Oscars 2024 Telecast Shakeup: 2 Big Changes Announced

J. Kim Murphy Filmmaker Michael Goorjian set out to create a different kind of film about Armenian nationality when developing “Amerikatsi,” the country’s submission in the international feature category for this year’s Academy Awards. Along with directing, Goorjian also stars as Charlie, an American who repatriates to Armenia after World War II — but ends up in a Soviet prison for simply wearing a tie.

John Bleasdale Guest Contributor When writer-director Mohamed Kordofani first conceived of the film “Goodbye Julia,” he realized that he didn’t have a single friend from South Sudan — “and there are millions who live in Khartoum.” Now he has hundreds, he tells Variety. The first Sudanese film to premiere in the Un Certain Regard sidebar in Cannes, his debut feature won the Prix de la Liberté and is now the official Sudanese entry for the Academy Awards, with Lupita Nyong’o on board as an executive producer. The film had its Middle East and North Africa premiere this week at El Gouna Film Festival, where Kordofani was awarded the Variety MENA Region Talent Award.

Taylor Swift, the Rolling Stones, Drake with J. Cole, Olivia Rodrigo and Billy Joel’s final MSG concerts.Whoops, we forgot to mention Zach Bryan, Green Day, Noah Kahan, Adele and The Eagles’ farewell tour.Don’t sleep on Bruce Springsteen, either.Or Phish and Wu-Tang Clan’s first ever Las Vegas residencies.And we’re just getting started. We’ve got 39 more huge names at the ready for you, below.Alright, no more need to beat around the bush.

North Ayrshire householders are being reminded to check bin collection dates over the festive period as there will be some changes.

Mike Birbiglia has toweled off and is ready to dive back in.Fresh off the release of his new Netflix special “The Old Man and the Pool,” the 45-year-old comedian is already pounding the pavement.First up, he’ll play a whopping nine (!) shows at Boston’s Wilbur Theatre from Dec. 15-23 in a residency he’s calling ‘Christmas Parmesan.’Then, in 2024, the “Don’t Think Twice” writer, director and star will hit the road for his 34-gig ‘Please Stop The Ride Tour’ which includes stops in Troy, NY’s Troy Savings Music Hall on Wednesday, May 15 and Rochester, NY’s Kodak Center on Thursday, May 16.“I’m going on tour with my all new hour of comedy,’ Birbiglia shared on Instagram.

The official German Oscar entry for Best International Feature is an insular, pulse-pounding thriller set within the confines of a school that, for cinematic purposes, doubles as a microcosm of society in general circa 2023 where facts don’t matter, misinformation is rampant, suspicions run hot, divisions run deep, racism still rears its ugly head, and no one can be quite sure where, and even if they want to, fit in.

Netflix is a Joke Festival is returning to Los Angeles for over 300 (!) shows spread out across 35 venues.And yes, one of your favorite comedians will probably be there.Just a few of the mega names on this year’s lineup include Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Bill Burr, David Letterman and controversial crowd work wunderkind Matt Rife.They’ll be joined by household names John Mulaney, Jon Stewart, Kevin Hart, Seth Rogen and Sarah Silverman.Plus, seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady will be on hand for ‘The Greatest Roast of All Time,’ where Jeff Ross and celebrities will poke fun fun at the former NFLer.As of now, over 100 acts have been announced for the sprawling, mega event, the first since 2022.“This is a special time for comedy, both for Netflix and the genre at large,” Robbie Praw, Netflix VP of stand-up and comedy formats, said.“In the ten years that we’ve been doing stand-up we’ve seen the art form reach levels we didn’t think possible. This festival aims to capture this moment by bringing together the world’s best comedians for an unforgettable eleven days.”And if you want to grab tickets for the show of your choosing, you can, as soon as today.Although inventory isn’t available on Ticketmaster until Friday, Dec.

Naman Ramachandran A brace of films exploring important subjects are in contention from India in the best live action short film category at the 96th Academy Awards. Reema Maya’s “Nocturnal Burger,” an investigation of child abuse at a dysfunctional police station in Mumbai, had its world premiere at Sundance. It has since traveled to more than 50 film festivals globally and won 34 awards including the Oscar-qualifying Golden Chair for best international short at KortfilmFestivalen, Norway.

In a clip from the documentary, Little Richard: I Am Everything, we hear the young entertainer singing an early version of what would become his signature tune, “Tutti Frutti.” But surprise! The original lyrics were different than the ones we know today: “Tutti frutti, good booty/Tutti frutti, good booty!”

The Federation Of Motion Film Producers of Hong Kong has issued a statement to confirm that Hong Kong’s official Oscars submission, A Light Never Goes Out, has been disqualified from the race. 

Omen is the official submission from Belgium for the International Feature Oscar category and comes from multi-hyphenate interdisciplinary artist Baloji, who makes his feature directing debut. The film had its world premiere in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section this year where it won the New Voice Prize, before going on to play myriad festivals. Utopia is the North American distributor. 

Michael Nordine author Greed may not be good, but it is universal. And while America would appear to have a monopoly on movies about the pursuit of wealth for wealth’s sake, plenty of other nations have exported their version of the rags-to-riches tale — of which Saudi Arabia’s Oscar submission, “Alhamour H.A.,” is just the latest.

Jessica Simpson is looking back on a big change she made after splitting from Nick Lachey.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor The Oscars will start one hour earlier for the first time. To ensure the show wraps within primetime hours, the Academy announced this year’s telecast, set to air live on Sunday, March 10, will be programmed from 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Movie fans won’t have to wait quite as long to watch the Oscars next year.

One of the most famous streets in the country is set to undergo another change - with the residents of Weatherfield are getting a new shop on Coronation Street. Soon, viewers of the ITV soap will have their first sight of Hays Travel's new branch on the cobbles.

Jon Burlingame Approaches to film scoring have become increasingly eclectic—from jazz and classical to hip-hop and avant-garde—making it more difficult than ever for Academy voters to narrow the field to 15 for Oscar’s shortlist. Variety examines 16 of the possible choices, in alphabetical order: ‘American Fiction‘ – Laura Karpman Cord Jefferson’s movie—about a Black writer who, as a joke, writes a bad novel that becomes a best seller—has a lead character whose name is Thelonious and whose nickname is Monk.

Oscar Pistorius will soon be out of prison.

Oscar Pistorius is set to be released from prison soon, almost ten years after he was found guilty of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.The Olympian and double amputee has been in a South African prison since Valentine's Day 2013 when he shot his model girlfriend four times, claiming he thought she was an intruder. Despite being originally sentenced to five years, this was later increased to 13 years and five months after his conviction was upgraded to murder.

Ellise Shafer Former Paralympic champion and convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius has been granted parole and will be released from prison next year. Pistorius, who was serving a 13-year sentence in a South African jail for the 2013 murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, will be released on Jan. 5.