Viola Davis

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James Patterson Keeps Finding Celebrity Collaborators

Author is working on a new novel with acclaimed actor (and author) Viola Davis

(Newser) - An upcoming thriller about a female judge in the contemporary, rural South will have two very famous, and very different, authors: Oscar winner Viola Davis and mega-selling novelist James Patterson. Little, Brown and Company announced that Davis and Patterson are collaborating on a novel, currently untitled and scheduled for 2025...

Viola Davis at Grammys: 'I Just EGOT!'

She becomes the 18th person to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony

(Newser) - Viola Davis on Sunday night became the latest celebrity to EGOT when she won a Grammy for the audio version of her 2022 memoir. "Oh my God! I wrote this book to honor the 6-year-old Viola, to honor her life, her joy, her trauma, everything. And it has just...

Viola Davis Worried About One Specific Critic in New Role

'I’m mostly terrified about what she will think,' actor says of Michelle Obama

(Newser) - The new Showtime series The First Lady premiered Sunday, a show that features Viola Davis as Michelle Obama, Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt, and Michelle Pfeiffer as Betty Ford. Unlike Anderson and Pfeiffer, Davis is portraying somebody who is still very much alive and well, and she spoke to Vanity ...

Viola Davis Morphs Into Michelle Obama in First Lady

Upcoming Showtime drama offers a peek

(Newser) - What's it like to be married to the president of the United States? An upcoming TV drama examines that life behind the curtains at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., drawn from the perspectives of Michelle Obama, Betty Ford, and Eleanor Roosevelt, per the BBC . A new trailer for First Lady—a...

Oprah on Beverly Hills Murder: 'World Is Upside Down'

Jacqueline Avant's shooting death follows string of robberies targeting the rich and famous

(Newser) - Oprah Winfrey is among the celebrities in shock at the killing of Jacqueline Avant , a philanthropist with ties to the rich and famous who called Beverly Hills home for half a decade. The 81-year-old wife of legendary music producer Clarence Avant and mother of former US ambassador to the Bahamas...

Casting Set for TV Portrayal of Michelle Obama

Viola Davis will portray her in Showtime series 'First Ladies'

(Newser) - It looks like Viola Davis will be the first actor to play Michelle Obama on television. The Oscar winner has signed on the play the former first lady in a new Showtime series First Ladies, from writer and executive producer Aaron Cooley. The first season of the show—which Davis...

Michelle Rodriguez Wades Into Neeson Fray, Is Quickly Sorry

His 'Widows' co-star admits she made a 'terrible historical comparison' while defending him

(Newser) - Type "Liam Neeson, apologize" into Google and an entirely different name pops up this week. That's because Michelle Rodriguez now has her own "sorry" to offer after defending him for racist comments he'd made. First Neeson confessed during an interview that he'd once looked for...

This Year's Most Talked-About Looks
Best, Worst Dressed at Oscars
OSCARS 2017
Feb 27, 2017 2:33 AM CST

Best, Worst Dressed at Oscars

Dressing like the statuette 'not a winning move'

(Newser) - They may not be getting as much press as the "Wrong Picture" howler , but this year's Oscars had the traditional assortment of dazzling looks on the red carpet—and a few big misses along with the hits. Here are some of the most-talked about looks:
  • Emma Stone. The
...

'Powerful and Historic' Speech From Best Supporting Actress

Viola Davis had everyone emotional in Dolby Theatre

(Newser) - In what Business Insider calls a "powerful and historic" speech , Viola Davis accepted her best supporting actress award for Fences, and she didn't hold back the tears. Davis—the first black performer to win an Oscar, Emmy, and Tony for acting—noted that everyone with the greatest stories...

