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1940 US six-sheet for The Grapes of Wrath. Art by Thomas Hart Benton.In Henry Fonda for President (2024), Alexander Horwath’s brilliant disquisition on acting, politics, and America, Fonda recalls how he tied himself to a seven-year contract with Darryl F. Zanuck in order to get the lead role in The Grapes of Wrath (1940). “I’d worked with Zanuck several times,” Fonda says, in audio taken from the last interview he gave before his death. “I’d done a lot of films there [at 20th Century-Fox], and he was always after a contract, and I wasn’t interested until Grapes of Wrath, and that was bait. He said, ‘I’m not going to let you play Tom Joad if I can’t control you.’ I did Grapes of Wrath, and I followed it with some of the worst shit I’ve had to do in film.”Horwath’s documentary also shows an...

‘The Last of Us’ Season 2 is finally here! Max is set to release a variety of new content in April 2025. This includes both returning series and new movies coming to the platform.

‘Y2K,’ a horror-comedy movie, is coming on April 4, starring Rachel Zegler and Jaeden Martell, set during the Y2K scare of 1999. On April 10, ‘Hacks’ Season 4′ returns. On April 13, the biggest Max’s release of the month (year?) is here – ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2. ‘The Rehearsal’ Season 2 premieres on April 20. The month ends with ‘Babygirl’ on April 25, an A24 thriller starring Nicole Kidman.

Coming To Max in April 2025

April 1

A Kind of Murder (2016)

A Stolen Life (1946)

Aftersun (2022)

All I See Is You (2017)

Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011)

April in Paris (1952)

Bad Santa (2003)

Bad Santa 2 (2016)

Black Death (2010)

Brittany Murphy: An ID Mystery (ID)

Chopped After Hours, Seasons 1-3 (Food Network)

Chopped Junior, Food Network, Seasons 6 & 7 (Food Network)

Chopped Next Gen,...

Oscars 2025 (Photo Credit – Prime Video)

The 97th Academy Awards will air on Sunday, March 2, 2025. It will be held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The event will be live-streamed in India on Monday in the wee hours of 5 A.M. on March 3, 2025. There are only a few hours left, so the red carpet has been rolled out, champagnes have been kept on ice, celebs are getting ready to turn heads with their glamorous looks, and we are waiting for the new batch of Oscar winners.

Conan O’Brien is going to host the event this year. Everyone is anticipating the big night to celebrate the huge wins. Before the celebration for this year begins, here’s a list of actresses, from Meryl Streep and Jane Fonda to Katharine Hepburn and others, who have won the maximum number of Oscars over the years. Scroll ahead.

Katharine Hepburn (4 wins out of 12 nominations...

Max is bringing a lot of content in February, with the highlight being HBO’s Original ‘The White Lotus.’ Here’s every movie and TV show coming to the platform next month.

Titles coming to Max in February

February 1

42 (2013)

Accidentally Brave (2023)

Bad Boys (1995)

Bad Boys II (2003)

Brian Banks (2019)

Cabin in the Sky (1949)

Cleats & Convos with Deebo Samuel, Episode 114 (B/R)

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

Deepwater Horizon (2016)

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932)

Dredd (2012)

Duplicity (2009)

Entertainment (2015)

Experimenter (2015)

Final Destination (2000)

Final Destination 2 (2003)

Final Destination 3 (2006)

Final Destination 5 (2011)

Ivanhoe (1952)

Jackie (2016)

Jezebel (1938)

Jupiter’s Darling (1955)

Just Mercy (2020)

King Solomon’s Mines (1950)

Kitty Foyle (1940)

Kusama: Infinity (2018)

Lady Be Good (1941)

Lassie Come Home (1943)

Life Partners (2014)

Lili (1953)

Little Women (1949)

Love & Basketball (2000)

Mad Money (2008)

Malcolm X (1992)

Mary of Scotland (1936)

Massacre (1934)

Mechanic: Resurrection (2016)

Mildred Pierce (1945)

Mister Roberts (1955)

Mr. Church (2016)

Mrs. Miniver (1942)

Neptune’s Daughter (1949)

Noma: My Perfect Storm (2015)

One Way Passage (1932)

Safe in Hell (1931)

Shadow on the Wall (1950)

Skate Kitchen...

A few fun facts about Oscar statuettes: 

The award is 13-and-a-half inches tall, and the award, overall, weighs about eight-and-a-half pounds. The statues are made of solid bronze and are plated in real gold. During metal shortages during World War II, the Oscars were made out of painted plaster, although winners were permitted to swap them for bronze ones once the materials were plentiful again. 

It's been said that handing an Oscar too much can make the gold tarnish, so Oscar winners have to be careful with them. The statuettes are made by an art foundry in Chicago called Polich Tallix, the same firm that handled the work of Roy Lichtenstein, and the Korean War Memorial in Washington, D.C. 

The statuettes also, technically, don't belong to the voters or to the people who win them. Indeed, starting in 1951, the Motion Picture Academy introduced a new rule forbidding recipients from...

