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A Complete Unknown, the James Mangold film about Bob Dylan in the 1960s, won best picture/best movie for grownups at AARP’s Movies for Grownups Awards, which were held on Saturday (Feb. 8) at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. The event had originally been scheduled for Jan. 11, but was postponed due to the wildfires that spread across multiple neighborhoods of the Los Angeles area beginning on Jan. 7.
Alan Cumming, the Tony- and Primetime Emmy Award-winning host of the competition show The Traitors, returned as host of the show, which is in its 24th year. The awards are set to be broadcast by Great Performances on Sunday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT on PBS, its website and the PBS app.
AARP’s Movies for Grownups Awards was established to encourage films and TV shows that resonate with older viewers. On itssite, AARP adds that there is an age requirement for individual honors: “AARP honors 2024’s finest film and TV achievements by talents 50+.” (They go so far as to list ages in the winners list on their site.)
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That 50+ requirement explains why Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain) and Zoë Saldaña (Emilia Pérez), who are winning most awards for best supporting actor and actress, respectively, weren’t nominated here. Culkin is 42. Saldaña is 46. It also explains why Timothée Chalamet wasn’t nominated for best actor for playing Dylan in A Complete Unknown. Chalamet is just 29 — a whippersnapper in AARP terms.
A Complete Unknown competed in the best picture category with Conclave, Emilia Pérez, Gladiator II and September 5. The Dylan biopic won a second award for best time capsule. It was the only double winner at the show.
The awards for best actor and best actress went to Adrien Brody (The Brutalist) and Demi Moore (The Substance), who seem to be the front-runners to win Academy Awards in those categories.
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story won best documentary. The film, directed by Peter Ettedgui, tracks actor Christopher Reeve’s pivot from film star to activist for disability rights following a 1995 horse-riding accident. It triumphed in a tough category that had a greater than usual music emphasis. The other nominees were I Am: Celine Dion, directed by Irene Taylor, which focuses on the singer’s struggle with Stiff Person Syndrome; Luther Vandross: Never Too Much — directed by Dawn Porter, which traces the late R&B star’s life and career; Piece by Piece, directed by Morgan Neville, a journey through the life of Pharrell Williams, told through the lens of LEGO animation; and Will & Harper, directed by Josh Greenbaum, an intimate portrayal of friendship starring Will Ferrell and Harper Steele, friends of 30 years who go on a cross-country road trip.
Glenn Close was the Movies for Grownups Career Achievement Winner, their version of a lifetime achievement award.
Here’s the complete list of nominees for the 2025 Movies for Grownups Awards, with winners marked.
FILM AWARDS
Best Picture/Best Movie for Grownups
WINNER: A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Gladiator II
September 5
Best Actress
Pamela Anderson (The Last Showgirl)
Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Hard Truths)
Nicole Kidman (Babygirl)
WINNER: Demi Moore (The Substance)
June Squibb (Thelma)
Best Actor
WINNER: Adrian Brody (The Brutalist)
Daniel Craig (Queer)
Colman Domingo (Sing Sing)
Ralph Fiennes (Conclave)
Jude Law (The Order)
Best Supporting Actress
WINNER: Joan Chen (Didi)
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (Nickel Boys)
Lesley Manville (Queer)
Connie Nielsen (Gladiator II)
Isabella Rossellini (Conclave)
Best Supporting Actor
Clarence Maclin (Sing Sing)
Guy Pearce (The Brutalist)
WINNER: Peter Sarsgaard (September 5)
Stanley Tucci (Conclave)
Denzel Washington (Gladiator II)
Best Director
Pedro Almodóvar (The Room Next Door)
WINNER: Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez)
Edward Berger (Conclave)
James Mangold (A Complete Unknown)
Ridley Scott (Gladiator II)
Best Screenwriter
Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain, Nicolas Livecchi (Emilia Pérez)
Jay Cocks and James Mangold (A Complete Unknown)
WINNER: Winnie Holzman (Wicked)
Peter Straughan (Conclave)
Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts (Dune: Part Two)
Best Ensemble
A Complete Unknown
Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice
His Three Daughters
September 5
WINNER: Sing Sing
Best Intergenerational Film
Didi
Here
His Three Daughters
The Piano Lesson
WINNER: Thelma
Best Time Capsule
WINNER: A Complete Unknown
The Brutalist
Here
Maria
September 5
Best Documentary
I Am: Celine Dion
Luther: Never Too Much
Piece by Piece
WINNER: Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Will & Harper
TV AWARDS
Best TV Series or Limited Series
The Crown
Hacks
Palm Royale
WINNER: Shōgun
Slow Horses
Best Actress (TV)
Jennifer Aniston (The Morning Show)
WINNER: Jodie Foster (True Detective: Night Country)
Jean Smart (Hacks)
Meryl Streep (Only Murders in the Building)
Sofia Vergara (Griselda)
Best Actor (TV)
Billy Crudup (The Morning Show)
Idris Elba (Hijack)
WINNER: Jon Hamm (Fargo)
Gary Oldman (Slow Horses)
Hiroyuki Sanada (Shōgun)
Wicked, Emilia Pérez and The Substance each won three awards at the 30th annual Critics Choice Awards, which were held at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif. on Friday (Feb. 7). But none of those films took the top prize, best picture, which went to Anora (which won no other awards on the night).
