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Dead rodents were found at the outbuildings of the New Mexico property where the late Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead.

Authorities found the couple deceased in their Santa Fe home in February. Arakawa, 65, is estimated to have died on Feb. 12 from a respiratory illness linked to hantavirus, which is transmitted through rodents. Hackman, 95, who had Alzheimer’s disease, lived in the house with his dead wife for a week before he himself passed on Feb. 18 from severe heart disease.

They were discovered on Feb. 26 along with their deceased dog Zinna. Two more of their dogs were found roaming the property.

A week later on March 5, an environmental assessment of the property was conducted. The investigation found rodent droppings, in addition to both dead and alive rodents and nests in three garages, two small external houses and three sheds.

Hantavirus is primarily transmitted to...

Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.

Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:

Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys

2024 Oscars Predictions:

Best Achievement in Visual Effects

Weekly Commentary: “The Creator” has the advantage, but honesty, any film can win.

“Godzilla Minus One” is in the discussion and could be a cool choice for the Academy to make, similar to “Ex Machina.” However, don’t count out the power...

The Creator won big at the 22nd annual Visual Effects Society Awards Wednesday night.

The awards were handed out during a ceremony, hosted by actor-comedian Jay Pharoah, at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.

The Creator took home five awards in the feature competition, including outstanding visual effects in a photoreal feature. The Last of Us was also a top winner in the series categories, scoring four awards, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse led the animation competition with four wins.

Other winners of the night included Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Oppenheimer, Nyad, The Mandalorian and The Flash.

It was previously announced that producer Joyce Cox, who produced VFX on movies including Avatar and The Dark Knight, received the Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award during the ceremony.

Actor-producer-director William Shatner was also previously revealed as the recipient of the award for Creative Excellence in “recognition of his valuable contributions...

Gareth Edwards’ “The Creator” was the big winner at the 22nd Visual Effects Society Awards (held February 21 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel). The AI-themed, sci-fi actioner earned five awards, including the top photoreal feature VFX prize. The other awards were for modeling (Nomad), created environment (Floating Village), effects simulations, and compositing & lighting (Bar).

“The Creator” utilized an innovative streamlining process in post, in which Ilm designed and placed the naturalistic VFX over the actors playing AI simulants and the photographic plates as set extensions. This made the $80 million indie look like a $200 million blockbuster, with director Edwards shooting the entire film guerilla-style in 80 locations throughout Southeast Asia as the primary camera operator with a small crew and natural light.

Meanwhile, “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” the animated feature Oscar favorite (snubbed by the Academy’s VFX branch), took home four awards, including the top animated VFX prize. Sony Pictures Imageworks innovated...

As had been generally expected, Gareth Edwards’ futuristic sci-fi film “The Creator” proved to be the favorite among visual effects practitioners. The film topped the feature competition at the 22nd Visual Effects Society Awards, claiming five wins including one in the leading category for outstanding VFX in a photoreal feature.

Wednesday night at the Beverly Hilton, it also won the categories for created environment, model, compositing and lighting and effects simulations. Also, in the feature competition, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” collected two awards for the digital character (the emotive Rocket) and virtual cinematography. “Oppenheimer” grabbed the trophy for practical effects, and “Nyad” took home the award for supporting VFX. Sony Pictures Animation’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” was the big winner among the animated features, collecting four awards.

“The Creator,” whose VFX was led by Industrial Light + Magic, and Guardians 3, whose work was shared by roughly 10 VFX companies,...

“Oppenheimer,” “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” and “The Last of Us” are among the nominees for the Visual Effects Society (Ves) Awards.

Gareth Edwards’ “The Creator” leads the feature film field with seven nominations. “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” is the top animated contender with seven nominations and 24-time Emmy-nominated drama “The Last of Us” leads the episodic field with six nominations.

“The artistry, ingenuity and passion of visual effects practitioners around the world have come together to create remarkable imagery,” Ves chair Kim Davidson said. “We are seeing best-in-class work that elevates the art of storytelling and exemplifies the spirit of innovation. The Ves Awards is the only venue that showcases and honors these outstanding artists across a wide range of disciplines, and we are extremely proud of our nominees.”

The Ves is a global honorary society dedicated to “advancing the arts, sciences and applications of visual effects and to upholding...

The Visual Effects Society has composited the nominees for its 22nd annual Ves Awards, which will be handed out next month. Disney’s The Creator and Sony’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse lead the field with seven noms apiece, and HBO’s The Last of Us tops TV with six. See the full list below.

