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The versatile John C. Reilly has been announced as the first honoree at the 19th annual Oscar Wilde Awards.

The event, organized by the US-Ireland Alliance, is set for Feb. 27 — in its traditional evening spot three days before the Oscars — at the historic Ebell theater in Los Angeles, its original home.

The casual bash celebrates the work of those from Ireland — and some who are not — who contribute to film, television and music. It also fosters artistic collaborations, from giving young actors and singers a profile in the U.S. to encouraging the shooting of films in Ireland.

The Chicago-born Reilly, 59, speaks often of his family’s strong ties to Ireland. A frequent visitor to the country, he served as the International Guest of Honor at Dublin’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities in 2022.

“It might just seem like a goof to just appear at a parade, but to me,...

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has numerous famous franchises under its umbrella and that includes the beloved Guardians of The Galaxy trilogy. It is focused on sci-fi, so realism is never the main draw for the movies, but there are many things fans have come to love about the franchise. Now it appears the third film seems to have been dealt another big blow after a 2-time Visual Effects Oscar winner chose a movie made with 5% of its budget over Guardians of The Galaxy Volume 3.

A still from Guardians of The Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy made its debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the 2014 film, followed by sequels Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and 3. The franchise played a crucial role in elevating characters like Rocket Raccoon and Drax The Destroyer. Known for its unique blend of comedy and action, the movies have distinguished themselves within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Murphy. Cillian Murphy.

So says former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan about who should take over the role of 007.

Well, not so fast, Murphy responded last night at the Oscar Wilde Awards in Los Angeles. “I think I’m a bit old for that,” the 47-year-old Oppenheimer star told reporters while walking the red carpet at the event hosted by the The US-Ireland Alliance.

The casting idea was broached by Brosnan, who played Bond in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999) and Die Another Day (2002). In an interview with the BBC at the event – the actor was being honored along with Molly Shannon and visual-effects supervisor Richie Baneham – Brosnan said he thought “Cillian would do a magnificent job as James Bond.”

Brosnan’s stint as Bond was followed, from 2006 to 2021, by Daniel Craig in the role.

The awards event was held at the Santa Monica offices of Bad Robot Productions.

Partygoing in in full swing in Hollywood this week an industry ramping up for Sunday’s Oscars. Here is Deadline’s annual list of goings-on around town, with more events likely to be added as the week goes on as some studios date their events at the last minute. Most events are invite-only. Please send any event or party details to patrickhipes@deadline.com.

All times when available are Pt. (Note: Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday so plan accordingly.)

Monday, March 4

South Asians at the Oscars Pre-Party

6:30 p.m., Paramount Pictures Studios

Prominent South Asian celebrities will join the 2024 South Asian Oscar nominees and shortlisted filmmakers. This event is co-hosted by Kal Penn, Lilly Singh, Hannah Simone, Tan France, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Rupi Kaur, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Anita Chatterjee, Shruti Ganguly, and Archana Misra Jain, with a musical performance by Ankur Tewari.

Wednesday, March 6

Vanities: A Night For Young Hollywood

Bar...

As Hollywood gets ready to gives its final bow of awards season, parties and events fill the days and nights leading up to the 96th Oscars. From Zendaya and Cate Blanchett at the Green Carpet Fashion Awards and Essence celebrating Danielle Brooks and Halle Bailey to Elton John holding court at his annual viewing dinner, here’s a look at this year’s Oscar party calendar.

March 4

South Asians at the Oscars Party

Co-hosted by Kal Penn, Lilly Singh, Hannah Simone, Tan France, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Rupi Kaur, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Anita Chatterjee, Shruti Ganguly, and Archana Misra Jain, with a musical performance by Ankur Tewari.

Paramount Pictures Studios, Los Angeles

7-10 p.m.

March 5

PR Consulting Pre-Oscars Gifting Suite

Dressing suite featuring ready-to-wear and evening wear available for pulls from Rabanne, designer vintage purveyor What Goes Around Comes Around (brands include Oscar De La Renta, Valentino, John Galliano, Cavalli, Gucci by...

Avatar: The Way of Water, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and Star Trek: Picard were among the main winners Sunday at the 51st Saturn Awards, which honor the best in genre entertainment.

Winners across film, TV and home media were revealed Sunday during a ceremony at the L.A. Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel hosted by Joel McHale. The awards are presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror.

James Cameron’s Avatar sequel won a leading four awards on the film side for Best Science Fiction Film, Direction, Screenwriting and Visual Effects after coming in to the night with a leading 12 nominations. Oppenheimer, which had 11 noms, was named Best Thriller and won for Best Editing while the film’s Emily Blunt won Best Supporting Actress. Blunt also presented Nolan with the honorary Saturn Visionary Award.