Bette Davis, one of the best actresses of all time, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress 11 times in her career. Some persnickety Oscar historians might say that she was nominated only 10 times, though, as her nomination for 1934's "Of Human Bondage" was one of the very few write-in votes ever permitted by the Academy. Records show that Davis, although not officially nominated by the Academy, still came in third that year.

Davis only won two Oscars, however. The first was for her performance in "Dangerous" in 1935 and the second was for playing a Scartett O'Hara-like role in "Jezebel" in 1938. Her performance in "Jezebel," Hollywood would eventually learn, was the first in a streak of nominations that would last for five straight years. In 1939, Davis was nominated for her performance in "Dark Victory." 1940 would see her nominated for "The Letter." In 1941, it was for "The Little Foxes," and...

Meryl Streep is the best of the best.

Her performance in Sophie’s Choice (1982) has been voted the greatest Oscar Best Actress winner ever, according to a Gold Derby ballot cast by 21 of our film experts, critics, and editors, who ranked all 97 movie champs.

Diane Keaton ranked second for Annie Hall (1977), with Jodie Foster following in third for The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Liza Minnelli for Cabaret (1972) and Vivien Leigh for A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) rounded out the top five.

At the bottom of the list of the Best Actress winners is Mary Pickford for Coquette (1929). Just above that film in the rankings are Luise Rainer for The Great Ziegfeld (1936), Helen Hayes for The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1932), Loretta Young for The Farmer’s Daughter (1947), and Marie Dressler for Min and Bill (1931).

Another recent Gold Derby poll of cinema experts declared The Godfather (1972) as the greatest Best Picture Oscar winner of all...

The performance by Meryl Streep in Sophie’s Choice (1982) has been voted the greatest Oscar Best Actress winner ever. The results are from a recent Gold Derby ballot cast by 21 of our film experts and editors, who ranked all 97 movie champs.

Ranking in second place is Diane Keaton for Annie Hall (1977). Following in third place is Jodie Foster for The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Rounding out the top five are Liza Minnelli for Cabaret (1972), and Vivien Leigh for A Streetcar Named Desire (1951).

At the bottom of the list of the Best Actress winners is Mary Pickford for Coquette (1929). Just above that film in the rankings are Luise Rainer for The Great Ziegfeld (1936), Helen Hayes for The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1932), Loretta Young for The Farmer’s Daughter (1947), and Marie Dressler for Min and Bill (1931).

Another recent poll had The Godfather (1972) declared as the greatest Best Picture Oscar winner of all time (view...

Winning at the Oscars for acting is an extraordinary achievement. However, a more remarkable achievement is receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor or Best Actress five years in a row. So far, only two actors have ever reached this record, and no other actors have matched them in 79 years. The actor who first set this record at the Oscars is Bette Davis, one of the most celebrated and respected actresses in cinematic history.

Bette Davis' movie career is best defined by her roles in All About Eve and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? What's more, she gained five consecutive Oscar nominations with her performances in Jezebel, Dark Victory, The Letter, The Little Foxes, and Now, Voyager. However, that's not to say she towered over all the other Hollywood stars of her time in terms of accolades. In fact, she had a rival in Greer Garson, who managed...

The Property Masters Guild (Pmg) announced the winners of the inaugural Pmg MacGuffin Awards, which is the only awards show to date celebrating the significant artistic achievements of Property Masters. The Motion Picture MacGuffin Awards were presented to “Oppenheimer”, “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning – Part 1” (David Cheesman) and “Poor Things” (Balázs M. Kovács).

Winners in the Television Series included “The Bear”, “Lessons in Chemistry”, “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan”, “That ‘90s Show”, “Perry Mason”, “The Last of Us” (Justin Onofriechuk) and “A Black Lady Sketch Show”.

Russell Bobbitt, the Property Master behind Marvel Studios films such as the “Iron Man” franchise, “Captain America” franchise and the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise, earned the Hill Valley Humanitarian Award. He was recognized for “his outstanding philanthropic efforts and dedication to using his talents and resources to make a difference in the lives of those in need, including providing unique hands-on Marvel prop experiences for youth encountering debilitating health challenges.

When Disney purchased the 20th Century Fox library in 2019, it caused some consternation among cineastes. The Fox catalog was vast and impressive, containing tons of indelible classics and even more titles waiting deep inside the studio's archive. 20th Century Fox was formed in 1935 and quickly became one of the "big five" studios that dominated the film industry for decades. Fox hadn't seen a shake-up this dramatic since 1985 when ultra-conservative media mogul Rubert Murdoch bought a controlling share of the company from Marvin Davis.

When Disney made its purchase, many film fans wondered if Fox's old classics would be made more widely available through the about-to-launch Disney+. When the streaming service debuted with a paltry 500 titles, cineastes were aghast. Why buy all those Fox titles if you're not going to distribute them?

That, however, was merely the end of the road for Fox. For its 83-year life, the studio went through many massive,...

In his lofty and lengthy directorial debut, author, curator, film historian and former Viennale and Austrian Film Museum Director, Alexander Horwath, takes on a monumental task, superimposing the biographies of two giants: that of acting icon Henry Fonda and that of the United States of America. It is a personal essay about the United States of America perceived through the life and work of the Hollywood actor.

