Latest news with #Documentary
South China Morning Post
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Who is Spike Lee's wife Tonya Lewis Lee? The ex-lawyer married the director a year after meeting him and adapted his film She's Gotta Have It into a Netflix show – now she's an entertainment exec
Apple TV+ is on a roll. After the explosive premiere of Seth Rogen's The Studio, which features cameos from the likes of Martin Scorsese and Charlize Theron , the streaming giant released the highly anticipated documentary Number One on the Call Sheet. The two-part series celebrates the legacy and continued success of Black actors in Hollywood. Director Shola Lynch, producer Datari Turner, actress Ruth Negga, actor-producer Jamie Foxx and director-executive producer Reginald Hudlin at the LA premiere of Apple TV+'s Number One on the Call Sheet, in Hollywood in March. Photo: AFP The show stars icons like Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx , Viola Davis and Eddie Murphy , who recount their journeys in Hollywood and share interesting anecdotes via interviews. Murphy reveals that when he told Sidney Poitier he'd been offered the role of Alex Haley in the 1992 film Malcolm X, the legendary actor and film director told him, 'You are not Denzel, and you are not Morgan. You are a breath of fresh air, and don't f*** with that!' – meaning that he should not take up the role. The comedian and star of Beverly Hills Cop (1984) admitted he 'didn't know if it was an insult or a compliment'. Ultimately, Malcolm X director Spike Lee excluded Haley's character after taking over from Norman Jewison. Advertisement Spike Lee made his directorial debut with the dramedy She's Gotta Have It (1986). Photo: AP Lee's latest film is the neo-noir crime thriller Highest 2 Lowest (2025), starring Denzel Washington and A$AP Rocky , and adapted from Akira Kurosawa's High and Low (1963). Amid the headlines about his work, Lee's personal life is also drawing interest. So who is Spike Lee's wife Tonya Lewis Lee, entertainment executive, founder of wellness brand Movita Organics, and the author of three children's books? Tonya Lewis Lee's background Like her husband Spike Lee, Tonya Lewis Lee is a native of New York. Photo: @tonyalewislee/Instagram Lewis Lee was born and raised in Yonkers, New York, not far from Brooklyn, where her husband is from, per People. She studied liberal arts at Sarah Lawrence College in New York, before gaining a law degree from the University of Virginia. How did she meet Spike Lee? Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee at the 2018 premiere of A Star is Born, in Venice. Photo: AP Lewis Lee always wanted to go into the entertainment industry, but after graduating from law school in 1991, she moved to Washington to work as a lawyer, per People magazine. In 1992 she attended the Congressional Black Caucus dinner, where she met Spike Lee . They were dating by the end of the year, and when they got married in New York in 1993, Stevie Wonder performed at the wedding. The couple share two children – daughter Satchel, 30, and son Jackson, 28 – who are also in the entertainment industry. Tonya Lewis Lee works in Hollywood
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Now PBS Is Censoring a Film About Free Speech
American Masters, an award-winning documentary series in its 39th season on PBS, promises to tell 'compelling, unvarnished stories' about the nation's most important cultural figures. The program's most recent story, though—Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse, about the cartoonist-author of Maus, the Pulitzer Prize–winning graphic novel depicting the Holocaust, and a self-described 'poster boy for books being censored'—seemed to need a bit more varnish on its approach to Donald Trump. In April, two weeks before it aired on PBS stations, a 90-second segment of the film in which Spiegelman referred to the president's 'smug and ugly mug' was cut from the film at the behest of public-media executives. (The details of this incident were first reported by Anthony Kaufman for Documentary magazine.) PBS has been under attack by the Trump administration since January. By the time Disaster Is My Muse was aired in shortened form, the network was already under investigation by the Federal Communications Commission, and the White House had a plan to claw back $1.1 billion in federal funds from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which passes money on to PBS. 'Their attempt at preemptively staying out of the line of fire was absurd; it wasn't going to happen,' Spiegelman told me this week. 'It seems like it would be better to go out with dignity.' Alicia Sams, who co-produced the film, told me that she received a call from the executive producer of American Masters, Michael Kantor, at the beginning of April. It was less than a week after a contentious congressional hearing in which the network was accused of being a 'radical left-wing echo chamber' that is 'brainwashing and trans-ing children.' According to Sams, Kantor said that Disaster Is My Muse would need one further edit before it could be shown: The filmmakers had to remove a short sequence where Spiegelman reads aloud from the one of the few comic strips about Trump that he's ever published, in a zine associated with the Women's March in 2017. There was no opportunity for negotiation, Sams said. The filmmakers knew that if they refused, they would be in breach of contract and would have to repay the movie's license fee. 