Variety has amassed 62 nominations for the Los Angeles Press Club’s 19th annual National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards, including nods for Print Journalist of the Year for Chris Willman and Online Journalist of the Year for Ethan Shanfeld.
In the criticism category, Owen Gleiberman was nominated for film critic (over 1,000 words) as well as music critic and Daniel D’Addario was nominated for theater/performing arts critic. Willman was nominated for music critic, online columnist of the year and print columnist of the year, among other nods.
Several Variety cover stories were recognized as finalists, including Daniel D’Addario’s Jodie Foster cover, Trish Deitch’s Jamie Lee Curtis cover, Shanfeld’s Miley Cyrus cover and D’Addario’s Charlie Hunnam cover.
In the art and photography category, Daniel Doperalski was nominated in the portrait photo, music/theater/arts category for his photo for Variety’s “KPop Demon Hunters” cover.
Shanfeld was also nominated for several other reported features; his “Baywatch” casting call story is up for TV Industry Feature (Over 1,000 Words), while his investigation into the Diddy trial “circus” is up for Music/Performing Arts Industry Feature (Over 1,000 Words).
Winners will be revealed at the Art & Entertainment Journalism Awards on Dec. 6 at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, where Brandi Carlile will be honored with the Humanitarian Award. Variety won 20 prizes at last year’s Arts & Entertainment Awards.
See the full list of Variety finalists below:
JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Print Journalist of the Year
Chris Willman, Variety
Online Journalist of the Year, Tied to an Organization
Ethan Shanfeld, Variety
CRITIC, ANY MEDIA PLATFORM (PRINT, BROADCAST OR ONLINE)
Film Critic
Owen Gleiberman, Variety
Theater/Performing Arts Critic
Daniel D’Addario, Variety
Music Critic
Owen Gleiberman, Variety
Chris Willman, Variety
ANY MEDIA PLATFORM (PRINT, BROADCAST OR ONLINE)
HEADLINE
Chris Willman, Variety, “Who’s Crying? Not Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend, but Most Everyone Else During the Who’s Hollywood Bowl Farewell Shows”
PHOTOGRAPHY/ART (PRINT OR ONLINE)
Portrait Photo, Music/Theater/Arts
Daniel Doperalski, Variety, “The Women of ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ on Overcoming Rejection, ‘Golden’s’ Success and Breaking Boundaries for Korean Culture: ‘Drop the K. It’s No More’”
PRINT ONLINE
Obituary/In Appreciation, Film Personalities
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, “Remembering Robert Duvall, Whose Acting Brilliance Colored in the Light and Dark Sides of Humanity”
Obituary/In Appreciation, TV Personalities
Daniel D’Addario, Variety, “Remembering Eric Dane: From ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ to ‘Euphoria,’ He Went From McSteamy to an Actor of Surprising Depth”
PRINT—NEWSPAPERS OR MAGAZINES
Business, Film
Brent Lang, Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, “Can New Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro Weather AI, Revitalize ‘Star Wars’ and Marvel and Save the Magic Kingdom?”
Business, TV/Streaming
Brian Steinberg, Variety, “CBS News Veers Toward Dysfunction Under Bari Weiss
Following Gaffes at 60 Minutes, Evening News”
Personality Profile, Film Industry (over 2,500 words)
Daniel D’Addario, Variety, “Jodie Foster on Rejecting Studio Movies, Revisiting
‘Silence of the Lambs’ and Whether She Came Out During Her Golden Globes
Speech: ‘They Were Confused’”
Trish Deitch, Variety, “‘I Can’t Not Be Who I Am’: Jamie Lee Curtis on Her 47-
Year Career, Falling in Love With Christopher Guest and Why She Hopes Charlie
Kirk Found God”
Personality Profile, TV/Streaming industry (over 2,500 words)
Daniel D’Addario, Variety, “How Charlie Hunnam Became the Serial Killer From Hell: Inside the Voice Recordings, Psychotic Breakdowns and Terrifying Murders in Ryan Murphy’s New ‘Monster’”
Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, “‘I Wasn’t Trying to Kill Hannah Montana Off’: Miley Cyrus on ‘Reclaiming’ the Disney Icon After 20 Years, Getting Sober and Reuniting With Dad Billy Ray”
Personality Profile, TV/Streaming industry (under 2,500 words)
K.J. Yossman, Variety, “Emilia Clarke on ‘Game of Thrones’ Salary Rumors, ‘Ponies’ Season 2 and Living With Survivor’s Guilt”
Personality Profile, Music Industry (under 2,500 words)
Jem Aswad, Variety, “David Byrne Goes Deep About ‘Who Is the Sky?,’ How to Be a Non-Star, and Why a Talking Heads Reunion Shouldn’t Happen: ‘Be Careful What You Long for’”
Film Industry Feature (Over 1,000 Words)
Daniel D’Addario, Variety, “Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt and Benny Safdie’s Underdog ‘The Smashing Machine’: In a Topsy-Turvy Year, Don’t Count Them Out for Oscars Glory”
TV Industry Feature (over 1,000 words)
Michael Schneider, Variety, “From Jean Smart’s Heart Surgery to a Shocking Lesbian Episode, ‘Hacks’ Ends — and Cements Its Legacy as One of TV’s Best Comedies”
Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, “‘This Whole Thing Is Not Normal’: Inside the ‘Baywatch’ Reboot Casting Call With 2,000 Wannabe Lifeguards”
Music/Performing Arts Industry Feature (over 1,000 words)
Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, “Inside the Diddy Trial Circus: How Screaming Fans, Baby Oil and Street Preachers Turned the Courthouse Into a Madhouse”
TV/Film Industry Feature (under 1,000 words)
Rebecca Rubin, Variety, “Can Timothée Chalamet Save Indie Film? Inside ‘Marty Supreme’s’ Wild Press Tour”
Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, “Call the Doctor: As Hollywood Gigs Dry Up, Actors Are Playing Fake Patients in Real Hospitals”
Columnist
Chris Willman, Variety
Commentary Analyst/Trend, Film
Daniel D’Addario, Variety, “‘Melania’: Why Would Amazon Spend $75 Million on a Movie This Boring?”
Chris Willman, Variety, “With ‘Mother Mary’ as Hollywood’s Latest Implausible Pop Star, Why Does Every Fictional Music Movie Have to Feel So Phony?”
Commentary Analyst/Trend, TV
Leo Barraclough, Variety, “Scott Free Eyes Further Series Adaptations of Ridley Scott and Tony Scott Movies Following ‘Alien: Earth’ and ‘Blade Runner 2099’”
Daniel D’Addario, Variety, “Tony Dokoupil’s ‘CBS Evening News’ Debut Is an Inauspicious Sign of Where CBS News Is Headed”
Michael Schneider, Variety, “Disney Stands Its Ground in the Face of Trump’s Jimmy Kimmel Temper Tantrum and FCC Harassment”
Commentary Analyst/Trend, Music
Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, “Kanye West Said Sorry. Does He Mean It This Time?”
RADIO/PODCASTS
One-On-One Interview, Film Personalities
Jazz Tangcay, Variety, “‘Sinners’ Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw on Filming Buddy Guy’s Cameo, Her Favorite Shot and Shares an Update on Reuniting With Ryan Coogler for ‘The X-Files’”
ONLINE (CONTENT EXCLUSIVE TO THE INTERNET)
Hard News, Film
Naman Ramachandran, Variety, “Inside Ranveer Singh’s ‘Don 3’ Exit,
Bollywood’s Biggest Industry Standoff in Years”
Rebecca Rubin, Variety, “Warner Bros. Sale to Paramount Over Netflix Won’t Save Movie Theaters: ‘Pick Your Poison’”
Hard News, TV/Streaming
Brian Steinberg, Variety, “New ‘60 Minutes’ Boss Will Grapple With Demoralized Staff, High Costs, Hard-Core Attitudes”
Soft News, Film, Business Related
Pat Saperstein, Variety, “How EcoSet Keeps Production Materials Out of the Landfill, While Letting Non-Profits Shop Its Warehouse for Free”
Soft News, Documentaries And Features Related
Chris Willman, Variety, “‘Hitchcock & Herrmann’: Author Steven C. Smith on His
Book About the Greatest Director/Composer Collaboration in Hollywood History, and Why the Two Legends Finally Fell Out”
Soft News, TV/Streaming
Michael Schneider, Variety, “Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Directors Explain All: The Real Wedding, Those Grass People, the Child Who Got the Grammy Award and More”
Todd Spangler, Variety, “How True Crime Podcasters Are Asking Listeners to Help Them Solve Cases”
Soft News, Arts
