It’s common knowledge that January is a cruel month for moviegoers — assuming you can’t just jet off to Sundance for the hell of it, once you’ve caught up with the late-releasing awards titles, there’s little left to see but studio dregs like “Gangster Squad.” Ty Burr considers the problem, digging up such noble January exceptions as “Dr. Strangelove” and “The Silence of the Lambs,” and making this suggestion: “We should simply declare the first month of the year a new-release-free zone. As a preliminary step toward regaining our trust, studios would have to rerelease their most underrated entertainments from the previous year for a second chance: 2012″s sly meta-shrieker ‘The Cabin in the Woods,’ say, or the found-footage superhero movie ‘Chronicle.'” [New York Times] 

Jenelle Riley asks: Can Hugh Jackman beat Daniel Day-Lewis to the Oscar. (No, but we need something to talk about for five weeks.) [Backstage]

John Patterson loves Day-Lewis’s Abe Lincoln, but believes he’s first among equals when it comes to actors playing the beloved president. [The Guardian]

Robbie Collin is horrified by studios using fan tweets instead of critics’ quotes on film posters. [The Telegraph]

Following debatable categorizations in this year’s Oscar list, Joe Reid lists 14 supporting Oscar nominees who were actually leads. [Film.com]

Wendy Mitchell gets started on the conversation of which Sundance hits this year could be in the Oscar race in a year’s time. [Screen Daily]

For the hardcore techies among you: the Cinema Audio Society reveals its technical achievement nominees for production and post-production. [Variety]

Glenn Whipp predicts “Argo” for Best Picture, as a growing number of pundits seems to be doing. [LA Times]

A week old, this, but I missed it first time round and I love it: “Holy Motors” director Leos Carax on accepting a Best Foreign Language Film award. [The Vote]

And finally Michael Winner — director of “Death Wish” films, but a celebrity for other reasons in the UK — has passed away at the age of 77. [BBC News]

One of the few downsides of being at Sundance this year is that I missed the awards ceremony of my own critics’ group, the London Film Critics’ Circle. They’ve just been handed out at a classy gathering at London’s Mayfair Hotel, and I’m pleased to see that a good half-dozen of the nominees I voted for took home awards — not that I’m inclined to complain about any of the winners on this well-balanced list.

“Amour” was the night’s top winner, taking Best Film, Screenplay and Actress for Emmanuelle Riva, but no one film was allowed to dominate too heavily. In something of a surprise, Ang Lee took the Best Director award for “Life of Pi,” which took an additional technical achievement award for its visual effects.

“The Master” was also a double winner, taking acting awards for Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Meanwhile, runaway precursor favorite Daniel Day-Lewis got a night off, losing not only Best Actor to Phoenix, but Best British Actor to Toby Jones for “Berberian Sound Studio” — which, I’m thrilled to report, also won Best British Film. (In case you’ve forgotten, it was #4 in my top 10 of 2012.) Nice job, fellow Londoners.

Full list of winners below. You can remind yourself of the nominees at The Circuit.

Film of the Year: “Amour”

British Film of the Year: “Berberian Sound Studio”

Foreign Language Film of the Year: “Rust and Bone”

Documentary of the Year: “The Imposter”

Director of the Year: Ang Lee, “Life of Pi”

Actor of the Year: Joaquin Phoenix, “The Master”

Actress of the Year: Emmanuelle Riva, “Amour”

British Actor of the Year: Toby Jones, “Berberian Sound Studio”

British Actress of the Year: Andrea Riseborough, “Shadow Dancer”

Supporting Actor of the Year: Philip Seymour Hoffman, “The Master”

Supporting Actress of the Year: Anne Hathaway, “Les Miserables”

Screenwriter of the Year: Michael Haneke, “Amour”

Young British Performer of the Year: Tom Holland, “The Impossible”

Breakthrough British Filmmaker of the Year: Steve Oram and Alice Lowe, “Sightseers”

Technical Achievement of the Year: Bill Westenhofer (visual effects), “Life of Pi”

The story of today isn’t quite what’s happening in Park City but what’s happening at multiplexes across the country. Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain is leading the charge with the top two films at the box office, Andrés Muschietti’s “Mama” and Kathryn Bigelow’s “Zero Dark Thirty.” That ought to put to rest any idle speculation that the former, which is decently reviewed, would somehow “Norbit” her Oscar hopes.