Other honorary awards went to Life Career honoree Jodie Foster, Keanu Reeves, Seth MacFarlane,...

Molly Shannon, who mined her Irish background to create delightful characters on Saturday Night Live and beyond, is the latest honoree to be announced for the 18th annual Oscar Wilde Awards.

The event, organized by the US-Ireland Alliance, celebrates the work of those from Ireland — and those with Irish roots, as in Shannon’s case — who contribute to film, television and music. It’s set for March 7, three days before the Academy Awards, at the Santa Monica home of Bad Robot, J.J. Abrams and Katie McGrath’s production company.

Shannon, who grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio, joins previously announced honorees Pierce Brosnan (born in Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland) and Oscar-winning VFX artist Richard Baneham (born in Dublin).

“Molly’s Irish American characters on Saturday Night Live — like Mary Katherine Gallagher and Sally O’Malley — are iconic,” Trina Vargo, founder of the US-Ireland Alliance, said in a statement.

“The impact...

Richard Baneham, the Dublin-born visual effects and animation specialist who received Academy Awards for his work on the original Avatar and The Way of Water sequel, will be honored at the next Oscar Wilde Awards.

The 18th annual event, organized by the US-Ireland Alliance, is scheduled to return March 7 — in its traditional evening spot three days before the Oscars — to the Santa Monica home of Bad Robot, the production company of J.J. Abrams and Katie McGrath.

The casual bash celebrates the work of those from Ireland — and some who are not — who contribute to film, television and music.

“We’re delighted to honor Richie,” US-Ireland Alliance founder Trina Vargo said in a statement. “Not only is he creatively exceptional, but he is also beloved in the industry as someone who has always remained connected to his colleagues and friends in the film and animation industries in Ireland.”

Baneham, 53, studied art...

James Cameron‘s Avatar: The Way of Water will soon be making its way to both Disney+ and Max (formerly HBO Max) following a historic run in theaters. The sci-fi epic, which debuted 13 years after the release of Cameron’s original Avatar film, will hit both platforms on June 7th, being accompanied there by bonus content featuring filmmakers, cast and crew.

Going on to become the third highest-grossing film of all time following its December 16th launch at a take surpassing $2.3B, Avatar: The Way of Water picks up with the Sully family more than a decade after the events of the first film, examining the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure. All of this against the backdrop of the breathtaking seascapes of Pandora, where audiences...

To celebrate the release of Avatar: The Way of Water, HeyUGuys was invited to tour the Lightstorm Studios in Manhattan Beach, California.

What a way to experience movie history up close and personal! The afternoon started off in the Lightstorm Museum. It was amazing to see original on screen props from Avatar, Aliens, Terminator 2, Alita Battle Angel and Titanic. The attention to detail that goes into all of these props was absolutely fascinating. No wonder Academy Award winning James Cameron has directed 3 out of the 4 highest grossing films of all time!

A highlight from the tour would have to be the moment I was allowed to try on the original Heart of the Ocean necklace that was displayed in the museum next to Jon Landau’s Best Picture Oscar for the film.

After Jon Landau joined us at the end of the tour for a once in a lifetime photo op,...

James Cameron‘s career has been legendary. With every step, the filmmaker can create hit after hit. After all, three of the top four highest-grossing films are his. Currently, Avatar is in the number one spot with $2,923,706,026. Avatar: The Way of Water is hanging in at the number 3 spot with $2,304,184,543. And with a few more box office dollars to go. And finally, we have Titanic still at number 4 with $2,249,193,891. Yet the last two are still playing in some markets.

The filmmaker is a certified hitmaker. This director also created iconic films like Aliens, The Terminator, T2, The Abyss, True Lies, etc. And at a recent visit to Lightstorm Entertainment, a group of journalists got to experience first-hand movie magic. Those in attendance were privy to a look at the upcoming digital release of Avatar: The Way of Water.

Lightstorm Entertainment – founded by Cameron and Lawrence Kasanoff – has produced all of the director’s major films.

“Avatar: The Way of Water” won Best Visual Effects at the Oscars this Sunday, and the team that brought Pandora to vivid life in James Cameron’s blockbuster took the stage to celebrate. But for one team member, the evening took a turn shortly afterwards, as senior visual effects supervisor Eric Saindon was rushed to the hospital for surgery immediately after his win.

According to a rep from Weta FX, the visual effects production company behind “The Way of Water,” Saindon experienced intense pain throughout the day of the Oscars and checked into a Beverly Hills hospital around noon. After testing negative for appendicitis and kidney stones, Saindon decided to still attend the awards ceremony, and received painkillers from his doctors.

After powering through to winning the Visual Effects award, Saindon experienced more pain, and left his press room interview at the ceremony to return to the hospital. Doctors determined...

