By JAKE COYLE | AP Film Writer

NEW YORK — In a year in which the pandemic shuttered movie theaters for months, Academy Awards nominations went to two female filmmakers for the first time and a historically diverse slate of actors Monday but, ultimately, David Fincher’s “Mank” — a very traditional contender about Hollywood itself — took the lead.

Fincher’s “Mank,” a black-and-white, period drama about “Citizen Kane” screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz, easily topped nominations for the 93rd Academy Awards — delayed two months by the coronavirus pandemic — with 10 nominations, including best picture, best director, acting nods for Gary Oldman and Amanda Seyfried, and a host of others for its lavish craft.

The other nominations were spread among a wide variety of contenders. Six each were scored by six films, all of which are also up for best picture: “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Nomadland,” “Minari,” “Sound of Metal,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and “The Father.” Also nominated for best picture was Emerald Fennell’s “Promising Young Woman.”

History was made in the best director category. Only five women have ever been nominated before. For the first time, two were this year. Chloé Zhoe got a nod for her elegiac road-trip drama “Nomadland” alongside first-time feature filmmaker Fennell for her pitch black #MeToo revenge comedy. “Never going to stop crying,” Fennell, also nominated for best screenplay, said on Twitter.

Zhao, the first Asian woman nominated for best director, is the most nominated woman in a single year in Oscar history. She was also tipped for the film’s adapted screenplay, editing and as a producer in the best picture category. The other directing nominees were Lee Isaac Chung for the tender family drama “Minari,” Fincher for “Mank” and Thomas Vinterberg for his heavy-drinking Danish tragicomedy “Another Round.”

For performers, it’s the most diverse group of nominees ever — and a far cry from the all-white acting nods that spawned the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag five years ago. Nine of the 20 acting nominees are people of color, including a posthumous best-actor nomination for Chadwick Boseman (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”), as well as nods for Riz Ahmed (“Sound of Metal”), Steven Yeun (“Minari”), Viola Davis (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”) and Andra Day (“The People vs. Billie Holiday”) and supporting nominations for Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield (“Judas and the Black Messiah”), Leslie Odom Jr. (“One Night in Miami”) and Yuh-Jung Youn (“Minari”).

Davis, who won for her performance in 2016’s “Fences,” landed her fourth Oscar nomination, making her the most nominated Black actress ever. Yeun is the first Asian American ever nominated for best actor. “Judas and the Black Messiah,” Shaka King’s powerful Black Panther drama, is the first best-picture nominee with an all-Black producing team: King along with Ryan Coogler and Charles D. King. Overall, a record 70 women were nominated for 76 Oscars, the academy said.

The other nominees for best actress are: Carey Mulligan (“Promising Young Woman”); Frances McDormand (“Nomadland”); Vanessa Kirby (“Pieces of a Woman”). The remaining nominee for best actor is Anthony Hopkins for the dementia drama “The Father.”

With moviegoing nearly snuffed out by the coronavirus, the best-picture nominees had hardly any box office to speak of. For the first time, Hollywood’s biggest and most sough-after awards belong to movies that were almost entirely seen at home.

“We learned a lot of hard lessons last year, but a nice one was that people will find a way to go to the movies, even if they can only go as far as their living rooms,” Aaron Sorkin, writer and director of “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” said in a statement.

Netflix, as expected, led all studios with 35 nominations. The streaming service is still gunning for its first best-picture winner, and this year has two shots in “Mank” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7” — a movie Paramount Pictures sold off during the pandemic. Netflix led last year, too, with 24 nominations, but came away with just two wins.

Other streamers were in the mix. Amazon, in particular, was well represented with “Sound of Metal,” “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” and “One Night in Miami” — leading to 12 nominations overall. Both Apple TV+ (“Wolfwalkers,” “Greyhound”) and Disney+ (“Soul,” “Onward”) landed their first nominations. The film that tried to lead a box-office revival — Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” — walked away with nominations for production design and visual effects.

The nominations were announced from London by presenters Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. The Academy Awards would typically have happened by now but this year will be telecast April 25. The film academy confirmed Monday that the show will be held at both its usual home in the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and the city’s railway hub, Union Station.

This year’s awards season — typically a monthslong circuit of screenings, cocktail parties and schmoozing — has been entirely virtual, taking much of the buzz and predictability out of the Oscars. Eligibility was extended to early 2021 releases and to movies that bypassed theaters.

“In our industry there is nothing more traditional than the Academy Awards, which hopefully sends a sign of hope that we will get out of this,” Oldman said in a statement. “The Oscars are such a sign that normalcy still exists.”

Among the films that had hoped for a better result Monday was Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods” — which was nominated only for its score. Just eight out of a possible 10 movies were nominated for best picture, leaving out “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” Regina King’s “One Night in Miami” and Golden Globe winner “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.”

Despite the best-picture snub for “Borat,” Sacha Baron Cohen, who created the title character, was still a nominee for his supporting role as activist Abbie Hoffman in “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” and “Borat” star Maria Bakalova was nominated for best supporting actress. Also nominated in the category: Glenn Close for “Hillbilly Elegy” and Olivia Colman for “The Father.”

The most competitive category might have been documentary, where “Collective,” “Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution,” “The Mole Agent,” My Octopus Teacher” and “Time” ultimately landed nominations. “Collective,” the Romanian documentary about investigative journalism and government corruption, became just the second film nominated for both best documentary and best international film. The other international film nominees were “Quo Vadis, Aida?,” Bosnia and Herzegovina; “Another Round,” Denmark; “Better Days,” Hong Kong; and “The Man Who Sold His Skin,” Tunisia.

The nominees for best animated feature: “Onward”; “Over the Moon”; “A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon”; “Soul”; “Wolfwalkers.”

The film academy and ABC will hope that the nominees can drum up more excitement than they have elsewhere. Interest in little golden statuettes has nosedived during the pandemic. Ratings for a largely virtual Golden Globes plunged to 6.9 million viewers — a 64% drop from 2020 — last month. Though on Sunday the Grammys managed to break through the Zoom trap.

With the notable exception of fueling streaming subscriber growth, the pandemic has been punishing for the movie industry. Production slowed to a crawl, blockbusters were postponed or detoured to streaming and thousands have been laid off or furloughed.

But the outlook for Hollywood has recently brightened as coronavirus cases have slid and vaccines have ramped up. Movie theaters are reopening in the U.S.’s two largest markets, New York and Los Angeles. And several larger movies — including the Walt Disney Co.’s “Black Widow” (May 7) — are scheduled for May and beyond.

Terry Pierson, a Southern California News Group photojournalist, has been selected National Press Photographer Association, Region 10, photographer of the year for the seventh time in the past 10 years.

The association is a national organization for news media photographers. Region 10 includes California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii.

The group sponsors a monthly photo contest, by region, awarding points for monthly winners. Points are tallied at the end of the year, and the top-ranking photographer wins the Photographer of the Year award.

Pierson, a Moreno Valley resident, won first place with 1,240 points. He was one of five Southern California News Group photographers to finish in the top 20. The others were Keith Birmingham, Mindy Schauer, Mark Rightmire and Paul Bersebach.

Pierson has won first place in the group’s Monthly News Clip Contest West Region in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018 and 2020. He finished second to Kent Porter, a photographer at the Santa Rosa Press Democrat with whom Pierson has a friendly competition, in 2016, 2017 and 2019.

“It’s always great to win,” Pierson said. “I’ve been blessed to win a number of times, but I don’t expect to win any year. It’s up to the judges and my assignments, I go to every assignment with eyes wide open to make the best pictures I can for the readers.”

The starry cast of Aaron Sorkin’s 1960s courtroom drama “The Trial of the Chicago 7” took the top prize Sunday at a virtual Screen Actors Guild Awards where actors of color, for the first time, swept the individual film awards.

The 27th SAG Awards, presented by the Hollywood actors’ guild SAG-Aftra, were a muted affair — and not just because the red carpet-less ceremony was condensed to a pre-recorded, Zoom-heavy, one-hour broadcast on TBS and TNT. The perceived Academy Awards frontrunner — Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland” — wasn’t nominated for best ensemble, making this year’s postponed SAG Awards less of an Oscar preview than it is most years.

Still, the win for Netflix’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7” marked the first time a film from any streaming service won the guild’s ensemble award. Written and directed by Sorkin, “The Trial of the Chicago 7” had been set for theatrical release by Paramount Pictures before the pandemic hit, leading to its sale to Netflix. The streamer is still after its first best-picture win at the Oscars.

