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The Visual Effects Society just made the Oscar race for Best Visual Effects a lot more interesting, crowning Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes as its choice for top Photoreal Feature Tuesday night at the 23rd Annual Ves Awards. The Apes win came over a field that included heavy Academy Awards favorite Dune: Part Two along with Better Man, Mufasa: The Lion King, and Twisters.

However, the Ves feature award turned out not to be such an accurate predictor of the Oscar winner a year ago, with The Creator winning at Ves, while Godzilla Minus One snared visual effects at the Academy Awards. Avatar: The Way of Water took home both in 2023.

The Apes victory was especially surprising in that it was the film’s only win of the night, while Dune otherwise dominated in tallying four wins, the most of any photoreal feature. Those included triumphs for Best Environment,...

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes scored the top honor, outstanding visual effects in a photoreal feature, at the 2025 Visual Effects Society Awards.

Dune: Part Two led the winners list with four wins in the feature categories, while The Wild Robot was named top animated film with four wins as well. Shogun won best photoreal episode, winning three awards. The Penguin also won three awards.

The Ves Awards recognizes “outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in film, animation, television, commercials, video games and special venues,” according to the organization. This year, comedy duo The Sklar Brothers made their debut as the hosts of the show, while Keanu Reeves presented the Ves Award for Creative Excellence to Shogun actor-producer Hiroyuki Sanada.

Computer graphics researcher Paul Debevec presented VR/Immersive Technology pioneer Dr. Jacquelin Ford Morie with the Georges Melies Award, while Michael Dougherty presented VFX supervisor Takashi Yamazaki with the Visionary Award.

“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” won Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature, the top feature prize at the 23rd Annual Visual Effects Society Awards and the one that most closely corresponds to the Oscar for Best Visual Effects. The celebration of achievement in visual effects took place on Tuesday in Los Angeles.

The sci-fi primate sequel beat “Dune: Part Two,” which went into the evening with the most nominations (seven) and emerged with the most wins (four): Outstanding Achievement in a Photoreal Feature, Outstanding CG Cinematography, Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature and Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in a Feature.

The victory for “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” does not necessarily make the film a frontrunner in the Oscars’ visual-effects race. Over the 22 years of Ves Awards, the winner went on to receive the Oscar 12 times, but the two groups have only matched three times in the last 10 years.

“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” won the top VFX prize for Best Photoreal Feature at the 23rd annual Visual Effects Society Awards, held February 11 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel and hosted by The Sklar Brothers (“What We Do in the Shadows”). This marks the fourth Ves win for the “Apes” franchise and Wētā FX, which also took home the character award for the Robbie Williams CG chimp from “Better Man.”

But “Dune: Part Two” bolstered its status as the VFX Oscar frontrunner for Dneg by grabbing the most live-action awards with four: Oscar-nominated Greig Fraser’s CG cinematography for Arrakis, the Arrakeen Basin environment, simulations for atomic explosions and wormriding, and compositing and lighting.

However, DreamWorks’ “The Wild Robot” earned top animated film honors and also won four awards. “Civil War,” meanwhile, won the supporting VFX prize for Framestore.

“Shōgun” was named Best Photoreal Episode and snagged three...

“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” won the top Visual Effects Society Award for outstanding VFX in a photoreal feature at the 23rd Visual Effects Society Awards. Yet Tuesday at the Beverly Hilton, the Society spread the wealth, awarding three trophies, the most in the live-action feature categories, to “Dune: Part Two.”

In “Kingdom,” VFX studio Weta FX led by its production VFX supervisor Erik Winquist worked to advance the realism of its emotive apes in areas such as facial animation and muscle simulation, while placing them in environments including rapids and a great flood.

The sequel to 2021’s VFX Oscar and top Ves winner “Dune”, which again features key work by Dneg led by production VFX supervisor Paul Lambert, collected prizes in the categories for CG cinematography, for the Arrakeen Basin; effects simulation, for the atomic explosions and wormriding; and compositing and lighting, for wormriding, geidi prime, and the final battle.

It was a rather curious night at the 23rd Ves Awards, which were handed out Tuesday at the Beverly Hilton.

The Visual Effects Society knelt before The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, handing it the marquee prize for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature — but it was the lone win on six nominations for the 10th film in the venerable franchise.

