#FIRSTLOOK: OSCAR NOMINEES AND WINNERS AVAILABLE NOW ON PRIME VIDEO CANADA

From heavy hitters like five-time Oscar winner Anora for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress in a Leading Role to fan favourites The Brutalist, Wicked, and Conclave, and more, Prime Video has you covered.

Anora

A young escort from Brooklyn meets and impulsively marries the son of a Russian oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairy tale is threatened as his parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled.

The Brutalist

After surviving the Holocaust, Hungarian-Jewish architect László Tóth emigrated to the United States after being forcibly separated from his wife, Erzsébet, and niece, Zsófia, in Budapest during World War II. He goes to Philadelphia, where he is given permission to stay with his immigrant cousin, Attila and his American wife, Audrey while he searches for work.

Wicked

In the Land of Oz, the citizens of Munchkinland celebrate the death of the Wicked Witch of the West. Glinda the Good tells the Witch’s story: born from an affair between the wife of then-Governor Thropp and a traveling salesman, she was rejected from birth due to her green skin, which caused her to suffer a troubled childhood. When asked if she and the Witch were friends, Glinda replies that they knew each other and reflects on their past.

Conclave

When Cardinal Lawrence is tasked with leading one of the world’s most secretive and ancient events, selecting a new Pope, he finds himself at the center of a conspiracy that could shake the very foundation of the Catholic Church.

A Real Pain

Mismatched cousins reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother, but their old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.

The Substance

A fading celebrity takes a black-market drug: a cell-replicating substance that temporarily creates a younger, better version of herself.

Full list of nominations now available on Prime Video…

A Complete Unknown was nominated in 8 categories, including:

Best Picture

Actor in a Leading Role

Actress in a Supporting Role

Actor in a Supporting Role

Best Director

Best Sound

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Best Costume Design

A Real Pain was nominated for 2 categories, including:

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Actor in a Supporting Role (Winner)

Anora was nominated in 6 categories, including:

Actress in a Leading Role (Winner)

Actor in a Supporting Role

Directing (Winner)

Film Editing (Winner)

Best Picture (Winner)

Writing (Original Screenplay) (Winner)

Conclave was nominated in 8 categories, including

Actors in a Leading Role

Actress in a Supporting Role

Film Editing

Best Original Score

Best Picture

Production Design

Writing (Adapted Screenplay) (Winner)

Costume Design

Nickel Boys was nominated for 2 categories, including:

Best Picture

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Sing Sing was nominated for 3 categories, including:

Actor in a Leading Role

Best Original Song

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

The Substance was nominated for 5 categories, including:

Best Picture

Actress in a Leading Role

Best Director

Best Makeup and Hairstyling (Winner)

Writing (Original Screenplay)

The Wild Robot was nominated in 3 categories, including

Animated Feature Film

Best Original Score

Best Sound

Wicked was nominated in 10 categories, including:

Actress in a Leading Role

Actress in a Supporting Role

Costume Design (Winner)

Film Editing

Makeup and Hair Styling

Music

Best Picture

Production Design (Winner)

Sound

Visual Effects

#OSCARS: “ANORA” WINS BEST PICTURE AT 2025 ACADEMY AWARDS

It was a huge night for ANORA, which after some early buzz that seemed to have faded, only to gain momentum over the past few weeks to take the throne at the 97th Academy Awards tonight in Los Angeles!

The Sean Baker Dramedy centering on a sex worker who is swept off her feet by the son of a Russian oligarch, took five of the six awards which it was up for including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Mikey Madison), Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing. Baker, winning for the first time tonight, took to the podium to make a battle cry for brick and mortar cinemas, after more than 1,000 theatres had closed since the Pandemic. He made his case to Filmmakers to continue releasing films theatrically, before wishing his mother a Happy Birthday. His mother took him to the theatre for the first time when he was five-years-old.

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Brady Corbet‘s THE BRUTALIST also did quite well, taking three Oscars including Best Actor (Adrien Brody), Best Cinematography and Best Original Score. Meanwhile, WICKED, DUNE: PART TWO and EMILIA PEREZ each took home two Oscars each.

Funnyman Conan O’Brien hosted the Awards for the first time ever at the ceremony which saw much humour, yet also took moments to remember the likes of the late Quincy Jones, and two-time Oscar winner Gene Hackman who had passed recently.

