THE 97TH ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS

The Oscars has always been the official end of award season, mainly because the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was the very first organization to honor cinema almost one hundred years ago. The Academy is at an awkward moment in its time where it wants to preserve the long traditions of the ceremony yet still wants to be viewed as moving the show into the modern era. The Oscars just made itself available to stream live this year (on Hulu) so their pace of advancement is not exactly speedy.

The show kicked off with a montage from films set in Los Angeles, highlighting various spots throughout the city. Then we have nominee, Ariana Grande for "Wicked" performing a rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" from "The Wizard of Oz" before her co-star, Cynthia Erivo does "Home" from "The Wiz". Then the two share the stage to conclude this mash-up with "Defying Gravity" from their musical based on L. Frank Baum's story. As the first time host, Conan O'Brien fit in quite nicely, bringing a good energy and kept the humor at caustic yet good-natured levels, and it's bit of a surprise he wasn't asked before. He started with a filmed take-off on "The Substance" and made some well-placed jokes on the nominated movies (""A Complete Unknown". "A Real Pain". "Nosferatu". These are some of the names I was called on the red carpet"). And O'Brien was talking about a dress code when he singled out Adam Sandler, sitting in the audience wearing his standard uniform of a hoodie and baggy gym shorts, creating a very funny moment.

The producers of this year's telecast wanted to shake up the routine but not too much. Instead of the acting categories, we had five actors come out to sing the praises of the costume designers and cinematographers. While it was a nice touch, it just wasn't as effective as when the previous acting winners honored the nominated actors. But the biggest misstep as far as I'm concerned was the decision to not have the nominated Best Original Songs performed on the show. In it's place we had O'Brien do "I Won't Waste Time" during the opening segment which was pretty funny. But a James Bond musical tribute to Honorary Oscar winning producers, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson (which featured current pop artists, Lisa, Doja Cat and Raye doing popular Bond theme songs) and Queen Latifah honoring the late Quincy Jones (who had won an Honorary Oscar this year) with a rousing rendition of "Ease On Down The Road' from "The Wiz", while entertaining, failed to rise much above time filler. And the selection of the presenters was truly inspired with a nice mix of the legendary (Goldie Hawn, Mark Hamill, Daryl Hannah, Quentin Tarantino and an impressively spry, Mick Jagger) and contemporary (Andrew Garfield, Lily-Rose Depp, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus, Bowen Yang).

"Anora" had gone in with six nominations and went on to take home five Oscars including Best Picture. Mikey Madison win for Best Actress created the night's biggest upset by beating the favorite, Demi Moore for her performance in "The Substance" which oddly echoes the theme of the body horror film. Sean Baker personally received four awards this night with "Anora" for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing and the top prize, tying with Walt Disney for the most Oscars in a single year although the wins were for four different films. With its Best Picture win, "Anora" (which won the Palme d’Or at last year’s Cannes Film Festival) followed in the footsteps of the indie distributor, Neon’s last awards success; the Palme d’Or winning, South Korean drama, "Parasite", the unexpected winner of Best Picture back in 2019.

During his third acceptance speech, Baker encouraged filmmakers to keep making movies for the big screen in order to keep theaters alive and well. My love of going to the movies came directly from my mother who took us regularly to the theater, probably at least once a week. And while this was really the only way to see a motion picture at the time, the thrill of the communal experience of watching a film surrounded with an audience was deeply instilled into me. A theater is really the only perfect setting for me to truly enjoy seeing a film.

Baker also addressed the importance of supporting independent cinema which is so vital in order to tell challenging and innovative stories that the Hollywood system is way too cautious to go anywhere near. As we quickly approach the 100th anniversary of the Oscars, now is the time to support your local theaters, especially the indie-owned screens that are particularly struggling and unfortunately closing at a rapid rate.

So come on people, get off your couches, take your kids and go to a movie theater! Otherwise, there may not be much to celebrate during the upcoming 100th Oscars ceremony.

Here is the complete list of winners of the 2025 Oscars:

Best Picture: "Anora"
Best Director: Sean Baker, "Anora"
Best Original Screenplay: Sean Baker, "Anora"
Best Adapted Screenplay: Peter Straughan, "Conclave"
Best Actress in a Leading Role: Mikey Madison, "Anora"
Best Actor in a Leading Role: Adrien Brody, "The Brutalist"
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Zoe Saldaña, "Emilia Pérez"
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Kieran Culkin, "A Real Pain"
Best Cinematography: Lol Crawley, "The Brutalist"
Best Film Editing: Sean Baker, "Anora"
Best International Feature Film: "I’m Still Here" (Brazil)
Best Documentary Feature Film: "No Other Land"
Best Documentary Short Film: "The Only Girl in the Orchestra"
Best Animated Feature Film: "Flow"
Best Animated Short Film: "In the Shadow of the Cypress"
Best Live Action Short Film: "I’m Not a Robot"
Best Original Song: "El Mal" from "Emilia Pérez" Music by Clément Ducol and Camille, Lyric by Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard
Best Original Score: Daniel Blumberg, "The Brutalist"
Best Production Design: Nathan Crowley, Production Design and Lee Sandales, Set Decoration, "Wicked"
Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell, "Wicked"
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon and Marilyne Scarselli, "The Substance"
Best Sound: Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett and Doug Hemphill, "Dune: Part Two"
Best Visual Effects: Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer, "Dune: Part Two"

2025 OSCAR NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED

After being delayed several times due to the tragic California wildfires, the 2025 Oscar nominations have finally been announced. Bringing a quirky sense of humor to the proceedings early this morning, Bowen Yang and Rachel Sennott revealed this year's picks. "Emilia Pérez", the controversial musical-drama about a Mexican drug kingpin who transforms their gender, leads the field with thirteen nominations. "The Brutalist", an epic drama that explores a Holocaust survivor who immigrates to America, and "Wicked", the long-awaited big screen version of the popular Broadway musical, are both close behind with ten nominations each. "Conclave", the thriller involving the selection of a new pope and "A Complete Unknown", the tale about the early years of folk music legend Bob Dylan, went on to receive eight noms. Along with these five films, the indie dramas, "Nickel Boys" and "Anora"; the body-horror satire, "The Substance"; the Brazilian political drama, "Ainda Estou Aqui (I'm Still Here)" and the sci-fi sequel, "Dune: Part two" round up the Best Picture category.

Some highlights include Ralph Fiennes, nominated for his amazing performance in "Conclave", who went twenty-eight years between his last Best Actor nomination for "The English Patient". Karla Sofía Gascón in "Emilia Perez" is the first transgender actor nominated for an Oscar. It has been since 1997 that all of the directing nominees are first-timers with Coralie Fargeat’s nomination for "The Substance" makes her the tenth female earning a Best Director nomination. Fernanda Montenegro (who was nominated for "Central Station" in 1998) and Fernanda Torres joins Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli as the only mother-daughter nominated for Best Actress. The Latvian film, "Flow" became the third animated feature to receive duo nominations for Best Animated Feature and Best International Feature. And Diane Warren received her sixteenth nomination for Best Original Song without a competitive win for her work in "The Six Triple Eight", the Tyler Perry WWII drama about an all-black female battalion.