The bigger winners with four apiece were Dune: Part Two, which came into the night with a leading seven nominations, and The Wild Robot, hot off dominating the Annie Awards over the weekend.

That raises a question: Which film has the inside track for the Oscar next month?

Well, the Ves Awards and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences haven’t followed the same script much during the past decade-plus, with only five of the Visual Effects Society’s marquee winners since 2013 going on to score the FX Oscar.

Willie Nelson is preparing for the 10th annual Outlaw Music Festival Tour, which will see him make 35 stops across 22 states.

The tour is scheduled to begin in Arizona on May 13 and conclude in Wisconsin on Sept. 19.

Willie Nelson & Family will be accompanied by Bob Dylan, Billy String, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Sheryl Crow, Charles Wesley Godwin, Lucinda Williams, Sierra Hull, Waylon Payne, Willow Avalon, Myron Elkins, Tami Neilson, Madeleine Edwards, Lily Meola, Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers, Trampled by Turtles, Waxahatchee, The Avett brothers, The Red Clay Strays, Turnpike Troubadours, The Mavericks, Lake Street Dive and Wilco.

In a statement, Nelson shared, “What an amazing lineup to celebrate my 10th Anniversary of the Outlaw Music Festival Tour.”

He continued, “I can’t wait to join friends and family in bringing this celebration to the fans we love.”

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The Visual Effects Society has chimed in on the awards season conversation.

On Tuesday, the visual effects industry’s global honorary society announced nominees for the 23rd Annual Ves Awards — with top Best Visual Effects Oscar contenders Better Man, Dune: Part Two, and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes among the films recognized.

Dune: Part Two led the way among photoreal features with seven nominations, including Best Feature. The Wild Robot led all animated films with five nominations; Shōgun and The Penguin earned four bids each on the TV side.

Wicked and Gladiator II, which are currently predicted to land among the Best Visual Effects Oscar nominees later this month, were both absent from the Best Feature lineup. Instead, the Ves Awards went with Mufasa: The Lion King and Twisters. Last year, just two of the five Best Visual Effects Oscar nominees were similarly nominated in the Ves Awards...

The Visual Effects Society (Ves) is the entertainment industry’s only official organization representing the extended global community of visual effects practitioners, including supervisors, artists, producers, technology developers, educators, and studio executives. The 5,000-member Ves body has now selected nominees for its 2025 awards honors in features, animation, television, commercials, games, and new media, as well as the VFX supervisors, VFX producers, and hands-on artists who bring their work to life.

“Dune: Part Two” leads the photoreal feature film field with seven nominations, although nominations include character work on “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” as well as “Better Man” and nominations for the virtuosic digital camerawork in Episode 4 of “House of the Dragon” Season 2, “The Red Dragon and the Gold.”

“The Wild Robot” is the top animated contender with five nominations. “Shōgun” and “The Penguin” each received four nominations in the episodic field, with “The Penguin” also nominated for...

The Visual Effects Society (Ves) announced its nominees for the 2025 Ves Awards, a celebration which annually “recognizes outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in features animation, television, commercials, games and new media.”

Dune: Part Two led the film nominations with seven nods, while Shogun and The Penguin tie in the episodic field with four each. The Wild Robot led the animation field with five.

“The artistry, ingenuity and passion of visual effects practitioners around the world have come together to create remarkable imagery,” says Kim Davidson, Ves Chair. “We are seeing best in class work that elevates the art of storytelling and exemplifies the spirit of innovation. The Ves Awards is the only venue that showcases and honors these outstanding artists across a wide range of disciplines, and we are extremely proud of our nominees.”

The nominees in 25 categories were selected by Ves members at 49 in-person and virtual panels around the world.

Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday celebration gathered an eclectic group of well-wishers including Neil Young, Snoop Dogg, and The Chicks for the first of two performances at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl on Saturday. Watch fan-captured footage from the event below.

“Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90, A Star-Studded Concert Celebrating Willie’s 90th Birthday” kicked off with perhaps the roster’s youngest performer, Billy Strings, who played two Shotgun Willie staples, “Whiskey River” and “Stay a Little Longer.” He later returned to back Bob Weir on a rendition of “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” from Nelson’s classic 1975 LP, Red Headed Stranger, which received further looks from the likes of Norah Jones, Beck, and Tyler Childers.

