Lo, the enduring miracle of the film awards year. Just when things begin to look hopeless—and it was looking pretty bleak a month ago—intriguing, maybe even watchable, prospects suddenly sprout. The movies are like Osiris, that old Egyptian resurrection god: You just can’t keep ‘em down.
As August arrives, more than a few adult viewers, unattuned to the ongoing fantasy-and-animation boom, are now peeking around the corner at Saturday Night, Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night Live origins story. The film was scheduled last week by Columbia Pictures for release on Oct. 11—the 49th anniversary of NBC’s first SNL broadcast, back in 1975.
As historical moments go, that may or may not impress the film Academy’s growing body of foreign-based Oscar voters. But for the domestic crowd, especially those in upper age brackets, the birth of an American comedy phenomenon, still alive some five decades later, is compelling.
As August arrives, more than a few adult viewers, unattuned to the ongoing fantasy-and-animation boom, are now peeking around the corner at Saturday Night, Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night Live origins story. The film was scheduled last week by Columbia Pictures for release on Oct. 11—the 49th anniversary of NBC’s first SNL broadcast, back in 1975.
As historical moments go, that may or may not impress the film Academy’s growing body of foreign-based Oscar voters. But for the domestic crowd, especially those in upper age brackets, the birth of an American comedy phenomenon, still alive some five decades later, is compelling.
- 8/4/2024
- by Michael Cieply
- Deadline Film + TV
Joe Biden dropped out of the race on July 21, and this ain’t your grandfather’s election anymore.
If Donald Trump figured his usual petulance was going to put new Democratic ticket-topper Kamala Harris on the backfoot, the 78-year old ex-president might want to think again. In her first big rally as the nominee, the vice president called out the three-time Republican presidential candidate to keep his word about the ABC News-hosted debate set for September 10 that he had previously agreed to do against Biden.
“So the momentum in this race is shifting, and there are signs that Donald Trump is feeling it,” the veep and presumptive Democratic nominee told an enthusiastic crowd of more than 10,000 just now in Atlanta as polls have Harris tied and even ahead of Trump a week into her White House bid. ‘So last week, you may have seen, he pulled out of the...
If Donald Trump figured his usual petulance was going to put new Democratic ticket-topper Kamala Harris on the backfoot, the 78-year old ex-president might want to think again. In her first big rally as the nominee, the vice president called out the three-time Republican presidential candidate to keep his word about the ABC News-hosted debate set for September 10 that he had previously agreed to do against Biden.
“So the momentum in this race is shifting, and there are signs that Donald Trump is feeling it,” the veep and presumptive Democratic nominee told an enthusiastic crowd of more than 10,000 just now in Atlanta as polls have Harris tied and even ahead of Trump a week into her White House bid. ‘So last week, you may have seen, he pulled out of the...
- 7/31/2024
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
Robert De Niro ranted. Bette Midler blared about “autocracy.” Lea DeLaria declared war. But Donald Trump, though convicted in New York and shot in Pennsylvania, is still marching toward Milwaukee, where the Republican National Convention begins tomorrow.
Meanwhile, George Clooney called for a new Democrat nominee. Rob Reiner seconded the motion. Damon Lindelof went all in, calling for a donor strike. But their forsaken champion, Joe Biden, is still slouching toward Chicago, intent on securing his party’s nomination at the Democratic convention next month.
When this mess resolves—as it must, sooner or later—Hollywood might want to rethink its political habits. Because the current approach clearly isn’t working.
Hysterical displays on social media or the red carpet don’t win votes. More, they become click-bait for right-leaning sites like Breitbart.com, which has made a cottage industry of logging and highlighting celebrity political tantrums.
Getting De Niro,...
Meanwhile, George Clooney called for a new Democrat nominee. Rob Reiner seconded the motion. Damon Lindelof went all in, calling for a donor strike. But their forsaken champion, Joe Biden, is still slouching toward Chicago, intent on securing his party’s nomination at the Democratic convention next month.
