Critics Choice Awards 2022

►Big win for Netflix. The Power of the Dog won the big prizes of best picture and best director, there were film acting wins for Will Smith, Jessica Chastain, Troy Kotsur and Ariana DeBose while Succession, Ted Lasso, Mare of Easttown and Jean Smart were among the big TV winners. The winners list.

—Unforced error? In what has been a stellar weekend of success for Jane Campion, a slightly jarring moment occurred when the Kiwi filmmaker was making her acceptance speech for best director at the CCAs. Campion gave a backhanded shout-out to Venus and Serena Williams for their success, but oddly claimed they did not have to compete against men like she did. Hmmm. The story. 

—Eight things the TV cameras missed. THR's Kirsten Chuba was inside the room at the CCAs keeping a respectful eye out for all the goings on. From A-list interactions (Jane Campion and Kristen Stewart! Jung Ho-yeon and Kathryn Hahn!) to hot topics (Ukraine and the BAFTAs), the biggest moments that didn't make it on air. The story. 

—What it all means for the Oscars. THR's awards columnist Scott Feinberg weighs in after a busy weekend of awards shows that included the Directors Guild Awards, the BAFTAs and the CCAs. Scott's of the opinion that The Power of the Dog is now the clear frontrunner for best picture at the Academy Awards with Jane Campion looking a strong favorite for best director. The analysis.

More from the CCAs... 

—Red carpet arrivals

—All the best looks from Selena Gomez, Elle Fanning, Maggie Gyllenhaal and more

—Maria Bakalova, Michael Keaton and more show support for Ukraine 

—Billy Crystal accepts Lifetime Achievement Honor at CCAs

—CCAs honoree Halle Berry pledges to “tell stories that don’t fit preconceived notions”

BAFTAs 2022: 'Power of the Dog' and 'Dune' Win Big 

►Over in London. In a lets-not-do-this-again packed weekend of awards shows, the 2022 BAFTA Film Awards took place on Sunday in London. Denis Villeneuve’s grand sci-fi spectacle Dune sucked up the majority of honors, winning five awards in total, including for cinematography, special visual effects, sound, original score and production design. But the night belonged to the absent Jane Campion and her film The Power of the Dog which scored her the best director prize and best film. The winners list. 

—Going back to Saturday. Kicking off awardsapalooza weekend was the 2022 Directors Guild Awards which took place at the Beverly Hilton on Saturday night. Jane Campion's weekend streak started here as the Kiwi filmmaker took the top prize for The Power of the Dog. Maggie Gyllenhaal topped the First-Time Feature Award category with her debut The Lost Daughter, and Barry Jenkins (The Underground Railroad), Mark Mylod (Succession), Lucia Aniello (Hacks) and Stanley Nelson (Attica) were also among the key winners. The winners list. 

—Also on Sunday. Motion Picture Sound Editors’ 69th annual Golden Reel Awards took place Sunday and Dune, West Side Story and Nightmare Alley won one prize apiece in the live action feature categories. The winners list. 

—Don't forget the Annies! Sony Pictures Animation/Netflix’s The Mitchells vs. the Machines was the big winner at ASIFA-Hollywood’s 49th Annie Awards for animation, collecting eight awards including best animated feature. Disney’s Encanto won three trophies and Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s animated documentary Flee won the award for best indie animated feature. The winners list. 

William Hurt 1950-2022

►"An incredible artistic force." William Hurt, the exacting Oscar winner who dominated a decade as few other actors have done with his turns in the 1980s classics Body Heat, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Children of a Lesser God and Broadcast News, has died. He was 71. The obituary. 

—"Dreamboat with a soul." THR's chief film critic David Rooney looks back at the late William Hurt's career, writing, "Hurt picked up a mantle that had belonged to Robert Redford through the previous decade, the all-American blond Adonis who was neither jock nor jerk. Instead, he seemed almost indifferent to his good looks, more inclined to explore the sensitivity, compassion and intelligence of his characters. In his prime, Hurt was both eye candy and empath." The critic's appreciation.

'Batman' Enjoys $66M Weekend, Blows Past $238M in U.S.

►Strong bat legs. The Batman is a bona fide hit at the box office, where it topped its second weekend with $66 million from 4,417 theaters for a 10-day domestic total of $238.5 million. Outside of Spider-Man: No Way Home — which has earned nearly $800 million domestically — that’s already the best showing of the pandemic era at the North American box office.

THR's Pamela McClintock writes that Matt Reeves' film fell around 50 percent, a relatively slim decline for a big event pic. It didn’t hurt that there were no new wide studio releases over the weekend. The Batman topped the chart internationally with another $66.6 million from 76 markets for a foreign tally  of $224.7 million and $463.2 million globally. And that’s without China, where it opens later this week. Imax is racking up huge numbers, or a global total of $38.7 million. The box office report.

