Negromancer News Bits and Bites for the Week of February 15th to 21st, 2015 - Update #17

NEWS:

From Variety:  Oliver Stone's film, "Snowden," with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley is due for Christmas.

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From TheWrap:  Lena Dunham, the star and creator of HBO's "Girls," will guest star on ABC's "Scandal," or which she is reportedly a super-fan.

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From Variety:  District 9's Neill Blomkamp is working on an Alien movie for 20th Century Fox.

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From YahooMovies:  The quiet furor over the blood profits of American Sniper.

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From TheHollywoodReporter:  An anonymous Oscar voter shares her hilarious views on her voting process with THR.  For the record, Missy Anonymous, if a 60-year-old white man had directed Selma, he would have been nominated for "Best Director."

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From TheHollywoodReporter:  Roman Polanski to attend extradition hearing in Poland.

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From BlackAmericaWeb:  Don Lemon "Hates" FOX's "Empire."

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From TheVerge:  Alejandro Jodorowsky tries Kickstarter to finance his next film project.

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From HitFix:  The winner of the Feb. 13th to 15th, 2015 weekend box office is Fifty Shades of Grey with an estimated take of $81.6 million.


COMIC BOOKS:

From TheVerge:  First image of Jason Momoa as "Aquaman" for "Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice."

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From YahooMovies:  Marvel and Netflix's "Jessica Jones" adds three new cast members.


STAR WARS:

From TheDailyBeast:  Huge Star Wars spoiler - another reason this movie needs to be released at an earlier date.

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From IBT:  Rumors about Han Solo and Princess Leia's children.

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From HitFix:  Rumors about a son of Luke Skywalker.


OBITS:

From YahooMovies:  The French actor, Louis Jourdan, died at the age of 93 on Saturday, February 14, 2015.  Many remember him for his role in Gigi, but many others best remember Jourdan as the villain, Kamal Khan (an exiled Afghan prince), in the 1983 James Bond movie, Octopussy.

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From Variety:  Gary Owens, the original voice of Hanna-Barbera character, Space Ghost, died Thursday, February 12, 2015.  He was either 78 or 80.  Recently, Owens was the voice of the over-the-air digital network, Antenna TV.  He is a fond remembrance of my childhood.  I send my condolences to his family.


MISC:

From TheVox:  It's a Black thing... or is it?

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From YahooSports:  Bobby Knight should have been run out of "polite" society a long time ago.

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From YahooParenting:  A great birthday story.

Review: "Rush Hour 3" Serves the Franchise Well

TRASH IN MY EYE, No. 3 (of 2008) by Leroy Douresseaux

Rush Hour 3 (2007)
Running time:  91 minutes (1 hour, 31 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of action violence, sexual content, nudity, and language
DIRECTOR:  Brett Ratner
WRITER:  Jeff Nathanson (based on the characters created by Ross LaManna)
PRODUCERS:  Roger Birnbaum, Andrew Z. Davis, Jonathan Glickman, Arthur M. Sarkissian, and Jay Stern
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  J. Michael Muro
EDITORS:  Mark Helfrich, Billy Weber, and Don Zimmerman
COMPOSER:  Lalo Schifrin

ACTION/COMEDY/CRIME

Starring:  Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Hiroyuki Sanada, Youki Kudoh, Max von Sydow, Yvan Attal, Noémie Lenoir, Jingchu Zhang, Tzi Ma, and Roman Polanski

The subject of this movie review is Rush Hour 3, a 2007 action movie and crime comedy from director Brett Ratner.  It is the third film in the Rush Hour movie franchise.  In Rush Hour 3, Lee and Carter head to Paris, after an attempted assassination on an ambassador, to protect a French woman with knowledge about the Triads’ secret leaders.

Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker return for the long-awaited third installment of their wildly popular comic action film franchise, Rush Hour.  While Rush Hour 3 is funny and action-packed, the stars and director seem to be trying too hard.

After his dear friend, Ambassador Han (Tzi Ma), is shot, Hong Kong Police Chief Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) finds himself guarding Han’s daughter, Soo Yung (Jingchu Zhang), from the Triads who want Han and the information he has on them destroyed.  There is, however, another complication when Lee discovers that Kenji (Hiroyuki Sanada), someone from his past who is greatly important to him, suddenly appears and is associated with the Triads.

LAPD Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker) leaves the doghouse of traffic detail to help his old friend, Lee.  Soon, the duo is in Paris looking for two elusive women, the sexy Geneviéve (Noémie Lenoir) and the mysterious “Shy Shen,” who may hold the secrets that the Triads guard so jealously.  But in Paris, Lee and Carter are out of their element and always in trouble and/or danger.

