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Mikey Madison as Ani and Mark Eydelshteyn as Ivan in ‘Anora’ (Courtesy of Neon)

Anora continues to pick up speed heading into the Oscars, scoring Critics Choice Awards and DGA wins and snagging a Best Feature win at the Film Independent Spirit Awards. Anora also captured Best Director (Sean Baker) and Best Lead Performance (Mikey Madison) wins. A Real Pain and Didi each earned two awards during the February 22, 2025 Spirit Awards ceremony hosted by Aidy Bryant.

On the television side, Baby Reindeer dominated with three wins. The critically acclaimed limited series took home the Best Lead Performance (Richard Gadd), Best Supporting Performance (Nava Mau), and Best Breakthrough Performance (Jessica Gunning) wins. Other television winners included Shogun and How to Die Alone.

2025 Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominees and Winners

Best Feature

Winner: Anora

Producers: Sean Baker, Alex Coco, Samantha Quan

I Saw the TV Glow

Producers: Ali Herting, Sam Intili, Dave McCary,...

The 40th annual Independent Spirit Awards took place in Santa Monica on Feb. 22, with Aidy Bryant as host for the second year in a row.

“Anora” was the biggest winner of the day, being named best feature while Sean Baker and Mikey Madison took home individual trophies for best director and lead performance. “Baby Reindeer” also won big, with Richard Gadd, Nava Mau and Jessica Gunning clinching the awards for lead, supporting and breakthrough performance, though “Shogun” won best new scripted series. And Sean Wang’s “Dìdi” clinched both awards in the debut film category: best first feature as well as best first first screenplay.

See the full list of winners below.

Best Feature

“Anora” (Winner)

“I Saw the TV Glow”

“Nickel Boys”

“Sing Sing”

“The Substance”

Best First Feature

“Dìdi” (Winner)

“In the Summers”

“Janet Planet”

“The Piano Lesson”

“Problemista”

John Cassavetes Award – Given to the best feature made...

Ahead of the Oscar nominations being unveiled, USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative and the Adobe Foundation have released a new edition of their Inclusion List, with a focus on movies.

The top-scoring movies for supporting gender inclusion on screen and behind the cameras were A Thousand and One, You Hurt My Feelings, The Marvels, Priscilla and Barbie. For race and ethnicity, the top-scoring movies were Joy Ride, A Thousand and One, The Color Purple, House Party and The Blackening.

In an earlier Inclusions List, 476 theatrically released movies from 2019 to 2023 were analyzed, with on screen and behind-the-camera data used to determine the 150 most inclusive films in that four-year period. The latest Inclusion List builds on that ranking with a new set of films from 2023.

“Our goal with the Inclusion List is to celebrate those who are showcasing and working with exceptional talent from all backgrounds. In the second year of its release,...

Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” was a poster child for the power of inclusion when it broke box office records in 2023, but the $1.45 billion-grossing movie is only the 119th most inclusive film made in the past five years, according to the Inclusion List.

The annual list — presented by Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, in collaboration with the Adobe Foundation — is a data-driven ranking that identified the 150 most inclusive films from 2019 to 2023 and ranks a single year’s films across gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQ+, disability and age representation.

“Our goal with the Inclusion List is to celebrate those who are showcasing and working with exceptional talent from all backgrounds,” stated Dr. Smith in a press release announcing the researchers’ findings. “In the second year of its release, the newest iteration of the Inclusion List spotlights films, filmmakers, and distributors who clearly demonstrate that inclusion...

The second iteration of The Inclusion List from Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative has identified the 150 most inclusive films from 2019 to 2023, adding to its initial class of 100 films by naming 50 new titles for the year 2023.

Four films from that year have made it into the Top 10 Most Inclusive Films for that timespan, according to the study released Wednesday, with A Thousand and One taking the No. 2 spot overall, Bottoms coming in seventh, The Color Purple ninth and The Blackening in 10th.

The list’s point system took into account talent both in front of and behind the camera, with a total of 20 points broken down into 10-point halves for both on-screen and off-screen inclusion. Two distinct processes were used, one for leads/co-leads and the other for all speaking characters. A film could earn up to 10 points for on-screen inclusion based on the five inclusion indicators across leads/co leads (up to 5 points) and all speaking characters (up to 5 points).

A Thousand and One ranks second with a score of 13.6/20, while Bottoms scores a 12.2/20. The Color Purple and The Blackening are tied with a score of 11.8/20. The highest scoring film on the list remains Gina Prince-Bythewood’s The Woman King (2022) with a 15/20.

The list also evaluated 2023 films displaying the best inclusivity across five categories: gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQ+, disability, and age. It named five of the most inclusive 2023 films within each of those categories.

The 2023 films that scored the highest for the gender indicator of inclusion were A Thousand and One, You Hurt My Feelings, The Marvels, Priscilla and Barbie. A Thousand and One also scored high on the race/ethnicity list alongside 2023’s Joy Ride, The Color Purple, The Blackening and House Party. In the LGBTQ+ category, the top five films of 2023 were All of Us Strangers, Theater Camp, Bottoms, Knock at the Cabin and Saltburn. 2023 releases ranking high in the disability category included What Happens Later, John Wick: Chapter 4, Moving On, Golda and The Holdovers. Films from 2023 that scored highest in their representation of age on the big screen were Moving On, Book Club: The Next Chapter, Marlowe, The Miracle Club and Golda.

Researchers also took into consideration the race and ethnicity of crew members in the roles of director, writer, producer, cinematographer, editor, composer, production designer, costume designer, casting director and assistant director.

