It has been ten years since the legendary Chris Rock has been graced with an Emmy and last night the Brooklyn native was a two-time winner at the Creative Arts Emmys.

Chris’ last Emmy was in 1999 for The Chris Rock Show. This weekend he racked up two Emmys for “Outstanding Picture Editing For A Special” and “Outstanding Writing For A Variety, Music Or Comedy Special,” both for his HBO special Kill The Messenger. This makes Rock a five-time Emmy winner.

By the way, I am the only one shocked to find out he won no Emmys for Everybody Hates Chris?!

Tina Fey also racked up an Emmy for her portrayal of Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live. Never missing out on a funny moment, Fey thanked the former Alaska governor for, ” being an inspiration to working mothers everywhere” after bouncing “on her job right before 4thof July weekend.”

Kathy Griffin was the host and supposedly upped the raunch factor. An edited version of the Creative Arts Emmys will will air Sept. 18 on E!.

Congrats to Chris — and don’t forget Good Hair is in theaters Friday, October 9th.

Okay, I know there was the MTV Movie Awards last night, but no one cares about that — actually, the show should be renamed to “Em Had Man-A** in His Face 2009.” The image of the bare-a** Bruno landing his pasty behind in Eminem’s pale face should run on replay during every time slot on MTV for the next 365 days– I laughed so hard that I almost got over the fact that not one Black person won a MTV Movie Award!

In case you don’t know, Bruno is a character created by the campy Sacha Noam Baron Cohen, who became famous when he starred in the 2006 comedy Borat. According to Wikipedia Bruno is “a homosexual character claiming to be a reporter from an Austrian television station and interviews unsuspecting guests.” Perfect match for Eminem who hates the gays.  Em’s “homies” had to beat off the a** and once Marshall was freed he and the tainted others ran out of the building. Read the rest of this entry »

The MTV Movie Award nominations are in and for the first time MTV let the people vote for the nominees. The final tally ended up with Twilight at seven and Slumdog Millionaire at six nominations — both are up for best picture.

Other nominations include Vin Diesel (Fast & Furious) for best male performance, Taraji P. Henson (Curious Case of Benjamin Button) for best female performance, Bobb’e J. Thompson (Role Models) for breakthrough performance male and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for best villain.  Of course The Dark Knight received nominations, including one for the late-great and Oscar winner Heath Ledger.

One surprise – no Will Smith for Hancock!

The 18th annual MTV Movie Awards airs Sunday, May 31st live at 9pm ET.  Eminem is confirmed as a performer and  Andy Samberg from Saturday Night Live will host the show.  Click here to vote!

The 81st Annual Academy Awards aired last night.  It was an epic awards show, clocking in at just less than three and a half hours. The Hollywood elite attended including Will Smith, Halle Berry, Queen Latifah and more.

This year, the Oscars had elaborate monologues from previous winners before each award was given out, which made the show longer, tiring and down right boring at times. Hugh Jackman hosted, and while he is extremely talented, even his performances were not enough to minus the snooze factor.  Jackman sang, danced and popped top hats, making the show feel more like the Tonys than the Oscars.

The always gigging, Beyonce Knowles, performed in a cabaret-like performance with Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens — she even sang a few bars of “At Last”. I’m sure Etta James got a twitch from hearing that one!  Beyonce sure is a stable celebrity, most of these famous people get a case of  “celebrity exhausation” if they work too hard, but Bey keeps rolling down the river!

The most disappointing moment of the night was a tribute to those who passed away in 2008, which included a performance from Queen Latifah — the tribute included Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes, but no Eartha Kitt?  Massive insult.

No big shockers this year, Heath Ledger won for The Dark Knight, Kate Winslet snagged best actress and Slumdog Millionaire won best picture. Sean Penn won best actor for Milk, where he played Harvey Milk, a gay activist from the seventies — beating out the favorite, Mickey Rourke.  The always political Penn stressed the importance of equal rights for all people, gay or straight.

As I predicted, Penelope Cruz won best supporting actress, beating out Taraji P. Henson and Viola Davis, who both looked beautiful and will hopefully have doors open for future Oscar-worthy films.

