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Nearly all of Oscar’s 2020 original-song nominees are newcomers, while only two of this morning’s original-score nominees are new to the competition.

Veteran songwriter Diane Warren earned her 12th nomination for “Io Sì (Seen)” from “The Life Ahead,” shared with singer and co-lyricist Laura Pausini. She must be seen as the front-runner, as she has never won in over three decades of nominations; and she won the Golden Globe on Feb. 28.

Leslie Odom Jr., also nominated this morning for playing singer Sam Cooke in “One Night in Miami,” earned a second nomination as the writer of that film’s closing song, “Speak Now,” shared with Sam Ashworth.

All of the other song nominees are first-timers at the Academy Awards. British composer Daniel Pemberton received a nod for “Hear My Voice” for the film he scored, “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” shared with vocalist and co-writer Celeste.

H.E.R., fresh...

Some of the Oscar contenders for Best Original Song share a common thread, according to Harry Gregson-Williams: they’re all songs about wanting to feel seen and heard.

Songwriters Daniel Pemberton (“Hear My Voice” for “The Trial of the Chicago 7”) Diane Warren (“Io Sì (Seen)” for “The Life Ahead”), John Legend (“Never Break” for “Giving Voice” and “Make It Work” for “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey”), Leslie Odom Jr. (“Speak Now” for “One Night in Miami”), Gregson-Williams (“Loyal Brave True” for “Mulan”) and H.E.R. (“Fight For You” for “Judas and the Black Messiah”) took part in TheWrap’s Oscar Contenders Showcase: Best Original Song on Thursday and spoke about how timely and important their songs feel, even though some were written for movies set in different eras.

“Every single day, we fight to be ourselves, and the reason we are all here today is because we made these...

Original songs by Black artists with specifically Black themes have only occasionally found their way into contention for the Oscar and Golden Globes races over the past decade. “Glory” by Common and John Legend, from “Selma,” won seven years ago. Three years ago, Mary J. Blige’s “Mighty River” from “Mudbound” was up for the prize. But if these were considered outliers, the 2021 voting has reversed that narrative. With so many songs from Black films in the race, it’s a change that Sam Cooke (one of the subjects of “One Night in Miami”) might be proud of.

Among the songs with at least a subliminal sense of social consciousness, and in most cases a deep and explicit one, vying for the song prize at this stage of the voting for the Globes, Oscars or both: “Speak Now” from “One Night in Miami,” sung and co-written by one of the film’s stars,...

A great many things will be different about the Oscars this year, but it would take more than a world-collapsing pandemic to stop the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from upholding its proudest tradition of all: Assembling a shortlist of Best Original Song nominees full of faux-inspirational power ballads that were only commissioned for the end credits of their respective movies in order to be considered for an Oscar in this category. As ever, it’s a great year for any musician who lent their talents to extracurricular songs with titles such as “Rise Now,” “Hear Me,” and “Listen to Me Sing (Give Me that Gold Statue),” while artists like “Emma” star Johnny Flynn missed the cut for having the temerity to write something that demanded listeners’ attention. That doesn’t explain why a supernova like Taylor Swift missed the cut for her top-notch voting anthem “Only the Young,...

Predicting the nominees for Best Original Song at the Oscars is made more difficult by the three-stage process. In years past, many seemingly sure-fire contenders were deemed to be ineligible. Even those ditties that clear this hurdle then have to pass muster with the nearly 400 members members of the music branch of the academy. In recent years, upwards of 75 songs have been in the running. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2021 Oscar predictions for Best Original Song.)

To be even eligible for consideration, a tune must meet these criteria:

It must be an original song with words and music, both of which were original and written specifically for the film;

It must be the result of a creative interaction between the filmmaker(s) and the songwriter(s) who have been engaged to work directly on the film; and

There must be a clearly audible, intelligible, substantive rendition (not necessarily visually...

This year’s Oscar Original Song shortlist has recognized a number of tunes from Black narrative or documentary films, while at the same time kept up an Academy tradition of begin able to embrace a silly song. On Tuesday that specifically meant “Wuhan Flu” from Amazon’s Borat Subsequent Moviefilm and “Husavik” from Netflix’s Will Ferrell-Rachel McAdams comedy Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga both made the first cut.

