January 13, 2020 6:38AM PT Todd Phillips’ “Joker” laughed its way to 11 Oscar nominations, the most nods this year for a single film. Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and Sam Mendes’ “1917” were close behind, scoring 10 nominations each. Netflix dominated on the studio front, landing a
“Joker” composer Hildur Guðnadóttir became only the fifth woman in Oscar history to be nominated in the original score categories during Thursday’s nominations announcement. The Icelandic cellist has been on a winning streak, taking home Golden Globe, Critics Choice and Society of Composers & Lyricist awards in recent days. Her music for the comic-book villain,
Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell” and Clint Eastwood’s “Richard Jewell” both flopped in China with dismal $261,000 and $212,000 opening weekends, respectively, according to data from Maoyan. Although “The Farewell” was distributed directly by Maoyan, one of China’s biggest online ticketing platforms, the critical darling made a paltry $78,000 (RMB537,000) on opening day Friday. Screenings were
Elton John could take home his second Oscar and longtime writing partner Bernie Taupin his first, as their song “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from “Rocketman” was among the best song nominees at Monday’s Oscar nomination announcements. The two have already taken home the Golden Globe for their closing song in the John biopic, their
“Joker,” an R-rated blockbuster, topped the list of Oscar nominations on Monday, becoming the rare comic book film to resonate with awards voters. The best picture contender earned a leading 11 nominations, but the story of the morning will be the lack of diversity among the leading nominees and the exclusion of female filmmakers. “Joker”
“Avenue 5” is technically science-fiction, but as many genres shows have proved, drawing a straight line from our reality to a hyperbolic future like the one of HBO’s new comedy is all too easy. Set 40 years in the future, it takes place on Avenue 5, a spaceship that is essentially a high stakes luxury
Dr. Brené Brown, a renowned researcher, author and speaker whose work explores emotional facets of the human experience, is launching a weekly podcast that kicks off at South by Southwest. Brown’s “Unlocking Us,” produced in partnership with podcast company Cadence13, is scheduled to launch at 2020 SXSW in March, where she’s slated to have on-stage
January 13, 2020 4:59AM PT Oscar nominations for the 92nd annual Academy Awards will be announced Monday morning from the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, Calif. Martin Scorsese’s mob epic “The Irishman,” Quentin Tarantino’s ode to Los Angeles “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” and Noah Baumbach’s drama “Marriage Story” are expected to sweep
China’s last truly independent film festival has been “halted indefinitely,” organizers said in a hard-hitting statement. They said that it has become “impossible” to undertake such an event in the country’s current political climate. The move comes as Chinese president Xi Jinping tightens the noose on freedom of expression in one of the world’s most
“Gentleman Jack” star Suranne Jones has optioned the memoir of five-time female world boxing champion Jane Couch, with a TV adaptation in the works through her fledgling production outfit TeamAkers Productions and “Les Misérables” producer Lookout Point. Jones and writer Laurence Akers’ TeamAkers and BBC Studios-owned Lookout Point will adapt Couch’s memoir “The Final Round”
Now that the Golden Globes ceremony has come and gone, film fans can look forward to the Oscars as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announces the nominations for the 92nd annual awards show on Monday. This year’s selections will be revealed via global livestream from the Oscars’ official websites Oscars.com and Oscars.org,
The Locarno Film Festival has announced that Nadia Dresti is stepping down as head of the prominent Swiss indie cinema event’s market side which she built over two decades into a unique and formidable space for international quality cinema industry operators. Dresti (pictured, left) praised in a statement as Locarno’s “Grand Dame,” is staying on
Layering archive footage and soundbites with the kind of quickfire verve suited to a catwalk backdrop, the introductory montage to “House of Cardin” presents us with a number of words to describe Pierre Cardin: “Genius” is the overriding one, uttered by multiple luminaries in his thrall, with other flattering variations (“creator,” “chic,” “modern,” “innovator”) rounding
Running from Jan. 16-17 in Paris’ Parc Floral, what was previously known as the Paris Images Location Expo will enter its 10th edition with a changed name, a different locale, and an expanded, industry focus. Newly rebranded as The Production Forum, the two-day trade show will host more than 100 exhibitors from throughout the French
The wildfires that have ravaged large parts of Australia have sparked an outpouring of generosity from celebrities and the general public. The entertainment industry has so far escaped largely unburned. Since September, huge wildfires have razed more than 11.2 million hectares (27.7 million acres), nearly half the area of the U.K., at least 20 people
