Friday, December 19, 2025
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Awards: National Board of Review Tax Exempt 2019 Finances: $600K in Revenue, $300K in Salaries, $0 in Aid to Filmmakers

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EXCLUSIVE It’s the same old song.

This week we all received the National Board of Review’s winners of film prizes for 2022. The NBR is a fan based group that charges membership fees, then charges those members again to attend their annual gala. The whole thing is run by Annie Schulhof, who determines the winners of the prizes. David Laub, an executive with A24 Films, is on the board. This year, A24 got 7 citations for its films.

The finances of the NBR are always a question. Their most recent tax filing as a not for profit, 501 c(3), tells an interesting story. For 2019-20, with most of it falling in 2019, is alarming as usual.

Total revenue was $585,456. Total salaries came to $317,933. Net assets were listed as $556,323.

What did this not for profit entity distribute from their coffers? The answer is $0. Zero dollars. Nothing. Goose eggs. This was down from a mere $72,500 in 2018.

And still they claimed a loss of $48,044 from their one event, the annual gala at Cipriani 42nd St. where they charge studios for picking up the tables, and members to sit at them.

The NBR’s expenses including over $46,000 for rent, and $20,000 for advertising/promotion, office expenses, and “information technology” (that would be their mimeograph machine). The first listing– advertising/promotion– is ridiculous on its face since the studios use the NBR awards in their own ads. The NBR doesn’t promote itself.

It’s a scam. Nice work if you can get it. All this to have your picture taken with actors.

American Film Institute Snubs All Streaming Films for 2022 Best, Also Ignores Much Hyped “Whale”

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Yesterday when I was traveling the American Film Institute announced its best films of the year.

And there was a big surprise: no choices from Netflix, Apple, Amazon, Hulu or any other streaming entity. Nada.

All 10 films, as well as special 11th, were from the major studios.

Also snubbed were several heavily hyped films that did come from the studios including “The Whale,” starring Brendan Fraser, and “Till” and “Bones and All.” (The former is from A24, the lattert two from MGM, now considered part of Amazon).

The lack of Netflix on the list is surprising because they spend millions on awards campaigns. But this year their only real prospect, Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio,” was thought to be in the running.

The top 10 movies are: Avatar 2, Elvis, Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Fabelmans, Nope, She Said, Tar, Top Gun Maverick, The Woman King, and Women Talking. The special award went to The Banshees of Inisherin because it’s technically a foreign film but in the English language.

About half of these will make it to the final round of the Oscars: Elvis, The Fabelmans, She Said, Tar, and Top Gun. The others are up in the air. The AFI also rejected Black Panther Wakanda Forever, Empire of Light, and Armageddon Time as well as Amsterdam and Babylon.

The whole list feels right, although I would have swapped out something for “Till.” The story was important enough to be included.

The AFI also chose 10 TV series including The Bear, Severance, Hacks, The White Lotus, Pachinko, Mo, Somebody Somewhere, Reservation Dogs, and the final season of Better Call Saul. Two perennials were missing– Succession and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel — because their most recent seasons were covered last year.

The snubbing of The Whale is most interesting. Originally this was the most overhyped movie of the season. Then when it finally started getting reviews, the numbers were not encouraging. It’s now at 67 on Rotten Tomatoes. Not only did the AFI dismiss it, but the National Bored of Review ignored it totally despite giving its studio, A24, seven nods because one of its execs is on their board. Even his insider participation didn’t help!

UPDATE: 5 Million Fans Watched Kelli Giddish’s “SVU” Exit While Show’s EP is Accused of Bullying and “Toxic Behavior”

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SATURDAY NOON: Real numbers were higher– 4.98, we’ll call it 5 million. Now we’ll see next week how fans respond to Giddish being gone.

FRIDAY OVERNIGHT REPORT: Last night, 4.88 million people watched Kelli Giddish’s exit as Detective Rollins on “Law & Order SVU.” Giddish played Amanda Rollins for 12 seasons but was written out by Dick Wolf Productions when they couldn’t come to a salary resolution.

Wolf wanted to cut Giddish’s pay because she’s older and costs more as the show ages and needs a lower budget. The fans turned out for her happy ending — a wedding and a wave goodbye as Amanda goes off to teach at Fordham University. (Terrible idea but better than killing her off.)

