Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys
2023 Oscars Predictions:
Best Documentary Short Nai Nai & Wai Po, (aka Nai Nai And Wai Po), Zhang Li Hua and Yi Yan Fuei, 2023. © Disney+ / Courtesy Everett Collection
Weekly Commentary: In the documentary short category, the competition is notably fierce, featuring a lineup of powerful and thought-provoking contenders, and the best of the three shorts categories.
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys
2023 Oscars Predictions:
Best Documentary Short Nai Nai & Wai Po, (aka Nai Nai And Wai Po), Zhang Li Hua and Yi Yan Fuei, 2023. © Disney+ / Courtesy Everett Collection
Weekly Commentary: In the documentary short category, the competition is notably fierce, featuring a lineup of powerful and thought-provoking contenders, and the best of the three shorts categories.
- 3/5/2024
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
“Unexpected,” a documentary short about Black women living with HIV in the South, will premiere on Hulu on Dec. 1, which is also World AIDS Day.
Produced by “Abbott Elementary” Emmy winner Sheryl Lee Ralph and directed by Zeberiah Newman, “Unexpected” follows activists Ciarra Ci Ci Covin and Masonia Traylor as they create an underground network to help and support women with HIV in the rural South.
The Oscar-qualifying film, which premiered at the 2023 Essence Film Festival, won an Award of Excellence at both The Accolade Global Film Competition and The Impact Docs Awards, and was a Silver Winner at the Telly Awards. It has also screened at the Scad Savannah Film Festival, DC Black Film Festival, Black Women Film Network, Detroit Black Film Festival, The Women’s Film Festival and Cleveland Film Festival.
Ralph’s nonprofit, The Diva Foundation, acquired the film.
At the same time, this year’s “Divas Simply Singing!
Produced by “Abbott Elementary” Emmy winner Sheryl Lee Ralph and directed by Zeberiah Newman, “Unexpected” follows activists Ciarra Ci Ci Covin and Masonia Traylor as they create an underground network to help and support women with HIV in the rural South.
The Oscar-qualifying film, which premiered at the 2023 Essence Film Festival, won an Award of Excellence at both The Accolade Global Film Competition and The Impact Docs Awards, and was a Silver Winner at the Telly Awards. It has also screened at the Scad Savannah Film Festival, DC Black Film Festival, Black Women Film Network, Detroit Black Film Festival, The Women’s Film Festival and Cleveland Film Festival.
Ralph’s nonprofit, The Diva Foundation, acquired the film.
At the same time, this year’s “Divas Simply Singing!
- 11/30/2023
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
SAG-AFTRA may still be on strike, but studios are, nevertheless, pushing their Oscar contenders to garner the adequate (and allowed) attention they need to land nominations.
One of the main methods is getting industry voters out to screenings and making films available on the Academy Screening Room and BAFTA screening platforms. With the two significant organizations banning physical DVD screeners, voting members rely on the respective digital viewing portals to catch up on some of this year’s contenders vying for awards consideration.
Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Oscars predictions in all categories.
The Academy performs a heavy vetting process for each film that chooses to submit for consideration. Historically, over 300 movies are in the running for best picture consideration, with more films joining the fray over the next several months. Distributors are the ultimate decision-makers of when a movie is placed in the Academy Screening Room for viewing.
One of the main methods is getting industry voters out to screenings and making films available on the Academy Screening Room and BAFTA screening platforms. With the two significant organizations banning physical DVD screeners, voting members rely on the respective digital viewing portals to catch up on some of this year’s contenders vying for awards consideration.
Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Oscars predictions in all categories.
The Academy performs a heavy vetting process for each film that chooses to submit for consideration. Historically, over 300 movies are in the running for best picture consideration, with more films joining the fray over the next several months. Distributors are the ultimate decision-makers of when a movie is placed in the Academy Screening Room for viewing.
- 10/17/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone will not be attending the closing night of this year’s Outfest LA, where they were set to receive the James Schamus Ally Award.
The couple was expected to be on hand for the July 23 event at The Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood, but their rep tells Variety that will not make an appearance due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.
“We understand that Melissa and Ben are unable to join us for our closing night due to the strike,” Outfest executive director Damien S. Navarro said in a statement Thursday afternoon. “We will miss them, as our closing night will be a wonderful celebration of our community.”
