Oscar Talk: Ep. 75 — Critics' picks so far, 'War Horse' box office, PGA/WGA preview, boiling down Best Actress and more

Posted by · 8:00 am · December 31st, 2011

In this week’s Oscar Talk, Kris and Anne discuss the critics’ awards and lists so far, preview the upcoming PGA and WGA announcements and examine the Best Actress race one more time, among many other things.

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84th Oscars poster could have been better

Posted by · 8:36 am · December 30th, 2011

The Academy’s recently-released poster for the 84th annual Academy Awards seems like it could have used a little more thought. But I doubt anyone much cares. Nevertheless…

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Taking questions for 12/30 Oscar Talk

Posted by · 12:46 pm · December 28th, 2011

Offer up your burning queries.

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Sound mixer Greg P. Russell talks creating 'dynamic range' on 'Transformers'

Posted by · 10:27 am · December 28th, 2011

Greg P. Russell has amassed 14 Oscar nominations throughout his career (including two in 1998), but the statue has eluded him. As part of a “Contenders” series, he recently participated in an interview with Below the Line, a trade paper that’s been doing great work spotlighting craft talent for years.

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Austin film critics like 'Hugo,' Refn and Shannon

Posted by · 9:13 am · December 28th, 2011

The Austin Film Critics Association is the latest group to speak up on the year’s best, tapping “Hugo” as the best picture of the year. The film didn’t show up anywhere else on the unique slate of superlatives, though, which included two acting wins for “Take Shelter.”

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The 'Drive' that binds

Posted by · 8:33 am · December 28th, 2011

As the year draws to a close, we find ourselves in the midst of the season’s superlative train. Most of the critics have had their say, and one film that has done incredibly well on the circuit is Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Drive.” It’s also the only film shared by four top 10 lists here at HitFix. Why, I wonder? What is it about this film that manages to bridge gaps like that?

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'The Artist' triumphs with Phoenix critics

Posted by · 8:22 pm · December 27th, 2011

After recently releasing a slate of nominees, the Phoenix Film Critics Society has named “The Artist” the best picture of the year, but I have to say, I was stopped dead in my tracks by this line of boast at the organization’s official site…

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The Lists: Top 10 Steven Spielberg films

Posted by · 10:58 am · December 27th, 2011

For the fifth time in his career, director Steven Spielberg has offered up a drama (“War Horse”) and an entertainment (“The Adventures of Tintin”) in the same year. But for the first time ever, he has two films in theaters at the same time. So it seems now is as good a time as any to run through a list of the “best” films of the famed director’s career.

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Off the Carpet: Waiting on the guilds as 'War Horse' hits the box office running

Posted by · 1:33 pm · December 26th, 2011

The sleigh bells have been silenced, the decorations are ready to be stored another year and the online Christmas spirit is giving way once again to the power of snark. And as we enter the lull between holidays, I glance at the box office and see good news for Disney…

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'Tree of Life' leads with 7 nods from Online Film Critics Society

Posted by · 9:59 am · December 26th, 2011

Today, the Online Film Critics Society has declared nominations (or maybe I missed them pre-Christmas, I don’t know). And I guess it’s only fitting that, given the group, it’s the slate most in-line with my own views of the film year so far.

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Round-up: Score one for #teammargaret

Posted by · 9:10 am · December 26th, 2011

In today’s round-up, #teammargaret seems to have scored a victory as screeners of Kenneth Lonergan’s film have reportedly been sent to Academy members, Steven Zaillian talks changing the story and ending of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and Baz Luhrmann got a boo-boo on the set of “The Great Gatsby.”

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Tell us what you thought of 'War Horse'

Posted by · 4:55 am · December 25th, 2011

The film hits theaters today.

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Oklahoma critics march in step, spring for 'The Artist,' Clooney and Williams

Posted by · 3:11 pm · December 23rd, 2011

The Oklahoma Film Critics Circle has spoken up and added nothing to the precursor conversation, going with a slate of typical winners. Most annoying, they totally got their “Obviously Worst Film” and “Not-So-Obviously-Worst-Film” awards mixed, but whatever.

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No Oscar Talk this week

Posted by · 11:17 am · December 23rd, 2011

Happy Holidays.

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'Drive,' 'A Better Life' and 'Attack the Block' among scores not eligible for Oscar this year

Posted by · 5:03 pm · December 22nd, 2011

The Academy has announced a list of 97 film scores eligible for consideration in the Best Original Score category this year. Typically, it’s this announcement that brings the bad news of this or that score either not being submitted or being ruled ineligible for whatever reason.

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Joe Letteri and Andy Serkis on the progression of performance capture in 'Apes' and 'Tintin'

Posted by · 3:27 pm · December 22nd, 2011

In 2011, New Zealand-based visual effects company Weta Digital was at it again with another banner year in the CG filmmaking landscape, perhaps the company’s biggest year to date. At the forefront were visual effects supervisor Joe Letteri, director of Weta Digital, and actor Andy Serkis, steward of the performance capture form and the face for a technology that could potentially, at some point, become a standardized tool in the filmmaker’s arsenal.

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Dublin critics like 'Drive'

Posted by · 7:59 pm · December 21st, 2011

The Dublin Film Critics Circle is the latest critics group to name year-end superlatives, and “Drive” was clearly a favorite, taking Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor. Jessica Chastain won Best Actress for her performance in “The Tree of Life.”

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Tell us what you thought of 'The Adventures of Tintin'

Posted by · 7:41 pm · December 21st, 2011

The film hits theaters today.

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