Portsmouth couple celebrates 'The Holdovers' success at Oscars: 'Super excited'

PORTSMOUTH — Portsmouth residents and filmmakers Amy Greene and Chris Stinson can add another Oscars victory to their resumés, as “The Holdovers” won an Academy Award at Sunday’s ceremony in Hollywood.

Da’Vine Joy Randolph won the Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her portrayal of Mary, a grieving mother of a fallen Vietnam War soldier who works as the head cook in the fictional school depicted in "The Holdovers." Greene and Stinson were part of a the film's production team, with Stinson serving as an executive producer and unit production manager and Greene, his producing partner, working as the movie's stunt coordinator.

"We have now made another Oscar award-winning film! So happy for Da'Vine!" Greene said in a message to Seacoastonline moments after the 96th Academy Awards ended Sunday night, which she and Stinson attended.

Greene and Stinson began their Oscars Sunday around 12:30 p.m. EST with hair and makeup before the two hit the red carpet, where they mingled with friends from “The Holdovers,” in addition to “American Fiction” and “Poor Things.”

“We’re super excited to be here!” Greene told Seacoastonline from the Oscars red carpet before the start of the event Sunday.

“(This is the) first in-person Oscars for us,’ Greene said Sunday from Hollywood. “‘Sound of Metal’ was nominated in 2021 but we were filming a movie in New York City and due to pandemic rules we couldn’t fly back for it.”

Following the Oscars, crew members for Best Picture nominee “The Holdovers” and Best Picture winner “Oppenheimer” attended a joint after party, where Greene reunited with "The Holdovers" actor Dominic Sessa.

"Loved catching up with Dominic Sessa at the Universal party, talking about our fun stunts in 'The Holdovers,' as well as his bright future as a star," Greene said.

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Portsmouth couple has history with successful movies

The couple owns Live Free or Die Films, a production company with offices on Congress Street in Portsmouth, in Boston and in Los Angeles. Greene and Stinson were part of two Academy Awards for their work producing “Sound of Metal,” which was filmed in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

"The Holdovers" was nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Paul Giamatti), Best Supporting Actress (Randolph), Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing at the 96th Academy Awards.

After being nominated for six Oscars for “Sound of Metal” in 2021, Greene, Stinson and members of the film’s crew held a watch party at Nitehawk Cinema in Prospect Park in Brooklyn. "Sound of Metal" won the Oscars for Best Sound and for Best Achievement in Film Editing that year.

'The Holdovers' filmed in Massachusetts

Set in 1970, “The Holdovers” was shot in various schools and locations around Massachusetts, including on the campus of Northfield Mount Hermon School, as well as in Boston and Worcester, throughout early 2022. The movie was directed by Alexander Payne, whom Stinson and Greene have worked with on a past film.

The story follows the cranky Paul Hunham, Giamatti’s character, a history teacher at the fictional all-boys New England boarding school, Barton Academy. Hunham is asked to stay at the school over the holidays to chaperone students unable to return home to their families. He grows especially close to one, played by Sessa, and becomes friends with the school’s head cook, a widow and grieving mother of a fallen Vietnam War soldier, played by Randolph.

Greene and Stinson's portfolios include working together and individually on films such as “Sound of Metal,” “Knives Out,” "Leave No Trace," "Me and You and Everyone We Know,” "Chronic,” "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" and "Dumb and Dumber To."

In a January interview, Stinson recalled past conversations with Payne in which he referred to a script he wanted to share that eventually became “The Holdovers.”

“He kept saying he had a script he wanted to give to us and shoot in New England,” Stinson said of Payne. “Some people say that and it never happens, but Alexander actually followed through. He shared the script with us and we both read it and were like, ‘This is incredible.’”

“That’s something that was really meaningful to us,” Greene said at the time. “Knowing we wanted to work with Alexander again, we were really excited to find out the next movie was a New England story.”

Most nights, after shooting in Massachusetts, Greene and Stinson would return home to Portsmouth before waking up to pick up filming the next day.

The two hope to start a movie company based in New Hampshire, a goal they hope inspires more filmmakers to shoot in the Granite State. In New Hampshire, however, there are no film production incentives, as there are in Massachusetts.

The other films nominated for Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards included “American Fiction,” “Anatomy of a Fall,” “Barbie,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Maestro,” “Oppenheimer,” “Past Lives,” “Poor Things,” and “The Zone of Interest.”

This story may be updated.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: 'The Holdovers': Portsmouth couple celebrates success at Oscars