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Shock: Critics Choice TV Noms Snub “The Bear” With 1 Nod, Give Comeback to Some Broadcast Shows

Roger Friedman
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Shock: Critics Choice TV Noms Snub “The Bear” With 1 Nod, Give Comeback to Some Broadcast Shows

The Critics Choice TV Nominations are out. Surprise! The broadcast networks have made a little comeback after years of omission.

Not just “Abbott Elementary.”

“Matlock,” “St. Denis Medical,” “Young Sheldon,” and “Found” got some traction with a smattering of noms. Annie Potts from “Young Sheldon” should win after decades of perfect comedy performances. Come on CCA!

The big shocker: Only Liza Colón-Zayas was nominated from “The Bear,” for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy. The rest of “The Bear” was snubbed, even Jeremy Allen White. Well, “The Bear” is not a comedy, it’s a drama with comedy. I don’t know what happened.

CCA TV awards air on January 12th Live on the E! channel in the same action packed awards show as the CCA Movie Awards. Don’t miss them! Chelsea Handler is hosting and the telecast is packed with stars!

TELEVISION NOMINATIONS FOR THE 30TH ANNUAL CRITICS CHOICE AWARDS

BEST DRAMA SERIES

The Day of the Jackal (Peacock)

The Diplomat (Netflix)

Evil (Paramount+)

Industry (HBO | Max)

Interview with the Vampire (AMC)

The Old Man (FX)

Shōgun (FX / Hulu)

Slow Horses (Apple TV+)

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Jeff Bridges – The Old Man (FX)

Ncuti Gatwa – Doctor Who (Disney+)

Eddie Redmayne – The Day of the Jackal (Peacock)

Hiroyuki Sanada – Shōgun (FX / Hulu)

Rufus Sewell – The Diplomat (Netflix)

Antony Starr – The Boys (Prime Video)

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

Caitriona Balfe – Outlander (Starz)

Kathy Bates – Matlock (CBS)

Shanola Hampton – Found (NBC)

Keira Knightley – Black Doves (Netflix)

Keri Russell – The Diplomat (Netflix)

Anna Sawai – Shōgun (FX / Hulu)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Tadanobu Asano – Shōgun (FX / Hulu)

Michael Emerson – Evil (Paramount+)

Mark-Paul Gosselaar – Found (NBC)

Takehiro Hira – Shōgun (FX / Hulu)

John Lithgow – The Old Man (FX)

Sam Reid – Interview with the Vampire (AMC)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

Moeka Hoshi – Shōgun (FX / Hulu)

Allison Janney – The Diplomat (Netflix)

Nicole Kidman – Special Ops: Lioness (Paramount+)

Skye P. Marshall – Matlock (CBS)

Anna Sawai – Pachinko (Apple TV+)

Fiona Shaw – Bad Sisters (Apple TV+)

BEST COMEDY SERIES

Abbott Elementary (ABC)

English Teacher (FX)

Hacks (HBO | Max)

Nobody Wants This (Netflix)

Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)

Somebody Somewhere (HBO | Max)

St. Denis Medical (NBC)

What We Do in the Shadows (FX)

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Brian Jordan Alvarez – English Teacher (FX)

Adam Brody – Nobody Wants This (Netflix)

David Alan Grier – St. Denis Medical (NBC)

Steve Martin – Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)

Kayvan Novak – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)

Martin Short – Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Kristen Bell – Nobody Wants This (Netflix)

Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary (ABC)

Natasia Demetriou – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)

Bridget Everett – Somebody Somewhere (HBO | Max)

Jean Smart – Hacks (HBO | Max)

Kristen Wiig – Palm Royale (Apple TV+)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Paul W. Downs – Hacks (HBO | Max)

Asher Grodman – Ghosts (CBS)

Harvey Guillén – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)

Brandon Scott Jones – Ghosts (CBS)

Michael Urie – Shrinking (Apple TV+)

Tyler James Williams – Abbott Elementary (ABC)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Liza Colón-Zayas – The Bear (FX / Hulu)

Hannah Einbinder – Hacks (HBO | Max)

Janelle James – Abbott Elementary (ABC)

Stephanie Koenig – English Teacher (FX)

Patti LuPone – Agatha All Along (Disney+)

Annie Potts – Young Sheldon (CBS)

BEST LIMITED SERIES

Baby Reindeer (Netflix)

Disclaimer (Apple TV+)

Masters of the Air (Apple TV+)