Jon M. Chu, the director of Wicked, won best director. He’s the third director to win a Critics Choice Award for a musical, following Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge!) and Damien Chazelle (La La Land). Chazelle went on to also win the Oscar for that film. Luhrmann and Chu weren’t even nominated for these films. Wicked’s other Critics Choice Awards were best production design and best costume design.
Emilia Pérez won best foreign language film, best original song for “El Mal,” and best supporting actress for Zoe Saldaña, who was took the lead on singing “El Mal” in the film.
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The Substance won best actress for Demi Moore, best original screenplay and best hair & make-up.
Films receiving two awards were A Real Pain, Conclave and Challengers.
“El Mal,” co-written by Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard, also won the Golden Globe Award for best original song on Jan. 5. With these two wins, “El Mal” appears to be the front-runner in the race for best original song at the Oscars.
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross’ acclaimed score for Challengers won the Critics Choice Award for best original score, just as it won at the Golden Globes. But it cannot win the Oscar as it wasn’t even nominated. It’s just the third film score to win both the Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award and not even be nominated at the Oscars. The first two were Howard Shore’s score for The Aviator and Justin Hurwitz’s score for First Man.
Chelsea Handler hosted the Critics Choice Awards for the third year in a row. The show was originally set for Sunday, Jan. 12, but was postponed to Sunday, Jan. 26, and then postponed again, because of wind-whipped wildfires in Los Angeles that began on Jan. 7. The three-hour show, which included awards for both film and television, aired at 7 p.m. ET/PT on E!. The show will also be available to stream the next day on Peacock.
Here’s the full list of nominations on the film side for the 2025 Critics Choice Awards, with winners marked.
Best Picture
A Complete Unknown
WINNER: Anora
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Nickel Boys
Sing Sing
The Substance
Wicked
Best Song
“Beautiful That Way” – The Last Showgirl – Music by: Andrew WyattLyrics by: Andrew Wyatt, Miley Cyrus, Lykke Li“Compress/Repress” – Challengers – Music by: Trent Reznor, Atticus RossLyrics by: Trent Reznor, Luca GuadagninoWINNER: “El Mal” – Emilia Pérez – Music by: Clément Ducol, CamilleLyrics by: Clément Ducol, Camille, Jacques Audiard“Harper and Will Go West” – Will & Harper – Sean Douglas, Kristen Wiig
“Kiss the Sky” – The Wild Robot – Music & Lyrics by: Delacey, Jordan K. Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Maren Morris, Michael Pollack, Ali Tamposi“Mi Camino” – Emilia Pérez – Music & Lyrics by: Clément Ducol, Camille
Best Score
Volker Bertelmann – Conclave
Daniel Blumberg – The Brutalist
Kris Bowers – The Wild Robot
Clément Ducol & Camille – Emilia Pérez
WINNER: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Challengers
Hans Zimmer – Dune: Part Two
Best Acting Ensemble
Anora
WINNER: Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Saturday Night
Sing Sing
Wicked
Best Actor
WINNER: Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
Daniel Craig – Queer
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
Hugh Grant – Heretic
Best Actress
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hard Truths
Angelina Jolie – Maria
Mikey Madison – Anora
WINNER: Demi Moore – The Substance
Best Supporting Actor
Yura Borisov – Anora
WINNER: Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
Denzel Washington – Gladiator II
Best Supporting Actress
Danielle Deadwyler – The Piano Lesson
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor – Nickel Boys
Ariana Grande – Wicked
Margaret Qualley – The Substance
Isabella Rossellini – Conclave
WINNER: Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez
Best Young Actor/Actress
Alyla Browne – Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Elliott Heffernan – Blitz
WINNER: Maisy Stella – My Old Ass
Izaac Wang – Didi
Alisha Weir – Abigail
Zoe Ziegler – Janet Planet
Best Director
Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez
Sean Baker – Anora
Edward Berger – Conclave
Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
WINNER: Jon M. Chu – Wicked
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys
Denis Villeneuve – Dune: Part Two
Best Original Screenplay
Sean Baker – Anora
Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum, Alex David – September 5
Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold – The Brutalist
Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain
WINNER: Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
Justin Kuritzkes – Challengers
Best Adapted Screenplay
Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez
Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox – Wicked
Greg Kwedar, Clint Bentley – Sing Sing
RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes – Nickel Boys
WINNER: Peter Straughan – Conclave
Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts – Dune: Part Two
Best Cinematography
WINNER: Jarin Blaschke – Nosferatu
Alice Brooks – Wicked
Lol Crawley – The Brutalist
Stéphane Fontaine – Conclave
Greig Fraser – Dune: Part Two
Jomo Fray – Nickel Boys
Best Production Design
Judy Becker, Patricia Cuccia – The Brutalist
WINNER: Nathan Crowley, Lee Sandales – Wicked
Suzie Davies – Conclave
Craig Lathrop – Nosferatu
Arthur Max, Jille Azis, Elli Griff – Gladiator II
Patrice Vermette, Shane Vieau – Dune: Part Two
Best Editing
Sean Baker – Anora
WINNER: Marco Costa – Challengers
Nick Emerson – Conclave
David Jancso – The Brutalist
Joe Walker – Dune: Part Two
Hansjörg Weißbrich – September 5
Best Costume Design
Lisy Christl – Conclave
Linda Muir – Nosferatu
Massimo Cantini Parrini – Maria
WINNER: Paul Tazewell – Wicked
Jacqueline West – Dune: Part Two
Janty Yates, Dave Crossman – Gladiator II
Best Hair and Makeup
Christine Blundell, Lesa Warrener, Neal Scanlan – Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Hair and Makeup Team – Dune: Part Two
WINNER: Hair and Makeup Team – The Substance
Frances Hannon, Sarah Nuth, Laura Blount – Wicked
Traci Loader, Suzanne Stokes-Munton, David White – Nosferatu
Mike Marino, Sarah Graalman, Aaron Saucier – A Different Man
Best Visual Effects
Mark Bakowski, Pietro Ponti, Nikki Penny, Neil Corbould – Gladiator II
Pablo Helman, Jonathan Fawkner, Paul Corbould, David Shirk – Wicked
WINNER: Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, Gerd Nefzer – Dune: Part Two
Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft, Peter Stubbs – Better Man
Visual Effects Team – The Substance
Erik Winquist, Stephen Unterfranz, Paul Story, Rodney Burke – Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Best Animated Feature
Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
WINNER: The Wild Robot
Best Comedy
WINNER: A Real Pain
WINNER: Deadpool & Wolverine
Hit Man
My Old Ass
Saturday Night
Thelma
Best Foreign Language Film
All We Imagine as Light
WINNER: Emilia Pérez
Flow
I’m Still Here
Kneecap
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
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Source: Paramount Pictures / Paramount Pictures
In the latest “Who green lights these movies?” news, it seems like Paramount Pictures is in desperate need for attention and cash as they’ve just released a trailer for their new Smurfs movie and all we can say is, “Well, at least Rihanna is getting that bag.”
That’s right, your favorite Bad Girl, Riri, is starring as the voice of Smurfette in Paramount Pictures’ fourth installment into the live-action Smurfs franchise. The question is did the previous Smurfs films make that much money at the box office to justify making another movie? We don’t know but it’s happening, and if the first teaser trailer is any indication of what we can expect, it’ll once again be family fun for everyone except probably the parents.
After Papa Smurf is abducted by a UFO of sorts, it’s on Smurfette (Rihanna) and the rest of the Smurfs to save him, and that ultimately leads them to our reality where they encounter different groups of Smurfs and get reacquainted with their arch nemesis, Gargamel, and his brother, Razamel.
Yeah, this might be a hard pass for us, y’all. Still, good for Rihanna for getting that bag.
