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Robert Benton, the much-admired screenwriter turned director who co-wrote Bonnie and Clyde and received a pair of Academy Awards for his work on the best picture winner Kramer vs. Kramer, has died. He was 92.

Benton died Sunday at his home in Manhattan, his longtime assistant and manager, Marisa Forzano, told The New York Times.

Benton captured a third Oscar for his screenplay for Places in the Heart (1984), an autobiographical saga based on his grandmother’s hard experiences during the Depression in Texas. He received yet another Oscar nomination for his direction of that drama, and he was nominated for his screenplays for Bonnie and Clyde (1967) — one of the fruits of his partnership with David Newman — The Late Show (1977) and Nobody’s Fool (1994). He helmed the last two as well.

Benton and Newman also wrote films including There Was a Crooked Man … (1970), directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and the Peter Bogdanovich screwball...

The concept of "twin films" has recently caught the attention of movie fans on social media. Twin films are a pair of movies with shockingly similar concepts that release in the same year. This phenomenon usually happens as a result of some cultural event bringing an idea to the forefront of the Hollywood hivemind, and two different studios entering development without awareness of each other. Some famous and funny examples include 2006's The Prestige and The Illusionist, two films about 19th century magicians, 2013's White House Down and Olympus Has Fallen, two films about attacks on the White House, and 2011's Friends with Benefits and No Strings Attached, two films about friendships turned hook-ups. Somehow, someway, these filmmakers settle on the same exact idea, and end up having to race to get their film released.

While slightly less notable, it's also interesting when films released decades apart somehow stumble upon similar terrain.

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Netflix is one of the best places to find the best movies and TV shows you can watch on any streaming service. Every month, it adds hundreds of new titles to its content library, but with that, there are also some titles that have got to go. So, today, we are here to tell you about the best film you should watch before it leaves Netflix in February 2025.

Plus One (February 1) Credit – Rlje Films

Plus One is a romantic comedy film co-written and co-directed by Jeff Chan and Andrew Rhymer. The 2019 film follows Ben King and Alice Mori, two young friends who attend multiple weddings together but they soon fall for each other. Plus One stars Jack Quaid, Maya Erskine, Beck Bennett, Rosalind Chao, Perrey Reeves, and Ed Begley Jr.

Fast Five (February 11) Credit – Universal Pictures

Fast Five...

Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep starred in the Academy Award-winning Kramer vs. Kramer, but some on-set antagonism between the pair left a bad taste in Streep's mouth. Kramer vs. Kramer is what happens when an actor in his prime, an impossibly talented up-and-comer, a capable director, and a fascinating and moving story come together. Before there was Marriage Story, there was Kramer vs. Kramer, a 1979 legal drama that follows a couple's divorce and the subsequent evolution of their relationship through the trauma and how it affects their young son.

Dustin Hoffman is at his best as Ted Kramer, a workaholic advertising executive in NYC whose wife of eight years, Joanna (Meryl Streep), suddenly announces she wants a divorce. Shocked and angry, Ted begins an arduous custody battle with Joanna over their young son, Billy (Justin Henry), eventually coming to understand why his wife made this decision. The film went five...

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This November, Netflix is bringing you a lot of entertainment from the highly anticipated second season of Arcane to a thrilling conspiracy thriller series titled The Madness. However, for the purposes of this article, we are only including the films that are coming to Netflix this month and have an 80% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score. So, check out the 5 best films that are coming to Netflix in November 2024 with an 80% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score.

Mr. Peabody & Sherman (November 1) Rotten Tomatoes Score: 81% Credit – 20th Century Studios

Mr. Peabody & Sherman is an animated sci-fi comedy film directed by Rob Minkoff from a screenplay by Craig Wright. Based on the characters from Peabody’s Improbable History by Jay Ward, the 2014 film follows Sherman, a young boy who misuses his scientist father Mr. Peabody’s time machine, and causes the world to go haywire.

The 1932 Academy Awards was an edition that had many firsts. The ceremony's 4th year became the first time a Western won Best Picture, a director won several awards, and a movie received several nominations for acting. However, there is one breakthrough from 1932's ceremony that remains, to this day, unbeaten.

The 1932 Oscars stand out from other ceremonies across the decades for having its youngest nominee for the category of Best Actor, a record that has not been broken for 93 years. Jackie Cooper already had 19 acting credits before his nomination, though these were for shorts or smaller roles in his infancy, making his nomination all the more surprising given that it was his first lead role in a full-length movie.

Jackie Cooper Became The Youngest Best Actor Nominee In 1931 Jackie Cooper's Performance As Skippy Won Him The Title Of America's Boy

Jackie Cooper was only 9 years old when he became the...

Warning: This article discusses topics of abuse and mental health.

