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Talkhouse

W. Kamau Bell’s new documentary <a href="https://www.hbo.com/movies/1000-me-growing-up-mixed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed</a> airs on HBO on May 2. He is a stand-up comedian and the director and executive producer of the four-part Showtime documentary, We Need To Talk About Cosby, which premiered at Sundance. He also hosts and executive-produces the Emmy Award winning CNN docu-series United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell. His new book, Do the Work: An Antiracist Activity Book, co-written with Kate Schatz, came out in 2022. His most recent stand-up comedy special, Private School Negro, is available on Netflix. Kamau’s first book has an easy-to-remember title, The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell: Tales of a 6&#8242; 4&#8243;, African American, Heterosexual, Cisgender, Left-Leaning, Asthmatic, Black and Proud Blerd, Mama&#8217;s Boy, Dad, and Stand-Up Comedian. He’s the ACLU Celebrity Ambassador for Racial Justice and serves on the board of directors of Donors Choose and the advisory board of Right To Be (formerly Hollaback!). (Photo by Aundre Larrow.)

W. Kamau Bell

Film

Three Great Things: W. Kamau Bell

Virginie Efira is a Belgian-French actress and former television presenter. She is currently starring in Other People’s Children, opposite Roschdy Zem and Chiara Matroianni, and will be seen in June in Revoir Paris, for which she won the Best Actress award at this year’s Cesars. She had her breakthrough role in the 2013 romantic comedy It Boy, won acclaim and her first Best Actress Cesar nomination for the 2016 drama In Bed with Victoria, and earned a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 2018 Cesars for Gilles Lelouche’s comedy Sink or Swim. She has appeared in Paul Verhoeven’s two most recent films, Elle and Benedetta, starring in the title role in the latter.

Virginie Efira

Three Great Things: Virginie Efira

Samara Weaving is currently starring as Marie-Josephine opposite Kelvin Harrison Jr., Lucy Boynton and Minnie Driver in the Searchlight Pictures biopic <a href="https://www.searchlightpictures.com/chevalier/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chevalier</a>, in theaters from Friday. She was recently seen in Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle’s Babylon; Hulu’s limited series Nine Perfect Strangers, alongside Nicole Kidman and Melissa McCarthy; Bill &amp; Ted Face the Music, opposite Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter; Ryan Murphy’s award-winning mini-series Hollywood; and the cult horror comedy Ready or Not. Her other credits include Amazon’s miniseries Picnic at Hanging Rock, Martin McDonagh’s smash hit Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, opposite Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, and Sam Rockwell, and McG’s The Babysitter and its 2020 sequel, The Babysitter: Killer Queen. She currently resides in Los Angeles.

Samara Weaving

Three Great Things: Samara Weaving

Monica Bellucci is currently starring in the comedy thriller <a href="https://bleeckerstreetmedia.com/mafia-mamma" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mafia Mamma</a>, opposite Toni Colette, out now in theaters. She recently starred with Guy Pearce and Liam Neeson in Memory. Over the course of her illustrious international career, she has made movies in France, Italy and Iran, as well as in Hollywood. Her many notable movies include L’Appartement (for which she was Cesar nominated), Brotherhood of the Wolf, Irreversible, Malena, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions and The Matrix Resurrections, The Passion of the Christ, Terry Gilliam’s The Brothers Grimm and the James Bond movie Spectre. On TV, she appeared in Twin Peaks: The Return and Netflix’s French smash Call My Agent. (Photo by Fabrizio Di Giulio / Bleecker Street.)

Monica Bellucci

Three Great Things: Monica Bellucci

Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s 2008 feature, Passion, is out in select theaters through Film Movement from April 14. In 2015, his feature Happy Hour won major awards at numerous film festivals, starting at the Locarno Film Festival. His next film, Asako I &amp; II, was selected for competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 2018, and wrote the screenplay for Kiyoshi Kurosawa&#8217;s Wife of a Spy, which won the Silver Lion at the 2020 Venice Film Festival. His film Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy premiered at the 2021 Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize. His latest work, Drive My Car, premiered in Competition at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival where it was awarded the Best Screenplay Prize and the FIPRESCI International Critics’ Prize, and went on to win the Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards, where it was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Ryusuke Hamaguchi

Three Great Things: Ryusuke Hamaguchi

Sasha Lane broke through in her feature film debut, Andrea Arnold’s acclaimed, award-winning drama American Honey, and is currently starring in the drama-thriller How to Blow Up a Pipeline, out now through Neon. She was recently seen in the miniseries Conversations With Friends alongside Joe Alwyn, Jemima Kirke and Alison Oliver, an adaptation of Sally Rooney’s novel, and playing Hunter C-20 in Loki, alongside Tom Hiddleston, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Owen Wilson, and Wunmi Mosaku. She also starred in the 2019 reboot of Hellboy; Hearts Beat Loud, opposite Nick Offerman and Kiersey Clemons, and The Miseducation Of Cameron, with Chloe Grace Moretz and John Gallagher Jr. (Photo by Gordon Correll, via <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gdcgraphics/29669508886" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Flickr</a>.)

