News Analysis India

Tag: Oscars

  • ‘CODA’ gains Oscar momentum with top prize at PGA Awards 

    By PTI

    LOS ANGELES: CODA won the top prize at Saturday night’s Producers Guild Awards, giving momentum to the possibility that the small film could have a big night at next week’s Oscars.

    The story of three adult family members who are deaf and a fourth who is not and seeks a singing career beat out bigger contenders including “The Power of the Dog”, “Dune” and “West Side Story” to take an award that more often than not goes on to win the Academy Award for best picture.

    “This movie has been an amazing ride, it was such a special one to make, there was so much love and so much heart put into it,” said Fabrice Gianfermi as he accepted the award with his “CODA” co-producers Philippe Rousselet and Patrick Wachsberger at the 33rd PGA Awards.

    An American Sign Language translator, who had been off to one side of the stage throughout the night’s speeches, stood front and centre during the ‘CODA’ acceptance and another stood in front of the stage to translate for the three actors from the film who are deaf: Troy Kotsur, Marlee Matlin and Daniel Durant.

    “CODA”, an acronym for “children of deaf adults”, is nominated for three Oscars at the March 27 ceremony, including best adapted screenplay for writer-director Sian Heder and best-supporting actor for Kotsur, who is expected by most to become the first actor who is deaf since Matlin in 1987 to win an Oscar.

    After it won best ensemble at last month’s Screen Actors Guild Awards it began to appear “CODA” could get real consideration for best picture. The odds may be getting better.

    The top PGA award winner has gone on to win the top Oscar in three of the past four years and 10 of the past 13 Academy Award voting closes Tuesday.

    The PGA Awards, an untelevised show from the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles honouring producers of film and television, is as much like a company awards banquet as a typical awards show, with no speeches cut short for time or curses bleeped out.

    “Producing some s–t is really f—–g hard,” said Issa Rae, producer of “Insecure” and “A Black Lady Sketch Show” as she accepted the guild’s Visionary Award.

    Ninety-year-old Rita Moreno, star of both the 1961 and 2021 versions of “West Side Story”, accepted the guild’s Stanley Kramer Award, which honours someone who has combined a career of artistry and activism.

    “This business has taken tenacity and hard work,” Moreno said.

    “Advocating for issues of social justice for the last 60 years, it’s been exhausting, exhilarating and life-giving. Moreno said the night itself was both joyful and exhausting after taking the stage at 11 pm local time, nearly three hours into the show. I was really getting tired,” she said.

    “My buttocks are a bit sore.”

    George Lucas and Kathleen Kennedy, stewards of the Star Wars universe and producers of many other notable motion pictures, were honoured for their careers with the PGA’s Milestone Award.

    Presenter Steven Spielberg, whose films have been produced by both Lucas and Kennedy, called them “two titans” who are “still just like kids playing in a sandbox.

    Lucas acknowledged that his favourite achievement may not be the most popular among his peers, including the one who introduced him Saturday.

    “The thing I’m the most proud of is digital cinema. That was something that I worked on for 20 years. Spent many many millions of dollars to make it happen,” Lucas said.

    “Some still don’t believe in it. Where’s Steven?” Spielberg, standing in the wings, acted out the operation of a traditional film camera, to laughs from the crowd. But we’re all friends,” Lucas said.

    “Summer of Soul” won the PGA’s documentary film category and ‘Encanto’ won the award for animated movies. Both are also nominated for Oscars.

    In the PGA’s television categories, awards went to the producers of “Succession”, “Mare of Easttown” and “Ted Lasso”.

    Greg Berlanti, the producer of shows including “Dawson’s Creek” and several series from the DC comic universe, was given the guild’s Norman Lear Award and was praised for advancing LGBTQ characters and storylines.

    Outgoing co-presidents of the guild Gail Berman and Lucy Fisher were tearful as they expressed joy that they could finally see their gathered peers in person after two years during which the pandemic forced the show to go virtual.

