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Minecraft blew theater doors wide open in its initial weekend, surpassing even optimistic projections and grossing a record-breaking $163 million domestic — the best domestic debut of all time for a video-game adaptation. We’re in a new era for video-game adaptations, with the series The Last of Us and Fallout becoming serious Emmy players and films like the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise and The Super Mario Bros. Movie proving wildly popular at the box office. It’s a far cry from, well, Far Cry and other maligned adaptations of yore, as Hollywood studios are finally figuring out how to adapt and sell video-game-derived movies to the masses. Considering that The Super Mario Bros. Movie contended for Golden Globes, could A Minecraft Movie’s follow a similar trajectory and translate its box-office success into awards love?

The first live-action feature-length video-game adaptation intended for theaters was 1993’s Super Mario Bros. Taking liberties...

First-person shooter (Fps) video games are a dime-a-dozen. Even today, "Call of Duty" dominates mainstream multiplayer gaming, while titles of a similar vein — à la "Apex Legends" or "Valorant" — help shape the genre's ever-evolving nature. However, the Fps genre hallmarks that are taken for granted today were painstakingly shaped by groundbreaking titles that consciously pushed the limits of a shoot-to-kill premise. Some endeavors, like the original "Doom," are still remembered with the nostalgic reverence it deserves (having even inspired an objectively terrible movie adaptation starring Dwayne Johnson). But others, like Steven Spielberg and Electronic Arts' (EA) "Medal of Honor" series, have sadly been relegated to the realm of forgotten Fps games that are no longer relevant.

If you're surprised to see a direct connection between Spielberg and a video game series, it is worth delving into how this came about. Long story short, the now-dissolved game studio DreamWorks Interactive worked...

Sony Pictures Entertainment has signed a new exclusive first-look deal with U.K. newspaper The Guardian, giving the studio first rights to The Guardian’s reporting for film and TV adaptations.

The deal will give Spe’s film and television production groups, which include film divisions such as Columbia Pictures, TriStar, Screen Gems and 3000 Pictures as well as TV operations Left Bank (The Crown), Bad Wolf (His Dark Materials), and live sports and non-scripted production company Whisper, vision, the agreement includes Spe’s feature film division, development rights to The Guardian’s current and developing news stories, as well as the paper’s archive, reaching back 200 years.

Announcing the agreement Wednesday, Spe and The Guardian said the studio has three option deals already in place that will be announced soon. The Guardian has similar agreements with Netflix, the BBC and Sky. The media group is no stranger to high-end video content.

Exclusive: Oscar-winning Up composer Michael Giacchino will make his big-screen directing debut with a reboot of the 1954 sci-fi man-eating monster movie Them! at Warner Bros.

Giacchino is meeting with writers in hopes of getting the production up quite soon.

In the Gordon Douglas-directed original film, which also was a Warner Bros. release, a huge nest of irradiated ants are discovered in the New Mexico desert and become a national threat when two young queen ants and their consorts escape to set up new nests. The national search that ensues culminates in a battle in spillways and storm drains of Los Angeles.

“There’s always a movie in your mind that never leaves your head,” Giacchino tells Deadline. “For me, that’s Them! It wasn’t until much later in life until I learned what it was about — the nuclear age.”

He adds: “What I love about Them! is exactly what it’s called: Them!

"Werewolf By Night" is not like most Marvel films. It is a stunningly weird love letter to classic monster movies, with gorgeous black-and-white cinematography, surprisingly gnarly kills, and a stellar appearance by Ted, aka Man-Thing. That it was made as a special presentation, a mid-length feature with no connection to the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, with no post-credits scene and a self-contained story, made it a truly special event.

Now, Marvel is keeping the train going with "Director By Night," a behind the scenes documentary about the making of the film, which is also the most intimate and wonderful project Marvel has produced in a long while. This is much different from most behind the scenes documentaries that have been hitting Disney+ since Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe began. One big reason for why the documentary works so well is that the it focuses more on Michael Giacchino...

There is an adorable moment in Anthony Giacchino's "Director by Night" -- a 54-minute documentary on the amateur-turned-professional directing career of his brother Michael -- where the Giacchinos' mother Josephine is asked to read a list of her famous son's composing credits. Looking over a paragraph penned by Anthony, Josephine reads that Michael has composed music for films like "The Batman" and "The MCU Spider-Man Trilogy." Innocently, she asks what "MCU" stands for. Anthony patiently explains that it describes the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Josephine then asks if "The Batman" is also part of the MCU. Anthony can barely disguise his frustration. No, mom. That's DC comics. Josephine is a little embarrassed that she's not as familiar with this stuff as her kids. 

"Director by Night" isn't so much about the making of Michael's MCU entry "Werewolf by Night" (which broadcast on Disney+ on October 7), but about Michael Giacchino's childhood passion for filmmaking.