Check out the trailer to Smurfs below and let us know if you’ll be checking it out when it hits theaters July 18. We have a feeling we already know the answer though.
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Source: Universal Pictures / Jurassic World Rebirth
Just when it seemed like the Jurassic Park franchise might’ve wrapped up after the events of Jurassic World: Dominion, Universal Pictures has decided to revisit the world in which dinosaurs exist in modern times with a sequel to the Jurassic Park series but prequel to the Jurassic World trilogy. Yeah, exactly.
Source: Universal Pictures / Jurassic World Rebirth
According to Variety, Jurassic World: Rebirth is set to stomp into theaters this coming July and will be taking place five years before the events of 2015’s Jurassic World, which starred Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard. Universal Pictures released the trailer to the Gareth Edwards feature earlier today (Feb. 5) and from the looks of it, it’s going to be one prehistoric ride in modern times.
Starring Scarlett Johanson as covert ops specialist Zora Bennett, the film centers around a team’s mission to secure genetic material from three of the biggest dinosaurs roaming what was once known as Jurassic Park. With hopes of cracking a medical breakthrough to save millions of lives, Bennett leads a team of scientists and others to the abandoned island only to learn that dinosaurs aren’t exactly domesticated and rather, well, territorial.
Needless to say, things go left almost immediately as there’s no actual playbook on how to deal with deadly and carnivorous prehistoric beasts.
Per Variety:
The cast also includes Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend, Ed Skrein, Mahershala Ali, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Luna Blaise, Philippine Velge, David Iacono, Audrina Miranda and Bechir Sylvain.
Bailey plays paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis; Ali plays Duncan Kincaid, Zora’s partner; and Friend plays Martin Krebs, a representative for the drug corporation financing the mission. Velge, Sylvain and Skrein are said to play team members reporting to Zora.
We got Blade linking up with Black Widow in the Jurassic Park franchise before we got to see him in a Marvel cinematic movie. What the hell, man?!
Check out the trailer for Jurassic World: Rebirth and let us know if you’ll be checking for the flick when it hits theaters this coming July in the comments section below.
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Source: YouTube / Briarcliff Entertainment
Jonathan Majors may no longer be King The Conqueror in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the man is looking to make a comeback after domestic assault charges derailed his promising career something crazy.
Hoping to get his film career (and reputation) back on track, Briarcliff Entertainment released the first trailer for Major’s first comeback film Magazine Dreams, which stars the embattled actor as bodybuilder Killian Maddox who dreams of becoming the next Mr. Olympia and being the face of the body building community. Seemingly set in the ’80s or ’90s, Maddox’s obsession with body perfection leads him down the dangerous road of steroids, which leads to roid rage, violence and possible suicidal tendencies.
Still, Maddox tries to ground himself and is even open to an interracial relationship with a white woman. That probably won’t end well though as the trailer features Maddox dealing with racism and racial profiling from police officers.
Magazine Dreams was a hit at the Sundance Film Festival back a few years ago and according to Variety, multiple studios wanted in on the film, but things went left once allegations of domestic abuse became public and it never came to be.
Variety reports:
While “Magazine Dreams” was met with buzz after its debut at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, sparking a bidding war that led the film to find a home at Searchlight Pictures for a reported mid-seven figures, the distributor dropped the film in January 2024 after Majors was accused of domestic violence against his ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari.
Majors was arrested in March 2023 in Manhattan, which then led to him being charged with several counts of assault and aggravated harassment against Jabbari. After going to trial in New York, he was found guilty of two misdemeanor counts of harassment and assault. Jabbari also sued Majors for assault and defamation, but the suit was settled in November 2024.
They must feel that it’s safe now to place some bets on Jonathan Majors in 2025.
Check out the trailer to Magazine Dreams below, and let us know if you’ll be checking it out when it hits theaters on March 21 in the comments section.
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Source: Courtesy / Warner Bros. Pictures
It may be a few years before we get to visit Ryan Coogler’s Wakanda in the Marvel Cinematic Universe again, but we can’t wait to see what he’s got in store for us when it comes to the supernatural South during the Jim Crow-era in America.
On Tuesday (Jan. 28), Warner Bros. released their latest trailer for Coogler’s upcoming film Sinners, which stars Michael B. Jordan (twice) as he takes on the tole of twin brothers who venture home to the South only to find that racism has taken on a new and terrifying form. Yup, white racist vampires. Makes sense if you think about it but that’s neither here nor there.
