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“American Factory” won the top award at the Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking Monday night, and directors Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert were also honored for Outstanding Direction, for their documentary about a former General Motors plant that is given a second life by a Chinese manufacturer. The film was among several on the Oscars shortlist to win at the annual awards ceremony. “American Factory,” which follows the changes that take place in a Dayton, Ohio suburb as a result of the factory’s change in ownership and examines the cultural clashes that come from a Chinese company opening up shop in the US, has also won Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards for Best Political Documentary and Best Director, the Gotham Award for...

“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” co-stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt recently appeared on Marc Maron’s “WTF” podcast and admitted to not entirely understanding their acclaimed films “Inception” and “Ad Astra,” respectively. Maron asked Pitt about a point of confusion in James Gray’s “Ad Astra” script, mainly how a spaceship stranded near Neptune was able to send energy surges strong enough to impact the Earth. Maron said he did not understand this part of the film, to which Pitt replied, “I’m not going to explain it to you. … I can’t explain it either.” Pitt’s reveal inspired DiCaprio to get honest about Nolan’s 2010 science-fiction epic. “That’s like ‘Inception’ for me. What happened? I have no idea,” DiCaprio said as the three...

Golden Globes weekend is the time for thriving awards titles to pull audiences as they expand their runs. The standout among recent openers is Christmas Day release “1917” (Universal), with a rare second-weekend increase. “Uncut Gems” (A24) continues to stun as a wide release success. And “Parasite” (Neon) keeps accruing more high numbers, even before it enters the winners’ circle. Not reporting numbers was Oscar-shortlisted Israel documentary “Advocate” (Film Movement). Don’t expect more new specialty titles until until February, as some older titles move to parallel home viewing after their 90-day exclusive window expires. Week Two 1917 (Universal) $590,000 in 11 theaters (no change); PTA: $53,636; Cumulative: $2,280,000 What an...

It’s been an interesting few months for mainstream movies and promises of LGBTQ+ representation, from “Avengers: Endgame” and its blink-and-you-miss-it “gay moment” to “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” and its also blink-and-you-miss-it (and cut out of its Singapore release) same-sex kiss to whatever the MCU is doing with a future trans character. Jay Roach’s Roger Ailes scandal piece “Bombshell” is not on the scale of those movies nor was it ever promoted with the promise of similar inclusion, but after a Variety cover story with one of the film’s stars, Margot Robbie, it has technically joined the conversation of hypothetical representation in film. In “Bombshell,” Robbie’s Kayla Pospisil sleeps with Kate McKinnon’s closeted lesbian...

Heading into Golden Globes weekend, the annual American Film Institute Awards is a civilized, untelevised gathering that plays into the hands of awards campaigners who nab any chance to put their contenders in front of the media. This lunch at the Four Seasons is more relaxed and convivial than most because, as AFI president Bob Gazzale pointed out, everybody’s a winner. Phoebe Waller-Bridge Anne Thompson Each January, top players from the 10 movie and 10 TV winners know all they have to do is socialize for an hour or so, pick at their salmon, and applaud 20 clips. Actually, this year there were 22, as the juries gave special awards to two foreign imports, Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s “Fleabag” and Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite.” “Once Upon a...

Are we getting a sequel to “A Most Violent Year”? That’s what actress Jessica Chastain suggested on New Year’s Day via Twitter with a series of cryptic messages, embedded below. The original film, released in 2014 and directed by J.C. Chandor, is a 1980s-set crime thriller starring Oscar Isaac as an immigrant fuel supplier embroiled in a moral quandary amid the corruption of his oil empire. Chastain co-starred as Isaac’s wife, Anna, in a witchy role outfitted with press-on nails and a Brooklyn accent. “Guess who may be visiting these characters again?” she said on Twitter. What form such a sequel will take remains an open question. A feature film? A limited series? The original movie, made for $20 million, eked out $12 million...

In 2019, no movie became a greater flashpoint for cultural debate than “Joker” — and Todd Phillips sat happily at the center of the battlefield. To some, Phillips looked like he wanted to provoke the ire of the moment — the bearded reprobate with a naughty grin and cynical gaze, the Hollywood bro who made those “Hangover” movies and gave up on comedy to avoid the sensitivities of the moment, a Tinseltown huckster straight out of the “Entourage” mold who cared less about the art of filmmaking than contorting it into the ultimate blockbuster coup. But these readings tend to ignore his roots, and how they set him up for everything that followed. Phillips’ origin story has been obscured by the sheer scale of his commercial successes, and...