John Barbata, who played on the final Jefferson Airplane album and was successor band Jefferson Starship original drummer and also made hit records with The Turtles and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, has died. He was 79.
He died May 8 in Oklahoma. Barbata’s death was confirmed on the official Facebook pages of the Starship and Airplane, but neither provided details.
“We are saddened to hear of the passing of the great John Barbata, Jefferson Starship’s original drummer,” reads the Starship post. “Our thoughts go out to his family, friends and fans. Rock in peace, Johnny!”
Barbata played on the final Jefferson Airplane studio album, 1972’s Long John Silver, and them toured with the group. He is heard on the 1973 live disc Thirty Seconds over Winterland. When the Airplane rebranded as Jefferson Starship soon after, he was among the originals along with Airplane alums Grace Slick, Paul Kantner and others.
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He died May 8 in Oklahoma. Barbata’s death was confirmed on the official Facebook pages of the Starship and Airplane, but neither provided details.
“We are saddened to hear of the passing of the great John Barbata, Jefferson Starship’s original drummer,” reads the Starship post. “Our thoughts go out to his family, friends and fans. Rock in peace, Johnny!”
Barbata played on the final Jefferson Airplane studio album, 1972’s Long John Silver, and them toured with the group. He is heard on the 1973 live disc Thirty Seconds over Winterland. When the Airplane rebranded as Jefferson Starship soon after, he was among the originals along with Airplane alums Grace Slick, Paul Kantner and others.
Back...
- 5/14/2024
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Cord Jefferson’s “American Fiction” won outstanding film adaptation at the 36th annual USC Libraries Script Awards on Saturday, while Apple TV+’s “Slow Horses” won in the episodic series category for the second year in a row.
Jefferson and Percival Everett accepted the award for “American Fiction.” In his speech, Jefferson recalled his experience reading Everett’s novel “Erasure” in 2020, which he went on to adapt into “American Fiction.”
“It felt like I was reading a book written specifically for me. It felt like I understood what was going on in these characters in the story on a molecular level,” he said. “It felt like somebody crawled into my brain and put it into words on a page. It felt like the book was electrified as I was holding it.”
Jefferson then reached out to Everett about adapting the novel. After a half-hour conversation, Everett agreed to give Jefferson...
Jefferson and Percival Everett accepted the award for “American Fiction.” In his speech, Jefferson recalled his experience reading Everett’s novel “Erasure” in 2020, which he went on to adapt into “American Fiction.”
“It felt like I was reading a book written specifically for me. It felt like I understood what was going on in these characters in the story on a molecular level,” he said. “It felt like somebody crawled into my brain and put it into words on a page. It felt like the book was electrified as I was holding it.”
Jefferson then reached out to Everett about adapting the novel. After a half-hour conversation, Everett agreed to give Jefferson...
- 3/3/2024
- by Caroline Brew
- Variety Film + TV
As the Oscars draw closer, more and more category winners seem to be locking into place. One of those categories that took another step to being pretty much over is Adapted Screenplay. “American Fiction’s” Cord Jefferson has taken the BAFTA Award, the Independent Spirit Award, and, tonight, won the prestigious USC Scripter Award for Film alongside the original novel’s author, Percival Everett.
Read More: “Barbie,” “American Fiction” and “Star Trek: Picard” earn 2024 WGA Awards nominations
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Oh, and Jefferson also has a WGA Award nomination but due to the strike last year, those honors won’t be handed out until over a month after the Oscars.
Continue reading ‘American Fiction’ & ‘Slow Horses’ Take 2024 USC Scripter Awards at The Playlist.
Read More: “Barbie,” “American Fiction” and “Star Trek: Picard” earn 2024 WGA Awards nominations
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Oh, and Jefferson also has a WGA Award nomination but due to the strike last year, those honors won’t be handed out until over a month after the Oscars.
Continue reading ‘American Fiction’ & ‘Slow Horses’ Take 2024 USC Scripter Awards at The Playlist.
- 3/3/2024
- by Gregory Ellwood
- The Playlist
The USC Libraries announced the winners for the 36th annual USC Libraries Scripter Award, which honors the year’s best film and television adaptations, as well as the works on which they are based. This group of academics, industry professionals, and critics (for which I vote) is often predictive of the Adapted Screenplay Oscar race.