Mr Bates vs the Post Office (PBS)

The Penguin (HBO | Max)

Ripley (Netflix)

True Detective: Night Country (HBO | Max)

We Were the Lucky Ones (Hulu)

BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION

The Great Lillian Hall (HBO | Max)

It’s What’s Inside (Netflix)

Música (Prime Video)

Out of My Mind (Disney+)

Rebel Ridge (Netflix)

V/H/S/Beyond (Shudder)

BEST ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Colin Farrell – The Penguin (HBO | Max)

Richard Gadd – Baby Reindeer (Netflix)

Tom Hollander – FEUD: Capote vs. The Swans (FX)

Kevin Kline – Disclaimer (Apple TV+)

Ewan McGregor – A Gentleman in Moscow (Paramount+)

Andrew Scott – Ripley (Netflix)

BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Cate Blanchett – Disclaimer (Apple TV+)

Jodie Foster – True Detective: Night Country (HBO | Max)

Jessica Lange – The Great Lillian Hall (HBO | Max)

Cristin Milioti – The Penguin (HBO | Max)

Phoebe-Rae Taylor – Out of My Mind (Disney+)

Naomi Watts – FEUD: Capote vs. The Swans (FX)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Robert Downey Jr. – The Sympathizer (HBO | Max)

Hugh Grant – The Regime (HBO | Max)

Ron Cephas Jones – Genius: MLK/X (National Geographic)

Logan Lerman – We Were the Lucky Ones (Hulu)

Liev Schreiber – The Perfect Couple (Netflix)

Treat Williams – FEUD: Capote vs. The Swans (FX)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Dakota Fanning – Ripley (Netflix)

Leila George – Disclaimer (Apple TV+)

Betty Gilpin – Three Women (Starz)

Jessica Gunning – Baby Reindeer (Netflix)

Deirdre O’Connell – The Penguin (HBO | Max)

Kali Reis – True Detective: Night Country (HBO | Max)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE SERIES

Acapulco (Apple TV+)

Citadel: Honey Bunny (Prime Video)

La Máquina (Hulu)

The Law According to Lidia Poët (Netflix)

My Brilliant Friend (HBO | Max)

Pachinko (Apple TV+)

Senna (Netflix)

Squid Game (Netflix)

BEST ANIMATED SERIES

Batman: Caped Crusader (Prime Video)

Bluey (Disney+)

Bob’s Burgers (Fox)

Invincible (Prime Video)

The Simpsons (Fox)

X-Men ’97 (Disney+)

BEST TALK SHOW

Hot Ones (YouTube)

The Daily Show (Comedy Central)

The Graham Norton Show (BBC America)

John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in L.A. (Netflix)

The Kelly Clarkson Show (NBC/Syndicated)

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)

BEST COMEDY SPECIAL

Ali Wong: Single Lady (Netflix)

Jim Gaffigan: The Skinny (Hulu)

Kevin James: Irregardless (Prime Video)

Nikki Glaser: Someday You’ll Die (HBO | Max)

Rachel Bloom: Death, Let Me Do My Special (Netflix)

Ramy Youssef: More Feelings (HBO | Max)

Ratings: “Yellowstone” Increases Audience by 3%, But Drops Twice That in Younger Viewers

Roger Friedman
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Ratings: “Yellowstone” Increases Audience by 3%, But Drops Twice That in Younger Viewers

This past Sunday’s episode of “Yellowstone” was a bit of a non starter in many ways.

Plot wise, the show was quite dull and felt padded out to fill its time slot. With only two more episodes before the finale, “Yellowstone” offered the death — by horse kicking — of a minor character.

Not much else happened, although the show pointed to Jamie (Wes Bentley) getting his own finale for all his evil deeds.

Total ratings were up 3.15% to a lackluster 6.5 million.

But in the key demo between 18 and 49, viewers tuned out in droves. That number fell 6.6% to just 850,000 of the audience.

This Sunday brings the penultimate episode before the series ends on December 15th. Then a bunch of “Yellowstone” sequels, prequels, et all will kick into place all without Kevin Costner. Fans are hoping the main show will continue but it’s unlikely since everyone is getting killed off.

How about a comedy spin off called “Beth”? Just kidding!

ABC Will Try to Shoehorn in “American Idol” Preview After Oscars End on March 2nd

Roger Friedman
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ABC Will Try to Shoehorn in “American Idol” Preview After Oscars End on March 2nd

It used to be the Oscars took up the entire night on ABC.

