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The Holdovers is a comedy-drama film directed by Alexander Payne from a screenplay by David Hemingson. The period film is set in the early 1970s, and it revolves around Paul Hunham, a grouchy, disliked teacher at Barton Academy, who has to supervise the students who were unable to return to their homes for the Christmas holidays. He soon forms a bond with a rebellious and troubled student who recently lost his father. The Holdovers stars Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and Carrie Preston. So, if you loved the feel-good comedy, sombre drama, and compelling characters in The Holdovers, here are some similar movies you could watch next.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (Pluto TV & Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Madman Films

Hunt for the Wilderpeople is an adventure comedy-drama film written and directed by Taika Waititi. Based...

A24 delivered the “disaster comedy of the millennium” when their film Y2K (you can read our review at This Link) reached theatres on December 6th – but not a lot of movie-goers turned out to see it. The movie has only made $4 million at the domestic box office. Maybe it will be better luck when viewers have the option to watch the movie in the comfort of their own homes… and that option is arriving very soon. Next week, in fact. Y2K is set to receive a digital release on December 24th and is available for pre-order on Apple TV and Amazon.

The feature directorial debut of Saturday Night Live veteran Kyle Mooney, who also crafted the screenplay with Evan Winter, Y2K has the following official logline: On the last night of 1999, two high school juniors crash a New Years Eve party, only to find themselves fighting for their lives in this dial-up disaster comedy.

Multi-hyphenate Taika Waititi, the New Zealand actor-director-writer-producer, will be honored with the Norman Lear Achievement Award from the Producers Guild of America, the organization announced on Wednesday.

“Taika Waititi has profoundly transformed the television landscape with his imaginative work as a producer, bringing to life groundbreaking series ‘What We Do in the Shadows,’ ‘Our Flag Means Death’ and ‘Reservation Dogs,’” Producers Guild of America presidents Stephanie Allain and Donald De Line said.

“His remarkable ability to explore cultures through a lens of humor and humanity makes these narratives not only relatable but also deeply engaging for audiences,” they continued. “Through his unwavering commitment to diverse narratives and the amplification of Indigenous voices, Taika redefines the art of storytelling, grounding cultural experiences in mainstream media. We are honored to recognize him for his significant contributions to television, continuing Norman Lear’s legacy of enriching the craft of producing.”

“Thank you so...

The box office has been set ablaze once again thanks to the recent hit musicals Moana 2 and Wicked, the latter having a Broadway history to the extent that many musical lovers may already know most of the songs by heart. Some have seen the staged production multiple times and are still looking forward to seeing Wicked on the big screen more than once. And many of those fans, according to reports, have been so enthralled by the magic of Oz that they can't help but whip out their phones and quite literally take photographs of the theater screen in excitement.

Another issue surrounding musical films like Wicked is those same fans refusing to stay quiet and singing aloud in theaters along with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande as they belt out some of the most iconic songs in Broadway history. Could that type of audience participation perhaps cause the...

Kyle Mooney's new movie "Y2K" delivers a sci-fi horror concept that is so stunningly simple that you won't believe that no one's taken advantage of it on this scale until now. It's New Year's Eve on 1999, and a big high school party is about to be interrupted by the sudden appearance of techno monsters formed by the timely technology of the time, ranging from big tube TVs and computer monitors to Jeep Power Wheels and VCRs. They're all controlled by a computer hive-mind that intends to turn humans into microchip-controlled drones who will do their bidding.

While Jaeden Martell (the recent "It" movies), Julian Dennison ("Deadpool 2" and "Hunt for the Wilderpeople") and Rachel Zegler (Steven Spielberg's vibrant "West Side Story") are the stars of this film who face this darkly hilarious techno apocalypse, don't sleep on the incredible practical effects from Wētā Workshop that bring these creatures to life.

Taika Waititi recalled the backlash he received for helming Thor: Ragnarok. Die-hard Marvel fans were adamant the director would ruin the sequel.

Taika Waititi said his infamy peaked when he was confirmed to direct Thor: Ragnarok. Then known for quirky comedies What We Do in the Shadows and Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Marvel fans were apprehensive he would adopt the same approach with his first MCU project. "That really propelled me into the nerdosphere, if you will," he told Entertainment Weekly. "I was living a really lovely, peaceful life, and as soon as I did this, well boy, did the nerds come for me. They said, 'This guy's gonna ruin this. He's gonna ruin Thor!'"

Related Thor: Ragnarok Could've Been the Best Movie in the MCU With One Simple Change to Hela

Thor: Ragnarok is one of the best films in the McU's roster, but what if Hela had...

