After many years of being unavailable, James Cameron’s True Lies is finally out on physical media. While it’s been out digitally since December, it’s now on disc, but the 4K transfer is proving to be controversial. How so? During the initial digital release, many took issue with the film’s seemingly AI-assisted upgrade. Our own Luke Ryan, who ran the long-running Movie Endings Explained series for us on JoBlo Originals, took to Twitter (or X) to post some disturbing screenshots from the film, which suggests the film looks far different now than it did back in 1994.
James Cameron has absolutely lost his fucking mind, allowing this to be done to his films. The TRUE LIES 4K "remaster" is out and yeah, Peter Jackson's Park Row AI treatment has been SLATHERED all over it. I'll say it again, this digital painting OVER FILM is fucking disgusting. pic.twitter.com/IgR9MCXhfk
Having watched the 4K restoration on iTunes myself, I’ll admit that in motion, the movie looks better than it does in the stills Luke has posted. However, it also looks quite different from how it used to, with actors having a too-smooth appearance, which makes me think Luke is correct in his assessment that AI enhancement was used rather than a negative scan of the original elements (or rather – some combination of the two). Simply put, the 4K version of the movie shouldn’t look this good, as we’re talking about a movie that’s 29 years old. Restorations like this are a kind of revisionist filmmaking, although one could argue that Cameron certainly has that right as the movie’s director and producer.
On disc, the movie apparently fares a little better, but the look is still getting mixed reviews. One of the best home media review sites, TheDigitalBits, tried to explain the restoration process:
“For its release on Ultra HD, Lightstorm, working with Park Road Post, has built a new 4K Digital Intermediate using recent 4K scans of the original camera negative (confirmed per Lightstorm). This footage has then been “optimized” by Park Road’s proprietary deep-learning algorithms. Photochemical grain has been greatly reduced, though not eliminated entirely, while fine detail has been enhanced algorithmically.”
While they say the film does indeed look better on physical media than it did digitally, the overall result is still the same. Whether you like it or not depends on your preferences.
The Abyss and Aliens have a similar look, but it’s a little less noticeable in those older films than it is in True Lies. End of the day, we don’t want to dissuade anyone from buying True Lies. It looks fantastic, and it’s great to finally have the movie available to own after many years of it being only available on a non-anamorphic DVD. But this kind of restoration reminds me a bit of how some early Blu-rays were overly DNR’d, with Predator being a notable early example, in a way that made the actors look waxy. Eventually, the film was re-released with a more normal look. That said, I wouldn’t hold my breath for a new version of True Lies as Cameron, the perfectionist he is, had probably gone over every frame of this restoration, with it looking exactly how he wants it to.
At any rate, the 4K UHD disc is due out March 12th.
Do you think Cameron went too far? Let us know in the comments.
The 96th Academy Awards saw Oppenheimer taking home the most awards of the night, a fine selection of memorable speeches and even a dog in the audience. But some of the funniest moments of the Oscars came in between all of these. For us, the highlight was undoubtedly a showdown for the ages between Michael Keaton and two foes of Batman: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito.
One presenter — well, pair of presenters — that got big laughs was the duo of Schwarzenegger and DeVito, who gave out the Oscars for Best Visual Effects and Best Editing. Now we all know that the two headlined Twins (which Oppenheimer editor Jennifer Lame was cool enough to shout out), but what they really wanted to focus on was taking down Batman, as Mr. Freeze and The Penguin were both discarded by the Caped Crusader in Batman & Robin and Batman Returns, respectively. And so their attention turned to Michael Keaton in the audience, who gave them intimidating looks and challenged them to give their diabolical moves another shot. Even still, Schwarzenegger kept his cool, telling him, “You have a lot of nerve to show your face around here.” While DeVito co-starred with Keaton in Batman Returns, Schwarzenegger starred against George Clooney’s Batman; while Clooney wasn’t in attendance, no doubt a cutaway would have blown the roof off of the Dolby Theatre.
One of the biggest laughs at last night’s Oscars came in an unsuspecting category. Cuing up Best Costume Design, host Jimmy Kimmel mentioned the time in 1974 when a streaker disrupted the show. This set up presenter John Cena, who got a little camera shy and wanted Kimmel to STFU before coming out entirely naked, covered only by an oversized envelope with the nominees. The award would go to Poor Things, but by that point, all eyes were on Cena’s five knuckle shuffle, covered up by a makeshift toga.
Presenting Best Sound was John Mulaney, who we expected to bring the laughs; what we didn’t expect was a full breakdown of the plot of Field of Dreams — itself a three-time Oscar nominee — complete with a point-by-point look at Gabby Hoffmann choking on a hot dog. It was a rapid-fire verbal reconstruction that both poked fun at the movie’s fantasy elements and paid tribute to a beloved runner-up. It also showed exactly why Mulaney should be given a shot at hosting the Academy Awards.