It is not the first time that Horwath has tackled the subject of Henry Fonda. In 2020, he curated an eponymous programme for Il Cinema Ritrovato, exploring the political persona of Henry Fonda through films that trace this particular narrative. A programme composed of films that outlined Fonda's legacy even if only partially, with some of his greatest films, including The Lady Eve, My Darling Clementine, Once Upon A Time In The West, Jezebel, Jesse James, 12 Angry Men and On Golden...

Although he has personally competed for the Best Picture Oscar as a qualifying producer of just four films, Martin Scorsese is responsible for directing 10 of the top Academy Award category’s nominees, including 2024 contender “Killers of the Flower Moon.” This recent improvement upon his total makes him only the third filmmaker in Oscars history to helm a double-digit amount of Best Picture nominees. Including him, six people who were already credited with directing at least one nominee rose higher in the ranks this year.

The previous Scorsese films that vied for Best Picture are 2007 winner “The Departed” (for which he earned his sole directing trophy) and nominees “Taxi Driver” (1977), “Raging Bull” (1981), “Goodfellas” (1991), “Gangs of New York” (2003), “The Aviator” (2005), “Hugo” (2012), “The Wolf of Wall Street” (2014), and “The Irishman” (2020). Of the 10, he received producing notices for the most recent four and directing bids for all but “Taxi Driver.” The only ones who...

Emma Stone won the Best Actress Oscar in 2017 for her role as an actress trying to make it big in Damien Chazelle‘s “La La Land.” Stone has also earned two Best Supporting Actress bids, the first in 2015 for “Birdman” and the second for “The Favourite” in 2019. She reteams with the latter’s director, Yorgos Lanthimos, for Searchlight Pictures’ “Poor Things.” The film, which is out in US theaters on Dec. 8, follows Stone as Bella Baxter — a woman brought back to life by a scientist (Willem Dafoe) and subsequently goes on a journey of self-discovery, meeting a variety of people along the way including a lawyer (Mark Ruffalo) and a potential suitor (Ramy Youssef).

Stone’s performance is remarkable here, as many critics have noted.

Nick Schager (The Daily Beast) declared that Stone will “blow your mind” in the movie, writing: “Nothing overshadows Stone’s odd, amusing and affecting performance as Bella,...

(Welcome to Did They Get It Right?, a series where we look at Oscars categories from yesteryear and examine whether the Academy's winners stand the test of time.)

If you were to guess who the most nominated director was in the history of the Academy Awards, who would you guess? Maybe you'd say Steven Spielberg, who has made films for a half-century that have been beloved by millions. Or maybe you're inclination was to guess Martin Scorsese, given his level of simultaneous mainstream acclaim and critical adoration. Or maybe you'd go back to the golden age of Hollywood and guess someone like Frank Capra or John Ford, filmmakers fundamental to establishing what popular American cinema was and directed many films still revered today. In reality, it's not any of these people.

It may come as a surprise to learn that the most nominated director of all time is William Wyler.

Colman Domingo is having a moment. The veteran actor has been nominated for two Tonys in his career, but lately it’s his on-screen work that has brought him the most attention. He won his first Emmy in 2022 for guesting on “Euphoria.” He received numerous plaudits for his role in the independent film “Zola.” And he has had additional film credits including Oscar winners “If Beale Street Could Talk” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Next he could become the 13th performer ever nominated for two Oscars in the same year.

As of this writing, based on the combined predictions of thousands of Gold Derby users, Domingo ranks fourth in our odds for Best Actor for playing the unsung civil rights hero Bayard Rustin in “Rustin.” And he places fifth in our odds for Best Supporting Actor for playing Mister in the upcoming musical adaptation of “The Color Purple.” But we...

The Perfect Find is a film directed by Numa Perrier starring Gabrielle Union and Keith Powers. Based on the novel by Tia Williams.

It’s Friday, the perfect day for a romantic comedy with enough arguments to enchant the most sensitive hearts and also with enough tests to scare away (definitely) those who are looking for something more in cinema.

Another romantic comedy? Yes, but this one has its very funny moments and, despite the formula, manages to entertain thanks to the brilliant and inspired performances of its supporting characters.

Alisha Hinds and Gina Torres are spectacular and add the finishing touch to this romantic comedy that, this time, really is a comedy.

The Perfect Find. Images: Alyssa Longchamp About the Movie

Don’t expect this combination to revolutionize cinema, because it definitely won’t. It’s a story about romance between generations, a portrait of success in a city...

It’s not every day that Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson team up. But IndieWire has learned they will today: The three directors have scheduled an emergency call with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav about the layoffs of Turner Classic Movies’ top brass.

The network laid off much of its leadership yesterday, including executive VP and general manager Pola Changnon; senior VP of programming and content strategy, Charles Tabesh; VP of brand creative and marketing Dexter Fedor; VP of enterprises and strategic partnerships Genevieve McGillicuddy, who also served as the director of the annual TCM Film Festival; and VP of studio production Anne Wilson.

