The film’s low profile was all but inevitable: It debuted at the 2020 Berlinale, the film festival that got in just under the wire before COVID created a global lockdown. “It was a beautiful opening night,” said Hoss. “I didn’t know what would happen to the film. We waited. We brought it out [in October] in Berlin under hygienic regulations. We had a little cinema tour through places in Germany. Then we had lockdown again....

The Oscar winner revealed during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that he had action icon Bruce Willis in mind when filming the latest Jordan Peele film, marking a reunion between the “Get Out” collaborators. “It was more [about] working with Jordan. Coming back and doing this with him,” Kaluuya said. “We had a lot of conversations building up to the shoot, and when I got to the set, I was like, ‘Oh shit, this is a fucking action film....

“The New York Film Festival is a place where I’ve been watching movies as an audience member and showing them as a filmmaker for almost 50 years,” said director Coen in an official statement. “It’s a real privilege and a thrill to be opening the Festival this year with ‘The Tragedy of Macbeth.’” Today’s announcement bills the film as “a work of stark chiaroscuro and incantatory rage” and that this “boldly inventive visualization of The Scottish Play is an anguished film that stares, mouth agape, at a sorrowful world undone by blind greed and thoughtless ambition....

Festivals Venice and Telluride launched a drumbeat of critical praise for first-time nominee Kristen Stewart as troubled, drug-addled Princess Diana in Pablo Larrain’s nightmare before Christmas “Spencer” (Neon). (The director’s last biopic thrust Natalie Portman into the Oscar race as “Jackie.”) Overdue two-time Oscar nominee and SAG and Critics Choice winner Jessica Chastain (“The Help,” “Zero Dark Thirty”) digs under the facade to reveal the human frailties of the Christian televangelist in Michael Showalter’s “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” (Searchlight)....

Yet, Hollywood’s pace of change is slow. The diversity across major categories among this year’s awards contenders, compared to previous seasons, is emblematic. Even the voters in the International Film category, where diversity might seem most intrinsic, came up short this year: despite as many as 10 legitimate contenders from the continent this year, yet again, Africa was shut out of the shortlist of 15. To be sure, in the throes of a pandemic, uncertainty continues to weigh on industry decision-makers....

In addition to the vaccine policy, the Academy clarified their masking rules for the Oscars. Nominees and their invited guests will not be required to wear masks in the theater and will be seated near the stage with social distancing in place. Other attendees seated further back will have to wear face coverings, as they will be sitting shoulder to shoulder. With Omicron cases continuing to fall and public health officials indicating that the worst of the wave is behind us, many states are loosening their COVID restrictions....

These weren’t just the best credits of the year. They were some of the best credits ever seen. And in a few more months, the Television Academy will have a chance to honor five of them. The category of Outstanding Main Title Design has become a favorite among Emmy prognosticators, enthusiasts, and TV fans. Each year, the nominees represent an eclectic mix of shows. Some are awards darlings that earn recognition across the Emmys’ expansive slate (like “The Queen’s Gambit” and “Watchmen”), while others may only hear their name called here, like last year’s winner, “The Good Lord Bird....