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Adrien Brody won an Oscar at the 2003 ceremony for his performance in “The Pianist.” Despite his impressive career, that film has brought him his only nomination. Things could change in early 2025 now that his latest film “The Brutalist” has him competing for Best Actor. An Oscars victory would add him into an exclusive club that currently just has seven members: performers to win two Academy Awards for their only two nominations.

Our Gold Derby odds for Best Actor currently have Brody tied for second place with Colman Domingo (“Sing Sing”) at 9/2 odds. Ralph Fiennes (“Conclave”) is out front in first place at 4/1 odds. We then have Timothee Chalamet (“A Complete Unknown”) at 6/1, Daniel Craig (“Queer”) at 21/2, Sebastian Stan (“The Apprentice”) at 16/1, and John David Washington (“The Piano Lesson”) at 30/1.

SEEOscar flashback 20 years ago to 2003: Adrien Brody, Nicole Kidman, Eminem and a ‘Chicago’ domination

Let’s take a look at...

Over the 96 years of Academy Awards history, over 900 men and women have been honored with acting nominations. On July 4, 2024, the oldest surviving acting winner (or nominee) has turned 100 years old. Our research shows that Eva Marie Saint joins a very short list of centenarians who received Oscar acting nominations, with four winning the award.

A star of stage, radio, TV and film, Saint won the Best Supporting Actress statue in 1955 for her debut movie performance in “On the Waterfront;” she is also the earliest surviving acting winner, and one of the last stars of the Golden Era. She later starred alongside Cary Grant in one of Alfred Hitchcock‘s most acclaimed films, “North by Northwest” (1959), and became known to a younger generation as Clark Kent’s adoptive mother in “Superman Returns” (2006). Although she’s never received another Oscar nomination, she’s earned five Emmy nominations, winning Best Miniseries Supporting Actress...

The cherished screen team of William Powell and Myrna Loy met “cute” on their first film together, the gritty 1934 “Manhattan Melodrama.” According to TCM.com, first scene in the film required her to run out a building, maneuver through a crowd of people and jump into a car. The film’s director W.S. “Woody” Van Dyke, who was nicknamed “One Take Woody” because of his efficiency, didn’t bother to introduce the actress to Powell. So, when Van Dyke called “action “Loy recalled jumping into the car and landing “smack on William Powell’s lap. He looked up nonchalantly: Miss Loy, I presume?” I said, Mr. Powell? That’s how I met the man who would be my partner in 14 films.”

It was their next film, the smart screwball comedy/mystery “The Thin Man,” which opened May 25, 1934, transformed the couple into top stars at MGM. Directed by Van Dyke...

Celebration of cinema has always been extended by the Oscars honoring the prowess of cinematic excellence with one of the most recognized accolades. Throughout the rich history of cinema, there have been several movies based on true events, that left a mark among moviegoers or in the pages of history.

A still from Lawrence of Arabia

Also, movies that are based on true events are another way of documenting the particular incident, albeit a portion of fictionalization may alter the accuracy, but for cinema’s sake, filmmakers enjoy the basic freedom to have their own touch to the narrative. Throughout history, movies like The Great Ziegfeld by Robert Z. Leonard, or it would be criminal not to mention David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia, and several other movies have claimed the Best Picture Oscars. Here is a list of six movies that won an Oscar in the Best Picture category.

What Oscar records will be broken and which ones will remain intact at the 96th Academy Awards ceremony March 10. With a win, Billie Eilish, 22, and Finneas, 26, would become the youngest artists ever to win two Oscars before the age of 30. The pair won for James Bond theme “No Time to Die” in 2022, and are nominated this year for “What Was I Made For,” from “Barbie.” Only three individuals have clinched two Oscars before turning 30: Luise Rainer earned back to back Oscars by the time she was 28 for “The Great Ziegfeld” (1936) and “The Good Earth” (1937); Jodie Foster in 1989 for “The Accused” (age 26) and in 1992 for “The Silence of the Lambs” (29); and Hilary Swank in 2000 for “Boys Don’t Cry” (26) and in 2005 for “Million Dollar Baby” (29).

Meanwhile, Diane Warren faces a less enviable milestone with her 15th nomination for “The Fire Inside” from “Flamin’ Hot,” potentially tying with the late Alex North...

Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.

Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:

Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys

2024 Oscars Predictions:

Best Original Song Barbie

Weekly Commentary: With an original song win, Billie Eilish, 22, and Finneas, 26, would become the youngest artists ever to win two Oscars before the age of 30. The pair won for James Bond theme “No Time to Die” in 2022, and are nominated this year for “What Was I Made For,...

When Billie Eilish won the 2022 Oscar for Best Original Song for “No Time To Die” from the James Bond film of the same name, she narrowly missed out on making history as the youngest winner in the category. At the time, Eilish was 20 years old — her brother and collaborator Finneas O’Connell was 24 — but 2008’s winner Markéta Irglová had her beat by one year, winning for the “Once” song “Falling Slowly” at just 19.

