The Peabody Awards has revealed its 2024 winners, with Bluey, The Bear, The Last of Us and Fellow Travelers among the high-profile projects set to receive awards.
Other noteworthy winners among the 34 award recipients include Judy Blume Forever, 20 Days in Mariupol, All the Beauty and The Bloodshed, Bobi Wine: The People’s President, Dead Ringers, Jury Duty, Reality and Somebody Somewhere.
Last Week Tonight was also honored with its third Peabody award, while Reservation Dogs won its second Peabody.
Peabody is also honoring Star Trek with its Institutional Award and Witness with its first Global Impact Award, the organization announced Thursday.
The 84th annual Peabody Awards winners will be celebrated at a June 9 awards show in Los Angeles hosted by Kumail Nanjiani.
A full list of the 2024 Peabody Award winners, along with jurors’ comments about each selection and presented in alphabetical order by category, follows.
Arts
Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones...
Other noteworthy winners among the 34 award recipients include Judy Blume Forever, 20 Days in Mariupol, All the Beauty and The Bloodshed, Bobi Wine: The People’s President, Dead Ringers, Jury Duty, Reality and Somebody Somewhere.
Last Week Tonight was also honored with its third Peabody award, while Reservation Dogs won its second Peabody.
Peabody is also honoring Star Trek with its Institutional Award and Witness with its first Global Impact Award, the organization announced Thursday.
The 84th annual Peabody Awards winners will be celebrated at a June 9 awards show in Los Angeles hosted by Kumail Nanjiani.
A full list of the 2024 Peabody Award winners, along with jurors’ comments about each selection and presented in alphabetical order by category, follows.
Arts
Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones...
- 5/9/2024
- by Hilary Lewis
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The winners of the 84th Peabody Awards are out, and the list includes Emmy favorites The Bear, The Last of Us and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver along with other TV shows including the now-wrapped Reservation Dogs, kids toon sensation Bluey, breakout prank-umentary Jury Duty and the Oscar-winning Ukraine War documentary 20 Days in Mariupol.
Winners will be feted June 9 at the Beverly Wilshire in Los Angeles — its first in-person ceremony since 2019, hosted by Kumail Nanjiani. See the full list below; the 2024 nominees are here.
The beloved, enduring sci-fi franchise Star Trek is set for the 2024 Institutional Award, which recognizes institutions, organizations, series or programs for their body of work and their lasting impact on the media landscape and the public imagination.
Related: Peabody Adds More A-List TV Execs To Board Of Directors Posts; UTA’s David Kramer New West Coast Chair
Witness, the international rights group that assists...
Winners will be feted June 9 at the Beverly Wilshire in Los Angeles — its first in-person ceremony since 2019, hosted by Kumail Nanjiani. See the full list below; the 2024 nominees are here.
The beloved, enduring sci-fi franchise Star Trek is set for the 2024 Institutional Award, which recognizes institutions, organizations, series or programs for their body of work and their lasting impact on the media landscape and the public imagination.
Related: Peabody Adds More A-List TV Execs To Board Of Directors Posts; UTA’s David Kramer New West Coast Chair
Witness, the international rights group that assists...
- 5/9/2024
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
The Peabody Awards have chosen its 2024 winners, with projects like “The Bear,” “Fellow Travelers,” and “Reality” all making the cut.
The 34 winners were each chosen by a unanimous vote of the 32 members of the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors from over 1,100 entries from television, podcasts/radio, and the web/digital in entertainment, news, documentary, arts, children’s/youth, public service, and interactive programming. Of the 34 projects highlighted, HBO/Max has the most with seven wins, followed by PBS with five wins, Amazon MGM Studios with three wins, and The Washington Post and FX with two wins each.
“Whether courageously documenting wars across the globe or cleverly bringing much needed smiles to our faces, the winners of the 84th Peabody Awards each crafted compelling and imaginative stories,” said Jeffrey Jones, executive director of Peabody, via statement. “Spanning a wide range of mediums and genres, they delivered enthralling projects that are worthy of our highest recognition.
The 34 winners were each chosen by a unanimous vote of the 32 members of the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors from over 1,100 entries from television, podcasts/radio, and the web/digital in entertainment, news, documentary, arts, children’s/youth, public service, and interactive programming. Of the 34 projects highlighted, HBO/Max has the most with seven wins, followed by PBS with five wins, Amazon MGM Studios with three wins, and The Washington Post and FX with two wins each.
“Whether courageously documenting wars across the globe or cleverly bringing much needed smiles to our faces, the winners of the 84th Peabody Awards each crafted compelling and imaginative stories,” said Jeffrey Jones, executive director of Peabody, via statement. “Spanning a wide range of mediums and genres, they delivered enthralling projects that are worthy of our highest recognition.
- 5/9/2024
- by Marcus Jones
- Indiewire
Anthony Hemingway has boarded the Netflix series adaptation of the Judy Blume novel “Forever” to direct multiple episodes, Variety has learned exclusively.
The series stars Lovie Simone and Michael Cooper Jr. and hails from creator Mara Brock Akil. The official logline states the series is “an epic love story of two Black teens exploring romance and their identities through the awkward journey of being each other’s firsts, set in Los Angeles, 2018.”
Hemingway will direct four episodes in total — the second and third as well as the seventh and eighth episodes, specifically. He will also now serve as an executive producer on the series. It was previously announced that Regina King would be directing the pilot and executive producing the series as well.
Hemingway is one of the most sought-after directors in television today. His recent credits include helming episodes of “Genius: Aretha,” the pilot of “Power Book II: Ghost,...
The series stars Lovie Simone and Michael Cooper Jr. and hails from creator Mara Brock Akil. The official logline states the series is “an epic love story of two Black teens exploring romance and their identities through the awkward journey of being each other’s firsts, set in Los Angeles, 2018.”
Hemingway will direct four episodes in total — the second and third as well as the seventh and eighth episodes, specifically. He will also now serve as an executive producer on the series. It was previously announced that Regina King would be directing the pilot and executive producing the series as well.
Hemingway is one of the most sought-after directors in television today. His recent credits include helming episodes of “Genius: Aretha,” the pilot of “Power Book II: Ghost,...
- 4/29/2024
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Netflix has rounded out the cast for Forever, adding Xosha Roquemore (Captain America) and Marvin Lawrence Winans III (Abbott Elementary) as series regulars opposite Michael Cooper Jr. and Lovie Simone in the upcoming drama series from Girlfriends and Being Mary Jane creator Mara Brock Akil. Additionally, five have been cast in recurring roles. They are Barry Shabaka Henley (A Star is Born), Ali Gallo (Unhuman), Niles Fitch (This is Us), Paigion Walker (All American) and E’myri Crutchfield (Fargo). In addition to Simone and Cooper, they join previously announced Wood Harris and Karen Pittman.
L-r: Barry Shabaka Henley, Ali Gallo, Niles Fitch, Paigion Walker & E’myri Crutchfield
A reimagining of Judy Blume’s influential — and controversial — 1975 novel Forever… for a new generation, the series adaptation tells the epic love story of two Black teens, Keisha Clark (Simone) and Justin Edwards (Cooper Jr.) exploring romance and their identities through the awkward...
L-r: Barry Shabaka Henley, Ali Gallo, Niles Fitch, Paigion Walker & E’myri Crutchfield
A reimagining of Judy Blume’s influential — and controversial — 1975 novel Forever… for a new generation, the series adaptation tells the epic love story of two Black teens, Keisha Clark (Simone) and Justin Edwards (Cooper Jr.) exploring romance and their identities through the awkward...