— "Are they morally bankrupt?" John Oliver didn’t hold back in his criticism of Disney CEO Bob Chapek and his response to LGBTQ hostile legislation such as Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill on Sunday’s episode of Last Week Tonight. Oliver, fully prepared to burn any bridges with Disney and lose the chance to play Zazu again, described some of Chapek's obtuse statements as "actively insulting" and he wasn't surprised Disney staffers were "outraged." The story.

—The other Bob. Former Disney CEO Bob Iger (and his avatar) is entering the metaverse. Iger is investing in and joining the board of a company called Genies, which lets users create their own digital avatars for use in virtual worlds. The story.

—"It’s a reminder to get vaccinated if you haven’t already." Former President Barack Obama has tested positive for COVID-19. He revealed the news on Twitter on Sunday, noting that his wife, former First Lady Michelle Obama, is negative. Obama said he had been suffering a "scratchy throat" for a few days but he was fine overall. The story.

—"The greatest legacy I can give to our membership now is the team I have put in place." Teamsters Local 399 principal officer Steve Dayan, who was last re-elected to the post of secretary-treasurer in 2019, has announced his decision to retire. Dayan shared the decision in a letter with Local 399’s nearly 6,000 members on Sunday; his retirement will be effective as of April 30. The story.  

SXSW review: 'The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent'

►"Very entertaining, if less exotic than it sounds." THR's John DeFore reviews Tom Gormican's The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Nicolas Cage meets Nicolas Cage's biggest fan (Pedro Pascal) in this funhouse-mirror buddy picture costarring Tiffany Haddish and Ike Barinholtz. The review. 

—"An enjoyable throwback." John also reviews Adam and Aaron Nee's SXSW title The Lost City. Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum share the screen with Brad Pitt in a Romancing the Stone-inspired comedy-adventure. The review.

—"Amusing but ultimately inessential." THR's Angie Han reviews Apple TV+'s WeCrashed. Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway play WeWork cofounder Adam Neumann and his wife Rebekah in the drama chronicling the company's meteoric ascent to a $47 billion valuation — and its precipitous decline. The review. 

—"A refreshing dip in the Sea of Tranquility." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Richard Linklater’s Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood. The director takes a deep dive into a formative moment in his Houston childhood, paralleling the first moon landing with his own astronaut fantasy in this Netflix animated feature narrated by Jack Black. The review.

—"Free Winona." THR's Jon Frosch reviews Eli Horowitz's The Cow. Winona Ryder stars alongside Dermot Mulroney in the filmmakers debut feature, a thriller about a woman whose boyfriend disappears under mysterious circumstances. The review. 

More SXSW reviews...

—Michael Morris' To Leslie

—Mo McRae's A Lot of Nothing

—Damian Marcano’s Chee$e

—Kathlyn Horan’s The Return of Tanya Tucker — Featuring Brandi Carlile

—James Morosini's I Love My Dad

—Camille Hardman and Gary Lane's Still Working 9 to 5 

In other news...

—The Boys season 3 teaser trailer has plenty of sex and violence

—First 5 minutes of The Man Who Fell to Earth remake released online

—Sally Schmitt, founder of iconic restaurant French Laundry, dies at 90

—Traci Braxton, Braxton Family Values star and sister of singer Toni Braxton, dies at 50

—Broadway singing coach suffers brain injury after vicious street attack 

What else we're reading...

—Profile on Lindsay Dougherty, the Teamsters Local 399 new Secretary-Treasurer [LAT]

—Piece on Marisa Tomei's well deserved Oscar win for My Cousin Vinny [Paste]

—CNN seeks more distribution deals for new streaming service [Bloomberg]

—How director Shawn Levy has become Ryan Reynolds' secret weapon [WSJ]

—Now that Matt Reeves has reinvented Gotham with The Batman, who will be its next supervillain? [Guardian]

Today...  

...in 1934, 20th Century Pictures held the premiere of Alfred Werker’s The House of Rothschild at the Astor Theater in New York. The film, which centered on the European banking family circa 1780 and starred George Arliss. The drama garnered 20th Century’s first ever Oscar nomination. The original review.

Today's birthdays: Billy Crystal (74), Quincy Jones (89), Michael Caine (89), Corey Stoll (46), Ansel Elgort (28), Laila Robins (63), Jamie Bell (36), Chris Klein (43), Johnny Flynn (39), Meredith Salenger (52), Megan Follows (54), Penny Johnson Jerald (61), Aamir Khan (57), Adrian Zmed (68), Wolfgang Petersen (81), Kevin Williamson (57), Etan Cohen (48)