The second Inclusion List also names 25 top achievers across inclusion metrics and 50 new winners for 2023 cinema. Released Jan. 22, the results calls attention to directors, editors and distributors involved in projects with the highest percentage of women and people of color employees who aided in the process of production from start to finish line.

Related: Women-Led Films Fell Close To 30% In 2023, Near A 10-Year Low, Per Study

Out of 400 evaluated directors, five were named the most inclusive: Catherine Hardwicke, Olivia Wilde, Destin Daniel Cretton, Reinaldo Marcus Green and Kasi Lemmons.

Eight editors were noted for their work in film over the past five years, including Annette Davey, Anne McCabe, Blair McClendon, Catrin Hedström, Hilda Rasula, Harry Yoon, Mary Jo Markey.

Related: Hispanics & Latinos Still Invisible In Hollywood, A Trend Across 16 Years, New Study Reveals

The top distributors — companies responsible for bringing top-ranking diverse films to audiences — were listed by the quantity of how many films released: Universal (29), Sony Pictures (21), Warner Bros (18) and, for smaller distributors, A24 (14), MGM (10) and Bleecker Street (9).

A panel discussing the results featuring Smith, Sumi Parekh, Executive Director, Group Effort Initiative, Tracy Oliver, Screenwriter, Director, Producer and Showrunner, Jesse Williams, Actor, Director, Activist, Dewayne Perkins, Writer, Actor, Producer, and Amy White, Global Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Adobe, is set for Friday at Adobe House on the ground at the Sundance Film Festival.

“Nightbitch” spends way more time on the wildness of being a parent than the wildness of turning into a dog — however interlinked those two phenomena become for the film’s protagonist (Amy Adams). Writer and director Marielle Heller wanted to take the experiences that resonated with her from the Rachel Yoder novel of the same name and find viscerally cinematic ways to represent them.

But not so unlike motherhood itself, there’s a wealth of work that goes into the success of the simplest onscreen actions — from the punch of a hash brown hitting a frying pan to a toddler (played by twins Emmett Snowden and Arleigh Snowden) waving at a garbage truck right at the moment the camera needs them to. In fact, Heller found that a lot of fun and games were required to get her youngest actors to help the film’s project of centering the ways...

This morning saw the announcements of the 40th edition of the Film Independent Spirit Awards. The big picture nominees include titles like the film festival darling The Substance, as well as Anora, which is getting high accolades for Mikey Madison‘s performance and Sean Baker’s writing and direction. A24 would naturally snag a ton of nominations that total a whopping 19. This beats last year’s 11-nomination count.

The Independent Spirit Awards will be taking place on Saturday, February 22, 2025, and is set to be held at Santa Monica beach. Former Saturday Night Live cast member Aidy Bryant will return as the host. The in-person ceremony will be available to stream live on IMDb and Film Independent YouTube channels, and across other social platforms. You can find the full list of nominations, courtesy of Deadline, below.

Best Feature (Award given to the producer)

Anora

Producers: Sean Baker, Alex Coco, Samantha Quan...

Nominations have been revealed for the 2025 Film Independent Spirit Awards, which will take place in Los Angeles on February 22. The film nominations were led by “Anora” and “I Saw the TV Glow” with six each. In the television categories, “Shōgun” garnered the most nominations with five, followed closely by “Baby Reindeer” and “English Teacher” with four apiece. Watch the announcement here and see the full list below.

Julio Torres did well here with four nominations across his feature directorial debut “Problemista” and Max series “Fantasmas.” Indies like “Dídi,” “Janet Planet,” “Sing Sing,” “Ghostlight,” “The People’s Joker,” “In the Summers,” “The Substance,” and “Nickel Boys” also had a good day, racking up multiple nominations across the board. Netflix enjoys multiple nods, for “The Piano Lesson” and “His Three Daughters,” two movies poised to enter into the Oscar race.

The 2024 Spirit Award winners were led by “Past Lives,” “The Holdovers,” and “American Fiction,...

Awards season is chugging right along. Next up are the Film Independent Spirit Awards, which honor the best and brightest in indie cinema and television. To qualify, a film's budget must not exceed $30 million, which means major blockbusters like Wicked and Gladiator II are, obviously, out of the running.

This year,...

When it comes to predicting the Oscar winner for Best Film Editing, you can’t go wrong by looking for the movie with the most cuts. Past winners “The Bourne Ultimatum” (2008), “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2016), “Ford v Ferrari” (2020), “Dune” (2022) and 2023’s champ “Everything Everywhere All at Once” included high-octane action sequences with frenetic cutting. A slew of winners — including “Saving Private Ryan” in 1999, “Black Hawk Down” (2002), “The Hurt Locker” (2010), “Hacksaw Ridge” (2017), “Dunkirk” (2018) and, to some extent, “Oppenheimer” (2024) — have been war pictures. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2025 Oscar predictions for Best Film Editing.)

Oscar voters also embrace film editors who skillfully juggle multiple storylines, as was the case with “Traffic” (2001) and “Crash” (2006). And they like films that expertly inter-cut music with images, such as “Cabaret” (1973), “Chicago” (2003), “Whiplash” (2015), “Bohemian Rhapsody” (2019) and 2021 winner “Sound of Metal.” Special effects extravaganzas like “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2004) and “Gravity...

The Newport Beach Film Festival has added Irish Spotlight, a program that will showcase a small slate of Irish films. The fest will host North American Premieres of Blue Fiddle, Four Mothers and the docu Housewife of the Year. The evening will take place October 20 and include a celebration of Irish cinema, culture and cuisine.

The Irish Spotlight films will screen at Regal Edwards Big Newport and a post-screening celebration will occur at Muldoon’s Irish Pub.