This time around Eilish and O’Connell have their eyes set on an even more impressive record. They’re eligible in the Best Original Song category this year for “What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie,” a tearjerker of a song that plays over a pivotal final moment in Greta Gerwig’s film. According to our current combined odds, the song is far and away the frontrunner for the Oscar, leading a pack that also includes the “Barbie” standout track “I’m Just Ken.

What a thrill it must be as an actor to be in a film that becomes a contender for the Academy Award for Best Picture. A few even develop such an impressive resume that they have seven, eight, nine, or more of these credits to their names. Who are the actors who have starred in the most number of Best Picture nominees?

Many of the performers on this list are not a surprise, with multi-Oscar-winners such as Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, Cate Blanchett and Bette Davis making the cut. But there are also some fine character actors who appeared in hundreds of films over careers that spanned decades, including Henry Travers (Clarence the angel from “It’s a Wonderful Life) and Thomas Mitchell (Scarlett O’Hara’s dad from “Gone with the Wind”). Mitchell was such a sought-after actor, he appeared in five of the Best Picture nominees in 1940 and 1941. Two...

What a thrill it must be as an actor to be in a film that becomes a contender for the Academy Award for Best Picture. A few even develop such an impressive resume that they have seven, eight, nine, or more of these credits to their names. Who are the actors who have starred in the most number of Best Picture nominees?

Many of the performers on this list are not a surprise, with multi-Oscar-winners such as Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, Cate Blanchett and Bette Davis making the cut. But there are also some fine character actors who appeared in hundreds of films over careers that spanned decades, including Henry Travers (Clarence the angel from “It’s a Wonderful Life) and Thomas Mitchell (Scarlett O’Hara’s dad from “Gone with the Wind”). Mitchell was such a sought-after actor, he appeared in five of the Best Picture nominees in 1940 and 1941. Two...

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) offers a wide assortment of movies from the past that strikes nostalgia. However, there are also plenty of gems that allow audiences to discover other oldies to fill in their cinematic blindspots. Looking for something to watch this weekend between March 24-26? Here’s a look at the upcoming programming.

Friday, March 24 Jean-Pierre Léaud as Antoine Doinel | John Springer Collection/Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

Starting just after midnight Eastern Standard Time, the TCM movies officially kick off the ending of the week in a big way. Ranging from the Oscar-nominated Mutiny on the Bounty from 1962 to the four-time Oscar-winning Network, there’s a little something for all viewers.

The notable standouts here are The 400 Blows, Diner, Dr. Strangelove, and Network.

The 400 Blows (1959) – 12:30 a.m. Est Diner (1982) – 2:30 a.m. Est Metropolitan (1990) – 4:30 a.m. Est The Sea Wolf (1941) – 6:15 a.m.

The Best Picture win at the Oscars is the highest prize in the film industry. However, some films manage to take home the top award, yet they still don’t manage to stand the test of time. There are some Best Picture winners that no one talks about, even though they’ll always be a part of Academy Award history.

‘The Broadway Melody’ (1929) L-r: Charles King as Eddie Kearns, Bessie Love as Harriet ‘Hank’ Mahoney, Mary Doran as Flo, Anita Page as Queen Mahoney, and Nacio Herb Brown as Pianist | John Springer Collection/Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

Harriet ‘Hank’ Mahoney (Bessie Love) and Queenie Mahoney (Anita Page) are vaudeville sister performers looking to break into the Broadway scene. However, romantic melodrama quickly overshadows their attempt to pursue fame as a duo.

The Broadway Melody is the second film to win the Best Picture Oscar, with only Wings coming before it.

The Oscar front-runner for Best Picture, “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” got a massive boost on nominations morning when it reaped a leading 11 bids. Among those many citations was one for lead actress contender Michelle Yeoh, her first ever after working in the business for decades. Should “Everything Everywhere” go on to win Best Picture and Best Actress, it would become the 13th film in Oscar history to achieve such a feat.

Yeoh takes on the role of laundromat owner Evelyn Quan Wang in the multi-dimensional adventure flick directed by The Daniels (aka Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert). Her competitors in the Best Actress category are Cate Blanchett (“Tár”), Ana de Armas (“Blonde”), Andrea Riseborough (“To Leslie”) and Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans”). So far this awards season, Yeoh has claimed the Comedy Golden Globe while Blanchett has taken home the Drama Golden Globe and the Critics Choice Award. Next up...

Barbra Streisand was all of 21 when she opened on Broadway in 1964 in the role that made her one of the greatest stars: Fanny Brice in the musical “Funny Girl.” And on her 80th birthday April 24, Jonah Hill’s baby sister Beanie Feldstein stars in Streisand’s signature role in the first rialto revival of the bio-musical.

In commemoration of Brice, Streisand and Feldstein here are some fun facts, tidbits and trivia about the musical.

Who was Fanny Brice?

