Washington
Jussie Smollett Debuts New Feature, Denzel Washington Hints at Break From Acting at American Black Film Festival
Jussie Smollett declared he was weary of trying to explain away his past troubles while Denzel Washington foreshadowed an impending break from being in front of the camera during the just-wrapped American Black Film Festival, which also brought out stars including Issa Rae, Kenya Barris and Kerry Washington.
The festival, held in Miami Beach’s South Beach, served as a launching pad for ABFF’s Queer Lens Brunch with GLAAD, featuring Smollett on a panel promoting his second feature, The Lost Holliday, an official festival selection that he co-wrote, produced and directed. It stars Smollett as a man whose husband is killed just as the couple was adopting their daughter; he must also contend with the mother-in-law he never met, played by Vivica A. Fox.
“It means a great deal to have the love and support of my queer Black community and equally to have the love and support of the Black community as a whole,” Smollett, joined by his The Lost Holliday co-star Jabari Redd (The Chi), told The Hollywood Reporter after the brunch.
The former Empire star, who is still appealing a jail sentence after being convicted of five felonies for staging a racist, homophobic attack on himself, found a reprieve from his ongoing legal battles at the event. Instead, producer and director Sidra Smith, who moderated the panel, referenced his “perseverance” and mental health, to which he responded, in part: “Sometimes you just gotta bite the bullet and let everybody think that you’re crazy, that you’re shady, that you’re a fraud, whatever they’re going to think. And then they’ll figure it out. They’ll figure it out because I can’t sit here forever trying to explain.”
He was not silent on Black queer representation, however. “There are so many other things on the opposite side that are intentionally trying to devalue us so we must be intentional with our Blackness; we must be intentional with our queerness; we must be intentional with our Black queerness,” he said, explaining his fervent activism.
On the festival’s closing day, Washington was the subject of a retrospective, culminating with a conversation between the double Oscar winner and Chaz Ebert.
Washington stars in Gladiator 2 with Paul Mescal, set for release in November, and is also producing The Piano Lesson, which will feature John David Washington in front of the camera and his other son, Malcolm Washington, behind it as director. Daughter Katia is a producer on the film, which also features a cameo from daughter Olivia. Samuel L. Jackson, Corey Hawkins and Danielle Deadwyler also star.
Washington, who placed a pre-Father’s Day FaceTime call to wife Pauletta during the talk, briefly got emotional when he talked about working with his children.
“As a parent, as a father, you want to jump in,” he confessed. “It’s hard letting them go.”
Washington also shared that he doesn’t watch other movies besides his own, and even those he watches just once to familiarize himself for interviews. However, the audience let out the biggest gasp when he suggested people could be seeing him less onscreen in the near future.
“The things that are going on for me professionally behind the camera are as important to me now as in front of the camera. I think there’s less and less time I’ll be spending in front of the camera,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rae, who served as the creative director of this year’s festival, kicked off this edition of the event, which spanned June 12-16. In her remarks, she emphasized the importance of community at ABFF and testified to how it had helped her in her own career early on and why, in the face of attacks on diversity, it’s more important than ever.
“I met so many of my creative partnerships here. This is the space to do it, especially now that our spaces are being taken away from us,” she added, referencing the recent DEI rollbacks in the industry and the nation at large.
Also during the event, Rae led a talk with Barris, while Kerry Washington showcased the upcoming season of her Hulu show Unprisioned. Meagan Good and Cory Hardrict shared a first-look and discussed their starring roles in Tyler Perry’s Divorce in the Black for Amazon Prime.
Films from the festival are screening on streaming platform ABFF Play until Monday.
DUBAI, Jan 11 (Reuters) – Iran warned President Donald Trump on Sunday that any U.S. attack would lead to Tehran striking back against Israel and regional U.S. military bases as “legitimate targets”, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf told parliament.
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Washington
Washington National Opera cuts ties with the Kennedy Center after longstanding partnership | CNN Politics
The Washington National Opera on Friday announced it is parting ways with the Kennedy Center after more than a decade with the arts institution.
“Today, the Washington National Opera announced its decision to seek an amicable early termination of its affiliation agreement with the Kennedy Center and resume operations as a fully independent nonprofit entity,” the opera said in a statement.
The decoupling marks another high-profile withdrawal since President Donald Trump and his newly installed board of trustees instituted broad thematic and cosmetic changes to the building, including renaming the facility “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”
The opera said it plans to “reduce its spring season and relocate performances to new venues.”
A source familiar with the dynamic told CNN the decision to part ways was made by the opera’s board and its leadership, and that the decision was not mutual.
A spokesperson for the Kennedy Center said in a statement, “After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to part ways with the WNO due to a financially challenging relationship. We believe this represents the best path forward for both organizations and enables us to make responsible choices that support the financial stability and long-term future of the Trump Kennedy Center.”
Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell, who was appointed by Trump’s hand-picked board, said on X, “Having an exclusive relationship has been extremely expensive and limiting in choice and variety.”
Grenell added, “Having an exclusive Opera was just not financially smart. And our patrons clearly wanted a refresh.”
Since taking the reins at the center, Grenell has cut existing staff, hired political allies and mandated a “break-even policy” for every performance.
The opera said the new policy was a factor in its decision to leave the center.
“The Center’s new business model requires productions to be fully funded in advance—a requirement incompatible with opera operations,” the opera said.
Francesca Zambello, the opera’s artistic director, said she is “deeply saddened to leave The Kennedy Center.”
“In the coming years, as we explore new venues and new ways of performing, WNO remains committed to its mission and artistic vision,” she said.
The New York Times first reported the opera’s departure.
Founded in 1956 as the “Opera Society of Washington,” the group has performed across the district, taking permanent residency in the Kennedy Center in 2011.
The performing arts center has been hit with a string of abrupt cancellations from artists in recent weeks including the jazz group The Cookers and New York City-based dance company Doug Varone and Dancers who canceled their performances after Trump’s name was added to the center – a living memorial for assassinated President John F. Kennedy.
The American College Theater Festival voted to suspend its relationship with the Kennedy Center, calling the affiliation “no longer viable” and citing concerns over a misalignment of the group’s values.
American banjo player Béla Fleck withdrew his upcoming performance with the National Symphony Orchestra, saying that performing at the center has become “charged and political.”
The Brentano String Quartet, who canceled their February 1 performance at the Kennedy Center, said they will “regretfully forego performing there.”
CNN has reached out to the Kennedy Center on the additional cancellations.
The opera said, “The Board and management of the company wish the Center well in its own future endeavors.”
CNN’s Betsy Klein and Nicky Robertson contributed to this report.
CHARLESTON, Ill. (AP) — Andre Washington had 20 points in Eastern Illinois’ 71-61 victory over Tennessee Tech on Thursday.
Washington shot 8 for 13, including 4 for 6 from beyond the arc for the Panthers (5-10, 2-3 Ohio Valley Conference). Meechie White added 13 points and four steals. Kooper Jacobi finished with 11 points and added seven rebounds.
The Golden Eagles (6-10, 1-4) were led in scoring by Jah’Kim Payne, who finished with 11 points. Tennessee Tech also got 10 points from Mekhi Turner.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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