Hollywood Week: Awards Seasons Begin, Paramount/Skydance Merger News
- Details
- Category: Entertainment News
- Published on Saturday, 07 December 2024 13:29
- Written by Janet Walker
The annual awards season leading to Hollywood's biggest night has begun, with the announcement of the Independent Spirit Awards nominations, and a crush of media outlets and critics announcing the best of class for 2024.
Awards Seasons Begin
The American Film Institute, along with major media outlets including The New Yorker, Time Magazine, Associated Press (AP), and IMDB, the internet movie database, have announced their lists for the best movies and performances of the 2024.
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Even as the awards season is unpredictable early indicators, including the Spirit Award nominations and the AFI annual list, have created an expectation of the future. Some of the early touted "best films of Year" including September 5, which received a Spirit award editing nomination and may receive the same throughout as the awards season continues and should receive more, and the year's mediocre films like A Real Pain, which received a screenplay nomination for actor, director, and screenwriter Jesse Eisenberg, and an supporting acting nomination for Kieran Culkin and the worst films, like Nightbitch which was salvaged by the talked about performance of six-time Academy Award nominee Amy Adams, who received an acting nomination.
Several films are appearing on nearly every media list, are Anora, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, All We Imagine as Light, Nickel Boys, and Sing Sing. Many of the films nominated are depicting the darker side of humanity, including A Different Man, with Adam Pearson who, has used his condition to advocate against bullying, and was nominated for a supporting actor nomination.
"The 40th annual Spirit Awards, presented by Film Independent, will take place on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, with Aidy Bryant returning as host. The in-person show on the beach in Santa Monica will stream on the IMDb and Film Independent YouTube channels and other social platforms," reported The Hollywood Reporter.
AFI Awards 2024 Honorees Announced
AFI, the American Film Institute, which many would say has a stronger pulse on the upcoming awards season picks chose, Anora, The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, Emilia Pérez, Nickel Boys, A Real Pain, Sing Sing, and Wicked as the films that represent the most significant achievements in filmmaking in 2024.
The Film Independent Spirit Awards will be announced live on February 22, 2025. The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards nominations for 2024 will be announced on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, followed by the British Academy Film and Television Awards announcements on January 15, 2025, and the winners announced live on February 16, 2025, followed by the Academy Award nominations set to be announced Friday, January 17, 2025, leading up to the Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday, March 2, 2025.
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Paramount/Skydance Merger News - Speculation on Cuts
After David Ellison, son of Oracle founder, Larry Ellison, purchased National Amusements from founder Shari Redstone, and then merged with Paramount, forming the New Paramount, in a deal expected to be completed in early 2025, talks began on the next steps.
According to Bloomberg, David Ellison plans sweeping changes at Paramount Global, including cuts at the company's TV networks, billions of dollars more for streaming and an overhaul of top management, according to people familiar with his plans."
Ellison has yet to confirm any concrete change management plans which will activate once he takes over the company in early 2025. However previous conversations have led speculators to believe that certain divisions of Paramount's portfolio, especially its television division, will see major cuts, and even the possibility of a fire sale of sorts.
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Although Ellison has made clear statements regarding his intent to keep CBS, the mainstream tentpole of Paramount's television portfolio, all others, including Nickelodeon and Comedy Central, which have been losing viewership to the vast content options available across the ecosystem of streaming, may become offered as he shops assets to reduce bloated redundancies and turn Paramount into a competitive and profitable studio.
Ellison who, obviously, has access to technology innovation, will undoubtedly tap technology advisors to modernize Paramount's streaming services, creating a more user-friendly environment, and utilizing multiple algorithms to enhance the user's experience. As streaming transformed the consumption experience, creating an interface that becomes a home page for the user based on previous consumption habits will boost the experience and create a more user's friendly environment. Top ten lists, and other top platform content will introduce catering to the individual to create more a positive experience.
Speculation also surrounds the trio of CEO's that currently preside over multiple divisions. Of the three only one, George Cheeks, is expected to stay after the merger. The other two, Chris McCarthy, and Brian Robbins, more than likely will not remain in their current positions after the merger closes, which has been rumored to be as soon as March 2025.
"Paramount+ has grown to 72 million customers and has made money two quarters in a row. Yet it ranks last in viewership among mass-market services and is still much smaller than competitors such as Netflix, Walt Disney Co. and Amazon.com Inc.," Bloomberg reported.
While it all looks like a done deal, the Federal Communications Commission still needs to agree to the deal, and like a marriage anyone who opposes the union has the chance to speak. Final petitions opposing the deal are due December 16, 2024, with a decision expected in January.
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Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade. A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays, "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and the International Federation of Journalists.