And then there was Ryan Gosling, who gave an all-time great performance of Best Original Song nominee “I’m Just Ken”, beginning in the audience in between Margot Robbie and Billie Eilish (the eventual winner of the category), who couldn’t stifle their laughter. After a cameo by legendary guitarist Slash, Gosling took to the audience for a singalong, zeroing in on the cast and crew of Barbie, giving Greta Gerwig a shot at the mic after being “snubbed” for the Best Director Oscar. Even Emma Stone — who Gosling starred in La La Land with — joined in on the fun. Hell, it was so rousing that Stone even later blamed it for breaking her dress!
Those were just some of the most memorable moments from last night’s Academy Awards. What was the most standout Oscar moment for you? Give us your number one pick below!
The 96th Academy Awards saw Oppenheimer taking home the most awards of the night, a fine selection of memorable speeches and even a dog in the audience. But some of the funniest moments of the Oscars came in between all of these. For us, the highlight was undoubtedly a showdown for the ages between Michael Keaton and two foes of Batman: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito.
One presenter — well, pair of presenters — that got big laughs was the duo of Schwarzenegger and DeVito, who gave out the Oscars for Best Visual Effects and Best Editing. Now we all know that the two headlined Twins (which Oppenheimer editor Jennifer Lame was cool enough to shout out), but what they really wanted to focus on was taking down Batman, as Mr. Freeze and The Penguin were both discarded by the Caped Crusader in Batman & Robin and Batman Returns, respectively. And so their attention turned to Michael Keaton in the audience, who gave them intimidating looks and challenged them to give their diabolical moves another shot. Even still, Schwarzenegger kept his cool, telling him, “You have a lot of nerve to show your face around here.” While DeVito co-starred with Keaton in Batman Returns, Schwarzenegger starred against George Clooney’s Batman; while Clooney wasn’t in attendance, no doubt a cutaway would have blown the roof off of the Dolby Theatre.
One of the biggest laughs at last night’s Oscars came in an unsuspecting category. Cuing up Best Costume Design, host Jimmy Kimmel mentioned the time in 1974 when a streaker disrupted the show. This set up presenter John Cena, who got a little camera shy and wanted Kimmel to STFU before coming out entirely naked, covered only by an oversized envelope with the nominees. The award would go to Poor Things, but by that point, all eyes were on Cena’s five knuckle shuffle, covered up by a makeshift toga.
Presenting Best Sound was John Mulaney, who we expected to bring the laughs; what we didn’t expect was a full breakdown of the plot of Field of Dreams — itself a three-time Oscar nominee — complete with a point-by-point look at Gabby Hoffmann choking on a hot dog. It was a rapid-fire verbal reconstruction that both poked fun at the movie’s fantasy elements and paid tribute to a beloved runner-up. It also showed exactly why Mulaney should be given a shot at hosting the Academy Awards.
And then there was Ryan Gosling, who gave an all-time great performance of Best Original Song nominee “I’m Just Ken”, beginning in the audience in between Margot Robbie and Billie Eilish (the eventual winner of the category), who couldn’t stifle their laughter. After a cameo by legendary guitarist Slash, Gosling took to the audience for a singalong, zeroing in on the cast and crew of Barbie, giving Greta Gerwig a shot at the mic after being “snubbed” for the Best Director Oscar. Even Emma Stone — who Gosling starred in La La Land with — joined in on the fun. Hell, it was so rousing that Stone even later blamed it for breaking her dress!
Those were just some of the most memorable moments from last night’s Academy Awards. What was the most standout Oscar moment for you? Give us your number one pick below!
The Oscars are done for another year and Christopher Nolan and Cillian Murphy are newly minted Oscar winners for Oppenheimer! Overall, it was an expected and welcome result, with Oppenheimer also taking home Best Picture, while Poor Things star Emma Stone won a second Oscar, in a surprising, but well-earned result. Overall, it was the icing on the cake of a refreshingly entertaining edition of the Oscars – one of the best in years.
Right off the bat it was pretty amusing, Jimmy Kimmel made some pretty fun digs in his opening monologue, including some references to Robert Downey Jr’s checkered history (which he was happy to play along to) and Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling’s genetic perfection (he ain’t wrong). Plus, there was a close-up of Anatomy of a Fall’s breakout dog star, Messi (who showed up despite earlier giving the award show the high hat), and a pretty funny joke from Kimmel about Killers of the Flower Moon being so long that he had his mail forwarded to the theatre when he saw it. The funniest bit of the evening is no doubt Kimmel and John Cena’s parody of the infamous streaking episode for Best Costume. Meanwhile, in a crowd-pleasing moment, Robert Downey Jr., took how a much deserved Best Supporting Actor Win for Oppenheimer. The award was so well received, even Messi the dog applauded.
