Tuesday, November 30, 2010

INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS NOMINATIONS





 WINTER'S BONE received 7 nominations, THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT received 5. 4 nominations for GREENBERG, RABBIT HOLE &  BLACK SWAN. The awards show will be Saturday February 26th at 10pm EST on IFC. Joel McHale is the host.

***After winning 3 Gotham Independent Awards last week including Best Feature, it is well on its way to a Best Picture nomination.


BEST FEATURE
  • 127 HOURS
  • BLACK SWAN
  • GREENBERG
  • THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
  • WINTER’S BONE
BEST DIRECTOR
  • DARREN ARONOFSKY – Black Swan
  • DANNY BOYLE – 127 Hours
  • LISA CHOLODENKO – The Kids Are All Right
  • DEBRA GRANIK – Winter’s Bone
  • JOHN CAMERON MITCHELL – Rabbit Hole

BEST SCREENPLAY
  • STUART BLUMBERG & LISA CHOLODENKO – The Kids Are All Right
  • DEBRA GRANIK & ANNE ROSELLINI – Winter’s Bone
  • NICOLE HOLOFCENER – Please Give
  • DAVID LINDSAY-ABAIRE – Rabbit Hole
  • TODD SOLONDZ – Life During Wartime
BEST FIRST FEATURE
(Award given to the director and producer)
  • EVERYTHING STRANGE AND NEW
  • GET LOW
  • NIGHT CATCHES US
  • THE LAST EXORCISM
  • TINY FURNITURE
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
  • DIANE BELL – Obselidia
  • LENA DUNHAM – Tiny Furniture
  • NIK FACKLER – Lovely, Still
  • BOB GLAUDINI – Jack Goes Boating
  • DANA ADAM SHAPIRO & EVAN M. WIENER – Monogamy
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
  • DADDY LONGLEGS
  • LOVERS OF HATE
  • OBSELIDIA
  • THE EXPLODING GIRL
BEST FEMALE LEAD
  • ANNETTE BENING – The Kids Are All Right
  • GRETA GERWIG – Greenberg
  • NICOLE KIDMAN – Rabbit Hole
  • JENNIFER LAWRENCE – Winter’s Bone
  • NATALIE PORTMAN – Black Swan
  • MICHELLE WILLIAMS – Blue Valentine
BEST MALE LEAD
  • RONALD BRONSTEIN – Daddy Longlegs
  • AARON ECKHART – Rabbit Hole
  • JAMES FRANCO – 127 Hours
  • JOHN C. REILLY – Cyrus
  • BEN STILLER – Greenberg
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
  • ASHLEY BELL – The Last Exorcism
  • DALE DICKEY – Winter’s Bone
  • ALLISON JANNEY – Life During Wartime
  • DAPHNE RUBIN-VEGA – Jack Goes Boating
  • NAOMI WATTS – Mother and Child
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
  • JOHN HAWKES – Winter’s Bone
  • SAMUEL L. JACKSON – Mother and Child
  • BILL MURRAY – Get Low
  • JOHN ORTIZ – Jack Goes Boating
  • MARK RUFFALO – The Kids Are All Right
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
  • ADAM KIMMEL – Never Let Me Go
  • MATTHEW LIBATIQUE – Black Swan
  • JODY LEE LIPES – Tiny Furniture
  • MICHAEL McDONOUGH – Winter’s Bone
  • HARRIS SAVIDES – Greenberg
BEST DOCUMENTARY
(Award given to the director)
  • EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP
  • MARWENCOL
  • SWEETGRASS
  • RESTREPO
  • THUNDER SOUL
BEST FOREIGN FILM
(Award given to the director)
  • KISSES (Ireland)
  • MADEMOISELLE CHAMBON (France)
  • OF GODS AND MEN (Morocco)
  • THE KING’S SPEECH (United Kingdom)
  • UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES (Thailand)
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
  • PLEASE GIVE (DIRECTOR: Nicole Holofcener)

Monday, November 29, 2010

BREAKING!




Hope you had a great holiday weekend. I am back with some breaking news...This news just broke from Access Hollywood. James Franco and Anne Hathaway will be hosting the Academy Awards this year. I had heard this was a rumor, but it is looking more and more to be true.
Its hard to believe that these are the only two people that they could come up with. I will say that they both did a great job hosting Saturday Night Live, but the Oscars? We'll see....

Thursday, November 25, 2010

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

On vacation for a few days...will be back soon with more Oscar race updates. Happy Thanksgiving!

Friday, November 19, 2010

OPENING TODAY




HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART ONE- Apparently if you are a Harry Potter fan then this is a great set up to Part which comes out in the summer. This film starts in the middle so if you have not seen the previous Potter films don't see this one first. It will be a huge Box Office hot this weekend and if course will be the number one movie. In the end it may be nominated for some technical awards.

