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In the six years since the film academy’s music branch first incorporated 15-candidate shortlists into their annual Oscar nominations voting process, a total of 24 films have each been named semi-finalists for both Best Original Score and Best Original Song. This includes five 2023 releases – “American Symphony,” “Barbie,” “The Color Purple,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” – which constitute one of the largest groups of double dippers so far. Whether each will ultimately be nominated for both, one, or neither of the music awards remains to be seen, but some insight can be gained by analyzing the fates of their 19 predecessors.

Last year, the roster of dual music shortlist entrants grew by four with the inclusion of “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” and “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.” Those films all subsequently became Oscar nominees in some capacity,...

The concept of the holiday movie began back in 1898 with G.A. Smith’s pioneering silent film Santa Claus. The first of its kind to show the depiction of Santa that only runs just shy over a minute.

Since then Hollywood has belted out an array of films that have either been true to the genre such as A Christmas Story; The Holiday; Miracle On 34th Street; Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey or films like Die Hard; Brazil, and Gremlins that have teetered on the edge of identifying as a holiday film.

Then there are the anti-holiday movies and the Christmas horrors. Subgenres of their own like the slasher Silent Night, Deadly Night, Black Christmas, and Christmas Evil, a John Waters favorite, so you are inclined to know what demented viewing you are in for.

Related: 50 Classic Valentine’s Movies Gallery: From ‘Amelie’ & ‘In The Mood For Love’ To ‘Paris, Texas...

The Christmas Chronicles – Picture: Netflix

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and if you’re wondering what Netflix’s most popular original Christmas movies and series have been, we’ve got the top 50 from the past few years.

All data below was provided to What’s on Netflix exclusively from the excellent team at FlixPatrol, with whom we’ve collaborated on a number of articles, and they also power our top 10 hub page.

We’re going to split this list into two parts. First, we’ll cover the Christmas movies, shows, and specials that have picked up the most points in the United States, and then we’ll move onto the global list. The global list collects the points for 80+ Netflix countries.

As a quick refresher, points are picked up every time a show or movie gets featured in the daily top 10. If you’re a movie that ranks #10 for one day,...

When December rolls around, there’s something special about curling up on the couch and watching a classic Christmas movie. Almost every streaming service has a strong lineup of holiday movies, but if you’re in the mood for a Christmas movie with Black leading actors, we’ve assembled a list of some of the very best films throughout the years. In most cases, you can watch these movies with a free trial!

So heat up a mug of hot cocoa, turn on the TV and start streaming something special this holiday season.

Classic Black Christmas Movies

Black Hallmark Christmas Movies

New Black Christmas Movies in 2023

Best Christmas Movies by Streaming Service

Classic Black Christmas Movies The Preacher's Wife December 13, 1996

Good-natured Reverend Henry Biggs finds that his marriage to choir mistress Julia is flagging, due to his constant absence caring for the deprived neighborhood they live in. On top of all this,...

Exclusive: Christina Gizoni has joined Blumhouse as VP, Marketing and Communications.

In this new role, she’ll be working to support Blumhouse’s theatrical film titles and the studio’s overall brand.

Gizoni reports to CMO Karen Barragan and is part of the department which includes Milady Flores, who oversees Marketing and Communications for the television department which produces scripted and unscripted series, documentaries and movies for television and streaming.

Gizoni joins Blumhouse from Netflix where she served as a publicist working on campaigns for films including Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Bad Trip, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, Always Be My Maybe, and Velvet Buzzsaw. She also worked on release and awards campaigns for Blonde, Don’t Look Up, The Two Popes and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.

Before Netflix, she was on the national film publicity team at Sony Pictures. During her time there, she worked on campaigns...

Exclusive: David E. Tabert has sold the single-camera comedy Overtime, about a retired NBA player, to ABC, with Warren Littlefield executive producing and Courtney Lilly in negotiations to also executive produce. Additionally, the filmmaker behind Netflix’s first musical Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey is staying in the holiday musical lane with Twas’ the Night, a musical anthology series in the works at Disney+ with Becky Hartman Edwards (Firefly Lane) executive producing. Talbert is writing both projects, which he is executive producing with his wife and producing partner Lyn Sisson-Talbert through their Golden Alchemy Entertainment.

In Overtime, a celebrated NBA star retires and returns home to play positions he’s managed to avoid throughout his 12-year career: father, husband, neighbor, friend. He’s been pampered his entire adult life, and followed the perfect game plan to great success. Now, away from the spotlight and left to his own devices,...

If movies have taught us anything it’s that childhood is a magical time where, if you’re doing it right, you befriend space aliens, rescue orcas, inherit chocolate factories or play every sport imaginable with an omni-talented Olympian dog.

Or, if you’re more of the melancholic type, at least you find a dead body in the woods. That’s the bare minimum anyone can ask for.

James Ponsoldt’s “Summering” is a direct descendant of “Stand By Me,” films about youngsters peppered with wispy nostalgia, in which the innocence of their youth is challenged by a corpse tucked away where only children are likely to find it. But whereas Rob Reiner’s classic coming-of-age film romanticized a decades-bygone era, Ponsoldt finds the same magically complicated mash-up of naiveté and depth in a contemporary setting. Childhood, he seems to argue, is always magical and horrifying in equal measure, no...

