Ariana DeBose (screen capture)
Lin-Manuel Miranda Won’t Be Attending Oscars
Lin-Manuel Miranda (via Facebook)
Oscar Predictions 2022
Tonight is Hollywood’s big night to hand out the 94th Academy Awards honoring the film industry’s best and brightest achievements of the year. I never do this, but this year I’ll go out on a limb and offer my Oscar predictions on who I think will win. Continue reading “Oscar Predictions 2022”
News Round-Up: February 14, 2022
The third and final season of “Love, Victor” will debut June 15
94th Academy Award Nominations Announced
The 94th Annual Academy Awards nominations were announced this morning and while there were strong performances by LGBTQ talent and LGBTQ-inclusive films in the mix, there wasn’t a ton of Oscar love for queer film artists. Continue reading “94th Academy Award Nominations Announced”
Elton John Oscars Pre-Party Hosted By Neil Patrick Harris Goes Virtual
Neil Patrick Harris, Elton John, David Furnish, Dua Lipa (image – Cisco Webex/Elton John AIDS Foundation)
Since the annual event’s inception in 1992, The Academy Awards Viewing Party has supported the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s efforts to raise millions for their lifesaving work. With its presence across four continents, the Foundation is committed to overcome the stigma, discrimination and neglect that keeps us from ending AIDS. Fans can purchase tickets to the Oscar Pre-Show special for $19.99 via Ticketmaster here. Please visit www.eltonjohnaidsfoundation.org for additional information. https://www.instagram.com/tv/CMuwPAZjZfL/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Oscars Announces New Diversity Criteria For Best Picture Consideration
The Academy Awards has announced new criteria regarding diversity and inclusion for films that wish to be considered in the Best Picture category In an attempt to address “underrepresented groups,” producers will need to hire more LGBTQ+ people, women, folks of color, and those with disabilities. Per the new guidelines, films that want to be considered for Best Picture will have to submit a confidential Academy Inclusion Standards form showing they have met at least two of the four standards laid out by the Academy. The four standards are as follows (via Queerty):
Standard A: The movie must have a lead or “significant” supporting actor from an “underrepresented racial or ethnic group,” or 30% of the more minor roles must come from under-represented groups (women, certain racial or ethnic groups, LGBTQ, disabled). Alternatively, the main storyline may be focussed on under-represented groups.
Standard B: At least two of the creative heads among the crew – director, casting director, costumer designer, etc – are from underrepresented groups (again, women, racial or ethnic groups, LGBTQ or disabled). Alternatively, at least six of the crew are from under-represented racial groups, or 30% of the crew come from under-represented groups.
Standard C: “The film’s distribution or financing company has paid apprenticeships or internships”, from the underrepresented groups, including LGBTQ and certain ethnic groups, as well as offering training opportunities and skills development for individuals from these groups.
Standard D: The final standard concerns the marketing and distribution departments of movies, saying, “The studio and/or film company has multiple in-house senior executives from” the aforementioned groups (women, certain ethnic groups, LGBTQ and/or disabled).
It all sounds good, but in truth, a film can easily meet standards C and D by having, for example, women on the publicity team, or queer staffers/assistants on the costume crew. Currently, the 93rd Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on Sunday, April 25, 2021.
LGBT Recap Of The 2019 Academy Awards
The 2019 Oscars saw lots of love for films featuring LGBTQ characters and stories, including Green Book, Bohemian Rhapsody, The Favourite and A Star is Born.
Green Book, which chronicles the story of the friendship between gay jazz pianist Don Shirley and his white driver in 1960s America, took home Best Picture, and Best Supporting Actor for Mahershala Ali.
Olivia Colman won Best Actress for her performance as Queen Anne in the lesbian dramedy,The Favourite.
The big winner at the Oscars was the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, which took home four awards including Best Actor for Rami Malek, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing.
