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On Thursday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences extended invites to 534 people to become a member, the largest class since 2020. Some of these names were not surprising. Reigning Oscar winners Mikey Madison and Kieran Culkin were invited, though it might be surprising that Culkin, with his extensive career, wasn't already a member, but he also doesn't seem like the type who would have sought out membership previously.. Other 2025 nominees who could vote for the Oscars next year are Ariana Grande, Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Strong, and Monica Barbaro.

If all the invitees accept, the total members, including emeriti, will be 11,120, and the number of voting members will be 10,143. In addition, 35 percent of the Academy would be women, 22 percent would be from underrepresented communities, and 21 percent would be international.

Let's take a closer look at the class of 2025.

1. No to Karla Sofía Gascón...

Haven't heard that name in a while,...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited hundreds of artists and executives to join the organization!

Wicked star Ariana Grande, Dune‘s Jason Momoa and girlfriend, Hit Man star Adria Arjona, Superman‘s Rachel Brosnahan and Anora breakout Mikey Madison are among the actors who have “distinguished themselves by their contributions to motion pictures.”

“We are thrilled to invite this esteemed class of artists, technologists, and professionals to join the Academy,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang shared in a statement. “Through their commitment to filmmaking and to the greater movie industry, these exceptionally talented individuals have made indelible contributions to our global filmmaking community.”

Keep reading to see the full list of invitees…

According to the Academy website, “Membership selection is based on professional qualifications, with an ongoing commitment to representation, inclusion and equity remaining a priority. Of the 2025 invited class, 41% are women,...

Karla Sofía Gascón will not be voting for the next Best Picture winner. The Spanish actress, who was nominated this year for Best Actress for “Emilia Pérez,” was not on the list of 534 people whom the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invited to join. Gascón’s co-star Adriana Paz, who was not nominated, was among the 2025 invitees. Their “Emilia Pérez” co-star Zoe Saldaña, who won this year for Best Supporting Actress, was already a member.

While an Oscar nomination automatically qualifies someone for Academy membership, an invitation is not a guarantee. In this case, the Actors Branch would make a recommendation and then the Academy Board of Governors has final say. But Gascón, who found herself at the center of a prolonged controversy this past winter due to the discovery of racist tweets she had previously sent, is only the second first-time Best Actress nominee from the past...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has extended invitations to join the organization to a new class of filmmakers. Over 500 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to motion pictures are now welcome to join one of the Academy’s 19 branches.

“We are thrilled to invite this esteemed class of artists, technologists, and professionals to join the Academy,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang via statement. “Through their commitment to filmmaking and to the greater movie industry, these exceptionally talented individuals have made indelible contributions to our global filmmaking community.”

The list of new invitees includes several of the cast and crew of “Anora,” including Best Actress winner Mikey Madison, Best Picture winners Alex Coco and Samantha Quan, and Best Supporting Actor nominee Yura Borisov. Other 2025 Oscar winners like “A Real Pain” star Kieran Culkin, “No Other Land” directors Yuval Abraham,...

2025 Academy Award winners Mikey Madison, Kieran Culkin and Lol Crawley and nominees Ariana Grande, Sebastian Stan and Brandi Carlile have been invited to become members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as have other notables including incumbent Oscars host Conan O’Brien, his predecessor Jimmy Kimmel and their respective producers; top executives Tom Quinn of Neon, Jason Ropell of Mubi, Ravi Ahuja of Sony and Shannon Ryan of Disney; plus WME president Ari Greenburg, entertainment lawyer Nina Shaw and Christian Hodell, managing partner of the leading U.K. talent agency Hamilton Hodell.

The list of 534 invitees, released Thursday morning by the Academy, is the largest one issued since 2020, the last year of a half-decade stretch in which the organization recruited huge classes of unprecedented diversity, ranging in size from 683 to a record 928, as part of its response to the #OscarsSoWhite controversy of 2015 and 2016. Subsequent classes were smaller: 395 in...

Oscar has its new voters.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences handed out its annual invitations to membership today, with 534 new invitees. If all of them accept, the new overall membership would be 11,120, of which 10,143 would be eligible to vote for Oscars and run for governance elections.

Among those on the list are newly minted Oscar winners Mikey Madison (Best Actress for Anora) and Kieran Culkin. Among all the invitees this year 91 are past Oscar nominees including 26 winners. The prominent star names include Ariana Grande, Dave Bautista, Jodie Comer, Jason Momoa, Aubrey Plaza, Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Strong, Gillian Anderson, Stephen Graham, Andrew Scott, Danielle Deadwyler, and on and on.

The Academy said 41% of the new class are women, 45% belong to underrepresented communities and 55% are from 60 countries and territories outside the United States. If all accept, it would result in an overall AMPAS membership of 35% women,...

