Only Three Married Couples Have Been Nominated for Acting Oscars in the Same Year

Clayton Davis Ahead of the Oscar nominations announcement, the Academy CEO is touting the largest turnout of voters of its nearly 10,000-person membership in its 94-year history.Following the close of Oscar nomination voting, which ended Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. PT, Dawn Hudson, Academy CEO, sent an email to the membership to praise its “highest ever participation during voting at any time in the Academy’s history.”Hudson also noted in the letter that ballots were submitted from 82 countries, among the 9,487 members that were eligible to participate in voting.

Clayton Davis The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) will reveal its nominations tomorrow and we’re expecting anarchy, at least in the acting categories.Beefing up its membership considerably over the last few years, and instituting jury methods to the voting process in performance and director categories last year, yielded an unexpected field of contenders that may or may not have a rippling influence on the Oscars race.Notable actors are looking for boosts from the British voting bloc, including Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Power of the Dog”), Andrew Garfield (“The Eyes of Tammy Faye” and “Tick, Tick … Boom!”) and Nicole Kidman (“Being the Ricardos”).Following the results of a diversity review, the group threw the awards season for a loop with surprise selections like Radha Blank and Adarsh Gourav last year. The top two vote-getters from Round One are automatic nominees, but we don’t know who those individuals are, nor is it clear if the jury knows either.Some leading contenders eyeing their first BAFTA nomination are Denzel Washington (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”), who, despite two Oscar wins with eight total noms, has never been recognized by his colleagues across the pond.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large**********KEVIN BRAY Succession, “Retired Janitors of Idaho” (HBO)MARK MYLOD Succession, “All the Bells Say” (HBO)ANDRIJ PAREKH Succession, “What It Takes” (HBO)ROBERT PULCINI & SHARI SPRINGER BERMAN Succession, “Lion in the Meadow” (HBO)LORENE SCAFARIA Succession, “Too Much Birthday” (HBO)LUCIA ANIELLO Hacks, “There Is No Line” (HBO Max)MJ DELANEY Ted Lasso, “No Weddings and a Funeral” (Apple TV Plus)ERICA DUNTON Ted Lasso, “Rainbow” (Apple TV Plus)SAM JONES Ted Lasso, “Beard After Hours” (Apple TV Plus)MIKE WHITE The White Lotus, “Mysterious Monkeys” (HBO)BARRY JENKINS The Underground Railroad (Amazon Prime Video)BARRY LEVINSON Dopesick, “First Bottle” (Hulu)HIRO MURAI Station Eleven, “Wheel of Fire” (HBO Max)DANNY STRONG Dopesick, “The People vs. Purdue Pharma” (Hulu)CRAIG ZOBEL Mare of Easttown (HBO)Get the full list here.**********“Cobra Kai” (Netflix) – Seasons 3 and 4“Curb Your Enthusiasm” (HBO) – Season 11“Hacks” (HBO Max) – Season 1“Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu) – Season 1“Ted Lasso” (Apple TV Plus) – Season 2“Dopesick” (Hulu)“Mare of Easttown” (HBO)”The Underground Railroad” (Amazon Prime Video)“WandaVision” (Disney Plus)“The White Lotus” (HBO)See the rest of the nominees here.**********Without fail, the Academy Awards always winds up as one of the top 10 most-watched telecasts of the year in primetime.

Clayton Davis Pencils down, pass your ballots to the front because the Oscar nomination voting is now closed.Speaking to voters over the past week, it’s been relatively clear about what voters like and who they’re supporting in a strong year for film.Nominations will be announced on Tuesday, Feb. 8, and we have the 10 burning questions we want to be answered.There have been three films that have been nominated for 14 Oscars in history — “All About Eve” (1950), “Titanic” (1997) and “La La Land” (2016). We likely won’t see any film get near tying or beating that record.

Willem Dafoe tonight made his debut as host of Saturday Night Live, speaking in his monologue about his excitement about returning to New York, where his career as an actor began.

Naman Ramachandran In a new series, Variety catches up with the directors of the films shortlisted for the International Feature Oscar to discuss their road to the awards, what they’ve learned so far, and what’s taken them off guard.Maria Schrader, an Emmy winner for directing the Netflix series “Unorthodox,” is also a Berlin Silver Bear winning actor for “Aimée & Jaguar” (1999). Her latest feature “I’m Your Man” follows a scientist (Maren Eggert, “Giraffe”) who agrees to live for three weeks with a humanoid robot (Dan Stevens, “Downton Abbey”) designed to make her happy.

