2016 Canadian Screen Awards – Pre-Show & CBC Broadcast Winners

Comedian Norm Macdonald hosted the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards live on CBC from the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto, where 39 CSAs were presented to winners from across the country, it was announced by the Academy of Canadian Cinema &
Television.

"Tonight we congratulate and applaud all of the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards' nominees and winners,” says Academy Chair Martin Katz. “Through your skill, artistry and talent – you represent the cultural infrastructure of our creative economy. We are all very proud of you.”

39 Canadian Screen Awards’ winners included six Academy Special Awards:

2016 WGC Screenwriting Awards finalists announced

The Writers Guild of Canada celebrates 25 years of working for Canadian screenwriters, showcasing their talents at the 20th annual WGC Screenwriting Awards. The gala event takes place on May 2, 2016 at Toronto’s beautiful Koerner Hall.

This year close to 150 scripts were nominated, with 24 scripts chosen as finalists, and 32 screenwriters up for awards. Special awards, including the WGC Showrunner Award, the Alex Barris Mentorship Award, and the Sondra Kelly Award will also be presented.

88th annual Academy Awards – winners [UPDATING LIVE]

The 88th Academy Awards took place tonight at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood. It was hosted by comedian Chris Rock, who joked that the Oscars were "the White People’s Choice Awards." His opening monologue was quite funny, and dealt primarily with the controversy surrounding the Oscars' lack of diversity.

The big surprise winner of the night was Tom McCarthy's Spotlight, the journalistic drama about the investigation of the Catholic Church abuse scandal in Boston. It won the first award of the night for Best Original Screenplay, but then didn't win another award until the final award of the night for Best Picture. It had been nominated for a total of 6 awards including the Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress (Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams respectively), as well as Best Director and Best Editing.

31st Film Independent Spirit Awards winners announced

Film Independent, the nonprofit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards, the LA Film Festival and Film Independent at LACMA, handed out top honors to Spotlight, Beasts of No Nation and Room at this afternoon’s 31st Film Independent Spirit Awards. Carol, The Diary of a Teenage Girl, Krisha, The Look of Silence, Son of Sauland Tangerine also received awards at the ceremony, which was held in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica. Spotlight received the Robert Altman Award. In addition to being the celebration that honors artist-driven films made with an economy of means by filmmakers whose films embody diversity, innovation and uniqueness of vision, the Spirit Awards is the primary fundraiser for Film Independent’s year-round programs. The ceremony aired live today on IFC and a rebroadcast will air later this evening; please check your local listings for times. Clips from the ceremony will be available on Film Independent’s YouTube channel after the show.

Over the past 31 years, the Film Independent Spirit Awards has made a name for itself as the premiere awards show for the independent film community. Artists who have received industry recognition first at the Spirit Awards include Ava DuVernay, Justin Simien, Ryan Coogler, Joel and Ethan Coen, Spike Lee, Oliver Stone, Ashley Judd, Robert Rodriguez, David O. Russell, Edward Burns, Aaron Eckhart, Neil LaBute, Darren Aronofsky, Spike Jonze, Charlie Kaufman, Hilary Swank, Marc Forster, Todd Field, Christopher Nolan, Zach Braff, Amy Adams, Lena Dunham and many more.

27th Annual Producers Guild Awards – winners

The 27th Annual Producers Guild Awards were held at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel January 23, 2016.

The big winner of the night was The Big Short which claimed the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures. Its producers were Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner. Brad Pitt was also in the all-star cast that included Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Marisa Tomei, Steve Carell and Melissa Leo.

The winner in the Animated Theatrical Motion Picture category was Inside Out produced by Jonas Rivera. For Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures, the winner was James Gay-Rees who produced Asif Kapadia's Amy Winehouse profile Amy.

Academy Takes Historic Action To Increase Diversity

Lifetime voting rights reframed; new governor seats added and committees restructured
Goal to double number of diverse members by 2020

In a unanimous vote Thursday night (1/21), the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences approved a sweeping series of substantive changes designed to make the Academy’s membership, its governing bodies, and its voting members significantly more diverse. The Board’s goal is to commit to doubling the number of women and diverse members of the Academy by 2020.

88th annual Academy Awards – fact sheet

Best Motion Picture of the Year
The Big Short (Paramount Pictures) [Produced by Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner.] - This is the sixth nomination and the third in this category for Brad Pitt, who won for 12 Years a Slave (2013). His other Best Picture nomination was for Moneyball (2011). He received Acting nominations for his supporting role in 12 Monkeys (1995) and his leading roles in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) and Moneyball. This is the fourth nomination for Dede Gardner, who won for 12 Years a Slave (2013). Her other Best Picture nominations were for The Tree of Life (2011) and Selma (2014). This is the third nomination for Jeremy Kleiner, who won for 12 Years a Slave (2013) and was nominated last year for Selma.
Bridge of Spies (Walt Disney and 20th Century Fox) [Produced by Steven Spielberg, Marc Platt and Kristie Macosko Krieger.] - This is the ninth nomination in this category for Steven Spielberg, who won the award in 1993 for Schindler's List. His other Best Picture nominations were for E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), The Color Purple (1985), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Munich (2005), Letters from Iwo Jima (2006), War Horse (2011) and Lincoln (2012). He has seven Directing nominations, for Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, Munich and Lincoln. He won Oscars for Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan. He also received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1986. This is the first nomination for both Marc Platt and Kristie Macosko Krieger.
Brooklyn (Fox Searchlight Pictures) [Produced by Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey.] - This is the second nomination for both Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey. They were nominated in this category for An Education (2009).

