Cinema News: Movies Update: ‘The Power of the Dog’ in Awards Season

March 15, 2022

By Stephanie Goodman

Film Editor

Hi, film fans!

The Oscar race is heading into the homestretch, and this past weekend was especially busy, with "The Power of the Dog" racking up major wins at the Directors Guild, the BAFTAs and the Critics Choice Awards. It must have been especially head-spinning for the film's writer-director, Jane Campion, who went from celebrated to denounced to apologetic within 48 hours.

At the directors' shindig on Saturday, she was being applauded for her response to the actor Sam Elliott's put-down of her western. He had questioned its "allusions to homosexuality." She noted, among other things, "He's not a cowboy, he's an actor," and added, "The West is a mythic space and there's a lot of room on the range. And I think it's a little bit sexist."

But on Sunday night, she was being criticized across social media for an acceptance speech at the Critics Choice that wrongly suggested Venus and Serena Williams didn't face the kind of sexism the filmmaker did. On Monday, Campion issued an apology, saying in a statement, "I did not intend to devalue these two legendary Black women and world-class athletes," and adding, "Serena and Venus, I apologize and completely celebrate you."

Next weekend is the Producers Guild Awards. Will the fallout from this weekend's round of prizes have any effect? Stay tuned.

Chris Pizzello/Invision, via Associated Press

The Projectionist

'The Power of the Dog' finishes with a stunning series of victories.

By Kyle Buchanan

Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Jane Campion Apologizes for Comment About Venus and Serena Williams

In an acceptance speech at the Critics Choice Awards, the "Power of the Dog" filmmaker wrongly suggested that the tennis greats didn't compete against men the way she had to.

By Laura Zornosa

Chris Pizzello/Invision, via Associated Press

Read Halle Berry's speech accepting the #SeeHer Award for boundary-pushing.

She said she once aspired to roles played by white men. Now she wants parts that reflect "the reality of my journey, in all of its beauty and all of its pain."

By Laura Zornosa

Amy Sussman/Getty Images

Maria Bakalova, Billy Crystal and other stars show support for Ukraine.

Most of the Critics Choice ceremony has been focused on prizes, but the war in Ukraine has been addressed in a few ways.

By Laura Zornosa

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NEWS & FEATURES

Bettmann/Getty Images

Oscar Rewind: When Rita Moreno Made History and Thanked No One

The actress explains why she gave one of the shortest Academy speeches ever when she became the first Latina to win an acting Oscar 60 years ago.

By Sarah Bahr

Chantal Anderson for The New York Times

Ari Wegner: A Cinematographer Who Knows Actors Down to the Eyelash

The director of photography for "The Power of the Dog" spent a year on preproduction. Now she could make Oscar history as the first woman to win best cinematography.

By Nicole Sperling