SAG Winners.

From my earlier predictions, I have a nice 60%. Not bad, since I correctly predicted that The Help would win Best Cast. Jean Dujardin was a total curveball, but Viola was a welcome surprise.

Best Actor
Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Best Actress
Viola Davis, The Help

Best Supporting Actor
Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Supporting Actress
Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best Cast
The Help

SAG Predix.

Best Cast: The Help. I honestly think it has the higher acting chops than The Artist.


Best Actor: George Clooney, The Descendants. George is unstoppable. With BFCA and Golden Globes, he got it.

Best Actress: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady. I really want Viola to win. Her performance was subtle and great.

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners. Unstoppable!

Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, The Help. Her lead and Viola's 2nd place has a Best Cast success.

Golden Collar noms!

For the best doggies in film: Uggie!

Best dog in a theatrical film
Cosmo as Arthur in “Beginners”
Uggie as Queenie in “Water for Elephants”
Denver as Skeletor in “50/50”
Hummer as Dolce in ”Young Adult”
Uggie as The Dog in “The Artist”

Best dog in a foreign language film
Koko as Red Dog in “Red Dog”
Laika as Herself in “Le Havre”
Biina as Alf in “The Day the Dogs Disappeared”
Ichico as Tao in “The Day the Dogs Disappeared”

Best dog in a TV series
Rocky as Arnold in “Entourage”
Chunk as Himself in “Chelsea Lately”
Bridgitte as Stella in “Modern Family”
Dart as Chance in “Hot in Cleveland”
Jason Ganns as Wilfred in “Wilfred”
Lambchop as Yakult is “Suburgatory”

Best dog in a reality series
Giggy in “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”
Millou in “The Real Housewives of New York”
Jackpot in “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”
Spartacus in “Ice Loves Coco”
Hercules in “Pit Boss”

Best dog in a direct-to-DVD film
Fred as B Dwag in “Spooky Buddies”
Gaston as Beethoven in “Beethoven’s Christmas Adventure”
Angel as Chloe in “Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2”
Rody as Marley in “Marly & Me: The Puppy Years”
Rusco as Papi in “Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2”

2012 Sundance Winners!

The winners are in! Come Oscar season, we need to look out for Celeste and Jesse Forever, The Surrogate, and Beasts of the Southern Wild.

• Grand Jury Prize: Documentary - The House I Live In
• Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic - Beasts of the Southern Wild
• World Cinema Jury Prize: Documentary - The Law in These Parts
• World Cinema Jury Prize: Dramatic - Violeta Went to Heaven (Violeta se Fue a Los Cielos)
• Audience Award: U.S. Documentary - The Invisible War
• Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic - The Surrogate
• World Cinema Audience Award: Documentary - Searching for Sugar Man
• World Cinema Audience Award: Dramatic - Valley of Saints
• Best of NEXT Audience Award - Sleepwalk with Me
• U.S. Directing Award: Documentary - The Queen of Versailles
• U.S. Directing Award: Dramatic - Middle Of Nowhere
• World Cinema Directing Award: Documentary - 5 Broken Cameras
• World Cinema Directing Award: Dramatic - Teddy Bear
• Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award - Safety Not Guaranteed
• World Cinema Screenwriting Award - Young & Wild
• U.S. Documentary Editing Award - Detropia
• World Cinema Documentary Editing Award - Indie Game: The Movie
• Excellence in Cinematography Award: U.S. Documentary - Chasing Ice
• Excellence in Cinematography Award: U.S. Dramatic - Beasts of the Southern Wild
• World Cinema Cinematography Award: Documentary - Putin's Kiss
• World Cinema Cinematography Award: Dramatic - My Brother the Devil
• U.S. Documentary Special Jury Prize for an Agent of Change - Love Free or Die
• U.S. Documentary Special Jury Prize for Spirit of Defiance - Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
• U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Prize for Excellence in Independent Film Producing - Smashed and Nobody Walks
• U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Prize for Ensemble Acting - The Surrogate
• World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Prize for Artistic Vision - Can
• World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Prize for its Celebration of the Artistic Spirit - Searching for Sugar Man
• Short Film Audience Award - The Debutante Hunters

The DGA Winners!

