“Emilia Perez” Star Karla Sofía Gascón Earns Historic Academy Awards Nomination

Karla Sofía Gascón has made Academy Awards history….

The 2025 Oscar nominations have been announced, with the 52-year-old Spanish actress  earning a nod, making her the first openly trans person ever to be nominated in an acting category.

Karla Sofía GascónGascón is recognized in the Best Actress category for her leading role in Jacques Audiard’s musical Netflix film, Emilia Pérez. Her nomination comes on the heels of recent Golden Globe, SAG Awards and BAFTA Film Awards nominations for Gascón’s breakthrough performance. 

In Emilia Pérez, Gascón stars as a cartel leader who turns to Mexico City lawyer Rita (Zoë Saldaña), to help her live as her authentic self. Selena Gomez stars as Emilia’s wife Jessi and Adriana Paz as Emilia’s girlfriend Epifanía.

Gascón first made awards history with the role at the Cannes Film Festival when all four actresses shared the Best Actress award, with Gascón being the first openly trans actress ever to win the prize.

In October, Gascón discussed her feelings around representation with Deadline, saying, “I represent, obviously, the minority that I represent. But I think that I represent a lot of people in this world that want, or need, to be free. I’m talking about my colleagues, other actors that are coming up, that started from the bottom and have been working for a long time and have felt that rejection and continue to work and continue to learn and continue to grow. I think that’s maybe one of the very important groups of people that I represent. And I hope that I represent hope for my colleagues.”

Gascón’s co-star, Saldaña, has earned her first-ever Oscars nomination.

The 46-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican American actress is nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category for portraying Rita in the Netflix film.

Fernanda Torres has earned her first Oscar nod.

The 59-year-old Brazilian screen and stage actress and writer landed a Best Actress nomination this morning for her leading turn in Walter Salles’ latest I’m Still Here.

Torres is only the second Brazilian actress to receive an Oscar nomination. The first was her mother, Fernanda Montenegro, who was nominated in 1999 for Central Station, also directed by Salles.

Monica Barbaro has earned her first-ever Oscar nomination.

Barbaro is nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as folk legend Joan Baez in A Complete Unknown.

Colman Domingo is celebrating a second consecutive Best Actor nod.

The 55-year-old Emmy-winning Belizean-Guatemalan American actor and activist, a best actor nominee last year for Rustin, is nominated this year for Sing Sing.

He’s the first person to earn best actor Oscar nominations in back-to-back years since Denzel Washington did so for Fences in 2017 and Roman J. Israel, Esq. in 2018.

Domingo garnered his second Oscar nomination on Thursday after making history last year as the first Afro-Latino to be nominated in the best actor category.

Rachel Sennott and Bowen Yang announced this year’s nominees live at 5:30 a.m. PT from the Film Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Walter Salles has two Oscar nominations this year…

 Previously nominated in 1999 in the Best International Feature Film category for Central Station, The 68-year-old Brazilian filmmaker and film editor is nominated for Best Picture and Best International Feature Film for helming I’m Still Here.

The 97th Academy Awards, hosted by Conan O’Brien, will air live coast-to-coast on Sunday, March 2, from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood, starting at 4:00 pm PT / 7:00 pm ET, continuing with the earlier start time the show debuted last year, on ABC and Hulu.

Here’s a complete list of the 2025 Oscar nominees:

Best Picture
Anora (Alex Coco, Samantha Quan and Sean Baker, Producers)
The Brutalist (Nominees to be determined)
A Complete Unknown (Fred Berger, James Mangold and Alex Heineman, Producers)
Conclave (Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell and Michael A. Jackman, Producers)
Dune: Part Two (Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Tanya Lapointe and Denis Villeneuve, Producers)
Emilia Pérez (Nominees to be determined)
I’m Still Here (Nominees to be determined)
Nickel Boys (Nominees to be determined)
The Substance (Nominees to be determined)
Wicked (Marc Platt, Producer)

Directing
Jacques Audiard, Emilia Pérez
Sean Baker, Anora
Brady Corbet, The Brutalist
Coralie Fargeat, The Substance
James Mangold, A Complete Unknown

Actor in a Leading Role
Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes, Conclave
Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice

Actress in a Leading Role
Cynthia Erivo, Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison, Anora
Demi Moore, The Substance
Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here

Actor in a Supporting Role
Yura Borisov, Anora
Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice

Actress in a Supporting Role
Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande, Wicked
Felicity Jones, The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini, Conclave
Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
A Complete Unknown (Screenplay by James Mangold and Jay Cocks)
Conclave (Screenplay by Peter Straughan)
Emilia Pérez (Screenplay by Jacques Audiard; In collaboration with Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius and Nicolas Livecchi)
Nickel Boys (Screenplay by RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes)
Sing Sing (Screenplay by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar; Story by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John “Divine G” Whitfield)

Writing (Original Screenplay)
Anora (Written by Sean Baker)
The Brutalist (Written by Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold)
A Real Pain (Written by Jesse Eisenberg)
September 5 (Written by Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum; Co-Written by Alex David)
The Substance (Written by Coralie Fargeat)

Animated Feature Film
Flow (Nominees to be determined)
Inside Out 2 (Kelsey Mann and Mark Nielsen)
Memoir of a Snail (Adam Elliot and Liz Kearney)
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (Nominees to be determined)
The Wild Robot (Chris Sanders and Jeff Hermann)

Animated Short Film
Beautiful Men (Nicolas Keppens and Brecht Van Elslande)
In the Shadow of the Cypress (Shirin Sohani and Hossein Molayemi)
Magic Candies (Daisuke Nishio and Takashi Washio)
Wander to Wonder (Nina Gantz and Stienette Bosklopper)
Yuck! (Loïc Espuche and Juliette Marquet)

Cinematography
The Brutalist (Lol Crawley)
Dune: Part Two (Greig Fraser)
Emilia Pérez (Paul Guilhaume)
Maria (Ed Lachman)
Nosferatu (Jarin Blaschke)

Costume Design
A Complete Unknown (Arianne Phillips)
Conclave (Lisy Christl)
Gladiator II (Janty Yates and Dave Crossman)
Nosferatu (Linda Muir)
Wicked (Paul Tazewell)

Film Editing
Anora (Sean Baker)
The Brutalist (David Jancso)
Conclave (Nick Emerson)
Emilia Pérez (Juliette Welfling)
Wicked (Myron Kerstein)

Makeup and Hairstyling
A Different Man (Mike Marino, David Presto and Crystal Jurado)
Emilia Pérez (Julia Floch Carbonel, Emmanuel Janvier and Jean-Christophe Spadaccini)
Nosferatu (David White, Traci Loader and Suzanne Stokes-Munton)
The Substance (Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon and Marilyne Scarselli)
Wicked (Frances Hannon, Laura Blount and Sarah Nuth)

Live-Action Short Film
A Lien (Sam Cutler-Kreutz and David Cutler-Kreutz)
Anuja (Adam J. Graves and Suchitra Mattai)
I’m Not a Robot (Victoria Warmerdam and Trent)
The Last Ranger (Cindy Lee and Darwin Shaw)
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent (Nebojša Slijepčević and Danijel Pek)

Music (Original Score)
The Brutalist (Daniel Blumberg)
Conclave (Volker Bertelmann)
Emilia Pérez (Clément Ducol and Camille)
Wicked (John Powell and Stephen Schwartz)
The Wild Robot (Kris Bowers)

Music (Original Song)
“El Mal” from Emilia Pérez (Music by Clément Ducol and Camille; Lyric by Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard)
“The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight (Music and Lyric by Diane Warren)
“Like a Bird” from Sing Sing (Music and Lyric by Abraham Alexander and Adrian Quesada)
“Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez (Music and Lyric by Camille and Clément Ducol)
“Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late (Music and Lyric by Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt and Bernie Taupin)

Documentary Feature Film
Black Box Diaries (Shiori Ito, Eric Nyari and Hanna Aqvilin)
No Other Land (Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and Yuval Abraham)
Porcelain War (Brendan Bellomo, Slava Leontyev, Aniela Sidorska and Paula DuPre’ Pesmen)
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat (Johan Grimonprez, Daan Milius and Rémi Grellety)
Sugarcane (Nominees to be determined)

Documentary Short Film
Death by Numbers (Kim A. Snyder and Janique L. Robillard)
I Am Ready, Warden 
(Smriti Mundhra and Maya Gnyp)
Incident
 (Bill Morrison and Jamie Kalven)
Instruments of a Beating Heart
 (Ema Ryan Yamazaki and Eric Nyari)
The Only Girl in the Orchestra (Molly O’Brien and Lisa Remington)