These people were responsible for everything from curating lineups, to shooting intros and outros, and for creating original shows, documentaries, and video essays that serve as major contributions to American cultural history.

Scorsese has often said he has Turner Classic Movies on...

The Tribeca Festival excised “Film” from its name in 2021, and while it’s true that the annual celebration of all things entertainment has expanded to include plenty of television and immersive programming, the movies make it a must-attend event. This year’s lineup is no exception. It has big-name actors such as Michael Shannon and Jennifer Esposito trying their hand at directing, along with revelatory performances from stars like Nick Jonas. But what makes Tribeca so exciting is that it’s a springboard for bold new voices. As the fest gets ready to kick off on June 7, here are nine movies not to be missed.

First Time Female Director

Chelsea Peretti, who stole scenes as the social media-obsessed assistant on “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” slides behind the camera for this comedy about a writer who is forced to take over a production of her latest play after her male predecessor is fired for inappropriate behavior.

Celebrated director William Wyler directed 19 feature films in 1927 alone. To put that into perspective, Stanley Kubrick directed 13 in his whole career. 

Wyler is one of the more towering figures in American cinema, holding the record for the greatest number of Oscar nominations for Best Director at 12, and has won three times for "Mrs. Miniver," for "The Best Years of Our Lives," and for "Ben-Hur." Additionally, his films have attracted more Oscar attention than any other filmmaker in history; 13 of them have been nominated for Best Picture, and he directed 14 Oscar-winning performances. If you are playing Trivial Pursuit and the question is about records at the Academy Awards, William Wyler is likely your best guess. 

As one of the tentpoles of Hollywood's Golden Age, naturally, Wyler was afforded access to the best actors and actresses, and seemingly had his run of whatever projects he wanted. Throughout the 1920s, Wyler paid his...

When you think of actors like Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart, you think of their titanic starring roles that came at the peak of their powers. For Davis, it might well be something like the southern melodrama "Jezebel" or 1950's "All About Eve," the movie that revived her career by letting her embrace her age, her pettiness, and her acid tongue. For Bogart, it would be any of his many roles in film noir, a cinematic movement through the '40s and '50s of which he still registers as the face and the voice.

Digging through their respective careers, one can find early roles that show none of what would make the actors legendary. While technically impressive, these performances lack the vitality, electricity, and movie star charisma that both performers would come to master. And in the early '30s, with the industry in tumult and the Great Depression at its most suffocating,...

Abraham Lincoln, for whatever his historical faults, is perhaps the most cinematic President the Unites States has ever had. Whether you put him in a theatrical D.C. backroom drama like Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln," or in a silly, pulpy movie like Timur Bekmambetov's "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" (from the same year!), you get a great film. Maybe it's because of his iconic appearance, maybe it's due to the almost mythical challenges of leading a country in the midst of a Civil War, or maybe it stems from the temptation to cast him as a hero battling the evils of U.S. slavery.

Spielberg's "Lincoln" has scenes set in the wreckage of battlegrounds. "Vampire Hunter" has Honest Abe fighting vampires on runaway trains. Most every film about Lincoln dramatizes the Civil War to some degree, and they typically allude to Ford's Theatre, where he was assassinated. That's what...

Jane Fonda has opened up about her feelings on death, saying she is “not scared” of it.

She also recalled “forgiving” her father, Henry Fonda, before he died in 1982.

The Hollywood star’s father was 31 when she was born in 1937, and was on his way to becoming one of the most famous actors in the world.

Soon after she was born, Henry starred in Jezebel (1938), Young Mr Lincoln (1939), The Grapes of Wrath (1940) and The Lady Eve (1941).

Over the years, Fonda, 85, has been open about the strained relationship she had with her father, which improved towards the end of his life.

Their story was echoed in 1980 film On Golden Pond, the rights to which Fonda bought in the hopes that her dad would star alongside her.

He did so, and the film became a huge box office success and received 10 Oscar nominations.

Fonda described it as “a gift to my father that was so unbelievably successful.

Array Releasing, the distribution arm of Ava DuVernay’s Peabody Award-winning narrative change collective, has picked up rights to the feature drama Learn to Swim for the U.S., the UK, Australia and New Zealand, slating it for release on select screens and on Netflix on August 15.

The first feature from director Thyrone Tommy dives into the world of contemporary jazz with a musical meditation on love and loss, following the doggedly private and talented saxophone player Dezi (Thomas Antony Olajide) and a vivacious, but less experienced singer named Selma (Emma Ferreira). When the two meet, sparks fly, but their respective emotional baggage and temperaments make the road to romance bumpy at best.

An official selection of the 2021 Toronto Film Festival, Learn to Swim was written by Tommy and Marni Van Dyk, with Alona Metzer producing.

“With Array Releasing’s summer acquisition of Learn To Swim, we are thrilled to...

Exclusive: Gary Gilbert’s Gilbert Films, Mike Jackson and John Legend’s Get Lifted Film Co., and Harvey Mason Jr.’s Harvey Mason Media have set director Numa Perrier to helm The War and Treaty about the Nashville husband and wife vocal duo.