Frank Langella, who plays the judge who presided over the 1969 prosecution of activists arrested during the 1968 Democratic National Convention, drew parallels between that era’s unrest and today’s while accepting the award on behalf of the cast.

“‘God give us leaders,’ said the Rev. Martin Luther King before he was shot down in cold blood on this very date in 1968 — a profound injustice,” said Langella, citing events leading up to those dramatized in “The Trial of the Chicago 7. “The Rev. King was right. We need leaders to guide us toward hating each other less.”

The win came over two other Netflix releases — “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “Da 5 Bloods” — as well as Amazon’s “One Night in Miami” and A24’s “Minari.” Had Lee Isaac Chung’s Korean-American family drama “Minari” won, it would have been the second straight year a film largely not in English won SAG’s top award. Last year, the cast of “Parasite” triumphed, becoming the first cast from a non-English language film to do so.

The SAG Awards are a closely watched Oscar harbinger. Actors make up the largest branch of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, and SAG winners often line up with Oscar ones. Last year, “Parasite” went on to win best picture at the Academy Awards, and all of the individual SAG winners — Renée Zellweger, Brad Pitt, Laura Dern, Joaquin Phoenix — won at the Oscars, too.

Those awards this year went to a group entirely of actors of color, potentially setting the stage for a historically diverse slate of Oscar winners: Chadwick Boseman, best male actor for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”; Viola Davis, best female actor for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”; Yuh-Jung Youn, best female supporting actor for “Minari”; and Daniel Kaluuya, best male supporting actor for “Judas and the Black Messiah.”

Of those, Davis’ win was the most surprising in a category that has often belonged to Carey Mulligan (“Promising Young Woman”) or Frances McDormand (“Nomadland”). It’s Davis’ fifth individual SAG award.

“Thank you, August, for leaving a legacy for actors of color that we can relish the rest of our lives,” said Davis, referring to playwright August Wilson.

As it has throughout the awards season, best male actor again belonged to Boseman for his final performance. Boseman, who died last August at age 43, had already set a record for most SAG film nominations — four — in a single year. He was also posthumously nominated for his supporting role in “Da 5 Bloods” and shared in the ensemble nominations for both Spike Lee’s film and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”

It was the SAG Awards where Boseman gave one of his most memorable speeches. At the guild’s 2019 awards, Boseman spoke on behalf of the “Black Panther” cast when the film won the top award. “We all know what it’s like to be told that there is not a place for you to be featured,” Boseman said then. “Yet you are young, gifted and Black.”

The Academy Awards frontrunner, “Nomadland” missed out on a best-ensemble nomination possibly because its cast is composed of largely non-professional actors. Zhao’s film previously won at the highly predictive Producers Guild Awards, as well as at the Golden Globes. “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” up for best picture at the Oscars and four other awards, could pose a challenge to the frontrunner.

In an interview following the pre-taping of the award for “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” Langella called the virtual experience much more civilized. “I’m in my bedroom slippers,” he said from New York’s Hudson Valley. “I have no pants on,” added his co-star Michael Keaton.

Eddie Redmayne, who plays Tom Hayden in the film, credited Sorkin and casting director Francine Maisler for assembling such a disparate group of actors — including Sacha Baron Cohen, Mark Rylance, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Jeremy Strong — into an ensemble.

“It was like a clash of different types of music, whether it was jazz or rock or classical — but all of that coming together under Aaron. He was the conductor, almost,” said Redmayne. “It was a joy day and day out to watch these great and different and varied actors slugging it out.”

In television categories, the ensembles of “Schitt’s Creek” (for comedy series) and “The Crown” (for drama series) added to their string of awards. Other winners included Anya Taylor-Joy (“The Queen’s Gambit”), Gillian Anderson (“The Crown”), Jason Sudeikis (“Ted Lasso”), Jason Bateman (“Ozark”) and Mark Ruffalo (“I Know This Much Is True”).

The awards are typically the highest-profile event for the Screen Actors Guild, though the union’s faceoff earlier this year with former President Donald Trump may have drawn more headlines. After the guild prepared to expel Trump (credits include “The Apprentice,” “Home Alone 2”) for his role in the Capitol riot, Trump resigned from SAG-Aftra.

COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS

Here is a complete list of winners of the 27th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, which were presented Sunday night in a televised virtual event:

Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture — “The Trial of the Chicago 7.”

Actor in a Leading Role — Chadwick Boseman, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”

Actress in a Leading Role — Viola Davis, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”

Actor in a Supporting Role — Daniel Kaluuya, “Judas and the Black Messiah”

Actress in a Supporting Role — Yuh-Jung Youn, “Minari”

Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture — “Wonder Woman 1984”

TELEVISION

Ensemble Cast in a Drama Series — “The Crown”

Actress in a Drama Series — Gillian Anderson, “The Crown”

Actor in a Drama Series — Jason Bateman, “Ozark”

Ensemble Cast in a Comedy Series — “Schitt’s Creek”

Actress in a Comedy Series — Catherine O’Hara, “Schitt’s Creek”

Actor in a Comedy Series — Jason Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso”

Actress in a Television Movie or Limited Series — Anya Taylor-Joy, “The Queen’s Gambit”

Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series — Mark Ruffalo, “I Know This Much is True”

Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series — “The Mandalorian”

City News Service contributed to this report.

By MESFIN FEKADU | Associated Press

NEW YORK — Though Glenn Close has been nominated for eight Oscars without any wins, the distinguished actor wants to make one thing clear: she is not a loser.

Close has been nominated for best actress four times and she competed for her fourth best supporting actress honor at last month’s Academy Awards. When “Minari” star Youn Yuh-jung won the prize, the Los Angeles Times published an article with the headline, “After 8 Oscar losses, Glenn Close is now tied as the most nominated actor without a win.” It prompted Emmy winner Sarah Paulson to tweet in Close’s defense, “I wish this conversation would cease. She’s brilliant and continues to have an extraordinary and enviable career. Nighty night to this click bait convo to nowheresville.”

Close, 74, told The Associated Press said she didn’t see the article or Paulson’s tweet, but she quickly responded with: “First of all, I don’t think I’m a loser.”

“Who in that category is a loser? You’re there, you’re five people honored for the work that you’ve done by your peers. What’s better than that?,” she said. “And I honestly feel that the press likes to have winners and losers. And then they say, ‘Who is the worst dressed?’ And, you know, ‘Who made the worst speech?’ Forget it. It’s not what it’s about.”

Looking directly in the camera, she passionately ended with: “I say, (expletive) them!”

Close’s illustrious and revered career includes wins at mostly ever major awards show. She is a three-time winner at the Emmy, Golden Globe and Tony Awards. She’s earned three Grammy nominations and competed at the Oscars with the films “The World According to Garp,” “The Big Chill,” “The Natural,” “Fatal Attraction,” “Dangerous Liaisons,” “Albert Nobbs,” “The Wife” and “Hillbilly Elegy.”

The actor said a year after being homebound because of the pandemic, she really enjoyed seeing her peers at the socially distanced Academy Awards.

“It was wonderful. I mean, they were very strict,” Close said. “We were tested up the wazoo as we had to be. But I’ll tell you what I loved about the Oscars … you got to talk to people whose work you had seen and loved. I got to talk to the wonderful Korean woman who won in my category; got to meet Maria (Bakalova), who was also in my category, the wonderful young actress from Bulgaria.

“And that’s what we need to do. You need to be able to mix with your own kind and … be able to express your appreciation and how much you’ve been inspired by them. And that meant a lot, I think, to everybody,” she said.

One of the last projects Close worked on before the pandemic hit was a spoken word jazz album with Grammy-winning musician Ted Nash. It was released Friday and recorded in New York City at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

She said she’s finally returning to New York this week for the first time in over a year.

“I feel, I think like millions of other people, changed by (the pandemic) and still disturbed by it. I think we have to really take time to know that you don’t come out of something like this easily. You have to really pay attention to where you are. It was it was not easy. I think all of us came out with an experience and I think a lot of stories will come from this time,” Close said from Montana, where she’s been living since late 2019. “I certainly value getting together with other people. I value community more. I mean, I was lucky to be near my family through the whole thing.”

During the pandemic she was able to film “Swan Song” in Canada alongside Oscar-winning actor Mahershala Ali. The Apple TV+ film does not have a release date.

“If it’s half as beautiful as the experience of making it, it’s going to be a fantastic movie for people to see,” she said.

