Joel Coen Wouldn’t Have Made ‘Macbeth’ If He Was Still Working With Ethan Coen

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read unless you have watched Apple and A24’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” which is now playing in select theaters and streaming on Apple TV Plus. In “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” Denzel Washington plays the titular Lord Macbeth — a Scottish nobleman whose last grasp at power ultimately leads to his downfall.In addition to memorizing Shakespeare’s powerful soliloquies (“It this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand?”), the Academy Award winning actor and many in the troupe, including Corey Hawkins (Lord Macduff) and Alex Hassell (Ross), were also required to brush up on their dueling skills for the production, adapted and directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Joel Coen.

Clayton Davis After a stampede of awards announcements that include ACE Eddies, Producers Guild and Writers Guild of America Awards, the prestigious Directors Guild of America Awards finally weighs in with their own set of nominees that recognizes achievements in directing.In the motion pictures category, the group nominated Kenneth Branagh for “Belfast” (Focus Features), Jane Campion for “The Power of the Dog” (Netflix), Paul Thomas Anderson for “Licorice Pizza” (MGM/United Artists Releasing), Steven Spielberg for “West Side Story” (20th Century Studios) and Denis Villeneuve for “Dune” (Warner Bros).Notable snubs included Joel Coen (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”), Adam McKay (“Don’t Look Up”), Siân Heder (“CODA”), Guillermo del Toro (“Nightmare Alley”) and Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (“Drive My Car”). Campion is the second woman ever to receive a second nod from the Directors Guild.

Clayton Davis The Writers Guild of America Awards announced its 2022 nominations, where huge boosts were given to films such as “Being the Ricardos,” “Don’t Look Up,” “The French Dispatch,” “King Richard” and “Licorice Pizza” in original screenplay.Adapted screenplay includes “CODA,” “Dune,” “Nightmare Alley,” “Tick, Tick … Boom!” and “West Side Story.” Missing from the lineup are “C’mon C’mon” from Mike Mills and “The Tragedy of Macbeth” from Joel Coen.On the adapted screenplay side, notable awards contenders that were ineligible included “Benedetta” (IFC Films), “Cyrano” (MGM/United Artists Releasing), “Drive My Car” (Janus Films/Sideshow), “The Lost Daughter” (Netflix), “Passing” (Netflix), “The Power of the Dog” (Netflix), “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (Sony Pictures) and “Zola” (A24).

Best Picture Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog” seems to have taken pole position in the best picture race. Campion won a screenplay Oscar at the 1994 ceremony for “The Piano,” which was also nominated for best pic (it lost to “Schindler’s List.”). Early front-runner “Belfast” should also make the ballot.

Clayton Davis The Producers Guild of America announced its nominations for the motion picture and television categories for the upcoming 33rd PGA Awards, and it was a good day for the streamers (once again).Netflix ruled the film side with three films landing in the field of 10 nominees: “Don’t Look Up” from Adam McKay, “The Power of the Dog” from Jane Campion and “Tick, Tick … Boom!” from Lin-Manuel Miranda.Warner Bros. captured two nods from its slate: “Dune” from Denis Villeneuve and “King Richard” from Reinaldo Marcus Green.At the best possible moment with Oscar voting opening today, Amazon Studios’ “Being the Ricardos” from Aaron Sorkin snagged one of the coveted spots, which helps its best picture chances considerably.

Pat Saperstein Deputy EditorIrwin “Butch” Wallace Young, the chairman of DuArt Film Laboratories who supported New York filmmakers for decades, died Jan. 20 in Manhattan.

Stuart Miller Joel Coen’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth” is, among other things, visually gripping, a stark, haunting dreamscape that often seems to exist outside of time. While the film is carried by Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand, much has been made — justifiably — of Kathryn Hunter’s eerily limber witch: you can’t look away as she bends and contorts, calling to mind a real-life Smeagol.But the movie starts with a whiteout, and so we hear Hunter before we see her. It pulls viewers in and reinforces the notion that this nimble performance (she is echoed into all three witches) is not merely a physical marvel or a gimmick.

It’s hard to see him with any other name, but Meat Loaf‘s real name and the story behind it is almost as fascinating as how he came to be known as one of America’s classic dinner dishes.

TheWrap: When you came on board the film in 2019, was it clear that Joel Coen already had the movie in his head?Stefan Dechant: Absolutely. He had defined the look of the film, and Joel and [cinematographer] Bruno Delbonnel had been talking about the project for a year or more. They had amassed a collection of photographs and they were starting to categorize them per scene.

Even in the context of a zoom interview, it’s hard to fathom why there are so few television and film credits on Kathryn Hunter’s resume. A staple of the British theater world, she won an Olivier Award three decades ago, has has a transfixing presence that is almost impossible to ignore.

Clayton Davis The USC Scripter Awards has announced its nominees for its 34th annual ceremony, recognizing the best film and television adaptations. Netflix dominated the film category with three films making the cut, all from women screenwriters who also directed their movies: “The Lost Daughter” from Maggie Gyllenhaal, “The Power of the Dog” from Jane Campion and “Passing” from Rebecca Hall. This is the first nomination for all three acclaimed filmmakers.Joel Coen, a two-time nominee for “No Country for Old Men” (2007), for which he won with his brother Ethan, and “True Grit” (2010), was recognized for adapting his black-and-white interpretation of “The Tragedy of Macbeth” for Apple Original Films and A24.

More than 400 years after writing “Macbeth,” William Shakespeare has been nominated for a Hollywood award for his early 17th-century classic. “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” director Joel Coen’s adaptation of the Bard’s tragedy, has been named a finalist at the 34th annual USC Libraries Scripter Awards, where the nominations go to both the screenwriter of an adaptation and the original author on which the adaptation is based.On a list unveiled by USC Libraries on Wednesday morning, Shakespeare is joined by three other deceased authors and one who is (probably) still alive but refuses to reveal her (?) real name.

Not only does “The Tragedy of Macbeth” feature two of the biggest actors on the planet, Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand, but the film is directed by Joel Coen, one of the best filmmakers working today. But as seen in the new Making-Of featurette, “The Tragedy of Macbeth” isn’t relying solely on the two actors and the director to make the film memorable.

Can you imagine?!

Editors note: Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series debuts and celebrates the scripts of films that will be factors in this year’s movie awards race.

EXCLUSIVE: Deadline has the first exclusive track from Carter Burwell’s Oscar-shortlisted score for The Tragedy of Macbeth, which is set for release tomorrow via Milan Records, as the film from director Joel Coen premieres globally on Apple TV+.

A dream date night! Kanye West gave new flame Julia Fox a night to remember. The 44-year-old rapper surprised the Uncut Gems actress with an entire room full of designer clothes in advance of their date in the big apple. 

William Shakespeare, the Bard himself, needs no introduction. Nor, arguably, does Joel Coen, who has been one of American cinema’s great voices for almost forty years with his brother Ethan.