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The 2023 Oscars belonged to Everything Everywhere All At Once, which took home the award for best picture. Jimmy Kimmel hosted “incident”-free night (his third time emceeing the ceremony) that aired live on March 12 at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood.

Eeao also won best directing (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, aka The Daniels), best original screenplay, best lead actress (Michelle Yeoh), best supporting actress (Jamie Lee Curtis) best supporting actor (Ke Huy Quan) and best film editing. Brendan Fraser won best actor for his role in The Whale, while actress-turned-director Sarah Polley won best adapted screenplay for Women Talking. (Read more about all of the 2023 Oscars snubs and surprises here.)

Many of the Oscar-nominated movies are free to watch with a streaming service subscription (including Apple TV+, Disney+,...

The All Quiet on the Western Front cast and crew began trooping into the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts as the clock was about to strike 1 a.m. Monday

They were brandishing gold statuettes. “This is the Vanity Fair Oscar Party. We were were curious about this place,” the partner of one of the movie’s key creatives tells me.

Related: Oscars Analysis: First-Timers Lift Spirits And Emotions In Ceremony That Was Old-School Academy Awards In A Good Way

Related Story Vanity Fair Oscar Party Photos: See Jeff Bezos, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Wilde, Cardi B, Kendall Jenner & Many More On The Red Carpet Related Story Oscars Analysis: First-Timers Lift Spirits And Emotions In Ceremony That Was Old-School Academy Awards In A Good Way Related Story Ke Huy Quan Says He Honored His Mom By Reclaiming Birth Name As An Adult Actor; Declares "Goonies Never Say Die" – Oscars Backstage...

From the electric performances of the nominated songs to all the big stars, The 95th Academy Awards went off without a slap hitch.

The performance of Rrr's hit song Naatu Naatu brought the entire house to their feet, as did the wins for Ke Huy Quan and Michelle Yeoh.

So who came out on top?

Everything Everywhere All At Once led the nominations with 11 and led the winners with seven total trophies!

Find out the rest of the winners here!

Best Picture

Everything Everywhere All at Once *Winner*

All Quiet on the Western Front

Avatar: The Way of Water

The Banshees of Inisherin

Elvis

The Fabelmans

Tár

Top Gun: Maverick

Triangle of Sadness

Women Talking

Best Actress

Michelle Yeoh - Everything Everywhere All at Once *Winner*

Cate Blanchett - Tár

Ana de Armas - Blonde

Andrea Riseborough - To Leslie

Michelle Williams - The Fabelmans

Best Actor

Brendan Fraser -...

Oscars 2023In a big moment for India, Naatu Naatu from Rrr won the award for best original song, and The Elephant Whisperers directed by Kartiki Gonsalves won the best documentary short award.Twitter/RRRMovieThe 95th Academy Awards ceremony was held on Sunday, March 12, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Television host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel hosted the ceremony for the third time. Naatu Naatu from Rrr won the award for best original song. The Elephant Whisperers, directed by Kartiki Gonsalves and co-produced by Guneet Monga, won the best documentary short award. Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes, a film about two brothers in Delhi who care for injured black kites, was nominated for best documentary feature but lost to Navalny. Here’s the full list of Oscar nominees and winners: Best Picture Everything Everywhere All at Once — Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert and Jonathan Wang, producers - Winner All Quiet on the Western Front...

The team behind Avatar: The Way of Water‘s long-expected Oscar win for Visual Effects learned first-hand how committed Academy officials and show producers are to keeping things moving.

Richard Baneham, one of four winners along with Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett, took the trophy first and thanked director James Cameron, who was not in attendance. He also shouted out producer Jon Landau and a range of technical colleagues. Just as the Academy-allotted 45 second expired, music swelled abruptly and the camera panned away just as Saindon was heard saying, “We need to thank our families–“

As applause died down, the camera found Oscar host Jimmy Kimmel, who appeared to be ready for the play-off. “It’s unfortunate,” he said. “I happen to know before he was cut off, the Avatar visual effects team asked me to announce that if anyone’s interested, the visual effects after-party is at CGI Fridays.

Surprising no one, Avatar: The Way of Water collected the Oscar in visual effects for its jaw-dropping work that helped to propel the movie to more than $2.2 billion at the box office, making it the third highest grossing movie of all time.

In doing so, Weta FX’s production senior VFX supervisor Joe Letteri collected his fifth competitive award in the category at the 2023 Oscars. He now joins Ken Ralston (Forrest Gump) in holding five competitive Oscars apiece in the category. Both trail Denis Murren (Jurassic Park), who holds the category record of eight competitive Academy Awards.

