Looking Back at Oscar’s 95 Years of Growing Pains

John Boyega has made peace with the role that previously caused him anguish that he made public, but now says “made a man of him.” 

Bob Bakish, chief executive of Paramount Global, saw total compensation in 2022 of $32 million, up from $20 million the year before.

Paramount Global is shuffling its board of directors, including the addition of Dawn Ostroff, who will serve as an independent non-executive director, the company announced Friday. The filing also noted that Bob Bakish would be making $31.5 million.Ostoroff’s seat is pending a stockholder vote that will take place at Paramount’s 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders later this year. Bakish, who serves as Paramount Global’s president will be receiving a pay boost to $31.5 million as a result of $16 million stock awards grant.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director The highlight of Brendan Fraser’s Oscars night was winning the Academy Award for best actor thanks to his acclaimed performance in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale,” but perhaps in second place was a long overdue reunion with megastar Dwayne Johnson. The two actors starred together nearly 22 years ago in “The Mummy Returns,” the sequel to Fraser’s 1999 blockbuster “The Mummy” that marked Johnson’s film acting debut in Hollywood. “Very cool full circle moment here with my long time buddy Brendan Fraser and his sons,” Johnson wrote on Instagram along with a video of the two actors reuniting backstage at the 2023 Oscars. “My very first film of my Hollywood career was ‘The Mummy Returns,’ which Brendan was the star. Lots of critics and cynics betting against me at that time, but Brendan welcomed me with open arms and was very supportive. I never forget kind people.”

James Van Der Beek opened up about the harrowing night that his wife Kimberly suffered a miscarriage in 2019. The 46-year-old actor became emotional as he recalled his spouse's pregnancy loss at 17 ½ weeks while appearing on the Thursday episode of Kimberly's podcast with co-host Peggy Rometo, "Bathroom Chronicles." The "Dawson's Creek" alum, who was competing on "Dancing With The Stars" at the time, said that the miscarriage occurred two nights before the show's semi-finals.  Kimberly remembered that the family was watching TV when she told Van Der Beek that she felt "off." She recalled getting into the shower where she suffered the miscarriage.  "It was just so much pain, and it was so unexpected because everything was right, everything was [a] fairytale.

Hoda Kotb has faith in her co-hosts and friends,Jenna Bush Hager and Savannah Guthrie, when it comes to finding her a man. On Thursday's episode of, the trio were discussing a story where a mother set her daughter up for a date.The conversation quickly turned to the hosts as they asked each other if they would let their parents pre-screen dates before meeting them.

Nicola Petlz Beckham has shared her hope of starting a family in the future, almost a year after marrying Brooklyn Beckham in a star-studded ceremony in Florida. The actress married Brooklyn, the eldest son of former England footballer David Beckham and Spice Girl and fashion designer Victoria Beckham, in a Palm Beach ceremony last April.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Pauly Shore is over the moon about his “Encino Man” co-stars Brendan Fraser and Ke Huy Quan becoming Oscar winners at the 95th Academy Awards. Fraser took home the Oscar for best actor thanks to his acclaimed performance in “The Whale,” while Ke Huy Quan won best supporting actor for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which also took home the best picture trophy along with six other Oscars. “Encino Man” made it into host Jimmy Kimmel’s monologue when he observed that 16 actors were nominated for their first Oscars at the 2023 ceremony. Fraser and Quan were both first-time nominees. “Two actors from ‘Encino Man’ are nominated for Oscars,” Kimmel said. “What an incredible night it must be for the two of you, and what a very difficult night for Pauly Shore. Maybe it’s time to reboot ‘Bio-Dome.'”

“Top Gun: Maverick” — nominated for six Academy Awards, including best picture — has a dark secret. The blockbuster, which celebrates the scrappy nature of US fighter pilots flying dangerous missions to keep the world safe, is being targeted for being funded in part by a Russian oligarch named Dmitry Rybolovlev, who is close to the Kremlin and sanctioned by Ukraine. In an open letter to the Academy, the Ukrainian World Congress, which represents Ukrainian expats around the world, expressed its “serious concerns over Russia’s influence on the Hollywood film industry.”The letter circulated last week during the final days of voting for the Oscars. Rybolovlev, 56, is no stranger to controversy.He maintained his innocence while spending a year in a Russian jail in the 1990sfor a murder he was later acquitted of.In 2008, during the economic recession, Rybolovlev, via a trust, paid $95 million for Donald Trump’s Palm Beach mansion.

“65” has arrived.The new sci-fi thriller stars Adam Driver as a space traveler who crash lands on a foreign planet after his ship is struck by asteroids. Except that this isn’t an alien planet, it’s earth 65 million years ago. And he’s not dealing with marauding alien creatures; he’s battling dinosaurs.

Steve Rosen Rock journalist Steve Rosen started interviewing Eddie Van Halen in 1977 and continued to speak with the guitar legend through 2003. Those conversations, and his observations and insights, are shared in the book “Tonechaser – Understanding Edward: My 26-Year Journey with Edward Van Halen,” out now. Rosen had previously authored biographies on Jeff Beck, Free/Bad Company, Black Sabbath and Randy Rhoads.

