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Exclusive: Atlanta-based talent agency People Store has rebranded as Formation Talent Agency, brining in veteran agent Lauren Williams to serve as Senior Vice President of Talent amidst this evolution.

Said agency President Rick Estimond on the rebrand, “The word ‘formation’ really captures the essence of what we stand for. On one hand, it’s about the act of forming something—something we’ve been doing for over 40 years, shaping the careers of countless actors. But it also speaks to alignment and strategy—how you position yourself to achieve a goal. And perhaps most importantly, ‘formation’ suggests that the process is ongoing.”

Estimond noted that a career in entertainment is “never fully formed,” but rather “always evolving, always in formation.” This, he said, is “how we see our work—being intentional and strategic every step of the way to help our clients reach their full potential as their careers grow and change.

One week after her Golden Globes triumph for I’m Still Here, Fernanda Torres is now expected to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Actress, according to Gold Derby‘s 2025 Oscars predictions. The Brazilian actress, whose mother, Fernanda Montenegro, earned a Best Actress Oscar bid of her own for Central Station (1998), has climbed into our top five for the first time this awards season. I’m Still Here is a political thriller directed by Walter Salles that serves as Brazil’s entry in the Best International Feature contest.

More newcomers expected to receive Oscar nominations since the last update include Edward Norton (A Complete Unknown) in Best Supporting Actor, A Complete Unknown in Best Adapted Screenplay, Better Man in Best Visual Effects, and Kneecap in Best International Film.

Below, see a snapshot in time of our odds for the 97th Academy Awards in all 23 categories, updated on Jan. 13, 2025. See how the rankings...

Behind every great man, as the old, outdated expression goes, there’s a great woman — and there’s a pretty decent chance she’s been played by Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor.

The 55-year-old actress has built a long, inspiring career out of portraying characters who linger just off center stage: the long-suffering wife of Cuba Gooding Jr.’s Navy Seal in 2000’s Men of Honor; Ray Charles’ mistress in Jamie Foxx’s 2004 biopic Ray; Yusef Salaam’s mother in 2019’s When They See Us (her first Emmy nomination); and Venus and Serena Williams’ mom in the 2021 Will Smith film about their dad, King Richard (her first Oscar nom).

“If we only know the figurehead and we don’t know the women who were doing the groundwork, it’s not the full truth,” she tells THR. “We’d be telling a half story.”

She fills in the other half once again in the just-released Nickel Boys,...

Nickel Boys is the film of 2024. It’s expansive yet accessible. It’s violent yet pierced with seconds of warmth. It’s an adaptation that expands Colson Whitehead’s novel, a visual experience that hedges on the audience’s openness, on a person’s willingness to see the world in another form. In director RaMell Ross’s own words, “It’s not intimate. It’s close.”

Shot with a first-person perspective, Ross’ first narrative feature––following his Oscar-nominated debut documentary Hale County This Morning, This Evening––follows two Black teenagers as they survive the Nickel Academy, an abusive reform school in Florida. Elwood (Ethan Herisse) and Turner (Brandon Wilson) provide the eyes for this film, which often feels like a collection of moments in one’s life, from an orange rolling out of reach to the trees swaying above, from a hug from your grandmother to the first glimpse of...

The SAG Awards’ 2025 nominations have not made an already up-in-the-air Oscar race much clearer.

While there was much anticipation that “Wicked” would fare well with the voting body composed of Screen Actors Guild members, star Jonathan Bailey being nominated for Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture is not something that was on too many people’s radars.

Even more of a curveball are the nominations for “The Last Showgirl” stars Pamela Anderson and Jamie Lee Curtis, even if hindsight being 20/20, it has been evident how well liked the pair are by their peers. Remember, the SAG Awards are what teed up Curtis to win her Oscar for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” in what was a close race between her, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” star Angela Bassett, and “The Banshees of Inisherin” breakout Kerry Condon.

All of this is to say, while the rest of the...

“Wicked” and “Shōgun” received the most nominations for the 31st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, which were released Wednesday morning via press release after the in-person announcement was canceled due to the Los Angeles fires.

In the movie categories, “Wicked” scored nods for lead actress Cynthia Erivo, supporting actress Ariana Grande, supporting actor Jonathan Bailey, cast ensemble and stunt ensemble. Close behind was “A Complete Unknown,” with nominations for lead Timothée Chalamet, supporting actor Edward Norton, supporting actress Monica Barbaro and cast ensemble.

Recent Golden Globe winner Demi Moore strengthened her chances at an Oscar nomination with her lead performance nod Wednesday morning for “The Substance.” Pamela Anderson followed up her Golden Globe nomination with another surprise one for her lead performance in “The Last Showgirl.” In that highly competitive best actress category, notable snubs included Angelina Jolie (“Maria”), Marianne Jean-Baptiste (“Hard Truths”), Nicole Kidman (“Babygirl”) and Golden Globe winner...

Elisabeth and Sue are “one” in The Substance, so it only makes sense that both of their portrayers, Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, would receive equal treatment at the Oscars.

