Moviefone Editorial

Tag: moonlight

The Greatest Best Picture Oscar Winners of All Time

Moviefone presents the 30 greatest Best Picture Oscar winners of all time.

The 98th Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, March 15th and by its conclusion a new film will be added to the exclusive list of Best Picture winners.

Over the previous 97 years, many classic movies have received this honor from ‘In the Heat of the Night‘ to ‘Titanic.’ But for every ‘Schindler’s List‘ or ‘Moonlight‘ there is a film like ‘Driving Miss Daisy‘ or ‘American Beauty‘ that has not aged well.
6600
And let’s not forget the all-time classic movies that were completely snubbed such as ‘Pulp Fiction‘ or ‘The Shawshank Redemption,’ and did not receive the Academy recognition they deserved.

In honor or the upcoming Oscar ceremony, we’ve decided to countdown the 30 greatest Best Picture winners of all-time.

Let’s begin!

Related Article: ‘Sinners’ and ‘One Battle After Another’ Lead The 2026 Oscar Nominees

30. ‘The Sting‘ (1973)

(L to R) Robert Redford and Paul Newman in ‘The Sting’. Photo: Universal Pictures.

A novice con man (Robert Redford) teams up with an acknowledged master (Paul Newman) to avenge the murder of a mutual friend by pulling off the ultimate big con and swindling a fortune from a big-time mobster (Robert Shaw).
6101

29. ‘The Sound of Music‘ (1965)

In the years before World War II, a tomboyish postulant (Julie Andrews) at an Austrian abbey is hired as a governess in the home of a widowed naval captain (Christopher Plummer) with seven children and brings a new love of life and music into the home.
3486

28. ‘Rain Man‘ (1988)

When car dealer Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise) learns that his estranged father has died, he returns home to Cincinnati, where he discovers that he has a savant older brother named Raymond (Dustin Hoffman) and that his father’s $3 million fortune is being left to the mental institution in which Raymond lives. Motivated by his father’s money, Charlie checks Raymond out of the facility in order to return with him to Los Angeles. The brothers’ cross-country trip ends up changing both their lives.
16742

27. ‘Parasite‘ (2019)

All unemployed, Ki-taek’s (Song Kang-ho) family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.
xfuCgnN6ju51U5fVunSok

26. ‘Midnight Cowboy‘ (1969)

Joe Buck (Jon Voight) is a wide-eyed hustler from Texas hoping to score big with wealthy New York City women; he finds a companion in Enrico “Ratso” Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman), an ailing swindler with a bum leg and a quixotic fantasy of escaping to Florida.
7871

25. ‘The Departed’ (2006)

(L to R) Leonardo DiCaprio and Jack Nicholson in ‘The Departed’. Photo: Warner Bros.

To take down South Boston’s Irish Mafia, the police send in one of their own to infiltrate the underworld, not realizing the syndicate has done likewise. While an undercover cop (Leonardo DiCaprio) curries favor with the mob kingpin (Jack Nicholson), a career criminal (Matt Damon) rises through the police ranks. But both sides soon discover there’s a mole among them.
26367

24. ‘On the Waterfront‘ (1954)

A prizefighter-turned-longshoreman (Marlon Brando) with a conscience goes up against labor leaders to expose corruption, extortion, and murder among the union ranks.
6171

23. ‘The Hurt Locker‘ (2009)

During the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.
35066

22. ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once‘ (2022)

Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, collectively known as Daniels, the film is a hilarious and big-hearted sci-fi action adventure about an exhausted Chinese American woman (Michelle Yeoh) who can’t seem to finish her taxes.
WRQZaCyl9bpOi032c7Ljx4

21. ‘Platoon‘ (1987)

As a young and naive recruit in Vietnam, Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of man.
7922

20. ‘Anora’ (2024)

(L to R) Mikey Madison as Ani and Mark Eydelshteyn as Ivan in ‘Anora’. Photo: Courtesy of NEON.

Mikey Madison captivates as Ani, a young sex worker from Brooklyn whose life takes an unexpected turn when she meets and impulsively marries Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn), the impetuous son of a Russian billionaire. However, when Vanya’s parents catch wind of the union, they send their henchmen to annul the marriage, setting off a wild chase through the streets of New York.
mF6ytgKq5I0FWjBWzwNvH2

19. ‘Unforgiven’ (1992)

William Munny (Clint Eastwood) is a retired, once-ruthless killer turned gentle widower and hog farmer. To help support his two motherless children, he accepts one last bounty-hunter mission to find the men who brutalized a prostitute. Joined by his former partner (Morgan Freeman) and a cocky greenhorn, he takes on a corrupt sheriff (Gene Hackman).
6894

18. ‘Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)‘ (2014)

A fading actor (Michael Keaton) best known for his portrayal of a popular superhero attempts to mount a comeback by appearing in a Broadway play. As opening night approaches, his attempts to become more altruistic, rebuild his career, and reconnect with friends and family prove more difficult than expected. Also starring Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, and Emma Stone.
10135499

