The Academy has added 93 more films to the members-only screening room devoted to entries in the Best Documentary Feature category, bringing the total number of eligible contenders to a record-shattering 215.
The previous record for entries was 170 in 2017. And this year’s crop of nonfiction films is expected to pass that number by an even bigger margin — at least 50 — once a final, smaller group of films is added to the screening room in January.
New eligibility rules that were passed in the wake of the Covid-19 theater closings made it easier for documentaries to qualify this year by allowing them to do so by playing at film festivals, even virtual ones, and by easing requirements for theatrical runs. In an email to members detailing the new additions, the Academy said, “The Documentary Branch Executive Committee felt it was important to be inclusive and supportive of documentary filmmakers in this unprecedented and challenging year.
The previous record for entries was 170 in 2017. And this year’s crop of nonfiction films is expected to pass that number by an even bigger margin — at least 50 — once a final, smaller group of films is added to the screening room in January.
New eligibility rules that were passed in the wake of the Covid-19 theater closings made it easier for documentaries to qualify this year by allowing them to do so by playing at film festivals, even virtual ones, and by easing requirements for theatrical runs. In an email to members detailing the new additions, the Academy said, “The Documentary Branch Executive Committee felt it was important to be inclusive and supportive of documentary filmmakers in this unprecedented and challenging year.
- 12/22/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Newly installed Voice of America leader Michael Pack, who purged most of the organization’s leadership on the evening of June 17, is also a longtime conservative documentarian whose work has been seen most widely on PBS — but is also known as an acolyte of right-wing activist Steve Bannon.
The Voa has been run by filmmakers before. While most of its directors have been journalists or scholars, the founding director of the public broadcaster dedicated to sharing American news and culture was Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Oscar-winning screenwriter, and President Roosevelt speechwriter Robert Sherwood. (He also coined the organization’s name.) Following Sherwood was John Houseman, a longtime Orson Welles collaborator who went on to become a respected film producer and production executive in addition to his work as an actor.
Pack has a longstanding relationship with PBS — like Voa, a public broadcasting outlet. From 2003 through 2006 he oversaw programming at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting,...
The Voa has been run by filmmakers before. While most of its directors have been journalists or scholars, the founding director of the public broadcaster dedicated to sharing American news and culture was Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Oscar-winning screenwriter, and President Roosevelt speechwriter Robert Sherwood. (He also coined the organization’s name.) Following Sherwood was John Houseman, a longtime Orson Welles collaborator who went on to become a respected film producer and production executive in addition to his work as an actor.
Pack has a longstanding relationship with PBS — like Voa, a public broadcasting outlet. From 2003 through 2006 he oversaw programming at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting,...
- 6/18/2020
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Thompson on Hollywood
Newly installed Voice of America leader Michael Pack, who purged most of the organization’s leadership on the evening of June 17, is also a longtime conservative documentarian whose work has been seen most widely on PBS — but is also known as an acolyte of right-wing activist Steve Bannon.
The Voa has been run by filmmakers before. While most of its directors have been journalists or scholars, the founding director of the public broadcaster dedicated to sharing American news and culture was Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Oscar-winning screenwriter, and President Roosevelt speechwriter Robert Sherwood. (He also coined the organization’s name.) Following Sherwood was John Houseman, a longtime Orson Welles collaborator who went on to become a respected film producer and production executive in addition to his work as an actor.
Pack has a longstanding relationship with PBS — like Voa, a public broadcasting outlet. From 2003 through 2006 he oversaw programming at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting,...
The Voa has been run by filmmakers before. While most of its directors have been journalists or scholars, the founding director of the public broadcaster dedicated to sharing American news and culture was Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Oscar-winning screenwriter, and President Roosevelt speechwriter Robert Sherwood. (He also coined the organization’s name.) Following Sherwood was John Houseman, a longtime Orson Welles collaborator who went on to become a respected film producer and production executive in addition to his work as an actor.
Pack has a longstanding relationship with PBS — like Voa, a public broadcasting outlet. From 2003 through 2006 he oversaw programming at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting,...
- 6/18/2020
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
The District of Columbia’s attorney general is investigating a non profit run by Michael Pack, President Donald Trump’s choice to run the agency that oversees Voice of America.
The top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Bob Menendez, said on Thursday that the investigation centers on whether Pack’s use of money from his nonprofit, the Public Media Lab, “was unlawful and whether he improperly used those funds to benefit himself.” A spokesperson for D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine confirmed the investigation but declined to further comment.
The White House did not immediately return a request for comment, nor did a spokesperson for the committee’s chair, Sen. James Risch (R-id). Pack did not respond to a request placed to his production company, Manifold Productions.
“Taking note of what we now know—that there is an active Oag investigation into Mr. Pack’s business dealings—I...