'It was not coming from Michael,' she told me. 'It was very clear: It was coming from PBS in D.C.' [Read: PBS pulled a film for political reasons, then changed its mind] Kantor deferred all questions to Lindsey Horvitz, the director of content marketing at WNET, the producer of American Masters and parent company of New York's flagship PBS station. (Sams told me that in her understanding, WNET leadership had agreed with PBS about the cut.) Horvitz provided The Atlantic with this statement: 'One section of the film was edited from the theatrical version as it was no longer in context today. The change was made to maintain the integrity and appropriateness of the content for broadcast at this time.' A PBS spokesperson said, 'We have not changed our long-standing editorial guidelines or practices this year.' (The Atlantic has a partnership with WETA, which receives funding from PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.) Molly Bernstein, who co-directed Disaster Is My Muse with Philip Dolin, said this was 'absurd.' She told me that the team had already been through discussions with PBS over how to make the film compliant with broadcast standards and practices. A few profanities are spoken in the film, and some images from Spiegelman's cartoons raised concerns, but the network said that these could stand as long as the film aired after 10 p.m., when laxer FCC rules apply. 'We were delighted that was an option,' Bernstein said. A bleeped-and-blurred version of the film would not have worked. 'It's about underground comics. It's about transgressive artwork.' The team did make one other change to the film, several months before its broadcast: Some material featuring Spiegelman's fellow comic-book artist Neil Gaiman was removed in January after a series of sexual-assault allegations against Gaiman were detailed in a cover story for New York magazine. (Gaiman denies that he 'engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone.') The filmmakers say they did this on their own, to avoid distractions from the subject of the film. But they also said that Kantor told them PBS would likely have had that inclination too. In any case, to say the snipped-out material about Trump was 'no longer in context today' is simply false. Spiegelman's commitment to free speech is central to the film. So are his repeated warnings about incipient fascism in America. ('That's what I see everywhere I look now,' he says at one point.) They're also clearly relevant to the forced edit of the broadcast. Indeed, the censored clip was taken from an event involving Spiegelman in June 2022 called 'Forbidden Images Now,' which was presented in association with an exhibit of Philip Guston paintings that had itself been postponed for political reasons after George Floyd's murder, presumably on account of Guston's having made a motif of hooded Ku Klux Klansmen. [Read: Don't look away from Philip Guston's cartoonish paintings of Klansmen] Just a few months before that lecture, Spiegelman learned that Maus had been removed from the eighth-grade curriculum in McMinn County, Tennessee, on account of its rough language and a single panel showing the naked corpse of his mother following her suicide. 'The tendencies brought up by this frantic need to control children's thoughts,' Spiegelman told MSNBC's Art Velshi in 2023, are 'an echo of the book burnings of the 1930s in Germany.' The filmmakers told me that Spiegelman's free-speech run-in with the county school board was instrumental in persuading WNET to back Disaster Is My Muse. 'When Maus was banned, interest in Art and the relevance of his story increased,' Sams said. Only then did American Masters pledge its full support, licensing the film before it had even been completed, and supplying half its budget. In the lead-up to its broadcast, PBS also chose to highlight Spiegelman's focus on the First Amendment in its promotional materials. The network's webpage for Disaster Is My Muse describes him as 'a pioneer of comic arts, whose thought-provoking work reflects his ardent defense of free speech.' (Neither PBS nor WNET would explain how a decision had been made to censor footage from a documentary film that is in no small part about censorship.) A broader 'context' for the edit can be found in PBS's other recent efforts to adjust its programming in deference to political considerations. As previously reported in The Atlantic, not long before Kantor's call with Sams, PBS quietly shelved a different documentary film, Break the Game, that was set to air on April 7, apparently because it had a trans protagonist. The film, which is not political, was abruptly placed back on the schedule within two hours of my reaching out to PBS for comment. (The network did not respond to questions about why Break the Game's original airdate had been canceled.) If these efforts were meant to forestall pressure from the White House, they have roundly failed. Two weeks after Disaster Is My Muse aired—with its reference to Trump removed—the president attempted to dismiss three of five board members at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. A few days after that, he issued an executive order directing the board to terminate all funding, both direct and indirect, to NPR and PBS. (Both moves are being challenged.) But just imagine how much harder the administration would be going after PBS if Trump had seen the clip about his 'smug and ugly mug'! 