Zoe Saldaña told People on the red carpet for Disney and Pixar’s “Elio” that her Oscar statue, which she won earlier this year for her supporting turn in the Netflix musical drama “Emilia Pérez,” is transgender. Asked where she keeps her trophy, the actor responded: “We have it in my office and my Oscar is gender fluid.” Saldaña added the statue is “trans” and “goes by they/them.”

Zoe Saldaña won the Oscar for supporting actress for playing Rita, an attorney who agrees to help a ruthless cartel leader undergo a sex change operation, in Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez.” The lauded performance swept the 2025 awards season, with Saldaña winning supporting actress prizes from the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice Awards, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards prior to her Oscar night triumph. Saldaña shared the best actress prize at Cannes with “Emilia Pérez” co-stars Karla Sofia Gascon, Selina Gomez and Adriana Paz.

Karla Sofía Gascón racked up several Best Actress nominations over the course of the awards season, including an Academy Award nod, for her portrayal of the titular character in the Oscar-nominated Emilia Pérez. However, everything unraveled after the actress’ hurtful and racial social media posts on X, formerly Twitter, came to light. The sheer amount of backlash was unforgiving, and now Gascón reveals that she responded to all the negativity and criticism by contemplating the "unthinkable." The Emilia Pérez star said in a statement, which reads as follows (below):

"Amid this unexpected, devastating storm, there have been moments when the pain has been so overwhelming that I contemplated the unthinkable. I harbored darker thoughts than those I considered in some of my previous, no less intimate and personal struggles […] Now that the storm is calming down a bit, and the worst has passed (or so I hope), I start...

Ben Affleck has had a busy past couple of years, directing (and having a supporting role in) the 2023 film Air and returning to the role of Christian Wolff in The Accountant 2, set for release in April. The actor/director has also established a creative partnership between his production company Artists Equity and Netflix, with the streaming platform releasing Affleck's next directorial effort, Animals. After some stalled development and changes in casting, the movie has added several new cast members to its already impressive talent roster.

A new report from Deadline has revealed that Ray Fisher, Mark Kassen, and Christopher Woodley have all joined the project, in addition to the previously announced Affleck, Gillian Anderson, Kerry Washington, Steven Yeun, Luis Gerardo Méndez, and Adriana Paz. Kassen is a multi-faceted creative, being a playwright, writer, and director, well-known for directing the 2011 independent feature Puncture, which starred Chris Evans. Woodley starred opposite...

The star-studded cast of Ben Affleck’s Netflix thriller “Animals” is bolstering its ranks. Ray Fisher, Mark Kassen and Christopher Woodley have joined the film alongside Affleck, Gillian Anderson, Kerry Washington, Steven Yeun, Luis Gerardo Méndez and Adriana Paz.

Golden Globe and Emmy nominated filmmaker, playwright and actor Mark Kassen is the founder of Like Minded Entertainment and co-founder of the civic engagement platform A Starting Point. Mark’s feature film directing and producing credits include “Puncture” starring Chris Evans, “Bernard and Doris” starring Ralph Fiennes and Susan Sarandon for HBO, and Chris Evans’ ‘Before We Go”.

Kassen has produced and been showrunner of multiple scripted, reality and documentary series across networks such as Fox, MTV, IFC, AMC and Sundance Channel. He also starred in the Tony Award winning Broadway production of “The Last Night of Ballyhoo,” and as wrote and starred in the critically acclaimed off-Broadway, multimedia play “Little Willy.

Fresh off of Joe Carnahan’s upcoming thriller Rip, Ben Affleck is directing and starring in a new kidnapping thriller for Netflix: Animals. Written by Connor McIntyre and Billy Ray, the brand-new filmis coming soon to Netflix.

Also joining the film are a slew of Emmy winners: Gillian Anderson; Kerry Washington; and Steven Yeun. The cast also includes Luis Gerardo Méndez, Adriana Paz, Ray Fisher, Mark Kassen, and Christopher Woodley.

Affleck is a classic Hollywood jack-of-all-trades; he’s starred in films including Gone Girl and Shakespeare in Love, won an Academy Award for co-writing Good Will Hunting, and successfully pivoted to directing and producing,...

The 97th Academy Awards brought Hollywood’s biggest stars together for a night of glitz, drama, and plenty of surprises. Hosted by the always-hilarious Conan O’Brien, marking his first time as the Oscars emcee, the ceremony lit up the Dolby Theatre on March 2, 2025. With Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan returning as executive producers, the event was as polished as ever, with ABC broadcasting it live and Hulu streaming it for the first time.

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in Wicked, Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones in The Brutalist, and Karla Sofía Gascón and Adriana Paz in Emilia Pérez

Leading the nominations was Emilia Pérez, a film that racked up an impressive 13 nods, making it the movie to watch. Not far behind, The Brutalist and Wicked each secured 10 nominations, proving to be strong contenders. The race was tight, the speeches emotional, and the fashion? Oh, absolutely stunning. But at the end of the night,...

