<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/christopher-nolan">Christopher Nolan</a> will direct a star-studded story that is more than 2,000 years old when “The Odyssey” hits theaters in the summer of 2026.
&#8220;Christopher Nolan&#8217;s next film &#8216;The Odyssey&#8217; is a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX film technology,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/UniversalPics/status/1871314845083042266">Universal Pictures wrote in a post</a> on social media.
&#8220;The film brings Homer&#8217;s foundational saga to IMAX film screens for the first time and opens in theaters everywhere on July 17, 2026,” it added.
A whole host of stars have already signed on for the project including Robert Pattinson, Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, and Charlize Theron, just to name a few, <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/christopher-nolan-adapting-the-odyssey-1236093332/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to The Hollywood Reporter.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Christopher Nolan’s next film ‘The Odyssey’ is a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX film technology. The film brings Homer’s foundational saga to IMAX film screens for the first time and opens in theaters everywhere on July 17, 2026.
— Universal Pictures (@UniversalPics) <a href="https://twitter.com/UniversalPics/status/1871314845083042266?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2024</a></blockquote>
Nolan’s last project was the blockbuster film about the creation of the Atomic Bomb with “Oppenheimer,” which scored tons of accolades, including taking home seven out of 13 nominations at the 96th Academy Awards.
The movie won Best Picture and Nolan got Best Director. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/oppenheimer-review-the-amazing-christopher-nolan">&#8220;Oppenheimer&#8221;</a> also won Cinematography, Film Editing, and Best Music (Original Score). Cillian Murphy won Best Actor for his performance in the thriller/mystery, and Robert Downey Jr. won Best Supporting Actor.
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In his next project, Nolan will take on a different type of movie than he’s used to when he brings the film adaptation to life about the 8th century BC poem from Homer about Odysseus’ journey home following the Trojan War, <a href="https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/story/christopher-nolan-odyssey-film-star-studded-cast-details-117084668?cid=social_twitter_abcn">Good Morning America</a> noted.
The type of movies fans of Nolan are used to include “Interstellar, “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight,” “Tenet,” and “Dunkirk.” However, this movie will be more fantastical than his past ones dealing with monsters, gods and goddesses. 
Details about the project are scarce, with Nolan telling the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/christopher-nolan-odyssey-6a6287d4714817dad985d88ad557e4af" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Associated Press</a> recently about the testing phase of the technology being used.
“They have an incredible engineering staff, really brilliant minds doing extraordinary work,” Nolan said. “It’s wonderful to see innovation in the celluloid film arena still happening and happening at the highest level possible.”
The most recent movie inspired by “The Odyssey” came from the Coen Brothers in “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” in 2000. The film starred George Clooney along with John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/christopher-nolan-reacts-to-his-post-franchise-post-ip-landscape-film-clearing-almost-1b-its-kind-of-encouraging" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Christopher Nolan Reacts To His ‘Post-Franchise, Post-IP Landscape’ Film Clearing Almost $1B: ‘It’s Kind Of Encouraging’</a>

Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan To Direct Star-Studded ‘The Odyssey’ For Next Project

Christopher Nolan To Direct Star-Studded 'The Odyssey' For Next Project

Entertainment

Hollywood

Movies

Oppenheimer

Oscars

U.S.