“I noticed when I was up there, the whole crew was always like this,” Close added as she put hand over nose and mouth. “You never saw somebody’s whole face. You just saw their eyes. And I as an actor, I hang on people’s eyes, right. So I thought, ‘Oh, the eyes are the most important thing.’ But when I would go and I’d say, ‘OK, I’m six feet away, can I just see your face for five seconds?’ And it would be a revelation every single time.”

Most of the time you had no idea what that person really looked like. And I really feel that we need our whole faces. And I’m so happy that now we can get into a situation where we could see our faces in real time. That means a lot to me.”

LOS ANGELES — Next year’s Oscar ceremony will be held later than planned, with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announcing Thursday the show will be held March 27, 2022.

That’s one month later than the originally announced Feb. 27 date. The Oscars are traditionally held in late February.

The Academy did not give a specific reason for the shift, although the announcement noted that this year “is still impacted by the pandemic.” This year’s ceremony was more dramatically affected by COVID-19, with the event held on April 25 and moved to Union Station near downtown Los Angeles.

Next year’s show, while delayed, will return to the traditional home of the Oscars, the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

The eligibility period for next year’s 94th Oscars will be March 1 through Dec. 31 of this year. Nominations will be announced on Feb. 8.

The Oscars will be televised on ABC.

After rushing to put together a virtual event in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year the BET Awards return with an in-person ceremony that will recognize artists, entertainers and athletes in 21 categories at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 27.

The 21st annual awards show will air live at 8 p.m. on BET and feature performances by Andra Day, City Girls, DaBaby, DJ Khaled, H.E.R., Jazmine Sullivan, Kirk Franklin, Lil Baby, Migos, Moneybagg Yo!, Rapsody, Roddy Ricch, Tyler, the Creator and more. The event will be hosted by Golden Globe-winning actress and filmmaker Taraji P. Henson, and award-winning actress and musician Queen Latifah will be honored with the BET Lifetime Achievement award.

“I cannot even explain to you how excited I am for this,” Connie Orlando, executive vice president of specials and programming at BET, said during a recent phone interview. “It’s so good to know we’ll be back in the building and actually see people and have that energy with people on stage. I can hardly contain myself. I’m like a little kid, I can’t wait.”

When BET announced its in-person return and invited fans to RSVP for the show, they said that those wanting to attend would need to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination. The network has also been heavily encouraging those in the Black and Latino communities to get vaccinated and offered information and resources for them to do so.

“It’s just so important for everyone, especially those in our community because we’ve been impacted [by COVID-19] so hard,” she said. “We are thrilled to use the platform to spread the message and to help support them.”

Orlando said she’s also excited to celebrate The Year of the Black Woman, this year’s BET Awards theme. It’s fitting, she notes, to see rapper Megan Thee Stallion tied with DaBaby for a total of seven nominations, including album of the year.

“The idea behind [the theme] was it has just been such an incredible year for Black women and we don’t want it to be a moment, we want it to be a movement,” she said. “Black women have been essential drivers of change and played crucial roles in advancing American society in almost every sector, so this is a celebration. We want to love on them and tell them how much we appreciate their efforts and what they’ve done and where they’re headed in the future.”

The producers at BET were able to pull off a virtual awards show in 2020 featuring powerful performances by Alicia Keys, Roddy Ricch, Kane Brown, Public Enemy and Lil Wayne as well as address issues of systemic racism and the murder of George Floyd.

“That’s a show I’m the most proud of because not only were we the first ones to do [a virtual awards show], but we were able to give the important messaging and the audience and the artists just immersed themselves in Black Lives Matter and the urgent need for racial equality,” Orlando said. “This year, it’s about a real reawakening like we’ve been underground for months, so this is like a rebirth, a new beginning. The energy from this year’s show is going to be something really special.”

In its 21st year, the BET Awards continues to recognize top entertainers, musicians and pro athletes. Hip-hop and R&B music has dominated the charts with artists like Cardi B and Drake, who are each nominated for five awards. Anderson .Paak, Bruno Mars, Chloe X Halle and Chris Brown all received four nominations.

DaBaby’s “Blame it on Baby” and Megan Thee Stallion’s “Good News” will be up against Jazmine Sullivan’s “Heaux Tales,” Nas’ “King’s Disease” and Chloe X Halle’s “Ungodly Hour” for album of the year.

Films including “Coming 2 America,” “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “One Night In Miami,” “Soul” and “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” are all up for best movie. Best actress nominees are Andra Day, Angela Bassett, Issa Rae, Jurnee Smollett, Viola Davis and Zendaya and best actor nominees include Aldis Hodge, Damson Idris, Daniel Kaluuya, Eddie Murphy, Lakeith Stanfield and the late Chadwick Boseman.

Professional athletes are very much a part of the celebration. This year’s sportswoman of the year nominees include WNBA stars A’Ja Wilson, Skylar Diggins-Smith and Candace Parker, boxer Claressa Shields, tennis pros Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams. Sportsman of the year nominees are NFL players Patrick Mahomes and Russell Wilson and NBA players LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Russell Westbrook and Stephen Curry.

The L.A. Live campus typically hosts the BET Experience, a four-day free fan festival with performances, celebrity basketball and dodgeball games, fashion shows, sneaker conventions, video games and other larger-than-life branded activations leading up to the annual awards show. With COVID-19, the fan fest has been postponed twice.

“That experience is the family reunion where we all get to see each other and have a full weekend of fun and just rejoice,” she said. “You know what, I’m just going to say it and claim it; we’ll be back next year and it will be a great comeback.”

LOS ANGELES — Actor/comedian Cedric the Entertainer was named host Monday of the 73rd Emmy Awards, which will return to a live event with a “limited” audience at the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles.

“Since I was a little boy huddled up next to my grandmother, television has always been my reliable friend, so it is an enormous honor for me to host this year’s Emmy Awards,” Cedric the Entertainer said in a statement released by the Television Academy. “Throughout the roller-coaster of a year that we have all lived through, television has helped us stay connected as a society like never before. It not only entertained us, but as it always has, it helped to open our eyes, educate us and hopefully brought about a better understanding of who we are as a people.

“I can’t wait to take the stage to celebrate all of the great shows and performances that made us laugh, cry, dance and sing over the past year.”

It will be Cedric the Entertainer’s first time hosting the Emmys. He is currently co-starring in the CBS comedy “The Neighborhood.”

The Emmys will be presented Sept. 19 and be televised on CBS and be streamed live on Paramount+. Emmy nominations will be announced Tuesday morning.

According to the Television Academy, the Emmy ceremony will be held “with a limited audience of nominees and their guests.” Last year’s ceremony, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, was held in a virtual format due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with winners accepting their awards remotely from locations around he world.

By LYNN ELBER | AP Television Writer

LOS ANGELES — “The Crown” tied with “The Mandalorian” for the most Emmy nominations Tuesday with 24 apiece, but the Marvel universe also got bragging rights with runner-up “WandaVision.”

The nominations reinforced the rapid rise of streaming, with most of the top-nominated scripted shows on services that emerged in the past two years. In the top three categories — drama, comedy and limited series — broadcast networks scored only two nominations, for the NBC drama “This Is Us” and the ABC comedy “black-ish.”

During an oppressive pandemic in which housebound Americans relied more than ever on television for distraction, TV academy voters recognized a varied mix of storytelling and a diverse group of actors and creators.

One example: Mj Rodriguez of “Pose” is the first trans woman to be nominated in a lead acting category. The show also earned a best drama series nod.

Netflix’s “The Crown” received its fourth nomination for best series, and is likely the streaming service’s best chance to win its first-ever top series trophy. The British royal drama moved closer to contemporary events with its version of the courtship and rocky marriage of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer, played by Josh O’Connor and Emma Corrin.

O’Connor and Corrin received lead drama acting nods, as did the series’ Olivia Colman for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II, with a supporting bid to Gillian Anderson for her role as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Oprah Winfrey’s headline-making interview with the late Diana’s son Harry and his wife Meghan earned a nomination for best hosted nonfiction series or special.

The showings by “The Mandalorian,” an extension of the “Star Wars” franchise, and the inventive “WandaVision” featuring the Marvel characters Wanda and Vision, put the series in the ranks of past sci-fi and fantasy Emmy favorites “Game of Thrones” and “Lost.”

“The Boys,” Amazon’s comedy-tinged take on superheroes, earned a best drama nod.

“I would never have thought in a million years that playing a witch in a Marvel show would lead to this. It’s like a dream,” said “WandaVision” co-star Kathryn Hahn. The show’s total of 23 nominations was especially sweet.

“I’m so moved that the whole of it has been recognized,” Hahn said. “It was incredibly difficult. It was a hard, hard shoot. But … the experience of making this meant so much to me and it was so unexpectedly deep.”