Sometimes, the more you try to make everything perfect, the more you get caught in the mess—words that ring true for Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez, a film that has stirred more than just controversy, igniting debates and winning accolades, all at once. As the 2025 Oscars shines its spotlight on some of the best works in cinema, it’s impossible to ignore the seismic waves created by this musical crime comedy.

Between accusations, groundbreaking performances, and shocking moments, it’s no surprise that this film snatched 13 Oscar nominations, dominating the competition.

Karla Sofía Gascón in Emilia Pérez | Credit: Pathé

The awards came pouring in for Emilia Pérez, but did it walk away with the biggest haul of the night? With a unique storyline, unforgettable performances, and a controversial backdrop, it certainly didn’t leave without making its mark. Let’s take a deeper dive into how many trophies Emilia...

The Oscar race is a marathon, not a sprint. There are dozens of pit stops along the way and trophies to be given out before the 2025 Oscars on March 2. Keep track of precursor wins here with our scorecard. This includes honors from major film festivals, critics groups, guilds, and televised shows of the 2024-25 Oscar season. Wins are listed in order of announcement and in accordance with candidates' FYC campaigns.

Updated: Sunday, March 2, 2025, with Oscar winners.

The Oscar season began and ended with Anora. Sean Baker's film moved to the front of the Oscar race after winning the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May, and while it didn't have the smoothest path, its Oscar journey ended with five trophies Sunday night, including Best Picture.

Anora also won Best Actress for Mikey Madison, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing — the last three of which went to Baker.

Oscars 2025: Zoe Saldana Wins Best Supporting Actress (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Oscars 2025: Zoe Saldana completes her award sweep by lifting the 97th Academy Award. She has won every award this season and, as we predicted, took home the Oscar for her performance in Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Perez. She broke down into tears while giving her acceptance speech. Keep scrolling for the deets.

In the movie, Zoe Saldana plays lawyer Rita Mora Castro. Karla Sofia Gascon plays the titular role, along with Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, and Edgar Ramirez in key roles. Zoe is probably the only actress who has been in all four of the highest-grossing films of all time—Avatar 1 and 2 and Avengers 3 and 4.

Zoe Saldana has won every single award for her strong performance, and many predicted that she would also pick the Oscars 2025 Best Supporting Actress trophy. She was nominated alongside Monica Barbaro for A Complete Unknown,...

Zoe Saldaña won the Oscar for supporting actress for her role as an attorney for a cartel leader in Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez,” and paid tribute to the cast and her own family in an emotional speech.

Saldaña shouted out the “Emilia Pérez” cast in her Oscar acceptance speech, saying “Thank you to the Academy, for recognizing the quiet heroism and the power in a woman like Rita, and talking about powerful women. Jacques, you are a beloved character in my life. Thank you for taking the interest. Thank you for being so curious about these women to tell this story. To my cast and my crew of ‘Emilia Perez,’ I’m sharing this award with you.”

Saldaña then spoke emotionally about her family and her grandmother, tearing up during her speech. “My grandmother came to this country in 1961 — I am a proud child of immigrant parents,” she said.

Consider it a fated end to a long and often quite complicated awards season. After winning nearly every possible precursor award for her supporting work in Jacques Audiard’s musical crime dramedy “Emilia Pérez,” star Zoe Saldaña ended her first Oscar season with the ultimate prize: her first Oscar, for Best Supporting Actress.

A teary Saldaña took the stage after being presented the award by last year’s winner, “The Holdovers” star Da’Vine Joy Randolph, shouting out to her mother and entire family who were in the audience.

In her speech, Saldaña hailed the “quiet heroism and power” of characters like hers, and then made sure to highlight some of the heroes of her own life: her immigrant parents, declaring herself the “proud child of immigrant parents.” The actress, who parents emigrated from the Dominican Republic, then noted that she is “the first American of Dominican origin to accept an Academy Award,...

“Emilia Pérez” is certainly the most talked-about Oscar contender of the year, for better and worse. The Spanish-language musical gained significant awards steam when it debuted at the Cannes Film Festival last year and won the Jury Prize alongside a shared Best Actress for its three leading ladies.

But what is “Emilia Pérez” and what’s with all the controversy?

You can get all the details below.

When did ‘Emilia Pérez’ come out?

“Emilia Pérez” first premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize. It then hit theaters on Nov. 1, before it went to streaming just a few weeks later on Nov. 13.

Is ‘Emilia Pérez’ streaming?

Yes, it is. You can watch it right now on Netflix. It’s a Netflix original film.

What is it about?