    They praised their fellow producers for keeping the industry alive during their tough tenure.

    “Hollywood loves a comeback story,” Fisher said, “and boy, yours is one for the ages.

  • Oscars: Lady Gaga, Zoe Kravitz, Kevin Costner Among Presenters

    By IANS

    LOS ANGELES: The Oscars announced Thursday the first six presenters for the 94th Academy Awards.The list so far includes Kevin Costner (director winner for 1990’s ‘Dances With Wolves’), Lady Gaga (original song winner for 2018’s ‘A Star is Born’), Youn Yuh-jung (supporting actress winner for 2020’s ‘Minari’), Rosie Perez (supporting actress nominee for 1993’s ‘Fearless’), Chris Rock (‘Everybody Hates Chris’) and Zoe Kravitz (‘The Batman’), reports variety.com.”Movies inspire us, entertain us and unite us across the globe,” said Oscars producer Will Packer. “That’s the precise goal of the show this year, and we’re thrilled to welcome the first of a stellar lineup joining the Oscars stage to help us celebrate the power of film and honour the year’s best in filmmaking.”Last year’s ceremony went without a host, in what the Academy called an “ensemble” format. This year’s ceremony will be hosted by the comic trio of Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer and Regina Hall, with additional presenters to be announced in the coming weeks.On Wednesday, Gaga also signed on to co-host the Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards viewing party with Billy Porter, Eric McCormack and David Furnish. The 94th Oscars will air live on March 27 and will be held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

  • 2022 Oscars: AMPAS decides to present 8 awards before live telecast 

    By PTI

    LOS ANGELES: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has decided that winners for eight categories will be presented off air during the 2022 Oscars, a move that received instant backlash from the artistic community and the public.

    On Tuesday, Academy President David Rubin sent a letter to the nominees and AMPAS members, informing them of the changes that are intended to improve the dwindling viewership numbers of the Oscars broadcast.

    The 94th Academy Awards will begin an hour earlier to present eight awards categories — Documentary Short, Film Editing, Make-up and Hairstyling, Original Score, Production Design, Animated Short, Live Action Short, and Sound — before the live telecast starts.

    The presentations for these categories will be included later in the live broadcast, reported Variety.

    “After carefully listening to feedback and suggestions from our film community, our network partner, and all those who love the Oscars, it was evident we needed to make some decisions about the broadcast that are in the best interest of the future of our show and our organisation,” Rubin wrote in the letter.

    “When deciding how to produce the Oscars, we recognise it’s a live event television show and we must prioritise the television audience to increase viewer engagement and keep the show vital, kinetic, and relevant. This has been an important focus of discussion for quite some time. We do this while also remembering the importance of having our nominees relish a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” he added.

    Rubin further said the changes will allow organisers more time and opportunity for “audience entertainment and engagement through comedy, musical numbers, film clip packages and movie tributes”.

    He acknowledged that the changes could invite a backlash but he stated that the goal was to find a “balance in which nominees, winners, members, and viewing audience all have a rewarding show experience”.

    “Moving forward we will assess this change and will continue to look for additional ways to make our show more entertaining and more thrilling for all involved, inside the Dolby Theatre and watching from home,” he added.

    As Rubin predicted, the decision was not taken well by the public with actors Melanie Lynskey and Patton Oswalt criticising the changes.

    “Don’t Look Up” star Lynskey said that she wants to see the winners of all 23 categories announced during the live telecast.

    “I love acceptance speeches. I love craftspeople being honoured for what they do. Production design is the category I’m most excited about this year (except for Best Actress because anything could happen!!) I want to see all of the awards #AcademyAwards” she tweeted.

    I love acceptance speeches. I love craftspeople being honoured for what they do. Production design is the category I’m most excited about this year (except for Best Actress because anything could happen!!) I want to see all of the awards #AcademyAwards
    — Melanie Lynskey (@melanielynskey) February 23, 2022
    Oswalt called the Academy’s move “dumb and disrespectful”.

