The actor even made known his hesitancy to return to Marvel as he is “very happy doing what [he’s] doing” as he explores more film roles, such as his recently-released action flick Plane with Gerard Butler.
Daredevil’s New Filming Location Spurs Luke Cage Speculation
Marvel
Following the start of Daredevil: Born Again‘s production in New York City, production of the Disney+ series is expected to travel to Harlem – famously the home of Marvel hero Luke Cage.
The update emerged thanks to “no parking” signs – via The Curious Uptowner – that appeared in Harlem confirming the show will be shooting scenes starting on Monday, March 13, with another sign noting further filming on Tuesday, March 14.
thecuriousuptowner
Born Again‘s latest shooting location has many fans convinced Mike Colter’s Luke Cage may join Charlie Cox’s Daredevil and Jon Bernthal’s Punisher in reprising his Netflix role under the Marvel Studios reboot.
The original Daredevil serieswas filmed in various New York City locations to double as Hell’s Kitchen, however, no significant filming took place in Harlem. Netflix’s Luke Cage meanwhileconducted much of the shoot in Harlem given that the series mostly takes place in the Upper Manhattan neighborhood.
1stmoviemaster commented on a Reddit post that they “know [they] shouldn’t get [their] hopes up” but are hoping this points toward Luke Cage’s return:
“I know I shouldn’t get my hopes up on something that probably won’t happen, but I’m going to go ahead and pretend this means Luke Cage is back.”
odiin1731 joked that they “wish there was an MCU character that was from there,” obviously in reference to Luke Cage as the most famous Marvel character to hail from Harlem.
MarvelManiac45213 simply dropped Luke Cage’s famous catchphrase “Sweet Christmas!” which stems from the comics and Colter uttered many times in his Netflix portrayal of the character.
Javierrodrigu73 suggested that Luke Cage could be married to Jessica Jones in Daredevil: Born Again. The two did have several romantic encounters in their Netflix appearances and are famously married in the comics:
“Maybe Jessica and Luke are MARRIED IN ‘DAREDEVIL BORN AGAIN’??”
@Pollos_Hernandy added their hopes on Twitter that “they at least namedrop Luke Cage,” calling that the “bare minimum:”
“I hope they at least namedrop Luke Cage. I’m asking for the bare minimum here”
Is Marvel Reviving Netflix’s Defenders in Daredevil: Born Again?
With Born Again set to have an 18-episode season that will shoot all the way until December 2023, Marvel Studios has plenty of time to fit in as many of these characters as it wants. With Daredevil being by far the most popular of these heroes, his solo series serves as the perfect vehicle to repopularize the others.
There were rumors about plans to include Jessica Jones, although scheduling conflicts apparently prohibited that and her role went to Bernthal’s Punisher. While Jones may, unfortunately, have not made it into the Daredevil series, this signifies an interest in bringing back more of Netflix’s Defenders.
Netflix’s Marvel series introduced fans to five main heroes, two of which have already been confirmed for Born Again. As Daredevil and Punisher are back and rumors have pointed to Jessica Jones returning, the most questionable fates currently lie with Luke Cage and Iron Fist.
While Born Again filming scenes in Harlem may seem promising for the chances of Luke Cage making an appearance, fans should not get their hopes up. Filming taking place in Harlem doesn’t even guarantee these will be for scenes taking place in that neighborhood, as locations are frequently used to double for others.
Nonetheless, the door is clearly not closed for Luke Cage, as Mike Colter still seems open to returning and Marvel Studios has already brought back several of the Netflix characters. The MCU is bound to want to use the character at some point, it’s just a question of when and whether Colter will be the one in the role.
Daredevil: Born Again is currently placed to hit Disney+ in Spring 2024.
Now that season three of The Mandalorian is finally underway, we can jump the gun and look at another live-action Star Wars project of the year, Ahsoka. We know next to nothing about the highly anticipated series besides that it will obviously follow the fan-favorite character Ahsoka Tano, the former apprentice of the famous Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. Just to include a simple copy-and-paste quotation of the one-sentence D23 online plot synopsis for you to read: “Set after the fall of the Empire, Ahsokafollows the former Jedi knight Ahsoka Tano as she investigates an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy.” Otherwise, we know it will arrive on Disney+ by the fall of this year if all goes well.
Even from the lack of hard information, many would rightly assume that Ahsoka will likely follow the titular character trying to find Ezra and Thrawn, as she’s been on the hunt for them since Rebels and is still looking even in The Mandalorian. But with such a vague synopsis and the many wild directions Star Wars has been going recently (and forever, really), there’s plenty of room to speculate.
Given that Ahsoka will be facing “an emerging threat” and that she’s still hunting Thrawn, there’s a good chance that this threat coming in after the fall of Palpatine’s Empire will be Thrawn’s own native empire, the legendary Chiss Ascendency.
What Is The Chiss Ascendency?
Disney Publishing
The first and most famous Chiss was introduced in Timothy Zahn’s 1991 novel Heir to the Empire, the mastermind Grand Admiral Thrawn. Zahn’s Thrawn novels kickstarted Star Wars outside of movies and kept the franchise alive between the original and prequels trilogies, beginning the Expanded Universe of Star Wars, which served as the official canon until 2014, when Disney deemed all Star Wars material that was not the six movies and the series The Clone Wars to be non-canon, and has been rebranded as Legends.
Zahn explored the Chiss and their myth-like dominion outside of the known galaxy in many Legends novels and has formerly introduced the Chiss Ascendency in the new canon Thrawn Ascendency trilogy. The Chiss are a powerful species that act like the Republic, beyond the reaches and knowledge of the galaxy where Ahsoka and our classic heroes come from. They reside in the Chaos, a perilous void that can only be navigated by Force-users, which are rare among the species. Composed of Nine Ruling Families with as much politics as the Republic and as much power as the Empire, the Chiss are locked in a brutal war with the Grysk, another species that cunningly turned the Chiss on each other.
Most likely, the Chiss will triumph with the help of Thrawn and his legendary skill in the literal art of war, and then they may look to expand toward the galaxy and the fledging New Republic. Thrawn was the major villain in Rebels, being a Grand Admiral in the Empire’s Navy, but the Ascendency is even bigger than Thrawn and could be the greatest threat to the galaxy since the Sith. So while Ahsoka may be looking for her old friend and her old enemy, she may have to keep an invasion at bay in the process.
Of course, the Grysk themselves may be the threat that Ahsoka and the New Republic face, being devious, deadly, and almost unknown force to be reckoned with. Ahsoka and Thrawn may have to form an uneasy alliance in order to curb a Grysk invasion of the Chiss Ascendency and the New Republic. (The Empire went down the reactor shaft when Palpatine did, so Thrawn’s loyalties will likely lie with his own people more than his allegiance to a dead alien government.)
If it’s true that Ahsoka will bring the Chiss Ascendency into the larger Star Wars universe, then it throws open a lot of doors for the franchise. Bringing an old part of Expanded Universe onto the screen would allow other non-canon to come into the canon, fulfilling the hopes of many Legends fans to see the Legends brought into the fold and introducing many more to the wider Star Wars universe, as Thrawn’s presence Rebels did. Ideas that Disneymay even be setting up an adaptation of the original Thrawn trilogy when the Disney+ series eventually crossover and fans are excited for everything coming.
Granted, this is all pure speculation off of one word in a synopsis, but this could be the opportunity to open up the Star Wars galaxy beyond itself, and this would be the footing to introduce a whole new part of the Star Wars universe to explore for years to come.
Jonathan Frakes is currently riding high with the rest of his Star Trek: The Next Generation castmates thanks to the positive buzz surrounding Picard Season 3, which reunites Riker, Worf, Dr. Crusher, and the rest with the legendary captain (admiral these days) of the title. But Frakes has been a part of the modern Trek revival from the beginning, having directed episodes of each of the live-action shows since Star Trek: Discovery debuted in 2017.
Frakes will be back to direct the first half of the Discovery Season 5 finale, which will now in fact be the series finale as Paramount+ announced last week that Disco is set to end its run in 2024. According to sources, principal photography on the season is almost complete, but some additional filming will take place.
And now Frakes is filling in that picture a bit more, as he explained to IGN this week that the new filming will “add to” the finale now that it’s the series closer.
“I’m told they have a very satisfying fix so that it will conclude in a way that will tie the story up,” says the Riker actor. “And I think they’ve figured out how to do it. So they’re going to go back and shoot and add to this finale that [producing director] Olatunde [Osunsanmi] and I did.”
Looking back on Discovery, Frakes sees it as an opportunity that allowed him to come back and direct modern Star Trek. But it was also so much more to him.
“It was so great,” he says. “It was not only good for me, but it reopened the door for this whole – the season with Anson [Mount] birthed Strange New Worlds, right? Michelle Yeoh, they were talking about doing a show with her. There’s so many things that came out of it. Sonequa Martin-Green was such a fabulous leader, and her set is such a special place to be. I’ll never forget it and I will always cherish it. Mary Wiseman plays a character unlike any you’ve ever had on Star Trek anywhere. The whole LGBT thing with two icons – Anthony [Rapp] and Wilson [Cruz]. There’s so much about that show that was so Star Trek and so important.”
And while Discovery and Picard – which is also in its final season now – are ending, Frakes is sticking around. He’s already directed an episode of Strange New Worlds Season 2, and who knows? Maybe we haven’t seen the last of Riker yet either…
Celebrate with us the 60th anniversary of theGolden Prague! It’s one of the oldest and most prestigious festivals dedicated to the television industry, with a history dating back to 1964. Over the years, it has established as a platform for showcasing the best in TV production, attracting filmmakers, broadcasters, producers, and other industry professionals from around the world. This year jubilee edition takes place September 20-23, 2023 at the New Stage of the National Theatre and the program promises to be truly spectacular!
The beginning of March marks the official launch of the film submissions and we now invite filmmakers from around the world to enter their films to the Golden Prague international competition. Don’t miss the chance to showcase your talent and join us in commemorating this special milestone. The winners are awarded prestigious prizes, including the Grand Prix Golden Prague with a financial award of EUR 10,000, that is considered to be one of the most significant awards in the television arts industry.
TV programs dedicated to music, dance and theatre (regardless of musical genre) compete in three categories:
Documentary programs dedicated to music, dance and theatre
Recordings of stage work (recordings of operas, operettas, musicals, dance, ballets, theatre performances etc.)
Recordings of concert performance (symphonic/orchestral performances, chamber music, recitals etc.)
In addition to individual programs Golden Prague Festival also accepts individual parts of series or cycles for the competition, if it is possible to judge them on their own merit.
If you are interested in participating in the competition, do not hesitate to apply! Submissions are open until May 31, 2023 and you can find more information about the categories and rules in the official Festival Statute.
The Last of Us concluded its freshman season Sunday night by adapting the conclusion of the first video game.
Looking ahead to The Last of Us Season 2, however, fans shouldn’t expect to get the entirety of the sequel video game’s storylines across the season.
The Last of Us: Part II launched on PS4 in 2020 and told a story with differing perspectives that was much more ambitious and longer than its predecessor.
As a result, it will take more than one season to adapt the second video game in the series for TV audiences.
Craig Mazin and Neil Druckman confirmed the news to GQ.
The pair were asked if Season 2 will include the entire story from the sequel, with Mazin revealing, “No. No way.”
Druckmann added, “It’s more than one season.”
While it’s likely the second game will be told over two seasons, the creatives behind the HBO adaptation couldn’t confirm how many seasons it would be, aside from more than one.
“You have noted correctly that we will not say how many. But more than one is factually correct,” Mazin told the outlet.
The series from co-creators Mazin (Emmy® Award-winning creator of HBO’s Chernobyl) and Druckmann (creator and writer of the award-winning The Last of Us franchise and Naughty Dog Co-President) has been a huge success for HBO.
Fans have enjoyed how faithful it has been to the source material while enhancing some vital parts of the narrative.
HBO picked up a second season soon after the series premiere, thanks to the positive response.
“Craig and Neil, alongside EP Carolyn Strauss, and the rest of our phenomenal cast and crew, have defined a genre with their masterful debut season of The Last of Us,” said Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming, Head of HBO Drama Series and Films when the show landed a renewal in January.
“After pulling off this unforgettable first season, I can’t wait to watch this team outshine themselves again with season two.”
“I’m humbled, honored, and frankly overwhelmed that so many people have tuned in and connected with our retelling of Joel and Ellie’s journey,” said executive producer Druckmann.
“The collaboration with Craig Mazin, our incredible cast & crew, and HBO exceeded my already high expectations.”
“Now we have the absolute pleasure of being able to do it again with season two! On behalf of everyone at Naughty Dog & PlayStation, thank you!”
“I’m so grateful to Neil Druckmann and HBO for our partnership, and I’m even more grateful to the millions of people who have joined us on this journey,” said executive producer Craig Mazin.
“The audience has given us the chance to continue, and as a fan of the characters and world Neil and Naughty Dog created, I couldn’t be more ready to dive back in.”
What are your thoughts on the second game spanning more than one season?
Hit the comments.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.
The first season of “The Last of Us” introduced viewers to a post-apocalyptic world where a fungal outbreak wiped out most of the human populace two decades prior. Survivors not only had to deal with the ever-present threat of Infected but also other humans vying for resources like food and medication.
In Season 1, particularly the latter half, those human threats came in the form of raiders, cannibals and even the Fireflies. That’s not to say there weren’t memorable scenes featuring Infected: Episode 2 gave us a horrifying “kiss” between an Infected and Tess (RIP), while the ground literally erupted with Infected in Episode 5, including a giant “bloater” that ripped a man apart with its bare hands.
Series co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann spoke with TheWrap and other reporters last week to discuss adapting the game mechanics to the small screen, and how that informed the action and antagonists.
“So obviously, part of the adaptation process is trying to figure out how to take source material that was built around gameplay, and port over to a medium that is passive.” Mazin explained. “And a lot of the gameplay is centered on NPCs that you have to get around — either avoid or stealth kill or just confront head-on. That’s sort of your choices when you’re playing. And the NPCs were either raiders or cannibals, or FEDRA or they were the Infected. So there’s a lot of fighting. I don’t know what your ultimate kill count is in typical run of ‘The Last of Us’ [game], but it’s in the triple digits for sure.”
“We did at times have choices to make about how we wanted to present the Infected [on the show],” Mazin continued. “I will say that we don’t look — even though we were greenlit for a season of television, Neil and I felt like we can’t just make a season of television without considering what would come after. There is more of ‘The Last of Us’ to come and I think the balance is not always just about within an episode or even episode to episode but season to season.”
“It’s quite possible that there will be a lot more infected later,” Mazin elaborated. “And perhaps different kinds. But within the episodes that we were concentrating on, I think ultimately we generally stressed the power of relationships and trying to find significance within moments of action. And so there may be less action than some people wanted. Because we couldn’t necessarily find significance for quite a bit of it. Or a concern that it would be repetitive. After all, you’re not playing it; you’re watching it. And although a lot of people do like to watch gameplay, it needs to be I think a little bit more focused and purposeful when we’re putting it on TV.
“Yeah, just to echo what Craig is saying, which is like, we took a very high-level approach and looked at just the action across the board,” Druckmann chimed in. “And every piece of action, if you look at the show, has to move character in some way. If it doesn’t move character, and if it was only there for spectacle, then it was an easy cut for us.”
Fans will have to see if Season 2, which has ordered by HBO, will have more Infected and more action.
The complete Season 1 of “The Last of Us” is streaming on HBO Max.
Let’s let our hair down, change into less-comfy but more-fun shoes, and switch out a gown for a cocktail dress. It’s party time for Florence Pugh! The Oscars are over, but the Vanity Fair after-party has just begun (okay it’s probably over now), and Pugh, who excitedly presented Everything Everywhere All at Once writers The Daniels with the award for best original screenplay alongside Andrew Garfield, attended in a voluminous ensemble that is the party version of her ceremony look.
Pugh, who has been on a bit of a punk fashion kick lately, did not put the punk on pause for the Oscars ceremony. She wore a voluminous Valentino Couture top paired with black hot pants. She wore her septum ring, platform shoes, and blonde micro bangs that complemented her sleek updo. See the look here:
Florence Pugh on the champagne carpet
Kayla Oaddams
For the Vanity Fair after-party, Pugh updated the look for nighttime. She wore an enormous floor-length, hooded pink parka with a black bra and black wide-leg pants. She swapped necklaces, opting for a more minimal silver choker for partying. She wore the same makeup and the same hairstyle as the ceremony, making it an easy day-to-night transition.
The Thessaloniki Intl. Documentary Festival wrapped its 25th edition with a muted closing night on Sunday, with festival organizers scrapping an official award ceremony as Greece continues to mourn the loss of 57 lives in a deadly rail accident on Feb. 28.
The awards for this year’s festival — including the Golden Alexander, which went to Heba Khaled, Talal Derki and Ali Wajeeh’s “Under the Sky of Damascus” — were handed out behind closed doors earlier in the day.
Artistic director Orestis Andreadakis told Variety prior to the festival’s conclusion, “As a sign of respect, the festival canceled from the very start all ceremonies and festive events. In the same spirit, it was decided to call off the closing ceremony.”
Many of the awarded filmmakers were nevertheless on hand at Thessaloniki’s Olympion cinema on Sunday night, for the world premiere of “My Pet and Me,” by Dutch documentary filmmaker Johan Kramer.
Andreadakis and festival general director Elise Jalladeau offered brief closing remarks before the screening, which they said took place “under the shadow of the tragic accident at Tempe, which has filled us with sadness.” They thanked the filmmakers who took part in this year’s festival, insisting that “in the darkness of the past ten days, art, film, documentaries have offered us the best refuge.”
The somber event matched the mood of a nation still reeling in the aftermath of the deadly accident in which a passenger train carrying 350 people collided with a freight train in northern Greece. That grief has transformed into collective outrage over a tragedy that many say could have been avoided.
The head-on collision in northern Greece claimed 57 lives, most of them university students.
Getty
Speaking at the award ceremony for the festival’s Agora industry arm on March 8, industry head Angeliki Vergou expressed her “shock, sadness and anger” over the loss of life in the fatal head-on collision, in which dozens more were injured. Just a few hundred yards away, thousands marched through the center of Thessaloniki in a massive protest that coincided with a 24-hour general strike and a demonstration for International Women’s Day. Their largely peaceful protest was met with tear gas and stun grenades from riot police.
According to official estimates, 60,000 people demonstrated across Greece last Wednesday, answering a call to action sent out by workers unions and student groups. Activists and organizers say the actual number was much higher, as anger across the country has boiled over in the largest display of public protest since the height of the Greek economic crisis a decade ago.
After initially blaming the fatal accident on “tragic human error,” embattled Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis assumed responsibility for the collision last week, acknowledging it could have been prevented with proper safeguards in place and promising a thorough overhaul of the railway system. Investigations this past fortnight have detailed chronic neglect, understaffing and underinvestment in the country’s crumbling rail network, which was privatized in 2017 as part of a raft of austerity measures imposed on Greece by its European lenders.