Exclusive: Director Bill Oliver has rounded out the cast for his drama Our Son, with Andrew Rannells (Girls5eva), Robin Weigert (American Horror Story) and Kate Burton (Inventing Anna) signing on for roles, along with Phylicia Rashad (This Is Us), Cassandra Freeman (Bel-Air) and Isaac Powell (Dear Evan Hansen).

The recently-wrapped film starring Luke Evans and Billy Porter will follow a divorcing couple fighting for custody of their eight-year-old son. Oliver and Peter Nickowitz wrote the script, with Fernando Loureiro (Frances Ha) and Guilherme Coelho (Fala Tu) producing via their company Tigresa, along with Eric Binns (Lansky), Jennifer 8. Lee (The Price) and Christopher Lin. Alex Peace-Power is serving as co-producer, with CAA Media Finance representing the film’s distribution rights.

Rannells is a Grammy winner and Tony Award nominee whose recent credits include Peacock’s Girls5eva and Showtime’s Black Monday, along with such films as The Boys in the Band and The Prom.

We are just weeks away from the debut of The Umbrella Academy Season 3.

Netflix celebrated the fact that we're inching closer to the premiere date with a full-length trailer for the new season.

"After putting a stop to 1963’s doomsday, the Umbrella Academy return home to the present, convinced they prevented the initial apocalypse and fixed this godforsaken timeline once and for all," reads the Season 3 synopsis.

"But after a brief moment of celebration, they realize things aren’t exactly how they left them. Enter the Sparrow Academy. Smart, stylish, and about as warm as a sea of icebergs, the Sparrows immediately clash with the Umbrellas in a violent face-off that turns out to be the least of everyone’s concerns."

"Navigating challenges, losses, and surprises of their own – and dealing with an unidentified destructive entity wreaking havoc in the Universe (something they may have caused) — now all they need...

The Sparrows will make their highly anticipated debut on The Umbrella Academy Season 3.

Netflix on Tuesday unveiled a batch of photos for the forthcoming season, premiering June 22 on the streamer.

The new photos showcase returning stars, including Tom Hopper as Luther, David Castañeda as Diego, Emmy Raver-Lampman as Allison, Robert Sheehan as Klaus, Aidan Gallagher as Five, and Elliot Page as Viktor.

As previously reported, however, the new season takes place in a reality where our heroes are unknowns.

In the new timeline, Reginald Hargreeves has created another family of super-powered beings, and we should probably expect a lot of drama.

The students of the Sparrow Academy are played by Justin Cornwell (Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey), Britne Oldford (Hunters), Jake Epstein (Suits), Genesis Rodriguez (Big Hero 6), and Cazzie David.

"After putting a stop to 1963’s doomsday, the Umbrella Academy return home to the present, convinced they prevented the...

Updated Exclusive: The winning projects from Netflix and Adobe’s short-film contest The Great Untold were made public Wednesday, with the three films now available on Netflix’s YouTube channel (here).

The shorts, from winners Jonathan Morales-Moreno, Keara Anderson and Samba Diop, were shot in their hometown settings after the filmmakers worked with mentors over three weeks to learn everything from video production to script writing, storytelling and editing. Adobe and Netflix also provided equipment, tools and crew.

The trio were selected in August among more than 16,000 submissions to TikTok, securing a $10,000 grant to make their films.

Previous Exclusive, August 12: Netflix and Adobe have named the winners of their first-ever short film contest, The Great Untold, who will get to bring their pitched shorts to life and receive grants of $10,000, along with access to Adobe experts and tools, and continued mentorship on their projects.

Wilmington, Nc’s Jonathan Morales-Moreno will be producing The Refugee,...

"The Umbrella Academy"'s third season is slowly coming together, and there are a handful of new faces coming along for the ride. On Jan. 11, 2021, Netflix unveiled the six actors - and one existential-dread-inducing psykronium cube - who make up the new Sparrow Academy. While Justin H. Min will be playing a new version of Ben, there are some well-known actors playing his gifted brothers and sisters, including Justin Cornwell from "Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey" and Jake Epstein from "Degrassi." On March 1, Netflix announced that Javon Walton, aka Ashtray from "Euphoria," has also joined the cast.

The Netflix series' second season, which premiered in July 2020, ends on quite a cliffhanger, with the Umbrella Academy traveling back to the future to find that they have completely altered the present. Not only are Ben and their father Reginald Hargreeves alive, but the Umbrella Academy has also been replaced with a new...

Exclusive: Universal Pictures has acquired the John Fusco spec script Phantom, a package that includes producers Harvey Mason Jr of Harvey Mason Media, and John Legend and his Get Lifted Film Co producing partner Mike Jackson. Pic will be an adaptation of the 1910 Gaston Leroux novel Phantom of the Opera, set in contemporary New Orleans.

Ty Stiklorius is the executive producer.

Fusco, whose script work includes Crossroads and Hidalgo, came up with the idea after becoming reacquainted with the French Quarter music scene where he began, while shooting the Bonnie and Clyde pic The Highwaymen.

