'Beyond Utopia,' ' Going to Mars,' and 'Stamped from the Beginning,' Emmy nominees for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking

Today's installment examines the nominees for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking, Beyond Utopia, Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, and Stamped from the Beginning. All three fit one of my major motivations for covering entertainment in general and documentaries in particular, how entertainment depicts politics. I begin with Beyond Utopia - Official Trailer from Madman Films.

A suspenseful look at the lengths people will go to gain freedom, #BeyondUtopia follows various individuals as they attempt to flee North Korea, one of the most oppressive places on Earth, a land they grew up believing was a paradise.

At the film’s core are a mother desperate to reunite with the child she was forced to leave behind; a family of five — including small children and an elderly grandmother — embarking on a treacherous journey across the Yalu River and into the hostile mountains of China; and a man of God on a mission to help these desperate souls. Leaving their homeland is fraught with danger — severe punishment if caught and possibly even execution — as well as potential exploitation by unscrupulous brokers. Family members who remain behind also may face retribution. Yet these individuals are driven to take the risk.

Gripping, visceral, and urgent, Madeleine Gavin’s film embeds the viewer with these family members as they attempt their perilous escape, palpably conveying life-or-death stakes. The result is a singular, illuminating, and unforgettable experience.

This is a theatrical trailer, but this movie qualified for the Emmys as an episode of Independent Lens on PBS, which I usually see nominated at the News and Documentary Emmy Awards. Congratulations on being noticed by the Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards!

Next, Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project | Official Trailer | HBO.

“I remember what’s important and I make up the rest. That’s what storytelling’s all about.” GoingtoMars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, an HBO Original Documentary featuring the voice of Taraji P. Henson, follows the legendary poet, activist, and educator’s ascendance and impact on American culture.

I enjoyed the music, the hopeful tone in the face of adversity, and the conceit of the space theme in the poem and title. Here's to the movie being just as fun while exploring serious themes.

Speaking of serious themes, I'm sharing Stamped from the Beginning | Official Trailer | Netflix.

Oscar-winning director Roger Ross Williams brings Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s best-selling book Stamped From the Beginning to life, using vivid animations and leading female scholars to explore the history of anti-Black racist ideas.

If the general public voted for these awards, I'd say Stamped from the Beginning would have the advantage, as this trailer has 260,847 views, more than twice the combined views of all the different trailers for Beyond Utopia and three times the views for the trailer for Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, but the general public isn't voting, the Television Academy is. They are likely to take their cues from the guilds and critics.

Beyond Utopia earned nominations from BAFTA, the Directors Guild of America (DGA), the Producers Guild of America (PGA), the Cinema Eye Honors Awards, the Gold Derby Awards, the Critics Choice Documentary Awards, and a bunch of local critics associations and film festivals, including Sundance, to be the most nominated of the nominees. Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project earned nominations from the Film Independent Spirit Awards, International Documentary Association, Cinema Eye Honors Awards, and Critics Choice Documentary Awards, plus won awards at several local critics associations and film festivals, including Sundance to be the winningest of these nominees. Stamped from the Beginning earned nominations from the Satellite Awards, NAACP Image Awards, Writers Guild of America (WGA), Black Reel Awards, Cinema For Peace Awards, Critics Choice Documentary Awards, and Guild of Music Supervisors Awards, and won Best Documentary from the African-American Film Critics Association. The entertainment professionals most love Beyond Utopia, so I'd say it's the favorite on that basis.

The prognosticators at Gold Derby agree. Right now, Eight editors have voted for Beyond Utopia, while one each have Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project and Stamped from the Beginning as their choices. The three experts who've voted so far have all picked Beyond Utopia while 20 of the top 24 users have climbed aboard the Beyond Utopia bandwagon. I'd say it's a safe bet to win.

Stay tuned for more Emmys coverage tomorrow.