- 4/5/2024
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
“And Just Like That” and The Morning Show” star Karen Pittman is adding to her stacked TV slate by joining Mara Brock Akil’s “Forever” alongside “The Wire” alum and “Creed” franchise stalwart Wood Harris.
Brock Akil’s highly-anticipated adaptation of Judy Blum’s 1975 Judy Blume novel “Forever” was originally ordered at Netflix in 2022 under the “Girlfriends” creator’s overall deal.
Last month, Lovie Simone and Michael Cooper Jr. were announced to star in the series, described as “an epic love story of two Black teens (Keisha and Justin) exploring romance and their identities through the awkward journey of being each other’s firsts, set in Los Angeles, 2018.”
Pittman and Harris play Justin’s parents Dawn and Eric, who are navigating parenting during a time of heightened awareness around the lack of safety for Black boys in America.
Pittman‘s Dawn is a college-educated, top executive in corporate finance with...
Brock Akil’s highly-anticipated adaptation of Judy Blum’s 1975 Judy Blume novel “Forever” was originally ordered at Netflix in 2022 under the “Girlfriends” creator’s overall deal.
Last month, Lovie Simone and Michael Cooper Jr. were announced to star in the series, described as “an epic love story of two Black teens (Keisha and Justin) exploring romance and their identities through the awkward journey of being each other’s firsts, set in Los Angeles, 2018.”
Pittman and Harris play Justin’s parents Dawn and Eric, who are navigating parenting during a time of heightened awareness around the lack of safety for Black boys in America.
Pittman‘s Dawn is a college-educated, top executive in corporate finance with...
- 3/7/2024
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
Karen Pittman (The Morning Show) and The Wire alum Wood Harris are set as leads opposite Michael Cooper Jr. and Lovie Simone in Forever, Netflix’s upcoming drama series from Girlfriends and Being Mary Jane creator Mara Brock Akil.
A reimagining of Judy Blume’s influential — and controversial — 1975 novel Forever… for a new generation, the series adaptation tells the epic love story of two Black teens, Keisha Clark (Simone) and Justin Edwards (Cooper Jr.) exploring romance and their identities through the awkward journey of being each other’s firsts, set in Los Angeles, 2018.
Pittman plays Dawn, a college-educated, top executive in corporate finance with an easy elegance that belies her loving but paranoid form of parenting, Justin’s (Cooper Jr.) mother Dawn might be strict at times, but it’s always out of love. She’s worked hard to give him the things he needs to succeed in life and...
A reimagining of Judy Blume’s influential — and controversial — 1975 novel Forever… for a new generation, the series adaptation tells the epic love story of two Black teens, Keisha Clark (Simone) and Justin Edwards (Cooper Jr.) exploring romance and their identities through the awkward journey of being each other’s firsts, set in Los Angeles, 2018.
Pittman plays Dawn, a college-educated, top executive in corporate finance with an easy elegance that belies her loving but paranoid form of parenting, Justin’s (Cooper Jr.) mother Dawn might be strict at times, but it’s always out of love. She’s worked hard to give him the things he needs to succeed in life and...
- 3/7/2024
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Lovie Simone and Michael Cooper Jr. (On the Come Up) are set as the leads of Forever, Netflix’s upcoming series from Girlfriends and Being Mary Jane creator Mara Brock Akil. Regina King (One Night In Miami) will direct the first episode and executive produce the series, a reimagening of Judy Blume’s influential — and controversial — 1975 novel Forever… for a new generation.
The series adaptation tells the epic love story of two Black teens, Keisha Clark (Simone) and Justin Edwards (Cooper Jr.) exploring romance and their identities through the awkward journey of being each other’s firsts, set in Los Angeles, 2018.
Simone’s Keisha Clark is a young confident, smart, and fiery track star with clear dreams for life after high school. Cooper Jr.’s Justin Edwards is a young man who is a nerd at heart disguised in an athlete’s body. Justin dreams of...
The series adaptation tells the epic love story of two Black teens, Keisha Clark (Simone) and Justin Edwards (Cooper Jr.) exploring romance and their identities through the awkward journey of being each other’s firsts, set in Los Angeles, 2018.
Simone’s Keisha Clark is a young confident, smart, and fiery track star with clear dreams for life after high school. Cooper Jr.’s Justin Edwards is a young man who is a nerd at heart disguised in an athlete’s body. Justin dreams of...
- 2/15/2024
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Mara Brock Akil’s Netflix series adaptation of the 1975 Judy Blume novel “Forever” has found its two series leads, Variety has learned.
Lovie Simone and Michael Cooper Jr. are set to star in the series, which was originally ordered at Netflix back in 2022. In addition, Regina King has boarded the series as an executive producer and will direct the first episode.
The official logline states the series is “an epic love story of two Black teens exploring romance and their identities through the awkward journey of being each other’s firsts, set in Los Angeles, 2018.”
Simone will star as as Keisha Clark, described as “a young confident, smart, and fiery track star with clear dreams for life after high school.” Cooper will play Justin Edwards, “a young man who is a nerd at heart disguised in an athlete’s body. Justin dreams of playing D1 basketball and achieving more than his successful parents.
Lovie Simone and Michael Cooper Jr. are set to star in the series, which was originally ordered at Netflix back in 2022. In addition, Regina King has boarded the series as an executive producer and will direct the first episode.
The official logline states the series is “an epic love story of two Black teens exploring romance and their identities through the awkward journey of being each other’s firsts, set in Los Angeles, 2018.”
Simone will star as as Keisha Clark, described as “a young confident, smart, and fiery track star with clear dreams for life after high school.” Cooper will play Justin Edwards, “a young man who is a nerd at heart disguised in an athlete’s body. Justin dreams of playing D1 basketball and achieving more than his successful parents.
- 2/15/2024
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
For girls growing up in the latter part of the Twentieth Century, no author carried quite as much influence as Judy Blume. That had a lot to do with the novel on which this film is based. First published in 1970, it broke new ground in the frankness with which it discussed the bodily changes of adolescence as many girls experience them, and for this reason it was enormously important to many readers. Just as its heroine, the titular Margaret, finds a conversation partner in God, it was itself a companion to those who felt unable to discuss all of their insecurities elsewhere.
No doubt mindful that it could do harm if handled poorly, Blume hesitated for a long time before consenting to let it be adapted for the screen. This version sticks closely to both the text and the tone of her work, and seems to have hit the same.
No doubt mindful that it could do harm if handled poorly, Blume hesitated for a long time before consenting to let it be adapted for the screen. This version sticks closely to both the text and the tone of her work, and seems to have hit the same.
- 2/11/2024
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Apple’s Killers of the Flower Moon was named best picture at the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards, the winners of which were unveiled on Wednesday.
Robert De Niro also won best supporting actor for his role in Martin Scorsese’s true-crime epic, which tells the story of the systemic assassinations of the Osage people in 1920s Oklahoma by white settlers who planned to steal the tribe’s wealth in the form of oil-rich land rights.
Netflix’s Nyad also won two awards: best actress for Annette Bening, who plays competitive swimmer Diana Nyad as she attempts to cross shark-infested waters between Cuba and Florida, and best supporting actress Jodie Foster, who plays Nyad’s coach and best friend Bonnie Stoll.
Rustin’s Colman Domingo also scored the prize for best actor for playing civil rights activist Bayard Rustin in the Netflix biopic.