17. ‘In the Heat of the Night‘ (1967)

African-American Philadelphia police detective Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) is arrested on suspicion of murder by Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger), the racist police chief of tiny Sparta, Mississippi. After Tibbs proves not only his own innocence but that of another man, he joins forces with Gillespie to track down the real killer. Their investigation takes them through every social level of the town, with Tibbs making enemies as well as unlikely friends as he hunts for the truth.
13270

16. ‘Casablanca‘ (1943)

In Casablanca, Morocco in December 1941, a cynical American expatriate (Humphrey Bogart) meets a former lover (Ingrid Bergman), with unforeseen complications.
6331

15. ‘Gladiator‘ (2000)

Russell Crowe in ‘Gladiator’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

After the death of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), his devious son takes power and demotes Maximus (Russell Crowe), one of Rome’s most capable generals who Marcus preferred. Eventually, Maximus is forced to become a gladiator and battle to the death against other men for the amusement of paying audiences.
6076

14. ‘Titanic‘ (1997)

101-year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater (Gloria Stuart) tells the story of her life aboard the Titanic, 84 years later. A young Rose (Kate Winslet) boards the ship with her mother and fiancé. Meanwhile, Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Fabrizio De Rossi (Danny Nucci) win third-class tickets aboard the ship. Rose tells the whole story from Titanic’s departure through to its death—on its first and last voyage—on April 15, 1912.
5332

13. ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest‘ (1975)

A petty criminal (Jack Nicholson) fakes insanity to serve his sentence in a mental ward rather than prison. He soon finds himself as a leader to the other patients—and an enemy to the cruel, domineering nurse (Louise Fletcher) who runs the ward.
3169

12. ‘Argo’ (2012)

As the Iranian revolution reaches a boiling point, a CIA ‘exfiltration’ specialist (Ben Affleck) concocts a risky plan to free six Americans who have found shelter at the home of the Canadian ambassador. Also starring Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, and John Goodman.
10063417

11. ‘Moonlight‘ (2016)

The tender, heartbreaking story of a young man’s struggle to find himself, told across three defining chapters in his life as he experiences the ecstasy, pain, and beauty of falling in love, while grappling with his own sexuality.
20087269

10. ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’ (2003)

Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn Elessar in director Peter Jackson’s ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.’ Photo: Warner Bros.

Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) is revealed as the heir to the ancient kings as he, Gandalf and the other members of the broken fellowship struggle to save Gondor from Sauron’s forces. Meanwhile, Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) take the ring closer to the heart of Mordor, the dark lord’s realm.
14381

9. ‘Rocky’ (1976)

When world heavyweight boxing champion, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) wants to give an unknown fighter a shot at the title as a publicity stunt, his handlers choose palooka Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) , an uneducated collector for a Philadelphia loan shark. Rocky teams up with trainer Mickey Goldmill (Burgess Meredith) to make the most of this once in a lifetime break.
4998

8. ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ (1991)

Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is a top student at the FBI’s training academy. Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn) wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.
4140

7. ‘Oppenheimer‘ (2023)

The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer’s (Cillian Murphy) role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.
1tOJVQRXmFcGn2lZ7Th6l7

6. ‘Schindler’s List‘ (1994)

The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.
8716

5. ‘Spotlight’ (2015)

(L to R) Michael Keaton and Mark Ruffalo in ‘Spotlight.’ Photo: Open Road Films.

The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core. The movie stars Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, and Rachel McAdams.
20069405

4. ‘The French Connection’ (1971)

Tough narcotics detective ‘Popeye’ Doyle (Gene Hackman) is in hot pursuit of a suave French drug dealer (Fernando Rey) who may be the key to a huge heroin-smuggling operation.
4922

3. ‘The Godfather Part II‘ (1974)

In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro) grows up in Sicily and in 1910s New York. In the 1950s, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) attempts to expand the family business into Las Vegas, Hollywood and Cuba.
5181

2. ‘Lawrence of Arabia‘ (1962)

During World War I, English officer Thomas Edward ‘T.E.’ Lawrence (Peter O’Toole) sets out to unite and lead the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes to fight the Turks.
3283

1. ‘The Godfather’ (1972)

(L to R) James Caan, Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and John Cazale in ‘The Godfather’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael (Al Pacino) steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge.
5180

March 13, 2026
‘The Actor’ Interview: André Holland and Gemma Chan
PXfIO9TZ
Opening in theaters nationwide on March 14th is the new crime mystery ‘The Actor’, which was directed by Duke Johnson (‘Anomalisa’), and stars André Holland (‘Moonlight’ and ‘Exhibiting Forgiveness’) and Gemma Chan (‘Crazy Rich Asians’ and ‘Eternals’).