Brice, who was born in 1891, was just 18 when she made her Broadway debut in “Ziegfeld Follies of 1910.” She headlined a series of shows for the next quarter-century with the last being “Ziegfeld Follies of 1936.” She made her film debut in 1928’s “My Man,” appeared as herself in 1936’s “The Great Ziegfeld” and made her last screen appearance in 1945’s “Ziegfeld Follies.” She was best known for playing a mischievous little girl named Baby Snooks.

Before the academy expanded the Best Picture race in 2010, the winner of that award almost always picked up the Best Director prize as well. But since then, these two awards have aligned at only seven of the dozen ceremonies. We thought that we’d see another case of double-dipping this year with Jane Campion winning for both directing and producing “The Power of the Dog.” But now it looks like “Coda” will claim the top prize of Best Picture, with Campion consoling herself with being the third woman to win Best Director.

Why the change?

When the decision was made to increase the number of nominees for Best Picture, it was also decided to bring back the preferential ballot that had been used by the academy until the mid 1940s. The rationale was that by ranking the nominees, the winner would be the film that had the broadest level of support.

In 1966, Japanese filmmaker Hiroshi Teshigahara broke new ground as the first Asian Best Director Oscar contender with his bid for “Woman in the Dunes.” He was also the 10th Japanese male nominee in any category, the first of whom was production designer Eddie Imazu. Twenty years later, his countryman Akira Kurosawa’s “Ran” brought him his first and only directing notice after four decades in the business. Now, Ryusuke Hamaguchi (“Drive My Car”) has been added to this all too short list of Japanese directing nominees and could become the first one to pull off a win.

See 2022 Oscar nominations: Full list of nominees in all 23 categories

Hamaguchi is the only first-timer in this year’s directing lineup, which also includes Paul Thomas Anderson (“Licorice Pizza”), Kenneth Branagh (“Belfast”), Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”) and Steven Spielberg (“West Side Story”). Spielberg has already competed here seven times and...

When Daniel Kaluuya won the 2021 Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as Fred Hampton in “Judas and the Black Messiah,” he became the 77th performer to be honored for a portrayal of a real person. There has been at least one such case across the four acting categories in 19 of the last 20 years, with the 2017 quartet being the last to all win for playing fictional characters. This year, there are nine nominees with the potential to continue the trend, including two whose real-life counterparts are still living.

In Oscar history, it is most common for a win of this kind to come in the Best Actor category. In the nine decades since George Arliss prevailed here for playing Benjamin Disraeli in “Disraeli” (1930), 27 more lead male champs have followed, and they now account for 30% of all victories in the category. The six who have triumphed in the last decade alone...

Olivia Colman plays Leda in “The Lost Daughter” like a consummate pro, and her portrayal of a college professor on holiday in Greece, who reveals herself to be “an unnatural mother,” is among the most critically acclaimed performances of the year. With a deceivingly open and unpredictable best actress race ahead of us, the Oscar-winner who surprised awards watchers by defeating Glenn Close could add her second lead statuette to her mantle for her complex portrayal.

This year’s race for best actress has taken twists and turns. With nomination voting set to open on Thursday, Jan. 27, any number of the presumed frontrunners could drop out, leaving an opening for Colman to pick up her second Oscar in four years.

Twelve actresses have won two lead actress statuettes: Ingrid Bergman (“Gaslight” and “Anastasia”), Bette Davis (“Jezebel” and “Dangerous”), Sally Field (“Norma Rae” and “Places in the Heart”), Jane Fonda (“Klute...

The movie awards’ season is in full flower with such films as Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog”; Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story”; Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast,” Guillermo Del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley” and Joel Coen’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth” among the favorites for top prizes. But one thing we know for certain is that there is no sure thing when it comes to the Oscars. Consider the case of seventy years ago. Not only were there surprises among the nominees, but there were also some shocks when it came to the winners of the 1952 Oscars.

Let’s revisit the 24th Academy Awards, which took place March 20, 1952 at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood and were hosted by Danny Kaye. This was the last time the ceremony was presented on radio. The show moved to television the following year. Among the presenters that evening were Lucille Ball,...

In 2001, Will Smith headlined “Ali,” which brought him his first Oscar nomination. He lost the Best Actor prize to Denzel Washington for “Training Day,” but now, 20 years later, Smith can avenge that loss with “King Richard” against Washington’s turn in “The Tragedy of Macbeth.” And if he doesn’t, he would be the latest performer who has lost to the same person twice.

There have been four people with an 0-2 record agains the same actor. They are:

1. Irene Dunne lost Best Actress for “Theodora Goes Wild” (1936) and “The Awful Truth” (1937) to Luise Rainer for “The Great Ziegfeld” (1936) and “The Good Earth” (1937)

2. Charles Boyer lost Best Actor for “Conquest” (1937) and “Algiers” (1938) to Spencer Tracy for “Captains Courageous” (1937) and “Boys Town” (1938) over

3. Basil Rathbone lost Best Supporting Actor for “Romeo and Juliet” (1936) and “If I Were King” (1938) to Walter Brennan for “Come and Get It” (1936) and “Kentucky” (1938)

4. Annette Bening lost...

Years in the making! The glory of MGM on parade! Enough studio resources to film twenty pictures were expended on this paean to showman Florenz Ziegfeld. It’s really Metro Goldwyn Mayer’s Technicolor valentine to itself, showing off the studio’s enormous stable of musical talent, along with various of its comic performers. Arthur Freed and Louis B. Mayer’s notion of ‘something for everyone’ results in weird stack of grandiose musical numbers and mostly weak comedy. The biggest draw is the incredible color cinematography that peeks through in three or four jaw-droppingly elaborate musical spectacles. The picture is a workout to find the artistic limits of the Technicolor system.