Country as a genre was well represented between The Chicks, Margo Price, Chris Stapleton, Miranda Lambert, and more, but the set also spanned Nelson’s many musical phases and stages with covers from Tom Jones,...

Both have received 10 nominations.

Colm Bairéad’s debut The Quiet Girl (An Cailín Ciúin) and Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast are the joint frontrunners for the 2022 Irish Film And Television Academy (IFTA) awards, with 10 nominations each.

The Quiet Girl is an Irish-language drama telling the story of a young girl’s summer break away from her dysfunctional family in 1980s Ireland, when she stays with a foster couple. It is set to receive its premiere as the opening film at the Dublin International Film Festival tomorrow, and recently won the grand prize in the Generation Kplus strand at the Berlinale.

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The awards took place virtually last night (July 4).

Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon’s Oscar-nominated feature Wolfwalkers has won best film at the Irish Film and Television Awards (IFTAs).

The IFTAs also honoured Element Pictures’ Normal People, with the series winning many of the top TV categories including drama, script, director (Lenny Abrahamson) and lead actor (Paul Mescal).

The awards took place virtually last night (July 4), with several high-profile guests including Mark Hamill, Josh Brolin and Olivia Colman presenting awards.

The late Nika McGuigan was awarded the best actress IFTA for her work on Cathy Brady’s directorial debut, Wildfire.

The Academy Award-nominated animated feature “Wolfwalkers,” from Kilkenny-based studio Cartoon Saloon, has won Best Film at the Irish Film and Television Awards this evening.

It is the second time an animated feature has won in the category, the first being Cartoon Saloon’s “Song of the Sea” in 2015.

“Avengers: Endgame” star Josh Brolin presented the award for Best Film. “My own story with Ireland is that at 20 years old I was in Dublin, and I blindly walked into a theatre on a movie called ‘My Left Foot,’ and left a changed man,” he recalled. “With the rest of my very little money that same trip, I saw the Cusack’s do ‘The Three Sisters’ at the Gate Theatre and was again changed. I also read ‘A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man’ that same trip. Ireland has had a massive impact on me, so I just wanted to...

Winners have been announced for the 2021 Irish Film & Television Academy Awards, which took place virtually this year. Scroll down for the full list.

Hit TV series Normal People dominated the small screen awards, winning nine from its 15 nominations. The show took prizes including Best Drama, Best Director Drama for Lenny Abrahamson, and Best Actor for Paul Mescal.

Receiving his prize, Mescal thanked producers Element Pictures and director Lenny Abrahamson, and also described co-star Daisy Edgar-Jones as “one of the most incredible actresses working in our industry.”

Animated feature Wolfwalkers took the Best Film prize, only the second time in history that an animation has won the award, following Song Of The Sea in 2015, which also came from the the Kilkenny-based Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon.

Josh Brolin presented the award, saying: “My own story with Ireland is that at 20 years old I was in Dublin, and I blindly walked into...

Ed Bruce, a singer/songwriter and actor who had his own run of hits on the country charts but was best known for co-writing Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings’ “Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” has died at age 81. He died in Clarksville, Tenn. and the cause of death was given as natural causes.

Bruce was also recognized for playing the second lead to James Garner on NBC’s 1981-82 “Bret Maverick,” a one-season reboot of “Maverick,” as well as writing and singing the show’s theme song.

Of “Mammas,” one of the most iconic country hits of all time, Bruce said in a 2012 interview, “It was a top 15 record for me. And actually when I finished writing it, there was a question of whether I was gonna record it or whether I wanted pitch it to Waylon. There was no doubt in my mind it was a No.

Ed Bruce, the country singer-songwriter behind hits including “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” died Friday, January 8th in Clarksville, Tennessee, from natural causes, according to his publicist. He was 81.

William Edwin Bruce Jr. was born December 29th, 1939, in Keiser, Arkansas, and raised in nearby Memphis, Tennessee. That put him in close proximity to Sun Records engineer Jack Clement and owner Sam Phillips, who signed him at 17 to release the 1957 rockabilly side “Rock Boppin’ Baby.”

Bruce would later record with RCA and Wand/Scepter, but...

Ed Bruce, the singer and songwriter who got his start during the Sun Records rockabilly era and went on to write or record a long string of country chart-makers, died of natural causes today in Clarksville, Tennessee. Bruce, who sidelined as an actor on such TV series as James Garner’s 1981 Maverick sequel and 1980’s The Chisholms, was 81.

