History Had its Eyes on the ‘Hamilton’ Original Broadway Cast Reunion at the Tonys

The 78th Tony Awards, hosted by Cynthia Erivo, were held on Sunday, and Maybe Happy Endings swept many of the major categories. As usual, the show included an array of powerful performances, including a number from Real Women Have Curves, but most notably, the 10-year reunion of the original Broadway cast of Hamilton turned the world upside down.

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Sarah Jeffery Reflects on ‘The Six Triple Eight’

Sarah Jeffery plays Dolores Washington in The Six Triple Eight. The movie, which was inspired by the first and only Women’s Army Corps unit of color to serve overseas in WWII, is currently streaming on Netflix.

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Milauna Jackson Discusses Working on ‘The Six Triple Eight’

Milauna Jackson portrays Lt. Campbell in The Six Triple Eight. The film, which is inspired by the first and only Women’s Army Corps unit of color to serve overseas in WWII, is now streaming on Netflix.

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RaMell Ross’ Heartbreaking ‘Nickel Boys’ is a New Classic Slice of Black Americana

The world of cinema is a place of institutions: from mainstay studios, long-revered directors and infamous producers, there are certain people and systems that both uphold the standards of film but also restrict the possibility of what could expand the artistic palette of the space.

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Comic Creators Assemble to ‘Stop Project 2025’ Ahead of the Election

With only a week to go before another consequential presidential election, perhaps the most consequential, it’s more vital than ever that voters are informed of the stakes before pulling that lever. That’s why comics industry giants like Denys Cowan, Greg Pak, Matt Fraction, Greg Rucka, Jen Van Meter, Jim Ottaviani, and dozens more came together earlier this month to publish Stop Project 2025.

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Idris Elba and Shianne Brown on ‘Erased: WW2’s Heroes of Color’

Idris Elba narrates and executive produced Erased: WW2’s Heroes of Color, which is a four-part National Geographic docuseries. All episodes, including Shianne Brown’s “D-Day,” are currently streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

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Sheryl Lee Ralph on the Honor of Narrating ‘The Real Red Tails’ and Using Her Voice

Sheryl Lee Ralph narrates the one-hour special, The Real Red Tails. You can currently watch the documentary on both Disney+ and Hulu.

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The Middle Geeks Episode 62: ‘Assassin’s Creed Mirage’ Review and Updates on Gaza

We welcome back Jasmin and Isa to discuss the latest from Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed franchise that takes us to the heart of Abbasid Baghdad!

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The Cast of ‘Masters of the Air’ on the Show’s Challenges and Takeaways

With the first two episodes of Masters of the Air now streaming on Apple TV+, I’m thrilled to share my interviews with Austin Butler, Callum Turner, Barry Keoghan, Raff Law, Anthony Boyle, and Nate Mann, who star in the highly anticipated World War II drama. New episodes premiere every Friday through March 15.

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‘The Space Race’ Featurette Spotlights the Bright Dreams of Afrofuturism and Space

While some may recognize the Space Race defined the competition between two Cold War rivals — America and the former Soviet Union, National Geographic Documentary Films’ The Space Race, from co-directors Lisa Cortés and Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, weaves together the stories of Black astronauts seeking to break the bonds of social injustice to reach for the stars. Now a new featurette takes a look at one of those early Black astronauts who eventually paved the way for the future for those like him.

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The First Trailer for ‘Oppenheimer’ is Here

Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer is an IMAX-shot epic thriller based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin.

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Hulu’s ‘The Great’ Cast on Season 2, Catherine’s Decisions and Working with Gillian Anderson

The second season of the hit comedy-drama ‘The Great’ returns this Friday and there’s a lot going on for the mother-to-be Catherine (Elle Fanning) who has just overthrown her husband Peter (Nicholas Hoult) for the Russian throne.

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‘The Last Duel’ Stars Reveal Process of Making a Medieval Tale Relevant

The timing and relevancy of Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel underscore how little has changed for women between its 14th century France setting and now.  Based on a true story, the gripping period piece tells the story of a courageous Marguerite de Carrouges (Jodie Comer) who accuses squire Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver) of rape. Though no one believes her accusations, her husband, Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon), challenges his former friend, now bitter rival grueling duel to the death.

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New Trailer and Poster for Ridley Scott’s ‘The Last Duel’

Sir Ridley Scott has given us some of the finest cinematic experiences of all time from Alien to Gladiator. There has been strong anticipation for The Last Duel, given the talent both in front of and behind the camera, and today, 20th Century Studios finally unveiled the first trailer. The film stars Matt Damon, Adam Driver, and the always amazing Jodie Comer. Take a look at the trailer for yourselves here:

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Ray Fawkes’ ‘One Line’ is a Visual Symphony

There’s something oracular about Ray Fawkes’ One Line — the whole One Soul series, frankly — but this book particularly stretches the boundaries of sequential art and meta-comics, and reading it gives me the sense that as I turn the pages, the book is also reading me. You don’t need to have read One Soul or The People Inside to enjoy One Line, though it helps in appreciating the journey of the series’ experimental, multilinear form.

