Hot off its win last night at the Academy Awards for Best Short Film, we get a new Trailer for THE WONDERFUL STORY OF HENRY SUGAR AND THREE MORE! Oscar®-winning short, THE WONDERFUL STORY OF HENRY SUGAR is included!

WES ANDERSON ON WINNING HIS FIRST OSCAR®:
“If I could have been there, I (along with Steven Rales) would have said “Thank you” to: the family of Roald Dahl; the team at Netflix; our cast and crew; and also: if i had not met Owen Wilson in a corridor at the University of Texas between classes when I was 18 years old, I would certainly not be receiving this award tonight — but unfortunately Steven and I are in Germany and we start shooting our new movie early tomorrow morning, so I did not actually receive the award or get a chance to say any of that.” -Wes Anderson

WES ANDERSON ON THE ANTHOLOGY:
“It was a special pleasure to (extremely faithfully) adapt four of Roald Dahl’s marvellous short stories. I am delighted to present them now as an ANTHOLOGY — also featuring an original song by Jarvis Cocker: “Roald Dahl’s Rules For Being a Fiction Writer.”- Wes Anderson

THE WONDERFUL STORY OF HENRY SUGAR AND THREE MORE:
LOGLINE: Four spellbinding tales unfold in writer-director Wes Anderson’s anthology of short films adapted from Roald Dahl’s beloved stories.

THE WONDERFUL STORY OF HENRY SUGAR AND THREE MORE
DIRECTOR: Wes Anderson
WRITER: Wes Anderson
PRODUCERS: Wes Anderson, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson
CO-PRODUCERS: Octavia Peissel, John Peet, Alice Dawson
CAST OF HENRY SUGAR: Ralph Fiennes, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel, Sir Ben Kingsley, Richard Ayoade
CAST OF THE SWAN: Rupert Friend, Ralph Fiennes, Asa Jennings
CAST OF THE RATCATCHER: Richard Ayoade, Ralph Fiennes, Rupert Friend
CAST OF POISON: Dev Patel, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, Sir Ben Kingsley

Netflix releases THE WONDERFUL STORY OF HENRY SUGAR AND THREE MORE March 15, 2024.

Check out the chilling trailer and poster for 20th Century Studios’ upcoming psychological horror film “The First Omen.” The film, which is a prequel to the classic horror film franchise, opens April 5, 2024, exclusively in theatres nationwide. 

When a young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, she encounters a darkness that causes her to question her own faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate. “The First Omen” stars Nell Tiger Free (“Servant”), Tawfeek Barhom (“Mary Magdalene”), Sonia Braga (“Kiss of the Spider Woman”), Ralph Ineson (“The Northman”), and Bill Nighy (“Living”).

The film is directed by Arkasha Stevenson based on characters created by David Seltzer (“The Omen”), with a story by Ben Jacoby (“Bleed”) and a screenplay by Tim Smith & Arkasha Stevenson and Keith Thomas (“Firestarter”). The producers are David S. Goyer (“Hellraiser”) and Keith Levine (“The Night House”) and the executive producers are Tim Smith, Whitney Brown (“Rosaline”), and Gracie Wheelan.

(Photo/video credit: 20th Century Studios Canada)

Awards season officially has wrapped with the 96th Academy Awards having taken place at Dolby Theatre. Though OPPENHEIMER was pitted much against BARBIE this past Summer at the Box Office, alas it would be the one to dominate Awards Season, taking home seven Oscars, including the ultimate crown of Best Picture. Other wins for the Blockbuster include Directing (Christopher Nolan), Best Actor (Cillian Murphy), Best Supporting Actor (Robert Downey Jr.), Best Cinematography (Hoyte van Hoytema), Best Original Score (Ludwig Göransson) and Best Editing (Jennifer Lame).

Yorgos Lanthimos’ POOR THINGS also would go on to glory, taking home four Oscars including Best Actress (Emma Stone), Best Production Design (Production Design: James Price and Shona Heath; Set Decoration: Zsuzsa Mihalek), Best Makeup & Hairstyling (Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier and Josh Weston) and Best Costume Design (Holly Waddington). Stone has the distinction of becoming the thirteenth Actress to win a second Oscar.