Fidil Ghorm (Blue Fiddle), is directed by Anne McCabe and stars Ruadhán Ó Flatharta, Marcus Lamb, Sarah Jane Scott, Siobhan O’Kelly, Barry McGovern and Edith Lawlor. Pic follows 10-year-old Molly, who believes that if she learns to play the fiddle like her father she will wake him from his coma. With a grumpy old man as her teacher and a drive to perform the miracle she’s...

The 36th edition of Ireland’s Galway Film Fleadh has come to an end with Best Irish Film going to breakout hit Kneecap, which played at Sundance earlier this year and was picked up by Sony Classics. Scroll down for a full list of winners.

Written and directed by Rich Peppiat and produced by Trevor Birney, Jack Tarling, Patrick O’Neill, the film is the story of the eponymous Belfast hip-hop trio, played in the movie by group members Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí. Michael Fassbender also stars. The film also won the Audience Award and the Irish Language Feature Film Award, a feat that has never happened at the Fleadh in 36 years.

Best Irish First Feature was Fidil Ghorm directed by Anne McCabe, written by Patricia Forde and produced by Pierce Boyce and Bríd Seoighe. Pic tells the story of 10-year-old Molly, who believes that if she learns...

Rich Peppiatt’s Kneecap won the best Irish film award at the Galway Film Fleadh last night (July 14), and also took home the inaugural audience and Irish language film awards.

Kneecap, which scored the audience award at Sundance, was the Fleadh’s opening night film, with the band arriving in the city in their trademark anarchic style, on top of a Land Rover adorned with Palestinian flags and carrying flares.

The film is based on the origin story of the Irish-language rap trio from west Belfast. It is produced by Trevor Birney of Belfast-based Fine Point Films and Jack Tarling...

Irish-language music biopic “Kneecap” has dominated the awards on home soil at the 36th edition of the Galway Film Fleadh, which concluded last night on the west coast of Ireland.

The film, which caused a stir in Sundance earlier this year where it was picked up by Sony Pictures Classics, won three out of a possible three awards it qualified for in Galway, where it had its Irish premiere as the festival opener. It won best Irish film, best Irish language feature film and the audience award, a feat not achieved before in the Fleadh’s 36-year history.

From writer-director Rich Peppiatt, “Kneecap” follows the wild coming together and rise of real-life Belfast hip hop trio Kneecap — all playing themselves, alongside Michael Fassbender in a supporting role — in a story awash in sex, drugs, music and politics that is both anarchic and a rallying cry for the defense of native cultures and languages.

Kurdish-Irish documentary Home: Zak Moradi’s Story and Nigerian feature The Kiss Of Death are among the world premieres at this year’s Galway Film Fleadh (July 9-14).

Home: Zak Moradi’s Story, directed by Ireland’s Trevor Whelan, follows the life of one man’s journey from childhood in a Kurdish refugee camp to Irish hurler and anti-racism activist.

The Kiss Of Death is a Nigerian film from Irish director Terry McMahon, whose credits include Patrick’s Day. It follows a man sent to northern Nigeria to teach, who discovers the cultural differences may cost him his life.

Scroll...

In the revelatory Boston Strangler, Matt Ruskin (Crown Heights) flips a well-known saga on its head. The story has been told onscreen many times, first and most famously in a 1968 feature starring Tony Curtis and Henry Fonda. In that movie, released only a few years after a series of murders targeted single women in their Boston-area apartments, the only female characters of note are victims. A select group of upstanding male detectives puzzle over the lurid details of the crimes and wax psychological about the perp. They get their man. Then came the straight-to-video thrillers about Albert DeSalvo, the confessed but not quite proven killer, and the countless episodes of true-crime series. This time around, the investigator played by Fonda has just one scene and a couple of lines; the center instead belongs to the two female reporters who broke the story and, in the process, put the Boston Pd on notice.

Bleak atmosphere and a David Fincher-inspired aesthetic are the first things that audiences will notice when watching “Boston Strangler.” Writer-director Matt Ruskin pulls us into this true-crime tale, centered on the dedicated reporters determined to solve Boston’s serial killings in the early 1960s, using similarly desaturated color, frame composition and camera movements. A distant cousin to “Zodiac,” with splashes of “Seven” mixed into its homages, this thriller falls short of its influences yet carves out a small space of its own. It makes a searing indictment of the sloppy, sexism-laced police work that might’ve resolved the case, and pays tribute to the two women who broke the investigation wide open.

Happily married mom of three Loretta McLaughlin (Keira Knightley) is a lifestyle reporter at the Record American, a newspaper continually scooped by its competitors. Hoping to break out of the staff role she’s relegated to and into the homicide beat,...

Idina Menzel: Which Way to the Stage? is a documentary directed by Anne McCabe and Eric Maldin. It will be released on Disney+ on Janaury 20, 2023

A documentary rich in details which is an experience in the Disney spirit and will be able to attract adults and children with the great singer that immortalized Let It Go in Frozen and whose voice has reached millions of people.

This time, we get a closer look at this phenomenal star her most human side.

Enjoy.

Idina Menzel is a legendary Broadway and film star, best known for her roles in Rent and Wicked, as well as her iconic voice performance as Elsa in the Disney classic Frozen. Now Disney+ is releasing a documentary about Idina’s life and career, entitled ‘Idina Menzel: Which Way to the Stage?’. This candid look at the life of a Broadway star will explore Idina’s journey from...

On Friday, Idina Menzel’s new documentary Idina Menzel: Which Way to the Stage? released on Disney+.