RELATED: ‘Pose’ star Mj Rodriguez is first transgender actress with lead Emmy nomination for prime-time series

The nominations haul by Disney+, which launched in late 2019, was impressive, but the triumph of streaming was predictable, said Eric Deggans, TV critic for National Public Radio.

“Disney+ came out of nowhere and got the third-most nominations of any platform at 71. … We’re a point now where this is this is increasingly becoming a streamers’ game and the Emmy nominations reflect it,” Deggans said.

HBO and streaming service HBO Max edged into lead with 130 total nominations, with Netflix close on its heels with 129.

The frontrunner on the comedy side is the good-hearted “Ted Lasso,” about a middling American football coach imported to England to handle a soccer team. The Apple TV+ series received 20 nominations, including for top comedy, star Jason Sudeikis and six cast members.

“Hacks,” starring Jean Smart as a stand-up comedian who resists getting aged out of Las Vegas and life, was next with 15 nods, including a lead actor award for Smart and a supporting bid for Hannah Einbinder.

Smart, who some have said is enjoying a career “Jeannaisance,” earned a second nomination for her supporting role in “Mare of Easttown.” The limited series received 16 nods, including for star Kate Winslet.

Among the others who doubled down on nominations: “Saturday Night Live” stars Kenan Thompson and Aidy Bryant, who received supporting acting bids for the variety show as well as lead comedy series acting nods for, respectively, “”Kenan” and “Shrill.”

Other top nominees include previous best drama series winner “The Handmaid’s Tale,” with 21 nods, tied with “Saturday Night Live”; “The Queen’s Gambit,” 18; the costume-drama romp “Bridgerton” and “Hamilton,” with 12 each.

“Lovecraft Country,” a horror-infused drama set in 1950s segregated America, earned an impressive 18 nominations — but was canceled by HBO after one season.

“The Flight Attendant” earned nine nominations, including a best comedy actress nod for Kaley Cuoco and a supporting actress bid for Rosie Perez — who becomes the second Latina nominated in the category, after Sofia Vergara for “Modern Family.”

There were surprises, as usual. Nicole Kidman failed to receive a nomination for limited series “The Undoing,” while co-star Hugh Grant was recognized. But the critically acclaimed miniseries “I May Destroy You” and its star and creator, Michaela Coel, grabbed nine Emmy nods after being snubbed by the Golden Globes.

One blast from the past getting new respect: “Cobra Kai,” set 30 years after the events of the “Karate Kid” film, earned a best comedy nod and four nominations in all.

The other nominees for best drama series are “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Lovecraft Country.”

Other comedy series nominees are “Emily in Paris”; “The Flight Attendant”; “The Kominsky Method” and “PEN15.”

The nominees for best miniseries are: “The Queen’s Gambit”; “I May Destroy You”; “Mare of Easttown”; “The Underground Railroad”; “WandaVision.”

Father-and-daughter actors Ron Cephas Jones (“This Is Us”) and Jasmine Cephas Jones (“Blindspotting”) and TV Academy head Frank Scherma announced the nominees. There were awkward moments when the pair mispronounced some nominees’ names, including referring to Anya Taylor-Joy as “Anna.”

The Sept. 19 ceremony, which last year was held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will air live on CBS from a theater and include a limited in-person audience of nominees and guests. Cedric the Entertainer is the host.

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This story has been corrected to show that two broadcast network series, “black-ish” and “This Is Us” received nominations in the top three categories.

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AP Entertainment Writers Ryan Pearson and Alicia Rancilio contributed to this report.

LOS ANGELES — “Pose” co-star Mj Rodriguez made Emmy history Tuesday by becoming the first transgender performer to be nominated for a leading-performance Emmy Award in a prime-time series.

Rodriguez is the third transgender performer overall to receive an Emmy nomination. Laverne Cox received multiple nominations for best supporting actress for “Orange Is the New Black.” Rain Valdez was nominated last year for lead actress in a short-form series for “Razor Tongue.”

RELATED: ‘The Crown,’ ‘Mandalorian’ top Emmy nominations with 24 each, and ‘WandaVision’ follows

Sarah Kate Ellis, president/CEO of the LGBT advocacy organization GLAAD, called the nomination a “breakthrough for transgender women in Hollywood” while also hailing the success of the FX series “Pose” at the nominations announcement.

“Additionally, the show’s nomination for outstanding drama series, as well as Billy Porter’s third nomination for outstanding lead actor in a drama series, mark a historic show that undoubtedly raised the bar for trans representation on television and changed the way viewers around the world understand the trans community,” Ellis said. “As over 40 leading LGBTQ organizations pointed out in our open letter about ‘Pose’ to Emmy Award voters, representation matters. Congratulations, Michaela Jae, Billy Porter and the entire ‘Pose’ team. The world is standing with you and applauding your talents.”

By Jonathan Landrum Jr. | Associated Press

Jon Batiste might be the Grammys biggest surprise: The multi-genre performer and recent Oscar winner made such an impression on voters that he scored the most nominations with 11 on Tuesday.

Batiste earned an album of the year nod for “We Are” along with record of the year with “Freedom,” a feel-good ode to the city of New Orleans. His nominations span several genres including R&B, jazz, American roots music, classical and music video.

Justin Bieber, Doja Cat and H.E.R. each came away with the second-most nominations with eight by the time the Recording Academy was done announcing its nominees for its Jan. 31 show. Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo both had seven nods.

Along with Batiste’s surprise domination, another shock was The Weeknd nabbing three nominations after the pop star claimed he would not allow his label to submit his music. Earlier this year, he angrily slammed the Grammys, calling them “corrupt” after he received zero nominations despite releasing 2020’s biggest single, “Blinding Lights.”

Even though The Weeknd said he would boycott future Grammys, he still became a nominee for his work on album of the year projects, including Doja Cat’s deluxe edition “Planet Her” and Kanye West’s “Donda.” His third nomination was for his appearance on West’s single “Hurricane,” which also features Lil Baby.

“What I like is the fact that no one is thinking about what happened before, what was the controversy, what was the noise, or where was this artist making music last year,” said Harvey Mason jr., the Recording Academy’s CEO. He said voters focused on the “excellence of music” while considering nominees like Batiste and Kacey Musgraves, whose work also crosses over into different categories.

“The voters are truly evaluating music and not getting caught up in the reputations of any other outside noise or any history of artists,” he continued. “With that in mind, I think they’re voting for things that they are acknowledging as excellence.”

Mason said he was pleased with the new peer-driven voting system after seeing the list of nominees. He instituted the 10-3 initiative — which allows the academy’s more than 11,000 members to vote for up to 10 categories in three genres. All voters can vote for the top four awards.

The new system replaced the anonymous nominations review committee — a group that determined the contenders for key awards. Some claimed committee members favored projects based on personal relationships and promoted projects they favored and worked on.

Harvey knows the new voting system might not be perfect at first, but he believes the initiative will produce fair results in the long run.

“I know we didn’t get every single one perfect,” Harvey said. “I know there will be some people that feel left out or that we missed a nomination here or there. That makes me sad because I don’t want anybody to have that feeling. But I do feel like we’re heading in the right direction. I’m pleased with the way our voters did the work.”

For the first time, the academy expanded the number of nominees in the general field categories from eight to 10. The change impacts categories such as record, album, song of the year and best new artist.

Harvey said the academy increased slots in the general field categories after seeing an uptick voting participation over the past year along with the acceptance of new membership invitations and a high number of more than 21,730 entries submitted for Grammy consideration.

“We thought the timing was right,” he said. “We saw an opportunity to do what the academy does — which is to highlight music, highlight the industry and highlight excellence in a bigger way. With the change in our voting structure, we don’t have the nomination review committee. This gives our voters an opportunity to have their voice heard, but also gives them a chance to have a bigger pool to draw from when it comes time to that one winner that takes home the Grammy.”

Other album of the year nominees include: Bieber’s “Justice (Triple Chucks Deluxe),” Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever,” West’s “Donda,” Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga’s “Love for Sale,” Olivia Rodrigo’s “Sour,” Taylor Swift’s “evermore” and Lil Nas X’s “MONTERO.”

Batiste, the bandleader of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” picked up a bid in the best score soundtrack for visual media category for his work on Pixar’s “Soul,” which won him an Oscar for best score earlier this year. Coming into Tuesday, he had three Grammy nominations but no wins yet.

