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Fox Searchlight’s “The Favourite,” directed by rising art-house star Yorgos Lanthimos, led the field of film nominees for the 24th annual #CriticsChoiceAwards . . . A few paces behind was Disney’s “ #BlackPanther” with 12 nominations and Universal’s “First Man” with 10. Disney’s “Mary Poppins Returns,” Warner Bros.’ “#AStarIsBorn” and Annapurna’s “Vice” each earned nine nominations. Netflix’s “Roma” scored eight nominations while Universal’s “Green Book” picked up seven. Those films joined Focus’ “BlacKkKlansman” and Annapurna’s “If Beale Street Could Talk” in the best picture field, historically a prognosticative snapshot of the motion picture Academy’s ultimate lineup. In the BFCA’s genre categories (action, comedy and sci-fi/horror), films such as “Avengers: Infinity War,” “Mission: Impossible – Fallout,” “Crazy Rich Asians,” “Game Night,” “Annihilation” and “A Quiet Place” all received recognition. Winners will be revealed at the 24th annual Critics’ Choice Awards gala, bro...

From Halle -loo to Hollywood, three-time RuPaul’s Drag Race eliminee Shangela is sashaying proof you don’t need a crown to hone a royal strut. She made a name for herself in 2011, popping out of a Tiffany box and into the reality competition show’s third cast of competing queens, among which she’d ultimately finish in sixth place. Now, nearly a decade later, the 36-year-old is about to pop off at the box office at the top of her game with a scene-stealing role as the drag mother to Lady Gaga’s bar-singing budding superstar, Ally, in Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut A Star Is Born .  ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Shangela, it’s so great to speak with you. We  can’t get rid of you! SHANGELA:  Baby, I’m back again! That’s what I always do: I come back. I just keep popping up everywhere, honey. But no one’s complaining. You’re at the top of your game on this huge tour and starring in this huge film with  lots of Oscar buzz , so I think I speak for everyone who was with ...

The “A Star Is Born” soundtrack is a star in its own right. Sources watching retail reports come in from the album’s first five days of sales say it’s expected to debut with more than 200,000 copies sold in its first week, not accounting for streaming or other forms of consumption. Official figures won’t be announced till Sunday. But if those numbers hold up, it would be the biggest week in pure album sales for the soundtrack to a movie musical since “Frozen” in 2014. A figure over 200,000 would also give “A Star Is Born” easily the best opening tally for any soundtrack in 2018, surpassing another Interscope release that currently holds that title, “Black Panther: The Album.” The album’s success is vindicating the strategy to withhold all of the music — with the exception of a single, “Shallow” — until the day of the movie’s release last Friday. That plan may have come about primarily from a desire to keep the songs as surprises for moviegoers as the tunes pop up in key emotional ...

It is far easier to forgive a film for a weak first half than a weak second half. The films I’ve been seeing at Venice this week almost all pass the two-hour mark — a lot of big, long movies that beg a joke about the nearly all-male competition lineup that I am just going to let you make for yourself. But it should be noted that some have had an easier time sustaining themselves through that run time than others. Two of the most anticipated titles of the festival had their premieres on Friday, and you could feel the security tighten on the Lido in preparation for Lady Gaga’s plumage to land on the red carpet (it was not a victimless frenzy). The first half of A Star Is Born, Bradley Cooper’s remake of Hollywood’s favorite story it tells itself, are among the most exhilarating of any film you’ll see this year; unabashedly wish-fulfillment porn but through an electrically intimate, contemporary lens. Lady Gaga, famously made-under in her feature film debut, is Ally, a food service emp...