The Easterseals Disability Film Challenge awarded prizes in several categories at a Thursday event on the Sony Pictures Studios lot in Culver City.
The Disability Film Challenge is celebrating 11 years of advocating for diversity, equity and inclusion in the entertainment industry.
Presenters and attendees included “Ricky Stanicky” writer, producer and director Peter Farrelly, comedian Nate Bargatze, “Coda” director Siân Heder, Caterina Scorsone of “Grey’s Anatomy,” Sheaun McKinney of “The Neighborhood,” Rick Glassman of “Not Dead Yet,” Jillian Mercado of “The L Word: Generation Q” and Heather Morris of “Glee.”
The winners were selected from 135 submitted from around the world. They include:
Best Film – “Audio Description” – Lee Pugsley;
Best Director – “The Case of the Obsidian Muskrat”- Chase Chambers
Best Actor – “Emergency Contact” – Kiersten Kelly
Best Writer – “Call the A.D.A.” – David Radcliff
Best Editor – “The Case of the Obsidian Muskrat” – Chase Chambers
Best Awareness Campaign – “Out of Reach” – Sawsan Zakaria...
The Disability Film Challenge is celebrating 11 years of advocating for diversity, equity and inclusion in the entertainment industry.
Presenters and attendees included “Ricky Stanicky” writer, producer and director Peter Farrelly, comedian Nate Bargatze, “Coda” director Siân Heder, Caterina Scorsone of “Grey’s Anatomy,” Sheaun McKinney of “The Neighborhood,” Rick Glassman of “Not Dead Yet,” Jillian Mercado of “The L Word: Generation Q” and Heather Morris of “Glee.”
The winners were selected from 135 submitted from around the world. They include:
Best Film – “Audio Description” – Lee Pugsley;
Best Director – “The Case of the Obsidian Muskrat”- Chase Chambers
Best Actor – “Emergency Contact” – Kiersten Kelly
Best Writer – “Call the A.D.A.” – David Radcliff
Best Editor – “The Case of the Obsidian Muskrat” – Chase Chambers
Best Awareness Campaign – “Out of Reach” – Sawsan Zakaria...
- 5/10/2024
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
BookTok just might make it all the way to the Oscars.
Academy Award winner Siân Heder is confirmed to be adapting Gabrielle Zevin’s bestselling novel “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” for the big screen. The feature is Heder’s latest buzzy project post-Oscar win for “Coda,” which took the title of Best Picture in 2022.
“Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” will be written by Mark Bomback, who penned the script based off a draft penned by author Zevin. The novelist will serve as an executive producer on the Paramount Pictures release.
The film is a modern love story that spans three decades between friends Sam and Sadie who both work in the cutthroat video game industry. The novel — exploring the challenges and thrills of lifelong friendship — was published in 2022 and has sold more than 2.8 million copies worldwide while spending 50 weeks on the New York Times bestsellers list.
Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey,...
Academy Award winner Siân Heder is confirmed to be adapting Gabrielle Zevin’s bestselling novel “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” for the big screen. The feature is Heder’s latest buzzy project post-Oscar win for “Coda,” which took the title of Best Picture in 2022.
“Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” will be written by Mark Bomback, who penned the script based off a draft penned by author Zevin. The novelist will serve as an executive producer on the Paramount Pictures release.
The film is a modern love story that spans three decades between friends Sam and Sadie who both work in the cutthroat video game industry. The novel — exploring the challenges and thrills of lifelong friendship — was published in 2022 and has sold more than 2.8 million copies worldwide while spending 50 weeks on the New York Times bestsellers list.
Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey,...
- 5/3/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Siân Heder, director of best picture winner “Coda,” has signed on to direct the adaptation of “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” for Paramount Pictures.
The bestselling 2022 novel by Gabrielle Zevin was adapted by Mark Bomback from a draft written by Zevin.
The sprawling and ambitious story revolves around two friends who meet as children in Los Angeles and reunite as adults in Cambridge to create video games, “finding an intimacy in digital storytelling that eludes them in their real lives,” the synopsis reads. “The relationship explores the intimacy, passion, and heartbreak of creative collaboration, set against the visually groundbreaking worlds brought to life by the rising video game industry of the 1990s-2000s.”
In addition to covering several decades and cities, the book includes unique scenes such as sequences set inside videogames. It struck a nerve with readers for its creative approach to combining a love story over the years...
The bestselling 2022 novel by Gabrielle Zevin was adapted by Mark Bomback from a draft written by Zevin.
The sprawling and ambitious story revolves around two friends who meet as children in Los Angeles and reunite as adults in Cambridge to create video games, “finding an intimacy in digital storytelling that eludes them in their real lives,” the synopsis reads. “The relationship explores the intimacy, passion, and heartbreak of creative collaboration, set against the visually groundbreaking worlds brought to life by the rising video game industry of the 1990s-2000s.”
In addition to covering several decades and cities, the book includes unique scenes such as sequences set inside videogames. It struck a nerve with readers for its creative approach to combining a love story over the years...
- 5/3/2024
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Sundance Institute has announced the 2024 Directors, Screenwriters, and Native Labs fellows.
The Native Lab takes place in person in Santa Fe, New Mexico, from April 29–May 4 and will support four fellows and two artists in residence. The Lab focuses on centring Indigeneity in the storytelling of participants from Native and Indigenous backgrounds and will work on feature film and episodic scripts through one-on-one feedback sections and roundtable discussions with advisors.
The fellows are: Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan (writer-director) with Hum (Phil-usa); Ryland Walker Knight (writer-director) with The Lip Of The World (USA); Charine Pilar Gonzales (writer-director) with Ndn Time (USA...
The Native Lab takes place in person in Santa Fe, New Mexico, from April 29–May 4 and will support four fellows and two artists in residence. The Lab focuses on centring Indigeneity in the storytelling of participants from Native and Indigenous backgrounds and will work on feature film and episodic scripts through one-on-one feedback sections and roundtable discussions with advisors.
The fellows are: Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan (writer-director) with Hum (Phil-usa); Ryland Walker Knight (writer-director) with The Lip Of The World (USA); Charine Pilar Gonzales (writer-director) with Ndn Time (USA...
- 4/29/2024
- ScreenDaily
Sundance Institute announced today the fellows selected for the 2024 Directors, Screenwriters, and Native Labs. The Native Lab in New Mexico will support four fellows and two artists in residence, and the Directors Lab in Colorado will support the development of eight projects with nine fellows, with an additional three fellows also joining for the online Screenwriters Lab held immediately after.
For over four decades, Sundance Institute’s signature labs have provided filmmakers a nurturing, immersive environment to develop their projects and refine their artistic voice under the guidance of accomplished creative advisors.
The 2024 Native Lab, taking place in person in Santa Fe, New Mexico, from April 29–May 4, is designed for participants of Native and Indigenous backgrounds and focuses on centering Indigeneity in their storytelling. Fellows will build community and refine their feature film and episodic scripts through one-on-one feedback sections and roundtable discussions with advisors. Four fellows were selected: three who are U.
For over four decades, Sundance Institute’s signature labs have provided filmmakers a nurturing, immersive environment to develop their projects and refine their artistic voice under the guidance of accomplished creative advisors.
The 2024 Native Lab, taking place in person in Santa Fe, New Mexico, from April 29–May 4, is designed for participants of Native and Indigenous backgrounds and focuses on centering Indigeneity in their storytelling. Fellows will build community and refine their feature film and episodic scripts through one-on-one feedback sections and roundtable discussions with advisors. Four fellows were selected: three who are U.
- 4/29/2024
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Nicole Kidman is the 2024 AFI Life Achievement Award honoree for her film career.
“Nicole Kidman embodies the glamour and romance of Hollywood past – a true screen icon – but she is also a risk taker – and so each performance is something new and something profound,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI President & CEO. “And like all truly great artists – Nicole not only gives back – she drives culture forward with her commitment to amplifying the voices of female directors and producers.”
Meryl Streep, Morgan Freeman, Naomi Watts and Reese Witherspoon are some of the presenters who honored Kidman at the event at the Dolby Theatre on April 27.
Related: Nicole Kidman’s Career In Photos: From ‘Days of Thunder’ And ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ To ‘Moulin Rouge!’
The AFI Life Achievement Award, was established by the AFI Board of Trustees in 1973, and is presented to a single honoree each year based on the following...
“Nicole Kidman embodies the glamour and romance of Hollywood past – a true screen icon – but she is also a risk taker – and so each performance is something new and something profound,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI President & CEO. “And like all truly great artists – Nicole not only gives back – she drives culture forward with her commitment to amplifying the voices of female directors and producers.”
Meryl Streep, Morgan Freeman, Naomi Watts and Reese Witherspoon are some of the presenters who honored Kidman at the event at the Dolby Theatre on April 27.
Related: Nicole Kidman’s Career In Photos: From ‘Days of Thunder’ And ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ To ‘Moulin Rouge!’
The AFI Life Achievement Award, was established by the AFI Board of Trustees in 1973, and is presented to a single honoree each year based on the following...
- 4/28/2024
- by Armando Tinoco
- Deadline Film + TV
When California State University Northridge’s head of film production Nate Thomas came to visit one of his first students, Paul Hunter, on the set of the new David Oyelowo-starring Apple TV Plus series “Government Cheese,” the Northridge alum and show co-creator could be heard boasting about his time in the program.