Moore crept into Gold Derby’s Oscar nominations predictions for Best Actress just over a week ago, and she officially fired up that race with a Golden Globe triumph on Jan. 5. She thanked Qualley in her acceptance speech “for being the other half of me that I couldn’t have done without” (watch below). Now it’s Qualley’s time to start thinking of a speech. She just leapt into our Best Supporting Actress Oscar lineup, where her 10/1 odds currently place her in fifth behind Globe winner Zoe Saldaña (Emilia Pérez) at 10/3, Ariana Grande (Wicked) at 4/1, Isabella Rossellini (Conclave) at 5/1, and Felicity Jones (The Brutalist) at 11/2.

Coralie Fargeat‘s body-horror flick arrived rather late to the Oscar contest, only appearing...

Talk about a surprise. When Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (who has been acting professionally since her debut as Ariel in 1995’s Broadway revival of “The Tempest” opposite Patrick Stewart) arrived on the Louisiana set of “Nickel Boys” (Amazon/MGM/Orion), her documentarian-turned-feature-director RaMell Ross told her to do something she had never done before: Look straight into the lens, without a reverse angle on her co-star. She couldn’t see her fellow actors because their faces were obscured by the camera, just as their faces were hidden from the audience.

Watching the lauded critical hit “Nickel Boys” requires an adjustment to a strict point-of-view aesthetic. But Taylor-Ellis had to make it work on the ground, on the fly. The tightly scheduled period feature (budgeted at $20 million) left little time to figure it out.

Reactions range widely to this avant-garde Colson Whitehead adaptation about a brutal southern school for boys, but among the “Nickel Boys” ensemble,...

Netflix’s The Piano Lesson scooped up a whopping 14 nominations to lead the way for the 56th NAACP Image Awards announced Tuesday, with Peacock’s limited series Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist topping the TV categories with nine bids. The five luminaries competing for the coveted Entertainer of the Year honor are Cynthia Erivo, Keke Palmer, Kendrick Lamar, Kevin Hart, and sports-talk host Shannon Sharpe.

Based on August Wilson’s play, The Piano Lesson’s nominations include honors for Outstanding Motion Picture, director (Malcolm Washington) and actors John David Washington, Corey Hawkins, Samuel L. Jackson, and Danielle Deadwyler. In the top movied category, it’s joined by Bad Boys: Ride or Die, Bob Marley: One Love, Wicked, and The Six Triple Eight. Nominated for Best Independent Film are Albany Road, Exhibiting Forgiveness, Rob Peace, Sing Sing, and We Grown Now.

The nominees for Best International Film include El lugar de la otra,...

Back in November, we here at JoBlo received a pretty intriguing invitation. We were invited to Los Angeles to get an early look at Nickel Boys, a film based on the novel by Colson Whitehead. Directed by RaMell Ross, the movie’s gotten a ton of Oscar buzz, both for its director and the movie’s stars, Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor. In it, Herisse and Wilson play Elwood and Turner, two young men sentenced to a reformatory in the Jim Crow-era South. Once there, they realize there’s a good chance they won’t live through their respective sentences, with the punishment inflicted on them far outweighing the petty crimes they’re supposed to have committed.

It’s undoubtedly one of the boldest movies of the year, with it shot entirely in a first-person point of view, where the camera literally takes the place of Herisse and...

The NAACP Image Award nominations have been revealed — with “Wicked” star Cynthia Erivo, multi-hyphenate Keke Palmer, rapper Kendrick Lamar, comedian Kevin Hart and NFL hall of famer-turned-broadcaster Shannon Sharpe competing for Entertainer of the Year.

The winner of the prestigious award will be announced on Feb. 22 during the two-hour live broadcast of the 56th NAACP Image Awards from the Pasadena Civic Center, airing on BET and CBS. The theme for this year’s show is, “Our Stories, Our Culture, Our Excellence.” A host is yet to be announced, though Queen Latifah emceed the previous two ceremonies.

“The Piano Lesson” leads the motion picture categories with 14 nominations, including recognition for director Malcolm Washington and stars John David Washington, Danielle Deadwyler, Samuel L. Jackson, Corey Hawkins and Skylar Aleece Smith. The Netflix movie was nominated for outstanding motion picture, alongside Sony’s “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” Paramount’s “Bob Marley: One Love,...

Cynthia Erivo, Keke Palmer, Kendrick Lamar, Kevin Hart and Shannon Sharpe have been nominated for Entertainer of the Year at the 56th NAACP Image Awards, the NAACP announced on Tuesday.

The NAACP announced nominees in 91 categories in the fields of film, television and streaming, recording, documentary, writing, directing, literary, podcast, stunts and costume design, makeup and hairstyling.

The August Wilson adaptation “The Piano Lesson” led all films with 14 nominations, more than double the total for runner-ups “The Book of Clarence,” “Nickel Boys,” “Exhibiting Forgiveness” and “Bob Marley: One Love,” which received six if you count the nominations for “Clarence” and “Bob Marley” in the music categories.

“Piano Lesson” nominees included director Malcolm Washington, recognized in two categories, as well as cast members John David Washington, Corey Hawkins, Samuel L. Jackson, Danielle Deadwyler and Skylar Aleece Smith.

Malcolm and John David Washington’s father, Denzel Washington, made it a true family...

