Steve Pond
Steve Pond
Steve Pond’s inside look at the artistry and insanity of the awards race, drawn from more than three decades of obsessively chronicling the Oscars and the entertainment industry.
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Oscars Reveal Record-Breaking Lists of Contenders in Documentary, International Categories
AMPAS also unveiled the 27 contenders in the Best Animated Feature category, which fell short of a new record
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Oscars Best Picture Screening Room for Voters Hits 200 Movies – But Not ‘Tenet’
Christopher Nolan’s mindbending drama is the most notable absence from a viewing platform that has now earned the Academy $2.5 million
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‘Nomadland,’ ‘One Night in Miami,’ ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ Named Finalists for 2021 Scripter Awards
“First Cow” and “Bad Education” were also nominated for the award, which goes to the screenwriter and the author of the material on which the film or television program is based
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Sundance Preview: Documentaries Are Festival’s Best Bets for Awards
As usual, Sundance’s nonfiction films are the ones that are likeliest to be in the awards race a year from now
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In a Wild Year, Spirit Awards Nominations Play It Safe
For the most part, the nominations lacked the left-field choices that often make the Spirit Awards so unpredictable and offbeat in the nomination round
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‘Da 5 Bloods,’ ‘One Night in Miami’ Land on AFI’s Top 10 List
“Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “Soul” are also on a list that is heavily weighted toward films that deal with the Black experience in America
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‘MLK/FBI’ Director: ‘America Has Reached a Tipping Point’
TheWrap magazine: “Let’s hope that the fact that communities are being galvanized can make progress toward a change in the American psyche,” Sam Pollard says
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Iranian Oscar Entry ‘Sun Children’ Cries Out Against Child Labor
TheWrap magazine: “If we don’t make the kids’ lives easier, we are destroying our own future,” says director Magid Magidi
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Why ‘Beginning’ Director Filmed Sexual Assault Scene Quietly, From a Distance
TheWrap magazine: “Everyone can feel the terror of this moment, and I thought as a director I don’t need to emphasize anything,” says director Dea Kulumbegashvili
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Caleb Landry Jones’ Brother Told Him to Take ‘The Outpost’ Role: ‘You’re Doing This One’
TheWrap magazine: Jones recounts how his brother, an ex-Marine and combat veteran, read the script to Rod Lurie’s immersive Afghanistan drama and made the choice for him
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How a Weird Oscar Season Might Depress the Number of Best Picture Nominees
Tastes could be fragmenting and votes might be spread out in a way that potentially impacts the Oscars’ top category
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How India Whipped Up the Year’s Wildest, Craziest Oscar Entry With ‘Jallikattu’
TheWrap magazine: “I wanted you to compare the film to what the world actually is,” says director Lijo Jose Pellisserry of his film that descends in rampaging chaos
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‘Charlatan’ Director Explains Why Films Need to Deal With Politics
TheWrap magazine: “We have so many challenges and dangers with authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, and filmmakers cannot pretend that it is not going on,” says Agnieszka Holland
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From Battling Brain Cancer to Directing an Oscar Contender: Maria Sodahl’s Dramatic Journey to ‘Hope’
TheWrap magazine: “I hate sentimental cancer movies, and I didn’t want to do something like that,” Sodahl says of turning her own diagnosis into art
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How a Severed Hand Led to Taiwan’s Oscar Contender ‘A Sun’
TheWrap magazine: “I imagined that the incident happened on a rainy day, and the hand dropped into a hot pot,” says director Chung Mong-hong