After learning to tell stories at Csun, Hunter spun a renowned career directing music videos for Beyonce and U2, among others, into helming Bacardi spots with Michael B. Jordan and Cannes Golden Lion-winning campaigns for Nike. Much of that has been through PrettyBird, a Hollywood commercial house he co-founded and uses in part to help foster and launch the careers of other underrepresented voices. “It all started at Northridge,” Thomas says. “We do filmmaking not just for the privileged. We make it for all people who have a story to tell.”
Since 2016, the Hispanic-serving institution’s film...
After learning to tell stories at Csun, Hunter spun a renowned career directing music videos for Beyonce and U2, among others, into helming Bacardi spots with Michael B. Jordan and Cannes Golden Lion-winning campaigns for Nike. Much of that has been through PrettyBird, a Hollywood commercial house he co-founded and uses in part to help foster and launch the careers of other underrepresented voices. “It all started at Northridge,” Thomas says. “We do filmmaking not just for the privileged. We make it for all people who have a story to tell.”
Since 2016, the Hispanic-serving institution’s film...
- 4/25/2024
- by Abbey White
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Emmy and Academy Award nominated producer David Permut and filmmaker Oscar Boyson are teaming up with author/filmmaker Mathew Klickstein to bring the San Diego Comic-Con origin story to life for the first time on screen in a new documentary based on the latter’s book See You at San Diego: An Oral History of Comic-Con, Fandom, and the Triumph of Geek Culture.
The See You at San Diego documentary will follow how a scrappy group of teenage fans, zinesters, illustrators, stoners, hippies, weirdoes, bookworms, and science buffs in the late 1960s joined forces with an unemployed thirtysomething comic fan to create what has now become one of the most influential pop culture events ever. San Diego Comic-Con has twice been recognized as the largest pop culture gathering worldwide by the Guinness Book of World Records in recent years.
Boyson and Oh Boy Productions will produce alongside Permut who...
The See You at San Diego documentary will follow how a scrappy group of teenage fans, zinesters, illustrators, stoners, hippies, weirdoes, bookworms, and science buffs in the late 1960s joined forces with an unemployed thirtysomething comic fan to create what has now become one of the most influential pop culture events ever. San Diego Comic-Con has twice been recognized as the largest pop culture gathering worldwide by the Guinness Book of World Records in recent years.
Boyson and Oh Boy Productions will produce alongside Permut who...
- 3/28/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
The Greek provocateur seemed to be smiling throughout Oscar night. In the past he’d delivered films with titles like Dogtooth and The Lobster, and his newest, Poor Things, was now stockpiling the statuary even as Hollywood’s filmmaking elite looked on, perplexed.
Yorgos Lanthimos’ code-busting Poor Things was winning not only successive awards (four in all) Sunday but also the exuberant applause from an audience that seemed to welcome change. Even chaotic change.
Oppenheimer won the big prize on Oscar night, of course, but Oscar voters once again demonstrated their support for the product of the filmmaking underclass. The Scorsese-Spielberg-Ridley Scott fraternity looked on while dark horses like Lanthimos, or, a year earlier, the Daniels (Kwan and Scheinert) from Everything Everywhere All at Once, stole the action. Coda from Sian Heder was the surprise of 2022.
Does all this reflect a restive mood? “The power of Poor Things stems...
Yorgos Lanthimos’ code-busting Poor Things was winning not only successive awards (four in all) Sunday but also the exuberant applause from an audience that seemed to welcome change. Even chaotic change.
Oppenheimer won the big prize on Oscar night, of course, but Oscar voters once again demonstrated their support for the product of the filmmaking underclass. The Scorsese-Spielberg-Ridley Scott fraternity looked on while dark horses like Lanthimos, or, a year earlier, the Daniels (Kwan and Scheinert) from Everything Everywhere All at Once, stole the action. Coda from Sian Heder was the surprise of 2022.
Does all this reflect a restive mood? “The power of Poor Things stems...
- 3/14/2024
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
[Editor’s note: this list was originally published in December 2017. It has since been updated with new entries.]
The 21st Century is only two decades old, but its first batch of Best Picture winners already paints an extraordinary portrait of a world in flux. From historical epics to intimate digital indies, from a musical that riffs on showbiz standards to period drama that reflects on present crises, from a sparse modern western to an overstimulating multiverse martial arts story, these 24 films range from “problematic” to “perfect” and hit all points in between. More than that, they illustrate Hollywood’s evolving definition of greatness and the relationship between the film industry and the times that forge it.
Here are the 24 Best Picture winners of the 21st century, ranked from worst to best.
With editorial contributions from David Ehrlich and Eric Kohn.
24. “Crash” “Crash” ©Lions Gate/Courtesy Everett Collection
“Brokeback Mountain” deserved better, but the Academy didn’t know it. Paul Haggis’ painfully obvious ensemble drama about racial prejudices in Los Angeles was a smug,...
The 21st Century is only two decades old, but its first batch of Best Picture winners already paints an extraordinary portrait of a world in flux. From historical epics to intimate digital indies, from a musical that riffs on showbiz standards to period drama that reflects on present crises, from a sparse modern western to an overstimulating multiverse martial arts story, these 24 films range from “problematic” to “perfect” and hit all points in between. More than that, they illustrate Hollywood’s evolving definition of greatness and the relationship between the film industry and the times that forge it.
Here are the 24 Best Picture winners of the 21st century, ranked from worst to best.
With editorial contributions from David Ehrlich and Eric Kohn.
24. “Crash” “Crash” ©Lions Gate/Courtesy Everett Collection
“Brokeback Mountain” deserved better, but the Academy didn’t know it. Paul Haggis’ painfully obvious ensemble drama about racial prejudices in Los Angeles was a smug,...
- 3/11/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Streamers narrowly avoided getting shut out at the 2024 Oscars: Netflix came away with just one trophy and Apple left empty-handed, after they garnered a total of 32 nominations.
Netflix collected its one win for Wes Anderson’s “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” an adaptation of a Roald Dahl story, in the live action short film category. The 40-minute film, with a cast that includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel, Ben Kingsley, and Ralph Fiennes, is the first Oscar for Anderson (who wasn’t in attendance to receive the award).
Read More: See all the 2024 Oscar winners here.
Heading into Sunday’s 96th Academy Awards, Netflix led all studios and platforms with 19 nominations across 11 films, including seven for Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro” — which was shut out. Apple had picked up 13 nods, including 10 for Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which also drew a goose egg.
Since 2017, Netflix has now won 23 Oscars in all.
Netflix collected its one win for Wes Anderson’s “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” an adaptation of a Roald Dahl story, in the live action short film category. The 40-minute film, with a cast that includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel, Ben Kingsley, and Ralph Fiennes, is the first Oscar for Anderson (who wasn’t in attendance to receive the award).
Read More: See all the 2024 Oscar winners here.
Heading into Sunday’s 96th Academy Awards, Netflix led all studios and platforms with 19 nominations across 11 films, including seven for Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro” — which was shut out. Apple had picked up 13 nods, including 10 for Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which also drew a goose egg.
Since 2017, Netflix has now won 23 Oscars in all.
- 3/11/2024
- by Todd Spangler
- Variety Film + TV
Danielle Brooks and Jeffrey Wright were among the Academy Award nominees who stepped out for the 2024 Women in Film Oscar Nominees Party!
The Best Supporting Actress nom and the Best Actor nom joined a bunch of celebs at the event on Friday night (March 8) at Catch Steak in Los Angeles.
Other nominees in attendance included Past Lives director and screenwriter Celine Song and Flamin’ Hot‘s “The Fire Inside” songwriter Diane Warren, who was joined by the film’s producer Eva Longoria.
Celebs who supported the nominees included Lili Reinhart, Kathryn Newton, Abigail Spencer and many more.
Wif CEO Kirsten Schaffer talked about fighting for equality in Hollywood during her speech at the event.
“New reports from UCLA, USC and Reframe released in the past few weeks illuminate the backslide of representation in front of and behind the camera. That, combined with a cultural and political backlash women, transgender people...
The Best Supporting Actress nom and the Best Actor nom joined a bunch of celebs at the event on Friday night (March 8) at Catch Steak in Los Angeles.
Other nominees in attendance included Past Lives director and screenwriter Celine Song and Flamin’ Hot‘s “The Fire Inside” songwriter Diane Warren, who was joined by the film’s producer Eva Longoria.
Celebs who supported the nominees included Lili Reinhart, Kathryn Newton, Abigail Spencer and many more.
Wif CEO Kirsten Schaffer talked about fighting for equality in Hollywood during her speech at the event.
“New reports from UCLA, USC and Reframe released in the past few weeks illuminate the backslide of representation in front of and behind the camera. That, combined with a cultural and political backlash women, transgender people...
- 3/9/2024
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
The films in contention for the 2024 Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar are “American Fiction,” “Barbie,” “Oppenheimer,” “Poor Things,” and “The Zone of Interest.” Our odds currently indicate that “American Fiction” (7/2) will win the award, followed in order of likelihood by “Oppenheimer” (18/5), “Barbie” (4/1), “Poor Things” (9/2), and “The Zone of Interest” (9/2).