Rush Hour 3 has its moments – in fact, plenty of them, but there seem to be an equal number of times in which the pratfalls, explosions, gunfire, banter, sex, etc. seem forced.  The sad thing is that neither director Brett Ratner nor his two stars need to be so over the top.  With two strong comic actors – Lee being the great physical comedian and Tucker personifying the fast-talking streetwise comic – the Rush Hour franchise has the perfect opposites-attract pair.  It’s not that hard to build an action comedy around them with only the thinnest scenario.

Instead, Chris Tucker’s witty banter often turns to babbling, and Jackie Chan’s fighting and gymnastic scenes usually make him look like a tired windup toy or a beat-up action figure caught in a wind tunnel.  It is okay to refry the same old shtick; Ratner and writer Jeff Nathanson just overcooked it and let some of the fun get scorched.  Still, seeing Chan and Tucker back together is good, and the movie is not exactly bad.  In fact, Rush Hour 3 is good enough to make a fourth film worth the wait.

5 of 10
B-

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Updated:  Friday, March 28, 2014

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

"Me, Myself and Mum" Dominates 2014 Cesar Awards - Complete Winners List

The 39th Cesar Awards were presented on Friday, February 28, 2014 in Paris.  An honorary Cesar is traditionally handed out to a foreign actor for their body of work.  This year’s honoree is Scarlett Johansson.  The César Award is the national film award of France, the country’s equivalent of the Oscars.

The 2014 / 39th Cesar Award winners (for the year in 2013) – complete list:

Best Film:
Me, Myself and Mum

Best Director
Roman Polanski for Venus in Fur

Best Foreign Film
The Broken Circle Breakdown, director Felix van Groeningen

Best Actress:
Sandrine Kiberlain for 9 Month Stretch

Best Actor:
Guillaume Gallienne for Me, Myself and Mum

Best Supporting Actress:
Adele Haenel for Suzanne

Best Supporting Actor:
Neils Arestrup for Quai d'Orsay

Most Promising Actress (Newcomer):
Adele Exarchopoulos for Blue Is the Warmest Color

Most Promising Actor (Newcomer):
Pierre Deladonchamps for Stranger by the Lake

Best Original Screenplay:
Albert Dupontel for 9 Month Stretch

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Guillaume Gallienne for Me, Myself and Mum

Best Original Music:
Martin Wheeler for Michael Kohlhaas

Best Sound:
Jean-Pierre Duret, Jean Mallet and Melissa Petitjean for Michael Kohlhaas

Best Cinematography:
Thomas Hardmeier for The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet

Best Editing:
Valerie Deseine for Me, Myself and Mum

Best Costume:
Pascaline Chavanne for Renoir

Best Production Design (Décor):
Stephane Rozenbaum for L'Ecume des Jours

Best Documentary:
Sur le Chemin de l'Ecole, director Pascal Plisson

Best First Film:
Me, Myself and Mum, director Guillaume Gallienne

Best Short Film:
Avant Que de Tout Perdre, director Xavier Legrand

Best Animated Feature Film:
Loulou l'Incroyable Secret, director Eric Omond

Best Animated Short Film:
Mademoiselle Kiki et les Montparnos, director Amelie Harrault

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2014 Cesar Award Nominations - Complete List

by Leroy Douresseaux

First given out in 1975, the César Award is the national film award of France.  Some even think of the César Award as the French equivalent of the American Academy Awards (Oscars). The nominations are selected by the members of the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma, and the award ceremony is held in Paris each February.  The name of the award comes from the late sculptor César Baldaccini, and the trophies are actual sculptures of the artist.

The nominations for the 39th Cesar Awards were announced Friday, January 31, 2014.

The 39th Cesar Awards will be presented on Friday, February 28, 2014 in Paris, just two days before the Oscars at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.  Cesar-winning actor, Francois Cluzet (The Intouchables), will host the ceremony at the Chatelet Theater, with fellow Cesar-winner, Cecile de France (Hereafter), serving as mistress of ceremonies.

An honorary Cesar is traditionally handed out to a foreign actor for their body of work. Kevin Costner received the prize in 2013.  This year’s honoree is Scarlett Johansson.

The 2014 / 39th Cesar Award nominees (for the year in 2013) – complete list:

Best Film:
9 Month Stretch
Me, Myself and Mum
Stranger by the Lake
Jimmy P.
The Past
Venus in Fur
Blue Is the Warmest Color

Best Director
Albert Dupontel for 9 Month Stretch
Guillaume Gallienne for Me, Myself and Mum
Alain Guiraudie for Stranger by the Lake
Arnaud Desplechin for Jimmy P.
Asghar Farhadi for The Past
Roman Polanski for Venus in Fur
Abdellatif Kechiche for Blue Is the Warmest Color

Best Foreign Film
The Broken Circle Breakdown, director Felix van Groeningen
Blancanieves, director Pablo Berger
Blue Jasmine, director Woody Allen
Dead Man Talking, director Patrick Ridremont
Django Unchained, director Quentin Tarantino
La Grande Bellezza, director Paolo Sorrentino
Gravity, director Alfonso Cuaron