“I think to anyone struggling… we made a film about a gay man, an immigrant, who lived his life just unapologetically himself. The fact that I’m celebrating him and this story with you tonight is proof that we’re longing for stories like this,” said Malek in his acceptance speech.
A Star is Born, starring openly bisexual Lady Gaga, took home Best Original Song for “Shallow.”
Gaga and Bradley Cooper performed the song live at the awards ceremony, the clear highlight of the broadcast. Not only were the duo on point, the decision to have them come up from the audience and then continue the performance in one long steady cam shot was beautiful.
As a side note: Glenn Close’s work in The Wife is one of the most extraordinary, artful performances I’ve seen in years. I’m stunned Close did not take home the Oscar tonight. Stunned.
My opinion.
Deadline reports that the ratings for last night’s Oscars (sans host) were up 9% over last year’s awards hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.
Adam Lambert & Queen Announced To Perform At 2019 Oscars
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| Adam Lambert (image via Flickr/Tatianka1986) |
The Oscars are promising a virtual homo-goulash of LGBTQ music artists and favorites when the 91st annual Academy Awards take place on Sunday, February 24.
This morning, the Academy announced that iconic rock band Queen, fronted by out singer Adam Lambert, will stage to the stage at the 2019 Oscars.
The Academy paired the lyric, “Is this real life? Is this just fantasy?,” with video footage of Lambert and Queen performing “We Will Rock You” in a post on Twitter Monday morning.
Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
We welcome @QueenWillRock and @adamlambert to this year’s #Oscars!https://t.co/7uDf42FbjJ— The Academy (@TheAcademy) February 18, 2019
Lambert first met and performed with original Queen band members Roger Taylor and Brian May while competing on the talent competition American Idol in 2009. In 2012, the band invited Lambert to tour as frontman.
The appearance will clearly be a tribute to the Freddie Mercury musical biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, which is nominated in five categories on Sunday including Best Picture, Best Actor (front runner Rami Malek), Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Film Editing.
The rockers will join previously announced performers Bette Midler, Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Hudson, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, who will perform songs nominated for Best Original Song.
Midler , a two-time Oscar nominee (The Rose, For The Boys) tweeted her news this weekend, writing, “So, (drum roll) Ladies and Gentlemen, I will be chanteusing (that’s singing) on the Oscars on Feb 24…the nominated song from ‘Mary Poppins’…’The Place Where Lost Things Go’ …so excited!!”
So, (drum roll) Ladies and Gentlemen, I will be chanteusing (that’s singing) on the Oscars on Feb 24…the nominated song from “Mary Poppins”…”The Place Where Lost Things Go” …so excited!!— Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) February 17, 2019
Gaga and Cooper will reprise the Grammy and Golden Globe-winning duet, “Shallow” from A Star is Born (a pretty sure bet to win the trophy); Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls) will perform “I’ll Fight” from the documentary RBG; and nominees Rawlings & Welch will sing “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.
Tune in this Sunday at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT for the 91st Academy Awards on ABC.
Nominations For 2019 Academy Awards Announced
Tracee Ellis Ross and Kumail Nanjiani announced the nominations for the 91st Academy Awards, and Roma and The Favourite head up the pack with 10 nods each.
A Star is Born snagged 8 nominations and Black Panther received 7 noms.
Black Panther is the first super-hero movie to receive a Best Picture nod.
And should Roma win, it would be the first film to be named Best Picture with zero ticket sales since Netflix doesn’t release its films in a traditional manner.
Bohemian Rhapsody got some love from the Academy too. The Freddie Mercury biopic was nominated for Best Picture, while Rami Malek was nominated for Best Actor for his portrayal of the Queen lead singer.
As expected, Lady Gaga got her nods for Best Original Song and Best Actress for A Star is Born,
I’m not happy that Bradley Cooper was snubbed in the Best Director category.
Can You Ever Forgive Me?, the biopic of lesbian biographer Lee Israel, played in the film by Melissa McCarthy, got 3 nominations.
