For someone like me, who loves movies about music, I have been very excited about Judd Apatow and Glen Powell’s new comedy. The film is set to focus on a country star who has fallen from grace. And now the rest of the cast is shaping up to be exciting!
Co-written by Powell and Apatow, the Trainwreck director is set to direct and produce with Powell starring and producing with his production company, Barnstorm. But now the cast is filling out with fan favorites! It was announced this week that both Cristin Milioti and Madelyn Cline will join Powell in the cast.
Outside of this, we don’t know much else about the film. But given Milioti’s own musical history and Cline’s recent virality for her own singing, it does seem like the two could end up singing along side Powell’s country music star.
Movies like this are fun to me, especially as someone who loves movies like Crazy Heart. Exploring a musician’s struggle with the downside of fame (or the loss of it) fascinates me. Whether it be a drama or a comedic look at the music industry, it is an aspect of the entertainment world that is ripe for interesting storylines.
And I am someone who does love a lot of Apatow’s films and I do love what Powell is doing with his writing career. So while we don’t know much about this film, there are a lot of moving parts about it that fascinate me. I don’t think this is going to lean into movies like Walk Hard or be a more “serious” take on things. But Apatow and Powell both have a unique way of telling comedic stories and I think their styles will blend well together.
And with Milioti and Cline joining Powell? I’m so in.
(featured image: Taylor Hill/FilmMagic/Monica Schipper/Getty Images/Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is the Editor in Chief of the Mary Sue. She’s been a writer professionally since 2016 but was always obsessed with movies and television and writing about them growing up. A lover of Spider-Man and Wanda Maximoff’s biggest defender, she has interests in all things nerdy and a cat named Benjamin Wyatt the cat. If you want to talk classic rock music or all things Harrison Ford, she’s your girl but her interests span far and wide. Yes, she knows she looks like Florence Pugh. She has multiple podcasts, normally has opinions on any bit of pop culture, and can tell you can actors entire filmography off the top of her head. Her current obsession is Glen Powell’s dog, Brisket.
Her work at the Mary Sue often includes Star Wars, Marvel, DC, movie reviews, and interviews.
You might still be easing into 2026, but awards season is already out in full force. In a twist from the usual schedule, the calendar kicked off with the Critics’ Choice Awards, and just a week later, it’s time for arguably one of the most fun ceremonies of the season: the Golden Globe Awards.
The Golden Globes celebrate the best in the film and television industry; this year, Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another garnered the most nominations for a film with nine, closely followed by Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, which netted eight noms. The White Lotus leads the pack with six television nods, tailed by Adolescence with five.
The evening always begins with a dazzling red carpet, when A-list guests arrive in their finest fashions. The Golden Globes tend to offer a more exciting spectacle in terms of style; it’s still a black tie event, but it’s not as buttoned-up as, say, the Academy Awards, which is why it’s one of our favorite red carpets of the entire year. Take a look at all the best, most fashionable moments from the 2026 Golden Globes red carpet.
