Meryl Streep has always been vocal about her struggle and fight against s*xism in Hollywood. The actress serves as a champion of women and has played numerous roles in films portraying strong and well-rounded characters.
Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep in The Post
The Oscar-winning star advocates gender and pay equality, women’s rights to education and suffrage, and level positions in high posts. In fact, she has talked about her campaigns in many interviews.
SUGGESTEDMeryl Streep Nearly Starred in $1.6B Franchise That Revolutionized Feminism in Hollywood, Reportedly Dropped Out to Grieve Death of Boyfriend
Meryl Streep On Gender Inequality And The Language Of Men And Women
Meryl Streep was joined by Bradley Whitford, Bob Odenkirk, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, and Ann Hornaday in a discussion about the 2017 film The Post. The actress played former Washington Post Publisher Katharine Graham, and in the middle of the interview, she talked...
Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep in The Post
The Oscar-winning star advocates gender and pay equality, women’s rights to education and suffrage, and level positions in high posts. In fact, she has talked about her campaigns in many interviews.
SUGGESTEDMeryl Streep Nearly Starred in $1.6B Franchise That Revolutionized Feminism in Hollywood, Reportedly Dropped Out to Grieve Death of Boyfriend
Meryl Streep On Gender Inequality And The Language Of Men And Women
Meryl Streep was joined by Bradley Whitford, Bob Odenkirk, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, and Ann Hornaday in a discussion about the 2017 film The Post. The actress played former Washington Post Publisher Katharine Graham, and in the middle of the interview, she talked...
- 2/17/2024
- by Ariane Cruz
- FandomWire
A column chronicling conversations and events on the awards circuit.
One of my very favorite events, if not the favorite of all of Oscar season, is the AFI Awards, which started a wild holiday weekend of awards ceremonies and parties. All that will culminate in the Primetime Emmys Monday night, and then the end of Oscar nomination voting on Tuesday at 5 Pm Pt. In other words, this is crunch time.
Emma Stone and Carey Mulligan at the AFI Awards 2023
But for a brief three hours or so (including mingling time), AFI CEO and President Bob Gazzale reminded everyone in a room you want to be in at the Beverly Hills Four Seasons Hotel, that everyone there was a winner, no “losers” in sight, unlike other awards shows which also charge you to buy a table for the honor of being recognized. No, the AFI Awards are as pure as it...
One of my very favorite events, if not the favorite of all of Oscar season, is the AFI Awards, which started a wild holiday weekend of awards ceremonies and parties. All that will culminate in the Primetime Emmys Monday night, and then the end of Oscar nomination voting on Tuesday at 5 Pm Pt. In other words, this is crunch time.
Emma Stone and Carey Mulligan at the AFI Awards 2023
But for a brief three hours or so (including mingling time), AFI CEO and President Bob Gazzale reminded everyone in a room you want to be in at the Beverly Hills Four Seasons Hotel, that everyone there was a winner, no “losers” in sight, unlike other awards shows which also charge you to buy a table for the honor of being recognized. No, the AFI Awards are as pure as it...
- 1/13/2024
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
According to the current combined predictions of Gold Derby users, the 10 films that are expected to reap Best Picture nominations at this year’s Oscars are “American Fiction,” “Anatomy of a Fall,” “Barbie,” “The Holdovers,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Maestro,” “Oppenheimer,” “Past Lives,” “Poor Things,” and “The Zone of Interest.” However there is a movie currently sitting not far behind in 17th place that I think deserves a spot: “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.”
More than a year after the events of the 2018’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is unexpectedly approached by Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), to complete a mission to save every universe of Spider-People from the Spot (Jason Schwartzman).
SEEFilm editing roundtable: ‘Air,’ ‘American Fiction,’ ‘Saltburn,’ ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ and ‘Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie’
The first movie won Best Animated Feature back in 2018. The sequel is currently also expected to win that category,...
More than a year after the events of the 2018’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is unexpectedly approached by Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), to complete a mission to save every universe of Spider-People from the Spot (Jason Schwartzman).
SEEFilm editing roundtable: ‘Air,’ ‘American Fiction,’ ‘Saltburn,’ ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ and ‘Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie’
The first movie won Best Animated Feature back in 2018. The sequel is currently also expected to win that category,...
- 12/29/2023
- by Jeffrey Kare
- Gold Derby
The AFI Awards has made its selection of the top 10 television series of 2023, a list that includes the first-year comedies “Jury Duty” (Amazon Freevee) and “Poker Face” (Peacock) along with HBO’s post-apocalyptic freshman drama “The Last of Us” and the Netflix limited series “Beef” along with Apple TV+’s “The Morning Show,” the HBO drama “Succession” and Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building.” There are also three programs also on last year’s list: the ABC comedy “Abbott Elementary” and FX’s “The Bear” (streaming on Hulu) and “Reservation Dogs.”
Among the acclaimed programs that were passed over are “Ted Lasso,” “The Crown,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Barry,” “The Diplomat” and “A Small Light.”
“As our nation and our world continue to navigate difficult times, AFI is honored to shine a proper light upon these works of art that lift us up and, ultimately, lead us to empathy,...
Among the acclaimed programs that were passed over are “Ted Lasso,” “The Crown,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Barry,” “The Diplomat” and “A Small Light.”
“As our nation and our world continue to navigate difficult times, AFI is honored to shine a proper light upon these works of art that lift us up and, ultimately, lead us to empathy,...
- 12/8/2023
- by Ray Richmond
- Gold Derby
The AFI Awards has made its selection of the top 10 films of 2023, a list that includes the summer bl9ckbusters “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” along with director Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” the Netflix drama “May December,” the Leonard Bernstein biopic “Maestro,” director Yorgos Lanthimos’ “”Poor Things,” Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers,” “American Fiction,” “Past Lives” and the animated “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.”
Over the past two decades, the AFI list is a pretty accurate indicator of how the Academy Awards category for Best Picture will look. Last year, only three movies not included in the AFI top 10 – “All Quiet on the Western Front,” “Triangle of Sadness” and “The Banshees of Inisherin”- made that Oscar group.
Among the acclaimed films that were passed over are “The Color Purple,” “Anatomy of a Fall,” “Air” and “The Zone of Interest.”
See‘Oppenheimer’ maintains lead over ‘Killers of the Flower Moon...
Over the past two decades, the AFI list is a pretty accurate indicator of how the Academy Awards category for Best Picture will look. Last year, only three movies not included in the AFI top 10 – “All Quiet on the Western Front,” “Triangle of Sadness” and “The Banshees of Inisherin”- made that Oscar group.
Among the acclaimed films that were passed over are “The Color Purple,” “Anatomy of a Fall,” “Air” and “The Zone of Interest.”
See‘Oppenheimer’ maintains lead over ‘Killers of the Flower Moon...
- 12/8/2023
- by Ray Richmond
- Gold Derby
Group also unveils top 10 TV shows of the year.
The awards group picks continue to roll in with American Film Institute unveiling its film and TV selections for the AFI Awards 2023.
The top 10 films are: American Fiction, Barbie, The Holdovers, Killers Of The Flower Moon, Maestro, May December, Oppenheimer, Past Lives, Poor Things, and Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse.
AFI’s top TV shows of the year are: Abbott Elementary, The Bear, Beef, Jury Duty, The Last Of Us, The Morning Show, Only Murders In The Building, Poker Face, Reservation Dogs, and Succession.
Honourees will assemble at the annual AFI Awards...
The awards group picks continue to roll in with American Film Institute unveiling its film and TV selections for the AFI Awards 2023.
The top 10 films are: American Fiction, Barbie, The Holdovers, Killers Of The Flower Moon, Maestro, May December, Oppenheimer, Past Lives, Poor Things, and Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse.
AFI’s top TV shows of the year are: Abbott Elementary, The Bear, Beef, Jury Duty, The Last Of Us, The Morning Show, Only Murders In The Building, Poker Face, Reservation Dogs, and Succession.