The tragedy has galvanized growing discontent among a generation of young Greeks raised during a debt crisis that decimated the middle class and dimmed their prospects of a better future. Despite a spate of reforms, Greece’s center-right government has been hit by a series of high-profile scandals in recent months, and many feel the tragedy in Tempe is a fitting symbol of a country that has lurched off the rails.
Emotions throughout the week ran high in Thessaloniki, as many of the victims were university students returning from a three-day holiday weekend. Director Maria Louka, who with Myrto Patsalidou co-directed the documentary “Grief — Those Who Remain,” which premiered at the festival, noted that the six-hour rail journey from Athens to Thessaloniki is a familiar one to many of the filmmakers and festival-goers in attendance.
Protesters have directed their outrage toward embattled Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis
NurPhoto via Getty Images
“We have done it many times and had it in our mind as a safe and pleasant experience. If I didn’t have a very young baby, I would have gone to the festival by train, as I did last year,” Louka told Variety. “So to lose so many people like that caused incredible sadness and anger. That feeling was pervasive [at the film’s premiere].”
The directing duo’s moving and timely documentary follows the parents who were left to grieve in the wake of three brutal murders that shocked Greece in the 2010s, claiming the lives of the young Pakistani immigrant Shahzad Luqman, the anti-fascist hip-hop artist Pavlos Fyssas and the LGBTQ activist and drag performer Zak Kostopoulos. As with last month’s fatal train accident, those killings sparked widespread protests across the country.
Magda Fyssa, the mother of the slain rapper who went by the stage name of Killah P, gave an emotional speech after the movie’s premiere, describing how “all of Greece is mourning again from criminal acts.” “We have lost our children, we have lost a generation, we have lost our future,” she said.
Speaking to a hushed auditorium, Fyssa described the painful, solitary journey of a mother mourning the sudden loss of her son. “It’s those moments when you’re alone, you’re with the thoughts of your child who never leaves your mind all day long. You can do 1,002 things, but half your thoughts are with the child you can’t see, who’s left you. And the other half is with the family who remains,” she said. “I’m thinking of the other parents at this moment, who are suddenly in the same position that we are. And how much pain — how unbearable is the burden they carry.”
After the screening, many in the audience were overcome with emotion, said Louka. As the mourning families took to the stage, they were met with a standing ovation. “They spoke with tenderness and solidarity for the parents who are now grieving their own children,” she said. “There was raw and honest emotion.”
The director nevertheless said it was “liberating” to share that pain with an audience also grappling with its collective sorrow. “The awareness of the fragility of our lives, the traumas, the pain can be alleviated when they become a matter of community, when people do not feel alone. This is what our film shows to a certain extent, this is what I felt at its premiere,” she said.
As tens of thousands again took to the streets across Greece on Sunday, Andreadakis told Variety, “Our country was marked by a terrible accident and our lives changed. However, art, films and documentaries are always the best refuge in such moments.”
The festival director said that “documentary filmmaking is deeply political on every level, and it urges us to become conscious citizens.” In the wake of the recent tragedy, he added that he wanted “to encourage the documentary community to use their art to find meaning, to give us hope.”
Listed below are the main winners of the 25th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival. The full list can be found here:
International Competition Awards
Golden Alexander: “Under the Sky of Damascus,”by Heba Khaled, Talal Derki, Ali Wajeeh Silver Alexander: “Who I Am Not,” by Tünde Skovrán Jury Special Mention: “Narrow Path to Happiness,” by Kata Oláh
Newcomers Competition Awards
Golden Alexander “Dimitri Eipides” Award: “The Voice,” by Dominika Montean-Pańków Silver Alexander: “In the Sky of Nothingness with the Least,” by Christos Adrianopoulos Jury Special Mention: “Ladies in Waiting,” by Ioanna Tsoucala
Film Forward Competition Awards
Golden Alexander: “Blue Bag Life,” by Alex Fry, Rebecca Lloyd Evans, Lisa Selby Silver Alexander: “Dogwatch,” by Gregoris Rentis
FIPRESCI Awards
Best Documentary of the International Competition: “I Like It Here,” by Ralph Arlyck Best Greek Film in the International Program: “Kristos, the Last Child,” by Giulia Amati
KIM Jong-un has accused the US of preparing to invade North Korea as it kicks off its biggest war games in years on the border.
The dictator fired a flurry of missiles as he vowed to take “the toughest counteraction” against the joint drills with South Korea.
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US Army vehicles prepare to cross the Hantan river at a training field in Yeoncheon, near the border with North KoreaCredit: AP
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US soldiers walk past military vehicles at a training field in the city of YeoncheonCredit: AFP
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South Korean and US soldiers conduct war games in YeoncheonCredit: EPA
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North Korea fired two cruise missiles from a submarine off its east coastCredit: AP
Kim ordered his troops to be on standby to respond to the “frantic war preparation moves” from the US and South Korea – which he views as an invasion rehearsal.
Although North Korea views the military exercises as a major security threat, America and South Korea said the drills are defensive.
The US has beefed up its alliances in the region amid North Korea’s increasing nuclear threats, with more than 70 missile tests last year.
The Warrior Shield FTX war games in South Korea include a computer simulation called the Freedom Shield 23, and field training exercises.
Pictures showed tanks and choppers readying for drills at a training field in the border city of Yeoncheon.
It’s the biggest joint military exercise between the allies in five years.
Army Colonel Isaac L. Taylor, director of public affairs for US Forces Korea, said the war games will “build combat readiness and combined defence posture”.
“This training is an additional example of our ironclad commitment to ensure security and stability on the Korean peninsula and across Northeast Asia,” Taylor added.
As the drills kicked off, North Korea fired two cruise missiles from a submarine off its east coast in an apparent retaliation.
The move also signals the country will likely carry out more weapons tests during the 11 days of exercises.
The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said the submarine salvo tested the country’s “nuclear war deterrence”.
It said the missiles flew more than two hours – drawing figure-eight-shaped patterns and demonstrating an ability to hit targets 930 miles away.
The missiles were reportedly fired from the 8.24 Yongung ship – the same sub that North Korea used to conduct its first sub-launched ballistic missile test in 2016.
Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said the chilling tests show how Japan – including US military bases in Okinawa – is within striking distance of the cruise missiles.
He said the weapons could reach even the US Pacific territory of Guam if a North Korean sub can operate further from its shore.
The tests were the North’s first known launches of cruise missiles from a submarine as all its previous underwater launches involved ballistic missiles.
Moon Keun-sik, a submarine expert at Kyonggi University in South Korea, said: “At a time when its efforts to build (bigger submarines) have reported little progress due to the sanctions, North Korea wants to show its still almost developed the types of missiles that can be fired from a submarine.”
Moon said the missiles were likely designed to strike approaching US warships or other shorter-range targets on the ground.
Experts said Kim is trying to pressure the US into accepting North Korea as a legitimate nuclear power and relax international economic sanctions.
Earlier this year, Pyongyang’s foreign ministry warned the expansion of military drills threatened to turn the region into “a huge war arsenal and a more critical war zone”.
It said the deployment of strategic assets was akin to planning a nuke strike on North Korea, and would “ignite an all-out showdown”, KCNA reported.
It added the North was prepared to counter any challenge with the “most overwhelming nuclear force”.
John Travolta got emotional at the Oscars this year, introducing the In Memoriam segment of the show with a tribute to friend Olivia Newton-John.
The actor teared up as he said, “They’ve touched our hearts, they’ve made us smile, and become dear friends who we will always remain hopelessly devoted to.”
“Hopelessly Devoted to You” is the Oscar-nominated song Newton-John sang in their 1978 movie “Grease.”
She played Sandy in the mega movie musical opposite Travolta’s character Danny, and the two — who also acted in “Two of a Kind” in 1983 — remained friends.
Olivia died in August, some 30 years after she began her battle with cancer. She was 73.
After she passed away, Travolta shared a photo of Olivia with the caption, “My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so much better. Your impact was incredible. I love you so much. We will see you down the road and we will all be together again. Yours from the first moment I saw you and forever! Your Danny, your John!”
In March 2019, Olivia opened up to “Extra’s” Renee Bargh about almost turning down the role of Sandy. “I was 29 — I was worried I was too old. I had to be 17 or whatever it was and I was like, ‘I can’t play 17.’” It was Travolta who persuaded her to take the role. She shared, “I mean, how do you say no to that? He walks up the driveway with those blue eyes and I go, ‘Okay, whatever it is!’”
When Renee spoke with John later that year, he gushed over Olivia, saying, “She’s got a huge soul,” adding, “She is an eternal love for me and will always be… and I picked her. I take the pride of having picked Olivia Newton-John for ‘Grease.’”
Sarah Rosen, who left Twitter last year shortly after Elon Musk’s takeover over the social network, has joined Reddit as senior director of content partnerships.
At Twitter, Rosen most recently was head of North America content partnerships, leading all efforts in the region across entertainment, news and sports. After eight and a half years at Twitter, Rosen quit in November, less than a month after Musk closed the $44 billion acquisition.
In her new role at Reddit, Rosen will oversee the content partnerships team focused on media, sports, gaming and entertainment verticals. According to Reddit, in the last year, the content partnerships team has expanded collaborations with organizations including the NFL (for the Super Bowl), Netflix (for “Stranger Things”), Lionsgate (“John Wick 4”), HBO (“The House of the Dragon”), Amazon’s Prime Video (“The Lord of the Rights: The Rings of Power”) and the Washington Post.
“The communities that make up Reddit span every imaginable topic, bring people around the world together and drive culture and action,” Rosen said. “I am looking forward to helping content partners connect with their fan communities in a deeper way and further fuel the incredible conversations and connections happening on Reddit every single day.”
Prior to joining Twitter in 2014, Rosen worked at Viacom as senior director of partner management and program development focusing on developing targeted marketing campaigns across the media company’s channels and as director of consumer marketing for MTV Games. Earlier in her career, she worked at the NBA and 20th Century Fox. Rosen holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Arizona.
Reddit, the popular internet discussion platform which has been valued at more than $10 billion, in December 2021 confidentially submitted a draft registration statement with the SEC for a proposed initial public offering. Reddit was acquired by Condé Nast soon after it launched in 2005. In 2011, Condé Nast spun out the site, while Advance Publications, parent of Condé Nast, retains a minority stake.
While the Super Bowl trailer for Disney’s live-action take on The Little Mermaid offered a brief glimpse of Melissa McCarthy’s betenticled baddie Ursula, the spot that aired during the Oscars tonight gave us a much fuller view of Melissa McCarthy as the sea witch who secretly plots to conquer Atlantica.
“Poor child,” Ursula says to Halle Bailey’s Ariel, “I can help you. You can’t live in that world [above water] unless you become a human yourself.”
“Is that even possible?” asks the mermaid.
“It’s what I live for,” replies Ursula with a cackle.
The pic, which stars Halle Bailey as Ariel the Mermaid, is based on Disney’s 1989 animated Oscar-winning pic The Little Mermaid, which itself was based on hans Christian Andersen’s 1837 fairy tale.
Not everyone was happy with the trailer, or at least with the trailer being played by Disney subsidiary ABC during the Oscars, especially as it was introduced from the stage during the broadcast by Bailey and McCarthy.
Director and Oscar-winning producer Phil Lord took to Twitter shortly after it aired and wrote, “The broadcaster using the Oscars to promote its own movies simply undermines the integrity of the awards.”
The broadcaster using the Oscars to promote its own movies simply undermines the integrity of the awards
Directed by Chicago filmmaker Rob Marshall, Little Mermaid follows Ariel, who thirsts for adventure. Pic also stars Tony Award winner Daveed Diggs is the voice of Sebastian; Jacob Tremblay is the voice of Flounder; Awkwafina is the voice of Scuttle; Art Malik as Sir Grimsby; Noma Dumezweni as Queen Selina, Oscar nominee Melissa McCarthy is the notorious Ursula and Oscar winner Javier Bardem as King Triton. The youngest of King Triton’s daughters, and the most defiant, Ariel longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea, and while visiting the surface, falls for the dashing Prince Eric. While mermaids are forbidden to interact with humans, Ariel must follow her heart. She makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, which gives her a chance to experience life on land, but ultimately places her life – and her father’s crown – in jeopardy.
The Little Mermaid opens May 26. See the new poster below.
As far as this year’s Oscars goes, it was undoubtedly the year of the comeback.
It was a huge comeback for Best Actor and Supporting Actor winners Brendan Fraser and former child actor Ke Huy Quan (who co-starred way back in in 1991’s Encino Man) who in 2023 have risen – finally – to the pinnacle of their profession.
Getty Images)
It was also a huge comeback for actresses in their 60s, Best Actress Michelle Yeoh and Supporting Actress Jamie Lee Curtis, who have trudged along in genre pictures for much of their career only to find unexpected industry respect in a quirky indie success that was shot three years ago, pre-pandemic.
It was a comeback for comedy itself in a new form that proved you don’t always have to be serious to sweep the Oscars.
It was also a comeback for the time honored tradition of a single comedian to host the Academy Awards, as well as the comeback for a third time, and first since 2018, for Jimmy Kimmel.
Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
It was also nice to see a comeback for an Oscar show that celebrated, front and center, the return to theaters.
And finally, it was a comeback for the Oscar show itself, back to its comfort zone, little angst, little controversy, good feelings, heartfelt speeches, and an old school but elegant approach to staging the ceremony with all 23 categories back live after last year’s debacle.
I am not sure how it played on TV, but after a pandemic and a slap, it was nice to see an Oscar show sticking pretty much to tradition. Last year was unbelievably tense. This year we all got snack boxes under our seats thanks to Kimmel, who supplied lunch boxes to everyone the last time he hosted. Smart.
The big guns from the year’s top two films weren’t there. Tom Cruise was filming in the UK , and James Cameron couldn’t attend due to personal reasons (a memorial service), but everyone else was in the room and for a ceremony that can sometimes feel jaded it was nice to see genuine excitement not just from first-time winners in key categories, but also each and every one a first time nominee. That just made this all a bit more special.
Political talk was at a minimum, movie talk and clips were back to a high. And there were those speeches, all sincere and on point, and about family. Lots of talk about moms, present or far away, or in the case of Curtis, mega movie star parents who once were nominated themselves but never won.
Getty Images)
At the Governors Ball, just as I was about to leave, Kimmel suddenly appeared and walked by. I congratulated him on a great job — most of the jokes landed — and asked how he felt about it all. “It was the speeches that made it special. It is always the speeches that you remember at these shows,” he told me rather modestly. It’s true that there wasn’t a dud among the acting winners, including Jamie Lee’s thanks to all who graced her life and career with the repeated line “we won an Oscar”. Her mention of her mother and father was particularly touching. Yeoh, Fraser, and Quan also gave stirring and genuine pep talks for never giving up, no matter the odds.
Producers Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner in fact made good use of their host, moving him in and out of the proceedings with ease. It also felt genuine because this was a host who actually bothered to see the movies. Occasionally he even got edgy, at one point shortly pre-In Memoriam segment, taking an audience survey to see if Robert Blake should be included in the reel of the recently deceased (he wasn’t).
Getty Images)
Another big plus was the elegant and powerful performances of the five nominated songs, from a beautiful chorus-laden “Applause” by Diane Warren to Rhianna’s stirring “Lift Me Up,” to eventual winner RRR’s rousing dance number “Naatu Naatu.” One of the big question marks ahead of this year’s show was whether or not Lady Gaga would be performing her nominated song, “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick. At a Wednesday press conference Weiss put it to bed and told reporters it would not be performed on the show because Gaga couldn’t make it due to her filming commitments on the Joker sequel. However, Sunday morning suddenly there was word that indeed she would be singing it at the Dolby. I caught up with Weiss after the show and asked when they knew it had changed. After a slight pause he admitted they found out around Thursday that she was coming, but kept it a pretty good secret. It turned out to be one of the show’s highlights, a stripped down simple set, along with Gaga, sans makeup and formal wear (to say the least) for a more richly authentic turn that really worked.
Getty Images)
The one thing that wasn’t a comeback on this particular Oscar show was any surprises, and that was the only real surprise as many were thinking there could be a shocker or two. But don’t we always think there will be at least something unexpected, then with the plethora of precursor critics and guild shows, there rarely is. I had ventured way out on a limb to be just about the only one predicting an upset Best Picture victory for All Quiet on the Western Front, a feat that would have been historic since no remake of a past Best Picture winner in Academy history had ever won. My thinking initially was that All Quiet was likely the solid number two in the 10 Best Picture race, and so it turned out to be with four wins including Best International Film. But I thought there was a chance that Everything Everywhere was polarizing enough, especially for older members, that it could lose ground and be overtaken by a more consistently mentioned favorite like All Quiet, or even Top Gun: Maverick which was getting increasing buzz in the circles I travelled all weekend and even pre-show in the lobby. Clearly Everything Everywhere had the goods. One former studio head told me over the weekend that he felt Top Gun should be voted Best Picture to show the Academy was in tune with moviegoers. It wound up winning only Best Sound.
Everything Everywhere All At Onceclearly spoke to a large, likely younger, group of voters who appreciated its bold out-thereness, “something fresh” as one producer who was a fan of the film put it to me. Still, you might have hoped the voters could have spread it around a bit more, especially with a lineup of stellar films completely shut out that included Elvis, Tar, The Banshees Of Inisherin, Triangle Of Sadness, and Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans, the latter the early front runner after premiering in Toronto and winning the audience award there, once again proving it is a very looooong season and you don’t want to be the front runner right out of the gate. The Critics Choice Awards seemed to make a real turn in the fortunes of EEAAO and it never faltered after that. It turned out Sunday night was famine for those A-List filmmakers whose name wasn’t Daniel.
Edward Berger, “All Quiet On The Western Front” Photo:
Pete Hammond
I had thought we could be ripe for a surprise, especially with that Oscar Best Picture preferential ballot looking for consensus, but it wasn’t to be. Still, you have to celebrate the victory of a movie that has a very good heart and is all about the love of family, no matter how weird it got, the reason a lot of voters to whom I spoke had a hard time understanding it. Younger audiences weaned on multiverse storylines don’t have that problem at all. Also, I am not sure which one I would knock out, but I am still getting my head around the idea this is one of only three films to win three of the four acting Oscars, a really rare and amazing feat. The other two were 1951’s A Streetcar Named Desire and 1976’s Network. Pretty heady company. Entertaining and inventive as EEAAO is, I have a hard time putting it in the category of those two certified classics, but here we are. Considering its four acting nominations overall, the Oscar triumph of the film owes much to the Academy’s actors branch, by far its largest, which undoubtedly pushed it into the stratosphere for this impressive victory.