'This seems like volunteering to pull the trigger on the firing-squad gun,' Spiegelman told me. The end of Disaster Is My Muse includes some footage from a 2017 free-speech protest on the steps of the New York Public Library, where Spiegelman read out the lyrics of a Frank Zappa song: 'And I'm telling you, it can't happen here. Oh, darling, it's important that you believe me. Bop bop bop bop.' The political climate has only gotten worse since then, he said. 'There's no checks and balances on this. This is severe bullying and control, and it's only going to get worse.' Article originally published at The Atlantic
Geek Vibes Nation
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Vibes Nation
GVN Talking Comics: Denis Kitchen On Oddly Compelling Documentary From Tinto Press
Define Denis Kitchen: Publisher. Underground Cartoonist. Activist. Historian. Quirky Collector. Troublemaker (maybe to some). All during his storied career, Denis Kitchen has been taking on the establishment. Now an all-new documentary, Oddly Compelling : The Denis Kitchen Story , highlights Kitchen's long, strange trip — from his early days as a hippie cartoonist, to his thirty years as one of the most important independent comic book publishers, and his work as a fierce advocate for the First Amendment. Now, in collaboration with Tinto Press and Denis Kitchen Archives, the Oddly Compelling Kickstarter campaign will be offering rare Underground Comix, remarqued books, personalized prints, film posters, and original Kitchen art, along with streaming and Blu-ray versions of the documentary. We recently had the great pleasure of sitting down with the iconic creator to discuss his creative beginnings, his history in publishing, and his upcoming documentary. So, we are pleased to welcome Denis Kitchen to GVN Talking Comics. Creative Origins GVN: Thank you for taking the time to talk with me, Denis. As this is our first conversation, I'd like to begin by exploring your creative beginnings. From your early years growing up in Wisconsin, you demonstrated an interest in cartooning and journalism. What motivated you to pursue these creative paths, and who were your inspirations during those formative years? DENIS: One very early incident stands out as critical. I was starting second grade, just seven years old. I'd primitively written and illustrated a story in crayon and was showing it to giggling classmates in the back row which caught the attention of the teacher. She said, 'What's going on back there?' My heart froze. I muttered something like, 'Uh, I was just showing my story to them.' I fully expected her wrath to descend on me and braced for it. 'Well,' she said, 'If it's good enough to share with them, why don't you stand in front and share it with the entire class?' I was quite shy then but dutifully stood in full view of all and read 'The Adventures of Captain Sauerkraut' to them. There was scattered laughter and tittering, and when it was over, she thanked me for sharing the story. I will never know if being yelled at or punished would have changed the course of my eventual career, but I do indelibly remember that the reward of her support and the perceived approval of my young peers infused me with a new confidence and a desire to create and draw more stories. If any grade schoolteachers are reading this, be aware that your approval and encouragement of impressionable young writers and artists can be enormously influential. The quicker answer is that Harvey Kurtzman's Mad and his other satire publications were a huge inspiration. Publishing at an Early Age GVN: Even as you progressed in your education, you had started stretching your creative muscles in both an unofficial school paper 'Klepto,' and later on a humor magazine, 'Snide' at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. In both of these endeavors, how difficult was it for you to find like-minded students to participate? DENIS: I began producing Klepto at thirteen and continued it through high school in Racine. It was essentially a one-man operation, although one friend helped me sell copies, so I listed him as 'Publisher' on the masthead. I'm certain I had no idea then what a publisher actually was, though I was learning, instinctively, every component of publishing. Later, during Klepto's high school era, I enlisted 'Miss X,' a socially-connected classmate, to ghost a gossip column. I would like to think my brilliant writing and cartoons drove Klepto's large circulation (fifty copies) but Miss X's juicy column was likely the most popular feature. It was easier to find contributors to Snide with a much larger student body. UWM never had a humor magazine, so the co-founder and I came up with various publicity stunts to promote the start-up publication. My journalism training proved critical: I figured out how the Milwaukee Journal's feature news department could be manipulated to Snide's benefit. We several times pulled off rather remarkable stunts that put us on the map, not just on campus but throughout the entire city and suburbs. Soon all kinds of students were submitting ideas, stories, and art. Kitchen Sink