The 97th annual Academy Awards will be held on March 2nd at the Dolby Theatre with first-time host, Conan O’Brien. And for the first time, the Oscars will be livestreamed on Hulu.

Here is the complete list of nominations for the 2025 Oscars:

Best Picture:

"Anora"
"The Brutalist"
"A Complete Unknown"
"Conclave"
"Dune: Part Two"
"Emilia Pérez"
"Ainda Estou Aqui (I’m Still Here)"
"Nickel Boys"
"The Substance"
"Wicked"

Best Director:

Sean Baker, "Anora"
Brady Corbet "The Brutalist"
James Mangold, "A Complete Unknown"
Jacques Audiard, "Emilia Pérez"
Coralie Fargeat, "The Substance"

Best Original Screenplay:

Sean Baker, "Anora"
Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold, "The Brutalist"
Jesse Eisenberg, "A Real Pain"
Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum and Alex David, "September 5"
Coralie Fargeat, "The Substance"

Best Adapted Screenplay:

James Mangold and Jay Cocks, "A Complete Unknown"
Peter Straughan, "Conclave"
Jacques Audiard in collaboration with Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius and Nicolas Livecchi, "Emilia Pérez"
RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes, "Nickel Boys"
Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin and John “Divine G” Whitfield, "Sing Sing"

Best Actress in a Leading Role:

Cynthia Erivo, "Wicked"
Karla Sofía Gascón, "Emilia Pérez"
Mikey Madison, "Anora"
Demi Moore, "The Substance"
Fernanda Torres, "I’m Still Here"

Best Actor in a Leading Role:

Adrien Brody, "The Brutalist"
Timothée Chalamet, "A Complete Unknown"
Colman Domingo, "Sing Sing"
Ralph Fiennes, "Conclave"
Sebastian Stan, "The Apprentice"

Best Actress in a Supporting Role:

Monica Barbaro, "A Complete Unknown"
Ariana Grande, "Wicked"
Felicity Jones, "The Brutalist"
Isabella Rossellini, "Conclave"
Zoe Saldaña, "Emilia Pérez"

Best Actor in a Supporting Role:

Yura Borisov, "Anora"
Kieran Culkin, "A Real Pain"
Edward Norton, "A Complete Unknown"
Guy Pearce, "The Brutalist"
Jeremy Strong, "The Apprentice"

Best Cinematography:

Lol Crawley, "The Brutalist"
Greig Fraser, "Dune: Part Two"
Paul Guilhaume, "Emilia Pérez"
Ed Lachman, "Maria"
Jarin Blaschke, "Nosferatu"

Best Film Editing:

Sean Baker, "Anora"
David Jancso, "The Brutalist"
Nick Emerson, "Conclave"
Juliette Welfling, "Emilia Pérez"
Myron Kerstein, "Wicked"

Best Production Design:

"The Brutalist" (Production Design: Judy Becker, Set Decoration: Patricia Cuccia)
"Conclave" (Production Design: Suzie Davies, Set Decoration: Cynthia Sleiter)
"Dune: Part Two" (Production Design: Patrice Vermette, Set Decoration: Shane Vieau)
"Nosferatu" (Production Design: Craig Lathrop, Set Decoration: Beatrice Brentnerová)
"Wicked" (Production Design: Nathan Crowley, Set Decoration: Lee Sandales)

Best International Feature Film:

"Ainda Estou Aqui (I’m Still Here)" (Brazil)
"Pigen med nålen (The Girl with the Needle)" (Denmark)
"Emilia Pérez" (France)
"Die Saat des heiligen Feigenbaums (The Seed of the Sacred Fig)" (Germany)
"Straume (Flow)" (Latvia)

Best Animated Feature Film:

"Straume (Flow)"
"Inside Out 2"
"Memoir of a Snail"
"Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl"
"The Wild Robot"

Best Animated Short Film:

"Beautiful Men"
"In the Shadow of Cypress"
"Magic Candies"
"Wander to Wonder"
"Yuck!"

Best Documentary Feature Film:

"Black Box Diaries"
"No Other Land"
"Porcelain War"
"Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat"
"Sugarcane"

Best Documentary Short Film:

"Death by Numbers"
"I Am Ready, Warden"
"Incident"
"Instruments of a Beating Heart"
"The Only Girl in the Orchestra"

Best Live Action Short Film:

"A Lien"
"Anuja"
"I’m Not a Robot"
"The Last Ranger"
"The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent"

Best Costume Design:

Arianne Phillips, "A Complete Unknown"
Lisy Christl, "Conclave"
Janty Yates and Dave Crossman, "Gladiator II"
Linda Muir, "Nosferatu"
Paul Tazewell, "Wicked"

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:

Mike Marino, David Presto and Crystal Jurado, "A Different Man"
Julia Floch Carbonel, Emmanuel Janvier and Jean-Christophe Spadaccini, "Emilia Pérez"
David White, Traci Loader and Suzanne StokesMunton, "Nosferatu"
Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon and Marilyne Scarselli, "The Substance"
Frances Hannon, Laura Blount and Sarah Nuth, "Wicked"

Best Original Score:

Daniel Blumberg, "The Brutalist"
Volker Bertelmann, "Conclave"
Clément Ducol and Camille, "Emilia Pérez"
John Powell and Stephen Schwartz, "Wicked"
Kris Bowers, "The Wild Robot"

Best Original Song:

"El Mal" from "Emilia Pérez" (Music by Clément Ducol and Camille, Lyric by Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard)
"The Journey" from "The Six Triple Eight" (Music and Lyric by Diane Warren)
"Like a Bird" from "Sing Sing" (Music and Lyric by Abraham Alexander and Adrian Quesada)
"Mi Camino" from "Emilia Pérez" (Music and Lyric by Camille and Clément Ducol)
"Never Too Late” from “Elton John: Never Too Late" (Music and Lyric by Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt and Bernie Taupin)

Best Sound:

Tod A. Maitland, Donald Sylvester, Ted Caplan, Paul Massey and David Giammarco, "A Complete Unknown"
Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett and Doug Hemphill, "Dune: Part Two"
Erwan Kerzanet, Aymeric Devoldère, Maxence Dussère, Cyril Holtz and Niels Barletta, "Emilia Perez"
Simon Hayes, Nancy Nugent Title, Jack Dolman, Andy Nelson and John Marquis, "Wicked"
Randy Thom, Brian Chumney, Gary A. Rizzo and Leff Lefferts, "The Wild Robot"

Best Visual Effects:

