"Gravity," "Game of Thrones" Among 2014 Art Directors Guild Winners

The Art Directors Guild (ADG) announced winners of its 18th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards, Presented by Kohler (sponsor), on Saturday, February 8, 2014.  The winners were announced in ten categories of film, television, commercials and music videos during the black-tie ceremony in the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

According to an ADG press release, the 2014 ADG Awards ceremony (for the year in film and television 2013) took place before an audience of more than 800, including guild members, industry executives and press. ADG Council Chair John Shaffner presided over the awards ceremony with comedian Owen Benjamin serving as host.

Martin Scorsese received the Guild’s prestigious Cinematic Imagery Award, which was presented to him by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill, the stars of Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street (currently nominated for five Academy Awards®).

Production Designer Rick Carter was recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.  The award was presented by Kohler, which created a special award for the occasion, and ADG President Mimi Gramatky and Production Designer Robert Stromberg participated in the presentation to Carter.

Robert Clatworthy, Harper Goff, and J. Michael Riva were the 2014 Hall of Fame inductees.

ADG awards recognition always goes to the Production Designer, Art Director, Assistant Art Director and their team for each nominated and winning project.

2014 / 18th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards (for the year in film and television 2013):  A complete list of winners follows:

WINNERS FOR EXCELLENCE IN PRODUCTION DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM IN 2013:

Period Film: THE GREAT GATSBY
Production Designer: Catherine Martin

Fantasy Film: GRAVITY
Production Designer: Andy Nicholson

Contemporary Film: HER
Production Designer: K.K. Barrett

WINNERS FOR EXCELLENCE IN PRODUCTION DESIGN IN TELEVISION FOR 2013:

One-Hour Single Camera Television Series: GAME OF THRONES
Production Designer: Gemma Jackson - Episode: Valar Dohaeris

Television Movie or Mini-Series: BEHIND THE CANDELABRA
Production Designer: Howard Cummings

Half-Hour Single Camera Television Series: VEEP
Production Designer: Jim Gloster - Episode: Helsinki

Short Format, Live Action Series: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: BLOOD & CHROME
Production Designer: Brian Kane - Episode: Pilot

Multi-Camera, Variety, or Unscripted Series: PORTLANDIA
Production Designer: Tyler B. Robinson - Episode: Missionaries

Awards, Music, or Game Shows: THE 67th ANNUAL TONY AWARDS
Production Designer: Steve Bass

Commercial, PSA, Promo, and Music Video: CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS
Production Designer: Todd Cherniawsky - Episode: Epic Night Out

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ADG Awards Sponsors: Presenting and Lifetime Achievement: KOHLER; Title Sponsor:Paramount Pictures; Platinum: LBI Entertainment, Steven Spielberg; Gold: Fox Studios Productions, ICM Partners, NBC/Universal Operations Group, United Talent Agency; Silver: Astek Wallcovering, The Bridgeman Art Library Ltd., Fox Searchlight, The Skouras Agency, Warner Bros. Studio Facilities, Walt Disney Pictures, The Weinstein Company, WME Agency; Media: The Hollywood Reporter, SHOOTMagazine/SHOOTonline, and Variety. ADG Awards are open only to productions, when made within the U.S., by producers signatory to the IATSE agreement. Foreign entries are acceptable without restrictions.

About the Art Directors Guild:
The Art Directors Guild (IATSE Local 800) represents nearly 2,000 members who work throughout the United States, Canada and the rest of the world in film, television and theater as Production Designers, Art Directors, and Assistant Art Directors; Scenic, Title and Graphic Artists; Illustrators and Matte Artists; and Set Designers and Model Makers.

Established in 1937, ADG’s ongoing activities include a Film Society; an annual Awards Banquet, a creative/technology community (5D: The Future of Immersive Design) and Membership Directory; a bimonthly craft magazine (Perspective); and extensive technology-training programs, creative workshops and craft and art exhibitions.

The Guild’s Online Directory/Website Resource is at www.adg.org.
Twitter: @ADG800, #ADGawards

About Kohler:
Founded in 1873 and headquartered in Kohler, Wisconsin, Kohler Co. is one of America’s oldest and largest privately held companies comprised of more than 30,000 associates. With more than 50 manufacturing locations worldwide, Kohler is a global leader in the manufacture of kitchen and bath products; engines and power systems; premier furniture, cabinetry and tile; and owner/operator of two of the world’s finest five-star hospitality and golf resort destinations in Kohler, and St. Andrews, Scotland.

Kohler Website: http://www.us.kohler.com/us
Kohler Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kohler
Kohler Twitter: @Kohler, #OnlyKohler

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"Captain Phillips," "American Hustle" Lead 2014 ACE Eddie Awards

The American Cinema Editors (ACE) is an honorary society of motion picture editors founded in 1950.  According to the group’s website, film editors are voted into membership on the basis of their professional achievements, their dedication to the education of others and their commitment to the craft of editing.  Since 1962, ACE has given its own annual award of merit, the Eddie Award.

The winners at the 2014 ACE Eddie Awards were announced at a ceremony on Friday, February 7, 2014.

2014 / 64th Annual ACE Eddie Award winners (for the year in film 2013):

BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (DRAMATIC):
Captain Phillips - Christopher Rouse, A.C.E.

BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (COMEDY OR MUSICAL):
American Hustle - Jay Cassidy, A.C.E., Crispin Struthers & Alan Baumgarten, A.C.E.   


BEST EDITED ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
Frozen - Jeff Draheim

BEST EDITED DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE):

20 Feet from Stardom - Douglas Blush, Kevin Klauber & Jason Zeldes

BEST EDITED DOCUMENTARY (TELEVISION):

The Assassination of President Kennedy - Chris A. Peterson

BEST EDITED HALF-HOUR SERIES FOR TELEVISION:
The Office: “Finale” - David Rogers & Claire Scanlon

BEST EDITED ONE-HOUR SERIES FOR COMMERCIAL TELEVISION:
Breaking Bad: “Felina” - Skip MacDonald A.C.E.

BEST EDITED ONE-HOUR SERIES FOR NON-COMMERCIAL TELEVISION:
Homeland: “Big Man in Tehran” - Terry Kelley, A.C.E.

BEST EDITED MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE FOR TELEVISION:
Behind the Candelabra - Mary Ann Bernard (Steven Soderbergh)

BEST EDITED NON-SCRIPTED SERIES:
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown: Tokyo - Nick Brigden

BEST STUDENT EDITING
Ambar Salinas, Video Symphony

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

2014 Art Directors Guild Nominations - Complete List

by Amos Semien

[Editor's note: Forgot to post this]

Established in 1937, the Art Directors Guild (IATSE Local 800) represents nearly 2,000 members.  Those ADG members work throughout the United States, Canada and the rest of the world in film, television and theater as Production Designers, Art Directors, and Assistant Art Directors; Scenic, Title and Graphic Artists; Illustrators and Matte Artists; and Set Designers and Model Makers.  ADG’s ongoing activities include the ADG Awards, an annual Awards Banquet,

The film nominations are broken down into three categories: period film, fantasy film and contemporary film.  The TV nominations are broken down into the following categories: One-Hour Single Camera Television Series; Television Movie or Mini-Series; Half-Hour Single-Camera Television Series; Short Format, Live Action Series; Multi-Camera, Variety, or Unscripted Series; and Awards, Music, or Game Shows.

The 18th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards ceremony is set to take place on Saturday, February 8, 2014 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, with comedian Owen Benjamin as the host.

At the 2014 ADG Awards, Martin Scorsese will receive the Cinematic Imagery Award, Rick Carter will receive the Guild's Lifetime Achievement Award, and Robert Clatworthy, Harper Goff and J. Michael Riva will be inducted into the ADG's Hall of Fame.

2014 / 18th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards (for the year in film and television 2013):  A complete list of nominees follows:

NOMINEES FOR EXCELLENCE IN PRODUCTION DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM IN 2013:

Period Film:
AMERICAN HUSTLE - Production Designer: Judy Becker
THE GREAT GATSBY - Production Designer: Catherine Martin
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS - Production Designer: Jess Gonchor
SAVING MR. BANKS - Production Designer: Michael Corenblith
12 YEARS A SLAVE - Production Designer: Adam Stockhausen

Fantasy Film:
ELYSIUM - Production Designer: Philip Ivey
GRAVITY - Production Designer: Andy Nicholson
THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG - Production Designer: Dan Hennah
OBLIVION - Production Designer: Darren Gilford
STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS - Production Designer: Scott Chambliss

Contemporary Film:
AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY - Production Designer: David Gropman
BLUE JASMINE - Production Designer: Santo Loquasto
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS - Production Designer: Paul Kirby
HER - Production Designer: K.K. Barrett
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET - Production Designer: Bob Shaw

NOMINEES FOR EXCELLENCE IN PRODUCTION DESIGN IN TELEVISION FOR 2013:

One-Hour Single Camera Television Series:

BOARDWALK EMPIRE
Production Designer: Bill Groom
Episode: Old Ship of Zion

BREAKING BAD
Production Designer: Mark Freeborn
Episode: Felina

DOWNTON ABBEY
Production Designer: Donal Woods
Episode: 7

GAME OF THRONES
Production Designer: Gemma Jackson
Episode: Valar Dohaeris

MAD MEN
Production Designer: Dan Bishop
Episode: The Better Half

Television Movie or Mini-Series:

