Moonlight

CHICAGO – And the winner was… a wild and bizarre ending to the 89th Academy Awards, as Best Picture presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway were given a wrong envelope, resulting in a call of “La La Land” as top movie, but after an on-stage melee, it was further revealed that the Best Picture was actually “Moonlight.”

CHICAGO –To quote the sublime Bruce Springsteen, it’s just “talk, talk, talk ‘til you lose your patience.” Well, that ain’t HollywoodChicago.com’s Patrick McDonald, who throws down the über-interview on a series of movers, shakers and magical filmmakers. Oscar Day is perfect for the Top 20 talks of 2016.

CHICAGO – For the second year in a row, Comcast, ABC-TV and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences are partnering up for an “immersive” TV experience on The Oscars telecast. This year’s The Oscars experience will include more than 1500 hours of extra content, as well as live streams of backstage activity and the red carpet, interactive voice commands and enhanced extras – all on TV with Xfinity X1.

CHICAGO – As Chicago evolves as a film town, so do its parties. The annual “Hollywood on State” gathering, put together by the Gene Siskel Film Center, is enhancing their Oscar watching event by honoring four prominent and emerging Chicago filmmakers – Lonnie Edwards, Lori Felker, Jennifer Reeder and Michael Smith. For more details, and to be a part of the magical evening, click here.

CHICAGO – The film musical “La La Land” received 14 nominations (including Best Picture), tying a record, as all nominees were announced for the 89th Academy Awards on January 24th, 2017. The rest of the Best Pictures nominees were “Arrival,” “Fences,” “Hacksaw Ridge,” “Hell or High Water,” “Hidden Figures,’ “Lion,” “Manchester by the Sea” and “Moonlight.”

CHICAGO – It was a musical-oriented, high octane night at the 74th Golden Globe Awards on January 8th, 2017. Hosted by Jimmy Fallon of NBC-TV’s “The Tonight Show,” the Globes celebrated the best in TV and film in 2016, and selected Best Pictures “La La Land” (Comedy/Musical) and “Moonlight” (Drama), and honored the Best TV Shows with “Atlanta” (Comedy, FX) and “The Crown” (Drama, Netflix).

CHICAGO – It’s that time of the film year, the “Ten Best” lists. In representing my 2016 picks – as “Patrick McDonald” – I looked for the emotional experience as much as anything. I think every filmgoer, from the most casual to the ardent buff, adhere to their favorites through that feeling of connection.

CHICAGO – The poignant identity film “Moonlight” was named the 2016 Best Picture by the Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA), in an announcement on December 15th. The film also took home the Best Director (Barry Jenkins) and Best Supporting Actor (Mahershala Ali) honors. “Manchester by the Sea” got the most honors, with four, from a voting survey of the CFCA.

CHICAGO – The poignant journey of “Moonlight” topped the 2016 Chicago Film Critics Association nominations list with 11, as announced on Monday, December 12th. Other notable multi-category nominees included the biopic “Jackie,” the drama “Manchester by the Sea” and the musical “La La Land.” Janelle Monae (“Hidden Figures”), Lily Gladstone (“Certain Women”) and Lucas Hedges (“Manchester by the Sea”) scored double nominations in the Best Supporting Actress and Actor categories, as well as Most Promising Performer.

CHICAGO – While the name André Holland may not be familiar, the actor’s consummate approach to his craft is unforgettable. Specializing in character parts, Holland has raised his profile in such movie hits as “Selma” and “42,’ and on television recently with “The Knick” and “American Horror Story.” His latest film is “Moonlight.”