The Oscar nominations are in and some of our faves have been nominated, some even in the same category. The list went out this morning and it included Beyoncé, Will Smith, Denzel Washington, and more. Here’s a breakdown of the Black excellence that was nominated.
King Richard has received a total of six nominations. The film starring Will Smith as Richard Williams is based on the life of Richard and how his dedication to his kids' futures helped him produce two of the most talented tennis players in the world Venus and Serena.
The nominations included Best Picture, Best Original Screen Play, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Song. Will has been nominated for Best Actor and Aunjanue Ellis, who played Richard’s wife Brandi, is up for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
Beyoncé, who sings the film’s song “Be Alive” received a nomination for “Best Original Song” making it the first time the hitmaker has ever been nominated for an Academy Award.
But Will isn’t the only beloved Black actor nominated for Best Actor. Two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington is also up for the golden trophy in the same category for his portrayal as Macbeth in The Tragedy of Macbeth. According to The Hollywood Reporter, this is Denzel’s 10th nomination making him the most nominated Black actor in the history of the Academy Awards.
It’s been 20 years since Denzel and Will faced off in the same Oscar’s category. In 2002, the two were competing for Best Actor with Will for his portrayal as Muhammad Ali in Ali and Denzel in Training Day. Denzel took home the win, but some fans are predicting that Will may beat out the Hollywood heavyweight this time.
20 years later, Will Smith and Denzel Washington see each other going head-to-head again for Best Actor at the Oscars.
— Ernest Owens (@MrErnestOwens) February 8, 2022
Last time, Washington won. This time, it's looking like Smith. #OscarNoms
Another face-off between Black actors is in the Best Supporting Actress category. As we mentioned, Aunjanue is nominated in the category, but so is Afro-Latina actress Ariana DeBose.
Ariana is nominated for her role in West Side Story. However, if she wins, she would reportedly join an exclusive club of people who have won an Oscar for playing the same role in different films, such as the person in the role before her, Rita Moreno.
The Roots’ bandmember Questlove also received a nod for Best Documentary Feature for Summer of Soul.
While there is much excitement surrounding this year’s nominees, there are also some disappointments. Many fans are outraged over Jennifer Hudson not being nominated for her portrayal of Aretha Franklin in Respect.
Jennifer Hudson deserved it too.. don't u think ?? https://t.co/gSwkkdpc1I
— The Flawed One (@_TheFlawed0ne) February 8, 2022
Jennifer Hudson should’ve been nominated for Best Actress. Where’s the respect? #Oscars pic.twitter.com/NpFNpONi59
— THEE Stephanie. (@qsteph) February 8, 2022
This year, the Academy Awards will be produced by Will Packer and xoNecole parent company, Will Packer Media. It takes place Sunday, March 27 at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.
Featured image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
RELATED
Skylar sees things differently. At the time, she was shooting content on her iPhone. Temi came into the picture with a new perspective, an understanding of tech, and, eventually, a camera. “He doesn't give himself enough credit,” Skylar says. “He wasn't just my tripod. He wasn't just standing behind the camera and going ‘click.’ He was giving advice. He was giving me insight to how I could look at things from a different perspective. And I was like, 'Oh, he’s an artist.' I think it was maybe a heartbeat of that kind of energy of like, ‘Baby, can you take this picture?’ And it turned so quickly into, we're partners. We can work together in a way where we're advancing each other's creative thinking.”
The pair often says they’re two sides of the same coin. Skylar is an Aquarius. She attended art school, paints, and loves poetry. She’s more than happy to let the couple’s management firm and agency, Kensington Grey, handle their admin work. And, she loves to sleep in. Temi, on the other hand, wakes up early. He’s a Virgo. He loves a to-do list and regularly checks in on the couple’s brand partnerships spreadsheet to make sure everything is on track.
Because his storytelling was steeped in his love of technology, he didn’t always think of himself as a creative person. “Where I [am] the dreamer who wants to pluck things out of the sky and spend all day with my head in the clouds, Temi [is] so good at grounding me and helping me figure out how to make things make sense on paper. We just work together in such a complimentary way,” Skylar says.
It’s been more than six years since Brooklyn-based couple Temi and Skylar started dating, and nearly four since they cemented their working relationship. On TikTok and Instagram, the couple’s travel, fashion, and home content regularly rack up hundreds of thousands of views. They’ve worked with brands such as Coach, Aesop, Away, and Liquid IV, bringing their vibrant perspectives to every campaign they execute. Still, nearly two years since both Temi and Skylar committed to full-time content creation and creative directing, the couple says their romantic connection remains their priority.
“We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting,” Skylar says.
Working from home can make it hard to separate work from personal life for any entrepreneur. It can be even more challenging when your business partner is also your lover. Temi and Skylar had already used couples therapy as a tool to help them effectively communicate with one another. When they ran into challenges while working together, their therapist helped them set physical boundaries to help combat the issues.
"We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting."
“It actually took us doing very specific physical things to create boundaries between work and play in our relationship,” Skylar says. “So, for instance, we will only have conversations about work when we're out of bed or we're at the table or in the office. Initially, when we started, we had to light a candle to say that, 'Okay, this is a space where we're connecting, we’re not talking about work.' We needed really hard boundaries at the top. And then it became a little bit more organic.”
The boundaries have been crucial to implement, especially because the couple began working together so naturally. When the pair first met, Skylar was NY-based a social strategist for BuzzFeed and was using content creation to drive business to her lingerie company. She was shooting her own content. Temi was working for Microsoft in D.C. He’d recently traded in his DJing equipment for a camera. “I've always loved taking pictures,” he says. “Even when I was a kid, my African mother would wake me up at 3:00 a.m. [during a] party, and be like, 'Come take the family picture.'”
Growing up, Temi says he watched his parents support each other and be the true definition of partners. He knew he wanted the same for his own relationship. But, the couple also wanted to make sure they were being financially responsible. The pair didn’t quit their traditional jobs until they’d saved up two years' worth of their cost of living. And, Temi received his Master of Business Administration from New York University with the knowledge that it could either help him advance in his corporate career or be applicable to his business with Skylar.
Temi and SkylarCj Hart @hartbreakToday, they say their working relationship is more of a “quiet dance.” They still implement some of the boundaries they learned in therapy, but they also lean into their natural strengths and deep love for one another. When we speak, Temi has planned a date for the couple to see Princess Mononoke in 4K IMAX and added it to their Notion so they can factor it into their busy schedules. “I fully plan to date for the rest of my life,” he says.
Skylar says the couple doesn’t just wait for date nights to check in with one another, though. This often happens in the mornings, after Temi has made her peppermint tea and poured himself a cup of coffee. When they ask each other how they slept, she says, it’s not just a “nicety.” It’s a genuine question meant to foster connection.
“A lot of it happens during the day in the midst of work. We'll stop and we'll hug. Or we’ll slow dance in the kitchen,” she says. “Sometimes it's hard to set a whole date night when you have 7,000 things going on. So, we must grasp these moments and check in when we can. And I think it's become so organic to us that I actually didn't even realize how often we do it. But all day long, we're like, 'Are you good? I felt like your energy shifted,' because we're best friends, we just know. We just feel it happen.”
What’s better than being in love? Building wealth while doing it. Watch Making Cents here for real stories of couples who make money moves together.
Featured image by Cj Hart @hartbreak