AMERICAN HORROR STORY: COVEN
Production Designer: Mark Worthington
Episode: Bitchcraft

BEHIND THE CANDELABRA
Production Designer: Howard Cummings

BONNIE & CLYDE
Production Designer: Derek R. Hill
Episode: Night 1 & Night 2

MOB CITY
Production Designer: Gregory Melton
Episode: A Guy Walks Into A Bar, Reason To Kill A Man

PHIL SPECTOR
Production Designer: Patrizia von Brandenstein
Half Hour Single-Camera Television Series

Half-Hour Single Camera Television Series:

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT
Production Designer: Dan Butts
Episode: The B. Team

CALIFORNICATION
Production Designer: Ray Yamagata
Episode: The Unforgiven

MODERN FAMILY
Production Designer: Richard Berg
Episode: The Wow Factor

PARKS AND RECREATION
Production Designer: Ian Phillips
Episode: London

VEEP
Production Designer: Jim Gloster
Episode: Helsinki

Short Format, Live Action Series:

10,000 DAYS
Production Designer: Mimi Gramatky
Episode: Salvation or Destruction

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: BLOOD AND CHROME
Production Designer: Brian Kane
Episode: Pilot

BLUE
Production Designer: Rachel Myers
Episode: The Truth Hurts

DAYBREAK
Production Designer: Stuart Blatt
Episode: 5

H+: THE DIGITAL SERIES
Production Designer: Andres Cubillan
Episode: Visions Of Whats To Come

Multi-Camera, Variety, or Unscripted Series:

THE BIG BANG THEORY
Production Designer: John Shaffner
Episode: The Bakersfield Expedition

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
Production Designer: Steve Olson
Episode: The Light House

PORTLANDIA
Production Designer: Tyler Robinson
Episode: Missionaries

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
Production Designers:
Akira Yoshimura
Eugene Lee
Keith Ian Raywood
N. Joseph Detullio
Episode: Justin Timberlake/Justin Timberlake

THE VOICE
Production Designers:
Anton Goss
James Pearse Connelly
Episode: Live Playoffs, Part 1

Awards, Music, or Game Shows:

THE AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS 2013
Production Designer: Joe Stewart

2013 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS
Production Designer: Brian Stonestreet

THE 65th PRIMETIME EMMY AWARDS
Production Designer: Brian Stonestreet

THE 67th ANNUAL TONY AWARDS
Production Designer: Steve Bass

SUPERBOWL XLVII HALFTIME SHOW
STARRING BEYONCE
Production Designer: Bruce Rodgers

Commercial, PSA, Promo, and Music Video:

ARCADE FIRE
Production Designer: Anastasia Masaro
Episode: Reflektor

CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS
Production Designer: Todd Cherniawsky
Episode: Epic Night Out

DIEHARD
Production Designer: Tom Wilkins
Episode: The Getaway

INFINITI
Production Designer: Christopher Glass
Episode: Factory of Life

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE FT. JAY Z
Production Designer: Richard Bridgland
Episode: Suit & Tie

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http://www.adg.org/

Oscar Nominees Luncheon is Today

Oscar® Nominees to be Honored at Academy Luncheon

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — More than 150 Oscar® nominees will come together at noon on Monday, February 10, at the Beverly Hilton when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honors this year’s Oscar contenders at its annual Nominees Luncheon.

Among the Lead Actor and Actress nominees, Amy Adams, Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, Bruce Dern, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matthew McConaughey and Meryl Streep are expected to attend the pre-Oscars® event. Supporting Actor and Actress nominees Barkhad Abdi, Bradley Cooper, Jonah Hill, Jared Leto, Lupita Nyong'o, Julia Roberts and June Squibb also will join in the celebratory lunch.

All five nominees in the Directing category, Alfonso Cuarón, Steve McQueen, Alexander Payne, David O. Russell and Martin Scorsese, are expected to attend as well.

Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2013 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, March 2, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscars, produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

John Ridley Wins USC Libraries Scripter Award for "12 Years a Slave"

[USC Libraries 2014 Scripter Award winner John Ridley with Dean of the USC Libraries Catherine Quinlan and Scripter Literary Achievement Award winner Robert Towne. (Photo Credit: Ron Murray) and courtesy of Busineswire.]

"12 Years a Slave" Wins USC Libraries Scripter Award

John Ridley and Solomon Northup take the 26th-anniversary honor

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Screenwriter John Ridley joined family members of nineteenth-century author Solomon Northup to receive the 26th-annual USC Libraries Scripter Award for “12 Years a Slave.” Selection committee co-chair Howard Rodman announced the winners at the black-tie event on Saturday, Feb. 8, at USC’s Doheny Memorial Library.

“Until I read Solomon’s memoir, I didn’t know what being a writer was all about,” Ridley said in his acceptance speech. “The way that Solomon wrote, the clarity with which he wrote, and more importantly, the strength of his character, what he went through without bitterness, without hate—that really taught me something.”

“12 Years a Slave’s” Scripter win adds to the growing number of awards for the Fox Searchlight film, including best motion picture in the drama category at last month’s Golden Globes. The film is nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Scripter, established by the Friends of the USC Libraries in 1988, honors the screenwriter of the year’s most accomplished cinematic adaptation as well as the author of the written work upon which the screenplay is based. Scripter is the only award of its kind that recognizes authors of the original work alongside the adapting screenwriters.

Ridley based his adaptation on Northup’s memoir, a bestseller when published in 1853 by Derby & Miller. In the 20th century, the work lapsed into obscurity until Louisiana State University Press issued an annotated version in 1968, following work by two Louisiana researchers to verify the story’s details.

USC Libraries Dean Catherine Quinlan welcomed the attendees gathered in the Los Angeles Times Reference Room of USC’s historic Edward L. Doheny Memorial Library.

“A library does more than collect ambitious life stories, more than make certain the great literary, philosophical, and scientific thinkers live on to inspire endless generations of discoverers,” Quinlan said. “An excellent library also creates experiences for students that inspire them to seek meaning in their studies, their careers, and their lives.”

Co-chaired by Golden Globe-winning and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Naomi Foner and USC screenwriting professor and vice president of the Writers Guild of America, West, Howard Rodman, the Scripter selection committee chose “12 Years A Slave” from a field of 86 eligible films.

The USC Libraries also honored Robert Towne with the Literary Achievement Award for his contributions to the art of adaptation throughout his career. His daughter, Chiara Towne, presented the honor.

“The truth is, there are no shortcuts to great screenplays about the past,” she said. “But growing up, the thing I noticed that set my father’s writing apart was the extraordinary, unending amount of research that goes into his films.”

Towne, a native of Southern California, has set much of his work there, including his scripts for Ask the Dust, which Towne adapted from the 1939 novel by John Fante, and the Depression-era Chinatown, which earned him an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1975. He is currently working as a writer on the final season of AMC’s television series “Mad Men.”

In receiving the award, Towne credited the guidance and inspiration he has received from writers and other artists throughout his career, “They have given me the advantage of their perspective and given it to me truthfully. What I am standing on is their advice and help.”

Ridley and Rodman in their remarks acknowledged Towne’s work as inspiration to them and the community of screenwriters. “I’m not sure this room has been filled with more wisdom than when Robert Towne stood here alone,” Rodman said.

This year’s event featured a silent auction, the proceeds of which support the renovation of USC’s Leavey Library. Donors to the auction included AOC, Arthur Murray Santa Monica, At Your Side Private Exercise, Bennett Farms, Bouchon Beverly Hills, Coravin Wine Access System, The Chopra Center For Well Being, Dancing with the Stars, The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, Jay and Kristine Eagan, Fess Parker Inn, Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust, Fred Segal Salon, The French Reflection, Rachel Galey Make-up, The Geffen Playhouse, The Grammy Museum, Grand Pacific Palisades Resort, Kinara Spa, The Kitchen For Exploring Foods, Knock Knock, LA Saddlery, The Los Angeles Clippers, The Los Angeles Lakers, The Los Angeles Opera, Lafond Winery, Lux Dog Daycare, Metropolitan Fine Arts, The Montage Beverly Hills, Neiman Marcus, The NFL, Christine Ofiesh, OPI, OSEA Malibu, Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Picca Restaurant, Bob and Betty Plumleigh, Poseidon Stand Up Paddleboards, Victor Raphael / Clayton Spada, Rivera Restaurant, The San Diego Chargers, SBE Restaurant Group, Stephen’s Hay & Grain, Terranea Resort, Total Wine and More, The Voice, WEN by Chaz Dean, and Wilshire Dental Center Group & Dr. Brent Kaplan DDS.

In-kind sponsors this year included John and Dana Agamalian and Blue Ice Vodka; Esquire Bar & Lounge of Pasadena, Calif.; Penguin Group; and the Wine of the Month Club.

scripter.usc.edu

Review: "House of Flying Daggers" is a Martial Arts Spectacle (Happy B'day, Ziyi Zhang)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 71 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Shi mian mai fu (2004)
International English title: House of Flying Daggers
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  China/Hong Kong; Language: Mandarin
Running time:  119 minutes (1 hour, 59 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of stylized martial arts violence and some sexuality
DIRECTOR:  Zhang Yimou
WRITERS:  Feng Li, Bin Wang, and Zhang Yimou
PRODUCERS:  William Kong and Zhang Yimou
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Xiaoding Zhao
EDITOR:  Long Cheng
COMPOSER:  Shigeru Umebayashi
Academy Award nominee

MARTIAL ARTS/DRAMA/ROMANCE/FANTASY

Starring:  Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau, Ziyi Zhang, and Dandan Song

The subject of this movie review is Shi mian mai fu, a 2004 Chinese and Hong Kong wuxia film that is known in English as House of Flying Daggers.  A romantic drama and martial arts-fantasy, the film is directed by Zhang Yimou (Raise the Red Lantern).  House of Flying Daggers follows a police captain and the beautiful member of a rebel group he breaks out of prison.