Amal Clooney and George Clooney. Getty Images
Amal Clooney and George Clooney
Emma Stone. Getty Images
Emma Stone
Miley Cyrus. Getty Images
Miley Cyrus
Claire Danes. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Claire Danes
in Zac Posen for GapStudio
Leslie Mann and Judd Apatow. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Leslie Mann and Judd Apatow
Maya Rudolph. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
in Chanel
Amy Poehler. Getty Images
Amy Poehler
in Ami Paris
Rashida Jones. WireImage
Rashida Jones
Timothée Chalamet. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Timothée Chalamet
Bella Ramsey. WireImage
Bella Ramsey
Jessie Buckley. Getty Images
Jessie Buckley
Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons
Dunst in Tom Ford
Ana de Armas. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Ana de Armas
Leonardo DiCaprio. WireImage
Leonardo DiCaprio
Chloe Zhao. AFP via Getty Images
Chloe Zhao
Brenda Song and Macaulay Culkin. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Brenda Song and Macaulay Culkin
Damson Idris. Penske Media via Getty Images
Damson Idris
in Prada
Jennifer Lawrence. Getty Images
Jennifer Lawrence
in Givenchy
Zoë Kravitz. WireImage
Zoë Kravitz
in Saint Laurent
Jennifer Lopez. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Jennifer Lopez
in Jean-Louis Scherrer by Stéphane Rolland
Jeremy Allen White. Getty Images
Jeremy Allen White
Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell. WireImage
Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell
Parker Posey. Getty Images
Parker Posey
Britt Lower. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Britt Lower
in Loewe
Rhea Seehorn. Getty Images
Rhea Seehorn
Charli xcx. WireImage
Charli xcx
in Saint Laurent
Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis
Hailee Steinfeld. Getty Images
Hailee Steinfeld
Renate Reinsve. Getty Images
Renate Reinsve
in Louis Vuitton
Hannah Einbinder. Getty Images
Hannah Einbinder
Chase Infiniti. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Chase Infiniti
in Louis Vuitton
Sarah Snook. Getty Images
Sarah Snook
Pamela Anderson. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Pamela Anderson
in Ferragamo
Michael B. Jordan. Getty Images
Michael B. Jordan
Alex Cooper. Getty Images
Alex Cooper
in Gucci
Diane Lane. WireImage
Diane Lane
Ariana Grande. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Ariana Grande
in Vivienne Westwood
Julia Roberts. The Hollywood Reporter via Getty
Julia Roberts
in Armani Privé
Jacob Elordi. Getty Images
Jacob Elordi
in Bottega Veneta
Jenna Ortega. Getty Images
Jenna Ortega
in Dilara Findikoglu
Natasha Lyonne. WireImage
Natasha Lyonne
Rose Byrne. Getty Images
Rose Byrne
in Chanel
Ryan Michelle Bathe and Sterling K. Brown. Getty Images
Ryan Michelle Bathe and Sterling K. Brown
Emma Hewitt and Jason Isaacs. WireImage
Emma Hewitt and Jason Isaacs
in Dolce & Gabbana
Odessa A’zion. WireImage
Odessa A’zion
Paul Mescal. WireImage
Paul Mescal
in Gucci
Mia Goth. Getty Images
Mia Goth
in Christian Dior
Patrick Schwarzenegger. Getty Images
Patrick Schwarzenegger
in Dolce & Gabbana
Molly Sims. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Molly Sims
in Sophie Couture
Amanda Seyfried. Getty Images
Amanda Seyfried
Stacy Martin. Getty Images
Stacy Martin
Jean Smart. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Jean Smart
Emily Blunt. Getty Images
Emily Blunt
in Louis Vuitton
Dakota Fanning. WireImage
Dakota Fanning
in Vivienne Westwood
Joe Keery. Getty Images
Joe Keery
Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell. Getty Images
Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell
in Armani
Michelle Rodriguez. The Hollywood Reporter via Getty
Michelle Rodriguez
Erin Doherty. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Erin Doherty
in Louis Vuitton
Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Alison Brie and Dave Franco
Owen Cooper. Getty Images
Owen Cooper
in Bottega Veneta
Tessa Thompson. The Hollywood Reporter via Getty
Tessa Thompson
in Balenciaga
Kate Hudson. WireImage
Kate Hudson
in Armani Privé
Amanda Anka and Jason Bateman. Getty Images
Amanda Anka and Jason Bateman
Carolyn Murphy and Will Arnett. Getty Images
Carolyn Murphy and Will Arnett
Murphy in Zuhair Murad
Zoey Deutch. Getty Images
Zoey Deutch
Lori Harvey. Getty Images
Lori Harvey
in Roberto Cavalli
Walton Goggins. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Walton Goggins
in Saint Laurent
Teyana Taylor. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Teyana Taylor
in Schiaparelli
Nikki Glaser. Getty Images
Nikki Glaser
in Zuhair Murad
Adam Scott and Naomi Scott. Getty Images
Adam Scott and Naomi Scott
Eva Victor. AFP via Getty Images
Eva Victor
in Loewe
Aimee Lou Wood. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Aimee Lou Wood
in Vivienne Westwood
Elle Fanning. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Elle Fanning