Eric Barba, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser, Daniel Macarin and Shane Mahan, "Alien: Romulus"
Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft and Peter Stubbs, "Better Man"
Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer, "Dune: Part Two"
Erik Winquist, Stephen Unterfranz, Paul Story and Rodney Burke, "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes"
Pablo Helman, Jonathan Fawkner, David Shirk and Paul Corbould, "Wicked"

MAGGIE SMITH (1934 - 2024)

Maggie Smith, the highly honored British actor who found great success on screen and stage for over sixty years, has passed away on September 27th at the age of eighty-nine. She gained further international attention and acclaim during this century for her appearance in the Harry Potter film series and later for her sly performance playing the Dowager Countess of Granthamher in the beloved British television series, "Downton Abbey". The two-time Academy Award winning performer was still working having recently appeared in the drama, "The Miracle Club" with Laura Linney and Kathy Bates released in theaters last year. An accomplished and versatile performer, Smith could enliven anything she would appear in by creating rich, indelible characters. With an acerbic wit, razor-sharp tongue and undeniable charm, the actress could effortlessly decimate someone with a clever one-liner.

Smith left high school at sixteen in order to study acting at the Oxford Playhouse. During her time there, she appeared in numerous productions, delivering impressive performances. American producers took notice of her budding talent, casting her in "New Faces of '56" where she played several roles and made her Broadway debut. Smith would make her feature film debut two years later co-starring in the British crime drama, "Nowhere To Go". She also caught the attention of the theater legend, Laurence Olivier who invited her in 1962 to join the National Theatre Company which he had just founded and included in the company, Peter O'Toole, Michael Redgrave, Derek Jacobi and Ian McKellen. And while she was with the National throughout the rest of the 1960's, a tense yet professional rivalry would develop between the formidable Olivier and the tenacious Smith.

She would began to do more film work at this time as well, appearing in "The V.I.P.s" with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton; "The Honey Pot", "The Pumpkin Eater" and the film version of "Othello" which was adapted from the well-received Olivier staging for The National. Smith would receive her first Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actress for playing Desdemona.

Smith's major breakthrough came with the film adaptation of the successful play, "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" in 1969. This story of an effusive teacher at an Edinburgh all-girls school with a tendency to create her own curriculum to mold select students into her worldview would win Smith an Academy Award for Best Actress. Other film roles followed that included George Cukor's "Travels With My Aunt" (which earned Smith another Best Actress Oscar nomination); "Murder By Death"; two Agatha Christie murder mystery adaptations, "Death on The Nile" and "Evil Under The Sun"; "Clash of The Titans" and "Neil Simon's California Suite" with Smith winning another Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Smith would continue to be an in-demand performer, appearing in filmed dramas and comedies, "A Room with a View", "Sister Act", "Richard III", "The First Wives Club", "Tea with Mussolini", "Gosford Park", "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" and "The Lady in the Van".

But Smith did not ever abandon the stage throughout her time doing acclaimed film work. She appeared in numerous productions of works by Shakespeare and plays by Anton Chekov, Noël Coward, Edward Albee, and Tom Stoppard. Smith received six Evening Standard Theatre Awards for her theatrical performances and won the Tony Award in 1990 for the comedy, "Lettice and Lovage".

LOUIS GOSSETT, JR (1936 - 2024)

Louis Gossett, Jr., the groundbreaking actor who found great success on the stage and screen passed away on March 29th. He was eighty-seven. No cause of death has been given to date. Gossett, Jr. became the first African-American actor to receive the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1982 for his performance of a hard-driving Marine Sgt. Foley in "An Officer and a Gentleman". He had won an Emmy Award  for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama six years earlier for playing Fiddler in the acclaimed television miniseries, "Roots".

The Brooklyn born actor began his career on the Broadway stage; first appearing in the play, "Take a Giant Step" in 1953 before becoming a part of the original cast in Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun" six year later. Gossett Jr. would reprise his role of George Murchison in the film adaptation of "Raisin" in 1961, making his feature film debut. Also that year, he appeared in the Off-Broadway production of Jean Genet's "The Blacks" which featured an impressive cast that included James Earl Jones, Roscoe Lee Browne, Cicely Tyson, Godfrey Cambridge and Maya Angelou. During this time, Gossett Jr. was also dabbling as a musician, recording and performing folk music and co-writing the anti-war protest anthem, "Handsome Johnny" with Richie Havens in 1966 which Havens would later perform live during his set at the Woodstock music festival.

But acting was where Gossett Jr. put most of the focus throughout his career. He appeared in the films, "The Landlord" which was Hal Ashby's directorial debut; George Cukor's "Travels with My Aunt"; "The Choirboys"; the sci-fi drama, "Enemy Mine"; the Air Force adventure, "Iron Eagle" with three sequels and the underwater thriller, "The Deep". Gossett Jr. made many television appearances on series ranging from "The Six Million Dollar Man" to "Good Times" and playing the late third President of Egypt in the 1983 miniseries, "Sadat". Recently, Gossett Jr. did acclaimed work in the HBO series, "Watchmen" and appeared in the musical remake of "The Color Purple".

THE 96TH ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS

After two lengthy strikes last year that brought the movie business to a grinding halt, the industry is ready to get back to work and celebrate themselves. The 96th annual Academy Awards brings an official end to award season and honors the best in cinema from across the globe.

For his fourth time as host, Jimmy Kimmel seemed even more at ease, playfully joking with his irreverent humor about this year's movies and nominees. The host was in great form and offering nothing too mean spirited except a bit later in the show with him reading aloud a nasty comment about him made on social media by a former President with Kimmel delivering a well deserved, perfect comeback. Following his monologue, Kimmel paid tribute to the below-the-line crew (the folks who handle much of the technical work behind the camera and who are on the cusp of their own contract renegotiations with the studios) and brought out to the stage the show's own crew.

It was fifteen years ago the first time when five previous Oscar winners came out together to present in each of the acting categories. It was thrilling and deeply moving at that time and the return of this remains highly effective. My favorite moment from this was when the amazing ninety-two year old, Rita Moreno was speaking about Best Supporting Actress nominee, America Ferrera and sang a few bars of "America" from the movie version of the musical, "West Side Story" which she won her Oscar for her performance. Now I'm not sure if I would really want to see this every year, for I do enjoy seeing clips from the nominated performances, but this is still a wonderful thrill to witness and honor Oscar winners from the past.

In the most shocking moment of the evening, Emma Stone received Best Actress over the front-runner, Lily Gladstone for her performance in "Poor Things", making her become a two-time winner. It is certainly disappointing for Gladstone but I still strongly believe that she was in the wrong category as her role in "Killers of the Flower Moon" was much more supporting than lead. And if Gladstone had been competing for Best Supporting Actress, it would have been even more of tight race against Da'Vine Joy Randolph who won the award for her emotional performance in '"The Holdovers" and gave one of the most touching speeches of the night. 

