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Exclusive: Two-time Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Ryan Coogler is partnering with the Armenian Film Society to honor his longtime business partner, prolific producer Sev Ohanian, with an induction into the Armenian Film Hall of Fame.

The honor will be presented on the concluding day of the 2025 Armenian Film Festival held in Los Angeles from Sept. 3-7, during the Afs Gala at Vertigo Event Venue in Glendale, Calif. celebrating a decade of the nonprofit’s work. Earlier that afternoon, the fest will host a special conversation between the duo at the city’s historic Alex Theatre.

“We are thrilled to mark 10 incredible years of Armenian Film Society, dedicated to elevating Armenian artists worldwide,” said Armen Karaoghlanian, founder & CEO of Afs. “Since 2015, Afs has served as a creative and cultural hub for Armenian film, showcasing new and emerging filmmakers and films. We are thrilled to mark this milestone with our Gala and a...

Since 2019, Lila Iké’s releases like the single “Where I’m Coming From,” EP The ExPerience, and feature on Samory I’s “Outside” have shown her talent and promise as an emerging reggae and dancehall star. Now, the Jamaican singer-songwriter is ready to step into the spotlight with her debut album, Treasure Self Love, due out August 22.

The announcement is accompanied by a new video for her latest single, “Romantic,” featuring another popular Jamaican upstart, dancehall star Masicka. Produced by Jamaica’s Dunw3ll and British-Ghanaian hitmaker Juls, the upbeat...

The Netflix series “Forever” succeeds at conveying the powerful emotions of first love. Coupled with Justin and Keisha’s contrasting lifestyles and family dynamics, the teen love affair allowed audiences to “see themselves,” says music supervisor Kier Lehman, reflecting on the overwhelmingly positive reactions to Season 1.

“Young people can see themselves in it and connect with their own Justin and Keisha experiences as kids in their relationships and home life,” he told Variety. “These lifestyles, found in two different types of families, offer an experience that people can relate to or aspire to. Feeling that connection that draws them further into the story.”

The same gravitational pull could be said of Lehman’s contributions to curating the soundtrack for the season. His music selection highlights include featuring Daniel Caesar’s “Blessed” during a heartwarming reunion between Justin and Keisha at Martha’s Vineyard, which he recalled was an “emotional climax...

At Tuesday night's 2025 Sports Emmy Awards, Lady Gaga took home her first Emmy. She won for Best Music Direction of "Hold My Hand" for the Super Bowl Lix pregame show. With previous victories at the Oscars and Grammys, that places her just a Tony Award short of Egot.

This marked her fifth try at winning an Emmy following nominations for her variety specials Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga: Cheek to Cheek Live!, and One Last Time: An Evening With Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, plus the special class program Super Bowl Li Halftime Show Starring Lady Gaga.

Lady Gaga won her Academy Award for the song "Shallow" from the 2018 film A Star Is Born. She is a 14-time Grammy Award winner, with the first for The Fame and "Poker Face" in 2010 and the most recent earlier this year for...

Forever, based on the book by Judy Blume, has arrived on Netflix. The series stars Lovie Simone as Keisha Clark, Michael Cooper Jr. as Justin Edwards, Xosha Roquemore as Keisha’s mother Shelly, Karen Pittman as Justin’s mother Dawn and more.

Created and produced by Mara Brock Akil, who also serves as executive producer and showrunner, the story captures so strongly the feelings of first love between Keisha and Justin. Fifty years after the publishing of Blume’s hit young adult novel in 1975, Brock Akil has reimagined the story, which traces how first love creates a ripple effect into their futures after they reconnect after grade school in 2018’s Los Angeles.

Find the full soundtrack of Forever below:

Episode 1 – “Reunion”

“Prone” by Masego “Painted on Canvas” by Gregory Porter “Bad and Boujee” by Migos “Within” by Daft Punk “Might Be” by Anderson .Paak “Time Moves Slow” by Badbadnotgood feat.

“Wicked” director Jon M. Chu was honored with the Legend award at the fourth annual Gold House Gold Gala on Saturday in Los Angeles.

Chu, a Gold House co-founder and progenitor of the history-making #GoldOpen movement, received the A1 in Entertainment and Media for his historic directorial accomplishments in “Wicked” and to celebrate its forthcoming sequel, “Wicked: For Good.”

The filmmaker talked about how far Asian representation had come in the last ten years. Speaking to the audience, which included H.E.R., “Moana 2” director Dana LeDoux Miller, Ang Lee, Sandra Oh and Megan Thee Stallion, Chu said, “We’re not just guests at the table anymore. We built the damn house, and guess what? It’s made of gold, and we’ve got more work to do.” Chu added, “I’m ready, if you all are.”

