Film Independent Spirit Awards Moves to Gender-Neutral Acting Categories

Blake Shelton may be adding an unexpected guest to his tour.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Two more awards shows went gender neutral last week, fueling further speculation about the day when major awards shows — think Oscars, Emmys and (yes) Golden Globes — might follow suit and drop the distinction between “actor” and “actress” in their respective competitions. Organizers behind the Spirit Awards and the Canadian Screen Awards are following the examples set by the Recording Academy, MTV and the Gotham Film & Media Institute. The announcements by Film Independent on Aug. 23 and the Canadian Academy on Aug. 25 follow the July decision by backers of the British Independent Film Awards to eliminate gendered categories with this year’s competition.

Women scored only 33% of Emmy nominations in non-acting categories this year, a slight uptick from the 32% last year but far short of gender parity goals that Hollywood has touted, according to an analysis released Thursday by the Women’s Media Center. Nominations in the four top non-acting Emmy fields — producing, directing, writing and editing — also fell short of gender balance, although women saw some modest gains, from 32% to 33% of all nominees.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine made an impassioned speech on Wednesday during the Venice Film Festival’s opening ceremony, pleading for the global film community to rally to the country’s cause as it suffers a a mounting death toll amid fierce fighting with Russia. “Personalities of culture: directors, producers and actors, screenwriters, cameramen, composers, artistic directors, set designers, critics and many, many more, from many countries in the world, all belonging to the same family of cinema!,” Zelenskyy said in a recorded speech beamed onto the festival’s Sala Grande screen. “Your opinion is important and your voice counts.”

More than 50 years after she made her Venice debut as the star of Luis Buñuel’s 1967 classic Belle du Jour, Catherine Deneuve is being feted by the festival with its Golden Lion for Career Achievement.

MTV Video Music Awards. Since MTV launched in 1981, the silver trophy – originally named the “Moonman” – has depicted an astronaut planting a flag with the MTV logo on the moon’s surface. While the iconic statue has received few makeovers over the years, it was recently given a more gender neutral name.

Billie Shepherd delighted fans when she announced the news of her third pregnancy back in June. And in our new shoot The Family Diaries star opens up about her journey to becoming a mum of three and shares the moment she found out she was pregnant.

Canada’s top film and television awards are going gender-neutral.

Naman Ramachandran The Canadian Screen Awards will transition to gender neutral performance categories for lead and supporting performers in the film and television awards streams from 2023. The move will see an increase in the number of nominations per category from five to eight. The change follows a large-scale five-year consultation effort, which included 40 key industry organizations. The Canadian Screen Awards have awarded gender neutral performance categories in the digital media awards stream since 2019. The performance categories in film and television for the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards will be presented as follows:

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large It wasn’t that long ago that live telecasts like major league sporting events and star-studded awards shows were considered the savior of networks struggling to maintain relevancy in a streaming age. And while streamers have taken their lumps lately — and sports is indeed keeping the lights on in linear — the age of blockbuster awards shows appears to be over. Which would mean it’s perhaps an inopportune time for the ceremonies out there looking for a new home or, in the case of the Golden Globes, looking to return, period. Late last month, the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. agreed to let Eldridge Industries, run by Todd Boehly, purchase the Golden Globes and make that part of the HFPA a for-profit enterprise. Eldridge has also taken control of Dick Clark Prods., the company that produces the Globes, which means Boehly has a vested interest in getting the show back on NBC.

The woman suing Horatio Sanz for alleged sexual assault has added Jimmy Fallon to the suit. In a filing obtained by Deadline on Tuesday, the woman, who claims former Saturday Night Live star Sanz sexually assaulted her in 2002, added Fallon, Tracy Morgan, and SNL creator Lorne Michaels to the complaint as “enablers”. The original filing claimed Sanz assaulted the woman - who remains anonymous - when she was 17.

Kalush Orchestra have marked Ukrainian Independence Day by sharing a message of hope and making a fresh appeal for donations.The rap group raised $900,000 (£739k) by auctioning off their Eurovision trophy after winning the contest in May. An additional $370,000 (£301k) was generated by raffling off the pink bucket hat that frontman Oleg Psyuk wore during their victorious performance.Speaking to NME ahead of the competition, Psyuk explained how Kalush Orchestra taking part felt like a “huge responsibility”, given their home country’s ongoing war with neighbouring Russia.Today (August 24), Psyuk posted the following statement to coincide with Ukrainian Independence Day: “Earlier this week, the entire Kalush Orchestra was together in Kyiv and witnessed a ‘parade’ of Russian equipment on the Maidan, Kyiv’s main square, which our Armed Forces turned into a pile of scrap metal.“It shows our strength, power and invincibility.

The upcoming British version of Jimmy Fallon’s show That’s My Jam will shoot entirely in LA after a successful pilot, Universal Television Alternative Studio chiefs confirmed today here at the Edinburgh TV Festival.

The Film Independent Spirit Awards will now feature gender-neutral film and television acting categories ahead of its 2023 show. In addition to the new terms, and "in response to rising costs of production," the nonprofit also raised its budget cap by nearly $8 million to $30 million, the organization said Tuesday.

A Pennsylvania woman filed legal papers today in an attempt to add Jimmy Fallon, Tracy Morgan and Lorne Michaels to a 2021 lawsuit in which she accuses then-Saturday Night Live castmember Horatio Sanz of sexually assaulting her when she was 17.

Darren Barnet says the new Victoria’s Secret Pink gender neutral line reflected his “own style”. The ‘Never Have I Ever’ star wears the garments “all the time” after being named an ambassador for the brand, which recently attempted to overhaul its image after a series of sexual assault and harassment allegations The 31-year-old actor told WWD: “Honestly, I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed the line itself. It really is stuff that I wear all the time; it’s stuff that’s very comparable to stuff that I’ve worn in my own style and my own collection.

In a surprise move, Film Independent shook up their annual Independent Spirit Awards this morning. The hipper sibling of the Oscars became yet another awards show to make the change to gender-neutral for its awards categories.

Wilson Chapman editor The 2023 Independent Spirit Awards will implement gender neutral acting categories, Film Independent announced on Tuesday. The award ceremony, which honors the best in independent filmmaking and television production, will now present three film acting awards and two TV acting awards that are all gender neutral. The gendered film categories — male lead, female lead, male supporting and female supporting — have been eliminated, in favor of a lead performance and supporting performance category. Both will feature 10 nominees each, as opposed to the gendered categories which included five nominees. In addition, a new best breakthrough performance category has been added, which will feature five nominees of any gender.

Following the lead of several other awards groups, Film Independent is going gender-neutral for its Independent Spirit Awards.

The Dnipro Kids charity chairman has successfully got the backing of his fellow Perth and Kinross councillors to mark Ukraine Independence Day.