Related Article: Andra Day Talks Director Titus Kaphar’s ‘Exhibiting Forgiveness’

(L to R) André Holland and Gemma Chan in ‘The Actor’. Photo: Neon.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with André Holland and Gemma Chan about their work on ‘The Actor’, their characters, the story, the cast, working together, and working with director Duke Johnson.

You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Holland, Chan, and director Duke Johnson.

André Holland in ‘The Actor’. Photo: Neon.

Moviefone: To begin with, André what can you tell us about your character, Paul Cole?

André Holland: Well, that’s the question of the movie, who is Paul Cole? Will the real Paul Cole please stand up? So, the movie is based on a book called ‘Memory’ by Donald Westlake. It’s set in 1955, when we find Paul Cole. He’s a theater actor who’s been on tour with his traveling troupe throughout the Midwest. He wakes up in a hospital bed with no memory of who he is, doesn’t know where he is, or his troupe, and you find out later, they have moved on to the next town. This story is largely about him trying to piece together these clues to put his life back together and figure out who he is. Then along the way, he encounters this stunning creature and then must decide whether it makes more sense to continue his search to find his old life or to stay and build a new one.

MF: Gemma, what can you say about Edna, and what did you enjoy about playing her?

Gemma Chan: So, Edna is from a small town in Ohio. She is at a point in her life where she didn’t think that she would ever fall in love again or meet someone who could make her feel all these emotions, vulnerability being one of them. I feel that when she meets Paul, they feel something, and they see something and connect with each other instantly. I know that Duke, the director, very much wanted us to bring ourselves to these characters. I love Edna. There’s a sweetness to her, but also a strength inside her as well and a real vulnerability too.

(L to R) Gemma Chan and André Holland in ‘The Actor’. Photo: Neon.

MF: Gemma, what was it like collaborating with director Duke Johnson on this movie?

GC: I had seen Duke’s film, ‘Anomalisa’, and I loved it. Then I read this script and spoke to him about his vision for what he wanted to make. It just felt like such an opportunity to do something different. It doesn’t come along very often. From the fact that he wanted to cast an ensemble of actors who would play multiple roles within the film to wanting to use a lot of practical effects with the way he shot the movie and bring them over from the animation world to live action. It just seemed like it could be something magical and different. Then getting to work with amazing actors like André, it was a unique experience. Duke had such a clear vision of what he wanted to do, but also really trusted us to bring the emotion to our characters. So, it felt like a collaborative process.

MF: André, what was it like working with the incredible ensemble cast?

AH: It took a leap of faith on the part of all the actors to just dive in and go for it. I think that’s one of the things that theater asks you to do all the time. You don’t ever have enough time, you never got enough money, you just got to go for it. So, I think we had, in this case, a stellar group of actors who made up the ensemble. May Calamawy, Olwen (Fouéré), Tracey Ullman, Simon McBurney, we had killers. Everybody was like, “All right, let’s figure it out. Give me a wig and give me a mustache and I’m going to be this person and then I’ll switch it up and be somebody else.” It was really a lot of fun.

André Holland in ‘The Actor’. Photo: Neon.

MF: André, what would you say to an audience sitting down to watch this movie now to prepare them for the theatrical experience they are about have?

AH: Well, I think it’s a movie unlike any movie I’ve ever seen. It has a magical, fantastic quality to it, has beautiful performances, it’s wonderfully shot and it’s a lot of fun. It’s the kind of movie that I think you could see with a big group of people. It’s the kind of movie that I think really makes the theater going experience special. It’s designed to be seen in a theater. Not to say that you can’t sit at home and watch it on a laptop, you could, but you’d be missing out, I think. So, I just would encourage people to get a group of folks together, go get some popcorn and go watch the movie. Then go get a drink and talk about it afterwards. I think it’ll be worth your time.

MF: Gemma, what was your experience like working with André?

GC: Well, it was a dream. I told him this before, but he’s such a talented actor, and so generous as well. Every scene, every little vignette that we filmed as our characters, it was a joy. I felt that I could be vulnerable with him. He’s such a good listener as well. Just a wonderful, generous actor. I can’t speak highly enough of him. I was a huge fan of his work before getting to do this. He’s a huge part of why I said yes to doing the project.

(L to R) André Holland and Gemma Chan in ‘The Actor’. Photo: Neon.

MF: Finally, André, did you enjoy working with Gemma on set?

AH: We’ll be here all day if I start gushing over this woman. She is extraordinary, the finest that there is. A wonderful actor, wonderful human being, and we had such a good time. I’m so proud of the movie, but I’m equally proud of our friendship that has come out of it.

Editorial Note: Krisily Fernstrom conducted this interview and contributed to this article.
U50zjROsxWTqzgseVTEvk4
What is the plot of ‘The Actor’?

Paul Cole (André Holland) finds himself stranded in a mysterious small town with no memory of who he is or how he got here. As bits and pieces of his past slowly emerge, he attempts to find his way home, but time is slippery, appearances can’t be trusted, and it’s unclear which of his identities is real.

