Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang. Although the name "Rotten Tomatoes" connects to the practice of audiences throwing rotten tomatoes in disapproval of a poor stage performance, the direct inspiration for the name from Duong, Lee, and Wang came from an equivalent scene in the 1992 Canadian film Léolo.
Clarence Alexander Avant was a prominent American music executive and film producer. Originating from Climax, North Carolina, Avant began his professional journey in the 1950s, managing Teddy P's Lounge in Newark, New Jersey. Under the guidance of Joe Glaser, a notable music manager of the era, Avant managed a diverse portfolio of artists, ranging from R&B talents like Little Willie John to jazz figures such as Jimmy Smith. In the 1960s, he founded Avant Garde Enterprises, marking a significant step in his contributions to the music sector.
Nicole A. Avant is an American producer and political activist. She served as the United States Ambassador to the Bahamas from 2009 to 2011.
Bridegroom is a 2013 American documentary film about the relationship between two young gay men, produced and directed by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason. Bridegroom premiered at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on April 23, 2013, and attracted further press coverage because its premiere screening at the festival was introduced by former President Bill Clinton.
Documentary Now! is an American mockumentary television series, created by Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, and Rhys Thomas, that premiered on August 20, 2015, on IFC. Armisen and Hader star in many episodes, and Thomas and Alex Buono co-direct most episodes. Hosted by Helen Mirren, the series spoofs celebrated documentary films by parodying the style of each documentary with a similar, but fictitious, subject. The third season premiered on February 20, 2019. On April 8, 2019, the series was renewed for a fourth season, which premiered on October 19, 2022 and was also released on AMC+.
13th is a 2016 American documentary film directed by Ava DuVernay. The film explores the prison-industrial complex, and the "intersection of race, justice, and mass incarceration in the United States"; it is titled after the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, adopted in 1865, which abolished slavery throughout the United States and ended involuntary servitude except as a punishment for conviction of a crime. This allowed for a constitutional loophole in which black Americans became criminalized and faced involuntary servitude in the form of penal labor.
Dear White People is an American comedy-drama television series on Netflix that follows several black college students at an Ivy League institution, touching on issues surrounding modern American race relations through a progressive lens. It is based on and a continuation of the 2014 film of the same name. The film's writer and director, Justin Simien, returned to write and direct episodes of the series. This series stars Logan Browning, Brandon P. Bell, DeRon Horton, and Antoinette Robertson. With a few exceptions, generally season finales, each episode focuses on one particular character. The series premiered on April 28, 2017. On October 2, 2019, the series was renewed for its fourth and final season, which was released on September 22, 2021.
Queer Eye is an American reality television series, initially released February 7, 2018 on Netflix. A reboot of the original 2003 series produced by Bravo, each episode has five advisors spend a week applying their expertise to help improve someone's life situation.
Wild Wild Country is a Netflix documentary series about the controversial Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (Osho), his one-time personal assistant Ma Anand Sheela, and their community of followers in the Rajneeshpuram community located in Wasco County, Oregon, US. It was released on Netflix on March 16, 2018, after premiering at the Sundance Film Festival. The title of the series is drawn from the Bill Callahan song "Drover", which features prominently in the final episode, and it also echoes the comments of Jane Stork about first seeing the ranch, shown at the beginning of episode 2: "it was just so wild, so rugged, but vast—really wild country".
Dolemite Is My Name is a 2019 American biographical comedy film directed by Craig Brewer and written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. The film stars Eddie Murphy as filmmaker Rudy Ray Moore, who is best known for having portrayed the character of Dolemite in both his stand-up routine and a series of blaxploitation films, which started with Dolemite in 1975.
Sweet Magnolias is an American romantic drama television series, developed by Sheryl J. Anderson and based on the Sweet Magnolias novels by Sherryl Woods. It stars JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Brooke Elliott and Heather Headley. The series premiered on Netflix on May 19, 2020. In July 2020, the series was renewed for a second season. The 10-episode second season premiered on February 4, 2022. In May 2022, the series was renewed for a third season which premiered on July 20, 2023. In October 2023, the series was renewed for a fourth season.
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution is a 2020 American documentary film directed, written and co-produced by Nicole Newnham and James LeBrecht. Barack and Michelle Obama served as executive producers under their Higher Ground Productions banner.
Circus of Books is a 2019 American documentary film directed by Rachel Mason, written by Rachel Mason and Kathryn Robson and starring Karen Mason, Barry Mason and Rachel Mason. The premise revolves around Circus of Books, a bookstore and gay pornography shop in West Hollywood, California, and in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Giving Voice is a 2020 American documentary film, directed and produced by James D. Stern and Fernando Villena. The film follows the 2018 edition of the annual August Wilson Monologue Competition entered by thousands of high school students for the opportunity to perform on Broadway. Viola Davis, John Legend, Constanza Romero and Nicholas Caprio serve as executive producers.
The Velvet Underground is a 2021 American documentary film directed and produced by Todd Haynes that chronicles the life and times of the rock band the Velvet Underground.
Lady Boss: The Jackie Collins Story is a 2021 American-British documentary film, directed by Laura Fairrie. It follows the life and career of Jackie Collins.
Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet is a 2021 documentary film directed by Jon Clay, and presented by David Attenborough and Johan Rockström.
The Andy Warhol Diaries is an American documentary television limited series from writer, director Andrew Rossi, and executive producer Ryan Murphy, based on the 1989 book of the same name by Andy Warhol, as edited by Pat Hackett. The series simulates the famed pop artist narrating his own diary entries through the use of artificial intelligence technology. Netflix debuted the series of six episodes on March 9, 2022.
Trees of Peace is a 2022 film which was written and directed by Alanna Brown in her directorial debut. It is starring Eliane Umuhire, Charmaine Bingwa, Bola Koleosho and Ella Cannon as four women who hide in a hole underneath a house for 81 days to survive the 1994 Rwandan genocide. It has a 98-minute runtime and it is an English language film.
