Gotham Awards Names "Spotlight" as the "Best Feature" of 2015

Honoring independent films, the Gotham Awards are the first major awards of the film awards season.  The Gotham Awards are presented by the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), an organization which helps independent filmmakers by connected artists with resources at all stages of film development and distribution.

This year, the 2015 Gotham Awards kicks off the 2015-16 season.  The Gotham Awards ceremony was held on Monday, November 30, 2015 at Cipriani Wall Street.

The 2015 IFP Gotham Independent Film Award winners:

Best Feature
Spotlight
Tom McCarthy, director; Michael Sugar, Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin, Blye Pagan Faust, producers (Open Road Films)

Best Documentary
The Look of Silence
Joshua Oppenheimer, director; Signe Byrge Sørensen, producer (Drafthouse Films)

Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award
Jonas Carpignano for Mediterranea (Sundance Selects)

Best Screenplay
Spotlight, Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer (Open Road Films)

Best Actor*
Paul Dano in Love & Mercy (Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate, and River Road Entertainment)

Best Actress*
Bel Powley in The Diary of a Teenage Girl (Sony Pictures Classics)

Breakthrough Actor
Mya Taylor in Tangerine (Magnolia Pictures)


* The 2015 Best Actor/Best Actress nominating panel also voted to award a special “Gotham Jury Award” jointly to Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci, and Brian d’Arcy James for their ensemble work in Spotlight. (Open Road Films).

Spotlight on Women Directors ‘Live the Dream’ Grant
For the sixth consecutive year, IFP is proud present the euphoria Calvin Klein Spotlight on Women Directors ‘Live the Dream’ grant, a $25,000 cash award for an alumna of IFP’s Independent Filmmaker Labs or IFP’s Screen Forward Lab. In 2015, Screen Forward Lab directors have been included in this opportunity for the first time. This grant aims to further the careers of emerging women directors by supporting the completion, distribution and audience engagement strategies of their first feature film or episodic series. The nominees are:

Chanelle Aponte Pearson, director, 195 Lewis - WINNER


Gotham Independent Film Audience Award
IFP members will determine the 7th Annual Gotham Independent Film Audience Award with nominees comprised of the 14 nominated films in the Best Feature, Best Documentary, and Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award categories. All IFP current, active members at the Individual Level and above will be eligible to vote.  Voting will take place online from November 18th at 12:01 AM EST and conclude on November 25th at 5:00 PM EST. In addition, IFP will be scheduling screenings of the nominated films for IFP members in the theater at the Made in NY Media Center by IFP in Brooklyn. These screenings will take place from November 4-11. The winner of the Audience Award will be announced at the Gotham Awards Ceremony on November 30, 2015.

Tangerine
Sean Baker, director; Darren Dean, Shih-Ching Tsou, Marcus Cox & Karrie Cox, producers (Magnolia Pictures) - WINNER

Gotham Appreciation Award
A Gothams Appreciation Award is given to Ellen Cotter for her contribution to theatrical distribution, including leadership of the Angelika Film Centers.

Breakthrough Series – Longform
:
A continuing or limited series with episodes running 30 minutes or longer.



Mr. Robot, Sam Esmail, creator (USA Network)
 (WINNER)
Breakthrough Series – Shortform:
A continuing or limited-series new digital media programming comprising five or more episodes with the majority under 20 minutes.  



Shugs and Fats, Nadia Manzoor and Radhika Vaz, creators (ShugsandFats.TV) (WINNER)


Gotham Tributes
The Gotham Independent Film Awards, selected by distinguished juries and presented in New York City, the home of independent film, are the first honors of the film awards season. This public showcase honors the filmmaking community, expands the audience for independent films, and supports the work that IFP does behind the scenes throughout the year to bring such films to fruition.

The "Film Tribute Awards" went to Steve Golin; Todd Haynes; Helen Mirren; and Robert Redford

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Fathom Events Announces "The Audience" with Helen Mirren

The Audience Starring Academy Award® Winner Helen Mirren, and Exclusive Post Exhibition Conversation from the Stage to Cinemas June 25, 2015

Fathom Events, National Theatre Live (NT Live) and BY Experience Present Screenings of The Matthew Byam Shaw for Playful Productions, Robert Fox and Andy Harries Production of Peter Morgan’s The Audience, Directed by Stephen Daldry

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Peter Morgan’s The Audience, starring Academy Award® winner and Tony Award® nominee Helen Mirren and directed by Stephen Daldry, along with an exclusive Q&A, comes to select U.S. cinemas on Thursday, June 25, 2015 at 7 p.m. local time. Presented in cinemas by Fathom Events, National Theatre Live and BY Experience, “NT Live: The Audience,” features the critically acclaimed production from London’s Gielgud Theatre as it was originally captured on June 13, 2013. In addition to the play, audiences will be treated to an exclusive new Q&A with Mirren and Daldry.

    “As one of the biggest alternative content events to date, it is thrilling to bring ‘The Audience’ back to cinema screens in celebration of its successful Broadway run and Tony Award® nominations”

Tickets for “NT Live: The Audience” can be purchased online by visiting www.FathomEvents.com, or at participating theater box offices. Fans throughout the U.S. will be able to enjoy the event in more than 200 movie theaters through Fathom’s Digital Broadcast Network. For a complete list of theater locations visit the Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change). For participating venues and tickets outside of the U.S., visit www.ntlive.com. Due to the current Broadway run, “NT Live: The Audience” will play in a very limited number of theaters in Tri-State area (NY, NJ, CT) cinemas.

For sixty years Elizabeth II has met each of her twelve Prime Ministers in a weekly audience at Buckingham Palace. Both parties have an unspoken agreement never to repeat what is said, not even to their spouses. The Audience imagines a series of pivotal meetings between the Downing Street incumbents and their Queen. From Churchill to Cameron, each Prime Minister uses these private conversations as a sounding board and a confessional - sometimes intimate, sometimes explosive. In turn, the Queen can’t help but reveal her own self as she advises, consoles and, on occasion, teases. These private audiences chart the arc of the second Elizabethan Age, from the beginning of Elizabeth II’s reign to today. Politicians come and go through the revolving door of electoral politics, while she remains constant, waiting to welcome her next Prime Minister.

“Helen Mirren is truly spectacular in this production. It’s wonderful to bring her performance to the big screen so that more audiences can enjoy an inside look at the life of the Queen,” said Fathom Events Vice President of Programming Kymberli Frueh-Owens.

“As one of the biggest alternative content events to date, it is thrilling to bring ‘The Audience’ back to cinema screens in celebration of its successful Broadway run and Tony Award® nominations,” said Julie Borchard-Young, co-President of BY Experience. “Audiences across the country will be digitally transported to the London stage, up close on the big screen, in their local communities.”

The live production, starring Ms. Mirren, is now playing at Broadway’s Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (236 W 45th St, New York, NY) for a limited engagement through June 28, 2015. The Audience is produced on Broadway and in the West End by Matthew Byam Shaw for Playful Productions, Robert Fox and Andy Harries. The production has earned 3 Tony Award nominations, including Best Actress in a Play for Helen Mirren along with 2 Drama Desk, 6 Outer Critics Circle and 3 Drama League Award nominations.

About Fathom Events
Fathom Events is the recognized leader in the alternative entertainment industry, offering a variety of one-of-a-kind entertainment events in movie theaters nationwide that include live, high-definition performances of the Metropolitan Opera, the performing arts, major sporting events, music concerts, comedy series, Broadway shows, original programming featuring entertainment’s biggest stars, socially relevant documentaries with audience Q&A and much more. Fathom Events takes audiences behind-the-scenes and offers unique extras, creating the ultimate entertainment experience. It is owned by a consortium called AC JV, LLC., comprised of AMC Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: AMC), Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK) and Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC), the three largest movie theater circuits in the United States. In addition, Fathom Events’ live digital broadcast network (“DBN”) is the largest cinema broadcast network in North America, bringing live events to more than 775 locations in 171 Designated Market Areas® (including all of the top 50). For more information, visit www.fathomevents.com.

About NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE
Now celebrating its 6th year broadcasting live performances to cinema screens internationally, National Theatre Live has now been experienced by over 4 million people worldwide. The first season began in June 2009 with the acclaimed production of Phédre starring Helen Mirren. In addition to the record-breaking broadcast of The Audience starring Helen Mirren as The Queen, recent broadcasts have included the world premiere of Tom Stoppard’s The Hard Problem; the Broadway revival of Of Mice and Men starring James Franco and Chris O’Dowd; the Olivier Award winning Young Vic production of A View From the Bridge; the world premiere of David Hare’s Behind the Beautiful Forevers; David Hare’s Skylight starring Bill Nighy and Carey Mulligan; and, The Young Vic production of A Streetcar Named Desire starring Gillian Anderson; Ben Foster and Vanessa Kirby. Upcoming broadcasts include Bernard Shaw's Man and Superman starring Ralph Fiennes, Everyman starring Chiwetel Ejiofer, and Hamlet starring Benedict Cumberbatch. For more information, visit www.NTLive.com.

About BY Experience
BY Experience kicked off the digital revolution of live events to movie theaters and other locations globally with David Bowie’s 2003 Reality album launch and since then, over 22 million tickets have been sold worldwide for cinema events BY Experience has distributed globally. Current cinema series credits: Distribution Representative, The Met: Live in HD (Worldwide; since 2006), the U.K.’s National Theatre Live (Ex-UK; since 2009), Bolshoi Ballet (North America; since 2014), Stratford Festival HD (Ex-Canada, since 2014). Additionally, BY Experience has executive produced and/or distributed several diverse programs for cinema including numerous rock concerts, radio programs, fine art exhibits, and other special content events. BY Experience distributes to over 60 countries, to over 2,000 movie screens. www.byexperience.net.

