Marc Malkin-Senior Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Joe Russo is sounding the alarm about artificial intelligence. Six days before the Writers Guild of America (WGA) called for a strike, I spoke to Joe Russo at the Los Angeles premiere of “Citadel” about his concerns regarding AI. The use of AI has become a major point of contention between the guild and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTA). “I think everyone should be scared of AI,” Russo said. “I don’t know if you’ve heard any of the Drake ‘songs’ that have been dropping on social media, but it’s here. It’s not going anywhere.” The “Avengers” director said in order for AI to work, it must be a “tool servicing us rather than us servicing the tool.”

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Judd Apatow thinks the studios and streamers already have an idea of when the writers strike may end. “I think they probably already know what they’re going to bend on,” Apatow told Variety Saturday at the Rock4EB benefit in Malibu. “I would assume they already know what date this is going to end. They’ve probably been planning this for years.” The writer-director reflected comments heard on picket lines in Los Angeles and New York after talks cratered between the Writers Guild of America and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and the writers union began to strike Tuesday. Apatow explained that he sees the strike as a calculated business move by Hollywood’s largest employers.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Orville Peck may be nervous about bringing drag queens onstage during his concerts in red states, but he refuses to let fear get in the way of fighting for LGBTQ rights. “We played Knoxville, and we did Memphis, and we played a few places in Tennessee and just the South in general. And I doubled down, and I had a drag queen come out in the middle of the show, and I would do a big speech,” Peck tells me. “To me, drag is extremely important not just because a lot of my lovely dear friends do it,” he continues. “It’s a cornerstone of not just gay culture but gay civil rights. It is literally why I have the ability to be an openly gay man in country music. Was I scared? Yes, but I did it anyway because sometimes you just have to do something no matter what.”

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Stanley Tucci may not be searching much longer. The actor-foodie says he’s “pretty confident” that he’ll find a new home for his cooking and travel show, “Searching for Italy.” CNN canceled the two-season series in December when the network ended its development of original documentary programming. “We’re talking to different companies,” Tucci told me at the premiere of his new Amazon Prime Video series, “Citadel.” “We’ll find out in a few weeks.” The series received seven Emmy nominations, winning for outstanding hosted nonfiction series in 2021 and 2022. 

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Can you believe that June 2 will mark the 10-year anniversary of the Red Wedding scene in “Game of Thrones”? Richard Madden, whose character Robb Stark met a grisly end in the episode, recalls filming the bloody massacre. “I remember a lot of crying because at the end of it, I was going to be apart from my family that I had lived with for five years — my on-screen mother and my wife and this crew that had spent a lot of time together, so it was traumatic not only to shoot but traumatic because I was losing my family,” the actor told me at the premiere of his Amazon Prime Video series “Citadel.” The Red Wedding included the slaughter of several major and minor characters on the show, including Robb, his mother Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley), his bride Talisa Stark (Oona Chaplin) and their unborn child.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor The excitement and buzz continues to build for “The Little Mermaid.” A source tells me that director Rob Marshall and husband, producer John DeLuca, hosted a private screening of Disney’s live adaptation of the 1989 animated classic on Sunday night at New York’s Whitby Hotel. The guest list of about 80 people included Emily Blunt and John Krasinski, Matt Damon and his family, Emily Mortimer, Ben Platt and his “Parade” co-star Micaela Diamond, Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, Bob Balaban and Lynn Grossman, Diane and Brian Sutherland, and Scott Ellis. The film’s composer Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda, who co-wrote three new songs for the movie, were also there.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Nicole Avant and her family have lived through the unthinkable. Her mother, 81-year-old philanthropist Jacqueline Avant, was fatally shot in her Beverly Hills home during a home invasion on Dec. 1, 2021. Jacqueline’s husband, music industry legend Clarence Avant, was also home at the time. “My faith has kept me stable,” Nicole told me Friday morning at the opening of the Jacqueline Avant Children and Family Center at the MLK Medical Campus in the Watts-Willowbrook community. “But it is true that life does begin again and you will smile again. You have to believe that even if you don’t see how that can be, you have to act as if.”