"Oppenheimer" had lead with the most nominations with thirteen and ended the evening with the most wins at seven which included Best Picture. Now this would not have been my pick for this award (that would have been "Killers of The Flower Moon") but it is a solid choice and certainly will not be looked back years later as an unfortunate Best Picture selection. Christopher Nolan finally received the Best Director award while his wife, Emma Thomas shared the win for producing the movie. Cillian Murphy won his first Oscar for Best Actor playing the real-life theoretical physicist while Robert Downey, Jr. received Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Lewis Strauss, a high-ranking member of the US Atomic Energy Commission.

One of the biggest hits of last year, "Barbie" managed to take home only one award for Best Original Song for Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas O'Connell who also became two time winners this night. But another nominated song from "Barbie", "I'm Just Ken" was performed on the show with a very game, Ryan Gosling capturing the spirit of the film. In one of the most rousing performances of the nominated songs, Gosling sang and danced in an extravagant production number surrounded by co-stars, Simu Liu and Kingsley Ben-Adir, a large number of dancing men with even Slash, the guitarist of the band, Guns N Roses, making an appearance. Another moment on the program was when stand-up comedian, John Mulaney came out to present Best Sound. I was wondering why he was actually there (in fact, I don't he's even been in a movie) but Mulaney was hilarious with his bit on "Field of Dreams" that was a highlight of the show. Perhaps he was auditioning for a chance to host a future Oscars? If so, I say give him a shot.

There were a few disappointments; The traditional In Memoriam was poorly conceived this year with the segment feeling extremely rushed with some Oscar winners and nominees omitted while other performer's names were regulated to small print on a screen blocked by the dancers on stage. And when Al Pacino arrived on stage to announce Best Picture, he simply opened the envelope without mentioning the nominees or any acknowledgment of the producers involved in each movie. What makes this even worse is that Pacino has later stated that the producers of the show instructed him to just say the winner.

This year, the show began an hour earlier and ran about twenty-three minutes over the intended three hour runtime. Yet the ratings were up by 4% this year with 19 million viewers tuning in. This uptick of viewership might be the "Barbenheimer" effect but who can know for certain. During this ceremony, there was no slapping, no opening of the wrong envelopes, no overtly political speeches and no streaking (boooo, John Cena). What we had was a fairly standard, traditional Oscars telecast. Now this perfectly fine with me however as we closely approach the centennial of the Academy Awards, what will it take to keep viewers engaged with the Oscars? I do believe the concept of "Barbenheimer" with two original films in the marketplace at the same time is one answer but another bolder vision is what Best Adapted Screenplay winner, Cord Jefferson said in his acceptance speech which in essence is that studios might want to get back to investing less money on films and take a chance on a new filmmaker with a fresh, innovative script.

Here is the complete list of the winners of the 2024 Academy Awards:

Best Picture: "Oppenheimer"
Best Director: Christopher Nolan, "Oppenheimer"
Best Original Screenplay: Arthur Harari and Justine Triet, "Anatomy of a Fall"
Best Adapted Screenplay: Cord Jefferson, "American Fiction"
Best Actress in a Leading Role: Emma Stone, "Poor Things"
Best Actor in a Leading Role: Cillian Murphy, "Oppenheimer"
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Da'Vine Joy Randolph, "The Holdovers"
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Robert Downey Jr., "Oppenheimer"
Best Cinematography: Hoyte van Hoytema, "Oppenheimer"
Best Editing: Jennifer Lame, "Oppenheimer"
Best Production Design: James Price and Shona Heath, Production Design; Zsuzsa Mihalek, Set Decoration, "Poor Things"
Best International Feature: "The Zone of Interest" (United Kingdom)
Best Animated Feature: "The Boy and the Heron"
Best Animated Short: "War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko"
Best Documentary Feature: "20 Days in Mariupol"
Best Documentary Short: "The Last Repair Shop"
Best Live Action Short: "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar"
Best Original Score: Ludwig Göransson, "Oppenheimer"
Best Original Song: "What Was I Made For?" from "Barbie" Music and Lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell
Best Sound: Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn, "The Zone of Interest"
Best Costume Design: Holly Waddington, "Poor Things"
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier and Josh Weston, "Poor Things"
Best Visual Effects: Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi and Tatsuji Nojima, "Godzilla Minus One"

Academy Honorary Awards: 

Angela Bassett
Mel Brooks
Carol Littleton

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Michelle Satter

OSCAR MADNESS

In a matter of days, we will finally know the winners of The Oscars. In the meantime, here's a bit of information regarding the film industry that I found interesting:

The Criterion Collection has long been considered the gold standard for films as they focus on recognizing and preserving classic and contemporary films from across the globe. With their collection of over 1200 thoughtfully curated movies on DVD, filmmakers long to be a part of their prestigious catalog while cinephiles covet to collect each of their selections. Criterion pioneered the special features found on DVDs that included the use of trailers, deleted scenes, alternate endings and, most importantly, commentary tracks. The New York Times has examined the company, founded in 1984, from when Criterion began with laserdiscs, the short lived, home video format and has grown to now having their own subscription streaming service.

Please click below to read:

How the Criterion Collection became the film world’s arbiter of taste

After many years of campaigning for recognition by the Oscars, casting directors have finally succeeded and the Academy have created a new category (the first in twenty-four years) for Best Casting and will be presented during the 2026 ceremony. Another group that have also been vigorously fighting almost as long to have a category for themselves during the Academy Awards are the stunt people, the men and women who have risked their well-being to create realistic looking falls, fights and crashes. So far, they remain unsuccessful but with casting now being honored, hopefully stunt work will not be far behind and will soon have their moment. In the meantime, Vulture have created the Stunt Awards to make up for this oversight. This began last year and was such an astounding success that the awards has been expanded with more entries and a larger voting body.

Please click below to read:

And the Winners of the 2024 Vulture Stunt Awards Are …

Here's a photographic look back at the history of one of the most coveted afterparties on Hollywood's biggest nights; Vanity Fair's Oscars party. The magazine looks back at their first party in 1994 which came together not long after the passing of talent agent, Irving "Swifty" Lazar who had held an exclusive Oscars viewing and after party for many years. Graydon Carter, then the editor of Vanity Fair, and the producer Steve Tisch came together to fill the void and these parties have been going on, becoming bigger and more glamourous, ever since. They have put together an incredible collection of photos from these gatherings with all of the beautiful movies stars, athletes, musicians and celebrated figures of the day all having a grand, extravagant time.

Please click below to read:

30 Years of Vanity Fair’s Oscar Parties

And finally, Vulture has ranked fifty of the most memorable, crazy, thought-provoking and moving acceptance speeches from all of the many awards shows over the last fifty five years. Not surprising, The Oscars have a large number of entries here but all of them are wildly entertaining.