Nominations for the 56th NAACP Image Awards were announced Tuesday, with Ayo Edebiri reigning supreme as the year’s most-nominated TV performer.

Edebiri earned four total nominations, three for her work on FX’s The Bear and another for her memorable hosting debut on NBC’s Saturday Night Live.

More from TVLineNAACP Image Award Nominations: Abbott Elementary Once Again Comes Out on TopNAACP Image Award Nominations: Abbott Elementary Leads the TV PackNAACP Image Awards 2022: Insecure, black-ish and Power Book II: Ghost Are Among TV's Big Winners

The most-nominated TV series overall is ABC’s Abbott Elementary with 10 nominations, including...

The 2025 NAACP Image Awards nominations have been revealed, with The Piano Lesson, the Malcolm Washington-directed film adaptation of August Wilson’s play starring Danielle Deadwyler and John David Washington, up for 14 nominations, the most of any film this year.

Other top film nominees include six-time contenders Bob Marley: One Love and The Book of Clarence and five-time nominees Wicked, The Six Triple Eight and Nickel Boys. In addition to Wicked‘s nods, star Cynthia Erivo is also up for the Image Awards’ top prize of entertainer of the year.

For entertainer of the year, Erivo faces off against Keke Palmer, Kendrick Lamar, Kevin Hart and Shannon Sharpe, with the latter’s Club Shay Shay podcast also landing a nod for outstanding culture and society podcast.

For best motion picture, The Piano Lesson, Bob Marley, Wicked and The Six Triple Eight face off against Bad Boys: Ride or Die.

In the TV categories,...

Netflix’s The Piano Lesson tuned up a leading 14 nominations for the 56th annual NAACP Image Awards, which were revealed this morning. TriStar’s The Book of Clarence is next with six noms, and Peacock’s Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist topped TV programs with nine mentions.

Netflix leads all networks and distributors with 64 nominations. See the full list below.

“Our Stories, Our Culture, Our Excellence” is the theme of the 2025 Image Awards, which span film, TV, music, literature, podcasts, social media and more. Winners will be revealed February 21 at the NAACP Image Awards Creative Honors ceremonies and February 22 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. The latter will air on BET and CBS, live in the East starting at 8 p.m. Et and delayed at in the West at 8 p.m. Pt.

Based on August Wilson’s play, The Piano Lesson scooped noms including Outstanding Motion Picture, Director for Malcolm Washington and multiple actors.

Sunday’s Golden Globes sent shockwaves through Hollywood, as presumed Oscar favorites like Anora and The Wild Robot were shut out, while underdog performers like Demi Moore (The Substance), Fernanda Torres (I’m Still Here), and Sebastian Stan (A Different Man) all claimed statuettes.

Now that the dust has settled, The Brutalist, Brady Corbet‘s period drama about the American dream, has jumped into the No. 1 spot in Gold Derby’s 2025 Oscars predictions for Best Picture, replacing Anora, Sean Baker‘s manic comedy about a Brooklyn sex worker.

Newcomers expected to receive a nomination since the last update: A Complete Unknown in Best Picture, Margaret Qualley (The Substance) in Best Supporting Actress, Conclave in Best Cinematography, and Nosferatu in Best Makeup & Hairstyling.

Below, see a snapshot in time of our odds for the 97th Academy Awards in all 23 categories, updated on Jan. 6, 2025. See how the rankings have changed over time by...

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Mayfair Witches is a supernatural gothic horror thriller drama series created by Michelle Ashford and Esta Spalding. Based on the Lives of the Mayfair Witches books by Anne Rice, the AMC series follows neurosurgeon Dr Rowan Fielding as she discovers that she comes from a long line of powerful witches who are haunted because of a sinister past. Mayfair Witches stars Alexandra Daddario, Tongayi Chirisa, Jack Huston, Harry Hamlin, Ben Feldman, and Alyssa Jirrels. So, if you loved the gothic horror, thrilling dark fantasy elements, and compelling characters in Mayfair Witches, here are some similar shows you should check out next.

A Discovery of Witches Credit – Sky Max

A Discovery of Witches is a fantasy romance drama series created by Deborah Harkness. Based on Harkness’ All Souls Trilogy, the Sky One series follows Diana Bishop, a historian who...

Nickel Boys was named best picture in the 59th National Society Of Film Critics vote on Saturday, while Payal Kapadia earned the best director award for her Indian drama All We Imagine As Light.

In the acting categories Marianne Jean-Baptiste from Hard Truths and Colman Domingo from Sing Sing took lead acting honours, with Michele Austin from Hard Truths and Kieran Culkin from A Real Pain earning supporting actor recognition. A Real Pain struck a second time as Jesse Eisenberg took the screenplay prize.

Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light was named Best Film Not In The English Language...

At its 59th annual meeting on Saturday, the National Society of Film Critics named “Nickel Boys” the Best Picture of 2024. The award reflects the wide range of independent films released this year.

RaMell Ross directed “Nickel Boys,” which also won an award for Best Cinematography, given to Jomo Fray. Congratulations to Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor for her outstanding performance as a supporting actor and the film’s director for winning second place.