With the win for The Way of Water, visual effects supervisor Richard Baneham accepted his second VFX Oscar, having previously won the trophy for the original Avatar. Weta VFX supervisor Eric Saindon and senior animation supervisor Daniel Barrett each won their first Oscar on Sunday.

Accepting onstage, Baneham thanked director James Cameron “whose...

As Gold Derby predicted, “Avatar: The Way of Water” won the Best Visual Effects Oscar on March 12 over co-nominees “All Quiet on the Western Front,” “The Batman,” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and “Top Gun: Maverick.” James Cameron‘s highly anticipated sequel was heavily favorited to claim this trophy on Sunday night, especially considering the original “Avatar” (2009) also won the visual effects category 13 years ago. “The Way of Water” also earned Oscar bids this year in Best Picture, Best Sound and Best Production Design.

Accepting the trophies for “Avatar: The Way of Water” were Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett. Letteri previously won four Oscars for “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” (2002), “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2003), “King Kong” (2005) and “Avatar” (2009), while Baneham had a single statue on his mantel for “Avatar” (2009). Today’s Oscars win marks the first Academy Awards for Saindon and Barrett.

The films in the running for the 2023 Best Visual Effects Oscar are “All Quiet on the Western Front,” “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “The Batman,” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” and “Top Gun: Maverick.” Our odds currently indicate that “Avatar: The Way of Water” (31/10) is the frontrunner, followed in order by “Top Gun: Maverick” (39/10), “All Quiet on the Western Front” (9/2), “The Batman” (9/2), and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (9/2).

Included among the 20 individuals in this lineup are 12 past nominees, five of whom have triumphed at least once. The eight first-timers are Geoffrey Baumann (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”), “Top Gun: Maverick” trio Seth Hill, Bryan Litson, and Ryan Tudhope, and “All Quiet on the Western Front” quartet Markus Frank, Kamil Jaffar, Viktor Muller, and Frank Petzold.

The two returning contenders who have already won here multiple times each are Joe Letteri (“Avatar: The Way of Water”), who succeeded on four of his previous 10 bids,...

With an unprecedented number of Oscar nominations for Irish talent and films this year, everyone was celebrating the green wave at the 17th annual Oscar Wilde Awards, held Thursday night — before the rain arrived — at Bad Robot in Santa Monica. “It’s amazing, there are 7 million people on that island, and all of them were nominated and are here tonight,” host J.J. Abrams joked, in a year when 25 percent of the Academy Award acting nominations are held by Irish actors.

The Oscar Wilde honorees this year were Irish actresses Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin), Jessie Buckley (Women Talking), Eve Hewson (Flora and Son) and An Cailίn Ciúin (The Quiet Girl), the first Irish language film nominated for an Academy Award. Created by the US-Ireland Alliance, the Oscar Wilde Awards celebrate the work of those from Ireland — and some who are not — who contribute to the movies, television and music.

The Latino Entertainment Journalists Association (Leja) has handed out its awards for the year, with “Everything Everywhere All at Once” scooping up 10 wins including best picture, director for the Daniels and actress for Michelle Yeoh.

The sci-fi comedy led the nominations with 16, the most in the history of the organization.

Paramount’s “Top Gun: Maverick” scored the second-most wins with three for best cinematography going to Claudio Miranda, sound and stunt design.

“I am incredibly excited by the selections of our distinguished group of Latino critics, journalists and writers from all over the country,” said Clayton Davis, Leja founder and president. “I applaud our tiny but mighty organization for selecting a respectable group of films from artists we all love and admire.”

“Wakanda Forever” won prizes for costume design (Ruth E. Carter) and original song.

“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” won two prizes for animated film and adapted screenplay. In addition,...

“Avatar: The Way of Water” is a sequel, but the VFX team had a mandate far beyond supplying “more of the same.” The follow-up to the 2009 original “Avatar” had many new demands — and these jaw-dropping innovations have helped make the film one of the top box-office films of all time.

Joe Letteri, heading up his team at Weta FX, tells Variety, “We were working on this film since the last one finished, identifying what we could do better. Then there was a big burst of research-and-development” about six years ago, when writer-director James Cameron delivered the scripts for this and three more sequels; that’s when they realized the full scope of the film, which takes place in water about 60% of the time.

For the first “Avatar,” they had developed a tool kit to simulate water.

“But we knew it wasn’t going to be good enough,” says Letteri. “In facial closeups,...

2Nd Update: Netflix’s Edward Berger-directed All Quiet on the Western Front triumphed at the BAFTA Film Awards in London this evening, scoring seven wins, including Outstanding Film, Director, Film Not in the English Language, Cinematography, and Adapted Screenplay.

From early on, there was momentum for the World War I drama, while Searchlight’s The Banshees of Inisherin also had a strong showing, converting its 10 nominations to four wins, including Outstanding British Film, Original Screenplay, and the Supporting acting categories.

Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis was also a strong performer with four wins, including Best Actor for Austin Butler.

Check out the full list of winners below, and see here for more from the night and here for Pete Hammond’s analysis.

Previous Update : Netflix’s All Quiet on the Western Front, the leading nominee coming into this evening, is currently pulling ahead of the pack with six wins,...

‘Banshees’ duo, ’Navalny’, ’Aftersun’ among early winners.

The 2023 Bafta Film Awards show is taking place today (February 19) from London’s Royal Festival Hall on the Southbank this year (it was previously at the Royal Albert Hall).

The show started at around 18:00 UK time, finishing at approximately 21:00, and will be broadcast with a time delay on BBC One starting at 19:00, with the final four awards broadcast live for the first time.

Richard E. Grant is hosting the ceremony, with presenter Alison Hammond providing backstage and winners access through a new Bafta studio.

Screen is posting all the winners...

The blockbuster took nine of the 14 awards for which it was nominated.

Avatar: The Way of Water emerged as the big winner at the Visual Effects Society’s Ves Awards on Wednesday (February 15) night, taking nine awards including the prize for photoreal feature.

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio was the most honoured animated film, winning the animated feature award and two other prizes.

The Way of Water had gone into the ceremony, held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, with 14 nominations, and Pinocchio with five.

The Ves Lifetime Achievement award went to producer Gale Anne Hurd and the...

James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” swept the 21st annual Ves Awards Wednesday night in an unprecedented wave of dominance in every category, winning nine of its record-breaking 14 nominations, including the top photoreal feature, and the newest category, The Emerging Technology Award, for its innovative water toolset.

Although the prestigious visual effects honorary society has not been a reliable Oscar bellwether in recent years — picking the VFX winner only twice in the last six years — this now looks like a lock for the “Avatar” sequel.

Hosted by Patton Oswalt at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” (from Netflix) — the favorite to win the Best Animated Feature Oscar — won the top animation trophy and took home three awards; Amazon’s “Thirteen Lives” snagged the supporting prize, and Amazon Prime Video’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” grabbed the episodic prize and also took home three awards.

“Avatar: The Way of Water” topped the 21st Annual Ves Awards with nine wins, including for photoreal feature.

Meanwhile, Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio” was named best animated feature and took home three awards total. On the TV side, Amazon’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” won three awards and was named best photoreal episode.

Rian Johnson, Domee Shi, Tig Notaro, Jay Pharoah, Tyler Posey and Randall Park were among the presenters for the night. James Cameron presented the Ves Lifetime Achievement award to acclaimed producer Gale Anne Hurd.

Former Ves executive director Eric Roth received the Board of Directors Award from the current board, which includes Lisa Cooke, current Ves Chair; Jim Morris, Ves, president of Pixar Animation and founding Ves Chair; and former Chairs Jeffrey A. Okun, Ves; Mike Chambers, Ves; Carl Rosendahl, Ves; and Jeff Barnes.

“As we celebrate the 21st Annual Ves Awards,...

“Avatar: The Way of Water” came out on top at the Visual Effects Society’s 2023 Ves Awards, held Wednesday evening at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

The James Cameron epic set a Ves record this year with 14 nominations in nine different categories, and it set a record for wins by coming out on top in every category in which it was nominated. By contrast, the original 2009 “Avatar” received 10 nominations and won five awards. The previous record for wins by a film was set by “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” at the first Ves Awards in 2003, when it won eight awards. (The show had fewer awards then than it does now.)

The nine awards for “Avatar: The Way of Water” included Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature, the Ves category that aligns most closely with the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Competing with “Avatar...

James Cameron’s juggernaut Avatar: The Way of Water swept the awards in the feature competition at the 21st annual Visual Effects Society Awards on Wednesday night at the Beverly Hilton.

Its nine wins included one for the top category of outstanding VFX in a photoreal feature. The movie also collected trophies for animated character (for Kiri, played by Sigourney Weaver), practical effects (for the current machine and wave pool), compositing and lighting (water integration), effects simulations (water), model (the sea dragon), environments (the reef) and virtual cinematography. Additionally, its water toolset won the new Ves award for emerging technology. The movie entered the evening with a record 14 noms (it earned multiple nominations in some of the categories that it won).

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio was a big winner in the feature animation field, winning a trio of prizes including one for outstanding VFX in an animated feature. Meanwhile...

Avatar: The Way of Water and Elvis were big winners at the 13th Advanced Imaging Society Lumiere Awards, which celebrated the creative and technical achievements that brought showmanship to entertainment during the year.