Batiste will compete for record of the year against a bevy of candidates including Bennett & Gaga’s “I Get a Kick Out of You,” ABBA’s “I Still Have Faith in You,” Bieber’s “Peaches” featuring Daniel Caesar and Giveon, Brandi Carlile’s “Right on Time,” Doja Cat’s “Kiss Me More” with SZA, Lil Nas X’s “MONTERO (Call Me by Your Name),” Rodrigo’s “drivers license,” Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever” and “Leave The Door Open” by Silk Sonic — the super duo of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak.

Jay-Z, who was nominated for three Grammys on Tuesday, now has the most nominations of all time with 83. The 23-time Grammy-winning rapper moved past Quincy Jones, who has been nominated 80 times.

Third graders at  entered the multipurpose room on Monday, Dec. 13, thinking that two students would be awarded brand new bikes for their efforts in essay writing.

Principal Danielle Saldavia Pouncey read two essays and awarded bikes to happy children courtesy of YMCA and Bikes for Kids.

Saldavia Pouncey asked if maybe there was one more bike to be awarded. Sure enough, they found one in a nearby closet and a third student was smiling.

Next came a huge surprise — reminiscent of Oprah Winfrey’s famous TV car giveaway — when YMCA of Greater Long Beach Operations Director, Alvaro Rodriguez, dropped a black curtain to reveal 55 bikes, one for each student.

A roar took over the small room and tears fell from a few students’ eyes. The genuine appreciation and happiness felt by the children was palpable.

ABC Unified board of education president Soo Yoo wiped away tears as she congratulated the students on their essay efforts and new bikes.

Yoo recalled her own childhood and having to borrow bikes from friends. She encouraged them to keep dreaming and succeeding.

Once a parent signs paperwork the children will take their bikes home, in time for some quality riding over the holiday break.

By JAKE COYLE

NEW YORK (AP) — After widespread criticism forced the organization that puts on the Golden Globes to lose its televised award show and overhaul its membership, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association nevertheless went ahead announcing nominees for film and television awards on Monday despite a skeptical entertainment industry.

Just as it’s done for many years, the HFPA gathered reporters at the Beverly Hilton to announce its picks for the 79th Golden Globes. But this time, there was no nationally televised morning-show live spot or any immediate celebrity celebrations. Hollywood mostly shrugged.

The HFPA, which usually has a handful of movie stars make their announcement, turned instead to Snoop Dogg, who read the nominees behind sunglasses and a red hat during a live stream on the Globes’ YouTube page. The majority of studios, public relations firms and A-list talent haven’t engaged much this year with the group, which dropped its usual requirement that films be submitted for consideration. Critics have said it’s too soon for the HFPA to return to business as usual. Some would rather see the Globes be gone for good.

But the press association tried to maintain its perch in awards season on Monday, spreading nominations around to the likes of Will Smith (“King Richard”), Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”), ”West Side Story” breakthrough Rachel Zegler, Leonardo DiCaprio (“Don’t Look Up”), Denzel Washington (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”), Ben Affleck (“The Tender Bar”) and Lady Gaga (“House of Gucci”).

The nominees for best picture, drama, went to Jane Campion’s gothic Western “The Power of the Dog,” Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic “Dune,” the family drama “CODA,” Reinaldo Marcus Green’s tennis biopic “King Richard” and Kenneth Branagh’s autobiographical “Belfast.”

The comedy or musical picks for best picture were: Adam McKay’s apocalyptic comedy “Don’t Look Up,” Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘70s ode to San Fernando Valley “Licorice Pizza,” Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story,” Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Tick, Tick … Boom!” and Joe Wright’s “Cyrano.”

“Belfast” and “The Power of the Dog” tied for the most nominations with seven apiece. Netflix dominated the film nominees with 17 nods in total. HBO’s “Succession” led the TV side with five nominations, including nods for best drama and best actor in a drama series for recent New Yorker profile subject Jeremy Strong.

Normally, such honors would set off a flurry of delight from early-roused nominees and their studios — an awards triumph to be trumpeted on social media and in calls with reporters. On Monday morning, no nominee immediately celebrated — publicly, at least.

The press association claims that in the nine months since its 2021 show, it has remade itself. “HFPA 2.0,” recently elected president Helen Hoehne has said. The group has added a chief diversity officer; overhauled its board; inducted 21 new members, including six Black journalists; brought in the NAACP on a five-year partnership; and updated its code of conduct.

“This has been a year of change and reflection for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association,” Hoehne said Monday.

All of that came after a Los Angeles Times’ expose detailed some of the HFPA’s unethical behavior and revealed that its 87 voting members didn’t include one Black journalist. Studios said they would boycott the Globes and more than 100 PR films said their clients wouldn’t participate until the HFPA swiftly implemented “profound and lasting change.” Tom Cruise returned his three Globes to the group’s headquarters.

NBC, the Globes’ longtime telecaster, has said it won’t air the 2022 Globes because “change of this magnitude takes time and work.” The Globes have still set a date of January 9 but haven’t shared any details about what kind of ceremony that would be.

The Critics Choice Awards have sought to fill the void, even seeking to secure the Globes’ usual home at the Beverly Hilton for its telecast. That bid failed but the Critics Choice Awards will likewise take place on Jan. 9, airing on TBS and the CW. The Critics Choice Awards also announced their nominees Monday, with “Belfast” and “West Side Story” leading with 11 nods each.

Much of the Globes’ power has always resided in its lively telecast, regularly one of the most-watched non-sports broadcasts of the year. The Globes also serve as a promotional tool for many of the awards-hopefuls hitting theaters in December. But this year, few expect to see ads and TV commercials trumpeting a film’s Golden Globes nominations.

But there were also some signs that the Globes boycott was thawing. The Walt Disney Co. promoted “Cruella” nominations from both the Critics Choice Awards and the Globes.

By Lindsey Bahr | Associated Press

The Golden Globe Awards, Hollywood’s so-called biggest party that regularly drew 18 million television viewers, was reduced to a live blog Sunday night for its 79th edition.

The embattled Hollywood Foreign Press Association proceeded with its film awards Sunday night without a telecast, nominees, a red carpet, a host, press or even a live stream. Instead, members of the HFPA and some recipients of the group’s philanthropic grants gathered at the Beverly Hilton Hotel for a 90-minute private event, announcing the names of the film and television winners on the organization’s social media feeds.

Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” won several big awards, for best picture comedy or musical, best actress for Rachel Zegler and best supporting actess for Ariana DeBose.

Netflix’s gothic Western “The Power of the Dog” was named best picture drama, along with other honors for Jane Campion’s direction and Kodi Smit-McPhee’s supporting performance.

Other film winners included Will Smith for “King Richard,” Nicole Kidman for “Being the Ricardos” and Andrew Garfield for “tick, tick…BOOM!” The Japanese film “Drive My Car,” also a critics’ group darling, got best non-English language motion picture, while “Encanto” won for animation.

Though announcing winners on social media might seem like a straightforward task, those following along on Twitter only might have been somewhat confused at times. The tweets often left out exactly which project a person had won for.

To announce the winner for best actor, motion picture musical or comedy, the organization tweeted, “It takes 43 muscles to smile. Thanks for the workout Andrew Garfield and congratulations for taking home the #GoldenGlobe for Best Actor—Motion Picture—Musical/Comedy,” failing to mention that the award was for his turn in “tick, tick…BOOM!”

Other times, the tweets were just downright baffling. In announcing the “West Side Story” win, the group initially wrote, “If laughter is the best medicine @WestSideMovie is the cure for what ails you” about the drama that’s full of death and tragedy. They later deleted the tweet and wrote a new one about “music” being the best medicine.

Television winners included: Sarah Snook and Jeremy Strong for “Succession,” which won best television drama, Jean Smart for “Hacks,” which also won best television comedy, Jason Sudeikis for “Ted Lasso,” Kate Winslet for “Mare of Easttown,” O Yeong-su for “Squid Game” and Michael Keaton for “Dopesick.” Barry Jenkins’ “The Underground Railroad” got best limited series. The group said on its website that “Pose” star Michaela Jaé Rodriguez became the first trans person to win a Golden Globe.

None of the winners appeared to be present at the event, nor did they immediately comment on their awards.

Jamie Lee Curtis, however, chimed in with a video message shared on the group’s Twitter, talking about the HFPA’s charitable work.

“I just wanted to honor and stand with them in this continued advocacy,” Curtis said. “I’m proud to be associated with them in this venture.”

The HFPA enlisted leaders of the groups it has given grants to to announce the winners. Arnold Schwarzenegger chimed in with a video message as well, thanking the group for recognizing him as the “new star of the year” in 1977.