Where a bunch of recent projects from the Marvel Cinematic Universe have come and gone, "Werewolf By Night" has quickly become one of my favorites. I would even go so far as to say that it's landed a coveted spot among the other specials I often watch around the Halloween season. It's clear, even from the moody opening logos, that this is a labor of love from within the Marvel machine, constructed by someone who's been wanting to make a monster movie since he was a child. For that reason alone, I was excited for the inevitable "Marvel Assembled" special -- but rather than a traditional making-of documentary, what we get instead is something much more meaningful.

Directed by Anthony Giacchino, the aptly-titled "Director By Night" chronicles Michael Giacchino throughout the many stages of putting together a Marvel project of his own. What makes it so special is that it...

"Werewolf By Night" was a fantastic breath of fresh air for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, featuring a throwback to classic monster movies with some surprisingly gnarly kills and stunning black-and-white cinematography. Now, "Director By Night" is pulling back the curtain to show how the first Marvel Studios Special Presentation was made, and the result is one of the best things Marvel has produced recently. This is an intimate and wonderful documentary that is really more about Michael Giacchino himself and his love of filmmaking than the making of a Marvel film.

Sure, it does show how the special was made, and it is particularly fun to see how they shot the scenes with Ted, aka Man-Thing, with a practical motion-capture-style suit operated by an actor, but it is mostly focused on Giacchino as a filmmaker and his long history of making homemade films. There are many scenes of a young...

Michael Giacchino recently broke the established Marvel formula with his television special, "Werewolf by Night," which /Film's Chris Evangelista described as "a quick, violent, funny monster movie homage." Giacchino's special presentation functions as a love letter to classic monster movies of the 1930s and '40s, and features creatures of the night that were made with the help of practical effects. "Director by Night," the latest making-of documentary about the latest MCU offering, similarly breaks the mold by taking a personal, heartwarming approach to highlighting Giacchino's love for filmmaking since he was a child.

Michael's brother, Anthony Giacchino, who is an established documentary filmmaker, maps the journey of "Werewolf by Night" in a refreshingly candid fashion. The documentary, however, is more focused on Michael's arc from a kid passionate about filmmaking to being widely known for his talents as a composer, to finally directing a Marvel movie about classic monsters.

One of the best elements of Disney+ has been the new tradition of releasing near-feature-length documentaries about the making of Marvel Studios movies and TV shows. Under the "Marvel Studios: Assembled" banner, Disney+ has chronicled the making of every single Marvel production since 2021, beginning with Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe ("WandaVision" being the first for TV and "Black Widow" following on the film side).

However, as enjoyable as the documentaries have been for Marvel fans and cinephiles alike, they're mostly glorified featurettes that follow a traditional presentation. The one exception is the "Assembled" which focused on "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," which was framed in the style of a cheesy 1990s TV special about the movie. But now Marvel Studios has delivered what is undoubtedly their best look at the making of one of their productions yet in the form of Marvel's "Director By Night."

As you have probably surmised,...

Since the launch of Guardian Documentaries in 2016, the short film division of the British daily newspaper has garnered an Oscar and a BAFTA over the past two consecutive years, scoring the best British short film trophy for Cherish Oteka’s “The Black Cop” on March 13.

About Gamal “G” Turawa, a Black gay man who joined the London police department to help change its racial make-up, “The Black Cop” explores Turawa’s memories of homophobia, racial profiling, and harassment. Commissioned by Guardian Documentaries, the doc received additional funds from the BFI Doc Society Fund.

“Guardian Documentaries compliment Guardian journalism,” says Lindsay Poulton, head of Guardian Documentaries. “I felt that Cherish’s initial proposal expressed urgent themes in a creative way. We were reflecting on the Black Lives Matter movement; on the push for LGBTQ+ equality; we knew there were a lot of important, uncomfortable conversations to be had about policing and abuse of power.

Two years ago, siblings Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell shared in four Grammy wins for the album “When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” (Album of the Year; Best Pop Vocal Album) and its single “Bad Guy” (Record of the Year; Song of the Year). Now, they have concurrently earned their first Oscar nominations for co-writing the song “No Time to Die” for the James Bond film of the same name. If they prevail later this month, they will become the fourth brother-sister pair to both be honored by the academy and the first to win for the same film.

The first brother-sister Oscar champs and first sibling winners overall were Douglas Shearer and Norma Shearer. In 1930, he triumphed in the Best Sound category for “The Big House” while she took the Best Actress prize for “The Divorcee.” They were followed by Lionel Barrymore and Ethel Barrymore, who respectively...

HBO Documentary Films has acquired the rights to Academy Award-nominated documentary short “When We Were Bullies.”

Directed by Jay Rosenblatt, the 36-minute short is a meditation of a Brooklyn schoolyard incident that occurred between the director and his fellow fifth grade classmates 50 years ago.