Ziegfeld Follies

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1945 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 117 110 min. / Street Date June 15, 2021 / 21.99

Starring: (alphabetically): Fred Astaire, Lucille Ball, Lucille Bremer, Fanny Brice, Judy Garland, Kathryn Grayson, Lena Horne, Gene Kelly, Victor Moore, Red Skelton, Esther Williams. Also...

In three of the last five years, there has been a divide between the winners of Best Picture at the Oscars. Before the academy reintroduced the preferential ballot for Best Picture in 2010, such splits were fairly rare. Since then, they are almost the rule rather than the exception at the Academy Awards having occurred in five of the last 11 years. Why the change? (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2021 Oscars predictions for Best Director.)

The winner of Best Picture is now determined by a weighted ballot while the other 23 races, including Best Director, are decided by a popular vote. While voters simply check one nominee in those other races, when it comes to Best Picture they are asked to rank all the nominees. If one contender garners more than 50% of the first-place votes, it wins. If, however, no nominee crosses that threshold, the film with the fewest first-place votes is eliminated,...

On this day, March 4th, in Oscar history only...

1937 The 9th Academy Awards are held honoring the best of 1936. Historical epic Anthony Adverse wins the most Oscars (4) but showbiz biopic The Great Ziegfeld takes Best Picture. Some interesting things about this Oscar year: This was the first ceremony with the Supporting acting categories; My Man Godfrey became the first film nominated in all four acting categories and it remains the only film to achieve that without a parallel Best Picture nomination; The Story of Louis Pasteur earned the very weird now impossible distinction of being named both "Best Original Story" And "Best Adaptation"... the "Best Original Screenplay" category was not yet invented and it did not technically replace "Best Story" as they ran parallel for the first 16 years of Best Original Screenplay...

When Oscars are handed out, it’s possible best picture, director, writing and all four acting wins will be for films about real people.

The odds of this sweep seem slim. But this past year has been all about unexpected events, so anything is possible. Certainly, there are a wealth of contenders: This year’s Oscar race is heavy with biopics and fact-based dramas.

“Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Mank,” “One Night in Miami,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” all center on individuals whose 20th century lives were well documented in the media.

“Mank” illuminates the screenwriter behind “Citizen Kane.”

The characters in “Hillbilly Elegy” and “The Mauritanian” didn’t get as much coverage but they’re also based on real people and incidents.

In “Nomadland,” Frances McDormand plays a fictional character but is surrounded by first-time actors playing versions of themselves.

The Academy has released a list of 366 feature films in contention for the upcoming 93rd Oscars. The number of eligible movies is up from the 344 submitted in 2019, although it’s not an AMPAS record. This is the highest total since the 1970 awards, which had 374 eligible entries.

All the expected awards contenders are among the “reminder list of productions eligible for the 93rd Academy Awards,” which include Florian Zeller’s “The Father,” Shaka King’s “Judas and the Black Messiah,” Lee Isaac Chung’s “Minari,” Paul Greengrass’ “News of the World,” Regina King’s “One Night in Miami,” Emerald Fennell’s “Promising Young Woman” Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland,” Pete Docter and Kemp Powers’ “Soul,” and Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7.”

Some of the more unconventional contenders are also on the list, including Robert Downey Jr.’s family pic “Dolittle,” the horror film “The Empty Man” from David Pryor,...

What a difference two days makes. Before last Wednesday’s Golden Globe nominations, “Hillbilly Elegy’s” Glenn Close was in sixth place in Gold Derby’s Best Supporting Actress Oscar odds, but after she accrued a bid there and at the Screen Actors Guild Awards the next day, she has rocketed to fourth place. Another post-Globe and -SAG change is Olivia Colman (“The Father”) usurping the SAG-snubbed Amanda Seyfried (“Mank”) for the top spot. You know what that means: if both Close and Colman make the final five, Colman could beat Close again, which would make her the the fifth performer to defeat the same person twice.

The first four were:

1. Luise Rainer won Best Actress for “The Great Ziegfeld” (1936) and “The Good Earth” (1937) over Irene Dunne for “Theodora Goes Wild” (1936) and “The Awful Truth” (1937)

2. Spencer Tracy won Best Actor for “Captains Courageous” (1937) and “Boys Town” (1938) over Charles Boyer...

Last year we watched as Renee Zellweger followed the yellow brick road all the way to the Wizard of Oscar as Judy Garland in “Judy.” Can lightning (or a tornado) strike two years in a row? That’s surely the hope of Andra Day, looking like a strong Best Actress Oscar contender for her title role in “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.” Like Garland, Holiday rose to stardom in the late 1930s. She also had multiple marriages, faced financial woes and struggled with drugs and alcohol. The question is: can the role in this Hulu release deliver the Oscar to Day?

