Grammy nominee 'Little Richard: I Am Everything' among Emmy nominees for Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary

I closed 'Jon Stewart Debunks GOP’s City Crime Narrative' plus 'The Daily Show's Emmy nominations with a program note.

I think I'll stick to awards coverage for tomorrow's Sunday entertainment feature, but something less time-intensive, like the 45th News and Documentary Emmy Awards nominations. One of the nominees earned a Grammy nomination, so it fits the theme. See you then!

This is what I wrote about the Grammy nominee in February: "One other nominee in this category earned a nomination for Best Music Documentary at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards, I Am Everything." Little Richard: I Am Everything got another chance at awards glory from the 45th News and Documentary Emmy Awards, so it's the featured documentary today. Watch Little Richard: I Am Everything - Official Trailer | Documentary by Lisa Cortés from Magnolia Pictures & Magnet Releasing.

Produced by Bungalow Media + Entertainment for CNN Films and HBO Max, in association with Rolling Stone Films, director Lisa Cortés’ Sundance opening night documentary LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING tells the story of the Black queer origins of rock n’ roll, exploding the whitewashed canon of American pop music to reveal the innovator – the originator – Richard Penniman. Through a wealth of archive and performance that brings us into Richard’s complicated inner world, the film unspools the icon’s life story with all its switchbacks and contradictions. In interviews with family, musicians, and cutting-edge Black and queer scholars, the film reveals how Richard created an art form for ultimate self-expression, yet what he gave to the world he was never able to give to himself. Throughout his life, Richard careened like a shiny cracked pinball between God, sex and rock n’ roll. The world tried to put him in a box, but Richard was an omni being who contained multitudes – he was unabashedly everything. Directed by Lisa Cortés, LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING is produced by Robert Friedman, Cortés, Liz Yale Marsh and Caryn Capotosto and Executive Produced by Dee Rees.

In the absence of Gold Derby odds — the News and Documentary Emmy Awards aren't big enough for them* — I go by other awards and nominations, trailer views, and general impression of the trailer and subject matter. Little Richard: I Am Everything's awards and nominations page is helpful, but I found it incomplete. Yes, it shows wins at the Black Reel Awards and Guild of Music Supervisors Awards and nominations by the American Cinema Editors, Cinema Audio Society, GLAAD Media Awards, Satellite Awards, NAACP Image Awards, International Documentary Association, GALECA, Hollywood Music in Media Awards, and Astra Film Awards along with its Critics Choice Documentary Award nomination, but it lacks both its Grammy nomination and News and Documentary Emmy Awards nominations. For what it's worth, Moonage Daydream's IMDB Awards and nominations page lacks its Grammy Award as well. Hmph. The Environmental Media Association Awards aren't the only incomplete awards on IMDB.

Speaking of other nominations, Little Richard: I Am Everything also has a nomination for Outstanding Editing: Documentary. It's not the only nominee for Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary with a second nomination; The Legacy of J. Dilla also has a nomination for Outstanding Sound: Documentary, so I'm sharing The New York Times Presents: The Legacy of J Dilla | S2E5 Sneak Peek: The Life of a Visionary | FX.

Rapper, producer, and visionary J Dilla had huge ambitions in life. Inside this episode, we dive deeper into the late musician's legacy.

This trailer has 8,536 views, while a teaser uploaded by Dis Times has 3,018, so fewer than 10,000 YouTube viewers have seen either. In contrast, I found four trailers for Little Richard: I Am Everything on YouTube with total of 364,431 views. The one I shared has the second most with 150,467 views. Rotten Tomatoes Indie's upload has 202,404 views. HBO and Max's trailers make up the rest of the views. People are watching them! Then again, the number of views and my impression of the trailers misled me last year when I proclaimed 'IS THAT BLACK ENOUGH FOR YOU?!?' likely favorite to win Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary after 'Roadrunner' removed. Nope. Art & Krimes by Krimes won instead. I would be surprised if that happens this year, especially since IMDB's awards and nominations page for The New York Times Presents lists no nominations for this episode, including its News and Documentary Emmy Awards nominations. On all the above criteria, I'm declaring Little Richard: I Am Everything the favorite.

Follow over the jump for the trailers for the rest of the nominees, which are only nominated in this category, and a brief look at the other nominations for Little Richard: I Am Everything and The Legacy of J. Dilla.


I continue with Omoiyari: A Song Film by Kishi Bashi - (Official Teaser #1) by Omoiyari Song Film.

Omoiyari - A Japanese word that means to have sympathy and compassion towards another person. A universal concept in human interaction that is required for a sustainable society.