Outfest kicked off July 13 at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles. Amandla Stenberg, who received the Platinum Maverick Award from the LGBTQ film festival, skipped the festivities in support of the actors walkout. Jacqueline Castel, director of Stenberg’s new indie,...
The couple was expected to be on hand for the July 23 event at The Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood, but their rep tells Variety that will not make an appearance due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.
“We understand that Melissa and Ben are unable to join us for our closing night due to the strike,” Outfest executive director Damien S. Navarro said in a statement Thursday afternoon. “We will miss them, as our closing night will be a wonderful celebration of our community.”
Outfest kicked off July 13 at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles. Amandla Stenberg, who received the Platinum Maverick Award from the LGBTQ film festival, skipped the festivities in support of the actors walkout. Jacqueline Castel, director of Stenberg’s new indie,...
- 7/20/2023
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
Outfest announced the full line up for its 41st Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Festival presented by Warner Bros. Discovery and Genesis Motor America, taking place July 13 – 23 in venues around Los Angeles and is headquartered at the Directors Guild of America in West Hollywood. Tickets and passes are available to Outfest members today, and to the general public starting Friday, June 23rd.
The festival also announced that it will be honoring Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone with the James Schamus Ally Award during the festival’s closing night in recognition of allies’ efforts to foster Queer and Trans moving images and to promote our communities’ stories to a broader audience. Additionally, McCarthy and Falcone are both executive producers on Relighting Candles: The Tim Sullivan Story, a short documentary directed by Zeb Newman and Michiel Thomas that will be featured at this year’s festival, about a West Hollywood candle shop owner...
The festival also announced that it will be honoring Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone with the James Schamus Ally Award during the festival’s closing night in recognition of allies’ efforts to foster Queer and Trans moving images and to promote our communities’ stories to a broader audience. Additionally, McCarthy and Falcone are both executive producers on Relighting Candles: The Tim Sullivan Story, a short documentary directed by Zeb Newman and Michiel Thomas that will be featured at this year’s festival, about a West Hollywood candle shop owner...
- 6/22/2023
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone have boarded “Relighting Candles: The Tim Sullivan Story” as executive producers.
The documentary short, co-directed by Zeberiah Newman (“Unexpected”) and Michiel Thomas (“Game Face”), is a portrait of West Hollywood candlemaker Tim Sullivan. It chronicles the 82-year-old Bronx native’s journey coming out as a gay man, how he got sober more than 40 years ago and his tradition of hiring homeless and newly sober people at his company, Timothy Jay Candles.
McCarthy and Falcone tell me in a statement, “Once we heard the lovely story of Tim Sullivan and began to understand how many people he’s helped in his life through the making of beautiful candles, we realized these filmmakers were telling exactly the kind of story we want to help get out into the world.”
McCarthy and Falcone will be honored at Outfest next month with the James Schamus Ally Award. “Relighting Candles...
The documentary short, co-directed by Zeberiah Newman (“Unexpected”) and Michiel Thomas (“Game Face”), is a portrait of West Hollywood candlemaker Tim Sullivan. It chronicles the 82-year-old Bronx native’s journey coming out as a gay man, how he got sober more than 40 years ago and his tradition of hiring homeless and newly sober people at his company, Timothy Jay Candles.
McCarthy and Falcone tell me in a statement, “Once we heard the lovely story of Tim Sullivan and began to understand how many people he’s helped in his life through the making of beautiful candles, we realized these filmmakers were telling exactly the kind of story we want to help get out into the world.”
McCarthy and Falcone will be honored at Outfest next month with the James Schamus Ally Award. “Relighting Candles...
- 6/21/2023
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
Sheryl Lee Ralph is going behind the camera.
I can exclusively reveal that the Emmy winner has signed on to produce “Unexpected,” a documentary short about women of color living with HIV in the South. Directed by Zeberiah Newman (“Right to Try”), the film chronicles Masonia Traylor and Cici Covin as they create care packages for pregnant women newly diagnosed with HIV and invite them into a safe network of support and services.
‘I am honored to amplify Masonia and Cici’s story and put a spotlight on HIV in the South, what’s happening there needs our attention and it needs it now,” Ralph tells Variety.
Newman said, “I am thrilled to have Sheryl on board, her work as an activist in this space is legendary and her foundation, The D.I.V.A Foundation, has been at the forefront of this issue for decades.”
Ralph, who earned her...