Another great moment was Arnold Schwarzengger and Danny DeVito coming out to remember being Batman enemies in Batman Returns, and Batman & Robin, only to be stared down by Michael Keaton, wearing a Bruce Wayne ascot. Good stuff! Interestingly, Wes Anderson won his first-ever Oscar for The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, but wasn’t on hand to accept his award. Then there was Ryan Gosling nailing “I’m Just Ken”, with a little help from his co-stars and Guns N’ Roses legend Slash.
Oppenheimer took home the most awards in total, with seven wins. Poor Things won four, Zone of Interest won two, while Maestro, Killers of the Flower Moon and Past Lives all left empty-handed.
Here are all the winners:
BEST PICTURE
AMERICAN FICTION Ben LeClair, Nikos Karamigios, Cord Jefferson and Jermaine Johnson, Producers ANATOMY OF A FALL Marie-Ange Luciani and David Thion, Producers BARBIE David Heyman, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley and Robbie Brenner, Producers THE HOLDOVERS Mark Johnson, Producer KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON Dan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas, Martin Scorsese and Daniel Lupi, Producers MAESTRO Bradley Cooper, Steven Spielberg, Fred Berner, Amy Durning and Kristie Macosko Krieger, Producers OPPENHEIMER Emma Thomas, Charles Roven and Christopher Nolan, Producers PAST LIVES David Hinojosa, Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler, Producers POOR THINGS Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone, Producers THE ZONE OF INTEREST James Wilson, Producer
DIRECTING
ANATOMY OF A FALL Justine Triet KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON Martin Scorsese OPPENHEIMER Christopher Nolan POOR THINGS Yorgos Lanthimos THE ZONE OF INTEREST Jonathan Glazer
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
BRADLEY COOPER Maestro COLMAN DOMINGO Rustin PAUL GIAMATTI The Holdovers CILLIAN MURPHY Oppenheimer JEFFREY WRIGHT American Fiction
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
ANNETTE BENING Nyad LILY GLADSTONE Killers of the Flower Moon SANDRA HÜLLER Anatomy of a Fall CAREY MULLIGAN Maestro EMMA STONE Poor Things
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
STERLING K. BROWN American Fiction ROBERT DE NIRO Killers of the Flower Moon ROBERT DOWNEY JR. Oppenheimer RYAN GOSLING Barbie MARK RUFFALO Poor Things
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
EMILY BLUNT Oppenheimer DANIELLE BROOKS The Color Purple AMERICA FERRERA Barbie JODIE FOSTER Nyad DA’VINE JOY RANDOLPH The Holdovers
WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
ANATOMY OF A FALL Screenplay – Justine Triet and Arthur Harari THE HOLDOVERS Written by David Hemingson MAESTRO Written by Bradley Cooper & Josh Singer MAY DECEMBER Screenplay by Samy Burch; Story by Samy Burch & Alex Mechanik PAST LIVES Written by Celine Song
WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
AMERICAN FICTION Written for the screen by Cord Jefferson BARBIE Written by Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach OPPENHEIMER Written for the screen by Christopher Nolan POOR THINGS Screenplay by Tony McNamara THE ZONE OF INTEREST Written by Jonathan Glazer
VISUAL EFFECTS
THE CREATOR Jay Cooper, Ian Comley, Andrew Roberts and Neil Corbould GODZILLA MINUS ONE Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi and Tatsuji Nojima GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 Stephane Ceretti, Alexis Wajsbrot, Guy Williams and Theo Bialek MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE Alex Wuttke, Simone Coco, Jeff Sutherland and Neil Corbould NAPOLEON Charley Henley, Luc-Ewen Martin-Fenouillet, Simone Coco and Neil Corbould
FILM EDITING
ANATOMY OF A FALL Laurent Sénéchal THE HOLDOVERS Kevin Tent KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON Thelma Schoonmaker OPPENHEIMER Jennifer Lame POOR THINGS Yorgos Mavropsaridis
SOUND
THE CREATOR Ian Voigt, Erik Aadahl, Ethan Van der Ryn, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic MAESTRO Steven A. Morrow, Richard King, Jason Ruder, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE Chris Munro, James H. Mather, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor OPPENHEIMER Willie Burton, Richard King, Gary A. Rizzo and Kevin O’Connell THE ZONE OF INTEREST Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn
CINEMATOGRAPHY
EL CONDE Edward Lachman KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON Rodrigo Prieto MAESTRO Matthew Libatique OPPENHEIMER Hoyte van Hoytema POOR THINGS Robbie Ryan
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
AMERICAN FICTION Laura Karpman INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY John Williams KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON Robbie Robertson OPPENHEIMER Ludwig Göransson POOR THINGS Jerskin Fendrix
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
THE FIRE INSIDE from Flamin’ Hot; Music and Lyric by Diane Warren I’M JUST KEN from Barbie; Music and Lyric by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt IT NEVER WENT AWAY from American Symphony; Music and Lyric by Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson WAHZHAZHE (A SONG FOR MY PEOPLE) from Killers of the Flower Moon; Music and Lyric by Scott George WHAT WAS I MADE FOR? from Barbie; Music and Lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
THE BOY AND THE HERON Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki ELEMENTAL Peter Sohn and Denise Ream NIMONA Nick Bruno, Troy Quane, Karen Ryan and Julie Zackary ROBOT DREAMS Pablo Berger, Ibon Cormenzana, Ignasi Estapé and Sandra Tapia Díaz SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Amy Pascal
INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
IO CAPITANO Italy PERFECT DAYS Japan SOCIETY OF THE SNOW Spain THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE Germany THE ZONE OF INTEREST United Kingdom
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM
BOBI WINE: THE PEOPLE’S PRESIDENT Moses Bwayo, Christopher Sharp and John Battsek THE ETERNAL MEMORY Maite Alberdi FOUR DAUGHTERS Kaouther Ben Hania and Nadim Cheikhrouha TO KILL A TIGER Nisha Pahuja, Cornelia Principe and David Oppenheim 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner and Raney Aronson-Rath
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
GOLDA Karen Hartley Thomas, Suzi Battersby and Ashra Kelly-Blue MAESTRO Kazu Hiro, Kay Georgiou and Lori McCoy-Bell OPPENHEIMER Luisa Abel POOR THINGS Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier and Josh Weston SOCIETY OF THE SNOW Ana López-Puigcerver, David Martí and Montse Ribé
PRODUCTION DESIGN
BARBIE Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON Production Design: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Adam Willis NAPOLEON Production Design: Arthur Max; Set Decoration: Elli Griff OPPENHEIMER Production Design: Ruth De Jong; Set Decoration: Claire Kaufman POOR THINGS Production Design: James Price and Shona Heath; Set Decoration: Zsuzsa Mihalek
ANIMATED SHORT FILM
LETTER TO A PIG Tal Kantor and Amit R. Gicelter NINETY-FIVE SENSES Jerusha Hess and Jared Hess OUR UNIFORM Yegane Moghaddam PACHYDERME Stéphanie Clément and Marc Rius WAR IS OVER! INSPIRED BY THE MUSIC OF JOHN & YOKO Dave Mullins and Brad Booker
LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
THE AFTER Misan Harriman and Nicky Bentham INVINCIBLE Vincent René-Lortie and Samuel Caron KNIGHT OF FORTUNE Lasse Lyskjær Noer and Christian Norlyk RED, WHITE AND BLUE Nazrin Choudhury and Sara McFarlane THE WONDERFUL STORY OF HENRY SUGAR Wes Anderson and Steven Rales
DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM
THE ABCS OF BOOK BANNING Sheila Nevins and Trish Adlesic THE BARBER OF LITTLE ROCK John Hoffman and Christine Turner ISLAND IN BETWEEN S. Leo Chiang and Jean Tsien THE LAST REPAIR SHOP Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers NǍI NAI & WÀI PÓ Sean Wang and Sam Davis
COSTUME DESIGN
BARBIE Jacqueline Durran KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON Jacqueline West NAPOLEON Janty Yates and Dave Crossman OPPENHEIMER Ellen Mirojnick POOR THINGS Holly Waddington
The time has come! The 96th annual Academy Awards are happening tonight, and we’ll be on hand following all the winners as they come in all-night long! Will this be Christopher Nolan’s year to win a Best Director Oscar? Will Cillian Murphy take Best Actor over Paul Giamatti? Stay with us all night long for all the winners and highlights from the show!
