Negromancer News Bits and Bites from March 1st to 8th, 2025 - UPDATE #5

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

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NEWS:

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 2/28 to 3/2/2025 weekend box office is Disney/Marvel Studios' Captain America: Brave New World with an estimated take of 15 million dollars.

OSCARS - From AMPAS:  The Oscars are tonight (Sun., March 2nd).  Here is a nomination list for the 2025 / 97th Academy Awards ... if you are interested.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Jason Statham will return for "The Beekeeper 2," the sequel to his January 2024 worldwide hit "The Beekeeper."

OBITS:

From Deadline:  American actress, record producer, songwriter, and soul and R&B singer, Angie Stone, has died at the age of 63, Saturday, March 1, 2025, having been killed in an automobile accident.  Stone released her debut solo album, "Black Diamond," in 1999.  It, along with her 2001 follow-up, "Mahogany Soul," were certified gold.  Her R&B hits included "No More Rain (In This Cloud)" (1999), "Wish I Didn't Miss You" (2001), "More Than a Woman" (2002), a duet with R&B singer, Joe.  She appeared in such films as "The Hot Chick" and "The Fighting Temptations" (2003) and she guest-starred on such TV series as "Moesha" and "Girlfriends."  Stone was a three-time Grammy Award nominee.

From Deadline:  American policeman, novelist, and television creator, Joseph Wambaugh, has died at the age of 88, Friday, February 28, 2025.  Wambaugh spent 14 years with the Los Angeles Police Department.  He mined that experience for such novels as "The New Centurions" (1971), which was adapted into film in 1972, and "The Blue Knight" (1973), which was also a 1973 TV miniseries.  Wambaugh wrote the screenplay adaptations for his novels, the nonfiction, "The Onion Field" (1973), and "The Black Marble" (1978).  Wambaugh also created the acclaimed former NBC police drama, "Police Story" (1973-78).

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MOVIE AWARDS:

From Variety:  The winners at the 2025 / 97th Academy Awards have been announced.  "Anora" wins five awards, including "Best Motion Picture of the Year."

From Deadline:  The winners at the 2025 / 56th NAACP Image Awards have been announced.  Keke Palmer was named "Entertainer of the Year."  Tyler Perry and Netflix's "The Six Triple Eight" won four awards including "Outstanding Motion Picture" and "Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture" (Kerry Washington).

From Deadline:  The Screen Actors Guild has announced the winners at the 2025 / 31st SAG Awards.  "Conclave" won the top prize, "Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture."

From Variety:  The winners the 2025 / 78th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) have been announced.  "Conclave" won "Best Film" and "Outstanding British Film."

From Deadline:  The winners at the 2025 / 36th Producers Guild of America Awards have been announced.  "Anora" wins the awards' top prize, "The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures."

From Deadline:  The winners at the 2025 / 77th Annual Directors Guild Awards have been announced. Sean Baker and his team won the top prize, "Theatrical Feature Film," for his film "Anora."

From THR:  The winners for the 2025 / 82nd Annual Golden Globes have been announced.  "Emilia Perez" won "Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy" and "Best Motion Picture - Non-English Language."  "The Brutalist" won "Best Motion Picture - Drama."  "Wicked" won in the new category, "Cinematic and Box Office Achievement."  "Flow" won "Best Motion Picture - Animated."

From AMPAS:  The nominations for the 2025 / 97th Academy Awards have been announced the winners will be announced Sunday, March 2, 2025.

From Deadline:  The winners at the 2025 / 40th Film Independent Spirit Awards have been announced.  "Anora won "Feature," "Best Director" (Sean Baker), and "Best Actress" (Mikey Madison). 

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2025 / 25th Vancouver Film Critics Circle (VFCC) Awards have been announced.  "Anora" won "Best Picture" and "Best Actress" (Mikey Madison).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 7th Annual Latino Entertainment Journalists Association (LEJA) Film Awards have been announced.  "Sing Sing" won "Best Picture" and "Best Actor" (Colman Domingo).

From AwardsWatch:  GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics has announced the winners of its Dorian Film Awards.  "The Substance" has won five awards including "Film of the Year," "Film Performance of the Year" (Demi Moore), and "Film Director of the Year" (Coralie Fargeat).

From THR:  The nominations for the 2025 / 36th Producers Guild of America Awards have been announced.  The winners will be announced Sat. Feb. 8th.

From BBC:  The nominations for the 2025 / 78th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) have been announced.  "Conclave" leads with 12 nominations.  The winners will be Sunday, Feb. 16th, 2025.

From Deadline:  The nominations for the 2025 / 77th Annual Directors Guild Awards have been announced.  In the awards' marquee category, "Theatrical Feature Film," the nominees are Jacques Audiard ("Emilia Perez"), Sean Baker ("Anora"), Edward Berger ("Conclave"), Brady Corbet ("The Brutalist"), and James Mangold ("A Complete Unknown").  The winners will be announced February 8th.

From EW:  The Screen Actors Guild has cancelled the 2025 / 31st SAG Awards nominations announcement live-stream because of the current wildfires sweeing through the Los Angeles area.  The nominations will be announced Thursday morning, January 9th via press release and on SAG Awards website.  The SAG Award ceremony will be hired Feb. 23rd.

