When you sit down to watch a documentary about the Beach Boys, you know what you want: to be immersed in the California dreamin’ of the group’s early surfin’-hit days, in the jaunty beauty of songs like “I Get Around” and “Help Me Rhonda,” and in the story of how Brian Wilson began to figure out a way to turn pop songs into miniature symphonies. You want to be immersed in the recording of “Pet Sounds,” in the Beach Boys’ rivalry with the Beatles, in the derailed masterpiece that was “Smile,” and in how Brian’s mental and emotional problems began to tear himself and the group apart. You want to know how the other Beach Boys, caught in the wilderness, found a way to put the group back together, though it’s almost like they became a different group. You want to see the Beach Boys’ saga...
- 5/25/2024
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Margaret Riley, the respected agent, manager and Lighthouse Management & Media partner who served as a producer on the Fox News drama Bombshell, has died. She was 58.
Riley died Tuesday at her home in Brentwood after a private battle with ovarian cancer, her friends Lainie Becky and Matthew Weinberg told The Hollywood Reporter.
Riley was a talent/literary manager at Brillstein Entertainment Partners from October 2006 through March 2016, when she joined Lighthouse Management & Media, which had just been launched by founder and CEO Aleen Keshishian.
“We are devastated by the loss of our colleague and friend Margaret Riley, who was a passionate advocate and champion for artists,” Keshishian said. “We share our deepest condolences and love with her family, friends and clients.”
Riley’s current and former clients over the years have included actors Mark Ruffalo and Bridget Moynahan; CSI creator Anthony Zuiker; directors Susanna Fogel, Stella Meghie and Rj Cutler...
Riley died Tuesday at her home in Brentwood after a private battle with ovarian cancer, her friends Lainie Becky and Matthew Weinberg told The Hollywood Reporter.
Riley was a talent/literary manager at Brillstein Entertainment Partners from October 2006 through March 2016, when she joined Lighthouse Management & Media, which had just been launched by founder and CEO Aleen Keshishian.
“We are devastated by the loss of our colleague and friend Margaret Riley, who was a passionate advocate and champion for artists,” Keshishian said. “We share our deepest condolences and love with her family, friends and clients.”
Riley’s current and former clients over the years have included actors Mark Ruffalo and Bridget Moynahan; CSI creator Anthony Zuiker; directors Susanna Fogel, Stella Meghie and Rj Cutler...
- 1/24/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie is in hot pursuit of an Oscar nomination, but in the meantime the documentary about the beloved Hollywood star has picked up major awards at the Emmys.
The film directed by Davis Guggenheim won Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special on Sunday on the second night of the Creative Arts Emmys ceremony in Los Angeles. Guggenheim also won Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program; the film’s picture editor, Michael Harte, was honored for his work and composer John Powell won for his score for Still.
The film came into the night with a leading seven nominations — the most of any nonfiction contender — and picked up wins in four of those seven categories.
Davis Guggenheim at the 75th Creative Arts Emmy Awards held at the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live on January 7, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
In late December, Still: A Michael J.
The film directed by Davis Guggenheim won Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special on Sunday on the second night of the Creative Arts Emmys ceremony in Los Angeles. Guggenheim also won Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program; the film’s picture editor, Michael Harte, was honored for his work and composer John Powell won for his score for Still.
The film came into the night with a leading seven nominations — the most of any nonfiction contender — and picked up wins in four of those seven categories.
Davis Guggenheim at the 75th Creative Arts Emmy Awards held at the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live on January 7, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
In late December, Still: A Michael J.
- 1/8/2024
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Warner Bros. Unscripted Television, DC and R.J. Cutler’s production hub This Machine are developing a documentary about the iconic Mad magazine.
Oscar-and Emmy-winning director Jessica Yu will direct the untitled docu about the 71-year-old humor brand.
The feature-length doc will explore the origins of the magazine, as well as its irreverent, independent, and often incisive humor. Yu will also examine how Mad became a staple of American satire for generations and encouraged readers to question authority. Mad magazine, which is owned by DC, has authorized the doc and granted the filmmaking team exclusive access to its archives.
In April Al Jaffee, the cartoonist who gave Mad magazine its iconic back page by creating the publication’s fold-in feature, died at the age of 102. In 1964, Jaffee’s fold-in was featured for the first time in Mad magazine, marking the start of the methodic flip-through that Mad readers would do for decades.
Oscar-and Emmy-winning director Jessica Yu will direct the untitled docu about the 71-year-old humor brand.
The feature-length doc will explore the origins of the magazine, as well as its irreverent, independent, and often incisive humor. Yu will also examine how Mad became a staple of American satire for generations and encouraged readers to question authority. Mad magazine, which is owned by DC, has authorized the doc and granted the filmmaking team exclusive access to its archives.
In April Al Jaffee, the cartoonist who gave Mad magazine its iconic back page by creating the publication’s fold-in feature, died at the age of 102. In 1964, Jaffee’s fold-in was featured for the first time in Mad magazine, marking the start of the methodic flip-through that Mad readers would do for decades.
- 11/15/2023
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Hybe, the K-pop giant behind bands such as BTS, are looking to manufacture a new girl group and that process will be turned into a Netflix music docuseries.
Hybe teamed with Universal Music’s Geffen Records, the label behind artists such as Nirvana and Sonic Youth, in 2021 to create a new U.S. girl group using its K-pop training and development system.
That initiative – Hybe x Geffen Global Girl Group Audition – saw more than 120,000 submissions from young women around the world and has now been whittled down to 20 contestants competing for a spot in the group.
Netflix is now turning this years-long process into an untitled documentary series to launch in 2024.
The series will be directed by Nadia Hallgren, who directed Netflix’s Michelle Obama documentary Becoming.
It is produced by Hybe, whose U.S. arm is run by Justin Bieber’s manager Scooter Braun, Interscope Films, the Universal Music...
Hybe teamed with Universal Music’s Geffen Records, the label behind artists such as Nirvana and Sonic Youth, in 2021 to create a new U.S. girl group using its K-pop training and development system.
That initiative – Hybe x Geffen Global Girl Group Audition – saw more than 120,000 submissions from young women around the world and has now been whittled down to 20 contestants competing for a spot in the group.
Netflix is now turning this years-long process into an untitled documentary series to launch in 2024.
The series will be directed by Nadia Hallgren, who directed Netflix’s Michelle Obama documentary Becoming.
It is produced by Hybe, whose U.S. arm is run by Justin Bieber’s manager Scooter Braun, Interscope Films, the Universal Music...
- 8/29/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Matador Content co-founder Todd Lubin has been named president of unscripted at Boat Rocker Studios. He’ll be taking over the role from Jay Peterson, whose exit was also announced on Thursday. HIs appointment is effective immediately.
Peterson will remain with Boat Rocker as an executive producer for several months, to support the transition to Lubin and delivery of current projects. In his new role, Lubin will lead the Company’s creative unscripted efforts, including series and documentaries, overseeing Boat Rocker’s Matador Content, Maven, and Proper Television production shingles. Based in Los Angeles, Lubin will report directly to Boat Rocker Media chairmen David Fortier and Ivan Schneeberg.
“Todd is already an established creative leader within the Boat Rocker unscripted division. His history with Matador and Boat Rocker, and his deep experience as an unscripted producer and executive, will help ensure a seamless transition within our unscripted division as Todd...
Peterson will remain with Boat Rocker as an executive producer for several months, to support the transition to Lubin and delivery of current projects. In his new role, Lubin will lead the Company’s creative unscripted efforts, including series and documentaries, overseeing Boat Rocker’s Matador Content, Maven, and Proper Television production shingles. Based in Los Angeles, Lubin will report directly to Boat Rocker Media chairmen David Fortier and Ivan Schneeberg.
“Todd is already an established creative leader within the Boat Rocker unscripted division. His history with Matador and Boat Rocker, and his deep experience as an unscripted producer and executive, will help ensure a seamless transition within our unscripted division as Todd...
- 8/17/2023
- by BreAnna Bell
- Variety Film + TV
There’s change at the top of Boat Rocker’s unscripted division.
