‘Past Lives’ Writer-Director Celine Song On Telling A Bilingual Immigrant Story, Pushing Through The Feeling Of “Hollywood Doesn’t Want This”

Unless you’re Quentin Tarantino, if you’re a really intensely celebrated filmmaker, sometimes you just don’t praise anything because it sometimes draws attention away from less work or becomes reductive absorbed. The great Stanley Kubrick once famously said, “I am always reluctant to single out some particular feature of the work of a major filmmaker because it tends inevitably to simplify and reduce the work,” when deciding to praise Krzysztof Kieslowski’s “The Decalogue,” regardless.

The Hollywood labor community is up in arms again after the Directors Guild of America (DGA) made a number of retroactive additions to its film & TV contract with the studios.

The Oscar nominations may have been revealed, but thre are still guild award nominations to announce. This morning, the American CInema Editors revealed the nominees for the 74th Annual Eddie Awards celebrating the best in film and television editing.

On Tuesday, writer-director Cord Jefferson received his first Oscar nomination for American Fiction in Writing (Adapted Screenplay).

Colman Domingo organized his closet to distract himself, “The Holdovers” actor Paul Giamatti was sound asleep and “Killers of the Flower Moon” breakout Lily Gladstone texted with Leonardo DiCaprio after making history as the first Native American nominee. On the morning of the 2024 Oscar nominations, Variety spoke to this year’s contenders — including “The Holdovers” star Da’Vine Joy Randolph and “Past Lives” director Celine Song — about getting recognized by the Academy. How does it feel to make history with this nomination? It’s truly something that belongs to my community.

Before making Past Lives, writer-director Celina Song says with a laugh, she didn’t even know how to read a call sheet. Flash forward a year, though, from the A24 romantic drama’s world premiere at Sundance, and she’s landed an Original Screenplay nom for her debut feature.

Caroline Brew editor Lena Waithe, who is a juror at Sundance, believes the festival “really sets the tone for the year,” citing “Past Lives” as an example from last year. “Obviously, ‘Past Lives’ has done really well, surprisingly so to the business. It’s a quiet movie about home, friends, what would’ve happened if you would’ve stayed in one place versus going somewhere else,” Waithe said.

Gregg Goldstein Few directors have had greater success exposing the harsh realities of American life than Debra Granik. But after a drug abuse-themed first feature, “Down to the Bone,” the Jennifer Lawrence-led poverty saga “Winter’s Bone” and a documentary (“Stray Dog”) and drama (“Leave No Trace”) about haunted military vets, her new multipart doc, “Conbody VS Everybody” might be her most upbeat take on a tough topic to date.

Addie Morfoot Contributor Carla Gutierrez is known in the documentary community for her work as a film editor. She was behind Oscar nominated docs “RBG” and “La Corona” as well as Emmy winner “Julia.” But in 2022, after two decades of editing, Gutierrez decided to direct “Frida,” a docu about iconic Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, which has its world premiere at Sundance Film Festival this week. “A few months before we started working on ‘Frida,’ I would say, ‘I’m really content with editing.’ I had no thoughts of directing, but her story really pulled me in and I realized I have to direct this (film).

Michael B. Jordan has worked with Ryan Coogler many times in his career and they are getting ready to team up for another project.

Gregg Goldstein When you’ve spent the most memorable years of your career battling gods and single-handedly defeating an army, what’s left for a warrior to do? For “Xena: Warrior Princess” star Lucy Lawless, the answer was making her directorial debut with a doc about a fellow New Zealand icon, daredevil CNN war camerawoman Margaret Moth. Her spellbinding feature, “Never Look Away,” which premieres Jan. 18 at Sundance, was selected for the fest’s World Cinema Documentary Competition.

A weighted blanket praised for keeping people warm and helping them sleep through the night has been slashed to half price.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Eugene Hernandez has reached the top of the mountain. The journalist turned nonprofit executive has spent decades rising through the ranks of the American independent film scene. This January he assumes his seat at its apex: as the director of the Sundance Film Festival.

Outlander began in 2014, shocking fans when Claire Randall travelled through the stones and found herself in 1743 and loyal fans will know, she's not the only time-traveller.

Stuart Miller True gender parity remains an unfulfilled goal in Hollywood as in the rest of the world. But over the past several years, the power and potential of women’s stories has finally begun to take deeper root in the entertainment industry.

As we head into 2024, we must set ourselves up for success. Here are a few tips on how to do exactly that.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Gold House and CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics) in Entertainment released the fourth annual Gold List, which spotlights outstanding work and talent within the AAPI community over the past 12 months. “The Gold List was created to ensure awards seasons and mainstream society are up to date on the most worthy creative work — particularly work from communities that have been historically overlooked or excluded,” Jeremy Tran, executive director and chief operating officer of Gold House, said in a statement. “Every visible success leads to numerous unseen doors that are opened for new creative development, production, and distribution opportunities for these communities.” Celine Song’s “Past Lives” leads the list which is voted on by the community’s industry leaders and used to guide voters during awards season.

Ahead of the Golden Globes, Jennifer Aniston showed support for her The Morning Show co-star Greta Lee!

The Golden Globes kicked off the 2024 awards season with a bang, honoring the best in film and television. One of the most anticipated categories was Best Actress in a Motion Picture-Drama, which featured several powerhouse performances over the past year. In the end, the Golden Globes awarded the honor to Lily Gladstone makes history as the first Indigenous woman to receive the award in the show’s 81 year history for her transformative portrayal in Martin Scorsese drama Killers of the Flower Moon.

Billie Eilish made a heartfelt speech at the Golden Globes today in light of the memory of her being asked by writer-director Greta Gerwig to make the hit song “What Was I Made For?”  for the Barbie soundtrack.  “It was exactly a year ago, almost, that we were shown the movie, and I was very, very miserable and depressed at the time. And writing that song kind of saved me a little bit,” Eilish said. “And a year later, here we are. It’s really surreal, and I feel incredibly lucky and grateful.”