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Exclusive: The Writers Guild of America East has a new class of Showrunner Academy graduates.

The 2024 class includes Radha Blank, Eleanor Burgess, Dominic Colón, Grainger David, Gerry de Leon, Kate Erickson, Gina Gionfriddo, Eliot Glazer, Eric Anthony Glover, Leah Gotcsik, Joseph Hampton, Christina Kallas, Nambi E. Kelley, Greg Lisi, Ted Malawer, Tim Mason, M Raven Metzner, Nathan Min, Adam Whitney Nichols, Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu, Charlie Oh, Celeste Parr, Jacquelyn Reingold, Dan Perlman, Katie Rich, Zach Smilovitz, Lauren Ashley Smith, Iturri Sosa, Jim Strouse and Mfoniso Udofia.

The Wgae’s Showrunner Academy is a training program that is designed for upper-level writers to hone their skills “to become successful showrunners and leaders in today’s television industry.”

The Academy is also “specific to the unique landscape and needs of the East Coast” in the instruction that it provides.

The full list of graduates and their bios are below.

Radha Blank is a Director,...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Ampas) has invited 487 artists and executives to become members, with Sandra Huller, Justin Triet, Celine Song and Da’Vine Joy Randolph among the high profile invitees.

Also invited to join are actors Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Fiona Shaw, directors Alice Diop, David Yates and S S Rajamouli, and writers Arthur Harari and Tony McNamara.

Executives invited to join that branch of the Academy include British Film Institute CEO Ben Roberts and Fifth Season co-CEOs Chris Rice and Graham Taylor.

Among those invited to join the costume designers branch are Holly Waddington and Małgorzata Karpiuk.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Ampas) has invited 487 artists and executives to become members, with Sandra Huller, Justin Triet, Celine Song and Da’Vine Joy Randolph among the high profile invitees.

Also invited to join are actors Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Fiona Shaw, directors Alice Diop, David Yates and S S Rajamouli, and writers Arthur Harari and Tony McNamara.

Executives invited to join that branch of the Academy include British Film Institute CEO Ben Roberts and Fifth Season co-CEOs Chris Rice and Graham Taylor.

Among those invited to join the costume designers branch are Holly Waddington and Małgorzata Karpiuk.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Tuesday that it is extending invitations to 487 to join the membership ranks of the Oscar organizer. If all accept, it will bring the Academy’s total membership to 10,910, of which 9,934 would be voting members.

This year’s list across 19 branches include 2024 Oscar winners Da’Vine Joy Randolph from The Holdovers; Poor Things costume designer Holly Waddington and production design team James Price, Shona Heath and Zsuzsa Mihalek; 20 Days in Mariupol director Mstyslav Chernov, War Is Over! producer Brad Booker; The Zone of Interest sound duo Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn; the Godzilla Minus One VFX team Tatsuji Nojima, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi and Takashi Yamazaki; American Fiction writer-director Cord Jefferson; and Anatomy of a Fall writing duo Justine Triet and Arthur Harari.

Jefferson and Triet are among eight names on the list who were invited to more than one branch (noted...

Reflecting on her career, Lena Waithe says, “I think about legacy a lot.” The writer-producer-actor, whose body of work includes creating Showtime drama The Chi and BET’s Twenties, has been on a steady upward trajectory since winning a primetime Emmy Award in 2017 for outstanding writing on Netflix’s Master of None. But for Waithe, success raised questions about where she was headed. “I didn’t know what I was actually trying to build. I wanted to have real agency over my career, but it was also not just about me, it’s about who I can work with.”

Together with Rishi Rajani, a studio exec who honed his skills at 20th Century Fox, UTA, Paradigm, and Studio 8, Waithe has created a multi-platform entertainment company that accomplishes both. At Hillman Grad Productions, Waithe and Rishi develop projects that often go against the industry grain, while also hiring up-and-coming talent...

Filmmaker Eric Branco, best known for his work as a cinematographer on films like Clemency and The 40-Year-Old Version, has signed on to make his feature directorial debut with the drama Silent Partner for Black Man Films

Based on a short film of the same name, Silent Partner is written by actor and Black Man Films co-founder Roderick Lawrence, James J. Johnson, and Branco. The pic follows a Black attorney in New York who is thrust into a stand-your-ground case by a senior partner. He is asked to defend a white woman who has murdered a Black teen. The story focuses on the attorney’s moral struggle, his relationship with his wife, and the black professional experience of microaggressions in the workplace and systemic racism in the justice system. The film began production last week in New York City. Cast features Roderick Lawrence, Susan Heyward, Eric Nelsen, and Jeff Perry.

A version of this story about Lena Waithe and “Being Mary Tyler Moore” first appeared in the Down to the Wire: Comedy/Variety/Reality/Nonfiction issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.