That the organization proceeded with any kind of event came as a surprise to many in Hollywood. The HFPA came under fire after a Los Angeles Times investigation revealed in February ethical lapses and a stunning lack of diversity — there was not a single Black journalist in the 87-person group. Studios and PR firms threatened to boycott. Tom Cruise even returned his three Golden Globes, while other A-listers condemned the group on social media.

They pledged reform last year, but even after a public declaration during the 78th show, their longtime broadcast partner NBC announced in May that it would not air the 2022 Golden Globes because “Change of this magnitude takes time and work.” The broadcaster typically pays some $60 million for the rights to air the show, which ranks among the most-watched awards shows behind the Oscars and the Grammys.

Though often ridiculed, Hollywood had come to accept the Golden Globes as a legitimate and helpful stop in a competitive awards season. And for audiences around the world, it was a reasonably lively night, with glamorous fashion, major stars, the promise of champagne-fueled speeches, and hosts — from Tina Fey and Amy Poehler to Ricky Gervais — that regularly poked fun at the HFPA.

After the NBC blow, it was widely expected that the HFPA would simply sit the year out. Hollywood studios and publicists also largely opted out from engaging with the group as they had in years past, with some declining to provide screeners of films for consideration. When nominees were announced last month, few celebrated publicly.

The press association claims that in the months since its 2021 show, it has remade itself. The group has added a chief diversity officer; overhauled its board; inducted 21 new members, including six Black journalists; brought in the NAACP on a five-year partnership; and updated its code of conduct.

List of winners at Sunday’s 79th Golden Globe Awards:

MOVIES

Best picture, drama: “The Power of the Dog”

Best picture, musical or comedy: “West Side Story”

Best actress, drama: Nicole Kidman, “Being the Ricardos”

Best actor, drama: Will Smith, “King Richard”

Best actress, musical or comedy: Rachel Zegler, “West Side Story”

Best actor, musical or comedy: Andrew Garfield, “tick, tick…Boom!”

Supporting actress: Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story”

Supporting Actor: Kodi Smit-McPhee, “The Power of the Dog”

Animated: “Encanto”

Non-English Language: “Drive My Car,” Japan

Screenplay: Kenneth Branagh, “Belfast”

Director: Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog”

Original song: “No Time to Die,” Billie Eilish

Original score: Hans Zimmer, “Dune”

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TELEVISION

Drama series: “Succession”

Comedy series: “Hacks”

Limited Series: “The Underground Railroad.”

Actress, drama series: Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, “Pose”

Actor, drama series: Jeremy Strong, “Succession”

Actress, comedy or musical series: Jean Smart, “Hacks.”

Actor, comedy or musical series: Jason Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso”

Actress, limited series: Kate Winslet, “Mare of Easttown”

Actor, limited series: Michael Keaton,” Dopesick

Supporting actor: O Yeung-su, “Squid Game”

Supporting actress: Sarah Snook, “Succession”

By JAKE COYLE

NEW YORK (AP) — The Oscar race may be missing in-person glitz this year, but it doesn’t lack for star power. Will Smith, Lady Gaga and Ben Affleck landed individual nominations for the 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards on Wednesday, while the casts of “Belfast” and “CODA” were among those nominated for the guild’s top award, best ensemble.

The nominees were announced Wednesday by actors Vanessa Hudgens and Rosario Dawson on Instagram Live. While the nominations were conducted virtually due to the surge in COVID-19 cases, the streamed announcement still represented one of the most meaningful mornings in an awards season largely snuffed out by the pandemic.

Joining Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical “Belfast” and the coming-of-age drama “CODA” for best ensemble were the casts for Ridley Scott’s true-tale, high-camp “House of Gucci,” Adam McKay’s apocalypse comedy “Don’t Look Up” and the family tennis drama “King Richard.” Notably left out were the casts of Steven Spielberg’s lavish “West Side Story” revival (which landed a supporting nod for Ariana DeBose) and Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog.” Campion’s gothic drama, though, landed individual SAG nominations for Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst and Kodi Smit-McPhee.

The SAG Awards have more of the awards season spotlight this year since the Golden Globes — usually the kickoff party to final Oscar stretch — made barely a peep. The Globes were unceremoniously announced Sunday on Twitter in a private ceremony due to Hollywood’s boycott of the beleaguered Hollywood Foreign Press Association over diversity and ethical issues. The omicron surge also prompted the Critics Choice Awards to postpone its Jan. 9 in-person gala. For the second straight year, Oscar season has gone virtual — and struggled to make much noise.

But the SAG nominations suggest that plenty of famous faces are in the hunt this year. Along with Will Smith (“King Richard”) and Cumberbatch, the nominees for best male lead actor are: Denzel Washington (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”), Andrew Garfield (“Tick, Tick … Boom!”) and Javier Bardem (“Being the Ricardos”).

Up for best female lead are: Lady Gaga (“House of Gucci”), Jessica Chastain (“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”), Olivia Colman (“The Lost Daughter”), Nicole Kidman (“Being the Ricardos”) and Jennifer Hudson (“Respect”).

Joining Dunst and DeBose in the best female supporting category are Caitriona Balfe (“Belfast”), Cate Blanchett (“Nightmare Alley”) and Ruth Negga (“Passing”). The best male supporting nominees are: Affleck (“The Tender Bar”), Bradley Cooper (“Licorice Pizza”), Troy Kotsur (“CODA”), Jared Leto (“House of Gucci”) and Smit-McPhee.

Kotsur is the first deaf actor to land an individual SAG nomination.

The SAG Awards, presented by the actors guild SAG-AFTRA, are among the most reliable Oscar bellwethers. Seldom does a movie or performance not nominated by the screen actors end up winning at the Academy Awards. Actors make up the biggest percentage of the film academy, so their choices have the largest sway.

But last year, SAG and the academy diverged more than usual. Only one of its acting winners — Daniel Kaluuya (“Judas and the Black Messiah”) — repeated at the Oscars. (The other SAG winners were Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” and Yuh-Jung Youn in “Minari.”) The Aaron Sorkin courtroom drama “The Trial of the Chicago 7” won best ensemble at a virtual SAG Awards while Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland” — which included many nonprofessional actors and went unnominated for SAG’s ensemble award — triumphed at the Oscars.

That history will give hope to supporters of Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”), maybe the most notable performer overlooked Wednesday. Others that missed out include Peter Dinklage (“Cyrano”), Ciarán Hinds (“Belfast”) and Rachel Zegler (“West Side Story”).

While some have rooted for some of the year’s most popular blockbusters to give the flagging Oscars a populist jolt, “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “Dune” and “No Time To Die” received no major nominations from the actors guild. “Dune” and “No Time to Die” did, though, join “Black Widow,” “The Matrix Resurrections” and “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” in the stunt ensemble category.

Yet possibly the most popular TV series of 2021 did haul in plenty of recognition. Netflix’s much-watched “Squid Game” was nominated for four SAG awards including best drama series.

Series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk on Wednesday recalled watching the hoopla at awards ceremonies held at the Shrine Auditorium across the street from the University of Southern California when he was studying there.

“At the time, I told myself I’d like to feature my work at American film awards one day,” he said in an interview. “Now, I think back to those memories.”

The series’ star Lee Jung-jae said he felt an “electrical shock” when his name was announced among the nominees. A veteran of Korean TV and film, he’s laughed off U.S. media questions about overnight success.

“I’ve decided I’m now a newbie actor!” he said Wednesday, clutching a bottle of wine.

The television nominations were also led by HBO’s “Succession” (four nods including best drama series and best actor for Jeremy Strong and Brian Cox); “Ted Lasso” (five nods including best comedy series); and “The Morning Show” (four nods including best drama series).

The 28th annual SAG Awards are to be held Feb. 27 and will be broadcast on TNT and TBS. The Oscars are scheduled for March 27.

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AP Entertainment Writer Juwon Park contributed to this report from Seoul, South Korea. Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP

LOS ANGELES — The Oscars will be a triple feature with Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes hosting the Academy Awards, it was announced Tuesday morning.

Producer Will Packer made the announcement with Hall, Schumer and Sykes saying, “We want people to get ready to have a good time. It’s been a while.” It will be the first time hosting the Oscar ceremony for each woman. The Oscars will be televised live on ABC and broadcast outlets worldwide on March 27 at 5 p.m. Pacific Time.

“This year’s show is all about uniting movie lovers. It’s apropos that we’ve lined up three of the most dynamic, hilarious women with very different comedic styles,” Packer said in a statement. “I know the fun Regina, Amy and Wanda will be having will translate to our audience as well. Many surprises in store. Expect the unexpected.”