Here are all the nominees:
BEST PICTURE
AMERICAN FICTION Ben LeClair, Nikos Karamigios, Cord Jefferson and Jermaine Johnson, Producers ANATOMY OF A FALL Marie-Ange Luciani and David Thion, Producers BARBIE David Heyman, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley and Robbie Brenner, Producers THE HOLDOVERS Mark Johnson, Producer KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON Dan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas, Martin Scorsese and Daniel Lupi, Producers MAESTRO Bradley Cooper, Steven Spielberg, Fred Berner, Amy Durning and Kristie Macosko Krieger, Producers OPPENHEIMER Emma Thomas, Charles Roven and Christopher Nolan, Producers PAST LIVES David Hinojosa, Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler, Producers POOR THINGS Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone, Producers THE ZONE OF INTEREST James Wilson, Producer
DIRECTING
ANATOMY OF A FALL Justine Triet KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON Martin Scorsese OPPENHEIMER Christopher Nolan POOR THINGS Yorgos Lanthimos THE ZONE OF INTEREST Jonathan Glazer
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
BRADLEY COOPER Maestro COLMAN DOMINGO Rustin PAUL GIAMATTI The Holdovers CILLIAN MURPHY Oppenheimer JEFFREY WRIGHT American Fiction
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
STERLING K. BROWN American Fiction ROBERT DE NIRO Killers of the Flower Moon ROBERT DOWNEY JR. Oppenheimer RYAN GOSLING Barbie MARK RUFFALO Poor Things
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
ANNETTE BENING Nyad LILY GLADSTONE Killers of the Flower Moon SANDRA HÜLLER Anatomy of a Fall CAREY MULLIGAN Maestro EMMA STONE Poor Things
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
EMILY BLUNT Oppenheimer DANIELLE BROOKS The Color Purple AMERICA FERRERA Barbie JODIE FOSTER Nyad DA’VINE JOY RANDOLPH The Holdovers
WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
AMERICAN FICTION Written for the screen by Cord Jefferson BARBIE Written by Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach OPPENHEIMER Written for the screen by Christopher Nolan POOR THINGS Screenplay by Tony McNamara THE ZONE OF INTEREST Written by Jonathan Glazer
WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
ANATOMY OF A FALL Screenplay – Justine Triet and Arthur Harari THE HOLDOVERS Written by David Hemingson MAESTRO Written by Bradley Cooper & Josh Singer MAY DECEMBER Screenplay by Samy Burch; Story by Samy Burch & Alex Mechanik PAST LIVES Written by Celine Song
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
THE BOY AND THE HERON Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki ELEMENTAL Peter Sohn and Denise Ream NIMONA Nick Bruno, Troy Quane, Karen Ryan and Julie Zackary ROBOT DREAMS Pablo Berger, Ibon Cormenzana, Ignasi Estapé and Sandra Tapia Díaz SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Amy Pascal
CINEMATOGRAPHY
EL CONDE Edward Lachman KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON Rodrigo Prieto MAESTRO Matthew Libatique OPPENHEIMER Hoyte van Hoytema POOR THINGS Robbie Ryan
COSTUME DESIGN
BARBIE Jacqueline Durran KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON Jacqueline West NAPOLEON Janty Yates and Dave Crossman OPPENHEIMER Ellen Mirojnick POOR THINGS Holly Waddington
INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
IO CAPITANO Italy PERFECT DAYS Japan SOCIETY OF THE SNOW Spain THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE Germany THE ZONE OF INTEREST United Kingdom
LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
THE AFTER Misan Harriman and Nicky Bentham INVINCIBLE Vincent René-Lortie and Samuel Caron KNIGHT OF FORTUNE Lasse Lyskjær Noer and Christian Norlyk RED, WHITE AND BLUE Nazrin Choudhury and Sara McFarlane THE WONDERFUL STORY OF HENRY SUGAR Wes Anderson and Steven Rales
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM
BOBI WINE: THE PEOPLE’S PRESIDENT Moses Bwayo, Christopher Sharp and John Battsek THE ETERNAL MEMORY Maite Alberdi FOUR DAUGHTERS Kaouther Ben Hania and Nadim Cheikhrouha TO KILL A TIGER Nisha Pahuja, Cornelia Principe and David Oppenheim 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner and Raney Aronson-Rath
DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM
THE ABCS OF BOOK BANNING Sheila Nevins and Trish Adlesic THE BARBER OF LITTLE ROCK John Hoffman and Christine Turner ISLAND IN BETWEEN S. Leo Chiang and Jean Tsien THE LAST REPAIR SHOP Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers NǍI NAI & WÀI PÓ Sean Wang and Sam Davis
FILM EDITING
ANATOMY OF A FALL Laurent Sénéchal THE HOLDOVERS Kevin Tent KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON Thelma Schoonmaker OPPENHEIMER Jennifer Lame POOR THINGS Yorgos Mavropsaridis
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
GOLDA Karen Hartley Thomas, Suzi Battersby and Ashra Kelly-Blue MAESTRO Kazu Hiro, Kay Georgiou and Lori McCoy-Bell OPPENHEIMER Luisa Abel POOR THINGS Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier and Josh Weston SOCIETY OF THE SNOW Ana López-Puigcerver, David Martí and Montse Ribé
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
