an unprecedented crisis in the world around him, actors and directors are in the spotlight – and his strengths.
Somehow, amid relentless existential punishment in 2020, King is living one of the best years of his decade-long career in a business that can be rough for black women.
In early September, King became the first black director in the 87-year history of the Venice Film Festival to have his work screened as part of the program. While not competing for the price, “One Night in Miami” celebrates its world premiere in Venice. King’s directorial debut is an adaptation of the Camp Powers play of the same name. This follows Cassius Clay (Mohammed Ali), Malcolm X, Sam Cook, and Jim Brown in a night of celebration, conflict, community, and moral and political insight. Clay beat Sonny Liston to win the world heavyweight title.
Weeks later, King made his fourth Emmy premiere for Sister Night, aka Angela Abar, on HBO’s Watchmen, the brilliant and devastating “Remix” miniseries of the critically acclaimed comedy series Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. In eye-catching fuchsia Schiaparelli pants with soft curls on her head, she brought Amy as the lead actress in a limited series. Underneath his blazer, he wore a T-shirt with Breona Taylor’s face on it, with the words “SAY HER NAME.”
“I have to choose,” he said after receiving the Emmy statuette of the trophy winner sent by the television academy. “I would refuse not to mention it because I’m part of the show as predictable as the guards. Have a voting schedule.”
The same week that King won his Emmy, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced that a grand jury would not indict Louisville police officers for Taylor’s death from a fatal drug attack. Years of massive highs and lows have passed for King, who is now going down in history as the big Oscar favorite for “One Night in Miami.”