Who is in the cast of ‘The Actor’?
- André Holland as Paul Cole
- Gemma Chan as Edna
- Olwen Fouéré as Old Lady Track
- Edward Hogg as Make Up Artist
- Youssef Kerkour as Black Jack / Ed / Defense Attorney / Busdriver
- Tracey Ullman as Mrs. Malloy / Helen / Deerville Woman
(L to R) André Holland and Gemma Chan in ‘The Actor’. Photo: Neon.

List of Duke Johnson Movies and TV Shows:
- ‘Community‘ (2009 – 2015)
- ‘Mary Shelley’s Frankenhole‘ (2010 – 2012)
- ‘Anomalisa‘ (2015)
- ‘Cosmos: Possible Worlds‘ (2020)
- ‘The Actor‘ (2025)
Buy Gemma Chan Movies on Amazon
March 12, 2025
Best LGBTQ+ Movies

Fox Searchlight Pictures

June is Pride Month, and in honor of that, Moviefone is counting down the best LGBTQ+ themed movies of all-time!

So, sit down, relax, and find a good movie to watch during Pride Month.

Let’s begin!

The Kids Are All Right (2010)

Two women, Nic (Annette Bening) and Jules (Julianne Moore), brought a son and daughter into the world through artificial insemination. When one of their children reaches age, both kids (Josh Hutcherson and Mia Wasikowska) go behind their mothers’ backs to meet with the donor (Mark Ruffalo). Life becomes so much more interesting when the father, two mothers and children start to become attached to each other.
10025812

Other People (2016)

David (Jesse Plemons), a struggling comedy writer fresh off from breaking up with his boyfriend, moves from New York City to Sacramento to help his sick mother. (Molly Shannon) Living with his conservative father and much-younger sisters for the first time in ten years, he feels like a stranger in his childhood home. As his mother’s health declines, David frantically tries to extract meaning from this horrible experience and convince everyone (including himself) that he’s “doing okay.”
20085436

Kissing Jessica Stein (2002)

Jessica (Jennifer Westfeldt), a Jewish copy editor living and working in New York City, is plagued by failed blind dates with men, and decides to answer a newspaper’s personal advertisement. The advertisement has been placed by ‘lesbian-curious’ Helen Cooper (Heather Juergensen), a thirtysomething art gallerist.
11121

Call Me by Your Name (2018)

In 1980s Italy, a relationship begins between seventeen-year-old teenage Elio (Timothée Chalamet) and the older adult man (Armie Hammer) hired as his father’s research assistant.
TJY7mG1h3NCxhQo1zTpe51

The Intervention (2016)

A weekend getaway for four couples (Cobie Smulders and Vincent Piazza, Clea DuVall and Natasha Lyonne, Melanie Lynskey and Jason Ritter, and Alia Shawkat and Ben Schwartz) takes a sharp turn when one of the couples discovers the entire trip was orchestrated to host an intervention on their marriage.
20083706

Battle of the Sexes (2017)

The true story of the 1973 tennis match between World number one Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) and ex-champ and serial hustler Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell).
20089598

Brokeback Mountain (2006)

Two modern-day cowboys (Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal ) meet on a shepherding job in the summer of ’63, the two share a raw and powerful summer together that turns into a lifelong relationship conflict
21990

Carol (2016)

In 1950s New York, a department-store clerk (Rooney Mara) who dreams of a better life falls for an older, married woman (Cate Blanchett).
20068733

The Birdcage (1996)

A gay cabaret owner (Robin Williams) and his drag queen companion (Nathan Lane) agree to put up a false straight front so that their son (Dan Futterman) can introduce them to his fiancé’s conservative moralistic parents (Gene Hackman and Dianne Wiest).
2029

Milk (2009)

The true story of Harvey Milk (Sean Penn), the first openly gay man ever elected to public office. In San Francisco in the late 1970s, Harvey Milk becomes an activist for gay rights and inspires others to join him in his fight for equal rights that should be available to all Americans.
32261

Moonlight (2016)

The tender, heartbreaking story of a young man’s (Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, and Trevante Rhodes) struggle to find himself, told across three defining chapters in his life as he experiences the ecstasy, pain, and beauty of falling in love, while grappling with his own sexuality.
20087269

June 12, 2022
‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ Stars KiKi Layne and Stephan James on Acting In One of the Year’s Best Films

Annapurna Pictures

The story of a black man arrested for a crime he did not commit and the woman seeking to free him before the birth of their child, “If Beale Street Could Talk” offers a powerful portrait of hope under the bitterest of circumstances.

Barry Jenkins’ follow-up to “Moonlight” adapts a 1974 novel by James Baldwin, whose fearless, poetic honesty has for decades given a deeply-needed voice to the black community and to the forgotten, mistreated and disenfranchised everywhere. Anchored by breakthrough performances from newcomers KiKi Layne and Stephan James, this creative collaboration brings together multiple generations of storytellers for a powerful experience that often feels unlike any other brought to the screen.