You’d expect people like James L. Brooks and Rob Reiner to be involved in a documentary about actress and producer Mary Tyler Moore, a TV pioneer who died in 2017 at the age of 80 — and they are part of the HBO documentary “Being Mary Tyler Moore.” But so are Lena Waithe, the Emmy-winning writer, producer and actress whose work includes the TV series “The Chi” and “Master of None” and the films “Queen & Slim” and “The Forty-Year-Old Version,” and Rishi Rajani, the CEO of Waithe’s Hillman Grad Productions.

Neither of them was born when “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” went off the air in 1977, and Rajani knew virtually nothing of Moore when Waithe signed on to produce the documentary,...

Exclusive: Fiona Shaw (Andor), Katherine Waterston (Inherent Vice) and Chaske Spencer (The English) have entered production in NYC on Park Avenue, a new indie drama from Sundance alum Gaby Dellal (On a Clear Day), who directs from her script written with Tina Alexis Allen.

A production of Rimsky Productions and Washington Square Films, Park Avenue follows a mother and daughter who, over a fraught six weeks, reveal secrets, unravel lies and ultimately lay bare the ties that bind. Paralyzed by her life wrangling cattle in Alberta, Canada, Charlotte (Waterston) jumps into her Ford Bronco, flees her over-controlling husband, and lands back in her childhood Park Avenue apartment where she takes refuge with her mother Kit (Shaw). Rediscovering the boy she loved, now her grown doorman Anders (Spencer), and the life she left at 18, the mother and daughter explore shared history, unshared truths and find a way to face both love and loss.

The Casting Society announced its winners in film, television, and theater on Wednesday night, honoring Best Picture front-runner “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” as well as Oscar nominees “The Banshees of Inisherin,” “The Fabelmans,” and “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On.”

The casting branch of the academy is a year shy of a decade old and still doesn’t have an Oscar category of its own. However, the Casting Society has been handing out the Artios Awards for 38 years (“Artios” is from the ancient Greek meaning “perfectly fitted.”).

Nominees for feature films were announced on January 10 (two days before Oscar nominations voting begins). Many of the leading Academy Awards contenders reaped bids across the various categories according to production cost. Winners were revealed at a ceremony on March 9 (two days after the close of final Oscar voting).

Last year’s big budget winners were the comedy “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” and...

Just one year after Maggie Gyllenhaal (“The Lost Daughter”) became the second woman to win the Directors Guild of America’s First-Time Film Director award, Charlotte Wells (“Aftersun”) is set to follow her as the category’s third female champ. The 35-year-old Scottish filmmaker, who helmed three narrative shorts between 2015 and 2017, has already been heavily feted for her feature directing (and writing) debut with accolades such as the Cannes French Touch Prize and the Gotham Award for Best Breakthrough Director. Now, the fact that a whopping 96 of Gold Derby’s 2023 DGA Awards predictions odds-makers have her as their top choice in the rookie race should translate to a decisive win.

This category’s current lineup is the only one in its eight-year history to include just one male nominee. Last year’s unprecedented field of six consisted of two men and four women, including Gyllenhaal. Our odds show Wells far outpacing female contenders Alice Diop,...

New Slate Ventures has come on board as a production partner for Insignia Films’ “Free Money.” The announcement was made just ahead of the documentary feature’s world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.

Jordan Fudge, Jeremy Allen and Tess Cohen will join producer Amanda Pollak, and executive producers Stephen Ives, Bradwel Iro (Lbx Africa), Chris Buck (Retro Report) to back the film.

The film explores what happens when universal basic income (Ubi) comes to the Kenyan village of Kogutu. GiveDirectly, a non-profit organization, is sending free money for 12 years as part of an experiment. Filmmakers Lauren DeFilippo and Sam Soko juxtapose the story of these young economists, bankrolled by Silicon Valley and convinced that they have found an infallible algorithm to improve lives, with those of the villagers.

“’Free Money’ has been a labor of love five years in the making,” said Amanda Pollak, senior partner at Insignia Films.

Exclusive: Tyler Dean Flores (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), Imani Lewis (First Kill), Christian Vunipola (Queenpins), Suraj Partha (Modern Family) and Raúl Castillo (Cha Cha Real Smooth) will star in Miguel Wants to Fight, a coming-of-age comedy that American High is producing for Hulu, which has entered production.

The film centers on Miguel (Flores), a 17-year-old who asks his three best friends to help him get in his first fight ever before he moves to a new city. It stems from Hulu’s partnership with American High, which has also seen the release of titles including Big Time Adolescence, Plan B, Crush and The Binge.

Emmy winner Oz Rodriguez (Kenan) is directing from a script by Jason Concepcion and Shea Serrano.

Kevin Hart’s multi-platform media company Hartbeat today announced the return of its screenwriting fellowship and talent development initiative Women Write Now, created to champion the next generation of Black women in comedy through mentorship, advocacy, production and exhibition. The fellowship developed in partnership with the Sundance Institute will support three writers in developing short comedic scripts under the guidance of some of the most influential Black women in comedy.

