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When it comes to predicting the Oscar winner for Best Film Editing, you can’t go wrong by looking for the movie with the most cuts. Past winners “The Bourne Ultimatum” (2008), “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2016) and “Ford v Ferrari” (2020) included high-octane action sequences with frenetic cutting. And a slew of other champs — including “Saving Private Ryan” in 1999, “Black Hawk Down” (2002), “The Hurt Locker” (2010), “Hacksaw Ridge” (2017) and “Dunkirk” (2018) — have been war pictures. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2021 Oscar predictions for Best Film Editing.)

Oscar voters also embrace film editors who skillfully juggle multiple storylines, as was the case with “Traffic” (2001) and “Crash” (2006). And they like films that expertly inter-cut music with images, such as “Cabaret” (1973), “Chicago” (2003), “Whiplash” (2015), “Bohemian Rhapsody” (2019) and last year’s winner “Sound of Metal.” Special effects extravaganzas like “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2004) and “Gravity” (2014) won by deftly blurring the lines between the real and the fantastic.

Variety's Awards Circuit is home to the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars and Emmys ceremonies from film awards editor Clayton Davis. Following history, buzz, news, reviews and sources, the Oscar and Emmy predictions are updated regularly with the current year's list of contenders in all categories. Variety's Awards Circuit Prediction schedule consists of four phases, running all year long: Draft, Pre-Season, Regular Season and Post Season. The eligibility calendar and dates of awards will determine how long each phase lasts and is subject to change.

To see all the latest predictions, of all the categories, in one place, visit The Oscars Collective

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2022 Oscars Predictions:

Best Film Editing

Updated: Dec 27, 2021

Awards Prediction Commentary: While there have been a few examples of...

Producers: Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch.

Executive producers: Jenna Block, Stuart Besser, David Bloomfield, Lauren Lohman, Lucie Arnaz, Desi Arnaz Jr.

Director: Aaron Sorkin.

Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin.

Camera: Jeff Cronenweth.

Editor: Alan Baumgarten.

Music: Daniel Pemberton.

Cast: Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, J.K. Simmons, Nina Arianda, Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat, Jake Lacy, Linda Lavin, Ronny Cox, John Rubinstein, Clark Gregg, Nelson Franklin, Jeff Holman, Jonah Platt, Christopher Denham, Brian Howe, Ron Perkins.

…...

Oscar-nominated editor Alan Baumgarten has worked with Aaron Sorkin on his three films as a director – “Molly’s Game,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” and “Being the Ricardos” – and their collaborative process keeps getting better. “Each time it has increased the amount of involvement I’ve had,” Baumgarten, an Oscar nominee this year for Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” tells Gold Derby.

For “Ricardos,” their latest project, Baumgarten says Sorkin gave him the script while they were putting the finishing touches on “Chicago 7.” He gave the director a few notes on the screenplay, and off they went.

“We complement each other very well,” Baumgarten says of Sorkin. “I love the scripts that he writes, the style he’s going for, and also the freedom he gives me to put it together with the way I see it or feel it should be, at least in the early stages.

If you enter into Being the Ricardos expecting a tell-all scandal-ridden exposé of the beloved couple, you may be summarily disappointed. However, if you approach the film looking for an effectively told story of a couple wherein one party goes to the ends of the earth for the other in an attempt to make the relationship successful and the pain that is caused when that is not reciprocated, then you will be rewarded with one of the more honest and heartbreaking stories delivered by recent cinema.

The narrative of the film centers on one particular week during the production of the seminal sitcom I Love Lucy during which national newspapers are preparing a story that links star Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) and the Communist Party. During the five days of production before the actual taping of the show, the film bounces between closed-door meetings and writers’ room discussions and several...

Aaron Sorkin is one of the most accomplished screenwriters of the last four decades, an Oscar and Emmy winner whose screenplay for “The Social Network” was recently deemed the third-best of the 21st century by the Writers Guild of America. But starting in 2017 with “Molly’s Game,” Sorkin has also received acclaim as a director, with last year’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7” earning multiple Oscar nominations and this year’s “Being the Ricardos” already in the thick of the awards conversation. With three films under his belt, does Sorkin think he’s getting better behind the camera?

“I think it’s probably for others to decide that not for me,” Sorkin tells Gold Derby. “I can tell you I’m feeling more confident. More confident and yet the more you learn the more you discover you have to learn.”

SEETodd Black interview: ‘Being the Ricardos’ producer

Set during...

After revisiting a slice of 1960s history in last year’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” Aaron Sorkin turned his lens to “Being the Ricardos,” cataloging a politically tumultuous week in the 1950s for Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz during the heyday of “I Love Lucy.” The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences often falls hard for movies about old Hollywood, and it would be foolish to think that they’ve changed their tune, especially after seeing films such as “Mank” from David Fincher garner the most nominations in the 2020 Oscar race. The new movie from Amazon Studios could follow a similar trajectory — competing in categories across the board.