“I was in New Orleans with Costner, Woody and John Lee Hancock and found myself reconnecting with my old musical haunts, and the next generation of my music cronies,” he told Deadline. “I began playing with them again, writing music and recorded two albums and during the pandemic I reflected on that journey and wanted...

“Glee” actor Chord Overstreet is set to star alongside Lindsay Lohan in Netflix’s upcoming holiday romantic comedy.

The film, which does not have a title yet, will also feature George Young (“Malignant”), Jack Wagner and Olivia Perez (“In the Heights”). Its release date will be announced at a later time.

Lohan, in her first acting role in years, is playing a newly engaged, spoiled hotel heiress who gets into a skiing accident and suffers from total amnesia. During her recovery, around Christmastime, she finds herself in the care of a handsome, blue-collar lodge owner and his precocious daughter. Overstreet is portraying the male lead, who is the love interest of Lohan’s character.

Along with “Glee,” in which he portrayed Sam Evans across several seasons, Overstreet has appeared in episodes of various television series, such as “The Middle,” “The Bold Type” and “iCarly.” He also had a role in “Glee: The 3D Concert Movie.

Now that Halloween is in the rearview mirror, the wave of holiday fare is already beginning to wash over everything and everyone. While Lifetime and Hallmark have a stranglehold on the rom-com holiday subgenre, Netflix has proven in recent years to be the go-to source for unique family adventure films, with original offerings like "Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey" and the Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn series, "The Christmas Chronicles." This year, Netflix is set to add another star-studded feature to its festive filmography with "A Boy Called Christmas."

From the official Netflix synopsis:

An ordinary young boy called Nikolas sets...

The post A Boy Called Christmas Trailer: Santa Claus Gets His Very Own Origin Story appeared first on /Film.

Following the success of his Netflix musical film Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, playwright and filmmaker David E. Talbert has been tapped to develop a musical series for Disney Branded Television. The series, Madelyn Square Gardens, marks the first development project announced since Ayo Davis was elevated to president of the division.

Madelyn Square Gardens tells the story of a young woman named Madelyn as she moves to New York from Mississippi, thinking her dreams of being on Broadway are about to come true. But she soon discovers that she will need more than raw talent to beat out the competition at her elite performing arts school. She will also set off on an unexpected journey that will reveal why her grandfather ran off to New York City with his own Broadway ambitions, never returning home.

Talbert, alongside his wife and partner Lyn Sisson-Talbert, will produce through their Golden Alchemy Entertainment banner.

Welcome to this week’s “Just for Variety.”

It sounds like Michelle Obama will appear on the final season of “Black-ish.” After star Anthony Anderson teased the possibility when I caught up with him at the Television Academy’s pre-Emmy party for performer nominees, sources tell me that the former first lady’s appearance isn’t a done deal just yet, but they’re close to finalizing the details any day now.

Anthony Anderson teases a possible Former First Lady Michelle Obama cameo in the final season of #Blackish https://t.co/9HuBQq4rEJ pic.twitter.com/5Oai1Sj51I

— Variety (@Variety) September 18, 2021

…

I’m also hearing that after Keanu Reeves was seen shooting “The Matrix Resurrections” in the Bay Area, sources tell me that Warner Bros. will hold the film’s U.S. premiere in San Francisco on Dec. 18. Details, including the location, are still being worked on. The...

Exclusive: Primetime Emmy winner Keegan-Michael Key has joined the cast of Wonka, the origin tale about Roald Dahl’s famed Willy Wonka character. His role and character details are under wraps.

Wonka will focus on a young Willy Wonka and his adventures prior to opening the world’s most famous chocolate factory. Key joins Timothée Chalamet who is singing and dancing in the title role, as Deadline first reported.

Paul King will direct from the screenplay he wrote with Simon Farnaby. David Heyman is producing via his Heyday Films. Luke Kelly and Alexandra Derbyshire are also producing and Michael Siegel executive producing.

The Primetime Emmy winner of Comedy Central’s Key and Peele has been on a roll lately, starring in AppleTV+’s comedy musical series Schmigadoon! and the upcoming Hotel Transylvania: Transformania which is heading to Amazon from Sony.

Hulu has ordered a comedy pilot from Steve Levitan and John Enbom with Keegan-Michael Key and Johnny Knoxville attached to star, Variety has learned.

In the pilot, titled “Reboot,” Hulu decides to reboot an early 2000’s family sitcom. Its dysfunctional cast is forced back together and now must deal with their unresolved issues in today’s fast-changing world.

Levitan is the creator, executive producer, and showrunner and also wrote the pilot story. Levitan and Enbom wrote the pilot teleplay. Enbom will serve as writer and executive producer on the series. Danielle Stokdyk will also executive produce. 20th Television, where Levitan is currently under an overall deal, will serve as the studio.

“Reboot” is the first announced project for Levitan since the ending of “Modern Family” in April 2020 after eleven seasons and 250 episodes. Levitan co-created the hit ABC single-cam sitcom, which won 22 Emmy Awards throughout its run, including five wins for best comedy series.