Congrats to Michel Hazanvicus for winning the DGA!

Winners:
Michel Hazanavicus

AACTA thinks The Artist is Aus-ome.

Bad pun above. Anyway, The Artist, has won Best Film from the newly formed AACTA from Australia. Winners below.

Best Picture: The Artist
Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Best Actor: Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Best Actress: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Best Screenplay (tie): Ides of March & Margin Call

And the nominees are...

Go Tree of Life! Go Artist! Go Help! Go Descendants! Go Hugo! Extremely Loud can suck it!

BEST PICTURE
The Artist – Thomas Langmann, Producer
The Descendants – Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close – Scott Rudin, Producer
The Help – Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
Hugo – Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
Midnight in Paris – Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
Moneyball – Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt,Producers
The Tree of Life – Nominees to be determined
War Horse – Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers

Actress in a Leading Role
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn

Actor in a Leading Role
Demián Bichir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Actress in a Supporting Role
Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help

Actor in a Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Directing
The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants, Alexander Payne
Hugo, Martin Scorsese
Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen
The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
Hugo, Screenplay by John Logan
The Ides of March, Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
Moneyball, Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, Story by Stan Chervin
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Screenplay by Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan

Writing (Original Screenplay)
The Artist, Written by Michel Hazanavicius
Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
Margin Call, Written by J.C. Chandor
Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen
A Separation, Written by Asghar Farhadi

Animated Feature Film
A Cat in Paris, Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
Chico & Rita, Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
Kung Fu Panda 2, Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Puss in Boots, Chris Miller
Rango, Gore Verbinski

Art Direction
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
War Horse

Cinematography
The Artist, Guillaume Schiffman
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Jeff Cronenweth
Hugo, Robert Richardson
The Tree of Life, Emmanuel Lubezki
War Horse, Janusz Kaminski

Costume Design
Anonymous, Lisy Christl
The Artist, Mark Bridges
Hugo, Sandy Powell
Jane Eyre, Michael O’Connor
W.E., Arianne Phillips

Foreign Language Film
Bullhead, Belgium
Footnote, Israel
In Darkness, Poland
Monsieur Lazhar, Canada
A Separation, Iran

Documentary Feature
Hell and Back Again, Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth
Liberation Front, Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky
Pina, Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
Undefeated, TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas

Film Editing
The Artist, Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants, Kevin Tent
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
Hugo, Thelma Schoonmaker
Moneyball, Christopher Tellefsen

Makeup
Albert Nobbs, Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin
The Iron Lady, Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Music (Original Score)
The Adventures of Tintin, John Williams
The Artist, Ludovic Bource
Hugo, Howard Shore
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Alberto Iglesias
War Horse, John Williams

Music (Original Song)
“Man or Muppet,” The Muppets, Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
“Real in Rio,” Rio, Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, Lyric by Siedah Garrett

ICS Nominees!

The International Cinephiles Society has announced their nominees! A Separation leads the pack.

PICTURE
• Certified Copy
• Drive
• Hugo
• Margaret
• Meek’s Cutoff
• Melancholia
• Mysteries of Lisbon
• A Separation
• The Tree of Life
• Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
• Weekend

DIRECTOR
• Asghar Farhadi – A Separation
• Abbas Kiarostami – Certified Copy
• Terrence Malick – The Tree of Life
• Nicolas Winding Refn – Drive
• Raoul Ruiz – Mysteries of Lisbon

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
• Certified Copy
• House of Pleasures
• Le Havre
• Le Quattro Volte
• Mysteries of Lisbon
• Of Gods and Men
• Poetry
• A Separation
• The Skin I Live In
• Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

ACTOR
• Tom Cullen – Weekend
• Michael Fassbender – Shame
• Peyman Moaadi – A Separation
• Chris New – Weekend
• Michael Shannon – Take Shelter

ACTRESS
• Sareh Bayat – A Separation
• Juliette Binoche – Certified Copy
• Elizabeth Olsen – Martha Marcy May Marlene
• Anna Paquin – Margaret
• Yun Jung-hee – Poetry