in Gucci
Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco. Getty Images
Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco
Gomez in Chanel
Colman Domingo. Getty Images
Colman Domingo
in Valentino
Minnie Driver. Getty Images
Minnie Driver
in Sabina Bilenko
Joe Alwyn. Getty Images
Joe Alwyn
Sara Wells and Noah Wyle. Getty Images
Sara Wells and Noah Wyle
Adam Brody and Leighton Meester. Getty Images
Adam Brody and Leighton Meester
Meester in Miu Miu
Jennifer Garner. Getty Images
Jennifer Garner
in Cong Tri
Glen Powell. WireImage
Glen Powell
Connor Storrie. Getty Images
Connor Storrie
in Saint Laurent
Sabrina Dhowre Elba. Penske Media via Getty Images
Sabrina Dhowre Elba
in Guy Laroche
Snoop Dogg. FilmMagic
Snoop Dogg
Ayo Edebiri. Getty Images
Ayo Edebiri
in Chanel
Luke Grimes. Penske Media via Getty Images
Luke Grimes
in Giorgio Armani
Ginnifer Goodwin. Getty Images
Ginnifer Goodwin
in Armani Privé
Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Nick Jonas. Getty Images
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV welcomed Spike Lee, Cate Blanchett, Greta Gerwig and dozens of other Hollywood luminaries to a special Vatican audience Saturday celebrating cinema and its ability to inspire and unite.
Leo encouraged the filmmakers and celebrities gathered in a frescoed Vatican audience hall to use their art to include marginal voices, calling film “a popular art in the noblest sense, intended for and accessible to all.”
“When cinema is authentic, it does not merely console, but challenges,” he told the stars. “It articulates the questions that dwell within us, and sometimes, even provokes tears that we didn’t know we needed to shed.”
The encounter, organized by the Vatican’s culture ministry, followed similar audiences Pope Francis had in recent years with famous artists and comedians. It’s part of the Vatican’s efforts to reach out beyond the Catholic Church to engage with the secular world.
But the gathering also seemed to have particular meaning for history’s first American pope, who grew up in the heyday of Hollywood. The 70-year-old, Chicago-born Leo just this week identified his four favorite films: “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “The Sound of Music,” “Ordinary People,” and “Life Is Beautiful.”
Pope Leo XIV meets with Spike Lee during an audience with and stars directors from the cinema at the Vatican, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025. (Vatican Media Via AP)
Pope Leo XIV meets with Spike Lee during an audience with and stars directors from the cinema at the Vatican, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025. (Vatican Media Via AP)
In a sign of how seemingly star-struck he was, Leo spent nearly an hour after the audience greeting and chatting amiably with each of the participants, something he rarely does for large audiences.
Drawing applause from the celebrities, Leo acknowledged that the film industry and cinemas around the world were experiencing a decline, with theaters that had once been important social and cultural meeting points disappearing from neighborhoods.
“I urge institutions not to give up, but to cooperate in affirming the social and cultural value” of movie theaters, he said.
Celebrities just happy to be invited
Many celebrities said they found Leo’s words inspiring, and expressed awe as they walked through the halls of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, where a light luncheon reception awaited them after the audience.
“It was a surprise to me that I even got invited,” Spike Lee told reporters along the red carpet gauntlet in the palace.
During the audience, Lee had presented Leo with a jersey from his beloved Knicks basketball team, featuring the number 14 and Leo’s name on the back. Leo is a known Chicago Bulls fan, but Lee said he told the pope that the Knicks now boast three players from the pope’s alma mater, Villanova University.
Actress Cate Blanchett leaves at the end of an audience of Pope Leo XIV with actors and directors from the cinema, at the Vatican, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Actress Cate Blanchett leaves at the end of an audience of Pope Leo XIV with actors and directors from the cinema, at the Vatican, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Blanchett, for her part, said the pope’s comments were inspiring because he understood the crucial role cinema can play in transcending borders and exploring sometimes difficult subjects in ways that aren’t divisive.
“Filmmaking is about entertainment, but it’s about including voices that are often marginalized and not shy away from the pain and complexity that we’re all living through right now,” she said.
She said Leo, in his comments about the experience of watching a film in a dark theatre, clearly understood the culturally important role cinemas can play.