View highlights from all the fashion at the Oscars!

Click here for a complete list of winners.

The Oscars are this Sunday, February 22, 2009 at 8 PM EST / 5 PM PST, which will probably be another drawn out awards show. However, according to EOnline.com, Beyonce is scheduled to perform along with Hugh Jackman. The Oscars are being produced by Bill Condon, who produced Dreamgirls and according to him the performances will, “shake things up.”

Here are my Oscar predictions, which are not etched in stone — there can always be an upset, but I don’t see many shockers coming this year.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams – Doubt
Penelope Cruz – Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis - Doubt
Taraji P. Henson – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei – The Wrestler

Should win: Viola Davis in Doubt. Although her role was small, her character was pivotal to the film and her scene with Meryl Streep was classic. Of course I loved Taraji’s performance, but Davis moved me just a bit more and she has been acting for over 13 years.

Will win: Penelope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. This is her second nomination and now that Kate Winselt isn’t in the category, this award is all Penelope’s.  However, I do think there is a slight chance Marisa Tomei might snatch it for The Wrestler.

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin – Milk
Robert Downey Jr. – Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Doubt
Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road

Will win/should win: Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight. As long as Robert Downey, Jr. doesn’t win I will be happy. This award has the late, great Heath written all over it — even if he was alive the award would still be his. The only actor to receive an Oscar posthumously was Peter Finch in 1977 for Network.

BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway – Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie – Changeling
Melissa Leo – Frozen River
Meryl Streep - Doubt
Kate Winslet – The Reader

Should win: Honestly, Melissa Leo in Frozen River gave the best performance, but there is no way she will win over Angelina Jolie, Meryl Streep and Kate Winslet.

Will win: After six nominations and her complaints, this award is going to Kate Winslet for The Reader. It would be pretty hilarious if for some reason they gave the award to someone else, but I doubt it.

BEST ACTOR
Richard Jenkins – The Visitor
Frank Langella – Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn – Milk
Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler

Should win: Sean Penn for Milk. The former bad boy played a character so far removed from himself (a gay activist who was murdered) and did it so perfectly that this award should be his. However, he has already won his Oscar—I doubt he will win.

Will win: This is Mickey Rourke’s year. It’s the comeback story that dreams are made of. My only issue is his character in The Wrestler is so much like himself. Nonetheless, Rourke is going to be the winner of the evening.

BEST PICTURE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

Should win/will win: It’s all about Slumdog Millionaire. This is one of the few times that a film is not overrated and deserves all the accolades it receives.

The Oscars airs this Sunday, February 22, 2009 at 8 PM EST / 5 PM PST.  Come back here on Monday for a full recap!

Tonight is the 40th Annual NAACP Image Awards, which will be hosted by Tyler Perry and Oscar-winner Halle Berry.  This year also marks the NAACP’s 100th year anniversary.  According to NAACP.org:

“On February 12th the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded by a multiracial group of activists, who answered ‘The Call,’ in New York, New York. They initially called themselves the National Negro Committee.”

Tonight, Muhammad Ali, Al Gore and Russell Simmons are special honorees.  Other nominees include Spike Lee, Jennifer Hudson and Beyonce Knowles.

The 40th NAACP Image Awards airs tonight at 8PM of FOX..  Click here for the complete list of nomiees.

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Also, please be sure to check out BET.com’s exclusive interview with Desreta Jackson, who played Young Celie from 1985’s The Color Purple.  She candidly talks about Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah, surviving sexual abuse and her life after The Color Purple.

BHM EXCLUSIVE: Desreta Jackson reflects on ‘The Color Purple’

Oscar season is upon us and while the Academy Awards is a respected institution of American cinema, whoever is behind those awards has missed the mark many times. To get you in the Oscar mood, below are some of the most disastrous Oscar snubs.

10. Denzel Washington in Philadelphia (1993)

Although Denzel Washington had already won an Oscar for Glory, the passing on the best supporting act nod for his portrayal of a homophobic lawyer in Philadelphia was unexplainable. The film received five Oscar nominations (won two), but none for Washington.