Steve Levitan is headed to streaming. In the first non-network green light for the Emmy-winning Modern Family co-creator, Hulu has formally picked up comedy pilot Reboot, with Keegan-Michael Key and Johnny Knoxville tapped to star.

In Reboot, created by Levitan and clearly inspired by the recent wave of comedy revivals, when Hulu reboots an early 2000s family sitcom, its dysfunctional cast is forced back together and now must deal with their unresolved issues in today’s fast-changing world.

Levitan co-wrote the pilot script with John Enbom (iZombie). It was based on a story by Levitan. He and Enbom executive produce with Enbom frequent collaborator Danielle Stokdyk. 20th Television, where Levitan is under an overall deal, is the studio.

Levitan is the latest powerhouse broadcast showrunner to branch out into streaming. Sitcom king Chuck Lorre has done it with Disjointed and The Kominsky Method at Netflix; Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman did...

As Forest Whitaker prepares to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Newport Beach Film Festival on June 16, the prolific Academy Award- and Emmy-winning actor with a career spanning four decades says he finds himself increasingly reconnecting with the way he approached the work when he was just starting out.

There’s a “joy when I’m working on a part in the discovery of looking at it and trying to figure out the people,” he says.

For example, he notes that by focusing more deeply on the needs of his “Godfather of Harlem” character, real-life crime boss Bumpy Johnson, the character itself leads the way to his performance.

“That’s the way I was working before,” he says. “I started to go back to basics sometimes, and it’s making things more exciting for me again.”

Whitaker admits he feels fortunate to have been allowed to play an astonishingly...

Women In Film Los Angeles has selected the first class of participants for its new Emerging Producers Program, which is designed to provide women and non-binary people access to master classes, mentorship and advising early in their producing careers.

Participants looking to build careers across various producing tracks in both film and TV were selected by a jury of industry leaders and veteran producer mentors, a list that includes Jenn Asaro (VP Physical Production Finance, Warner Bros), Chelsea Barnard (Booksmart, If Beale Street Could Talk), Yolanda Cochran (SVP Live-Action Long-Form Production, Nickelodeon & Awesomeness), Linda Goldstein Knowlton (We Are the Radical Monarchs, Code Black), Niija Kuykendall (EVP Film Production, Warner Bros), Monica Levinson (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, The Trial of the Chicago 7), Lyn Sisson-Talbert (Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, Bookmarks) and Jeanette Volturno.

The inaugural class:

Apoorva Charan an L.A.-based producer who was born in India,...

Netflix is giving viewers some more insight into The Umbrella Academy Season 3.

As part of the streamer's GeekedWeek event, it unveiled the episode titles for all ten episodes.

The episode titles, in show order, are “Meet the Family,” “World’s Biggest Ball of Twine,” “Pocket Full of Lightning,” “Kugelblitz,” “Kindest Cut,” “Marigold,” “Auf Wiedersehen,” “Wedding at the End of the World,” “Six Bells,” and “Oblivion.”

Netflix's GeekedWeek event finds the streamer zeroing in on some of the biggest genre content on movies and TV.

Production on the third season is already underway, but there's no telling when it might premiere on Netflix.

The streamer is expected to have a wealth of shows in the second half of 2021 due to many of its shows being delayed due to the pandemic.

In all likelihood, The Umbrella Academy Season 3 will not be on the air until 2022, and there will be some big changes.

ABC has put in development Better Late, a multi-camera comedy from filmmaker David E. Talbert (Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey), Lyn Sisson-Talbert, LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s The Springhill Company and ABC Signature.

Written by Talbert, Better Late is inspired by his real life. It’s about a first-time dad whose world gets turned upside down when his own father, a charismatic deadbeat, shows back up hoping for a do-over with his son and a relationship with his grandson. The multi-camera comedy is a show about forgiveness, second chances and the search for silver linings even in the cloudiest of situations.

Talbert, Sisson-Talbert and Springhill Company executive produce. ABC Signature is the studio.

Talbert most recently wrote, directed and produced Netflix’s Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Story. He also recently directed and executive produced El Camino Christmas, written and produced by Hidden Figures helmer Ted Melfi and starring Luke Grimes,...

Keegan-Michael Key hosted his first episode of “Saturday Night Live” on May 15, with musical guest Olivia Rodrigo. The hosting gig comes after a busy 2020 for Key, who had sizable roles in two movie musicals, “The Prom” and “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey,” with another musical project, “Schmigadoon,” coming in July on Apple TV+. And for his “SNL” monologue, Key kept in the musical spirit.

See Will Bowen Yang be the next ‘SNL’ breakout at the Emmys?

The actor discussed growing up a block south of 8 Mile Road in Detroit and watching “SNL” religiously, so he was honored to be onstage hosting all these years later. Key then launched into a song about wanting to do “every single ‘SNL’ thing tonight.”

This included not only performing in sketches but also kissing every member of the cast and getting a tattoo from Pete Davidson. As the song continued onward, cast member Cecily Strong...

Exclusive: Will Kemp, Amanda Donohoe and Remy Hii will be co-starring in Netflix’s holiday Vanessa Hudgens threequel Princess Switch 3.