China, 859 A.D. – it is near the end of the Tang Dynasty, and corrupt leaders rule over the country.  However, a revolutionary faction known as the Flying Daggers challenges authority, robbing from the rich to give to the poor.  Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro) and Leo (Andy Lau), two police detectives, believe Mei (Ziyi Zhang), a blind dancer, is a member of the group.  They hatch a plan for Jin to pretend to be a rebel-of-sorts who rescues Mei from jail.  He then accompanies her to the north country in the hopes that she will take him to the House of Flying Daggers.  However, Mei’s beauty bowls over Jin, and he finds himself determined to protect her on their perilous journey; on the other hand, it seems as if no one is who he or she says he or she is.

As a follow up to his internationally acclaimed film known as Hero (2002, but released wide theatrically to U.S. audiences in 2004), director Zhang Yimou once again delves into China’s legendary martial past in Shi mian mai fu or House of Flying Daggers.  House of Flying Daggers is similar to the 2002 film except that House is more like a musical poem with romantic trappings, with romance having both the modern connotations and its 19-century literary and artistic meanings.  Hero was an epic tale of espionage, romance and revenge that looked at China’s mythical past as a celebration of Chinese nationalism.  Flying Daggers is more emotional; the stunning cinematography (by far the best of 2004), the luxuriant costumes, the abundantly colorful back drops are meant to evoke feelings more than to get the viewer to think about the film’s surprising plot twists and turns.

Action choreographer Tony Ching Siu-Tung, who worked with Yimou on Hero, once again turns in some delicious fight scenes that are different from his work in Hero and meant to fit the mood and impressionistic flavor of Flying Daggers.  The cast is also quite good, and it’s a shame that Ziyi Zhang was once again ignored by Oscar, as she was for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.  She has a wonderful talent for playing dualities:  coy to aggressive, innocent to beguiling, weak to strong, and helpless to fully capable.  Her face is a small mask, capable of a seemingly endless array of subtle shifts that embellish both the character and the story.  Takeshi Kaneshiro, who almost gets lost next to Ziyi Zhang, plays Jin with his heart on his sleeve and his soul open for the audience to see the conflicting emotions within him, a performance that really drives this film’s tricky plot.

House of Flying Daggers is a visually arresting film (frame after frame of breathtaking, mind-bending beauty), maybe more so than Hero.  However, the film does seem to dry up on several occasions, and the script is careless with some of the character motivation.  Still, the film’s intense and overwhelming visual beauty makes it a must see for lovers of cinema, and fans of Asian cinema and hot martial arts will also certainly like this.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:

Saturday, April 23, 2005

Updated: Sunday, February 09, 2014


NOTES:
2005 Academy Awards, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Cinematography” (Xiaoding Zhao)

2005 Golden Globes, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Foreign Language Film (Hong Kong)

2005 BAFTA Awards:  9 nominations: “Best Film not in the English Language” (William Kong and Yimou Zhang), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role” (Ziyi Zhang), “Best Cinematography” (Xiaoding Zhao), “Best Editing” (Long Cheng), “Best Production Design” (Tingxiao Huo), “Best Costume Design” (Emi Wada), “Best Sound” (Jing Tao and Roger Savage), “Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects” (Angie Lam, Andy Brown, Kirsty Millar, and Luke Hetherington), and “Best Make Up/Hair” (Lee-na Kwan, Xiaohai Yang, and Siu-Mui Chau)

2005 Image Awards: “Outstanding Independent or Foreign Film”

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

"Naruto Shippuden" Episdoe 349 on Hulu and VIZAnime

VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES THE DEBUT OF THE NEWEST NARUTO SHIPPUDEN ANIME ARC ON HULU AND VIZANIME.COM

Don’t Miss The Launch Of An Exciting New Story Arc Focusing On The Mysterious Past Of Kakashi And His Role In The Third Great Shibobi War

San Francisco, CA, February 7, 2014 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, delights fans of the fans of the action-packed NARUTO SHIPPUDEN anime series as it announces the debut of the sagas’ newest installment – Episode 349 – on the Hulu Plus Video-On-Demand subscription service, with new episodes simulcast each Thursday. The episode launches a brand new story arc focusing on a previously untold Kakashi backstory.

North American users of the free streaming VIZAnime.com platform and the free, ad-supported Hulu service will be able to catch the new NARUTO SHIPPUDEN segments a week after their initial run on Hulu Plus. Hulu Plus subscribers can also access NARUTO SHIPPUDEN content anytime with the Hulu Plus App on internet-connected TVs, smartphones, game consoles, set top boxes and additional devices, in HD (when available). Additional details on Hulu Plus enabled devices can be found here.

All new subtitled episodes in the NARUTO SHIPPUDEN anime series will also be available the day after they premiere on Hulu Plus for Download-To-Own purchase thru Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, XboxLive, and PlayStationNetwork (Episode 349 is now available for purchase).

In the latest story arc of the venerable anime action series, the untold story of Kakashi during his years as a member of the ANBU Black Ops is brought to light. The Third Great Ninja War has left many shinobi physically and emotionally scarred, including Kakashi, who lost his friend Obito in the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, and soon after Rin, whom Kakashi was forced to kill. Haunted by the deaths of his loved ones, a guilt-ridden Kakashi begins to stray from his peers and mentors. Concerned, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, appoints Kakashi to the ANBU Black Ops, an elite team of shinobi who are under the direct command of the Hokage, so he can keep a close eye on his former student. And so begins Kakashi’s life as a member of the ANBU, living within the shadows of darkness…

“Kakashi’s hidden past has long been shrouded in mystery and fans will finally get to see the devastating effects the Third Shinobi World War had on him,” says Charlene Ingram, Senior Marketing Manager, Animation. “This episode begins a very important story arc in the continuing NARUTO SHIPPUDEN anime saga and we’re very excited to bring the latest installment to North America on the same day as its Japanese counterpart. We look forward to everyone tuning in for this special anime simulcast!”

In the NARUTO manga and animated series, Naruto Uzumaki wants to be the best ninja in the land. He's done well so far, but Naruto knows he must train harder than ever and leaves his village for intense training that will push him to his limits. NARUTO SHIPPUDEN begins two and a half years later, when Naruto returns to find that everyone has been promoted up the ninja ranks – except him. Sakura’s a medic ninja, Gaara’s advanced to Kazekage, and Kakashi… well he remains the same. But pride isn’t necessarily becoming of a ninja, especially when Naruto realizes that Sasuke never returned from his search for Orochimaru. Plus, the mysterious Akatsuki organization is still an ever-present danger. As Naruto finds out more about the Akatsuki’s goals, he realizes that nothing in his universe is as it seems. Naruto is finding that he’s older, but will he also prove wiser and stronger?

More information on NARUTO and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN is available at www.Naruto.com.

Additional information on titles available from VIZ Media is available at www.VIZ.com.

Review: "The Conjuring" Conjures Goose Flesh

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 6 (of 2014) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Conjuring (2013)
Running time:  112 minutes (1 hour, 52 minutes)
MPAA – R for sequences of disturbing violence and terror
DIRECTOR:  James Wan
WRITERS:  Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes
PRODUCERS:  Rob Cowan, Tony DeRosa-Grund, and Peter Safran
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  John R. Leonetti (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Kirk M. Morri
COMPOSER:  Joseph Bishara

HORROR

Starring:  Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Lili Taylor, Ron Livingston, Shanley Caswell, Hayley McFarland, Joey King, Mackenzie Foy, Kyla Deaver, Shannon Kook, John Brotherton, and Sterling Jerins

The Conjuring is a 2013 supernatural horror film from director James Wan.  The film stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as fictional versions of real life, American paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren.  In The Conjuring, Ed and Lorraine Warren work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse.

The film opens in 1971.  Roger Perron (Ron Livingston) and his wife, Carolyn (Lili Taylor), move into a dilapidated farmhouse in Harrisville, Rhode Island with their five daughters:  Andrea (Shanley Caswell), Nancy (Hayley McFarland), Christine (Joey King), Cindy (Mackenzie Foy), and April (Kyla Deaver).  Strange things begin to happen almost immediately upon the family moving into the farmhouse.

Soon, what can be called paranormal disturbances, occur, and the family soon finds itself under various forms of physical attack.  Carolyn seeks the help of noted paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga).  The couple reluctantly agrees to conduct an initial investigation, but soon finds that the Perrons are in more peril than they imagine.

The Conjuring is an old-fashioned scary movie, using mood, atmosphere, imagery, lighting, and sound effects to elicit scares.  The plot is always ratcheting up the dread, as if the story is proud of its heritage that harkens back to films like The Exorcist, The Amityville Horror, and Poltergeist.  It is gleefully creepy, as I found myself laughing and shivering, often at the same time.  It’s also a howler, as some of the scenes in which the “bad spirit” gets physical with the Perrons are funny and scary.  Watching someone dragged across the room by an unseen force made me laugh and squeal.