Previous posts about the 76th Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards

• Gold Derby's predictions for Emmy-nominated shows
• How did Gold Derby's Emmy nominations predictions fare?
• Sandy Hook Promise's 'Just Joking' the sole PSA among Emmy nominees for Outstanding Commercial

Meyers, Colbert, Kimmel, and 'The Daily Show' take closer looks at Stormy Daniels testimony and Kristi Noem's book appearances

Happy Throwback Thursday! I know I suggested "a serious look back at Trump's hush money trial so far" yesterday, but I couldn't resist examining the proceedings through comedy, just like last week. Laughter helps me digest the news better.

Without any further ado, I begin with Seth Meyers examining Trump Humiliated in Court by Stormy Testimony; Kristi Noem’s Disastrous Book Tour: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at Donald Trump coming face to face with Stormy Daniels in his criminal trial while his top VP contender Kristi Noem is grilled about lying in her book.

Seth is right; how will we teach today's events to tomorrow's children as history? Seth isn't the only comedian wondering about that. Stephen Colbert did as well in Trump To Stormy: You Remind Me Of My Daughter | Met Gala Looks | Dogs Dyed To Look Like Pandas.

Stormy Daniels testified about her one-night stand with Donald Trump, Stephen broke down his favorite looks from the Met Gala, and a Chinese zoo got caught trying to pass off dogs as pandas.

Unlike SNL, which made Kristi Noem a running joke in 'SNL' covers protests, Kristi Noem, and hush money trial with Dua Lipa doing double duty, Stephen couldn't bring himself to mention her in the video description, even though he included her media appearances in his monologue. Instead, he closed with two light topics, the Met Gala and the dogs as fake pandas. At least those dogs were cute and made even cuter by dying them like giant pandas.

Jimmy Kimmel remarked that his show was entered as an exhibit for the trial in Stormy Daniels Details Sex with Trump, Jimmy Mentioned AGAIN & Puppy Killer Noem's Disastrous Book.

Today the prosecution called Stormy Daniels to the stand in Trump’s hush money case, Jimmy was mentioned AGAIN in reference to an interview she did on our show, she revealed some details about her sexual encounter with Trump, after hearing the first half of her testimony he took to Truth social begging for a mistrial, after making a huge deal about missing his son Barron’s graduation - Donny is set to headline an event in Minnesota, Governor Kristi Noem is now distancing herself from her own autobiography after admitting to shooting her puppy and lying about meeting Kim Jong Un, the Met Gala took place in New York last night, and the monologue gets interrupted by a man named Von Schitzenpantz, who bares the same name that Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen came up with for him.

All of these clips have mentioned that there would be no description of genitalia, but Kimmel told his viewers where to look for one. This manipulated photo gives a hint.


Too bad it's fake. The real dress was plain royal blue without any orange mushrooms. Darn.

The Daily Show had its own take on Stormy's testimony in Stormy Daniels's NSFW Testimony & Vladimir Putin Wins “Democratic” Election.

Jordan Klepper recaps his favorite Met Gala looks, Putin puts on his own night of dictator opulence at his inauguration, and Troy Iwata weighs in on the disturbingly dirty details of Stormy Daniels's testimony during Trump's criminal hush money trial.

At least The Daily Show didn't talk about Noem, her dog, and Kim Jong Un. That was getting painful.

I close by returning to The Late Show with the relevant cold open, Porn Hub’s New Legal Series.

"Court Hub" is a new series of adult legal films released to celebrate Stormy Daniels testifying in the Trump hush money trial.

*Snork!*

Stay tuned for more coverage tomorrow.

'Last Week Tonight with John Oliver' on North Korea, a triple Emmy nominee

I promised twice to cover the third nominated episode of "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, which is about North Korea, so here is North Korea.

As nuclear tensions continue to escalate between the United States and North Korea, John Oliver enlists "Weird Al" Yankovic to perform some accordion-based diplomacy.