From AwardsWatch:  The nominations for the 2025 / 56th Annual NAACP Image Awards have been announced.  Netflix's "The Piano Lesson" leads with 14 nominations.  The winners will be announced February 21st and 22nd.

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2025 / 22nd Annual International Cinephile Society (ICS) Awards have been announced.  "All We Imagine as Light" has won "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Payal Kapadia), and "Best Ensemble."

From Deadline:  The winners at the 2025 / 30th Annual Critics Choice Awards have been announced.  "Anora" wins "Best Picture."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2025 / 45th London Critics Circle Film Awards were announced. "The Brutalist" was named "Film of the Year."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) Awards have been announced.  "Anora" was named "Best Picture."

From AwardsWatch:  The International Press Academy has announced the winners at the 2025 / 29th Satellite Awards in Motion Pictures and Television.  "The Brutalist" won "Motion Picture, Drama" and "Anora" won "Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Denver Film Critics Society (DFCS) Awards have been announced.  "Dune: Part Two" has been named "Best Film."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Pittsburgh Film Critics Association (PFCA) Awards have been announced. This is the association inaugural awards announcement.  "The Substance" was named "Best Picture."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Chicago Independent Critics (CIC) Awards have been announced.  "The Substance" has won seven awards, including "Best Indepent Film," "Best Director" (Coralie Fargeat), and "Best Actress" (Demi Moore).  "Dune: Part Two" won "Best Studio Film."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC) Awards have been announced.  "Emilia Perez" wins "Best Movie About Women."  Coralie Fargeat's "The Substance" wins "Best Movie By a Woman" (directing)

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the annual Portland Critics Association (PCA) Awards have been announced.  "The Brutalist" won in 10 of the 13 categories in which it was nominated, including "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Brady Corbet), and "Best Actor" (Adrien Brody). 

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 North Dakota Film Society (NDFS) Awards have been announced.  "Anora" won five awards, including "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Sean Baker), and "Best Actress" (Mikey Madison).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Hawaii Film Critics Society (HFCS) Awards have been announced.  "The Brutalist" took four awards, including "Best Picture" and "Best Actor" (Adrien Brody). 

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Utah Film Critics Association (UFCA) Awards have been announced.  "The Wild Robot" won two awards - "Best Picture" and "Best Animated Feature."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners of the Minnesota Film Critics Association (MNFCA) Awards have been announced.  "The Brutalist" has taken five awards, including "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Brady Corbet), and "Best Actor" (Adrien Brody). 

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Music City Film Critics Association (MCFCA) Awards have been announced.  "Dune: Part Two" has won four awards, including "Best Picture" and "Best Director" (Denis Villeneuve).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Georgia Film Critics Association (GFCA) Awards have been announced.  "Anora" won four awards, including "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Sean Baker), and "Best Actress" (Mikey Madison).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners of the 2024 Alliance of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ) EDA Awards have been announced.  "The Brutalist" has won "Best Film."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Austin Film Critics Association (AFCA) Awards have been announced.  "Anora" won five awards, including "Best Film," "Best Director" (Sean Baker), and "Best Actress" (Mikey Madison).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Kansas City Film Critics Circle (KCFCC) Awards have been announced.  "The Substance" has won six awards, including "Best Film," "Best Director" (Coralie Fargeat), and "Best Actress" (Demi Moore). 

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Greater Western New York Film Critics Association (GWNYFCA) Awards have been announced.  "Challengers" has won "Best Film" and "Best Director" (Luca Guadagnino).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 DiscussingFilm's Global Film Critics Awards have been announced.  "Nickel Boys" won "Best Picture."

From EW:  The nominations for the 2025 / 82nd Annual Golden Globes have been announced.  "Emilia Perez" leads with 10 nominations.  The winners will be announced January 5, 2025 on CBS and Paramount+.

From THR:  The winners at the 2025 National Society of Film Critics (NSFC) Awards have been announced. "Nickel Boys" has won the award for "Best Picture" of 2024.

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Oklahoma Film Critics Circle (OFCC) Awards have been announced.  "Conclave" won five awards, including "Best Film," "Best Director" (Edward Berger), and "Best Actor" (Ralph Fiennes).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the North Carolina Film Critics Association (NCFCA) Awards have been announced.  "Conclave" has won three awards, including "Best Narrative Film."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Columbia Film Critics Association (COFCA) Awards have been announced. "The Substance" has won four awards, including "Best Film," "Best Director" (Coralie Fargeat), and "Best Actress" (Demi Moore), 

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 29th Capri, Hollywood-International Film Festival Awards have been announced. "Emilia Perez" won six awards, including "Best Picture."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Critics Association of Central Florda (CACF) Awards have been announced.  "Anora" has been named "Best Picture."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 UK Film Critics Association (UKFCA) Awards have been announced. "Dune: Part Two" won "Film of the Year" and "Best Director" (Denis Villeneuve).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 North Texas Film Critics Association (NTFCA) Awards have been announced. "Anora" has won four awards, including "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Sean Baker), and "Best Actress" (Mikey Madison).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Online Association of Female Film Critics (OAFFC) Awards have been announced.  "The Substance" won six awards, including "Best Director" (Coralie Fargeat). and "Best Leading Performance" (Demi Moore).  "The Substance" shared the "Best Film" honor with "Anora."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Philadelphia Film Critics Circle (PFCCA) Awards have been announced.  "Anora" won six awards, including "Best Film," "Best Director" (Sean Baker), and "Best Actress" (Mikey Madison).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Florida Film Critics Circle (FFCC) Awards have announced.  "The Beast" has won "Best Picture" and "Best Director" (Bertrand Bonello).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Nevada Film Critics Society (NFCS) Awards have been announced.  "The Brutalist" has taken six awards, including "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Brady Corbet), and "Best Actor" (Adrien Brody). 