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USC Libraries Announce Finalists for 27th-Annual "Scripter Award"

USC LIBRARIES NAME FINALISTS FOR 27TH-ANNUAL SCRIPTER AWARD

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The USC Libraries have named the authors and screenwriters of Gone Girl, The Imitation Game, Inherent Vice, The Theory of Everything, and Wild as finalists for the 27th-annual USC Libraries Scripter Award. Scripter honors the screenwriter or screenwriters of the year’s most accomplished cinematic adaptation as well as the author or authors of the written work upon which the screenplay is based.


The finalists are, in alphabetical order by film title:

--Gillian Flynn, author and screenwriter of Gone Girl

--For The Imitation Game, author Andrew Hodges, who wrote the book Alan Turing: The Enigma, and screenwriter Graham Moore

--Novelist Thomas Pynchon and screenwriter Paul Thomas Anderson for Inherent Vice

--Jane Hawking, author of Travelling To Infinity: My Life With Stephen, and screenwriter Anthony McCarten for The Theory of Everything

--Screenwriter Nick Hornby for Wild, adapted from Cheryl Strayed’s memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail


The Friends of the USC Libraries established Scripter in 1988. Previous Scripter winners include the screenwriters and authors of 12 Years a Slave, The Social Network, A Beautiful Mind, and The English Patient.

Chaired by USC professor and vice president of the Writers Guild of America, West, Howard Rodman, the 2015 Scripter selection committee selected the five finalists from a field of 97 eligible adaptations.

Serving on the selection committee, among many others, are film critics Leonard Maltin, Anne Thompson and Kenneth Turan; authors Michael Chabon, Michael Ondaatje and Mona Simpson; screenwriters John Ridley, Erin Cressida Wilson and Steve Zaillian; and USC deans Elizabeth Daley of the School of Cinematic Arts, Madeline Puzo of the School of Dramatic Arts and Catherine Quinlan of the USC Libraries.

The studios distributing the finalist films and the publishers of the original stories are:

    Gone Girl—Twentieth Century Fox and Crown Publishers
    The Imitation Game—Weinstein Company and Princeton Univ. Press (film tie-in edition)
    Inherent Vice—Warner Bros. and Penguin Books
    The Theory of Everything—Focus Features and Alma Books
    Wild—Fox Searchlight and Vintage Books (film tie-in edition)

The USC Libraries will announce the winning authors and screenwriters at a black-tie ceremony on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015 in the historic Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library on the University Park campus of the University of Southern California. Academy Award winners Helen Mirren and Taylor Hackford will serve as honorary dinner chairs.

Celebrated mystery and crime writer Walter Mosley—the author of more than 40 books, including the Easy Rawlins series—will receive the USC Libraries Literary Achievement Award. Mosley is currently working on a Broadway version of his novel Devil in a Blue Dress, a film adaptation of which appeared in 1995, starring Denzel Washington.

Current silent auction donors and other event sponsors include Academy of Magical Arts and Ted Ushirogata, Alexander Denk, Allison Samon, American Eye Institute, Anchor Distilling Company, AOC, At Your Side Private Exercise, Bacara Resort & Spa, Badgley Mischka, Benjamin Salon, Bennett Farms, Bonny Doon Vineyard, Bouchon Bistro, Burton Morris, Carol Muske Dukes, Christine Ofiesh, Cynthia Baseman, Daryle Ann and Mark Giardino, David Lebovitz, David St. John, Faith and Flower, Flathead Lake Lodge, Fred Kayne and Terravant Wine Company, Gearys Beverly Hills, Geffen Playhouse, Glenn Sonnenberg, Gloria Kaplan, Hang Zhang, Hayley Kaplan, Hotel Del Coronado, Hotel Indigo, San Diego Del Mar, Hotel Kabuki, Howard Rodman, Jack Lindquist, Jar, Joel Prell, Jon Summers, KFK Jewelers, Kimber Modern, LACMA, Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa, Laura Kasner, Left Brain Travel, Lisa Barkett, Lisa Dixon, Loews Regency Hotel, Los Angeles Dodgers, M. Kantor & Associates, Mark Danielewski, Mark Goldstein and Actuant Corporation, Mark Koenig, Matthew Kenney Cuisine, Maureen Furniss, Montage Hotels, Motif Seattle, Oheka Castle Hotel and Estate, New York, Oliverio at Avalon Hotel, One of A Kind Glass Designs and Patsy Dewey, Orin Swift Cellars, Osteria Mozza, Piel Skin Care, Porto Via, Pro Sup Shop, Sandra Tsing Loh, Save Our Heritage Organization (SOHO) San Diego, Seattle Seahawks, Shelley Berman, Silver King, South Beverly Grill, Stephen's Hay and Grain, Steven Travers, T.C. Boyle, Tank Town USA, The Belvedere at the Peninsula Hotel, The Kitchen For Exploring Foods, The LA Chamber Orchestra, The LA Opera, The LA Phil, The Rosenzweig Company, The St. Regis San Francisco Hotel, 20th Century Fox, The Voice, Toni Solorzano, U.S. Senator Dean Heller, USC Athletics, Vindy Lee, and Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.

For more information about Scripter—including ticket availability, additional sponsorship opportunities, and an up-to-date list of sponsors—please email scripter@usc.edu or visit scripter.usc.edu.

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Review "Excalibur" is Epic, Unforgettable (Happy B'day, Liam Neeson)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 77 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Excalibur (1981)
Running time:  140 minutes (2 hours, 20 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER:  John Boorman
WRITERS:  Rospo Pallenberg and John Boorman; from an adaptation by Rospo Pallenberg of Le Morte d’Arthur by Thomas Malory
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Alex Thomson
EDITOR:  John Merritt with Donn Cambern (no screen credit)
COMPOSER:  Trevor Jones
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/FANTASY/WAR

Starring:  Nigel Terry, Helen Mirren, Nicholas Clay, Cherie Lunghi, Paul Geoffrey, Nicol Williamson, Robert Addie, Gabriel Byrne, Keith Buckley, Katrine Boorman, Liam Neeson, Corin Redgrave, Niall O’Brien, Patrick Stewart, and Clive Swift

The subject of this movie review is Excalibur, a 1981 drama and fantasy film from producer-director John Boorman.  The film is mostly based on Le Morte d’Arthur, the 15th century Arthurian romance written by Thomas Malory.  Excalibur focuses on Merlin the magician, King Arthur, and Morgana Le Fey.  It depicts how Arthur unites a land, creates the Round Table, and builds Camelot, while forces conspire to destroy it all.

John Boorman’s Excalibur is the acclaimed director’s lushly filmed take on the Arthurian legend as adapted from Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur.  Early in the film, we see Arthur’s illicit conception when his father, King Uther Pendragon (Gabriel Byrne), use magical trickery to seduce, Igrayne (Katrine Boorman), another man’s wife, and impregnates her with the child that would become Arthur.  Later, Merlin (Nicol Williamson) claims the infant Arthur as the price Uther must pay Merlin for providing the magical disguise Arthur used to seduce Igrayne.

Later, young Arthur (Nigel Terry) pulls the sword of kings, Excalibur, from a stone, which makes him King Arthur.  The film tells the story of the rise of Arthur’s kingdom and the righteous birth of The Knights of the Round Table.  Then, things go bad when Arthur’s wife, Guenevere (Cherie Lunghi), takes Arthur’s best, bravest, and most favored knight, Lancelot (Nicholas Clay), as her lover.  Arthur’s sister, Morgana (Helen Mirren), a crafty sorceress, connives until the balance of power shifts from Merlin to her.  The film concludes with Arthur’s final battle, this against his son, Mordred (Robert Addie), whom Arthur fathered with Morgana.

Boorman, his screenwriting partner Rospo Pallenberg, cinematographer Alex Thomson (who earned an Oscar nomination for his work here), composer Trevor Jones, and costume designer Bob Ringwood (who earned a BAFTA Award nomination for his work in this film) came together to create an exquisite rendition of the tale of King Arthur and Camelot.  The film is full of Christian symbolism, in particularly dealing with Christianity supplanting the old gods and necromancy in favor of men.  There is also a lot of sexual subtext, much of it is surprisingly gay; there is lots of man love and admiration of the virility, honor, bravery, and skill of men.  Men really admire and love great men in this story, and women, for the most part, are trouble in this film.

Boorman wanted to emphasize the story over the characters in his take on the Arthurian myth, and he uses the stunning visuals to evoke feelings, but to also get the viewer to think about the things for which the stories of King Arthur and his kingdom stand.  However, the actors really don’t surrender and play the role of puppets.  They play up to the symbolism and imagery.  They don’t treat their roles as figurative, but as interpreters of the things that this myth teaches us about the better parts of human nature – humility, charity, bravery, and sacrifice, and an understanding to forgive the trespasses our friends, loved ones, countrymen, and fellow humans make against us and we against them.

In Excalibur, John Boorman composes his scenes and photographic shots as if each were a giant painting, a series of representational works meant to tell a powerful tale about universal ideals.  There is something grand in Excalibur, and in spite of its faults:  some poor dialogue, the tendency for the film to suddenly take big leaps forward in the narrative time, and Boorman’s assumption that we should be familiar with these characters and their motivations, it succeeds.