With the support of Hartbeat executives and veteran industry mentors, this year’s fellowship recipients will earn the opportunity to bring their projects to life at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, where they will premiere at a private screening. Following their premiere, the films will be distributed across HartBeat’s Lol Network. Following the fellowship, the selected writers will also receive a year-long first-look deal with Hartbeat to submit original projects for production consideration with Hartbeat, and distribution across its Lol Network.

Exclusive: Producer Trevite Willis (Forty Year Old Version) and her production company Southern Fried Filmworks has optioned interior designer Sheila Bridges’ acclaimed book The Bald Mermaid: A Memoir in order to adapt Bridges’ remarkable personal story into a series.

The Bald Mermaid: A Memoir comprises engaging and deeply personal vignettes that explore questions of identity, femininity, race, success, and what it really means to have it all. Bridges was very successful in her career as an interior designer, creating homes for high-profile clients and hosting her own television show. But when she lost her hair due to Alopecia, she lost it all: This is her story of coming to terms with what success and happiness mean to her, realizing the cost of independence, and understanding what it means to stay true to herself in the face of judgment, criticism, and expectation from family, friends, lovers, and strangers.

“Sheila’s story is that of a groundbreaking,...

Hillman Grad, the multi-platform entertainment company founded by actor, producer and Emmy-winning writer Lena Waithe, has promoted veteran executive Rishi Rajani to CEO.

In his new role, Rajani will oversee all divisions across Hillman Grad, guide the company’s overall strategic and creative direction, and develop new business partnerships. Waithe will retain her position as founder and chair.

Since joining the company in 2018 as president of film and television, Rajani has played a key role in furthering Hillman Grad’s mission to “create art that redefines the status quo by amplifying and celebrating the stories and voices of diverse, historically marginalized communities across all industries.”

“Rishi Rajani has worked tirelessly to help make Hillman Grad what it is today,” stated Waithe, announcing the promotion. “I’m honored to work alongside him as we embark on a new chapter in our company. Our goal is to not only open doors for the next generation,...

Nearly three decades after making her film acting debut at age 14, Maggie Gyllenhaal has now added her first feature writing and directing credits to her resume. Since its Venice International Film Festival premiere last September, her “The Lost Daughter” has won her numerous accolades, from the festival’s Golden Osella to the Independent Spirit Awards for Best Feature, Best Director and Best Screenplay. Gyllenhaal is also nominated for the Directors Guild of America’s First-Time Film Director award. According to our DGA Awards odds, she is widely expected to prevail and thereby become only the second woman to receive the honor.

This particular glass ceiling was broken by Alma Har’el, who took the 2020 prize for helming “Honey Boy.” Since the category’s establishment in 2015, 11 women and 25 men have vied for the award, making for a 1:2.3 ratio. The first female contender was inaugural nominee Marielle Heller. Aside from her and Har’el,...

Independent film supporter Rooftop Films announced the 2022 Filmmaker Fund winners February 28, exclusively on IndieWire.

The prestigious Water Tower Feature Film Cash Grant was awarded to “The 40-Year-Old Version” writer-director-producer-star Radha Blank, for her upcoming untitled dark dramedy.

Environmental director Eleanor Mortimer also won a Water Tower grant for an untitled deep sea taxonomy documentary, which “follows biologists through the intricate process of discovering deep-sea species as they piece together the unknown ecosystems of the largest biome on the planet.”

The $15,000 grants are made possible by generous support from the Laurence W. Levine Foundation.

The Rooftop Filmmakers Fund grants are available to Rooftop Films alumni directors who have previously had their work screened during the annual Summer Series in New York City. Blank screened her debut feature, “The Forty-Year-Old Version,” with Rooftop Films in 2020 at the Queens Drive-In. Mortimer screened her award-winning short film “Territory” at Rooftop Films in 2016.

This year,...

In recent years, there has been a campaign of sorts to stress the universality of so-called “Black stories.” One reason for that pitch is it’s meant to draw non-Black audiences and eschew the more-reductive “Black films” categorization.

IndieWire spoke to multiple Black filmmakers, on and off the record, about the “Black film” terminology: Is it limiting? Does it pigeonhole creators? The responses were as varied as the people who answered the questions. Some embraced being identified as “Black artists,” defined by a shared experience that’s inextricable from who they are. Others found it limiting, preferring to foreground their creativity over race or ethnicity.

As conversations go, it’s a minefield. Many are unwilling to tread on that ground, but perhaps that’s exactly why it needs to be had.

Black filmmakers — or, filmmakers who happen to be Black — have been and remain restricted in terms of the kinds...

The casting branch of the academy is only eight 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 37 years (“Artios” is from the ancient Greek meaning “perfectly fitted.”).

Nominees for feature films were announced on February 1 (the last day of Oscar nominations voting). Many of the leading Academy Awards contenders reaped bids across the various categories according to production cost. Winners will be revealed a virtual ceremony on March 17, which is the first day of final Oscar voting.

Last year’s big budget winners were the comedy “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” and the drama “The Trial of the Chicago 7 ” while “The Forty-Year-Old Version” and “One Night in Miami” took the equivalent prizes in the independent division. “Minari” won the low budget and “The Surrogate” the micro budget prizes while “Soul” claimed the animation award.

