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by Nathaniel R

Wicked For Good

I cheered when Paul Tazewell won Best Costume Design and Nathan Crowley won Production Design for Wicked and yet I also felt a sense of dread. One of my great popculture fears in this franchise era is that the Oscars will one day lose their identity and become something akin to the Emmys with the same achievements winning again and again. Naturally then I'm excited to see new variations on the pinks and greens and golds and blacks of Wicked's color palette in Wicked For Good but also don't want to see it win back to back Oscars in the eye-candy categories, since it's essentially one long film, split into two. (It's the same reason I rolled my eyes that the Academy felt the need to nominate Stuart Craig and Stepheni McMillan for a full half of the Harry Potter franchise films even...

The 2025 edition of the Mediterrane Film Festival is falling into focus.

The third installment of the festival — scheduled to take place in Valletta, Malta from June 21-29 — has reeled in a jury that includes filmmaker Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight), Oscar winning production designer Rick Carter (Avatar), costume designer Charlese Antoinette (Air), set decorator Elli Griff (Napoleon), production designer James Price (Poor Things), Maltese director Mario Philip Azzopardi (Zos: Zone of Separation). The jury will determine the recipients of the Golden Bee Awards, a list that will be unveiled at a gala, on June 29.

The Mediterrane Film Festival, which is under the direction of a new creative team in festival director Ray Calleja and curator Mark Adams, features three pillars of programming: main competition (films from across the Mediterranean), out of competition (global selections) and Mare Nostrum or Our Sea (films dedicated to sustainability and environmental themes). The latter’s jury includes Grainne Humphreys,...

Just a few months after Wicked left theaters with a rich box office haul of more than $750 million, its sequel got an intriguing update. Wicked: For Good has been set for release later this year on November 21, almost one year after the original film. This came as a shock to some upon its announcement, but it lined up with the news that the original and sequel were filmed back to back, which proved to be a smart decision after Wicked’s box office success. Wicked: For Good composer Stephen Schwartz, who also composed the Broadway musical and the first film, recently sat down for an interview with Variety, and he provided a status update on the sequel, admitting that he’s feeling the “pressure”:

“We are trying to keep our heads down and focus because there’s a lot of work to do, but it is exciting, and it...

Welcome to the Gold Ticket, your VIP guide to the best in pop culture for the weekend ahead, curated by the Gold Derby team of experts. (March 21 - March 23)

The main event: Oscar redux

Anora, the reigning Best Picture winner is now on Hulu. The Brooklyn-set dramedy won five Oscars, the most of this year, including a record four for Sean Baker personally: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. The fifth award went to Mikey Madison for her performance as the titular sex worker who gets engaged to Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn), the immature son of a Russian oligarch. She thinks her ship has come in, but their love is impossible because his parents will not allow it. So she has to fight for what she wants, as she’s always done. The film has graphic nudity, a record-setting number of F-words, and a core...

If I had to sum up the 97th Academy Awards in one word it would be: "surprising." Whether it was Flowtaking home the award for Best Animated Feature or Adrien Brody making Oscars history with his win for The Brutalist — and somehow getting the Academy to cut the music for his acceptance speech — the ceremony was full of some unexpected wins. One of the biggest surprises to me was that Wickednabbed the Oscar for Best Production Design. The buzz around Wicked mostly boiled down to whether Cynthia Erivo would win Best Actress or Ariana Grande would win Best Supporting Actress, but Best Production Design is also quite a notable win considering designer Nathan Crowley finally won an Academy Award after seven nominations.

The Wicked team’s lives have been changed — for good.

The Oscars 2025 opened with Glinda (Ariana Grande) and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) taking the stage to sing. Grande started with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” before Erivo took over to perform “Home” from The Wiz. Then, they came back together to sing Wicked‘s part one closer, “Defying Gravity.” Ariana watched in awe, seeing Erivo soar and nailing those final notes, as did the audience. The performance earned a standing ovation.

The film was up for 10 nominations and won two, with Erivo and Grande also up for noms in their respective categories. Legendary costume designer Paul Tazewell picked up its first award. Tazewell made history for being the first Black man to win for best costume design.

“I’m so proud of this,” he said in his speech. “Thank you, everyone in the U.K., for all your beautiful work. And to my Ozian muses,...

The 97th Academy Awards recognized a mix of independent films and major productions on Sunday. Anora, a dramedy about a sex worker who marries the son of a Russian oligarch, received five awards, including Best Picture.

Sean Baker won Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing for Anora. His recognition marked a rare moment for a filmmaker who has largely worked outside Hollywood’s studio system.

Adrien Brody won Best Actor for The Brutalist, playing an architect facing personal and professional struggles. Mikey Madison won Best Actress for Anora, an outcome that many had not expected. Demi Moore (The Substance) was widely predicted to take the award. Madison used her speech to acknowledge the sex worker community, saying, “I will continue to support and be an ally.”

