While the presence of “Minding the Gap” and “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” in the Oscar documentary feature category suggest a welcome evolution in the way the Academy thinks about nonfiction filmmaking, the documentary short ballot hasn’t changed much from years past. Once again, just causes, rather than great cinema, dominate the list of
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When Peter Frampton put out a press release Thursday announcing his “farewell tour,” there was cause for cynicism, given the rash of rockers putting that tag on their outings to goose ticket sales for what may or may not turn out to be their last go-round. But although the initial alert didn’t mention it, the
Fox’s “Alita: Battle Angel” dominated the international box office, amassing $92.5 million in 82 markets. The cyberpunk adventure landed a much-needed win in China with its $62.3 million debut, the studio’s biggest opening of all time in that territory. “Alita: Battle Angel” also launched in Japan with $3.2 million. This weekend’s haul brings ticket sales
When Bradley Cooper belts out “Shallow” on Sunday night with Lady Gaga, he won’t be the first actor to perform a song from his movie at the Academy Awards. In 2011, Gwyneth Paltrow sang the ballad “Coming Home” from “Country Strong” in front of 38 million viewers. That awards season, Paltrow crooned at the Country
Microsoft unveiled the second generation of its Hololens augmented reality headset at a press event in Barcelona Sunday. The new headset features more than double the field of view of the original Hololens, according to Microsoft technical fellow Alex Kipman, while still offering 47 pixels per degree of sight. Doubling the field of view is
February 24, 2019 9:30AM PT Microsoft’s newly-announced Hololens 2 augmented reality (AR) headset will get an alternative browser, courtesy of Mozilla: The Firefox maker announced Sunday morning that it is bringing its Firefox Reality AR/VR browser to the headset when it launches this summer. Microsoft used a press event ahead of Mobile World Congress in
As the North American box office has struggles to match 2018’s record year, Universal and DreamWorks’ “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” is finally breathing some life into the business. The final chapter in the animated trilogy generated $55.5 million when it launched in 4,259 theaters, a franchise-best debut. It now also holds
The Writers Guild of America and Hollywood’s major talent agencies are stepping up efforts to rally TV and film writers as the sides struggle with negotiations on a new guild franchise agreement. The WGA on Saturday afternoon issued a lengthy FAQ to members on the state of the agency franchise talks. The message aimed to
As Poland waits to see if Paweł Pawlikowski’s “Cold War” wins in any of the three Oscar categories it is nominated for – foreign-language film, director and cinematography – the country has rolled out its generous production incentive. After the 30% cash rebate jumped its final legislative hurdle, the Polish Film Institute started accepting applications
Farrah Abraham Sued You Backdoored Us On $101k in Store Rent!!! 2/24/2019 12:20 AM PST EXCLUSIVE Farrah Abraham‘s got beef in Texas, but we ain’t talking brisket — she’s getting sued for breaking a couple of leases and skipping out on more than $100k in rent. The company that runs the Oaks at Lakeway Mall
A couple years ago, the Academy went and changed the rules on how the animated shorts are nominated, opening the process to members of other branches, which may explain why the ballot is one of the most conventional in ages, including none of the experimental stop-motion, hand-painted, or 360-degree techniques seen in recent years. That
Five of the last eight best feature winners at the annual Film Independent Spirit Awards have gone on to win best picture at the Oscars, including a four-year streak from 2013-2016. It was a steadily evolving status quo that led former Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences governor Bill Mechanic to question his organization’s
February 23, 2019 6:40PM PT Bo Burnham won his third award in three weeks for “Eighth Grade” at the Spirit Awards and said he wants the film’s 15-year-old Elsie Fisher to direct him. “I’d love to work with Elsie again,” Burnham said backstage after winning the Best First Screenplay trophy. “She wants to direct so
Alan Weisman, a longtime producer for “60 Minutes” known for his work with Morley Safer, died Thursday at his home in New Jersey of natural causes. He was 68. Weisman produced some of Safer’s most memorable “60 Minutes” segments, including the 1984 profile of Jackie Gleason and the 1989 jailhouse interview that brought national attention
February 23, 2019 5:27PM PT “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” screenwriter Nicole Holofcener offered a blunt assessment of the lack of Academy Awards recognition for director Marielle Heller, and women directors everywhere. “I feel Marielle was cheated and I feel badly about that,” Holofcener said backstage after winning a Spirit Award for screenplay with Jeff