The filmmakers smartly deliver the scares, but the movie never takes itself too seriously.  The Conjuring does things that made me freak-out, and those are often things that other horror movies have done, but those other movies made me roll my eyes in disdain.  The acting is good, if not great.  The actors, adults and children, are quite good at making you sympathetic of their respective causes.  I felt like I was right there with them – suffering through supernatural shenanigans.

The Conjuring works, and I think it may remain a Halloween favorite for some time to come.  Or it may be just what the voodoo doctor orders when you need a scare or two.

7 of 10
B+

Thursday, February 06, 2014


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

Sony Pictures Classics to Distribute Woody Allen's "Magic in the Moonlight"

SONY PICTURES CLASSICS ACQUIRES WOODY ALLEN’S NEXT FILM "MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT"

Film marks seventh collaboration with the filmmaker and Sony Classics

Sony Pictures Classics announced that they have acquired all North American rights to Woody Allen’s upcoming film, MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT from Gravier Productions. Like BLUE JASMINE, the film is produced by Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum and Edward Walson. The film was shot by Darius Khondji (MIDNIGHT IN PARIS) with Production Design by Anne Seibel (MIDNIGHT IN PARIS).

Once again, Woody Allen has put together a stellar cast including Eileen Atkins, Colin Firth, Marcia Gay Harden, Hamish Linklater, Simon McBurney, Emma Stone, and Jacki Weaver. MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT is a romantic comedy about an Englishman brought in to help unmask a possible swindle. Personal and professional complications ensue. The film is set in the south of France in the 1920s against a backdrop of wealthy mansions, the Côte d’Azur, jazz joints and fashionable spots for the wealthy of the Jazz Age.

ABOUT SONY PICTURES CLASSICS
Michael Barker and Tom Bernard serve as co-presidents of Sony Pictures Classics—an autonomous division of Sony Pictures Entertainment they founded with Marcie Bloom in January 1992, which distributes, produces, and acquires independent films from around the world.

Barker and Bernard have released prestigious films that have won 31 Academy Awards® (27 of those at Sony Pictures Classics) and have garnered 135 Academy Award® nominations (109 at Sony Pictures Classics) including Best Picture nominations for AMOUR, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, AN EDUCATION, CAPOTE, HOWARDS END, and CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON.

ABOUT SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; a global channel network; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of entertainment in more than 142 countries. For additional information, go to http://www.sonypictures.com/.

Review: "VAMPIRE HUNTER D" is Bizarre and Unique

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 88 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Kyuketsuki Hunter D (1985) – animation and video
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  Japan; Language: Japanese
DIRECTOR:  Toyoo Ashida
WRITER:  Yashushi Hirano (based upon the novel Kyuuketsuki Hatana ‘D’)
PRODUCERS:  Hiroshi Kato, Mitsuhisa Koeda, and Yuko Nagasaki
COMPOSER:  Tetsuya Komuro

Vampire Hunter D – English adaptation
Running time:  80 minutes (1 hour, 20 minutes)
PRODUCER/DIRECTOR:  Carl Macek
WRITER:  Tom Wyner

ANIMATION/HORROR/SCI-FI/FANTASY

Starring:  (voices) Kaneto Shiozawa, Seizô Katô, Satako Kifuji, Motomu Kiyokawa, Yasuo Muramatsu, Ichirô Nagai, and Michie Tomizawa

(English voices) Michael McGonnohie, Barbara Goodson, Jeff Winklers, Edie Mirmar, Kerrigan Mahan, Steve Kramer, and Steve Bulen

The subject of this movie review is Kyuketsuki Hunter D (Vampire Hunter D), a 1985 Japanese animated straight-to-video film.  This science fiction, fantasy, and vampire film was originally released as an OVA (original video anime).  This movie is based on the 1983 Japanese novel, Vampire Hunter D Volume 1, written by Hideyuki Kikuchi with illustrations by Yoshitaka Amano.

Kyuketsuki Hunter D or Vampire Hunter D was an animated Japanese film or “anime” that had one of the largest cult followings in the U.S. for anime in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.  The film was not a theatrical release in the Japan, nor was it initially in America.  As a home video release, this anime traveled as well or maybe even better than it would have as a theatrical release.

The film takes place in the far-flung era of 12,090 A.D.  Vampires plague earth, and rule over small pockets of civilization in a mockery of ancient feudal land baronies; in fact, humans travel, once again, by horse and buggy.  In a small village, Doris Rumm (voice of Barbara Goodson) hunts vampires and monsters, but she is also the object of affection of a local vampire ruler, Count Magnus Lee, who wants Doris to be his bride.  Doris’ salvation takes the form a mysterious vampire hunter known only as “D,” so she offers herself to the hunter in exchange for his eradicating the local vampires and their boss, the Count.  “D” must fight through a horde of demons, vampires, and assorted supernatural assassins to rescue Doris from wedlock with Count Lee.

The quality of the animation isn’t very good; it’s about the quality of TV anime like the “Dragonball” series that has run for so long on the Cartoon Network.  However, the character designs are very imaginative, especially the design of “D,” which was done by Yoshitaka Amano, one of the best known Japanese fantasy illustrators, animation character designers (“Genesis Climber Mospeada”), and video game conceptual artists (the Final Fantasy series).  Visually, bizarre images fill the film, as well as some bizarre nudity; in fact, the film creates a sense of anticipation as we wait to see what is the next weird thing that is going to fill the screen.

The voice acting is fairly good, but the English dialogue moves the story along quite well.  The music, a sweeping electronic score, is very nice and sets the appropriate mood.  Savvy viewers might catch similarities with New Line Cinema’s Blade film franchise, but Vampire Hunter D is more horror and fantasy, whereas Blade is an action/horror film.  While I have misgivings about the quality of the animation, Vampire Hunter D’s entire package is one of a highly imaginative film that should please fans of vampire horror, fantasy, and anime.  It has a steady rhythm of visual surprises that not only make it unique, but also exceptionally fun to watch when compared to most horror films.

7 of 10
B+

Monday, June 20, 2005

Updated: Friday, February 07, 2014


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

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Review: "Vampyr" is Imaginative and Striking

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 160 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Vampyr – Der Traum des Allan Grey (1932)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  France/Germany; Language:  German
Running time:  72 minutes (1 hour, 12 minutes)
DIRECTOR:  Carl Theodor Dreyer
WRITERS:  Christen Jul and Carl Theodor Dreyer
PRODUCERS:  Julian West and Carl Theodor Dreyer
CINEMATOGRAPHERS:  Rudolph Maté and Louis Née
EDITOR:  Paul Falkenberg
COMPOSER:  Wolfgang Zeller

FANTASY/HORROR

Starring:  Julian West, Maurice Schutz, Rena Mandel, Sybille Schmitz, Jan Hieronimko, Henriette Gérard, Albert Bras, N. Babanini, and Jane Mora

The subject of this movie review is Vampyr or Vampyr – Der Traum des Allan Grey (Vampire: The Dream of Allan Grey), a 1932 French-German horror film from Danish director, Carl Theodor Dreyer.  The film is based on elements taken from the short story collection, In a Glass Darkly, by author J. Sheridan Le Fanu.  The film is noted for being financed by the star of the film, Nicolas de Gunzburg, who acted under the name, “Julian West.”  Vampyr follows a traveler, who is obsessed with the supernatural, as he visits a village that is under the curse of a vampire.

Allan Gray (Julian West), a holiday reveler, stops in the eerie European village of Courtempierre, where he takes a room at a small inn.  Later that night, an elderly gentleman awakens Allan when he enters Allan’s room and leaves a parcel.  He writes on the package, “To be opened in the event of my death.”  Gray later witnesses the man’s murder, so he opens the package and discovers several pages of writings on the “vampyr.”  Gray later learns that a strange supernatural killer is on the loose, and that the culprit may be someone highly respected in the village.

Carl Theodor Dreyer’s Vampyr –Der Traum des Allan Grey (or simply, Vampyr) is still considered by some film aficionados to be one of the great cinematic horror movies.  The film’s one big flaw is that it was shot cheaply using an experimental sound process, so the quality of the soundtrack leaves so much to be desired.  Still, the dreamy-like photography combined with the surreal, illusory and trancelike imagery more than make up for sound deficiencies.

Vampyr contains some truly creepy and skin-crawling visuals, including an extended sequence in which the hero witnesses his body in a coffin being carried past the massive old village church and into the graveyard.  Julian West’s performance, which sees him spend much time either listless or in a somnambulant state, adds to this film’s otherworldly quality.  Vampyr is a must see for movie buffs who love horror flicks, especially vampire films.

7 of 10
B+

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Updated: Friday, February 07, 2014


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

Review: "The Keep" Plays Keep-Away with Audience

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 154 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Keep (1983)
Running time:  93 minutes (1 hour, 33 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR:  Michael Mann
WRITER:  Michael Mann (from the novel by F. Paul Wilson)
PRODUCERS:  Gene Kirkwood and Howard W. Koch Jr.
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Alex Thomson (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Dov Hoenig and Chris Kelly with Tony Palmer
COMPOSER:  Tangerine Dream

HORROR/FANTASY with elements of a thriller

Starring:  Scott Glenn, Alberta Watson, Jurgen Prochnow, Ian McKellan, Gabriel Byrne, and Robert Prosky

The subject of this movie review is The Keep, a 1983 horror-fantasy film from writer-director Michael Man.  The film is based on the 1981 novel, The Keep, by author F. Paul Wilson.  The Keep the movie focuses on a group of Nazis and the Jewish historian they turn to for help after they inadvertently free an ancient demon from its prison.

