Mudbound, directed by Dee Rees, follows the story of two families; one black, one white, residing in racist rural Mississippi, trying to maneuver their way through the World War II era. The Netflix feature film is changing the game and competing with the “big leagues” at the 2018 Academy Awards, and has raked up a total of four nominations which include, Best Adapted Screenplay (Dee Rees is the first black woman nominee) and Best Cinematography (Rachel Morrison is the first woman nominee).
R&B/Soul powerhouse Mary J. Blige has earned the two remaining Oscar nominations; Best Supporting Actress for her role as Florence Jackson, and Best Original Song for “Mighty River.” Mary J. Blige is the first person ever to receive nominations for both performance and original song within the same year, for the same film.
In a phone interview with USA Today, Blige said in happy tears, “I just can’t stop crying.” She continued on stating,
“My phone rang at about 5:30 a.m. and it was my publicist, Amanda, and she was screaming. And I don’t know what it is so I’m screaming and I’m crying! It’s just a really emotional time. We’re not taking this lightly because things like this don’t happen. And it did.”
The artist concluded the interview in hopes that people walk away with a positive message.
“What I hope that people take away is that no matter how bad or how awful things get or look or people treat us, we cannot give up on ourselves,” she says. “And we have to continue to look at the negative as an opportunity to do something positive, to change something.”
Congratulations to Mary J. Blige on her Oscar nominations! The 90th Oscars will air live on ABC on Sunday, March 4, 2018 at 6:30 P.M.