SUPPORTING ACTOR
• Albert Brooks – Drive
• Shahab Hosseini – A Separation
• Michael Lonsdale – Of Gods and Men
• Brad Pitt – The Tree of Life
• Christopher Plummer – Beginners

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
• Jessica Chastain – Take Shelter
• Jessica Chastain – The Tree of Life
• Leila Hatami – A Separation
• Carey Mulligan – Shame
• J. Smith-Cameron – Margaret

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
• Certified Copy – Abbas Kiarostami
• Margaret – Kenneth Lonergan
• Midnight in Paris – Woody Allen
• A Separation – Asghar Farhadi
• Weekend – Andrew Haigh

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
• Drive – Hossein Amini, James Sallis
• Moneyball – Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, Stan Chervin, Michael Lewis
• Mysteries of Lisbon – Carlos Saboga, Camilo Castelo Branco
• The Skin I Live In – Agustín Almodóvar, Pedro Almodóvar, Thierry Jonquet
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughan, John le Carré

CINEMATOGRAPHY
• Drive – Newton Thomas Sigel
• Melancholia – Manuel Alberto Claro
• The Mill and the Cross – Lech Majewski, Adam Sikora
• Mysteries of Lisbon – André Szankowski
• The Tree of Life – Emmanuel Lubezki

EDITING
• Drive – Matthew Newman
• Martha Marcy May Marlene – Zachary Stuart-Pontier
• Mysteries of Lisbon – Carlos Madaleno, Valeria Sarmiento
• A Separation – Hayedeh Safiyari
• The Tree of Life – Hank Corwin, Jay Rabinowitz, Daniel Rezende, Billy Weber, Mark Yoshikawa

PRODUCTION DESIGN
• Hugo – Dante Ferretti
• The Mill and the Cross – Marcel Slawinski, Katarzyna Sobanska-Strzalkowska
• Mysteries of Lisbon – Isabel Branco
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Maria Djurkovic
• The Tree of Life – Jack Fisk

ORIGINAL SCORE
• Drive – Cliff Martinez
• Hanna – Tom Rowlands, Ed Simons (as The Chemical Brothers)
• Mysteries of Lisbon – Jorge Arriagada
• The Skin I Live In – Alberto Iglesias
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Alberto Iglesias

ENSEMBLE
• Bridesmaids
• Margaret
• Midnight in Paris
• Mysteries of Lisbon
• A Separation
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

ANIMATED FILM
• The Adventures of Tintin
• Rango
• Winnie the Pooh

DOCUMENTARY
• The Arbor
• The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu
• Nostalgia for the Light
• Pina
• Senna

BEST PICTURE NOT RELEASED IN 2011
• Alps
• Century of Birthing
• Declaration of War
• The Deep Blue Sea
• Elena
• Faust
• The Kid with a Bike
• Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
• This Is Not a Film
• The Turin Horse

PGA Winners

I don't follow TV as I do cinema, so here are the winners of the PGA Film awards:

Best Picture: The Artist
Best Animated: The Adventures of Tintin

Iowa Critics ♥ The Descendants.

So as a native iowan, I thought I'd share this news. One of the best films of the year, The Descendants, won Best Picture from them, beating The Artist. Other winners include directer Alexander Payne, besting Hazanvicus and Malick. Complete winners below:

Best Picture: The Descendants
Best Director: Alexander Payne (The Descendants)
Best Actor: Brad Pitt (Moneyball)
Best Actress: Viola Davis (The Help)
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids)
Best Animated Film: Rango
Best Film Yet to Open in Iowa: We Need to Talk About Kevin AND Project Nim

Georgia Critics love Trees and Brad Pitt.

So, for the first time in a long time, a critic group gave The Tree of Life a sweep. The winners below.

