That smile faces quite a bit of scrutiny over Magic’s first months in Los Angeles. Cookie (Tamera Tomakili), his hometown girlfriend, worries (rightly) that her beau’s seductive grin invites too much (welcome) attention from the opposite sex. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Solomon Hughes) sees the new kid’s unflappably joyous visage as an indicator of Magic’s inexplicable immunity to the racist world all around him. West first brings up the smile as a negative at a country club while talking with four white colleagues....

The film, which has grossed about $23 million in theaters, received a PVOD release just after its third weekend in theaters. That’s the Universal/Focus model. This quick transition came against the backdrop of a Memorial Day weekend in which “A Quiet Place Part II” (Paramount) and “Cruella” (Disney) led theaters to their strongest weekend in over a year. Both “Wrath” and “Spiral” (Lionsgate) have chosen to cash in on at-home potential, even as theaters rebound, rather than wait and continue to add to their theatrical take....

Martin Scorsese’s films have been resonating with audiences for decades, and he’s not done telling stories. Scorsese’s next project, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” chronicles the brutal murders of the Osage community — a Native American tribe from Osage County, Okla. who were slaughtered in the early 1900’s in what became known as the “Reign of Terror.” The film was adapted from a nonfiction book by David Grann, and stars frequent Scorsese collaborators, Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro....

On the TV side, “Succession” (HBO), “Mare of Easttown” (HBO), “The Beatles: Get Back” (Disney+), “Kevin Can F**k Himself” (AMC), “Hacks” (HBO Max), and “Bob’s Burgers” (FOX) were the big winners for drama, limited series, documentary non-theatrical, multi-camera and single-camera comedy series, and non-theatrical animation, respectively. Editors Lillian E. Benson (“Eyes on the Prize”), the first woman of color to join the American Cinema Editors Society, and Richard Chew (“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” “Star Wars”) were honored with Career Achievement Awards, and the Sundance Institute earned the ACE Golden Eddie Award (accepted by Michelle Statter)....

Below, find a roundup of collectibles, jewelry, books, and more merchandise that “Lord of the Rings” fans will love. And if you can’t get enough of fandoms, check out the best merchandise for “Game of Thrones”, and “Star Wars” fans. “Lord of the Rings” Chess Set If chess is your game of choice, this “Lord of the Rings”-inspired set includes 32 finely sculpted pieces and a full graphic chess board....

Lots of people have been reading more since the pandemic started, which means you might need a place to store all of your new books. For readers who still enjoy the feeling of curling up in a chair and cracking open a good book, we rounded up a selection of affordable bookshelves and book cases that will liven up any room. Regardless if you have a home library or no designated reading space, keeping your books and other items in one place is a small but important step in getting organized....

The program, called Beyond the Screen, is a free, three-week immersive workshop that kicks of virtually on June 4. The three-session course will cover the business of production, post-production, and distribution. The goal is to allow those interested in film and TV careers to leave with a better understanding of how to naviagate their projects and careers. The program will feature Q&As with “Burning Cane” director Phillip Youmans, “Insecure” producer Deniese Davis, and Netflix post-production executive Nancy Valle....

“As you stood on the Oscars stage in 1973 to not accept the Oscar on behalf of Marlon Brando, in recognition of the misrepresentation and mistreatment of Native American people by the film industry, you made a powerful statement that continues to remind us of the necessity of respect and the importance of human dignity,” a letter signed by former Academy President David Rubin stated, as addressed June 18. Littlefeather will also be the guest of honor at “an evening of healing and Indigenous celebration” hosted by the Academy Museum in Los Angeles on September 17....

Kim has received critical acclaim for his performance in “Minari,” in which he stars opposite Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri, Noel Kate Cho, Youn Yuh-jung, and Will Patton. Together with his cast members, Kim is nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture. Kim won the Critics Choice Award for Best Young Performer, and he’ll compete at the BAFTA Film Awards in the Best Supporting Actor category....

To some, this process may have seemed like vanity. But for anyone who got the chance to peek at his handwritten notes on the copy of the game board he kept at his podium, that need for perfection as the host of the trivia game show was a desire for accuracy that came without narcissism. Yes, it may have been easy to be an arbiter of knowledge with answers and questions there in front of him....