Some directors make their presence felt in every frame of their films, while others operate in service of the stories and the stars. There is no such thing as an egoless director, but Stanley Donen, who died at age 94, made every effort to efface himself from the picture in order to let a film’s
Glenn Close, Ethan Hawke and “If Beale Street Could Talk” took home the top prizes at the 2019 Film Independent Spirit Awards, held Saturday on the beach in Santa Monica, Calif. Close stole the Aubrey Plaza-hosted show by inviting her dog Pip up on stage to accept best female lead, causing massive oohs and ahhs
The 2019 Independent Spirit Awards took place on a beach in Santa Monica, Calif., with Barry Jenkins’ “If Beale Street Could Talk” taking the top prize for best feature along with best director for Jenkins. Ethan Hawke and Glenn Close took the prizes for best male lead and best female lead, respectively. Bo Burnham took
R. Kelly Bail Set at $1 Million In Sexual Abuse Case 2/23/2019 11:15 AM PST Breaking News R. Kelly just appeared before the judge, who set his bail at $1 million … meaning the singer can be released — but only if he can afford it. Prosecutors laid out the details of R. Kelly’s 4
Watching the Academy Awards telecast, then grousing about it the next day, has become a hipster parlor game — it’s what the Complete Oscar Experience now is. The complaints are legion, and we all know what they are, because we’ve all made them. The show was too long. The host bombed. His or her opening
“Sorry to Bother You” director and musician Boots Riley, who wrote a scathing criticism of Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman” for its positive representation of law enforcement, said that he and the “Do the Right Thing” auteur are good now. But it took some time (and drama) to get there. Last year, Riley called Lee’s Oscar-nominated “BlacKkKlansman”
“Green Book” viewers who are not totally versed in the ways of ’50s and ’60s jazz may come away from the heavily Oscar-nominated movie wondering just how well known and respected the film’s central musical figure, Don Shirley (played by Mahershala Ali), really was in his heyday. The answer: revered enough to have picked up
February 23, 2019 11:26AM PT The time has come to choose a new Bachelorette, and “The Bachelor” creator Mike Fleiss has hinted that Khloe Kardashian may be in the mix. “I have already been in contact with my dear friend @KrisJenner about @khloekardashian as #TheBachelorette,” he tweeted Friday, after tweeting Thursday that “any decision regarding
February 23, 2019 11:25AM PT A judge has set R&B singer R. Kelly’s bond at $1 million, or $250,000 for each of his four victims of criminal sexual abuse, according to CNN and the Associated Press. The incidents — in which three of the alleged victims were minors — took place between 1998 and 2010.
With his quavering vocals and math-wiz electronic melodies, James Blake is a pretty unlikely candidate for a hip-hop go-to singer: His high, icy baritone is about as far from rap as one can get. But there he is, collaborating as a singer and co-composer on Jay-Z’s “4:44,” Jay Rock’s “Redemption,” Frank Ocean’s “Blonde,” Beyoncé’s “Lemonade”
As news of the death of prolific director Stanley Donen spread Saturday, the industry was quick to remember the helmer of so many classic musicals. Donen directed such hits as “Singin’ in the Rain,” co-directed with and starring Gene Kelly; “Funny Face” with Audrey Hepburn; and “Charade,” with Hepburn and Cary Grant. “Stanley Donen was
The Spirit Awards are taking over television Saturday from Santa Monica, Calif., but viewers don’t need a TV to tune in. Hosted by “Parks and Recreation” star Aubrey Plaza, this year’s Spirit Awards are set to air on IFC at 2 p.m. PT and again on Feb. 24 at 9 p.m. ET. However, indie lovers
At least the weather will be sunny for Sunday afternoon’s Oscars ceremony following one of the stormiest — and strangest — awards seasons in memory. Expectations have been turned upside down in key categories amid a historic lack of consensus among guild and critics groups. The 91st Academy Awards will be the first in three
Universal’s “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” is far and away the box office champ for Academy Awards weekend with an estimated debut of $58 million from 4,259 North American locations. Three holdovers and an expansion will make up the other top four spots, with the sophomore frame of sci-fier “Alita: Battle Angel”
Stanley Donen, the director of such stylish and exuberant films as “Singin’ in the Rain,” “Funny Face” and “Two for the Road” and the last surviving helmer of note from Hollywood’s golden age, has died at 94. The Chicago Tribune’s Michael Phillips tweeted that one of his sons had confirmed the news to him. Confirmed