Deadline’s Contenders Film: Los Angeles Kicks Off Today With 21 Movies In The Awards-Season Race

Contenders Film: Los Angeles, Deadline’s signature and original Contenders event, kicks off its latest edition this morning at 8:30 a.m. PT at the DGA Theater in Hollywood, giving awards voters the opportunity to experience up close and personal the story of 21 of the awards season’s most acclaimed movies, and to hear directly from the talent responsible.

If you’re not attending in person, click here to launch the livestream.

The year 2024 has been a challenging one for the film community as the actors and writers strikes of last year threw the industry off balance and delayed many films, stopping some right in the middle of production and making it especially hard to stick to planned release dates. What is remarkable is the number of films that did manage to meet release dates and maintain the highest quality that has brought them to our event today.

What a lineup we have, with a variety of movies that are getting their due as genuine awards contenders that deserve to be in the conversation. Think of this event as one-stop shopping, where you will be able to hear firsthand about the triumphs and challenges behind the making of such disparate but intriguing movies.

Set for today’s panel presentations after breakfast are Amazon MGM Studios’ The Fire Inside, My Old Ass, Unstoppable and Challengers; Apple Original Films’ Blitz, Neon’s Anora; Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM’s Nickel Boys; Sony Pictures Classics’ I’m Still Here, The Room Next Door and The Outrun; and Territory Pictures’ Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 — all before lunch.

After the break come panels featuring Bleecker Street/Studiocanal’s Hard Truths, Columbia Pictures’ Saturday Night, DreamWorks Animation’s The Wild Robot, Falling Forward’s Day of the Fight, GVN’s The Performance, Magnolia Pictures’ Thelma, Neon’s Longlegs, Paramount’s Better Man, Roadside Attractions’ The Last Showgirl and Warner Bros Pictures/Legendary’s Dune: Part Two.

The list of attendees is A-list only, with confirmed attendees including Pedro Almodóvar, Pamela Anderson, Sean Baker, Jon Batiste, Gia Coppola, Kevin Costner, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Luca Guadagnino, Mark Hamill, Brian Tyree Henry, Jack Huston, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Jharrel Jerome, Steve McQueen, Mikey Madison, Julianne Moore, Rachel Morrison, Lupita Nyong’o, Josh O’Connor, Amy Pascal, Jeremy Piven, Jason Reitman, Saoirse Ronan, Walter Salles, June Squibb, Tilda Swinton, Denis Villeneuve and Robbie Williams among many others.

Check out the full lineup of movies and guests below, and follow our panel, red carpet and photo studio coverage all day on Deadline.com and via social on #DeadlineContenders. Stay tuned Monday when we launch the streaming site featuring the complete panel videos.

The presenting sponsor for this year’s Contenders Film: Los Angeles is United for Business. Sponsors are Eyeptizer Eyewear, Final Draft + ScreenCraft, and partners are Four Seasons Maui, 11 Ravens and Robina Benson Design House.

Deadline’s Contenders Film: Los Angeles

*In order of appearance; schedule subject to change

8:35 a.m. PT – LIVESTREAM BEGINS

ORION PICTURES/AMAZON MGM STUDIOS

Nickel Boys

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (Actor)

Jomo Fray (Cinematographer)

Jeremy Kleiner (Producer)

RaMell Ross (Writer/Director)

AMAZON MGM STUDIOS

The Fire Inside

Brian Tyree Henry (Actor)

Harry Yoon (Editor)

Rachel Morrison (Director)

Ryan Destiny (Actor)

My Old Ass

Maisy Stella (Actor)

Megan Park (Writer/Director/Executive Producer)

Unstoppable

Anthony Robles (Producer/Subject)

Jharrel Jerome (Actor)

Judy Robles (Subject)

William Goldenberg (Director)

Challengers

Amy Pascal (Producer)

Josh O’Connor (Actor)

Justin Kuritzkes (Writer)

Luca Guadagnino (Director/Producer)

NEON

Anora

Mark Eydelshteyn (Actor)

Mikey Madison (Actor)

Sean Baker (Writer/Director/Producer/Editor/Casting Director)

Yura Borisov (Actor)

TERRITORY PICTURES

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1

J. Michael Munro (Cinematographer)

John Debney (Composer)

Kevin Costner (Writer/Director/Producer/Actor)

Lisa Lovaas (Costume Designer)

APPLE ORIGINAL FILMS

Blitz

Saoirse Ronan (Actor)

Tim Bevan (Producer)

Steve McQueen (Writer/Director/Producer)

SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

I’m Still Here

Fernanda Torres (Actor)

Walter Salles (Director)

The Room Next Door

Julianne Moore (Actor)

Tilda Swinton (Actor)

Pedro Almodóvar (Writer/Director)

The Outrun

Saoirse Ronan (Actor)

MAGNOLIA PICTURES

Thelma

Josh Margolin (Writer/Director)

June Squibb (Actor)

COLUMBIA PICTURES

Saturday Night

Jason Reitman (Writer/Director/Producer)

Jon Batiste (Composer)

DREAMWORKS ANIMATION

The Wild Robot

Chris Sanders (Writer/Director)

Kris Bowers (Composer)

Lupita Nyong’o (Actor)

Mark Hamill (Actor)

FALLING FORWARD

Day Of The Fight

Jack Huston (Writer/Director)

Michael C. Pitt (Actor)

Nicolette Robinson (Actor)

BLEECKER STREET/STUDIOCANAL

Hard Truths

Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Actor)

ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS

The Last Showgirl

Andrew Wyatt (Composer)

Gia Coppola (Director)

Pamela Anderson (Actor)

NEON

Longlegs

Felix Fox (Key Special Effects Makeup Artist)

Kristin Chaar (Key Hair)

Madelaine Hermans (Key Makeup Artist)

WARNER BROS PICTURES & LEGENDARY PICTURES

Dune: Part Two

Denis Villeneuve (Writer/Director/Producer)

Jon Spaihts (Writer)

PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Better Man

Robbie Williams (Actor)

GVN RELEASING

The Performance

Jeremy Piven (Actor/Producer)

Joshua Salzberg (Writer/Executive Producer)

Shira Piven (Writer/Director)