When this mess resolves—as it must, sooner or later—Hollywood might want to rethink its political habits. Because the current approach clearly isn’t working.
Hysterical displays on social media or the red carpet don’t win votes. More, they become click-bait for right-leaning sites like Breitbart.com, which has made a cottage industry of logging and highlighting celebrity political tantrums.
Getting De Niro,...
- 7/14/2024
- by Michael Cieply
- Deadline Film + TV
The other night I was having dinner with a couple of industry veterans, both Oscar voters, who told me they had been talking to a top producer-financier who had seen two big studio movies coming out later in the year and both were fantastic.
The producer very enthusiastically praised Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II, said Paul Mescal was terrific and Denzel Washington extraordinary in it. He also saw the new Robert Zemeckis film Here, which stars and de-ages Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, also reuniting them from the 1994 Zemeckis film Forrest Gump. Both that one and Scott’s 2000 Gladiator took Best Picture and now it appears both veteran directors will be back in the race — big time. Scott still has yet to win an Oscar, having been overlooked four times in the director race.
Tom Hanks and Robin Wright in ‘Here’
Paramount releases Gladiator II in November, the same month...
The producer very enthusiastically praised Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II, said Paul Mescal was terrific and Denzel Washington extraordinary in it. He also saw the new Robert Zemeckis film Here, which stars and de-ages Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, also reuniting them from the 1994 Zemeckis film Forrest Gump. Both that one and Scott’s 2000 Gladiator took Best Picture and now it appears both veteran directors will be back in the race — big time. Scott still has yet to win an Oscar, having been overlooked four times in the director race.
Tom Hanks and Robin Wright in ‘Here’
Paramount releases Gladiator II in November, the same month...
- 7/1/2024
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
We’ve raised a cheer for the March 10 Oscar broadcast’s audience bump, up 4 percent, to 19.5 million viewers from 18.8 million a year ago. The total should stretch toward 21 million when digital viewers over seven days are finally added in. (Social media presence will also have grown.)
That’s not bad, given precipitous declines in prior years.
But it’s not enough – not by a long shot, as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences braces for a contractual reckoning that is only a few short years away.
Almost everyone in Hollywood knows about deal anxiety. You’ve barely signed a new contract when that nervous feeling starts to creep in. The clock begins ticking on Day One. By the halfway point, you start to sweat. What happens when it ends (yet again)? Will they renew you? Dump you? Promote you? What?
In the Academy’s case, several key contracts...
That’s not bad, given precipitous declines in prior years.
But it’s not enough – not by a long shot, as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences braces for a contractual reckoning that is only a few short years away.
Almost everyone in Hollywood knows about deal anxiety. You’ve barely signed a new contract when that nervous feeling starts to creep in. The clock begins ticking on Day One. By the halfway point, you start to sweat. What happens when it ends (yet again)? Will they renew you? Dump you? Promote you? What?
In the Academy’s case, several key contracts...
- 3/14/2024
- by Michael Cieply
- Deadline Film + TV
Barbie is going Hollywood. Again.
Mattel revealed today that the live-to-film concert experience Barbie The Movie: In Concert will hit the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday, July 27 — a year to the week after the pic’s release. The show will bring 2023’s biggest movie to life with live music from The Barbie Land Sinfonietta, a special presentation from executive producer and orchestrator Macy Schmidt’s all-female and majority women-of-color orchestra.
Greta Gerwig’s Best Picture Oscar nominee starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling will be projected onto a giant LED screen as the orchestra performs alongside the film’s Grammy-nominated score.
Related: Dumb Snubs, Diversity Watch, Political Strife – A Practically Perfect Oscar Season: Michael Cieply Column
“There’s nothing quite like the energy of the Bowl,” Schmidt said, “and to bring the world-class women musicians of the Barbie Land Sinfonietta to such an iconic venue feels like a perfect match.”
Non-subscription...
