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    ‘Barbenheimer,’ and an Early Start, Boost Oscar Ratings to 4-Year High

    ABC’s telecast of the 96th Academy Awards on Sunday drew 19.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen.The comeback of live event TV continues.ABC’s telecast of the 96th Academy Awards on Sunday drew 19.5 million viewers, hitting a four-year viewership high, according to Nielsen. The live TV audience was up from last year’s 18.8 million, the third consecutive year that Oscar viewership has grown.The ratings report will prompt cheers at ABC and the academy, which bumped the start of the venerable awards ceremony to 7 p.m. Eastern, an hour earlier than usual, in the hopes that more viewers would stick around through the final categories.That approach appeared to pay dividends, as did the numerous nominations for the big box office hits “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” — a change from recent years when more obscure films dominated the ceremony. Jimmy Kimmel also received warm reviews in his fourth outing as host, leaving him one away from matching another late-night star who moonlighted at the Oscars, Johnny Carson.Nielsen said that Sunday’s Oscars were the most-watched network awards show since February 2020, extending a recent trend where viewer interest has perked up for the kind of mass cultural events that struggled during the pandemic.In February, 16.9 million people watched the Grammy Awards, a 34 percent increase from last year. Viewership of the Golden Globes in January rose 50 percent compared with a year ago. The Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers beat ratings records with an audience of 123.7 million. Even ratings for the 2023 Tony Awards, traditionally the least-viewed of the “EGOT” quartet, rose modestly.At Sunday’s Oscars, Billie Eilish sang her pop ballad “What Am I Made For?” and Ryan Gosling delivered a cheeky yet dedicated performance of “I’m Just Ken.” The choreography, which drew on Busby Berkeley films and the Marilyn Monroe musical “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” was complemented by a cameo by the thrash-rock guitarist Slash and a bevy of supporting Kens from “Barbie,” including Simu Liu.ABC, which has the broadcast rights to the Oscars through 2028, said that it had sold out its advertising inventory for Sunday’s event. The network did not share prices, but advertising executives said ABC had charged $1.7 million to $2.2 million for a 30-second spot, up slightly from last year. Some of the ads turned up in the broadcast itself, like a plug for Don Julio tequila, in which Guillermo Rodriguez, a Kimmel sidekick, offered the beverage to celebrities in the audience.In 2021, for a stripped-down pandemic Oscars held in a Los Angeles train station, only 10.4 million people tuned in. Viewership rose in 2022 to 16.6 million people, in part because of the bizarre spectacle of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock.Still, there is no question that TV viewing habits have changed. Before 2018, the Oscars telecast had never dropped below 32 million viewers. More

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    2024 SAG Awards Red Carpet: See the Best Fashion Looks

    Celebrities from the worlds of film and television arrive for the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, streaming for the first time on Netflix.A few short months ago, members of the Screen Actors Guild wore jeans, shorts and T-shirts while carrying picket signs in the last days of a lengthy strike. On Saturday, they were at their red-carpet best as they arrived at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles for the 30th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.Before the ceremony, which is streaming on Netflix for the first time, the “Queer Eye” cast member Tan France and the fashion editor Elaine Welteroth hosted a red-carpet preshow. The evening will also honor the actress and filmmaker, Barbra Streisand, with the life achievement award.Here are some of the looks from the red carpet.Elaine Welteroth, a host of Netflix’s red-carpet preshow.Jordan Strauss/Invision, via Associated PressTan France, a host of the red-carpet preshow, and his outrageous bow tie.Jordan Strauss/Invision, via Associated PressAriana Greenblatt of “Barbie,” a nominee for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture.Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesColman Domingo, nominated for outstanding performance by an actor in a leading role for “Rustin.”Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesSheryl Lee Ralph of “Abbott Elementary,” a nominee for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series.Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesSelena Gomez of “Only Murders in the Building,” a nominee for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series.Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesGreta Lee of “The Morning Show,” a nominee for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series.Jordan Strauss/Invision, via Associated PressTracee Ellis Ross of “American Fiction,” a nominee for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture.Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesLaverne Cox wore a vintage Alexander McQueen piece as part of her ensemble.Jordan Strauss/Invision, via Associated PressElizabeth Debicki, nominated for outstanding performance by an actress in a drama series for “The Crown,” in Giorgio Armani.Jordan Strauss/Invision, via Associated PressTyler James Williams of “Abbott Elementary,” a nominee for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series.Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesChris Perfetti of “Abbott Elementary,” a nominee for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series.Valerie Macon/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesUzo Aduba, nominated for outstanding performance by an actress in a TV movie or limited series for “Painkiller.”Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesKelley Curran of “The Gilded Age,” a nominee for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series.Valerie Macon/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesBen Ahlers, a nominee for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series, wore an outfit beyond the wildest sartorial dreams of the character he plays on “The Gilded Age.”Mike Blake/ReutersKaren Pittman of “The Morning Show,” a nominee for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series.Valerie Macon/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesDominic Sessa of “The Holdovers.”Valerie Macon/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesMatty Matheson of “The Bear,” a nominee for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series.Mike Blake/ReutersHannah Leder of “The Morning Show,” a nominee for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series.Jordan Strauss/Invision, via Associated PressEdwin Lee Gibson of “The Bear,” a nominee for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series.Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesAlan Ruck of “Succession,” a nominee for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series.Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesAuliʻi Cravalho of “Mean Girls.”Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesLinda Emond of “Only Murders in the Building,” a nominee for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series.Mike Blake/ReutersMichael Cyril Creighton of “Only Murders in the Building,” a nominee for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series.Valerie Macon/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesCorey Hawkins of “The Color Purple,” a nominee for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture.Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesWilliam Belleau of “Killers of the Flower Moon.”Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesCara Jade Myers of “Killers of the Flower Moon.”Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesNestor Carbonell of “The Morning Show,” a nominee for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series.Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesTaissa Farmiga of “The Gilded Age,” a nominee for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series.Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesZachary Golinger of “Barry,” a nominee for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series.Jordan Strauss/Invision, via Associated PressJuno Temple of “Ted Lasso,” a nominee for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series.Valerie Macon/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images More

