WGA Awards Doubles as Labor Rally: It ‘Feels Like There’s a Groundswell Towards a Strike’

Leaders of SAG-AFTRA and Hollywood’s Teamsters Local 399 showed their support for the WGA on Monday, posing with WGA leaders shortly before the 11 a.m. start of the Writers Guild’s contract negotiations with producers at the AMPTP’s headquarters in Sherman Oaks.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic Two days after ”Everything Everywhere All at Once“ won seven Oscars, including best picture, the SXSW Film Festival, where Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s movie launched last year, has announced its own awards. To be clear, “EEAAO” was a studio-backed opening night premiere (not one of the smaller movies launched in competition at the indie-focused fest), but you can still feel the excitement in Austin around the landmark Oscar win. After all, SXSW was the first festival to take Daniels seriously, awarding them top prize for their Battles music video (“My Machines”) in 2012. Will any of the movies or directors screening here this year go on to change film history?

Katie Reul editor Winning best picture at the Academy Awards, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” capped off a ground-breaking awards season and became the most-awarded best picture winner since 2008’s “Slumdog Millionaire.” “Everything Everywhere” took home seven Oscars on Sunday night, including best picture, director, original screenplay, lead actress, supporting actress, supporting actor and editing. At the 2009 Oscars, Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire” scored eight awards, including best picture, director, adapted screenplay, cinematography, editing, score, original song and sound mixing. Before “Everything Everywhere,” the closest a best picture winner has gotten to topping that number was the 2010 ceremony, when “The Hurt Locker” won six Oscars.

Oscars history, the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and all four acting categories went to films released by the same studio. That historic feat was achieved on Sunday by indie distributor A24.

Everything Everywhere All At Once completed its awards-season victory march on Sunday night, taking home seven trophies at the 95th annual Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Chloé Zhao has known “Everything Everywhere All at Once” directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert — aka, the Daniels — for about a decade. They met when they were fellows at the Sundance Directors Lab. “They were making ‘Swiss Army Man,’” Zhao recalls. “To be able to reunite with them and see that they have been able to stay as authentic as when I first met them 10 years ago and the world embracing them, it’s so beautiful to watch.” I recently caught up with Zhao, who became the second woman ever and first woman of color to win best director at the Oscars for “Nomadland” in 2021, ahead of this year’s big night. She’s teamed up with Johnnie Walker on First Strides, an initiative that has provided more than $1 million to women’s organizations such as IFundWomen and She Should Run since its launch a year ago. The Johnnie Walker program is part of Friday’s Women in Film pre-Oscars event in Hollywood, providing free 30-day trials to MUBI to encourage people to watch more women-made films. “I joined Johnnie Walker to not only celebrate but to create support for women filmmakers and women-made films,” Zhao said.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Class…put your books away, and clear your desks. It’s now time for your Oscars test. We’ve watched all the movies and seen all the precursor ceremonies that have provided all the necessary hints and clues on which films will emerge victorious at the 95th annual Academy Awards on March 12.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The Directors Guild of America will enter negotiations on a new contract on May 10, the union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said Monday. The DGA previously stated that it would wait until “later this spring” to conduct bargaining on a new contract, saying that the studios were “not yet prepared to address our key issues.” The current contract expires on June 30. The talks will begin 10 days after the current Writers Guild of America contract expires. It is possible that the WGA could be out on strike at that point. WGA talks are set to begin on March 20.

The upcoming contract talks between the WGA and the AMPTP were evidently in the ether during the WGA Awards on Sunday.

*WINNER.   ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Written by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert *WINNER“The Fabelmans,” Written by Steven Spielberg & Tony Kushner “The Menu,” Written by Seth Reiss & Will Tracy “Nope,” Written by Jordan Peele “Tár,” Written by Todd Field   ADAPTED SCREENPLAY “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Screenplay by Ryan Coogler & Joe Robert Cole, Story by Ryan Coogler, Based on the Marvel Comics “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” Written by Rian Johnson “She Said,” Screenplay by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Based on the New York Times Investigation by Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey and Rebecca Corbett and the Book She Said by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey “Top Gun: Maverick,” Screenplay by Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie, Story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks, Based on Characters Created by Jim Cash & Jack Epps, Jr.