Honourees will assemble at the annual AFI Awards...
- 12/7/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced its annual list of best films and TV for the past year. The 2023 honorees include summer smash hits “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer”; plus streamer-backed fare like “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Maestro,” “May December,” and “American Fiction”; and indie films “The Holdovers,” “Poor Things,” and “Past Lives.” Animated feature “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” was additionally among the top 10 picks.
Television series “Abbott Elementary,” “Succession,” and “The Bear” returned to the AFI list, as well as new series “Jury Duty,” “Poker Face,” “The Last of Us,” and “Beef.”
“As our nation and our world continue to navigate difficult times, AFI is honored to shine a proper light upon these works of art that lift us up and, ultimately, lead us to empathy,” Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO, said in an official statement. “That we do so without competition is AFI’s hallmark, and we...
Television series “Abbott Elementary,” “Succession,” and “The Bear” returned to the AFI list, as well as new series “Jury Duty,” “Poker Face,” “The Last of Us,” and “Beef.”
“As our nation and our world continue to navigate difficult times, AFI is honored to shine a proper light upon these works of art that lift us up and, ultimately, lead us to empathy,” Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO, said in an official statement. “That we do so without competition is AFI’s hallmark, and we...
- 12/7/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Ava DuVernay’s Origin and Matthew Heineman’s American Symphony were among the top winners at the Virginia Film Festival, the four-day Charlottesville event that ran from October 25-29.
Origin, based on Isabel Wilkerson’s Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, won the festival’s Audience Award for narrative feature. Heineman’s American Symphony, about musician Jon Batiste, was recognized for documentary feature.
Other Audience Award winners included Dreams of Home for narrative short and Black Godfather of Scuba for documentary short.
The winners of the Programmers’ Awards were American Fiction in the narrative category and No Ordinary Campaign in the documentary category. For the Moon was recognized in the narrative short category and 1-15-41 in the documentary short.
DuVernay also was recognized with the festival’s Visionary Award as she sat down for a post-screening Q&a with the Washington Post‘s Ann Hornaday.
Jon Batiste performs as...
Origin, based on Isabel Wilkerson’s Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, won the festival’s Audience Award for narrative feature. Heineman’s American Symphony, about musician Jon Batiste, was recognized for documentary feature.
Other Audience Award winners included Dreams of Home for narrative short and Black Godfather of Scuba for documentary short.
The winners of the Programmers’ Awards were American Fiction in the narrative category and No Ordinary Campaign in the documentary category. For the Moon was recognized in the narrative short category and 1-15-41 in the documentary short.
DuVernay also was recognized with the festival’s Visionary Award as she sat down for a post-screening Q&a with the Washington Post‘s Ann Hornaday.
Jon Batiste performs as...
- 11/2/2023
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
Netflix has released the brand new trailer for Nyad. Nyad tells the remarkable true story of athlete Diana Nyad who, at the age of 60 and with the help of her best friend and coach, commits to achieving her life-long dream: a 110-mile open ocean swim from Cuba to Florida.
In their Telluride Film Festival review, Variety’s Peter Debruge says: “it’s the private glimpses of vulnerability that make “Nyad” so effective, along with the personal scenes between Diana and Bonnie — dramatized moments when no cameras were present in the real world. Audiences want to see Diana Nyad succeed, but the pleasure of the experience comes from watching actors become these characters. No matter how tricky such feats must have been to re-create, you get the impression that everyone involved was having a blast.”
A remarkable true story of tenacity, friendship and the triumph of the human spirit, Nyad recounts...
In their Telluride Film Festival review, Variety’s Peter Debruge says: “it’s the private glimpses of vulnerability that make “Nyad” so effective, along with the personal scenes between Diana and Bonnie — dramatized moments when no cameras were present in the real world. Audiences want to see Diana Nyad succeed, but the pleasure of the experience comes from watching actors become these characters. No matter how tricky such feats must have been to re-create, you get the impression that everyone involved was having a blast.”
A remarkable true story of tenacity, friendship and the triumph of the human spirit, Nyad recounts...
- 10/19/2023
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Oppenheimer.The critical debates surrounding Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan’s sprawling portrait of the “father of the atomic bomb,” offer a fascinating window into an industry reckoning with the fate of its most elusive creature: the summer blockbuster. Along with its better half in the joint entity now known as “Barbenheimer,” the film has been burdened with the responsibility of saving motion pictures from financial apocalypse and existential crises. Financially, its impact has been staggering: in July 2023 alone—the second-best month ever in the history of US box office returns, per Deadline’s Anthony D’Alessandro—“Barbenheimer” racked up a combined $547.8 million; Greta Gerwig’s Barbie netted the month’s highest gross of $366.4 million, and Nolan’s epic followed at $181.4 million. But the portmanteau has only blurred the crucial differences between the two, not to mention the many ways in which Nolan’s latest both indulges and subverts the vernaculars of big studio tentpoles.
- 8/11/2023
- MUBI
Nicole Holofcener’s latest comedy “You Hurt My Feelings” received a warm bear hug of a reaction from critics and audiences at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The A24 film, which just opened in theaters, certainly isn’t not going to hurt the Memorial Day box office of Disney’s blockbuster “The Little Mermaid,” but it’s perfect counter programming.
“You Hurt My Feelings” revolves around a long-married couple Beth (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), who teaches writing and is an essayist, and Don (Tobias Menzies), a shrink going through a mid-life career crisis. Their marriage hits a snag when Beth overhears a conversation Don is having where he admits he didn’t like her latest book even though he had told her it was good. “The film never doubts or questions their love for each other,” noted Variety. “That’s part of what allows it to explore, with sneaky intricacy, the...
“You Hurt My Feelings” revolves around a long-married couple Beth (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), who teaches writing and is an essayist, and Don (Tobias Menzies), a shrink going through a mid-life career crisis. Their marriage hits a snag when Beth overhears a conversation Don is having where he admits he didn’t like her latest book even though he had told her it was good. “The film never doubts or questions their love for each other,” noted Variety. “That’s part of what allows it to explore, with sneaky intricacy, the...
- 5/26/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Ever since Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival back in May of 2022, the movie has been gaining momentum. The film’s shining star, Austin Butler, has been showered with recognition reaping a whopping 27 nominations in the Best Actor category, including BAFTA where he won. He has also taken home a slew of breakthrough performer trophies. Here are five reasons why he could win the Oscar.
He’s embodying an icon
Of the top 10 contenders in our Best Actor odds, Butler is the only one who portrays a real-life fellow. And this isn’t just any regular Joe, it’s Elvis Presley… the highest selling solo recording artist of all time. Even if academy voters don’t recognise Butler from his previous body of work, his association with such an icon will make it easy for them to remember and recognise him.
He’s portraying a real-life person
In the past decade,...
He’s embodying an icon
Of the top 10 contenders in our Best Actor odds, Butler is the only one who portrays a real-life fellow. And this isn’t just any regular Joe, it’s Elvis Presley… the highest selling solo recording artist of all time. Even if academy voters don’t recognise Butler from his previous body of work, his association with such an icon will make it easy for them to remember and recognise him.
He’s portraying a real-life person
In the past decade,...
- 2/26/2023
- by Nick Bisa
- Gold Derby
“Triangle of Sadness” had a tremendously successful Oscar nominations morning, earning three bids for Best Picture, Director, and Original Screenplay. But one surprising omission from its haul was scene stealer Dolly de Leon, who took command of the final third of the film, dominating the screen with an unforgettable performance. How did the supporting actress miss out on a bid, even though her film performed so well?
See Oscar nominations: ‘Everything Everywhere’ leads with 11, ‘All Quiet’ and ‘Banshees’ at 9
A good showing for “Triangle of Sadness” was certainly not out of the question. But our combined odds did not predict it to nab that coveted Best Picture slot, ranking it in 12th place, just two notches shy of the top 10. Writer-director Ruben Östlund was an even bigger surprise, ranking 13th, far afield of the final five. He edged out the likes of Edward Berger (“All Quiet on the Western Front...