The division, which includes production companies Matador Content, Maven, and Proper Television and is behind Discovery+’s Downey’s Dream Cars and Hulu’s Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields, has named Todd Lubin as President with Jay Peterson stepping down.
The pair co-founded Matador Content, which is also behind Paramount+’s Lip Sync Battle and Apple’s Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry, in 2013 and it was acquired by Boat Rocker in 2018.
Peterson took over running Boat Rocker Studios, Unscripted in a restructure in 2020. He will remain as an exec producer over the next few months. Lubin, who was previously showrunner of NBC’s The Biggest Loser, has now been named President and will report to Boat Rocker bosses David Fortier and Ivan Schneeberg.
“Todd is already an established creative leader within the Boat Rocker unscripted division. His...
The division, which includes production companies Matador Content, Maven, and Proper Television and is behind Discovery+’s Downey’s Dream Cars and Hulu’s Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields, has named Todd Lubin as President with Jay Peterson stepping down.
The pair co-founded Matador Content, which is also behind Paramount+’s Lip Sync Battle and Apple’s Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry, in 2013 and it was acquired by Boat Rocker in 2018.
Peterson took over running Boat Rocker Studios, Unscripted in a restructure in 2020. He will remain as an exec producer over the next few months. Lubin, who was previously showrunner of NBC’s The Biggest Loser, has now been named President and will report to Boat Rocker bosses David Fortier and Ivan Schneeberg.
“Todd is already an established creative leader within the Boat Rocker unscripted division. His...
- 8/17/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Last Wednesday, Rolling Stone and Variety made more news regarding their upcoming Truth Seekers Summit, presented by Showtime on August 2nd. The two brands announced a digital content hub for attendees, featuring the kind of reporting that’s at the heart of the event’s celebration of hard-nosed journalism and documentary and investigative storytelling. Seeking to dig “underneath the surface to reveal what’s hidden, what happened and what might come next,” the content hub will showcase stories on documentaries of all genres by both Rolling Stone and Variety.
One...
One...
- 7/26/2023
- by Sean Malcolm
- Rollingstone.com
On Wednesday, Rolling Stone and Variety announced more names and special programming that will appear at the two brands’ annual Truth Seekers Summit, presented by Showtime. Serving as welcomed additions to the August 2nd event, these developments will further bolster an already stacked lineup that will feature keynote and panel discussions led by journalists, documentary filmmakers and cultural trendsetters, whose sole purpose is to spread the gospel of authenticity while bringing truth to light in the stories they tell.
Hollywood and Crime’s host and co-producer, Tracy Pattin, will be...
Hollywood and Crime’s host and co-producer, Tracy Pattin, will be...
- 6/23/2023
- by Sean Malcolm
- Rollingstone.com
When you see a documentary about a game-changing pop star, you assume you’re going to get the story of the music, and also a good look at the life, and that there’ll be enough (on both counts) to go around. I was eager to see “Let the Canary Sing,” a documentary portrait of Cyndi Lauper, because it’s directed by Alison Ellwood, who made “The Go-Go’s” a few years back, and that movie had everything: the drama, the trauma, the saga of a total pop-music reset, as we watched the Go-Go’s bust down doors that had been too tightly shut for too long. Cyndi Lauper was no less revolutionary a figure, arriving in the early ’80s, along with Madonna, to announce that we were in the midst of a seismic new definition of what it meant to be a female pop star. The definition was: a star...
- 6/16/2023
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment has entered into a strategic partnership with Major League Baseball to create scripted and non-scripted film and television properties.
Under the terms of the multiyear deal, Imagine and MLB will collaborate to develop and produce projects rooted in stories and personalities throughout the league’s robust 150-year history. The partnership will produce programming that taps the expansive MLB film and video archive to cover historical and cultural subjects while leveraging access granted by the league to also profile the captivating storylines around the game today.
“I’ve always been drawn to the drama, high stakes, and emotion of baseball ever since I was kid in the bleachers of Dodger Stadium,” Howard said in a statement. “These also happen to be the very same elements that make for a great movie or television show, which is why Brian, Imagine, and I are so...
Under the terms of the multiyear deal, Imagine and MLB will collaborate to develop and produce projects rooted in stories and personalities throughout the league’s robust 150-year history. The partnership will produce programming that taps the expansive MLB film and video archive to cover historical and cultural subjects while leveraging access granted by the league to also profile the captivating storylines around the game today.
“I’ve always been drawn to the drama, high stakes, and emotion of baseball ever since I was kid in the bleachers of Dodger Stadium,” Howard said in a statement. “These also happen to be the very same elements that make for a great movie or television show, which is why Brian, Imagine, and I are so...
- 4/5/2023
- by Lucas Manfredi
- The Wrap
Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment has entered a significant content deal with Major League Baseball, Variety can report exclusively.
The partnership will yield multiple scripted and unscripted projects, the first of which is a documentary feature from noted filmmaker R.J. Cutler following baseball’s 2023 world series.
“I’ve always been drawn to the drama, high stakes, and emotion of baseball ever since I was kid in the bleachers of Dodger Stadium,” Oscar winner Howard told Variety. “These also happen to be the very same elements that make for a great movie or television show, which is why Brian, Imagine and I are so excited to be teaming up with Major League Baseball to bring more of their stories to life.”
MLB will participate in the deal through its eponymous studios label, which creates, produces and consults on original content with multi-platform media and licensing projects that span film,...
The partnership will yield multiple scripted and unscripted projects, the first of which is a documentary feature from noted filmmaker R.J. Cutler following baseball’s 2023 world series.
“I’ve always been drawn to the drama, high stakes, and emotion of baseball ever since I was kid in the bleachers of Dodger Stadium,” Oscar winner Howard told Variety. “These also happen to be the very same elements that make for a great movie or television show, which is why Brian, Imagine and I are so excited to be teaming up with Major League Baseball to bring more of their stories to life.”
MLB will participate in the deal through its eponymous studios label, which creates, produces and consults on original content with multi-platform media and licensing projects that span film,...
- 4/5/2023
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
The top-to-bottom rebrand of Epix into MGM+ under Amazon’s ownership means an increase in not only scripted series but also documentary content.
R.J. Cutler’s “Murf the Surf: Jewels, Jesus and Mayhem in the USA” is the first of five docuseries that will stream on the new platform in 2023.
About Jack Roland Murphy, an infamous jewel thief turned murderer, “Murf the Surf” was commissioned by Epix three years ago after Imagine Documentaries’ president Sara Bernstein and her former co-president Justin Wilkes pitched the story to Michael Wright, former president of Epix and current head of MGM+. (Wilkes was recently promoted to president of Imagine Entertainment.) After reading a New York Times’ article with the headline “How a Band of Surfer Dudes Pulled Off the Biggest Jewel Heist in N.Y. History,” Bernstein and Wilkes were immediately intrigued.
“It read like an “Ocean’s Eleven” story,” Bernstein says. “So, we sought out Jack Murphy,...
R.J. Cutler’s “Murf the Surf: Jewels, Jesus and Mayhem in the USA” is the first of five docuseries that will stream on the new platform in 2023.
About Jack Roland Murphy, an infamous jewel thief turned murderer, “Murf the Surf” was commissioned by Epix three years ago after Imagine Documentaries’ president Sara Bernstein and her former co-president Justin Wilkes pitched the story to Michael Wright, former president of Epix and current head of MGM+. (Wilkes was recently promoted to president of Imagine Entertainment.) After reading a New York Times’ article with the headline “How a Band of Surfer Dudes Pulled Off the Biggest Jewel Heist in N.Y. History,” Bernstein and Wilkes were immediately intrigued.
“It read like an “Ocean’s Eleven” story,” Bernstein says. “So, we sought out Jack Murphy,...
- 2/6/2023
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
“Murf the Surf,” a four-part docuseries, based on the infamous jewel thief Jack Roland Murphy, will premiere February 5, 2023 on MGM+. It’s written and directed by two-time Emmy winner R.J. Cutler and executive produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard.