The film tracks Menzel’s career from her breakout role on Broadway in Rent to realizing her dream of headlining a concert at Madison Square Garden. It also highlights her starring role as Elsa in Disney’s Frozen and its 2019 sequel.

Filmmaker Anne McCabe follows Menzel behind the scenes on her 16-show national tour as she balances being a mother to her 13-year-old son, Walker, and partner to her husband, Aaron Lohr, with a grueling tour schedule.

Menzel told Huff Post, “As much as I want to be in the spotlight, wear sequined outfits, get the accolades and have a crowd cheering for me, it’s just as important for me to be at my son’s basketball game, and go trick-or-treating with him.”

The film also sees Menzel share her personal story...

In December 2022, Disney+ is welcoming a new adventure from a disaster-prone kid, an animated movie from the Night at the Museum film series, a special Encanto event, a Christmas special from a beloved boy band, and more episodes of some of the platform’s original TV series. November saw the arrival of some of Disney+’s most anticipated titles of the year, such as the musical comedy Disenchanted and the TV series The Santa Clauses, along with the TV series Save Our Squad with David Beckham, Limitless with Chris Hemsworth, and Willow. In addition to that, November saw the final episodes of Andor, a behind-the-scenes look at Marvel’s TV series She-Hulk, and a special look at the making of Marvel’s first Halloween special, Werewolf By Night.

As it does every month, Disney+ will add content from its different branches throughout December, most notably a couple of episodes of...

Disney+ released the official trailer and key art for the upcoming documentary “Idina Menzel: Which Way to the Stage?” The intimate and inspirational documentary from Disney Branded Television and Ideal Partners follows the beloved actress and singer on her journey to fulfill a lifelong dream to headline Madison Square Garden. Take an in-depth look at Idina Menzel as you’ve never seen her before when the film premieres December 9, only on Disney+. Beloved Tony Award(R) -winning actress and singer Idina Menzel’s many triumphs include iconic Broadway roles in productions of “Rent” and “Wicked” as well as the legendary voice of Elsa in Disney’s “Frozen.” Yet one dream goal has evaded her grasp: to headline a concert at the world-famous Madison Square Garden in her hometown of New York City. “Idina Menzel: Which Way to the Stage?” filmmaker Anne McCabe captures Menzel on a national tour over the...

Ten years ago, actresses struggled to find substantial leading parts. Today, they’re increasingly creating their own. “Land” doesn’t just give Robin Wright an enormous canvas on which to prove herself behind the camera, it also offers us another chance to admire her work in front of it.

In her feature directorial debut, Wright plays Edee Holzer, a woman clearly shattered from some overwhelmingly enormous tragedy. As the film begins, she is already leaving her former life behind by purchasing an isolated cabin on a Wyoming mountain, tossing her cell phone in the trash and having her truck towed away as soon as she arrives.

These choices are so irrational that one might assume she’s chosen a spot to conclude her pain. But she’s also brought the sorts of books and camping supplies a city dweller might use to try and survive the unknown. The mountain, of course,...

Film editor Anne McCabe and director Marielle Heller “both felt we needed to be incredibly respectful of the real Mister Rogers” when making “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.” That courtesy extended to “the people who were involved with” Rogers’s long-running children’s series since “a lot of them were involved in the movie as well.” Watch our exclusive video interview with McCabe above.

The TriStar release is not your typical biographical drama. Instead it’s about the friendship between the beloved Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks) and Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys), a fictionalized version of real-life journalist Tom Junod, who profiled him in 1998 for Esquire magazine. Early on in the movie Lloyd’s wife, Andrea (Susan Kelechi Watson), begs him not to ruin her childhood by taking down her idol, and McCabe “felt that pressure” as well.

See Noah Harpster and Micah Fitzerman-Blue Interview: ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood...

Fred Rogers was an icon to many. Everyone who met him and knew him says, “He really was like that.” He spoke in a soft voice and he was kind. He believed in doing good to others. He spoke to children in “Mister Rogers Neighborhood” in a soft voice, helping them to process complicated emotions as he spoke directly to the camera.

In the new movie, “A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood” editor Anne McCabe’s biggest challenge was getting the tone of Fred Rogers right. “The challenge of pacing with the movie is Mister Rogers is someone who took his time. He allowed pauses and he allowed moments of being quiet. We wanted to embrace that and not make the movie four hours long.”

McCabe says she did go back and watch the show itself to understand how to pace the film and in revisiting the original Fred Rogers,...

One of the most stomach-wrenching episodes of TV from the past year came right in the middle of the debut season of the HBO series “Succession.” Episode 6, dubbed “Which Side are You On?” is an hour of meticulously crafted dread, culminating in one of the series’ most consequential showdowns.

Though most of the episode centers on Kendall (Jeremy Strong) and his efforts to unseat his father Logan (Brian Cox) from his position at the head of the family business, there’s a tension simmering underneath every single character interaction. From the sting of the opening credits to the use of the folk song at the end that gives the episode its title, there’s a sense of momentum building up to an uncertain “no confidence” vote at the end. Working with the episode’s director Andrij Parekh, editor Anne McCabe was tasked with making sure that climactic boardroom drama felt earned.

Stars: Melissa McCarthy, Richard E. Grant, Dolly Wells, Ben Falcone, Gregory Korostishevsky, Jane Curtin, Stephen Spinella, Christian Navarro, Pun Bandhu, Erik Laray Harvey, Brandon Scott Jones, Shae D’lyn | Written by Nicole Holofcener, Jeff Whitty | Directed by Marielle Heller

Directed by rising star Marielle Heller, her latest offering comes after the 2015 breakout comedic hit film The Diary of a Teenage Girl. Heller turns her attention from a coming of age story to the more overly serious and tonally mature, yet comedically balanced drama, Can You Ever Forgive Me? A film that inhabits a truly outstanding and splendid array of performances. Specifically, that of leading actress Melissa McCarthy, of Bridesmaids and Life of the Party fame, who is terrific and exceptional as subject Lee Israel – fully deserving to be recognised in this year’s awards season with an astonishing dramatic turn.

