Oscars 2022 Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

The National Board of Review is traditionally the first “awards group” (we use that term lightly with them) to announce their honorees for the season. This year, the organization somewhat surprised by selecting Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Licorice Pizza” for Best Film and Best Director.

Awards season got into gear on Monday night as the Gotham Awards returned to an in-person ceremony for the first time in two years. And it was a massive night for Netflix as Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Lost Daughter” took Best Feature, Breakthrough Director, Best Screenplay and tied for Outstanding Performance (Olivia Colman).

As any filmmaker how you know your movie is a hit these days and their answer might surprise you, Instagram. If you’ve got something special, fan art of all kinds will pop up on the social media network.

Stephen Karam’s directorial debut, “The Humans,” is a big-screen adaptation of his own 2016 Tony Award-winning play. In theory, it’s self-contained setting (a crowded New York City apartment on Thanksgiving) might give some filmmakers pause, but Karam has a major advantage in pulling it off, his cast.

Lots of British actors are good at American accents. Many American actors are good at British accents.

It’s been quite a year for Lin-Manuel Miranda. I mean, Lin-Manuel Miranda is always having amazing years, but this one has been slightly more special than all the other ones.

Almost every Oscar season there seems to be one young actor who charms the pants off everyone. Sometimes they win Oscars (“The Piano’s” Anna Paquin), sometimes they get nominated (“Beasts of the Southern Wild’s” Quvenzhané Wallis), sometimes they grow up to have established careers (“Billy Elliot’s” Jamie Bell, “About A Boy’s” Nicholas Hoult) and often they just have a grand ol’ time on the awards circuit (“Room’s” Jacob Tremblay, “Jojo Rabbit’s” Roman Griffin Davis).

Unless you’ve been lucky enough to attend a number of select film festivals over the past few months, it’s highly unlikely you’ve seen Joachim Trier‘s fantastic “The Worst Person In The World” yet. And chances are you won’t see it anytime soon as NEON, its U.S.

We won’t get the official list of submissions from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for a week or two, but there’s enough intel on the International Film race to start categorizing the contenders. The most important thing to realize is that there is no way a great film isn’t going to get snubbed with just five nominees.

There is a lot to unpack in Pablo Larrain’s “Spencer.” On the surface, it’s a movie centered on a 1991 holiday weekend in the life of Princess Diana (Kristen Stewart), a historical figure who still resonates 24 years after her death in a tragic car accident in Paris.

As a public figure who has had numerous experiences with interview quotes being twisted into clickbait articles, Kristen Stewart admits she did not think a stray comment she made about her career would blow up like it did this past week.

One of the more prestigious precursors for the Documentary Oscar are the IDA Documentary Awards. While the International Documentary Association’s choices don’t always line up with the Academy’s, they can provide a snapshot of where the Doc race is a few months out.

Awards season took another leap into the unknown with the unveiling of the 2021 Gotham Awards nominations. Chosen by select committees film and television critics, this year’s crop of honorees gave major boosts to independently financed films such as “CODA,” “Passing” and “The Green Kinght.” It also unintentionally provides a buzzworthy pop culture moment by the inclusion of Netflix breakout “Squid Game” in the Breakthrough Television Category.

To suggest that France had an abundance of quality candidates for its International Film Oscar submission this year is beyond an understatement.

A year ago, Youn Yuh-jung was a presumed frontrunner or the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. The “Minari” star eventually took the honor after dominating the precursor awards.

Ann Dowd has been a working actor in film and television for over 35 years. She’s an Emmy winner for “The Handmaid’s Tale,” won Best Supporting Actress honor from the National Board of Review for 2012’s “Compliance” and earned Spirit Award, Screen Actors Guild, and Golden Globe Award nominations.

Following historic rating lows for the 93rd Oscars, the Academy of Motion Pictures has decided to bring on a new producer for the 94th Academy Awards, Will Packer. The prolific film producer of films such as “Straight Outta Compton,” “Girls Trip” and “Obsessed” has a major challenge on his hands, but AMPAS leadership seems very enthusiastic about his coming on board.

Over the past five years, there have been a few moments where the world’s attention wasn’t focused on the U.S. elections, Brexit, China, North Korea, the Middle East, or the onslaught of COVID.

Jessica Chastain isn’t the only connection between “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” and the upcoming Paramount+ “George and Tammy” limited series. Abe Sylvia, a co-executive producer on “The Affair” and “Dead to Me,” is the screenwriter.

You’ve seen Jessica Chastain in extravagant period pieces. You’ve seen her in Palme d’Or-winning masterpieces.

TELLURIDE – For those of us lucky enough to attend Cannes, there was a genuine sense of euphoria about returning to an in-person film festival following the pandemic forced cancellation in 2020. Returning to Telluride, which only featured a historic “Nomadland” outdoor screening last year, due to said pandemic, warmed the heart.

CANNES – Considering it was already pegged as an Oscar contender for 2021 if the pandemic had never occurred, it’s no surprise that Wes Anderson‘s magnificent new concoction, “The French Dispatch,” will make waves for the upcoming 2022 awards season. The film debuted in competition at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival after originally being invited last year.

After a number of years of over 800 or 900 new members, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences took a more conservative approach for 2021. This year’s class featured just 395 new Oscar voters as The Academy aims to keep the overall membership under 10,000 over fears of the institution losing some of its luster, among other concerns.

After a pandemic cancelation, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is bringing the separate Governors Awards ceremony back. It will take place in person on January 15, 2022, in Los Angeles and it will have some living legends to celebrate.

The 2021 Oscar season finally ended on Sunday, but the first pretty much guaranteed Oscar nominee of 2022 arrives on Netflix on Friday. No, it’s not the highly anticipated endeavors from Adam McKay or Jane Campion.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences loves to make noise at the end of the summer. Two years ago, they announced the intent to create a Popular Film category for the Oscars that died in a public and industry backlash.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences loves to make noise at the end of the summer. Two years ago, they announced the intent to create a Popular Film category for the Oscars that died in a public and industry backlash.