National Society Of FIlm Critics 2021 Honors Voting Underway

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentAs we enter the final countdown to the Feb. 8 Oscar nominations announcement, Isabella Rossellini is clearly rooting for Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Hand of God,” which is Italy’s candidate for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film and among the shortlisted titles.To help promote the pic with Academy voters, Rossellini engaged in an online chat with the director and young Italian actor Filippo Scotti, who plays Sorrentino’s alter-ego Fabietto in the pic. She also wore a gold horn amulet that belonged to her father, the late great Italian master Roberto Rossellini, for good luck.Here are edited excerpts of the conversation, to which Variety has been given exclusive access.

NBC’s Celebrating Betty White: America’s Golden Girl will honor the life of the legendary actress with the help of President Joe Biden and other celebrity guests including Drew Barrymore, Cher, Anthony Mackie, and Tracy Morgan, among others. The special will air on Jan. 31 at 10 p.m.

Ed Meza @edmezavarGerman sales company Pluto Film is under new ownership following its sale by founders and former CEOs Heino Deckert and Torsten Frehse to Daniela and Benjamin Cölle.Deckert and Frehse, who established the Berlin-based shingle in 2015, are stepping down to focus on the activities of their respective companies, the Leipzig-based production shingle Maja.de and Berlin film distributor Neue Visionen.The new husband and wife team will head Pluto Film as co-CEOs, with Daniela Cölle also serving as head of acquisitions. Cölle has worked at the company since its launch, initially as festival manager.“We are very thankful to Torsten and Heino for trusting in us as new owners and CEOs,” she said.

Wilson Chapman editorThe Miami Film Festival has announced its opening and closing titles for its upcoming 39th edition.The festival, which showcases works from filmmaker’s in the Ibero-American diaspora, will premiere and end with two films listed on the Oscar shortlist for international feature film. “The Good Boss” (El Buen Patrón), a comedy written and directed by Spain’s Fernando León de Aranoa, will open the festival, which will close with “Plaza Catedral,” the sophomore narrative feature of Panamanian director Abner Benaim.“The Good Boss” stars Javier Bardem as Blanco, the owner of a family business up for consideration for a local award for business excellence. Determined to win the award, Blanco begins meddling in the lives of his employees, setting off a chain of events that leads to shocking repercussions.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterSundance Film Festival has revealed a mystery movie on its 2022 lineup.“Navalny,” a fly-on-the-wall documentary about Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, has been a late addition to the festival’s agenda. The film will debut on Jan. 25 at 6 p.m.

A California state lawmaker said he wants ensure that all school students in Los Angeles and throughout the state are vaccinated against Covid-19, and do to that, he announced a proposal today to eliminate personal belief exemptions and expand upon a state vaccine mandate.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorThe Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the launch of the new interview series, “Seen.” Nick Barili, an Argentinean-American journalist, director, writer and producer, sits down for one-on-one conversations with some of the most influential artists and filmmakers with Latin-American and Spanish roots. The first season of the web series will include Academy members John Leguizamo, Eva Longoria and Oscar-nominee Edward James Olmos (“Stand and Deliver”), as they discuss their personal journeys, culture and breaking down barriers in filmmaking.Leguizamo will lead the first episode as he explores his beloved New York City and maneuvering through the industry over his long career, also covering the topics of colorism and tokenism.

UPDATED with new date: The New York Film Critics Circle said the new date for its previously postponed 2022 awards ceremony will be Wednesday, March 16 at TAO Downtown in Manhattan.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film CriticHe’s a cha cha real smooth talker. He’s 22, tall and handsome with a beard, but not a scruffy hipster beard — more like a post-millennial, post-ironic traditional beard, which sets off features that are finely chiseled in a Middle American corporate way. (When he grins, he looks like Donny Osmond.) He’s just out of college but has no idea what he wants to do.

Society teaches you to be polite. If someone offers you an oatmeal cookie, for example, you’re probably going to say, “Thank you,” and take it, even if you really dislike those chalky, unsatisfying discs.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle brand Goop made headlines awhile back thanks to the release of the “This Smells Like My Vagina” candles, and during her Friday night appearance on “The Tonight Show” she discussed the latest offering in Goop’s vaginal candle line.