Jimmy Kimmel returned as host for the fourth time, drawing raves from the audience, capped-off by a clap back at former President Donald Trump who posted negative remarks about Kimmel online. Kimmel replied, “Thank you President Trump for watching. Isn’t it past your jail time?”, which was met with laughs and cheers.

While BARBIE was no match for OPPENHEIMER, it still took home gold for Best Original Song with Finneas & Billie Eilish‘s “What Was I Made For“, and a showstopping performance of “I’m Just Ken” by Ryan Gosling was a dazzling spectable, to be talked about for many years to come.

Complete list of winners:

Best picture

• “Oppenheimer” — Winner
• “American Fiction”
• “Anatomy of a Fall”
• “Barbie”
• “The Holdovers”
• “Killers of the Flower Moon”
• “Maestro”
• “Past Lives”
• “Poor Things”
• “The Zone of Interest”

Best supporting actress

• Da’Vine Joy Randolph, “The Holdovers” — Winner
• Emily Blunt, “Oppenheimer”
• Danielle Brooks, “The Color Purple”
• America Ferrera, “Barbie”
• Jodie Foster, “Nyad”

Best animated short film

• “War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko” — Winner
• “Letter to a Pig”
• “Ninety-Five Senses”
• “Our Uniform”
• “Pachyderm”

Best animated feature film

• “The Boy and the Heron” — Winner
• “Elemental”
• “Nimona”
• “Robot Dreams”
• “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”

Best original screenplay

• “Anatomy of a Fall” — Winner
• “The Holdovers”
• “Maestro”
• “May December”
• “Past Lives”

Best adapted screenplay

• “American Fiction” — Winner
• “Barbie”
• “Oppenheimer”
• “Poor Things”
• “The Zone of Interest”

Best makeup and hairstyling

• “Poor Things” — Winner
• “Golda”
• “Maestro”
• “Oppenheimer”
• “Society of the Snow”

Best production design

• “Poor Things” — Winner
• “Barbie”
• “Killers of the Flower Moon”
• “Napoleon”
• “Oppenheimer”

Best costume design

• “Poor Things” — Winner
• “Barbie”
• “Killers of the Flower Moon”
• “Napoleon”
• “Oppenheimer”

Best international feature film

• “The Zone of Interest,” United Kingdom — Winner
• “Io Capitano,” Italy
• “Perfect Days,” Japan
• “Society of the Snow,” Spain
• “The Teachers’ Lounge,” Germany

Best supporting actor

• Robert Downey Jr., “Oppenheimer” — Winner
• Sterling K. Brown, “American Fiction”
• Robert De Niro, “Killers of the Flower Moon”
• Ryan Gosling, “Barbie”
• Mark Ruffalo, “Poor Things”

Best visual effects

• “Godzilla Minus One” — Winner
• “The Creator”
• “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”
• “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”
• “Napoleon”

Best film editing

• “Oppenheimer” — Winner
• “Anatomy of a Fall”
• “The Holdovers”
• “Killers of the Flower Moon”
• “Poor Things”

Best documentary short film

• “The Last Repair Shop” — Winner
• “The ABCs of Book Banning”
• “The Barber of Little Rock”
• “Island in Between”
• “Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó”

Best documentary feature film

• “20 Days in Mariupol” — Winner
• “Bobi Wine: The People’s President”
• “The Eternal Memory”
• “Four Daughters”
• “To Kill a Tiger”

Best cinematography

• “Oppenheimer” — Winner
• “El Conde”
• “Killers of the Flower Moon”
• “Maestro”
• “Poor Things”

Best live action short film

• “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” — Winner
• “The After”
• “Invincible”
• “Knight of Fortune”
• “Red, White and Blue”

Best sound

• “The Zone of Interest” — Winner
• “The Creator”
• “Maestro”
• “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”
• “Oppenheimer”

Best original score

• “Oppenheimer” — Winner
• “American Fiction”
• “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”
• “Killers of the Flower Moon”
• “Poor Things”

Best original song

• “What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie” — Winner
• “It Never Went Away” from “American Symphony”
• “I’m Just Ken” from “Barbie”
• “The Fire Inside” from “Flamin’ Hot”
• “Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)” from “Killers of the Flower Moon”