Please click below to read:

The 50 Greatest Awards-Show Speeches

2024 OSCAR NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED

I managed to get up on time this year to hear the 2024 Oscar nominations during the live presentation. With Zazie Beets and Jack Quaid on board to make the announcement (great chemistry, get them a rom-com ASAP), "Oppenheimer" leads the pack with an impressive thirteen nominations, making this the eleventh film to receive this number. "Poor Things" was next with a total of eleven, followed by "Killers of a Flower Moon" with ten nominations while "American Fiction", "Anatomy of a Fall", "The Holdovers" and "The Zone of Interest" received five each. 

There were no real surprises of the "Andrea Risenborough" nature with most of the nominations largely followed course throughout this award season. The only real surprises to be had were the large number of films and performances that were overlooked, most notworthy were "May December" and the musical version of "The Color Purple" manageing to receive only one nomination each despite the immense attention both films received prior. 

For the first time in Oscar history, all five of the Documentary Feature Film nominees are international based and focused works.With her film, "Anatony of a Fall", Justine Triet becomes only the eighth female nominated for Best Director and the first from France. Lily Gladstone is the first Native American woman to receive an acting nomination for "Killer of a Flower Moon". And Diane Warren has gotten her fifteenth Best Original Song nomination for her contribution to the film, "Flamin' Hot" (and still without a competitive win)  while the ninety-one year old composer, John Williams has earned his fifty-fourth nomination for Best Original Score for his work on the fourth Indiana Jones film. 

Overall, this has shaped up to be a very diverse Oscars in regard to race and gender which is how it should be and represents true progress.

The 96th annual Academy Awards will be held on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Jimmy Kimmel will return as host for the fourth time.

Here is the complete list of the 2024 Oscar Nominations:

Best Picture:

"American Fiction"
"Anatomy of a Fall"
"Barbie"
"The Holdovers"
"Killers of the Flower Moon"
"Maestro"
"Oppenheimer"
"Past Lives"
"Poor Things"
"The Zone of Interest"


Best Director:

Justine Triet, "Anatomy of a Fall"
Martin Scorsese, "Killers of the Flower Moon"
Christopher Nolan, "Oppenheimer"
Yorgos Lanthimos, "Poor Things"
Jonathan Glazer, "The Zone of Interest"

Best Original Screenplay:

Arthur Harari and Justine Triet, "Anatomy of a Fall"
David Hemingson, "The Holdovers"
Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer, "Maestro"
Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik, "May December"
Celine Song, "Past Lives"

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Cord Jefferson, "American Fiction"
Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig, "Barbie"
Christopher Nolan, "Oppenheimer"
Tony McNamara, "Poor Things"
Jonathan Glazer, "The Zone of Interest"

Best Actress in a Leading Role:

Annette Bening, "Nyad"
Lily Gladstone, "Killers of the Flower Moon"
Sandra Hüller, "Anatomy of a Fall"
Carey Mulligan, "Maestro"
Emma Stone, "Poor Things"

Best Actor in a Leading Role:

Bradley Cooper, "Maestro"
Colman Domingo, "Rustin"
Paul Giamatti, "The Holdovers"
Cillian Murphy, "Oppenheimer"
Jeffrey Wright, "American Fiction"

Best Actress in a Supporting Role:

Emily Blunt, "Oppenheimer"
Danielle Brooks, "The Color Purple"
America Ferrera, "Barbie"
Jodie Foster, "Nyad"
Da'Vine Joy Randolph, "The Holdovers"

Best Actor in a Supporting Role:

Sterling K. Brown, "American Fiction"
Robert De Niro, "Killers of the Flower Moon"
Robert Downey Jr., "Oppenheimer"
Ryan Gosling, "Barbie"
Mark Ruffalo, "Poor Things"

Best Cinematography:

Edward Lachman, "El Conde"
Rodrigo Prieto, "Killers of the Flower Moon"
Matthew Libatique, "Maestro"
Hoyte van Hoytema, "Oppenheimer"
Robbie Ryan, "Poor Things"

Best Editing:

Laurent Sénéchal, "Anatomy of a Fall"
Kevin Tent, "The Holdovers"
Thelma Schoonmaker, "Killers of the Flower Moon"
Jennifer Lame, "Oppenheimer"
Yorgos Mavropsaridis, "Poor Things"

Best Production Design:

"Barbie" Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
"Killers of the Flower Moon" Production Design: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Adam Willis
"Napoleon" Production Design: Arthur Max; Set Decoration: Elli Griff
"Oppenheimer" Production Design: Ruth De Jong; Set Decoration: Claire Kaufman
"Poor Things" Production Design: James Price and Shona Heath; Set Decoration: Zsuzsa Mihalek

Best International Feature:

"Io Capitano (Italy)
"Perfect Days" (Japan)
"Society of the Snow" (Spain)
"The Teacher’s Lounge" (Germany)
"The Zone of Interest" (United Kingdom)

Best Animated Feature:

"The Boy and the Heron"
"Elemental"
"Nimona"
"Robot Dreams"
"Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse"

Best Animated Short:

"Letter to a Pig"
"Ninety-Five Senses"
"Our Uniform"
"Pachyderme"
"War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko"

Best Documentary Feature:

"Bobi Wine: The People’s President"
"The Eternal Memory"
"Four Daughters"
"To Kill a Tiger"
"20 Days in Mariupol"

Best Documentary Short:

"The ABCs of Book Banning"
"The Barber of Little Rock"
"Island in Between"
"The Last Repair Shop"
"Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó"

Best Live-Action Short:

"The After"
"Invincible"
"Night of Fortune"
"Red, White and Blue"
"The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar"

Best Original Score:

Laura Karpman, "American Fiction"
John Williams, "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny"
Robbie Robertson, "Killers of the Flower Moon"
Ludwig Göransson, "Oppenheimer"
Jerskin Fendrix, "Poor Things"

Best Original Song:

"The Fire Inside" from "Flamin' Hot" Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
"I'm Just Ken" from "Barbie" Music and Lyric by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt
"It Never Went Away" from "American Symphony" Music and Lyric by Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson
"Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)" from "Killers of the Flower Moon" Music and Lyric by Scott George
"What Was I Made For?" from "Barbie" Music and Lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell

Best Sound:

Ian Voigt, Erik Aadahl, Ethan Van der Ryn, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic, "The Creator"
Steven A. Morrow, Richard King, Jason Ruder, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic, "Maestro"
Chris Munro, James H. Mather, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor, "Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One"
Willie Burton, Richard King, Gary A. Rizzo and Kevin O'Connell, "Oppenheimer"
Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn, "The Zone of Interest"

Best Costume Design:

Jacqueline Durran, "Barbie"
Jacqueline West, "Killers of the Flower Moon"
David Crossman and Janty Yates, "Napoleon"
Ellen Mirojnick, "Oppenheimer"
Holly Waddington, "Poor Things"

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:

Karen Hartley Thomas, Suzi Battersby and Ashra Kelly-Blue, "Golda"
Kazu Hiro, Kay Georgiou and Lori McCoy-Bell, "Maestro"
Luisa Abel, "Oppenheimer"
Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier and Josh Weston, "Poor Things"
Ana López-Puigcerver, David Martí and Montse Ribé, "Society of the Snow"

Best Visual Effects:

Jay Cooper, Ian Comley, Andrew Roberts and Neil Corbould, "The Creator"
Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi and Tatsuji Nojima, "Godzilla Minus One"
Stephane Ceretti, Alexis Wajsbrot, Guy Williams and Theo Bialek, "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3"
Alex Wuttke, Simone Coco, Jeff Sutherland and Neil Corbould, "Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One"
Charley Henley, Luc-Ewen Martin-Fenouillet, Simone Coco and Neil Corbould, "Napoleon"

WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS @ 100

Warner Bros. is not the only movie studio celebrating a centennial. This year Walt Disney Studios came into existence on this day one hundred years ago. Far removed from the global media conglomerate that it has now become, Disney began as a scrappy, yet innovative animation company started by two midwestern brothers, Walt, who was the creative driver and Roy who handled the production side of the studio.

Arriving in Los Angeles from Kansas City, MO in 1923, the brothers got their start producing a series of silent shorts that merged live-action and animation about a young girl named Alice and Julius, her cartoon cat. Another creation by Disney was "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit" with the animated shorts were done for Universal Studios. But after a contract dispute over money and not owning the rights to Oswald, Disney began secretly working on a new character with a mouse named "Mickey".

The first Mickey Mouse short appeared in 1928 was silent and with sound on the horizon, the next film, "Steamboat Willie" was released later that year and became the first with synchronized sound. It became a major success and Disney began work on a second cartoon series, "Silly Symphonies" the following year. All of the initial animated films were in black & white and after the studio made a deal with Technicolor and their three-strip color film process in 1932, Disney made the first color "Silly Symphonies" short, "Flowers and Trees".

Walt Disney began considering a feature length animated film in 1934, deciding to base the story on the Brothers Grimm's German fairy tale. This expensive project, at over a million dollars and taking three years to complete, was extremely risky and if it failed could bankrupt the company. But "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" became a critical and commercial success, earning more than eight million globally during its initial release.

Disney would continue to achieve great success with other popular animated features ("Cinderella", "Bambi", "Dumbo", "Peter Pan", "Alice in Wonderland") and live action films ("Treasure Island", "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", "Mary Poppins", "The Shaggy Dog", "The Parent Trap"). The company expanded to build a brand amusement park in Anaheim, Ca named "Disneyland" in 1950 and moved into television, offering such shows as "Walt Disney's Disneyland" and "The Mickey Mouse Club". Disney was in the process of developing a second theme park in Orlando, Fl and near completion of production on their nineteenth animated feature, "The Jungle Book", when Walt Disney, a heavy smoker, passed away from lung cancer in 1966.

The studio continued on, opening "Disney World" in 1971 and finding some success in live-action films and television yet struggled for a number of years in the animation division. But it was in the late 1980's with the release of "The Little Mermaid" that helped return Disney back into a reliable studio that created critically acclaimed and globally popular animated movies.



Disney’s 1937 animation classic, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" will be coming to Disney+ in a new 4K restoration that will premiere on Oct. 16th to celebrate the company’s 100th anniversary.

WILLIAM FRIEDKIN (1935 - 2023)

William Friedkin, who was one of the young filmmakers during the American New Wave movement of the 1970's, responsible for moving the industry away from glossy, hyper-stylized productions and into more realistic narratives, has passed away. Never attending college nor studied film, Friedkin is probably best known for two groundbreaking movies: the gritty detective thriller, "The French Connection" from 1971 which won five Academy Awards (including Best Picture and Best Director) and the controversial 1973 supernatural drama, "The Exorcist". He had just completed a new feature film, a remake of "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial" which had been selected to screen at this year's Venice Film Festival later this month but Friedkin had been in poor health recently and died from heart failure and pneumonia on August 7th at the age of eighty-seven.

Born and raised in Chicago, Friedkin initially had interest in becoming a professional baseball player while in high school but it would be the movies, a first viewing of the Orson Welles classic, "Citizen Kane" in particular, that would later truly capture his attention. After getting a job in the mail room at a local television station, he quickly worked his way up until he was directing live television shows and documentaries. A documentary, "The People vs. Paul Crump" he submitted to the San Francisco International Film Festival won him a prize in 1962 and giving Friedkin an opportunity to head West.

Friedkin's first major job in Hollywood was directing an episode of the television series, "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" in 1965. The true sign in the changing of the guard was Hitchcock giving Friedkin a hard time for not wearing a tie on-set. This lead to the chance for him to direct his first feature two year later, the comedy-spoof, "Good Times" which starred the pop music duo, Sonny & Cher. The movie was savaged by critics and was a box-office flop and his following films, "The Birthday Party" and "The Night They Raided Minsky's" (co-written by Norman Lear) didn't fare much better yet Friedkin persevered. His next film was an unexpected and daring choice at the time: an adaptation of the Off-Broadway play, "The Boys in the Band". And while it was not a success at the box-office, largely due to it's subject matter involving a gathering of NYC gay men to celebrate the birthday of a friend, it did offer Friedkin the first taste of some positive critical reactions and this 1970 drama would become a milestone in the history of queer cinema.

This was followed by "The French Connection", shot in a style more suited for documentaries to create a sense of realism, with this low-budget film receiving almost universal critical raves, becoming a huge financial success and making unlikely movie stars out of Gene Hackman (who won the Best Actor Oscar for this role) and Roy Scheider. Then came, "The Exorcist", based on William Peter Blatty's best-selling novel, with the story involving the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother's attempt to save her through an exorcism by two priests that revolutionized the horror genre. Audiences waited for hours in long lines for a chance to see this disturbing, graphic film (many seeing it multiple times). Once in the theater, some viewers would have strong reactions to the film, ranging from people fainting, becoming violently ill to someone actually having to be carried out on a stretcher during a screening, helping to make "The Exorcist" one of the biggest hits of the year.

The rest of Friedkin's cinematic output had a few intriguing highlights ("To Live and Die in LA", "Sorcerer", "Cruising") yet most were poorly received and viewed as disappointments ("Deal of the Century", "The Guardian", "Jade", "Blue Chips" "Killer Joe"). Friedkin tended to gravitate towards themes involving the darker side of human nature in his movies, making them challenging and unsettling for some viewers. Yet regardless of the underwhelming receptions of these films during their inaugural release, the work of Friedkin, stimulating, provocative and highly influential, has been reevaluated over the years with some finding a greater appreciation from a new generation of movie audiences.