Best Picture: “The Tree of Life”

Best Director: Terrence Malick, “The Tree of Life”

Best Actress: Juliette Binoche, “Certified Copy”

Best Actor: Brad Pitt, “Moneyball”

Best Supporting Actress: Jessica Chastain, “The Tree of Life”

Best Supporting Actor: Brad Pitt, “The Tree of Life”

Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”

Best Adapted Screenplay: Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, “Moneyball”

Best Foreign Language Film: “Certified Copy”

Best Animated Film: “The Adventures of Tintin”

Best Documentary: “Senna”

Best Ensemble: “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”

Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, “The Tree of Life”

Best Art Direction: Jack Fisk, “The Tree of Life”

Best Original Score: John Williams, “War Horse”

Best Original Song: Bret McKenzie, “Man or Muppet,” “The Muppets”

Breakthrough Award: Jessica Chastain

Excellence in Georgia Cinema: “Sahkanaga”

9 films duke it out for the Foreign Language film nomination.

The following 9 will contend for the 5 nominations. Surprised that Where Do We Go Now? didn't make the cut, but I am still waiting for A Separation to come to our quiet Cedar Rapids. Following films will contend:

Belgium: Bullhead
Canada: Monsieur Lazhar
Denmark: Superclásico
Germany: Pina
Iran: A Separation
Israel: Footnote
Morocco: Omar Killed Me
Poland: In Darkness
Taiwan: Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale

Golden Globe Winners!

This is insanely old news, but thought I should post this. I had some predictions posted on my Facebook, which you could see here. Anyways, out of my predictions, I missed one, thinking that Golden Globes would reward Brangelina one way or another, and giving it to In the Land of Blood and Honey seemed like a long-shot. Winners below:

Motion Picture, Drama
The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
War Horse

Best Performance By An Actor In A Motion Picture – Drama
George Clooney, The Descendants 
Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar
Michael Fassbender, Shame
Ryan Gosling, The Ides of March
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Best Motion Picture – Comedy Or Musical
The Artist 
50/50
Bridesmaids
Midnight in Paris 
My Week With Marilyn

Best Performance By An Actress In A Motion Picture  – Drama
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Tilda Swinton, We Need To Talk About Kevin

Best Performance By An Actor In A Motion Picture – Comedy Or Musical
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Brendan Gleeson, The Guard
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 50/50
Ryan Gosling, Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Owen Wilson, Midnight in Paris

STORY: The Golden Globes Winners' Reactions

Best Director – Motion Picture
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris 
George Clooney, The Ides of March 
Michel Hazanvicius, The Artist 
Alexander Payne, The Descendants

Best Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role In A Motion Picture
Octavia Spencer, The Help 
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants 

STORY: Golden Globe Awards Nominations: The Nominee's Reactions 

Best Foreign Language Film
A Separation (Iran) 
The Flowers of War (China)
In the Land of Blood and Honey (USA)
The Kid With A Bike (Belgium)
The Skin I Live In (Spain) 

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris 
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon, The Ides of March
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist 
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, The Descendants
Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, Moneyball

Best Animated Feature Film
The Adventures of Tintin
Arthur Christmas 
Cars 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

Best Performance By An Actress in A Motion Picture – Comedy Or Musical
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn 
Jodie Foster, Carnage
Charlize Theron, Young Adult 
Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids
Kate Winslet, Carnage

STORY: 'The Artist' Tops Golden Globe Nominations 

Best Original Song – Motion Picture
“Masterpiece” — W.E.
Music & Lyrics by: Madonna, Julie Frost, Jimmy Harry
“Hello Hello” — Gnomeo & Juliet 
Music by: Elton John
Lyrics by: Bernie Taupin
“The Keeper” — Machine Gun Preacher 
Music & Lyrics by: Chris Cornell
"Lay Your Head Down” — Albert Nobbs
Music by: Brian Byrne
Lyrics by: Glenn Close
“The Living Proof” — The Help
Music by: Mary J. Blige, Thomas Newman, Harvey Mason Jr.
Lyrics by: Mary J. Blige, Harvey Mason Jr., Damon Thomas

Best Original Score – Motion Picture
Ludovic Bource, The Artist 
Abel Korzeniowski, W.E.
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Howard Shore, Hugo
John Williams, War Horse