Under Sorkin’s direction, “Being the Ricardos” presents plenty of chuckles and sympathy for our favorite redhead in TV history. Kidman embodies the essence of Ball, especially in her mannerisms during the rehearsals and filming of episodes. She very well may break your heart,...

How could a movie be in contention for six Oscars and go home with nothing? Legendary Oscar shutouts include Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” which was zero for 10 last year, as well as his film “Gangs of New York” (2002), the Coens’ “True Grit” (2010), and David O. Russell’s “American Hustle” (2014). Losing a total of 11 categories were “The Turning Point” (1977) and “The Color Purple” (1985).

When most categories have five nominees, and Best Picture has more, snubs happen. But why did $35 million “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” which won the Golden Globe for Screenplay, the often-predictive SAG Ensemble, and Best Editing awards, lose so resoundingly to a series of lower-budget, less mainstream movies?

It’s not the fault of the Netflix awards team, who received a record 36 Oscar nominations and seven wins for “Mank,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “My Octopus Teacher,” and more. But why did their best efforts (and spending...

How could a movie be in contention for six Oscars and go home with nothing? Legendary Oscar shutouts include Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” which was zero for 10 last year, as well as his film “Gangs of New York” (2002), the Coens’ “True Grit” (2010), and David O. Russell’s “American Hustle” (2014). Losing a total of 11 categories were “The Turning Point” (1977) and “The Color Purple” (1985).

When most categories have five nominees, and Best Picture has more, snubs happen. But why did $35 million “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” which won the Golden Globe for Screenplay, the often-predictive SAG Ensemble, and Best Editing awards, lose so resoundingly to a series of lower-budget, less mainstream movies?

It’s not the fault of the Netflix awards team, who received a record 36 Oscar nominations and seven wins for “Mank,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “My Octopus Teacher,” and more. But why did their best efforts (and spending...

The biggest night in Hollywood has brought a new crop of Oscar Winners, with the 93rd Annual Academy Awards happening at Union Station in Los Angeles and the Dolby Theatre at the Hollywood & Highland Center earlier tonight. It was a much different year for the legendary awards ceremony, following a prolonged lockdown during a pandemic that shut down most theaters in America. That didn't stop some excellent movies from being released over the course of the past twelve months. And they were celebrated accordingly.

ABC and Disney celebrated movie theaters and moviegoing throughout the telecast, with talent from impending releases sharing their favorite moviegoing experiences, while also debuting trailers for big releases such as Steven Spielberg's West Side Story remake, Lin-Manuel Miranda's summer musical In the Heights and Questlove's Hulu documentary Summer of Soul.

But what movie fans really came for was the big Oscars categories, to...

The 93rd Annual Academy Awards were presented on Sunday night, April 25. So who won in this most unusual year? Scroll down for the complete Oscar winners list in all 23 categories, updated live throughout the night.

These Oscars had originally been scheduled for February 28, but then the Covid-19 pandemic upended the entire entertainment industry. Movie productions were put on hold. Movie releases were delayed. And award shows across various entertainment industry switched to virtual or hybrid formats with limited or no in-person audiences in attendance.

SEEWhere to watch all the 2021 Oscar nominees

In addition to moving the airdate, the academy also expanded the eligibility rules. Instead of considering movies just from the 2020 calendar year, these awards considered films that opened through February 28, 2021. And they also opened the door to streaming movies without the need for a theatrical release.

The resulting Oscar nominations were led by a Netflix film, the Hollywood biopic “Mank,...

Our forum posters, many of whom are Hollywood insiders hiding behind screen names, were quick to sound off with their 2021 Oscar winner reactions. As they discussed the unfolding ceremony on April 25, they cheered for their favorite films and lamented the fact that others had lost..

Over the past 92 years the Academy Awards have learned that it’s impossible to please everybody, and this year is no exception. Below is just a sampling of the brutally honest comments of our sassy forum posters concerning the 2021 Oscar winners. Take a read and then jump in here if you’re brave enough.

See 2021 Oscars: Full list of Academy Awards winners in all 23 categories

Refresh this page for the most up-to-date comments

Best Picture

“The Father”

“Judas and the Black Messiah”

“Mank”

“Minari”

X – “Nomadland”

“Promising Young Woman”

“Sound of Metal”

“The Trial of the Chicago 7”

Sean C: And the frontrunner throughout the season takes it.

Sunday night’s Oscar ceremony was historic in more ways than one, making the 441-day wait for the 93rd Academy Awards well worth it.

“The Father” star Anthony Hopkins nabbed actor, Frances McDormand (“Nomadland”) took home the actress prize, Daniel Kaluuya (“Judas and the Black Messiah”) won for supporting actor and “Minari’s” Yuh-Jung Youn claimed supporting actress, becoming the first Korean actor to do so. Nine actors of color earned Academy Award nominations — an Oscar record for diversity in those categories — but only two won. Additionally, more women were nominated in 2021 than in any previous year.

“Nomadland’s” Chloé Zhao made history as well, becoming the second woman and the first woman of color to win an Oscar for directing. The film also won best picture.

