Sunday, November 30, 2014

134 Documentary Films Vie for 15 Spots on 87th Academy Awards Shortlist

134 Documentary Features Submitted For 2014 Oscar® Race

One hundred thirty-four features have been submitted for consideration in the Documentary Feature category for the 87th Academy Awards®.

The submitted features, listed in alphabetical order, are:
“Afternoon of a Faun: Tanaquil Le Clercq”
“Ai Weiwei: The Fake Case”
“Algorithms”
“Alive Inside”
“All You Need Is Love”
“Altina”
“America: Imagine the World without Her”
“American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs”
“Anita”
“Antarctica: A Year on Ice”
“Art and Craft”
“Awake: The Life of Yogananda”
“The Barefoot Artist”
“The Battered Bastards of Baseball”
“Before You Know It”
“Bitter Honey”
“Born to Fly: Elizabeth Streb vs. Gravity”
“Botso The Teacher from Tbilisi”
“Captivated The Trials of Pamela Smart”
“The Case against 8”
“Cesar’s Last Fast”
“Citizen Koch”
“CitizenFour”
“Code Black”
“Concerning Violence”
“The Culture High”
“Cyber-Seniors”
“DamNation”
“Dancing in Jaffa”
“Death Metal Angola”
“The Decent One”
“Dinosaur 13”
“Do You Know What My Name Is?”
“Documented”
“The Dog”
“E-Team”
“Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me”
“Elena”
“Evolution of a Criminal”
“Fed Up”
“Finding Fela”
“Finding Vivian Maier”
“Food Chains”
“The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden”
“Getting to the Nutcracker”
“Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me”
“Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia”
“The Great Flood”
“The Great Invisible”
“The Green Prince”
“The Hacker Wars”
“The Hadza: Last of the First”
“Hanna Ranch”
“Happy Valley”
“The Hornet’s Nest”
“I Am Ali”
“If You Build It”
“The Immortalists”
“The Internet’s Own Boy”
“Ivory Tower”
“James Cameron’s Deepsea Challenge”
“Jodorowsky’s Dune”
“Journey of a Female Comic”
“Keep On Keepin’ On”
“Kids for Cash”
“The Kill Team”
“Korengal”
“La Bare”
“Last Days in Vietnam”
“Last Hijack”
“The Last Patrol”
“Levitated Mass”
“Life Itself”
“Little White Lie”
“Llyn Foulkes One Man Band”
“Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles”
“Manakamana”
“Merchants of Doubt”
“Mission Blue”
“Mistaken for Strangers”
“Mitt”
“Monk with a Camera”
“Nas: Time Is Illmatic”
“National Gallery”
“Next Goal Wins”
“Next Year Jerusalem”
“Night Will Fall”
“No Cameras Allowed”
“Now: In the Wings on a World Stage”
“Occupy the Farm”
“The Only Real Game”
“The Overnighters”
“Particle Fever”
“Pay 2 Play: Democracy’s High Stakes”
“Pelican Dreams”
“The Pleasures of Being Out of Step”
“Plot for Peace”
“Point and Shoot”
“Poverty Inc.”
“Print the Legend”
“Private Violence”
“Pump”
“Rabindranath Tagore – The Poet of Eternity”
“Red Army”
“Remote Area Medical”
“Rich Hill”
“The Rule”
“The Salt of the Earth”
“Shadows from My Past”
“She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry”
“A Small Section of the World”
“Smiling through the Apocalypse – Esquire in the 60s”
“Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon”
“The Supreme Price”
“Tales of the Grim Sleeper”
“Tanzania: A Journey Within”
“This Is Not a Ball”
“Thomas Keating: A Rising Tide of Silence”
“Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People”
“True Son”
“20,000 Days on Earth”
“Unclaimed”
“Under the Electric Sky”
“Underwater Dreams”
“Virunga”
“Waiting for August”
“Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago”
“Warsaw Uprising”
“Watchers of the Sky”
“Watermark”
“We Are the Giant”
“We Could Be King”
“Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger”
“A World Not Ours”

Several of the films have not yet had their required Los Angeles and New York qualifying releases. Submitted features must fulfill the theatrical release requirements and comply with all of the category’s other qualifying rules in order to advance in the voting process.  A shortlist of 15 films will be announced in December.

Films submitted in the Documentary Feature category also may qualify for Academy Awards in other categories, including Best Picture, provided they meet the requirements for those categories.