KIM Kardashian dropped a huge hint she’s ready to marry Pete Davidson at her friend Paris Hilton’s lavish wedding.  On the season finale of Peacock’s Paris In Love, the longtime pals got together for a sweet moment during the heiress’ 11-11 nuptials at her grandfather’s $62M estate, Brooklawn, in Bel-Air. Following the extravagant ceremony Kim, 41, walked into the room where Paris, 40, was taking pictures with her new husband, Carter Reum.  Immediately, a smiling Kim begged of her childhood friend: “I need a favor… are you going to throw me your bouquet? Just look at me.” The blushing new bride, who was holding a bundle of white roses, agreed, and the SKIMS founder went on to compliment Paris’ custom Oscar de la Renta gown as “stunning." “Wait until you see our dance.

Showbiz news here. She dated Tom Cruise from 2001 to 2004 after they met on the set of Vanilla Sky, a science fiction psychological film. At the time Tom was married to Nicole Kidman and he and Penelope began dating after they had filmed Vanilla Sky and Tom was no longer with Nicole.

Idina Menzel is poking fun at that John Travolta name mixup once again.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentIn some ways, Javier Bardem and Christoph Waltz have trod similar career paths. In the space of two years, both stole the show and won Oscars playing cold-blooded killers, Bardem in the Coen brothers’ “No Country for Old Men,” Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds.” Both went on to become memorable Bond villains.

West Side Story‘s Steven Spielberg, The Power of the Dog‘s Jane Campion, Dune‘s Denis Villeneuve, Licorice Pizza‘s Paul Thomas Anderson and Kenneth Branagh of Belfast have been nominated for the top feature film prize as the Directors Guild unveiled nominations Thursday for its 74th annual DGA Awards.

Clayton Davis After a stampede of awards announcements that include ACE Eddies, Producers Guild and Writers Guild of America Awards, the prestigious Directors Guild of America Awards finally weighs in with their own set of nominees that recognizes achievements in directing.In the motion pictures category, the group nominated Kenneth Branagh for “Belfast” (Focus Features), Jane Campion for “The Power of the Dog” (Netflix), Paul Thomas Anderson for “Licorice Pizza” (MGM/United Artists Releasing), Steven Spielberg for “West Side Story” (20th Century Studios) and Denis Villeneuve for “Dune” (Warner Bros).Notable snubs included Joel Coen (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”), Adam McKay (“Don’t Look Up”), Siân Heder (“CODA”), Guillermo del Toro (“Nightmare Alley”) and Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (“Drive My Car”). Campion is the second woman ever to receive a second nod from the Directors Guild.

Nicolas Cage cares about the most in his life right now, the first person he mentions is none other than his wife, Riko Shibata.«I'm really happily married,» the 58-year-old actor tells the . «I know five is a lot. But I think I got it right this time.»The Academy Award winner, who has earned Oscar buzz for his role in , and Shibata, 27, tied the knot in February 2021 at Wynn Las Vegas. They're currently expecting their first child together. This will be Cage's third child.

After they won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2019 for their thrilling Free Solo, directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin went underground—in a manner of speaking.

The Writers Guild of America has penciled in the film nominees for its 74th annual WGA Awards, which will be virtual again this year.

Because the WGA created its award to be a prize for its members and those who write under its jurisdiction, a Writers Guild nomination is a less accurate predictor of Oscar success than noms from the other three major Hollywood guilds, the Screen Actors Guild, Producers Guild and Directors Guild.WGA rules restrict eligibility to screenplays that were written under the guild’s Minimum Basic Agreement or under a collective bargaining agreement from one of 11 affiliate guilds around the world. As usual, that rule disqualified a number of top screenplays this year, including “The Power of the Dog,” “Cyrano,” “Passing,” “The Lost Daughter,” “Drive My Car” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home” in the adapted-screenplay category and “Belfast,” “A Hero,” “The Hand of God,” “Parallel Mothers” and “Prayers for the Stolen” in original screenplay.“Belfast,” “The Power of the Dog” and “The Lost Daughter” in particular are strong favorites for Oscar nominations.In the documentary category, only three screenplays were nominated: “Being Cousteau,” “Exposing Muybridge” and “Like a Rolling Stone: The Life and Times of Ben Fong-Torres.”Winners will be announced at the WGA Awards on March 20, one week before the Oscars.The nominations: ORIGINAL SCREENPLAYBeing the Ricardos, Written by Aaron Sorkin;Amazon StudiosDon’t Look Up, Screenplay by Adam McKay, Story by Adam McKay & David Sirota; NetflixThe French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun, Screenplay by Wes Anderson, Story by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola & Hugo Guinness & Jason Schwartzman;Searchlight PicturesKing Richard, Written by Zach Baylin; Warner Bros.