“Wuhan Flu” and “Husavik” follows in the tradition of AMPAS honoring such satirical tunes as “Blame Canada” from 2000’s South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, and the Bret McKenzie-penned ditty “Man or Muppet” in 2011 from The Muppets.

There was a time during the late 1980s when the Best Song category felt like a top 40 list with Oscar winners like “What a Feeling” from Flashdance, “I Just Called to Say I Loved You” from The Women in...

This year’s nine Oscar shortlists are voted on by five branches of the Academy — Music, Documentary, Animation and Shorts, VFX, and Makeup and Hairstyling — as well as the intrepid members from all over the world who were willing and able to watch online a minimum of a dozen qualifying international features. Reading the tea leaves of these shortlists reveals some strengths and weaknesses heading into the final round of voting for the final five nominations to be announced on March 15.

To state the obvious, voters made their selection from a wide range of smaller-scale movies, given that many of the studio blockbusters, from Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” to Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune,” were pushed back due to the pandemic. Clearly, while stuck at home, many Academy voters were watching Netflix. That’s a huge advantage for “step one” on the road to an Oscar nomination: getting your movie seen.

This year’s nine Oscar shortlists are voted on by five branches of the Academy — Music, Documentary, Animation and Shorts, VFX, and Makeup and Hairstyling — as well as the intrepid members from all over the world who were willing and able to watch online a minimum of a dozen qualifying international features. Reading the tea leaves of these shortlists reveals some strengths and weaknesses heading into the final round of voting for the final five nominations to be announced on March 15.

To state the obvious, voters made their selection from a wide range of smaller-scale movies, given that many of the studio blockbusters, from Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” to Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune,” were pushed back due to the pandemic. Clearly, while stuck at home, many Academy voters were watching Netflix. That’s a huge advantage for “step one” on the road to an Oscar nomination: getting your movie seen.

The academy released the 2021 Oscars shortlists in nine categories on Tuesday, February 9. The hopefuls in a wide range of races found out if they are remain in contention for the 93rd annual Academy Awards. Among these are the marquee categories for Best International Feature Film (which was pared down to 10 films from the 93 submitted) and Best Documentary Feature (which went from 238 to 15).

Both music awards – Best Original Song and Best Original Score — were winnowed down to just 15 contenders from upwards of 100 submissions apiece. The Best Makeup and Hairstyling and Best Visual Effects races as well as the three awards for shorts – animated, documentary and live-action — were culled from dozens of entries to 10 apiece.

Documentary Feature

Two hundred and thirty-eight films were eligible for consideration; there are 15 on the shortlist. Members of the Documentary Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees. The films, listed in alphabetical order by title,...

The shortlists for the Academy Awards’ two music categories are out, and while there are few surprises among the 375-member music branch’s 15 choices for best original score, there’s a remarkable shift in the original song category: Nearly half of the 15 songs on that list emerged from narrative films or documentaries whose casts or subjects were predominantly Black.

Most of these songs had already been tagged as leading contenders, even though it was hardly a certainty they’d all make the shortlist. Among them: Janelle Monae’s “Turntables” from the voter-suppression doc “All In: The Fight for Democracy,” Mary J. Blige’s “See What You’ve Done” from the prison-sterilization documentary “Belly of the Beast,” John Legend’s “Never Break” from the young-actor doc “Giving Voice,” Leslie Odom Jr.’s “Speak Now” from “One Night in Miami,” H.E.R.’s “Fight for You” from “Judas and the Black Messiah” and...

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has released the shortlists in the Oscars race for Best Original Score and Best Original Song. “The Trial of the Chicago 7” has landed on both lists to advance in the awards race, as have songs and compositions from “Mulan” and “Minari.” And Sacha Baron Cohen’s satiric “Wuhan Flu” from “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” also made the cut.

Fifteen scores and songs were added to each respective shortlist from a whopping 136 eligible scores and a record 105 eligible songs. In the score category, other films to make the cut included “Tenet” by Ludwig Goransson, Terence Blanchard for “Da 5 Bloods,” Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for “Mank,” Alexandre Desplat for “The Midnight Sky” and James Newton Howard for “News of the World.”