Complete list of winners below:

BEST PICTURE
WINNER: Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
I’m Still Here
Nickel Boys
The Substance
Wicked

BEST ACTRESS
WINNER: Mikey Madison, Anora
Cynthia Erivo, Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez
Demi Moore, The Substance
Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here

BEST DIRECTOR
WINNER: Sean Baker, Anora
Brady Corbet, The Brutalist
Coralie Fargeat, The Substance
Jacques Audiard, Emilia Pérez
James Mangold, A Complete Unknown

BEST ACTOR
WINNER: Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes, Conclave
Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
WINNER: Daniel Blumberg, The Brutalist
Volker Bertelmann, Conclave
John Powell and Stephen Schwartz, Wicked
Clément Ducol and Camille, Emilia Pérez
Kris Bowers, The Wild Robot

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
WINNER: I’m Still Here, Brazil
The Girl With the Needle, Denmark
Emilia Pérez, France
The Seed of the Sacred Fig, Germany
Flow, Latvia

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
WINNER: Lol Crawley, The Brutalist
Greig Fraser, Dune: Part Two
Paul Guilhaume, Emilia Pérez
Edward Lachman, Maria
Jarin Blaschke, Nosferatu

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT
WINNER: I’m Not a Robot
A Lien
Anuja
The Last Ranger
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
WINNER: Dune: Part Two
Alien: Romulus
Better Man
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Wicked

BEST SOUND
WINNER: Dune: Part Two
A Complete Unknown
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
The Wild Robot

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
WINNER: No Other Land
Black Box Diaries
Porcelain War
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Sugarcane

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
WINNER: The Only Girl in the Orchestra
Death by Numbers
I Am Ready, Warden
Incident
Instruments of a Beating Heart

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
WINNER: “El Mal,” Emilia Pérez
“The Journey,” The Six Triple Eight
“Like a Bird,” Sing Sing
“Mi Camino,” Emilia Pérez
“Never Too Late,” Elton John: Never Too Late

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
WINNER: Wicked
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
WINNER: Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez
Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande, Wicked
Felicity Jones, The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini, Conclave

BEST EDITING
WINNER: Sean Baker, Anora
Dávid Jancsó, The Brutalist
Nick Emerson, Conclave
Juliette Welfling, Emilia Pérez
Myron Kerstein, Wicked

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
WINNER: The Substance
A Different Man
Emilia Pérez
Nosferatu
Wicked

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
WINNER: Peter Straughan, Conclave
Jay Cocks and James Mangold, A Complete Unknown
Jacques Audiard, Emilia Pérez
RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes, Nickel Boys
Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar, Sing Sing

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
WINNER: Sean Baker, Anora
Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold, The Brutalist
Jesse Eisenberg, A Real Pain
Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum, and Alex David, September 5
Coralie Fargeat, The Substance

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
WINNER: Wicked
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Gladiator II
Nosferatu

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
WINNER: In the Shadow of the Cypress
Beautiful Men
Magic Candies
Wander to Wonder
Yuck!

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
WINNER: Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
WINNER: Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
Yura Borisov, Anora
Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice

#OSCARS: “EMILIA PÉREZ” LEADS 2025 OSCAR NOMINEES

After a slight delay due to the Califormia wildfires, nominees were announced by Bowen Yang and Rachel Sennott this mroming for the 97th Academy Awards. Following its Golden Globes success, taking Best Motion Picture Comedy or Musical, Jacques Audiard‘s EMILIA PÉREZ leads the way with 13 nominations. Following behind closely with 10 nominations each are THE BRUTALIST and WICKED. Both films also recently saw success at the Golden Globes, the former winning Best Motion Picture Drama and the latter awarded for Cinematic & Box Office Achivement.