Not this year.

The network says it will shoehorn in a preview of “American Idol” after the Academy Awards on March 2, 2025.

They say the Oscars will run from 7pm to 10:30pm, followed by the “Idol” special introducing Carrie Underwood as the new judge replacing Katy Perry. The other judges are still Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan.

“American Idol” will pick up again a week later on Sunday, March 9th.

ABC is hedging its ratings bets by shoving “Idol” in on the same night as the Oscars. They’re hoping for a ratings boost if the Oscars don’t do well. But ratings stop at 11pm, so on the East and Central coasts it may be a moot point if the Oscars run over their allotted time — and they usually do.

Conan O’Brien is hosting the Oscars, which will likely lean hard on “Wicked” to pull in an audience — not to mention “Gladiator II,” “Moana 2,” and a couple of other blockbusters to mitigate mostly nominations of independent movies.

This is a tad strange of ABC, which you would think should concentrate its attention on the Oscars for the night. But it’s a strange year already.

Spirit Awards Nominations Follow Gotham Awards, Omit The 3 Main Netflix Offerings

Roger Friedman
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Spirit Awards Nominations Follow Gotham Awards, Omit The 3 Main Netflix Offerings

The 2025 Indie Spirit nominations were announced today. Film Independent boldly replicated the Gotham Awards, only their presentation will be in a cold, rainy tent on the beach. The Gothams were held at Cipriani 55 Wall Street.

The Spirits pissed all over Netflix, snubbing “Emilia Perez,” “The Piano Lesson,” and “Maria.” They copied the National Board of Review and gave most of their attention to A24. (An A24 exec is on the board of the NBR, which helps a lot.)

Somehow they also ignored “The Brutalist” for Best Picture, but gave a nod to Brady Corbet for Best Director. Best Director of what? They obviously didn’t like it since they also snubbed Adrien Brody. How hilarious! “The Brutalist” was made for $10 million and is the definition of a great indie film.

Spirits also ignored James Mangold’s excellent “A Complete Unknown.”

Oh well. These awards mean nothing. No one watches them on streaming. They’re no longer given on Oscars weekend. They don’t even have a gift bag anymore. What good are they?

Also, these are gender neutral awards. But they total skipped the only gender fluid actress, Karla Sofia Gascon, of “Emilia Perez,” who should have been nominated. So, really, again, what is the point of all this?

BEST FEATURE (Award given to the producer)

Anora
Producers: Sean Baker, Alex Coco, Samantha Quan

I Saw the TV Glow
Producers: Ali Herting, Sam Intili, Dave McCary, Emma Stone, Sarah Winshall

Nickel Boys
Producers: Joslyn Barnes, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, David Levine

Sing Sing
Producers: Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Monique Walton

The Substance
Producers: Tim Bevan, Coralie Fargeat, Eric Fellner

 
BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to director and producer)

Dìdi
Director/Producer: Sean Wang
Producers: Valerie Bush, Carlos López Estrada, Josh Peters

In the Summers
Director: Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio
Producers: Janek Ambros, Lynette Coll, Alexander Dinelaris, Cynthia Fernandez De La Cruz, Cristóbal Güell, Sergio Alberto Lira, Rob Quadrino, Jan Suter, Daniel Tantalean, Nando Vila, Slava Vladimirov, Stephanie Yankwitt

Janet Planet
Director/Producer: Annie Baker
Producers: Andrew Goldman, Dan Janvey, Derrick Tseng

The Piano Lesson
Director: Malcolm Washington
Producers: Todd Black, Denzel Washington

Problemista
Director/Producer: Julio Torres
Producers: Ali Herting, Dave McCary, Emma Stone
 

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – Given to the best feature made for under $1,000,000. (Award given to the writer, director, and producer)

Big Boys
Writer/Director/Producer: Corey Sherman
Producer: Allison Tate

Ghostlight
Writer/Director: Kelly O’Sullivan
Director/Producer: Alex Thompson
Producers: Pierce Cravens, Ian Keiser, Chelsea Krant, Eddie Linker, Alex Wilson

Girls Will Be Girls
Writer/Director/Producer: Shuchi Talati
Producers: Richa Chadha, Claire Chassagne

Jazzy
Writer/Director/Producer: Morrisa Maltz
Writer/Producer: Lainey Shangreaux
Writers: Andrew Hajek, Vanara Taing
Producers: Miranda Bailey, Tommy Heitkamp, John Way, Natalie Whalen, Elliott Whitton

