Oscars slim down, will hand out 8 awards ahead of broadcast

Maisie Smith has reportedly landed a lucrative new television gig after quitting her longtime role on EastEnders last year. While the 20 year old isn't quite done with her soap days, as a first look for her return cameo has been released, it appears she has been exploring other on-screen opportunities. And according to The Sun Online, the actress will soon be starring alongside presenters Alison Hammond and Vernon Kay on the reboot of the show Friends Like These.The gameshow was initially hosted by best friends Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly for two years on BBC before Ian Wright took over until 2003.

Clayton Davis Netflix has the right to flex after this weekend’s trio of big wins from the Directors Guild of America (DGA), BAFTA and Critics Choice Awards, where it won the top prizes with Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog.” With its mighty 12 nomination haul, and the criticism from Oscar-nominee Sam Elliott over the movie’s homosexual themes, arguably helping it along, the film could be headed for B-E-S-T-P-I-C-T-U-R-E (so to speak). However, with two 50/50 screenplay categories up for grabs — “Belfast” and “Licorice Pizza” battling for original, and “CODA” and “The Power of the Dog” angling for adapted — the answer to which film wins the Academy’s top prize is within those races.Walking into a ceremony with the most nominations is not always a given for Oscar success, shown by our last three tally leaders: “Mank” (2020), “Joker” (2019), “The Favourite” and “Roma” (2018).

After cancelling the Governors Ball due to Covid concerns last year, the official post-Oscars celebration will be back in action, and that includes Gov Ball perennial Wolfgang Puck  back to collaborate on the menu, this year joined by Bronx-based culinary collective Ghetto Gastro. The latter’s work blends influences from the African diaspora, global South ingredients and hip-hop to create offerings that address race, identity and economic empowerment.

wine-ing about the 94th Academy Awards.The trio of funny ladies are hosting the 2022 Oscars on March 27 and the Academy released the first promo for the show on Wednesday.Schumer, Sykes, and Hall jokingly rip on past ceremony hosts over glasses of red wine and cheese boards in the 30-second spot.“We just have to do better than last year’s host,” Sykes, 56, notes. Schumer, 40, then agrees, adding: “That is the thing, totally.

Jon Burlingame editorSome of Hollywood’s most high-profile filmmakers, including director James Cameron, producers Kathleen Kennedy and Lili Fini Zanuck and composer John Williams have joined the growing chorus of voices asking the Academy to reverse course and present all 23 Oscars on the live March 27 telecast.In a letter obtained by Variety and sent today to Academy President David Rubin, more than six dozen film professionals including multiple Academy Award winners, contend that the plan to present eight awards during the pre-telecast hour will “demean” these crafts and “relegate [them] to the status of second-class citizens.”The eight are original score, film editing, production design, makeup and hairstyling, sound, documentary short, live-action short and animated short. The Academy continues to insist that the nominees in those categories will be announced, and the winner’s acceptance speech aired, in edited form and aired as part of the three-hour ABC show.

Clayton Davis The Academy Awards Nominees Luncheon was a happy occasion full of hugs between stars, but also a sense of trepidation as the first Academy luncheon since the COVID-19 pandemic started in March 2020. With a live, in-person event held at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, with remarks from Oscars producer Will Packer and Academy president David Rubin, over 200 guests gathered to celebrate the achievements of this year’s nominees for the 94th Oscars, set to take place on March 27.Rubin’s opening remarks acknowledged the war in Ukraine and the Academy’s global support for a peaceful resolution.Some key takeaways from the event1. The Academy wants the show to be fun.Packer emceed the top of the event, praising the year’s crop of nominees.

Oscar watchers, Hollywood guilds that represent the categories in question and even Academy members.But on Sunday, the Film Independent Spirit Awards did the same thing by handing out its editing, cinematography and international-feature awards during commercial breaks, and then slipping edited versions of the winners’ speeches into the final segment of the telecast on IFC. And maybe because the group didn’t talk about what it was doing ahead of time, there was no real criticism of the move, which the Spirit Awards had also done in the past.

EXCLUSIVE: Voicing his concern and disappointment over the Motion Picture Academy’s controversial decision to move the presentation of eight categories to the hour before the actual ABC Oscar telecast begins at 5 p.m. PT on March 27, Steven Spielberg has become the most powerful voice yet to express his opposition to the idea.

There were two awards ceremonies on Saturday night. Not only did the ACE guild give out their annual editing honors, but their colleagues in the production design world, the Art Directors Guild, handed out the 2022 ADG Awards.

