‘Godzilla Minus One’ Makes VFX Oscar History As Record Number Of Non-English Language Movies Take Home Oscar Statuettes

Carolyn Giardina Visual effects veteran Tim McGovern, who received a Special Achievement Oscar for the VFX in the 1990 sci-fi classic “Total Recall,” has died, his wife Reena NeGandhi announced Saturday on social media. He was 68.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic Watching “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” I realized that the movie, a standard overly busy and mediocre blockbuster with a pretty awesome wow of a clash-of-the-titans climax, was demonstrating one of the essential principles of Hollywood movie culture today. Namely: All blockbuster movies are now connected! Kong, living in the Hollow Earth, where most of the film is set (the Hollow Earth is a place I’ve never much liked the idea of, since it seems like Earth’s version of a storage basement), is supposedly the last of his kind, but he discovers a child ape who actually looks like an homage to the cuddly creature in the 1967 Japanese film “Son of Godzilla.” This kid gorilla leads Kong to a tribe of scraggly hostile apes who are living in a slave society presided over by the Skar King, an evil ape with blotchy red hair who’s as tall as Kong and wields a skeletal bone whip that looks like it was fashioned out of the spine of a sea serpent.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Takashi Yamazaki, the Japanese filmmaker behind Oscar-winning smash hit “Godzilla Minus One,” has signed with CAA for representation. “Godzilla Minus One,” on which Yamazaki served as writer, director and VFX supervisor, earned the first-ever nomination and win for a Japanese production in the VFX category at the Academy Awards earlier this month. The film beat strong contenders such as “The Creator,” “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Dahomey,” the Berlinale Golden Bear-winning film helmed by French-Senegalese director Mati Diop, has been sold to a raft of international territories by Les Films du Losange. Along with being acquired by Mubi in key markets, “Dahomey” has been acquired in Australia & New Zealand (Rialto), China (Hugoeast), Spain (Filmin), Portugal (Nitrato Filmes), Greece (One From the Heart), Scandinavia (NonStop Entertainement), Benelux (Cinéart), Bulgaria (Beta Films), Ex-Yugoslavia (Discovery), Hungary (Mozinet), Czech Republic (Film Europe), Romania (Voodoo), Baltic Countries (Taip Toliau), Poland (New Horizons), Ukraine (Kyivmusicfilm), Taiwan (Joint Entertainment), Indonesia (PT Falcon) and Sudu Connexion in Africa.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic Music movies are having a moment — if, indeed, they ever stopped having one. Take the pop-music biopic.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Miyazaki Hayao’s “The Boy and the Heron,” which recently won the Oscar for best animated feature film, will head to global streaming giant Netflix later this year, excluding the U.S. and Japan. The hand-drawn, critically acclaimed fantasy adventure film is part of a renewed worldwide catalog deal between Netflix and the Japanese producer Studio Ghibli, sales agent Goodfellas and independent distributor GKids.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Spotify has provided further details on the record $9 billion it paid out to the music industry in 2023, which was first announced in January. For context, the company stated that the “amount has nearly tripled over the past six years, and represents a big part of the $48 billion-plus Spotify has paid since its founding.” Last March, the company said it pays out nearly 70% of every dollar it generates from music back to the industry, generating its music revenue from two sources: subscription fees from its Premium platform paying subscribers, and fees from advertisings on music on its Free tier.

Lily Gladstone officially broke her silence after losing the highly coveted Oscar for Best Actress to “Poor Things” lead Emma Stone.“Feeling the love big time today, especially from Indian Country,” the “Killers of the Flower Moon” star posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday. “Kittō”kuniikaakomimmō”po’waw — seriously, I love you all.” The actress — who made history by being the first Native American to be nominated in the Best Actress category — joked that she didn’t walk away totally empty-handed.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Gato Grande, an Amazon MGM Studios company, has unveiled the next project from its recently launched English-language division: mystery satire “Miami Spice.” Cuban-American showrunner Art Alamo, best known for his work on “Law & Order,” will be writing and producing “Miami Spice,” which is based on the novel “Mango, Mambo and Murder” from author Raquel V. Reyes’ lauded Caribbean Kitchen Mystery book series.

It was a good night for the UK at the 96th Oscars. Brits won in seven separate categories at the Dolby Theatre, with Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Glazer‘s wins the highest profile.

It’s official – Emma Stone is a two-time Oscar winner after scooping the award for Best Actress at this year’s Academy Awards.The Poor Things star looked stunning as she accepted her award in a light blue Louis Vuitton gown, but it was her pale pink makeup look that we can’t get enough of. Unlike most traditional Hollywood glamour, Emma’s makeup was fresh, natural-looking and pared down, and the pastel tones were giving us some major springtime vibes.

Carolyn Giardina Legendary animation director Hayao Miyazaki received his second Academy Award on Sunday, for his semi-autobiographical “The Boy and the Heron,” which won the category for best animated feature. At age 83, he’s also the oldest director to receive this award. He previously won the category for his 2001 fantasy “Spirited Award.” He accepted an Honorary Academy Award in 2014.

Carolyn Giardina “Godzilla Minus One” collected the Oscar in visual effects on Sunday, following a remarkable awards season run. The recipients included writer, director and VFX supervisor Takashi Yamazaki, who became the first helmer to receive a VFX trophy since Stanley Kubrick for 1968’s “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Kiyoko Shibuya, VFX supervisor and producer, became only the third woman to win an Oscar in the category (previous recipients were Sara Bennett for 2014’s “Ex Machina” and Suzanne M. Benson for 1986’s “Aliens.).” Recipients included Masaki Takahashi, a veteran CG director; and Tatsuji Nojima, an effects artist and compositor who is just 25 years old.

Oh no! Emma Stone had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction at the 2024 Academy Awards on Sunday night (March 10)!

Waves of joy were interrupted by a brief struggle with the English language as the euphoric group behind Japan’s Godzilla Minus One accepted the Oscar for Best Visual Effects.

Jonathan Glazer’s landmark Holocaust film The Zone of Interest, as widely expected, has just scooped the International Feature Oscar. This is the 20th film that the UK has submitted to the category, and the first to win the race.  

If a movie has to be good to win even one Oscar, imagine how fantastic it must be to win multiple times in one night.

We’re taking a look back in fashion history!

Sandra Hüller (a Best Actress nominee) and Christian Friedel, stars of Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest — nominated for Best Picture, Best International Picture, Director, Sound, and Adapted Screenplay — are familiar with Shakespeare’s famous verse from Hamlet: ”All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women are merely players …” That’s because both thespians have been playing the Danish prince on stages around Germany for years.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The 44th edition of genre film festival Fantasporto, which runs in Portugal’s second city Porto from March 1-10, has bestowed its best film award on Japanese sci-fi fantasy pic “From the End of the World,” directed by Kaz I Kiriya. The movie follows 10-year-old Hana, whose dreams transport her across various eras in Japanese history, and have the ability to save humanity. The jury’s special award went to “The Complex Forms,” Italian director Fabio D’Orta’s debut feature.