The 87th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 15, 2015, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

The Oscars® will be held on Sunday, February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

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Negromancer's Fave Poli-Reads - November 2014 Edition - Update #17


From YahooNews:  Republican bitch gets out of hand with President Obama's daughters about something that is really not important at all.

From RollingStone:  The 15 worst owners in sports.

From RollingStone:  Rape... at a college founded by a slave owner that raped his female slaves... No way...

From the GuardianUK:  Angela Davis on Mike Brown.

From the GuardianUK:  You've got to be kidding me.  Masai homeland to be turned into hunting ground for Dubai royalty... Off with their heads.

From FirstLook:  Glenn Greenwald's sarcastic piece about the people most excited about a Hilary Clinton presidency.

From Politico:  Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) on why the Republicans want to impeach President Obama.

From TIME:  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says that American politicians are a bigger threat to democracy than ISIS.  Yes.

From Vocativ:  Be a cop in Oakley Michigan for $1200.

From RSN:  How to scrap the two-party system...

From BBCNews:  J. Edgar Hoover used Nazis as Cold War spies.  Why am I not surprised.

From TheDailyBeast:  Jonathan Alter, one of my favorite writers about politics and society, talks about what the day after the Republican takeover of Congress will be like.

From Newsweek:  When Google met Wikileaks.

From WashingtonPost:  Senator Mark Warner's middle of the road fantasy almost cost him his seat on Tuesday, November 4, 2014

From YahooNews:  President Obama not mopey about 2014 midterms.

From TheWashingtonPost:  Rachel Maddow on the GOP banking on fear.

From RawStory:  North Carolina voting machines acting kinda shady.  I have been hearing similar stories for years.

From ThinkProgress:  A secretive voter purge in 27 states, largely unknown and aimed at suspected members of minorities.

From Truthout:  The origins, history, and more about GamerGate.


Negromancer News Bits and Bites for the Week of November 23 to 30, 2014 - Update #11


NEWS:

From Billboard:  She has an Oscar, and Jennifer Lawrence may very well have a Top 40 hit on the Billboard charts by next week.  It's "The Hanging Tree" from the album featuring James Newton Howard's score for Mockingjay Part 1.

From Playlist:  5 Things to Know about Beetlejuice on its 25th anniversary.

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From Variety:  Amy Berg, Nate Parker, and Matthew Cooke crowd fund for Ferguson-related doc.

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From THR:  Universal releases "Jurassic World" teaser trailer.

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From Variety:  The #1 movie at the box office for the weekend of Friday, November 21st to 23rd, 2014 is The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 with an estimated take of $123 million, the biggest weekend opening of the year, thus far.


STAR WARS:

From YahooMovies:  John Boyega answers haters of the "Black stormtrooper."

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From YahooTV:  Apparently, Andy Serkis is the narrator or provides the voice over for the Episode 7 teaser.

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From TechCrunch and iTunes:  The first trailer for "The Force Awakens."

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Star Wars News Dump:
YahooMovies:  Joe Johnston, a special effect pioneer, is selling some of his Star Wars items.

YahooMovies:  JJ Abrams teases Star Wars teaser.

YahooMovies:  A list of theaters showing the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer.

From io9:  Rumors about first Star Wars spin-off film.

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From FlickeringMyth:  "Star Wars The Force Awakens" trailer will premiere Friday, November 28, 2017...

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From EntertainmentIE:  A possible two-second clip from the first Episode 7 trailer.


TRAILERS:

From 20th Century Fox, new trailer for Unfinished Business.



The Killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson - November 2014 Edition - Update #26


From AddictingInfo:  Bob McCulloch connected to organization that did fundraising for Darren Wilson.  Special prosecutor, bee-yuch.

From RSN:  Benjamin Watson is angry.  Join the crowd.

From YahooNews:  No severance package for Darren Wilson... or so Ferguson's mayor says.

From YahooNews:  Darren Wilson resigns.

From ThinkProgress:  Compare Justice Scalia's writings on what a grand jury is supposed to do.

From HuffingtonPost:  McCulloch manipulated grand jury process to shield a killer police officer.

From Variety:  Oscar-nominee Amy Berg, actor Nate Parker, and writer/director Matthew Cooke launch an Indiegogo campaign for their film, "Black Male Crisis," in wake of Ferguson non-indictment.

From Esquire:  Charles Pierce mocks Darren Wilson's ridiculous story as given to the ridiculous George Clinton-connection-oulos interview on FOX News lite... err ABC.
 
From YahooTV:  Garth Brooks cancels promotional appearances for his new album as distasteful while Mike Brown protests are occuring.