Meryl Streep is undoubtedly one of the best actresses of her generation, and there are certain movies from her spectacular career that define her career overall. Streeps filmography kicks off with 1977s Julia, her first film after starring on the stage for two years, and her role as Anne Marie is the first of several iconic characters of hers. Meryl Streeps best movies prove why she is such a talented performer, but not all of these films are necessarily the ones that encapsulate her work altogether.

Streep can turn her hand to any and all kinds of characters. In fact, there are multiple MCU characters Meryl Streep would be perfect for, even though she isnt known for appearing in superhero movies. Her versatility as an actress has kept her busy for years, and its no surprise that Meryl Streep surpassed a huge Oscar milestone,...

It’s been four decades since Samantha Baker bemoaned the fact that everyone had forgotten her 16th birthday amid the chaos caused by her wacky sister’s impending nuptials. On May 4, 1984, “Sixteen Candles” was released, the success of which prompted a string of hits by filmmaker John Hughes, launched the careers of several performers and inspired the glory years of teen movies in the 1980s. Read on for more about the “Sixteen Candles” 40th anniversary.

After the success of two movies based on screenplays he had written, “Mr. Mom” and “National Lampoon’s Vacation” (1983), Hughes was given the opportunity to direct one of his scripts. Up to this point, “teen movies” had largely evolved from cautionary “rebellion” films in the 1950s to the beach party films of the 1960s to slasher films of the 1970s to sex comedies in the early 1980s. Hughes wrote a script that truly reflected the life of an average teen,...

Every week there are large numbers of indie and specialty releases vying for attention. It’s impossible to do them all, so when the option of reviewing Nowhere Special was placed in front of me I resisted at first after discovering it actually premiered at the 2020 Venice Film Festival. That’s right, four years ago. I had to wonder what could possibly be good about a film delayed for that long in terms of getting a U.S. release date? Finally caving in to the persistent requests by the distributor and its passionate PR team, I decided to check it out.

What I discovered was not that this was some sort of troubled film, not even close. Instead I found a spare but moving drama, powered by a remarkable lead performance, that is all about life and death and all things in between. At its heart it is also an...

The 1979 Best Picture, Kramer vs. Kramer, is one of those films critics and fans will continue to treasure year after year. Based on Avery Corman's best-selling novel, the movie was nominated for nine Academy Awards for its spellbinding, emotionally vulnerable script and grade-a acting. On paper, there’s no better treat than paring Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman together for a story that involves a divorced couple battling for the custody of their seven-year-old son Billy (Justin Henry). By far, the picture showcases the most memorable and gripping performances of their careers. However, the duo walked away from the acclaimed film with a strained relationship.

Fans of Judy Blume’s “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” had to wait more than 50 years to see the classic children’s novel transferred to the big screen, but their patience was finally rewarded this spring. Written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig (“The Edge of Seventeen”) and featuring such A-listers as Rachel McAdams and Kathy Bates, the faithful film adaptation boasts an awe-inspiring Rotten Tomatoes critics score of 99% and was even described by its source’s author in a “Today” interview as “better than the book.” As the 2024 movie awards season begins, its best shot at a Golden Globe nomination lies with its 15-year-old star, Abby Ryder Fortson, who would be the fifth youngest contender in the history of her category.

At this point, Fortson is hovering directly outside of Gold Derby’s predicted six-person Best Comedy/Musical Actress lineup with the support of just over a quarter of our oddsmakers.

Over the course of two decades, Alexander Payne has directed seven Oscar-nominated performances by as many actors, including first-time contenders Thomas Haden Church (“Sideways”), Virginia Madsen (“Sideways”), and June Squibb (“Nebraska”). In 2024, his general total could reach 10 if the film academy decides to recognize the work of “The Holdovers” cast mates Paul Giamatti, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and Dominic Sessa. While the former two are by no means new to screen acting, the opposite is true of Sessa, whose potential Best Supporting Actor bid would make him the 21st man to receive one for a film debut. Scroll through our photo gallery to learn more about the actors who presently belong to this exclusive group.

This particular list has existed since 1939 when 25-year-old John Garfield landed in the third annual supporting lineup on the merit of his film debut in “Four Daughters.” In the years since, three of his 19 fellow club...

“Sleepless in Seattle,” “Punch-Drunk Love” and four more films from Columbia Pictures will make their 4K Ultra HD debut Feb. 13, 2024, via Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Vol. 4, the latest installment in Sphe’s series of limited edition sets culling critical and commercial hits from the studio’s storied library, will feature Nora Ephron and Paul Thomas Anderson’s romantic comedies — along with Howard Hawks’ “His Girl Friday,” Stanley Kramer’s “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” Robert Benton’s “Kramer vs. Kramer” and John Carpenter’s “Starman.” In addition to more than 30 hours of legacy bonus content for each film, the set includes a bonus disc featuring the entirety of the 1986 “Starman” television series, as well as an 80-page hardbound book exploring the impact and legacy of the six films.