Meantime, this season’s Executive Producer, David Graziano, replacing the popular Warren Leight, is in hot water. The 50 year old writer and produce has been accused by more than a dozen people who’ve worked with him over the years of being really mean to his underlings: mistreating staffers, having a hair trigger temper, and making inappropriate and demeaning comments toward women and minorities.

You would think this would have come out sooner, and Mariska Hargitay would say something. But these things are slow to percolate. Last March I told you about the showrunner from “The Good Fight” finally being sacked after years of abusing the staff.

Will Graziano stay? Will Rollins ever return? (Giddish will turn up on an episode of “Law & Order Organized Crime” later this season). Will all the popular actors let go by Dick Wolf over the last 25 years start their own show? Stay tuned!

Mariah Carey Dethroned as Queen of Christmas Pop as Brenda Lee Out-Streams Her with Classic 1958 Hit

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Who is the Queen of Christmas pop? Is it Mariah Carey?

Not exactly. On iTunes today, Mariah’s “All I Want for Christmas” is four notches higher than Brenda Lee’s classic “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” Mariah’s at number 2, Brenda’s at number 6.

But in streaming, Brenda is number 1 on the charts leading Mariah significantly according to hitsdailydouble.com. Indeed, Brenda jumped 55% this week as opposed to Mariah’s increase of just 41%.

Brenda had 25.3 million streams versus Mariah’s 24.5 million. Bobby Helms’s “Jingle Bell Rock” is in third place.

Brenda’s turning 78 on Sunday and I’m sure she’s happy about the success of the record. She’s getting some money from sales and streaming, but not much. She didn’t write “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” Johnny Marks did. His estate gets all the money from radio play, Brenda gets nothing. That’s why MusicFirst’s performance royalty bill, heading to Congress, is so important. Imagine if Brenda had been paid for all that radio play. She’d really be rocking around that Christmas tree!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=4vn_I0-3WOk

Broadway: Audra McDonald Goes for Her 7th Tony Award in “Ohio State Murders” Drama, A List Crowd Cheers Opening Night

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You know that Audra McDonald has six Tony Awards, she’s only 52 so more are coming. And tonight, the 7th was lined up with McDonald appearing in 91 year old Adrienne Kennedy‘s Broadway debut play. “Ohio State Murders.”

The biggest problem with “OSM” is that Kenny Leon directed it, and it’s the second play of this season — starting with “Top Dog/Underdog” — that will net him Tony attention. Leon is having a moment right now after a 30 year year. Who knows what else he has up his sleeve? Plus, his curtain call speeches are becoming legendary as well.

A wild A list crowd showed up at the newly named James Earl Jones Theater (formerly the Cort) which has been transformed into quite a lovely petit palais on West 48th St. I saw next to Tony Goldwyn and his daughter, ran into Rebecca Hall and husband Morgan Spector, LaTanya Richardson chastised me for not seeing “The Piano Lesson” yet, I also spotted Kelli O’Hara, and Molly Ringwald.

At the Champagne reception following McDonald’s breathtaking performance, her husband, WIll Swenson, popped over from his star turn as Neil Diamond in “A Beautiful Noise.” I was also happy to see my old friend, the great writer Joan Juliet Buck with another terrific writer, Allegra Huston (yes, she’s Anjelica’s talented sister) and their friend, the great gold medal Para- Olympian and actress Aimee Mullins (who’s also married to Rupert Friend and has a role in Wes Anderson’s next movie, and has a resume that includes many episodes of “Stranger Things”). Whew!

Why is this Adrienne Kennedy’s Broadway debut? She’s a highly regarded avant garde playwright whose work has been produced everywhere. But a commercial venture? This is it finally. Buck and Huston, and Mullins are all personal friends plus a lot of Kennedy’s family was present. She, they say, stayed home in Williamsburg, Virginia. “She was afraid she’s so excited she’d pass out,” the ladies told me. Well, she has a few months to get ready for the 2023 Tony Awards because “Ohio State Murders” will most certainly be nominated.

Audra McDonald, you also know, is a sensational singer. But the music she sings in “Ohio State Murders” is the song of Suzanne, a fictional representation of Kennedy. Sue is a visiting speaker at Ohio State, where she recalls that in 1952, as a student, one of her two children was murdered. (This is not Kennedy’s story.) The 75 minute presentation is dotted with a supporting cast of vast talents, including Bryce Pinkham, Mister Fitzgerald, Lizan Mitchell, and violinist Abigail Stephenson. But it’s McDonald’s show 98 percent of the time. She’s riveting, devastating, and mesmerizing. Her Suzanne is so commanding that when the play ends you want her to keep talking.