Before making a decision, keep in mind that the academy has a long history of recognizing actresses for portraying other actresses or entertainers. And the more drama, trauma and tragedy the better. Even raging and hysterical divas are welcome. Let’s look back at some prime and primadonna examples from Oscar’s history.

Even though the Best Actress Oscar has been given out since the first Academy Awards ceremony, there is no clear way of determining whether shorter or longer performances are more likely to win. An even mix of both have prevailed over the past 92 years, performances that have won Best Actress hold more overall lead acting records than those that have won Best Actor. Here is a look at the 10 shortest winners in the category. (And here is the equivalent list for Best Actor.)

10. Katharine Hepburn (“Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”)

43 minutes, 26 seconds (40.20% of the film)

Over three decades after her first nomination resulted in a win, Hepburn finally won a second Best Actress Oscar for her role as Christina Drayton, a mother whose liberal views are challenged when her daughter announces her intention to marry a Black man. She would go on to finish her career with four wins in...

Netflix could make Oscars history.

Netflix’s arsenal of content this year could give the streamer the most best picture nominations from any studio in history, a record held by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which scored five nods at the ninth Academy Awards in 1937. It may even net the streaming giant its first best picture win after falling short with the likes of Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” and Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma.”

MGM achieved the feat when the Academy was nominating 10 films in the best picture category. “The Great Ziegfeld” was the big winner, taking home three statues. It was joined by other films released in 1936: “Libeled Lady,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “San Francisco” and “A Tale of Two Cities.” At the time, MGM was the undisputed heavyweight in Hollywood as the home to top talents such as Shirley Temple, Clark Gable, Judy Garland, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn and many more. So...

The Notebook Primer introduces readers to some of the most important figures, films, genres, and movements in film history.Above: 42nd StreetWhile other genres undoubtedly advanced with the dawning of sound technology, the musical is likely the most indebted to the reverberations of this complementary process. More than that, though, the movie musical was fundamentally born with the surge of sound—it simply could not have existed otherwise. And since that time, the musical has indeed been a uniquely cinematic venture, less beholden to conventional narratives and often disposed to experimentations in color, location, camera mobility, production design, and special effects. Especially in its heyday, the so-called “Golden Age” lasting between the mid-1930s and late-‘50s, Hollywood musicals were an enrapturing experience, delighting audiences with spectacle, romance, athleticism, fine performances, and, of course, song and dance. Some of America’s brightest stars sparkled in the musical, while many of...

Oscar voters have shown from the beginning that they love actors who portray historic people. Perhaps it’s because they can make easy comparisons. Or, more likely, it’s because they are often heroic figures. Tour our photo gallery of every single woman who has won the Best Actress category at the Academy Awards for playing a true life character.

The very first woman to win the illustrious prize for stepping into a real person’s shoes was Luise Rainer, who portrayed entertainer Anna Held in the biopic “The Great Ziegfeld” (1936). Rainer, who died in 2014 at the age of 104, was the first performer to win back-to-back Oscars for acting, taking this prize the very next year for “The Good Earth.”

Since then, actresses as varied as Olivia Colman (“The Favourite” in 2018), Meryl Streep (“The Iron Lady” in 2011), Sandra Bullock (“The Blind Side” in 2009), Marion Cotillard (“La vie en Rose” in...

“The Irishman” co-stars Al Pacino and Joe Pesci are up for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars, but this is not the first time the duo has gone head to head. They last clashed 29 years ago in the same category, and one came out on top.

Pesci prevailed for his iconic role as Tommy DeVito in “Goodfellas” (1990), defeating Pacino (“Dick Tracy”), Bruce Davison (“Longtime Companion”), Andy Garcia (“The Godfather Part III”) and Graham Greene (“Dances with Wolves”). And who can forget his equally iconic speech (watch above): “It was my privilege. Thank you.” Brevity is the soul of wit and acceptance speeches (see also: Merritt Wever‘s 2013 Emmy speech).

This was Pesci’s second and most recent nomination until now. Pacino was on his sixth bid and seeking his first win, which would come two years later in the lead category for 1922’s “Scent of a Woman” (he was...

What do “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” “Joker,” “Judy,” “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” “Rocketman,” “Marriage Story,” “Pain and Glory” and “Bombshell” have in common? That is, beyond their makers wanting to hear their movie’s title when the Academy Awards are announced February 9?

The answer? They all reflect various aspects of the world of show business. This is not a new development. The first-ever winner of a Best Picture Oscar was the 1927 World War I action drama “Wings.” But the second was 1929’s “The Broadway Melody,” a soap-operatic backstage look at a theatrical revue in progress. Thus began the Academy Awards love affair with movies and performances that reflect the voter’s own preoccupation with the performing arts.