I can exclusively reveal that the Emmy winner has signed on to produce “Unexpected,” a documentary short about women of color living with HIV in the South. Directed by Zeberiah Newman (“Right to Try”), the film chronicles Masonia Traylor and Cici Covin as they create care packages for pregnant women newly diagnosed with HIV and invite them into a safe network of support and services.
‘I am honored to amplify Masonia and Cici’s story and put a spotlight on HIV in the South, what’s happening there needs our attention and it needs it now,” Ralph tells Variety.
Newman said, “I am thrilled to have Sheryl on board, her work as an activist in this space is legendary and her foundation, The D.I.V.A Foundation, has been at the forefront of this issue for decades.”
Ralph, who earned her...
- 10/27/2022
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
There are people who live their lives in service to others, and then there’s Jeffrey Drew.
For decades the Los Angeles-based casting director lived with HIV, managing the disease—like countless other people—with expensive but effective antiretroviral medications. When the opportunity came about in 2019 to participate in a clinical trial of a potential HIV cure, Drew had every reason to say no: He was doing fine on his meds, and the experimental treatment could destroy his health. Despite the risks, he said yes.
“The treatment was so uncertain and new,” Drew tells Deadline. “I was certainly getting very ill for about a month. I thought, ‘My god, what did I do?’”
Drew’s decision to take part in the trial and its impact on him is explored in the short documentary Right to Try, directed by Zeberiah Newman. The film, which is contending for Oscar consideration, debuted on...
For decades the Los Angeles-based casting director lived with HIV, managing the disease—like countless other people—with expensive but effective antiretroviral medications. When the opportunity came about in 2019 to participate in a clinical trial of a potential HIV cure, Drew had every reason to say no: He was doing fine on his meds, and the experimental treatment could destroy his health. Despite the risks, he said yes.
“The treatment was so uncertain and new,” Drew tells Deadline. “I was certainly getting very ill for about a month. I thought, ‘My god, what did I do?’”
Drew’s decision to take part in the trial and its impact on him is explored in the short documentary Right to Try, directed by Zeberiah Newman. The film, which is contending for Oscar consideration, debuted on...
- 12/7/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Welcome to this week’s “Just for Variety.”
Talk about a warm welcome. Brian d’Arcy James tells me that Steven Spielberg surprised him during his first day of shooting on the much-buzzed-about “West Side Story” remake. “Steven Spielberg has this fantastic tradition of stopping after the first shot that you’re in, and basically announcing and applauding anybody who has entered into the making of the movie,” says James, who plays Sgt. Krupke. “The first scene that I was in, I was way in the back — I might as well have been wallpaper. He says, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, Brian d’Arcy James is in the movie!’ And then he went on and did that for everyone else too.”
It didn’t take long after Spielberg announced he was remaking the classic that some wondered why he would tinker with such a beloved film. James defends the decision, pointing to the...
Talk about a warm welcome. Brian d’Arcy James tells me that Steven Spielberg surprised him during his first day of shooting on the much-buzzed-about “West Side Story” remake. “Steven Spielberg has this fantastic tradition of stopping after the first shot that you’re in, and basically announcing and applauding anybody who has entered into the making of the movie,” says James, who plays Sgt. Krupke. “The first scene that I was in, I was way in the back — I might as well have been wallpaper. He says, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, Brian d’Arcy James is in the movie!’ And then he went on and did that for everyone else too.”
It didn’t take long after Spielberg announced he was remaking the classic that some wondered why he would tinker with such a beloved film. James defends the decision, pointing to the...
- 12/2/2021
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
Peacock has acquired “Right to Try,” the Octavia Spencer-produced documentary short about trying to find a cure for HIV.
Directed by “The Late Late Show With James Corden” producer Zeberiah Newman, the film tells the story of veteran casting director Jeffrey Drew’s participation in an experimental treatment trial to cure him of his HIV. Variety was the first to report about the doc in June shortly after CAA’s Travis Tammero came on board to shop it around.
Peacock will premiere “Right to Try” tomorrow, Dec. 1, on World AIDS Day.
“We are thrilled our film ‘Right to Try’ will be seen on Peacock. Though Jeffrey Drew’s heroic journey is singular, his story is universal,” Spencer said in a statement. “This is an important film and with Peacock we have a wonderful partner to bring it to our audience.”
