Entertainment
With 'Hollywood Black,' Justin Simien wants us to rethink cinema's history and its future
“What is a Black movie?”
It was a question Justin Simien, who first grabbed Hollywood’s attention with his debut feature, 2014’s HBCU comedy “Dear White People,” asked a number of top-tier filmmakers. He did not get a defining answer:
“A movie typically with African Americans in leading roles.”
“A movie inspired by, rooted by, influenced and told by Black people.”
“I know one when I see one.”
Simien’s quest to answer that question is the core of “Hollywood Black,” his exploration of the history of Black cinema, highlighting the triumphs and obstacles faced by Black artists. The four-part MGM+ documentary series premiered in August and concludes Sunday with the episode “Dear Black People,” which focuses on recent successes by Black filmmakers, from “Get Out” to “Black Panther.”
Inspired by historian Donald Bogle’s book “Hollywood Black” and sprinkled with insights from several prominent artists — among those featured are directors Ryan Coogler (“Black Panther”) and Gina Prince-Bythewood (“The Woman King”) and actor Giancarlo Esposito — the project traces the evolution of Black film from the silent era to the present day. A priority of the project was to honor artists and movies that have been “hidden in plain sight.”
Ryan Coogler, left, and Justin Simien in a scene from the MGM+ docuseries “Hollywood Black,” which is inspired by historian Donald Bogle’s book of the same name.
(MGM+)
“I want everyone to rethink cinema history,” said Simien, who also directed the 2023 reboot of Disney’s “The Haunted Mansion,” in introducing the series. “Because whoever controls cinema controls history.”
Speaking from his Hollywood office, he discussed the challenges of making the documentary, the crushing impact of last year’s Hollywood labor strikes and how there can be more than two film versions of “The Color Purple.” These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
Trying to cover the history of Black cinema in four hours must have been a formidable undertaking.
This entertainment industry is built on top of popular culture that Black people are at the center of. You see it never being in our hands, but you can’t remove us completely because we are the secret sauce in every stage of its development and evolution. So the story is how these people who are so important in the creation of this art form gain and lose and regain control over it. It ends up being a political story, more than anything.
So much of your personal journey was influenced by “The Wiz.” So many people love that film. But it was not a critical or commercial success.
The metrics of success we are all taught on how to value certain films has to go out the window when it comes to Black stuff. It really does, particularly when it comes to something like “The Wiz,” which had a gigantic cultural impact. It’s almost like the Bible, culturally and artistically. That movie has so many accomplishments, not the least of which is bringing Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones together. I would argue it’s one of the earliest representations of ballroom culture in the famous Emerald City sequence. It is one of the most expensive movies ever made with Black people on the screen.
The stars of “The Wiz” included Nipsey Russell, left as the Tin Man, Diana Ross as Dorothy and Michael Jackson as Scarecrow. Justin Simien says the film is “almost like the Bible, culturally and artistically.”
(Associated Press)
Another film that Black audiences have mixed feelings about is the 2023 musical version of “The Color Purple,” produced by Oprah Winfrey. Lots of fans of the 1985 film starring Whoopi Goldberg did not embrace it.
I understand it. But on the other hand, I’m glad that Blitz Bazawule, who directed the musical version, got to make his first major feature film. I have an appreciation for the fact that it is extremely rare and an experiment every time a Black filmmaker gets to make a movie. That alone is worthy of our attention. We don’t have the same aggregate of opportunities.
And on a personal level, I long for an adaptation of “The Color Purple” that appropriately elevates the queer message in that text that Alice Walker wrote. If we want to keep making “The Color Purple,” I’m OK. There’s more to be teased out of that text.
I was very struck by the documentary’s focus on artists and films that have not gotten a lot of attention, like Charles Lane, who directed a black-and-white silent film, “Sidewalk Stories.”
The impetus for this project was seeing these movies and being both awestruck and furious, actually enraged. “Sidewalk Stories” came out in 1989. That was a big year for Black cinema — the year of [Spike Lee’s] “Do the Right Thing.” But nobody mentions this other film that happened that did not spawn its own genre of movie that way “Do the Right Thing” did. Part of the reason why is that it didn’t fit in with what was in vogue about Blackness at that time. But it is a masterpiece.