McCarthy received a Best Actress nod, Richard E. Grant scored a nomination for Supporting Actor, and the film’s third nod was for Adapted Screenplay.
The Favourite is the big winner for LGBT-themed films scoring the most nominations, with 10 in total. All three female leads – Olivia Coleman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz – all received nominations.
The film has received kudos from LGBTQ groups for its depiction of a lesbian love triangle.
More than half of this year’s Best Picture nominees – The Favourite, Bohemian Rhapsody, A Star Is Born, Green Book, and Vice – this year are LGBTQ-inclusive.
Other LGBT-related nominations include Mahershala Ali Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the openly gay pianist Dr. Don Shirley in Green Book.
Troye Sivan will have to be happy with his Golden Globe nod for his song “Revelation” from Boy Erased, as he was left out of the Best Original Song category. Look for Gaga’s “Shallow” to be the front runner in this category.
Check out the full list of nominees below and tune in for
The 91st Academy Awards air on ABC , Sunday, February 24.
Best Picture
Black Panther
BlacKkKlansman
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
Green Book
Roma
A Star Is Born
Vice
Best Actor
Christian Bale (Vice)
Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born)
Willem Dafoe (At Eternity’s Gate)
Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody)
Viggo Mortensen (Green Book)
Best Actress
Yalitza Aparicio (Roma)
Glenn Close (The Wife)
Olivia Colman (The Favourite)
Lady Gaga (A Star Is Born)
Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?)
Best Supporting Actor
Mahershala Ali (Green Book)
Adam Driver (BlacKkKlansman)
Sam Elliott (A Star Is Born)
Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?)
Sam Rockwell (Vice)
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams (Vice)
Marina de Tavira (Roma)
Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk)
Emma Stone (The Favourite)
Rachel Weisz (The Favourite)
Best Directing
Spike Lee (BlacKkKlansman)
Pawel Pawlikowski (Cold War)
Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite)
Alfonso Cuarón (Roma)
Adam McKay (Vice)
Best Adapted Screenplay
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
BlacKkKlansman
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
If Beale Street Could Talk
A Star Is Born
Best Original Screenplay
The Favourite
First Reformed
Green Book
Roma
Vice
Best Animated Film
Incredibles 2
Isle of Dogs
Mira!
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Best Cinematography
Cold War
The Favourite
Never Look Away
Roma
A Star Is Born
Best Costume Design
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Black Panther
The Favourite
Mary Poppins Returns
Mary Queen of Scots
Best Documentary Feature
Free Solo
Hale County This Morning, This Evening
Minding the Gap
Of Fathers and Sons
RBG
Best Documentary Short Subject
Black Sheep
End Game
Lifeboat
A Night at the Garden
Period. End of Sentence
Best Film Editing
BlacKkKlansman
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
Green Book
Vice
Best Foreign-Language Film
Capernaum
Cold War
Never Look Away
Roma
Shoplifters
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Border
Mary Queen of Scots
Vice
Best Original Score
Black Panther
BlacKkKlansman
If Beale Street Could Talk
Isle of Dogs
Mary Poppins Returns
Best Original Song
“All the Stars” (Black Panther)
“I’ll Fight” (RBG)
“The Place Where Lost Things Go” (Mary Poppins Returns)
“Shallow” (A Star Is Born)
“When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs)
Best Production Design
Black Panther
The Favourite
First Man
Mary Poppins Returns
Roma
Best Animated Short Film
Animal Behaviour
Bao
Late Afternoon
One Small Step
Weekends
Best Live-Action Short Film
Detainment
Fauve
Marguerite
Mother
Skin
Best Sound Editing
Black Panther
Bohemian Rhapsody
First Man
A Quiet Place
Roma
Best Sound Mixing
Black Panther
Bohemian Rhapsody
First Man
Roma
A Star Is Born
Best Visual Effects
Avengers: Infinity War
Christopher Robin
First Man
Ready Player One
Solo: A Star Wars Story