See Oscar nominations: ‘Everything Everywhere’ leads with 11, ‘All Quiet’ and ‘Banshees’ at 9
A good showing for “Triangle of Sadness” was certainly not out of the question. But our combined odds did not predict it to nab that coveted Best Picture slot, ranking it in 12th place, just two notches shy of the top 10. Writer-director Ruben Östlund was an even bigger surprise, ranking 13th, far afield of the final five. He edged out the likes of Edward Berger (“All Quiet on the Western Front...
- 1/24/2023
- by David Buchanan
- Gold Derby
Hollywood’s biggest names in film and television returned to the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills for a celebration of the American Film Institute’s picks of the year’s top 10 offerings from those media.
The ballroom for the AFI Awards luncheon was crowded with top executives like Disney’s Bob Iger and Dana Walden, Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, WB TV’s Channing Dungey, FX’s John Landgraf, Universal’s Donna Langley, Warners’ Pam Abdy and Michael DeLuca, Apple’s Eddy Cue, AppleTV+’s Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg and Participant’s David Linde; filmmakers and creators including The Fabelmans’ Steven Spielberg, Abbott Elementary’s Quinta Brunson, Avatar: The Way of Water’s James Cameron, The White Lotus’ Mike White, Nope’s Jordan Peele and Top Gun: Maverick’s Joseph Kosinski; and stars such as Nope’s Daniel Kaluuya, The Woman King’s Viola Davis,...
The ballroom for the AFI Awards luncheon was crowded with top executives like Disney’s Bob Iger and Dana Walden, Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, WB TV’s Channing Dungey, FX’s John Landgraf, Universal’s Donna Langley, Warners’ Pam Abdy and Michael DeLuca, Apple’s Eddy Cue, AppleTV+’s Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg and Participant’s David Linde; filmmakers and creators including The Fabelmans’ Steven Spielberg, Abbott Elementary’s Quinta Brunson, Avatar: The Way of Water’s James Cameron, The White Lotus’ Mike White, Nope’s Jordan Peele and Top Gun: Maverick’s Joseph Kosinski; and stars such as Nope’s Daniel Kaluuya, The Woman King’s Viola Davis,...
- 1/14/2023
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A column chronicling conversations and events on the awards circuit.
AFI president and CEO Bob Gazzale spoke a real truth about the money-making Hollywood awards machine as he opened the proceedings for Friday’s annual AFI Awards honoring the year’s best in movies in television as chosen by a distinguished jury. “This is the only event of its kind where you are informed of your honor and then not asked to pay to attend,” he said.
Michelle Yeoh and Ted Sarandos at AFI
The Top 10 films AFI selected this year include Avatar: The Way of Water, Elvis, Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Fabelmans, Nope, She Said, Tár, Top Gun: Maverick, The Woman King and Women Talking, with an AFI Special Award for The Banshees of Inisherin. On AFI’s top 10 TV list are The Bear, Mo, Pachinko, Severance, Somebody Somewhere, Abbott Elementary, Hacks, Reservation Dogs, Better Call Saul...
AFI president and CEO Bob Gazzale spoke a real truth about the money-making Hollywood awards machine as he opened the proceedings for Friday’s annual AFI Awards honoring the year’s best in movies in television as chosen by a distinguished jury. “This is the only event of its kind where you are informed of your honor and then not asked to pay to attend,” he said.
Michelle Yeoh and Ted Sarandos at AFI
The Top 10 films AFI selected this year include Avatar: The Way of Water, Elvis, Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Fabelmans, Nope, She Said, Tár, Top Gun: Maverick, The Woman King and Women Talking, with an AFI Special Award for The Banshees of Inisherin. On AFI’s top 10 TV list are The Bear, Mo, Pachinko, Severance, Somebody Somewhere, Abbott Elementary, Hacks, Reservation Dogs, Better Call Saul...
- 1/14/2023
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Though most kudos events are competitive, the annual AFI Awards, honoring 21 film and TV works, proved communal. Sarah Polley chatted with Michelle Williams, Jerry Bruckheimer was deep in conversation with James Cameron, the “Better Call Saul” talent huddled with “Reservation Dogs” and Steven Spielberg enthused about “The Bear” to the show’s team and FX Networks chairman John Landgraf.
The luncheon Jan. 13 at the Four Seasons Beverly Hills was filled with 250 industry heavy-hitters, but the scene-stealer was someone who had no attachment to any of the honored works: Al Pacino, who closed the event with a 10-minute speech that seemed rambling and hilarious, but proved to be pointed and concluded with a bang.
Before the event started, Universal Pictures chairwoman Donna Langley praised the annual gathering to Variety, saying: “It reminds us of the dignity and elegance of the industry as we gather here to celebrate artistry.”
In December, AFI...
The luncheon Jan. 13 at the Four Seasons Beverly Hills was filled with 250 industry heavy-hitters, but the scene-stealer was someone who had no attachment to any of the honored works: Al Pacino, who closed the event with a 10-minute speech that seemed rambling and hilarious, but proved to be pointed and concluded with a bang.
Before the event started, Universal Pictures chairwoman Donna Langley praised the annual gathering to Variety, saying: “It reminds us of the dignity and elegance of the industry as we gather here to celebrate artistry.”
In December, AFI...
- 1/14/2023
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
A man who met writer-director Paul Schrader at a campus event at their Michigan alma mater has filed a lawsuit alleging that Schrader later stole his ideas and used them in the film “The Card Counter.”
Mark Vanden Berge alleges in the suit that he met Schrader after a screening of “First Reformed” at Calvin University, a Christian college in Grand Rapids, in February 2018. He says he told Schrader about a treatment he was working on for a film called “Blown Odds,” about a gambler’s search for redemption, and asked Schrader for help developing it into a marketable screenplay.
According to the suit, Schrader told him to email him the treatment. Vanden Berge sent it to him, according to the suit, but never heard back from Schrader directly, though he says he was told that Schrader had received it.
“The Card Counter,” Schrader’s subsequent film, was announced in late 2019. It,...
Mark Vanden Berge alleges in the suit that he met Schrader after a screening of “First Reformed” at Calvin University, a Christian college in Grand Rapids, in February 2018. He says he told Schrader about a treatment he was working on for a film called “Blown Odds,” about a gambler’s search for redemption, and asked Schrader for help developing it into a marketable screenplay.
According to the suit, Schrader told him to email him the treatment. Vanden Berge sent it to him, according to the suit, but never heard back from Schrader directly, though he says he was told that Schrader had received it.
“The Card Counter,” Schrader’s subsequent film, was announced in late 2019. It,...
- 9/3/2022
- by Gene Maddaus
- Variety Film + TV
“People will say, ‘Oh, he’s back to body horror; he’s doing the same stuff he always did,’” David Cronenberg told Adam Nayman in a recent New Yorker profile of the 79-year-old Canadian director. “But it’s never changed for me. My interest in the body is because, for me, it’s an inexhaustible subject—and of the essence of understanding the human condition.” Crimes of the Future, Cronenberg’s first feature in eight years and his first time working from an original script since 1999’s eXistenZ, continues his career-long journey into the mysteries of our anatomy and the boundary-pushing relationship between flesh and technology. Set in a rusty wasteland of shipwrecks and dank alleys, where physical pain has been eradicated and body organs seem to be everyone’s obsession, the film follows a couple of performance artists, Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen) and Caprice (Léa Seydoux). Riddled with a...
- 6/9/2022
- MUBI
A column chronicling events and conversations on the awards circuit.
The AFI Awards 2021 for movies and television are always on of the highlights of the awards season. While they were take place on January 7 at their usual haunt — the Four Seasons — Omicron got in the way and AFI brass decided to play it safe and move to a March date. Their time finally came today, but at a new venue the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.
The lunch, which draws the stars and creatives as well as top executives to an environment where none of them give speeches and everyone is a winner, with all going out on a high, kicked off a crucial weekend, the final one before Oscar balloting begins on March 17. Usually AFI is the Friday before the Globes and was planned for that slot again, but you know what happened with that.