Moviefone recently spoke with James and Layne about their work in the film, both under the watchful direction of Jenkins, as well as with each other. In addition to talking about the inspiration and clarity they drew from Baldwin’s source material, they discussed the challenges of charting the evolution of these two complex, intertwined characters, and finally, reflected on the ways that their solidarity through the adversity of the story — even arriving at something much less than a fairy tale ending – should be viewed as optimistic and hopeful.

Moviefone: This is a story about people of color created from the ground up by people of color. How did this maybe feel unique among the acting challenges you’ve tackled before?

KiKi Layne: What was unique was seeing these two young black people who are essentially soul mates. We don’t see too many stories like that where it’s something so much deeper — and that can’t really be explained between Tish and Fonny. I thought that was so beautiful. But because it’s written by James Baldwin, who had an ability to speak about social issues and injustices and such a special way, to see this beautiful love story but also this commentary on social issues interwoven so beautifully, that’s what makes this story so special and unique.

Stephan James: It was different because it was Baldwin. It was the first time that anyone had adapted Baldwin for the English language, so I think that the cast and the crew, starting with Barry, really accepted the weight of that sort of responsibility and understood how important it was to accept his language and to live through his words, and if anything it felt different because of that.

How did you map out that evolution of their maturity – the parallel lines of their happy times, and then the events that force them to grow up a little faster than they’re ready?

Layne: A big part of navigating all of that was communicating with Barry. He helped me to better understand where is Tish at, and to navigate where Tish was at in what moments — what has she experienced up to that point? Am I speaking as the 19-year-old that’s currently going through all of these things, or am I speaking as the woman we see at the end of the movie who’s already been through it and has grown so much because of it? Barry was a big part of me navigating that.

James: I was excited about the arc that Fonny was going to take in the film; you see him at his most joyous moments and at his darkest times. And it’s sort of a balancing act, that vulnerability with strength, and wanting to be strong in the face of my fiancée and trying to uplift her and support her, knowing that she’s carrying my unborn child. So, I think there’s that and not letting the situation that he’s found himself in tear him down too much. So for me it was a big balancing act trying to find strength when you know everything has sort of been taken away from you.

How did you and Kiki find a way to maintain that connection between Fonny and Tish, even though you were separated for so much of the story?

James: KiKi and I just sort of accepted the responsibility that — if anyone was going to believe this story — it would have to start with Tish and Fonny. So we decided together to let our guards down and be vulnerable and to try things with each other. I think that’s a big credit to Barry in terms of the environment that he helped to create in making us comfortable to explore each other. And KiKi is such a giving actress that it was easy for me to play off of her. We only really got time to hang out during the chemistry read that we had in New York before she had been cast, so we really had no time to develop the material and to dive in with each other.

Layne: The way they set up the shooting schedule gave Stephan and I time to do lighter scenes towards the beginning of the shoot, and then those more difficult scenes in the prison and everything else after we had had more time to get to know each other. Steph and I really had an understanding coming into the project that the love between Tish and Fonny is the film, and to best serve that we understood that we would have to let some walls down a lot faster than a whole lot of people would be comfortable with. But Baldwin created such a beautiful and rich love story, and then Barry had such a beautiful vision for it that even in those really tough prison scenes and everything, it seemed to come more naturally by the time we got through them.

Annapurna

Was there something from either the script, or maybe even Baldwin’s writing, that you drew upon that informed you as you were sort of figuring out how this character would be portrayed on screen?

James: I think it was everything. A scene that was cut out of the film was the scene where Fonny asks Tish to marry him in his apartment, and to me that scene sort of embodied everything that Fonny is — this emotional artist, at the end of the day. He feels and he describes things in a different sort of way. It’s not in the film, but it’s in the performance. And that’s the beauty of Baldwin, that he was able to give us so much sub-context in the novel for us to refer to. And I must have read [the novel] two or three times while making this film. So it’s an incredible piece of source material when you have someone who’s so transparent, brutally honest in the language. So to me it was an incredible thing to be able to adapt Baldwin.

Layne: There’s one line in the book where Tish is kind of describing herself and she says people [think] she looks like she needs help – like she just had such a softness to her. I was like, what does that look like and feel like and sound like? Because that’s not how I come off at all. So I latched on to that aspect of Tish, and then started playing around with it — because she’s not weak. As I dove deeper into the character and the story, Tish is a very strong woman. So I had to figure out how do I communicate all of the strength that actually lies in her?

Is there anything that you think Beale Street is exploring that other movies haven’t before, or maybe is especially in need of being given attention right now?

Layne: Even though this film is based in the early seventies, we are still very much having so many of those same conversations and dealing with those same issues. I think what’s special about “Beale Street” is that it forces you to have conversations about these issues, not just from a place of facts and statistics but really talking about the humanity of these people who are experiencing this really unfair, painful situation. You are forced to really see them and everything that they are fighting for, which I think is often missed in how these stories are portrayed.

