Innholdsfortegnelse for 1/5/2023 i Variety

Variety|1/5/2023

Barbara Walters Changed the Way We Watch TV

Barbara Walters never did anything quietly — not even retire. When she ended her 50-year television career in May 2014, ABC marked the occasion with a big party and a primetime special. It also named the news division’s New York headquarters after her, though the exacting Walters later complained that the plaque commemorating the honor wasn’t big enough. On April 8 of that same year, just a few weeks before her final appearance on “The View,” Walters graced the cover of Variety — the last magazine cover she ever did. We didn’t even need to print her name; her face in profile, so familiar from decades of newsmaking interviews, told the story. In that interview, Walters didn’t hold back — she threw subtle shade at “The Talk,” CBS’ rival to…

1 min

Variety|1/5/2023

Seven Things to Know About Globes Super Tuesday

The Golden Globes are back. After two years of being clobbered by controversy and boycotts, the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn.’s 80th event will take place in person Jan. 10 (yes, it’s on a Tuesday, to avoid conflict with NBC’s “Sunday Night Football”) and return to NBC and Peacock as a three-hour telecast. Last year’s ceremony was a simple event at the Beverly Hilton, with no nominees or audience present for the announcement of winners. In the weeks and days leading up to the show, Hollywood players debated whether it was time to give the HFPA a second chance. After all, it has made strides toward increasing diversity among its membership and revised some of its questionable business practices. Turns out that, as Variety was the first to report, most of…

5 min

Variety|1/5/2023

Can Tom Cruise Save the Box Office — Again?

Last year provided plenty of reasons to celebrate at the box office (“Top Gun”! “Minions”! “Avatar”!) — there just weren’t enough of them, with ticket sales down roughly 33% from 2019’s pre-COVID benchmark. Will 2023 supply enough blockbusters to keep the theatrical business alive? Here’s how we see the year working out. SURE THINGS Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (May 5) • Disney Thrill factor: Director James Gunn concludes the story of the intergalactic crew of misfits with what he promises is his biggest, most emotional film to date. Chill factor: Marvel Studios movies have been mere box office home runs lately rather than grand slams? (We’re stretching.) Forecast: Gunn’s Marvel swan song — it’s his final MCU film before taking the reins at rival DC — will hit…

3 min

Variety|1/5/2023

Golden Globes Return After a Year Away

While many questions are swirling around the 2023 Golden Globes ceremony the telecast will air Jan. 10 on NBC/Peacock. The nominations are a solid mix of big-budget entertainments, and smaller, auteur-driven projects that dominate the cinema side, with an eclectic roster of content being celebrated on television. The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. has stated that all guests and presenters will be appearing in person, in lieu of virtual appearances or satellite arrangements. Emmy-winning comedian Jerrod Carmichael will be hosting the event, which is celebrating its 80th anniversary at the Beverly Hilton ceremony. Eddie Murphy, a previous Globe winner and six-time nominee, will receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award, while Ryan Murphy will be presented with the Carol Burnett Award. Of primary focus to the HFPA, especially in light of last…

6 min

Variety|1/5/2023

Plan B Scores A Grade at Kudos Time

Thanks to the whims of the movie gods, production company Plan B Entertainment has seen its three high-profile Oscar contenders debut nearly simultaneously: “Women Talking” (UA via MGM), “Blonde” (Netflix) and “She Said” (Universal). Dede Gardner — one of the three Plan B partners, along with Jeremy Kleiner and Brad Pitt — tells Variety: “I didn’t think it would happen this way. COVID was big driver, with things backing up and then happening all at once. But I don’t think it’s a mistake. If movies are alive and kicking, they’re in a conversation with what’s happening inside culture. These three are all in the conversation, and I’m appreciative of the timing of it all.” “Women Talking,” with Sarah Polley directing and adapting the book by Miriam Toews, is about women…

3 min

Variety|1/5/2023

Oscar Hopefuls Feted at Desert Fest

CATE BLANCHETT Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actress Blanchett credits scene partners Nina Hoss, Noémie Merlant and Sophie Kauer for her incredible performance in Todd Field’s “Tár.” But it is Blanchett who is in almost every frame of the film, which runs over two hours, as she plays EGOT-winning composer/conductor Lydia Tár. She is a woman at the top of her game — and with that comes power, and an abuse of power. Tár is a flawed and complex character which Blanchett executes to such perfection that weeks after the the film’s release and months after its electrifying debut at Venice, her character’s fall from grace remains the topic of discussion on social media and on op-ed pages. The opening shot, a 12-minute interview “in conversation” with Adam Gopnik, who plays…