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A Review of ‘Across the Tracks’

Greenwood, Oklahoma aka “Black Wall Street,” dubbed so by Booker T. Washington, was a once thriving Black community. Thoroughly segregated from the rest of white Tulsa, nevertheless it boasted entrepreneurs, shopkeepers, entertainment venues, and markets, everything a town would need to sustain itself. To be happy and self-sufficient. That is until 1921 when a mob of deputized whites burned the town to the ground. Not only were the murderous white mob deputized to engage in the massacre, they were given weapons by officials of the city government. The even used an aerial bomb.

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NOC Sundance Review: ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’

While the details of Judas Iscariot’s betrayal of Jesus Christ are debated, Judas goes down in history as one of the most infamous traitors — all over 30 pieces of silver. Maybe Judas didn’t like the fact that the people hailed Christ as a “Messiah” — a title the FBI used as code names for Black radical liberators in the 1960s to the late 1970s. One such “Messiah” is the young Black Panther activist and Chicago native Fred Hampton, mercilessly killed thanks to Black a panther Party (BPP) infiltrator and informant William O’Neal, FBI Agent Roy Mitchell, and J. Edgar Hoover.

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NOC Interview: ‘Small Axe’ Star Sheyi Cole Talks ‘Alex Wheatle’

With his bold and multifaceted Small Axe anthology, Steve McQueen has made the films of the moment. Three of the five films — Lovers Rock, Mangrove, and Red, White and Blue — have premiered to a great reception at the NYFF. The films capture vividly the lives of London’s West Indian community in the 1970s and ’80s and their force of will against systemic racism and discrimination. “I dedicate these films to George Floyd, and all the other black people that have been murdered, seen or unseen, because of who they are, in the U.S., U.K. and elsewhere,” the director said in May. 

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Bonus Hard NOC Life: ‘Hamilton’ as Fan Fiction (from 2016)

Hard NOC Life will go on a brief hiatus as we prepare for our landmark 200th episode.

But since today is the premiere of Hamilton on Disney+, we’re re-sharing this panel from November 2016 as a bonus episode of the podcast. You can find the original post here.

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Witnessing a Revolution Unfold (And How I Hope it Continues)

Originally posted at Just Add Color | Featured photo by munshots on Unsplash

The past few days have been a whirlwind, to say the least.

As we have all seen or heard at this point in time, George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police when former officer Derek Chauvin put his knee on Floyd’s neck. Chauvin has since been arrested — initially on the charge of third-three murder, but the charge has since been raised to second-degree murder. The other three former officers, Thomas Kiernan Lane, Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao, have also been arrested on aiding and abetting Floyd’s murder.

The escalation of charges, however, didn’t come without a fight. For an entire week, people marched in Minneapolis, around the country, and around the world, for Floyd’s killer and accomplices to be brought to justice. Part of those protests included a riot that ended with Minneapolis’ third precinct police station being burned down.

Throughout the riots, protests, and general unrest, I went through a myriad of emotions, to the point where I felt unable to write for this site. I still haven’t watched the video of Floyd’s death because for me, reading about the details, including Floyd calling for his deceased mother, was enough. If I watched the video, I knew I would be haunted by it for the rest of my life. I am already haunted by the lives of so many Black people who have been needlessly killed, and their stories were already compelling me without having to see them get killed on camera. I didn’t want to see the video that would only add insult to injury — the insult being that no one would care.

Or so I thought.

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Raymond Bagatsing on Becoming Manuel Quezon in ‘Quezon’s Game’

From 1937-1941, under the leadership of President Manuel Quezon, the Philippines opened their doors to Jewish refugees fleeing from Europe, at the beginning of what would eventually become the Holocaust. Approximately 1,300 lives were saved.

It’s a little known history about the Philippines, but what is even less known is how much Quezon had to fight to make it happen, due to the country being under occupation by the United States at the time. It’s this story that’s explored for the first time for the big screen in the film, Quezon’s Game.

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‘Just Mercy’ Effectively Calls for Justice with Emotional Impact

It’s no secret that the justice system in the United States is a mess like no other. However, the odds of navigating it and coming out unscathed — if at all — are worse for the Black community. Bryan Stevenson, a lawyer and founder/executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, witnessed just how brutal it is, as he worked tirelessly to free Walter McMillian from death row, after being arrested for a murder he did not commit. Just Mercy tells that story.

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‘The Terror: Infamy’ Doesn’t Need Ghosts to be Scary

In the third episode of The Terror: Infamy, one of the main characters told his wife, who put up some items to protect from evil, “It may protect us from spirits, but not from human evil.”

The latest installment of the supernatural anthology series by Alexander Woo and Max Borenstein explores a dark part of history in America during World War II — Japanese American internment and the ghosts (yūrei) that haunt them.

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