Best actor

• Cillian Murphy, “Oppenheimer” — Winner
• Bradley Cooper, “Maestro”
• Colman Domingo, “Rustin”
• Paul Giamatti, “The Holdovers”
• Jeffrey Wright, “American Fiction”

Best director

• Christopher Nolan, “Oppenheimer” — Winner
• Jonathan Glazer, “The Zone of Interest”
• Yorgos Lanthimos, “Poor Things”
• Martin Scorsese, “Killers of the Flower Moon”
• Justine Triet, “Anatomy of a Fall”

Best actress

• Emma Stone, “Poor Things” — Winner
• Annette Bening, “Nyad”
• Lily Gladstone, “Killers of the Flower Moon”
• Sandra Hüller, “Anatomy of a Fall”
• Carey Mulligan, “Maestro”

(Photo credit: Getty Images)

By Mr. Will Wong

Many of us might know Selena Gomez as a global superstar of Music and Television and without a film or TV series at SXSW ’24, many might be wondering, what’s the deal? Did you know that Gomez, through her Rare Impact Fund, is committed to raising $100 million dollars over the next 10 years to help give people access to the resources they need to support their mental health?

Her and her mother, Producer Mandy Teefey have teamed to launch WONDERMIND, which has a mandate to change the way we thinking about mental health and how we access resources about it.

The duo spoke at an SXSW ’24 panel today, Mindfulness Over Perfection: Getting Real On Mental Health, with Dr. Jessica B. Stern, Solomon Thomas and Dr. Corey Yeager, held at Austin Convention Center, Ballroom D.

Some highlights from the Panel below:

Gomez and Teefey are asked about how WONDERMIND came about.

Gomez: “It honestly stemmed from a conversation we both had with each other. It was about our journeys and we ended up relating a lot to each other, and it was a turning point and I think it was about ‘how can we do that for other people?'”. “It really just stemmed from us wanting to help other moms and daughters to have real open and honest conversations and that turned into this.”.

Teefey: “When we were exploring new avenues of how to continue the mother-daughter component and really just trying to create family support amongst the conversations that you can do it together as a family, was really the message behind that. We realized that there’s not just one place that you can go to help you explore whatever you’re feeling. So what we did is – since we’re not doctors – we are our audience, we are our consumer. So what we wanted to do is build this world with several different pillars: Content, Tilm, TV, Podcasts, Product, and by the requests of the audience that is avid readers of Wondermind, we will be launching an app coming really soon. It’s gonna change the game on how we execute and how people can practice their mental fitness, without feeling like they’re putting the time.”.

“The top three reasons people don’t do therapy is they don’t have the time, they don’t have the insurance or they don’t believe it works.”.

Gomez is asked about the moment she decided to talk about her mental health.

Gomez: “I work in the weirdest industry and I just felt I didn’t fit in. My mom was very vocal and open about how she and I were feeling. We watchinged Girl, Interrupted when I was 12 and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s what rehab looks like!’, and was confused by it. And then we had one of the most honest conversations that allowed me not to be scared. You can’t force someone to do it. There’s a lot of people who cared about me more than I cared about myself. I had to hit my rock bottom and at my time. It took a couple tries. I like to think that I’m in a much better place now.”.

Gomez also talks about feeling a huge weight lifted off her shoulders after releasing her 2022 Documentary My Mind & Me.

Gomez: “I released a Documentary and I was terrified to do it. I went back and forth on whether I’d do it or not. I think the moment I did that, I felt an insane amount of release because there wasn’t any hiding anymore. There wasn’t just this image that people could see. I can say it’s helped release a lot of anxiety of keeping it in, just to let people know I’m having a hard day or I just need a minute.”.

Gomez also talks about grappling with the concept of being kind to oneself.

Gomez: “It’s important to speak to yourself with kindness and I don’t think I really understood that. It’s funny because all the things I was bitching about back then, I’m so grateful for now. It’s really ironic. I think it’s taught me a lot about myself. It’s weird being able to see myself so long ago saying those things that I would never say to myself now.”.