For the second year in a row, “Slow Horses” took home the prize for episodic series; Cord Jefferson won the 2024 award for film adaptation; both he and the author of the novel he adapted, Percival Everett, were in attendance. Jefferson thanked Everett for trusting him with his 2001 novel, which he felt was written just for him. “He has managed to mine my novel for the material he needed to make this film,” said Everett, who teaches at USC. “And then I sat back and did nothing. So good job. Thank you.”
“I wouldn’t be here without without him,...
For the second year in a row, “Slow Horses” took home the prize for episodic series; Cord Jefferson won the 2024 award for film adaptation; both he and the author of the novel he adapted, Percival Everett, were in attendance. Jefferson thanked Everett for trusting him with his 2001 novel, which he felt was written just for him. “He has managed to mine my novel for the material he needed to make this film,” said Everett, who teaches at USC. “And then I sat back and did nothing. So good job. Thank you.”
“I wouldn’t be here without without him,...
- 3/3/2024
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
The 36th annual USC Libraries Scripter Awards on Saturday named Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction its outstanding film adaptations, giving the Oscar-nominated script a boost leading into next weekend’s Academy Awards.
Apple TV+’s Slow Horses won in the episodic series category for a second year in a row during the ceremony tonight at the University of Southern California’s Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library.
The Scripters honor writers of the year’s most accomplished film and episodic TV series adaptations, as well as the writers of the works on which they are based.
American Fiction, written by Jefferson based on the novel Percival Everett’s novel Erasure, was joined on tonight’s finalist list by two other Oscar nominees, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and Tony McNamara’s Poor Things. Also nominated tonight were Ava DuVernay’s Origin and Martin Scorsese and Eric Roth’s Killers of the Flower Moon.
Apple TV+’s Slow Horses won in the episodic series category for a second year in a row during the ceremony tonight at the University of Southern California’s Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library.
The Scripters honor writers of the year’s most accomplished film and episodic TV series adaptations, as well as the writers of the works on which they are based.
American Fiction, written by Jefferson based on the novel Percival Everett’s novel Erasure, was joined on tonight’s finalist list by two other Oscar nominees, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and Tony McNamara’s Poor Things. Also nominated tonight were Ava DuVernay’s Origin and Martin Scorsese and Eric Roth’s Killers of the Flower Moon.
- 3/3/2024
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Past Lives Photo: Courtesy of San Sebastian Film Festival Celine Song's Past Lives was the big winner at this year's Independent Spirit Awards. Her moving indie drama, which checks in with a South Korean emigre (Greta Lee) to North America at 12-yearly intervals and charts her reconnection with her first love (Teo Yoo), took home the prizes for Best Film and Best Director.
Jeffrey Wright won Best Lead Performance for his satire for his performance as a jaded English professor in Cord Jefferson's satire American Fiction, which also saw Jefferson pick up the Best Screenplay award, while Da’Vine Joy Randolph won the Best Supporting Performance gong for her role as a grieving school cook in Alexander Payne's comedy drama The Holdovers. Payne's film picked up a trio of awards, in total, also snagging Best Cinematography and Best Breakthrough Performance.
Justine Triet’s Anatomy Of A Fall continued its strong awards run,...
Jeffrey Wright won Best Lead Performance for his satire for his performance as a jaded English professor in Cord Jefferson's satire American Fiction, which also saw Jefferson pick up the Best Screenplay award, while Da’Vine Joy Randolph won the Best Supporting Performance gong for her role as a grieving school cook in Alexander Payne's comedy drama The Holdovers. Payne's film picked up a trio of awards, in total, also snagging Best Cinematography and Best Breakthrough Performance.
Justine Triet’s Anatomy Of A Fall continued its strong awards run,...
- 2/26/2024
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Greta Lee and Teo Yoo in ‘Past Lives’ (Photo Credit: Jon Pack / Courtesy of A24)
Past Lives took home top film honors at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards, held on February 25th in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica. The film also earned Celine Song the Best Director award, with American Fiction‘s Cord Jefferson and May December‘s Samy Burch earning screenplay honors.
