Latest news with #GoldDerbyPickleball
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Joy and visibility take center stage at Critics Choice LGBTQ+ Cinema & TV celebration
Joy, pride and community were just some of the words that honorees of the Critics Choice Association's second annual Celebration of LGBTQ+ Cinema and Television called out at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles over the weekend. Actress and comedian Sherry Cola, who hosted the ceremony for the second time, told Gold Derby she was 'thrilled to be here.' More from GoldDerby Pickleball, punchlines, and personal growth: 'Hacks' stars Megan Stalter and Paul W. Downs on their bond and what's next 'That feeling of having a first crush': How Zach Cherry and Merritt Wever made their 'Severance' marriage feel real Brandon Scott Jones on CBS' 'Ghosts': 'I enjoy playing characters that are desperate' 'This is a celebration of all of our victories this year and also a reminder of our resilience,' the Joy Ride star said. 'As a community, just making sure queerness is still on the screen at all times.' The event welcomed a variety of film and television stars who spanned multiple generations. Taking home the Career Achievement Award was film, TV and stand-up star Wanda Sykes, who told Gold Derby she was thrilled to see how LGBTQ+ visibility has grown in Hollywood. 'The number of people who are here tonight being honored, that just shows tremendous growth in our industry,' she said. 'This is just a beautiful thing to have, especially for Pride Month. So very excited to be here.' Shrinking star Michael Urie, who was honored with the Trailblazer Award, joked that the word 'trailblazer' made him 'feel a little bit old' but admitted he also gets it. 'When I was first on TV and when I came out, there weren't a lot of gay characters on TV and there weren't a lot of out gay actors, and there's a lot more now,' he said. 'So many that we can fill a whole night celebrating them. So I'm really proud.' 'There are still so many kids out there who are growing up in a family where they're the only one like them. They're the only queer person in their family,' Urie said. 'Television can still show, 'Hey, look, you'll find a chosen family out there.' In Shrinking, even though the show is mostly straight people, it is a show about chosen family. And that is something that is so important to the queer community.' Wanda Sykes Sasheer Zamata, who starred as queer witch Jennifer Kale on Disney+ series Agatha All Along and took home the Breakthrough Performance Award, said she was thrilled to play a superhero character who was also part of the LGBTQ+ community. 'I'm a superhero nerd myself, and so being able to provide a character and portray a character that is queer — and is also a layered character at that — feels really, really cool,' Zamata said. 'I am so thankful that there are so many people who can relate to these characters and relate to the story, and I just want to be able to tell more stories like that.' For Severance star Tramell Tillman, who was honored with the Supporting Performance Award, Drama Series, he told Gold Derby that he's been dreaming about these moments since childhood. 'I remember being 10 years old and making the decision that I wanted to be an actor and practicing my Oscar speech and my Emmy speech,' he said. 'And so the young Tramell is really, really excited.' He added that representing as an LGBTQ+ actor was an opportunity that he didn't want 'to squander or take for granted.' 'It's my hope that I'm giving justice to the community and representing well,' he said. Another first-time honoree, Rising Star Award winner Benito Skinner, who created and stars in Overcompensating, told Gold Derby that the awards attention 'feels very surreal' especially because he sat with the project for about five years. 'I've been at places and people will bring up the characters to me or something and I'm like, 'Oh f--k, it's out.' I keep forgetting,' he said. 'I feel so lucky and I'm just glad that people, I think, are excited about the show and are loving it and laughing and crying.' With his Prime Video series taking place in college, Skinner's advice for young people is that coming out should happen on their own timeline. 'I think that I judged myself for so long after I came out because I was like, 'Oh, I should have done it 20 years ago.' Like I missed out on so much of my life,' he said. 'But I think we all have our reasons, and take your time and find places where you feel safe. Find your community, and I think you'll find people that will allow you to feel comfortable to come out when it's the right time for you.' Yellowjackets star Liv Hewson said being honored by the LBGTQ+ community also felt 'surreal' but that they are 'grateful.' Having previously spoken out about gendered awards as a nonbinary actor, the other Rising Star Award recipient told Gold Derby that 'it's not lost on me that this is a position that I might not get many opportunities to be in at the moment. So I plan to make the most of it.' Comic icon Bruce Vilanch told Gold Derby he couldn't be happier to see the LGBTQ+ community growing. 