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For three years, Netflix has gone without a Best Documentary Feature Oscar nomination for one its originals, a surprising dry spell for a streamer used to dominating the category. But it looks like the drought is about to end.

The platform has fielded an exceptional slate of contenders in 2024, many with a strong shot at making the Oscar Documentary Feature shortlist — the first step toward an Academy Award nomination. The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, Daughters, Will & Harper, Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa, Power, The Greatest Night in Pop, Martha, Skywalkers: A Love Story, Yintah — they all present a solid opportunity for Netflix to compete for the top documentary prize.

“I feel very honored to be a part of this incredible slate of movies,” says Josh Greenbaum, director of Will & Harper, a kind of buddy comedy about the friendship between actor Will Ferrell and his pal Harper Steele,...

Near the end of the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, Will Ferrell received and read the same email that Harper Steele sent to all her friends informing them that she had transitioned. But Ferrell, after talking to his old “Saturday Night Live” writer pal about her big news, had a novel idea: Why not take a road trip with a documentary filmmaker (Josh Greenbaum) across the country to revisit some of Steele’s old haunts? It would be an opportunity to ask and answer a lot of questions, and check out the temperature of the country.

That experiment became the Sundance breakout “Will & Harper” (now streaming on Netflix), which is playing well for the documentary branch of the Academy. Yes, some voters may be allergic to the recent spate of “celebrity docs,” but this is far from the usual hagiographic portrayal. We get a look at the real...

Will Ferrell is set to take on the world of televised courtroom justice.

Ferrell is set to star for director Nicholas Stoller in the comedy feature Judgment Day, which is currently in development at Amazon MGM Studios. Stoller also penned the screenplay.

Judgment Day centers on a young convict who gets out of prison and takes an unscripted TV courtroom hostage, as he is convinced that the TV judge (Ferrell) delivered a ruling that destroyed his life.

Serving as producers are Ferrell, Jessica Elbaum and Alex Brown for Gloria Sanchez Productions and Stoller for Stoller Global Solutions.

Ferrell can soon be seen opposite Reese Witherspoon in Amazon MGM’s movie You’re Cordially Invited, which Stoller directed. The wedding comedy co-stars Geraldine Viswanathan and Jimmy Tatro and begins streaming via Prime Video on Jan. 30.

Stoller is known for helming such films as Bros, Neighbors and its sequel and Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

Exclusive: Mere weeks after signing on to 20th Century Studios’ comedy Street Justice, Will Ferrell has found another new project in Judgment Day, a comedy in development at Amazon MGM Studios that Nicholas Stoller will direct from his own script.

Judgment Day follows a young convict fresh out of prison who takes a reality TV courtroom hostage, blaming the megalomaniac TV judge (Ferrell) for a past ruling that the convict feels ruined his life.

The project reunites Ferrell with Stoller and Amazon MGM on the heels of You’re Cordially Invited, an anticipated wedding comedy starring Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon, which premieres on Prime Video January 30.

Producers include Stoller for Stoller Global Solutions, as well as Ferrell, Jessica Elbaum, and Alex Brown for Gloria Sanchez Productions.

As we were also first to report, Ferrell will likewise produce and star in Street Justice, playing a Dirty Harry type who goes about taking justice into his own hands.

The 15th annual Academy Governors Awards on Sunday night brought tears and laughs to the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Hollywood, as usual packed with Oscar hopefuls and AMPAS voters as the awards season gets into full swing.

With preparations for the March 2 Oscars (ABC) underway with two of last year’s executive producers (Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan) and edgy new host Conan O’Brien, the Governors Awards gave out five honorary Oscars to their second casting director, New York veteran Juliet Taylor (Lynn Stalmaster was the first), presented by Nicole Kidman (“Babygirl”) who took her shoes off to meet the mic.

Other honorees included “James Bond” producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, presented by bearded former Bond Daniel Craig (“Queer”); writer/director and humanitarian Richard Curtis, presented by an hilarious Hugh Grant (“Heretic”); and the late, great Quincy Jones, presented by a sincere Jamie Foxx.

Jones’ family spokesperson Rashida Jones,...

Hugh Grant called an Honorary Oscar winner an a–hole, studios spent big money to show off all their awards contenders and a posthumous tribute to Quincy Jones left everybody buzzing at the Academy’s 15th annual Governors Awards on Sunday night in Hollywood, turning a fraught time in the movie business into a satisfying celebration – and, of course, a prime campaign opportunity for everyone hoping to attract the attention of Oscar voters.

While the Governors Awards, the annual event at which honorary Academy Awards are given out, has become a reliably grand combination of cinematic cclebration and campaign event, two factors conspired to cast a shadow over Sunday’s ceremony, which took place at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland.

The first was the fact that Jones was announced as a winner of the Honorary Oscar back in June, but died on Nov. 3, two weeks before he was to receive the award.

The stars were out for the 2024 Governors Awards held at Dolby Theatre on Sunday evening (November 17) in Hollywood.