This marks only the 14th instance in 96 years of all five Best Adapted Screenplay-nominated films also being in the running for Best Picture. Prior to the last time in 2017 – the year “Moonlight” achieved dual victories – this had happened only twice during the 21st century (2011; 2013) and once during the latter half of the 20th (1965). The bulk of cases occurred almost annually from 1934 to 1943, with the only inapplicable year being 1937.
Respective “The Zone of Interest” and “Oppenheimer” writers Jonathan Glazer and Christopher Nolan are simultaneously nominated for Best Director, while Nolan is also set to face off against “American Fiction” scripter Cord Jefferson in the Best Picture race.
This marks only the 14th instance in 96 years of all five Best Adapted Screenplay-nominated films also being in the running for Best Picture. Prior to the last time in 2017 – the year “Moonlight” achieved dual victories – this had happened only twice during the 21st century (2011; 2013) and once during the latter half of the 20th (1965). The bulk of cases occurred almost annually from 1934 to 1943, with the only inapplicable year being 1937.
Respective “The Zone of Interest” and “Oppenheimer” writers Jonathan Glazer and Christopher Nolan are simultaneously nominated for Best Director, while Nolan is also set to face off against “American Fiction” scripter Cord Jefferson in the Best Picture race.
- 3/7/2024
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
In perhaps one of the best feel-good stories in Hollywood this year, a coalition of 36 filmmakers have invested in a coalition to save Los Angeles’ fabled Westwood Village Theater. Organized by Jason Reitman, the group will book first-run features and repertory programming from the theater’s directors/caretakers.
The coalition of filmmaker/investors includes JJ Abrams, Judd Apatow, Damien Chazelle, Chris Columbus, Ryan Coogler, Bradley Cooper, Alfonso Cuarón, Jonathan Dayton, Guillermo del Toro, Valerie Faris, Hannah Fidell, Alejandro González Iñárritu, James Gunn, Sian Heder, Rian Johnson, Gil Kenan, Karyn Kusama, Justin Lin, Phil Lord, David Lowery, Christopher McQuarrie, Chris Miller, Christopher Nolan, Alexander Payne, Todd Phillips, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Reitman, Jay Roach, Seth Rogen, Emma Seligman, Brad Silberling, Steven Spielberg, Emma Thomas, Denis Villeneuve, Lulu Wang, and Chloé Zhao.
Continue reading Jason Reitman, Christopher Nolan, Lulu Wang, & 33 Other Filmmakers Save LA’s Historic Westwood Village Theater at The Playlist.
The coalition of filmmaker/investors includes JJ Abrams, Judd Apatow, Damien Chazelle, Chris Columbus, Ryan Coogler, Bradley Cooper, Alfonso Cuarón, Jonathan Dayton, Guillermo del Toro, Valerie Faris, Hannah Fidell, Alejandro González Iñárritu, James Gunn, Sian Heder, Rian Johnson, Gil Kenan, Karyn Kusama, Justin Lin, Phil Lord, David Lowery, Christopher McQuarrie, Chris Miller, Christopher Nolan, Alexander Payne, Todd Phillips, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Reitman, Jay Roach, Seth Rogen, Emma Seligman, Brad Silberling, Steven Spielberg, Emma Thomas, Denis Villeneuve, Lulu Wang, and Chloé Zhao.
Continue reading Jason Reitman, Christopher Nolan, Lulu Wang, & 33 Other Filmmakers Save LA’s Historic Westwood Village Theater at The Playlist.
- 2/22/2024
- by Gregory Ellwood
- The Playlist
Westwood’s historic Village Theater is now owned by a coalition of 35 filmmakers led by Jason Reitman, the group announced Wednesday.
The group’s mission “is to preserve the architectural gem and create a cultural landmark dedicated to the beloved experience of moviegoing,” per a release. The theater, situated at 945 Broxton Ave., is “known for its soaring tower, neon marquee and one of the largest screens in Los Angeles.” First opened in 1931, it is 93 years old.
The coalition of filmmakers includes J.J. Abrams, Judd Apatow, Damien Chazelle, Chris Columbus, Ryan Coogler, Bradley Cooper, Alfonso Cuarón, Jonathan Dayton, Guillermo del Toro, Valerie Faris, Hannah Fidell, Alejandro González Iñárritu, James Gunn, Sian Heder, Rian Johnson, Gil Kenan, Karyn Kusama, Justin Lin, Phil Lord, David Lowery, Christopher McQuarrie, Chris Miller, Christopher Nolan, Alexander Payne, Todd Phillips, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Reitman, Jay Roach, Seth Rogen, Emma Seligman, Brad Silberling, Steven Spielberg, Emma Thomas, Denis Villeneuve,...
The group’s mission “is to preserve the architectural gem and create a cultural landmark dedicated to the beloved experience of moviegoing,” per a release. The theater, situated at 945 Broxton Ave., is “known for its soaring tower, neon marquee and one of the largest screens in Los Angeles.” First opened in 1931, it is 93 years old.
The coalition of filmmakers includes J.J. Abrams, Judd Apatow, Damien Chazelle, Chris Columbus, Ryan Coogler, Bradley Cooper, Alfonso Cuarón, Jonathan Dayton, Guillermo del Toro, Valerie Faris, Hannah Fidell, Alejandro González Iñárritu, James Gunn, Sian Heder, Rian Johnson, Gil Kenan, Karyn Kusama, Justin Lin, Phil Lord, David Lowery, Christopher McQuarrie, Chris Miller, Christopher Nolan, Alexander Payne, Todd Phillips, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Reitman, Jay Roach, Seth Rogen, Emma Seligman, Brad Silberling, Steven Spielberg, Emma Thomas, Denis Villeneuve,...
- 2/22/2024
- by Zoe G Phillips
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Jason Reitman and a coalition of 35 other filmmakers have together acquired one of Los Angeles’ most historic and iconic movie palaces.
The group together are the new owners and caretakers of the Village Theater in LA’s Westwood neighborhood. The 93-year-old theater, which is a block from the UCLA campus and continues to host many studio premieres weekly or monthly, is distinctive for its soaring tower, neon marquee, and massive screen. The Village Theater has been hosting premieres since the 1930s; in 2023 alone, 50 movies premiered there.
The new owners will work to preserve the theater and upgrade it to show both first-run films and repertory programming, equipping it with 35mm, 70mm, and digital projection. The group will also influence the lobby galleries, the theater’s programming, its picture and sound capabilities, and will even showcase memorabilia from their personal collections, such as props, costumes, and film prints.
“I’ve been...
The group together are the new owners and caretakers of the Village Theater in LA’s Westwood neighborhood. The 93-year-old theater, which is a block from the UCLA campus and continues to host many studio premieres weekly or monthly, is distinctive for its soaring tower, neon marquee, and massive screen. The Village Theater has been hosting premieres since the 1930s; in 2023 alone, 50 movies premiered there.
The new owners will work to preserve the theater and upgrade it to show both first-run films and repertory programming, equipping it with 35mm, 70mm, and digital projection. The group will also influence the lobby galleries, the theater’s programming, its picture and sound capabilities, and will even showcase memorabilia from their personal collections, such as props, costumes, and film prints.
“I’ve been...
- 2/21/2024
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Jason Reitman Among Coalition Of Top Filmmakers Finalizing Acquisition Of Westwood’s Village Theater
A coalition of leading feature directors led by Juno‘s Jason Reitman has finalized its acquisition of Westwood’s historic 93-year-old movie palace, the Village Theater.
Other top filmmakers joining him as investors in the deal, first spotlighted recently by The Ankler, include J.J. Abrams, Judd Apatow, Damien Chazelle, Chris Columbus, Ryan Coogler, Bradley Cooper, Alfonso Cuarón, Jonathan Dayton, Guillermo del Toro, Valerie Faris, Hannah Fidell, Alejandro González Iñárritu, James Gunn, Sian Heder, Rian Johnson, Gil Kenan, Karyn Kusama, Justin Lin, Phil Lord, David Lowery, Christopher McQuarrie, Chris Miller, Christopher Nolan, Alexander Payne, Todd Phillips, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Reitman, Jay Roach, Seth Rogen, Emma Seligman, Brad Silberling, Steven Spielberg, Emma Thomas, Denis Villeneuve, Lulu Wang, and Chloé Zhao.
Each will have a say in everything from the presentation of picture and sound to the lighting, theater programming, and experiences in the lobby galleries. They’ll also be using the venue as...
Other top filmmakers joining him as investors in the deal, first spotlighted recently by The Ankler, include J.J. Abrams, Judd Apatow, Damien Chazelle, Chris Columbus, Ryan Coogler, Bradley Cooper, Alfonso Cuarón, Jonathan Dayton, Guillermo del Toro, Valerie Faris, Hannah Fidell, Alejandro González Iñárritu, James Gunn, Sian Heder, Rian Johnson, Gil Kenan, Karyn Kusama, Justin Lin, Phil Lord, David Lowery, Christopher McQuarrie, Chris Miller, Christopher Nolan, Alexander Payne, Todd Phillips, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Reitman, Jay Roach, Seth Rogen, Emma Seligman, Brad Silberling, Steven Spielberg, Emma Thomas, Denis Villeneuve, Lulu Wang, and Chloé Zhao.
Each will have a say in everything from the presentation of picture and sound to the lighting, theater programming, and experiences in the lobby galleries. They’ll also be using the venue as...
