Innholdsfortegnelse for 12/21/2021 i Variety

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF As I mention in my cover interview with Bob Iger in this week’s issue, when you look back at his impressive 15-year run as CEO, it’s funny to think about how many people in the industry and the media — myself included — underestimated him. For the decade that Iger worked under then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner, leading up to his run to succeed him in 2005, people frequently used the term “empty suit” when referring to Iger. Of course, we were all proven wrong, and Iger admits that even though the lack of support at the time was excruciating, his strong track record as CEO even wound up surprising him: “I exceeded my own expectations.” He says that more than anyone else he ever worked with, Eisner taught him…

Top 10 Films PETER DEBRUGE Chief film critic 1. Jockey Clifton Collins Jr. shines in this behind-the-barns saga of a broken-down loner who’s on the verge of retiring when a younger rider (Moisés Arias) claiming to be his son arrives on the scene, offering him the potential of someone to carry on his legacy. 2. The French Dispatch Like a great issue of The New Yorker magazine, Wes Anderson’s dense zibaldone of character sketches and cross-cultural observations is nearly too much to devour in one sitting, yielding more on repeat visits. 3. Dune  In this visionary adaptation of an overcomplicated sci-fi classic, director Denis Villeneuve pares down all the politics and palace intrigue until what remains plays like Greek tragedy. 4. The Lost Daughter  From one of our most fearless actors, Maggie Gyllenhaal, comes…

“Star Wars” really is about the fans. So much so that some of the most die-hard will be seen in the Disney Plus series “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” starring Ewan McGregor. So says Maya Erskine (1), the “Pen15” co-creator and co-star who appears in the “Star Wars” spinoff. “The extras were incredible on the set, and a lot of them were mega ‘Star Wars’ fans,” Erskine tells me on this week’s episode of the “Just for Variety” podcast in a joint interview with her “Pen15” cohort Anna Konkle (2). “One guy, he was so nice and he lifted up his sleeves and had ‘Star Wars’ tattoos over his whole body. And they build droids. There are lot of ‘Star Wars’ fans that build droids, and then the production companies will rent [them]…

IGER: I’d say the thing that would surprise most people is that I’m much more of an introvert than an extrovert. I’m an introvert that plays extrovert at times when it is necessary. VARIETY: Well, that must be most of the time. IGER: It is. VARIETY: You had planned on retiring from Disney on several different occasions. What drove your decision to actually leave this time? IGER: Well, the same thing that drove my decision to retire the first time, which I failed at, and that is I happen to believe that change at the top has value for a company. It brings in new perspective, kind of a fresh pair of eyes and a new way of doing things and looking at things. Secondly, I wanted to leave of…

As the year comes to a close and the major awards contenders have screened, we look at some of the films competing for a slot in the best picture race. Being the Ricardos (AMAZON STUDIOS) Many couldn’t picture Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem as Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, but “Being the Ricardos” proves them all wrong. The Academy loves movies about the business and the film not only illuminates a beloved icon’s creative process, but also gives the writers room its due, probes 1950s sexism and a famous marriage. His stars are frequent Oscar winners while Sorkin is a four-time nominee (for adapted and original screenplay) and a winner for “The Social Network.” Belfast (FOCUS FEATURES) Kenneth Branagh’s "Belfast" has been winning audience awards ever since it screened at Telluride.…

Last year, the Critics Choice Assn. nominated 15 people between its lead actor and actress categories — fully 50% more than the Academy does for the Oscars. While there isn’t any overlap between the two, the CCA picks do a respectable job of establishing the field of exceptionalperformances. Here, a Variety critic chooses his favorites from among them. Peter Dinklage, “Cyrano” While it would’ve been great to see Clifton Collins Jr. nominated for “Jockey,” hats off to the CCA for recognizing another gifted character actor in a long overdue leading-man opportunity. Dinklage’s wife, Erica Schmidt, reconceived the classic French romance to showcase her husband’s strengths, reimagining the title role: Whereas Cyrano’s nose got in the way of wooing Roxanne before, here it’s his stature that proves the obstacle — though…

Joe Wright’s musical adaptation of “Cyrano,” currently in theaters for an Oscar-qualifying run before opening wide Jan. 21, stays true to the Edmond Rostand play, beginning with a grand theatrical scene. Wright wanted to introduce all the social classes of the film in this scene, where nobles, bourgeoisie, peasants, militia and clergy mix in perfect harmony. It’s also where audiences are first introduced to Peter Dinklage’s Cyrano — a different interpretation of the usual giant-schnozzed image of the character, and one that emulates the theatrical production Wright had seen in Connecticut starring Dinklage and Haley Bennett. “The idea,” says the director, “was that the nose would distract from the reality that we can all share — which is that we all feel, at certain points, if not continuously, unworthy of…