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Dublin Film Critics Circle (DFCC) Awards have been announced.  "The Zone of Interest" was named "Best Film" and its director, Jonathan Glazer, won "Best Director."  Although the film was released in Dublin this year, it was eligible for the Academy Awards in 2023.

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critic Association (DFWFCA) Awards have been announced.  "Anora" has won three awards: "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Sean Baker), and "Best Actress" (Mikey Madison).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners of the 2024 Southeastern Film Critics Associations (SFCA) Awards have been announced.  "Anora" has been named "Best Film."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Iowa Film Critics Association (IFCA) Awards have been announced.  "Anora" won three awards: "Best Film," "Best Director" (Sean Baker), and "Best Actress" (Mikey Madison).

From AwardsWatch: The winners at the 2024 New York Film Critics Online (NYFCO) Awards have been announced.  "The Substance" has won "Best Picture" and "Best Director" (Coralie Fargeat)

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Seattle Film Critics Society (SFCS) Awards have been announced.  "The Substance" has been named "Best Picture."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Phoenix Film Critics Society (PFCS) Awards have been announced.  "The Brutalist" has been named "Best Picture."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners of the 2024 Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA) Awards.  "The Substance" has won six awards, including "Best Film," "Best Director" (Coralie Fargeat), and "Best Leading Performance" (Demi Moore), and "Best Supporting Performance" (Margaret Qualley).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA) Awards have been announced.  "Nickel Boys" has won "Best Picture" and "Best Director" (RaMell Ross)

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 St. Louis Film Critics Association (StLFCA) Awards have been announced. "Dune: Part Two" has won three awards, including "Film" and "Best Director" (Denis Villeneuve).

From AwardsWatch:  The Producers Guild of America (PGA) has announced the nominations in the category of "Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Pictures." The winners at the 2025 / 39th Annual Producers Guild Awards will be announced Saturday, February 8, 2024.

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Awards have been announced. "Anora" has been named "Best Film."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Boston Online Film Critics Association (BOFCA) Awards have been announced. "The Brutalist" has taken five awards, including "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Brady Corbet), and "Best Actor" (Adrien Brody). 

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Las Vegas Film Critics Society (LVFCS) Awards have been announced.  "Dune: Part Two" has won six awards, including "Best Picture" and "Best Director" (Denis Villeneuve).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 African-American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) Awards have been announced.  "Nickel Boys" has won "Best Picture" and "Best Director" (RaMell Ross). "Sing Sing" has won "Best Actor" (Colman Domingo) and "Best Supporting Actor" (Clarence Maclin).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Phoenix Critics Circle (PCC) Awards have been announced.  "The Brutalist" has been named "Best Picture."  The films four total wins including for "Best Director" (Brady Corbet) and "Best Actor" (Adrien Brody).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Chicago Film Critics (CFC) Awards have been announced.  "The Brutalist" has won "Best Picture."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners of the 2024 San Diego Film Critics Society (SDFCS) Awards have been announced.  "Sing Sing" won "Best Picture," won of three awards it received.

From AwardsWatch:  The winners of the 2024 Michigan Movie Critics Guild (MMCG) Awards have been announced.  "Anora" was named "Best Picture," one of its four wins.

From AwardsWatch:  The winners of the 2024 Atlanta Film Critics Circle Awards have been announced.  "Anora" was named "Best Film," one of four awards it won.

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Washington Area Film Critics Association Awards have been announced.  "Wicked" has won the award for "Best Feature."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners of the 49th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards have been announced.  "Anora" was named "Best Picture."  Marianne Jean-Baptiste (for "Hard Truths") became the first Black woman to win a lead performance honor in the groups history.

From AwardsWatch:  The winners for the 2024 / 27th British Independent Film Awards have been announced.  The Irish film, "Kneecap," wins "Best British Independent Film."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Boston Society of Film Critics (BSFC) have been announced.  "Anora" wins "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Sean Baker), "Best Actress" (Mikey Madison), and "Best Original Screenplay."

From AFI:  The American Film Institute has named its top ten films and television series.  Among the films honored are "Dune: Part Two," "Nickel Boys," and "Wicked."

From THR:  The winners at the 2024 / 37th European Film Awards have been announced.  "Emilia Perez" wins the award for "European Film."  It also won the directing (Jacques Audiard), writing (Audiard), and actress (Karla Sofia Gascon) honors.

From NBR:  The National Board of Review has named its 2024 film honorees.  "Wicked" wins "Best Film" and "Best Director" (for John M. Chu).

From Deadline:  The nominations for the 2025 / 40th Film Independent Spirit Awards have been announced.  Cannes 2024 Palme d'Or winner, "Anora," and "I Saw the TV Glow" each lead with six nominations apiece.  The winners will be announced Saturday, February 22, 2025.

From Deadline:  The winners of the 2024 / 90th New York Film Critics Circle Awards have been announced.  Director Brady Corbet's three-hour epic, "The Brutalist," has won "Best Film" and its star, Adrian Brody, has won "Best Actor."

