movies

Sony Pictures Classics Takes Rights To SXSW Film ‘Wishful Thinking’

Published

30 minutes ago

May 1, 2026

Sony Pictures Classics has picked up worldwide rights to the Lewis Pullman–Maya Hawke starring Wishful Thinking, which made its world premiere at SXSW and won the top Narrative Feature prize there.

The film written and directed by Graham Parkes follows Julia, an ambitious game designer, and Charlie, a struggling musician, who are at a loss for how to repair their volatile relationship. After attending a couples-therapy seminar run by mysterious twin healers, they find that the ups-and-downs of their relationship have supernatural effects on the world around them. With earthquakes, the stock market and entire nations at risk, Charlie and Julia must confront whether their passionate love can survive amidst so much chaos.

“Audiences have been craving a film like Wishful Thinking — romantic, unpredictable and genuinely funny — and we can’t wait for them to experience Maya and Lewis in these deeply human and refreshingly hilarious leading roles,” Sony Pictures Classics said Friday. “Graham Parkes has crafted a film for a new generation of moviegoers with the kind of romantic comedy meant to be shared in a theater, marking another collaboration we’re proud to continue with Pinky Promise and our new friends at Highway 10.”

Parkes said, “Sony Pictures Classics has been a singular champion of independent cinema for nearly 35 years, releasing some of my favorite movies of all time. So to be included among the films first brought to an audience by them is truly the ultimate recognition for the passionate work our cast and crew put into making Wishful Thinking.”

The movie also stars Amita Rao, Randall Park, Eric Rahill, Jake Shane, Kate Berlant and Kerri Kenney-Silver. The film is produced by Pullman for Buckwild Pictures; Dan Gedman and Matt Smith for Highway 10, which also fully financed the film; and Kara Durrett for Pinky Promise. Executive producers are Alyssa Roehrenbeck, Sarah Mather, Jessamine Burgum, Cameron Fuller and Graham Patrick Martin.

The deal was negotiated between Sony Pictures Classics and UTA Independent Film Group on behalf of the filmmakers.

movies

Oscar Rules Changes: Seismic Moves In Acting and International Film Categories

Published

5 minutes ago

May 1, 2026

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has just made Oscar rule and eligibility changes in the acting and International Film categories that have to rank with the most significant in its nearly 100-year history.

From this point on in the acting categories, both lead and supporting, actors can be nominated for more than one performance in those individual categories if those performances place in the top five votes. In other words, if Leonardo DiCaprio has two great lead performances in the same year, he can now be nominated for both for Best Actor. The same would apply if he also had multiple supporting performances.

Previously, unlike every other category, if an actor had movies that gained two or even three of the top five votes, only the performance that got the most votes would be eligible. The Academy’s Board of Governors now has thrown that stipulation out the window to match the way other categories always have operated. In 2000, for example, Steven Soderbergh was nominated for Best Director for Erin Brockovich and Traffic, winning for the latter. The same thing now can happen in acting categories. If an actor has an extremely prolific year, might we even see someone swallow up three of the five nominations? Probably won’t happen, but it’s now possible.

Another seismic and long-overdue change is coming to the International Film category (formerly Foreign Language Film), where there now are two ways to submit a movie for consideration. Previously a film had to be the official selection chosen by the country or region, but now a non-English-language film can be submitted simply by winning a qualifying award at an international film festival. Those festivals and specific awards qualifying this year will be Berlin (Golden Bear), Busan (Best Film Award), Cannes (Palme d’Or), Sundance (World Cinema Grand Jury Prize), Toronto (Platform Award) and Venice (Golden Lion). One recent example would be that France’s Anatomy of a Fall, which won the Palme d’Or in Cannes but was not submitted to Oscars by France, now would be eligible as well as the country’s official entry.

There is another equally eye-popping change in that the International Feature Film category now will be credited as the nominee rather than country or region, as always has been the case The award will continue to be accepted by the director on behalf of the whole creative team, but the director’s name now will be on the statuette plaque. It never was before, and AMPAS didn’t include International Film wins in the official count of how many Oscars that director may have won in other categories. Oscar only counted the wins for individual countries. Ever.

And wait, there’s more! AMPAS has jumped into the AI conversation in an official way, now clearly stating that only performances “demonstrably performed by humans” will be eligible in acting categories. The same goes in writing categories, which have been codified to say only human-authored screenplays are eligible.

Big day for the Academy and for Oscar. All the changes, including tweaks to campaign rules, are listed below as well as submission deadlines and key dates for the 99th Annual Academy Awards on March 14.

