Critics Choice: ‘Oppenheimer’ Seals its Oscar Frontrunner Status, Giamatti and Stone Up the Ante

The Critics Choice Awards membership did not disrupt the Best Picture Oscar narrative, if anything it reinforced what we already knew: that Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” is probably winning Best Picture.

Nolan’s film was, again, the big victor of the night taking Best Picture, Acting Ensemble, Director (Nolan), Supporting Actor (Robert Downey, Jr.), Editing (Jennifer Lame), Score (Ludwig Göransson), Cinematography (Hoyte van Hoytema) and Visual Effects.

Can anything stop this film? At this point, it’ll have to take an upset at the PGA for that happen, but I wouldn’t bet on it. No other film has gained momentum on Nolan’s film this awards season. It’s a train that keeps on rolling, and it’ll continue to steam ahead come Oscar night.

The acting races are more interesting. Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers” won three awards including Best Actor (Paul Giamatti), Supporting Actress (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), and Best Young Actor/Actress (Dominic Sessa).

The Oscar for Best Actor seems to be between Giamatti and Cillian Murphy, and, as much as I admired Murphy’s turn as Robert J. Oppenheimer, it’s very hard not to root for Giamatti whose pitch perfect performance in ‘Holdovers’ deserves to win.

How about Best Actress? You can call Emma Stone (“Poor Things”) winning the CC award last night an “upset,” but was it really? Many pundits have Lily Gladstone a lock to win the Oscar, but going against her is my firm belief that her role is a supporting turn, and that might lose her some votes — it doesn’t help that Stone’s performance is so damn brilliant.

“Barbie” took six honors including Best Comedy, Best Original Song (“I’m Just Ken”) and Original Screenplay (Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach). At this point, Gerwig’s film will get nominated for plenty of Oscars, but THR’s Scott Feinberg claiming that it’s the Best Picture frontrunner is all kinds of crazy.

Foreign Language Film went to “Anatomy of a Fall”while Best Animated Feature was rewarded to “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.”

Michael Douglas Says Jack Nicholson, 89, Is “Not Working Any More" and Has “Disappeared"

While James L. Brooks teased last year that "we'll soon be seeing" Jack Nicholson, 89, act again, and that he was "reading scripts," that idea has now been shut down by his close friend Michael Douglas, 82.

Karyn Kusama to Direct ‘Mouthwashing’ Movie for Sony, ‘The Invitation’ Writers to Pen Script

Sony has acquired the feature film rights to "Mouthwashing," the acclaimed psychological horror game. The studio has hired Kusama to direct, and she will bring her most reliable writers, Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay, with her.

Sir Patrick Stewart, 86, Has Died

A real shocker. There are some people you think will live forever, and Sir Patrick Stewart was one of them. The legendary actor has passed away at the age of 86. We’ve lost one of the greats.

Ken Russell's ‘The Devils' Extends Theatrical Run Indefinitely (!) After $3.3M Box Office Surprise

Nobody expected a 55-year-old NC-17 movie to be one of the surprise box office stories of the fall. Yet here we are, and this absolutely puts a smile on my face.

‘Sunrise on the Reaping’ First Reactions Are Very Positive

Of course, we all know the rule: take these reactions with a grain of salt rather than treating them as gospel. Still, I will say that the film tested like gangbusters earlier this year, and Lionsgate clearly has confidence.

August 19, 2019

3-Hour ‘Midsommar' Director's Cut Screened in NYC

This year’s 12th edition of the Scary Movies festival at Film at Lincoln Center premiered Ari Aster’s extended version of “Midsommar” this past Saturday.

CONFIRMED: Sadie Soverall Exits Brady Corbet's ‘The Origin of the World' Mid-Shoot, Lily McInerny Steps In Lead Role

Sadie Soverall was just let go after briefly filming on Corbet's new film — no official reason given. She had the lead role. Corbet has replaced her, last minute, with Lily McInerny.

Ron Howard’s ‘Alone at Dawn’ Starring Adam Driver and Anne Hathaway Sets Christmas 2027 Release

This is the adaptation of the nonfiction book by Dan Schilling and Lori Longfritz. It wrapped production in February and has been in post-production ever since. The film test-screened a few months ago.

Jeremy Saulnier’s Next Film Retitled to ‘Slayground,’ Current Runtime is 2.5 Hours, Plot Details

Jeremy Saulnier’s mysterious A24 project, formerly “October,” still has no release date. You’d think, given that it has been in post-production for almost a year now.

Jemima Kirke and Alexi Wasser to Star in Woody Allen's Next Film

A few months ago, Deadline reported that Woody Allen's next film, set in Madrid and carrying a $14M budget, will be "largely English-language" and feature a "high-profile cast."

Fritz Lang’s ‘M’ Tops the Best Films of the 1930s, According to 100+ Critics

We’ve gone through the decades. The ‘40s ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s, ‘2000s, and ‘2010s. — all revisited, argued over. Now, here are the results for the best films of the 1930s.

Critics Poll: ‘Citizen Kane' Named Best Film of the 1940s

The results are in, and according to critics, this decade filled with cinematic riches did not have a better film than Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane.” Nobody should be surprised by this result. “Citizen Kane” changed cinema forever.

Critics Poll: ‘Vertigo’ Named Best Film of the 1950s, Over 120 Participants

It was a closer race than anticipated, but Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” has topped our best of the ’50s poll, besting Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen’s “Singin’ in the Rain” by just two votes.

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