Looking to live their best lives, the white vampires look to ruin the happiness and peace that the twin brothers are looking to establish in their home but find quite a resistance as the good people of the small town aren’t going to take to blood-sucking colonizers too lightly.
While we can only imagine the kind of undead snow bunnies these vampires will use to tempt the good men of this community (Dr. Umar would be safe under those circumstances), we can’t wait to see how Killmonger goes about protecting his people and their home. Best believe heads will roll.
Check out the trailer for Sinners below and let us know if you’ll be checking for it when it hits theaters on April 18.
Few American-made mythologies loom larger than L. Frank Baum’s Oz. His 1900 book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was an instant sensation that was made into theatrical productions and films, and later inspired songs by Elton John, America, ELO and even the Melvins.
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Now, Jon M. Chu’s blockbuster Wicked is taking audiences beyond the yellow brick road, thanks to bewitching performances by Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. So put on your emerald-colored glasses for a look back at Billboard’s coverage of a story that transported people over the rainbow to another world.
Not In Kansas Anymore
Just two years after Baum published his book, a musical adaptation, The Wizard of Oz, opened in a Chicago theater. Thanks to vaudeville veterans Fred Stone and David C. Montgomery playing the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman, respectively, the Jan. 3, 1903, Billboard raved, “It is one continuous case of laughter throughout.” The reviewer noted, however, that “the music isn’t so very catchy.” If they only had a Rodgers & Hart!
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If They Only Had a Brain
When the sixth silent film based on Oz opened in 1925, a Billboard critic wasn’t convinced it was King of the Forest. “No one ever expects logic in a film of this species and certainly no one finds any in The Wizard of Oz,” wrote a reviewer in the April 25 issue of director Larry Semon’s slapstick take. The good news: “You can safely invite the school committee and the clergy to view this film as it is wholesome and totally without objectionable features.”
‘What Happened Next Was Rich’
When MGM’s lush The Wizard of Oz premiered in New York, Billboard was there — as was star actress Judy Garland, who sang a few songs after the screening with frequent co-star Mickey Rooney. The “vaudefilmers” combo grossed $68,000 and broke “all house records,” according to the Sept. 2, 1939, issue. Two weeks later, Billboard forecast a bright future for “Over the Rainbow”: “You can count on its staying around for some time.” By Sept. 30, the song was a jukebox must: “No ifs and buts to it — it’s got to be in every machine.”
No Place Like Harlem
When The Wiz, a stage musical reimagining with an all-Black cast, opened on Broadway in 1975, a Jan. 18 Billboard review hailed its “sauce, moxy and innovation.” Sidney Lumet’s big-screen adaptation was “a wow” but “rather long,” according to the Oct. 14, 1978, issue. The same reviewer also said that Michael Jackson “excels as Scarecrow in several numbers,” including “a vibrant duet” with Diana Ross on “Ease on Down the Road” — which hit No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 the next week.
Age-‘Defying’ Appeal
A full century after Oz first hit the Gay White Way, Wicked debuted on Broadway. It was very “Popular”: When Billboard launched its Top Cast Albums chart in the Jan. 21, 2006, issue, the original cast recording was the first No. 1. Wicked’s broomstick flight to Hollywood was just as successful. “Ariana Grande is a revelation,” praised a Nov. 22, 2024, Billboard article, adding that Erivo’s Wicked Witch “feels real and relatable — even in a musical with talking goats.”
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Source: Marvel Television / Disney+
After largely taking a break from superhero films and shows in 2024, Marvel Studios is looking to get back into the swing of things in 2025 and is already ginning up hype for the highly anticipated return of Matt Murdock aka Daredevil.
Source: Marvel Television / Disney+
ON Wednesday (Jan. 15), Disney+ released their first teaser trailer for Marvel’s upcoming series Daredevil: Born Again, and it seems like it’s going to remain true to the extremely violent nature that made it a fan favorite series on Netflix. Once again, starring Charlie Cox as the Man Without Fear and Vincent D’Onofrio as his archnemesis the Kingpin, the series seemingly picks up where it left off in 2018 with Matt Murdock having retired from the superhero scene and instead fighting crime in a court of law.