It’s New Year’s Eve 1999, and all of our worst millennial nightmares are about to come true in Kyle Mooney’s high energy sci-fi comedy Y2K. Eli and Danny are a pair of 15-year-old high school cyphers looking to up their social capital at the turn of the 20th century. The most popular boy in school is throwing a New Year’s Eve party, and the plan is that they crash it and crush it. Laura, the girl of Eli’s dreams, will be there and he’s determined to make the most of it. Armed with a belly full of their parents’ vodka and a badass CD-r mixtape, they jump into the fray....

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Taika Waititi‘s resume before Thor: Ragnarok doesn’t suggest he would ever be put on the path to helm a multi-million dollar franchise as part of a multi-billion dollar universe in Hollywood. The New Zealand director was famous for his quirky comedies like HBO’s Flight of the Conchords, What We Do in the Shadows and Hunt for the Wilderpeople. He brought a lot of his signature dry humor to Ragnarok with great acclaim, then a whiplash in reception would seem to happen when the consensus was that he brought too much of it for the follow-up Thor: Love and Thunder.

Entertainment Weekly recently sat down with Waititi for a retrospective of his career and he would reflect on the initial reaction that he was going to ruin the Thor franchise. Waititi remembered, “That really propelled me into the nerdosphere, if you will. I was living a really lovely,...

From the moment John Belushi first muttered about The Wolverines, “Saturday Night Live” had been a launching pad for America’s burgeoning comedic talent to break away towards their own careers beyond the show. Some have proven more successful in that area than others, but most of that intermittent success has been focused on the same brand of comedic acting that got them noticed in the first place; few SNL alum mark their break from Lorne Michaels with a stint in the director’s chair.

Kyle Mooney, though, seems relatively primed to have made the jump from the live show to being the man behind the camera, as most eyes were moved in his direction by way of his prerecorded, often-cut-for-time skits. Now, two years after his SNL departure, the man whose cringe-comedy made him a defining middle-ground between Andy Samberg and Tim Robinson turns his gift for the awkward towards “Y2K,...

Taika Waititi sheds light on the future of his career, and where his Star Wars, Akira, and Flash Gordon projects sit within his plans. The director is known for his work on movies such as What We Do in the Shadows, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and Jojo Rabbit, which strike a careful balance between hilarity and darker, more emotionally complex topics. Waititi is also known for how he impacted the Thor sub-series in the MCU with 2017's Thor: Ragnarok and 2022's Thor: Love and Thunder.

While promoting his latest project, Interior Chinatown (for which he directed an episode and produced), Waititi was asked by The Playlist's Bingeworthy podcast about what project will take priority next. While the director has been signed on to develop a Flash Gordon reboot, a live-action adaptation of Akira, and an original Star Wars movie, Waititi jokingly responded by questioning whether each production is dead...

A24 is set to deliver the “disaster comedy of the millennium” when their film Y2K reaches theatres on December 6th – and with that release date swiftly approaching, the marketing department has unveiled a batch of character posters – including one for Fred Durst, whose band Limp Bizkit was enjoying huge success at the time of the movie’s 1999-into-2000 setting.

The feature directorial debut of Saturday Night Live veteran Kyle Mooney, who also crafted the screenplay with Evan Winter, Y2K has the following official logline: On the last night of 1999, two high school juniors crash a New Years Eve party, only to find themselves fighting for their lives in this dial-up disaster comedy.

The film stars Jaeden Martell (Stephen King’s It), Rachel Zegler (West Side Story), Julian Dennison (Hunt for the Wilderpeople), Daniel Zolghadri (Tales from the Loop), Lachlan Watson (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst,...

A24 is set to deliver the “disaster comedy of the millennium” when their film Y2K reaches theatres on December 6th – and with that release date now just a few weeks away, a new trailer for the film has arrived online! You can check it out in the embed above.

The feature directorial debut of Saturday Night Live veteran Kyle Mooney, who also crafted the screenplay with Evan Winter, Y2K has the following official logline: On the last night of 1999, two high school juniors crash a New Years Eve party, only to find themselves fighting for their lives in this dial-up disaster comedy.

The film stars Jaeden Martell (Stephen King’s It), Rachel Zegler (West Side Story), Julian Dennison (Hunt for the Wilderpeople), Daniel Zolghadri (Tales from the Loop), Lachlan Watson (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst, Eduardo Franco (The Package), Mason Gooding (Scream VI), Australian rapper The Kid Laroi,...

There’s a quiet strength to “Exhibiting Forgiveness” in what is left unsaid. It would have been easy to broadly categorize writer/director Titus Kaphar’s directorial debut with several other “festival darlings” in which a promising young storyteller tries to examine their own grief, guilt, or trauma through the means of a “slice of life” story. While many of these indie films are quite charming in their personability, they generally lack the formal excellence that is needed to be seen as truly major works. Kaphar quickly proves himself to be an outlier with “Exhibiting Forgiveness,” which is in no small part due to the fact that the film is about the importance of utilizing visual language.