Chris Willman, Variety, “Hollywood High Forever: Mitski’s Residency Shines a
Fresh Light on the Famed School’s Rich Show-Biz History”
Business, Film
Brent Lang, Rebecca Rubin, Variety, “The Movie Theater Comeback That Wasn’t: Why 2025 Was Such a Dud for Struggling Cinemas”
Business, TV/Streaming
Kate Aurthur, Variety, “Inside Chloé Zhao’s Failed ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Reboot — and Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Shockingly Small Screen Time (EXCLUSIVE)”
Naman Ramachandran, Variety, “The Vertical Revolution: How Microdramas Became a Multi-Billion Dollar Global Phenomenon”
Business, Tech/Design/Arts
Brian Steinberg, Variety, “NBC’s Fast-Paced ‘Gold Zone’ Conjures Visions of Quick-Hit TV Viewing Across Sports, News, Debates”
Diversity in the Film Industry
Naman Ramachandran, Variety, “From TikTok to Cannes: How ‘Elephants in the Fog’ Made Nepal’s Historic Un Certain Regard Breakthrough”
Personality Profile, TV Industry
Marc Malkin, Variety, “Robin Byrd on Going From Porn Actress to TV Host, OnlyFans and Sarah Jessica Parker Producing Her HBO Documentary”
Todd Spangler, Variety, “Why Elle Duncan Left ESPN to Join Netflix: ‘I Wanted to Try and Push Myself and Do Even More Things’”
K.J. Yossman, Variety, “Louis Theroux Interrogates Extremism in the ‘Manosphere’ — and Faces Questions About Antisemitism Himself”
Personality Profile, Film Industry
Jazz Tangcay, Variety, “The Women of ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ on Overcoming Rejection, ‘Golden’s’ Success and Breaking Boundaries for Korean Culture: ‘Drop the K. It’s No More’”
Personality Profile, Theater, Culture And Other Arts
Chris Willman, Variety, “Eddie Izzard on Bringing ‘Hamlet’ to L.A. as a OnePerson, 23-Character Show, After 200 Global Performances: ‘I Want to, as a Trans Person, Give Honor to All the Characters’”
Film Feature, Production, Above-the-Line Creatives
Leo Barraclough, Variety, “How the Director’s Grandma Inspired Her to Make Feel-Good Comedy ‘Agnes & Amir’: ‘She Lived the Story We Were Telling’”
Film Feature, Production, histories
Marc Malkin, Variety, “How I Discovered My Family Connection to the Murder That Inspired ‘Cruising’”
Film Feature, Production/History, below-the-line creatives
Pat Saperstein, Variety, “How ‘One Battle After Another’ Shot Across a ‘Tapestry of California’: Finding the Car Chase Hills, Filming Next to the Border Wall and Consulting With Real Weed-Growing Nuns”
TV/Streaming Feature, Actor-Related
William Earl, Variety, “‘I Negotiate With Hugging’: Nick Offerman Sounds Off on Toxic Masculinity, Turning Down Ron Swanson Roles and ‘Margo’s Got Money Troubles’”
TV/Streaming Feature, Shows, Reviews
Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, “Vince Gilligan and Rhea Seehorn on What ‘Pluribus’ Is Really About, Why Hollywood ‘Needs More Heroes’ and How Silicon Valley Has ‘F—ed Up the World’”
TV/Streaming Feature, Shows, Business/History
Brian Steinberg, Variety, “Savannah Guthrie’s Brave Choice: How Will the ‘Today’ Anchor Return to Morning TV Amid Mom’s Unsolved Disappearance?”
Theater Feature
Chris Willman, Variety, “‘Here Lies Love’: David Byrne and Director Snehai Desai on Adapting the Dance Musical for L.A.’s Taper, and Why Imelda Marcos’ Story Nervously Parallels Contemporary America’s”
Food Feature
Pat Saperstein, Variety, “Chef Sean Brock Reveals the 5 Fats That Flavor the Essential Fried Chicken at Darling Restaurant, Why He’s Obsessed With Vinyl and His Scary Dolly Parton Story”
Culture Feature
Antonio Ferme, Variety, “An NYPD Officer Said I Could Climb A Street Sign After The Knicks Won The NBA Finals: ‘This Is Your Chance’”
Columnist
Chris Willman, Variety
Commentary, Film Business/Politics
Antonio Ferme, Variety, “Sundance on ICE: How the Spirit of Robert Redford Shined Through a Chilling Political Moment”
Commentary Analysis/Trend, Music
Chris Willman, Variety, “Where in the Actual Hell Is Randy Newman? And Other Questions Raised by the New York Times’ Greatest Living American Songwriters List”