Other film winners include Oppenheimer’s Christopher Nolan,...
Robert De Niro also won best supporting actor for his role in Martin Scorsese’s true-crime epic, which tells the story of the systemic assassinations of the Osage people in 1920s Oklahoma by white settlers who planned to steal the tribe’s wealth in the form of oil-rich land rights.
Netflix’s Nyad also won two awards: best actress for Annette Bening, who plays competitive swimmer Diana Nyad as she attempts to cross shark-infested waters between Cuba and Florida, and best supporting actress Jodie Foster, who plays Nyad’s coach and best friend Bonnie Stoll.
Rustin’s Colman Domingo also scored the prize for best actor for playing civil rights activist Bayard Rustin in the Netflix biopic.
Other film winners include Oppenheimer’s Christopher Nolan,...
- 1/17/2024
- by Tyler Coates
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Get in, loser. We’re riding with Rachel McAdams because she’s still Queen Bee.
Since she’s become a mother, life has changed. During the filming of Lionsgate’s “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” she had her five-month-old daughter and two-year-old son on set. Even her younger sister and make-up artist Kayleen had her two children, two and three months, by her side. “We had a really amazing mom-positive set,” she tells Variety. “Everyone understood me having to send breast milk down the road in a van all day long.”
But McAdams is susceptible to the looming sense of “mom guilt” that plagues many working parents, despite being “very lucky” to have lots of time with her kids. She found that connection and applied it to portray her role as Barbara Simon, the mother of the titular character Margaret (played by Abby Ryder Fortson) in Kelly Fremon Craig...
Since she’s become a mother, life has changed. During the filming of Lionsgate’s “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” she had her five-month-old daughter and two-year-old son on set. Even her younger sister and make-up artist Kayleen had her two children, two and three months, by her side. “We had a really amazing mom-positive set,” she tells Variety. “Everyone understood me having to send breast milk down the road in a van all day long.”
But McAdams is susceptible to the looming sense of “mom guilt” that plagues many working parents, despite being “very lucky” to have lots of time with her kids. She found that connection and applied it to portray her role as Barbara Simon, the mother of the titular character Margaret (played by Abby Ryder Fortson) in Kelly Fremon Craig...
- 12/20/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
On Dec. 11, 1998, Touchstone Pictures unveiled Wes Anderson’s Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray starrer Rushmore in theaters, where it would go on to gross $17 million domestically. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review is below:
This sophomore feature from director Wes Anderson (Bottle Rocket) is an unusually stylish and quirky comedy that represents a significant marketing challenge for Touchstone Pictures.
A bizarre romantic triangle among a precocious teen wunderkind, a millionaire industrialist and a young schoolteacher, Rushmore has far more imagination and wit than most major studio efforts, but it is occasionally undone by its preciousness. The presence of Bill Murray, delivering one of his sharpest comic performances in eons, should help significantly. The film screened at the recent New York Film Festival.
Jason Schwartzman, making an auspicious screen debut, plays Max Fischer, a bespectacled l0th-grader at the upscale, snotty Rushmore Academy. Max is not exactly an academic star, but...
This sophomore feature from director Wes Anderson (Bottle Rocket) is an unusually stylish and quirky comedy that represents a significant marketing challenge for Touchstone Pictures.
A bizarre romantic triangle among a precocious teen wunderkind, a millionaire industrialist and a young schoolteacher, Rushmore has far more imagination and wit than most major studio efforts, but it is occasionally undone by its preciousness. The presence of Bill Murray, delivering one of his sharpest comic performances in eons, should help significantly. The film screened at the recent New York Film Festival.
Jason Schwartzman, making an auspicious screen debut, plays Max Fischer, a bespectacled l0th-grader at the upscale, snotty Rushmore Academy. Max is not exactly an academic star, but...
- 12/9/2023
- by Frank Scheck
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series spotlighting the year’s most talked-about scripts continues with Kelly Fremon Craig’s adaptation of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, which marks the first time a book penned by YA icon Judy Blume has made it to the big screen.
Fremon Craig directed and wrote the screenplay and reteamed with producer James L. Brooks following their excellent 2016 teen dramatic comedy The Edge of Seventeen. Like that move, the trials and tribulations of a young girl coming of age take center stage.
In Are You There God?, Abby Ryder Fortson plays the 11-year-old Margaret, who is uprooted from her life in New York City for the suburbs of New Jersey, slogging through the messy and tumultuous throes of puberty with new friends in a new school.
The pic that also stars Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates and Benie Safdie follows closely the plot of...
Fremon Craig directed and wrote the screenplay and reteamed with producer James L. Brooks following their excellent 2016 teen dramatic comedy The Edge of Seventeen. Like that move, the trials and tribulations of a young girl coming of age take center stage.
In Are You There God?, Abby Ryder Fortson plays the 11-year-old Margaret, who is uprooted from her life in New York City for the suburbs of New Jersey, slogging through the messy and tumultuous throes of puberty with new friends in a new school.
The pic that also stars Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates and Benie Safdie follows closely the plot of...
- 12/4/2023
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Kelly Fremon Craig, the writer, director and producer of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, opened up about what inspired her to reach out to Judy Blume to adapt the beloved coming-of-age novel into a film.
During Deadline’s Contenders Film: Los Angeles event, Craig said that after The Edge of Seventeen, she was thinking about what was next for her and thought about authors who had impacted her life.
“The first person who came to my mind was Judy Blume,” she said during her film’s panel. “I mean, really, she turned me into a reader and a writer. I started to reread all her books with a thought of adapting them.”
Craig said that during that same time, Blume posted on social media that she had been thinking of optioning her books, but the only one she wouldn’t allow to be adapted was Are You There God?...
During Deadline’s Contenders Film: Los Angeles event, Craig said that after The Edge of Seventeen, she was thinking about what was next for her and thought about authors who had impacted her life.
“The first person who came to my mind was Judy Blume,” she said during her film’s panel. “I mean, really, she turned me into a reader and a writer. I started to reread all her books with a thought of adapting them.”
Craig said that during that same time, Blume posted on social media that she had been thinking of optioning her books, but the only one she wouldn’t allow to be adapted was Are You There God?...
- 11/19/2023
- by Armando Tinoco
- Deadline Film + TV
2023 has proven to be a pivotal year for moviemaking. The industry itself seems to be in a state of upheaval, and perhaps renewal, as two labor strikes that dominated the calendar between May and November culminated with the writers and actors guilds earning hard-won benefits for their work, as well as securities against the advent of A.I.
Onscreen, too, audience tastes seem to be changing as the biggest films of the year are pictures with strong authorial voices from Greta Gerwig and Christopher Nolan. The former used a beloved doll IP to make a comedy about growing and growing old in the shadow of the patriarchy; the latter did a character study on the man who invented the most genocidal weapon imaginable. Neither were a sequel or a conventional bet, and both far outperformed the movies that were. The industry is changing, but beyond the news and potential paradigm...
Onscreen, too, audience tastes seem to be changing as the biggest films of the year are pictures with strong authorial voices from Greta Gerwig and Christopher Nolan. The former used a beloved doll IP to make a comedy about growing and growing old in the shadow of the patriarchy; the latter did a character study on the man who invented the most genocidal weapon imaginable. Neither were a sequel or a conventional bet, and both far outperformed the movies that were. The industry is changing, but beyond the news and potential paradigm...