After a stampede of awards announcements that include Ace Eddies, Producers Guild and Writers Guild of America Awards, the prestigious Directors Guild of America Awards has finally weighed in with their own set of nominees that recognizes achievements in directing.

In the motion pictures category, the group nominated Kenneth Branagh for “Belfast” (Focus Features), Jane Campion for “The Power of the Dog” (Netflix), Paul Thomas Anderson for “Licorice Pizza” (MGM/United Artists Releasing), Steven Spielberg for “West Side Story” (20th Century Studios) and Denis Villeneuve for “Dune” (Warner Bros).

Notable snubs included Joel Coen (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”), Adam McKay (“Don’t Look Up”), Siân Heder (“Coda”), Guillermo del Toro (“Nightmare Alley”) and Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (“Drive My Car”).

Campion is the second woman ever to receive a second nod from the Directors Guild. Her first came nearly 20 years ago for “The Piano” (1993), for which she went on to become the second...

Denzel Washington has two Oscars, a SAG award and over 270 other accolades. One honor he doesn’t have yet over his 40-year career is a single nomination from the BAFTA Awards. With somewhat of a home-field advantage for taking on the words of the Brits’ greatest dramatist William Shakespeare, could Washington finally receive his first nom for “The Tragedy of Macbeth”?

BAFTA is continuing to make a conscious effort to widen their net for diversity, both within its own membership and the films it honors. However, with a new voting method introduced last year following the results of their diversity review, the group threw the awards season for a loop with surprise selections. Instituting a jury into the voting process, performances such as Radha Blank (“The Forty-Year-Old Version”) and Adarsh Gourav (“The White Tiger”) managed to make the cut in favor of “safer” picks like eventual Oscar nominees Carey Mulligan...

A first look at the new series The Kings of Napa is out, spotlighting the drama before its season premiere on January 11 at 8 Pm Et/Pt on OWN.

The Kings of Napa is from writer and executive producer Janine Sherman Barrois and Warner Bros. Television.

The series details the drama at the House of Kings vineyard in Napa. California, owned by the Kings, an aspirational African American family whose wealth and status land them on the pages of design magazines and society pages. The wine business has brought the family success and acclaim. But following the patriarch’s sudden exit from the company, his three children must grapple for the reins to the kingdom.

The show features Ebonée Noel, who plays August King, the middle sibling and the family’s marketing whiz who’s passionate about wine...

Julia Oh has been hired by 2Am, the full-service production and management company founded by Christine D’Souza Gelb, David Hinojosa and Kevin Rowe, as a producer.

Oh will be based in NY with the company’s production team, working alongside Hinojosa and Zach Nutman.

2Am’s film and TV production division, overseen by Hinojosa, is currently in post-production on Halina Reijn’s English-language debut, Bodies Bodies Bodies, starring Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Rachel Sennott, and Pete Davidson, and on Emmy winner Billy Porter’s directorial debut, What If?, at Orion Pictures. It’s also finishing principal photography on Past Lives, a feature drama written and directed by Celine Song.

The company’s management division represents such acclaimed writers and directors as Amalia Ulman (El Planeta), Radha Blank (The Forty-Year-Old Version), Ari Aster (Hereditary), Janicza Bravo (Zola), Jeremy O. Harris (Slave Play), Kota Eberhardt (X-Men: Dark Phoenix), Leilah Weinraub (The Shakedown...

Billy Eichner’s landmark romantic comedy “Bros” has added a new crop of actors to its ensemble cast. All principals in the Universal Pictures project are LGBTQ+.

New additions include Academy Award-winning actor-writer Jim Rash, Eve Lindley, D’Lo Srijaerajah, Peter Kim, Justin Covington, Dot-Marie Jones and Becca Blackwell.

The cast reflects a broad range of comedic talent and was built to expand and diversify queer representation on screen. The film is produced by Judd Apatow and Nicholas Stoller, who is also directing. Eichner stars with the previously announced Luke Macfarlane, Ts Madison, Miss Lawrence, Symone, Guillermo Diaz and Guy Branum.

“After queer actors have spent decades watching straight actors capitalize both artistically and professionally by playing LGBTQ+ characters, it is a long overdue dream come true to be able to assemble this remarkable, hilarious cast,” Eichner previously said of the film.

The film is described as a “heartfelt comedy...

After a hiatus where New York’s theaters closed during the pandemic, we’re delighted to announce the return of NYC Weekend Watch, our weekly round-up of repertory offerings. While many theaters are still focused on a selection of new releases, a handful of worthwhile repertory screenings are taking place.

Anthology Film Archives

Breathe easy: Anthology is back, marking their resurrection with screenings of Paul Sharits’ dual-projection Razor Blades.

Paris Theater

Yet another return! To coincide with The Forty-Year-Old Version, filmmaker Radha Blank has organized a series of her influences: Cassavetes on Friday, Wilder and Tap on Saturday, Waiting for Guffman and The Last Detail on Sunday.