Matching its predecessors, the packaging for the set showcases the included titles, and opens to display...

Brendan Fraser's richly deserved comeback crested last March when he won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in Darren Aronofsky's "The Whale." It was the end of a long, hard road that began in the 2000s with a messy divorce, an alleged sexual assault at the groping hands of the then-president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and a deep depression caused by the death of his mother. Fraser had gone from being one of the most exciting talents of his generation to a C-level movie star.

That generation included Chris O'Donnell, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck, all three of whom co-starred with Fraser in the 1992 antisemitism drama "School Ties." They were all often in competition for the same roles, but they eventually made their own way in the industry. Fraser's square-jawed good looks and comedic gifts landed him leading roles in "The Mummy" and "George of the Jungle,...

Every year, a lot of actors win awards on Oscar night, but the ones who most often win the evening are the young stars and starlets who get to walk the red carpet. Sometimes they even win Oscar gold too. With any luck, the young star of “The Florida Project” Brooklynn Prince will make a splash at this year’s ceremony, but here are some of the cutest kids of years’ past:

Jackie Cooper – “Skippy” (1930)

Jackie Cooper was nominated for Best Actor for his role in 1930’s “Skippy.” To date, he’s the youngest boy to ever be nominated in the Best Actor category. He lost to Lionel Barrymore, who thanked Cooper in his acceptance speech. But Cooper didn’t hear it: he fell asleep on Marie Dressler’s arm during the ceremony (which started after midnight) and no one wanted to wake him.

Shirley Temple – (1934)

Shirley Temple was the...

Awards season always turns up note-worthy moments: showstopping outfits, witty speeches or egregious faux-pas are instantly turned into memes and circulated endlessly on social media.

In 2021, one moment in particular captivated viewers worldwide, and that was watching eight-year-old actor Alan Kim – dressed in a tuxedo – tear up while accepting a Critics Choice Award for his scene-stealing part in the critically acclaimed film Minari.

After a successful season, however, which included a Bafta nod, the young star was eventually shut out of the Oscars. It was a shame – in a year of history-making nominations for the Academy Awards, seeing Kim recognised would have been the cherry on top.

But it was always a long shot. Child actors are a welcome but infrequent inclusion at the Oscars – their rarity though, does make every instance especially memorable.

In the run-up to next month’s ceremony, here is a list of the 13 youngest stars...

Stepping into the shoes of two-time Golden Globe-winning director Steven Spielberg is a tough task, but it’s one that Gabriel Labelle has nonetheless adroitly accomplished. The rising star is now close to being recognized by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association himself thanks to his performance in “The Fabelmans,” which Spielberg co-wrote and directed as a roman à clef based on his own childhood. At 20, Labelle is the youngest hopeful in this year’s Best Film Drama Actor Golden Globe race, and would indeed be the category’s youngest nominee ever.

The title of all-time youngest Best Film Drama Actor contender has been held since 1982 by Timothy Hutton, who was 21 when he was nominated for “Taps” against eventual victor Henry Fonda (“On Golden Pond”). Until then, the distinction had belonged to 1964 nominee Stathis Giallelis. Hutton also still holds the record for youngest Best Film Supporting Actor winner, which he achieved...

Variety's Awards Circuit is home to the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars and Emmys ceremonies from film awards editor Clayton Davis. Following history, buzz, news, reviews and sources, the Oscar and Emmy predictions are updated regularly with the current year's list of contenders in all categories. Variety's Awards Circuit Prediction schedule consists of four phases, running all year long: Draft, Pre-Season, Regular Season and Post Season. The eligibility calendar and dates of awards will determine how long each phase lasts and is subject to change.

To see all the latest predictions, of all the categories, in one place, visit The Oscars Collective

Visit each category, per the individual awards show from The Oscars Hub

Revisit the prediction archive of the 2021 season The Archive

Link to television awards is atTHE Emmys Hub

2022 Oscars Predictions:

Best Supporting Actor

Updated: March 24, 2022

Awards Prediction Commentary:

Troy Kotsur, supporting actor nominee for “Coda,” is...

Since the first Best Supporting Actor award was given to Walter Brennan at the 9th Academy Awards ceremony in 1937, 75 men have received this honor, with seven winning two statues in this category. Seven actors tie for the most Best Supporting Actor nominations at four – one of whom is Brennan, who also holds the record for most wins in this category. He won an astonishing three out of four nominations between 1937 and 1942.

Both the youngest and the oldest acting nominees in the history of the Academy received their nominations in this category. Eight-year-old Justin Henry has held the record for youngest nominee in any category for 41 years, having received a bid for his performance in “Kramer vs. Kramer” in 1980. After being overlooked by the Academy for much of his career, Christopher Plummer received three supporting nominations between 2010 and 2018, and holds three separate spots on the top 10 list of oldest nominees in this category.

