Ariana DeBose Wins Critics Choice Awards Acting Prize for “West Side Story”

Ariana DeBose is the critics’ choice…

The 27th annual Critics Choice Awards honored the best in movies and television during a Sunday night broadcast on The CW and TBS, with the 31-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/singer/dancer among the honorees.

Ariana DeBose, West Side StoryDeBose, who’d won the first BAFTAs trophy of her career one night earlier, was named Best Supporting Actress for her inspired work in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story. It’s the latest in a long list of acting honors for Debose for her portrayal of the iconic Anita in the latest film adaptation of the Broadway musical, including a Golden Globe and historic SAG Award.

This year’s nominations in film saw Belfast and West Side Story lead with 11 each, followed by Dune and The Power of the Dog with 10 each. For the television side, SuccessionMare of Easttown and Evil emerged as leading nominees.

Here’s the complete list of this year’s winners.

MOVIES

Best picture
The Power of the Dog

Best actor
Will Smith, King Richard

Best actress
Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Best supporting actor
Troy Kotsur, CODA

Best supporting actress
Ariana DeBose, West Side Story

Best young actor/actress
Jude Hill, Belfast

Best acting ensemble
Belfast

Best director
Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog

Best original screenplay
Kenneth Branagh, Belfast

Best adapted screenplay
Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog

Best cinematography
Ari Wegner, The Power of the Dog

Best production design
Patrice Vermette, Zsuzsanna Sipos, Dune

Best editing
Sarah Broshar and Michael Kahn, West Side Story

Best costume design
Jenny Beavan, Cruella

Best hair and makeup
The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Best visual effects
Dune

Best comedy
Licorice Pizza

Best animated feature
The Mitchells vs the Machines

Best foreign language film
Drive My Car

Best song
“No Time to Die” – No Time to Die

Best score
Hans Zimmer, Dune

TELEVISION

Best drama series
Succession

Best actor in a drama series
Lee Jung-jae, Squid Game

Best actress in a drama series
Melanie Lynskey, Yellowjackets

Best supporting actor in a drama series
Kieran Culkin, Succession

Best supporting actress in a drama series
Sarah Snook, Succession

Best comedy series
Ted Lasso

Best actor in a comedy series
Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso

Best actress in a comedy series
Jean Smart, Hacks

Best supporting actor in a comedy series
Brett Goldstein, Ted Lasso

Best supporting actress in a comedy series
Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso

Best limited series
Mare of Easttown

Best movie made for television
Oslo

Best actor in a limited series or movie made for television
Michael Keaton, Dopesick

Best actress in a limited series or movie made for television
Kate Winslet, Mare of Easttown

Best supporting actor in a limited series or movie made for television
Murray Bartlett, The White Lotus

Best supporting actress in a limited series or movie made for television
Jennifer Coolidge, The White Lotus

Best foreign language series
Squid Game

Best animated series
What If…?

Best talk show
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Best comedy special
Bo Burnham: Inside

The 27th annual Critics Choice Awards, hosted by Taye Diggs and Nicole Byer, are airing live on The CW and TBS on Sunday, March 13.

Germaine Franco Wins SCL Awards Prize from Society of Composers & Lyricists for Disney’s “Encanto” Score

Germaine Franco is celebrating a special recognition…

The Latina composer’s Oscar-nominated score for Encanto won outstanding original score for a studio film at the third annual SCL Awards, which are presented by the Society of Composers & Lyricists this week at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.

Germaine Franco

Franco’s score was competing with three other Academy Award-nominated scores — Nicholas Britell’s Don’t Look UpHans Zimmer’s Dune, and Jonny Greenwood’s The Power of the Dog. 

Franco, the first woman to score a Disney animated feature film, is vying to become the first Latina to win an Oscar for best original score.

Scott Mescudi, aka Kid Cudi, also has reason to smile.

The 38-year-old half-Mexican American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer won outstanding original song for a musical/comedy alongside Nicholas Britell, Ariana Grande and Taura Stinson.

Kid Cudi and the gang won for penning “Just Look Up” from the Netflix film Don’t Look Up.

Meanwhile Cristabel Tapia de Veer took home the outstanding original score for television.

The Chilean-born Canadian film and television score composer, arranger, producer and multi-instrumentalist won for his work on AppleTV’s The White Lotus.

The awards were presented about five weeks later than originally planned. They were set to be presented on February 1, but the show was postponed in early January due to the spread of the Omicron variant. With the postponement, the show lost its original host, Emmy winner Darren Criss. Aloe Blacc hosted in his place.

Awards were presented across seven categories for music in visual media (film, TV, streaming, interactive).

The Society of Composers & Lyricists (SCL) is the primary organization for professional film, television, video game, and musical theater composers and lyricists. The organization is focused on education and addressing the creative, technological, legal, newsworthy issues affecting the music for visual media community.