It’s also rare for an actress, particularly one this fresh on the scene, to have such a dominant force at the box office in two separate films. That will be part of the story if Sony is smart with the handling of this Best Actress campaign. Last year’s “it girl” buzz was in no way a feint. She’s the real deal and she’s a big part of this industry going forward.

Nevertheless, the Best Actress category is intriguing right now. Jennifer Lawrence gave an excellent speech at the Golden Globes last weekend and has the power of Harvey to compel them (plus a Saturday Night Live hosting stint all lined up for tonight). Emmanuelle Riva, meanwhile, is in a real position to win if Sony Classics plays the right tune. Naomi Watts and Quvenzhané Wallis even have angles on the race, to be perfectly honest. So I wouldn’t go trimming this down to a two- or three-horse race just yet. The SAG Awards next weekend will give a decent indication, but even then, the Academy could go its own way — just as they did last year.

For now, though, and at an obviously crucial time, Chastain is the name on everyone’s lips. Your move, Harvey.

“Mama” and “Zero Dark Thirty” are now playing at a theater near you.

This year’s Oscar nominees for Best Sound Editing were “Argo,” “Django Unchained,” “Life of Pi,” “Skyfall” and “Zero Dark Thirty.” Though intriguingly, even with inflated categories including eight nominees, Kathryn Bigelow’s bin Laden manhunt effort failed to receive a notice in the Motion Picture Sound Editors’ (MPSE) Golden Reel Awards nominations, revealed today.

All others are accounted for, and of course, the ASC brought an end to “Zero Dark Thirty”‘s perfect streak of recognition from the industry awards. So nothing has been embraced all the way across the board. Par for the course in a very electric, wide-open awards season. But interestingly today, two of the films that led with nominations were “Argo” (which was a surprise nominee in both sound categories at the Oscars) and “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” (which failed to pick up either sound nomination). So who knows what help this list may or may not have afforded in predicting a typical year.

Check out the full list of MPSE nominees below and, as always, keep track of all the ups and downs of the 2012-2013 film awards season via The Circuit.

Best Sound Editing: Sound Effects, Foley, Dialogue and ADR in an Animation Feature Film
“Brave”
“A Cat in Paris”
“Frankenweenie”
“The Lorax”
“ParaNorman”
“The Pirates!: Band of Misfits”
“Rise of the Guardians”
“Wreck-it Ralph”

Best Sound Editing: Sound Effects, Foley, Dialogue, ADR and Music in a Feature Documentary
“Bully”
“Climate Refugees”
“Jiro Dreams of Sushi”
“Last Call at the Oasis”
“Marley”
“Searching for Sugar Man”

Best Sound Editing: Sound Effects, Foley, Dialogue and ADR in a Feature Foreign Language Film
“800 Million”
“Amour”
“Children of Sarajevo”
“The Hypnotist”
“The Intouchables”
“Rust & Bone”

Best Sound Editing: Music in a Feature Film
“Argo”
“The Cabin in the Woods”
“The Dark Knight Rises”
“Django Unchained”
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“Skyfall”

Best Sound Editing: Music in a Musical Feature Film
“Joyful Noise”
“Les Misérables”
“Pitch Perfect”
“Rock of Ages”

Best Sound Editing: Dialogue and ADR in a Feature Film
“Argo”
“Beasts of the Southern Wild”
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“Moonrise Kingdom”
“Silver Linings Playbook”
“Skyfall”

