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Selena Gomez On Hollywood Struggles ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

The Hollywood industry can be complicated and difficult for everyone to navigate. Selena Gomez has repeatedly opened up about her many struggles over the years. The pop star has been basking in the glory of receiving two Golden Globe 2025 nominations.

Despite the ups, an actor faces many downs throughout one’s career. Recently, the 32-year-old called the industry a very “isolating” place. Here’s what Gomez dished out about, including her defense mechanisms to deal with the consistent highs and lows.

Selena Gomez On How ‘Isolating’ The Hollywood Industry Is

During the Academy Women’s Luncheon, the actress gave a touching speech about Hollywood’s trials and tribulations. “I know firsthand how isolating this industry will feel at times,” she said. She added that being in rooms like this and talking to incredible women reminds her that she is not alone, and neither is anyone else.

Jennifer Lopez may be from the Bronx, but she has Hispanic roots that she couldn’t be prouder of. The prolific singer only found herself getting closer to her heritage when she started singing in Spanish.

What Jennifer Lopez has said about making music in Spanish Jennifer Lopez | Gilbert Flores / Getty Images

Lopez found something new about herself as an artist when she sung in her family’s native tongue. Although she’s of Hispanic descent, she admitted to having difficulty learning the language.

“I grew up speaking English,” she once told Glamour. “My parents moved here when they were very young, and my two grandmothers were the only people in my family who spoke Spanish. It wasn’t until I did Selena [1997] that I started actively trying to learn the language. I realized I was going to have to do interviews in Spanish and didn’t want to be embarrassed.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner have a friendly relationship post-divorce. The couple went their separate ways in 2015 after 10 years of marriage, and they finalized their divorce in 2018. In 2024, Garner and Affleck were often spotted together, as she allegedly helped her ex get through his marital woes to Jennifer Lopez. Now that Lopez and Affleck are officially over, an insider says that Affleck wants Garner’s help in finding his next match.

Ben Affleck allegedly wants Jennifer Garner’s help in finding his next relationship

Ben Affleck hasn’t had the best luck in finding love. He and Jennifer Lopez initially fell in love in the early 2000s and got engaged in 2002. Two years later, they broke up, leading Affleck to date and marry Jennifer Garner in 2005. Garner and Affleck separated after 10 years of marriage in 2015, though they vowed to remain friendly for the good of their three kids. Affleck and...

Love After Lockup star, Arthur Henderson is claiming that Hope was the one who shot herself and not the other way around. He is currently incarcerated and attempting to bring in the funds to make bond. So, what is his new plan and how exactly did Hope shoot herself? Keep reading for more details.

Love After Lockup Arthur Claims Hope Shot Herself

Arthur Henderson was released and appeared on Love After Lockup with his girlfriend, Hope. They struggled a lot as she had been unfaithful. Yet, she worried he would not be able to take care of her the way that she wanted. So, there was a lot to deal with and it was not going to end well. They broke up and Arthur ended up getting arrested again. It also came out that he shot Hope three times in her backside after he came by her home to retrieve some items.

The Bold and The Beautiful spoilers and updates reveal Hope Logan (Annika Noelle) is determined to grow from her past experiences and steer clear of making the same mistakes again.

After the painful end of her marriage to Liam Spencer (Scott Clifton), she is committed to not reliving that heartache.

The Bold And The Beautiful Spoilers – Hope Logan’s Waffled Herself

This is a soap opera we’re discussing, and the characters are experts at repeating their past, which leaves us questioning whether Liam and Hope’s love story has truly reached its end.

Liam would certainly welcome the opportunity for another chapter, and despite Hope’s efforts to distance herself, there might be a part of her that still yearns for him.

On the other hand, the allure of a new romance with Carter Walton (Lawrence Saint-Victor) is incredibly enticing at the moment.

Hope sees Carter as a chance for a fresh beginning,...

The new Irish road movie “500 Miles” has added three experienced actors to its cast as filming gets underway. The family drama follows two brothers who go on a journey across Ireland to find their estranged grandfather. Irish actress Clare Dunne and British actors Michael Socha and Dexter Sol Ansell have all joined the production.

Dunne is well known for her lead roles in previous Irish films “Herself” and “Kin.” Socha starred in popular television shows like “Once Upon a Time” and “This Is England.” Ansell has an upcoming role in the “Game of Thrones” prequel series. The boys will be played by Bill Nighy as their grandfather and Roman Griffin Davis, who rose to fame in “Jojo Rabbit.” “Game of Thrones” star Maisie Williams also has a role in the movie.

Directed by Morgan Matthews, whose past works include “X+Y” and “Williams,” the film explores family reconciliation against Ireland’s scenic backdrops.

Sister Wives star Robyn Brown stays off in a corner all by herself as her other co-stars hop online to keep the fans interested between seasons of their TLC series. Yes, even Kody Brown does his little bit, but not Robyn.