Best Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role In A Motion Picture 
Christopher Plummer, Beginners 
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Albert Brooks, Drive
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Viggo Mortensen, A Dangerous Method

BAFTA Nominations

BEST FILM
THE ARTIST – Thomas Langmann
THE DESCENDANTS – Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
DRIVE – Marc Platt, Adam Siegel
THE HELP – Brunson Green, Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Robyn Slovo

DIRECTOR
THE ARTIST – Michel Hazanavicius
DRIVE Nicolas – Winding Refn
HUGO – Martin Scorsese
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – Tomas Alfredson
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN – Lynne Ramsay

LEADING ACTOR
BRAD PITT – Moneyball
GARY OLDMAN – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
GEORGE CLOONEY – The Descendants
JEAN DUJARDIN – The Artist
MICHAEL FASSBENDER – Shame

LEADING ACTRESS
BÉRÉNICE BEJO The Artist – Film
MERYL STREEP – The Iron Lady
MICHELLE WILLIAMS – My Week with Marilyn
TILDA SWINTON – We Need to Talk About Kevin
VIOLA DAVIS – The Help

SUPPORTING ACTOR
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER – Beginners
JIM BROADBENT – The Iron Lady
JONAH HILL – Moneyball
KENNETH BRANAGH – My Week with Marilyn
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN – The Ides of March

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
CAREY MULLIGAN – Drive
JESSICA CHASTAIN – The Help
JUDI DENCH – My Week with Marilyn
MELISSA MCCARTHY – Bridesmaids
OCTAVIA SPENCER – The Help

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN – Simon Curtis, David Parfitt, Harvey Weinstein, Adrian Hodges
SENNA – Asif Kapadia, James Gay-Rees, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Manish Pandey
SHAME – Steve McQueen, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Abi Morgan
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – _Tomas Alfredson, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Robyn Slovo, Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughan
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN – Lynne Ramsay, Luc Roeg, Jennifer Fox, Robert Salerno, Rory Stewart Kinnear
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
ATTACK THE BLOCK – Joe Cornish (Director/Writer)
BLACK POND – Will Sharpe (Director/Writer), Tom Kingsley (Director), Sarah Brocklehurst (Producer)
CORIOLANUS – Ralph Fiennes (Director)
SUBMARINE – Richard Ayoade (Director/Writer)
TYRANNOSAUR – Paddy Considine (Director), Diarmid Scrimshaw (Producer)

DOCUMENTARY
GEORGE HARRISON: LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD – Martin Scorsese
PROJECT NIM – James Marsh, Simon Chinn
SENNA – Asif Kapadia

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
THE ARTIST – Michel Hazanavicius
BRIDESMAIDS – Annie Mumolo, Kristen Wiig
THE GUARD – John Michael McDonagh
THE IRON LADY – Abi Morgan
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS – Woody Allen
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

THE DESCENDANTS – Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
THE HELP – Tate Taylor
THE IDES OF MARCH – George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon
MONEYBALL – Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughan

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
INCENDIES – Denis Villeneuve, Luc Déry, Kim McGraw
PINA – Wim Wenders, Gian-Piero Ringel
POTICHE – François Ozon, Eric Altmayer, Nicolas Altmayer
A SEPARATION – Asghar Farhadi
THE SKIN I LIVE IN – Pedro Almodóvar, Agustin Almodóvar

ANIMATED FILM
HE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN – Steven Spielberg
ARTHUR CHRISTMAS – Sarah Smith
RANGO – Gore Verbinski

ORIGINAL MUSIC
THE ARTIST – Ludovic Bource
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
HUGO Howard – Shore
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – Alberto Iglesias
WAR HORSE – John Williams
CINEMATOGRAPHY
THE ARTIST – Guillaume Schiffman
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO – Jeff Cronenweth
HUGO – Robert Richardson
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – Hoyte van Hoytema
WAR HORSE – Janusz Kiminski

