There was a moment last week in preparing for Oscar coverage when it hit me. Almost exactly a year prior, in the middle of March 2022, I’d interviewed Michelle Yeoh and The Daniels about their new movie at the time, “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” 12 months ago. The beginning of what became an extremely long campaign for A24’s eventual Best Picture champion. Their second in just 12 years of existence.

Continue reading It All Led Up To This: A24’s Triumphant Oscar Night at The Playlist.

“So this is what the multiverse looks like,” Brendan Fraser said as he accepted the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in “The Whale.” In his emotional speech, the longtime actor thanked his collaborators and recounted the long road that it took to get to this moment.

READ MORE: Brendan Fraser Says Golden Globes Nomination “Doesn’t Matter” & Called The Award A “Hood Ornament”

Fraser has a decade-spanning over three years in the movie business.

Continue reading Brendan Fraser Wins The Best Actor Oscar Home For ‘The Whale’ at The Playlist.

Brendan Fraser is having a moment right now. After his acclaimed performance in “The Whale,” he’s gone on to earn a ton of awards recognition, including the recently announced Oscars nom for Best Actor. However, one of the awards he was nominated for, a Golden Globe, did not excite him. In fact, he didn’t think the results of that nomination mattered at all.

READ MORE: Oscar Nominations Reactions: Angela Bassett, Michelle Yeoh, Brendan Fraser & More

Speaking on the Howard Stern Show (via EW), Brendan Fraser talked about his years-long drama with the Golden Globes and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Continue reading Brendan Fraser Says Golden Globes Nomination “Doesn’t Matter” & Called The Award A “Hood Ornament” at The Playlist.

One of the most talked-about films this awards season is Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale.” While there is a lot of discussion about how the film portrays someone who is overweight, with many critics thinking the filmmaker dropped the ball on such an important part of the story, there also have been quite a few critics who think actor Brendan Fraser deserves an Oscar nomination for his performance.

Continue reading James Corden Almost Starred In ‘The Whale’ When Tom Ford Was Attached To Direct at The Playlist.

The Makeup and Hairstyling branch is always full of surprises and their 2023 Oscar shortlist selections lived up to their reputation. Expected players such as “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” “Elvis” and, despite the controversy over its fat suit, “The Whale” made the cut. As did a number of unexpected selections, “Blonde,” “Crimes of the Future” and “Amsterdam.”

READ MORE: “Everything Everywhere All At Once” lands 14 Critics Choice Awards nominations

A long list of snubs included “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” “The Northman,” “Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness,” and “Till,” among others.

Continue reading ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,’ ‘Elvis’ & ‘The Whale’ Land On Makeup & Hairstyling Oscars Shortlist at The Playlist.

To say that A24 has deployed an interesting marketing strategy for “The Whale” is an understatement. After a rapturous debut at the Venice Film Festival, where critics were falling over themselves to give the Oscar to Brendan Fraser right then and there, there were months without any new marketing materials for the film. And finally, about a month before the film was released, there was one trailer, which didn’t even really talk about the plot of the film or offer a real glimpse at this amazing performance that people were raving about.

Continue reading ‘The Whale’ Trailer: Brendan Fraser Gives It His All In Darren Aronofsky’s Family Drama at The Playlist.

After a hugely positive reception when the film premiered at the Venice Film Festival, it seemed as if Brendan Fraser was going to run away with all of the Best Acting awards thanks to his performance in “The Whale.” However, with the film being seen by a wider audience since its debut in theaters, there are folks who are upset with Darren Aronofsky’s film and its portrayal of a fat person. 

Continue reading Darren Aronofsky Says ‘The Whale’ Fat Suit Controversy “Makes No Sense To Me” at The Playlist.

We’ve already gotten the Gotham Awards and have seen the New York Critics Circle announce their winners. As we start the final countdown of 2022, many of us continue to play desperate catch-up of the year’s best, making the prospect of an entire month worth of new releases daunting. November was overloaded with quality releases week-to-week, and December is set for some of the biggest releases of the year. From kicking the month off with the violent twist on Santa Claus to the celebrated return of Brendan Fraser in a leading role, the latest feature from indie darling Joanna Hogg, to the much anticipated “Avatar: The Way of Water,” December sees 2022 ending on a big note. 

“Violent Night”
David Harbour (“Stranger Things”) stars in the Santa Claus action film “Violent Night” directed by Tommy Wirkola.

Continue reading 14 Movies To Watch In December: ‘Babylon,’ ‘The Whale,’ ‘Glass Onion’ & More at The Playlist.

This year’s Venice Film Festival featured several draws, new films by Noah Baumbach, Alejandro González Iñárritu, and more, but perhaps no return was as anticipated as Hollywood legend Brendan Fraser, who stars in Darren Aronofsky’s upcoming psychological drama “The Whale.”

‘The Whale’ Review: Brendan Fraser And Sadie Sink Are A Heartbreaking Duo In Darren Aronofsky’s Best Film Since ‘The Wrestler’ [Venice]

Fraser has been out of the limelight for a number of years now, battling with health issues, divorce, depression, and the fierce backlash he received in 2018 after accusing Philip Berk (then-president of the HFPA) of sexually assaulting him in 2003.

Continue reading ‘The Whale’ Trailer: Darren Aronofsky Returns With An Oscar-Worthy Brendan Fraser Performance at The Playlist.