“Top Gun Maverick” Named Best Picture by National Bored of Review, A24 Gets 4 Big Corrupt Wins, “Till” Actress Gets Traditional Black Award

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The phony baloney National Bored of Review has announced its winners. Studio A24 picked up four big wins with Best Actress, Foreign Film, Animated Film, and Directorial Debut. Why? I’ve told you before, countless times: David Laub, head of marketing for A24, sits on the NBR board. That’s all you need to know. This is an annual disgrace. Not only did A24 get the four major awards, they got 3 of the top 10 independent films.

“Top Gun Maverick” won Best Picture because Annie Schulhof wants Tom Cruise front and center. And now she’s got him! (This ensures “TGM” not getting the Oscar, kids.) She gave “Banshees” some awards because Searchlight, which she used to snub, is now part of Disney.

Steven Spielberg won Best Director for “The Fablemans.” He’s won about 45 times with the NBR. They love him, who doesn’t? (They didn’t love him enough to give his actors awards, however, or Tony Kushner’s screenplay.) Otherwise, Universal Pictures didn’t do too well. Shocking that there was nothing for George Clooney or Julia Roberts for “Ticket to Paradise”! And nothing for Universal Focus’s “She Said” or “Tar.” Nada. I guess Universal didn’t pony up!

The big joke is that the brilliant Danielle Deadwyler got “Breakthrough Performance.” This is the traditional NBR category for Black actors. Deadwyler joins Jennifer Hudson, Gabourey Sidibe, Dev Patel, Terrence Howard, Viola Davis, Royalty Hightower, Abraham Attah, Quvenzhané Wallis and so on in this group. This is what the NBR does with POC to make themselves look good. It’s also very shameful.

See the full list of winners below.

Best Film: “Top Gun: Maverick” (Paramount Pictures)

Best DirectorSteven Spielberg, “The Fabelmans” (Universal Pictures)

Best ActorColin Farrell, “The Banshees of Inisherin” (Searchlight Pictures)

Best ActressMichelle Yeoh, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24)

Best Supporting ActorBrendan Gleeson, “The Banshees of Inisherin” (Searchlight Pictures)

Best Supporting ActressJanelle Monáe, “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” (Netflix)

Best Original ScreenplayMartin McDonagh, “The Banshees of Inisherin” (Searchlight Pictures)

Best Adapted ScreenplayEdward Berger, Lesley Paterson, Ian Stokell, “All Quiet on the Western Front” (Netflix)

Breakthrough Performance Danielle Deadwyler, “Till” (Orion/United Artists Releasing)

Breakthrough Performance: Gabriel LaBelle, “The Fabelmans” (Universal Pictures)

Best Directorial Debut: Charlotte Wells, “Aftersun” (A24)

Best Animated Feature:  “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” (A24)

Best International Film“Close” from Belgium (A24)

Best Documentary“Sr.” (Netflix)

Best Ensemble“Women Talking” (MGM/United Artists Releasing)

Outstanding Achievement in CinematographyClaudio Miranda, “Top Gun: Maverick” (Paramount Pictures)

NBR Freedom of Expression Awards: “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” (Neon) and “Argentina, 1985” (Amazon Studios)

Top Films (in alphabetical order):

  • “Aftersun” (A24)
  • “Avatar: The Way of Water” (20th Century Studios)
  • “The Banshees of Inisherin” (Searchlight Pictures)
  • “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24)
  • “The Fabelmans” (Universal Pictures)
  • “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” (Netflix)
  • “RRR” (Variance Films)
  • “Till” (Orion/United Artists Releasing)
  • “The Woman King” (Sony Pictures)
  • “Women Talking”

Top 5 International Films (in alphabetical order):

  • “All Quiet on the Western Front” (Germany)
  • “Argentina, 1985” (Argentina)
  • “Decision to Leave” (South Korea)
  • “EO” (Poland)
  • “Saint Omer” (France)

Top 5 Documentaries (in alphabetical order):

  • “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” (Neon)
  • “All That Breathes” (HBO)
  • “Descendant” (Netflix)
  • “Turn Every Page – The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb” (Sony Pictures Classics)
  • “Wildcat” (Amazon Studios)

Top 10 Independent Films (in alphabetical order):

  • “Armageddon Time” (Focus Features)
  • “Emily the Criminal” (Roadside Attractions/Vertical Entertainment)
  • The Eternal Daughter” (A24)
  • “Funny Pages” (A24)
  • “The Inspection” (A24)
  • “Living” (Sony Pictures Classics)
  • “A Love Song” (Bleecker Street)
  • “Nanny” (Amazon Studios)
  • “The Wonder” (Netflix)
  • “To Leslie” (Momentum Pictures)

Chaos in the World of Superman and Wonder Woman as New DC Chiefs Find Change Equals Kryptonite

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One thing you don’t want to do in the comic book movie world is make changes. Change equals Kryptonite especially in the world of DC Comics. Nothing upsets the fans like zigging when you said you were zagging.