Sister Wives: Robyn Brown Was a Gift to the Family?

Robyn Brown’s demeanor wasn’t always sullen. And she didn’t always see herself as a victim, as the fans describe her behavior today. When she first came into the Sister Wives family, she knew this caused turmoil and jealousy among her co-wives. But she thought she could fix it.

Sister Wives | TLC

She had that gift of structuring conversations so they didn’t go sideways, as they did before she got there. This is how Robyn described her contribution to the Sister Wives family.

At the time, Robyn believed what she brought to the family would eventually...

Bankside Films is in development on Everything I Ever Knew, a true-life story to be directed by Mamma Mia! and The Iron Lady filmmaker Phyllida Lloyd.

It explores the story of a woman named Jacqui who discovers, after 25 years, that the father of her eldest son was an undercover police officer. The case is the subject of an ongoing public inquiry that reveals one of the worst cases of state-sanctioned abuse of women in recent British history.

The UK feature is based on a screenplay by Suzie Miller, the writer behind Olivier and Tony-award winning hit one-woman play Prima Facie,...

While every season of the Netflix hit The Circle has exciting twists, Season 6 is starting with a big tease. Fans are in for a treat to meet the new cast and see some of the wild tricks planned for this season.

The Circle Returns

All and all, the cast for The Circle Season 6 is looking fabulous, but one new player may have a leg up on the competition. While the name of the game is to win friends and influence others through the social media platform, the host, Michelle Buteau always seems to spice things up throughout. During the episodes, the individuals create alliances and often break them too. All vying for the precious top influence spot to secure their stay in the race to $100,000.

The New Cast

Undeniably, the new players are looking good for The Circle Season 6. Scroll to see the competitors and the new twist:

Autumn Age:...

Bill Nighy and “Jojo Rabbit” breakout Roman Griffin Davis are lined up to star in “500 Miles,” directed by BAFTA winner Morgan Matthews.

Beta Cinema has acquired international sales rights to the film, and will launch sales at next week’s European Film Market.

The film, described as a “thrilling road movie full of heart, wit and wonder,” follows a broken family forced to come together when 16-year-old Finn (Davis) and his livewire younger brother Charlie run away from trouble at home in England to reach their estranged grandfather (Nighy) on Ireland’s stunning and wild west coast.

Matthews, director of drama “X+Y” starring Asa Butterfield and Sally Hawkins as well as documentary “Williams,” is set to direct from a script by Malcolm Campbell, based on the novel “Charlie and Me” by Mark Lowery.

Former head of BBC Film David Thompson is producing with Alex Gordon and Keren Misgav Ristvedt for Origin Pictures,...

October may be over but Halloween doesn’t truly come to an end until “The Simpsons” celebrate. And this year’s annual Halloween special is headed our way this weekend, in fact.

Treehouse of Horror Xxxiv premieres on Sunday, November 5 (8:00-8:31 Pm Et/Pt) on Fox!

While you wait, check out an exclusive sneak peek clip below, which previews the episode’s spoof of the 1991 horror movie The Silence of the Lambs. Lisa turns to a murderer from her past to help solve a mysterious new murder in the second segment, which sees Lisa playing the role of Clarice Starling and Sideshow Bob taking on the iconic role of Dr. Hannibal Lecter.

In Treehouse of Horror Xxxiv, “After Bart is turned into an Nft, Marge fights though the blockchain to rescue her son. To track down a gruesome serial killer, Lisa turns to a murderer from her past.

After his heart attack in 2018, Kevin Smith isn't even supposed to be here today — but boy, are we glad he still is! The New Jersey native with the gift of the gab has spent the better part of the past three decades willing his whimsy into reality. They say write about what you know, and Smith has made a solid career out of doing precisely that, much to the adoration of his die-hard fans across the globe.

It's more than that though. As one of the original indie filmmakers of the early '90s, Smith proved that anyone could make a movie. While Quentin Tarantino splattered us with blood and Wes Anderson perfected immaculate shots, Smith seemed like one of us — just a regular guy, with a regular life, who loved dissecting the big issues of the day like movies, TV, and the logistics of building a Death Star.

Cut...

You probably don’t know the name Lisa Hinds, but she is making an impact in the horror industry. Lisa is racking up some astounding credits, most recently as executive producer and playing the role of Lady Grey on the film, Devil’s Knight. This medieval tales stars some heavy hitters including Kevin Sorbo (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys) and Eric Roberts (The Dark Knight).

This week she wrapped on the horror film, Camp Pleasant Lake, where she was associate producer alongside Thomas Walton and Jared Safier. Camp Pleasant Lake stars Jonathan Lipnicki (Jerry Maguire), Michael Pare, Bonnie Aarons, and Mike Ferguson (Amityville Uprising).

