By Kate Connor (she/her)
From cheating scandals to writers’ strikes – Hollywood in 2023 has seen it all! Here’s the rundown of some of the year’s biggest events…
The Oscars
We began 2023 with a bang at the Oscars – Michelle Yeoh was the first Asian woman to win Best Actress, director Guillermo del Toro became the first person to win Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Animated Feature in Oscar history and A24 was the first studio to sweep the top six award categories. A night for the history books!
Barbenheimer
This list would be incomplete without mentioning Barbie. Gracing our screen in July, Greta Gerwig’s highly anticipated movie showed a beautiful portrayal of womanhood, girlhood, and friendship. Gerwig knows how to expertly play with something as well-known as Barbie and make her new again (just look at Little Women!)
The phenomenon surrounding Barbie extended past the confines of our screens. On the week of the release, dress code was firmly “pink”; there was not a single cinema that didn’t include everyone in bubblegum hues. Quite unlikely, Barbie even made it into a double bill. With the release of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer on the same day, many coined the day “Barbenheimer” and would watch the two contrasting movies back-to-back. If I had to sum up the summer of 2023 in one word, it would definitely have to be “Barbie”. Nothing brought more people together than Barbenheimer Day, the kind of togetherness the movie inspired is what films should be about.
SAG-AFTRA
The summer also saw the beginning of Hollywood’s “biggest industry walk out in over 60 years”, with a conclusion still to be fully agreed upon, nearly four months later.
Both SAG-AFTRA and WGA (Writer’s Guild of America) coincided their strike actions, which has now contributed to a loss of 45,000 jobs and an estimated $6.5B loss to the Southern California economy. Strikes began over labour disputes and concerns about AI – many film writers felt they were not paid justly and feared being replaced. Many high-profile actors, such as Florence Pugh, Margot Robbie, Lupita Nyong’o, and Daniel Radcliffe joined the picket line in support of the strike. Many high-profile actors, such as Florence Pugh, Margot Robbie, Lupita Nyong’o, and Daniel Radcliffe joined the picket line in support of the strike.
The strike meant that several projects were forced to postpone production and/or release dates due to the involvement of on-set writers in the strike action. Among such projects included popular shows like Stranger Things and highly anticipated sequels like Dune: Part Two.
Not only did the strikes impact upcoming projects but also recent releases; many movies and TV shows were unable to be promoted. Any promotional content was only allowed to have been pre-recorded prior to the strikes, as further promotion would go against strike guidelines.
Scandals
One story that had everyone talking was the ‘Wicked-cest’ affair. Co-stars Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater were found to have been in a relationship while both had partners and Slater a new-born child at the time. They’re currently living together, so it seems to be going well – despite that with one affair, two marriages were broken.
Wicked Part 1 is set to be released towards the end of 2024.
2024
Speaking of 2024, these next 12 months in film look interesting. It seems to be a year of sequels with a lineup of recognisable titles: Deadpool 3, Inside Out 2, A Quiet Place: Day One, Joker 2, all set to be released – can’t wait!
Fourth year English and Creative Writing Student.
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