His death was announced by publicist Jeremy Westby.

A cowriter of the country classic “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” Bruce was only 17 when he worked as a recording engineer for Sam Phillips’ Sun Records, where he’d soon writer and record “Rock Boppin’ Baby.” Through the mid-1960s he wrote songs for pop star Tommy Roe, country singer Charlie Louvin, and, later in the decade, charted himself with minor hits “Walker’s Woods” and a cover version of The Monkees’ “Last Train to Clarksville.”

Bigger hits came in the 1970s,...

Exclusive: Ireland-based visual effects studio Ssvfx, whose credits as a supporting player include movies The Irishman and Captain Marvel and HBO series Watchmen and Game of Thrones, has opened offices in Los Angeles and London.

The Los Angeles office in Marina del Rey will be headed up by executive producer Eric Kohler, who has been with the studio since 2016, while the west London operation will be overseen by the team in Dublin.

The company, which currently employs a crew of 100 worldwide, will continue to be headquartered in Dublin, which allows productions the opportunity to capitalize on Ireland’s 32% tax rebate, while now offering the UK’s 25% tax rebate to compliment it.

Day-to-day operations are managed by Head of VFX Ed Bruce and Kohler. Bruce also serves as the Senior Visual Effects Supervisor, overseeing all creative aspects worldwide.

Upcoming projects include Black Widow, Cruella and WandaVision.

The company has had success recently with its “de-aging” effects,...

In 1978, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings recorded Ed Bruce’s “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” for their duets album Waylon & Willie. Forty-plus years later, the outlaw-country pioneers’ sons unite for their own version.

Lukas Nelson and Shooter Jennings cut “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” as the theme song to the Netflix series The Ranch, but a full-length version wasn’t available until now. Nelson and Jennings’ rendition serves as the centerpiece to a new soundtrack to The Ranch,...

Netflix is taking viewers back to The Ranch one last time.

The streamer has dropped the official trailer for the 8th and final part of the series, debuting Friday, January 24.

With us saying goodbye to the characters we've come to know and love, the trailer confirms who gets arrested for murdering Mary's ex, and we are surprised.

The unlucky person is Luke, but we don't even know whether he was the one to do the crime. That will likely be one of the big questions during the final episodes.

The clip also confirms the return of Debra Winger as Maggie Bennett. Maggie will be back on the ranch to spread some holiday cheer.

However, her bombshell announcement will leave the family reeling.

"Raise a glass and get ready to take one last ride to The Ranch. With Iron River Ranch now in a competitor's hands and more trouble on the horizon,...

The Ranch, the Netflix comedy about a Colorado ranching family, will get its own soundtrack of country music. The record arrives January 24th, dovetailing with the premiere of the show’s final season.

While mostly a collection of previously released songs by artists signed to Curb Records (the Nashville label releasing the LP), the soundtrack is distinguished by a duet between Shooter Jennings and Lukas Nelson. The sons of Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, respectively, tackle their fathers’ 1978 hit “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,...

Painter, poet and musician Joni Mitchell turns 75 years old today. Her artistry has encompassed pop, rock, folk and jazz, earning varying degrees of praise and criticism, especially for her more experimental, jazz-centric works, but she remains, unquestionably, one of the most influential songwriters of the past 50 years.

Born Roberta Joan Anderson in Fort MacLeod, Alberta, Canada, and raised in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, she began performing in public, accompanying herself on ukulele, in 1963. In August of that year, she appeared on Ckbi-tv in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, as a one-time replacement for a...

The Visual Effects Society (Ves) today announced the nominees for its 10th Annual Ves Awards ceremony recognizing outstanding visual effects artistry in 23 categories of film, animation, television, commercials, special venues and video games. Nominees were chosen Saturday, January 7 by distinguished panels of Ves members who viewed submissions at the FotoKem screening facilities in Burbank and New York, FotoKem's Spy in San Francisco, and other facilities in London, Sydney, Vancouver and Wellington, Nz.

"The standard of the creative work that is being considered this year is unbelievably high across all categories," said Jeffrey A. Okun, Chair of the Visual Effects Society. "The judges faced a huge challenge because all of the work was so far above the norm. We're honored to have the opportunity to focus the spotlight on the outstanding work that has contributed to some of the highest grossing films and broadcast projects of all time."