Streep Touches on Trump: 'It Kind of Broke My Heart'


Streep's Trump
Mention: 'It
Kind of Broke
My Heart'
GOLDEN GLOBES
Jan 8, 2017 9:49 PM CST

Streep's Trump Mention: 'It Kind of Broke My Heart'

Actress accepted Cecil B. DeMille Award with a statement about president-elect

(Newser) - Meryl Streep received the Cecil B. DeMille Award at Sunday night's Globes ceremony, but before she took the stage she received an emotional tribute from Viola Davis, who co-starred with Streep in 2008's Doubt and who won her own award Sunday for best supporting actress for Fences. "...

#OscarsSoWhite? Not SAG, Sundance

Big wins for diverse actors, productions Saturday night at 2 ceremonies

(Newser) - In a flurry of wins at the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Sundance Film Festival, diversity made itself forcefully heard, reports the AP . Over a few hours Saturday night, the SAG Awards and Sundance showered honors on performers and films that presented a stark contrast to the crisis that...

Viola Davis First Lead Black Actress to Win for Drama
 Viola Davis 
 Makes History 
 With Emmy Win 
EMMY AWARDS 2015
Sep 21, 2015 6:26 AM CDT

Viola Davis Makes History With Emmy Win

'The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity'

(Newser) - The most moving (and historic) moment of Sunday's Emmys came when Viola Davis became the first African-American to win for lead actress in a drama series for her role in ABC's How to Get Away With Murder, Entertainment Weekly reports. "'In my mind, I see a...

Streep Does Viola Davis— and Rhode Island—a Favor

Best Actress winner donates $10K to struggling Central Falls school

(Newser) - Meryl Streep's Best Actress win over Viola Davis was the big upset of the Oscars; even Streep herself seemed surprised, calling the whole process "a crapshoot." But now she's making it up to Davis—in a big way. Streep donated $10,000 to a struggling school...

The Help Movie Reviews: Emma Stone, Viola Davis Star
 'Humor and Heartbreak' 
 Lift The Help 
movie reviews
Aug 12, 2011 1:40 PM CDT

'Humor and Heartbreak' Lift The Help

Film based on Kathryn Stockett novel stars Viola Davis, Emma Stone

(Newser) - Critics are impressed with certain aspects of The Help, Tate Taylor’s film about a young white woman interviewing black maids in 1960s Mississippi. But while some say the overall package is lacking, others are glowing.
  • Compared to Kathryn Stockett’s novel of the same name, the film is “
...

Denzel Washington Wins 1st Tony Award
 Denzel Washington 
 Wins 1st Tony Award  
UPDATED
Jun 13, 2010 10:53 PM CDT

Denzel Washington Wins 1st Tony Award

Scarlett Johansson, VIola Davis, Catherine Zeta-Jones Prevail

(Newser) - Denzel Washington won his first Tony Award tonight for his performance in August Wilson's Fences, and Scarlett Johansson and Catherine Zeta-Jones joined the Hollywood-to-Tony parade by picking up statuettes of their own. Best play Red and best musical Memphis also enjoyed big nights, the AP reports .

Critics Can't Abide Citizen
 Critics Can't Abide Citizen 
MOVIE REVIEWs
Oct 16, 2009 8:10 AM CDT

Critics Can't Abide Citizen

Film combines unnecessary gore with pseudo-insight

(Newser) - Movie critics are nearly unanimous in their disgust with Law Abiding Citizen, a grisly revenge drama that's as much a moral failure as a cinematic one.
  • The film is "an exercise in illogic and Death Wish cribbing," writes Peter Travers of Rolling Stone, featuring gratuitous gore and an
...

Oscar Rolls Out Red Carpet
 Oscar Rolls Out Red Carpet 
slideshow
Feb 22, 2009 6:47 PM CST

Oscar Rolls Out Red Carpet

(Newser) - Miley Cyrus was one of the first to arrive with her mom, in a flower-petaled Zuhair Murad gown. Mickey Rourke showed in a Jean Paul Gautier tux, accessorized with a photo of Loki, the love-of-his-life dog who died last week. For other highlights from the Oscar red carpet click "...

17 Stories