DailyWire+ documentary “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/videos/am-i-racist">Am I Racist?</a>” has been <a href="https://deadline.com/2024/12/am-i-racist-snubbed-on-oscar-documentary-shortlist-1236209076/">snubbed</a> from the Oscar shortlist, despite the film’s record-breaking box office success and massive cultural influence. 
“<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/am-i-racist-opens-as-third-highest-grossing-film-in-the-country">Am I Racist?</a>”, which features Daily Wire author and podcast host Matt Walsh exposing the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-dei">DEI</a> grift, outperformed any other documentary this year. Additionally, “Am I Racist?” is one of only 15 documentaries ever to open in over 1,500 theaters and earned the third-highest opening day gross for a documentary in the last decade. The shortlist is determined by Academy Documentary Branch members, who later decide the five Oscar nominees. 
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/amiracist/">WATCH ‘AM I RACIST?’ ON DAILYWIRE+</a>
“The Academy Awards announced the shortlist for documentaries,” Walsh posted to X on Tuesday. “These are their top 15 films in the genre that will be whittled down to 5 nominees. ‘Am I Racist?’ did not make the top 15 even though it is the highest grossing doc of the decade and easily the most talked about, most watched, and most influential documentary of this year.” 
“This is the outcome I expected, of course, but it doesn’t make it any less of a farce,” he added. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The Academy Awards announced the shortlist for documentaries. These are their top 15 films in the genre that will be whittled down to 5 nominees. “Am I Racist?” did not make the top 15 even though it is the highest grossing doc of the decade and easily the most talked about, most…
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1869099100559548911?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2024</a></blockquote>
Co-founder of The Daily Wire and “Am I Racist?” executive producer Jeremy Boreing, on the other hand, said the snub was shocking in light of the doc’s massive success. 
“I have to say, I am genuinely surprised by this result,” he wrote. “I truly thought they would have to acknowledge AIR, if only to save face.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I have to say, I am genuinely surprised by this result. I truly thought they would have to acknowledge AIR, if only to save face. <a href="https://t.co/4AtXLlqRLW">https://t.co/4AtXLlqRLW</a>
— Jeremy Boreing (@JeremyDBoreing) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeremyDBoreing/status/1869100490249920554?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2024</a></blockquote>
Walsh also highlighted the success of  “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/videos/what-is-a-woman">What is a Woman?</a>”  – a Daily Wire documentary about gender that preceded “Am I Racist?” – and underscored how Hollywood believes they “own” filmmaking and resent the Right for their success. 
“If a conservative can make a documentary that crushes every other film in its genre that year and beats every film in its genre in the past 6 or 7 years, and yet still not even crack the top 15, that means that conservatives are simply excluded from having their work recognized,” he wrote. “Again, this is not a surprise. But that’s what it means.” 
“One thing I’ve learned after getting into filmmaking is that the Left truly believes it owns the art of filmmaking,” Walsh asserted. “Any conservative who makes a film is an intruder, a sinister usurper showing up in a place where he doesn’t belong.”
“The truth is that the success of my films — and they are both easily the most watched and influential documentaries of the decade — actually makes it LESS likely that they’ll be recognized by critics or awards,” the conservative added. “Our success is an affront to them. They hate us for it.”
“Deadline,” a prominent entertainment outlet, also deemed the omission of “Am I Racist?” from the Oscar shortlist a “<a href="https://deadline.com/2024/12/am-i-racist-snubbed-on-oscar-documentary-shortlist-1236209076/">snub</a>,” noting that the film earned “more money at the box office than any other documentary this year, by far.”

MixCollage-15-Sep-2024-07-08-AM-5558

‘Am I Racist?’ Snubbed From Oscar Shortlist Despite Record-Breaking Success. Walsh Reacts: ‘A Farce’