8 of 10
A

Monday, May 23, 2005

Updated:  Saturday, June 07, 2014

NOTES:
1982 Academy Awards, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Cinematography” (Alex Thomson)

1982 BAFTA Awards:  1 nomination: “Best Costume Design” (Bob Ringwood)

1981 Cannes Film Festival:  1 win: “Best Artistic Contribution (John Boorman) and 1 nomination: “Palme d'Or” (John Boorman)

The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

2013 Women Film Critics Circle Awards - Complete List

The Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC) is an association of women film critics, who are involved in print, radio, online and TV broadcast media.  Founded in 2004, this group is the first women critics’ organization in the United States.

2013 Women Film Critics Circle Awards:

BEST MOVIE ABOUT WOMEN: Philomena
RUNNER UP: Mother Of George

BEST MOVIE BY A WOMAN: Enough Said, Nicole Holofcener
RUNNER UP: Inch' Allah, Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette

BEST WOMAN STORYTELLER [Screenwriting Award]: Julie Delpy: Before Midnight
RUNNER UP: Nicole Holofcener, Enough Said

BEST ACTRESS: Judi Dench: Philomena
RUNNER UP: Barbara Sukowa: Hannah Arendt

BEST ACTOR: Chiwetel Ejiofor: 12 Years A Slave
RUNNER UP: Michael B. Jordan: Fruitvale Station

BEST YOUNG ACTRESS: Onata Aprile: What Maisie Knew
RUNNER UP: Waad Mohammed: Wadjda

BEST COMEDIC ACTRESS: Melissa McCarthy: The Heat
RUNNER UP: Greta Gerwig, Frances Ha

BEST FOREIGN FILM BY OR ABOUT WOMEN: Wadjda
RUNNER UP: Inch' Allah

BEST FEMALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE: Philomena
RUNNER UP: Girls In The Band

WORST FEMALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE: The Bling Ring
RUNNER UP: Machete Kills

BEST MALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE: 12 years A Slave: Chiwetel Ejiofor
RUNNER UP: Enough Said: James Gandolfini

WORST MALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE: Only God Forgives
RUNNER UP: Out Of The Furnace

BEST DOCUMENTARY BY OR ABOUT WOMEN: Stories We Tell
RUNNER UP: Girls In The Band

BEST SCREEN COUPLE: Before Midnight: Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke

BEST THEATRICALLY UNRELEASED MOVIE BY OR ABOUT WOMEN: Hellen Mirren in Phil Spector
RUNNER UP: Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer

BEST EQUALITY OF THE SEXES: Before Midnight
RUNNER UP: Enough Said

BEST ANIMATED FEMALES: Frozen
RUNNER UP: The Croods

BEST FAMILY FILM: The Wind Rises
RUNNER UP: Black Nativity

WOMEN'S WORK/BEST ENSEMBLE: Ginger & Rosa
RUNNER UP TIE: Winnie Mandela and August: Osage County

*SPECIAL MENTION AWARDS*

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
EMMA THOMPSON: For her eclecticism in switching from period films to fantasy genre, to contemporary settings. And embodying all kinds of women with raw and pure interpretations.

ACTING AND ACTIVISM AWARD
CHARLIZE THERON: For her work for The Global Fund, and for starting the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project. Which educates young people about HIV/AIDS

COURAGE IN FILMMAKING
LAURA POITRAS: For bringing the Edward Snowden NSA revelations to light, driven into exile in Germany for doing so, and currently making a documentary about it.

*ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD: (A film that most passionately opposes violence against women): Augustine
RUNNER UP: Lovelace

*JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD: For best expressing the woman of color experience in America: 12 Years A Slave
RUNNER UP: Go For Sisters

*KAREN MORLEY AWARD: For best exemplifying a woman’s place in history or society, and a courageous search for identity: Winnie Mandela
RUNNER UP: Wadjda

COURAGE IN ACTING: [Taking on unconventional roles that radically redefine the images of women on screen]: Soko: Augustine

THE INVISIBLE WOMAN AWARD [Performance by a woman whose exceptional impact on the film dramatically, socially or historically, has been ignored]
Sandra Bullock: Gravity

BEST SONG: “Would You Bleed For Love” Jennifer Hudson, Winnie Mandela

MOMMIE DEAREST WORST SCREEN MOM OF THE YEAR AWARD:
*Kristin Scott Thomas - Only God Forgives

JUST KIDDING AWARD: Best Male Images In A Movie: Last Vegas

*WFCC HALL OF SHAME*

Blue is the Warmest Color: I went in knowing almost nothing except general buzz but I hated the sex scenes which were way too long and midway thru I couldn’t wait to flee the theater. Coming out I read how many takes Kechiche required and I was thoroughly repulsed. Who was this for? Then I read the graphic novel and discovered that critical plot points were deleted. Like the fact that Adele’s parents find her in bed with Emma which is why she has to move out — and I was enraged. A three hour movie, and Kechiche is so busy salivating over his actresses that he can’t bother telling a coherent story. Hype for this film makes me nauseous!

Blue is the Warmest Color: It's so obvious a dude with a fetish directed this, it's not only unappealing, it's creepy. His overcompensating hubris isn't worth the praise this is receiving.

The Canyons: Women depicted as powerless and manipulative. Plus, the acting is horrid.

Captain Phillips: The whole might of the USA coming down on 3 starving Somalis?! Repulsive. When the obscenely beefy SEALS arrived and the audience started to cheer, I felt I was watching a “macho” director brainwash audience members into blindly accepting the worst stereotypes of jingoistic male behavior.

Dallas Buyers Club: Shame on Dallas Buyers Club for completely ignoring the LGBT as a group who drove the fight against AIDS to the forefront. The only time gays were mentioned was to let Matthew McConaughey's homophobic redneck character get a laugh at the expense of Jared Leto's transsexual character. The film made it seem as if the whole AIDS community stood on the shoulders of Ron Woodruff when in fact, groups like Act Up were starting the war for proper testing and more drugs way before Ron entered into the picture. It completely demeaned the backdrop Dallas Buyers Club was utilizing for their own characterizing "hero" agenda. Also the film took an extreme opinion against the AZT drug in favor for a plot line when in fact it was helping some patients. The only saving grace was Jared Leto's fantastic performance but unfortunately it wasn't enough.

Enough Already: Why is it that when actresses and even screen goddesses hit a certain age, they're all cast as nags, loons and shrews. No matter how accomplished any of these films may be, the tally of older actress shrewish nags on board is really high this year, as usual. Including Oprah Winfrey in The Butler, Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts in August: Osage County, Cate Blanchett and Sally Hawkins in Blue Jasmine, June Squibb in Nebraska, Kristin Scott Thomas in Only God Forgives, and Julianne Moore in Carrie. Refreshing exceptions being Judi Dench in Philomena, Yolonda Ross in Go For Sisters, and Mary Steenburgen in Last Vegas.

Gravity: The women in this group make meaningful choices each year so they speak for me in these areas, the lone exception being Sandra Bullock's performance in Gravity. She's a fine actress, but I found the character to be whiny, cowardly, and full of the wrong stuff - a damsel in distress who needed a man (even if it was just her imagination) to pull her out of danger. I can hardly believe they'd send someone so panicky into space. Give me Sigourney Weaver any day.

Les Salauds [Bastards]: All of the women in this film are depicted as complicit in their own oppression and exploitation. Though it’s a patriarchal system that they exist within, they refuse to fight for themselves or each other, even when a minor is involved. The indictment then is not of the men but of the women. I found this problematic and disappointing from Denis.

Spring Breakers: No depth, little plot and a pitiful depiction of today's college kids. Gratuitous in nothing more than flesh and violence. A grossly and dangerously skewed depiction of young women and their values in today's America.

*Please Note: The WFCC Top Ten Hall Of Shame represents the ‘don’t tell me to shut up’ sidebar contribution of individual members, and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the entire Circle. Or may even dissent from an awarded nomination. Also, members may be objecting to particular characters in a film, and not the entire movie. Clarification: If an aspect of the movie is intentionally negative to make a point, rather than offensive, that is not under consideration for this category.

*ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD: Adrienne Shelly was a promising actress and filmmaker who was brutally strangled in her apartment in 2006 at the age of forty by a construction worker in the building, after she complained about noise. Her killer tried to cover up his crime by hanging her from a shower rack in her bathroom, to make it look like a suicide. He later confessed that he was having a “bad day.” Shelly, who left behind a baby daughter, had just completed her film Waitress, which she also starred in, and which was honored at Sundance after her death.

*JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD: The daughter of a laundress and a musician, Baker overcame being born black, female and poor, and marriage at age fifteen, to become an internationally acclaimed legendary performer, starring in the films Princess Tam Tam, Moulin Rouge and Zou Zou. She also survived the race riots in East St. Louis, Illinois as a child, and later expatriated to France to escape US racism. After participating heroically in the underground French Resistance during WWII, Baker returned to the US where she was a crusader for racial equality. Her activism led to attacks against her by reporter Walter Winchell who denounced her as a communist, leading her to wage a battle against him. Baker was instrumental in ending segregation in many theaters and clubs, where she refused to perform unless integration was implemented.

*KAREN MORLEY AWARD: Karen Morley was a promising Hollywood star in the 1930s, in such films as Mata Hari and Our Daily Bread. She was driven out of Hollywood for her leftist political convictions by the Blacklist and for refusing to testify against other actors, while Robert Taylor and Sterling Hayden were informants against her. And also for daring to have a child and become a mother, unacceptable for female stars in those days. Morley maintained her militant political activism for the rest of her life, running for Lieutenant Governor on the American Labor Party ticket in 1954. She passed away in 2003, unrepentant to the end, at the age of 93.

http://wfcc.wordpress.com/

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SAG Awards: "Breaking Bad" for "American Hustle" and "Modern Family"

by Leroy Douresseaux

At the 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, director David O. Russell’s American Hustle won “Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture,” SAG’s equivalent of a “best picture” award.  After leading the nominations with four in the theatrical motion picture categories, director Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave won only one, Lupita Nyong'o as supporting actress.