He got the award for Best Actor for his part in “Sing Sing.” “Hard Truths” also had two important wins: Marianne Jean-Baptiste won Best Actress, and Michele Austin won Best Supporting Actress.

Kieran Culkin’s award season continued with his win for Best Supporting Actor in “A Real Pain.” Jesse Eisenberg, who wrote and directed the movie, also received the award for Best Screenplay.

It was a big deal that Payal Kapadia’s movie “All We Imagine as Light...

Having started his career in the theater, Mike Leigh knows to put a lot of trust in his actors. Unlike most auteurs who begin the process of building a new project by writing a script, Leigh prefers to come in with as little of an idea as possible and work with his cast to establish the story they’re going to tell together. Marianne Jean-Baptiste first got a taste of this experience working with Leigh on his London stage play “It’s a Great Big Shame” in 1993 and earned an Oscar nomination in 1997 for her portrayal of Hortense in his Palme d’Or winning film “Secrets & Lies.”

The collaborators have reunited for the upcoming drama “Hard Truths,” which is earning Jean-Baptiste some much deserved awards buzz, as well as the appreciation of fellow actress Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, also in contention for RaMell Ross’ “Nickel Boys.” Speaking to one another for TheWrap’s longform series “Visionaries,...

The National Society of Film Critics anointed Nickel Boys as the best film of the year on Saturday, adding some needed luster to a movie that is considered to be on the Oscar bubble.

Based on Colson Whitehead‘s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Nickel Boys tells the story of two teenage boys who struggle to survive at a violent, oppressive reform school in Florida. It has been feted by critics all season, scoring 90 on Metacritic and 87 percent freshness on Rotten Tomatoes. It was also named one of the top 10 movies of the year by the American Film Institute and earned Best Picture noms from the Critics Choice Awards and Golden Globes, but this is the highest-profile Best Picture win for the film so far from a critics group. However, according to Gold Derby’s latest odds, it is currently predicted not to make the Best Picture field when Oscar nominations are announced in two weeks.

Because the Golden Globes shouldn’t have all the fun the first weekend of the new year, the National Society of Film Critics presented its annual film awards this Saturday, with critics gathering in New York and Los Angeles to vote on 2024’s best movies and performances.

This year’s 59th annual award for Best Picture was presented to RaMell Ross’ “Nickel Boys,” with Sean Baker’s “Anora” and Payal Kapadia’s “All We Imagine As Light” serving as runners-up. Kapadia also managed to score Best Director, with Ross and Baker serving as runners-up in that category, as well as Best Foreign-Language Film.

Another highlight from this year’s crop of awards recipients is Marianne Jean-Baptiste’s win for Best Actress, making her one of five actresses to earn the critics association trifecta, the others being Imelda Staunton (“Vera Drake”), Sally Hawkins (“Happy-Go-Lucky”), Cate Blanchett (“Tar” and “Blue Jasmine”), and...

Voting for the National Society of Film Critics is now complete and films like “Nickel Boys” and “A Real Pain” took home top honors.

Nsfc was founded in 1966 and is comprised of over 60 critics hailing from outlets nationally. These journalists mark their annual voting selections for categories such as best picture, director, actor, actress, supporting actor and actress, screenplay and cinematography.

Voting is processed through a weighted ballot system which has critics vote for their top 3 picks. The nominee that garners the most points and is listed on the most ballots wins. The voting process only proceeds to a second round if necessary and voting continues for as long as required until a nominee receives the majority of votes.

“Nickel Boys” took home the Best Picture prize with “Anora” and “All We Imagine Is Light” as runner-ups. For A24’s “Sing Sing,” Colman Domingo earned the Best Actor award alongside...

One year shy of its diamond anniversary, the National Society of Film Critics has announced its winners.

On Saturday, the Nsfc held its 59th voting meeting in which they awarded Nickel Boys the Best Film of 2024, with acting honors for Colman Domingo, Kieran Culkin, Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Michele Austin, as well Best Director for All We Imagine as Light‘s Payal Kapadia and Best Screenplay for A Real Pain‘s Jesse Eisenberg.

The organization also bestowed awards to Sing Sing, Hard Truths and No Other Land. Anora, Conclave, The Brutalist, His Three Daughters, Nosferatu, A Complete Unknown and A Different Man were among the runners-up.

Founded in 1966, the Nsfc consists of more than 60 members from major publications, using a weighted ballot system to determine its annual winners.

See the National Society of Film Critics’ full list of winners below.

Best Picture

Nickel Boys

Runners-up: Anora, All We Imagine as Light

Best Director

Payal Kapadia,...

“Nickel Boys,” the Colson Whitehead adaptation from director RaMell Ross, won best film from the prestigious National Society of Film Critics on Saturday. Jomo Fray’s cinematography was also honored by the organization.

The drama of two young men incarcerated at an inhumane school for boys in Florida, filmed almost entirely in first person, comfortably won the top award over runners-up “Anora” and “All We Imagine as Light.”

“All We Imagine as Light” picked up the best director prize for Payal Kapadia, who emerged victorious over RaMell Ross and “Anora” filmmaker Sean Baker, and also won the prize for best film not in the English language.

