Category Archives: Awards

Actors, Awards, Coming Soon, Drama, Narrative, Oscars, Preview

Live Singing in LES MISÉRABLES

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In Oscar-winning director Tom Hooper’s upcoming Les Misérables, starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, and Anne Hathaway, the filmmaker made the choice to have the actors sing live on set, rather than the customary approach of having them record an album earlier and lip sync to the pre-recorded songs during filming. It’s a risky move, but appears to be one that gave the actors a certain freedom and the ability to express their characters in a very real and raw way. Check out this brief featurette for a behind-the-scenes look.

Les Misérables opens in theatres this Christmas and is primed for a major Oscar push. (Check out my previous post on “5 Reasons Why Anne Hathaway Will be Oscar Nominated for Les Misérables.”)

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVxfyBumtm4]
Awards, Coming Soon, Drama, Filmmakers, Independent Film, Narrative, News, Oscars, Preview

Why Searchlight Slipped HITCHCOCK into This Year’s Oscar Race (Analysis)

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(Re-posted from The Hollywood Reporter)

by Scott Feinberg

September 20, 2012

The drama about the making of “Psycho” joins “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” “The Sessions” and “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” on the Searchlight slate.

Hitchcock Movie Poster - P 2012

Fox Searchlight just shook up this year’s awards race by announcing that Hitchcock, which had been looking like a 2013 release, will now open on Nov. 23.

First of all, the facts: Hitchcock is a dramedy about the relationship between kinky master filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock and his trusted wife, Alma Reville, during the making of his seminal 1960 film Psycho.

The film was adapted by Black Swan co-screenwriter John McLaughlin from film historian/Playboy contributing editor Stephen Rebello’s book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho. It marks the feature directorial debut of Sacha Gervasi, who is best known for his 2008 hit doc Anvil: The Story of Anvil, and was produced by Tom Pollock and Ivan Reitman’s Montecito Picture Co., which also handled 2009 best picture Oscar nominee Up in the Air.

Continue reading Why Searchlight Slipped HITCHCOCK into This Year’s Oscar Race (Analysis) →

Actors, Awards, Coming Soon, Drama, Narrative, Oscars, Preview

5 Reasons Why Anne Hathaway Will be Oscar Nominated for LES MISÉRABLES

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Sure, it’s probably a bit early to be making such claims, particularly since Les Misérables hasn’t even hit theatres yet. (It opens on December 14th.) However, I’m an Oscar buff and I can’t help but be thinking year-round about which films and performances will be honored come February. And so I’m going on record to state that I believe Anne Hathaway will receive an Oscar nomination next year for her supporting role as Fantine in the film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical. (Whether Hathaway’s part is considered a lead or supporting role will depend on the adaptation. Those familiar with the stage version know that despite Fantine’s importance to the plot, she has limited stage time. So like Catherine Zeta-Jones’s role in Chicago [2002] and Kate Winslet’s role in The Reader [2008], Hathaway’s role in Les Mis could put her in either the lead or supporting races, depending on voters’ whims.)

Continue reading 5 Reasons Why Anne Hathaway Will be Oscar Nominated for LES MISÉRABLES →

Awards, News, Oscars

Oscars Change Rule for Best Original Song Nominees

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(Re-posted from Yahoo! News)

  • LOS ANGELES (AP) — There will be more songs vying for Oscars at next year’s Academy Awards.

The motion picture academy said Thursday that there will be a minimum of five nominees in the original song category at next year’s ceremony.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says that the five nominated songs receiving the highest number of votes from music branch members will be up for the final award. The voting process previously only allowed songs that earned an average score to be nominated.

Only two songs were nominated for the trophy earlier this year for the first time in Oscar history, with “Man or Muppet” from The Muppets winning the prize.

The 85th annual Academy Awards will be presented Feb. 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Awards, News, Oscars

Craig Zadan, Neil Meron to Produce Oscars

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(Re-posted from The Hollywood Reporter)

Craig Zadan and Neil Meron Headshot - P 2012

They will oversee the the 85th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 24.

Producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron have been named to produce the 85th Annual Academy Awards, the Motion Picture Academy said Thursday.

The veteran producers, whose work spans TV, film and Broadway, had not been involved with the Oscar show before, though they had a major Academy Award winner in Chicago, which they executive produced. The musical was named best picture of 2002 and also took home trophies in five other categories. Together, their film credits also include Hairspray and The Bucket List, and Zadan was one of the producers of 1984’s Footloose.

They are currently represented on TV by NBC’s Smash, which they executive produce, and have produced such TV films as A Raisin in the Sun and the upcoming Steel Magnolias. On Broadway, they have produced the musical revivals of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Promises, Promises.

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Actors, Awards, Drama, Film Festival, Filmmakers, Foreign Film, Independent Film, Narrative, News

Michael Haneke’s AMOUR Claims Coveted Palme d’Or Prize at Cannes Film Festival

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(Re-posted from AceShowbiz.com)

May 28, 2012

The 65th edition of the annual world-class movie festival also names Mads Mikkelsen as the Best Actor, and Cristina Flutur as well as Cosmina Stratan as the Best Actresses.
The 65th annual Cannes Film Festival has revealed which movie deserved to claim its top prize of Palme d’Or. On Sunday night, May 27, it was announced that Michael Haneke’s highly praised drama Amour has won the prestigious award.
Upon receiving the prize with lead actors Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva, the 70-year-old director said, “I thank my wife, who has been putting up with me for years.” He added, “Thanks to my wonderful actors. They are the essence of it.”
This was the second time the Munich-born moviemaker won the coveted Palme d’Or gong at Cannes. Back in 2009, the Austrian filmmaker took home the same award through his acclaimed work in The White Ribbon.
Animation, Awards, Filmmakers, Narrative, Oscars, Short Film

Short Film: “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”

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This animated short film by William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg is this year’s Oscar winner for Best Short Film (Animated). Immediately below the film is Joyce’s and Oldenburg’s acceptance speech.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Adzywe9xeIU] [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9rme79ptdA]
Awards, Documentary, Film Festival, Independent Film, News

ESCAPE FIRE Wins The Kathleen Bryan Edwards Award

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(Re-posted from Tweed)

April 16, 2012

Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare has been awarded The Kathleen Bryan Edwards Award for Human Rights at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in North Carolina.

Escape Fire, by Matthew Heineman and Susan Froemke, asks what can be done to save our broken healthcare system. The film examines the powerful forces trying to maintain the current medical industry, which is designed for quick fixes rather than prevention. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2012.

To read more about the award click here.

To learn more about the film, click here.

Actors, Awards, Comedy, Drama, Filmmakers, Independent Film, Narrative, Oscars

2012 Memo to the Academy

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(Re-posted from LimitéMagazine.com)

Dear Academy,

Here we go again. The Super Bowl is over, and now it’s time for the real games to begin. You have a hefty task in front of you—choosing who’s most deserving of that little golden guy. With all the hype and buzz around, it’s easy to get confused. Here’s a little help.

Your friends,

Limité’s film staff

BEST PICTURE

Nominees: The Artist, The Descendants, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, The Help, Hugo, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, The Tree of Life, War Horse

Dan Quitério—Hugo. For my money, Hugo is the best-composed film of the year—the imaginative performances, the vivid art direction, the crisp cinematography, the rich story—they all come together to provide the audience with a complex and colorful experience, all the while providing it with a lesson in film history without it feeling like sitting in a stodgy classroom. On top of that, the film provides some of the best use of 3D than any other film in recent memory—a format that surely isn’t going anywhere and was lovingly embraced by a true master of filmmaking in Martin Scorsese. No other film last year—except for maybe Midnight in Paris—has the capability of igniting the imagination quite like Hugo. This film reminds us why the film medium is so special.

Predicted Winner: The Artist

Stephanie Dawson—The Artist. I don’t think any of these films are as amazing or as groundbreaking as nominees in previous years. The Tree of Life is polarizing because of it’s “what?!” factor. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, The Help, and War Horse revel in their emotional manipulation of the audience. Moneyball and Midnight in Paris are better writing achievements than complete films. The story momentum in both Hugo and The Descendants keeps sputtering and the central stories change at least twice in each. The Artist is simple, enjoyable from the first frame, and just the right amount of “sweet,” and so it has my vote, unfortunately by default.

Predicted Winner: The Artist

Janice Perez—Midnight in Paris. I haven’t seen anything in a very long time that resonated with me on a very intimate and highly personal level the way Woody Allen’s darling of a film did. Maybe it stems from my being a dedicated Francophile, or probably because that film was a beautiful homage to art. Well, whatever the cause, I loved Midnight in Paris to the hilt for being a film that really brought my own fondest imagination to life.

Predicted Winner: The Artist

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Actors, Awards, Comedy, Film Festival, Filmmakers, Independent Film, Narrative, Oscars, Sci-Fi, Short Film

Q&A: Team from Oscar-Nominated Film “Time Freak”

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(Re-posted from LimitéMagazine.com)

Among this year’s Oscar nominees for Best Short Film—Live Action is “Time Freak,” the comedic story of a neurotic inventor who creates a time machine that he uses to travel around yesterday so that he can obsessively correct his social foibles. The short is the only American film nominated in its category. I had the chance to pick the brains of the film’s masterminds, including writer/director Andrew Bowler, his producer wife Gigi Causey, and lead actor Michael Nathanson, just before their big day in Hollywood.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_DLkVR7hK0]

Where were you when you found out about the nomination?

Michael: I actually was sound asleep. My wife is a public school teacher in NYC, and she had been up early and found out at work. When she woke me up by screaming into the answering machine, I knew it was good news.

Andrew: We were at home when we heard the news. We got up at 4:45am, unable to sleep anymore. The telecast did not come on ’til about 5:50am, and then the results were posted online shortly after that. We wanted to share the possible moment with our friends and family in different parts of the country, so we shot it.

(Watch this video of Andrew and Gigi finding out they have been nominated for an Oscar.)

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnwiOYhIExU&feature=youtu.be]

Continue reading Q&A: Team from Oscar-Nominated Film “Time Freak” →