On the television side, The Last of Us collected two awards: Nick Offerman for Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series and Keivonn Montreal Woodard for Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series. Beef also netted two wins, with Ali Wong awarded Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series and the show earning the Best New Scripted Series award.
2024 Film Independent Spirit Award Nominations
Best Feature (Award given to the producer.)
All of Us Strangers
Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin,...
Past Lives took home top film honors at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards, held on February 25th in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica. The film also earned Celine Song the Best Director award, with American Fiction‘s Cord Jefferson and May December‘s Samy Burch earning screenplay honors.
On the television side, The Last of Us collected two awards: Nick Offerman for Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series and Keivonn Montreal Woodard for Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series. Beef also netted two wins, with Ali Wong awarded Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series and the show earning the Best New Scripted Series award.
2024 Film Independent Spirit Award Nominations
Best Feature (Award given to the producer.)
All of Us Strangers
Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin,...
- 2/26/2024
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Jeffrey Wright was in bed in Los Angeles when he got a text from producer Ben LeClair that some good news was coming his way. He woke up to find out that his new film “American Fiction,” adapted by TV writer-turned-director Cord Jefferson from the 2001 Percival Everett novel “Erasure,” had won the coveted People’s Choice Award at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. That award almost always guarantees a Best Picture Oscar nomination.
And, sure enough, the dramedy, which follows the story of Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, an academic author on the margins who writes a rebellious piece of satire that becomes a runaway bestseller, is making its way in this year’s Oscar race. Since TIFF, it’s picked up more audience awards at the Mill Valley and Middleburg Film Festivals, plus Gotham and Indie Spirit nominations, an IndieWire Honor for Jefferson and a Palm Springs Achievement Award for Wright.
And, sure enough, the dramedy, which follows the story of Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, an academic author on the margins who writes a rebellious piece of satire that becomes a runaway bestseller, is making its way in this year’s Oscar race. Since TIFF, it’s picked up more audience awards at the Mill Valley and Middleburg Film Festivals, plus Gotham and Indie Spirit nominations, an IndieWire Honor for Jefferson and a Palm Springs Achievement Award for Wright.
- 12/7/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
The creatives behind this year’s awards contenders convened for a series of conversations about their craft during Variety FYC Fest on Dec. 6 in Los Angeles.
Variety‘s senior awards editor Clayton Davis, senior artisans editor Jazz Tangcay and senior entertainment and media writer Matt Donnelly moderated several panels throughout the event. From the environmental documentaries “Common Ground” and “The Issue With Tissue: A Boreal Love Story,” to Marvel’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” a diverse array of filmmakers behind this year’s movies pulled back the curtain on their process.
Cord Jefferson Panel “American Fiction” Spotlight
“American Fiction” director and writer Cord Jefferson sat down for a one-on-one interview with Variety‘s Davis.
Jefferson revealed that after stumbling upon a review of Percival Everett’s “Erasure,” he immediately picked up the novel that would later inspire his screenplay. “It resonated with me deeper than any piece of art had ever resonated with me,...
Variety‘s senior awards editor Clayton Davis, senior artisans editor Jazz Tangcay and senior entertainment and media writer Matt Donnelly moderated several panels throughout the event. From the environmental documentaries “Common Ground” and “The Issue With Tissue: A Boreal Love Story,” to Marvel’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” a diverse array of filmmakers behind this year’s movies pulled back the curtain on their process.
Cord Jefferson Panel “American Fiction” Spotlight
“American Fiction” director and writer Cord Jefferson sat down for a one-on-one interview with Variety‘s Davis.
Jefferson revealed that after stumbling upon a review of Percival Everett’s “Erasure,” he immediately picked up the novel that would later inspire his screenplay. “It resonated with me deeper than any piece of art had ever resonated with me,...
- 12/7/2023
- by Jaden Thompson, Valerie Wu and Meredith Woerner
- Variety Film + TV
If mainstream American comedy feels like it’s on the ropes at the moment, American satire certainly seems to be in a permanent flatline. It’s not so much that audiences aren’t primed for a fight. Rather, the question is how far do you have to push into absurdity before it registers as an exaggeration in our particular cultural moment? And, even if a modern-day Jonathan Swift managed to score a direct hit on the level of A Modest Proposal, would it not be instantaneously met with a chorus of quote tweets pointing out that it’s actually a moral failing to even entertain the idea of cooking and consuming infants for dinner as a joke?
