The actor, who played Los Angeles attorney Ted Black in the Suits spinoff, made a recent appearance on the Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast, where he admitted that he thought the show “wasn’t good enough.” He added, “Anything that ends not on your terms is a failure.”
However, Amell also put the show’s lack of success on himself personally, saying, “The blame rests with me.”
“Whatever problem you have with the show — because I think that there were issues — it’s my job to solve those, to smooth them over and to gloss them up with some type of performance or something that, tangible or otherwise, covers up those mistakes,” he explained. “Because you do something that is magnetic, that is charismatic, that fixes those problems. And I didn’t do that.”
He added, “I didn’t find anything ultimately with Ted Black, that character, that translated, that smoothed those things over, that gave us a chance to keep going.”
Later, the Arrow alum expanded on his reasoning, saying if the show’s “successful, I’m gonna get a disproportionate amount of the credit, and so I think it’s only fair that I stand in front and I take the blame. I’m the lead of the series and it didn’t work.”
Amell claimed he wasn’t the only one who questioned the spinoff’s potential, even before it premiered. He said Aaron Korsh — who created Suits L.A. and Suits, which ran from 2011 to 2019 — also had some doubts.
“When I saw the pilot of Suits L.A. — and this goes back to about a month after we finished shooting — I sat down with Aaron Korsh, who created Suits and Suits L.A., and he was editing the pilot. He was like, ‘I don’t know if this is going to work,’” he recalled. “A lot of what he wanted to do seemed to run up against what the network wanted. It seems like they just … I don’t want to say they battled, because I wasn’t a part of those conversations, so I’m not going to speculate. But it just seemed like what he wanted to do and what they wanted to do were different.”
Amell concluded that it was “tough” having Suits L.A. not renewed for a second season, but that ultimately, “It’s also not anyone’s fault.”
“We certainly thought that we were gonna have another [season] and we’d get to work out some of those issues, and it just so happened that they went, ‘Nope, we’re gonna pull the plug,’” the Heels actor said.
Suits L.A. also starred Lex Scott Davis, Josh McDermitt, Bryan Greenberg, Rachelle Goulding, Maggie Grace and Troy Winbush.
NBC’s president of programming strategy, Jeff Bader, previously said during a conference call with media that the spinoff “had a very short run” because “it really just has not resonated the way we thought it would. There can be many, many reasons — people are speculating why it hasn’t resonated, but it’s just not really showing the potential to grow for us in the future, unfortunately.”
“RRR” director S.S. Rajamouli has unveiled what is being billed as India’s most advanced motion capture facility, unveiling the A&M MoCap Lab at Hyderabad’s Annapurna Studios.
The facility is a joint venture between Akkineni Nagarjuna‘s Annapurna Studios and “Baahubali” producer Shobu Yarlagadda‘s Mihira Visual Labs, with Hollywood’s Animatrik Film Design – whose credits include “Avengers: Endgame,” “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and “RRR” – serving as the technology partner. During the unveiling, Rajamouli shared the first glimpse of the lab and confirmed that key sequences of “Varanasi,” which stars Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Prithviraj Sukumaran were captured there.
For Rajamouli, the facility closes a long-standing gap in Indian filmmaking infrastructure. “India has always had some of the world’s best technicians contributing to major global productions, but what we lacked was an advanced facility right here at home,” he said. “When I look back at some of my previous films like ‘Baahubali’ and ‘Eega,’ I reminisce how I could have made them even better if I had access to motion capture technology back then in India. With the introduction of A&M’s motion capture technology, that gap has finally been bridged. We utilized this facility in the making of crucial sequences in ‘Varanasi,’ and the results were simply fantastic.”
Nagarjuna framed the launch as a milestone for Indian cinema at large. “For decades, Indian filmmakers have aspired to tell large-scale stories that match global standards, but access to high-end technology was often a limitation,” he said. “With A&M, filmmakers can now bring everything from epic adventures to intricate science fiction dramas to life right here in Hyderabad.”