“Sitting in the dark with strangers is a way in which we can reconnect to what unites us rather than what divides us,” she said.
A ‘hit and miss’ guest list that grew
The gathering drew a diverse group of filmmakers and actors, including many from Italy, like Monica Bellucci and Alba Rohrwacher. American actors included Chris O’Donnell, Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann, his wife.
Director Sally Potter said she was impressed that Leo took the time to speak with each one of them. And she said she loved his comments about the value of silence and slowness in film.
“It was a good model of how to be and how to think about cinema,” she said, noting especially Leo’s defense of “slow cinema” and to not see the moving image just in terms of algorithms.
Actress Greta Gerwig leaves at the end of an audience of Pope Leo XIV with actors and directors from the cinema, at the Vatican, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Actress Greta Gerwig leaves at the end of an audience of Pope Leo XIV with actors and directors from the cinema, at the Vatican, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Director Gus Van Sant said he liked Leo’s vibe.
“He was very laid back, you know, he had a fantastic message of beauty in cinema,” he said.
Archbishop Paul Tighe, the No. 2 in the Vatican culture ministry, said the guest list was pulled together just in the last three months, with the help of the handful of contacts Vatican officials had in Hollywood, including Martin Scorsese.
The biggest hurdle, Tighe said, was convincing Hollywood agents that the invitation to come meet Leo wasn’t a hoax. In the end, as word spread, some figures approached the Vatican and asked to be invited.
“It’s an industry where people have their commitments months in advance and years in advance, so obviously it was a little hit and miss, but we’re very pleased and very proud” by the turnout, he said.
The aim of the encounter, he said, was to encourage an ongoing conversation with the world of culture, of which film is a fundamental part.
“It’s a very democratic art form,” Tighe said. Saturday’s audience, he said, was “the celebration of an art form that I think is touching the lives of so many people and therefore recognizing it and giving it its true importance.”
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Visual journalists Trisha Thomas and Isaia Montelione contributed.
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
The Vatican shared the spotlight with Hollywood on Saturday as Pope Leo XIV hosted dozens of stars, including Cate Blanchett, Spike Lee and Monica Bellucci for a special audience celebrating the power of cinema.
The event, organized by the Vatican’s culture ministry, took place in a frescoed Vatican audience hall. Leo called on the attending artists to use their art to include marginalized voices and praised film to console and challenge audiences.
“It articulates the questions that dwell within us, and sometimes, even provokes tears that we did not know we needed to express,” Leo said.
The first U.S.-born pope also acknowledged the financial difficulties facing movie theaters. He said institutions should not give up, but “cooperate in affirming the social and cultural value” of theaters, drawing applause from the audience.
Pope Leo XIV poses with actors, filmmakers, directors, and scriptwriters during an audience at the Clementine Hall on November 15, 2025 in Vatican City.
Simone Risoluti – Vatican Media via Vatican Pool / Getty Images
“His speech was beautiful and very inspiring, about hope and our work in cinema. We’re glad we came,” said Judd Apatow, who attended the audience with his wife and fellow Hollywood star Leslie Mann.
“It was so inspiring,” Mann added.
Leo spent nearly an hour greeting guests and making conversation with each attendee. Lee, a basketball lover, gifted the pontiff a New York Knicks jersey that featured the No. 14 and Leo’s name on the back. Leo may be a known Chicago Bulls fan, but Lee said he told the pope that the Knicks’ current roster includes three players from Villanova University, the Holy Father’s alma mater. Lee said Leo’s words about film were “very, very moving.”
Pope Francis held similar audiences with artists and comedians. The audiences are part of the Vatican’s efforts to reach out beyond the Catholic Church to engage with the secular world.
Pope Leo XIV greets Spike Lee during an audience at the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace on November 15, 2025 in Vatican City.
Simone Risoluti – Vatican Media via Vatican Pool / Getty Images / Mario Tomassetti
A pope who “grew up with cinema”
Leo is the first American-born Pope and grew up during Hollywood’s heyday. Earlier this week, he listed his four favorite movies: “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “The Sound of Music,” “Ordinary People,” and “Life Is Beautiful,” all classics that celebrate love and hope in the face of darkness. Leo will also be the subject of his own movie, a documentary from the Vatican that traces his life from Chicago to St. Peter’s.
