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Da’Vine Joy Randolph is now an Oscar winner.

By Sunday night, this result was mostly a foregone conclusion, as she had already swept best supporting actress at the BAFTA, Critics Choice, Independent Spirit, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards this season for her performance in Alexander Payne’s throwback dramedy The Holdovers. Randolph played cafeteria manager Mary, one of the trio of protagonists left at the boarding school over holiday break, grieving the death of her son.

“Your performance is tribute to those who have helped others heal in spite of their own pain,” said presenter Lupita Nyong’o, the past Oscar winner selected to introduce Randolph.

Randolph is now the first of nine Oscar-nominated performers directed by Payne to go all the way. (The second could be Paul Giamatti, whose best actor category is still to be announced as of press time.)

The Philadelphia native, who studied classical vocal...

Dominic Sessa stars as Angus Tully and Paul Giamatti as Paul Hunham in director Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2023 Focus Features LLC

From acclaimed director Alexander Payne, The Holdovers follows a curmudgeonly instructor (Paul Giamatti) at a New England prep school who is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker (newcomer Dominic Sessa) — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam (Da’Vine Joy Randolph).

https://www.focusfeatures.com/the-holdovers

From this first trailer, this film looks delightful, the cast spot-on and the story will pull at your heart-strings.

Da’Vine Joy Randolph is best known for her work in Dolemite Is My Name (2019) as Lady Reed and The United States vs. Billie Holiday...

Hey film fans, since traveling is still a bit iffy (some health issues) and pricey how about a cinematic getaway to a faraway exotic island? Not tempting enough? Well, how about hanging out with a trio of your favorite movie stars (and I do mean stars…real “A-listers”)? Indeed this marks the big-screen return of a favorite leading lady who has been absent for four long years. And she shares scenes with not one, but two Hollywood “hunks”. Yes, romance, comedy (with a touch of satire), and a bit of danger are on the itinerary when you grab a (theatre) ticket and the multiplex whisks you away to The Lost City.

Things are looking steamy and a touch scary for the duo at the heart of the story when the Paramount logo fades away. Oops, it’s all in the head of popular romance novelist Loretta Sage (Sandra Bullock) as...

Exclusive: The Craig Brewer-directed Dolemite Is My Name stars Eddie Murphy as Rudy Ray Moore, the unsung filmmaking hero who would eventually help define the Blaxploitation era of cinema.

Written by Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski, Dolemite is essentially a story about the American Dream and a sense of community for those in the margins in Hollywood. Moore was a comedian who had more failures than successes until he assumed the persona of Dolemite. Many saw the alter ego as crude, and his blatantly explicit album covers and songs were too racy for radio, so they began selling bootlegs of his albums.

Wanting to elevate and expand the character, Moore went to socially minded playwright Jerry Jones (played in the film by Keegan-Michael Key) to make a film, helped by his new comedic partner in crime Lady Reed (Da’Vine Joy Randolph...

In the Netflix film, Dolemite Is My Name, actress Da’Vine Joy Randolph steps into the role of Lady Reed, a comedian, actress and a frequent collaborator of the comedy legend Rudy Ray Moore who made some of the most memorable cult classic Dolemite films from the ’70s. Everyone knew about Moore but as for Lady Reed, there has been little to no record of the mark that she left on the industry as a woman of color. Randolph visited the New Hollywood Podcast to talk about why it was important to bring Lady Reed’s narrative to the forefront and how it is crucial to put shine on narratives — primarily of people from marginalized communities — that are seldom overlooked.

A classically trained vocalist who also studied musical theater before she stepped into the world of television and film, Randolph has a long resume of stage productions, films and TV...

Da’Vine Joy Randolph did not know that she would be acting opposite Eddie Murphy in “Dolemite Is My Name” until her final audition for the film. At that point, she gave herself a time limit to fangirl out before ultimately nabbing the role.

“I said to myself, ‘This is what we’re going to do: You’ve got two hours to take in that it is Eddie Murphy,’” Randolph tells Variety.

Randolph plays Lady Reed to Murphy’s Rudy Ray Moore in the biopic, now streaming on Netflix. But while there’s plenty to draw from the real-life Moore — the comedian made famous for his blaxploitation films in the 1970s — Randolph had a harder time when researching Reed.

