Steven Spielberg Leads Lin-Manuel Miranda, Kenneth Branagh & More Directors To The Oscars Luncheon

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeThe Directors Guild of America’s 74th annual DGA Awards are under way at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, with Judd Apatow on tap as host. The ceremony returns to an in-person event this year, having gone virtual in 2021, and is part of a busy weekend on the kudos gauntlet that also includes the BAFTA, Annie Awards and Critics Choice events.This year 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).

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaWhen Christopher Nolan was shopping for a studio for “Oppenheimer,” his look at the creation of the atomic bomb, Donna Langley sprang into action. The Universal Filmed Entertainment Group chairman believes that Nolan, along with Steven Spielberg and Jordan Peele, is one of the few filmmakers whose name above the title demands that audience will pay attention.

Jon Burlingame editorThis year’s Oscar song race may be more competitive than initially thought. Billie Eilish’s James Bond theme “No Time to Die,” long believed the front-runner, has been out for over two years (awaiting a COVID-delayed release of the film it was written for) and now faces opposition from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Encanto” song.While it’s not “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” the TikTok sensation driving the Disney soundtrack to no.

Bill Maher was back Friday night from a brief hiatus, but he was also happy to enjoy his first maskless studio audience in two years. “It’s great to see you, and I can finally see you,” Maher said at the top of his HBO show, Real Time. “I don’t want to see another mask unless it’s on a surgeon or a Michael Jackson impersonator.”

Tim Gray Senior Vice PresidentTim Cook chatted with Ted Sarandos, Meryl Streep huddled with Jane Campion, Morgan Freeman (age 85) was deep in conversation with “King Richard’s” Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton (each 15), while “Squid Game” director Hwang Dong-hyuk fulfilled his personal goal of meeting both Guillermo del Toro and Steven Spielberg. Meanwhile, Rita Moreno was warmly greeted by the “CODA” team, including director Sian Heder and stars Marlee Matlin and Troy Kotsur.The event was the 22nd annual AFI Awards in an afternoon that is “all about one community of artists,” as AFI prexy-CEO Bob Gazzale said.AFI announced its honorees on Dec.

Disney+ but can be rented or purchased for streaming on a variety of platforms. Death on the Nile's synopsis reads: "Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot's Egyptian vacation aboard a glamorous river steamer turns into a terrifying search for a murderer when a picture-perfect couple's idyllic honeymoon is tragically cut short.

She may have won a SAG Award, been nominated for a Tony Award, and just earned her first Oscar nomination for “West Side Story,” but Ariana DeBose is driven by being a “consummate perfectionist.” That means when she watched the celebrated Steven Spielberg musical for the first time she “found a million things” she could have done better. Considering the almost universal acclaim her performance as Anita received, many viewers and her peers would politely disagree.

Clayton Davis The hustle and bustle of awards season is nearing an end, with Oscar voting getting underway on March 17. So naturally, every contender is looking to gain an advantage, and the BAFTA and Critics Choice ceremonies, which take place March 13, provide that opportunity.At CCA, Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast” and Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” lead the tally with 11 nominations apiece, including best picture.

Spreading the love. Despite what you may have heard, critics don’t love to hate everything, and they’ll honor the movies and television shows they love at the 27th annual Critics’ Choice Awards.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorThe eighth annual Variety Artisans Awards returned to an in-person event at Santa Barbara’s Arlington Theater.Despite COVID protocols, an enthusiastic crowd of movie lovers, local Academy members and students from the nearby University of Santa Barbara came by to see Oscar-nominated artisans share their craft, their process and the films that influenced them.The night began with one on one conversations with each artisan discussing insight into their work.The full panel of honorees included “House of Gucci” hair and make up team Frederic Aspiras and Göran Lundstrom, “Nightmare Alley” production designer Tamara Deverell, “Encanto” composer Germaine Franco, “Dune” cinematographer Greig Fraser, “Encanto” songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda, re-recording mixer, Paul Massey, nominated for “No Time to Die,” VFX supervisor Kelly Port, “The Power of the Dog” editor Peter Sciberra and “Dune” costume designers Jacqueline West and Bob Morgan.Watch the conversation highlights below.