Press GVN: In 1969, you really started to expand your comic talent and ambition by self-publishing your comics and cartoons in 'Mom's Homemade Comics.' Followed by your founding of Kitchen Sink Press and syndicating comics strips to over 50 underground and college newspapers. That is quite the undertaking. How did these opportunities come about, and did you have any trepidation going into these different ventures? DENIS: It sounds like there should have been trepidation, but, in hindsight, I think it was a combination of naivete, fearlessness, and a workaholic nature. I had no idea what obstacles might lay ahead of every venture and just fumbled over or through any challenges. I had no working capital, and every dollar earned was put back in the operation. I survived on meager rations and was able to enlist kindred spirits who shared the passions of the day and somehow muddled through. Those formative days were chaotic and crazy and yet somehow, I remember them fondly. The Luminaries of Kitchen Sink Press GVN: In time, Kitchen Sink Press would publish such as luminaries as Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, and Al Capp. As well as, after merging with Kevin Eastman's Tundra Publishing, working with talents like Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, James O'Barr, Don Simpson, and Scott McCloud. What was involved in getting connected with these creative icons and did you feel it helped that you were a fellow artist and understood what went into the creative process when negotiating with them? DENIS: Some of the success stems from that fearless word I used earlier. When I was an absolute nobody and had just self-published my first comic book in 1969, I sent it to my idol Harvey Kurtzman, who replied kindly, and that led to further correspondence, a long relationship, and many projects. Ditto with Will Eisner. When I met him in 1971 it didn't take long for me to ask him if I could publish The Spirit. It definitely helped that I was a fellow cartoonist, knew comics history, and could engage creatively. But as a publisher I critically had to convince them I could deliver the goods, pay their royalties on time, give them high production standards, and just generally be reliable. Each successful relationship and beautiful book builds on itself. By the time I connected with the other names you cite, I had already developed a track record and reputation, so it got easier as time went by. Did I just say 'easy'? Publishing is never easy! Defending Creator's First Amendment Rights GVN: The old saying goes, 'put your money where your mouth is.' This is exactly what you did when in 1986 comic store manager Michael Correa was charged with possession and sale of obscene material. Part of the content in question were two publications by Kitchen Sink Press. It would have been very easy for you to distance yourself from the situation, but instead you stepped in and helped to raise money for his defense. Did you ask for any input or advice about the situation with anyone before you jumped into the fray and why did you feel it was important to stand up for Michael at that time? DENIS: I was certainly upset that Omaha the Cat Dancer and other titles were called obscene, but I did not initially talk to anyone except Frank Mangiaracina, who owned the shop, Friendly Frank's. Frank hired a local attorney and said not to worry, but his lawyer had no First Amendment experience and Michael was convicted. At that point I was really indignant. The idea that cops could just walk into a shop and arrest a guy because they personally didn't like a few titles—that was outrageous to me. He wasn't selling erotic comics to kids. So, I quickly put together an art portfolio with new drawings by Frank Miller, Will Eisner, R. Crumb, Sergio Aragones, Richard Corben, myself and several others, and raised enough money to hire the best specialty attorney in the Midwest—Hugh Hefner's lawyer—to appeal the conviction. And we were successful. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund GVN: This led to your founding and incorporation of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund in 1990, serving as its President until you retired in 2004. After that incident and in your time as President, did you ever hope that there might be a time that its services would not be necessary? (Unfortunately, in our present circumstances, it appears that it is more important than ever.) DENIS: Hah! It certainly would have been nice if circumstances allowed the CBLDF to fade away. But, as you suggest, other incidents kept coming to light. We quickly learned that there are always people, including self-important policemen, headline-hungry prosecutors, and such. who think it's morally OK or politically useful to suppress views they don't like. Thankfully, Americans have a First Amendment, but we often have to fight in courts to enforce our constitutional rights. A Life to be Proud Of GVN: With such a wide-ranging career in all aspects of the comic business, as creator, publisher, defender of comic rights and art agent, it is not surprising that a documentary is being made to explore your career and the impact you have made for comics and those that create them. As you recalled and revisited your life and accomplishments while making 'Oddly Compelling: The Denis Kitchen Story,' what would, or could