The annual event is held prior to the Oscars and celebrates the recipients of a select few of awards conferred by the Academy’s Board of Governors – the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and the Honorary Award.

Many celebrities were in attendance at the event this year, including Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Lopez, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Elizabeth Olsen, pregnant Jennifer Lawrence, Felicity Jones, Marlee Matlin, and more.

Keep reading to find out more…

Each recipient of the Governors Awards is announced over the summer with them being honored at the dinner gala later in the year. Highlights are also shown at the upcoming Oscars.

This year, honorary Oscars were presented to the late Quincy Jones and Juliet Taylor, with Richard Curtis receiving the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award,...

There were a bunch of stars in attendance at the Hamilton Behind the Camera Awards to celebrate all of the filmmakers who work behind-the-scenes!

Ryan Reynolds, Kristen Wiig, and Elle Fanning were among the stars at the event, held in partnership with Variety, on Thursday (November 14) at the Hollywood Athletic Club in Los Angeles.

Amy Poehler, Daveed Diggs, Jon Batiste, Emilia Perez‘ Karla Sofia Gascon, and Pamela Anderson with her The Last Showgirl director Gia Coppola were also there.

Will & Harper‘s Harper Steele presented the Original Song Award to Kristen, Sean Douglas, and Josh Greenbaum.

Ryan and the team behind Deadpool and Wolverine received the Screenwriters Award. Jon won the Score Award for Saturday Night. Gia won the Director Award for The Last Showgirl.

Fyi: Elle is wearing Dior. Jon is wearing Zegna. Daveed is wearing Versace.

While many “Deadpool & Wolverine” quips have become fan favorites, like Gambit’s “I’m boutta’ make a name for myself here,” star and screenwriter Ryan Reynolds has a more sentimental take on which lines were his favorite to write.

“The thing I’m probably most proud of was the Wolverine speech in the van where he just tears Deadpool a new one,” said Reynolds. “To me, it’s one of the most beautiful scenes in the movie because you see what a raw, visceral, powerhouse of an actor Hugh Jackman is. But you also see the roles reversed. You see a character who is never verbose, who is a Clint Eastwood archetype, suddenly going, ‘Oh yeah, man? Well, I can talk too.'”

Reynolds was one of the 25 people honored at Hamilton’s 13th annual Behind the Camera Awards, presented by Variety, which celebrates and recognizes the work of below-the-line filmmakers.

Sugarcane, the story of sexual abuse and disappearances at a school for Indigenous children in British Columbia, leads the nominations for the prestigious documentary-focused Cinema Eye Honors awards with six. Four films are next with five noms each: Dahomey, Eno, Frida and No Other Land. See the full list below.

Sugarcane, Dahomey and No Other Land will vie for the marquee Nonfiction Feature prize along with Black Box Diaries, Daughters, Look Into My Eyes and Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat. This is the first year that the named nominees in the Nonfiction Feature category will include the entire creative team: directors, producers, editors, cinematographers, composers, sound designers, visual designers and significant on-screen participants.

The producers of Sugarcane, No Other Land, Hollywoodgate, Mistress Dispeller, Porcelain War and Union are up for the Production prize. The Cinema Eye winner in that category has gone on to take the Documentary Feature Academy...

The ACLU of Southern California’s annual Bill of Rights Awards on Sunday night honored Mark Ruffalo, “Will & Harper” stars Harper Steele and Will Ferrell, “The Sympathizer” author Viet Thanh Nguyen and sports legend Brittney Griner and her wife Cherelle Griner.

Taking place just days after the election, the evening took on a somber tone with presenters and honorees emphasizing how crucial the ACLU was and will be in legal battles protecting civil rights and fighting for social justice during a Trump administration. In an eerie coincidence, an SUV adorned with Trump flags and passengers shouting “we won” drove by the Beverly Hilton hotel on Wilshire Boulevard as guests arrived for the gala.

Griner, who spent 10 months in a Russian work camp before her release was secured by a prisoner swap negotiated by the Biden administration in 2022, praised the civil rights organization. “My wife and I have a lot of common with the ACLU,...

A friendship’s strength is usually proven during hard times: Will they run away or provide support? For Harper Steele, the question became a pressing one after coming out as a trans woman, wondering how friends and family would react, including her friend of three decades, “Saturday Night Live” colleague Will Ferrell. Ferrell’s support was immediate — and included a cross-country road trip from New York to California to introduce Harper to the world and vice versa. Chronicling the 17-day odyssey were filmmaker Josh Greenbaum and cinematographer Zoë White, with the resulting footage assembled by editor Monique Zavistovski (on Adobe Premiere Pro and Frame.io) into the Netflix documentary “Will & Harper.”

As with all good road trip films, “Will & Harper” is more about the journey rather than the destination. “One of the things that I discovered from editing ‘Will & Harper’ is unlike other films where there is a...

