Welcome to Dispatches || Issue #1
Caroline Renard talks Hollywood & Oscars 2024, and the Bri-ish are coming!!!🎬🎭🎞️
Headliner
Hello babes! It's been a minute, and so many things have changed since my last newsletter (R.I.P. Decisive). I've gone on to become an award-winning journalist, forthcoming author, and free agent (I experienced two layoffs in the past three years, the latest being as recent as February; what is this media industry coming to, honey???!!).
But this latest nudge from the universe has brought me back to a brainchild I conceived years ago: a newsletter and podcast that houses all my interests, various news beats, and the stories that need to be told but struggle to find a publishing home. Welcome to Dispatches from Daric, a news, culture, and entertainment newsletter providing an intersectional lens on subjects such as TV/Film, music, media, and the things we love, admire, and even particularly don't like. Each Dispatch (newsletter) will broaden one's cultural palate.
What I've been up to lately:
For Valentine's Day, I joined the Therapy for Black Girls podcast to chat with Dr. Joy about what it's like dating a Black trans woman.
In a very haha funny and kind of weird affirming way, the day I was laid off, I published my debut piece for Variety in print and digital.
Last year, I went to New York for the first time to shoot for a docuseries as a pundit/expert. That docuseries, Black Twitter: A People's History, directed by Prentice Penny, is premiering the first two episodes at SXSW TODAY at 8:45 pm at the Stateside Theater. And don't worry if you can't make it. The Culture House-produced project based on the article by Jason Parham will be coming to Hulu soon.
According to the source
According to the Source, is a mini-interview section of Dispatches with an expert or professional in a respective field in the entertainment and broader media industry.
This week, I spoke with Caroline Renard, 35, a director and writer who recently completed her independent short film Unbraided and is now developing a feature film. On February 29th, I was lucky enough to screen Renard's Unbraided alongside six other short films spanning comedy, romance, and drama, all created by Black writers and directors at CAA headquarters in Los Angeles. Unbraided is a funny and witty short film about a Black woman and her best friend searching for a stylist to do her hair 24 hours before traveling for a wedding. Check out our interview below about navigating the current state of Hollywood, her possibility models of films/directors, Oscars 2024 predictions, and hopes for films in the future as a Black filmmaker.
You were a WGA strike captain during last year's dual Hollywood strikes. What are your thoughts on the current state of the industry and this seeming surge to purge DEI & Black TV/Film projects?
Renard: Our strike didn't fix everything, but it amplified and illuminated many issues plaguing our industry for a long time, where people saw things happening and put band-aids on a broken system. It was truly the beginning of addressing this industry's issues because there won't be an industry if we don't.
We're seeing a lot of the 2020 DEI lip service fizzling out right now. And I'm frustrated. It's very disheartening, and I'm out of anger. It just proves to me how much we, as Black writers, directors, and actors, have to be in community with each other. We can't keep relying on others outside our community to make or tell our stories. Instead of the pick me, choose me, love me, and depending on the big corporations for funding, we can show up for each other.
We all have possibility models or our North Star guiding our careers. What five films and directors shaped you as a filmmaker?
Renard: I'm in my home office right now and looking at the movie posters I have up. It's so funny whenever someone asks me, 'What's your favorite movie?' I'm always like, I'm never going to be somebody on the Criterion channel being like, here's some foreign film that only five people have ever seen. The films that shaped me are School Daze, Little Shop of Horrors, The Outsiders, The Godfather, and B.A.P.S. That was the first time I saw Black women having fun on screen, and I was changed by that. Even my short film, Unbraided, B.A.P.S, inspired it where I've been chasing trying to show Black women living in pure Black girl joy.
I should have these on deck for directors, but it constantly changes. But I'd say Spike Lee, Julie Dash, and Steven Spielberg because he's very genre-agnostic, and I want to dabble in all of it. Then Robert Townsend, who created projects as a community with Black Hollywood, is an excellent example of somebody who's like a multihyphenate who didn't wait on others to get it and brought other Black folks along with him. Lastly, Nia DaCosta is talented and knows how to live in the quiet of her films and sit in the moment. I enjoy her as a director and am excited for her to do more things.
Oscars 2024 is around the corner; what categories or nominees are you excited about?