The most surprising entry on the list of scores was Lolita Ritmanis’ work in the Latvian film “Blizzard of Souls.” Notable...

The road to the 2021 Academy Awards hit an important marker today with the announcement of nine shortlists for the following categories: International Feature Film, Documentary, Original Score, Original Song, Makeup and Hairstyling, Visual Effects, Live-Action Short Film, Documentary Short Subject, and Animated Short Film. Just as in previous years, members of the Academy will select from these reduced lists of contenders in each category the nominees for the 2021 Oscars. This year marked the third year in a row the Academy released nine of its shortlists on the same day.

The nominations for the 2021 Oscars will be announced Monday, March 15, ahead of the 93rd Academy Awards telecast on Sunday, April 25. The Academy pushed back the ceremony this year in the wake of the Covid pandemic. Films that were set for a theatrical release but headed to streaming and/or PVOD instead are eligible for Oscar consideration. The Oscar cutoff date for...

Music, score, visual effects, make-up and hairstyling, short film shortlists also unveiled.

The Academy has announced the 15 international and 15 documentary features that have made the cut as it unveiled nine Oscar shortlists on Tuesday (February 9).

Switzerland’s My Little Sister, Greece’s Apples and Poland’s Never Gonna Snow Again are notable absentees from an international list dominated by Europe with seven contenders, followed by Latin America on three, Africa and Asia on two apiece, and the Middle East with one.

In January the Academy expanded the international shortlist from 10 to 15, ruling that the international feature film preliminary committee would vote on the entire shortlist.

Music, score, visual effects, make-up and hairstyling, short film shortlists also unveiled.

The Academy has announced the 15 international and 15 documentary features that have made the cut as it unveiled nine Oscar shortlists on Tuesday (February 9).

Switzerland’s My Little Sister, Greece’s Apples and Poland’s Never Gonna Snow Again are notable absentees from an international list dominated by Europe with seven contenders, followed by Latin America on three, Africa and Asia on two apiece, and the Middle East with one.

In January the Academy expanded the international shortlist from 10 to 15, ruling that the international feature film preliminary committee would vote on the entire shortlist.

Music, score, visual effects, make-up and hairstyling, short film shortlists also unveiled.

The Academy has announced the 15 international features and 15 documentary shortlists that have made the cut as it unveiled nine Oscar shortlists on Tuesday (February 9).

Switzerland’s My Little Sister and Greece’s Apples are notable absentees from an international list dominated by Europe with seven contenders, followed by Latin America on three, Africa and Asia on two apiece, and the Middle East with one.

All shortlisted films proceed to the phase one voting stage that runs from March 5-9 prior to the nominations announcement on March 15. The 93rd...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be announcing its shortlist on Tuesday in nine Oscar categories. The categories and number of films to be revealed include documentary feature (15), documentary short subject (10), international feature (15), makeup and hairstyling (10), original score (15), original song (15), animated short film (10), live action short film (10) and visual effects (10).

The shortlist voting concluded on Feb. 5, and the remaining will move on to the official phase one voting, which will take place on March 5-9. The Oscar nominations will be announced on March 15, with the show scheduled to take place on April 25.

Down below, find the predictions for the shortlist (except for the shorts) with commentary on what to expect. Go to the Awards Circuit prediction pages of each category for the contenders’ full rankings and the credited artisans.

Makeup and Hairstyling

“Bill & Ted Face the Music” (United Artists Releasing) “Emma.” (Focus Features) “Hillbilly Elegy” (Netflix...

“The thing about making a documentary is you’ve gotta be lucky, and anybody who doesn’t tell you that is not telling you the whole truth,” says James D. Stern, the co-director, with Fernando Villena, of the Netflix documentary feature Giving Voice.

The “luckiest” aspects of this film, which intersperses footage of six young contestants in an August Wilson monologue competition with interviews about the late playwright, is that the filmmakers wound up picking six remarkable kids to follow, and also secured the participation of his most celebrated collaborators, Denzel Washington and Viola Davis. (Davis and John Legend are EPs of the film,...