Unlike other awards shows during the Covid-19 pandemic, Hollywood’s biggest night was held in person, and televised live on ABC from the...

It's finally time for the biggest night in Hollywood: the Oscars! After unveiling its official list of nominees in March, the award show officially kicked off on Sunday night. Not only are there a handful of star-studded presenters, including Zendaya, Brad Pitt, and Halle Berry, but there are also a few chances for some historic wins in the best actress and best director categories. Here's a refresher of which films and actors are up for big awards. Be sure to keep refreshing this page all night as we update it with the winners.

Best Picture

The Father

Judas and the Black Messiah

Mank

Minari

Nomadland

Promising Young Woman

Sound of Metal

The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Director

Thomas Vinterberg, Another Round

David Fincher, Mank

Lee Isaac Chung, Minari

Winner: Chloé Zhao, Nomadland

Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman

Best Actress

Viola Davis, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Andra Day, The United States vs.

Congratulations to All 2021 Nominees and Winners. Best Picture Nomadland The Trial of the Chicago 7 Promising Young Woman Mank Minari Sound of Metal Judas and the Black Messiah The Father Best Actor Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal Anthony Hopkins, The Father Gary Oldman, Mank Steven Yeun, Minari Best Actress Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman Andra Day, United States vs. Billie Holiday Frances McDormand, Nomadland Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman Best Supporting Actor Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah Sacha Baron Cohen, Trial of the Chicago 7 Lakeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah Paul Raci, Sound of Metal Leslie Odom, Jr., One Night in Miami Best Supporting Actress Yuh-Jung Youn, Minari Maria Bakolova, Borat Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy Olivia Colman, The Father Amanda Seyfried, Mank Best Director Chloe Zhao, Nomadland Emerald Fenell, Promising Young Woman David Fincher,...

Good news: There are 41 feature films nominated for Oscars this year. Better news: The 93rd Academy Awards are Sunday, so there’s still time to watch some of the movies before the biggest night in Hollywood.

“Mank” leads all films with 10 nominations, with “The Father,” “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Minari,” “Nomadland,” “Sound of Metal,” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7” in a six-way tie for second with six nominations a piece. It’s the most diverse slate of nominees ever, with two women in the directing category for the first time ever (“Nomadland” director Chloe Zhao and “Promising Young Woman” filmmaker Emerald Fennell), and nine of the 20 acting nominations went to people of color.

It’s also an extraordinarily streaming-heavy field; Netflix snagged an astonishing 35 nominations, its highest mark ever and the most for an individual studio in more than a decade.

Thanks to a temporary academy rules...

“Mank” is the only film in contention at the 2021 Oscars to break the double digit barrier in the nominations count. This Netflix period picture reaped a leading 10 bids. In a six-way tied for second place with, appropriately enough, six nominations apiece are “The Father,” “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Minari,” “Nomadland,” “Sound of Metal,” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7.” All seven of these films are up for Best Picture. That race is rounded out by five-time contender “Promising Young Woman.”

Scroll down to see the full list of nominations in all 23 competitive categories at the 93rd Academy Awards on April 25.

Best Picture

“The Father”

“Judas and the Black Messiah”

“Mank”

“Minari”

“Nomadland”

“Promising Young Woman”

“Sound of Metal”

“The Trial of the Chicago 7”

Best Director

Lee Isaac Chung, “Minari”

David Fincher, “Mank”

Emerald Fennell, “Promising Young Woman”

Thomas Vinterberg, “Another Round”

Chloé Zhao, “Nomadland”

Best Actress

Viola Davis,...

“The Trial of the Chicago 7” won the Ace Eddie Award for Best Edited Drama Film on Sunday, making it a top contender to win Best Film Editing at the Oscars. Editor Alan Baumgarten defeated two editors he will also face at the Oscars — Chloe Zhao for “Nomadland” and Mikkel E.G. Nielsen for “Sound of Metal,” with the latter expected to be “Trial’s” biggest competition after his BAFTA win. If the cards fall as awards prognosticators are expecting them to, “The Trial of the Chicago 7” would join a very small group of films to only win Best Film Editing.

“Trial” has five other Oscar nominations but is not projected to win any of those categories, according to the latest Gold Derby odds. If the courtroom drama walked away with just Best Film Editing, it would become only the ninth film to do so. The first was “Eskimo” (1934), which...

The 36th Independent Spirit Awards aired Thursday, April 22 on IFC in a virtual ceremony hosted by Melissa Villaseñor (“Saturday Night Live”). (Read our live blog to see how it all went down.) By the end of the evening, “Nomadland” had emerged as the biggest winner with four trophies: Best Picture, Best Director (Chloe Zhao), Best Film Editing (Zhao) and Best Cinematography (Joshua James Richards). With the Oscars just three days away, can we expect “Nomadland” to prevail there as well in all of these crucial categories?

See 2021 Independent Spirit Awards: Winners list in all film and TV categories

The Searchlight film about a woman (Frances McDormand) who travels the country in her van searching for work beat out fellow Spirit nominees “First Cow,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Minari” and “Never Rarely Sometimes Always.” At the Oscars, “Nomadland” is Gold Derby’s pick to win Best Picture after claiming recent prizes at the Golden Globes,...