Best picture

• “Anora” (Neon)
• “The Brutalist” (A24)
• “A Complete Unknown” (Searchlight)
• “Conclave” (Focus)
• “Dune: Part Two” (Warner Bros.)
• “Emilia Pérez” (Netflix)
• “I’m Still Here” (Sony Classics)
• “Nickel Boys” (Amazon/MGM)
• “The Substance” (Mubi)
• “Wicked” (Universal)

Best director

• Sean Baker, “Anora”
• Brady Corbet, “The Brutalist”
• James Mangold, “A Complete Unknown”
• Jacques Audiard, “Emilia Pérez”
• Coralie Fargeat, “The Substance”

Best actress

• Cynthia Erivo, “Wicked”
• Karla Sofia Gascón, “Emilia Pérez”
• Mikey Madison, “Anora”
• Demi Moore, “The Substance”
• Fernanda Torres, “I’m Still Here”

Best actor

• Adrian Brody, “The Brutalist”
• Timothée Chalamet, “A Complete Unknown”
• Colman Domingo, “Sing Sing”
• Ralph Fiennes, “Conclave”
• Sebastian Stan, “The Apprentice”

Best supporting actress

• Monica Barbaro, “A Complete Unknown”
• Ariana Grande, “Wicked”
• Felicity Jones, “The Brutalist”
• Isabella Rossellini, “Conclave”
• Zoe Saldaña, “Emilia Pérez”

Best supporting actor

• Yura Borisov, “Anora”
• Kieran Culkin, “A Real Pain”
• Edward Norton, “A Complete Unknown”
• Guy Pearce, “The Brutalist”
• Jeremy Strong, “The Apprentice”

Best original screenplay

• “Anora,” Sean Baker
• “The Brutalist,” Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold
• “A Real Pain,” Jesse Eisenberg
• “September 5,” Tim Fehlbaum & Moritz Binder
• “The Substance,” Coralie Fargeat

Best adapted screenplay

• “A Complete Unknown,” Jay Cocks & James Mangold
• “Conclave,” Peter Straughan
• “Emilia Pérez,” Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain & Nicolas Livecchi
• “Nickel Boys,” RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes
• “Sing Sing,” Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin & John “Divine G” Whitfield

Best international feature

• “I’m Still Here,” Walter Salles (Brazil)
• “The Girl with the Needle,” Magnus von Horn (Denmark)
• “Emilia Pérez,” Jacques Audiard (France)
• “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” Mohammad Rasoulof (Germany)
• “Flow,” Miguel Gomes (Latvia)

Best documentary feature

• “Black Box Diaries,” Shiori Itō (MTV)
• “No Other Land,” Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham & Rachel Szor (No distributor)
• “Porcelain War,” Brendan Bellomo & Slava Leontyev (Picturehouse)
• “Soundtrack for a Cout d’Etat,” Johan Grimonprez (Kino Lorber)
• “Sugarcane,” Julian Brave NoiseCat & Emily Kassie (Nat Geo)

Best animated feature

• “Flow” (Janus Films/Sideshow)
• “Inside Out 2” (Disney/Pixar)
• “Memoir of a Snail” (IFC Films)
• “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” (Aardman/Netflix)
• “The Wild Robot” (Dreamworks/Universal)

Best cinematography

• “The Brutalist,” Lol Crawley
• “Dune: Part Two,” Greig Fraser
• “Emilia Pérez,” Paul Guillaume
• “Maria,” Edward Lachman
• “Nosferatu,” Jarin Blaschke

Best costume design

• “A Complete Unknown,” Arianne Phillips
• “Conclave,” Lisy Christl
• “Gladiator II,” Janty Yates
• “Nosferatu,” Linda Muir
• “Wicked,” Paul Tazewell

Best film editing

• “Anora,” Sean Baker
• “The Brutalist,” Dávid Jancsó
• “Conclave,” Nick Emerson
• “Emilia Pérez,” Juliette Welfling
• “Wicked,” Myron Kerstein

Best production design

• “The Brutalist,” Judy Becker
• “Conclave,” Suzie Davies
• “Dune: Part Two,” Patrice Vermette
• “Nosferatu,” Craig Lathrop
• “Wicked,” Nathan Crowley

Best original score

• “The Brutalist,” Daniel Blumberg
• “Conclave,” Volker Bertelmann
• “Emilia Pérez,” Clément Ducol & Camille
• “Wicked,” John Powell & Stephen Schwartz
• “The Wild Robot,” Kris Bowers

Best original song

• “Never Too Late,” “Elton John: Never Too Late” (Elton John & Brandi Carlile)
• “El Mal,” “Emilia Pérez” (Clement Ducol, Camille & Jacques Audiard)
• “Mi Camino,” “Emilia Pérez” (Clement Ducol & Camille)
• “Like a Bird,” “Sing Sing” (Adrian Quesada & Abraham Alexander)
• “The Journey,” “The Six Triple Eight” (Diane Warren)