From Variety:  The winners at the 2024 / 34th Gotham Awards have been announced.  Writer-director Aaron Schimberg's "A Different Man" has won the "Best Feature" award.

From Deadline:  The 2024 / 34th Gotham Awards kick off the 2024-25 movie awards season by announcing its nominations for achievement in film.  Director Sean Baker's "Anora," which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes this year, leads with four nominations.  The winners will be announced Monday, December 2, 2024.

From Deadline:  The nominations for the 2024 / 27th British Independent Film Awards have been announced.  The Irish film, "Kneecap," leads with 14 nominations. The winners will be announced Sunday, December 8, 2024.

BEST PICTURE WINNER COUNT:

From AwardsWatch:  This link will take you, dear readers, to "AwardWatch's" article, "Who Won What? - The 2024/2025 Film Award Precursor Guide."

"All We Imagine as Light": 1 win (International Cinephile Society)

"Anora": 21 wins (Academy Awards; Atlanta Film Critics Circle; Austin Film Critics Association; Boston Society of Film Critics; CACF; Critics Choice Awards; DFWFCA; DGA; Georgia Film Critics Association; IFCA; LAFCA; Michigan Movie Critics Guild; North Dakota Film Society; OAFFC; NTFCA; Philadelphia Film Critics Circle; Satellite Awards; SFBAFCC; SFCA; Spirit Awards; VFCC)

"The Beast": 1 win (Florida Film Critics Circle)

"The Brutalist": 13 wins (AWFJ; BOFCA; Chicago Film Critics; Golden Globes-Drama; HFCS; London Critics Circle; MNFCA; Nevada Film Critics Society; NYFCC; Phoenix Critics Circle; Phoenix Film Critics Circle; Portland Critics Association; Satellite Awards)

"Challengers": 1 win (GWNYFCA)

"Conclave":  4 wins (BAFTAs; North Carolina Film Critics Association; Oklahoma Film Critics Circle; SAG Awards)

"A Different Man": 1 win (Gotham Awards)

"Dune: Part Two" - 6 wins (Chicago Independent Critics; LVFCS; Music City Film Critics Associations; St.LFCA; UKFCA)

"Emilia Perez":  4 wins (Capri, Denver Film Critics Society; Hollywood-International Film Festival Awards; European Film Awards; Golden Globes-Comedy or Musical; WFCC)

"Kneecap": 1 win (British Independent Film Awards)

"Nickel Boys": 4 wins (AAFCA; DiscussingFilm; National Society of Film Critics; TFCA)

"Sing Sing": 2 wins (LEJA Film Awards; San Diego Film Critics Society)

"The Six Triple Eight" - 1 win (NAACP Image Awards)

"The Substance": 10 wins (Chicago Independent Critics; COFCA; Dorian Awards; Indiana Film Journalists Association; KCFCC; NYFCO; OAFFC; Pittsburgh Film Critics Association; Seattle Film Critics Society; WFCC)

"Wicked": 2 wins (National Board of Review; WAFCA)

"The Wild Robot":  1 win (Utah Film Critics Association)

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Winners and Nominees at the 2025 / 97th Academy Awards (March 2nd, 2025)

The 97th Academy Awards | 2025

Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood – Sunday, March 2, 2025

Honoring movies released in 2024

The 97th Academy Awards will air live Sunday, March 2, 2025 at 7 p.m. ET/4 PT, on ABC. Viewers can also stream the awards ceremony live on ABC.com, the ABC app, Hulu, YouTubeTV, AT&T TV and FuboTV.

Best Picture

Nominees

Anora-WINNER

Alex Coco, Samantha Quan and Sean Baker, Producers

The Brutalist

Nick Gordon, Brian Young, Andrew Morrison, D.J. Gugenheim and Brady Corbet, Producers

A Complete Unknown

Fred Berger, James Mangold and Alex Heineman, Producers

Conclave

Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell and Michael A. Jackman, Producers

Dune: Part Two

Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Tanya Lapointe and Denis Villeneuve, Producers

Emilia Pérez

Pascal Caucheteux and Jacques Audiard, Producers

I'm Still Here

Maria Carlota Bruno and Rodrigo Teixeira, Producers

Nickel Boys

Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Joslyn Barnes, Producers

The Substance

Coralie Fargeat and Tim Bevan & Eric Fellner, Producers

Wicked

Marc Platt, Producer

Directing

Nominees

Anora-WINNER

Sean Baker

The Brutalist

Brady Corbet

A Complete Unknown

James Mangold

Emilia Pérez

Jacques Audiard

The Substance

Coralie Fargeat

Actor in a Leading Role

Nominees

Adrien Brody-WINNER

The Brutalist

Timothée Chalamet

A Complete Unknown

Colman Domingo

Sing Sing

Ralph Fiennes

Conclave

Sebastian Stan

The Apprentice

Actor in a Supporting Role

Nominees

Yura Borisov

Anora

Kieran Culkin - WINNER

A Real Pain

Edward Norton

A Complete Unknown

Guy Pearce

The Brutalist

Jeremy Strong

The Apprentice

Actress in a Leading Role

Nominees

Cynthia Erivo

Wicked

Karla Sofía Gascón

Emilia Pérez

Mikey Madison-WINNER

Anora

Demi Moore

The Substance

Fernanda Torres

I'm Still Here

Actress in a Supporting Role

Nominees

Monica Barbaro

A Complete Unknown

Ariana Grande

Wicked

Felicity Jones

The Brutalist

Isabella Rossellini

Conclave

Zoe Saldaña-WINNER

Emilia Pérez

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Nominees

A Complete Unknown

Screenplay by James Mangold and Jay Cocks

Conclave-WINNER

Screenplay by Peter Straughan

Emilia Pérez

Screenplay by Jacques Audiard; In collaboration with Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius and Nicolas Livecchi

