ACORN TV
Programming from several countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Ireland, New Zealand, and UK. AMC Networks chief Josh Sapan told The Hollywood Reporter that Acorn TV has "among the lowest churn" among major services owing to its focus as well as viewers' "dedication and affinity" for its content.

Netflix has launched a new pipeline program aimed at launching the “next wave of marquee filmmakers” working in high-concept genres. The Emerging Filmmaker Initiative (EFI) gives three filmmakers the opportunity to develop, fund, produce and distribute their short films on Netflix, with a focus on stories in the sci-fi, action, horror and thriller genres. The initiative is inspired by the trajectory of rising star Stefon Bristol, who Spike Lee first introduced to the streamer to produce his short-turned-feature “See You Yesterday.” The high-impact time-travel tale went on to earn an Independent Spirit Award for best first screenplay and Bristol has set his second project with Netflix, “Gordon Hemingway & The Realm of Cthulhu.” Like “See You Yesterday,” Bristol will direct the upcoming film, also produced by Lee, who recently inked a multi-year creative partnership with Netflix where the streamer will invest in the filmmaker’s ongoing mission to develop new talent...

The Visual Effects Society (VES) announced the nominees for the 20th Annual VES Awards, with Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” leading the feature film field with six nominations. Disney’s “Encanto” also landed six nominations and led the animated contenders. This year marks the Visual Effects Society’s 25th anniversary. VES recognizes outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation across 25 categories in film, animation, television, commercials and video games, plus the VFX supervisors, producers and hands-on artists who bring the work to life. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the VES is still considering the format and timing for this year’s show...

King Richard, Reinaldo Marcus Green‘s film that recounts the origin story of tennis greats Venus Williams and Serena Williams under the oversight of their father, Richard Williams (Will Smith), has won the Los Angeles Press Club’s seventh annual Veritas Award for best film based on or inspired by real events and people, The Hollywood Reporter can exclusively report. The result was determined through a vote of the 1,000-member organization, which was presented with a ballot of 10 films. This year’s runner-up was Tick, Tick … Boom!, a film about the late playwright and composer Jonathan Larson...

After becoming the Sundance Institute’s first official Latinx partner in 2020, The Latinx House will return to the Sundance Film Festival this year with a full calendar of virtual programming. Cofounded by activist Mónica Ramírez, filmmaker Alex Martínez Kondracke and entrepreneur Olga Segura, The Latinx House is a nonprofit initiative that aims to change the portrayal of the Latinx community in the U.S. by elevating and amplifying the voices and content of Latinx artists, entertainers, policy experts and grassroots organizers. “Over the last couple of years, The Latinx House has been able to showcase the unique experiences and perspectives of Latinx filmmakers and creators, while creating a space where our community and allies can uplift and support amazing, not to mention, thought-provoking work,” Segura said in a statement. “Now more than ever, we must continue to build on our presence here at Sundance to share the diverse and unique stories of the Latinx community.”...

The 94th Academy Awards, scheduled to air on ABC March 27, will be the first since the 90th, in 2018, to have a host. Glenn Weiss will direct the Oscars telecast — his seventh consecutive time doing so — with Will Packer serving as producer. Jimmy Kimmel, ABC’s resident late night talker, hosted the Oscars in 2017 and 2018, with 26.62 million people tuning in for the latter telecast. Ratings for 2019’s hostless Oscars actually rose to 29.56 million, before falling in 2020 to 23.64 million and then plummeting last year to 10.40 million...