Kieran Culkin won Best Supporting Actor for A Real Pain. During his speech, he referenced a promise his wife made after his Emmy win,...

Although people watching the Oscars broadcast on Sunday night often are waiting for the Best Picture, Actor and Actress categories, there is a reason why host Conan O’Brien shouted out another group of people at the end of his opening monologue.

“The Oscars also shines a light on an incredible community of people you will never see — craftspeople, artisans, technicians, costumers… I can’t name them all, there’re too many,” O’Brien said on stage. “Hardworking men and women behind the camera who have devoted their lives to making film, and yes many people we celebrate tonight are not famous, they’re not wealthy, but they are devoted to a craft that can in moments bring us all a little closer together.”

Related: Camille On Music “As A Force For Good And Progress” As El Mal From ‘Emilia Pérez’ Takes Best Original Song

Out of the 23 Oscar categories, nine...

Conan O’Brien hosts the live ABC telecast of the 97th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, 2025.

The independent film made for $6 million won the top prize at the 97th Academy Awards. Winning five Oscars, Anora took home the gold for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay.

The 97th Oscars opened with a “We Love LA” movie montage followed by “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” sung by Ariana Grande and “Home” sung By Cynthia Erivo. The standing ovation was then met by the duo singing Wicked’s “Defying Gravity”. A true show-stopping opener to the 97th Academy Awards concluded with thunderous applause from the audience in the Dolby Theatre, as well as an eruption in the pressroom.

Host Conan O’Brien welcomed everyone to the telecast and Hollywood’s Biggest Night “at 4pm in the afternoon and let’s do this thing!

The 2025 Oscars took place at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood on a Sunday night on March 2, 2025, with Conan O’Brien as the host and Nick Offerman handling the announcer duties. The awards ceremony hosted many record-shattering wins and moments that fascinated audiences worldwide.

Wicked emerged as one of the notable competitors at the 97th Academy Awards, thanks to its blockbuster musical adaptation under the direction of Jon M. Chu, with Cynthia Erivo portraying Elphaba Thropp alongside Ariana Grande taking on Galinda Upland.

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in Wicked | Credit: Universal Studios

Since its debut month of November 2024, Wicked grew into an absolute phenomenal pop culture fame and became a blockbuster hit. The film earned the Best Film designation from the American Film Institute and also entered the Oscars competition with 10 nominations.

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s opening performance at the 2025 Oscars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande | Credit: ABC

Wicked...

There was no Oscar crafts juggernaut at the 97th Academy Awards Sunday night, despite both “Wicked” and the embattled “Emilia Pérez” coming in with seven nominations. Instead, the winners were spread out with two Oscars apiece going to “The Brutalist” (cinematography and original score), “Wicked” (costume design and production design), and “Dune: Part Two” (visual effects and sound). This was expected, as they were the standout spectacles demonstrating epic work.

The remainder of the awards went to Best Picture winner “Anora” (editing), “The Substance” (makeup/hairstyling), and “Emilia Pérez”.

‘Flow’ Sideshow and Janus Films

The Oscar for animated feature, meanwhile, was awarded to underdog “Flow” over presumptive favorite “The Wild Robot” from DreamWorks. The wordless cat survival adventure from Latvian director Gints Zilbalodis is not only the second consecutive indie win, it’s also a landmark indie triumph for the category (distributed by Sideshow and Janus Films). This means that...

Neon’s Anora and its multihyphenate filmmaker Sean Baker were the big winners at the 97th Academy Awards on Sunday night, taking five trophies including Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Editing — all for Baker to set an Oscar record — and Best Actress for Mikey Madison.

In his acceptance speech for Best Picture, Baker said: “If you’re trying to make independent films, please keep doing it. We need more. This is proof.”

Related: All The Best Picture Oscar Winners: Photo Gallery

These were the first Oscars for Baker — who tied Walt Disney for the most Oscars in a single year, but those were for four different films — and Madison. The Best Picture prize for Palme d’Or champ Anora was presented by Quentin Tarantino at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Related: Oscars 2025: The Good, The Bad And The Fugly

Adrien Brody took Best Actor for A24’s The Brutalist,...

Ben Stiller had a glitch with the stage while presenting during the 2025 Academy Awards on Sunday (March 2) at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

The 59-year-old actor tried to take the stage to present the award for Best Production Design, but was unable to fully get there in a funny bit during the show.

“Production designers bring the visual world of a screenplay to life. It is a field where the slightest miscalculation could lose the trust of the audience and humiliate the performers on screen,” he said as the audience laughed.

Keep reading to find out more…

After the nominees were shown, Ben threw up the card revealing the winner and climbed on stage to present the award to Wicked‘s Nathan Crowley (Production Design) and Lee Sandales (Set Decoration).

Check out the funny moment right here!

Be sure to also see more of our 2025 Oscars coverage…

Ben Stiller jokes...