- 2/21/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Updated: Jason Reitman has gathered more than two dozen filmmakers to help acquire Westwood’s historic Village Theater, which will program first-run and repertory programming.
The group includes JJ Abrams, Judd Apatow, Damien Chazelle, Chris Columbus, Ryan Coogler, Bradley Cooper, Alfonso Cuarón, Jonathan Dayton, Guillermo del Toro, Valerie Faris, Hannah Fidell, Alejandro González Iñárritu, James Gunn, Sian Heder, Rian Johnson, Gil Kenan, Karyn Kusama, Justin Lin, Phil Lord, David Lowery, Christopher McQuarrie, Chris Miller, Christopher Nolan, Alexander Payne, Todd Phillips, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Jay Roach, Seth Rogen, Emma Seligman, Brad Silberling, Steven Spielberg, Emma Thomas, Denis Villeneuve, Lulu Wang, and Chloé Zhao.
“I’ve been coming to Westwood for as long as I can remember,” remarked Reitman. “When the Village Theater went on the market, I had visions of how quickly the National Theater became a block of condos. I immediately made an offer and hoped my fellow directors would join me on this adventure.
The group includes JJ Abrams, Judd Apatow, Damien Chazelle, Chris Columbus, Ryan Coogler, Bradley Cooper, Alfonso Cuarón, Jonathan Dayton, Guillermo del Toro, Valerie Faris, Hannah Fidell, Alejandro González Iñárritu, James Gunn, Sian Heder, Rian Johnson, Gil Kenan, Karyn Kusama, Justin Lin, Phil Lord, David Lowery, Christopher McQuarrie, Chris Miller, Christopher Nolan, Alexander Payne, Todd Phillips, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Jay Roach, Seth Rogen, Emma Seligman, Brad Silberling, Steven Spielberg, Emma Thomas, Denis Villeneuve, Lulu Wang, and Chloé Zhao.
“I’ve been coming to Westwood for as long as I can remember,” remarked Reitman. “When the Village Theater went on the market, I had visions of how quickly the National Theater became a block of condos. I immediately made an offer and hoped my fellow directors would join me on this adventure.
- 2/21/2024
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
“Anatomy of a Fall” is the favorite to win Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars; director Justine Triet co-wrote the script with partner Arthur Harari. But another multi-hyphenate could pull off an upset: “Past Lives” writer/director Celine Song. Her acclaimed film follows two childhood friends from South Korea who reconnect in the USA years later and find that their bond is still there. Greta Lee and BAFTA-nominated Teo Yoo bring Song’s delicately crafted characters to life while the restrained story is a clear sign of Song’s maturity and control as a writer.
Her film has done very well with critics groups. She won Best Original Screenplay from the Austin Film Critics Association Awards, the Florida Film Critics Circle Awards, and the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards. She was also nominated at the Critics Choice Awards for Best Original Screenplay. She lost that race to...
Her film has done very well with critics groups. She won Best Original Screenplay from the Austin Film Critics Association Awards, the Florida Film Critics Circle Awards, and the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards. She was also nominated at the Critics Choice Awards for Best Original Screenplay. She lost that race to...
- 2/17/2024
- by Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
Since the beginning of the Academy Awards in the late 1920s, Hollywood filmmakers have been making socially conscious films. Many of the best of those have scored the film town’s top honor — Oscar best picture.
This year, that winner could be “Oppenheimer,” a film that boldly and starkly dramatizes the creation of man’s most dangerous invention: atomic weapons.
It could be “Killers of the Flower Moon,” a film that brought a lost and dreadful piece of American history into the sunlight of the Cannes Film Festival and ultimately the spotlights of awards season.
It could be either “Barbie” or “Poor Things,” two of the wildest, most colorful and inventive investigations of feminist and/or post-feminist womanhood to ever hit the big screen.
It could be “American Fiction,” a wry and witty look at Black American middle-class identity and family relations under preposterous, dispiriting cultural pressures.
But will the...
This year, that winner could be “Oppenheimer,” a film that boldly and starkly dramatizes the creation of man’s most dangerous invention: atomic weapons.
It could be “Killers of the Flower Moon,” a film that brought a lost and dreadful piece of American history into the sunlight of the Cannes Film Festival and ultimately the spotlights of awards season.
It could be either “Barbie” or “Poor Things,” two of the wildest, most colorful and inventive investigations of feminist and/or post-feminist womanhood to ever hit the big screen.
It could be “American Fiction,” a wry and witty look at Black American middle-class identity and family relations under preposterous, dispiriting cultural pressures.
But will the...
- 2/16/2024
- by Steven Gaydos
- Variety Film + TV
“Oppenheimer” is the juggernaut Oscar contender that is predicted to take home not just Best Picture but a whole bunch of other Academy Awards, too, including Best Director for Christopher Nolan and Best Supporting Actor for Robert Downey Jr. However, we thought that “La La Land” had Best Picture all wrapped up in 2017 but come Oscars night, “Moonlight” swept in to claim the evening’s biggest prize in a shock win. So, is “Oppenheimer” as safe as everyone thinks?
“The Holdovers” is well-poised to pull off an upset. The movie follows Paul Giamatti as a curmudgeonly professor who is forced to look after students staying behind during the Christmas holidays. The film has been a hit with critics, audiences, and awards groups, too.
As such, it could be a major dark horse to win the Oscar for Best Picture. In the last 10 years, four movies have claimed the top prize...
“The Holdovers” is well-poised to pull off an upset. The movie follows Paul Giamatti as a curmudgeonly professor who is forced to look after students staying behind during the Christmas holidays. The film has been a hit with critics, audiences, and awards groups, too.
As such, it could be a major dark horse to win the Oscar for Best Picture. In the last 10 years, four movies have claimed the top prize...
- 2/16/2024
- by Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
Yesterday on the blog we announced the Fellows participating in the 2024 Film Independent Episodic Lab. Today, we’re drawing your attention to the fact that applications for next year’s cohort are currently open, with the regular deadline of February 26.
We asked 2020 Episodic Lab Fellow Katherine Ruppe to share her experience in the Lab developing her Sloan-supported series project Liftoff, about the lives and careers of NASA’s first class of female astronauts. Follow Katherine online at @RuppeVerse on Instagram and X.
***
It’s the grand finale of our 2020 Film Independent Episodic Lab. I’m facing a zoom screen of half a dozen Netflix executives, about to pitch Liftoff, my TV project centered around America’s first six female astronauts as they break through the brotherhood of spaceflight. My stomach has so many butterflies it’s ready to rocket into orbit. I take in the encouraging faces of the other...
We asked 2020 Episodic Lab Fellow Katherine Ruppe to share her experience in the Lab developing her Sloan-supported series project Liftoff, about the lives and careers of NASA’s first class of female astronauts. Follow Katherine online at @RuppeVerse on Instagram and X.
***
It’s the grand finale of our 2020 Film Independent Episodic Lab. I’m facing a zoom screen of half a dozen Netflix executives, about to pitch Liftoff, my TV project centered around America’s first six female astronauts as they break through the brotherhood of spaceflight. My stomach has so many butterflies it’s ready to rocket into orbit. I take in the encouraging faces of the other...
- 2/16/2024
- by Katherine Ruppe
- Film Independent News & More
Exclusive: Dylan O’Brien is set to headline in James Sweeney’s dark comedy Twinless, which the latter wrote and will also star in. Republic Pictures has taken global rights to the movie. Cameras are currently rolling on the movie in Portland, Or. O’Brien will executive produce.
The pic follows two young men who meet in a twin bereavement support group. An unlikely bromance develops between them. Twinless follow Sweeney’s directorial debut, Straight Up, which notched the filmmaker a Best First Screenplay nom at the 2021 Independent Spirit Awards.
Three Point Capital is financing the film with Ali Jazayeri, David Gendron and Liz Destro also serving as EPs.
Twinless is produced by Academy Award nominated producer David Permut and Permut Presentations whose most recent Netflix movie, Rustin, garnered Colman Domingo a Best Actor Oscar nomination.
Miky Lee (Parasite) Vice Chairwoman of Cj and who most recently executive...
The pic follows two young men who meet in a twin bereavement support group. An unlikely bromance develops between them. Twinless follow Sweeney’s directorial debut, Straight Up, which notched the filmmaker a Best First Screenplay nom at the 2021 Independent Spirit Awards.
Three Point Capital is financing the film with Ali Jazayeri, David Gendron and Liz Destro also serving as EPs.
Twinless is produced by Academy Award nominated producer David Permut and Permut Presentations whose most recent Netflix movie, Rustin, garnered Colman Domingo a Best Actor Oscar nomination.
Miky Lee (Parasite) Vice Chairwoman of Cj and who most recently executive...
- 2/15/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Brooklyn-based filmmaker Ged Dickersin (Coda) is launching True Indy, a production company intent on making films that can and should be made independently, with filmmakers telling acutely relevant stories for the world market.
True Indy sees the opportunity to attract financing for films that can be made in the $1 million-$5 million range, reducing the financial risk to investors and increasing the chances for a return on the investment. The company is introducing its slate of original U.S.-born indies at the upcoming European Film Market in Berlin, as well as looking to partner with filmmakers from around the world in international co-productions.