Now, however, the event has taken on even more importance,...
The AFI Awards 2021 for movies and television are always on of the highlights of the awards season. While they were take place on January 7 at their usual haunt — the Four Seasons — Omicron got in the way and AFI brass decided to play it safe and move to a March date. Their time finally came today, but at a new venue the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.
The lunch, which draws the stars and creatives as well as top executives to an environment where none of them give speeches and everyone is a winner, with all going out on a high, kicked off a crucial weekend, the final one before Oscar balloting begins on March 17. Usually AFI is the Friday before the Globes and was planned for that slot again, but you know what happened with that.
Now, however, the event has taken on even more importance,...
- 3/12/2022
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Four years after Rachel Morrison cracked the glass ceiling as the first woman to be nominated for Best Cinematography at the Oscars with her bid for “Mudbound” (2017), Ari Wegner is poised to become the second for her work on Jane Campion‘s “The Power of the Dog.” And since Morrison was unable to parlay her nomination into a victory, Wegner would become the first female Dp to win an Oscar if she triumphs for the Netflix film.
Based on Thomas Savage‘s 1967 novel of the same name, “The Power of the Dog” is set in 1920s Montana and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Phil Burbank, a rough-and-tumble rancher whose anger and bitterness have hardened him over the years and eventually set up a confrontation with his brother’s new wife (Kirsten Dunst) and her teenage son (Kodi Smit-McPhee). For her work on the film, which earned rave review after rave review,...
Based on Thomas Savage‘s 1967 novel of the same name, “The Power of the Dog” is set in 1920s Montana and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Phil Burbank, a rough-and-tumble rancher whose anger and bitterness have hardened him over the years and eventually set up a confrontation with his brother’s new wife (Kirsten Dunst) and her teenage son (Kodi Smit-McPhee). For her work on the film, which earned rave review after rave review,...
- 12/30/2021
- by Luca Giliberti
- Gold Derby
It’s hard out there for a teenage girl. Especially for Autumn, Aaloni and Brittney, Bbf’s living in small, tired Texas town, in the award-winning observational documentary “Cusp.” These 15 and 16-year-olds spend the summer hanging out together in their bedrooms watching “Grey’s Anatomy,” going to the local fast-food restaurants, smoking blunts, swimming, drinking, partying. And at one point, one attempts to pierce their friend’s nipple. But these girls have grown-up fast. They have been victims of rape and abuse.
The Washington Post’s Ann Hornaday noted that the first-time filmmakers Isabel Bethencourt and Parker Hill have made a “portrait that feels simultaneously specific and universal-a portrait of the inchoate desires and heedlessness that have always been a part of adolescence, as well as a snapshot of a particular point in time when such impulses feel breathtakingly high.” And dismaying, especially when the filmmakers “train their cameras on the...
The Washington Post’s Ann Hornaday noted that the first-time filmmakers Isabel Bethencourt and Parker Hill have made a “portrait that feels simultaneously specific and universal-a portrait of the inchoate desires and heedlessness that have always been a part of adolescence, as well as a snapshot of a particular point in time when such impulses feel breathtakingly high.” And dismaying, especially when the filmmakers “train their cameras on the...
- 12/13/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch,” the seven-time Oscar nominee’s 10th film as director, will finally open wide after almost a year and a half of delays due to the coronavirus pandemic. An homage to literary journalism in the vein of the New Yorker magazine, “The French Dispatch” unfolds in three sections, with an obituary, travel narrative, and other short sketches to boot. Anderson’s peerless cast, featuring a number of Anderson regulars, includes Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Benicio Del Toro, Léa Seydoux, Adrien Brody, Frances McDormand, Timothée Chalamet, Jeffrey Wright, Owen Wilson, and many, many, many others.
“The French Dispatch” is receiving strong notices from critics. It currently has a Metacritic score of 75 based on 38 reviews as of this writing, which indicates “generally favorable reviews.” On Rotten Tomatoes, it currently has a 79% fresh score based on 94 reviews, with the consensus calling the film a “loving ode to the...
“The French Dispatch” is receiving strong notices from critics. It currently has a Metacritic score of 75 based on 38 reviews as of this writing, which indicates “generally favorable reviews.” On Rotten Tomatoes, it currently has a 79% fresh score based on 94 reviews, with the consensus calling the film a “loving ode to the...
- 10/22/2021
- by David Buchanan
- Gold Derby
Current best picture frontrunner “Belfast” has scooped the top prize at the Middleburg Film Festival.
Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical “Belfast,” a black-and-white family drama about the Northern Ireland city in the late ’60s, was awarded best narrative film.
Branagh also appeared at the festival to receive the director spotlight award. The award for best documentary film went to National Geographic’s “The Rescue,” directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin — the Academy Award-winning filmmakers of “Free Solo.”
“Congratulations to our Audience Award winners ‘Belfast’ and ‘The Rescue,'” said Mff Executive Director Susan Koch. “We were so honored to have Kenneth Branagh join us to present ‘Belfast’ with its masterful filmmaking, deeply moving story and stunning performances. ‘The Rescue’ had our audience on the edge of their seats and cheering by the end for a film that showcases the very best of what documentary filmmaking can do.”
Branagh’s movie,...
Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical “Belfast,” a black-and-white family drama about the Northern Ireland city in the late ’60s, was awarded best narrative film.
Branagh also appeared at the festival to receive the director spotlight award. The award for best documentary film went to National Geographic’s “The Rescue,” directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin — the Academy Award-winning filmmakers of “Free Solo.”
“Congratulations to our Audience Award winners ‘Belfast’ and ‘The Rescue,'” said Mff Executive Director Susan Koch. “We were so honored to have Kenneth Branagh join us to present ‘Belfast’ with its masterful filmmaking, deeply moving story and stunning performances. ‘The Rescue’ had our audience on the edge of their seats and cheering by the end for a film that showcases the very best of what documentary filmmaking can do.”
Branagh’s movie,...
- 10/18/2021
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
“Coda” was one of the most talked about films at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, winning a whopping four prizes: the Grand Jury and Audience Awards, plus directing kudos for Sian Heder and a Special Jury Prize for its ensemble cast. But how does it fare with movie critics since it opened on August 13? And how will it do at the upcoming Oscars?
Let’s start with the reviews. The film has received positive notices, scoring 73 on MetaCritic based on 34 reviews counted thus far: 28 positive, six somewhat mixed, and none outright negative. Over on Rotten Tomatoes, which doesn’t classify reviews as mixed, only as positive or negative, the film is rated 95% fresh based on 153 reviews counted, only seven of which are classified as rotten. The difference between the Mc and Rt scores indicates that there is almost universal like for the movie, but not universal love.
SEEWill Denzel Washington’s...
Let’s start with the reviews. The film has received positive notices, scoring 73 on MetaCritic based on 34 reviews counted thus far: 28 positive, six somewhat mixed, and none outright negative. Over on Rotten Tomatoes, which doesn’t classify reviews as mixed, only as positive or negative, the film is rated 95% fresh based on 153 reviews counted, only seven of which are classified as rotten. The difference between the Mc and Rt scores indicates that there is almost universal like for the movie, but not universal love.
SEEWill Denzel Washington’s...
- 8/13/2021
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Join us on Tuesday, June 29 at 12pm Pt for a “Spotlight Conversation with Samantha Ware” – a part of TheWrap’s multi-media series “Conversations on Cancel Culture.”
Almost a year ago to the day, the former “Glee” star spoke out on social media about the toxic culture she experienced on set. During this one-on-one discussion with TheWrap’s Andi Ortiz, Ware addresses these allegations, her fight against colorism and the importance of accountability in Hollywood.
Following the success of TheWrap’s initial four roundtables with journalists, film critics, comedians and crisis PR experts, this encore discussion will conclude the “Conversations on Cancel Culture” series. All episodes are available for free on demand viewing on the “Conversations on Cancel Culture” website.