you say you have been most proud of in your career (to this point)? DENIS: That's a tough one. I'm certainly proud of the CBLDF, nurturing talents over several decades, and personally creating art and writing books, but I think my greatest satisfaction comes from looking at the shelves of books I've helped bring to life, by many different creators, and feeling a real sense of accomplishment from that. Books are effectively a publisher's children, and I feel like I've released a lot of brilliant and good-looking kids into the world. Current and Future Projects GVN: Thank you once again for your generous attention, Denis. In parting I want to give you an opportunity to talk about the upcoming Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for your documentary and any other projects you have in the works. DENIS: Well, I simply encourage your readers to go to the Kickstarter, currently in its 'pre-launch' stage, and click to support the Oddly Compelling documentary. Once it goes live there are numerous and strange rewards that I think some of your followers will find irresistible. Current and future projects include a sequel to my 'Creatures from the Subconscious' book from Tinto, and a separate book of my 'chipboard' creatures in 3-D, with glasses, from Fantagraphics. I'm involved in several other cartoonist documentaries: ones on Harvey Kurtzman and Al Capp, and another on the mysterious Nancy cult. I've been contributing comics to anthologies, doing some art commissions, curating exhibits, writing introductions, publishing music card sets by Robert Crumb and Bill Stout, and generally keeping way too busy for someone this jaded and ancient. My take would be here is a man who worked hard to promote the art that is comics and cartooning, who fought to allow creators to express themselves without fear of backlash or censorship and was willing to take a stand when needed. Oddly Compelling: The Denis Kitchen Story If there is anyone who's career deserves an in-depth look, its Denis Kitchen. You can visit the Kickstarter campaign for this exciting documentary into his life here.
Forbes
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Mariska Hargitay's Documentary ‘My Mom Jayne' Gets Streaming Date
Mariska Hargitay and Jayne Mansfield. My Mom Jayne — Mariska Hargitay's documentary about her mother, Hollywood legend Jayne Mansfield — is reportedly coming soon to streaming. The documentary marks the feature film directorial debut for Hargitay, a previous Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Emmy winner for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. The documentary, which Hargitay debuted at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival in the South of France on Saturday, examines the life, career and legacy of Mansfield, who died in 1967. The official summary for My Mom Jayne reads, 'Mariska Hargitay was three years old when her mother, Jayne Mansfield, tragically died in a car accident at the age of 34. The film follows Mariska as she seeks to know, understand, and embrace her mother for the first time. 'Through intimate interviews and a collection of never-before-seen photos and home movies, she grapples with her mother's public and private legacy and discovers the layers and depth of who Jayne was, not only to her audience but to those who were closest to her.' My Mom Jayne, which is an HBO Original documentary, will premiere on Max on Friday, June 27, according to When to Stream. The streaming tracker noted that My Mom Jayne will also have a one-week theatrical run beginning on Friday, June 20. Viewers who don't have Max — which will soon be switching its name back to HBO Max — can subscribe to the Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service for $9.99 per month with ads and $16.99 per month without ads. Viewers can also subscribe to Max for $20.99 monthly without ads, which includes 4K Ultra HD programming. In a statement from Mariska Hargitay issued by HBO in April, the acclaimed performer said of My Mom Jayne, 'This movie is a labor of love and longing. It's a search for the mother I never knew, an integration of a part of myself I'd never owned, and a reclaiming of my mother's story and my own truth. 'I've always believed there is strength in vulnerability, and the process of making this film has confirmed that belief like never before,' Hargitay added. Hargitay was on-hand in Cannes to introduce My Mom Jayne on Saturday. Variety reported that Hargitay was in tears delivering her opening remarks, saying, "Tonight I'm celebrating the power that film has for me to remember somebody I didn't have the good fortune to know or grow up with.' Variety reported that the film received a four-minute standing ovation from the crowd at Cannes. Pete Hammond is among the critics who have published a review of My Mom Jayne after screening it at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. In his his take on My Mom Jayne for Deadline, Hammond writes, 'This film is less standard showbiz bio and more Mariska's effort to use the documentary format to uncover the past, to find her own place in her mother's life and to move on in what is essentially a journey to healing — and that includes a very happy ending that just might have you in tears.' Directed and produced by Mariska Hargitay, My Mom Jayne will begin streaming on Max on June 27.