Bei der Verleihung der Critics Choice Documentary Awards wurde der Dokumentarfilm über den „Superman“-Darsteller, der sich nach seiner Querschnittlähmung für die Erforschung von Rückenmarkserkrankungen und Behindertenrechte engagierte, in allen sechs Kategorien, in denen er nominiert war, ausgezeichnet.

100-prozentige Erfolgsquote für „Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story“ bei der Verleihung der Critics Choice Documentary Awards. Der Dokumentarfilm von Ian Bonhôte und Peter Ettedgui über den im Jahr 2004 im Alter von 52 Jahren verstorbenen den „Superman“-Darsteller, der sich nach seiner Querschnittlähmung für die Erforschung von Rückenmarkserkrankungen und Behindertenrechte engagierte, ist in allen sechs Kategorien, in denen er nominiert war, ausgezeichnet worden.

Als bester Dokumentarfilm wurde er zusammen mit „Will & Harper“ über einen Roadtrip von Schauspieler Will Ferrell und „Saturday Night Live“-Autor Harper Steele ausgezeichnet. Darüber hinaus gab es Preise in den Kategorien Beste Regie, Bester Schnitt (Otto Burnham), Beste Musik (Ilan Eshkeri), Bester archivalischer Dokumentarfilm und Bester biografischer Dokumentarfilm.

Jeweils...

Mark Ruffalo, Will Ferrell, Harper Steele, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and Brittney and Cherelle Griner were all honored at the ACLU of Southern California’s Bill of Rights Awards on Sunday, in a night that focused heavily on Donald Trump’s election win and the future fight for civil rights.

Ruffalo, who campaigned heavily for Kamala Harris and is among Hollywood’s most outspoken activists, took the stage at the Beverly Hilton and admitted to the crowd, “We got our asses kicked. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, but sometimes you have to spend a little time in bed before it happens. It was hard to come here, honestly.”

“The fact that we’re here says a great deal about what we all care about in this life, and I want to appreciate you all for your values and the grief and the fear that you most acutely may be feeling as well,...

As political pundits spent the hours and days after the election dissecting why they thought Donald Trump beat Kamala Harris so badly at the ballot box, some blamed the Democratic Party’s so-called “wokeness,” particularly its support of transgender rights, for the loss.

“The Democrats have to stop pandering to the far left,” New York Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi told The New York Times. “I don’t want to discriminate against anybody, but I don’t think biological boys should be playing in girls’ sports. … Democrats aren’t saying that, and they should be.”

MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough also blasted the left for embracing trans rights because it was too scared of offending “some small subset of their base.”

Harper Steele, whose transition and friendship with Will Ferrell was chronicled in the recent Netflix documentary “Will & Harper,” is having none of that. “I don’t give a fuck about those people,...

Great Oscar-contending documentaries and the Scad Savannah Film Festival: for more than a decade now, the two have been virtually synonymous thanks to the ‘Docs to Watch’ panel, which is presented by The Hollywood Reporter, moderated by yours truly and brings to the nation’s largest university-run film festival the directors of 10 of the year’s finest nonfiction features.

Indeed, over the 10 years that the panel was held prior to this year, 21 of the 97 docs that were featured went on to nominations for the best documentary feature Oscar, and eight of those ultimately won that award: 2015’s Amy, 2016’s O.J.: Made in America, 2017’s Icarus, 2018’s Free Solo, 2019’s American Factory, 2021’s Summer of Soul, 2022’s Navalny and 2023’s 20 Days in Mariupol.

This year’s gathering took place on Oct. 30 at Scad’s Lucas Theatre as part of the fest’s 27th edition, and, as you can see for...

Songwriter Sean Douglas, who’s written hits for a wide assortment of pop artists including Demi Lovato, Madonna, Nick Jonas, The Chainsmokers and Selena Gomez, found crafting the signature song “Harper and Will Go West” for the documentary Will & Harper alongside comedienne Kristen Wiig was more than a little akin to improv comedy.

“All songwriting, at least in my world of different co-writes of combinations of people all the time is very like, “Yes, and…” Douglas, who’s the son of actor Michael Keaton, said from the stage of Deadline’s Sound & Screen musical showcase.

“You start with a little nugget of somebody’s got a title or a melody or a chord progression, and then the other person kind of pulls the thread on their side of it and you kind just keep going until there’s a song,” Douglas explained. “And [this song] was very much like that. I...

Will Ferrell is hitting the streets for a new comedy feature from 20th Century Studios.

The performer is attached to produce and star in Street Justice for director Peter Atencio. Dave Callaham is writing the script for the project that will center on a character who decides to deliver his own brand of justice.

Ferrell and Jessica Elbaum of Gloria Sanchez serve as producers alongside David Koplan. Callaham is an executive producer.

Atencio has helmed the features Keanu (2016) and The Machine (2023) and is known for television work on such projects as Key & Peele, The Last Man on Earth and The Afterparty.

Ferrell and fellow Saturday Night Live alum Harper Steele were featured in this year’s Netflix documentary film Will & Harper. Other recent movie credits for Ferrell include Quiz Lady, Barbie and Spirited, along with voice roles in Strays and Despicable Me 4.