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor John Mulaney is answering questions about being asked by Comedy Central executives if he was interested in hosting “The Daily Show” when Jon Stewart bowed out in 2015. During a recent appearance on Doug Herzog and Jen Chaney’s “Basic!” podcast, Herzog — who was president of Viacom Music and Entertainment Group, which oversaw Comedy Central, until 2017 — asked Mulaney if he recalled the conversation he had with then-president of Comedy Central, Kent Alterman, about potentially taking over. “I think we were floating your interest in that and you were very lukewarm as I remember,” Herzog said. Mulaney explained that he ultimately passed because, in part, his Fox sitcom “Mulaney” had just been canceled after only one season.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor “Younger” star Miriam Shor has been cast in Bradley Cooper’s Leonard Bernstein biopic, “Maestro.” Shor exclusively tells Variety that she is playing actor and model Cynthia O’Neal, a friend of the legendary musician and his wife Felicia Montealegre. Cooper directed the Netflix film, co-wrote it with Josh Singer and stars as Bernstein. Carey Mulligan portrays Montealegre. “I play Cynthia O’Neal, who was a very good friend of the Bernsteins, particularly his wife, Felicia,” Shor said Thursday night at the Los Angeles premiere of her and Cooper’s latest film, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.” “I mean, that was unbelievable. Because an actor who also directs, to get to work with Bradley… he’s a savant. It’s miraculous. So that was really special, I was really grateful.”

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Priyanka Chopra Jonas admits she’d rather not do stunt work if given the choice. “I didn’t want to do my stunts,” she says of her new action-packed spy series, “Citadel.” But the acting veteran is a victim of her own success. “I trust myself to do it,” Chopra Jonas tells me. “The mandate from the filmmakers was, ‘We would love for the actors’ faces to be seen as much as you can and where you feel safe. I’m someone who has tremendous experience with action movies and action parts. Not just with my TV show, but my Bollywood action movies. I was working 15, 20 years ago when I didn’t even have stunt doubles. I had a little man wearing a wig with shaved arms that used to do stunts for me that were too dangerous, because we didn’t even have women at that time. So I learned how to do my stuff.”

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Bungalow 8 is back – for one night only. Gucci is hosting a Bungalow pop-up in New York City on April 29, two nights ahead of the Met Gala. The fashion house isn’t commenting, but I got my hands on the official invite, which reads, “Amy Sacco & Gucci invite you to Bungalow Gucci.” Idris Elba will deejay the late-night soirée. Sacco opened the original Bungalow 8 in Chelsea in 2001. The small venue at 515 W. 27th St. went onto to become the hottest nightclub in the early and mid-aughts, attracting an A-List crowd — including George Clooney, Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn, Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, Colin Farrell, Naomi Campbell and every other supermodel, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Justin Timberlake, John Mayer, Sean “Diddy” Combs and Heidi Klum — before closing in 2009. Even former President Bill Clinton hosted a fundraiser for his presidential library at the club in 2003.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor “Fatal Attraction” showrunner Alexandra Cunningham says it was at a table read on Zoom when she knew that Joshua Jackson and Lizzy Caplan had the chemistry to make her reimagining of the 1987 movie work. “The entire cast was there and it’s everyone in their little windows,” Cunningham told me at the premiere of the Paramount+ series Monday night in West Hollywood at the Pacific Design Center. “As soon as Josh and Lizzy started talking to each other, there was chemistry. When you have chemistry on Zoom, you’re going to have chemistry when you meet in real life.” She continued, “Immediately it was like, ‘These people are really flirting. These people are really living this moment.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, my god, it’s gonna be okay.’”

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor The Met Gala may like to keep its guest list top secret until minutes before the starry crowd arrives for the event, but Elle Fanning has confirmed she’ll be in attendance this year. The star of “The Great” teased her gala look when I caught up with her Sunday at The Daily Front Row’s Fashion Los Angeles Awards at the Beverly Hills Hotel. “I had an idea kind of quickly, I have to say,” she said. “I sort of sketch everything out so I did a little sketch – an homage to Karl Lagerfeld, of course. I am truly going on theme. I have a good story behind the look that is special to me. I’m excited.” This year’s gala takes place May 1 and coincides with the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute’s exhibit, “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.” Dress code is “in honor of Karl.” Gala hosts include Penélope Cruz, Michaela Coel, Roger Federer, Dua Lipa, and, of course, Anna Wintour.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Keke Palmer opened up about sexuality and gender while being honored Saturday by the Los Angeles LGBT Center. “I’m so grateful to be here today to be embraced by a community that I’ve always felt accepted by, and a part of,” the “Nope” star. “I’ve always been my own person. Sexuality and identity for me has always been confusion. You know, it’s, ‘I never felt straight enough. I never felt gay enough. And I never felt woman enough. I never felt man enough.’ You know, I always felt like I was a little bit of everything.” Palmer was presented with a Vanguard Award from Karamo Brown during the center’s annual gala, which took place at the Fairmont Century Plaza hotel.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Pharrell’s Icecream brand and NFT company Doodles have teamed up for an exclusive capsule collection to be launched during the “Happy” singer’s Something in the Water music festival. The line will debut at a pop-up during the festival, which runs April 28-30 in Pharrell’s hometown of Virginia Beach, Va., Variety can exclusively report. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Pharrell’s education non-profit Yellow. The items in the Icecream-Doodles collaboration include a skateboard, hat, shorts, hoodies, T-shirts and a beach towel designed by Doodles artist Burnt Toast. Pharrell was named chief brand officer of Doodles in June 2022.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Welcome to this week’s “Just for Variety.” In his first comments since it was revealed that he and Justin Britt-Gibson are no longer writing the script for director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s “Star Wars” movie, Damon Lindelof tells me the project was a “true labor of love.” “Peaky Blinders” creator Steven Knight is now penning the script. “The movie is still happening, but unfortunately not with me,” Lindelof said at the premiere of “Mrs. Davis,” the offbeat Peacock dramady he is shepherding with showrunner Tara Hernandez. “I wish them all the best of luck. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is an incredible director, and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with.”