Mattel revealed today that the live-to-film concert experience Barbie The Movie: In Concert will hit the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday, July 27 — a year to the week after the pic’s release. The show will bring 2023’s biggest movie to life with live music from The Barbie Land Sinfonietta, a special presentation from executive producer and orchestrator Macy Schmidt’s all-female and majority women-of-color orchestra.
Greta Gerwig’s Best Picture Oscar nominee starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling will be projected onto a giant LED screen as the orchestra performs alongside the film’s Grammy-nominated score.
Related: Dumb Snubs, Diversity Watch, Political Strife – A Practically Perfect Oscar Season: Michael Cieply Column
“There’s nothing quite like the energy of the Bowl,” Schmidt said, “and to bring the world-class women musicians of the Barbie Land Sinfonietta to such an iconic venue feels like a perfect match.”
Non-subscription...
- 2/8/2024
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Here they come again, those holiday perennials. Movies, both good and bad, that year after year find their way back into theaters, onto small screens and deep into stockings that still get stuffed with digital discs.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas. A Christmas Story. Love Actually. It’s a Wonderful Life, of course. A Christmas Carol, ad infinitum. Nutcracker after Nutcracker after Nutcracker.
My personal favorite, released 19 years ago, on Nov. 10, 2004, by Warner Bros., is The Polar Express from the technophile director Robert Zemeckis.
This isn’t a sentimental choice, at least not in the conventional sense. It’s just that every time the picture pops up—and its seasonal DVDs are strung merrily across the Internet, from Amazon to Target—it reminds me of an important life lesson. That is: It’s much easier not to be an editor, especially at The New York Times.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas. A Christmas Story. Love Actually. It’s a Wonderful Life, of course. A Christmas Carol, ad infinitum. Nutcracker after Nutcracker after Nutcracker.
My personal favorite, released 19 years ago, on Nov. 10, 2004, by Warner Bros., is The Polar Express from the technophile director Robert Zemeckis.
This isn’t a sentimental choice, at least not in the conventional sense. It’s just that every time the picture pops up—and its seasonal DVDs are strung merrily across the Internet, from Amazon to Target—it reminds me of an important life lesson. That is: It’s much easier not to be an editor, especially at The New York Times.
- 11/20/2023
- by Michael Cieply
- Deadline Film + TV
Everyone’s gone to the festivals. But here on the home front, one thing still leads to another.
Last Saturday, I picked up a slightly tattered copy of an old crime biography, Frank Costello: Prime Minister of the Underworld, at one of those sidewalk libraries.
Published in 1974, the year after mob boss Costello died at the age of 82, the book was written by his long-time lawyer George Wolf with co-writer Joseph Dimona.
As lawyer books go, it wasn’t bad. Lots of first-hand anecdotes. Not too much ax-grinding. And a reasonably clear re-telling of an oft-told saga about what they used to call “The Syndicate,” from tawdry roots in New York’s Italian ghettos, through the Italo-Jewish alliance of bootlegging gangs, to political machinations, over-throw of the old Sicilian crime lords, Murder Inc., Bugsy Siegel, Las Vegas, the Kefauver hearings and beyond.
You’ve been there many times in many movies,...
Last Saturday, I picked up a slightly tattered copy of an old crime biography, Frank Costello: Prime Minister of the Underworld, at one of those sidewalk libraries.
Published in 1974, the year after mob boss Costello died at the age of 82, the book was written by his long-time lawyer George Wolf with co-writer Joseph Dimona.
As lawyer books go, it wasn’t bad. Lots of first-hand anecdotes. Not too much ax-grinding. And a reasonably clear re-telling of an oft-told saga about what they used to call “The Syndicate,” from tawdry roots in New York’s Italian ghettos, through the Italo-Jewish alliance of bootlegging gangs, to political machinations, over-throw of the old Sicilian crime lords, Murder Inc., Bugsy Siegel, Las Vegas, the Kefauver hearings and beyond.
You’ve been there many times in many movies,...