    “NONE of these categories are being televised? You’re giving in to short-term ratings panic and forgetting what The Oscars are all about. PLEASE re-think this, and televise these categories. You’ll be bragging about having this footage in the future. BE about the future, not about the present, ephemeral froth of clicks and likes. Please,” he wrote in a thread on Twitter.

    Many social media users also voiced their disappointment over the changes.

    Using the hashtag #PresentAll23, one user wrote, “I can’t wait until ABC and the academy board realise that most people do not give a single f**k about awards, including the #Oscars.

    It’s our little bubble and the industry that care the most. This decision is 50 shades of STUPID.

    “Another person tweeted, “Wow it’s almost like the Oscars aren’t really about honoring quality filmmaking and are just about celebrities and PR.”

    One Twitterati called the changes “the ultimate insult to the art of filmmaking”.

    “Without score, makeup, hair, editing, sound, production design you would have nothing. Why distort the show? ARE YOU REALLY going to Edit Joe Walker and Hank Corwin and Myron Kerstein? #Oscars” the person wrote.

    This is not the first time that the Academy has attempted at bumping certain categories out of the live broadcast.

    In 2018, the AMPAS had announced that four Oscar awards would be presented during commercial breaks for the 91st Academy Awards.

    At the time, filmmakers Alfonso Cuaron and Guillermo del Toro were among those who had criticised the organisation for the decision.

    Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer and Regina Hall will host the 94th edition of the Academy Awards, which will be held on March 27.

  • Oscars to present eight awards off air in a bid for streamlined telecast

    By IANS

    LOS ANGELES: Eight honours from the 94th Academy Awards will not be doled out on air in order to make the show more streamlined and more television-friendly as awards from eight categories will be presented during off-air parts of the show and then edited into the telecast.For the aforementioned category of awards which include the documentary short, film editing, makeup and hairstyling, original score, production design, animated short, live-action short and sound, the ceremony will start one hour before the on-camera portion begins in order to accommodate the changes, reports ‘Variety’.As per ‘Variety’, clips of the speeches will be packaged into the live televised broadcast, an approach to what the Tony Awards and other televised ceremonies did with awards in technical categories. Nominees in the awards categories that will be awarded prior to the show were informed of the overhaul during a Zoom call on Tuesday (United States Pacific Standard Time).The 94th edition of the awards show is under immense pressure to bolster ratings from the television network ABC. The pressure comes following last year’s ceremony, which turned out to be the least-watched in the history of the awards, with just 9.23 million viewers tuning in to watch the ceremony, a 51 per cent drop from the 18.69 million viewers who switched on the previous year’s Oscars.”After carefully listening to feedback and suggestions from our film community, our network partner, and all those who love the Oscars, it was evident we needed to make some decisions about the broadcast that are in the best interest of the future of our show and our organisation,” Academy President David Rubin wrote in a letter that went out to the group’s membership, accessed by ‘Variety’.”We realise these kinds of changes can prompt concern about equity, and we ask you to understand our goal has been to find a balance in which nominees, winners, members, and viewing audience all have a rewarding show experience,” the statement further read.”Moving forward we will assess this change and will continue to look for additional ways to make our show more entertaining and more thrilling for all involved, inside the Dolby Theatre and watching from home,” Rubin concluded his statement.

  • COVID-19 vaccination required for Oscar nominees, guests, but not for performers, presenters

    By ANI

    WASHINGTON: This year’s Oscars, which will take place on March 27, will require proof of COVID-19 vaccination for most of the people in the audience at the show, but not for its performers and presenters.

    According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decided on Thursday that nominees and guests must show proof of vaccination and two negative PCR tests, as first reported by a news outlet.

    However, while a production like the Oscars has the option of mandating vaccinations for its cast and crew, the Academy will rely on testing alone for presenters and performers, adhering to COVID safety protocols set by LA County’s Department of Health.

