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2023 Oscars: What to know about the best actor nominees
It’s always fun when an Oscars category is filled with first-time nominees at varying stages of their careers. Best actor is another three-way race, between Austin Butler, Colin Farrell and Brendan Fraser, with each having scored notable wins from guilds and critics groups. The Associated Press’ film writers predict Fraser to have the edge.
Here’s a bit more about the nominees and their roles before the Oscars on March 12, which airs live on ABC beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern. And if you’ve missed a performance, there’s still time to watch this year’s nominees.
BRENDAN FRASER
Brendan Fraser doesn’t mind that people have called his turn in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale,” in which he plays a reclusive English teacher named Charlie who is grappling with his past in the midst of a dire prognosis, a “comeback.” But it’s not the word he’d choose.
“If anything, this is a reintroduction more than a comeback,” Fraser told The AP. “It’s an opportunity to reintroduce myself to an industry, who I do not believe forgot me as is being perpetrated. I’ve just never been that far away.”
The film, an adaptation of Samuel D. Hunter’s play, shows a different side of Fraser as an actor than the affable action/comedy roles that made him beloved and famous in the 1990s.“I gave it everything I had every day,” he said. “We lived under existential threat of COVID. An actor’s job is to approach everything like it’s the first time. I did but also as if it might be the last time.”
Age: 54
Notable Wins: Critics Choice, Screen Actors Guild.
COLIN FARRELL
In Martin McDonagh’s tragicomic tale of the end of a friendship “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Colin Farrell’s Pádraic is the one being broken up with by Brendan Gleeson’s Colm on their small Irish island in 1923.
“He has an innocence where he can’t comprehend why his friend of so many years has cut him out,” Farrell said of his character last year at the Venice Film Festival, where he’d go on to win the best actor prize. “It shakes him to his core ... He lives in a beautiful life and that beauty is taken away.”
The film was a reunion for the trio who developed a deep bond on “In Bruges” 14 years ago.
“From the start, there was a deep sense of kinship and an understanding of each other,” Farrell told The AP. “In a strange way, I understand myself more through Martin and his mind and his heart and his work. And I understand myself more through my interactions with Brendan.”
Age: 46
Notable Wins: Venice Film Festival, New York Film Critics Circle, National Board of Review, Golden Globes (Musical/Comedy)
AUSTIN BUTLER
Austin Butler spent so much time and mental and emotional energy in preparing to play and playing Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s colorful drama that he finds it difficult to talk about without “sounding incredibly pretentious and self-important,” he told The AP. “There are certain aspects that even I don’t fully understand.”
The past few weeks have brought their own emotional highs and lows too, with his Golden Globe win, his Oscar nomination and the tragic death of Lisa Marie Presley in the span of a few days.
“The peaks are so high and the valleys have been so low,” Butler said.
“I just wish Lisa Marie were here with us to celebrate. At times, in the midst of intense grief and just a shattering loss, it feels sort of bizarre to celebrate. But I also know how much this film meant to Lisa Marie, how much her father’s legacy meant to her. So I feel so proud and humble to be a part of that story.”
Age: 31
Notable Wins: Golden Globes (Drama), BAFTA.
BILL NIGHY
Bill Nighy plays a British civil servant who receives a terminal diagnosis in 1953 London in Oliver Hermanus’s remake of the Kurosawa classic “Ikiru.”
“I was very moved by it when we were making it, the fact that we were making it, that we were back and that it was the first thing I’d done since the pandemic,” Nighy told The AP. “The pandemic forced us to look at our priorities in our lives and all that and this film discusses how to make the most of every day. So I suppose in that regard it was timely.”
The veteran actor said he thought they were making something special, but he was unprepared for the rapturous reception everywhere. And thematic resonance aside, it hasn’t got him thinking about his own legacy.
“I don’t ever think in terms of legacy,” he said. “I find it difficult to get enthusiastic about a world which is not going to include me.”
Age: 73
Notable Wins: Los Angeles Film Critics Association.
PAUL MESCAL
Paul Mescal did not expect to come out of “Aftersun” friends with an 11-year-old. But that’s what happened with his co-star Frankie Corio on the set of Charlotte Wells’ personal and evocative film about a young father and his daughter on vacation in Turkey in the 1990s.