When “The Artist” won the Oscar, I remember liking that movie but was befuddled by its elevation as something important. “Sidewalk Stories” is everything that movie was in terms of using the silent movie aesthetic, particularly in the way Charles is quoting Charlie Chaplin but featuring himself as a dark-skinned Black kid on the streets of New York. He is challenging the viewer, using the same situations, but with a group of people who are Black. Why does it feel different watching the same kinds of relationships on the screen with Black people?
During the first stages of the Hollywood strikes, Black artists feared that they would be severely affected when they ended. There is a lot of pain in Hollywood right now with people being out of work, but has it been worse for Black filmmakers?
Yes. It’s harder than it’s ever been. And it has hit queer artists even harder. I rode that pendulum swing in with “Dear White People” [the film] and felt it swing back out. Then I swung back in by making “Dear White People” into a TV series. I felt it go back and forth during those years, and it is definitely swinging back. It is so difficult.
Da’Vine Joy Randolph backstage at the Oscars in March after she won supporting actress for “The Holdovers.”
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Da’Vine Joy Randolph won an Oscar this year for her performance in “The Holdovers” as Mary Lamb, the head cook at an elite New England boarding school. But her win sparked some controversy, with some observers contending that it continued the decades-long tradition of honoring Black women who play characters subservient to white people or in roles that operate in support of white characters — while honoring them for little else.
That’s an important conversation. But again she is winning an award for her performance. The bottom line is, that the role did not exist for her, for whatever reason, in the hands of a Black filmmaker. What she did with it was phenomenal. For me, that’s what we are rewarding. It’s the same with Hattie McDaniel in “Gone With the Wind.” We’re not rewarding the representation, the caricature or the stereotype. We are rewarding the person inside a pretty not-so-great system that constantly is representing Black people in a very negative way. Inside of that, she was able to do something pretty magnificent and steal the attention from the other white co-stars.
There is so much more that you couldn’t get to explore in “Hollywood Black.” Is there the possibility of more episodes?
I think it would be great. It’s up to MGM and MGM+. You could honestly go over the same periods and talk about completely different artists and still not have enough time. Or you could pick one artist per episode. If someone wants to give me some Ken Burns documentary money, then we can really go.
Kathy Hilton will no longer be the grand marshal of West Hollywood’s pride parade.
The city and WeHo Pride on Wednesday released a joint statement, announcing that “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star would no longer serve as the Grand Marshal Icon for the 2026 WeHo Pride Parade. The event is scheduled for Sunday.
“After thoughtful discussions, the City of West Hollywood, the WeHo Pride production team, and Kathy Hilton have determined that the 2026 WeHo Pride Parade will not designate a Grand Marshal Icon honoree,” read the statement.
The decision comes less than a week after Hilton was announced. That May 28 announcement was met with swift backlash from the LGBTQ+ community and allies, who called out Hilton’s ties to President Trump and alleged MAGA-leaning politics. Critics also cited accusations that the socialite had used a homophobic slur while on a trip with other cast members of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” an action she has previously denied.
In their joint statement, West Hollywood and the WeHo Pride team expressed their appreciation for “the respectful and sincere dialogue” around both the event and the “role and significance” of Pride honorees.
“The City of West Hollywood has always believed that Pride belongs to the community,” the joint statement said. “Since its earliest days, Pride has served as both a celebration and a platform for activism, visibility, resilience, and the ongoing pursuit of equality, dignity, and justice for LGBTQ+ people. … These conversations reflect the passion people have for WeHo Pride and underscore the importance of ensuring that WeHo Pride continues to honor the history, values, and diverse voices of the LGBTQ+ community.”
In a statement, Hilton expressed gratitude for being considered for grand marshal and reaffirmed her commitment to the LGBTQ+ community and causes.