Chu recalled being on the set of his 2013 film “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” and how he felt “nervous as hell.

While the standout performances of Michael B. Jordan and Hailee Steinfeld are rightfully garnering significant praise in Ryan Coogler's gripping new film, Sinners, a fresh face is also turning heads and sparking considerable buzz- newcomer Miles Canton.

Canton, previously known for his vocal talents as a background singer for the acclaimed artist H.E.R., makes his impressive cinematic debut as Sammie in Sinners.

Sammie is a young sharecropper and the younger cousin to Michael B. Jordan's formidable outlaw twins, Smoke and Stack. Despite sharing the screen with established stars, Canton's portrayal has resonated with both critics and audiences, marking him as a talent to watch.

In a recent interview with Variety, Canton revealed his long-held interest in the world of acting, though he admitted the opportunity to debut in a Ryan Coogler film was beyond his wildest expectations.

"I’ve always been like the family clown, always trying to make people laugh.

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It’s been more than three decades since Disney’s animated tale Beauty and the Beast first hit theaters, but the love for the now-classic musical remains as strong as ever. Beauty and the Beast was remade as a live action film starring Emma Watson in 2017, while H.E.R. and Josh Groban starred in a live TV special in 2022.

Now, the magic continues with merch, as Disney and Lego...

After a long wait and a whole lot of hype, Sinners has finally hit the screen, and well, it was worth it. While the film brought back the ever-electric Michael B. Jordan, reminding us why he’s a beast in front of the camera, it also handed the spotlight to a fresh face who’s quickly becoming the name on everyone’s lips, and that is Miles Caton.

He completely and utterly impressed viewers with his skills, and now he’s setting his sights on playing one of the hottest Spider-Man versions out there, Miles Morales. If his performance in Sinners is any indication, he would absolutely crush it. And could seriously give Tom Holland a run for his money once he steps into the live-action world.

Sinners breakout star Miles Caton has his sights set on live-action Miles Morales!

Move over, Peter Parker, there’s another Spider-Man waiting in the wings,...

Twenty-year-old Miles Caton made his feature film debut in Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” this month. Caton, a celebrated R&b singer, plays the teen cousin of Michael B. Jordan’s twins Smoke and Stack.

Since the release of the movie plenty of fans have grown curious about who Caton is. While this is his first film, it’s definitely not his first foray into show business.

Here’s an introduction to “Sinners” star Miles Caton.

Miles Caton was born into a musical family

Caton is the son of gospel singer Timiney Figueroa and the nephew of Anaysha Figueroa-Cooper. Caton has been performing for most of his life and has relationships with singers, including Faith Evans, Smokie Norful and Erica Campbell.

He appeared on Little Big Shots

Caton gained notoriety after he appeared on the third season of NBC’s “Little Big Shots” in 2018 at age 12.

Since then Caton has performed with H.E.R. and Yolanda Adams.

This post contains spoilers for "Sinners."

The name on everyone's lips after Ryan Coogler's bloody, vampire masterclass "Sinners" opens this weekend will be Miles Caton. The rising star is making his feature film debut as Preacher Boy Sammie, the young cousin of the infamous twins Smoke and Stack (Michael B. Jordan), who is blessed with a musical talent so powerful he can pierce the veil between time and space. During a pivotal scene set at The Twins' juke joint, Sammie performs a song that metaphorically tears the building down, and his musicality is so powerful, it grabs the attention of a trio of vampires looking to steal his power for their own nefarious exploitation. As /Film's own Bill Bria described:

"Coogler puts all his considerable filmmaking prowess into selling this idea, and uses this centerpiece musical number scene to do it. After Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo) introduces Preacher Boy...

Maroon 5 is back. During an appearance on The Tonight Show, frontman Adam Levine announced that the rock band will release an album and hit the road this year.

After host Jimmy Fallon mentioned there are have been rumors of a new Maroon 5 song or album, Levine replied, “I can confirm the rumors are true. It’s true. The rumors are correct.”

When pressed by Fallon for more details, he added, “There are details. I cannot divulge all the details. But the details are basically, roughly, there’s a single coming...

When Ryan Coogler began developing his latest film “Sinners,” he knew one role would be particularly key: that of Sammie, the teenage cousin of Michael B. Jordan’s gangster twins Smoke and Stack.

Sammie is a young sharecropper and the son of a local preacher, but he dreams of becoming a blues musician, so the twins recruit him to perform at their new juke joint. There, his preternatural musical ability sets off a chain of supernatural events. It was a tricky part to cast, requiring a performer who could sing as powerfully as they deliver drama.

