Denzel Washington Biography

Denzel Washington:

Born: December 8, 1954

He was the son of a Pentecostal minister and a beautician and a former Gospel singer.

He attended Fordham University, receiving a BA in Journalism

Actor, Director, Screenwriter, and Film Producer

Getting onto the screen: He was cast as Dr. Philip Chandler in the medical drama TV series, St. Elsewhere, on NBC from 1982-1988.

This series pushed the envelope thematically. It was one of the first to address AIDS publically.

Film Career: Washington was a front-running, leading actor in the ‘80s and ‘90s, though his career seems far from over.

Actor Trademarks:

He commonly plays roles of real-life figures.

Example: Steve Biko, Malcolm X, Rubin Carter, Melvin B. Tolson, Frank Lucas, and Herman Boone.

He really gets into his roles by extensive preparation. Many times, in real-life, he will take on the duties and responsibilities that his character really has for an extended time. Example: When preparing to play a boxing role in the movie The Hurricane, he worked out for a year with L.A. boxing trainer Terry Claybon.

He directed: Both of these films are based on true stories

Antwone Fisher

The Great Debaters

Awards:

Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world [1990]

First African-American actor to receive two Academy Awards

Two Golden Globes

Tony Award

NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture for Mississippi Masala.

Director:

Mira Nair

Born: October 15, 1957

She was born in India and attended Delhi University and later she attended Harvard.

Film Career: She began acting then later turned to directing.

Many of her films have a central theme dealing with interracial relationships like we will see in Mississippi Masala. Many of the elements we see in her films are a reflection into her own life. She married a native Ugandan, Mahmood Mamdani in Uganda when she was researching for tonight’s film in 1988.

Currently she resides in New York where she teaches in the Film Division of the School of Arts at Columbia University.

Some of her other works include:

Salaam Bombay! (1988)

The Perez Family (1995)

Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996)

Monsoon Wedding (2001)

Vanity Fair (2004)

Amelia (2009)

She was offered the job of directing Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix (2007)

She was nominated for numerous awards and has won over 23 various awards including:

1988: New Generation Award

1988: Lilian Gish Award (Excellence in Feature Film), Los Angeles Women in Film Festival

2002: UNESCO Award

FOR Mississippi Masala:

1991: Golden Osella (Best Original Screenplay), Venice Film Festival: Mississippi Masala (with Sooni Taraporevala)[24]

1991: Critics Special Award, São Paulo International Film Festival: Mississippi Masala

1992: Best Director (Foreign Film), Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists: Mississippi Masala

Movie Overview:

Release Date: February 5, 1992

This story was inspired by the observation of many motels in the Deep South that were owned and operated by Asian Indians who had arrived in America via Uganda where they had lived for several generations. She learned about that in 1972 all Asians Indians were ordered to leave Uganda by the leader, Idi Amin.

Unlike most Hollywood movies or television shows, Mississippi Masala avoids stereotypical portrayals of minority members.

You will not find in this film an Indian-American who speaks English with a thick accent and runs a 24-hour convenience store, or an Afro-American who hangs around street corners all day long and collects unemployment benefits. Instead, we see minority members being portrayed as real human beings with feelings just like anybody else's.

On the other hand, male Anglo-Saxons, who rarely appear in the movie, receive a different treatment. Whenever they make an appearance, something terrible occurs. For example, we will see a crazy driver screaming and shouting at Demetrus after he rear-ended his car; a cold and uncaring banker who threatens to repossess Demetrus' van if he fails to come up the loan payment; the police brutality heaped on Demetrus and Mina during their arrest; teenagers who play loud music and trash their motel room; and an unreasonable customer who complains about the high motel room rates. (Su)

Mississippi Masala- In Hindi: spicy… keep an eye open to the metaphor! =)