During World War II, the German army is sent to guard a Romanian mountain pass.  The soldiers take up residence in an old, mysterious and uninhabited fortress, The Keep.  They unwittingly unleash an ancient evil that begins killing them.  Thinking that the deaths are the result of rebellious locals, Nazi commandos arrive to deal with the trouble.

However, the Germans eventually summon an ailing Jewish historian, Dr. Theodore Cuza (Ian McKellan), from a concentration camp.  The professor arrives with his daughter, Eva Cuza (Alberta Watson), to solve the mystery.  Arriving right behind them is a stoic stranger (Scott Glenn) with mysterious powers and who obviously knows something about what’s going on in the Keep.

I imagine that the novel from which this film is adapted is lively and wildly fantastic, but the movie is short and dull.  Apparently, the original version of this movie ran nearly three hours in length.

Director Michael Mann would eventually produce the seminal television series, Miami Vice, and would direct well regarded films like Manhunter, Heat, and The Insider.  With The Keep, he gives us lots of smoke, glaring lights, and an extended laser show.  There is little story and no plot, and the cast, which is very talented, is lost in a maze of nothing.  This movie is, at best, a series of vaguely related scenes taped together into something coherent but really, really boring.  The saddest thing is that this film really has the basic material to make an entertaining horror and fantasy film.  What happened?

2 of 10
D

Updated: Friday, February 07, 2014


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

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2014 Black Reel Award Nominations - Complete List

by Leroy Douresseaux

The Black Reel Awards annually honor African-Americans in feature, independent and television film.  The awards also take notice of the work in film of people of color throughout the African Diaspora.  The awards were launched in 2000, and this is the 13th year the awards will be handed out.  The Black Reel Awards are now given out by the Foundation for the Advancement of African-Americans in Film (FAAAF).

The official Black Reel Awards blog describes 2013 as the most competitive year in Black film.  That may be true as three films:  12 Years a Slave, Fruitvale Station, and Lee Daniels’ The Butler received 9 nominations each – a record for the Black Reel Awards.

It does seem that 2013 is a noteworthy year for these awards.  For instance, all five of the “Outstanding Motion Picture” nominees are based on real individuals:  baseball pioneer, Jackie Robinson; slain Bay-area resident, Oscar Grant; recently deceased political icon, Nelson Mandela; former-slave-turned-author, Solomon Northup; and long-time White House butler, Eugene Allen.

Black Reel Award records:

The Weinstein Company received a record-breaking 24 nominations.  [On the television side, Lifetime led with 10 nominations.]

A record 17 actors received multiple nominations.

With his nomination for “Outstanding Television Director” for the HBO documentary, Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth, Spike Lee received his 24th nomination, making him the most nominated person in Black Reel Awards history.

The 14th Annual Black Reel Awards winners will be announced Thursday, February 13, 2014.

The 2014 / 14th Annual Black Reel Awards nominees (for the year in film 2013):

Outstanding Motion Picture:
• 12 Years a Slave | Brad Pitt, Steve McQueen, Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Bill Pohlad, Arnon Milchan
• 42 | Thomas Tull
• Fruitvale Station | Nina Yang Bonogivoi & Forest Whitaker
• Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom | Anant Singh & David M. Thompson
• Lee Daniels’ The Butler | Lee Daniels, Pam Williams & Laura Ziskin

Outstanding Actor, Motion Picture:
• Chiwetel Ejiofor | 12 Years a Slave
• Idris Elba | Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
• Michael B. Jordan | Fruitvale Station
• Isaiah Washington | Blue Caprice
• Forest Whitaker | Lee Daniels’ The Butler

Outstanding Actress, Motion Picture:
• Halle Berry | The Call
• Rosario Dawson | Trance
• Danai Gurira | Mother of George
• LisaGay Hamilton | Go for Sisters
• Nia Long | The Best Man Holiday

Outstanding Supporting Actor, Motion Picture:
• Barkhad Abdi | Captain Phillips
• David Oyelowo | Lee Daniels’ The Butler
• Nate Parker | Ain’t Them Bodies Saints
• Tequan Richmond | Blue Caprice
• Keith Stanfield | Short Term 12

Outstanding Supporting Actress, Motion Picture:
• Melonie Diaz | Fruitvale Station
• Naomie Harris | Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
• Lupita Nyong’o | 12 Years a Slave
• Octavia Spencer | Fruitvale Station
• Oprah Winfrey | Lee Daniels’ The Butler

Outstanding Director, Motion Picture:
• Ryan Coogler | Fruitvale Station
• Lee Daniels | Lee Daniels’ The Butler
• Malcolm D. Lee | The Best Man Holiday
• Steve McQueen | 12 Years a Slave
• George Tilman Jr. | The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete

Outstanding Screenplay (Original or Adapted), Motion Picture:
• Ryan Coogler | Fruitvale Station
• Malcolm D. Lee | The Best Man Holiday
• Kasi Lemmons | Black Nativity
• John Ridley | 12 Years a Slave
• Michael Starburry | The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete

Outstanding Documentary:
• 20 Feet From Stardom | Morgan Neville
• Free Angela and All Political Prisoners | Shola Lynch
• God Loves Uganda | Roger Ross Williams
• The Trials of Muhammad Ali | Bill Siegel
• Venus & Serena | Maiken Baird & Michelle Major

Outstanding Ensemble:
• 12 Years a Slave | Francine Maiser
• 42 | Victoria Thomas
• The Best Man Holiday | Julie Hutchinson
• Fruitvale Station | Nina Henninger
• Lee Daniels’ The Butler | Leah Daniels & Billy Hopkins

Outstanding Foreign Film:
• Better Mus Come | Jamaica
• Home Again | Canada
• Nairobi Half Life | Kenya
• Storage 24 | UK
• War Witch | Canada

Outstanding Score:
• Stanley Clarke | The Best Man Holiday
• Ludwig Goransson | Fruitvale Station
• Mark Isham | 42
• Rodrigo Leao | Lee Daniels’ The Butler
• Hans Zimmer | 12 Years a Slave

Outstanding Original Song:
• “Desperation” from 20 Feet From Stardom | Written & Performed by: Judith Hill
• “Happy” from Despicable Me 2 | Written & Performed by: Pharrell Williams
• “In the Middle of the Night” from Lee Daniels’ The Butler | Performed by: Fantasia Barrino; Written by: F. Barrino, K. Washington, A. Terry & K. McMasters
• “Queen of the Field (Patsey’s Song)” from 12 Years a Slave | Written & Performed by: Alicia Keys
• “You and I Ain’t No More” from Lee Daniels’ The Butler | Performed by: Gladys Knight, Written by: Lenny Kravitz

Outstanding Breakthrough Actor Performance
• Barkhad Abdi | Captain Phillips
• Chadwick Boseman | 42
• Skylan Brooks | The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete
• Tequan Richmond | Blue Caprice
• Keith Stanfield | Short Term 12

Outstanding Breakthrough Actress Performance
• Melonie Diaz | Fruitvale Station
• Danai Gurira | Mother of George
• Lindiwe Matshikiza | Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
• Lupita Nyong’o | 12 Years a Slave
• Tashiana Washington | Gimme the Loot

Outstanding Voice Performance
• Keith David | Free Birds (Relativity Media)
• Snoop Dogg | Turbo (20th Century Fox)
• Samuel L. Jackson | Turbo (20th Century Fox)
• Beyonce Knowles | Epic (20th Century Fox)
• Maya Rudolph | Turbo (20th Century Fox)

INDEPENDENT

Outstanding Independent Feature:
• An Oversimplification of Her Beauty | Terence Nance
• Blue Caprice | Alexandre Moors
• Go for Sisters | John Sayles
• Mother of George | Andrew Dosumu
• Things Never Said | Charles Murray

Outstanding Independent Documentary:
• Africa: The Beat | Javier Arias Bal, Polo Vallejo, Pablo Vega, Manuel Velasco
• I Want My Name Back | Roger Paradiso
• Lenny Cooke | Benny & Joshua Safdie
• The New Black | Yoruba Richen
• Unheard: Black Women in Civil Rights | Nev Nnaji

Outstanding Independent Short:
• African Cowboy | Rodney Charles
• Black Girl in Paris | Kiandra Parks
• A Different Tree | Steven Caple Jr.
• Sweet Honey Child | Talibah Newman
• They Die by Dawn | Jeymes Samuel

TELEVISION

Outstanding Television Documentary
• Dark Girls | Bill Duke & Dr. Channsin Berry
• Jimi Hendrix: Hear My Train A Comin | Bob Smeaton
• Made in America | Ron Howard
• Venus vs. | Ava DuVernay
• Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley | George Schlatter

Outstanding TV Movie or Mini-Series
• Being Mary Jane | Claire Brown
• Betty & Coretta| Yves Simoneau & Jacqueline Lavoie
• Crazy, Sexy, Cool: The TLC Story | Bill Diggins, Lyyn Hylden, Maggie Malina, Rozonda “Chili” Thomas, Tionne “T-Boz Watkins”
• Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth | Emily Cohen
• The Watsons Go to Birmingham | Philip Kleinbart, Tonya Lewis Lee, Nikki Silver