From Jessica Tandy to Henry Fonda, several artists have managed to win an Academy Award for acting as late as their 70s or 80s. In contrast, there have been winners like Tatum O'Neal (Paper Moon) and Anna Paquin (The Piano) who managed to take home the golden statuette in their pre-teen years.

Related: The Oscars: 10 Youngest Best Lead Actress Winners, Ranked

In the male category, the youngest winners have mostly been in their 20s even though much younger nominees have made the final cut, like 8-year-old Justin Henry (Kramer vs Kramer) and 11-year-old Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense). Henry continues to hold the record for being the youngest nominee in any category while O'Neal is the youngest winner.

Awards season always turns up note-worthy moments: showstopping outfits, witty speeches or egregious faux-pas are instantly turned into memes and circulated endlessly on social media.

But so far this year, one moment in particular has captivated viewers worldwide and that was watching eight-year-old actor Alan Kim – dressed in a tuxedo – tear up while accepting a Critics Choice Award for his scene-stealing part in the critically acclaimed film Minari.

After a successful season, however, which included a Bafta nod, the young star was eventually shut out of the Oscars. It is a shame – in a year of history-making nominations for the Academy Awards, seeing Kim recognised would have been the cherry on top. But it was always a long shot. Child actors are a welcome but infrequent inclusion at the Oscars – their rarity though, does make every instance especially memorable.

In the run-up to next month’s ceremony, here is a...

“Minari” has steadily accrued major Oscar buzz, with nominations and wins from just about every awards group out there. Steven Yeun and Yuh-Jung Youn have collected most of the attention among the film’s cast, including individual nominations at the SAG Awards, which makes them likely contenders for Oscar bids. But the love for “Minari” might not end there. At the center of the film is Alan Kim who plays David, a young boy adjusting to life on his family’s new farm and struggling to connect to his Korean grandmother (Youn). If voters respond to “Minari” in a major way, Kim might be able to snag a surprise Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Oscars.

Kim is the film’s emotional core. We experience this unpredictable new environment through David’s eyes, with Kim capturing the curiosity and moodiness that come with being a child. His scenes with his...

John Hughes’ breakthrough writing-directing hit still carries a glow that defuses its rougher edges, making it one of the best of ’80s Teen comedies. Even the savvy Soraya Roberts cuts it some slack, thanks to the authentic presence and fine performance of Molly Ringwald. Hughes’ amusing script comes up with at least ten moments that would have made Preston Sturges laugh, and his perfect casting for personalities young and old makes his direction look inspired. With great turns by Anthony Michael Hall, Haviland Morris, Debbie Pollack, Gedde Watanabe, Paul Dooley, and Michael Schoeffling.

Sixteen Candles

Special Collector’s Edition Blu-ray

Arrow Video

1984 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 94, 92 min. / Street Date April 14, 2020 / Available from Arrow Video / 18.99

Starring: Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Justin Henry, Michael Schoeffling, Haviland Morris, Gedde Watanabe, Paul Dooley, Carlin Glynn, Blanche Baker, Edward Andrews, Carole Cook, Max Showalter, John Cusack, Debbie Pollack, Joan Cusack, Brian Doyle-Murray, Jami Gertz, John Kapelos,...

” I want a serious girlfriend. Somebody I can love, that’s gonna love me back. Is that psycho?”

In his debut film as writer-director, John Hughes immediately cemented himself as the king of teen cinema with Sixteen Candles, and in the process also introduced one of the most iconic faces of 80s Americana: Molly Ringwald.

For high schooler Samantha Baker (Molly Ringwald), her 16th birthday might be the worst day of her life. Her entire family has forgotten about it due to her older sister s impending wedding; her biggest crush, high school hunk Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling) has discovered an embarrassing sex quiz filled out by Sam in which she details how she is saving herself for him; and to make matters worse, she is hounded by a relentless nerd (Anthony Michael Hall) who won t take no for an answer. But Sam s sweet sixteen isn t over yet,...

Hollywood had handled the topic of divorce on the big screen before 1979’s “Kramer vs. Kramer,” from the 1934 musical “The Gay Divorce” with Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire to 1967’s “Divorce American Style” with Dick Van Dyke and Debbie Reynolds. The year previously brought a female-centric focus to a break-up caused by a husband’s extra-marital affair with a younger woman in 1978’s “An Unmarried Woman,” as Jill Clayburgh discovers life without a louse of a spouse is actually quite liberating and enriching.

But the fracturing of a family unit was rarely handled in fully realistic emotional terms until 1979’s “Kramer vs. Kramer,” in which the cause of the parting of ways was Meryl Streep‘s stay-at-home mother’s feelings of being smothered and unfulfilled by her matriarchal duties. It was an era when gender roles began to shift as more women looked to pursue a career outside of the...