“Typecasting is fine when the alternative is your phone’s not ringing at all.” Things you didn’t know about David Arquette: Age: 50  ---Birthplace: Bentonville, Va. Horror hero: He’s a big fan of Ari Aster’s films “Midsommar” and “Hereditary.” Dream project: The story of Bozo the Clown — Arquette has already purchased the rights. Though David Arquette is a member of an acting dynasty (his parents and sister Alexis were all actors, as are siblings Patricia, Richmond and Rosanna), he originally didn’t think acting was for him after repeatedly auditioning as a kid and never being cast. It was only through the encouragement of a high school teacher, Ben DeBaldo, that he discovered his love for the craft and the confidence to try again. Now Arquette will reprise his role as…

In true Hollywood fashion, omicron delivered the year’s biggest cliffhanger just as the holiday season began kicking into higher gear. With COVID-19 cases surging anew and cancellations piling up, the pandemic reclaimed the spotlight it never fully lost. On most people’s minds in the industry: How big a retrenchment will the variant cause in 2022 and how long will it last? In the past week, a series of Broadway shows, including “Hamilton,” “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” and “Moulin Rouge!,” went dark due to COVID. Some TV shows, such as CBS’ new comedy “Ghosts,” also had to halt production as a result of COVID exposure. “Saturday Night Live” scaled back its last show of the year at the last minute after numerous cast and crew members tested positive. iHeartRadio…

Thanks to glamorous Paris-set shows like “Lupin” and “Emily in Paris” topping Netflix charts — and daring French female directors Julia Ducournau (“Titane”) and Audrey Diwan (“Happening”) winning top prizes at the Cannes and Venice film festivals — France drew more eyeballs worldwide in 2021 than it has in years. A groundbreaking agreement with global streamers to invest up to €300 million ($333 million) in French content looks to continue that trend. And building on all that momentum, the government is splashing soft money to help French creatives and locations conquer international markets, with a focus on the U.S. In the streaming era, where language barriers and borders are more permeable, creatives are becoming go-to ambassadors, as evidenced recently by French President Emmanuel Macron’s massive investment scheme, France 2030, which…

Bradley Cooper is an established awards magnet, with eight nominations in the past nine years. Four have been in the acting category — for “Silver Linings Playbook,” “American Hustle,” “American Sniper” and “A Star Is Born.” This year he has a chance to land three more nominations. The 46-year-old actor delivers two powerhouse performances, both worthy of recognition. His first is as Jon Peters — the producer and ex-boyfriend of Barbra Streisand — in Paul Thomas Anderson’s coming-of-age comedy “Licorice Pizza.” His other turn comes as Stanton Carlisle, the carny in Guillermo del Toro’s neo-noir thriller “Nightmare Alley,” on which Cooper also is a producer. Will this year finally give him a long-overdue Oscar? It seems like ages ago that Cooper was the jerk boyfriend in “Wedding Crashers” (2005) and…

“[Kristen Stewart] is the coolest person I know. She is also super kind, friendly and always very generous with her time, always there to chat and have a laugh. She made everything seem so easy”—JACK NIELEN FOR THE YOUNG actors playing Princes William and Harry — 12-year-old Jack Nielen and 10-year-old Freddie Spry — shooting “Spencer” was thrilling. Huge elaborate set; lots of high-tech gear; friendly actors; and welcoming crew. A great adventure. But Kristen Stewart, who would be their biggest scene partner, admits, “I was intimidated by the kids.” Growing up as the youngest child, and having been a working actor from an early age, she explains, “I’ve just never functioned around anyone younger than me, ever.” Director Pablo Larraín, who is a father, encouraged the three to spend…

The Critics Choice Awards’ TV field distinguishes itself as a place to honor the unexpected — performances that might exist on shows too small to expect a nomination from any other awards ceremony or work that lives in the shadow of more widely recognized turns. This year’s Critics Choice field cast a wide net and brought in performances that are not only richly deserving, but also even more exciting for being outside the usual awards fare. Maybe the Emmys can take note, starting with these seven deserving stars. Uzo Aduba, “In Treatment” Somewhat undersung in its moment, the revived “In Treatment” works best as a showpiece for Aduba, a perennially exciting actor who, here, plays doctor and patient as two extremes. While addressing the needs of her patients in…