They’re part of an ensemble that also features Sam Palladio, Nick Sagar, Florence Hall, Ricky Norwood, Suanne Braun, Mark Fleischmann, and Robin Soans.

In the first Princess Switch, Hudgens plays look-a-likes—a Chicago baker named Stacy De Novo, and Belgravia Princess Lady Margaret—who switch lives for a day. In the sequel, The Princess Switch: Switched Again, the stakes jump for Duchess Margaret and Princess Stacy, when the former’s party-girl cousin Fiona (also played by Hudgens) enters to foil royal plans.

Princess Switch 3‘s plot line: When a priceless relic is stolen, Queen Margaret and Princess Stacy enlist the help of Margaret’s audacious look-alike cousin Fiona again who teams with a dashing, mysterious man from her past to retrieve it, rekindling the sparks of a tantalizing...

Tony Award winner Anika Noni Rose is set as a lead opposite Demián Bichir in Let the Right One In, Showtime’s vampire drama pilot from Away creator Andrew Hinderaker, who serves as showrunner; Seith Man, who will direct; and Tomorrow Studios.

Inspired by the best-selling 2004 novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist and its 2008 Swedish film adaptation, the series revolves around Mark (Bichir) and his 12-year-old daughter, whose lives were changed forever 10 years earlier when she was turned into a vampire. Locked in at age 12, perhaps forever, Eleanor lives a closed-in life, able to go out only at night, while her father does his best to provide her with the minimal amount of human blood she needs to stay alive.

Rose will play Naomi. Brilliant but cynical, Naomi balances life as a single mother with her career as a homicide detective. She’d do anything for her son, Isaiah,...

“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” got a big boost in its Oscar bid for Best Costume Design with a win on April 13 at the Costume Designers Guild Awards. It prevailed in the period design race over two of its Oscar rivals — “Emma” and “Mank” — plus “Judas and the Black Messiah” and “One Night in Miami.”

Its closest Oscar competition could be “Mulan,” which won the fantasy/sci-fi prize at the CDG Awards on Tuesday; the fifth Oscar nominee, “Pinocchio,” was not in contention here. The other CDG winner was the contemporary film “Promising Young Woman.

In its 22-year history, the CDG has previewed only 10 of the Oscar winners for Best Costume Design; seven of these have been period pictures and three have been sci-fi or fantasy flicks. Of the last four Costume Designers Guild Awards winners only one has gone on to repeat at the Academy Awards: “Black Panther” in 2019.

In...

“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “Promising Young Woman” were among the film winners at the 23rd annual Costume Designers Guild Awards Tuesday night. TV winners included “The Queen’s Gambit” (Netflix) and the filmed version of “Hamilton” (Disney+).

Broadcast online, the awards celebrated the best in film, TV, and short-form costume design in eight categories that spanned fantasy, contemporary, and period works. Streamed live on Twitter, the virtual ceremony was hosted by Lana Condor (“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”).

Oscar frontrunner Ann Roth’s work on “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” bested other period film nominees at the CDG Awards, heading toward a likely Oscar win, beating “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “One Night in Miami,” and two other Oscar nominees, “Emma,” and “Mank.”

The 89-year-old Roth (an Oscar winner for “The English Patient”) bolstered Viola Davis’ powerful performance as the trailblazing ’20s blues singer. Davis, who picked up a...

The Guild of Music Supervisors held their 11th annual awards virtually today, celebrating outstanding achievement in the craft of music supervision in film, television, documentary, games, advertising and trailers.

Quincy Jones received this year’s Icon Award while Maureen Crowe, the founding President of the Guild of Music Supervisors, accepted the Legacy Award.

Music legend Stevie Wonder made a surprise visit and gave a heartfelt tribute to the accomplishments of Jones.

Pop star Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas O’Connell, made a cameo appearance to present an award at today’s teleconference show.

The complete winners list for the 11th Annual Guild of Music Supervisors Awards is listed below.

Film

Best Music Supervision for Film Budgeted Over $25 Million

Tom MacDougall – Soul *Winner*

Jonathan Leahy – Bill & Ted Face The Music

Becky Bentham – Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga

Julia Michels – Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey

Angela Leus – Trolls World...

The Visual Effects Society Awards were handed out during a virtual ceremony on Tuesday, April 6. “The Midnight Sky” won the Ves equivalent of the Best Picture race – Best Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature. It bested Oscar frontrunner “Tenet” in that category, as well as “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey,” “Project Power” and “The Witches.” George Clooney‘s sci-fi drama won an additional prize for Best Model in a Photoreal of Animated Project. Scroll down for a complete list of winners and nominees at the 2021 Visual Effects Society Awards.

“Tenet” shouldn’t get too discouraged about its Oscar chances. Last year’s Academy Award winner for Best Visual Effects, “1917,” wasn’t even nominated in the top category at the Ves. That award went to “The Lion King,” which lost at the Oscars to Sam Mendes‘ WWI epic. “1917” did compete at the Visual Effects Society for Best Supporting Visual Effects,...