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    Grammys 2024 Takeaways: Taylor Swift Makes History in a Big Night for Women

    Women thoroughly dominated the 66th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, with a history-making album of the year win by Taylor Swift and victories by Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, SZA, Lainey Wilson, the Colombian pop star Karol G and the band boygenius.The wins capped a year when women were extraordinarily successful in pop music, and also signified a change for the Grammys, which have frequently been criticized — as recently as five years ago — for overlooking female artists on the show.In addition to the wins, the show featured powerful performances by SZA, Eilish, Dua Lipa, Olivia Rodrigo and even Joni Mitchell and Tracy Chapman — two godmothers of modern songwriting who have made only rare public appearances in recent years.In taking album of the year for “Midnights,” Swift became the first artist to win the Grammys’ top prize four times, beating a trio of male legends — Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon — who had three.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Obie Awards, Sans Ceremony, Honor ‘Dark Disabled Stories’

    There was no formal celebration for the newest honorees. Instead, the American Theater Wing presented cash grants to sustain their work.The Obie Awards, a scrappy but venerable annual competition honoring the best theater staged Off and Off Off Broadway, has chosen “Dark Disabled Stories,” Ryan J. Haddad’s autobiographical work inspired by his experiences navigating the city with cerebral palsy, as the best new American play.The prize was announced on Saturday night, both by news release and on Spectrum News NY1, as the American Theater Wing, which presents the Obies, decided to forgo a costly ceremony — in most nonpandemic years, the Obies have been handed out at a boozy and often boisterous party — and instead to give grants of $1,000 to $5,000 directly to the winning artists and arts institutions.“These are unprecedented times, and it’s extremely challenging for theater right now, so we absolutely want to celebrate the achievements of Off and Off Off Broadway, but in doing so we want to have the most impact by putting money directly in the pockets of the artists and the companies making the work,” said Heather A. Hitchens, the Wing’s president and chief executive. “Everybody likes a party, and maybe some day it will make sense to do that again, but we’re not made of money — we’re a nonprofit, so how can we use our resources to be the greatest force for good right now?”The Obies, created by The Village Voice in the mid 1950s, have been in flux for years as The Voice foundered and the pandemic battered the theater industry. The Wing, with a board led by artists, has kept the Obies afloat with a combination of in-person and streaming ceremonies.The Obies proudly have no defined categories or set number of winners — a panel of judges, this year led by the director David Mendizábal and the critic Melissa Rose Bernardo, determines how to structure the honors each season. The awards announced this weekend were for shows that opened Off or Off Off Broadway between Sept. 1, 2022, and Aug. 31, 2023.The judges gave two awards for playwriting. One went to Hansol Jung for “Wolf Play,” about a twice-abandoned adopted boy who reacts to his trauma by behaving like a wolf and is depicted by a puppet; the play was staged first at Soho Rep and then at MCC Theater, in collaboration with Ma-Yi Theater Company. The other playwriting award went to Bruce Norris for “Downstate,” about a group home for men who are registered sex offenders; that play was staged at Playwrights Horizons in a production developed by Steppenwolf Theater Company in Chicago and the National Theater in London.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?  More

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    Niecy Nash-Betts Honors Sandra Bland and Breonna Taylor in Her Emmy Speech

