DIVERSE REPRESENTATIONS SURGE ON-SCREEN: After a lack of diverse nominations among the field of Oscar and BAFTA nominees, the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative has released a study that shows 2019 was a great year for diversity on-screen. Looking at 100 top-grossing films, 31 featured an underrepresented lead or co-lead; this is up from 27 in 2018 and 13 in 2007.
JOAQUIN PHOENIX LEADS VEGAN CHARGE AT AWARDS SHOWS: In the past month, Joaquin Phoenix has swept the Best Actor awards at the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice Awards and SAGs. The Joker star is using his “position to push” for vegan menus at the awards shows, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The noted animal rights campaigner reportedly reached out to CEOs behind the shows, and told them that other Hollywood heavyweights like Leonardo DiCaprio, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Kristen Bell supported the initiative. Critics' Choice Association CEO Joey Berlin was all ears, telling THR that there were practicalities to consider too: “We talked it over with the network and our sponsors and agreed that it would be a good thing to do. You don't want to end up with a cold burger, but a cold plant-based burger is OK.”
WOODY HARRELSON BOARDS TRIANGLE OF SADNESS: Swedish filmmaker Ruben Ostlund, who won the 2017 Cannes Palme d’Or for The Square, has recruited Woody Harrelson and newbies Charli Dean and Harris Dickinson for satirical drama Triangle of Sadness. The film is set in the world of fashion and the uber rich.
IAN BONHOTE TO HELM LUCY BOYNTON PIC: Ian Bonhote, a BAFTA nominee for his documentary McQueen, will helm the upcoming musician biopic Faithfull. Bohemian Rhapsody actress Lucy Boynton will star as Marianne Faithfull, the singer-songwriter who had a much-buzzed about romance with Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger and has recorded 21 albums. The film will follow her ride from stardom, to her times spent homeless, and then her recovery.