Meredith Stiehm, president of the WGA West, talked tough about the guild’s upcoming negotiations with the AMPTP in her speech Sunday at the WGA Awards.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Meredith Stiehm, president of the WGA West, got right to the point in her remarks Sunday at the guild’s 2023 award ceremony. With contract negotiations less than two weeks aways, Stiehm rallied the troops about the need for solidarity, and she emphasized the guild’s role as serving as the “good sheriff” helping to tame the Wild West for writers. The guild, Stiehm told the crowd at the Fairmont Century Plaza, is “walking around like Gary Cooper — low key but watchful, vigilent and a little swagger.” The guild is “looking to keep the peace” but is devoted to enforcing the rules established by its contracts. “The guild says there are rules, there are laws,” she said referring to a fight that the WGA recently settled over $42 million in residual payments owed to guild members.

*WINNER.   ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Written by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert “The Fabelmans,” Written by Steven Spielberg & Tony Kushner “The Menu,” Written by Seth Reiss & Will Tracy “Nope,” Written by Jordan Peele “Tár,” Written by Todd Field   ADAPTED SCREENPLAY “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Screenplay by Ryan Coogler & Joe Robert Cole, Story by Ryan Coogler, Based on the Marvel Comics “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” Written by Rian Johnson “She Said,” Screenplay by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Based on the New York Times Investigation by Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey and Rebecca Corbett and the Book She Said by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey “Top Gun: Maverick,” Screenplay by Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie, Story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks, Based on Characters Created by Jim Cash & Jack Epps, Jr.

The 38th Film Independent Spirit Awards, hosted by Hasan Minhaj, took place on Saturday, live from the beach in Santa Monica, California. The annual awards ceremony was live-streamed on IMDb’s YouTube page, plus additional social platforms, including Film Independent’s YouTube channel.

“Everything Everywhere All At Once” continued its awards sweep at the Film Independent Spirit Awards on its path to the Oscars next weekend. The multiverse-hopping adventure collected awards for best picture, directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, actors Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Stephanie Hsu, screenplay and editing.

The 38th Independent Spirit Awards were held today on the famous Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, California, and it was highlighted by the continued award season dominance for “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” The A24 multiverse comedy-drama took home the top prize for Best Feature, Best Director and Best Screenplay for Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, Best Editing, Best Lead Performance for Michelle Yeoh, Best Supporting Performance for Ke Huy Quan, and Best Breakthrough Performance for Stephanie Hsu.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director The 2023 Independent Spirit Awards are dominated by the Daniels’ “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which leads all films this year with eight nominations. Close behind are Todd Field’s “Tár” with seven noms and Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun” with five. All three movies picked up Oscar nominations this year, with “Everything Everywhere” also leading the Academy Awards pack with a total of 11 nominations. While last year’s Spirit Award winner for best feature, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Lost Daughter,” did not go on to land an Oscar nomination in the same category, the 2021 winner, Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland,” repeated at the Oscars and took home the best picture prize.

*WINNER.“Bones and All” “Everything Everywhere All at Once” “Our Father, the Devil” “Tár” “Women Talking”   “Aftersun” “Emily the Criminal” “The Inspection” “Murina” “Palm Trees and Power Lines”    Todd Field, “Tár”Kogonada, “After Yang”Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”Sarah Polley, “Women Talking”Halina Reijn, “Bodies Bodies Bodies”   Lena Dunham, “Catherine Called Birdy” Todd Field, “Tár” Kogonada, “After Yang” Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” Sarah Polley, “Women Talking”   Joel Kim Booster, “Fire Island” Jamie Dack, Audrey Findlay, Story by Jamie Dack, “Palm Trees and Power Lines” K.D. Dávila, “Emergency” Sarah DeLappe, Story by Kristen Roupenian, “Bodies Bodies Bodies”John Patton Ford, “Emily the Criminal”   Cate Blanchett, “Tár” Dale Dickey, “A Love Song” Mia Goth, “Pearl” Regina Hall, “Honk for Jesus.

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” could continue its momentum and win in several film categories, including Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role (Ke Huy Quan) and Outstanding Performance by a Cast. The multiverse-hopping indie directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert enters the evening with the wind at its back, having taken home the top prize on Saturday at the Producers Guild Awards, indicating that the zany film is not polarizing voters as much as some feared.

Julia MacCary editor The 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards, celebrating TV and film’s top performers, will take place Sunday, Feb. 26, at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles. It will stream on Netflix’s YouTube channel at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT. The SAG Awards will hand out awards to actors across 13 categories in TV and film, voted on by SAG-AFTRA’s more than 122,000 members. Martin McDonagh’s “The Banshees of Inisherin” and Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once” lead the nominations, with both films earning five nods, including the highest honor of best ensemble. Damien Chazelle’s “Babylon,” Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans” and Sarah Polley’s “Women Talking” round out the best ensemble category. “Ozark” led the TV field with four nods, with “Barry,” “Better Call Saul” and “Only Murders in the Building” each receiving three.