The films in the running for the 2021 Best Film Editing Oscar are: Yorgos Lamprinos (“The Father”), Chloé Zhao (“Nomadland”), Frédéric Thoraval (“Promising Young Woman”), Mikkel E.G. Nielsen (“Sound of Metal”) and Alan Baumgarten (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”). Our current odds indicate that “Sound of Metal” (69/20) will take the prize, followed in order by “The Trial of the Chicago 7” (71/20), “Nomadland” (9/2), “The Father” (9/2), and “Promising Young Woman” (9/2)

Of the five individuals in this year’s lineup, only Baumgarten has been nominated before. He, Jay Cassidy, and Crispin Struthers were collectively recognized for “American Hustle” in 2014 but lost to Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger (“Gravity”).

Any one of the newcomers could become the fifth cutter in eight years to prevail on their first outing. Sanger was the first, followed by Margaret Sixel, John Ottman, and Andrew Buckland.

Predict the 2021 Oscar winners through April 25

“Nomadland” editor Chloé Zhao is also in...

This season’s editing race features five Best Picture nominees with very visceral stories: Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland” (serving as her own editor), Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” Darius Marder’s “Sound of Metal,” Florian Zeller’s “The Father,” and Emerald Fennel’s “Promising Young Woman.” However, “The Trial of the Chicago 7″ is now the favorite, bolstered by its Ace Eddie win.

Editor Alan Baumgarten had the most ambitious editorial task: balancing three story threads in “Rashomon”-like fashion with multiple perspectives and jumping back and forth in time, from the overheated courtroom drama to the violent, vérité-like riots during the ’68 Democratic Convention to the bitter political rivalry between Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne) and Abbie Hoffman (Sacha Baron Cohen). Plus, Baumgarten oversaw a sprawling six-minute prologue that was like lighting a fuse with historical context and character introductions.

Yet “Sound of Metal” poses the biggest threat...

The cinematography race pits Joshua James Richards (“Nomadland”) against Erik Messerschmidt (“Mank”), Phedon Papamichael (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”), Dariusz Wolski (“News of the World”), and Sean Bobbitt (“Judas and the Black Messiah”). Of the five, only Papamichael has been previously nominated (for “Nebraska”). Although Messerschmidt won the coveted ASC award, Richards is the favorite for Chloé Zhao’s Best Picture frontrunner.

The momentum has been with Richards for “Nomadland” ever since he won Camerimage’s prestigious Golden Frog last year. In the recessionary road odyssey, the director’s go-to cinematographer offered a roving, naturalistic nod to Terrence Malick (with the Arri Alexa Mini), while capturing Frances McDormand’s journey through the landscapes of the American West in changing light. Magic hour was the time to capture her long walks alone (with the camera placed on the Ronin 2 gimbal).

In David Fincher’s “Mank,” Messerschmidt recreated a Golden Age of Hollywood in black-and-white.

Eddie award winner Palm Springs

After a big win at the SAG Awards earlier this month, The Trial Of The Chicago 7 has scored another hit at the Golden Eddies, proving itself to be a film that filmmakers can really get behind. Palm Springs, meanwhile, took home the award for Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy).

In a ceremony with contributions from Jodie Foster, Riz Ahmed, Carey Mulligan and more, there was also a special tribute to Spike Lee, led by Leslie Odom Jr. The 64-year-old director was awarded the Ace Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year award for his contributions to cinema.

Those film award winners in full:-

Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic) The Trial Of The Chicago 7 - Alan Baumgarten, Ace

Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy) Palm Springs - Matthew Friedman, Ace and Andrew Dickler

Best Edited Animated Feature Film Soul - Kevin Nolting, Ace

Best Edited Documentary (Feature...

“The Trial of the Chicago 7” got a big boost in its bid for Best Editing at the Oscars with a win at the Ace Golden Eddie Awards on April 17. It prevailed in the drama race at these awards bestowed by American Cinema Editors over two of its Oscar rivals — “Nomadland” and “Sound of Metal” — as well as “Mank” and “Minari.”

Another of the Oscar nominees, “Promising Young Woman,” lost the comedy/musical category to “Palm Springs.” The other contenders in that race were “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” “I Care a Lot” and “On the Rocks.”

Oscar watchers were sure to be watching Saturday’s virtual ceremony. These kudos have previewed of the 18 out of the last 30 Best Picture winners and a whopping 22 of the last 30 Film Editing Oscar champs. Not surprisingly, the Golden Eddies are also prescient when it comes to predicting the five Film Editing Oscar slots. Four of...

With just eight days to go before the Academy Awards, “The Trial of the Chicago 7” took the top prize at the Ace Eddie Awards, winning Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic), for acclaimed editor Alan Baumgarten Matthew Friedman and Andrew Dickler won Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy) for “Palm Springs,” which did not receive any nominations for the 93rd Oscars, unlike “The Trial of the Chicago 7” with its six. But in two other categories, the likely Oscar winners gained steam: “Soul” won Best Edited Animated Feature Film and “My Octopus Teacher” Best Edited Documentary (Feature), solidifying both of those films as the frontrunners in the Oscars’ Animated Feature and Documentary Feature categories.