Glenn Close. Amy Adams. Diane Warren. There is a long list of talent who have earned a plethora of Oscar nominations but still never won. Chances are you don’t know his name, but Nathan Crowley was one of those people. That ended Sunday evening as the veteran Production Designer won his first Academy Award for his world-building opus in Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked.”

Read More: Nathan Crowley on boarding the Emerald Express train to “Wicked’” and “Touching Oz”

Crowley was previously nominated six other times in this category.

Continue reading ‘Wicked’ Wins The Production Design Academy Award & Nathan Crowley Is Finally An Oscar Winner at The Playlist.

Courtesy of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

The 97th Academy Awards ceremony was held Sunday, 2 March at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. Emmy Award-winning television host, writer, producer and comedian Conan O’Brien hosted the ceremony for the first time. The official live red carpet pre-show led into the live televised broadcast on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide For the first time, the ceremony was also available to stream live on Hulu.

A number of records were broken at the ceremony. Flow became the first Latvian film and the first independent film to win Best Animated Feature. Paul Tazewell became the first Black man to win an Oscar for costume design. Zoe Saldaña is the first Dominican to win an Oscar for acting. I’m Still Here became Brazil’s first Oscar win. Adrien Brody broke a record by winning both his first and his second...

The bumpy road to Oscar glory will reach its end Sunday night at the 97th Academy Awards, closing out one of the most unpredictable awards seasons in years. Ups and downs, twists and turns, mudslinging, mea culpas, tears both happy and sad — we’ve seen it all in recent weeks as the race kept us guessing what new upheaval might come next.

And that includes who wins tonight. “Emilia Pérez” might have the most nominations (13), but Jacques Audiard’s Spanish-language musical lost its frontrunner status pretty much the moment star Karla Sofía-Gascón’s history of bigoted tweets resurfaced. In stepped “Anora,” which won top prizes with both the PGA and DGA and seemed ready to sail to a Best Picture victory…until “Conclave” swept in and showed us that the race was much tighter than we’d thought.

And what looked like an unobstructed path to best actress anointment for...

With its real tulips, real singing and real BFFs Ariande Grande and Cynthia Erivo front and centre, this musical is as authentic and credible as fantasy gets

For the opening scene of Wicked, 9m real tulips were planted, improbably, by a farmer in Norfolk. The necessity of this opulence was completely obvious to director Jon M Chu and production designer Nathan Crowley – otherwise they’d have to use CGI for the Munchkin Village. Is CGI lush? Does it recall the heady, future-facing surge of hope and optimism that the original Oz has come to represent for, goddammit, almost a century? It does not. While it isn’t for the production values alone that Wicked deserves the best picture Oscar – anyone can spend money if they have enough money – take a second to consider the commitment of this film, and its impossibility. It tries to remain true to the moment when the world discovered Technicolor; cheerfulness,...

The British Film Designers Guild (Bfdg) announced the winners of its 14th Production Design Awards Saturday evening in London.

Complete Winners List Below

Wicked and Conclave were two big winners in their respective categories. Wicked added the Bfdg award for Best Production Design, Major Motion Picture Fantasy to recent accolades from BAFTA, The Critics Choice Awards and the Adg (Art Directors Guild of America). Conclave picked up the Best Production Design, Feature Film Contemporary and Fantasy award following its BAFTA wins for Best British Film and Best Film.

There were 15 categories which included film, television, commercials, a new category for music video as well as special awards to individuals for Outstanding Contribution to the Art Department and Lifetime Achievement.

Complete Winners List:

1. Peter Lamont Spotlighting New Talent

Supported By Crew HQ

Nivitha Muralikrishna – Art Dept Assistant / Junior Draughtsperson

2. Best Production Design – Commercial

John Lewis – “The Window”

Pd: Dan Betteridge

Ad:...

As Ed mentioned yesterday, a chunk of our remaining predictions from here on out will be installments in the exciting new series “How Many Oscars Will Sean Baker Win in One Night?” However, the remaining craft categories find us offering up the equally compelling, far more ignoble counterprogramming of “Will Wicked Follow in Barbie’s Footsteps and Get Near-Scotched at the Oscars?”

Almost as if affirming the lion’s share of Oscar prognosticators, BAFTA and the Art Directors Guild Awards both waved ahead the merry old Land of Oz with wins last weekend (albeit in the far less competitive fantasy genre category in Adg’s case). Some might look to the fact that Wicked’s Nathan Crowley has amassed seven nominations in production design without a win as somehow sealing the deal, but craft categories aren’t as subject to the “overdue” narrative as acting contests. Otherwise, we’d have...

The most successful big-screen Broadway musical adaptation in history will arrive on the streamer four months after premiering in theaters.

Good news! The most successful big-screen Broadway musical adaptation in history officially has a streaming premiere date. Universal’s blockbuster film version of the first half of “Wicked” will be available to stream on Peacock beginning in March. While NBCU won’t be able to push people to its flagship streamer in the leadup to the March 2 Academy Awards, the company is taking full advantage of the movie musical’s extended premium video-on-demand (PVOD) window, which began on Dec. 31, 2024.