Best sound

• “A Complete Unknown”
• “Dune: Part Two”
• “Emilia Pérez”
• “Wicked”
• “The Wild Robot”

Best visual effects

• “Alien: Romulus”
• “Better Man”
• “Dune: Part Two”
• “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”
• “Wicked”

Best makeup and hairstyling

• “A Different Man”
• “Emilia Pérez”
• “Nosferatu”
• “The Substance”
• “Wicked”

Best documentary short

• “Death by Numbers”
• “I Am Ready, Warden”
• “Incident”
• “Instruments of a Beating Heart”
• “The Only Girl in the Orchestra”

Best animated short

• “Beautiful Men”
• “In the Shadow of the Cypress”
• “Magic Candies”
• “Wander to Wonder”
• “Yuck!”

Best live-action short

• “A Lien”
• “Anuja”
• “I’m Not a Robot”
• “The Last Ranger”
• “The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent”

The Oscars are scheduled on March 2, 2025 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, to be aired on ABC at 7 PM ET.

#GOLDENGLOBES: “THE BRUTALIST”, “EMILIA PÉREZ” AND “SHOGUN” LEAD WINNERS AT 2025 GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS

Honouring the best in Television and Cinema, the 82nd Golden Globe Awards were held tonight in Los Angeles. Leading the way in the Cinema categories was THE BRUTALIST taking Best Director (Brady Corbet), Actor (Adrien Brody) and Best Motion Picture Drama, strengthening its case for Best Picture at the impending Academy Awards in March.

But if anything, the race for Best Picture is as competitive as ever with Jacques Audiard‘s EMILIA PÉREZ also taking Best Motion Picture Comedy or Musical, Best Motion Picture Non-English Language, Best Original Song (“El Mal”), and Best Supporting Actress (Zoe Saldana).

Cinematic and Box Office Achievement would go to Jon M. Chu‘s WICKED, which also is in the running for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The Film, released late November, already has grossed over $680 million globally.

FX‘s SHŌGUN dominated the Television categories, winning Best Television Series Drama, Best Actor in a Television Series Drama (Hiroyuki Sanada), Best Actress in a TV Series (Anna Sawai), and Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series (Tadanobu Asano).

In the Television Series Comedy categories, HBO‘s HACKS would dominate, taking Best Television Series Comedy and Best Actress in a Television Series Comedy (Jean Smart).

Some of the biggest surprises of the night include wins from THE SUBSTANCE star Demi Moore upsetting the Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy category, a category in which ANORA‘s Mikey Madison is seen as the frontrunner. Brazilian screen legend Fernanda Torres also would upset Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama for her work in I’M STILL HERE, denying the likes of Nicole Kidman who has been lauded for her work in BABYGIRL.

Complete list of winners:

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

• Zoe Saldaña, “Emilia Pérez” — Winner
• Ariana Grande, “Wicked”
• Selena Gomez, “Emilia Pérez”
• Felicity Jones, “The Brutalist”
• Margaret Qualley, “The Substance”
• Isabella Rossellini, “Conclave”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy

• Jean Smart, “Hacks” — Winner
• Kristen Bell, “Nobody Wants This”
• Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”
• Ayo Edebiri, “The Bear”
• Selena Gomez, “Only Murders in the Building”
• Kathryn Hahn, “Agatha All Along”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture

• Kieran Culkin, “A Real Pain” — Winner
• Yura Borisov, “Anora”
• Edward Norton, “A Complete Unknown”
• Guy Pearce, “The Brutalist”
• Jeremy Strong, “The Apprentice”
• Denzel Washington, “Gladiator II”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Drama

• Hiroyuki Sanada, “Shōgun” — Winner
• Donald Glover, “Mr. & Mrs. Smith”
• Jake Gyllenhaal, “Presumed Innocent”
• Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses”
• Eddie Redmayne, “The Day of the Jackal”
• Billy Bob Thornton, “Landman”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Television Series

• Jessica Gunning, “Baby Reindeer” — Winner
• Liza Colon-Zayas, “The Bear”
• Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks”
• Dakota Fanning, “Ripley”
• Allison Janney, “The Diplomat”
• Kali Reis, “True Detective: Night Country”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Television Series