Am I Racist

Jeremy Boreing

Matt Walsh

Variety magazine says Daily Wire podcaster <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/matt-walsh">Matt Walsh</a> is a “hypocrite” for daring to submit his hit documentary “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/am-i-racist">Am I Racist</a>?,” the top-grossing documentary in a decade, for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/oscars">Academy Award</a> consideration.
Writer Clayton Davis said the submission of the film, which made $12.3 million at the box office, was nothing but an example of “alt-right commentators” making it their “mission to ridicule the entertainment industry’s awards circuit.”
The <a href="https://variety.com/2024/film/awards/am-i-racist-submitted-oscars-matt-walsh-conservative-hypocrisy-1236210876/">Variety</a> contributor downplayed the significance of “Am I Racist?” performing well at the box office, citing Marvel movies as examples of why films that do well financially shouldn’t necessarily win or even be considered for awards.
“The real story here is the apparent contradiction: conservative voices denounce ‘woke Hollywood,’ while actively seeking its approval,” Davis wrote.
“And as award season progresses, if (or when?) ‘Am I Racist?’ doesn’t receive the recognition its backers believe it deserves — or doesn’t appear on Variety’s inevitable ‘snubs and surprises’ list — the outcry will likely follow the same script,” he went on.
“In an era where conservatives champion the rhetoric of former president Donald Trump, perhaps they remember his famous line: ‘When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.’ Sorry, baby. You’re not a star.”
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/?_gl=1*jtghwp*_gcl_au*ODQ1NjYzNTg2LjE3Mjg5MDk3OTE.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczMDEyMDgwOS40OS4xLjE3MzAxMjA4MzkuMzAuMC4w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+</a>
Walsh shot back at the critic on X, calling it “one of the most insane articles” he’s ever read.
“We have the most successful film in its genre this decade, but we are somehow ‘hypocrites’ for suggesting that it deserves any awards recognition at all,” Walsh said. “Conservatives are supposed to stay in their ghettos.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This is one of the most insane articles I’ve ever read. We have the most successful film in its genre this decade, but we are somehow “hypocrites” for suggesting that it deserves any awards recognition at all. Conservatives are supposed to stay in their ghettos. <a href="https://t.co/IdrR2Cvt43">https://t.co/IdrR2Cvt43</a>
&mdash; Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1857514960630198470?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Walsh <a href="https://x.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1851312460671697137">announced</a> on October 29 that the film had officially been submitted for Academy Award consideration.
The film “Am I Racist?” featured Walsh going undercover in the world of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) to expose the grift of the race hustlers profiting off people’s emotions through deception. It has a 96% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes with more than 2,500 verified reviews. Despite the overwhelming popularity of the movie, mainstream critics have largely ignored it.
If you missed the theatrical release of “Am I Racist?” or if you want to watch the film again, you can do so now by becoming a <a href="https://www.amiracist.com/?_gl=1*1309mqf*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MjU5OTIyMTEuQ2p3S0NBanczUC0yQmhBRUVpd0EzeVBod0tzY21ZbVhrVGVrVWEyd0taUGhFMU44dnVSUjR2VVdEeURSMVVvd2x3OHgtWmR0aV90NjhCb0NDdnNRQXZEX0J3RQ..*_gcl_au*MTA2OTM1OTAwOC4xNzI4OTMwMjA2*_ga*NTk0OTM2MjUwLjE2ODk4MDQ5MDU.*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczMTcwMzg4Ni43MDMuMS4xNzMxNzA0ODExLjU5LjAuMA..">DailyWire+ member</a>.

00_AIR_16x9_Streaming_V01

Variety Mag Scoffs At Top Grossing Doc ‘Am I Racist?’ For Oscar Bid: ‘Sorry, Baby. You’re Not A Star’

Variety Mag Says Matt Walsh Is A ‘Hypocrite’ For Submitting ‘Am I Racist?’ For Academy Awards

Documentaries

Actress <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/celebrities">Halle Berry</a> complained about the fact that no <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-dei">black woman</a> has won the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/oscars">Academy Award</a> for Best Actress since she did for “Monster’s Ball” in 2002.
“I’m still eternally miffed that no black woman has come behind me for that best actress Oscar, I’m continually saddened by that year after year,” the 58-year-old actress <a href="https://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/halle-berry-interview-2024/">said</a> in an interview with Marie Claire published Tuesday. “And it’s certainly not because there has been nobody deserving.”
Berry mentioned Andra Day in “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” and Viola Davis in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” as two candidates she thinks deserved the honor.
“Would I rather have awards or a kickass, robust, soaring career as a black woman? I’d take the kickass, soaring career over an award any day,” she added.
The “Catwoman” actress spoke on this topic before, telling <a href="https://variety.com/2020/film/news/halle-berry-oscar-win-diversity-1234762649/">Variety</a> in 2020 how upset she was over it.
“It’s one of my biggest heartbreaks,” Berry said at the time. “The morning after, I thought, ‘Wow, I was chosen to open a door.’ And then, to have no one … I question, ‘Was that an important moment, or was it just an important moment for me?’ I wanted to believe it was so much bigger than me. It felt so much bigger than me, mainly because I knew others should have been there before me and they weren’t.”
“Just because I won an award doesn’t mean that, magically, the next day, there was a place for me,” she went on. “I was just continuing to forge a way out of no way.”
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1723831707612000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0pyrv88A5nsmWM2F2Wr9As">Tickets for “Am I Racist?” are on sale NOW! Buy here for a theater near you.</a>
The Academy Awards previously announced that beginning in 2024, a film will only qualify for Best Picture if it meets specific diversity criteria in two of four diversity areas. The Academy’s new guidelines cover “on-screen representation, themes and narratives” and “creative leadership and project team,” as well as so-called industry access opportunities and audience development diversity, as The Daily Wire originally <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-daily-wire-poll-most-americans-oppose-oscars-diversity-requirements">reported</a>.
A poll conducted by The Daily Wire found that the majority of respondents (63%) believe that “films should solely be judged on their artistic merits,” while only 24% of respondents said that “diversity should be a significant factor” in a film’s nomination.

