The FT Profiles Chloé Zhao: “Zhao was born in Beijing to a father who worked for Shougang Group, a Chinese state-owned steel company, and a hospital-worker mother. After her parents divorced, her father married comic actress Song Dandan. As a teenager, Zhao boarded at Brighton College in south-east England, and then went to the US to study political science before attending NYU Tisch School of the Arts. There she was taught by Spike Lee and was in the same year as Shaka King, who is competing for a Best Picture nomination for his film Judas and the Black Messiah. Professor Michael Casale remembers her as “confident in what she was doing — even before she knew what she was doing”. There she also found a collaborator and partner — British cinematographer, Joshua James Richards.”

Tom Brueggeman: “Of the greatest concern is Arclight Hollywood, which alone provided one percent of the total North American gross for acclaimed titles. Patrons and filmmakers have posted passionate pleas for its return, while inside the industry specialized distributors pray fervently for a resurrection. Pacific had a lease at The Grove, located in the Fairfax district in mid-Los Angeles, which grossed over $12 million in 2019. That location, and Arclight Sherman Oaks, are distributor must-haves; their areas leave few alternatives.”

WE ASKED THE GURUS to step beyond the boundaries of the forecasting field, just this once, for their Three Little Wishes for upsets that would cap their personal Oscar night; the Gurus’ dearest wishes are right below the Best Picture chart.

Nomadland stays its journey, while The Chicago 7 militate their fracas to the number two spot; Minari is still holds savor and sentiment toward Mank topples.

Three Little Wishes

Thelma Adams: Director, Thomas Vinterberg; Best Adapted Screenplay: The Father; Andra Day

Robyn Bahr: Anthony Hopkins; Best Adapted Screenplay, The White Tiger; Best Animated, Wolfwalkers

Gregory Ellwood: Riz Ahmed; Vanessa Kirby; “Fight For You,” Original Song

Peter Howell: Paul Raci; Quo Vadis, Aida?; Wolfwalkers

Mark Johnson: Minari; Original Score, Minari; Vanessa Kirby

Dave Karger: Paul Raci; Olivia Colman; Original Song, “Husavik: My Home Town”

Michael Patterson: Anthony Hopkins; Olivia Colman; Best Song, “Hear My Voice,” The Trial of the Chicago 7

David Poland: Carey Mulligan; Riz Ahmed; Collectiv

Steve Pond: Leslie Odom Jr.; Best Film Editing, The Father; Best Animated Short, Opera

Nathaniel Rogers: Best Film Editing, The Father; Wolfwalkers; Paul Raci

Jeff Sneider: “I hope Sound of Metal comes out of nowhere to win Best Picture. I hope Paul Raci upsets Daniel Kaluuya for Best Supporting Actor. I hope Frances McDormand upsets Viola Davis and Carey Mulligan for Best Actress, simply because I thought she gave the best performance.”

Sasha Stone: Cinematography, Mank; Director, Mank; Andra Day

Your Friendly Neighborhood Gurus

Thelma Adams: Author, Top Critic on Rotten Tomatoes, Oscar Expert Twitter
Robyn Bahr: Freelance (Washington Post, GQ, Hollywood Reporter, Vanity Fair, Guardian) Twitter
Gregory Ellwood: The Playlist Twitter
Peter Howell: Toronto Star Twitter
Mark Johnson: Awards Daily Twitter
Dave Karger: TCM, IMDb Twitter
Wilson Morales: BlackFilmAndTV.com Twitter
Michael Patterson: Michael’s Telluride Film Blog; Twitter
David Poland: Movie City News Twitter
Steve Pond: The Wrap, Twitter
NathanielR: The Film Experience Twitter
Jeff Sneider: Collider Twitter
Sasha Stone: Awards Daily Twitter

“Jim and John Thomas, the brothers who wrote 1987’s Predator, have filed a lawsuit against Disney seeking confirmation of successfully recapturing rights to the franchise. Meanwhile, Disney’s 20th Century unit has filed its own suit against the Thomas brothers with the goal of retaining rights. The Thomas brothers are seeking to exploit copyright law’s termination provision, which allows authors to cancel transfers after waiting a period of time, typically 35 years for newer works. Given the time frame, studios are facing the prospect of losing franchise rights to many iconic works from the 1980s.”

“As theaters began to reopen last September, Sony also started to be selective with the information it shares on opening weekend. With its recent releases, the studio has stonewalled initial revenues and holding until Sunday to send notes to the press. It’s also waiting until a movie’s second weekend to release more comprehensive data, such as city-by-city or theater-by-theater grosses. That information is circulated among distribution executives on the research platform Rentrak, which is owned by Comscore. It’s a service that Hollywood studios pay large sums of money to gain access.”

