John, take us back to 1992. You’re

24 years old, and you’re at the

Oscars as the first African-American

best director nominee ever. You’re

up against Jonathan Demme, Ridley

Scott, Oliver Stone ... what do

you remember?

SINGLETON Well, first of all, I’m

fuckin’ scared. (Laughs.)

Why is that?

SINGLETON Because I thought

it meant my career was over. I

thought, “That’s their way to

get me out.” I was really very

humbled by it, too. I was a year

out of film school when it hap-

pened, and I just sat down and

tried to write and study film even

more than I already had so I was

up to that honor. At the same

time, as a black man in America,

my other fear was not wanting

to necessarily lose myself in the

hype of Hollywood.

Lee and Barry, can you empathize

with that feeling of fear?

DANIELS For sure.

JENKINS Definitely. For me, I didn’t

make Moonlight for the awards

conversation, and when it ended up

there, I was shocked the whole way.

I kept waiting for the other shoe

to drop. And then with how things

ultimately went in the end [with

the mistaken announcement that

La La Land had won best picture],

because of how loud it was and all

of that other stuff, I’ve never been

as distraught as I was at the Vanit y

Fair party after the Oscars.

Why, exactly?

JENKINS I mean, did you see the

show? (Laughs.) It’s not the kind of

I

n late January, Jordan Peele became

just the fourth African-American

filmmaker in the 90-year history of the

Academy Awards to be nominated

for best director. The 39-year-old behind

Get Out follows John Singleton, who in

1992 was the category’s youngest-ever

nominee at 24 when he was recognized

for directing Boyz N the Hood, along with

Lee Daniels, now 58 (Precious, 2009),

and Barry Jenkins, 38 (Moonlight, 2016).

If this elite group were expanded to

include all black directors, it would add

only Britain’s Steve McQueen, who earned

his nomination in 2014 for helming 12 Years

a Slave. None of these prior nominees

ultimately took home the Oscar. With the

March 4 ceremony looming and the

racial makeup of the Academy and the

industry at large under increased scrutiny,

TH R gathered the quartet for a candid

conversation about how success can feel

like failure, the doors Black Panther has

opened and why not one of these guys was

able to enjoy his big night.

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