You wouldn’t assume that an audience award winner at the Toronto International Film Festival would buck this trend, and you’d be right. Writer-director Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction doesn’t come even close.
You wouldn’t assume that an audience award winner at the Toronto International Film Festival would buck this trend, and you’d be right. Writer-director Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction doesn’t come even close.
- 12/3/2023
- by Eric Henderson
- Slant Magazine
American Fiction, Cord Jefferson’s drama starring Jeffrey Wright, Sterling K. Brown and Tracee Ellis Ross has officially moved ahead in the Best Picture race, winning the People’s Choice Award at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.
In a statement, Jefferson said, “My gratitude towards everyone who watched American Fiction, discussed it afterwards among friends and colleagues is endless. The film is now in your hands and I’m so grateful that it was embraced in this way.” The film edged out runners-up The Holdovers (directed by Alexander Payne) and Hayao Miyazaki’s on-again-off-again “final” film The Boy and the Heron.
American Fiction is in some fantastic company by winning the People’s Choice Award at TIFF. Check out the last 10 winners: The Fabelmans, Belfast, Nomadland, Jojo Rabbit, Green Book, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, La La Land, Room, The Imitation Game, and 12 Years a Slave. That...
In a statement, Jefferson said, “My gratitude towards everyone who watched American Fiction, discussed it afterwards among friends and colleagues is endless. The film is now in your hands and I’m so grateful that it was embraced in this way.” The film edged out runners-up The Holdovers (directed by Alexander Payne) and Hayao Miyazaki’s on-again-off-again “final” film The Boy and the Heron.
American Fiction is in some fantastic company by winning the People’s Choice Award at TIFF. Check out the last 10 winners: The Fabelmans, Belfast, Nomadland, Jojo Rabbit, Green Book, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, La La Land, Room, The Imitation Game, and 12 Years a Slave. That...
- 9/17/2023
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
“American Fiction,” Cord Jefferson’s blistering satire of race and media, captured the Toronto International Film Festival’s people’s choice award, bolstering its Oscars chances.
TIFF’s people’s choice award is considered to be among the best predictors of eventual awards success, though the 2023 festival hosted a weaker lineup than most years due to the writers and actors strikes that saw some prominent contenders skip a Canadian premiere. In the past, winners of the prize such as “Green Book,” “12 Years a Slave” and “Nomadland” went on to be named best picture at the Academy Awards. Other recipients, including “Belfast,” “La La Land,” “Jojo Rabbit,” and 2022’s winner, “The Fabelmans,” were all best picture nominees.
The people’s choice category was created in 1978. Seven recipients won best picture at the Oscars, with five of those victories coming in the past two decades.
Alexander Payne’s boarding school dramedy...
TIFF’s people’s choice award is considered to be among the best predictors of eventual awards success, though the 2023 festival hosted a weaker lineup than most years due to the writers and actors strikes that saw some prominent contenders skip a Canadian premiere. In the past, winners of the prize such as “Green Book,” “12 Years a Slave” and “Nomadland” went on to be named best picture at the Academy Awards. Other recipients, including “Belfast,” “La La Land,” “Jojo Rabbit,” and 2022’s winner, “The Fabelmans,” were all best picture nominees.
The people’s choice category was created in 1978. Seven recipients won best picture at the Oscars, with five of those victories coming in the past two decades.
Alexander Payne’s boarding school dramedy...
- 9/17/2023
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
The 48th Toronto International Film Festival, from which I just returned, technically runs through Sunday, but by this point, virtually every film in the lineup has screened at least once. So, I thought I’d seize this opportunity to share some impressions of this year’s fest and the awards hopefuls that played there and also offer some informed speculation about which film could pick up some wind behind its award season sails on Sunday when the fest announces the winner of its TIFF Audience Award.
What was the vibe at this year’s fest?
Given the ongoing strikes of actors and writers, red carpets and pre-screening introductions were far less star-studded than in other years. My concern was that this — and the fact that very few of the award season’s most highly anticipated films had elected to premiere at TIFF — could really depress attendance. That, in turn, might...