“I was shocked and really disheartened to find that there was little to nothing on her,” says Randolph, adding that she feels a sense of responsibility in portraying the so-called “godmother...

Rudy Ray Moore was “breezy and funny” in his standup comedy, Variety declared in a 1970 review at the California Sahara nightclub in South Central L.A. Five years later, a Variety film critic saw Moore’s “Dolemite” and sighed “Dull-emite is a more apt title.”

Netflix’s “Dolemite Is My Name” covers Moore’s career in those years, and the film is a total winner, yet a mass of contradictions.

First, the dialogue features a steady stream of raunch and vulgarities but audiences describe the film as sweet. Second, “For a movie that took 15 years to make, this one happened very fast,” says Larry Karaszewski, who wrote the socko script with Scott Alexander.

Third, while Netflix’s film is set in the 1970s, it’s really about today. Moore battled industry indifference and racism, and ended up starring in films, starting with the 1975 “Dolemite.” Alexander adds that the movie is...

Why is this film about a raunchy standup comedian being touted as Eddie Murphy's comeback? An outstanding comic talent such as he doesn't go away. And even if we are looking at dates, Murphy was in much finer form in his last release "Mr Church", where he brought to great use his penchant for wry social comment into play.

There is more foreplay in Murphy's portrayal of the foulmouthed stand-up comedian Rudy Ray More (a.k.a Dolemite) than any actual swipes at salaciousness. Sure, there is a lot of abusive language and cusswords in "Dolemite", Eddie Murphy's stand-up act that shocked America in the 1970s. But nothing that they back then, and we now, can't handle.

We've seen worse.

What really provides this film about a rebel with a clause with its share of heft is the theme of segregation and and racial discrimination, both placed on their...

You will hear a lot in the coming days about Eddie Murphy’s return to form performance in Dolemite Is My Name. About how hilarious he is as Blaxploitation entrepreneur and star Rudy Ray Moore. A return to the Eddie Murphy of Raw, fans will exclaim. Murphy is funny as hell in this film, undeniably, but what should not be overlooked is that he is also refreshingly real. And that has been a long time coming.

Frustrated entertainer and record shop deputy manager Rudy Ray Moore (Eddie Murphy) despairs of ever finding fame. His aunt’s flat is a storage facility for the towering piles of self-produced LPs the ageing wannabe has churned out. Vinyl which even the store’s resident DJ (Snoop Dogg) rejects for their cheesiness and lack of cool. The closest Rudy has come to the bigtime is a poorly received Mc set in a local club...

Like the aroma of any home-cooked favorite wafting from a kitchen long unused, watching Eddie Murphy’s beautifully funny and exuberant performance in “Dolemite Is My Name” playing bootleg-to-blaxploitation entertainer Rudy Ray Moore — the reclusive megastar’s first worthy comedy lead in ages — amounts to a longing well and truly satisfied.

Murphy’s resplendent turn anchors a true if predictably told story of showbiz aspirations and can-do spirit, but in the great whoosh of majestically profane, beaming energy he provides from beginning to end, it’s clear that his brand of electrifying, in-the-moment comedy has sorely been missed.

The fit of This Legend playing That Legend (one comedy giant cosplaying his forebear) is so perfect that it lifts director Craig Brewer’s rudimentary handling of Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski’s affectionately raucous if predictable script into a joyful realm. (It’s a reminder of how great comedy stars always plugged...

Here’s the latest flick in the multiplex’s recent love affair with show biz of the last century. Well, really the last third of it. Sure there are lots of flicks set in the present day, but maybe filmmakers are more than a tad nostalgic for what they believe was a simpler time. At least the execs want to go back to those pre-internet days when they didn’t have to sweat about the newest releases “beaming’ into homes just as they hit the theatres. And that gives this new flick an ironic twist since it comes from the online streaming giant Netflix. Plus it fits right into the slot between two big movies of the past four months. Tarantino’s Tinseltown fantasy Once Upon A Time …In Hollywood was set in 1969, and the recent hit Joker takes place in 1981(established toward its big finale). So here comes the...