Yarlagadda, whose Mihira Visual Labs co-developed the facility, described it as part of a broader infrastructure-building effort. “For Indian cinema to truly compete on a global stage, it is essential to create advanced technology ecosystems within the country,” he said. “Seeing a filmmaker like S.S. Rajamouli utilize our A&M MoCap facility for ‘Varanasi’ reinforces our belief that the future of Indian storytelling will be driven by innovation built at home.”
Brett Ineson, president and CTO of Animatrik Film Design, added: “We’re incredibly proud to see Animatrik’s motion capture technology powering this landmark facility at Annapurna Studios. Annapurna has long been a beacon of cinematic excellence, and partnering with them and Mihira Visual Labs to bring world-class performance capture capabilities to India is truly exciting. This collaboration represents a significant step in enabling filmmakers and creators to tell more immersive, emotionally rich stories with the highest global standards.”
The lab features a 60-by-40-by-30-foot capture volume equipped with Vicon Valkyrie VK26 cameras offering sub-millimeter optical tracking precision and real-time data streaming via Vicon Live. The setup integrates Unreal Engine for live virtual production previsualization and includes Stereo Head-Mounted Camera units for high-resolution facial performance capture. Notably, the facility is modular and expandable, allowing it to be disassembled and reassembled on location as productions require.
C.V. Rao, CTO of Annapurna Studios, emphasized the facility’s utility as a pre-production tool. “Directors and cinematographers can experiment with camera blocking, lens choices, camera movements, and frame rates in a dynamic virtual environment, allowing critical creative decisions to be finalized during the motion capture stage, prior to principal photography,” he said, adding that the approach is designed to minimize costly trial-and-error during live shoots.
The launch comes as Annapurna Studios marks its 50th anniversary. The studio said it intends to open the facility to Indian and international filmmakers, game developers, and animation studios seeking a production partner in Asia. It is also not the first time Rajamouli has partnered with Annapurna on a technological milestone – he previously launched India’s first Dolby cinema processing facility at the same studio.
Wisecrack, a six-part series that combines true-crime and comedy, has been named podcast of the year at the 2026 Ambie Awards.
The show, from Tenderfoot TV and iHeartPodcasts, centers on UK comedian Edd Hedges, who tells a story about a real hometown murder in his standup act, and journalist Jodi Tovay ,as she investigates the story. The podcast beat out other contenders including Call Her Daddy, Crime Junkie, SmartLess and Pod Save America.
Wisecrack led the nominations list with five nods, and ultimately took home four, including best society and culture podcast. Pablo Torre, host of Pablo Torre Finds Out, was named the Vanguard Podcaster of the Year.
Other winners included Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend for best comedy podcast, Death, Sex & Money for best interview podcast, and The Indicator from Planet Money for best business podcast.
The ceremony took place Tuesday night (after being rescheduled from Monday due to the blizzard) at the Arlo Williamsburg in Brooklyn as part of On Air Fest. Comedian and writer Wyatt Cenac hosted the event. The 6th Annual Awards For Excellence In Audio were presented by the Podcast Academy.
In addition to the competitive awards, Kara Swisher, host of Pivot and On with Kara Swisher, received the Governors Awards for her contributions to the growth of the podcasting industry.
Angela Yee presented the late Reggie Ossé, host of The Combat Jack Show and founding partner of the Loud Speakers Network, with the Impact Award for his lasting impact on listeners. His wife, Akim Vann accepted the award on his behalf.
Presenters included B.A. Parker (co-host of Code Switch), Brittany Luse (It’s Been a Minute), Katy Hearne Church (Queen’s Podcast), Maria Hinojosa (founder of Futoro Media; In the Thick), Matt McGorry (How to Get Away with Murder), Sky Scraper (New York City FC’s mascot) and Touré(Why Did They Break Up Tracy Clayton).