It is also proof positive you can never ignore the power of the guilds signaling Oscar wins. For the second year in a row SAG ran the board with all their film winners going on to win the Oscar in the corresponding category. PGA, DGA and WGA (even with some key titles ineligible) also accurately predicted this outcome. BAFTA on the other hand which nearly ignored EEAAO with just an Editing win in favor of a sweep for AQOTWF, has an increasingly terrible track record of matching Best Picture with Oscar, now just once in the past nine years when they both agreed on Nomadland. The only problem, as usual, is the season is too long, the other awards shows too many, and there is the feeling many Oscar voters are following the pack, rather than leading the way.
Pinocchio In Black Tie At Governors Ball Photo by Pete Hammond/Deadline
I was very happy for a few of these wins, notably for Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio as the first Netflix movie to win Best Animated Feature. I was delighted to see one of del Toro’s stop motion models in attendance at the ball, adorned in black tie. I was also thrilled to see Fraser win. I did a tribute to him this year at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and there just isn’t a nicer guy or one more deserving of this award around.
At the Governors Ball, I was already moving on to what this year may bring. Top Apple and Paramount execs I talked to there somewhat dodged my inquiry as to whether Martin Scorsese’s epic western, Killers Of The Flower Moon was headed for Cannes, but I got the feeling it was. Also weighed in with Universal execs about Christopher Nolan’s upcoming chilling drama, Oppenheimer, and that one sounds almost certain to be talked about a year from now, but you never know. Who would have guessed we would be looking at EEAAO as a massive Best Picture winner just a year ago this week when it premiered at SXSW, hardly the launch pad for an Oscar campaign, eh?
To A24’s credit they kept this thing humming in theaters nationwide, waiting months to take it out digitally and on streaming. This is a company that believes in the theatrical experience and we should applaud that. The remarkable thing too is A24 spent the fewest campaign dollars compared to other Best Picture nominees this year, which has to be disheartening for studios and their multi-million dollar Oscar campaigns, especially when you are talking about a film that has been in release for a solid year and still managed to get that all-important momentum at just the right time. You cannot beat the ‘Big MO.’ CODA pulled it off in similar late inning fashion last year. The Oscar times they are a changin’.
Both Oscar CEOs I caught up with at the Govs Ball, past Dawn Hudson and present Bill Kramer, were thrilled with the way the show turned out, both feeling it captured the spirit of the better Oscar shows of a pre-pandemic era where emotion trumps everything, and they weren’t trying to rewrite the book on what this show is all about. It was good to see all the categories back in the live show, and the interstitials highlighting the work of nominees in upcoming categories was an inspired idea to show the Dolby audience during commercial breaks in an attempt to keep them engaged – some were. Shout out as well to the Academy for getting the digital ticketing working perfectly (after a rocky first year) in year two of ditching paper tickets for the show and Ball. Really impressive parking situation as well. Good job. Because of that and the quality of the films, winners and losers, this was a very satisfying return to Oscar normalcy. Let’s hope it continues.
The 2023 awards season reached its glitzy culmination in surprisingly heartwarming fashion last night. The 95th annual Academy Awards was one of the most joyful and inclusive Oscars we’ve had in years.
From the start, this year’s Oscars felt different.
First, the red carpet was … not red, for the first time since 1961. Instead, it was a tasteful champagne, part of an esthetic rebrand ushered in by creative consultants.
If the ceremony had a 2023 motto, it would have been, “We don’t want any trouble.”
As expected, the evening’s host, an affable Jimmy Kimmel, addressed The Slap in his opening monologue.
“If anything unpredictable or violent happens during the ceremony, just do what you did last year — nothing,” Kimmel said to the audience, referring to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock onstage during the 2022 Oscars.
Kimmel also joked that any would-be assailant would have to get through an audience full of superheroes and badasses — or the actors who play them. (An actual crisis management crew was reportedly stationed in the wings to ensure there was no funny business.)
Once the ceremony got underway, it was infused with emotion. That feeling came from some familiar places — including the success of “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” an awards season juggernaut that won seven of the 11 awards it was nominated for — as well as a few unexpected sources.
Let’s whirl through the highs, lows and most heartfelt moments of the 2023 Oscars.
Michelle Yeoh led a night of firsts
With her win for “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” Michelle Yeoh became the first Asian woman to win the Best Actress award. Inside the Dolby Theatre, the audience reaction to her win was deafening. “For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibility,” Yeoh said, adding, “Ladies, don’t let anybody ever tell you are past your prime.”
Even before the winners took to the podium, this year’s Academy Awards was one for the record books: It marked the most nominations in a single year for Asian actors.
“Elvis” cinematographer Mandy Walker became just the third woman ever to be nominated in that category, while Ana de Armas of “Blonde“ is the first Cuban woman to be nominated for Best Actress.
It was also a banner year for first-time nominees. 2023 was the first year since 1935 that all of the Best Actor nominees hadn’t been nominated before. And Angela Bassett’s nomination for her turn in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” was the first Academy nod for the Marvel universe.
Sarah Polley won for Best Adapted Screenplay
Canadian writer and director Sarah Polley accepted the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for “Women Talking,” her film based on the novel by Canadian author Miriam Toews. In her speech, Polley quoted the last line in the film, “Your life will be better,” calling it a “promise and a commitment” to the next generation, including her three kids watching at home in Toronto.
Jamie Lee Curtis won her first Oscar at 64
When Jamie Lee Curtis won Best Supporting Actress for “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” she credited everyone from her husband (Christopher Guest) to her collaborators to all the people who have watched her movies over the many years she’s been in the business. “I just won an Oscar!” she said onstage, her voice breaking as she talked about how her parents, Hollywood icons Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis, had also been Oscar nominees.
As expected, Curtis’ “EEAAO” co-star Ke Huy Quan won Best Supporting Actor. Although he was the favourite in his category, emotion in the room still ran high. Presenter Ariana De Bose began to cry when she announced his name, and he received a standing ovation from the crowd. “Mom, I just won an Oscar,” Quan said, tears running down his face. “My journey started on a boat. I spent a year in a refugee camp, and somehow I ended up on Hollywood’s biggest stage. I cannot believe this is happening to me … this is the American dream.”
Lady Gaga got emotional
For her performance of “Hold My Hand” — the theme song of “Top Gun: Maverick,” nominated for Best Original Song — a dressed-down Lady Gaga exchanged her high drama red carpet makeup and Versace dress for a bare face and a black T-shirt and ripped jeans. “We need a lot of love to walk through this life,” Gaga said tearfully while introducing the song. “And we all need heroes sometimes. You might find you can be your own hero, even if you feel broken inside.” Gaga dedicated the song to the late director Tony Scott. The audience gave the performance a standing ovation.
Brendan Fraser completed his comeback
Brendan Fraser won Best Actor for his performance in “The Whale.” In his speech, a visibly emotional Fraser said, “I’m grateful to [director] Darren Aronofsky for throwing me a creative lifeline and hauling me aboard the good ship ‘The Whale.’” It’s a major comeback for the Canadian-American actor, who had largely left Hollywood after his early 2000s movie star heyday.
Rihanna glowed while performing “Lift Me Up”
Fresh from her triumph at the Super Bowl halftime show in February — her first public performance in over five years — Rihanna was back at the mic, dripping in diamonds and Maison Margiela. She sang the Oscar-nominated tune “Lift Me Up,” which was written in memory of the Black Panther himself, Chadwick Boseman. Rihanna hit every note and receiving another standing ovation from the crowd.
A low: Hugh Grant compared himself to a scrotum
Presenting the set and production design category alongside his “Four Weddings and a Funeral” co-star Andie McDowell, Hugh Grant joked that they were there to “raise important awareness” for moisturizer. “Andie has worn one every day for the past 29 years and still looks stunning,” he joked. “I on the other hand have never used one, and I practically look like a scrotum.” Charming, as always.
The entire Oscars audience sang “Happy Birthday”
The wholesomeness of Oscars 2023 reached its apex when the filmmakers behind “An Irish Goodbye” — which won Best Short Film — dedicated most of their speech time to getting the crowd to sing “Happy Birthday” to star James Martin. It was a genuinely sweet moment in a night that often lacks true emotion.
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The “weirdos” behind the multiverse-hopping, awards-season juggernaut “Everything Everywhere All at Once” staked their claim in the Oscars-verse on Sunday, dominating the 95th Academy Awards with seven wins, including best picture and directing.
The film was up for 11 Academy Awards and, on an evening resuscitating itself from Will Smith’s show-stopping slap during last year’s ceremony, we’ll quote “The Whale” star and besotted lead actor winner Brendan Fraser: “So this is what the multiverse looks like?”
Late-night stalwart Jimmy Kimmel hosted the ceremony for the third time and the ceremony went at least 30 minutes over its planned three-hour run time — a certainty the host repeatedly referred to throughout the evening as the telecast staved off incidents that would require the Oscars’ “crisis team.” By the end, however, Kimmel reset the count on his “Number of Oscars without incidents” counter as the show tried to return to post-slap and post-pandemic normalcy.
Here’s a look at this year’s key moments:
Jimmy Kimmel slaps back — repeatedly
The host did not let last year’s slap go quietly, repeatedly taking aim at 2022 lead actor winner Will Smith in his opening monologue and throughout the show.
“We want you to feel safe. And most importantly, we want me to feel safe,” Kimmel said during his monologue. “So we have strict policies in place. If anyone in this theater commits an act of violence, you will be awarded the Oscar for best actor and permitted to give a 19-minute-long speech.”
Course-correcting Oscars past
Oscar winners Jessica Chastain and Halle Berry present the awards for actress and actor in a leading role.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Last year’s documentary feature winner Questlove presented the category this year after the slap “skirmish” eclipsed his big win last year. Though the “Summer of Soul” filmmaker didn’t directly address the incident onstage (he already did at last year’s Grammy Awards and on the Oscars red carpet), his appearance was one of producers’ apparent attempts at course correction.
The lead actress Oscar, which is typically presented by the previous year’s lead actor winner (Smith in this case), was instead handed out by previous winners Jessica Chastain and Halle Berry, who welcomed Michelle Yeoh into their ranks.
Meanwhile, “Creed III” director-star Michael B. Jordan gave a shout-out to supporting-actress nominee Angela Bassett when he and Jonathan Majors presented together. “Hey, Auntie,” he said, echoing one of his lines from “Black Panther” and allowing anyone who felt that Bassett was again snubbed at the Oscars a chance to feel seen. When “Wakanda Forever” costume designer Ruth E. Carter returned to the stage to collect another Oscar, she thanked the academy “for recognizing the superhero that is a Black woman.” (“She endures. She loves. She overcomes. She is every woman in this film. And she is my [101-year-old late] mother.”)
And “hopelessly devoted” John Travolta — he of “Adele Dazeem” infamy — introduced the In Memoriam segment with a tearful tribute to his “Grease” co-star Olivia Newton-John.
Those ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ speeches are still joyous
After a long awards season and plenty of wins, the cast and crew of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” kept their rousing speech momentum. If you didn’t believed the magic of the multiverse, at least let its stars help you believe in slow-burn career magic. (Or see Ke Huy Quan frenetically envelop his “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (1984) co-star Harrison Ford as Ford presented him and the team with the award for best picture.)
Kicking off with supporting actor winner Quan’s latest emotional speech about the American Dream at the start of the show, volleying to Jamie Lee Curtis’ triumphant “we just won an Oscar” supporting actress love-fest, Daniels’ multiple acceptances and Yeoh’s words of wisdom, the big winners celebrated mothers, “genius emerging from the collective” and the “greatness in every single person.”
“This is a beacon of hope and possibilities…. Dreams do come true,” Yeoh proclaimed. “Ladies, don’t let anyone tell you you are ever past your prime.”
Pop stars win the live performances
Original song nominee Lady Gaga made it to the Oscars and even performed! The “Hold My Hand” singer-songwriter made headlines earlier this week after producers said she would be the only song nominee not to perform during this year’s telecast because she “didn’t feel like she can get a performance to the caliber that we’re used to with her and that she is used to” in time.
Then, after walking the champagne-colored red carpet in full glam, Gaga disrupted expectations altogether with an intimate stripped-down performance of the “Top Gun: Maverick” power ballad while wearing a black T-shirt, ripped jeans and sneakers — with nary a lick of makeup remaining on her face.
Rihanna performs her Oscar-nominated song “Lift Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” at the 95th Academy Awards.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Rihanna made her exciting return to live TV after last month’s performance at Super Bowl LVI to deliver her Oscar-nominated song “Life Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” The ballad was written as a tribute to late “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman and seeing it performed live by the pregnant pop powerhouse just hit different, as they say.
And David Byrne was joined by Son Lux and “Everything Everywhere All at Once” star Stephanie Hsu to give us the hot dog fingers cover of “This Is a Life” we didn’t know we needed.
‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ makes some noise
For a stretch of the night, Edward Berger’s World War II epic “All Quiet on the Western Front” seemed poised to displace “Everything Everywhere All at Once” as the big winner. Picking up wins for cinematography, international feature film, production design and original score, the film hit a streak mid-ceremony that made it the second-most winning film of the night with four Oscars off nine nominations.
The Oscars become an actual zoo
“Cocaine Bear” director Elizabeth Banks presents the award for visual effects at the 95th Academy Awards.
Later, “Cocaine Bear” director Elizabeth Banks presented the award for visual effects accompanied by a person in a massive bear costume. The furry guest star later made its way into the audience for a walkabout with Kimmel, who took another swipe at his longtime foe Matt Damon. The Oscars, man, they’re wild.
Four awards shows and a reunion
Andie MacDowell and Hugh Grant present the award for production design.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Upsetting Oscars viewers at home and going viral with his rude and reticent red-carpet interview with “On the Red Carpet” co-host Ashley Graham, “Glass Onion” actor Hugh Grant apparently tried to redeem with his signature self-deprecating humor during the ceremony. The British actor reunited onstage with his “Four Weddings and a Funeral” co-star Andie MacDowell to present the production design award. That’s when he waxed poetic about the power of moisturizing then actually called himself “basically a scrotum” during the ceremony. (Did you hear that, Ashley?!)
The analyst team at this company needed better tools to help leverage their time and attention and stop doing manual research. Joe’s team had been using Feedly to aggregate information for years. But when his boss, Oliver, Cyber Security Manager, found out that Feedly’s cybersecurity-specific plan could use AI to flag cyber attacks, threats, and vulnerabilities, they knew they had to try it.
Organizing their security sources into focused Feeds
Oliver created Feeds around three main focus areas: renewable energy sources + cybersecurity, critical vulnerabilities, and supply chain threats.
The team selected sources of information they trusted to track cybersecurity news. Not all articles from their trusted sources concern the energy sector. To filter out cybersecurity news unrelated to the energy sector, they configured Feedly AI to flag articles about the specific areas they care about.
“Before using Feedly AI, we had very generic Feeds. We were just looking for energy and cybersecurity news in our region. But over time, I’ve been able to nuance our requirements over supply chain attacks, like Solar Winds.”
Tracking ransomware in the energy space
For example, the analyst team has always tracked news at the intersection of cybersecurity and the energy sector. But once they started using Feedly for Cybersecurity, they created an AI Feed to flag articles that cover ransomware in the energy industry.
The team created an AI Feed to flag articles about ransomware and the energy industry.
Tracking supply chain attacks
“We were concerned about the supply chain risk for our company,” says Joe. “We talked to our internal procurement team to really understand our top 30 providers, with whom we spend millions of dollars.”
To track supply chain risks, the team selected the exact vendors they work with and created a personalized stream of intelligence to track risks coming from their supply chain. “We were able to turn the list of our top partners into an AI Feed and ask him to flag cyber attacks targeting those partners,” explains Joe.
The analyst team used the “Feedly Company Lists” feature to track a list of 650 suppliers — from Microsoft to small law offices. Feedly AI now flags articles about cyber attacks on those companies.
With an AI Feed n place, Feedly AI flags articles about data breaches related to any of the company’s suppliers, so they’ll know when one of the companies in their supply chain is breached or attacked. Feedly AI recognizes most of these names as companies, so he can differentiate if an attack is about Amazon (company) vs. Amazon (the river), for example.
Pushing articles to Slack to share with the local intelligence community
Beyond their internal intelligence team, Joe and Oliver share information across several platforms with peer organizations cybersecurity teams around the globe.
When members of Joe’s team save articles to the “Attacks in Energy Sector” Board, they automatically get pushed to a designated channel in Slack.
Joe and Oliver add critical articles to a specific Feedly Board. They’ve connected the Board to the collaboration platforms, so when Joe or his teammates add articles to the Board, their security community will automatically see critical updates.
The analyst team can add Notes when they save articles to their “Attacks in Energy Sector” Board, and those notes will show up in the designated Slack channel.
The Scream franchise has come a long way. In the 1996 film, if you blinked twice, you missed the ancillary Black people in the background. Yes, the main characters, especially Sidney Prescott, absolutely rule; however, it was indeed a very, very white film. Fast forward 20 plus years later and the four leading characters, now known as the Core Four, are not white. And, while Sidney had to endure a good portion of her trauma alone, this quartet is made of two sibling pairs who will do anything for each other. Fans absolutely adore Chad and Mindy Meeks-Martin, the nephew and niece of Randy Meeks. In Scream VI, we get to know Chad and Mindy on a whole new level, so we chatted with Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding about their bond, Chad’s heroicness, the Chad/Tara romance, and Mindy’s wild moments with Ghostface.
Paramount Pictures
Nerdist: In what ways have Chad and Mindy changed since the last Scream movie?
Jasmin Savoy Brown: It’s mostly Mindy’s hair. (laughs) A big chop. She’s looking real different! I think Mindy is excited to be stepping into her queerness in a new way, being in college, being exposed to new people, new places. She’s probably learning about Stonewall for the first time and she’s really taking all of that really far in her self-expression and is representing who she is head to toe.
Mason Gooding: And I guess Chad, after being turned into a human pin cushion, has probably learned to maybe work on his core in case he gets stabbed ever again. And then on top of that, I think he’s really willing to invest time in the people he loves and to make sure that they’re safe. Maybe he projects a lot of what happened to him onto the wellbeing of others to make sure that they don’t have to experience what he did.
Savoy Brown: He’s a softie.
Gooding: He’s a loving himbo.
Savoy Brown: A loving himbo.
Chad is indeed a loving and brave guy in this movie. I like the way he steps up and becomes this charming and action-ready hero. It’s kind of like Duane Jones in Night of the Living Dead with a touch of Scream’s Dewey Riley. What was it like to step into that leading man role this time around? How did you prepare for it?
Gooding: I want the best and [care about the] wellbeing of the women in my life, mainly Jasmin, Jenna (Ortega), and Melissa (Barerra). And I think I transfixed that desire for safety and security of the people I love onto Chad’s persona. And in a horror movie, especially one that’s as physical as Scream, that manifests as Chad being a protector a lot of times. I think Chad embodies a lot of what I like about modern interpretations of masculinity. He admits when he’s wrong. He listens to women when they talk about what is either wrong or what he should do and is also willing to put his body on the line to make sure that they’re okay.