Substantive awards rules changes include:

In the Acting categories, actors may be nominated for multiple performances in the same category if those performances place in the top five votes, which aligns with achievements in other award categories.
Additionally, in the Acting categories, only roles credited in the film’s legal billing and demonstrably performed by humans with their consent will be considered eligible.
In the Casting category, the number of statuettes awarded will increase from a maximum of two to a maximum of three statuettes.
In the Cinematography category, the preliminary voting round will produce a shortlist of 20 films rather than 10-20.
In the International Feature Film category, there are now two ways to submit a film for consideration. In addition to a film being submitted as an official selection by a country or region via the Academy-approved Selection Committees, a non-English language film can now be submitted for consideration by winning a qualifying award at an international film festival as specified in the International Feature Film Award Qualifying Festival List. Qualifying festivals for the 99th Oscars® are the Berlin International Film Festival (Golden Bear for Best Film), Busan International Film Festival (Busan Award – Best Film Award), Cannes Film Festival (Palme d’Or), Sundance Film Festival (World Cinema Grand Jury Prize), Toronto International Film Festival (Platform Award) and Venice International Film Festival (Golden Lion).
Additionally, in the International Feature Film category, the film will be credited as the nominee rather than the country or region, and the award will be accepted by the director on behalf of the film’s creative team. The director’s name will be listed on the statuette plaque after the film title and, if applicable, the country or region.
In the Makeup and Hairstyling category, Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch members must attend at least one of the two final branch meetings (roundtables) to be eligible to vote in the preliminary round.
In the Original Song category, the rules clarify a song’s eligibility when based on its placement in the end credits. For songs submitted as the first new music cue once the end credits begin, the video clip must include the last 15 seconds of the film before the credits begin.
In the Visual Effects category, all Academy members must view the three-minute Before and After reels from the Visual Effects Bake-Off to be eligible to vote in the final round.
In the Writing categories, the rules codify that screenplays must be human-authored to be eligible.
For Governors Awards recipients, a minimum of three disciplines must be represented in a given Awards year.
Under Eligibility (Rule Two) regarding Generative Artificial Intelligence, the Academy reserves the right to request more information about the nature of the use and human authorship.

Awards submission deadlines and additional key dates are as follows:

Thursday, August 13
First submission deadline for Animated Short Film, Documentary Feature Film, Documentary Short Film and Live Action Short Film categories

Thursday, September 17
First submission deadline for General Entry categories, Animated Feature Film, Best Picture and Representation and Inclusion Standards Entry (RAISE) form

Wednesday, September 30
Submission deadline for International Feature Film

Thursday, October 8
Final submission deadline for Animated Short Film, Documentary Short Film and Live Action Short Film categories

Wednesday, October 14
Submission deadline for Music (Original Song)

Thursday, October 15
Final submission deadline for Documentary Feature Film

Wednesday, November
Submission deadline for Music (Original Score)

Thursday, November 12
Final submission deadline for General Entry categories, Animated Feature Film, Best Picture and Representation and Inclusion Standards Entry (RAISE) form

January 8-10
Casting, Makeup and Hairstyling, Sound and Visual Effects voting events (bake-offs)

The Academy also updated and clarified formatting and language in the campaign promotional regulations for the 99th Oscars. The campaign promotional regulations specify how motion picture companies and individuals directly associated with Oscars-eligible motion pictures may promote such motion pictures, achievements and performances to Academy members and how Academy members may promote Oscars-eligible motion pictures, achievements and performances.

Substantive changes to the campaign promotional regulations include:

Screenings with Q&A sessions or panel discussions before nominations may now have up to two moderators instead of one moderator.
All eblasts and FYC calendar entries sent to Academy members via an Academy-approved mailing house from a motion picture company, individual associated with an eligible motion picture or Qualifying Film Festival must include an email address or phone number contact for inquiries regarding how members may request accessibility and disability needs or if the theater hosting the screening has proper accommodations.

Awards Rules are formulated by the Awards Committee based on recommendations by Branch Executive Committees, the International Feature Film Executive Committee, and the Scientific and Technical Awards Executive Committee, and are subject to final approval by the Board of Governors.

All rules, regulations and dates for the 99th Academy Awards are subject to change.

movies

Versant Sells Youth Sports Digital Outlet SportsEngine

Published

19 minutes ago

May 1, 2026

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Versant, which has telegraphed plans for M&A since spinning off from Comcast, has executed an expected sell-off of youth sports digital specialist SportsEngine to another company in the sector, PlayMetrics.