“He is a pope who grew up with television and grew up with cinema, and it’s a natural (medium) to tell his story,” said Monsignor Paul Tighe, the Vatican’s culture secretary, in a conversation with CBS Saturday Morning.
Tighe said the large group of filmmakers and actors was pulled together during the last three months. Vatican officials used contacts in Hollywood, including Martin Scorsese, to help craft the list of attendees. The hardest part, Tighe said, was convincing Hollywood agents that the invitation wasn’t a hoax. Tighe told CBS Saturday Morning that he hopes the event shows that the Church embraces the arts, instead of just tolerating them.
“We have to trust that the artist, even when he or she is being provocative, is trying to wake us up, grab our attention, and make us think about things that are important,” Tighe said.
In an alternate reality, Maude Apatow might be practicing her serve instead of learning lines for the third season of Euphoria. “My dad was a ball boy growing up. He was really into tennis,” she said of her father, director Judd Apatow. “I think he wanted my sister and I to play tennis when we were younger. It never really stuck.”
Maude Apatow in the Moët & Chandon box at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Liam McGurl
Although Judd didn’t exactly get his wish, a love of tennis certainly transferred to his eldest daughter. In an exclusive conversation with Vanity Fair, Apatow shared her appreciation for the sport in the Moët & Chandon box at Arthur Ashe Stadium on the first day of the US Open. “I haven’t been to the Open before,” she shared, excitedly. Her first trip to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center saw 19-year-old rising star Learner Tien face off against one of the all-time greats, 38-year-old Novak Djokovic, who currently holds the all-time Grand Slam record with 24 wins. “Djokovic is playing, so that’s pretty cool,” she said.
Apatow has had a pretty cool year herself, with a memorable cameo as the well-meaning gentrifier Bethany in the hit comedy One of Them Days, starring Grammy-winner SZA and Keke Palmer. “I only worked a couple of days, but it was so fun,” Apatow said. “Keke is a comic genius. She can improvise better than anyone I have ever seen in my entire life.”
While Lerner and Djokovic rallied back and forth, Apatow was joined by a slew of up-and-coming stars. Ben Ahlers, star of The Gilded Age who is sometimes affectionately known as “Clock Twink,” sat arm in arm with his girlfriend, Tony nominee and Grotesquerie star Michaela Diamond. Together, they chatted with Duster actor Rachel Hilson about the match and their upcoming projects. Next to them, influencer Tinx was caught on camera mouthing “That sucks” after Djokovic lost a nail-biter of a point against his 19-year old opponent—which she immediately posted to her Instagram story. Wunderkind chef and tennis aficionado Flynn McGarry was locked into the match despite the fact that his second restaurant, Cove, is set to open this week in the West Village.
Their box was conspicuously devoid of Honey Deuces—the Open’s signature pink vodka cocktail with honeydew melons shaped like tennis balls. Apatow and her compatriots chose to sip on complimentary Moët Champagne instead. “[I] love to celebrate with Champagne,” Apatow said. “It’s really special to break out Champagne at the end of something.”
Michaela Diamond, Ben Ahlers, Rachel Hilson, and Apatow and guests at the U.S. Open
Joey Andrew
Apatow enjoyed her bubbly as a well-deserved night out amidst filming the highly anticipated and highly under wraps third season of HBO’s Euphoria from director Sam Levinson. “We’ve been shooting since the end of January, and we’re getting close to finishing,” Apatow says. “It’s been really nice to see everyone together. It’s been years since we shot the last season.” Those years that have passed since the second season of Euphoria, which aired in 2022, are reflected in the script, which makes a bold leap into the future.
“It’s five years in the future. We’re all navigating our adult lives,” Apatow says of season three. While she’s not at liberty to release details as to what is in store for her character, aspiring playwright Lexi Howard, Apatow can say that she thinks Levinson made “the right call” by allowing the characters to age out of high school. “I like that it’s growing up with us,” she says. “From what I’ve seen and read so far, I think people will really like it.”