Key Details: “Wicked” will arrive on Peacock on March 21, 2025; four months after its theatrical debut. The streaming version of “Wicked” will include the full “Defying Gravity” collection of bonus content. The movie musical is nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Sign Up $7.99+ / month peacocktv.com

While “Wicked” devotees have been...

IndieWire invited the production designers from the Oscar-nominated films to choose and analyze a pivotal scene that best showcases their craft. Here are the four who were able to participate: Judy Becker (“The Brutalist”), Suzie Davies (“Conclave”), Patrice Vermette (“Dune: Part Two”), and Nathan Crowley (“Wicked”).

Brady Corbet’s post-Holocaust drama, “The Brutalist,” pits Oscar-nominated Adrien Brody as visionary architect László Tóth against Oscar-nominated Guy Pearce as industrialist Harrison Van Buren. Becker channeled Tóth to create furniture, a library, and a towering building symbolizing his lived history and struggle. She was already familiar with the minimalist architectural style of Brutalism, which emphasized function over form with its large blocks of concrete and steel. Her work was the perfect match for the film’s wide, rectangular VistaVision format.

For Edward Berger’s conspiracy thriller, “Conclave,” which concerns the politically-charged selection of a new pope, Davies recreated the Vatican interiors at Cinecittà Studios,...

The Art Directors Guild presented the 29th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards in a ceremony hosted by actress and comedian Rachael Harris. For the Excellence in Production Design in a Feature Film awards categories, Craig Lathrop won the Period Feature Film award for “Nosferatu,” Nathan Crowley took home the Fantasy Feature Film award for “Wicked” and Suzie Davies won the Contemporary Feature Film award for “Conclave.”...

The BAFTA 2025 winners have been announced, and it was an exciting night celebrating the best in British and international cinema. From Edward Berger’s Conclave sweeping multiple categories to The Brutalist making a late surge with wins for Best Director and Best Actor, the evening was filled with surprises and emotional speeches. Mikey Madison’s unexpected win for Anora had everyone talking, while Emilia Perez and Wallace And Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl continued their strong awards season run. Hosted by David Tennant at London’s Royal Festival Hall, the ceremony honored industry legends and rising talents, making the BAFTA Awards 2025 a night to remember.

Best Film Anora The Brutalist A Complete Unknown Conclave Emilia Pérez Leading Actress Cynthia Erivo – Wicked Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hard Truths Mikey Madison – Anora Demi Moore – The Substance Saoirse Ronan – The Outrun Leading Actor Adrien Brody – The Brutalist Timothée Chalamet...

BAFTA/Marc Hoberman

The 2025 Ee BAFTA Film Awards were hosted on Sunday by David Tennant at London’s Royal Festival Hall. Conclave won four BAFTAs, including Best Film, Film Editing, Adapted Screenplay and Outstanding British Film. This is Edward Berger’s second time winning the Best Film award, with his first being 2023’s All Quiet On The Western Front.

The Brutalist also won four awards, including Best Director for Brady Corbet, Leading Actor for Adrien Brody, Cinematography and Music Score, while Mikey Madison won Leading Actress for Anora. The film also took the BAFTA for Casting.

Emilia Perez was awarded with two BAFTAs – Supporting Actress Zoe Saldaña and Film Not in the English Language.

The delightful Wallace And Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl won two BAFTAs for Best Animated Feature and Children’s & Family Film. Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story was awarded Best Documentary.

David Jonsson (Andy in Alien Romulus...

The winners of the 2025 Ee Bafta Film Awards have been announced in a ceremony hosted by David Tennant at the Royal Festival Hall in London and broadcast on BBC One and iPlayer. The Ee Baftas celebrate the very best in film of the past year. In addition, the Ee Bafta Film Awards were streamed on BritBox International in the USA and Canada. Viewers at home also had front row seats to the red-carpet arrivals on Bafta’s YouTube, featuring interviews with nominees and other special guests.

(Photo by Stuart Wilson/BAFTA/Getty Images for BAFTA, Courtesy of BAFTA)

2025 Ee British Academy Film Awards:

Best Film

Conclave

Outstanding British Film

Conclave

Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director Or Producer

Kneecap - Rich Peppiatt

Film Not In The English Language

Emilia Pérez

Documentary

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

Animated Film

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

Children’S & Family Film

Wallace...

The 2025 Bafta Film Awards ceremony are taking place today (February 16) at London’s Royal Festival Hall on the Southbank.

Screen is posting all the winners on this page as they are announced during the live ceremony (refresh the page for latest updates).

Winners in bold, as they are announced, below (latest award first).