From “It’s a Wonderful Life” to “Wonder Woman,” Hollywood has licked up America’s favorite frozen treat.

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

George Bailey bonds with his future love an ice cream parlor.

Roman Holiday (1953)

Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck enjoy a sweet treat on Rome’s Spanish Steps.

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)

Bette Davis clutches two ice cream cones on a Malibu beach.

Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)

John Carpenter’s shocker includes a surprise killing of a girl.

The Muppet Movie (1979)

Bob Hope and Fozzie Bear bond over ice cream.

Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

Justin Henry acts out over ice cream with Dustin Hoffman’s divorced dad.

Mad Max (1979)

Max’s wife (Joanne Samuel) fends off a bad guy with an ice cream cone — and a knee — in this dystopian classic.

The Shining (1980)

“How’d you like some ice cream, Doc?”

My Girl (1991)

Anna Chlumsky’s Vada joins a...

Believe it or not, long before a record-shattering 21 Oscar nominations, there was a time when Meryl Streep was not the queen of the movies. After finishing at Yale Drama School in the 1970s, Streep found steady work on stage and television before her breakout role in 1978’s Best Picture Oscar winner, “The Deer Hunter.” That film brought Streep her first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress (and first loss) for her performance as Linda, the fiancee of a troubled Vietnam vet (Christopher Walken in an Oscar-winning performance).

The following year she starred in three major films: as the love interest of Alan Alda in “The Seduction of Joe Tynan;” as Woody Allen’s lesbian ex-wife in “Manhattan;” and as the troubled Joanna Kramer opposite Dustin Hoffman in “Kramer vs Kramer.” It was that latter role that brought her a first-ever win at the Academy Awards. The first words exclaimed by Streep were “Holy mackerel!

This article marks Part 2 of the 21-part Gold Derby series analyzing Meryl Streep at the Oscars. Join us as we look back at Meryl Streep’s nominations, the performances that competed with her, the results of each race and the overall rankings of the contenders.

In 1978, Meryl Streep, already renowned for her work on the New York stage, grabbed the attention of moviegoers across the country with her Oscar-nominated turn in the Best Picture champ “The Deer Hunter.” That year, however, would seem minor in comparison to what was on the horizon in 1979.

Streep was about to work with three of the decade’s hottest directors – Woody Allen, at his most in-demand after “Annie Hall” (1977) and “Interiors” (1978); Robert Benton, whose “The Late Show” (1977) was a big hit; and Jerry Schatzberg, who won critical acclaim with “The Panic in Needle Park” (1971) and “Scarecrow” (1973).

The resulting trio of Allen’s “Manhattan,” Benton’s “Kramer vs.

From “It’s a Wonderful Life” to “Wonder Woman,” Hollywood has licked up America’s favorite frozen treat. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) George Bailey bonds with his future love an ice cream parlor. Roman Holiday (1953) Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck enjoy a sweet treat on Rome’s Spanish Steps. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) Bette Davis clutches two ice cream cones on a Malibu beach. Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) John Carpenter’s shocker includes a surprise killing of a girl. The Muppet Movie (1979) Bob Hope and Fozzie Bear bond over ice cream. Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) Justin Henry acts out...

Chicago – After he reigned as the father in the classic 1979 film “Breaking Away,” actor Paul Dooley suddenly became everyone’s Dad – and by everyone that meant Molly Ringwald (“Sixteen Candles”), Julia Roberts (“Runaway Bride”) and Helen Hunt (“Mad About You”). He tells all in Part Two of a comprehensive interview.

The former “Paul Brown’ was born in West Virginia, and studied acting at West Virginia University, before heading to New York City and a new career as Paul Dooley. He did stage work, stand-up comedy and the New York City version of The Second City. He got his big break in the original stage version of “The Odd Couple” in 1965, directed by the legendary Mike Nichols. While working the stage, he appeared in a number of commercials, eventually moving to Los Angeles to “be where the action is.”

Paul Dooley (right) Being Dad with Justin Henry and Carlin Glynn in...

Actors have difficult moments making films all the time, but news that Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman feuded on the set of Kramer vs. Kramer is a far bigger deal. We're talking about two of the most respected actors of their generations, with 26 Oscar nominations between them (her: 19; him: 7). When you're dealing with two Hollywood and Broadway heavyweights of that caliber, it sounds like a real-life clash of the titans. But it's important to remember that in 1978, it just wasn't that way. In the adaptation of his upcoming biography, Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep, published by Vanity Fair, author Michael Schulman...