EDITING
THE ARTIST – Anne-Sophie Bion, Michel Hazanavicius
DRIVE – Mat Newman
HUGO – Thelma Schoonmaker
SENNA – Gregers Sall, Chris King
TINKER TAILOR SOLIDER – SPY Dino Janster
PRODUCTION DESIGN
THE ARTIST – Laurence Bennett, Robert Gould
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 – Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan
HUGO – Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Maria Djurkovic, Tatiana MacDonald
WAR HORSE – Rick Carter, Lee Sandales
COSTUME DESIGN
THE ARTIST – Mark Bridges
HUGO – Sandy Powell
JANE EYRE – Michael O’Connor
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN – Jill Taylor
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – Jacqueline Durran

SOUND
THE ARTIST – Nadine Muse, Gérard Lamps, Michael Krikorian
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 – James Mather, Stuart Wilson, Stuart Hilliker, Mike Dowson, Adam Scrivener
HUGO – Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty, Tom Fleischman, John Midgley
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – John Casali, Howard Bargroff, Doug Cooper, Stephen Griffiths, Andy Shelley
WAR HORSE – Stuart Wilson, Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson, Richard Hymns
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN – Joe Letteri
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 – Tim Burke, John Richardson, Greg Butler, David Vickery
HUGO – Rob Legato, Ben Grossman, Joss Williams
RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES – Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White
WAR HORSE – Ben Morris, Neil Corbould
MAKE UP & HAIR
THE ARTIST – Julie Hewett, Cydney Cornell
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 – Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin
HUGO Morag – Ross, Jan Archibald
THE IRON LADY – Marese Langan
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN – Jenny Shircore

SHORT ANIMATION
ABUELAS – Afarin Eghbal, Kasia Malipan, Francesca Gardiner
BOBBY YEAH – Robert Morgan
A MORNING STROLL – Grant Orchard, Sue Goffe

SHORT FILM
CHALK – Martina Amati, Gavin Emerson, James Bolton, Ilaria Bernardini
MWANSA THE GREAT – Rungano Nyoni, Gabriel Gauchet
ONLY SOUND REMAINS – Arash Ashtiani, Anshu Poddar
PITCH BLACK HEIST – John Maclean, Gerardine O’Flynn
TWO AND TWO – Babak Anvari, Kit Fraser, Gavin Cullen

ORANGE WEDNESDAYS RISING STAR AWARD
ADAM DEACON
CHRIS HEMSWORTH
TOM HIDDLESTON
CHRIS O’DOWD
EDDIE REDMAYNE

Roger Ebert writes about the Oscars.

So Roger Ebert is unanimously the greatest film critic of all time. That's my opinion too, with the late Gene Siskel in a close second place. Anyway, Roger has written an article about whole enchilada, his opinion on what will be nominated and what won't be. What's funny is that he left off War Horse, and instead put Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Funny, that man is, but War Horse is losing some big momentum, and is sinking faster than a... well.... I can't think of a metaphor right this minute. You can read the article here:

BFCA Winners!

As follows:

Best Picture: The Artist
Best Actress: Viola Davis, The Help
Best Actor: George Clooney, The Descendants
Best Director: Michel Hazanavicus, The Artist
Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, Steve Zaillian, Moneyball
Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation
Best Ensemble: The Help
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spenser, The Help
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Best Cinematography (tie): Janusz Kaminski, War Horse 
                                            Emmanuel Lubezki, The Tree of Life
Best Song: The Muppets, Life’s a Happy Song
Best Action Movie: Drive
Best Comedy: Bridesmaids
Best Animated Feature: Rango

First Trailer for Moonrise Kindom

I'm not the biggest fan of Wes Anderson. He's a likable guy, but I have yet to see Rushmore and The Royal Tenebaums. Doesn't look bad though.

American Society of Cinematographers Nominees

The following is nominated for the American Society of Cinematographers. No War Horse? Good.

Guillaume Schiffman, AFC (The Artist)
Jeff Cronenweth, ASC (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
Robert Richardson, ASC (Hugo)
Hoyte van Hoytema, FSF, NSC (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC (The Tree of Life)

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Intro

Found a video with arguably the most badass song ever: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' Immigrant Song. The intro to the film below:

BREAKING NEWS: Goodfellas is now an AMC show!