December 13, 2018
Steve Harvey Was Thrilled About Last Year’s Oscars Mix-Up: ‘I Was Free!’

One year ago today, the Academy Awards ceremony descended into chaos after the wrong movie was incorrectly named Best Picture, and producers, presenters, and nominees had to sort out exactly what happened — all on live TV. It’s a moment that will forever live in Hollywood infamy, and while there’s still plenty of blame and embarrassment to go around, there was one person who was thrilled about the epic snafu.

In an Oscars telecast, and its unfortunate, error-ridden ending. You’ll recall that back in 2015, Harvey himself was behind a similarly high-profile mix-up when he accidentally declared Miss Colombia the winner of the Miss Universe pageant; he had to sheepishly return to the stage to admit his mistake, take away the crown, and give it to the true victor, Miss Philippines.

At the 2017 Oscars, as mayhem unfolded on stage, host Jimmy Kimmel quipped that he “blame[d] Steve Harvey” for the mix-up, a nod to Harvey’s previous goof-up. But Harvey said that as he was watching at home, he immediately knew his mistake was officially overshadowed.

Here’s how the comedian explained it to THR:

” … I probably knew what had happened before anybody else — ’cause I saw the panic-stricken look on the producer’s face. When he walked out there and snatched that card out of Warren’s hand, that’s when I knew redemption was mine. I was finally off the hook. Yeah, OK, I had to live that down: “Oh, how could he,” “That’s a bonehead,” “Nobody’s ever done that in the history of Miss Universe.” But the Oscars is the biggest night in Hollywood, and when they did it, I lit a cigar and drank a glass of scotch and celebrated. I was free! Thank you, God!”

THR’s story takes a deep-dive into the event, looking into the small mistakes that led up to the night’s big disaster, as well as how the Academy handled the fallout. PwC accountant Brian Cullinan, allegedly distracted by Twitter, was eventually identified as the person who goofed up and handed presenters Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty the wrong envelope — causing Dunaway to incorrectly declare “La La Land” the winner over true victor “Moonlight” — and according to THR, he received threats and had to be assigned a security detail.

But Harvey told the trade that that was nothing compared to the wrath he faced from his own error.

“Oh nah, the dude at Pricewaterhouse — he ain’t endured nothing,” the comedian said. “See, the mistake I made was against a country named Colombia. They have some people down there — they are in a different business — so when you get threats, you gotta take it a little bit differently.”

At least Harvey appears to be breathing easy now.

Meanwhile, the 90th Oscars are set for this coming Sunday, March 4, on ABC, and the Academy has a bunch of new rules in place to prevent another disaster like last year’s. We’ll be eagerly tuning in to see if everything works out.

[via: The Hollywood Reporter, h/t Vulture]

February 26, 2018
Oscars 2018: Academy Reveals New Rules to Avoid Another Best Picture Mix-Up

It will be years before anyone forgets the epic snafu that ended last year’s Oscars telecast, in which “La La Land” was accidentally declared the Best Picture winner over true victor “Moonlight,” before producers realized that the presenters had been given the wrong envelope. The Academy certainly hasn’t forgotten, and has introduced a detailed new set of rules about how those envelopes are handled, in an effort to stave off any future mix-ups.

In an interview with The Associated Press, PwC chairman and senior partner Tim Ryan revealed the safeguards that the accounting firm and the Academy will now follow at this year’s ceremony. It all comes down to having more checks and balances in place, Ryan explained.

The changes include having a third person from PwC — who has an extra set of envelopes, and has also memorized the winners — sitting in the show’s production control room, so they can monitor the proceedings and immediately notify someone if something is amiss. Two other PwC employees will remain on either side of the stage (though not the same ones from last year, obviously), and each will have a set of envelopes, as well as memorize the winners.

To prevent last year’s exact mix-up (a PwC employee, allegedly distracted by Twitter, gave presenters Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty the Best Actress envelope instead of the Best Picture envelope), the PwC rep will now check with the presenter and a stage manager to make sure the presenter has the correct envelope before stepping out on stage. All three PwC reps will attend rehearsals for the ceremony, and practice protocol for what to do if an error occurs (something that definitely wasn’t done before, based on last year’s chaos). And they are banned from using their phones or social media during the telecast.

“Our singular focus will be on the show and delivering the correct envelopes,” Ryan told the AP.

Academy president Dawn Hudson said that she was satisfied with the new rules, and confident that this year’s ceremony would run smoothly.

“Let me tell you, I don’t think this error will ever happen again or would happen again,” Hudson told the AP. “We put in a lot of protocols to make sure it won’t, but I don’t think it will anyway. I think everyone will be very focused on getting that right.”

We’ll keep our fingers crossed that she’s correct. (Though honestly, we wouldn’t be totally disappointed if she’s wrong. We’re already anticipating the memes.)