Heller’s film follows a delightfully simplistic and jaunty template...

In Fox Searchlight’s dramedy Can You Ever Forgive Me?, comedy star Melissa McCarthy turns another corner raising her drama game as late curmudgeon and celebrity biographer Lee Israel who when her career went south, she went criminal selling off forged author letters.

Today at Deadline’s Contenders in New York, director Marielle Heller described the challenges of recreating 1991 in the Big Apple, and how such artsy neighborhoods were becoming rare.

“I was trying to capture a New York that is lost, a time when artists lived in New York and bookstores were a really exciting prospect. We were trying to capture lightning in a bottle before it disappeared.” And disappear it did. There were literally bookstores that the production wanted to use as locations that went out of business.

In the movie, Melissa McCarthy’s Israel and Richard E. Grant’s Jack Hock are misfits in the city not...

Deadline’s The Contenders, which began in Los Angeles eight years ago, is expanding to New York for the first time December 1. The awards-season showcase, which had its second-ever London edition in October and another sold-out L.A. event on November 3, will feature more than 20 films from 13 studios in New York.

Clips and onstage conversations will feature actors, directors, producers, writers and other key figures behind the season’s contending films. Academy and guild voters in attendance will get to hear backstories about how the films got made from the people who made them.

Here are the confirmed films and panel participants for the inaugural New York event, to be held at the Director’s Guild Theatre on 57th Street:

Mary Poppins Returns: Rob Marshall (Director/Producer/Writer), Emily Blunt (Actor), Lin-Manuel Miranda (Actor) Incredibles 2: Brad Bird (Director/Writer/Actor) Ben is Back: Peter Hedges (Director/Producer/Writer), Lucas Hedges...

Top Five

Written and Directed by Chris Rock

USA, 2014

Chris Rock has always been one of the most invigorating presences in the comedy scene. His comedy is confrontational, biting and hilarious. Up until this point, his foray into filmmaking has rarely matched his unique and vibrant talents and while there are certainly exceptions, on screen Chris Rock has often been reduced to a much tamer and often much less funny version of himself. With Top Five, however, the gears seems to shift. Chris Rock not only shows off why he is one of the funniest people alive, but blends his humour to a surprisingly daring narrative about the value of laughter and the struggle of being an artist. The film also works as a wonderful metatextual narrative on the state of the current Hollywood system, as well as a touching romance.

Top Five opens up as a fairly straightforward Hollywood comedy.

"Argo" remains the Oscar-frontrunner! The Ben Affleck film was the big winner at the recently concluded 63rd Annual Ace Eddie Awards honoring outstanding editing in nine categories of film, television, and documentaries. "Argo" won the Dramatic category, "Silver Linings Playbook" for Comedy/Musical, "Brave" for Animated, and "Searching for Sugar Man" for Documentary.

Here are the complete list of nominees; for winners/nominees of other award-giving bodies, click here:

Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic):

*** Argo

William Goldenberg, A.C.E.

Life of Pi

Tim Squyres, A.C.E.

Lincoln

Michael Kahn, A.C.E.

Skyfall

Stuart Baird, A.C.E.

Zero Dark Thirty

Dylan Tichenor, A.C.E. and William Goldenberg, A.C.E.

Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy Or Musical):

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Chris Gill

Les Misérables

Melanie Ann Oliver & Chris Dickens, A.C.E.

Moonrise Kingdom

Andrew Weisblum, A.C.E.

*** Silver Linings Playbook

Jay Cassidy,...

“Argo” (edited by William Goldenberg, A.C.E.) and “The Silver Linings Playbook” (edited byJay Cassidy, A.C.E. and Crispin Struthers) won Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic) and Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy/Musical) respectively at the 63rd Annual Ace Eddie Awards tonight where trophies were handed out in ten (10) categories of film, television and documentaries.

The black-tie ceremony was held in the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel with over 1,000 in attendance to celebrate the year’s best editing. “Brave” (edited by Nicholas C. Smith, A.C.E. & Robert Grahamjones, A.C.E.) won Best Edited Animated Feature Film and “Searching For Sugar Man” (edited by Malik Bendjelloul) won Best Edited Documentary (Feature).

Television winners included ”Nurse Jackie – Handle Your Scandle” (edited by Gary Levy) for Best Edited Half-Hour Series for Television, “Breaking Bad – Dead Freight” (edited by Skip MacDonald, A.C.E.) for Best Edited One-Hour Series for Commercial television,...

The 63rd annual American Cinema Editors Eddie awards were held last night, honoring editorial achievements from the world of film and television. The list of nominees included familiar titles from the awards circuit, such as Argo, Life of Pi, Brave, Frankenweenie, Homeland and Breaking Bad, along with some less-talked-about documentary fare and non-scripted television series. Hit the jump to check out a list of the winners from the 63rd annual American Cinema Editors Eddie awards. The winners of the Eddie awards follow below (via American Cinema Editors): Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic): Argo William Goldenberg, A.C.E Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy Or Musical): Silver Linings Playbook Jay Cassidy, A.C.E. & Crispin Struthers Best Edited Animated Feature Film: Brave Nicholas C. Smith, A.C.E. & Robert Grahamjones, A.C.E. Best Edited Documentary (Feature): Searching for Sugar Man Malik Bendjelloul Best Edited Documentary (Television...