Best Actress:
Fanny Ardant for Les Beaux Jours
Berenice Bejo for The Past
Catherine Deneuve for Elle S'En Va
Sara Forestier for Suzanne
Sandrine Kiberlain for 9 Month Stretch
Emmanuelle Seigner for Venus in Fur
Lea Seydoux for Blue Is the Warmest Color

Best Actor:
Mathieu Amalric for Venus in Fur
Michel Bouquet for Renoir
Albert Dupontel for 9 Month Stretch
Gergory Gadebois for Mon Ame Par Toi Guerie
Guillaume Gallienne for Me, Myself and Mum
Fabrice Luchini for Alceste a Bicyclette
Mads Mikkelsen for Michael Kohlhaas

Best Supporting Actress:
Marisa Borini for A Castle in Italy
Francoise Fabian for Me, Myself and Mum
Julie Gayet for Quai d'Orsay
Adele Haenel for Suzanne
Geraldine Pailhas for Young & Beautiful

Best Supporting Actor:
Neils Arestrup for Quai d'Orsay
Patrick Chesnais for Les Beaux Jours
Patrick d'Assumcao for Stranger by the Lake
Olivier Gourmet for Grand Central
Francois Damiens for Suzanne

Most Promising Actress (Newcomer):
Lou de Laage for Jappeloup
Pauline Etienne for La Religieuse
Adele Exarchopoulos for Blue Is the Warmest Color
Goshifteh Farahni for Syngue Sabour - Pierre de Patience
Marine Vacth for Young & Beautiful

Most Promising Actor (Newcomer):
Paul Bartel for Les Petits Princes
Pierre Deladonchamps for Stranger by the Lake
Paul Hamy for Suzanne
Vincent Macaigne for La Fille du 14 Juillet
Nemo Schiffman for Elle S'En Va

Best Original Screenplay:
Albert Dupontel for 9 Month Stretch
Philippe Le Guay for Alceste a Bicyclette
Alain Guiraudie for Stranger by the Lake
Asghar Farhadi for The Past
Katelle Quillevere and Mariette Desert for Suzanne

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Guillaume Gallienne for Me, Myself and Mum
Arnaud Desplechin for Jimmy P.
Antonin Baudry, Christophe Blain and Bertrand Tavernier for Quai d'Orsay
David Ives and Roman Polanski for Venus in Fur
Abdellatif Kechiche and Ghalya Lacroix for Blue Is the Warmest Color

Best Original Music:
Jorge Arriagada for Alceste a Bicyclette
Loik Dury and Christophe "Disco" Minck for Chinese Puzzle
Etienne Charry for L'Ecume des Jours
Martin Wheeler for Michael Kohlhaas
Alexandre Desplat for Venus in Fur

Best Sound:
Marc-Antoine Beldent, Loic Prian and Olivier Do Huu for Me, Myself and Mum
Philippe Grivel and Nathalie Vidal for Stranger by the Lake
Jean-Pierre Duret, Jean Mallet and Melissa Petitjean for Michael Kohlhaas
Lucien Balibar, Nadine Muse and Cyril Holtz for Venus in Fur
Jerome Chenevoy, Fabien Pochet and Jean-Paul Hurier for Blue Is the Warmest Color

Best Cinematography:
Thomas Hardmeier for The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet
Claire Mathon for Stranger by the Lake
Jeanne Lapoirie for Michael Kohlhaas
Mark Ping Bing Lee for Renoir
Sofian el Fani for Blue Is the Warmest Color

Best Editing:
Christophe Pinel for9 Month Stretch
Valerie Deseine for Me, Myself and Mum
Jean-Christophe Hym for Stranger by the Lake
Juliette Welfling for The Past
Camille Toubkis, Albertine Lastera and Jean-Marie Langelle for Blue Is the Warmest Color

Best Costume:
Florence Fontaine for L'Ecume des Jours
Madeline Fontaine for The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet
Olivier Beriot for Me, Myself and Mum
Anina Diener for Michael Kohlhaas
Pascaline Chavanne for Renoir

Best Production Design (Décor):
Stephane Rozenbaum for L'Ecume des Jours
Aline Bonetto for The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet
Sylive Olive for Me, Myself and Mum
Yan Arlaud for Michael Kohlhaas
Benoit Barouh for Renoir

Best Documentary:
Comment J'ai Deteste les Maths, director Olivier Peyon
Le Dernier des Injustes, director Claude Lanzmann
Il Etait une Foret, director Luc Jacquet
La Maison de la Raido, director Nicolas Philibert
Sur le Chemin de l'Ecole, director Pascal Plisson

Best First Film:
La Bataille de Solferino, director Justine Triet
La Cage Doree, director Ruben Alves
En Solitaire, director Christophe Offenstein
La Fille du 14 Julliet, director Antonin Peretjatko
Me, Myself and Mum, director Guillaume Gallienne