He will be soon be seen in...

Exclusive: Following the release of his acclaimed Netflix documentary Will & Harper, examining his close relationship with transgender former SNL writer Harper Steele, Will Ferrell has found a new project in Street Justice, a comedy that he’ll produce and star in for 20th Century Studios.

Based on an original idea by Dave Callaham, the film has Ferrell playing a Dirty Harry type who goes about taking justice into his own hands, sources tell us. Peter Atencio, a comedy veteran currently in post on Legendary’s forthcoming live-action/animation hybrid Animal Friends, will direct.

Callaham, the writer behind Shang-Chi and the Oscar-nominated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, penned the script on spec — selling it in a large seven-figure deal, according to our sources — and will serve as executive producer. Ferrell and Jessica Elbaum will produce for Gloria Sanchez Productions, with David Koplan also aboard to produce. The project reunites Callaham and...

On the heels of their Netflix documentary, Will Ferrell and Harper Steele have another collaboration in the works as honorees at the ACLU Foundation of Southern California’s annual Bill of Rights Awards.

Per the organization, the pair is being singled out “for sharing their journey in the Netflix documentary Will & Harper, a celebration of allyship, trans joy and friendship, and an invitation for us to ride along and empower each other.” The film, directed by Josh Greenbaum, follows the close friends of 30 years and onetime Saturday Night Live colleagues as they go on a cross-country road trip to examine a new chapter in their relationship after Steele comes out as transgender.

The awards event, scheduled to take place at the Beverly Hilton on Nov. 10, will also honor Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and USC Professor Viet Thanh Nguyen (The Sympathizer), actor and activist Mark Ruffalo and Brittney and Cherelle Griner.

With just a week until Election Day, Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign team released a new video with the legendary Will Ferrell.

In the 30-second clip, the comic appears with a simple message for Americans, and especially the Garys of the world. “This election is going to be one of the closest in history. Your vote will make the difference,” emphasizes Ferrell, a seeming nod toward a certain Saturday Night Live character. “That means you, Gary!”

After showing no remorse for a defeatist attitude — unceremoniously telling Gary to “shut the fuck up!

If you’re looking for the best movies to watch on Netflix, you’ve come to the right place. Below, we’ve put together an expertly curated selection of some of the most exciting, compelling, emotional and funny movies currently streaming right now.

While it can be daunting thumbing through the streamer’s catalog to find out what to watch, we’ve taken the guesswork and mindless scrolling out of it. This post will be frequently updated with new recommendations, keeping you up to date with all the Netflix movies you should be prioritizing in your queue.

So peruse our list of the best movies on Netflix right now below, and happy watching!

Scream (2022) Paramount

The “Scream” franchise got revitalized in 2022 from “Ready or Not” filmmakers Radio Silence, and while this new film doesn’t reach the heights of Wes Craven’s first two entries in the iconic slasher franchise,...

Apple TV ’s Girls State and HBO’s Ren Faire scored three nominations apiece to lead all broadcast nominees announced Thursday for the 18th Cinema Eye Honors. The group, which recognizes the year’s outstanding nonfiction and documentary films and TV series, also revealed the 16-film longlist for its annual Audience Choice Prize, won last year by National Geographic’s Bobi Wine: The People’s President, which went on to get nominated for the Documentary Feature Oscar.

The past six winners of the Best Documentary Feature Oscar — this year’s winner 20 Days in Mariupol, Navalny, Summer of Soul, My Octopus Teacher, American Factory and Free Solo — were all Audience Choice Prize nominees. Fans voting will whittle the list to 10 beginning next week, with winners in that and all categories to be announced at an awards ceremony January 9 at the New York Academy of Medicine in East Harlem.

The full list...

Cinema Eye Honors today shared a string of announcements, including the 16 films on its Audience Choice Prize Longlist, the unveiling of this year’s Unforgettables Honorees, nominees in its five Broadcast categories, and its annual Shorts List — spotlighting 11 of the year’s top documentary short films — at its 7th annual Cinema Eye Fall Lunch in Downtown Los Angeles on October 24, 2024.

Spotlighted on the film side are several major Best Documentary Feature contenders including “Will & Harper,” “Black Box Diaries,” and “No Other Land,” which all also factored into the organization’s list of Unforgettables — standout on-camera collaborators from eight feature documentaries. This next ceremony will be the first time those honorees, like Harper Steele, Shiori Ito, and Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham for those respective films, receive a special medallion honoring their contribution to their Cinema Eye-winning films.

Highlights among the Broadcast nominees include filmmaker Lance Oppenheim, nominated for both...

The Apple TV documentary “Girls State” and the HBO doc series “Ren Faire” led all projects in nominations in the Cinema Eye Honors broadcast categories, which were announced on Thursday in Los Angeles.

“Girls State” was nominated in the Broadcast Film category and also for its editing and cinematography. “Ren Faire” was also nominated in those last two categories, as well as for Nonfiction Series.

