Escapism is more tempting than ever in the digital age and is often associated with guilt or laziness. But some are unlearning those narratives, teaching each other to normalize radical rest and permit healthy doses of escapism with the popularization of concepts like “rot day.” - The Tyee
Oscars voting is finished, but who is one of the bigger voting blocs for the Oscars? That’s right … the actors. So Demi Moore’s win for The Substance and the win for the British film about choosing a new Pope might be strong bellwethers for next week’s big show. - The New York Times
Best Director winner Sean Baker "spoke passionately about the difficulty of making independent films in an industry that is no longer able to fund riskier projects. He said indies are in danger of becoming calling card films — movies made only as a means to get hired for bigger projects.” - CBC
The director, Dag Johan Haugerud, “said the film was about the act of ‘writing and reading.’ He added that people should ‘write more and read more, it expands your mind.’” - The New York Times
“When I called one to ask how the season had gone, she responded with seven uninterrupted seconds of laughter. Thankfully, this week was the pencils-down moment” - Oscars voting is over, and there’s nothing more to be done. - Vulture
Legally, "producers do not need to acquire consent from their performers when using AI to alter ‘pitch, tone, clarity ... or the voice of the performer to a foreign language.’” There’s the rub. - CBC
While some politicians no doubt celebrated the disappearance of pesky journalists, others are lamenting their absence, because municipalities must now work harder and spend more to keep people informed. - The Walrus
Since taking over as chairman, FCC Chair Brendan Carr has revived bias complaints against CBS, ABC and NBC over their 2024 presidential campaign coverage after the Biden administration dismissed them. - Los Angeles Times
The Academy Awards’ marquee category for international cinema, best international film, has been continually criticized as unjust, outdated and subject to political interference. - Seattle Times
“The Broccoli family’s feud with Amazon MGM Studios over the (property) appears to have reached a resolution. Barbara Broccoli and her stepbrother Michael Wilson, who have long controlled the 007 franchise, (have) reached an agreement to hand over creative control to a joint venture with the studio.” - The Wall Street Journal (MSN)
The movie industry has gotten much more careful in the past few decades about authenticity (Emilia Pérez notwithstanding). Yet screenwriters won't write out foreign-language dialogue, or phonetically spell dialects or regional accents, in the formal screenplay itself, and there are good reasons for that. - The Conversation
Exhibition giant Cinemark reported record fourth-quarter revenue of $814 million, up 27 percent year-over-year and 3 percent above the pre-COVID pandemic fourth quarter of 2019. - The Hollywood Reporter
The producer/convicted rapist filed suit against Bob Weinstein and two other formers executives of the Weinstein Company his brother last week in New York state court for fraud and misappropriation of funds. The action adds those men as third parties to a suit filed against Harvey in 2017. - TheWrap
The 9½-hour length of the finished documentary is daunting enough, but Lanzmann culled it from 220 hours of footage. His grant from one government was withdrawn because he worked so slowly, he had perpetual difficulty getting other funding, and he had to go undercover to get Nazis on camera. - The Guardian