Unfortunately, for him, Wilson “The Kingpin” Fisk has become the new mayor of New York City. And if we’ve learned anything about politics the last few years it’s that corruption is no longer hidden and instead on full display. Though Matt is reluctant to return to his bone-breaking ways, something pushes him over the edge and he ultimately throws on the red devil costume and takes it back to the streets.
Featuring appearances from Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle aka The Punisher and Wilson Bethel’s Benjamin Poindexter aka Bullseye, the trailer promises a helluva rebirth of Daredevil. The trailer also features a shot of new Marvel villain Muse, who’ll no doubt play a big role in the upcoming season.
There’s also rumors that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man may make a surprise cameo at some point, but we’ll have to wait and see if that comes to fruition.
We. Can’t. Wait.
Check out the trailer for Daredevil: Born Again below, and let us know if you’ll be checking for this when it premiers on Disney+ on March 4.
On Sunday (Jan. 5), Netflix’s Emilia Pérez won big at the 2025 Golden Globes. The musical crime comedy – starring Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez and Karla Sofía Gascón – took awards for best performance by an actress in a supporting role (Saldaña); best motion picture — non-English language; best original song — motion picture for […]
Joe Alwyn and Taylor Swift‘s years-long relationship, which came to an end in 2023, continues to make headlines in 2025.
The actor, who starred in A24’s The Brutalist and is presumably doing press for the film ahead of Oscar nominations being determined and announced this month, recently spoke with The Guardian about his work on the project — which premiered at Venice, with director Brady Corbet receiving the Silver Lion honor for best direction, and is up for several Golden Globes. An interview about Alwyn’s journey as an actor shifted topics to his experience with fame, and how dating one of the most recognizable pop stars in the world accelerated his ascent into celebrity.
The Guardian asked Alwyn if he worried “his relationship with Swift would overshadow his career.”
“I have tried just to focus on controlling what I can control,” Alwyn said. Looking back to his earliest work in the industry, in the 2016 film Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, he added, “And right from the beginning, tried to focus on the things that are meaningful for me: friends, family, work, of course. So noise outside of that, I think I’ve done what lots of people who find themselves in the public eye do, which is just try and ignore it. If you don’t, and if you let all of that other stuff in, and if it starts to affect you and your behavior, you’re living from the outside in. And then you’re pretty f—ed.”
When the publication’s reporter pressed that Alwyn “must just want to move on” from the public scrutiny he faced during his time with Swift, Alwyn tactfully made it clear that he has moved on, while pointing out that moving on remains “something for other people to do.”
“We’re talking about something that’s a while ago now in my life,” he replied. “So that’s for other people. That’s what I feel.”
In the article, published Sunday (Jan. 5), Alwyn spoke fondly of his collaborative work with his ex. He received credit as songwriter “William Bowery” on songs from Swift’s pandemic-era sister albums, 2020’s Folklore (“Exile,” “Betty”) and Evermore (“Champagne Problems,” “Coney Island,” “Evermore”), and on one from 2022’s Midnights (“Sweet Nothing”). Alwyn also received credit as a co-producer on several Folklore tracks, which resulted in him being awarded an album of the year Grammy alongside Swift, Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner in 2021.
“Lockdown was a whole host of surprises and that was pretty special,” Alwyn said of writing songs with Swift.
He continued, “That was not something I would have foreseen.”
The last time Alwyn, who’s known to stay quiet about his private life, spoke of his past relationship with The Tortured Poets Department hitmaker was in the summer, when The Sunday Times Style Magazine also brought her up in their convo with the actor.
“I would hope that anyone and everyone can empathize and understand the difficulties that come with the end of a long, loving, fully committed relationship of over six and a half years. That is a hard thing to navigate,” said Alwyn, who navigated questions about Swift carefully; he noted they’d agreed to “keep the more private details of our relationship private” during their time together.
Of their split, which made the news on April 8, 2023, he noted to The Sunday Times, “What is unusual and abnormal in this situation is that, one week later, it’s suddenly in the public domain and the outside world is able to weigh in … So you have something very real suddenly thrown into a very unreal space: tabloids, social media, press, where it is then dissected, speculated on, pulled out of shape beyond recognition. And the truth is, to that last point, there is always going to be a gap between what is known and what is said. I have made my peace with that.”
Read The Guardian‘s full feature on Alwyn here. The actor is next reported to appear in two Shakespeare-themed films: Aneil Karia’s adaptation of Hamlet and Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet (yes, Hamnet; not a typo), a story centering on William Shakespeare’s wife, Agnes.