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Spotlight Award for Grammy Legend Diane Warren at Film Fest 919
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles CorrespondentDiane Warren is often cited as among the most distinguished and awarded songwriters of all time, with hits from Aerosmith "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing"...
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Bittersweet SPLENDID LAND plays a new tune for some of China’s 55 ethnic...
By Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent In the short film SPLENDID LAND, an ethnomusicologist muses on Tajik, Khazak, India-influenced Mukam musicians, and Uyghur song and dance culture in a...
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BRITNEY VS SPEARS, the Conservatorship Curtain comes to an end
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent Singer Britney Spears has been in the news for years, for all the wrong reasons, you could say. Her private life has been easy material for comedians...
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Tennis saga KING RICHARD opens Film Fest 919, plus Kristen Stewart in SPENCER...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles CorrespondentFour years ago, Hollywood insiders Carol Marshall and Randi Emerman founded a film festival in Chapel Hill, NC that somehow survived the Pandemic,...
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What jumped off the page for Matt Damon in THE LAST DUEL & red carpet footage
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent Ridley Scott is back in action again as helmer of THE LAST DUEL, and this weekend at the Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater re-teamed stars Matt Damon...
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Diane Warren brings smash-hit feel to open Film Fest 919 in Chapel Hill, NC
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent Smoke machines opened last night’s 2021 Spotlight Award for Diane Warren in advance of the 12-time Best Song Oscar nominee’s arrival at the Caraway...
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C’MON C’MON, KING RICHARD tie for Film Fest 919 crowd pleasers
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent Posting this from the airport back to LA from Randi Emerman and Carol Marshall, co-founders of Film Fest 919 in Chapel Hill, NC, more to come on closing...
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RED ROCKET rendezvous with screenwriter Chris Bergoch
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles CorrespondentRED ROCKET shot off as a commando Award Season contender this year on the film festival circuit, and you’ll really be in for a ride on Dec. 3 when this...
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Ripples peeks inside the hem of Yiwu to Xinjiang China’s cotton production...
Reviewed by Quendrith Johnson“You know brands such as H&M, all those famous marks use Xinjiang cotton. Now Xinjiang cotton cannot go to foreign countries,” explains Amani Shahan in RIPPLES, a...
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SPENCER, the sticky wicket of portraying Princess Diana for her stans
by Quendrith Johnson, Film Critic Finally Kristen Stewart has had a real sunrise since the early Twilight of her career. That would be SPENCER, her peckish portrait of Princess Diana from Director...
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C’MON C’MON is a black-and-white gem from Director Mike Mills, Joaquin...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles CorrespondentWriter-director Mike Mills’ black-and-white film C’MON C’MON is a gorgeous essay on parenting starring Joaquin Phoenix in a role as Johnny, uncle to Jesse...
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Gotham Award sweep for THE LOST DAUGHTER ignites Award Season lift-off
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles CorrespondentMost popularly known for that face-off with the Joker in smash hit THE DARK KNIGHT as “Batman’s girlfriend,” Maggie Gyllenhaal has come so very far from...
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Spotlight: Riz Ahmed & Aneil Karia’s “The Long Goodbye” from the 2022 Oscar...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles CorrespondentIf we wind the clock back to last year’s Award Season, SOUND OF METAL starring Riz Ahmed as a hearing-impaired rock drummer blew away the uninitiated as...
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Tom Skerritt to get top honor at the 26th Satellite Awards for 2022
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles CorrespondentThis just in: a quick news item from The International Press Academy about their 2022 Satellite Awards show, in a year when some Award Season regulars...
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Okay, so here are the winners from the (No-Show) 79th Golden Globes
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles CorrespondentNo, it was not a good night for darling film Licorice Pizza, widely tipped to win at least something tonight at the unusual un-televised 79th Golden...
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SALT IN MY SOUL about CF Warrior Mallory Smith will make you cry and love it
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles CorrespondentWhen the documentary SALT IN MY SOUL directed by Will Battersby drops Jan. 21, in the first round of screenings, the life of Cystic Fibrosis Warrior...
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Your Annotated Nom Score Card for the 94th Academy Awards
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles CorrespondentThe Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) sent out a notice to remind us entertainment journalists to use only their official list of...
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Film Fest 919 celebrates NC’s Ariana DeBose, her Oscar nom for WEST SIDE...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles CorrespondentDuring Award Season, no doubt it's the worldwide circuit of film festivals that helps shape predictions and forecasts for feature film (and TV) standouts...
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SBIFF in Tweets: Outstanding Director Award last night
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles CorrespondentNot to say that Steven Spielberg phoned it in last night, but the WEST SIDE STORY teller had to appear by video link at the 37th Santa Barbara...
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Oscar nom Kristen Stewart just brought a red carpet thrill to SBIFF
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles CorrespondentLast night at the 37th Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) when Kristen Stewart arrived, you could actually hear the crowd roar outside in...
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Escape behind THE LOST CITY scenes with Sandy, Channing… and Brad Pitt?
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles CorrespondentSandra Bullock fans can rejoice that America’s Sweetheart is back in a pure escapism romp for these tough times; that would be THE LOST CITY from...
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DON’T LOOK UP, CODA, and all the big winners at Writers Guild Awards
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles CorrespondentWhile it is the longest-ever Award Season, with delays and reschedules during these trying times, there are still some surprises to behold on the Award...
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Get Ready: Drew Barrymore, Henry Thomas, Spielberg open TCM Fest with E.T.
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles CorrespondentYes, you can still get tickets, and TCM Classic Film Festival 2022 has kind of outdone itself for movie fans with E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial's original...
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Guess this year’s Best Pics from wonky titles with Oscar Nominees
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles CorrespondentIn the run up to Sunday, March 27, which is known as Oscar Sunday, we thought it would be fun to join the guessing gang from The Academy. All you have to...
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MIPTV 22 Stands with Ukraine's Media Creatives in Cannes on April 4
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles CorrespondentIronic to hear about a French event all the way in Los Angeles, but this just in about MIPTV 22, from Screenmancer...NEWS: Leading Ukrainian media...
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The Gong Show: Should Will Smith’s Oscar go down to a vote?
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles CorrespondentUPDATE: We were way ahead on this one, as The Academy is holding emergency meetings about a vote on all this...On Japanese TV they carried the entire...
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TOP GUN: MAVERICK, or adrenaline on tap right now watch
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles CorrespondentHello Aviators, actually earlier today Paramount led with “Good Morning Aviators” as they dropped a new poster and trailer for the long-awaited Navy ace...
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26th Satellites: Mira Sorvino’s loving tribute to Tom Skerritt, Mary Pickford...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles CorrespondentAt the W Hotel Hollywood this past weekend, the 26th Satellite Awards capped off one of the most protracted Award Seasons in Hollywood history with a...
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THE NORTHMAN is a stunner, plus LA premiere is here
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles CorrespondentYou could say Alexander Skarsgård has gone to ‘rack and rune’ in THE NORTHMAN, but puns aside, this is the Viking epic Robert Eggers hinted at during...
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Interview: Director Robert Clem on insider Gospel music for doc HOW THEY GOT...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles CorrespondentAfter watching documentary HOW THEY GOT OVER, directed by Robert Clem, more than the music of the Soul Stirrers, Dixie Hummingbirds, Five Blind Boys of...
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