Other broadcast films and series with multiple nominations included Netflix’s “America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders,” Apple’s “The Enfield Poltergeist,” HBO’s “Telemarketers” and National Geographic’s “Photographer.”

At its annual Cinema Eye Fall Lunch at Redbird in downtown Los Angeles, the New York-based organization also announced the Audience Choice Award Long List, 16 films that will compete for the audience-voted award; 11 semi-finalists in the short doc category; and “The Unforgettables,” its annual list of the year’s most interesting documentary subjects.

The Audience...

Buckle up, everyone: Bong Joon Ho is back. The Korean auteur finally returns after sweeping the Oscars with Parasite, and he’s going full-tilt into bonkers satirical sci-fi mode with Mickey 17, starring multiple Robert Pattinsons. Two of which – Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 – you’ll find on the cover of Empire’s December 2024 issue.

The issue doesn’t hit newsstands until Thursday 24 October. But in the meantime, here’s a sneak peek inside its pages.

Mickey 17

Parasite brought Bong Joon Ho into the big-leagues. Next, he’s going interstellar with a Hollywood budget in a space-bound genre-smasher. Empire speaks to Director Bong, stars Robert Pattinson, Steven Yeun, and Naomi Ackie about going bigger – and Bong-ier – than ever before.

The Future Of Cinema

Between the impact of Covid, rise of streaming, and dawn of AI, the entire medium of cinema is undergoing several major shifts right now. Empire conducts a major new poll...

No Other Land, the powerful documentary set in a Palestinian community of the occupied West Bank, may lack U.S. distribution, but it’s got awards momentum behind it.

The film directed by a collective of Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers earned a place on Doc NYC’s coveted Short List — the festival’s nod to what it considers to be among the year’s best feature documentaries. The list – a harbinger of potential traction with Oscar voters — also gave recognition to Will & Harper, a Netflix film built around a road trip taken by Will Ferrell and his longtime friend Harper Steele after Harper came out as trans.

Both No Other Land and Will & Harper earned nominations for Best Documentary Feature at the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards announced earlier this week. Also pulling off the Doc NYC-Critics’ Choice double is Sugarcane, the National Geographic documentary investigating the disappearance of Indigenous children...

The 15th annual Doc NYC festival unveiled the titles in its Short List sections, an early precursor lineup in advance of the Oscar nominations next January in the categories of Best Documentary Feature and Documentary Short.

America’s largest documentary festival, based in the Chelsea and Greenwich Village neighborhoods of New York City, launches on Nov. 13 with the opening night premiere of “Blue Road: The Edna O’Brien Story.”

The titles in the Short Lists include Benjamin Ree’s “The Remarkable Life of Ibelin,” Raoul Peck’s “Ernest Cole: Lost and Found,” Carla Gutiérrez’s “Frida,” Mati Diop’s “Dahomey” and “No Other Land,” directed by a four-person collective of Israeli and Palestinian artists.

Additional films, nearly all screening with filmmakers in person for Q&As, include “Will and Harper,” about the friendship between Will Ferrell and Harper Steele, “The Last of the Sea Women,” produced by Nobel Peace Prize winner...

Exclusive: No joke, here’s the deal, and let me be clear: Dana Carvey, fresh off his latest hilarious sendup of a doddering President Biden, will appear in the upcoming documentary Playing Potus, from director Josh Greenbaum.

The film currently in production from EverWonder Studio in partnership with Delirio Films and Green Bomb Productions will include new interviews with Carvey, whose impressions have ranged from Joe Biden to George H.W. Bush, Ross Perot, and Bill Clinton; Maya Rudolph, currently rocking it as Kamala Harris on SNL; Alec Baldwin (Pres. Trump); Will Ferrell (Pres. George W. Bush – remember “Strategery”?), Keegan-Michael Key (Pres. Obama and his alter ego “Luther”); Jay Pharoah (also Pres. Obama); Darrell Hammond; Chevy Chase (a supremely klutzy Gerald Ford), and more.

“The film will tackle the uniquely American tradition of presidential parody, a bold art form that has transformed our...

“Nobody Wants This” debuted at No. 1 on Luminate’s weekly rankings of streaming original viewership, tying last week’s top title — “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” — each with a strong 1.7 billion minutes.

A rom-com series starring Kristen Bell and Adam Brody, “Nobody Wants This” achieved that total in its first full week of availability on Netflix, while “Monsters” was in its second full week, having debuted at No. 1 with 2.7 billion minutes watched during the Sept. 20-26 viewing window.

The third-most-watched title of the week was Netflix's Vince McMahon docuseries "Mr. McMahon," which hit 765.6 million mintues watched in its first full week of availability. It was followed by Season 2 of "Tulsa King," which released its third episode during this window and hit 568.5 million minutes watched. "Tulsa King" Season 1 also made the chart this week, landing at No. 7 with 228.5 million minutes watched.