Feature Film categoriesPeriod Feature Film: “Nightmare Alley,” Tamara DeverellFantasy Feature Film: “Dune,” Patrice VermetteContemporary Feature Film: “No Time to Die,” Mark TildesleyAnimated Feature Film:  “Encanto,” Ian Gooding, Lorelay BovéTelevision categoriesOne-Hour Period or Fantasy Single-Camera Series: “Loki”: “Glorious Purpose,” Kasra FarahaniOne-Hour Contemporary Single-Camera Series: “Squid Game”: “Gganbu,” Chae Kyoung-sunTelevision Movie or Limited Series: “WandaVision,” Mark WorthingtonHalf-Hour Single-Camera Series: “What We Do in the Shadows”: “The Prisoner,” “The Cloak of Duplication,” “The Siren,” Kate BunchMulti-Camera Series: “Family Reunion”: “Remember When M’Dear Changed History?,” Aiyana Trotter  Variety, Reality or Competition Series: “Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses”: “Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff,” John JanavsVariety Special: “Live in Front of a Studio Audience: ‘Facts of Life – Kids Can Be Cruel’(320) & ‘Diff’rent Strokes – Willis’ Privacy’ (115),” Stephan OlsonShort Format Commercials: Apple Music: “Billie Eilish – Happier Than Ever,” François AudouyShort Format Web Series or Music Video: Taylor Swift: “All Too Well,” Ethan TobmanCinematic Imagery Award: Jane CampionWilliam Cameron Menzies Honoree: Denis VilleneuveLifetime Achievement Awards: Donna Cline, Ann Harris, Denise and Michael Okuda, Ida RandomArt Directors Guild Hall of Fame: William A.

Prepping for a new era. Prince Charles isn’t king yet, but he’s already thinking about how he might change the monarchy once he takes the throne.

Kevin Costner, Zoe Kravitz, Lady Gaga and Chris Rock will present at the 94th Academy Awards. They will be joined by Yuh-Jung Youn and Rosie Perez - along with other soon-to-be-announced presenters - at the Hollywood’s most prestigious awards night on 27 March that celebrates the “best in filmmaking”.

2022 Oscar nominee Guillermo del Toro has a bone to pick with the Film Academy, which recently made the decision to pre-tape eight categories for the 94th Academy Awards, including Best Production Design, Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling, Original Score, Sound, Documentary Short, Animated short and Live-Action Short.

J. Kim Murphy The Set Decorators Society of America has penned an open letter to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences expressing its “extreme disappointment” regarding the decision to not broadcast certain categories — best production design, particularly — live during this year’s Oscars ceremony.The letter, addressed to Academy president David Rubin, CEO Dawn Hudson, the AMPAS board executive committee and the AMPAS awards committee, expresses solidarity with other branches that the “Academy has elected to demote from equal recognition” during its upcoming ceremony.“The diminution of these specific awards, which you declare to be ‘the fat in need of trimming’ from the broadcast in order to make it more entertaining, is punitive not only to the individual artists singled out for this treatment, but to entire industries represented by each one, who take enormous pride in their part in the creation of each nominated and winning film in the Academy competition,” the letter reads.

The plan by Oscars organizers to trim eight categories from being presented live onstage during next month’s telecast has raised the ire of the Set Decorators Society of America, the latest Hollywood group decrying the moves.

If you’re in need of some comfort, look no further than Helen Mirren. Lady Gaga, 35, was seen crying at the SAG Awards on February 28 in the middle of the auditorium. Helen, 76, came up to Lady Gaga and hugged her. She sweetly stroked Lady Gaga’s head and told her something.

The 2022 Screen Actors Guild Awards was filled with surprises and emotional moments — and Will Smith was particularly moved when he took home one of the night’s coveted trophies.

2022 Screen Actors Guild Awards was filled with surprises and emotional moments — and Will Smith was particularly moved when he took home one of the night's coveted trophies.After delivering a heartfelt acceptance speech on stage at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, on Sunday — when he earned the award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor for his role in  -- Smith opened up to ET's Nischelle Turner backstage and reflected on the honor.«I'm here tonight with Saniyya [Sidney] and Demi [Singleton], the girls who play Venus and Serena, and Aunjanue Ellis, and Venus is here with her sister Isha, who's an executive producer,» Smith said, as he began to choke up. «It's all of these, all of these Black women that I get to protect and shine a light on, you know, across the generations.»Smith, after taking a moment to compose himself, explained he feels «such a responsibility» to them to tell their story.Fresh off his #SAGAward win, an emotional Will Smith breaks down in tears while reflecting on his #KingRichard family: «It's all of these Black women that I get to protect and shine a light on… I just feel such a responsibility.» pic.twitter.com/hNFFrGQF8MIn the biopic, Smith portrays Richard Williams, the father of tennis icons Venus and Serena Williams, who has a singular vision of helping his young daughters become legends on the court.When asked what he feels about the real-life figure he portrays in the film, Smith said, «It's just like I get him.