Spielberg, Spike Lee and Queen Latifah among Standouts in US Arts and Humanities Honored by Biden

First lady Jill Biden speaks as President Joe Biden listen during a National Arts and Humanities Reception in the East Room at the White House in Washington, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
First lady Jill Biden speaks as President Joe Biden listen during a National Arts and Humanities Reception in the East Room at the White House in Washington, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
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Spielberg, Spike Lee and Queen Latifah among Standouts in US Arts and Humanities Honored by Biden

First lady Jill Biden speaks as President Joe Biden listen during a National Arts and Humanities Reception in the East Room at the White House in Washington, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
First lady Jill Biden speaks as President Joe Biden listen during a National Arts and Humanities Reception in the East Room at the White House in Washington, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Joe Biden on Monday honored acclaimed filmmakers, singers, writers and others who have made their mark on American culture, awarding the prestigious National Medals of Arts and National Humanities Medals to 39 recipients.
Filmmakers Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee and Ken Burns and singers Missy Elliott and Queen Latifah were among 20 recipients of National Medals of Arts, while the 19 recipients of National Humanities Medals included playwright-screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and historian Jon Meacham, The Associated Press said.
Three of the medals were awarded posthumously: The late singer Selena Quintanilla and artist Ruth Asawa are arts medal winners and the late chef-author Anthony Bourdain was among the humanities medal winners.
“Above all, you are the masters of your craft that have made us a better America with all of you have done,” Biden said at the White House ceremony.
Biden took a brief detour in his remarks to give a shout-out to Vice President Kamala Harris’ run for the White House.
“I know the power of the women in this room to get things done” and boost the next generation, he said, adding that the female winners were “proving a woman can do anything a man can do, and then some, that includes being president of the United States of America.”
The line drew a standing ovation.
Biden also told the winners that the moment was a “very consequential time in the arts and humanities in America” because “extreme forces are banning books, trying to erase history, spreading misinformation.”
The arts medals are managed by the National Endowment for the Arts, and the humanities medals by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Actors Idina Menzel and Eva Longoria, producer Bruce Cohen and musicians Leonardo “Flaco” Jimenez and Herbert I. Ohta also received arts medals, along with photographers Randy A. Batista and Clyde Butcher, artists Carrie Mae Weems, Alex Katz and Mark Bradford, arts leaders Jo Carole Lauder and Bruce Sagan and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
The arts medals are given “to individuals or groups who are deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support and availability of the arts in the United States.”
Other humanities winners included former US poet laureate Joy Harjo, actor-literacy advocate LeVar Burton, cartoonist Roz Chast and philanthropists Wallis Annenberg and Darren Walker. The humanities medals honor “an individual or organization whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the human experience, broadened citizens’ engagement with history or literature, or helped preserve and expand Americans’ access to cultural resources.”
Humanities medalists ranged from such cultural institutions as the Mellon Foundation and Appalshop to educators Robin Harris, Robert Martin and Ruth J. Simmons to scholars Pauline Yu, Nicolás Kanellos and Robin Wall Kimmerer. Writer Juan Felipe Herrera, filmmaker Dawn Porter and anthropologist Rosita Worl also were honored.



‘Venom: The Last Dance’ Misses Projections as Superhero Films’ Grip on Theaters Loosens

 Tom Hardy poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film "Venom: The Last Dance" on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in London. (AP)
Tom Hardy poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film "Venom: The Last Dance" on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in London. (AP)
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‘Venom: The Last Dance’ Misses Projections as Superhero Films’ Grip on Theaters Loosens

 Tom Hardy poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film "Venom: The Last Dance" on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in London. (AP)
Tom Hardy poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film "Venom: The Last Dance" on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in London. (AP)

“Venom: The Last Dance” showed less bite than expected at the box office, collecting $51 million in its opening weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, significantly down from the alien symbiote franchise’s previous entries.

Projections for the third “Venom” film from Sony Pictures had been closer to $65 million. More concerning, though, was the drop off from the first two “Venom” films. The 2018 original debuted with $80.2 million, while the 2021 follow-up, “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” opened with $90 million even as theaters were still in recovery mode during the pandemic.

“The Last Dance,” starring Tom Hardy as a journalist who shares his body with an alien entity also voiced by Hardy, could still turn a profit for Sony. Its production budget, not accounting for promotion and marketing, was about $120 million — significantly less than most comic-book films.

But “The Last Dance” is also performing better overseas. Internationally, “Venom: The Last Dance” collected $124 million over the weekend, including $46 million over five days of release in China. That’s good enough for one of the best international weekends of the year for a Hollywood release.

Still, neither reviews (36% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) nor audience scores (a franchise-low “B-” CinemaScore) have been good for the film scripted by Kelly Marcel and Hardy, and directed by Marcel.

The low weekend for “Venom: The Last Dance” also likely ensures that superhero films will see their lowest-grossing year in a dozen years, not counting the pandemic year of 2020, according to David A. Gross, a film consultant who publishes a newsletter for Franchise Entertainment.

Following on the heels of the “Joker: Folie à Deux” flop, Gross estimates that 2024 superhero films will gross about $2.25 billion worldwide. The only upcoming entry is Marvel’s “Kraven the Hunter,” due out Dec. 13.

Even with the $1.3 billion of “Deadpool & Wolverine,” the genre hasn’t, overall, been dominating the way it once did. In 2018, for example, superhero films accounted for more than $7 billion in global ticket sales.

Last week’s top film, the Paramount Pictures horror sequel “Smile 2,” dropped to second place with $9.4 million. That brings its two-week total to $83.7 million worldwide.

The weekend’s biggest success story might have been “Conclave,” the papal thriller starring Ralph Fiennes and directed by Edward Berger (“All Quiet on the Western Front”). The Focus Features release, a major Oscar contender, launched with $6.5 million in 1,753 theaters.

That put “Conclave” into third place, making it the rare adult-oriented drama to make a mark theatrically. Some 77% of ticket buyers were over the age of 35, Focus said. With a strong opening and stellar reviews, “Conclave” could continue to gather momentum both with moviegoers and Oscar voters.