Movie News

One of the few awards show to stick to a virtual presentation this year was the WGA Awards. Handed out during a ceremony on Sunday afternoon, the voting members of the Writers Guild rewarded a number of familiar television programs and were shockingly safe when it came to the film honorees. The top two prizes, Original Screenplay and Adapted Screenplay, went to the writing teams of “Don’t Look Up” and “Coda,” respectfully.

Continue reading ‘Don’t Look Up,’ ‘Coda,’ ‘Hacks’ & ‘Succession’ Top The 2022 WGA Awards at The Playlist.

The third episode of "Outlander" season 6 is here, and it's the calm before the storm of the American Revolution.

And when I say calm, I mean calm — we get a lot of time with Fergus and his family, further confirmation that Tom Christie is The Worst, and ... not much else! It's a quiet, one could even say slow, episode. But it's also one that seems to be setting up for a lot of things, well, happen. The Revolution, of course, but also the increasing likelihood that Claire and Brianna will get accused of witchcraft sooner rather than later.

Read on for a spoiler-filled discussion...

The post Outlander's 'Temperance' Takes Its Time, Sets Stage For Inevitable Conflict appeared first on /Film.

The Guild of Music Supervisors held its 12th annual awards ceremony virtually on March 20.

Recognizing those who excel at the craft of music supervision in film, television, documentaries, games, advertising and trailers, the night’s big winners included HBO’s “The White Lotus,” supervised by Janet Lopez, who gave an impassioned acceptance speech, thanking the music makers of Hawaii for taking her call, and Liza Richardson for “Lovecraft Country” season 1. The Netflix film “Tick, Tick… Boom!,” supervised by Steven Gizicki, took home the prize for film budgeted over $25 million. Mandi Collier won twice for her work on “Sylie’s Love & Zola,” and “Dos Oruguitas” from “Encanto,” by Lin-Manuel Miranda and sung by Sebastian Yatra (and nominated for an Academy Award), won for best song written and/or recorded for a film.

Receiving special honors were Diane Warren (the Icon Award), for her numerous songs to soundtrack major films, and Mitchell Leib

What's it take to get an invite to the Academy Awards? Apparently, starring in Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story," which has been nominated for seven awards including Best Picture, isn't enough. That's the way the cookie crumbles, anyway, for Rachel Zegler, who plays Maria, the Juliet analog in this remake of the musical based on Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet."

Zegler is an active presence on social media, and she recently posted some photos on Instagram, including one of her in a dress for an awards ceremony. When a fan commented that they couldn't wait to see what she wears on Oscar night, Zegler...

The post West Side Story Star Rachel Zegler Says She Wasn't Invited to the Oscars appeared first on /Film.

“Coda” and “Don’t Look Up” added momentum to their hopes for Oscar gold by nabbing the top film honors Sunday at the 74th annual Writers Guild Awards.

The wins for the Apple TV Plus and Netflix titles come as film award season heads into its final seven-day countdown leading into the 94th Academy Awards on March 27. The Writers Guild of America West and East joined forces this year to present Sunday’s kudos in a virtual format, hosted by actor-writer Ashley Nicole Black, out of pandemic-related caution.

The leaders of both guilds, WGA West president Meredith Stiehm and WGA East president Michael Winship — made a brief side-by-side video appearance to assure members that the Writers Guild Awards will be back in person next year.

“Enjoy your sweat pants and slippers now. Next year you’ll be back in heels and ties and Spanx again,” said Stiehm.

On the TV side,

You made it through the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the Directors Guild Awards, and the Producers Guild Awards, too. The wait for the Oscars is almost over, but one more major guild had yet to give out its trophies before the Academy Awards. Tonight, Hollywood’s top writers came together for the Writers Guild of America Awards, which honored the finest achievements in film and television writing.

On the film side, the nominees were actually quite different from what you’ll see at the Oscars next week. In the Original Screenplay category, “Licorice Pizza,” “Don’t Look Up,” and “King Richard” were still nominated, but “Belfast” and “The Worst Person in the World” were replaced with “Being the Ricardos.” The Adapted Screenplay category was even more distinct, with only two Oscar contenders (“Dune” and “Coda”) nominated.

But it ultimately did not matter, as two Oscar nominees took the top prizes. “Coda

(Welcome to The Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they've been watching, why it's worth checking out, and where you can stream it.)

The Movie: "The Tree of Life"

Where You Can Stream It: Hulu

The Pitch: "There are two ways through life. The way of nature, and the way of grace." One of those is embodied by Brad Pitt and the other is embodied by Jessica Chastain in Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life." Chastain is up for an Oscar this month for her transformative performance in another religious film, "The Eyes of Tammy Faye," and in...