For Eddie Murphy, the last decade or so has been a barren one in terms of a cinematic output. On the one hand, that has robbed us of one of our greatest comedic actors. On the other, it has managed to make his “return” here with Dolemite Is My Name into a real event. Luckily, Murphy’s presence is far from the only thing to praise about this movie. Netflix has a real crowdpleaser and potential awards player on their hands here. For nearly two hours, this flick is largely a delight. Most of you will see it on the streaming service in a few weeks, but today it hits a handful of theaters and truly deserves to be seen in that manner. The film is a biopic of Rudy Ray Moore (Murphy), who too few people are aware of. It’s not a stretch to say that he’s...

Variety has announced its 10 Actors to Watch for 2019, an honor the publication has bestowed since 1998.

Past honorees include many future Oscar winners and nominees, such as Mahershala Ali, Timothée Chalamet, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Brie Larson, Lupita Nyong’o and Melissa Leo.

This year’s honorees will be feted in the Oct. 27 issue of Variety as well as at a reception Nov. 3 at the Resort at Pelican Hill in conjunction with Visit Newport Beach and the Newport Beach Film Festival. In addition to the 10 Actors to Watch, the Newport Beach Film Festival will also bestow industry honors.

Said Steven Gaydos, Variety vice president, executive editor: “One of the most thrilling aspects of the traditional fall film awards season is the opportunity to showcase our discovery of new acting talents. Since Variety‘s 10 Actors to Watch began nearly a quarter-century ago, we’ve prided ourselves on our ability to take stock...

Dolemite Is My Name!

Stung by a string of showbiz failures, floundering comedian Rudy Ray Moore (Academy Award nominee Eddie Murphy) has an epiphany that turns him into a word-of-mouth sensation: step onstage as someone else. Borrowing from the street mythology of 1970s Los Angeles, Moore assumes the persona of Dolemite, a pimp with a cane and an arsenal of obscene fables. However, his ambitions exceed selling bootleg records deemed too racy for mainstream radio stations to play.

Moore convinces a social justice-minded dramatist (Keegan-Michael Key) to write his alter ego a film, incorporating kung fu, car chases, and Lady Reed (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), an ex-backup singer who becomes his unexpected comedic foil. Despite clashing with his pretentious director, D’Urville Martin (Wesley Snipes), and countless production hurdles at their studio in the dilapidated Dunbar Hotel, Moore’s Dolemite becomes a runaway box office smash and a defining movie of the Blaxploitation era.

Stung by a string of showbiz failures, floundering comedian Rudy Ray Moore (Academy Award nominee Eddie Murphy) has an epiphany that turns him into a word-of-mouth sensation: step onstage as someone else. Borrowing from the street mythology of 1970s Los Angeles, Moore assumes the persona of Dolemite, a pimp with a cane and an arsenal of obscene fables. However, his ambitions exceed selling bootleg records deemed too racy for mainstream radio stations to play. Moore convinces a social justice-minded dramatist (Keegan-Michael Key) to write his alter ego a film, incorporating kung fu, car chases, and Lady Reed (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), an ex-backup singer who becomes his unexpected comedic foil. Despite clashing with his pretentious director, D’Urville Martin (Wesley Snipes), and countless production hurdles at their studio in the dilapidated Dunbar Hotel, Moore’s Dolemite becomes a runaway box office smash and a defining movie of the Blaxploitation era.

While Netflix has some fairly high-profile releases this fall, including new films from Martin Scorsese, Noah Baumbach, Steven Soderbergh, and David Michôd, they will also be bringing much more to festivals, followed by a release on their streaming service. One title that brings anticipation is Dolemite Is My Name, from Hustle & Flow and Black Snake Moan director Craig Brewer, which is premiering at Tiff and the trailer for which has now arrived.

Led by Eddie Murphy, a comedian who attempts a comeback by taking the persona of the much more fly Dolemite. Featuring the epic cast of Keegan-Michael Key, Mike Epps, Craig Robinson, Tituss Burgess, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Kodi Smit-Mcphee, Snoop Dogg, Ron Cephas Jones, Barry Shabaka Henley, Tip ‘Ti’ Harris, Luenell, Tasha Smith, and Wesley Snipes, see the first trailer and poster below.



Stung by a string of showbiz failures, floundering comedian Rudy Ray Moore (Academy Award...