[via: The Associated Press]

January 22, 2018
Oscars 2018: Why Your Favorite Movie Has a Good Shot at Winning This Year

It’s still way too early to predict who’ll win at the Oscars, which are still two long months away. But we can predict the shape and character of the Oscar race. And we can tell you this: it’s gonna be ugly.

Remember the complaints in recent years over inclusiveness and diversity among the nominees, neatly summed up by the hashtag campaign #OscarsSoWhite? Remember how lest year’s Oscar race ended with the absurd and colossal screw-up of “La La Land” being announced Best Picture winner in front of a billion people, only to have to give up the trophy a minute later to actual winner “Moonlight“?

Well, those controversies are going to seem like goofy, harmless Will Ferrell comedies compared to how this year’s race is likely to shake out.

The reason? Well, think of the Oscars as more than just a list of the year’s best movies and performances. As a group, each year’s Academy Awards represents something more: the way Hollywood wants to present itself to the world, the industry’s best possible face.

And for about a quarter century, that face has been Harvey Weinstein’s.

For decades now, Weinstein has dominated the Oscars, both as the producer of countless trophy-grabbing movies, and as the most skilled campaigner in any year’s Oscar race. As the head honcho of Miramax and later the Weinstein Company, he orchestrated a power shift at the Academy Awards from the major Hollywood studios to the independent distributors, a shift represented by the notorious 1999 upset victory of his “Shakespeare in Love” over “Saving Private Ryan.” More than that, he crafted the blueprint for the kind of movies that win Oscars –often classy, historical, and British.

The shift in the Academy’s taste that Weinstein orchestrated may have been self-serving, but he did the industry a favor. Weinstein’s wins allowed Hollywood to present itself, for at least a few weeks each year, as a serious place that made thoughtful, literate, grown-up films that took important stands on social and political issues.

Now, however, Weinstein’s is the face of Hollywood’s avalanche of disgraced sexual predators. The revelations of systemic sexual harassment throughout the industry that began with Weinstein’s fall from grace three months ago seem to implicate a new Hollywood power player almost every day. Which is why it’ll be hard to watch all the Oscar campaigning this year — whether it’s serious talk about the merits of the competing movies or the gossipy discussion on the season’s red carpets — and not notice the dark shadow that the ongoing grotesqueness of the scandal casts over the glossy pageantry or the movies themselves. How is the industry supposed to honor its best and present itself as a place that rewards merit and achievement at a time when its dirtiest laundry is airing in public?

Sure, the awards voters and movie stars are going to try to acknowledge the elephant in the room. At the Golden Globes this Sunday, actresses will make a statement against sexism by forgoing colorful gowns and dressing in black. At the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Jan. 21 (days before the Oscar nominations are announced), all the presenters will be women. No doubt there will be critics who argue that such superficial gestures do little to make up for decades of industry-enabled harassment or to prevent similar misdeeds in the future. Still, it’s better than behaving like it’s business as usual and pretending that the industry is not in a state of upheaval.

But it’s also true that none of these protest gestures will address the imbalances that have led to the current slate of awards contenders. Despite the strides made last year, with the victory of “Moonlight” and the nominations and awards for a diverse array of artists after the long #OscarsSoWhite drought, Hollywood’s inclusiveness problems are far from solved. Already this season, awards tastemakers have been accused of giving short shrift to filmmakers like Dee Rees (the African-American woman who directed the acclaimed, Netflix-backed drama “Mudbound“), Kumail Nanjiani (co-writer and star of this summer’s indie hit “The Big Sick“), and Greta Gerwig (writer/director of the universally adored “Lady Bird“).

Jordan Peele may be overlooked for “Get Out,” one of 2017’s biggest hits and best-reviewed movies, though that may have more to do with Academy bias against horror than against biracial writer/directors. Same goes for superhero spectacle “Wonder Woman,” which, despite being a huge hit with a topical social conscience, will probably not get much Oscar love, more because of its genre than because a woman (Patty Jenkins) directed it.

The Best Picture race is shaping up to be a contest between traditional historical epics — namely, “Dunkirk,” “Darkest Hour,” and “The Post” — and more personal stories of marginalized people — “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” “The Shape of Water,” “Call Me by Your Name,” and “The Florida Project,” as well as “Mudbound,” “Big Sick,” “Lady Bird,” and “Get Out.” Last year’s “Moonlight” upset suggests a strong Academy fondness for the latter kind of movie, but this year, oddsmakers are favoring the lavish, studio-backed epics by brand-name directors (especially Christopher Nolan‘s “Dunkirk” and Steven Spielberg‘s “The Post”).

The acting categories are starting to look awfully monochromatic again, unless you think “Get Out” newcomer Daniel Kaluuya has a chance as Best Actor or that Best Supporting Actress has room for the likes of Mary J. Blige (“Mudbound”) and Hong Chau (“Downsizing“). Otherwise, the top acting categories may consist largely of familiar Oscar-season favorites, including Frances McDormand (“Three Billboards”), Saoirse Ronan (“Lady Bird”), Meryl Streep (“The Post”), Gary Oldman (“Darkest Hour”), Daniel Day-Lewis (“Phantom Thread“), and Tom Hanks (“The Post”).