Updated with full list of winners: George Clooney’s Netflix sci-fi thriller The Midnight Sky, Disney/Pixar’s animated Soul and the Disney+ Star Wars spinoff series The Mandalorian were the marquee winners Tuesday at the 19th annual Ves Awards.

The Visual Effects Society’s annual celebration, which honors the year’s best in film, animation, TV, commercials and video games, was hosted as per usual by Patton Oswalt (and his green monster alter ego) and was presented virtually because of the pandemic.

The well-constructed and engaging show (leave it to the VFX crews to pull that off during the Year of the Zoom Ceremony) included honorary awards presented to Peter Jackson, who received the Ves Lifetime Achievement Award presented by his Lotr star Cate Blanchett and featuring a tribute with Andy Serkis, Naomi Watts, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, James Cameron and Gollum himself in one of several bits of...

“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” got a big boost in the Oscar race for Best Makeup and Hairstyling by winning both of its bids at the guild honors on April 3. The Netflix film was honored for its period makeup and period hairstyling at the 8th annual Makeup Artists & Hair Stylists Guild Awards on Saturday.

One of its Oscar rivals – “Pinocchio” — claimed the special effects prize. Two of the other Oscar nominees were shut out as “Hillbilly Elegy” lost all three of its races here and “Mank” was blanked twice over. The fifth contender at the Academy Awards, “Emma,” was overlooked by the guild.

Conversely the other big winner at the Muahs Awards, “Bird of Prey,” was snubbed by the makeup and hairstyling branch of the academy. It won both contemporary categories here.

In addition to the competitive awards doled out in the virtual ceremony, Eddie Murphy was lauded as a Distinguished...

Updated with full list of winners: The 52nd annual NAACP Image Awards wrapped up a week of honors Saturday with a primetime ceremony in which it named the Will Smith-Martin Lawrence reteam Bad Boys for Life its Outstanding Motion Picture of the Year. D-Nice won the organization’s marquee Entertainer of the Year award, beating a field that also included Regina King, Viola Davis, Trevor Noah and Tyler Perry.

Other top winners in the two-hour show hosted by Anthony Anthony Anderson and airing live on BET and CBS and across the suite of ViacomCBS networks included two victories for Viola Davis, who took best actress in Netflix’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and drama series actress for her final season of How to Get Away With Murder. Chadwick Boseman, who won a supporting actor prize earlier this week, won again, taking the best actor prize for Ma Rainey,...

The NAACP Image Awards virtual experience continued on Friday and “black-ish,” the Octavia Spencer miniseries “Self Made” and “Power Book II: Ghost” won three prizes each from the organization.

Anthony Anderson, Deon Cole and Marsai Martin won acting prizes for “black-ish.” Spencer and Blair Underwood also won for “Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker,” while the Netflix miniseries won in the outstanding TV movie, limited series or dramatic special category. And Clifford “Method Man” Smith and Mary J. Blige won on behalf of “Power Book II: Ghost,” while the series also won for outstanding drama series.

The NAACP all week has been rolling out its winners for the 52nd NAACP Image Awards, revealing a slate of winners across various categories each night leading up until the televised awards show on Saturday, March 27. On Friday, the Image Awards recognized film and scripted TV categories.

“Insecure” won for best comedy series,...

Exclusive: Hot off the success of Netflix’s first original musical Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, David E. Talbert and Lyn Sisson-Talbert have signing a first-look deal for their Golden Alchemy banner, to write, direct and produce movies for Netflix. It is the first overall deal for the prolific playwright and filmmaker, who partners in Golden Alchemy with his wife, a prolific producer and author on her own.

David E. Talbert began his career as a playwright and broke into directing on the studio level with the hit First Sunday. He followed with films that included Baggage Claim, Almost Christmas and El Camino Christmas, the latter of which he made for Netflix. He continued as a prolific playwright who has written and produced 14 national tours and wrote the novels Baggage Claim, Love on the Dotted Line, and Love Don’t Live Here No More: Book One of Doggy Tales, which he wrote with Snoop Dogg.

A holiday-themed romantic comedy centered on gay men is coming to Netflix from Michael Mayer, the Tony Award-winning director of the Broadway sensation “Spring Awakening.”

In a genre that has seen increased calls for inclusion, the ensemble project “Single All the Way” boasts beloved actors of pop culture sensations past and a pedigreed filmmaking team.

Michael Urie, Philemon Chambers and Luke MacFarlane will serve as leads, with supporting turns from Barry Bostwick, Jennifer Robertson, Jennifer Coolidge and Kathy Najimy.

Desperate to avoid his family’s judgment about his perpetual single status, Peter (Urie) convinces his best friend Nick (Chambers) to join him for the holidays and pretend that they’re now in a relationship. But when Peter’s mother sets him up on a blind date with her handsome trainer James (MacFarlane), the plan goes awry.

Mayer, whose credits also include NBC’s “Smash,” will direct from a script by...

Forest Whitaker is set to star opposite Tom Hardy in the Netflix action thriller Havoc with The Raid director Gareth Evans helming.