Full wInners list:
Governors Award Honoree Kara Swisher
Impact Award Honoree Reggie Ossé (posthumously), accepted by his wife, Akim Vann
Vanguard Podcaster of the Year Pablo Torre
Podcast of The Year Wisecrack Tenderfoot TV , iHeartPodcasts
Best Ad Read Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend SiriusXM
President Trump touted his economic achievements and attacked immigrants and Democrats in a divisive State of the Union address on Tuesday.
Trump also criticized the Supreme Court, which struck down his emergency tariffs last week, and repeatedly castigated the Democratic side of the aisle for not applauding him.
“These people are crazy,” he said. “Democrats are destroying our country, but we’ve stopped it in the nick of time.”
Trump is facing the lowest approval ratings of his term, around 40%, with nearly 60% expressing disapproval. The White House has tried to move on from setbacks like the months-long Epstein controversy and pivot attention to affordability.
“A short while ago, we were a dead country,” Trump said. “Now we are the hottest country anywhere in the world. The hottest.”
Trump also promoted his record of stopping illegal immigration and accused Somali immigrants of defrauding the government. At one point, he told the Democratic members of Congress that they should be “ashamed” for refusing to stand when he said that the government’s first duty “is to protect American citizens, not illegal immigrants.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Somali immigrant from Minneapolis, shouted back at him: “You should be ashamed.”
Trump said the Supreme Court’s tariff ruling was “very unfortunate” and “disappointing.” Four justices of the court — John Roberts, Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — sat impassively with their hands folded while Trump rebuked the ruling.
David Ellison, the CEO of Paramount Skydance, was among those in the audience, appearing as a guest of Sen. Lindsey Graham. The government is reviewing Netflix’s deal to acquire Warner Bros., while Paramount is angling to break up the deal with a competing bid.
Trump also took several minutes of the speech to honor the U.S. men’s hockey team, which won gold at the Winter Olympics on Sunday, and to talk up the 2028 games in Los Angeles.
“We’re going to do a good job in Los Angeles,” he said. “Los Angeles is going to be safe, just like Washington, D.C., is now one of the safest cities in the country.”
Neve Campbell recently told CBS Mornings that she “didn’t think I could live with myself” if she accepted the offer return for “Scream 6.”
“When I made that decision, I just didn’t think I could live with myself walking on set,” Campbell said. “I just didn’t feel right. I just knew that my value to this franchise was bigger than what had been offered. For me, I needed to make that choice.”
She added, “When I said goodbye to it, I thought that was it. I knew that there was a good chance that would be it.”
Campbell explained that although it was tough knowing that the “Scream 6” production team was “having their first day of shooting and I wasn’t there,” she ultimately knew she made the “right” decision to bow out of the film.
She added, “And when I spoke out about it, it wasn’t really to sort of rally everybody. It was really just my truth at the time, and the fact the people got behind me, I got lovely support, and that was nice. And I do feel that other people need to make those choices.”
Campbell, the longtime face of the “Scream” franchise, told Variety in 2022 that she would not be returning for the sixth installment because she felt “the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise.”
“Sadly, I won’t be making the next ‘Scream’ film,” Campbell said in a statement to Variety. “As a woman I have had to work extremely hard in my career to establish my value, especially when it comes to ‘Scream.’ I felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise. It’s been a very difficult decision to move on. To all my ‘Scream’ fans, I love you. You’ve always been so incredibly supportive to me. I’m forever grateful to you and to what this franchise has given me over the past 25 years.”
Campbell will return for “Scream 7” after her salary dispute, joining fellow original cast members David Arquette, Matthew Lillard and Courteney Cox. Kevin Williamson, who wrote the first “Scream,” serves as director.
Eric Dane still has some posthumous performances to be released, but the role he took on in his final year will be remembered as the most impactful.