The asset had long been rumored to be on the list of assets Versant was looking to shed. NBCUniversal acquired it in 2016 and it was gradually integrated into other sports and digital properties in the NBCU portfolio. Versant said the transaction reflects its focus on four strategic pillars: business news and personal finance; political news and opinion; golf; and sports and genre entertainment.

Those without a connection to youth sports might find SportsEngine’s value proposition to be a bit of a head-scratcher, but those with a stake in that increasingly revenue-rich arena have no trouble grasping the story. SportsEngine operates a set of software and payments products designed for club teams, youth leagues and tournaments as well as a management platform.

It also streams live events – providing a valuable commodity for families keeping tabs on games across the country – and grew from about 9,000 streamed events three years ago to a projected 200,000 this year.

At Versant’s investor day last December, the outlook for SportsEngine was addressed, and CFO and COO Anand Kini spoke about it again on Versant’ last earnings call in March. “We’re evaluating kind of value maximizing alternatives for that business,” he said. “We see a lot of consolidation in youth sports market-wide, so we think it’s the right time for this review, but we haven’t made a decision yet. Just to be very clear, we like SportsEngine. It’s been a very good business for us…so we’re only going to pursue opportunities that genuinely maximize value for the long term.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

PlayMetrics said the deal will enhance its capabilities as an operating system for all stakeholders in the youth sports ecosystem.

As PlayMetrics looks to marry technology with youth sports, the deal “accelerates that mission further and faster than we could before,” CEO Mike Doernberg said.

Will McIntosh, president of digital platforms and ventures at Versant, called SportsEngine “a high-quality business with a strong offering in the youth sports ecosystem, and we are proud of the platform we’ve built.” The sale, he added, “reflects a strong outcome for Versant and positions SportsEngine for continued growth under PlayMetrics’ leadership.”

movies

Disability Belongs Reveals New Cohort For 2026 Entertainment Lab

Published

46 minutes ago

May 1, 2026

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EXCLUSIVE: Disability Belongs, a national disability-led nonprofit known for creating systemic change in how society views and values people with disabilities, has announced a new virtual cohort of participants for its 2026 Entertainment Lab.

In its eighth year, the Lab has become a growing pipeline for disabled talent. The cohort — which includes writers, directors, producers, and those working in physical production — will engage in interactive presentations, roundtables, and skill-building workshops with top executives and talent from major studios, networks, and production companies.

The 2026 participants are Aaron Potter, Allison White, Analesa Fisher, Brian Cohen, Brianna Naderpour, Clare Cooney, Corey Allen Evans, Dashiell Meier, Fionntán Price, Frances Rubio, Greg Jeffs, Jessiline Berry, Karen Jeynes, Kryzz Gautier, Lamont Lamar, Madeleine Shelley, Mary Pat Bentel, Matthew Yeungong Hua, Megan Metzger, Nathan Willis, Peter Soby, Serena Dykman, Shani A. Moore, Simone Brazzini, and Sophie Ostrove.

The cohort includes 10 writer/directors, six TV writers, four screenwriters, three documentary filmmakers, one producer and one music composer. The Fellows are based in Los Angeles, New York City, and 11 additional cities across North America, as well as Cape Town, South Africa.

“As someone who started in this business with no contacts, I’m passionate about helping others break in,” Nathan Varni, Executive Director of Current Programming at ABC Entertainment Group and Disability Belongs Board member, said in a statement on Friday. “This Lab is cultivating the next wave of talented writers, producers, and directors who are reshaping Hollywood.”

Launched in 2019, the Entertainment Lab is one of several pipeline programs offered by Disability Belongs for disabled entertainment professionals. The 2026 Disability Belongs Lab, which runs from May to September, is supported in part by Netflix and Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Alumni of the program have gone on to work with major studios and platforms, including Disney, Netflix, Paramount Pictures, and Sony Pictures Entertainment, premiering projects at major festivals such as SXSW, and participating in professional development programs, including those offered by the Sundance Institute.

“Being an alumna of various Disability Belongs programs in the Lab back in 2020, and after that, when I started working with them as a fellow, was really my first start in consultation work in the entertainment industry,” Ava X. Rigelhaupt, a program alumna, said in a statement. “I learned from really some of the best people, like Lauren Appelbaum and my cohort at that time, on how to work with studios of various sizes—from indie studios to Disney—how to give notes, listen to their needs, and provide solutions to these different projects. I also learned how to negotiate and push back, emphasizing not just your perspective of why you would like this change, but also that there are always nuances and people who agree and disagree, research, and the disability community’s need for true inclusion and representation. I learned how to advocate for that with different people, understanding what various people need and how you might be able to weave in some great stories.”