On the TV front, “Schitt’s Creek,” which won’t even be eligible for Emmy consideration this year following its series finale in early 2020, won Best Edited Comedy Series for Commercial Television, with “Ted Lasso” winning in the Comedy category for Non-Commercial Television.

Editor Alan Baumgarten’s work on Aaron Sorkin’s drama “The Trial of the Chicago 7″ topped the American Cinema Editors Awards in a virtual ceremony.

Baumgarten beat out competition from “Sound of Metal,” “Mank,” “Minari” and “Nomadland.”

In other categories, Pixar’s “Soul” continued to collect awards, winning best edited animated feature, while “Palm Springs” won best edited feature film comedy. The Oscar-nominated documentary “My Octopus Teacher” won best edited documentary feature.

Director Spike Lee was honored with the Ace Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award, recognizing a filmmaker who exemplifies distinguished achievement in the art and business of film. Editors and co-stars who had collaborated with Lee over the years including Barry Alexander Brown, Ace; Adam Gough, Ace; Nancy Novak, Ace, Jodie Foster, Riz Ahmed and Sam Pollard all celebrated Lee in a tribute video.

Double Oscar nominee Leslie Odom Jr. shared: “When I was a little boy,...

Updated with full list of winners: Netflix’s Aaron Sorkin drama The Trial of the Chicago 7 won the marquee Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic) honor Saturday to cap the American Cinema Editors’ 71st annual Ace Eddie Awards.

Alan Baumgarten, Ace, edited the pic, about the unrest around the 1968 Democratic National Convention. It puts him and the film in frontrunner status in the Best Film Editing Oscar race, where it is competing against fellow Ace nominees Nomadland and Sound of Metal along with Promising Young Woman and The Father.

Baumgarten in his virtual acceptance speech thanked Sorkin for his “enthusiasm for editing — it was a pleasure to collaborate with you.” He also thanks his wife, with a nod to the pandemic: “I think myself, and as everybody understands, I brought the work home literally — thank you for your patience and understanding.”

Chicago 7 is up for six Oscars this year including Best Picture.

“The Trial of the Chicago 7” and “Palm Springs” have been named the best-edited films of 2020 by the American Cinema Editors, whose 71st annual Ace Eddie Awards took place in a virtual ceremony on Saturday afternoon.

“Chicago 7,” which is nominated for the film-editing Oscar along with “The Father,” “Nomadland,” “Promising Young Woman” and “Sound of Metal,” won in the Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic) category. “Palm Springs” won in the comedy category.

Since 2000, when Ace splits its film award into separate drama and comedy categories, one of its winners has gone on to win the Oscar for Best Film Editing 15 times in 21 years. All but one of those wins have come in the drama category.

“Soul” won the award for animated film, while “My Octopus Teacher” took the prize in the documentary category.

In the television categories, winners included “Schitt’s Creek,” “Ted Lasso,” “Better Call Saul,” “Ozark” and “The Queen’s Gambit.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 editor Alan Baumgarten topped the dramatic feature editing category of American Cinema Editors’s 71st Ace Eddie Awards, while Palm Springs’s Matthew Friedman and Andrew Dickler won the category for best edited comedic feature, during Saturday’s virtual ceremony.

This is the third Ace Award for Baumgarten, who also accepted Eddies for American Hustle in 2014 and Recount in 2009. It was the first Eddie and second Ace nomination for Friedman, who was also nominated a year ago for The Farewell; and the first Eddie and first nomination for Dickler.

Trial — Aaron Sorkin’s Netflix courtroom drama about events ...

The Trial of the Chicago 7 editor Alan Baumgarten topped the dramatic feature editing category of American Cinema Editors’s 71st Ace Eddie Awards, while Palm Springs’s Matthew Friedman and Andrew Dickler won the category for best edited comedic feature, during Saturday’s virtual ceremony.

This is the third Ace Award for Baumgarten, who also accepted Eddies for American Hustle in 2014 and Recount in 2009. It was the first Eddie and second Ace nomination for Friedman, who was also nominated a year ago for The Farewell; and the first Eddie and first nomination for Dickler.

Trial — Aaron Sorkin’s Netflix courtroom drama about events ...

The American Cinema Editors guild, which hands out its awards on April 17, has a good track record as a preview of the Oscar winner for Best Picture (18 out of the last 30) and a great one for forecasting who will win the Film Editing Oscar (22 of the last 30). Not surprisingly, it is also fairly prescient when it comes to predicting the five Film Editing Oscar slots. Four of this year’s Academy Awards nominees contend for this cutting prize; “The Father” was snubbed by the American Cinema Editors.

