'Moonlight' is by the one of the best reviewed films of the year, and today it scored eight Oscar nominations. The film's editors Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders scored their first nominations.
McMillion's nod was a historic one. She is the first Black woman to ever be nominated for an editing Oscar.
Remarkably, 'Moonlight' is McMillon's first feature-length film as an editor. She previously worked as an assistant editor on reality tv shows like "Beauty and the Geek" and "The Biggest Loser" and moved on to work on to work in supporting roles on feature films like Don Cheadle's Talk to Me and multiple Tyler Perry projects. She was recruited to work on Moonlight while working on HBO's "Togetherness."
McMillon knew the film's director, Barry Jenkins, from her days at Florida State University, where both attended film school.
As a Black woman in the field, she says her wait for a big break was sometimes frustrating but expected.
"As an assistant, you can be waiting around for a good 10 years,” she told IndieWire. “The feature world is dominated by a lot of men, which is makes it that much harder.”
McMillon's next project "Lemon," directed by Janicza Bravo’s debut premieres at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.
Jada Pinkett Smith told some truth last week in a series of tweets about the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences refuses to acknowledge people of color. Her tweets circulated quickly and she's back with another message for viewers and creatives.
"Have we now come to a new time and place where we recognize that we can no longer beg for the love, acknowledgement or respect of any group," she said in a short video posted to her Facebook page. "That maybe it's time that we recognize that if we love, acknowledge and respect ourselves in the way in which we are asking others to do that that is the place of true power."
Pinkett Smith advocates for the people of color to lift themselves up. "Begging for acknowledgment diminishes dignity," she continues.
Though she does not advocate for a mass boycott, she says she will not be supporting the Oscars this year. "I will not be at the Academy Awards and I won't be watching, but I cannot think of a better man to do the job than you."
Mo'Nique continues to clap back against Lee Daniels' accusation that she has been "blackballed" by Hollywood. She sat down with Deborah Roberts to clarify that she and her career are fine.
