I often say on Twitter that "the empire is collapsing." No one takes me seriously. They don't really care what I think unless it's to punish me for a thought crime, which happens often. But I have two advantages in assessing our current situation. The first, I've been covering film and the Oscars for 25 years. The second, I'm not afraid to tell the truth. What's the truth? Why is the empire in collapse? The short answer is that...

We don't know what the Audience Award will be in Toronto. The track record vis a vis Best Picture has been  good. Only once since the Academy expanded the ballot has a film not been nominated or won: 2023-American Fiction (nominated for Best Picture, won Screenplay) 2022-The Fabelmans (nominated for Best Picture) 2021-Belfast (nominated for Best Picture, won Screenplay) 2020-Nomadland (won Best Picture) 2019-Jojo Rabbit (nominated Best Picture) 2018-Green Book (won Best Picture) 2017-Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (nominated...

Dick Cheney has been redeemed. He is now voting for Kamala Harris so it's all forgiven.  But remember when Dick Cheney was "evil incarnate" to Hollywood? I do. Heck, I remember when it was Nixon and Reagan too. I lived my whole life believing that my side was the side of the "good guys." But to the Left, Trump is different. He isn't like those stodgy, old-school Republicans. They respect them now. They see them as "good" because they...

He was only nominated once for an Oscar and lost to George C. Scott in Patton. He should have been nominated many times, especially for Supporting Actor in Field of Dreams. He began his career with one of the greatest films of all time, Dr. Strangelove: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rK_NqewPOLQ Before he became the voice of Darth Vader, he was memorable in films like Claudine and Swashbuckler. He overcame tremendous obstacles to become one of the most well known actors in the...

The Venice and Telluride Film Festivals are now behind us, with Toronto wrapping up on Sunday, September 15th. Following that, the New York Film Festival will run from September 27 to October 13, London from October 9 to 20, and AFI from October 23 to 27, bringing the major festival season to a close. Many of this year's films have already premiered, while some highly anticipated titles like Blitz, A Complete Unknown, Gladiator II, Wicked, Here, Nosferatu, and Juror...