Best Short Film:
Avant Que de Tout Perdre, director Xavier Legrand
Bambi, director Sebastien Lifshitz
La Fugue, director Jean-Bernard Marlin
Les Lezards, director Vincent Mariette
Marseille la Nuit, director Marie Monge

Best Animated Feature Film:
Ayay de Yopougon, directors Marguerite Aboute and Clement Oubrerie
Loulou l'Incroyable Secret, director Eric Omond
My Mommy is in America and She Met Buffalo Bill, directors Marc Boreal and Thibaut Chatel

Best Animated Short Film:
Lettres de Femmes, director Augusto Zanovello
Mademoiselle Kiki et les Montparnos, director Amelie Harrault

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2012 Cesar Awards Name "The Artist" Best Film

First given out in 1975, the César Award is the national film award of France. Some even think of the César Award as the French equivalent of the American Academy Awards (Oscars). The nominations are selected by the members of the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma, and the award ceremony is held in Paris each February.  The name of the award comes from the late sculptor César Baldaccini, and the trophies are actual sculptures of the artist

The 37th Cesar Awards were presented on Friday, February 24, 2012.  The French film, The Artist, which is poised to win big at the 84th Academy Awards tonight, won 6 of the 10 categories in which it was nominated, including "Best Film."  Also of note, Roman Polanski shares a screenwriting award.

The 37th César Award winners:

FILM
"The Artist," Michel Hazanavicius

DIRECTOR
Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"

ACTOR
Omar Sy, "Intouchables"

ACTRESS
Berenice Bejo, "The Artist"

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Michel Blanc, "The Minister"

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Carmen Maura, "Service Entrance"

NEWCOMER, ACTOR
Gregory Gadebois, "Angele et Tony"

NEWCOMER, ACTRESS
Naidra Ayadi, "Poliss"
Clotilde Hesme, "Angele et Tony"

FIRST FILM
Sylvain Estibal, "When Pigs Have Wings"

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Pierre Schoeller, "The Minister"

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Yasmina Reza, Roman Polanski, "Carnage"

FOREIGN FILM
"A Separation," Asghar Farhadi

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Guillaume Schiffman, "The Artist"

ANIMATED FILM
"The Rabbi's Cat," Joann Sfar, Antoine Delesvaux

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
"Tous au Larzac," Christian Rouaud

MUSIC
Ludovic Bource, "The Artist"

BEST SOUND
Olivier Hespel, Julie Brenta and Jean-Pierre Laforce, “The Minister” (L'Exercice de l'État)

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Laurence Bennett, “The Artist”

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Anaïs Romand, “House of Tolerance” (L'Apollonide: Souvenirs de la maison close)

BEST SHORT FILM
L'Accordeur

BEST EDITING
Laure Gardette and Yann Dedet, “Poliss”

"The Social Network" Wins Cesar Award

First given out in 1975, the César Award is the national film award of France. Some even think of the César Award as the French equivalent of the American Academy Awards. The nominations are selected by the members of the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma, and the award ceremony is held in Paris each February.  The name of the award comes from the late sculptor César Baldaccini, and the trophies are actual sculptures of the artist.

The 36th Cesar Awards were presented on Friday, February 25, 2011.  Of note to Americans, The Social Network won "Best Foreign Film."

The 36th (2011) César Award winners:

Best Film: "Of Gods and Men" ("Des Hommes Et Des Dieu")

Best Director: Roman Polanski, "The Ghost Writer"

Best Foreign Film: "The Social Network"

Best Actress: Sara Forestier, "Le Nom Des Gens" ("The Names of Love")

Best Actor: Eric Elmosnino, "Gainsbourg"

Best Supporting Actress: Anne Alvaro, "Le Bruit Des Glaçons" ("The Clink of Ice")

Best Supporting Actor: Michael Lonsdale, "Of Gods and Men" ("Des Hommes Et Des Dieux")

Best First Film: "Gainsbourg" ("Vie Héroïque")

Best Original Screenplay: Baya Kasmi, Michel Leclerc, "Le Nom Des Gens"

Best Adapted Screenplay: Robert Harris, Roman Polanski, "The Ghost Writer"

Best Documentary: "Océans"

Best Animated Film: "L’Illusioniste" ("The Illusionist")

Best Short Film: "Logorama"

Best Newcomer (Female): Leïla Bekhti, "Tout Ce Qui Brille"

Best Newcomer (Male): Edgar Ramirez, "Carlos"

Best Original Score: Alexandre Desplat, "The Ghost Writer"

Best Sound: Daniel Sobrino, Jean Goudier, Cyril Holtz, "Gainsbourg"

Best Cinematography: Caroline Champetier, "Of Gods and Men" ("Des Hommes Et Des Dieux")

Best Editing: Hervé de Luz, "The Ghost Writer"

Best Costume Design: Caroline De Vivaise, "La Princesse De Montpensier"

Best Art Direction: Hugues Tissandier, "Les Adventures Extraordinaries D'Adèle Blanc-Sec"

USC Libraries Honor Aaron Sorkin and Ben Mezrich

USC Libraries Friend The Social Network

The writers behind the story of social-networking site Facebook take home the 23rd-annual USC Libraries Scripter Award.