FILM REVIEW Director: Lana Wachowski With: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss For years, Warner Bros. has dreamed of making another “Matrix” movie, but the Wachowski siblings — architects of a cyberpunk classic whose appeal rests largely on bending rules and questioning authority — resisted the pressure, insisting they’d said everything they wanted to with the original three films. Let’s not forget: By the end of the trilogy, Trinity died, Neo sacrificed himself and the humans were freed from their virtual shackles, which means anyone hoping to continue that story had their work cut out for them. That explains a clever moment of self-awareness early in “The Matrix Resurrections,” a welcome but undeniably extraneous fourth installment — more of a patch than an upgrade on the franchise that came before, reframing déjà…

For high-level Hollywood dealmaking, 2021 was defined by two big transactions involving historic studios: Warner Bros. and MGM. Discovery’s stealth takeover of WarnerMedia and Amazon’s purchase of MGM — both of which are awaiting regulatory approval — are multibillion-dollar consolidation bets fueled by industry disruption and the transition to streaming. Big-money deals for hot content factories including Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine and Moonbug Entertainment reinforced the rise of the “creator economy” amid the gold rush for content, as did Spotify’s eye-popping agreement to pay $60 million for a three-year exclusive deal with Alex Cooper to distribute her podcast “Call Her Daddy.” Beyond the high-gloss deals, there was plenty of other buying and selling in media and entertainment that amounted to signposts for where businesses are heading and how innovation is…

Director Paolo Sorrentino and his wife, Daniela D’Antonio, know how to celebrate his Oscarbuzzy film “The Hand of God.” By throwing parties. They recently hosted two dinners for friends at their Los Angeles Airbnb. And it’s not just any rental. Netflix has put up the couple, along with the movie’s young star Filippo Scotti and others from the “Hand of God” team, in a six-bedroom home that once belonged to Elizabeth Taylor, who lived there in the 1950s with then-husband Michael Wilding. D’Antonio prepared the poolside meals for guests using old family recipes for pasta e patate con la provola, paccheri al ragù, parmigiana di melanzane, timballo di maccheroni con melanzane and pasta e ceci. Desserts included pandoro farcito, zeppole fritte and sfogliatelle. Among the guests were David O. Russell,…

It’s almost hard to believe that after the Disney board extended his contract multiple times, Bob Iger is finally bidding adieu to the global entertainment giant that he led for 15 years and put such an indelible imprint on. As we stroll on Disney’s historic Burbank lot toward the plaza where he is about to be photographed in front of a statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse holding hands, I ask Iger if he is feeling melancholy about his decision to leave. “I’m being resolute about it — this time around. I haven’t once second-guessed it or hesitated,” he tells me. “It’s bittersweet. I’m going to miss people, and I’m going to miss the creative process.” Iger, who turns 71 in February and who began his career at age…

This year’s Oscar race is in a bio rhythm, with a huge percentage of films based upon real people and events. Merriam-Webster defines “biopic” as simply a biographical movie. That’s true, but there’s a wide range under that umbrella term, as this year’s contenders remind us. They include films that span several years, including: “A Journal for Jordan” and “King Richard”; some cover multiple decades, such as “House of Gucci,” the Aretha Franklin pic “Respect” and “The Eyes of Tammy Faye.” Other films, including “Being the Ricardos,” focus on a moment in time, which becomes a prism for exploring the era and the lives of various individuals. Narrative films are not documentaries, so every pic takes liberty with the facts. Some take this to the extreme, such as “Spencer” (in…

Until last year, handicapping the BAFTA nominees was a considerably more straightforward process. Given the British film awards ceremony’s ever-closer shadowing of the Academy Awards since moving to the Oscar precursor circuit 20 years ago, voters tended to mirror the pool of contenders across the pond, with the odd home-turf favorite granted a greater presence. Last year’s nominations, however, were an excitingly different story, as concerns about the voting body’s limited diversity and conservative taste led BAFTA to hand over several major categories to select nominating committees rather than the group at large. Suddenly, there were no safe bets, as expected acting nominees including Carey Mulligan, Viola Davis, Olivia Colman and Gary Oldman fell away, replaced with less-hypedstandouts WunmiMosaku, Bukky Bakray, Adarsh Gourav and Niamh Algar. Among directors, it was…

Pedro Almodóvar has written and directed 23 feature films since 1978; each one carries his unique style, yet he manages to keep surprising audiences. “Parallel Mothers” may be his best and most accessible; it features his frequent outrage at government oppression, mixed with great compassion for his characters. Almodóvar has had shockingly few Oscar nominations, but this film could wind up with bids for him, for best picture and for star Penélope Cruz. The filmmaker’s brother, Agustin Almodóvar, has been his producer since the 1987 “Law of Desire.” That’s fitting, since families are at the center of many of the films, including the latest — but not necessarily traditional families. Says producer Almodóvar, “I think ‘Parallel Mothers’ gives an interesting perspective on maternity and family. This is one of the…