Coogler and casting director Francine Maisler fielded audition tapes from all over the world — some from musicians who’d never acted before, others from actors who’d never played music and everything in between. But one teenager’s tape stood out.

“He was just in the dark — like he didn’t turn his lights on.

The Makings of Curtis Mayfield is a bit of a misleading title for the oblique documentary directed by the Grammy- and Oscar-winning musician H.E.R. The name, a riff on Mayfield’s honeyed 1970 ballad “The Makings of You,” implies an intimacy with the subject and promises a detailed, if not necessarily comprehensive, introduction to the radical artist.

But H.E.R.’s film, which premiered at SXSW, doesn’t really offer any of that. The musician finds her own way to capture Mayfield, one that relies heavily on conversations with filmmakers, producers and fellow musicians. The path occasionally yields a fascinating insight — like when Jimmy Jam talks about how Mayfield was one of the first Black artists to own their master recordings — but more often it can feel a little too meandering and disjointed. Mayfield the person frequently gets lost in the mélange of testimonies.

That might be alienating for general...

Early on in “The Makings of Curtis Mayfield,” H.E.R., the 27-year-old R&b pop star who directed the film and appears in it as its interviewer and tour guide, offers a telling observation about her subject. “Curtis Mayfield,” she declares, “is one of the greatest of all time. And people don’t even know.”

I agree with H.E.R. on both counts. We’ll get to the greatest-of-all-time thing in a moment — though if you don’t know much about Curtis Mayfield and want to cut to the chase of why he was one of the greatest, I’d recommend that you simply go to YouTube and call up the nine-minute-long album version of “Move On Up,” which might be his most extraordinary song (though there’s a lot of competition). It’s built around one of those grooves that’s truly epic and truly transporting: the syncopated horns,...

For cinephiles, Curtis Mayfield created a legacy in marble and stone. The sheer power of Super Fly as a score cannot be ignored. It’s a seminal soundtrack, regardless of culture, and helps center The Makings of Curtis Mayfield as the documentary brings in dozens of musicians to speak on Mayfield’s prodigious talent. Directed by musical phenom and Oscar-winner H.E.R. (Gabriella Wilson), we explore the musical brilliance of an icon. However, while watching musicians jam and talk shop about Mayfield’s influence is incredible, the number of talking head interviews causes the picture to lose focus.

The Makings of Curtis Mayfield – The Plot

As he rose to prominence in the 1960s as a member of The Impressionists, Mayfield soon showed his ambition and talent far exceeded his place in the industry. Over the next decade, he would break out as one of music’s most exciting voices, and his...

When H.E.R. won an Oscar for Best Original Song for “Judas and the Black Messiah” in 2021, she used her acceptance to thank some of her biggest influences, including Sly and the Family Stone, Stevie Wonder, and Curtis Mayfield. But when articles about her speech began popping up online, she noticed that Mayfield was the name that websites always cut from the headlines.

That experience convinced H.E.R. that Mayfield, a soul legend whose legacy spanned ’60s hits with The Impressions to a solo career that included the influential “Super Fly” soundtrack, hadn’t received the appropriate recognition from modern audiences. She attempts to rectify the problem with her directorial debut, “The Makings of Curtis Mayfield,” a documentary that sees her join an A-list roster of her musical idols to discuss Mayfield’s ongoing legacy.

As the film tells it, Mayfield was ahead of the curve on just about everything.

In 2021, the musician H.E.R. won the Academy Award for best original song for the track “Fight for You” from Judas and the Black Messiah that took inspiration from the soul and protest songs of the ’60s and ’70s. Holding the gold statue, she said in her acceptance speech, “All those days of listening to Sly & the Family Stone and Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye really paid off.”

Now, that early education is paying off again as she premieres her directorial debut at the 2025 SXSW film festival. The feature documentary The Makings of Curtis Mayfield explores the music and legacy of the “Come on Up” and “Superfly” singer, songwriter and composer.

After name checking Mayfield in her Oscars speech, H.E.R. was approached by producer Peter Afterman, who was behind music-focused docs on Tom Petty and Joan Jett, about directing a doc focused on Mayfield. The Grammy winner decided to primarily focus on the music,...

In recent years, SXSW has overlapped with the Oscars, forcing a major film and TV festival to take a backseat to Hollywood’s biggest night. But this year, the stars aligned for cinephiles with an interest in both events, as SXSW is starting a week after the Academy Awards. The move ensures the festival will have the film world’s attention all to itself — and there’s much to see.