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Author Ben Mezrich and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin were feted with the 23rd-annual USC Libraries Scripter Award for the film The Social Network and the book The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal upon which it was based. Film critic and historian Leonard Maltin announced the winners at the black-tie banquet on Friday, Feb. 4.

“When you get that phone call that Aaron Sorkin is interested in adapting your book, it’s like getting hit by lightning,” Mezrich said.

“I sat down in the movie there and the movie opens. There is that line, ‘dating you is like dating a stairmaster.’ At that moment, I thought, this is the best movie I’ve ever seen,” added Mezrich.

Sorkin, who won multiple Emmy Awards for his work on the NBC program “The West Wing” and is nominated for an Academy Award for his Social Network screenplay, related an incident from early in his career that put entertainment award in perspective.

“Early one morning a few years ago, my father came over to my apartment in New York City where I was living at the time because the Academy Award nominations were being announced and there was some hope that a movie that I wrote that year would be nominated” explained Sorkin. “When it wasn’t, my father turned to me and said ‘Aaron, how many people in the world do you think woke up this morning with even reasonable expectation that something like this might happen.’ That’s when I discovered that for most, people it’s an honor just to be nominated…in my family, it’s an honor just to be overlooked.”

“You can imagine how they and I feel about getting recognition like this, from a group of people like this,” said Sorkin.

The Social Network’s Scripter win adds to its slew of accolades. The film has been named best film by the Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Toronto film critics associations, among others, as well as by the Golden Globes and the National Board of Review. The film is nominated for eight Academy Awards and six BAFTA awards.

The Scripter awards gala, presented by the Friends of the USC Libraries, honors the year’s best cinematic adaptation of the printed word. During the ceremony, one Twitter follower described the Scripter Award as “the most civilized awards show of all.”

With filmmaker and USC alumnus Taylor Hackford (‘67, International Relations) and Academy Award-winning actress Helen Mirren serving as honorary dinner chairs, master of ceremonies Nancy Sinatra welcomed the capacity crowd gathered in Los Angeles Times Reference Room of USC’s historic Edward L. Doheny Memorial Library.

“We know that a great story might transport us, but it’s about more than escapism,” explained Sinatra about the importance of the writing creatively and the unique significance of the Scripter Award. “We know that history comes to us through stories and that storytelling helps us understand ourselves as much as it helps deepen our understanding of the world.”

“The great stories yet to be written will depend on all those that came before...and that’s why a great library is important to the past, present, and future of the creative arts and why we’re here to honor accomplished storytellers,” said Sinatra.

The other finalists for the 2011 Scripter, in alphabetical order by film title, were: screenwriters Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy for 127 Hours, adapted from Aron Ralston’s autobiography Between a Rock and a Hard Place; screenwriters Robert Harris and Roman Polanski for The Ghost Writer, adapted from Harris’ novel The Ghost; screenwriters Joel and Ethan Coen for True Grit, based on Charles Portis’ classic Western novel; and screenwriters Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini and author Daniel Woodrell for Winter’s Bone.

Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning screenwriter Naomi Foner chaired the Scripter selection committee for the fourth consecutive year.

Author Dennis Lehane was named the 4th-annual USC Libraries Scripter Literary Achievement Award recipient for his body of work. Lehane is the author of such books as Gone, Baby, Gone; Moonlight Mile; Shutter Island; The Given Day; and Mystic River for which he received a Scripter Award in 2004.

“[Dennis Lehane] has said that, were it not for a specific place, he never would have become a writer. He grew up in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston,” noted USC Libraries Dean Catherine Quinlan in announcing the award. “He has demonstrated again and again his talent for carving convincing, creative landscapes out of words and populating them with intriguing characters and gripping mysteries.”

Lehane, who was unable to attend the ceremony, said in a statement that “It’s an honor to receive this award. My profound gratitude to the Friends of the USC Libraries.”

“It would be disingenuous of me not to note the depth of gratitude I owe the exceptional screenwriters who have adapted my novels for film: Brian Helgeland, Ben Affleck, Aaron Stockard, and most recently, Laeta Kalogridis, whose superb craftsmanship enabled her to take a near-unfilmable novel and turn it into pure cinema,” added Lehane.

Dr. David and Gracie Fermelia were the Premiere Sponsors and Dr. Verna B. Dauterive was the Gold Sponsor of this year’s event.

The USC Libraries welcomed Audi of America as the transportation sponsor for Scripter 2011. A fleet of Audi A8 sedans chauffeured nominees and special guests to the black-tie event.

