Deadline Hollywood - Contenders Film: The Nominees - 04/10/21

FILM

APRIL 10, 2021 | SPECIAL ISSUE

FILM

NETFLIX 10:04am - 10:32am

SAMUEL GOLDWYN FILMS 10:32am - 10:56am

SUPER LTD 10:56am - 11:08am

The Trial of the Chicago 7

Sacha Baron Cohen (Actor) Alan Baumgarten (Editor) Phedon Papamichael (Cinematographer) Aaron Sorkin (Writer/Director)

Mank

Donald Graham Burt (Production Designer) Ren Klyce (Sound Designer) Erik Messerchmidt (Cinematographer) Amanda Seyfried (Actor)

The Man Who Sold His Skin

Monica Bellucci (Actor) Kaouther Ben Hania (Writer/Director) Dea Liane (Actor) Yahya Mahayni (Actor)

Another Round

Tobias Lindholm (Co-Writer) Mads Mikkelsen (Actor) Thomas Vinterberg (Director/Co-Writer)

Quo Vadis, Aida?

Jasmila Žbanić (Writer/Director/Producer)

MORNING BREAK - 10 MINUTES

AMAZON STUDIOS 11:21am - 12:11pm

Time

Garrett Bradley (Director/Producer) Lauren Domino (Producer) Kellen Quinn (Producer)

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Maria Bakalova (Actor) Sacha Baron Cohen (Writer/Producer/Actor) Anthony Hines (Producer/Writer) Erica Rivinoja (Writer)

One Night in Miami

Leslie Odom Jr. (Actor/Songwriter) Kemp Powers (Writer/EP)

Sound of Metal

Riz Ahmed (EP/Actor) Darius Marder (Writer/Director) Paul Raci (Actor)

SCHEDULE AND SPEAKERS SUBJECT TO CHANGE

FILM

LUNCH - 30 MINUTES

APPLE ORIGINAL FILMS 12:44pm - 1:01pm

Wolfwalkers

Tomm Moore (Director/Producer) Ross Stewart (Director) Nora Twomey (Producer)

Greyhound

Beau Borders (Re-recording Mixer) David Wyman (Sound Mixer)

MAGNOLIA PICTURES/ PARTICIPANT 1:01pm - 1:13pm

Collective

Alexander Nanau (Director/Producer/Cinematographer)

GRAVITAS VENTURES 1:13pm - 1:22pm

The Mole Agent

Maite Alberdi (Director) Marcela Santibañez (Producer)

WELL GO USA ENTERTAINMENT 1:23pm - 1:31pm

Better Days

Derek Tsang (Director)

AFTERNOON BREAK - 10 MINUTES

MTV DOCUMENTARY FILMS 1:42pm - 1:53pm

Hunger Ward

Skye Fitzgerald (Director)

HULU 1:53pm - 2:08pm

The United States vs.

Billie Holiday

Andra Day (Actor)

FOCUS FEATURES 2:08pm - 2:25pm

Promising Young Woman

Ben Browning (Producer) Emerald Fennell (Writer/Director/Producer) Carey Mulligan (EP/Actor) Frédéric Thoraval (Editor)

Emma

Alexandra Byrne (Costume Designer)

S W E E P S TA K E S PA R T N E R S

SCHEDULE AND SPEAKERS SUBJECT TO CHANGE

WELCOME TO

CONTENDERS

The latest addition to Deadline’s juggernaut Contenders franchise celebrates nominees

BY J O E U T I C H I

WELCOME TO DEADLINE’S

Oscar nominees is a varied list including

for his supporting turn in Aaron Sorkin’s

CONTENDERS FILM: THE NOMINEES.

some real surprises.

The Trial of the Chicago 7. And then there

Indeed, after four full days of Contenders

How wonderful, for example, to see

are the other debutante nominees, like

action in the pre-nominations stage, the

Paul Raci and Maria Bakalova make the

Andra Day for The United States vs. Billie

Contenders juggernaut grows ever larger

Best Supporting Actor and Actress lists

Holiday; Kemp Powers, who adapted his

with this inaugural post-nominations event

respectively. Raci had been a working

play One Night in Miami for the screen,

in film, following on from the success

actor for so many decades before the

and can also celebrate the nomination

we found with last year’s Contenders

script for Sound of Metal fell in his lap. A

for Pixar’s Soul, which he co-wrote and

Television: The Nominees shindig.