- 11/13/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Anxiety. Anger. Frustration. As the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes roll on, folks in Hollywood are feeling it all. “The strikes are hard on everyone,” writer and producer Joe Henderson tells THR. “It’s a weird time because there’s a mix of feeling empowered to fight for what we deserve and believe in — and feeling powerless because we don’t feel seen for the value we create. I vary between being depressed and being inspired. That’s the challenge.”
Psychotherapists who work with a largely Hollywood clientele say their patients are unsettled and triggered during the work stoppage. “What happens when people are under a great deal of stress like this, there’s a primitive defense mechanism — it’s called projection. That’s when people assign their unwanted feelings onto somebody else,” says Beverly Hills psychologist Jeff Blume, noting that this can be a factor in the acrimony now permeating the industry.
Psychotherapists who work with a largely Hollywood clientele say their patients are unsettled and triggered during the work stoppage. “What happens when people are under a great deal of stress like this, there’s a primitive defense mechanism — it’s called projection. That’s when people assign their unwanted feelings onto somebody else,” says Beverly Hills psychologist Jeff Blume, noting that this can be a factor in the acrimony now permeating the industry.
- 8/21/2023
- by Hadley Meares
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Leah Wolchok was not as familiar with Judy Blume’s work as her “Judy Blume Forever” co-director, Davina Pardo, was. “I had read ‘Freckle Juice’ as a kid. We had a copy of ‘Otherwise Known as Sheila, the Great’ in my house. But I had never read ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,’” Wolchok tells Gold Derby during our recent Meet the Experts: TV Documentary panel (watch the exclusive video interview above). After coming on board the project and reading Blume’s books, Wolchok immediately felt that she could have used these books when she was younger. “I wish I had read it when I was a kid because I would’ve looked at myself really differently. I would’ve looked at the whole world differently had I read that book when I was in sixth grade.”
“Judy Blume Forever” chronicles the life of the bestselling author from her...
“Judy Blume Forever” chronicles the life of the bestselling author from her...
- 8/15/2023
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
When Ryan White’s phone jolted to life the morning of July 12, buzzing with texts and calls, the filmmaker wasn’t expecting it. Yes, it was Emmy nomination day, but no, he hadn’t counted on recognition for his Netflix documentary about Pamela Anderson.
Yet there it was, in black and white on the Emmys.com website: For Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special, Pamela, A Love Story, about the actress and former Playboy Playmate who swept from Canada onto television screens, magazine covers and scandal sheets in the 1990s.
“I think if you went back two and a half years or three years, whenever I first met Pamela, I think we would’ve both burst into laughter if you had told us that we were going make an Emmy-nominated film,” White says. “That was not the goal at all. And I don’t think either of us thought that was a possibility.
Yet there it was, in black and white on the Emmys.com website: For Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special, Pamela, A Love Story, about the actress and former Playboy Playmate who swept from Canada onto television screens, magazine covers and scandal sheets in the 1990s.
“I think if you went back two and a half years or three years, whenever I first met Pamela, I think we would’ve both burst into laughter if you had told us that we were going make an Emmy-nominated film,” White says. “That was not the goal at all. And I don’t think either of us thought that was a possibility.
- 8/13/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s been a banner Emmy nomination day for Imagine Entertainment, the company notching 14 noms across a variety of categories including Outstanding Scripted Variety Series and Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special.
“I think it’s a real testament to the diversity of our teams,” Imagine Entertainment President Justin Wilkes told Deadline. “When you look at just the breadth of the nominations — which range from A Black Lady Sketch Show, to Emily in Paris, to our great feature doc on Judy Blume, the Letterman-Zelenskyy interview — it really just shows off the full range of what Imagine’s doing as a company. I’m incredibly proud of it.”
Quinta Brunson (L) and Robin Thede in ‘A Black Lady Sketch Show’
A Black Lady Sketch Show, from Imagine division Jax Media, nabbed three nominations, including Outstanding Scripted Variety Series, picture editing and production design. Emily in Paris, the Netflix series, also scored three noms – for makeup,...
“I think it’s a real testament to the diversity of our teams,” Imagine Entertainment President Justin Wilkes told Deadline. “When you look at just the breadth of the nominations — which range from A Black Lady Sketch Show, to Emily in Paris, to our great feature doc on Judy Blume, the Letterman-Zelenskyy interview — it really just shows off the full range of what Imagine’s doing as a company. I’m incredibly proud of it.”
Quinta Brunson (L) and Robin Thede in ‘A Black Lady Sketch Show’
A Black Lady Sketch Show, from Imagine division Jax Media, nabbed three nominations, including Outstanding Scripted Variety Series, picture editing and production design. Emily in Paris, the Netflix series, also scored three noms – for makeup,...
- 7/13/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Blue Jean, Past Lives, Sharper, Infinity PoolGraphic: Courtesy Altitude Films, A24, Apple TV+, Neon
We may be in the midst of the summer blockbuster season, but we’re also just past the halfway point of 2023, which makes it a perfect time to look back on the outstanding films released within the past six months.
We may be in the midst of the summer blockbuster season, but we’re also just past the halfway point of 2023, which makes it a perfect time to look back on the outstanding films released within the past six months.
- 7/4/2023
- by Cindy White
- avclub.com
Clockwise from top left: You Hurt My Feelings (A24), Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (Sony), M3GAN (Universal), Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (Disney), Chevalier (Searchlight Pictures)Graphic: AVClub
For those who think we’re three years away from re-naming our Midyear Movie Scorecard something like Midyear Ranking of Bloated...
For those who think we’re three years away from re-naming our Midyear Movie Scorecard something like Midyear Ranking of Bloated...
- 6/26/2023
- by Ray Greene, Leigh Monson, Brent Simon, Manuel Betancourt, Murtada Elfadl, Andy Klein, Matthew Jackson, Jordan Hoffman, Tomris Laffly, Phil Pirrello, Sam Barsanti, and Brett Buckalew
- avclub.com
Being Mary Tyler Moore (HBO/Max)
James Adolphus’ doc out of SXSW could become the latest about a TV legend to land a nomination in this category, following Lucy and Desi in 2022, Love, Gilda in 2019 and The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling and Mister Rogers: It’s You I Like in 2018.
Judy Blume Forever (Amazon)
Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok’s doc celebrates the titular author of children’s books, with narration by her and testimonials from her fans. It’s a sweet tribute to someone many grew up on — not unlike the two docs about Fred Rogers that were nominated in this category.
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields (Hulu)
Lana Wilson’s two-parter, unveiled at Sundance, pairs old film clips and footage with new interviews to explore how the subject’s beauty has long brought her rewards and objectification. Particularly interesting: her relationships with her mother and her kids.
If These Walls Could Sing...
James Adolphus’ doc out of SXSW could become the latest about a TV legend to land a nomination in this category, following Lucy and Desi in 2022, Love, Gilda in 2019 and The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling and Mister Rogers: It’s You I Like in 2018.
Judy Blume Forever (Amazon)
Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok’s doc celebrates the titular author of children’s books, with narration by her and testimonials from her fans. It’s a sweet tribute to someone many grew up on — not unlike the two docs about Fred Rogers that were nominated in this category.
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields (Hulu)
Lana Wilson’s two-parter, unveiled at Sundance, pairs old film clips and footage with new interviews to explore how the subject’s beauty has long brought her rewards and objectification. Particularly interesting: her relationships with her mother and her kids.
If These Walls Could Sing...
