Oscars: Oprah Winfrey Endorses 'Black Panther,' Calling It "Something Bigger Than a Movie"

Hollywood Reporter ^ | December 19, 2018 | Scott Feinberg

[C19fan]

More than 100 Academy members joined Winfrey, Disney chief Bob Iger and the talent behind 'Black Panther' — which hit theaters in February — for a toast to what Iger called a film that "actually had an impact on the world." Whether for books or political candidacies or Oscar hopefuls, there is no more coveted an endorsement than that of Oprah Winfrey, whose credibility and following enables her to mobilize the masses. Therefore, it was a major coup for Disney that Winfrey — on Monday night at the London West Hollywood hotel, in front of an audience of more than 100 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — publicly threw her support behind the studio's best picture contender Black Panther.

[C19fan]

There are alternative this year if the Academy wants to nominate black centric movies. Of course these other movies have the added benefit of nobody has seen them.

[BipolarBob]

Sorry Oprah, it’s just a movie.

[Red Badger]

If it was ‘White Panther’ would she still say the same?................

[windsorknot]

Oprah is bigger than a lot of things.

[Celerity]

Oh, that’s the movie where even with a ton of high-tech advantages, elite blacks with a hidden worker class still dress in animal skins and bark at each other.

They love to mutilate their bodies too. Nothing more black than elaborate, expensive tattoos and piercings.

That’s what the movie taught me.

[Celerity]

Literally they BARK LIKE DOGS in this movie.

that’s their retort to a white man offering a suggestion. They bark like dogs. And the blacks who saw it are proud of this and say that they too should bark at white people who speak on perceived black topics.

At the center of the movie is also the truth that blacks simply can not live by democracy - they can only understand alpha-dog style hierarchies where the strongest male is made to lead only after proving himself in battle.

Black Panther did more to disrupt the black man in culture than Obama did. It took about 2 hours.

[Bubba_Leroy]

Meh. I would place it in the top 10 list of recent comic book movies, but not anywhere near the top of the list.

But since the Academy Awards only go to politically correct movies these days, I suppose it is better that they give one this year to a movie that people have actually paid money to go to a theater and watch.

[pepsi_junkie]

Any time a black person is up for an Oscar, you can be sure Oprah is leading the charge to lobby for the win. It’s not about the art, it’s about the optics. Period.

[butlerweave]

I watched it at CinemaSins on Youtube ,https://www.youtube.com/user/CinemaSins/videos ,LOL

[ridesthemiles]

Any time a black person is up for an Oscar, you can be sure Oprah is leading the charge to lobby for the win. It’s not about the art, it’s about the optics. Period.””’

The most racist persons in the limelight in the USA today are Oprah & the Obamas.

[bk1000]

Oh, a BIGGER movie. My bad...

[gibsonguy]

It’s a lock and I couldn’t care less.

[Rummyfan]

Whether for books or political candidacies or Oscar hopefuls, there is no more coveted an endorsement than that of Oprah Winfrey, whose credibility and following enables her to mobilize the masses.

Yeah, well, there are a lot of stupid people out there.

As for Black Panther, it's just another stupid comic book movie. Period.

[Boomer]

Really? I thought it was mediocre at best. Yes, worth watching, but not worth raving about over the water cooler.

Then again I’m a superhero movie buff. Probably due to being an avid comic book reader as a kid.

[lee martell]

I don’t look to Oprah to tell me what movies to see.
Maybe her TV fans or Bookclub fans still do.
Oprah is a very successful businesswoman and an entertainer.
She does what’s going to make her more money or increase her influence. I guarantee you, Oprah is benefiting financially or strategically from this endorsement. Nothing wrong with that at all.

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

Oh noes. She said a word that rhymes with a word wyepeepo cant say.

[dead]

It was a comic book movie. Even given the genre, the dialog was wooden and the story was a mess. But there was a lot of action and some cool stuff.

As a cinematic milestone, it stands ahead of most Spiderman movies, but way behind Tim Burton's Batman or Ironman, for example.

Again, it was a comic book movie.

[LibertarianLiz]

Meh. I would place it in the top 10 list of recent comic book movies, but not anywhere near the top of the list

Family watched it last night, we were bored and there wasn't anything else that we hadn't already seen. Anyway, I agree with your assessment. I think it only got all of that press and a over the top Tomato-meter simply because it was a "black" film.

[Red Badger]

After the movie premiered, there were black people actually trying to buy tickets to go to ‘Wakanda’...........

[V_TWIN]

Your further along than I am my friend. It never even crossed my mind to watch it....not for a minute. Of course I pretty much detest comicbook movies anyway.