"In a deal valued at $16 billion, Nielsen has agreed to sell itself to a consortium of private equity firms led by Evergreen Coast Capital Corp. and Brookfield Business Partners. The $28-per share offer includes the assumption of the measurement giant's debt." - Inside Radio
Even after that change, and after another year of invitees in 2021 that continued the trend, the Academy still stands at 81 percent white and 67 percent male. And, as a THR analysis of the 17 voting branches shows, the gains have been uneven, among the crafts in particular. - The Hollywood Reporter
Jemele Hill: "By that I mean: Black people and white people aren't necessarily talking about the incident in the same way. … I can't help but notice the disproportionate outrage that many people in white America — and many in the Hollywood elite — are showing." - The Atlantic
"But its weirdness is much harder to explain if you can't look at any of its deeply weird clips," most of which have vanished from the Web. "From the start, the channel was staffed by has-beens, oddballs, and extremely young people." - The Atlantic
The early results showed a 56 percent improvement on the 9.6 million people who watched last year’s event, according to ABC, though Sunday night’s show was still the second least-watched Oscars ever. - The New York Times
The Oscars face a litany of problems, some of which are out of the organization’s control and others that are self-inflicted. Those include the unpopularity of the nominees, the fragmentation of the TV audience and the controversial pared broadcast presence of eight awards, meant to preserve ratings. - Los Angeles Times
And yet: "After years of Netflix and Amazon trying to produce and acquire their way to the top—despite the Hollywood old-schoolers who looked down their noses at it—Apple swooped in thanks to a movie it just picked up at Sundance." - Wired
Truly, the first video games were silent. Can you imagine? But: "The hup, as it’s sometimes known, is the onomatopoetic vocalization of effort given by the player-character when initiating a jump." - Wired
The 73-year-old actor was nominated, but didn't win, for his role in Pulp Fiction. "In an emotional acceptance speech, Jackson looked back on his career, noting his early, nameless roles, including what he described as 'Gang Member No. 2' and 'Black Guy.'" - Washington Post
Ariana DeBose was the first out queer actor of color to win a major acting award. CODA? First Best Picture win for a streamer. Jane Campion won her first, and Will Smith won his - not long after mounting the stage to slap comedian Chris Rock. - Los Angeles Times
This one will be heavy on the red carpet and after-party updates; we'll add other live update news sites here (here's NPR; here's Washington Post; here's the Los Angeles Times) as the show gets closer. - Vanity Fair
"Three years ago, Hollywood was engaged in a knock-down, drag-out fight over the future of cinema — what, exactly, constitutes a film — with the Oscars as the boxing ring." Then, well, you know what happened next. - The New York Times
"This past year, there are deaf characters and deaf representation all over the place. A list that includes: Hawkeye, Eternals, A Quiet Place Part II, CODA, and Only Murders in the Building. Deaf creatives are out in full force." - The Smart Set