“The thing about making a documentary is you’ve gotta be lucky, and anybody who doesn’t tell you that is not telling you the whole truth,” says James D. Stern, the co-director, with Fernando Villena, of the Netflix documentary feature Giving Voice.

The “luckiest” aspects of this film, which intersperses footage of six young contestants in an August Wilson monologue competition with interviews about the late playwright, is that the filmmakers wound up picking six remarkable kids to follow, and also secured the participation of his most celebrated collaborators, Denzel Washington and Viola Davis. (Davis and John Legend are EPs of the film,...

This year’s Oscars have set a new record for the largest number of entries ever in the Best Original Song category, but the 105 eligible songs do not include Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ “(If Only You Could) Save Me,” a 1930s-style big band song from “Mank” that was recently nominated for the second annual Society of Composers and Lyricists Awards.

The song is heard briefly coming from a radio in the background of one scene and plays for only about 40 seconds. Academy rules require “a clearly audible, intelligible, substantive rendition of both lyric and melody,” and the song was judged to not fulfill that requirement.

Other songs that didn’t make the list, although they were thought to be in the running, include “Uh Oh” from “Promising Young Woman” and “Boss Bitch” from “Birds of Prey.” Even without those, the list of eligible songs tops 100 for the first time...

“Chadwick Bosman was an amazing artist. We’ve all been thrilled, and excited, and overwhelmed by the depth of his work,” said Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom director George C. Wolfe who presented the late actor Chadwick Bosman with Performance of the Year Award at Critics’ Choice Association’s virtual annual celebration Of Black cinema. “He was so present, not just as an actor but he was present as a human being.”

The ceremony, which took place online, honored Da 5 Blood star Delroy Lindo with the marquee Career Achievement award. He accepted it on behalf of the forgotten veterans whose contributions to American history have traditionally been overlooked. “We’re in a time, I hope, in which the importance of the contributions of Black people, Africa descended people, the importance of those stories will come much more to the forefront and be included in the context of world history.”

The...

The Oscar race is already underway for categories devoted to below-the-line crafts — cinematography, costume design, editing, makeup and hairstyling, music, production design, sound and visual effects.

Voting began on Feb. 1 to determine a shortlist of possible nominees culled from all eligible contenders in the four craft categories that use a two-step process: score, original song, visual effects and makeup & hairstyling.

Voters have until Feb. 5 to narrow down all the contenders to a shortlist of semifinalists: 15 each in the Best Original Score and Best Original Song categories, 10 each in Best Makeup and Hairstyling and Best Visual Effects. (The shortlists will be announced on Feb. 9 ahead of the March 15 announcement of nominees.)

Here are our thoughts on what might advance in the four below-the-line categories that use shortlists.

“News of the World” (Universal Pictures)

Best Original Score

The Music Branch’s shortlists are typically short on surprises — and when those do happen,...

“Soul” is in, but “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” is out: That’s the message the Academy’s music branch is sending to members who began voting today for the shortlists for both song and score.

Disney-Pixar’s “Soul” has been declared eligible for the original-score Oscar, but the song from Netflix’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” was missing from the song list, indicating that the music-branch executive committee disqualified it from consideration.

Voters from the Academy’s approximately 375-member music branch will choose 15 songs and 15 scores for the shortlists (to be announced Feb. 9) that will be the basis for final voting for the five nominees in each category. The Academy qualified 105 songs and 136 scores.

The biggest question was: would “Soul” qualify for original score? It initially appeared doubtful, as Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s dramatic score constituted less than the required 60 percent of total music in the film; and Jon Batiste’s jazz,...

In just eight years, John Legend and Mike Jackson (with partner Ty Stiklorius) have won a slew of awards for content from their Get Lifted Film Co. This week, they will be gifted another accessory thanks to the Critics Choice Association which is honoring Legend and Jackson with The Producers Award during the 3rd annual Celebration of Black Cinema.

Tuesday’s ceremony follows another banner year for Get Lifted. The company’s recent releases include Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, the documentary Giving Voice, the docu-series Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children, the comedy series Sherman’s Showcase and the competition showcase Rhythm ...

