The qualifications to get a nomination for Best Picture at this year’s Oscars were drastically altered. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ new rules were approved by the group’s 54-member board of governors in 2023. They expanded the theatrical requirement for films to qualify for Best Picture at the 97th Academy Awards. So … Read more
LOS ANGELES — LOS ANGELES (AP) — It’s the Oscars’ time to shine. After an abnormally packed awards season that included the Emmys, Grammys, Screen Actors Guild Awards, BAFTAs and Golden Globes, the Academy Awards will hand out filmmaking’s top honor in 23 categories. Even in its 96th year, the Oscars are finding ways to … Read more
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The night before the Oscars isn’t a time to rest in Hollywood. For quite a few nominees, including “Barbie” star Margot Robbie, it meant a stop at the historic Beverly Hills Hotel for the 15th annual Chanel and Charles Finch pre-Oscar dinner. Robbie was in very good company, with other Oscar … Read more
MEREDITH, N.H. — Interest in the late scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer has extended beyond the Oscars this weekend to a historic signed report and letter. RR Auction in Boston is taking bids on the rare 1945 report, as well as a letter signed by “Opie” that describes the nuclear bomb as a “weapon for aggressors.” … Read more
LOS ANGELES — On the Friday before the Oscars, the center of Hollywood seemed to be at a private home in Los Feliz. That’s where the cast and crew of “Oppenheimer” had gathered, after all. Christopher Nolan, Robert Downey Jr., Cillian Murphy and Emma Thomas convened for one last toast before Sunday’s Academy Awards, where … Read more
NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied have divorced after 11 years of marriage and two children. The Oscar-winning actor and Millepied, a choreographer and director, finalized the divorce last month in France, where they live, People magazine reported, citing a representative for Portman. A representative for Portman declined comment … Read more
LOS ANGELES — With just a few days to go until the 96th Academy Awards on Sunday, the show’s producers are feeling good about what they’ve put together. The nominees are some of the best the Oscars have seen, including some true blockbusters like “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie.” Ryan Gosling is singing “I’m Just Ken” during … Read more
NEW YORK — Through one of the most tumultuous periods in Oscar history, through flub and slap, Jimmy Kimmel has emerged as the steadying hand and abiding face of the Academy Awards. When Kimmel hosts the 96th Oscars on Sunday, he’ll be emceeing the telecast for the fourth time. Only three people — Bob Hope … Read more
A new album from Ariana Grande and Garth Brooks taking viewers behind the scenes to the opening of his bar in Nashville are some of the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you. Also among the streaming offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: John … Read more
For a few years, the Oscars looked to be hanging on by a thread. Viewership was plummeting. The pandemic didn’t help. And the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization behind Hollywood’s biggest night, kept finding itself on the wrong side of the conversation, whether it be #OscarsSoWhite, envelope-gate, the blip that was … Read more