AMERICAN FICTION Laura Karpman INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY John Williams KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON Robbie Robertson OPPENHEIMER Ludwig Göransson POOR THINGS Jerskin Fendrix
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
THE FIRE INSIDE from Flamin’ Hot; Music and Lyric by Diane Warren I’M JUST KEN from Barbie; Music and Lyric by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt IT NEVER WENT AWAY from American Symphony; Music and Lyric by Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson WAHZHAZHE (A SONG FOR MY PEOPLE) from Killers of the Flower Moon; Music and Lyric by Scott George WHAT WAS I MADE FOR? from Barbie; Music and Lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell
PRODUCTION DESIGN
BARBIE Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON Production Design: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Adam Willis NAPOLEON Production Design: Arthur Max; Set Decoration: Elli Griff OPPENHEIMER Production Design: Ruth De Jong; Set Decoration: Claire Kaufman POOR THINGS Production Design: James Price and Shona Heath; Set Decoration: Zsuzsa Mihalek
ANIMATED SHORT FILM
LETTER TO A PIG Tal Kantor and Amit R. Gicelter NINETY-FIVE SENSES Jerusha Hess and Jared Hess OUR UNIFORM Yegane Moghaddam PACHYDERME Stéphanie Clément and Marc Rius WAR IS OVER! INSPIRED BY THE MUSIC OF JOHN & YOKO Dave Mullins and Brad Booker
SOUND
THE CREATOR Ian Voigt, Erik Aadahl, Ethan Van der Ryn, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic MAESTRO Steven A. Morrow, Richard King, Jason Ruder, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE Chris Munro, James H. Mather, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor OPPENHEIMER Willie Burton, Richard King, Gary A. Rizzo and Kevin O’Connell THE ZONE OF INTEREST Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn
VISUAL EFFECTS
THE CREATOR Jay Cooper, Ian Comley, Andrew Roberts and Neil Corbould GODZILLA MINUS ONE Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi and Tatsuji Nojima GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 Stephane Ceretti, Alexis Wajsbrot, Guy Williams and Theo Bialek MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE Alex Wuttke, Simone Coco, Jeff Sutherland and Neil Corbould NAPOLEON Charley Henley, Luc-Ewen Martin-Fenouillet, Simone Coco and Neil Corbould
The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral lasted under one minute and took place over 140 years ago. Tombstone, which dramatizes said gunfight, was made just over 30 years ago and already has more mystery to it. We may know who killed who that October day in Arizona, but there’s still some discrepancies over who truly directed 1993’s Tombstone. One thing’s for sure: Michael Biehn knows it wasn’t Kurt Russell…despite what Kurt Russell may say.
Speaking on Michael Rosenbaum on Inside of You, Biehn – who played outlaw Johnny Ringo – tried to once again shut down the rumors that Russell was the true director of Tombstone. “I get so f’in’ tired of people asking me if Kurt Russell directed the movie…Kurt Russell did not direct the movie. Kurt Russell was responsible for getting the movie off the ground. I never would have played Johnny Ringo if it wasn’t for Kurt Russell. And I told you last time I was here, I love Kurt Russell. He’s a great, great person and a great movie star.”
So, who is the person responsible? According to the credits it’s George P. Cosmatos, who actually replaced writer Kevin Jarre. But there might not be one person who can be called director on Tombstone after all. “It was directed by kind of a committee”, Biehn continued. “[Jarre] shoots five weeks, they throw all that stuff away…And then George Cosmatos takes over…and we shoot for another month or six weeks…Everybody had a hand in it but a lot of the stuff got cut out of the movie before we got a chance to shoot it!”
Kurt Russell, it turns out, was pulling double duty all along. In addition to playing Wyatt Earp, he was doing a lot behind the scenes as well, using time the day before a shoot to work on composition and blocking. This would later be backed up by Val Kilmer (Doc Holliday), who wrote in 2017, “I watched Kurt sacrifice his own role and energy to devote himself as a storyteller, even going so far as to draw up shot lists to help our replacement director, George Cosmatos, who came in with only two days prep.” It should be noted that Kilmer doesn’t explicitly say that Russell was the director of Tombstone, but we can kind of read between the lines here…
We may never know who really deserves director credit on Tombstone, but we do know that it stands as one of the finest westerns of the ‘90s. Now, if we can just get that 4K release…
The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral lasted under one minute and took place over 140 years ago. Tombstone, which dramatizes said gunfight, was made just over 30 years ago and already has more mystery to it. We may know who killed who that October day in Arizona, but there’s still some discrepancies over who truly directed 1993’s Tombstone. One thing’s for sure: Michael Biehn knows it wasn’t Kurt Russell…despite what Kurt Russell may say.