“Both of us got out two weeks before filming started. There was kind of a loose plan that we might rehearse. And we did some of that, but ultimately, we just spent the two weeks where I was playing like pretending to be her dad,” Mescal told The AP. “It’s one of the greatest professional experiences that I’ve had. It really surprised me. I fell in love with her and I adore her and she’s just a phenomenal actor.”
The Irish actor said he likes working on smaller films with first-time directors. If anything, he hopes that his raised profile following his nomination might help him be able to get another project like that made.
“I take great pride in the fact that there’s an appetite for those films still,” he said.
Age: 27
2023 Oscars: What to know about best actress nominees
The best actress category at the 95th Oscars is full of great awards season drama, from the surprise nomination of Andrea Riseborough to the potential history to be made if Michelle Yeoh wins, which AP’s film writers predict will happen.
All will be celebrated during Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony, which airs live on ABC beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern. There’s still time to catch up on their performances before the show.Here’s a bit more about the contenders.
ANA DE ARMAS
“Blonde” may have been reviled by many critics, but you’d be hard-pressed to find any who didn’t admire Ana de Armas’s portrayal of Marilyn Monroe nonetheless. De Armas prepped for a year and was thrown into the fire on her first day on set: In the actual apartment Norma Jeane lived in with her mother — a nightmare sequence in which she rescues a baby from the dresser drawer that she was kept in as an infant, as the place burns around her. Her second day was her visit to her mother in the mental hospital, where she got to speak as Marilyn for the first time on camera.
“I wasn’t in character all the time. But ... I felt that heaviness and that weight in my shoulders. And I felt that sadness,” de Armas said. “She was all I thought about. She was all I dreamed about. She was all I talked about.”
Trivia: De Armas is the first Cuban woman to be nominated for best actress.
Age: 34
CATE BLANCHETT
“Tár” wouldn’t exist without Cate Blanchett
“I am still processing the experience, not only because it spoke to a lot of things that I had been thinking about, but I feel so expanded by having been in Todd’s orbit,” Blanchett said. “It was a very, very fluid, dangerous, alive process making the film.”
Lifetime Oscar nominations: 8
Wins: 2. Best Supporting Actress for “The Aviator” in 2005 and Best Actress for “Blue Jasmine” in 2014
Age: 53
Notable Wins: Venice Film Festival Volpi Cup, BAFTA, Golden Globes (Drama).
ANDREA RISEBOROUGH
Riseborough was unexpectedly nominated
Riseborough rose into the Oscar ranks thanks largely to the grassroots efforts of “To Leslie” director Michael Morris and his wife, actor Mary McCormack. They urged stars to see the film and either host a screening or praise Riseborough’s performance on social media. And a whole lot of them did: Kate Winslet, Charlize Theron, Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Amy Adams and Courteney Cox all hosted screenings for the film.
After a review of the campaign, the Academy said that Andrea Riseborough would not be stripped of her nomination.
Age: 41
MICHELLE WILLIAMS
The pivotal event of “The Fabelmans” comes when Mitzi Fabelman, a fictionalized version of Steven Spielberg’s own mother played by Michelle Williams, reluctantly leaves her husband for his best friend.
“I thought she already suffered a near-death experience. When she gave up her dream of being a concert pianist, she experienced what it’s like for part of you to die,” says Williams. “So when she’s faced with another near-death experience — Do I stay in this marriage or do I allow myself to go where my heart is leading? — she knows that she can’t die again. There will be nothing left of her.
“What is this thing in her that allows her to make this decision? Is it her artistry? Is it bravery? Is it how big her emotions are? What allowed this woman to stake a claim on her life like this?” says Williams. “I don’t know but I do think it’s what’s allowed her children to do the same thing, to stake a claim on their own lives. That, I think, is one of the greatest gifts that you give to your kids, showing them how they can be a full person.”
Lifetime Oscar Nominations: 5
Age: 42
MICHELLE YEOH
After decades first as a star in Hong Kong cinema and then more mainstream hits like “Tomorrow Never Dies” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” the Malayasian-born Yeoh has grown into a movie queen. She’s had integral roles in what have been the first large U.S. studio movies in years with Asian-led casts—Marvel Studios’ “Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings” and “Crazy Rich Asians.” As much as those films mean to her, she was a polished supporting player in them — then came “Everything Everywhere All At Once.”
The Daniels originally named the multiverse hopping matriarch Michelle, as a “love letter” to Yeoh. But then she asked to change that and Evelyn was born.
