Patrick RyanUSA TODAY
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BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – John “Divine G” Whitfield has long believed in the power of manifestation.
On the set of the prison drama “Sing Sing,” which is inspired, in part, by his experience, he remembers telling cast and crew members, “This movie is going to be big!” That became a self-fulfilling prophecy, with the film earning three Oscar nominations including best actor (Colman Domingo) and best original song (“Like a Bird”). Whitfield, 60, received a nod from the Academy for best adapted screenplay, which he shared with director Greg Kwedar, co-writer Clint Bentley and actor Clarence Maclin.
The Brooklyn-based author spent 25 years at New York’s Sing Sing Correctional Facility after he was wrongfully convicted of murder. But even behind bars, he always knew he was destined for great things, including a spot at Hollywood’s biggest ceremony on Sunday night.
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If Whitfield could speak to his younger self, “I think he’d say, ‘Hey, it’s possible!’ ” says the Oscar nominee, sitting down for a breakfast of turkey bacon, eggs and hash browns a few days before the show. “I mean, who would expect this movie would be embraced so well? But dreams can come true and our movie is a representation of that fact.
“I would tell him to just stay the course, keep your heart pure and keep on helping people. Throw out good into the universe, and it comes back tenfold.”
For the 'Sing Sing' team, the Oscars don't 'have to be the end'
The Oscars were the last stop of a yearslong journey for “Sing Sing,” which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2023 and was released in theaters last summer. Kwedar began developing the project nearly a decade ago after reading a 2005 Esquire article about Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA), a theater program at Sing Sing that teaches incarcerated men invaluable life skills through writing and performing. The movie centers on the friendship between Whitfield (Domingo) and Maclin (playing himself) as they stage “Breakin’ the Mummy’s Code,” an original time-traveling comedy featuring everyone from Robin Hood to Freddy Krueger.
From the jump, “we were not setting some lofty goal to get to the Oscars,” Kwedar says. “The gift was just getting to make it.”
The cast is comprised almost entirely of formerly incarcerated men, and the filmmakers made a conscious effort to keep their stories front and center throughout awards season. They helped fight for actor JJ Velazquez to be exonerated of his wrongful murder conviction last year and continue to speak out in support of Whitfield, who was released from prison in 2012 but is still waiting for full exoneration.
They’re also quick to praise Maclin and co-star Sean Dino Johnson, both of whom now have acting representation. (Maclin, who received British Academy Film Awards, Critics Choice and Independent Spirit awards nominations for “Sing Sing,” will next star in Ray Panthaki’s “In Starland.”)
“I really would’ve loved to see that best supporting actor (Oscar) nod for Clarence – I’ll be honest, that one hurt,” Kwedar says. But even still, “two RTA members are now Oscar nominees – that’s a first for the organization.”
After forging a family with the "Sing Sing" cast, the filmmakers hope to bring a similar sense of equity and collaboration to future projects. Days before the Academy Awards, they ran a workshop at San Quentin Prison in Northern California, “teaching the guys in there how to shoot on a film,” Bentley says. “It was such a beautiful, grounding way to start a crazy week.”
The experience “showed me this doesn’t have to be the end,” Kwedar adds. “If there’s a lesson, it’s that you need to do the work to cultivate that kind of community. Also, another big thing I want to do going forward is to hire the incredibly talented formerly incarcerated artists coming up.”
John 'Divine G' Whitfield rubbed shoulders with Demi Moore, Adrien Brody during awards season
Whitfield has been “flying on cloud nine” ever since Oscar nominations were announced in late January. “It’s hard to believe, man, but it’s definitely sinking in,” he says. “Everybody (from RTA) is enjoying this moment. I guess my win is their win as well.”
He arrived in Los Angeles the Monday before the telecast and spent his scant downtime taking long walks around the city. (“I was thinking of going on one of those tour buses, just to sightsee.”) On Tuesday, he gathered with his fellow nominees for the Oscar class photo, where he was seated next to the “beautiful” and “open” Ralph Fiennes of “Conclave.”
Throughout awards season, he’s most enjoyed getting to chat with “The Brutalist” stars Adrien Brody and Guy Pearce, although he admittedly didn’t finish watching the 3 ½-hour epic (“It was just so long!”). He was also thrilled to meet “The Substance” actress Demi Moore: “I was like, ‘Whoa, Demi Moore!’ I love me some Demi Moore!” Whitfield says with a smile. “I’ll go see everything with Demi in it.”
The last year has been filled with surreal moments for the cast, from screening the film for currently incarcerated men at Sing Sing prison to staging a condensed version of “Mummy’s Code” with the original cast at New York Theatre Workshop (“It felt so good to be back with the team"). But some of Whitfield's favorite experiences have been buying tickets to see "Sing Sing" in a theater and watching how audiences react.
“People will be crying and I’m just like, ‘Wow,’ ” Whitfield says. “It’s good that people are actually getting the message that humans can change their behaviors."
In RTA, "our whole mission for many years has been to share the power of art and how it’s so healing. This movie has given us a vehicle to do that.”
