The Oscars were back in the Dolby Theater this year with social distancing and eight categories presented before the live show even began. While there was a joke about Samuel L. Jackson in hosts Regina Hall, Amy Schumer, and Wanda Sykes‘ opening bit, his Oscar moment presented by Denzel Washington, along with all the other Honorary Oscars were similarly not presented live. Despite containing one of the most WTF moments in Oscar history, the show oscillated between dragging and feeling weirdly chaotic.

Continue reading Oscars 2022: The Snubs & Surprises at The Playlist.

Perhaps the Best Picture race is truly over. When the 2022 Oscar nominations were announced Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog” landed 12 nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, Adapted Screenplay, four acting nominations, and Editing. The only contender with nods in the five key categories. It also earned Original Score, Sound, Cinematography, and Production Design nods. In fact, the only qualifying branches that didn’t recognize it were Costumes and Makeup and Hair.

Continue reading Is ‘Power Of The Dog’ Your Oscar Winner For Best Picture? at The Playlist.

Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on-demand, vintage and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalog titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This biweekly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching.

This week’s fresh discs and streamers include a couple of bona fide classics, one of last year’s best documentaries, a couple of big late-2021 releases, and a whole mess of good stuff from Vinegar Syndrome and its partner labels.

Continue reading The Best Movies To Buy Or Stream This Week: ‘Nightmare Alley,’ ‘Saint Maud,’ ‘Summer Of Soul’ & More at The Playlist.

When costume designer Louis Sequeira got the call from Guillermo del Toro to start working on “Nightmare Alley,” he didn’t have to go far to begin researching the 1930s set project. A self-described hoarder, he’d been collecting visual references for decades.

READ MORE: Guillermo Del Toro found “Nightmare Alley’s” Godzilla In Cate Blanchett [Interview]

“I have a tie collection that I do not want to give you a number on how many ties I have, but it’s all for work,” Sequeira says.

Continue reading Dan Laustsen & Luis Sequeira Revisit The “Color Noir” Of ‘Nightmare Alley’ at The Playlist.

The Costume Designer Guild announced their nominees for the 2022 CDG Awards and there were actually some major surprises. Sure, Jenny Beaven’s work in “Cruella” and Janty Yates’ frocks in “House of Gucci” earned respective category nominations, but few would have expected Derica Cole Washington‘s work in “Zola” or Ruth E. Carter’s designs in “Coming 2 America” to be remembered.

Continue reading ‘House of Gucci,’ ‘Zola’ & ‘Book of Boba Fett’ Among 2022 Costume Designer Guild Awards Nominees at The Playlist.

We all know Martin Scorsese is a film fan. Like many other filmmakers, the legendary director has an encyclopedic knowledge of the medium. Basically, if he recommends a movie, there are legions of people who will take his words as gospel and seek out whatever he points them to. And right now, Martin Scorsese wants everyone to watch “Nightmare Alley.”

READ MORE: Guillermo Del Toro Found ‘Nightmare Alley’s’ Godzilla In Cate Blanchett [Interview]

In a new op-ed for the Los Angeles Times, Martin Scorsese writes about his love of Guillermo del Toro’s recent film, “Nightmare Alley.” Apparently, the filmmaker just recently caught the film and doesn’t understand why people aren’t rushing to the theaters to watch it.

Continue reading Martin Scorsese Urges You To Support Guillermo Del Toro’s ‘Nightmare Alley’: “He Deserves It” at The Playlist.

The American Society of Cinematographers announced their 2022 nominees this morning and it was good news for Sci-Fi fans. Over six categories projects such as “Dune,” “Foundation,” “Titans,” “Snowpiercer,” “Superman & Lois” and “The Nevers” earned nominations. Of course, it’s the film nods that will get the most attention.