“When We Were Bullies” was, until now, the only Oscar nominated short docu to not have a distributor. Fellow nominee “The Queen of Basketball” was distributed by New York Times Op-Doc while Netflix is behind three of the nominated short docus: “Audible,” “Lead Me Home” and “Three Songs for Bashir.”

“When We Were Bullies” premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for a jury prize.

In its tenure, HBO Documentary Films has garnered over 15 Oscars in the docu shorts category and over a dozen doc feature Academy Awards. This year “When We Were Bullies” is the division’s sole nonfiction nod.

“When We...

Disney’s upcoming animated film “Encanto” will be featured in a special virtual presentation on Friday, Oct. 22, during the View Conference 2021. The panel, which is free to registrants like the rest of the conference, will begin at noon Pt.

On hand to give viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the film’s vibrant visuals will be co-director Byron Howard, production designer Ian Gooding and assistant production designer Lorelay Bové.

Howard co-directed the film with Jared Bush and Charise Castro Smith. “Encanto,” which features original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda, follows the Madrigal family who live in an enchanted Colombian village. Every family member has a special power except for Mirabel (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz), who must go on a quest to save her family and town.

The presentation will take place on the last day of the conference, which opens Sunday, Oct. 17. View Conference, now in its 22nd year, will be both virtual and in-person,...

Academy Award-winning cinematographer Roger Deakins will receive the Visionary Award at the 2021 View Conference, which runs from Oct. 17 to Oct. 22 in Turin, Italy, with both in-person and virtual events.

“Roger Deakins is one of the true living legends of filmmaking,” says conference director Maria Elena Gutierrez[/link]. “Throughout his career, he has captured some of the most iconic and memorable images ever committed to the screen, from Tim Robbins exulting in the rain in “The Shawshank Redemption” to Ryan Gosling exploring a dust-shrouded Las Vegas in “Blade Runner 2049.” Roger’s unique vision is unparalleled and it is a privilege to honor his achievements at View Conference 2021 by presenting him with this year’s View Visionary Award.”

Deakins will also take part in a Q&a with “How to Train Your Dragon” franchise director Dean DeBlois at the conference on Oct. 20 beginning at noon Pt.

Deakins has been nominated for the Oscar for cinematography 15 times,...

Colette Marin-Catherine and Lucie Fouble honour Colette’s brother Jean-Pierre in Anthony Giacchino’s Oscar-winning Colette

On April 25, 2021 Colette Marin-Catherine celebrated her 93rd birthday in France. Later that day, the 93rd Academy Awards ceremony was held in Los Angeles, which turned out to be not only a big night for Nomadland director Chloé Zhao when Marlee Matlin signed Colette, directed by Anthony Giacchino and produced with Alice Doyard as the winner of the Documentary Short Oscar.

Anthony Giacchino on Colette Marin-Catherine: “Today is Colette’s birthday, She was born just 22 days before the very first Oscars in 1929.”

In accepting the Oscar in person Anthony Giacchino remarked: “Thank you to the Academy. I hope the actors in the room don’t mind that I have something written down here, because there are all different kinds of people in the Academy. Today is Colette’s birthday, She was born just 22 days before...

Colette has won the Oscar for best documentary short at the 93rd Academy Awards in Los Angeles. The film's writer and director Anthony Giacchino said: 'We’re deeply honoured and humbled that Colette has won the Oscar … but our deepest gratitude goes to Colette and Lucie, for allowing us to share their story and bear witness to their journey'. The film, about a former resistance fighter travelling to visit the concentration camp where her brother died, was released by the Guardian

Guardian film Colette wins Oscar for best documentary short...

Chloé Zhao accepts the Oscar® for Directing during the live ABC Telecast of The 93rd Oscars® at Union Station in Los Angeles, CA on Sunday, April 25, 2021.

The 93rd Oscars took place on Sunday evening at Union Station Los Angeles and the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood.

“Nomadland” received three Academy Awards, including Best Motion Picture, Actress in a Leading Role, and Directing. With “Nomadland,” Searchlight Pictures now has 43 Academy Awards including five Best Motion Picture winners since 2009: “Slumdog Millionaire,” “12 Years a Slave,” “Birdman,” “The Shape of Water,” and “Nomadland.”

“Nomadland” director Chloé Zhao is now the first Chinese woman and second woman ever to win Best Director. This is the third Oscar for lead actress Frances McDormand.

Zhao is also directing the upcoming Marvel superhero film, Eternals.

McDormand, who took home the Best Actress Oscar, became the third woman (after Barbra Streisand and Oprah Winfrey...

The 93rd annual Academy Awards were handed out tonight, and in a departure from Oscar history, the Best Picture category was not saved for last. Instead, Searchlight’s Nomadland went home with the night’s marquee prize, and its star Frances McDormand took Best Actress, hours after the film’s Chloé Zhao made history as the first woman of color to win Best Director.