At a recent screening for the documentary held at The Aster in Los Angeles, Cutler spoke with Deadline’s Matt Carey about the project. “I got a call asking if I had seen an article written in the New York Times,” the director explained. “It was tied to the renovation that was going on to the Museum of Natural History in New York. It told the story of this jewel heist that had taken place in the 1960s, in the wake of the Kennedy assassination. These surfer-dude jewel thieves had captured the public imagination and became nightly news fodder. Americans gathered around the TV to see what was going on with the case.
At a recent screening for the documentary held at The Aster in Los Angeles, Cutler spoke with Deadline’s Matt Carey about the project. “I got a call asking if I had seen an article written in the New York Times,” the director explained. “It was tied to the renovation that was going on to the Museum of Natural History in New York. It told the story of this jewel heist that had taken place in the 1960s, in the wake of the Kennedy assassination. These surfer-dude jewel thieves had captured the public imagination and became nightly news fodder. Americans gathered around the TV to see what was going on with the case.
- 2/1/2023
- by Denton Davidson
- Gold Derby
Mike Prall, Emily Katz to work closely with founder and CEO Jenifer Westphal, president Joe Plummer.
New York-based studio Wavelength, whose credits include Cusp, Athlete A, and The Cave Of Adullam, has hired Mike Prall as head of studios, Emily Katz as head of development.
The executives will be based in New York and arrive at a busy time as the company prepares to open its first international office in London following partnerships with international producers on seven of its 2022 films including Aisha, Radical Dreamer, and The Last Year Of Darkness.
Prall and Katz will work closely with Wavelength founder,...
New York-based studio Wavelength, whose credits include Cusp, Athlete A, and The Cave Of Adullam, has hired Mike Prall as head of studios, Emily Katz as head of development.
The executives will be based in New York and arrive at a busy time as the company prepares to open its first international office in London following partnerships with international producers on seven of its 2022 films including Aisha, Radical Dreamer, and The Last Year Of Darkness.
Prall and Katz will work closely with Wavelength founder,...
- 1/30/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
- 1/28/2023
- by Sabienna Bowman
- Popsugar.com
Katy Perry has revealed she turned down a chance to work with Billie Eilish as she assumed her music would be “boring”.
The “Waking Up in Vegas” singer said, in a new TikTok post shared by 102.7 Kiis FM, that she was once sent an email saying “Hey, check out this new artist. I’d really like us to work with her.”
Perry told crowd members at what appeared to be an intimate gig: “It was a song called ‘Ocean Eyes’ and it was just a blonde girl, and I was like, ‘Meh, boring.’
The singer said she now considers her decision to be a “huge mistake”.
Eilish released “Ocean Eyes”, which was written and produced by Eilish’s older brother, Finneas O’Connell, in 2016.
It became one of her first hits, and featured on the EP Don’t Smile at Me.
Perry, knowing she messed up considering the global success Eilish has gone on to achieve,...
The “Waking Up in Vegas” singer said, in a new TikTok post shared by 102.7 Kiis FM, that she was once sent an email saying “Hey, check out this new artist. I’d really like us to work with her.”
Perry told crowd members at what appeared to be an intimate gig: “It was a song called ‘Ocean Eyes’ and it was just a blonde girl, and I was like, ‘Meh, boring.’
The singer said she now considers her decision to be a “huge mistake”.
Eilish released “Ocean Eyes”, which was written and produced by Eilish’s older brother, Finneas O’Connell, in 2016.
It became one of her first hits, and featured on the EP Don’t Smile at Me.
Perry, knowing she messed up considering the global success Eilish has gone on to achieve,...
- 1/28/2023
- by Jacob Stolworthy
- The Independent - Music
BFI London Film Festival Adds Trio Of Titles
The BFI London Film Festival (October 5-16) has added Luca Guadagnino’s Bones And All to its 2022 line-up as a special presentation. Further late additions include Billy Eichner’s TIFF breakout LGBTQ comedy Bros and Jafar Panahi’s No Bears. The festival has also revealed the first batch of high-profile speakers booked for its talks programme who will include Noah Baumbach, Mia Hansen-Løve, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Janelle Monáe, Bill Nighy and Aubrey Plaza.
Talent Group Ymu Expands Into Gaming And Sports Marketing
Global talent agency Ymu Group, which already represents a host of talent in film, TV, literature and music, has expanded its reach into the world of gaming and sports marketing with the acquisition of a majority stake in Digital Sports Mgmt (Dsm). Dsm was founded by Rob Wadsworth and Tom Henderson in 2016 with a focus on sports marketing, entertainment and the gaming industry.
The BFI London Film Festival (October 5-16) has added Luca Guadagnino’s Bones And All to its 2022 line-up as a special presentation. Further late additions include Billy Eichner’s TIFF breakout LGBTQ comedy Bros and Jafar Panahi’s No Bears. The festival has also revealed the first batch of high-profile speakers booked for its talks programme who will include Noah Baumbach, Mia Hansen-Løve, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Janelle Monáe, Bill Nighy and Aubrey Plaza.
Talent Group Ymu Expands Into Gaming And Sports Marketing
Global talent agency Ymu Group, which already represents a host of talent in film, TV, literature and music, has expanded its reach into the world of gaming and sports marketing with the acquisition of a majority stake in Digital Sports Mgmt (Dsm). Dsm was founded by Rob Wadsworth and Tom Henderson in 2016 with a focus on sports marketing, entertainment and the gaming industry.
- 9/21/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
For Selena Gomez, every breath is a breakthrough.
The global pop star spent six years filming documentary “Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me,” which premieres at 2022 AFI Fest before debuting November 4 on AppleTV+. Alek Keshishian (“Madonna: Truth or Dare”) captures Gomez’s 20s before ringing in her 30th birthday.
The official synopsis reads: After years in the limelight, Selena Gomez achieves unimaginable stardom. But just as she reaches a new peak, an unexpected turn pulls her into darkness. This uniquely raw and intimate documentary spans her six-year journey into a new light.
Gomez has sold more than 210 million singles worldwide and amassed over 45 billion global streams of her music throughout her singing career. In 2022, Gomez received a Grammy nomination for her first all-Spanish EP and an Emmy nomination for executive producing the critically acclaimed Hulu series “Only Murders in the Building,” in which she stars opposite Steve Martin and Martin Short.
The global pop star spent six years filming documentary “Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me,” which premieres at 2022 AFI Fest before debuting November 4 on AppleTV+. Alek Keshishian (“Madonna: Truth or Dare”) captures Gomez’s 20s before ringing in her 30th birthday.
The official synopsis reads: After years in the limelight, Selena Gomez achieves unimaginable stardom. But just as she reaches a new peak, an unexpected turn pulls her into darkness. This uniquely raw and intimate documentary spans her six-year journey into a new light.
Gomez has sold more than 210 million singles worldwide and amassed over 45 billion global streams of her music throughout her singing career. In 2022, Gomez received a Grammy nomination for her first all-Spanish EP and an Emmy nomination for executive producing the critically acclaimed Hulu series “Only Murders in the Building,” in which she stars opposite Steve Martin and Martin Short.
- 9/21/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Apple Original Films has landed the global rights to a new documentary feature “Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me,” about the singer, songwriter, actress, producer, entrepreneur and activist, the company announced on Thursday.
The documentary was directed and produced by Alek Keshishian, who directed the most successful documentary of its time – “Madonna: Truth or Dare,” still regarded as one of the most influential films of its genre.
The synopsis is as follows: “After years in the limelight, Selena Gomez achieves unimaginable stardom. But just as she reaches a new peak, an unexpected turn pulls her into darkness. This uniquely raw and intimate documentary spans her six-year journey into a new light.”
Also Read:
Selena Gomez Takes on Malibu (and Torching Desserts) in ‘Selena + Chef’ Season 4 Trailer
As a recording artist, Gomez has sold more than 210 million singles worldwide and amassed over 45 billion global streams of her music. This year,...
The documentary was directed and produced by Alek Keshishian, who directed the most successful documentary of its time – “Madonna: Truth or Dare,” still regarded as one of the most influential films of its genre.