This is only the tip of the iceberg when listing recent accomplishments. Lisa Hinds is producer on Macabre Mountain, Isleen Pines, Clowny, The Horror We Make (documentary), Wolf Hollow, Z Dead End, Halloween Evil Lives, Alien Vampire Busters, Amber Road, Area 5150, Bermuda Island, Buried Alive, Half Dead Fred,...

The adaptation of T.M. Logan’s novel “The Holiday” has an exclusive trailer and a U.S. release date as it announces a raft of sales.

The four-part limited drama – about “a dream family vacation that quickly turns into a nightmare” – will bow on Spectrum in the U.S. on June 20.

It stars Jill Halfpenny (“Humans”), Owen McDonnell (“Killing Eve”), Lara McDonnel (“Belfast”), and Aidan McArdle (“The Trial of Christine Keeler”). Rounding out the cast are Siobhan Hewlett (“Sherlock”), Liv Mjönes (“Hostage”), Andrew Macklin (“Doctor Who”), Cat Simmons (“Killing Eve”), Milly McCann (“Herself”), Aidan McCann (“Red Rock”) and newcomer Shaun O’Callaghan Wade.

“The Holiday,” which was shot in Malta, tells the story of a family who set off on an idyllic break, joined by some old friends. Things quickly begin to unravel, however, when Kate (Halfpenny) realizes her husband is having an affair with one of the them. “Tensions run...

Fremantle has acquired a majority stake in Element Pictures, the production company behind the acclaimed series “Normal People,” the upcoming “Conversations With Friends” and the award winning films “The Favourite” and “Room.”

The deal was spearheaded by Fremantle’s Group COO, and Continental Europe CEO, Andrea Scrosati and Lorenzo De Maio, of De Maio Entertainment. For Fremantle, the acquisition furthers their plans to invest in and develop premium production companies and creative talents from around the world. De Maio Entertainment, a Fremantle-backed company, will be a strategic advisor and partner across Element Pictures’ slate.

Last August, Rtl Group announced its aim to increase Fremantle’s full-year revenue target to €3 billion by 2025. The acquisition of Element Pictures forms part of Fremantle’s wider growth strategy to invest in production companies, content and talent.

Element Pictures is managed by co-founders Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe, with offices in Dublin, London, and Belfast,...

Natalie Holt has been set as the composer for Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi, becoming the first woman to score a live-action Star Wars project. She broke the news in an interview with Vanity Fair published on Friday, also confirming reports that longtime Star Wars composer John Williams will provide the show’s main title theme, in his first live-action Star Wars TV outing.

Holt teased that Williams’ past work on the franchise will serve as “tentpoles” for her own—and that she will look to bring her own “new and fresh” interpretation of Star Wars music to the series, via elements she can’t yet reveal. “It’s been glorious, working with my hero,” she said with reference to Williams, “and also bringing my own voice to the show.”

Holt also shared that Williams’ as-yet-unheard theme is “reflective” and “just entirely appropriate” for the series.

“It distills what the show...

Eleven of the projects are debut features.

European development programme Less Is More (Lim) has selected 16 feature film projects for its 2022 scheme, plus the 12 ‘development angels’ who will follow the development of the projects, and four tutors who will provide guidance to the selected teams.

Among the titles are Bethan, the debut feature of UK writer-director Zillah Bowes; and Deborah Viegas’ Brazilian-Portuguese debut feature Young Woman Seen From Behind.

Scroll down for the full list of projects, filmmakers and development angels

Eleven of the 16 films are from debut filmmakers, with four from second-time directors and one – Christian Volckman’s Herself – from a third-time filmmaker.

British singer/songwriter Rita Ora is the latest addition to Disney+’s Beauty and the Beast prequel series.

Set in the iconic kingdom from Beauty and the Beast yet years before Beast and Belle’s epic romance, the series will follow Gaston and LeFou (played by Luke Evans and Josh Gad) as a surprising revelation sends them and LeFou’s stepsister, Tilly (The Tender Bar‘s Briana Middleton), on an unexpected journey filled with romance, comedy and adventure.

More from TVLineMacy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2018: Rita Ora's Lip Sync Battle and MoreABC Competition Boy Band Recruits Rita Ora, Nick Carter...

European Film Promotion has announced the 10 rising young actors selected for the 25th edition of European Shooting Stars, the promotional event held during the Berlinale that has been instrumental to boosting careers of top talents such as Alicia Vikander, Riz Ahmed, Alba Rohrwacher and George MacKay.

Due to Omicron-related constraints, this year’s Shooting Stars is taking place as a hybrid edition comprising some online events being scheduled before the Berlinale, while others will take place on-site during the festival. One of the program’s highlights will be the European Shooting Stars Awards Ceremony set for Feb. 14 at the Berlinale Palast.

The 10 selected European Shooting Stars for 2022 are: Gracija Filipović (Croatia); Marie Reuther (Denmark); Anamaria Vartolomei (France); Emilio Sakraya (Germany); Clare Dunne (Ireland); Hanna van Vliet (The Netherlands); João Nunes Monteiro (Portugal); Timon Sturbej (Slovenia); Evin Ahmad (Sweden); and Souheila Yacoub (Switzerland).