The producing team also includes Brian Clisham and Stephanie Kluft...
Directed by “The Late Late Show With James Corden” producer Zeberiah Newman, the film tells the story of veteran casting director Jeffrey Drew’s participation in an experimental treatment trial to cure him of his HIV. Variety was the first to report about the doc in June shortly after CAA’s Travis Tammero came on board to shop it around.
Peacock will premiere “Right to Try” tomorrow, Dec. 1, on World AIDS Day.
“We are thrilled our film ‘Right to Try’ will be seen on Peacock. Though Jeffrey Drew’s heroic journey is singular, his story is universal,” Spencer said in a statement. “This is an important film and with Peacock we have a wonderful partner to bring it to our audience.”
The producing team also includes Brian Clisham and Stephanie Kluft...
- 11/30/2021
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
HollyShorts Film Festival Announces Dates and Lineup
Short films starring Taika Waititi, Jessica Chastain, Tiffany Haddish and those produced by Octavia Spencer and Leonardo DiCaprio are among highlights of the Oscar-qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival, running Sept. 23-Oct. 1 at the Tcl Chinese Theatres and online.
Selections include Spencer Susser’s “Save Ralph,” starring Zac Efron, Waititi and George Lopez; Aneil Karia’s “The Long Goodbye” starring Riz Ahmed; Orlando von Einsiedel’s “Into Dust” produced by DiCaprio; Aidan Tanner’s “The Sands Between” starring Chastain; Minsun Park and Teddy Tenenbaum’s “Koreatown Ghost Story,” starring Margaret Cho; Zeberiah Newman’s “Right to Try,” produced by Spencer.
Other films on the slate are: Geoff Dunbar’s “When Winter Comes”; Lindiwe Suttle Müller-Westernhagen’s “Desmond’s Not Here Anymore;” Guy Nattiv and Jaime Ray Newman’s “Life Unexpected,” Julien Joslin’s “No Longer Suitable for Use,” Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe’s Oscar-Winning “Two Distant Strangers,...
Short films starring Taika Waititi, Jessica Chastain, Tiffany Haddish and those produced by Octavia Spencer and Leonardo DiCaprio are among highlights of the Oscar-qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival, running Sept. 23-Oct. 1 at the Tcl Chinese Theatres and online.
Selections include Spencer Susser’s “Save Ralph,” starring Zac Efron, Waititi and George Lopez; Aneil Karia’s “The Long Goodbye” starring Riz Ahmed; Orlando von Einsiedel’s “Into Dust” produced by DiCaprio; Aidan Tanner’s “The Sands Between” starring Chastain; Minsun Park and Teddy Tenenbaum’s “Koreatown Ghost Story,” starring Margaret Cho; Zeberiah Newman’s “Right to Try,” produced by Spencer.
Other films on the slate are: Geoff Dunbar’s “When Winter Comes”; Lindiwe Suttle Müller-Westernhagen’s “Desmond’s Not Here Anymore;” Guy Nattiv and Jaime Ray Newman’s “Life Unexpected,” Julien Joslin’s “No Longer Suitable for Use,” Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe’s Oscar-Winning “Two Distant Strangers,...
- 8/30/2021
- by Jennifer Yuma
- Variety Film + TV
Outfest announced the winners of its 2021 edition, including Vivian Kleiman’s “No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics” for documentary feature and Brielle Brilliant’s “Firstness” for U.S. narrative feature.
The Los Angeles LGBTQ film festival also honored Pooya Mohseni with the grand jury prize for best performance in a U.S. narrative feature for her performance in “See You Then,” while Wes Hurley won best screenplay for “Potato Dreams of America,” a non-traditional portrayal of a gay immigrant’s transition to America and his relationship with his mother.
Park Kun-young was awarded best international narrative feature for “A Distant Place,” and Ümit Ünal won best international screenplay for “Love, Spells, And All That.” “Sweetheart” actor Nell Barlow took home the award for best performance in an international narrative feature “for her ability to emote even under a pair of sunglasses and a bucket hat.”
Xavier Seron won...
The Los Angeles LGBTQ film festival also honored Pooya Mohseni with the grand jury prize for best performance in a U.S. narrative feature for her performance in “See You Then,” while Wes Hurley won best screenplay for “Potato Dreams of America,” a non-traditional portrayal of a gay immigrant’s transition to America and his relationship with his mother.