Officially billed as “an audacious fever dream that defies genres and expectations,” the movie centers on “fearsome cartel leader Emilia [who] enlists Rita,...

After laying low in the wake of several clumsy apology attempts over her offensive posts, “Emilia Pérez” star Karla Sofia Gascón made her first award show appearance on Friday at the Paris-set Cesar ceremony where Jacques Audiard’s Spanish language crime musical is vying for 12 nods.

Flanked by two men who appeared to be security, Gascón bypassed the Cesar press line and went directly inside the Olympia auditorium. She was placed on the same row as her co-star Saldana and Audiard but was not seated next to them.

Gascón, who lives in Spain, traveled to France for the Cesar, France’s equivalent to the Oscars, and will be facing Saldana in the best actress category. In France, the movie isn’t handled by Netflix but by the French company Pathé which likely covered her travel expenses.

As Variety reported this week, she’s also due to attend the Oscar ceremony...

Emilia Pérez Movie Review Rating:

Star Cast: Karla Sofia Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz y Edgar Ramírez.

Director: Jacques Audiard

Emilia Pérez Film Review (Photo Credit – Instagram)

What’s Good: Emilia Pérez is a film, it is functional, it tells a story, and you will be able to follow it with no issues.

What’s Bad: The film fails at being a good drama, as there is no conflict between the characters. As a musical, as there are no good songs, and also as an entertaining film, it is just as boring.

Loo Break: You can take a break and go to the loo at any time, and you will not miss much at all.

Watch or Not?: This is a pass, even if you want to watch all the films nominated for Best Picture, there are better films on that list.

Language: English, and Spanish (with subtitles).

Available On: Theaters,...

Comedian Hank Chen invited me to an Emilia Pérez for your consideration screening in Hollywood, on a rainy night, and having already seen Emilia on Netflix at home, I put on my all-weather cycle gear and rode two and a half miles in a downpour to be Chen’s plus-one.

This screening came a few days after the lead actress, Karla Sofía Gascón, made headlines for all of the wrong reasons and already, it seemed, L.A. industry people were wondering, “Is it still Ok to be seen watching this movie in public?”

As a trans and intersex creative in Hollywood, my feelings about this are complex: a mix of disgust and shock that she would say these awful things and great disappointment that this beautiful, strong heroine — one we trans people so need right now — is dragging on feet of clay.

Looking around the (not capacity) audience I’m...

Originally published Feb. 7, 2025 at 11 a.m. Pt; updated Feb. 23, 2025 at 8:30 p.m. Pt

Before the last week of January, and for the second year in a row, the Best Supporting Actress Oscar race did not look like a race. Zoe Saldaña was the runaway favorite in the Gold Derby odds to take home the statuette on March 2, even despite the controversy around her film, and it feels like a tall order for Monica Barbaro (A Complete Unknown), Ariana Grande (Wicked), Felicity Jones (The Brutalist), and Isabella Rossellini (Conclave) to overtake the Emilia Pérez star. That is still the case. But who has the best shot at pulling off an upset? Let's break down the category.

Frontrunner: Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez

Ever since Emilia Pérez premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May, Saldaña has been pegged as the one to beat in Best Supporting Actress, and nothing that's happened...

The 2025 Screen Actors Guild Awards celebrated the best performances of the year in both movies and television.

Celebs from all around the world gathered for the annual event on Sunday (February 23) at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

Wicked led the nominations this year with five nods and Shogun led the television categories, also with five nominations.

Make sure to see photos of Every celeb on the red carpet at the SAG Awards. You can also take a look at our list of the Best Dressed stars of the night.

Head inside to see the full list of winners…

Scroll down for the full list of winners…

Movie Nominations:

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

Adrien Brody / László Tóth – “The Brutalist”

TIMOTHÉE Chalamet / Bob Dylan – “A Complete Unknown” – Winner

Daniel Craig / William Lee – “Queer”

Colman Domingo / Divine G – “Sing Sing”

Ralph Fiennes / Lawrence – “Conclave”

Outstanding Performance...

Emilia Perez has been an incredibly successful film, drawing immensely high praise at awards season. This success has been plagued by multiple controversies associated with the film, but Zoe Saldana chose it ignore that part of the movie's success story during her acceptance speech for her latest award win.

At the SAG Awards on Sunday, Saldana won the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role. She overcame fellow nominees Monica Barbaro (A Complete Unknown), Jamie Lee Curtis (The Last Showgirl), Danielle Deadwyler (The Piano Lesson), and Ariana Grande (Wicked). During her speech, Saldana addressed how much she appreciated SAG-AFTRA. She did not mention any of her co-stars during her speech like she had at the BAFTAs.

RelatedShogun Success Continues as Hit FX Series Wins Big at SAG Awards

Shogun decimated the competition at the SAG Awards, scoring several major wins.

“I am proud to be...