The People’s Joker
Writer/Director: Vera Drew
Writer: Bri LeRose
Producer: Joey Lyons
 

BEST DIRECTOR

Ali Abbasi
The Apprentice

Sean Baker
Anora

Brady Corbet
The Brutalist

Alonso Ruizpalacios
La Cocina

Jane Schoenbrun
I Saw the TV Glow

 
BEST SCREENPLAY

Scott Beck, Bryan Woods
Heretic

Jesse Eisenberg
A Real Pain

Megan Park
My Old Ass

Aaron Schimberg
A Different Man

Jane Schoenbrun
I Saw the TV Glow

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

Joanna Arnow
The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed

Annie Baker
Janet Planet

India Donaldson
Good One

Julio Torres
Problemista

Sean Wang
Dìdi

BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE

Amy Adams
Nightbitch

Ryan Destiny
The Fire Inside

Colman Domingo
Sing Sing

Keith Kupferer
Ghostlight

Mikey Madison
Anora

Demi Moore
The Substance

Hunter Schafer
Cuckoo

Justice Smith
I Saw the TV Glow

June Squibb
Thelma

Sebastian Stan
The Apprentice

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE

Yura Borisov
Anora

Joan Chen
Dìdi

Kieran Culkin
A Real Pain

Danielle Deadwyler
The Piano Lesson

Carol Kane
Between the Temples

Karren Karagulian
Anora

Kani Kusruti
Girls Will Be Girls

Brigette Lundy-Paine
I Saw the TV Glow

Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin
Sing Sing

Adam Pearson
A Different Man

BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE

Isaac Krasner
Big Boys

Katy O’Brian
Love Lies Bleeding

Mason Alexander Park
National Anthem

René Pérez Joglar
In the Summers

Maisy Stella
My Old Ass

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Dinh Duy Hung
Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell

Jomo Fray
Nickel Boys

Maria von Hausswolff
Janet Planet

Juan Pablo Ramírez
La Cocina

Rina Yang
The Fire Inside

 
BEST EDITING

Laura Colwell, Vanara Taing
Jazzy

Olivier Bugge Coutté, Olivia Neergaard-Holm
The Apprentice

Anne McCabe
Nightbitch

Hansjörg Weissbrich
September 5

Arielle Zakowski
Dìdi

 
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – Given to one film’s director, casting director, and ensemble cast

His Three Daughters
Director: Azazel Jacobs
Casting Director: Nicole Arbusto
Ensemble Cast: Jovan Adepo, Jasmine Bracey, Carrie Coon, Jose Febus, Rudy Galvan, Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen, Randy Ramos Jr., Jay O. Sanders
 
BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)

Gaucho Gaucho
Directors/Producers: Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw
Producers: Christos Konstantakopoulos, Cameron O’Reilly, Matthew Perniciaro

Hummingbirds
Directors: Silvia Del Carmen Castaños, Estefanía “Beba” Contreras
Co-Directors/Producers: Miguel Drake-McLaughlin, Diane Ng, Ana Rodriguez-Falco, Jillian Schlesinger
Producers: Leslie Benavides, Rivkah Beth Medow

No Other Land
Directors/Producers: Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor
Producers: Fabien Greenberg, Bård Kjøge Rønning

Patrice: The Movie
Director: Ted Passon
Producers: Kyla Harris, Innbo Shim, Emily Spivack

Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Director: Johan Grimonprez
Producers: Rémi Grellety, Daan Milius

 
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)

All We Imagine as Light
France, India, Netherlands, Luxembourg
Director: Payal Kapadia

Black Dog
China
Director: Guan Hu

Flow
Latvia, France, Belgium
Director: Gints Zilbalodis

Green Border
Poland, France, Czech Republic, Belgium
Director: Agnieszka Holland

Hard Truths
United Kingdom
Director: Mike Leigh
 
PRODUCERS AWARD – The Producers Award, now in its 28th year, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality independent films.

Alex Coco
Sarah Winshall
Zoë Worth

 SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD  – The Someone to Watch Award, now in its 31st year, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.

Nicholas Colia
Director of Griffin in Summer

Sarah Friedland
Director of Familiar Touch

Pham Thien An
Director of Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell
 

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The Truer Than Fiction Award, now in its 30th year, is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.

Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie
Directors of Sugarcane

Carla Gutiérrez
Director of Frida

Rachel Elizabeth Seed
Director of A Photographic Memory

BEST NEW NON-SCRIPTED OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES (Award given to the Creator, Executive Producer, Co-Executive Producer)

Erased: WW2’s Heroes of Color
Executive Producers: Idris Elba, Johanna Woolford Gibbon, Jamilla Dumbuya, Jos Cushing, Khaled Gad, Matt Robins, Chris Muckle, Sean David Johnson, Simon Raikes
Co-Executive Producer: Annabel Hobley

Hollywood Black
Executive Producers: Shayla Harris, Dave Sirulnick, Stacey Reiss, Jon Kamen, Justin Simien, Kyle Laursen, Forest Whitaker, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Jeffrey Schwarz, Amy Goodman Kass, Michael Wright, Jill Burkhart
Co-Executive Producers: David C. Brown, Laurens Grant

Photographer
Executive Producers: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Pagan Harleman, Betsy Forhan
Co-Executive Producers: Anna Barnes, Brent Kunkle

Ren Faire
Executive Producers: Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Eli Bush, Dani Bernfeld, Lance Oppenheim, David Gauvey Herbert, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Sara Rodriguez
Co-Executive Producers: Abigail Rowe, Christian Vasquez, Max Allman

Social Studies
Creator/Executive Producer: Lauren Greenfield
Executive Producers: Wallis Annenberg, Regina K. Scully, Andrea van Beuren, Frank Evers, Caryn Capotosto

BEST NEW SCRIPTED SERIES (Award given to the Creator, Executive Producer, Co-Executive Producer)
Baby Reindeer
Creator/Executive Producer: Richard Gadd
Executive Producers: Wim De Greef, Petra Fried, Matt Jarvis, Ed Macdonald

Diarra From Detroit
Creator/Executive Producer: Diarra Kilpatrick
Executive Producers: Kenya Barris, Miles Orion Feldsott, Darren Goldberg
Co-Executive Producers: Ester Lou, Mark Ganek

English Teacher
Creator/Executive Producer: Brian Jordan Alvarez
Executive Producers: Paul Simms, Jonathan Krisel, Dave King
Co-Executive Producers: Kathryn Dean, Jake Bender, Zach Dunn

Fantasmas
Creator/Executive Producer: Julio Torres
Executive Producers: Emma Stone, Dave McCary, Olivia Gerke, Alex Bach, Daniel Powell
Co-Executive Producer: Ali Herting

Shōgun
Creators/Executive Producers: Rachel Kondo, Justin Marks
Executive Producers: Edward L. McDonnell, Michael De Luca, Michaela Clavell
Co-Executive Producers: Shannon Goss, Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich

BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
Brian Jordan Alvarez
English Teacher

Richard Gadd
Baby Reindeer

Lily Gladstone
Under the Bridge

Kathryn Hahn
Agatha All Along

Cristin Milioti
The Penguin

Julianne Moore
Mary & George

Hiroyuki Sanada
Shōgun

Anna Sawai
Shōgun

Andrew Scott
Ripley

Julio Torres
Fantasmas

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
Tadanobu Asano
Shōgun

Enrico Colantoni
English Teacher

Betty Gilpin
Three Women

Chloe Guidry
Under the Bridge

Moeka Hoshi
Shōgun

Stephanie Koenig
English Teacher

Patti LuPone
Agatha All Along

Nava Mau
Baby Reindeer

Ruth Negga
Presumed Innocent

Brian Tee
Expats

BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
Jessica Gunning
Baby Reindeer

Diarra Kilpatrick
Diarra From Detroit

Joe Locke
Agatha All Along

Megan Stott
Penelope

Hoa Xuande
The Sympathizer

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
How to Die Alone
Ensemble Cast: Melissa DuPrey, Jaylee Hamidi, KeiLyn Durrel Jones, Arkie Kandola, Elle Lorraine, Michelle McLeod, Chris “CP” Powell, Conrad Ricamora, Natasha Rothwell, Jocko Sims

“Wicked” Best Picture from National Board of Review, Fan Group Leans on Fave Studios As Usual, No Netflix

Roger Friedman
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“Wicked” Best Picture from National Board of Review, Fan Group Leans on Fave Studios As Usual, No Netflix

The National Bored of Review. They are predictable.

The NBR is a fan group whose members pay big annual fees and also pay to be at their annual dinner.

They chose Universal’s “Wicked” as Best Picture. They ignored “The Brutalist,” which just won Best Picture from the NY Film Critics Circle. They also completely snubbed “Dune Part Two.”