Speaking on Michael Rosenbaum on Inside of You, Biehn – who played outlaw Johnny Ringo – tried to once again shut down the rumors that Russell was the true director of Tombstone. “I get so f’in’ tired of people asking me if Kurt Russell directed the movie…Kurt Russell did not direct the movie. Kurt Russell was responsible for getting the movie off the ground. I never would have played Johnny Ringo if it wasn’t for Kurt Russell. And I told you last time I was here, I love Kurt Russell. He’s a great, great person and a great movie star.”
So, who is the person responsible? According to the credits it’s George P. Cosmatos, who actually replaced writer Kevin Jarre. But there might not be one person who can be called director on Tombstone after all. “It was directed by kind of a committee”, Biehn continued. “[Jarre] shoots five weeks, they throw all that stuff away…And then George Cosmatos takes over…and we shoot for another month or six weeks…Everybody had a hand in it but a lot of the stuff got cut out of the movie before we got a chance to shoot it!”
Kurt Russell, it turns out, was pulling double duty all along. In addition to playing Wyatt Earp, he was doing a lot behind the scenes as well, using time the day before a shoot to work on composition and blocking. This would later be backed up by Val Kilmer (Doc Holliday), who wrote in 2017, “I watched Kurt sacrifice his own role and energy to devote himself as a storyteller, even going so far as to draw up shot lists to help our replacement director, George Cosmatos, who came in with only two days prep.” It should be noted that Kilmer doesn’t explicitly say that Russell was the director of Tombstone, but we can kind of read between the lines here…
We may never know who really deserves director credit on Tombstone, but we do know that it stands as one of the finest westerns of the ‘90s. Now, if we can just get that 4K release…
The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral lasted under one minute and took place over 140 years ago. Tombstone, which dramatizes said gunfight, was made just over 30 years ago and already has more mystery to it. We may know who killed who that October day in Arizona, but there’s still some discrepancies over who truly directed 1993’s Tombstone. One thing’s for sure: Michael Biehn knows it wasn’t Kurt Russell…despite what Kurt Russell may say.
Speaking on Michael Rosenbaum on Inside of You, Biehn – who played outlaw Johnny Ringo – tried to once again shut down the rumors that Russell was the true director of Tombstone. “I get so f’in’ tired of people asking me if Kurt Russell directed the movie…Kurt Russell did not direct the movie. Kurt Russell was responsible for getting the movie off the ground. I never would have played Johnny Ringo if it wasn’t for Kurt Russell. And I told you last time I was here, I love Kurt Russell. He’s a great, great person and a great movie star.”
So, who is the person responsible? According to the credits it’s George P. Cosmatos, who actually replaced writer Kevin Jarre. But there might not be one person who can be called director on Tombstone after all. “It was directed by kind of a committee”, Biehn continued. “[Jarre] shoots five weeks, they throw all that stuff away…And then George Cosmatos takes over…and we shoot for another month or six weeks…Everybody had a hand in it but a lot of the stuff got cut out of the movie before we got a chance to shoot it!”
Kurt Russell, it turns out, was pulling double duty all along. In addition to playing Wyatt Earp, he was doing a lot behind the scenes as well, using time the day before a shoot to work on composition and blocking. This would later be backed up by Val Kilmer (Doc Holliday), who wrote in 2017, “I watched Kurt sacrifice his own role and energy to devote himself as a storyteller, even going so far as to draw up shot lists to help our replacement director, George Cosmatos, who came in with only two days prep.” It should be noted that Kilmer doesn’t explicitly say that Russell was the director of Tombstone, but we can kind of read between the lines here…
We may never know who really deserves director credit on Tombstone, but we do know that it stands as one of the finest westerns of the ‘90s. Now, if we can just get that 4K release…
As Paul Giamatti’s character in The Holdovers quoted, “History is not just a study of the past, it is an explanation of the present.” So what if looking at a piece of the past led to a successful present? That’s the situation The Holdovers – one of the best films of last year – is finding itself in, as the script is now accused of plagiarism ahead of a potential win for Best Original Screenplay at Sunday’s Academy Awards.
According to Variety, screenwriter Simon Stephenson — who has credits on Pixar’s Luca and Paddington 2 — issued a complaint to a representative for the Writers Guild of America that The Holdovers was suspiciously close to his own Frisco, one of the films featured on The Blacklist, the annual list of best screenplays that have yet to be greenlit. As per The Blacklist, here is the official plot of Frisco: “A forty-something pediatric allergist, who specializes in the hazelnut and is facing a divorce, learns lessons in living from a wise-beyond-her-years terminally ill 15 year old patient when she crashes his weekend trip to a conference in San Francisco.” OK, so this doesn’t seem nearly as close to being in the world of The Holdovers as purported, but the supposed comparisons have been broken down in the claim:
An entire list of the similarities between ‘THE HOLDOVERS’ and Simon Stephenson’s alleged plagiarised script has been released.
