The National Society of Film Critics was founded in New York City in 1966 and is made up of 58 of the country’s most prominent movie critics. Known for their highbrow tastes, these critics form one of the most prestigious film groups on the United States. Current members include some of my favorite film critics: Roger Ebert, David Edelstein, and J. Hoberman, among others. The society has produced several anthologies about movies, including the must-have for film fans, Produced and Abandoned: The Best Films You’ve Never Seen (1990).
The 46th annual awards used a weighted ballot system. Scrolls will be sent to the winners.
46th Annual (2011) National Society of Film Critics Awards (* denotes winner):
BEST PICTURE
*1. Melancholia – 29 (Lars von Trier)
2. The Tree of Life – 28 (Terrence Malick)
3. A Separation – 20 (Asghar Farhadi)
BEST DIRECTOR
*1. Terrence Malick – 31 (The Tree of Life)
2. Martin Scorsese – 29 (Hugo)
3. Lars von Trier – 23 (Melancholia)
BEST ACTOR
*1. Brad Pitt – 35 (Moneyball, The Tree of Life)
2. Gary Oldman – 22 (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
3. Jean Dujardin – 19 (The Artist)
BEST ACTRESS
*1. Kirsten Dunst – 39 (Melancholia)
2. Yun Jung-hee – 25 (Poetry)
3. Meryl Streep – 20 (The Iron Lady)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
*1. Albert Brooks – 38 (Drive)
2. Christopher Plummer – 24 (Beginners)
3. Patton Oswalt – 19 (Young Adult)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
*1. Jessica Chastain – 30 (The Tree of Life, Take Shelter, The Help)
2. Jeannie Berlin – 19 (Margaret)
3. Shailene Woodley – 17 (The Descendants)
BEST NONFICTION
*1. Cave of Forgotten Dreams – 35 (Werner Herzog)
2. The Interrupters – 26 (Steve James)
3. Into the Abyss – 18 (Werner Herzog)
BEST SCREENPLAY
*1. A Separation – 39 (Asghar Farhadi)
2. Moneyball – 22 (Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin)
3. Midnight in Paris – 16 (Woody Allen)
BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
*1. A Separation – 67 (Asghar Farhadi)
2. Mysteries of Lisbon – 28 (Raoul Ruiz)
3. Le Havre – 22 (Aki Kaurismäki)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
*1. The Tree of Life – 76 (Emanuel Lubezki)
2. Melancholia – 41 (Manuel Alberto Claro)
3. Hugo – 33 (Robert Richardson)
EXPERIMENTAL
Ken Jacobs, for “Seeking the Monkey King.”
FILM HERITAGE
1. BAMcinématek for its complete Vincente Minnelli retrospective with all titles shown on 16 mm. or 35 mm. film.
2. Lobster Films, Groupama Gan Foundation for Cinema and the Technicolor Foundation for Cinema for the restoration of the color version of George Méliès’s “A Trip to the Moon.”
3. New York’s Museum of Modern Art for its extensive retrospective of Weimar Cinema.
4. Flicker Alley for their box set “Landmarks of Early Soviet Film.”
5. Criterion Collecton for its 2-disc DVD package “The Complete Jean Vigo.”
Monday, January 9, 2012
Warner Bros. Surpasses $4 Billion in Worldwide Box Office... Again
Warner Bros. Pictures Group Has Another Record-Breaking Year at the Box Office
With a combined box office exceeding $4.7 billion, Warner Bros. is the only studio in history to surpass the $4 billion benchmark for three consecutive years.
BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Warner Bros. Pictures Group enjoyed another hugely successful year, with a combined worldwide box office gross of more than $4.7 billion, led by 2011’s top-grossing film, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.” The announcement was made today by Jeff Robinov, President, Warner Bros. Pictures Group.
Warner Bros. has now exceeded $4 billion globally for three consecutive years, a milestone no other studio has ever achieved. In addition, with a domestic box office gross of more than $1.83 billion, Warner Bros. is the only studio to surpass the billion dollar mark eleven years in a row, and, in addition, it has done so 12 out of the last 13 years. Setting another record, Warner Bros. is the only studio to have topped $1.8 billion domestically for three years running.
There have also been a number of international benchmarks. The studio has surpassed $1 billion at the international box office a total of 14 times, with four of those years exceeding $2 billion, including 2011. The studio earned $2.87 billion internationally last year, and was the number one studio in Europe.
In making the announcement, Robinov stated, “Our 2011 slate saw a broad range of hits that encompassed comedy, action, suspense, and, of course, a little magic. We share these successes with our production partners, as well as all those who worked so hard, not only to make the movies but to bring them to a worldwide audience.”
The cornerstone of the studio’s success in 2011 was the record-breaking finale of the top-grossing Harry Potter film franchise, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2,” which earned more than $1.33 billion worldwide to become not only the highest-grossing film of the year but also the third-highest-grossing of all time, globally. Among the numerous records that the film broke during its theatrical run, it had the biggest opening weekend of all time, both domestically and internationally, and, on the international side, it is the highest-grossing Warner Bros. movie of all time.
A wide variety of other Warner Bros. releases that opened in 2011 went on to gross well over $100 million worldwide, just a few of which include “The Hangover Part II” ($586 million), “Horrible Bosses” ($215 million), “Final Destination 5” ($164 million), “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” ($148 million), and “Contagion” ($141 million), as well as the current release “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” which has grossed $286 million worldwide to date, with 25 international markets, including a number of major territories, yet to open. Warner Bros. also saw nine of its releases open at number one domestically.
Looking ahead to 2012, Warner Bros. Pictures has some of the most anticipated films of the coming year, with just a sample including “Wrath of the Titans,” the sequel to the blockbuster “Clash of the Titans,” starring Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes; Tim Burton’s “Dark Shadows,” with Johnny Depp leading an all-star ensemble cast, including Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter and Eva Green; Adam Shankman’s screen version of the hit musical “Rock of Ages,” starring Tom Cruise, Julianne Hough, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Malin Akerman, Mary J. Blige, Bryan Cranston and Alec Baldwin; “The Dark Knight Rises,” Christopher Nolan’s epic conclusion to his Batman trilogy, starring Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Morgan Freeman; the true-life drama “Argo,” directed by and starring Ben Affleck; the drama “The Gangster Squad,” starring Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone; Peter Jackson’s return to Middle-earth with “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”; and Baz Luhrmann’s screen adaptation of the classic “The Great Gatsby,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role.
With a combined box office exceeding $4.7 billion, Warner Bros. is the only studio in history to surpass the $4 billion benchmark for three consecutive years.
BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Warner Bros. Pictures Group enjoyed another hugely successful year, with a combined worldwide box office gross of more than $4.7 billion, led by 2011’s top-grossing film, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.” The announcement was made today by Jeff Robinov, President, Warner Bros. Pictures Group.
Warner Bros. has now exceeded $4 billion globally for three consecutive years, a milestone no other studio has ever achieved. In addition, with a domestic box office gross of more than $1.83 billion, Warner Bros. is the only studio to surpass the billion dollar mark eleven years in a row, and, in addition, it has done so 12 out of the last 13 years. Setting another record, Warner Bros. is the only studio to have topped $1.8 billion domestically for three years running.
There have also been a number of international benchmarks. The studio has surpassed $1 billion at the international box office a total of 14 times, with four of those years exceeding $2 billion, including 2011. The studio earned $2.87 billion internationally last year, and was the number one studio in Europe.
In making the announcement, Robinov stated, “Our 2011 slate saw a broad range of hits that encompassed comedy, action, suspense, and, of course, a little magic. We share these successes with our production partners, as well as all those who worked so hard, not only to make the movies but to bring them to a worldwide audience.”
The cornerstone of the studio’s success in 2011 was the record-breaking finale of the top-grossing Harry Potter film franchise, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2,” which earned more than $1.33 billion worldwide to become not only the highest-grossing film of the year but also the third-highest-grossing of all time, globally. Among the numerous records that the film broke during its theatrical run, it had the biggest opening weekend of all time, both domestically and internationally, and, on the international side, it is the highest-grossing Warner Bros. movie of all time.
A wide variety of other Warner Bros. releases that opened in 2011 went on to gross well over $100 million worldwide, just a few of which include “The Hangover Part II” ($586 million), “Horrible Bosses” ($215 million), “Final Destination 5” ($164 million), “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” ($148 million), and “Contagion” ($141 million), as well as the current release “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” which has grossed $286 million worldwide to date, with 25 international markets, including a number of major territories, yet to open. Warner Bros. also saw nine of its releases open at number one domestically.
Looking ahead to 2012, Warner Bros. Pictures has some of the most anticipated films of the coming year, with just a sample including “Wrath of the Titans,” the sequel to the blockbuster “Clash of the Titans,” starring Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes; Tim Burton’s “Dark Shadows,” with Johnny Depp leading an all-star ensemble cast, including Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter and Eva Green; Adam Shankman’s screen version of the hit musical “Rock of Ages,” starring Tom Cruise, Julianne Hough, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Malin Akerman, Mary J. Blige, Bryan Cranston and Alec Baldwin; “The Dark Knight Rises,” Christopher Nolan’s epic conclusion to his Batman trilogy, starring Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Morgan Freeman; the true-life drama “Argo,” directed by and starring Ben Affleck; the drama “The Gangster Squad,” starring Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone; Peter Jackson’s return to Middle-earth with “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”; and Baz Luhrmann’s screen adaptation of the classic “The Great Gatsby,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
"Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" More Fantasy Than Horror
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (2011)
Running time: 99 minutes (1 hour, 39 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence and terror
DIRECTOR: Troy Nixey
WRITERS: Guillermo del Toro and Matthew Robbins (based on the 1973 teleplay by Nigel McKeand)
PRODUCERS: Mark Johnson and Guillermo del Toro
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Oliver Stapleton
EDITOR: Jill Bilcock
COMPOSERS: Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
FANTASY/HORROR/THRILLER
Starring: Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce, Bailee Madison, Julia Blake, and Jack Thompson
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is a 2011 dark fantasy film, and it is also a remake of a 1973 ABC made-for-television horror movie of the same name. Co-written and co-produced by Guillermo del Toro, the new Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is sort of a cross between a horror film and a scary movie for kids. It is certainly an atmospheric film, but it is never truly scary as it could be.
Although she wishes she didn’t have to do so, 8-year-old Sally Hirst (Bailee Madison) arrives in Rhode Island to live with her father, Alex Hirst (Guy Pearce), and his girlfriend, Kim (Katie Holmes). Alex and Kim are living in Blackwood Manor, the former home of the late renowned painter, Lord Blackwood. The couple is also restoring the manor in order to put it back on the market for sale.
Not long after moving in, Sally begins to hear strange, small voices in the walls of the manor. She even discovers that the mansion has a long-hidden basement where Lord Blackwood once worked. There, Sally opens an old fireplace and unleashes creatures that want to claim her as one of their own.
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark features a theme familiar to horror films – how often victims go unheard or ignored. With that in mind, Sally Hirst is ostensibly the lead character, and she should be both protagonist and hero. However, the screenplay doesn’t mind telling a story of a small child being menaced, but the writers seem to blanch at the idea of that same small child fighting back.
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark also juxtaposes fantasy and horror, and ultimately comes across as a really scary fairy tale. Because so much about the creatures, the film’s adversaries, remains in the dark, however, the movie isn’t as scary as it could be. In the bid to remain mysterious and secretive, the film, instead, views like a slice from a larger and far more interesting story. It doesn’t help that the creatures often look like bad CGI creations, which makes some of the sequences in which they attack seem more comical than scary. I could not help but feel disappointed in them; it is a vague disappointment, but still a feeling of discontent.
I still like that Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark has imagination, and the art direction and sets are museum-worthy. The photography by Oliver Stapleton is perfect for fantasy and horror and also resembles the work Guillermo del Toro’s frequent collaborator, cinematographer Guillermo Navarro. To be honest, I’d take Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark’s imperfection over other films’ perfection.
6 of 10
B
Saturday, January 07, 2012
The SEC Crowns "The Descendants" as Best Picture of 2011
Obviously, I've taken liberty with a film critics association's acronym. But forgive me because this is the eve of an all-SEC BCS Championship Game.
Anyway, the Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA) is a professional organization of more than 40 film journalists working in the print, radio and online media. The group represents the Southeastern section of the United States: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Since 1992, SEFCA seeks to “promote the art of film criticism, the ethics of journalism and the camaraderie of peers among professionals working in the print, radio and online media in the Southeast.”
2011 SEFCA Winners:
BEST PICTURE
The Descendants
TOP TEN FILMS
The Descendants
The Artist
Hugo
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
Drive
Midnight in Paris
Win Win
War Horse
The Help
BEST ACTOR
Winner – George Clooney (The Descendants)
Runner-up – Michael Fassbender (Shame)
BEST ACTRESS
Winner – Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Runner-up – Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Winner – Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Runner-up – Albert Brooks, Drive
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Winner – Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Runner-up – Shailene Woodley, The Descendants
BEST ENSEMBLE
Winner – The Help
Runner-up – The Descendants
BEST DIRECTOR
Winner – Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Runner-up – Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Winner – Midnight in Paris
Runner-up – The Artist
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Winner – The Descendants
Runner-up – Moneyball
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Winner – Project Nim
Runner-up – Tabloid
BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
Winner – A Separation
Runner-up – The Skin I Live In
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Winner – Rango
Runner-up – The Adventures of Tintin
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Winner – The Tree of Life
Runner-up – Hugo
The GENE WYATT AWARD
Winner – The Help
Runner-up – Undefeated
Anyway, the Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA) is a professional organization of more than 40 film journalists working in the print, radio and online media. The group represents the Southeastern section of the United States: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Since 1992, SEFCA seeks to “promote the art of film criticism, the ethics of journalism and the camaraderie of peers among professionals working in the print, radio and online media in the Southeast.”
2011 SEFCA Winners:
BEST PICTURE
The Descendants
TOP TEN FILMS
The Descendants
The Artist
Hugo
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
Drive
Midnight in Paris
Win Win
War Horse
The Help
BEST ACTOR
Winner – George Clooney (The Descendants)
Runner-up – Michael Fassbender (Shame)
BEST ACTRESS
Winner – Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Runner-up – Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Winner – Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Runner-up – Albert Brooks, Drive
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Winner – Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Runner-up – Shailene Woodley, The Descendants
BEST ENSEMBLE
Winner – The Help
Runner-up – The Descendants
BEST DIRECTOR
Winner – Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Runner-up – Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Winner – Midnight in Paris
Runner-up – The Artist
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Winner – The Descendants
Runner-up – Moneyball
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Winner – Project Nim
Runner-up – Tabloid
BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
Winner – A Separation
Runner-up – The Skin I Live In
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Winner – Rango
Runner-up – The Adventures of Tintin
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Winner – The Tree of Life
Runner-up – Hugo
The GENE WYATT AWARD
Winner – The Help
Runner-up – Undefeated
Saturday, January 7, 2012
2012 BAFTA Longlist Released
The Longlist for the Orange British Academy Film Awards in 2012 has been released.
The Longlist is the result of Round One voting by members of the Academy. With 285 films entered this year, the first round of voting reduced the list of eligible films to 15 in each category*. Round Two voting, which opens today, will reduce these 15 contenders down to the five nominations in each category**. Appearing on the Longlist does not constitute a nomination.
Over 6300 members of the Academy vote in three rounds to decide the Longlist, Nominations and Winners. All members vote in the first two rounds for all categories barring Documentary, Film Not in the English Language and Outstanding British Film, which are voted for by Chapters. The asterisks in the Longlist denote the top five selection of the relevant Chapter***. In the final round, winners are voted for by specialist Chapters in all categories except for Best Film, Outstanding British Film, Documentary and Film Not in the English Language and the four performance categories, which are voted for by all members.
Nominations in all categories will be announced on Tuesday 17 January. The winners will be announced at the Orange British Academy Film Awards on Sunday 12 February.
Footnotes:
*Longlists are not announced in the following categories: Outstanding Debut by a Writer, Director or Producer, Short Film and Short Animation.
* *In the Animated Film and Documentary categories, five films are longlisted and three will be nominated.
* * *A Chapter is a group of over 80 members with specialist skills or experience in a particular craft area.
http://www.bafta.org/
The Longlist is the result of Round One voting by members of the Academy. With 285 films entered this year, the first round of voting reduced the list of eligible films to 15 in each category*. Round Two voting, which opens today, will reduce these 15 contenders down to the five nominations in each category**. Appearing on the Longlist does not constitute a nomination.
Over 6300 members of the Academy vote in three rounds to decide the Longlist, Nominations and Winners. All members vote in the first two rounds for all categories barring Documentary, Film Not in the English Language and Outstanding British Film, which are voted for by Chapters. The asterisks in the Longlist denote the top five selection of the relevant Chapter***. In the final round, winners are voted for by specialist Chapters in all categories except for Best Film, Outstanding British Film, Documentary and Film Not in the English Language and the four performance categories, which are voted for by all members.
Nominations in all categories will be announced on Tuesday 17 January. The winners will be announced at the Orange British Academy Film Awards on Sunday 12 February.
Footnotes:
*Longlists are not announced in the following categories: Outstanding Debut by a Writer, Director or Producer, Short Film and Short Animation.
* *In the Animated Film and Documentary categories, five films are longlisted and three will be nominated.
* * *A Chapter is a group of over 80 members with specialist skills or experience in a particular craft area.
http://www.bafta.org/
2012 BAFTA Longlist - Film Categories
The British Academy Film Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). It is the British counterpart of the Oscars.
The annual British Academy Film Awards “Longlist” is the result of the first round of voting for the awards. The result of Round One is 15 contenders in each award category, and those contenders are not called BAFTA nominees. The results of the second round reduce the contenders to 5 nominees in each category, and this is what is announced to the public as BAFTA nominees (January 17, 2012). The winners are announced February 12, 2012.
2012 BAFTA Longlist - FEATURE FILM CATEGORIES:
Best Film
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
The Iron Lady
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
My Week with Marilyn
Senna
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Outstanding British Film
Arthur Christmas
Attack the Block
Coriolanus
The Guard
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
The Iron Lady
Jane Eyre
My Week with Marilyn
Senna
Shame
Submarine
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Tyrannosaur
War Horse
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Film Not in the English Language
Abel
As If I Am Not There
The Boy Mir – Ten Years in Afghanistan
Calvet
Dhobi Ghat (Mumbai Diaries)
Incendies
Little White Lies
Pina
Post Mortem
Potiche
Le Quattro Volte
A Separation
The Skin I Live In
Tomboy
The Troll Hunter
Documentary
George Harrison: Living in the Material World
Life in a Day
Pina
Project Nim
Senna
Animated Film
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
Arthur Christmas
Gnomeo and Juliet
Puss in Boots
Rango
The annual British Academy Film Awards “Longlist” is the result of the first round of voting for the awards. The result of Round One is 15 contenders in each award category, and those contenders are not called BAFTA nominees. The results of the second round reduce the contenders to 5 nominees in each category, and this is what is announced to the public as BAFTA nominees (January 17, 2012). The winners are announced February 12, 2012.
2012 BAFTA Longlist - FEATURE FILM CATEGORIES:
Best Film
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
The Iron Lady
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
My Week with Marilyn
Senna
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Outstanding British Film
Arthur Christmas
Attack the Block
Coriolanus
The Guard
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
The Iron Lady
Jane Eyre
My Week with Marilyn
Senna
Shame
Submarine
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Tyrannosaur
War Horse
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Film Not in the English Language
Abel
As If I Am Not There
The Boy Mir – Ten Years in Afghanistan
Calvet
Dhobi Ghat (Mumbai Diaries)
Incendies
Little White Lies
Pina
Post Mortem
Potiche
Le Quattro Volte
A Separation
The Skin I Live In
Tomboy
The Troll Hunter
Documentary
George Harrison: Living in the Material World
Life in a Day
Pina
Project Nim
Senna
Animated Film
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
Arthur Christmas
Gnomeo and Juliet
Puss in Boots
Rango
2012 BAFTA Longlist - Acting Categories
The British Academy Film Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). It is the British counterpart of the Oscars.
The annual British Academy Film Awards “Longlist” is the result of the first round of voting for the awards. The result of Round One is 15 contenders in each award category, and those contenders are not called BAFTA nominees. The results of the second round reduce the contenders to 5 nominees in each category, and this is what is announced to the public as BAFTA nominees (January 17, 2012). The winners are announced February 12, 2012.
2012 BAFTA Longlist - ACTING CATEGORIES:
Leading Actor
Antonio Banderas (Robert Ledgard) – The Skin I Live In
Brad Pitt (Billy Beane) – Moneyball
Brendan Gleeson (Gerry Boyle) – The Guard
Daniel Craig (Mikael Blomkvist) – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Eddie Redmayne (Colin Clark) – My Week with Marilyn
Gary Oldman (George Smiley) - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
George Clooney (Matt King) – The Descendants
Jean Dujardin (George Valentin) – The Artist
Leonardo DiCaprio (J. Edgar Hoover) – J. Edgar
Michael Fassbender (Brandon) – Shame
Owen Wilson (Gil) - Midnight in Paris
Peter Mullan (Joseph) – Tyrannosaur
Ralph Fiennes (Caius Martius Coriolanus) - Coriolanus
Ryan Gosling (Driver) – Drive
Ryan Gosling (Stephen Meyers) – The Ides of March
Leading Actress
Bérénice Bejo (Peppy Miller) – The Artist
Carey Mulligan (Sissy) – Shame
Charlize Theron (Mavis Gary) – Young Adult
Emma Stone (Skeeter Phelan) – The Help
Helen Mirren (Rachel Singer) – The Debt
Jodie Foster (Penelope Longstreet) – Carnage
Kate Winslet (Nancy Cowan) – Carnage
Kristen Wiig (Annie) – Bridesmaids
Meryl Streep (Margaret Thatcher) – The Iron Lady
Mia Wasikowska (Jane Eyre) – Jane Eyre
Michelle Williams (Marilyn Monroe) – My Week with Marilyn
Olivia Colman (Hannah) – Tyrannosaur
Rooney Mara (Lisbeth Salander) – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Tilda Swinton (Eva) – We Need to Talk About Kevin
Viola Davis (Aibileen Clark) – The Help
Supporting Actor
Alan Rickman (Prof. Severus Snape) - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2
Albert Brooks (Bernie Rose) – Drive
Ben Kingsley (George Méliès) – Hugo
Benedict Cumberbatch (Peter Guillam) – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Christopher Plummer (Hal) – Beginners
Colin Firth (Bill Haydon) - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Eddie Marsan (James) – Tyrannosaur
Ezra Miller (Kevin - Teenager) – We Need to Talk About Kevin
George Clooney (Mike Morris) – The Ides of March
Jim Broadbent (Denis Thatcher) – The Iron Lady
John Hurt (Control) – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Jonah Hill (Peter Brand) – Moneyball
Kenneth Branagh (Sir Laurence Olivier) – My Week with Marilyn
Paul Giamatti (Tom Duffy) – The Ides of March
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Paul Zara) – The Ides of March
Supporting Actress
Alexandra Roach (Young Margaret Thatcher) – The Iron Lady
Bryce Dallas Howard (Hilly Holbrook) – The Help
Carey Mulligan (Irene) – Drive
Emily Watson (Rosie Narracott) – War Horse
Evan Rachel Wood (Molly Steams) – The Ides of March
Jessica Chastain (Celia Foote) – The Help
Judi Dench (Dame Sybil Thorndike) – My Week with Marilyn
Kathy Bates (Gertrude Stein) – Midnight in Paris
Kathy Burke (Connie Sachs) – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Marion Cotillard (Adriana) – Midnight in Paris
Melissa McCarthy (Megan) – Bridesmaids
Octavia Spencer (Minny Jackson) – The Help
Olivia Colman (Carol Thatcher) – The Iron Lady
Shailene Woodley (Alexandra King) – The Descendants
Zoe Wanamaker (Paula Strasberg) – My Week with Marilyn
ORANGE WEDNESDAYS RISING STAR AWARD
Longlist of nominees:
Chris Hemsworth
Adam Deacon
Jessica Chastain
Tom Hiddleston
Felicity Jones
Jennifer Lawrence
Chris O’Dowd
Eddie Redmayne
The final 5 nominees will be announced on Wednesday 11 January.
The annual British Academy Film Awards “Longlist” is the result of the first round of voting for the awards. The result of Round One is 15 contenders in each award category, and those contenders are not called BAFTA nominees. The results of the second round reduce the contenders to 5 nominees in each category, and this is what is announced to the public as BAFTA nominees (January 17, 2012). The winners are announced February 12, 2012.
2012 BAFTA Longlist - ACTING CATEGORIES:
Leading Actor
Antonio Banderas (Robert Ledgard) – The Skin I Live In
Brad Pitt (Billy Beane) – Moneyball
Brendan Gleeson (Gerry Boyle) – The Guard
Daniel Craig (Mikael Blomkvist) – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Eddie Redmayne (Colin Clark) – My Week with Marilyn
Gary Oldman (George Smiley) - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
George Clooney (Matt King) – The Descendants
Jean Dujardin (George Valentin) – The Artist
Leonardo DiCaprio (J. Edgar Hoover) – J. Edgar
Michael Fassbender (Brandon) – Shame
Owen Wilson (Gil) - Midnight in Paris
Peter Mullan (Joseph) – Tyrannosaur
Ralph Fiennes (Caius Martius Coriolanus) - Coriolanus
Ryan Gosling (Driver) – Drive
Ryan Gosling (Stephen Meyers) – The Ides of March
Leading Actress
Bérénice Bejo (Peppy Miller) – The Artist
Carey Mulligan (Sissy) – Shame
Charlize Theron (Mavis Gary) – Young Adult
Emma Stone (Skeeter Phelan) – The Help
Helen Mirren (Rachel Singer) – The Debt
Jodie Foster (Penelope Longstreet) – Carnage
Kate Winslet (Nancy Cowan) – Carnage
Kristen Wiig (Annie) – Bridesmaids
Meryl Streep (Margaret Thatcher) – The Iron Lady
Mia Wasikowska (Jane Eyre) – Jane Eyre
Michelle Williams (Marilyn Monroe) – My Week with Marilyn
Olivia Colman (Hannah) – Tyrannosaur
Rooney Mara (Lisbeth Salander) – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Tilda Swinton (Eva) – We Need to Talk About Kevin
Viola Davis (Aibileen Clark) – The Help
Supporting Actor
Alan Rickman (Prof. Severus Snape) - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2
Albert Brooks (Bernie Rose) – Drive
Ben Kingsley (George Méliès) – Hugo
Benedict Cumberbatch (Peter Guillam) – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Christopher Plummer (Hal) – Beginners
Colin Firth (Bill Haydon) - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Eddie Marsan (James) – Tyrannosaur
Ezra Miller (Kevin - Teenager) – We Need to Talk About Kevin
George Clooney (Mike Morris) – The Ides of March
Jim Broadbent (Denis Thatcher) – The Iron Lady
John Hurt (Control) – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Jonah Hill (Peter Brand) – Moneyball
Kenneth Branagh (Sir Laurence Olivier) – My Week with Marilyn
Paul Giamatti (Tom Duffy) – The Ides of March
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Paul Zara) – The Ides of March
Supporting Actress
Alexandra Roach (Young Margaret Thatcher) – The Iron Lady
Bryce Dallas Howard (Hilly Holbrook) – The Help
Carey Mulligan (Irene) – Drive
Emily Watson (Rosie Narracott) – War Horse
Evan Rachel Wood (Molly Steams) – The Ides of March
Jessica Chastain (Celia Foote) – The Help
Judi Dench (Dame Sybil Thorndike) – My Week with Marilyn
Kathy Bates (Gertrude Stein) – Midnight in Paris
Kathy Burke (Connie Sachs) – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Marion Cotillard (Adriana) – Midnight in Paris
Melissa McCarthy (Megan) – Bridesmaids
Octavia Spencer (Minny Jackson) – The Help
Olivia Colman (Carol Thatcher) – The Iron Lady
Shailene Woodley (Alexandra King) – The Descendants
Zoe Wanamaker (Paula Strasberg) – My Week with Marilyn
ORANGE WEDNESDAYS RISING STAR AWARD
Longlist of nominees:
Chris Hemsworth
Adam Deacon
Jessica Chastain
Tom Hiddleston
Felicity Jones
Jennifer Lawrence
Chris O’Dowd
Eddie Redmayne
The final 5 nominees will be announced on Wednesday 11 January.
2012 BAFTA Longlist - Directors and Screenwriters
The British Academy Film Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). It is the British counterpart of the Oscars.
The annual British Academy Film Awards “Longlist” is the result of the first round of voting for the awards. The result of Round One is 15 contenders in each award category, and those contenders are not called BAFTA nominees. The results of the second round reduce the contenders to 5 nominees in each category, and this is what is announced to the public as BAFTA nominees (January 17, 2012). The winners are announced February 12, 2012.
2012 BAFTA Longlist - DIRECTOR AND SCREENPLAY CATEGORIES
Director
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
The Iron Lady
J. Edgar
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
My Week with Marilyn
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Original Screenplay
50/50
Anonymous
Arthur Christmas
The Artist
Beginners
Bridesmaids
The Guard
The Iron Lady
J. Edgar
Midnight in Paris
Senna
Shame
Super 8
Tyrannosaur
Young Adult
Adapted Screenplay
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
Coriolanus
The Descendants
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
Jane Eyre
Moneyball
My Week with Marilyn
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse
We Need to Talk About Kevin
The annual British Academy Film Awards “Longlist” is the result of the first round of voting for the awards. The result of Round One is 15 contenders in each award category, and those contenders are not called BAFTA nominees. The results of the second round reduce the contenders to 5 nominees in each category, and this is what is announced to the public as BAFTA nominees (January 17, 2012). The winners are announced February 12, 2012.
2012 BAFTA Longlist - DIRECTOR AND SCREENPLAY CATEGORIES
Director
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
The Iron Lady
J. Edgar
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
My Week with Marilyn
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Original Screenplay
50/50
Anonymous
Arthur Christmas
The Artist
Beginners
Bridesmaids
The Guard
The Iron Lady
J. Edgar
Midnight in Paris
Senna
Shame
Super 8
Tyrannosaur
Young Adult
Adapted Screenplay
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
Coriolanus
The Descendants
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
Jane Eyre
Moneyball
My Week with Marilyn
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse
We Need to Talk About Kevin
2012 BAFTA Longlist Technical Categories
The British Academy Film Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). It is the British counterpart of the Oscars.
The annual British Academy Film Awards “Longlist” is the result of the first round of voting for the awards. The result of Round One is 15 contenders in each award category, and those contenders are not called BAFTA nominees. The results of the second round reduce the contenders to 5 nominees in each category, and this is what is announced to the public as BAFTA nominees (January 17, 2012). The winners are announced February 12, 2012.
2012 BAFTA Longlist - TECHNICAL CATEGORIES:
Editing
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hugo
The Ides of March
The Iron Lady
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
My Week with Marilyn
Senna
Tinker Tailor Solider Spy
War Horse
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Production Design
Anonymous
The Artist
Coriolanus
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
The Help
Hugo
The Iron Lady
J. Edgar
Jane Eyre
Midnight in Paris
My Week with Marilyn
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse
Cinematography
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hugo
The Ides of March
J. Edgar
Jane Eyre
Midnight in Paris
My Week with Marilyn
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
The Tree of Life
War Horse
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Make Up & Hair
Anonymous
The Artist
Bridesmaids
Coriolanus
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
The Help
Hugo
The Iron Lady
J. Edgar
Jane Eyre
Midnight in Paris
My Week with Marilyn
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse
Costume Design
Anonymous
The Artist
Coriolanus
A Dangerous Method
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
The Help
Hugo
The Iron Lady
J. Edgar
Jane Eyre
Midnight in Paris
My Week with Marilyn
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse
Sound
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
The Artist
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hugo
The Iron Lady
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
My Week with Marilyn
Senna
Super 8
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Special Visual Effects
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
The Artist
Captain America: The First Avenger
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Super 8
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse
X-Men: First Class
Original Music
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
The Artist
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
The Iron Lady
Jane Eyre
Moneyball
My Week with Marilyn
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse
We Need to Talk About Kevin
The annual British Academy Film Awards “Longlist” is the result of the first round of voting for the awards. The result of Round One is 15 contenders in each award category, and those contenders are not called BAFTA nominees. The results of the second round reduce the contenders to 5 nominees in each category, and this is what is announced to the public as BAFTA nominees (January 17, 2012). The winners are announced February 12, 2012.
2012 BAFTA Longlist - TECHNICAL CATEGORIES:
Editing
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hugo
The Ides of March
The Iron Lady
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
My Week with Marilyn
Senna
Tinker Tailor Solider Spy
War Horse
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Production Design
Anonymous
The Artist
Coriolanus
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
The Help
Hugo
The Iron Lady
J. Edgar
Jane Eyre
Midnight in Paris
My Week with Marilyn
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse
Cinematography
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hugo
The Ides of March
J. Edgar
Jane Eyre
Midnight in Paris
My Week with Marilyn
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
The Tree of Life
War Horse
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Make Up & Hair
Anonymous
The Artist
Bridesmaids
Coriolanus
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
The Help
Hugo
The Iron Lady
J. Edgar
Jane Eyre
Midnight in Paris
My Week with Marilyn
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse
Costume Design
Anonymous
The Artist
Coriolanus
A Dangerous Method
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
The Help
Hugo
The Iron Lady
J. Edgar
Jane Eyre
Midnight in Paris
My Week with Marilyn
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse
Sound
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
The Artist
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hugo
The Iron Lady
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
My Week with Marilyn
Senna
Super 8
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Special Visual Effects
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
The Artist
Captain America: The First Avenger
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Super 8
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse
X-Men: First Class
Original Music
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
The Artist
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
The Iron Lady
Jane Eyre
Moneyball
My Week with Marilyn
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse
We Need to Talk About Kevin
2012 Writers Guild Award Nominations Announced
The Writers Guild of America is a labor union representing film, television, radio, and new media writers. The Writers Guild of America Award acknowledges outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio and has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949.
There are several categories, but I only focus on the film categories. However, I may list the winners from all categories when they are announced (Sunday, February 19, 2012).
2012 WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA SCREENPLAY NOMINEES NOMINATIONS:
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
50/50, Written by Will Reiser; Summit Entertainment
Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig; Universal Pictures
Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics
Win Win, Screenplay by Tom McCarthy; Story by Tom McCarthy & Joe Tiboni; Fox Searchlight
Young Adult, Written by Diablo Cody; Paramount Pictures
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash; Based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemming; Fox Searchlight
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Screenplay by Steven Zaillian; Based on the novel by Stieg Larsson, originally published by Norstedts; Columbia Pictures
The Help, Screenplay by Tate Taylor; Based on the novel by Kathryn Stockett; DreamWorks Pictures
Hugo, Screenplay by John Logan; Based on the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick; Paramount Pictures
Moneyball, Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin; Story by Stan Chervin; Based on the book by Michael Lewis; Columbia Pictures
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
Better This World, Written by Katie Galloway & Kelly Duane de la Vega; Loteria Films
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, Written by Marshall Curry and Matthew Hamachek; Oscilloscope Pictures
Nostalgia for the Light, Written by Patricio Guzmán; Icarus Films
Pina, Screenplay by Wim Wenders; Sundance Selects
Position Among the Stars, Script by Hetty Naaijkens-Retel Helmrich, Leonard Retel Helmrich; HBO Documentary Films
Senna, Written by Manish Pandey; Producers Distribution Agency
There are several categories, but I only focus on the film categories. However, I may list the winners from all categories when they are announced (Sunday, February 19, 2012).
2012 WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA SCREENPLAY NOMINEES NOMINATIONS:
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
50/50, Written by Will Reiser; Summit Entertainment
Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig; Universal Pictures
Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics
Win Win, Screenplay by Tom McCarthy; Story by Tom McCarthy & Joe Tiboni; Fox Searchlight
Young Adult, Written by Diablo Cody; Paramount Pictures
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash; Based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemming; Fox Searchlight
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Screenplay by Steven Zaillian; Based on the novel by Stieg Larsson, originally published by Norstedts; Columbia Pictures
The Help, Screenplay by Tate Taylor; Based on the novel by Kathryn Stockett; DreamWorks Pictures
Hugo, Screenplay by John Logan; Based on the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick; Paramount Pictures
Moneyball, Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin; Story by Stan Chervin; Based on the book by Michael Lewis; Columbia Pictures
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
Better This World, Written by Katie Galloway & Kelly Duane de la Vega; Loteria Films
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, Written by Marshall Curry and Matthew Hamachek; Oscilloscope Pictures
Nostalgia for the Light, Written by Patricio Guzmán; Icarus Films
Pina, Screenplay by Wim Wenders; Sundance Selects
Position Among the Stars, Script by Hetty Naaijkens-Retel Helmrich, Leonard Retel Helmrich; HBO Documentary Films
Senna, Written by Manish Pandey; Producers Distribution Agency
Friday, January 6, 2012
2012 Producers Guild Film Awards Nominations - Complete List
The Producers Guild of America describes itself as “the non-profit trade group that represents, protects and promotes the interests of all members of the producing team in film, television and new media.” Film fans know the organization because of its annual PGA Awards.
PGA ANNOUNCES THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURE NOMINATIONS FOR 2012 PGA AWARDS
The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced today the motion picture and long-form television nominations for the 23rd Annual Producers Guild Awards. The categories include: The Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures; The Producers Guild of America Producer of the Year Award in Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures; and The David L. Wolper Producer of the Year Award in Long-Form Television. The documentary film category and other television category nominations were already announced by the Guild in December 2011.
All 2012 Producers Guild Award winners will be announced on January 21, 2012 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. This year, the Producers Guild will also award special honors to Leslie Moonves (Milestone Award), Steven Spielberg (David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures), Don Mischer (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television), Stan Lee (Vanguard Award), and In the Land of Blood and Honey (The Stanley Kramer Award). The 2012 Producers Guild Awards co-chairs are Paula Wagner and Michael Manheim.
The 2012 Producers Guild nominated films and television programs are listed below in alphabetical order by category, along with producers. The producers’ names listed for each nominated production are listed in alphabetical order and are not necessarily the proper order of credits.
The theatrical motion picture nominees are:
Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures:
THE ARTIST
Producer: Thomas Langmann
BRIDESMAIDS
Producers: Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, Clayton Townsend
THE DESCENDANTS
Producers: Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
Producers: Ceán Chaffin, Scott Rudin
THE HELP
Producers: Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, Brunson Green
HUGO
Producers: Graham King, Martin Scorsese
THE IDES OF MARCH
Producers: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Brian Oliver
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum
MONEYBALL
Producers: Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz, Brad Pitt
WAR HORSE
Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg
The Producers Guild Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:
THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN
Producers: Peter Jackson, Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg
CARS 2
Producer: Denise Ream
KUNG FU PANDA 2
Producer: Melissa Cobb
PUSS IN BOOTS
Producers: Joe M. Aguilar, Latifa Ouaou
RANGO
Producers: John B. Carls, Gore Verbinski
The Producers Guild Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures:
BEATS, RHYMES & LIFE: THE TRAVELS OF A TRIBE CALLED QUEST
Producers: Michael Rapaport, Edward Parks (*additional producers eligibility pending arbitration completion)
BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK
Producer: Philip Gefter
PROJECT NIM
Producer: Simon Chinn
SENNA
Producer: James Gay-Rees
THE UNION
Producers: Cameron Crowe, Michelle Panek
http://www.producersguild.org/
PGA ANNOUNCES THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURE NOMINATIONS FOR 2012 PGA AWARDS
The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced today the motion picture and long-form television nominations for the 23rd Annual Producers Guild Awards. The categories include: The Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures; The Producers Guild of America Producer of the Year Award in Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures; and The David L. Wolper Producer of the Year Award in Long-Form Television. The documentary film category and other television category nominations were already announced by the Guild in December 2011.
All 2012 Producers Guild Award winners will be announced on January 21, 2012 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. This year, the Producers Guild will also award special honors to Leslie Moonves (Milestone Award), Steven Spielberg (David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures), Don Mischer (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television), Stan Lee (Vanguard Award), and In the Land of Blood and Honey (The Stanley Kramer Award). The 2012 Producers Guild Awards co-chairs are Paula Wagner and Michael Manheim.
The 2012 Producers Guild nominated films and television programs are listed below in alphabetical order by category, along with producers. The producers’ names listed for each nominated production are listed in alphabetical order and are not necessarily the proper order of credits.
The theatrical motion picture nominees are:
Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures:
THE ARTIST
Producer: Thomas Langmann
BRIDESMAIDS
Producers: Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, Clayton Townsend
THE DESCENDANTS
Producers: Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
Producers: Ceán Chaffin, Scott Rudin
THE HELP
Producers: Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, Brunson Green
HUGO
Producers: Graham King, Martin Scorsese
THE IDES OF MARCH
Producers: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Brian Oliver
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum
MONEYBALL
Producers: Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz, Brad Pitt
WAR HORSE
Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg
The Producers Guild Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:
THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN
Producers: Peter Jackson, Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg
CARS 2
Producer: Denise Ream
KUNG FU PANDA 2
Producer: Melissa Cobb
PUSS IN BOOTS
Producers: Joe M. Aguilar, Latifa Ouaou
RANGO
Producers: John B. Carls, Gore Verbinski
The Producers Guild Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures:
BEATS, RHYMES & LIFE: THE TRAVELS OF A TRIBE CALLED QUEST
Producers: Michael Rapaport, Edward Parks (*additional producers eligibility pending arbitration completion)
BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK
Producer: Philip Gefter
PROJECT NIM
Producer: Simon Chinn
SENNA
Producer: James Gay-Rees
THE UNION
Producers: Cameron Crowe, Michelle Panek
http://www.producersguild.org/
2012 Producers Guild Awards Television Nominations - The Complete List
2012 Producers Guild television nominees are:
The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television:
"Cinema Verite” (HBO)
Producers: Zanne Devine, Karyn McCarthy
"Downton Abbey” (Masterpiece) (PBS)
Producers: Julian Fellowes, Nigel Marchant, Gareth Neame
"The Kennedys” (ReelzChannel) Producers: Jon Cassar, Jonathan Koch, Stephen Kronish, Steve Michaels, Michael Prupas, Jamie Paul Rock, Joel Surnow
"Mildred Pierce” (HBO)
Producers: Todd Haynes, Pamela Koffler, Ilene S. Landress, Christine Vachon
"Too Big To Fail” (HBO)
Producers: Carol Fenelon, Jeffrey Levine, Paula Weinstein
*The Long-Form Television category encompasses both movies of the week and mini-series.
The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy:
"30 Rock” (NBC)
Producers: Robert Carlock, Tina Fey, Marci Klein, Jerry Kupfer, Lorne Michaels, David Miner, Jeff Richmond, John Riggi, Don Scardino
"The Big Bang Theory” (CBS)
Producers: Chuck Lorre, Steve Molaro, Faye Oshima, Bill Prady
"Glee" (FOX)
Producers: Ian Brennan, Dante Di Loreto, Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy, Kenneth Silverstein
"Modern Family” (ABC)
Producers: Paul Corrigan, Abraham Higginbotham, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Morton, Jeffrey Richman, Dan O’Shannon, Brad Walsh, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker
"Parks and Recreation” (NBC)
Producers: Greg Daniels, Dan Goor, Howard Klein, Amy Poehler, Morgan Sackett, Michael Schur
The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama:
"Boardwalk Empire” (HBO)
Producers: Eugene Kelly, Howard Korder, Stephen Levinson, Martin Scorsese, Rudd Simmons, Tim Van Patten, Terence Winter
"Dexter” (Showtime)
Producers: Sara Colleton, John Goldwyn, Chip Johannessen, Robert Lloyd Lewis
"Game of Thrones” (HBO)
Producers: David Benioff, Frank Doelger, Mark Huffam, Carolyn Strauss, D.B. Weiss
"The Good Wife” (CBS)
Producers: Brooke Kennedy, Michelle King, Robert King, Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, David W. Zucker
"Mad Men” (AMC)
Producers: Jonathan Abrahams, Scott Hornbacher, Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Blake McCormick, Dwayne Shattuck, Dahvi Waller, Matthew Weiner
The Producers Guild Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television:
"The Colbert Report” (Comedy Central)
Producers: Meredith Bennett, Stephen T. Colbert, Richard Dahm, Tanya Michnevich Bracco, Tom Purcell, Jon Stewart (*additional producers eligibility pending arbitration completion)
"The Ellen DeGeneres Show” (Syndicated)
Producers: Mary Connelly, Ellen DeGeneres, Melissa Geiger Schrift, Ed Glavin, Andy Lassner, Kevin A. Leman II, Jonathan Norman, Derek Westervelt
"Real Time with Bill Maher” (HBO)
Producers: Scott Carter, Sheila Griffiths, Marc Gurvitz, Dean Johnsen, Bill Maher, Billy Martin
"Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
Producers: Ken Aymong, Steve Higgins, Erik Kenward, Lorne Michaels, John Mulaney
"The 64th Annual Tony Awards” (CBS)
Producers: Ricky Kirshner, Glenn Weiss
The Producers Guild Award for Outstanding Producer of Competition Television:
"The Amazing Race” (CBS)
Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer, Elise Doganieri, Jonathan Littman, Bertram van Munster, Mark Vertullo
"American Idol” (FOX)
Producers: Charles Boyd, Cecile Frot-Coutaz, Simon Fuller, Patrick Lynn, Nigel Lythgoe, Megan Michaels, Ken Warwick
"Dancing with the Stars” (ABC)
Producers: Ashley Edens Shaffer, Conrad Green, Joe Sungkur, Rob Wade
"Project Runway” (Lifetime)
Producers: Jane Cha Cutler, Desiree Gruber, Tim Gunn, Heidi Klum, Jonathan Murray, Sara Rea, Colleen Sands
"Top Chef” (Bravo)
Producers: Daniel Cutforth, Casey Kriley, Jane Lipsitz, Dan Murphy, Nan Strait
The Producers Guild Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television:
"30 for 30” (ESPN)
Producers: John Dahl, Connor Schell, Bill Simmons
"American Masters” (PBS)
Producers: Susan Lacy, Julie Sacks
"Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations” (Travel Channel)
Producers: Christopher Collins, Julie Lei, Lydia Tenaglia, Tom Vitale
"Deadliest Catch” (Discovery Channel)
Producers: Thom Beers, Jeff Conroy, John Gray, Sheila McCormack, Ethan Prochnik, Bill Pruitt, Matt Renner
"Undercover Boss” (CBS)
Producers: Chris Carlson, Susan Hoenig, Eli Holzman, Sandi Johnson, Stephen Lambert, Allison Schermerhorn
**Below are new categories for the 2012 Producers Guild Awards; three television categories and one web category. As such, these programs were not vetted for producer eligibility this year but winners in these categories will be announced at the official ceremony on January 21st:
News Programs:
"Anderson Cooper 360” (CNN)
"BBC World News America” (BBC)
"NBC News with Brian Williams” (NBC)
"The Rachel Maddow Show” (MSNBC)
"60 Minutes” (CBS)
Sports Programs: (*There was a tie, which is why there are six nominees.)
"Monday Night Football” (ESPN)
"Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” (HBO)
"Sports Center” (ESPN)
"30 for 30” (ESPN)
"2010 FIFA World Cup” (ABC / ESPN / ESPN2)
"U.S. Open Tennis Championship” (CBS / ESPN2 / Tennis Channel)
Children’s Programs:
"Dora the Explorer” (Nickelodeon)
"iCarly” (Nickelodeon)
"Phineas and Ferb” (Disney Channel)
"Sesame Street” (PBS)
"SpongeBob Squarepants” (Nickelodeon)
Web Series:
"Ask a Ninja” (blip.tv)
"The Guild” (WatchTheGuild.com)
"Parks and Recreation Presents: ‘April & Andy’s Road Trip’” (NBC.com)
"30 Rock Presents Jack Donaghy, Executive Superhero” (NBC.com)
"Web Therapy” (LStudio.com)
http://www.producersguild.org/
The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television:
"Cinema Verite” (HBO)
Producers: Zanne Devine, Karyn McCarthy
"Downton Abbey” (Masterpiece) (PBS)
Producers: Julian Fellowes, Nigel Marchant, Gareth Neame
"The Kennedys” (ReelzChannel) Producers: Jon Cassar, Jonathan Koch, Stephen Kronish, Steve Michaels, Michael Prupas, Jamie Paul Rock, Joel Surnow
"Mildred Pierce” (HBO)
Producers: Todd Haynes, Pamela Koffler, Ilene S. Landress, Christine Vachon
"Too Big To Fail” (HBO)
Producers: Carol Fenelon, Jeffrey Levine, Paula Weinstein
*The Long-Form Television category encompasses both movies of the week and mini-series.
The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy:
"30 Rock” (NBC)
Producers: Robert Carlock, Tina Fey, Marci Klein, Jerry Kupfer, Lorne Michaels, David Miner, Jeff Richmond, John Riggi, Don Scardino
"The Big Bang Theory” (CBS)
Producers: Chuck Lorre, Steve Molaro, Faye Oshima, Bill Prady
"Glee" (FOX)
Producers: Ian Brennan, Dante Di Loreto, Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy, Kenneth Silverstein
"Modern Family” (ABC)
Producers: Paul Corrigan, Abraham Higginbotham, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Morton, Jeffrey Richman, Dan O’Shannon, Brad Walsh, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker
"Parks and Recreation” (NBC)
Producers: Greg Daniels, Dan Goor, Howard Klein, Amy Poehler, Morgan Sackett, Michael Schur
The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama:
"Boardwalk Empire” (HBO)
Producers: Eugene Kelly, Howard Korder, Stephen Levinson, Martin Scorsese, Rudd Simmons, Tim Van Patten, Terence Winter
"Dexter” (Showtime)
Producers: Sara Colleton, John Goldwyn, Chip Johannessen, Robert Lloyd Lewis
"Game of Thrones” (HBO)
Producers: David Benioff, Frank Doelger, Mark Huffam, Carolyn Strauss, D.B. Weiss
"The Good Wife” (CBS)
Producers: Brooke Kennedy, Michelle King, Robert King, Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, David W. Zucker
"Mad Men” (AMC)
Producers: Jonathan Abrahams, Scott Hornbacher, Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Blake McCormick, Dwayne Shattuck, Dahvi Waller, Matthew Weiner
The Producers Guild Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television:
"The Colbert Report” (Comedy Central)
Producers: Meredith Bennett, Stephen T. Colbert, Richard Dahm, Tanya Michnevich Bracco, Tom Purcell, Jon Stewart (*additional producers eligibility pending arbitration completion)
"The Ellen DeGeneres Show” (Syndicated)
Producers: Mary Connelly, Ellen DeGeneres, Melissa Geiger Schrift, Ed Glavin, Andy Lassner, Kevin A. Leman II, Jonathan Norman, Derek Westervelt
"Real Time with Bill Maher” (HBO)
Producers: Scott Carter, Sheila Griffiths, Marc Gurvitz, Dean Johnsen, Bill Maher, Billy Martin
"Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
Producers: Ken Aymong, Steve Higgins, Erik Kenward, Lorne Michaels, John Mulaney
"The 64th Annual Tony Awards” (CBS)
Producers: Ricky Kirshner, Glenn Weiss
The Producers Guild Award for Outstanding Producer of Competition Television:
"The Amazing Race” (CBS)
Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer, Elise Doganieri, Jonathan Littman, Bertram van Munster, Mark Vertullo
"American Idol” (FOX)
Producers: Charles Boyd, Cecile Frot-Coutaz, Simon Fuller, Patrick Lynn, Nigel Lythgoe, Megan Michaels, Ken Warwick
"Dancing with the Stars” (ABC)
Producers: Ashley Edens Shaffer, Conrad Green, Joe Sungkur, Rob Wade
"Project Runway” (Lifetime)
Producers: Jane Cha Cutler, Desiree Gruber, Tim Gunn, Heidi Klum, Jonathan Murray, Sara Rea, Colleen Sands
"Top Chef” (Bravo)
Producers: Daniel Cutforth, Casey Kriley, Jane Lipsitz, Dan Murphy, Nan Strait
The Producers Guild Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television:
"30 for 30” (ESPN)
Producers: John Dahl, Connor Schell, Bill Simmons
"American Masters” (PBS)
Producers: Susan Lacy, Julie Sacks
"Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations” (Travel Channel)
Producers: Christopher Collins, Julie Lei, Lydia Tenaglia, Tom Vitale
"Deadliest Catch” (Discovery Channel)
Producers: Thom Beers, Jeff Conroy, John Gray, Sheila McCormack, Ethan Prochnik, Bill Pruitt, Matt Renner
"Undercover Boss” (CBS)
Producers: Chris Carlson, Susan Hoenig, Eli Holzman, Sandi Johnson, Stephen Lambert, Allison Schermerhorn
**Below are new categories for the 2012 Producers Guild Awards; three television categories and one web category. As such, these programs were not vetted for producer eligibility this year but winners in these categories will be announced at the official ceremony on January 21st:
News Programs:
"Anderson Cooper 360” (CNN)
"BBC World News America” (BBC)
"NBC News with Brian Williams” (NBC)
"The Rachel Maddow Show” (MSNBC)
"60 Minutes” (CBS)
Sports Programs: (*There was a tie, which is why there are six nominees.)
"Monday Night Football” (ESPN)
"Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” (HBO)
"Sports Center” (ESPN)
"30 for 30” (ESPN)
"2010 FIFA World Cup” (ABC / ESPN / ESPN2)
"U.S. Open Tennis Championship” (CBS / ESPN2 / Tennis Channel)
Children’s Programs:
"Dora the Explorer” (Nickelodeon)
"iCarly” (Nickelodeon)
"Phineas and Ferb” (Disney Channel)
"Sesame Street” (PBS)
"SpongeBob Squarepants” (Nickelodeon)
Web Series:
"Ask a Ninja” (blip.tv)
"The Guild” (WatchTheGuild.com)
"Parks and Recreation Presents: ‘April & Andy’s Road Trip’” (NBC.com)
"30 Rock Presents Jack Donaghy, Executive Superhero” (NBC.com)
"Web Therapy” (LStudio.com)
http://www.producersguild.org/
Sherlock Holmes 2 Still Banging Worldwide Box Office
“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” Continues Its Success Worldwide
BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” continued its strong run through the holiday frame, with exceptional numbers at both the domestic and international box offices. The international performance is made even more impressive by the fact that the film is tracking better than 2009’s blockbuster “Sherlock Holmes”—which grossed $315 million internationally and $524 million worldwide—with “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” still to be released in many major international markets. The announcement was made today by Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution, and Veronika Kwan-Rubinek, President of International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.
“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” has earned more than $265 million worldwide, with an estimated $140 million and counting on the domestic side. Internationally, the box office numbers are pacing ahead of the first “Sherlock Holmes” in the same territories in the same time frame, with the new film yet to open in 25 markets, including Australia, China, Brazil, France, Spain and Japan.
Robert Downey Jr. reprises his role as the world’s most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, and Jude Law returns as his friend and colleague, Dr. Watson, in “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.”
Sherlock Holmes has always been the smartest man in the room…until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large—Professor James Moriarty (Jared Harris)—and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may give him an advantage over the renowned detective. Holmes’ investigation into Moriarty’s plot becomes more dangerous as it leads him and Watson out of London to France, Germany and finally Switzerland. But the cunning Moriarty is always one step ahead, and moving perilously close to completing his sinister plan. If he succeeds, it will not only bring him immense wealth and power but alter the course of history.
Filmmaker Guy Ritchie returned to direct “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” the follow-up to the smash hit “Sherlock Holmes.” The sequel reunited producers Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin. Bruce Berman and Steve Clark-Hall served as executive producers. The film also stars Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris, Eddie Marsan, Kelly Reilly, and Rachel McAdams. “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” was written by Michele Mulroney & Kieran Mulroney. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were created by the late Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and appear in stories and novels by him.
Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, a Silver Pictures Production, in association with Wigram Productions, a Guy Ritchie Film, “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.” The film is being distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures. The film has been rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action and some drug material.
http://www.sherlockholmes2.com/
BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” continued its strong run through the holiday frame, with exceptional numbers at both the domestic and international box offices. The international performance is made even more impressive by the fact that the film is tracking better than 2009’s blockbuster “Sherlock Holmes”—which grossed $315 million internationally and $524 million worldwide—with “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” still to be released in many major international markets. The announcement was made today by Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution, and Veronika Kwan-Rubinek, President of International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.
“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” has earned more than $265 million worldwide, with an estimated $140 million and counting on the domestic side. Internationally, the box office numbers are pacing ahead of the first “Sherlock Holmes” in the same territories in the same time frame, with the new film yet to open in 25 markets, including Australia, China, Brazil, France, Spain and Japan.
Robert Downey Jr. reprises his role as the world’s most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, and Jude Law returns as his friend and colleague, Dr. Watson, in “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.”
Sherlock Holmes has always been the smartest man in the room…until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large—Professor James Moriarty (Jared Harris)—and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may give him an advantage over the renowned detective. Holmes’ investigation into Moriarty’s plot becomes more dangerous as it leads him and Watson out of London to France, Germany and finally Switzerland. But the cunning Moriarty is always one step ahead, and moving perilously close to completing his sinister plan. If he succeeds, it will not only bring him immense wealth and power but alter the course of history.
Filmmaker Guy Ritchie returned to direct “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” the follow-up to the smash hit “Sherlock Holmes.” The sequel reunited producers Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin. Bruce Berman and Steve Clark-Hall served as executive producers. The film also stars Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris, Eddie Marsan, Kelly Reilly, and Rachel McAdams. “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” was written by Michele Mulroney & Kieran Mulroney. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were created by the late Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and appear in stories and novels by him.
Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, a Silver Pictures Production, in association with Wigram Productions, a Guy Ritchie Film, “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.” The film is being distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures. The film has been rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action and some drug material.
http://www.sherlockholmes2.com/
Thursday, January 5, 2012
10 Movies Still Fighting for Five 2012 Visual Effects Oscar Nominations
10 Contenders Remain in VFX Oscar® Race
Beverly Hills, CA (January 4, 2012) – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 10 films remain in the running in the Visual Effects category for the 84th Academy Awards®.
The films are listed below in alphabetical order:
"Captain America: The First Avenger"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
"Hugo"
"Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol"
"Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides"
"Real Steel"
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
"The Tree of Life"
"X-Men: First Class"
All members of the Visual Effects Branch will be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the 10 shortlisted films on Thursday, January 19. Following the screenings, the members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.
The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.
Beverly Hills, CA (January 4, 2012) – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 10 films remain in the running in the Visual Effects category for the 84th Academy Awards®.
The films are listed below in alphabetical order:
"Captain America: The First Avenger"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
"Hugo"
"Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol"
"Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides"
"Real Steel"
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
"The Tree of Life"
"X-Men: First Class"
All members of the Visual Effects Branch will be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the 10 shortlisted films on Thursday, January 19. Following the screenings, the members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.
The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.
Art Directors Guild Announces Nominations; Harry Potter Honored
The Art Directors Guild (ADG) is an American labor union and also a branch of the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE) that represents motion picture and television professionals. Among the ADG’s sponsored activities are a film society and the Annual ADG Awards.
The ADG has announced the nominations for their 16th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards. The ceremony announcing winners will take place Saturday, February 4, 2012 at the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. Paula Poundstone will serve as host for the third consecutive year.
16th Annual (2012) Excellence in Production Design Awards nominations:
Period Film:
THE ARTIST Production Designer: Laurence Bennett
HUGO Production Designer: Dante Ferretti
THE HELP Production Designer: Mark Ricker
ANONYMOUS Production Designer: Sebastian Krawinkel
TINKER TAYLOR SOLDIER SPY Production Designer: Maria Djurkovic
Fantasy Film
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2 Production Designer: Stuart Craig
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER Production Designer: Rick Heinrichs
THE ADVENTURES OF TIN TIN: THE SECRET UNICORN Production Designer: TBD
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES Production Designer: John Myhre
COWBOYS & ALIENS Production Designer: Scott Chambliss
Contemporary Film
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Production Designer: Donald Graham Burt
THE DESCENDANTS Production Designer: Jane Anne Stewart
EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE Production Designer: K.K. Barrett
DRIVE Production Designer: Beth Mickle
BRIDESMAIDS Production Designer: Jefferson Sage
In addition, the guild will
• present a lifetime achievement award to Tony Walton
• induct Robert Boyle, William Darling and Alfred Junge into its hall of fame
This year's Art Directors Guild Cinematic Imagery Award will be presented to the principal team behind the Harry Potter films, including producers David Heyman and David Barron; director David Yates; creator and author J.K. Rowling; screenwriter Steve Kloves; production designer Stuart Craig; art director Neil Lamont; and set decorator Stephenie McMillan.
The ADG has announced the nominations for their 16th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards. The ceremony announcing winners will take place Saturday, February 4, 2012 at the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. Paula Poundstone will serve as host for the third consecutive year.
16th Annual (2012) Excellence in Production Design Awards nominations:
Period Film:
THE ARTIST Production Designer: Laurence Bennett
HUGO Production Designer: Dante Ferretti
THE HELP Production Designer: Mark Ricker
ANONYMOUS Production Designer: Sebastian Krawinkel
TINKER TAYLOR SOLDIER SPY Production Designer: Maria Djurkovic
Fantasy Film
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2 Production Designer: Stuart Craig
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER Production Designer: Rick Heinrichs
THE ADVENTURES OF TIN TIN: THE SECRET UNICORN Production Designer: TBD
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES Production Designer: John Myhre
COWBOYS & ALIENS Production Designer: Scott Chambliss
Contemporary Film
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Production Designer: Donald Graham Burt
THE DESCENDANTS Production Designer: Jane Anne Stewart
EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE Production Designer: K.K. Barrett
DRIVE Production Designer: Beth Mickle
BRIDESMAIDS Production Designer: Jefferson Sage
In addition, the guild will
• present a lifetime achievement award to Tony Walton
• induct Robert Boyle, William Darling and Alfred Junge into its hall of fame
This year's Art Directors Guild Cinematic Imagery Award will be presented to the principal team behind the Harry Potter films, including producers David Heyman and David Barron; director David Yates; creator and author J.K. Rowling; screenwriter Steve Kloves; production designer Stuart Craig; art director Neil Lamont; and set decorator Stephenie McMillan.
Art Directors Guild Award Nominations: Television Categories
2012 ADG AWARDS: NOMINEES FOR EXCELLENCE IN PRODUCTION DESIGN IN TELEVISION:
One-Hour Single Camera Television Series
"Boardwalk Empire" (Episode: 21) Production Designer: Bill Groom
"Game of Thrones" (Episode: A Golden Crown) Production Designer: Gemma Jackson
"American Horror Story" (Episode: Murder House) Production Designer: Mark Worthington
"The Playboy Club" (Episode: The Scarlet Bunny) Production Designer: Scott P. Murphy
"Pan Am" (Episode: Pilot) Production Designer: Bob Shaw
Television Movie or Miniseries
"Mildred Pierce" Production Designer: Mark Friedberg
"Cinema Verite" Production Designer: Patti Podesta
"Too Big to Fail" Production Designer: Bob Shaw
"The Hour" Production Designer: Eve Stewart
"Bling Ring" Production Designer: Robb Wilson King
Episode of a Half Hour Single-Camera Television Series
"Modern Family" (Episode: Express Christmas) Production Designer: Richard Berg
"30 Rock" (Episode: Double-Edged Sword) Production Designers: Keith Ian Raywood and Teresa Mastropierro
"Weeds" (Episode: Game-Played) Production Designer: Joseph P. Lucky
"Californication" (Episode: Monkey Business) Production Designer: Michael Wylie
"New Girl" (Episode: Pilot) Production Designer: Jefferson D. Sage
Episode of a Multi-Camera, Variety, or Unscripted Series
"Saturday NIght Live" (Episode: host Justin Timberlake) Production Designers: Keith Ian Raywood, Eugene Lee, Leo Yoshimura, N. Joseph De Tullio
"How I Met Your Mother" (Episode: Ducky Tie) Production Designer: Stephan Olson
"2 Broke Girls" (Episode: And The Rich People's Problems) Production Designer: Glenda Rovello
"Americal Idol" (Episode: Top 12 Boys Perform) Production Designer: James Yarnell
"Dancing With the Stars" (Episode: Round One) Production Designer: James Yarnell
Awards, Music, or Game Shows
83rd Annual Academy Awards Production Designer: Steve Bass
68th Annual Golden Globes Production Designer: Brian Stonestreet
2011 MTV Video Music Awards Production Designer: Florian Wieder
63rd Annual Emmy Awards Production Designer: Steve Bass
"It's Worth What?" (Best Buds) Production Designer: John Ivo Gilles
Commercials and Music Videos:
"Activision: Call of Duty" (Episode: Modern Warfare 3) Production Designer: Neil Spisak
"Victoria's Secret" (Episode: Red) Production Designer: Jeffrey Beecroft
"Audi A8" (Episode: The Art of Progress) Production Designer: Marcos Lutyens
"Chevy Volt" (Episode: Discovery) Production Designer: Jeremy Reed
"Jim Beam" (Episode: Parallels ) Production Designer: Christopher Glass
One-Hour Single Camera Television Series
"Boardwalk Empire" (Episode: 21) Production Designer: Bill Groom
"Game of Thrones" (Episode: A Golden Crown) Production Designer: Gemma Jackson
"American Horror Story" (Episode: Murder House) Production Designer: Mark Worthington
"The Playboy Club" (Episode: The Scarlet Bunny) Production Designer: Scott P. Murphy
"Pan Am" (Episode: Pilot) Production Designer: Bob Shaw
Television Movie or Miniseries
"Mildred Pierce" Production Designer: Mark Friedberg
"Cinema Verite" Production Designer: Patti Podesta
"Too Big to Fail" Production Designer: Bob Shaw
"The Hour" Production Designer: Eve Stewart
"Bling Ring" Production Designer: Robb Wilson King
Episode of a Half Hour Single-Camera Television Series
"Modern Family" (Episode: Express Christmas) Production Designer: Richard Berg
"30 Rock" (Episode: Double-Edged Sword) Production Designers: Keith Ian Raywood and Teresa Mastropierro
"Weeds" (Episode: Game-Played) Production Designer: Joseph P. Lucky
"Californication" (Episode: Monkey Business) Production Designer: Michael Wylie
"New Girl" (Episode: Pilot) Production Designer: Jefferson D. Sage
Episode of a Multi-Camera, Variety, or Unscripted Series
"Saturday NIght Live" (Episode: host Justin Timberlake) Production Designers: Keith Ian Raywood, Eugene Lee, Leo Yoshimura, N. Joseph De Tullio
"How I Met Your Mother" (Episode: Ducky Tie) Production Designer: Stephan Olson
"2 Broke Girls" (Episode: And The Rich People's Problems) Production Designer: Glenda Rovello
"Americal Idol" (Episode: Top 12 Boys Perform) Production Designer: James Yarnell
"Dancing With the Stars" (Episode: Round One) Production Designer: James Yarnell
Awards, Music, or Game Shows
83rd Annual Academy Awards Production Designer: Steve Bass
68th Annual Golden Globes Production Designer: Brian Stonestreet
2011 MTV Video Music Awards Production Designer: Florian Wieder
63rd Annual Emmy Awards Production Designer: Steve Bass
"It's Worth What?" (Best Buds) Production Designer: John Ivo Gilles
Commercials and Music Videos:
"Activision: Call of Duty" (Episode: Modern Warfare 3) Production Designer: Neil Spisak
"Victoria's Secret" (Episode: Red) Production Designer: Jeffrey Beecroft
"Audi A8" (Episode: The Art of Progress) Production Designer: Marcos Lutyens
"Chevy Volt" (Episode: Discovery) Production Designer: Jeremy Reed
"Jim Beam" (Episode: Parallels ) Production Designer: Christopher Glass
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
BAFTA Fellowship Goes to Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese To Be Honoured With BAFTA Fellowship
On Sunday 12 February 2012, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts will present Martin Scorsese with the Academy Fellowship at the Orange British Academy Film Awards ceremony, at London’s Royal Opera House.
Awarded annually by BAFTA, the Fellowship is the highest accolade bestowed upon an individual in recognition of an outstanding and exceptional contribution to film. Previously honoured Fellows include Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, Sean Connery, Elizabeth Taylor, Stanley Kubrick, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Judi Dench and Vanessa Redgrave. Christopher Lee received the Fellowship at the Film Awards last February.
Tim Corrie, Chairman of BAFTA, said: “Martin Scorsese is a legend in his lifetime; a true inspiration to all young directors the world over. We are delighted to honour his contribution to cinema history and look forward to paying tribute to him in London on 12 February.”
Martin Scorsese added: “It is a great honour to be recognized by the British Academy and to join the ranks of such an esteemed group of industry colleagues and friends.”
With a celebrated career now spanning six decades, Martin Scorsese is one of the most influential filmmakers in cinema history. The acclaimed director, producer and screenwriter has been nominated by BAFTA no fewer than nine times, garnering three wins in 1991 for Goodfellas. A cinematic master, his works also include Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Casino, Gangs of New York, The Aviator and The Departed. He has continued to delight critics and audiences alike with his most recent work, Hugo, a film that not only marks the director’s first foray into 3D but is also his first adventure film for all the family. Scorsese has also made a number of ground-breaking documentaries including celebrated music films No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, Shine a Light and George Harrison: Living in the Material World.
Demonstrating his passion for film preservation, Scorsese is the founder and chair of two non-profit organizations dedicated to the preservation and protection of motion picture history: The Film Foundation and the World Cinema Foundation.
In December 2010, Scorsese was the subject of a ‘BAFTA A Life in Pictures’ event , where he shared personal insights into his career and his craft and gave invaluable advice to newcomers to the industry. These videos are now available to view on www.bafta.org/guru .
The nominations for the Orange British Academy Film Awards will be announced on Tuesday 17 January. The ceremony, broadcast by the BBC in the UK, will be held on 12 February and hosted by Stephen Fry.
About BAFTA
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is an independent charity that supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public. In addition to its Awards ceremonies, BAFTA has a year-round Learning & Events programme that offers unique access to some of the world’s most inspiring talent through workshops, masterclasses, lectures and mentoring schemes, connecting with audiences of all ages and backgrounds across the UK, Los Angeles and New York. BAFTA relies on income from membership subscriptions, individual donations, trusts, foundations and corporate partnerships to support its ongoing outreach work. For further information, visit http://www.bafta.org/ or www.bafta.org/guru.
Florida Film Critics Name "The Descendants" The Best Pic of 2011
The Florida Film Critics Circle (FFCC) was founded in 1996 is comprised of 20 writers from state publications.
Complete list of 2011 winners:
Best Picture: The Descendants
Actor: Michael Fassbender, Shame
Actress: Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
Supporting Actor: Albert Brooks, Drive
Supporting Actress: Shailene Woodley, The Descendants
Director: Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, The Descendants
Original Screenplay: Michael Hazanavicius, The Artist
Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, The Tree of Life
Visual Effects: Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Art Direction/Production Design: Dante Ferretti, Hugo
Foreign Language: The Skin I Live In
Animated: The Adventures of Tintin
Documentary: Project Nim
Breakout: Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene
Note: The FFCC did not hand out the "Golden Orange" award this year.
Complete list of 2011 winners:
Best Picture: The Descendants
Actor: Michael Fassbender, Shame
Actress: Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
Supporting Actor: Albert Brooks, Drive
Supporting Actress: Shailene Woodley, The Descendants
Director: Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, The Descendants
Original Screenplay: Michael Hazanavicius, The Artist
Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, The Tree of Life
Visual Effects: Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Art Direction/Production Design: Dante Ferretti, Hugo
Foreign Language: The Skin I Live In
Animated: The Adventures of Tintin
Documentary: Project Nim
Breakout: Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene
Note: The FFCC did not hand out the "Golden Orange" award this year.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Online Film Critics Society Choose "The Tree of Life" as 2011's Best
The full list of winners of the (2011) 15th Annual Online Film Critics Society Awards:
Best Picture: The Tree of Life
Best Animated Feature: Rango
Best Director: Terrence Malick - The Tree of Life
Best Lead Actor: Michael Fassbender - Shame
Best Lead Actress: Tilda Swinton - We Need to Talk About Kevin
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer - Beginners
Best Supporting Actress: Jessica Chastain - The Tree of Life
Best Original Screenplay: Midnight in Paris
Best Adapted Screenplay: Tinker Tailor Solider Spy
Best Editing: The Tree of Life
Best Cinematography: The Tree of Life
Best Film Not in the English Language: A Separation
Best Documentary: Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Special Awards (previously announced):
• To Jessica Chastain, the breakout performer of the year
• To Martin Scorsese in honor of his work and dedication to the pursuit of film preservation
For more information, visit the Online Film Critics Society at ofcs.org.
Best Picture: The Tree of Life
Best Animated Feature: Rango
Best Director: Terrence Malick - The Tree of Life
Best Lead Actor: Michael Fassbender - Shame
Best Lead Actress: Tilda Swinton - We Need to Talk About Kevin
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer - Beginners
Best Supporting Actress: Jessica Chastain - The Tree of Life
Best Original Screenplay: Midnight in Paris
Best Adapted Screenplay: Tinker Tailor Solider Spy
Best Editing: The Tree of Life
Best Cinematography: The Tree of Life
Best Film Not in the English Language: A Separation
Best Documentary: Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Special Awards (previously announced):
• To Jessica Chastain, the breakout performer of the year
• To Martin Scorsese in honor of his work and dedication to the pursuit of film preservation
For more information, visit the Online Film Critics Society at ofcs.org.
Review: "Apocalypto" was One of 2006's Best Films
Apocalypto (2006)
COUNTRY OF ORGIN: USA; Language: Maya
Running time: 139 minutes (2 hours, 19 minutes)
MPAA – R for sequences of graphic violence and disturbing images
DIRECTOR: Mel Gibson
WRITERS: Farhad Safinia and Mel Gibson
PRODUCERS: Bruce Davey and Mel Gibson
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Dean Semler, ASC, ACS (director of photography)
EDITOR: John Wright
Academy Award nominee
ACTION/ADVENTURE/HISTORICAL/THRILLER
Starring: Rudy Youngblood, Raoul Trujillo, Dalia Hernandez, Jonathan Brewer, Morris Bird, Carlos Emilio Baez, Amilcar Ramirez, Israel Contreras Vasquez, Israel Rios, Isabel Diaz, and Gerardo Taracena
It is the end times of the once-great Mayan Civilization (early 16th century). Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood) is the son of Flint Sky (Morris Bird), the chief of their village, which is deep in the jungle, but no that far away from a large Maya city. Jaguar Paw is a young family man with a wife, Seven (Dalia Hernandez), and a son, Turtles Run (Carlos Emilio Baez), and he has another child on the way.
His idyllic life is shattered when an invading force razes his village, killing many and enslaving the remaining adults. Jaguar Paw manages to hide the pregnant Seven and little Turtles Run before the invaders take him captive. Through a twist of fate, Jaguar Paw manages to escape death, and he makes a desperate break both to save his life and to return home to his wife and son. On his trail, however, is a small band of warriors led by the vengeful Zero Wolf (Raoul Trujillo), and they will chase him through the jungle to the bitter end.
Mel Gibson’s new film, Apocalypto, proves that The Passion of the Christ and his Oscar-winning turn as director for Braveheart are no fluke. Gibson is the consummate director skilled at making bold, visceral, thrilling, and thought-provoking movies, and he is as good as any of the elite directors. That includes directors who were making exhilarating blockbusters before Gibson began directing (Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, James Cameron) and filmmakers who became mega-hit makers after Gibson’s began directing (Peter Jackson, The Wachowski Brothers).
Gibson begins Apocalypto by immersing his audience is a lush, abundant jungle world that quickly becomes a harsh geography of struggle and survival. From brutal village raids to torturous jungle tracks; from a decaying city where mind-numbing human sacrifices take place to a bracing and spine-tingling jungle race for survival: Gibson keeps the viewer on edge and sometimes takes them with him over the abyss where death is quick and relentless and only the stubbornly strong and strongly stubborn can survive.
Gibson achieves this with a cast of novice actors and little known performers – all speaking Maya, yet he gets his cast to make us believe in them. We understand them beyond the language they speak because the actors’ physical performances are so rich and textured. I bought into the idea that I was peeking into an ancient world and that these actors were really the people they were portraying. Rudy Youngblood is all youthful determination as Jaguar Paw, and Raoul Trujillo is riveting as the stout leader and gentle, proud father.
With a highly skilled and brilliant creative team (director of photographer, costume designer, set builders, etc.), Gibson gives his cast a convincingly real ancient world in which to play out their small but compelling drama. This team takes all their skills and talents, and instead of resting on their laurels brings a fictional world to life – a setting fit for a drama that is far beyond the ordinary. As the ringleader, Gibson once again dances with perfection and in Apocalypto makes a film in which any flaws are lost in a damn good time of great cinema and dazzling filmmaking. Some have already called Apocalypto “basically an adventure movie,” and that’s like calling Casablanca basically just a love story, when both are something more.
9 of 10
A+
Friday, December 15, 2006
NOTES:
2007 Academy Awards: 3 nominations: “Best Achievement in Makeup” (Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano), “Best Achievement in Sound Editing” (Sean McCormack and Kami Asgar), and “Best Achievement in Sound Mixing” (Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, and Fernando Cámara)
2007 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Film not in the English Language” (Mel Gibson and Bruce Davey)
2007 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Foreign Language Film”
----------------
Monday, January 2, 2012
"Bend it Like Beckham" is Something Different and Nice
Bend it Like Beckham (2002)
U.S. release: 2003
Running time: 112 minutes (1 hour, 52 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for language and sexual content
DIRECTOR: Gurinder Chadha
WRITERS: Paul Mayeda Berges, Guljit Bindra, and Gurinder Chadha
PRODUCERS: Gurinder Chadha and Deepak Nayar
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Lin Jong (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Justin Krish
COMEDY/DRAMA/SPORTS
Starring: Parminder K. Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys-Myers, Anupam Kher, Archie Punjabi, Shaznay Lewis, Frank Harper, Juliet Stevenson, Shaheen Kahn, Ameet Chana, and Shaznay Lewis
Bend it Like Beckham is a 2002 comedy/drama and sports movie from director Gurinder Chadha. The film is set in West London and focuses on a young woman who rebels against her orthodox Sikh parents to join a football (soccer) team.
If you’ve never heard of David Beckham, the “Beckham” in Bend it Like Beckham, that’s okay. He’s currently the world’s most famous soccer player or footballer, and soccer still has a long way to go in the States. Still, Beckham, the movie about a young woman who battles her parents Old World ways to forge her own future is not only a really good “feel good” film, but also unique because it’s Asian/Sikh cast makes it very different from the all-white family films that we usually get.
Jesminder Bhamra or Jess (Parminder K. Nagra), who has loved soccer since she was a little girl, gets an offer from her new friend Juliette Paxton (Keira Knightley) to join an girls soccer team that is part of an all-female team. Jess’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bhamra (Anupam Kher and Shaheen Kahn) detest their daughter’s interest in soccer although she excels at it, seeing it as an affront to their orthodox Sikh ways, especially as their daughter Pinky’s (Archie Punjabi) wedding day approaches. Jess, however, rebels against them; she concocts elaborate lies that usually fall apart, but her biggest sin is when she joins her team for a big tournament in Germany.
Although the story touches on a number of family issues, including obligation and tradition, the script approaches ideas as frivolously as a sitcom. There is a serious clash of cultures going on here, and although the film is a laundry list of conflicts, the screenwriters never treat any of it seriously. For instance, during a soccer match, an opponent throws Jess to the ground and calls her a “paki,” which is a sadly popular ethnic slur against many Asians in England. When Jess retaliates, the referee throws her out of the game, but not the bigoted ho. This directly ties into the experiences Mr. Bhamra had when he moved to England, but the director brushes past the trauma of racism and just moves onto the next funny scene.
Bend it Like Beckham is light, frothy entertainment. It is funny, and though a bit of a chill tempers its warmth, I credit it for being quite entertaining in spite of a few warts.
6 of 10
B
NOTES:
2003 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film” (Deepak Nayar and Gurinder Chadha)
2004 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy)
2004 Image Awards: 1 nomination: “Outstanding Motion Picture”
Austin Film Critics Name Scorsese's "Hugo" Best Film
The Austin Film Critics Association (AFCA) describes itself as “a group dedicated to supporting the best in film, whether at the international, national, or local level.” The group includes Austin-based members who write for such publications, television media, and websites as Ain't It Cool News, the Austin American-Statesman, the Austin Chronicle, CNN, Fandango, Film.com, Film School Rejects, Fox News, MSN Movies, Movies.com, among others.
2011 AFCA Awards:
Best Film:
Hugo
Top 10 Films:
1. Hugo
2. Drive
3. Take Shelter
4. Midnight in Paris
5. Attack the Block
6. The Artist
7. Martha Marcy May Marlene
8. I Saw the Devil
9. 13 Assassins
10. Melancholia
Best Director:
Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive
Best Actor:
Michael Shannon, Take Shelter
Best Actress:
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin
Best Supporting Actor:
Albert Brooks, Drive
Best Supporting Actress:
Jessica Chastain, Take Shelter
Best Original Screenplay:
Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen
Best Adapted Screenplay:
Drive, Hossein Amini
Best Cinematography:
The Tree of Life, Emmanuel Lubezki
Best Original Score:
Attack the Block, Steven Price
Best Foreign Language Film:
I Saw the Devil, South Korea: Jee-woon Kim – director
Best Documentary:
Senna: Asif Kapadia – director
Best Animated Feature:
Rango: Gore Verbinski – director
Robert R. "Bobby" McCurdy Memorial Breakthrough Artist Award:
Jessica Chastain for her appearances in the films: Take Shelter, The Tree of Life, The Help, The Debt, Coriolanus, and Texas Killing Fields
Best First Film:
Attack the Block: Joe Cornish – director
Austin Film Award:
Take Shelter: Jeff Nichols – director
http://austinfilmcritics.org/
2011 AFCA Awards:
Best Film:
Hugo
Top 10 Films:
1. Hugo
2. Drive
3. Take Shelter
4. Midnight in Paris
5. Attack the Block
6. The Artist
7. Martha Marcy May Marlene
8. I Saw the Devil
9. 13 Assassins
10. Melancholia
Best Director:
Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive
Best Actor:
Michael Shannon, Take Shelter
Best Actress:
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin
Best Supporting Actor:
Albert Brooks, Drive
Best Supporting Actress:
Jessica Chastain, Take Shelter
Best Original Screenplay:
Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen
Best Adapted Screenplay:
Drive, Hossein Amini
Best Cinematography:
The Tree of Life, Emmanuel Lubezki
Best Original Score:
Attack the Block, Steven Price
Best Foreign Language Film:
I Saw the Devil, South Korea: Jee-woon Kim – director
Best Documentary:
Senna: Asif Kapadia – director
Best Animated Feature:
Rango: Gore Verbinski – director
Robert R. "Bobby" McCurdy Memorial Breakthrough Artist Award:
Jessica Chastain for her appearances in the films: Take Shelter, The Tree of Life, The Help, The Debt, Coriolanus, and Texas Killing Fields
Best First Film:
Attack the Block: Joe Cornish – director
Austin Film Award:
Take Shelter: Jeff Nichols – director
http://austinfilmcritics.org/
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Nicholas Brothers, Hannibal Lecter Make 2011 National Film Registry
2011 National Film Registry More Than a Box of Chocolates
“Forrest Gump,” “Bambi,” “Stand and Deliver” Among Registry Picks
"My momma always said, ‘Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.’" That line was immortalized by Tom Hanks in the award-winning movie "Forest Gump" in 1994. Librarian of Congress James H. Billington today selected that film and 24 others to be preserved as cultural, artistic and historical treasures in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.
Spanning the period 1912-1994, the films named to the registry include Hollywood classics, documentaries, animation, home movies, avant-garde shorts and experimental motion pictures. Representing the rich creative and cultural diversity of the American cinematic experience, the selections range from Walt Disney’s timeless classic "Bambi" and Billy Wilder’s "The Lost Weekend," a landmark film about the devastating effects of alcoholism, to a real-life drama between a U.S. president and a governor over the desegregation of the University of Alabama. The selections also include home movies of the famous Nicholas Brothers dancing team and such avant-garde films as George Kuchar’s hilarious short "I, an Actress." This year’s selections bring the number of films in the registry to 575.
Under the terms of the National Film Preservation Act, each year the Librarian of Congress names 25 films to the National Film Registry that are "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant. "These films are selected because of their enduring significance to American culture," said Billington. "Our film heritage must be protected because these cinematic treasures document our history and culture and reflect our hopes and dreams."
Annual selections to the registry are finalized by the Librarian after reviewing hundreds of titles nominated by the public (this year 2,228 films were nominated) and conferring with Library film curators and the distinguished members of the National Film Preservation Board (NFPB). The public is urged to make nominations for next year’s registry at NFPB’s website (www. loc.gov/film).
In other news about the registry, "These Amazing Shadows," a documentary about the National Film Registry, will air nationally on the award-winning PBS series "Independent Lens" on Thursday, Dec. 29, at 10 p.m (check local listings). Written and directed by Paul Mariano and Kurt Norton, this critically acclaimed documentary has also been released on DVD and Blu-ray and will be available through the Library of Congress Shop (www.loc.gov/shop/).
For each title named to the registry, the Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation works to ensure that the film is preserved for future generations, either through the Library’s massive motion-picture preservation program or through collaborative ventures with other archives, motion-picture studios and independent filmmakers. The Packard Campus is a state-of-the-art facility where the nation’s library acquires, preserves and provides access to the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of films, television programs, radio broadcasts and sound recordings (www.loc.gov/avconservation/). .
The Packard Campus is home to more than six million collection items, including nearly three million sound recordings. It provides staff support for the Library of Congress National Film Preservation Board, the National Recording Preservation Board and the National Registries for film and recorded sound.
Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution. It seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs and exhibitions. Many of the Library’s rich resources can be accessed through its website at www.loc.gov and via interactive exhibitions on a personalized website at myLOC.gov.
Films Selected to the 2011 National Film Registry:
Allures (1961)
Bambi (1942)
The Big Heat (1953)
A Computer Animated Hand (1972)
Crisis: Behind A Presidential Commitment (1963)
The Cry of the Children (1912)
A Cure for Pokeritis (1912)
El Mariachi (1992)
Faces (1968)
Fake Fruit Factory (1986)
Forrest Gump (1994)
Growing Up Female (1971)
Hester Street (1975)
I, an Actress (1977)
The Iron Horse (1924)
The Kid (1921)
The Lost Weekend (1945)
The Negro Soldier (1944)
Nicholas Brothers Family Home Movies (1930s-40s)
Norma Rae (1979)
Porgy and Bess (1959)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Stand and Deliver (1988)
Twentieth Century (1934)
War of the Worlds (1953)
“Forrest Gump,” “Bambi,” “Stand and Deliver” Among Registry Picks
"My momma always said, ‘Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.’" That line was immortalized by Tom Hanks in the award-winning movie "Forest Gump" in 1994. Librarian of Congress James H. Billington today selected that film and 24 others to be preserved as cultural, artistic and historical treasures in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.
Spanning the period 1912-1994, the films named to the registry include Hollywood classics, documentaries, animation, home movies, avant-garde shorts and experimental motion pictures. Representing the rich creative and cultural diversity of the American cinematic experience, the selections range from Walt Disney’s timeless classic "Bambi" and Billy Wilder’s "The Lost Weekend," a landmark film about the devastating effects of alcoholism, to a real-life drama between a U.S. president and a governor over the desegregation of the University of Alabama. The selections also include home movies of the famous Nicholas Brothers dancing team and such avant-garde films as George Kuchar’s hilarious short "I, an Actress." This year’s selections bring the number of films in the registry to 575.
Under the terms of the National Film Preservation Act, each year the Librarian of Congress names 25 films to the National Film Registry that are "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant. "These films are selected because of their enduring significance to American culture," said Billington. "Our film heritage must be protected because these cinematic treasures document our history and culture and reflect our hopes and dreams."
Annual selections to the registry are finalized by the Librarian after reviewing hundreds of titles nominated by the public (this year 2,228 films were nominated) and conferring with Library film curators and the distinguished members of the National Film Preservation Board (NFPB). The public is urged to make nominations for next year’s registry at NFPB’s website (www. loc.gov/film).
In other news about the registry, "These Amazing Shadows," a documentary about the National Film Registry, will air nationally on the award-winning PBS series "Independent Lens" on Thursday, Dec. 29, at 10 p.m (check local listings). Written and directed by Paul Mariano and Kurt Norton, this critically acclaimed documentary has also been released on DVD and Blu-ray and will be available through the Library of Congress Shop (www.loc.gov/shop/).
For each title named to the registry, the Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation works to ensure that the film is preserved for future generations, either through the Library’s massive motion-picture preservation program or through collaborative ventures with other archives, motion-picture studios and independent filmmakers. The Packard Campus is a state-of-the-art facility where the nation’s library acquires, preserves and provides access to the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of films, television programs, radio broadcasts and sound recordings (www.loc.gov/avconservation/). .
The Packard Campus is home to more than six million collection items, including nearly three million sound recordings. It provides staff support for the Library of Congress National Film Preservation Board, the National Recording Preservation Board and the National Registries for film and recorded sound.
Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution. It seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs and exhibitions. Many of the Library’s rich resources can be accessed through its website at www.loc.gov and via interactive exhibitions on a personalized website at myLOC.gov.
Films Selected to the 2011 National Film Registry:
Allures (1961)
Bambi (1942)
The Big Heat (1953)
A Computer Animated Hand (1972)
Crisis: Behind A Presidential Commitment (1963)
The Cry of the Children (1912)
A Cure for Pokeritis (1912)
El Mariachi (1992)
Faces (1968)
Fake Fruit Factory (1986)
Forrest Gump (1994)
Growing Up Female (1971)
Hester Street (1975)
I, an Actress (1977)
The Iron Horse (1924)
The Kid (1921)
The Lost Weekend (1945)
The Negro Soldier (1944)
Nicholas Brothers Family Home Movies (1930s-40s)
Norma Rae (1979)
Porgy and Bess (1959)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Stand and Deliver (1988)
Twentieth Century (1934)
War of the Worlds (1953)
Descriptions of Movies Picked for 2011 National Film Registry
2011 National Film Registry
Allures (1961)
Called the master of "cosmic cinema," Jordan Belson excelled in creating abstract imagery with a spiritual dimension that featured dazzling displays of color, light, and ever-moving patterns and objects. Trained as a painter and profoundly influenced by the artist and theorist Wassily Kandinsky, Belson collaborated in the late 1950s with electronic music composer Henry Jacobs to create elaborate sound and light shows in the San Francisco Morrison Planetarium, an experience that informed his subsequent films. The film, Belson has stated, "was probably the space-iest film that had been done until then. It creates a feeling of moving into the void." Inspired by Eastern spiritual thought, "Allures" (which took a year and a half to make) is, Belson suggests, a "mathematically precise" work intended to express the process of becoming that the philosopher Teilhard de Chardin has named "cosmogenesis."
Bambi (1942)
One of Walt Disney’s timeless classics (and his own personal favorite), this animated coming-of-age tale of a wide-eyed fawn’s life in the forest has enchanted generations since its debut nearly 70 years ago. Filled with iconic characters and moments, the film features beautiful images that were the result of extensive nature studies by Disney’s animators. Its realistic characters capture human and animal qualities in the time-honored tradition of folklore and fable, which enhance the movie’s resonating, emotional power. Treasured as one of film’s most heart-rending stories of parental love, "Bambi" also has come to be recognized for its eloquent message of nature conservation.
The Big Heat (1953)
One of the great post-war noir films, "The Big Heat" stars Glenn Ford, Lee Marvin and Gloria Graham. Set in a fictional American town, "The Big Heat" tells the story of a tough cop (Ford) who takes on a local crime syndicate, exposing tensions within his own corrupt police department as well as insecurities and hypocrisies of domestic life in the 1950s. Filled with atmosphere, fascinating female characters, and a jolting—yet not gratuitous—degree of violence, "The Big Heat," through its subtly expressive technique and resistance to formulaic denouement, manages to be both stylized and brutally realistic, a signature of its director Fritz Lang.
A Computer Animated Hand (1972)
Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios, renowned for its CGI (computer generated image) animated films, created a program for digitally animating a human hand in 1972 as a graduate student project, one of the earliest examples of 3D computer animation. The one-minute film displays the hand turning, opening and closing, pointing at the viewer, and flexing its fingers, ending with a shot that seemingly travels up inside the hand. In creating the film, which was incorporated into the 1976 film "Futureworld," Catmull worked out concepts that become the foundation for computer graphics that followed.
Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment (1963)
Robert Drew was a pioneer of American cinema-verite (a style of documentary filmmaking that strives to record unfolding events non-intrusively). In 1963, he gathered together a stellar group of filmmakers, including D. A. Pennebaker, Richard Leacock, Gregory Shuker, James Lipscomb, and Patricia Powell, to capture on film the dramatic unfolding of an ideological crisis, one that revealed political decision-making at the highest levels. The result, "Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment," focuses on Gov. George Wallace’s attempt to prevent two African-American students from enrolling in the University of Alabama—his infamous "stand in the schoolhouse door" confrontation—and the response of President John F. Kennedy. The filmmakers observe the crisis evolve by following a number of participants, including Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Gov. Wallace and the two students, Vivian Malone and James Hood. The film also shows deliberations between the president and his staff that led to a peaceful resolution, a decision by the president to deliver a major address on civil rights and a commitment by Wallace to continue his battle in subsequent national election campaigns. The film has proven to be a uniquely revealing complement to written histories of the period, providing viewers the rare opportunity to witness historical events from an insider’s perspective.
The Cry of the Children (1912)
Recognized as a key work that both reflected and contributed to the pre-World War I child labor reform movement, the two-reel silent melodrama "The Cry of the Children" takes its title and fatalistic, uncompromising tone of hopelessness from the 1842 poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. "The Cry of the Children" was part of a wave of "social problem" films released during the 1910s on such subjects as drugs and alcohol, white slavery, immigrants and women’s suffrage. Some were sensationalist attempts to exploit lurid topics, while others, like "The Cry of the Children," were realistic exposés that championed social reform and demanded change. Shot partially in a working textile factory, "The Cry of the Children" was recognized by an influential critic of the time as "The boldest, most timely and most effective appeal for the stamping out of the cruelest of all social abuses."
A Cure for Pokeritis (1912)
Largely forgotten today, actor John Bunny merits significant historical importance as the American film industry’s earliest comic superstar. A stage actor prior to the start of his film career, Bunny starred in over 150 Vitagraph Company productions from 1910 until his death in 1915. Many of his films (affectionately known as "Bunnygraphs") were gentle "domestic" comedies, in which he portrayed a henpecked husband alongside co-star Flora Finch. "A Cure for Pokeritis" exemplifies the genre, as Finch conspires with similarly displeased wives to break up their husbands’ weekly poker game. When Bunny died in 1915, a New York Times editorial noted that "Thousands who had never heard him speak…recognized him as the living symbol of wholesome merriment." The paper presciently commented on the importance of preserving motion pictures and sound recordings for future generations: "His loss will be felt all over the country, and the films, which preserve his humorous personality in action, may in time have a new value. It is a subject worthy of reflection, the value of a perfect record of a departed singer’s voice, of the photographic films perpetuating the drolleries of a comedian who developed such extraordinary capacity for acting before the camera."
El Mariachi (1992)
Directed, edited, co-produced, and written in two weeks by Robert Rodriguez for $7,000 while a film student at the University of Texas, "El Mariachi" proved a favorite on the film festival circuit. After Columbia Pictures picked it up for distribution, the film helped usher in the independent movie boom of the early 1990s. "El Mariachi" is an energetic, highly entertaining tale of an itinerant musician, portrayed by co-producer and Rodriguez crony Carlos Gallardo, who arrives at a Mexican border town during a drug war and is mistaken for a hit man who recently escaped from prison. The story, as film historian Charles Ramirez Berg has suggested, plays with expectations common to two popular exploitation genres—the narcotraficante film, a Mexican police genre, and the transnational warrior-action film, itself rooted in Hollywood Westerns. Rodriguez’s success derived from invigorating these genres with creative variants despite the constraints of a shoestring budget. Rodriguez has gone on to direct films for major studios, becoming, in Berg’s estimation, "arguably the most successful Latino director ever to work in Hollywood."
Faces (1968)
Writer-director John Cassavetes described "Faces," considered by many to be his first mature work, as "a barrage of attack on contemporary middle-class America." The film depicts a married couple, "safe in their suburban home, narrow in their thinking," he wrote, who experience a break up that "releases them from the conformity of their existence, forces them into a different context, when all barriers are down." An example of cinematic excess, "Faces" places its viewers inside intense lengthy scenes to allow them to discover within its relentless confrontations emotions and relations of power between men and women that rarely emerge in more conventionally structured films. In provoking remarkable performances by Lynn Carlin, John Marley and Gena Rowlands, Cassavetes has created a style of independent filmmaking that has inspired filmmakers around the world.
Fake Fruit Factory (1986)
An expressive, sympathetic look at the everyday lives of young Mexican women who create ornamental papier măché fruits and vegetables, "Fake Fruit Factory" exemplifies filmmaker Chick Strand’s unique style that deftly blends documentary, avant-garde and ethnographic techniques. After studying anthropology and ethnographic film at the University of California, Strand, who helped noted independent filmmaker Bruce Baillie create the independent film distribution cooperative Canyon Cinema, taught filmmaking for 24 years at Occidental College. She developed a collagist process to create her films, shooting footage of people she encountered over several decades of annual summer stays in Mexico and then editing together individual films. In "Fake Fruit Factory," Strand employs a moving camera at close range to create colorfully vivid images often verging on abstraction, while her soundtrack picks up snatches of conversation to evoke, in her words, "the spirit of the people." "I want to know," Strand wrote, "really what it is like to be a breathing, talking, moving, emotional, relating individual in the society."
Forrest Gump (1994)
As "Forrest Gump," Tom Hanks portrays an earnest, guileless "everyman" whose open-heartedness and sense of the unexpected unwittingly draws him into some of the most iconic events of the 1960s and 1970s. A smash hit, "Forrest Gump" has been honored for its technological innovations (the digital insertion of Gump seamlessly into vintage archival footage), its resonance within the culture that has elevated Gump (and what he represents in terms of American innocence) to the status of folk hero, and its attempt to engage both playfully and seriously with contentious aspects of the era’s traumatic history. The film received six Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Growing Up Female (1971)
Among the first films to emerge from the women’s liberation movement, "Growing Up Female" is a documentary portrait of America on the brink of profound change in its attitudes toward women. Filmed in spring 1970 by Ohio college students Julia Reichert and Jim Klein, "Growing Up Female" focuses on six girls and women aged 4 to 34 and the home, school, work and advertising environments that have impacted their identities. Through open-ended interviews and lyrical documentation of their surroundings, the film strived, in Reichert’s words, to "give women a new lens through which to see their own lives." Widely distributed to libraries, universities, churches and youth groups, the film launched a cooperative of female filmmakers that bypassed traditional distribution mechanisms to get its message communicated.
Hester Street (1975)
Joan Micklin Silver’s first feature-length film, "Hester Street," was an adaption of preeminent Yiddish author Abraham Cahan’s 1896 well-received first novel "Yekl: A Tale of the New York Ghetto." In the 1975 film, the writer-director brought to the screen a portrait of Eastern European Jewish life in America that historians have praised for its accuracy of detail and sensitivity to the challenges immigrants faced during their acculturation process. Shot in black-and-white and partly in Yiddish with English subtitles, the independent production, financed with money raised by the filmmaker’s husband, was shunned by Hollywood until it established a reputation at the Cannes Film Festival and in European markets. "Hester Street" focuses on stresses that occur when a "greenhorn" wife, played by Carol Kane (nominated for an Academy Award for her portrayal), and her young son arrive in New York to join her Americanized husband. Silver, one of the first women directors of American features to emerge during the women’s liberation movement, shifted the story’s emphasis from the husband, as in the novel, to the wife. Historian Joyce Antler has written admiringly, "In indicating the hardships experienced by women and their resiliency, as well as the deep strains assimilation posed to masculinity, ‘Hester Street’ touches on a fundamental cultural challenge confronting immigrants."
I, an Actress (1977)
Underground filmmaker George Kuchar and his twin brother Mike began making 8mm films as 12-year-old kids in the Bronx, often on their family’s apartment rooftop. Before his death in 2011, George created over 200 outlandish low-budget films filled with absurdist melodrama, crazed dialogue and plots, and affection for Hollywood film conventions and genres. A professor at the San Francisco Art Institute, Kuchar documented his directing techniques in the hilarious "I, an Actress" as he encourages an acting student to embellish a melodramatic monologue with increasingly excessive gestures and emotions. Like most of Kuchar’s films, "I, an Actress" embodies a "camp" sensibility, defined by the cultural critic Susan Sontag as deriving from an aesthetics that valorizes not beauty but "love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration." Filmmaker John Waters has cited the Kuchars as "my first inspiration" and credited them with giving him "the self-confidence to believe in my own tawdry vision."
The Iron Horse (1924)
John Ford’s epic Western "The Iron Horse" established his reputation as one of Hollywood’s most accomplished directors. Intended by Fox studios to rival Paramount’s 1923 epic "The Covered Wagon," Ford’s film employed more than 5,000 extras, advertised authenticity in its attention to realistic detail, and provided him with the opportunity to create iconic visual images of the Old West, inspired by such master painters as Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell. A tale of national unity achieved after the Civil War through the construction of the transcontinental railroad, "The Iron Horse" celebrated the contributions of Irish, Italian and Chinese immigrants although the number of immigrants allowed to enter the country legally was severely restricted at the time of its production. A classic silent film, "The Iron Horse" introduced to American and world audiences a reverential, elegiac mythology that has influenced many subsequent Westerns.
The Kid (1921)
Charles Chaplin’s first full-length feature, the silent classic "The Kid," is an artful melding of touching drama, social commentary and inventive comedy. The tale of a foundling (Jackie Coogan, soon to be a major child star) taken in by the Little Tramp, "The Kid" represents a high point in Chaplin’s evolving cinematic style, proving he could sustain his artistry beyond the length of his usual short subjects and could deftly elicit a variety of emotions from his audiences by skillfully blending slapstick and pathos.
The Lost Weekend (1945)
A landmark social-problem film, "The Lost Weekend" provided audiences of 1945 with an uncompromising look at the devastating effects of alcoholism. Directed by Billy Wilder and co-written by Wilder and Charles Brackett, the film melded an expressionistic film-noir style with documentary realism to immerse viewers in the harrowing experiences of an aspiring New York writer willing to do almost anything for a drink. Despite opposition from his studio, the Hays Office and the liquor industry, Wilder created a film ranked as one of the best of the decade that won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Direction, Screenplay and Actor (Ray Milland), and established him as one of America’s leading filmmakers.
The Negro Soldier (1944)
Produced by Frank Capra’s renowned World War II U.S. Army filming unit, "The Negro Soldier" showcased the contributions of blacks to American society and their heroism in the nation’s wars, portraying them in a dignified, realistic, and far less stereotypical manner than they had been depicted in previous Hollywood films. Considered by film historian Thomas Cripps as "a watershed in the use of film to promote racial tolerance," "The Negro Soldier" was produced in reaction to instances of discrimination against African-Americans stationed in the South. Written by Carlton Moss, a young black writer for radio and the Federal Theatre Project, directed by Stuart Heisler, and scored by Dmitri Tiomkin, the film highlights the role of the church in the black community and charts the progress of a black soldier through basic training and officer’s candidate school before he enters into combat. It became mandatory viewing for all soldiers in American replacement centers from spring 1944 until the war’s end.
Nicholas Brothers Family Home Movies (1930s-1940s)
Fayard and Harold Nicholas, renowned for their innovative and exuberant dance routines, began in vaudeville in the late 1920s before headlining at the Cotton Club in Harlem, starring on Broadway and performing in Hollywood films. Fred Astaire is reported to have called their dance sequence in "Stormy Weather" (1943) the greatest movie musical number he had ever seen. Their home movies capture a golden age of show business—with extraordinary footage of Broadway, Harlem and Hollywood—and also document the middle-class African-American life of that era, images made rare by the considerable cost of home-movie equipment during the Great Depression. Highlights include the only footage shot inside the Cotton Club, the only footage of famous Broadway shows like "Babes in Arms," home movies of an all African-American regiment during World War II, films of street life in Harlem in the 1930s, and the family’s cross-country tour in 1934.
Norma Rae (1979)
Highlighted by Sally Field’s Oscar-winning performance, "Norma Rae" is the tale of an unlikely activist. A poorly-educated single mother, Norma Rae Webster works at a Southern textile mill where her attempt to improve working conditions through unionization, though undermined by her factory bosses, ultimately succeeds after her courageous stand on the factory floor wins the support of her co-workers. The film is less a polemical pro-union statement than a treatise about maturation, personal willpower, fairness and the empowerment of women. Directed by Martin Ritt, "Norma Rae" was based on the real-life efforts of Crystal Lee Sutton to unionize the J. P. Stevens Mills in Roanoke Rapids, N.C., which finally agreed to allow union representation one year after the film’s release.
Porgy and Bess (1959)
Composer George Gershwin considered his masterpiece "Porgy and Bess" to be a "folk opera." Gershwin’s score reflected traditional songs he encountered in visits to Charleston, S.C., and in Gullah revival meetings he attended on nearby James Island. Controversy has stalked the production history of the opera that Gershwin created with DuBose Heyward, who had written the original novel and play (with his wife Dorothy) and penned lyrics with Gershwin’s brother Ira. The lavish film version was produced in the late 1950s as the civil rights movement gained momentum and a number of African-American actors turned down roles they considered demeaning. Harry Belafonte, who refused the part of Porgy, explained, "in this period of our social development, I doubt that it is healthy to expose certain images of the Negro. In a period of calm, perhaps this picture could be viewed historically." Dissension also resulted when producer Samuel Goldwyn dismissed Rouben Mamoulian, who had directed the play and musical on Broadway, and replaced him with Otto Preminger. Produced in Todd-AO, a state-of-the-art widescreen and stereophonic sound recording process, with an all-star cast that included Sidney Poitier, Dorothy Dandridge, Sammy Davis, Jr., Pearl Bailey and Diahann Carroll, "Porgy and Bess," now considered an "overlooked masterpiece" by one contemporary scholar, rarely has been screened in the ensuing years.
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Jodie Foster, Sir Anthony Hopkins and director Jonathan Demme won accolades for this chilling thriller based upon a book by Thomas Harris. Foster plays rookie FBI agent Clarice Starling who must tap into the disturbed mind of imprisoned cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter in order to aid her search for a murderer and torturer still at large. A film whose violence is as much psychological as graphic, "Silence of the Lambs"—winner of Academy Awards for Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress and Adapted Screenplay—has been celebrated for its superb lead performances, its blending of crime and horror genres, and its taut direction that brought to the screen one of film’s greatest villains and some of its most memorable imagery.
Stand and Deliver (1988)
Based on a true story, "Stand and Deliver" stars Edward James Olmos in an Oscar-nominated performance as crusading educator Jaime Escalante. A math teacher in East Los Angeles, Ca., Escalante inspired his underprivileged students to undertake an intensive program in calculus, achieve high test scores, and improve their sense of self-worth. Co-produced by Olmos and directed by Cuban-born Ramón Menéndez, "Stand and Deliver" became one of the most popular of a new wave of narrative feature films produced in the 1980s by Latino filmmakers. The film celebrates in a direct, approachable, and impactful way, values of self-betterment through hard work and power through knowledge.
Twentieth Century (1934)
A satire on the theatrical milieu and its oversized egos, "Twentieth Century" marked the first of director Howard Hawks’ frenetic comedies that had leading actors of the day "make damn fools of themselves." In Hawks’ words, the genre became affectionately known as "screwball comedy." Hawks had writers Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, who penned the original play, craft dialogue scenes in which lines overlapped as in ordinary conversations, but still remained understandable, a style he continued in later films. This sophisticated farce about the tempestuous romance of an egocentric impresario and the star he creates did not fare well on its release, but has come to be recognized as one of the era’s finest film comedies, one that gave John Barrymore his last great film role and Carole Lombard her first.
War of the Worlds (1953)
Released at the height of cold-war hysteria, producer George Pal’s lavishly-designed take on H. G. Wells’ 1898 novel of alien invasion was provocatively transplanted from Victorian England to a mid-20th-century Southern California small town in this 1953 film version. Capitalizing on the apocalyptic paranoia of the atomic age, Barré Lyndon’s screenplay wryly replaces Wells’ original commentary on the British class system with religious metaphor. Directed by Byron Haskin, formerly a special effects cameraman, the critically and commercially successful film chronicles an apparent meteor crash discovered by a local scientist (Gene Barry) that turns out to be a Martian spacecraft. Gordon Jennings, who died shortly before the film’s release, avoided stereotypical flying saucer-style creations in his Academy Award-winning special effects described by reviewers as soul-chilling, hackle-raising and not for the faint of heart.
Allures (1961)
Called the master of "cosmic cinema," Jordan Belson excelled in creating abstract imagery with a spiritual dimension that featured dazzling displays of color, light, and ever-moving patterns and objects. Trained as a painter and profoundly influenced by the artist and theorist Wassily Kandinsky, Belson collaborated in the late 1950s with electronic music composer Henry Jacobs to create elaborate sound and light shows in the San Francisco Morrison Planetarium, an experience that informed his subsequent films. The film, Belson has stated, "was probably the space-iest film that had been done until then. It creates a feeling of moving into the void." Inspired by Eastern spiritual thought, "Allures" (which took a year and a half to make) is, Belson suggests, a "mathematically precise" work intended to express the process of becoming that the philosopher Teilhard de Chardin has named "cosmogenesis."
Bambi (1942)
One of Walt Disney’s timeless classics (and his own personal favorite), this animated coming-of-age tale of a wide-eyed fawn’s life in the forest has enchanted generations since its debut nearly 70 years ago. Filled with iconic characters and moments, the film features beautiful images that were the result of extensive nature studies by Disney’s animators. Its realistic characters capture human and animal qualities in the time-honored tradition of folklore and fable, which enhance the movie’s resonating, emotional power. Treasured as one of film’s most heart-rending stories of parental love, "Bambi" also has come to be recognized for its eloquent message of nature conservation.
The Big Heat (1953)
One of the great post-war noir films, "The Big Heat" stars Glenn Ford, Lee Marvin and Gloria Graham. Set in a fictional American town, "The Big Heat" tells the story of a tough cop (Ford) who takes on a local crime syndicate, exposing tensions within his own corrupt police department as well as insecurities and hypocrisies of domestic life in the 1950s. Filled with atmosphere, fascinating female characters, and a jolting—yet not gratuitous—degree of violence, "The Big Heat," through its subtly expressive technique and resistance to formulaic denouement, manages to be both stylized and brutally realistic, a signature of its director Fritz Lang.
A Computer Animated Hand (1972)
Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios, renowned for its CGI (computer generated image) animated films, created a program for digitally animating a human hand in 1972 as a graduate student project, one of the earliest examples of 3D computer animation. The one-minute film displays the hand turning, opening and closing, pointing at the viewer, and flexing its fingers, ending with a shot that seemingly travels up inside the hand. In creating the film, which was incorporated into the 1976 film "Futureworld," Catmull worked out concepts that become the foundation for computer graphics that followed.
Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment (1963)
Robert Drew was a pioneer of American cinema-verite (a style of documentary filmmaking that strives to record unfolding events non-intrusively). In 1963, he gathered together a stellar group of filmmakers, including D. A. Pennebaker, Richard Leacock, Gregory Shuker, James Lipscomb, and Patricia Powell, to capture on film the dramatic unfolding of an ideological crisis, one that revealed political decision-making at the highest levels. The result, "Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment," focuses on Gov. George Wallace’s attempt to prevent two African-American students from enrolling in the University of Alabama—his infamous "stand in the schoolhouse door" confrontation—and the response of President John F. Kennedy. The filmmakers observe the crisis evolve by following a number of participants, including Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Gov. Wallace and the two students, Vivian Malone and James Hood. The film also shows deliberations between the president and his staff that led to a peaceful resolution, a decision by the president to deliver a major address on civil rights and a commitment by Wallace to continue his battle in subsequent national election campaigns. The film has proven to be a uniquely revealing complement to written histories of the period, providing viewers the rare opportunity to witness historical events from an insider’s perspective.
The Cry of the Children (1912)
Recognized as a key work that both reflected and contributed to the pre-World War I child labor reform movement, the two-reel silent melodrama "The Cry of the Children" takes its title and fatalistic, uncompromising tone of hopelessness from the 1842 poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. "The Cry of the Children" was part of a wave of "social problem" films released during the 1910s on such subjects as drugs and alcohol, white slavery, immigrants and women’s suffrage. Some were sensationalist attempts to exploit lurid topics, while others, like "The Cry of the Children," were realistic exposés that championed social reform and demanded change. Shot partially in a working textile factory, "The Cry of the Children" was recognized by an influential critic of the time as "The boldest, most timely and most effective appeal for the stamping out of the cruelest of all social abuses."
A Cure for Pokeritis (1912)
Largely forgotten today, actor John Bunny merits significant historical importance as the American film industry’s earliest comic superstar. A stage actor prior to the start of his film career, Bunny starred in over 150 Vitagraph Company productions from 1910 until his death in 1915. Many of his films (affectionately known as "Bunnygraphs") were gentle "domestic" comedies, in which he portrayed a henpecked husband alongside co-star Flora Finch. "A Cure for Pokeritis" exemplifies the genre, as Finch conspires with similarly displeased wives to break up their husbands’ weekly poker game. When Bunny died in 1915, a New York Times editorial noted that "Thousands who had never heard him speak…recognized him as the living symbol of wholesome merriment." The paper presciently commented on the importance of preserving motion pictures and sound recordings for future generations: "His loss will be felt all over the country, and the films, which preserve his humorous personality in action, may in time have a new value. It is a subject worthy of reflection, the value of a perfect record of a departed singer’s voice, of the photographic films perpetuating the drolleries of a comedian who developed such extraordinary capacity for acting before the camera."
El Mariachi (1992)
Directed, edited, co-produced, and written in two weeks by Robert Rodriguez for $7,000 while a film student at the University of Texas, "El Mariachi" proved a favorite on the film festival circuit. After Columbia Pictures picked it up for distribution, the film helped usher in the independent movie boom of the early 1990s. "El Mariachi" is an energetic, highly entertaining tale of an itinerant musician, portrayed by co-producer and Rodriguez crony Carlos Gallardo, who arrives at a Mexican border town during a drug war and is mistaken for a hit man who recently escaped from prison. The story, as film historian Charles Ramirez Berg has suggested, plays with expectations common to two popular exploitation genres—the narcotraficante film, a Mexican police genre, and the transnational warrior-action film, itself rooted in Hollywood Westerns. Rodriguez’s success derived from invigorating these genres with creative variants despite the constraints of a shoestring budget. Rodriguez has gone on to direct films for major studios, becoming, in Berg’s estimation, "arguably the most successful Latino director ever to work in Hollywood."
Faces (1968)
Writer-director John Cassavetes described "Faces," considered by many to be his first mature work, as "a barrage of attack on contemporary middle-class America." The film depicts a married couple, "safe in their suburban home, narrow in their thinking," he wrote, who experience a break up that "releases them from the conformity of their existence, forces them into a different context, when all barriers are down." An example of cinematic excess, "Faces" places its viewers inside intense lengthy scenes to allow them to discover within its relentless confrontations emotions and relations of power between men and women that rarely emerge in more conventionally structured films. In provoking remarkable performances by Lynn Carlin, John Marley and Gena Rowlands, Cassavetes has created a style of independent filmmaking that has inspired filmmakers around the world.
Fake Fruit Factory (1986)
An expressive, sympathetic look at the everyday lives of young Mexican women who create ornamental papier măché fruits and vegetables, "Fake Fruit Factory" exemplifies filmmaker Chick Strand’s unique style that deftly blends documentary, avant-garde and ethnographic techniques. After studying anthropology and ethnographic film at the University of California, Strand, who helped noted independent filmmaker Bruce Baillie create the independent film distribution cooperative Canyon Cinema, taught filmmaking for 24 years at Occidental College. She developed a collagist process to create her films, shooting footage of people she encountered over several decades of annual summer stays in Mexico and then editing together individual films. In "Fake Fruit Factory," Strand employs a moving camera at close range to create colorfully vivid images often verging on abstraction, while her soundtrack picks up snatches of conversation to evoke, in her words, "the spirit of the people." "I want to know," Strand wrote, "really what it is like to be a breathing, talking, moving, emotional, relating individual in the society."
Forrest Gump (1994)
As "Forrest Gump," Tom Hanks portrays an earnest, guileless "everyman" whose open-heartedness and sense of the unexpected unwittingly draws him into some of the most iconic events of the 1960s and 1970s. A smash hit, "Forrest Gump" has been honored for its technological innovations (the digital insertion of Gump seamlessly into vintage archival footage), its resonance within the culture that has elevated Gump (and what he represents in terms of American innocence) to the status of folk hero, and its attempt to engage both playfully and seriously with contentious aspects of the era’s traumatic history. The film received six Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Growing Up Female (1971)
Among the first films to emerge from the women’s liberation movement, "Growing Up Female" is a documentary portrait of America on the brink of profound change in its attitudes toward women. Filmed in spring 1970 by Ohio college students Julia Reichert and Jim Klein, "Growing Up Female" focuses on six girls and women aged 4 to 34 and the home, school, work and advertising environments that have impacted their identities. Through open-ended interviews and lyrical documentation of their surroundings, the film strived, in Reichert’s words, to "give women a new lens through which to see their own lives." Widely distributed to libraries, universities, churches and youth groups, the film launched a cooperative of female filmmakers that bypassed traditional distribution mechanisms to get its message communicated.
Hester Street (1975)
Joan Micklin Silver’s first feature-length film, "Hester Street," was an adaption of preeminent Yiddish author Abraham Cahan’s 1896 well-received first novel "Yekl: A Tale of the New York Ghetto." In the 1975 film, the writer-director brought to the screen a portrait of Eastern European Jewish life in America that historians have praised for its accuracy of detail and sensitivity to the challenges immigrants faced during their acculturation process. Shot in black-and-white and partly in Yiddish with English subtitles, the independent production, financed with money raised by the filmmaker’s husband, was shunned by Hollywood until it established a reputation at the Cannes Film Festival and in European markets. "Hester Street" focuses on stresses that occur when a "greenhorn" wife, played by Carol Kane (nominated for an Academy Award for her portrayal), and her young son arrive in New York to join her Americanized husband. Silver, one of the first women directors of American features to emerge during the women’s liberation movement, shifted the story’s emphasis from the husband, as in the novel, to the wife. Historian Joyce Antler has written admiringly, "In indicating the hardships experienced by women and their resiliency, as well as the deep strains assimilation posed to masculinity, ‘Hester Street’ touches on a fundamental cultural challenge confronting immigrants."
I, an Actress (1977)
Underground filmmaker George Kuchar and his twin brother Mike began making 8mm films as 12-year-old kids in the Bronx, often on their family’s apartment rooftop. Before his death in 2011, George created over 200 outlandish low-budget films filled with absurdist melodrama, crazed dialogue and plots, and affection for Hollywood film conventions and genres. A professor at the San Francisco Art Institute, Kuchar documented his directing techniques in the hilarious "I, an Actress" as he encourages an acting student to embellish a melodramatic monologue with increasingly excessive gestures and emotions. Like most of Kuchar’s films, "I, an Actress" embodies a "camp" sensibility, defined by the cultural critic Susan Sontag as deriving from an aesthetics that valorizes not beauty but "love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration." Filmmaker John Waters has cited the Kuchars as "my first inspiration" and credited them with giving him "the self-confidence to believe in my own tawdry vision."
The Iron Horse (1924)
John Ford’s epic Western "The Iron Horse" established his reputation as one of Hollywood’s most accomplished directors. Intended by Fox studios to rival Paramount’s 1923 epic "The Covered Wagon," Ford’s film employed more than 5,000 extras, advertised authenticity in its attention to realistic detail, and provided him with the opportunity to create iconic visual images of the Old West, inspired by such master painters as Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell. A tale of national unity achieved after the Civil War through the construction of the transcontinental railroad, "The Iron Horse" celebrated the contributions of Irish, Italian and Chinese immigrants although the number of immigrants allowed to enter the country legally was severely restricted at the time of its production. A classic silent film, "The Iron Horse" introduced to American and world audiences a reverential, elegiac mythology that has influenced many subsequent Westerns.
The Kid (1921)
Charles Chaplin’s first full-length feature, the silent classic "The Kid," is an artful melding of touching drama, social commentary and inventive comedy. The tale of a foundling (Jackie Coogan, soon to be a major child star) taken in by the Little Tramp, "The Kid" represents a high point in Chaplin’s evolving cinematic style, proving he could sustain his artistry beyond the length of his usual short subjects and could deftly elicit a variety of emotions from his audiences by skillfully blending slapstick and pathos.
The Lost Weekend (1945)
A landmark social-problem film, "The Lost Weekend" provided audiences of 1945 with an uncompromising look at the devastating effects of alcoholism. Directed by Billy Wilder and co-written by Wilder and Charles Brackett, the film melded an expressionistic film-noir style with documentary realism to immerse viewers in the harrowing experiences of an aspiring New York writer willing to do almost anything for a drink. Despite opposition from his studio, the Hays Office and the liquor industry, Wilder created a film ranked as one of the best of the decade that won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Direction, Screenplay and Actor (Ray Milland), and established him as one of America’s leading filmmakers.
The Negro Soldier (1944)
Produced by Frank Capra’s renowned World War II U.S. Army filming unit, "The Negro Soldier" showcased the contributions of blacks to American society and their heroism in the nation’s wars, portraying them in a dignified, realistic, and far less stereotypical manner than they had been depicted in previous Hollywood films. Considered by film historian Thomas Cripps as "a watershed in the use of film to promote racial tolerance," "The Negro Soldier" was produced in reaction to instances of discrimination against African-Americans stationed in the South. Written by Carlton Moss, a young black writer for radio and the Federal Theatre Project, directed by Stuart Heisler, and scored by Dmitri Tiomkin, the film highlights the role of the church in the black community and charts the progress of a black soldier through basic training and officer’s candidate school before he enters into combat. It became mandatory viewing for all soldiers in American replacement centers from spring 1944 until the war’s end.
Nicholas Brothers Family Home Movies (1930s-1940s)
Fayard and Harold Nicholas, renowned for their innovative and exuberant dance routines, began in vaudeville in the late 1920s before headlining at the Cotton Club in Harlem, starring on Broadway and performing in Hollywood films. Fred Astaire is reported to have called their dance sequence in "Stormy Weather" (1943) the greatest movie musical number he had ever seen. Their home movies capture a golden age of show business—with extraordinary footage of Broadway, Harlem and Hollywood—and also document the middle-class African-American life of that era, images made rare by the considerable cost of home-movie equipment during the Great Depression. Highlights include the only footage shot inside the Cotton Club, the only footage of famous Broadway shows like "Babes in Arms," home movies of an all African-American regiment during World War II, films of street life in Harlem in the 1930s, and the family’s cross-country tour in 1934.
Norma Rae (1979)
Highlighted by Sally Field’s Oscar-winning performance, "Norma Rae" is the tale of an unlikely activist. A poorly-educated single mother, Norma Rae Webster works at a Southern textile mill where her attempt to improve working conditions through unionization, though undermined by her factory bosses, ultimately succeeds after her courageous stand on the factory floor wins the support of her co-workers. The film is less a polemical pro-union statement than a treatise about maturation, personal willpower, fairness and the empowerment of women. Directed by Martin Ritt, "Norma Rae" was based on the real-life efforts of Crystal Lee Sutton to unionize the J. P. Stevens Mills in Roanoke Rapids, N.C., which finally agreed to allow union representation one year after the film’s release.
Porgy and Bess (1959)
Composer George Gershwin considered his masterpiece "Porgy and Bess" to be a "folk opera." Gershwin’s score reflected traditional songs he encountered in visits to Charleston, S.C., and in Gullah revival meetings he attended on nearby James Island. Controversy has stalked the production history of the opera that Gershwin created with DuBose Heyward, who had written the original novel and play (with his wife Dorothy) and penned lyrics with Gershwin’s brother Ira. The lavish film version was produced in the late 1950s as the civil rights movement gained momentum and a number of African-American actors turned down roles they considered demeaning. Harry Belafonte, who refused the part of Porgy, explained, "in this period of our social development, I doubt that it is healthy to expose certain images of the Negro. In a period of calm, perhaps this picture could be viewed historically." Dissension also resulted when producer Samuel Goldwyn dismissed Rouben Mamoulian, who had directed the play and musical on Broadway, and replaced him with Otto Preminger. Produced in Todd-AO, a state-of-the-art widescreen and stereophonic sound recording process, with an all-star cast that included Sidney Poitier, Dorothy Dandridge, Sammy Davis, Jr., Pearl Bailey and Diahann Carroll, "Porgy and Bess," now considered an "overlooked masterpiece" by one contemporary scholar, rarely has been screened in the ensuing years.
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Jodie Foster, Sir Anthony Hopkins and director Jonathan Demme won accolades for this chilling thriller based upon a book by Thomas Harris. Foster plays rookie FBI agent Clarice Starling who must tap into the disturbed mind of imprisoned cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter in order to aid her search for a murderer and torturer still at large. A film whose violence is as much psychological as graphic, "Silence of the Lambs"—winner of Academy Awards for Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress and Adapted Screenplay—has been celebrated for its superb lead performances, its blending of crime and horror genres, and its taut direction that brought to the screen one of film’s greatest villains and some of its most memorable imagery.
Stand and Deliver (1988)
Based on a true story, "Stand and Deliver" stars Edward James Olmos in an Oscar-nominated performance as crusading educator Jaime Escalante. A math teacher in East Los Angeles, Ca., Escalante inspired his underprivileged students to undertake an intensive program in calculus, achieve high test scores, and improve their sense of self-worth. Co-produced by Olmos and directed by Cuban-born Ramón Menéndez, "Stand and Deliver" became one of the most popular of a new wave of narrative feature films produced in the 1980s by Latino filmmakers. The film celebrates in a direct, approachable, and impactful way, values of self-betterment through hard work and power through knowledge.
Twentieth Century (1934)
A satire on the theatrical milieu and its oversized egos, "Twentieth Century" marked the first of director Howard Hawks’ frenetic comedies that had leading actors of the day "make damn fools of themselves." In Hawks’ words, the genre became affectionately known as "screwball comedy." Hawks had writers Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, who penned the original play, craft dialogue scenes in which lines overlapped as in ordinary conversations, but still remained understandable, a style he continued in later films. This sophisticated farce about the tempestuous romance of an egocentric impresario and the star he creates did not fare well on its release, but has come to be recognized as one of the era’s finest film comedies, one that gave John Barrymore his last great film role and Carole Lombard her first.
War of the Worlds (1953)
Released at the height of cold-war hysteria, producer George Pal’s lavishly-designed take on H. G. Wells’ 1898 novel of alien invasion was provocatively transplanted from Victorian England to a mid-20th-century Southern California small town in this 1953 film version. Capitalizing on the apocalyptic paranoia of the atomic age, Barré Lyndon’s screenplay wryly replaces Wells’ original commentary on the British class system with religious metaphor. Directed by Byron Haskin, formerly a special effects cameraman, the critically and commercially successful film chronicles an apparent meteor crash discovered by a local scientist (Gene Barry) that turns out to be a Martian spacecraft. Gordon Jennings, who died shortly before the film’s release, avoided stereotypical flying saucer-style creations in his Academy Award-winning special effects described by reviewers as soul-chilling, hackle-raising and not for the faint of heart.
2012: The Year of Living Negromancer-ly
Welcome to Negromancer, the rebirth of my former movie review website as a movie review and movie news blog. Finally, we've finished the blog's first full calendar year. [The site was reborn in late January 2010.].
I’m Leroy Douresseaux, and I also blog at http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/ and write for the Comic Book Bin (which has smart phones apps and comics).
All images and text appearing on this blog are © copyright and/or trademark their respective owners.
I’m Leroy Douresseaux, and I also blog at http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/ and write for the Comic Book Bin (which has smart phones apps and comics).
All images and text appearing on this blog are © copyright and/or trademark their respective owners.
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