Actors have difficult moments making films all the time, but news that Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman feuded on the set of Kramer vs. Kramer is a far bigger deal. We're talking about two of the most respected actors of their generations, with 26 Oscar nominations between them (her: 19; him: 7). When you're dealing with two Hollywood and Broadway heavyweights of that caliber, it sounds like a real-life clash of the titans. But it's important to remember that in 1978, it just wasn't that way. In the adaptation of his upcoming biography, Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep, published by Vanity Fair, author Michael Schulman...

Dustin Hoffman may have taken his method acting to another level when working with Meryl Streep on their award-winning 1979 film, Kramer vs. Kramer. In an excerpt from Michael Schulman's unauthorized biography, Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep, in Vanity Fair, Kramer vs. Kramer director Robert Benton and producer Richard Fischoff recall a tense relationship between Streep and Hoffman during the filming of the movie. Both actors earned their first Oscars for taking on the roles of husband and wife, Ted and Joanna Kramer, who find themselves in a heated custody battle over their son, Billy Kramer (Justin Henry), after getting a divorce. Watch: Oscars Red Carpet Rewind -- '80s Oprah and Pregnant Meryl Streep! The book alleges that on the second day of shooting the opening scene of the film -- when Ted follows a crying Joanna into the hallway -- Hoffman "shocked" everyone on set when he "slapped [Streep] hard across the cheek, leaving a red mark...

Recently Scott Feinberg added Jacob Tremblay to his actual predictions for Best Actor nominations. Yes, Best Actor. While Tremblay is obviously the leading man of Room (he co-leads the first half and essentially takes over in the second) he's been campaigned as supporting because he is a kid and that's how kids are campaigned invariably -- remember when they tried to pretend that Keisha Castle Hughes (Whale Rider) was supporting even though her movie had no other leads. Lol. Not so good times.

Tremblay in Best Actor would be a surprise but it maybe isn't a bad call given the seemingly passion-free zone that is the presumed leaders in that particular race. Though I think we'll only see that "promotion" happening if Room is strong enough to nab a Best Picture nomination (I think it is --see the updated Best Picture chart). On the other hand the actors branch, like most organizations,...

By Patrick Shanley

Managing Editor

Irish director Lenny Abrahamson‘s latest film, Room, which centers on a young boy (Jacob Tremblay) and his mother (Brie Larson) who escape from the confines of a single room that the boy has called home his entire life, has been making big waves since it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it took home the coveted People’s Choice Award.

Much talk has surrounded the performances of the two leads, and Tremblay, who just turned nine on Oct 5, could be making history as the youngest performer to win best actor by the Academy.

If Tremblay were to be nominated for best actor for his performance in Room he would be nine years,146 days old come the Feb 28, 2016 airdate of the 88th Academy Awards. That would make him the second youngest male actor ever nominated in the category, just behind Jackie Cooper (nine years,...

This week marks the 10th anniversary of the release of "Crash" (on May 6, 2005), an all-star movie whose controversy came not from its provocative treatment of racial issues but from its Best Picture Oscar victory a few months later, against what many critics felt was a much more deserving movie, "Brokeback Mountain."

The "Crash" vs. "Brokeback" battle is one of those lingering disputes that makes the Academy Awards so fascinating, year after year. Moviegoers and critics who revisit older movies are constantly judging the Academy's judgment. Even decades of hindsight may not always be enough to tell whether the Oscar voters of a particular year got it right or wrong. Whether it's "Birdman" vs. "Boyhood," "The King's Speech" vs. "The Social Network," "Saving Private Ryan" vs. "Shakespeare in Love" or even "An American in Paris" vs. "A Streetcar Named Desire," we're still confirming the Academy's taste or dismissing it as hopelessly off-base years later.

David Fincher's pitch-black new thriller Gone Girl is, among many other things, a compelling two-and-a-half-hour argument for staying single.

As was the case in Gillian Flynn's bestselling novel, the central soured marriage between Nick (Ben Affleck) and Amy (Rosamund Pike) only grows more unsettling the more you discover about both parties, the seemingly perfect veneer peeling back inch by inch to reveal festering dysfunction.

We can never get enough festering dysfunction over at Digital Spy, so here are seven more of the big screen's most shining examples of marital strife.

1. George and Martha (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?)

The crumbling couple that arguably inspired every other on this list. Edward Albee created the archetypal marriage in spectacular meltdown in his blistering 1962 play, and real-life sparring lovers Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor bring George and Martha vividly to life on the big screen.

Watching the central pair inventively tear...

Hope you like scares, because here comes a chilling fact: If "Gilmore Girls" began today, Lorelai Gilmore would've been born in 1982. Choke on that. Most of these streams are available beginning October 1. Check out our list of streaming musts from Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Crackle.   Hulu "South Park" Did you know Hulu has exclusive rights to "South Park"? It does. And did you know that "The Book of Mormon," which I finally saw, plays like a long, mostly good episode of "South Park"? Except unlike "South Park," my mother loves it? And she's the kind of person who tried banning "Salute Your Shorts" in my house because they sometimes made jokes about jockstraps? It's all confusing, but let's just sit back and watch "South Park" again. Remember Scuzzlebutt, the creature who had Patrick Duffy for a leg? Yeah, that's 17 years old. Fun newsflash: You'll be dead soon. "Scandal" Olivia...