I still think this is another sign that 12 Years a Slave is unlikely to win any big awards at the upcoming Oscars.  I wonder if even Nyong’o will win in her Oscar category.

In the television categories at the 2014 Screen Actors Guild Awards, Breaking Bad and “Modern Family” each won two awards.  Actress Rita Moreno received the “Life Achievement Award.”

The 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards winners were announced at the 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® ceremony.  The ceremony was simulcast live nationally on TNT and TBS on Saturday, January 18, 2014 from the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center.

THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role:
MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY / Ron Woodroof – “DALLAS BUYERS CLUB” (Focus Features)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role:
CATE BLANCHETT / Jasmine – “BLUE JASMINE” (Sony Pictures Classics)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role:
JARED LETO / Rayon – “DALLAS BUYERS CLUB” (Focus Features)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role:
LUPITA NYONG’O / Patsey – “12 YEARS A SLAVE” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture:

AMERICAN HUSTLE (Columbia Pictures)
AMY ADAMS / Sydney Prosser
CHRISTIAN BALE / Irving Rosenfeld
LOUIS C.K. / Stoddard Thorsen
BRADLEY COOPER / Richie DiMaso
PAUL HERMAN / Alfonse Simone
JACK HUSTON / Pete Musane
JENNIFER LAWRENCE / Rosalyn Rosenfeld
ALESSANDRO NIVOLA / Federal Prosecutor
MICHAEL PEÑA / Sheik (Agent Hernandez)
JEREMY RENNER / Mayor Carmine Polito
ELISABETH RÖHM / Dolly Polito
SHEA WHIGHAM / Carl Elway

TELEVISION PROGRAMS

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries:
MICHAEL DOUGLAS / Liberace – “BEHIND THE CANDELABRA” (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries:
HELEN MIRREN / Linda Kenney Baden – “PHIL SPECTOR” (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series:
BRYAN CRANSTON / Walter White – “BREAKING BAD” (AMC)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series:
MAGGIE SMITH / Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham – “DOWNTON ABBEY” (PBS)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series:
TY BURRELL / Phil Dunphy – “MODERN FAMILY” (ABC)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series:
JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS / Vice President Selina Meyer – “VEEP” (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series:

BREAKING BAD (AMC)
MICHAEL BOWEN / Uncle Jack
BETSY BRANDT / Marie Schrader
BRYAN CRANSTON / Walter White
LAVELL CRAWFORD / Huell
TAIT FLETCHER / Lester
LAURA FRASER / Lydia Rodarte-Quale
ANNA GUNN / Skyler White
MATTHEW T. METZLER / Matt
RJ MITTE / Walter White Jr.
DEAN NORRIS / Hank Schrader
BOB ODENKIRK / Saul Goodman
AARON PAUL / Jesse Pinkman
JESSE PLEMONS / Todd
STEVEN MICHAEL QUEZADA / Gomez
KEVIN RANKIN / Kenny
PATRICK SANE / Frankie

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series:

"MODERN FAMILY" (ABC)
JULIE BOWEN / Claire Dunphy
TY BURRELL / Phil Dunphy
AUBREY ANDERSON EMMONS / Lily Tucker-Pritchett
JESSE TYLER FERGUSON / Mitchell Pritchett
NOLAN GOULD / Luke Dunphy
SARAH HYLAND / Haley Dunphy
ED O’NEILL / Jay Pritchett
RICO RODRIGUEZ / Manny Delgado
ERIC STONESTREET / Cameron Tucker
SOFIA VERGARA / Gloria Delgado-Pritchett
ARIEL WINTER / Alex Dunphy

SAG AWARDS® HONORS FOR STUNT ENSEMBLES:

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture:
LONE SURVIVOR (Universal Pictures)

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series:
GAME OF THRONES (HBO)

LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD:

Screen Actors Guild 50th Annual Life Achievement Award: RITA MORENO

http://www.sagawards.org/

------------------------------------------------------------------

2014 USC Scripter Award Nominees Revealed

USC Libraries Name Finalists for 26th-Annual Scripter Award

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The USC Libraries have named the authors and screenwriters of Captain Phillips, Philomena, The Spectacular Now, 12 Years a Slave, and What Maisie Knew as finalists for the 26th-annual USC Libraries Scripter Award. Scripter honors the screenwriter or screenwriters of the year’s most accomplished cinematic adaptation as well as the author or authors of the written work upon which the screenplay is based.

The finalists are, in alphabetical order by film title:

•Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty, authors of A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea, and screenwriter Billy Ray, for Captain Phillips

•For Philomena, author Martin Sixsmith, who wrote the book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee, and screenwriters Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope

•Novelist Tim Tharp and screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber for The Spectacular Now

•Solomon Northup, author of Twelve Years a Slave, and screenwriter John Ridley for 12 Years a Slave

•Screenwriters Carroll Cartwright and Nancy Doyne for What Maisie Knew, adapted from the novel by Henry James

The Friends of the USC Libraries established Scripter in 1988. Previous Scripter winners include the screenwriters and authors of Argo, The Descendants, No Country for Old Men, and The English Patient.

Co-chaired by Golden Globe-winning screenwriter Naomi Foner and USC professor and vice president of the Writers Guild of America, West, Howard Rodman, the 2014 Scripter selection committee selected the five finalists from a field of 86 eligible adaptations.

Serving on the selection committee, among many others, are film critics Leonard Maltin and Kenneth Turan; authors Michael Chabon, Michael Ondaatje and Mona Simpson; screenwriters Geoffrey Fletcher, Callie Khouri and Steve Zaillian; and USC deans Elizabeth Daley of the School of Cinematic Arts, Madeline Puzo of the School of Dramatic Arts and Catherine Quinlan of the USC Libraries.

The studios distributing the finalist films and the publishers of the original stories are:

•Captain Phillips—Columbia Pictures and Hyperion Books
•Philomena—Weinstein Company and Macmillan
•The Spectacular Now—A24 and Alfred A. Knopf
•12 Years a Slave—Fox Searchlight and Derby & Miller
•What Maisie Knew—Millennium Entertainment and Herbert S. Stone

The USC Libraries will announce the winning authors and screenwriters at a black-tie ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014 in the historic Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library on the University Park campus of the University of Southern California. Academy Award winners Helen Mirren and Taylor Hackford will serve as honorary dinner chairs.

Current silent auction donors and other event sponsors include AOC, Arthur Murray Santa Monica, At Your Side Private Exercise, Bouchon Beverly Hills, The Chopra Center for Wellbeing, Corvain Wine Access System, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, Fess Parker Inn, Flight Deck, Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust, French Reflections, The Geffen Playhouse, Daryle Ann and Mark Giardino, The Grammy Museum, The Grill, The Kitchen For Exploring Foods, Knock, Knock, Montage Beverly Hills, The LA Opera, The Los Angeles Clippers, Lee Olvera, OPI, Pebble Beach Concors d' Elegance, Pica Peru, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Plumleigh, Porto Via Beverly Hills, Poseidon Stand Up Paddleboards, Rivera, SBE Restaurant Group, Total Wine and More, USC Athletics, and WEN Chaz Dean.

For more information about Scripter—including ticket availability, additional sponsorship opportunities, and an up-to-date list of sponsors—please email scripter@usc.edu or visit scripter.usc.edu.

Review: "Red 2" Not Quite as Fresh as "Red"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 84 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux

Red 2 (2013)
Running time:  116 minutes (1 hour, 56 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for pervasive action and violence including frenetic gunplay, and for some language and drug material
DIRECTOR:  Dean Parisot
WRITERS:  Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber (based on characters created by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner)
PRODUCERS:  Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Enrique Chediak (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Don Zimmerman
COMPOSER:  Alan Silvestri

ACTION/COMEDY with elements of drama and romance

Starring:  Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Anthony Hopkins, Byung-hun Lee, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Neal McDonough, David Thewlis, Tim Pigott-Smith, and Brian Cox

Red 2 is a 2013 action comedy from director Dean Parisot.  The film is a sequel to the 2010 film, Red.  Red 2 is inspired by Red, the comic book miniseries by Warren Ellis and Cully Hammer that was the basis for the first film.  Red 2 stars Bruce Willis as a retired CIA agent who joins his unique friends to find a long-missing nuclear weapon.

As Red 2 begins, retired CIA operative, Frank Moses (Bruce Willis), is enjoying domestic bliss with his girlfriend, Sarah Ross (Mary-Louise Parker).  His old friend and former operative, Marvin Boggs (John Malkovich), warns Frank that people are still after them.  In fact, a group of government agents approach Frank, claiming that they must interrogate him because he is R.E.D. (retired, extremely dangerous).

After Jack Horton (Neal McDonough), another government agent, tries to kill him, Marvin tells Frank that they are being tracked because of their knowledge of an old secret operation called, “Project Nightshade.”  Reluctantly, Frank reunites his unlikely team of elite operatives to solve the mystery of Nightshade, but he discovers that Sarah insists on being part of the team and she also wants her own gun.