Other notable Best Picture winners whose themes spotlight the entertainment industry include 1936’s “The Great Ziegfeld,” 1950’s “All About Eve,” 1952’s “The Greatest Show on Earth,” 1965’s “The Sound of Music,...

By now we all know that the film the Academy selects as the “Best Picture” of any given year is rarely the actual Best Picture, but some years it’s hard to explain why they picked what they picked. Never mind “Shakespeare in Love” beating “Saving Private Ryan,” because at least “Shakespeare in Love” is a handsome production with a witty script. Never mind “Dances with Wolves” beating “Goodfellas,” because at least “Dances with Wolves” is a respectable western. We’re taking a look at the films that we can’t watch, even in a vacuum, without cringing nowadays. And when you compare them with the nominees that didn’t earn the Oscar, it’s just plain hard to justify why the Academy voted the way it did.

“The Broadway Melody” (1929)

The second Best Picture winner, and the first synch sound movie to win the top prize, was innovative for the time.

In the first 72 years of the Academy Awards (1927-99), 14 fact-based movies won the best-picture prize, or 19%. In the 21st century, fact-based films have won 33% of the time.

Last year, three of 2018’s four acting winners were playing real-life characters. And six of the eight best-picture contenders were fact-based, including winner “Green Book.”

For whatever reasons, based-on-reality films are clearly increasing, and are increasingly finding favor from awards-givers. At the same time, there has also been a boost in a sub-category: the autobiographical film. Last year’s “Roma” fit into that category and the auto-truth group has multiplied this year.

In 2019 there have been so many reality-based tales that it’s possible (but unlikely) that every Oscar nominee will be from a fact-based film. In alphabetical order, the list includes “The Aeronauts,” “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” “Bombshell,” “Dark Waters,” “Dolemite Is My Name,” “Ford v Ferrari,” “Harriet,” “A Hidden Life,...

One of the big questions about the 2020 Oscars is whether or not there will be a split between the winners of Best Picture and Best Director, as we’ve seen in three of the last four years. Before the academy reintroduced the preferential ballot for Best Picture in 2010, such divides were fairly rare. Now, they are the rule rather than the exception at the Academy Awards. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2020 Oscars predictions for Best Director.)

Why is this?

Unlike every other Oscar category, which are decided by a popular vote, the winner of the Best Picture award is determined by a weighted ballot. Voters rank their choices from first to last. If one nominee garners more than 50% of the first place vote, it automatically wins. If, however, no nominee can meet that threshold, the film with the fewest first place votes gets eliminated, with its ballot getting reapportioned to the second place choice.

Ten random things that happened on this day (July 8th) in film history for your edification or amusement

1905 The mutinous soldiers of the Russian battleship Potemkin surrender to Romanian authorities. The event later becomes the subject of one of the most influential films ever made, Sergei Eisentein's Battleship Potemkin (1925).

1907 Zeigfeld stages the very first "Ziegfeld Follies" on a New York theater roof. The elaborate theatrical revue becomes a showbiz institution and the subject or setting of major movies, most famously the Best Picture winner The Great Ziegfeld (1936) and the Best Actress winning Funny Girl (1968)

After the jump Cary Grant, Kevin Bacon, Fantastic Four and more...

Olivia Colman pulled off a surprise victory in Best Actress for playing a frail Queen Anne in “The Favourite.” She became the 92nd person in history to clinch that prize, beating out Yalitza Aparicio (“Roma”), Glenn Close (“The Wife”), Lady Gaga (“A Star is Born”), and Melissa McCarthy (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”). Tour our photo gallery above of every Academy Award winner for Best Actress, from the most recent winner to the very first one. And find out when there was a tie in the 91-year history of this Oscar.

SEE2019 Oscars: Full list of winners (and losers) at the 91st Academy Awards

Since 1927, only 14 actresses have won this prize more than once. Katharine Hepburn holds the record for most victories amongst all performers with four: “Morning Glory” (1933), “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” (1967), “The Lion in Winter” (1968), and “On Golden Pond” (1981). 13 other actresses have received two Best Actress...

Mahershala Ali‘s second Oscar triumph Sunday night, for Best Supporting Actor in “Green Book,” puts him some exclusive company: He is the seventh performer to maintain a perfect 2-for-2 record.

Only six other actors have never lost an Oscar from multiple nominations:

1. Luise Rainer: Best Actress for “The Great Ziegfeld” (1936) and “The Good Earth” (1937)

2. Vivien Leigh: Best Actress for “Gone with the Wind” (1939) and “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1951)

3. Helen Hayes: Best Actress for “The Sin of Madelon Claudet” (1932) and Best Supporting Actress for “Airport” (1970)

4. Kevin Spacey: Best Supporting Actor for “The Usual Suspects” (1995) and Best Actor for “American Beauty” (1999)

5. Hilary Swank: Best Actress for “Boys Don’t Cry” (1999) and “Million Dollar Baby” (2004)

6. Christoph Waltz: Best Supporting Actor for “Inglourious Basterds” (2009) and “Django Unchained” (2012)

Since he won his first Best Supporting Actor Oscar two years ago for “Moonlight,” Ali has the second shortest gap between wins of this group,...