The Screen Actors Guild Awards are taking place on Sunday in downtown Los Angeles. TheWrap will update the list of winners as they are announced.

“Wicked” went into the show leading all films with five nominations, followed by “A Complete Unknown” with four and “Anora” and “Emilia Perez” with two.

In the television categories, “Shōgun” led with five nominations, followed by “The Bear” with four and “The Diplomat” and “The Penguin” with three.

Over the 30-year history of the SAG Awards, individual winners in the film categories have gone on to win Academy Awards for acting 75% of the time. All four SAG winners have repeated at the Oscars 10 times, with eight of those times coming in the last 15 years.

The winning film in the SAG Awards’ ensemble-cast category has won the Oscar for Best Picture about half the time, including the last three years in a row and four times in the last five years.

Netflix has finally decided to address theEmilia Pérezcontroversy that lowered its chances of winning big at the Academy Awards. While the director and performers in the film have shared their views about the social media debacle of co-star Karla Sofía Gascón, the streamer had stayed silent throughout the scandal. However, Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria has now addressed the situation, and apparently, some changes will be made for future casting processes.

Emilia Pérez is a musical crime film starring Gascón alongside Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, Mark Ivanir and Édgar Ramírez. It's written and directed by Jacques Audiard from the novel Écoute by Boris Razon. The movie won the Jury Prize and the Best Actress (for its female cast) awards at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. Gascón's performance quickly made her a potential frontrunner for the award season.

When the nominations were announced, the film, as well as Gascón,...

Netflix has been quiet since the social media past of its Oscar-nominated Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón surfaced in late January, forcing changes to and awkward conversations for her castmates on the awards campaign trail for Jacques Audiard’s ambitious Spanish-language drug cartel musical.

But on Thursday, Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria was asked what she thought of the controversy on an episode of the podcast The Town.

“You know what I think is really a bummer [is] for 100 very incredibly talented people who made an amazing movie,” she said. “If you look at the nominations and all of the awards love it’s received, I think it’s such a bummer that it’s distracted from that.”

Bajaria praised the awards campaign for the pic, which began way back in May after it hit the Cannes Film Festival, winning a combo Best Actress prize for Gascón, her eventual fellow Oscar nominee Zoe Saldaña,...

Exclusive: Luis Gerardo Méndez and Adriana Paz are the latest to join the cast of the Netflix crime thriller Animals. Ben Affleck will star and direct with Kerry Washington, Steven Yeun and Gillian Anderson also on board. The plan is for the film to shoot in Los Angeles from a script by Connor McIntyre and Billy Ray.

Plot details are being kept under wraps other than the film revolving around a kidnapping.

Affleck, Matt Damon and Dani Bernfeld will produce through their Artists Equity banner, the artist-led studio founded by Affleck, Damon and Gerry Cardinale/RedBird Capital Partners. Brad Weston and Collin Creighton are also producing for Makeready, which developed the project in partnership with Fifth Season. Artists Equity’s Michael Joe, Kevin Halloran and Lucy Damon will serve as executive producers alongside Fifth Season.

For Mendez, the role is a huge get for one of Mexico’s biggest stars.

Actor, producer and director Diego Luna will direct “Ceniza en la boca” (“A Mouthful of Ash”), a film adaptation of Brenda Navarro’s novel of the same name.

The story follows Lucila, a 21-year-old young woman trying to find her place in the world while facing family pressure, misogyny and racism. Together with her younger brother, Diego, she travels to Spain to reunite with their mother, Isabel, who emigrated eight years earlier in search of a better future. Lucila’s arrival is anything but peaceful. The challenges she faces daily constantly remind her of her origins, for better or worse. This burden awakens in Lucila the need to emancipate herself, to live a life befitting her age, to stop being a surrogate mother to her brother, and to escape poorly paid jobs.

She soon realizes that reality cannot be molded to her will. Her attempts to take control of her...

At the DGA Awards on Saturday night, the Emilia Pérez director Jacques Audiard included lead actress Karla Sofía Gascón when he thanked “his beloved actresses” despite all the controversy swirling around Gascón and Audiard’s recent interview with Deadline in which he said, “I haven’t spoken to her, and I don’t want to.”

In his speech as he accepted the DGA medallion for his nomination in the top prize category, Audiard said, via translator, “The last word is for my wonderful cast, my beloved actresses, Karla, Zoë, Selena, Adriana and Edgar, who is not an actress.”

It’s been posited that the unearthing of Gascon’s previous controversial comments on X could plunge the awards trajectory of Emilia Pérez into a downward spiral, but with a win Friday night at the Critics Choice Awards for Zoë Saldaña in Best Supporting Actress, it may not be over yet for...