9. Halle Berry in Things We Lost in the Fire (2007)

Halle already won her Oscar in 2002 for Monster’s Ball, Things We Lost in the Fire in 2007 was probably the strongest performance of her career. However, she and her co-star Benicio Del Toro, were completely ignored during the 2008 Academy Awards. Although the film was a box office failure, it was a critical success, which is usually the formula of most Oscar winning movies.

8. Samuel L. Jackson in Jungle Fever (1991)

In the late eighties to early nineties, the unspoken rule in Hollywood is if you were in a Spike Lee movie, no matter how brilliant you were, it’s rare you will be recognized by the Academy Awards. Samuel L. Jackson’s performance as Wesley Snipes’ crackhead brother was unforgettable, but he was snubbed. The hardest working man in Hollywood has only received one Oscar nomination, which was for Pulp Fiction in 1995.

7. Sidney Poitier in In the Heat of the Night (1967)

I guess after giving Sidney Poitier an Academy Award in 1964 (the first black person to win for a leading role) for Lilies of the Field, they passed on even nominating him for In the Heat of the Night in 1967. His performance goes down in history when he hollered ‘They call me Mr. Tibbs!” and smacked the white off the racist sheriff.

6. Angela Bassett in Malcolm X (1992)

Angela Bassett’s portrayal of the late Dr. Betty Shabazz was impassioned and poignant. Even though Denzel Washington received a best actor nod and there was a best costume design nod, the passing of Bassett was the Academy Awards biggest flaw — right next to ignoring Spike Lee for best director.

5. “Hopeless” by Dionne Farris for Love Jones (1997)

It’s not only actors and directors who get ignored for the Oscars, but it’s musicians. Dionne Farrris‘ “Hopeless” was a big R&B hit and definitely deserved a nod for best original song from a movie, which was of course 1997’s Love Jones. Even though there was a buzz the song was a contender, the song received nothing. Pretty sad when Eminem can win an Oscar for best song.

4. City of God (2002)

The graphic film about the violent favelas in Brazil did receive three Oscar nods, but what left many people amazed is when it was ignored for best foreign film. Roger Ebert declared he was “mad,” and even as early as 2004 it was obvious the Academy Awards didn’t know when to recognize true work—regardless if Halle Berry and Denzel Washington won their Oscars in 2002.

3. Set It Off (1996)

If Set It Off starred Demi Moore, Gena Davis, Hilary Swank and Nicole Kidman the movie would’ve received Oscar nominations across the board—think Thelma & Lousie. Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, Vivica A. Fox and Kimbrely Elise all gave incredibly strong performances with a well-written script and good direction by F. Gary Gray. However, it was no shocker this movie wasn’t received well by the big wigs at the Academy.

2. Do the Right Thing (1989)

It was a national controversy when the Oscars blatantly ignored Spike Lee’s mega successful Do the Right Thing for best director and best film. The film received two nominations, one for Italian-American Danny Aiello in the best supporting actor category and a nod for best screenplay. The legendary Kim Basinger, who was the Angelina Jolie of her time, famously said, “The best film of the year is not even nominated, and it’s Do the Right Thing.”

1. Eve’s Bayou (1997)

Ignoring Eve’s Bayou, which Roger Ebert said was the best film of 1997, was probably the biggest mistake the Oscars ever made when it comes to African-American film. The movie was flawless with Samuel L. Jackson, Lynn Whitefield and Debbie Morgan. Ebert famously said, “If it is not nominated for Academy Awards, then the academy is not paying attention.” Well, they surely didn’t.

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FYI – Oscar snubs are not just a black thing. Latin actors have been unacknowledged for years (not one nomination for John Leguizamo!) and poor Leonardo Dicaprio, Kate Winslet and Glenn Close — you would think they were black in 1960 with the way the Oscars hate on them!

The 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards aired last night. There were very few African-Americans nominated and none won. Viola Davis, who was nominated for Doubt, and Taraji P. Henson, who was nominated for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, lost to Kate Winslet in the best supporting actress category for The Reader. This is Winslet’s first SAG Award and it’s obviously her year, she has already won two Golden Globes.

