The 94th annual Academy Awards returned once again to Dolby Theatre as Cinema’s most prestigious night had altered course during the Pandemic. Taking top honours was Sian Heder‘s CODA, taking Best Picture. The Film is the first-ever Film with a predominantly Deaf Cast to win Best Picture. It premiered at Sundance in 2021, before selling to Apple for a record $25 million, proving a smart investment. The Film written and directed Heder, is based on the 2014 French coming-of-age film La Famille Bélier, centering on a young woman who is the child of deaf parents.
In addition to winning Best Picture, CODA also won Heder Best Adapted Screenplay and Troy Kotsur would take Supporting Actor.
Other major winners included Will Smith for his work in KING RICHARD, landing him Best Actor, proving third time’s the charm after having been nominated thrice for an Oscar.
Jessica Chastain gained much momentum in recent weeks, taking Best Actress for her portrayal of Tammy Faye Bakker in THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE. This also was her third time being nominated for an Oscar, proving once again that third time’s the charm!
Best Director went to Jane Campion for THE POWER OF THE DOG, which was seen as the favourite to win Best Picture. She has the distinction of being the third woman ever to win the category.
Hosted by a Trio of Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer and Regina Hall, the night was not without drama. Funnyman Chris Rock when presenting Best Documentary, poked fun at Jada Pinkett Smith‘s baldness which landed him a slap on-stage from eventual Will Smith, in defense of his wife.
#Oscars | Will Smith Slaps Chris Rock In The Face On Oscars Stage After Jab At Wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s Appearance https://t.co/6TZkI48QNh pic.twitter.com/ibpffmh2Mc
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) March 28, 2022
Things got lighter as this year’s In Memoriam took an uplifting turn with a gospel choir paying tribute to among others Ivan Reitman, Sidney Poitier and Betty White.
Some of the evening’s standout looks at the Oscars:
Holy mother of God. Lupita Nyong’o in Prada. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/G2VU4JgVOB
— MR. WILL WONG 📸 (@mrwillw) March 27, 2022
Jessica Chastain in Gucci channeling Hollywood Magic Hour. Stunning. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/sjunjKXCwX
— MR. WILL WONG 📸 (@mrwillw) March 27, 2022
Wilmer Valderrama looks s👀 good in Dolce & Gabanna. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/NswTRuM5LC
— MR. WILL WONG 📸 (@mrwillw) March 27, 2022
The look of a winner. Ariana DeBose confident in Valentino pantsuit. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/5naNw1E39q
— MR. WILL WONG 📸 (@mrwillw) March 27, 2022
One went shirtless. One wore a shirt. Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet at the #Oscars for DUNE. pic.twitter.com/6yld0ZWhpn
— MR. WILL WONG 📸 (@mrwillw) March 27, 2022
A friggin’ Rockstar. Live for Kristen Stewart. Don’t care what the Academy thinks. She has won the night. Chanel has done amazing work tailoring her looks all Awards Season. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/JRNYXxEkgk
— MR. WILL WONG 📸 (@mrwillw) March 27, 2022
Zoe Kravitz in Saint Laurent. Beautiful, simple. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/PgTuXnrEaQ
— MR. WILL WONG 📸 (@mrwillw) March 27, 2022
Complete list of winners below:
Best Picture
“Belfast”
“CODA” (Winner)
“Don’t Look Up”
“Drive My Car”
“Dune”
“King Richard”
“Licorice Pizza”
“Nightmare Alley”
“The Power of the Dog”
“West Side Story”
Best Actress
Jessica Chastain, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” (Winner)
Olivia Colman, “The Lost Daughter”
Penelope Cruz, “Parallel Mothers”
Nicole Kidman, “Being the Ricardos”
Kristen Stewart, “Spencer”
Best Actor
Javier Bardem, “Being the Ricardos”
Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Power of the Dog”
Andrew Garfield, “Tick, Tick, Boom”
Will Smith, “King Richard” (Winner)
Denzel Washington, “The Tragedy of Macbeth”
Best Director
Kenneth Branagh, “Belfast”
Ryusuke Hamaguchi, “Drive My Car”
Paul Thomas Anderson, “Licorice Pizza”
Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog” (Winner)
Steven Spielberg, “West Side Story”
Best Original Song
“Be Alive” from “King Richard”
“Dos Oruguitas” from “Encanto”
“Down to Joy” from “Belfast”
“No Time to Die” from “No Time to Die” (Winner)
“Somehow You Do” from “Four Good Days”
Best Documentary Feature
“Ascension”
“Attica”
“Flee”
“Summer of Soul” (Winner)
“Writing with Fire”
Best Adapted Screenplay
“CODA,” Sian Heder (Winner)
“Drive My Car,” Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Oe
“Dune,” Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth
“The Lost Daughter,” Maggie Gyllenhaal
“The Power of the Dog,” Jane Campion
Best Original Screenplay
“Belfast,” Kenneth Branagh (Winner)
“Don’t Look Up,” Adam McKay, Story by McKay and David Sirota
“King Richard,” Zack Baylin
“Licorice Pizza,” Paul Thomas Anderson
“The Worst Person in the World,” Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier
Best Costume Design
“Cruella” (Winner)
“Cyrano”
“Dune”
“Nightmare Alley”
“West Side Story”
Best International Feature Film
“Drive My Car” (Winner)
“Flee”
“The Hand of God”
“Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom”
“The Worst Person in the World”
Best Supporting Actor
Ciarán Hinds, “Belfast”
Troy Kotsur, “CODA” (Winner)
Jesse Plemons, “The Power of the Dog”
JK Simmons, “Being the Ricardos”
Kodi Smit-McPhee, “The Power of the Dog”
Best Animated Feature
“Encanto” (Winner)
“Flee”
“Luca”
“The Mitchells vs. the Machines”
“Raya and the Last Dragon”
Best Visual Effects
“Dune” (Winner)
“Free Guy”
“No Time to Die”
“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”
“Spider-Man: No Way Home”
Best Cinematography
“Dune” (Winner)
“Nightmare Alley”
“The Power of the Dog”
“The Tragedy of Macbeth”
“West Side Story”
Best Supporting Actress
Jessie Buckley, “The Lost Daughter”
Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story” (Winner)
Judi Dench, “Belfast”
Kirsten Dunst, “The Power of the Dog”
Aunjanue Ellis, “King Richard”
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
“Coming 2 America”
“Cruella”
“Dune”
“The Eyes of Tammy Faye” (Winner)
“House of Gucci”
Best Production Design
“Dune” (Winner)
“Nightmare Alley”
“The Power of the Dog”
“The Tragedy of Macbeth”
“West Side Story”
Best Editing
“Don’t Look Up”
“Dune” (Winner)
“King Richard”
“The Power of the Dog”
“Tick, Tick, Boom”
Best Original Score
“Don’t Look Up”
“Dune” (Winner)
“Encanto”
“Parallel Mothers”
“The Power of the Dog”
Best Live Action Short
“Ala Kachuu – Take and Run”
“The Dress”
“The Long Goodbye” (Winner)
“On My Mind”
“Please Hold”
Best Animated Short
“Affairs of the Art”
“Bestia”
“Boxballet”
“Robin Robin”
“The Windshield Wiper” (Winner)
Best Documentary Short Subject
“Audible”
“Lead Me Home”
“The Queen of Basketball” (Winner)
“Three Songs for Benazir”
“When We Were Bullies”
Best Sound
“Belfast”
“Dune” (Winner)
“No Time to Die”
“The Power of the Dog”
“West Side Story”
(Photo credit: Getty Images)
Nominations were announced earlier today for the 94th Academy Awards, to be held Sunday, March 27, 2022 at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood at 8 PM ET. Tracee Ellis Ross and Leslie Jordan made announcements this year. Leading the pack this year with a total 12 nominations is Jane Campion‘s THE POWER OF THE DOG, followed closely by Denis Villeneuve’s DUNE which garnered 10.
This year’s biggest snubs include Lady Gaga for House of Gucci, and while Denis Villeneuve‘s DUNE received much recognition technically, he isn’t up for Best Director. Though it achieved record-breaking Box Office success and acclaim, SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME only garnered one nomination for Special Effects.
Nominees are as follows.
“Belfast”
“CODA”
“Don’t Look Up”
“Drive My Car”
“Dune”
“King Richard”
“Licorice Pizza”
“Nightmare Alley”
“The Power of the Dog”
“West Side Story”
Kenneth Branagh (“Belfast”)
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (“Drive My Car”)
Paul Thomas Anderson (“Licorice Pizza”)
Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”)
Steven Spielberg (“West Side Story”)
Javier Bardem (“Being the Ricardos”)
Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Power of the Dog”)
Andrew Garfield (“Tick, Tick … Boom!”)