A Deadline FYC screening event at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Linwood Dunn Theatre in Hollywood this week brought together Emilia Pérez director-screenwriter Jacques Audiard, stars Zoe Saldaña and Adriana Paz and artisans representing several of the film’s near-record 13 Oscar nominations and many other awards the film has won or been nominated for since debuting at the Cannes Film Festival in May, when it took Best Actress for its four female leads and a Jury Prize as well.

In addition to Audiard, Saldaña and Paz, Joining me were composers Camille and Clement Ducol, film editor Juliette Welfling, and sound supervisor and re-recording mixer Cyril Holtz.

Here’s the full conversation:

It has been a tough week for Emilia Pérez and the people who made it what it is due to the controversy surrounding Best Actress Oscar nominee Karla Sofía Gascón, the first trans performer to be...

Ahead of a busy weekend on the awards circuit — the Critics Choice Awards, the PGA Awards, the DGA Awards — a veritable Hollywood who’s-who gathered on Thursday to celebrate the American Film Institute’s 10 finest films and television shows of 2024 in a luncheon event rescheduled from a month due to the devastating series of fires that ravaged the Los Angeles area.

And while there were quiet murmurings here and there about Emilia Pérez and the controversy enveloping its star Karla Sofia Gascón, the film was received with warm applause, if not an overabundance of enthusiasm, when it came time to play a clip. The movie was represented at the lunch by director Jacques Audiard, stars Zoe Saldaña, Edgar Ramirez, and Adriana Paz, and composers/songwriters Clément Ducol and Camille. Gascón, unsurprisingly, was a no-show, reportedly holed up in her native Spain after being sidelined by Netflix.

Said one producer who...

The American Film Institute’s annual lunch celebrating the top 10 films and TV shows of the year took place on Thursday after a month-long delay because of the Los Angeles wildfires, serving as the kickoff to a restarted awards season that has been dormant when it comes to events though far from dormant when it comes to news.

And while there was no outright talk about the controversy that has rocked awards season for the past week, the AFI Awards lunch could be the beginning of a sad final month for “Emilia Pérez,” the film that seemed to be an Oscar Best Picture frontrunner until the disclosure of past racist and anti-Muslim tweets from star Kara Sofía Gascón threatened to wreck its campaign.

Or it could be the beginning of a comeback for the Netflix film, which was represented at the lunch by director Jacques Audiard, stars Zoe Saldaña, Edgar Ramirez...

The 2025 AFI Awards Luncheon brought together some of the most-acclaimed actors of the past year!

Wicked cast members Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, The Bear‘s Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri, and Nobody Wants This stars Kristen Bell, Adam Brody, and Jackie Tohn were among the celebs in attendance on Thursday afternoon (February 6) at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles.

AFI selects its Top 10 Movies of the Year and Top 10 TV Programs of the Year each season. This year’s film honorees are Anora, The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, Emilia Perez, Nickel Boys, A Real Pain, Sing Sing, and Wicked. The TV honorees are Abbott Elementary, The Bear, Hacks, A Man on the Inside, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Nobody Wants This, The Penguin, Shogun, Shrinking, and True Detective: Night Country. A special award is also being given to Baby Reindeer.

Head inside to see all...

Originally slated for Jan. 10 but postponed due to the Los Angeles wildfires, the American Film Institute’s AFI Awards took place nearly a month later Thursday afternoon at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills.

As always, the event was a starry affair with a guest list that included actors Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Harrison Ford, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Boyd Holbrook, Kristen Bell, Adam Brody, Quinta Brunson, Jesse Eisenberg, Michelle Yeoh, Colin Farrell, Mark Indelicato, Meg Stalter, Ralph Fiennes and Jodie Foster.

Directors included Sean Baker, Denis Villeneuve, James Mangold, RaMell Ross and Edward Berger.

The ceremony opened with footage of the late David Lynch talking about how much he loved AFI. The video ended with a title card that read, “We love you too, David. And always will.”

No surprise, but the Karla Sofía Gascón controversy was a hot topic of conversation. “Emilia Perez” was represented at the luncheon by stars Zoe Saldaña,...

The recently uncovered social media posts by “Emilia Pérez” star Karla Sofía Gascón in which she attacked, among various things — Islam, George Floyd and a more diverse Oscars — have thrown an unexpected wrench into the awards race.

Within hours of the historic tweets being resurfaced and translated into English, Gascón apologized, saying she was “deeply sorry.” Things spiraled further over the weekend, when the actress did an interview with CNN en Español, booked without Netflix’s involvement, and addressed the situation (once again) in an Instagram post.

But by then, awards soothes had already started rewriting their predictions, and Netflix’s French-made Spanish-language musical about a Mexican drug kingpin who undergoes gender-affirming surgery — previously an awards frontrunner, winning multiple Golden Globes and leading the Oscar nominations with 13 — was being scrubbed from lists.