The Ace Eddie Awards divide their prizes for editing between dramas and comedies/musicals. Oscar nominees “Nomadland,” “Sound of Metal and “The Trial of the Chicago 7” contend here in the drama race, which is rounded out by “Mank” and “Minari.” Facing off on the comedy side against Oscar nominee “Promising Young Woman” are “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” “I Care a Lot,” “On the Rocks” and “Palm Springs.

Narratively speaking, Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7” stands apart from the rest of the Best Picture and Original Script nominees for its scope and multi-layered approach. The fact-based drama balances three story threads in a “Rashomon” fashion: the overheated courtroom drama, how the peaceful demonstrations turned violent during the ’68 Democratic Convention in Chicago, and the bitter political rivalry between Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne) and Abbie Hoffman (Sacha Baron Cohen).

That’s a lot of history and conflict to pack into 130 minutes, which is why Sorkin cleverly wrote a sprawling 12-page prologue to set up the whole movie, calling for archival footage, tricky tonal shifts, and jumping back and forth in time. And the six and a half-minute sequence (view below) proved quite the challenge and opportunity for Oscar-nominated Alan Baumgarten to edit. “It serves several purposes,” he said. “It provides a bit of a history lesson,...

The Oscars could have some interesting surprises pop up at the ceremony on April 25, even in the best picture race. Given the unprecedented nature of the season and the assumption that many AMPAS voters sat out the nomination phase of voting, a couple of upsets may await. One of which could be “The Trial of the Chicago 7” only winning best picture.

The historical drama, written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, has long been considered one of the potential spoilers to Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland,” which has been steamrolling its competition most of the awards season. After the Netflix drama failed to score a director nod for Sorkin, all hope seemed to be lost, especially after factoring in its losses from the WGA (losing to “Promising Young Woman”), DGA and PGA (losing to “Nomadland”). However, the film got a nice bump from the SAG Awards, picking up the cast ensemble prize.

The Ee BAFTA Film Awards officially took place on 11 April 2021, just a few months ahead of the television awards ceremony, which will be held later this year. On 9 March, the nominees for each film category were announced, including the highly anticipated Rising Star award, which previously saw Top Boy star Michael Ward take the win back in 2020.

Strong contenders for this year's awards ceremony included Nomadland and coming-of-age drama Rocks both with seven nominations, followed by Minari with six total nominations. Riz Ahmed's Sound of Metal was nominated for three awards, including a nomination for Ahmed himself as best actor.

On 10 April, a number of the award winners, including casting, costume design, and British short animation, were announced in a small ceremony hosted by Clara Amfo.

Check out the full list of winners ahead.

Best Film

Winner: Nomadland

The Father

The Mauritanian

Promising Young Woman

The Trial of the...

In 1968, the Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago at a time of deep political unrest following the murders of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King. Thousands of activists filled the streets, resulting in scenes of chaos that led to eight individuals (Black Panther Bobby Seale was later disentangled from the case) being charged by the FBI with inciting a riot. The case was tried in 1969, as depicted in Netflix’s six-time Oscar nominee The Trial of the Chicago 7.

Parallels with today’s world seem obvious now, but as writer-director Aaron Sorkin said during the film’s virtual panel at Deadline’s Contenders Film: The Nominees awards-season event, it was Steven Spielberg’s prescience that saw the film go into a production a year before unrest returned to America’s streets in 2020.

“I always wanted the film to be about today and not 1968—it was just that none of...

This very unusual eight-month movie-awards season is winding down as BAFTA and DGA virtual ceremonies take place this weekend and Oscar final voting is set to begin Thursday. What better time for Deadline’s first-ever Contenders Film: The Nominees to take place? The final countdown starts here beginning at 10 a.m. Pt with a total of 18 films from 11 studios featuring 45 nominated filmmakers and stars, all giving us the lowdown on the movies that are bringing them all to the end of a long journey that culminates on Hollywood’s biggest night of the year, April 25 (the latest date ever for an Academy Award show).

To watch the livestream of today’s event, click here.

In January, over the course of two weekends, we presented separate Contenders Film events for Documentary, International and then a big two-day look at all the movie hopefuls in this pandemic-affected year. Now, for the first time,...

Four of the five contenders in the editing race this year are newcomers, with only Alan Baumgarten (“The Trial of Chicago 7”), who snared an Oscar nom for 2013’s “American Hustle,” being recognized previously by the Academy.

“The Father” might have landed six nominations including best picture, but to land a win here it would need to beat frontrunners “Sound of Metal” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7.”

However, historically, to be considered the Oscar frontrunner for best picture, you need to land picture, director, original or adapted screenplay, editing and acting nominations. There are only two films that check that: “Nomadland” and “Promising Young Woman.”

Confused? This is where Oscar watchers will need to be following what Ace Eddies pick come April 17.

The Ace Eddies track record for guiding who wins the editor prize on Oscar night stands at 89%. It also is a solid guide to predicting best picture.

Double Oscar nominee Leslie Odom Jr. was among the craftsmen and craftswomen at Variety‘s Artisans Awards offering advice on how to get into the field they work in. Odom Jr. said, “Starting with the education is key, and starting in the theater is key for me.”