At the center of “Exhibiting Forgiveness” is a career-best performance from Andre Holland as Tarrell, an acclaimed painter fresh off the success of a recent showcase. Tarrell is undeniably dedicated to his craft,...

Nine months of horror releases down, three to go! We’re officially in the “spooky season” portion of the year, the build-up to our favorite holiday, Halloween, and with our 2024 Fall Horror Movie Preview, we’re looking ahead at some of the horror movies we can’t wait to check out in the remaining months of this year. For now, we’re only including movies that have a known release date, so films like the remakes/reboots of The Toxic Avenger and Witchboard are currently absent because they don’t have a release date yet, even though they might still show up at some point in 2024. Below, you’ll find a list of the movies we’re anxious to see this Halloween season and beyond… so, here we go:

Smile 2 – Theatrical, October 18

Smile writer/director Parker Finn’s said that if he were to make a sequel to his 2022 horror hit,...

The cancelation of Apple TV+'s Time Bandits continues an unfortunate streak for Taika Waititi. He is one of the show's co-creators, executive producers, directors, writers, and played the role of the Supreme Being. Based on the 1981 Terry Gilliam movie of the same name, Time Bandits' cast and characters also include 11-year-old Kevin (Kal-El Tuck), whose love for history makes him a valuable member of the time-traveling bandits led by the bumbling Penelope (Lisa Kudrow).

Prior to being canceled, Time Bandits season 1 ended on a major cliffhanger and with several unresolved storylines that set up a second season. Time Bandits' cancelation unfortunately means that this cliffhanger and the other storylines will remain unaddressed, and this is not the first time that this has happened to one of Waititi's shows. Many of Waititi's more recent projects have struggled commercially and critically despite his previous successes, which included Hunt for the Wilderpeople,...

20 years after the filming of the movie that made him a household name, Elijah Wood returns to New Zealand in a hilarious and touching childrens movie. IndieWire released a trailer for Bookworm, the story of a role reversal between father and daughter. Woods character is a long cry from his heroic turn as Frodo in The Lord of the Rings trilogy but remains in his niche as a weird little guy. In Bookworm, he plays illusionist Strawn Wise, who returns to New Zealand to see his estranged daughter. Young Mildred (Nell Fisher) is precocious, smart, and has no time for an absent father who she barely knows. She is more concerned with finding the mythical Canterbury Panther, a wildcat that is worth $50,000 if caught on camera. An inverse of fellow New Zealand gem, Hunt For the Wilderpeople, Bookworm puts the child in the authoritative role while her man-child father follows in her footsteps.

From winning an Academy Award for Jojo Rabbit to becoming the audience’s worst nightmare, Taika Waititi has had a rocky few years. With his first few films, namely Hunt for The Wilderpeople, What We Do in the Shadows, and Thor: Ragnarok, Watiti became a fan-favorite for his uniquely witty and humorous vision. However, after the disastrous performance of Thor: Love and Thunder, fans have become overly critical and skeptical of Waititi’s talents.

Thor attempts to grab the Mjolnir in Thor: Love and Thunder | Credits: Marvel Studios

The skepticism has gotten to a point where fans are scared to see his name associated with their favorite projects. Although, there’s one project that Waititi has spoken about numerous times over the years. If done right, it has the power to turn the tides in the favor of the filmmaker.

This Project can Turn Taika Waititi’s Luck Around A...

By Abe Friedtanzer

Rachel House is a terrific actress from New Zealand whose most memorable performances are, for most, likely those delivered in Taika Waititi’s films, including Eagle vs. Shark and Hunt for the Wilderpeople. She’s also capable of strong dramatic work, including her first film role, the Oscar-nominated Whale Rider, and as a cruel immigration facility guard in the Netflix limited series Stateless. She’s done voice work in popular animated films like Moana and Soul. After years of coaching young actors like Julian Dennison and directing theater, she’s made her own first film as director, The Mountain, a delight making its North American premiere at TIFF…...

French sales agent mk2 Films has hired London-based former Protagonist Pictures and Upgrade Productions executive Vanessa Saal to help expand the company’s UK footprint, under the title executive consultant and UK lead.

Saal most recently served as executive vice president, production and distribution, for Jonathan Kier and Matt Brodlie’s Los Angeles-based Upgrade Productions, working out of London.

She was previously managing director, sales and distribution for the UK’s Protagonist Pictures.

While a formal UK office is not being launched, with Saal’s position understood to be on a consultancy basis, she will utilise her on-the-ground network and...

Exclusive: Tre Hale (Platonic), Baron Vaughn (Grace and Frankie), Vivian Bang (White Rabbit) and Rhys Darby (Our Flag Means Death) have wrapped in Oregon on Song of the Bigfoot, an indie dramedy written and directed by Brent Bishop, in his feature debut, in which they play lead roles.