Marianne Jean-Baptiste took the best actress prize with a commanding ballot lead over her competition. The Brit won for her role as an irascible Londoner in Mike Leigh’s “Hard Truths,” completing her trifecta of critics awards (after victories from New York and Los...

The National Society of Film Critics has named Nickel Boys its best picture of 2024.

The film also received runner-up recognition for Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as the best supporting actress, RaMell Ross as best director and received the award for best cinematography.

Colman Domingo took home the prize for best actor for his role in Sing Sing, while Hard Truths star Marianne Jean-Baptiste won best actress. Fellow Hard Truths star Michele Austin was recognized in the best supporting actress category, and Kieran Culkin received the award for best supporting actor for A Real Pain. The film, written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg, also won best screenplay.

The best director prize went to Payal Kapadia for All We Imagine As Light, which was also recognized as the best film not in English.

The Nsfc was founded in 1966 and is made up of more than 60 critics from outlets across the country. They vote on their selections for best picture,...

Emilia Pérez and Conclave led the British Academy of Film and Television Arts longlist selections on Friday, the first step toward securing BAFTA Awards nominations when the list of official 2025 award contenders is revealed on Jan. 15.

Netflix’s top contender Emilia Pérez landed on 15 longlists — tying a record set by Netflix’s All Quiet on the Western Front two years ago and Oppenheimer, Killers of the Flower Moon, and Barbie last year. Among its mentions were Best Film, Best Film Not in English Language, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for Jacques Audiard, and four longlist nods for its quartet of actresses — with Karla Sofia Gascon hitting the lead actress longlist and co-stars Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, and Adriana Paz all appearing on the supporting actress longlist. The four actresses shared the Best Actress honors at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, where Emilia Pérez made its debut.

Conclave was second with 14 longlist mentions,...

Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series spotlighting the scripts behind awards season’s buzziest film continues with Nickel Boys, the feature directing debut of Oscar-nominated Hale County This Morning, This Evening filmmaker RaMell Ross, who with longtime collaborator Joslyn Barnes adapted Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer-wining 2019 novel.

Orion Pictures and Amazon MGM Studios debuted the film at the Telluride Film Festival at the end of summer and its has been racking up awards recognition ever since, including Best Picture nominations from the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, Independent Spirit Awards and the Gotham Awards, where Ross won Best Director and co-star Brandon Wilson won Breakthrough Performer.

Ross and Barnes’ adapted screenplay has also been nominated for several honors especially among critics groups this season, as has Jomo Fray’s cinematography, which has drawn raves for its use of an unconventional Pov that, according to Ross, is designed to make the viewer a character.

Chicago – America’s “Jim Crow” era … the systemic period of white supremacy by legal means against black Americans … continues to yield horror stories of institutional inhumanity. One such story is in a new film, based on a popular novel, entitled “Nickel Boys, which is co-adapted and directed by RaMell Ross.

‘Nickel Boys,’ Directed by RaMell Ross (inset)

Photo credit: Amazon MGM Studios

Rating: 3.5/5.0

Based on the novel by Colson Whitehead, “Nickel Boys” takes place in 1962 during Jim Crow in Florida, as a teenage black male named Elwood (Ethan Herisse) is falsely accused by authorities as being an accomplice to stealing a car. He is sent to a segregated reform school called Nickel Academy … a fictionalized version of the real Florida Dozier School for Boys. While there, he forms a close friendship with a boy named Turner (Brandon Wilson) as they try to survive the abuse by the school and its corrupt administrators.

Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor have never worked together before, but the two bonded like old friends in the latest installment of TheWrap’s longform series Visionaries, in which they spoke about their awards-contending films “Hard Truths” and “Nickel Boys,” why they find it hard to watch their own work and got candid about what it was really like making two films that pushed the boundaries of narrative filmmaking.

Jean-Baptiste reunited with filmmaker Mike Leigh on “Hard Truths” after starring in his 1996 Oscar-nominated film “Secrets & Lies.” In “Hard Truths,” Jean-Baptiste plays Pansy, a depressed woman struggling through her various interpersonal relationships. But the origin of the project, and Jean-Baptiste’s involvement, was anything but traditional – as it the case with most Mike Leigh films.

“He’s not interested in anything that’s performative or anything that isn’t real. He really is trying to create characters that people recognize from life,...

RaMell Ross has something to say. With his latest film, “Nickel Boys,” the co-writer and director solidifies his reputation as one of contemporary cinema’s most daring storytellers. Adapted from Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, the film unearths the haunting realities of a fictionalized reform school, blending visceral storytelling with an experimental approach that has captured the attention of cinephiles.

Known for his Academy Award-nominated documentary “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” Ross’ unique lens, challenges the conventions of how stories about Black lives are told — and received. In a candid conversation on the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, Ross reflects on the symbolism in “Nickel Boys,” the film industry’s treatment of Black stories, his dream collaborators, and the surprising possibility of working on a Marvel movie.

Listen below:

Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, “Nickel Boys” (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Courtesy Everett Collection)

Ross describes “Nickel Boys,” which had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival,...

With Oscar nominations less than three weeks away, Anora remains the film to beat.

