The Irishman Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on-demand, vintage and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalog titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This biweekly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching.

It’s been about a year since Netflix debuted “The Irishman” on its streaming platform. And over that time, Martin Scorsese’s film would go on to earn a ton of awards recognition and cement Netflix’s role as a perennial awards season contender.

The pandemic might be killing us and all our businesses, but you know who seems unaffected? The Criterion Collection who are having a killer 2020 so far. Not only have they made moves like scoring Neon’s Academy Award Best Picture winner “Parasite” just a few short months after it won the Oscar, but they’re having a field day with box sets like the Agnes Varda complete set and the upcoming Federico Fellini set.

For months, I’ve written about how Netflix and its streaming brethren are notoriously secretive about viewership numbers when it comes to original films and series. In the past, Netflix has been the biggest offender, only releasing statistics when it suits them and using vague numbers as evidence.

Today marks the birthday of one of Hollywood’s finest talents – the legendary Al Pacino. Born in New York City on April 25th in 1940, the actor/director turns 80-years-old.

And with that, the 92nd annual Academy Awards are over! If you missed out on any of this year's Oscar-winning films, the time has come to play some serious catch-up. Fortunately, we're here to guide you to where to watch the Oscar-nominated — and now, in some cases, Oscar-winning -- movies. 

And with that, the 92nd annual Academy Awards are over! If you missed out on any of this year's Oscar-winning films, the time has come to play some serious catch-up. Fortunately, we're here to guide you to where to watch the Oscar-nominated — and now, in some cases, Oscar-winning -- movies. 

Netflix’s “The Irishman” struck out at the Oscars on Sunday night, despite its 10 nominations.

Brad Pitt won best supporting actor at the 92nd Academy Awards on Sunday night for his portrayal of a down-on-his-luck stuntman in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” while “Toy Story 4” picked up a best animated feature prize.

Nine films are in the running for the coveted best picture prize at the Oscars.

It may not have scored the BAFTA for its effects work, but you have to admit, what Martin Scorsese and his visual effects teams did with The Irishman is nothing short of astounding. Well, the featurettes keep on coming and here’s one from the TV programme Click which seems to have broken down the VFX in the most interesting behind the scenes look yet.

The Hollywood stalwart Al Pacino recently revealed that he wants to play Hamlet, as he has a strong inclination to essay that Shakespearean character. The star who featured in Martin Scorsese's The Irishman, said he wanted to play Hamlet as he has not yet dealt with that particular character.

The BAFTA film awards have kicked off in London, with Graham Norton hosting this year at the Royal Albert Hall.

Joker leads the way at the British Academy film awards today with 11 nominations.

Bob Shaw has scored his first Oscar nomination, as production designer for “The Irishman.” The film looks at U.S. history through the eyes mafia hitman Frank Sheeran and his relationship with Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa. The epic entailed 108 shooting days, with several locations each day.

Martin Scorsese talked with Variety about “The Irishman,” its challenges and rewards, and the responsibility of filmmakers to “enrich” audiences — and about the meaning of life. “The Irishman” (starring Robert De Niro and scripted by Steven Zaillian) is nominated for 10 Oscars, including best picture and Scorsese as director.

Dark comedy Parasite took top honours at the London Film Critics’ Circle Awards.

De-aging has come a long way since “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” When visual-effects artists worked on that film more than 12 years ago, the processing power, camera techniques and software used for films such as “The Irishman” and “Gemini Man” were far, far off.

Actors sometimes complain about being typecast, but it’s a fact of life for anyone in entertainment. John Ford is usually labeled a director of Westerns, despite “The Grapes of Wrath” and  “Mister Roberts.” David Lean is known for his epics, but he also directed “Brief Encounter” and “Summertime.” Vincente Minnelli? The director of musicals, overlooking “The Bad and the Beautiful,” “Lust for Life” and “Some Came Running.”

Will love and mercy prevail again this year, or will one of the season’s darker offerings take home the ultimate prize? Last year, Peter Farrelly’s “Green Book” triumphed, its period story about a friendship that blossoms between a boisterous white bigot and a black, highly educated classical musician an unlikely balm at a time of rising racism and homophobia in America.

In today’s film news roundup, four Netflix titles have been added to the Criterion Collection, Slamdance and ArcLight are partnering, Steven Grayhm is starring in and directing a paranormal drama, and The Mammoth Film Festival sets its lineup.

When Thelma Schoonmaker heard about her Oscar nomination for “The Irishman,” she had just stepped off a plane from England. Martin Scorsese’s assistant had texted her about the news, one of the first people to do so.

"It's a true honour"

There’s a feeling I always get at the end of a long Oscar night when the movie that won isn’t a terrible choice, but it’s the safe, blah, MOR predictable choice, the one that conforms to the dullest conventional wisdom about the kinds of movies Oscar voters prefer, because in the core of their being they’re out to reinforce a don’t-rock-the-boat vision of what a movie should be.

After a career filled with iconic performances, and in a year in which he stars in two acclaimed, award-winning dramas, Robert De Niro was honored with the well-deserved Life Achievement Award at the 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday.

Helena Bonham Carter has said the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are now “masters of their own destiny” as they prepare to step back from their roles as senior members of the royal family.

Jane Seymour may be less than a month from turning 69, but she’s still turning heads. The actress stunned in a sleek silver dress designed by Tadashi Shoji at the 2020 SAG Awards.