Among the theater adaptations, auteurs have the advantage with Academy voters. Debuting at Sundance and relaunching at the fall festivals was “The Father” (Sony Pictures Classics), which French playwright-turned-director Florian Zeller adapted with Christopher Hampton from his popular stage play (“La Pere”). Anthony Hopkins plays an imperious old man who tussles with his daughter (Olivia Colman) as he struggles to keep track of his changing surroundings. The script won the BAFTA....

Their goal: to stage a Zoom-less affair packed (at a safe distance) with as many live human nominees and presenters (each allowed one guest) as possible, the producers reiterated. “This is the walking definition of trying to build an airplane while it’s in the air,” said Soderbergh. The filmmaker, who has been shooting his second film during COVID, wants viewers to feel drawn into a cinematic experience far away from the television they’ve been watching and the trapped-at-home feeling of the pandemic, from wide-angle lenses, 24 fps images, and a Questlove score, to creative over-the-shoulder camera angles of attendees reacting to the show....

“I really think it comes down to luck. I’ve of course watched the other nominated films, they were all wonderful. So it was a big surprise for me and I feel very much lucky to have won,” he said backstage through a translator after his win. “I think there is something about this film that matched with the change at the time that we’re living through, of course the coronavirus pandemic, and all the millions of deaths and loss that it has caused....

While many in Hollywood decry this method of selecting the international Oscar contenders, the scale and logistics of the submitting and voting process have staved off any meaningful reform. More countries are participating every year: this year 92 submissions were eligible. Some members would like to see 10 nominees, given the high volume of quality films on display. For the 94th Academy Awards, the submitted movies had to be released theatrically in their respective countries between the first of January and December 31, 2021, and submitted to the Academy by November 1, 2021....

Netflix’s “Ozark” Season 4 has officially revealed a first look at Part 2, where the Byrde family saga will finally come to an end — maybe for better, but almost certainly for worse. Netflix has also announced that the final seven episodes of Season 4 will drop on the platform April 29. The first part of Season 4 notched 77 million hours of viewing in its first three days of release earlier this year....

“I have no idea what to expect,” Mescal told IndieWire. “I only know that Brendan Fraser and ‘The Whale’ gang are at the table that I’m sitting at.” This has been a whirlwind year for the actor, who took some time to cool down after his Emmy-nominated breakout in the Hulu miniseries “Normal People,” then made a big comeback at Cannes this year with two smaller A24 dramas: “God’s Creatures” and “Aftersun....

The story begins when Anderson told the band they should all get together and film a music video for “Summer Girl,” but the problem was the song was not finished yet. As band member Este Haim said, “We were like to Paul, ‘Wait, pump the breaks. We haven’t even finished the song.’ But he was like, ‘Who gives a shit. Let’s do a video for it.’ When Paul Thomas Anderson says, ‘Jump,’ you say, ‘How high?...

Cecilia Loving — who comes from the New York City Fire Department (FDNY), where she served as Deputy Commissioner, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer — has been named the new SVP of Diversity Equity and Inclusion at PBS, reporting directly to President and CEO Paula Kerger. Among Loving’s duties will be the development of new strategies and cultivation of future partnerships. She will also work with the public television system to support ongoing efforts around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)....

When experimental storytelling projects are acknowledged by awards bodies, they tend to be pigeonholed into generic groups that don’t fully describe the work at hand. Last year, the Emmys’ “Interactive Media” included everything from Baobob Studios’ VR project “Baba Yaga” (which won) to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for an AR component available to home viewers. In 2020, the prize went to “Jeopardy!” for an interactive game. The Peabody Awards is taking an ambitious step forward to address that shortcoming by adding 12 new awards for Digital and Interactive Storytelling alongside four special awards to leaders in the field....

While Luhrmann’s unapologetic maximalism will almost certainly divide audiences when “Elvis” is released, the film already has one major supporter. Priscilla Presley, Elvis’ wife from 1967 to 1973, took to social media this week to reveal that Luhrmann showed her the film, along with former manager Jerry Schilling. And it’s safe to say that she’s a fan. “This story is about Elvis and Colonel Parker’s relationship,” Presley wrote, referring to her ex-husband’s controversial manager Colonel Tom Parker....

Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” book is due out in summer 2021 and will “start as a Harper Perennial mass market paperback, alongside e-book and digital audio editions. A deluxe hardcover edition will follow in the fall.” Per Deadline, the novelization of the film will follow Rick Dalton (played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the film) and Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt in an Oscar-winning performance) “both forward and backward in time....

Being behind the camera for the Independent Film Spirit Award-winning period piece inspired Hall to seek out a “really genuinely, very challenging” acting role. Enter: shocking stalker drama “Resurrection.” “I think I’m attracted to films where the audience is going to have an experience,” Hall told Screen Rant. “That doesn’t mean it has to be genre, it really doesn’t. It just so happens that some of the best roles I have seen are in genre....

The first domino to fall was Smith’s membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Academy acted first, launching a formal review of Smith’s conduct with expulsion from the prestigious organization on the table as a potential consequence. Smith opted to act first, resigning from the Academy before he could be kicked out and stating that he would accept any other future consequences. Now, The Hollywood Reporter has reported that Netflix is halting development on “Fast and Loose,” a new film that was set to star Smith as a powerful criminal who loses his memory, only to learn that he was living a double life....

“Reservation Dogs” is still a comedy in Season 2, but as the Dogs seek individual identities the show shifts to a more downbeat tone. The first four episodes made available to press present a rapid descent into sadness: Willie Jack blames it all on “bad medicine,” but that same bad medicine plagues Elora and newfound friend Jackie (Elva Guerra), whose presumably life-changing trip to California isn’t what they’d hoped. Hell, even their clubhouse — where Daniel committed suicide — is about to be razed so a Texas rancher can build a megachurch....

Danish filmmaker Anders Thomas Jensen is definitely one of them, and we ought to be mighty grateful for whatever strange quirks of fate brought the “Men & Chicken” director to his latest project. While “Riders of Justice” might introduce itself as a death-dark revenge comedy — a rather straightforward riff on the “Taken” formula with a lightly cosmic twist — nothing in this life is ever as simple as it seems....

The duo co-starred in Robert Eggers’ 2019 film “The Lighthouse,” and despite the grueling production, Pattinson remained in awe of Dafoe’s enthusiasm. “It was absolutely great working with Willem,” Pattinson said in a video for GQ. “We rehearsed for about a week before we started shooting, and he has so much energy. It’s just unreal.” Pattinson joked, “It’s almost like working with a 6-year-old. There’s nothing that fatigues them.” “The Batman” star admitted that he was “kind of a little bit terrified” by Dafoe’s admirable work ethic....

Costa’s impersonation is almost unnervingly precise. Just as Williams himself could impersonate any number of public figures and voices, Costa seems amazingly in control of his instrument. His vocal inflection and intonation are seemingly perfect, and he even captured Williams’ unique way of descending quickly into a low, hushed whisper and then back up to a frenzied full volume. The dramatic scene is caught mostly in close-up, he also seems to have nailed the physicality, such as the way he rubs his hands together, grips his jaw, or fitfully shoots his arms up in the air....

“When I posted on my social media that the film was going to come out, the first day there was a lot from ISIS,” Dabbach told Deadline. “They put on a lot of videos and bad words. Like, they have said, now we know you, and you have to watch yourself. Every day, touch your head to make sure it is still on. They said, ‘we know where you live and we will reach you....

Baron Cohen wrote in an essay last month ahead of the “Borat 2” opening that Trump “had a dutiful ally” and “willing accomplice” in Zuckerberg and Facebook, a social media platform which has taken advantage of “Americans [who] are especially vulnerable to lies and conspiracies.” The comedian added that Facebook is “a megaphone that history’s worst autocrats could only dream of. Its algorithm deliberately amplifies content that generates more engagement…Not surprisingly, most days the top 10 Facebook posts are overwhelmingly from right-wing pundits and outlets....

The Safdies and Lopatin have established themselves as one of the most visceral director/composer partnerships in contemporary cinema, as Lopatin provided the synth-heavy, nerve-rattling scores for the Safdies’ critically acclaimed films “Good Time” and “Uncut Gems.” Meanwhile, the filmmakers previously helmed the video for Oneohtrix Point Never’s 2017 “The Pure and the Damned.” “Nostalgia is both warming and deeply depressing,” Josh Safdie said. “It’s a love/hate relationship. Emotions themselves are haunting....