8 min

Variety|1/5/2023

Angela Bassett Reigns Strong

“Have I not given everything?” These words, filled with all of the pain and grief of a mother who has lost not only her son, but also her husband, and given of herself to and for her people, are those of Queen Ramonda, played regally by Angela Bassett in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” When you see the name Angela Bassett in any cast list, you know that each scene she’s in will be one in which she captivates the audience, telegraphing everything felt through her words and body. With an acting career that spans four decades, and over a hundred acting credits to her name, Bassett has become a Hollywood screen legend in her own right, and as such is the honoree of Variety’s Creative Impact Award in Acting. In…

3 min

Variety|1/5/2023

Paris Market Champions Commercial Gallic Movies

When journalists, sales agents and acquisition execs from key territories take to Unifrance’s Rendez-Vous in Paris, which runs Jan. 10-17, international growth will be on everyone’s mind. If Gallic exports never did reach pre-pandemic highs in 2022 — the first year, we should note, that many theatrical markets operated without interruption — the local industry hung on all the same. At home and abroad, franchises and feel-good fare drove theatrical returns. The comedy “Serial (Bad) Weddings 3” banked 2.4 million local admissions, ending the year as France’s top-grossing domestic title and landed an additional 1.3 million ticket sales in neighboring countries, while the Studio-canal family title “The Wolf and the Lion” opened in more than 50 territories. In the U.S., arthouse stalwarts Kino Lorber, Cohen Media Group and Sony Pictures…

3 min

Variety|1/5/2023

Contributors

If you need her, editor-at-large Kate Aurthur is down the “Tár” rabbit hole, having disappeared there during the reporting of her cover story about the Todd Field and Cate Blanchett film. Chief correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister visited with Chelsea Handler in the backyard of the star’s Beverly Hills home, where the two ate Domino’s thin-crust pizza and chatted about comedy, Netflix and the patriarchy. In her first piece since being named Variety ’s executive editor of film and media, Tatiana Siegel returns to familiar ground, covering the latest plot twists in the Warner Bros.-DC soap opera, this time starring Dwayne Johnson, Henry Cavill and David Zaslav. Alexi Lubomirski, who most recently photographed our Oscars Actors on Actors portfolio, captured Cate Blanchett and Todd Field on Nov. 18, 2022, in Los Angeles: “Photographing Cate…

1 min

Variety|1/5/2023

Party Lite

There was a time when the Golden Globes were one big nonstop party train. There were countless soirees leading up to the ceremony, and studio post-show parties throughout the Beverly Hilton’s ballrooms and at nearby clubs and event spaces. But most of that is MIA this year. It could be that the C-suite is reluctant to embrace the HFPA so soon after its two scandal-ridden years. Or, more than likely, it’s another way for execs to cut spending at a time when budgets industrywide are being slashed faster than you can say, “And the Golden Globe goes to …” However, some celebrations are popping up. Here’s what’s going down this year. Jan. 6, Friday Fashion Plates W magazine used to throw the Globes weekend’s must-attend party at Chateau Marmont. This…

1 min

Variety|1/5/2023

Will the Real Lydia Tár Please Stand Up?

Cate Blanchett is not an actor who skims a screenplay when she’s considering it. “I read scripts very, very slowly,” she says, “but this one I read incredibly quickly. I knew from the get-go that it was about really big things — metaphysical, existential things that I was interested in — so I read it very quickly and said yes immediately.” She turns to Todd Field, the writer-director of the film in question, “Tár,” and says, “And you crashed your car.” On this chilly Sunday afternoon in mid-November, Blanchett has made the long trip to Los Angeles from Australia, where she’s been in production. She’s here to attend the Governors Awards as a formidable Oscar contender, having given one of the most rapturously reviewed performances of her career as Lydia…

15 min

Variety|1/5/2023

What’s Known and Unknown About the Globes

The 80th Golden Globe Awards are set to return to the airwaves after taking last year off — though a ceremony was held, it wasn’t televised or attended by any of the nominated talent. The show will move from its usual Sunday night spot to 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT to Jan. 10 on NBC and Peacock. Jerrod Carmichael will host and honors will be presented to Eddie Murphy and Ryan Murphy. Beyond that, it’s anyone’s guess as to what will happen but with nominations out, we took a look at the film and TV categories. FILM NOMINATIONS Best Picture Doubles Down With the Globes awarding a best picture winner in two categories — drama and musical or comedy, it means more films can be nominated and there can be…

9 min

Variety|1/5/2023

Idol Got Us Dancing With Ourselves

It’s Nov. 30 and punk-rock icon Billy Idol is 67 today, so what is he doing on a Zoom call with a journalist, aside from talking about his Jan. 6 ceremony on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? His presenters/speakers will include two of his closest friends, artist Shepard Fairey — who has done the artwork for many of his album covers — and punk raconteur Henry Rollins. “Even on my birthday they’ve got me doing stuff,” he growls good-naturedly with his characteristic low-register rumble, the one he’s been developing since covering “Mony Mony” in 1981, with a live version six years later becoming his first and only No. 1 U.S. hit. In his 2014 autobiography, Idol says the original Tommy James and the Shondells version was playing on a transistor…