Philippe Bossé/Paramount Pictures
I love that! And, for Mindy, she’s still got that trademark humor and is a standout character. But this film puts her in some really dire situations, like the ladder and subway scenes. What was it like filming those big moments?
Savoy Brown: I love filming both of those scenes. The subway scene I got to film with none other than Jack Champion, our little Avatar friend. He is just a delight… I would just really try to make him break by improving crazy things, which was really fun. And same with Devyn Nekoda. She is very talented and I’m glad that she has that whole sequence to really showcase her range. She gave her whole body in that scene and in my opinion, has one of the most epic fallings anyone’s ever had.
That moment was big for Mindy. It’s a hard trauma to lose your girlfriend right in front of your face. She tries to hide behind her pain with humor, but where do you think her head space is by the end of this film?
Savoy Brown: By the end she’s really just running on adrenaline and is a bit thrown off. I think anytime you go through a trauma like that, you just kind of coasting and a bit confused and really overdoing it with the humor, like you said. And it catches up later. Mindy will probably fall apart at some point but her brother is there to catch her.
Gooding: Chad and Mindy’s relationship is so endearing. They bicker at each other, but they really have each other’s backs and that never waivers at any point, even though they make fun of each other all the time.
Philippe Bossé/Paramount Pictures
They do! And you can feel the sibling chemistry between you two, both on and off camera. How did you become friends?
Savoy Brown: Well, he started it! He texted me when I booked the job and was like, “Can’t wait to meet you. I’m here if you need anything. Let me know. I got your back.”
Gooding: Listen, I’ll be candid. We were going to film in Wilmington, North Carolina and I just wanted…
Savoy Brown: He was like, you’re the only other… (mumbles and laughs)
Gooding: I just wanted to make sure Jasmine felt like she had someone who maybe had a similar background to her on set and a new cast of people.
Savoy Brown: Black people got to stick together.
Gooding: Straight up.
We always find each other!
Gooding: Exactly. I just wanted to let her know I’m here.
Savoy Brown: And I said thank you because I’m scared.
Gooding: And then she hit me with a bill of therapy. If I ever want to talk, it’s like $45 an hour, which is fair.
Savoy Brown: Minimum.
Oh, my God.
Savoy Brown: My rates have gone up since.
Paramount Pictures
I love you two. So, outside of this sibling relationship, Chad gets a romantic one with Tara. Can you talk about why it makes sense for them to be an item?
Gooding: I think there’s something life altering about having such a traumatic experience for Chad that it only makes sense that certain dynamics and friendships and relationships in his life would shift dramatically. Maybe he has a new outlook, a lease on life, that would draw him to follow through on feelings that maybe he didn’t even know were available for him.
Moreover, I think there’s something so electric and magnetic about Tara’s independence and how she wants so badly to live her life the way she wants to, that I think Chad, in being such a helper and protector, wants to see her succeed and to have a life of safety and comfort. And I think whatever way that he can support her in that, he’s willing to follow through it.
That’s so lovely. Last question for you both. What were your thoughts when you read the script and discovered the killer twist?
Savoy Brown: The end was like boom, boom, bop. I saw the first boom coming, but not the other boom and the bop. The bop really shocked me.
Paramount Pictures
Gooding: When I read the script once, I must have missed it because I remember they asked, “Did you guys see the killers coming?” And I was like, “I just listed two.” And they were like, “You didn’t read carefully enough, maybe go back and try again.” And I got the whole picture after that and I was like, wow, y’all really did that! You really went and changed the game up.
Chad is a total boss here who survives two Ghostfaces stabbing him at the same time. An iconic moment.
Gooding: And then still walks away! So that’s the real secret to being a leading man. Chad is actually a superhero. And he has immortality. There it is, guys. Spoiled.
And just like that, the Season 1 finale of HBO’s The Last of Us has come to a close. The first nine episodes of the series stuck pretty close to the events of the 2013 game, with some important changes along the way to deepen character development. In the end, though, those of us who have played The Last of Us know how it has to end. And even with some added context in the Season 1 finale, the series beautifully landed the story’s conclusion.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for the Season 1 finale of The Last of Us, as well as the events of The Last of Us Part II. If you haven’t seen the episode yet or don’t want to be spoiled on the 2020 game, turn away now.
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A true standout in this final episode is a returning Marlene (Merle Dandridge), who not only got pivotal moments with Pedro Pascal’s Joel throughout the episode but was also explored via her own flashback, which is an incredibly important piece of her story–and allowed for the return of a fan-favorite performer from the games.
GameSpot sat down with Dandrige to discuss all of Marlene’s major moments in the finale and the emotion that went into the episode.
The birth of Ellie
The episode opens with the introduction of Anna, played by Ashley Johnson, the actor who portrays Ellie in the games. Now, though, she’s in the role of Ellie’s mother. While in labor, about to give birth to Ellie, Anna is bitten by an infected and just like that, we know her fate is sealed. However, we also learn that she is Marlene’s best friend with the two having a connection that stems back to before outbreak day.
Speaking about the moment and her reunion with Johnson, Dandridge admitted, “When I first read that episode and that scene, I do believe I might have clutched it to my chest and sighed and cried… Working with Ashley has always been an absolute joy.”
What’s more, though, this long opening scene allowed Dandridge the opportunity to explore a piece of Marlene we’ve never really seen before. “I think if you had really delved deep into the game, you might have heard some more of the backstory or the interaction between Marlene and Anna,” the actress said. “And for those fans, those old-school, deep-dive kind of fans, they’re getting that payoff, but for us–I can’t speak for Ashley, but for me–the fundamental pieces around what and who I built Marlene to be, you know, through this vehicle of Merle, were steeped in this relationship and who she was before outbreak day.”
Interestingly, this particular story was almost explored more deeply before. During a conference call with the press, The Last of Us co-creator Neil Druckmann revealed that he’s had an idea for a story based around Anna that he’s tried to explore as a comic book, a game, and even a short film previously.
“I wrote this short script about Ellie’s mom and how she gave birth to Ellie, was bitten at the same time and wasn’t sure if she was infected during that birth,” he explained. “And it just became this little character drama that felt like it spoke to the same themes of parental love for their child and how much you’re willing to do even when you’re on death’s door.”
While that never came to fruition previously, it works as a centerpiece moment for the HBO series. And even though Dandridge didn’t know it would be showcased until she read the Season 1 finale script, it was on her mind from the start.
“In my first conversations with [showrunner] Craig [Mazin], Anna was such a part of that,” Dandridge said. “She’s inherent to why and how I have been relating to Ellie and perhaps why she’s chosen to keep her safe and the way that she’s chosen to keep her safe.”
Joel’s choice
Ultimately, Joel rescued Ellie from the Fireflies’ doctor, whose procedure would have killed her in order to successfully extract what he needed to develop a potential cure (if you call dooming the rest of the world a rescue). But before he escapes with her, Joel comes face-to-face once more with Marlene, who attempts to reason with him.
A huge moment in this scene is when she tries to impress upon Joel that she understands why he feels the need to save Ellie. Let’s not forget that before Joel came into the picture, it was Marlene caring for the young girl after her time in the FEDRA training camp. What’s more, now that we know her connection to Ellie’s mother, of course, she cares for the girl. Still, that has to be balanced with the possibility of a world-saving cure.
If you’ve played The Last of Us Part II, you know that Marlene did not make the choice to sacrifice Ellie lightly. “You see that she is rigorously questioning and pushing back on this doctor’s technology and science that there has to be some other way,” Dandridge said. “There has to be another way and only after exhaustive time and understanding and work and explanation and testing has she come to the realization that this is the only way. And that realization when she sees that come over Joel, ‘I do get it. I have been in the exact place of denial that you are right now. And I can confidently stand in front of you and say, I have loved her longer and more. And this is still the right choice.'”
At that point, though, Joel simply doesn’t care. After killing the surgeon, and everyone else in sight, he shoots Marlene as well. After all, he knows–as does Dandridge–that if left alive, Marlene would never stop her search for Ellie.
“She is unrelenting in her sense of purpose,” Dandridge said. “Yes, she would follow Joel to the ends of the Earth if he had Ellie in his arms. And, there is a world in which a better outcome could have been reached–a better understanding.”
Was Joel right?
That’s the ultimate question at play here, and one The Last of Us fans have been debating for a decade. Joel essentially destroyed any possibility of finding a cure for the infection just to save one person. However, that one person is the thing he cares about keeping alive the most. It’s hard to know if he’s definitively right or wrong in this situation. Dandridge has an opinion on the matter, though.
“My breath catches when I just think about it. If there was someone that I loved in harm’s way, I would do everything in my power to keep them safe to protect them from harm’s way,” she explained. “And fortunately, I’m not making those kinds of credit decisions for the sake of humanity. My goodness. But would you sacrifice that? I mean, that’s a biblical kind of question. It is so large in scope, that it’s overwhelming to even consider. So [as] Merle, I could not even put my mind to consider [it].”
What’s next?
Unfortunately, this looks like the end of the road for Marlene. We know she doesn’t survive Joel’s bullets in the games. However, it’s not as if changes haven’t been made to the games so far. Even Dandridge doesn’t know Marlene’s fate. One thing’s for sure, she knows it’s her need for Joel to understand the good that comes with the sacrifice that has to be considered.
“This quality of hers ends up being her demise,” she said. “Or is it? I don’t know.”
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There are a lot of films based on personal experience at this year’s SXSW, and Billy Luther’s narrative feature debutFrybread Face and Me is one of the few that actually makes you wish it could go on longer. Using his authentic experience as a rough map rather than a beat sheet, Luther hits on something very special here, exploring universal themes of childhood and family in ways that transcend the specificity of its setting. Taika Waititi’s involvement as executive producer is understandable, not because it reflects his recent success in bringing a more subversively silly strain of comedy to Marvel movies but because, in its lovely, understated it way, it has all the simple warmth and heart of the New Zealander’s earlier works.
Similarly, production company World of Wonder, the creators of RuPaul’s Drag Race, also helped shepherd this story to the screen, but this not to suggest that Frybread Face and Me is preaching to the LGBTQ+ choir and destined for that audience alone. Rather, it shares that long-running show’s compassion and its curiosity about the things that make us we who really are. In Luther’s film, sexuality is rumored, joked, suggested and teased about, but no human behavior is explained or labeled because, for its young protagonist, that doesn’t really matter yet.
The year is 1990, and our hero is an 11-year-old boy from San Diego called Benny (Kier Tallman), who is introduced by Luther in a Wonder Years-style voice-over that interrupts at various intervals, usually when you’ve forgotten about it. Benny is obsessed with Fleetwood Mac and, with his mother’s blessing, dresses up as Stevie Nicks when his father’s not around, which is most of the time. Benny has already learned to hide his interests in plain sight, using action figures as dolls to re-enact tempestuous scenes from his favorite TV soap operas. Benny is completely disconnected from his indigenous roots, but all that changes when he is sent to “the res” — his maternal grandmother Lorraine’s sheep farm in Arizona — for the summer.
Grandmother Lorraine doesn’t speak any English, and never will, but Benny accepts this as the new norm, even when his cousin Frybread Face (Charley Hogan) arrives after being dumped there too. Frybread Face speaks English perfectly well, but for a while she feigns ignorance, leaving Benny to fend for himself. Slowly, though, and after finding out that Benny has a season pass to Sea World and has actually met Shamu the orca — more than once — she starts to thaw, and Benny gets closer to his family and their ways: his beautiful, rebellious Aunt Lucy, his macho, cantankerous Uncle Marvin, and Frybread Face herself, aka Dawn, whose father’s whereabouts is a delicate subject. This explodes when Marvin reveals the real reason Benny is there on the res: his parents are divorcing.
As a mood piece, it perhaps most resembles Richard Linklater’s Boyhood, in that it evokes the past with the scrappiness of memory and, more importantly, doesn’t lean too heavily on period references to set the scene: Pee-wee’s Playhouse is in its last season on TV, Uncle Marvin has a dog called Reba McEntire, and Dawn is obsessed with Jeff Bridges in Starman. More impressively, Uncle Marvin’s hidden copy of Playboy (cover line: “MADONNA NUDE”) doesn’t immediately jump out as set dressing. In the same way, Luther’s film doesn’t lecture about the importance of cultural heritage (we hear, for example, that Grandmother Lorraine may be the last of the family’s bloodline to herd sheep). Instead, Luther invites his audience to ponder on the inevitable dissipation of families and their traditions in the same bittersweet, non-judgmental way that a completely mainstream studio film like, say, Barry Levinson’s Avalon did.
Like that film, Frybread Face and Me features a guileless and charismatic young male in the lead, the “me” of the title, but the standout here has to be the fantastic Hogan, whose story perhaps this really is. Benny is narrating, so we can assume he’s fine, but where is Dawn now? How did things turn out for her? It’s a loose end, a question mark, and an accurate representation of the way the things we might have taken for granted can take on new significance in later life.
Title: Frybread Face and Me Festival: SXSW, Narrative Spotlight Director: Billy Luther Screenwriter: Billy Luther Cast: Kier Tallman, Charley Hogan, Martin Sensmeier Running time: 1 hr 23 min
All for one, and one for all! Join your favourite TransAtlantic podcasting crew: Ian, Liam, Megan, and Georgia (Ethan’s being rescued from a tower) as we’re heading to 17th Century France and keeping our native accents because it really didn’t matter back then as we review The Man in the Iron Mask on its 25th anniversary and our 3rd birthday. We’re ending riots in the streets in our 165th episode as we discuss:
Leo’s schedule between this film and Titanic
Who was first choice for Aramis and why did he turn in down
We talk about American fast food chains we’d like to see in the UK
Georgia finally gives her rant for The Big Lebowski
We ask which actors have shown up in the most BFE reviews
We also discuss best nations for BFE downloads and highest rated/downloaded films
Some of our listeners sent in audio birthday messages on our 3rd birthday
Whether or not The Man in the Iron Mask is the Best Film Ever
Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of ‘Mistake’ by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex’s new band, The Maids of Honor at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor
This year’s Academy Awards have come and gone and representation remained a hot-button topic. Actress Ariana DeBose and “CODA” Oscar winner Troy Kotsur celebrated inclusivity — in spite of the fact that no Deaf or disabled nominees were included this year — while actors Michael B. Jordan, Jonathan Majors, and costume designer Ruth Carter honored fellow Oscar nominee Angela Bassett in a year where the lack of Black female nominees was on everyone’s mind. And in terms of overall female representation, this year’s Oscars was down versus last year.
History was certainly made Sunday night across numerous spectrums, however.
Actress Michelle Yeoh became the first Asian woman to win Best Actress, while costumer Ruth E. Carter marked only the second time a Black woman has won Best Costume Design, or twice in any category. Daniel Kwan, one half of the directing and writing duo for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” became the fourth Asian artist to win Best Director. Kwan’s three Oscars (for Best Picture, Director and Original Screenplay) comprise three of the 11 wins by nominees of color.
This year’s Asian representation, particularly in the acting categories, was the highest in Academy Awards history, with the most nominations since 2004. In addition to “Everything Everywhere”s Yeoh, Kwan, and Ke Huy Quan, Judy Chin’s make-up and hairstyling award for “The Whale” brought the total of East Asian winners to four. All four South Asian nominees – the songwriting duo behind “Naatu Naatu” and “The Elephant Whisperers” producers – won their categories.
But of the 101 individual categories at this year’s Oscars, only 19 nominees were people of color. That’s only 18% of the nominations. Yet they only account for less than 6% of the wins.
Black nominees only account for 7% of the individual nominees, though ended up securing only one win, for the aforementioned Ruth Carter. Angela Bassett for “Wakanda Forever” and Brian Tyree Henry for “Causeway” were the only Black acting nominees, leaving Black performers to account for less than 2% of the nominees. Compared to last year, which had 13 nominations for Black talent, this year saw only seven, marking an 85% decrease from the year prior.
And then there was the complete lack of women in Best Directing, in spite of Sarah Polley securing the Best Adapted Screenplay Award for “Women Talking,” which was nominated for a Best Picture. This makes for the first year that women have won Best Adapted Screenplay category two years in a row, following Sian Heder for “CODA.”
Also, all of the costume nominees this year were women, and each film nominated for production design included at least one female nominee. But history could have been made tonight if Mandy Walker had won for Best Cinematography for “Elvis”; she’d have been the first woman to win. That award went to James Friend for “All Quiet on the Western Front.” This marked the third time — and third loss — for a woman in Best Cinematography. Women still only make up 3% of Best Cinematography nominations in the Oscars history.
Last year was the worst showing for women nominees in four years, with them winning 23% of the categories in which they were nominated. This year they actually fared worse, with only nine wins out of 57 nominations. Women only secured 15% of the wins this year.
That being said, to hear Ke Huy Quan and Michelle Yeoh call out the industry for the lack of opportunities they’ve received only emphasized the continuing need for diverse nominees. What can be done to fix that? The jury’s still out, but we have a whole year to hope next year’s Oscars will show signs of improvement.
Oscar-nominated RRR is one of the most electrifying films you will ever see. Directed by Tollywood genius S. S. Rajamouli, RRR imagines an alternate history where real-life revolutionaries Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan) and Komaram Bheem (N. T. Rama Rao Jr.) were best friends. When Bheem goes undercover in the British Raj-occupied city of Delhi to rescue a kidnapped child from his village, he immediately connects with what seems to be just another random cool dude who likes to dabble in heroics. Raju actually is working undercover for the British occupiers to find Bheem. There’s more twists and turns, but the beating heart of this exhilarating film is the bromance between Raju and Bheem. Musical numbers, epic workout sequences, and even fights with live tigers punctuate this over-the-top, ecstatic ode to rebellion, cinema, and friendship.
As anyone who loves fashion knows, clothes are about more than mere style; they communicate an abundance of stories, and that was certainly true of the Hollywood A-listers who walked the champagne-hued carpet at the 2023 Oscars. From romantic volume or sleek modernity to conveying messages both subtle and overt, the stars arriving at L.A.’s Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood seemed to take a uniquely personal approach to their style this year.
The night’s best fashion ran the gamut from the grandeur of voluminous gowns in silk taffeta, notably a pair of Valentino gowns seen on Stephanie Hsu and Florence Pugh, to sleek looks in pale neutrals, including Ana de Armas in Louis Vuitton and Michelle Williams in Chanel. Elegant black gowns also ruled the night, with Danai Gurira’s Jason Wu design and Jenny Slate’s Thom Browne ensemble among the best. Winning details, meanwhile, ranged from rose accents to corset boning and a decided preference for vintage jewels.