For more information, visit the SCL’s website or go to thescl.com/scl-awards/.

Here’s the complete list of winners:

Outstanding original score for a studio film:
Germaine Franco, Encanto, Walt Disney Pictures

Outstanding original score for an independent film:
Daniel Hart, The Green Knight, A24

Outstanding original song for a musical/comedy:
Nicholas Britell, Ariana Grande, Scott Mescudi, Taura Stinson, “Just Look Up,” Don’t Look Up, Netflix

Outstanding original song for a drama/documentary
Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell, “No Time to Die,” No Time to Die,  MGM/United Artists

Outstanding original score for television:
Cristabel Tapia de Veer, The White Lotus, Apple

Outstanding original score for interactive media:
Hildur Guđnadóttir & Sam Slater, Battlefield 2042, Digital Illusions CE, Electronic Arts

David Raksin award:
Stephanie Economou, Jupiter’s Legacy, Netflix

Spirit of collaboration award:
Recipients: composer Carter Burwell and filmmakers Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

Guillermo del Toro to Receive ‘Hall of Fame Award’ During Final Draft Awards

Guillermo del Toro has earned a spot in the Final (Draft)…

The 57-year-old Mexican Oscar-winning filmmaker will be among the honorees for screenwriting excellence at the 17th annual Final Draft Awards, which will be presented in a virtual ceremony on March 16.

Guillermo del Torodel Toro will be honored alongside Jane CampionNicole HolofcenerDanny Strong, Jeymes Samuel, and Ashley Lyle & Bart Nickerson.

del Toro, whose current film is Nightmare Alley, will be presented with the Hall of Fame Award, honoring a writer whose body of work has had a profound influence on the industry.

The inaugural Trailblazer Award will go to Oscar-winning filmmaker Campion who is currently winning much acclaim for her latest film The Power of the Dog; the honor recognizes a writer whose career exudes excellence and who consistently tells compelling and bold stories.

Two Storyteller Awards will be presented recognizing writers who consistently maintain a level of excellence and surpass expectations. Academy Award nominee Holofcener will receive the Storyteller Award (Film) for The Last Duelon which she collaborated with stars Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Two-time Emmy winner Strong will receive the Storyteller Award (TV) for the limited series Dopesick, currently streaming on Hulu. Additionally, Final Draft will present two New Voice Awards recognizing rising and vital talents in the industry: The New Voice Award (TV) to Lyle and Nickerson, the husband-and-wife writer-producer team behind Showtime’s Yellowjacketsand The New Voice Award (Film) to Samuel whose feature debut The Harder They Fall is currently streaming on Netflix.

“Storytellers have been revered throughout history for their ability to connect us,” Final Draft president Shelly Mellott said Wednesday. “This year’s honorees are using their considerable talents to tell brave, audacious stories in imaginative ways that entertain, provoke and enlighten audiences. We could not be more proud to honor them and their outstanding work and the impact their stories have on our culture.”

Final Draft, the screenwriting software company, has previously honored the likes of Quentin Tarantino, Nancy Meyers, Aaron Sorkin, Lawrence Kasdan, Paul Schrader, Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski, Callie Khouri, Steven Zaillian, Robert Towne, Oliver Stone and Sydney Pollack, among others.

The Storyteller Award was introduced in 2021 and was presented to Steve McQueen and Sofia Coppola. The New Voice Award was introduced in 2017 with recipients including Ramy Yousef, Steven Canals, Lulu Wang, Liz Hannah, Issa Rae, Boots Riley, Radha Blank and Tanya Saracho.

Pedro Almodovar’s “Parallel Mothers” Added to Spotlight Section at This Year’s Hamptons Film Festival

Pedro Almodovar is headed to the Hamptons…

The Hamptons Film Festival has finalized its 2021 slate, with the 71-year-old Spanish Oscar-winning director’s latest film making the list.

Penelope Cruz, Pedro Almodovar, Madres Paralelas

Almodovar’s Parallel Mothers, starring Penelope Cruz, has been added to the festival’s Spotlight section, alongside Cyrano, The Lost Daughter, The Power of the Dog, joining C’mon C’mon and Jockey.

Parallel Mothers received a 5-minute standing ovation when it premiered at the Venice Film Festival as the fest’s opening night film. It earned Cruz the Volpi Cup for Best Actress during the festival’s closing ceremony.

Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, starring Tony Revolori, will be the closing-night film on October 13, while Pablo Larraín’s Spencer will be the Centerpiece Film in its East Coast premiere.

The festival is opening on October 7 with the world premiere of Matthew Heineman’s COVID-19 documentary The First Wave. The 29th edition of the fest will feature a lineup of films that are 53% female-directed and rep 34 countries.

The festival will run as a hybrid in-person/virtual event. Find more info here.