EXCLUSIVE: AMC’s 1960s mad men may be soon joined by some goodfellas from the same era. The cable network, home of such acclaimed series as Mad Men and Breaking Bad, has put in development a series version of one of the most praised movies of all time, the 1990 Martin Scorsese mob classic Goodfellas. Nicholas Pileggi, who wrote the movie based on his non-fiction book Wiseguy, is on board to co-write the TV series adaptation with TV writer-producer Jorge Zamacona (Homicide: Life On The Street). The two will executive produce with the film’s producer Irwin Winkler and his son David. Warner Horizon Television, the cable TV production sibling of Warner Bros, which distributed Scorsese’s film, is producing the series.

North Texas Film Critics Winners!

Spielberg suck-ups below:

BEST PICTURE
War Horse

BEST DIRECTOR
Martin Scorsese / Hugo

BEST ACTOR
George Clooney / The Descendants

BEST ACTRESS
Viola Davis / The Help

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christopher Plummer / Beginners

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Octavia Spencer / The Help

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Janusz Kainski / War Horse

BEST ANIMATED
The Adventures of Tin Tin

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Being Elmo

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
A Separation (Persian: جدایی نادر از سیمین,Jodái-e Náder az Simin)

War film analysis

I have yet to see War Horse, and as I type, I'm watch The Thin Red Line on my laptop. First off, there's no battle scene in this film that can challenge the opening in Saving Private Ryan, a film that came out the same year, and they both competed for Oscar hot-seat. However, The Thin Red Line is much more human than Spileberg's epic, and Malick's film, when it meanders, does it well.

Jennifer Lawrence will accompany Tom Sherak in Oscar Nominations

From the press release:

Beverly Hills, CA – Nominations for the 84th Academy Awards® will be announced on Tuesday, January 24, by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak and Academy member and Oscar-nominated actress Jennifer Lawrence.

Sherak and Lawrence will unveil the nominations in 10 of the 24 categories at a 5:30 a.m. PT news conference at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, where hundreds of media representatives from around the world will be gathered. Nominations information for all categories will be distributed simultaneously to news media in attendance and via the Internet on the official Academy Awards website, www.oscar.com.

Last year, for the 83rd Academy Awards, Lawrence received a nomination for her lead performance in “Winter’s Bone.” She will be seen next in “The Hunger Games” and recently completed work on “The Silver Linings Playbook.” Lawrence’s other film credits include “The Burning Plain,” “Like Crazy,” “The Beaver” and “X-Men: First Class.”

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

7 Best Makeup Contenders

In my opinion, this is one of the most pointless categories. Not surprised to see that J. Edgar didn't make the cut. Hugo did, and I think the Academy is giving some much deserved love to Martin Scorsese.

7 Shortlisted films below:
Albert Nobbs
Anonymous
The Artist
Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt. 2
Hugo
The Iron Lady


The Academy will view 10 minute excerpts showing off the makeup talent in the following films, but showing black and white lipstick for The Artist, I imagine, would be tough.

DGA Nominees

No Terrence Malick. Poop. Surprised not to see any Spielberg, I swore him and Malick would be locks. Nominees below.

Woody Allen "Midnight in Paris"
David Fincher "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Michel Hazanavicus "The Artist"
Alexander Payne "The Descendants"
Martin Scorsese "Hugo"

NSFC Winners!

BEST PICTURE
*1. Melancholia – 29 (Lars von Trier)
2. The Tree of Life – 28 (Terrence Malick)
3. A Separation – 20 (Asghar Farhardi)

BEST DIRECTOR
*1. Terrence Malick – 31 (The Tree of Life)
2. Martin Scorsese – 29 (Hugo)
3. Lars von Trier – 23 (Melancholia)

BEST ACTOR
*1. Brad Pitt – 35 (Moneyball, The Tree of Life)
2. Gary Oldman – 22 (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
3. Jean Dujardin – 19 (The Artist)

BEST ACTRESS
*1. Kirsten Dunst – 39 (Melancholia)
2. Yun Jung-hee – 25 (Poetry)
3. Meryl Streep – 20 (The Iron Lady)

National Society of Film Critics: How much is it worth?