    This is a change from the policy that was first reported on February 9, in which the Academy was not planning to require proof of vaccination for nominees and guests.

    Face covering requirements will also vary, with some of the 2,500 guests at the Dolby Theatre allowed to go maskless and others seated in tighter spots remaining masked. Nominees and guests will be seated in portions of the theater not requiring masks.

    Other major awards shows leading up to the Oscars are requiring 100 per cent of their attendees to be vaccinated, including the SAG Awards on February 27 and the Critics Choice Awards on March 13.

    Joey Berlin, COO of the Critics Choice Association, previously told The Hollywood Reporter, “We will be 100 percent vaccinated and require a negative PCR test within 48 hours of the event. I can’t invite people to a show where they’re not going to feel safe.”

  • Amy Schumer, Regina Hall, Wanda Sykes to host Oscars this year

    By IANS

    LOS ANGELES: Comic artistes Amy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes are in talks to host the 94th Academy Awards, reports Variety.The producer for the awards, Will Packer, has been in meetings for weeks trying to find the right recipe for Hollywood’s biggest night. As per Variety, scenarios that ‘Girls Trip’ filmmaker Packer had been toying with included a three-act structure, which would showcase a different pair of emcees every hour.A laundry list of top talent has met with Packer over the past weeks, including ‘Mad Men’ star Jon Hamm who exited talks over the weekend, sources told Variety. A formal announcement with regards to the hosts will be done on Good Morning America’ on Tuesday (U.S. Pacific Standard Time). Amy Schumer posted an Instagram slideshow with some of her biggest career highlights, with the ominous caption ‘Big fun news comin.’ (sic)’, on Sunday.Packer, who has been entrusted with injecting the excitement back to the festivities to boost the viewership, has found his best line up in Sykes, Hall and Schumer. Packer has selected an all-female team with broad appeal and comedic chops

  • Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer, Regina Hall to host Oscars 2022

    By PTI

    LOS ANGELES: Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer and Regina Hall will host the 94th edition of the Academy Awards.

    The Oscars are returning to an emcee format for the first time since 2018, reported Deadline. The news is expected to be announced officially Tuesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America”.

    ABC is the broadcast partner for the awards ceremony, which will be held on March 27.

    The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who is the organiser of the annual honours, declined comment on the host news.

    The 2022 Oscars are being produced by Will Packer, whose long list of hit TV and film successes includes “Girls Trip”, which starred Hall among its ensemble.

    With the addition of comedy veterans Sykes and Schumer, it seems the producers are hoping to add some humour to the show. It is currently unclear how the duties will be distributed among the trio.

    Last year’s telecast ceremony was the lowest-rated ever, hampered by pandemic constraints and held with reduced capacity at Los Angeles’ Union Station instead of its normal home at the Dolby Theatre.

    This time Oscars return to full capacity at the Dolby as the latest Omicron variant continues to subside.

    Last week, it was confirmed that the Academy will not be requiring shots, just a recent negative test, to attend.

    Jane Campion’s Western “The Power of the Dog”, a psychological drama set in the director’s native New Zealand, is leading the race to the 2022 Oscars with 12 nominations, followed by Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of “Dune” with 10.

  • Oscar 2022 ceremony: Attendees not required to provide COVID-19 vaccination proof

    By ANI

    WASHINGTON: After a 2021 ceremony that saw the Academy Awards downsize to a smaller gathering at Los Angeles’ Union Station, the Oscars will return to its traditional setting and also will not require in-person attendees to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19.

    According to Variety, the Oscars will return to its traditional setting in the Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard for its upcoming ceremony on March 27. It is not yet known if the audience size might be reduced this year.

    Amid the rise in COVID-19 cases, the 2021 ceremony featured strict COVID-19 testing and masking policies for in-person attendees, in accordance with health and safety protocols. Since then, vaccines against the virus have become widely available to the general public.