“I’m like ‘No, no, no’ because I believe this person, this character that you’ve written so rich, deserves a voice of her own. She is the voice of those mothers, aunties, grandmothers that you pass by in Chinatown or in the supermarket that you don’t even give a second glance to. Then you just take her for granted,” Yeoh said. “She’s never had a voice.”
Trivia: If Yeoh were to win, she would become the first Asian woman awarded in that category.
Age: 60
Notable Wins: Golden Globes (Musical/Comedy), Screen Actors Guild, Film Independent Spirit Award.
Indian actor-director Satish Kaushik dies
Dhaka, Mar 9 (UNB) - Veteran Bollywood actor-filmmaker Satish Kaushik has died at the age of 66 following a heart attack early Thursday, PTI reports, citing his close friend Anupam Kher.
According to Kher, Kaushik complained of uneasiness when he was at a friend's home in Delhi.
"He felt uneasy and he told the driver to take him to the hospital and on the way he suffered a heart attack around 1 am," Kher told PTI.
In a tweet earlier, Kher expressed deep shock over Kaushik's sudden death.
"I know that death is the ultimate truth but never in my dreams I thought that I would have to write that about my best friend Satish Kaushik. A sudden full stop to 45 years of friendship. Life will never be the same without you Satish! Om Shanti," Kher tweeted.
Satish Kaushik, an alumnus for the National School of Drama and the Film and Television Institute of India, was most known for his roles in films such as "Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron," "Mr. India," "Deewana Mastana," and "Udta Punjab."
Kaushik was also known for filmmaking in Bollywood. As a filmmaker, He directed some of the most popular hits of Bollywood, namely "Tere Naam" starring Salman Khan and "Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai" starring Kareena Kapoor Khan and Tusshar Kapoor.
Many Bollywood actors and actresses have expressed their shock over the news of his sudden demise.
‘Suffered a heart attack,’ Sushmita Sen says
Former Miss Universe and Bollywood actress Sushmita Sen says she suffered a heart attack.Sen, in her latest Instagram post today, said she suffered a heart attack a few days ago, reports NDTV."Keep your heart happy and courageous, and it'll stand by you when you need it the most Shona" (Wise words by my father Subir Sen). I suffered a heart attack a couple of days back...Angioplasty done...stent in place...and most importantly, my cardiologist reconfirmed 'I do have a big heart'," she wrote posting a picture with her father Subir Sen."Lots of people to thank for their timely aid and constructive action...will do so in another post," she added in the post."This post is just to keep you (my well-wishers and loved ones) informed of the good news ...that all is well and I am ready for some life again. I love you guys beyond!!!!" — she also wrote.Best-known for starring in movies like “Biwi No 1”, “Main Hoon Na”, “Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya”, “Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge”, and “No Problem”, Sen made her acting comeback with the International Emmy-nominated series “Aarya” and also starred in the second instalment of the show. The actress will soon be seen in the third season of the series, said the report.
Top 10 Upcoming South Indian Movies in March 2023
South Indian movies have garnered pan-Indian attention ever since the mass hysteria grappled by the Bahubali franchise. South India aptly backed up the craze with the release of KGF and Pushpa coming from two different industries with a larger-than-life story and mass commercial appeal.
As a result, the excitement surrounding South Indian releases isn’t limited to the belt audiences anymore, rather it has garnered a pan-Indian and global fan following. With that said, here are 10 of the exciting South Indian movies coming to theaters and the OTT platform in March 2023.
Best Upcoming South Indian Movies in March 2023
The South Indian film industry is predominantly divided into Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam industries. We will cover releases from each of these industries in the upcoming month of March
Pathu Thala – Tamil – 30th March
Pathu Thala follows the story of an undercover cop posing as an assassin working for a crime boss. What follows is a neo-noir action thriller film with twists in every scale imaginable. Pathu Thala is the remake of the 2017 Kannada film Mufti starring Sriimurali.
Pathu Thala stars Silambarasan, Gautham Karthik, and Priya Bhavani Shankar in lead roles. The film is directed by Obeli N. Krishna with music by A.R. Rahman. The film is scheduled for a theatrical release on 30th March 2023.
Read More: 2022 Highest-Grossing South Indian Movies.