Others in the cast include Brenda Strong (Desperate Housewives) and newcomer Emily McEnroe (Ryan Murphy’s Monsters).

The film is described as an uplifting tale about three lovably quirky Bigfoot seekers who become desperately lost in the wilderness and are thrust into a life-and-death ordeal. They soon realize they’ve also been lost in life, and must not only save themselves, but commit to a life worth saving. Clinging to the wisdom of their Bigfoot Society’s eccentric, long-lost founder (Darby), and the guidance of its current matriarch (Strong), the trio wrestle with past traumas, personal demons, and lost...

Stand By Me, which remains one of Stephen King's favorite adaptations of his books, is landing on Netflix in September. Directed by Rob Reiner, Stand by Me is based on Stephen King's novella, The Body. Set in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Oregon, the movie features an ensemble cast that includes River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell, and Wil Wheaton. When it first premiered in 1986, Stand By Me earned unanimous praise from both viewers and critics across the world and performed fairly well at the global box office.

Not all movies stand the test of time, but Stand By Me remains a beloved classic, celebrated for its heartwarming coming-of-age themes and memorable young characters. Stephen King, too, has often sung praise for the movie, calling it one of his favorite adaptations of his books. With Stand by Me coming to Netflix in September 2024, audiences have the perfect opportunity...

The sci-fi thriller Night Raiders follows Niska (Elle-Mij Tailfeathers) as she attempts to save her daughter, Waseese (Brooklyn Letexier-Hart), from a fascist government and their racist endeavors to wipe out the indigenous population of the Cree. Based around real world scandals where schools attempted to whitewash indigenous history in Canada, Night Raiders has several excellent sci-fi elements that make a depressingly possible dystopian premise. Opening up with the promise of a complex and detailed world, Night Raiders immediately bears the weight of lofty expectations to tend with. Written and Directed by Danis Goulet, Night Raiders was also produced by Taika Waititi, who is known for his work in Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Our Flag Means Death, and his work in the MCU.

Upgrade Productions has acquired worldwide sales rights outside Australia and New Zealand to actor Rachel House’s directorial debut The Mountain ahead of its North American premiere at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

Jonathan Kier and Matt Brodlie’s Upgrade Productions will launch sales talks at the festival next month on the adventure story from Piki Films and Sandy Lane Productions about three children on a secret mission to climb Taranaki Mountain in New Zealand.

The film is currently the number one New Zealand film across New Zealand and Australia and has earned close to $600,000 in the two countries, releasing...

A24 is set to deliver the “disaster comedy of the millennium” when their film Y2K reaches theatres on December 6th – and today, a trailer for the film has arrived online to give us a glimpse of what Y2K has in store for us! You can check it out in the embed above.

The feature directorial debut of Saturday Night Live veteran Kyle Mooney, who also crafted the screenplay with Evan Winter, Y2K has the following official logline: On the last night of 1999, two high school juniors crash a New Years Eve party, only to find themselves fighting for their lives in this dial-up disaster comedy.

The film stars Jaeden Martell (Stephen King’s It), Rachel Zegler (West Side Story), Julian Dennison (Hunt for the Wilderpeople), Daniel Zolghadri (Tales from the Loop), Lachlan Watson (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst, Eduardo Franco (The Package), Mason Gooding...

It’s a wonder nobody’s done it already: an apocalyptic horror-comedy, based around the idea of the Millennium Bug. For anyone too young to remember the furore around ‘Y2K’, the general idea was this: a major computer error was predicted to hit the world’s computer systems on the dawn of the millennium, since the two-digit year-date system in older computing models would suddenly flick over to ‘00’. Cue world-ending mayhem. Thankfully, as we now know, nothing happened – though opinion is still divided on whether that’s as a result of hasty bug fixes implemented in the run-up to the year 2000, or whether reports of an impending crash were simply over-exaggerated. Either way, it’s ripe for cinematic treatment – and that’s exactly what you’ll find in A24’s impending Y2K. Watch the trailer here.

From SNL alumnus – and the filmmaker behind cult favourite Brigsby Bear – Kyle Mooney,...

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Moana 2 has been teased a bit, but it wasn't until the beginning of D23 on Friday that we've seen a full, detailed look at the upcoming sequel; you can watch the full trailer above. Dwayne Johnson danced his way through the unveiling of this trailer at D23 (via The Hollywood Reporter), saying: Maui is singing again. Singing in keys that dont exist. And my hair looks fantastic in Moana 2. He and Moana herself, Aulii Cravalho, were joined by a whole dance crew to introduce their film. Watch some footage below (via THR):

Dwayne Johnson takes the stage as #Moana2 is introduced at the #D23 Entertainment Showcase pic.twitter.com/u4MnqimRKc The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) August 10, 2024

The first Moana was released back in 2016 to critical acclaim, and tells the story of Moana, the strong-willed daughter of a chief of a Polynesian village,...