Their 10 other Best Films include Clint Eastwood’s “Juror Number 2,” which was dumped by Warner Bros and never got a proper release. The NBR’s 501 c3 loves Eastwood and has been underwriting his archives at Wesleyan University for years.

The 10 Best films include: Anora, Babygirl, A Complete Unknown, Conclave,
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Gladiator II, Juror #2, Queer, A Real Pain, Sing Sing.

A24 got three Best Picture nods: Babygirl, Sing Sing, and Queer are each from A24 Films. This is no surprise since an exec from that studio has been on the NBR board of directors for years. Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, stars of those respective films, are Best Actress and Actor.

“The Brutalist” is also an A24 film, but I guess Annie Schulhof really didn’t like it. But A24 also got mentions for “A Different Man” and “Love Lies Bleeding” on the NBR’s Top 10 Indie Films list.

The National Board of Review is a joke. I’ve written about it for years. Like the Hollywood Foreign Press Association their choices are based purely on their own needs. But people eat this stuff up, and the studios love the attention for their films.

The NBR is really leaning on Universal Pictures. They also gave an extra award to “Wicked,” included “Conclave” as their Best Ensemble.

Best documentary went to pro-Palestinian “No Other Land.”

Completely wiped out: Netflix’s big three movies “Maria,” “Emilia Perez,” and “The Piano Lesson.” I guess Netflix finally stopped entertaining the NBR.

Best Film: Wicked

Best Director: Jon M. Chu, Wicked

Best Actor: Daniel Craig, Queer

Best Actress: Nicole Kidman, Babygirl

Best Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain

Best Supporting Actress: Elle Fanning, A Complete Unknown

Best Ensemble: Conclave

Breakthrough Performance: Mikey Madison, Anora

Best Directorial Debut: India Donaldson, Good One

Best Original Screenplay: Mike Leigh, Hard Truths

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar, Sing Sing

NBR Spotlight Award: Creative Collaboration of Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande

NBR Freedom of Expression Award: No Other Land

Best Animated Feature: Flow

Best International Film: The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Best Documentary: Sugarcane

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography: Jarin Blaschke, Nosferatu

Outstanding Achievement in Stunt Artistry: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Top Films (in alphabetical order):
Anora
Babygirl
A Complete Unknown
Conclave

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Gladiator II
Juror #2
Queer
A Real Pain
Sing Sing

Top 5 International Films (in alphabetical order):
All We Imagine As Light
The Girl with the Needle
I’m Still Here
Santosh

Universal Language

Top 5 Documentaries (in alphabetical order):
Black Box Diaries
Dahomey
Look Into My Eyes
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Will & Harper

Top 10 Independent Films (in alphabetical order):
Bird
A Different Man

Dìdi
Ghostlight
Good One
Hard Truths
His Three Daughters
Love Lies Bleeding
My Old Ass
Thelma

Bob Dylan Speaks! Endorses Biopic “A Complete Unknown,” Met with Director Over Script 5 Times (Exclusive)

Roger Friedman
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Bob Dylan Speaks! Endorses Biopic “A Complete Unknown,” Met with Director Over Script 5 Times (Exclusive)

I’m telling you this story backwards:

I can tell you Bob Dylan met with writer-director James Mangold five times when the coming biopic “A Complete Unknown” was being made. Mangold himself told me so at the Gotham Awards on Monday night.

Now this afternoon Dylan himself speaks about the film, which is off the charts great and stars Timothee Chalamet as the young superstar poet and songwriter back in 1965.

Dylan Tweets:

Is Dylan writing these occasional Tweets himself? Or is someone in his office doing it? I don’t know. But this is Bob’s official account. So we’ll take it for what it’s worth.

Mangold says Dylan has not seen the finished film. But I can tell you he will be more than pleased. Mangold, Chalamet, and co. have made something great, akin at least to Mangold’s “Walk the Line” about Johnny Cash. It’s full of beautiful touches. Chalamet leads a best ensemble cast. It’s Timothee’s best work. They are tangled up in success!

Good for Bob Dylan or whomever for chiming in days before reviews are allowed to be published. “A Complete Unknown” is going to blow up the awards race!

Taylor Swift Selling Almost 400,000 Copies of Expanded “Tortured Poets” This Week at Target

Roger Friedman
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Taylor Swift Selling Almost 400,000 Copies of Expanded “Tortured Poets” This Week at Target

The Taylor Swift marketing continues to astound.