From ABCNews:  Celebs react to injustice of no indictment.

From TheVox:  Why Killer Darren's story is unbelievable.

From TheVox:  Why President Obama can't give the Ferguson speech his supporters want.

From YahooNews:  George Stephanopoulos interviews Darren Wilson.

From InTheseTimes:  A short history of killer cops.

From RSN:  No indictment.

From YouTube:  Reporter Larry Everest confronts Missouri Governor Jay Nixon at Ferguson press conference.

From StLouisDisptach:  Darren Wilson married his girlfriend.  His wedding gift to her was the carcass of a "buck" he killed just a few months ago.

From FirstLook:  A complete guide to the shooting of Mike Brown.

From YahooNews:  Mike Brown's killer does not expect to be charged with killing Mike Brown, according to the St. Louis Police Officer's Association.

From RSN:  Pre-emptive state of emergency means that the grand jury decision is rigged, indeed.

From RSN:  Read Missouri Governor Jay Nixon's declaration of a state of emergency.

From the DailyBeast:  Dread in America, following Ferguson.

From Esquire:  They're right:  What is going on in Ferguson is not going to end well.

From YahooNews:  The Associated Press answers questions about the Ferguson grand jury on the Michael Brown killing.

From YahooNews:  Reportedly, Officer Shooter... err... I mean Wilson could return to the Ferguson police department if he is not indicted.  Sounds like a winner!

From YahooNews:  Where're the injuries, Officer Wilson?  Video footage of Darren Wilson in the hours after his killed Michael Brown are released under state open records laws.

From the AP via RSN:  Ferguson no-fly zone was aimed at media.

From YahooNews:  Missouri governor, Jay Nixon, prepared for war, but not to prosecute a murdering cop.

From the GuardianUK:  Ferguson police ready for war.  Gonna kill us some more Niggers!

From RSN:  18-year-old Black male (what else) shot from behind by St. Louis (where else) cop.

From the WashingtonPost:  There will likely be no federal charges against Darren Wilson, the man who killed Mike Brown.  They're too busy bringing charges against anti-war and environmental activists.

From YahooNews:  Attorney General Holder: Ferguson police need "wholesale" change.  D'uh, General Holder, d'uh

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THE BASICS:

From TheIntercept via RSN:  Klan jury... I mean grand jury in Mike Brown's shooting began Wednesday, August 20th, 2014.

Michael Brown, 18, was shot to death, reportedly by police officer Darren Wilson, on Saturday, August 9th, 2014 at approximately 2:15 pm on Canfield Drive in Ferguson, Missouri.  Ferguson is a small city in St. Louis County.  The shooting of the unarmed Brown sparked a furious backlash and days of protests, some violent and involving looting.  What follows is a list of links to news articles about the shooting and related matters:

From the StLouisPostDispatch:  An early article about the Michael Brown shooting

From the LosAngelesTimes:  This is the earliest (or oldest) article that I could find about the Michael Brown shooting.

From HuffingtonPost:  Another early article about the local African-American community's reaction to the shooting of Brown

From PrisonCulture:  A searing image of Michael Brown's father

From the WashingtonPost via RSN:  More of Darren Wilson's history and background emerges; it seems that he was previously associated with another police department that had a bad relationship with the local black folks.

From  Al Jazeera via RSN:  Darren Wilson: Judge, jury, and executioner.

From YahooNews via CSM and the AP:  Shooter a.k.a. Darren Wilson tells his "side" of the story about how he shot an unarmed black man to death.

Updated Shooting Timeline:  The AP via YahooNews.


Saturday, November 29, 2014

KT Tunstall Sings Three New Songs in "Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast"

KT TUNSTALL LIGHTS UP PIXIE HOLLOW MARCH 3rd 2015 ON BLU-RAY

Singer/songwriter/musician KT Tunstall heads to Pixie Hollow to help bring animal fairy Fawn’s story to life in “Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast.” Tunstall performs three new songs in the film, including “Float,” “Strange Sight” and “1000 Years.”

“KT is a celebrated songwriter and musician,” says director Steve Loter. “She reminds me of Fawn in a way with her big heart and this amazing voice that has a little bit of edge and a tremendous amount of appeal.”

The all-new Tinker Bell film is about the relationship that develops between Fawn, a compassionate animal fairy who thinks with her heart, and Gruff, a massive beast with glowing green eyes who seems to be on a mission. “It’s a real action-adventure movie,” says Tunstall. “The characters are so cool. I was over the moon to take part. Disney Animation has such an incredible heritage of work, spanning decades, and it’s really special to be part of that.”