The Oscar ceremonies have been without a host for the past three years, but the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is making up for it by announcing this year’s show will have three hosts.

Academy President David Rubin and Academy CEO Dawn Hudson said the Academy is invigorated by Packer’s vision for this year’s Oscars.

“Hosting this star-studded party are three powerful, funny women inviting us to laugh and cheer for the year’s best and brightest in film,” he said in a statement.

The Oscars have not had a host since 2018, when Jimmy Kimmel filled the role. Comedian Kevin Hart was slated to host the ceremony in 2019, but he withdrew when some past homophobic Twitter posts and jokes began circulating on social media.

The ceremony went without a host that year, and the show went relatively smoothly. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences opted not to have an emcee the following year as well.

“Imagine having one of the funniest women in comedy today hosting the Oscars… Now, multiply that by three,” Craig Erwich, president, Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment, said in a statement. “Regina, Amy and Wanda are comedy powerhouses who will make history as the first female trio to host the biggest night in entertainment, and we’re thrilled to have them at the helm to deliver an incredible show full of unforgettable moments and laughter.”

Last year’s Oscar ceremony was somewhat abbreviated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, shifting location to downtown’s Union Station. Instead of a host, last year’s show opened with a short welcoming monologue by actress/director Regina King.

By LINDSEY BAHR | Associated Press

“Parks and Recreation” alum Nick Offerman is teaming up with his wife Megan Mullally to host the Film Independent Spirit Awards, the cool, laid-back cousin of awards shows.

This year, the show has moved up a few weeks from its traditional post on the Saturday before Oscars and will air live on IFC and AMC+ on March 6 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern.

Otherwise, the Spirit Awards are going back to their roots for an afternoon fete in a beachside tent in Santa Monica with a batch of truly independent nominees, from “Zola,” the based-on-a-Twitter-thread tale of a few sex workers on a wild trip to Florida, to “Pig,” in which Nicholas Cage plays a recluse forced back into society to hunt for his stolen truffle hunting companion.

Offerman took a few minutes from his home in Los Angeles to speak to The Associated Press about hosting this year, Mullally’s absence from the interview and what to expect from the show.

Remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity.

___

AP: I think you and Megan are the first married couple to host the Spirit Awards.

OFFERMAN: Oh that’s a great question. Are Nick Kroll and (John) Mulaney not married apparently? They were just dating?

AP: Did you draw the short stick to have to do these interviews alone?

OFFERMAN: Megan sends her apologies. We like to do these things together but we had a boisterous night of love making so she’s now resting.

AP: How are you preparing for the show?

OFFERMAN: It’s nice with our hectic schedules and the preponderance of content available to us these days to be given a strict schedule of courageous art films to watch. Usually we’ll watch something like “Red Rocket” and then be like, “Wow, that was powerfully moving and really burned some brain calories. So now let’s watch some garbage for four days.” Instead, we’re watching this great work, day in and day out.

AP: The Spirit Awards seem like one of the most fun awards shows. Do you have any favorite memories from years past?

OFFERMAN: I’ve really enjoyed my time there. It’s by far the most fun because it’s sort of the least under the watchful eye of our corporate moms and dads at the studios and networks. The Spirit Awards is the back of the bus where the cool kids go to smoke jazz cigarettes and play grab ass. I’m told that I have three very specific favorite memories from the Spirit Awards, but I’m afraid I don’t have a lot of recall of them. But I mean, I still have all my fingers and toes, so think I came out on top of that wrestling match.

AP: Some of your “Parks and Recreation” co-stars have preceded you as host. Have you looked to any of them for advice?

OFFERMAN: Not so much advice. The fun thing about doing gigs like this is the most powerful weapon we can bring to bear is our personalities. I’ll talk to Aubrey Plaza about advice for the overall vibe or sort of steering the magic of the evening. But beyond that, you know, she participates in black magic and other witchery and that’s not our thing. We rely on more old-fashioned sort of Nichols and May vibe. We’ll probably have a little more Vaudeville than previous hosts.

AP: And it sounds like you’re keeping busy with lots of other projects too (including “Pam & Tommy” on Hulu).

OFFERMAN: Megan is working on a film and a TV show at the same time. It’s the exact same time, but they’re heroically weaving her schedules together. So number one, I’m her trainer. Yeah, she’s Rocky and I’m Burgess Meredith. I’ve got her stool and her bucket and her towel, and I’m sponging her off on a nightly basis, sending her back into the fray. Beyond that, that allows me a lot of time for writing. I have a new book out called “Where the Deer and the Antelope Play.”

And I’ve started a new experiment, a Substack, which is a thing people can subscribe to where I write a couple of times a week a sort of a humorous/earnest question-and-answer-like inspiration column. It’s called Donkey Thoughts with Nick Offerman. I also then record audio versions of it so that people can listen to it or, rather, I understand a lot of people will play my voice to put their children or spouses to sleep if they’re experiencing distemper or digestive problems.

Five people — including the mayor — and two organizations will be feted Thursday, March 24, with Spirit of Downtown awards.

Bestowed by the Downtown Long Beach Alliance, the awards are “given to those who have significantly influenced and shaped the community,” according to a release. The presentation will be part of the Celebrate Downtown event from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday in Lincoln Park.

Mayor Robert Garcia gets an award for his leading role in many initiatives to improve downtown Long Beach and the broader community, particularly in regards to the rights of women, immigrants and the LBGTQ community.

Other honorees are Jamaica Aali for bringing Black Everywhere to Long Beach in 2017, Sheila Gibbons and Alan Giomi of Wilmore Baking Company for organizing and running a tuition-free baking school at Cesar Chavez Park, Robb Smith of Alley Cat Deliveries for helping businesses suffering from vandalism and supporting local causes, Downtown Runners for bringing community members together and supporting downtown businesses, and Pedal Movement for championing alternate transportation in downtown Long Beach.

Celebrate Downtown is a free event that will include food and entertainment in the recently reopened Lincoln Park. DLBA officials will also provide an update on downtown’s progress and plans for the future.

Information: dlba.org.

LOS ANGELES — Actor Will Smith was banned Friday from attending any Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences events — including the Academy Awards — for 10 years in response to his on-stage smack of comedian Chris Rock during this year’s Oscar ceremony.

Smith won this year’s best-actor Oscar for his work in “King Richard,” but the evening was marred when he assaulted Rock on stage at the Dolby Theatre during the ceremony in response to the comedian making a joke about Smith’s wife, actress Jada Pinkett Smith.

The Academy’s Board of Governors had been considering punishing Smith by either suspending his membership in the Academy or expelling him from the organization. But Smith took those options off the table last week by resigning from the group.

The Academy board met Friday to consider alternative actions and emerged with the 10-year ban.

“The board has decided, for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards,” Academy President David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson said in a joint statement. “

Rubin and Hudson also apologized in their statement for their response to the altercation on Oscar night.

“During our telecast, we did not adequately address the situation in the room,” they said. “For this, we are sorry. This was an opportunity for us to set an example for our guests, viewers and our Academy family around the world, and we fell short — unprepared for the unprecedented.”

Critics have lashed out at the Academy for allowing Smith to remain in the Dolby Theatre after attacking Rock during the March 27 event, and allowing him to take the stage a short time later to accept the best-actor Oscar and give a drawn-out acceptance speech and tearful apology for his actions.

Rock was on stage at the Dolby Theatre to present an Oscar when he made a joke referencing Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head. Pinkett Smith suffers from the hair-loss condition alopecia.

Will Smith walked onto the stage and smacked Rock in the face, then returned to his seat and twice shouted at Rock to “keep my wife’s name out of your (expletive) mouth.”

In announcing his resignation from the Academy last week, Smith said he was “heartbroken” by his actions and said he will “fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct.”

“My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful and inexcusable,” he said. “The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance and global audiences at home.

“I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken. I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film.

“So, I am resigning from membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science, and will accept any further consequences the board deems appropriate. Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason.”

In their joint statement Friday, Rubin and Hudson again blasted Smith’s behavior, saying the Oscars “were meant to be a celebration of the many individuals in our community who did incredible work this past year, however, those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behaviors we saw Mr. Smith exhibit on stage.”

They also gave kudos to Rock “for maintaining his composure under extraordinary circumstances.”

“We also want to thank our hosts, nominees, presenters and winners for their poise and grace during our telecast,” they wrote. “This action we are taking today in response to Will Smith’s behavior is a step toward a larger goal of protecting the safety of our performers and guests, and restoring trust in the Academy. We also hope this can begin a time of healing and restoration for all involved and impacted.”