This year’s roster – three men and seven women – of standout actors,...

“The Witcher” writer Declan De Barra is teaming up with new outfit Sleeper Films for television drama “Corballymore House.”

Inspired by De Barra’s own family history, the series is set in a remote Manor House before the First World War. De Barra will act as showrunner on the series, which is being.co-produced by Ben Grass of Pure Grass Films while Diane Ademu-John (“The Haunting of Bly Manor”) boards as creative consultant and exec producer. It will soon be pitched to select buyers.

Sleeper Films, which has offices in London and Dublin, is the new company from Lee Magiday (“The Favourite”), Rory Gilmartin (“Herself”) and Wilf Varvill. It is backed by MediaNet Partners and Sampsonic Media.

BAFTA Award-winner Magiday, who previously worked at Focus Features and Universal Pictures International, and former Element Pictures in-house producer Gilmartin, each bring with them decades of experience in the audio-visual industry. Varvill previously...

These include a supernatural thriller series titled ’Corballymore House’.

Sleeper Films, the London and Dublin-based production company founded by The Favourite producer Lee Magiday, has revealed plans to ramp up its output across TV and film, with a refreshed slate of projects in development.

Magiday founded the company in 2016, with Rory Gilmartin and and Wilf Varvill joining in 2019 as producers and partners. Gilmartin’s previous credits as a producer include feature Herself and Channel 4/Amazon Prime series Frank Of Ireland.

Varvill has worked at a leading film and TV completion guarantor, where he was closely involved in the financial...

Sleeper Films, the London and Dublin-based film and TV company run by Lee Magiday (The Favourite), Rory Gilmartin (Herself) and Wilf Varvill, has secured investment from MediaNet Partners and Sampsonic Media.

New to the company’s development slate is supernatural thriller Corballymore House, a returnable TV series which is being co-produced with Ben Grass of Pure Grass Films.

Declan De Barra (The Witcher) will showrun, with Diane Ademu-John (Dune – The Sisterhood) onboard as creative consultant and EP.

Created by De Barra and inspired by stories from his own family history, Corballymore House is set just prior to the First World War and follows the Doyle family as they inherit a remote manor house while recovering from the loss of their baby and failed business. Setting out with renewed hope to heal and restore their fortunes, they realize their previous troubles are nothing compared to what lies in wait for them at Corballymore.

Bodyguard star Nina Toussaint-White is to lead a Channel 5 thriller from Deceit producer Story Films.

Toussaint-White will play Jodie in Witness No.3, a single mum who runs a hairdressing salon. One day at work, Jodie momentarily glances out of the window and in a split second her life descends into freefall. What she notices seems innocuous – two men walking on the opposite side of the road – but she’s actually witnessed a killer and his victim moments before a murder.

Joining the ensemble cast are Sion Daniel Young, Clare Dunne Ruaridh Mollica and Sue Johnston.

Filming in Ireland, the thriller from up-and-coming writer Thomas Eccleshare is the latest from the Viacom-owned UK broadcaster, which has been ramping up its drama offering following the success of the All Creatures Great and Small reboot and thrillers like The Drowning...

Exclusive: Harriet Walter, Avi Nash and Chinaza Uche will round out the cast of Wool, Apple’s world-building drama series based on the New York Times bestselling trilogy of dystopian novels by Hugh Howey.

They’ll appear alongside previously announced cast members Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Robbins, Common, Rashida Jones and David Oyelowo.

Written by Graham Yost and directed by Academy Award nominee Morten Tyldum, Wool is a set in a ruined and toxic future where a community exists in a giant silo underground, hundreds of stories deep. There, men and women live in a society full of regulations they believe are meant to protect them.

Walter will play Martha Walker, a veteran engineer who works in Mechanical, with Nash as Lukas Kyle, an It worker who rises to prominence after meeting independent...

The festival films will all be split across six strands, including competition titles.

Dinard Festival of British Film has set the programme and jury for its 32nd edition, which will take place from September 29 to October 3 both in-person in northern France and online.

Following the cancellation of the 2020 edition due to the pandemic, the festival returns with six new thematic strands, all exhibiting different aspects of UK and Irish film.

‘Dinard Rocks The Casbah’ presents four features exploring different musical genres – reggae, punk, britpop and techno. ‘Irish Eyes In Dinard’ includes five recent Irish features including Phyllida Lloyd’s Herself,...

Awards

Siân Heder’s “Coda,” an Apple original film, has won the 2021 Sundance Film Festival: London Award presented by BIFA.

The award was voted for by 40 leading professionals from the British film industry assembled by the British Independent Film Awards.