So now there’s chaos because The Hollywood Reporter says that newly minted DC chiefs James Gunn and Peter Safran may be chucking everything and starting over. No “Wonder Woman 3” from Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot. No to the “Superman” sequel with Henry Cavill, even though the actor reassured fans he was coming back. “Black Adam” sequel? Maybe not. “The Batman, Part 2?” Who knows?

Gunn tried to allay fans’ fears. He tweeted today:

“So. As for the story yesterday in the Hollywood Reporter, some of it is true, some of it is half-true, some of it is not true, & some of it we haven’t decided yet whether it’s true or not.

“Although this first month at DC has been fruitful, building the next ten years of story takes time & we’re still just beginning. Peter & I chose to helm DC Studios knowing we were coming into a fractious environment, both in the stories being told & in the audience itself & there would be an unavoidable transitional period as we moved into telling a cohesive story across film, TV, animation, and gaming.

“But, in the end, the drawbacks of that transitional period were dwarfed by the creative possibilities & the opportunity to build upon what has worked in DC so far & to help rectify what has not.

“We know we are not going to make every single person happy every step of the way, but we can promise everything we do is done in the service of the STORY & in the service of the DC CHARACTERS we know you cherish and we have cherished our whole lives.

“As for more answers about the future of the DCU, I will sadly have to ask you to wait. We are giving these characters & the stories the time & attention they deserve & we ourselves still have a lot more questions to ask & answer.”

Maxwell Frost, Newly Elected Youngest Congressman from Florida, Rejected for DC Apartment: Why Isn’t DNC Helping Him?

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This is terrible. Maxwell Frost was recently elected to Congress from Florida’s 10th district. He went to Washington to get ready for January 1st — but was rejected for an apartment and lost his fee as well.

Frost is just 25, turns 26 in January. He’s the youngest Congressman.

DNC, Hakeem Jeffries– help this guy!

More here from Frost about his situation. The DNC should be providing him assistance, not leaving him in this situation.

Broadway: Tom Stoppard’s “Leopoldstadt” Extends Run Through July and Probably Tony Awards Win

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Oh come on, you knew “Leopoldstadt” wasn’t going anywhere.

The sensationally moving and profound Tom Stoppard play has just been extended through July. They’ve got to keep it open because Stoppard is going to win the Tony Award for Best Play. and maybe the Pulitzer and a bunch of other awards.

“Leopoldstadt” received rave reviews and is doing very well at the box office. For the last six weeks it’s brought in over $1 million a week. A lot of musicals are certainly envious.

Stoppard’s play is set in Vienna between the early 1900s and 1937 among wealthy Jews who don’t realize they cannot escape the coming Nazi invasion. The antisemitism is there, but they refuse to see it and think they’ve assimilated into Austrian society. It’s Stoppard’s family story, but it’s also a warning to Jews today who think the current climate of hate is not directed at us.

I will see this play again as soon as tickets are available. Everyone should!

Golden Globes, Accused of Lack of Diversity, Choose First Black Host with Comic Jerrod Carmichael

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Well, this should be fun.

The Golden Globes have chosen a host for their show next month and it’s Jerrod Carmichael.

Carmichael is both Black and gay, which covers a couple of bases for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association after a long public struggle over diversity and inclusion.

Carmichael took home an Emmy Award in September for the writing of his critically acclaimed comedy special, “Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel,” and earned an Emmy nomination for hosting on Saturday Night Live.”

The main thing is, he’s funny. And endearing. I don’t know what kind of ratings he’ll get, but that’s the point. It’s a good choice, and sets the tone for what everyone hopes will be a good evening.

The Globes air on NBC on Tuesday, January 10th live everywhere beginning at 8pm, kicking off awards season. Next up will be the Critics Choice Awards on Sunday, January 15th on the CW Network with Chelsea Handler as host.