Having helped shape modern cinema, Alfred Hitchcock is revered as one of the most prolific directors in history and this year, his birthday falls on Friday the 13th. That date couldn’t be more fitting for the Master of Suspense. Hitchcock released over 50 films in his 60-year career amassing a catalog of classics such as “Rear Window,” “Psycho,” “The Birds,” “Marnie,” “North by Northwest,” “Vertigo,” “The Man Who Knew Too Much,” and “Rebecca....

Last year’s ASC winner was Roger Deakins for “1917.” Deakins also won the ASC prize for “Blade Runner 2049.” In both cases, the legendary DP went on to win the Oscar for Best Cinematography. Wally Pfister for “Inception” and Emmanuel Lubezki for “Gravity,” “Birdman,” and “The Revenant” are other recent examples of ASC winners who also prevailed at the Academy Awards. The ASC went with Łukasz Żal for “Cold War” in 2018, while the Academy bestowed its prize to Alfonso Cuarón for “Roma....

During an interview on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” Garfield likened keeping his “Spider-Man: No Way Home” role under wraps to planning the ultimate “surprise birthday party” for Marvel fans. “It was fun to keep it secret, because you know when you’re planning a surprise birthday party for someone and they’re like, ‘I hate surprises. Tell me, is the party happening? No seriously, don’t mess around because you know I actually hate surprises,’” Garfield joked....

“The Summit of the Gods” (opening November 24 in select theaters and streaming November 30) is adapted from the popular manga and concerns a Japanese adventure photographer and mountain climber obsessed with finding a legendary climber obsessed with scaling Mount Everest. Other highlights include the West Coast premieres of GKids’ “Belle” on October 23 and Neon’s award-winning “Flee” on October 24. “Belle” is the musical fantasy 2D reworking of “Beauty and the Beast” from Oscar-nominated anime master Mamoru Hosoda (“Mirai”), who will do an in-person Q&A....

A follow-up to her 2001 book “Call Me Crazy,” the memoir will be released by Start Publishing in January 2023. An excerpt from the upcoming memoir includes Heche discussing her relationship with Ellen DeGeneres, whom she dated in the late 1990s. “I was labeled ‘outrageous’ because I fell in love with a woman. I had never been with a woman before I dated Ellen,” Heche wrote. She added that she was effectively blacklisted in Hollywood due to the fact that she was part of one of the few openly-gay relationships in the industry....

The final line in “Casablanca,” with Humphrey Bogart’s Rick commenting on the marriage of convenience with French Vichy Captain Renault, might serve for theaters and Netflix. The movie that’s testing that bond is not a cinema classic; it’s Zack Snyder’s “Army of the Dead,” an action-zombie movie made for Netflix, which will debut May 14 in nearly 600 theaters. These include major chains led by Cinemark, which until now largely avoided the streamer’s films, and gives “Army” deeper nationwide theatrical access than any previous Netflix film....

Updated November 3: A New Yorker spokesperson shared this statement of IndieWire supporting Rachel Aviv’s piece following Farhadi’s attorney’s claims: “Rachel Aviv wrote a fair and factual account, supported by numerous on-the-record sources and confirmed by our fact checkers. She spoke extensively with Mr. Farhadi — more than a dozen hours worth of interviews — and the article examines his perspective at length and reflects his substantial input. The New Yorker stands by the story....

The “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” star took to Twitter February 5 to address allegations around her “blaccent,” a “voice that stereotypically imitates forms of Black American dialect,” as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. Awkwafina, whose real name is Nora Lum, tweeted that there is “a sociopolitical context to everything, especially the historical context of the African American community in this country.” Awkwafina clarified her use of AAVE, or African American Vernacular English, was a result of being first-generation American (Lum is half Korean, half Chinese)....

At back to back Zoom meetings with nominees and their publicists Tuesday morning, the producers announced several changes to allow overseas nominees to safely participate on the show as Europe faces virus spikes — including remote speeches. The 2021 Oscars present a production challenge that no one will want to repeat: Stage a must-watch celebration of movies without the benefit of blockbuster titles, an audience (beyond the nominees’ guests), or even red carpet....

Skip ahead three years and Streisand is getting a bit more honest about Cooper’s “A Star Is Born” remake, which grossed $436 million worldwide and was nominated for eight Academy Awards. During an interview on the Australian talk series “The Sunday Project” (via Entertainment Weekly), Streisand shaded Cooper’s “A Star Is Born” for being too similar to her own 1976 version. Streisand said she would’ve preferred to see an earlier idea to remake “A Star Is Born” with Will Smith and Beyoncé in the lead roles....