The Sean Baker-helmed film, which stars Mikey Madison as a sex worker whose quickie marriage to the slacker son of a Russian oligarch goes horribly awry, has spent 17 weeks at No. 1 in Gold Derby’s Best Picture rankings with 7/1 odds, while The Brutalist and Conclave are tied at 15/2 odds in the runner-up position. Additionally, Baker is second in the Best Director odds (4/1), behind The Brutalist helmer Brady Corbet (18/5), while Madison (17/5) continues in the top slot for Best Actress.

Below, see a snapshot in time of our odds for the 97th Academy Awards in all 23 categories, updated on Dec. 30, 2024 — that’s one week before the Golden Globes ceremony airs on CBS. See how the rankings have changed over time by examining our previous Oscar snapshots on July 3, July 9, July 16, July 23, July 29, Aug. 6, Aug. 19, Aug. 28, Sept. 11, Sept.

With a role in the Oscar-tipped reform school drama, the actor continues to pick parts that align with her activism. She recalls how the resilience of her grandmother – and the racism faced by her grandfather – has shaped her

There is a scene in Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor’s new film in which she gives a hug unlike any other hug you’ll see on screen. The film is Nickel Boys, an adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s 2019 novel based on the real-life horror of Florida’s Dozier School for Boys, with Ellis-Taylor playing Hattie, the grandmother of Elwood (Ethan Herisse), a boy incarcerated there. In the scene, she is prevented from visiting her much-missed grandson, but encounters a friend of his (Brandon Wilson), who becomes a kind of emotional proxy.

What makes this hug so special, though, is not just the intensity of the human moment, but the way it exemplifies the power of the first-person perspective,...

What To Watch This Weekend (Dec 23–29) (Photo Credit – Instagram)

It’s Christmas week, and we’ve handpicked some great films for you to enjoy. On the theatrical front, there are three exciting selections: Malayalam superstar Mohanlal’s directorial debut, Then a remake of a Tamil film, and a Kannada police drama.

For Ott lovers, a festive treat awaits with a Christmas special from a beloved British TV series, on Disney Plus Hotstar. Netflix also joins the celebration with the much-anticipated second season of a popular South Korean series centered around games.

Discover more about these titles and other recommendations by scrolling down. From all of us at Koimoi, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a joyous holiday season.

Prime Video

Singham Again (Hindi) – Rent for Inr 199

Written and directed by Rohit Shetty, this action-packed crime drama stars Ajay Devgn, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Arjun Kapoor, Deepika Padukone,...

Who would hear their names called if the 2025 Oscars nominations were announced today? Since our predictions center opened on July 1, 2024, more than 7,200 people have now made their forecasts. Now expected to receive a nomination since the last update: Nosferatu in Best Cinematography, according to the most recent Gold Derby Oscar predictions. Also of note, Conclave‘s Isabella Rossellini has jumped up to third place in Best Supporting Actress for playing Sister Agnes in the religious thriller. This would be her first career Oscar bid.

Below, see a snapshot in time of our odds for the 97th Academy Awards in all 23 categories, updated on Dec. 23, 2024 — that’s one week after the shortlists were unveiled. See how the odds and rankings have changed over time by examining our previous Oscar snapshots on July 3, July 9, July 16, July 23, July 29, Aug. 6, Aug. 19, Aug. 28, Sept. 11, Sept. 19, Sept. 23, Sept. 30, Oct. 7, Oct. 14, Oct. 22, Oct. 28, Nov. 4, Nov. 11, Nov. 18,, Nov.

On Sunday December 22 2024, CBS broadcasts Made in Hollywood!

Mufasa: The Lion King, Nickel Boys, Jentry Chau vs the Underworld Season 20 Episode 16 Episode Summary

The upcoming episode of “Made in Hollywood” promises to deliver an exciting lineup of talent and a glimpse behind the scenes of some highly anticipated projects. Titled “Mufasa: The Lion King, Nickel Boys, Jentry Chau vs the Underworld,” this episode features a mix of stars from both film and television. Viewers will get to hear from Aaron Pierre, Seth Rogen, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Brian Tyree Henry, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Kelvin Harrison Jr., and Ali Wong as they share insights into their latest roles and projects.

In this episode, the focus will be on “Mufasa: The Lion King,” the prequel to Disney’s popular live-action remake. With voices from Aaron Pierre, Seth Rogen, and Kelvin Harrison Jr., the film brings new layers to the beloved story of Mufasa’s early life.

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor doesn’t watch herself on screen unless she has to. She has not seen many of her celebrated performances. You could share with her that her latest endeavor, RaMell Ross’ “The Nickel Boys,” is one of the best-reviewed films of the year, and she’d laugh and respond, “I don’t believe nothing.” Following numerous year-end accolades, we hope she believes now.

Read More: “Nickel Boys”: RaMell Ross on the challenge of the first person perspective

Adapted from Colson Witehead‘s novel, “Nickel Boys” finds Ellis-Taylor portraying Hattie, a single mother doing her best to raise her grandson, Elwood (Ethan Herisse), in the waning days of the Jim Crow era South.

Continue reading Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor On A “New Game” With ‘Nickel Boys’ & Not Believing The Critical Hype at The Playlist.