Full list of nominations

Director

Sean Baker -Anora Brady Corbet -The Brutalist Edward Berger -Conclave Denis Villeneuve -Dune: Part Two Jacques Audiard -Emilia Pérez Coralie Fargeat -The Substance

Outstanding British Film

Bird Blitz Conclave Gladiator II Hard Truths Kneecap Lee Love Lies Bleeding The...

Wicked, Conclave, and Nosferatu took top honors at the 29th Annual Art Directors Guild Awards (aka the Excellence in Production Design Awards) Saturday. Rachael Harris hosted the show from the InterContinental Ballroom in Los Angeles.

The Art Directors Guild divides its top film prizes into Period, Contemporary, and Fantasy Feature categories, which went to the Oscar-nominated production designers for Nosferatu, Conclave, and Wicked, respectively. Since the inception of these awards, the winner of one of those three has gone on to win the Best Art Direction/Production Design Oscar in 19 of the 28 years and 10 of the past 11 years. The three films will go up against Dune: Part Two and The Brutalist next month for the production design Academy Award, with Wicked considered not only the frontrunner but a heavily-favored one at that.

Nosferatu won top Period Feature over fellow nominees A Complete Unknown, The Brutalist, Gladiator II, and Saturday Night.

“Nosferatu” (Craig Lathrop), “Wicked” (Nathan Crowley), and “Conclave” (Suzie Davies) were the period, fantasy, and contemporary production design winners at the 29th annual Art Directors Guild Awards, held February 15 at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown.

Also winning for animation was “The Wild Robot”, following its Annies sweep and Ves prizes. On the TV side, “Shōgun,” “Squid Game,” “Fallout,” and “The Penguin” were the winners for their production designers in their respective categories.

The Lathrop win for “Nosferatu” was not surprising when you consider that “The Brutalist” production designer Judy Becker is not an Adg member. She has been the presumptive Oscar favorite for channeling Oscar-nominated Adrien Brody’s visionary architect, László Tóth, in applying a Brutalist style to the architectural designs of mid-century Pennsylvania with its bold shapes and function over form aesthetic.

Lathrop, who has worked on all of director Robert Eggers’ other films, received his first Oscar nomination for “Nosferatu.

Wicked, Nosferatu, Conclave, Shogun, The Penguin, Fallout and Squid Game were among the winners at the Art Directors Guild Awards on Saturday night.

The 29th annual Excellence in Production Design Awards were handed out by the Art Director’s Guild (Adg, IATSE Local 800) at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown during an event hosted by comedian Rachael Harris.

The Adg wins will have the attention of those looking for signs of who will take the Academy Award for production design. The winner of the Adg’s fantasy film honor have taken home the production design Oscar three times in the past six years, with Poor Things, Dune and Black Panther all going on to win the Oscar. The period film winner also won the Oscar twice during this period, with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Mank taking home statues. But in 2023, Babylon took home the Adg period win, but...

Some Oscar categories seems pretty locked up, but a number of below-the-line winners are still up for grabs. That is one reason why guild honors such as the Art Directors Guild Adg Awards are notable precurssors. Especially with Production Design nominees “Conclave,” “Nosferatu,” and “Wicked” taking their respective Feature Film categories. All three are up for the Production Design Oscar alongisde “The Brutalist” and “Dune: Part Two.”

Read More: Nathan Crowley on boarding The Emerald Express Train to “Wicked” and “Touching Oz”

Notably, “The Wild Robot” took the Animation honor.

Continue reading ‘Nosferatu,’ ‘Wicked’ & ‘The Penguin’ Top 2025 Adg Awards Winners at The Playlist.

“Nosferatu,”“Wicked” and “Conclave” have won the top feature-film awards at the Art Directors Guild’s Excellence in Production Design Awards, which took place on Saturday night in Los Angeles.

“Nosferatu” won in the Period Feature Film category, where its competitors included its fellow Oscar nominee “The Brutalist”; “Wicked” won in Fantasy Feature Film against fellow nominee “Dune: Part Two,” among others; and “Conclave” won in the Contemporary Feature Film category.

In the 18 years since the Adg separated its awards into period, fantasy and contemporary categories, one of the guild winners has gone on to win the Oscar for Best Production Design 14 times. Seven of those awards have come from the period category, six from the fantasy category and one from the contemporary category.

The animated feature category was won by “The Wild Robot,” continuing its roll through awards season.

In the television categories, winners included “Squid Game,” “The Penguin,...

“Conclave, “Nosferatu,” and “Wicked” won honors at the 28th Art Directors Guild (IATSE Local 800) Excellence in Production Design Awards, Saturday at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown.

The Adg divides live-action features into three categories. Production designer Craig Lathrop’s work on early 1800s-set horror adaptation “Nosferatu” won the award in the period film category. Production designer Nathan Crowley’s creation of the “Wicked” land of Oz won the award for a fantasy film, and production designer Suzie Davies’ Vatican sets delivered “Conclave” the trophy for a contemporary film.

