International insider: Oscar nominations are in; Berlin new; Channel 5 boss speaks loudly

Hello Insider, Max Goldbart here. It’s Oscar nominations week and it would be rude not to bring you the latest news and analysis from the Academy and beyond. Read on.

And the nominations are in

Anything anywhere at the Oscars: Zac Ntim reports here after an Oscar-nominated week with A24’s multiverse epic Everything, everywhere, all at once achieved eleven top nominations while on the international side there was plenty to digest. The film’s awards include Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress for Michelle Yeoh, who became the first Asian actress to be nominated in the category. Writers and directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert originally created the role for Jackie Chan. The A24 image went from daring trailblazer to frontrunner in a matter of weeks, winning impressive awards at BAFTA and a host of others. A Best Supporting Actress nomination for Stephanie Hsu, rarely seen in this awards series, is a testament to the film’s popularity with Academy voters, albeit earlier crazy Star Ke Huy Quan’s twist is a beautiful comeback story. Martin McDonagh’s latest black comedy, Banshees of Inisherin, and that of Netflix No news from the western front way Everything everywhere a total of nine nouns each.

International breed: Ruben Ostlunds triangle of sadness join All quiet wave the flag for the international contingent during the race. All quiet was also, as expected, nominated for Best International Feature Film, while Lukas Dhont’s other non-shock films nearJerry Skolimowski E.Oand that of Santiago Mitre Argentina, 1985. Notable international absences include that of Ali Abbasi holy spider, Park Chan-wooks decided to goand that of Alejandro G. Iñárritu bardo.

Irish luck: The prominent name is that of Colm Bairéad The quiet girl, the first Irish film to receive a Best International Film nomination. The film opened in Berlin and became the highest grossing Irish film of all time in its home market. And what a night for Irish stars, who scored a record 14 nominations and accounted for a quarter of the acting nominations. MC Donalds Banshees is responsible for a lot of it, but Paul Mescal got a surprising but lovely nod for his role in Charlotte Wells’ festival favorite After sun.

To whom?: The film debut of the British director Michael Morris goes in the same direction, To Lesley, debuted to little fanfare at SXSW, but a guerrilla campaign waged by industry insiders for Andrea Riseborough’s lead role in the film resulted in a surprising name. for best actress. Ana de Armas, Cate Blanchett and Michelle Williams rounded out the category and Blanchett was one of Riseborough’s strongest supporters. That’s quite an incredible story to do with a movie that grossed less than $30,000. Our own Joe Utichi sat down with the star to continue dissecting. “I’m amazed,” she told him. “It’s such an unexpected ray of light. It was so hard to believe that this could ever happen because we really weren’t looking for anything else. Much more from the Oscars here and you can watch the full noms here. The ceremony will take place on March 12.

Berlin is coming

“Eclectic Selection”: The Oscars aren’t the only upcoming big movie event. This week was a big week for the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival as the lineups for the International Competition and Matchups were announced on Monday. On Monday, Mel sat down with artistic director Carlo Chatrian and executive director Mariëtte Rissenbeck to talk about what Carlo called an “eclectic selection,” featuring established names like Philippe Garrel (The group), Margarete von Trotta (Ingeborg Bachmann – Journey to the desert) and Christian Petzold (A fire) alongside newcomers such as Celine Song and Giacomo Abbruzzese with corresponding premieres past lives and disco boy. The mix of the established and the emerging has long been a feature of the Berlin occupations. Meanwhile, Lu Zhang is Chinese The shadowless tower Asia represents a focal point for the European film market, according to EFM director Dennis Ruh. He told Mel that he expects Asian and American professionals to step up alongside European counterparts when things get underway next month. Read his full interview here. The festival runs from February 16 to 26 and the deadline is in effect.