Friedkin was married four times: first in 1977 for three years to French actress, Jeanne Moreau, then to British actress, Lesley-Anne Down for four years. He married American journalist, Kelly Lange in 1987 before divorcing in 1990. Then Friedkin met Sherry Lansing, an actress turned producer and later became studio chief of Paramount Pictures for twelve years beginning in 1992. They wed in 1991 and remained together until his passing. Friedkin is survived by two children: a son, Cedric from a relationship with Australian choreographer, Jennifer Nairn-Smith and a son, Jack with his second wife, Down.

ALAN ARKIN (1934 - 2023)

Alan Arkin, the highly honored actor and director with a distinguished career that spanned eight decades, has passed away on June 30th at the age of eighty-nine. Born Alan Wolf Arkin in Brooklyn, he began pursing acting as a child, taking lessons and attending various drama academies. Arkin joined the Second City comedy troupe, honing his improv skills. He made his stage debut on Broadway in 1963 with the comedy, "Enter Laughing", winning Arkin a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.

This lead to Hollywood taking notice and he was cast in Norman Jewison's 1966 comedy, "The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming", earning Arkin his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and winning a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical. Arkin would go to appear in "Inspector Clouseau" (briefly taking over the role from Peter Sellers in 1968), "Catch-22", "Popi", "Wait Until Dark", The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" (earning him a second Best Actor Oscar nomination), "Last of the Red Hot Lovers" and "Freebie and the Bean".

In 1972, Arkin returned to the stage but this time as a director with the original production of Neil Simon's now-classic comedy, "The Sunshine Boys" and received a Tony nomination for Best Director. But Arkin didn't stay away from performing long, returning to appear on the big screen with some remarkable supporting work in "Edward Scissorhands", "Slums of Beverly Hills", "Grosse Point Blank", "Glengarry Glen Ross" and "Little Miss Sunshine" which would help him finally take home an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 2006. He would continue to work, appearing in "Argo", "Marley & Me", "Going in Style" and on television, lending his voice in the animated series, "Bojack Horseman" and appearing with Michael Douglas for two seasons in the Netflix series "The Kominsky Method".

GLENDA JACKSON (1936 - 2023)

Glenda Jackson, the extraordinary British actor who was the recipient of two Academy Awards, the BAFTA, three Emmys and a Tony Award, has sadly passed away on June 15th following a brief illness. Jackson, who had only returned to acting since 2015 after serving a lengthy career in politics for over twenty years, was eighty-seven.

Named after an American film performer, Glenda Farrell, Jackson came from a working-class background and began acting as a teenager in a drama group at the Townswomen's Guild. She would later attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, making her professional stage debut in "Doctor in the House" in 1957. After initially failing to be accepted in the Royal Shakespeare Company, Jackson struggled for a few years with no acting work, taking on odd jobs to make a living. She was finally able to join the RSC in 1963, appearing in several productions most notably "Marat/Sade" in 1965 and starring in the film version of the play two years later.

Jackson's first starring film role was in Ken Russell's adaptation of the novel by D.H. Lawrence, "Women in Love". Her captivating performance would earn Jackson an Oscar for Best Actress in 1969. This would make her become a sought after performer in movies with some of her more notable film appearances include "Sunday Bloody Sunday", "Mary, Queen of Scots", "The Maids", "House Calls" and the 1973 romantic comedy, "A Touch of Class" which would win Jackson a second Best Actress Oscar.

Jackson would also work in television, with appearances ranging from "The Muppet Show" to playing fellow Oscar-winner, Patricia Neal and her recovery from a stroke in 1981's "The Patricia Neal Story" to shaving her head to play Queen Elizabeth I in the 1971 BBC series, "Elizabeth R" winning Jackson two Emmy Awards for her efforts. And throughout her career in front of the camera, Jackson would continue to work extensively on the stage, mostly in London but did venture occasionally to Broadway.  Her most recent performances in New York were in the 2018 revival of Edward Albee's "Three Tall Women" with Jackson winning the Tony Award for Best Actress and a 2019 production of "King Lear" which she had done to tremendous acclaim at the Old Vic four years earlier.

In 1991, the boldly outspoken Jackson decided to retire from acting so she could devote herself full-time to politics. She was elected to Parliament the following year as a Labour Party lawmaker. She later served as the minister for transportation under Prime Minister, Tony Blair's government in 1997. Jackson decided not to seek re-election in 2011, leaving Parliament five years later and at the age of eighty, making a triumphant return to acting.

WARNER BROTHERS @ 100

The fabled movie studio, Warner Bros. will be celebrating one hundred years of creating motion pictures this year. Still located in Burbank, CA, this dream factory has been behind some of the greatest works of cinema since the birth of the commercial motion picture industry. The studio would later expand into music and television with even further success.

Founded in New Castle, PA by brothers Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack L. Warner as Warner Features Company, their first motion picture release was "the Peril of the Plains" in 1912. They soon headed west by 1915 and the brothers had their first major box office hit with "My Four Years in Germany" three years later.

On April 4, 1923, Warner Bros. Pictures was officially established as a motion picture studio. Their very first movie star was a dog: a trained German shepherd named Rin Tin Tin who went on to appear in a series of popular movies, twenty-seven in all, becoming an international sensation. But the studio would find their greatest success by taking a chance on a new innovation: sound. With "The Jazz Singer" in 1927, Al Jolson was "heard" actually singing in sync in the musical-drama which this box-office smash effectively helped bring an end to silent movies and "the talkies" went on to revolutionize the industry. Sadly, Sam Warner passed away suddenly the day before this film's premiere on October 5th from pneumonia caused by sinusitis.

The surviving brothers would carry on, leading Warner Bros. to become one of the most successful and highly influential of the movie studios. Since their early days, the studio produced a broad range of movie styles ranging from backstage musicals, gangster flicks, swashbucklers, and women's pictures. Some of these now classic films include "The Public Enemy", "Casablanca", "The Maltese Falcon", "Dark Victory", "A Streetcar Named Desire", "My Fair Lady", "Bonnie and Clyde", "Blazing Saddles", "A Clockwork Orange", "The Exorcist", "Unforgiven", "The Matrix" and the "Looney Tunes" series of cartoon shorts.

But Jack would have serious conflicts with his brothers and by 1956 he had secretly purchased their shares in the business after convincing them to participate in a joint sale of stocks, gaining full control of the studio. He would continue to run the studio with an iron fist before retiring from the studio in 1969. The studio would soon be sold to investment companies a few times and merged with others over the following years, currently part of AT&T and now known as Warner Bros. Discovery.

And during the month of April, Turner Classic Movies will be honoring this legendary movie studio by screening some of the movies made throughout their storied history with programming highlights that will include pre-code classics, gangster films, Busby Berkeley musicals and their star-contract players. TCM will also showcase ten newly restored films in partnership with Martin Scorsese's The Film Foundation that will feature "The Strawberry Blonde"(1941), "East of Eden"(1955), "Rio Grande"(1959) and "Rachel, Rachel"(1969).