‘Argo’ (edited by William Goldenberg, A.C.E.) and ‘The Silver Linings Playbook’ (edited by Jay Cassidy, A.C.E. and Crispin Struthers) won Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic) and Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy/Musical) respectively at the 63rd Annual Ace Eddie Awards tonight where trophies were handed out in ten (10) categories of film, television and documentaries. The black-tie ceremony was held in the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel with over 1,000 in attendance to celebrate the year’s best editing. ‘Brave’ (edited by Nicholas C. Smith, A.C.E. & Robert Grahamjones, A.C.E.) won Best Edited Animated Feature Film and ‘Searching For Sugar Man’ (edited by Malik Bendjelloul) won Best Edited Documentary (Feature). Television winners included ‘Nurse Jackie Handle Your Scandle’ (edited by Gary Levy) for Best Edited Half-Hour Series for Television, ‘Breaking Bad ‘ Dead Freight’ (edited by Skip MacDonald, A.C.E.) for Best Edited One-Hour Series for Commercial television,...

Drama "Argo" (edited by William Goldenberg, A.C.E.) won again Saturday at the Ace Eddie Awards, along with comedy "Silver Linings Playbook" (edited by Jay Cassidy, A.C.E. and Crispin Struthers). "Searching for Sugar Man" (edited by director Malik Bendjelloul) continued its awards streak, winning the Eddie for documentary. “Brave” (edited by Nicholas C. Smith, A.C.E. & Robert Grahamjones, A.C.E.) won Best Edited Animated Feature Film. It also took home a Cinemas Audio Society Sound Mixing award Saturday. In television, one-hour series "Breaking Bad" (edited by Skip MacDonald, A.C.E.), half-hour series "Nurse Jackie" (edited by Gary Levy) and one-hour commercial TV series "The Newsroom" (edited by Anne McCabe, A.C.E.) took home Eddies. "American Masters - Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune" (edited by Pamela Scott Arnold) won best edited documentary (television). Perhaps mitigating the...

The American Cinema Editors (Ace) has announced the nominees of the 63rd Annual Ace Eddie Awards honoring outstanding editing in nine categories of film, television, and documentaries. We'll find out the winners on Saturday, February 16th.

Here are the complete list of nominees; for winners/nominees of other award-giving bodies, click here:

Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic):

Argo

William Goldenberg, A.C.E.

Life of Pi

Tim Squyres, A.C.E.

Lincoln

Michael Kahn, A.C.E.

Skyfall

Stuart Baird, A.C.E.

Zero Dark Thirty

Dylan Tichenor, A.C.E. and William Goldenberg, A.C.E.

Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy Or Musical):

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Chris Gill

Les Misérables

Melanie Ann Oliver & Chris Dickens, A.C.E.

Moonrise Kingdom

Andrew Weisblum, A.C.E.

Silver Linings Playbook

Jay Cassidy, A.C.E. & Crispin Struthers

Ted

Jeff Freeman, A.C.E.

Best Edited Animated Feature Film:

Brave -- Nicolas C.

The nominees for the 63rd Annual Ace Eddie Awards was announced today. Ace, the American Cinema Editors, is an honorary society of motion picture editors founded in 1950. Film editors are voted into membership on the basis of their professional achievements, their dedication to the education of others and their commitment to the craft of editing. Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic): Argo William Goldenberg, A.C.E Life of Pi Tim Squyres, A.C.E. Lincoln Michael Kahn, A.C.E. Skyfall Stuart Baird, A.C.E. Zero Dark Thirty Dylan Tichenor, A.C.E. & William Goldenberg, A.C.E. Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy Or Musical): The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Chris Gill Les Misérables Melanie Ann Oliver & Chris Dickens, A.C.E. Moonrise Kingdom Andrew Weisblum, A.C.E. Silver Linings Playbook Jay Cassidy, A.C.E. & Crispin Struthers Ted Jeff Freeman, A.C.E. Best Edited...

"What a glorious mess!" exclaims Keith Uhlich in Time Out New York. "Kenneth Lonergan's long-delayed follow-up to 2000's revered brother-sister drama You Can Count On Me finally arrives in theaters with little fanfare and the bitter air of failure around it. Don't believe the scuttlebutt… This is frayed-edges filmmaking at its finest."

"The last hour is a fiasco, full of mismatched shots, subplots from nowhere, and 360-degree pans that make you want to ship the director to film school," writes David Edelstein in New York. "But the first hour and change is jaw-dropping in a good way — that distinctive Lonergan way, the characters given their tongues and allowed to go wherever their fancies (and neuroses) take them, story structure be damned."

Alison Willmore in Movieline: "Margaret is the story of Lisa Cohen (Anna Paquin), who belongs squarely to two groups known for their capacity for noisy self-centeredness and unthinking entitlement — New Yorkers and teenagers.

Kenneth Lonergan‘s Margaret feels both incomplete and uncut. What lives on the screen arrives like the bullet points of a much larger, much grander, impossibly longer version of the same basic story: a pseudo-intellectual teenage girl whose life, full of adolescent semi-dramas, is turned upside down when she witnesses/causes a tragic bus accident that takes a life. In the aftermath of the incident, she makes a mistake she’ll spend the rest of the film trying to reconcile. With everyone. The bus driver (Mark Ruffalo); her mother (J. Smith-Cameron); her amiably neglectful father (Lonergan); the victim’s best friend Emily (Jeannie Berlin); her young, attractive private school teacher (Matt Damon) and so on and so on.

Most all of these adults see an over-privileged, over-dramatic teenager and, to that point, a lot of this film feels like the work of an over-privileged, over-dramatic filmmaker. Scenes in upper west...