“Independent filmmaking has developed so much, with budgets that exceed what the new world market can return, making it difficult for private equity to support the independents,” Dickersin said. “Coming out of the pandemic and the strikes, the cost of making a film has inflated drastically,...
True Indy sees the opportunity to attract financing for films that can be made in the $1 million-$5 million range, reducing the financial risk to investors and increasing the chances for a return on the investment. The company is introducing its slate of original U.S.-born indies at the upcoming European Film Market in Berlin, as well as looking to partner with filmmakers from around the world in international co-productions.
“Independent filmmaking has developed so much, with budgets that exceed what the new world market can return, making it difficult for private equity to support the independents,” Dickersin said. “Coming out of the pandemic and the strikes, the cost of making a film has inflated drastically,...
- 2/13/2024
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
“Barbenheimer” may be the gift that keeps on giving.
After Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” ignited the summer box office, the blockbusters with twin release dates are bringing populist energy to the Oscars. Yet the one-two punch of “Barbie” ($1.445 billion globally) and “Oppenheimer” ($957 million), along with a valiant assist from Martin Scorsese’s crime epic “Killers of the Flower Moon” ($156 million), can’t compete with the box office power of last year’s contenders.
Led by “Avatar: The Way of Water” ($2.3 billion) and “Top Gun: Maverick” ($1.5 billion), the 10 films up for best picture in 2023 were collectively the highest grossing in more than a decade, racking up $4.4 billion worldwide. This year’s candidates for the top prize were still widely seen, with a combined $2.7 billion globally to date. But these impressive hauls are considered outliers and stand in dramatic contrast to Oscars of yore, where there hasn...
After Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” ignited the summer box office, the blockbusters with twin release dates are bringing populist energy to the Oscars. Yet the one-two punch of “Barbie” ($1.445 billion globally) and “Oppenheimer” ($957 million), along with a valiant assist from Martin Scorsese’s crime epic “Killers of the Flower Moon” ($156 million), can’t compete with the box office power of last year’s contenders.
Led by “Avatar: The Way of Water” ($2.3 billion) and “Top Gun: Maverick” ($1.5 billion), the 10 films up for best picture in 2023 were collectively the highest grossing in more than a decade, racking up $4.4 billion worldwide. This year’s candidates for the top prize were still widely seen, with a combined $2.7 billion globally to date. But these impressive hauls are considered outliers and stand in dramatic contrast to Oscars of yore, where there hasn...
- 2/12/2024
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
Both Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay are full of beautiful writing, with a variety of genres and writers being acknowledged for their work this year.
We have previous Oscar winners nominated, such as Josh Singer, who co-wrote “Maestro” with Bradley Cooper; previous nominees such as “Oppenheimer” scribe Christopher Nolan and “Poor Things” penman Tony McNamara; and we have a whole bunch of first-time nominees such as “Past Lives” writer and director Celine Song.
But… could we have two first-time nominees win both writing categories? Oscar history says this is unlikely; this has not happened a single time in the last 10 years. There have, however, been five instances in both categories where rookie contenders have won the Oscar.
Best Original Screenplay
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for “Everything Everywhere All at Once” in 2023 Emerald Fennell for “Promising Young Woman” in 2021 Bong Joon-ho and Han Jin-won for “Parasite” in 2020 Brian Currie,...
We have previous Oscar winners nominated, such as Josh Singer, who co-wrote “Maestro” with Bradley Cooper; previous nominees such as “Oppenheimer” scribe Christopher Nolan and “Poor Things” penman Tony McNamara; and we have a whole bunch of first-time nominees such as “Past Lives” writer and director Celine Song.
But… could we have two first-time nominees win both writing categories? Oscar history says this is unlikely; this has not happened a single time in the last 10 years. There have, however, been five instances in both categories where rookie contenders have won the Oscar.
Best Original Screenplay
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for “Everything Everywhere All at Once” in 2023 Emerald Fennell for “Promising Young Woman” in 2021 Bong Joon-ho and Han Jin-won for “Parasite” in 2020 Brian Currie,...
- 2/9/2024
- by Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
The Sundance Film Festival is regarded as one of the most prestigious independent film festivals, where filmmakers have been premiering their movies and documentaries since 1984.
The festival was founded in 1978 by Sterling Van Wagenen, the head of Robert Redford’s company Wildwood, and John Earle of the Utah Film Commission under the name Utah/US Film Festival to attract more filmmakers to Utah.
Redford founded the Sundance Institute in 1981 to foster independence, risk-taking, and new voices in American film. That year, 10 emerging filmmakers were invited to the Sundance Resort in the mountains of Utah, where they worked with leading writers, directors and actors to develop their original independent projects.
By 1984, the festival had established itself and was officially renamed the Sundance Film Festival after Redford’s character in his 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. That year, the Grand Jury Prize in Dramatics was awarded to Old Enough, an...
The festival was founded in 1978 by Sterling Van Wagenen, the head of Robert Redford’s company Wildwood, and John Earle of the Utah Film Commission under the name Utah/US Film Festival to attract more filmmakers to Utah.
Redford founded the Sundance Institute in 1981 to foster independence, risk-taking, and new voices in American film. That year, 10 emerging filmmakers were invited to the Sundance Resort in the mountains of Utah, where they worked with leading writers, directors and actors to develop their original independent projects.
By 1984, the festival had established itself and was officially renamed the Sundance Film Festival after Redford’s character in his 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. That year, the Grand Jury Prize in Dramatics was awarded to Old Enough, an...
- 1/26/2024
- by Robert Lang
- Deadline Film + TV
For the first time in the 96 years of the Academy Awards, three of the 10 films that received Best Picture nominations were directed by women. Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" (the blockbuster sensation of 2023), Celine Song's "Past Lives" (my personal choice for the best film of the entire year), and Justine Triet's "Anatomy of a Fall" (the most complex movie of the year) all received Best Picture nominations, and all three are incredibly well-deserved.
As Variety points out, 591 movies had been nominated for Oscars before this year's nominees were announced. In that 95-year span, it's been exceptionally rare for women to have directed two movies nominated for Best Picture:
Only four years have included two films directed by women among the best picture nominees: Lone Scherfig's ["An Education"] and Kathryn Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker" (2009), Lisa Cholodenko's "The Kids Are All Right" and Debra Granik's "Winter's Bone" (2010), Chloé Zhao...
As Variety points out, 591 movies had been nominated for Oscars before this year's nominees were announced. In that 95-year span, it's been exceptionally rare for women to have directed two movies nominated for Best Picture:
Only four years have included two films directed by women among the best picture nominees: Lone Scherfig's ["An Education"] and Kathryn Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker" (2009), Lisa Cholodenko's "The Kids Are All Right" and Debra Granik's "Winter's Bone" (2010), Chloé Zhao...
- 1/23/2024
- by Ben Pearson
- Slash Film
Three female directors saw their movies nab Best Picture nominations Tuesday morning, the first time that’s occurred in Oscar’s 96-year history: Celine Song with Past Lives, Great Gerwig with Barbie and Justine Triet with Anatomy of a Fall.
For a fifth consecutive year, at least one of the Best Picture nominees was directed by a woman.
In the directing category, Triet becomes the ninth woman to be nominated in the category. She is the only female filmmaker this year, joined by Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon), Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer), Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things) and Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest).
Previously, only four years counted two Best Picture noms from female filmmakers: 2009 for Lone Scherfig’s An Education and Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker, 2010 for Lisa Cholodenko’s The Kids Are All Right and Debra Granik’s Winter’s Bone, 2020 with Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland and...
For a fifth consecutive year, at least one of the Best Picture nominees was directed by a woman.
In the directing category, Triet becomes the ninth woman to be nominated in the category. She is the only female filmmaker this year, joined by Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon), Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer), Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things) and Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest).
Previously, only four years counted two Best Picture noms from female filmmakers: 2009 for Lone Scherfig’s An Education and Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker, 2010 for Lisa Cholodenko’s The Kids Are All Right and Debra Granik’s Winter’s Bone, 2020 with Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland and...
- 1/23/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Women filmmakers hit a milestone with this year’s 2024 Oscar nominations.
For the first time in history, three of the 10 movies nominated for best picture — Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall,” Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Celine Song’s “Past Lives” — were directed by a female auteur, the most recognized in the Academy Awards’ 96-year history.
The other best picture nominees are: “American Fiction,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Maestro,” “Oppehneimer,” “The Holdovers,” “Poor Things,” and “The Zone of Interest.”
Before this year’s best picture nominees, 591 movies were nominated by the Academy. Only four years have included two films directed by women among the best picture nominees: Lone Scherfig’s “An Education” and Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker” (2009), Lisa Cholodenko’s “The Kids Are All Right” and Debra Granik’s “Winter’s Bone” (2010), Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland” and Emerald Fennell’s “Promising Young Woman” (2020) and Siân Heder’s...
For the first time in history, three of the 10 movies nominated for best picture — Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall,” Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Celine Song’s “Past Lives” — were directed by a female auteur, the most recognized in the Academy Awards’ 96-year history.
The other best picture nominees are: “American Fiction,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Maestro,” “Oppehneimer,” “The Holdovers,” “Poor Things,” and “The Zone of Interest.”
Before this year’s best picture nominees, 591 movies were nominated by the Academy. Only four years have included two films directed by women among the best picture nominees: Lone Scherfig’s “An Education” and Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker” (2009), Lisa Cholodenko’s “The Kids Are All Right” and Debra Granik’s “Winter’s Bone” (2010), Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland” and Emerald Fennell’s “Promising Young Woman” (2020) and Siân Heder’s...