French sales/distribution company Bac Films and Danish production banner Snowglobe have unveiled the trailer of “Wildland,” Jeanette Nordahl’s female-driven crime thriller which is set to world premiere at the 70th Berlin Film Festival in the Panorama section. Starring Sidse Babett Knudsen (“Borgen”) as a mafia ringleader and introducing Sandra Guldberg Kampp, “Wildland” was written by
Turns out, “The Australian Dream” is more similar to the American Dream than we might realize — and the obstacles to achieving it are all too familiar as well. In both countries, idealistic conversations about opportunity and equality quickly butt up against the realities of racism. And yet, for many, as soon as the R-word
British film and TV producer Tony Garnett, founder of “Bodyguard” producer World Productions, died Sunday at the age of 83. His death was confirmed by the ITV Studios-backed World Productions, which released the following statement Sunday night: “After a short illness, Tony Garnett, the legendary TV and film producer and founder of World Productions, died
Universal’s “Dolittle” crushed “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” in an unusual opening weekend clash at the South Korean box office. “Dolittle” accounted for 40% of the nationwide theatrical total as it earned $5.37 million over the weekend from 718,000 tickets. That put it in first place and knocked Korean volcano disaster movie “Ashfall” from
China’s total box office may have hit another record high in 2019, but a struggling exhibition sector and plummeting growth in lower-tier cities will likely sow seeds of trouble in 2020 for the world’s second-largest film market, Chinese firm Tencent Entertainment said in a year-end discussion paper. China’s theatrical market has grown an impressive 60-fold
Pay-TV in Asia is coming under ever greater competitive pressure, but the economic growth of the region means that there continue to be opportunities for flexible operators. That is the verdict of a study “Asia Pacific Pay-TV Distribution 2020,” published Monday. Taking together subscription and advertising revenues, the report, put out by research house Media
The picture of how the “Star Trek” creative galaxy will interconnect on TV and in movies became clearer at the TCA winter press tour on Sunday, and the short answer is: not very much. At the panel on Sunday for “Star Trek: Picard,” executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Heather Kadin said that the three “Star
January 12, 2020 6:29PM PT HBO’s “Westworld” will return for its third season on March 15, the cabler announced Sunday. Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, Ed Harris, Tessa Thompson and Jeffrey Wright will reprise their roles in the Emmy-winning sci-fi drama. Joining the cast for season three are Aaron Paul, Vincent Cassel, LEna Waithe, Scott
The 25th annual Critics’ Choice Awards gala, hosted by Taye Diggs, will be broadcast live on The CW Television Network on Sunday night. “The Irishman” has picked up the most film nominations for the ceremony. The Martin Scorsese gangster drama goes into the awards show with 14 noms, including best picture, director and acting ensemble
ViacomCBS-owned streaming services CBS All Access and Showtime OTT have reached a collective 10 million subscribers, said ViacomCBS chief digital officer and CBS Interactive chief exec Marc DeBevoise at the Television Critics Assn. winter press tour. That’s up from 8 million at last update. “We’re in a great position to hit our goals of 25
When “The Good Fight” returns for its fourth season this year, it will do so with its same sensibility but lots of new faces. “The show’s not going to lose any of its political sense. That seems to be the niche we have found ourselves in,” co-creator and co-showrunner Robert King said during the CBS
Jennifer Lopez is truly enjoying the awards season ride. “This is the industry. This is the town!” Lopez told Variety before accepting her Los Angeles Film Critics Association best supporting actress award on Saturday night. “’Hustlers’ was a movie we made in 29 days, on a low budget. I didn’t take any money for it
January 12, 2020 1:42PM PT Streaming service CBS All Access has ordered to series an original 10-episode animal rescue docuseries executive produced by filmmaker Richard Linklater and Bill Guttentag. “The Untitled Richard Linklater Project” will explore the “colorful and diverse world of animal rescue through moving, humorous and powerful stories of animals and the humans
CBS All Access has announced the first round of casting for the second season of anthology drama “The Twilight Zone.” Among those who will star in individual episodes are Morena Baccarin, Colman Domingo, Ethan Embry, Jenna Elfman, Tavi Gevinson, Tony Hale, Abbie Hern, Gillian Jacobs, Sophia Macy, Joel McHale, Chris Meloni, Billy Porter, Jimmi Simpson
CBS All Access is further building out its animation lineup with reboots of three classic shows. New editions of “Mr. Magoo,” “George of the Jungle,” and “Lassie” will all be available on the streamer beginning Jan. 17. The new series hail from DreamWorks Animation’s Classic Media. The announcement was made during the All Access portion of