Tunstall had fun channeling the film’s heroine. “‘Float’ is Fawn’s opening theme,” she says. “It’s fantastic how she spends her days looking after all the animals around Pixie Hollow. The song says, ‘I’ll just float.’ She doesn’t have to have a reason, she just really loves having a pair of wings, so she’s going out for a fly, getting into trouble and mischief.”

The artist also helped introduce the NeverBeast. “‘Strange Sight’ is heard when Fawn discovers this beast living in the woods near Pixie Hollow,” says Tunstall. “He’s a huge, scary-looking guy, but she isn’t afraid. She wants to help him and make friends with him, but can’t work out what he is or what he’s doing with the rocks he’s collecting.”

The third song in Tunstall’s lineup, which she sings with singer/songwriter Bleu, is an emotional song that can be heard during the film’s end credits.

ABOUT KT TUNSTALL:
Tunstall has recorded five studio albums and received multiple Brit Award nominations including a win for female solo artist and a 2007 Grammy® nom for the song “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree.” Her hit “Suddenly I See” was featured in the motion picture “The Devil Wears Prada,” which led her to her interest in composing for film including “The Kid,” “Winter’s Tale” and a collaboration with A.R. Rahman on the song “We Could Be Kings” for Disney’s “Million Dollar Arm.”

“Float” – music and lyrics by Bleu

“Strange Sight” – music and lyrics by Rob Cantor

“1000 Years” – music and lyrics by Bleu



TINKER BELL AND THE LEGEND OF THE NEVERBEAST- DISNEY
Genre: Animated Action/Adventure
Rating: G
Voice Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Mae Whitman, Rosario Dawson, Lucy Liu, Raven-Symoné, Megan Hilty, Pamela Adlon and Anjelica Huston
Director: Steve Loter
Producer: Michael Wigert, p.g.a.
In-Home Release Date: March 3, 2015

Disneytoon Studios returns to Pixie Hollow with the heartwarming adventure “Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast.” The new story explores an ancient myth of a fabled creature whose distant roar sparks the curiosity of Tinker Bell’s good friend Fawn (voice of Ginnifer Goodwin), an animal fairy who’s not afraid to break the rules to help an animal in need. But this animal—massive and strange with glowing green eyes—is not really welcome in Pixie Hollow, and the scout fairies are determined to capture the mysterious beast before it destroys their home. Fawn, who sees a tender heart beneath his gruff exterior, must convince Tink (voice of Mae Whitman) and the girls to risk everything to rescue the NeverBeast before time runs out. Directed by Steve Loter (“Kim Possible”) and produced by Michael Wigert (“Secret of the Wings”), “Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast” roars to life in March 3, 2015.

The heartwarming adventure “Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast” explores the ancient myth of a mysterious creature whose distant roar sparks the curiosity of Tinker Bell’s friend Fawn, an animal fairy who’s not afraid to break the rules to rescue the NeverBeast before time runs out.

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Friday, November 28, 2014

Young Actors Give Voice to Animated "The Peanuts Movie"

THE PEANUTS MOVIE Cast Announced

A Talented Team of Young Actors Give Voice to the Beloved Characters

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--“Wah wa-wah wa-wah wah. Wah wa-wah wa-wa wa wah wa-wah wa-wah wah wah wa-wah wa-wa wa wah. Wa-wah wa-wa wa wah wa-wah wa-wah wah wa-wah wa-wa wa wa-wah wah.”

    “Wah wa-wah wa-wah wah. Wah wa-wah wa-wa wa wah wa-wah wa-wah wah wah wa-wah wa-wa wa wah. Wa-wah wa-wa wa wah wa-wah wa-wah wah wa-wah wa-wa wa wa-wah wah.”

Aaugh! You’re a good man, Charlie Brown, but Twentieth Century Fox pulled the football out from under you and announced the voice casting for THE PEANUTS MOVIE today. The Great Houndini reports, “It was a dark and stormy night…”

Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the cherished “Peanuts” gang will make their long awaited big-screen debut in stunning state of the art 3D animation.

Snoopy, the world’s most lovable beagle – and flying ace – embarks upon his greatest mission as he takes to the skies to pursue his arch-nemesis The Red Baron, while his best pal, Charlie Brown, begins his own epic quest.

From the imagination of Charles M. Schulz and the creators of the Ice Age films, good grief, THE PEANUTS MOVIE is more than just a chip off the ole BlockHead, it’s a doggone cinematic spectacle.

