Awards and Festivals News

Steven Spielberg’s Best Picture-winning Holocaust drama is celebrating its 25th anniversary along with Steve Buscemi’s cult classic In the Soup, while Brian De Palma’s Scarface turns 35 this year.

The festival made stars out of directors Kay Cannon (Blockers), Julia Hart (Fast Color) and the Prospect team of Zeek Earl and Christopher Caldwell.

East Coast Editor Edward Douglas wonders whether Academy members should be tested for their knowledge of filmmaking before voting rather than be admitted to the most exclusive film group merely based on prestige alone.

The distributor hopes to release the new Panos (Beyond the Black Rainbow) Cosmatos film, co-starring Andrea Riseborough and Linus Roache, sometime over the summer.

Alex Pettyfer’s directorial debut, Ethan Hawke and Noomi Rapace in Stockholm and Matt (Doctor Who) Smith as Robert Maplethorpe are some of the highlights of the 17th annual film fest.

Damien Chazelle and his First Man star Ryan Gosling will square off once again against Barry Jenkins (If Beale Street Could Talk), but will the team behind the Dick Cheney movie get the last laugh, or will it be Martin Scorsese and his Netflix movie The Irishman?

“Sure, awards season is a horrible slog and the Oscars always last longer than they should, but honestly, I can’t help myself. I’m like the Grinch who has a heart two sizes too small at the beginning of the show, but by the time Best Picture has been handed out, it has grown three full sizes,” writes Neil Turitz.

But in the end, when everything was said and done, the right movie probably won Best Picture. The Shape of Water truly represents the best of Hollywood, from its flawless direction and stunning production design to its sumptuous score and rich performances, three of which earned Oscar nominations.

With 13 nominations, Guillermo del Toro’s fantasy-drama walked away with four Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director, Score and Production Design.

War for the Planet of the Apes is the third movie in the 20th Century Fox franchise that received critical raves for its visual FX then was snubbed by the Oscars. What does the Academy have against apes?

Fifty Shades Darker won two awards while both Tom Cruise and Tyler Perry “won” their second Razzies.

Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell and Allison Janney continued their road to Oscar night with Indie Spirit wins.

We look at some of the categories that might throw a wrench into your Oscar pool if things don’t go as some are expecting.

All eyes are on the heated Best Picture race, but Best Cinematography and Best Original Screenplay are two categories that are worth paying close attention to, as either one may signal this year’s big winner.

“The state of being a man, of being old enough and mature enough is so severed that brilliant performances are often neglected. This lack of diversity throughout the years means the Best Actor category is stacked with older men who have, paid their dues to get even the head nod of being nominated,” writes Sabrina Cognata.

It would be great if the Moonlight team comes out to bask in the triumphant moment they were robbed of last year and give a proper acceptance speech before handing out Best Picture to their successor,” writes Neil Turitz.

Reed Morano (The Handmaid’s Tale) directed the thought-provoking indie movie, which won a Special Jury Prize last month at Sundance, where it premiered in competition.

Jimmy Kimmel is set to present the Oscars to some of the brightest stars in the industry on March 4, but before that night arrives, as well as the day of, there are going to be glamorous and star-filled parties and events to celebrate the big night. Here at the Tracking Board, we have all information on the pre-parties, after-parties, and more.

Many films that premiered at Sundance have already been picked up for distribution yet a half dozen films that impressed us haven’t even gotten a bite yet.

Many of this year’s acting nominees have had long and full careers before this year’s nominations. Not all their early choices were particularly sound, but some of this year’s nominees have been paying their dues for decades.

Josh Sorokach’s TV pilot Clean Slate follows a woman who inspires a renowned socialite to leave his life of luxury and live outside of the spotlight, while Huelah Lander’s feature script The Science of Happiness follows a man who lives his entire life according to the predictions of a happiness app.

The animated take on Jack London’s classic tale of fiction and the psychological thriller starring Andrea Riseborough are both expected to be released this year.

DeKalb Elementary, The Eleven O’Clock, My Nephew Emmett, The Silent Child and Watu Woke (All of Us) are all good, but which one is likely to win the Oscar in this extremely tough category?

Martin McDonagh’s won five BAFTAs including Best Film, Best British Film and for its Original Screenplay, while Guillermo del Toro’s earned three including Best Director.

Co-starring Juliette Binoche, André Benjamin and Mia Goth, High Life will be the first English-language film directed by the French filmmaker behind Beau Travail and White Material.

Dano’s directorial debut, an adaptation of Richard Ford’s novel, received mixed reactions at Sundance.

Jordan Peele’s Get Out and James Ivory’s Call Me By Your Name scripts won the top film prizes while The Handmaid’s Tale continued its winning streak with two awards.

Awarded to screenwriter and original author of the source material, the USC Scripter has been given out since 1988. The film prize often is a herald for the WGA and Oscar winner in the adapted screenplay category.

Are this year’s unconventional nominees meant to stir things up from the norm or is there actual bias against certain actors and filmmakers because they’re such obvious choices?

Our first series of brief reviews of the Oscar-nominated shorts currently playing in 200 theaters across the country before Oscar night on March 4.