Outstanding Actor, TV Movie or Mini-Series
• Keith David | Pastor Brown
• Chiwetel Ejiofor | “Dancing on the Edge”
• Omari Hardwick | A Christmas Blessing
• Ernie Hudson | Pastor Brown
• Mike Tyson | Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth

Outstanding Actress, TV Movie or Mini-Series
• Angela Bassett | Betty & Coretta
• Keke Palmer | Crazy, Sexy, Cool: The TLC Story
• Anika Noni Rose | The Watsons Go to Birmingham
• Gabrielle Union | Being Mary Jane
• Salli Richardson-Whitfield | Pastor Brown

Outstanding Supporting Actor, TV Movie or Mini-Series
• Richard Brooks | Being Mary Jane
• Danny Glover | Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight
• Omari Hardwick | Being Mary Jane
• Wood Harris | The Watsons Go to Birmingham
• Ernie Hudson | Call Me Crazy: A Five Film

Outstanding Supporting Actress, TV Movie or Mini-Series
• Loretta Devine | Saving Westbrook High
• Audra McDonald | The Sound of Music
• Nicole Ari Parker | Pastor Brown
• LaTonya Richardson | The Watsons Go to Birmingham
• Octavia Spencer | Call Me Crazy: A Five Film

Outstanding Director, TV Movie or Mini-Series
• Salim Akil | Being Mary Jane
• Rockmond Dunbar | Pastor Brown
• Spike Lee | Mike Tyson: Undisputed: Truth
• Kenny Leon | The Watsons Go to Birmingham
• Charles Stone III | Crazy, Sexy, Cool: The TLC Story

Outstanding Screenplay (Adapted or Original), TV Movie or Mini-Series
• Mara Brock Akil | Being Mary Jane
• Rhonda Baraka | Pastor Brown
• Caliope Brattlestreet, Stephen Glantz & Tonya Lee Lewis | The Watsons Go to Birmingham
• Kate Lanier | Crazy, Sexy, Cool: The TLC Story
• Kiki Tyson | Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth

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http://blackreelawards.wordpress.com/

Grammy-Winner Pharrell Williams to Perform at Oscars

Pharrell Williams To Perform On The Oscars®

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — Singer-songwriter-producer Pharrell Williams will perform his Oscar®-nominated song “Happy” at the Oscars®, show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today. The Oscars, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, will air on Sunday, March 2, live on ABC.

“Happy,” which Williams wrote and produced for “Despicable Me 2,” is nominated for Original Song. The three other nominated songs are "Ordinary Love" from "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom," "Let It Go" from "Frozen" and "The Moon Song" from "Her."

Pharrell Williams has won seven Grammy Awards®, two (in 2004 and 2014) for Producer of the Year. Named Billboard’s Producer of the Decade in 2010, his productions have sold over 100 million copies. Williams collaborated on two of 2013’s most ubiquitous anthems: Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” which he co-wrote and produced and Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky,” which he co-wrote and also sang.  As a solo producer and as part of the prolific producing team The Neptunes, Williams has played a key role in creating a string of hits over more than two decades, including Jay-Z’s "I Just Wanna Love U (Give it 2 Me)," Nelly’s "Hot in Herre," Gwen Stefani’s "Hollaback Girl," Snoop Dogg’s "Drop it Like it's Hot," Britney Spears’ “I’m A Slave 4 U” and Justin Timberlake’s “Like I Love You.”

Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2013 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscars, produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

"Gravity" Wins Top American Society of Cinematographers Prize

by Amos Semien

The American Society of Cinematographers held its annual American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Awards for Outstanding Achievement on Saturday, February 1, 2014.  The 28th Annual American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Awards for Outstanding Achievement ceremony took place at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland.  Awards were given out in five competitive categories.  The big award was the ASC Award for “Feature Film,” which went to Emmanuel Lubezki for his work on director Alfonso Cuaron’s film, Gravity.  This was Lubezki’s third ASC win for feature film, and his fourth overall nomination.

The 2014 / 28th Annual American Society of Cinematographers Awards (for the year in film and television 2013):

FEATURE FILM:
Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC for Gravity

TELEVISION MOVIE/MINISERIES:
Jeremy Benning, CSC for National Geographic Channel’s Killing Lincoln

TELEVISION EPISODIC SERIES (ONE HOUR):
Jonathan Freeman, ASC for HBO’s Game of Thrones (“Valar Dohaeris”)

TELEVISION EPISODIC SERIES (HALF HOUR):
Blake McClure for Comedy Central’s Drunk History (“Detroit”)

Career Achievement in Television Award: Richard Rawlings Jr. (previously announced)

ASC Bud Stone Award of Distinction: Beverly Wood

International Achievement Award: Eduardo Serra, AFC, ASC (previously announced)

Board of Governors Award: John Wells (previously announced)

Lifetime Achievement Award: Dean Cundey, ASC (previously announced)

Spotlight Award: Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski for Ida

---

Press release for The American Society of Cinematographers’ official website:

GRAVITY Earns Top Honors from Cinematographers;

KILLING LINCOLN, GAME OF THRONES and DRUNK HISTORY Win in TV Categories; IDA Takes Spotlight Award

LOS ANGELES, February 1, 2014 – Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC; Jeremy Benning, CSC; Jonathan Freeman, ASC, Blake McClure, Lukasz Zal, and Ryszard Lenczewski earned top honors in the five competitive categories at the 28th Annual American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Awards for Outstanding Achievement. The ceremony was held here tonight at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland. Lubezki won the ASC Award in the feature film competition for Gravity. Benning won the TV movie/miniseries award for Killing Lincoln. Freeman took home top honors in the one-hour episodic television category for Game of Thrones, and McClure was the recipient of the half-hour episodic series award for Drunk History. Zal and Lenczewski won the ASC Spotlight Award for Ida.

The ASC Award for best feature was presented by Caleb Deschanel, ASC. Lubezki has won the organization’s top prize twice for The Tree of Life (2012) and Children of Men (2007), and was also nominated for Sleepy Hollow (2000).

The other nominees in the feature film category were Sean Bobbitt, BSC for 12 Years a Slave, Barry Ackroyd, BSC for Captain Phillips, Philippe Le Sourd for The Grandmaster, Bruno Delbonnel, ASC, AFC for Inside Llewyn Davis, Phedon Papamichael, ASC for Nebraska, and Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC for Prisoners.

Debbie Allen presented the Television Movie/Miniseries Award to first-time ASC nominee Benning for National Geographic Channel’s Killing Lincoln.

Also nominated in the Television Movie/Miniseries category were David Luther for Starz Network’s The White Queen (“War at First Hand”), and Ashley Rowe, BSC for Starz Network’s Dancing on the Edge (Episode 1.1).

Actress Niecy Nash presented the Outstanding Achievement Award in the one-hour episodic television category to Freeman for his work on “Valar Dohaeris,” the third season premiere episode of HBO’s Game of Thrones. This is the fourth statue for Freeman who previously won for Boardwalk Empire (2012, 2011) and Homeland Security (2005). He has also earned nominations for another Boardwalk Empire episode (2011), as well as Taken (2003), Strange Justice (2000) and Prince Street (1998).

The other nominees in the one-hour television series category were Steven Bernstein, ASC for Starz Network’s Magic City (“The Sins of the Father”), David Franco for HBO’s Boardwalk Empire (“Erlkönig”), Pierre Gill, CSC for Showtime’s The Borgias (“The Purge”), David Greene, CSC for The CW’s Beauty and the Beast (“Tough Love”), Anette Haellmigk for HBO’s Game of Thrones (“Kissed by Fire”), Kramer Morgenthau, ASC for Fox’s Sleepy Hollow (Pilot), and Ousama Rawi, BSC, CSC for NBC’s Dracula (“The Blood Is the Life”).

Cheryl Ladd presented the half-hour episodic television category award to McClure, also a first-time ASC nominee, for the “Detroit” episode of Comedy Central’s Drunk History.

McClure’s fellow nominees in the half-hour TV category were Peter Levy, ACS, ASC for Showtime’s House of Lies (“The Runner Stumbles”), and Matthew J. Lloyd, CSC for Amazon’s Alpha House (Pilot).

John Bailey, ASC revealed that Zal and Lenczewski earned the ASC’s inaugural Spotlight Award for Ida. The award was created by the organization to recognize outstanding cinematography in features and documentaries typically screened at film festivals, internationally or in limited theatrical release. ASC members submitted entries for consideration which went before a Blue Ribbon panel that chose the nominees. All active members voted on the winner. Also nominated for the Spotlight Award was Mark Lee Ping Bing for Renoir, and Camille Cottagnoud for Winter Nomads.

Acclaimed filmmaker John Carpenter presented the ASC Lifetime Achievement Award to Dean Cundey, ASC. Cundey first attracted widespread attention when he teamed with Carpenter on Halloween (1978). The two filmmakers went on to collaborate on The Fog, Escape from New York, The Thing, Halloween II and III, and Big Trouble in Little China. Cundey’s work on Robert Zemeckis’ landmark, live-action film Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), garnered him both Oscar and BAFTA nominations. Cundey’s credits include the Back to the Future trilogy, Romancing the Stone, Death Becomes Her, Hook, Apollo 13, Jurassic Park, What Women Want, Garfield, The Holiday, The Spy Next Door, Jack and Jill, Crazy Kind of Love, and the upcoming releases Walking with the Enemy and Carry Me Home.