The film follows Ruby, a Coda or Child of Deaf Adults, who is torn between pursuing her love of music and her fear of abandoning her parents. The film stars Emilia Jones, Eugenio Derbez, Troy Kotsur, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Daniel Durant, and Marlee Matlin, and is produced by Philippe Rousselet, Fabrice Gianfermi and Patrick Wachsberger.

It had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S., where it won best director U.S. dramatic, U.S. grand jury prize: dramatic and the audience award: U.S. dramatic. Walsh-Peelo attended the London event with Heder joining virtually for a Q & A.

The film will debut in cinemas and on Apple TV Plus on Aug.

Despite school holidays, last weekend proved relatively quiet at the movies, with cinemas still shut in Sydney and other parts of the country.

Theatres will remain closed in Australia’s largest city and its surrounds, including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour, until at least July 9.

Capacity restrictions remain in place and masks are compulsory in cinemas in the rest of Nsw, as well as several other states.

Cinemas in Western Australia’s Perth and Peel, as well as Darwin and Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, were also closed for part of the weekend, reopening on Saturday. Lockdown restrictions in parts of regional Queensland ended on Friday, followed by Brisbane on Saturday evening.

As such, the top 20 titles tallied just $6.8 million, down 25 per cent on the previous, according to Numero.

However, exhibitors outside of Sydney have high hopes for this weekend, with the latest instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe,...

Series

The U.K. premiere screening of Ninja Thyberg’s feature debut “Pleasure” and a masterclass with “Herself” director Phyllida Lloyd have been added to the Sundance Film Festival: London program.

“Host” director Rob Savage joins the previously announced horror panel, “Scare Tactics – Making Modern Horror,” which also includes “Censor” director Prano Bailey Bond.

“Pleasure,” a deep dive into the world of adult entertainment, was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema – Dramatic category at the Sundance Film Festival in January and won the Fipresci Award at the Göteborg Film Festival.

The “Shaping The Truth – Discussing Documentary Ethics and Filmmaking” panel hosted by Doc Society’s Shanida Scotland will feature guests including directors Kristina Lindström and Kristian Petri (“The Most Beautiful Boy In The World”) and Sam Hobkinson (“Misha and the Wolves”).

The festival will open with Edgar Wright’s rockumentary “The Sparks Brothers” and the program also includes “Zola” and “Coda.

Strong totals for Phyllida Lloyd’s ‘Herself’, animation ‘Wolfwalkers’.

Coming-of-age drama Dating Amber, Element Pictures’ Herself, and Oscar nominee Wolfwalkers are among the best film contenders at this year’s Irish Film & Television Awards (IFTAs).

Element and BBC TV series Normal People leads the overall nominations, shortlisted in 15 categories.

Scroll down for the list of nominations

Nominations across 25 categories in film and TV drama have been announced, with the awards to take place virtually and be broadcast on Virgin Media One on Sunday, July 4.

Across all film categories including craft and technical, David Freyne’s Dating Amber, about two closeted teenagers in 1990s Ireland,...

Wildcard Distribution distributes in Ireland, UK.

Heading into the Cannes virtual pre-screenings event next month, Los Angeles-based Myriad Pictures has picked up international rights excluding the UK and Ireland to Irish comedy Deadly Cuts.

Rachel Carey wrote and directed the film, a Dublin International Film Festival Discovery Awards recipient for breakthrough talent that closed the festival in March.

Deadly Cuts follows a working class hair salon where young stylists Stacey, Gemma, and Chantelle and their boss Michelle accidentally become vigilantes and community heroes when they challenge gang members and gentrifiers threatening their community.

Angeline Ball (The Commitments), Victoria Smurfit, Ericka Roe,...

This article contains spoilers for Mare of Easttown episode 1.

There’s a dead body at the end of Mare of Easttown’s first episode. But you already knew that.

Even if you’ve not seen episode 1, “Miss Lady Hawk Herself”, you just intrinsically know that the HBO series starring Kate Winslet as an Eastern Pennsylvanian detective features a murder. That’s because crime dramas on television have developed a consistent, grim rhythm. From Broadchurch to True Detective to beyond, the first episode of any given crime drama will feature the discovery of a dead body.

The body in question will have belonged to a beautiful young person, often a woman, cut down in their prime. Detectives hover around the naked form with the same disappointed curiosity that one does for a cardinal that crashed into a window. Mare of Easttown episode 1 does not feature this exact scene, but it’s...

Paul Mescal emerged as one of the breakout stars of 2020 thanks to his performance in BBC and Hulu drama “Normal People.”

Ireland has seen a slew of such acting talent establish themselves in recent years, like Jessie Buckley with her star turn as the pregnant wife of a doomed Russian fireman in “Chernobyl” and Barry Keoghan, who won attention with lead roles in two 2017 films, “Killing of a Sacred Deer” and “Dunkirk.” Keoghan is now BAFTA-nominated for “Calm with Horses,” as is Niamh Algar, whose credits include “The Virtues” and “Raised by Wolves.” Elsewhere Domhnall Gleeson has made a name for himself as General Dux in recent “Star Wars” films, and also in “The Revenant” and “Ex Machina.”