Idam Porul Eval – Tamil – 18th March
The last one on our list is from the Tamil industry titled Idam Porul Eval. The movie stars Vijay Sethupathi and Vishnu Vishal in lead roles. Not much is known about the movie other than that it is shot mostly in the hills of Madurai and Thandikodi in a remote tribal landscape. Recently movies like Pushpa have garnered accolades as they told a story from a similar raw and rural perspective.
Idam Porul Eval is directed by Seenu Ramasamy who collaborated with Vijay Sethupathi after 10 years. The music for the movie has been composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja. The theatrical release date for Idam Porul Eval is set for 18th March 2023.
Rudhran – Tamil – 27th March
A rowdy hero who takes a stance against the local gang and takes them out one by one. This is the basic premise of the Raghava Lawrence and Priya Bhavani Shankar starrer Rudhran. Tamil movies have always been known for their larger-than-life portrayal of the heroes and Rudhran will be no different. This movie is going to be no less than a fan service for the fans of Raghava.
Read More: 5 Must-Watch Movies of Rajinikanth
Rudhran is directed by kathiresan who is also the executive producer of the film. The music of Rudhran has been composed by GV Prakash Kumar. The film will have a theatrical release on 27th March 2023.
High Court bans streaming of ‘Faraaz’ in Bangladesh
The High Court has banned the streaming of “Faraaz” – an Indian film based on the 2016 terrorist attack at the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka’s Gulshan – on online platforms in Bangladesh.
The HC bench of Justice Md Khasruzzaman and Justice Md Iqbal Kabir today passed the order after hearing a writ petition filed against the screening of the movie directed by Hansal Mehta.
Barrister Rokan Uddin Mahmud and the lawyer Ahsanul Karim stood for the petitioner at the court. Deputy Attorney General Bipul Bagmar represented the state.
Read more: Holey Artisan victim's mother vows to fight release of Bollywood film on tragedy
The petition was filed against the streaming of the film online and screening at movie theatres by Ruba Ahmed, mother of Abinta Kabir who was one of the victims of the attack.
“As the film is yet to be approved by the Censor Board, today’s directive does not mention a ban on screening in cinema halls,” the petitioner’s lawyer Ahsanul Karim told UNB.
Produced by T-Series and Benaras Media Works, “Faraaz” is loosely based on the terrorist attack at Holey Artisan Bakery on July 1, 2016. At least 22 people, including 17 foreign nationals, were killed in the attack. Faraaz Ayaaz Hossain and Abinta Kabir were among the victims alongside Tarishi Jain and Ishrat Akhond.
Read more: Abinta Kabir Foundation sends legal notice to FARAAZ movie producers
Two police officers were also killed in the attack.
Since the trailer of Hansal Mehta’s much-talked-about Bollywood film “Faraaz” was released, Ruba Ahmed took to the media to express her objections to releasing and promoting the film in Bangladesh.
Ahmed, alongside the mother of Tarishi Jain, an Indian national who was killed in the attack, has also fought a legal battle at Delhi High Court to stop the release of “Faraaz”. However, the Indian court refused to block the film which was released in theatres across India on February 3.
Read More: Holey Artisan Victim Faraaz's Heroism is Now on the Silver Screen
Director seeks PM’s intervention in ‘recovering footage of govt-funded film Mike’
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's intervention has been sought to recover footage of the government-funded full-length children's film 'Mike' based on Bangabandhu's historic March 7 speech.
This request was made at a press conference organized at Sagar-Runi Auditorium of Dhaka Reporters Unity on Wednesday.
In a written statement read out at the press conference, director and producer of the film FM Shaheen said, “Anytime between 10 pm on February 8 and 10 am on February 9, at the office of bbarta24net.com and Jagran TV on the 11th floor of Padma Islami Life Insurance Bhaban, miscreants stole the portable hard disk containing the latest edited footage of the film 'Mike' that was kept in my desk drawer. The estimated value of the footage is Tk 1 crore 25 lakh.”
Shaheen also said, apart from this, Tk 5.35 lakh cash was taken from the drawer of bbarta24net.com editor.
The media outlets have been operating since May 3, 2021, by renting a part of the 11th floor of this building as an office.
They also claimed that police did not cooperate with them to find the culprits from the beginning.