The “One Night in Miami” actor, songwriter and theater performer was honored at the seventh annual Variety Artisans Awards alongside co-writer Sam Ashworth for their original song contender “Speak Now.”

The tribute evening took place in a virtual ceremony on Monday that streamed on the Santa Barbara Film Festival website. Variety’s Senior Artisans Editor Jazz Tangcay moderated conversations with the Artisan Award recipients.

Sbiff Executive Director Roger Durling kicked off the evening by introducing the honorees. He said, “We celebrate this evening, below-the-line talent at the heart of filmmaking,” told viewers who watched the event from the festival’s online streaming platform.

Film editor Alan Baumgarten could embark on a second career as a juggler. Not that he has an interest in bowling pins or the circus, but the longtime cutting craftsman has made a specialty of, well, juggling many characters and non-linear plots into clean, coherent audience experiences. Baumgarten was nominated for an Oscar for 2013’s “American Hustle” and again this year as one of the six nominations (and perhaps the most no-brainer nod of them all) notched for Aaron Sorkin’s vast ensemble drama “The Trial of the Chicago 7.”

The film depicts an inflammatory political and cultural period in 1968 and 1969, and contains more than two dozen characters, from lawyers and defendants to judges and government officials. Though the size of the cast was formidable, Baumgarten’s greatest challenge came in a six-minute scene that narrow-focused on two characters and a complex flashback to a riot outside the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago.

Early on during the pandemic, it became obvious to Santa Barbara Intl. Film Festival executive director Roger Durling that the 36th edition of the festival would be like no other, and not in a good way. But he was hoping that by pushing the event back more than three months from mid-January to spring 2021, he’d be able to mount a hybrid event with some form of indoor screenings.

When that became unfeasible, he pivoted to a seated, socially distanced outdoor event at a Santa Barbara park. Build-out plans were drawn up and budgets were calculated. Then California experienced a dramatic surge in Covid-19 cases in November, and it became clear that the city would never approve their permit request.

“For 24 hours, I was pretty distraught,” recalls Durling. Then someone suggested turning the parking lots at Santa Barbara City College into a drive-in, “and all of a sudden it became super-exciting.

The decision to incorporate actual archival footage from the riots at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago in “The Trial of the Chicago 7” may have been risky but recently Oscar-nominated editor Alan Baumgarten explains that he and writer/director Aaron Sorkin both came to the decision rather easily. “It was quite easy and we both came to it independently. There was archival material written into the prologue that was very effective,” Baumgarten tells us in our recent webchat (watch the exclusive video above). It was when Sorkin was watching the riot sequence for the second time that he floated the idea of using such footage in the film. “As soon as he mentioned it, I said, ‘Great! I’m all for it. Give me a couple days and let me show you something.’ We quickly locked into the fact that it was going to be used sparingly. It was really...

Amazon Studios started principal photography on writer-director Aaron Sorkin's drama Being the Ricardos this week in Los Angeles. Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem star as real-life couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, the stars behind the groundbreaking and classic 1950s television sitcom I Love Lucy, that focused on a happily married though seemingly mismatched couple - a flame-haired, accident-prone American housewife, and her sensible Cuban-American bandleader husband - that became the top-rated and most beloved show of the era.

The film is set during one production week of I Love Lucy-Monday table read through Friday audience filming-when Lucy and Desi face a crisis that could end their careers and another that could end their marriage.

"Being the Ricardos is a drama about the people behind the making of television's most famous comedy. I'm looking forward to working with Nicole, Javier, J.K., Nina and the rest of our great cast,...

Amazon Studios began principal photography this week on Aaron Sorkin’s “Being the Ricardos” — a biopic about Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz — and Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat and Jake Lacy have joined the film’s cast.

They join Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem, who are playing the “I Love Lucy” stars, as well as J.K Simmons and Nina Arianda as William Frawley and Vivian Vance, who played Fred and Ethel on the classic sitcom.

Hale will play “I Love Lucy” executive producer and head writer Jess Oppenheimer, and Shawkat and Lacy will play the show’s longtime writing partners Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll Jr.

Also joining “Being the Ricardos” and rounding out the cast are Clark Gregg (“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”), Nelson Franklin (“Veep”), John Rubinstein (“Family”), Linda Lavin (“The Good Wife”), Robert Pine (“CHiPs”) and Christopher Denham (“Billions”).

“Being the Ricardos” is written and directed by Sorkin and...

Amazon Studios has announced the start of principal photography on writer/director Aaron Sorkin’s next drama film, “Being the Ricardos.” Filming started this week in Los Angeles. Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem star as real-life couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, the faces behind the classic 1950s TV sitcom “I Love Lucy,” which centered on the happy but idiosyncratic marriage of Lucille and Ricky Ricardo.

Working in a confined timeframe similar to Sorkin’s script for “Steve Jobs,” “Being the Ricardos” unfolds during one production week of “I Love Lucy” — starting with the Monday table read through Friday filming with a live audience — when Lucy and Desi face a crisis that could end their careers, as well as their marriage.