This year’s SXSW Film and Television Festival features everything an attendee could hope for. There are huge studio premieres that will bring A-listers to the iconic yellow step-and-repeat and a deep roster of quality indie films just waiting to be discovered.

Headliners include big-budget sequels like “Another Simple Favor” and “The Accountant 2;” highly anticipated genre films like Christopher Landon’s “Drop” and Flying Lotus’ “Ash,” and good old-fashioned star-powered originals like the Nicole Kidman-led “Holland” and the...

Diane Warren isn’t letting another Oscar miss slow her down. After yet another snub, the legendary songwriter is channeling her inner Schwarzenegger, vowing to return stronger.

Diane Warren | Credits: Instagram (@dianewarren)

With 16 nominations and zero wins, most would be frustrated, but Warren? She’s unbothered, already gearing up for her next shot. If Hollywood loves a comeback story, they might as well start writing hers now.

Diane Warren’s Oscar streak continues — 16 nominations, still no win Diane Warren | Credits: Instagram (@dianewarren)

Sixteen nominations. Zero wins. But Diane Warren isn’t going anywhere.

The legendary songwriter took yet another Oscar loss in stride after The Journey — her Six Triple Eight soundtrack song — missed out on Best Original Song. She said (via EW),

It is what it is. I’m happy to be here… I’m the Terminator of the Oscars — I’ll be back. I’m coming back. You can’t get rid of me.

Diane Warren was denied an Oscar for the 16th time Sunday, after losing in the Best Original Song category to Emilia Pérez‘s “El Mal.” Warren, who was nominated for The Six Triple Eight‘s “The Journey,” wasn’t deterred by the loss, she told Variety. “I’m consistent as fuck,” Warren said. “You know, it is what it is. I’m happy to be here.”

Warren said she believed she had a fair chance at the 97th Oscars. H.E.R., an Oscar-winning artist, performed “The Journey,” and the Netflix-distributed...

Diane Warren didn’t let her Oscar losing streak get in the way of having some fun Sunday night.

Despite not going home with a gold statuette for best original song for “Journey” from Netflix’s “The Six Triple Eight,” the prolific songwriter attended the Vanity Fair party in Beverly Hills. The loss marked her 16th time being snubbed for the Academy Award. (“El Mal” from “Emilia Pérez” won on Sunday.)

“I’m consistent as fuck,” Warren cracked when I caught with her on the Vanity Fair red carpet in Beverly Hills. “You know, it is what it is. I’m happy to be here.”

Warren’s ensemble at the Oscars included “Make It Fucking Happen” emblazoned on the inside of her jacket collar.

She said, “I’m the Terminator of the Oscars — I’ll be back. That’s in my Arnold Schwarzenegger voice. I’m coming back. You can’t get rid of me.

My relationship with the Oscars almost feels like one of those bad habits I cannot break. More than a handful of times, I have concluded for my own sake and sanity that I was done taking the Academy seriously. Yet, somehow, every year as the ceremony creeps closer, I tend to convince myself, and those around me, that this time will be different.

Despite my relatively cynical take on these things, one not entirely limited to the Oscars, I let myself get sucked back in, time and again. The absence of nominations for Challengers and All We Imagine as Light should have been the first red flag of this year, but I still held out some hope.

The most surprising part of the 97th Academy Awards, however, was that there weren’t that many surprises at all – or at least not the kind I was hoping for. Almost all of...

Recognition is extremely important for artists who work hard year after year to produce music that resonates with listeners and makes them feel all the feels. And when you’re denied that recognition time and time again, demotivation is just around the corner. Who would know this better than Diane Warren, the songwriter who is yet to add an Oscar to her trophy collection despite being nominated a whopping sixteen times.

Songwriter, Diane Warren | Credits: @dianewarren / Instagram

If you think about it, the odds should’ve been in her favor. After all, you’ve got to win once out of the 16 times you’ve been nominated, right? Unfortunately for Diane Warren, the Academy hasn’t been on her side since 1988.

Diane Warren loses at the Oscars for the 16th time The Six Triple Eight (2024) | Credits: Netflix

The first time Diane Warren was nominated for Best Original Song at the Academy...

The 97th Academy Awards was a joyous affair, full of big orchestral numbers, celebrity singalongs and a triumphant hosting debut from Conan O’Brien. While “Anora” led the night with five wins, there were several snubs and surprises. Check out our list of the biggest unexpected moments below.

Surprise: Mikey Madison wins over award season darling Demi Moore

Demi Moore’s brave performance in “The Substance” seemed like it was a shoo-in for the best actress statue, given her redemption arc throughout award season and wins at the Globes, SAGs and Critics Choice Awards. Yet Madison’s performance helped “Anora” — which was awarded best picture immediately after her win — lead the night.