"The Perfect Couple" was the No. 5 title of...

While on the Filmmaker Toolkit podcast, director Josh Greenbaum took IndieWire behind the scenes of the planning, making, and editing of his new hit documentary “Will & Harper.” The documentary, which premiered at Sundance and hit Netflix last week, is a road trip film, as comedian Will Ferrell takes a cross-country journey with long-time friend and collaborator Harper Steele after she came out as a transwoman. The journey serves as a way for the two friends to explore how the will affect their friendship, while Steele sees if the country she loves — prior to her transition, Steele loved taking solo cross-country trips and wonders if she can travel the country with the same sense of freedom — will love her back.

Here are nine things about the making of “Will & Harper” that might surprise you, taken from Greenbaum’s Toolkit appearance.

Harper Was Initially Against a Documentary

As the documentary’s opening shows,...

Will Ferrell and Harper Steele‘s visit to the Lone Star State was not met with southern hospitality.

While discussing their Netflix documentary Will & Harper, the longtime friends recounted an “intense” moment of transphobic microaggression at Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, Texas, which didn’t make it into the final cut.

“We gave a little toast, and I said something about passing a trans bill,” Steele told The New York Times. “And the room did a kind of reversal and a little bit of a boo and a woman shouted out, ‘We still love you.’ I hate the phrase. I could be misinterpreting this woman completely, but this is the feeling I had in the room: The ‘still’ is conditional. You still love me when I finally give up being trans and give my life over to Christ. They still love me even though I’m some kind of sinner or something.

Nominations voting is from January 8-12, 2025, with official Oscar nominations announced January 17, 2025. Final voting is February 11-18, 2025. And finally, the 97th Oscars telecast will be broadcast on Sunday, March 2 and air live on ABC at 7:00 p.m. Et/ 4:00 p.m. Pt. We update our picks through awards season, so keep checking IndieWire for all our 2025 Oscar predictions.

The State of the Race

While there have not been any Best Original Song contenders this year to enter the cultural zeitgeist the same way a few songs from the “Barbie” soundtrack did last year, there are plenty of notable artists putting their hat in the ring for a music Oscar.

We would be remiss to not mention Lady Gaga, a previous winner in the category, who is back with “Folie à Deux” from her film “Joker: Folie à Deux,” a jukebox musical that sees the performer run through various standards as Harley Quinn.

Netflix‘s heartwarming documentary Will & Harper has quickly won over viewers as they tagged along on Will Ferrell and Harper Steele‘s road trip across America, but are they poised to take another? The film, which follows Ferrell and Steele as they take a two-week road trip across various states, focuses on the pals getting reacquainted with one another after Harper came out as a trans woman. While the film explores the hardships of being a trans person in conservative states and spaces, at its core, this film is about friendship and the power of love and acceptance, something that never waivered between the two. Netflix But is there room for a second film? Towards the end of the movie, Ferrell asks Steele what she plans to do next and she mentions how she has to go back to New York where she came from, driving her car across the country once more.

Will Ferrell is hoping his new documentary “Will & Harper” will help sway some voters (or at least facilitate some important conversations) in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election. The actor appears alongside former “Saturday Night Live” head writer Harper Steele, who recently came out as a transgender woman, in the road trip documentary. The film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and was subsequently acquired by Netflix.

“When we sat down with Netflix, we made it clear that we wanted this out before the election,” Ferrell told Variety. “We wanted it to have enough runway for people to get to see it and hopefully start having important discussions in their living rooms.” “Will & Harper” was released in select theaters September 13 and began streaming on Netflix on September 27.

In the Josh Greenbaum-directed film, Ferrell and Steele reunite for a 16-day cross-country drive, during which the duo discuss Steele...

The Scad Savannah Film Festival, which takes place each year shortly before the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences votes to determine its Oscar shortlists, has revealed the names of the 10 documentary features that it will highlight on this year’s edition of its Docs to Watch panel, a 90-minute discussion about the challenges and rewards of documentary filmmaking.

The films that will be represented on this year’s panel — which will take place at the Lucas Theatre on the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 30, and will be moderated by yours truly for the 11th year in a row — and will also screen during the fest, followed by a Q&a with their director(s), will be:

Black Box Diaries (MTV Documentary Films), represented on the panel by director Shiori Ito — the filmmaker documents the investigation into her sexual assault by a powerful man in Japan Carville: Winning Is Everything,...

It’s no surprise that Justin Baldoni’s “It Ends with Us” (Sony) with Blake Lively is an immediate #1 for its PVOD release 46 days after its very successful theatrical run. It replaced Zoë Kravitz’s “Blink Twice” (Amazon MGM) as #1. The psychological thriller is #2 this week at both iTunes (ranking by transactions) and Fandango (by revenue), with both films renting for 48 hours for $19.99.

The VOD charts remained otherwise mainly steady, with Netflix’s top 10 seeing large-scale changes and some signficant original additions. These include two documentaries, one just after significant festival exposure, the other a salacious true crime story that has already seen one previous film based on a prison escape that happened only two years ago.