EXCLUSIVE: Oscilloscope Laboratories has taken North America on Flipside, a new documentary from filmmaker Chris Wilcha, which world premiered at last year’s Toronto Film Festival. Exec produced by Judd Apatow, the film is slated for release in theaters this year.
Flipside sees Wilcha revisit the New Jersey record store he worked at as a teenager, finding the once-thriving bastion of music and weirdness slowly falling apart and out of touch with the times. The film chronicles his tragicomic attempt to revive the store while revisiting other documentary projects he has abandoned over the years. In the process, Wilcha captures This American Life icon Ira Glass in the midst of a creative rebirth, discovers the origin story of David Bowie’s ode to a local New Jersey cable television hero, and uncovers the unlikely connection between jazz photographer Herman Leonard and TV writer David Milch. This disparate collection of stories coheres into something strange and expansive — a meditation on music, work, and the sacrifices and satisfaction of trying to live a creative life.
Produced by Deep Cut, Every Other, and Exploded View, Flipside was written by Joe Beshenkovsky, Adam Samuel Goldman, and Wilcha. In addition to Apatow, exec producers include James P. O’Shaughnessy, Lance Acord, Jackie Kelman Bisbee, Sam Bisbee, and Justin Pollock. Beshenkovsky, Michelle Currinder, Alex Fisch, Goldman, James A. Smith, and Wilcha served as producers.
“I love so many of the films that Oscilloscope has distributed over the past fifteen plus years,” Wilcha told Deadline. “To now count myself among the extended Oscilloscope filmmaking universe is a genuine thrill. Kind of like being signed to your dream record label. I’m so happy that people will finally be able to see this film.”
Oscilloscope’s Dan Berger shared that the company’s whole team fell in love with Flipside the moment they saw it. “We’re a bunch of cynical pessimists and experiencing Chris’s incredible meditation on creativity injected us with a beautiful optimism that smacked us back down to earth,” he said. “The film is a feat in so many ways, but on top of everything, its ability to mine success out of, and to find the value and beauty in perceived failure, is a lesson everyone on this planet could stand to learn.”
An Emmy and IDA Award winner, Wilcha’s past credits include the TV adaptation of Ira Glass’s radio show This American Life, the concert film Another Day featuring music from the Coen brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis, stand-up doc Knock Knock, It’s Tig Notaro, and The Targaret Shoots First, a comedic doc examining his job in the music business during the early ’90s grunge gold rush.
UTA Independent Film Group reps his latest feature for worldwide rights and negotiated the deal on behalf of the film team.
Judd Apatow disagrees with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ decision to classify Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” as an adapted screenplay rather than original.
“It’s insulting to the writers to say they were working off of existing material,” the “Knocked Up” and “This Is 40” director wrote on X/Twitter on Saturday. “There was no existing material or story. There was a clear box.”
Variety exclusively reported on Wednesday that “Barbie” will compete for a best adapted screenplay nomination in the Oscar race, despite campaigning for original screenplay. Each awards body and voting group has its own subset of rules for movies in terms of which screenplay category they can submit or ultimately be nominated. Many films about pre-existing characters — such as previous Oscar nominees “Toy Story 3,” “Borat 2,” “Before Sunset” and “Before Midnight” — were ultimately classified as adapted screenplays.
It’s insulting to the writers to say they were working off of existing material. There was no existing material or story. There was a clear box. https://t.co/8phHXmag7Q
The Writers Branch executive committee of AMPAS most likely moved the hot-pink comedy to adapted screenplay because Barbie and Ken were pre-existing dolls from Mattel. Meanwhile, the Writers Guild of America has designated “Barbie” an original work, and it will remain in that category for the upcoming WGA Awards.
Gerwig, who became the first woman to helm a billion-dollar movie, has been nominated for three Oscars in her career: “Lady Bird” (2016) for original screenplay and directing and “Little Women” (2019) in adapted.
Eligible voting members of the branch will only be able to cast votes for the “Barbie” script, which Gerwig co-wrote with husband and fellow Oscar nominee Noah Baumbach, in adapted screenplay. The official Oscar nomination voting will take place on Jan. 11.