Halle Berry

Halle Berry Says She’s ‘Eternally Miffed’ About Being Only Black Woman To Win Best Actress Oscar

Halle Berry Says She's 'Eternally Miffed' About Being Only Black Woman To Win Best Actress Oscar

Celebrities

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are still looking for a host for their 97th annual ceremony after prior host <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jimmy-kimmel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jimmy Kimmel</a> and comedian John Mulaney have reportedly both turned down the gig.
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/oscars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oscars</a> and ABC reportedly made an offer to Kimmel &#8212; who has hosted the annual movie awards show already four times, including the last two years &#8212; but he said no, <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/jimmy-kimmel-john-mulaney-not-hosting-oscars-1235961406/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to The Hollywood Reporter.
After taking on the gig last year, the late night host said, “I always dreamed of hosting the Oscars exactly four times,” as previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jimmy-kimmel-will-return-to-host-2024-oscars">reported</a>.
Comedian and talk show host John Mulaney also reportedly was offered the job after thrilling the Oscar crowd at the non-televised 2024 Governor’s Awards this year.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The Oscars are now looking for a new host.
Who would you like to see host the 2025 ceremony? <a href="https://t.co/L2thuMJD6r">pic.twitter.com/L2thuMJD6r</a>
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) <a href="https://twitter.com/FilmUpdates/status/1818119956829295019?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2024</a></blockquote>
After previously telling THR he would definitely consider taking on the hosting gig, saying it “would be really fun. It’s hosting the Academy Awards. Johnny Carson did that,&#8221; and telling the outlet in June that he “wouldn’t necessarily say no,” he’s reportedly decided to pass this year, the outlet noted. Both the Academy and ABC reportedly did not respond to THR for the piece.
Kimmel previously hosted in 2017, 2018, 2023, and of course earlier this year.
In 2023, Academy CEO and President Bill Kramer said of Kimmel returning, “We are thrilled about Jimmy returning to host and Molly [McNearney] returning as executive producer for the Oscars.&#8221;
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“They share our love of movies and our commitment to producing a dynamic and entertaining show for our global audience,” he added. “We are deeply grateful to Jimmy, Molly and their teams for their incredible creativity and partnership and for going on this ride with us again.”
President of ABC Entertainment, Hulu and Disney Branded Television Streaming Originals, Craig Erwich, also sang the host’s praises, at the time, saying, “After his triumphant return to the Oscars stage last year, we are honored to have Jimmy back to guide us through one of the most beloved celebrations in entertainment.”
“He is such a valuable member of our Disney family, and we could not be more appreciative of him and his entire team,” Erwich added.
Kimmel is tied with Whoopi Goldberg and Jack Lemmon, who emceed the Oscars four times. Celebrities who hosted more times than Kimmel include Johnny Carson (5 times), Billy Crystal (9 times), and Bob Hope (11 times).
The 97th Oscars are scheduled to take place in Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, 2025.

US-ENTERTAINMENT-FILM-AWARD-OSCARS-SHOW

Oscars Still Looking For Host After Jimmy Kimmel, John Mulaney Pass On Gig: Report

Jimmy Kimmel

John Mulaney

Actor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/james-woods" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James Woods</a> revealed in a rare interview that he was advised to keep his involvement with box office smash &#8220;Oppenheimer&#8221; under wraps over fears that his &#8220;pro-Trump&#8221; leanings would stand in the way of Oscars success.
Woods told Sirius XM host and Daily Wire voice talent Megyn Kelly that when he signed on to the Christopher Nolan project, there was a conversation among others associated with the film about his Twitter account.
&#8220;When &#8216;Oppenheimer&#8217; came out, there was a discussion about my Twitter, and it was gently suggested that I basically remain invisible, which was painful — on the other hand, I’m a pragmatic person and I thought, a lot of people put their effort into this, so I’m just going to be an invisible pariah because the people who are going to be voting for Oscars, which is very important,&#8221; Woods said, recalling that when he had first announced his support for former President Donald Trump, he&#8217;d been unceremoniously dropped by his agent on the 4th of July.
Woods went on to explain that ultimately, because he did not want to see others who had worked on the film miss out on acclaim or awards because his name was attached to the project, he agreed to keep his role quiet.
&#8220;I don’t want to deprive those people. I don’t want to have some nutcase come out of the woodwork, fabricate some ridiculous story about me — I’ve had a million of them said, they’re all lies — I don’t want that to happen and have the clickbait story be, &#8216;James Woods is the executive producer, we’re not going to watch that movie!&#8217; So I stepped back and basically took one for the team,&#8221; he said.
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&#8220;That environment is not the one my father shed blood for,&#8221; he added, referencing his late father, Gail Peyton Woods&#8217; military service.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Gail Payton Woods 1915-1960 USN (CB) WWII Purple Heart (2) 
USA (QMC) Korea and after <a href="http://t.co/tWQwxsxuNB">pic.twitter.com/tWQwxsxuNB</a>
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealJamesWoods/status/602847322343481345?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 25, 2015</a></blockquote>