READ MORE: “Belfast,” “Only Murders in the Building” and “Succession” lead 2022 SAG Awards nominations

Greig Fraser‘s work on “Dune” was nominated in the Feature Film category alongside Bruno Delbonnel for “Tragedy of Macbeth,” Dan Lausten for “Nightmare Alley,” Ari Wegner for “The Power of the Dog” and Haris Zambarloukos for “Belfast.” Additionally, the Spotlight category saw Ruben Impens recognized for “Titane,” Pat Scola for “Pig” and a very deserving Adolpho Velos for “Jockey.”

On the television side, other nominees included James Laxton for “The Underground Railroad,” Ben Richardson for “Mare of Easttown,” David Garbett for “Sweet Tooth” and Adam Bricker for “Hacks.”

Some of the snubbed film contenders that will be looking to crack the Oscar field include “The French Dispatch,” “West Side Story,” “Cyrano” and “No Time To Die,” among others.

Continue reading ‘Dune,’ Nightmare Alley,’ ‘Belfast’ Earn 2022 ASC Awards nominations at The Playlist.

As usual, the Art Directors Guild spread the love among numerous films, programs, commercials, and music videos with the announcement of the 2022 ADG Awards nominations. “The French Dispatch,” “Cruella,” “Nightmare Alley,” “Licorice Pizza,” “West Side Story” and “Dune” were among the films nominated. “Foundation,” “Loki,” “Squid Game,” “Only Murders in the Building,” “Yellowstone” and “The White Lotus” made the cut among the television categories.

READ MORE: Ethan Tobman: Designing for “Free Guy,” Taylor Swift and “Pam & Tommy” [Interview]

There were no obvious snubs on the TV side, but it was somewhat eyebrow-raising that neither “Belfast” and “The Power of the Dog,” the two Best Picture frontrunners, were not among the nominees.

Continue reading ‘French Dispatch,’ ‘Cruella,’ ‘Foundation’ Among 2022 ADG Awards Nominees at The Playlist.

Oscar season giveth and Oscar season taketh away. You can truly never make anyone happy during awards season and that was the case this morning with the revelation of both the 2022 BAFTA Awards longlists and the 2022 SAG Awards nominations. Two influential indicators for a wide range of potential Academy Awards nominees.

READ MORE: SAG Awards Reactions: Andrew Garfield, Will Smith, Ariana DeBose & More

Here are some quick takeaways after both the longlists and SAG noms dropped this morning.

Continue reading Key Oscars Takeaways After SAG Noms & BAFTA Longlists at The Playlist.

It’s undeniable that Bradley Cooper is the star of Guillermo del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley.” The actor is in nearly every scene and is the driving force for much of the plot of the film. That said, in an ensemble filled with incredible performances, it’s the three women in Cooper’s character’s life that really fill in the details of “Nightmare Alley.”

READ MORE: Guillermo Del Toro Found ‘Nightmare Alley’s’ Godzilla In Cate Blanchett [Interview]

With “Nightmare Alley” in theaters now and being one of the buzziest films this awards season, we’re thrilled to give our readers an exclusive look at a featurette that illuminates the importance of the women in the film.

Continue reading ‘Nightmare Alley’ Exclusive Featurette: Guillermo Del Toro Talks Creating A Homme Fatale For His Noir Thriller at The Playlist.

In something of a surprise, the Visual Effects branch went in a more traditional, blockbuster direction for the 10 films on the VIsual Effects Oscars shortlist. Films still in the mix for a 2022 Oscar nomination include “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “The Matrix Resurrections,” “Godzilla vs. Kong,” Dune” and “Free Guy.” Snubbed contenders include “The Green Knight,” “Don’t Look Up” and “Finch.”

READ MORE: “Shang Chi and the Ten Rings” has a winning spirit [Review]

This story is still developing…

Here are the 10 films still up for the 2022 Academy Award for Visual Effects:

“Black Widow”
“Dune”
“Eternals”
“Free Guy”
“Ghostbusters: Afterlife”
“Godzilla vs.

Continue reading ‘Matrix Resurrections,’ ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home Make Oscars 2022 VFX Shortlist at The Playlist.