“My reason for wanting to be involved in this year’s WeHo Pride weekend was simple: to celebrate, support, and share in the joy of a community that means a great deal to so many people,” Hilton said. “Pride is, and always will be, about celebrating and uplifting LGBTQ+ voices, experiences, and achievements. … My support for the community and WeHo Pride is unwavering.”
She also mentioned several queer advocacy organizations and events she has supported over the years, including GLAAD, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, Dr. Mathilde Krim, God’s Love We Deliver and Project Angel Food.
The latest Pride-related dust-up follows the abrupt cancellation of the Long Beach Pride Festival in May. The city’s Pride Parade took place as planned.
Both snafus have occurred as conservative politicians and advocates continue to attack LGBTQ+ rights and visibility nationwide. Some Republican governors have even pushed for conservative alternatives to Pride month festivities. A recent Gallup poll has found that after years of steady gains, support for marriage equality and same-sex relationships has slipped, particularly among Republicans.
Movie Reviews
Movie Review: Travolta’s “Propeller: One-Way Night Coach” is One for the Ages — All Ages
Back in the good ol’days — the ’90s — John Travolta would love to get off the topic of “Michael,” “Pulp Fiction” or “Get Shorty” in interviews with film journalists like me and regale us with how utterly besotted he had been with his first flying experience, how that drove his passion for piloting and buying planes and airfield-adjacent luxury houses.
He didn’t even seem to mind having to move house when this or that development balked at him flying his Boeing 707 out of there on the way to locations.
Travolta would tell any journalist who asked that he was writing a kid-friendly book, “Propeller: One Way Night Coach,” based on his first flights as a child in old propeller driven airliners — cheap red-eye overnight treks with too many connections for your average jet age traveller to tolerate.
I remember picking up the book when it came out later in the ’90s — at an airport gift shop — and thinking “Well, that’s as cute as I figured.”
And now, decades later and trapped in the B-movie hell of his post “Gotti” career, Travolta’s turned that cute book into the most delightful, fanciful and colorful bon bon of a movie.
“One Way Night Coach” is a child’s fantasy of flight and flying the way it used to be — with pristine, uncrowded, futuristic airports, an early ’60s era of jets and prop planes with over-uniformed stewardesses in white gloves, the days “Back before every Joe Sweatsock could wedge himself behind a lunch tray and jet off to Raleigh-Durham,” as Sideshow Bob memorably sneered on “The Simpsons’.”
It’s a fictionalized account of Travolta’s childhood about an only child (at least two Travolta siblings have bit parts in this movie) of a never-made-it/never-will actress/single-mom (Kelly Eviston-Quinnett) who indulges her aviation-obsessed eight-year-old with a cheap cross-country overnight flight.
Little Jeff (Clark Shotwell) will revel in almost every Idlewild to Pittsburgh to Dayton to Chicago to Kansas City to Denver and Los Angeles minute. He strolls into the cockpit to meet pilots, charms the stewardesses and checks out the sleeping bunks on the TWA Lockheed Super Constellation, loving even the delays if not the Chicken Cordon Bleu he’s offered on legs of the journey that offer a meal.
And as he’s an observant child, he comments (Travolta narrates) on his 50ish mother’s vamping and posing, her choice of cigarettes (Newports) and drinks, the solo traveling men whose attention she pursues and earns.
“I was her best audience,” adult Jeff remembers of the mother who’d read him plays as bedtime stories and delusionally hopes that this trip to Los Angeles might be her “big break” even though she’s pushing 50.
“Hollywood called,” she’d explain about their overnight cheap flight arrangements to ticket agents and crew. “They told me to take the next flight!”
At every turn, Jeff meets or sees kindness — stewardesses who indulge his many questions and bump them up to first class on the mostly-empty planes, a captain who fixes his toy model of a Constellation, a mentally ill flyer who flips out but is calmed by a flight attendant who isn’t overworked and frazzled in jet-powered tin-can jammed with Joe and Jane Sweatsocks who think nothing of traveling in their pajamas.
Normally, I cringe at pictures this reliant on voice-over narration. I recoil from stars who populate their picture with Sandler etc. offspring. But “Propeller” is unfailingly sweet and never cloying.
