WIRE Buzz: Kodi Smit-McPhee heats up 2067 trailer; Oscars diversity requirements introduced

A slow burn this is not.

The trailer for the Australian sci-fi odyssey 2067 has just debuted, courtesy of Collider. And by the looks of things, Earth's in the fight of its life as climate change has ravaged the planet and left civilization hanging by a thread.

As the titular year suggests, things are pretty dire for humanity, which has been forced to manufacture artificial O2 in order stay alive. However, in the process, a mysterious illness is unleashed, threatening human extinction. Lucky for Earth's inhabitants, one man holds the key to homo sapien survival, an underground tunnel worker named Ethan Whyte, played by Kodi Smit-McPhee (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), who has received a mysterious message from the future. In order to save the human race, Ethan must travel forward in time to solve this existential crisis.

The film, directed by Seth Larney (Tombiruo), costars Ryan Kwanten (True Blood) and hits theaters and VOD via RLJE Films on Oct. 2.

Almost five years since #OscarsSoWhite went from a hashtag to becoming a movement, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has announced that any film hoping to qualify for a Best Picture Oscar will have to meet new requirements for representation and inclusion.

According to the folks behind Tinseltown's Biggest Night, the new representation and inclusion standards are aimed "to encourage equitable representation on and off screen in order to better reflect the diversity of the movie-going audience." It takes effect starting with the 96th Oscars in 2025, and in order to qualify for the Academy Awards' top prize, Best Picture producers will have to meet two out of four criteria to be deemed eligible.

Among them are requiring a percentage of a film's stars and supporting cast to hail from an underrepresented racial or ethnic minority group; having a storyline, theme or narrative centered on an underrepresented group; hiring women, racial, or ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ or people with cognitive or physical disabilities for major creative roles, department heads, and other key positions; providing paid apprenticeship and internships to said groups; and ensuring representation and inclusion on the marketing, publicity, and distribution side.

The rule won't be in effect for next year's 93rd Oscars, but producers will have to submit a confidential Academy Inclusion Form for the 94th and 95th Oscars and the threshold will be a requirement for films released in 2024.

To read more about it, visit the Academy website.