What was the vibe at this year’s fest?
Given the ongoing strikes of actors and writers, red carpets and pre-screening introductions were far less star-studded than in other years. My concern was that this — and the fact that very few of the award season’s most highly anticipated films had elected to premiere at TIFF — could really depress attendance. That, in turn, might...
- 9/16/2023
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
What will the people choose?
In its final stretch, on Sunday, the Toronto International Film Festival will announce the film chosen by the public for the People’s Choice Award of its 48th edition. After “Poor Things” took home the Golden Lion at Venice, we look to the Canadian awards season staple to boost a film in the hunt for best picture.
The top prize has become one of the most vital predictors of awards season success. In past years, best picture winners such as Peter Farrelly’s “Green Book” (2018) and Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland” (2020) made a winning stop at TIFF before getting Oscar glory. Other TIFF Audience Award recipients such as “The Fabelmans” (2022), “Belfast” (2021), “Jojo Rabbit” (2019), “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” (2017) and “La La Land” (2016) are among the movies that went on to receive noms.
So, which movies are buzzing with support? The movie that wins at TIFF is...
In its final stretch, on Sunday, the Toronto International Film Festival will announce the film chosen by the public for the People’s Choice Award of its 48th edition. After “Poor Things” took home the Golden Lion at Venice, we look to the Canadian awards season staple to boost a film in the hunt for best picture.
The top prize has become one of the most vital predictors of awards season success. In past years, best picture winners such as Peter Farrelly’s “Green Book” (2018) and Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland” (2020) made a winning stop at TIFF before getting Oscar glory. Other TIFF Audience Award recipients such as “The Fabelmans” (2022), “Belfast” (2021), “Jojo Rabbit” (2019), “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” (2017) and “La La Land” (2016) are among the movies that went on to receive noms.
So, which movies are buzzing with support? The movie that wins at TIFF is...
- 9/14/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Nearly every mainstream animated feature (and just about every comic-book movie too) sets a tone and visual design that the audience plugs into; the movie, bold and shiny and clever as it may be, won’t deviate much from that. But the images in “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” have an intoxicating unpredictability. The film makes you feel like you’re dropping through the floors of a modern art museum on acid. Yet there’s a thrilling moment-to-moment logic to it all. The madly eclectic images express something — an eyeball-tickling explosion of quantum physics, or a subliminal nod to some comic-book style from decades ago that’s so retro it’s new, not to mention bedazzling. This feels like it could have been the first movie designed to earn a thumbs up from Andy Warhol and Stephen Hawking.
Or maybe the second, since “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” was like that too.
Or maybe the second, since “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” was like that too.
- 5/31/2023
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
We’ve got questions, and you’ve (maybe) got answers! With another week of TV gone by, we’re lobbing queries left and right about shows including Scorpion, Lucifer, Riverdale and Scandal!
1 | Why did NBC schedule the return of the family-friendly Timeless for Sundays at 10 pm, when it is clearly an 8 o’clock show?
More from TVLineAnother Law & Order: Organized Crime Fatality?! This Job Should Come With a Surgeon General's WarningIs Taylor Swift More Prolific Than Tyler Perry? Was Survivor Tribal One for the Books? John Wick Cameo on FBI? Did Svu Trial Satisfy? More TV Qs!Is New Ghosts Lingo Too Ribald?...
1 | Why did NBC schedule the return of the family-friendly Timeless for Sundays at 10 pm, when it is clearly an 8 o’clock show?
More from TVLineAnother Law & Order: Organized Crime Fatality?! This Job Should Come With a Surgeon General's WarningIs Taylor Swift More Prolific Than Tyler Perry? Was Survivor Tribal One for the Books? John Wick Cameo on FBI? Did Svu Trial Satisfy? More TV Qs!Is New Ghosts Lingo Too Ribald?...
- 1/26/2018
- by Vlada Gelman, Matt Webb Mitovich, Michael Ausiello, Kimberly Roots, Andy Swift, Dave Nemetz, Ryan Schwartz, Rebecca Iannucci and Charlie Mason
- TVLine.com
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