• Tadanobu Asano, “Shōgun” — Winner
• Javier Bardem, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”
• Harrison Ford, “Shrinking”
• Jack Lowden, “Slow Horses”
• Diego Luna, “La Maquina”
• Ebon Moss-Bachrach, “The Bear”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy

• Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear” — Winner
• Adam Brody, “Nobody Wants This”
• Ted Danson, “A Man on the Inside”
• Steve Martin, “Only Murders in the Building”
• Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”
• Jason Segel, “Shrinking”

Best Screenplay — Motion Picture

• Peter Straughan, “Conclave” — Winner
• Jacques Audiard, “Emilia Pérez” 
• Sean Baker, “Anora”
• Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold, “The Brutalist”
• Jesse Eisenberg, “A Real Pain”
• Coralie Fargeat, “The Substance”

Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy on Television

• Ali Wong, “Single Lady” — Winner
• Jamie Foxx, “What Had Happened Was”
• Nikki Glaser, “Someday You’ll Die”
• Seth Meyers, “Dad Man Walking”
• Adam Sandler, “Love You”
• Ramy Youssef, “More Feelings”

Best Motion Picture — Non-English Language

• “Emilia Pérez” — Winner
• “All We Imagine as Light”
• “The Girl with the Needle”
• “I’m Still Here”
• “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”
• “Vermiglio”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

• Colin Farrell, “The Penguin” — Winner
• Richard Gadd, “Baby Reindeer”
• Kevin Kline, “Disclaimer”
• Cooper Koch, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”
• Ewan McGregor, “A Gentleman in Moscow”
• Andrew Scott, “Ripley”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

• Jodie Foster, “True Detective: Night Country” — Winner
• Cate Blanchett, “Disclaimer”
• Cristin Milioti, “The Penguin”
• Sofia Vergara, “Griselda”
• Naomi Watts, “Feud: Capote vs. The swans”
• Kate Winslet, “The Regime”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy

• Demi Moore, “The Substance” — Winner
• Amy Adams, “Nightbitch”
• Cynthia Erivo, “Wicked”
• Karla Sofía Gascón, “Emilia Pérez”
• Zendaya, “Challengers”
• Mikey Madison, “Anora”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy

• Sebastian Stan, “A Different Man” — Winner
• Jesse Eisenberg, “A Real Pain”
• Hugh Grant, “Heretic”
• Gabriel LaBelle, “Saturday Night”
• Jesse Plemons, “Kinds of Kindness”
• Glen Powell, “Hit Man”

Best Motion Picture — Animated

• “Flow” — Winner
• “Inside Out 2”
• “Memoir of a Snail”
• “Moana 2”
• “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl”
• “The Wild Robot”

Best Director — Motion Picture

• Brady Corbet, “The Brutalist” — Winner
• Jacques Audiard, “Emilia Pérez”
• Sean Baker, “Anora”
• Edward Berger, “Conclave”
• Coralie Fargeat, “The Substance”
• Payal Kapadia, “All We Imagine as Light”

Best Original Score — Motion Picture

• Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, “Challengers” — Winner
• Volker Bertelmann, “Conclave”
• Daniel Blumberg, “The Brutalist”
• Kris Bowers, “The Wild Robot”
• Clément Ducol, Camille, “Emilia Pérez”
• Hans Zimmer, “Dune: Part Two”

Best Original Song — Motion Picture

• “El Mal,” by Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard (from “Emilia Pérez”) — Winner
• “Beautiful That Way,” by Miley Cyrus, Lykke Li and Andrew Wyatt (from “The Last Showgirl”)
• “Compress/Repress,” by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross & Luca Guadagnino (from “Challengers”)
• “Forbidden Road,” by Robbie Williams, Freddy Wexler & Sacha Skarbek (“Better Man”)
• “Kiss The Sky,” by Delacey, Jordan Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Maren Morris, Michael Pollack & Ali Tamposi (from “The Wild Robot”)
• “Mi Camino,” by Clément Ducol and Camille (from “Emilia Pérez”)

Cinematic and Box Office Achievement

• “Wicked” — Winner
• “Alien: Romulus”
• “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”
• “Deadpool & Wolverine”
• “Gladiator II”
• “Inside Out 2”
• “Twisters”
• “The Wild Robot”

Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

• “Baby Reindeer” — Winner
• “Disclaimer”
• “Monsters: The Lyle and Eric Menendez Story”
• “The Penguin”
• “Ripley”
• “True Detective: Night Country”

Best Television Series — Comedy Or Musical

• “Hacks” — Winner
• “Abbott Elementary”
• “The Bear”
• “The Gentlemen”
• “Nobody Wants This”
• “Only Murders in the Building”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series — Drama

• Anna Sawai, “Shōgun” — Winner
• Kathy Bates, “Matlock”
• Emma D’Arcy, “House of the Dragon”
• Maya Erskine, “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”
• Keira Knightley, “Black Doves”
• Keri Russell, “The Diplomat”

Best Television Series — Drama

• “Shōgun” — Winner
• “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”
• “The Diplomat”
• “Squid Game”
• “Slow Horses”
• “The Day of the Jackal”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama

• Fernanda Torres, “I’m Still Here” — Winner
• Pamela Anderson, “The Last Showgirl”
• Angelina Jolie, “Maria”
• Nicole Kidman, “Babygirl”
• Tilda Swinton, “The Room Next Door”
• Kate Winslet, “Lee”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama

• Adrien Brody, “The Brutalist” — Winner
• Timothée Chalamet, “A Complete Unknown”
• Daniel Craig, “Queer”
• Colman Domingo, “Sing Sing”
• Ralph Fiennes, “Conclave”
• Sebastian Stan, “The Apprentice”

Best Motion Picture — Drama

• “The Brutalist” — Winner
• “A Complete Unknown”
• “Conclave”
• “Dune: Part Two”
• “Nickel Boys”
• “September 5”

Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy

• “Emilia Pérez” — Winner
• “Anora”
• “Challengers”
• “A Real Pain”
• “The Substance”
• “Wicked”

Our highlights on CBC News:

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#EDITORSNOTE: TEAM MR. WILL NAME THEIR BEST-OF 2024 FILM LISTS

What a fantastic year in Cinema 2024 was! The Team – Nicholas Porteous, Amanda Gilmore, Justin Waldman, David Baldwin and Mr. Will unveil for you their best-of 2024 film lists here which you absolutely cannot miss! There are some surprises!

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What were your faves? Let us know on IG and FB!

We thank you so much for your supporting all these years including 2024 and cannot wait to bring you the goods in 2025 whether it be first looks, screening pass giveaways, reviews or interviews, we will continue to be there for you!

To an epic 2025!

Team Mr. Will

#INTERVIEW: BRADY CORBET ON “THE BRUTALIST”

By David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong

Awards Season is in full swing, and if you have been following the buzz, chances are you have been reading or hearing all about THE BRUTALIST. The Film has been on the tip of many filmgoers’ tongues since its World Premiere at this year’s Venice Film Festival where its Co-Writer/Director Brady Corbet won the Silver Lion. The Film had its North American premiere at TIFF (read our Nicholas Porteous’ capsule coverage here) and is finally landing in Canadian theatres starting this week.

The Film centers on László Tóth (Oscar-winner Adrien Brody in one of his finest performances), a brilliant Hungarian-Jewish architect who has fled Europe for America following WWII. When he is tasked with building a community centre for wealthy industrialist Harrison Van Buren (the impeccable Guy Pearce), László envisions achieving the American Dream and the start of a new legacy. But as conflicts and competing egos arise, he quickly realizes there may not be any room for him or his art in his new country.

We had the incredible privilege of speaking to Corbet during a Zoom junket the day after he presented the film in 70mm at an Advance Screening at the TIFF Lightbox mid-December. Here are some of the things we learned during our candid and fascinating conversation:

What is your process or organizing principle when writing your Screenplays?

Corbet: I always start a project with themes as opposed to starting with characters. For me, each character is emblematic of an idea [or] is a mouthpiece for that idea. I think that that my wife [Co-Writer Mona Fastvold] and I write intuitively. We usually have spoken about a project for at least a year, if not two years before sitting down to execute a draft, so we know it very well. But before we put pen to paper…I’m constantly thinking about the defining events of an epoch. And all of my films are virtual histories and they’re concerned primarily with American culpability.