Park Kun-young was awarded best international narrative feature for “A Distant Place,” and Ümit Ünal won best international screenplay for “Love, Spells, And All That.” “Sweetheart” actor Nell Barlow took home the award for best performance in an international narrative feature “for her ability to emote even under a pair of sunglasses and a bucket hat.”
Xavier Seron won...
- 8/24/2021
- by Ethan Shanfeld
- Variety Film + TV
Outfest has announced the award winners of its 2021 Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival.
The nation’s leading LGBTQ festival ran from August 13th to August 22nd, holding its closing night at the iconic Orpheum Theatre, with Vivian Kleiman’s No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics claiming the Documentary Feature Grand Jury Prize, and Brielle Brilliant’s Firstness winning the U.S. Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize.
For the first time ever, Outfest collaborated with IMDb in choosing Audience Award winners, selecting them based on IMDb ratings. Among other prizes and recognition, eligible Outfest Los Angeles winners received a one-year membership to IMDbPro.
The winners of the Grand Jury Prizes for Best U.S. Narrative Short, Best Documentary Short, and Best International Narrative Short all received a $2000 cash prize awarded in partnership with Entertainment Partners.
Also of note is the fact that the U.S. and International Narrative...
The nation’s leading LGBTQ festival ran from August 13th to August 22nd, holding its closing night at the iconic Orpheum Theatre, with Vivian Kleiman’s No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics claiming the Documentary Feature Grand Jury Prize, and Brielle Brilliant’s Firstness winning the U.S. Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize.
For the first time ever, Outfest collaborated with IMDb in choosing Audience Award winners, selecting them based on IMDb ratings. Among other prizes and recognition, eligible Outfest Los Angeles winners received a one-year membership to IMDbPro.
The winners of the Grand Jury Prizes for Best U.S. Narrative Short, Best Documentary Short, and Best International Narrative Short all received a $2000 cash prize awarded in partnership with Entertainment Partners.
Also of note is the fact that the U.S. and International Narrative...
- 8/24/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Elliot Page says films like “But I’m a Cheerleader” offered relief from some of his struggles as a young LGBTQ+ person.
“I for one know that without the various representation that I was able to stumble upon as a kid and a teenager — there was very little — I just don’t know if I would have made it,” he said while receiving Outfest’s Achievement Award on Sunday at the film festival’s closing night gala in Los Angeles. “I don’t know if I would have made it through the moments of isolation and loneliness and shame and self-hatred that was so extreme and powerful and all-encompassing that you could hardly see out of it.
“And then, you know, at 15, when you are flipping through the channels and you stumble on ‘But I’m a Cheerleader’ and the dialogue in that film, and scenes in that film just transform your life,...
“I for one know that without the various representation that I was able to stumble upon as a kid and a teenager — there was very little — I just don’t know if I would have made it,” he said while receiving Outfest’s Achievement Award on Sunday at the film festival’s closing night gala in Los Angeles. “I don’t know if I would have made it through the moments of isolation and loneliness and shame and self-hatred that was so extreme and powerful and all-encompassing that you could hardly see out of it.
“And then, you know, at 15, when you are flipping through the channels and you stumble on ‘But I’m a Cheerleader’ and the dialogue in that film, and scenes in that film just transform your life,...
- 8/23/2021
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
Welcome to this week’s “Just for Variety.”
Marlon Wayans says it’s time for a sequel to “White Chicks.” In the 2004 comedy, he and his brother Shawn Wayans star as FBI agents who pretend to be the young white vapid socialites that they have been assigned to protect from a potential kidnapping. “I think ‘White Chicks 2’ is necessary,” Marlon Wayans tells me. “I think we’ve tightened up so much that we need to loosen our ties a bit and laugh a little bit.” The $37 million film grossed more than $113 million worldwide. “I don’t think Hollywood understands what a juggernaut ‘White Chicks 2’ would be,” Wayans says. The brothers have plenty of story ideas for a sequel. “And the world just keeps giving us more,” Wayans says. “‘White Chicks 2’ is writing itself.”
The actor can now be seen on the big screen playing Aretha Franklin’s (Jennifer Hudson) abusive first husband Ted White.