“Belfast,” “Dune,” “King Richard,” “No Time to Die” and “The Power of the Dog” have been nominated as the best dramatic film editing of 2021 by the American Cinema Editors, which announced the nominees for the 72nd annual ACE Eddie Awards on Thursday.Those five films will compete in the Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic) category, while the field in Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy) will consist of “Cruella,” “Don’t Look Up,” “The French Dispatch,” “Licorice Pizza” and “tick, tick…BOOM!”The most surprising omission was probably “West Side Story,” while ACE Eddie voters also bypassed “Nightmare Alley,” “CODA” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”Nominations for the editing of animated features went to the same five animated films that have also been nominated by the Cinema Audio Society, Motion Picture Sound Editors, Visual Effects Society and Art Directors Guild: “Encanto,” “Luca,” “The Mitchells vs. the Machines,” “Raya and the Last Dragon” and “Sing 2.”In the television categories, “Kevin Can F**k Himself” received three nominations to sweep the Best Edited Multi-Camera Comedy Series category, while “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Ted Lasso,” “Succession,” “Mare of Easttown” and “The White Lotus” each received two.The nominations were announced on a day that will also see nomination announcements from the Producers Guild, Directors Guild and Writers Guild, capping a wild four-day blitz in which 10 different guilds or professional societies announced their nominations.

Clayton Davis A shortened eligibility year, multiple monochrome films and an underappreciated year for animation is what sums up the 2021 cinematic year. Oscar voters will be voting for their favorites in 23 categories for six days.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorThe American Cinema Editors (ACE) has nominated “Belfast,” “Dune,” “King Richard,” “No Time to Die” and “The Power of the Dog” in the category of feature film drama at the 72nd annual ACE Eddie Awards.In the best edited comedic feature category, “Cruella,” “Don’t Look Up,” “The French Dispatch,” “Licorice Pizza” and “Tick, Tick…Boom!” all received nominations.Among the animated features nominated were “Encanto,” “Luca,” “The Mitchells vs. the Machines,” “Raya and the Last Dragon” and “Sing 2.” The TV nominees include “Succession” and “The White Lotus.”The Eddies are considered a precursor for the best picture and best editing categories at the Oscars.

The Producers Guild has pulled back the curtain on the nominations for its 33rd annual PGA Awards, which cover theatrical motion pictures, animated features, TV series and specials and televised/streamed motion pictures. See the full list below.

Clayton Davis After all the talk of a potential Lady Gaga-Kristen Stewart Oscar night showdown, could it be much ado about nothing?Both actresses have a very vocal and passionate fanbase. Leading up to the Screen Actors Guild awards nominations, many predicted that the two would ultimately be the final two standing in the race for the Oscar statuette.

Best Picture Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog” seems to have taken pole position in the best picture race. Campion won a screenplay Oscar at the 1994 ceremony for “The Piano,” which was also nominated for best pic (it lost to “Schindler’s List.”). Early front-runner “Belfast” should also make the ballot.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentBhutan’s first Oscar entry in 23 years, Pawo Choyning Dorji’s feature debut “Lunana: A Yak in The Classroom” is handled by Samuel Goldwyn Films in North America. The movie follows a young teacher from Bhutan’s capital who dreams of emigrating to Australia to become a singer and instead finds himself assigned to a school in the most remote village in Northern Bhutan, where he unexpectedly bonds with local children and finds happiness.What does it mean to you to be shortlisted for the best international feature Oscar? The shortlisting has meant so much because it’s a historic moment for our little Himalayan Kingdom.

James Bond, speculation continues to be rife over who Daniel Craig's successor will be after his explosive exit from the franchise in No Time To Die. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the 007 films, so surely this is the best time to announce the next star to take up the Licence to Kill? Now, industry insiders have teased the wait for the big news may actually not be that long away after all. Deadline's Justin Kroll tweeted: "While it's been crickets on the #BondWatch scene, making it seem like this will be a long process, one source with a couple clients in the mix told me something interesting recently of when a decision may come down the pipeline, "I think we he[ar] who it is after the Oscars.