“It’s just this great big glorious marriage between the performing arts and the technical arts,” summed up Elvis helmer Baz Luhrmann during the presentation Friday at The Beverly Hills Hotel. Honorees and presenters included The Way of Water producer Jon Landau and the film’s Oscar-nominated VFX supervisors, Eric Saindon from Wētā FX and Richie Baneham from Lightstorm; Elvis star Austin Butler; Pinocchio‘s Guillermo del Toro; Babylon‘s Damien Chazelle; and Top Gun: Maverick‘s Jerry Bruckheimer.

Avatar: The Way of Water won the award for best live-action feature. Accepting with Saindon and Baneham, Landau saluted the technical community and urged them to continue to “innovate technologies that allow filmmakers to tell stories that could not otherwise be told.

“Avatar: The Way of Water” and “Elvis” are among the films that took top honors at the 13th annual Lumiere Awards, the Advanced Imaging Society (Ais) announced today.

The Feb. 10 ceremony was presented by Microsoft and held at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles. Twenty-three awards were given out to the creative teams behind entertainment that utilizes technology to make immersive content.

Jon Landau, producer of the “Avatar” sequel, took to the stage with visual effects supervisors Eric Saindon and Richie Baneham to accept the award for best live action feature film. The feature, directed by James Cameron, was painstakingly crafted using performance capture above and below water and dubbed by Ais as the “most awe-inspiring and astonishing cinematic experience of the year.”

Though not in attendance at the ceremony, Cameron was also honored with the Voices for the Earth Award in recognition of the filmmaker’s green thumb.

Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages are Davis’ assessment of the current standings of the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any film or performance. Like any organization or body that votes, each individual category is fluid and subject to change. Predictions are updated every Thursday.

Last Updated: Feb. 9, 2023

2023 Oscars Predictions: Best Visual Effects Top Gun: Maverick, Tom Cruise, 2020. © Paramount Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

Category Commentary: James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” has led the box office for seven weeks in the U.K. and Ireland and has amassed over 2 billion globally. Does that make the movie too difficult to ignore for visual effects?

There’s still a...

The Quiet Girl (An Cailín Ciúin), the first Irish-language film nominated for an Academy Award for best international feature, will receive special recognition at the 17th annual Oscar Wilde Awards next month.

First-time feature director Colm Bairéad and producer Cleona Ní Chrualaoí will be on hand March 9 at Bad Robot, the Santa Monica production company of J.J. Abrams and Katie McGrath, to accept the award for the film.

Created by the US-Ireland Alliance, the Oscar Wilde Awards celebrate the work of those from Ireland — and some who are not — who contribute to the movies, television and music. This marks the first time a film is being honored.

“For An Cailín Ciúin to be in the final five, in a category with more than 90 eligible films, is a massive achievement,” Trina Vargo, founder of the US-Ireland Alliance, said in a statement. “It’s lovely to see Irish-language films receiving more attention...

The Oscar for Best Visual Effects is particularly tough to predict because of the complicated system by which the nominees are determined in three stages. The members of the executive committee of the branch cast preferential ballots to determine 20 films for further consideration. These are then winnowed down to 10 semi-finalists, which were announced on December 21, 2022. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2023 Oscars Best Visual Effects predictions.)

All members of the branch are invited to a virtual screening of excerpts from these 10 films in January at which potential nominees may discuss their work. Ballots are counted using a system of re-weighted range voting to determine the five nominees, which will be revealed on January 24. The entire voting membership of the academy will then vote for the winners, which will be revealed during the 95th Academy Awards ceremony on March 12.

When it comes to picking the winner of Best Visual Effects, you...

Hollywood, Calif., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Cj 4Dplex, the world’s leading producer of premium film formats and cinema technologies, announced that 20th Century Studios, Lightstorm Entertainment and James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” has become the highest- grossing release of all-time for the company, bringing in 85 million to date at the global box office from its 4Dx and ScreenX formats. “Avatar: The Way of Water” continues to play in ScreenX and 4Dx theatres around the world.

In “Avatar: The Way of Water,” audiences experience the lush lands of Pandora in ScreenX’s visually immersive panoramic format with exclusive story-enhancing imagery only available in ScreenX. Cj 4Dplex worked closely with 20th Century Studios, James Cameron and Lightstorm Entertainment to ensure the highest quality presentation of the exhilarating journey.

4Dx’s multi-sensory technology submerges audiences into the action of the film by utilizing over 21 unique motion and environmental effects. It transcends...

Avatar: The Way of Water — which this week crossed the 2 billion mark at the worldwide box office and is now the sixth highest-grossing movie in history — earned a best picture Oscar nomination this morning, as well as noms for its production design, sound and visual effects.