- 6/6/2023
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
If you missed the movie that /Film's Josh Spiegel called "the first great film of 2023" in theaters, you're in luck, because "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" will soon be available to watch at home. It took over half of a century for someone to adapt Judy Blume's groundbreaking novel of the same name, but Kelly Fremon Craig's adaptation was well worth the wait. The coming-of-age comedy-drama centers on the titular 11-year-old Margaret (Abby Ryder Fortson) who is thrown into the suburbs of New Jersey after her family moves from New York City. Margaret must deal with puberty, making new friends, and adjusting to her new environment during one of the most tumultuous times of a person's life, tackling the taboos of tweendom every step of the way.
In addition to Fortson, "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" boasts a stellar cast including Rachel McAdams as Margaret's mother,...
In addition to Fortson, "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" boasts a stellar cast including Rachel McAdams as Margaret's mother,...
- 5/30/2023
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
The live-action remake made a total of £6.9m including bank holiday Monday
RankFilm (distributor)Three-day gross (May 19-May 21)Total gross to date Week 1. The Little Mermaid (Disney) £5m £5m 1 2. Fast X (Universal) £2.2m £10.9m 2 3. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (Disney) £1.6m £32.3m 4 4. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Universal) £290,897 £52.4 8 5. Hypnotic (Warner Bros) £187,503 £238,150 1
Disney’s The Little Mermaid topped the UK-Ireland box office this weekend, opening with just under £5m.
The live-action remake took in another £1.9m on bank holiday Monday to bring its total to £6.9m. Directed by Rob Marshall and starring Halle Bailey, The Little Mermaid opened in 732 locations...
RankFilm (distributor)Three-day gross (May 19-May 21)Total gross to date Week 1. The Little Mermaid (Disney) £5m £5m 1 2. Fast X (Universal) £2.2m £10.9m 2 3. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (Disney) £1.6m £32.3m 4 4. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Universal) £290,897 £52.4 8 5. Hypnotic (Warner Bros) £187,503 £238,150 1
Disney’s The Little Mermaid topped the UK-Ireland box office this weekend, opening with just under £5m.
The live-action remake took in another £1.9m on bank holiday Monday to bring its total to £6.9m. Directed by Rob Marshall and starring Halle Bailey, The Little Mermaid opened in 732 locations...
- 5/30/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
Set in 1970, the year Blume’s novel was published, the sweet-natured story is engaging but does feel a little out of date
Judy Blume’s proto-ya classic from 1970 gets a screen adaptation; it is a sweet-natured, undemanding, oddly inconsequential movie about a lonely, smart 12-year-old anxious about the onset of puberty and adulthood. Blume herself gets a producer credit and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo. The movie is played as a 1970 historical piece rather than being updated to the modern world, which would of course require LGBTQ+ plot additions, though I suspect a completely original drama of this sort set in 1970 would not tacitly consent, as this does, to the invisibility of gay people.
Ant-Man’s Abby Rider Fortson is engaging as Margaret, who has to move from New York to New Jersey when her dad Herb (Benny Safdie) gets a big, though unspecified, job and his wife Barbara (Rachel McAdams...
Judy Blume’s proto-ya classic from 1970 gets a screen adaptation; it is a sweet-natured, undemanding, oddly inconsequential movie about a lonely, smart 12-year-old anxious about the onset of puberty and adulthood. Blume herself gets a producer credit and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo. The movie is played as a 1970 historical piece rather than being updated to the modern world, which would of course require LGBTQ+ plot additions, though I suspect a completely original drama of this sort set in 1970 would not tacitly consent, as this does, to the invisibility of gay people.
Ant-Man’s Abby Rider Fortson is engaging as Margaret, who has to move from New York to New Jersey when her dad Herb (Benny Safdie) gets a big, though unspecified, job and his wife Barbara (Rachel McAdams...
- 5/17/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
In Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok‘s documentary Judy Blume Forever, viewers get to learn more about Judy Blume‘s life and the inspiration for her books, such as Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret and Superfudge.
In an exclusive interview with uInterview founder Erik Meers, Wolchok revealed why they wanted to make a documentary about Blume and what she did for young American girls with her books.
“Judy was the first author to really go deep into the interior lives of girls and to what they were thinking and how they were feeling about their bodies, discovering their bodies, sort of questioning what it was going to feel like when they got their periods, growing boobs, but also their relationships to their friends and their family, their fears about divorce and anxiety,” producer Wolchok said. “And Judy’s books really dove into every topic that was on...
In an exclusive interview with uInterview founder Erik Meers, Wolchok revealed why they wanted to make a documentary about Blume and what she did for young American girls with her books.
“Judy was the first author to really go deep into the interior lives of girls and to what they were thinking and how they were feeling about their bodies, discovering their bodies, sort of questioning what it was going to feel like when they got their periods, growing boobs, but also their relationships to their friends and their family, their fears about divorce and anxiety,” producer Wolchok said. “And Judy’s books really dove into every topic that was on...
- 5/16/2023
- by Hailey Schipper
- Uinterview
As the pioneering film-maker finally brings Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret to the screen, he reflects on his glittering career, why Terms of Endearment made him cry and how Broadcast News predicted the future
James L Brooks is in a ruminative mood. “Mike Nichols had this wonderful thing he used to say when anybody was making a movie: who’s your buddy? By that, he meant that person who watches your back, who you can say anything to, hear anything from. It’s the person who shares the insanity that you have to feel when you’re making a movie, the kind of madness that any film deserves on the part of the director.”
Brooks is trying to describe the role he played on Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, the new adaptation of the Judy Blume novel, written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig,...
James L Brooks is in a ruminative mood. “Mike Nichols had this wonderful thing he used to say when anybody was making a movie: who’s your buddy? By that, he meant that person who watches your back, who you can say anything to, hear anything from. It’s the person who shares the insanity that you have to feel when you’re making a movie, the kind of madness that any film deserves on the part of the director.”
Brooks is trying to describe the role he played on Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, the new adaptation of the Judy Blume novel, written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig,...
- 5/12/2023
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
Image Source: Getty / Victoria Sirakova
It's a great time to be Judy Blume. In April, the onscreen adaptation of "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" made its way to cinemas, 53 years after the seminal YA novel was first released in 1970. In the film, directed by Kelly Fremon Craig, Abby Ryder Fortson plays Margaret with Rachel McAdams as her creative mom, Barbara. That same month, Amazon Prime Video also released a documentary about Blume, titled "Judy Blume Forever." For someone who has spent much of the past few decades out of the spotlight, has all the renewed attention been jarring?
"I love this movie so much. It's my heart. It's everything," Blume tells Popsugar of "Are You There God?" But when it comes to the documentary, it's a little more complicated. "It's a very weird thing and a different thing," she says. "I feel good celebrating 'Margaret.' I feel strange celebrating myself.
It's a great time to be Judy Blume. In April, the onscreen adaptation of "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" made its way to cinemas, 53 years after the seminal YA novel was first released in 1970. In the film, directed by Kelly Fremon Craig, Abby Ryder Fortson plays Margaret with Rachel McAdams as her creative mom, Barbara. That same month, Amazon Prime Video also released a documentary about Blume, titled "Judy Blume Forever." For someone who has spent much of the past few decades out of the spotlight, has all the renewed attention been jarring?
"I love this movie so much. It's my heart. It's everything," Blume tells Popsugar of "Are You There God?" But when it comes to the documentary, it's a little more complicated. "It's a very weird thing and a different thing," she says. "I feel good celebrating 'Margaret.' I feel strange celebrating myself.