Museum of the Moving Image

2001 shows on 70mm this Friday, Dcp on Sunday, while Eyes Wide Shut and Fear and Desire have screenings; on the non-Kubrick front, Ran and The Age of Innocence have screenings.

Film at Lincoln Center

Mo’ Better Blues...

While Netflix is far from being a haven for admirers of classic cinema, they thankfully are backing strong repertory programming in New York City. After acquiring The Paris Theater, located on 58th Street in Manhattan, and briefly reopening with some runs of Netflix features and other specialty programming, they are now officially opening their doors again on August 6 with a more substantial slate of classic cinema.

Featuring two programs, one curated by Radha Blank and another by the theater’s programmer David Schwartz, the reopening lineup features work by John Cassavetes, Kathleen Collins, Luis Buñuel, Mira Nair, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Ingmar Bergman, Terence Davies, and much more––with many on film prints.

One can also enter to win a pass for Schwartz’s series “The Paris is For Lovers,” with a newly-unveiled scavenger hunt tied to Ira Deutchman’s new documentary Searching for Mr. Rugoff, which opens on August 13 and is part of the lineup.

The Paris Theater, a beloved arthouse cinema in New York City, is reopening its doors next month.

To celebrate its return on Aug. 6, filmmaker Radha Blank is curating a slate of repertory titles to screen alongside her directorial debut “The Forty-Year-Old Version.” Her movie, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival, is playing through Aug. 12.

The Paris opened in 1948 and is the only single-screen movie theater in Manhattan. Netflix acquired the 545-seat venue in 2019 and, prior to Covid-19, held premieres, special events and screenings of its films in the storied institution, which is just south of Central Park.

“I made ‘Forty-Year-Old Version’ in 35mm Black & White in the spirit of the many great films that informed my love of cinema,” says Blank. “I’m excited to show the film in 35mm as intended and alongside potent films by fearless filmmakers who inspired my development as a storyteller and expanded my vision...

The Public Theater’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Merry Wives has postponed its opening night by nearly two weeks due to an onstage injury sustained by its leading man Jacob Ming-Trent.

Jocelyn Bioh’s comedy adaptation of Merry Wives of Windsor, currently in previews at Central Park’s Delacorte Theater, was to have opened Tuesday, July 27, with press previews originally scheduled for this week. The Public Theater announced today that the official opening has been bumped to Monday, August 9.

Neither the nature nor the extent of the injury was disclosed. A Public Theater spokesperson told Deadline that the actor is recuperating and will return to the show when he is able. No additional details were released.

According to the theater, Ming-Trent, who plays Falstaff in the production, “unfortunately sustained an injury during a recent performance and to support his full recovery, we must postpone our upcoming press performances and official press opening.

Exclusive: Ashlee Brian and Devika Parikh have been tapped as series regulars for The Kings Of Napa, OWN’s new drama series from Claws executive producer/showrunner Janine Sherman Barrois, Warner Bros. Television and Harpo Films. Additionally, Curtis Hamilton (Charming the Hearts of Men), Heather Alice Simms, Samantha Walkes (upcoming Orphan: First Kill) and Isiah Whitlock Jr. (Your Honor) are set for recurring roles.

Created by Sherman Barrois, who serves as showrunner, The Kings of Napa is focused on a picturesque Napa Valley, California vineyard owned by the Kings, an aspirational African American family whose wealth and status lands them on the pages of design magazines and society pages. The wine business has brought the family success and acclaim, but following the patriarch’s sudden exit from the company, his three children must grapple for the reigns to...

Lena Waithe has been advocating for supporting marginalized storytellers for years, but now she has real money behind that mission. In a new partnership between her company Hillman Grad Productions and global job listings site Indeed, Waithe has launched the Rising Voices initiative, which aims to uncover, invest in, and share stories created by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (Bipoc) filmmakers. The initial 10 short films produced by the initiative came out of a $1 million investment from the partnership.

All of those short films made their world premieres during a special Tribeca Film Festival event at Pier 76 this week, with Waithe and Indeed CEO Chris Hyams in attendance. In an interview with IndieWire shortly before the screenings, Hyams and Waithe explained how the partnership emerged from the wider goals of Indeed itself.

“Our mission was to help people get jobs and see how important a job is in a person...

New York’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production this summer of Merry Wives, a comedy adaptation by Jocelyn Bioh of the Bard’s Merry Wives of Windsor, will feature an all-Black cast including Jacob Ming-Trent (HBO’s Watchmen), Gbenga Akinnagbe (Broadway’s To Kill A Mockingbird), Shola Adewusi (CBS’ Bob Hearts Abishola) and Susan Kelechi Watson (NBC’s This Is Us).

The Public Theater announced the complete casting today, along with new dates for the staging in Central Park’s Delacorte Theater: Performances will begin Tuesday, July 6 (instead of the previously announced July 5) and run through Saturday, September 18 (an extension of three weeks from the previously announced engagement). The official opening night is Tuesday, July 27.