Last month, Darren Aronofsky‘s first film in five years, “The Whale,” had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, with critics praising Brendan Fraser‘s performance as a 600-pound gay man. But EW reports (via an interview with Variety), that Aronofsky initially attempted to cast an obese actor in the part before going with Fraser. And since Fraser looks to be the Oscar Best Actor frontrunner at the moment, it’s fascinating that Aronofsky looked elsewhere for the role first.

Continue reading ‘The Whale’: Darren Aronofsky Says He Couldn’t Find An Obese Actor Who Could ‘Pull Off The Emotion’ Before He Cast Brendan Fraser at The Playlist.

Darren Aronofsky loves reclaiming the broken, the damaged, the forgotten. Take his magnum opus, 2008’s “The Wrestler,” the story of an aging WWE entertainer who gives it all for one more shot at glory. While 2005’s “Sin City” had already brought star Mickey Rourke back into the Hollywood fold, here his return was concreted, completed, the talk of the town, and etched onto shining plaques.

Continue reading ‘The Whale’ Review: Brendan Fraser And Sadie Sink Are A Heartbreaking Duo In Darren Aronofsky’s Best Film Since ‘The Wrestler’ [Venice] at The Playlist.

Darren Aronofsky returns to the Venice Film Festival this year with his first movie since 2017’s “mother!,” “The Whale.” There’s plenty to celebrate about the upcoming film. It’s the first film by Aronofsky in five years, A24‘s introduction to the Lido, and the return of Brendan Fraser as a leading man. But Fraser’s starring role in “The Whale” is unlike anything he’s ever done before, and meeting that challenge pushed the actor to new places with his art.

Continue reading Brendan Fraser On His Role In ‘The Whale’: “I Gave It Everything I’ve Got” at The Playlist.

Following the unveiling of its world premieres, including Guillermo del Toro’s highly-anticipated animated feature, “Pinocchio,” the 66th BFI London Film Festival (LFF) has announced its full program line-up, which will be presented in cinemas and online across the U.K. Over twelve days from October 5-16, the LFF will return to its flagship venues in the heart of London – BFI Southbank and the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, which between them host Galas, Special Presentations, and Official Competition.

Continue reading BFI London Film Festival Unveils Full Line-Up: ‘The Whale,’ ‘Bardo,’ ‘White Noise’ & More Added at The Playlist.

Nature seems to be healing—relatively speaking—and the movies are celebrating in a big way by giving dozens and dozens of exciting new ones over the next four months. In what we can hope continues to be the safest and most productive year of moviegoing since 2019, festivals have returned to in-person gatherings (including in Toronto, Venice, and New York, where we’ll see many below titles premiere), blockbusters are taking up real estate at the multiplex again, and upcoming award ceremonies are preparing to go without the Zoom red carpets.

Continue reading Fall 2022 Preview: 60+ Must-See Films To Watch at The Playlist.

And just like that, summer is over, and the festival season is about to start. That’s right, blockbuster season is essentially over, and now it’s time for the fall film festival circuit to produce and premiere the film titles that will be vying for Oscars later this year. As always, the Venice Film Festival kicks off the season first, and the 79th edition is as strong as ever, proving that the festival is just as important as France’s Cannes Film Festival, if not more so.

Continue reading Venice Film Festival Preview: 16 Must-See Films To Watch at The Playlist.

If you’re sick of blockbusters and have a bad taste in your mouth from the umpteenth rash of announcements out of Comic-Con—hey, we get it—get ready to rejoice. This onslaught is almost over, and a new one is brewing—the fall film festival barrage. The Venice Film Festival announced its staggeringly good line-up today, the Toronto International Film Festival is later this week, and the New York Film Festival and Telluride Film Festival will soon follow.

Continue reading A24 First Venice Look: Brendan Fraser In Darren Aronofsky’s ‘The Whale,’ Tilda Swinton In ‘The Eternal Daughter’ at The Playlist.

The Venice Film Festival kicks off next month on August 31, and it already looks like a killer year. And Netflix has a monopoly on big world premieres at the festival, as Noah Baumbach’s “White Noise” was announced as the festival’s opening night film this morning. There’s other highly-anticipated picture likely to debut at the festival, too, though, and two of those are apparently from directors whose last films came out in 2017.

Continue reading Venice 2022: Martin McDonagh’s ‘The Banshees Of Inisherin’ & Darren Aronofsky’s ‘The Whale’ Reported To Premiere At The Lido at The Playlist.

Putting together the 100 Most Anticipated Films list is a beast in any year. Still, in the new accelerated age of streaming with HBO Max, Apple TV+, Amazon, Netflix, and all the new players popping up every single day, it seems, the task becomes more and more daunting and nearly impossible (we could have easily gone to 200 this year).

So we’re post-COVID, but oops, not-yet post-COVID, but somehow movies have survived, even if the theatrical market becomes a more challenging and riskier gambit.

Continue reading The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2022 at The Playlist.

Wondering what filmmaker Darren Aronofsky is up to? We’ve been thinking the same. Well, he’s got a new project called “The Whale,” being set up at A24 and starring Brendan Fraser. “The Whale” is based on the critically- acclaimed 2012 play of the same name by Samuel D. Hunter and tells the story of a 600lbs recluse and father trying to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter, who is something of a wild and sharped-tongue hellion.

Continue reading Darren Aronofsky Teams With Brendan Fraser & A24 For Redemptive Father/Daughter Dramedy ‘The Whale’ at The Playlist.