The post The Daily Stream: The Tree Of Life Is An Ode To The Importance Of Every Person appeared first on /Film.

Robert Pattinson’s The Batman continued to soar over both Gotham and the nation’s multiplexes for the third consecutive weekend, taking the No. 1 spot yet again with a muscular $36.8 million haul that pushed the latest outing from the Caped Crusader past the $300 million mark in North America. Meanwhile some fresh competition from the lower-profile worlds of anime and indie horror finally helped to nudge Sony’s blockbuster, Spider-Man: No Way Home, out of the top five for the first time in three and a half months.

Playing in 4,302 theaters, Warner Bros.’ dark, PG-13-rated superhero spectacular co-starring Paul Dano as the Riddler scored a strong $8,554 per-screen average in its third frame—a drop-off of -44.7% from the previous weekend. Despite the flick’s lengthy, three-hour running time and bruise-black tone, it has managed to rack up $300.1 million domestically to date, making it only the second film to accomplish that feat since the pandemic began,

David Dobrik, the 25-year-old YouTube superstar, has a grin that speaks a thousand words. Dobrik is the quintessence of cute — eager and baby-faced, with big dark puppy eyes and floppy brown hair combed so that it never seems combed. Clad in sweatshirts that he wears like pajamas, he looks like the comic-strip character Dondi crossed with Mark Wahlberg in 1995 crossed with the world’s smarmiest frat-house douche. When Dobrik grins, his face lights up, but he’s a self-contained firecracker. That grin is a smirk, a freeze-frame guffaw, and a snicker of contempt all at the same time. It’s the look of a class clown, of a kid who can’t believe what he’s getting away with, or of the nicest, most polite office colleague who is also, in case you weren’t looking, the worst corporate backstabber.

David Dobrik, in short, is a dude who looks a lot like America.

As “The Batman” continues to rule the box office, the “Batverse” seems destined to dominate pop culture for a while, with multiple HBO Max spinoff series in development and future films appearing inevitable. While little is currently known about Warner Bros.’ future plans for the characters in Matt Reeves’ film, one thing is now certain: There will be more Riddler in Paul Dano’s future.

DC Comics has announced that Dano will be writing a new six-issue comic book series about his character, titled “Riddler: Year One.” The series will serve as a prequel to “The Batman,” explaining how Dano’s version of the iconic villain came to be. Dano will collaborate with illustrator Stevan Subic on the comics, but will write all six issues himself.

The official synopsis from DC reads: “This series explores the background of how accountant Edward Nashton went from a simple Gotham City nobody to becoming Batman’s nemesis,

True Believers have been patiently waiting for "Moon Knight" to finally hit Disney+ and the wait will finally be over in just over a week. But in the time since the epic Super Bowl trailer dropped, teasers and TV spots have been slowly shifting focus from mild-mannered Steven with the interesting accent to the badass mercenary-turned-supernatural-vigilante Marc Spector. 

Now, as the premiere date quickly approaches for the newest hero's debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a new "Moon Knight" TV spot gives us a better look at how both characters played by Oscar Isaac interact with one another.

In the latest spot for the upcoming Phase Four series...

The post Moon Knight TV Spot: Protect the Vulnerable, Deliver Justice appeared first on /Film.

“West Side Story” breakout star Rachel Zegler revealed in an Instagram post on Sunday that she doesn’t have a ticket to attend the 94th Academy Awards, sparking a wave of outrage on social media from fans.

“Idk y’all, I have tried it all, but it doesn’t seem to be happening,” Zegler wrote in a comment to a user on Instagram. “I will root for ‘West Side Story’ from my couch and be proud of the work we so tirelessly did three years ago. I hope some last minute miracle occurs and I can celebrate our film in person, but hey, that’s how it goes sometimes, I guess. Thanks for all the shock and outrage – I’m disappointed too. But that’s okay. So proud of our movie.”

Zegler made her debut film performance as Maria in Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of the stage musical. Her portrayal

“West Side Story” will be a serious contender for many of the top prizes on Oscar night next week, but it looks like its star Rachel Zegler will not be on hand to support it.

In the comments of a recent Instagram post highlighting the actress’ past three months, a fan asked Zegler what she planned on wearing to the Oscars. Her droll response: “I’m not invited so sweatpants and my boyfriend’s flannel.”

Angry fans quickly flooded the comments, expressing dismay that the breakout star was not invited to the ceremony. While Zegler is not nominated for anything, the film received seven nominations including Best Picture. It is common for stars to attend the show to support their films in top categories, even if they did not receive nominations themselves. Zegler replied to her supporters and added more context to the situation.