Among the new generation of actors to watch are Fionn O’Shea, chosen as one of the Berlin Film Festival’s Shooting Stars of 2021. A “Normal People” alumnus, O’Shea will next be...

Oscars are a time capsule. Though pundits may quibble about nominees or winners, one thing is beyond question: The film choices reflect the year in which they were released.

For example, in 1946, “The Best Years of Our Lives” hit a nerve as people were trying to rebuild their lives after WWII. The 1969 “Midnight Cowboy” captured all the sexual confusion, excitement and fear of that tumultuous decade.

This year’s contenders similarly reflect the moment we’re living in: a time of racial tension, gender battles, political wars, health issues and an overriding sense of doubt and isolation. A montage of 2020 film highlights would sum up the year just as accurately as newsreel clips.

Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7” perfectly parallels the current outrage at government lies and manipulations. Like many of the awards contenders, it’s set in the past, but it’s very much concerned...

Long ago, about a year ago to be exact, when Covid-19 first reared its ugly head and the United States was not yet the fiery petri dish of percolating viral plague it would soon come to be, friends and I gathered in our Los Angeles area homes, expecting lockdown to last three, four weeks, at most. It’s insane to think so now, but there was a faint haze of domestic bliss in the air as people envisioned not having to drive to the office, staying home cocooned in weighted blankets while baking bread and writing that long overdue Great American Novel as the children busied themselves with pastel paints, macaroni art and TikTok videos.

Even as Los Angeles was ordered to lockdown on March 19, with schools, restaurants and various other brick and mortar businesses shuttered, there remained this fleeting notion that by summer, all would return to normal. Kids would head to summer camps,...

Filmmakers need to be a bit psychic. They work on projects for years, not knowing if the fickle audience will connect with the themes and topics when the film eventually opens. In 2020, the movie gods have smiled: A number of awards contenders are centered on health and work — concerns that are especially crucial this year, though no one could have predicted this when the projects began.

Characters who are forced to change their lives have been a staple of drama since Sophocles. This year, the theme has added impact.

In “Nomadland,” Frances McDormand loses her job and her husband dies. So she leaves her home and lives out of her van, traveling to wherever there is paying work. In “Sound of Metal,” a drummer (Riz Ahmed) goes deaf and has to completely rethink his profession and his music. Sandra (Clare Dunne), the protagonist of “Herself,” separates from her abusive husband and starts a new life,...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Thursday revealed the 366 feature films that are eligible for consideration at the 93rd Oscars, which are set to air April 25 live on ABC.

The total number of films is up from last year’s 344 films in contention.

This year’s list was compiled based on tweaked eligibility rules implemented because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has pushed the ceremony to its latest date ever. For this year, feature films had to open by February 28 in a commercial motion picture theater for a seven-day qualifying run in at least one of six metro areas: Los Angeles County, New York City, the Bay Area, Chicago, Miami and Atlanta. Drive-in theaters open nightly were included as qualifying venues, as were films intended for theatrical release but because of the lockdown made available first via streaming, VOD service or other broadcast.

Today’s news comes...

The casting branch of the academy is only seven years old and doesn’t have an Oscar category of its own. However, the Casting Society of America has been handing out the Artios Awards for 35 years (“Artios” is from the ancient Greek meaning “perfectly fitted.”). Nominees for feature films were announced on February 19 and many of the leading 2021 Oscar contenders reaped bids across the various categories according to production cost.

Winners will be revealed a virtual ceremony on April 15. In addition, The Actors Fund will be honored with the Rosalie Joseph Humanitarian Award while casting directors Robi Reed and Tara Rubin will receive the Hoyt Bowers Award.

Last year’s big budget winners were the comedy “Knives Out” and the drama “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” while “Jojo Rabbit” and “Marriage Story” took the equivalent prizes in the independent division. “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” won the...

⊗ Film is supposed to be inclusive. But if you can’t see yourself on-screen, do you feel as if you even exist? One-third of our lives is spent at work, and the artists who express their creativity through cinema deserve to have their work seen, and not just because of the color of their skin or their gender but because when you are exposed to an experience different from your own, your creativity grows. Take a moment to review this list of eligible films, putting a check mark on the ones you have seen from this year. Ideally, that will leave you with a clearer picture of how you are contributing to cinema’s evolution with your votes.

Your goal should be to watch all of these films, but let’s be realistic. Try seeing at least 60% of them. All meet the Academy’s diversity requirements — in front of or...

The awards season’s narrative has been the “year of the women,” as female filmmakers, screenwriters and artisans have been making strong cases for nominations at the Oscars in categories like best picture and director. The Writers Guild of America Awards, however, might have missed the memo, only nominating four women over two films: Emerald Fennell for “Promising Young Woman” and Jena Friedman, Erica Rivinoja and Nina Pedrad, three co-writers from “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.”