Anthony Hopkins won Best Actor for The Father in something of an upset over the late Chadwick Boseman of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

2021 Oscar Winners Backstage — Photo Gallery

Nomadland was the only three-time winner at the ceremony, with The Father, Judas and the Black Messiah, Mank, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Sound of Metal and Soul as the other multiple winners.

On the studio side, Netflix more than doubled up on the competition with seven wins — two each for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Mank,...

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Electronic Arts are celebrating an Oscar victory in the most unlikely of categories…Best Documentary Short Subject.

Colette, directed by Anthony Giacchino and produced by Alice Doyard, was co-produced by Facebook-owned Oculus Studios and Electronic Arts’ Respawn Entertainment. The Guardian newspaper acquired and distributed the film, which tells a story out of World War II and the French Resistance. It is the first Oscar for Oculus and Respawn, as well as for The Guardian, according to a publicist for the film.

“I want to thank our amazing E.P., Peter Hirschmann, at Electronic Arts, everyone at Electronic Arts and Respawn,” Giacchino said during his acceptance speech, “and Oculus, especially Vince, Dusty and Mara.” He also saluted Charlie Phillips, head of video at The Guardian.

Colette is available as an add-on experience within EA’s Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond, a member of the filmmaking team tells Deadline.

Film about a former resistance fighter travelling to visit the concentration camp where her brother died wins prize at the 93rd Academy Awards

Watch the Guardian’s Oscar winning film, ColetteHow we made Colette: ‘We wanted to give witness to what she had held inside’

Colette, a film released by the Guardian, has won the Oscar for best documentary short at the 93rd Academy Awards in Los Angeles.

Written and directed by Anthony Giacchino, and produced by Alice Doyard, Annie Small and Aaron Matthews, Colette tells the story of 90-year-old former French resistance member Colette Marin-Catherine, who visits the concentration camp where her brother was murdered during the war with a young history student, Lucie Fouble.

Facebook just won its first Oscar.

“Colette,” from the social giant’s Oculus Studios and EA’s Respawn Entertainment game studio, picked up the trophy for documentary short subject Sunday at the 93rd Academy Awards. It’s also the first project from the game industry to win an Oscar.

The 25-minute film follows former French Resistance member Colette Marin-Catherine as she travels to Germany for the first time in 74 years. “Colette” was created for the World War II-set VR video game “Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond.”

“Colette” beat out the other contenders on the category: “A Concerto Is a Conversation,” from Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers; “Do Not Split,” from Anders Hammer and Charlotte Cook; “Hunger Ward,” from Skye Fitzgerald and Michael Scheuerman; and “A Love Song for Latasha,” from Sophia Nahli Allison and Janice Duncan.

In “Colette,” directed by Anthony Giacchino and produced by Alice Doyard, Marin-Catherine’s...

For decades, the three Oscar shorts prizes — live action, animated and especially documentary — have confounded those who watch the awards. Shorts were all but impossible to see and subject to a different set of rules. That was until ShortsTV came along to distribute the nominees, but even then, at the qualification stage, virtually every other category had to play theatrically, whereas the shorts didn’t, causing some to question whether they even belonged in the Oscar telecast at all. And then the pandemic hit: In 2020, hardly any features opened in cinemas, whereas short films enjoyed more exposure than ever, thanks to the rapidly expanding number of streaming platforms that carried them — from Netflix to Paramount Plus to outlets like The Guardian and The New York Times. Suddenly, the doc shorts category seems more accessible and relevant than ever.

When it comes to topicality, it’s hard to beat Sophia Nahli Allison...

If you’re looking at our official racetrack odds, you’d see that “A Love Song for Latasha” looks to be out front for the Oscar for Best Documentary Short. The odds that are shown in our predictions center are taken from the predictions made by our Expert film journalists, Gold Derby Editors, Top 24 Users and our regular Gold Derby readers making their predictions.

But could another contender come in and take the honor on April 25th? Do any of the other nominees fit a more conventional mold of what usually wins in this category? Let’s answer these questions by taking a detailed look at the five short documentaries that make up this year’s nominees, in order by their current Gold Derby odds.

“A Love Song for Latasha” (odds of winning: 17/5)

Friends of Latasha Harlins remember the person she was before her untimely shooting death at age 15 that...

Video game players might be familiar with Colette, a short documentary film that features a 90-year-old former member of the French Resistance and appears inside the virtual reality adventure Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond. Movie buffs may know the project from its distribution by the U.K.’s The Guardian newspaper.

Others, meanwhile, have no doubt noticed the film’s inclusion amongst the Oscar nominees at the 93rd Academy Awards. It is the first Oscar nomination for writer and director Anthony Giacchino and producer Alice Doyard, as well as for Electronic Arts’ Respawn Entertainment and Facebook’s Oculus Studios, the gaming companies that co-produced ...

Video game players might be familiar with Colette, a short documentary film that features a 90-year-old former member of the French Resistance and appears inside the virtual reality adventure Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond. Movie buffs may know the project from its distribution by the U.K.’s The Guardian newspaper.