Child of Deaf Adults, Raci had grown up

co-directed; Erik Messerschmidt, the

immersed in deaf culture. He also fought

cinematographer behind Mank, who is

Contenders continues to astound. What

in Vietnam and struggled with addiction,

making his feature debut as Director of

once was a solitary event on the calendar

and here he was, presented with a script

Photography after a long association

has become a veritable franchise to rival

that seemed like it had been tailormade

with David Fincher on Mindhunter; and

the very best from Star Wars or Marvel,

for him. Bakalova, meanwhile, might

Emerald Fennell, a multiple Oscar-

and our moderating avengers are standing

have been the only person on the planet

nominee for her blistering first feature

by to serve up further insight into a race

with the confidence and comic chops to

Promising Young Woman. We can’t wait to

that has been just as hotly contested

go toe-to-toe with Sacha Baron Cohen

see them return to our panels.

as ever, despite the global pandemic

in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, and yet it

shuttering cinemas for a full year.

remains remarkable that the film found

stories behind this year’s nominees, and

I must confess, the expansion of

These are only a few of the interesting

her in the first place. She’s now Oscar

the panelists coming to Contenders

only be a helpful thing during an awards

nominated for her debut Hollywood film

today. Everybody has their own. The

season as filled with uncertainty as this

with what promises to be a tremendous

point is, it’s stories like these that make

one. For years now, the idea of guaranteed

career ahead. We’re thrilled to welcome

awards season such a treat. Never mind

frontrunners has seemed increasingly

both of them back to Contenders for

the marketing, the game-playing, the

distant, and I’ve long theorized that it

their respective panels.

odds-making, the sport of it all. At its

And an event like Contenders can

has to do with a new generation of voter

Sacha Baron Cohen, incidentally,

purest, this season is about people being

placing more emphasis on actually viewing

makes two appearances today. He’s

recognized by their peers for creating

all the runners and riders. That seems

nominated not just for writing Borat—

beautiful art that connects with us on a

to have been confirmed this year, when

making him two-for-two on Adapted

level that, after a year of pandemic, feels

everybody has had to get used to watching

Screenplay nods for both of the films

more essential than ever. What’s not to

everything at home, and this year’s raft of

about his hapless Kazakh reporter—but

love about that? Enjoy the show.

Meet the moderators

The Deadline staffers who’ll be guiding you through this year’s Contenders YOUR EMCEE JOE UTICHI

EDITOR, AWARDSLINE

Joe oversees Deadline’s print magazine for the Oscar and Emmy seasons, as well as its special “Disruptors” edition for the Cannes Film Festival.

He has been with Deadline since 2012 and serves as emcee for Deadline’s Contenders events.

Prior to joining, his work regularly appeared in his native UK, for outlets including The Sunday Times and The Guardian. He has also worked extensively in film and television, producing EPK and production notes and serving as a unit publicist. He is a member of BAFTA and has sat on multiple juries for the BAFTA Film Awards.

PETE HAMMOND

AWARDS COLUMNIST/CHIEF FILM CRITIC

Pete, widely considered to be one of the preeminent awards analysts for both film and television, has for the past seven years been Deadline’s Awards Columnist covering what is seemingly now the year-round Oscar and Emmy seasons. He is also Deadline’s Chief Film Critic, having previously reviewed films for MovieLine, Boxoffice magazine, Backstage, Hollywood.com and Maxim.

In addition to writing, Pete is also host of the year-round KCET Cinema Series, where he screens a selection of films prior to their theatrical release and interviews filmmakers. He previously held producing positions at Entertainment Tonight, Extra, Access Hollywood, The Arsenio Hall Show, The Martin Short Show and AMC Network and is the recipient of five Emmy nominations for writing.

ANTONIA BLYTH

DEPUTY EDITOR, AWARDSLINE

Antonia has contributed to Deadline and AwardsLine’s print magazines since 2014.