The audience were encouraged as a take away to look within at three Ws in their own lives – to continue reflecting on these, building upon them and continuing to seek inspiration and share with others:

WISH – something that you wish for yourself, something you’d like to try to do, a goal you’d like to set.

WONDER – something that you can be curious about. A question you can ask yourself, non-judgmentally reflective. Something that’s going to inspire you, move you forward.

WIN – what’s something you’re doing well? Something you’re proud of. Something you want to keep
doing.

The Panel will be available on-demand. More here.

By David Baldwin

Ronnie Lipsick (Jackie van Beek) longs for the glory days, back when she was a talented soap star and not Mother to selfishly entitled Audrey (Josephine Blazier) and Norah (Hannah Diviney), who always comes last and is confined to a wheelchair. Her loveless relationship with her husband Cormack (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor) is not much better. But a freak accident that lands Audrey in a coma may just turn things around for Ronnie and her family, even if it leads to a plethora of cascading lies and embellishments.

Though that certainly sounds bleak, AUDREY is actually laugh-out-loud funny. The dark humour permeates through the entire picture, yet never comes in front of the ridiculously odd situations this family finds themselves in at every turn. There is a whole lot of escalating cringe – mostly of a sexually depraved nature – and just as much charm and heart. You really feel for Ronnie’s plight and even if some of the things her family does are questionable at best, you want to see them succeed. Kudos to the core Cast for making this family so likeable, and to Blazier for doing such a good job portraying the narcissistic brat of a titular character.

As a debut feature from both Director Natalie Bailey and Writer Lou Sanz, it shows a lot of promise for future projects. And while I was not much of a fan of a third act shift from Comedy to Horror, I had a good time watching AUDREY otherwise. Maybe just avoid watching it with your parents.

Audrey screens at SXSW ’24:

Mar 10 at 2:30PM at Alamo Lamar 4

Mar 11 at 5:15PM at Alamo Lamar 8

Mar 11 at 5:45PM at Alamo Lamar 7

Mar 15 at 2:15PM at Alamo Lamar 6

By David Baldwin

Nina (Nahéma Ricci) just wants to go home. Stranded in the far North, she ends up at an isolated cabin in the woods with five guys celebrating a bachelor party. They are initially against her arrival, but gradually warm up to her. When a mysterious drifter ends up at the party, things take a sharp turn for the worst.

Saying any more than that would ruin the visceral nightmare HUNTING DAZE quickly becomes. The breathless intensity rarely dissipates over the course of its brief 79-minute running time. Instead, first time feature Director Annick Blanc just keeps ratcheting up the tension to unbearable heights. And nearly every moment outside of that is spent examining and basking in the sheer toxicity this group of men communicate and act within. Blanc deliberately frames the headstrong, gives-no-fucks Nina as being smaller and inferior to this bachelor party, and delights in using her to tear down stereotypes and any of your expectations.

The small Cast are good in their roles, with Ricci as the clear standout. I just kind of wish the film around them did not feel so drawn out. I understand Blanc’s intention of making the audience feel genuinely uncomfortable (why else would you have so many extreme facial close-ups?), but feel like the endlessness of some scenes could have been better reigned in. I watched HUNTING DAZE alone though. You might feel a bit different watching it in a big group, all collectively holding your breath and terrified of what comes next.

Hunting Daze screens at SXSW ’24:

Mar 9 at 10PM at Alamo Lamar 4

Mar 11 at 7PM at Alamo Lamar 4

Mar 14 at 9PM at Violet Crown Cinema 1

Mar 14 at 9:30PM at Violet Crown Cinema 3

By Mr. Will Wong

Jenny Carchman‘s Documentary WHATEVER IT TAKES takes us on a twisty journey to the unlikely, unveiling a dark web of corporate corruption at eBay that threatened to destroy the brand.

We meet Ina Steiner, Co–Founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and her husband David, who run a Blog which among other things, criticized eBay and other e-Commerce platforms. After doing this, they started receiving mysterious messages and package deliveries at their home. This escalated to the point where they genuinely feared for their lives, as their stalker(s) circled closer and closer to their home. The question though is who would be so invested in the couple that they would be all consumed in destroying their lives?