Best Sound Editing: Sound Effects and Foley in a Feature Film
“Argo”
“The Avengers”
“The Dark Knight Rises”
“Django Unchained”
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
“Life of Pi”
“Prometheus”
“Skyfall”

The history of write-in votes — which is to say, votes for a name not on the official list of nominees — at the Academy Awards is a short but interesting one. In 1934, the fuss over Bette Davis’s omission from the Best Actress lineup (for “Of Human Bondage”) was enough to land her in third place on write-in votes; the next year, unnominated cinematographer Hal Mohr actually won for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” “Write-in voting has been banned almost ever since,” notes Scott Feinberg. “It would require not only a signoff by the Academy”s board of governors, but also a major revamping of the already troubled online voting system.” Feinberg argues that, in light of Ben Affleck’s surprising non-nomination (determined by only 6% of the Academy membership) and subsequent precursor success, this would be the perfect year to reintroduce the process. [The Race]

A.O. Scott and Manohla Dargis survey the cinematic landscape in the age of Obama, with examples ranging from “Magic Mike” to a number of this year’s Best Picture nominees. [New York Times]

So, because “Life of Pi” has no acting nods, that means actors aren’t voting for it? False. Jon Weisman finds Twitter evidence of the film’s starry fan club, ranging from Russell Crowe to Mia Farrow. [The Vote]

As we’re gearing up for Sundance, Jason Guerrasio offers an interesting investigation into the less reputable side of the festival circuit. [IndieWire]

Something special for “Moonrise Kingdom” fans: download an enhanced, gorgeously illustrated edition of its Oscar-nominated screenplay. [Focus Features]

Steve Pond wonders whether more voters in the foreign-language and documentary categories will be guided by their hearts or their heads. [The Wrap]

David D’Arcy likens many films in the Sundance lineup to “expensive blogs”: independent, potentially very worthwhile, but who’s going to find them? [The Guardian]

Darren Aronofsky is one of five jury members for the Alfred P. Sloan Science in Film Initiative at Sundance this year. [Thompson on Hollywood]

Gary Goldstein looks for beyond the obvious for a list of deserving contenders overlooked by the Academy this year. For your belated consideration: Mira Sorvino for Best Actress. [LA Times]

Rumor has it the principal cast of “Les Mis” is set to take the stage at the Oscars for a group musical number. (UK tabloid the Daily Mail broke the news, though, so let’s see.) [Broadway]

The Gay & Lesbian Entertainment Critics’ Association, who announced their nominees last week, distinguished themselves with some idiosyncratic categories, handing indie relationship drama “Keep the Lights On” their Best LGBT Film award, and sharing their “Campy Flick” prize between “Magic Mike” (which isn’t particularly campy) and “The Paperboy” (which very much is). In the top categories, however, they fell in line behind season-long favorites, opting for “Argo” as the year’s best film, and further decorating the trophy cabinets of Daniel Day-Lewis and Anne Hathaway. Full list of film winners after the jump; everything else at The Circuit.

Film of the Year: “Argo”

Performance of the Year – Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln”

Performance of the Year – Actress: Anne Hathaway, “Les Misérables”

LGBT Film of the Year: “Keep the Lights On”

Documentary of the Year: “How to Survive a Plague”

Visually Striking Film of the Year: “Life of Pi”

Campy Flick of the Year: “Magic Mike” and “The Paperboy”

Unsung Film of the Year: “Bernie”

Traditionally the last of the guilds to announce their nominations, the Costume Designers’ Guild stuck to their guns this year, meaning they unveiled their nominees a week after the Academy’s unusually early reveal. The order may be reversed, but the degree of overlap seems to be unaffected, as all five Oscar nominees for Best Costume Design made the CDG’s larger list, which includes 15 films across period, fantasy and contemporary categories.