In just eight years, John Legend and Mike Jackson (with partner Ty Stiklorius) have won a slew of awards for content from their Get Lifted Film Co. This week, they will be gifted another accessory thanks to the Critics Choice Association which is honoring Legend and Jackson with The Producers Award during the 3rd annual Celebration of Black Cinema.

Tuesday’s ceremony follows another banner year for Get Lifted. The company’s recent releases include Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, the documentary Giving Voice, the docu-series Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children, the comedy series Sherman’s Showcase and the competition showcase Rhythm ...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Thursday released its official entries for 2021 Oscars in the categories of Documentary Feature, Animated Feature and International Films. The takeaway: As expected, the eligible Documentary Feature lineup shatters the record for the most ever.

A total of 238 features are eligible for consideration in the Doc Feature category, breaking the previous record of 170 set in 2017. Last year, by contrast, 159 feature documentaries qualified. The Academy relaxed eligibility rules in light of Covid-19, so that any film that could make a claim of an intended theatrical release was deemed eligible. Earning awards from film festivals was an alternative way to qualify.

For the International Feature race, Lesotho, Sudan and Suriname are first-time entrants among the 93 eligible titles, the same total as last year. Earlier this year, the Academy’s Board of Governors boosted the number of films eligible for the shortlist from 10 to 15. Under the new rules,...

Songs or scores from “Soul,” “Minari,” “Tenet,” “News of the World,” “”Euphoria” and “The Queen’s Gambit” were among the winners Wednesday night at the 11th annual (and first virtual) Hollywood Music in Media Awards.

Breaking down categories by genre affords the HMMAs the opportunity to cast a wide net in its awards. Film-related trophies went to James Newton Howard for “News of the World,” for outstanding score in a feature film; Emile Mosseri for “Minari” in the independent film category; Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste for “Soul” as the outstanding animated film score; Ludwig Göransson’s work on “Tenet” for sci-fi/fantasy score; Benjamin Wallfisch’s “The Invisible Man” score in the horror division; and Steven Price for documentary score for Netflix’s “David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet.”

(Although it’s not yet certain how the Oscars will handle the different musical contributions of Batiste and Reznor/Ross for “Soul,...

The number of films available to Oscar voters in a screening room devoted to the Best Picture category hit the 200 mark on Wednesday, which means that $2.5 million has entered the Academy coffers from films paying $12,500 each to be represented in the screening room.

The members-only Academy Screening Room hit the milestone with the addition of more than a dozen movies this week, including Fisher Stevens’ “Palmer,” Lee Daniels’ “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” John Lee Hancock’s “The Little Things,” the Russo brothers’ “Cherry,” Josh Trank’s “Capone,” the documentary “Coup 53,” the Studio Ghibli animated film “Earwig and the Witch,” the international films “Funny Boy” and “Bacarau” (neither eligible in the Oscars’ Best International Feature Film category) and some off-the-wall selections, including “Snake White – Love Endures” and “Soorarai Pottru.”

Other late additions to the screening room have included “Minari,” “Promising Young Woman,” “The White Tiger” and “Cherry,” which were not added until January.

Of course, 2020 was a year like no other when it came to screen entertainment. As the coronavirus pandemic shut down productions across the U.S., it allowed Netflix to continue churning out content from its deep arsenal of movies and series.

Last year, Netflix put forth no fewer than eight original song contenders, including contributions from Taylor Swift and John Legend. What are the chances the streamer will dominate, and ultimately win, in the category? Two words: Diane Warren.

The legendary songwriter has been nominated for original song 11 times, but never won. If the Academy feels she’s long overdue, “Io Si (Seen),” her contribution to Netflix’s “The Life Ahead,” the Sophia Loren starrer whose song is performed in Italian by Laura Pausini, is as deserving as they come. Warren wrote the lyrics in English before it was translated. As she explains of the film’s two main characters,...

The Oscars Best Documentary Feature race, which set a new record for entries in December when it passed the previous record of 170, has now left all previous years in the dust with 240 eligible films.

An additional 25 documentary features were placed in the members-only online screening room devoted to the category on Saturday, in what the Academy told voters would be “the final batch” of this year’s entries. It was the last of seven groups of documentaries that qualified and were placed into the screening room: 25 in July, 12 in August, 16 in September, 33 in October, 36 in November, a huge group of 93 in December and now 25 in January.