Kidman stars as Ball opposite fellow Oscar winner Bardem as her husband Desi Arnaz, the Cuban-American actor, musician, and president of their television production company, Desilu Productions.

Kidman ended up replacing Cate Blanchett,...

Aaron Sorkin is the writer and director behind “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” which tells the real-life story of the anti-Vietnam War protestors who were arrested at the 1968 Democratic Convention. The film just earned six Oscar nominations including Best Picture, with Sorkin himself earning his fourth career bid for writing the screenplay.

Sorkin recently spoke with Gold Derby contributing writer Charlie Bright about when he first learned about the real Chicago 7, the casting process for the film and his experience recently winning a Golden Globe at a virtual ceremony. Watch the exclusive interview above and read the complete transcript below.

Seesag Awards nominee profile: Sacha Baron Cohen (‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’) seeks to gain back lost ground

Gold Derby: The first question that I wanted to ask is about when these events actually happened. I know you were very young when the ’68 convention happened, but were you...

Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Adarsh Gourav's co-star in The White Tiger and her husband, actor-singer Nick Jonas, today announced the Oscar nominations of Writer-director Ramin Bahrani's The White Tiger. Ramin Bahrani's film has been nominated in the Best Adapted Screenplay category at the upcoming 93rd Academy Awards.

Mank, with 10 nominations, has garnered the highest number of nominations this year. The black and white biopic, based on the life of 'Citizen Kane' co-screenplay writer Herman J Mankiewicz, garnered nominations in the categories of Best Picture, Best Director (for David Fincher), Best Actor (Gary Oldman) and Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Amanda Seyfried).

Other notable films that won multiple nominations include "The Trial Of The Chicago 7" (six nominations), "Judas And The Black Messiah" (six), "The Father" (six) and "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" (five).

The late Chadwick Boseman is a contender in the Best Actor category for "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom...

This year’s Oscar season was always going to be unconventional, with nominations taking place almost two months later than usual ahead of April’s delayed ceremony, but one aspect of the awards cycle remains unchanged: There were plenty of snubs and surprises, with the Academy delivering a diverse set of nominations that challenge many of the assumptions about the way things would play out.

First, the shockers. “One Night in Miami” (Amazon) and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (Netflix) did not make the final eight for Best Picture. It was no surprise that “Da 5 Bloods” (Netflix) wasn’t going to make it — Spike Lee’s Vietnam epic earned just one Oscar slot, for Best Original Score, as critics prize-winner Delroy Lindo and Chadwick Boseman were both overlooked for acting nods. And the late Boseman landed just one, not two, nominations: Best Actor for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” along with his larger-than-life costar,...

This year’s Oscar season was always going to be unconventional, with nominations taking place almost two months later than usual ahead of April’s delayed ceremony, but one aspect of the awards cycle remains unchanged: There were plenty of snubs and surprises, with the Academy delivering a diverse set of nominations that challenge many of the assumptions about the way things would play out.

First, the shockers. “One Night in Miami” (Amazon) and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (Netflix) did not make the final eight for Best Picture. It was no surprise that “Da 5 Bloods” (Netflix) wasn’t going to make it — Spike Lee’s Vietnam epic earned just one Oscar slot, for Best Original Score, as critics prize-winner Delroy Lindo and Chadwick Boseman were both overlooked for acting nods. And the late Boseman landed just one, not two, nominations: Best Actor for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” along with his larger-than-life costar,...

The Oscars are shaping up to be a big night for Hollywood. On Monday, Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas announced which films and stars are up for the coveted trophy. Award season favorites like Judas and the Black Messiah and Minari are nominated in big categories like best picture, while actors like Leslie Odom Jr. and Carey Mulligan also picked up nominations for their incredible performances. Chadwick Boseman, who died at age 43 in August 2020, received a posthumous nomination for his role in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Check out the list of nominations ahead, before the official ceremony takes place on April 25.

Related: These Are the Best Pictures From the 2020 Oscars

Best Picture

The Father

Judas and the Black Messiah

Mank

Minari

Nomadland

Promising Young Woman

Sound of Metal

The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Director

Thomas Vinterberg, Another Round

David Fincher, Mank

Lee Isaac Chung, Minari

Chloé Zhao, Nomadland

Emerald Fennell,...

The 2021 Oscars nominations list was announced on Monday, March 15 at the academy’s headquarters in Beverly Hills, California. (Scroll down for the full and complete list of Academy Awards nominees.)

Final voting doesn’t start until April 15 and then runs for only six days; that is the shortest time for balloting in the history of these top movie honors. The 2021 Oscars ceremony takes place on April 25 and for the third time in as many years, it won’t have a host.

At 5:18 a.m. Pt/8:20 a.m. Et, nominees were announced in nine categories: Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Original Screenplay, Costume Design, Original Score, Sound, Animated Short and Live Action Short.

At 5:30 a.m. Pt/8:30 a.m. Et, nominees were announced in the remaining 15 races: Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Cinematography, Film Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling, Original Song, Production Design, Visual Effects, Animated Feature, Documentary Feature,...