Clayton Davis Penélope Cruz is luxuriously refined in “Parallel Mothers,” a performance that has picked up critical acclaim and notable accolades since debuting at Venice. The voting bloc of the international community is a key demographic that pushed last year’s “The Father” from Florian Zeller, another Sony Pictures Classics feature, to perform exceptionally well with the Academy despite significant misses from key guild groups leading to nominations.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentAsghar Farhadi, a two-time international Oscar winner for “A Separation” and “The Salesman,” is in the running for a third time with “A Hero,” which marks the Iranian auteur’s return to shooting in his country.It’s a drama about a man named Rahim (Amir Jadidi) who, while on furlough after being imprisoned for debt, returns a lost handbag full of gold coins. This apparently heroic act spirals out of control due to social media, which plays an important part in the pic as it exposes the pitfalls of media manipulation in Iran but also, by extension, the world. The fact that the movie made it up to this stage creates curiosity for audiences to watch the film.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentXavier Giannoli’s sprawling period piece “Lost Illusions,” Valerie Lemercier’s Celine Dion biopic “Aline” and Leos Carax’s musical romance “Annette” with Marion Cotillard and Adam Driver are leading the race at France’s 47th Cesar Awards, France’s equivalent to the Oscars. Other top Cesar contenders include Cedric Jimenez’s action-packed cop drama “Bac Nord,” Catherine Corsini’s social drama “La fracture,” Yann Gozlan’s thriller Boite noire,” Jacques Audiard’s contemporary love drama “Paris, 13th District” and Arthur Harari’s WW2-set “Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle.” Audrey Diwan’s Venice Golden Lion-winning “Happening” and Julia Ducournau’s Cannes’ Palme d’Or-winning “Titane” earned four nods each.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeReach Michael on Twitter @franklinavenue or email mschneider@variety.com******************************************************************************************A tally of the year’s most-watched TV networks seems wildly incomplete in the 2020s without Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Disney Plus or HBO Max in the mix. But with no real apples-to-apples way of comparing viewership on the streaming platforms to linear consumption, we’ll continue to measure them in different ways, at least for now.In the land of the linear, sports continue to save the day, helping stabilize viewership this year for at least two of the four major broadcast networks.

number to secure Oscar nominations ranges from a low of 29 for Best Costume Design to a high of 223 in the acting categories.But when we say it takes 863 votes for a Best Picture nomination, we’re talking about first-place votes. Under the Oscars preferential or ranked-choice system, a voter typically lists his or her top-five choices in order of preference. After those first-place votes are added up, the lowest-ranking films are eliminated from contention, and their ballots are redistributed to the film ranked second on each ballot.

Casting Directors: 150 (+8)Cinematographers: 290 (+8)Costume Designers: 171 (+4)Directors: 568 (+4)Documentary: 618 (+23)Executives: 681 (+18)Film Editors: 375 (+4)Makeup Artists and Hairstylists: 231 (+7)Marketing and Public Relations: 605 (+18)Music: 383 (+9)Producers: 634 (+20)Production Design: 387 (+5)Short Films and Feature Animation: 844 (+26)Sound: 550 (+14)Visual Effects: 606 (+26)Writers: 504 (+5)Members-at-Large: 554 (+11)Total voting members: 9,487 (+187)Associate members: 86 (-9)Total active members: 9,573 (+178)Emeritus members: 914 (+33)Total active and inactive members: 10,487 (+211)

Clayton Davis Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car” has been a critical darling, after garnering stellar reviews and winning the top prize from the New York, Los Angeles and National Society of Film Critics. The last films to win those three prestigious groups were Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker” (2009) and David Fincher’s “The Social Network” (2010), with the former winning the Oscar for best picture.

Dune,”  “Belfast,” “Nightmare Alley,” “The Tragedy of Macbeth” and “The Power of the Dog” are among the films nominated by the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) in the feature film category.The ASC nominees for feature film, documentary and television cinematography represent the organization’s picks for the most compelling visual filmmaking. Last year’s ASC feature film winner was “Mank” cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt who upset “Nomadland” DP Joshua James Richards, the Oscar favorite.

Lin-Manuel Miranda revealed he has said no to hosting the Oscars in the past.

A version of this story about Kodi Smit-McPhee and “The Power of the Dog” first appeared in the Awards Preview issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.When Kodi-Smit McPhee thinks back to his days on the New Zealand set of Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog,” he remembers the darkened barn. In the film, playing the shy teenager Peter, an outcast on a Montana cattle ranch in the 1920s, Smit-McPhee had a crucial late scene with Benedict Cumberbatch in which the two men share a cigarette in the barn – which, on this day during production, had been wrapped in a tent of blackout curtains in order to simulate nighttime.

Clayton Davis The race for best cinematography is among the most competitive races this year at the Oscars. Black-and-white dramas, sci-fi dazzlers and Hollywood blockbusters are among the contenders, and it’s not entirely sure where it all might land.

Clayton Davis Jennifer Hudson’s name is already written in the Academy Awards history books. At 25, she became the youngest Black woman to ever win an acting Oscar for her turn as Effie White in “Dreamgirls” (2006). She’s also the first to do it for a debut role.