Academy rules put in place because of the Covid-19 pandemic made it easier than usual for documentaries to qualify for the Oscars this year, which opened the door for a field that obliterated the previous record, which was set in 2017. Films could qualify simply...

A version of this story about John Legend first appeared in the Race Begins issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.

Before he ever wrote a song for the documentary “Giving Voice,” John Legend was involved as an executive producer through his company, Get Lifted. But Legend, who won an Oscar for the song “Glory” from “Selma,” has learned by now that when he comes on board the production of a film, another subject will eventually come up.

“Whenever we get involved, there’s a conversation around the music,” he said. “It isn’t always the case that I make a song for a movie that we produce, but often that’s part of my collaboration with the filmmaker.”

And in the case of “Giving Voice,” Legend knew that he wanted to have his own voice in the film about high schoolers from around the country who participate in the annual August Wilson monologue competition,...

The Academy has added 93 more films to the members-only screening room devoted to entries in the Best Documentary Feature category, bringing the total number of eligible contenders to a record-shattering 215.

The previous record for entries was 170 in 2017. And this year’s crop of nonfiction films is expected to pass that number by an even bigger margin — at least 50 — once a final, smaller group of films is added to the screening room in January.

New eligibility rules that were passed in the wake of the Covid-19 theater closings made it easier for documentaries to qualify this year by allowing them to do so by playing at film festivals, even virtual ones, and by easing requirements for theatrical runs. In an email to members detailing the new additions, the Academy said, “The Documentary Branch Executive Committee felt it was important to be inclusive and supportive of documentary filmmakers in this unprecedented and challenging year.

Photo: August Wilson Netflix has recently released a documentary on a competition precious to my heart: the August Wilson Monologue Competition. As someone who was highly active in the competition in Atlanta, doing it all four years in high school, the words of August Wilson have fused with my artistic process. Watching the trailer for Giving Voice, featuring interviews from Wilson familiars Viola Davis and Denzel Washington, I was inspired to re-immerse myself into the world of August Wilson. One of six children, Wilson was born in 1945 as Frederick August Kittel Jr. in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His father was a German Immigrant, and his mother was a Black woman from North Carolina. Born in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, after his mother divorced his father, they moved to the Hazelwood neighborhood where they were met with racially charged violence. It’s here that the majority of Wilson’s plays are set.

To celebrate the release of Giving Voice, which debuted on Netflix this weekend, we had the pleasure of chatting to one of the young subjects who participated in the August Wilson Monologue Competition.

The words of August Wilson are brought to life by a new generation in Giving Voice, following students in an annual monologue competition inspired by America’s preeminent playwright. One such student was Callie Holley, who we had the pleasure of speaking to about her journey through the competition, how Wilson’s work has continued to inspire her through her studies and inspire generations to come.

A new generation of performers is discovered in “Giving Voice,” which follows the emotional journey of six students as they advance through the high-stakes August Wilson Monologue Competition, an event that celebrates one of America’s preeminent playwrights. Every year, thousands of students from twelve cities across the United States perform...

If your Netflix list is already overflowing due to this month’s additions to the service, you’re not alone. December has been phenomenal for movies and shows on the world’s most popular streaming platform, and there’s no sign of it slowing down. As a matter of fact, today’s selection includes five brand new films, and a few of them may be right up your alley.

The biggest release of the day is the Netflix Original The Prom, which features notable names like Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Keegan-Michael Key and James Corden. It tells the tale of a young lesbian girl who’s being discriminated against in her small town high school and a group of Broadway stars with a failing public image who are looking to capitalize on the opportunity to exploit her story. But they soon learn a lesson about self-absorption and come together to...

It’s finally the weekend, and the various major streaming services have got you covered for new material to watch with a load of great movies and TV shows arriving over the next couple of days. In total, 26 fresh additions are coming to Netflix, Disney Plus, HBO Max, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video, so let’s take a look at what you should be checking out.