- 1/23/2024
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
As of this writing the frontrunner to win this year’s Oscar for Best Original Screenplay is “The Holdovers” with 69/20 odds based on the combined predictions of Gold Derby users. What was previously behind it in second place was “Barbie,” yet the Academy recently declared that script to be adapted despite Warner Bros. campaigning it as original. With “Barbie” out of the way, “Past Lives” is now in second place in this category with 4/1 odds. But I think it actually has a shot of taking down “The Holdovers” for the win.
When it comes to Alexander Payne movies at the Oscars, they’ve so far gone one of two ways. They’ve either only won one award for screenplay (as was the case for “Sideways” and “The Descendants”), or they’ve gone home empty-handed. Many are currently predicting “The Holdovers” will fall into that first category, though it’s also...
When it comes to Alexander Payne movies at the Oscars, they’ve so far gone one of two ways. They’ve either only won one award for screenplay (as was the case for “Sideways” and “The Descendants”), or they’ve gone home empty-handed. Many are currently predicting “The Holdovers” will fall into that first category, though it’s also...
- 1/17/2024
- by Jeffrey Kare
- Gold Derby
At the 2022 Oscars, Sian Heder won Best Adapted Screenplay for “Coda,” her adaptation of the French film “La Famille Bélier.” “Coda” also claimed Best Picture, thereby becoming the fifth remake to win the top Oscar. In 2021 playwright Florian Zeller shared in the Oscar win for Best Adapted Screenplay with Christopher Hampton for bring his stage hit “The Father” to the screen. In his directorial debut Zeller bagged Anthony Hopkins his second Best Actor Oscar. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2024 Oscar predictions for Best Adapted Screenplay.)
Screen versions of stage works had won Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars 15 times before. The most recent of these was in 2017 when “Moonlight” director Barry Jenkins and playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney prevailed for adapting the latter’s un-produced play “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue.” Prior to that you have to go all the way back to 1989 when Alfred Uhry won for adapting...
Screen versions of stage works had won Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars 15 times before. The most recent of these was in 2017 when “Moonlight” director Barry Jenkins and playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney prevailed for adapting the latter’s un-produced play “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue.” Prior to that you have to go all the way back to 1989 when Alfred Uhry won for adapting...
- 1/11/2024
- by Paul Sheehan and Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
Exclusive: Independent Artist Group has signed Troy Kotsur, the actor-director best known for his historic Oscar win, as part of Apple TV+’s drama, Coda.
With his Supporting Actor win for the film written and directed by Sian Heder, Kotsur became the first Deaf male to win an acting award on Hollywood’s biggest night. A film of major consequence, with regard to representation of the deaf community on screen, Coda adapted the French film La Famille Bélier to tell the story of Ruby (Emilia Jones), a Coda (or “child of deaf adult”) who serves as an interpreter for the members of her Boston family.
Kotsur memorably portrayed Ruby’s irreverent father Frank, a fisherman initially unsupportive of his daughter’s decision to pursue an education in music, who comes around in the end. The actor swept the ’21-’22 awards season with additional Best Supporting Actor wins at the BAFTA,...
With his Supporting Actor win for the film written and directed by Sian Heder, Kotsur became the first Deaf male to win an acting award on Hollywood’s biggest night. A film of major consequence, with regard to representation of the deaf community on screen, Coda adapted the French film La Famille Bélier to tell the story of Ruby (Emilia Jones), a Coda (or “child of deaf adult”) who serves as an interpreter for the members of her Boston family.
Kotsur memorably portrayed Ruby’s irreverent father Frank, a fisherman initially unsupportive of his daughter’s decision to pursue an education in music, who comes around in the end. The actor swept the ’21-’22 awards season with additional Best Supporting Actor wins at the BAFTA,...
- 1/10/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
The American Film Institute has its sights set on Matthew Libatique.
The Oscar nominated cinematographer, who graduated from the institution in 1992, has been tapped to receive AFI’s Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal. It will be presented during the AFI Life Achievement Award tribute to Nicole Kidman at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on April 27.
The medal is awarded annually “to an alumnus of either the AFI Conservatory or the [AFI Directing Workshop for Women] who best embodies the qualities of the late director: talent, taste, dedication and commitment to quality filmmaking.” Schaffner, who died in 1989, won a best director Oscar for Patton in 1970. Recipients of the Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal include David Lynch, Edward Zwick, Amy Heckerling, Terrence Malick, Darren Aronofsky, Patty Jenkins, Paul Schrader, Janusz Kamiński, Caleb Deschanel, Lesli Linka Glatter, Rachel Morrison, Melina Matsoukas, Siân Heder and others.
The honor comes as Libatique has earned raves for working on Bradley Cooper...
The Oscar nominated cinematographer, who graduated from the institution in 1992, has been tapped to receive AFI’s Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal. It will be presented during the AFI Life Achievement Award tribute to Nicole Kidman at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on April 27.
The medal is awarded annually “to an alumnus of either the AFI Conservatory or the [AFI Directing Workshop for Women] who best embodies the qualities of the late director: talent, taste, dedication and commitment to quality filmmaking.” Schaffner, who died in 1989, won a best director Oscar for Patton in 1970. Recipients of the Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal include David Lynch, Edward Zwick, Amy Heckerling, Terrence Malick, Darren Aronofsky, Patty Jenkins, Paul Schrader, Janusz Kamiński, Caleb Deschanel, Lesli Linka Glatter, Rachel Morrison, Melina Matsoukas, Siân Heder and others.
The honor comes as Libatique has earned raves for working on Bradley Cooper...
- 1/9/2024
- by Chris Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Matthew Libatique, the Academy Award-nominated cinematographer most recently lending his talents to Bradley Cooper’s Netflix pic Maestro, has been set to receive the American Film Institute’s Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal at the AFI Life Achievement Award Gala Tribute to Nicole Kidman, taking place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on April 27th.
The Schaffner Alumni Medal recognizes the extraordinary creative talents of AFI Conservatory Alumni who embody the qualities of filmmaker Franklin J. Schaffner: talent, taste, dedication and commitment to quality storytelling in film and television. Past recipients include Libatique’s frequent collaborator (and one-time classmate) Darren Aronofsky, Lesli Linka Glatter, Siân Heder, Patty Jenkins, Janusz Kamiński, Mimi Leder, David Lynch, Terrence Malick, Melina Matsoukas and Rachel Morrison.
While this year will be the ninth that the AFI Life Achievement Award special airs on TNT, air dates for the Kidman tribute special on TNT and...
The Schaffner Alumni Medal recognizes the extraordinary creative talents of AFI Conservatory Alumni who embody the qualities of filmmaker Franklin J. Schaffner: talent, taste, dedication and commitment to quality storytelling in film and television. Past recipients include Libatique’s frequent collaborator (and one-time classmate) Darren Aronofsky, Lesli Linka Glatter, Siân Heder, Patty Jenkins, Janusz Kamiński, Mimi Leder, David Lynch, Terrence Malick, Melina Matsoukas and Rachel Morrison.
While this year will be the ninth that the AFI Life Achievement Award special airs on TNT, air dates for the Kidman tribute special on TNT and...
- 1/9/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
“Poor Things,” “Oppenheimer,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “American Fiction,” “All of Us Strangers,” and “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” all received Best Adapted Screenplay bids from the Critics Choice Awards thus giving their Oscar hopes in this category a timely boost. Some of them were lauded even further at the Golden Globes, which nominated “Poor Things,” “Oppenheimer,” and “Killers of the Flower Moon” alongside “Barbie,” “Past Lives,” and “Anatomy of Fall” in a combined Best Screenplay category.
So, those are the preferences of those two awards groups. But what about the tastes of the academy? Well, below is a chart detailing the last 10 Oscar winners for Best Adapted Screenplay. We’re going to break this down to see what the academy likes and try to apply the findings to this year’s race.
As you can see, novels are the academy’s favorite source material, accounting for...
So, those are the preferences of those two awards groups. But what about the tastes of the academy? Well, below is a chart detailing the last 10 Oscar winners for Best Adapted Screenplay. We’re going to break this down to see what the academy likes and try to apply the findings to this year’s race.
As you can see, novels are the academy’s favorite source material, accounting for...
- 12/27/2023
- by Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
Unlike a movie, a TV show is not generally meant to be consumed in a single sitting. It is, at least in theory, designed to be enjoyed episode by episode. So having already celebrated the best series of the year (and the best TV performances), we’re here now to highlight a few individual chapters that particularly stood out to us from our hundreds and hundreds of hours of viewing.
As a rule, we excluded any title that had already made either of our individual top 10s. (Sorry, Richie episode of The Bear. And “Long, Long Time” from The Last of Us. And half this season of Succession. Half this season of Reservation Dogs. And, and, and …) This was in part to save ourselves the trouble of singing praises we’ve already sung so many times before, but mostly in an effort to spread the love. For the same reasons,...
As a rule, we excluded any title that had already made either of our individual top 10s. (Sorry, Richie episode of The Bear. And “Long, Long Time” from The Last of Us. And half this season of Succession. Half this season of Reservation Dogs. And, and, and …) This was in part to save ourselves the trouble of singing praises we’ve already sung so many times before, but mostly in an effort to spread the love. For the same reasons,...