International Feature Film
I’m Still Here (Brazil)
The Girl With the Needle (Denmark)
Emilia Pérez (France)
The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Germany)
Flow (Latvia)

Production Design
The Brutalist (Production Design: Judy Becker; Set Decoration: Patricia Cuccia)
Conclave (Production Design: Suzie Davies; Set Decoration: Cynthia Sleiter)
Dune: Part Two (Production Design: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau)
Nosferatu (Production Design: Craig Lathrop; Set Decoration: Beatrice Brentnerová)
Wicked (Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales)

Sound
A Complete Unknown (Tod A. Maitland, Donald Sylvester, Ted Caplan, Paul Massey and David Giammarco)
Dune: Part Two (Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett and Doug Hemphill)
Emilia Pérez (Erwan Kerzanet, Aymeric Devoldère, Maxence Dussère, Cyril Holtz and Niels Barletta)
Wicked (Simon Hayes, Nancy Nugent Title, Jack Dolman, Andy Nelson and John Marquis)
The Wild Robot (Randy Thom, Brian Chumney, Gary A. Rizzo and Leff Lefferts)

Visual Effects
Alien: Romulus (Eric Barba, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser, Daniel Macarin and Shane Mahan)
Better Man (Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft and Peter Stubbs)
Dune: Part Two (Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer)
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (Erik Winquist, Stephen Unterfranz, Paul Story and Rodney Burke)
Wicked (Pablo Helman, Jonathan Fawkner, David Shirk and Paul Corbould)

Edgar Ramirez to Star in the Action-Comedy “The Honest Liar”

Edgar Ramirez has earned honest work…

The 47-year-old Venezuelan Golden Globe-nominated actor will star in the action-comedy The Honest Liar.

Edgar RamirezRamirez will star alongside Samuel Jackson and Andra Day in the film.

Altitude is introducing the film to buyers at this week’s American Film Market, with CAA Media Finance handling domestic rights.

Written and directed by Wayne Kramer, the film will see Jackson star as an award-winning actor tasked with teaching rookie undercover cops how to act like criminals so they can save their own lives when on the job.

The film will be produced by Hollywood veteran Dan Grodnik and Jeffrey Reisner, through their new outfit Golden Eagle Movie Studios, and executive-produced by Gail Thackray and Tracy Beam.

Cameras are due to roll early next year.

The official synopsis reads: “Nick DeFranco is an award-winning actor facing jail time when he falls for an undercover sting. Nick criticizes the undercover police for their terrible “acting’ that he can’t believe he fell for. He knew something was wrong and went for it anyway. Impressed by Nick’s acting ability, the Police Captain offers Nick probation instead of hard time, in return for teaching his team how to act like real dealers. Nick has no choice but to agree. When Nick gets involved with a female rookie, he finds himself playing amateur undercover cop and getting more involved than intended, putting them both in danger of blowing her cover with some dangerous criminals.”

Grodnik said: “Wayne Kramer’s forte is creating original stories around people we care about. The Honest Liar grabbed me from the first page, drew me in emotionally, never took its foot off the gas, and ended on a satisfying high note. Samuel L. Jackson as Nick will make this a must see movie.”

Peacock to Premiere Anya Taylor-Joy’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” in August

Anya Taylor-Joy will be bringing peachy vibes to Peacock later this summer.

The streamer will premiere The Super Mario Bros. Movie, starring the 27-year-old Argentine American Golden Globe-winning actress as Princess Peach, on August 3rd.

Anya Taylor-Joy, Princess Peach, Super Mario Bros MovieFollowing a hugely successful run in theaters, the Universal and Illumination film will stream exclusively on the platform.

It will be joined on the streamer by behind-the-scenes cast interviews, as well as an immersive “Field Guide” expanding the film through bonus features, and a lyric video for a song sung by Princess Peach (Taylor-Joy).

The highest-grossing video game adaptation of all time, as well as the third-highest grossing animated film in history, and the top-grossing title of the year to date, The Super Mario Bros. Movie racked up over $1.3B upon its April debut in theaters, also scoring $75M+ on PVOD as of early last month, as Universal disclosed to the New York Times.

The film based on Shigeru Miyamoto’s beloved Nintendo games tells the story of two Brooklyn plumbers who are brothers and best friends: Mario (Chris Pratt), the brave one with the “let’s-a go” attitude, and the perpetually anxious Luigi (Charlie Day), who would prefer to go nowhere. We open with the Super Mario Brothers reckoning with their struggling plumbing business, and wind up in a whirlwind adventure through Mushroom Kingdom. Through their journey, we meet a cast of familiar, lovable characters, ultimately uniting together to defeat the power-hungry villain, Bowser (Jack Black).

Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, from a script by Matthew Fogel, the film also stars Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen, Sebastian Maniscalco, Kevin Michael Richardson, Khary Payton and Charles Martinet. Illumination’s Chris Meledandri produced alongside Miyamoto.

Netflix Acquires Worldwide Right to Benicio Del Toro’s “Reptile”

Benicio Del Toro will be shedding new skin online…

Netflix has acquired the worldwide rights to Black Label Media’s Reptile, starring the 54-year-old Puerto Rican Oscar winner (SicarioTraffic).

Benicio del Toro

Del Toro will star opposite Justin Timberlake (PalmerThe Social Network) in the project.

The film picks up following the brutal murder of a young real estate agent, following a hardened detective (Del Toro) as he attempts to uncover the truth in a case where nothing is as it seems. In doing so, he finds himself dismantling the illusions in his own life.

Prolific music video director Grant Singer is helming the film in his feature directorial debut. He wrote the script with Benjamin Brewer.

Del Toro won an Academy AwardBAFTA AwardGolden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award for his portrayal of the jaded but morally upright police officer Javier Rodriguez in the film Traffic.

Gina Rodriguez to Star in Untitled Original Comedy from Universal Pictures 

It’s a laughing matter for Gina Rodriguez

Universal Pictures has acquired an untitled original comedy pitch from Jessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham, which is will be a starring vehicle for the 34-year-old Puerto Rican actress.

Gina Rodriguez

The studio is keeping the film’s plot details close to the vest.

Rodriguez rose to acclaim while starring as the title character in the series  Jane The Virgin, earning a Golden Globe for her performance.

Her first major studio starring role will be for Columbia Pictures in the Catherine Hardwicke-directed remake of Miss Bala, the 2011 thriller about a beauty pageant contestant who witnesses drug related murders and is conscripted to do the bidding of a drug cartel.

Rodriguez has also been generating projects as producer, wrapping Someone Great, another star vehicle. She will also lend her voice and produce the animated series Carmen Sandiego, which will be released by Netflix in January.

Rodriguez and Emily Gipson will produce for their I Can & I Will Productions.

St. Clair and Parham are the co-creators and stars of the USA comedy series Playing House. Along with scripting, they will be executive producers.

Amazon Renews Garcia Bernal’s “Mozart in the Jungle” for a Fourth Season

Gael Garcia Bernal will be making music for another season…

Amazon has renewed its Golden Globe-winning series Mozart in the Jungle, starring the 38-year-old Mexican actor.

Gael Garcia Bernal in Mozart in the Jungle

The fourth season of Mozart in the Jungle will begin production later this year for a 2017 return. “

We’re all delighted to be back for a fourth season and to share the further tales of our orchestra and all the artists who comprise it,” said executive producer Roman Coppola. “For the fans who have been so enthusiastic about our show, we’re so happy to have an audience that wants to see stories about the arts, music, and all these characters we’ve invented.”

“Mozart” draws back the curtain at the New York Symphony, where artistic dedication and creativity collide with mind games, politicking, and survival instincts.

García Bernal — who earned a Golden Globe for his portrayal of conductor Rodrigo — stars alongside Lola Kirke, Saffron Burrows, Malcolm McDowell, Bernadette Peters, and others.

Rodriguez In Talks to Star Opposite Natalie Portman in the Sci-Fi Film “Annihilation”

Gina Rodriguez is ready to annihilate Hollywood

The 31-year-old Puerto Rican Golden Globe-winning actress is in talks to star opposite Natalie Portman in the sci-fi film Annihilation.

Gina Rodriguez

The post-apocalyptic horror adventure film will be helmed by Ex Machina‘s Alex Garland.

The feature is an adaptation of a book by Jeff Vander Meer.

The story follows a biologist, to be played by Portman, as she embarks on a four-person expedition into Area X, a territory cut off from civilization. While there, she must deal with a mysterious contamination, disappearing colleagues, a deadly animal and a being known as the Crawler, all while searching for clues regarding her husband’s disappearance.

Garland wrote the script, adapted from Vander Meer’s book, which hit stores in February 2014 and is the first in a trilogy.

Rodriguez stars on the CW‘s Jane the Virgin.