Sure, it’s fictionalized. But if you’ve followed Travolta’s life and career, a lot of him is in this — his raptoruous engagement with flying, an indulged child who developed a taste for fine food and creature comforts, a mother who was his guiding star as an actor.
I get why there are less adoring reviews than mine floating around “Propeller.” It’s unfailingly sweet. Mom’s man-hunting is seriously dated. This TWA tale is decorated with Gershwin’s majestic “Rhapsody in Blue” — United Airlines’ signature tune. And Travolta’s been around long enough for recent generations to come up and not feel a connection to the “Saturday Night Fever/Get Shorty” star whose career has fallen off and life has been visited by too much tragedy.
But I’d hate to be seated next to anybody who doesn’t appreciate this adorable, pristine and nearly perfect aviation fantasy on any flight, much less an overnight one.
Rating: TV-PG
Cast: Clark Shotwell, Kelly Eviston-Quinnett, Ellen Travolta, Ella Beau Travolta, Olga Hoffmann and John Travolta.
Credits: Scripted and directed by John Travolta, based on his book. An Apple TV+ release.
Running time: 1:01
Three years ago, Mattel Inc. struck box-office gold — or rather, pink — with the billion-dollar success of “Barbie.”
In its first return to theaters since the female-forward phenomenon, the El Segundo toymaker is turning to the brawny He-Man for another box-office lift.
Its latest film, “Masters of the Universe,” opens this weekend, as Mattel looks to build on that previous success and continue extending its signature toy brands into the entertainment arena.
“The movie is very much in tune with culture,” said Mattel Chief Executive Ynon Kreiz. “Everything is much more contemporary relative to what was created more than 40 years ago, but it’s still very true to the origin story and to the DNA of the brand.”
The new film arrives at a pivotal time for Mattel, which is facing pressure from investors to grow its business. The maker of Hot Wheels, American Girl and Uno has recently confronted a challenging market for toys, beset by tariffs on goods produced overseas and weaker-than-expected demand for Barbie dolls and Fisher-Price preschool products.
Amid uncertainty in the toy market and the fallout from tariffs, Mattel’s net income dropped 25% to $398 million in 2025. And since the company announced disappointing holiday sales totals in February, its stock has dropped more than 30%, closing at $14.34 on Wednesday.
“Masters of the Universe” toys at Mattel headquarters in El Segundo.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
The share price slide prompted investor Southeastern Asset Management to send a letter last month to Mattel leadership suggesting the toy maker should sell itself and go private. Southeastern manages about 4% of the company’s stock on behalf of its clients.
“The frustration among investors has been the fact that if you look at the business from 2021 through 2025 and even this year … the business really hasn’t grown,” said Eric Handler, a Roth Capital senior media and entertainment analyst, referring to Mattel. “This is a company that needed something fresh in the portfolio, and there’s a wide range of investments being made, of which ‘Masters of the Universe’ is one part.”
Kreiz pushed back on the idea that the company is not growing. In the fourth quarter of 2025, net sales were up 7% to $1.8 billion, though the result was not as strong as the company expected.
Mattel has spent $1.2 billion in the last three years to buy back shares, with an additional $1.5-billion share repurchase planned for the next three years.
“We’re investing in our own stock because we believe it is undervalued,” he told The Times in an interview at his office, which has floor-to-ceiling windows that give an expansive view of El Segundo. “We absolutely agree that the share price doesn’t reflect the progress that we’ve achieved over the last few years financially, operationally, our place in culture, the strength of our brands, and the continued expansion of the business. And more importantly, the potential that we have down the road.”
“Masters of the Universe” is a key variable in that equation.
Ynon Kreiz, chief executive of Mattel.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
The movie, which had a budget of roughly $170 million, is expected to bring in $25 million to $35 million in the U.S. and Canada during its debut weekend. That’s a far cry from the $162-million opening haul of “Barbie,” but box-office analysts say that film captured the cultural zeitgeist in a way that’s hard to replicate.
