently completed a transfer from Juventus to Marseille, called the former players who have dared to criticize the team as "evil." That's right, evil. "I think those guys are chasing checks, and for me, I just feel like they're really evil, honestly, because they've been players and they know what it's like when you're getting bashed," Weah said. Those are the same guys that'll turn around and shake your hand and try to be friends with you at the end of the day. "Don't get me wrong, I respect all of them. They were players that I looked up to. But quite frankly, the guys before us didn't win anything, either." Well, the earlier generations did set the table for the current team. Meola, for example, backstopped the U.S. in its first World Cup appearance in 40 years in 1990. But we'll have to do a U.S. soccer history in another piece. Mark Pulisic defends his son It should not come as a surprise that Pulisic's father, Mark, a former pro soccer player himself, backed his son. "These guys want clicks," he said. "On social media, it's 'subscribe to my channels, listen to my podcasts,' or whatever. I think they should look in the mirror and look at their last performances for the national team before they start talking s#@t." Lalas' response Those remarks opened the door for a response from Lalas on Fox and Meola on the Call It What You Want podcast on CBS Sports. Lalas wrote "don't bring your dad to a fight. I get that Mark Pulisic, like other dads out there, has been involved directly in bringing up, in this case, Christian. I get that he's a former coach. But who brings their dad to a fight? If you're angry at me or Landon or anybody else that is being critical of you, that's fine. You have a platform, you have a microphone – some would say bigger than anybody else out there – to get that off your chest, but you don't need to bring your dad. "Never once has it even occurred to have my father defend me from the slings and arrows that are inevitable but well done. You got me to watch, and you got exactly what you wanted." Meola has his say Meola and Mark Pulisic were teammates on the Oceanside Navahos team that captured the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association Boys Under-19 crown in 1987. Pulisic scored twice that day, including a late game-winner in a 2-1 triumph over B.W. Gottschee. 'I've been friends with Mark Pulisic for a long time. We played together at the youth level. You gotta stay out, Mark," Meola said. 'I know you're a dad, I know you get emotional, your kid is at the top of the heap, right? I've got other friends in other major sports in America that their kids right now are in top of the heap. They listen to this all the time about their kids. You can't respond. "Stay out. Christian is a big boy. He will be able to do this on his own. He will be able to carry this team.' This criticism and replies aren't about to go away anytime soon, if ever. The U.S. men have two friendlies coming up during the September FIFA international window against a pair of top-flight Asian sides. The Americans will face the Korea Republic at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, N.J. on Sept. 6 before meeting Japan at Field in Columbus, Ohio on Sept. 9. Like it or not, Pulisic and his teammates will be under the microscopic and then some in those friendlies and anything concerning club or country from now until the end of the European domestic season in May and the first part of the Major League Soccer campaign before it takes its World Cup break. And those criticisms and opinions won't stop with the end of the World Cup. In the media environment that we live in today, it likely will continue forever. Who knows? After this generation of USMNT players retire, they might find themselves in a similar situation when they become media pundits and get an opportunity to share their opinions, criticisms and analysis about another generation.