2017 Writers Guild Awards L.A. Ceremony – Inside

James Woods Told To Keep ‘Oppenheimer’ Ties Quiet Over Trump Support: Not What ‘My Father Shed Blood For’

James Woods Told To Keep 'Oppenheimer' Ties Quiet Over Trump Support: Not What 'My Father Shed Blood For'

Donald Trump

James Woods

Megyn Kelly

Politics

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet certainly has a way with words — and he did not mince any when he delivered a blistering takedown of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-dei" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion</a> (DEI) standards that now limit him and others who share his profession.
Mamet made the comments during an <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2024-04-21/david-mamet-hollywood-diversity-dei-initiatives-festival-of-books" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with Los Angeles Times deputy entertainment editor Matt Brennan and the outlet&#8217;s Festival of Books — hosted by University of Southern California — where he was promoting his memoir, &#8220;Everywhere an Oink, Oink.&#8221;
&#8220;DEI is garbage. It’s fascist totalitarianism,&#8221; Mamet told Brennan. His memoir, which was published last fall, tells his life story in a series of anecdotes — and follows his political metamorphosis as well. Mamet refers to himself as a &#8220;red diaper baby,&#8221; the child of two communists — and details how he made the journey from the far Left to his current position: supporting former President Donald Trump.
The award-winning playwright and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000519/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">screenwriter</a> — whose works include &#8220;Glengarry Glen Ross,&#8221; &#8220;The Untouchables,&#8221; and &#8220;Hannibal&#8221; — also took issue with the new &#8220;inclusion standards&#8221; that have been implemented by the Academy of Motion Pictures, noting that for films to even be considered for awards, they had to check certain boxes according to DEI standards.
&#8220;I can’t give you a stupid f***ing statue unless you have 7% of this, 8% of that,&#8221; Mamet complained. &#8220;It’s intrusive.&#8221;
He did not spare the feelings of those charged with implementing the new standards either, referring to them in his memoir as &#8220;diversity capos&#8221; and &#8220;diversity commissars.&#8221;
Mamet conceded that Hollywood had long been a place where discrimination had thrived — but argued that the executives dictating the new rules were better suited to &#8220;selling popcorn&#8221; than to creating a less restrictive environment.
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&#8220;The [film industry] has little business improving everybody’s racial understanding as does the fire department,&#8221; he said.
Despite his long career in Hollywood, Mamet said that he&#8217;s been shuffled off the main stage in recent years — but he did not blame the shift in his political views for that. Instead, he said that his age was the likely culprit — and younger directors preferred to work with people closer to their own age.
&#8220;Nobody’s going to pay me a lot of money anymore. Nobody’s going to let me have a lot of fun,&#8221; he said.

2024 Los Angeles Times Festival Of Books

‘DEI Is Garbage’: Pulitzer Prize Winner Delivers Scathing Takedown Of Woke Hollywood

'DEI Is Garbage': Pulitzer Prize Winner Delivers Scathing Takedown Of Woke Hollywood

