The Top 19 Oscar Contenders of 2023 (So Far)

Netflix has released images from the upcoming biopic “Rustin,” including several photos of Emmy-Award-winning actor Colman Domingo, who identifies as gay, who plays Bayard Rustin, the openly gay civil rights titan.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Memorable songs have been synonymous with the Disney brand for decades, captivating audiences and earning immense respect from critics, and especially Oscar voters. Approaching its centennial, the House of Mickey has garnered 40 noms for original song and walked away with the statuette 16 times, the most for any movie studio in history. These winning moments have brought music icons like Elton John and Phil Collins to the stage, in addition to history-making representation for duos like Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez (twice).

Cheyenne Floyd and ex Cory Wharton’s coparenting dynamic will continue to play out on Teen Mom: The Next Chapter — and it will include the good, the bad and the messy.

Taylor Swift has broken two new records.With the release of ‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’, Swift has become the first woman in history to have four albums chart in the Billboard Top 10 at the same time, per Billboard. This is the first time that a woman has accomplished the feat since Billboard merged the mono and stereo album charts into one list in August 1963.The only other artist who has ever had more albums chart in the top 10 simultaneously was Prince, who had five albums chart among the top 10 following his death in May 2016. Swift is also the first artist ever to have four albums in the top 10 since Herb Alpert in 1966/Besides have the most albums chart in the Top 10 at the same time, ‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’ has also earned Swift her 12th Number 1 album, giving her the title for the most No.

Kristin Davis can't completely relate to her iconic character, Charlotte York Goldenblatt. The staple opened up on the podcast about the ways in which she is similar and very different to the preppy New Yorker. «Essence of my personality is the same because I think after 25 years, how could it not be, you know what I mean?» the 58-year-old  star said of Charlotte, before adding, «We have very different lifestyles.

Emmerdale fans have gone wild after recognising Lloyd's wife Julie after she made her debut on the ITV soap on Friday. Julie has made an appearance on screen as the wife of creepy newcomer, Lloyd, who had been stalking young mum Amelia Spencer, and is currently in hospital after Dan Spencer punched him. Viewers will recall that Amelia's protective dad, Dan, took matters into his own hands last week after the police failed to do anything about the stalking due to lack of evidence.

The cast of Barbie experienced life in plastic while filming what is shaping up to be one of the summer’s hottest blockbusters.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor From Scar’s telling us to be prepared to the poor unfortunate souls of Ursula, Disney movie villains have played vital roles in simultaneously frightening viewers and becoming fan favorites over the decades. In honor of Walt Disney Co.’s 100th birthday later this year, Variety ranks the animation powerhouse’s 10 best movie villains of all time.

Cardi B made the streets of Paris her personal runway while attending Haute Couture Fashion Week. 

Meghan Markle reportedly has no plans to give up with the building of her media empire after suffering a series of failures in recent weeks.

Summer is officially here, and with it comes baseball season.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor The casual Oscar observer might wonder how some of the 398 new members invited to join the Academy’s ranks qualify for the honor that includes Oscar voting rights. From Taylor Swift to Warner Bros-Discovery CEO David Zaslav, it’s not always obvious how the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decides who to invite as next year’s class of new members. Oscar winners are automatically invited to join the ranks after their big moment, so Billie Eilish was therefore eligable after she won the Oscar for the James Bond song “No Time to Die” (2021) with her brother Finneas.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Austin Butler, Ke Huy Quan, Keke Palmer, NT Rama Rao Jr and music superstar Taylor Swift are among the 398 artists and executives invited to join the membership of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. If all of this year’s invitees accept membership, it will bring the total number of overall Academy members to 10,817 (up from 10,665 last year), with 9,375 eligible to vote (a decrease from 9,665 due to deaths, retirements and moving to emeritus status) for the 96th Oscars, set to take place on March 10, 2024. The 2023 class is 40% women. 34% belong to underrepresented ethnic/racial communities and 52% hail from 51 countries and territories outside the United States. There are many recent Oscar nominees among the invitees, such as Austin Butler (“Elvis”), Paul Mescal (“Aftersun”), Stephanie Hsu (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) and Kerry Condon (“The Banshees of Inisherin”). The list also includes many of the 95th ceremony’s winners, such as Ke Huy Quan (supporting actor for “Everything Everywhere All at Once”) cinematographer James Friend (“All Quiet on the Western Front”) and composer and songwriter M.M. Keeravani and Chandrabose (“Naatu Naatu” from “RRR”). Even the dynamic “RRR” lead acting duo of Ram Charan and N. T. Rama Rao Jr. have also been extended invitations, along with the film’s production designer Sabu Cyril and cinematographer K.K. Senthil Kumar.

