Chloé Zhao Makes History at the Oscars
Director Chloé Zhao made history at the 93rd Annual Academy Awards, becoming only the second woman to ever win Best Director for Nomadland (after Kathryn Bigelow won in 2010 for The Hurt Locker) and becoming the first woman of color to win the award. Zhao, raised in China, also became the second Asian to win ...
Oscar Nominees Mia Neal & Sergio Lopez-Rivera on the Hair & Makeup of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
This interview is part of our ongoing Oscar series. It was originally published on March 17. I got a chance to speak to hair department head Mia Neal and makeup artist Sergio Lopez-Rivera about their work in George C. Wolfe’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom before the Oscar nominations were announced. Tasked with, among other challenges, turning Oscar-nominee Viola Davis ...
Makeup Department Head Matiki Anoff on Capturing the 1920s Aesthetic in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Makeup department head Matiki Anoff had her work cut out for her with Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Director George C. Wolfe’s adaptation of August Wilson’s play revolves around Viola Davis’s hard-charging blues singer Ma, and the tensions that boil over between her and her ambitious horn player Levee (the late Chadwick Boseman), as well as the white management running ...
Oscar Nominees Mia Neal & Sergio Lopez-Rivera on the Hair & Makeup of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
I got a chance to speak to hair department head Mia Neal and makeup artist Sergio Lopez-Rivera about their work in George C. Wolfe’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom before the Oscar nominations were announced. Tasked with, among other challenges, turning Oscar-nominee Viola Davis into the real-life Ma was no easy feat, least of all because there wasn’t a ton ...
Branford Marsalis Gets the Blues For “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
“Uh one. Uh two. Uh you know what to do.” That’s how the band leader cues his musicians in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. In fact, the actors portraying sidemen to Viola Davis’ title character did not really know what to do, musically. But thanks to Branford Marsalis, the actors in director George C. Wolfe’s adaptation ...
Production Designer Mark Ricker on Creating the Sumptuous “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
During the course of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, based on the 1982 play by August Wilson, blues star Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) reveals the lengths it takes to counter the racial economic exploitation of the 1920s, while down in the practice room, her band members recount the horrors of Jim Crow. The film, directed by ...
Netflix Reveals First Look of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” With Chadwick Boseman in Final Role
These are likely the most bittersweet images you’ll see today. Or this week. Netflix has revealed the first look at Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which features Chadwick Boseman in his final role. Boseman stars alongside Viola Davis in director George C. Wolfe’s adaptation of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1982 play. The film focuses on racial tension in ...