For some of the oldsters out there they may recall the 1973 Gamble & Huff-produced R&B hit single “I’ll Always Love My Mama” by the musical group The Intruders. This musical anthem was certainly a lyrical tribute to caring mothers and how their sacrifices shaped our childhood and adulthood. This finger-snapping song definitely captured the spirit of motherly guidance.

Naturally film has had its share of depicting motherhood over the decades. In fact, mothers of all types are presented before our eyes in packages of being nurturing, notorious, nutty, naive and nonsensical. However, there is something so special about the mother-son relationship that rivals the father-daughter dynamic. We have our share of proud Mama’s boys out there roaming about in society.

In Mama’s Boy: The Top 10 Mother-Son Combos in Movies we will examine some of the big screen bonds that have been celebrated between the Mommy Dearests...

There's just days to go before Ellen DeGeneres hosts the biggest event in the movie world's calendar - the 86th annual Academy Awards.

This year's nominees include newcomers Lupita Nyong'o and Barkhad Abdi, who are recognised for their supporting breakthrough performances in 12 Years a Slave and Captain Phillips respectively.

Ahead of Sunday's (March 2) glittering ceremony at Hollywood's Kodak Theater, we reminisce upon other breakthrough roles from some of the youngest Oscar-nominated stars in history - and what they've gone on to do since - below:

Tatum O'Neal in Paper Moon

Tatum O'Neal became the youngest Oscar winner in history, picking up the Best Supporting Actress trophy at the tender age of 10 for her role as strong-willed tomboy Addie in Paper Moon (1973), in which she appeared opposite her father Ryan O'Neal.

The actress went on to appear in successful movies such as The Bad News Bears Nickelodeon with Burt Reynolds, and...

There's just days to go before Ellen DeGeneres hosts the biggest event in the movie world's calendar - the 86th annual Academy Awards.

This year's nominees include newcomers Lupita Nyong'o and Barkhad Abdi, who are recognised for their supporting breakthrough performances in 12 Years a Slave and Captain Phillips respectively.

Ahead of Sunday's (March 2) glittering ceremony at Hollywood's Kodak Theater, we reminisce upon other breakthrough roles from some of the youngest Oscar-nominated stars in history - and what they've gone on to do since - below:

Tatum O'Neal in Paper Moon

Tatum O'Neal became the youngest Oscar winner in history, picking up the Best Supporting Actress trophy at the tender age of 10 for her role as strong-willed tomboy Addie in Paper Moon (1973), in which she appeared opposite her father Ryan O'Neal.

The actress went on to appear in successful movies such as The Bad News Bears Nickelodeon with Burt Reynolds, and...

Meryl Streep breaks Oscar record: Oscar 2014 nominations (photo: Meryl Streep in ‘August: Osage County’) The 2014 Oscar nominations were announced earlier today at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs and Thor: The Dark World and Snow White and the Huntsman actor Chris Hemsworth — whose Rush was completely shut out — made the announcements, including that of Best Actress contender Meryl Streep, in the running for her performance in John Wells’ August: Osage County. Streep’s competitors are her Doubt and Julie & Julia co-star Amy Adams for David O. Russell’s American Hustle, Sandra Bullock for Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity, Judi Dench for Stephen Frears’ Philomena, and likely winner Cate Blanchett for Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine. (Emma Thompson’s absence from the Best Actress roster — for her performance in John Lee Hancock’s Saving Mr. Banks — was quite a surprise.

There's a new circus rolling into town, and this one favors a big chop over the big top. As if food prices at such an event weren't horrifying enough, Jack Reher will be doing his damnedest to bring some freaky terror from author William Ollie's Sideshow to the screen.

Reher is the screenwriter behind the upcoming Red Machine, aka Endangered, starring Billy Bob Thornton, James Marsden, Piper Perabo, and Thomas Jane. His Wet House, to be produced by Zero Gravity and directed by Mukunda Michael Dewil, is in pre-production. Reher also just completed an adaptation of the 80s cult classic Pin. Most recently, Reher adapted Jon Bassoff’s highly acclaimed debut novel Corrosion for the screen, and it is currently out to directors.

Sideshow Book Synopsis

The smoke ring rose, higher and higher, changing shape as it went, until it disappeared into a cloud that moments ago had looked like the caboose of a train,...

New York (AP) — A former intern filed a class-action lawsuit Monday against Warner Music Group and Atlantic Records over his unpaid internship, similar to a spate of recent lawsuits in other industries pushing back against the widespread practice.