My first film, The Childhood of a Leader, is about how Woodrow Wilson and his team inadvertently paved the way for fascist uprising with their participation in in the Paris Peace Conference and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. Of course, Vox [Lux] is a film that is about 9/11 and Columbine being the sort of jumping-off point for the new Millennium [and how] the last twenty-five years having really been defined by those two events. And then [THE BRUTALIST] is a film about the post-war generation, which is a period of time [where] Conservatives in the US really romanticize[d] this 1950s Americana, when of course, everyone was processing the events of the 1940s [which] almost everyone in the world was affected by one way or another.

I think that I struggle a lot with Biographies, and I certainly struggle with most Biopics because they often represent history as being something linear. It’s a series of dates and figures. It’s cause and effect, cause and effect. Whereas I’m more interested in a sort of ambient tyranny. You know what is in the air? What’s in the water? What’s in the atmosphere that, you know is all contributing to these defining historical events and happenings?

How challenging was it to get THE BRUTALIST into production?

Corbet: I remember when we finished the Screenplay with this line from Zsófia as an adult saying, “In fact it is the destination, not the journey;” it dawned on us back in 2017, or whenever we first started, that it would probably be a long road. It was longer than we expected mostly because of Covid and the shutdowns. We were originally meant to shoot the film in Poland and the very day that my Crew was supposed to arrive to start pre-production, Poland shut their borders. And then the tax credit for a period of time became unstable a year later because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. And so, we had to pivot and shoot the Film in Hungary…Finally we arrived at the top of 2022 and shot the Film in March. Then I was in post-production for two years. Primarily, because of the length of the picture. Also, for financial reasons.

How much did THE BRUTALIST cost to produce and did the budget cause any issues during post-production?

Corbet: We were continuing to raise money throughout the entire [production] because we actually started the Film with a budget of closer to $8-million. And it really didn’t fit inside of that box. I mean, you know $10-million was really the minimum and the maximum that the market would allow it to be made for…[The budgetary restrictions] mostly just affected our quality of life while we were making the Film. I believe it would have been the same Film [even] if we had an additional one and a half or two million dollars, I really do. But we wouldn’t have had to work seven days a week. We wouldn’t have had to work twenty-hour days. I mean, there was literally one day in the mix that was like twenty-three-hours long…I wouldn’t have wanted more [money] because with more money would have come more voices. More checks, more voices, more people – you know, more cooks in the kitchen.

And for me, when I pick up a novel, I don’t want to read a book that was written by twenty-four people. I certainly don’t want to read a book that was that was written by twenty-four executives at a streamer…A singular vision or singular point of view matters, and it’s something that we should encourage and foster culturally. Audiences actually do speak up. It seems to happen a lot in the world of these superhero films, where people hear about a Director’s Cut and start beating on a drum about it. But in fact, everyone should be beating on a drum for the Director’s Cut of absolutely every film.

The Film has more sexual content than many of its contemporary American brethren. Was that always the case, and has there been any pressure to remove any of it?

Corbet: Well, the Film was finally rated R, but I think it was kind of on the bubble for an NC-17. And you know, I just think it’s preposterous. I don’t know where [this Puritanism] comes from. It’s 2024 for Christ’s sake. And I mean this is how we all got here, so I find it odd to condemn the human body. I mean, you walk around a museum, and you know everyone’s fucking in every single painting.

I think that there’s a few things that are very important for this Film in particular, which is that this Movie is about a character that is trying to reclaim his body of work and about him reclaiming his body. We understand in the first ten minutes that he’s impotent following the war, and that even when he and his wife reconnect, it takes them a long time to physically reconnect. Imagine being away from your partner for seven to ten years – of course it’s like touching a stranger! You don’t know how to interface anymore. And so, it was very important to me to portray two survivors that are trying to reclaim their bodies for themselves again. Because they’ve been used and abused for over a decade at that point in the story. So yeah, I don’t know. I just don’t have…my wife is Norwegian and my in-laws are always skinnydipping and stuff during the holidays. I just I don’t think anything of it. It didn’t even occur to me that this Film might get an NC-17. And I’m very glad that finally it didn’t, because I never would have changed anything anyway. I don’t give a fuck.

This interview has been condensed and edited.