Final Draft Inc. also has supported Scripter 2011 by providing copies of Final Draft 8 to USC students. The libraries will make the scriptwriting software available through the USC Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Library Multimedia Commons. Final Draft will complement the suite of authoring software the Multimedia Commons offers students and will provide a tool for storytelling and completing coursework while drawing on the riches of the libraries’ collections.

Proceeds from the Scripter gala support the USC Libraries’ Endowed Collections program. For more information about Scripter—including additional images from the ceremony and information on sponsorship opportunities for Scripter 24—visit http://scripter.usc.edu/.

"The Ghost Writer," Roman Polanski Clean Up at 23rd European Film Awards

The 23rd European Film Awards: The Winners

The European Film Academy Awards, the European equivalent of the Oscars, were handed out Saturday in Estonia:

EUROPEAN FILM 2010
THE GHOST WRITER, France/Germany/UK
directed by Roman Polanski
written by Robert Harris & Roman Polanski
produced by Robert Benmussa, Alain Sarde & Roman Polanski

EUROPEAN DIRECTOR 2010
Roman Polanski for THE GHOST WRITER

EUROPEAN ACTRESS 2010
Sylvie Testud in LOURDES

EUROPEAN ACTOR 2010
Ewan McGregor in THE GHOST WRITER

EUROPEAN SCREENWRITER 2010
Robert Harris & Roman Polanski for THE GHOST WRITER

CARLO DI PALMA EUROPEAN CINEMATOGRAPHER AWARD 2010
Giora Bejach for LEBANON

EUROPEAN EDITOR 2010
Luc Barnier & Marion Monnier for CARLOS

EUROPEAN PRODUCTION DESIGNER 2010
Albrecht Konrad for THE GHOST WRITER

EUROPEAN COMPOSER 2010
Alexandre Desplat for THE GHOST WRITER

EUROPEAN DISCOVERY 2010- Prix FIPRESCI
LEBANON, Israel/Germany/France
written & directed by Samuel Maoz
produced by Moshe Edery, Leon Edery, David Silber, Uri Sabag, Einat Bickel, Benjamina Mirnik & Illan Girard

EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY DOCUMENTARY - Prix ARTE 2010
NOSTALGIA DE LA LUZ (Nostalgia for the Light), France/Germany/Chile
Directed by Patricio Guzmán

EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY ANIMATED FEATURE FILM 2010
THE ILLUSIONIST by Sylvain Chomet

EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY SHORT FILM 2010
HANOI - WARSZAWA (Hanoi – Warsaw), Poland
by Katarzyna Klimkiewicz

EUROPEAN CO-PRODUCTION AWARD – Prix EURIMAGES 2010
Zeynep Özbatur Atakan, producer

EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Bruno Ganz, actor

EUROPEAN ACHIEVEMENT IN WORLD CINEMA 2010
Gabriel Yared, composer

PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD for Best European Film 2010
MR. NOBODYwritten and directed by Jaco van Dormael
produced by Philippe Godeau

 
Here, is a list of nominees and my review of The Ghost Writer.

"The Ghost Writer" Leads Nominations for European Film Awards

Press release:

Nominations for the 23rd European Film Awards

At the Seville European Film Festival the European Film Academy and EFA Productions announced the nominations for the European Film Awards 2010.

The more than 2,300 EFA Members will now vote for the winners which will be presented during the Awards Ceremony on 4 December in Tallinn/Estonia.

European Film Awards Nominations:

EUROPEAN FILM 2010:
BAL (Honey), Turkey/Germany
directed by Semih Kaplanoğlu
written by Semih Kaplanoğlu & Orçun Köksal
produced by Semih Kaplanoğlu & Johannes Rexin

DES HOMMES ET DES DIEUX (Of Gods and Men), France
directed by Xavier Beauvois
written by Etienne Comar & Xavier Beauvois

THE GHOST WRITER, France/Germany/UK
directed by Roman Polanski
written by Robert Harris & Roman Polanski
produced by Robert Benmussa, Alain Sarde & Roman Polanski

LEBANON, Israel/Germany/France
written and directed by Samuel Maoz
produced by Moshe Edery, Leon Edery, David Silber, Uri Sabag, Einat Bickel, Benjamina Mirnik & Illan Girard

EL SECRETO DE SUS OJOS (The Secret in their Eyes), Spain/Argentina
directed by Juan José Campanella
written by Eduardo Sacheri & Juan José Campanella
produced by Gerardo Herrero, Mariela Besuievsky & Juan José Campanella

SOUL KITCHEN, Germany
directed by Fatih Akin
written by Fatih Akin & Adam Bousdoukos
produced by Fatih Akin & Klaus Maeck

European Director:

Olivier Assayas, “Carlos”
Semih Kaplanoglu, “Bal” (““Honey”) 

Samuel Maoz, “Lebanon”
Roman Polanski, “The Ghost Writer” 

Paolo Virzi, “The First Beautiful Thing”

European Actress:

Zrinka Cvitesic, “Na Putu”