- 12/19/2023
- by Angie Han and Daniel Fienberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Updated: This story was originally published on November 1, 2023, and has now been updated to include new honorees.
The 2024 Sundance Film Festival will honor actress and filmmaker Kristen Stewart; filmmakers Christopher Nolan, Maite Alberdi, and Celine Song; and journalist and producer Pat Mitchell with awards at its annual opening night gala and fundraiser.
The fundraiser will take place January 18, 2024 on the opening night of next year’s Sundance, this year celebrating 40 years of the film festival.
Stewart, who will appear in two films at this year’s Sundance, including U.S. Dramatic Competition title “Love Me” and Midnight movie “Love Lies Bleeding,” will receive the Visionary Award “in recognition of her work as an uncompromising artist and contributions to the field of independent film.”
“Oppenheimer” director Nolan will receive a new prize from Sundance called the Sundance Institute Trailblazer Award. Nolan’s “Memento” from 2001 played at Sundance that year. Meanwhile, Song...
The 2024 Sundance Film Festival will honor actress and filmmaker Kristen Stewart; filmmakers Christopher Nolan, Maite Alberdi, and Celine Song; and journalist and producer Pat Mitchell with awards at its annual opening night gala and fundraiser.
The fundraiser will take place January 18, 2024 on the opening night of next year’s Sundance, this year celebrating 40 years of the film festival.
Stewart, who will appear in two films at this year’s Sundance, including U.S. Dramatic Competition title “Love Me” and Midnight movie “Love Lies Bleeding,” will receive the Visionary Award “in recognition of her work as an uncompromising artist and contributions to the field of independent film.”
“Oppenheimer” director Nolan will receive a new prize from Sundance called the Sundance Institute Trailblazer Award. Nolan’s “Memento” from 2001 played at Sundance that year. Meanwhile, Song...
- 12/14/2023
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Former Mosaic manager Cullen Conly has joined Anonymous Content’s literary department as a manager and producer, based out of the company’s New York office.
Conly started his career in the mailroom at WME before holding positions at Paramount Vantage, Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program and at ICM Partners, where he was a Motion Picture Literary agent in the company’s New York office. At Mosaic, he was based in LA.
His client list of filmmakers and TV writers includes Oscar-winning filmmaker Sian Heder (Coda), Emmy-winning filmmaker Cory Finley (Landscape with Invisible Hand), Andrew Ahn (Fire Island), Dean Fleischer Camp (Marcel the Shell with Shoes On), Kat Candler (Queen Sugar), Laura Moss (Birth/Rebirth), Lindsey Ferrentino (National Theatre at Home: Ugly Lies the Bone), Chad Hodge (Single All the Way), Logan Kibens (The Power), Matt Lutsky (On Becoming a God In Central Florida), Michael Lannan (Looking), Rhys Ernst...
Conly started his career in the mailroom at WME before holding positions at Paramount Vantage, Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program and at ICM Partners, where he was a Motion Picture Literary agent in the company’s New York office. At Mosaic, he was based in LA.
His client list of filmmakers and TV writers includes Oscar-winning filmmaker Sian Heder (Coda), Emmy-winning filmmaker Cory Finley (Landscape with Invisible Hand), Andrew Ahn (Fire Island), Dean Fleischer Camp (Marcel the Shell with Shoes On), Kat Candler (Queen Sugar), Laura Moss (Birth/Rebirth), Lindsey Ferrentino (National Theatre at Home: Ugly Lies the Bone), Chad Hodge (Single All the Way), Logan Kibens (The Power), Matt Lutsky (On Becoming a God In Central Florida), Michael Lannan (Looking), Rhys Ernst...
- 12/8/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
In what is an annual tradition, A24 led all nominations at this morning’s 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations with 11, while the indie studio’s Past Lives, along with Netflix’s May December and Amazon MGM’s American Fiction, each tallied five noms apiece.
The titles up for the Spirits’ marquee Best Feature include Amazon MGM’s American Fiction, Searchlight’s All of Us Strangers, A24’s Past Lives, Netflix’s May December, Sony Pictures Classics’ We Grown Now and Mubi’s Passages.
As of this post, three movies have yet to open: We Grown Now, American Fiction (which goes limited on December 15) and All of Us Strangers (December 22). Passages played the arthouse circuit over the summer, grossing around $551,000. May December is available to stream on Netflix, while Past Lives has made close to $11 million stateside and more than $20M worldwide, a very good gross for a specialty release in the post-pandemic marketplace.
The titles up for the Spirits’ marquee Best Feature include Amazon MGM’s American Fiction, Searchlight’s All of Us Strangers, A24’s Past Lives, Netflix’s May December, Sony Pictures Classics’ We Grown Now and Mubi’s Passages.
As of this post, three movies have yet to open: We Grown Now, American Fiction (which goes limited on December 15) and All of Us Strangers (December 22). Passages played the arthouse circuit over the summer, grossing around $551,000. May December is available to stream on Netflix, while Past Lives has made close to $11 million stateside and more than $20M worldwide, a very good gross for a specialty release in the post-pandemic marketplace.
- 12/5/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
On Monday night, November 27, at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City, the Gotham Awards presented the winners at their 33rd annual event. “All of Us Strangers” went in with a leading four bids, followed by “Past Lives,” “The Zone of Interest” and the TV limited series “Beef” with three apiece. But who prevailed? Scroll down for the full list, updated throughout the night.
The nominations were decided by panels of film and television critics, journalists, festival programmers and film curators. The winners were then selected by juries of writers, directors, actors, producers, editors and others directly involved in filmmaking. That makes these awards unique and often results in surprising winners like “The Rider” for Best Feature in 2018 over the higher-profile “The Favourite,” or Danielle Deadwyler (“Till”) for Best Lead Performance in 2022 over eventual Oscar winners Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) and Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”). So a...
The nominations were decided by panels of film and television critics, journalists, festival programmers and film curators. The winners were then selected by juries of writers, directors, actors, producers, editors and others directly involved in filmmaking. That makes these awards unique and often results in surprising winners like “The Rider” for Best Feature in 2018 over the higher-profile “The Favourite,” or Danielle Deadwyler (“Till”) for Best Lead Performance in 2022 over eventual Oscar winners Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) and Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”). So a...
- 11/28/2023
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Updated: Former Sundance Institute Board Chair and trustee Pat Mitchell, the first woman president of CNN Productions and PBS, has joined the list of honorees for the Sundance Gala that includes Christopher Nolan, Celine Song and Maite Alberdi. Mitchell will receive the Vanguard Award for Philanthropy for her commitment to the Institute’s support and to philanthropy for social impact.
The upcoming Opening Night Gala: Celebrating 40 Years Presented by Chase Sapphire will be held on Jan. 18 at the DeJoria Center in Kamas, Utah.
“Beyond being a stalwart champion of the role of media and storytelling as an agent for social change, Pat is a fierce advocate for gender and racial equality, and in all her diverse roles and responsibilities — as a journalist, documentary producer, and media executive — has supported the stories and ideas that move us forward toward a more equitable future. Pat’s career and commitments of her time...
The upcoming Opening Night Gala: Celebrating 40 Years Presented by Chase Sapphire will be held on Jan. 18 at the DeJoria Center in Kamas, Utah.
“Beyond being a stalwart champion of the role of media and storytelling as an agent for social change, Pat is a fierce advocate for gender and racial equality, and in all her diverse roles and responsibilities — as a journalist, documentary producer, and media executive — has supported the stories and ideas that move us forward toward a more equitable future. Pat’s career and commitments of her time...
- 11/16/2023
- by Jaden Thompson
- Variety Film + TV
McCracken will still be involved with his long-gestating Alexander McQueen project.
After 23 years producing films in the UK, French mini-major Pathe will close its UK theatrical film distribution business by the end of 2023 to focus on the development and production of scripted TV series under managing director Faith Penhale.
Cameron McCracken, head of film at Pathe UK, is retiring but will remain involved with several ongoing projects at Pathe including a film about Alexander McQueen to be directed by Oliver Hermanus.
The roles of three key people are being made redundant: Lee Bye, long-time head of theatrical distribution and technical,...
After 23 years producing films in the UK, French mini-major Pathe will close its UK theatrical film distribution business by the end of 2023 to focus on the development and production of scripted TV series under managing director Faith Penhale.
Cameron McCracken, head of film at Pathe UK, is retiring but will remain involved with several ongoing projects at Pathe including a film about Alexander McQueen to be directed by Oliver Hermanus.
The roles of three key people are being made redundant: Lee Bye, long-time head of theatrical distribution and technical,...
- 11/15/2023
- by Louise Tutt
- ScreenDaily
Patrick Wachsberger’s Picture Perfect Entertainment is launching international sales on Jan Kounen’s “The Incredible Shrinking Man” starring Jean Dujardin, the Oscar-winning actor of “The Artist.”
The ambitious film is a modern adaption of Richard Matheson’s science fiction novel, which was previously brought to the big screen by Universal Pictures in 1957 with Jack Arnold’s “The Shrinking Man.”
The French movie is being produced by Alain Goldman at Pitchipoi Productions and Picture Perfect, the vehicle launched by Wachsberger, the former co-chairman of Lionsgate who won a best picture Oscar for “Coda” in 2021.
