O.j.: Made In America

Made In America’ Reveals

... of his era … he was stinkin’ O. J. It is entirely true, while watching the first few episodes of the documentary, I was under the “O. J.-effect.” I liked him. I couldn’t help but respect the guy. His smile was genuine and his attitude infectious. Even his goal of “transcending race” was admirable. He wanted to be O. J. and nothing else. Even at the trial and the years following, he could woo people with ease … even when he was pretty-much-a-guaranteed-murderer. “Yeah, he probably killed two people … but, dang, he is likable.”. Slowly, as the 80 s closed and 90 s began, you started to hear about the other side to this super-star. Rage. Anxiety. Paranoia. It wasn’t surprising, however, because he was always above us. He sought to be separate: he would brag of his willingness to stop and be kind to everyone, sign every autograph, smile for every picture … but that was just it! He did what he had to do to remain ...

Made In America' For Best Picture At The 2017 Oscars

... 2016, before its TV air date in June. Documentaries also usually lack movie stars, so they don't get the automatic press or praise that accompanies them. For the Academy, this would seem to de-incentivize showcasing films that lack the industry's most bankable commodity. But OJ should've broken the mold. Director Ezra Edelman strikes a remarkable balance with his film: He delivers a chilling psychological portrait of an accused killer and serial domestic abuser who emerged from the black ghettos of San Francisco only to reject his blackness and bask in the adoration of his white fans. But he also gives audiences sobering insight into black life in Los Angeles during the mid- to late-20 th century — an experience marked by vicious police violence and no fewer than two urban uprisings: the Watts riots of 1965 and the LA riots of 1992. Ezra Edelman. Source:  Richard Shotwell/AP. There's no reason why a film with more depth, scope, drama, characterization and pitch-perfect pacing than any other this year should be ignored in the best picture race simply because it's nonfiction. When it comes ...

Made In America’ On His Oscars Night Plans And Why O.j. Still Matters

... I was a huge sports fan as a kid, and I played a lot of schoolyard football. I was 5 years old when he retired from football, so it’s not as if I watched him play in real time. But [I saw] the highlights of him playing for the Buffalo Bills. I was very attracted to just him as this athletic god; the balletic way he made his way down a football field was very alluring to someone who was fascinated by sports and athletes. Being in an airport terminal with that ongoing traffic, and [remembering] that feeling I would have of, “All right, I’m going to be like O. J.,” and you kind of dodge and bob and weave through these people. That was a very clear thing I remember thinking and doing. From a representation standpoint, there also weren’t that many black people on TV. For me, O. J. was this wonderfully benign, amusing presence on my television, whether it was in Hertz commercials or going to the movies and seeing Naked Gun. I don’t follow football, but I watched O. J. run down that field, and it was beautiful. Were you trying to make the film for sports lovers as well as for viewers who don’t care ...

Made In America’ Director On Trump Parallels And Why He’s Waiting To See ‘american Crime Story

... first episode of the FX series, and they were all telling us how great it was. It was like, oh no, not only does this exist, but it’s really good. I haven’t seen it, but I think it whetted people’s appetites for our film, which fills in gaps and offers historical context for the murders and the trial. From what I hear they are complementary pieces, so I think it ended up being a very good thing for us. Why haven’t you watched the show. I have no excuse now, except that I want to finish everything to do with our film before I reengage with the world. But for awhile I was just frustrated by the notion that in a dramatization that they could do things that I wasn’t able to do in a documentary. I would have loved to have talked to [prosecutor] Chris Darden, and he wasn’t in our film. There was a dynamic between him and [defense attorney] Johnnie Cochran that I was fascinated by, and that I knew they could explore ...

Made In America Is A Sprawling Epic On Race In America

... /in Lifestyle. Director Ezra Edelman wants viewers to know one thing — in the case of The People v. O. J. Simpson, it was not Simpson who was on trial, but rather the city of Los Angeles. Edelman’s Oscar-nominated documentary O. J.: Made in America is an intelligent and provocative retelling of how decades of turmoil between black and white Los Angeles came to a head in one tumultuous trial. “This is the story of Los Angeles more than anything else,” Edelman said in an interview with film critic Elvis Mitchell. “It’s all about what this place has brought in terms of the people who live here in these two very different L. A.s. And in this way, it is a microcosm of the country.”. Edelman portrays Los Angeles as a city with a split identity: There is its predominantly white side, portrayed through Hollywood glamour, and then its black regions, overrun by poverty and police brutality. O. J. gives an exhaustive history of racial conflict in Los Angeles, beginning in 1965, when Watts ...