Brühl Becomes Producing Partner in Amusement Park Film

Daniel Brühl is ready to produce…

The 37-year-old half Spanish actor and Golden Globe nominee has become a partner at Amusement Park Film, a Berlin-based production company.

Daniel Brühl

Brühl, the star of Rush and Inglourious Basterds, will join Amusement Park’s Malte Grunert and Klaus Dohle to develop and produce film and television projects, with a focus on English-language productions.

Brühl, who appears in Marvel‘s upcoming Captain America: Civil War, first worked with Grunert on A Most Wanted Man, Anton Corbijn‘s adaptation of the John Le Carre novel of the same name, which Amusement Park co-produced.

“For a few years now I have had the wish to involve myself in the creative and commercial process of filmmaking beyond my usual role as an actor,” said Brühl, who began his work at a young age in a German soap opera called Forbidden Love. “It was always clear that I wanted to do this in a partnership with people that shared the same taste and values. Being based in Berlin but working mostly internationally it took a while, but I am convinced I have now found the perfect partnership, both structurally as well as creatively.”

Added Grunert: “I always knew Daniel as a great actor, but as we got to know each other following the filming of A Most Wanted Man, we felt we shared the same taste and passion for working with talented filmmakers, at home in Germany as well as internationally. I think our networks of partners complement each other very well, as do our past experiences and approaches to the industry.”

Brühl will be an equal partner in Amusement Park with Grunert and Dohle, with Grunert running the day-to-day business as managing director. Dohle, who also produces under his Erfttal banner, has been an active investor in the German film business for many years.

Founded by Grunert in 2009, Amusement Park has produced or co-produced 11 feature films to date, including A Most Wanted Man and David Mackenzie’s Perfect Sense. Titles in the pipeline include Remainder, Omer Fast‘s adaptation of the Tom McCarthy bestseller, which is in post; new projects by Mackenzie, Lone Scherfig (An Education) and a new project by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, screenwriters on James Bond films Skyfall and the upcoming Spectre.

Grunert will attend the Toronto International Film Festival this week with Amusement Park’s Land of Mine, a Danish/German co-production set in the wake of World War II, which opens TIFF’s Platform section on Thursday, September 10.

Brühl will celebrate the world premiere of his latest film, Colonia, co-starring Emma Watson and directed by Florian Gallenberger, which bows in Toronto on September 13.

Rodriguez in Negotiations to Star in “Deepwater Horizon”

Gina Rodriguez may soon find herself in deepwater

The 30-year-old Puerto Rican actress, who won a Golden Globe this year for her starring role in the CW’s Jane the Virgin, is in talks to star opposite Mark Walhberg in Deepwater Horizon, the oil rig disaster drama to be directed by Peter Berg for Lionsgate.

Gina Rodriguez

The story unfolds on Deepwater Horizon, the infamous British Petroleum oil rig that caught fire and exploded on April 22, 2010 while drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 crew members and resulting in the largest offshore oil spill in United States history.

Walhberg is starring as an electrician on the rig, and Rodriguez would play the movie’s female lead, the communications officer for the company.

Deepwater will mark Rodriguez’s biggest feature to date, following her Golden Globe win for best performance in a television series in the comedy/musical category for her work on Jane the Virgin.

Rodriguez previously earned rave reviews and an Imagen Award for her performance in the indie feature Filly Brown.

González Iñárritu to Receive Director of the Year Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival

Alejandro González Iñárritu may have a little extra spring in his step after his latest award… 

The 51-year-old Mexican film director will receive this year’s Director of the Year Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival‘s 26th annual Awards Gala on January 3.

Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman

Inarritu, who has said that Birdman is a semi-autobiographical project, has already received Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice nominations for his co-writing and direction of the project.

He previously received PSIFF‘s Director of the Year Award in 2007 for his work on Babel (2006).

Other previous recipients of the PSIFF prize include Steve McQueen for 12 Years a Slave (2013), Robert Zemeckis for Flight (2012), Stephen Daldry for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011), David O. Russell for The Fighter (2010), Jason Reitman for Up in the Air (2009), Sean Penn for Into the Wild (2007) and Alexander Payne for Sideways (2004).

“By creating the illusion that the film was shot in one take and directing award-worthy performances by Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone and a star-studded cast, Inarritu,” PSIFF chairman Harold Matzner said in a statement. “Inarritu has created a brilliant and original dark comedy.”

The film festival will run January 2-12.