Whoopi Goldberg in the context of Mark Twain Prize for American Humor

The Color Purple is a 1985 American epic period drama film, directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Menno Meyjes, based on the 1982 novel by Alice Walker. Spielberg's eighth film as a director, it marked a turning point in his career as it was a departure from the summer blockbusters for which he had become known. It is the first film directed by Spielberg for which John Williams did not compose the score, which was done by Quincy Jones instead. Jones also produced the film alongside Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall. The film stars Whoopi Goldberg in her breakthrough role, along with Danny Glover, Oprah Winfrey (in her film debut), Margaret Avery, and Adolph Caesar.

Filmed in Anson and Union counties in North Carolina, The Color Purple tells the coming-of-age story of a young African-American girl named Celie Harris and the brutal experiences she endured including domestic violence, incest, child sexual abuse, poverty, racism, and sexism.

The Lion King is a 1994 American animated musical drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, and features an ensemble voice cast consisting of Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Moira Kelly, Niketa Calame, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, Rowan Atkinson, and Robert Guillaume. The story follows a young lion prince named Simba, who is exiled from his kingdom after his father Mufasa is murdered by his uncle Scar to seize the throne. As he grows up, Simba must decide whether to return home to confront Scar and reclaim his place as king.

The Lion King was conceived during conversations among various Disney executives, to whom several writers submitted early treatments. Original director George Scribner had envisioned The Lion King as a nature documentary-style film, with Allers joining as co-director after having worked in the story departments of several successful animated Disney films. The Lion King's plot draws inspiration from several sources, notably William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. Woolverton, screenwriter for Disney's Beauty and the Beast (1991), drafted early versions of The Lion King's script, which Mecchi and Roberts were hired to revise once Woolverton left to prioritize other projects. Scribner departed due to disagreements over the studio's decision to reimagine the film as a musical, with original songs by Elton John and Tim Rice, and Minkoff was hired to replace him in April 1992. Throughout production, the creative team visited Kenya for research and inspiration.

The 66th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 1993 and took place on March 21, 1994, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 23 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Gil Cates and directed by Jeff Margolis. Actress Whoopi Goldberg hosted the show for the first time. This ceremony was the first to present the annual In Memoriam tribute. Nearly a month earlier in a ceremony held at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on February 26, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Laura Dern.

Schindler's List won seven awards, including Best Picture. Other winners included Jurassic Park and The Piano with three awards, Philadelphia with two, and The Age of Innocence, Belle Époque, Defending Our Lives, The Fugitive, I Am a Promise: The Children of Stanton Elementary School, Mrs. Doubtfire, Schwarzfahrer, and The Wrong Trousers with one. The telecast was watched by more than 46 million viewers in the United States.

The 68th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 1995 in the United States and took place on March 25, 1996, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 24 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by David Salzman and Quincy Jones and directed by Jeff Margolis. Actress Whoopi Goldberg hosted the show for the second time, having previously presided over the 66th ceremony in 1994. Three weeks earlier, in a ceremony held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on March 2, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Richard Dreyfuss.

Braveheart won five awards, including Best Picture. Other winners included Apollo 13, Pocahontas, Restoration, and The Usual Suspects with two awards and Anne Frank Remembered, Antonia's Line, Babe, A Close Shave, Dead Man Walking, Leaving Las Vegas, Lieberman in Love, Mighty Aphrodite, One Survivor Remembers, Il Postino: The Postman, and Sense and Sensibility with one. The telecast garnered almost 45 million viewers in the United States.

The Player is a 1992 American satirical black comedy mystery film directed by Robert Altman and written by Michael Tolkin, based on his 1988 novel. The film stars Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Fred Ward, Whoopi Goldberg, Peter Gallagher, Brion James and Cynthia Stevenson, and is the story of a Hollywood film studio executive who kills an aspiring screenwriter he believes is sending him death threats.

The Player has many film references and Hollywood in-jokes, with 65 celebrities making cameo appearances in the film. Altman once stated that the film "is a very mild satire," offending no one. The film received three nominations at the 65th Academy Awards: Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing. The film also won two Golden Globes, Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical and Best Actor – Comedy or Musical for Robbins.

Johann Gottlieb Goldberg (German: [ˈɡɔltbɛɐ̯k]; baptized 14 March 1727 – 13 April 1756) was a German virtuoso harpsichordist, organist, and composer of the late Baroque and early Classical period. He is best known for lending his name, as the probable original performer, to the renowned Goldberg Variations of J. S. Bach. He is an ancestor of Whoopi Goldberg.

Alice in Wonderland is a 1999 made-for-television film adaptation of Lewis Carroll's books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871). It was first broadcast on NBC on February 28, 1999 and then shown on British television on Channel 4.

Tina Majorino played the lead role of Alice and a number of well-known performers portrayed the eccentric characters whom Alice meets during the course of the story, including Ben Kingsley, Martin Short, Whoopi Goldberg, Peter Ustinov, Christopher Lloyd, Gene Wilder, George Wendt, Robbie Coltrane and Miranda Richardson. In common with most adaptations of the book, it includes scenes and characters from Through the Looking-Glass.