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Woke Culture

Will and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jada-pinkett-smith">Jada Pinkett Smith</a>’s charity faced a steep decline in donations following the infamous slapping incident at the 2022 Oscars, per a new Variety <a href="https://variety.com/2024/film/news/will-jada-pinkett-smith-charity-to-close-chris-rock-slap-1235947358/">report</a>. 
The famous <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/celebrities">couple</a> created the Will And Jada Smith Family Foundation in 1996 as a place to advocate for issues they cared about such as mental health, wellness, arts education, and sustainability, the outlet noted. But tax records indicate that donations plummeted after the 94th Academy Awards ceremony when Will stormed onto the stage and slapped event host Chris Rock across the face for making a joke about Jada’s bald head.
The incident has had long-lasting effects on the “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/will-smith">Men In Black</a>” star, who has since issued numerous public apologies. 
One apparent outcome was the decreased <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/charity">donation</a> amounts to the Will And Jada Smith Family Foundation. Per <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/954607014/202241749349100229/full">data</a> available on ProPublica, foundation revenue was $1,760,000 in 2020 and $2,138,660 in 2021. After the slap, filings for 2022 showed just $365,870 in donations, representing a drop of 83% compared to the previous year. Variety noted that this decline was due in part to the withdrawal of major contributions from American Airlines and CAA, which had donated $76,160 and $100,000 in 2021 respectively.
An unnamed source allegedly told the outlet that the Smiths were winding down the charity with the intention of shutting it down. 
The Smiths made headlines last year when Jada revealed they weren&#8217;t technically together anymore. The actress made the revelation in October 2023 that she and Will have been separated since 2016 despite presenting as a united front, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jada-pinkett-smith-says-she-and-will-smith-have-been-separated-since-2016">reported</a>. 
She told interviewer Hoda Kotb during an NBC News interview at the time, “Why [the relationship] fractured&#8230; that’s a lot of things. By the time we got to 2016, we were just exhausted with trying. I think we were both kind of just still stuck in our fantasy of what we thought the other person should be,” she said. 
“I made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a divorce. We will work through … whatever,” the celeb said of why they never officially divorced. “I just haven’t been able to break that promise.”
Fans had previously been confused about Jada admitting to having a romantic relationship with another man while married to Will in 2020, which she discussed during an episode of her “Red Table Talk” series. This led to rumors that the Smiths were in an open marriage, which they didn’t refute until years later when Jada admitted they were actually separated at the time of her “entanglement.”

Will Smith Jada Pinkett Smith

Will And Jada Pinkett Smith’s Charity Faces 83% Decline In Donations Following Oscars Slap, Rumored To Be Closing Soon: Report

Charity

Jada Pinkett Smith

Will Smith

Nearly 500 Hollywood celebrities signed an open letter to protest director <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jonathan-glazer">Jonathan Glazer</a>’s Oscars acceptance <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/oscars">speech</a>. 
Some of the A-listers who added their names to the letter include stars Debra Messing, Eli Roth, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Julianna Margulies. The document, which was published by <a href="https://variety.com/2024/film/news/jonathan-glazer-oscar-speech-zone-of-interest-open-letter-1235944880/amp/">Variety</a> on Monday, accuses Glazer of likening Israel’s response to the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/hamas">Hamas</a> terrorist attack to the actions of Nazis during World War II.
“We refute our Jewishness being hijacked for the purpose of drawing a moral equivalence between a Nazi regime that sought to exterminate a race of people, and an Israeli nation that seeks to avert its own extermination,” the letter said in part.
“Every civilian death in Gaza is tragic. Israel is not targeting civilians. It is targeting Hamas. The moment Hamas releases the hostages and surrenders is the moment this heartbreaking war ends. This has been true since the Hamas attacks of October 7th,” the letter goes on.
“The use of words like ‘occupation’ to describe an indigenous Jewish people defending a homeland that dates back thousands of years, and has been recognized as a state by the United Nations, distorts history.”
The celebrities also accuse Glazer of giving “credence to the modern blood libel that fuels a growing anti-Jewish hatred around the world, in the United States, and in Hollywood.”
“The current climate of growing antisemitism only underscores the need for the Jewish State of Israel, a place which will always take us in, as no state did during the Holocaust depicted in Mr. Glazer’s film,” the letter states.
Glazer, who is British, won the Academy Award for Best International Feature for his film “Zone of Interest,” a historical drama about Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss living with his family next to the concentration camp.
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“All our choices were made to reflect and confront us in the present — not to say, ‘Look what they did then,’ rather, ‘Look what we do now.’ Our film shows where dehumanization leads, at its worst,” the director said during his speech.
He continued, “It shaped all of our past and present. Right now we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation, which has led to conflict for so many innocent people. Whether the victims of October the 7th in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza, all the victims of this dehumanization, how do we resist?”
Glazer’s speech has received a lot of criticism since the Oscars on March 10. A 94-year-old Holocaust survivor previously slammed the speech, calling it “actually inaccurate and morally indefensible,” as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/94-year-old-holocaust-survivor-issues-fiery-open-letter-denouncing-jonathan-glazer">reported</a>.