Marlon Wayans says it’s time for a sequel to “White Chicks.” In the 2004 comedy, he and his brother Shawn Wayans star as FBI agents who pretend to be the young white vapid socialites that they have been assigned to protect from a potential kidnapping. “I think ‘White Chicks 2’ is necessary,” Marlon Wayans tells me. “I think we’ve tightened up so much that we need to loosen our ties a bit and laugh a little bit.” The $37 million film grossed more than $113 million worldwide. “I don’t think Hollywood understands what a juggernaut ‘White Chicks 2’ would be,” Wayans says. The brothers have plenty of story ideas for a sequel. “And the world just keeps giving us more,” Wayans says. “‘White Chicks 2’ is writing itself.”
The actor can now be seen on the big screen playing Aretha Franklin’s (Jennifer Hudson) abusive first husband Ted White.
- 8/12/2021
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
Octavia Spencer will be honored with the James Schamus Ally Award at the 2021 Outfest LA LGBTQ Film Festival.
The award will be presented to the actress and producer at Dtla’s Orpheum Theatre on August 22, as part of the festival’s Closing Night Gala.
The Ally Award was created “to honor the efforts of an individual in bringing LGBTQ stories to the forefront.” It takes its name from Oscar-nominated producer James Schamus, who was awarded Outfest’s Achievement Award in 2014. Past honorees include James Franco, Andra Day, and Rita Moreno.
At this year’s festival, Spencer isn’t just an honoree. She also has a film making its world premiere, titled Right to Try, which she produced with Brian Clisham and Stephanie Kluft, via her Orit Entertainment banner.
The documentary short tells the story of Jeffrey Drew, who puts his life on the line to try and help find a cure for HIV.
The award will be presented to the actress and producer at Dtla’s Orpheum Theatre on August 22, as part of the festival’s Closing Night Gala.
The Ally Award was created “to honor the efforts of an individual in bringing LGBTQ stories to the forefront.” It takes its name from Oscar-nominated producer James Schamus, who was awarded Outfest’s Achievement Award in 2014. Past honorees include James Franco, Andra Day, and Rita Moreno.
At this year’s festival, Spencer isn’t just an honoree. She also has a film making its world premiere, titled Right to Try, which she produced with Brian Clisham and Stephanie Kluft, via her Orit Entertainment banner.
The documentary short tells the story of Jeffrey Drew, who puts his life on the line to try and help find a cure for HIV.
- 8/2/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Octavia Spencer will receive the James Schamus Ally Award at this year’s edition of LGBTQ film festival Outfest.
The announcement comes just after the recent news, first reported by Variety, that the Oscar winner has boarded the documentary “Right to Try” as a producer. The Zeberiah Newman-directed film, which will have its world premiere at Outfest, chronicles casting director Jeffrey Drew’s participation in a treatment trial to cure him of HIV after living with the virus for more than 30 years.
“I am so honored to be recognized with the 2021 Annual James Schamus Ally Award,” Spencer said in a statement Monday morning. “I am proud to bring Lgbtqia+ stories to audiences all over the world and am thrilled that our own film, ‘Right to Try,’ will be making its premiere at this important festival. It speaks to the kind of stories I want to see on screen — celebrating...
The announcement comes just after the recent news, first reported by Variety, that the Oscar winner has boarded the documentary “Right to Try” as a producer. The Zeberiah Newman-directed film, which will have its world premiere at Outfest, chronicles casting director Jeffrey Drew’s participation in a treatment trial to cure him of HIV after living with the virus for more than 30 years.
“I am so honored to be recognized with the 2021 Annual James Schamus Ally Award,” Spencer said in a statement Monday morning. “I am proud to bring Lgbtqia+ stories to audiences all over the world and am thrilled that our own film, ‘Right to Try,’ will be making its premiere at this important festival. It speaks to the kind of stories I want to see on screen — celebrating...
- 8/2/2021
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
Octavia Spencer will soon have another award to add to her collection. The Oscar-winning actress and producer has been selected to receive the James Schamus Ally Award during this year’s Outfest.
The LGBTQ festival will honor Spencer during its closing night event at L.A.’s Orpheum Theatre on Aug. 22. News of the award comes on the heels of Spencer and her Orit Entertainment joining the producing team of one of the fest’s short film selections, Right to Try, from director Zeberiah Newman, a producer on The Late Late Show With James Corden.
Spencer said she’s honored to receive ...