Tribute ribbons also made an appearance as blue ribbons were worn by several stars to call attention to the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, which coordinated the #WithRefugees ribbon as an emblem of solidarity with refugees forced to flee their homes. Cate Blanchett, a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, and fellow nominee Brendan Gleeson were among those seen wearing the blue ribbons on Sunday night. Actress Shohreh Aghdashloo likewise chose to create a message close to her heart, wearing a pair of dresses — by Christian Siriano for the Oscars ceremony and by Kevan Hall for the Vanity Fair party — emblazoned with messages to honor the embattled women of Iran, her native country.
Which stars ultimately stood out amid the sea of Hollywood insiders? Here’s a rundown of the night’s most memorable looks. (See a list of the winners, and check out all of the star-studded Oscars red carpet arrivals.)
Angela Bassett in Moschino
Angela Bassett
Kayla Oaddams/WireImage
Purple is the color traditionally associated with royalty, and best supporting actress nominee Angela Bassett indeed exuded a queenly vibe in a richly toned purple organza gown by Moschino, beautifully draped and featuring an exaggerated bow neckline. She finished the look with diamonds by Bulgari, including a high-jewelry Serpenti necklace, and shoes by Sarah Flint Heels.
Stephanie Hsu in Valentino
Stephanie Hsu
Kayla Oaddams/WireImage
The news that the red carpet would be transformed to a champagne hue for the 2023 Oscars spawned a wealth of conversation, not all of it positive. And while the pale neutral indeed created a different framing for many looks, many stylists understood the assignment, including Wayman and Micah, stylists for nominee Stephanie Hsu. The actress’ bold pink strapless gown, from Valentino’s Spring/Summer 2023 Le Club Couture collection, was an outstanding choice against that pale carpet. Hsu’s look was finished with high-jewelry sapphire and diamond earrings and a diamond bracelet by Cartier.
Jenny Slate in Thom Browne
Jenny Slate
Mike Coppola/Getty Images
It would have been great to see more of Jenny Slate, co-writer and star of Marcel the Shell With Shoes On, not only because the best animated feature film nominee has reached beloved status, but also to get a better glimpse at her custom look by Thom Browne — a black silk faille corset and lace-up skirt, detailed with matching black bugle-bead boning and tuxedo seaming, and seen early on the carpet with a cropped, roped shoulder jacket. Perhaps most adorably: Slate carried Marcel with her, and the diminutive shell was also wearing a look by Browne. The actress and writer, meanwhile, finished her look with a dramatic emerald and diamond necklace by Gismondi 1754.
An executive producer of short documentary film nominee Strangers at the Gate, Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai embraced the glamour of the 2023 Oscars in a custom silver sequined gown by Ralph Lauren, accessorized with jewels by Santi and Fred Leighton.
Sofia Carson in Giambattista Valli Haute Couture
Sofia Carson
Mike Coppola/Getty Images
An early arrival on the 2023 Oscars carpet, Sofia Carson, who sang the Oscar-nominated song “Applause” during the telecast, exuded a sort of Audrey Hepburn-inspired elegance in a beautiful two-piece custom look by Giambattista Valli Haute Couture, consisting of a draped silk-chiffon crop top with twisted cutout bodice, paired with an asymmetrical waist ball-gown skirt. The neckline was perfect for showcasing a high-jewelry necklace by Chopard, featuring seven octagonal-shaped emeralds totaling 122.49 carats, surrounded by 92.57 carats of white diamonds, all set in Fairmined-certified white gold.
Danai Gurira in Jason Wu
Danai Gurira
Kayla Oaddams/WireImage
The Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star looked equal parts regal and modern in an elegant strapless gown with a distressed neckline from Jason Wu’s Fall/Winter 2023 collection, accented with diamond jewels by Messika, including the diamond Divine Enigma choker used to highlight Gurira’s towering hairstyle.
Sandra Oh in Giambattista Valli Haute Couture
Sandra Oh
Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
Marigold silk chiffon was a standout color choice for Sandra Oh, who took advantage of the flow and movement of this Giambattista Valli Haute couture empire-waist gown. And with vintage jewels among the night’s trends, Oh also wore one of the best necklaces seen at the 2023 Oscars: a circa-1980s Harry Winston piece featuring an oversized citrine as its center stone, courtesy of Briony Raymond.
Cara Delevingne in Elie Saab
Cara Delevingne
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Currently on the April cover of Vogue, model and actress Cara Delevingne has been candid in that feature and other interviews about her conscious decision to concentrate on self-care after struggling with sobriety. That’s why it was so thrilling to see her looking nothing less than stunning at Sunday’s Academy Awards. Every element came together beautifully, starting with her crimson Elie Saab one-shoulder silk gown, which featured an impeccable fit and perfect details like the lush bow at her shoulder. Her Bulgari high jewels, including a Serpenti choker embellished with 62.85 carats of white diamonds, added the ideal splash of sparkle, while her smoky eye and slicked-back hair completed a head-to-toe look that everyone was talking about on social media.
Navy tuxes have dominated awards-show carpets in recent years; perhaps that’s why it was so great to see many men reverting to classic black tuxedoes for the 2023 Oscars. Top Gun: Maverick‘s Jay Ellis was an early arrival, and only in the up-close interviews were viewers able to notice that his suit, by Fendi Mens, included a black single-breasted jacket embellished with an all-over floral motif embroidered in matching tone micro beads. Ellis accessorized his tux with Cartier’s Tank Must watch and Christian Louboutin’s Greggo patent-leather dress shoe.
Rihanna in Alaïa
Rihanna
Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Unsurprisingly, Rihanna created a frenzy on social media when she arrived at the 2023 Oscars in a custom look by Alaïa, a black leather-band dress worn over a black jersey bodysuit. A best song nominee for “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Rihanna accessorized her look with jewels by Moussaieff, including earrings in orangey brown and yellow diamonds and a ring highlighting an orangey brown diamond.
Florence Pugh in Valentino Haute Couture
Florence Pugh
Kayla Oaddams/WireImage
Few looks sparked conversation on social media like Florence Pugh’s look by Valentino Haute Couture. Her empire top in greige-hued silk taffeta highlighted dramatic sleeves and a floor-length overskirt worn over black bike shorts, a design from Pierpaolo Piccioli’s Spring/Summer 2023 Le Club Couture collection. “It’s a bit romantic and a bit punk,” Pugh explained on the carpet. Her diamond jewels by Tiffany & Co., meanwhile, included a platinum and diamond necklace crafted to resemble the curves of an orchid.
Monica Barbaro in Elie Saab
Monica Barbaro
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Also among the night’s early arrivals, Top Gun: Maverick actress Monica Barbaro opted for this two-tone silk gown by Elie Saab, an unusual color pairing of sky blue and eggplant — and that unique vibe, combined with the overskirt structure highlighted by a perfect bow at the waist, is precisely why it worked. Diamonds by Kwiat and Fred Leighton completed her look.
Andrew Garfield in Fendi Mens
Andrew Garfield
Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Another actor who went ultra-traditional for the Oscars, presenter Andrew Garfield chose a Fendi Men’s Made to Measure black tuxedo that featured a double-breasted jacket with a lapel in tonal satin, paired with traditional black trousers with satin side stripe, a white evening shirt, cummerbund and bow tie, all from the label’s Fall/Winter 2023-24 eveningwear collection. Patent-leather lace-up shoes, also by Fendi, a signet ring by David Yurman and Omega’s De Ville Tresor Master Co-Axial Chronometer completed his look.
Ana de Armas in Louis Vuitton
Ana de Armas
Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Perhaps not anticipating the effect of the champagne-toned carpet, many attendees and their stylists planned pale looks, including best actress nominee Ana de Armas, who looked beautiful in a romantic gown by Louis Vuitton. Her custom silver silk organza mermaid gown featured a 3D degradé scalloped train.The Blonde star wore white gold and diamond earrings, a bracelet and ring by Louis Vuitton High Jewelry.
Miles and Keleigh Teller in Celine
Miles and Keleigh Teller
Mike Coppola/Getty Images
If the Oscars presented a “Hottest Couple” award, the undisputed winners would be Miles and Keleigh Teller. The Top Gun: Maverick star and his wife were flawless in his-and-hers looks by Celine — with Miles in a traditional black tuxedo in mohair black canvas from Celine Homme by Hedi Slimane, while Keleigh wore a fully embroidered silver bow strapless couture dress and silver Sharp sandals, both from Celine by Hedi Slimane, finished with pearl earrings by Mikimoto.
Michelle Williams in Chanel
Michelle Williams
Kayla Oaddams/WireImage
A best actress nominee for The Fabelmans, Michelle Williams looked utterly ethereal in a custom design by Chanel: a white silk chiffon, cady and tulle embroidered bustier gown, worn with a silk tulle cape closed with a jeweled button. The embroidery on the dress and cape was inspired by a look from Chanel’s Spring/Summer 2023 haute-couture collection. Williams accented the dress and cape with diamonds set in platinum by Tiffany & Co.
Nicole Kidman in Armani Privé
Nicole Kidman
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images
Rose embellishments were a trend at the 2023 Oscars, seen on everything from Halle Berry’s Tamara Ralph gown to the rose Oscar-winning screenwriter Sarah Polley wore on the lapel of her tuxedo. But for roses served with a bit of drama, no one did it better than presenter Nicole Kidman, whose custom Giorgio Armani Privé single-sleeved black gown featured oversized silver-beaded roses on the shoulder and at the waist of this design fully embellished with paillettes. Diamond jewelry by Harry Winston and a diamond watch from the Omega archives completed her look.
John Choin Zegna
John Cho
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Presenter John Cho looked perfectly elegant in a head-to-toe outfit by Zegna, which included a black velvet tuxedo jacket worn over trousers in black wool. Cho paired the suit with a vintage diamond star brooch from the 19th century and circa-1930s ruby and diamond cuff links set in platinum, both courtesy of Fred Leighton, as well as IWC’s Portofino Automatic timepiece.
Michelle Yeoh in Dior Haute Couture
Michelle Yeoh
ABC/Getty Images
The night’s best-actress winner for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once looked elegant and ethereal in a Dior Haute Couture gown crafted of feathers embroidered on ivory silk organza. Her diamond jewels by Moussaieff, meanwhile, included a necklace that was woven into Yeoh’s hair. A devout fan of Richard Mille watches, Yeoh also wore the brand’s RM 07-02 Sapphire timepiece, customized on a white strap to match her gown.
Jamie Lee Curtis in Dolce & Gabbana
Jamie Lee Curtis
ABC/Getty Images
Corset boning was another big trend at the 2023 Oscars, and that included this Dolce & Gabbana gown worn by best supporting actress winner Jamie Lee Curtis. The blush-hued gown from the Italian label’s Alta Moda collection is fully hand-embroidered with Swarovski crystals and features exposed boning detailing.
Hong Chau in Prada
Hong Chau
Kayla Oaddams/WireImage
On the pre-ceremony carpet, Hong Chau, a best supporting actress nominee for The Whale, noted that she asked Prada to amp up the details on her pink satin gown, requesting the designer extend the train embellished with fringes and black sequins, as well as add a Mandarin collar to the neckline, an homage to her heritage. Pearl and diamond jewels by Mikimoto and Panerai’s Luminor Due Luna watch completed her look.
Lady Gaga in Versace
Lady Gaga
Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Lady Gaga also wore a look that highlighted the night’s trend in corset boning, a gown that was fresh from Donatella Versace’s high-wattage show that premiered in Los Angeles just a few days prior to the 2023 Oscars. Gaga’s Tiffany & Co. jewelry included a diamond and platinum necklace from the house’s archives, estimated to have been produced between 1955 and 1965.
Halle Bailey in Dolce & Gabbana
Halle Bailey
Kayla Oaddams/WireImage
The star of Disney’s upcoming live-action The Little Mermaid, Halle Bailey embraced every second of her princess moment in a custom turquoise tulle gown by Dolce & Gabbana, featuring a hand-pleated corset bodice and full skirt. Her diamonds by De Beers Jewellers included the Midnight Aura necklace from the house’s The Alchemist of Light collection, featuring 74.63 carats of diamonds.
Austin Butler in Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello
Austin Butler
ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images
The best actor nominee for Elvis looked cool and confident in a classic black tuxedo by Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello, featuring a double-breasted jacket with matching tuxedo trousers, the Yves collar shirt in cotton poplin and the Yves bow tie, and the label’s XIV 70 zipped boots. Yellow-gold rings and a bracelet by Cartier finished his look.
Janelle Monaé in Vera Wang Haute
Janelle Monae
ABC/Getty Images
The recording artist and actress definitely understood the assignment, blending bold color with a dramatic silhouette in this custom look by Vera Wang Haute, crafted of a bustier in black velvet and a draped skirt in a brilliant orange silk charmeuse. Her jewels by Paris-based Reza included a diamond brooch set in platinum.
Jessica Chastain in Gucci
Jessica Chastain
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
A presenter for best actor and best actress, Chastain wore head-to-toe Gucci, starting with a custom gown crafted of silver sequins and crystals and finished with velvet trim and an extended velvet train. The actress’s Lionhead necklace from Gucci High Jewelry featured 80 carats of tsavorites and diamonds set in 18-karat white gold.
Margot Robbie in Giorgio Armani Privé
Morgan Freeman and Margot Robbie
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
The Babylon star eschewed the pre-ceremony carpet and was first seen at the 2023 Oscars on the arm of fellow presenter Morgan Freeman. Robbie’s Giorgio Armani Privé off-the-shoulder column gown was among the designs fashion fans were thirsting to see up close and personal due to the black beading on the bodice and the tulle and crystal embroidery on the skirt. Robbie paired the gown with jewelry by Lorraine Schwartz, including a pair of earrings featuring 72 carats of emeralds and black jade.
Elizabeth Olsen in Givenchy
Elizabeth Olsen
ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images
The night’s plethora of grand gowns meant presenter Elizabeth Olsen indeed stood out in this bare halter gown by Givenchy. The actress’s black metal mesh dress was embellished with fringes and worn with a long black silk-organza skirt. Circa 1990s earrings and a ring in yellow gold and diamonds from the Cartier archives, as well as sandals by Giuseppe Zanotti, completed her look.
Paul Mescal in Gucci
Paul Mescal
ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images
The best actor nominee for Aftersun looked elegant in an ivory double-breasted dinner jacket by Gucci, paired with a white evening shirt, black bow tie, wide cuffed pants and black patent-leather dress shoes also by the Italian label. Next to a red rose on his lapel, Mescal wore a high-jewelry diamond brooch by Cartier, as well as Cartier’s Privé Tank Chinoise on his wrist.
Andie MacDowell in Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello and Rainey Qualley
Andie MacDowell and Rainey Qualley
Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
The mother-daughter duo were chic in sleek black gowns. MacDowell’s asymmetrical draped Saint Laurent gown in black jersey is a $5,290 design currently available on the label’s website; the actress paired the look with pumps also by the French house, while her white diamond and gold jewelry was by Pomellato.
Fan Bingbing in Tony Ward
Fan Bingbing
ABC/Getty Images
Among the night’s earliest arrivals, Fan Bingbing undeniably set the tone for the evening when she stepped onto the carpet in a dramatic look by Tony Ward Couture, consisting of a silver beaded gown paired with a silk taffeta evening coat in a brilliant emerald. The color was carried through to statement jewels by Lorraine Schwartz, including earrings highlighting 85 carats of Colombian emeralds and diamonds.
In 2005, the same year that he released his French touch classic The Upper Cuts, Alan Braxe supercharged an already-perfect song by remixing Annie’s “Heartbeat.” Eighteen years later, the producer and Norwegian singer unite again for the upcoming Upper Cuts reissue. Their joint single, “Never Coming Back,” is a feather-light disco jam and stone-cold put-down at once; Annie struts cooly down a glassy hallway while a nimble guitar groove beckons the listener to keep pace. Not that they should get too close: If Annie’s original appeal was of a naturally shy person speaking plainly from the heart, she’s glamorously inaccessible on “Never Coming Back.” “Everybody needs somebody/I need somebody too/Just not you-u-u,” she taunts through vocoder at some lovelorn fool. The track is paradoxically inviting and icy, an unambiguously final kiss-off with a groove that could last until the end of time.
Music video and commercial director Marcella Cytrynowicz makes her feature-length debut with American Cherry. The writer-director hones in on the lives of the young and lost, though the characters hope love can save them. She also explores mental illness, generational trauma, and the strength of romantic, familial, and platonic relationships.
Finn (Hart Denton) is a moody teenager prone to intimidating outbursts, which gets him expelled from school. One day, he just lies down in the middle of the road. This odd act catches the attention of Eliza (Sarah May Sommers). This meet-cute gives each someone who understands how they see the world. For whatever peace Finn has found now, he begins to get scared when the darkness rises in him again.
At home, Eliza must care for her drunk mother, Louise (Leonor Varela), who is still pining for ex Dale (John Honey). Her sister, Corinna (Audrey Holcomb), is desperate to patch up their relationship, though Eliza still holds a grudge. Through every fight, drunken night with her parent, and just general frustrations, Finn is there for Eliza. Will love be enough to satiate Finn’s deepest desires? Is a heinous act done out of pure love still one?
American Cherry takes several unexpected swerves; this is anything but cliched. Without spoiling anything, the intimate story unfolds more like real life and not in some scripted way. Some parts are messy or hard to understand right away. For example, Eliza storms out of a very tense dinner with her family and Finn. He finds her after a moment, and the two hop on the bus only to wind up where they started. Eliza asks to be left alone then. Why then and not earlier? Emotions are tricky to process and even trickier to pin down.
“Through every fight, drunken night with her parent, and just general frustrations, Finn is there for Eliza.”
Finn records a lot of his daily interactions with Eliza. Every so often, the film cuts to what he’s recording, usually involving his commentary (via voice-over) or continuing the current conversation. These scenes never break the momentum nor cause confusion. Cytrynowicz and editor Adam Lemnah maintain the pace while never losing focus on the characters. It’s a tricky line, especially as the last 30 minutes begin and thriller elements enter the fray. But the filmmaker walks that line with distinction.
American Cherry explores its potent themes just as well as it defines its characters. Interestingly, the filmmaker posits that love, not just romantic, can be a boon and a curse. Louise and Dale are in love, but that is the problem. Louise refuses to get help and lashes out at Eliza. But Corinna’s desire to make it work with her sister gives the film an extra dose of heart, making the ending even more powerful. Oh, that ending. No spoilers, but the finale proves what love means to everyone involved. It’s genuinely moving and thrilling in equal measure.
Denton is incredible as the morally conflicted male lead. His chemistry with Sommers is palpable, and the two light up the screen. When Finn tells Eliza how he finds beauty in death, he expects her to think it is weird. Instead, she finds it “poetic.” The way the two actors handle this is pitch-perfect. Sommers is elegant, adding layers to someone who sees only one way out of her nowhere town.