THE NEXT THREE DAYS-Looks like a great movie with Russell Crowe breaking his wife played by Elizabeth Banks out of prison. But the reviews haven't been great (Rotten Tomatoes 43%, BFCA 77% , Metacritic 51%). Don't look for it on an Oscar list.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

GREEN LANTERN TRAILER





I know it is early to talk about next next years awards season, but the trailer for THE GREEN LANTERN has been a huge internet hit. I am not really a fan of super hero movies, but this looks pretty good. Check it out below:



GREEN LANTERN TRAILER

DISNEY WANTS IT BAD



Disney is pushing hard for TOY STORY 3 as a Best Picture this year.  An animated film has never won Best Picture. Disney is hoping to change that with a pretty cool ad campaign Walt Disney Studio Chairman Rich Ross says:

"We’re going for the Best Picture win. We wanted to have the best movie and the reviews have clearly said that and it’s the number one box office hit of the year so I’m not sure why we would not go for it all."

As part of the campaign they are going to have ads where characters from TOY STORY re-enact famous images from previous Oscar winners, like;  WEST SIDE STORY, ON THE WATERFRONT, SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, TITANIC and FORREST GUMP .
Ross also says:


""As far as 'Up' last year it’s not surprising but I think the strategy is you go for Best Picture and as a fallback you end up as Best Animated Feature. And I guess I always thought that was not confident. With this movie we wanted to come up with a campaign that kept our aspirations clear but at the same time used a tongue in cheek approach. It's all to recognize the quandary which is that no animated picture had won Best Picture, so we used only Best Picture images to reflect that. I feel very confident we have a movie everybody loves and I want to make sure with our support and our campaign that people don’t feel the consolation prize is the appropriate prize for a movie like Toy Story 3. I think people will look at the ads and feel it's very Pixar and very Disney. At the same time it’s very clear. Toy Story 3 is a Best Picture. Vote for it. Please.”
We continue to fully support your efforts, Disney! It'd be very cool to see history made at this year's Oscars with Toy Story 3 being the first animated feature to win Best Picture.


Good luck to Disney, but I don't see TOY STORY 3 winning Best Picture....


 

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE SUBMISSIONS


The Academy bylaws state that there needs to be sixteen qualifying submissions to qualify for five Best Animated Feature nominations. Unfortunately there were only fifteen submissions so that means only three nominees are possible. The fifteen submissions are:


-ALPHA AND OMEGA
-CATS & DOGS: THE REVENGE OF KITTY GALORE
-DESPICABLE ME
-THE DREAMS OF JINSHA
-HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
-IDIOTS AND ANGELS
-THE ILLUSIONIST
-LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS
-MEGAMIND
-MY DOG TULIP
-SHREK FOREVER AFTER
-SUMMER WARS
-TANGLED
-TINKER BELL AND THE GREAT FAIRY RESCUE
-TOY STORY 3

I predict that the three nominees will be:
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
TOY STORY 3
DESPICABLE ME

The award will go to TOY STORY 3

Monday, November 15, 2010

BOX OFFICE RESULTS



Here are the Box Office results from this weekend. There aren't really any films in the top ten that have any Oscar potential. UNSTOPPABLE could be nominated for some technical awards, but I wouldn't even bet on that.

1. "Megamind," $30 million.
2. "Unstoppable," $23.5 million.
3. "Due Date," $15.5 million.
4. "Skyline," 11.7 million.
5. "Morning Glory," $9.6 million.
6. "For Colored Girls," $6.75 million.
7. "Red," $5.1 million.
8. "Paranormal Activity 2," $3 million.
9. "Saw 3-D," $2.75 million.
10. "Jackass 3-D," $2.3 million

Friday, November 12, 2010

OPENING TODAY



No Oscar contenders being widely released this weekend...

MORNING GLORY-Harrison Ford in film about a morning news show returning to work after retirement. Reviews haven't been that great (Rotten Tomatoes 54%).

SKYLINE-All special effects and not a great story. The trailer is better than the movie.

UNSTOPPABLE-Highest rated movie coming out this weekend, but wont be in the Oscar race.



MEGAMIND will most likely be the number one movie again this week.

IT IS STILL EARLY



Thanks to the Oscar bloggers the race seems to have ended. Many bloggers say that the Best Picture winner will be between THE SOCIAL NETWORK and THE KINGS SPEECH. Remember there are still 7 weeks left in the year with many films yet to be released. THE FIGHTER is gaining strength since being screened by more critics. Mark Wahlberg is a strong contender for a Best Actor nomination, Christian Bale as Best Supporting Actor, Amy Adams and Melissa Leo as Best Supporting Actresses. BLACK SWAN still hasn't been released and seen by many critics. TRUE GRIT also has a lot of potential once it opens. We cant forget about THE RABBIT HOLE, HARRY POTTER and LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS either. I am sticking my top ten list for Best Picture now, but it is still early.

