Steve Pond
Steve Pond
Steve Pond’s inside look at the artistry and insanity of the awards race, drawn from more than three decades of obsessively chronicling the Oscars and the entertainment industry.
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‘In the Earth’ Film Review: Don’t Mess With Mother Nature, Says Ben Wheatley
Sundance 2021: The British director returns to his horror roots with a messy, creepy, annoying and at times deliciously nasty concoction fueled by COVID-era currents of dread
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‘Rebel Hearts’ Film Review: Nuns Make a Ruckus in ’60s-Set Documentary
Sundance 2021: Director Pedro Kos has created an affectionate salute to women who were dubbed “The Pope’s Unruly Flock”
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Oscars Voters Top 9,000, and You Can Thank Agents for That
An unusually large influx of new voters this year came from agents finally getting the right to vote
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Why John Lee Hancock Headed to the Dark Side for ‘The Little Things’
“I was living in a crappy apartment in Hollywood, looking at the streets and observing things around me, and there it was,” says the writer-director
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Oscars Reveal Record-Breaking Lists of Contenders in Documentary, International Categories
AMPAS also unveiled the 27 contenders in the Best Animated Feature category, which fell short of a new record
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Oscars Best Picture Screening Room for Voters Hits 200 Movies – But Not ‘Tenet’
Christopher Nolan’s mindbending drama is the most notable absence from a viewing platform that has now earned the Academy $2.5 million
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‘Nomadland,’ ‘One Night in Miami,’ ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ Named Finalists for 2021 Scripter Awards
“First Cow” and “Bad Education” were also nominated for the award, which goes to the screenwriter and the author of the material on which the film or television program is based
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Sundance Preview: Documentaries Are Festival’s Best Bets for Awards
As usual, Sundance’s nonfiction films are the ones that are likeliest to be in the awards race a year from now
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In a Wild Year, Spirit Awards Nominations Play It Safe
For the most part, the nominations lacked the left-field choices that often make the Spirit Awards so unpredictable and offbeat in the nomination round
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‘Da 5 Bloods,’ ‘One Night in Miami’ Land on AFI’s Top 10 List
“Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “Soul” are also on a list that is heavily weighted toward films that deal with the Black experience in America
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‘MLK/FBI’ Director: ‘America Has Reached a Tipping Point’
TheWrap magazine: “Let’s hope that the fact that communities are being galvanized can make progress toward a change in the American psyche,” Sam Pollard says
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Iranian Oscar Entry ‘Sun Children’ Cries Out Against Child Labor
TheWrap magazine: “If we don’t make the kids’ lives easier, we are destroying our own future,” says director Magid Magidi
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Why ‘Beginning’ Director Filmed Sexual Assault Scene Quietly, From a Distance
TheWrap magazine: “Everyone can feel the terror of this moment, and I thought as a director I don’t need to emphasize anything,” says director Dea Kulumbegashvili
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Caleb Landry Jones’ Brother Told Him to Take ‘The Outpost’ Role: ‘You’re Doing This One’
TheWrap magazine: Jones recounts how his brother, an ex-Marine and combat veteran, read the script to Rod Lurie’s immersive Afghanistan drama and made the choice for him
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How a Weird Oscar Season Might Depress the Number of Best Picture Nominees
Tastes could be fragmenting and votes might be spread out in a way that potentially impacts the Oscars’ top category
