The Academy Updates Diverse Oscar Presenters List

By Anne Thompson | Thompson on Hollywood, February 12, 2016

If the Academy didn’t diversify its nominees this year, producers Reginald Hudlin and David Hill have assembled a wide range of presenters, from Abraham Attah to Dev Patel.

Michael B. Jordan

Overlooked Oscar nominees Daisy Ridley (“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”), Michael B. Jordan (“Creed”) and Abraham Attah (“Beasts of No Nation” join the roster of 2016 Oscar presenters.

Oscars show producers David Hill and Reginald Hudlin revealed Friday a third slate of presenters for the 88th Oscars telecast. The Oscars, hosted by Chris Rock, will air live on Sunday, February 28, on ABC.

The presenters include Oscar winners Patricia Arquette (“Boyhood”), Louis Gossett, Jr. (“An Officer and a Gentleman”), Common (“Selma”), and Russell Crowe (“Gladiator”) as well as current nominees Eddie Redmayne, Cate Blanchett and Rachel McAdams. Comedians Louis C.K. and Sarah Silverman join TV star Sofia Vergara as well as Emily Blunt, Chris Evans, Jennifer Garner and Dev Patel.

Previously announced presenters and performers include:
Steve Carell
Priyanka Chopra
Benicio del Toro
Tina Fey
Whoopi Goldberg
Ryan Gosling
Kevin Hart
Quincy Jones
Lady Gaga
Byung-hun Lee
Jared Leto
Julianne Moore
Olivia Munn
Margot Robbie
Jason Segel
Andy Serkis
J.K. Simmons
Sam Smith
Charlize Theron
Jacob Tremblay
Kerry Washington
The Weeknd
Pharrell Williams
Reese Witherspoon

The 88th Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 28, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

Cary Fukunaga, Abraham Attah and Idris Elba

My McDonald’s Spot: Directed By And Starring Me!

McDonald’s All Day Breakfast TV Spot, ‘The Intern’ Feat. Reginald Hudlin

Thanks to the folks at Burrell Advertising who came up with the idea and my team at Xenon who put together an awesome crew!

I’m Producing The NAACP Image Awards Live This Friday On TV One

Image Awards to Feature A Roster of Black Hollywood’s Biggest Names

by EurPublisher

*An all-star lineup of talent is confirmed to attend and/or present at the 47th NAACP Image Awards and Terrence Jenkins and Tracey Edmonds are set to co-host the LIVE red carpet pre-show, it was announced today by Reginald Hudlin and Phil Gurin, the executive producers of the telecast.

The 47th NAACP Image Awards will broadcast LIVE on February 5 on TV One from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium from 9-11p.m. ET (PT tape-delayed) and the one-hour pre-show will air LIVE from the red carpet from 8-9 p.m. ET (PT tape-delayed).

Hosted by Anthony Anderson, talent scheduled to attend includes Will Smith, Viola Davis, Gabrielle Union, Gina Rodriguez, Kerry Washington, Morris Chestnut, Ice Cube, LL Cool J, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tika Sumpter, Keegan-Michael Key, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Chadwick Boseman, Shameik Moore, Abraham Attah, Michael B. Jordan, Tracee Ellis Ross, Loretta Devine, Shonda Rhimes, Omari Hardwick, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Sanaa Lathan, RonReaco Lee, Keke Palmer, Teyonah Parris, Michael Ealy, Tom Joyner, LeToya Luckett, Ken Jeong, F. Gary Gray and more. Also expected are cast members from “Empire” – Terrence Howard, Taraji P. Henson, Jussie Smollett, Bryshere Gray, Grace Gealy, Trai Byers, Serayah, Gabourey Sidibe, Ta’Rhonda Jones, Kaitlin Doubleday, Lee Daniels and Danny Strong.
In addition, the NAACP “Entertainer of the Year” will be revealed. This special honor is bestowed upon an individual within the entertainment industry who has achieved notable success in multiple projects and mediums.

As previously announced, Brittany “Bree” Newsome; Justice League NYC; Concerned Student 1950 Collective at the University of Missouri, Columbia; The University of Mississippi NAACP College Chapter; Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III; Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley; Rev. Dr. Jamal Harrison Bryant, and Jussie Smollett will receive the NAACP “Chairman’s Award” and John Legend will receive the NAACP “President’s Award.”

Reginald Hudlin and Phil Gurin are the Executive Producers, Co-Executive Producers are Kimmie H. Kim and Byron Phillips, Tony McCuin is the Director and Robin Reinhardt is the Talent Producer.
The NAACP Image Awards celebrates the accomplishment of people of color in the fields of television, music, literature and film and also honors individuals or groups who promote social justice through creative endeavors. Winners were voted upon by NAACP members and will be announced when the envelopes are opened LIVE on stage during the two-hour star-studded TV One telecast on February 5.

The 47th NAACP Image Awards is sponsored by AMC, AT&T, Bank of America, Comcast NBCUniversal, Chrysler/UAW, FedEx, Ford Motor Company, Hyundai Motor America, The Walt Disney Company, and Wells Fargo.

For all information and latest news, please visit the official NAACP Image Awards website at naacpimageawards.net.

I’m Producing The 88Th Oscars On February 28th

Oscars: Quincy Jones, Kerry Washington Added as Presenters

by Gregg Kilday, The Hollywood Reporter

Quincy Jones (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Recent winners Julianne Moore, Jared Leto and J.K. Simmons are also on tap.

The lineup of presenters who will appear at the 88th Oscars is shaping up as an international, multi-ethnic group of performers.

The second slate of presenters, unveiled Monday, includes such black artists as Quincy Jones and Kerry Washington, along with the India-born Priyanka Chopra, who’s currently starring in ABC’s Quantico, and Korean actor Byung-hun Lee, who will be seen in the upcoming Magnificent Seven.

Also set to take part in the telecast are Steve Carell, Jared Leto, Julianne Moore, Olivia Munn, Margot Robbie, Jason Segel and Andy Serkis.

In the wake of the #OscarsSoWhite controversy, Spike Lee, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith all said they would not attend this year’s awards, leading some to call for a boycott of the ceremonies, which are to be hosted by Chris Rock.

While Jones, who served as musical director of the 1971 Oscar ceremonies and received the Academy’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1995, did not directly address the possibility of an Oscar boycott, he said on Jan. 20 during an appearance at the annual NATPE convention in Miami Beach: “There are two ways to do it. You can boycott it or you can fix it.”

Other performers of color that the Academy previously announced will take part in the ceremonies include Whoopi Goldberg, Kevin Hart, Benicio del Toro, The Weeknd and Pharrell Williams.