Since his 1993 debut “Cronos,” it’s always been explicit that Guillermo del Toro is a genre filmmaker at heart. Over the years, the director has tackled several different kinds of horror films. He’s done vampires in “Cronos” and 2002’s “Blade II” and gothic horror in 2001’s “Devil’s Backbone” and 2015’s “Crimson Peak.” He’s also done variations on the creature feature in 1997’s “Mimic,” 2013’s kaiju film “Pacific Rim,” and finally in his 2017 romance, “The Shape Of Water, which won the director a Golden Lion at Venice and Best Director and Best Picture at the Oscars.

Continue reading ‘Nightmare Alley’ Clip: Bradley Cooper & Cate Blanchett Face-Off In Guillermo Del Toro’s New Noir at The Playlist.

After the release of “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Leonardo DiCaprio was reportedly offered quite a few films. Obviously. Reports surfaced that he was offered new films from folks such as Paul Thomas Anderson and Alejandro Innaritu. There were also reports that he was offered a potential role in a Guillermo del Toro film. With Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” getting a bit of a delay, DiCaprio decided to skip the other offers and sign on to film “Don’t Look Up” with director Adam McKay. 

Continue reading ‘Nightmare Alley’: Leonardo DiCaprio & Jennifer Lawrence Reportedly Almost Took The Leads In Guillermo Del Toro’s Noir Film at The Playlist.

Guillermo Del Toro is not as prolific as some of his peers when it comes to feature films, but it’s still somewhat surprising it’s taken this long for him to work with Cate Blanchett. They both had their breakthrough moments in the mid-to-late-1990s and Blanchett could have easily stepped into the worlds of any “Hellboy” movie, “The Shape of Water,” or “Crimson Peak” without a second glance.

Continue reading Guillermo Del Toro Found ‘Nightmare Alley’s’ Godzilla In Cate Blanchett [Interview] at The Playlist.

Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog” is a front-runner in this year’s awards season. It’s also a Netflix film, which brings some added baggage to the discussion. And as the lines blur between cinema and TV, and the industry is concerned about the future of the theatrical experience, Campion and Guillermo del Toro sat down to talk about streaming and its place in filmmaking. 

The discussion between Jane Campion and Guillermo del Toro is part of Variety’s Directors on Directors, which allowed the two filmmakers to talk about their new films (“The Power of the Dog” and “Nightmare Alley,” respectively) as well as the biggest issue facing the industry today—the ubiquity of streaming. 

Continue reading Jane Campion Enjoys Films On Her iPad But Says Watching On A Phone Is A Line She Won’t Cross at The Playlist.

We celebrate the movies at this time of year, and in the wild rush to praise directors and actors for all that nifty directing and acting they did over the last 365 days, we all tend to forget that cinema is about more than just two sets of people. Just read Twitter. Who’s naming anyone other than auteurs and stars? How many times has Steven Spielberg’s name come up? How many times has Janusz Kamiński’s?

Continue reading The Best Cinematography Of 2021 at The Playlist.

The National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Circle have had their say. Now, the American Film Institute’s jury of industry professionals and media members (who decides this group is always quizzical) has made their top 10 selections for 2021 for both film and television. The latter saw recent newcomers “West Side Story,” “Nightmare Alley” and, shockingly (considering the reviews), “Don’t Look Up” make the list.

READ MORE: “Licorice Pizza” named Best Film of 2021 by National Board of Review

In a statement, the always longwinded and “give me a spotlight” AFI President and CEO Bob Gazzale noted, “AFI is honored to shine a proper light upon the most outstanding screen stories of 2021 and those who worked collaboratively to bring them to screens large and small.

Continue reading ‘West Side Story’ ‘Nightmare Alley’ Make AFI’s Top 10 Films Of 2021 at The Playlist.

We certainly have not resumed full normalcy as we continue to battle this pandemic, but at least we have movies—even more than last year. With certain reservations about how they were premiered, released, and distributed, this year in film brought back more festival favorites like Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch,” more massive franchise golden geese like Cary Joji Fukunaga’s “No Time to Die,” more awards-friendly fare that had been held over, like Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story.