Oscar-winner Will McCormack and Oscar nominee Craig Borten (Dallas Buyers Club) are penning the screenplay which revolves around the true story of Michael, a soldier who has just returned from a tour in Iraq, who falls in love with Tanya, a singer with a deferred dream. The project was developed by and financed by Gilbert Films. Casting for the movie is underway.

The pic will be produced by Academy Award nominee Gilbert (La La Land), Legend, Jackson, Mason Jr., Peter Morgan and Perrier. EPs are War and Treaty’s Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter, along with McCormack,...

Less than two years after joining France Televisions, former Canal Plus executive Manuel Alduy has contributed to bolstering the French public broadcaster’s roster of international series with shows such as “Bardot,” a mini-series biopic of Brigitte Bardot, and “L’Insoumise” about Alice Guy, the first female filmmaker ever.

Ahead of France Televisions’ press conference at Series Mania, Alduy said the broadcaster’s first-look initiative with the European Broadcasting Union (Ebu) has yielded several prestige projects, including “Bardot.” The Ebu represents 113 organizations across the 56 countries, including the BBC in the U.K., Ard in Germany, Dr in Denmark, Svt in Sweden, Rai in Italy and the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation.

“Bardot” charts the life of the French actor and model from 1949, when she first appeared on the cover of a magazine, to the birth of her son in 1960. It’s being produced by Federation Entertainment with France Televisions in France, and...

For me, Black History Month is best illustrated by my 92-year-old grandmother Ella Queen Johnson’s recall of our family stories. She shares these stories knowing that the wider world lacks a true and full recognition of the African American family legacy. For most of her long life, she has known that she should not look for depth and dimension in film and television as it relates to families like ours. This is the very reason why she told our history to us herself. My grandmother is a dynamic woman who is not formally trained as a teacher or a historian, but nonetheless, she is both. I am drawn to distributing films created by indie Black filmmakers through Array as a continuation of her calling. By supporting storytellers in the telling of their truths, I am celebrating a great legacy and making my grandmother proud.

I was a young girl...

The Miami Film Festival returns this year with a hybrid event that includes nine premieres from March 4-13 in the Florida city. The festival had previously announced that “The Good Boss” would open the event while “Plaza Catedral” would be the closer. In total, 120 films from more than 35 countries will unspool next month.

The festival, organized by Miami Dade College, will bestow its Precious Gems Awards on Ramin Bahrani (“The White Tiger”) and Ryusuke Hamaguchi (“Drive My Car”), while Dp Ari Wegner and composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer will receive the Art of Light Awards.

“The collective spirit of joy and gratitude that we felt from patrons and filmmakers at last year’s shared in-person theatrical screenings strengthened the always mighty creative heart of Miami Film Festival,” said executive director Jaie Laplante. “As we take all necessary precautions to ensure the continued safety of our patrons, we look forward to...

Exclusive: Jezebel director Numa Perrier of House of Numa Productions and Livia Perrier of Bazile Productions reteam to bring the life of famed poet and author Audre Lorde to screen.

“Audre Lorde lived fully, loved fiercely and used her words as both weapon and salve. We seek to honor her in an intimate yet bold way,” the director said. “The stories of our poets are necessary as their work continues to give shape and make sense of the world. Audre Lorde said “your silence will not protect you” – and I believe creating a film is one of the most impactful ways to use our voices. House of Numa is dedicated to the centering of Black women who have so often had to work on the fringe yet still impinge society in a powerful way such as Audre Lorde. “

Born February 18, 1934, and sharing a birthday with Toni Morrison, Audre Lorde was...

In order to avoid splitting votes and allow for the possibility of netting two acting nominations this year, Searchlight Pictures will campaign Andrew Garfield’s performance as televangelist Jim Bakker in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” for supporting actor consideration, based on an invite that was sent to BAFTA voters for an upcoming virtual screening of the film.

Following the biopic’s bow at the Toronto International Film Festival and modest box office receipts, its Oscar prospects have been seemingly on the fringe, but the film, directed by Michael Showalter, could make a roaring comeback during the season. Garfield’s co-star Jessica Chastain, who plays his wife Tammy Faye, will angle for lead actress, and could become a central piece of a competitive race that includes Olivia Colman (“The Lost Daughter”), Penelope Cruz (“Parallel Mothers”) and Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”).

The 38-year-old actor, who graced the cover of Variety‘s TIFF issue last month,...

Oscars voters have always loved seeing actors whose startling physical transformations come after countless hours in the makeup chair.

After Renée Zellweger (“Judy”), Marion Cotillard (“La Vie en Rose”) and Charlize Theron (“Monster”) won Oscars for their impressively-altered looks, Jessica Chastain could be on a similar path for her role as the media-loving televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker in Michael Showalter’s “The Eyes of Tammy Faye.” Following a world bow at the Toronto International Film Festival, the Searchlight Pictures dramedy, echoing previous Oscar embraces such as “I, Tonya,” could make Chastain a contender for her third nomination, and could bring in a few other notices if campaigned correctly.