Top-notch players surround the leads. Holcomb is magnificent as the protective sister who wishes to mend things. How she tells Eliza that she “loves her, even when she’s a pain in the a*s” is heartfelt. Likewise, Varela avoids the expected traits of an on-screen alcoholic while being fun to hate.
American Cherry is an engaging and introspective look at young romance, wayward souls, and what brings two people together. The cast is amazing from start to finish, with Denton and Sommers standing out. The denouement cements Cytrynowicz’s debut as spectacular and special. Seriously, there aren’t enough words to describe how perfect the last few minutes are.
For more information about American Cherry, visit the Buffalo 8 site.
The Catholic Church is open to reviewing its thousand-year-old practice of celibacy, Pope Francis has suggested.
He said the ban was only ‘temporary’ and there was also ‘no contradiction’ for a priest to marry.
Celibacy was made a requirement by the Catholic Church in the 11th-century for financial reasons, as clergy without children were more likely to leave their wealth to the church.
The Vatican enforces the rule among priests – but there are growing calls to end the ban.
It comes after Germany’s Catholic Church voted for a resolution requesting that the Pope end the obligation for priests to be celibate.
Pope Francis, 86, said celibacy was only a ‘temporary prescription’ and there was also ‘no contradiction’ for a priest to marry
In an interview with Argentine publication Infobae, Pope Francis, 86, said: ‘There is no contradiction for a priest to marry. Celibacy in the western Church is a temporary prescription.
‘It is not eternal like priestly ordination, which is for ever whether you like it or not. On the other hand, celibacy is a discipline.’
The Pope also cited the example of the Eastern Church – a branch of Catholicism which allows more leeway – and said: ‘Everyone in the Eastern Church is married, or those who want to. Before ordination there is the choice to marry or to be celibate.’
It marks a change from his position in 2019, when he suggested celibacy was a ‘gift’ to the church and he didn’t agree with ‘allowing optional celibacy’.
In the interview, which is one of many to celebrate the tenth anniversary of his election as Pope today, he also spoke about rising divorce rates and suggested young people were sometimes getting married too early.
Pope Francis said: ‘Sometimes one goes to a wedding and it seems more like it’s a social reception and not a sacrament.
‘When young people say for ever, who knows what they mean by for ever.’
The corporation will independently review the guidelines relating to presenters such as Lineker and the former England footballer has agreed to return to the show he has been hosting for almost a quarter of a century this weekend. He will return to host coverage of the FA Cup Quarter Final on Saturday, followed by Match of the Day.
“Everyone recognises this has been a difficult period for staff, contributors, presenters and, most importantly, our audiences. I apologise for this,” said Director General Tim Davie. “The potential confusion caused by the grey areas of the BBC’s social media guidance that was introduced in 2020 is recognised. I want to get matters resolved and our sport content back on air.”
Davie announced that the BBC will forge a review led by an independent expert on its social media guidance, with a particular focus on how it applies to freelancers outside news and current affairs.
“The BBC and myself are aware that Gary is in favour of such a review,” he added.
The crisis, one of the BBC’s worst for a generation, was sparked late last week when Lineker tweeted comparing the language around the government’s asylum policy with 1930s Germany.
He was stood down by the BBC but his standing down caused a major domino effect as other presenters, pundits and commentators on the BBC’s weekend sports programing all withdrew their services. Match of the Day and Match of the Day 2 aired as short highlights programs with no commentary and other sports coverage was either cancelled or parred back.
The row has dominated the front pages for days and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak even weighed in.
Director General Tim Davie, who was in Washington speaking about impartial news, resisted calls to resign along with Chair Richard Sharp, although Davie apologized.
Sources indicated a “fervent” period behind the scenes during which, with Davie in Washington, Chief Content Officer Charlotte Moore and Director of Sport Barbara Slater had to step in and were deeply involved with the negotiations.
This inevitably led to time delays, while there were rifts between the newsroom, which backed Davie, and the sports division, which backed Lineker.
Many BBC execs had hoped to have the situation resolved to avoid yesterday’s second day of major disruption.
The crisis came at a difficult time for the BBC, which has only just been recovering from the fallout of the revelation that Sharp, a Conservative Party donor, helped facilitate a loan for former Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Prior to the Lineker row, he had spent weeks resisting calls to resign on that front.
Called Outspoken, the network will be executive produced by the writer and activist Raquel Willis and iHeartMedia’s creative development and marketing director, Jay Brunson. The network will include new programming like O’Donnell’s podcast Onward, which will debut later this month. Siwa will executive produce and host her own show, as well as develop a slate of programming specifically for the network.
Willis is also developing two original shows for the network: The first will feature the perspectives of LGBTQ+ youth living in battleground states for legislation targeting queer people, while the second will focus on Willis’ work on violence targeting trans women that expands on her work as the former executive editor of Out magazine.
Existing iHeart shows from Big Money Players like Yang and Matt Rogers’ Las Cultaristas, Cox’s The Laverne Cox Show, George Civeris and Sam Taggart’s StraightioLab and Lance Bass’ Frosted Tips will also join the Outspoken network.
“With Outspoken, iHeartMedia and a team of brilliant creators are building a space for LGBTQ+ talent and listeners everywhere to celebrate who they are. It’s exciting to see podcasting becoming a medium where voices of all kinds go to be heard, and the Outspoken network will elevate the impactful culture of the LGBTQ+ community,” Will Pearson, the president of iHeartPodcasts, said in a statement. “We’re also honored to have some of the biggest personalities in podcasting joining us as advocates by using their massive platforms with millions of listeners to amplify these creators and help bring a greater diversity of voices into the podcast space.”
It seems like the Academy Awards have taken “Everything Everywhere All at Once” character Waymond Wang’s (played to perfection by newly-minted Oscar-winner Ke Huy Quan) words to heart: “The only thing I do know is that we have to be kind. Please, be kind. Especially when we don’t know what’s going on.”
Good vibes were plentiful at Sunday night’s ceremony, bolstered by moving musical moments, historic wins and, perhaps most importantly, no physical violence. Though outright surprises were few, there were a few moments that caught us off-guard. We’ll discuss them below.
Surprise: “All Quiet On the Western Front” Wins Best Production Design
Netflix
Our own Steve Pond predicted that this category would come down to one of two lush options in the form of Baz Lurhmann’s “Elvis” and Damien Chazelle’s “Babylon,” only for Netflix’s gritty World War I adaptation “All Quiet on the Western Front” to walk away with the prize. The win was one of four for the film, which also won Best International Feature, Best Original Score and Best Cinematography, the second-most successful film of the night and the only real threat to upset “Everything Everywhere All at Once” for Best Picture. While it didn’t succeed, it was still one of only three films to win more than one award, with “Everything Everywhere” winning seven and “The Whale” winning two.
Surprise: Lady Gaga Performs
Getty Images
In the lead up to the Oscars, four of the five Best Original Song nominees were confirmed to perform at the ceremony, with the only holdout being previous Oscar-winner in the category Lady Gaga. And yet, Sunday morning word got out that Lady Gaga would, in fact, be taking the stage at the Dolby Theatre to sing her nominated song from “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Hold My Hand.”
The performance itself was a stripped-down (and we do mean stripped down, as Gaga not only changed into ripped jeans and a t-shirt, but also removed her red carpet makeup) version of the song on a plain stage, filmed almost exclusively in close-up. Regardless, the song remains a banger, and it was lovely to have it included, if only for those of us who would have been really bothered to only have four of the five nominees included.
Surprise: Jamie Lee Curtis Wins Best Supporting Actress
When is a surprise not a surprise?
It wasn’t shocking that Jamie Lee Curtis triumphed in Best Supporting Actress, at least for people who watched the Screen Actors Guild Awards last month, but it was far from a sure thing. For a long time during the lead-up to the Oscars it seemed as though Angela Bassett was the frontrunner for her turn in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”, with wins at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards. But increasingly, as enthusiasm for “Everything Everywhere” reached a fevered pitch, it seemed as though Queen Ramonda from Wakanda might be unseated by another Hollywood legend.
Indeed, it was Curtis, self-proclaimed nepo baby (daughter of Oscar nominees Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis), who came out on top, maybe by a nose, maybe by a hair’s breadth, but most likely by a hotdog finger.
Surprise: “Everything Everywhere All at Once” Wins Most Everything
Getty Images
Broken down into pure numbers, what “Everything Everywhere” accomplished at the Oscars is awe-inspiring, in some ways becoming the most dominant film in the 95 years of the Academy Awards. Traditionally, the highest achievement for a movie at the Oscars is to win the “Big Five,” that is, Best Picture, Best Director, Best (Original or Adapted) Screenplay, Best Lead Actor and Best Lead Actress. Only three films have ever accomplished the feat, “It Happened One Night,” “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “Silence of the Lambs.”
Now, “Everything Everywhere” didn’t have a lead actor, so it didn’t and couldn’t win the Big Five, but it did something else, something that’s never been done before. It won six of the seven above the line awards, specifically, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Lead Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress.
Only two other films in history have won three of the four acting prizes, “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “Network,” and each of those films finished with only four Oscars overall.
That doesn’t even touch on all the other types of history made by “Everything Everywhere,” a film which managed to dominate in the most delightful way possible.
Snub: Nothing, Nowhere, Never For “The Banshees of Inisherin,” “Elvis,” “The Fabelmans,” “Tár” and “Triangle of Sadness”
Getty Images
It turns out that “The Banshees of Inisherin” secret star Jenny the donkey was the only creature affiliated with the film to make it into the spotlight at the ceremony and more’s the pity. The downside of Oscar sweeps means that often fewer films will be able to have a breakout moment, as was the case for the five Best Picture nominees mentioned above.
Of the Best Picture nominees overall, as previously mentioned “Everything Everywhere” won seven and “All Quiet” won four. The only other film to win multiple prizes was “The Whale,” which won Best Actor for Brendan Fraser and Best Makeup and Hairstyling — but it wasn’t a Best Picture nominee. Of the other films that were contenders in that category, “Top Gun: Maverick” won Best Sound, “Avatar: The Way of Water” won Best Visual Effects and “Women Talking” won Best Adapted Screenplay.
Which breaks down to a great night for one film, a fine night for another and a lot of post-show drinking for everyone else.
Overall, Netflix won six Oscars on Sunday, after receiving 16 total nominations this year.
“All Quiet on the Western Front,” directed by Edward Berger, won four Oscars (on nine nominations), picking up the trophies for international feature, cinematography (James Friend), original score (Volker Bertelmann) and production design (Christian M. Goldbeck, Ernestine Hipper). The film — a grim, disquieting adaptation of the famous World War I novel — had dominated the U.K.’s BAFTA Awards with a record-breaking seven wins, including best film, director (Berger), adapted screenplay, cinematography, sound, original score and non-English language film.
Del Toro’s “Pinocchio,” a stop-motion adaptation of the classic fairy tale, beat out the four other contenders in the category, including Netflix’s “The Sea Beast,” A24’s “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On,” Universal-DreamWorks Animation’s “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” and Disney-Pixar’s “Turning Red.”
Netflix also won in the documentary short film category for “The Elephant Whisperers,” which follows Bomman and Bellie, an Indigenous couple in south India, who devote their lives to caring for an orphaned baby elephant named Raghu. Director Kartiki Gonsalves spent five years chronicling Bomman and Bellie for the documentary.
Previously, Netflix had won 16 Oscars (out of 116 nominations) and has mounted aggressive awards-season campaigns the last several years. But to date it’s been unable to score a win on the best picture front; this year, “All Quiet on the Western Front” was nominated in the category, which went to A24’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
At the 2022 Oscars, Netflix came away with just one trophy: Jane Campion’s win for directing “The Power of the Dog.” That was after Netflix had led the field with 27 nominations, including 12 for “Power of the Dog” and four for Adam McKay’s “Don’t Look Up” (both of which were in the running for best picture).
In 2021, Netflix won seven Oscars, more than any other studio that year. That included two each for David Fincher’s “Mank” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” adapted from the play by August Wilson. In 2020, Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” was shut out at the Oscars after receiving 10 nominations. Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma” won three Academy Awards in 2019, for directing, cinematography and foreign language film.
The first Undisputed, from 2002, was a solid (if unexceptional) prison brawl movie that found home video success thanks to the combined star power of Wesley Snipes and Ving Rhames following a poor theatrical run. Yet even without Snipes, Rhames, or director Walter Hill, Undisputed II: Last Man Standing improved on the first film in almost every way, delivering bone-crunching action scenes, a more tangible dramatic arc, and a pair of leads in Michael Jai White and Scott Adkins whose chemistry in and out of the ring will keep you glued to the screen.
Singapore’s Mocha Chai Laboratories and Emissary Pictures, a company that straddles New Zealand, Australia and Indonesia, have announced a strategic partnership for the development and production of cross-cultural films, series and content in Asia.
The venture will have offices in all four countries and will identify, develop and produce content across genres and formats, including films, television series, documentaries and digital content. The agreement was announced in Hong Kong on the first day of the FilMart rights market.
The pair say that they have scripted and unscripted projects in development and production. Slate details, however, remain under wraps as do distribution plans.
“We are excited to partner with Emissary Pictures and join forces to combine our unique capabilities in storytelling and world-class post-production,” says Mocha Chai producer Michelle Chang. “We have the support of Singapore Film Commission and major partners in the region, all who appreciate our quality of work and creative vision.”
Emissary Pictures creative chief Joseph Taylor says: “As a writer, director and actor, authenticity is paramount. We are thrilled to partner with Mocha Chai Laboratories to work with local talent to bring incredible stories to international audiences.”
Adds director and Mocha Chai co-founder Chai Yee Wei, “Over the past 10 years, we have built a world-class post-production facility in Singapore. With this alliance, we are excited to widen our reach especially to Indonesia and New Zealand where we can grow our reach and develop more cross-cultural content.”
Emissary Pictures’ multiple Emmy Award-winning producer Julian Grimmond is also involved. “By stretching across the APAC region we bring together producing, storytelling and technical expertise that local audiences, studios and streamers will appreciate,” he says.
Leo is now integrated with 15 vendor advisories, giving you real-time access to relevant CVE and CVSS information, directly in your feed.
TRanscript
New Leo CVE Skill – Vendor Advisory Integrations
“Hi folks, this is Remi from Feedly. I wanted to share with you the latest updates on the Leo cybersecurity skills, which has to do with vendor advisory integration. Very exciting one.
The premise for this is that we’ve heard from a lot of our customers that connecting Leo’s knowledge graph directly to vendor advisory sites would be highly beneficial to get updates on CVEs faster, basically immediately as they get published on those vendor sites.
So we built it as you can see, we started integration with the most prominent vendor sites, as you can see here. So we’ve got our Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco if you have any vendor of choice that is not in this list, please let us know because we’re continuously adding more vendor sites to to the knowledge graph. Your feedback is important and will be taken into consideration.
To show you what that looks like, if you take a look at your Today page and your CVE dashboard and your trending vulnerabilities on the right hand side, you can zoom in to this latest vulnerability for Microsoft from a couple of days ago. Click on the CVSS score, which just normally just opens up the NVD page for that vulnerability, you can see that at the NVD level, this is still under undergoing analysis. And there isn’t much detail about it yet on the Phoebe side of things.
Thanks to Leo, you still have all of the elements that appear over here, as well as your usual reference articles and all the chatter around that particular CVE. This is because Leo is picking up that information directly from the Microsoft site and makes all of these updates again, almost in real time. So the outcome of this is that you can really be aware of what’s happening around these critical vulnerabilities sooner without having to go individually to all these other sites and looking up IDs.”
Which vendor advisories does Leo integrate with already?
DC’s new Batman movie The Brave and the Bold has to bring one aspect of Ben Affleck’s Batman back. In a relatively short yet impactful Dark Knight run, Ben Affleck played Batman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Justice League, and the upcoming The Flash movie. Still, Affleck never got to star in a solo Batman movie, and a new Batman reboot ended up happening six years after Batman v Superman.
With great reviews and a strong box office run, The Batman (2022) appeared to be the future of DC films. However, while The Batman is getting a sequel and an expanded universe, DC will have a new interconnected DC Universe as part of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Studios. DC Universe’s upcoming slate includes a brand new Batman movie with no connections to either Ben Affleck’s or Robert Pattison’s Batman.
The Brave & The Bold’s Batman Needs A Comic-Accurate Suit (Like Affleck’s)
The Brave and the Bold’s Batman should go for a more comic-accurate Batman suit rather than the classic Bat-armor used in the vast majority of Batman’s theatrical appearances. From Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) to Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, Batman films are used to giving Bruce Wayne a suit of armor that works within the relatively grounded tone of those movies but that does not really look like anything Batman wears in the comics. It was only in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice that Batman finally got to wear a more classic gray vest, which looked great onscreen and offered Ben Affleck’s Batman a lot more mobility.
One of the biggest problems with the “Bat-armor” is how it limits Batman’s movements, which by itself limits not only the actor and stunt actors’ performances but also how much of Batman’s skills the films can really portray. Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, for example, despite being a great adaptation, struggled with uninspired fight scenes. Another problem with the Bat-armor is how it makes different Batman versions look way too similar, as if the Dark Knight had not evolved since the Tim Burton Batman movies. Affleck’s main Bat-suit as well as his additional suits for Batman v Superman and Justice League avoided that problem.
A Comic-Accurate Bat-Suit Can Set The DC Universe’s Batman Apart From Pattinson’s
A comic-accurate Batman suit for The Brave and the Bold can set DC Universe’s new Batman apart from Robert Pattinson’s, which is essential considering that DC will have two different Batman franchises going on concurrently for the first time in history. The Batman, unlike the DCEU, went for a realistic approach to the Dark Knight in a movie that brought Batman back to his detective origins. There was nothing too fantastical or sci-fi in The Batman’s world, and such realism was translated into a return to the Bat-armor. In fact, Pattinson’s Batman suit was even more realistic than Bale’s, as the former appeared to have been crafted by Bruce himself.
Launching a new Batman iteration right after The Batman could be a risky decision, which is why the DC Universe’s The Brave and the Bold should lean into all the aspects of the caped crusader that The Batman did not. That includes more comic-bookish Batman costumes and gadgets, which might not work in a realistic Batman story but fit perfectly fine as part of a more fantastical DC Universe. DC’s new Batman will get to interact with Damian Wayne’s version of Robin, the Bat-family, and other Justice League-related characters, meaning that incorporating more stylized, less realistic suits and gadgets in The Brave and the Bold is a must.
If you’re a Destiny 2 player, you understand the importance of synergy between your weapons and armor. Exotic armor offers unique ways to create chains together to create something truly special. However, sometimes these things are incredibly broken, and the community takes as much advantage of them as possible. With the World’s First race for the new Lightfall Raid The Root of Nightmares here, Bungie had to disable a pretty powerful Warlock Exotic just minutes before the raid went live.