A native Brit based in LA, prior to joining she covered West Coast entertainment for ELLE.com, and her work has been featured in The Guardian, UK Marie Claire and InStyle. She has written a New York Times bestselling non-fiction book and regularly appears on French television network TF1 as an entertainment expert.

MATTHEW CAREY

DOCUMENTARY EDITOR, AWARDSLINE

Matthew Carey joined Deadline fulltime

in 2020, after a long association as a freelancer, to specialize in coverage of the nonfiction film landscape. Matthew is a writer and producer whose work has appeared on CNN, CNN International and CNN en Español. He has written extensively about documentary film for CNN and CNN.com, Documentary magazine, NBCNews.com and TheWrap.

ANTHONY D’ALESSANDRO

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR/BOX OFFICE EDITOR

Anthony covers box office, breaking film news, awards season features and festival news. His first job in the film industry was at Savoy Pictures’ headquarters in New York where he worked in film distribution. In the summer of 1999, he was hired by Variety and moved to Los Angeles, and remained in the newsroom covering numerous parts of the industry, including box office, for about a decade. Prior to arriving at Deadline in the fall of 2011, Anthony covered the box office beat for Indiewire’s Thompson on Hollywood. He also co-produced Matt Walsh’s film A Better You. TOM GRATER

INTERNATIONAL FILM REPORTER

Tom joined Deadline in 2019 as part of its expanding international team, covering the film (and TV) business from his base in London. He is a regular at film markets and festivals around the world including Cannes, Berlin, AFM, Toronto and Venice. Tom was previously at Screen International, spending five years there

and rising to Senior Reporter across the UK trade’s print and online operations.

He has also worked in events and as a freelance journalist for UK national newspapers, and regularly appears on television and radio as a pundit on a variety of film topics.

DADE HAYES

FINANCE EDITOR

Dade joined Deadline as a New Yorkbased contributor in 2017. He leads business and Wall Street coverage as well as writing about film, TV, regulation, advertising and other East Coast happenings. Dade has spent two decades tracking the entertainment industry as a writer and editor for Variety, Entertainment Weekly and Broadcasting & Cable. His freelance work has appeared in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, and he is the author of two books and an installment of the Wondery podcast Business Wars.

JUSTIN KROLL

SENIOR FILM REPORTER

Justin joined Deadline in July 2020 and covers all aspects of the film industry.

Before Deadline, he had been with Variety since early 2008, starting as an intern before being upped to editorial assistant in 2009, and joining the film team in 2010. Before Variety, Kroll worked as a freelancer for Reuters in Los Angeles. He’s a graduate of Michigan State University.

TODD MCCARTHY

FILM CRITIC/COLUMNIST

Todd McCarthy is a veteran trade publication film critic, columnist and reporter who has also written several acclaimed books and documentary films. He served two stints on the staffs of Variety and The Hollywood Reporter and extensively covered film festivals internationally for both publications. His film Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography won the best documentary prizes from the New York Film Critics and National Society of Film Critics associations and he won an Emmy for writing the documentary Preston Sturges: The Rise and Fall of an American Dreamer. He also directed the documentaries Man of Cinema: Pierre Rissient and Forever Hollywood, which played at the American Cinematheque’s Egyptian Theater for a decade. His books include Kings of the Bs: Working Within the Hollywood System, the definitive biography Howard Hawks: The Grey Fox of Hollywood and Fast Women: The Legendary Women of Racing.

AMANDA N’DUKA REPORTER

Amanda started as an intern with Deadline soon after landing in Los Angeles in 2014 and two years later became the site’s first homegrown full-time staffer. Since then, the Nigerian Texas-native has contributed to breaking news in both film and television and covered events from the Oscars to the Emmys, Golden Globes, Comic-Con,

SXSW, the ATX Television Festival, and more. With Dino-Ray Ramos she co-hosts Deadline’s New Hollywood podcast, which champions people of color, women, members of the LGBTQ community and other underrepresented voices in film and television. The podcast won a GLAAD Award in 2021.