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Jake Gyllenhaal is determined to star in another Broadway musical. “There are so many musicals I love so deeply,” Gyllenhaal, who starred in a revival of “Sunday in the Park With George” with Annaleigh Ashford in 2017, told Variety at the Los Angeles premiere of his new action drama “The Covenant” on Monday evening. “At some point, I’ve always loved ‘Fiddler on the Roof.’ I’d love to do that.” Gyllenhaal’s godmother, Jamie Lee Curtis, was at “The Covenant” premiere and recalled how the actor was supposed to star as Tevye in a school production of “Fiddler” when he was a high school senior. He left the show when he was offered the lead in the 1999 drama “October Sky.”

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Gucci has a new stand-alone boutique in Los Angeles. But this is no ordinary brick-and-mortar shop. Located on Melrose Place in a building that housed a Marc Jacobs store for many years, Gucci Salon is a VIP experience reserved for appointment-only clientele to shop Valigeria, precious leathers, jewelry and accessories, high-end custom collections — including evening wear, tailoring and gowns — and home decor. At a recent preview for the press, celeb gowns were on display, including the silver and black number Jessica Chastain wore to this year’s Oscars and others donned by Jodie Turner-Smith, Dakota Johnson and Michelle Williams.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Betty Gilpin turned to her actor dad, Jack Gilpin, for help when she was preparing for her new Peacock series “Mrs. Davis.” “He introduced me to three nuns,” Betty told me at the show’s premiere Thursday night in Los Angeles. Papa Gilpin is not only a veteran actor (he currently plays Church the Butler on HBO’s “The Gilded Age“), but he’s also an Episcopalian priest. “He did connect me with nuns to talk to,” Betty said. “They are these incredible feminist warriors in their own right.” Have the sisters seen the show? “I’d be interested to know what they think about it, but I don’t think they have Peacock,” Betty said, laughing.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Welcome to this week’s “Just for Variety.” Mark Consuelos doesn’t mind hand-me-downs from Ryan Seacrest. Consuelos tells me he’s inheriting Seacrest’s dressing room when “Live With Kelly and Ryan” becomes “Live With Kelly and Mark” on April 17. “I’m no dummy,” Consuelos says on this week’s episode of the “Just for Variety” podcast. “Ryan is very fancy — he’s got fancy stuff.” At the same time it was announced in February that Seacrest was leaving “Live,” it was revealed that Consuelos will replace him as his wife Kelly Ripa’s co-host on the syndicated daytime talk show. “The first conversations started with like, ‘That is the worst idea ever,’”

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor On Tuesday night, Jeremy Renner walked his first red carpet since his near-fatal snow plow accident. The “Avengers” actor was on hand at the premiere of “Rennervations,” his new Disney+ reality series about renovating used vehicles for underserved communities around the world. The event was held at the Westwood Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles. Using a cane, Renner arrived on the carpet at around 6 p.m., appearing alongside his family for photographs. After walking for a bit, the actor then took to a motorized scooter to assist him through press interviews.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Director Ari Aster says it took about six months for Joaquin Phoenix to sign on to star in his new movie, “Beau Is Afraid.” “You get on your hands and knees and beg,” Aster jokes about his first meeting with the Oscar winner. “He’s the best. He’s the greatest. He’s the prince. And those eyes. He could be so naked, so exposed, and he’s funny. He’s a funny guy.” Aster (“Hereditary” and “Midsommar”) and his cast celebrated the Los Angeles premiere of the A24 film Monday night at the DGA in West Hollywood. “It’s when I first saw ‘I’m Still Here’ that I knew I needed to work with this guy,” Aster said. “One, it’s such a funny film, and two, that performance is really a brilliant comic performance. But it’s also because as a gesture that movie is suicidal. What he was doing with his own name there is so crazy and funny and sick. It’s like a sick thing to do. Since then, I’ve known I’ve wanted to work with him.”