The top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Bob Menendez, said on Thursday that the investigation centers on whether Pack’s use of money from his nonprofit, the Public Media Lab, “was unlawful and whether he improperly used those funds to benefit himself.” A spokesperson for D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine confirmed the investigation but declined to further comment.
The White House did not immediately return a request for comment, nor did a spokesperson for the committee’s chair, Sen. James Risch (R-id). Pack did not respond to a request placed to his production company, Manifold Productions.
“Taking note of what we now know—that there is an active Oag investigation into Mr. Pack’s business dealings—I...
- 5/14/2020
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
If you watch “Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words” looking for a clue as to Thomas’ inner workings, a key to who Clarence Thomas really is, then you’ll have to wait a while before it arrives. But it does. The reason it takes so long is that Thomas, dressed in a red tie, light shirt, and blue jacket, his graying head looking impressive and nearly statue-ready as he gazes into the camera, presents himself as a regular guy, affably growly and folksy in a casual straight-shooter way. And while I have no doubt that’s an honest aspect of who he is, it’s also a shrewdly orchestrated tactic, a way of saying: Don’t try to look for my demons — you won’t find them.
The revealing moment comes when Thomas recalls the 1991 Senate hearings in which he was grilled on national television as part of the Supreme Court confirmation process.
The revealing moment comes when Thomas recalls the 1991 Senate hearings in which he was grilled on national television as part of the Supreme Court confirmation process.
- 2/8/2020
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
For a third straight weekend in a row Sony's Bad Boys for Life topped the weekend box office, and continues to do so with ease, though it isn't as if the competition from a pair of newcomers was stiff. Both Uar's Gretel & Hansel and Paramount's The Rhythm Section fell below expectations, and the latter is even struggling to remain in the weekend top ten and earned a record no film ever wants.
With an estimated $17.7 million this weekend, Sony's Bad Boys for Life finished atop the weekend box office for the third straight week in a row. The film's domestic gross now tops $148 million, making it the highest grossing release in the Bad Boys franchise. Internationally, Bad Boys brought in an estimated $30.8 million, lifting the film's international cume to $142.7 million for a franchise best, $271 million global cume.
Universal's 1917 once again takes the runner-up position as the...
With an estimated $17.7 million this weekend, Sony's Bad Boys for Life finished atop the weekend box office for the third straight week in a row. The film's domestic gross now tops $148 million, making it the highest grossing release in the Bad Boys franchise. Internationally, Bad Boys brought in an estimated $30.8 million, lifting the film's international cume to $142.7 million for a franchise best, $271 million global cume.
Universal's 1917 once again takes the runner-up position as the...
- 2/2/2020
- by Brad Brevet <mail@boxofficemojo.com>
- Box Office Mojo
"If you take anger out of my heart... I'll never hate again." Blue Fox Ent. has released a new official trailer for the documentary Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words, about the Supreme Court justice and his entire career in law and politics. Although Clarence Thomas remains a controversial figure, loved by some, reviled by others, few know much more than the news headlines as well as the recollections of his contentious confirmation battle with Anita Hill in 1991. Yet, the personal odyssey of Clarence Thomas is a classic American story and it should be better known and understood. This doc film tells the Clarence Thomas story truly and fully: "unscripted and without narration, the documentary takes the viewer through this complex and often painful life, dealing with race, faith, power, jurisprudence, and personal resilience." Sounds like a compelling watch! Even if you don't care for him much. Take...
- 1/23/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
In today’s film news roundup, a Clarence Thomas documentary and “Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always” are getting theatrical releases, and Lionsgate is developing a Rabbids movie.
Release Dates
Manifold Productions has slated “Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words” to open in theaters nationwide on Jan. 31, Variety has learned exclusively.
The documentary about the conservative U.S. Supreme Court justice will play on at least 50 screens. The film was directed, written and produced by Michael Pack, with Gina Cappo Pack as executive producer. The producers interviewed Thomas and his wife, Virginia, for over 30 hours.
The documentary will air on PBS next year, at least three months after the theatrical release. Thomas denies allegations he sexually harassed law professor Anita Hill. The accusations emerged during his U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearing in 1991 before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“His intellectual journey is just as remarkable,” Pack said. “He was raised...
Release Dates
Manifold Productions has slated “Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words” to open in theaters nationwide on Jan. 31, Variety has learned exclusively.
The documentary about the conservative U.S. Supreme Court justice will play on at least 50 screens. The film was directed, written and produced by Michael Pack, with Gina Cappo Pack as executive producer. The producers interviewed Thomas and his wife, Virginia, for over 30 hours.
The documentary will air on PBS next year, at least three months after the theatrical release. Thomas denies allegations he sexually harassed law professor Anita Hill. The accusations emerged during his U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearing in 1991 before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“His intellectual journey is just as remarkable,” Pack said. “He was raised...
- 12/13/2019
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
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