Lady Gaga on ‘Joker 2’ bombing, ‘Emilia Pérez’ dominates César Awards, and more of today’s top stories
Gold Derby’s top news stories for Jan. 29, 2025
Lady Gaga opens up about Joker: Folie à Deux bombing
While promoting her newest album Mayhem, which drops on March 7, Lady Gaga spoke with Elle about Joker: Folie à Deux being a flop at the box office and with critics. “People just sometimes don’t like some things,” she said. “It’s that simple. And I think to be an artist, you have to be willing for people to sometimes not like it. And you keep going even if something didn’t connect in the way that you intended.” Speaking about her fear of failure, she added, “When that makes its way into your life, that can be hard to get control of. It’s part of the mayhem.” While the Joker sequel was snubbed at the Oscars, it did pick up a leading six Razzie Award nominations. But, don’t forget: Gaga is already an Oscar winner for co-writing the song “Shallow” from A Star Is Born (2018), and she’s received three other Oscar bids throughout her career.
Oscar fave Emilia Pérez receives 12 César nominations
The five Best Film nominees at the 2025 César Awards, France’s equivalent to the Oscars, are The Count of Monte Cristo, Emilia Pérez, The Marching Band, Souleymane’s Story, and Misericordia. (See the complete list of nominations.) The Count of Monte Cristo leads all other movies with 14 César bids, followed by Beating Hearts at 13 and Emilia Pérez at 12. The news comes one week after Emilia Pérez received 13 Oscar nominations, the most ever for a non-English language film, with actresses Karla Sofía Gascón and Zoe Salda?a being recognized at both kudos. The five Best Foreign Film César contenders are also Oscar nominees in various categories: Anora, The Seed of The Sacred Fig Tree, The Apprentice, The Substance, and, from last year’s Oscar contest, The Zone of Interest.
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Sundance Film Festival
Neon acquires Sundance horror hit Together
The Dave Franco and Alison Brie body horror flick Together has been acquired by Neon just days after premiering at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. The production company is expected to release the movie in theaters on Aug. 1, 2025. Together comes from Michael Shanks, a first-time writer-director, who sparked a bidding way between Neon and others. Variety reports the project is one of the biggest deals in the history of Sundance, selling for between $10 million and $15 million. In the film, the real-life married duo Franco and Brie play a couple who experience a supernatural force inside a cave in the middle of the woods.
JC Olivera/Getty Images
Apple gets Lucky with Annette Bening
Annette Bening returns to TV one year after starring in Peacock’s Apples Never Fall. This time, she’s joining the Apple TV+ limited series Lucky. She will star alongside Anya Taylor-Joy, who was cast in December as a reformed criminal who tries to escape her past. The program is based on Marissa Stapley‘s 2021 thriller novel, which gained significant traction after Reese Witherspoon added it to her book club list. Bening is a five-time Oscar nominee for The Grifters (1990), American Beauty (1999), Being Julia (2004), The Kids Are All Right (2010), and Nyad (2023), and an Emmy also-ran for Mrs. Harris (2006).
Peter Kramer/Getty Images
Grammys ceremony update
The 2025 Grammys will include tributes to the late Quincy Jones, who died on Nov. 3, 2024, and the city of Los Angeles, which is still reeling from the recent wildfires that destroyed so many lives. CBS will broadcast the show on Sunday, Feb. 2, with Trevor Noah serving as host. Think of this year’s ceremony like a telethon, where A-listers will help to raise funds to support wildfire relief efforts and honor first responders. Earlier that day, songwriter-producer Justin Tranter will return as the host of the Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony. He’ll be joined by performers like Yolanda Adams, Wayne Brady, Deborah Cox, Scott Hoying, Angelique Kidjo, Taj Mahal, Joe Bonamassa, Joyce DiDonato, Béla Fleck, Renée Fleming, Muni Long, Kelli O’Hara, and Kevin Puts.
Courtesy of NBC
Netflix reboots Little House on the Prairie
As the original 1932 book in the Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder nears its 100th year of publication, Netflix has announced it’s rebooting the IP with a new TV show. Showrunner Rebecca Sonnenshine of The Boys fame will oversee the project. “I fell deeply in love with these books when I was five years old,” she said. “They inspired me to become a writer and a filmmaker, and I am honored and thrilled to be adapting these stories for a new global audience with Netflix.” The original Little House on the Prairie television show aired on NBC from 1974 to ’83, with three follow-up movies airing in 1983 and ’84. The beloved program won four Emmy Awards, for cinematography (1978 and ’79) and score (1979 and ’82).
Jonathan Majors’ Magazine Dreams debuts its first trailer
It’s been two years since Magazine Dreams debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and earned Oscar buzz for Jonathan Majors, who spent a year and a half training for his role of a body builder. Searchlight Pictures won the bidding war out of Sundance, but before it could hit theaters, Majors was arrested and later convicted for assault and harassment. As Majors’ career cratered, the project entered a state of limbo, until Briarcliff picked it up in October 2024. On Wednesday, Briarcliff at long last unveiled the first trailer for Magazine Dreams (watch below). Elijah Bynum directed and wrote the movie, which filmed in only 24 days.
The late David Lynch to be honored at Writers Guild Awards
Filmmaker David Lynch, whose death on Jan. 15 is still reverberating through Hollywood, will receive a special honor at the 2025 Writers Guild Awards on Feb. 15. He has been named the recipient of the 2025 Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement, and his frequent collaborator Kyle MacLachlan will present the posthumous honor. This lifetime achievement award is given to WGA members who have “advanced the literature of motion pictures and made outstanding contributions to the profession of the screenwriter.” Some of Lynch’s most iconic screenplays include Blue Velvet (1986), Wild at Heart (1990), and Mulholland Drive (2001). WGAW President Meredith Stiehm said, “Writer-director David Lynch’s uncompromising vision pushed the boundaries of filmmaking. We’re proud to honor him and his legacy.”
Warner Bros.
Dune: Part Two wins at Association of Motion Picture Sound Awards
Denis Villeneuve‘s epic sequel has prevailed at the Association of Motion Picture Sound (AMPS) Awards. The UK-based kudos have chosen Dune: Part Two as the feature film winner of the 2025 Excellence in Sound Award. The recipients are Gareth John, Tom Harrison, Martin Kwok, Richard King, Ron Bartlett, and Doug Hemphill. Over the past 11 years since the AMPS was enacted, its top winner has gone on to win the BAFTA on 10 occasions and the Oscar seven times. Dune: Part Two is nominated at both upcoming awards shows, with the BAFTAs taking place on Feb. 16, and the Oscars on March 2.
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