That's definitely funnier than Vox explains the 'nuclear button' and KFC trolls McDonalds in response to Trump, which was the 31st most read entry during last year, as I chronicled in Vox on U.S. withdrawing from Iran nuclear agreement helps update doom and risk for the seventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News.  It's also better, as it earned three Emmy nominations, Outstanding Directing For A Variety Series, Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Variety Series Or Special, and Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control For A Series, all of which were probably from the "Weird Al" Yankovic segment.  Hey, he beat Warren G. Harding!  I doubt that Vox's Here's how Trump's nuclear "button" actually works..., which I embedded in Vox explains the 'nuclear button' and KFC trolls McDonalds in response to Trump, will earn more than one News and Documentary Emmy Award nomination, if even that, when they are announced tomorrow.

In addition to the six episode-based nominations I described, "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" earned nominations for Outstanding Variety Talk Series, Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series, and Outstanding Interactive Program.  I'll be profiling its notable competitors beginning next week.  In the meantime, stay tuned for the speculative fiction nominees at the Teen Choice Awards.

Vox on U.S. withdrawing from Iran nuclear agreement helps update doom and risk for the seventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News

Happy Throwback Thursday!  It's time for me to post another retrospective of last year's most read entries.  It won't be what I promised in Holidays for the seventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News on Arbor Day, a review of the most popular climate posts.  The current event I mentioned in Bill Nye thinks eating bugs will save the world, the news about Trump pulling the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal, changed my mind.  Vox has the story in Trump quits Iran nuclear deal, undoing years of diplomacy.

Why Trump hates the deal, what he wants, and how we got here.
...
Trump has been saying he wants to exit the Iran nuclear deal for a long time, a deal that has so far prevented Iran from developing nuclear weapons. And now that he has, decades of negotiations could unravel, with far-reaching consequences for the US foreign policy.

The video notes that three top officials had been in favor of the deal, but two of them, former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and former National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, are gone.  They have been replaced with two Iran hawks, Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State and Michael Bolton as National Security Advisor.  I think that this is the first opportunity Trump has had to renew sanctions after both have taken office is not a coincidence.

As for what the U.S. is giving up, Vox posted How the Iran nuclear deal works, explained in 3 minutes, three years ago.

Iran and six world powers just cut a historical deal that would limit the Iranian nuclear program in exchange for economic sanctions relief. The details of the of the 159-page report are terribly technical. But there are some important aspect of this deal that we've distilled into this 3-minute video.

That looks good to me, so I think Trump, following the bad advice of Bolton and Pompeo, made a terrible mistake involving nuclear proliferation.

This isn't the first time I thought so, which leads me to the last time, an incident from January involving North Korea.


I detailed this incident in Vox explains the 'nuclear button' and KFC trolls McDonalds in response to Trump from January 11, 2018.  This entry earned 2499 raw page views by March 20, 2018, enough to place it 31st overall for the seventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie news and 27th among all entries actually posted during the seventh year of the blog.  It tied for most liked and retweeted on Twitter during January 2018 with one each.  The entry also came in 5th overall and 2nd among entries posted during January 2018 with 2433 default and 2453 raw page views for the month after being shared at the Join the Coffee Party Movement Facebook page.  Later events have made the Twitter fight between Trump and Kim Jong Un look less disastrous.  Maybe Trump pulling the U.S. out of the Iran Nuclear Deal will have the same effect, but I'm not hopeful.

Follow over the jump for the rest of the top entries on nuclear war and other risks not directly related to climate.

Doomsday Clock advances 30 seconds to two minutes before midnight

I made a prediction of sorts in CDC switches from nuclear war to flu as epidemic declared just before false alarm in Hawaii.

Between this scare and the Trumps' "nuclear button" tweet, I can hardly wait to see how much closer to Midnight the doomsday clock gets moved later this month.  Anyone else think it will be at least 30 seconds?

Last week, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists advanced the clock 30 seconds to two minutes to midnight, just as I expected.  NBC News reports The Doomsday Clock Moves Closer To Midnight.