In the first of those categories category, Oscar nominees “Anna Karenina,” “Lincoln” and “Les Miserables” were joined by two slightly more modern period wardrobes: the polyester 1970s textures of “Argo” and the whimsical 1960s designs of “Moonrise Kingdom.” Perfectly period-serving rather than pretty, Jacqueline West’s work on “Argo” is a worthy nominee, but the fact that it made the cut over, say, “Django Unchained” — an even more surprising absentee here than in the Oscar lineup — is a further indication of just how highly regarded Ben Affleck’s film is across the industry.

In the fantasy category, the duelling Snow White visions of Colleen Atwood and the late Eiko Ishioka were both nominated, as they were by the Academy, while “Cloud Atlas,” “The Hobbit” and “The Hunger Games” fill out the field. (“Hunger Games” designer Judianna Makovsky is a favorite of the Guild this year: not only is she also nominated in the commercials category, but she’s also receiving a career achievement award at the ceremony.)

As is usually the case, no contemporary costume work was included in the Oscar field. Nonetheless, as is usually the case, the Guild’s contemporary category still doesn’t veer too far from the Oscar conversation, as Best Picture nominees “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” “Silver Linings Playbook” and “Zero Dark Thirty” all get an extra pat on the back from the industry. (I’d question whether the Guild is using this category to its most creative ends here, but that’s me.)

Winners will be presented on February 19. Full list of film nominees after the jump; everything else, as ever, at The Circuit.

Period:

“Argo”
“Anna Karenina”
“Lincoln”
“Les Miserables”
“Moonrise Kingdom”

Fantasy:

“Cloud Atlas”
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
“The Hunger Games”
“Mirror Mirror”
“Snow White and the Huntsman”

Contemporary:

“Beasts of the Southern Wild”
“The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”
“Silver Linings Playbook”
“Skyfall”
“Zero Dark Thirty”

Perhaps not everyone feels this way, but I”ve always seen a gratifying kind of dignity in films nominated for a single Academy Award. Granted, for some contenders it can be a disappointing underachievement. For other, more marginalized films, however, it can be a heartening sign of individual voting branches paying careful attention to work that excelled in their own craft, and not just rubber-stamping the buzz-hogging juggernauts.

Think “House of Flying Daggers” cracking the Best Cinematography race in 2004, or “Dancer in the Dark” copping a nod for its haunting signature song (and making Oscar nominees of both Bjork and Lars von Trier in the process). The most rewarding Oscar years are often those with the most individual films nominated across all categories, and comparatively little overlap between disciplines.

This year”s lineup, though on balance a strong one, offers comparatively few such lone-wolf nominees. In the below-the-line races, usually conducive to the singling out of otherwise unloved titles, we have a mere half-dozen across only four categories: Visual Effects, Makeup, Original Song and Costume Design. And it”s the last of these – Eiko Ishioka”s posthumous nomination for the unheralded March release “Mirror Mirror” – that ranks as my single favorite nomination of the year.

The Academy”s costume branch has form in this regard: more than any of their peers, they have a habit of recognizing remarkable work in little-hyped (and sometimes little-liked) releases. It”s thanks to them that such recent films as “Jane Eyre,” “Bright Star,” “W.E.,” “Australia,” “Across the Universe” and “Troy” can indelibly go down in history as Oscar nominees – and if not all those titles seem exactly worthy of that status in and of themselves, that”s precisely why the voters deserve credit for remembering them. “W.E.” may be a terrible film, for example, but that shouldn”t discolor one”s appreciation of Arianne Phillips”s genuinely inspired sartorial contribution.

For some, the tepidly reviewed “Mirror Mirror” may fall into the “that got an Oscar nomination?” bracket. But you already know my feelings about Tarsem”s dizzy spun-sugar reimagination of the Snow White fairytale: I grooved to its sincere silliness and acrylic beauty enough to place it in my top 10 of 2012. I”m happy to see the film rewarded in any capacity, but thrilled that it”s for the work of Ishioka, whose singularly eye-popping sartorial creations have been an integral component of Tarsem”s own auteur brand across four features together. The director himself acknowledged as much in his formal response to the nomination:

“Eiko was unique — a true visionary. She designed all aspects of a wardrobe, never taking a short cut and working tirelessly to make each and every piece stand alone. I hope this deserved nomination not only reminds the world of her whimsical and spectacular work on ‘Mirror Mirror,’ but [ensures] they will remember her countless and unforgettable contributions to filmmaking.”