DOMINIC PATTEN

SENIOR EDITOR, LEGAL & TV CRITIC

Dominic covers litigious Hollywood’s major lawsuits and weighs in on the current Golden Age of television with his video reviews and more. Before joining Deadline in 2012, he wrote for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Times, and the Toronto Globe and Mail. A frequent guest on NPR, Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC and CBS, he also has been a documentary director, TV producer, national news correspondent and a newspaper editor.

DINO-RAY RAMOS

ASSOCIATE EDITOR/REPORTER

Dino-Ray joined Deadline in 2017 and writes about inclusion and diversity issues in the industry, genre film & TV, as well as pop culture and media. Based in Los Angeles, he also covers events and awards shows such as the Oscars, Emmys, Comic-Con and the TCA press tour. Additionally, he co-hosts the GLAAD Award-winning New Hollywood Podcast with Deadline’s Amanda N’Duka, which champions people of color, women, members of the LGBTQ

community and other underrepresented voices in film and television. A Texas native, Dino-Ray worked as film and TV reporter for the Oakland Tribune and San Francisco Chronicle before moving to Los Angeles. Prior to Deadline, he was chief film critic at the Tracking Board and has written on film and television for Vogue, Entertainment Tonight, Bustle, Paste Magazine, and NBC Asian America.

NANCY TARTAGLIONE

INTERNATIONAL BOX OFFICE EDITOR/SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR

Nancy joined Deadline in 2011. She covers the global film, television and media business, with a particular focus on international box office and China; as well as various festivals and awards shows. Based in Europe for more than 25 years, Nancy is the former Editorin-Chief of Hollywood Wiretap, and for 10 years was French Correspondent/ Contributing Editor at ScreenDaily.com and Screen International. She also has worked for The New York Times as a freelance editor for its DealBook blog.

Earlier in her career, Nancy was the European Media Correspondent for Inside.com and co-hosted Canal Plus’ film program Bazar. Nancy also spent four years as reporter and editor for Variety in Paris and Los Angeles. Prior to that, she worked in the Paris office of 60 Minutes, and spent two years in the Features department of the International Herald Tribune. She lives in the south of France.

THE

FILMS AMAZON STUDIOS

One Night in Miami Regina King’s debut feature imagines a night in 1964, marked by the convergence of four icons: civil rights leader Malcolm X, singer-songwriter Sam Cooke, professional football player Jim Brown, and Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Cassius Clay. Gathering in a motel room, following Clay’s historic victory over Sonny Liston, the iconic figures reflect on their responsibilities to their community, their roles in the fight for equality, and their differing ideas on the best ways to spark societal change.

Based on the play of the same name by Kemp Powers, the drama stars Kingsley Ben-Adir, Leslie Odom Jr., Aldis Hodge and Eli Goree.

Sound of Metal Darius Marder casts the experience of the hearing-impaired into the light, in his feature debut, starring Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke and Paul Raci. In the visceral drama, executive producer Ahmed plays Ruben, a heavy-metal drummer

whose life unravels when he begins to lose his hearing. Out of concern for his sobriety, the recovering drug addict checks into a deaf rehab facility, and it’s there that he works to come to terms with his new normal. Bolstered by the sound design of Nicolas Becker, and the cinematography of Daniël Bouquet, the film premiered on Amazon just last month.

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm In this long-awaited mockumentary sequel, Sacha Baron Cohen reprises the role of Borat, a Kazakh journalist who caught the world’s attention in 2006, with a documentary he made on the United States. Humiliating his country with that film, Borat must travel back to America to redeem its reputation, by offering his daughter as a bride to Vice President Mike Pence. Satirizing the ugliest and most absurd aspects of American culture today, the comedy from Jason Woliner features a breakout turn from Bulgarian actress Maria Bakalova, as well as an unforgettable appearance

by President Donald Trump’s

personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani.

Time This acclaimed documentary from director Garrett Bradley centers on Fox Rich, an entrepreneur, abolitionist and mother of six, who fought tirelessly, for more than 20 years, to get her husband Rob released from prison. Sentenced to 60 years for a bank robbery he committed in a moment of financial desperation, Rob’s story spotlights flaws in an American justice system that disproportionately penalizes people of color and the poor. Anchored in 100 hours of home videos recorded

by Fox, the doc won Sundance’s U.S. Documentary Directing Award, making Bradley the first African-American woman to be recognized with the prize.