- 9/9/2023
- by Michael Cieply
- Deadline Film + TV
You can usually count on bond disclosure documents–assuming good eyesight and infinite patience–for fresh tidbits about the inner workings of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the latest round is no exception.
On Friday morning, the Academy posted on the Electronic Municipal Market Access website a 188-page Official Statement supporting last week’s offering of new bonds with a total face value of $126.7 million.
While mostly relying on previously disclosed financial data for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022, the statement dropped some intriguing details about the Oscars and the Academy, including this:
According to Nielsen, the average number of same-day viewers for ABC’s 2023 Oscar telecast rose 12.6% from a year earlier to 18.8 million. That was pretty good. And the number of people who watched the show over a seven-day stretch rose 13.1% to 19.9 million. That was good, too. But the number of “unique viewers,” those who...
On Friday morning, the Academy posted on the Electronic Municipal Market Access website a 188-page Official Statement supporting last week’s offering of new bonds with a total face value of $126.7 million.
While mostly relying on previously disclosed financial data for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022, the statement dropped some intriguing details about the Oscars and the Academy, including this:
According to Nielsen, the average number of same-day viewers for ABC’s 2023 Oscar telecast rose 12.6% from a year earlier to 18.8 million. That was pretty good. And the number of people who watched the show over a seven-day stretch rose 13.1% to 19.9 million. That was good, too. But the number of “unique viewers,” those who...
- 9/1/2023
- by Michael Cieply
- Deadline Film + TV
Whoa, here it comes, just like Hurricane Hilary, an off-kilter, sidewinder of a movie awards season that’s tearing up the rule book even before it starts.
Thanks to El Niño, unholy weather is almost a given. Look for ceremonies that look a lot like 2010, when shivering assistants sheltered the rich and famous with big green golf umbrellas at a Golden Globes ceremony that used to be run by something called the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. That was the upside down year when Avatar shut out The Hurt Locker, which went on to whip Avatar at the Oscars, and Sandra Bullock, a Globe winner for The Blind Side–now shaded by football vet Michael Oher’s suit against the real-life inspiration for Bullock’s role—said her rain-challenged hair was turning into a Chia Pet.
Too early to worry about awards? Hardly. As Pete Hammond notes,...
Thanks to El Niño, unholy weather is almost a given. Look for ceremonies that look a lot like 2010, when shivering assistants sheltered the rich and famous with big green golf umbrellas at a Golden Globes ceremony that used to be run by something called the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. That was the upside down year when Avatar shut out The Hurt Locker, which went on to whip Avatar at the Oscars, and Sandra Bullock, a Globe winner for The Blind Side–now shaded by football vet Michael Oher’s suit against the real-life inspiration for Bullock’s role—said her rain-challenged hair was turning into a Chia Pet.
Too early to worry about awards? Hardly. As Pete Hammond notes,...
- 8/19/2023
- by Michael Cieply
- Deadline Film + TV
Michael Cieply writes a column of analysis and commentary each Sunday.
Updated: The 96th Oscar cycle is upon us, and with it, something new—the mandatory representation and inclusion standards that require filmmakers and/or their storylines and/or their distributors to meet elaborate racial, sexual, and disability guidelines.
Don’t kid yourself with that “everybody qualifies anyway” notion that’s been floating around since the standards were announced a couple of years ago. These rules are intended to change the film business. If you don’t think so, take a few minutes to browse the long list of compliance resources that are now posted on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences website at raise.oscars.org/resources/standards.
At present, the Academy’s list of Standards Resources includes 20 entities, with the promise of more to come. Some are nonprofits, others are commercial firms. The list, says the website,...
Updated: The 96th Oscar cycle is upon us, and with it, something new—the mandatory representation and inclusion standards that require filmmakers and/or their storylines and/or their distributors to meet elaborate racial, sexual, and disability guidelines.
Don’t kid yourself with that “everybody qualifies anyway” notion that’s been floating around since the standards were announced a couple of years ago. These rules are intended to change the film business. If you don’t think so, take a few minutes to browse the long list of compliance resources that are now posted on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences website at raise.oscars.org/resources/standards.