    This year, although the Academy will suggest attendees to be vaccinated, the 2022 Oscars ceremony will also require attendees to be tested prior to attending, with unvaccinated guests having additional and more stringent testing requirements, Variety has learned.

    Under this rule, the Academy is technically complying with Los Angeles County’s policy on “indoor mega-events,” which require either full vaccination status or day-of negative COVID-19 tests to all attendees ages 2 and older.

    ALSO READ: ‘Ant-Man’ star Evangeline Lilly opposes US vaccine mandates: I’m pro-choice

    The Academy has yet to release an official COVID-19 policy for its upcoming ceremony. Reports indicate that the Academy may have elected to take a less strict position on vaccination status as a no-entry policy could have prevented some unvaccinated nominees or presenters from attending the ceremony.

    However, other awards events this season, such as the Screen Actors Guild and Critics Choice Association, are still requiring attendees to provide proof of vaccination for their ceremonies.

    L.A. County has still not lifted its indoor mask mandate.

    Variety informed that on Tuesday, public health director Barbara Ferrer indicated barring extremely low case levels, the earliest time that masks requirements would likely be reversed is late April; that means after the ’27 March 2022′ Academy Awards’ ceremony date. 

  • Oscar nominees share their joy over being on the coveted ‘list’

    By IANS

    LOS ANGELES: Now that the much-awaited nominations for the 23 categories of the Academy Awards a.k.a. the Oscars have been announced, reactions are coming in from those who have made the cut.

    Kirsten Dunst, who earned a Best Support Actress nomination for her work in ‘The Power of the Dog’, told Variety: “It feels so good to be honoured by the community you’ve worked in for so long.”

    Nicole Kidman, who has landed a Best Actress nomination for playing yesteryear’s comedy queen Lucille Ball in ‘Being The Ricardos’, responded to her fifth nomination by saying the excitement to find her name on the coveted list has grown over the years for her.

    “It’s a thousand times more [exciting],” she said. “I don’t know if that’s age or having a 13-year-old and an 11-year-old who understand a little bit what it is. My husband, who is so much a part of all this, and having a family to celebrate with, it’s extraordinary. I find as I get older, everything gets more intense.”

    Kidman’s fellow contender in the Best Actress category, ‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye’ actress Jessica Chastain is still processing the news.

    “I’m still in shock,” she said. “I don’t know if there’s any difference between being nominated for a film I produced. It’s been 10 years. The last time I was nominated was for ‘Zero Dark Thirty’, and that’s actually the time I got the rights to this story. So, it really feels so full circle.”

    Chastian added: “I was thinking about Tammy Faye for such a long time. I did not think it was going to happen this morning, and I didn’t even know (the nominations were) this morning. I called Penelope (Cruz) and FaceTimed with her and I called Olivia Colman.”

    ‘Tick, Tick… Boom!’ actor Andrew Garfield, who received a nomination in the Best Actor category, told ‘Variety’: “It’s incredibly exciting. I take none of it for granted. It’s such a strange thing to be able to do what I love in my life. I know how lucky I am. This is really emotional.

    “It’s deeply moving to be honoured and recognised in this way. It’s very surreal. I keep thinking about myself as a 16-year-old acting student, just wondering if I had what it took or if I was barking up the wrong tree.”

    ‘Belfast’ director Kenneth Branagh, who received nominations across Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, said in his response: “It is hard to take in, but it just reminds me of a unique privilege that I have had in my career to be able to operate as a storyteller, which is how I regard myself.”

    He added: “It’s a real team effort, and this team effort has been recognised. I certainly would not be in receipt of these nominations without the work of everybody else.”

    ‘CODA’ writer and director Sian Heder, who has been nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for her film, is particularly excited to meet ‘The Power of The Dog’ director Jane Campion. Sian told ‘Variety’: “She’s been my filmmaking hero for so long. To have my film in a category with her film is amazing. She’s been such a pioneer for women directors.”