Almost all the attention since has focused on how this new scandal could impact the Oscars, where Netflix...

Emilia Pérez director Jacques Audiard has become the latest member of the film’s core creative team to distance himself from star Karla Sofía Gascón as her awards season continues to unravel.

The French filmmaker said in an interview on Wednesday that he has not communicated with lead actress Oscar nominee after old bigoted tweets resurfaced and she gave an unauthorised television interview last weekend that blindsided the film’s US and UK distributor Netflix.

Audiard’s comments followed a denunciation by supporting actress nominee Zoe Saldana while campaigning for the film in London last week.

“Very unfortunately, it is taking up all the space,...

Emilia Pérez director Jacques Audiard has become the latest member of the film’s core creative team to distance himself from star Karla Sofía Gascón as her awards season continues to unravel.

The French filmmaker said in an interview on Wednesday that he has not communicated with lead actress Oscar nominee after old bigoted tweets resurfaced and she gave an unauthorised television interview last weekend that blindsided the film’s US and UK distributor Netflix.

Audiard’s comments followed a denunciation by supporting actress nominee Zoe Saldana while campaigning for the film in London last week.

“Very unfortunately, it is taking up all the space,...

Zoe Saldaña is speaking out about the controversy surrounding her “Emilia Pérez” co-star Karla Sofía Gascón, whose past social media posts have resurfaced, drawing criticism for their offensive and Islamophobic rhetoric. The backlash has overshadowed the film’s historic Oscar recognition, including Saldaña’s first Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.

In an interview for an upcoming episode of the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, Saldaña expressed her sadness over the situation, emphasizing that the film was created with the intention of inclusivity and love.

“I’m sad. Time and time again, that’s the word because that is the sentiment that has been living in my chest since everything happened,” Saldaña says. “I’m also disappointed. I can’t speak for other people’s actions. All I can attest to is my experience, and never in a million years did I ever believe that we would be here.”

The Spanish-language musical crime drama,...

If Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón had any hope left of becoming the first openly transgender performer to take home the Academy Award for Best Actress, it appears as if Netflix has put the final nail in the coffin of her Oscars campaign. Gascón's chances of winning were severely damaged after journalist Sarah Hagi uncovered past social media posts by the star that were seen in the eyes of many as being racist and Islamophobic. Despite issuing a lengthy apology on Instagram, however, Netflix has now distanced itself from Gascón, and without the support of the streaming giant, her Oscars fate has all been but sealed.

Per Variety, Netflix is no longer flipping the bill for Gascón's travel expenses to the various awards shows and dinners that are taking place before the Oscars, nor are they covering the costs of her styling. She was expected to be attending a...

On January 23, Emilia Pérez entered film history. The Spanish-language, French musical crime film received 13 Oscar nominations, tied for second-most of all time, placing it alongside Gone With The Wind and Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?. Those watching along online had one collective response: What?

Emilia Pérez has since become...

Netflix won’t be focusing on Karla Sofía Gascón as it campaigns for Emilia Pérez ahead of the Academy Awards. According to reports from Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, the streaming service is distancing itself from the Spanish actress after her offensive posts about Muslims and George Floyd went viral last week.

Gascón — who is the first out transgender woman to be nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars — was scheduled to come to the United States from Spain to appear at the Critics Choice Awards, Directors Guild of America,...

Netflix is distancing itself from “Emilia Pérez” star Karla Sofía Gascón in an effort to salvage the film’s Oscar prospects. And as the Spanish actress tries to defuse the blowback for her past social media posts, in which she shared offensive views that were seen as Islamophobic and racist, she’s doing it on her own, without the guidance of the streaming giant or her PR team.

Gascón, who made history as the first openly transgender performer to be nominated for Best Actress at the Academy Awards, was expected to travel from her home in Spain to Los Angeles for the critical second phase of the Oscars campaign. Her planned itinerary included major entertainment industry events such as the AFI Awards luncheon on Thursday, the Critics Choice Awards on Friday, the Directors Guild of America Awards and the Producers Guild of America Awards on Saturday, and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Sunday.

It was a perfect awards campaign.

A win for the ensemble of actresses at Cannes and a jury prize for French auteur Jacques Audiard turned “Emilia Pérez” into a solid Netflix Oscar contender with enthusiastic support from critics and audiences through the fall festivals and well into Oscar season.

The movie swept the European Film Awards, winning five, including Best Film and Best Actress for rising Spanish star Karla Sofía Gascón, and won four Golden Globes, including Best Comedy or Musical, Best Supporting Actress for Zoe Saldaña, Best Song (“El Mal”), and Best Non-English Language Film.

“Emilia Pérez” was also nominated for 12 Cesar Awards, 11 BAFTAs, 10 Critics Choice Awards, four SAG Awards including Best Ensemble, and was nominated by the DGA and PGA. So it was no surprise when “Emilia Pérez” landed 13 Oscar nominations, a record for a foreign-language film.