Fantasia International Film Festival is always a highlight of the summer for the horror side of JoBlo. We’re always treated to films that absolutely blow us away. The 2024 edition of Fantasia is wrapping up this weekend and there were plenty of wonderful entries throughout the festival. While not all of them panned out (I’m sadly looking at you Witchboard), there were several that are likely to remain among the year’s best. If they release this year, that is. So let’s break down some of the best that Fantasia had to offer. If you’re interested in more information, each title has been reviewed. Read our coverage Here!

Bookworm

Elijah Wood stars in this fantastic story about a distant father taking his daughter on an adventure to help better their position in life. It gets dark at points but otherwise has that great Goonies tone, where you...

After the dark comedy Come to Daddy, New Zealand director Ant Timpson travels back to his home country with lead actor Elijah Wood for Bookworm, an adventure designed for all ages. In his introduction at the opening of Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival, Timpson cited 1970s family movies as an inspiration and admitted he wanted nothing more than to make a good, entertaining time for audiences. That aim is apparent in every moment of Bookworm, whose odd-couple pairing of an estranged father and his precocious daughter on a camping trip gone wrong feels engineered to be a broad crowd-pleaser. But Timpson, along with co-writer Toby Harvard, prefer to take the easy way for achieving their goals, the film leaning into dated comedy and a relentless charm offensive that makes its efforts too strained to fully embrace.

The film starts with Mildred (Nell Fisher), an 11-year-old girl who spends most of...

Plot: 11-year-old Mildred’s world is turned upside down when her estranged father, the washed-up magician Strawn Wise, comes to look after her and agrees to take her camping to find a mythological beast known as the Canterbury Panther.

Review: I’m not sure what it is about films from New Zealand but they always impress. You could point to the wonderful geography, which adds so much to the look of the film. Or maybe it’s the talent both in front of and behind the camera. And Bookworm certainly isn’t lacking in either. Like Hunt For the Wilderpeople, this takes a whimsical approach that’s just as heartfelt as it is funny. While it’s certainly magical, everything is grounded and hardly ever crosses over into the absurd. And it’s really not afraid to go to dark places.

Bookworm follows Mildred (Nell Fisher) after something tragic happens,...

Taika Waititi's critical decline is evident in his latest film's low Rotten Tomatoes score, signaling a shift in his fortunes as a filmmaker. Waititi's films like Jojo Rabbit and Thor: Love and Thunder have contributed to his critical decline. Taika Waititi's next film, an adaptation of Klara and the Sun, offers an opportunity for him to break his slump by showcasing his ability to create a sincere drama rather than relying heavily on comedy.

Taiki Waititis latest failure underlines how dramatically things have gone wrong for a Hollywood figure who was critically adored not so long ago. The actor-writer-directors early output speaks of a filmmaker with a distinct vision and a remarkably developed voice. While Waititis first film, Eagle vs. Shark, saw mixed reviews, 2010-2016 saw the director deliver an impressive run of acclaimed New Zealand indie comedies, consisting of Boy, What We Do in the Shadows, and Hunt for the Wilderpeople.

Wherever you go, there you are; you take yourself and your personal dilemmas with you no matter where you travel. You cant outrun them. Thats the complex learning curve Guy Pearces determined British preacher, Thomas Munro, must face in director Lee Tamahoris gripping yet bloated new historical drama, The Convert. The story takes place in 1830 with a shipbound Munro sailing with British traders across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand, where the main dramas unfold. Munro hopes to begin a new life; fate has other plans for him.

This project sat in gestation for many years 11 years before the cameras rolled and the pandemic created further delays. The film hit the Toronto International Film Festival and was praised for its stunning cinematography and Pearces solid performance as Thomas Munro. Written by Tamahori, Michael Bennett, and Shane Danielsen, the film notably benefits from Tamahoris keen eye and senses, having turned heads...

Exclusive: Will Forte and D’Arcy Carden have been cast as leads in darkly comic drama series Sunny Nights for Australian streamer Stan. As we revealed in March, Trent O’Donnell is directing and exec producing, and Echo Lake Entertainment is among the producers.

Sunny Nights will follow siblings Martin (Forte) and Vicki (Carden) Marvin who venture to Sydney determined to start their spray tan business. When they get caught up in the city’s criminal underworld, they must figure out how to stay alive, out of prison and in the black. It’s billed as “a story of how a little bit of sun, a change of scenery, and a touch of violent crime can help a person find their true self.”