- 5/11/2023
- by Victoria Edel
- Popsugar.com
"Judy Blume Forever" directors Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok didn't predict the current moment in American culture when they started the documentary. Pardo grew up a lifelong Judy Blume fan, she tells Popsugar; she describes herself as a "shy quiet kid" and "early bloomer" who found herself reflected in the pages of Blume's books, especially "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret." Wolchok, however, didn't become a fan until the pair started working on the doc together. She grew up in Jacksonville, Fl, and spent more time outside playing than inside reading.
"Girls bodies were seen as something to be ashamed of," she says of her life growing up. "And women's bodily autonomy was something to be feared, and I internalized all of those pressures from my quaint southern society that I lived in, and I did not read Judy's juicy books."
Pardo and Wolchok met in film school...
"Girls bodies were seen as something to be ashamed of," she says of her life growing up. "And women's bodily autonomy was something to be feared, and I internalized all of those pressures from my quaint southern society that I lived in, and I did not read Judy's juicy books."
Pardo and Wolchok met in film school...
- 5/8/2023
- by Victoria Edel
- Popsugar.com
Now in her eighties, legendary children’s author Judy Blume only recently became keen to the idea of adapting her books for the screen. But when it came to “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” — arguably Blume’s most famous title — her arms were crossed. She didn’t want any filmmaker to touch it.
“And then I got this letter from Kelly,” Blume told Variety, smiling, in a cover story for March’s Power of Women issue. She’s referring to “The Edge of Seventeen” writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig, to whom she eventually granted the screen rights. Blume was convinced for three reasons: the beauty of the letter that Fremon Craig wrote her, the fact that James L. Brooks mentored Fremon Craig and would serve as a producer on the film, and most importantly, the fact that Fremon Craig was the first person to pursue the rights whose work Blume had previously seen.
“And then I got this letter from Kelly,” Blume told Variety, smiling, in a cover story for March’s Power of Women issue. She’s referring to “The Edge of Seventeen” writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig, to whom she eventually granted the screen rights. Blume was convinced for three reasons: the beauty of the letter that Fremon Craig wrote her, the fact that James L. Brooks mentored Fremon Craig and would serve as a producer on the film, and most importantly, the fact that Fremon Craig was the first person to pursue the rights whose work Blume had previously seen.
- 5/3/2023
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
At a time when theatrical is looking to distinguish itself with more prolific fare than the factory conveyor belt of humdrum product coming from streaming, it’s with great upset to hear that Lionsgate’s feature adaptation of Judy Blume’s pinnacle 1970 novel Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret fell greatly short at the box office with a $6.8M opening; below both the $7M-$9M that the studio was seeing, and the more bullish $10M+ that rivals spotted.
Figuring out what went wrong here with Judy Blume’s first big screen Hollywood foray, which won over critics (99% certified fresh) and the few who bought tickets (A CinemaScore), has less to do with the commercial potential of the pic’s genre –movies based on female-skewing bestselling novels– and more to do with...
Figuring out what went wrong here with Judy Blume’s first big screen Hollywood foray, which won over critics (99% certified fresh) and the few who bought tickets (A CinemaScore), has less to do with the commercial potential of the pic’s genre –movies based on female-skewing bestselling novels– and more to do with...
- 5/1/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s another weekend of box office domination for “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which collected a towering $40 million in its fourth frame. Those ticket sales, down just 33% from the weekend prior, were easily enough to rule over the weekend’s newcomers, including literary adaptation “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” Finnish war drama “Sisu” and biopic “Big George Foreman.”
After four weeks on the big screen, “Mario” has grossed $490 million in North America and $532 million internationally to loom even larger as the highest-grossing film of 2023. It’s also the first movie of the year to cross $1 billion globally. Only five pandemic-era blockbusters have hit that milestone.
“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” fared the best among the new releases, opening in third place with $6.8 million from 3,343 North American theaters. Those are rocky ticket sales for the $30 million-budgeted coming-of-age story, which is based on Judy Blume’s seminal novel,...
After four weeks on the big screen, “Mario” has grossed $490 million in North America and $532 million internationally to loom even larger as the highest-grossing film of 2023. It’s also the first movie of the year to cross $1 billion globally. Only five pandemic-era blockbusters have hit that milestone.
“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” fared the best among the new releases, opening in third place with $6.8 million from 3,343 North American theaters. Those are rocky ticket sales for the $30 million-budgeted coming-of-age story, which is based on Judy Blume’s seminal novel,...
- 4/30/2023
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
Few authors have established as powerful a bond with their fans as Judy Blume. That incredible connection first manifested with the publication of her debut novel for young adults, 1970’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, which shattered taboos by candidly addressing subjects like menstruation and masturbation.
“It was the first time, I think, that an author had written a character that girls could relate to on an internal level, like she was speaking to their internal lives,” said filmmaker Leah Wolchok, co-director and producer of the Prime Video documentary Judy Blume Forever. “She wrote in the first person. And I think readers felt like they were reading their own diary. … Kids just flocked to the book.”
Related: Contenders Docs + Unscripted Deadline’s Complete Coverage
While young readers flocked, some adults swooped – demanding Blume’s books be yanked from shelves. During an appearance at Deadline’s Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted virtual event,...
“It was the first time, I think, that an author had written a character that girls could relate to on an internal level, like she was speaking to their internal lives,” said filmmaker Leah Wolchok, co-director and producer of the Prime Video documentary Judy Blume Forever. “She wrote in the first person. And I think readers felt like they were reading their own diary. … Kids just flocked to the book.”
Related: Contenders Docs + Unscripted Deadline’s Complete Coverage
While young readers flocked, some adults swooped – demanding Blume’s books be yanked from shelves. During an appearance at Deadline’s Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted virtual event,...
- 4/29/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Rachel McAdams as Barbara Simon and Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret Simon in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Photo Credit: Dana Hawley Judy Blume was in her early thirties when she wrote her bestselling book, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Now, she’s 85 years old, but that didn’t stop her from taking an active interest in the film adaptation of her book. As one of the film’s producers, she could often be found on the set during shoots, something that didn’t go unnoticed by the film’s stars. Rachel McAdams, who plays Margaret’s mother in the movie, told us that seeing Blume gave her and her castmates additional inspiration and incentive to do their best work. (Click on the media bar below to hear Rachel McAdams) https://www.hollywoodoutbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Rache_Mc_Adams_Judy_Blume_.mp3 Are You There God?...
- 4/28/2023
- by Hollywood Outbreak
- HollywoodOutbreak.com
The story of “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” remains as relevant to teens today as when the Judy Blume book came out in 1970. The story of a young girl navigating the first rocky steps into adolescence while changing schools and navigating her parents’ different religious backgrounds, what happens to Margaret (Abby Ryder Fortson) happens to lots of young girls, and Margaret’s yearning to just be happy and normal is universal.
“I think one of the magic tricks of the book is that anybody who reads it, in any decade, experiences it as contemporary,” director Kelly Fremon Craig told IndieWire. “When I read it in 1990, I had no idea it was written 20 years prior, so I was projecting all my own childhood images of the ’90s onto everything. And the book cover looked like it was contemporary, you know what I mean? So I had no idea [it was set in 1970].”
But...
“I think one of the magic tricks of the book is that anybody who reads it, in any decade, experiences it as contemporary,” director Kelly Fremon Craig told IndieWire. “When I read it in 1990, I had no idea it was written 20 years prior, so I was projecting all my own childhood images of the ’90s onto everything. And the book cover looked like it was contemporary, you know what I mean? So I had no idea [it was set in 1970].”