In Omoiyari: a Song Film by Kishi Bashi, internationally acclaimed composer and songwriter Kaoru Ishibashi (professionally know as "Kishi Bashi") embarks on a personal quest by creating his music in locations relevant to the Japanese American Incarceration during WWII. It is on this journey in which Kishi Bashi comes to terms with his own identity, and uncovers a myriad of social issues that have gripping modern relevance. ‘Omoiyari’ is a genre breaking, artistic exploration that fuses history, music, and the complexities of the human condition.

MTV Documentary Films is the distributor for this film and I have learned not to underestimate them. Not only was last year's winner of this category, Art & Krimes by Krimes, one of theirs, so was The Fire That Took Her, last year's winner of Outstanding Crime and Justice Documentary, which also surprised me by winning. That could happen here, too, especially since this trailer and the MTV Documentary Films trailer combined have 38,941 views. People are watching, just not as much as for Little Richard: I Am Everything but much more than The Legacy of J. Dilla. Also, unlike The Legacy of J. Dilla, its IMDB awards page lists two wins, but they are not from industry groups, just film festivals.

The next entry is also an MTV documentary, Willie Nelson & Family | Official Trailer | Paramount+.

The first authorized work exploring the extraordinary life of Willie Nelson traverses the personal and career ups, downs, and in-betweens of one of the world's most beloved musicians.

This is the only English-language trailer I found on YouTube and it has 30,613 views, so people are watching it, too. Also, its IMDB nominations page is the first one I found that lists its News and Documentary Emmy Awards nomination, the film's only nomination. I clicked over to IMDB's 2024 News & Documentary Emmy Awards page and it was the only nominee in this category listed. To make things worse, the page lists only five nominees in four categories. Representatives of the other nominees' studios and channels need to get to work to fix this!

The final nominee I'm featuring today is Lift | Official Trailer | Paramount Movies.

About Lift: Over a decade in the making, this inspiring and unforgettable documentary follows children impacted by homelessness as they discover the magic of self-expression through dance. Guided by mentor Steven, whose journey leads back to his childhood shelter, their path within a remarkable ballet program becomes a celebration of joy and triumph in the face of adversity.

That's moving and inspiring. Like all the rest of the nominees, it explores important social issues through art, particularly music and dance. As for its odds, it has one award and two nominations on IMDB, all at film festivals. This trailer also has 26,106 views, so people are watching it.

Now for the other nominations for Little Richard: I Am Everything and The Legacy of J. Dilla.


Three nominees in this category earned three nominations each. Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage & Reckoning has nominations for Best Documentary and Outstanding Crime and Justice Documentary in addition to Outstanding Editing: Documentary. It's my preliminary favorite to win Outstanding Crime and Justice Documentary. David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived's other nominations include Outstanding Social Issue Documentary and Outstanding Music Composition: Documentary in addition to this category. It's my preliminary pick to win Outstanding Social Issue Documentary, although Eat Your Catfish has two awards and nine nominations. I'll get to both later. The Pigeon Tunnel has only craft nominations for Outstanding Writing: Documentary, Outstanding Cinematography: Documentary, and Outstanding Editing: Documentary. Meanwhile, American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing has only this one nomination.

The best I can say for Little Richard: I Am Everything's chances is that the American Cinema Editors nominated it for Best Edited Documentary - Theatrical, where it lost to a multiple Emmy winner, an Oscar winner, an Oscar nominee, and a Cinema Eye Honors Awards winner. None of the rest of this field earned nominations there, so if the Hollywood entertainment professionals were voting, it would almost certainly win. Most of them aren't — the documentarians and news people are — so Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage & Reckoning has just as good a chance. Remember, electorates matter.


Incredible Animal Journeys has four nominations total to be the most nominated member of this field, Outstanding Nature Documentary, Outstanding Cinematography: Documentary, and Outstanding Promotional Announcement: Documentary, in addition to Outstanding Sound: Documentary. It's my preliminary pick for Outstanding Nature Documentary. Freedom on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom is competing for Best Documentary and Outstanding Music Composition: Documentary in addition to Outstanding Music: Documentary. The Lost Pyramid earned a nomination in this category and Outstanding Cinematography: Documentary. Big Beasts has only this nomination. I'd say that The Legacy of J. Dilla has an advantage because it's a music documentary, but Freedom on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom also has a nomination for its music, so I'm provisionally picking the two as co-favorites.

Tomorrow is International Tiger Day, so I might examine nominated nature documentaries. Stay tuned.

*I might just send in an email to Gold Derby's slugfest account asking about the "smallest" awards they cover and which they would consider posting odds for. They didn't post odds for the Razzies this year after having done so for several years, for example. That would be after I register as a user there.