County Clayton Showbiz Latest News and Updates

EXCLUSIVE: Mark O’Brien (Your Honor) will exec produce and star in the coming-of-age drama Topper from 1A Motion Pictures and Bad Lad Productions, which has wrapped production in Detroit. Others set for major roles include Paul Johansson (God Is a Bullet), Amanda Clayton (City on a Hill), and actor-comedians Jimmy Shubert (Entourage), Bryan Callen (Warrior) and Erik Griffin (Workaholics).

Jordan Moreau Lance Reddick, who appeared in major TV series like HBO’s “The Wire,” Fox’s “Fringe” and films like the “John Wick” franchise, which is about to debut “John Wick: Chapter 4” next week, died of natural causes Friday morning, Variety has confirmed with his reps. He was 60. He was found dead at his Studio City home in Los Angeles Friday morning, according to TMZ, which first reported the news. In the upcoming “John Wick: Chapter 4,” which is set to release in theaters on March 24, Reddick reprises his role as Charon, the concierge at the Continental Hotel in New York City who appeared in all four entries. Charon worked alongside Keanu Reeve’s un-retired hitman, notably looking after John’s new dog in the second installment and joining in on the gun-toting action in the third movie. Reddick was also slated to appear in the upcoming “Ballerina” spinoff, starring Ana de Armas.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor What better way to officially close the door on an exhausting awards season than to look ahead –blindly — to what studios and production companies could bring to the screen in 2023. As Variety‘s awards coverage transitions into the Emmy season, this annual tradition (albeit highly inaccurate due to release shifts and other varying factors) creates some fun and wonder as Cannes looms two months away. One first impression is that the streamers are back with a vengeance with an arsenal of big names and titles aiming to take the trophy from reigning best-picture champ A24 with “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” Apple Original Films has a duo of master auteurs on deck.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large On Sunday, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” appeared to be everything, everywhere, all at once. The film, of course, dominated the 95th Oscars with seven wins — including best picture. Virtually all the stars (except Stephanie Hsu — hey Daniels, can you spare one of your SIX Oscars and share one with her??) received wins, on what was truly a historic night. And an emotional one. As the opening clips of this week’s Variety Awards Circuit Podcast illustrates, family was on the minds of this year’s winners. Listen to our Mega Roundtable edition, in which Clayton Davis, Jenelle Riley, Jazz Tangcay and myself (that’s me, Michael Schneider) recount the show and dissect the winners — from Jimmy Kimmel’s excellent monologue to how every single category panned out:

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor The victory of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” at the 95th Oscars on Sunday is a milestone for Asian talent in front of and behind the camera. It’s also a sign that the Academy Awards is unafraid to make bold, unconventional bets and to embrace a movie that, on paper, could not be farther removed from typical Oscar bait. And yet the A24 film walked away with the most Oscars with seven, including statues for best picture, director and original screenplay for Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, actress for Michelle Yeoh, supporting actress for Jamie Lee Curtis and supporting actor Ke Huy Quan. This marked A24’s second best picture win since the stunning upset of “Moonlight” (2016) over “La La Land,” also known as “envelope gate.”

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Oscar voting is kicking off, and 366 films are vying for the Academy’s attention for best picture, in addition to their selections in their respective branches. One important note to Academy members: Fill out your ballots in full. Every Academy member votes for best picture, outside of their respective branch association. For best picture, the member is invited to list up to five films in preferential order. In the days of paper ballots, there were horror stories of voters writing the same film five times on their entries, but those days are gone with electronic voting. However, listing five films is crucially important based on the Academy tabulation methods, which involves a lot of math. As we remain in the final year of the “sliding scale,” where the results can produce any number of nominees between five and 10, simply put, all lines matter.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large It all comes down to this weekend. Variety’s Clayton Davis, Jazz Tangcay, Jenelle Riley and Michael Schneider dissect the Oscar categories one last time and share final predictions on this week’s edition of the award-winning Variety Awards Circuit podcast. It’s a Mega Roundtable of the podcast, as the team goes through every category and offers up their final thoughts. Will “Everything Everywhere All at Once” sweep the night? Or are some surprises in store? Listen along as you fill out your office Oscars pool: Here are some of the potential wins that the team is rooting for:

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages are Davis’ assessment of the current standings of the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any film or performance. Like any organization or body that votes, each individual category is fluid and subject to change. Predictions are updated every Thursday. See the latest film predictions, in all 23 categories, in one place on Variety’s Oscars Collective.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Class…put your books away, and clear your desks. It’s now time for your Oscars test. We’ve watched all the movies and seen all the precursor ceremonies that have provided all the necessary hints and clues on which films will emerge victorious at the 95th annual Academy Awards on March 12.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor During the final hours of Oscars voting on Tuesday, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” nominee Michelle Yeoh caused a stir when snippets of a Vogue article were shared on her Instagram account. Yeoh shared each paragraph in multiple images of the article titled — “It’s Been Over Two Decades Since We’ve Had a Non-White Best Actress Winner. Will That Change in 2023?” One of the slides references her fellow best actress nominee Cate Blanchett of “Tár.” It reads: “Detractors would say that Blanchett’s is the stronger performance — the acting veteran is, indisputably, incredible as the prolific conductor Lydia Tár — but it should be noted that she already has two Oscars (for best supporting actress for The Aviator in 2005, and best actress for Blue Jasmine in 2014). A third would perhaps confirm her status as an industry titan but, considering her expansive and unparalleled body of work, are we still in need of yet more confirmation?”

Variety asked editors Peter Debruge, Clayton Davis, Tim Gray, and Jenelle Riley, to answer four questions about this past year in film and discuss its standout moments. The questions are: 1. How would you rate 2022’s films against previous years? 2. What was the most important issue this year for the industry?  3. What film inspired you the most this year?

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Final Oscar voting has now ended for the upcoming 95th ceremony. Speaking with dozens of voters over the past few days, it’s nearly impossible to gauge the outcomes based on over 9,600 eligible voting members, who all have eclectic tastes and no apparent rhyme or reason for selecting specific films and performances. There are quite a few categories that are seemingly open for a surprise. Here are seven questions gathered from observations from discussions with voters and seven anonymous ballots from the AMPAS members before the voting deadline.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Will Cate Blanchett fulfill the awards prophecy of winning an Academy Award every nine years? The two-time Academy Award winner of “The Aviator” (2004) and “Blue Jasmine” (2003) is a favorite to possibly win her third for Todd Field’s psychological drama “Tár,” in which she plays a lesbian conductor who begins to lose her grip on power and reality. On this week’s episode of the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, we sit down with Blanchett to discuss her work stunning transformation into Lydia Tár. In addition, she talks about working with co-star Nina Hoss and more. Listen below: From Focus Features, “Tár” is set to a rhythmic beat of classical orchestration, marking writer and director Todd Field’s return to the director’s chair, 16 years after “Little Children” (2006) and 21 years after his debut “In the Bedroom” (2001).

Charna Flam ABC has announced Ashley Graham, Vanessa Hudgens, Lilly Singh will host the upcoming “Countdown to the Oscars,” pre-show, airing ahead of the ceremony on March 12 at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT on ABC. Leading into the pre-show will be ABC News’ live coverage during the “On The Red Carpet Live: Countdown to Oscars 95,” hosted by Linsey Davis and Whit Johnson and featuring Variety‘s own Elizabeth Wagmeister and Clayton Davis. Hudgens returns for her second consecutive year co-hosting the pre-show, while Graham and Singh join for the first time. In addition to Hudgens, Graham and Singh, the pre-show will include backstage coverage from content creator Reece Feldman. Alongside Feldman, TV personality Rocsi Diaz will also provide an insider perspective, as the correspondent for the Academy’s member viewing party in NYC.