Nickel Boys

Screenplay by RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes

Sing Sing

Screenplay by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar; Story by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John "Divine G" Whitfield

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Nominees

Anora-WINNER

Written by Sean Baker

The Brutalist

Written by Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold

A Real Pain

Written by Jesse Eisenberg

September 5

Written by Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum; Co-Written by Alex David

The Substance

Written by Coralie Fargeat

Animated Feature Film

Nominees

Flow - WINNER

Gints Zilbalodis, Matīss Kaža, Ron Dyens and Gregory Zalcman

Inside Out 2

Kelsey Mann and Mark Nielsen

Memoir of a Snail

Adam Elliot and Liz Kearney

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

Nick Park, Merlin Crossingham and Richard Beek

The Wild Robot

Chris Sanders and Jeff Hermann

Animated Short Film

Nominees

Beautiful Men

Nicolas Keppens and Brecht Van Elslande

In the Shadow of the Cypress-WINNER

Shirin Sohani and Hossein Molayemi

Magic Candies

Daisuke Nishio and Takashi Washio

Wander to Wonder

Nina Gantz and Stienette Bosklopper

Yuck!

Loïc Espuche and Juliette Marquet

Cinematography

Nominees

The Brutalist-WINNER

Lol Crawley

Dune: Part Two

Greig Fraser

Emilia Pérez

Paul Guilhaume

Maria

Ed Lachman

Nosferatu

Jarin Blaschke

Costume Design

Nominees

A Complete Unknown

Arianne Phillips

Conclave

Lisy Christl

Gladiator II

Janty Yates and Dave Crossman

Nosferatu

Linda Muir

Wicked-WINNER

Paul Tazewell

Documentary Feature Film

Nominees

Black Box Diaries

Shiori Ito, Eric Nyari and Hanna Aqvilin

No Other Land-WINNER

Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and Yuval Abraham

Porcelain War

Brendan Bellomo, Slava Leontyev, Aniela Sidorska and Paula DuPre' Pesmen

Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat

Johan Grimonprez, Daan Milius and Rémi Grellety

Sugarcane

Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie and Kellen Quinn

Documentary Short Film

Nominees

Death by Numbers

Kim A. Snyder and Janique L. Robillard

I Am Ready, Warden

Smriti Mundhra and Maya Gnyp

Incident

Bill Morrison and Jamie Kalven

Instruments of a Beating Heart

Ema Ryan Yamazaki and Eric Nyari

The Only Girl in the Orchestra-WINNER

Molly O’Brien and Lisa Remington

Film Editing

Nominees

Anora-WINNER

Sean Baker

The Brutalist

David Jancso

Conclave

Nick Emerson

Emilia Pérez

Juliette Welfling

Wicked

Myron Kerstein

International Feature Film

Nominees

Brazil

I'm Still Here-WINNER

Denmark

The Girl with the Needle

France

Emilia Pérez

Germany

The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Latvia

Flow

Makeup and Hairstyling

Nominees

A Different Man

Mike Marino, David Presto and Crystal Jurado

Emilia Pérez

Julia Floch Carbonel, Emmanuel Janvier and Jean-Christophe Spadaccini

Nosferatu

David White, Traci Loader and Suzanne Stokes-Munton

The Substance-WINNER

Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon and Marilyne Scarselli

Wicked

Frances Hannon, Laura Blount and Sarah Nuth

Music (Original Score)

Nominees

The Brutalist-WINNER

Daniel Blumberg

Conclave

Volker Bertelmann

Emilia Pérez

Clément Ducol and Camille

Wicked

John Powell and Stephen Schwartz

The Wild Robot

Kris Bowers

Music (Original Song)

Nominees

“El Mal”-WINNER

from Emilia Pérez; Music by Clément Ducol and Camille; Lyric by Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard

“The Journey”

from The Six Triple Eight; Music and Lyric by Diane Warren

“Like A Bird”

from Sing Sing; Music and Lyric by Abraham Alexander and Adrian Quesada

“Mi Camino”

from Emilia Pérez; Music and Lyric by Camille and Clément Ducol

“Never Too Late”

from Elton John: Never Too Late; Music and Lyric by Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt and Bernie Taupin