One part autobiographical exorcism, two parts social warning, and a double-serving of real-world body horror, “Happening” combines just a handful of elements into a potent force. A bracing lead performance paired with patient yet informative directing accomplishes what few versions of this story could: it allows the story to tell itself without any heavy-handed monologuing or obsequious showboating.

those prognosticators who know that, outliers like “Parasite” notwithstanding, the Oscars tend to focus on upbeat, middlebrow studio product that’s in the English language.awards bloggers: why does DRIVE MY CAR keep winning things???us: it's a beautiful filmawards bloggers: what about it is connecting with voters?us: everyone was cryingawards bloggers: this is a case for the hardy boys!!!Critics, say the awards journos, are being contrarian, ivory-tower snobs — or even (gasp!) globalists:Some people on here are really having a normal one about Drive My Car's awards sweep, Jesus Christ. pic.twitter.com/1HmXMGV5CYThe critic-handicapper divide widened further when The New York Times ran a piece by Manohla Dargis and A.O Scott called “And the 2022 Oscar Nominees Should Be…” There’s nothing revolutionary about critics applying their personal choices to “Hollywood’s biggest night”; for years, Siskel & Ebert hosted an annual episode called “If We Picked the Oscars.”Somehow, the fact that Dargis and Scott mentioned performances like Fabrizio Rongione in “Azor” and Toko Miura in, yes, “Drive My Car,” was treated by the internet’s awards-industrial complex as shots fired across the bow.

Vivienne Chow Action thriller “Limbo” was named best film of 2021 at the annual Hong Kong Film Critics’ Society Awards. The film’s female lead, Chinese actress Cya Liu, was crowned best actress for her role as a young addict.Results of five awards and 10 recommended films were decided on Jan.

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE“Dune”Paul Lambert, Brice Parker, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor, Gerd Nefzer“Godzilla vs. Kong”John “D.J.” Des Jardin, Tamara Kent, Bryan Hirota, Kevin Smith, Mike Meinardus“The Matrix Resurrections”Dan Glass, Nina Fallon, Tom Debenham, Huw J Evans, James Schwalm“No Time To Die”Charlie Noble, Mara Bryan, Joel Green, Jonathan Fawkner, Chris Courbold“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”Christopher Townsend, Damien Carr, Joe Farrell, Sean Walker, Dan Oliver“Spider-Man: No Way Home”Kelly Port, Julia Neighly, Chris Waegner, Scott Edelstein, Dan SudickOUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE“Candyman”Andrew Zink, James McQuaide, Josh Simmonds, Drew Dir, Ryan Evans“Last Night in Soho”Tom Proctor, Gavin Gregory, Julian Gnass, Fabricio Baessa“Nightmare Alley”Dennis Berardi, Ryan MacDuff, Mark Hammond, David Roby, Geoff Hill“The Last Duel”Gary Brozenich, Helen Judd, Jessica Norman, Yann Blondel, Stefano Pepin“The Tragedy of Macbeth”Alex Lemke, Michael Huber, Michael Ralla, Benedikt LaubenthalOUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE“Encanto”Scott Kersavage, Bradford Simonsen, Thaddeus P.

EXCLUSIVE: Production has begun on Honor Society, a new live-action horror film from Awesomeness Films. Angourie Rice (Mare of Easttown, Spider-Man: No Way Home) has top billing as the titular character Honor, with Gaten Matarazzo (Stranger Things, Prank Encounters) and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Super Bad, Kick-Ass) also leading.

Best Picture: “The Harder They Fall”Best Director: Jeymes Samuel (“The Harder They Fall”)Best Screenplay: “Don’t Look Up” (Adam McKay)Best Actor: Will Smith (“King Richard”)Best Actress: Jennifer Hudson (“Respect”)Best Supporting Actor: Corey Hawkins (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”)Best Supporting Actress: Aunjanue Ellis (“King Richard”)Breakout Actor: Saniyya Sidney (“King Richard”)Best Ensemble: “The Harder They Fall”Emerging Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green (“King Richard”)Best Music: “The Harder They Fall” (Jeymes Samuel, Kid Cudi, Jay-Z)Best Independent Feature: “Who We Are”Best Documentary: “Summer of Soul”

Sam Adams, a literary agent whose career began in the postwar years at Warner Bros. and ended with the deal to bring The Handmaid’s Tale to the big screen, has died, according to multiple reports. He was 94.

In Tre’vell Anderson’s L.A. Times piece “There is room for everyone: 14 film critics on making media more inclusive,” he states, “Those who work for the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, the Hollywood Reporter and Variety, among others, receive preferential treatment for talent interviews and screening access. And traditional publications tend to have traditional critics. The result is a community of discourse around film and art that is fairly homogeneous and ignores many members of the filmmaking and filmgoing communities across all demographics.”