Vanessa Hudgens, Lilly Singh and Ashley Graham have been tapped to host Countdown to the Oscars, the official lead-in to the 95th Oscars, on ABC. The pre-show will air Sunday, March 12 at 6:30 p.m. EDT/3:30 p.m. PDT on ABC.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Brendan Fraser’s massive popularity has revitalized the 54-year-old actor’s career. It has brought him to his first-ever Oscar nomination for best actor for his towering performance in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale.” For this week’s video episode of the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, we sat down with Brendan Fraser to discuss the “The Brenaissance” and what the past year has meant to him. We also played a game called “Who’s Babe Is It Anyway?” — where Fraser guesses which of his former co-stars said a particular line. How well do you think he did? Watch the full video above. The podcast, with added guest Cate Blanchett, the Oscar-nominated actress of “Tár,” will be released on Friday.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” the most nominated film at the Oscars, won the most SAG Awards ever with four. Final voting begins on Thursday, March 2, and it’s no longer a question about whether the A24 sci-fi comedy will win best picture but how many statuettes it will take home. Michelle Yeoh became the first Asian woman to win a lead actress film award. Seeing her emotion take hold of her was heartwarming and long overdue for an actress that should have already been nominated for “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (2000) and “Crazy Rich Asians” (2018). However, her speech may not have been as boisterous or memorable as we would like, especially for someone competing with Cate Blanchett, after winning BAFTA, Critics Choice and Globes for “Tár.” However, her co-star James Hong may have brought it home for Yeoh with his rousing speech during the acceptance for the cast ensemble.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor “Everything Everywhere All at Once” star Michelle Yeoh has made history with her win for best performance by a female actor in a leading role at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, becoming the first Asian woman to win a leading film acting award. “I think if I speak my heart will explode,” an emotional Yeoh said on stage while accepting her award. “SAG- AFTRA, to get this from you who understand what it is to get here… everyone of you know the journey, the roller coaster ride, the ups and downs. But most importantly we never give up. I thank you… This is not just for me, this is for every little girl who looks like me.” The actress then paused, turning away from the podium to compose herself but eventually relenting with an excited litany of curses screaming “shit” and “fuck” to an elated crowd. “Thank you for giving me seat at the table and tonight you’ve shown us that it is possible,” she said. “I’m grateful and my mom will be eternally grateful to all of you.”

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Ke Huy Quan, the comeback star of “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” has been the feel-good story of the awards season — and he just made history at the Screen Actors Guild Awards with his win for best performance by a male actor in a supporting role. Quan is the first Asian male to win a film acting award at the annual guild ceremony since its inception in 1994. He’s also only the second Asian actor to win any individual SAG prize in either film or television, one year after “Squid Game’s” Lee Jung-jae won for male actor in a drama series. Quan’s performance as Waywond Wang, the meek and goofy husband who sets out on a quest with his wife Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh) to save the multiverse, is the undisputed frontrunner for the Oscar after garnering multiple industry accolades including the Golden Globe and Critics Choice awards.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor The Latino Entertainment Journalists Association (LEJA) has handed out its awards for the year, with “Everything Everywhere All at Once” scooping up 10 wins including best picture, director for the Daniels and actress for Michelle Yeoh. The sci-fi comedy led the nominations with 16, the most in the history of the organization. Paramount’s “Top Gun: Maverick” scored the second-most wins with three for best cinematography going to Claudio Miranda, sound and stunt design. “I am incredibly excited by the selections of our distinguished group of Latino critics, journalists and writers from all over the country,” said Clayton Davis, LEJA founder and president. “I applaud our tiny but mighty organization for selecting a respectable group of films from artists we all love and admire.”