Noah Schnapp voices the role of Good ol’ Charlie Brown, the lovable loser who never gives up. The young actor recently filmed a role opposite Tom Hanks in director Steven Spielberg’s untitled Cold War thriller. Most recently, Noah wrapped work on the indie film We Only Know So Much, based on the book of the same title.

Hadley Belle Miller provides the voice for Lucy, known around the neighborhood (and by her little brother, Linus) for being crabby and bossy and humiliating Charlie Brown. Hadley’s voiceover credits include Sofia the First and Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and she has appeared on stage and in commercials.

AJ Tecce voices Pig-Pen, who happily travels in his own private dust storm. AJ appeared in the films Raising Ethan and Stereopsis, and in several commercials. He’s also done extensive voiceover work.

Noah Johnston is Schroeder, a mini musical genius who is rarely separated from his toy piano or his idol, Beethoven. Noah voiced a role in Monsters University, and his television credits include The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Show with David Letterman, and The Daily Show.

Newcomer Venus Schultheis voices Peppermint Patty, a fearless born leader and a natural athlete who is up to any challenge…except studying. Venus wants to be a nurse and a cosmetologist, working on people’s hair and nails while they are in the hospital or a nursing home. (If you see Venus's hair, you'll understand!) She enjoys snowboarding, skim boarding and tennis.

Alexander Garfin gives voice to Linus, the benevolent, blanket-clutching philosopher who always has a kind word for everybody…even his bossy older sister, Lucy. Alexander’s numerous credits include the feature Salt, the television series Law & Order SVU and Saturday Night Live, and on stage, On Borrowed Time – and You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.

Francesca Capaldi voices Little Red-Haired Girl, who has captured Charlie Brown’s heart; now, if only he could muster the courage to speak to her! Francesca had a guest-starring role in Disney’s A.N.T. Farm and on CBS’ How I Met Your Mother, is a series regular on Disney’s Dog with the Blog, and has appeared in the film 3-Day Test, as well as in several commercials.

Mar Mar voices Frankin, Charlie Brown’s good friend and confidant, and the only one who never has an unkind word about our hapless hero, or anyone else for that matter, Mar Mar has worked on the TV series Austin & Alley (on the Disney Channel), Guys with Kids, Bubble Guppies and Good Luck Charlie.

Mariel Sheets voices Sally, Charlie Brown’s little sister who believes the world owes her an answer for some of its most perplexing problems, such as: why does she have to go to school? Mariel has worked in film, appeared in national commercials, and done voiceovers for television, radio, and online.

Rebecca Bloom gives voice to Marcie, Peppermint Patty’s best friend, loyal follower, and complete opposite. Rebecca was featured on The Tonight Show, and has had roles on stage in Annie, The Jungle Book and How to Eat Like a Child.

William Alexander Wunsch voices Shermy, Charlie Brown’s friend, who is straight laced and dependable. William has extensive live performance experience, appeared in several commercials, and on Saturday Night Live with Jim Carrey.

Anastasia Bredikhina voices Patty, and Madisyn Shipman voices Violet – best friends who always side with the popular crowd. Anastasia is a trained actor, dancer, musician and model; Madisyn has appeared on Modern Love, Sesame Street, Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show.

THE PEANUTS MOVIE flies into theaters everywhere on November 6, 2015. That year marks the 65th anniversary of the debut of the “Peanuts” comic strip and the 50th anniversary of the landmark television special, “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

Charles Schulz drew the most popular and influential comic strip of all time, which was read every day by 355 million people in 75 countries. In addition to the famous strip, Peanuts holiday television specials such as It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown have won Emmys and are among the highest rated prime time TV specials.

Steve Martino directs THE PEANUTS MOVIE; previously, he brought to the big screen (with Jimmy Hayward) Fox/Blue Sky’s Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! Martino also directed (with Michael Thurmeier) Fox’s recent box-office smash Ice Age: Continental Drift.

The screenplay is by Craig Schulz and the writing team of Bryan Schulz & Cornelius Uliano. Craig Schulz and Bryan Schulz, respectively Mr. Schulz’s son and grandson, along with Uliano and Paul Feig are producing. Feig, the director of the blockbuster comedies "Bridesmaids" and "The Heat" and the upcoming "Spy," is a lifelong "Peanuts" fan.

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Thursday, November 27, 2014

"Black Male Crisis" Doc on Indiegogo

Amy Berg, Nate Parker, and Matthew Cooke are working on a documentary related to the events in Ferguson, Missouri and about the crisis of young black males.  They are raising money via an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign: