Guillermo del Toro To Join George Stevens Lecture on Directing’s Screening of ‘The Greatest Story Ever Told’ – Film News in Brief

By Jazz Tangcay, Payton Turkeltaub, Giana Levy

According To The variety Special guest Guillermo del Toro will join The George Stevens Lecture on Directing’s premiere screening of the newly-restored “The Greatest Story Ever Told” at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. The screening of the 1965 film will take place on Saturday, Jan. 17 at the Academy’s David Geffen Theater in Los Angeles, marking its 60th anniversary. 

A three-time Oscar-winning filmmaker, del Toro will speak about George Stevens, the restoration of “The Greatest Story Ever Told” and the lasting impact the film has had prior to the screening. The George Stevens-directed film’s 4k restoration was initiated by Amazon MGM Studios in honor of film’s anniversary, and was done in collaboration with George Stevens, Jr. and The Film Foundation headed by Martin Scorsese. Guillermo del Toro is a member of the Foundation board. 

In order to digitally restore the film, Kostas Theodosiou, senior colorist at FotoKem, worked from the original 65mm Ultra Panavision Technicolor negative and made 8K scans. Audio restoration was digitally remastered in Dolby Atmos to preserve the original 70mm format channel configuration. The restoration was supervised by Schawn Belston, Scott Grossman, and Darren Gross. The cast of “The Greatest Story Ever Told” includes Max von Sydow, Charlton Heston, Claude Rains, Dorothy Maguire, Jose Ferrer, Sidney Poitier, David McCallum, Martin Landau, Donald Pleasance, Carroll Baker, Telly Savalas, Shelley Winters, Ed Wynn and Van Heflin. Upon it’s initial release, the film received five Oscar nominations.

Tickets to the Academy Museum are only available through advance online reservations via the Academy Museum’s website and mobile app.

Monday, December 22

Noah Schnapp, Quinta Brunson, Marcello Hernández, Colman Domingo and Regina Hall are among the presenters set to appear at the 31st annual Critics Choice Awards.

Additional presenters include Arden Cho, Ali Larter, Alicia Silverstone, Allison Janney, Bradley Whitford, Billy Bob Thornton, Ava DuVernay, Diego Luna, EJAE, Hannah Einbinder, Jeff Goldblum, Jessica Williams, Justin Hartley, Justin Sylvester, Kaley Cuoco, Keltie Knight, McKenna Grace, Michelle Randolph, Owen Cooper, Rhea Seehorn, Sebastian Maniscalco and William H. Macy.

As previously announced, this year’s ceremony will introduce five new categories: variety series, stunt design, sound, casting and ensemble.

“Sinners” leads the Critics Choice Awards film contenders with 17 nominations, followed closely by “One Battle After Another,” which earned 14 nods.

On the television side, Netflix’s “Adolescence” emerged as the leading contender with six nominations, including best limited series. Another series from the streaming giant, the sophomore season of the comedy “Nobody Wants This,” was close behind, securing five nominations.

The documentary lineup will include Kristin Tièche’s “The Invisible Mammal,” Carrie Coaplen’s “Halcyon Daze,”  Marlene “Mo” Morris’ “From Here / From There (De Aquí / De Allá),” Linda Freund’s “The Window on Death Row,”  Andrew Davies Gans’ “Voices: The Danny Gans Story,” Ravit Markus’ “Nina the Athlete” and Ari Ali’s “Broken Dolls and Ben Between Africa.” 

“Reaching our 20th anniversary is both humbling and exhilarating,” said Festival Director Mattie Scariot in a statement. “This year’s program reflects the heart of what PJIFF has championed for two decades —bold voices, inclusive storytelling and communities coming together through film. Our 2026 lineup honors where we’ve been while embracing a vibrant, boundary-pushing future.”

Internationally respected film professional Ron Fogel will serve as a distinguished juror at PJIFF. On April 13, PJIFF will host its annual Mexico y Tú Day, presenting the PJIFF Icon Award to Rick Najera and Grammy-nominated Eugene Rodriguez. Playwright and filmmaker Luis Valdez will be the keynote speaker.