But...
- 4/28/2023
- by Sarah Shachat
- Indiewire
Judy Blume is one of the most popular and influential authors of children's and young adult fiction in the modern age of literature, but her relationship with the larger media world has been complicated. "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" might just be her most famous work, though it's remarkably taken more than 50 years for a proper screen adaptation -- perhaps because of the long, frustrating history of Blume's relationship with Hollywood producers. However, a meeting with producer James L. Brooks and director Kelly Fremon Craig convinced her to finally sell the rights to her beloved coming-of-age novel, even after Brooks warned her of the dangers of the Hollywood system.
Blume frequently covers topics related to sexuality, identity, and all the awkward bodily changes that come with puberty, but the outrage and frequent threats of censorship from conservative critics weren't enough to shatter her best-selling author status. Her popularity,...
Blume frequently covers topics related to sexuality, identity, and all the awkward bodily changes that come with puberty, but the outrage and frequent threats of censorship from conservative critics weren't enough to shatter her best-selling author status. Her popularity,...
- 4/28/2023
- by Andrew Housman
- Slash Film
Plot: A young girl finds herself struggling after her family moves away from the city. Based on the popular novel of the same name, by Judy Blume.
Review: My recollection of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is very vague. I knew Judy Blume and had perhaps read some of her books, but not this tale of a preteen girl. So even with the talent involved, I wasn’t excited about the movie. And then, I sat down for a screening. Perhaps it was the charms of the lovely and vibrant Rachel McAdams as Margaret’s mom? Sure. How about the excellent work of Kathy Bates as Margaret’s loving grandmother? Yes, yes, yes. And then there is the terrific Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret. Yet, the superstar here is writer/director Kelly Fremon Craig. Let’s dig in and see if Margaret’s prayers get answered.
Margaret...
Review: My recollection of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is very vague. I knew Judy Blume and had perhaps read some of her books, but not this tale of a preteen girl. So even with the talent involved, I wasn’t excited about the movie. And then, I sat down for a screening. Perhaps it was the charms of the lovely and vibrant Rachel McAdams as Margaret’s mom? Sure. How about the excellent work of Kathy Bates as Margaret’s loving grandmother? Yes, yes, yes. And then there is the terrific Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret. Yet, the superstar here is writer/director Kelly Fremon Craig. Let’s dig in and see if Margaret’s prayers get answered.
Margaret...
- 4/28/2023
- by JimmyO
- JoBlo.com
By Ben Miller
I am not a woman. I did not grow up with any sisters. My personal experience never crossed paths with Judy Blume books. All that being said, Kelly Fremon Craig's (The Edge of Seventeen) film adaptation of Blume's classic bestseller Are You There God? It's Me Margaret. transcends any genre bias to you might bring to it. It's one of the best films of the year so far.
The film centers on Margaret Simon (Abby Ryder Fortson), a sixth-grader who moves to New Jersey from New York with her parents. Margaret is not only at a transitional period in life with the move, but on the brink of puberty and all that comes with it. If that wasn't enough, Margaret finds herself on a quest to find God, stuck between the Christian and Jewish faiths...
I am not a woman. I did not grow up with any sisters. My personal experience never crossed paths with Judy Blume books. All that being said, Kelly Fremon Craig's (The Edge of Seventeen) film adaptation of Blume's classic bestseller Are You There God? It's Me Margaret. transcends any genre bias to you might bring to it. It's one of the best films of the year so far.
The film centers on Margaret Simon (Abby Ryder Fortson), a sixth-grader who moves to New Jersey from New York with her parents. Margaret is not only at a transitional period in life with the move, but on the brink of puberty and all that comes with it. If that wasn't enough, Margaret finds herself on a quest to find God, stuck between the Christian and Jewish faiths...
- 4/28/2023
- by Ben Miller
- FilmExperience
Judy Blume in Judy Blume ForeverPhoto: Prime Video
It seems a little bizarre to talk about how great it is to see Judy Blume back in the public eye again. For some of us she never left. Her books have remained in our hearts and on our shelves, passed down to our kids,...
It seems a little bizarre to talk about how great it is to see Judy Blume back in the public eye again. For some of us she never left. Her books have remained in our hearts and on our shelves, passed down to our kids,...
- 4/28/2023
- by Cindy White
- avclub.com
Teen movies are one of the most beloved genres, from John Hughes' Molly Ringwald trilogy to the quest for virginity loss with the help of a warm, apple pie. But there's another part of adolescence that often gets lost on the big screen — especially for women. There are very few stories about the tween years: an uncomfortable and confusing time when you're unsure if you should still sleep with stuffed animals or start stuffing your bra. It involves the uncertainty of puberty, peer pressure, and oppressive school rules. I have so many memories from this formative time period burned into my brain; like the time a boy said I was gross or how desperately I wanted to look like the silky-haired popular girls.
Because of this gap in tween representation on screen, "girls are expected to go straight from 'Doc McStuffins' to 'Euphoria,'" Rachel Shukert shrewdly observed in Vulture.
Because of this gap in tween representation on screen, "girls are expected to go straight from 'Doc McStuffins' to 'Euphoria,'" Rachel Shukert shrewdly observed in Vulture.
- 4/28/2023
- by Caroline Madden
- Slash Film
To get the chance to make a movie of Judy Blume’s “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” producer James L. Brooks and writer and director Kelly Fremon Craig made the pilgrimage to the beloved author’s home in Key West, Fla.
“I spent most of our time with Judy warning her about Hollywood and all the things it will do to you — basically, I warned her about folks like me,” says Brooks, the Oscar-winning director of “Terms of Endearment” and the co-creator of “The Simpsons” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”
Blume chose not to heed the admonition. By the end of their sit-down, Brooks, Craig and Blume’s husband George were all hugging. The film rights were theirs. It turns out Brooks and Craig had an ace up their sleeve: Blume had loved their collaboration “The Edge of Seventeen,” a sensitively drawn look at a teenager navigating...
“I spent most of our time with Judy warning her about Hollywood and all the things it will do to you — basically, I warned her about folks like me,” says Brooks, the Oscar-winning director of “Terms of Endearment” and the co-creator of “The Simpsons” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”
Blume chose not to heed the admonition. By the end of their sit-down, Brooks, Craig and Blume’s husband George were all hugging. The film rights were theirs. It turns out Brooks and Craig had an ace up their sleeve: Blume had loved their collaboration “The Edge of Seventeen,” a sensitively drawn look at a teenager navigating...
- 4/27/2023
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
In the more than 50 years that it took for Judy Blume’s beloved young adult novel Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret to reach movie screens, the world has become a much different place. And yet, books are still being banned from schools and libraries, and the level of openness and honesty that society allows itself when it comes to the changes that girls face on the precipice of puberty is still very much on shaky ground.
Blume’s 1970 classic, which has been challenged by censorious cultural gatekeepers due to its impenitent depictions of first menstruation and mutable religious identity, remains, to its devoted audience, less a touchstone than a veritable lifeline. And if the book itself is no longer as prime a target for censorship today, Blume herself recently mused that, if anything, today’s challenges to books and the conflicts that surround them are more insidious...