"The Social Network" editors, Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter, won the Ace Eddie Award for Best Edited Dramatic Feature at the 61st Annual Ace Eddie Awards. The David Fincher film beat "Black Swan," "The Fighter," "Inception," and "The King's Speech." We'll see if "The Social Network" will beat those movies (except for "Inception" which was not nominated in favor of "127 Hours") at the upcoming 83rd Academy Awards.

In the feature category for Musical or Comedy, Chris Lebenzon of "Alice in Wonderland" took home the trophy, winning over "Easy A," "The Kids Are All Right," "Made in Dagenham," and "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World."

In the Best Edited Animated Featuer Film category, surprise, surprise, "Toy Story 3" won over "How to Train Your Dragon" and "Despicable Me."

Tom Fulford & Chris King of "Exit Through the Gift Shop" won for Best Edited Documentary beating "Inside Job" and "Waiting for Superman."

The 61st Annual...

The American Cinema Editors announced their nominees for the 61st Annual Ace Eddie Awards today. The awards ceremony will be held Feb. 19. Among the nominated films are Black Swan, The King’s Speech, Inception, The Social Network, The Kids Are All Right, How To Train Your Dragon, and Toy Story 3. The nominees are:

Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic):

Black Swan — Andrew Weisblum, A.C.E.

The Fighter — Pamela Martin

Inception — Lee Smith, A.C.E.

The King’s Speech — Tariq Anwar

The Social Network — Angus Wall, A.C.E., & Kirk Baxter

Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy Or Musical...

hollywoodnews.com: The American Cinema Editors announced the nominees for the 61st annualL Ace Eddie awards. They recognize the best editing of the year.

Ace, the American Cinema Editors, is an honorary society of motion picture editors founded in 1950. Film editors are voted into membership on the basis of their professional achievements, their dedication to the education of others and their commitment to the craft of editing.

Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic):

Black Swan

Andrew Weisblum, A.C.E.

The Fighter

Pamela Martin

Inception

Lee Smith, A.C.E.

The King’s Speech

Tariq Anwar

The Social Network

Angus Wall, A.C.E. & Kirk Baxter

Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy Or Musical):

Alice in Wonderland

Chris Lebenzon, A.C.E.

Easy A

Susan Littenberg

The Kids Are All Right

Jeffrey M. Werner

Made In Dagenham

Michael Parker

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Jonathan Amos & Paul Machliss

Best Edited...

Magma Films' latest project, an adaptation of Ken Bruen's 'The Guards', has begun shooting today, October 27th, in Co. Galway. The film is directed by Stuart Orme (Inspector Morse, Merlin) with Iain Glen (Song for a Raggy Boy, Tara Road) leading the cast. Produced by Ralph Christians (Niko and the way to the Stars) and Clodagh Freeman (Summer of the Flying Saucer), the script was adapted from Bruen's novel by Anne McCabe, Tom Collins and Ralph Christians. Other crew involved includes Director of Photography John Conroy (The Bourne Ultimatum) and Production Designer Derek Wallace (Triage). Iain Glen (Tara Road) leads the cast as disgraced ex-cop Jack Taylor whilst Ralph Brown (The Boat that Rocked) stars as his sidekick Sutton. The female leads are played by Irish actresses Tara Breathnach (The Tudors) and Nora-Jane Noone (Savage).

Editfest, a weekend seminar focusing on the craft and business of editing, which first took place last year in Los Angeles, is expanding to New York, where it will take place Friday and Saturday, June 12 and 13 at the Directors Guild of America at 110 W. 57th Street.

American Cinema Editors and Manhattan Edit Workshop are co-producing the two-day event.

"One of Ace's highest priorities is to help educate and mentor the next generation of editors," Ace president Randy Roberts said. "Editfest is a unique opportunity for attendees to spend time with some of the most accomplished editors working in film and television today."

Confirmed panelists include: Michael Berenbaum; Scott Brock; Robert Eisenhardt; Ken Eluto; Alexander Hall; Tom Haneke; Brian Kates; Anne McCabe; Craig McKay; Bill Pankow; Lee Percy; Sam Pollard; Jay Rabinowitz; Meg Reticker; Stephen Rotter; Kate Sanford; Karen Schmeer; Larry Silk; Tim Squyres; Kate Sanford; Thelma Schoonmaker; Troy Takaki; Chris...

"Adventureland" is around the corner. The Greg Mottola directed and written film finds theatres on April 3rd. Mottola is responsible for "Superbad," one of the funniest films in recent times. A talented cast works their magic in "Adventureland" including Jesse Eisenberg of "The Hunting Party," "Twilight" star Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds ("Smokin' Aces"), Kristen Wiig ("Forgetting Sarah Marshall") and Bill Hader who also notched up laughs in "Superbad" alongside Seth Rogen.   For the sake of interest, we've briefly compiled a list of amusement park scenes from films we found most memorable. These can be found after you read what "Adventureland" is all about.   What's "Adventureland" about?   It's the summer of 1987, and James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg), an uptight recent college grad, can't wait to embark on his dream tour of Europe. But when his parents (Wendie Malick and Jack Gilpin) announce they can no longer subsidize his trip, James has little...

It's the summer of 1987, and James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg), an uptight recent college grad, can't wait to embark on his dream tour of Europe. But when his parents (Wendie Malick and Jack Gilpin) announce they can no longer subsidize his trip, James has little choice but to take a lowly job at a local amusement park.  Forget about German beer, world-famous museums and cute French girls-James' summer will now be populated by belligerent dads, stuffed pandas, and screaming kids high on cotton candy.  Lucky for James, what should have been his worst summer ever turns into quite an adventure as he discovers love in the most unlikely place with his captivating co-worker Em (Kristen Stewart), and learns to loosen up.