Production Design

Nominees

The Brutalist

Production Design: Judy Becker; Set Decoration: Patricia Cuccia

Conclave

Production Design: Suzie Davies; Set Decoration: Cynthia Sleiter

Dune: Part Two

Production Design: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau

Nosferatu

Production Design: Craig Lathrop; Set Decoration: Beatrice Brentnerová

Wicked-WINNER

Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

Live Action Short Film

Nominees

A Lien

Sam Cutler-Kreutz and David Cutler-Kreutz

Anuja

Adam J. Graves and Suchitra Mattai

I'm Not a Robot-WINNER

Victoria Warmerdam and Trent

The Last Ranger

Cindy Lee and Darwin Shaw

The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent

Nebojša Slijepčević and Danijel Pek

Sound

Nominees

A Complete Unknown

Tod A. Maitland, Donald Sylvester, Ted Caplan, Paul Massey and David Giammarco

Dune: Part Two-WINNER

Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett and Doug Hemphill

Emilia Pérez

Erwan Kerzanet, Aymeric Devoldère, Maxence Dussère, Cyril Holtz and Niels Barletta

Wicked

Simon Hayes, Nancy Nugent Title, Jack Dolman, Andy Nelson and John Marquis

The Wild Robot

Randy Thom, Brian Chumney, Gary A. Rizzo and Leff Lefferts

Visual Effects

Nominees

Alien: Romulus

Eric Barba, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser, Daniel Macarin and Shane Mahan

Better Man

Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft and Peter Stubbs

Dune: Part Two-WINNER

Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Erik Winquist, Stephen Unterfranz, Paul Story and Rodney Burke

Wicked

Pablo Helman, Jonathan Fawkner, David Shirk and Paul Corbould

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Review: "OPPENHEIMER" Runs on the Atomic Power of Its Cast

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 11 of 2025 (No. 2017) by Leroy Douresseaux

Oppenheimer (2023)

Running time:  180 minutes (3 hours)

MPA – R for some sexuality, nudity and language

DIRECTOR:  Christopher Nolan

WRITER:  Christopher Nolan (based on the book by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin)

PRODUCERS:  Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas, and Charles Roven

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Hoyte Van Hoytema (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Jennifer Lame

COMPOSER:  Ludwig Goransson

Academy Award Best Picture winner

DRAMA/BIOPIC/HISTORICAL

Starring:  Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Alden Ehrenreich, Jason Clarke, Tony Goldwyn, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Conti, Josh Hartnett, Florence Pugh, Matthew Modine, David Dastmalchian, Casey Affleck, James Remar, Rami Malek, and Gary Oldman

Oppenheimer is a 2023 biographical drama and historical film from director Christopher Nolan.  The film is based on the 2005 biography, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin.  The film is a fictional depiction and dramatization of the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American theoretical physicist who helped develop the first nuclear weapons during World War II.  In Oppenheimer the movie, the most famous man in America looks back on his life as he faces a hearing to determine the fate of his security clearance.

Oppenheimer opens with two important events.  In 1954, J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), the man who is sometimes known as “the father of the atomic bomb,” is facing a private security hearing before a Personnel Security Board.  The hearing is in regards to the renewal of Oppenheimer's “Q clearance” with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which gives the holder access to “top secret restricted data.”  During the hearing, Oppenheimer's loyalty to the United States is questioned and his past affiliation with and ties to communist friends and associates are raised.  Oppenheimer's wife, Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer (Emily Blunt), wants Robert to fight such charges more aggressively, but he seems to be concerned about the potential of collateral damage to friends and allies.

Springing forward several years:  it is 1959, and Rear Admiral Levi Strauss (Robert Downey, Jr.) is facing a confirmation hearing concerning his nomination to the cabinet of President Dwight D. Eisenhower as U.S. Secretary of Commerce.  Strauss desperately wants that cabinet position, but his past activities regarding J. Robert Oppenheimer are coming back to complicate matters.

Meanwhile, the film goes back to Oppenheimer's early days as a student overseas in England and Germany and moves to his teaching job at the University of California, Berkeley.  There, he meets communists, marries Kitty, and has an intermittent affair with the troubled Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh).  Eventually U.S. Army Colonel Leslie Groves (Matt Damon), the director of the Manhattan Project, recruits Oppenheimer to be the director of the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico.  There, he will lead a team that is part of a nationwide effort to develop an atomic bomb during World War II before Nazi Germany does.  Along the way Oppenheimer makes friends and also makes friends into enemies – all of which will come back to haunt him.

I decided that since tonight (as of this writing) is the ceremony for the 2025 / 97th Academy Awards (March 2, 2025), it is a good time to finally write a review of Oppenheimer, the winner of the “Best Motion Picture of the Year” Oscar at the 96th Academy Awards.  I had been putting it off, and, at one point, decided against seeing it.  Not long into watching Oppenheimer, I was reminded of director Terrance Malick's 2011 film, The Tree of Life.  Like Malick's film, Oppenheimer features a non-linear narrative, and director Christopher Nolan largely succeeds in using the non-linear form to make Oppenheimer a thoroughly engaging film.  At times, I think one could call this film a thriller as much as one might call it a drama, historical, or biographical film.  I think what really makes this film work is the large number of excellent performances given by Oppenheimer's cast, but the two that stand out are Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer and Robert Downey, Jr. as Levi Strauss.  They both deserved their respective Oscar wins – “Best Actor” for Murphy and “Best Supporting Actor” for Downey.

Like many of the lead characters in Nolan's films, J. Robert Oppenheimer takes on the forces of nature, which includes mankind and its activities.  Oppenheimer, also like many of Nolan's heroes, pays a heavy price, and I am convinced because Cillian Murphy, in a career best performance, sells me on the idea that he is a J. Robert Oppenheimer in a constant state of conflict and struggle.  Murphy's performance is not so much a tour-de-force as it is the portrayal of the tour-de-force life and times of Oppenheimer.  Murphy doesn't impersonate Oppenheimer; he summons a manifestation of the man that brings him to life in a dramatic performance.