“Conclave,” “Nosteratu” and “Wicked,” along with Adg nominees “The Brutalist” and “Dune: Part Two” are nominated for the Oscar in production design. A year ago, “Poor Things” won the Adg Award for a fantasy film en route to an Oscar win in the category.

At the Adg Awards, “The Wild Robot” continued its winning streak, collecting the Adg Award in feature animation.

The Art Directors Guild came together tonight to celebrate the 29th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown on Saturday night, February 15, 2024.

The awards took place before over 1,000 guild members and industry executives, with actress and comedian Rachael Harris serving as host. Skye P. Marshall, Jason Ritter, Jennia Aponte, Lamorne Morris, Devon Sawa, Anna Newell, Kurtwood Smith, Eve Harlow, Peter Facinelli, Jessica Williams, Michael Urie, Al Madrigal, Samantha Hanratty, Garrett Dillahunt, Vella Lovell, and many more attended the event.

During the ceremony, the Adg’s National Executive Director Chuck Parker praised “Keep California Rolling,” a developing campaign from the Entertainment Union Coalition (Euc) and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), in support of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposed tax incentive for Los Angeles-based film and television production. Parker galvanized the crowd with his comments: “We can do this! We need jobs now!

Wicked, Nosferatu, Conclave and The Wild Robot took top film honors at the 29th annual Art Directors Guild Awards, which were handed out tonight at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown. TV winners included Fallout, Shōgun, The Penguin, Squid Game, Saturday Night Live, Frasier and What We Do in the Shadows.

Check out the full list below.

Warner Bros’ Wicked won for Fantasy Feature Film, and Focus Features pics took the other two top film prizes: vampire horror Nosferatu won for Period Feature Film, and papal drama Conclave took Contemporary Feature Film, the first film award of the night. All three will go up against fellow Adg nominees The Brutalist, Dune: Part Two and Wicked for the Production Design Oscar next month.

Since the trophy show launched in 1996, the winner of one of those has gone on to win the Art Direction/Production Design Oscar in 19 of the 28 years. It had...

With the 1939 classic “The Wizard of Oz” forever ingrained in pop culture history, seven-time Oscar-nominated production designer Nathan Crowley knew it was the necessary starting place to develop “Wicked.”

At the Variety FYC screening presented by Universal, Crowley told Clayton Davis, Variety’s senior awards editor, about his close collaboration with director Jon M. Chu, who recently won the Critics Choice Award for best director.

“He really wanted to push the design as far as he could into this magical place with building the sets. I love practical building when you’re with all the crew. Sometimes you’re in mud … I find it just overwhelmingly good fun.”

Marc Platt, the Oscar-nominated producer who received his third nomination this year for “Wicked,” following his work on both “La La Land” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” described this undertaking as his most personal project. When he read Gregory Maguire’s novel in the ’90s,...

A lot needed to happen during “Wicked’s” “The Wizard and I.”

As Elphaba’s (Cynthia Erivo) “I want” song, it expresses the character’s innermost desires: to meet the wizard who she believes will help her, and to feel accepted by everyone, including the audience.

Director Jon M. Chu needed audiences to fall in love with her. “We needed anything we could to get us to root for her and to be more of an underdog,” he explains.

Visually, Chu had an idea of ascension. The “Wizard and I” number begins with Elphaba and Madame Morrible walking down the stairs in the classroom. By the end, as Elphaba stands alone on the edge of a cliff, she expresses her deepest desire — to be part of a powerful team, alongside the Wizard.

Chu and his artisans worked closely to hit the storytelling points to ensure Elphaba’s big moment worked.

When speaking to production designer Nathan Crowley a few weeks ago, he recalled how he wanted the movie to feel like you were “touching Oz.” “Wicked” is a movie with a massive amount of practical sets. They grew 9,000 tulips. The Emerald Express was a real train that Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande jumped on. The Wizard’s facade was a complicated puppet held from steel beams in the ceiling.

Continue reading Nathan Crowley On Boarding The Emerald Express Train To ‘Wicked’ & “Touching Oz” at The Playlist.

Zoe Saldana praised her fellow nominees as she accepted the Critics Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress on Friday (02.07.25).The 46-year-old actress beat off strong competition from Danielle Deadwyler, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Ariana Grande, Margaret Qualley and Isabella Rossellini to take home the award for her work in 'Emilia Pérez' at the ceremony at the Barker Hanger in Los Angeles.She said: "To my fellow nominees, the films this year and the work you've all done. It's breathtaking. I will forever be proud to be among you. Thank you to all of you. I can't see you, but you f****** rock."She also shared that she tries not to pay too much attention to movie critics but added "I will listen to you all tonight and I will accept this with pride"."Whenever you receive a negative criticism for a role or a film, everyone says, 'Don't read the reviews.

The Critics Choice Awards are one of the most prestigious and sought-after awards in the film industry. They focus more on ratings and the acclaim that a project has than the world’s few on it, being associated similarly to the Oscars.