This Film explores the controversy which shook the world as we learned that multiple employees at eBay‘s Corporate Security Team were the masterminds behind this attempt to take down the Steiners, which resulted in guilty pleas and a $3 million fine to be paid by eBay.

Though we begin meeting the Steiners and become invested in their struggle, Carchman makes a sharp turn, instead exploring the politics and internal dynamics among the higher-ups at eBay and the Corporate Security team. The tone shifts from Thriller to more exploratory, where we learn about abuses of power and corruption, including a head of security who quickly got promoted to an executive position after joining the organization as a security guard, surrounding himself with young women he could manipulate.

Overall, a fascinating watch that uncovers some juicy, unsavoury things. We do wish it reconciled both sides of the story together a bit better, exploring more the part of the journey where these victims and how they confronted their tormenters. WHATEVER IT TAKES screens at SXSW ’24 as follows:

Whatever it Takes at Alamo Lamar 8
Mar 9, 2024 6:30pm—8:03pm

Whatever it Takes at Alamo Lamar 7
Mar 9, 2024 7:00pm—8:33pm

Whatever it Takes at Alamo Lamar 9
Mar 11, 2024 2:15pm—3:48pm

Whatever it Takes at Alamo Lamar 3
Mar 11, 2024 2:45pm—4:18pm

Whatever it Takes at Alamo Lamar 9
Mar 15, 2024 2:45pm—4:18pm

By Amanda Gilmore

Faced with rampant sexual violence on their college campus, a group of Tulane University students spent a year creating an immersive play from their real-life experiences. Building characters and scenes based on the sexual politics of their campus, the student actors confront hard truths.

Director Katie Mathews crafts an urgent Documentary about sexual assaults on campuses and the cathartic role art plays in both confronting trauma and healing from it. It’s her lyrical way of weaving these two worlds that makes Roleplay a standout among other films documenting assaults on campus.

Mathews follows her young subjects as they navigate campus life and in the safe confessional space in the rehearsal room where they become more vulnerable. Watching these young minds confront their traumas through art by performing characters that mimic what happened to them, shows the resilience of young adults and how finding an outlet can heal. It’s both heartbreaking and uplifting.

Roleplay screens at SXSW ’24:

Mar 9 at 3:15PM at Alamo Lamar 4

Mar 13 at 2:45PM at Violet Crown Cinema 1

Mar 13 at 3:15PM at Violet Crown Cinema 3

Mar 16 at 3PM at Alamo Lamar 8

KUNG FU PANDA 4 debuts with a chop-kick with $55 million this weekend from 4,035 theatres for Universal Pictures! It dethrones DUNE: PART TWO, and also has the distinction of being the second highest debut for the Kung Fu Panda franchise, its best belonging to its first film in 2008. Above this, it gets a passing 69% on the Tomatometer.

Second is last week’s decisive champ DUNE: PART TWO, with a strong $44 million in its second weekend, taking it to $154.7 million for Warner Bros.

Third spot goes to the opening Horror, IMAGINARY with $9.3 million from 3,118 theatres for Universal Pictures. It gets 30% on the Tomatometer.

In fourth is CABRINI with $8 million from 2,840 theatres for Angel Studios. The faith-based Film explores the early immigrant experience for Italian-Americans. It gets 90% on the Tomatometer.

Fifth is BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE with $4.4 million for Paramount Pictures, taking it to $89.7 million ahead of its at-home release later this month.

We will be honest – we know very little about FAWLTY TOWERS, the iconic BBC Sitcom which ran in the ’70s! Sorry, we’re young and can’t help it! FAULTY TOWERS: THE DINING EXPERIENCE, presented by Starvox Entertainment, is back for the first time in the City since 2015 and tickets are going fast. The dinner-and-a-show takes place at One Yonge Street’s Lighthouse ArtSpace through April 14, 2024 (or longer!).

The Experience immersive takes you right into the world of the Series that inspired it all with the Series’ three main characters, Basil, Sybil and Manuel! It literally is two-plus hours of chaos in the best way possible, serving sarcastic and smart British humour. The dinner contains three courses including soup, a main (vegetarian, chicken or vegan), plus dessert. If you are celebrating a milestone, do let them know in advance and you might get something special!

Highlights from our night:

Tickets here.

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)