But James Cameron, who has now directed three of the six highest-grossing movies ever — his 2009 Avatar sits at the top of that chart — was passed over in the directing competition for his groundbreaking film for the 2023 Oscar nominations. (The movie also missed an editing nomination; Cameron edited the movie, along with Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua, and the late David Brenner, who died in early 2022).

In this year’s best picture race, Cameron and producer Jon Landau (who together won best picture for Titanic, for which Cameron also claimed the directing trophy) are nominated alongside the producers of All Quiet on the Western Front, The Banshees of Inisherin,...

"Avatar: The Way of Water" is close to a worldwide box office total of 2 billion dollars, according to Box Office Mojo at the time of this writing. The further adventures of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), and the family they've created on Pandora have captured moviegoers' imaginations. It sounds like we'll be getting the promised sequels from director James Cameron. Whatever you think of the story and the high frame rate, which I personally found incredibly distracting, it's tough to deny that the visual effects in this film are groundbreaking and spectacular.

The first film really drove home the fact that 3D wasn't dead, and this one did the same, despite some pronounced stick-poking-style effects in the beginning and nausea-inducing moments early on. It's shockingly easy to forget that the creatures we're watching on screen aren't really there and that the actors just don't look like that. Though...

To the surprise of no one, James Cameron’s dazzling Avatar: The Way of Water dominated the 21st annual Visual Effects Society Award nominations, which were announced on Tuesday. The juggernaut earned 14 Ves noms, a record number for a feature film or any single project in the society’s awards history.

That includes a nomination in the top category for outstanding VFX in a photoreal feature. Alongside The Way of Water, the category nominees are Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, Jurassic World: Dominion, The Batman and Top Gun: Maverick. Nominees in the category for supporting VFX are Death on the Nile, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, The Fabelmans, The Gray Man, The Pale Blue Eye and Thirteen Lives.

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio leads the animated contenders, with six nominations including one for outstanding VFX in an animated feature. Meanwhile The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power...

“Avatar: The Way of Water” has made history once more.

As James Cameron’s long-gestating sequel continues its climb up the all-time box-office charts, “The Way of Water” set a new record for the most nominations for a single project from the Visual Effects Society Awards, announced this morning. The film’s 14 nods highlight achievements that range from VFX to character animation to emerging technology, where it accounts for three of the category’s five nominees. This tally surpasses the previous records set by the 11 nominations for the original “Avatar” in 2010 and the 13 nominations for “The Mandalorian” in 2021.

Joining “The Way of Water” on the Ves leaderboard are “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” which respectively top the animation and TV fields with six and seven nominations. The 21st annual Visual Effects Society Awards will take place February 15 at the Beverly Hilton,...

James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” leads the feature competition at the 21st Annual Ves Awards.

The film earned a total of 14 Ves Awards nominations, setting a new record for record nominations for a feature film. The original “Avatar” was the previous record holder when it received 11 nominations at the 8th Annual Ves Awards held in 2010.

“Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio” received six nominations in the animation category making it the top animated contender.

Ves members selected nominees in 25 categories at 27 in-person and virtual nomination events conducted worldwide. The winners will be announced on Feb. 15 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.

This year marks the presentation of the first Ves Emerging Technology Award, which celebrates the creators of the technology behind the visuals and honors the inventors of a novel and uniquely innovative tool, device, software or methodology of outstanding value to the art and science of visual effects,...

Suffice it to say that Avatar: The Way of Water commanded the Visual Effects Society’s attention. James Cameron box office-smash sequel scored a record 14 nominations for the 2023 Ves Awards, which were announced today.

Helped by three noms in the Emerging Technology category, Disney’s The Way of Water topped the single-year noms haul by Disney+’s The Mandalorian in 2021. It also shattered the old high-water mark for films, set by — no big surprise here — the original Avatar, which amassed 11 noms in 2010.

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The hardware will be doled out at the 21st annual Ves Awards on Wednesday,...

With so much emphasis on Best Picture and acting races this Oscar season, get ready for some special attention to the crafts and artisans who made these movies possible.

American Cinematheque announced Monday its honorees for its second edition of Tribute to the Crafts, taking place on Thursday, February 9 at the Cinematheque’s Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. Among the achievements being celebrated are such blockbuster films Top Gun: Maverick, Avatar: The Way of Water, Elvis, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, in addition to indie sensations like Everything Everywhere All at Once and Rrr.

After a successful inaugural ceremony last year, once again it is the key goal of Tribute to the Crafts to honor those at the heart of filmmaking, and have exhibited extraordinary work behind the camera over the past year, according to the Cinematheque. The evening will celebrate individuals in 15 categories covering all aspects of filmmaking and...

This interview with “Avatar: The Way of Water” visual effects supervisors Richard Baneham and Eric Saindon and Weta FX director Joe Letteri first appeared in a special section of the Below-the-Line issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.