Will Smith (“King Richard”)
Denzel Washington (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”)
Jessica Chastain (“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”)
Olivia Colman (“The Lost Daughter”)
Penélope Cruz (“Parallel Mothers”)
Nicole Kidman (“Being the Ricardos”)
Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”)
Ciarán Hinds (“Belfast”)
Troy Kotsur (“CODA”)
Jesse Plemons (“The Power of the Dog”)
J.K. Simmons (“Being the Ricardos”)
Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of the Dog”)
Jessie Buckley (“The Lost Daughter”)
Ariana DeBose (“West Side Story”)
Judi Dench (“Belfast”)
Kirsten Dunst (“The Power of the Dog”)
Aunjanue Ellis (“King Richard”)
“CODA,” Siân Heder
“Drive My Car,” Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Oe
“Dune,” Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, Eric Roth
“The Lost Daughter,” Maggie Gyllenhaal
“The Power of the Dog,” Jane Campion
“Belfast,” Kenneth Branagh
“Don’t Look Up,” Adam McKay, David Sirota
“King Richard,” Zach Baylin
“Licorice Pizza,” Paul Thomas Anderson
“The Worst Person in the World,” Eskil Vogt, Joachim Troer
“Dune,” Greig Fraser
“Nightmare Alley,” Dan Laustsen
“The Power of the Dog,” Ari Wegner
“The Tragedy of Macbeth,” Bruno Delbonnel
“West Side Story,” Janusz Kamiński
“Encanto”
“Flee”
“Luca”
“The Mitchells vs. the Machines”
“Raya and the Last Dragon”
“Affairs of the Art”
“Bestia”
“Boxballet”
“Robin Robin”
“The Windshield Wiper”
“Cruella”
“Cyrano”
“Dune”
“Nightmare Alley”
“West Side Story”
“Don’t Look Up,” Nicholas Britell
“Dune,” Hans Zimmer
“Encanto,” Germaine Franco
“Parallel Mothers,” Alberto Iglesias
“The Power of the Dog,” Jonny Greenwood
“Belfast”
“Dune”
“No Time to Die”
“The Power of the Dog”
“West Side Story”
“Be Alive” (“King Richard”), Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Dixson
“Dos Oruguitas” (“Encanto”), Lin-Manuel Miranda
“Down to Joy” (“Belfast”), Van Morrison
“No Time to Die” (“No Time to Die”), Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell
“Somehow You Do” (“Four Good Days”), Diane Warren
“Ascension”
“Attica”
“Flee”
“Summer of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)”
“Writing With Fire”
“Audible”
“Lead Me Home”
“The Queen of Basketball”
“Three Songs for Benazir”
“When We Were Bullies”
“Don’t Look Up”
“Dune”
“King Richard”
“The Power of the Dog”
“Tick, Tick … Boom!”
“Drive My Car” (Japan)
“Flee” (Denmark)
“The Hand of God” (Italy)
“Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” (Bhutan)
“The Worst Person in the World” (Norway)
“Coming 2 America”
“Cruella”
“Dune”
“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”
“House of Gucci”
“Dune”
“Nightmare Alley”
“The Power of the Dog”
“The Tragedy of Macbeth”
“West Side Story”
“Dune”
“Free Guy”
“No Time to Die”
“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”
“Spider-Man: No Way Home”
“Ala Kachuu – Take and Run”
“The Dress”
“The Long Goodbye”
“On My Mind”
“Please Hold”
The Academy Awards will air on ABC on March 27, 2022.
(Photo credit: Netflix)
Hot off its momentum-building Festival Circuit run, Jane Campion‘s THE POWER OF THE DOG surfaces with a brand-new Trailer.
Synopsis:
Severe, pale-eyed, handsome, Phil Burbank is brutally beguiling. All of Phil’s romance, power and fragility is trapped in the past and in the land: He can castrate a bull calf with two swift slashes of his knife; he swims naked in the river, smearing his body with mud. He is a cowboy as raw as his hides.The year is 1925. The Burbank brothers are wealthy ranchers in Montana. At the Red Mill restaurant on their way to market, the brothers meet Rose, the widowed proprietress, and her impressionable son Peter. Phil behaves so cruelly he drives them both to tears, reveling in their hurt and rousing his fellow cowhands to laughter – all except his brother George, who comforts Rose then returns to marry her.
As Phil swings between fury and cunning, his taunting of Rose takes an eerie form – he hovers at the edges of her vision, whistling a tune she can no longer play. His mockery of her son is more overt, amplified by the cheering of Phil’s cowhand disciples. Then Phil appears to take the boy under his wing. Is this latest gesture a softening that leaves Phil exposed, or a plot twisting further into menace?
THE POWER OF THE DOG is in select theatres on November 17, 2021 and on Netflix December 1, 2021.
(Photo/video credit: Netflix)
Review by David Baldwin
Cattle ranchers George and Phil Burbank (Jesse Plemons and Benedict Cumberbatch) have made a successful enterprise for themselves in Montana circa 1925. Phil rules the men they employ with an iron fist, while George is a bit more wholesome and understanding. George takes to widow Rose (Kristen Dunst) after meeting her at a restaurant stop and quickly marries her much to Phil’s chagrin. When she and her son Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee) move into the Burbank family home however, Phil starts making things difficult for everyone.