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Hello Sunshine COO Liz Jenkins has been elected chair of GLAAD’s board of directors. Perkins succeeds seven-year chair Pamela Stewart. “I have seen firsthand the power of storytelling to shape culture and impact how each of us is able to walk through the world,” Jenkins said in a statement Thursday. “At a time when the LGBTQ community and specifically those most vulnerable, our young people, are under attack, GLAAD’s work is more critical than ever. I am honored and energized to be working alongside [GLAAD] president Sarah Kate Ellis, the GLAAD team and the board of directors to advocate for our community and support the creation of stories that build acceptance and understanding.”

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Dove Cameron first rose to fame for her work playing the title roles on the Disney Channel’s “Liv and Maddie” followed by her starring role in the “Descendants” franchise. Now 27, she returns for the second season of “Schmigadoon!” as Jenny Banks, a character based on Sally Bowles from “Cabaret.” The sophomore season of the Apple series, titled “Schmicago!,” is inspired by Broadway musicals of the 1960 and ‘70s. “It was transformative, an education awakening for so many of us,” Cameron says of the legacy of “Cabaret” on this week’s episode of the “Just for Variety” podcast. “Especially, I’m sure you can relate, but growing up as a queer person and seeing queer representation in an environment that was also so sexually liberated — those two things coupled together were really healing and necessary to see growing up for me to become the person that I am. I know for so many other people, they feel the same.”

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor The Los Angeles LGBT Center is organizing a rally on Easter Sunday, April 9, in Los Angeles to protest anti-LGBTQ legislation. Billed as Drag March LA, the event kicks off at 11 a.m. PT at West Hollywood Park. “The center’s Drag March is a nod to the origins of the LGBTQ+ movement, when the very first demonstrations started in opposition to moral policing and anti-crossdressing laws designed to impose a singular ideal of gender and sexuality onto citizens,” center CEO Joe Hollendonor said in statement Wednesday. “It is no mistake that today’s ‘Drag Bans’ are accompanied by a sweeping movement to ban access to gender-affirming care; we are fighting for our right to privacy, bodily autonomy, self-determination, and freedom of expression.” 

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Seth Rogen hopes Hollywood will redeem itself with Universal Pictures’ new animated “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” Rogen, who voices Donkey Kong in the adaptation of the popular video game series, tells Variety at the film’s premiere, “When I was 11, I saw the original ‘Mario Bros.’ movie and I was so excited. But it’s one of the worst films ever made. I was so disappointed. I think it made me realize that movies, like, could be bad. That never occurred to me until that moment. “It really bummed me out,” he continues. “It’s nice to vindicate that moment. It’s nice to know that 11-year-olds out there that they won’t be disappointed in the same way that I was.”

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Brooke Shields came pretty close to starring in Stephen Frears’ 1988 period drama “Dangerous Liaisons” alongside John Malkovich, Glenn Close, Michelle Pfeiffer and Keanu Reeves. “They told me it came down to me and someone else,” Shields tells me. “They said the other person was this girl not many people knew about. It was Uma Thurman. At that time and that age, it felt so personal, but I’ve learned over time not to take it personally because ‘no’ outweighs ‘yes’ extensively in this business.” Released by Warner Bros., “Dangerous Liaisons” went on to be nominated for seven Oscars, eventually taking home the awards for adapted screenplay, costume design and production design. Christopher Hampton adapted the screenplay from his 1985 play “Les Liaisons dangereuses.” The $14 million film grossed $34.7 million at the box office.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Queen Latifah has signed on to host the 29th amfAR Gala Cannes. Considered one of the hottest tickets during the Cannes Film Festival, the HIV/AIDS research organization’s event takes place May 25 at Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc. Previously announced performers include Halsey, Gladys Knight, Adam Lambert and Bebe Rexha. Longtime amfAR supporter Carine Roitfeld returns to curate the annual fashion show. The theme of this year’s runway extravaganza will be “Icons” and will feature looks by iconic designers and worn by some of the world’s top models. 

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor As legacy Twitter users continue waiting to see if Elon Musk’s platform strips their blue checkmarks, Jack Black weighs in on the social media company’s new policies, with a tentative stance on whether he’ll shell out a monthly fee to keep his verification status. “I don’t know if I’m going to pay for it,” Black told Variety at the Los Angeles premiere of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” on Saturday. “I’m a little embarrassed by the blue check to be honest with you. Maybe it’s cooler not to have checks. It’s definitely not cool to pay for it. I’m gonna see what happens if I don’t pay for it. I’m gonna call his bluff, see if he really takes my check away.”