According to hitsdailydouble.com, Taylor is on track to sell 388,000 copies this week of her “Tortured Poets Department” album.

This is an expanded version with 35 tracks, sold only at Target. The original 31 tracks are included plus four acoustic takes only available with this collection.

Taylor’s already sold around 6 million “Poets” this year, or 12 million if you include all versions and tracks.

Rolling Stone says Swift is only the 2nd biggest music act of the 21st century, however, after selling gazillions of albums and selling out arenas around the world. They put Beyonce at number 1. Their calculations are suspect, certainly.

“Poets” thus returns to number 1 this Friday for its 17th time in 2024.

SOS: “30 Rock” Actor Grizz Chapman Loses DC Suburb Home After Truck Crashes Into It

Roger Friedman
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SOS: “30 Rock” Actor Grizz Chapman Loses DC Suburb Home After Truck Crashes Into It

“30 Rock” actor Grizz Chapman is sending an SOS.

Chapman, who played Tracy Morgan’s bodyguard and assistant on the Alec Baldwin-Tina Fey comedy, has lost his home suddenly after a truck crashed into it.

According to NBC4 in Washington, Chapman’s home of two years at the Moorings of Occoquan Condominiums off of Gordon Boulevard near Woodbridge Virginia was destroyed when a freight truck slammed into it Monday morning.

Chapman, luckily, was not home at the time. He told NBC4, “My neighbor called screaming and crying and concerned because everybody thought that I was downstairs.”

Chapman is living in a hotel until his insurance company evaluates what was damaged. He said he has nowhere to live otherwise, and hopes he helps get soon. The apartment was filled with “30 Rock” memorabilia.

According to reports, Chapman received a kidney transplant in July 2010. The actor suffers from severe hypertension and had been undergoing dialysis treatments prior to the transplant.

“YMCA” Writer Says It’s Not a Gay Song, Trump Use at Rallies Has Made Millions of Dollars for Him

Roger Friedman
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“YMCA” Writer Says It’s Not a Gay Song, Trump Use at Rallies Has Made Millions of Dollars for Him

Victor Willis, writer of “YMCA,” wants to clarify something: the song is not gay themed. “There is nothing gay about it,” he says in a Facebook post.

Willis is thrilled Donald Trump likes the song, especially since the Village People singer says he’s made millions from it since Trump started using it.

Willis also says his wife will start suing people who insist the song is gay themed. Whoever Willis’s wife is, she’s pretty busy according to him carrying out their efforts. He says “my wife” more often in his post below than the word “fiancee” is used in a famous “Seinfeld” episode.

Read here about today’s phony baloney National Board of Review winners

So Willis is raking in the dough, the song — about picking up men in the local Y — isn’t gay, and everyone should leave him alone.

His key paragraph: “The financial benefits have been great as well as Y.M.C.A. is estimated to gross several million dollars since the President Elect’s continued use of the song. Therefore, I’m glad I allowed the President Elect’s continued use of Y.M.C.A. And I thank him for choosing to use my song.”

It’s unclear what and his co-writer make from licensing “YMCA.” But Luminate indicates that the song has sold the equivalent of 265,750 copies thanks almost entirely to streaming this year. That’s not a huge number in sales, which only came to 16,383 in downloads. So his excitement should be taken with some skepticism.

Willis writes:

“To Village People fans and the media:

I am the singer and writer of the lyrics to the hit Y.M.C.A. In fact, as was adjudicated and ruled in a U.S. District Court, I wrote 100% of the lyrics, and my writing partner, Jacques Morali wrote the music.

Since 2020, I’ve received over a thousand complaints about President Elect Trump’s use of Y.M.C.A. With that many complaints, I decided to ask the President Elect to stop using Y.M.C.A. because his use had become a nuisance to me.

However, the use continued because the Trump campaign knew they had obtained a political use license from BMI and absent that license being terminated, they had every right to continue using Y.M.C.A. And they did.

In fact, I started noticing numerous artists withdrawing the President Elect’s use of their material. But by the time I said to my wife one day, hey, “Trump” seems to genuinely like Y.M.C.A. and he’s having a lot of fun with it.

As such, I simply didn’t have the heart to prevent his continued use of my song in the face of so many artists withdrawing his use of their material. So I told my wife to inform BMI to not withdraw the Trump campaign political use license. My French partners were contemplating legal action out of France. So I had my wife contact our French partners and asked them to stay out of the Trump campaign’s use of Y.M.C.A. because it is a U.S. matter, and I will make the decision on his use. Our French partners quickly backed off of their objection to his use.