In the three categories for original, adapted and documentary feature, 31 total screenwriters were nominated, four of which are women, and three come from the same feature film.

Many high-profile contenders were not eligible for recognition, including “Nomadland” (Chloé Zhao) and “Pieces of a Woman” (Kata Wéber), along with independent darlings like “The Assistant” (Kitty Green), “Farewell Amor” (Ekwa Msangi) and “Herself” (Clare Dunne). Despite this fact, there were still many to choose from.

Nina Pedrad, sister...

The Writers Guild of America Awards announced their nominations where big boosts were given to films like “Judas and the Black Messiah” from Shaka King, “Palm Springs” from Max Barbakow and “The White Tiger” from Ramin Bahrani.

Missing from the lineup, that was eligible, are “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” in the original screenplay category and “First Cow” and “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” in the adapted.

The full list of nominations is below:

Original Screenplay

“Judas and the Black Messiah” (Warner Bros) – Screenplay by Will Berson & Shaka King, Story by Will Berson & Shaka King and Kenny Lucas & Keith Lucas “Palm Springs” (Hulu/Neon) – Screenplay by Andy Siara, Story by Andy Siara & Max Barbakow “Promising Young Woman” (Focus Features) – Written by Emerald Fennell “Sound of Metal” (Amazon Studios) – Screenplay by Darius Marder & Abraham Marder, Story by Darius Marder & Derek Cianfrance “The Trial of the Chicago 7” (Netflix) – Written by Aaron Sorkin...

The WGA on Tuesday unveiled the movie nominations for its 2021 WGA Awards, honoring outstanding achievement in screenwriting of original, adapted and documentary films during 2020. Winners will be March 21 in a virtual ceremony. Check out the full list below.

The Original Screenplay category covers comedy, drama, mystery and more as the scribes behind Judas and the Black Messiah, Palm Springs, Promising Young Woman, Sound of Metal and The Trial of the Chicago 7 will vie for the hardware.

The Adapted Screenplay race will be among Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, News of the World, One Night in Miami and The White Tiger.

On the documentary side, All In: The Fight for Democracy, The Dissident, Herb Alpert Is…, Red Penguins and Totally Under Control will battle it out for the WGA trophy.

The eligibility period is January 1, 2020-February 28, 2021.

The WGA is the only guild that requires a movie to have been...

Only scripts written under the WGA guidelines or those of several international partners are allowed to vie for the Writers Guild of America Awards. This limited eligibility means that these precursor prizes, which reveals its roster for the 2021 WGA Awards on February 16, are not the most reliable barometer of the eventual Oscar nominees and winners. Indeed, in the past 11 years only 73 of the Writers Guild of America Awards nominees have numbered among the 110 screenplays that reaped Academy Awards bids.

Among those ineligible for consideration this year are some of the leading Oscar contenders, including the original screenplays for “Mank” and “Minari” and the adapted screenplays for “The Father,” “The Life Ahead” and “Nomadland.”

Other original scripts that aren’t eligible include those for “Ammonite,” “The Assistant,” “Farewell Amor,” “Herself,” “Ordinary Love,” “Supernova” and “The Climb.”

And other adaptations out of the running include “Blithe Spirit,” “Hope Gap,” “Martin Eden,” “The Personal History of David Copperfield,...

Clare Dunne co-wrote and stars in the Amazon film “Herself,” which tells the story of a single mother in Dublin who decides to build her own house. Her performance in the film netted her a Best Actress nomination from the British Independent Film Awards.

Dunne recently spoke with Gold Derby contributing writer Kevin Jacobsen about how her friend’s struggles inspired “Herself,” working with director Phyllida Lloyd and what it was like watching her film from start to finish for the first time. Watch the exclusive webchat above and read the transcript below.

SEEAmazon’s Golden Globe track record might spell good news for ‘Herself’ star Clare Dunne

Gold Derby: Let’s just start with how you conceived of this idea. This is your first screenplay that has been produced. You star in the film. So what was it that inspired you to tell this story?

Clare Dunne: At the time,...

“Saint Maud,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Nomadland,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and “Ammonite” are among the leading films on the British Academy of Film and Television Arts’ (BAFTA) longlist for annual British Film Awards that were announced Thursday.

The publication of the longlists follows the BAFTA 2020 Review, where over 120 wide-ranging changes were introduced across voting, membership and campaigning to address a lack of diversity in the 2020 Film Awards nominations. As part of these changes, a new longlisting initial round was introduced for the awards, resulting in three rounds of voting. Round one voting, which took place from Jan. 12-26, produced the longlists in all categories.

The directing category sees the BAFTA make an effort towards gender parity. To determine this longlist, in Round One, the directing chapter voted and the top eight female and top eight male directed films were automatically longlisted. The remaining two female and two...