The synopsis is as follows: “After years in the limelight, Selena Gomez achieves unimaginable stardom. But just as she reaches a new peak, an unexpected turn pulls her into darkness. This uniquely raw and intimate documentary spans her six-year journey into a new light.”
Also Read:
Selena Gomez Takes on Malibu (and Torching Desserts) in ‘Selena + Chef’ Season 4 Trailer
As a recording artist, Gomez has sold more than 210 million singles worldwide and amassed over 45 billion global streams of her music. This year,...
- 9/8/2022
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
Apple Original Films has landed the global rights to a new documentary feature about singer, songwriter, actress, producer, entrepreneur and activist Selena Gomez, Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me, directed and produced by Alek Keshishian.
The doc focuses on Gomez, who after years in the limelight, achieves unimaginable stardom. But just as she reaches a new peak, an unexpected turn pulls her into darkness. This uniquely raw and intimate documentary spans her six-year journey into a new light.
As a recording artist, Gomez has sold more than 210 million singles worldwide and amassed over 45 billion global streams of her music. This year, she received a Grammy nomination for her first all-Spanish EP and an Emmy nomination for her role in the critically acclaimed series “Only Murders in the Building,” in which she stars opposite Steve Martin and Martin Short.
Keshishian directed the most successful documentary of its time – the iconic, critically...
The doc focuses on Gomez, who after years in the limelight, achieves unimaginable stardom. But just as she reaches a new peak, an unexpected turn pulls her into darkness. This uniquely raw and intimate documentary spans her six-year journey into a new light.
As a recording artist, Gomez has sold more than 210 million singles worldwide and amassed over 45 billion global streams of her music. This year, she received a Grammy nomination for her first all-Spanish EP and an Emmy nomination for her role in the critically acclaimed series “Only Murders in the Building,” in which she stars opposite Steve Martin and Martin Short.
Keshishian directed the most successful documentary of its time – the iconic, critically...
- 9/8/2022
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
A two-part documentary film exploring the life and career of the legendary Steve Martin has landed at Apple Original Films.
Martin is working on the docu with Oscar winner Morgan Neville, who directs and produces the as-yet untitled films from A24 and Tremolo Productions. A24 will executive produce alongside Tremolo’s Caitrin Rogers (20 Feet from Stardom).
The film will join Apple’s documentary slate including the four-part Earvin “Magic” Johnson docuseries They Call Me Magic; Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry; The Velvet Underground; Sidney, the upcoming documentary honoring Oscar-winning actor, filmmaker and actor Sidney Poitier and the recently announced untitled feature film about the life of actor and advocate Michael J. Fox.
Martin currently stars in Hulu’s Only Murders In the Building, which has received 17 Emmy nominations at next month’s awards, including outstanding comedy series and lead actor for Martin.
Martin is working on the docu with Oscar winner Morgan Neville, who directs and produces the as-yet untitled films from A24 and Tremolo Productions. A24 will executive produce alongside Tremolo’s Caitrin Rogers (20 Feet from Stardom).
The film will join Apple’s documentary slate including the four-part Earvin “Magic” Johnson docuseries They Call Me Magic; Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry; The Velvet Underground; Sidney, the upcoming documentary honoring Oscar-winning actor, filmmaker and actor Sidney Poitier and the recently announced untitled feature film about the life of actor and advocate Michael J. Fox.
Martin currently stars in Hulu’s Only Murders In the Building, which has received 17 Emmy nominations at next month’s awards, including outstanding comedy series and lead actor for Martin.
- 8/10/2022
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Well excuuuuse me! A documentary on legendary comedian, actor and banjo aficionado Steve Martin is coming to Apple TV+ from Oscar-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville.
Apple Original Films landed the untitled, two-part documentary film that hails from A24 and Tremolo Productions. The film will explore Martin’s life and career, though no other information was provided about the film.
Both parts are directed and produced by Neville. A24 will executive produce alongside Caitrin Rogers (“20 Feet from Stardom”) from Tremolo Productions.
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‘Only Murders’ Co-Creator on the Trio’s ‘Rock Bottom’ Moment and ‘First Domino Push’ Toward Solving Bunny’s Murder
A24 and Tremolo together worked on the Oscar-winner “20 Feet From Stardom” and more recently on “Val” about the actor Val Kilmer.
Neville’s last feature was “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain,” and he also directed the TV docs “Watch the Sound With Mark Ronson” and “The Next Thing You Eat.
Apple Original Films landed the untitled, two-part documentary film that hails from A24 and Tremolo Productions. The film will explore Martin’s life and career, though no other information was provided about the film.
Both parts are directed and produced by Neville. A24 will executive produce alongside Caitrin Rogers (“20 Feet from Stardom”) from Tremolo Productions.
Also Read:
‘Only Murders’ Co-Creator on the Trio’s ‘Rock Bottom’ Moment and ‘First Domino Push’ Toward Solving Bunny’s Murder
A24 and Tremolo together worked on the Oscar-winner “20 Feet From Stardom” and more recently on “Val” about the actor Val Kilmer.
Neville’s last feature was “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain,” and he also directed the TV docs “Watch the Sound With Mark Ronson” and “The Next Thing You Eat.
- 8/10/2022
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Click here to read the full article.
Steve Martin has been many things — a comic, an actor, a filmmaker, an author, a musician — and he’ll soon be one more. He’s going to be the subject of a documentary.
Martin is participating in a two-part feature from A24 which is set to be released by Apple TV+. Morgan Neville, who helmed Oscar-winning doc 20 Feet From Stardom as well as Won’t You Be My Neighbor? and dozens of other film and TV projects, is directing and producing. There’s no title or anticipated release date as of yet, but production has been ongoing.
“It’s somebody else’s take,” Martin tells THR of the process. “They found a lot of archival stuff. “They found a photo of my father in 1944 in Germany, touring Our Town with the Uso.”
For as well known as he is, Martin hasn’t...
Steve Martin has been many things — a comic, an actor, a filmmaker, an author, a musician — and he’ll soon be one more. He’s going to be the subject of a documentary.
Martin is participating in a two-part feature from A24 which is set to be released by Apple TV+. Morgan Neville, who helmed Oscar-winning doc 20 Feet From Stardom as well as Won’t You Be My Neighbor? and dozens of other film and TV projects, is directing and producing. There’s no title or anticipated release date as of yet, but production has been ongoing.
“It’s somebody else’s take,” Martin tells THR of the process. “They found a lot of archival stuff. “They found a photo of my father in 1944 in Germany, touring Our Town with the Uso.”
For as well known as he is, Martin hasn’t...
- 8/10/2022
- by Mikey O'Connell
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: WME has signed filmmaker R.J. Cutler and his production company This Machine, fresh off the announcement of Cutler’s upcoming documentary on Elton John.
“The agency will work with the award-winning filmmaker – who has made some of the most significant documentaries and television series of the past quarter century – in all areas,” according to Cutler’s PR reps.
Deadline broke the news last week that Disney Original Documentary and Disney+ won the rights to the Elton John feature, to be co-directed by Cutler and John’s life partner David Furnish, in a deal pegged at around 30 million. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: The Final Elton John Performances And the Years That Made His Legend will include concert performances spanning 50 years, as well as the recording artist’s journals and contemporary footage of his family.
Over the course of a 30-year career,...
“The agency will work with the award-winning filmmaker – who has made some of the most significant documentaries and television series of the past quarter century – in all areas,” according to Cutler’s PR reps.
Deadline broke the news last week that Disney Original Documentary and Disney+ won the rights to the Elton John feature, to be co-directed by Cutler and John’s life partner David Furnish, in a deal pegged at around 30 million. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: The Final Elton John Performances And the Years That Made His Legend will include concert performances spanning 50 years, as well as the recording artist’s journals and contemporary footage of his family.
Over the course of a 30-year career,...
- 5/24/2022
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
R J Cutler will direct the career-spanning film with John’s partner David Furnish.