Jessica Chastain brought a very special plus one with her to this year’s Oscar Nominees Luncheon on Tuesday.

Nicole Kidman's absence at the annual Oscar nominees luncheon has a perfectly good explanation — she's recovering from an injury.ET can confirm the star is at home in Nashville, Tennessee, recovering from a torn hamstring. The 54-year-old actress had been filming her Amazon series,  in L.A., when the pre-existing injury flared up.According to , which first reported the news, producers are temporarily halting production of the Amazon series this week to figure out when they can resume and if they'll need to shoot around Kidman until she can return to the production. Kidman, nominated for her fifth Oscar following her portrayal of Lucille Ball, attended the Screen Actors Guild Awards last month in Santa Monica, California.

Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on-demand, vintage and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalog titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This twice-monthly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching.

Every year, the Academy and the telecast producers try their damndest to make the Oscars fresh and exciting. Often, this includes floating ideas about new changes to the ceremony that don’t always rub people the right way.

West Side Story director pointing out that every category is ‘indispensable.’The filmmaker, who’s up for the best director award and has been nominated a whopping 19 times in his life, said he strongly disagrees with the choice.‘I disagree with the decision made by the executive committee,’ he told Deadline. ‘I feel very strongly that this is perhaps the most collaborative medium in the world.

Steven Spielberg has spoken up about his disapprovalover the Motion Picture Academy’s decision to pre-record eight Oscar categories.The new schedule would mean that eight awards would be handed out in the hour before the actual Oscar telecast begins at 5 p.m. PT on March 27, in order to save time and keep the show to three hours.'I disagree with the decision made by the executive committee,' the Schindler's List director, 75, said in a new interview with Deadline.

Awards season took another huge leap forward as the Oscars Luncheon returned for the first time in two years. And while COVID has still reared its ugly head (“The Power of the Dog’s” Jane Campion has publicly stated she has it and could not attend), there was still a slew of smiling faces among both first-time and multiple nominees.

, taking place later in March, a host of Hollywood’s great and good, who were recognised in categories this year, rubbed elbows at the annual Oscar Nominees Luncheon.With a return to the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood for this year’s ceremony, and a return to this traditional gathering – which was cancelled last year, due to Covid-19 safety concerns – we were blessed with some dazzling fashion choices from the likes of BillieEilish, Penelope Cruz, Andrew Garfield and Kodi Smit-McPhee.Although the traditional class photo, in which all Oscar nominees pose together, was scrapped this year, we were still able to admire the daytime high fashion looks this year’s nominated ensemble wore to the event.We got pink, we got blue, we got pinstripes, cloud print and plenty of chic black as nominees in all different categories, from acting to directing, writing, editing and technical work, all gathered together.Be-striped best actor nominee Andrew Garfield provided us with a joyful moment through his reunion with tick, tick… BOOM! director Lin-Manuel Miranda, who is up for best original song for Dos Oruguitas from Encanto.Billie Eilish was giving off her usual exquisite goth glamour vibes in a velvet blouse, net skirt and chunky platform boots while brother and co-best song nominee Finneas opted for a green and red pinstripe suit with red shirt and shoes.Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem furthered their couple goals on the blue carpet, after both received acting nominations this year, with Javier in a smart dark suit while Penelope went for an eye-catching pink knitted mini-dress.Best actress nominee Kristen Stewart, for Spencer, showed off some serious cuff bling with silver embellishments on the sleeves of her black cropped jacket, which

Steven Spielberg is sharing his thoughts on the 2022 Oscars.

Deadline he “feels very strongly” about the decision, explaining he believes filmmaking is a collaborative art and “we should all have a seat at the supper table”.“I disagree with the decision made by the executive committee,” the filmmaker said.  “I feel very strongly that this is perhaps the most collaborative medium in the world. All of us make movies together, we become a family where one craft is just as indispensable as the next.“I feel that at the Academy Awards there is no above the line, there is no below the line.

One of this year’s Best Director nominees is speaking out against the Academy’s decision to pre-tape eight of the award categories before the live Oscars show this month.