Additional featured speakers in the series include editor-in-chiefs Danielle Belton (HuffPost), Gérard Biard (Charlie Hebdo), film critics Ann Hornaday (Washington Post) and Michael Phillips (Chicago Tribune), comedians Skye Townsend (“A Black Lady Sketch Show”), Maz Jobrani,...
Almost a year ago to the day, the former “Glee” star spoke out on social media about the toxic culture she experienced on set. During this one-on-one discussion with TheWrap’s Andi Ortiz, Ware addresses these allegations, her fight against colorism and the importance of accountability in Hollywood.
Following the success of TheWrap’s initial four roundtables with journalists, film critics, comedians and crisis PR experts, this encore discussion will conclude the “Conversations on Cancel Culture” series. All episodes are available for free on demand viewing on the “Conversations on Cancel Culture” website.
Additional featured speakers in the series include editor-in-chiefs Danielle Belton (HuffPost), Gérard Biard (Charlie Hebdo), film critics Ann Hornaday (Washington Post) and Michael Phillips (Chicago Tribune), comedians Skye Townsend (“A Black Lady Sketch Show”), Maz Jobrani,...
- 6/29/2021
- by Emily Vogel
- The Wrap
AFI Docs, the annual nonfiction film festival in the D.C. region, returns on Tuesday as a hybrid of in-person events and virtual screenings, a format mandated by ongoing safety concerns over Covid-19. While the ability to host at least some screenings at the AFI Silver Theater parallels the reopening of movie venues in general, this year’s festival reflects ongoing caution and a deference for health and safety. The selections themselves point more to “personal stories and personal reflections,” in the words of Sarah Harris, the director of programming for AFI Docs, at a time when people are just now rediscovering human connection. “A lot of what the country needs is healing,” Harris said. “We are coming out of the pandemic, coming out of a lot of political trauma in D.C. We are looking to have that healing through this form of art.” The event includes 77 films from 23 countries,...
- 6/21/2021
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
“Gone With the Wind,” “Birth of a Nation” and, more recently, Woody Allen’s “Manhattan,” are movies that should be explained rather than forgotten, a panel of top film critics said in TheWrap’s second in its series “Conversations on Cancel Culture.”
Washington Post critic Ann Hornaday said that a new generation of viewers see these films as problematic, and critics need to frame them appropriately. “Their expectations have fundamentally changed in terms of what they see as acceptable behavior, and this gets to their expectations as audiences,” Hornaday said. “They look at this stuff, and they’re wondering why we ever accepted it in the first place. It’s our job to the degree that we’re stewards of the culture and the patrimony to explain to them why this was valued and also to why it has problems.”
The panelists agreed that this is the job of the...
Washington Post critic Ann Hornaday said that a new generation of viewers see these films as problematic, and critics need to frame them appropriately. “Their expectations have fundamentally changed in terms of what they see as acceptable behavior, and this gets to their expectations as audiences,” Hornaday said. “They look at this stuff, and they’re wondering why we ever accepted it in the first place. It’s our job to the degree that we’re stewards of the culture and the patrimony to explain to them why this was valued and also to why it has problems.”
The panelists agreed that this is the job of the...
- 6/1/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Join us on Tuesday, June 1 at 12 pm Pt for the roundtable discussion “Cancel Culture in Film: Separating Art from the Artist” — a part of TheWrap’s multi-media series “Conversations on Cancel Culture.”
During this session, film critics Ann Hornaday (Washington Post), Michael Phillips (Chicago Tribune) and Alonso Duralde (TheWrap) will join Chapman University Film School dean Stephen Galloway for an in-depth discussion on how — and if — this modern form of ostracism is impacting the way we perceive the work of “cancelled” filmmakers, actors, artists, musicians and more.
On Friday, June 4 at 4pm Pt, audiences are also invited to tune into an encore and follow-up discussion exclusively on Clubhouse.
This conversation is the second of four in a series of roundtables titled “Conversations on Cancel Culture,” presented by TheWrap. Starting May 25 for four weeks, TheWrap will be livestreaming a roundtable discussion every Tuesday at 12pm Pt on one of the following topics: journalism,...
During this session, film critics Ann Hornaday (Washington Post), Michael Phillips (Chicago Tribune) and Alonso Duralde (TheWrap) will join Chapman University Film School dean Stephen Galloway for an in-depth discussion on how — and if — this modern form of ostracism is impacting the way we perceive the work of “cancelled” filmmakers, actors, artists, musicians and more.
On Friday, June 4 at 4pm Pt, audiences are also invited to tune into an encore and follow-up discussion exclusively on Clubhouse.
This conversation is the second of four in a series of roundtables titled “Conversations on Cancel Culture,” presented by TheWrap. Starting May 25 for four weeks, TheWrap will be livestreaming a roundtable discussion every Tuesday at 12pm Pt on one of the following topics: journalism,...
- 6/1/2021
- by Emily Vogel
- The Wrap
The SXSW Film Festival has revealed its Jury and Special Award winners of the 28th edition of the fest, which took place virtually this week. The Megan Park-directed high school shooting tragedy The Fallout took the top award in the Narrative Feature category, while Jeremy Workman’s portrait of Lily Hevesh, Lily Topples the World, won in the Documentary Feature category.
Also on the narrative side, Kelley Kali and Angelique Molina’s I’m Fine Thanks for Asking) won a Special Jury Recognition for Multi-hyphenate Storyteller. Martin Edralin’s Islands also took home a Special Jury Recognition for Breakthrough Performance for actor Rogelio Balagtas.
In the docu feature competition Rachel Fleit’s Introducing, Selma Blair was honored with Special Jury Recognition for Exceptional Intimacy in Storytelling. Meanwhile, Nicholas Bruckman’s Not Going Quietly scored Special Jury Recognition for Humanity in Social Action.
“We are so honored by the 2021 filmmakers...
Also on the narrative side, Kelley Kali and Angelique Molina’s I’m Fine Thanks for Asking) won a Special Jury Recognition for Multi-hyphenate Storyteller. Martin Edralin’s Islands also took home a Special Jury Recognition for Breakthrough Performance for actor Rogelio Balagtas.
In the docu feature competition Rachel Fleit’s Introducing, Selma Blair was honored with Special Jury Recognition for Exceptional Intimacy in Storytelling. Meanwhile, Nicholas Bruckman’s Not Going Quietly scored Special Jury Recognition for Humanity in Social Action.
“We are so honored by the 2021 filmmakers...
- 3/19/2021
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Andrey Konchalovsky has been making movies in his native Russia for more than half a century and he occasionally works in English. His 1985 film “Runaway Train” earned Oscar bids for lead Jon Voight and featured player Eric Roberts but he was not nominated. But his new Russian-language feature “Dear Comrades” could well earn him that long overdue recognition from the Academy Awards.
This intense docudrama about the 1962 massacre of a workers demonstrating in Novocherkassk was feted at the Venice Film Festival with a special jury prize. And this Neon release just made the cut for Best International Feature at the Oscars and numbers among the 15 films vying for the five nominations.
At Rotten Tomatoes, “Dearest Comrades!” earned a jaw-dropping score of 96. The critical consensus described the film as “a sharp, commanding look at a dark chapter in Soviet history made even more effective by its director’s cold fury.” Among...
This intense docudrama about the 1962 massacre of a workers demonstrating in Novocherkassk was feted at the Venice Film Festival with a special jury prize. And this Neon release just made the cut for Best International Feature at the Oscars and numbers among the 15 films vying for the five nominations.
At Rotten Tomatoes, “Dearest Comrades!” earned a jaw-dropping score of 96. The critical consensus described the film as “a sharp, commanding look at a dark chapter in Soviet history made even more effective by its director’s cold fury.” Among...
- 3/3/2021
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
After several years as a daytime soap opera ingenue, Amanda Seyfried made her film debut at 18 in the hugely popular comedy “Mean Girls.” Although she was passed over for the lead role in favor of Lindsay Lohan, she made the most of her supporting role, kicking off a career characterized by diligence.