NEW YORK — “A Strange Loop,” an irreverent, sexually frank work about Blackness and queerness took home the best new musical crown at the Tony Awards on Sunday, as voters celebrated Broadway’s most racially diverse season by choosing an envelope-pushing Black voice.

Michael R. Jackson’s 2020 Pulitzer Prize drama winner is a theater meta-journey — a tuneful show about a Black gay man writing a show about a Black gay man. Jackson also won for best book. Many of the night’s other Tonys were spread over several productions.

The victory of a smaller, more offbeat musical against more commercial offerings continues a recent trend, as when the intimate musical “The Band’s Visit” beat the big brand-musicals “Frozen,” “Mean Girls” and “SpongeBob SquarePants” in 2018 or when “Hadestown” bested “Tootsie,” “Beetlejuice” and “Ain’t Too Proud” a year later.

“A Strange Loop” beat “MJ,” a bio musical of the King of Pop’s biggest hits, for the top prize, although the other Jackson musical nabbed four Tony Awards including for best choreography. Myles Frost moonwalked away with the award for best lead actor in a musical for playing Michael Jackson, becoming the youngest solo winner in that category. “Mom, I made it!” he said.

“MJ” represents the 22-year-old Frost’s Broadway debut as he plays Jackson with a high, whispery voice, a Lady Diana-like coquettishness and a fierce embrace of Jackson’s iconic dancing and singing style. “Heal the world,” Frost said from the stage, channeling Jackson.

Joaquina Kalukango won the Tony for best leading actress in a musical for her work in “Paradise Square,” a show about Irish immigrants and Black Americans co-existing in New York City around the time of the Civil War. Earlier in the night, she blew the house down with a stunning performance of the musical’s “Let It Burn.” The musical got its world premiere at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2019.

A gender-swapped revival of Stephen Sondheim’s “Company” rode the fondness Broadway has for the late iconic composer by earning five statuettes, including best musical revival.

“Company” is an exploration of a single person’s conflicted feelings about commitment, traditionally focusing on a 35-year-old bachelor. This time, it had a bachelorette and the sexes of several couples were swapped.

Marianne Elliott made Tony history by becoming the only woman to have won three Tonys for directing, the latest for “Company.” She thanked Sondheim for letting her put a woman “front and center.” She dedicated her award to everyone fighting to keep theaters open.

Patti LuPone won best featured actress in a musical for her work in the revival, thanking COVID-19 safety officials in her acceptance speech. Matt Doyle won for best featured actor in a musical for “Company.”

“The Lehman Trilogy,” spanning 150 years and running three and a half hours, follows the fortunes of a single family into the financial crash of 2008. It was crowned best new play and Sam Mendes won for best direction of a play, praising the season for its “rampant creativity.” One of its three stars, Simon Russell Beale, won for best actor in a play and thanked the audience for coming to see a trio of British actors tell a New York story. The show’s scheduled 2022 run at San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater was postponed; no makeup dates have been announced yet.

Deirdre O’Connell won for best actress in a play for her work in “Dana H.,” about a real woman kidnapped by a former convict and white supremacist. O’Connell never speaks, instead, lip-syncing to an edited recording of the survivor. On Sunday, O’Connell urged the crowd to ignore safe options and “make the weird art.”

“Dana H” was also nominated for best director (Les Waters, who did not win) and best sound design (winner Mikhail Fiksel).

“Take Me Out” won for best play revival, and “Modern Family” star Jesse Tyler Ferguson won the Tony for best featured actor in a play for his work in it. “Mom, Dad, thank you for letting me move to New York when I was 17-years-old. I told you it would be OK,” said Ferguson, who also thanked his understudy and his husband.

Host Ariana DeBose kicked off her portion of the show in a sparkling white jumpsuit and wide-brimmed hat, dancing and singing to the song “This Is Your Round of Applause,” which mashed up shards of musical theater favorites, like “Chicago, “The Wiz,” “Evita,” “Rent,” “Hair,” “Cabaret,” “Hairspray” and “West Side Story,” the movie remake for which she recently won an Oscar.

Still panting while welcoming viewers, she told the crowd that this was the season “Broadway got it’s groove back.”

Phylicia Rashad won best featured actress in a play for “Skeleton Crew.” The Dominique Morisseau play is about blue-collar job insecurity set in a Detroit auto stamping plant. “It’s wonderful to present humanity in all it’s fullness,” Rashad said.

And the Tonys ushered in the latest EGOT winner: Jennifer Hudson, who has an Emmy, Grammy and Oscar, and joined that elite group Sunday when “A Strange Loop” won best musical — she’s a producer.

A starry revival of the classic show “The Music Man” with Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster walked away empty-handed despite six nominations and being a box office smash, regularly pulling in more than $3 million a week.

The season was marked by the embrace of seven Black playwrights, from contemporary writers like Dominique Morisseau, Keenan Scott II and Antoinette Nwandu, to underappreciated historical playwrights like Alice Childress and Ntozake Shange. DeBose said Broadway was more representative.

DeBose celebrated the Black voices and onstage talent — as well as noting that two Broadway theaters were being renamed for Black icons James Earl Jones and Lena Horne — saying that The Great White Way was now a nickname “as opposed to a how-to guide.”

DeBose also hailed the heroic efforts of understudies, swings and standbys to keep shows going throughout pandemic spikes, noting that she and many other Tony nominees had once been unheralded understudies and swings. After the cast of “Six” performed, DeBose noted that one was a fill-in at the last minute.

Having been freed of handling the technical awards, the main telecast had a less frantic, more airy feel. DeBose was an assured, funny and versatile host, one who roamed the seats, sat in Andrew Garfield’s lap, danced with Sam Rockwell and prompted Laurence Fishburne to do a Daffy Duck imitation. She closed the show with a medley of the musical nominees, at one point making “MJ” part of the Dylan show: “You’ve been hit by/A rolling stone.”

Some of the show highlights included the massive cast of “The Music Man” filling the massive Radio City stage with “Seventy-Six Trombones,” as well as Prince Jackson and Paris Jackson introducing the show about their father before the “MJ” cast danced to an energetic “Smooth Criminal.”

Billy Crystal taught the crowd “Yiddish scatting,” and the original cast of the 2007 Tony-winning musical “Spring Awakening” — including Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff — reunited for a performance.

Many acceptance speeches thanked the audiences for braving spikes in COVID-19 to come to see shows, and Marsha Gay Harden cheered 150 safety officers invited as guests to the Tonys.

Earlier, Darren Criss and Julianne Hough kicked off the four-hour awards, handing out mostly design awards. Criss opened the telecast with the original song, “Set the Stage,” as he and Hough energetically danced up ladders, on laundry hampers and in sliding theater seats to celebrate the artists who keep theater alive.

The first award of the night — for best score — went to “Six: The Musical,” with music and lyrics by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss. Marlow became the first out nonbinary composer-lyricist to win a Tony. “Six: The Musical” also picked up the award for best costumes for a musical.

The season — with 34 new productions — represents a full return to theaters after nearly two years of a pandemic-mandated shutdown. At the last Tonys nine months ago, the winners were pulled from just 18 eligible plays and musicals, and many of the competitive categories were depleted.

Sondheim, the iconic composer who died in late 2021, was honored in a special segment by Bernadette Peters singing his song “Children Will Listen.” Angela Lansbury, who was honored with a lifetime achievement Tony, wasn’t present so her “Sweeney Todd” co-star Len Cariou accepted on her behalf.

Five Southern California New Group photographers won 25 awards from the Press Photographers Association of Greater Los Angeles 1st quarter 2022 competition.

The honorees are Mindy Schauer, Sarah Reingewirtz, Terry Pierson, Keith Birmingham and Jeff Gritchen.

The Press Photographers Association of Greater Los Angeles is a membership organization that recognizes excellence in visual journalism.

Photo Story

First Place: Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register

For more images from this story.

General News

First Place: Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise

Second Place: Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News

Honorable Mention: Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register

FeatureFirst Place: Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News

Second Place:: Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register

Third Place: Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register

Honorable Mention: Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News

Honorable Mention: Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News

PortraitFirst Place: Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise

Second Place: Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise

Honorable Mention: Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise

Honorable Mention: Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise

PictorialSecond Place: Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise

Honorable Mention: Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register

Honorable Mention: Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register

EntertainmentThird Place: Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise

Sports FeatureFirst Place: Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News

Third Place: Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News

Honorable Mention: Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register

Sports ActionSecond Place: Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise

Honorable Mention: Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News

Photo EssaySecond Place: Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register

For more images from this story.

Honorable Mention: Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register

For more images from this story.