Y.M.C.A. has benefited greatly from use by the President Elect. For example, Y.M.C.A. was stuck at #2 on the Billboard chart prior to the President Elect’s use. However, the song finally made it to #1 on a Billboard chart after over 45 years (and held on to #1 for two weeks) due to the President Elect’s use.

The financial benefits have been great as well as Y.M.C.A. is estimated to gross several million dollars since the President Elect’s continued use of the song. Therefore, I’m glad I allowed the President Elect’s continued use of Y.M.C.A. And I thank him for choosing to use my song.

There’s been a lot of talk, especially of late, that Y.M.C.A. is somehow a gay anthem. As I’ve said numerous times in the past, that is a false assumption based on the fact that my writing partner was gay, and some (not all) of Village People were gay, and that the first Village People album was totally about gay life.

This assumption is also based on the fact that the YMCA was apparently being used as some sort of gay hangout and since one of the writers was gay and some of the Village People are gay, the song must be a message to gay people. To that I say once again, get your minds out of the gutter. It is not.

Sadly, when the President Elect started using the song, people attempting to brand the song as a gay anthem reached a fever pitch as many used it to say, oh, Trump don’t know the song is a gay anthem? This was done in a manner to attempt to shame the President Elect’s use of the song.

As I stated on numerous occasions, I knew nothing about the Y being a hang out for gays when I wrote the lyrics to Y.M.C.A. and Jacques Morali (who was gay) never once stated such to me. In fact, Jacques never once told me how to write my lyrics otherwise I would have said to him, you don’t need me, why don’t you simply write the lyrics.

I therefore wrote Y.M.C.A. about the things I knew about the Y in the urban areas of San Francisco such as swimming, basketball, track, and cheap food and cheap rooms. And when I say, “hang out with all the boys” that is simply 1970s black slang for black guys hanging-out together for sports, gambling or whatever. There’s nothing gay about that.

So, to the extent that Y.M.C.A. is considered a gay anthem based on the fact that gays once used certain YMCA’s for elicit activity, the assumption that the song alludes to that is completely misguided.

Therefore, since I wrote the lyrics and ought to know what the lyrics I wrote is really about, come January 2025, my wife will start suing each and every news organization that falsely refers to Y.M.C.A., either in their headlines or alluded to in the base of the story, that Y.M.C.A. is somehow a gay anthem because such notion is based solely on the song’s lyrics alluding to elicit activity for which it does not. However, I don’t mind that gays think of the song as their anthem.

But you’d be hard-pressed to find Y.M.C.A. on the play list at any gay club, parade or other gay activity in a way that would suggest it’s somehow an anthem to the community other than alluding to illicit activity, which is defamatory, and damaging to the song. But it stops in 2025.

However, you know where you-will find Y.M.C.A.? On the play list of almost every wedding, bar mitzvah, sporting organization, and the song is used in commercials and motion pictures and products worldwide.

The true anthem is Y.M.C.A.’s appeal to people of all strips including President Elect Trump. But the song is not really a gay anthem other than certain people falsely suggesting that it is. And this must stop because it is damaging to the song.”

Netanyahu Film: Doc Maker Alex Gibney Says No One Will Show “The Bibi Files” But You Can See It Here

Roger Friedman
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Netanyahu Film: Doc Maker Alex Gibney Says No One Will Show “The Bibi Files” But You Can See It Here

Alex Gibney has made dozens of terrific documentaries. So has Lexi Bloom.

But Gibney says their film, “The Bibi Files,” about the corruption and crimes of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has not gotten one bite from a distributor or a streamer.

Gibney writers on Twitter:

“I want to tell a story. I was leaked never-before-seen police interrogation videos from the Netanyahu corruption case. They shed light on Bibi’s corruption – from cheap bribes to the way he has ruthlessly embarked on a forever war in Gaza. I asked Alexis Bloom to direct a film about it which she did: “The Bibi Files.” It is a scathing and coruscating behind-the-scenes look at how his venal attempts to elude judgement and stay in power have cost over 50,000 lives and are taking us to the brink of WWIII. Shocker: to date, no mainstream outlet will show the film in the US. So, we have partnered with a new outlet called http://Jolt.film, so that Americans can see the film. Jolt is an alternative that will allow independent cinema to thrive. Please check it out.”

You can watch this important film here, for just $18.

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