9 min

Variety|1/5/2023

Variety Honors ‘Serial Collaborator’ Baz Luhrmann

Baz Luhrmann is no stranger to accolades. The prolific Australian auteur’s projects regularly find themselves in contention come awards season, with last year’s “Elvis” being no exception. Receiving Variety’s Creative Impact in Directing Award this year for his accumulated work, however, allows him to reflect not only on his long resume of film, television, opera, theater and recording output, but also on the many people who he’s worked with along the way. “I’m really honored by it, but I also feel it shines a light on the fact that I am in fact, a serial collaborator,” says Luhrmann, recognizing artists he’s worked with on “Elvis” and other films for years, such as director of photography Mandy Walker, costume designer Catherine Martin and re-recording mixer Andy Nelson. “I represent a kind…

3 min

Variety|1/5/2023

Versatile Brian Tyree Henry Shines in Big and Small Screen Roles

Brian Tyree Henry is getting more comfortable being vulnerable. “For a long time, I used acting as a shield. I was like, ‘Well, that’s them. That’s not me,’” Henry tells Variety, assessing the defense mechanism he’s used to separate himself from his characters. “Now, it’s gotten to a point where people can see the performance, but they’re also getting closer to seeing me at the same time. And it feels bizarre, but it also feels necessary, because then there’s a care that goes into what people want for me, instead of what they want from me. It really touches me every day.” The change in perspective began during the making of his latest film “Causeway,” in which Henry plays James Aucoin, an amputee who bonds with a soldier recovering from…

3 min

Variety|1/5/2023

A Man Called Otto

FILM REVIEW Director: Marc Forster Starring: Tom Hanks, Mariana Treviño, Rachel Keller, Truman Hanks In “A Man Called Otto,” Tom Hanks plays one of those misanthropic over-the-hill loners who never misses a chance to vent his spleen. Giving a hard time to everyone is what gets him through the day; you might call it his hobby. From Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol” to Alan Arkin in “Little Miss Sunshine,” we’ve seen this sort of get-off-my-lawn curmudgeon many times before. But with the right actor and the right script, it’s a formula for yocks (and for gently rediscovered humanity) that audiences never get tired of — and Hanks, make no mistake, is the right actor for this role. For years, when he was America’s top movie star, Hanks was routinely described…

5 min

Variety|1/5/2023

Lainey Wilson

Lainey Wilson doesn’t mind admitting that she was typecast for her role on “Yellowstone,” which had already used several of her songs before Taylor Sheridan thought of writing her a role this season. Her Louisiana accent might give her away as not exactly a native of Montana, though — and it’s an inflection that burrows its way into the winning vocals that have made her country music’s fastest-rising female star. On the heels of winning two CMA Awards (female vocalist, new artist) coming off her debut album, she’s followed up with a more rocking second album, “Bell Bottom Country.” The title, she says, “just means country with a flare — finding whatever makes you different.” • “Flare” is something you like for both its metaphorical and literal implications, it seems? You see…

3 min

Variety|1/5/2023

‘If She Could Do It, I Could Do It’

It’s the night before New Year’s Eve, and my phone is blowing up with sad emojis. “Devastated?” “I’m so sorry.” “Oh no, Barbara!” Oh no, is right. If Barbara Walters — who died at 93 on Dec. 30 after a career that changed TV and journalism in a way that no one else has or ever will — were still with us, she would have immediately asked for a different time slot to announce her passing. Maybe a weekday morning, so that all living presidents could issue prompt statements, lauding her vast achievements. Wouldn’t that be better for ratings? There would need to be breaking-news banners on every network, along with a clip reel of her greatest interview hits. She’d request (OK, demand) a “20/20” special anchored by Oprah Winfrey,…

5 min

Variety|1/5/2023

DC’s Off-Screen Drama

From chaos comes order, to paraphrase Nietzsche. And that is certainly the hope in the new year when it comes to the DC Extended Universe, which endured the most tumultuous 12 months of any studio division in 2022. Amid the upheaval, the upcoming “The Flash” teetered following a series of arrests and meltdowns involving its star Ezra Miller, closely guarded “Aquaman” deal points were laid bare in the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard defamation trial, and the $78 million “Batgirl” movie was permanently shelved in post-production as a write-down. All that was just an appetizer for an executive shake-up that landed James Gunn and Peter Safran in the DC driver’s seat. But perhaps nothing was as dramatic as Henry Cavill returning as Superman in a “Black Adam” cameo, only to lose the…