Amnesty International: “The wrongful prosecution, conviction and sentencing of these activists underlines the Hong Kong government’s intention to eliminate all political opposition in the city. Having arrested the majority of Hong Kong’s most prominent dissidents using the repressive national security law, the authorities are now mopping up remaining peaceful critics under the pretext of bogus charges related to the 2019 protests. These convictions are a violation of international law, which states that participating in and organizing peaceful assemblies does not require prior permission by the state. Nor does failure to notify the authorities about an assembly make it unlawful to take part in it. The prosecution’s case against these activists is simply not tenable. The Hong Kong authorities must stop bringing unwarranted criminal charges against those who have peacefully exercise their rights to freedom of expression and assembly. All those sentenced today should be immediately released and their record expunged.”

Mariel Hemingway: “It’s a bit touchy for me because he wasn’t disrespectful of me or unpleasant. I don’t know Mia, I don’t know Ronan and I don’t know Dylan. I don’t know that story. It’s not my story to tell.”Me saying that is not me going on a bandstand defending, but the integrity of his work to me still stays intact. I’m not going down that road with him. Maybe that’s cowardly of me.”

“Jimmy Lai, billionaire owner of Hong Kong’s last opposition newspaper, sentenced to year in prison over role in anti-Beijing protests”

“We’re so sorry for the frustration that our silence has caused. It’s not because we don’t care. It’s not because we aren’t listening or that we’ve been caught off guard by the complexities of the show. Every day since the nominations came out, we’ve had an internal debate whether to release information about what we’re doing even though that information is often etched in Jell-O.”
London’s BFI Southbank One Of Worldwide Club Hubs For Oscar Broadcast

Turner Classic Movies Passes Cash For A Filmmaker’s Trip To Brazil in Search Of Orson Welles’ Personal Workprint Of The Magnificent Ambersons

“Risco de incêndio é real“: “Workers again denounce the abandonment of the Cinematheque in São Paulo: Brazilian Cinematheque workers, filmmakers and politicians denounce the neglect of the Bolsonaro government with the institution. Collection contemplates more than 100 years of Brazilian audiovisual history”

English-Language Version: “Manifesto Of the Workers Of The Cinemateca Brasileira”

Edgar Wright: “While the majority of the press and reactions revolved around the Dome, it was also worth talking about the plight of the rest of the excellent Pacific and ArcLight theaters — many of which I would regularly frequent, not just ArcLight Hollywood itself, but also the theaters at the Grove and the Americana. These locations and many more in the same chain were the heart of the town for many filmmakers and film-goers alike. I have literally hundreds of memories, not just from screenings or premieres of my own work, but just watching new movies — be it in a packed house, close to midnight with the hardcore geeks or in the peaceful Sunday morning screenings. It wouldn’t be wrong to call it my home away from home, I’ve spent more time in those ArcLight chairs than my own couch in Los Feliz. But while many in the industry were posting photos of favorite memories, screen signage or ticket stubs, I didn’t want to post an obituary and refer to the theaters in the past tense. I wanted to know if this was in any way solvable or reversible…  It’s been easy, in the pandemic year and the dominance of streamers, for many to forget that people like going to the movies.”

Kevin Smith: “As an indie artist, I’m always looking for a new platform. And crypto has the potential to provide that, while also intersecting with our almost twenty-five years of experience selling real world collectibles online and at the brick-and-mortar Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash. Back in 1994, we took Clerks up to Sundance and sold it. Selling Killroy Was Here as an NFT feels very similar: whoever buys it could choose to monetize it traditionally, or simply own a film that nobody ever sees but them. We’re not trying to raise financing by selling NFTs for a Killroy movie; the completed Killroy movie IS the NFT. And If this works, we suddenly have a new stage on which I and other, better artists than me can tell our stories.”

Televisa and Univision Set To Merge in Near $5-Billion Deal

“Frank Jacobs, 91, Mad Magazine Writer With a Lyrical Touch“

“The Crusade Against Pornhub Is Going to Get Someone Killed”

“If the Oscars needed a general theme this year beyond just honoring the best in movies, the closure of the ArcLight and Pacific cinema chain has perhaps given them one: Spread the message to save theaters.”

At Least With A Cancellation Of Their Beloved “Nerd Prom” A Second Year In A Row, The White House Correspondents Won’t Be Foisting Greg Gutfeld On An Audience

What A Developer Would Have To Do In Order To Demolish The Cinerama Dome

Belarus Watch Docs Festival Director Hatsura-Yavorskaya, Humanitarian Activist And Mother Of Four, Arrested In Minsk

”Decurion has handed the keys back to the landlords on all their Arclight and Pacific properties. That doesn’t mean the chain is bankrupt — rather, it is part of a thick lease negotiation. What happens in this instance is that the landlord decides which keys to keep and which they’d like to return to the exhibitor. No word yet that the chain is up for sale; I think it’s waiting to see what leases it gets back. Many of the Arclight venues the chain doesn’t own, and it’s those, I’m told, where the company is really down on its leases.”