R J Cutler and David Furnish are to direct a documentary about Elton John for Disney Original Documentary and Disney+, with the studio planning festival exposure and a limited theatrical release before the project’s streaming debut.
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: The Final Elton John Performances and The Years That Made His Legend will make use of unseen footage of the singer-songwriter in concert over the past 50 years as well as hand-written journals and present-day footage of John (Furnish’s partner) and his family.
The film...
R J Cutler and David Furnish are to direct a documentary about Elton John for Disney Original Documentary and Disney+, with the studio planning festival exposure and a limited theatrical release before the project’s streaming debut.
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: The Final Elton John Performances and The Years That Made His Legend will make use of unseen footage of the singer-songwriter in concert over the past 50 years as well as hand-written journals and present-day footage of John (Furnish’s partner) and his family.
The film...
- 5/19/2022
- by John Hazelton
- ScreenDaily
Disney Original Documentary and Disney+ announced today the feature documentary “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: The Final Elton John Performances and The Years That Made His Legend.” From Academy Award-nominee R.J. Cutler and filmmaker David Furnish, the documentary will serve as the official feature on Elton John, comprised of unseen concert footage of him over the past 50 years, hand-written journals and present-day footage of him and his family. Following a robust festival run and limited theatrical release, the film will be available exclusively on Disney+.
Rooted in Elton John’s “Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour,” the feature documentary film will capture Elton John’s final months on the road, culminating in what promises to be one of the greatest send-offs in rock-and-roll history when John performs his final North American show at Dodger Stadium this upcoming November. The film will also look back at the extraordinary first five years of John’s career when,...
Rooted in Elton John’s “Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour,” the feature documentary film will capture Elton John’s final months on the road, culminating in what promises to be one of the greatest send-offs in rock-and-roll history when John performs his final North American show at Dodger Stadium this upcoming November. The film will also look back at the extraordinary first five years of John’s career when,...
- 5/18/2022
- by Michelle Hannett
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Exclusive: Disney Original Documentary and Disney+ have won the rights to a big feature documentary package, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: The Final Elton John Performances And the Years That Made His Legend. No one would comment, but we hear the docu, from Academy Award-nominee R.J. Cutler as well as filmmaker (and longtime Elton John partner) David Furnish, sold for about 30 million.
Designed to serve as the official feature on Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is comprised of unseen concert footage of him over the past 50 years, hand-written journals and present-day footage of him and his family. The plan for the project is to get a festival run and limited theatrical release and be made available exclusively on Disney+.
At the heart of the documentary is Elton John’s “Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour” as the film will capture Elton John’s final months on the road, culminating in his...
Designed to serve as the official feature on Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is comprised of unseen concert footage of him over the past 50 years, hand-written journals and present-day footage of him and his family. The plan for the project is to get a festival run and limited theatrical release and be made available exclusively on Disney+.
At the heart of the documentary is Elton John’s “Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour” as the film will capture Elton John’s final months on the road, culminating in his...
- 5/18/2022
- by Nellie Andreeva and Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
The announcement of winners for the ASCAP Screen Music Awards, being held virtually again for 2022 and announced Monday morning, included revealing the top vote-getters for several Composers’ Choice Awards, including the scores for “Encanto” and “The White Lotus.”
Germaine Franco prevailed for film score of the year for “Encanto.” Cristobal Tapia de Veer won two of these peer-voted awards, for television score of the year and television theme as well, for “The White Lotus. The video game score of the year honor went to Wataru Hokoyama for “Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart.” Triumphing in the documentary score of the year category was Amanda Jones for “Dreamland: The Burning of Black Wall Street.”
Those five Composers’ Choice Awards come on top of ASCAP’s traditional Screen Music Awards, which collect date to honor the most-consumed music of the year in the fields of TV, film and video games, with dozens of winners cited.
Germaine Franco prevailed for film score of the year for “Encanto.” Cristobal Tapia de Veer won two of these peer-voted awards, for television score of the year and television theme as well, for “The White Lotus. The video game score of the year honor went to Wataru Hokoyama for “Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart.” Triumphing in the documentary score of the year category was Amanda Jones for “Dreamland: The Burning of Black Wall Street.”
Those five Composers’ Choice Awards come on top of ASCAP’s traditional Screen Music Awards, which collect date to honor the most-consumed music of the year in the fields of TV, film and video games, with dozens of winners cited.
- 5/2/2022
- by Chris Willman
- Variety Film + TV
This Machine, the production company founded by veteran documentary director and producer R.J. Cutler, has bolstered its development and production team with four new hires.
Cutler, the Emmy Award-winning director behind docus including “The September Issue,” “Belushi” and most recently with “Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry,” launched This Machine in 2020 with an investment from Los Angeles-based Industrial Media.
Cutler has named Sally Rosen Phillips as vice president, creative; Qadriyyah Shamsid-Deen as director, creative; Jim Czarnecki, senior vice president, production, and Ian Egos, vice president. The four new hires bring This Machine’s employee headcount to 20. Rosen Phillips, Shamsid-Deen, Czarnecki and Egos join senior executives Elise Pearlstein, Trevor Smith, Margaret Yen and Katie Doering.
“I’m thrilled to welcome Sally, Qadriyyah, Jim and Ian — four truly creative and passionate individuals — to our rapidly growing team at This Machine,” says Cutler, who served as a producer on Chris Hegedus and...
Cutler, the Emmy Award-winning director behind docus including “The September Issue,” “Belushi” and most recently with “Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry,” launched This Machine in 2020 with an investment from Los Angeles-based Industrial Media.
Cutler has named Sally Rosen Phillips as vice president, creative; Qadriyyah Shamsid-Deen as director, creative; Jim Czarnecki, senior vice president, production, and Ian Egos, vice president. The four new hires bring This Machine’s employee headcount to 20. Rosen Phillips, Shamsid-Deen, Czarnecki and Egos join senior executives Elise Pearlstein, Trevor Smith, Margaret Yen and Katie Doering.
“I’m thrilled to welcome Sally, Qadriyyah, Jim and Ian — four truly creative and passionate individuals — to our rapidly growing team at This Machine,” says Cutler, who served as a producer on Chris Hegedus and...
- 4/18/2022
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
This review was first published on March 12, after the film’s premiere at the 2022 SXSW festival.
“Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off” opens with a montage of failures. Hawk, now in his 50s and easily the most famous skateboarder of all time, is trying to land a 900. To pull the trick off, he has to complete two and a half aerial spins, essentially hurtling himself and his skateboard through several mid-air somersaults before landing neatly back on a wooden ramp.
Hawk already landed this trick, over two decades ago at the 1999 X Games. He is reportedly the first to ever successfully do so. It was a feat akin to Tonya Harding’s triple axel or Nadia Comaneci’s perfect 10. Yet here Hawk is, relentlessly determined to do it again.
He flings himself across an indoor ramp, slamming into the wood over and over as he blunders each attempt. The...
“Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off” opens with a montage of failures. Hawk, now in his 50s and easily the most famous skateboarder of all time, is trying to land a 900. To pull the trick off, he has to complete two and a half aerial spins, essentially hurtling himself and his skateboard through several mid-air somersaults before landing neatly back on a wooden ramp.
Hawk already landed this trick, over two decades ago at the 1999 X Games. He is reportedly the first to ever successfully do so. It was a feat akin to Tonya Harding’s triple axel or Nadia Comaneci’s perfect 10. Yet here Hawk is, relentlessly determined to do it again.
He flings himself across an indoor ramp, slamming into the wood over and over as he blunders each attempt. The...
- 4/6/2022
- by Lena Wilson
- The Wrap
Fremantle’s global head of documentaries Mandy Chang insisted on Thursday that “the golden age of documentary is a cliché” and urged filmmakers to avoid “a two-tier system of haves and have nots,” where independent documentaries are crowded out by splashier commercial projects bankrolled by streaming platforms.
“Mainstream docs are popular, but not all documentaries are popular or given prominence,” Chang said to an audience in Copenhagen. “And success for me is a golden age not just for the mainstream, but for a plethora of smaller, less expensive, but still important and powerful films made by…a much more diverse group of filmmakers.”