After the Grey’s Anatomy and Euphoria actor publicly announced his diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in April 2025, he didn’t retreat from the public eye as he battled the devastating disease. Instead, he used the platform he built thanks to his career in Hollywood to boost visibility for ALS.
Dane didn’t hesitate to take on an advocacy role, partnering with organizations like Target ALS and I AM ALS to bring more awareness and research surrounding the rare degenerative disease.
For the former nonprofit, he joined its Board of Directors and became the face of Target ALS’s “Ending ALS Starts with You” campaign, helping raise more than $500,000 in 2025 to accelerate research for treatments. As for I AM ALS, he served as an ambassador for the nonprofit and helped launch its “Push for Progress” campaign in September, which aims to secure $1 billion in federal funding for ALS over the next three years.
In October 2025, Dane also traveled to Washington, D.C., with the I AM ALS leadership to lobby Congress to increase federal funding for ALS research and push for the reauthorization of the Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act, which expires in 2026. He met with lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, to discuss the urgency of funding.
In addition to his work with nonprofits, Dane combined his advocacy with his acting talents, appearing in a season two episode of the NBC medical drama, Brilliant Minds. In the episode, which aired in November, he played Matthew, a firefighter who struggles to tell his family about his ALS diagnosis and later grapples to accept help from them as the prognosis progresses.
“We really wanted to honor him and his experience and be really truthful about it. [We] didn’t want to sensationalize in any way,” Brilliant Minds creator Michael Grassi previously told The Hollywood Reporterof the importance of the episode.
Grassi also co-wrote the episode with Daniela Lamas, a doctor, and also leaned on two ALS doctors and two members of the writing staff who had family members living with ALS when developing the storyline. “We really wanted to get all the language right, especially when talking about something like ALS, where yes, there is currently no cure, but people are currently working very hard to find a cure,” the showrunner added.
Dane died on Feb. 19, following a years-long battle with the rare degenerative disease. The actor had shared that he first experienced symptoms a year and a half before publicly revealing his diagnosis.
Following his death, I AM ALS shared in a statement, “Eric used his platform not for attention, but for action. From the moment he joined I AM ALS, he showed up with courage and conviction, asking how he could use his superpowers to help the movement grow. It was an honor to brainstorm with him, to walk alongside him in the halls of Congress on behalf of our community, amplify the urgent need for ACT for ALS and research funding, and drive toward treatments and, ultimately, a cure. He understood that ALS is not just a diagnosis; it is a call to action for families, for answers, and for change.”
“Eric brought humility, humor, and visibility to ALS and reminded the world that progress is possible when we refuse to remain silent. Eric was more than a supporter of our mission—he was part of our family. His impact will live on in the research being funded, the policies being advanced, and the community he helped grow by his honesty, his bravery, and his belief in a better future for anyone struggling with this diagnosis,” the organization continued. “We honor Eric by continuing the work he believed in so deeply: mobilizing communities, driving critical research, securing essential funding, and fighting relentlessly for real solutions. Our thoughts are with his loved ones and our entire community. I AM ALS will carry his legacy forward — until ALS is no more.”
Target ALS also wrote in a statement, “Though we had only known Eric, or ‘E,’ as so many called him, for the past year, his impact on our community was immediate and profound. From the moment we met him, we experienced his generosity of heart. He didn’t hesitate to ask how he could help, how he could fight, and how he could be part of the solution. Whenever we asked for his support, his response was always the same: ‘I’ll do whatever I can to help.’”
“We also recognize that families across the globe experience this heartbreak every day. To lose someone to ALS is devastating and unacceptable,” the org added. “Partnering with Eric was a way to fight back, to accelerate research and advance effective treatments for this disease. At Target ALS, we will carry this work forward in Eric’s honor, and in honor of the many who came before him. We remain steadfast in our mission so that no family has to endure this loss in the future.”
