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Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer and Regina Hall Confirmed as Oscars Hosts

This combination of photos shows Regina Hall, from left, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes, who are in final talks to host the 94th Academy Awards. (AP)
This combination of photos shows Regina Hall, from left, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes, who are in final talks to host the 94th Academy Awards. (AP)
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Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer and Regina Hall Confirmed as Oscars Hosts

This combination of photos shows Regina Hall, from left, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes, who are in final talks to host the 94th Academy Awards. (AP)
This combination of photos shows Regina Hall, from left, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes, who are in final talks to host the 94th Academy Awards. (AP)

Next month's Oscars will be hosted by three doyennes of comedy, Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer and Regina Hall, it was confirmed Tuesday, as organizers amp up efforts to lure viewers back to the ceremony.

It is the first time since 2018 that the Oscars will have a host, the first time since 1987 that it has had three, and the first time ever that all three will be women.

"I'm not sure who thought this was a good idea, but I'm hosting the Oscars, along with my good friend Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall. I'd better go watch some movies," Schumer said in a video clip.

The comedians' names were announced on ABC's Good Morning America (GMA) show. ABC will broadcast the 94th Academy Awards on March 27.

"I know the fun Regina, Amy and Wanda will be having will translate to our audience as well. Many surprises in store! Expect the unexpected!" said the show's producer, Will Packer, in a statement.

Television ratings for the Oscars have dramatically declined in recent years.

Late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel was the last person to host the show, in 2018.

The following year's hostless format drew praise and was emulated by other awards shows such as the Emmys, but subsequent Oscar ceremonies have been criticized for lacking focus and humor.

Last year's edition, which honored mainly smaller, arthouse movies such as best picture winner "Nomadland," was watched by just over 10 million viewers -- a 56 percent decline from 2020, which was already a record low.

As Oscars voters have drifted away from more mainstream fare, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has toyed with reforms to boost the ceremony's popularity.

This year there will be a new "fan favorite" prize for the most popular film as voted for by Twitter users.

The new category was announced after several crowd-pleasing blockbusters including "Spider-Man: No Way Home" and "No Time To Die" failed to earn Oscar nominations in major categories, including best picture.

In 2018, organizers proposed a "popular film" Oscar to honor movies such as the Star War films or Marvel superhero pictures that rake in millions at the box office.

But it swiftly shelved those plans after critics ridiculed the move, and the new "fan favorite" award will not be a formal Oscar category.

Next month's Oscars will return to the ceremony's traditional Dolby Theatre venue in Hollywood, after the pandemic-affected 2021 Academy Awards were held at a Los Angeles train station.

They are being held later than usual, reportedly to avoid clashing with February's Winter Olympics and Sunday's Super Bowl in Los Angeles.

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Entertainment

‘Outcome’ Film Captures Keanu Reeves’ Character at Center of Image Crisis

(From L) Canadian actor Keanu Reeves, US actor Matt Bomer, US actress Cameron Diaz and US actor Jonah Hill attends the premiere of Apple TV's "Outcome" in New York, on April 6, 2026. (AFP)
(From L) Canadian actor Keanu Reeves, US actor Matt Bomer, US actress Cameron Diaz and US actor Jonah Hill attends the premiere of Apple TV's "Outcome" in New York, on April 6, 2026. (AFP)
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‘Outcome’ Film Captures Keanu Reeves’ Character at Center of Image Crisis

(From L) Canadian actor Keanu Reeves, US actor Matt Bomer, US actress Cameron Diaz and US actor Jonah Hill attends the premiere of Apple TV's "Outcome" in New York, on April 6, 2026. (AFP)
(From L) Canadian actor Keanu Reeves, US actor Matt Bomer, US actress Cameron Diaz and US actor Jonah Hill attends the premiere of Apple TV's "Outcome" in New York, on April 6, 2026. (AFP)

In the dark comedy film “Outcome,” Keanu Reeves plays a Hollywood movie star whose carefully crafted public image begins to unravel when he is blackmailed with a mysterious video that threatens his career.

Reeves portrays Reef Hawk, a beloved film icon who turns to his closest circle - including lifelong friends Kyle and Xander, played by Cameron Diaz and Matt Bomer, and ‌his crisis ‌lawyer Ira, portrayed by Jonah Hill - ‌to ⁠contain the fallout. ⁠Hill also directed the film and co-wrote it with Ezra Woods.

As pressure mounts, Reef launches an unconventional apology tour, revisiting people he believes he may have wronged in hopes of uncovering the identity of the extorter.

Hill balances heightened ⁠comedy with moments of emotional reflection, using ‌the premise to ‌explore accountability and authenticity in an era defined by ‌public scrutiny. Reeves said working with Hill on ‌the Apple TV movie brought a distinctive energy to the set.

“Energy, vibrancy, creative yummy,” he described.

Diaz said the film probes what makes an apology ‌meaningful.

“It’s really about the person receiving it,” she said. “Whether it matters is ⁠relative ⁠to their experience."

For Bomer, the story’s focus on friendship resonated during production.

“It made me realize the value of deep friendships that transcend public perception,” he said, adding that the set encouraged creative freedom.

Laverne Cox, who appears as part of Reef’s crisis-management team, said the film poses pointed questions about accountability, highlighting a line delivered by Martin Scorsese in the trailer: “What are you sorry for?”

“Outcome” premieres globally on Apple TV on April 10.