The ‘80s-era “Masters of the Universe” is “a property that was famous with a certain group of fans, but it hasn’t had much of a pop culture presence,” said Shawn Robbins, who directs movie analytics at Fandango and founded the forecasting site Box Office Theory. The movie has notched a respectable 74% approval rating from critics on aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
“There’s been so many callbacks to nostalgic franchises,” he said. “Some people are always on board for them, and maybe the positive reviews bring people in who were on the fence. But people are also ready for something fresh and new and exciting.”
Kreiz said he’s often asked how the company will match the success of “Barbie.”
“The answer is, we don’t need to match ‘Barbie’s’ success for movies to have a meaningful economic impact on the company,” he said. “Not every movie will be ‘Barbie.’ If we create quality content that people want to watch and create quality experiences that people are engaged with, good things happen, and these brands will resonate and will be here for years to come.”
While theatrical revenue is important, the measure of success for “Masters of the Universe” could also include its eventual reception on streaming platforms and, of course, toy sales, analysts said.
There are hundreds of products tied to the movie, from collectible action figures of Nicholas Galitzine’s He-Man and Camila Mendes’ Teela, to branded Uno decks, Legos, clothing and skateboards.
Skeletor from “Masters of the Universe.”
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
“For us, it’s a huge win already,” said Robbie Brenner, president of Mattel Studios and chief content officer, who also served as a producer on the film. “We have reinvigorated and relaunched this brand that has been around for decades … and done it in a way with just the best-in-class toys. Obviously that’s our bread and butter. And then to have made an epic, incredible movie … is a huge win.”
While Mattel does not yet have sales totals for its “Masters of the Universe” toys, executives said during an earnings call in late April that product sales were “growing double digits” amid strong customer demand, particularly from adults.
When Kreiz was named CEO in 2018, he saw the potential for Mattel to expand beyond toys. In an entertainment landscape dominated by known franchises and intellectual property, the former TV and media executive wanted to leverage the company’s IP in new ways to attract consumers.
Hence, Mattel has expanded into real-world experiences such as a Barbie pop-up at Coachella or a traveling Hot Wheels monster truck show. In February, the company fully acquired Mattel163 mobile game studio after buying out a stake held by Chinese tech firm NetEase. The studio has released games based on Uno, Skip-Bo and other Mattel intellectual property.
And on the film and television front, the Mattel Studios division now has 51 people — most of whom are based in El Segundo — focused on projects across platforms.
After “Masters of the Universe,” Mattel Studios plans to release a “Matchbox” streaming movie in October. The division has more than a dozen films in development that have been announced, including an American Girl movie with Paramount, Polly Pocket with Amazon MGM Studios, as well as a live-action Magic 8 Ball series from M. Night Shyamalan.
“The journey for the company was to evolve from being a toy manufacturer that was making items to become an IP company that is managing franchises,” Kreiz said. “It’s not that we’re not creating toys — it’s obviously a big part of our business — but the opportunity is to expand so much more than the physical product.”
“Masters of the Universe” was in development for years at several different studios before it was picked up by Amazon MGM.
That partnership stemmed from Mattel’s work on the “Barbie” movie with Courtenay Valenti, then president of production and development at Warner Bros. Pictures who is now head of film at Amazon MGM.
“Masters of the Universe” felt like a good property for Mattel to bet on because of its nostalgia factor and deep bench of colorful characters, from the green tiger Battle Cat to the heavily armored Ram Man and ever meme-able Skeletor, which the company hopes will attract new audiences, Brenner said.
The movie is directed by Travis Knight — chief executive of stop-motion studio Laika who also led the 2018 “Transformers” spin-off “Bumblebee” — who Brenner said “nailed” the narrative’s tone. (It didn’t hurt that Knight was already a fan of the franchise and had sported the He-Man haircut as a child.)
“It’s a property that’s kind of out there,” said Brenner, who grew up watching He-Man and his twin sister She-Ra. “It’s got all these crazy characters. But just riding that line between what is funny and kind of irreverent and then kind of heartfelt, that is a very hard thing to put in a blender and to get right.”
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