Jonathan Glazer

Hundreds Of Hollywood Celebs Publicly Denounce Jonathan Glazer’s Oscars Speech

Hundreds Of Hollywood Celebs Publicly Denounce Jonathan Glazer's Oscars Speech

Anti-Semitism

Hamas

Israel

Jewish

In the wake of the inflammatory remarks by film director Jonathan Glazer at the Oscars, <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/jonathan-glazer-oscars-speech-condemned-holocaust-survivors-foundation-1235850275/">David Schaecter</a>, a 94-year-old survivor of the Holocaust, issued a public letter to him in which he denounced his statements.
Glazer won an Oscar for directing “Zone of Interest,” a film about the family of Rudolf Hess, the head of the Auschwitz concentration camp. The entire movie is about the Hess family living at Auschwitz in a house while the viewer never sees the victims of the Holocaust.
Glazer said in his Oscars <a href="https://www.vulture.com/article/oscars-2024-jonathan-glazer-speech-full-transcript.html">speech</a>:
<blockquote>
Thank you to the Academy for this honor and to our partners A24, Film4, Access, and Polish Film Institute; to the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum for their trust and guidance; to my producers, actors, and collaborators. All our choices were made to reflect and confront us in the present — not to say, “Look what they did then,” rather, “Look what we do now.” Our film shows where dehumanization leads, at its worst. It shaped all of our past and present. Right now we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation, which has led to conflict for so many innocent people. Whether the victims of October the 7 in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza, all the victims of this dehumanization, how do we resist? Aleksandra Bystroń-Kołodziejczyk, the girl who glows in the film, as she did in life, chose to. I dedicate this to her memory and her resistance. Thank you. 
</blockquote>
The letter from the Holocaust survivor stated:
<blockquote>
I am 94 years old and the only member of 105 souls in my family to survive the Holocaust. I miraculously survived nearly three years in the hell of Auschwitz and one year in the hell of Buchenwald. I watched in anguish Sunday night when I heard you use the platform of the Oscars ceremony to equate Hamas&#8217;s maniacal brutality against innocent Israelis with Israel&#8217;s difficult but necessary self-defense in the face of Hamas&#8217;s ongoing barbarity.
Your comments were factually inaccurate and morally indefensible.
The &#8220;occupation&#8221; of which you speak has nothing to do with the Holocaust. The Jewish people&#8217;s existence and right to live in the land of Israel predates the Holocaust by hundreds of years. Today&#8217;s political and geographic landscape is the direct result of wars started by past Arab leaders who refused to accept Jewish people as their neighbors in our historic homeland. Now that several Arab countries are making peace with Israel because security and prosperity are better for all people, Iran and its terrorist proxies started another war, abetted by too many who, through naiveté or malice, blame &#8220;the occupation.&#8221;
Worse is that you chose to use the Holocaust to validate your personal opinion. You made a Holocaust movie and won an Oscar. And you are Jewish. Good for you. But it is disgraceful for you to presume to speak for the six million Jews, including one and a half million children, who were murdered solely because of their Jewish identity.
And it is disgraceful for you to presume to speak for those of us who personally saw the world stand silent as our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins were murdered. We actually had nowhere to go &#8211; no possible place of refuge. No country would accept us even though world leaders knew full well that thousands of Jews were being murdered every day. There was no Jewish nation to which we could flee.
You should be ashamed of yourself for using Auschwitz to criticize Israel.
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Read every word. <a href="https://t.co/7qzpsM8oq4">pic.twitter.com/7qzpsM8oq4</a>
&mdash; Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 (@MarinaMedvin) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarinaMedvin/status/1767382478778511499?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

96th Annual Academy Awards – Press Room

94-Year-Old Holocaust Survivor Issues Fiery Open Letter Denouncing Jonathan Glazer