The ASC International Award was presented to Eduardo Serra, AFC, ASC by director Edward Zwick. Serra earned his first Academy Award® nomination for Iain Softley’s The Wings of the Dove (1997), which also netted him a BAFTA Award. In 2004, he received Oscar and BAFTA nominations for Peter Webber’s Girl with the Pearl Earring. His work on such films as Jude, Map of the Human Heart, What Dreams May Come and Funny Bones is highly acclaimed. Serra has over 50 features to his credit, including A Promise, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 and Part 2, Blood Diamond, Beyond the Sea, Unbreakable, and The Widow of Saint-Pierre, among others.

The Career Achievement in Television Award was presented to Richard Rawlings, Jr., ASC, by John C. Flinn III, ASC and Michael O’Shea, ASC. Rawlings’ first TV series as a director of photography was in 1978 on Charlie’s Angels. He went on to shoot such memorable series as Matt Houston, Stingray, L.A. Law, Boston Public, Gilmore Girls and Desperate Housewives, among others. He earned Emmy nominations for the series Ohara (1987), Paradise (1988), Reasonable Doubts (1991), and the television movie Big Dreams & Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story (1995).

The ASC Bud Stone Award of Distinction was given to Beverly Wood, EVP of Technical Services and Client Relations for EFILM, a Deluxe Digital Studios company. The award is presented to an Associate ASC Member who has demonstrated extraordinary service to the society and/or has made a significant contribution to the motion picture industry. In 2012, the organization bestowed the honor to Milt Shefter, owner of Miljoy Ent. Inc., and a motion picture industry consultant on the preservation of moving images, recorded sound and high intrinsic value objects.

Last year, Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC won the ASC feature award for Skyfall.

END of press release

http://www.theasc.com/

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Review: "Zero Dark Thirty" is History as a Great Story

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 5 (of 2014) by Leroy Douresseaux

Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
Running time:  157 minutes (2 hours, 37 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong violence including brutal disturbing images, and for language
DIRECTOR:  Kathryn Bigelow
WRITER:  Mark Boal
PRODUCERS: Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, and Megan Ellison
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Greg Fraser (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  William Goldenberg and Dylan Tichenor
COMPOSER:  Alexandre Desplat
Academy Award winner

WAR/DRAMA/ACTION

Starring:  Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Reda Kateb, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Ehle, Harold Perrineau, Jeremy Strong, J.J. Kandle, Lauren Shaw, Jessica Collins, Fredric Lehne, Joel Edgerton, Nash Edgerton, Edgar Ramirez, Mike Colter, Yoav Levi, Mark Strong, and James Gandolfini

Zero Dark Thirty is a 2012 war film and suspense thriller from director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal, the creators of The Hurt Locker.  Zero Dark Thirty dramatizes the decade-long hunt for Osama bin Laden, leading up to his death at the hands of Navy S.E.A.L. Team 6.  In my estimation, it is one of the best films of 2012 and one of the few truly great films about war in the 21st century.

Zero Dark Thirty begins with a brief audio recount of the events of the September 11, 2001 attacks.  The film moves to the year 2003 and introduces Maya (Jessica Chastain), a young officer in the CIA (U.S. Central Intelligence Agency).  Since graduating high school, Maya has spent her entire career focused solely on gathering intelligence related to al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.  Assigned to Pakistan, Maya witnesses the torture (including water-boarding and humiliation) of detainee prisoners.

Eventually, Maya begins to focus on a mysterious figure known as Abu Ahmed, who is allegedly working as a personal courier for bin Laden.  Maya sifts through masses of data and information, using a variety of technology and her own hunches and insights, but the years pass without her finding Ahmed or bin Laden.  Back in the United States, the political climate changes; a new U.S. Presidential administration arrives, and Maya’s CIA superiors stop believing in her work.  Now, this one agent has to battle the system if she is going to remain on the trail of clues that will lead her to bin Laden.

Fascinating, intriguing, thrilling, and suspenseful:  I could go on, but I’ll simply say that Zero Dark Thirty is truly a gripping film narrative.  It grabbed a hold of my imagination and my heart, and I was practically endlessly captivated by this truly unique film.  It is a testament to the filmmaking and storytelling skills of director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal.

Boal has the ability to take a decade’s worth of intelligence activity:  the good, the bad, the boring, the important, and the inconsequential and to summarize that into one story.  He uses the most interesting and important information as subplots – all on the way to creating a riveting screen story.

Much has been made of the fact that Bigelow is a woman film director who makes action movies and other types of films that are usually aimed at men.  The truth is that she is a highly skilled director whose films are like no one else’s.  Her success is that she makes movies that absorb the viewer into the story by creating action scenes that not only matter to the drama, but are also sometimes the drama.  Not all of Bigelow’s movies are great; it is simply that for most of the time in all of her movies, she occupies the viewer’s imagination.  When watching a Bigelow flick, it is not often that I find myself thinking about what I will be doing after the movie.

In Maya, Jessica Chastain fashions a female character that is truly a heroine.  Zero Dark Thirty turns on the idea that one woman fights the system to lead the hunt for Osama bin Laden.  So Chastain has to not only create a female lead that can carry a CIA movie, but also create a female lead that the audience will believe is capable going into the dark places she goes and doing the contentious things she must do.  In a world of exceedingly dangerous times, of deceitful men, and of alpha males, Maya has to be a stubborn mule, fierce lioness, and the smartest guy in the room, all at the same time.  It seems as if she must also lose something of herself in certain situations and at certain times.  There are scenes in Zero Dark Thirty in which Maya seems like nothing more than a wraith, a human turned into a shadowy leftover by her cause.

I believe that Jennifer Lawrence, as Tiffany Maxwell in Silver Linings Playbook, won the best actress Oscar over Chastain as Maya because Tiffany, complicated though she is, is girl-next-door likeable.  Maya is a complicated personality and is morally comprised, and her dedication to her job hunting bin Laden is like an affliction.  What’s to like about that?  A lot actually, but it is easier to like wounded duckling Tiffany.

I am glad that Zero Dark Thirty had people questioning the filmmakers’ intentions.  That means that people thought the movie was worth the mental effort to engage it.  It is a great film, nearly perfect.  I think the raid on bin Laden’s compound, which takes up the film’s last half hour is a little clumsy in its staging.  Bigelow’s effort to “keep it real,” took something away from the drama and intensity of that raid.  Still, Zero Dark Thirty will stand the test of time.  It may occasionally be forgotten, but as soon as something causes people to remember Zero Dark Thirty, people will be ready to engage the issues it raises again.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2013 Academy Awards, USA:  1 win: “Best Achievement in Sound Editing” (Paul N.J. Ottosson – tied with Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers for Skyfall); 4 nominations: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow, and Megan Ellison), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role” (Jessica Chastain), “Best Writing, Original Screenplay” (Mark Boal) and “Best Achievement in Film Editing” (William Goldenberg and Dylan Tichenor)

2013 BAFTA Awards:  5 nominations: “Best Film” (Kathryn Bigelow, Megan Ellison, and Mark Boal), “Best Leading Actress” (Jessica Chastain), “Best Original Screenplay” (Mark Boal), “Best Editing” (Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg), and “David Lean Award for Direction” (Kathryn Bigelow)

2013 Golden Globes, USA:  1 win: “Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Jessica Chastain); 3 nominations: “Best Motion Picture – Drama,” Best Director - Motion Picture” (Kathryn Bigelow), and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Mark Boal)

Friday, January 31, 2014


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

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Happy Anniversary, Jay and Megan

I can't remember what year you guys got married, though...

"12 Years a Slave" Named "Film of the Year" by London Critics' Circle

by Amos Semien

The London Film Critics’ Circle is part of a larger organization, The Critics’ Circle, which makes an annual award for Services to the Arts.  This circle is comprised of the five sections:  dance, drama, film, music, and visual arts.

The Critics’ Circle Film Section held its annual awards on Sunday night, February 2, 2014 at the May Fair Hotel.  The 34th London Critics’ Circle Film Awards featured sponsorship by The May Fair, Beluga, Novikov, Cameo, Audi, Innerplace and Publicity Media.

The big winner at the ceremony was 12 Years a Slave, which won awards for “Film of the Year,” “Actor of the Year” (Chiwetel Ejiofor), and “Supporting Actress of the Year” (Lupita Nyong'o).  The film's director, Steve McQueenc was on hand to collect the awards.

The Selfish Giant won two awards, “British Film of the Year” and “Young British Performer of the Year” (Conner Chapman).  Actor John Hurt introduced Gary Oldman who was presented with the Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film.

Full list of winners 2014 / 34th London Critics’ Circle Film Awards (for the year in film 2013):

Film of the Year: 12 Years a Slave

Foreign-language Film of the Year: Blue Is the Warmest Colour

Documentary of the Year: The Act of Killing

British Film of the Year: The Selfish Giant

Director of the Year: Alfonso Cuarón - Gravity

Screenwriter of the Year: Ethan Coen & Joel Coen - Inside Llewyn Davis

Actor of the Year: Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave

Actress of the Year: Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine

Supporting Actor of the Year: Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips

Supporting Actress of the Year: Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave

British Actor of the Year: James McAvoy - Filth / Trance / Welcome to the Punch

British Actress of the Year: Judi Dench - Philomena

Young British Performer of the Year: Conner Chapman - The Selfish Giant

Breakthrough British Filmmaker: Jon S Baird - Filth

Technical Achievement Award: Gravity - Tim Webber, special effects

Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film: Gary Oldman


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http://www.criticscircle.org.uk/

Jesse Eisenberg and Jeremy Irons Join "Superman/Batman" Film

Jesse Eisenberg and Jeremy Irons Join the Cast of Warner Bros. Pictures’ Untitled Superman/Batman Film from Director Zack Snyder

Eisenberg to star as Superman’s greatest foe, Lex Luthor, while Irons takes on the role of Alfred.

