In this Nov. 11, 2014 file photo, actor Channing Tatum attends a special screening of "Foxcatcher," hosted by the Cinema Society with Details and Brooks Brothers, at The Museum of Modern Art in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) --
As many as six aspiring filmmakers will appear in next year's Academy Awards ceremony, and Channing Tatum will help them get there.
Oscar producers said Wednesday they're bringing back the Team Oscar program that invites young filmmakers to play a role in the awards show. Craig Zadan and Neil Meron say Tatum will once again serve as spokesman for Team Oscar and help choose its members.
The actor posted a video on YouTube inviting students to submit a 60-second video through the film academy's Facebook page to audition. American citizens ages 18 to 30 are eligible, and submissions are due Jan. 12.
The winning artists will be flown to Los Angeles to participate in Oscar week activities and appear on the Oscar ceremony as trophy carriers.
Cynthia Erivo attends the National Board of Review Awards gala at Cipriani 42nd Street on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
Cynthia Erivo, who is starring in the hit musical "Wicked," was named Tuesday as the 2025 Woman of the Year by Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals.
The theater group, which dates to 1844 and claims to be the world's third-oldest still operating, said Erivo will receive her Pudding Pot award at a celebratory roast Feb. 5. Afterward, she will attend a performance of Hasty Pudding Theatricals' 176th production, "101 Damnations." Actor Jon Hamm, who came to fame starring as ad executive Don Draper on the AMC series "Mad Men," is the 2025 Man of the Year. He will receive his Pudding Pot Jan. 31.
"We are holding space for Cynthia Erivo's arrival," Man and Woman of the Year Events Coordinator Hannah Frazer said in a statement. "We're sweeping out our broomstick closets and prepping some wicked smart humor as we eagerly await her in February. Before she flies off with her Pudding Pot, she'll have to work a little magic to earn it."
Along with starirng in the smash hit musical, the British entertainer is a two-time Oscar nominee and an Emmy Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award winner.
Erivo burst onto the scene with her brilliant performance in the Broadway revival of "The Color Purple." winning her the 2016 Tony for best actress in a musical. She performed songs from the play on the "Today" show, earning the Daytime Emmy for outstanding music performance in a daytime program. And the show's soundtrack won best musical theater album at the 2017 Grammys.
Last year, Erivo starred in and produced "Drift," which follows a young Liberian refugee who has escaped her war-torn country to a Greek island. In 2021, Erivo was nominated for an Emmy for her portrayal of Aretha Franklin in the National Geographic series "Genius:... Read More