Chastain’s previous Oscar noms came in supporting actress for “The Help” (2011) and actress for “Zero Dark Thirty” (2012). She also serves as one of the producers for the film, along with Kelly Carmichael, Gigi Pritzker and Rachel Shane. While “Tammy Faye” could...

Bradley Cooper quickly racked up eight Oscar nominations over the course of just seven years, but he hasn’t won yet. However, this year he has two chances for acting prizes: Best Actor for Guillermo Del Toro‘s “Nightmare Alley” and Best Supporting Actor for an as yet untitled Paul Thomas Anderson film. Those happen to be our top two Oscar contenders for Best Picture according to our early odds. So could he end up with two nominations? And if so, could he win one or both of them?

See‘A Star is Born’ again at 2022 Oscars? Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper could return to lead acting races

It’s crucial to preface all this by pointing out that Del Toro and Anderson’s films haven’t screened for press or audiences yet, so everything could change once they see the light of day. But with Del Toro hot off...

The sheer number of films streaming on Netflix on any given day can make finding and deciding which films to watch an arduous journey through an overabundance of content, navigating with an interface that’s not exactly the most conducive to discovery.

To assist on this cinematic journey, IndieWire runs a monthly series that highlights movies and television series worth streaming on every major platform in the U.S., including Netflix. But, as an extension of that popular ongoing series, we’ve also curated lists of films that specifically tell Black stories and are streaming on those same major streaming platforms.

Among this month’s offerings on Netflix: several feature debuts, including Spike Lee’s “She’s Gotta Have It,” Ryan Coogler’s “Fruitvale Station,” Mati Diop’s “Atlantics,” and Numa Perrier’s “Jezebel.” Check out our picks below.

Consider your Mother’s Day viewing plans sorted. Hitting select theaters and streaming on Netflix staring Thursday, May 6 is Shantrelle P. Lewis’ feature directorial debut “In Our Mothers’ Gardens,” a loving, insightful, and inspirational look at the relationships between mothers and daughters. The documentary had its world premiere at the 2020 BlackStar Film Festival, winning the Shine Award for Best Film.

Last month, Ava DuVernay’s Array Releasing picked up the film as part of its growing selection of films focused on films by people of color and women. Array’s president Tilane Jones explained the documentary’s obvious appeal in an official statement: “‘In Our Mothers’ Gardens’ is a beautiful tribute to the complex relationships between Black women connected by lineage and love. Released in celebration of Mother’s Day, we are honored to present Ms. Lewis’ feature debut highlighting important bonds between daughters, mothers and grandmothers told by a dynamic group of women.

Array Releasing has acquired the documentary “In Our Mothers’ Gardens,” which marks filmmaker Shantrelle P. Lewis’ directorial debut.

Array president Tilane Jones announced the acquisition on Thursday, along with news that the film will be released in select theaters and begin streaming on Netflix on May 6.

“’In Our Mothers’ Gardens’ is a beautiful tribute to the complex relationships between Black women connected by lineage and love,” Jones said in a statement. “Released in celebration of Mother’s Day, we are honored to present Ms. Lewis’ feature debut highlighting important bonds between daughters, mothers and grandmothers told by a dynamic group of women.”

The documentary debuted at the 2020 BlackStar Film Festival and subsequently earned the Shine Award for best film. The movie features interviews with #MeToo founder Tarana Burke; Tina Farris (tour manager for talent including The Roots and Chris Rock); cultural critic Dr. Brittney Cooper (Rutgers University); Rev. Dr. Theresa S.

Ava DuVernay’s Array Releasing has acquired the documentary In Our Mothers’ Gardens, the feature film debut of director, curator, and author Shantrelle P. Lewis. The film is set to debut theatrically in select cities and on Netflix starting fittingly on Mother’s Day, May 6.

In Our Mothers’ Gardens celebrates the strength and resiliency of Black women and Black families through the complex, and often times humorous, relationship between mothers and daughters. The film pays homage to Black maternal ancestors while examining the immediate and critical importance of self-care, and the healing tools necessary for Black communities to thrive.

The film features a variety of interviews from #MeToo founder Tarana Burke; The Roots and Chris Rock tour manager Tina Farris; cultural critic Dr. Brittney Cooper of Rutgers University; Rev. Dr. Theresa S. Thames of Princeton University; holistic lifestyle maven Latham Thomas; photographer Adama Delphine Fawundu and NPR’s Senior Director for Programming Yolanda Sangweni.

WidowMaker Films to Distribute Vipco, Ltd in the US WidowMaker Films has partnered with the popular UK based Vipco, Ltd to provide VOD content in the United States and Worldwide. We can look forward to seeing movies like Zombie Lover, Slutty The Clown, Jezebel, and Cannibal Hookers on VOD platforms in the near future. Zombie …

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Aziza Barnes (Blks) and Jeremy O. Harris (Slave Play), have signed on as writers and executive producers on drama The Vanishing Half, based on Brit Bennett’s bestselling novel, which is in currently in development as a series at HBO. Issa Rae and her Hoorae production banner and Stephanie Allain’s Homegrown Pictures also have joined as executive producers.

