{"id":145905,"date":"2025-11-21T05:39:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T05:39:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/145905\/"},"modified":"2025-11-21T05:39:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T05:39:23","slug":"steven-spielberg-toasts-oscar-hopeful-hamnet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/145905\/","title":{"rendered":"Steven Spielberg toasts Oscar hopeful \u2018Hamnet’"},"content":{"rendered":"

To weep, or not to weep? That was the question as LA\u2019s swanky Academy Museum of Motion Pictures was filled with a cacophony of sniffles on Tuesday night at the premiere of the heartbreaking Oscar hopeful \u201cHamnet.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Based on the acclaimed 2020 novel of the same name by Maggie O\u2019Farrell, \u201cHamnet\u201d follows William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his wife, Agnes (Jessie Buckley), as they fall in love, build a family and cope with a devastating loss that leads William to pen his acclaimed masterpiece \u201cHamlet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ahead of the premiere screening, Steven Spielberg, who produced the film, praised director Chloe Zhao\u2019s singular vision<\/a>, telling the audience, \u201cDirectors are always searching for stories to tell, but sometimes, the story tells us which director it wants to belong to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chlo\u00e9 Zhao\u2019s \u201cHamnet\u201d is getting early Oscar buzz. Focus Features via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Steven Spielberg produced director Zhao\u2019s latest film. Focus Features via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Hollywood icon added: \u201cChloe Zhao was the director that Maggie O\u2019Farrell\u2019s book \u2018Hamnet\u2019 found its way to, and there was no other choice that could have possibly been made in the world. They found their way to each other \u2014 the book and Chloe. They were made for each other. The power of empathy, which is Chloe\u2019s superpower, made this match inevitable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spielberg continued his speech by advocating for emotional films like \u201cHamnet\u201d to get their due in movie theaters, by adding, \u201cMaggie\u2019s heart and Chloe\u2019s soul made them the perfect pair to collaborate in adapting this book to the screen\u2026 A big movie screen, like this one I\u2019m standing in front of. The kinds of screens that we are fighting the tides to keep filled with not just blockbuster, epic, escapist movie rides, but sensitive and intimate portraits of marriage and family, and the life altering epiphanies that spring from heartache and heartbreak, like the film you are about to see. There needs to be room for films like Chloe\u2019s on screens like these. I am so proud to be one of the producers who got to watch Chloe make this little miracle of a movie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe Alwyn co-stars in the Focus Features film. Focus Features via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Christina Hendricks was among starry attendees at the premiere. Focus Features via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Early Oscar predictions<\/a> favor Buckley to take home the gold for best leading actress, in addition to expected nods<\/a> for best picture, supporting actor Mescal and director Zhao (who previously won the Academy Award for her 2020 film \u201cNomadland\u201d).<\/p>\n

Irish actress Buckley,<\/a> who rose to prominence stateside for roles in series like \u201cChernobyl\u201d and \u201cFargo,\u201d stunned in a sophisticated black and white gown with a deep plunging neckline. <\/p>\n

The film screened at LA\u2019s Academy Museum. Focus Features via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Co-star Joe Alwyn<\/a> was dapper on the carpet in a textured gray suit jacket with black lapels.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHamnet\u201d from Focus Features, the specialty film arm of Universal Pictures, is expected to make a strong showing in this year\u2019s awards race with \u201cBugonia\u201d led by Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons<\/a>, in addition to the Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson starrer \u201cSong Sung Blue.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Despite the somber tone of \u201cHamnet,\u201d its stars were all smiles as they toasted the project during an after-party in the museum\u2019s ritzy rooftop tea room. <\/p>\n

Attendees were treated to a smattering of quintessentially British bites, including chicken pot pie and fish & chips, to match the film\u2019s pastoral English setting.<\/p>\n

Zhao previously won the Academy Award for her 2020 film \u201cNomadland.\u201d
\n Focus Features via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Designer Jeremy Scott was also spotted the the starry screening. Focus Features via Getty Images<\/p>\n

In attendance at the starry affair were \u201cBrat\u201d hitmaker Charli XCX, \u201cSuperman\u201d actress Isabela Merced, \u201cMad Men\u201d alum Christina Hendricks, \u201cGirls\u201d star Zosia Mamet and \u201cCobra Kai\u201d standout Peyton List.<\/p>\n

\u201cHamnet\u201d opens in a limited run on Nov. 26 before expanding to more screens on Dec. 5.<\/p>\n

Bring tissues!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"To weep, or not to weep? That was the question as LA\u2019s swanky Academy Museum of Motion Pictures…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":145906,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6334,430,156,593,42506,409,111,139,69,3431,3482,4982],"class_list":["post-145905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-academy-awards","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-film","tag-focus-features","tag-movies","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-premieres","tag-red-carpet","tag-steven-spielberg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145905\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}