Tag Archives: Benh Zeitlin

Articles of Interest

Oscars Live: Winners & Best Moments From The 2013 Academy Awards

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By The Huffington Post News Editors

After months of competition, debate and conjecture, it’s finally time for Hollywood’s biggest night: the Oscars. (Live updates from the 85th annual Academy Awards can be found below.)

The 2013 Oscars ceremony, held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and hosted by “Ted” director Seth MacFarlane, ends an awards season that started all the way back in January of 2012 when “Beasts of the Southern Wild” debuted at the Sundance Film Festival. (“Beasts of the Southern Wild” earned four nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director for Benh Zeitlin, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actress for child star Quvenzhane Wallis.)

“Beasts” and eight other films were nominated for Best Picture — “Amour,” Ben Affleck’s “Argo,” “Django Unchained,” “Les Miserables,” “Life of Pi,” “Lincoln,” “Silver Linings Playbook” and “Zero Dark Thirty” — but the race had focused down to “Lincoln” and “Argo” as the Oscars approached. The former film led the pack with 12 total nominations, but it was “Argo” that has dominated the awards stage since early January.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post

News, Politics, Government

First Lady Michelle Obama hosts a “Beasts of the Southern Wild” Movie Workshop for Students

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By <a href="/author-detail/475">Colleen Curtis</a>

First Lady Michelle Obama today welcomed 80 middle and high school students to an interactive workshop with the cast and crew of the film Beasts of the Southern Wild, in the State Dining Room. The students, who were from Washington DC and New Orleans, LA, got to talk with director Benh Zeitlin, actor Dwight Henry and the movie's 9-year-old star, Oscar-nominated actress Quvenzhané Wallis, who stars as Hushpuppy.

Mrs. Obama described the film as “beautiful, joyful and devastatingly honest,” and praised its underlying message of strength and resilience:

It's a movie that makes us all think deeply about the people we love in our lives who make us who we are. It shows us the strength of our communities, no matter what they look like. It shows us that those communities can give us the power to overcome any kind of obstacles. And it also tells a compelling story of poverty and devastation, but also of hope and love in the midst of some great challenges.

So there are so many important lessons to learn in that little 93 minutes. That’s the other cool thing — that a director and a set of writers and producers can say so much in just 93 minutes. And it doesn’t always happen in a movie, quite frankly — (laughter) — but this one did it, and that’s why I love this movie so much and why our team wanted to bring it here to the White House and share it with all of you.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at The White House

White House Press Office

Remarks by the First Lady at the Beasts of the Southern Wild Workshop

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By The White House

State Dining Room

11:07 A.M. EST

MRS. OBAMA: Hi! How is everybody? You guys good? Good morning!

AUDIENCE: Good morning.

MRS. OBAMA: I am thrilled, beyond thrilled. You guys excited to be here?

AUDIENCE: Yes!

MRS. OBAMA: Was it a good movie?

AUDIENCE: Yes.

MRS. OBAMA: Oh, wonderful. I am so glad you all are here to help us celebrate Black History Month at the White House. We're doing a bunch of stuff this month, but this is one of the highlights. And we are thrilled to be here with you all.

I want to start by thanking Rachel Goslins for agreeing to moderate the workshop today. Rachel is a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. And what that means is that her job is to connect all Americans, especially young people, to music, art, dance and film. So thank you, Rachel, as always. Thanks for all your hard work, and — yes. (Applause.)

And, of course, I also want to thank our guests who are with us today — Benh Zeitlin, Dwight Henry, and Quvenzhané — my girl. Did I say that right? Did I get that right? Quvenzhané Wallis for being here today. Let's give them a round of applause. (Applause.)

But it's a special joy to have so many bright, smart and talented young people here. You guys are looking good. And I know that some of you have traveled all the way from New Orleans — is that correct? And many of you are here right from D.C., right in our neighborhood, our neighbors. But let me tell you, no matter where you've come from or how far you traveled, we're just glad you're here today to watch what I consider to be one of the most powerful and important movies that has been put out this year — or in a long time, quite frankly — Beasts of the Southern Wild.

And as I was telling the cast and the directors and the producers in the other room, I had the opportunity to watch this movie this summer with a large group of our friends and family. And the ages ranged from three to 75 years old — we had a big family. But it's rare these days to find a movie that can so completely and utterly captivate such a broad audience, and that was one of the things that struck me about this movie. It managed to be beautiful, joyful and devastatingly honest.

It's a movie that makes us all think deeply about the people we love in our lives who make us who we are. It …read more
Source: White House Press Office