Category: media

Kyle Buchanan: “Of course, the decision to blow up the best-picture category wasn’t greeted with nearly as much enthusiasm in June 2009 … Industry veterans worried that the expansion would sap a nomination of its prestige factor, and many of the publicists and producers who had won previous best-picture fights felt particularly aggrieved, like high achievers learning that the SAT had become easier after they took it. … [Even so,] I’d go so far as to say it saved the show.” – The New York Times

The other things Schoonmaker, who is nominated for the eighth time for an Oscar for The Irishman, says, have more to do with Netflix as a studio, and the long experience of trying to get the movie made. “‘Scorsese’s general manager said ‘Netflix will give you the money and they will leave you alone’ – and they did,’ she says. ‘I can’t tell you what a blessing that was. We’re sorry about the [short] theatrical release but nobody else would make this movie. The film wouldn’t have been made without Netflix.'” – BBC

Can any other film win the Oscar? Doubtful. “The strongest best-picture spoiler is likely Parasite, the South Korean thriller that prevailed at the Screen Actors Guild Awards this month and could become the first film not in the English language to win the top Oscar. Still, with the momentum of the PGA and DGA prizes, 1917 will be tough to beat.” – The New York Times

That may sound weird when Netflix also has Scorsese and Noah Baumbach out with Oscar-nominated movies at the moment (not to mention last year’s Roma), but: “The idea is to forge relationships with up-and-coming directors before they become big names. Last year, Netflix released 19 original movies from first-time directors on its streaming platform; another 11 have already been announced for 2020. About half of the first-time directors last year were women, and several titles hailed from directors of color whose films had diverse casts and characters.” – Los Angeles Times

Not to be confused with the autobiographical Shia LaBoeuf feature Honey Boy, of course. But seriously: The film, a documentary about a woman in North Macedonia living in isolation with her dying mother and keeping bees – and what happens when a Turkish family moves in next door – is the first film nominated both for best documentary and best international feature. A.O. Scott chose it as the best movie of 2019. – The New York Times

She’s a rising star of Season 3 (and 4) of The Crown, an executive producer for Killing Eve, and – oh yes – a writer and director of a movie whose trailer has been viewed more than 3 million times. And she’s written the story and book for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new Cinderella. About that new revenge thriller, Promising Young Woman, starring Carey Mulligan, Emerald Farrell says: “I really wanted [it] to come out on Valentine’s Day, and I don’t mean that as a joke. I think what I wanted to make — and the stuff I always want to make — is popcorn, like great proper popcorn, Hollywood movies.” – Los Angeles Times

“The China Independent Film Festival has held 14 editions and shown some 1,000 films since it was established in 2003 in Nanjing, the capital of coastal Jiangsu province. Many of the titles it highlighted touched on topics like homosexuality or political history deemed sensitive or inappropriate by the ruling Communist Party. Other films were effectively underground titles as they lacked the government ‘dragon seal’ of censorship approval required for public screening.” A statement by festival organizers said that “it has already become impossible to organize a film festival that truly has a purely independent spirit and is also effective.” – Variety