Read more: 'Golpo Bolar Swadhinata Chai': Artists place five-point demands
Shuvoo and Bindu Starrer “Unish 20” to Hit Chorki on 13th February
Like every year, the season of love is upon us. As romantics from all over the world celebrate love on the 14th of February, Chorki has lined up content to fit the occasion. This year too, Chorki has decided to make valentine’s day memorable with their latest web film “Unish 20” starring Arifin Shuvoo and Afsana Ara Bindu. Here’s a look back at the star cast and their works.
Shuvoo’s Critical Run Continues
Arifin Shuvoo has been a regular in the movie scene of Bangladesh. However, Shuvoo became an overnight sensation with the release of Mission Extreme in 2021. His dedication to the role and the grueling physical transformation got heaps of appreciation. The movie was an instant box office hit in Bangladesh and revived the struggling industry. The same year Shuvoo was featured in the Zee5 web series called “Contract”. And likewise, Shuvoo’s performance received rave reviews.
Read More: Pathaan Movie Box Office Collection: Breaking Records in 2023
Fast forward to 2023, and the critical acclaim continues with the release of Mission Impossible 2: Black War. The scale and grandeur at which the movie is pitched are unprecedented in the local cinema scene. This year Shuvoo also has several lineups ready with Raihan Rafi’s Noor and Shyam Benegal’s Mujib: The Making of a Nation based on the life of the father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
“Unish 20” is Shuvoo’s first collaboration with Mizanur Rahman Ariyan with the movie being Shuvoo’s second release for 2023.
Bindu’s Comeback
Afsana Ara Bindu’s first appearance was on Lux Channel i Superstar back in 2006. She was the first runner-up in that season and became an instant face in the media. Bindu started her career with modeling and then subsequently moved to drama and movies.
Read More: Vicky Zahed's First Web Series 'Silence' to Hit Binge this February
ULAB hosts 9th Dhaka International Mobile Film Festival
Showcasing 26 films made by mobile filmmakers from 25 different nations, the 9th edition of Dhaka International Mobile Film Festival (DIMFF) was inaugurated on Saturday at the permanent campus of the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) campus in the capital’s Mohammadpur.
A flagship event of the Media Studies and Journalism Department of ULAB, the festival’s inauguration ceremony was joined by media personality and Grey Group Bangladesh Managing Partner and Country Head Syed Gousul Alam Shaon as the chief guest.
The jury chair for the newly introduced Open Door and Vertical Film categories and ‘Hawa’-famed executive producer-filmmaker Shimul Chandra Biswas also joined the inauguration ceremony as the special guest.
ULAB Media Studies and Journalism Head of Department Professor Dr Jude William Genilo inaugurated the screening sessions at the ‘Black Maria', a dark tent set at the ULAB open ground for film screenings at daylight.
“No matter what type of ethnicity you belong to, films bring us all together,” Dr Genilo said at the ceremony.
Gousul Alam Shaon congratulated DIMFF for successfully continuing the festival over the years, saying: “To continue the magic of storytelling, we need to create myths - and films are the best medium for that. Our film industry is continuously growing and mobile filmmaking is certainly a great addition to that, and I am honoured to share the day with young film-enthusiastic filmmakers-audiences here.”
Festival Director Md Sambitul Islam said, “I am very grateful to my team who worked hard the entire year together since our last festival to make this event a reality.”
'Birkonna Pritilata' premieres at Star Cineplex
"Birkonna Pritilata," a government grant recipient movie based on the life of revolutionary Pritilata Waddedar, premiered Wednesday at Star Cineplex.
The film, based on the novel "Bhalobasha Pritilata" by novelist Selina Hossain, is set to hit the theatres on Friday.
Popular actress Nusrat Imrose Tisha played the role of Pritilata, one of the leaders and the first female martyr of the anti-British movement, and Manoj Pramanik the role of revolutionary Ram Krishna in this film.
Team Birkonna joined today's event alongside director Pradip Ghosh.
Trisha said, "Portraying Pritilata was very challenging as we had no video documentation of her time. We had to prepare ourselves by reading books to get into the characters. But we tried our best."
Pritilata was born in a middle-class Vaidya Brahmin family on May 5, 1911, in Dhalghat village in Patiya upazila of Chattogram. In 1929, she got admitted to Eden College before joining the Independence Movement of the Indian Subcontinent in 1932 to liberate the region from British colonial rule.
Regarded as "Bengal's first woman martyr," she ended her life by consuming potassium cyanide on September 24, 1932, at the age of 21.
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