THE 95TH ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS

A dark cloud has hung over the Oscars since last year's ceremony after the shocking physical altercation on stage that had left a lingering feeling of PTSD. But as they say, time heals all wounds, and a year later, the 95th annual Academy Awards wants to put all of that distracting unpleasantness behind, shifting the focus back to where it belongs: the celebration of cinema. The first, most important, move was returning to present all twenty-three categories live on the Oscars after eight awards were given out before the telecast last year and later announced throughout the show. The goal might have been an attempt to shorten the length of the Oscars and make the program more appealing to younger viewers, but this misguided act did neither. The show opened with a montage that displayed all the many departments involved in making a movie, as a way to remind viewers why each category matters and should be honored on the show.

The other welcome comeback was to finally have a proper host guiding the show after the last few years without one. On his third outing as host, Jimmy Kimmel kept the atmosphere light and easy, playfully joking about the movies and the nominees. Not all of them landed and a few had the audience groaning (one about the poor box-office of the expensive "Babylon") but he managed to maintain a lively, upbeat mood. And of course, the comedian had to mention the infamous slap that had previously occurred, but the jokes were still relatively tame.

As was predicted due to the film's front-runner status after accumulating many wins in various Hollywood guild awards prior to the show, "Everything Everywhere All at Once" swept the major awards, winning a total of seven including Best Picture. This oddball sci-fi comedy-drama with a warm center created by The Daniels (Kwan and Scheinert) won the team Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. Michelle Yeoh, who began her career starring in a series of Hong Kong action films and became better known here due to her role in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", won Best Actress, making her the first Asian actor to receive this award. The Oscar was presented to Yeoh by last year's winner of the award, Jessica Chastain and Halle Berry, who was the first African American actor (and sadly still the only one) in 2002 to win Best Actress. Jamie Lee Curtis, the veteran performer who first found fame in the 1978 horror classic, "Halloween" and fully embraces her nepo status as the child of Hollywood royalty, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, received her first Oscar as Best Supporting Actress for her work in the film. And one of the most heartwarming moments was Ke Huy Quan winning Best Supporting Actor. He had started off as a successful child actor, appearing in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and "The Goonies", yet had to abandon his career due to a lack of decent opportunities as an adult but Quan managed to come back in a major way with his celebrated performance in this movie.

Another comeback that was warmly celebrated this evening was Brendan Fraser's heartbreaking performance in Darren Aronofsky's "The Whale", winning him the Best Actor Oscar. Fraser had been a popular movie star at one point, appearing in "The Mummy" trilogy, "Gods and Monsters", the 2004 Best Picture winner, "Crash" and "Encino Man" (which co-starred fellow winner, Quan) but his career took a hit after various health problems and the alleged sexual assault that was committed to him by the then-president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Yet his astounding work as a morbidly obese English teacher trying to restore his relationship with his teenage daughter in "The Whale" revealed to audiences that we hadn't really seen Fraser's full potential as an actor.

Another major winner was the German-language remake of "All Quiet on the Western Front" which received four awards including Best International Feature. Based on the 1929 novel by Erich Maria Remarque (and was first made as a Hollywood movie in 1930, winning Best Picture), Edward Berger's WWI set drama is a moving and harrowing depiction on the tragedy of global conflict. The only other feature films that received Oscars were Sarah Polley's adapted screenplay for "Women Talking", Ruth Carter winning her second for Best Costume Design with "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever", "Top Gun: Maverick" taking Best Sound and "Avatar: The Way of Water" obviously getting Best Visual Effects. With so few movies taking most of the prizes, this meant that half of the Best Picture nominees; "Elvis", "Tár", "The Fabelmans", "Triangle of Sadness" and "The Banshees of Inisherin" went home empty-handed.

The only nomination that "RRR" received was for Best Original Song but I think this thrilling Indian epic deserved to be further recognized by the Academy. But "Naatu Naatu" did win the award with the live performance of the song managing to be just as electrifying as it was in the film. The rest of the Original Song nominees were performed on the show by the original artists which included an unannounced Lady Gaga doing a stripped-down version of "Hold My Hand" from the "Top Gun" sequel which ended with a screen tribute to the first film's director, the late Tony Scott.

This year's Oscar telecast ended forty minutes after the planned three-hour runtime which is exactly the same time as last year even with the omitted live categories. And the ratings were up 12% compared to the 94th ceremony with 18.7 million viewers. I'm not sure what this will mean in the long run, as all award shows have suffered ratings decline, but The Oscars have rebounded, revealing that some traditions matter and with the right elements in place, audiences will tune in.

Finally, I have to comment on a moment on the program that really disturbed me: Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy, the co-stars of the upcoming live-action version of "The Little Mermaid", came out to introduce the trailer for this upcoming movie. I was highly offended that the Oscars were being used to promote a movie in the middle of the show, made even more shameless by this being done on the Disney-owned station, ABC. I'm sure many studios would love to use this show to plug their next big-budget, extravaganza but the Oscars should not be used for free publicity. Besides, that is exactly what those pricy commercials in between the show are supposed to be for.

Here is the complete list of winners of the 2023 Academy Awards:

Best Picture: "Everything Everywhere All at Once"
Best Director: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, "Everything Everywhere All at Once"
Best Original Screenplay: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, "Everything Everywhere All at Once"
Best Adapted Screenplay: Sarah Polley, "Women Talking"
Best Actress in a Leading Role: Michelle Yeoh, "Everything Everywhere All at Once"
Best Actor in a Leading Role: Brendan Fraser, "The Whale"
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Jamie Lee Curtis, "Everything Everywhere All at Once"
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Ke Huy Quan, "Everything Everywhere All at Once"
Best International Feature Film: "Im Westen nichts Neues (All Quiet on the Western Front)" (Germany)
Best Animated Feature Film: "Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio"
Best Animated Short Film: "The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse"
Best Documentary Feature Film: "Navalny"
Best Documentary Short Film: "The Elephant Whisperers"
Best Live Action Short Film: "An Irish Goodbye"
Best Cinematography: James Friend, "All Quiet on the Western Front"
Best Editing: Paul Rogers, "Everything Everywhere All at Once"
Best Production Design: Christian M. Goldbeck and Ernestine Hipper, "All Quiet on the Western Front"
Best Costume Design: Ruth Carter, "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever"
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Adrien Morot, Judy Chin and Annemarie Bradley, "The Whale"
Best Original Music Score: Volker Bertelmann, "All Quiet on the Western Front"
Best Original Song: "Naatu Naatu" from "RRR" (Music by M.M. Keeravaani; Lyric by Chandrabose)
Best Sound: Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor, "Top Gun: Maverick"
Best Visual Effects: Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett, "Avatar: The Way of Water"

Academy Honorary Awards:

Euzhan Palcy
Diane Warren
Peter Weir

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award:

Michael J. Fox