Ishioka, who passed away last January at the age of 73, wasn”t just a film costume designer: her long and varied list of career achievements as an all-purpose visual artist includes directing music videos for the likes of Bjork, winning a Grammy Award for graphic design work on a Miles Davis album, and clothing the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. But it”s in the discipline of cinematic costume that her wild imagination and excitingly unhinged visual sensibility produced arguably their loveliest, and certainly their most enduring, work.

She had already won an Oscar – one of the most deserved in the category”s history, for my money – for the sexy, stylized, richly color-coded wardrobe of Francis Ford Coppola”s ”Bram Stoker”s Dracula,” when Tarsem came calling for his dream-styled psychological thriller “The Cell” in 2000. But her most unfettered creativity is to be found in her collaborations with the Indian director whose vision matched hers for extravagance and eccentricity. The sculptural S&M-inspired constructions for “The Cell,” the deep-hued collage of ethnic exotica in “The Fall,” the sexualized, gold-dusted interpretations of sword-and-sandal dress in “Immortals” – all beautiful and bonkers in equal measure, and all deserving of a second Oscar nod that only came her way last week.

Still, if it could only be for one of them, I”m glad it was for “Mirror Mirror” – and not just for the sentimental, career-capping aptness of the gesture. At the time of the film”s release, I devoted an article to the film”s costumes, but it bears repeating just how weird and witty and intricately conceived they are, twisting the puffed sleeves and hoop skirts of Eurocentric storybook illustrations with rococo references, samurai accents and an aggressive primary color palette. (It”s a pleasing bit of symmetry that Ishioka is nominated alongside three-time winner Colleen Atwood”s similarly gutsy, but tonally opposite, sartorial revision of the very same story in “Snow White and the Huntsman.”)

The billowing, atypically mustard-hued cape in which Snow White ventures into the woods, the marshmallow-colored, whimsically animal-themed ensembles at the palace ball, the Gaultier-esque galleons adorning the heads of the Wicked Queen”s live chess pieces, the electric-blue-and-orange pop adaptation of Disney”s iconic Snow White dress in the final sequence, an affectionate nod to tradition – these are all images that have stayed in my head over the last 10 months, and I”m glad they clearly made the same impression on the costume branch voters.

I predicted a nomination immediately after seeing the film, and held on stubbornly as it faded from view, confident that this quirky, conscientious branch would do the right thing. With the voting now opened out to the entire Academy, a win will be tough – particularly with Jacqueline Durran”s marvelous, period-merging creations for “Anna Karenina” leading the pack – but in a race not short of distinguished underdogs to root for, my fingers will be most tightly crossed for Ishioka”s brilliant ghost.

http://players.brightcove.net/4838167533001/BkZprOmV_default/index.html?videoId=4913251434001

I caught Jeff Nichols’ “Mud” yesterday in advance of its North American bow at Sundance next week and was bowled over. Over the moon. Full tilt in love with this movie, but I’ll get into that during the festival.

Today, Roadside Attractions has released the first trailer for the film via Yahoo! Movies, which builds on its thriller aspects well enough but really isn’t the most honest representation of what the film is. But that’s fine. This will get people into the theater.

Check out the trailer above and stay tuned this week for further thoughts on the film and an interview with Nichols about his finest achievement to date. “Mud” opens in limited release April 26.