Amazon has been a consistent player at the Golden Globes in recent years, not only on the TV side but with films. Just last year, it got multiple films nominated at the Globes, including for “Les Miserables,” “Late Night” and “The Report.” This year, the streaming service has numerous contenders, including “One Night in Miami,” “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” and “Sound of Metal.” But one that could also surprise is “Herself,” for Best Film Drama Actress hopeful Clare Dunne.

Dunne, who also co-wrote “Herself,” plays Sandra, a single mother whose experience dealing with the complicated housing system in Dublin prompts her to build her own house. Critics have raved about her “quietly powerful” performance, but it has mostly gone under the radar as critics groups have crowned their winners. This may be due to the film’s release date, having been released in theaters on Dec. 30 and going to streaming in...

How to assess the financial success of Sundance 2020? Covid-19 makes standard box-office metrics impossible, but in sheer availability the titles reached a new high. About 85 percent of the 128 feature films and television programs that showed at Park City last year made their way to the broader public of North America, or will this year.

Revenue — the kind that’s visible to the naked eye — is another matter. All Sundance 2019 films that received a theatrical release totaled $125 million in domestic gross. Although pandemic delays mean multiple titles have yet to be released, the total box office for Sundance 2020 is a little over $18 million. That drop mirrors the overall box-office decline.

This is where we’d like to compare and contrast box-office figures, and make predictions about the current Sundance market, but the revenue or value generated by VOD, Premium VOD, or streaming — platforms where they (presumably) made the most money — are unknown.

The number of films available to Oscar voters in a screening room devoted to the Best Picture category hit the 200 mark on Wednesday, which means that $2.5 million has entered the Academy coffers from films paying $12,500 each to be represented in the screening room.

The members-only Academy Screening Room hit the milestone with the addition of more than a dozen movies this week, including Fisher Stevens’ “Palmer,” Lee Daniels’ “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” John Lee Hancock’s “The Little Things,” the Russo brothers’ “Cherry,” Josh Trank’s “Capone,” the documentary “Coup 53,” the Studio Ghibli animated film “Earwig and the Witch,” the international films “Funny Boy” and “Bacarau” (neither eligible in the Oscars’ Best International Feature Film category) and some off-the-wall selections, including “Snake White – Love Endures” and “Soorarai Pottru.”

Other late additions to the screening room have included “Minari,” “Promising Young Woman,” “The White Tiger” and “Cherry,” which were not added until January.

Irish actress Clare Dunne stars in Herself, a harrowing drama about a single mother who, after escaping an abusive partner, aims to rebuild her life in a unique manner. After months of struggling with the welfare and housing systems, she comes upon the idea of self-building an affordable home and, with the help of friends and neighbors, rebuilds her life and theirs from the ground up.

“I just had a friend who was basically in that similar situation,” Dunne says during the Amazon Studios film’s panel at Deadline’s Contender Film awards-season event. “She didn’t go on to build a house like Sandra, but I was inspired by, I suppose, the injustice of it all.”

The pic, which had its world premiere at last year’s Sundance festival, marks the first feature from director Phyllida Lloyd since 2011’s Iron Lady. Lloyd, who previously worked with Dunne in an...

The music branch has been notorious for high-profile disqualifications and ineligibilities in the last few years. Last week, the BAFTA Awards website released a draft of what films are eligible for the upcoming show, set to take place on April 11, with nominations being announced on March 9. The list notes a film’s eligibility during the newly revamped round one voting period, which began on Jan. 12 and will conclude on Jan. 26.

The British Academy provided a roadmap of the musical scores that are not eligible for the Academy Awards and should not be expected for the shortlist announcement of 15, scheduled for Feb. 9.

The biggest contender that will be missing is “One Night in Miami” by composer Terence Blanchard. Distributed by Amazon Studios and directed by Academy Award winner Regina King, the film was seen as a major hopeful for the veteran musician, who received his first nomination for 2018’s “BlacKkKlansman.” To be eligible for the BAFTAs,...

In today’s Global Bulletin, Inclusive Cinema addresses racism; Swipe pops champagne documentary; BFI seeks film fund director; Sky goes green; Sovereign acquires “Verdict”; and Blackstone buys “Stars Wars” building.

The U.K.’s Inclusive Cinema project has launched a guide for improving the cinema experiences of ethnically diverse audiences and staff — a directive that challenges institutions to make good on their Black Lives Matter and anti-racism statements from 2020.

The guide, titled “Dismantling Structural Inequality in Your Cinema,” was commissioned from artist and freelancer Sadia Pineda Hameed, and is cited by its writer as “the last toolkit that cinemas should need.” The toolkit examines the role of cinemas in the context of systemic injustice and focuses on preventing harm towards people of color. From immediately actionable tools, to encouraging inner, reflective and dialogue-based work, towards undoing systemic injustice, the guide is intended to create lasting change for future generations, and...