Academy Award-winning Co-Writer/Director Jane Campion return to feature filmmaking after a decade long hiatus is a methodical and deliberately paced take on a Western. I would not call it revisionist as others have, yet it does very much feel like a deconstruction of a classic American genre. There are no real heroes and villains here – just troubled individuals trying their best to get on with their lives and not doing a great job of it. Campion’s pacing varies throughout the Film, with some scenes being particular zippy and others slowed to a crawl. She captures the intimacy and heartache of the old West (with gorgeous New Zealand vistas subbing in for Montana) but is more interested in the feelings of her characters than she is in anything else. I would never call THE POWER OF THE DOG boring, though will admit that it may be a great challenge for some viewers to get through.
The Production Design and costuming are sumptuous and Jonny Greenwood’s brooding score is absolutely brilliant, morphing from something soft and sweet to horrific and overbearing faster than you can snap your fingers. Plemons and Smit-McPhee are great in their roles, though they end up getting lost in the margins of some sections. Red hot Thomasin McKenzie (also at TIFF ’21 with Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho) pops-up as a house servant, yet really has no bearing on the story. And while Dunst gives it her all, transforming into a desperate and anxious alcoholic over the course of the Film’s running time, THE POWER OF THE DOG belongs entirely to Cumberbatch. Never have I hated a character so thoroughly and viscerally within seconds of seeing him pop up on screen. He is an absolute monster here, spewing acidic and vile remarks carelessly and genuinely toxifying everything around him just by being present. Cumberbatch’s performance feels lived-in, with even his most tender moments still coming off as repulsive. This is easily a career best performance for the Oscar-nominated thespian, whom Doctor Strange fans will not recognize whatsoever. Do not be surprised if he becomes the front-runner for Best Actor.
THE POWER OF THE DOG screens at TIFF’ 21:
Fri, Sep 10 Princess of Wales 5:00 PM
Fri, Sep 10 VISA Skyline Drive-In at Ontario Place 8:30 PM
Fri, Sep 10 digital TIFF Bell Lightbox 9:00 PM
Fri, Sep 17 digital TIFF Bell Lightbox 1:00 PM
Sat, Sep 18 TIFF Bell Lightbox 1 3:00 PM
Premiering at TIFF ’21, here is the new Teaser Trailer for Jane Campion‘s THE POWER OF THE DOG.
Synopsis:
Severe, pale-eyed, handsome, Phil Burbank is brutally beguiling. All of Phil’s romance, power and fragility is trapped in the past and in the land: He can castrate a bull calf with two swift slashes of his knife; he swims naked in the river, smearing his body with mud. He is a cowboy as raw as his hides.
The year is 1925. The Burbank brothers are wealthy ranchers in Montana. At the Red Mill restaurant on their way to market, the brothers meet Rose, the widowed proprietress, and her impressionable son Peter. Phil behaves so cruelly he drives them both to tears, reveling in their hurt and rousing his fellow cowhands to laughter – all except his brother George, who comforts Rose then returns to marry her.
As Phil swings between fury and cunning, his taunting of Rose takes an eerie form – he hovers at the edges of her vision, whistling a tune she can no longer play. His mockery of her son is more overt, amplified by the cheering of Phil’s cowhand disciples. Then Phil appears to take the boy under his wing. Is this latest gesture a softening that leaves Phil exposed, or a plot twisting further into menace?
Trailer:
Netflix release THE POWER OF THE DOG in select theatres on November 17, 2021 and on Netflix December 1, 2021.
(Photo/video credit: Netflix)
With the Premiere of Beautiful Creatures soon before us, promotion for the Film is reaching a feverish pitch. I challenge you not to see a TV Spot for the Movie these days! Alice Englert, who stars as Lena in the Film Adaptation of the Novel by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl, has the distinction of appearing in the February 2013 issue of Vanity Fair with an Interview by Krista Smith and some gorgeous Photos of her in Lanvin, Chanel, Calvin Klein and Oscar De La Renta, by Williams & Hirakawa.
Englert, 18-year-old Daughter of acclaimed Filmmaker Jane Campion, reveals the Vanity Fair that she plans soon to move to London after having grown-up in Australia, saying “I always had a real crush on London. And I feel like we need to make that date and do it.”. Click here to read more.
Meanwhile, a stunning new five-minute Featurette for Beautiful Creatures has been released. Watch it over at Entertainment Weekly.
It’s not too late still for a chance to win a Double Pass to the Advance Screening of Beautiful Creatures via Mr. Will Wong. Click here to get in!
Word is, one of the talented Cast Members will be visiting Toronto soon for a bit of Press. Stay tuned.
Beautiful Creatures opens Valentine’s Day.
(Photo credit: Vanity Fair/Williams & Hirakawa)
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