As Deadline previously reported, HBO acquired the book in 2020 in a highly competitive situation.

In The Vanishing Half, the twin Vignes sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it’s not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it’s everything: their families, their communities, the essence of who they are. Ten years later, they are living completely separate lives, far from the close-knit sisters they once were…and with many secrets that divide them further.

Glenn Close is almost certain to reap a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her scene-stealing role as Mamaw in the Netflix flick “Hillbilly Elegy.” This will be her eighth trip to the Academy Awards. But this three-timer at both the Emmys and Tonys is still without an Oscar. She last lost in 2019 to Olivia Colman (“The Favourite”). That gave her the dubious distinction of racking up the most defeats in Academy Awards history without ever scoring a win.

Closes’s pal Meryl Streep has endured far more losses. She holds the Oscar nominations record with 21 bids and was defeated in 18 of those races. But Streep has three Academy Awards on her mantle (a supporting trophy for “Kramer vs. Kramer” and two lead awards for “Sophie’s Choice” and “The Iron Lady”). That last win came at the expense of Close, who was on nomination #6 for “Albert Nobbs.”

Katharine Hepburn racked up an even dozen nominations,...

The Black List founder Franklin Leonard kicked off the virtual Sundance panel “Array 10: A Decade of Disruption” by chatting with Array founder and Emmy-winning Ava DuVernay, President Tilane Jones and VP of Public Programming Mercedes Cooper about the origin of the narrative change collective which puts shine on creators and artists of color as well as women filmmakers.

Leonard and DuVernay reminisced about special dinners of Sundance past where, at the first one DuVernay hosted included “more Black folks in the room than at Sundance” as a whole. The conversation shifted to a dinner party icebreaker which Leonard loves to ask his guests: “What is your guilty pleasure movie?”

Cooper claimed the classic Mahogany as her guilty pleasure while Jones said Breakfast at Tiffany’s was hers — DuVernay quickly intervened.

“These are not guilty pleasures ladies!” said DuVernay. “A guilty pleasure is a film you slightly feel hesitant to share — which I will share.

When the 2020 Oscar nominations were announced, Scarlett Johansson attracted attention by earning two for acting. With inclusions in both the Best Actress (“Marriage Story”) and Best Supporting Actress (“Jojo Rabbit”) categories, she was the first actor in 12 years who had a chance at winning two acting Academy Awards on the same night. She ultimately lost both bids, but the feat placed her in the rare company of only 11 others who have achieved it since the supporting categories were introduced at the Oscars in 1937.

Here is a screen-time based analysis of all of them, from earliest to most recent. We note the names and screen time of key rival nominees and the winners in each race as well.

Fay Bainter (1939)

Best Actress nominee for “White Banners”

Best Supporting Actress winner for “Jezebel”

Combined: 1 hour, 15 minutes, 57 seconds

Just four years after beginning her film acting career, Bainter earned her first two Oscar nominations in the same year,...

The verdict is in. If you want to have success in awards’ season go to court. Over the decades, a caseload of legal movies have been judged to be Oscar worthy. And for good reason. The genre is rich with emotions, betrayals, manipulations, love, hate, violence and redemption. Who doesn’t remember Humphrey Bogart’s brilliant Oscar-nominated turn as Captain Queeg slowly losing his mind on the stand as he recounts his obsession with missing strawberries in 1954’s “The Caine Mutiny”?

“A Free Soul” (1931)

Lionel Barrymore won his only Academy Award for for his delicious over-the-top turn as a wily alcoholic attorney who gets a ruthless gangster (Clark Gable) off for murder in this juicy pre-code melodrama. Though his free-spirited daughter (Norma Shearer), who wears the slinkiest of gowns, has a boyfriend (a staid Leslie Howard), she soon realizes she loves bad boys and leaves Howard for Gable. It’s a big mistake.

Only eight actors in history have been nominated for Oscars posthumously. Only 12 actors have been nominated twice in the same year. Chadwick Boseman, sadly, could make history this Oscar season by winding up on both of those lists.

The actor, who died in August of this year after a battle with colon cancer that he hadn’t publicly disclosed, has been considered a solid Best Supporting Actor contender for months for his role in Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods.” And with initial press screenings of George C. Wolfe’s Broadway adaptation “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” taking place this week, Boseman makes a formidable case for Best Actor attention as well.

The role he plays in “Ma Rainey,” a volatile trumpet player named Levee, led to a 1985 Tony Award nomination for Charles S. Dutton in the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play. That category is the Tonys...

As box offices start to test the waters, Roger Michell’s family drama Blackbird starring Susan Sarandon is set to open in theaters and on demand starting today.