Anyone who follows Netflix viewership trends won’t be surprised that “Jailbreak: Love on the Run” is doing better than “Will & Harper.” “Jailbreak” is based on the true story of a veteran...

“All five of us met at an orgy,” Harper Steele deadpans while gesturing to the core team behind “Will & Harper,” the new Netflix documentary about a consequential road trip she took with Bff Will Ferrell after coming out as a trans woman. And Ferrell, his eyes sparking with punchlines to come, seizes the opportunity to build on the bit.

“We didn’t remember that we had met until much later,” he says. “We’re like, wait — Acapulco?” At that, Ferrell scrunches up his face like one of those suburban dads he’s so famous for playing on-screen and lowers his voice as if something embarrassing had slowly dawned on him.

They’re joking about the sex party, of course, but the group behind “Will & Harper” does boast a tangled network of connections that extend back through the decades, one that includes marriages, longtime friendships and artistic partnerships. It...

Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on Wbgr-fm on September 26th, reviewing the film “Will & Harper,” a documentary regarding Will Ferrell and his friend Harper, who has made an important decision. Currently in theaters and streaming on Netflix since September 27th.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

What if you had a longtime friend, in this case male, who decided at age 61 that they were going to transition to female? Thus is the case with Andrew Steele, a former writer on Saturday Night Live, who happened to be besties with Will Ferrell. When the new she comes out to his buddy, the pair decides to take a road trip together, to both understand the new dynamic of their relationship and to see America through the newly dubbed Harper Steele’s eyes. As they are off to see America, will America welcome them?

”Will & Harper” is currently in theaters,...

After debuting to a warm reception at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and making the rounds at multiple fall film festivals including TIFF, Will Ferrell and collaborator Harper Steele’s road-trip documentary, “Will & Harper,” is finally available to stream on Netflix. The film, which follows Ferrell and his friend traveling across America while coming to understand Steele’s physical and spiritual transition into womanhood along the way, is being released at the height of an election season that sees two candidates who are diametrically opposed on issues relating to LGBTQ rights. Despite this timing, in a recent interview with The Independent, Ferrell explained how the efforts of this project go beyond politics.

“There is hatred out there,” he said. “It’s very real and it’s very unsafe for trans people in certain situations. But I don’t know why trans people are meant to be threatening to me as a cis male.

We’re fully in the fall now, which means a few things for movie fans — summer blockbuster season is behind us (which means some of the biggest hits are about to hit home video), spooky season is very much here and, with festival season underway, awards contenders are starting to roll out in earnest.

All told, there’s a lot to watch out for on streaming right now, so if you’re stuck on endless scroll and not sure what to watch right now, not to worry, here’s a curated list of the best new movies on Netflix in September 2024.

“Jaws” (Universal Pictures) “Jaws” (1975)

Starting things off with a bonafide classic: summer may be over, but it’s never a bad time to watch Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws.” Credited as the first summer blockbuster in cinematic history, the film didn’t just eat up the box office, it’s...

It’s no coincidence that the new Netflix documentary “Will & Harper” was released just a few weeks before Election Day.

The film chronicles a cross-country road trip that Will Ferrell took with former “Saturday Night Live” head writer Harper Steele shortly after her transition.

“When we sat down with Netflix we made it clear that we wanted this out before the election,” Ferrell told me at the film’s Los Angeles premiere. “We wanted it to have enough runway for people to get to see it and hopefully start having important discussions in their living rooms.”

Since premiering at the Sundance Film Festival in January, Harper said that she’s been hearing from a “lot of parents and kids” who want to see the movie.

“We’ve heard from people who say they can’t wait to see this with friends and family who maybe don’t share the...

Our top pick this week, “Inside Out 2,” is a shoo-in for a Best Animated Feature nomination, though it will face some stiff competition for the actual trophy from “The Wild Robot.” Pixar’s film does have the advantage of being the highest-grossing movie of the year and the highest-grossing animated film of all time. The box office doesn’t necessarily equal quality, but it does equal people actually seeing the movie, which is most of the battle.

The sequel to 2015’s Best Animated Feature winner is set inside the mind of Riley, who was 11 in the first movie and is now 13, which means she’s having some feelings she’s never felt before. This means Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler) and her fellow emotions have to deal with the arrival of these personified new emotions, which are led by Anxiety (voiced by Maya Hawke). Will Anxiety take over and leave no room for Joy,...

Call us a hearty sandwich on The Empire Podcast this week folks because our latest episode is jam-packed! In a three interview, five guest week, first up our very own Chris Hewitt sat down to chat with Saoirse Ronan — producer-star of new drama The Outrun — and her co-star Paapa Essiedu to talk about bonding, improvisation, and shooting on location [19:13 - 33:45 approx]. Next up, director Josh Greenbaum talks to us about new Netflix offering Will & Harper, an excellent documentary that follows Will Ferrell and his writer friend of three decades, Harper Steele, on a cross-country road trip in the aftermath of Harper's recent transition to living as a woman [54:27 - 1:13:03 approx]. And last but most certainly not least, there's a big chunk of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice spoiler special goodness as we indulge in a spoilerific chat with the film's writers and executive producers, Alfred Gough and Miles Millar [1:40:01 - 1:55:27 approx].