Warlock Exotic Gauntlets Necrotic Grip Disabled Moments Before New Destiny 2 Raid Releases
The Necrotic Grip is a Warlock gauntlet piece that is obtained from Legendary Lost Sectors. Many players were grinding heavily for them prior to the release of The Root of Nightmares.
The gauntlets in question offer the perk Grasp of Devour, which increases the damage over time done by melee attacks. IF you defeat an enemy triggered by this effect, the corruption damage will spread to nearby targets.
Edge of Intent generated energy for every tick of damage over time that Necrotic Grip was doing. Thus allowing players to spam Restorative Turrets, which constantly heal you and your team. You don’t even have actually to use the Glaive to do damage; just having it out was causing this to work.
Due to an issue, we have disabled the Necrotic Grips Exotic Warlock Gauntlets in all raids.
Players were figuring out how to manipulate this in various ways. While not really an exploit, it was enough of a problem that Bungie announced mere moments before the raid that Necrotic Grip would be disabled for the Raid. It is unclear if it will be unlocked after Contest Mode is over, as Bungie has not given additional information at this time.
This isn’t the only thing Bungie has disabled to try and keep things fair for the race. Their weekly column, This Week at Bungie, listed the following items that would be barred from entry.
Weapons
Grand Overture Exotic Machine Gun
Fighting Lion Exotic Grenade Launcher
Winterbite Exotic Glaive
Jötunn Exotic Fusion Rifle
Hierarchy of Needs Exotic Bow
Armor and Mods
Citan’s Ramparts Titan Exotic Gauntlets
Thread of Ascent Strand Fragment (will also be disabled across the entire game)
Empowered Finish Armor Mod
Bungie has had a few different fires to put out since the launch of Lightfall this week, but the team is working on fixing what they can to ensure a fair race for all involved.
Filmax has acquired international rights to “Ashes in the Sky,” the first narrative feature from director Miquel Romans.
The film is inspired by the life of Neus Català, a feminist and republican who, after fighting in the Spanish Civil War, was captured by the Nazis and sent into forced labor at a weapons factory in Czechoslovakia.
There she became the head of an anti-fascist group of women known as the Gandulas Commando, which resisted the Nazis by sabotaging the factory.
The film, based on the book of the same name by Carme Martí, stars Nausicaa Bonnín (“Dating in Barcelona”), Rachel Lascar (“Elite”), Iria del Río (“Visitor”), Thomas Sauerteig, Daniel Horvath (“The Burning Cold”), Fernando Corral, Laura Conejero, Roger Batalla, Natascha Wiese and Joaquín Caserza.
“Ashes in the Sky” is produced by Comando Gandules AIE, Institut Català de les Empreses Culturals, Principal 2 Films, TV3, Zteady Pictures and Aragón TV.
The film shot in the Spanish regions of Aragon and Catalonia, including locations near the cities of Teruel, Sabadell and Terrassa.
Romans, who is also producing the film, said, “‘Ashes in the Sky’ is a necessary film. Even though it is set during the Second World War, it is filled with light, strength and hope, and I don’t believe it will leave anyone indifferent.
“After reading the book and finding out more about the inspirational life of Neus Català, I decided that this story about a group of resilient women with a dream deserved to be depicted on the big screen as a kind of homage to their memory and to their unyielding fight against fascism and for human dignity.”
Ivan Diaz, head of international at Barcelona-based Filmax, added, “It is extremely exciting to be able to work with a film that is dedicated to the memory of such an important figure as Neus Català, who fought so tirelessly for justice and freedom. Commercially, there is always great interest in films about the Second World War, both among buyers and the public, and we are excited to be able to bring this inspirational story to young audiences around the world. It is clear that the film has been shot with a lot of care and attention to detail and the performances, especially that of Nausicaa Bonnín, are spectacular.”
Filmax will be presenting the trailer to international buyers at the Malaga Festival.
Headline-grabbing horror chiller WINNIE-THE-POOH: BLOOD & HONEYis set for select UK & Irish cinemas from 10th March including a sold out UK Premiere screening at FrightFest Glasgow.
Once upon a time in Hundred Acre Wood, Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet decided to go on a killing spree… if that doesn’t sound much like A. A. Milne’s beloved 1926 book, it’s because it’s not – it’s WINNIE-THE-POOH: BLOOD & HONEY, an unexpected re-imagining of the characters in an ingenious and irreverent new horror film, receiving its UK premiere at Frightfest Glasgow in March. Prepare to have your childhood ruined (twice – the film has caused such an online sensation that a sequel is already in the works).
Written and directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield (Firenado), and filmed in the very forest the original stories were inspired by in Sussex, WINNIE-THE-POOH: BLOOD & HONEY has everything you wouldn’t expect in a Pooh bear story – college girls on vacation, hot tub slayings, axe attacks, and thoroughly brutal, beastly behaviour from Winnie and his woodland chums. It’s intense, scary, gruesome as can be, and quite unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. Oh, and it’s not for children!
SYNOPSIS: During childhood, Christopher Robin befriended Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet and their friends, played games and fed them. But as he grew older, the visits stopped, leaving them increasingly hungry and desperate, eyeing Eeyore as food. Now Christopher has returned to the forest with his new wife hoping to introduce her to his old friends. But it sends Pooh and Piglet on a murderous scavenger hunt for human flesh when they antagonise a group of college girls on a rural cabin vacation. Will Christopher still get Pooh back on the right track?
WINNIE THE POOH: BLOOD & HONEY IS RELEASED IN SELECT UK & IRISH CINEMAS FROM 10th MARCH
AND ON OTHER DIGITAL PLATFORMS, DVD & BLU RAY FROM THIS SPRING.
The hit FX on Hulu series is set to return for a second season, with a teaser dropping during the 2023 Oscars. Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri, and the ensemble cast returns to answer what’s next for Carmy’s family restaurant.
Season 2 was first announced in July 2022, with FX entertainment president Eric Schrier saying in a statement, “‘The Bear’ has exceeded our wildest creative, critical and commercial expectations. We deeply appreciate the brilliant work led by creator and co-showrunner Christopher Storer and co-showrunner Joanna Calo. Jeremy Allen White’s lead performance is spectacular, as are those of his co-stars Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Abby Elliott, Lionel Boyce and Liza Colón-Zayas. We can’t wait to get to work on season two.”
The official logline for the 10-episode second season reads: A world away from what he’s used to, Carmy must balance the soul-crushing realities of small business ownership, his strong-willed and recalcitrant kitchen staff and his strained familial relationships, all while grappling with the impact of his brother’s suicide.
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Golden Globe winner and lead star White admitted to Vanity Fair that he was a “little bit nervous” reprising his role because of the critically acclaimed first season. “If you read too many reviews, this thing that was once ours has had so many ideas put on it,” White said. “I’m hopeful we can shut the world out a little bit.”
“The Bear” creator Storer exclusively told IndieWire that the second season will focus on Carmy gaining emotional balance with his grief. “Carmy gets some closure with his brother, but then how does he handle this going forward? How can he build something new and start from a more positive place?” Storer said.
IndieWire critic Ben Travers praised the series for drawing “simple pleasures from the pursuit of order amid the chaos, as Carmy tries to implement established methodologies in his inherited staff of veterans and upstarts. The restaurant is in debt. The books are a mess. The menu doesn’t make sense — not to Carmy, anyway — but Mikey’s entrenched staff wouldn’t change a thing. So, with a dash of difference here and a sprinkle of shifting there, Carmy starts to change the culture.”
The series won big at the WGAs and is poised to be awarded at the 2023 Emmys.
“The Bear” Season 2 premieres in June 2023.
Check out the teaser below.
It’s not a reopening, it’s a rebirth. FX’s The Bear returns this June. Only on Hulu. pic.twitter.com/S2PHlKLRzy
One of them, the Argentine film ‘Argentina, 1985,’ is nominated for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards.
The streaming studio has also produced some high profile sequels in recent years including ‘Coming 2 America’ and ‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,’as well as big budget action movies like ‘Without Remorse’ and ‘The Tomorrow War,’ and romantic comedies like ‘The People We Hate at the Wedding’ and ‘Shotgun Wedding.’
In honor of ‘Argentina, 1985’s Oscar nomination, Moviefone is counting down the 25 best Amazon Prime Video Original Movies of all time.
Let’s begin!
Amazon Studios
Doesn’t every girl dream of getting… something from Tiffany’s? On 5th Avenue in New York City, where nothing compares to the magic and excitement of the holidays, where the streets blaze with lights, and windows dazzle, a special box from Tiffany could change the course of a person’s life. Or several lives.
Rachel (Zoey Deutch) and Gary (Ray Nicholson) are happy enough but not quite ready for that big commitment. Ethan (Kendrick Sampson) and Vanessa (Shay Mitchell), the perfect picture, are just about to make it official. When a simple mix-up of gifts causes all of their paths to cross, it sets off a series of twists and unexpected discoveries that lead them where they’re truly meant to be. Because love — like life — is full of surprises.
71
PG1 hr 27 minDec 8th, 2022
Emma (Jenny Slate) and Peter (Charlie Day) thought they were on the precipice of life’s biggest moments – marriage, kids, and houses in the suburbs – until their respective partners (Scott Eastwood and Gina Rodriguez) dumped them. In their thirties and terrified that they have missed their shot at happily ever after, Emma and Peter are horrified to learn that their partners have already moved on. With no prospects on the horizon and the threat of dying alone hanging over their heads, they hatch a desperate plan to put an end to their exes’ new relationships and win them back.
“Their exes have moved on. They haven’t.”
63
R1 hr 57 minFeb 10th, 2022
In rural 1977 Georgia, a misfit girl (McKenna Grace) dreams of life in outer space. When a national competition offers her a chance at her dream, to be recorded on NASA’s Golden Record, she recruits a makeshift troupe of Birdie Scouts, forging friendships that last a lifetime and beyond. Also starring Oscar winners Viola Davis and Allison Janney.
“Show the universe who you truly are.”
70
PG1 hr 34 minJan 17th, 2020
A terminally ill man (John Cho) and his teenage daughter (Mia Isaac) embark on a road trip from California to New Orleans for his 20th college reunion. While there, he secretly hopes she can reunite with the mother (Kaya Scodelario) who left them long ago.
“Family is a trip.”
76
R1 hr 49 minJun 13th, 2022
After moving into a beautiful loft apartment in Downtown Montreal, a young couple (Sydney Sweeney and Justice Smith), find themselves becoming increasingly interested in the sex life of their eccentric neighbors across the street (Ben Hardy and Natasha Liu Bordizzo).
What starts out as an innocent curiosity slowly turns into an unhealthy obsession, after they discover that one of these neighbors is cheating on the other. Temptation and desire cause their lives to become tangled together in unexpected ways, leading to deadly consequences. Breathing new life into the forgotten genre of erotic thriller, ‘The Voyeurs’ asks the question, “Is it okay to watch?”
Three black women (Regina Hall, Zoe Renee, and Amber Gray) who strive to find their place at the celebrated Ancaster College, an elite university in New England. The school was built on the site of a Salem-era gallows hill and the ghostly legacies of Puritan-era persecution haunt the campus in an increasingly supernatural fashion.The plot examines how each of these women will — or won’t — survive in this space of privilege.
The story of Nobel Prize winner Marie Curie (Rosamund Pike) and her extraordinary scientific discoveries—through the prism of her marriage to husband Pierre (Sam Riley) and the seismic and transformative effects their discovery of radium had on the 20th century.
A mind-bending love story following Greg (Owen Wilson) who, after recently being divorced and then fired, meets the mysterious Isabel (Salma Hayek), a woman living on the streets and convinced that the polluted, broken world around them is just a computer simulation. Doubtful at first, Greg eventually discovers there may be some truth to Isabel’s wild conspiracy.
When terrorists try to seize control of a Berlin-Paris flight, a soft-spoken young American co-pilot (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) struggles to save the lives of the passengers and crew while forging a surprising connection with one of the hijackers (Omid Memar).
“The distress code is only the beginning.”
61
R1 hr 33 minJun 19th, 2020
In 1862, daredevil balloon pilot Amelia Wren (Felicity Jones) teams up with pioneering meteorologist James Glaisher (Eddie Redmayne) to advance human knowledge of the weather and fly higher than anyone in history. While breaking records and advancing scientific discovery, their voyage to the very edge of existence helps the unlikely pair find their place in the world they have left far below them. But they face physical and emotional challenges in the thin air, as the ascent becomes a fight for survival.
“Soar beyond your limits.”
68
PG-131 hr 41 minDec 20th, 2019
Amazon Studios
The inspirational true story of Opportunity, a rover that was sent to Mars for a 90-day mission but ended up surviving for 15 years. Follow Opportunity’s groundbreaking journey on Mars and the remarkable bond forged between a robot and her humans millions of miles away. The film is narrated by Angela Bassett.
“A 90-day mission becomes a 15-year journey of opportunity.”
In 1973, when Frank Bledsoe (Paul Bettany) and his 18-year-old niece Beth (Sophia Lillis) take a road trip from Manhattan to Creekville, South Carolina for the family patriarch’s (Stephen Root) funeral, they’re unexpectedly joined by Frank’s lover Walid (Peter Macdissi).
A bouncer (Kate Beckinsale) with an anger management problem goes on a furious and resentful rampage after the murder of a friend (Jai Courtney).
“You’re in for a shock.”
67
R1 hr 31 minJul 23rd, 2021
Cinderella (Camila Cabello), an orphaned girl with an evil stepmother (Idina Menzel), has big dreams and with the help of her Fabulous Godmother (Billy Porter), she perseveres to make them come true.
“One shoe to rule them all.”
65
PG1 hr 53 minSep 3rd, 2021
Anything’s Possible is a delightfully modern Gen Z coming-of-age story that follows Kelsa (Eva Reign), a confident high school girl who is trans, as she navigates through senior year. When her classmate Khal (Abubakr Ali) gets a crush on her, he musters up the courage to ask her out, despite the drama he knows it could cause. What transpires is a romance that showcases the joy, tenderness, and pain of young love. Directed by Billy Porter.
“Love isn’t ordinary.”
59
PG-131 hr 36 minJul 22nd, 2022
Amazon Studios
A dysfunctional family that can’t seem to get along and get it together reluctantly reunites for a family wedding. As their many skeletons are wrenched from the closet, it turns out to be just what this singular family needs to reconnect. Starring Kristen Bell, Ben Platt, Allison Janney, and Cynthia Addai-Robinson.
“Save the hate.”
62
R1 hr 39 minNov 18th, 2022
In Shotgun Wedding, Darcy (Jennifer Lopez) and Tom (Josh Duhamel) gather their lovable but very opinionated families for the ultimate destination wedding, just as the couple begin to get cold feet. And if that wasn’t enough of a threat to the celebration, suddenly everyone’s lives are in danger when the entire party is taken hostage. Now, Darcy and Tom must save their loved ones—if they don’t kill each other first.
When a young woman (Tessa Thompson) meets an aspiring saxophonist (Nnamdi Asomugha) in her father’s record shop in 1950s Harlem, their love ignites a sweeping romance that transcends changing times, geography, and professional success.
“Sometimes the right love comes at the wrong time.”
64
PG-131 hr 54 minDec 25th, 2020
In the late 1990s, the arrival of elderly invalid Patrick (Rupert Everett) into Marion (Gina McKee) and Tom’s (Linus Roache) home triggers the exploration of seismic events from 40 years previous: the passionate relationship between Tom (Harry Styles) and Patrick (David Dawson) at a time when homosexuality was illegal. Emma Corrin plays the younger version of Marion.
“Let it take hold of you”
80
R1 hr 53 minNov 4th, 2022
Thirteen-year-old Sam Cleary (Javon “Wanna” Walton) suspects that his mysterious and reclusive neighbor Mr. Smith (Sylvester Stallone) is actually a legend hiding in plain sight. Twenty years ago, Granite City’s super-powered vigilante, Samaritan, was reported dead after a fiery warehouse battle with his rival, Nemesis. Most believe Samaritan perished in the fire, but some in the city, like Sam, have hope that he is still alive. With crime on the rise and the city on the brink of chaos, Sam makes it his mission to coax his neighbor out of hiding to save the city from ruin.
“25 years ago the world’s greatest hero vanished.”
68
PG-131 hr 42 minAug 26th, 2022
(L to R) Chris Pratt, Edwin Hodge and Sam Richardson star in ‘The Tomorrow War.’ Property of Amazon Prime Video.
The world is stunned when a group of time travelers arrive from the year 2051 to deliver an urgent message: Thirty years in the future, mankind is losing a global war against a deadly alien species. The only hope for survival is for soldiers and civilians from the present to be transported to the future and join the fight. Among those recruited is high school teacher and family man Dan Forester (Chris Pratt). Determined to save the world for his young daughter, Dan teams up with a brilliant scientist (Yvonne Strahovski) and his estranged father (J.K. Simmons) in a desperate quest to rewrite the fate of the planet.
“The fight for tomorrow begins today.”
79
PG-132 hr 18 minJul 2nd, 2021
Prince Akeem Joffer (Eddie Murphy) is set to become King of Zamunda when he discovers he has a son (Jermaine Fowler) he never knew about in America – a street savvy Queens native named Lavelle (Leslie Jones). Honoring his royal father’s (James Earl Jones) dying wish to groom this son as the crown prince, Akeem and Semmi (Arsenio Hall) set off to America once again.
When a squad of Russian soldiers kills his family in retaliation for his role in a top-secret op, Sr. Chief John Kelly (Michael B. Jordan) pursues the assassins at all costs. Joining forces with a fellow SEAL (Jodie Turner-Smith) and a shadowy CIA agent (Jamie Bell), Kelly’s mission unwittingly exposes a covert plot that threatens to engulf the U.S. and Russia in an all-out war. Torn between personal honor and loyalty to his country, Kelly must fight his enemies without remorse if he hopes to avert disaster and reveal the powerful figures behind the conspiracy.
“From the author of Rainbow Six.”
71
R1 hr 49 minApr 29th, 2021
In the 1980s, a team of lawyers takes on the heads of Argentina’s bloody military dictatorship in a battle against odds and a race against time. Starring Ricardo Darin, Peter Lanzani, and Alejandra Flechner.
Sacha Baron Cohen as Borat Margaret Sagdiyev in Prime Video’s ‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.’
14 years after making a film about his journey across the USA, Borat (Sacha Baron Cohen) risks life and limb when he returns to the United States with his young daughter (Maria Bakalova), and reveals more about the culture, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the political elections.
“Delivery of prodigious bribe to American regime for make benefit once glorious nation of Kazakhstan.”
“You know, when I started as a kid, it was my birth name Ke Huy Quan,” he said. “And then I remember, when it got really tough, my manager told me, ‘Maybe it would be easier if you were to have an American-sounding name.’ And I was so desperate for a job that I would do anything. And it’s insane that I, at one point, would try a different name, not the name that was given to me, but it can only show you how desperate I was to try to make things different.”