Ironically, one unique scene in ‘THE HOLDOVERS’ is Paul recounting a story about a person with “allies on the faculty” who got away with plagiarism,… pic.twitter.com/izr1sxy4IR
Even this seems extremely loose, but Stephenson is confident that he has a case for plagiarism. According to an email sent from the writer to the WGA, “I can demonstrate beyond any possible doubt that the meaningful entirety of the screenplay for a film with WGA-sanctioned credits that is currently on track to win a screenwriting Oscar has been plagiarised line-by-line from a popular unproduced screenplay of mine…I’ve been a working writer for 20 years – in my native UK before I came to the US – and so I’m very aware that people can often have surprisingly similar ideas and sometimes a few elements can be ‘borrowed’ etc. This just isn’t that situation. The two screenplays are forensically identical and riddled with unique smoking guns throughout.” Despite his case and claims, it’s believed that the WGA essentially brushed off the situation as having nothing to do with the guild as Frisco was a spec script.
Stephenson further says that The Holdovers director Alexander Payne had direct access to the Frisco script as far back as 2013 (with later connection in 2019), supported via emails. According to sources, Payne had read and liked the screenplay but wasn’t moving forward on it.
In addition to an Oscar nomination, David Hemingson earned recognition from dozens of other organizations, including the BAFTAs, the Independent Spirit Awards and the WGA. While Anatomy of a Fall could very well take home Best Original Screenplay, no doubt this dispute will put a cloud on The Holdover’s nomination. The team of Hemingson and Payne are due to reteam for a western.
What do you think of the plagiarism case regarding The Holdovers? Give us your thoughts below.
As Paul Giamatti’s character in The Holdovers quoted, “History is not just a study of the past, it is an explanation of the present.” So what if looking at a piece of the past led to a successful present? That’s the situation The Holdovers – one of the best films of last year – is finding itself in, as the script is now accused of plagiarism ahead of a potential win for Best Original Screenplay at Sunday’s Academy Awards.
According to Variety, screenwriter Simon Stephenson — who has credits on Pixar’s Luca and Paddington 2 — issued a complaint to a representative for the Writers Guild of America that The Holdovers was suspiciously close to his own Frisco, one of the films featured on The Blacklist, the annual list of best screenplays that have yet to be greenlit. As per The Blacklist, here is the official plot of Frisco: “A forty-something pediatric allergist, who specializes in the hazelnut and is facing a divorce, learns lessons in living from a wise-beyond-her-years terminally ill 15 year old patient when she crashes his weekend trip to a conference in San Francisco.” OK, so this doesn’t seem nearly as close to being in the world of The Holdovers as purported, but the supposed comparisons have been broken down in the claim:
An entire list of the similarities between ‘THE HOLDOVERS’ and Simon Stephenson’s alleged plagiarised script has been released.
Ironically, one unique scene in ‘THE HOLDOVERS’ is Paul recounting a story about a person with “allies on the faculty” who got away with plagiarism,… pic.twitter.com/izr1sxy4IR
Even this seems extremely loose, but Stephenson is confident that he has a case for plagiarism. According to an email sent from the writer to the WGA, “I can demonstrate beyond any possible doubt that the meaningful entirety of the screenplay for a film with WGA-sanctioned credits that is currently on track to win a screenwriting Oscar has been plagiarised line-by-line from a popular unproduced screenplay of mine…I’ve been a working writer for 20 years – in my native UK before I came to the US – and so I’m very aware that people can often have surprisingly similar ideas and sometimes a few elements can be ‘borrowed’ etc. This just isn’t that situation. The two screenplays are forensically identical and riddled with unique smoking guns throughout.” Despite his case and claims, it’s believed that the WGA essentially brushed off the situation as having nothing to do with the guild as Frisco was a spec script.
Stephenson further says that The Holdovers director Alexander Payne had direct access to the Frisco script as far back as 2013 (with later connection in 2019), supported via emails. According to sources, Payne had read and liked the screenplay but wasn’t moving forward on it.
In addition to an Oscar nomination, David Hemingson earned recognition from dozens of other organizations, including the BAFTAs, the Independent Spirit Awards and the WGA. While Anatomy of a Fall could very well take home Best Original Screenplay, no doubt this dispute will put a cloud on The Holdover’s nomination. The team of Hemingson and Payne are due to reteam for a western.
What do you think of the plagiarism case regarding The Holdovers? Give us your thoughts below.