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor The 2023 Producers Guild of America Awards are underway at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. A strong bellwether for the Oscars’ top prize, seven of this year’s best picture nominees are recognized by the guild in the film category: “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “The Banshees of Inisherin,” “Elvis,” “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “The Fabelmans,” “Tár” and “Top Gun: Maverick.” This marked the first year the PGA nominated four sequels, which also included “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.” Actor-producer Tom Cruise will be honored with the David O. Selznick Achievement Award, which recognizes a producer or producing team for their extraordinary body of work in motion pictures. The Selznick Award has a distinguished history with past recipients including such legendary producers as Steven Spielberg, Barbara Broccoli, Mary Parent, Brian Grazer, David Heyman and Kevin Feige.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor The Daniels are on top of the world. There was a running joke between Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert during the first week of shooting “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” After a successful first read-through, and perfect shots and framework, the two would turn to each other and whisper, “this is nonstop entertainment.” And even though they weren’t successful in getting a cameo of their “Swiss Army Man” leading men Daniel Radcliffe and Paul Dano into the film, the joke is God’s honest truth. On this episode of the award-winning Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, we sit down with “Everything Everywhere All at Once” directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. The dynamic duo talks about the origins of their collaboration which began in film school, assembling their outstanding cast and artisans ensemble and what’s next for them in the film and television space.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Actor and singer Sofia Carson and songwriter Diane Warren will perform the Oscar-nominated song “Applause” from “Tell It Like a Woman” at next month’s Academy Awards ceremony. This is the second nominated song announced after Rihanna was confirmed to perform her track from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” “Applause” marks Warren’s 14th career Oscar nomination, which comes after chart-topping hits such as “I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing” from “Armageddon” (1998) and “Because You Loved Me” from “Up Close and Personal” (1996). However, she has yet to win. Oscar-winner Cher was tapped to present Warren with an Honorary Oscar at the 2022 Governors Awards.

Detectives are investigating an arson attack at the former home of a woman jailed after her ex-husband was found tortured to death. Firefighters were called to Coleen Campbell's former home in Clayton, east Manchester, hours after she was locked up for 13 years for the manslaughter of Thomas Campbell, her ex-spouse of 10 years.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages are Davis’ assessment of the current standings of the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any film or performance. Like any organization or body that votes, each category is fluid and subject to change.

A dead dog was found stuffed in a pillowcase with a load of household rubbish as animal welfare experts say there has been a big jump in the number of pets being abandoned.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Are the SAG Awards Michelle Yeoh’s last stand in the battle for best actress Oscar?  SAG-AFTRA is the final industry group to bestow awards before final Oscar voting begins. With Academy members’ eyes on that Feb. 26 event, all hopes for Yeoh — after losing Critics Choice and BAFTA — are in the hands of the org’s approximately 16,000 members.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Warner Bros’ “The Batman” leads the film nominees for the third annual Critics Choice Super Awards, honoring superhero, sci-fi, fantasy, horror and action movies and series in entertainment. Matt Reeves’ superhero film earned six nominations including best superhero movie, three individual best actor in a superhero movie mentions for Robert Pattinson, Colin Farrell and Paul Dano, with the latter also picking up a second nom for best villain in a movie. Zoë Kravitz also landed a nom for actress in a superhero movie for her portrayal of Catwoman. Other favorites of the Critics Choice Association included many of this year’s Oscar nominees such as “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “Top Gun: Maverick.”

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Despite representing Germany at this year’s Academy Awards for best international feature, “All Quiet on the Western Front” writer-director Edward Berger doesn’t feel national pride for the country. “I don’t feel that because of the history,” Berger tells Variety. “I could never say I’m proud to be German. Those words don’t fit into our mouths, and rightly so. I would have a hard time thinking I would represent the country because I can’t speak for the entire country.” On this episode of Variety‘s Awards Circuit Podcast, Berger discusses “All Quiet on the Western Front’s” nine Oscar noms — the second most of the year — and employing the most artisans of any non-English movie in history. Finally, he shares why he feels a responsibility to accurately portray Germany’s role in some of humanity’s most devastating wars. Listen to the full podcast below.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages are Davis’ assessment of the current standings of the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any film or performance. Like any organization or body that votes, each individual category is fluid and subject to change. Predictions are updated every Thursday. LAST UPDATED: Feb. 21, 2023 CATEGORY COMMENTARY: Sara Dosa won the Directors Guild of America Awards, where The guild crowned “Fire of Love” from National Geographic Documentary Films and Neon. A feel-good documentary that recalls the story of Katia and Maurice Kraftt, two scientists who die in a volcanic explosion.

