February 25, 2019 8:15AM PT On a night when music was arguably the big winner at the 2019 Academy Awards, British actor Taron Egerton gave a preview of his performance in what could be the next big song-heavy blockbuster, the Elton John “fantasy musical” “Rocketman.” At Elton’s annual Oscars party, which includes an auction to
Movies
Hollywood and Chinese sci-fi offerings went head-to-head at the Chinese box office this weekend. Newcomer “Alita: Battle Angel” smashed its way to the top with a $64 million debut — streaking past the Chinese titles that, though popular, have been in theaters since the Lunar New Year holiday at the start of the month. Fox’s
February 25, 2019 5:13AM PT President Donald Trump has slammed Spike Lee hours after the director won the Oscar for best adapted screenplay for “BlacKkKlansman.” President Trump tweeted that it would be “nice if Spike Lee could read his notes, or better yet not have to use notes at all, when doing his racist hit
February 25, 2019 4:22AM PT Days after buying Tele Munchen, private equity group KKR has made another major German move, acquiring producer and distributor Universum Film from RTL. KKR is creating a German-based content group and Universum becomes the second company to become part of the fledgling outfit. Universum is a 40-year-old company that started
Malaysian drama film, “Rise Ini Kalilah” has been picked up by Netflix and will go to air from Feb. 26. The film released in Malaysian theaters and in Singapore in September. Involving six intertwined fictional tales, “Rise” documents personal stories and struggles in the build up to last year’s historic general election in Malaysia. To
Not everyone was happy about “Green Book”‘s best picture win. According to reports from inside the Dolby theater, “BlackKklansman” director Spike Lee was visibly upset by the announcement and tried to leave the ceremony before the speeches had concluded. “I’m snakebit. Every time someone’s driving somebody, I lose,” he later told reporters backstage, in reference
There wasn’t a whole lot to be shocked about as the 91st Oscars zipped along during a (comparatively) brisk 195-minute ceremony Sunday night. Nothing much slipped up on the pundits, beyond “The Favourite” star Olivia Colman taking the steam out of Glenn Close’s march through the season, and while most (though not all) expected a
After the chaos of the most unsettled Oscar season in recent memory, the show ended up being a vastly stronger offering than could have been expected. The show had a host — until, suddenly, it didn’t. It was going to cut four categories out, or relegate them to commercial breaks — until it wasn’t. Musical
February 24, 2019 8:52PM PT Two hours into the Oscars ceremony and the show-stopping performance of “Shallow” finally came. Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga surprised the audience by approaching the stage from their seats in the crowd, without an introduction. Gaga took her place at a grand piano and Cooper perched on a stool. Twitter
“Roma” helmer Alfonso Cuaron has claimed the directing Oscar for the second time in his career. He received the honor at the 91st Academy Awards on Sunday night, five years after winning it for “Gravity” in 2014. Cuaron also took home the cinematography prize, making him the first person to nab the award for serving
The 91st Academy Awards had a few shockers in store, though many frontrunners from the critics and guild circuits claimed Oscars. But a few awards proved truly surprising in a season that left many guessing. Surprise: “Green Book”Not all pundits picked “Roma” to win best picture, but certainly the lion’s share of them did. The
Universal’s “Green Book” was the last film standing Sunday night at the 91st Academy Awards, wrapping up a mud-slinging season that saw critics and rival campaigns alike take aim at the film. “We made this film with love, tenderness, and respect,” said producer Jim Burke. “And it was all done under the direction of Pete
In a delirious best actress race that broke wide open after January’s Golden Globe Awards, Olivia Colman came out on top and took home the Academy Award for “The Favourite.” Colman’s win meant that her fellow nominee Glenn Close has extended her losing streak. Throughout her career that spans over four decades, Close has been
Oscar Sunday marked a night of important firsts — and seconds — for diverse artists and filmmakers and their Hollywood contributions. The 2019 telecast started making history almost immediately. After Regina King accepted best supporting actress for “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Ruth E. Carter became the first African American woman to ever win best
“BlackKklansman” director Spike Lee took home his first Oscar at Sunday’s Academy Awards, following five nominations over nearly 30 years. “Do not turn that motherf—ing clock on!” he shouted as he took to stage, relishing in a moment years in the making. However, Academy producers were less enthused, bleeping out the sentence and leaving many
Queen, with singer Adam Lambert, opened the Academy Awards Sunday night with a powerful, abridged version of the group’s 1977 double-sided single, “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions.” The performance opened with drummer Roger Taylor thundering out the iconic drumbeat of “We Will Rock You” as Lambert, clad in a sparkling turquoise
Regina King won best supporting actress at the 91st Academy Awards on Sunday for her role as a fiercely protective mother in “If Beale Street Could Talk.” In a teary speech, King thanked the writer James Baldwin, whose novel inspired the film, as well as her mother. “It’s appropriate for me to be standing here,
February 24, 2019 3:19PM PT When “Eighth Grade” director Bo Burnham won the WGA award for best original screenplay, he was the first writer to win without being nominated for an Oscar nomination. “To the other nominees in the category — Have fun at the Oscars, losers!” Burnham joked from the podium. Meanwhile star of
The year’s biggest night in movies is officially here. In the running for the evening’s biggest prize, best picture, are “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Green Book,” “Roma,” “Vice,” “The Favourite” “Black Panther,” “BlacKkKlansman,” and “A Star Is Born.” Best actress contenders include first-time nominee Yalitza Aparicio, Olivia Colman, Melissa McCarthy, Glenn Close, and Lady Gaga. Close has
The 91st Academy Awards telecast will air live this Sunday, Feb. 24 at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT from the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. ABC will be broadcasting the event on television, but there are several online viewing options for those watching from a laptop or mobile device. The show kicks off with
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
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
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
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
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
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