History repeats itself, and it could happen again in the Best Supporting Actress race. Thirteen years ago, Rachel Weisz (“The Constant Gardener”) won the category over Amy Adams (“Junebug”), and the two are currently in a rematch for “The Favourite” and “Vice,” respectively. If Weisz prevails again, Adams would have the dubious honor of being the fifth actor to lose to the same person twice.

The first four people were:

1. Irene Dunne lost Best Actress for “Theodora Goes Wild” (1936) and “The Awful Truth” (1937) to Luise Rainer for “The Great Ziegfeld” (1936) and “The Good Earth” (1937)

2. Charles Boyer lost Best Actor for “Conquest” (1937) and “Algiers” (1938) to Spencer Tracy for “Captains Courageous” (1937) and “Boys Town” (1938)

3. Basil Rathbone lost Best Supporting Actor for “Romeo and Juliet” (1936) and “If I Were King” (1938) to Walter Brennan for “Come and Get It” (1936) and “Kentucky” (1938)

4. Annette Bening lost Best Actress for “American Beauty” (1999) and “Being Julia” (2004) to Hilary Swank...

Mary Poppins is practically perfect in every way, but Mahershala Ali and Rachel Weisz could be actually perfect at the Oscars. The Oscar winners are on the verge of their second nominations, for “Green Book” and “The Favourite,” respectively, and could become the seventh and eighth actors to have a 2-for-2 record.

Only six actors have never lost an Oscar from multiple nominations:

1. Luise Rainer: Best Actress for “The Great Ziegfeld” (1936) and “The Good Earth” (1937)

2. Vivien Leigh: Best Actress for “Gone with the Wind” (1939) and “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1951)

3. Helen Hayes: Best Actress for “The Sin of Madelon Claudet” (1932) and Best Supporting Actress for “Airport” (1970)

4. Kevin Spacey: Best Supporting Actor for “The Usual Suspects” (1995) and Best Actor for “American Beauty” (1999)

5. Hilary Swank: Best Actress for “Boys Don’t Cry” (1999) and “Million Dollar Baby” (2004)

6. Christoph Waltz: Best Supporting Actor for “Inglourious Basterds” (2009) and “Django Unchained” (2012)

Two...

What’s harder than winning more than Oscar? Having a perfect record while doing so. But that’s what our combined odds are forecasting for Mahershala Ali (“Green Book”), who could join the exclusive 2-for-2 club if he prevails in Best Supporting Actor.

Only six actors have never lost an Oscar from multiple nominations:

1. Luise Rainer: Best Actress for “The Great Ziegfeld” (1936) and “The Good Earth” (1937)

2. Vivien Leigh: Best Actress for “Gone with the Wind” (1939) and “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1951)

3. Helen Hayes: Best Actress for “The Sin of Madelon Claudet” (1932) and Best Supporting Actress for “Airport” (1970)

4. Kevin Spacey: Best Supporting Actor for “The Usual Suspects” (1995) and Best Actor for “American Beauty” (1999)

5. Hilary Swank: Best Actress for “Boys Don’t Cry” (1999) and “Million Dollar Baby” (2004)

6. Christoph Waltz: Best Supporting Actor for “Inglourious Basterds” (2009) and “Django Unchained” (2012)

See Mahershala Ali knocks Timothee Chalamet out of top spot...

Will the third time be the charm? For the past two years, we were thisclose to having the Best Picture and Best Actress Oscars go to the same film for the first time since “Million Dollar Baby” (2004). Emma Stone took home Best Actress for “La La Land” (2016) and we all know what happened after that. Frances McDormand cruised to her second Best Actress statuette for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” (2017), but her divisive film, which was predicted to win (oops), fell to “The Shape of Water.” And now “A Star Is Born” and Lady Gaga are the odds-on favorites to prevail, which would only be the 12th time ever that Best Picture and Best Actress lined up.

It might be hard to believe, but Picture-Actress matchups were more common in the early days of the Oscars than Picture-Actor; there were four Picture-Actress overlaps to one for Actor before the latter started dominating.

Not only will Frances McDormand become the 14th person with multiple Best Actress Oscars if she wins for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” Sunday, but she’ll join an even more exclusive group that not even Meryl Streep or Katharine Hepburn are part of: Best Actress winners with a perfect record after multiple nominations.

The 1996 champ for “Fargo,” McDormand would be the fifth person with a 2-0 record in Best Actress following Luise Rainer (1936’s “The Great Ziegfeld,” 1937’s “The Good Earth”), Vivien Leigh (1939’s “Gone with the Wind,” 1951’s “A Streetcar Named Desire”), Sally Field (1979’s “Norma Rae,” 1984’s “Places of the Heart”) and Hilary Swank (1999’s “Boys Don’t Cry,” 2004’s “Million Dollar Baby”).

