@KennethTuran profile picture
Kenneth Turan @KennethTuran

Film critic Los Angeles Times, NPR's Morning Edition, author, Yiddishist

Joined July 2013
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  • Followers 12,950
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Clear that #Oscars2025 was a victory for American independent film. But what about the Hollywood film that the award was set up to celebrate? Why does Hollywood have difficulty making the kind of movies its voters want to celebrate? A perennial question without a good answer
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Great #Oscars2025 best director speech by Sean Baker making a passionate plea for the theatrical experience. Every word so so true.
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Two victories for "The Brutalist," best score and best actor, resulting in a really moving speech by Adrien Brody. You never know who's going to grab you and not let you go.
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Everyone I know who's seen "I'm Still Here," myself included, has been captivated by it. A film that is truly magic, so fitting that it has won this year's #Oscars2025 best international film award. If you haven't seen it, put it at the top of your list.
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No #0scars award tonight has felt more justified than Lol Crawley for "The Brutalist" cinematography. The film had the kind of epic scope and scale only great visuals can provide, and Crawley provided them again and again.
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After last year's fiasco, #Oscars2025 did a great job on the In Memoriam segment, one of my most anticipated segments. Especially gratifying to see Los Angeles exhibition legend Robert Laemmle among those mentioned.
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Was that really Mick Jagger presenting on #Oscars2025 a few minutes ago? Seems like a hallucination, or maybe Conan O'Brien under heavy makeup. Still not quite believing it happened.
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"No Other Land" was a lock for #Oscars2025 best documentary, but that doesn't make its victory any less gratifying. Terrific speeches by the winning directors. Maybe now a U.S. distributor will step forward ....
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Key wins for "Anora" in screenplay and editing. Is a #Oscars best picture win in its future?
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Zoe Saldana just knocked it out of the park with her Best Supporting acceptance speech. Nothing succeeds in Oscar moments like pure and genuine emotion.
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Why am I watching a "James Bond" dance number on #Oscars2025. Feels like an outtake from the old "Ed Sullivan Show." Unnecessary segments like this are why the Oscars always run way long.
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Had forgotten that Peter Straughan, #Oscars best adapted screenplay winner for "Conclave," also wrote the Gary Oldman "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy." Loved that film - maybe its time to watch it again!
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How great that "Flow" won for #Oscars2025 best animated film. It truly is remarkable and I'm guessing that the independent, non-studio way it was made in Latvia appealed to voters looking for something truly out of the ordinary.
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First major #Oscars2025 award no surprise, well deserved: Keiran Culkin as Best Supporting Actor. Almost missed it - I didn't realize show started at 4 p.m. California time. I did not get the memo ...
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I love this photograph! And I am partial to the book as well, seeing as how I wrote it ....
Jewish Lives
@jewishlives
24 Feb 2025
NEW! Join us on the latest episode of The Jewish Lives Podcast with @KennethTuran, author of "Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg: The Whole Equation," as we explore their extraordinary partnership and role in creating the film industry as we know it. jewishlives.org/podcast
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So happy to get the chance to talk at length about my guys Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg, the subject of my new Jewish Lives dual biography. Listen in and see what you think. @_PodLink pod.link/1476077177/episode/…
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After four long years, my dual biography of Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg is finally out and about in a bookstore near you. You can read all about it here! latimes.com/opinion/story/20…

How two very different men, connected by faith and ambition, built Hollywood's powerhouse MGM

In Kenneth Turan's 'Louis B. Mayer & Irving Thalberg: The Whole Equation,' he explores how the titans' collaboration came to be so consequential, and how their Jewishness influenced their success.

latimes.com
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The path Ingmar Bergman’s grandson took to film directing was not nearly as straightforward as you might imagine. @Carlos_Film has the fascinating tale. nytimes.com/2025/02/05/movie…

Ingmar Bergman’s Grandson Has a Prizewinning Movie of His Own (Published 2025)

With his debut feature, “Armand,” Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel wants to step out of his revered grandfather’s shadow. (Though the movie still contains a secret tribute.)

nytimes.com
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Kenneth Turan retweeted
Yale University Press@yalepress
2 Feb 2025
Replying to @DIESELBrentwood
@DIESELBrentwood bookstore will host a reading and signing with @KennethTuran, author of Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg: The Whole Equation, on Feb. 9, 3 pm PST dieselbookstore.com/event/Ke…
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Thanks so much for this kind mention. Pub date is February 4. Can't believe its almost here1
Frank Malfitano@FrankMalfitano
25 Jan 2025
BOOK OF THE DAY: New look at relationships between giant #OldHollywood moguls #LouisBMayer & #IrvingThalberg who made #MGM the dominant studio of the #1920s & #1930s by the acclaimed highly knowledgeable veteran #filmcritic @KennethTuran #moviebook #biography 🎞️📕
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