The other historic achievement: Karla Sofía Gascón became the first out...

Under executive director Roger Durling, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival has thrived by not only mounting an eclectic film festival but riding the awards season waves by programming prestige interviews with Oscar contenders.

All the festival’s popular panels are held at State Street’s capacious Arlington Theatre. The festival is adding two new tributees, Oscar nominees Fernanda Torres (“I’m Still Here”) and Sebastian Stan (“The Apprentice”), to TCM host Dave Karger’s popular Virtuosos tribute on Sunday, February 9 at 8 p.m.

They will join panelists Karla Sofía Gascón and Selena Gomez (“Emilia Pérez”), Harris Dickinson (“Babygirl”), Ariana Grande (“Wicked”), Clarence Maclin (“Sing Sing”), Mikey Madison (“Anora”), and John Magaro (“September 5”). The festival may not have foreseen that Torres might be rubbing shoulders with rival Oscar nominee Gascón in the wake of her recent scandal. Netflix may opt not to send Gascón. (Netflix had no response at press time.

As Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón continued to generate negative headlines over her offensive past social media posts and subsequent attempts to contextualize her inflammatory remarks, an emotional Zoe Saldaña accepted Best Supporting Actress from the London Film Critics Circle on Sunday for her performance in the fledgling Best Picture contender.

“I didn’t have anything prepared, you guys. I wasn’t expecting this, and especially now,” Saldaña said, referencing the controversy. “I’m so grateful to you.”

The actress — who remains the frontrunner for Best Supporting Actress despite the growing consensus that Gascón’s problematic social media posts will impact the film’s Oscar chances — spoke with visible emotion during her speech. “It is hard, it is very challenging, to believe in something with so much conviction that you are willing to go against the grain,” she said. “And sometimes the grain can betray you, because the grain...

Nominations voting is from January 8-17, 2025, with official Oscar nominations announced January 23, 2025. Final voting is February 11-18, 2025. And finally, the 97th Oscars telecast will be broadcast on Sunday, March 2 and air live on ABC at 7:00 p.m. Et/ 4:00 p.m. Pt. We update our picks through awards season, so keep checking IndieWire for all our 2025 Oscar predictions.

The State of the Race

Whatever relief was felt from an up-in-the-air Best Actress race finally landing on five names has been lost due to the messiness around online Oscar campaigning, and what has been dredged up about some of the nominees.

Specifically “Emilia Pérez” star Karla Sofía Gascón, who seems to have an endless trove of offensive tweets that she has only somewhat apologized for. As cynical one can be about Academy member’s getting defensive about their relationship to films that receive backlash, it is fair to say that...

Zoe Saldaña has spoken out for the first time since racist tweets by her “Emilia Pérez” co-star Karla Sofía Gascón resurfaced this week.

“I’m still processing everything that has transpired in the last couple of days, and I’m sad. It makes me really sad because I don’t support [it], and I don’t have any tolerance for any negative rhetoric towards people of any group,” Saldaña said during a Q&a in London.

She continued, “I can only attest to the experience that I had with each and every individual that was a part, that is a part, of this film, and my experience and my interactions with them was about inclusivity and collaboration and racial, cultural, and gender equity. And it just saddens me. It saddens me that we are having to face this setback right now.”

She went on to thank the audience and those who...

Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón has deactivated her Twitter account after apologizing for past tweets containing racist and Islamophobic views. Since the apology, even more posts have resurfaced, including one in which she says Hitler “simply had his opinion of the Jews.”

On Thursday, the first openly trans actor to be nominated for an Oscar addressed the resurfaced tweets in a statement to Variety, saying: “I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt. As someone in a marginalized community, I know this suffering all too well and I am deeply sorry to those I have caused pain. All my life I have fought for a better world. I believe light will always triumph over darkness.”

Many of the tweets (translated from Gascón’s native language of Spanish) were first resurfaced by journalist Sarah Hagi. The posts address diversity at the Oscars,...

“Emilia Pérez” star Karla Sofía Gascón has deactivated her Twitter/X account after apologizing for offensive posts that resurfaced Thursday.

Gascón’s X account @karsiagascon was deactivated as of Friday morning.

Gascón came under fire Thursday after X users discovered tweets from 2020 and 2021 that had controversial views on Muslims, George Floyd and diversity at the Oscars.

She later apologized in a statement to Variety: “I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt. As someone in a marginalized community, I know this suffering all too well and I am deeply sorry to those I have caused pain. All my life I have fought for a better world. I believe light will always triumph over darkness.”

Among her several resurfaced tweets, Gascón critiqued the diversity of the 2021 Oscars ceremony.

“More and more the #Oscars are looking like a ceremony for independent and protest films,...