The LGBTQ festival will honor Spencer during its closing night event at L.A.’s Orpheum Theatre on Aug. 22. News of the award comes on the heels of Spencer and her Orit Entertainment joining the producing team of one of the fest’s short film selections, Right to Try, from director Zeberiah Newman, a producer on The Late Late Show With James Corden.
Spencer said she’s honored to receive ...
Octavia Spencer will soon have another award to add to her collection. The Oscar-winning actress and producer has been selected to receive the James Schamus Ally Award during this year’s Outfest.
The LGBTQ festival will honor Spencer during its closing night event at L.A.’s Orpheum Theatre on Aug. 22. News of the award comes on the heels of Spencer and her Orit Entertainment joining the producing team of one of the fest’s short film selections, Right to Try, from director Zeberiah Newman, a producer on The Late Late Show With James Corden.
Spencer said she’s honored to receive ...
The LGBTQ festival will honor Spencer during its closing night event at L.A.’s Orpheum Theatre on Aug. 22. News of the award comes on the heels of Spencer and her Orit Entertainment joining the producing team of one of the fest’s short film selections, Right to Try, from director Zeberiah Newman, a producer on The Late Late Show With James Corden.
Spencer said she’s honored to receive ...
“Everybody’s Talking About Jamie” will open the 39th edition of Outfest, the Los Angeles LGBTQ film festival.
The big-screen adaptation of the West End musical of the same name will kick off the festival Aug. 13 with its first ever outdoor gala hosted by Cinespia at Hollywood Forever cemetery. Closing night on Aug. 22 will feature a screening of “Fanny: The Right to Rock,” a film about the first female rock band to release an album with a major label. The evening will include a reunion performance by Fanny.
Outfest returns to in-person screenings and events after having gone virtual in 2020 due to the pandemic. This year’s lineup includes nearly 200 films with more than 50 international entries. There will be seven world premieres Charles Busch’s “The Sixth Reel”; “Homebody”; Outfest alum Jeffrey Schwarz’s true story of Gloria Swanson’s quest to star in a Sunset Boulevard musical, “Boulevard! A Hollywood Story”; “Gemmel and Tim,...
The big-screen adaptation of the West End musical of the same name will kick off the festival Aug. 13 with its first ever outdoor gala hosted by Cinespia at Hollywood Forever cemetery. Closing night on Aug. 22 will feature a screening of “Fanny: The Right to Rock,” a film about the first female rock band to release an album with a major label. The evening will include a reunion performance by Fanny.
Outfest returns to in-person screenings and events after having gone virtual in 2020 due to the pandemic. This year’s lineup includes nearly 200 films with more than 50 international entries. There will be seven world premieres Charles Busch’s “The Sixth Reel”; “Homebody”; Outfest alum Jeffrey Schwarz’s true story of Gloria Swanson’s quest to star in a Sunset Boulevard musical, “Boulevard! A Hollywood Story”; “Gemmel and Tim,...
- 7/26/2021
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
Octavia Spencer has joined “Right to Try,” a documentary short about an HIV cure treatment trial, as a producer through her production company Orit Entertainment. Spencer will produce along with her partner Brian Clisham and creative executive Stephanie Kluft.
The doc, directed by “The Late Late Show With James Corden” producer Zeberiah Newman, tells the story of casting director Jeffrey Drew’s participation in an experimental trial for an HIV cure.
The team, which also includes Andrew Carlberg, producer of the Oscar-winning short “Skin,” is hoping to find a distributor in time to release the film on Dec. 1 to mark the 40th anniversary of World AIDS Day.
“The sacrifices and the potential sacrifices that Jeffrey made in an effort to cure HIV, which 38 million people worldwide are battling, is a heroic journey that everyone should know about,” Clisham tells Variety.
Clisham says he and Spencer reached out to Newman after...
The doc, directed by “The Late Late Show With James Corden” producer Zeberiah Newman, tells the story of casting director Jeffrey Drew’s participation in an experimental trial for an HIV cure.
The team, which also includes Andrew Carlberg, producer of the Oscar-winning short “Skin,” is hoping to find a distributor in time to release the film on Dec. 1 to mark the 40th anniversary of World AIDS Day.
“The sacrifices and the potential sacrifices that Jeffrey made in an effort to cure HIV, which 38 million people worldwide are battling, is a heroic journey that everyone should know about,” Clisham tells Variety.
Clisham says he and Spencer reached out to Newman after...
- 7/22/2021
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
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