Red 2 is fun to watch, but it lacks the sparkle that Red had as something new and different.  Red 2 is best when it focuses on the trio of Frank, Sarah, and Marvin.  Victoria Winslow (Helen Mirren) returns, but the character seems tacked on, at least until the last act when she really becomes useful.  The new characters are a mixed bag.  They have their good moments, but most of the time they come across as nothing more than as an excuse to cast movie stars in flashy small roles.  No-name actors could have done as good if not better than Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones did in vacuous supporting roles.  I bet creating the character, Han Cho Bai, and casting Byung-hun Lee was nothing more than an attempt by this film’s producers to pander to the audience in the expanding East Asian market for American films.

Another thing that hampers this new film is all that globe-trotting the character do.  Red offered a jaunt across the landscape of American secret agent men and women.  Red 2 bops around Europe like a clumsy comic take on a Jason Bourne movie.

That said, I got a kick out of every scene that focused on the team of Frank, Sarah, and Marvin.  I give Red 2 a grade of “B” because of this threesome.  A “Red 3” would do well to focus on what I call the “Red trio.”

6 of 10
B

Tuesday, December 31, 2013


The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

2014 Golden Globe Awards Nominations - Television Categories List

The 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards nominees: TELEVISION CATEGORIES – complete list:

Best TV Series - Comedy/Musical
"Big Bang Theory"
"Brooklyn Nine Nine"
"Girls"
"Modern Family"
"Parks & Recreation"

Best Miniseries Or Motion Picture Made For Television
"American Horror Story: Coven"
"Behind The Candelabra"
"Dancing On The Edge
"Top Of The Lake"
"The White Queen"

Best TV Drama
"Breaking Bad"
"Downton Abbey"
"The Good Wife"
"House Of Cards"
"Masters Of Sex"

Best Actress - Drama TV Series
Julianna Marguiles - "The Good Wife"
Tatiana Maslany - "Orphan Black"
Taylor Schilling - "Orange Is The New Black"
Kerry Washington - "Scandal"
Robin Wright - "House Of Cards"

Best Actor - TV Drama
Bryan Cranston - "Breaking Bad"
Liev Schreiber - "Ray Donovan"
Michael Sheen - "Masters Of Sex"
Kevin Spacey - "House Of Cards"
James Spader - "The Blacklist"

Best Actress - Miniseries
Helena Bonham-Carter - "Burton & Taylor"
Rebecca Ferguson - "The White Queen"
Jessica Lange - "American Horror Story: Coven"
Helen Mirren - "Phil Spector"
Elisabeth Moss - "Top Of The Lake"

Best Actor - Miniseries
Matt Damon - "Behind The Candelabra"
Michael Douglas - "Behind The Candelabra"
Chiwetel Ejiofor - "Dancing On The Edge"
Idris Elba - "Luther"
Al Pacino - "Phil Spector"

Best Actress - Comedy TV Series
Zooey Deschanel - "New Girl"
Lena Dunham - "Girls"
Edie Falco - "Nurse Jackie"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus - "Veep"
Amy Poehler - "Parks & Recreation"

Best Actor - Comedy TV Series
Jason Bateman - "Arrested Development"
Don Cheadle - "House Of Lies"
Michael J Fox - "The Michael J Fox Show"
Jim Parsons - "The Big Bang Theory"
Andy Samberg - "Brooklyn Nine Nine"

Best Supporting Actor - TV
Josh Charles - "The Good Wife"
Rob Lowe - "Behind The Candelabra"
Aaron Paul - "Breaking Bad"
Corey Stoll - "House Of Cards"
Jon Voight - "Ray Donovan"

Best Supporting Actress - TV
Jacqueline Bisset - "Dancing On The Edge"
Janet McTeer - "The White Queen"
Hayden Panetierre - "Nashville"
Monica Potter - "Parenthood"
Sofia Vergara - "Modern Family"

END

Review: "Monsters University" a Satisfying Second Helping

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 79 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux

Monsters University (2013)
Running time:  104 minutes (1 hour, 44 minutes)
MPAA – G
DIRECTORS:  Dan Scanlon
WRITERS:  Robert Baird, Daniel Gerson, and Dan Scanlon; from a story by Robert Baird, Daniel Gerson, and Dan Scanlon
PRODUCER:  Kori Rae
EDITORS:  Greg Snyder
COMPOSER:  Randy Newman

ANIMATION/FANTASY/COMEDY/FAMILY

Starring:  (voices) Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, Peter Sohn, Joel Murray, Sean Hayes, Dave Foley, Charlie Day, Alfred Molina, Tyler Labine, Nathan Fillion, Aubrey Plaza, Julia Sweeney, Bonnie Hunt, and John Ratzenberger

Monsters University is a 2013 computer-animated comedy and fantasy film from Pixar Animation Studios.  Theatrically presented in 3D, Monsters University is Pixar’s fourteenth full-length feature film, and it is also the first prequel to one of the studio’s films.  Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, it is a prequel to the 2001 animated film, Monsters, Inc.

Monsters University focuses on the stars of the original film, Mike and Sulley.  The movie looks at the early days of their relationship during their time in college, telling the story of how they went from rivals to friends.  Although it is not quite as good as the original, Monsters University is a warm and fuzzy and sweet and sentimental film that offers a return of one of the great comedy duos of animated films, Mike (ostensibly this movie’s lead character) and Sulley.

Monsters University introduces Michael “Mike” Wazowski (Billy Crystal), a young monster who dreams of being a “scarer,” a monster who enters the human world at night to scare children.  He enrolls at Monsters University, believing that is the best place to learn to be a great scarer.  Mike meets a large, blue furry monster named James P. “Sulley” Sullivan (John Goodman), a privileged student from a family of renowned scarers.  The two immediately dislike each other.

Sulley joins the school’s premiere fraternity, Roar Omega Roar (ROR).  Mike has to settle for Oozma Kappa (OK), a fraternity of geeks and outcasts.  An incident between Mike and Sulley puts the two on the fast track to trouble.  Mike decides that the Scare Games, a competition between Monsters University’s select fraternities and sororities, can save his and Sulley’s college careers.  First, the two rivals will have to learn to trust each other and their new Oozma Kappa friends.

Pixar is known for animated films that offer superb character drama, but Monsters University is simply a comedy with endearing characters.  I call Monsters University Pixar’s DreamWorks Animation movie.  Like many DreamWorks animated features, Monsters University is a broad comedy with several clever set pieces and sequences in which the heroes must deal with seemingly impossible-to-overcome obstacles.  Also like DreamWorks animation, Monsters University lacks the emotional resonance of Pixar’s best films, although this movie’s director and writers try.  Similar to Pixar’s Brave, Monsters University also has a weak first half-hour.

The two best things about Monsters University are the delightful supporting characters that are members of Oozma Kappa and the Scare Games.  I found those supporting players to be endearing, and the film gives just enough of them to make you feel that you didn’t get enough.  The Scare Games are exciting and have a great ending, which a subsequent plot twist kinda ruins.

When Monsters Inc. first appeared in 2001, it was novel, maybe even groundbreaking in a way.  All Monsters University can be is a welcome return of old friends, and that’s good enough.

7 of 10
B+

Saturday, November 23, 2013

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Review: "The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy" is Inventive, Odd, and Relaxed (Remembering Douglas Adams)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 146 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA/UK
Running time: 109 minutes (1 hour, 49 minutes)
MPAA – PG for thematic elements, action, and mild language
DIRECTOR: Garth Jennings
WRITERS: Douglas Adams and Karey Kirkpatrick (based upon the novel by Douglas Adams)
PRODUCERS: Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, Nick Goldsmith, Jay Roach, and Jonathan Glickman
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Igor Jadue-Lillo
EDITOR: Niven Howie
COMPOSER: Joby Talbot

SCI-FI/COMEDY/ACTION/ADVENTURE

Starring: Sam Rockwell, Mos Def, Zooey Deschanel, Martin Freeman, Bill Nighy, Warwick Davis, Anna Chancellor and John Malkovich, with the voices of Alan Rickman, Helen Mirren, Stephen Fry, Richard Griffiths, and Thomas Lennon

The subject of this movie review is The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a 2005 British-American comic science fiction and adventure film. It is based on the 1979 novel, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, which was written by the late author, Douglas Adams. The film follows the adventures of a man from Earth and his alien companion who is writing a new edition of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.”

Arthur Dent (Sam Rockwell) is an ordinary guy having what looks like another bad day, when he discovers that his house is scheduled for demolition to make way for an expressway. Then, his best friend, Ford Prefect (Mos Def), shows up and tells him that Earth is also scheduled for demolition by aliens to make way for a hyperspace expressway. Ford later whisks Arthur into space where they eventually end up on the super space ship, the Heart of Gold, captained by the dim-witted President of the Galaxy, Zaphod Beeblebrox (Sam Rockwell).

Arthur actually encountered Zaphod on Earth before, when the President stole the girl with whom Arthur had just fallen in love, Tricia (Zooey Deschanel). Tricia, now known as Trillian, is also on board, as is a chronically depressed android named Marvin (Warwick Davis with the voice by Alan Rickman). The unusual quintet search for the answers (and the questions) to the mystery of Life, the Universe, and Everything – with The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (voiced by Stephen Fry) as their… well, guide.

First published in 1979, Douglas Adams’ (1952-2001) novel, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, is one of the all-time best selling science fiction novels every published, and perhaps the most popular sci-fi humor book ever. The book became a cycle first known as “The Hitchhiker’s Trilogy,” after the publication of The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980) and Life, the Universe and Everything (1982); two more books followed, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (1984) and Mostly Harmless (1992).