APPLE

Greyhound Tom Hanks scripts and stars in this World War II drama, centered on U.S. Navy commander Captain Krause. Embarking on his first wartime assignment aboard the Greyhound destroyer, Krause is tasked

TIME

GREYHOUND

SOUND OF METAL

ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI

BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM

WOLFWALKERS

EMMA

with leading an Allied convoy across the Atlantic, battling the elements, while fending off the attacks of a pack of German Uboats. Based on C.S. Forester’s novel The Good Shepherd, Aaron Schneider’s film is a uniquely immersive portrait of the Battle of the Atlantic. The actionpacked thriller also stars Rob Morgan, Stephen Graham and Elisabeth Shue.

Wolfwalkers Directors Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart draw on Irish folklore for this animated feature, set in 1650, in the medieval town of Kilkenny. Its protagonist is Robyn, a young apprentice hunter who journeys with her father from England to eradicate a pack of wolves. A girl trapped by the Puritan world in which she’s

PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

been raised, Robyn’s life changes forever, when she encounters a girl with supernatural powers, from an enigmatic, local tribe.

Featuring the voices of Honor Kneafsey, Eva Whittaker, Simon McBurney and Sean Bean, the fantasy film hails from Oscarnominated animation studio, Cartoon Saloon.

FOCUS FEATURES

Promising Young Woman Produced by Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment, this darkly comic thriller tells the story of Cassandra Thomas (Carey Mulligan), a woman on the warpath, who seeks vengeance against self-proclaimed ‘nice guys’ in the wake of her best friend’s sexual assault.

Once deemed a ‘promising young woman’, Cassie gives up

on her own future in order to right the wrongs of the past, teaching a long list of immoral men a lesson they will surely never forget. Bolstered by a supporting turn from Bo Burnham, Emerald Fennell’s superb debut feature premiered on Christmas Day. Emma Based on Jane Austen’s 1815 novel of the same name, the film follows Emma Woodhouse (Anya Taylor-Joy), a young woman living in England with her father. Emma spends her time meddling in the romantic lives of those around her, often matchmaking according to her own standards with little regard for what her friends may want.

Emma must grow up and help her friends, as she deals with

the fallout of her own romantic machinations. This period comedy-drama was directed

by Autumn de Wilde and reached U.S. theaters in February of 2020.

GRAVITAS VENTURES

The Mole Agent A private investigator hires an unassuming octogenarian to go undercover at a retirement home, in Santiago, Chile, in this clever and touching documentary. There, the man works as a mole, with the help of cameras embedded on his person, looking into accusations of elder abuse, on behalf of a client.

Written and directed by Maite Alberdi, the genre-bending film premiered last year at Sundance. Selected as Chile’s official submission for Best

International Feature Film, it debuted in the U.S. in September.

also stars Garrett Hedlund, Tyler James Williams, Natasha Lyonne and more.

HULU

The United States vs.

Billie Holiday Lee Daniels’ drama follows iconic Blues singer Billie Holiday (Andra Day) as she gets caught up in an FBI sting, while engaging in an affair with undercover agent, Jimmy Fletcher (Trevante Rhodes). Grabbing the bureau’s attention with politically charged songs, protesting systemic racism in the United States, Holiday was well known in the 1940s for her addiction to drugs and alcohol. And ultimately, it was these personal issues that allowed the agency to justify taking the outspoken crooner down. Based on a book by Johann Hari, the film

MAGNOLIA PICTURES/PARTICIPANT

Collective Six years ago, a fire started at a Bucharest club, leaving 180 people injured and 27 dead. In the aftermath, a number of burn victims died in local hospitals, from wounds that shouldn’t have proven fatal. The mystery of the situation captured the attention of investigative journalists at the Romanian newspaper, Gazeta Sporturilor, and what they uncovered was massive healthcare fraud, which saw politicians and tycoons profiting off of the deaths of innocents.