The Doomsday Clock has been moved to 2 minutes to midnight in response to growing nuclear threats and climate change. The last time it was this close to midnight was in 1953 - a time when the U.S and the Soviet Union tested their first nuclear weapons.

FiveThirtyEight also explained the rationale, writing "The group explained its latest move mainly by citing President Trump’s handling of nuclear risks in North Korea and Iran. It also throws in worries about climate change for good measure."  It also traced the time of the Doomsday Clock in the graph below, showing that it is at the same time as it was in 1953 and also the closest it's ever been to midnight.


That graph shows that the Doomsday Clock actually was at 11:58 P.M. all the way from 1953 to 1960, so I was born when the possibility of nuclear war was just as high as the risk of the end of civilization from nuclear war and climate change is now.  That's not reassuring.  What I do find reassuring is that things got better.  This Crazy Eddie hopes that's the case this time, too, and that the biggest worry from the Doomsday Clock is fictional.

While I'm done with January, I'm not done with DOOM!  Stay tuned for a post about 2017 in climate change to start February at midnight.

CDC switches from nuclear war to flu as epidemic declared just before false alarm in Hawaii

When I wrote "I'll return to reality tomorrow with some real-life DOOM," I had in mind the CDC special session about nuclear detonation that had been scheduled for today.  Over the weekend, that changed, as Wochit News reported in CDC Shifts From Nuclear Strike To Influenza. 

The Center for Disease Control’s January 16th special session advising Americans on what to do in the event of a nuclear war has shifted topic. It will now be about what to do in the event of flu season. As reported by the New York Times, the CDC announced the shift because the flu was particularly bad this year. The announcement read, "To date, this influenza season is notable for the sheer volume of flu that most of the United States is seeing at the same time, which can stress health systems."

To get an idea how severe this year's outbreak is, ABC News reported Flu epidemic strikes US: CDC on Friday the 12th.

With 13 weeks of flu season left, some hospitals face an IV fluid shortage as they treat the sick.

I'll get back to the IV shortage after I share How to protect yourself when someone in your family has the flu from ABC News, posted yesterday.  It probably won't be much different from what the CDC says along with the admonition to get vaccinated (I got my shot in October during my first doctor visit after being diagnosed as a Type I diabetic; there are advantages to being under close medical supervision).

Dr. Jennifer Ashton shares tips on how to keep the rest of the household healthy when one family member at home comes down with the flu.

All of that looks like good advice to follow in the worst flu epidemic since 2014, when I wrote Flu claiming lives in Michigan and California.

I did mention I'd get back to the IV shortage.  That's because of the impact of Hurricane Maria.  As WXYZ reported last week, Hurricane damage in Puerto Rico is impacting hospitals in metro Detroit.

It was September when Hurricane Maria, the tenth most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, slammed into Puerto Rico.  It claimed lives, destroyed buildings and knocked out power to the entire island.   Now the U.S. territory, which happens to be home to dozens of pharmaceutical manufacturing plants, is still struggling to recover. More than 600,000 customers remain without power.  It is impacting hospitals across the country and right here in metro-Detroit.

Welcome to an example of "everything is connected to everything else."  Who'd have thought a hurricane in Puerto Rico would affect flu treatment in the rest of the U.S. months later?  Well, it is.  Maybe power should be restored more quickly in Puerto Rico in order to improve health care on the mainland.

One of the ironies in changing the subject of the CDC briefing and the map associated with the declaration of the the flu epidemic is that the state least affected by flu right now is Hawaii and the 50th state was the one most affected by the threat of nuclear war.  Follow over the jump for that news.

Vox explains the 'nuclear button' and KFC trolls McDonalds in response to Trump

Last week, President Trump engaged North Korean leader Kim Jun Un in a war of words on Twitter.  Kim gave a speech in which he warned a "nuclear button is always on my desk."  Trump returned fire by tweeting "North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the “Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.” Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!"  That prompted a variety of responses, both serious and silly.