Netflix’s haul this Friday, December 11th totals five originals, including holiday movie A Trash Truck Christmas, poignant short film Canvas, documentary Giving Voice and Spanish TV series The Mess You Leave Behind. The highlight of the weekend, though, has to be The Prom, the new musical from Ryan Murphy which features a star-studded cast including Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and James Corden.

Moving on to Disney Plus, and the Mouse House’s streamer debuts nine new titles today. Among them is festive treat...

Singer, songwriter, producer, composer and Egot winner John Legend performs an intimate rendition of “Never Break” from the new Netflix documentary, “Giving Voice.”

The documentary will be released on Dec. 11 on the global streaming platform, and follows six students of varied backgrounds as they advance through the August Wilson Monologue Competition, an event that celebrates one of America’s greatest playwrights.

“Giving Voice” also features interviews with oscar Winners Denzel Washington and Viola Davis, both of whom starred together in the adaptation of Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize winning “Fences.” Davis also appears in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” which lands on Netflix on Dec. 18.

Legend serves as an executive producer on the documentary and says, “A handful are given a chance to perform on the Broadway stage, a place they thought they’d never be.”

The song is bound to be a contender in the Best Original song category with hopes...

True to its title, “Giving Voice” amplifies the lives and talents of half a dozen high school students from different American cities who aim to be finalists in the national August Wilson monologue competition. Co-directors James D. Stern and Fernando Villena’s inspirational documentary, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival pre-pandemic, chronicles Wilson’s work and how it impacts the lives of these youngsters. Produced by musician John Legend, “Giving Voice” adds marquee value to its six unknowns by including appearances by Oscar winners Denzel Washington and Viola Davis, who co-starred in the 2016 adaptation of his Pulitzer-winning play, “Fences.”

Among the film’s subjects, Nia Sarfo prepares a monologue from “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.” In between her studies, she trains hard in hope of becoming a professional actress. This is the second time around for Freedom Martin, whereas Cody Merridith represents the kid with raw talent. With no formal acting training,...

Leading the list of honorees for the Critics Choice Association’s third annual Celebration of Black Cinema are Delroy Lindo receiving the Career Achievement Award, John Legend and Mike Jackson as Producers of the Year, Tessa Thompson winning the Actors Award, recent Emmy winner Yahya Abdul-Mateen II for the Breakthrough Award, Andra Day as a Special Honoree, and the cast of Amazon Studios’ One Night in Miami taking the Ensemble Award. The virtual ceremony will take place on Tuesday, February 2, and will be hosted by author and media personality Bevy Smith.

The event will also showcase a series of powerful photographs captured by Black filmmaker Tommy Oliver around Los Angeles in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. Oliver utilized his platform as a multi-hyphenate visual artist to channel the energy of the protests, seeking to inspire, incite, and challenge those who would see the final images.

It’s time to take a look at what Netflix has got coming to its library this week. Beginning on Monday, December 7th, the streaming giant is adding a haul of 19 titles, which includes a bunch of original content and a few great new licensed projects. And as you’d expect, a fair amount of it’s holiday-related.

You and your whole family can enjoy a number of festive TV specials this coming week, for instance, including Super Monsters: Santa’s Super Monster Helpers on Tuesday and Christmas editions of both Ashley Garcia: Genius in Love and The Big Show Show on Wednesday. Not to mention A Trash Truck Christmas on Friday.

For more, take a look at the full list of what’s due on Netflix from Monday to Friday – there are no new additions on the way next weekend – below and then scroll down for further highlights.

December...

The year is almost over. The Hargreeves kids have saved the world and Beth Harmon has checkmated her last opponent. But in its new releases for December 2020, Netflix still has some tricks up its sleeve.

For starters, Netflix is ending this most curious year with some promising original films. David Fincher’s long-awaited Mank arrives on Dec. 4 to fill us in on the story of Citizen Kane‘s screenwriter. Then on Dec. 11, Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, and James Corden do their best musical impression with The Prom. Chadwick Boseman’s final film Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom debuts on Dec. 18. Then George Clooney rounds out the month with The Midnight Sky on Dec. 23.

But of course, it’s in the original series realm where Netflix does most of its work. The biggest one comes at month’s end this December. The final season of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina premieres on New Year’s Eve.