Kathryn Bigelow has long made it clear that she’s not a filmmaker who particularly likes to speak for her own work, preferring to let her films do that on her own. She maintained that taciturnity through the early stages of the torture debate around “Zero Dark Thirty,” but evidently felt it’s escalated to a point where a lengthier response is warranted. Writing a guest column in the LA Times, the Oscar-winning director states: “I do wonder if some of the sentiments alternately expressed about the film might be more appropriately directed at those who instituted and ordered these U.S. policies, as opposed to a motion picture that brings the story to the screen. Those of us who work in the arts know that depiction is not endorsement … On a practical and political level, it does seem illogical to me to make a case against torture by ignoring or denying the role it played in U.S. counter-terrorism policy and practices.” [LA Times]   

Good news for discerning film fans: Bob Berney is relaunching Picturehouse, the specialist distribution company behind such films as “Pan’s Labyrinth” and “La Vie en Rose” that followed in 2008. [Hollywood Reporter]

J. Bryan Lowder listens closely to Thomas Newman’s score for “Skyfall,” and concludes that it deserves the Oscar. [Slate]

David Cox wonders whether Quentin Tarantino, in “Django Unchained,” has stripped the n-word of its power. [The Guardian]

Speaking of “Django,” Benjamin Wright talks to Fred Raskin, the editor tasked with pulling this sprawling work into some sort of shape. [Slant]

Sasha Stone states why she believes “Lincoln” — “a film about ideas” — deserves the Academy’s vote. [Awards Daily]

From “Silver Linings Playbook” to “Take This Waltz” to “Anna Karenina,” Michael Cusumano reflects on the best dance scenes in film last year. [The Film Experience]

The good news: a new release date has been set for Alfonso Cuaron’s long-delayed, long-awaited “Gravity.” The bad news: you’lle have to wait until October 4. [Cinema Blend]

Kirk Douglas will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Publicists’ Guild next month. [Variety]

Finally, in case you weren’t aware, Sundance is a’comin’. We’re all heading over there, so here are my, Kris’ and the HitFix team’s top festival picks. [HitFix]

Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nominee “War Witch” could, I think, have been a real contender for the win in another year; the African-set child soldier drama delivers an emotional punch that’s hard to argue with. As it is, it’ll likely remain nobly content with the nomination, but it stands to dominate at its local answer to the Oscars, the Canadian Screen Awards. With 12 nominations, the film leads the field for the inaugural awards, which have assimilated the formerly separate Genie and Gemini Awards.

Close on its heels is 23-year-old Xavier Dolan’s third feature, the visually and sonically startling transsexual story “Laurence Anyways,” with 11 nods. Largely sidelined is the Cronenberg family: David Cronenberg managed only an adapted screenplay nod for “Cosmopolis,” while his son Brandon’s eerie debut “Antiviral” was limited to the technical fields. Full list of nominees — including surely the only citations you’ll see all season for “Silent Hill: Revalation 3D” and “Resident Evil: Retribution” — below, with everything else at The Circuit.  

Best Motion Picture
“L’Affaire Dumont”
“Inch’Allah”
“Laurence Anyways”
“Midnight’s Children”
“War Witch”
“Still Mine”

Best Director
Michael Dowse, “Goon”
Xavier Dolan, “Laurence Anyways”
Deepa Mehta, “Midnight’s Children”
Kim Nguyen, “War Witch”
Bernard Émond, “All That You Possess”

Best Actor
James Cromwell, “Still Mine”
Patrick Drolet, “All That You Possess”
Marc-André Grondin, “L’affaire Dumont”
David Morse, “Collaborator”
Melvil Poupaud, “Laurence Anyways”

Best Actress
Evelyne Brochu, “Inch’allah”
Geneviève Bujold, “Still Mine”
Marilyn Castonguay, “L’affaire Dumont”
Suzanne Clément, “Laurence Anyways”
Rachel Mwanza, “War Witch”

Best Supporting Actor
Jay Baruchel, “Goon”
Kim Coates, “Goon”
Stephan James, “Home Again”
Serge Kanyinda, “War Witch”
Elias Koteas, “Winnie”