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Adam Sandler may have done some impressive action sequences in “Murder Mystery 2,” but it sounds like he’s not jumping at the chance to do his own stunts again anytime soon. The actor tells me he underwent hip replacement surgery not long after he and Jennifer Aniston wrapped the follow-up to their original “Murder Mystery” comedy. “My god damn hip, I had to change that at the end of the movie,” Sandler told me Tuesday at the film’s premiere at the Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles. “I had been doing so many movies in a row. I did ’Spaceman’ and I was hanging in harness all the time. I kept saying, ‘Something’s going on with my hip, man. I’m in trouble.’ And then during this and this other movie I did I was like, ‘Yeah, I definitely gotta x-ray that thing,’ and we were in trouble.”

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor It’s been more than 25 years since Ben Affleck became the youngest Oscar winner for best original screenplay for “Good Will Hunting,” which he co-wrote and starred in with Matt Damon. Isn’t it time for a sequel? Not so much. Damon laughed when revealing that Affleck was recently approached for a follow-up movie. “Someone just tried to pitch Ben ‘Good Will Hunting 2,’” Damon told me Monday at the premiere of “Air” in Los Angeles. “I shit you not — that happened. He told me today. He was like, ‘You’re not going to believe what I heard.’ This was a flat-out sequel. I don’t get it.”

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Chris Pine is hopeful that “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” gives moviegoers a true escape from real-world problems. “I’ve seen this film probably more than I’ve seen many of my other films because I love watching it with an audience,” the actor told me on Sunday at the film’s Los Angeles premiere. “To come out and see audience’s faces, you see exactly what cinema should do, which is people are, like, alive. They want to talk about it. They’re in a great mood. The world is so shitty so why not use this vehicle — big budget cinema — to make people feel better.” The adaptation of the iconic fantasy game was written and directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley. Pine stars alongside Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justin Smith, Sophia Lillis, Hugh Grant and Daisy Head.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Lukas Gage’s life has taken a complete 180 ever since he became a viral hit after releasing the now-infamous video of director Tristram Shapeero disparaging his apartment following a Zoom audition. Since then, he’s appeared in “The White Lotus,” “Euphoria” and “You.” He’ll next star in “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” and was recently at SXSW to premiere “Down Low,” a raunchy queer comedy he not only co-wrote with Phoebe Fisher but also stars in with Zachary Quinto. Gage is also becoming a go-to celeb for brand endorsements. His new deal is with Tequila Don Julio Rosado, helping promote the pink-hued spirit and the “P(arty) Time Off!” campaign. “Tequila on the rocks is my go-to,” Gage tells Variety. “I used to be a beer guy. But then it made me a little too bloated sometimes. So I think I just keep it to some good quality tequila, drink it on the rocks and call it a day.”

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Karamo Brown’s syndicated talk show “Karamo” has been renewed for Season 2. The news was announced Thursday morning by NBCUniversal Syndication Studios & E! News executive vice president Tracie Wilson.     To date, “Karamo,” which replaced Maury Povich’s talker, is sold in 85% of the country and appears on leading station groups across the country including Nexstar, Weigel, Tegna, Sunbeam, Hearst, Sinclair, Capitol, Block, CW Plus, Mission Broadcasting and more. “Karamo” is executive produced by Kerry Shannon and co-executive produced by Gloria Harrison-Hall.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Patty Jenkins says she was more than disappointed that no women were nominated for best director this year. “I give up, I give up,” the “Wonder Woman” director told me Saturday at the Charles Finch and Chanel pre-Oscars dinner at the Beverly Hills Hotel’s Polo Lounge. “I say that even with all of their push to have diversity. The numbers are just hugely imbalanced of who votes for these things. I sort of just stopped paying attention to it. It’s still going to take a long ways to go. It’s going to take a lot more to really see truly more diverse awards. I really appreciate the efforts that they’re making but we have a long way to go.”

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Jonathan Majors is making sure to keep his body in shape. The actor has created quite a stir for his physique in “Creed III,” “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and the Sundance Film Festival favorite “Magazine Dreams.” Majors tells Variety that he’ll work out not once, but twice before the Oscars on Sunday. “I’m going to get up and go to the gym, have a big breakfast, wash my face and then I’ll really scrub my face because I’ll be presenting tomorrow,” Majors said at the Chanel and Charles Finch pre-Oscar dinner at the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Saturday night. “I’ll probably go to the gym twice. My pickup isn’t until four o’clock. It’ll be cool.”