Now 35, she has racked up over 30 film credits and shown an aptitude across genres, including twisted horror, family-friendly adventure, and sunny romance. In the Netflix release “Mank,” she proves adept at another, the biopic. Seyfried steps into the shoes of Marion Davies, an actress from the Golden Age of Hollywood with whom she happens to have a great deal in common.
Davies was also bitten by the show business bug at an early age and performed in vaudeville before making her film debut at age 20 in 1917’s “Runaway Romany.” She dealt with much more scrutiny throughout her 20-year film career than Seyfried has,...
Now 35, she has racked up over 30 film credits and shown an aptitude across genres, including twisted horror, family-friendly adventure, and sunny romance. In the Netflix release “Mank,” she proves adept at another, the biopic. Seyfried steps into the shoes of Marion Davies, an actress from the Golden Age of Hollywood with whom she happens to have a great deal in common.
Davies was also bitten by the show business bug at an early age and performed in vaudeville before making her film debut at age 20 in 1917’s “Runaway Romany.” She dealt with much more scrutiny throughout her 20-year film career than Seyfried has,...
- 2/21/2021
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
Aldis Hodge, Leslia Odom Jr, Kingsley Ben-Adir and Eli Goree in One Night In Miami
Set on a legendary night in February 1964 when Muhammad Ali (then still known as Cassius Clay), Malcolm X, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown came together for a discussion which preceded momentous change in each of their lives, Regina King’s One Night In Miami has made a big impression on film fans and critics alike and has garnered Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations for Leslie Odom Jr, who plays Sam. He was among the attendees at a press event last month, hosted by Ann Hornaday, at which screenwriter Kemp Powers and co-star Aldis Hodge, who plays Jim, discussed the importance of the film and what it meant to them.
“ The biggest known unknown for me was the fact that this night actually happened that on February 25 1964, after Cassius Clay beat Sonny Liston,” Kemp began,...
Set on a legendary night in February 1964 when Muhammad Ali (then still known as Cassius Clay), Malcolm X, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown came together for a discussion which preceded momentous change in each of their lives, Regina King’s One Night In Miami has made a big impression on film fans and critics alike and has garnered Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations for Leslie Odom Jr, who plays Sam. He was among the attendees at a press event last month, hosted by Ann Hornaday, at which screenwriter Kemp Powers and co-star Aldis Hodge, who plays Jim, discussed the importance of the film and what it meant to them.
“ The biggest known unknown for me was the fact that this night actually happened that on February 25 1964, after Cassius Clay beat Sonny Liston,” Kemp began,...
- 2/7/2021
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
One of the big documentaries from the Sundance Film Festival is now jockeying for a slot in the Oscar race for Best Documentary Feature. “Spaceship Earth” premiered to rave reviews in January and was acquired by Neon, which released it in May. The film from Matt Wolf is now currently available to stream on Hulu.
“Spaceship Earth” looks back at the private semi-scientific experiment called Biosphere 2. The experiment was a three-acre structure that housed a closed ecological system and would also house eight researchers for a period of two years as they run experiments meant to test whether these systems could be maintained for the purposes of space colonization. As the first group of researchers were in their two-year stint inside Biosphere 2 (between 1991 and 1993), the spectacle received a lot of media coverage. While some of it was, indeed, positive, other coverage was much more critical of what was going on,...
“Spaceship Earth” looks back at the private semi-scientific experiment called Biosphere 2. The experiment was a three-acre structure that housed a closed ecological system and would also house eight researchers for a period of two years as they run experiments meant to test whether these systems could be maintained for the purposes of space colonization. As the first group of researchers were in their two-year stint inside Biosphere 2 (between 1991 and 1993), the spectacle received a lot of media coverage. While some of it was, indeed, positive, other coverage was much more critical of what was going on,...
- 12/12/2020
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
After premiering at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, “The Fight,” is now looking to battle its way into the Oscar race for Best Documentary Feature. At Sundance, this Magnolia Pictures + Topic Studios release premiered to stellar reviews and took home the honor for U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Social Impact Filmmaking. The film, from Eli B. Despres, Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg, is currently available to stream on Hulu.
“The Fight” follows several lawyers who work for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) who are each working on a specific case that challenges the policies of Donald Trump’s administration. Lee Gelernt is arguing cases for migrant parents who have been separated from their children and are desperate to have their family reunited. Joshua Block and Chase Strangio are representing a transgender man that’s currently enlisted in the military and challenging Trump’s ban on trans service members.
“The Fight” follows several lawyers who work for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) who are each working on a specific case that challenges the policies of Donald Trump’s administration. Lee Gelernt is arguing cases for migrant parents who have been separated from their children and are desperate to have their family reunited. Joshua Block and Chase Strangio are representing a transgender man that’s currently enlisted in the military and challenging Trump’s ban on trans service members.
- 10/14/2020
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
Let’s talk about sex (and movies).
Review aggregation site CherryPicks, which amplifies female-identifying and non-binary voices, is launching a podcast centered on women and sex onscreen, titled “CherryPop,” with hosts Beandrea July and Meg McCarthy.
“In film criticism, it’s not talked enough about the relationship that women have with sex, with their sexuality, with their self-exploration,” CherryPicks director of production McCarthy tells Variety. “And, as women, we identify so much with the way that we’re portrayed in film and television — which, as we know, is not always correct. We’re just trying to debunk some of those myths; like the myth of virginity, the myth of the three-stroke orgasm, which we’ve seen in countless movies, and trying to break down the stigma around female pleasure, too.”
McCarthy says her film and sex education both started when she was a young girl and would hide behind the...
Review aggregation site CherryPicks, which amplifies female-identifying and non-binary voices, is launching a podcast centered on women and sex onscreen, titled “CherryPop,” with hosts Beandrea July and Meg McCarthy.
“In film criticism, it’s not talked enough about the relationship that women have with sex, with their sexuality, with their self-exploration,” CherryPicks director of production McCarthy tells Variety. “And, as women, we identify so much with the way that we’re portrayed in film and television — which, as we know, is not always correct. We’re just trying to debunk some of those myths; like the myth of virginity, the myth of the three-stroke orgasm, which we’ve seen in countless movies, and trying to break down the stigma around female pleasure, too.”
McCarthy says her film and sex education both started when she was a young girl and would hide behind the...
- 9/30/2020
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
AFI Docs, to take place as a virtual film festival from June 17-21, unveiled a slate of titles on Monday that is heavy in topics having to do with race and gender.
Among the 59 films in the lineup is Women In Blue, an examination of race, gender and violence in the Minneapolis police department. Also on the list of movies is 9 to 5: The Story of a Movement, which chronicles the 1970s movement for gender equality in the workplace. It is the latest film from Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar, who won an Oscar this year for American Factory.
Also in the lineup is Blood on the Wall, about the impact of the Trump administration’s immigration policy; Dilemma of Desire, about the importance of reclaiming female sexuality; and First Vote, about Asian-Americans gaining full participation in the electoral process.
Also on the schedule is Rebuilding Paradise, Ron Howard’s...
Among the 59 films in the lineup is Women In Blue, an examination of race, gender and violence in the Minneapolis police department. Also on the list of movies is 9 to 5: The Story of a Movement, which chronicles the 1970s movement for gender equality in the workplace. It is the latest film from Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar, who won an Oscar this year for American Factory.
Also in the lineup is Blood on the Wall, about the impact of the Trump administration’s immigration policy; Dilemma of Desire, about the importance of reclaiming female sexuality; and First Vote, about Asian-Americans gaining full participation in the electoral process.
Also on the schedule is Rebuilding Paradise, Ron Howard’s...
- 6/8/2020
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
The American Film Institute has revealed its full slate of films being presented online for the AFI Docs 2020 Film Festival, which will take place digitally this year. The lineup features 59 films from 11 countries and 12 virtual world premieres, with 61 percent of the films directed by women, 25 percent by Poc directors, and 14 percent by LGBTQ directors. The festival runs June 17–21, with films available to view on Docs.AFI.com. See the full lineup below.