Anora won Best Picture at the Critics Choice Awards | Credits: Neon

They can also help predict the winners of the Oscars, as often the two have a similar winners’ list. Unfortunately, this year’s winners are proving to act as bad news for Timothée Chalamet and Mikey Madison.

The Critics Choice Awards winners were quite interesting

This year, the Critics Choice Awards had a lot of very difficult decisions to make with its lineup in almost every single category. From The Substance to The Brutalist and even Wicked, audiences saw all kinds of masterpieces this year, and pretty impressive ones managed to snag a nomination.

Demi Moore in The Substance | Credit: Mubi

However,...

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

Wicked and Conclave went into the 2025 Critics Choice Awards with the most nominations, but voters (myself included) spread the wealth around, showering Wicked, Conclave, The Brutalist, Anora, The Substance (congrats Demi Moore!), and Emilia Perez with film awards. On the TV drama side, Shogun earned Best Drama, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress awards. Hacks cleaned up in the TV comedy categories, scoring Best Comedy, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress.

The Critics Choice Awards were held on February 7, 2025 with Chelsea Handler returning as host for the third time. Handler spent time during the opening of her monologue to thank first responders for their incredible work during the Los Angeles wildfires. She also thanked Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni for providing a distraction from waking up every day not knowing what news will disappoint or horrify us.

Critics Choice Awards 2025: Full List Of Winners (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Critics Choice Awards 2025: The award season continues with another much-coveted award night. It is the 30th Annual Critics Choice Awards, where both films and television artists are awarded. Shogun has secured quite a few awards, including Best Drama Series. Deadpool & Wolverine and Emilia Perez, too, bagged two top awards at the ceremony. Keep scrolling for the complete winners list.

For the uninitiated, the ceremony was held at the Barker Hangar at the Santa Monica Airport on February 7. It was live-streamed on E! According to reports, it was supposed to be held on January 12 but was postponed due to the California fires.

American comedian/actress Chelsea Handler hosted the Critics Choice Awards 2025, while many Hollywood actors took the stage to present the trophies. The list includes Aldis Hodge, Allison Tolman, Chase Stokes, Craig Robinson, David Alan Grier, David Harbour,...

After two separate delays due to the Los Angeles wildfires, the 2025 Critics Choice Awards have all finally been handed out. The winners list provides another indicator of the strength of several films leading into the Academy Awards March 2, though TV plays a big role in the Critics Choice Awards as well — even if many of the top contenders on that side of the event, such as “Shogun,” which led the TV awards with four wins, are not eligible for this September’s Emmys having already stormed last year’s Emmys.

“Anora” won Best Picture out of a field of 10 nominees. It was the only Critics Choice Award the Sean Baker film starring Mikey Madison won full stop. The most film wins went to “Wicked,” “Emilia Pérez,” and “The Substance” with three each.

“Wicked” won Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, and, in a shock, Best Director for Jon M. Chu,...

The 30th annual Critics Choice Awards selected Neon’s Anora as its Best Picture on Friday, boosting the fortunes of Sean Baker’s indie pic that started its journey by winning Cannes’ Palme d’Or last spring.

Anora had come into the night with seven nominations but had come up short until the final category was announced at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. Up next this weekend for Anora to keep the momentum going are the DGA Awards and PGA Awards, where it is up for both top prizes Saturday.

The Critics Choice Awards, which were hosted for a third year in a row by Chelsea Handler, has traditionally been a good Oscar bellwether. Last year, eventual Best Picture Oscar winner Oppenheimer scored a leading eight wins here including the marquee Best Picture prize that Anora just snagged.

Wicked, Universal’s blockbuster Broadway musical adaptation that came into tonight...

The best in both movies and television were honored at the 2025 Critics Choice Awards!

So many stars stepped out for the awards show on Friday (February 7) at the Barker Hanger in Santa Monica, Calif.

Heading into the show, Wicked and Conclave were the most nominated movies of the night with 11 nominations each while Shogun led the TV categories with 6 nominations.

Make sure to check out our Best Dressed list to see all of the best looks from the red carpet.

Head inside to check out the complete winners list for the Critics Choice Awards…

Keep scrolling to see the full winners list from the Critics Choice Awards…

Movie Categories:

Best Picture

A Complete Unknown

Anora – Winner

The Brutalist

Conclave

Dune: Part Two

Emilia Pérez

Nickel Boys

Sing Sing

The Substance

Wicked

Best Actor

Adrien Brody – The Brutalist – Winner

Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown

Daniel Craig – Queer

Colman Domingo – Sing Sing...

James Mangold’s Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown was the big winners at the Set Decorators Society of America‘s 2024 Sdsa Awards, which were handed out today. The Searchlight Pictures film starring Timothée Chalamet took Best Picture and Best Achievement In Décor/Design of a Period Feature Film. A Complete Unknown’s set decoration was by Regina Graves, with production design by François Auduoy.