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy began as a radio sci-fi comedy series, and the book series is a non-literal adaptation of the radio series. Hitchhiker’s has also been a British TV mini-series, a stage play, a comic book/graphic novel, record albums, and a computer game. A major motion picture had long been in the planning stages at various times over 20 years with such names as actors Jim Carrey and Bill Murray and directors Jay Roach and Spike Jonze attached to the project.

Finally, in mid-spring of 2005, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy debuted in theatres with director Garth Jennings and co-producer Nick Goldsmith as its filmmaking creative center. Jennings and Goldsmith are the music video directing team known as “Hammer and Tongs.” They directed videos for such musical acts as R.E.M. (“Imitation of Life,” one of my personal favorites as an all-time great music video), Fatboy Slim (“Right Here, Right Now”), and Blur (“Coffee and T.V.”).

Before he died, Douglas Adams wrote the script (a non-literal translation of the books as the books were also not literal translations the original radio show) and added new characters (Humma Kavula played by John Malkovich). Co-writer Karey Kirkpatrick (James and the Giant Peach and Chicken Run) came on to improve the script’s structure and make it more coherent. Not having seen any of Adams’ original script drafts, I can’t say how much or if Kirkpatrick improved on Adams’ work. The film does seem to lack organization and focus, and its plot seems rather inconsequential, but The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is about eccentric characters in odd settings and situations, not so much about plot. A viewer doesn’t have to have read the books, but being familiar with the various source materials may make him and her more open to the film. Hitchhiker’s is basically a film about a great big sci-fi/fantasy misadventure set in a universe of oddities and abnormal beings (except Arthur Dent).

The cast and crew so obviously love what they’re doing and really buy into the little world that they created, and that passes on to the audience. Martin Freeman makes a great Arthur Dent, playing him as a flustered man frustrated with his world being destroyed and not having the girl who is “the one” loving him back. Sam Rockwell and Mos Def make a great alien combo, with the former as a cocky and kooky, gun-slinging lothario and the latter as the best-dressed straight man/wise man in the galaxy. I enjoyed watching them and the rest of the cast, and while the voice actors don’t seem to be straining themselves to perform, they are oddly appealing.

Part Monty Python, part Jim Henson, part Mel Brooks’ Space Balls (with a much bigger budget), and part David Lynch, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is not an interstellar homerun, but it’s the most visually and conceptually daring sci-fi comedy – probably ever. And I really enjoy how unpredictable this film remains, even through repeated viewings.

6 of 10
B

--------------------

2012 Women Film Critics Circle Awards - Complete List

The Women Film Critics Circle Awards went to many different films in 2012, although Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty received three awards.  The Women Film Critics Circle is an association of women film critics, who are involved in print, radio, online and TV broadcast media. Founded in 2004, this group is the first women critics’ organization in the United States.

2012 Women Film Critics Circle Awards:

BEST MOVIE ABOUT WOMEN
A Royal Affair

BEST MOVIE BY A WOMAN
Zero Dark Thirty

BEST WOMAN STORYTELLER (Screenwriting Award)
Two Days In NY (Julie Delpy)

BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

BEST ACTOR
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

BEST YOUNG ACTRESS
Quvenzhanee Wallis, Beast Of The Southern Wild

BEST COMEDIC ACTRESS
Maggie Smith, Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

BEST FOREIGN FILM BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
Where Do We Go Now (from Lebanon with Egypt, France, and Italy)

BEST FEMALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
Zero Dark Thirty

WORST FEMALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE-TIE
Killer Joe
Think Like A Man

BEST MALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
Lincoln

WORST MALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
Killer Joe

BEST THEATRICALLY UNRELEASED MOVIE BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
Hemingway And Gellhorn

BEST EQUALITY OF THE SEXES
Zero Dark Thirty

BEST ANIMATED FEMALES
Brave

BEST FAMILY FILM-TIE
Life Of Pi
Rise Of The Guardians

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Barbra Streisand

ACTING AND ACTIVISM.AWARD
Sally Field – Field is a dedicated advocate for women's rights. She has served on the Board of Directors of Vital Voices Global Partnership, an international women's NGO, and has co-hosted the Global Leadership Awards. Field suffers from osteoporosis and has become a vocal advocate for women's health issues, encouraging early diagnosis of such conditions through technology, such as bone density scans.

*ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD: For a film that most passionately opposes violence against women -TIE
Compliance
The Invisible War

*JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD: For best expressing the woman of color experience in America
Middle Of Nowhere

*KAREN MORLEY AWARD: For best exemplifying a woman’s place in history or society, and a courageous search for identity
A Royal Affair (from Denmark)

COURAGE IN ACTING: Taking on unconventional roles that radically redefine the images of women on screen
Helen Hunt, The Sessions

THE INVISIBLE WOMAN AWARD: Performance by a woman whose exceptional impact on the film dramatically, socially or historically, has been ignored
Helen Mirren, Hitchcock

BEST DOCUMENTARY BY OR ABOUT A WOMAN
Queen Of Versailles

WOMEN’S WORK: BEST ENSEMBLE
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

BEST SCREEN COUPLE
Moonrise Kingdom: Bill Murray and Frances McDormand

*WFCC HALL OF SHAME*

Bachelorette with Kirsten Dunst, had all sorts of ditzy former high school classmates getting together for the wedding of a girl they used to make fun of. Just stupid on so many levels: male strippers, drinking, general girly silliness.

Ici-Bas (Down Below). Rape romance: A raped nun (Celine Sallette) falls in love with her rapist. The male fantasy horror of 'rape romance' on screen. A WFCC Hall Of Shame pick in tribute to the unnamed Indian student and rape murder victim, in the kind of traditional culture where women and girls are pressured to marry their rapists.

Skyfall: 'Bond Girl' is only on screen long enough to sell trailers and products like OPI's 'Skyfall Collection' of nail polishes, and gets bumped off at the end of Act II; M turns into a cowering incompetent and gets bumped off at the end of Act III; and the female sharp-shooter in Act I loses her nerve and leaves 'Field Operations' to become an office assistant in Act III. I loved the Sean Connery/James Bond films as a kid. Women got to be part of the action; the Bond Girl was always there to celebrate success at the end. But as a 50th anniversary tribute to the Bond series made in 2012, Skyfall truly broke my heart!

MOMMIE DEAREST WORST SCREEN MOM OF THE YEAR AWARD
Helena Bonham Carter, Les Miserables

BEST LINE IN A MOVIE 2012
"...You can't kill the animals in a movie, only the women." - Christopher Walken/Seven Psychopaths

JUST KIDDING AWARD:
Best Male Images In A Movie: Magic Mike

*Please Note: The WFCC Top Ten Hall Of Shame represents the ‘don’t tell me to shut up’ sidebar contribution of individual members, and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the entire Circle. Also, members may be objecting to particular characters in a film, and not the entire movie. Clarification: If an aspect of the movie is intentionally negative to make a point, rather than offensive, that is not under consideration for this category.

*ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD: Adrienne Shelly was a promising actress and filmmaker who was brutally strangled in her apartment in 2006 at the age of forty by a construction worker in the building, after she complained about noise. Her killer tried to cover up his crime by hanging her from a shower20rack in her bathroom, to make it look like a suicide. He later confessed that he was having a “bad day.” Shelly, who left behind a baby daughter, had just completed her film Waitress, which she also starred in, and which was honored at Sundance after her death.

*JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD: The daughter of a laundress and a musician, Baker overcame being born black, female and poor, and marriage at age fifteen, to become an internationally acclaimed legendary performer, starring in the films Princess Tam Tam, Moulin Rouge and Zou Zou. She also survived the race riots in East St. Louis, Illinois as a child, and later expatriated to France to escape US racism. After participating heroically in the underground French Resistance during WWII, Baker returned to the US where she was a crusader for racial equality. Her activism led to attacks against her by reporter Walter Winchell who denounced her as a communist, leading her to wage a battle against him. Baker was instrumental in ending segregation in many theaters and clubs, where she refused to perform unless integration was implemented.

*KAREN MORLEY AWARD: Karen Morley was a promising Hollywood star in the 1930s, in such films as Mata Hari and Our Daily Bread. She was driven out of Hollywood for her leftist political convictions by the Blacklist and for refusing to testify against other actors, while Robert Taylor and Sterling Hayden were informants against her. And also for daring to have a child and become a mother, unacceptable for female stars in those days. Morley maintained her militant political activism for the rest of her life, running for Lieutenant Governor on the American Labor Party ticket in 1954. She passed away in 2003, unrepentant to the end, at the age of 93.

Review: "Shadowboxer" is Bat-Shit-Crazy (Happy B'day, Helen Mirren)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 253 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux


Shadowboxer (2005)
Opening date: July 21, 2006
Running time: 94 minutes (1 hour, 34 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong graphic violence and sexuality, nudity, language, and some drug use
DIRECTOR: Lee Daniels
WRITER: William Lipz
PRODUCERS: Lisa Cortes, Lee Daniels, Damon Dash, Brook Lenfest, and Dave Robinson
CINEMATOGRAPHER: M. David Mullen
EDITOR: William Chang and Brian A. Kates

CRIME/DRAMA/THRILLER

Starring: Cuba Gooding, Jr., Helen Mirren, Stephen Dorff, Vanessa Ferlito, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Macy Gray, Cullen Flynn Clancy, Tomy Dunster, and Mo’Nique

The subject of this movie review is Shadowboxer, a 2005 crime thriller directed by Lee Daniels. After the film’s theatrical release in the summer of 2006, two of its stars would go on to win Academy Awards, Helen Mirren and Mo’Nique, and one had already won an Oscar, Cuba Gooding, Jr.