The extension is designed to compensate for current social distancing procedures that will require limited audience capacity of 428 at the 1,800-seat Delacorte. The audience capacity could be expanded if state requirements for small- and medium-sized venues change before July.

“Lost” alum Elizabeth Mitchell has joined the cast of Netflix’s lesbian teen vampire drama “First Kill.”

Based on a short story of the same name by Victoria “V. E.” Schwab, the show centers on Julliette Fairmont — who was born a vampire but is determined to not be a monster — and Calliope Burns, a fearless, headstrong monster hunter. Sarah Catherine Hook (“The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It”) was previously cast as Juliette, with Imani Lewis (“The Forty-Year-Old Version”) set to play Calliope.

Mitchell will play Margot, a member of the vampiric Fairmont clan. In addition to Mitchell, Aubin Wise, Jason Robert Moore, Gracie Dzienny, Will Swenson, Phillip Mullings Jr., Dominic Goodman and Dylan McNamara have also joined the series as various members of the Burns and Fairmont families.

Mk xyz, Jonas Dylan Allen and Roberto Mendez have also joined the series in additional supporting roles.

“The Punisher” and...

Filmmaking rarely travels a straight path, but for “Monster” it was exceptionally twisty. After the legal drama starring Kelvin Harrison Jr. premiered at Sundance in 2018 in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, it’s seen a title change, its first distribution deal fall through, and the original title restored. Producers Tonya Lewis Lee and Nikki Silver say it was all worth it: The movie premiered on Netflix May 7 and was among the top 10 Netflix titles in the U.S. last week.

“It has been a long journey, but it has been a really good journey,” Lee said. “It didn’t go the way we thought it would, but ultimately we landed where we were supposed to land. People are seeing it, they’re feeling it, and they’re responding to it.”

“Monster” is based on the 1999 YA novel by Walter Dean Myers, which follows a high school honor student (Harrison) who...

Minari, Sound Of Metal deliver best supporting actor prizes.

Nomadland was named best feature and Chloe Zhao best director while Carey Mulligan and Riz Ahmed took lead acting honours at the virtual 2021 Film Independent Spirit Awards on Thursday night (April 22).

Searchlight Pictures’ Nomadland won four prizes on the night including Joshua James Richards for cinematography, and editing for Zhao, who was one of four women nominated in the directing category and has enjoyed a magnificent awards season.

Amazon Studios’ Sound Of Metal earned three awards for Ahmed, supporting actor Paul Raci, and first feature for Darius Marder.

Focus Features’ Promising...

In this strange year of the global pandemic, the Independent Spirit Awards seemed to fall in line with what the upcoming Academy Awards are predicted to reward this Sunday, including showing love to frontrunners like “Nomadland” and “Promising Young Woman.”

Hosted by “Saturday Night Live” cast member Melissa Villaseñor, the virtual ceremony, with some winners producing pre-recording acceptance speeches, was as good as you could hope to see in the pandemic.

Chloé Zhao picked up three prizes in total, including best feature, director and editing, cementing herself as the darling of the season. The biggest surprise came in best male lead, where Riz Ahmed (“Sound of Metal”) upset Chadwick Boseman (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”), adding another piece of evidence that the race for best actor at the Oscars is very tight between those two and Anthony Hopkins (“The Father”), who was not nominated here.

Carey Mulligan (“Promising Young Woman”) was able to add another trophy,...

If you’re nowhere near a television and want to know the winners of the 36th Independent Spirit Awards as they happen, you’ve come to the right place. Follow along with Gold Derby’s Indie Spirits live blog 2021 to see who won all of the night’s film and TV prizes, who presented what categories, and how Melissa Villaseñor (“Saturday Night Live”) did as host. The virtual ceremony aired Thursday, April 22 on IFC at 7 p.m. Pt/10 p.m. Et.

SEE2021 Independent Spirit Awards: Winners list in all film and TV categories

This year’s Spirit Awards celebrated the best in indie filmmaking for the 2020 calendar year, with a little bit of television thrown in for good measure. Remember, only American-made fare with budgets under $20 million were eligible for consideration. Winners were chosen by all of Film Independent’s eligible members, including industry insiders and any movie fans who signed up for membership.

The last major awards show before the Oscars has finally arrived, the 36th Independent Spirit Awards. The virtual ceremony aired Thursday, April 22 on IFC at 7 p.m. Pt/10 p.m. Et and was hosted by “Saturday Night Live” star Melissa Villaseñor. The Spirit Awards celebrated the best in indie filmmaking for the 2020 calendar year, and this year they invited TV shows to the party, too. Don’t forget, only American-made fare with budgets under $20 million were eligible for consideration. Winners were chosen by all of Film Independent’s eligible members, including industry insiders and any movie fans who signed up for membership.

Heading into the ceremony, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” was the nominations leader with seven overall bids. “Minari” came in right behind it with six noms, followed by “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “Nomadland” (the Oscar front-runner) with five bids each. On the TV side, both “Little America” and...