Netflix has dropped the first trailer for Eddie Murphy’s new film, Dolemite is My Name, which is a biopic that will tell the story of the life of Rudy Ray Moore, “a comedy and rap pioneer who proved naysayers wrong when his hilarious, obscene, kung-fu fighting alter ego, Dolemite, became a 1970s Blaxploitation phenomenon.”

The movie looks fantastic, and it’s awesome to see Eddie Murphy in a great movie role again! It looks like he’s going to give a hell of a performance! He’s in the zone! I missed this Eddie Murphy!

The movie comes from director Craig Brewer, and it has an impressive supporting cast that includes Wesley Snipes, Keegan-Michael Key, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chris Rock, Craig Robinson, Tituss Burgess, Mike Epps, T.I., and Chelsea Gilson.

Here’s the synopsis that was released for the film:

Stung by a string of showbiz failures, floundering comedian Rudy...

Stars: Rudy Ray Moore, Carol Speed, D’Urville Martin, Melvin Van Peebles, Lady Reed et al. | Written by Frank R. Salteri, J. Robert Wagoner, Cliff Roquemore, Melvin Van Peebles et al. | Directed by Melvin Van Peebles, D’Urville Martin, J. Robert Wagoner, William A. Levey et al.

Following their success with 2015’s Straight Outta Compton, and the debut of some of their line-up on Blu-ray, Xenon Pictures are releasing a series of classic (a broad term) Blaxploitation movies on VOD this month.

We should begin with the film that started it all. Melvin Van Peebles writes, directs and stars in Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971), a film that seeks to confront and challenge from the moment you try to read the title aloud. When the first scene depicts a preadolescent boy having sex with a grown woman, you know Van Peebles isn’t messing about. “This film is dedicated to...

Stars: Rudy Ray Moore, D’Urville Martin, Lady Reed, John Kerry, Hy Pyke, Vainus Rackstraw, West Gale | Written by Jerry Jones | Directed by D’Urville Martin

Dolemite (Rudy Ray Moore, The Human Tornado) has spent a couple of years behind bars after being set up by rival pimp Willie Green ( D’Urville Martin, Black Caeser). His luck changes when his madam Queen Bee (Lady Reed, Disco Godfather) pays the prison warden a visit providing evidence of Dolemite’s innocence. With the warden now rightfully suspecting that Green and a few crooked cops including the hot-headed Mitchell (John Kerry, Black Dynamite) are behind Dolemite’s imprisonment, he organises an early release so that Dolemite can clear his name. Unfortunately however, it’s not all good news as Green is also responsible for killing Dolemite’s young nephew. With revenge well and truly on his mind, Dolemite instantly (well, after some back seat limo action at least.

Dolemite

• Release Date: Available Now on Blu-ray/DVD combo pack

• Written By: Jerry Jones, Rudy Ray Moore

• Directed By: D’Urville Martin

• Starring: Rudy Ray Moore, D’Urville Martin, Jerry Jones, Lady Reed

Dolemite is a flick stacked to the rafters with “shouldn’t”s. A man of Rudy Ray Moore’s build shouldn’t be able to pull down the insane amounts of trim he does. A man that knows so very precious little about martial arts (R.R. Moore again) shouldn’t be attempting those high kicking moves. These people that are about as far away from being actual actors (with a few exceptions) as my house is from Venus shouldn’t be reading reams of dialogue. Actually, this whole production shouldn’t be entertaining or even watchable, but holy hell is it ever!!

The long and short of the tale is this: (maybe) pimp and club owner...

Cinema Retro welcomes our latest columnist, Ernie Magnotta, who will turn his attention to under-rated cinematic gems and guilty pleasures!

By Ernie Magnotta

“If a movie makes you happy, for whatever reason, then it’s a good movie.”

—Big E

There are good movies and there are bad movies. There are also movies that some people say are so bad that they're good. I hear that all the time. I've heard it since I was a kid. I think what they actually mean is that they're not good in the way most people might normally watch and judge a film; Excellent writing, incredible acting, masterful direction, etc.

The way I see it, there's more than one way to enjoy a film. Every movie doesn't have to be a five-star masterpiece like Gone with the Wind. You do not have to judge a film the way you would judge a mainstream...