Blume’s 1970 classic, which has been challenged by censorious cultural gatekeepers due to its impenitent depictions of first menstruation and mutable religious identity, remains, to its devoted audience, less a touchstone than a veritable lifeline. And if the book itself is no longer as prime a target for censorship today, Blume herself recently mused that, if anything, today’s challenges to books and the conflicts that surround them are more insidious...
- 4/27/2023
- by Eric Henderson
- Slant Magazine
When was the first time you realized you were a woman? Was it when you got your first period? Was it when you had your first heartbreak? Was it when you were in ninth grade and the unibrowed kid on your school bus wouldn’t stop calling you a slut, despite the fact that at that point you’d barely even kissed a boy yet, so you dumped a chocolate milkshake on his head, and the history teacher in the row behind you not only made you clean it up,...
- 4/27/2023
- by EJ Dickson
- Rollingstone.com
Director Kelly Fremon Craig is no stranger to awkward teen experiences. Her 2016 feature film “The Edge of Seventeen” leaned heavily on the story of a teenage girl, played by Hailee Steinfeld, coming into her own with all the embarrassment that accompanies that age. But Fremon Craig’s follow-up was a challenge: adapting a well-loved and iconic piece of literature for the big screen, Judy Blume’s 1970 novel “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.”
The story of 11-year-old Margaret Simon (Abby Ryder Fortson) and her blossoming into adulthood has inspired a litany of teen girls for decades, especially as the novel is frank in its discussions of puberty and the m-word: menstruation. For Fremon Craig, before she could even pen word one of the script she had to secure the permission of author Blume, who was notoriously protective of “Margaret” specifically. “I reached out to her and really poured my...
The story of 11-year-old Margaret Simon (Abby Ryder Fortson) and her blossoming into adulthood has inspired a litany of teen girls for decades, especially as the novel is frank in its discussions of puberty and the m-word: menstruation. For Fremon Craig, before she could even pen word one of the script she had to secure the permission of author Blume, who was notoriously protective of “Margaret” specifically. “I reached out to her and really poured my...
- 4/26/2023
- by Kristen Lopez
- The Wrap
Steven Spielberg is looking back on removing guns from “E.T.”
The Oscar-winning director revealed during a master class at the Time 100 Summit that he regrets editing out guns from the 20th anniversary re-release of the coming-of-age film. The 1982 theatrical cut includes a scene of police officers chasing the lead children with firearms; the re-release replaces the weapons with walkie talkies.
“That was a mistake. I never should have done that,” Spielberg said (via Variety). “‘E.T.’ is a product of its era. No film should be revised based on the lenses we now are, either voluntarily, or being forced to peer through.”
The “Fabelmans” director continued, “‘E.T.’ was a film that I was sensitive to the fact that the federal agents were approaching kids with firearms exposed and I thought I would change the guns into walkie talkies. Years went by and I changed my own views. I should have never...
The Oscar-winning director revealed during a master class at the Time 100 Summit that he regrets editing out guns from the 20th anniversary re-release of the coming-of-age film. The 1982 theatrical cut includes a scene of police officers chasing the lead children with firearms; the re-release replaces the weapons with walkie talkies.
“That was a mistake. I never should have done that,” Spielberg said (via Variety). “‘E.T.’ is a product of its era. No film should be revised based on the lenses we now are, either voluntarily, or being forced to peer through.”
The “Fabelmans” director continued, “‘E.T.’ was a film that I was sensitive to the fact that the federal agents were approaching kids with firearms exposed and I thought I would change the guns into walkie talkies. Years went by and I changed my own views. I should have never...
- 4/26/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
It’s an oft-repeated story: if you write to author Judy Blume, she just might write back.
It was a story I heard during a small lunch held before an early New York City screening of Kelly Fremon Craig’s “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” in January, when a fellow writer causally mentioned that the pair had been penpals for years. I heard it again, just days later, while watching Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok’s documentary “Judy Blume Forever,” which includes numerous talking heads who wrote to Blume when they were kids and maintain that relationship to this day.
And, months later, I heard it one more time: when filmmaker Fremon Craig explained to me how she managed to get Blume on board with her big screen adaptation of her iconic YA novel “Margaret.” She wrote to her.
While Blume has never been shy about allowing her...
It was a story I heard during a small lunch held before an early New York City screening of Kelly Fremon Craig’s “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” in January, when a fellow writer causally mentioned that the pair had been penpals for years. I heard it again, just days later, while watching Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok’s documentary “Judy Blume Forever,” which includes numerous talking heads who wrote to Blume when they were kids and maintain that relationship to this day.
And, months later, I heard it one more time: when filmmaker Fremon Craig explained to me how she managed to get Blume on board with her big screen adaptation of her iconic YA novel “Margaret.” She wrote to her.
While Blume has never been shy about allowing her...
- 4/26/2023
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Rachel McAdams, Abby Ryder in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.Photo: Lionsgate
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is one of the holy grails of children’s literature, an emotionally complex story about faith and puberty, told from the perspective of an 11-year-old girl for an audience of her peers,...
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is one of the holy grails of children’s literature, an emotionally complex story about faith and puberty, told from the perspective of an 11-year-old girl for an audience of her peers,...
- 4/26/2023
- by Leigh Monson
- avclub.com
Literary icon Judy Blume has been in the public eye for more than 50 years, but lately she’s been posing for even more cameras than usual.
For the past few months, Blume has been everywhere — from the red carpet premiere of the feature adaptation of her 1970 classic “Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret” in Los Angeles last week, to Variety’s Power of Women ceremony in New York City, where she was honored earlier this month. But on Monday night in Studio City, Calif., it was Blume’s husband George Cooper on the other side of a cell phone camera lens. As Blume was introduced to an eager (and pink-masked) crowd by 16-year-old Annabelle Chang, who owns Annabelle’s Book Club LA, Cooper sprang from his seat behind the desk to capture the moment on his cell phone.
Amid the applause from the audience, Blume made her way to...
For the past few months, Blume has been everywhere — from the red carpet premiere of the feature adaptation of her 1970 classic “Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret” in Los Angeles last week, to Variety’s Power of Women ceremony in New York City, where she was honored earlier this month. But on Monday night in Studio City, Calif., it was Blume’s husband George Cooper on the other side of a cell phone camera lens. As Blume was introduced to an eager (and pink-masked) crowd by 16-year-old Annabelle Chang, who owns Annabelle’s Book Club LA, Cooper sprang from his seat behind the desk to capture the moment on his cell phone.
Amid the applause from the audience, Blume made her way to...
- 4/22/2023
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
Judy Blume has been famously averse to adaptations of her works, particularly of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. But, a half-decade after it was published, a movie version of her beloved novel is heading to theaters.
The story follows 11-year-old Margaret, who is mired in personal anxiety after her family’s move from New York City to the suburbs amid her desire to get her first period. In an attempt to cope with it all, Margaret, who has grown up without religion being raised by a Christian mother and Jewish father, begins to pray for some answers. Since its publishing debut in 1970, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret has become beloved not just among the Blume canon but among all books aimed at adolescent readership. At the same time, it has been restricted or banned by various schools in America because of its subject matter.
The story follows 11-year-old Margaret, who is mired in personal anxiety after her family’s move from New York City to the suburbs amid her desire to get her first period. In an attempt to cope with it all, Margaret, who has grown up without religion being raised by a Christian mother and Jewish father, begins to pray for some answers. Since its publishing debut in 1970, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret has become beloved not just among the Blume canon but among all books aimed at adolescent readership. At the same time, it has been restricted or banned by various schools in America because of its subject matter.
- 4/22/2023
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.