The Piano Lesson, directed by Malcolm Washington and co-written by Washington and Virgil Williams, will receive the 2024 Gotham Awards Ensemble Tribute at the 34th Annual Gotham Awards ceremony on Monday, December 2, 2024 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.
The Gotham Awards Ensemble Tribute was created in 2005 to recognize the talented casts whose artistry and chemistry captivate audiences on the big screen. With this tribute, The Gotham will honor The Piano Lesson’s cast which includes Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Ray Fisher, Danielle Deadwyler, Michael Potts, Corey Hawkins, and Erykah Badu.
“The Piano Lesson is a stunning adaptation, bringing August Wilson’s play to life with captivating cinematic artistry,” said Jeffrey Sharp, executive director of The Gotham Film & Media Institute. “The remarkable talent, effort, and chemistry of this brilliant ensemble cast forms the heart of the film, elevating its touching story of family legacy. It’s precisely this kind of collaborative excellence that our Ensemble Tribute Award aims to recognize.”
Constanze Romero-Wilson, executive producer of The Piano Lesson, said, “What Malcolm Washington, his brilliant filmmaking team and ensemble cast of John David Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Danielle Deadwyler, Ray Fisher, Corey Hawkins, Michael Potts, Erykah Badu and Skylar Smith have achieved is an August Wilson story in cinematic form. His words still resonate…are still singing but so are the images, the performances, and the intimate window into each character’s inner world. I am honored and grateful to be part of this project which brings August Wilson’s meaningful stories to a new generation of audiences.”
Set in 1936 Pittsburgh during the aftermath of the Great Depression, The Piano Lesson–adapted from the Wilson play of the same name–follows the lives of the Charles family in the Doaker Charles household and an heirloom, the family piano, which documents the family history through carvings made by their enslaved ancestor.
Following a premiere at Telluride Film Festival in August, The Piano Lesson will be shown in select theaters starting November 8 and will be available to stream on Netflix on November 22. Produced by Denzel Washington and Todd Black, executive producers on the project include Constanza Romero Wilson, Jennifer Roth, and Katia Washington.
Since the category’s inception in 2005, the Gotham Awards’ Ensemble prize has been awarded to notable projects, including Fire Island, The Hurt Locker, Babel, Winter’s Bone, Moonlight, The Favourite, and The Trial of the Chicago 7.
Winners of the 34th Annual Gotham Awards will be honored at the same awards ceremony on Monday, December 2.
Damien Chazelle, Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons On The Return Of “Whiplash” To Theaters After 10 Years
Ten years after " Whiplash " took the film world by storm, Damien Chazelle's breakthrough feature is returning to theaters nationwide Friday.
In 2014, "Whiplash" was the ultimate indie movie Cinderella story — a Sundance discovery made by a 20-something that that would go on to become both a box office hit and an awards darling: It won three Oscars, including for J.K. Simmons ' portrayal of a semi-sadistic and ever quotable jazz ensemble instructor; launched Chazelle's directing career into the A-list stratosphere; and established Miles Teller as a next generation movie star. Now, audiences will get another chance to experience it on the big screen.
Chazelle, Teller and Simmons spoke recently about the re-release, their memories of the 20-day shoot (including when Teller accidentally broke his co-star's rib) and making something with staying power. Remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: What has it been like watching "Whiplash" settle into the culture in the past decade?
CHAZELLE: It's very cool, a little surreal. It doesn't feel like 10 years. It's fun to have a moment like this to relive it a little bit.
SIMMONS: It's sobering to know that I'm 10 years older. It's kind of shocking and kind of awesome that the movie actually holds up. I just saw it a few days ago in Toronto: That's a good piece of cinema.
TELLER: This is the first time I've ever had a movie re-released. I'm still fairly young into my career, but it's an incredible movie. The one thing that's frustrating for me is that people just yell out at me all the time, " not my tempo." So that's stuck around well.
SIMMONS: Maybe if you get the tempo... Read More