The series continues a recent trend for Nine Entertainment-owned streamer Stan to order plot-driven comedy-dramas with a mix...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Ampas) has invited 487 artists and executives to become members, with Sandra Huller, Justin Triet, Celine Song and Da’Vine Joy Randolph among the high profile invitees.

Also invited to join are actors Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Fiona Shaw, directors Alice Diop, David Yates and S S Rajamouli, and writers Arthur Harari and Tony McNamara.

Executives invited to join that branch of the Academy include British Film Institute CEO Ben Roberts and Fifth Season co-CEOs Chris Rice and Graham Taylor.

Among those invited to join the costume designers branch are Holly Waddington and Małgorzata Karpiuk.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Ampas) has invited 487 artists and executives to become members, with Sandra Huller, Justin Triet, Celine Song and Da’Vine Joy Randolph among the high profile invitees.

Also invited to join are actors Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Fiona Shaw, directors Alice Diop, David Yates and S S Rajamouli, and writers Arthur Harari and Tony McNamara.

Executives invited to join that branch of the Academy include British Film Institute CEO Ben Roberts and Fifth Season co-CEOs Chris Rice and Graham Taylor.

Among those invited to join the costume designers branch are Holly Waddington and Małgorzata Karpiuk.

Every summer, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invites a deluge of new members to join its ranks. Since #OscarsSoWhite back in 2015, the Academy has moved away from its elitist tendencies and toward embracing younger and more diverse artists and executives from all over the world. This year’s invited class is no exception.

If the invitees all accept Academy membership, the total members will number 10,910 and voting members 9,934. And with the addition of the 2024 members, 35 percent of Academy members identify as women, 20 percent of Academy members are from underrepresented ethnic and racial communities, and 20 percent of Academy members are from countries or territories outside the U.S.

As usual, a slew of Oscar nominees and winners are gaining admittance to the club (71 Oscar nominees and 19 winners), including actors Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), Sandra Hüller, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph (“The Holdovers”), costume designer Holly Waddington...

Jessica Alba, Lily Gladstone, Greta Lee, Catherine O’Hara, and S.S. Rajamouli, director of “Rrr,” are among the 487 artists and executives invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. With all expected acceptances, AMPAS membership will rise to 10,910 from 10,817 last year, with 9,934 members eligible to vote in the upcoming 97th Oscars in 2025—an increase from last year’s 9,375.

This year’s invitees include 44% women, a 4% increase from 2023, and 41% from underrepresented ethnic and racial communities, marking a significant 7% rise. The actors, casting directors, costume designers, documentary, executives, makeup artists and hairstylists branches have invited more women than men. The actors, directors, documentary, and writers branches mainly comprised artists from underrepresented communities.

The directors branch features the most impressive array of filmmakers from both international and domestic spheres, such as Lila Avilés (“Totem”), Jayro Bustamante (“La Llorona”), Jd Dillard (“Devotion”), Alice Diop (“Saint Omer”), Boots Riley (“Sorry to Bother You...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Tuesday that it is extending invitations to 487 to join the membership ranks of the Oscar organizer. If all accept, it will bring the Academy’s total membership to 10,910, of which 9,934 would be voting members.

This year’s list across 19 branches include 2024 Oscar winners Da’Vine Joy Randolph from The Holdovers; Poor Things costume designer Holly Waddington and production design team James Price, Shona Heath and Zsuzsa Mihalek; 20 Days in Mariupol director Mstyslav Chernov, War Is Over! producer Brad Booker; The Zone of Interest sound duo Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn; the Godzilla Minus One VFX team Tatsuji Nojima, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi and Takashi Yamazaki; American Fiction writer-director Cord Jefferson; and Anatomy of a Fall writing duo Justine Triet and Arthur Harari.

Jefferson and Triet are among eight names on the list who were invited to more than one branch (noted...

Universal Pictures has acquired feature film rights to “James,” the latest book from Percival Everett, whose novel “Erasure” was adapted as “American Fiction.” Steven Spielberg will executive produce the movie through his company, Amblin Partners, with Taika Waititi in early talks to direct the project. Everett will write the screenplay and will serve as executive producer.

Published in March by Doubleday to critical raves, “James” reframes the classic story of Huckleberry Finn from the point of view of Jim, an enslaved man who floats down the Mississippi River with teenaged Finn, a good friend of Tom Sawyer.

The book’s description reads, “While many narrative set pieces of ‘Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ remain in place…Jim’s agency, intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new light.” “James” made the New York Times’ and Amazon’s list of best books of 2024 (so far). It was also a New York Times’ bestseller.