See Hardly a Sophie’s choice: Meryl Streep is your favorite multiple Best Actress Oscar winner

However, like Field, McDormand’s overall Oscar record isn’t pristine: She’s lost three supporting bids for...

There have now been 90 years of Oscar winners and losers and, along with them, 90 years of cheers for deserving victors as well as 90 years of jeers for imposters that snuck into the winner's circle. Some best picture winners still retain their status as all-time classics that people today still watch and love — Casablanca, All About Eve, Lawrence of Arabia, the two Godfathers, among others — while there are those that either haven't been seen by anyone in decades (for good reason) — Cimarron, Cavalcade, The Great Ziegfeld, The Greatest Show on Earth, Around the World in...

There have now been 90 years of Oscar winners and losers and, along with them, 90 years of cheers for deserving victors as well as 90 years of jeers for imposters that snuck into the winner's circle. Some best picture winners still retain their status as all-time classics that people today still watch and love — Casablanca, All About Eve, Lawrence of Arabia, the two Godfathers, among others — while there are those that either haven't been seen by anyone in decades (for good reason) — Cimarron, Cavalcade, The Great Ziegfeld, The Greatest Show on Earth, Around the World in 80 Days — or are ...

There have now been 90 years of Oscar winners and losers and, along with them, 90 years of cheers for deserving victors as well as 90 years of jeers for imposters that snuck into the winner's circle. Some best picture winners still retain their status as all-time classics that people today still watch and love — Casablanca, All About Eve, Lawrence of Arabia, the two Godfathers, among others — while there are those that either haven't been seen by anyone in decades (for good reason) — Cimarron, Cavalcade, The Great Ziegfeld, The Greatest Show on Earth, Around the World in 80 Days — or are ...

In 2009 — when the Academy Awards went to 10 Best Picture nominees for the first time since 1943 — the preferential system of voting, which had been used from 1934 to 1945, was reintroduced. The academy did so as it believed this “best allows the collective judgment of all voting members to be most accurately represented.”

We have detailed how the preferential voting system works at the Oscars in the modern era. So, let’s take a look back at those dozen years early in the history of the academy when it first used this complicated counting to determine the Best Picture winner rather than a simple popular vote. (At the bottom of this post, be sure to vote for the film that you think will take the top Oscar this year.)

See Best Picture Gallery: Every winner of the top Academy Award

1934

This seventh ceremony marked the first time that the Oscars eligibility period was the calendar year.

Meryl Streep’s twin wins are twice as nice for you. With 36 percent of the vote, Streep beat out her 13 fellow multiple Best Actress Oscar winners in our poll asking for your favorite.

“Meryl Streep is the most versatile, amazing actress of my lifetime,” user John K. commented.

Streep is the most recent multiple Best Actress champ, winning for “The Iron Lady” (2011) 29 years after her first triumph for “Sophie’s Choice” (1982). But she’ll lose that title this weekend if Frances McDormand (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”) wins as expected.

See 2018 Oscars: Frances McDormand (‘Three Billboards’) would set third longest gap between Best Actress wins

Way back in second place was Vivien Leigh, who earned 15 percent of the vote. “Vivien Leigh is the only one where both victories was my top choice in the years they won,” user Jay DeFelice wrote of her “Gone with the Wind” (1939) and “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1951) wins.

Frances McDormand (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”) is a few weeks away from becoming one of 14 women who’ve won more than one Best Actress Oscar. McDormand, who took home the prize for “Fargo” (1996), would join 12 other women as two-time winners, two shy of Katharine Hepburn’s all-time record of four. Before McDormand joins this elite club, which of the first lucky 13 champs is your favorite?

Luise Rainer was the first actress to win two and the first performer to win back-to-back Oscars, triumphing for “The Great Ziegfeld” (1936) and “The Good Earth” (1937). Bette Davis (1935’s “Dangerous” and 1938’s “Jezebel”) joined her the following year. Eleven years later, Davis’ pal Olivia de Havilland won her second Oscar for 1949’s “The Heiress,” three years after her “To Each His Own” victory.

Two years after that, Vivien Leigh, who first took home the award for “Gone with the Wind” (1939), won for “A Streetcar Named Desire...

This year’s Oscars are unique in how much more female-driven the Best Picture nominees are. Five out of the nine contenders in the top category have female leads, and four of the Best Actress nominees are in films that are also up for the top award: Sally Hawkins (“The Shape of Water“), Frances McDormand (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”), Saoirse Ronan (“Lady Bird”) and Meryl Streep (“The Post”). If one of those films wins both Best Picture and Best Actress, it would be only the 8th to pair those up in the last 75 years.

In the last three-quarters of a century the seven Best Picture/Best Actress match-ups were as follows:

1975 — “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and lead actress Louise Fletcher

1977 — “Annie Hall” and lead actress Diane Keaton

1983 — “Terms of Endearment” and lead actress Shirley MacLaine

1989 — “Driving Miss Daisy” and lead actress Jessica Tandy

1991 — “The Silence of the Lambs...