As previously announced,...

Country Strong is currently available on Blu-ray and DVD, and we are celebrating this new drama starring Gwyneth Paltrow. We have a new contest running and we're giving away a DVD signed by country music superstar Tim McGraw, who also stars in the movie. This DVD will surely go fast, so enter this contest today.

Winners Receive:

Country Strong DVD signed by star Tim McGraw

Here's How To Win!

Just "Like" (fan) the MovieWeb Facebook page (below) and then leave a comment below telling us why these prizes must be yours!

If you already "Like" MovieWeb, just leave a comment below telling us why these prizes must be yours!

Soon after a rising young singer-songwriter (Garrett Hedlund) gets involved with a fallen, emotionally unstable country star (Gwyneth Paltrow), the pair embark on a career resurrection tour helmed by her husband/manager (Tim McGraw) and featuring a beauty queen-turned-singer (Leighton Meester). Between concerts,...

An emotionally unstable country star gets romantically involved with an up-and-coming singer-songwriter in writer-director Shana Feste's stirring drama Country Strong. Starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Garrett Hedlund, Leighton Meester, and Tim McGraw, the Country Strong Blu-ray and Country Strong DVD will be available this Tuesday, April 12th. To help celebrate this upcoming release, we have a look at the special features with an exclusive behind-the-scenes featurette on the songs of Garrett Hedlund. Check it out in the clip below.

Click to watch Exclusive: Garrett's Songs!

A fallen country star (Gwyneth Paltrow) strives to resurrect her ailing career with a little help from her supportive husband (Tim McGraw), an ambitious young songwriter (Garrett Hedlund), and an emerging country artist (Leighton Meester) with a rapidly growing fan base.

Special Features

Country Strong Soundtrack

movieIQ&#8482+sync featuring the Country Strong playlist

Original Ending

"Shake That Thing" - Extended Performance

Deleted Scenes

Friends In High...

The first poster has surfaced from Sony's Country Strong drama with Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Garrett Hedlund and Leighton Meester in leading roles. Sony film helmed and written by Shana Feste (The Greatest) opens on June 23rd next year and includes Kayla Perkins, Sean Symons, Ed Bruce, Dawn Lyn and Jeffrey Buckner Ford. We've also updated our gallery with the latest images from the film as well. Soon after a rising young singer-songwriter (Hedlund) gets involved with a fallen, emotionally unstable country star (Paltrow), the pair embarks on a career resurrection tour helmed by her husband/manager (McGraw) and featuring...

Screen Gems has released a brand new music video from the upcoming country western drama Country Strong, which will be released in theaters on December 22. Click below to watch star Gwyneth Paltrow perform the title song off the soundtrack to Shana Feste's latest Oscar contender:

Country Strong Music Video by Gwyneth Paltrow

In Country Strong, Garrett Hedlund plays a rising young singer/songwriter who becomes involved with a fallen country singer played by Gwyneth Paltrow. As they embark on a career resurrection tour with her husband/manager (Tim McGraw) and a beauty queen turned singer (Leighton Meester), romantic entanglements and old demons threaten to derail them all.

Country Strong comes to theaters December 22nd, 2010 and stars Garrett Hedlund, Gwyneth Paltrow, Leighton Meester, Tim McGraw, Sean Symons, Kayla Perkins, Ed Bruce, Jeffrey Buckner Ford. The film is directed by Shana Feste.

Screen Gems has released the trailer for Country Strong from writer/director Shana Feste, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Garrett Hedlund and Leighton Meester. The drama opens in select theaters on Dec. 22 before opening wide on Jan. 7.

Country Song Trailer

After a rising young singer-songwriter (Garrett Hedlund) gets involved with a fallen, emotionally unstable country star (Gwyneth Paltrow), the pair embarks on a career resurrection tour helmed by her husband/manager (McGraw) and featuring a beauty-queen-turned-singer (Leighton Meester). Between concerts, romantic entanglements and old demons threaten to derail them all.

Country Strong comes to theaters December 22nd, 2010 and stars Garrett Hedlund, Gwyneth Paltrow, Leighton Meester, Tim McGraw, Sean Symons, Kayla Perkins, Ed Bruce, Jeffrey Buckner Ford. The film is directed by Shana Feste.