“Now more than ever, it is important to expand our perspectives and listen to voices that may differ from our own, and this year’s festival includes a diverse range of insights and experiences for audiences to share in,” said Michael Lumpkin, AFI Festivals director. “These films explore political and social issues in the U.S. and across the globe, introducing us to the next generation of leaders and shedding new light on figures of the past.”
The...
“Now more than ever, it is important to expand our perspectives and listen to voices that may differ from our own, and this year’s festival includes a diverse range of insights and experiences for audiences to share in,” said Michael Lumpkin, AFI Festivals director. “These films explore political and social issues in the U.S. and across the globe, introducing us to the next generation of leaders and shedding new light on figures of the past.”
The...
- 6/8/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Faced with the prospect of no theatrical releases for the unforeseeable future, independent movie theatres and distributors across the United States have joined forces to release films digitally and keep afloat amid the global health crisis. In a matter of weeks, “virtual cinemas” offerings have skyrocketed, as distribution labels like Kino Lorber, Magnolia, Oscilloscope, and Film Movement—among many others—are offering cinephiles a whole array of unreleased festival darlings to stream from the comforts of home, with the revenue split between cinemas and distributors. It’s an on-demand entertainment model exhibitors have staunchly resisted for years, evidence that unprecedented times require unprecedented measures. But while virtual cinemas are being touted as an extraordinary safety plan, questions remain over the long-term consequences they may have on the industry in the post-covid-19 scenario. Will virtual cinemas only disincentivize viewers from returning to theatres once the pandemic subsides? If so, is the tactic essentially a Trojan horse?...
- 5/27/2020
- MUBI
Forget the Golden Globes’ snub of women directed films in three top categories. When it comes to future growth, what matters is a significant increase in the number — and impact — of female-directed films this year.
Let’s not pretend that equal opportunity is close to reality. But the improvements in just one year are startling. In IndieWire’s 2018 year-end review, we noted that only two of the top domestic 50 grossers were directed by women. “Why this result after ‘Wonder Woman?’ Just figure the usual two year-plus lag for studios to respond after something hits big. The statistic should be improved next year.”
Indeed, improvement is right on schedule.
Women broke records.
Of the year’s approximately 125 wide studio releases, 19 had women as directors. That’s about 15% — hardly huge, but a massive jump over the four directors last year, or the nine in 2017.
Of these, 12 will be among the 100 highest-grossing films.
Let’s not pretend that equal opportunity is close to reality. But the improvements in just one year are startling. In IndieWire’s 2018 year-end review, we noted that only two of the top domestic 50 grossers were directed by women. “Why this result after ‘Wonder Woman?’ Just figure the usual two year-plus lag for studios to respond after something hits big. The statistic should be improved next year.”
Indeed, improvement is right on schedule.
Women broke records.
Of the year’s approximately 125 wide studio releases, 19 had women as directors. That’s about 15% — hardly huge, but a massive jump over the four directors last year, or the nine in 2017.
Of these, 12 will be among the 100 highest-grossing films.
- 12/13/2019
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
Charlize Theron told the audience at a D.C. screening of Bombshell that even though the movie is about the women at Fox News who exposed Roger Ailes’ sexual harassment, there was no way to avoid getting into politics and Donald Trump.
Theron portrays Megyn Kelly, who moderated the first Republican presidential debate in 2015 and quickly sparred with Trump over a question she asked about his treatment of women. That moment is featured in the movie.
“The strange thing was that the story itself kind of dictated to us that that had to be in the movie,” Theron told CNN’s Dana Bash at a post-screening Q&a. “At the same time, I think we were all somewhat concerned that we didn’t want politics to overshadow what the movie was really about, but the politics really fed into the story because outside of the workplace, she was still dealing with it in a different way.
Theron portrays Megyn Kelly, who moderated the first Republican presidential debate in 2015 and quickly sparred with Trump over a question she asked about his treatment of women. That moment is featured in the movie.
“The strange thing was that the story itself kind of dictated to us that that had to be in the movie,” Theron told CNN’s Dana Bash at a post-screening Q&a. “At the same time, I think we were all somewhat concerned that we didn’t want politics to overshadow what the movie was really about, but the politics really fed into the story because outside of the workplace, she was still dealing with it in a different way.
- 11/14/2019
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
Cate Blanchett plays the eccentric heroine at the center of “Where’d You Go Bernadette,” which opened on August 16. Based on the novel by Maria Semple, it centers on the search for the title character, who has mysteriously gone missing. And not only does it have Blanchett in the leading role, it also has Oscar nominee Richard Linklater (“Boyhood”) taking the reins as co-writer and director. So what do critics think of it?
So far the film has divided reviewers. As of this writing it has a MetaCritic score of 52 based on 29 reviews counted so far — 9 positive, 16 mixed, 4 negative. Over on Rotten Tomatoes it has a 46% freshness rating based on 74 reviews counted. Some say Blanchett is “magnificent” and “radiates otherworldliness and edgy neurosis” in the leading role, and that the film is “generously humane.” But other argue Blanchett’s performance is “too big for what’s meant to be a diminished character,...
So far the film has divided reviewers. As of this writing it has a MetaCritic score of 52 based on 29 reviews counted so far — 9 positive, 16 mixed, 4 negative. Over on Rotten Tomatoes it has a 46% freshness rating based on 74 reviews counted. Some say Blanchett is “magnificent” and “radiates otherworldliness and edgy neurosis” in the leading role, and that the film is “generously humane.” But other argue Blanchett’s performance is “too big for what’s meant to be a diminished character,...
- 8/16/2019
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Hey, movie fans. Yes indeedy, the new "Spider-Man: Far From Home" movie is officially out in theaters nationwide. It was released by Columbia Pictures aka Sony this past Tuesday,July 2, 2019, and all the critic reviews have been turned in. They look mostly positive. It scored a 69 out of a possible 100 across 53 critics over on metacritic.com. It stars: Tom Holland, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Keaton, J.B. Smoove, Zendaya Coleman, Marisa Tomei, Numan Acar, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Remi Hii and Jacob Batalon. We're going to go over some of the statements from a few of the critics in this article. Alonso Duralde from The Wrap gave it an 85 grade. He stated, "If anything, and this is a compliment, the film frequently feels like a charming teen road-trip comedy that occasionally turns into a superhero movie." Justin Chang over at the Los Angeles Times gave it an 80 score. He compared it...
- 7/6/2019
- by Derek Smith
- OnTheFlix
“Spider-Man: Far from Home” has a hell of a lot to live up to. It opened on July 2, less than three months after “Avengers: Endgame” paid off on 22 movies worth of storylines and immolated box office records in the process. So what do critics think of this, the 23rd Marvel Cinematic Universe adventure, as the franchise advances into its next era?
It wasn’t just “Endgame” that put pressure on “Far from Home” to perform. It’s also following 2017’s well-received “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” the web-slinger’s first full outing with (newly minted academy member) Tom Holland in the lead role. And perhaps even more daunting, it’s following the wildly ambitious animated film “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” which wasn’t part of the McU’s canonical storyline, but opened at the end of 2018 as one of the most acclaimed superhero films ever made — and it won an Oscar to boot.
It wasn’t just “Endgame” that put pressure on “Far from Home” to perform. It’s also following 2017’s well-received “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” the web-slinger’s first full outing with (newly minted academy member) Tom Holland in the lead role. And perhaps even more daunting, it’s following the wildly ambitious animated film “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” which wasn’t part of the McU’s canonical storyline, but opened at the end of 2018 as one of the most acclaimed superhero films ever made — and it won an Oscar to boot.