With just a few days of November left, we’ve now got a look at what’s coming to Netflix across December and the following breakdown gives us a strong idea of what to expect from the streaming giant next month. As you can see down below, it promises that a number of exciting original releases are on their way. Many of these are some of the most-anticipated titles of the year as well, meaning Netflix has truly saved the best for last.

On December 1st, we know to expect animated sequel Angela’s Christmas Wish and The Holiday Movies That Made Us, a documentary which looks at the best Christmas films around, while a ton of licensed titles will be added as well. Adam Sandler’s beloved 50 First Dates will be joining the platform, along with Jon Favreau’s excellent Chef, two Jurassic Park movies and more.

On the 2nd,...

It has begun. The steady trickle of films about Labradors who save Christmas, American girls marrying European princes, and parents learning that their kids are more important than their jobs, is with us. Netflix is responsible for a good proportion of the above, with several new festive titles arriving over the next few weeks.

If that does nothing for you, then you might be more interested in the arrival of three non-tinsel films on the service this month. There’s David Fincher’s Mank streaming from December 4th, followed on the 18th by Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, featuring the much-missed Chadwick Boseman, with George Clooney-starring The Midnight Sky landing a couple of days before Christmas on the 23rd.

TV-wise, there’s a new season of animated comedy Big Mouth on December 4th, the debut of slick-looking Shondaland period drama Bridgerton on the 25th, and right at the end of the month,...

“August was that one writer who saw me. And when I say ‘me,’ I do mean me, but I also mean people like me,” Viola Davis says in the trailer for Giving Voice, an upcoming documentary that honors the legacy of iconic Black playwright August Wilson, whose plays like Fences and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom left an indelible […]

The post ‘Giving Voice’ Trailer: Viola Davis, Denzel Washington Pass on August Wilson’s Legacy to Students in Netflix Documentary appeared first on /Film.

"You have a lot of labels put on you... and somewhere in there is who you really are." Netflix has unveiled an official trailer for Giving Voice, an award-winning documentary created by producers / filmmakers James D. Stern & Fernando Villena. This premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, where it won an Audience Awards as the Festival Favorite. This film follows the annual August Wilson Monologue competition and the thousands of high schoolers who enter the competition for the opportunity to perform on Broadway. We've featured trailers for a few other doc films about these kind of events, including Don't Be Nice about a poetry slam team. Executive producer Viola Davis, with Fences co-star Denzel Washington, share the impact that Wilson’s timeless artistry and legacy has had on their careers and their hopes for the young people carrying it forward. The film also features the original song "Never Break" from John Legend.

“Giving Voice” has won the Festival Favorite Award, selected by audience votes from the 128 features screened at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.

Sundance Institute made the announcement Tuesday, noting that “Boys State” and “On The Record” were the runner-ups for the award. Others in contention were “Binti,” “Crip Camp,” “The Fight,” “The Reason I Jump,” “Softie,” “Uncle Frank,” and “Welcome to Chechnya.

“Giving Voice,” directed by James D. Stern and Fernando Villena, follows the lives of six students as they compete against fellow high schoolers from around the country in the August Wilson Monologue Competition in New York City. The film was produced by Stern and Villena along with Karen Bove, Schoen Smith and Craig Piligian.

“This film is a compelling and inspiring portrait of six remarkable young people as they discover their power,” said John Cooper, director of the festival. “We’re thrilled that it resonated with audiences at this...

Giving Voice, the film from James D. Stern and Fernando Villena that had bowed in the Documentary Features section at the Sundance Film Festival, has won the event’s Festival Favorite Award. The honor, separate from the juried and audience awards handed out Saturday as the festival wrapped its 2020 edition, is selected by audience votes from the 128 features screened in Park City this year.

The festival said runners-up for the Festival Favorite Award were On the Record, Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering’s documentary about the female accusers of media mogul Russell Simmons, and Boys State, Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine’s pic that follows a social experiment in which a thousand 17-year-old boys from Texas join to build a representative government from the ground up.

Boys State won the Grand Jury Prize in the U.S. Documentary section on Saturday night.

Giving Voice follows the lives of six students...