Clayton (Stephen Dorff), a nasty crime lord, hires the assassin Rose (Helen Mirren) and her stepson/partner/longtime lover, Mikey (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), to kill his wife, Vickie (Vanessa Ferlito), whom he believes is cheating on him. However, during the hit, Rose, suffering from cancer and on her last job, discovers that Vickie is pregnant and hesitates. Vickie immediately goes into labor and delivers a son. Rose takes mother and newborn and flees with Mikey to a new life in a pastoral suburb. Soon, the baby is seven-year old Anthony (Cullen Flynn Clancy), and the past is about to catch up with this unconventional family.

Shadowboxer is an audacious, unconventional thriller. Director Lee Daniels and writer William Lipz create a crime thriller than can masquerade as a family melodrama. This flick, however, has an awkward pace. Sometimes it is slow, and other times it is a meditative tale that shadowboxes with being philosophical – philosophy that it delivers either through imagery or dialogue. (Mikey religiously practices shadow boxing.) Shadowboxer’s overarching plot is a crime thriller tale full of cold, ruthless murderers, thugs, criminals, and assorted lowlifes, but it often comes across as low budget thriller with most of the actors merely posing rather than acting. The bad guys and badasses come across as stock characters, or maybe the direction they received for their performances was too artsy.

Shadowboxer doesn’t have any great or even really good performances, but this strange off-kilter flick spends the second half builds into a story of an unconventional family coming to grips with itself. The fact that the family members can be a workable nuclear family (even though this merger wasn’t meant to be) only makes seeing things work out that much more desirable. Rooting for this desperate, but loving family makes Shadowboxer’s narrative, pacing, and structural problems all less important.

6 of 10
B

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Review: "The Debt" is Good, But Unfocused

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 21 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Debt (2011)
Running time: 113 minutes (1 hour, 53 minutes)
MPAA – R for some violence and language
DIRECTOR: John Madden
WRITERS: Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman, and Peter Straughan (based on the film, Ha-Hov, by Assaf Bernstein and Ido Rosenblum)
PRODUCERS: Eitan Evan, Eduardo Rossoff, Kris Thykier, and Matthew Vaughn
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Ben Davis
EDITORS: Alexander Berner
COMPOSER: Thomas Newman

DRAMA/HISTORICAL/THRILLER

Starring: Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson, Ciarán Hinds, Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington, Martin Csokas, Jesper Christensen, Romi Aboulafia, and István Goz

The Debt is a 2011 drama and espionage thriller from director John Madden. It is a remake of a 2007 film (directed by Assaf Bernstein) of the same name from Israel. In the 2011 film, a former Mossad intelligence agent relives a 1965 mission in which she and two other agents pursued a Nazi war criminal. At times quite riveting, The Debt often comes across as a broken movie because it tries to be different things at different times in the story.

In 1997, Rachel Singer (Helen Mirren), a former Mossad agent, and her ex-husband, Stefan Gold (Tom Wilkinson), who is still a Mossad agent, are celebrating a new book written by their daughter, Sarah Gold (Romi Aboulafia). Sarah’s book recounts a 1965 mission in which Rachel, Stefan, and another former Mossad agent, David Peretz (Ciarán Hinds), pursued a notorious Nazi war criminal. The trio targeted Dieter Vogel (Jesper Christensen), infamously known as “the Surgeon of Birkenau,” believed to be living in East Berlin.

The story flashes back to 1965 where we meet the younger versions of the trio: Rachel (Jessica Chastain), Stefan (Martin Csokas), and David (Sam Worthington). They find Vogel living as “Doktor Bernhardt” and operating an obstetrics and gynecology clinic in East Berlin. The team’s mission was eventually accomplished, or was it? Rachel must confront her past when two figures from it reemerge.

The Debt takes place across two different time periods, which I think inhibits the movie from sustaining suspense or building character relationships with any traction. The Debt certainly has potent moments, and the last act is a killer suspense thriller. Of course, any movie starring Helen Mirren and Tom Wilkinson would, at least, be interesting. I’m down to see anything with Mirren, and she doesn’t disappoint – once again, I mention that last act of this movie.

I see The Debt as a broken movie because it is really two films – one that takes place in 1965 and the other in 1997 – instead of being one complete narrative. That is what can happen to a movie that has so many flashbacks that it seems as if they are half the film. The Debt is good, but it would have better by focusing on 1965 or 1997 – not both.

5 of 10
B-

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

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"The Descendants" Wins USC Libraries Scripter Award

The Descendants Ascend with Scripter Win

Authors and screenwriters of the family drama take the 2012 USC Libraries Scripter Award

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Author Kaui Hart Hemmings and screenwriters Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash won the 24th-annual USC Libraries Scripter Award for their creative contributions to The Descendants. Selection committee co-chair Naomi Foner announced the winners at the black-tie ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 18.

“This is such a wonderful honor and to be part of something that celebrates and puts books on a pedestal and none of this would have been possible without Kaui’s wonderful book,” said Rash. “It was such a wonderful journey for us to fall in love with the book and have the opportunity to turn it into the film.”

Hemmings noted that the collaboration has been a positive experience for her.

“An adaptation can sometimes bring so many more readers that I never would have had and to have those readers say that they love both the book and the film and that they work so well together is such a blessing,” she said.

Payne—who was unable to attend—has been a Scripter finalist twice before for his work on the adaptations About Schmidt and Sideways. Payne also directed The Descendants. Faxon acknowledged Payne’s critical decision-making skills in his acceptance speech.

“I am thankful to Alexander Payne for directing such a beautiful film and I think he was right in the end—it was a good call casting George Clooney and not me,” Faxon joked. “That ended up being a benefit.”

The Descendants’ Scripter win adds to its many accolades. The film has been named the American Film Institute’s Movie of the Year and the best film of the year by the Los Angeles, Dallas, Florida, Kansas City, and Southeastern film critics associations, among others. It was named the best drama of the year at the Golden Globes and is nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay.

The Scripter gala, presented by the Friends of the USC Libraries, honors each year’s best cinematic adaptation of the written word. Scripter is the only award of its kind that honors screenwriters as well as the author of the work upon which the adaptation is based.

With filmmaker and USC alumnus Taylor Hackford (‘67, International Relations) and Academy Award-winning actress Helen Mirren serving as honorary dinner chairs, USC Libraries Dean Catherine Quinlan welcomed the attendees to USC’s historic Edward L. Doheny Memorial Library.

“The authors and screenwriters of these books, plays, stories, and screenplays embody the stellar, transformative accomplishments our libraries inspire and make possible.” Quinlan added that by supporting the libraries, all who attended were “supporting the academic and artistic excellence of the entire university.”

The other finalists for the 2012 Scripter Award, in alphabetical order by film title, were: screenwriter Christopher Hampton for A Dangerous Method, adapted from the nonfiction book A Most Dangerous Method: The Story of Jung, Freud, and Sabina Spielrein by John Kerr and the 2002 stage play The Talking Cure by Hampton; screenwriter Moira Buffini for Jane Eyre, adapted from the 1847 book by Charlotte Brontë; screenwriters Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, and Stan Chervin for Moneyball, based on Michael Lewis’ book, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game; and screenwriters Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughan and author John le Carré for the thriller Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

Co-chaired by Golden Globe-winning screenwriter Naomi Foner and USC screenwriting professor and vice president of the Writers Guild of America, West, Howard Rodman, the Scripter selection committee chose The Descendants as the year’s best adaptation from a field of 109 eligible films.

The 32-member selection committee included film critics Kenneth Turan and Leonard Maltin; Fox Filmed Entertainment co-chairman and chief executive officer Tom Rothman; screenwriters Eric Roth, Geoffrey Fletcher, and Gale Anne Hurd; author Michael Chabon; and USC deans Catherine Quinlan, Elizabeth M. Daley and Madeline Puzo.

Academy Award-winning screenwriter Paul Haggis accepted the 5th-annual USC Libraries Scripter Literary Achievement Award. Haggis’ credits include the screenplays for films such as Crash, Million Dollar Baby, and the two James Bond films starring Daniel Craig, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.

During his acceptance speech, Haggis spoke about the influence his parents had on his writing career.

“They encouraged me from a young age largely because they saw I wasn’t good at much else,” Haggis joked. “You have to be a little emotionally unstable to be in this kind of profession—it’s a ridiculous profession, writing.”

“I’m very proud to be here with my daughters tonight—all three of whom grew up to choose ridiculous and difficult careers, in writing, in art, and in music,” Haggis explained. “I’m trying to learn the lesson my parents taught me—to encourage your children to be ridiculous to take on ridiculous challenges, choose ridiculous careers. Only by doing that do they really have a chance to be great.”

Haggis—along with author F. X. Toole—also captured a USC Libraries Scripter Award for Million Dollar Baby in 2005.

This year’s in-kind sponsors included Esquire Bar & Lounge (Pasadena, Calif.); the Wine of the Month Club; John and Dana Agamalian and Blue Ice Vodka; Barry Eggleston II of the Exotic Car Collection by Enterprise; Final Draft Inc., Movie Magic: Screenwriter; Paperblanks; and thinkThin.

For more details on Scripter—including additional images from the ceremony—visit http://scripter.usc.edu/.