- 7/2/2019
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Is there any reason for “Toy Story 4” to exist? Critics had reason to be skeptical since 2010’s “Toy Story 3” was almost universally adored and seemed to nicely wrap up its story, with Andy’s toys being passed down from one owner to the next in a heartbreaking but uplifting ending that put a nice capstone on the franchise. It even earned an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, which was unprecedented for an animated sequel. So why go back to that well another decade later? Thankfully, the reviews for this latest sequel indicate that the “Toy Story” franchise has managed to escape the scourge of sequel-itis yet again.
As of this writing “Toy Story 4” has a MetaCritic score of 84 based on 50 reviews counted — 49 of which are positive, only 1 classified as mixed. That’s lower than the sky-high 92 achieved by the last film. In fact, it’s the lowest...
As of this writing “Toy Story 4” has a MetaCritic score of 84 based on 50 reviews counted — 49 of which are positive, only 1 classified as mixed. That’s lower than the sky-high 92 achieved by the last film. In fact, it’s the lowest...
- 6/21/2019
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
It has been a good couple of weeks for “Eighth Grade.” It was one of the top nominees at the Independent Spirit Awards, earning four bids including Best Feature and Best Actress (Elsie Fisher). And at the Gotham Awards for independent film on November 26 it won both of its noms: Breakthrough Director (Bo Burnham) and Breakthrough Actor (Fisher again). It’s early yet, but could Fisher be on her way to becoming one of the youngest Best Actress nominees in Oscar history?
Fisher plays Kayla Day, who is awkwardly coping with her last week of middle school. It’s one of the year’s most acclaimed films with an 89 on MetaCritic and a 99% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Fisher’s performance was singled out by many, including Ann Hornaday (Washington Post), who praised her “masterful command of vulnerability, anxiety, resilience and steadfast self-belief.” And Jake Coyle (Associated Press) called her a “remarkably natural young performer.
Fisher plays Kayla Day, who is awkwardly coping with her last week of middle school. It’s one of the year’s most acclaimed films with an 89 on MetaCritic and a 99% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Fisher’s performance was singled out by many, including Ann Hornaday (Washington Post), who praised her “masterful command of vulnerability, anxiety, resilience and steadfast self-belief.” And Jake Coyle (Associated Press) called her a “remarkably natural young performer.
- 11/28/2018
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
“We the Animals” has been on a roll since it debuted at the Sundance film festival in January. This coming-of-age story, which marks the directorial debut of award-winning documentarian Jeremiah Zagar, opened in August to some of the best reviews of the year. It just landed on the National Board of Review Top 10 list of independent films. That accolade came just days after the film reaped a leading five nominations for the Independent Spirit Awards, including Best First Feature.
Zagar and Dan Kitrosser adapted Justin Torres‘ 2011 novel of the same name, which tells the story of three mixed race brothers growing up in the 1980s. Zagar was singled out by the Indie Spirits as “Someone to Watch.” Critics certainly agree with his film scoring an impressive 91 at Rotten Tomatoes.
Among those heralding the arrival of this new talent is Washington Post scribe Ann Hornaday who opines, “Zagar builds a world...
Zagar and Dan Kitrosser adapted Justin Torres‘ 2011 novel of the same name, which tells the story of three mixed race brothers growing up in the 1980s. Zagar was singled out by the Indie Spirits as “Someone to Watch.” Critics certainly agree with his film scoring an impressive 91 at Rotten Tomatoes.
Among those heralding the arrival of this new talent is Washington Post scribe Ann Hornaday who opines, “Zagar builds a world...
- 11/28/2018
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
“First Reformed” got some of the year’s best reviews, so can Paul Schrader finally earn his first ever Oscar nomination? Yes, you read that right: the screenwriter of “Taxi Driver” (1976) and “Raging Bull” (1980), and the director of “Hardcore” (1979), “American Gigolo” (1980), and “Affliction” (1997), to name a few, has never competed at the Academy Awards. While much of the buzz for this A24 release has been for Ethan Hawke‘s performance as a tormented priest confronting the effects of climate change, the academy writers branch especially could take this as an opportunity to right a tremendous wrong.
Schrader earned Golden Globe bids for penning Martin Scorsese‘s “Taxi Driver” and “Raging Bull,” with the former also bringing him a WGA bid. But somehow neither of those led to Oscar nominations, despite both films competing for Best Picture. And Schrader has likewise been snubbed for his directorial efforts.
See Ethan Hawke movies: 14 greatest films,...
Schrader earned Golden Globe bids for penning Martin Scorsese‘s “Taxi Driver” and “Raging Bull,” with the former also bringing him a WGA bid. But somehow neither of those led to Oscar nominations, despite both films competing for Best Picture. And Schrader has likewise been snubbed for his directorial efforts.
See Ethan Hawke movies: 14 greatest films,...
- 11/26/2018
- by Zach Laws
- Gold Derby
A heist film isn’t what you might expect from an actor and a director both in their Oscar followups. Filmmaker Steve McQueen won Best Picture for “12 Years a Slave” (2013), which was the first film from a black director ever to win the top prize. And Viola Davis won Best Supporting Actress for “Fences” (2016) on her third nomination, which made her the most nominated black actress in history. Now they have joined forces for “Widows,” an action thriller about women desperate to pay off the debts of their criminal husbands, who just went out in a literal blaze of glory after a job gone bad. So how does it compare to their Oscar-winning work?
Quite well, as it turns out. As of this writing it has a MetaCritic score of 86 based on 44 reviews, and on Rotten Tomatoes it’s rated 92% fresh based on 186 reviews. The Tomatometer critics consensus says...
Quite well, as it turns out. As of this writing it has a MetaCritic score of 86 based on 44 reviews, and on Rotten Tomatoes it’s rated 92% fresh based on 186 reviews. The Tomatometer critics consensus says...
- 11/16/2018
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Horror genre fatigue? Nowadays, a lot of horror movies rely on unnecessary jump scares, gratuitous violence and predictable storylines. But if there’s one horror flick this year that defied the odds and subverted tropes, it was John Krasinski‘s “A Quiet Place,” which opened on April 6. On the surface, it’s a simplistic story about a post-apocalyptic world, but at its core, it’s a story about the strength of family bonds. Could “A Quiet Place” be this year’s “Get Out” and get a Best Picture Oscar nomination?
Krasinski directed and starred in “A Quiet Place,” and co-wrote it with Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. Set in 2020, the horror-thriller follows a family that is forced into hiding after the Earth’s population has been wiped out by giant sightless creatures with an acute sense of hearing. As these creatures will attack anything that makes even the slightest sound,...
Krasinski directed and starred in “A Quiet Place,” and co-wrote it with Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. Set in 2020, the horror-thriller follows a family that is forced into hiding after the Earth’s population has been wiped out by giant sightless creatures with an acute sense of hearing. As these creatures will attack anything that makes even the slightest sound,...
- 10/25/2018
- by Luca Giliberti
- Gold Derby
“Isle of Dogs” had the biggest limited opening of the year last weekend, proving Wes Anderson’s popularity is still incredibly strong among indie film audiences. But not everyone is too thrilled with Anderson’s latest. The film has been called out by numerous critics for marginalizing Japanese culture and depicting racial stereotypes, and these feelings are shared among some Wes Anderson fans. Will Toledo, frontman of the indie band Car Seat Headrest, took to Twitter recently to criticize Anderson and “Isle of Dogs.”
“‘Isle of Dogs’ is bad. It is an infuriatingly bad film. I am infuriated,” Toledo wrote. “Why is it racist? Why is it written as a joyless kid’s film when it’s specifically designed to be alienating and inappropriate for kids? why is it so fucking ugly?”
The musician continued: “I mean props to Wes for finally making a movie that would appeal to literally zero people beyond himself.
“‘Isle of Dogs’ is bad. It is an infuriatingly bad film. I am infuriated,” Toledo wrote. “Why is it racist? Why is it written as a joyless kid’s film when it’s specifically designed to be alienating and inappropriate for kids? why is it so fucking ugly?”
The musician continued: “I mean props to Wes for finally making a movie that would appeal to literally zero people beyond himself.
- 3/29/2018
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
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