Holocaust

Survivor

The 96th <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/oscars">Academy Awards</a> attracted 19.5 million viewers on Sunday, the largest audience since pre-pandemic highs in 2020.
According to <a href="https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/2024-oscar-ratings-academy-awards-1235933476/">Variety</a>, this number slightly increased from last year’s 18.8 million <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/television">viewers</a>. The outlet also noted that the broadcast received a 3.8 rating among the key demographic of adults aged 18-49.  
The Oscars aired one hour earlier than normal, beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET and lasting until 10:30 p.m.
These numbers represent a continued rebound after the 2021 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/entertainment">awards show</a> drew a record-low viewership of just 10.4 million viewers due to the ongoing COVID pandemic. The event in 2021 was held in person but was delayed to April after initially being scheduled for February. There was no host, and invites were limited to nominees, presenters, and their guests.
Numbers started climbing again in 2022 when 16.6 million viewers tuned in, and the ratings have been incrementally increasing ever since. 
This year’s Oscars <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/hollywood">ceremony</a> was dominated by the historical drama “Oppenheimer,” which <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/oppenheimer-sweeps-96th-academy-awards">won seven categories</a> of the 13 it was nominated for, including the highly coveted Best Picture. The film also won Best Actor (Cillian Murphy), Best Director (Christopher Nolan), Best Supporting Actor (Robert Downey Jr.), Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, and Best Film Editing.
“We made a film about the man who created the atomic bomb, and for better or for worse, we’re all living in Oppenheimer’s world,” Murphy said during his acceptance speech.
The second most winning film was “Poor Things,” which won in four out of the 11 nominated categories, including Best Actress for Emma Stone. 
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Meanwhile, the Martin Scorsese drama “Killers of the Flower Moon” and Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro” had no wins. The summer blockbuster “Barbie” only won for Best Original Song (“What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell).
The event was hosted again by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, who got mixed reviews on some of his jokes. Viewers were especially <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jimmy-kimmel-jokes-about-robert-downey-jr-s-past-drug-addiction-during-oscars">taken aback</a> when Kimmel made fun of Best Supporting Actor winner Robert Downey Jr. for struggling with substance abuse more than twenty years ago.

2024 Oscars Viewership Increased From Last Year, Was Most Watched Since Pandemic

Academy Awards

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/al-pacino">Al Pacino</a> released a statement after facing backlash for his delivery of the most anticipated honor of the night at the 96th <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/oscars">Academy Awards</a>. 
&#8220;There seems to be some controversy about my not mentioning every film by name last night before announcing the best picture award,&#8221; the 83-year-old star said Monday in a <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/al-pacino-addresses-didnt-mention-best-picture-nominees/story?id=108030856">statement</a>, per ABC News. &#8220;I just want to be clear it was not my intention to omit them, rather a choice by the producers not to have them said again since they were highlighted individually throughout the ceremony.&#8221;
&#8220;I was honored to be a part of the evening and chose to follow the way they wished for this award to be presented,&#8221; Pacino added.
The “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/hollywood">Scarface</a>” actor was facing heat online from viewers who were confused by his delivery. 
&#8220;My friends! Thank you, thank you,&#8221; he began from the stage on Sunday. &#8220;This is the time for the last award for the evening and it&#8217;s my honor to present it. Ten wonderful films were nominated but only one will take the award for best picture. And I have to go to the envelope for that. And I will…. Here it comes.&#8221;
&#8220;And my eyes see &#8216;Oppenheimer,'&#8221; Pacino said after opening the envelope.
When the audience didn’t react immediately, Pacino started naming the film&#8217;s producers. “Yes, Emma Thomas, Charles Roven,&#8221; he said.
Previous presenters at Sunday&#8217;s ceremony had done much bigger lead-ups to announcing the winners, highlighting all the nominees and complimenting their performances. The only other category that didn’t include the presenter reading all the nominees before announcing the winner was Best Original Song.
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&#8220;I realize being nominated is a huge milestone in one&#8217;s life and to not be fully recognized is offensive and hurtful,&#8221; Pacino concluded in the statement. &#8220;I say this as someone who profoundly relates with filmmakers, actors and producers so I deeply empathize with those who have been slighted by this oversight and it&#8217;s why I felt it necessary to make this statement.&#8221;
“Oppenheimer” was the big winner at the 2024 Oscars, taking home wins in seven categories including Best Picture, Best Actor (Cillian Murphy), Best Director (Christopher Nolan), Best Supporting Actor (Robert Downey Jr.), Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, and Best Film Editing. The film was nominated in 13 categories.

Al Pacino

Al Pacino Explains Not Announcing All Best Picture Nominees: ‘A Choice By The Producers’

Al Pacino Explains Not Announcing All Best Picture Nominees: 'A Choice By The Producers'

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