Review: "Gosford Park" is Full of Intrigue and Thrills (Happy B'day, Robert Altman)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 12 (of 2002) by Leroy Douresseaux

Gosford Park (2001)
Running time: 137 minutes (2 hours, 17 minutes)
MPAA – R for some language and brief sexuality
DIRECTOR: Robert Altman
WRITER: Julian Fellowes (from an idea by Robert Altman and Bob Balaban)
PRODUCERS: Robert Altman, Bob Balaban, and David Levy
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Andrew Dunn (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Tim Squyres
COMPOSER: Patrick Doyle
Academy Award winner

DRAMA/MYSTERY

Starring: Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Kristin Scott Thomas, Camilla Rutherford, Charles Dance, Geraldine Somerville, Tom Hollander, Natasha Wightman, Jeremy Northam, Bob Balaban, James Wilby, Ryan Phillippe, Stephen Fry, Ron Webster, Clive Owen, Helen Mirren, Eileen Atkins, Emily Watson, Alan Bates, Derek Jacobi, Richard E. Grant, and Sophie Thompson

Sir William McCordle (Michael Gambon, The Insider) and Lady Sylvia McCordle (Kristin Scott Thomas) invite many family and friends to their old style, English country estate for a weekend shooting party. Sir William has been the financial benefactor for many of his guests, some needing him more than others and him rejecting the needs of some. When Sir William is discovered dead in his study, everyone: family, guests, and their servants are suspects.

Directed by Robert Altman (The Player, Short Cuts, Nashville), Gosford Park is written in the fashion of an Agatha Christie whodunit, her brand of mystery story that was sometimes set in an old country manor. Altman, a master of the ensemble cast, uses this large cast of British thespians with the flair of a wizard and the skill of great director. Altman creates a pace for Gosford Park that is as still and as measured as a Merchant Ivory production, but underneath the stiff veneer is a film that is as sharp and as full of wit as the best comedies. Every time that Altman seems to start to slip in his craft, he unleashes something that is so rare in films this day: a movie in which the story, setting, and cast are so well played that the audience is knocked off its collective feet. With each marvelous comeback, we believe in him even more. Gosford Park has the kind of execution that brought us to our feet in The Player.

The script by actor Julian Fellowes from an idea by Altman and cast member Bob Balaban is, too say the least, excellent. To use such a large cast in which each and every actors plays what amounts to a major part in the film, even on small screen time, is rarely seen, and is usually reserved for the stage. To write a script that does this in a movie that is barely over two hours long is to understand quality over quantity. There are no big named stars here waiting to chew up scenery and to have their Oscar soliloquies. Fellowes creates a story that has the density and plot lines of a novel, but the brevity of a short story. He does not waste words and scenes, and Altman ably directs the script with the same efficiency. Fellowes wry take on class and social status is uncanny; he sums up British society in the time it would take most writers to begin their introduction to the topic.

Gosford Park is a movie of good performances. Maggie Smith as Constance, Countess of Trentham and Helen Mirren as the housekeeper, Mrs. Wilson earned well-deserved Oscar nominations. Ms. Smith sets the stage and creates the atmosphere for this drama, comedy, and mystery. She embodies British reserve, attitude, and wit, but it is in those moments when she surprises with some unexpected line or sudden glance that she really defines the chameleonic nature of this film. Ms. Mirren well represents the hurt, the lies, and the secrets of Gosford Park; she is want and fulfillment so held in check that when it burst forth, someone must die.

Ryan Phillippe, Stephen Fry, Clive Owen, Ron Webster, Emily Watson, Kelly Macdonald, and Alan Bates among others of this fine cast all do wonderful work. It boggles the mind what these actors do with a great script and one of the great directors.

Gosford Park has as its foundation a well know genre, and it does not refute the trappings of this genre. While a mystery novel must play to its conventions, Gosford Park allows the human dramas to tell the story. Each character’s story and motivation underlies the story, and every character has at least one moment in the spotlight. As motives come forth, the film casts off its whodunit costume and becomes a real drama and witty satire on class. Like life, it is a comedy and mystery, and, like life, the story and its characters remains intriguing even as it ends.

It’s one of those special films that waits for a viewer hungry for some meat to go with the sugary plate most films offer as their sole course.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2002 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen” (Julian Fellowes); 6 nominations: “Best Picture” (Robert Altman, Bob Balaban, and David Levy), “Best Director” (Robert Altman), “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” (Helen Mirren), “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” (Maggie Smith), “Best Art Direction-Set Decoration” (Stephen Altman-art director and Anna Pinnock-set decorator), and “Best Costume Design” (Jenny Beavan)

2002 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins: “Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film” (Robert Altman, Bob Balaban, and David Levy) and “Best Costume Design” (Jenny Beavan); 7 nominations: “Best Make Up/Hair” (Sallie Jaye and Jan Archibald), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Helen Mirren), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Maggie Smith), “Best Production Design” (Stephen Altman), “Best Screenplay – Original” (Julian Fellowes), “Carl Foreman Award for the Most Promising Newcomer” (Julian Fellowes-writer), and “David Lean Award for Direction” (Robert Altman)

2002 Golden Globes: 1 win: “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Robert Altman); 4 nominations: “Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical,” “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Helen Mirren), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Maggie Smith), and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Julian Fellowes)

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2011 British Independent Film Awards Nominations Announced

At least for me, the 2012 movie award season (for movies released in 2011) has begun with the announcement yesterday (Monday, October 31, 2011) of the nominations for the 2011 British Independent Film Awards.

Created in 1998, The British Independent Film Awards, by its own description, celebrates merit and achievement in independently funded British filmmaking, honor new film talent, and promote British films and filmmaking to a wider public.  Here, is the press release:

NOMINATIONS AND JURY REVEALED FOR THE MOËT BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM AWARDS

The nominations and jury members for the 14th annual Moët British Independent Film Awards were announced today, Monday 31October at St Martins Lane, London by Helen McCrory.

Joint Directors, The Moët British Independent Film Awards’ Johanna von Fischer & Tessa Collinson said: “This year’s nominees really highlight the immense wealth of British talent in this country today. We are incredibly proud that the Awards have grown to a level that garners attention worldwide, helping to bring British talent and independent filmmaking to the international stage.”

The highest number of nominations this year goes to three films, Shame, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Tyrannosaur, all with seven nods. All three titles are battling for the coveted Best British Film Award, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor or Actress awards. We Need to Talk About Kevin and Kill List each receive six nominations with Submarine following closely with five.

Nominations for Best Actress go to Rebecca Hall (The Awakening), Mia Wasikowska (Jane Eyre), MyAnna Buring (Kill List), Olivia Colman (Tyrannosaur) and Tilda Swinton (We Need To Talk About Kevin). Leading men hoping to take home the Best Actor award include Brendan Gleeson (The Guard), Neil Maskell (Kill List), Michael Fassbender (Shame), Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) and Peter Mullan (Tyrannosaur).

Directors who have delivered dynamic debuts this year and are fighting for the Douglas Hickox Award are Joe Cornish (Attack The Block), Ralph Fiennes (Coriolanus), John Michael McDonagh (The Guard), Richard Ayoade (Submarine) and Paddy Considine (Tyrannosaur).

Elsa Corbineau, Marketing Director Moët & Chandon commented: “Moët & Chandon is thrilled to continue to support the Awards this year. There are some truly remarkable films in today's nominations which reflect the talent of the British filmmakers. We look forward to celebrating all of the nominees and winners on 4 December."

The Raindance Award nominees for 2011 include: Acts of Godfrey, Black Pond, Hollow, Leaving Baghdad and A Thousand Kisses Deep. This Award honours exceptional achievement for filmmakers working against the odds, often with little or no industry support. Elliot Grove, Founder Raindance Film Festival and Moët British Independent Film Awards added: "Delighted to see that this year's nominations prove that once again British independent filmmakers have risen to the creative challenge of making astounding movies in the midst of economic chaos."

The Pre-Selection Committee of 70 members viewed nearly 200 films, out of which they selected the nominations, which were decided by ballot.

The winners of The Moët British Independent Film Awards are decided by an independent jury comprised of leading professionals and talent from the British film industry.

The Jury for 2011 includes:
Josh Appignanesi (Director / Writer), Lucy Bevan (Casting Director), Edith Bowman (Broadcaster), Mike Goodridge (Editor), Ed Hogg (Actor), Neil Lamont (Art Director), Mary McCartney (Photographer), Molly Nyman (Composer), Debs Paterson (Director / Writer), Tracey Seaward (Producer), Charles Steel (Producer), David Thewlis (Actor), Ruth Wilson (Actress) and Justine Wright (Editor).

The winners will be announced at the much anticipated 14th awards ceremony, which will take place on Sunday 4 December at the impressive Old Billingsgate in London.

Proud supporters and patrons of The Moët British Independent Film Awards include Mike Figgis, Tom Hollander, Adrian Lester, Ken Loach, Ewan McGregor, Helen Mirren, Samantha Morton, Michael Sheen, Trudie Styler, Tilda Swinton, Meera Syal, David Thewlis, Ray Winstone and Michael Winterbottom.

The Moët British Independent Film Awards would like to thank all its supporters, especially: Moët & Chandon, The British Film Institute, 3 Mills Studios, BBC Films, Deluxe142, The Creative Partnership, Exile Media, M.A.C, Raindance, Soho House, Studiocanal, Swarovski, Variety, Working Title and Zander Creative.


About BIFA
Created in 1998, The British Independent Film Awards set out to celebrate merit and achievement in independently funded British filmmaking, to honour new talent, and to promote British filmmaking and British talent to a wider public.

In recognition of Moët & Chandon’s generous contribution as headline sponsor, the 2011 event is referred to as The MOËT British Independent Film Awards.

For further information on BIFA, visit http://www.bifa.org.uk/