“Idk y’all I have tried

After over 30 years of dramatically issuing paternity tests and being the highlight of the "sick day" television lineup for countless school children in the days before streaming platforms and dedicated children's entertainment networks existed, tabloid talk show "Maury" has been canceled. 

The show first debuted in 1991 as "The Maury Povich Show," but the title was eventually shortened to "Maury" in 1998. While the show has covered a range of topics and featured a variety of guests over its decades long run, it is ultimately a blatantly exploitative talk show that immediately calls to mind chaotic imagery of distraught men and women running off...

The post Maury Is Ending This Season After Three Decades on TV appeared first on /Film.

Some say that laughter is the best medicine. That's why when prolific screenwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Lenny Henry set out to heal the world of poverty and famine, they founded the British charity Comic Relief to help people around the globe by raising money with laughs. The highlight of the charity's efforts is Red Nose Day, an annual telethon featuring some of the biggest names in entertainment performing musical numbers or participating in skits.

For example, Curtis reunited the cast of his beloved Christmas rom com "Love Actually" for a mini-sequel that catches up with the characters played by Hugh Grant, Martine McCutcheon,...

The post Ted Lasso Stars Reunite For Sketch to Support British Charity Comic Relief appeared first on /Film.

Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of “West Side Story” has earned rave reviews and plenty of Oscar buzz, with fans and critics praising Spielberg’s technical mastery and ability to make the 60-year-old musical feel relevant today. It’s one of Spielberg’s biggest directorial successes in recent memory, but don’t expect the director to helm more Broadway classics anytime soon.

Variety has reported that Spielberg spoke at a PGA Awards breakfast on Saturday, where he was nominated for “West Side Story.” And while he had nothing but good things to say about his experience directing the film, he said it will be his only musical as a director.

For decades, Spielberg has spoken about his desire to direct a musical, citing it as the only genre he hadn’t tackled in a career that included everything from “Jurassic Park” to “Schindler’s List.” It appears that “West Side Story” definitively scratched that itch for him,

(Welcome to TV, Interrupted, a series where the /Film team remembers, eulogizes, and makes a case for the revival of TV shows we loved that were canceled far too soon.)

"And Then There Were None" knockoffs are everywhere. The classic Agatha Christie novel was published in 1939, and the murder mystery genre has never been the same since. And while Christie's novel wasn't exactly a slasher (its party guests are mostly killed off-page) it's undoubtedly a touchstone for horror's goriest genre as well. People reveal their true selves under tremendous pressure, so the idea of putting a group of disparate strangers in one...

The post TV, Interrupted: Harper's Island Was A Slasher Event That Died Young appeared first on /Film.

This weekend is the two-year anniversary of when theaters closed and began the unprecedented disruption of a century-old business. Its impact remains a work in progress, although positive signs continue: “The Batman” crossed the $300 million domestic mark in its third weekend. That’s two days earlier than “Batman v Superman” in 2016, which opened $30 million higher, then ended up at $330 million.

The Robert Pattinson reboot should easily pass $400 million in the U.S./Canada, with $800 million worldwide in sight. (It just passed $600 million.) A strong hold, down only 45 percent, shows above-average word of mouth and perhaps signs of continued expansion of audiences returning to theaters.

It also is helped by little competition. Over the last three years, “Captain Marvel,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “Zootopia” all opened this month to ultimate domestic grosses of over $300 million.

The younger male audience that leads the return to theaters showed its strength with an

Another day, another voice in the chorus of complaints about changes to the Oscars telecast.

For the last month, much of Hollywood has been up in arms about the provocative decision to eliminate eight Oscar categories from the live ABC broadcast, with executive producer Will Packer opting instead to pre-tape the below-the-line categories and edit the acceptance speeches into the show to save time.

One of those categories is Best Film Editing, and Hollywood’s top editors are none too happy about the move. American Cinema Editors, the organization devoted to honoring film editing that hosts the prestigious Ace Awards, has released a letter imploring the Academy to change the decision (via The Hollywood Reporter).

“The Academy Awards have always been about the art of cinema, and editing is unique to film; it is a creative process that was born when motion pictures were invented,” the group wrote. “Without editing there would be no movies.

It isn't very often that horror fans can universally agree upon a movie's perfection, but 2008's "Let The Right One In" is one of the few exceptions. Based on John Ajvide Lindqvist's bestselling 2004 novel of the same name, "Let The Right One In" was given the film adaptation treatment by Tomas Alfredson, and the Swedish horror film has been largely considered one of the very best ever since. 

In the years following, the film has been given an American remake by "The Batman" director Matt Reeves, and a stage adaptation from Jack Thorne, the director and playwright behind "Harry Potter and the Cursed...

The post Showtime's Let The Right One In Rounds Out its Cast appeared first on /Film.