With the NSFC announcing in a few hours, there's only a few things on my mind: playing well at my orchestra function, and The Tree of Life.

You see, if the film wins big here and at the DGA's, it would make the film a lock. NSFC has been giving love to Malick however, giving him Best Director in 1978, and choosing him as a runner-up in 1998.

In 2005, in fact, the NSFC was the only reason Bennet Miller's masterful Capote made the cut in the BP lineup. In fact, come January 20-something, most predicted Walk the Line as the 5th nominee. I'm happy the situation played out like so.

DGA's: The turning point come Oscars.

What do I mean? This has been on my mind for the longest time. Recently, Sasha Stone of AwardsDaily said that Tate Taylor of  The Help will make the cut come Monday. I'm scared.

So today I saw Bridesmaids. I liked it, but to rank it above The Tree of Life at the PGA's? Were the voters high or something? If Terrence Malick makes the cut for Best Director, he will not only save his biographical masterpiece from not making the cut, it will damage Bridesmaids, too. Unless, Bridesmaids take a stake at the #8 spot belonging to Moneyball.

The thing is, if Tate Taylor makes it as Best Director, that would be bad. I mean, The Help was terrific and all, but does Tate deserve it? He could at least make a few more films before we could make a final judgement.

Really, I don't hate Bridesmaids. It can go take a Best Original Screenplay nom for all I care. If director Paul Feig makes it in, though, for Bridesmaids is a Best Picture LOCK!

Why Jessica Chastain could be the most awesome celebrity working today.

Jessica Chastain is probably the breakout star of 2011. But, did you know how cool she is? Here are some reasons why:

1. She works with awesome people. To my knowledge, Chassy is the only person who's made a movie with Al Pacino, Terrence Malick, AND Brad Pitt. Pretty cool.

2. She can tackle a variety of roles.
She announced yesterday that she will do Broadway. She did comedy in The Help. Drama in The Tree of Life, and action in The Debt.

3. She socializes with fans.
Lots of celebrities have Facebook pages, and Chastain is no exception. But, Jessica actually talks to her fans on other wall posts and comments.

Those are just a few reasons why Jessica Chastain just might be the most awesome celebrity.

84th Oscars: Visual Effects Shortlist

The following films will contend for a Best Visual Effects nom.

“Captain America: The First Avenger”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″
“Hugo”
“Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”
“Real Steel”
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
“The Tree of Life”
“X-Men: First Class”

84th Oscars: Best Actor

People consider Best Actress a tight race. That's true, as always, but Best Actor has tightened up since last year. I would've put Wahlberg in The Fighter over Bardem's little-seen Biutiful, but that's me.

This year there are 3 locks: George Clooney, Jean Dujardin, and Brad Pitt. All of the movies they are representing are all predicted to get a BP nomination, compared to one strong contender: Leonardo DiCaprio in J. Edgar. You can ask any critic, and I have yet to see a ★★★★ review. Gary Oldman was one of my top 5 in Nov., but he is having the strongest of collapses. No SAG, no Golden Globes, hardly any critics award noms, and no wins to my knowledge.

PGA Nominees Announced!

FOR BEST PRODUCTION:

THE ARTIST
Producer: Thomas Langmann

BRIDESMAIDS
Producers: Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, Clayton Townsend

THE DESCENDANTS
Producers: Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
Producers: Ceán Chaffin, Scott Rudin

THE HELP
Producers: Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, Brunson Green

HUGO
Producers: Graham King, Martin Scorsese

THE IDES OF MARCH
Producers: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Brian Oliver

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum

MONEYBALL
Producers: Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz, Brad Pitt

WAR HORSE
Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg

Online Film Critics Society Winners

Winners for the Online Film Critics Society have been posted. Already leading in the number of nominations, The Tree of Life five awards, and was the only film to get more than one award. The winners posted below.

Best Picture:
The Tree of Life

Best Animated Feature:
Rango

Best Director:
Terrence Malick – The Tree of Life