Sibel Kekilli, “When We Leave”

Lesley Manville, “Another Year”

Sylvie Testud, “Lourdes”

Lotte Verbeek, “Nothing Personal”

European Actor:

Jakob Cedergren, “Submarino”

Elio Germano, “La Nostra Vita”
Ewan McGregor, “The Ghost Writer”
George Pistereanu, “If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle” 

Luis Tosar, “Cell 211”

European Screenwriter:

Jorge Guerricaechevarria & Daniel Monzon, “Cell 211” 

Robert Harris & Roman Polanski, “The Ghost Writer”

Samuel Maoz, “Lebanon”

Radu Mihaileanu, “The Concert”

Carlo di Palma European Cinematographer Award:

Giora Bejach, “Lebanon”

Caroline Champetier, “Of Gods and Men”

Pavel Kostomarov, “How I Ended this Summer”
Baris Oezbicer, “Honey”

European Editor:

Luc Barnier & Marion Monnier, “Carlos”

Arik Lahav-Leibovich, “Lebanon”

Herve de Luze, “The Ghost Writer”

European Production Designer:
Paola Bizzarri & Luis Ramirez, “I, Don Giovanni” 

Albrecht Konrad, “The Ghost Writer”

Markku Paetilae & Jaagup Roomer, “The Temptation of St Tony”

European Composer:
Ales Brezina, “Kawasaki’s Rose” 

Pasquale Catalano, “Loose Cannons” 

Alexandre Desplat, “The Ghost Writer” 

Gary Yershon, “Another Year”

European Discovery (FIPRESCI Prize):

“The Double Hour”

“If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle”

“Lebanon”

“Nothing Personal”

”When We Leave”

European Film Academy Animated Feature Film:

“The Illusionist”

”Planet 51”

“Sammy’s Adventures: The Secret Passage”

European Film Academy Documentary:

“Armadillo”

“Nostalgia for the Light”
“Steam of Life”

European Film Academy Short Film:
“Amor”
“Diarchy”
“The External World”
“Hanoi – Warsaw”
“Here I Am”
“Joseph’s Snails”
“Lights”
“The Little Snow Animal”
“Maria’s Way”
“Out of Love”
“Rendez-Vous in Stella-Plage”
“Stay, Away”
“Talleres Clandestinos”
“Tussilago”
“Venus vs Me”

Watch the 23rd European Film Awards: 4 December 2010 live stream on http://www.europeanfilmawards.eu/

The European Film Awards 2010 are presented by the European Film Academy e.V. and EFA Productions gGmbH with the support of European Capital of Culture Tallinn 2011, Estonian Ministry of Culture, the City of Tallinn, Estonian Cultural Endowment, Enterprise Estonia, Estonian Public Broadcasting, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival and BDG.

http://www.europeanfilmacademy.org/

Review: Roman Polanski Spins Thrills in "The Ghost Writer"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 74 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Ghost Writer (2010)
Running time: 128 minutes (2 hours, 8 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for language, brief nudity/sexuality, some violence and a drug reference
DIRECTOR: Roman Polanski
WRITERS: Roman Polanski; from an adaptation by Robert Harris (based upon the novel The Ghost by Robert Harris)
PRODUCERS: Robert Benmussa, Roman Polanski, and Alain Sarde
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Pawel Edelman (director of photography)
EDITOR: Hervé de Luze
COMPOSER: Alexandre Desplat

MYSTERY/SUSPENCE/THRILLER

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Cattrall, Olivia Williams, Timothy Hutton, Tom Wilkinson, Jim Belushi, Robert Pugh, Jon Bernthal, Tim Preece, and Eli Wallach

In the film Green Zone, director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Ultimatum) and Oscar-winning screenwriter Brian Helgeland presented their critique of the run-up to the Iraq War within the framework of a military action thriller starring Matt Damon.

Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski (The Pianist) and co-writer Robert Harris also have something to say about Iraq. They present their criticism of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s cooperation with the U.S. invasion of Iraq as a murder mystery and political thriller entitled The Ghost Writer, based upon Harris’ novel, The Ghost.

In the film, Ewan McGregor plays a successful British ghostwriter, a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, reports, etc. that are credited to another person. He is hired by a giant American publishing house to ghostwrite the memoirs of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan). McGregor’s character is unnamed in the story, but he refers to himself and is known to others as “The Ghost” or “Lang’s Ghost.”

The Ghost’s agent sees this job as the opportunity of a lifetime, but this project seems doomed from the start. The Ghost’s predecessor on the project, Mike McAra, a long time aide to Lang, drowned in an apparent suicide. The Ghost arrives at Martha’s Vineyard (near Cape Cod, Massachusetts), where Lang is staying in an oceanfront house. It is the middle of winter, and The Ghost finds Lang under siege. He has been recently accused of possible war crimes by a former British foreign secretary, Richard Rycart (Robert Pugh), and now faces the threat of prosecution by the International Criminal Court.