Saudi developments

Goodbye Mr. Schmidt: Big news in the world from Saudi Arabia-based broadcasting and media group MBC. We broke the story on Wednesday that Peter Smith is leaving MBC Studios after four years as general manager. Smith has witnessed first-hand the media shifts in the Middle East in recent years as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia pushes hard to make the country a regional economic center of choice, including the introduction of a lucrative tax credit. MBC moved its headquarters from Dubai to the Saudi capital Riyadh last year, a highly symbolic move for the Saudi company. Smith – known in the international production world for his work at Cineflix Studios, NBCUniversal International and Antenna Group – led a production revolution at MBC after being tasked with making his studio group the most influential producer in the region. Big budget shows like The devil’s promise and Result followed and last year the outfit launched its most ambitious production yet: fantasy adventure series Rise of the Witches (photo), shot in the emerging smart city Neom and created for MBC streamer Shahid. Smith assembled an impressive domestic team, including several international managers. A new managing director could be unveiled any day now, MBC CEO Sam Barnett told us. A day before breaking the news, MBC announced a major content partnership with Vice Media Group, under which the iconoclastic American company will create programs across various genres for MBC platforms. It also has a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery revised and expanded as a busy month continues for the Middle East’s largest media group.

Channel 5 boss speaks loudly

“Give our opponents a good kick”: Paramount’s Channel 5 content boss Ben Frow (pictured) rarely pulls punches. Frow has turned the tide of the once porno baron-owned network in recent years, and the new era of C5 is hardly new. Unveiling a 40-hour cover at a posh party in London’s Covent Garden on Wednesday night, Frow slammed broadcasting rivals who “usually turned our noses up at us,” adding: “There’s nothing of I like more than our competitors to give a big kick.” Tough talk, and Frow went on to claim that Channel 5 was now beating Channel 4 in overnight ratings at least once a week. “We’re getting bigger and they’re getting smaller,” he joked. The occasion was an opportune time to celebrate the rise of Channel 5, formerly known for its cheap holiday programmes, to judge Neighbors repeats and works closely with the likes of Stephen Fry and Michael Palin with 150 hours of drama currently in production. On the panel a return to acting for the beloved hardman Ross Kemp after 15 years in the thriller blind spot and factual programs with superstar astronaut Tim Peake, Ruby Wax and repair shop Dear Jay Blades. Read all about it here.

Sitting with Cate & Zar

of spider to Shayda: It’s been quite a year for Zar Amir-Ebrahimi, who won the Best Actress award at Cannes. Holy Spider and just a few weeks later flew to Australia to make Shayda with EP Cate Blanchett, fresh off an Oscar nomination tar. The pair met Diana in Sundance to discuss a film described as a “love letter to mothers and daughters everywhere” that will open the festival’s World Cinema Dramatic Competition. “I’m not that interested in comedy or anything that doesn’t really make a difference in our society,” Zar admitted. Go deeper here. Sundance ends Sunday.

The most necessary

🌶️ Hot: Kevin Spacey is replaced by RRR Star Ray Stevenson (pictured). 1242: Gate to the West. Andrew with this.

🌶️ Another one: Paul Mescal Star End station required going to Broadway, thanks to Baz for that.

🌶️ And one more thing: Wales’ search for the next Doctor who starting with the opening of Aria Studios, exclusively for Zac.

🪑 chair: The BBC’s Richard Sharp has found himself in obscurity after it emerged he helped Boris Johnson arrange a loan before landing the top job at the company.

🚪 Output #1: Britain has talent Label Thames boss Amelia Brown is putting up her own clapboard.

🚪 Exit #2: ITV Studios’ Arjan Pomper, recorded by Ruth Berry island of love Producer/Distributor Global Distribution and Global Entertainment.

🚪 All exits: Last but not least, Aloke Devichand, who left his role as Netflix head of original documentaries in Asia at the end of last year to work as a freelancer in London.

❌ In the court: Twitter sued by the British Crown Estate for unpaid rent in London. Oops.

🏆 awards last: Louis Garrels The innocent took the lead in the nominations for the 48th Cesar Awards.

❄️ Freeze: The terms on Netflix Squid Game: The Reality to adapt. Medics were called.

🏪 Set up shop: Strong Film & Television by BAFTA winner James Strong and Matt Tombs, Jake’s first film to be endorsed by Studiocanal.

🖼️ Throw: attitude Star Dyllón Burnside makes his stage debut in London Black Superhero.

🍿 box office: Puss in Boots: The Last Wish has surpassed $300 million worldwide as of Monday. Here is Nancy’s analysis.

🎥 Follower: It’s almost time… and we’re looking forward to it. Course for HBO/Sky successor The fourth season was dropped on Thursday.