On the afternoon of Dec. 8, while the Los Angeles Film Critics Association was voting for its 2024 winners and announcing the results category-by-category on social media, TheWrap received an email from a movie producer saying that we should write a story about how nongendered acting categories are hurting actresses.

It gave me pause, and the writer’s point seemed to make sense a few minutes later when Lafca revealed that its honorees for the best supporting performance were four men: Yura Borisov for “Anora” and Kieran Culkin for “A Real Pain” were the two winners, while the runners-up spots went to Clarence Maclin for “Sing Sing” and Adam Pearson for “A Different Man.”

No Zoe Saldaña for “Emilia Pérez,” no Isabella Rossellini for “Conclave,” no Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor for “Nickel Boys,” no Saoirse Ronan for “Blitz” …

In its third year of nongendered categories, the critics had voted in men and left out...

Jomo Fray can pinpoint the day when the bold idea of “first-person perspective” truly clicked.

The Brooklyn-based cinematographer and his director, RaMell Ross, had spent months discussing, studying, and experimenting for the filming of “Nickel Boys.” Based on Colson Whitehead’s novel, the movie is shot almost entirely through the eyes of its main characters, Elwood and Turner (played by Ethan Herisse and Brandon Wilson), two young Black men at an inhumane reform school in Florida.

The eureka moment came during a scene when Elwood’s grandmother (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) visits the school to deliver bad news to her grandson. “I was the camera operator for that scene,” said Fray. “And as she was building up the courage to tell Elwood something devastating, I looked away. I find it very difficult to look a person in the eyes when I know they’re telling me something that’s difficult for them.

When actors Ethan Herisse and Brandon Wilson were getting ready to film “Nickel Boys,” they had no hesitation getting onboard with director RaMell Ross’s vision of telling the story through their characters’ literal point of view, the only slight concern in the back of their minds was “I hope my friends and family don’t hear this and are like, ‘Oh, wait, so you’re not in the movie?’,” said Herisse over breakfast in the corner of a restaurant within a West Hollywood hotel.

Wilson’s mother’s reaction was more explicitly concerned, with the actor having done a found footage film not too long before “Nickel Boys” where “I was very much the cameraman for a lot of it,” he said. His response to his mom: “I’m not sure, but it’s probably going to be good, though.”

Needless to say, the Orion Pictures release, now in select theaters nationwide,...

RaMell Ross’ Nickel Boys and Malcolm Washington’ The Piano Lesson dominated the nominations for the 25th Black Reel Awards with 13 and 12 noms, respectively. The films will square off in 10 categories including Outstanding Film, Director, Screenplay and Ensemble.

Titus Kaphar’s Exhibiting Forgiveness is next with nine nominations, followed by Zoë Kravitz’s Blink Twice with seven. See the full list spanning 22 categories below.

Winners will be honored during the silver anniversary ceremony held virtually on February 10 and streaming live on BlackReelAwards.com.

Related: 2024-25 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Oscars, Spirits, Grammys, Tonys, Guilds & More

“As we commemorate 25 years, we are proud to highlight the transformative power of Black cinema,” Black Reel Awards Founder Tim Gordon said. “This year’s nominees represent not only excellence in storytelling but also groundbreaking achievements that push boundaries and elevate our culture.”

Presented by Foundation for the Augmentation of African-Americans in Film, the Black...

“Nickel Boys” leads the nominations at the 25th annual Black Reel Awards, a ceremony exclusively dedicated to recognizing African American contributions to cinema.

The Amazon MGM Studios film garnered 13 nominations, followed closely by Netflix’s “The Piano Lesson” with 12; both films were nominated for outstanding film and outstanding director, plus their stars earned individual nods.

Rounding out the best film nominees are “Challengers,” “Exhibiting Forgiveness” and “Sing Sing” and joining Ross and Washington in the outstanding director category are Titus Kaphar (“Exhibiting Forgiveness”), Zoë Kravitz (“Blink Twice”) and Steve McQueen (“Blitz”). Other top-performing films include “Exhibiting Forgiveness” (nine nominations), “Blink Twice” (seven nominations) and “Sing Sing” (six nominations).

Key individual nominees include Zendaya, who earned dual recognition as an actor and producer of “Challengers,” as well as Ellis-Taylor, who got two nominations in the outstanding supporting performance category for “Nickel Boys” and “Exhibiting Forgiveness,” and Brian Tyree Henry, nominated in...

While the 2025 Sundance Film Festival is just around the corner, January also brings an opportunity to revisit one of the highlights that made a splash nearly three decades ago, now newly restored. Jim McKay’s feature debut Girls Town, which was written in collaboration with stars Lili Taylor, Bruklin Harris, and Anna Grace, also features an ensemble including Guillermo Diaz, Michael Imperioli, Stephanie Berry, Tom Gilroy, and John Ventimiglia. Newly restored in 4K by nonprofit lab IndieCollect, Film Movement Classics has acquired the film for a North American theatrical release which will begin January 17 at New York City’s IFC Center, followed by a national expansion and digital and home-entertainment debut.