Sasha Lane

Three Great Things: Sasha Lane

Melora Hardin stars opposite Dianna Agron in the forthcoming horror movie Clock, out April 28 on Hulu. She is best known for playing Jan Levinson on The Office and was Emmy nominated for her recurring role of Tammy Cashman on Transparent. She’s also recently starred in The Bold Type, had a recurring role on A Million Little Things and competed on Dancing With The Stars. Her film credits include Hannah Montana: The Movie, 17 Again, Thank You for Smoking, Absolute Power and 27 Dresses. She made her directorial debut in 2009 with the independent feature You, and also directed Paula Cole’s music video for the 20th anniversary of “Where Have All The Cowboys Gone” and a 2019 episode of The Bold Type that was nominated for a 2020 Women’s Image Award. She most recently directed the upcoming documentary Hunters Thunder. (Photo by Manfred Baumann, courtesy Melora Hardin.)

Melora Hardin

Three Great Things: Melora Hardin

Christophe Honoré is a writer-director based in Paris. Born in 1970 in Brittany, he has written some 30 children’s books and five novels, and collaborated on screenplays with filmmakers such as Jean-Pierre Limosin, Gaël Morel and Louis Garrel. He started directing in 2002, with his most notable films including Ma Mère (2004), Dans Paris (2006), Love Songs (2009) and Beloved (2011). His most recent films are On a Magical Night (2019), Guermantes (2020) and Winter Boy (2022), which is released April 28 by Mubi. In the theatre, he directed a number of his own plays, including Beautiful Guys (2004) and 2018’s Les Idoles (which received four Molière nominations), and in 2009 adapted Victor Hugo’s Angelo, Tyran de Padoue (Avignon 2009). He has also directed several operas, including Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte, Verdi’s Don Carlos and Puccini’s Tosca. (Photo by Thomas Brunot.)

Christophe Honoré

Three Great Things: Christophe Honoré

Jean-Pierre Dardenne was born in Engis, Belgium, in April 1951. Luc Dardenne was born in Awirs, Belgium, in March 1954. They have directed numerous documentaries. In 1975, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne created Dérives, the company that has produced more than 60 documentaries, including their own. In 1994, they created Les Films du Fleuve for the production of feature films. They are among the most acclaimed filmmakers of their time, and their work has received countless awards worldwide, including two Palme d’Ors (for Rosetta and The Child), and an Academy Award® nomination for Marion Cotillard’s performance in Two Days, One Night. Their latest film, <a href="https://www.janusfilms.com/films/2115" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tori and Lokita</a>, is out now in theaters through Janus Films. (Photo by Christine Plenus, courtesy Kino Lorber.)

Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne

Three Great Things: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne

Four-time Emmy award-winning actor, producer and comedian Rob Corddry is currently co-starring opposite Malin Åkerman, Erinn Hayes, Bria Samoné Henderson, Ryan Hansen and Jerry O’Connell in the comedy <a href="https://www.vert-ent.com/films-3/the-donor-party-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Donor Party</a>. He is best known for his work on Adult Swim’s satirical comedy series Childrens Hospital, which he created, executive produced, and starred in. In 2016, Corddry won his first-ever acting Emmy award for his role as the misfit-clown Dr. Blake Downs in the series. Between 2015 and 2019, Corddry starred as Joe Krutel in the hit HBO series Ballers, opposite Dwayne Johnson, and in 2019 he played Forrest on the CBS sitcom The Unicorn. From 2002 to 2006, Corddry was a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Corddry&#8217;s numerous film credits including Hot Tub Time Machine and Hot Tub Time Machine 2, Office Christmas Party, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Sex Tape, Warm Bodies and The Heartbreak Kid. Originally from Weymouth, Massachusetts, Corddry studied and taught improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade in New York City. He resides in Los Angeles with his wife and two daughters. (Image by Federico Vargas.)

Rob Corddry

Three Great Things: Rob Corddry

Tim Roth is an English actor and director who is currently starring in the coming-of-age drama Punch, out now in theaters through Dark Star Pictures. He made his debut in the 1982 film Made in Britain and a mere two years later was nominated for a BAFTA for his role as Myron in The Hit. Since then, he has been a regular cast member of several Quentin Tarantino films including the director’s directorial debut Reservoir Dogs, and later Pulp Fiction. His role as Archibald Cunningham in Rob Roy alongside Liam Neeson earned him a Best Supporting Role BAFTA, and both an Academy Award and Golden Globe nomination in the same category. He has worked with other notable directors such as Woody Allen, Francis Ford Coppola and Michael Haneke. He has been involved in global franchises such as Marvel’s The Incredible Hulk and Planet of the Apes. From 2009 to 2011, he held the role of Cal Lightman in the TV series Lie to Me.

Tim Roth

Three Great Things: Tim Roth

Robert Townsend is often referred to as one of the &#8220;Godfathers of Independent Film.” In 1987, Townsend wrote, directed, produced, and starred in his feature debut, the critically acclaimed, Hollywood Shuffle, a satire depicting the trials and tribulations of black actors in Hollywood, which is newly released on Blu-ray through the Criterion Collection. Townsend next directed the highest-grossing stand-up comedy concert film of all time, Eddie Murphy Raw, followed by The Meteor Man, which is heralded as Hollywood’s first Black superhero film, and the popular soul musical, The Five Heartbeats. Other films include B*A*P*S, The Holiday Heart, Carmen: A Hip Hopera, In the Hive and th3 documentary Making The Five Heartbeats. In television, Townsend created, starred in, and executive produced The Parent ‘Hood, which successfully ran for five seasons on the WB, after which he became President and CEO of Production for The Black Family Channel (BFC). Recently, Townsend has directed episodes of The Last O.G., Colin in Black &amp; White and The Wonder Years.

Three Great Things