Screenwriter, Director and Novelist; "Let It Fall"
Screenwriter whose credits include 12 Years a Slave (won an Oscar in 2014), The Three Kings and Undercover Brother, which features a satirical portrayal of a black president; His current TV show is American Crime; Author of What Fire Cannot Burn and the graphic novel, The American Way
John Ridley's 'Let It Fall' looks back at the LA Riots This weekend marks the 25th anniversary of the LA Riots. Filmmaker and screenwriter John Ridley has made a documentary that looks at those events from all perspectives: the police, black community, and Korean community. John Ridley is an Academy Award-winning screenwriter and director. His new documentary about the 1992 LA Riots is called “Let It Fall." (Photo courtesy of ABC)
Can Hollywood’s Diversity Problem Be Solved? This week the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences appointed three new governors: Reginald Hudlin, Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Gregory Nava. It was their first tangible action in reaction to the furor over the #oscarssowhite campaign. But anger over racism in Hollywood continues to flare up. Twenty-five Asian-American directors and actors sent a letter this week to the Academy, protesting Chris Rock’s Asian jokes at the Oscars last month.Of course, the problem of racism in Hollywood is much bigger than the Oscars. A USC study last month found, once again, that Asian, black, Latino, female and LGBT people are underrepresented in front and behind the camera in films and TV. So, with all this attention are things getting better? Will they get better?
From Making History to Governing the White House An African-American rode to the White House yesterday on what pollsters call "a storm of voter dissatisfaction" and the promise of change. The challenge facing Barack Obama is to transform his iconic status into effective leadership on war, the economy, health care and global warming. We talk about how he mobilized a diverse coalition of blacks, Latinos and whites, including young people across ethnic lines. What's the reaction from those African-Americans who thought it would never happen? What's left of the Republican Party? Will fellow Democrats help or hinder the Obama Administration?
Saturday Night Live, Hillary Clinton, and Pop Culture and Politics Hillary Clinton 's new momentum has political junkies fixated on the influence of popular culture on politics. Gushing videos by supporters of Barack Obama prevailed on YouTube until a satirical late-night TV comedy skit made Clinton seem victimized by reporters. In the MSNBC debate just before the Ohio and Texas primaries, Clinton made a rather awkward reference to the Saturday Night Live skit. Suggesting that she was getting tougher questions than Barack Obama, she asked if the reporters didn't want to get him a pillow. Did that influence news coverage of the campaign? How important was it for Clinton to laugh at herself with Jon Stewart ? Have TV and movie portrayals of black and women presidents helped to make possible what used to happen only in fiction?
The Writers' Strike Despite the presence of a federal mediator, yesterday's last minute talks between television and film writers and the Alliance of Film and Television producers went nowhere. Today members of the Writers Guild of America began carrying picket signs in New York and Los Angeles. Should the rest of the nation care? We hear how new media are changing the world of entertainment and America's cultural economy.
TV and Film Writers Threaten to Strike If there’s a writers’ strike, this is the consensus on what would happen. Leno , Letterman , Stewart and all the other late-night talk shows would go into reruns immediately. By late November, the soap operas would run out of new episodes and be replaced by news programs. By mid-January, prime time would be filled with reality shows, game shows, news magazines and some sporting events along with re-runs of popular dramas and comedies. Talks between the Writers Guild and the Alliance of film and TV producers broke off last night and the writers’ contract expired at 12:01 this morning. Strike captains were told that members should clear out their offices by the end of the working day.
Is Black Pop Culture to Blame? Radio "shock jock" Don Imus won't be simulcast by MSNBC any more. CBS radio will suspend him for two weeks starting Monday, giving him time to meet with the Rutgers women's basketball team, the group he referred to as "nappy-headed ho's." Imus did not invent the phrase that brought him so much trouble. Will whatever happens to him make a difference? John Ridley is a screenwriter and a frequent commentator on National Public Radio .
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
What is Trump's plan for Middle East peace? On his first foreign tour, President Trump has promised "peace" between Israel and the Palestinians. Are there any details for re-starting talks that have been stalled for the past three years?