Others, meanwhile, have no doubt noticed the film’s inclusion amongst the Oscar nominees at the 93rd Academy Awards. It is the first Oscar nomination for writer and director Anthony Giacchino and producer Alice Doyard, as well as for Electronic Arts’ Respawn Entertainment and Facebook’s Oculus Studios, the gaming companies that co-produced ...

“Humanity needs to remember these things in order to survive,” declares Anthony Giacchino, the director of “Colette.” The documentary about an elderly woman confronting a traumatic past has been nominated for Best Documentary Short at this year’s Oscars. The film was originally featured as part of the “Medal of Honor” video game franchise and is the first film from the video game industry to receive an Oscar nomination. Watch our exclusive video interview with Giacchino and producer Alice Doyard above.

The film follows Colette Marin-Catherine, a member of the French Resistance whose brother Jean-Pierre died in a German concentration camp during World War II. A young history student named Lucie joins Colette as she travels to Germany for the first time in more than seven decades. The movie documents Colette’s emotional struggles as she visits both the concentration camp and the crematorium where her brother likely perished.

See...

TheWrap has continued its annual tradition of showcasing the Oscar nominees for Best Documentary Short, gathering the filmmakers behind them to discuss how they brought their stories of injustice past and present to the screen.

Joining TheWrap awards editor Steve Pond on this year’s nominee panel were producer Alice Doyard, (“Colette”) along with directors Sophia Nahli Allison (“A Love Song For Latasha”), Skye Fitzgerald (“Hunger Ward”), Anders Hammer (“Do Not Split”) and Kris Bowers (“A Concerto Is A Conversation”).

Doyard, alongside “Colette” director Anthony Giacchino, took a great deal of time gaining the trust of the film’s subject, Colette Marin-Catherine, one of the last remaining veterans of the French Resistance. The film follows the 90-year-old Colette as she travels with teenage student Lucie Fouble for the first time to the ruins of Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp, where her brother was imprisoned as a Resistance member and was worked to...

With the growing overlap between journalism and non-fiction filmmaking, documentary shorts have become an increasingly powerful showcase for critical real-world stories. Easily accessible and shareable online, non-fiction filmmaking has a greater potential to have a far-reaching impact than ever before. More filmmakers are drawn to the genre, which has only improved the quality, subject matter, and level of artistic risk-taking.

The five contenders for Best Documentary Short tackle devastating humanitarian crises, urgent political movements, and deep-rooted social justice causes. Two of the year’s contenders hail from up-and-coming Black filmmakers, who address vastly different facets of racial inequality in ways both lyrical and profound. Another film has provoked the Chinese government to ban the Oscars broadcast from the country, proving the undeniable power of the medium. Here’s a ranking of all five contenders.

5. “Hunger Ward” (Skye Fitzgerald)

Certain tragedies cannot be ignored, even if they feel impossible to look at.

Anthony Giacchino on Colette referencing Alain Resnais’ Nuit et Brouillard: “She said, in essence, that without the efforts to have this film made … ‘I’m grateful for that, because Jean-Pierre is no longer lost in the night and fog of Dora.’”

In Anthony Giacchino’s inspiring Oscar-nominated Best Documentary Short, Colette, produced by Alice Doyard, we meet 90-year-old Colette Marin-Catherine, a remarkable woman, who shares with us a journey into a private reckoning that reflects the history of the 20th century. Together with 17-year-old student historian Lucie Fouble, Colette for the first time crosses the border from France into Germany to visit the location of the concentration camp Dora-Mittelbau in Thuringia, where her brother Jean-Pierre was sent after he had been arrested in Normandy as a member of the Resistance. He was 17 when he arrived at Dora on February 11, 1945 and died only weeks before the camp was liberated by the Allies.

Every year, ShortsTV brings the best in short film to the big screen, with a presentation of Oscar nominated shorts in the Animated, Live-Action and Documentary arenas. While movie theaters only recently reopened in Los Angeles and Orange County—with Covid cases, hospitalizations and fatalities on the descent—the distributor has already set theatrical and virtual premiere dates in both counties, for the Oscar Nominated Shorts of 2021.

ShortsTV’s live-action and animated short film programs will be released theatrically and virtually on Friday, April 2. Its documentary program, meanwhile, will become available virtually on April 2, with a theatrical opening scheduled for April 9.

Nominees in the category of Best Live-Action Short Film that will screen for LA audiences include Feeling Through (directed by Doug Roland), Oscar Isaac-starrer The Letter Room (Elvira Lind), The Present (Farah Nabulsi), Two Distant Strangers (Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe) and White Eye (Tomer Sushan).

Doc...

For Colette Catherine, the subject of the Oscar-nominated short documentary Colette, April 25 will be a very special day—for a couple of reasons.