As Levi Strauss, Robert Downey Jr. offers an insecure man seemingly made insecure by each subsequent success in his journey of social climbing.  It is as if he cannot achieve any victory without attaching to it a perceived slight.  Downey performance and Nolan's screenwriting make me wonder why there couldn't be a Levi Strauss biographical film that is also quite engaging.

Christopher Nolan also gets superb production values and creative assistance from his collaborators.  The sound, the cinematography, the costumes, the hair and make-up, the visual effects, and Ludwig Goransson supernatural score help Nolan bring this film to the finish line of excellence and of movie award season triumph.  It certainly does not feel like a three-hour film, and it nearly has that much narrative because the end credits are short.  Oppenheimer is not only superb cinema, but it is also a highly entertaining film that would make for a good movie night or two.

9 of 10

A+

Sunday, March 2, 2025

NOTES:

2024 Academy Awards, USA:  7 wins: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Emma Thomas, Charles Roven, and Christopher Nolan), “Best Achievement in Directing” (Christopher Nolan), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Cillian Murphy), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Robert Downey Jr.), “Best Achievement in Cinematography” (Hoyte Van Hoytema), “Best Achievement in Film Editing” (Jennifer Lame), and “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures-Original Score” (Ludwig Goransson); 6 nominations: “Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling” (Luisa Abel), “Best Sound” (Willie D. Burton, Richard King, Gary A. Rizzo, and Kevin O'Connell), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Emily Blunt), “Best Adapted Screenplay” (Christopher Nolan), “Best Achievement in Production Design” (Ruth De Jong-production designer and Claire Kaufman-set decorator), and “Best Achievement in Costume Design: (Ellen Mirojnick)

2024 BAFTA Awards:  7 wins:  “Best Film” (Christopher Nolan, Charles Roven, and Emma Thomas); “Best Director” (Christopher Nolan), “Best Leading Actor” (Cillian Murphy), “Best Supporting Actor” (Robert Downey Jr.), “Best Cinematography” (Hoyte Van Hoytema), “Best Editing” (Jennifer Lame), “Original Score” (Ludwig Göransson); 6 nominations: “Best Screenplay-Adapted” (Christopher Nolan), “Best Supporting Actress” (Emily Blunt), “Best Costume Design” (Ellen Mirojnick), “Best Make Up & Hair” (Luisa Abel, Jaime Leigh McIntosh, Jason Hamer, and Ahou Mofid), “Best Production Design” (Claire Kaufman and Ruth De Jong), “Best Sound” (Richard King, Kevin O'Connell, Gary A. Rizzo, and Willie D. Burton)

2024 Golden Globes, USA:  5 wins: “Best Motion Picture, Drama,” “Best Director, Motion Picture” (Christopher Nolan), “Best Original Score, Motion Picture” (Ludwig Göransson), “Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama” (Cillian Murphy), “Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture” (Robert Downey Jr.); 3 nominations: “Best Screenplay, Motion Picture” (Christopher Nolan) and “Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture” (Emily Blunt), and “Cinematic and Box Office Achievement”

The text is copyright © 2025 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Comics Review: "THE MAGIC ORDER V #5" Fights for Itself

THE MAGIC ORDER 5 #5 (OF 6)

DARK HORSE COMICS/Netflix

STORY: Mark Millar

ART: Matteo Buffagni

COLORS: Giovanna Niro with Laura Ciondolini

LETTERS: Clem Robins

EDITOR: Daniel Chabon

EDITORIAL: Sarah Unwin

COVER: Matteo Buffagni with Giovanna Niro

VARIANT COVER ARTIST: Matteo Buffagni

32pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (February 2025)

Rating: 18+

The Magic Order created by Mark Millar at Netflix

“The Death of Cordelia Moonstone”

The Magic Order 5 is a six-issue miniseries from writer Mark Millar and artist Matteo Buffagni.  This is the fifth installment of The Magic Order series, which began with the 2018-19 miniseries written by Millar and drawn by Olivier Coipel.  The Magic Order is a band of sorcerers, magicians, and wizards – with a focus on the Moonstone family and its leader, Cordelia Moonstone – that live ordinary lives by day, but protect humanity from darkness and monsters of impossible sizes by night.  Colorist Giovanna Niro and letterer Clem Robins complete the series creative team.

The Magic Order 5 finds Cordelia preparing for her death – the punishment for using black magic (back in Volume 1).  However, a new case has dropped itself in front of her, but it all may be a front for some really bad people trying to collect the price on Cordelia's head.  Cordelia Moonstone is going to die soon... and there's nothing she can do about it.  The end is coming in a matter of days.

The Magic Order 5 #5 opens in The Magic Order's new headquarters in Chicago.  There, Clyde Bailey (the wizard who ended up with three demons inside him) and ten other wizards will try to save Cordelia from an assassination attempt by the magical world's most attractive bounty hunter.  She has been sent by her mother, Sister Moon, at the behest of “the Fellowship of the Bell.”

Led by Grandmaster Samuel Mott, this splinter group has finally come into possession of the “Bell” that will summon the Fellowship's ancient gods.  And Mott does not want Cordelia in his way.  Cordelia has escaped death countless times, but who is going to save the master escape artist this time?  Or will she have to save herself?

