I sure wish they'd shrink their Best Picture contenders down to five. I know they're not ready for that yet, but that is the best thing they could do to bring back the power and glory of the Oscars. At any rate, the new rules mostly deal with forcing streamers like Netflix to screen their movies in theaters in large markets for at least 7 days. I think Apple did that with Killers of the Flower Moon. In the Best Picture category, the expanded theatrical eligibility requirements, approved by the Board of Governors in June 2023, will take effect for...

Tonight at the TCM Film Festival, David Fincher's Se7en will screen in 8K on IMAX: SE7EN (1995) was filmed in 35mm and released in 2.39 aspect ratio. Motion Picture Imaging scanned the original camera negative in 8k with all restoration work completed by David Fincher’s post-production team in 8k. Color by Eric Weidt. The original 5.1 sound elements were restored by Ren Klyce creating a new 5.1 mix. It's hard to believe a perfect film could get even more perfect. For lucky attendees of the TCM Fest, they'll have the chance tonight to see it restored to loving detail: In...

Hello there, from time to time we've had to fix our comments. We've been using Disqus for a very long time, but at some point, it just stopped syncing the comments. I tried everything I knew how to fix it, but instead Ryan and a few of us manually synced them several times per day. That means syncing them from the Disqus database to the Wordpress database. Since we've been around so long we have a massive databank of comments - like billions. So importing them has proved problematic to the new Disqus account I installed. Long story short, I...

The Oscars are barreling toward their 97th year, and will turn 100 not too long from now. Yet, the industry and the Oscars, are facing a reckoning -- an existential crisis that could topple the empire. Not that you'd ever hear much about this. With Jay Penske having a monopoly on coverage you can pretty much be assured it will be strictly party-line. But Houston, we have a problem. Not to alarm you all, but there are signs everywhere that something is happening here. There is a major shift happening, not to mention an enduring ghost town at the box...

Miami, FL (April 16, 2024) – “Los Frikis,” directed by Tyler Nilson & Michael Schwartz, took the festival’s top jury prize, the $20,000 MARIMBAS Award, at the 41st edition of Miami Dade College’s (MDC) acclaimed Miami Film Festival. The event ran from April 5 - 14, 2024. The award is an international competition for the jury-selected new narrative feature film that best exemplifies richness and resonance for cinema’s future. Additional winners include:  The $25,000 Made in MIA Feature Film Award was given to a feature film that premiered at the festival and had a substantial portion of the story, setting,...

The SAG/AFTRA awards have released their calendar for this year. Here is how it shakes out, vis a vis the Oscars. It's a hit and miss prospect, whether the Oscars will match the SAG awards. Last year, Lily Gladstone won the SAG and lost the Oscar to Emma Stone, on account of the Oscars mirroring the BAFTAs almost exactly. It makes sense if you imagine voters voting as soon as they got their ballots and not waiting out the SAG awards to catch any sort of wave of enthusiasm. The window was tight this past year. Would they have still...

LOS ANGELES, CA (April 16, 2024) – Today, the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (AWMF) is thrilled to announce that Carol Burnett, a legendary figure in entertainment, will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 49th Annual Gracie Awards Gala on May 21 at the Beverly Wilshire, a Four Seasons Hotel, in Beverly Hills. The Gracie Awards' Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes a woman whose work in media honors the legacy of Gracie Allen, a pioneering force in the industry and the award's namesake. Additionally, Emmy Award-winning artist, Rachel Platten, will be performing at the gala, adding to...

Finally, The Holdovers wins a well-deserved award for Screenplay. Congratulations. Take a bow. 2024 WRITERS GUILD AWARDS: WINNERS ANNOUNCED Los Angeles and New York – Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) and Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) announced the winners of the 2024 Writers Guild Awards for outstanding achievement in writing for film, television, new media, news, radio/audio, and promotional categories during concurrent ceremonies. SCREENPLAY WINNERS ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY The Holdovers, Written by David Hemingson; Focus Features ADAPTED SCREENPLAY American Fiction, Screenplay by Cord Jefferson, Based upon the novel Erasure by Percival Everett; Amazon MGM Studios DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY The Pigeon...

The Writers Guild Awards will finally unfurl tonight. The strike from last year meant they had to postpone these awards because there was no work to judge from. It's highly unusual to have any awards after the Oscars, but before 2000, the BAFTAs used to happen after the Oscars. We are not expecting any deviation from the status quo, although there is maybe a slight chance Barbie or Past Lives could win in Original, if they want to give the award to a female writer. But probably, The Holdovers will take a well-deserved win at long last. Here are our...

Ryan Gosling hosted one of the funniest Saturday Night Llives in a while and not a moment too soon. As Israel and Iran were on the brink of war, amid a brutal election season, Saturday Night Live offered some relief. I didn't watch the show. I never do. Thankfully, Youtube has all of the best skits. "Here we are again, back in 2023!" Brilliant. And that they send up Taylor Swift's showstopper, All too Well, which burned up audiences all over the world, makes it quite the time capsule. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVrULZ8SP3g Every so often, SNL hits it out of the park...

HollyShorts is getting into sports. The organizers are launching a new sports narrative and documentary short films category.  Now in its 20th year, the Oscar-qualifying film festival (Best Live Action, Documentary, Animation and Grand Prix categories eligible) takes place August 8-17, 2024 at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre and surrounding locations in Hollywood. NBA Champion and Los Angeles Lakers legend METTA WORLD PEACE (Metta Sandiford-Artest) will serve as head of the HollyShorts Sports Jury. The new HollyShorts Sports Category calls for narrative or documentary shorts under 45 minutes total running time. Submissions are currently open via FilmFreeway.      ...