Vox had one of the serious reactions, explaining Here's how Trump's nuclear "button" actually works...

There's no physical button, but there is a "football" and "biscuit".
...
Just a week into 2018, Donald Trump tweeted a provocative message directed at the North Korean regime's leader, Kim Jong Un. His message cited a "nuclear button", and claimed that his was much larger than Kim's. But how does the U.S. protocol for launching nuclear warheads actually work? It's a process that's designed to be fast - there are only a few steps. But it's still more complicated than a simple button.

The article accompanying the video concluded with the same chilling quote that the video did.

It could take as little as five minutes for intercontinental ballistic missiles to launch from the time the president officially orders a strike. Missiles launched from submarines take about 15 minutes.

“The president can order a nuclear strike in about the time it takes to write a tweet,” [Joe] Cirincione said.

Eep!  That makes it sound easy enough that Trump could actually do it.

At the other extreme, KFC UK and Ireland had one of the better silly responses.

McDonald’s leader Ronald just stated he has a “burger on his desk at all times. Will someone from his big-shoed, red-nosed regime inform him that I too have a burger on my desk, but mine is a box meal which is bigger and more powerful than his, and mine has gravy! #nuclearbutton

That went viral, earning 498,424 likes, 189,332 retweets, and 4,190 replies.  One of those replies was mine, in which I told KFC to pick on someone their own size, at least on Twitter: "Too bad @Wendys doesn't have UK locations. I'd dare you to get into a Twitter fight with them."  That tweet earned 427 likes, 10 retweets, and ten replies.  It was the most popular tweet I've ever posted and got more engagement than any of the tweets The Independent or Atlanta Constitution quoted.  As for McDonald's, the company never responded on Twitter.

Vox on nukes for another fake doomsday

Today is yet another predicted doomsday and it would a dereliction of my duty as a doomer blogger to ignore it.  That doesn't mean I have to take it at face value -- quite the contrary.  This particular doomsday, like the Rapture and Judgment Day of 2011, the Fake Mayan Doomsday 2012 and Ragnorak of 2014, deserves my mockery.  Today's apocalypse not features both Biblical numerology and Nibiru, the Planet X of conspiracy theory.*  At least this end of the world idea is eclectic.

That doesn't mean that the possibility of the end of western industrial civilization isn't real.  It's just that it will happen as a result of natural causes explanable by science.  One of those, which I examined at the beginning of the year in Trump helps move the Doomsday Clock 30 seconds closer to midnight and Nuclear war and how to survive it from ASAP Science and ASAP Thought then more recently but less seriously in SNL mocks Trump for Presidential Joke Day and Colbert on the nuclear crisis with North Korea, is the threat of nuclear war, particularly between the U.S. and North Korea.  Follow over the jump for three videos from Vox on the Doomsday Clock and nuclear war.

Colbert on the nuclear crisis with North Korea

Besides Charlottesville, the other big story  over the weekend was the threat of nuclear war with North Korea.  I'll be a good environmentalist and recycle what I wrote on my Dreamwidth account for Presidential Joke Day.

I'm posting about National Presidential Joke Day both here and at Crazy Eddie's Motie News. There, the post was SNL mocks Trump for Presidential Joke Day. Here, it's Colbert saying Stephen Doesn't Want The Earth To Blow Up.

As a homeowner and inhabitant of the planet, Stephen is really hoping Earth continues to be.

Doomer though I am, I'm with Colbert. I may repost this at Crazy Eddie's Motie News on Tuesday, after I post the worksheet for "Treasures of the Earth: Power" that I promised to post three weeks ago, the winners for Dramatic Presentation at the Hugo Awards, and the winners of the Teen Choice Awards.

Posted here as promised along with the first two on the list.  The Teen Choice Award winners may take a little longer.  Stay tuned.