Stay tuned for our full review!

Elevation Pictures release THE BRUTALIST exclusively in Toronto on
Wednesday, December 25, 2024 and throughout Canada starting in January 2025.

#SPOTTED: BRADY CORBET IN TORONTO FOR “THE BRUTALIST”

Toronto got a very special treat this past week with an Advance Screening, with Q&A, of Oscar contender THE BRUTALIST by Actor/Writer/Director Brady Corbet (pronounced “cor-bay”) in 70mm at TIFF Lightbox. One of the few places which can support the format.

This sweeping epic of a film, despite being three-and-a-half hours plus intermission, certainly doesn’t feel its length.

Corbet, who also has starred in acclaimed films like The Clouds of Sils-Maria, Martha Marcy May Marlene and Melancholia, crafts a sublime feast for the senses, visually and sonically.

Academy Award winner Adrien Brody taps into soul of a Hungarian architect named László Tóth and the sacrifices he made rebuilding his life in America, escaping war and being separated from his wife.

The Film is an unfiltered look at the relationship between art and its consumers, and extremes of compromise in committing to one’s artistic vision.

The Film showcases a brilliant ensemble including a ferocious Guy Pearce as Tóth’s patron, Felicity Jones as Tóth‘s wife Erzsebet and Alessandro Nivola as Tóth’s cousin.

THE BRUTALIST opens in theatres Christmas Day in Toronto and everywhere January 2025.

Highlights from the night:

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(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong/Elevation Pictures)

#FIRSTLOOK: NEW OFFICIAL TRAILER FOR “THE BRUTALIST”

We get a brand new official Trailer for awards season contender THE BRUTALIST! Elevation Pictures release Christmas Day in Toronto and everywhere January 2025.

Directed by Brady Corbet
Starring Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn, Raffey Cassidy, Stacy Martin, Emma Laird, with Isaach De Bankolé, and Alessandro Nivola

(Photo/video credit: Elevation Pictures)

#TIFF24: “THE BRUTALIST” REVIEW

By Nicholas Porteous

Brady Corbet’s ginormous, 215-minute period epic The Brutalist tells the story of Laszlo Toth--played Adrien Brody, who is phenomenal in the role. Toth was a legendary architect who escaped the holocaust and literally cemented his legacy with a series of glorious buildings. One might imagine the hyperextended 3.5+ hour runtime would have to begin at the very beginning–Toth in the womb or thereabouts, but Corbet opens instead with his arrival in New York. A rebirth, of sorts. Starting from zero, and building his way to greatness largely via a complicated relationship with a wealthy patron, Harry Lee Van Buren, played with great vigour by Guy Pearce.

The Brutalist has quite a reputation. It’s poised to win The Golden Bear in Berlin, and is already considered a strong contender for best picture at the Oscars. The word “masterpiece” has come up more than once. Let me try to temper your expectations before they get impossibly high: The Brutalist is a great movie with a stunning performance at its center, and without saying too much, a less satisfying final act. It’s constructed very much in parallel with Toth’s architectural philosophy–sturdy and bold, simple yet elegant. There are countless scenes that play out in more or less one shot that are undeniably “Best Actor” clip heroin for Brody, and I say this without a shred of irony. Corbet‘s Screenplay leans heavily on Brody’s performance to convey a world of history and pain that we never see, and Brody completely enveloped me in that history, often with his eyes alone. It’s truly stunning stuff. The arguable flaw in the design of The Brutalist is that its audience is also expected to connect the dots and make leaps into how Toth’s experiences in Europe, which–again–we never see–influenced his art. Corbet presumes a familiarity with Toth that I doubt most will bring into the movie–myself included. It’s only at the very, very end that we’re treated to some perspective on his contributions to the world, and the culmination of this sprawling story feels a bit out of nowhere–at least relative to the amount of time spent building towards it.

Overall, The Brutalist is so impressive it barely feels its extreme length (thanks partly to a built-in intermission. YES. BRING THEM BACK!) It is very much worth a big chunk of your day, and will probably be nominated at the very least for some key awards. Just don’t expect a full-on religious awakening.

The Brutalist screens at TIFF ’24:

Tuesday, September 10th at 8:00 PM at TIFF Lightbox

Thursday, September 12th at 8:00 PM at TIFF Lightbox