This kids’ adventure story with a faux medievalist vibe has a cute conceit and some fun sequences but the inexperience of the cast and director shows

If you’ve ever tried to make a home movie with young children, you quickly come to appreciate how hard it is to get the little monsters to remember their lines and hit their marks, let alone give good performances. It’s an education in the difference between good and bad direction, the raw, primary-teacher skill in herding cats while also managing tone, quality control and all that storytelling stuff. Just try it for yourself and you’ll realise just how good a job directors such as Garth Jennings or Taika Waititi did with child-led films like Son of Rambow or Hunt for the Wilderpeople.

At the very least, this awareness will help you be a bit more forgiving of a film like Riddle of Fire.

Stars: Michael Fassbender, Kaimana, Rachel House, Oscar Kightley, David Fane, Beulah Koale, Will Arnett, Elisabeth Moss, Uli Latukefu, Chris Alosio, Lehi Makisi Falepapalangi, Rhys Darby | Written by Taika Waititi, Iain Morris | Directed by Taika Waititi

Released in 2014, Next Goal Wins was a phenomenal documentary from directors Mike Brett and Steve Jamison which followed the American Samoa football team as they attempted to persevere following a historic 31-0 loss to Australia. Much in the vein of Grey Gardens, Man On Wire, and Marwencol, the acclaimed documentary has been dramatised into a feature film, this time by Taika Waititi and The Inbetweeners co-creator Iain Morris.

Next Goal Wins focuses on Dutch American coach Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender), whose only option to evade being fired is to coach the American Samoa team. As he arrives with a bad attitude and a drinking problem, it soon dawns on Thomas that he may be able...

"Stay sharp! Otherwise I'm done for..." Madman Films has revealed the main official trailer for a fun new New Zealand movie called The Mountain, marking the directorial debut of New Zealand actress Rachel House (from Hunt for the Wilderpeople and Thor: Ragnarok and tons of other films). After opening in Nz back in March (first teaser here), it's set to premiere at the Sydney Film Festival in June for its Australian premiere. The film explores the journey of three young people as they seek solace under the watchful gaze of the Taranaki mountain (aka "Taranaki Maunga" - see Google Maps) and companionship in the spirit of adventure. Starring Elizabeth Atkinson, Reuben Francis, and Terence Daniel. They are also joined by Troy Kingi (Muru), Byron Coll, Fern Sutherland, and Sukena Shah. I'm all about this! I want to see it so bad! Looks funny and fresh. Hopefully it'll show up in the US sooner than later,...

Two new Australian films, both enjoying their world premiere, are among the first titles confirmed to play at the Sydney Film Festival in June.

“In Vitro,” a sci-fi mystery thriller set on a remote cattle farm in the near future, hails from directors Will Howarth and Tom McKeith (“Beast”) and stars Ashley Zukerman (“Succession”).

With “The Pool,” director Ian Darling (“The Final Quarter”) paints a cinematic portrait of a year in the life of the iconic Bondi Icebergs, the pool and the people who cherish it.

They will be joined by New Zealand actor Rachel House (“Hunt for the Wilderpeople”), who makes her feature directorial debut with “The Mountain,” which centers on three children discovering friendship’s healing power through the spirit of adventure as they trek through spectacular New Zealand landscapes. It is executive produced by Taika Waititi and will be eligible for Sydney’s recently announced First Nations Award,...

A trio of moderate releases – One Life, The American Society Of Magical Negroes and Knox Goes Away join Janus Films’ celebration of master musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, and César award winning The Animal Kingdom as the next wave of 2024 indie films rolls out post-Oscars.

Focus Features’ American Society Of Magical Negroes, the feature directorial debut of Kobi Libii opens at 1,146 theaters across the North America. Premiered at Sundance, see Deadline review. A satirical comedy about a young man, Aren (Justice Smith) who is recruited by Roger (David Alan Grier) into a secret society of magical Black people who dedicate their lives to a cause of utmost importance: making sure white people never feel bad about themselves or get stressed out — because bad things happen when they do. Also stars Rupert Friend, Michaela Watkins, An-Li Bogan, Drew Tarver and Nicole Byer. Libii originally developed the project as an alumnus of both the Sundance Writers and Directors Labs.

Julian Dennison shines in Uproar, delivering a poignant performance as a teenager finding his identity. Uproar expertly intertwines a teenager's self-realization with political upheaval and racial tensions in 1980s New Zealand. Uproar offers an authentic portrayal of mixed Mori identity and explores the importance of being a supportive ally.

There is pathos and great beauty in Paul Middleditch and Hamish Bennett’s hilarious coming-of-age story about a 17-year-old boy discovering his sense of identity and social responsibility in a politically divided New Zealand in Uproar. With a fantastic lead performance by Julian Dennison, who previously blew audiences away at 12 years old in the 2016 film Hunt for the Wilderpeople, his role as a wayward 1980s teenager struggling with his identity in Uproar adds to his impressive contribution to New Zealand cinema. A story of family expectations, self-realization, and political altercations, Uproar packs an emotional punch while remaining consistently funny.