    Niecy Nash-Betts, who played a neighbor in Netflix’s “Dahmer,” won her first Emmy on Monday night for best supporting actress in a limited series.In her acceptance speech, Nash-Betts called attention to Black people who have been overlooked and who have been victims of police violence.“I accept this award on behalf of every Black and brown woman who has gone unheard, yet overpoliced, like Glenda Cleveland, like Sandra Bland, like Breonna Taylor,” she said. “As an artist, my job is to speak truth to power. And, baby, I’ma do it till the day I die. Mama, I won!”Going into Monday night, Nash-Betts had received five Emmy nominations, including nominations for best actress in a comedy for her role as Denise “Didi” Ortley in HBO’s “Getting On.”In “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” a show about the serial killer who murdered 17 boys and men between 1978 and 1991, Nash-Betts plays Glenda Cleveland, Dahmer’s neighbor. In the show, Cleveland, who is based on a real person, alerts the police about Dahmer’s violent behavior but is systematically ignored.In winning the Emmy, Nash-Betts beat fellow nominees Annaleigh Ashford of “Welcome to Chippendales,” Maria Bello of “Beef,” Claire Danes of “Fleishman Is in Trouble,” Juliette Lewis of “Welcome to Chippendales,” Camila Morrone of “Daisy Jones & the Six” and Merritt Wever of “Tiny Beautiful Things.” More

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    Emmys In Memoriam Segment Pays Tribute to Matthew Perry and Norman Lear

    The Emmys paid tribute to the actors, writers and producers who died since the last awards, taking an extra beat to honor Norman Lear, the famed TV writer and producer who died last month at 101.The in memoriam segment recognized two television actors who died unexpectedly: Andre Braugher, who was known for his roles on “Homicide: Life on the Street” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”; and Matthew Perry, the “Friends” star. (The musical accompaniment, from the duo the War and Treaty and Charlie Puth, included the “Friends” theme song.)Here are other members of the television industry who the program recognized:Angela Lansbury, the famed actress who starred in “Murder, She Wrote.”Angus Cloud, who portrayed a lovable drug dealer on the HBO show “Euphoria.”Barbara Walters, the pioneering TV news reporter.Bob Barker, the longtime host of “The Price Is Right.”David Jacobs, who created the soap opera “Dallas.”Harry Belafonte, the barrier-breaking performer in music, movies and TV.Leslie Jordan, the comic actor who was a cast member on “Will & Grace.”Mark Margolis, who played a fearsome former drug lord in “Breaking Bad.”Paul Reubens, the comic actor behind Pee-wee Herman.Richard Roundtree, the prolific actor who had recurring roles in “Heroes,” “Being Mary Jane” and “Family Reunion.”Ron Cephas Jones, who won two Emmys for his role on “This Is Us.”Stephen Boss, the dancer and reality star known as tWitch.Suzanne Somers, who gained fame on the hit sitcom “Three’s Company” before building a health and diet business empire. More

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    John Oliver Wins Emmy for Scripted Variety Series, Beating ‘Saturday Night Live’

    HBO’s “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” bested NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” by winning scripted variety series in a clash between two titans accustomed to dominating the Emmys from opposite sides of the variety fence.Since the Emmys fractured the outstanding variety sketch categories into two in 2015, John Oliver’s political satire scored seven Emmys for variety talk and “Saturday Night Live” had claimed six for variety sketch.The shows were dumped into the same category this awards under scripted variety series, described by the Television Academy as shows that “are primarily scripted or feature loosely scripted improv and consist of discrete scenes, musical numbers, monologues, comedy stand-ups, sketches, etc.”The award for talk series will now honor traditional late-night shows like “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” The Television Academy deemed Oliver unfit because much of his show is scripted, while other late night hosts engage in lengthy, unscripted conversations.It’s a different category, but still another win for Oliver. “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” scored four total Emmy nominations.Oliver’s show also beat HBO’s final season of “A Black Lady Sketch Show” for the award.During his speech, Oliver thanked his staff, HBO and “our lawyers who are angry with us all the time.”Before being rushed off the stage by Doris Hancox, Anthony Anderson’s mother, Oliver mentioned that he had promised to get his children Pokémon cards while in California. “And I don’t know where to get Pokémon cards in L.A.,” he said. “So, if anyone knows where to get Pokémon cards between here and L.A.X., it’s a significant problem that I’ve worked myself into.” More

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    Paul Giamatti, Bradley Cooper, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and More Celebrities at the National Board of Review gala

    The stars were among the 17 honorees at the annual National Board of Review gala, as awards season ramps up.On a not-at-all red carpet inside Cipriani 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan on Thursday night, Da’Vine Joy Randolph was glowing.“The fact that these people actually even seen my work is just mind-blowing,” said the actress, a star of “The Holdovers,” who was being honored with the National Board of Review’s best supporting actress prize at its annual film awards gala, just days after she had won her first Golden Globe on Sunday for her role in the film.A few feet away on the gray carpet was Celine Song, who came to accept the prize for best directorial debut for “Past Lives.” She was sporting a tuxedo jacket, a long skirt and a bow tie.“Because the movie is so personal, any time somebody connects to the film, I always feel less lonely; I feel very seen and understood and embraced,” said Ms. Song, who based the romantic film partly on her own experience with a childhood friend.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?  More