The annual Ves Awards will be handed out during the group’s 22nd annual ceremony February 21 at the Beverly Hilton. They recognize outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in 25 categories spanning features, animation, television, commercials and video games and the VFX supervisors, VFX producers and hands-on artists who bring this work to life.

“The artistry, ingenuity and passion of visual effects practitioners around the world have come together to create remarkable imagery,” said Kim Davidson, newly elected Ves Chair. “We are seeing best-in-class work that elevates the art of storytelling and exemplifies the spirit of innovation.

The Spider-Society has webbed in a few honors. The Visual Effects Society has announced their nominations for the 22nd annual Ves Awards, with “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” leading the pack.

Held every winter, the Ves Awards honor the best achievements in visual effects artistry over the previous calendar year, with VFX professionals in film, television, video games, and commercials receiving recognition. Nominees in 25 categories are selected by Ves members through a process of 39 in-person and virtual nomination events, held worldwide and conducted during a 36-hour period. A minimum of three judging panels review each submission for the awards, looking at “Before and Afters” for each prospective nominee. Ves judging panels this year included members of the society from 25 different countries.

“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” was the top animated film to receive nominations this year, gaining seven nominations including Outstanding Effects in an Animated Feature and specific nods for modeling, character animation,...

Mimicking Wexler's film will get my attention and interest but this isn't necessarily an easy way to garner my favor. A sort of remake of "Medium Cool" was attempted in 2004, when documentarian Stephen Marshall shot "This Revolution" during the Republican National Convention in NYC. And while I appreciated the intent, the scripted elements and some of the acting from the likes of Rosario Dawson and Brendan Sexton III, did not fit with the nonfiction parts. It's not just that unknown actors and non-actors are better suited for this kind of integration, but generally a greater talent for realism is necessary for mixing with actual reality.

The 8th annual Big Sky Documentary Film Festival is all set to run for ten days this Feb. 11-20 in Missoula, Montana. This year, the fest will have a whopping 140 film programs, a growth that necessitates an expansion from its regular home at the Historic Wilma Theatre — where it will occupy two screens — to also feature screenings at the former Pipestone Mountaineering store.

Special events at the fest include a free opening night screening of How to Die in Oregon sponsored by HBO Documentary Films. The film, directed by Peter D. Richardson, examines the impact the legalization of physician-assisted suicide has had on the state. (In 1994, Oregon was the first state to legalize the practice.)

Also, indie rock band Yo La Tengo will perform their acclaimed live score of the films of pioneering French underwater documentary film director Jean Painlevé, something they have done for other film festivals all over the world.

Stephen Marshall’s HolyWars AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs Documentary Festival, which takes place June 21-27, 2010 in the Washington, D.C. area, have announced their 2010 line-up. Films will be presented in five sections: Sterling Us Feature Competition, Sterling World Feature Competition, Sterling Short Film Competition, and the to-be-announced Silver Spectrum and Spotlight Programs. According to the Silverdocs Festival website, "new this year is a retrospective series of films by Guggenheim honoree Frederick Wiseman and a special ‘Peacebuilding On Screen’ strand organized in collaboration with the United States Institute of [...]...

Men In Black II star Rosario Dawson is planning to fight disorderly conduct and obstruction charges against her. The actress was arrested last year for breaking a little-known New York state rule, which forbids protestors from covering their faces, while filming a scene for a new film in the midst of a real-life rally at the Republican National Convention. The 25-year-old star was wearing two handkerchiefs on her face with only her eyes showing and reportedly refused when ordered by police to move on. When This Revolution director Stephen Marshall attempted to show cops he had a city film permit, he and Dawson were arrested. Dawson, who denies police claims that she refused to move on, has moved to dismiss the charges against her. This request was denied in a Manhattan court Wednesday. The actress and director Marshall will stand trial next week.

PARK CITY -- As the gap between fact and fiction filmmaking has narrowed during the past few years, more and more films can only be categorized as documentary-feature hybrids. Two examples of what is becoming an evolving genre are on display this year at the Sundance Film Festival: Stephen Marshall's This Revolution and Travis Wilkerson's Who Killed Cock Robin? Both fictional features were written and directed by documentarians using cinema verite techniques. They follow in the wake of two docudrama hits that brought in solid boxoffice returns last year: Touching the Void and the Sundance entry Open Water, films shot by documentarians who were frustrated by the limitations of by-the-book film journalism. In addition, such filmmakers as Michael Apted, Werner Herzog and Jonathan Demme now routinely move back and forth between features and docus.