But when Quan decided to return to acting three years ago after a long fallow period in which he could not find any work, he determinedly used his real name. In doing so, he felt he had honored his mother who had sacrificed so much for him.
“The very first thing that I wanted to do was to go back to my birth-given name,” he said. “Tonight to see Ariana [DeBose] open that envelope and say, ‘Ke Huy Quan,’ that was a really, really special moment for me. And then immediately I was so emotional, but the first image that I had in my mind was my mom — who is the reason why I am in America, who is the reason why I have a better life, I have all these opportunities. Like I said in my acceptance speech, she sacrificed so much. She had a great life where we came from, and she gave all that up so that all her children — there are nine of us — and every single one of them are so grateful to my parents.”
Quan also noted that his Goonies co-stars have been especially supportive of his career resurgence. He starred as a wacky invention geek named Data in the much-loved 1983 film. Asked what his younger self would make of where he is now, he said: “My younger self would not know all the struggles that I went through to be here. He was just having the time of his life being a kid, being on a set, being on a pirate ship, going on a water slide. But right before this night started, Corey Feldman, one of my Goonies brothers, called. I was talking to Kerri Green, and of course tonight Jeff Cohen, who is my entertainment lawyer [and played Chunk in the film], is here with me. He was in the audience. I owe all of them so much. Every single one of them is so happy. Sean [Astin] reached out, Josh [Brolin], Martha [Plimpton], and we are always bonded. We’re family forever. Goonies never say die.”
Tonight at the 95th Academy Awards, Lenny Kravitz was on hand to perform during the annual “In Memoriam” tribute segment. To pay homage to those the film industry lost in the past year, Kravitz performed “Calling All Angels,” his song from the 2004 album Baptism. Watch it happen below.
This year’s tribute honored the late Olivia Newton-John, Vangelis, Jean-Luc Godard, James Caan, Ray Liotta, and Angelo Badalamenti. Also named in the “In Memoriam” segment were Irene Cara, Burt Bacharach, Angela Lansbury, Robbie Coltrane, Kirstie Alley, Tom Whitlock, Mary Alice, Gina Lollobrigida, and Douglas Kirkland, among others.
As she accepted her award, she joked that she was grateful to the Academy for not being offended by the words “women” and “talking” together.
“First of all, I just want to thank The Academy for not being mortally offended by the words ‘women’ and ‘talking’ put so close together like that. Cheers,” she said.
She also gave mention to fellow Canadian, Miriam Toews, who wrote the 2018 novel of the same name, which inspired the film.
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“Miriam Toews wrote an essential novel about a radical democracy in which people who don’t agree on every single issue managed to sit together in a room and carve out a way forward together free of violence. They do so not just by talking but also by listening,” she added.
Polley’s feature film directorial debut Away From Her was also nominated in this category in 2008, but she lost out to Joel and Ethan Coen’s No Country For Old Men.
Based on a true story, Women Talking explores a remote religious colony where the male elders use a series of excuses to explain away years of drugged sexual assaults on the group’s women and girls, leaving many pregnant or dead.
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When the men responsible for the assaults are caught and put in custody, the women must decide whether to stay within the community or leave.
The story mirrors similar events that took place in a Manitoba Mennonite Colony in Bolivia.
“We felt like we were part of a movement, not a movie,” Polley said in an interview last year after the world premiere of Women Talking.
Sarah Polley attends the 95th Annual Academy Awards on March 12, 2023 in Hollywood, California.
Kayla Oaddams / WireImage
“There’s something essential that we feel is a conversation that should be part of our world, and we want to be part of it with every part of our being.”
In the male-dominated film industry, Polley said she was grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with so many talented women, but noted that people of all genders helped bring the film’s conversation to the big screen.
“Everyone on the cast and crew came to this in such a generous spirit,” she said. “It wasn’t just the women on set who wanted to bring those experiences of abuse and of feeling powerless, and of moving through it and a building a better life and hopefully a better world.”
Polley, who got her start as a child actor and rose to become an acclaimed writer and director, was competing against films Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Living, Top Gun: Maverick and All Quiet on the Western Front.
Polley was also up for the Oscar for Best Picture for the same film.
Canadian filmmaker Sarah Polley on ‘Woman Talking’
Kendall Jenner slayed the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscars after-party on March 12. The 27-year-old supermodel rocked an incredible gold scaled look as she worked the red carpet at the iconic event. The gown featured a plunging back design, and Kendall paired the look with chic strappy sandals and a huge smile. She wore her famous brunette locks in a lovely updo and, as usual, her natural yet glam makeup look was on point.
Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock
Kendall has been rocking a slew of stylish outfits lately and just recently she wore a black Alaïa Asymmetric wool-blend jumpsuit that was skintight and had one three-quarter sleeve while the other was sleeveless. The skintight jumpsuit was made from 71% wool, 19% viscose, 9% polyester, and 1% polyamide. One leg was covered in a tight pant with a wide-leg ruffled hem while her other leg was left completely bare.
Another one of our favorite recent looks from Kendall was at Milan Fashion Week when she wore a stunning brown and white satin Prada midi dress. The short-sleeve dress featured a plunging, hip-high slit on the side of her skirt that revealed her long leg, and she accessorized with a pair of pointed-toe brown The Row Kitten Pumps and a white leather The Row 90S Bag.
When Kendall isn’t dressed up, she is usually dressed down in lingerie or a bikini and she recently posted photos and videos of herself getting prepared for bed while wearing a sexy black lingerie set. Kendall posted the slideshow with the caption, “Gnight,” and in one video, Kendall wore a black underwire balconette bra that revealed some cleavage and put her insanely toned abs and tiny waist on display.
She styled the bra with a pair of matching, high-waisted black panties. In another video, she went completely topless while covering up her chest with just her arm as she gave the camera some sultry faces.
Photos and videos captured by the Samsung Galaxy S23 phones could be significantly better in the future: there are rumors of a new update arriving in the near future that will boost camera performance and fix a few bugs.
This comes from well-respected tipster Ice Universe (opens in new tab) (via PhoneArena (opens in new tab)), who says that the “camera optimization” update will be a “big” one. The same source has previously highlighted perceived problems in HDR performance on the Galaxy S23.
In the interests of balance, we should point out that we were pretty pleased with the S23 cameras – the Galaxy S23 scored 4/5 for its cameras in our review, while the Galaxy S23 Ultra recorded an even better 4.5/5 in our testing.
Can Samsung fix it?
As our reviews show, these are clearly phones with great cameras, although a variety of issues have been reported on Reddit (opens in new tab). It’s difficult to establish how widespread these problems are, though they certainly seem to be affecting some users.
For the time being it’s not clear exactly what improvements and fixes the rumored update is going to bring, but if you’ve been noticing subpar results from your own Galaxy S23 handset, the coming software patch might be enough to fix them.
The Galaxy S23 and the Galaxy S23 Plus are both fitted with a triple-lens 50MP+12MP+10MP rear camera and a 12MP selfie camera on the front. The Galaxy S23 Ultra has the same selfie camera, but features a quad-lens 108MP+12MP+10MP+10MP camera module on the back.
Analysis: modern phones are never finished
Whether it’s Android 13 or iOS 16, we’re now used to annual software updates rolling out for our smartphones – updates that add new features and functionality while smoothing out bugs and glitches, so our handsets get more capable over time.
That’s now extended to mobile photography as well, as this new leak shows. Nothing changes in terms of the physical hardware fitted inside the Galaxy S23 or any other smartphone, but tweaks to the underlying code can mean that photos and videos end up looking better than ever before.
It’s a sign of the computational photography that smartphones are now capable of: it’s not just about the amount of information captured by the camera lenses, it’s also about how that information is processed and refined to produce an end result. That processing can be improved with software updates.
If your phone camera isn’t giving you photos and videos that you’re perfectly happy with, another option is to dive into the many free editing apps that are available on mobile – not least the default Google Photos and Apple Photos options.
FX’s The Bearis returning to Hulu in June. The premiere month was revealed in a Season 2 teaser during Sunday’s 95th annual Academy Awards, though an exact date is being kept under wraps for now.
The teaser hints at a rebirth for The Original Beef of Chicagoland, the iconic family run restaurant at the center of the story. At the end of Season 1, Jeremy Allen White‘s Carmy closed The Beef to open a new restaurant.
“It’s not a reopening, it’s a rebirth,” reads FX’s caption for the short trailer. Watch the clip above.
The Bear follows Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (White), a young chef from the fine dining world, who comes home to Chicago to run his family sandwich shop – The Original Beef of Chicagoland – after a heartbreaking death in his family. A world away from what he’s used to, Carmy must balance the soul-crushing realities of small business ownership, his strong-willed and recalcitrant kitchen staff, and his strained familial relationships, all while grappling with the impact of his brother’s suicide.
Season 2 will increase from 8 episodes to 10. It stars White alongside Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Abby Elliott, Lionel Boyce and Liza Colón-Zayas.
The series was created by Christopher Storer, who also serves as executive producer alongside Joanna Calo, Hiro Murai, and Nate Matteson of Super Frog and Josh Senior, with Tyson Bidner serving as producer and Matty Matheson as co-producer. The series is produced by FX Productions.
Series star White recently earned a Golden Globe for Best Actor In a TV Comedy Series for his portrayal of Carmy.
Lifetime and A&E to Simulcast Documentary Special “TLC Forever”
Known for their powerful and award-winning documentary storytelling, Lifetime and A&E will simulcast the new two-hour documentary TLC Forever, chronicling the journey of the top-selling American female group of all time who led the way with their music, message, and their style. The special documents the revolutionary group that broke boundaries, influenced an entire generation and survived against all odds as T-Boz and Chilli tell their story for the first time in a feature documentary. TLC Forever is directed by Matthew Kay and is executive-produced by Academy Award-winning and Emmy Award-winning director Roger Ross Williams (The Apollo) and his production company with Emmy®️ Award-winning producer Geoff Martz, One Story Up. TLC Forever will simulcast on Lifetime and A&E on Saturday, June 3rd at 8pm ET/PT.
Formed in Atlanta, Georgia in 1990, TLC consisted of Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas. Having sold over 85 million records worldwide, the group enjoyed success, scoring nine top-ten hits and winning over 35 major awards including Video of the Year Award for “Waterfalls” Billboard Hot 100, including four number-one singles “Creep”, “Waterfalls”, “No Scrubs”, and “Unpretty”.
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Accolades include nine top-ten hits, four career Grammy®️ Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards, and five Soul Train Music Awards.
However the glow of success was accompanied by darkness, controversy and tragedy, as TLC balanced worldwide fame and massive notoriety against internal fallouts, external attacks, bankruptcy, and illness. When Left Eye died tragically in 2002, the group faced not only immense pain and an uncertain future but also felt abandoned by the entertainment industry despite iconic achievements. Against all odds and through all the struggles, the group persevered with courage, love and unity, forging a new path to success, including launching a new tour slated for summer 2023. Williams’ recent work includes HBO’s The Apollo, which won an Emmy®️ in 2020 for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special, Emmy-nominated VR Experience Travelling While Black, and Academy Award-nominated and Emmy®️ Award-winning Life, Animated. Williams was the first African American director to win an Academy Award for his film Music By Prudence.
Kay is an award-winning British documentary director, who over the past decade, has directed and shot a variety of projects for broadcasters such as BBC and platforms like Netflix. Most recently, his documentary Little Miss Sumo was acquired by Netflix.
TLC Forever is produced by One Story Up and Lauren Fulton for Lifetime and A&E Network. Executive producers for One Story Up are Roger Ross Williams and Geoff Martz. Executive producers for TLC are Tionne Watkins, Rozonda Thomas, Bill Diggins for Diggit Entertainment Group and Rick Krim. Executive Producers for A+E Networks are Elaine Frontain Bryant and Brad Abramson.
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“TLC Forever” will be available on demand and to stream on the Lifetime and A&E apps as well as on lifetime.com and aetv.com
About A&E Network
A&E leads the cultural conversation through high quality, thought provoking original programming with a unique point of view. Whether it’s the network’s distinctive brand of award-winning disruptive reality, or groundbreaking documentary, A&E always makes entertainment an art. The A&E website is located at aetv.com. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/aetv and Facebook at Facebook.com/AETV. For more press information and photography please visit us at press.aenetworks.com.
About Lifetime
Celebrating over 35 years of entertaining audiences, Lifetime is a premier entertainment destination for women dedicated to offering the highest quality original programming spanning award-winning movies, high-quality scripted series and breakout non-fiction series. Lifetime has an impressive legacy in public affairs, bringing attention to social issues that women care about with initiatives such as the long-running Stop Breast Cancer for Life, Stop Violence Against Women, and Broader Focus, a major global initiative dedicated to supporting and hiring female directors, writers and producers, including women of color, to make its content. Lifetime Television®️, LMN®️, Lifetime Real Women®️ and Lifetime Digital™️ are part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, LLC, a subsidiary of A+E Networks. A+E Networks is a joint venture of the Disney- ABC Television Group and Hearst Corporation.
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As we all look forward to Awards Season, we also look forward to the many stunning outfits these shows will bring, Awards Season brings out the best in fashion from all of Hollywood and their stylists, and we saw some incredible outfits on the red carpet this year at each Award show.
Two time Oscar nominee and Emmy nominated actor Andrew Garfield is best known for playing Peter Parker in “The Amazing Spider-Man” movies, Desmond Doss in Hacksaw Ridge, Jonathan Larson in Tick, Tick… Boom! and Eduardo Saverin in “The Social Network”. Garfield has also won a Tony for his role in “Angels In America”, a BAFTA for his performance in Boy A and a Golden Globe for “Tick, Tick… Boom!” so Andrew Garfield is no stranger to Awards Season.
In 2021 and 2022 we saw him go through something of an Andrew Garfield rennaisaince. In 2021 alone Garfield starred in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” opposite Jessica Chastain, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” opposite Tobey Maguire and Tom Holland and in “Tick, Tick… Boom!” directed by Lin Manuel Miranda. In 2022 after a busy Awards Season, Garfield jumped straight into promotion for his new miniseries FX’S “Under The Banner of Heaven” in which he plays a mormon detective named Jeb Pyre, this has earned him several nominations this year.
It’s a well known fact that actor Andrew Garfield is a staple of men’s fashion. As always, every event he goes to he excudes Best Dressed Man energy. His polished, elegant and contemporary sense of style have given us some memorable outfits from over the years. If Garfield has proven one thing, it’s that he can pull off any color, he excudes charisma when he enters the room and when he is seen on the red carpet, which helps him pull off any look he is wearing. Garfield never likes to stick to the same thing, never in a simple black suit and tie, he always brings the colors, the cut and the style. Usually paired with different accessories and footwear that complement his look. He is a fan of wearing stylish sunglasses on the red carpet.
Courtesy of Getty Images
Courtesy of Getty Images
Courtesy of Getty Images
Aside from just Awards Season we see Garfield dressed up for any occasion, be it a talk show or simply walking down the street, but thats a story for another day. “I love self expression through clothing.” says Andrew Garfield. His secret weapon, his stylist Warren Alfie Baker, who is known for dressing some of Hollywood’s leading men.
With Garfield’s stunning fashion sense and Baker’s carefully curated vibrant and elegant wardrobe for Awards Season, Andrew Garfield continued to stun on the red carpet.
Golden Globes
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Andrew Garfield wore a full ZEGNA outfit — a rust orange suit paired with a black dress shirt and black velvet loafers. A David Yurman ring and OMEGA Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M Co-Axial Master Chronometer 38 mm timepiece completed his look. He was named one of the best dressed at the Golden Globes by Vogue. Esquire, and GQ.
Critics Choice Awards
Courtesy of Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Andrew wore a Zegna tan suit, with a button down shirt tucked into wool trousers. Paired with an Omega watch and cream suede loafers by Christian Louboutin alongside red socks. With an Omega watch and a Tiffany & Co ring.
Screen Actors Guild Awards
Courtesies of Getty Images
For this occasion Andrew went with “a look that feels clean, classic and appropriate to the occasion” according to Baker. Garfield wore a double breasted, navy custom tuxedo from Valrntono. The outfit included include an Omega De Ville Prestige watch and a David Yurman ring and necklace. As this was a very important occasion since Garfield was asked to present his Amazing Spider-Man co star Sally Field with the lifetime achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild, Andrew wanted the focus to be on her. Baker spoke on the importance of that moment and how Andrew felt about finding the perfect outfit for the occasion in an exclusive interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “That’s going to be a really special moment, and Andrew is very aware of that. We didn’t want to do anything too crazy, because we wanted to be respectful of the moment. Sally is an absolute icon, so our conversation started with that in mind.”
and lastly, The 95th Academy Awards
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After having been nominated for his role in “Tick, Tick… Boom! in 2022, Andrew returned as a presenter this year alongside fellow Marvel actor Florence Pugh.
For the Oscars, Andrew kept it chic according to Baker, wearing a cutom Fendi suit paired with an Omega watch and David Yurman jewellry.
This awards season Andrew proved he truly is a star of style by winning the looks of everyone, whenever he walked into a room. Garfield is helping with the evolution of red carpet menswear; making it interesting for everyone, moving past simple suits, with the help of Baker.
Rihanna took the stage at the Oscars on Sunday for a rousing rendition of her Black Panther: Wakanda Forever song, “Lift Me Up.”
The performance was straightforward but powerful, as Rihanna belted the moving ballad while backed by a full orchestra. The performance received a touching introduction from Wakanda Forever‘s Danai Gurira, who noted that “Lift Me Up” was penned in honor of late Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman.
Her single from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever song is up for Best Original Song, marking Rihanna’s first Oscar nomination. “Lift Me Up” — which Rihanna wrote with Tems, Ludwig Göransson, and Ryan Coogler — is up against Sofia Carson and Diane Warren’s “Applause” (from Tell It Like a Woman), Lady Gaga and BloodPop’s “Hold My Hand” (from Top Gun: Maverick), M.M. Keeravani’s “Naatu Naatu,” (from RRR), and Ryan Lott, David Byrne, and Mitski’s “This Is a Life.”
After more than five years away from the concert stage, Rihanna has been making waves in the performance spotlight. Prior to her big Oscars appearance, she made a stellar return with her Super Bowl halftime performance last month, where she also revealed she was pregnant.
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Days after her triumphant halftime show, she talked about when her now mythic album, dubbed R9, might arrive. “I want it to be this year. Like, honestly, it’d be ridiculous if it’s not this year. But I just want to have fun. I just want to make music and make videos… And I need the right background music with the visuals,” she said during an interview with Vogue UK. “I can’t just go shoot a video to me talking.”
While Rihanna has not given specifics on the release date, whenever her ninth album drops, it will be the much-anticipated follow-up to 2016’s Anti. Beyond “Lift Me Up,” Rihanna also released “Born Again,” which plays during as the end credits roll for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