'I think it's great that there's so much visibility,' he said, 'because I think that is how LGBT, WTF, LOL people get the rights that they deserve to get under the American system — by being visible.' Here's the complete list of Critics Choice Association Celebration of LGBTQ+ Cinema and Television Award recipients: Career Achievement Award: Wanda Sykes Groundbreaker Award: Niecy Nash-Betts (Grotesquerie) Trailblazer Award: Michael Urie (Shrinking) Industry Leadership Award: Howard Cohen and Eric d'Arbeloff, co-presidents of Roadside Attractions Comedy Award: Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live) Vanguard Award: Nathan Lee Graham (Mid-Century Modern) Documentary Award: Harper Steele and Will Ferrell, along with director Josh Greenbaum (Will & Harper) Reality TV Award: The season 17 cast of RuPaul's Drag Race Ensemble Award: Bridget Everett, Jeff Hiller, Murray Hill, Mary Catherine Garrison & Tim Bagley (Somebody Somewhere) — Supporting Performance Award, Drama Series: Tramell Tillman (Severance) Supporting Performance Award, Comedy Series: Gideon Glick (Étoile) Breakthrough Performance Award: Megan Stalter (Hacks) Breakthrough Performance Award: Benito Skinner (Overcompensating) Rising Star Award: Sasheer Zamata (Agatha All Along) Rising Star Award: Liv Hewson (Yellowjackets) Best of GoldDerby Streamy Awards 2023: Everything to know about 13th annual event Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Slow Horses' EP Doug Urbanski on the secret to the show's success: ‘We try to make the perfect martini' and what's next in Season 5: ‘it's the most fun and most silly'
You practically need to keep a portable defibrillator next to your remote when you stream Slow Horses. The Apple TV+ series, has more twists, near deaths (and sometimes, actual deaths), and other heart-stopping moments within a single episode than other series do over the span of an entire season. But it's the everyday travails of its characters that keep them close to the audiences' heart, says star Gary Oldman. 'The appeal of the show is that we give you the world of espionage, but these are people you can relate to more than the tuxedo-clad James Bond,' Oldman told Gold Derby at an FYC event for Slow Horses at the Meryl Streep Center for Performing Arts at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation on Saturday. More from GoldDerby Pickleball, punchlines, and personal growth: 'Hacks' stars Megan Stalter and Paul W. Downs on their bond and what's next 'That feeling of having a first crush': How Zach Cherry and Merritt Wever made their 'Severance' marriage feel real Joy and visibility take center stage at Critics Choice LGBTQ+ Cinema & TV celebration 'They've got their marriage problems, kid problems, they have to pay their mortgages, and go to the laundromat,' Oldman added. 'We see them do things that spies aren't normally seen doing.' Based on the Slough House novels by Mick Herron, the series, which is headed into its fifth season later this year, tells the stories of a group of disgraced British agents who try to bring down terrorists and other evil-doers under the supervision of Jackson Lamb, played by Oldman, who was joined at the event by the show's executive producer, Doug Urbanski, and cast members Rosalind Eleazar (Louisa Guy), Jonathan Pryce (David Cartwright), and Saskia Reeves (Catherine Standish). Speaking to the show's success, Goldman, a 2024 Primetime Emmy nominee Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series for his role, said, 'There's two criteria — the scripts, which are based on Mick Herron's novels, and the gang — the cast and the crew. To work with this group of people has been a highlight, really, of my career.' Some of those everyday-people quirks on display include Lamb's notorious bodily functions like passing gas. 'Lamb uses the flatulence, the drinking, the smoking, the sort of gruffness, the sarcasm, the insults, the bullying — all of that — as somewhat spycraft,' Oldman said. 'He has gathered this persona to keep people at a distance. 'You're not going to get close to me. You're not going to second guess me.' But, because he really has no filter and doesn't abide to social norms, he doesn't care.' Despite the life and death situations and the high stakes in the espionage world, Slow Horses manages to work in some comedic moments into the lives of the agents. In Season 4, we saw Louisa fall under the mistaken impression that River had romantic feelings for her. In reality, he was just trying to find a way to talk to her about his ailing grandfather, David. 'Every time I watch that scene, I'm like 'Oh, my God, Louisa! Look at you trying to think that!'' Eleazar said with a laugh. 'But I love their dynamic. Afterwards I thought, 'Huh. Is there something between them?' Maybe it's explored in later seasons? I don't know.' An example of how the show keeps viewers guessing was in the first episode of Season 4, titled 'Identity Theft.' David shot an intruder whom the audience believed was his grandson. For most of the episode, nearly everyone believed that River was indeed dead only for it to be revealed that he was alive. David had shot a look-alike intruder, Bertrand Harkness (Jack Lowden), River's half-brother, who had murder on his mind. 'We try and have a cliffhanger, and two stories going on,' Urbanski said. 'We try to make the perfect martini and keep the formula going.' 'River's' death serves as a reminder that Slow Horses viewers should never believe anything until they see it with their own eyes. While Marcus (Kadiff Kirwan) died in the Season 4 finale, we didn't actually see his corpse on-screen, did we? Yes, the character dies in one of Herron's novels — but does that mean he's gone from the series? 'I don't believe we did see it,' Urbanski says about Marcus's corpse appearing on screen. 'That's a good question. No one comes back from the dead like a zombie [on Slow Horses], but I think one would be wise to question anything that is purported to be a death on the show. Sure.' Urbanski calls Season 5 'the most fun and the most silly season' that's been done to date. 