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Released by Penguin Press, the book is available now as a 304-page hardcover. Newsom also narrates the audiobook version of “Young Man in a Hurry,” which you can listen to for free right now with a free trial to Audible here.
Newsom has made headlines in recent months both for squaring off with Donald Trump and for his grand plans to halt Hollywood’s so-called “filming exodus.” The governor has pledged to return television and movie production to California, signing a bill last year that would double the state’s tax incentives for film and TV projects from $330 million to $750 million annually. Still, Newsom has faced his fair share of detractors — even from Hollywood insiders — on issues outside of the industry.
In October, Joseph Gordon Levitt said the governor was “too scared” to veto legislation that would have banned companies from making AI chatbots available to people under the age of 18 (Newsom attributed his decision to the bill’s “broad restrictions,” though he did sign a law that requires platforms to remind users they are interacting with a chatbot and not a human, as well as prevent the promotion of self-harm content). Halle Berry, meantime, criticized Newsom in December for vetoing a menopause bill she backed, adding that, “That’s OK, because he’s not going to be governor forever, and the way he has overlooked women … he probably should not be our next president either.”
The new book was written too late to respond to the criticisms, but nevertheless seeks to position Newsom as an underdog, who took up baseball as a way to deal with his family dysfunction and his longtime struggles with dyslexia. The running theme throughout Newsom’s memoir: This is just a guy who has lived his whole life trying to make his home state proud.
“Born in San Francisco, his parents divorced at a young age, and his childhood was spent being tugged between two worlds: his mother worked three jobs in order to care for her children while his father, a close friend of the Getty family, brought Newsom into San Francisco society, a world of wealth and connections,” reads a book description. “The dissonance was frustrating, and made all the more difficult because of undiagnosed dyslexia, but the vantage point was valuable: he inherited his mother’s perseverance and his father’s reverence of California, not only its wildness, but its opportunity.”
For what it’s worth, Newsom has never lived outside of California — something that has both endeared him to locals and left him open to critique from potential voters in the rest of the country. The 58-year-old also memorably saw off a GOP-led recall effort in 2021.
For Newsom, “the California Dream” is what keeps him going, the publishers’ notes say. “His great-great-grandfather, a cop, walked a beat in San Francisco, where almost 150 years later, Newsom would be elected as mayor, running on the values instilled in him by his family history: that California’s open arms must continue to extend to each new generation,” a description reads.
Of course, the book chronicles Newsom’s entire political career, including his time as mayor of San Francisco, where he issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples more than 10 years before the Supreme Court made same-sex unions legal. The book also lauds his “bold efforts” to “counter climate change, improve mental health care, and enhance gun safety.”
As the book description states, Newsom’s memoir is a “deeply resilient California story of identity, belonging, and the defining moments that inspired a life in politics.”
The second round of winners for the 2026 NAACP Image Awards was announced Tuesday in the non-televised music and podcast award categories.
Cardi B won three awards during the presentation: outstanding artist, outstanding album for her latest release, Am I the Drama?, and outstanding hip-hop/rap song for the single “ErrTime.”
Entertainer of the Year nominee Kendrick Lamar won two awards for outstanding male artist and outstanding music video/visual album, along with SZA, for luther. During Monday’s award announcement, Lamar also won the award for outstanding short-form series or special for his Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show.
Five-time NAACP Image Award nominee Michelle Obama picked up two additional wins for IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson in the categories of outstanding podcast — arts, sports and entertainment and outstanding podcast — lifestyle/self-help. On Monday, Obama also won the award for outstanding literary work — biography/autobiography for The Look.The Don Lemon Show also picked up two prizes: outstanding podcast — news and information and outstanding podcast — society and culture.