Tom Cruise over his height during a monologue at the Directors Guild Of America Awards.The comedian and producer hosted the ceremony on Saturday (February 18), where he praised Top Gun: Maverick for concealing Cruise’s 5 foot 7 height.“The visual effects in [Top Gun:] Maverick were so top-notch I couldn’t even see the stack of phone books Tom Cruise sat on to reach the flight controls,” Apatow said.“That’s why he’s always jumping out of tall buildings because you can’t tell how short he is when he’s in a 100-storey building. That’s why when he’s standing on a wing of an airplane he’s always alone, he doesn’t want anyone there next to him for scale.”Judd Apatow kills as host at the DGAAwards. No one was off limits including the Daniels and most notably, Tom Cruise.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor A pair of Oscar bellwether ceremonies took place this weekend, heralding uncertainty and unpredictability to an awards season where no one agrees on what contenders will end up taking home Academy Awards. The DGA Awards, which has historically matched up best with the eventual winner of best director, chose the “Everything Everywhere All at Once” duo of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. They’re the third directing team to win in the DGA’s 75-year history (after Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins for “West Side Story” and Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for “No Country for Old Men”). Only eight DGA winners have failed to walk away with the Academy Award in the same season, with the last instance being Sam Mendes (“1917”), who won at DGA but lost to Bong Joon Ho (“Parasite”) at the 2020 Oscars.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor The awards choices of industry voters and cinephiles from across the pond will be revealed at the 76th BAFTA Awards, which will take place this Sunday, Feb. 19 at London’s Southbank Centre. A major bellwether to the Oscars, the BAFTAs have proven to be a strong indicator of what the Academy could choose as their favorite films and performances of the year. Netflix’s “All Quiet on the Western Front” leads the tally with 14 nominations, tying “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (2000) for most nods for a non-English language film, and second overall with “Gandhi” (1982) and “Atonement” (2007), which nabbed 16 noms each. Searchlight’s “The Banshees of Inisherin” and A24’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once” are also well-represented at the British ceremony, each landing 10 noms.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages are Davis’ assessment of the current standings of the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any film or performance.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Austin Butler’s agent told him he would need to gain weight to play the older version of Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis.” “I heard that Ryan Gosling when he was going to do ‘The Lovely Bones,’ had microwaved Häagen-Dazs and would drink it,” Butler tells Variety. “So I started doing that. I would go get two dozen doughnuts and eat them all. I really started to pack on some pounds. It’s fun for a week, and then you feel awful about yourself. But we were planning on shooting chronologically in the beginning. That quickly went out the window with COVID. It was just impossible.” On this week’s episode of the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, Butler sits down to discuss receiving his first Oscar nomination for best actor. He also discusses renting an apartment after the Warner Bros. corporate cards were shut off following the COVID shutdown. In addition, he talked about whether he would reprise his role as James Garrett in a “Zoey 101” movie or get aged-up to play Sebastian Kydd from “The Carrie Diaries,” so he can play opposite Sarah Jessica Parker from “Sex and the City,” a show he says he watched while in his New York City apartment, taking a bath, and feeling like “a middle-aged woman.”

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor It’s old school versus new school for best director at the DGA Awards. Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical “The Fabelmans” is the culmination of more than 50 years of moviemaking. Then there’s the visionary whimsy of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the duo behind the sci-fi comedy “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” The veteran and the newcomers are the front-runners to win the top prize at the DGA ceremony, which take place on Feb. 18. Which picture will prevail among the guild’s 19,000 members? One camp esteems a long and storied career; the other points to a cinematic future that will look different but be just as enjoyable.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor American Cinematheque will celebrate Brendan Fraser with “Fraser-Thon,” a marathon featuring four of his most beloved films at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, Calif. Fraser will participate in the evening’s in-person event with an introduction and Q&A (along with a surprise guest). The selected films represent the range of his 30-year career, including dramas, comedies, action movies and critically acclaimed performances. They are Robert Mandel’s coming-of-age drama “School Ties” (1992), Stephen Sommers’ action-adventure “The Mummy” (1999), Hugh Wilson’s rom-com “Blast From the Past” (1999) and Darren Aronofsky’s Oscar-nominated “The Whale” (2022). For “The Whale,” Fraser is nominated for best actor at this year’s Academy Awards, in addition to supporting actress (Hong Chau) and makeup and hairstyling (Adrien Morot, Annemarie Bradley and Juy Chin).