With his timely, fourth feature, filmmaker Alexander Nanau follows the travails of this crack

COLLECTIVE

THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY

THE MOLE AGENT

MANK

THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

BETTER DAYS

team, paying tribute to journalists and whistle-blowers alike.

MTV DOCUMENTARY FILMS

Hunger Ward Director Skye Fitzgerald takes an unflinching look at the children affected by starvation in wartorn Yemen. Following Dr. Aida Alsadeeq and Nurse Mekkia Mahdi, two female healthcare workers at two of the most active therapeutic feeding centers in Yemen, the film documents their fight to save the lives of hunger-stricken children. As the third movie of Fitzgerald’s Refugee Trilogy, this film takes a closer look at the impact the conflict has on the innocent children of the area.

NETFLIX

The Trial of the Chicago 7 Written and directed by Aaron

Sorkin, this drama spotlights the story of the Chicago 7, a group of anti-Vietnam War protestors who were hit with conspiracy charges, after riots broke out at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Enduring a trial presided over by a hostile, biased judge, the countercultural icons doggedly pursued justice, united in their mission to speak out against a corrupt and unfair government. Starring Sacha Baron Cohen, Jeremy Strong, Eddie Redmayne, Mark Rylance, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and more, the film reinforces the vital importance of protest, in preserving a democracy for all.

Mank This impeccably designed period piece has been a longtime passion project for director David Fincher. Scripted by his

THE MAN WHO SOLD HIS SKIN

late father Jack, the blackand-white drama follows alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman), as he endeavors to finish the screenplay for Citizen Kane.

Examining the washed-up wordsmith’s relationships with starlet Marion Davies (Amanda Seyfried), media titan William Randolph Hearst (Charles Dance), and Kane’s wunderkind director and star, Orson Welles (Tom Burke), the film is both a love letter to, and a critique of, Hollywood’s Golden Age. The starry drama’s cast includes Lily Collins, Tom Pelphrey, Arliss Howard, Tuppence Middleton, and more.

SAMUEL GOLDWYN FILMS

Another Round In his second outing with director Thomas Vinterberg, follow-

ANOTHER ROUND

HUNGER WARD

QUO VADIS, AIDA?

ing acclaimed 2012 drama The Hunt, Mads Mikkelsen plays Martin, a depressed high school teacher who struggles with undisciplined students, marital problems and the mundane nature of his everyday life. In concert with friends who share his challenges, Martin decides one night to undertake an experiment, to see if his life can be improved by maintaining a constant state of inebriation.

Scripted by Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm, the official Cannes selection also stars Thomas Bo Larsen, Magnus Millang, and Lars Ranthe.

The Man Who Sold His Skin Inspired by contemporary artist Wim Delvoye’s living work Tim (2006), director Kaouther Ben Hania’s film follows Sam (Yahya Mahayni), a Syrian Refugee.

With the desire to get back to his fiancée, who was forced by her family to marry a richer man and live in Brussels, Sam accepts an offer to have his back tattooed with a visa from Jeffrey Godefroi (Koen De Bouw), a controversial contemporary artist. While in pursuit of his lost love, Sam must deal with the realization that he sold away more than just his skin.

SUPER LTD

Quo Vadis, Aida?

This Bosnian war drama, directed by Jasmila Žbanić, takes place on July 11 of 1995, when the Bosnian Serb Army had taken over the small town of Srebenica. Aida (Jasna Đuričić), a United Nations translator living in that town, and her family seek shelter in a UN camp. As a translator for the Dutch UN

peacekeeping battalion, she has access to privileged information that she must use to find a way to keep her family safe and escape the danger.

WELL GO USA ENTERTAINMENT

Better Days While focused on studying for her college entrance exam, Nian (Dongyu Zhou) becomes the target of a group of relentless bullies. Fate brings her together with Bei (Jackson Yee), a small-time criminal, who protects her from the bullying. While their friendship strengthens, the two end up as prime suspects in the murder case of a teenage girl. Director Derek Tsang veils this dramatic thriller as a love story, while exploring the dark reality of bullying and the societal pressures facing today’s youth.