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEADLY HALLOWS PART 1: November 19th
LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS-November 24th
BLACK SWAN-December 3rd
THE FIGHTER-December 10th
TRUE GRIT-December 22nd
THE RABBIT HOLE-TBA

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT REVIEW

    



The Kids are All Right is about two children who are conceived by artificial insemination and bring their birth father into their family life. It is a small quiet movie that really showcases a great ensemble of actors. Annette Bening and Julianne Moore play a gay couple raising two teenage kids. Films like this tend to play slow, but The Kids are All Right is not one of them. It plays at just the right pace to keep it interesting and with a few laughs.
     The big argument concerning this film is who should be nominated for best Actress. Should both Bening and Moore compete in the same category based on how much they are in the film? Some say Julianne Moore should concede to a Best Supporting Actress so that Annette Bening can go all the way to win Best Actress. Both are great in their roles and both deserve a nomination, but Bening will be tough to beat. My prediction is Best Actress nomination for both of them with Bening being the winner. Definitely check out The Kids Are All Right. It will be released on DVD on November 16th.

MY GRADE: A

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

NO HUGH!



Last year at this time we knew Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin were hosting the Academy Awards. So far this year Hugh Jackman was asked to host again and declined. He hosted in 2009 and people generally thought he did a good job. I will let you know when this years host is announced....

Sunday, November 7, 2010

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE RESULTS

 
 
   
 
No surprises this weekend. Most Oscar contenders still haven't had wide releases yet. THE SOCIAL NETWORK is the only Oscar movie still in the top ten...
 
1. "Megamind," $47.7 million.
2. "Due Date," $33.5 million.
3. "For Colored Girls," $20.1 million.
4. "Red," $8.9 million.
5. "Saw 3D," $8.2 million.
6. "Paranormal Activity 2," $7.3 million.
7. "Jackass 3D," $5.1 million.
8. "Hereafter," $4.02 million.
9. "Secretariat," $4 million.
10. "The Social Network," $3.6 million.

OPENING THIS WEEKEND



No real Oscar potential for any movies opening in wide release this weekend:


-DUE DATE-Not great reviews. No Oscar potential.

-MEGAMINDS-It will do well at the Box Office, but nothing to write home about.
-FOR COLORED GIRLS-This Tyler Perry movie did have some Oscar buzz in August. Rumor had that they were pushing for some nominations, but the film has had horrible reviews. You can count it out altogether.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE



Here is a list of possible Best Animated Feature. There is no doubt that TOY STORY 3 will be the winner in this category. Some are saying it will be nominated in the Best Picture category and win. I doubt that it will win Best Picture, but with 10 films in the nomination category it could show up on the list.

-TOY STORY 3
-HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
-DESPICABLE ME
-SHREK FOREVER AFTER
-THE ILLUSIONIST

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM AWARDS


Here is a list is a few categories for the British Independent Film Awards. It starts to give a good indication of films that have legs to make it to an Oscar nomination. The big surprise is all of the nominations for
KICK-ASS. The winners will be announced December 5th.


BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM
Four Lions
Kick-Ass
The King's Speech
Monsters
Never Let Me Go


BEST DIRECTOR
Mike Leigh – Another Year
Matthew Vaughn – Kick-Ass
Tom Hooper – The King's Speech
Gareth Edwards – Monsters
Mark Romanek – Never Let Me Go

BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR
Debs Gardner Paterson – Africa United
Clio Barnard – The Arbor
Rowan Joffe – Brighton Rock
Chris Morris – Four Lions
Gareth Edwards – Monsters

BEST SCREENPLAY
Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain, Simon Blackwell, Christopher Morris – Four Lions
Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn – Kick-Ass
David Seidler – The King's Speech
William Ivory – Made In Dagenham
Alex Garland – Never Let Me Go

BEST ACTRESS
Manjinder Virk – The Arbor
Ruth Sheen – Another Year
Andrea Riseborough – Brighton Rock
Sally Hawkins – Made In Dagenham
Carey Mulligan – Never Let Me Go

BEST ACTOR
Jim Broadbent – Another Year
Riz Ahmed – Four Lions
Colin Firth – The King's Speech
Scoot McNairy – Monsters
Aidan Gillen – Treacle Junior


Here is this weekends top ten Box Office results. No Surprise that the horror films were in the top two spots on Halloween weekend. The films in bold are possible Oscar contenders.

1. Saw 3D
2. Paranormal Activity 2
3. Red
4. Jackass 3D
5. Hereafter
6. Secretariat
7. The Social Network
8. Life as We Know It
9. The Town
10. Conviction