'We called Season 1 The Bourne Identity season,' Urbanski says. 'It had that sort of energy. Season 2 was more like [the movie] Tinker Tailor Solider Spy [which Urbanski executive produced]. That was about bad guy Russians trying to kill Papa Cartwright and Jackson. Season 3 was the sort of the 'Hitchcock' and 'MacGuffin' season. They were all looking for the file. Then, in Season 4, the bad guys wanted to kill Papa Cartwright and Lamb again. 'Season 5,' Urbanski continues, 'is centered around [Roddy] Ho [played by Christopher Chung], who is sort of our least serious character.' (Watch for Ho to get a girlfriend.) 'You're going to find a shifting of gears in terms of tone for the first two or three episodes, and then, the last three episodes are actually quite cinematic,' Urbanski adds. 'You have quite a bit of fun with the chase that ensues.' Best of GoldDerby Brandon Scott Jones on CBS' 'Ghosts': 'I enjoy playing characters that are desperate' 'She's got tunnel vision': Wendi McLendon-Covey reveals what she loves most about her character Joyce on 'St. Denis Medical' Marlon Wayans on laughing through tragedy in 'Good Grief' and why social media has made comedy 'toxic' Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Sly Stone was way ahead of the game': Questlove explains the ‘genius' legacy of the late funk-rock master
Sly Stone, funk pioneer and frontman of Sly and the Family Stone, died Monday at the age of 82, following what his family described as 'prolonged battle with COPD and other underlying health issues.' 'It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved dad, Sly Stone of Sly and the Family Stone,' the family wrote in a statement. 'Sly passed away peacefully, surrounded by his three children, his closest friend, and his extended family. While we mourn his absence, we take solace in knowing that his extraordinary musical legacy will continue to resonate and inspire for generations to come.' More from GoldDerby Pickleball, punchlines, and personal growth: 'Hacks' stars Megan Stalter and Paul W. Downs on their bond and what's next 'That feeling of having a first crush': How Zach Cherry and Merritt Wever made their 'Severance' marriage feel real 'Slow Horses' EP Doug Urbanski on the secret to the show's success: 'We try to make the perfect martini' and what's next in Season 5: 'it's the most fun and most silly' The legendary musician was the subject of a recent Hulu documentary, Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius), from Oscar-winning director Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson. Questlove recently sat down with Gold Derby and shared stories about Sly Stone, his genius, and his lasting impact on pop culture. SEE 'A lot comes with jumping into that inferno': Questlove explores the burden of Black genius in 'Sly Lives!' "Sly was way ahead of the game," Questlove shared. "There are trillions of Sly genius stories." One such story, ultimately left out of the documentary, highlights Sly's remarkable real-time creativity during an urgent re-edit of 'Stand!' after testing it at Whisky a Go Go in 1969. 'Sly was a little disappointed that people weren't losing their minds to his new single,' Questlove recounts. 'Then, a girl he was with gave him the inspiration, saying, 'It's 1969, man. We need a get-down part.' "Sly learns that in the wake of James Brown's 'Cold Sweat' in '68, a year before, the idea of letting the bass and the drums have their moment — that was a new thing. It needs to go somewhere else just to spike the punch a little bit. "Sly literally wakes the band up as the club is letting out at 1:45 a.m. and says, 'Get to the studio now. We made a mistake!' And they get to the studio and they work on what we now know as the ending of 'Stand!,' and he calls up Columbia the next day. He's like, 'Destroy all the 45s. We have a new ending. Forget that version.' They're like, 'We already printed it up.' So there's about 40,000 copies of the original 'Stand!' out there. I was lucky to find one." Questlove on Sly Stone's innovation: "He literally pioneered — or was the first — for so many things that we take for granted now. He was the first to use the drum machine, the first to take advantage of multitrack recording — doing everything himself. Sly made three whole music videos in 1969. The purpose of a music video was basically — if you were unable to travel to Europe, you would just perform a generic performance video that they would air on television shows overseas. But if you look at 'Dance to the Music', if you look at 'Life,' if you look at 'Everyday People,' those are conceptual videos — and this is like 10 years before MTV was launched." Generations continue to be inspired and entertained by Sly Stone, whose timeless music has been sampled in countless hip-hop tracks, shaping the genre and leaving a lasting impact. 'For me, my sweet spot was always with the hip-hop heads,' Questlove said. "You might be aware that Arrested Development's 'People Everyday' is [Sly and the Family Stone's] 'Everyday People.' You might recognize the drums from 'The Humpty Dance' as 'Sing a Simple Song.' You might have some sort of hip-hop-adjacent, 'Oh, that LL Cool J loop is definitely Sly Stone.' You might be that person. Hip-hop heads know about Sly Stone's impact." Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) is streaming on Hulu. Best of GoldDerby Billboard 200: Chart-topping albums of 2025 Billboard Hot 100: Every No. 1 song of 2025 The B-52s' Kate Pierson talks Rock Hall snub, influencing John Lennon, and fears a solo album would be a 'betrayal' to her band Click here to read the full article.