3 min

Variety|1/5/2023

Give This Woman (Another) Talk Show

It’s a Thursday afternoon in Los Angeles, and Chelsea Handler has just finished recording a new episode of her podcast, “Dear Chelsea.” Her housekeeper, Mabel, a frequent presence in Handler’s Instagram skits, is packing Handler’s suitcase so that she can jet to the airport for a stand-up performance in Chicago, one of the final shows in her 117-date “Vaccinated and Horny” tour, which launched during the pandemic. Casually hanging at home, Handler has ordered a dozen boxes of Domino’s — thin-crust cheese — for her team. “Do you want a piece?” she asks, greeting me in her kitchen, where she opens the fridge and lifts up a tub of grated Parmesan. Then she asks if anyone wants some Ozempic. Is she joking? Well, maybe: Handler tells a story about how…

7 min

Variety|1/5/2023

Films on Path to Oscar

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the shortlists for nine categories Dec. 21. The films on the shortlists will move on to the phase one voting period, which will take place from Jan. 12-17. The nominations for the 95th Academy Awards will be announced Jan. 24. Oscars will be given out March 12. For the complete shortlists, please see Variety.com. MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING All Quiet on the Western Front (Netflix) Amsterdam (20th Century Studios) Babylon (Paramount Pictures) The Batman (Warner Bros.) Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Marvel Studios) Blonde (Netflix) Crimes of the Future (Neon) Elvis (Warner Bros.) Emancipation (Apple Original Films) The Whale (A24) David Cronenberg’s “Crimes of the Future” is a surprise here, recognized for its blood and body dismemberment, while poor reviews and box office…

4 min

Variety|1/5/2023

Return to the Desert

The 34th annual Palm Springs Intl. Film Festival is set to return to in-person events in January for the first time since 2020, and this year’s lineup of screenings is the most diverse the festival has ever seen, according to PSIFF artistic director Lili Rodriguez. “We always have drama, we always have comedy, we always have docs, but we have sci-fi this year, we have horror, we have animation,” Rodriguez says. “I don’t think you’ll find two movies that are similar in the lineup.” The celebration kicks off with the Film Awards on Jan. 5 at the Palm Springs Convention Center honoring seasoned filmmakers and performers including “Women Talking” director Sarah Polley, “The Banshees of Inisherin” star Colin Farrell, “Tár” lead performer Cate Blanchett and “The Whale” star Brendan…

2 min

Variety|1/5/2023

Variety Lauds Master of the Whodunit

He might have signed his name under one of the best “Star Wars” chapters of the 21st Century with “Episode VIII — The Last Jedi,” as well as revived the cozy whodunit. But at his heart, writer-director Rian Johnson has always remained the same young, curious-minded storyteller who made spirited DIY shorts in the ‘90s. “I didn’t start out thinking of the profession of screenwriting,” says Johnson, this year’s recipient of Variety’s Creative Impact Award for Screenwriting. “I started out making movies with my friends. And when I studied the form, I took it more seriously. But I still aim for that feeling of getting together with a group of friends and trying something cool.” Johnson burst onto the scene with 2005’s sophisticated “Brick,” a neo-noir thriller he wrote straight…

3 min

Variety|1/5/2023

Helming Talent on the Horizon

MAGGIE BETTS “The Burial” “Novitiate” director Betts has been busy in the six years since her nutty nun drama stunned Sundance: She worked on an adaptation of “The Days of Abandonment,” then a Pussy Riot movie, followed by a Shirley Chisolm project with Viola Davis, “but then that fell off a cliff.” A true David-vs.-Goliath courtroom drama that stars a typically understated Tommy Lee Jones opposite a positively electric Jamie Foxx, “The Burial” was not the film Betts thought she’d make next. “You want your second movie to be a personal one that establishes you as someone who has a voice. But I’d never been someone who watched a lot of courtroom dramas.” Amazon believed in this one — and in her. Betts got hooked on movies as a teen,…

14 min

Variety|1/5/2023

Saint Omer

FILM REVIEW Director: Alice Diop Starring: GuslagieMalanda, Kayjie Kagame, Valérie Dréville In 2016, in the courtroom of Saint-Omer, a small, untouristed town off a D-road between Calais and Lille, the trial took place of a young Senegalese Frenchwoman accused of murdering her baby: an act so utterly antithetical to accepted ideas of motherhood and womanhood that it is inescapably considered the “worst of all possible crimes.” The woman confessed but claimed sorcery as the real culprit. It’s the kind of true story that presents an obvious opportunity for a sensitive social drama given to sober, sorrowfully objective observations about the perilous, tumbling vortex of class, gender, ethnic and cultural issues in which it plays out. “Saint Omer,” the deceptively austere, extraordinarily multifaceted fiction debut from documentarian Alice Diop, is not…

3 min