Legendary Director Ava DuVernay Talks New Series ‘Home Sweet Home’

October 12, 2021October 12, 2021 Jamal Michel

Academy Award-nominated director Ava DuVernay’s newest social experiment is the first unscripted series of the illustrious director’s resume coming to NBC, and the goal of this project falls in line with the rest of DuVernay’s catalog of critical work. Home Sweet Home asks families to step into the home of complete strangers to take on a lifestyle quite unlike their own.

News, Television

Ava DuVernay Brings Masterful Touch to New Unscripted Series ‘Home Sweet Home’

August 20, 2021August 20, 2021 Jamal Michel

Ava DuVernay’s work continues to put forward necessary conversations about identity, community, and society, and her newest unscripted series, coming to NBC in October, will again show off her creative genius. Home Sweet Home is equal parts social experiment and cultural exploration, as 18 different families from various backgrounds accept the challenge of exploring a world unlike their own. The series from the Emmy winning and Academy Award-nominated creator will follow two families in each episode who trade spaces to experience life outside their own home.

Interview, Television

NOC Interview: ‘Selma’ Star Corey Reynolds Talks SYFY’s ‘Resident Alien’ and More

March 24, 2021March 24, 2021 Jamal Michel

SYFY’s comedy-drama series Resident Alien has been a hit with fans of the graphic novel, and newcomers to the series as well, sitting pretty on Rotten Tomatoes at 93% as of writing this. Corey Reynolds (Selma, Straight Outta Compton), who plays Sheriff Mike Thompson in the series, said that the personalities of fellow castmates Alan Tudyk (Devil May Care and Raya and the Last Dragon) and Sara Tomko (3022 and Sneaky Pete), and series creator Chris Sheridan (Family Guy), are what most likely led to its positive reception.

Literature, Movies, Television

Ava DuVernay’s Collection of Work is Necessary Viewing for Students and Educators Alike

January 14, 2021January 14, 2021 Jamal Michel

Six years ago, I was student teaching in Durham under the graduate MAT program at Duke University and was well on my way to perhaps the most fulfilling, demanding, and emotionally draining career path in my life. I like to think I accidentally ended up at the front of the classroom — senior year of high school saw my required community service hours stack up until I could go nowhere else last minute, aside from my neighborhood mosque. As presumptuous as it was, the imam still agreed to have me on board teaching elementary Arabic.

Movies4 Comments

Oscars 2015: All White Everything

January 15, 2015January 15, 2015 Keith Chow

We try not to stray from the geek-o-sphere too much here at the NOC, but it’s kind of hard to deny that the one pop cultural topic that’s taking up all of the oxygen is the announcement of the 2015 Academy Award nominations, and the near 100% shut out of people of color in all the major categories¹. The most egregious of these snubs was the almost complete dismissal of Selma. The Martin Luther King biopic was pretty much a lock for multiple noms for most of awards season but only managed a Best Song and a (token) Best Picture out of the deal. Star David Oyelowo and director Ava DuVernay were left on the outside looking in.

And if you need a direct connection back to the nerd world, Oyelowo provides the voice for the Star Wars: Rebels baddie Agent Kallus and Topless Robot wants DuVernay to direct a Marvel movie (something the director isn’t opposed to, by the way). So there.

Continue reading “Oscars 2015: All White Everything”