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Kanye West’s New Testament (Video)

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Last week the Complex offices received a postcard containing a vague and cryptic reference to a possible new Kanye West project titled Kanye West's New Testament. Our research turned up a bare Twitter and Facebook page, and the origin of the Kanye quote on the back of the card, but not much else which led us to believe that it certainly wasn't viral marketing for a new album from the DONDA camp.

The person running Twitter account broke his 12 day silence this morning, with an ominous tweet about the release of whatever Kanye West's New Testament is:

 

 

It turns out that Kanye West's New Testament is a fan-made mini-doc of a ton of his quotes set to classical music with images of popular events in history. The 30 minute (!) documentary archives all of Kanye West quotes from 2013 to now, and will probably make you shed a tear. He's obviously the star of the show here, as the doc track's Ye's feelingsfrom manic to introspective set to images of Muhammad Ali, natural disasters, baptisms, statues and motorcycle stunts. It's perfectly DONDA, and seems like something Kanye would do.

The documentary is very well made considering how it was introduced last week, and whoever is behind this clearly took the rumors of Kanye releasing a full length spoken word album and ran with it. It all seems funny and overblown at first, but the mix of Kanye's words and the music and imagery have us in a trance-like state. If you have 30 minutes to spare, check out the video below.

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Ariana Grande – 34+35 (Remix) feat. Doja Cat & Megan Thee Stallion

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Ariana Grande, Megan Thee Stallion, and Doja Cat have teamed up for a new remix of Grande’s Positions track 34+35.

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Film & Television

Why Did Michaela Coel Walk Away From a $1 Million Dollar Deal with Netflix?

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Michaela Coel, the star of HBO’s hit series I May Destroy You had to decline Netflix’s $1 million offer after the streaming giant refused to allow her to retain “at least 5 percent of her rights” for the show.

Coel’s success in the U.S. is largely credited to Netflix. The streamer was the U.S. distributor of Coel’s acclaimed comedy series Chewing Gum. Netflix also housed a feature musical titled Been So Long in which Coel was the lead, as well as the drama series Black Earth Rising. Coel also starred in an Emmy-winning episode of Black Mirror, also distributed by Netflix. So, naturally, Coel’s history with the streaming platform made it the premier destination for her new project. After a short negotiation with a Netflix executive, however, Coel had to find a different home for I May Destroy You in order to maintain ownership of the series.

According to Vulture, Coel recalled that Netflix made her a $1 million offer for I May Destroy You in spring 2017 but she turned it down. Why? The streamer wouldn’t allow her to retain any percentage of the copyright. Coel even discontinued her relationship with CAA after it “tried to push her to take the deal”.

I May Destry You is based on Coel’s personal experience of being sexually assaulted during the making of Chewing Gum. At the age of 32, Coel is in full creative control of the series as its showrunner, director, star, and writer. She wrote all 12 episodes and co-directed nine, stars as a young writer Arabella struggling to come to terms and process a recent assault.

The series is now streaming on HBO.

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Film & Television

Ava DuVernay and Whoopi Goldberg Elected to The Academy’s Board of Governors

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has just elected members to its 2020-2021 Board of Governors. Among the six newly elected governors are director Ava DuVernay. EGOT winner Whoopi Goldberg has been re-elected for a second three-year term.

For those not familiar with the work of the Board of Governors, here is a breakdown of how it works and what it does.

Per Oscars official website, The Board of Governors directs the Academy’s strategic vision, preserves the organization’s financial health and assures the fulfillment of its mission.

Governors attend 6-8 board meetings annually (in person or by video). Each Governor also serves on one board oversight committee and their branch’s executive committee, and they are expected to represent their branch at numerous Academy events through the year.

The Academy has a total of 18 branches, including the actors branch and directors branch, where Goldberg and DuVernay will serve. Each branch is represented by three governors who are elected for three-year terms.

Since the #OscarSoWhite campaign in 2015, the Academy has been making efforts to increase diversity across the board. After the most recent election, out of 54 governors, the number of female Academy governors increased from 25 to 26, and people of color increased from 11 to 12.

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