Snub: Original Song performances nixed

Some of the most memorable Oscar moments of all time have been the best original song performances, from Diana Ross and Lionel Richie’s 1982 rendition of “Endless Love” to last year’s “I’m Just Ken” spectacular.

The Oscar for best original song was handed out at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday night by none other than Mick Jagger, who announced the winner: ”El Mal” from Emilia Pérez.

“The producers wanted Bob Dylan to do it, but Bob didn’t want to,” joked Jagger. “‘The best songs this year are obviously in A Complete Unknown. You should find somebody younger.’ Ok, I’m younger than Bob! So here I am.”

It turns out Dylan was really invited to present and perform at the Oscars, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively.

Earlier in the evening, Oscars host Conan O’Brien also suggested that Dylan, the subject of the Oscar-nominated A Complete Unknown, had passed on attending the ceremony.

“Dylan wanted to be here tonight, but not that badly,” O’Brien joked in his monologue.

Diane Warren, nominated for “The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight, could have achieved her...

Diane Warren’s streak of Oscar losses continues, as the songwriter — on her 16th Best Original Song nomination — once again lost in the category for The Six Triple Eight’s “The Journey.”

Despite the 16 nominations — and eight consecutive Best Original Song nominations, dating back to 2017’s “Stand Up for Something” from Marshall — the 97th Academy Awards presented Warren with perhaps her best opportunity to win the category in years: “The Journey” was performed by an Oscar-winning artist, H.E.R., was in a widely seen movie, and was in a field where...

H.E.R. is weighing in on Oscar producers’ decision not to include performances of this year’s best original song nominees during Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony.

The singer-songwriter would have performed Diane Warren’s “Journey” from the “The Six Triple Eight” soundtrack if the traditional performances took place.

“It’s kind of weird, but I’m just happy to be there,” H.E.R., who won the original song Oscar in 2021 for “Fight for You” from “Judas and the Black Messiah,” told me Saturday night at the Chanel and Charles Finch pre-Oscars dinner at the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hill Hotel, “Performing or not, the song’s gonna live on, whether we perform it on the Oscar stage or not, I was a little bummed because I look forward to those performances, not just being in it, you know, but it’s totally fine. It’s still gonna be a great show,...

The 97th Academy Awards will air on March 2, with the ceremony set to begin at 4:00 Pm Pt/7:00 Pm Et on ABC and Hulu. The night holds the potential for records to be set, surprises in major categories, and international recognition for films that have gained momentum throughout the season.

Best Picture Contenders

Anora could become the third film in history to win both the Palme d’Or at Cannes and the Academy Award for Best Picture, a feat previously achieved by Parasite and Marty. Emilia Perez, which has earned 13 nominations, enters the night among a select group of films that have reached that number.

Of the previous 12 films with 13 nominations, only three failed to win Best Picture. If Conclave wins, it will be one of the few films to take the top prize without its director receiving a nomination, a distinction shared by Wings, Grand Hotel, Driving Miss Daisy,...

Updated, 1:30 Pm: Nobody does it better when it comes to movie theme songs, and the Oscars know it. Sources tell Deadline that there will be a tribute to the music of the revered 007 franchise during 97th the Academy Awards on Sunday.

Details are scarce, but the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will continue to honor the Bond legacy, after presenting longtime franchise producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson with the Irving G. Thalberg Award during the 15th Governor Awards in November. The Academy on Thursday declined comment about the Bond music tribute.

Previously, February 24: Doja Cat, Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Blackpink’s Lisa, Queen Latifah and Raye were revealed Monday as musical performers for this year’s 97th Oscars. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said they will participate in “showstopping performances celebrating the filmmaking community and some of its legends at the 97th Oscars.

The Guild of Music Supervisors Awards revealed its 2025 winners Sunday night (Feb. 23). The 15th annual ceremony was held at The Wiltern in L.A.’s Koreatown and honors the year’s best work in songs and scores for screen.

Sunday’s ceremony began with a video about January’s deadly wildfires, in which guild president Lindsay Wolfington lost her home. She thanked the community for rallying behind her during opening remarks with vp Heather Guibert.

The opening remarks didn’t shy away from addressing the Academy’s decision to “move away” from best original song live performances at the 2025 Oscars. “We are proud that our awards for best song written and or recorded for film and for television, acknowledges the collaborative efforts of the songwriters, the performers, and of course the music,” Guibert told the crowd.

“This year in particular, unlike other awards bodies, we are especially proud to be...