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Warner Bros. Pictures announced that Jesse Eisenberg has been set to star as Lex Luthor and Jeremy Irons will play Alfred in the upcoming Zack Snyder untitled Superman/Batman film. The dual announcement was made today by Greg Silverman, President, Creative Development and Worldwide Production, and Sue Kroll, President, Worldwide Marketing and International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.

Snyder stated, “Lex Luthor is often considered the most notorious of Superman’s rivals, his unsavory reputation preceding him since 1940. What’s great about Lex is that he exists beyond the confines of the stereotypical nefarious villain. He’s a complicated and sophisticated character whose intellect, wealth and prominence position him as one of the few mortals able to challenge the incredible might of Superman. Having Jesse in the role allows us to explore that interesting dynamic, and also take the character in some new and unexpected directions.”

The director added, “As everyone knows, Alfred is Bruce Wayne’s most trusted friend, ally and mentor, a noble guardian and father figure. He is an absolutely critical element in the intricate infrastructure that allows Bruce Wayne to transform himself into Batman. It is an honor to have such an amazingly seasoned and gifted actor as Jeremy taking on the important role of the man who mentors and guides the guarded and nearly impervious façade that encapsulates Bruce Wayne.”

Eisenberg received Academy Award®, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award® and BAFTA Award nominations for his starring role as Mark Zuckerberg in David Fincher’s “The Social Network.” He also starred in Woody Allen’s “To Rome with Love” and Louis Letterier’s “Now You See Me.” He next appears in “The Double” and “Night Moves.”

Irons won the Academy Award® for his portrayal of Claus von Bülow in “Reversal of Fortune.” His work in the film also garnered him a Golden Globe Award. He won an Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award® for his performance in the TV miniseries “Elizabeth I,” opposite Helen Mirren, and recently starred on the small screen as Rodrigo Borgia in Neil Jordan’s highly acclaimed Showtime series “The Borgias,” for which Irons earned a Golden Globe nomination. He was recently nominated for a SAG Award® for the PBS Great Performances television miniseries “The Hollow Crown,” for his performance as Henry IV.

Snyder’s film stars Henry Cavill, reprising his role as Superman/Clark Kent, Ben Affleck as Batman/Bruce Wayne, and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince. The film also reunites “Man of Steel” stars Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane.

The new film is currently being written by Chris Terrio, from a screenplay by David S. Goyer. Charles Roven and Deborah Snyder are producing, with Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Wesley Coller, David S. Goyer and Geoff Johns serving as executive producers.

The film is set to open worldwide on May 6, 2016, and is based on Superman characters created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster, Batman characters created by Bob Kane, and Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston, appearing in comic books published by DC Entertainment.

Michael B. Jordan and Kristen Bell Host Sci-Tech Oscars

Kristen Bell And Michael B. Jordan To Host Academy's Sci-Tech Awards

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Actors Kristen Bell and Michael B. Jordan will host the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Scientific and Technical Awards on Saturday, February 15, at The Beverly Hills Hotel.  They will present 19 awards to 52 individual recipients during the evening.

“We are thrilled to have Kristen and Michael join us as hosts for this year’s Sci-Tech Awards,” said Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs.  “They are bright, young talents in the film community and will be a great addition to a night that honors the industry’s technical achievements.”

Bell recently lent her voice to the Oscar®-nominated Disney animated feature “Frozen.”  She also will be seen in the title role of the upcoming feature “Veronica Mars,” in theaters this March.  Bell’s other film credits include “The Lifeguard,” “Hit & Run,” “When in Rome” and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.”

In 2013, Jordan appeared in his first major leading role in the critically acclaimed film “Fruitvale Station.”  He also will be seen in “That Awkward Moment,” with Zac Efron and Miles Teller, which opened this past Friday (January 31, 2014).  His other credits include “Chronicle” and “Red Tails.”

Portions of the Scientific and Technical Awards Presentation will be included in the Oscar telecast.

Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2013 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® and televised live on the ABC Television Network.  The Oscars®, produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

"Frozen" the Coolest at 41st Annie Awards - Complete List of Winners

by Leroy Douresseaux

ASIFA-Hollywood, the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Society, presents the Annie Awards.  The Annie honors achievements in animation as a whole, including current animated productions, as well as career and lifetime achievements.

At the 41st Annie Awards, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Frozen won five awards, including “Best Animated Feature,” “Outstanding Achievement, Directing in an Animated Feature Production” (Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee), and a voice acting award for Josh Gad as “Olaf” the snowman. Frozen is already the fifth highest-grossing animated feature in history ($360+ million domestically and $864.3 million world), as of this writing.  Frozen is practically a juggernaut, and this Annie win probably seals the deal for a best animated feature Oscar for the animated musical.

The 41st Annual Annie Awards were held on Saturday, February 1, 2014 at UCLA’s Royce Hall, in Los Angeles, California.  They ceremony was hosted by noted voice actor, Patrick Warburton.  Director Steven Spielberg (The Adventures of Tintin) was presented with the Winsor McCay Award at the ceremony.

41st (2014) Annual Annie Awards Winners (for the year in film and TV 2013):

PRODUCTION CATEGORIES

Best Animated Feature
•Frozen - 
Walt Disney Animation Studios

Best Animated Special Production
•Chipotle Scarecrow
 - Moonbot Studios

Best Animated Short Subject
•Get A Horse!
 - Walt Disney Animation Studios

Best Animated TV/Broadcast Commercial
•Despicable Me 2 - Cinemark
 - Universal Pictures

Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Preschool Children
•Disney Sofia the First
 - Disney Television Animation

Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Children’s Audience
•Adventure Time - 
Cartoon Network Studios

Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production
•Futurama
 - 20th Century Fox Television

Best Animated Video Game
•The Last of Us - 
Naughty Dog

Best Student Film
•Wedding Cake - 
Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES

Outstanding Achievement, Animated Effects in an Animated Production
•Jeff Budsberg, Andre Le Blanc, Louis Flores, Jason Mayer - The Croods - 
DreamWorks Animation

Outstanding Achievement, Animated Effects in a Live Action Production
•Michael Balog, Ryan Hopkins, Patrick Conran, Florian Witzel - Pacific Rim
 - Industrial Light & Magic

Outstanding Achievement, Character Animation in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production
•Kureha Yokoo - Toy Story OF TERROR! - Pixar Animation Studios Character

Outstanding Achievement, Character Animation in a Feature Production
•Jakob Jensen - The Croods - 
DreamWorks Animation

Outstanding Achievement, Character Animation in a Live Action Production
•Jeff Capogreco, Jedrzej Wojtowicz, Kevin Estey, Alessandro Bonora, Gino Acevedo - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Gollum
 - Weta Digital

Outstanding Achievement, Character Design in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
•Paul Rudish - Disney Mickey Mouse
 - Disney Television Animation

Outstanding Achievement, Character Design in an Animated Feature Production
•Carter Goodrich, Takao Noguchi, Shane Prigmore - The Croods
 - DreamWorks Animation

Outstanding Achievement, Directing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
•Angus MacLane - Toy Story OF TERROR!
 - Pixar Animation Studios

Outstanding Achievement, Directing in an Animated Feature Production
•Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee - Frozen
 - Walt Disney Animation Studios

Outstanding Achievement, Music in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
•Christopher Willis - Disney Mickey Mouse
 - Disney Television Animation

Outstanding Achievement, Music in an Animated Feature Production
•Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez, Christophe Beck - Frozen
 - Walt Disney Animation Studios 


Outstanding Achievement, Production Design in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
•Angela Sung, William Niu, Christine Bian, Emily Tetri, Frederic Stewart - The Legend of Korra
 - Nickelodeon Animation Studio

Outstanding Achievement, Production Design in an Animated Feature Production
•Alonso Ramos-Ramirez - Disney Mickey Mouse
 - Disney Television Animation

Outstanding Achievement, Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
•Dean Kelly - Monsters University
 - Pixar Animation Studios

Outstanding Achievement, Voice Acting in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
•Tom Kenny as the voice of Ice King - Adventure Time - 
Cartoon Network Studios

Outstanding Achievement, Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
•Josh Gad as the voice of Olaf - Frozen
 - Walt Disney Animation Studios

Outstanding Achievement, Writing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
•Lewis Morton - Futurama
 - 20th Century Fox Television

Outstanding Achievement, Writing in an Animated Feature Production
•Miyazaki Hayao – The Wind Rises
- The Walt Disney Studios

Outstanding Achievement, Editorial in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
•Illya Owens - Disney Mickey Mouse - 
Disney Television Animation

Outstanding Achievement, Editorial in an Animated Feature Production
•Greg Snyder, Gregory Amundson, Steve Bloom - Monsters University
 - Pixar Animation Studios

JURIED AWARDS
Winsor McCay Award — Katsuhiro Otomo, Steven Spielberg & Phil Tippett

June Foray Award — Alice Davis

Ub Iwerks —DZED Systems for Dragonframe stop-motion animation software

Special Achievement Award —  Creative Talent Network (CTN) Animation eXpo

Certificate of Merit — “I Know That Voice” (Documentary)

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