Sandwiched between all that guest-based goodness,...

The key to any good road movie is a great soundtrack, and “Will & Harper” does not disappoint. The new Netflix documentary chronicles a two-week roadtrip across the United States with Will Ferrell and Harper Steele, and throughout the hilarious and emotional journey, a killer lineup of songs plays.

Steele was a writer on “SNL” and worked with Ferrell on his weirder films and projects (like that Lifetime movie with Kristen Wiig), and Steele transitioned during the pandemic. Ferrell proposed they take a road trip together, during which Steele welcomes the opportunity for Ferrell to ask a number of questions about her transition while also venturing into potentially dangerous situations (like dive bars in Oklahoma) knowing Ferrell has her back. It’s sweet and emotional, but also feels truly important and potentially life-changing for many.

The soundtrack includes road trip classics from the likes of Bob Dylan and The Band,...

Will Ferrell and his longtime friend and collaborator, Harper Steele, are the subjects of a new documentary, Will & Harper, detailing their cross-country road trip in the wake of Steele’s coming out as transgender. Ahead of its premiere on Netflix, Ferrell opened up about his support for the trans community and decried the irrationality of transphobia.

“I think we fear what we don’t know,” Ferrell told The Independent when asked if transphobia exists. “There is hatred out there. It’s very real and it’s very unsafe for trans people in certain situations… But I don’t know why trans people are meant to be threatening to me as a cis male. I don’t know why Harper is ‘threatening’ to me.”

He continued, “It’s so strange to me, because Harper is finally… her. She’s finally who she was always meant to be. Whether or not you...

As far as comedy is concerned, Will Ferrell is definitely one of the most recognizable names in Hollywood today. And while not everyone likes his brand of humor, he has had some memorable roles and is generally considered to be one of the good guys, as far as Hollywood stars are concerned.

Currently, Ferrell is promoting his new documentary, Will & Harper, which is going to be released today, on September 27, 2024 on Netflix. The documentary chronicles the friendship between Ferrell and fellow comedian Harper Steele, as they embark on a a 17-day road trip across the United States.

Steele is a trans person, and in light of that fact, Will Ferrell discussed the issue of transgender people in today’s society, as well as the issue of transphobia, concluding that trans people don’t pose a threat to anyone. In the paragraphs below, we are going to present you with...

Six-time Emmy-winner and one-time Tony nominee Will Ferrell appears in a new documentary, “Will & Harper,” now streaming on Netflix. The film, which is getting an awards push from the streamer, showcases a cross-country trip in which Ferrell and his friend and collaborator of 30 years, comedy writer Harper Steele, reconnect following Steele’s gender transition. It features a good many zings but also scenes of genuine emotion.

Speaking to The Independent, Ferrell, who uses his celebrity as something of a de-escalation technique when the duo encounter awkward situations on their journey, was asked why transphobia exists.

“I think we fear what we don’t know,” the beloved comic actor said.

He continued, “There is hatred out there. It’s very real and it’s very unsafe for trans people in certain situations. But I don’t know why trans people are meant to be threatening to me as a cis male.

Harper Steele is my kind of woman.

A dyed-in-the-wool Midwesterner, the former "Saturday Night Live" writer is effortlessly funny, has a perfect grasp on the art of lovingly poking fun at her celebrity friends, boasts an enviable collection of fashion eyewear, and finds solace in dive bars, cheap beer, and whatever weird flavor of Pringles she can find. Men in flyover states are constantly clamoring for more women like Steele — women who can hang, so to speak — but Steele is a transgender woman who transitioned later in life, which makes her a pariah in the circles that would otherwise view her as a demigod. This makes it difficult for her to pursue one of her greatest joys, driving cross-country and making stops at hole in the walls along the way.

Fortunately, one of Steele's longest friendships is with Will Ferrell, one of the most recognizable actors in the world. Thanks to characters like Ron Burgundy,...

Will Ferrell is declaring himself a friend to the transgender community with his heartfelt documentary.

The Golden Globe nominee denounced transphobia as he promoted Will & Harper, premiering Friday on Netflix and in select theaters, shining a spotlight on his longtime friendship with trans co-star and former Saturday Night Live writer Harper Steele.

“I think we fear what we don’t know,” Ferrell told The Independent when asked why he thinks transphobia exists in our culture.

“There is hatred out there. It’s very real and it’s very unsafe for trans people in certain situations,” he added. “But I don’t know why trans people are meant to be threatening to me as a cis male. I don’t know why Harper is threatening to me.

“It’s so strange to me, because Harper is finally… her. She’s finally who she was always meant to be. Whether or...