Continue reading The 25 Best Films Of 2021 at The Playlist.

As he sits in a zoom interview suite a continent away, enduring one interview after another, Willem Dafoe is beaming. And, frankly, who can blame him? Over the past year, he’s worked with Guillermo del Toro (“Nightmare Alley”), reunited with Robert Eggers (“The Northman“), and collaborated with Yorgos Lanthimos for the first time (“Poor Things”).

Continue reading Willem Dafoe Can’t Stop Grinning And It’s Not Just About ‘Nightmare Alley’ [Interview] at The Playlist.

The end is here. No, we’re not at the end of Oscar season, but we are effectively at the finish line for Oscar contenders to reveal themselves. Sure, “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “The Matrix: Resurrections” and “A Journal for Jordan” could somehow surprise, but that’s highly unlikely. The good news is, for the first time in quite a long while we have more legit Best Picture contenders than actual Best Picture slots.

Continue reading ‘West Side Story,’ ‘Nightmare Alley’ & ‘Don’t Look Up’ Shake Up The Best Picture Race [Contender Countdown] at The Playlist.

“If you displease the right people, the world closes in on you very, very fast,” Dr. Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett) cautions her new partner in crime, mentalist Stan Carlisle (Bradley Cooper). In true film noir fashion, it’s a lesson Stan fails to take to heart in Guillermo del Toro’s latest film “Nightmare Alley.” It’s also one of the few moments in del Toro’s film, co-written with Kim Morgan and adapted from William Lindsay Gresham’s 1946 novel of the same name, that’s as sharp as those found in the classics from the genre.

Continue reading ‘Nightmare Alley’ Review: Cate Blanchett Femme Fatale Adds Verve, But Guillermo del Toro’s Noir Misses Otherwise at The Playlist.

It speaks to the month’s quality that to kick things off there’s the release of Jane Campion’s beauty, “The Power of the Dog,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Kirsten Dunst on Netflix following a limited theatrical run last month. December is positively overwhelming in titles to discover both big and small, from independent darlings that have danced the festival circuit all year to the latest – and last – Marvel film of the year, the much talked about “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”

We couldn’t even fit everything about to release on the below list (see reviews in each link) where applicable).

Continue reading 19 Films To See In December: ‘Nightmare Alley,’ ‘Don’t Look Up,’ ‘Tragedy Of Macbeth’ & More at The Playlist.

There are very few awards contenders left to screen this Oscar season. The one film that has purposefully set itself up to show its wares last, however, is Guillermo Del Toro’s long-awaited thriller “Nightmare Alley.” The curtain will go up on his adaptation of William Lindsay Gresham‘s 1941 novel on Dec. 1. In the meantime, Searchlight Pictures has released the film’s new, full trailer which you can watch below.

Continue reading ‘Nightmare Alley’ Trailer: Guillermo del Toro Takes An All-Star Cast Into A Deceitful World Of Noir at The Playlist.

There is a common refrain being heard around Hollywood these days and it’s not one that will make the Academy happy (and, no, it’s not about an Academy Museum which has only three floors of exhibits). As more and more AMPAS members screen this year’s crop of Best Picture contenders – and, granted, they are barely getting started – many are verbalizing their concern over the Academy’s decision to stick with 10 nominees this year.

Continue reading The Great Hunt For 10 Best Picture Nominees Continues [Contender Countdown] at The Playlist.

The current lowdown on the Adapted Screenplay category will sound very familiar to a number of other races this awards season. There are just three or four likely locks for a nomination, Jane Campion‘s adaptation of Thomas Savage‘s novel, “The Power of the Dog,” Maggie Gyllenhaal’s adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s “The Lost Daughter,” Tony Kushner’s adaptation of the original stage play for “West Side Story” and, maybe, Sian Heder’s English adaptation of the French film “La Famille Bélier” for “CODA.

Continue reading Adapted Screenplay Oscars 2022 Predictions & Contenders at The Playlist.