U.S. successfully tests ICBM interceptor to defend against North Korea

I've only featured North Korea and the responses to its actions in two posts, Dr. Evil airs his grievances for Festivus plus bonus cybersecurity news and North Korea tests fifth nuclear device.  It's time for a third look at its capabilities.

In addition to the Hermit Kingdom's cyberwarfare and nuclear weapons technology, the third member of the Axis of Evil also poses a threat through its missile program.  This week, the United States demonstrated its readiness to counter North Korea by testing an ICBM interceptor.  Newsy reports.

For the first time ever, the Defense Department has tested a ground-based missile system on an intercontinental ballistic missile.

That's not all.  TomoNewsUS has more details along with reports of other efforts to counter North Korea's missile program in US intercepts ICBM-class target in missile test in wake of North Korea threat.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIFORNIA — The Pentagon successfully shot down an intercontinental ballistic missile target using its upgraded long-range interceptor missile in a missile test on Tuesday.

The ground-based defense interceptor was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California while the ICBM-class target was launched 4,200 miles away from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

A ground-based defense system flies into the path of an incoming missile target before releasing an Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle. The kill vehicle destroys the target by sheer force of impact outside the earth’s atmosphere. CNN reported that the missile test is the first test of the interceptor using an upgraded Kill Vehicle.

“This system is vitally important to the defense of our homeland, and this test demonstrates that we have a capable, credible deterrent against a very real threat. I am incredibly proud of the warfighters who executed this test and who operate this system every day,” ABC News quoted Missile Defense Agency Director Vice Adm. Jim Syring as saying.

Tensions between North Korea and the U.S. are running high lately. North Korea has launched a series of missile tests recently, including a short-range ballistic missile that landed in the Sea of Japan on May 28.

Just as I did in Electron rocket launches in New Zealand, I'm finding TomoNewsUS's perspective useful in covering news.  It's not just for laughs anymore.

North Korea tests fifth nuclear device

During the past five plus years, I haven't blogged about either North Korea or nuclear proliferation much.  In fact, the last time I posted about North Korea, it was in the context of Dr. Evil airing his grievances for Festivus.  As for nuclear proliferation, I had good news the last time I mentioned it in Iran nuclear deal eases fear premium.  Unfortunately, today does not bring good news, as CNN reports North Korea claims successful test of nuclear warhead.

North Korea has hit the button on its fifth and potentially most powerful nuclear test, claiming to have successfully tested a nuclear warhead. CNN's Steven Jiang reports.

For more, read the story on CNN's site.

This is the third nuclear test by North Korea since I began this blog and the fifth in the country's history.  I ignored the other two, so I guess the third time is a charm.  Besides, I should be covering this story.  As I wrote in Hiroshima 70 years later, "for a blog about the collapse of civilization to ignore the beginning of the time when nuclear weapons were feared and expected to be the most likely cause of the end of civilization would be a shameful act of neglect.  Under the guise of 'better late than never,' I'm avoiding this dereliction of my duty as a doomer blogger by" reporting on this test.  Thanks to Kim Jong Un, who I jokingly call "Kim Young One," I'm now paying attention.  I'm not particularly grateful.

While I take North Korea's nuclear threat seriously, I don't take "Kim Young One" himself that seriously, so I'm going to have some fun at his expense with the assistance of Skyy the Tipsy Bartender.  Follow over the jump.

Dr. Evil airs his grievances for Festivus plus bonus cybersecurity news

Happy Festivus!  To celebrate the holiday this year, I'm giving a platform for someone else to air his grievances.  Take it away, Dr. Evil!

Dr. Evil (Mike Myers) interrupts Sam Smith's (Taran Killam) Christmas special to address North Korea and Sony Pictures directly about the hack.

Thank you, that was a beautiful airing of grievances.

On a more serious note, follow over the jump for cybersecurity and cybercrime news since Labor Day from colleges on the campaign trail and the bowl hunt that I originally included in Overnight News Digest at Daily Kos.