Amazon MGM Studios’ adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Nickel Boys emerged as the top winner at the 25th Black Reel Awards. The film earned six honors during Monday’s virtual ceremony, including Outstanding Film and Outstanding Director for RaMell Ross.

Produced by Joslyn Barnes, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, and David Levin, Nickel Boys also received awards for Outstanding Screenplay, Outstanding Emerging Director, Outstanding First Screenplay, and Outstanding Cinematography. The film’s recognition comes on the heels of its nominations for Best Picture and Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars.

Netflix’s The Piano Lesson was among the other top recipients, garnering four awards. Danielle Deadwyler won for Outstanding Supporting Performance, while the film also secured accolades for Outstanding Ensemble, Outstanding Hairstyling & Makeup, and Outstanding Production Design.

Additional honors were distributed to several other projects. Marianne Jean-Baptiste took home the Outstanding Lead Performance award for her role in Hard Truths,...

“As for Emilia Pérez, better luck in the other music category.” So we said two days ago. And luck, it seems, is going to play more of a factor here than ever seemed possible just a couple of weeks ago, in the wake of the film’s near-record-setting 13 nominations. In fact, that we’re even writing more than 50 words on this category is testament to just how badly things have gone for the one-time Oscar frontrunner.

Almost right out of the gate, every race handicapper knew that Zoe Saldaña’s “El Mal” represented the “chosen one” over the Selena Gomez showcase “Mi Camino,” an understanding built perhaps less through unspoken symbiosis and more out of the notion that the song contest is this year inexorably tied to the dynamics of the supporting actress race. But that was long before Netflix found itself sifting through the wreckage of a near-instantly ruined campaign.

Cher performed “If I Could Turn Back Time” at SNL50: The Homecoming Concert with a costume harking back to her original music video wardrobe from the 1989 single.

The song was controversial at the time. The music video was shot on board the battleship USS Missouri and portrays Cher performing for the ship’s crew, wearing a leather thong while straddling a cannon. The song peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. It was written by Diane Warren, the songwriter behind 16 Oscar-nominated hits including “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith, “Because You Loved Me” by Celine Dion, and “The Journey” by H.E.R.

“How hot was that!?” said the host of the festivities, Jimmy Fallon, about the live performance by the 78-year-old legend.

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She gave one of the closing numbers on a night that included iconic appearances by Miley Cyrus,...

Diane Warren really wants her song from the new Netflix movie The Six Triple Eight to be her first Oscar win.

If you didn’t know, the 68-year-old songwriter has been nominated by the Academy in the Best Original Song category 15 times, but has never won. She’s nominated again at the 2025 Oscars for her song “The Journey” featured in Tyler Perry‘s new movie.

In a new interview, Diane explained how the song reflects her own relationship and journey with the Oscars.

Keep reading to find out more…“First and foremost, it’s the song that that reflects the 6,888 battalion and these women’s journey,” Diane told Entertainment Weekly about The Six Triple Eight.

“But I also could totally relate to it because my Oscar journey started five decades ago. That’s a lot of f–king years,” she continued. “1988 was my first nomination, for ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now.

In 2022, superstar songwriter Diane Warren was presented with an Academy Honorary Award “for her genius, generosity, and passionate commitment to the power of song in film.” But that prestigious honor hardly diminished her desire to take home a trophy for Best Original Song. “I still want the competitive one!” she tells Gold Derby. “My Oscar, he’s very lonely. He sits there by himself. He wants a boyfriend. He needs a friend.”

As the composer of 33 top 10 hits (nine of which topped the Billboard Hot 100); a Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee; and the recipient of a Grammy, an Emmy, an Ivor Novello Award, two Golden Globes, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Warren clearly has nothing to prove. But she’s never been shy about the fact that she really wants to win that elusive Oscar, which she calls the “gold standard” of all awards and “the coolest thing in the world.

Celebrities may no longer be winning at the Big Game.

An array of Super Bowl advertisers turned up with creative ideas that shunned the typical famous faces making quick-paced jokes in favor of concepts meant to inspire.

Nike burnished a host of female athletes backed by the Led Zeppelin chestnut “Whole Lotta Love.” Pfizer took to the Super Bowl screen to rally viewers to fight against cancer. Google tried to push consumers past their ambivalence toward artificial intelligence by showing how the technology helped a man spend meaningful children. Frito-Lay avoided the typical line of “snack-vertising” when it did an ad for Lay’s potato chips that saluted the farmers who grew the tubers that make the product every year, T-Mobile, which for years has relied on A-list cameos from John Travolta and Jason Momoa, in 2025 talked about technology and utility. Rocket Cos. used a version of John Denver’s “Country Roads,...