“April 25th is Colette’s 93rd birthday, which is the 93rd Oscars…The two dates cross over,” director Anthony Giacchino tells Deadline. “It was meant to be. She turns 93 on the 93rd Academy Awards.”

By a curious coincidence, Colette is not the only subject of a nominated short documentary to be the same age as Oscar. So is Horace Bowers Sr., who along with his grandson Kris Bowers are the focus of A Concerto Is a Conversation.

“The first Oscar nominations were announced in 1928…Horace Bowers was born in 1928,” notes Ben Proudfoot, who directed A Concerto Is a Conversation with Kris Bowers. “So this is a story 93 years in the making.”

Horace Bowers Sr. was born in the Jim Crow South of Bascom, Florida and hitchhiked cross...

Actor-producer Priyanka Chopra Jonas and singer, songwriter, and actor Nick Jonas announced the 93rd Oscars® nominations today (March 15), live from London, via a global live stream on Oscar.com, Oscars.org, the Academy’s digital platforms, an international satellite feed, and broadcast media.

Mank led the field with 10 nominations and becomes the seventh black-and-white film to be nominated for Costume Design and the seventeenth for Cinematography since separate categories for color and black-and-white films were merged in 1967. David Fincher’s film offers a vivid look at Hollywood in the 1930s when movie studios were at the height of their power and influence, and 100 million Americans went to the pictures every week.

Chopra Jonas and Jonas announced the nominees in 23 categories at 5:19 a.m. Pt. For a complete list of nominees, visit the official Oscars website, www.oscar.com.

Academy members from each of the 17 branches vote to determine the...

Variety's Awards Circuit is home to the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars from Film Awards Editor Clayton Davis. Following Academy Awards history, buzz, news, reviews and sources, the Oscar predictions are updated regularly with the current year's 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. Eligibility calendar and dates of awards will determine how long each phase lasts and will be displayed next to revision date.

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

Draft>>>Pre Season>>>Regular Season>>>Post Season

2021 Oscars Predictions:

Best Documentary Short Film

Updated: Feb. 25, 2021

Awards Prediction Commentary: Netflix has three contenders, all of which have the goods to win the category. The prestige of “What Would Sophia Loren Do” will keep it in the conversation while the charms of “Speed...

The 10 films shortlisted in the Oscars Best Documentary Short category offer a guided tour of many of the pressing issues of our times: immigration, abortion, civil unrest, famine, racism and sexism — those, plus Rubik’s Cubes and Sophia Loren.

They give Oscar voters in the Documentary Branch the opportunity to go in many different directions as they choose the five finalists in early March. You could assemble a straightforward, issue-oriented slate of nominees from this group, or an odder, more adventurous slate; you could go for wrenching stories, or for playful ones, or even for playful ones that also happen to be wrenching.

Half of the films are directed or co-directed by women — and even though the documentary shorts always have by far the longest running time of the three shorts categories, three of the films run a relatively brief 13 minutes, while only two nudge the limit at 40 minutes.

I...

Cinema St. Louis and St. Louis Public Radio are proud to co-present a free virtual screening of a selection of the award-winning short films from the 2020 Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival (Sliff) and 2020 Whitaker St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase. In addition to the films, the event will feature an interview with Jon Alston, director of “Augustus,” which won the Essy Award (which honors films with St. Louis connections) for Best Narrative Short at both the Showcase and Sliff.

The program will be streamed at 7 pm Saturday, Feb. 20, on St. Louis Public Radio’s Twitch channel.

Twitch is a livestream video platform owned by Amazon. It’s like YouTube, but all the videos are live, so the experience is different at any given time.

More information can be found on St. Louis Public Radio’s Events page: stlpublicradio.org/events. Participants can register for the event here.

The Academy of Motion...

The 29th Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival (Sliff) wrapped on Nov. 22, 2020, but Cinema St. Louis is providing cinephiles another opportunity to view the event’s award winners in the Best of Fest, which is available virtually from Jan. 22-31, 2021.

A few of Sliff’s honorees are already or imminently out in the world — “Transhood” is available on HBO Max, and “9to5: The Story of a Movement” premieres on PBS’s “Independent Lens” on Feb. 1 — but Best of Fest reprises the other 19 winners of the festival’s juried and audience-choice awards.

Like 2020’s Sliff, the Best of Fest is an online-only event and is again presented with our virtual-festival partner, Eventive. Nine features and a program of 10 shorts will be available to stream during all 10 days of the event, and several of the films will once more include recorded Q&As with filmmakers and documentary subjects. Geographic restrictions will apply to some films.

The 2020 Palm Springs International ShortFest has announced its festival juried award winners from the 332 shorts films featured throughout this year’s virtual edition, running June 16-22. Awards and cash prizes worth $25,000 were handed out, and a number of the winners are now eligible for the 2021 Academy Awards short film categories. See the full list of winners below.