The film stars Jesse Eisenberg ("The Squid and the Whale"), Kristen Stewart ("Twilight, "Into the Wild"), Ryan Reynolds ("Just Friends," "Van Wilder"),  Martin Starr ("Knocked Up," "Superbad"), and "Saturday Night Live...

Check out the new features on the official "Adventureland" site where one can meet the cast, check out new photos of "Twilight" star Kristen Stewart and the rest of the cast.   Not enough? Try entering to win a trip to Europe! The film stars Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds, Martin Starr, Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader. Release date is on the 27th of March.   Check out the official site here.   What's this all about? It's the summer of 1987, and James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg), an uptight recent college grad, can't wait to embark on his dream tour of Europe. But when his parents (Wendie Malick and Jack Gilpin) announce they can no longer subsidize his trip, James has little choice but to take a lowly job at a local amusement park. Forget about German beer, world-famous museums and cute French girls-James' summer will now be populated by belligerent dads, stuffed pandas,...

With release date confirmed for March 27 (wide) this year, we are pleased to give you some new clips from Miramax Films' "Adventureland" at this year's Sundance Film Festival! The comedy stars  Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds, Martin Starr, Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader. Greg Mottola, director of the uproariously funny "Superbad," directs from his own screenplay. Stewart is fresh off the success of "Twilight" and should command a strong audience pull just from that. Multi-talented Eisenberg's last film was 2007's "The Hunting Party" alongside Terrence Howard and Richard Gere. See the gallery now! What's it about? It's the summer of 1987, and James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg), an uptight recent college grad, can't wait to embark on his dream tour of Europe. But when his parents (Wendie Malick and Jack Gilpin) announce they can no longer subsidize his trip, James has little choice but to take a lowly job at a local amusement park.

Check out these new Sundance Film Fest pics from Miramax's "Adventureland" starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds, Martin Starr, Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader. Greg Mottola directs the comedy based on his own screenplay. Producing are Anne Carey, Ted Hope and Sidney Kimmel. Naturally, Stewart's off a fresh success with "Twilight." She's in post production for "Welcome to the Rileys" alongside James Gandolfini and Melissa Leo. Check out the new images here and the trailer here. Also, see the official site here - http://adventurelandthefilm.com/ What's it about? It's the summer of 1987, and James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg), an uptight recent college grad, can't wait to embark on his dream tour of Europe. But when his parents (Wendie Malick and Jack Gilpin) announce they can no longer subsidize his trip, James has little choice but to take a lowly job at a local amusement park. Forget about German beer,...

We have new images as well as the first trailer from "Adventureland" starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds, Martin Starr, Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader. Greg Mottola, helmer of the successful "Superbad" starring Michael Cera and Jonah Hill, helms and writes this time around. He's in pre-production for 2010's British comedy "Paul" starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost of "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz" fame. Stewart is enjoying her shining time with "Twilight" hitting the top spot and pulling in over $70 million on its first weekend at play. Hader was in "Superbad" as well. See the new images here! So what's this film about? It's the summer of 1987, and James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg), an uptight recent college grad, can't wait to embark on his dream tour of Europe. But when his parents (Wendie Malick and Jack Gilpin) announce they can no longer subsidize his trip, James has...

Sundance Film Festival

PARK CITY -- "Maria Full of Grace" is a modern-day version of "The Bicycle Thief". In this gripping competition entry, a desperate 17-year-old girl travels as a mule, smuggling drugs to the United States to pay for her mother and sister's upkeep.

Maria Catalina Sandino Moreno) is a likable, spirited Colombian girl. To bring money to her family, she risks becoming a mule for a drug ring: Maria swallows packets of cocaine, traveling to New York. It's a harrowing journey and a frightful experience for small-town Maria.

An inherently intense story, "Maria" is told with a sympathetic eye. Although it's somewhat predictable, writer-director Joshua Marston has crafted a compelling portrait of the desperation of poverty. Throughout, we're constantly rooting for Maria, aware of her underlying decency and protective of her missteps. Ultimately, the ending is a bit of a cop-out, but that's a small criticism for a film with such decent perspectives.

This HBO Films presentation (in Spanish with subtitles) jells largely because of Moreno's endearing, forceful performance. Bolstering our involvement are the succinct technical contributions: Jim Denault's vivid cinematography as well as editors Anne McCabe and Lee Percy's pulsating cuts heighten this humane story's considerable jeopardy.

Maria Full of Grace

HBO Films presents in association with Tucan Producciones Altercine

Credits:

Screenwriter-director: Joshua Marston

Producer: Paul Mezey

Co-producer: Jaimes Osorio Gomez

Associate producers: Orlando Tobon, Rodrigo Guerrero

Line producer: Becky Glupczynski

Director of photography: Jim Denault

Production designers: Monica Marulanda, Debbie De Villa

Editors: Anne McCabe, Lee Percy

Costume designers: Lauren Press, Sarah Beers

Composers: Jacobo Lieberman, Leonardo Heiblum

Music supervisor: Lynn Fainchtein

Casting directors: Maria E. Nelson, Ellyn Long Marshall

Cast:

Maria: Catalina Sandino Moreno

Blanca: Yenny Paola Vega

Juan: Wilson Guerrero

Franklin: Jhon Alex Toro

Javier: Jaime Osorio Gomez

Lucy: Guilied Lopez

Carla: Patricia Rae

Running time -- 110 minutes

No MPAA rating...