It’s all come down to this. The longest awards season is drawing to a close, after an excruciating pandemic year that nearly destroyed the movie business. History looks to be made at the Oscars, with women and people of color getting recognition — but there’s also room for a surprise or two.

In the winners tally, “Nomadland” is expected to be the leading film winner with four including best picture followed by “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” with three including Chadwick Boseman.

Netflix is presumed to be the leading studio with a predicted six wins, an increase from last year’s tally of four. The good news is that the streaming giant has a 50/50 shot in four additional races, which could bring them to a double-digit tally, which would be a record in the modern era (Metro-Goldwyn Mayer dominated the 1930s and 1940s).

Here are my final predictions for the 93rd Oscars.

It’s almost time for the 36th Independent Spirit Awards, which will celebrate the best in indie filmmaking for the 2020 calendar year. Remember, only American-made movies with budgets under $20 million were eligible for consideration. Winners will be chosen by all of Film Independent’s eligible members, including industry insiders and any movie fans who sign up for membership. So who will win? Read on to see what we’re predicting to prevail when this year’s trophies are handed out Thursday, April 22 in a virtual ceremony airing on IFC at 7 p.m. Pt/10 p.m. Et.

Gold Derby’s 2021 Spirit Awards odds are based on the combined forecasts of more than 2,300 Gold Derby readers, including Experts we’ve polled from major media outlets, Editors who cover awards year-round for this website, Top 24 Users who did the best predicting last year’s winners, All-Star Users who had the best prediction scores over the last two years,...

Of the eight Best Picture nominees for the 93rd Academy Awards, “The Trial of the Chicago 7” has won the most awards from the Hollywood guilds and professional organizations in the lead-up to the Oscars — but its total pales next to the Pixar film “Soul,” which swept the guild awards by winning the award for animated feature at every single awards show that includes that category.

Wins at the American Cinema Editors’ Ace Eddie Awards and the Cinema Audio Society’s Cas Awards on Saturday gave Pete Docter’s “Soul” 10 guild wins, including prizes from the Producers Guild of America, the Society of Composers and Lyricists, the Visual Effects Society, the Art Directors Guild, the Artios Awards, the Motion Picture Sound Editors, the Guild of Music Supervisors and the Annie Awards, where it took the Best Feature award.

“Soul” didn’t win anything at the Writers Guild Awards, the Screen Actors Guild Awards,...

Chloé Zhao’s Oscar frontrunner “Nomadland” won best film and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” was named best LGBTQ Film at the Dorian Awards (Galeca: The Society Of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics) during a virtual ceremony.

“Nomadland” was also named most visually striking film, and Zhao took home the award for best director.

The three-hour Dorians Film Toast was broadcast on LGBTQ+ streaming platform Revry. Karel served as the ceremony’s host.

The late Chadwick Boseman continued with his posthumous honors, winning best actor for his role as Levee in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Co-star Colman Domingo accepted on his behalf, saying: “[He was] such an incredible human, scholar, humanitarian and a really wonderful actor. Creating complex roles about the African American experience, and about people who are marginalized in society and trying to stand up and have a strong voice, fighting for representation—that is Chadwick Boseman’s legacy.”

Carey Mulligan won best actress.

Two of the five Oscar nominees for Best Sound won at the Golden Reel Awards bestowed by the Motion Picture Sound Editors (Mpse) on April 16 .”Greyhound” ran off with sound effects and foley while “Soul” took the animation prize. Two of the other Oscar contenders — “News of the World” and “Sound of Metal” — were shut out here despite a leading three nominations while the fifth nominee, “Mank,” had but one bid.

The upcoming Oscars mark the introduction of the Best Sound category, which combines Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing. There can be up to six nominees from a film: one production sound mixer, two supervising sound editors and three re-recording mixers.

In 2020 the war film “1917” won Best Sound Mixing while the auto racing drama “Ford v Ferrari” claimed the Best Sound Editing honor. Over the past decade, the two categories matched a half dozen times: “Inception” (2010), “Hugo...

Two films starring Sacha Baron Cohen, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” were among the film winners at the Casting Society of America’s 36th annual Artios Awards, which were presented on Thursday evening in a virtual ceremony hosted by Yvette Nicole Brown.

“Borat” won in the big-budget comedy category, while “Chicago 7” won for big-budget drama.

In other film categories, the award for casting studio or independent films went to “The 40-Year-Old Version” for comedy and “One Night in Miami” for drama. “Minari” won the award for a low-budget film, while “The Surrogate” won for micro budget. “Soul” won the award for casting an animated film.

Television winners included “The Great,” “Euphoria,” “What We Do in the Shadows,” “Succession” and “Normal People.”

Awards for theater, which was closed for most of 2020, included the Broadway shows “Slave Play,” “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical” and “A Soldier’s Play.

The Casting Society of America revealed its winners for the 2021 Artios Awards on Thursday night.