Moonlight’ Wins Best Picture At Oscars After ‘la La Land’ Was Given The Award First By Mistake

... Best Picture at Oscars after ‘La La Land’ was given the award first by mistake. Other noteworthy awards: Emma Stone wins Best Actress for role in “La La Land,” Casey Affleck wins Best Actor for role in tragic “Manchester by the Sea,” Damien Chazelle wins Best Directing for “La La Land”. By Brooks Barnes and Cara Buckley. The New York Times. More Entertainment ». LOS ANGELES — In an epic flub that drew gasps of horror — and joy — at the Dolby Theater here, Faye Dunaway mistakenly named “La La Land” best picture at the 89 th Academy Awards on Sunday night, but in reality “Moonlight” won the top prize. The producers of “La La Land” were still thanking their families and fellow artists when the interjection came that “Moonlight” had in fact won, as everyone wondered if it was a joke. But it wasn’t, and ...

Made In America' Producer Talks Oscars And The O.j. Zeitgeist

... it’s by your peers in the documentary branch, so obviously that’s a huge honor. And I love the camaraderie about the whole thing. We feel like we’re part of the class of 2016, along with remarkable films like Moonlight and Hidden Figures and so many other films that are showing a different history and diversity of experience in America. Plus, there’s the fact that your film is an unorthodox nominee, given its length. You know, when you make historical docs, people are always saying, “Cut it down, no one wants to watch something so long.” So I think it’s encouraging that in our tweeting, emailing, quick post-reading era, people actually want the sustenance of something that’s deeper and lengthier. And anyway, two-screen activity is the norm now, isn’t it? A phone and a TV screen, always! [Laughs.]. Have you given any thought to ...

Made In America For Best Documentary

... She told her friends that O. J. was abusing her, and many knew that he was violent. But no one really helped her. The police, the couple’s mutual friends, neighbors and even family members all stood to the side, refusing to intervene either due to society’s underlying disbelief of women, their own personal fears or due to O. J.’s image as an American hero. The documentary is able to put all of this detail into a comprehensible narrative, touching on all of these issues without stating them directly. The murder trial began with the infamous slow-speed chase in O. J.’s white bronco, where at times it seemed as if he would take his own life while on the phone with police. During the chase, fans of the former football star stood on highway overpasses to cheer him on. The whole scene seemed unreal. When the trial ended, and the verdict came out as not guilty, there were hoards of people, again, cheering in the streets. So many people believed that O. J. was set up that they forgot ...

Oscar-winner Ezra Edelman On Making His Epic Documentary Oj

... director was surprised by this acclaim, the shock seems to have worn off. “I underestimated the appetite people have for this story,” says Ezra Edelman, looking jet-lagged having just flown into London. Speaking to me a few days before the Oscars ceremony, he suggests that 20 years is simply the length of time that needs to pass before anyone can properly re-examine events as seismic as this. “I don’t think people stopped being interested, but we Americans kind of OD’d on it. We were so fixated on the trial. Everyone remembers where they were during the Bronco chase, or during the verdict. And then you go, ‘Do you know what happened to OJ?’ And people are like, ‘Oh, isn’t he in jail?’ Or they can’t remember. It’s like we turned it off. ‘We’re done with you.’”. You could compare OJ: Made in America to the true-crime binge phenomena Making a Murderer or Serial , but Edelman goes much deeper. Not only does his film probe every facet of Simpson’s identity, its attention to detail and context is forensic. Laying out the ...

Made In America’ Director Dedicates Oscar To Victims Of Police Violence

... “I was in high school, and that was a really seminal event for me,” the director added. “I grew up in Washington, D. C., and when that happened, it was an awakening. It was a loss of innocence, as far as how young black men are treated by police, and by the criminal justice system.”. He added about making the docu: “I definitely channeled my worldview, my relationship to O. J. before this happened, but also my experience growing up, and experiencing the world the way I did.”. Edelman was then asked about the resonance of the Simpson, which this year stemmed both his documentary and The People Vs. O. J. Simpson. “History is past, but it’s present. I can’t speak for the FX series, but I know that when we were offered the chance to make this movie, it was clear the story that was covered and told 20-something years ago, we ...

The Academy Awards’ Longest Contenders

... on ESPN, clocks in at seven hours, 47 minutes. advertisement | advertise on newsday. The previous record holder, Sergey Bondarchuk’s Russian epic “War and Peace,” which went on to win the 1966 best foreign-language film Oscar, was a mere seven hours, 7 minutes. Story Will Natalie Portman win her 2 nd Oscar this year? TAKE ANOTHER 'BITE'Oscar no-shows who won big at ‘87 ceremony Story Flashback Friday: Oscar winners from ’07 ceremony. While “War and Peace” is clearly the lengthiest Oscar-winning film in any category, things are less clear when it strictly comes to best picture. Based on story alone, the magnolias-and-moonlight classic “Gone With the Wind” (1939) runs three hours, 40 minutes. But then if you add on its overture, intermission, entr’act and exit music, the movie finishes at three hours, 54 minutes. The narrative of “Lawrence of Arabia” actually runs one minute longer than that of “Gone With the Wind,” but with its musical extras, the total time is only three hours, 52 minutes. Rounding out the list of ...