Here’s the synopsis for the film, originally released by October Films: “When high school senior Nikki (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) commits suicide, her shocked friends set in search of the reasons why. Their discovery that Nikki had been raped but...

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor is using her fashion to make a statement!

The Oscar-nominated actress, best known for her work in King Richard and Origin, attended the premiere of her new movie Nickel Boys on Monday night (December 16) at the DGA Theater Complex in Los Angeles.

Aunjanue was joined at the event by co-stars Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Daveed Diggs, Fred Hechinger, Hamish Linklater (with wife Lily Rabe), and Jimmie Fails, as well as writer and director RaMell Ross.

On the red carpet, Aunjanue told the AP how she uses fashion to challenge the ideas of femininity.

Keep reading to find out more…

“[My outfit] is Balenciaga and all of these red carpets and all these appearances that I’ve done, I’ve wanted to do something that honored my queerness, my wanting to do something that didn’t live up the expectation of femininity in these red carpet situations. I’ve wanted to push against that,...

The making of “Nickel Boys” — a film that follows two young Black boys, Elwood (Ethan Herisse) and Turner (Brandon Wilson), as they navigate a brutal reform school — presented a unique set of circumstances for cinematographer Jomo Fray. While Fray always wants his camerawork to feel vulnerable, director RaMell Ross’ vision of shooting the film with the camera’s first-person point of view blurred the usual roles on set, meaning that Fray would directly interact with the actors.

“It wasn’t just shooting Aunjanue [Ellis-Taylor] playing Hattie,” Fray told Variety at the film’s Los Angeles premiere on Monday night. “When the camera needed to imbue Elwood’s consciousness, if I was operating, it was about taking that in and seeing the image, not as Jomo, but as Elwood … Having that physical intimacy fundamentally changes the way you make images.”

Before making the film, Ellis-Taylor, whose character Hattie is Elwood’s grandmother,...

In cinema, films based on true stories are often considered “safe,” but that couldn’t be further from the case for Los Frikis. Produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (the Spider-Verse movies), Los Frikis takes its challenging subject matter and infuses it with genuine heart, making it an irresistible crowd-pleaser despite all the odds stacked against it.

Los Frikis Review

Los Frikis tells the story of a group of impoverished punk rockers living in Cuba after the collapse of the Soviet Union who decide to inject themselves with HIV to allow them to live at a state-sponsored sanitarium for AIDS patients. The film is based on true events that many in America have likely never heard of, but it feels incredibly necessary nevertheless.

For an independent production, Los Frikis is actually a very strong movie from a technical standpoint. The cinematography and set design are very impressive, making...

Who would hear their names called if the 2025 Oscars nominations were announced today? Since our predictions center opened on July 1, 2024, more than 6,900 people have made their forecasts in 18 top categories and there have been some major developments. Now expected to receive a nomination since the last update: The Substance in both Best Picture and Best Director for Coralie Fargeat, Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Hard Truths) in Best Actress, and A Different Man in Best Makeup & Hairstyling, according to the most recent Gold Derby Oscar predictions on Dec. 16.

Below, see a snapshot in time of our racetrack odds for the 97th Academy Awards, updated on Dec. 16, 2024 — aka the week after the Golden Globe nominations and the Critics Choice bids. See how the odds and rankings have changed over time by examining our previous Oscar snapshots on July 3, July 9, July 16, July 23, July 29, Aug. 6, Aug. 19, Aug. 28, Sept. 11, Sept. 19, Sept. 23, Sept. 30, Oct. 7, Oct. 14, Oct. 22, Oct. 28, Nov.

Illustrations by Zoé Maghamès Peters.Artists think about it all the time. What is in me? How am I going to get it out? And what is it going to be once I get it out there? These thoughts are not just the precursor to a practice, but fuel for the creative act. When you think this way, nearly everything in life becomes admissible as evidence of some great work to come: that object, those gestures, her voice, this taste, these words in that order. The resulting practice might merely represent these observations, or it might transform them into new language. When I first speak with the artist and filmmaker RaMell Ross this fall, on a rainy morning in a small and busy PR office in midtown Manhattan, our conversation winds through combinations of questions, prompts, declarations, and answers. Ross’s way of talking, like his filmmaking style, is discursive yet harmonic.

The Toronto Film Critics Association has named RaMell Ross’s narrative debut Nickel Boys as its best movie of 2024, adding to the film’s award season prominence.

In voting on Sunday, Toronto film reviewers also gave the drama about a friendship between two young African American men navigating a reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida the best director prize for Ross, who also shared the best adapted screenplay honor with Joslyn Barnes.

The best picture runner-ups were Sean Baker’s Anora and Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist. Nickel Boys, an adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s 2019 novel, debuted at Telluride and stars Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Hamish Linklater, Fred Hechinger, Daveed Diggs and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor.

In the acting categories, the best lead performance crown was shared by Marianne Jean-Baptiste for her role in Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths and Mikey Madison for Anora. And the best supporting performance honor was split...

It’s been a big year for first-person cinema, even if only one of its three films shot from a character’s point of view will actually be released in 2024. Presence is a new formal genre exercise for Steven Soderbergh, a haunted house movie seen from the eyes of the...