Today is Tuesday, Dec. 6, the 340th day of 2022. There are 25 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Dec. 6, 1865, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, abolishing slavery, was ratified as Georgia became the 27th state to endorse it.
On this date:
In 1790, Congress moved to Philadelphia from New York.
In 1907, the worst mining disaster in U.S. history occurred as 362 men and boys died in a coal mine explosion in Monongah, West Virginia.
In 1917, some 2,000 people were killed when an explosives-laden French cargo ship, the Mont Blanc, collided with the Norwegian vessel Imo at the harbor in Halifax, Nova Scotia, setting off a blast that devastated the Canadian city. Finland declared its independence from Russia.
In 1922, the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which established the Irish Free State, came into force one year to the day after it was signed in London.
In 1923, a presidential address was broadcast on radio for the first time as President Calvin Coolidge spoke to a joint session of Congress.
In 1947, Everglades National Park in Florida was dedicated by President Harry S. Truman.
In 1957, America’s first attempt at putting a satellite into orbit failed as Vanguard TV3 rose about four feet off a Cape Canaveral launch pad before crashing down and exploding.
In 1962, 37 coal miners were killed in an explosion at the Robena No. 3 Mine operated by U.S. Steel in Carmichaels, Pennsylvania.
In 1969, a free concert by The Rolling Stones at the Altamont Speedway in Alameda County, California, was marred by the deaths of four people, including one who was stabbed by a Hell’s Angel.
In 1973, House minority leader Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as vice president, succeeding Spiro T. Agnew.
In 1989, 14 women were shot to death at the University of Montreal’s school of engineering by a man who then took his own life.
In 1998, in Venezuela, former Lt. Col. Hugo Chavez (OO’-goh CHAH’-vez), who had staged a bloody coup attempt against the government six years earlier, was elected president.
Ten years ago: Shocking some of his closest Republican colleagues, Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina announced he would resign his seat to head Washington’s conservative Heritage Foundation think tank. Marijuana possession became legal in Washington state, the day a measure approved by voters to regulate marijuana like alcohol took effect.
Five years ago: President Donald Trump declared Jerusalem to be Israel’s capital, defying warnings from the Palestinians and others around the world that he would be destroying hopes for Mideast peace. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he would seek reelection, putting him on track to become Russia’s longest-serving ruler since Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.
One year ago: The Justice Department said it was ending its investigation into the 1955 lynching of the Black teenager Emmett Till, who was killed after witnesses said he whistled at a white woman in Mississippi. The White House said the U.S. would stage a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing to protest Chinese human rights abuses; U.S. athletes would compete, but no U.S. dignitaries would be sent to attend the games. The Biden administration reinstated a Trump-era policy to make asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court. Medina Spirit, a 3-year-old colt whose Kentucky Derby victory in May came under scrutiny because of a positive drug test, collapsed and died after a workout at Santa Anita in Southern California.
Today’s Birthdays: Comedy performer David Ossman is 86. Actor Patrick Bauchau is 84. Country singer Helen Cornelius is 81. Actor James Naughton is 77. Former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is 77. R&B singer Frankie Beverly (Maze) is 76. Former Sen. Don Nickles, R-Okla., is 74. Actor JoBeth Williams is 74. Actor Tom Hulce is 69. Actor Wil Shriner is 69. Actor Kin Shriner is 69. Actor Miles Chapin is 68. Rock musician Rick Buckler (The Jam) is 67. Comedian Steven Wright is 67. Singer Tish Hinojosa is 67. Rock musician Peter Buck (R.E.M.) is 66. Rock musician David Lovering (Pixies) is 61. Actor Janine Turner is 60. Rock musician Ben Watt (Everything But The Girl) is 60. Writer-director Judd Apatow is 55. Rock musician Ulf “Buddha” Ekberg (Ace of Base) is 52. Writer-director Craig Brewer is 51. Actor Colleen Haskell is 46. Actor Lindsay Price is 46. Actor Ashley Madekwe is 41. Actor Nora Kirkpatrick is 38. Christian rock musician Jacob Chesnut (Rush of Fools) is 33. Tennis player CoCo Vandeweghe is 31. NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo (YAH’-nihs an-teh-toh-KOON’-poh) is 28.
