Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is an American actor, producer, and director. Known for his work spanning over four decades of screen and stage, he has been regarded as one of the best actors of his generation, with The New York Times naming him the greatest actor of the 21st century in 2020. Washington has received a number of honors, including two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, three Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Cecil B. DeMille Award and AFI Life Achievement Award, and nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards.
The Piano Lesson is a 1987 play by American playwright August Wilson. It is the fourth play in Wilson's The Pittsburgh Cycle. Wilson began writing this play by playing with the various answers regarding the possibility of "acquir[ing] a sense of self-worth by denying one's past". The Piano Lesson received the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
John David Washington is an American actor and former professional football player. He is the son of actor Denzel Washington and Pauletta Pearson. He started his career in college football at Morehouse College and signed with the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2006. Professionally, Washington spent four years as a running back for the United Football League's Sacramento Mountain Lions.
Michael Potts is an American actor. He has appeared on stage, on television and in motion pictures.
Ray Fisher is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of the superhero Victor Stone / Cyborg in the DC Extended Universe media franchise, first appearing in a cameo in the film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and then in a lead role in the films Justice League (2017) and its 2021 director's cut. In television, he played roles in the third season of the crime drama series True Detective and the limited series Women of the Movement. He made his Broadway debut in the 2022 revival of the play The Piano Lesson.
Danielle Brooks is an American actress and singer. Her breakthrough role was as prison inmate Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson in the Netflix comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019).
Corey Antonio Hawkins is an American actor. He rose to prominence for his role in the TV series The Walking Dead (2015–2016), as well as his portrayal of Dr. Dre in the 2015 film Straight Outta Compton, the latter of which earned him a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. He's also known for his performances on Broadway starring in Six Degrees of Separation (2017) and Topdog/Underdog (2022), both of which earned him nominations for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.
Danielle Deadwyler is an American actress. She began her career appearing on Atlanta stage, including in the 2009 production of For Colored Girls, and made her screen debut in the 2012 drama film A Cross to Bear. Deadwyler appeared in the primetime series The Haves and the Have Nots (2015–2017), the series P-Valley (2020), the miniseries Station Eleven (2021–2022), and the miniseries From Scratch (2022).
From Scratch is an American romance drama television miniseries created by Attica Locke and Tembi Locke for Netflix. Inspired by Tembi Locke's memoir of the same name, it stars Zoe Saldaña and Eugenio Mastrandrea. Its eight episodes premiered on October 21, 2022. Attica Locke was series showrunner.
The Harder They Fall is a 2021 American Western film directed by Jeymes Samuel, who co-wrote the screenplay with Boaz Yakin. The film stars Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Regina King, Delroy Lindo, Lakeith Stanfield, RJ Cyler, Danielle Deadwyler, Edi Gathegi, and Deon Cole. It is one of few Westerns whose principal cast members are all Black. Its characters are based on real cowboys, lawmen, and outlaws of the nineteenth-century American West.
The Color Purple is a 2023 American musical period drama film directed by Blitz Bazawule. Marcus Gardley's screenplay is based on the stage musical of the same name, which in turn is based on the 1982 novel of the same name by Alice Walker. It is the second film adaptation of the novel, following the 1985 film directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Spielberg and Quincy Jones. Spielberg and Jones return as producers for the 2023 film, along with its Broadway producers Scott Sanders and Oprah Winfrey, the latter of whom also starred in the 1985 film.
Rustin is a 2023 American biographical drama film directed by George C. Wolfe, from a screenplay by Julian Breece and Dustin Lance Black, and a story by Breece about the life of civil rights activist Bayard Rustin. Produced by Barack and Michelle Obama's production company Higher Ground, the film stars Colman Domingo in the title role, alongside Chris Rock, Glynn Turman, Aml Ameen, Gus Halper, CCH Pounder, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Johnny Ramey, Michael Potts, Jeffrey Wright, and Audra McDonald. It is based on the true story of Rustin, who helped Martin Luther King Jr. and others organize the 1963 March on Washington.
A Man in Full is an American limited series starring Jeff Daniels and Diane Lane, created and written by David E. Kelley, and directed by Regina King and Thomas Schlamme. It is based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Tom Wolfe. The series consists of six episodes, and premiered on Netflix on May 2, 2024.
Carry-On is an upcoming American action thriller film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and written by T.J. Fixman and Michael Green. The film stars Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman. Its plot follows a young TSA agent who is blackmailed into letting a dangerous package onboard an upcoming flight during Christmas Day.
Nickel Boys is a 2024 American historical drama film based on the 2019 novel The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. It was directed by RaMell Ross, who co-wrote the screenplay with Joslyn Barnes, and stars Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Hamish Linklater, Fred Hechinger, Daveed Diggs, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor. The story follows two African American boys, Elwood and Turner, who are sent to an abusive reform school called the Nickel Academy in 1960s Florida. The film is inspired by the historic reform school in Florida called the Dozier School for Boys, which was notorious for abusive treatment of students.
The Outrun is a 2024 drama film directed by Nora Fingscheidt from a screenplay she co-wrote with Amy Liptrot, and a story the two co-wrote with Daisy Lewis, based on the 2016 memoir of the same name by Liptrot. A co-production between the United Kingdom and Germany, it stars Saoirse Ronan, who also serves as a producer, along with Paapa Essiedu, Nabil Elouahabi, Izuka Hoyle, Lauren Lyle, Saskia Reeves, and Stephen Dillane in supporting roles.
Emilia Pérez is a 2024 Spanish-language French musical crime comedy film written and directed by Jacques Audiard, based on Audiard's opera libretto of the same name, which was in turn loosely adapted from Boris Razon's 2018 novel Listen. It stars Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, Mark Ivanir and Édgar Ramírez. The original songs for the film were contributed by Camille, while its original score was provided by Clément Ducol. The choreographic sections of the film are designed by Damien Jalet.
The 34th Annual Gotham Awards, presented by the Gotham Film & Media Institute, will be held on December 2, 2024. The nominees will be announced on October 26, 2024. Denis Villeneuve and the cast of the film The Piano Lesson will receive tribute awards.