As The Ghost works with Lang and researches the project, he discovers that Lang is surrounded by untrustworthy people, and the circle of shifty characters seems ever-widening. Lang’s political controversies bring a swarm of reporters and protestors, eventually forcing The Ghost to move into Lang’s home. There, he uncovers clues suggesting that McAra may have stumbled onto a dark secret about Lang, and The Ghost wonders if he will ultimately share McAra’s fate.

Polanski can certainly write and direct a thriller. This film is tense, and stylish, but not in a showy way. The Ghost Writer is almost always mesmerizing and often riveting. Polanski teases his audience with just enough tidbits about the characters and their pasts to keep their brains on overdrive trying to decipher the players and their actions. Sometimes, this movie is too coy about the characters and their motivations, but the atmosphere of paranoia and deceit will make you overlook any faults. The film’s smooth pace belies its ability to keep the viewer on the edge, never settled, and too busy to nitpick.

Ewan McGregor executes the perfect turn as the laconic Ghost, who views everything with a critical eye, but is also always on the lookout for clues. Olivia Williams is both vicious and vulnerable as Lang’s erratic wife, Ruth Lang, and the underrated Kim Cattrall gives a clever performance as the red herring chanteuse, Amelia Bly, Lang’s personal assistant.

Your politics or your opinions of the director may affect how you feel about this movie, but this confident thriller is perfect for those who love political intrigue. The Ghost Writer makes other recent political thriller/murder mysteries (like Edge of Darkness with Mel Gibson) look positively anemic. I won’t say that The Ghost Writer is as good as Polanski’s classic Chinatown, but this is good stuff.

7 of 10
B+

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Review: "The Pianist" Simply Superb

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 30 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Pianist (2002)
Running time: 150 minutes (2 hours, 30 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence and brief strong language
DIRECTOR: Roman Polanski
WRITER: Ronald Harwood (based upon the novel by Wladyslaw Szpilman)
PRODUCERS: Robert Benmussa, Roman Polanski, and Alain Sarde
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Pawel Edelman (director of photography)
EDITOR: Hervé de Luze
COMPOSER: Wojciech Kilar
Academy Award winner

DRAMA/WAR

Starring: Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay, Maureen Lipman, Emilia Fox, Ed Stoppard, Julia Rayner, Jessica Kate Meyer, and Michal Zebrowski

Director Roman Polanski, writer Ronald Harwood, and actor Adrien Brody all won Oscars® for their work on The Pianist, a film based upon the memoirs of Wladyslaw Szpilman (Adrien Brody), a Polish Jew who survived for five years in the Warsaw ghetto during World War II. It’s arguably the best non-documentary film about the Holocaust and Jewish oppression at the hands of the Germans after Schindler’s List.

Stylistically, The Pianist is similar to Schindler’s List in that both films visually have an atmosphere of classic cinema from the Golden Age of Hollywood film – the late 1930’s and 1940’s. From a technical aspect, the film is beautifully photographed with a gorgeous color palette that looks luscious even when melancholy gray tones are omnipresent. Also of top caliber are the art direction and set decoration, the costume design, and the original music by Wojciech Kilar.

What else can I say? This film, because of its subject matter, is difficult to watch, but from a filmmaking point of view, The Pianist is near perfect. Everyone deserved their awards and nominations, and Polanski cemented his place as a daring filmmaker willing to take chances and making great films when he succeeds.

If there must be one main reason to see this film, Adrien Brody’s performance is it. He plays Szpilman as both an eternal optimist and as a survivor, and the thing that is most uplifting about this film (which is filled with sorrow and tragedy) is that Szpilman survives. When he’s beaten down to being little more than a pitiful animal and a pathetic human skeleton, he nimbly skirts death’s every blow. Add the beautiful musical performances of Chopin and Beethoven, each one exquisitely staged and shot by Polanski and his cinematographer Pawl Edelman, and a great film is even greater.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2003 Academy Awards: 3 wins: “Best Actor in a Leading Role” (Adrien Brody), “Best Director” (Roman Polanski), and “Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay” (Ronald Harwood); 4 nominations: “Best Cinematography” (Pawel Edelman), “Best Costume Design” (Anna B. Sheppard), “Best Editing” (Hervé de Luze), and “Best Picture” (Roman Polanski, Robert Benmussa, Alain Sarde)

2003 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins: “Best Film” (Roman Polanski, Robert Benmussa, and Alain Sarde) and “David Lean Award for Direction” (Roman Polanski); 5 nominations: “Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music” (Wojciech Kilar), “Best Cinematography” (Pawel Edelman), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Adrien Brody), “Best Screenplay – Adapted” (Ronald Harwood), and “Best Sound” (Jean-Marie Blondel, Dean Humphreys, and Gérard Hardy)

2003 Golden Globes: 2 nominations: “Best Motion Picture – Drama” and Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Adrien Brody)