The big budget comedy and drama film awards recognized two teams that cast Sacha Baron Cohen and others, with Borat Subsequent Moviefilm winning the comedy award and The Trial of the Chicago 7 winning the drama award.

Other film awards went to Soul (animation), The 40-Year-Old Version (studio or independent comedy), One Night in Miami (studio or independent drama), Minari (low-budget comedy or drama) and The Surrogate (micro-budget comedy or drama).

TV winners include The Great (pilot and first season comedy), Euphoria (pilot and first season drama), What We Do in the Shadows (comedy ...

The Casting Society of America revealed its winners for the 2021 Artios Awards on Thursday night.

The big budget comedy and drama film awards recognized two teams that cast Sacha Baron Cohen and others, with Borat Subsequent Moviefilm winning the comedy award and The Trial of the Chicago 7 winning the drama award.

Other film awards went to Soul (animation), The 40-Year-Old Version (studio or independent comedy), One Night in Miami (studio or independent drama), Minari (low-budget comedy or drama) and The Surrogate (micro-budget comedy or drama).

TV winners include The Great (pilot and first season comedy), Euphoria (pilot and first season drama), What We Do in the Shadows (comedy ...

A sadistic serial killer sets his sights on his next victim on the Fourth of July in the new crime thriller Killer Among Us, and ahead of its theatrical and VOD release on April 16th, we've been provided with an exclusive clip to share with Daily Dead readers:

Press Release: Los Angeles – Vertical Entertainment has acquired North American rights to first time writer-director Charles Scharfman’s crime thriller “Killer Among Us”. The film stars Yasha Jackson (The Flight Attendant), Andrew Richardson (Martin Eden.), Bruce MacVittie (When They See Us) and Imani Lewis (The Forty-Year-Old Version). On the 4th of July, a rookie female cop partners with a veteran detective to save the life of a high-school student from a radicalized serial killer. Vertical Entertainment will release Killer Among Us in cinemas & on demand April 16th.

Director Charles Scharfman: “I made this film as a crime genre-rooted reflection of the polarized...

The Ee BAFTA Film Awards officially took place on 11 April 2021, just a few months ahead of the television awards ceremony, which will be held later this year. On 9 March, the nominees for each film category were announced, including the highly anticipated Rising Star award, which previously saw Top Boy star Michael Ward take the win back in 2020.

Strong contenders for this year's awards ceremony included Nomadland and coming-of-age drama Rocks both with seven nominations, followed by Minari with six total nominations. Riz Ahmed's Sound of Metal was nominated for three awards, including a nomination for Ahmed himself as best actor.

On 10 April, a number of the award winners, including casting, costume design, and British short animation, were announced in a small ceremony hosted by Clara Amfo.

Check out the full list of winners ahead.

Best Film

Winner: Nomadland

The Father

The Mauritanian

Promising Young Woman

The Trial of the...

Best Film The Father The Mauritanian Nomadland -- Winner Promising Young Woman The Trial Of The Chicago 7 Leading Actress Bukky Bakray, Rocks Radha Blank, The Forty-Year-Old Version Vanessa Kirby, Pieces Of A Woman Frances Mcdormand, Nomadland -- Winner Wunmi Mosaku, His House Alfre Woodard, Clemency Leading Actor Riz Ahmed, Sound Of Metal Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Adarsh Gourav, The White...

The second night of Ee British Academy Film Awards followed a Saturday showing that revealed the Brit voting body’s picks for crafts prizes and other below-the-line honors. Sunday night’s show was hosted by Edith Bowman and Dermot O’Leary. See the full list of winners below.

Big winners on Sunday include Best Picture “Nomadland” and Best Actress Frances McDormand, Best Actor Anthony Hopkins for “The Father,” Best Director Chloé Zhao for “Nomadland,” Daniel Kaluuya for Best Supporting Actor for “Judas and the Black Messiah,” Yuh-Jung Youn for Best Supporting Actress for “Minari,” “My Octopus Teacher” for Best Documentary, “Another Round” for Best Film Not in the English Language, “Soul” for Best Animated Film, and “Promising Young Woman” and “The Father” for screenplay prizes.

On Sunday, Hugh Grant presented the BAFTA Fellowship, the British Academy’s highest honor, to Ang Lee in a moving and witty tribute.

The first night...

Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland” dominated at the BAFTA Film Awards, where the Frances McDormand-led road movie picked up four prizes, including best film.

The Searchlight-produced movie also won for lead actress, cinematography and director, putting it well ahead of all other films.

Hosted by Edith Bowman and Dermot O’Leary, the second night of the BAFTAs awarded 17 prizes in total, with presenters joining from the Royal Albert Hall in London, where the physical awards are usually held annually, as well as Los Angeles. All nominees participated virtually.

The 2021 event marks a historic turning point for the BAFTAs. They are the first edition to take place since the organization’s groundbreaking diversity review, which was carried out following last year’s #BAFTAsSoWhite scandal.

There’s been no shortage of drama leading up to this evening, with BAFTA president Prince William, who was set to appear on both nights of the awards,...