The Fremantle executive was speaking during the four-day conference program at the Copenhagen Intl. Documentary Film Festival (Cph:dox), which runs March 23-April 3.
During her address, Chang warned against the influence of global streaming giants such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV Plus, whose deep pockets...
“Mainstream docs are popular, but not all documentaries are popular or given prominence,” Chang said to an audience in Copenhagen. “And success for me is a golden age not just for the mainstream, but for a plethora of smaller, less expensive, but still important and powerful films made by…a much more diverse group of filmmakers.”
The Fremantle executive was speaking during the four-day conference program at the Copenhagen Intl. Documentary Film Festival (Cph:dox), which runs March 23-April 3.
During her address, Chang warned against the influence of global streaming giants such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV Plus, whose deep pockets...
- 4/1/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
For 20 years, ever since Gilbert Gottfried made the tasteless crack that inspired it just a few weeks after 9/11, “Too soon” has been the mantra we use to jokingly suggest someone is making a joke before the time is ripe for it. But the phrase could also be applied to certain music documentaries. “Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry” caught the first chapters of Billie Eilish’s career, starting in 2015, when she recorded and posted “Ocean Eyes” on SoundCloud — and though she is still a young star (just 20), the film felt momentous, because her stardom has had such an extraordinary trajectory, and you feel, in a way, that she remade the pop-music world in her own image.
Olivia Rodrigo is a very gifted star, but it feels as if she’s living in that remade world — and The film, directed by Stacey Lee, is only 77 minutes long, and it doesn...
Olivia Rodrigo is a very gifted star, but it feels as if she’s living in that remade world — and The film, directed by Stacey Lee, is only 77 minutes long, and it doesn...
- 3/22/2022
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Two of the five Oscar nominees for Best Sound won at the Golden Reel Awards bestowed by the Motion Picture Sound Editors (Mpse) on March 13 . The Oscar frontrunner, “Dune,” picked up the prize for sound effects and foley while “West Side Story” danced off with the music award. The dialogue/Adr award went to “Nightmare Alley,” which had been snubbed by the sound branch of the academy.
Two of the other Oscar nominees — “Belfast” and “No Time to Die” — vied in sound effects/foley while the fifth contender, “The Power of the Dog,” was vying in dialogue/Adr.
The upcoming Oscars mark the second year for the new Best Sound category, which combines Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing. There can be up to six nominees from a film: one production sound mixer, two supervising sound editors and three re-recording mixers. Last year, “Sound of Metal” won this award...
Two of the other Oscar nominees — “Belfast” and “No Time to Die” — vied in sound effects/foley while the fifth contender, “The Power of the Dog,” was vying in dialogue/Adr.
The upcoming Oscars mark the second year for the new Best Sound category, which combines Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing. There can be up to six nominees from a film: one production sound mixer, two supervising sound editors and three re-recording mixers. Last year, “Sound of Metal” won this award...
- 3/14/2022
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
The Oscar frontrunner for Best Sound, “Dune,” contends in three of the six film categories at Sunday’s Golden Reel Awards bestowed by the Motion Picture Sound Editors (Mpse). It is tipped to prevail in two of these races: dialogue/Adr and sound effects/foley. “Dune” is expected to lost its other bid, for music, to one of its Oscar rivals: “West Side Story” is predicted to win that race, which marks its only nomination here.
Two of the other Oscar nominees — “Belfast” and “No Time to Die” — vie in sound effects/foley while the fifth contender, “The Power of the Dog,” is vying in dialogue/adr.
The upcoming Oscars mark the second year for the new Best Sound category, which combines Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing. There can be up to six nominees from a film: one production sound mixer, two supervising sound editors and three re-recording mixers.
Two of the other Oscar nominees — “Belfast” and “No Time to Die” — vie in sound effects/foley while the fifth contender, “The Power of the Dog,” is vying in dialogue/adr.
The upcoming Oscars mark the second year for the new Best Sound category, which combines Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing. There can be up to six nominees from a film: one production sound mixer, two supervising sound editors and three re-recording mixers.
- 3/10/2022
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
Sony Pictures Television sealed a deal to acquire Industrial Media, a major nonfiction TV production company whose portfolio includes “90 Day Fiancé,” “So You Think You Can Dance” and “American Idol.”
The deal values Industrial Media at $350 million. Upon closing, Sony Pictures will acquire a majority controlling interest in Industrial Media but the studio declined to reveal its ownership percentage.
Industrial Media’s production shingles include 19 Entertainment, B17 Entertainment, House of NonFiction, Sharp Entertainment, the Intellectual Property Corporation (Ipc), This Machine Filmworks, This Radicle Act and Trilogy Films.
The company companies produce more than 100 programs distributed worldwide in genres including documentary, music competition and reality categories. Those include the hit “90 Day Fiancé” franchise for TLC, “Indian Matchmaking” for Netflix, “We’re Here” for HBO, “The Curse of Von Dutch” and “The D’Amelio Show” for Hulu, “Secrets of Playboy” for A&e, “Selena+Chef” and “Craftopia” for HBO Max, “So You Think You Can Dance...
The deal values Industrial Media at $350 million. Upon closing, Sony Pictures will acquire a majority controlling interest in Industrial Media but the studio declined to reveal its ownership percentage.
Industrial Media’s production shingles include 19 Entertainment, B17 Entertainment, House of NonFiction, Sharp Entertainment, the Intellectual Property Corporation (Ipc), This Machine Filmworks, This Radicle Act and Trilogy Films.
The company companies produce more than 100 programs distributed worldwide in genres including documentary, music competition and reality categories. Those include the hit “90 Day Fiancé” franchise for TLC, “Indian Matchmaking” for Netflix, “We’re Here” for HBO, “The Curse of Von Dutch” and “The D’Amelio Show” for Hulu, “Secrets of Playboy” for A&e, “Selena+Chef” and “Craftopia” for HBO Max, “So You Think You Can Dance...
- 3/3/2022
- by Todd Spangler
- Variety Film + TV
The American Cinema Editors (Ace) has nominated “Belfast,” “Dune,” “King Richard,” “No Time to Die” and “The Power of the Dog” in the category of feature film drama at the 72nd annual Ace Eddie Awards.
In the best edited comedic feature category, “Cruella,” “Don’t Look Up,” “The French Dispatch,” “Licorice Pizza” and “Tick, Tick…Boom!” all received nominations.
Among the animated features nominated were “Encanto,” “Luca,” “The Mitchells vs. the Machines,” “Raya and the Last Dragon” and “Sing 2.” The TV nominees include “Succession” and “The White Lotus.”
The Eddies are considered a precursor for the best picture and best editing categories at the Oscars. Five of the past 11 winners for best edited drama feature went on to win the film editing Oscar.
Since 1961, only 10 women have won in the best edited drama feature category. This year, there are two women who made the cut: Pamela Martin (“King Richard”) and...
In the best edited comedic feature category, “Cruella,” “Don’t Look Up,” “The French Dispatch,” “Licorice Pizza” and “Tick, Tick…Boom!” all received nominations.
Among the animated features nominated were “Encanto,” “Luca,” “The Mitchells vs. the Machines,” “Raya and the Last Dragon” and “Sing 2.” The TV nominees include “Succession” and “The White Lotus.”
The Eddies are considered a precursor for the best picture and best editing categories at the Oscars. Five of the past 11 winners for best edited drama feature went on to win the film editing Oscar.
Since 1961, only 10 women have won in the best edited drama feature category. This year, there are two women who made the cut: Pamela Martin (“King Richard”) and...
- 1/27/2022
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
The academy released the 2022 Oscars shortlists in 10 categories on Tuesday, December 21. The hopefuls in a wide range of races found out if they remain in contention for the 94th annual Academy Awards. Among these are the marquee categories for Best International Feature Film (which was pared down to 10 films from the 92 submitted) and Best Documentary Feature (which went from 138 to 15).
Both music awards – Best Original Song and Best Original Score — were winnowed down to just 15 contenders from 84 and 137 submissions respectively. Likewise for the three awards for shorts – animated, documentary and live-action. The Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Sound and Best Visual Effects races were culled from dozens of entries to 10 apiece.