Evans will write and direct the pic as well as produce for One More One Productions, as will Hardy, Ed Talfan for Severn Screen and Aram Tertzakian for XYZ Films. The story is set after a drug deal gone wrong, when a bruised detective must fight his way through a criminal underworld to rescue a politician’s estranged son, while unraveling a deep web of corruption and conspiracy that ensnares his entire city.

The film falls under Evans new exclusive deal with Netflix, which he recently signed with the streamer.

As for Whitaker, the Oscar-winner has been on a roll as of late including his hit Epix series Godfather of Harlem, where he portrays real life gangster Bumpy Johnson. He can be seen next as Aretha Franklin’s father C.

Some of the Oscar contenders for Best Original Song share a common thread, according to Harry Gregson-Williams: they’re all songs about wanting to feel seen and heard.

Songwriters Daniel Pemberton (“Hear My Voice” for “The Trial of the Chicago 7”) Diane Warren (“Io Sì (Seen)” for “The Life Ahead”), John Legend (“Never Break” for “Giving Voice” and “Make It Work” for “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey”), Leslie Odom Jr. (“Speak Now” for “One Night in Miami”), Gregson-Williams (“Loyal Brave True” for “Mulan”) and H.E.R. (“Fight For You” for “Judas and the Black Messiah”) took part in TheWrap’s Oscar Contenders Showcase: Best Original Song on Thursday and spoke about how timely and important their songs feel, even though some were written for movies set in different eras.

“Every single day, we fight to be ourselves, and the reason we are all here today is because we made these...

“Da 5 Bloods” Terence Blanchard, a Grammy-winning jazz musician who earned his first Oscar nomination two years ago for Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman,” has an idea about how to boost diversity in Hollywood music — and give more talented women and musicians of color an opportunity to score films.

“What we should do is have blind auditions. Listen to some music and tell me if it was written by a woman or a person of color, because you would know much better than me,” Blanchard said during a panel of Oscar-shortlisted film composers as part of TheWrap’s Awards Screening Series. “For me…it’s not about gender and it’s not about race. It’s about who is bringing a unique voice to the project.”

Despite his own success in Hollywood, Blanchard believes that his race has sometimes hurt his job prospects. “I’ve had people who wanted to hire...

Nominees for the 23rd annual Costume Designer Guild Awards (to be livestreamed April 13 on Twitter @CostumeAwards at 5:30 pm Pt / 8:30 pm Et) include Oscar frontrunner “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and other period contenders “Emma,” “Mank,” “Judas and the Black Messiah,” and “One Night in Miami.”

Contemporary nods went to “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar,” “Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn),” “Da 5 Bloods,” “Promising Young Woman,” and “The Prom.” And the sci-fi/fantasy nominees included “Dolittle,” “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey,” “Mulan,” “Pinocchio,” and “Wonder Woman 1984.”

Netflix was the big winner with five nominations, followed by Warner Bros. and Universal/Focus Features with three. Disney scored with “Mulan,” Amazon with “One Night in Miami,” Lionsgate with “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar,” and Roadside Attractions with “Pinocchio.”

And it’s a great display of diversity with five Black-themed films.

Four of our five predicted nominees for Best Costume Design at the Oscars reaped bids on March 4 for the Costume Designers Guild Awards. “Emma,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “Mank” contend here in the period picture category against “Judas and the Black Messiah” and “One Night in Miami.” Another likely Oscar contender, “Mulan,” vies here in the sci-fi/fantasy race against “Dolittle,” “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey,” “Pinocchio” and “Wonder Woman 1984.”

Our fifth Oscar nominee, “News of the World,” can take heart that the guild often overlook films that go on to contend at the Academy Awards. Indeed last year’s Oscar winner for Best Costume Design, “Little Women,” was snubbed by the CDG as were two of the other nominees, “The Irishman” and “Joker.” The guild honored one of the other academy nominees, “Jojo Rabbit.”

In its 22-year history, the CDG has previewed only 10 of the Oscar winners for Best Costume Design.

The costume designers responsible for the frocks in “Emma.,” the suits in “Mank” and the ’70s duds in “Judas and the Black Messiah” have been nominated for the 23rd annual Costume Designers Guild Awards, the guild announced on Thursday.

Those three films will be competing against “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “One Night in Miami” in the Cdga’s Excellence in Period Film category, one of three feature-film categories honored by the guild.

In the Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film category, the nominees are “Dolittle,” “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey,” “Mulan,” “Pinocchio” and “Wonder Woman 1984.” The Excellence in Contemporary Film nominees are “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar,” “Birds of Prey,” “Da 5 Bloods,” “Promising Young Woman” and “The Prom.”

Television nominees include “The Mandalorian,” “Snowpiercer,” “What We Do in the Shadows,” “I May Destroy You,” “Emily in Paris,” “Bridgerton,” “The Crown” and “The Queen’s Gambit.”

In recent years,...

The Costume Designers Guild has stitched together the nominees for its 23rd annual CDG Awards for film, TV and shortform. Winners in the eight categories will be announced during the virtual trophy show on Tuesday, April 13, which be streamed on Twitter for the first time.

Read the full list of nominees below.