Known for My Cousin Rachel and Notting Hill, Michell directs a script by Christian Torpe, who wrote the 2014 Danish film, Silent Heart on which the family drama is based. In it, Sarandon plays Lily who, along with Paul (Sam Neil) invite their loved ones to their beach house for one final gathering after Lily decides to end her long battle with Als on her own terms. The weekend starts as a loving weekend with holiday tradition but as things unfold, unresolved issues between Lily and her daughters Jennifer (Kate Winslet) and Anna (Mia Wasikowska) come into the forefront. Rainn Wilson, Lindsay Duncan, Bex Taylor-Klaus and Anson Boon join the all-star roster in this ensemble drama.

The film made its world premiere last...

Array, Ava DuVernay’s film company, has acquired the rights to release “Residue,” a poetic drama from Merawi Gerima that won a pair of awards after its world premiere at the Slamdance Film Festival earlier this year. DuVernay announced the news on Tuesday.

Gerima wrote “Residue” and made his directorial debut on the film, as well as produced and edited the indie feature, and it was just on Tuesday selected as part of the 77th Venice International Film Festival’s Giornate degli Autori section. It previously won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature and the Acting Award for its star Obinna Nwachukwu, along with receiving the honorable mention for Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize, at Slamdance.

“Residue” will debut on Netflix on Sept. 17 and will also play in select cities theatrically throughout the month.

Also Read: Ava DuVernay's Array Hires Former Netflix Exec Sarah Bremner as Filmworks President

“Residue...

Who is your favourite from each year in the 1930s? My current votes go like so though there are always more films to see so one must always reserve the right to change one's mind.

1930 Norma Shearer, The Divorcee 1931 Marie Dressler, Min & Bill 1932 Marlene Dietrich, Blonde Venus 1933 Greta Garbo, Queen Christina 1934 Claudette Colbert, It Happened One Night 1935 Katharine Hepburn, Alice Adams 1936 Carole Lombard, My Man Godfrey 1937 Irene Dunne, The Awful Truth 1938 Bette Davis, Jezebel 1939 Vivien Leigh, Gone With the Wind (though I'll admit to being somewhat torn because Dark Victory is my favourite pre 1950s Bette Davis performance)...

Exclusive: HBO won a wild auction that sources said saw 17 bidders vying for The Vanishing Half, the novel by Brit Bennett that is currently atop The New York Times bestseller list. Sources said HBO will pay low seven-figures for the book and the author will be executive producer of what HBO will develop as a limited series.

The novel focuses on the Vignes sisters, identical twins who, after growing up together in a small, southern black community, run away at age sixteen. It’s not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it’s everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Ten years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other passes for white, hiding her identity from her husband, who knows nothing of her past. Even separated by so many miles and just as many lies,...

Exclusive: We hear that the Gabrielle Union Agc Studios movie The Perfect Find has landed at Netflix and that Jezebel filmmaker Numa Perrier is attached to direct the feature adaptation of the Tia Williams bestseller.

Previously announced, Union stars and will also produce The Perfect Find via her production company I’ll Have Another, which Agc is financing and producing. The Bring It On and Breaking In star plays Jenna Jones, a woman hopeful that her new job in beauty journalism will rep a fresh start in her life. She soon learns that her new boss, Darcy, is her frenemy. Jenna starts a relationship with the company’s videographer, Eric, and things get complicated when she learns he’s Darcy’s son.

Leigh Davenport adapted Williams’ book. Jeff Morrone, Tommy Oliver and Codie Elaine Oliver of Confluential Films are also producing. Agc’s Stuart Ford and Glendon Palmer are EPs...

Composer Max Steiner, whose scores for “King Kong,” “Gone With the Wind” and “Casablanca” placed him in the movie-music pantheon, isn’t much discussed today. He seems to belong to that old-school, pre-synthesizer world of orchestral scoring from the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s.

But as author Steven C. Smith points out in his engrossing new biography of the three-time Oscar winner, “Music by Max Steiner” (Oxford University Press), the Austrian wunderkind pioneered the art of film scoring and ranks as “Hollywood’s most influential composer.”

His music essentially saved Rko’s “King Kong,” the 1933 giant-ape-wrecks-Manhattan fantasy, forcefully demonstrating the power of dramatic underscore to create mood, propel the action and provide emotional support (and disproving the widely held studio-executive theory that audiences of the time would “wonder where the music came from”).

Steiner went on to score some 300 films over a 35-year career, mostly for Rko and Warner Bros., although...

Exclusive: Macro Television Studios is teaming with Jezebel filmmaker Numa Perrier to develop the erotic thriller series Toxic.

Charles King’s media company inked the deal with the actress-writer-director for the series which will follow a seemingly everyday couple who thrives on pillow talk and erotic thrills. Subtle red flags become alarmingly dangerous as their relationship and future together spirals beyond control.

“We are so thrilled to be working with Numa, a singular talent whose fresh voice and perspective offers a unique take on a genre that has been mostly male-dominated,” said Marta Fernandez, President of Macro Television Studios.

Perrier, who created the series, will serve as executive producer and will write and direct the pilot via her House of Numa production banner. Fernandez and Yira Vilaro, Director of Development, will oversee for Macro Television Studios.

Perrier’s coming-of-age cam girl drama Jezebel premiered at SXSW in 2019 and went on...