Daily Mail
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Woke Daily Show host shares patronizing 'wisdom' after meeting young MAGA men
Progressive The Daily Show host Jordan Klepper has shared his patronizing thoughts on young male Donald Trump supporters after meeting some for a new show. He said he was left surprised by the lack of 'cruelty' from the college-aged sample-set, after meeting with many for an upcoming Comedy Central documentary. Called 'MAGA: The Next Generation,' the production is set to air next week, and will be fueled by Kelpper's now trademark man-on-the-street interviews. Often presented as hit pieces on The Daily Show, the run-ins offered Klepper this time around a fresh perspective on the sizable subculture, he told Variety. 'This MAGA movement is inherently empty,' he said, speaking to a reporter backstage after Wednesday's show. 'There's no ideology behind it. There's attention and fame.' 'I had such a cynical perspective of the youth walking into this thing... I expected to be confronted by a bunch of d*cks - 22-year-olds who want to rail on trans people in sports and kick out all the immigrants,' he continued. 'But the cruelty wasn't there.' His old inclinations, at the same time, were presented as popular opinion. Klepper billed this rude awakening as some profound realization. He blamed the more 'dicey' experiences brought by his interviews with random conservatives during Trump's first term for his biased connotations. He recalled being charged at a school board filled with conservative parents, despite handpicking the venues where his interviews took place. He cryptically added how he and his Daily Show crew fled the Capitol on Jan. 6 after being 'tripped up' by a nameless 'camouflage-wearing hooligan,' causing Comedy Central to hire security this time around. His subjects, meanwhile, were all 'pretty kind,' he admitted. His security detail, however, continues to grow. 'Part of that is I'm not a strong man,' Klepper joked with the publication. 'I'm not good with push-ups, so if I paid attention to some of the "manosphere" fitness tips, I might be all right by myself.' The term 'manosphere' was uttered multiple times during the interview, as Klepper continued to talk up his shift in perspective. Often presented as hit pieces on The Daily Show, the run-ins this time around offered Klepper this time a fresh perspective on Trump's young male supporters, he said 'MAGA was suddenly framed by pundits in the "manosphere" as punk rock, as counterculture,' he said of the reputation created during Trump's first four years in office. 'The algorithms on these social media sites lean toward the aggressive and the hyperbolic, and it's shaping the conversation.' Klepper, meanwhile, is currently in the midst of his second stint on the Daily Show, after serving as a correspondent from 2014 to 2017. He left to start his own satirical program, The Opposition with Jordan Klepper, which was canceled in 2018. His new special, meanwhile, comes as CBS and its parent company Paramount continue to face scrutiny from the federal government. Both are locked in a bitter $20billion-dollar lawsuit with the president, after the latter accused CBS News and its crown jewel 60 Minutes of election interference. The network has vehemently denied those allegations. The Daily Show airs four times a week Monday through Thursday. Kemper is one of several correspondents who share hosting duties on Tuesday through Thursday to help longtime leader Jon Stewart.