THE LOWDOWN:  This is the second time that I have been on any kind of list that provides PDF copies of titles published by Dark Horse Comics.  The latest received is The Magic Order V #5.

It is possible for each issue of The Magic Order 5 to be crazier than the previous issue, and I know that because issue #4 was nuttier than issue #3.  Issue #5 decides that instead of being crazy, it's simply going to toss up a hook shot of a revelation.  The Magic Order, which has always been slickly produced, offers fight comics fun, as writer Mark Millar prepares for the big finale next issue.

Line by line, artist Matteo Buffagni has created in The Magic Order V a world of such fearsome darkness, treacherous magic, and magical treachery that mesmerizes the reader.  However, Buffagni can also make explosions that bring a kind of action movie mania to this series, which he does this time.  The glorious hues of Giovanna Niro turn this chapter into a symphony of pyrotechnics and thrilling chases.  As always, Clem Robins uses his lettering to create a soundtrack of destruction.

The Magic Order 5 is plotting something mind-bending; that I know, dear readers.  Don't miss the twenty-first century's best American comic book about wizards and sorcerers.  It's a shame that this is supposedly the final entry in the series.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Mark Millar and of The Magic Order will want to read The Magic Order 5.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

https://www.mrmarkmillar.com/

https://twitter.com/mrmarkmillar

https://twitter.com/netflix

https://twitter.com/themagicorder

http://www.millarworld.tv/

https://www.darkhorse.com/

The text is copyright © 2025 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Amazon wants me to inform/remind you that any affiliate links found on this page are PAID ADS, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on affiliate links like these, BOOKS PAGE, GRAPHIC NOVELS, or MANGA PAGE and BUY something(s).

"Conclave" and "Say Nothing" Top 2025 Scripter Awards

Writers of “Conclave,” “Say Nothing” Win 37th-annual USC Libraries Scripter Awards

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The authors and screenwriters behind the film “Conclave” and the series “Say Nothing” won the 37th-annual USC Libraries Scripter Awards on the evening of Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. Selection committee chair Howard Rodman announced the winners at a black-tie ceremony at USC’s Town and Gown ballroom.

“You start off with a book that you love, you read it again and again, and then you end up throwing it over your shoulder”

The Scripter Awards recognize the year’s most accomplished adaptations of the written word for the screen, including both feature-length films and episodic series.

Novelist Robert Harris and screenwriter Peter Straughan took home the award for “Conclave.”

In accepting the award, Straughan said “Adaptation is a really strange process, you’re very much the servant of two masters. In a way it’s an act of betrayal of one master for the other.” He joked that “You start off with a book that you love, you read it again and again, and then you end up throwing it over your shoulder,” crediting author Robert Harris for being “so kind, so generous, so open throughout.”

In the episodic series category, Joshua Zetumer and Patrick Radden Keefe won for the episode “The People in the Dirt” from the limited series “Say Nothing,” which Zetumer adapted from Keefe’s nonfiction book about the Troubles in Ireland.

Zetumer referenced this year’s extraordinary group of Scripter finalists, saying “Projects like these reminded me of why I wanted to become a writer when I was sitting in USC’s Leavey Library dreaming of becoming a screenwriter. If you fell in love with movies, or fell in love with TV, chances are you fell in love with something dangerous.”

Special guest for the evening, actress and producer Jennifer Beals, shared her thoughts on the impact of libraries. “If ever you are at a loss wondering if there is good in the world,” she said, “you have only to go to a library. There you will find shelf upon shelf of books where authors have poured their knowledge, their stories, their creativity on page after page...if a library is not the very best of what society has to offer, I don't know what is.”

Earlier in the evening, Howard Rodman accepted the Ex Libris Award, which honors exceptional commitment to the USC Libraries. Rodman has been the chair of the Scripter Selection Committee for the past twelve years. Presenting him with the award was celebrated novelist Walter Mosley who credited Rodman for being an influence on thousands of writers, producers, editors, directors, and “a gardener of revelation for those of us who didn’t know where we were going or even when we had arrived.”

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A Negromancer March 2025

Welcome to March 2025. Welcome to Negromancer 2.0.  This is the rebirth of the Negromancer, the former movie review site, as a movie review and entertainment and culture news blog.

All images and text appearing on this blog are © copyright and/or trademarks of their respective owners.

While you're at it, have AnotherCookie.

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Also, my first original graphic novel, THE WRATH OF KARAPACE: A BIG SPIRITS EPIC, which is published by Candle Light Press.  Co-created by Carter J. Allen, (Warning Comics), The Wrath of Karapace is now on sale at Amazon and Barnes and Noble online.

Other online shops that are selling "The Wrath of Karapace" include the following:

- AmazonUK;

- Bookshop.org;

- ElmStreetBooks;

- the German book shop, OrrellFussli;

- Powells.com;

- Russell Books.com;

- SuperBookDeals.com;

- Walmart online.

Of note, The Wrath of Karapace is also available on eBay from a few different sellers.

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"The Wrath of Karapace" also a "Google Books" listing.

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Amazon wants me to inform/remind you that any affiliate links found on this page are PAID ADS, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on affiliate links like these, BOOKS PAGE, GRAPHIC NOVELS, or MANGA PAGE and BUY something(s).