The awards were announced on the second evening of the three-night virtual event hosted by actress and writer Angel “ThatChickAngel” Laketa Moore and actor and rapper Khleo Thomas exclusively on the NAACP Image Awards‘ YouTube channel. Additional non-televised awards will be announced on Wednesday. Rev. Dr. Jamal-Harrison Bryant will also be presented with the Mildred Bond Roxborough Social Justice Impact Award at the 57th NAACP Image Awards Creative Honors on Thursday and A$AP Rocky will receive the Vanguard Award at the NAACP Image Awards Reception & Fashion Show on Friday night.
The 57th NAACP Image Awards, hosted by Average Joe star and comedian Deon Cole, will air live on Saturday, Feb. 28, at 8:00 PM ET/PT on BET and CBS from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Special honorees include Viola Davis, who’ll receive the Chairman’s Award, and Colman Domingo, who’ll be presented with the President’s Award.
The complete list of night two non-televised winners follows.
“Ride (Remix)” – Chance the Rapper feat. Do or Die & Twista (CTR LLC)
“Typa” – GloRilla (CMG/Interscope Records)
Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation Album
Godfather of Harlem: Season 4 (Original Series Soundtrack) (Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment)
Highest 2 Lowest (Original Soundtrack) (A24)
Sinners (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Proximity Media LLC, under exclusive license to Masterworks, a label of Sony Music Entertainment)(WINNER)
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder: Season 3 (Music from the Series) (Walt Disney Records)
Wicked: For Good (The Soundtrack) (Republic Records)
Outstanding International Song
“In Our Sight” – Skip Marley (Def Jam Recordings)
“Is It” – Tyla (Epic Records)(WINNER)
“Love” – Burna Boy (Spaceship/Bad Habit/Atlantic Records)
Cardi B, Don Lemon and SZA joined Michelle Obama and Kendrick Lamar as NAACP Image Award winners on night 2 of the virtual pre-show.
Cardi B won three Image Awards on Tuesday night, including outstanding female artist and outstanding album for her latest record “Am I the Drama?” Her track “ErrTime” won the prize for outstanding hip-hop/rap song. Before the ceremony, Cardi B had won just one Image Award, for serving as judge and executive producer of “Rhythm & Flow.”
Veteran journalist Don Lemon won two trophies for his eponymous talk show, “The Don Lemon Show”; Lemon’s news and talk series and Obama’s podcast “IMO,” which the former first lady co-hosts with her brother Craig Robinson, won four of the five awards presented for that medium.
Lamar, who was also a big winner on the first night of the three-part virtual ceremony, hosted by Angel “ThatChickAngel” Laketa Moore and Khleo Thomas. On Tuesday, Lamar also won prizes in two more categories — named outstanding male artist and sharing the music video/visual album award with SZA for their Grammy-winning hit song “Luther.”
Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” won its first awards out of a massive 18 nominations, collecting the prizes for outstanding soundtrack and original score. The period vampire thriller is the most-nominated project at this year’s Image Awards, which will air live on Saturday, Feb. 28, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on BET and CBS. Deon Cole returns to host the show, broadcast from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. The recently-wrapped Peacock series “Bel-Air” led the TV categories with seven nominations. The nominees for Entertainer of the Year, the show’s signature category, include Cynthia Erivo, Doechii, Lamar, Michael B. Jordan and Teyana Taylor.
Special honorees for this year’s NAACP Image Awards week include Viola Davis, who will be presented with the Chairman’s Award; Colman Domingo, the President’s Award honoree; A$AP Rocky, to be presented with the Vanguard Award for fashion; and Rev. Dr. Jamal-Harrison Bryant, who will receive the prestigious Mildred Bond Roxborough Social Justice Impact Award.