At a time when all festivals have been forced to go virtual, there’s no telling how much buzz these events can generate, but the Oscar eligibility provides a nice boost for rising filmmakers coming out of ShortFest. It’s a long road ahead for festival films since the Oscars have now been pushed back to April 25 next year, with other awards ceremonies, including the Film Independent Spirit Awards (now April 24), falling in line. Expect a packed fall season as the backlog of titles from postponed dates, canceled festivals, and shuttered productions get unleashed.

The 2020 Palm Springs International ShortFest has announced its festival juried award winners from the 332 shorts films featured throughout this year’s virtual edition, running June 16-22. Awards and cash prizes worth $25,000 were handed out, and a number of the winners are now eligible for the 2021 Academy Awards short film categories. See the full list of winners below.

At a time when all festivals have been forced to go virtual, there’s no telling how much buzz these events can generate, but the Oscar eligibility provides a nice boost for rising filmmakers coming out of ShortFest. It’s a long road ahead for festival films since the Oscars have now been pushed back to April 25 next year, with other awards ceremonies, including the Film Independent Spirit Awards (now April 24), falling in line. Expect a packed fall season as the backlog of titles from postponed dates, canceled festivals, and shuttered productions get unleashed.

Belgian-French drama “Matriochkas,” the documentary “The Heart Still Hums” and the animated film “The Fabric of You” have won the top prizes at the Palm Springs International ShortFest.

The festival unveiled the juried award winners Sunday from the 332 short films that were part of the official selection. Some of the winners are now qualified to enter the shorts categories for the Oscars.

The Best of the Festival Award, including a $5,000 prize from the Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau, went to “Matriochkas,” directed by Bérangère McNeese. The film centers on a 16-year-old who lives with her young mother and begins to discover her own sexuality. As she learns she is pregnant, her mother sees herself in her daughter, at the same age, facing the same choices.

“Writer/Director Bérangère McNeese brings a complex and bold point of view to the page and screen, drawing unexpected turns from the script and nuanced performances from her cast,...

“Matriochkas,” a French and Belgian short-film directed by Bérangère Mc Neese, has been named the best film of the 2020 Palm Springs International Shortfest, which announced its winners on Sunday. The film, about the sexual awakening of a 16-year-old girl over the course of a summer, is one of five films that can qualify for the Academy Awards in the short-film categories because of jury awards in Palm Springs.

The other Oscar-qualifying winners are Josephine Lohoar Self’s “The Fabric of You,” which was named best animated short; Savanah Leaf and Taylor Russell’s “The Heart Still Hums,” best documentary short; Inbar Horesh’s “Birth Right,” best live-action short over 15 minutes; and Laurynas Bareisa’s “Dummy,” best live-action short 15 minutes and under.

A total of 332 short films were part of the official selection at the festival, which did not physically take place this year because of the coronavirus. A number of...

David and Jeff discuss what to do about “crybaby screenings”, the documentarian brilliance of Anthony Giacchino, the disappointing Equity, and the brilliance of FX’s new comedy lineup. You can always e-mail us at slashfilmcast(At)gmail(Dot)com, or call and leave a voicemail at 781-583-1993. Also, like us on Facebook! Download or Play Now in your Browser: Subscribe to the /Filmcast: Shownotes Slashfilmcourt […]

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Warner Bros is going all-out with the release of the Signature Edition of The Iron Giant on Blu-ray this fall. One of the Special Features included is this documentary - called The Giant's Dream, a comprehensive look at the Making of Brad Bird's animated classic The Iron Giant, which first hit theaters in 1999. This is directed by Anthony Giacchino, brother of composer Michael Giacchino, who has been making docs for years. It seems like much more than some 20 minute extra, diving deep into the production and process of creating this beloved animated film. They have tons of behind-the-scenes footage of Brad Bird riling up everyone trying to pull off something unique. But it ends on such an ominous note - "what could go wrong?" Here's the first teaser trailer for Anthony Giacchino's doc The Giant's Dream, on Vimeo (via SlashFilm): The Giant's Dream - An all new...

Attending a preview of Anthony Giacchino's documentary "The Giant's Dream: The Making Of The Iron Giant" at Comic Con earlier this week, filmmaker Brad Bird ("The Incredibles," "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation") was in attendance and took questions from the audience.

Talking about the filmmaking process (via Slashfilm, Bird gave a surprising comment - that aspiring filmmakers should avoid being influenced by certain aspects of video games:

"In terms of what to stay away from, I feel like video games are a bad influence for storytelling because they are not directed points of view. They are about floating around universes and I see a lot of films now where the camera is soaring all over the place.

That's okay if you pick the right moments, but a lot of times it feels like there is no point of view, but a lot of time it's just motion. It bothers...

Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille) came to San Diego Comic-Con International 2016 for a preview of The Giant’s Dream: The Making Of The Iron Giant, which will be included on the upcoming Blu-ray release of the film this fall. The documentary by Anthony Giacchino is a beautiful and heartbreaking look at the Hollywood animation process, a […]

The post Brad Bird On Why “Video Games Are A Bad influence For Storytelling” appeared first on /Film.