At present, the Academy’s list of Standards Resources includes 20 entities, with the promise of more to come. Some are nonprofits, others are commercial firms. The list, says the website,...
- 4/16/2023
- by Michael Cieply
- Deadline Film + TV
Editors Note: Bill Mechanic is chairman and CEO of Pandemonium Films and a former top executive at Paramount, Disney and chairman and CEO of Fox Filmed Entertainment when that studio generated Titanic, X-Men, Independence Day and Braveheart. He is also a former producer of the Oscars and Oscar-nominated films like Hacksaw Ridge and Coraline, and was a member of the Academy’s Board of Governors before resigning in 2018. He weighs in on that body’s upcoming elections.
A few years ago now (amazing how time flies during a pandemic), I resigned as a governor from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for two reasons: 1) there were factions on the Board of Governors who wanted everything to be status quo in spite of evidence of mismanagement as well as some foreboding changes coming to the industry; and 2) I thought a loud and clear resignation might get the silenced majority...
A few years ago now (amazing how time flies during a pandemic), I resigned as a governor from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for two reasons: 1) there were factions on the Board of Governors who wanted everything to be status quo in spite of evidence of mismanagement as well as some foreboding changes coming to the industry; and 2) I thought a loud and clear resignation might get the silenced majority...
- 5/17/2022
- by Bill Mechanic
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: ABC and the Academy have teamed to promote the upcoming launch of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures with a star-studded primetime special hosted by Oscar winners Tom Hanks and Laura Dern, who are also members of the museum’s board of trustees.
A Night In the Academy Museum will feature Annette Bening, Cher, Jon M. Chu, Geena Davis, Danny Glover, Eiza González, Emily V. Gordon, Aldis Hodge, Marsai Martin, Marlee Matlin, Melissa McCarthy, Kumail Nanjiani, Michelle Rodriguez, Jurnee Smollett and Diane Warren as they explore the magic and artistry of the movies and give fans a peek into the exhibits at the museum, which opens Sept. 30. The special will air Oct. 12 at 10 p.m.
The special will provide an exclusive look at the movies’ 120-year history as well as an insight into the art of filmmaking that are showcased at what is billed as the largest institution in the U.
A Night In the Academy Museum will feature Annette Bening, Cher, Jon M. Chu, Geena Davis, Danny Glover, Eiza González, Emily V. Gordon, Aldis Hodge, Marsai Martin, Marlee Matlin, Melissa McCarthy, Kumail Nanjiani, Michelle Rodriguez, Jurnee Smollett and Diane Warren as they explore the magic and artistry of the movies and give fans a peek into the exhibits at the museum, which opens Sept. 30. The special will air Oct. 12 at 10 p.m.
The special will provide an exclusive look at the movies’ 120-year history as well as an insight into the art of filmmaking that are showcased at what is billed as the largest institution in the U.
- 9/20/2021
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Editors Note: Journalist-turned-filmmaker Rod Lurie just oversaw the release of The Outpost, an adaptation of a book by CNN host Jake Tapper on the courageous stand made by a small group of U.S. soldiers against hundreds of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. Films are often graded by box office grosses, something that has become a meaningless metric in a pandemic that has shut movie theaters around the world. Lurie, who has directed such films as The Contender, The Last Castle and Straw Dogs, here describes what he has found as he has been forced to look past that measuring stick.
Michael Cieply wrote an article on Deadline on Sunday wondering how exactly movies are going to keep “score” these days. It used to be box office. But even when the major studio films are released later this year they will enter into theaters with limited capacities. How much can they possibly make?...
Michael Cieply wrote an article on Deadline on Sunday wondering how exactly movies are going to keep “score” these days. It used to be box office. But even when the major studio films are released later this year they will enter into theaters with limited capacities. How much can they possibly make?...
- 7/6/2020
- by Rod Lurie
- Deadline Film + TV
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