Watch the virtual pre-show in the video above. The full list of winners from night two can be found below:
Outstanding Music Video/Visual Album
“luther” – Kendrick Lamar & SZA (pgLang under exclusive license to Interscope Records)
Outstanding New Artist
Monaleo – “Who Did the Body?” (Columbia Records)
Outstanding Female Artist
Cardi B (Atlantic Records)
Outstanding Male Artist
Kendrick Lamar (pgLang under exclusive license to Interscope Records)
Outstanding Hip-Hop/Rap Song
“ErrTime” – Cardi B (Atlantic Records)
Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation Album
“Sinners (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)” (Proximity Media LLC, under exclusive license to Masterworks, a label of Sony Music Entertainment)
“Do it Again” – Kirk Franklin (Fo Yo Soul Recordings/Tribl Records)
Outstanding Gospel/Christian Album
“Tasha” – Tasha Cobbs Leonard (Motown Gospel)
Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration (Traditional)
803Fresh feat. Fantasia – “Boots on the Ground Remix” (Snake Eyez Music Group/Artist Partner Group)
Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration (Contemporary)
Chris Brown feat. Bryson Tiller & Usher – “It Depends (Remix)” (RCA Records/Chris Brown Entertainment)
Outstanding Original Score for TV/Film
“Sinners (Original Motion Picture Score)” (Proximity Media LLC, under exclusive license to Sony Classical, a label of Sony Music Entertainment)
Outstanding Album
“Am I The Drama?” – Cardi B (Atlantic Records)
Outstanding Podcast – Scripted/Limited Series/Short Form
“Interesting Things with JC” (Jim Connors LLC)
Outstanding Podcast – News and Information
“The Don Lemon Show” (Lemon Media Network)
Outstanding Podcast – Lifestyle/Self-Help
“IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson” (Higher Ground)
Outstanding Podcast – Arts, Sports and Entertainment
“IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson” (Higher Ground)
Outstanding Podcast – Society and Culture
“The Don Lemon Show” (Lemon Media Network)
Getty Images
Monday, February 23
The 57th NAACP Image Awards week kicked off Monday with former first lady Michelle Obama and rapper Kendrick Lamar winning two of the early prizes.
Obama’s latest book, “The Look” — which explored her style evolution from her time in the White House to life afterwards — won the award for outstanding literary work biography/autobiography. Meanwhile, Lamar’s electrifying Super Bowl halftime performance was named outstanding short-form series or special – reality/nonfiction/documentary. Both Obama and Lamar are repeat winners at the Image Awards: she won in the same category in 2019 for her memoir “Becoming,” while he has nine trophies from the NAACP, including two for his 2025 anthem “Not Like Us.”
The awards were announced during the first edition of a three-night virtual event, where winners will be revealed in the majority of the Image Awards’ more than 90 categories (across film, television and streaming, music, literature and podcasts). The pre-show ceremony, hosted by Angel “ThatChickAngel” Laketa Moore and Khleo Thomas, aired exclusively on YouTube and NAACP+ and focused primarily on the literary categories, as well as two digital content creator prizes. For the first time, the NAACP Image Awards got into gaming, with Berlin Edmond Jr., aka Berleezy, winning the top prize.