“What if a gun had a soul and didn’t want to be a gun?”

This was the question Brad Bird posed when he first encountered “The Iron Giant,” and that was the pitch to Warner Bros. that landed the student of animation his first feature directing gig.

Though the film flopped upon release in 1999, “The Iron Giant” has gained a second life (and a third, fourth, fifth…) in the years following thanks to avid critical and fan support. And on Friday morning at Comic-Con, a new documentary premiered highlighting the rich history of a once-forgotten film — that’s all the more meaningful today.

Bird introduced “The Giant’s Dream: The Making of The Iron Giant,” noting, “It’s easy to forget what it was like to make […] because this was a moment in time that was very unique.”

Read More: ‘The Iron Giant’: Brad Bird’s Anti-Gun Violence...

When Dana Jung reviewed Tomorrowland here at We Are Movie Geeks, he wrote: “….The ideals that Walt Disney espoused, not only about vision and innovation, but about who we are as human beings on this planet, are alive and well in this mostly enjoyable summer action movie. I can only think that Walt would have approved!” Read all of Dana’s review Here

Now you can own Tomorrowland when it’s released on Blu-ray October 13th.

Dreamers Wanted…Disney invites you to an incredible world of epic imagination where anything is possible. Buckle your seat belt, as the director of The Incredibles takes your family on an action-packed thrill ride. Tomorrowland transports you on an inspiring and magical journey of wonder and adventure to a place where if you can dream it, you can do it. Own it on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, Digital HD and Disney Movies Anywhere...

If you're in the mood for some Disney on blu-ray, then you're in luck, as the classic animated film Aladdin and their newest flick, Tomorrowland, are dropping on blu-ray for the first time on the same day. Come inside to learn more!

One of my favorite Disney animated movies is Aladdin, and it's lack of blu-ray edition is the source of great sorrow, leaving a blank spot on my shelf. Thankfully, Disney is finally fixing this problem, and bringing the film to blu-ray for the first time with a Diamond Edition on October 13, 2015:

Disney’s beloved masterpiece will make your heart race and your spirit soar. Experience the laughter, adventure and Academy Award®-winning music (1992: Best Music, Original Song, “A Whole New World,” Original Score) for the first time on Blu-ray and Digital HD. And now Aladdin shines even brighter with never-before-seen tributes to the enchanting talent of Robin Williams,...

• A lingering strike haven't kept the Writers Gild of America from naming the noms for the Best Original, Adapted Screenplays and Best Documentary screenplays of the year. A quick overview of the noms below shows that studio-based indie division delivered in quantity and quality. Here are the noms below for those who create narratives on paper. Winners are announced on February 9th.           Original Screenplay"Juno" - Written by Diablo Cody, Fox Searchlight"Michael Clayton" - Written by Tony Gilroy, Warner Bros. Pictures"The Savages" - Written by Tamara Jenkins, Fox Searchlight"Knocked Up" - Written by Judd Apatow, Universal Pictures"Lars and the Real Girl" - Written by Nancy Oliver, MGM                 Adapted Screenplay"No Country For Old Men" - Screenplay by Ethan Coen & Joel Coen, Based on the Novel by Cormac McCarthy, Miramax"There Will Be Blood" - Screenplay by Paul Thomas Anderson, Based on the Novel Oil by Upton Sinclair,

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First Run Features

NEW YORK -- A timely reminder of a little-known historical event, The Camden 28 documents the story of 28 members of the so-called "Catholic Left", including four Catholic priests and a Lutheran minister, who were put on trial on charges of breaking into a draft board office in 1971. The film is playing at New York's Cinema Village.

Considering the current political and religious climate, it's hard to believe that there even was a thing like the Catholic Left. The titular group, based in the economically depressed town of Camden, N.J., felt strongly about the essential immorality of the war in Vietnam, convinced that, among other things, it was a form of racial and social discrimination.

They thus planned to break into the local draft board office and destroy its files and documents. What they didn't realize was that they were being tracked by the FBI: Indeed, one of their participants was an undercover FBI agent who actively encouraged and helped in the scheme.

The resulting 1973 trial, which Supreme Court justice William Brennan declared "one of the great trials of the 20th century," became a political firestorm, with the defense essentially making the war the central issue. The group eventually was found not guilty because of the FBI's entrapment, representing the first legal victory for the anti-war movement.

Director Anthony Giacchino doesn't always relate the tale in the clearest fashion, but his sometimes overly emotional approach, including the use of a bombastic musical score and unnecessary footage of a 2002 reunion of the group, doesn't detract from its essential fascination. Particularly interesting are the interviews with the FBI agent who infiltrated their ranks, who has shifted his viewpoint strikingly in the intervening years.