Brent Lang Executive Editor MTV Documentary Films has released a first look teaser for “The Eternal Memory,” a look at love and Alzheimer’s disease that won the grand jury prize for world documentary at this year’s Sundance. A U.S. theatrical release kicks off on Aug. 11 in New York. It will be followed by engagements in Los Angeles and San Francisco on Aug. 18, with a limited national roll out to follow. Chilean filmmaker Maite Alberdi directed the movie, which could be a contender for the documentary Oscar. Alberdi is the Academy Award-nominated filmmaker behind “The Mole Agent.” To that end, “The Eternal Memory” played at the Berlin Film Festival, where it was the runner up for the audience award. A robust international festival campaign is already in the works, including stops at CPH:DOX, Hot Docs, and DocAviv, Hamptons Summer Docs and DC DOX.

Tom Brady shows off perfect abs while surfing in Greece with his kids: PicsMarc Anthony’s lullabies — The way in which Nadia Ferreira puts their baby to sleepKylie Jenner and Travis Scott change their 16-month-old son’s name legally

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor With too much television, viewing every piece of content that is up for consideration for this year’s Primetime Emmy Awards nominations is impossible. With 163 drama series, 95 comedies, 51 limited or anthologies and 61 television movies, every TV-goer has their tastes. Variety staffers have come together to curate its own dream Primetime Emmys ballot, with voting set to close at 10 p.m. PT tonight. However, it should be noted — we love consistency, especially in TV land. With our selections, we want to continue to promote (and advocate) for the Television Academy to allow 10 nominees in the top series categories. In addition, we would love to see uniformity in the acting races (having some categories with five while others have eight doesn’t make much sense. With this large TV boom, more options should be available for the respective lineups.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Angela Bassett, Mel Brooks and Carol Littleton will receive honorary Oscars at this year’s Governors Awards, announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In addition, the Sundance Institute’s Michelle Satter will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Awards. The four statuettes will be presented at the 14th annual ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023, in Los Angeles. “The Academy’s Board of Governors is thrilled to honor four trailblazers who have transformed the film industry and inspired generations of filmmakers and movie fans,” said Academy President Janet Yang. “Across her decades-long career, Angela Bassett has continued to deliver transcendent performances that set new standards in acting. Mel Brooks lights up our hearts with his humor, and his legacy has made a lasting impact on every facet of entertainment. Carol Littleton’s career in film editing serves as a model for those who come after her. A pillar of the independent film community, Michelle Satter has played a vital role in the careers of countless filmmakers around the world.”

So many of Nicholas Sparks‘ books have been turned into movies, but it’s hard to think of a single big-screen adaptation that’s more iconic than The Notebook.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor The Academy’s Board of Governors has approved new theatrical release requirements to be eligible for the best picture Oscar beginning at the 2025 ceremony. In addition to the one-week qualifying run in one of the six U.S. markets, beginning with movies released in 2024, a film must meet additional areas regarding its theatrical release to be nominated and win the highly coveted best picture statuette. They include: These standards resulted from numerous conversations with distributors of varying sizes, in addition to studying historical data. The Academy has been vocal about its belief that a healthy theatrical environment is vital to the success of Hollywood.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Pedro Pascal is charming, funny and incredibly talented. His resume thus far includes notable films and television series such as HBO’s “The Last of Us” and Lionsgate’s “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.” During his interview, I referenced his 2020 cover story. In that story, he said he couldn’t believe Patty Jenkins cast him in “Wonder Woman 1984” without auditioning. Then something happened that you don’t typically see. When asked what it feels like to be a role model to young Latinos, LGBTQ and Hollywood dreamers everywhere who yearn to sit in the same position he finds himself in, his usual charisma and confidence melted away.