Slated to start shooting in May 2024, the movie tells the story of a man who gradually shrinks to less than an inch tall after an exposure to a combination of radiation and insecticide. With medical science powerless to help him, brushes with cats, mouse traps and spiders become a matter of life and death, and he...
The ambitious film is a modern adaption of Richard Matheson’s science fiction novel, which was previously brought to the big screen by Universal Pictures in 1957 with Jack Arnold’s “The Shrinking Man.”
The French movie is being produced by Alain Goldman at Pitchipoi Productions and Picture Perfect, the vehicle launched by Wachsberger, the former co-chairman of Lionsgate who won a best picture Oscar for “Coda” in 2021.
Slated to start shooting in May 2024, the movie tells the story of a man who gradually shrinks to less than an inch tall after an exposure to a combination of radiation and insecticide. With medical science powerless to help him, brushes with cats, mouse traps and spiders become a matter of life and death, and he...
- 11/3/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Christopher Nolan, Celine Song and Maite Alberdi will be feted at a gala fundraiser on the opening night of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, the nonprofit Sundance Institute said Wednesday.
The Jan. 18 gathering, which will take place at the DeJoria Center, will “raise critical funds to support independent artists year-round through labs, grants and public programming that nurture artists globally.”
Nolan, who started in indie film before becoming the director of large-scale studio blockbusters like this year’s Oppenheimer, will be honored with the first-ever Sundance Institute Trailblazer Award. Song, the writer and director of this year’s Past Lives, and Alberdi, who helmed this year’s documentary The Eternal Memory, will each receive the Vanguard Award, Song for fiction and Alberdi for nonfiction.
Meanwhile, former Sundance Institute Board Chair and trustee Pat Mitchell will receive the Vanguard Award for Philanthropy.
“As we step into the 40th edition of the Sundance Film Festival,...
The Jan. 18 gathering, which will take place at the DeJoria Center, will “raise critical funds to support independent artists year-round through labs, grants and public programming that nurture artists globally.”
Nolan, who started in indie film before becoming the director of large-scale studio blockbusters like this year’s Oppenheimer, will be honored with the first-ever Sundance Institute Trailblazer Award. Song, the writer and director of this year’s Past Lives, and Alberdi, who helmed this year’s documentary The Eternal Memory, will each receive the Vanguard Award, Song for fiction and Alberdi for nonfiction.
Meanwhile, former Sundance Institute Board Chair and trustee Pat Mitchell will receive the Vanguard Award for Philanthropy.
“As we step into the 40th edition of the Sundance Film Festival,...
- 11/1/2023
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Sundance Institute will honor Christopher Nolan with the first-ever Sundance Trailblazer Award. The Opening Night Gala: Celebrating 40 Years Presented Chase Sapphire, on January 18, 2024 at the DeJoria Center in Utah, will also present the annual Vanguard Award to “Past Lives” writer/director Celine Song and “The Eternal Memory” writer/director Maite Alberdi. Their 40th annual film festival will take place from January 18 through January 28, 2024, as well as online from January 25 to January 28.
“As we step into the 40th edition of the Sundance Film Festival, it is a distinct honor to recognize Christopher Nolan, a prodigious artist whose singular talent and remarkable body of work have made him one of the most respected filmmakers of our time. We are looking forward to spotlighting the unique voices of both Celine and Maite, storytellers we have been supporting and deeply believe in. All three of these storytellers represent Sundance’s values,” said Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente.
“As we step into the 40th edition of the Sundance Film Festival, it is a distinct honor to recognize Christopher Nolan, a prodigious artist whose singular talent and remarkable body of work have made him one of the most respected filmmakers of our time. We are looking forward to spotlighting the unique voices of both Celine and Maite, storytellers we have been supporting and deeply believe in. All three of these storytellers represent Sundance’s values,” said Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente.
- 11/1/2023
- by Scott Mendelson
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Permut Presentations and Merkaba Media Group have acquired the rights to Cheryl Diamond’s Nowhere Girl: A Memoir of a Fugitive Childhood which follows the author’s true story of being born a fugitive.
By the age of nine, Diamond had lived in more than a dozen countries, on five continents, under six assumed identities. She was home-schooled by her parents who were evading law enforcement and constantly on the run. While frequently changing identities and moving to different continents/countries was the norm for her growing up – as she got older, she began to realize that her life itself might be a big con. Surviving required her to escape from her family.
The team are currently exploring writers and directors as possibilities in adapting this story as a series.
Oscar nominated Hacksaw Ridge producer Permut tells us, “I was riveted by this gripping true story and feel Cheryl...
By the age of nine, Diamond had lived in more than a dozen countries, on five continents, under six assumed identities. She was home-schooled by her parents who were evading law enforcement and constantly on the run. While frequently changing identities and moving to different continents/countries was the norm for her growing up – as she got older, she began to realize that her life itself might be a big con. Surviving required her to escape from her family.
The team are currently exploring writers and directors as possibilities in adapting this story as a series.
Oscar nominated Hacksaw Ridge producer Permut tells us, “I was riveted by this gripping true story and feel Cheryl...
- 10/23/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Picture Perfect Federation Chairman Patrick Wachsberger, former Co-Chairman of Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Group, stopped by our Zurich Summit studio this past weekend to discuss the progress of his Jv with Federation Entertainment, some of the exciting projects he is working on, and the recent challenge of choosing between The Taste Of Things and Anatomy Of A Fall on France’s Oscar selection committee.
Since launching in 2019, Picture Perfect Federation has added outposts in Italy, UK, Germany and Israel.
Wachsberger, who won a Best Picture Oscar for Coda two years ago, tells us he “considered retirement for about 15 minutes” after leaving Lionsgate but explains why Picture Perfect has given him a new lease on life. You can watch the video of our chat above.
Among high-profile projects coming up for the company are Coda director Sian Heder’s next film, The Impossible Us, and The Department, the English-language TV...
Since launching in 2019, Picture Perfect Federation has added outposts in Italy, UK, Germany and Israel.
Wachsberger, who won a Best Picture Oscar for Coda two years ago, tells us he “considered retirement for about 15 minutes” after leaving Lionsgate but explains why Picture Perfect has given him a new lease on life. You can watch the video of our chat above.
Among high-profile projects coming up for the company are Coda director Sian Heder’s next film, The Impossible Us, and The Department, the English-language TV...
- 10/4/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
In a sign of Hollywood’s escalating internal tensions, a prominent Directors Guild of America member openly advocated against the election of 10 writer-directors to the guild’s board earlier this month on the grounds that they were “primarily writers” and hailed from “fringe groups.”
In a leaked email that has been shared widely in the creative community, Linda Montanti, chair of the guild’s Western Ad/Upm Council, urged a bloc of DGA voters to not support the board candidacies of a number of multihyphenates who are members of both the DGA and WGA — some of whom have been outspoken about strike issues. The list includes writer-producer Boots Riley, Oscar-winning “Coda” writer-director Sian Heder, actor-filmmaker Justine Bateman, actor-writer Paul Scheer and “Chernobyl” creator Craig Mazin. The unorthodox move prompted DGA president Lesli Linka Glatter to contact the members affected to assure them that Montanti’s move was not condoned by top DGA leaders.
In a leaked email that has been shared widely in the creative community, Linda Montanti, chair of the guild’s Western Ad/Upm Council, urged a bloc of DGA voters to not support the board candidacies of a number of multihyphenates who are members of both the DGA and WGA — some of whom have been outspoken about strike issues. The list includes writer-producer Boots Riley, Oscar-winning “Coda” writer-director Sian Heder, actor-filmmaker Justine Bateman, actor-writer Paul Scheer and “Chernobyl” creator Craig Mazin. The unorthodox move prompted DGA president Lesli Linka Glatter to contact the members affected to assure them that Montanti’s move was not condoned by top DGA leaders.
- 8/31/2023
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
The American Film Institute announced the call for applicants for the next class of the AFI Dww+ program, a year-long directing workshop that educates underrepresented filmmakers through the production cycle of a short film, providing hands-on instruction from industry leaders.
In 2024, the program will celebrate its 50th anniversary since launching in 1974 as the Directing Workshop for Women, one of the first gender impact programs in the cinematic arts and is one of the longest-running film and television workshops in the world. The application period for the Class of 2024-2025 opens August 11 and closes Friday, September 15, 2023. The application and eligibility requirements can be found on afi.com/dww.
“For nearly 50 years, AFI Dww+ has given voice to historically underrepresented perspectives and championed artists to pursue directing careers in film and television,” said Susan Ruskin, dean of the AFI Conservatory. “We look forward to celebrating the program’s milestone anniversary and welcoming...
In 2024, the program will celebrate its 50th anniversary since launching in 1974 as the Directing Workshop for Women, one of the first gender impact programs in the cinematic arts and is one of the longest-running film and television workshops in the world. The application period for the Class of 2024-2025 opens August 11 and closes Friday, September 15, 2023. The application and eligibility requirements can be found on afi.com/dww.
“For nearly 50 years, AFI Dww+ has given voice to historically underrepresented perspectives and championed artists to pursue directing careers in film and television,” said Susan Ruskin, dean of the AFI Conservatory. “We look forward to celebrating the program’s milestone anniversary and welcoming...
- 8/11/2023
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
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