Documentary Feature
One hundred and thirty-eight films were eligible for consideration; there are 15 on the shortlist. Members of the Documentary Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees. The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:
“Ascension...
Both music awards – Best Original Song and Best Original Score — were winnowed down to just 15 contenders from 84 and 137 submissions respectively. Likewise for the three awards for shorts – animated, documentary and live-action. The Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Sound and Best Visual Effects races were culled from dozens of entries to 10 apiece.
Documentary Feature
One hundred and thirty-eight films were eligible for consideration; there are 15 on the shortlist. Members of the Documentary Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees. The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:
“Ascension...
- 1/27/2022
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
Predicting the winner of the Best Documentary Feature Oscar became a lot easier on December 21 when the academy announced the 15 films that made the shortlist. Those semi-finalists are culled from the 138 titles that qualified this year for consideration. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2022 Oscars predictions for Best Documentary Feature.)
To winnow these down to a manageable number, the academy adds newly eligible documentary feature to a virtual screening room available to all 500 plus members of the documentary branch. While all members are encouraged to watch as many of these as they can, one-fifth of the voters are assigned each title. In the new year, each branch member will submit a preferential ballot listing their top 15 choices.
All of these ballots were collated to determine the 15 semi-finalists. Branch members were encouraged to watch those films on this list that they haven’t seen yet before casting another preferential ballot on...
To winnow these down to a manageable number, the academy adds newly eligible documentary feature to a virtual screening room available to all 500 plus members of the documentary branch. While all members are encouraged to watch as many of these as they can, one-fifth of the voters are assigned each title. In the new year, each branch member will submit a preferential ballot listing their top 15 choices.
All of these ballots were collated to determine the 15 semi-finalists. Branch members were encouraged to watch those films on this list that they haven’t seen yet before casting another preferential ballot on...
- 1/24/2022
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
All five of our predicted Oscar nominees for Best Sound number among the contenders for the Golden Reel Awards bestowed by the Motion Picture Sound Editors (Mpse) as announced on Jan. 24.
Oscar frontrunner “Dune” reaped three bids across the six film categories as did two of its closest Oscar rivals, “The Matrix Resurrections” and “A Quiet Place Part II” (plus “Nightmare Alley”). The other two expected Oscar nominees — “Belfast” and “West Side Story” — had to make do with one nomination apiece from the Mpse.
The upcoming Oscars mark the second year for the new Best Sound category, which combines Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing. There can be up to six nominees from a film: one production sound mixer, two supervising sound editors and three re-recording mixers. Last year, “Sound of Metal” won this award after being shut out by the Mpse despite a leading five bids.
In 2020 the...
Oscar frontrunner “Dune” reaped three bids across the six film categories as did two of its closest Oscar rivals, “The Matrix Resurrections” and “A Quiet Place Part II” (plus “Nightmare Alley”). The other two expected Oscar nominees — “Belfast” and “West Side Story” — had to make do with one nomination apiece from the Mpse.
The upcoming Oscars mark the second year for the new Best Sound category, which combines Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing. There can be up to six nominees from a film: one production sound mixer, two supervising sound editors and three re-recording mixers. Last year, “Sound of Metal” won this award after being shut out by the Mpse despite a leading five bids.
In 2020 the...
- 1/24/2022
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
A total of 15 documentaries were shortlisted for a 2022 Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature and the subjects documented in them range in topics all over the documentary spectrum. Five of those filmmakers joined our recent Meet the Experts panel, with subjects such as America’s most infamous prison riot, the rise of a young female singer who becomes one of the biggest stars on the planet, how a group of adult survivors of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church use drama therapy to process their trauma, how a bunch of recreational divers pulled off an incredible rescue mission in Thailand and the stories of five families that have been displaced by a perilous civil war.
In our roundtable conversation, we hear what the directors behind these highlighted docs think about making the shortlist for this year’s Academy Awards. Gold Derby recently discussed this and more with Stanley Nelson...
In our roundtable conversation, we hear what the directors behind these highlighted docs think about making the shortlist for this year’s Academy Awards. Gold Derby recently discussed this and more with Stanley Nelson...
- 1/23/2022
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
When R.J. Cutler first screened “Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry” for the singer and her family, it was on a big IMAX screen and Cutler found her response to it to be gratifying. “She did tell me after watching the movie that she felt that it saw her in a way that she never had imagined others would see her and that the film understood her,” he tells Gold Derby during our recent Meet the Experts: Film Documentary panel (watch the exclusive video interview above). It also led to her making a crazy promise to the film’s editors. “When she met them, she told them she wanted to buy them each a car, so that was a good sign. She has not yet made such a purchase.”
“Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry” for Apple Original Films chronicles the singer’s path to worldwide superstardom. The...
“Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry” for Apple Original Films chronicles the singer’s path to worldwide superstardom. The...
- 1/23/2022
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
When HBO renewed Bill Simmons’ “Music Box” documentary series for a second season in December, it wasn’t exactly surprising. Critics, film festival programmers and audiences were immediately taken with the series of six docs, which launched in July.
But the road to success was a long one. Simmons conceived the series back in 2018. His idea was to make the music version of the wildly successful sports docuseries “30 for 30,” which he co-created for ESPN more than a decade ago. Like “30 for 30,” installments of “Music Box” wouldn’t tell the entire trajectory of an artist’s career, but instead spotlight pivotal moments, creations and creators within the music sector. Also like “30 for 30,” Simmons would enlist A-list documentary filmmakers to make his vision come to light.
Three and a half years later in July, Garret Price’s “Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage” became the first...
But the road to success was a long one. Simmons conceived the series back in 2018. His idea was to make the music version of the wildly successful sports docuseries “30 for 30,” which he co-created for ESPN more than a decade ago. Like “30 for 30,” installments of “Music Box” wouldn’t tell the entire trajectory of an artist’s career, but instead spotlight pivotal moments, creations and creators within the music sector. Also like “30 for 30,” Simmons would enlist A-list documentary filmmakers to make his vision come to light.
Three and a half years later in July, Garret Price’s “Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage” became the first...
- 1/21/2022
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
In the past decade, the inclusion of streaming services in the documentary market has made it increasingly harder for smaller docus struggling with funding to break into the nonfiction feature Oscar race. But in spite of the deep pockets they are up against, a number of cash-strapped docs inevitably make it onto the shortlist every year. This year was no exception.
Jessica Beshir’s “Faya Dayi”, Camilla Nielsson’s “President” (Greenwich Entertainment) and Sushmit Ghosh and Rintu Thomas’ “Writing with Fire” (Music Box Films) are three films on this year’s feature doc shortlist that are up against competitors with multi-million-dollar campaign budgets being paid by media and tech conglomerates including Apple, Netflix, ViacomCBS, the Walt Disney Co. and WarnerMedia.
As the field narrows and lobbying and marketing takeover, it’s clear that money and brand recognition are key factors in the race for Oscar gold, which makes “Faya Dayi,...
Jessica Beshir’s “Faya Dayi”, Camilla Nielsson’s “President” (Greenwich Entertainment) and Sushmit Ghosh and Rintu Thomas’ “Writing with Fire” (Music Box Films) are three films on this year’s feature doc shortlist that are up against competitors with multi-million-dollar campaign budgets being paid by media and tech conglomerates including Apple, Netflix, ViacomCBS, the Walt Disney Co. and WarnerMedia.
As the field narrows and lobbying and marketing takeover, it’s clear that money and brand recognition are key factors in the race for Oscar gold, which makes “Faya Dayi,...
- 1/20/2022
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has revealed its longlist of nominees across 24 categories for its upcoming film awards.
“No Time to Die,” “Belfast,” and “West Side Story| are among the leading films announced on Wednesday following the first round of votes.
As revealed on Monday, not included in the long-list is “Spider-Man: No Way Home” after “failing to meet eligibility criteria,” according to BAFTA. The film had originally sought consideration for the best picture and best special effects categories. Sony declined to comment.