The designers behind Dolittle, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, Mulan, Pinocchio and Wonder Woman 1984 will vie for the Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film nod.

The Contemporary Film hopefuls are Barb and Star Go to Del Mar, Birds of Prey, Da 5 Bloods, Promising Young Woman and The Prom.

Up for the Period Film trophy are Emma, Judas and the Black Messiah, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Mank and One Night in Miami.

“I would like to congratulate all of the nominees of the 23rd Costume Designers Guild Awards,” said Salvador Perez, President of the guild, IATSE Local 892. “We...

Ann Roth is on her way to making Oscar history as the oldest best costume design nominee after receiving a Costume Designers Guild Award nomination for her work on “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”

The Cdga (Costume Designers Guild Awards) have announced their nominations for the 23rd CDGAs. Also recognized were Francine Jamison Tanchuck for “One Night in Miami” and Charlese Antoinette Jones for “Judas and the Black Messiah.”

Costume designer Bina Daigeler landed a double nomination for her work on the FX series, “Mrs. America,” and “Mulan” was also recognized. Other designers to receive guild nominations were Trish Summerville for “Mank” and “Emma’s” Alexandra Byrne.

For the first time in Cdga history, the annual awards show will be livestreamed for fans worldwide exclusively on Twitter @CostumeAwards at 5:30pm Pt / 8:30pm Et. This year’s host, presenters and honorees will be announced in the coming weeks.

“I would...

The nominations for the 2021 Costume Designers Guild Awards — recognizing excellence in film, TV and short-form costume design — were unveiled on Thursday.

In the categories of sci-fi/fantasy, contemporary and period films, nominees include Jingle Jangle, Wonder Woman 1984, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), Da 5 Bloods, Promising Young Woman, The Prom, Judas and the Black Messiah, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Mank and One Night in Miami.

Notable scripted series nominated in the categories of sci-fi/fantasy, contemporary and period television include The Mandalorian, Westworld, What We ...

It’s truly a measure of the pandemic that the 19th annual Ves Awards (to be held virtually on April 6) was dominated by Disney+’s “The Mandalorian” with 13 nominations (topped by photoreal episode). Like the Oscar shortlist, there was an absence of big budget, VFX-intensive studio films. But, truth be told, Season 2 of Jon Favreau’s engaging “Star Wars” bounty hunter series offered the industry’s most innovative tech (wrapped around Industrial Light & Magic’s improved StageCraft virtual production system).

Pixar’s “Soul” was the top animation contender with five nominations, while the feature competition was split between “Project Power,” the Netflix superhero film, Robert Zemeckis’ “The Witches” (which streamed on HBO Max), and Disney’s live-action “Mulan” (which streamed on Disney+), each garnering three nominations.

Joining “Project Power” and “The Witches” in the top photoreal feature category were Netflix’s “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey” and “The Midnight Sky...

The nominations for the 19th Annual Visual Effects Society Awards have been announced with “The Mandalorian” and “Soul” leading.

“The Mandalorian” leads with 13 nominations including outstanding visual effects in a photoreal episode. “Soul” was next with five nominations, followed by “The Witches” and “Project Power.”

The Ves awards will be handed out in a virtual ceremony and will stream worldwide on April 6.

“Traditions find a way to persist,” said Lisa Cooke, Ves Board Chair. “With vision and a lot of hard work, we are proud to host our annual celebration of the artistry, ingenuity and passion of visual effects practitioners around the world – virtually. We are seeing best in class work that elevates the art of storytelling and engages the audience in new and innovative ways. The Ves Awards is the only venue that showcases and honors these outstanding artists across a wide range of disciplines, and we are extremely proud of all our nominees!

The Visual Effects Society today announced the nominees for its 19th annual Ves Awards, which recognize VFX artistry in 25 categories spanning film, TV, animation, commercials and video games. Winners will be announced during a virtual ceremony on Tuesday, April 6.

Disney+’s The Mandalorian leads all TV shows and films with 13 noms, and Disney/Pixar’s animated Soul tops the film side with five. Project Power and The Witches tied for second among movies with three noms apiece in a decidedly strange year for VFX-heavy projects.

Vying for the Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature prize are Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, The Midnight Sky, Project Power, Tenet and The Witches. The films up for

Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature are Da 5 Bloods, Extraction, Mank, News of the World and Welcome to Chechnya.

Soul will battle it out for the Visual Effects in an Animated Feature trophy against fellow Pixar pic Onward,...

Netflix’s two top film and TV executives said the streaming service still has plenty of room for progress with diversity, but predicted results in 2020 will likely show improvement over 2019 when all of the numbers are tallied.

“I think we are definitely going to improve,” TV chief Bela Bajaria said. “If you think about last year, with Bridgerton and Gentefied and Never Have I Ever — and this is scripted, it’s not including non-fiction — I think we have a lot of titles and we have a commitment to improve every year.”

Film boss Scott Stuber said staffers in his group “definitely feel like we’re improving,” citing releases like Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, Da Five Bloods, The Old Guard and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. “But the point of this benchmark is to constantly be held accountable. … The whole auspice here is not to pat ourselves on the back. It’s to say publicly,...