2022

CHICAGO – Season 14 of Chicago’s Asian Pop-Up Cinema (APUC) continues with the Midwest Premiere of “Islands” – written and directed by Martin Edralin – streaming on APUC’s website from April 1st-3rd, 2022, and featuring a post-film Q&A from Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com.

CHICAGO – The person in the middle of The Slap seen around the world – upon Chris Rock by Will Smith at the 94th Academy Awards – was Will’s wife of 24 years, the actor and musician Jada Pinkett Smith. She had shaved her head due to a diagnosis of alopecia, and Chris Rock raised Will Smith’s ire by making a joke about Pinkett Smith appearing in “G.I. Jane 2,” a reference to her military grade style. Jada Pinkett Smith was photographed in 2008 by Joe Arce and interviewed in 2015 by Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com.

CHICAGO – Usually these Oscar wrap ups are ordinary. But in a shocking event at the 94th Academy Awards, eventual Best Actor winner Will Smith slapped presenter Chris Rock after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Oh and by the way, CODA wins the Best Picture in a historic honor.

CHICAGO – Happy Oscar Day! The 94th Academy Awards takes place on March 27th, and Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com conducted two major interviews connected to nominees. Actor David Dastmalchian for “Dune” (Best Picture) and Director Jessica Kingdon for “Ascension” (Best Documentary).

Previous | Image 1 of 9 | Next

Oscar Host Amy Schumer on June 14th, 2012.

CHICAGO – Hollywood is rolling out the Red Carpet for the 94th Academy Awards on Sunday, March 27th, and before the big night it’s time for an Exclusive Oscar Portrait Slideshow.

CHICAGO – Here we go again. Welcome to the annual Oscar Predictions on HollywoodChicago.com, for 2022 (the 94th Academy Awards). The film/entertainment contributors – Patrick McDonald, Spike Walters and Jon Lennon Espino – are joined by guest Michael Glover Smith, the director of the upcoming film “Relative.”



CHICAGO – The Oscars are this upcoming Sunday, March 27th, and one of the great performances of the year – nominated for Best Actress – is Jessica Chastain as Tammy Faye Bakker in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye.” The producer of the film is Gigi Pritzker.

CHICAGO – Of all the films of the recent 2022 SXSW Festival, one documentary stood out as a profile of empathy. Co-directors Zara Katz and Lisa Riordan Seville presented “A Woman on the Outside,” an overview of a Philadelphia activist who advocates for prison reform while actually having – within her own story – three male family members in and out of incarceration.

CHICAGO – As the 2022 SXSW Festival wraps up this weekend, many filmmakers brought their new works, and one that stood out is a new documentary on Voyager, the space probes (1 & 2) that were launched in 1977 and still miraculously are exploring the interstellar galaxy. Filmmaker Billy Miossi profiles the crew keeping tabs on the probes in “it’s Quieter in the Twilight.”

CHICAGO – Groundbreaking filmmakers often start at the South by Southwest Festival. Influencers like the Duplass brothers, Chicago’s Joe Swanberg and Lena Dunham got their first prominent notices at the fest. In that spirit, the 2022 SXSW Grand Jury Awards were announced on March 15th.