Round Two voting, to determine the nominations in the member voted categories, will open between Feb. 14 and 27 2022. Nominations will be announced on Feb 3.
Round Three voting, to determine the winners, will open between Feb. 9 and March 8.
The BAFTA Awards are set to take place in central London on March 13.
Check out the full longlist below:
Best Film
15 films go through to the Round Two of voting,...
“No Time to Die,” “Belfast,” and “West Side Story| are among the leading films announced on Wednesday following the first round of votes.
As revealed on Monday, not included in the long-list is “Spider-Man: No Way Home” after “failing to meet eligibility criteria,” according to BAFTA. The film had originally sought consideration for the best picture and best special effects categories. Sony declined to comment.
Round Two voting, to determine the nominations in the member voted categories, will open between Feb. 14 and 27 2022. Nominations will be announced on Feb 3.
Round Three voting, to determine the winners, will open between Feb. 9 and March 8.
The BAFTA Awards are set to take place in central London on March 13.
Check out the full longlist below:
Best Film
15 films go through to the Round Two of voting,...
- 1/12/2022
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
The Oscar shortlists were announced Dec. 21, and for some, it was an early holiday gift, as well as marking the ramp-up of awards season as showbiz starts to hone campaigns and voters start to really survey the contours of the myriad kudos on offer.
Documentary Feature
Some 138 films were eligible for this category, with 15 making the cut, voted on by the Academy’s documentary branch, which will then determine the final nominees. Of the 15, some films were expected, such as front-runner Denmark’s “Flee,” which also made the international film shortlist (and has a good shot at an animated feature nomination). Music docs pepper the list, such as the Cannes-bowing “The Velvet Underground,” from Todd Haynes (Oscar-nommed for original screenplay for “Far From Heaven”). It explores the influential rock band and the New York City art scene that nurtured its songs. Also going into the final stretch as a frontrunner...
Documentary Feature
Some 138 films were eligible for this category, with 15 making the cut, voted on by the Academy’s documentary branch, which will then determine the final nominees. Of the 15, some films were expected, such as front-runner Denmark’s “Flee,” which also made the international film shortlist (and has a good shot at an animated feature nomination). Music docs pepper the list, such as the Cannes-bowing “The Velvet Underground,” from Todd Haynes (Oscar-nommed for original screenplay for “Far From Heaven”). It explores the influential rock band and the New York City art scene that nurtured its songs. Also going into the final stretch as a frontrunner...
- 1/7/2022
- by Carole Horst
- Variety Film + TV
It’s the most wonderful time of the year because Oscar shortlists were unveiled on Tuesday. Gold Derby editors and Experts Christopher Rosen and Joyce Eng are here to discuss the snubs, surprises and what they mean for the Best Picture race.
One of the biggest snubs was “Titane” in Best International Film. The Palme d’Or winner was France’s entry, a big swing to be sure, so its snub wasn’t entirely shocking, but we hope its miss doesn’t discourage countries from taking a risk in the future.
Some films that you might have expected to pop up in certain categories came up short. “Nightmare Alley” missed in score and sound. The Guillermo del Toro film was expected to do well below the line, but did it arrive too late to make an impact? And if the crafts branches aren’t completely here for it, will it still make Best Picture?...
One of the biggest snubs was “Titane” in Best International Film. The Palme d’Or winner was France’s entry, a big swing to be sure, so its snub wasn’t entirely shocking, but we hope its miss doesn’t discourage countries from taking a risk in the future.
Some films that you might have expected to pop up in certain categories came up short. “Nightmare Alley” missed in score and sound. The Guillermo del Toro film was expected to do well below the line, but did it arrive too late to make an impact? And if the crafts branches aren’t completely here for it, will it still make Best Picture?...
- 12/22/2021
- by Joyce Eng and Christopher Rosen
- Gold Derby
There were few surprises among the shortlisted films announced for the 2022 Documentary Film Oscar but, as always there was at least one. While “Summer of Soul,” “The Rescue” and “Flee” (also earning an International Film shortlist mention) were expected, “Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry” was definitely not. It was one of two Apple TV+ shortlisted docs this year alongside Todd Haynes’ “The Velvet Underground.”
Read More: “Summer of Soul” and “Flee’ lead 2021 IDA Awards nominations
One of the most competitive categories (and often head-scratching) of them all, it’s no surprise there were a number of high-profile snubs from this shortlist including Edgar Wright’s “The Sparks Brothers,” Liz Garbus’ “Being Cousteau,” “Wojnarowicz: F**K You F*ggot F**ker,” and “North By Current” and “Jacinta.”
Additionally, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced shortlist selections for the Documentary Short, Live Action Short, and Animated Short Film categories.
Read More: “Summer of Soul” and “Flee’ lead 2021 IDA Awards nominations
One of the most competitive categories (and often head-scratching) of them all, it’s no surprise there were a number of high-profile snubs from this shortlist including Edgar Wright’s “The Sparks Brothers,” Liz Garbus’ “Being Cousteau,” “Wojnarowicz: F**K You F*ggot F**ker,” and “North By Current” and “Jacinta.”
Additionally, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced shortlist selections for the Documentary Short, Live Action Short, and Animated Short Film categories.
- 12/21/2021
- by Gregory Ellwood
- The Playlist
Cary Joji Fukunaga’s Bond film No Time to Die and Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic Dune led in craft recognition today when the Academy’s shortlists for the 2022 Oscars were unveiled.
The former secured slots in the areas of Makeup and Hairstyling, Music (Original Score), Music (Original Song), Sound and Visual Effects, with the latter preparing to compete in all of the same categories apart from Song.
Four additional studio films snagged slots in Score and Song, including Adam McKay’s Netflix satire Don’t Look Up, Jared Bush and Byron Howard’s Disney animated pic Encanto, Jeymes Samuel’s Netflix Western The Harder They Fall and Reinaldo Marcus Green’s Warner Bros. drama King Richard.
Jane Campion’s Netflix Western The Power of the Dog, Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical Focus pic Belfast and and Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of West Side Story all scored additional slots in the Sound category,...
The former secured slots in the areas of Makeup and Hairstyling, Music (Original Score), Music (Original Song), Sound and Visual Effects, with the latter preparing to compete in all of the same categories apart from Song.
Four additional studio films snagged slots in Score and Song, including Adam McKay’s Netflix satire Don’t Look Up, Jared Bush and Byron Howard’s Disney animated pic Encanto, Jeymes Samuel’s Netflix Western The Harder They Fall and Reinaldo Marcus Green’s Warner Bros. drama King Richard.
Jane Campion’s Netflix Western The Power of the Dog, Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical Focus pic Belfast and and Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of West Side Story all scored additional slots in the Sound category,...
- 12/21/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
The two Oscar frontrunners for Best Documentary Feature are safely through to the next round of voting.
Summer of Soul and Flee earned spots on the Oscar doc feature shortlist announced today, as Documentary Branch voters whittled the list of contending films from 138 qualifiers to 15 [see full lists below].
Flee, the Neon release directed by Danish filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen, not only made the doc feature shortlist, but the shortlist for Best International Film as well, representing Denmark. That rare shortlist double was accomplished last Oscar season by the Romanian documentary Collective, and a year earlier by the North Macedonian film Honeyland (both Collective and Honeyland went on to score Oscar nominations in both categories). Flee remains in the running in a third Oscar category, Animated Feature.
Flee and Summer of Soul,...
Summer of Soul and Flee earned spots on the Oscar doc feature shortlist announced today, as Documentary Branch voters whittled the list of contending films from 138 qualifiers to 15 [see full lists below].
Flee, the Neon release directed by Danish filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen, not only made the doc feature shortlist, but the shortlist for Best International Film as well, representing Denmark. That rare shortlist double was accomplished last Oscar season by the Romanian documentary Collective, and a year earlier by the North Macedonian film Honeyland (both Collective and Honeyland went on to score Oscar nominations in both categories). Flee remains in the running in a third Oscar category, Animated Feature.
Flee and Summer of Soul,...
- 12/21/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
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