Entertainment

Now It’s All Come Together: Forgotten Beatles Photos Released

The Beatles in New York in 1968. (AFP)
The Beatles in New York in 1968. (AFP)
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Now It’s All Come Together: Forgotten Beatles Photos Released

The Beatles in New York in 1968. (AFP)
The Beatles in New York in 1968. (AFP)

The venue that hosted The Beatles' only concerts in Japan has released long-forgotten photos of the legendary British band six decades after the gigs.

At the height of Beatlemania in 1966, when the quartet was the world's most famous pop group, the Beatles staged five summer performances in Tokyo in front of screaming fans.

Crowds reportedly thronged their hotel, where they stayed in the finest suite.

Then in 2009, more than 100 photos shot during the gigs "were discovered on a shelf" inside an office at the concert venue Nippon Budokan, the arena's operator told AFP.

But the 19 rolls of negative film -- reportedly wrapped in paper and labelled in such a way that it suggested they belonged to Japanese newspaper the Yomiuri Shimbun -- remained "stored as they were" until recently, the operator in a statement.

However, as the 60th anniversary of the Japan tour approached, the venue operator asked a Beatles expert to examine the negatives, and "his assessment revealed that the photos appear to have never been published" in newspapers or other media.

Among the photos released by the concert venue is a shot of John Lennon smiling beside a Japanese doll that resembles a figurine featuring on the album cover of the 1967 album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band".

The global stars were under tight security during their visit, but the doll may have been purchased during a hurried shopping trip, the Yomiuri Shimbun daily said.

The newspaper is investigating who took the photos and why the negatives had been kept in Nippon Budokan despite being wrapped in paper labelled "The Yomiuri Shimbun archives room", it said.

The photos capture "the atmosphere of that one and only Japan tour -- now remembered as a historic event -- as well as various moments from their stay in Japan," the Nippon Budokan statement said.

Entertainment

AI-generated Artists Break Through in Country Music

"Whiskey & Water," a song by Cain Walker featuring Cade Winslow, is one of many AI-generated country music tunes. TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP
"Whiskey & Water," a song by Cain Walker featuring Cade Winslow, is one of many AI-generated country music tunes. TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP
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AI-generated Artists Break Through in Country Music

"Whiskey & Water," a song by Cain Walker featuring Cade Winslow, is one of many AI-generated country music tunes. TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP
"Whiskey & Water," a song by Cain Walker featuring Cade Winslow, is one of many AI-generated country music tunes. TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP

AI-generated singers routinely rank among the top-streamed country music artists in the United States -- a trend that for now is limited to a genre that industry observers fear is becoming too formulaic.

Breaking Rust, Cain Walker, Aventhis, and Outlaw Gospel have more in common that cowboy hats, denim and leather. They are all completely computer-generated, from their faces to their melodies, said AFP.

And they are all hitmakers.

"That's a phenomenon I didn't see coming," said Jennie Hayes Kurtz of the country music band Brother and The Hayes.

"I thought AI was going to be curing cancer or something."

Many of the AI country tunes tap into the genre's archetype of the lone cowboy: a rugged, taciturn, plain-spoken man who, above all, refuses to apologize for simply existing.

Lyrics are delivered in raspy, gravelly voices that sound as authentic as the real thing.

"It's scary as songwriters," said Kassie Jordan, who forms the singing duo Blue Honey with her husband Troy Brooks.

"We are starting to see a lot of people just putting words into these chatbots and it is writing songs for them," she said. "As a songwriter, it's kind of like, is anyone going to even think I really wrote this?"

Berklee College of Music professor Joe Bennett noted that a sampling of AI singers suggests that the words used to "prompt" AI songs were "not particularly detailed."

None of the producers behind AI-generated music projects responded to AFP's requests for comment.

So how did AI find a place in a genre that is fundamentally rooted in the human experience and storytelling, blending folk, blues, and even gospel influences?

For Bennett, the emergence of modern country music in the early 2000s -- with a highly polished, more pop sound and repeated "melodic shapes" -- is key.

AI models could become adept at replicating such a sound, when fueled with those elements, he explained.

- 'Superficial' -

Once overshadowed by rap and Latin music, and hindered by the industry's shift to digital music formats, country music has nevertheless staged a comeback thanks to a generation of artists with stronger pop, not folk, sensibilities.

Following in the footsteps of country-turned-pop megastar Taylor Swift, today's headliners are more likely to sport baseball caps than wide Stetsons.

Their music breaks genre boundaries, while artists such as Beyonce and Post Malone win fans and sell albums with their crossover efforts.

Last year, country stars Morgan Wallen and Zach Bryan were both in the top 10 most streamed artists on Spotify.

Some in the industry believe country's rebirth signifies a dulled-down formula designed to appeal to the widest possible audience.

"The lyrics aren't as deep as they used to be," Jordan said.

"A big portion of popular country music has become kind of shallow, so that is pretty easy to duplicate."

Bennett says the industry must do a better job of identifying AI-generated music, noting that Deezer is the only major streaming platform to clearly label such material.

"We need AI detection," Bennett maintained.

"It will happen, and there is a consumer demand for it."

Hayes Kurtz said there is a large audience of "passive" listeners who don't care whether music is made by AI, but there are also "active listeners" who attend concerts, buy band merchandise, and deeply respect the integrity of the artists.

"That audience seems to really care it the music is made by the actual humans they are going to see," Hayes Kurtz said.

Jordan says she remains optimistic about the future.

"There's another wave of country artists that are coming that is really into doing it the old school way and showing emotion," she said.

"That will be harder for AI to duplicate. That might save the genre."