    Penelope Cruz, who received a nomination for her work in ‘Parallel Mothers’, said: “I’ve been crying for an hour nonstop. I am really speechless. I didn’t expect it. It is such a strong year with so many incredible performances, so I really didn’t expect anything.”

    Reacting to his Best Actor nomination for ‘The Power of the Dog’, Benedict Cumberbatch told ‘Variety’: “I have a silly grin on my face. It’s been an experience that’s a gift that keeps on giving. Twelve is my new favourite number.”

    ‘The Power of the Dog’ director Jane Campion spoke about receiving 12 nominations across categories.

    “It was astounding,” she said. “In my eyes, the Academy nominations are still the gold standard for excellence in cinema. It’s meaningful for people all over the world, and it’s a great way to create a great conversation about cinema.”

    The 94th Academy Awards ceremony, which will be held in person on March 27 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, will honour the world’s best talent in cinema as revealed in feature and documentary films released between March 1 and December 31, 2021.

  • Beyonce, Jay-Z and Grande in Oscars race as shortlists unveiled

    By AFP

    Beyonce, Jay-Z and Ariana Grande are all in the running for the best original song Oscar, but French shock-fest “Titane” did not make the shortlist for best foreign film, as the Academy unveiled its annual shortlists Tuesday ahead of the formal nominations.

    Pop superstar Beyonce’s ballad “Be Alive”, penned for the tennis biopic “King Richard,” about the father of Serena and Venus Williams (played by Will Smith), was on a list of 15 tracks, which will be whittled down to a final five before March’s Oscars.

    She will compete against her husband Jay-Z, who produced Netflix Western “The Harder They Fall,” and teamed up with Kid Cudi for the movie’s track “Guns Go Bang.”

    Grande appears in satire “Don’t Look Up,” in which her pop star character sings “Just Look Up” to implore the public to take seriously the impending threat of a comet plummeting towards Earth.

    Billie Eilish’s 007 theme song “No Time To Die” also made the list.

    So did “Dos Oruguitas” from Disney’s animated film “Encanto,” a song composed by “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, who only needs an Oscar to complete the coveted EGOT collection of awards — Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony.

    Fifteen contenders were unveiled for the international feature film Academy Award, from among 92 eligible movies. Each country is only permitted to submit one film.

    France boasts the most foreign film nominations of any country in Oscars history, but will watch from the sidelines this year after its selection, Julia Ducournau’s Palme d’Or-winning body-horror “Titane,” failed to make the cut.

    The ultra-violent movie about a female serial killer who has sex with automobiles, before tricking a firefighter into believing she is his long-lost son, may have proven too controversial for Academy voters.

    The shortlist includes frontrunners such as Paolo Sorrentino’s coming-of-age drama “The Hand of God” (Italy) and Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car” (Japan), based on a Haruki Murakami short story.

    Iran’s Asghar Farhadi — among a select group of auteurs to have won multiple foreign film Oscars previously with “A Separation” and “The Salesman” — again makes the cut with morality drama “A Hero.”

    The tiny Himalayan nation of Bhutan is a step closer to its first Oscar nomination with “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom,” a comic drama about a reluctant young teacher who is sent to work in the world’s most isolated school.

    Denmark, which won the foreign film Oscar last year for “Another Round,” again has a strong contender in the form of “Flee,” which chronicles a gay Afghan refugee’s perilous journey to Europe.

    The animated film was also included in the shortlist for best documentary, which was also unveiled Tuesday.

    “The Rescue,” about the headline-grabbing 2018 race to save a Thai soccer team trapped in a cave, and Questlove’s “Summer of Soul,” about the huge but largely forgotten “Black Woodstock” festival that took place in 1969 Harlem, also made the cut.

    The final list of Oscar nominations will be revealed on February 8, and the awards will be handed out on March 27.