When James Cameron began working on the story of “Avatar: The Way of Water” and subsequent sequels in the early 2010s, his visual effects team started scripting their own way forward. “At that point it was mostly the functional technical stuff—how do we build a system that Jim could use live?” said visual effects supervisor Richard Baneham, who added that testing on the new systems didn’t start until 2016. “This is coming from Jim’s desire to treat the digital world and the real world the same,” Weta FX director Joe Letteri added. “He wanted to use the camera like a real camera, see his actors, see the lighting, art-direct the shots,...

James Cameron is a filmmaker who is constantly pushing the boundaries of special effects for the best visual experience possible. A project like "Avatar," which takes place on an alien planet, could have only come to life through innovation, and it was a massive success. With "The Way of Water," Cameron finally gets to show off the spectacular underwater world of Pandora, having utilized groundbreaking technology that was able to motion capture performances while actors were doused in the drink. It makes you feel as if you're swimming alongside a Tulkun space whale yourself.

Exploring what lies beneath the waters felt like the next logical step, as the first film only provided a glimpse into the reaches of this planet. "Avatar" took place in the jungles with the Omaticaya Na'vi, whereas "The Way of Water" largely takes place in the water with the Metkayina. But before the Sully family adjust...

It's easy to see why "Avatar: The Way of Water" took over a decade to make it to the big screen. The extravagantly beautiful sequel was the passion project of James Cameron, and if you thought he was going to follow up the highest-grossing film of all time with passable visual effects, then you clearly haven't heard him speak in interviews. He's a bit of a perfectionist who wants to make sure that everything on the screen looks as best as possible. With "The Way of Water," the world of Pandora has never felt more alive, and that can largely be attributed to the hard-working folks at Wētā FX.

The effects company behind such recent projects as "Black Adam" and "Wakanda Forever" had worked with Cameron on the original "Avatar," where they were initially referred to as Wētā Digital. A project like "The Way of Water" was presented not only...

Back in 2001, with the release of Peter Jackson's fantasy film "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," the filmmakers faced a unique visual challenge. Multiple characters in the film were hobbits, a species of humanoids that stand about three feet, and they had to regularly interact with human characters double their height. Jackson had cast the 5' 6" Elijah Wood as hobbit Frodo Baggins, and had to use several clever techniques to achieve the height disparity between he and the 5' 11" Ian McKellan, playing the wizard Gandalf. Jackson employed forced perspective, and McKellan had to spend a lot of time in an all-green room, acting opposite a tennis ball on a stick. The tennis ball is meant to show an actor where they're meant to be looking so that they appear to be making eye contact once another character is keyed in.

Tall/short character interaction was fun,...

Director James Cameron has the pioneering spirit of an explorer. That spirit has been on full display throughout his career; each of his movies attempt to reach higher, climb faster, and break new ground in building worlds with which to tell emotionally resonant stories.

In the case of "Avatar" and its new sequel, "Avatar: The Way of Water," Cameron's mandate was to almost literally build a new world: a moon known as Pandora, which is the home to the Na'vi. The original 2009 film achieved that task, and the bar was set incredibly high for "The Way of Water" and its forthcoming sequels.

Fortunately, the visual effects teams are more than up to the challenge. Leading the charge are Weta FX's senior VFX supervisor, Joe Letteri, and Lightstorm Entertainment's VFX supervisor, Richie Baneham. Between the two of them, they've won six Academy Awards, and their resumés include some of...

Say what you will about "Avatar: The Way of Water," but surely you'd agree that it looks beautiful. It's also one of the most expensive movies ever made, to the point where James Cameron has claimed it needs to make 2 billion at the box office just to be considered a success. But regardless of what the actual box office results are, it seems like all that money put in was well-spent. The visual effects in this movie are almost absurdly, overwhelmingly impressive from start to finish. Any movie that can pull this off is a movie worth making.

A lot of this is due to the fact that Cameron and his VFX team weren't content to just coast off the innovations of the first "Avatar" movie. They took what worked with the 2009 film and improved on it, even reinventing parts of it. "We want it to be better than what we could do before,...

The theatrical landscape has drastically changed in the 13 years since the original "Avatar" was released in theaters to massive financial success. But James Cameron necessarily has spent all that time since the 2009 release still in Pandora, creating his vision for a series of films that spans decades and tells a multi-generational story. Just as Cameron spent years developing new technology, he has also worked hard on the narrative side of things. The story of Jake Sully of the Jarhead clan would grow into something even more extensive than initially planned.

In the vein of massive productions like Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and even, to some degree, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Cameron has carefully crafted an alien world filled with rich details. Pandora is filled with life and an ecosystem that makes the films feel even more real when paired with groundbreaking visual effects. However, none of this worldbuilding came easy,...