In the filing in state Supreme Court in Manhattan, plaintiff Justin Henry says he was never paid for the office work he performed from October 2007 through May 2008 but should have been under state labor law.

The suit alleges there was no academic or vocational training as part of the internship, and that employees would have needed to be hired to do the work if Henry wasn't doing it for free. The suit claims Henry routinely worked more than 40 hours a week, but never got any overtime wages.

Atlantic is part of Warner Music Group. Warner declined to comment on pending litigation.

Although Henry is the only plaintiff, attorney Maurice Pianko said it...

A former intern of Warner Music Group Corp. filed a Class Action Complaint Monday in New York County Supreme Court against the company for unpaid wages from Oct. 2007 to May 2008. Justin Henry -- through his attorneys Virginia & Ambinder -- is accusing Wmg subsidiary Atlantic Recording Corp. of withholding wages from him and other employees beginning in or around June 2007. The suit, obtained by TheWrap, states that Wmg has "failed to provide compensation at the statutory minimum wage for all hours worked." It also accuses the defendant of not...

The suddenly hot legal issue of internships has spread to the music industry. On Monday, June 17, a former Atlantic Records intern named Justin Henry brought a proposed class action lawsuit on behalf of himself and others similarly situated against the Warner Music Group. The complaint filed in New York Supreme Court seeks to recover claimed unpaid minimum wages and overtime wages for a class that's believed to be greater than 100 individuals. The lawsuit comes less than a week since a federal judge in New York ruled that two interns who worked on Fox Searchlight's Black Swan were classified

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"The Host" hits theaters this week, and for many fans it's a chance to see whether the popular Stephanie Meyer novel can become a pop culture phenomenon like "The Twilight Saga" did before it.

But for other film buffs, "The Host" represents something else: The continuing development of star Saoirse Ronan, who famously earned an Oscar nomination for 2007's "Atonement" at the age of 13. Will "The Host" finally turn her into an A-lister and ensure that she avoids the child star curse ... or will she become the latest of Oscar's children to experience their biggest career highlight before being legally able to drive?

Personally, we think Ronan has the goods to become a legit superstar ... but Hollywood can be a tough town, for kids and grown-ups alike. Here's a look at some of the kids in the past who have earned Oscar nods and what ended up happening to them.

Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) is costume symbolic of its era; the entire film is filtered through a composite mix of tan and beige. Director Robert Benton opted for a permanent autumn in New York City, artistically maintained through its year long storyline. Autumn is interpretable as a transitional season, reflecting the three act journey of the three central characters. Costume designer Ruth Morley dresses Meryl Streep’s absentee mother Joanna head-to-toe in various shades of brown. Joanna’s appearance is regimented by control and routine, and nearly always finished by that epitome of late 1970s chic and impending yuppiedom, a three quarter length Burberry trench coat.

Confirmation of the Burberry trench functioning with greater purpose than a means to keep dry occurs at the beginning of the film, not via Joanna but her childish and neglectful husband Ted (Dustin Hoffman). Ted recounts a self-indulgent anecdote to his boss: in order...

By Beckett Mufson

If Quvenzhané Wallis wins at this year's Oscars, she will be the youngest Academy Award winner ever, aside from Shirley Temple, who won a non-competitive award in 1935. If Wallis doesn't win, she will still be among the elite dramatic forces of small children who are good at pretending to be other small children, which is a respectable accomplishment. Each of these starlets earned a permanent place in the day care of cinema history, and are the standard that child actors everywhere are measured against.

Here they are the best of the youngest and the youngest of the best the Academy has ever seen.

Justin Henry, 8 years-old, for "Kramer vs. Kramer"

Justin Henry is the leader of this prestigious bunch because of his Best Supporting Actor nod for playing Billy Kramer in "Kramer vs. Kramer" (1979). His childlike honesty and earnestness are the heart and soul of the film,...

At only 9 years old, Quvenzhane (Kuh-vahn-zuh-nay) Wallis is the youngest ever Best Actress nominee for an Academy Award. Her portrayal of Hushpuppy in the magically poignant "Beasts of the Southern Wild" earned her many accolades, but her nomination was polarizing. Is she too young? Is it too soon? Shouldn't actors with more experience and a substantial body of work deserve the honor?

Be that as it may, Quvenzhane is in the race and may go up onstage this Sunday. In case that happens, here are some tips she can borrow from past Best Actress winners and their unforgettable speeches:

Takeaways from Julia Roberts (who won in 2000 for "Erin Brockovich"): Be funny, be humble, keep it short and do not go overboard with the thanks (the clock is there for a reason).

Takeaways from Halle Berry (who won in 2001 for "Monster's Ball"): Crying is totally understandable, but try to get some words in.