Awards season is in full bloom.
Starting with the Golden Globes in January and ending with the Academy Awards March 25, the entertainment industry fills the first three months of every year with ceremonies that recognize and honor the extraordinary talent of the previous year.
And we look forward to it. There needs to be some excitement in the first quarter — the movie releases typically leave much to be desired.
This past weekend was an award extravaganza, with the Soul Train Music Awards leading the pack — a cool homage to R&B’s best. But there was more: The NAACP Image Awards celebrated the best in black entertainment; the Writers Guild of America Awards gave accolades to those beleaguered writers, and the Producers Guild of America Awards paid respect to those top guns who make it all happen.
Soul Train Music Awards
The leading showcase for black popular culture, the Soul Train Music Awards, did not disappoint-the stars were out in full force, as you can see from our photo gallery.
The big winners of the evening were male vocal quartet Jagged Edge and R&B star R. Kelly, each winning two awards. Jagged Edge won best R&B/soul single for “Let’s Get Married” and best group R&B/soul album for “J.E. Heartbreak,” while Kelly took home the male single and album prizes for “I Wish” and “TP-2.Com,” respectively. Soulful newcomer Jill Scott took the best female album for her debut release “Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol.1.”
There were a few shutouts. Carl Thomas and R&B heartthrob D’Angelo, nominated for three each, went home empty-handed, as did the controversial rapper Eminem. Guess all the misogynistic and homophobic lyrics didn’t score as big with the hip-hop crowd as they did with the Grammys.
The show was co-hosted by rapper Queen Latifah, singer Mya and “Soul Train” series host Shemar Moore. The winners are determined by a poll of radio station programmers, active recording artists and retail personnel. The awards, now in their 15th year, are an outgrowth of “Soul Train,” a popular syndicated TV show. Mya also performed, as did Scott, best new artist winner Nelly and best female R&B trio Destiny’s Child.
Also handed out this weekend were:
NAACP Image Awards
Former President Bill Clinton was the 32nd National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Image Awards’ big winner as he was presented with the President’s Award and credited with improving the lives of blacks during his eight years in office. Comedian Chris Tucker hosted the evening’s events, which will be broadcast Friday, March 9 on Fox.
Clinton, who received a standing ovation at the Universal Amphitheater on March 3, told the crowds, “What really matters is our common humanity. When we forget it, we suffer. When we remember it, we prosper.”
The other big winner of the evening was comedian Steve Harvey, who won the Entertainer of the Year Award. Full of emotion, Harvey accepted the award, saying, “When you believe in God, some unbelievable things can happen to you.”
Sponsored by the nation’s largest civil rights group, the NAACP Image Awards honor entertainers and other public figure who present positive portrayals of blacks in American culture.
Writers Guild of America Awards
Strike or no strike, smiles and good feelings abounded as the WGA handed out their top honors simultaneously at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles and at the Plaza Hotel in New York Sunday, March 4. A strong precursor to the Oscar race, the WGA Awards were voted on by the over 8,000 members within the guild.
Kenneth Lonergan’s original screenplay “You Can Count on Me,” a finely wrought look at a sibling relationship, took home the award for best original screenplay, while Stephen Gaghan’s “Traffic,” a screenplay adapted from the 1989 British TV mini-series “Traffik,” an intense and gripping study on the drug trade, was awarded the adapted screenplay award.
In the television arena, NBC ruled. The episode “In Excelsis Deo” written by Aaron Sorkin and Rick Cleveland from the critical darling “The West Wing” won in the episodic drama category and the episode “Something Borrowed, Something Blue” written by Christopher Lloyd and Joe Keenan from “Fraiser” won for episodic comedy.
The WGA’s highest honor, the Screen Laurel Award, went to writing team Betty Comden and Adolph Green for their collaborations on such feature scripts as “Singin’ in the Rain,” “On the Town” and “Auntie Mame.”
Producers Guild of America Awards
In a lively awards show March 3, hosted by Leeza Gibbons and produced for the first time by Dick Clark Productions, the PGA’s 12th Annual Golden Laurel Awards were presented at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.
Dreamworks/Universal Pictures’ “Gladiator” took home the top honors as producers Douglas Wick and Branko Lustig were awarded the Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award. NBC’s “The West Wing” producers Aaron Thomas Schlamme, Llewellyn Wells and Michael Hissrich won the Norman Felton Producer of the Year Award in Episodic Television (Drama), and producers Darren Star, Michael Patrick King and Jenny Bicks won the Danny Thomas Producer of the Year in Episodic Television (Comedy) award for “Sex in the City.”
Ron Howard presented his Imagine Entertainment partner Brian Grazer with the David O. Selznick Lifetime Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures. The presentation included a reel of Grazer produced hits such as “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” “Liar Liar,” “The Nutty Professor,” “Apollo 13” and “Parenthood.”
The new PGA has a membership of more than 1,300 active producers and marks the first time any single organization has represented the entire spectrum of producers. The organization will represent the entire producing team, from executive producers to post production managers and will work on issues such as expanding the existing health and pension plan, increasing job opportunities for all PGA members and intensifying efforts against producer credit fraud.