Renard: We've been talking about this particular Oscars for 50 years. I'm ready for it to be over, but I am excited for the nominated people. I'm rooting for Lily Gladstone in Best Actress, Da'Vine Joy Randolph and Danielle Brooks in Best Supporting Actress, Jeffrey Wright and Colman Domingo in the Best Actor category, and many others. Oppenheimer is definitely going to sweep this year. It was an amazing movie. If Oppenheimer doesn't win Best Picture and American Fiction, like slides in there, that would be amazing. But also, I don't know if I have so much faith in the Oscars to do that.
What type of film do you hope gets made in the next awards cycle? Is there a particular genre you want to make a comeback at the box office?
Renard: There's room for everything, but I want comedies to come back! I love superhero movies, smaller indie films, and sci-fi movies. I love everything. There's a point for it all because everyone has different tastes and interests. I don't think you need only to watch these serious or auteur films to be considered a real movie lover. Let's get back to these mid and smaller-budget movies. Not every movie needs a $200 million budget and has to break the box office and do all this record-breaking stuff. I want us to get back to the middle. Let's get back to good old nineties classic mid-budget type films.
Lastly, what are your hopes for Black women filmmakers such as yourself in Hollywood?
Renard: My main hope is that people will acknowledge us first and foremost. People truly don't think that we exist. When people talk about women directors, they never include Black women. It's never intersectional. And no shade to the girls. I love them. But you never see people talk about Black women directors in the way they talk about, say, Greta Gerwig. Second, please watch and support the films we make. Lastly, we need mentorship and resources from those in power who can move the needle to give us the same opportunities as our peers. For example, what would it have looked like if Christopher Nolan had done a Directors on Directors with A.V. Rockwell and been like, thank you so much for supporting Oppenheimer this year, and make sure you check out A Thousand and One? I would have loved to see a more seasoned director pairing with a new director. What does that conversation look like between Nia DaCosta and Steven Spielberg?
Of course, I would love for a Black woman to get nominated, let alone win a Best Director Oscar. But at this point in my life, I'm not holding my breath because I think those things are way beyond our control because they are too embedded, and there are years of things we would have to overhaul. But my main thing is I want Black women directors to get more jobs.
Media Library
What's a piece of media you have consumed lately? As the media literacy epidemic spreads across the digital world, I'm encouraging folks to get a diverse helping of a media diet by asking what they read, watched, or listened to lately while providing some links to recommendations of some of my favorite recent media.
Read
Teen Vogue's New Hollywood 2024 honors Maddie Ziegler, Ariana Greenblatt, Keith Powers, Christopher Briney, Aida Osman, Iñaki Godoy, and Megan Suri as the next class of rising stars who deserve your attention. Check out each profile to see why you should follow these seven careers. | Teen Vogue
If you grew up watching daytime soaps with your grandma like me, I have great news: CBS is developing the first Black daytime soap opera in 35 years. The broadcaster has teamed with the NAACP to develop 'The Gates,' which could become the first daytime soap with a predominately Black cast since 1989's 'Generations.' | The Hollywood Reporter
To my fellow nerds, I bring bad news: Rooster Teeth is shutting down after 21 years. The parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, is in talks to sell shows like 'RWBY,' 'Red vs. Blue' and 'Gen:Lock' and will shop the Roost podcast network. | Variety
Watch
The BBC British coming-of-age dramedy BOARDERS premieres TODAY in North America in a deal with All3Media International on Tubi. The series is fun to watch and reminds me of what I love about other teen shows—humor, relatable angst, and juggling school with teenage drama. | Where to Watch: Tubi
Will Trent season 2 has been keeping me on the edge of my seat. The ABC drama based on the book series of the same name follows a special agent navigating his past growing up in Atlanta's overwhelmed foster care system while solving cases determined to use his unique point of view to ensure no one feels abandoned like he was. | Where to Watch: ABC, Hulu
Listen
"Walk Like This," an earworm of a song, is finally out from the Bri-ish girl group FLO and available on streaming services and for purchase.
To accompany FLO's lead single for their forthcoming debut album, check out their recent interview with Nyla Symone on We Need to Talk.
Ariana Grande's latest album, Eternal Sunshine, was also released today. The 13-track LP is available on streaming services and for purchase.
Well, that's all, folks. This is Dispatches. I'm Daria Lynn Cottingham, and I'm signing off. ✍🏽💜