In the end, maybe, it won’t all be so grim and petty. Great movies and performances will be celebrated, and frivolity and excess will continue to adorn the red carpets. And then Hollywood will get back to its usual business of putting out extravagant fantasy blockbusters while reserving a handful of movies for grown-ups for the end of the year.

But the Oscar stakes remain high because the fight continues to be about not just who gets to put a shiny trophy on their mantel, but which stories get to be told and who gets to tell them. The entire process, from who gets to make decisions in the studio boardrooms, to who gets to produce and write and direct and star, to who finally gets an Oscar in March, is now under unprecedented scrutiny. Half of Hollywood has gone from being routinely belittled and ignored to having its stories paid attention to and taken seriously.

If we’re lucky, the ultimate result will be a Hollywood that tells all kinds of stories, and a wide variety of people, not just one narrow demographic slice, will be able to look to movies for inspiration and see people who look like themselves treated on screen like they matter.

But the ride toward that Hollywood is going to be violently bumpy, and it leads right through March’s ceremony at the Dolby Theatre. Buckle up.

January 2, 2018
Barry Jenkins Adapting James Baldwin Novel As ‘Moonlight’ Follow-Up

Coasting on the high of the Oscar-winning “Moonlight,” director Barry Jenkins has selected his next project — an adaptation of James Baldwin’s novel “If Beale Street Could Talk.”

Variety reports that Jenkins is set to direct the film off his own screenplay, which he wrote in the same summer of 2013 as “Moonlight.” He is working with the Baldwin estate on this long-simmering passion project, which is expected to begin production this fall.

“If Beale Street Could Talk” is a love story centered on Fonny and Trish, who live in Harlem in the early ’70s. When Fonny is falsely imprisoned for rape, Trish has to work to set him free, all while expecting their first child.

“James Baldwin is a man of and ahead of his time; his interrogations of the American consciousness have remained relevant to this day,” Jenkins said.””To translate the power of Tish and Fonny’s love to the screen in Baldwin’s image is a dream I’ve long held dear. Working alongside the Baldwin Estate, I’m excited to finally make that dream come true.”

July 10, 2017
‘La La Land’ Honest Trailer Interrupts Itself to Become ‘Moonlight’ Honest Trailer

The 2017 Oscars’s accidental marriage of “La La Land” and “Moonlight” has birthed another amusing surprise: A joint Honest Trailer. History will forever associate the two Best Picture winners — one only by mistake, and the other only briefly on TV since there was no time left after the mistake — and Screen Junkies acknowledged that their new trailer will not help separate the films.

The Honest Trailer is labeled “La La Land” and skewers that musical for about 2 minutes and 45 seconds, before the voice-over interrupts:

“Guys, guys, I’m sorry. There’s been a huge mistake. ‘Moonlight,’ you guys are this week’s Honest Trailer. This is not a joke, guys. ‘Moonlight,’ THIS is your Honest Trailer. But all we have left is a ‘La La Land’ song…”

So they used a “La La Land” song to analyze “Moonlight.” Like the 2017 Oscars, it quickly covered the real winner (newly dubbed “Big Trouble in Little Chiron”) in the short period of time left after “La La Land” was accidentally given the spotlight.

Watch the trailer:Brilliant. Now they just need to do one for “Hidden Figures” that somehow works in “Fences” to cover that other 2017 Oscars title gaffe.

Want more stuff like this? Like us on Facebook.

May 2, 2017
‘Moonlight’ Oscar-winner Barry Jenkins to Write, Direct ‘Underground Railroad’ Amazon Series

Fresh off of winning an Oscar for “Moonlight,” Barry Jenkins is moving to the small screen.

Jenkins will write and direct a television adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s novel “The Underground Railroad” for Amazon. The project has been in development for some time, with “Moonlight” producers Plan B Entertainment on board, and Amazon won the sweepstakes.

“Going back to ‘The Intuitionist,’ Colson’s writing has always defied convention, and ‘The Underground Railroad’ is no different. It’s a groundbreaking work that pays respect to our nation’s history while using the form to explore it in a thoughtful and original way,” Jenkins said.

“Preserving the sweep and grandeur of a story like this requires bold, innovative thinking and in Amazon we’ve found a partner whose reverence for storytelling and freeness of form is wholly in line with our vision.”

“The Underground Railroad” is a bestselling novel that follows a young slave named Cora who makes a desperate attempt at freedom from a cotton plantation in Georgia. As she travels on the railroad, state by state, she’s pursued by a notorious slave catcher.

The real Underground Railroad is already the subject of a popular TV show, “Underground,” on WGN America.

Want more stuff like this? Like us on Facebook.

March 27, 2017