You can watch the ceremony above.

Elsewhere, Warner Bros’ smash Broadway adaptation Wicked, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande from director Jon M. Chu, won the Sdsa’s Comedy or Musical Feature Film prize, and Conclave, Edward Berger’s papal drama from Focus Features starring Ralph Fiennes, went home with the Contemporary Film award. Tim Burton’s Warner Bros sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice won for Fantasy or Science Fiction Film.

The Wicked set decorator was Lee Sandales, with production design by Nathan Crowley, and Cynthia Sleiter handled set decoration for Conclave,...

The Set Decorators Society of America revealed its 2024 Sdsa Awards winners on Friday. The announcement was made live on the Set Decor YouTube page at 8 p.m. Et/5 p.m. Pt. A Complete Unknown won Best Film and Best Period Design even though it wasn’t nominated for Best Production Design at the 2025 Oscars.

Among the nominees were all five Oscar contenders for Best Production Design: The Brutalist, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, Nosferatu, and Wicked. The five Oscar nominees were split between four categories, avoiding a direct clash prior to the 2025 Oscars on March 2. Conclave prevailed in Contemporary against co-nominees Anora, Civil War, Emilia Pérez, and The Substance. In Fantasy/Sci-Fi, winner Beetlejuice Beetlejuice bested Alien: Romulus, Beetlejuice, Dune: Part Two, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, and Megalopolis. In Comedy/Musical, Wicked soared to victory over Deadpool & Wolverine, Kinds of Kindness, Nightbitch, and Wolfs. The only two Oscar nominees...

“Wicked,” “Emilia Pérez,” and “The Substance” each triumphed with three wins at the 30th annual Critics Choice Awards on Friday night. However, it was “Anora” that claimed the best picture prize at this year’s ceremony.

The Neon release entered the race with seven nominations, including best actress for Mikey Madison and best director and original screenplay for Sean Baker. But ultimately, “Anora” walked away with the coveted best picture award, and nothing more.

Meanwhile, “Wicked” director Jon M. Chu, who wasn’t nominated in the Academy Awards’ best director category, beat out several Oscar nominees to win the best director honor at the Critics Choice Awards. “I’m going to win that Oscar!” Chu said jokingly on stage.

The film-acting categories had less surprises, as the ceremony handed best actress to Demi Moore (“The Substance”), best actor to Adrien Brody (“The Brutalist”), best supporting actress to Zoe Saldaña (“Emilia...

Hollywood descended upon the Barker Hangar at Santa Monica Airport in Los Angeles tonight for the 30th Critics Choice Awards, an annual celebration honoring excellence in film and television. Chelsea Handler returned to host the awards show, renowned for its predictive accuracy, often foreshadowing Academy Award nominations.

Nominees and guests included Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, Adrien Brody, Jessica Gunning, Lupita Nyong’o, Skye P. Marshall, Kathy Bates, Jeff Goldblum, Kathryn Hahn, Colin Farrell, Edwin Hodge, Aldis Hodge, Kali Reis, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Colman Domingo, Denis Villeneuve, Cristin Milioti, Ewan McGregor, Harvey Guillén and Myha’la Herrold who all walked the red carpet.

Related: Critics Choice Awards: ‘Anora’ Takes Best Picture; ‘Shōgun’, ‘Hacks’, ‘Baby Reindeer’ Lead TV – Full Winners List

Anora won Best Picture, while Emilia Pérez, The Substance and Wicked each took home three trophies overall in the film categories. Emilia Pérez won Best Foreign Language Film, Best Supporting Actress for Zoe Saldaña,...

You might expect that a man who has been doing production and set design on feature films for more than 30 years would be a bit jaded, and that earning a seventh Academy Award nomination for his work would be met with a shrug. But that’s not how it’s been for Nathan Crowley. Instead, the man who has made a career of being Christopher Nolan’s go-to production designer exudes joy and excitement while discussing his Oscar bid for Wicked on the eve of final voting on Feb. 11.

“I just wish we could do it all again,” asserts Crowley (watch his full Gold Derby interview above). When his interviewer expresses surprise at this declaration given that the usual feeling is one of relief, he assures, “I think we’ve all been spoiled, because nothing will live up to that experience. I look back on the two years I was...

The 2025 Critics Choice Awards will finally be happening Tonight (February 7) after multiple delays and we have everything you need to know about the show.

The annual awards show, which honors the best in both movies and television, was originally scheduled for January 12, but the show was delayed twice due to the Los Angeles fires.

Chelsea Handler is still hosting the show and it’s still being held at the original location, the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif.

Going into the ceremony, Wicked and Conclave are the top 2 nominated films this year, both garnering 11 nominations. FX’s Shogun has the most TV show nominations this year with 6 total.

We have all the details you need to know about the nominees, the presenters, and how to stream the show from home.

Keep reading to find out more…

How To Watch

The show is airing live on E! this year at 7pm Et/Pt.