And yet, still, most pundits believe Questlove’s “Summer of Soul” is winning the Oscar. Why? Fine, the film has topical resonance, but it’s mostly composed of archival footage, plus the Academy voting body in the Doc category doesn’t always warm up to docs built around archival footage. Regardless, the 2022 IDA gave “Flee” a major boost last night. Questlove did win the Best Director award (what?) for a film that was more about its incredible found footage being seamlessly edited into a highly entertaining coherent whole....

Moreover, “beginning with the 94th Academy Awards (2021), the Best Picture category will be set at 10 nominees, rather than a fluctuating number of nominations from year to year. The Academy will also implement a quarterly viewing process through the Academy Screening Room, the streaming site for Academy members, also starting with the 94th Academy Awards. By making it possible for members to view films released year-round, the Academy will broaden each film’s exposure, level the playing field, and ensure all eligible films can be seen by voting members....

The film, written by Eric Roth, an Oscar winner for “Forrest Gump,” is based on a non-fiction book by David Grann. Grann’s book told the story of a murder mystery, set in 1920s Oklahoma, where Osage Indians suddenly began to get murdered, as did those trying to investigate. A corrupt FBI would eventually be tasked to investigate. Scorsese and DiCaprio already have another project in the works, “The Devil in the White City,” but ‘Flower Moon’ seems to be the film that Scorsese will follow-up “The Irishman” with....

As Schrader writes, Jeanne Dielman’ is an important film and one that should be seen by any serious moviegoer, but its sudden jump to the top feels artificial. You just have to look at the history of the poll to notice the blatant revisionism in this one. Most films take decades to climb up. ‘Dielman’ skyrocketed. Schrader calls it a “politically correct rejiggering” and “woke reappraisal.” He’ll get some flack for this, but I don’t think he really cares....

All of this to say that Denzel, a guy that was banking on Scott for two decades with his action movie choices, no longer had that reliable director to work with. Whether you liked their work or not, it was unique and very much of a product its own creative voice. Denzel attempts to replace Scott with Antoine Fuqua, a director very much influenced by Scott’s kinetic editing style, have misfired....

The decision to remake “Papillon” in this day and age is a rather odd one, especially given the fact that a) these sort of prison escape flicks are a dime a dozen and are steeped in common genre clichés, and b) well, the original “Papillon” wasn’t that great. Nevertheless, here we are with a remake of the popular 1973 film in our hands. Replacing McQueen and Hoffman as the two dehumanized prisoners brought down to their very last breath of hope in a remote colonial French prison, are Charlie Hunnam and Rami Malek....

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Now, we know that ‘Jedi’ and ‘Solo’ had problematic box-office numbers, and that Disney head Bob Iger has confirmed they are ‘slowing’ down the process of releasing more movies post-Episode IX, so what is Johnson to do in the meantime? How about make an original film. His upcoming movie, the murder-mystery “Knives Out,” sounds incredibly promising and is gathering an impressive cast. Recently added to the mix [via Variety ] is Michael Shannon who will be joining the previously-cast Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, and Lakeith Stanfield....

“Gladiator 2” will start production in May of 2023. That’s a little more than 5 months from now, which is also when Scott’s “Napoleon” is rumored to be released in theaters. The Gladiator sequel will be directed by Scott and shot via the lens of DP Dariusz Wolski. The sequel will follow Lucius (son of Lucilla and the nephew of Joaquin Phoenix’s villainous Commodus). If you remember, Maximus saved Lucius from his uncle in the 2000 film....

“I will blow whoever manages to punch that MAGA kid in the face,” tweeted Beattie on Friday. Beattie’s Twitter bio reads, “writer. comedy person. I hate your ex boyfriend. Sorry I meant mine. I have big tits.” Her Instagram page is labelled as “tits and depression,” and is curiously very much centered on her aforementioned cleavage. And to think that #MeToo was all about freeing women from having to use sex to get what they want from men....

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The studio announced this evening that Spielberg’s autobiographical film will open exclusively in L.A. and NY on Friday, November 11. That’s smack dab in the middle of Oscar and Holiday season. This autobiographical film will have Spielberg recounting his childhood in Arizona, including his sneaking into studio lots to meet his idols (the rumor is that David Lynch will be playing an eye-patched John Ford). Michelle Williams and Paul Dano will also be playing Spielberg’s parents....

The genre has been a defining influence on Spielberg, you can see it all over “The Fabelmans,” but it is strange how he’s never really made one. The closest he’s come is probably 1989’s “The Last Crusade,” which definitely had elements of the Western but didn’t fully embrace the genre. Spielberg doesn’t really have anything coming up post-“Fabelmans,” so maybe he’ll dip his hands into the Western next. Who knows....

Instead, here are excerpts from my reviews from The Playlist of Steven Spielberg’s “Ready Player One,” [Full Review] and John Krasinski’s “A Quiet Place,” [Full Review] both graded a “B” from yours truly: “Ready Player One” “Ready Player One,” Steven Spielberg’s dizzying foray into ’80s pop culture fandom, is a return of sorts to the pure pop escapism that pervaded his filmography in the late ’70s and early ’80s, with such films as “Jaws,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “E....

I’m hearing rumors that Timothee Chalamet and Sandler might star on an as-of-now unannounced new Safdies film. An early Spring production is currently being aimed. A24 is said to not be producing this time around. Sandler confirmed earlier this year that he was “going to do another movie with the Safdie brothers,” but did not divulge any specific details about the upcoming project. “They’re working hard on it,” Sandler told Entertainment Weekly....

Having spoken to more than a few stuntmen over the years, it’s all about the rush. Once you start doing it, it’s very hard to stop. Much props to Cruise, I don’t think anyone else in Hollywood goes to these extremes. With all that being said, Deadline’s Mike Fleming Jr. had earlier reported that Cruise and Elon Musk’s Space X were working alongside NASA in what would be the first-ever narrative feature film shot in outer space....

Zaia also mentioned that there would be fewer entries at this year’s fest due to the COVID-19 pandemic continuing on. Evidently, organizers — who were expected to take a decision in late May — seem to be confident enough that by September the fest will be able to go ahead as planned. As previously reported, this 77th edition of the festival will be a much smaller affair with sanitation guidelines such as mask-wearing, hand-washing, and social distancing set to be implemented....

Jury president Julianne Moore was seen visibly moved after the “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” screening last Friday. She is also said to be a big fan of “Saint Omer.” Speaking of Diop’s film, it screened today to positive reviews. It is part of the New York Film Festival’s prestigious main slate and is also set to screen this week at TIFF. Back in April, I reported that Cannes waited too long to make a decision on Diop’s film, which led to the filmmaker ultimately deciding to accept Venice’s invitation....

Blogger Michael Patterson, who has had his Telluride spitballing blog for the better part of a decade, is absolutely on the beat when it comes to the Colorado-set Festival. In fact, his whole blog revolves around a yearly spitball of what might play at Telluride. He’s posted his first of what will likely be a weekly batch of predictions. The “Ten Bets” as of 06.22.22 according to him are: Bardo, White Noise, Women Talking, The Son,The Master Gardener, TAR, The Wonde, The Pale Blue Eye, She Said and Bones and All....