88th Academy Awards nominations announced

Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Guillermo del Toro, John Krasinski and Ang Lee announced the 88th Academy Awards® nominations today (January 14).

Del Toro and Lee announced the nominees in 11 categories at 5:30 a.m. PT, followed by Boone Isaacs and Krasinski for the remaining 13 categories at 5:38 a.m. PT, at the live news conference attended by more than 400 international media representatives. For a complete list of nominees, visit the official Oscars® website, www.oscar.com.

Academy members from each of the 17 branches vote to determine the nominees in their respective categories – actors nominate actors, film editors nominate film editors, etc. In the Animated Feature Film and Foreign Language Film categories, nominees are selected by a vote of multi-branch screening committees. All voting members are eligible to select the Best Picture nominees.

DGA Announces Nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television, Commercials and Documentary for 2015

Directors Guild of America President Paris Barclay today announced the DGA’s nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television, Commercials and Documentary for 2015.

“With more television and documentary choices than ever available to audiences, the level of directorial excellence across the nominees for these nine categories is unparalleled,” said Barclay. “We’re proud to recognize the critical role of director in these genres and honor the incredible range of talent and skill found in all of these projects. Congratulations to the nominees.”

The winners will be announced at the 68th Annual DGA Awards on Saturday, February 6, 2016 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles. The DGA Awards will be hosted by actor Jane Lynch.

36th Annual Golden Raspberry (Razzie) Awards nominations announced

All five films up for Worst Picture at this year's 36th Annual Razzie Awards are big budget/high profile productions that have no excuse for being among the year's "berry" worst. And 2015's acting contenders include popular stars like Johnny Depp, Channing Tatum, and Kayley Cuoco-Sweeting, previous Oscar winners Gwyneth Paltrow, Eddie Redmayne and Julianne Moore, and such Razzie Repeat Offenders as Adam Sandler, Jennifer Lopez and Katherine Heigl. "Winners" will be announced in intentionally tacky ceremonies scheduled for 8pm/PST on Saturday February 27 -- Oscar eve.

The choices for Worst Picture include Fifty Shades of Grey (2015's "Most Successful Bad Movie") Fantastic 4 (a nearly instant remake that flopped with both critics and movie-goers) Jupiter Ascending (the latest sci-fi fiasco from Andy & Lana Wachowski) Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 (a box office hit despite its 95% negative rating at Rotten Tomatoes) and Adam Sandler's latest excuse for a movie, the 70's video game-themed Pixels.

DGA announces nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2015

Nominees for Inaugural First-Time Feature Film Director Category Also Announced

Directors Guild of America President Paris Barclay today announced the five nominees for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2015.

“What makes this year different is the unbridled ambition of the five nominated films – in theme, in production, in visual imagination,” said Barclay. “What makes this year the same is that the films were all chosen by the directors’ peers, and it’s clear our members love when people use their vision and skill to push the media to new heights. Congratulations to all of the nominees for their incredible work.”

In addition, Mr. Barclay also announced the five nominees for a new category recognizing the achievement of first-time feature film directors. First announced by Steven Spielberg at last year’s DGA Awards, the Outstanding Directorial Achievement of a First-Time Feature Film Director is a new DGA Award that was created to showcase the feature film talent of the future.

14th Annual VES Awards Nominees announced

Today, the Visual Effects Society (VES), the industry’s professional global honorary society, announced the nominees for the 14th Annual VES Awards, the prestigious yearly celebration that recognizes outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in film, animation, television, commercials and video games and the VFX supervisors, VFX producers and hands-on artists who bring this work to life., Nominees were selected by VES members via events hosted by its nine sections, - Australia, Bay Area, London, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York, New Zealand, Toronto and Vancouver. The VES Awards will be held on February 2nd at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

As previously announced, the Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to award-winning director-producer Sir Ridley Scott., The Visionary Award will be presented to acclaimed visual futurist and conceptual artist Syd Mead.

Cinema Audio Society Announces Nominations for the 52nd CAS Awards

The Cinema Audio Society has announced the nominees for the 52nd Annual CAS Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for 2015 in six categories and the CAS Technical Achievement Award Nominations.

“This was a year of terrific sound in both film and television,” said Mark Ulano CAS President. “These nominations represent the outstanding sound mixing being done in each category and I congratulate each of our nominees.”

Final balloting for both the Outstanding Sound Mixing and the CAS Technical Achievement Awards will open online Wednesday January 27th and end Friday, February 12th.

Nominations announced for the EE British Academy Film Awards in 2016

The nominations for the EE British Academy Film Awards in 2016 have been announced.