Watch the virtual pre-show ceremony in the video above. The full list of winners from night one can be found here:
Outstanding Literary Work – Biography/Autobiography
“The Look” – Michelle Obama (Crown)
Outstanding Literary Work – Non-Fiction
“A More Perfect Party: The Night Shirley Chisholm & Diahann Carroll Reshaped Politics” – Juanita Tolliver (Legacy Lit/Hachette Book Group)
Outstanding Literary Work – Instructional
“Who Better Than You?” – Will Packer (Penguin Random House)
Outstanding Literary Work – Journalism
“On Borrowed Time” – Anissa Durham (Online)
Outstanding Literary Work – Debut Author
Charles B. Fancher – “Red Clay” (Blackstone Publishing)
Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction
“Death of the Author” – Nnedi Okorafor (William Morrow)
Outstanding Literary Work – Poetry
“The Intentions of Thunder: New and Selected Poems” – Patricia Smith (Scribner)
Outstanding Literary Work – Children
“Yvonne Clark and Her Engineering Spark” – Allen R. Wells; Illustrated by DeAndra Hodge (Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers/Macmillan)
Outstanding Literary Work – Youth/Teens
“Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Book of Anansi” – Angie Thomas (HarperCollins/Clarion Books)
Outstanding Literary Work – Graphic Novel
“Parable of the Talents: A Graphic Novel Adaptation” – Octavia E. Butler, adapted by Damien Duffy, illustrated by John Jennings and David Brame (Abrams ComicArts)
Outstanding Short-Form Series or Special – Reality/Nonfiction/Documentary
“The Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show Starring Kendrick Lamar” (FOX)
Outstanding Digital Content Creator – Gaming/Tech
Berlin Edmond Jr. (@Berleezy)
Outstanding Digital Content Creator – Fitness/Wellness/Food
The Brazilian film “Gugu’s World” starts quite literally true to its title by showing the audience its lead character’s room, full of everything he loves. Director Allan Deberton crams much story and characterization in those opening frames. From Gugu’s soccer trophies to his colorful wardrobe to the glitter on his face, this 11-year-old is revealed fully and economically. A complete portrait in mere minutes. He’s shown dancing around and even wearing a cape. An endearing character to fall in love with instantly, thus setting up this charming film.
“Gugu’s World,” which won the jury prize for the Generation section at the Berlinale, is a generous character study of a queer pre-teen. Gugu (Yuri Gomes) lives with his grandmother Dilma (Teca Pereira), in a small house near the Araújo Lima reservoir. Their bond is strong as he lost his mother, Dilma’s daughter, when he was very young. She accepts him unconditionally and their time together is filled with playful joy. At school, he’s doing well and has two supportive girlfriends. He is also a star soccer player. Of course he has a nemesis: a boy named Francisco who’s not as good at soccer, and who keeps calling Gugu “a sissy” while goading him into confrontations. His father Batista (Lázaro Ramos) eyes him with disappointment and euphemistically calls him “a clown.”
André Araújo’s screenplay manages to flesh out all these interrelationships with sensitivity and nuance. The film finds space to tell the story of Gugu and Dilma’s special bond in scenes that feel natural. A highlight is their love of Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time,” which was a favorite of Gugu’s mother. When Dilma starts becoming frail, Gugu goes to great lengths to take care of her while keeping others from invading their space. Though different, the same tenderness shows in the father and son relationship. There’s hurt and shame standing between them, but also love that might lead to genuine appreciation of each other at any point.
However, above all Araújo splendidly comes up with an unforgettable cinema hero. In crafting Gugu he writes a wholly original character who also immediately feels familiar. The audience gets to know Gugu so well and fall in love with his courage, singularity and determination to protect his grandmother and their oasis of a life together. In Gomes, the filmmakers hit the jackpot. The young actor brings grit, grief and much exuberance to his performance. He is in almost every frame and holds the film together with a grounded and spontaneous performance that has none of the precociousness that mars many a young actor’s performance. Pereira matches him in warmth and their duet is a pleasure to watch.
Visually the film is as colorful as Gugu’s personality. Deberton, working with production designer Dayse Barreto and costume designer Gabriella Marra, fills the frame with vibrant colors — deep pink and blue, purple and yellow, to show the beauty and vivaciousness of Gugu’s world. He might be worried about his grandmother, frustrated with his dad, sometimes uncomfortable among his peers, but it’s clear he likes himself and knows he will persevere.
Therein lies the strength of this film. Not everything goes well, there’s tragedy and sadness but also a sense of infinite hope that permeates the proceedings. The first sentence the character utters at the beginning of the film is that “he’s going to save the world.” By the end of the film that seems entirely plausible, even believable. If Gugu doesn’t save the world, he will at least protect himself and his grandmother and make their life together as wonderful as can be. The film seems destined to play at many festivals, especially queer ones. However “Gugu’s World” is such a crowd pleaser that it deserves to be seen widely by audiences. They’ll be in for a real treat.