Jenna Bush Hager partied hard in New York City with some of her Today Show cohosts on Thursday evening, but one star was missing.The Today with Hoda and Jenna star was joined by her friends and colleagues Savannah Guthrie, Dylan Dreyer and Sheinelle Jones as they celebrated the fourth anniversary of her book club, Read with Jenna. However, there was no sign of her close friend Hoda Kotb, presumably as she still prioritizes time with her family after a health scare involving her daughter.See how the Today Show marked the occasion of Jenna's book club's fourth birthday while Hoda was away last week in the video below.WATCH: Today celebrates Read with Jenna live on airReturning to the 41-year-old's celebration on Thursday evening, she and her friends were joined by numerous other authors, stars and friends at the party.

Brent Lang Executive Editor It was supposed to be a night of celebration, but as the Academy Awards unfolded on April 7, 1970, there was a sense of anxiety and dissatisfaction gripping the movie business. Much like today, the industry was being divided by changing tastes and sensibilities, struggling to remain relevant in a period of social upheaval. Just before Bob Hope took the stage at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion to the familiar refrain of “Thanks for the Memory,” John Wayne introduced the comic as “everybody’s friend.” But in an opening monologue, Hope made it clear to the audience that he was aligned with one ideological group in Hollywood. And even as he smiled good-naturedly, the biting tone of his jokes revealed that he was none too pleased with the direction that the movies were heading in.

Carla Renata “How Women Change The World” was the theme of Emily’s List 2023 Pre-Oscar Breakfast. Packed with powerhouses working on impacting change throughout entertainment and politics, the morning kicked with California’s first woman Lieutenant Governor Eleni Koulnalakis and Emily’s List President LaPhonza Butler setting the tone for a morning of inspiration. “We’re not just talking about women in elected office, or just talking about women in entertainment,” Butler said. “We’re talking about women in business. We are talking about everyday women who choose to do extraordinary things to change not just their lives, but the lives of their families and the people around them.” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, in a featured talk with Emily’s List board member Yvette Nicole Brown, encouraged anyone in the room who owns a building to reach out to her office, as many of LA’s homeless have the vouchers for housing, but nowhere to go. She also shared plans to spearhead an initiative encouraging people to come to Los Angeles for the 7,000 jobs available in the city, falling in line with a philosophy passed down to her from former U.S. Rep. Diane Watson: “You need to lift while you climb.”

Oscar voting is about to close on an awards season has been one of the most volatile in years. Even though a consensus may seem to have formed around certain titles, there is still a nagging sense that anything could happen — and well might. It’s entirely appropriate, then, that Todd Field’s Tár — a film about a mercurial artist holding on through a turbulent time — is still holding a dogged course through these choppy seas, with a campaign driven by Cate Blanchett’s universally acclaimed performance as the troubled conductor Lydia Tár. Here, Field discusses (and declines to discuss) the strengths and the strangeness of a film that has somehow come to mean all things to all people.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Will Cate Blanchett fulfill the awards prophecy of winning an Academy Award every nine years? The two-time Academy Award winner of “The Aviator” (2004) and “Blue Jasmine” (2003) is a favorite to possibly win her third for Todd Field’s psychological drama “Tár,” in which she plays a lesbian conductor who begins to lose her grip on power and reality. On this week’s episode of the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, we sit down with Blanchett to discuss her work stunning transformation into Lydia Tár. In addition, she talks about working with co-star Nina Hoss and more. Listen below: From Focus Features, “Tár” is set to a rhythmic beat of classical orchestration, marking writer and director Todd Field’s return to the director’s chair, 16 years after “Little Children” (2006) and 21 years after his debut “In the Bedroom” (2001).

Tim McGraw has shared an emotional video looking back on memories he has of traveling around the country with his wife and three daughters.The Just to See You Smile singer, who is married to fellow country music legend Faith Hill, shared the video to his Instagram on Wednesday evening. Find out the nostalgic memories Tim recalled while looking back at the times his family have shared in their family car in the video below.WATCH: Tim McGraw's trip down memory laneAt the impressive age of 18 years old, the family's Cadillac Escalade which they've dubbed the 'Griswold Family Cruiser' has been with him, his wife Faith, and their three daughters for almost as long as they've all been together.MORE: Tim McGraw shares peek inside luxury kitchen in sprawling Nashville homeAs a result, as Tim explained in his video, it holds many memories of the times he, Faith, and their daughters Gracie, 25, Maggie, 24, and Audrey, 21, shared together while travelling across the US.

Hoda Kotb has shared many life milestones — both triumphant and difficult — with TV audiences for years.

Tim Gray Senior Vice President For nearly 100 years,pundits have predicted the outcome of Oscar voting. Sometimes it’s an educated guess, but it’s a guess nevertheless, since a minimal number of PricewaterhouseCoopers execs know the actual tallies and they never talk. So pundits often look to Oscar history to back up their theories, like tribal natives trying to predict their future by watching smoke from a volcano. Too often, people talk about voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences as if they work as a unit: “They will never vote for this” or “they always love such-and-such.” One of the fun aspects of predictions is that Academy history is like Scripture: You can always find something to back up your claims.

Sarah Michelle Gellar and Pedro Pascal have proven to have very supportive fans, with the Chilean actor quickly becoming the ‘daddy of the internet’ after his undeniable success in the HBO series ‘The Last of Us,’ and the 90s icon being named ‘Mother’ by the LGBTQ community following her incredible career in Hollywood.And while many have focused on their popularity separately, we can not forget about the time they shared the screen on season four of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer.’ The actress decided to look back at the moment they worked together, making fans go crazy.“When Mother met Father,” she wrote on Instagram, posting a photo of one of the episodes. Viewers of the show remember that Pedro played Edward, a friend of Buffy.