Trombone Shorty and Lauren Daigle, both Louisiana natives, delivered a rousing rendition of “America the Beautiful” prior to Super Bowl Lix Sunday in New Orleans. The performance rounded out a New Orleans-centered set of musical acts before the big game, highlighting the city’s vibrant sound. Before “America the Beautiful,” a full-on New Orleans-style party, replete with a marching band charting through local hits, took the field to set off the festivities.

The Super Bowl pregame performers were all culled from the Big Easy and its surrounding areas, with Jon Batiste...

Diane Warren has never won an Oscar. But she has a lot of nominations.

The songwriter is up for her 16th nod in the original song category for “The Journey” from Tyler Perry’s Netflix movie “The Six Triple Eight” performed by H.E.R. And while she does have an honorary Oscar, which the Academy awarded her in 2022, she has yet to land a competitive one.

Of course, she would like that to finally, at long last, happen: “Yes, I would like to break my decades-long tradition and win.”

Could this finally be her year?

Warren’s song is up against two songs from “Emilia Pérez,” “El Mal” and “Mi Camino,” as well as “Never Too Late” from the documentary “Elton John: Never Too Late” and “Like a Bird” from A24’s prison drama “Sing Sing.”

“The Six Triple Eight” producer Keri Selig was the one who pitched Warren on the...

For the first time since 2022, this year’s South by Southwest Film & Television Festival does not overlap with the Oscars — which seems to have given SXSW curators a richer field to pull from, as the 2025 lineup has no shortage of buzzy titles and stars. Running from March 7-15, the festival will present 111 movies and 17 series featuring the likes of Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick, Seth Rogen, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi, Ben Affleck, Nicole Kidman, Matthew McConaughey, Issa Rae, Jenna Ortega, Daveed Diggs and more.

The festival will open with “Another Simple Favor,” the sequel to the 2018 comedic thriller “A Simple Favor,” once again starring Lively and Kendrick and directed by Paul Feig. The new film is set in Capri, Italy, where Stephanie (Kendrick) and Emily (Lively) travel for Emily’s wedding to a rich Italian businessman; as the logline reveals, “murder and betrayal” ensue. Andrew Rannells, Bashir Salahuddin, Henry Golding, Elizabeth Perkins,...

The Society of Composers and Lyricists, the main organization representing film and television composers and songwriters, has asked the Motion Picture Academy to reconsider its decision to drop the Best Song performances from the upcoming Oscars ceremony.

In a letter to the Academy on Friday obtained by Gold Derby, the Scl’s president, Ashley Irwin, said the move to eliminate the song performances is a “devaluation” of the artists who created the music and suggests even including a portion of each nominated song would be welcome.

“Our members, who number over 4,000 in more than 80 countries worldwide, including the majority of the Motion Picture Academy Music Branch, are disappointed over the decision to eliminate the Oscar-nominated song performances at the 97th Academy Awards,” the letter reads. “The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and an award like the Oscar, has always served to amplify and honor the work of talented craftspeople,...

The Society of Composers & Lyricists, whose members include many of the industry’s top songwriters and film composers, has asked the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to reconsider its decision, announced the day before nominations were announced, of eliminating performances of the five nominated songs at this year’s Oscar ceremony.

As Deadline reported, the Academy is making changes to the show this year, some in direct response to the effect of the devastating L.A. wildfires, and also to find ways to honor the filmmakers in ways that single out their honored achievements. In a letter sent to members on January 22, AMPAS CEO Bill Kramer stated, “Also, this year the Best Original Song category presentation will move away from live performances and will be focused on the songwriters. We will celebrate their artistry through personal reflections from the teams who bring these songs to life. All of this,...

The Society of Composers & Lyricists, which describes itself as “the premier organization for professional songwriters and composers working in film and other visual media” and counts all of this year’s Oscar-nominated songwriters as members, is calling on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to walk back its recently announced decision to remove the performances of Oscar-nominated songs from this year’s Oscars telecast.

In a letter sent on Friday to the Academy’s CEO, president and board of governors, as well as to the producers of the March 2 Oscars telecast, Scl president Ashley Irwin said the organization’s members are “disappointed” in the Academy’s decision, calling it “just another example of the devaluation of music, and its creators” and a move that serves to “silence songwriters.”

Noting that the performers of this year’s Oscar-nominated songs would include past Oscar winners H.E.R. and Elton John, as well as Brandi Carlile,...

Exclusive: Miles Caton, who is making his feature debut in Ryan Coogler’s period genre movie Sinners, has inked with Artists First for representation.