Bridge of Spies and Carol each receive nine nominations. The Revenant is nominated in eight categories. Mad Max: Fury Road has seven nominations. Brooklyn and The Martian are each nominated six times. The Big Short, The Danish Girl and Ex Machina receive five nominations. Star Wars: The Force Awakens receives four nominations.

Bridge of Spies is nominated in the following categories: Best Film, Director for Steven Spielberg, Original Screenplay, Original Music, Cinematography, Editing, Production Design and Sound. Mark Rylance is nominated for Supporting Actor.

Carol is nominated for Best Film, Director for Todd Haynes, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Production Design, Costume Design and Make Up & Hair. Cate Blanchett is nominated for Leading Actress and Rooney Mara is nominated for Supporting Actress.

18th annual Costume Designers Guild Awards – nominations

Nominees for the 18th Costume Designers Guild Awards (CDGA), which celebrates excellence in film, television, and short form costume design, were announced today. The CDGA ceremony, one of the most prestigious and well-respected entertainment industry awards season events, celebrates the spirit of creative and engaging storytelling through costume design on both the big and small screen. The winners of the seven competitive awards will be revealed at the black-tie gala on Tuesday, February 23rd at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Continuing its long-time support of the Guild, LACOSTE is returning as Presenting Sponsor of the CDGA. In the past year, LACOSTE has been featured in films such as Spotlight, Pitch Perfect 2, and Ricki and the Flash, as well as in numerous television shows including Scream Queens, Bloodline, Jane the Virgin, and Saturday Night Live.

The American Society of Cinematographers announces 2016 ASC Awards nominees

The American Society of Cinematographers have announced their film nominees for their 30th ASC Awards.

“Our members have spoken with a fabulous group of choices,” says ASC President Richard Crudo. “The quality of the work is astounding, and it’s great to see we’re once again at the forefront of giving recognition where it’s due.”

“Each of the nominated films represents a different genre and a masterfully distinct visual style,” notes ASC Awards Chairman Daryn Okada. “We look forward to celebrating the extraordinary accomplishments of these nominees in February.”

2016 Writers Guild Awards Screenplay Nominations Announced

The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) have announced nominations for outstanding achievement in screenwriting during 2015. Winners will be honored at the 2016 Writers Guild Awards on Saturday, February 13, 2016, at concurrent ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York City.

Feature films eligible for a Writers Guild Award were exhibited theatrically for at least one week in Los Angeles during 2015 and were written under the WGA’s Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA) or under a bona fide collective bargaining agreement of the Writers Guild of Canada, Writers Guild of Great Britain, Irish Playwrights & Screenwriters Guild, or the New Zealand Writers Guild. Theatrical screenplays produced under the jurisdiction of the WGA or an affiliate Guild must have been submitted for Writers Guild Awards consideration.

Documentaries eligible for a Writers Guild Award featured an onscreen writing credit and were exhibited theatrically in Los Angeles or New York for one week during 2015. Theatrical documentaries must have been produced under the jurisdiction of the WGA or an affiliate Guild to be eligible for awards consideration.

27th annual Producers Guild Awards – nominations announced

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced today the motion picture, long-form television, digital series, sports programs and additional television nominations for the 27th Annual Producers Guild Awards. The categories include: The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures; The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures; The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television; Outstanding Sports Program; and Outstanding Digital Series. The feature documentary film category and other television category nominations were previously announced by the PGA in late 2015.

All 2016 Producers Guild Award winners will be announced on Saturday, January 23, 2016 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles. This year, the Producers Guild will present special honors to Jim Gianopulos (Milestone Award), Shonda Rhimes (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television), David Heyman (David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures), The Hunting Ground (Stanley Kramer Award), and Industrial Light & Magic (Visionary Vanguard Award). The 2016 Producers Guild Awards Co-Chairs are Michael De Luca (The Social Network, Captain Phillips) and Jennifer Todd (Alice in Wonderland, Celeste and Jesse Forever).

American Cinema Editors announce 66th Annual ACE Eddie Awards – nominations

The American Cinema Editors have announced the nominees for the 66th Annual ACE Eddie Awards.

Winners will be announced at the 66th Annual ACE Eddie Awards presented by American Cinema Editors on January 29th, 2016. As previously announced, writer/director Nancy Meyers will receive the ACE Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award. In addition to that, Carol Littleton, ACE and Ted Rich, ACE, will receive Career Achievement Awards.

Final Ballots will be mailed on January 8 and voting ends on January 20. The Blue Ribbon screenings where judging for all television categories and the documentary film category take place January 17. Projects in the aforementioned categories are viewed and judged by committees comprised of professional editors (all ACE members). All 800+ ACE members vote during the final balloting of the ACE Eddies, including active members, life members, affiliate members and honorary members.

10 contenders remain in Visual Effects Oscar race

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 10 films remain in the running in the Visual Effects category for the 88th Academy Awards®.

The Academy’s Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee determined the shortlist. All members of the Visual Effects Branch will now be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the shortlisted films on Saturday, January 9, 2016. Following the screenings, the members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.