7/10

Josh Waaka...

Apples Never Fall on Peacock brings Liane Moriarty's family drama to life with a star-studded cast and captivating storytelling. Sam Neill shines as patriarch Stan Delaney, portraying a complex character with depth and vulnerability in the series. Annette Bening stars opposite of Neill, and the rest of the cast brings the Delaneys to the small screen with an impressive amount of talent.

Apples Never Fall is the latest TV adaptation of Liane Moriarty's best-selling novels, and the Peacock series has an all-star cast bringing the book's story to life. Like the novel it's based on, Apples Never Fall follows the tennis-loving Delaney family in two timelines: before and after their mother vanishes. Joy Delaney's sudden disappearance dredges up the secrets and trauma within the seemingly perfect family, forcing the Delaney siblings to question everything they believe about their own parents.

The cast of Apples Never Fall brings the...

Screen Rant debuts the ScreenX poster for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. The movie features a unique antagonist, Skar King, with orangutan origins, adding a new twist to the Titan battles. Fans can experience the Titan War in an immersive ScreenX format at Regal Cinemas starting March 29.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is set to see its titular Titans tag team threats of a whole new scale, and Screen Rant has a first look at the ScreenX poster. As the fifth feature film entry in Legendary’s MonsterVerse, the movie picks up where 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong left off and sees Godzilla and King Kong reach an uneasy truce in service of the greater good. The movie was written by Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett and Jeremy Slater with a story by Adam Wingard, who also served as director.

Screen Rant is happy to present the ScreenX poster for...

December 31, 1999. Those old enough to remember know what a strange time that was. It was a time filled with excitement, anxiety, and uncertainty around what was going to happen when the clock struck midnight and a new millennium would begin.

Director Kyle Mooney and writer Evan Winter take that momentous evening and absolutely run with it in the insane nostalgia-filled comedy Y2K.

Y2K was nothing like I was expecting. If this is a film you are interested in seeing, and you religiously watched Total Request Live on MTV and know every word to “I’ll Be” by Edwin McCain, I would probably recommend you stop reading this review right now and see this movie the first opportunity you get.

Mooney, a former Saturday Night Live cast member, made his directorial debut with Brigsby Bear in 2017. The film was one of my favorites of the year as it combined awkward humour with incredible sincerity.

British screenwriter Simon Stephenson has accused the makers of The Holdovers of plagiarism, saying its similarity to his 2013 script, Frisco, is “brazen”.

Mere hours before Alexander Payne’s comedy drama The Holdovers was garlanded with an Oscar win – Da’Vine Joy Randolph walked off with a Best Supporting Actress gong – controversy suddenly blew up thanks to a report published by Variety.

According to British novelist and screenwriter Simon Stephenson – whose credits include The Electrical Life Of Louis Wain – The Holdovers was “plagiarised line by line” from Frisco, a screenplay he wrote in 2013.

One of the scripts shortlisted for 2013’s Black List of unproduced screenplays, Frisco is about a middle-aged, grouchy pediatrician who strikes up an unlikely friendship with a 15 year-old patient. This, Stephenson has argued, is markedly similar to the premise of The Holdovers, in which a middle-aged, grouchy teacher (played by Paul Giamatti in the film) strikes up an...

AOL Instant Messenger. Nintendo 64. Sisqo’s “The Thong Song.” Nu Metal and all things Limp.

If you understood any of the above words, chances are you remember the turn of the millennium with fondness, as well as a degree of cringe. But if you don’t know these ancient relics, you probably still recognize the youthful and eagerly game faces that director Kyle Mooney has cast in his directorial debut, Y2K. Either way, the former SNL alumni has bet heavily on cultivating retro good vibes for his house party of a horror-comedy, and after watching the film at its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival this weekend, it’s safe to say the thing rages, even if with all the grace and style of a suburbanite scrub.

Unwavering in its rush to mine from the hills of millennial nostalgia, Y2K is the first film out of the gate...

A small but spirited 1954-set drama about a group of “delinquent” teenage girls who plan a daring escape from the one-dock New Zealand island where they’ve been sent for institutional Christianization, Māori filmmaker Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu’s “We Were Dangerous” does its best to remain upbeat as the agents of colonization try to assert their control over its characters’ bodies. It’s a promising debut that does its best to remain upbeat as the agents of colonization try to assert their control over its characters’ bodies, as Stewart-Te Whiu skillfully combines the pluck of “A Little Princess” with the irreverence of executive producer Taika Waititi’s “Hunt for the Wilderpeople.”

Light on its feet even in the face of forced sterilization, Stewart-Te Whiu’s debut wields its upbeat tone as a rousing show of defiance unto itself; if that means whittling this story down to its 82-minute skeleton in...