Sinners opens over Easter weekend on April 18. The Michal B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Delroy Lindo and Jack O’Connell starring pic follows twin brothers, who return to their hometown to start again as they try to leave their troubled lives behind. They discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.

Caton is known for his work as a R&b performer with powerhouse vocals. Caton has been singing since the age of two and grew up a child prodigy of gospel great, Timiney Figueroa. He has performed with the likes of Fred Hammond, Faith Evans, Erica Campbell, Smokie Norful, and Bishop Td Jakes. He toured the world as a supporting vocalist for H.E.R. and performed at the Grammys as well as the Academy Awards.

Pop quiz. Do you remember what won the Oscar for Best Original Song last year? Here’s a hint: Think pink.

You can listen to Billie Eilish singing "What Was I Made For?” the 2024 Oscar winner on Netflix right now. (It’s in Barbie if you didn’t know.) You can also catch the 2023 Best Song "Naatu Naatu,” from Rrr. But will you be able to hear this year’s winner on Netflix?

After the nominations were announced today, I think there’s a pretty good chance. Three of the five songs nominated for this year’s award are in movies currently available for streaming on Netflix. Before I get to them, let me just mention two other songs currently on Netflix that were on the Academy’s shortlist and did not get Oscar noms because they happen to be two of my three favorites this year.

If you want some good music,...

Tyler Perry’s film The Six Triple Eight packs a real emotional punch. And it has a marquee track to match. “The Journey” — written for the World War II drama, with music and lyrics by Diane Warren — has been nominated for the Academy Awards in the Best Original Song category. “I'm so proud and honored to be nominated for my song ‘The Journey’ from Tyler Perry’s film The Six Triple Eight,” says Warren. “Inspired by the powerful, true story of these incredible women and brought to life with perfection by the amazing artist H.E.R., this song about resilience resonates within the movie and in life. We are all on our own journey.”

With soaring, unmistakable vocals by Academy and Grammy Award–winning artist H.E.R., the song is featured in the film . Warren is known for heart-wrenching ballads, and has crafted some of her biggest hits (with collaborators...

The Super Bowl Halftime Show just got a lot bigger. On Thursday, Apple Music announced that Sza will be joining Kendrick Lamar during this year’s halftime show, hosted at New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome on Feb. 9.

Apple Music shared a video of Lamar and Sza to make the announcement. “What’s up with it. Everything’s smooth. I’m on the field right now… This feels a lot better than what people think, so that’s a must,” says Lamar on the phone, as Sza approaches the rapper from behind.

Diane Warren this morning broke her own record for Oscar nominations in the Original Song category, raising her tally to 16. Her latest nomination is for the end credits song “The Journey” from Tyler Perry’s Netflix movie The Six Triple Eight performed by H.E.R.

This also marks Warren’s eighth nomination in the category in a row over the past eight years. Starring Kerry Washington, The Six Triple Eight tells the story of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, an all-Black battalion of the US Women’s Army Corps assigned the daunting task of sorting through and delivering thousands of pieces of mail between soldiers and their families during World War II.

Warren also holds a record for 15 nominations and no win in the Original Song category. (She received an honorary Oscar in 2022.) Warren probably hopes that H.E.R.’s luck will rub off on her — H.E.R.

The Academy Award nominations will be announced on Thursday morning, and following the recent LA wildfires, all eyes have been on the upcoming ceremony and the plan to move forward. But how will they find time for that in a show that historically has often run over schedule? Well, it is time to cut the musical acts.

In a letter sent to Academy members by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang (via Variety), the plans for the upcoming Academy Award ceremony were detailed before the announcements are read on Jan. 23, 2025, at 5:30 a.m. Pt. They confirmed the Academy Awards would still be held on Mar. 2, 2025, and that the ceremony "will honor Los Angeles as the city of dreams, showcasing its beauty and resilience, as well as its role as a beacon for filmmakers and creative visionaries for over a century. We...

The songs nominated in the Best Original Song category at this year’s Academy Awards will not be performed live on the Oscar show, according to an email sent to Academy members Wednesday afternoon.

In a letter to the membership, Academy CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang said that the presentation would “move away from live performances” and instead celebrate the nominated songwriters through “personal reflections.”

That decision would do away with performances that could include Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez performing the “Emilia Perez” songs “El Mal” and “Mi Camino,” respectively, as well as performances of new songs from Elton John, Maren Morris, H.E.R. and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

The move comes a year after an Oscar show whose most talked-about moment was Ryan Gosling’s performance of the nominated song “I’m Just Ken” from “Barbie.”

The email does promise “powerful musical moments that connect film...