The legendary television and theater actress, Phylicia Rashad, was nominated for her role as Lena Younger in Raisin in the Sun and lost to Laura Linney for John Adams. I find it startling Rashad, who has been in the industry since the early seventies, has never won an Emmy and this was only her first SAG nomination.

The Screen Actors Guild Awards gave a lifetime achievement award to James Earl Jones. Oscar and SAG winner, Forest Whitaker, presented the iconic Jones with the award saying the “mesmerizing, deep valley voice.”

The most entertaining moment of the night was when an animated Meryl Streep won best actress for Doubt. She thanked her cast and when thanking Viola Davis she shouted,

“The gigantically gifted Viola Davis — my God, somebody give her a movie!”

If the SAG Awards are any indication of the Oscars then Davis and Henson might not have the greatest chances. However, the ladies still gave outstanding performances and as Meryl Streep said last night there is no such thing as the “best” or “greatest” actresses.

Slumdog Millionaire snagged the biggest award of the evening for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

Click here for a full list of winners.

The 2009 Oscar nominations were announced this morning by Sid Ganis, president of the Academy, and Oscar winner Forest Whitaker. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button garnered 13 nominations and The Dark Knight racked up 8 nominations, including a best supporting actor nod for Heath Ledger – on the one year anniversary of his death. Slumdog Millionaire, the underdog favorite, received 10 nominations, but no acting nods.

Only two African-Americans were nominated in the main categories. Taraji P. Henson received a best supporting nod for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Viola Davis earned a nod in the same category for Doubt. I cannot think of the last time, if ever (don’t quote me on this!), two black women were nominated in the same year for best supporting actress.

Shortly after the nominations were announced, Davis told the CBS Early Show, “Sometimes you don’t find this role in a whole movie, especially for an African-American actress.” She also added, “I entered this job just wanting to do a good job. I didn’t have the anticipation of any of these awards, this is just a blessing to me.”

Some shockers were Leonardo DiCaprio receiving no nominations. Kate Winslet, who recently won two Golden Golbes for best actress and best supporting actress, only received one best actress nod for The Reader. The Dark Knight was shunned for best picture. Also, Robert Downey, Jr. was nominated for best supporting actor for a white character who was playing black in Tropic Thunder.

No best original song nod for Cadillac Records, which received a Golden Globe nomination. Rock icon, Bruce Springsteen, was passed in the same category, even though he won for the same category at the Golden Globes.

Click here for the complete list of nominations.

The Oscars will air live on Sunday, February 22nd 8 ET / 5 PT on CBS.

The 66th Annual Golden Globes  aired last night on NBC.  Big winners included Tina Fey for best actress in a television series for 30 Rock, the late-great Heath Ledger for best supporting actor in The Dark Knight and Slumdog Millionaire, which racked up four, including best picture.  The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which was considered a favorite, lost all five nominations.

The few African-Americans who were nominated did not win. Viola Davis was nominated for best supporting actress but lost to a deserving Kate Winslet for The Reader.  Winslet also won a second time for best actress in The Revolutionary Road.  Winslet has been nominated for five Golden Globes since 1996 and lost — these are her first wins.

Beyonce Knowles and the five other songwriters of  “Once in a Lifetime” from Cadillac Records lost best original song to rock icon Bruce Springsteen for his song from The Wrestler.

Blair Underwood for In Treatment lost best supporting actor (miniseries or  motion picture) made for television to Tom Wilkinson for John Adams.

Raisin in the Sun, which starred Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and Phylicia Rashad was nominated for best miniseries or motion picture made for television and lost to John Adams.

However, the most entertaining moment of the night was Tracy Morgan’s acceptance speech for 30 Rock winning best television series.  An animated Morgan said he made a deal with Tina Fey that if Barack Obama won he would speak for the cast.  Morgan shouted, “I am the face of post-racial America. Deal with it, Cate Blanchett!”  You can always count on Tracy Morgan to energize the crowd!

Click here for the full list of winners.