Best Supporting Actress
Seema Biswas, “Midnight’s Children”
Fefe Dobson, “Home Again”
Alice Morel Michaud, “Les Pee Wee 3D”
Gabrielle Miller, “Moving Day”
Sabrina Ouazani, “Inch’allah”

Best Original Screenplay
Jason Buxton, “Blackbird”
Xavier Dolan, “Laurence Anyways”
Kim Nguyen, “War Witch”
Michael McGowan, “Still Mine”
Bernard Émond, “All That You Possess”

Best Adapted Screenplay
David Cronenberg, “Cosmopolis”
Jay Baruchel, Evan Goldberg, “Goon”
Anita Doron, “The Lesser Blessed”
Martin Villeneuve, “Mars et Avril”
Salman Rushdie, “Midnight’s Children”

Best Documentary Feature
“Alphee des Etoiles”
“Indie Game: The Movie”
“Over My Dead Body”
“Stories We Tell”
“The World Before Her”

Best Production Design
“War Witch”
“Antiviral”
“L’affaire Dumont”
“Midnight’s Children”
“Laurence Anyways”

Best Cinematography
“War Witch”
“Inch’Allah”
“Midnight’s Children”
“Goon”
“Still Mine”

Best Costume Design
“Laurence Anyways”
“Mad Ship”
“Resident Evil: Retribution”
“Silent Hill: Revelation 3D”
“War Witch”

Best Editing
“War Witch”
“Still Mine”
“L’affaire Dumont “
“Inch’Allah”
“Blackbird”

Best Makeup
“Silent Hill: Revelation 3D”
“Goon”
“Antiviral”
“L’affaire Dumont”
“Laurence Anyways”

Best Original Score
Noia, “Laurence Anyways”
Bnoit Charest, “Mars et Avril”
Don Rooke, Hugh Marsh, Michelle Willis, “Still Mine”
Howard Shore, “Cosmopolis”
E.C. Woodley, “Antiviral”

Best Original Song
“Cosmopolis” – “Long to Live”
“Rufus” – “Wanting”
“Rufus” – “Out of Sight”

Best Sound
“Midnight’s Children”
“Mars et Avril”
“War Witch”
“Antiviral”
“The Disappeared”

Best Sound Editing
“L’affaire Dumont”
“War Witch”
“Resident Evil: Retribution”
“Laurence Anyways”
“The Disappeared”

Best Visual Effects
“Silent Hill: Revelation 3D”
“Mars et Avril”
“Resident Evil: Retribution”
“War Witch”
“Midnight’s Children”

The word “snub” is one we all abuse on occasion — I prefer “not nominated,” since it doesn’t imply active antagonism — and I’ve seen it used a lot lately about Leonardo DiCaprio. It doesn’t seem justified in his case either, given that the Academy evidently has a lot of respect for someone they’ve nominated three times, but it’s true that he does boast more near-misses than most working actors today. Daniel Montgomery, meanwhile, notices an interesting anomaly: he’s starred as a lead in six Best Picture nominees — usually a decent route to Oscar attention — but has only been nominated for one of them. Of course, “Django Unchained,” in which he came up against unfortunate internal competition, is the latest example of this odd phenomenon. [Gold Derby] 

Here’s a pretty heroic feat of Oscar geekery: in honor of Emmanuelle Riva, who will turn 86 on the night of the Oscars, Nathaniel Rogers lists the 100 oldest living Oscar nominees. (Riva, incidentally, only ranks at #67.) [The Film Experience] 

Jodie Foster’s much-parsed Golden Globes speech continues to be the principal talking point of the Golden Globes. Sam Leith believes it to be a moment of genius, and celebrates Foster’s command of rhetoric. [The Guardian] 

In what will probably be a less left-field Lifetime Achievement Award acceptance, Alec Baldwin and Carl Reiner will present Dick Van Dyke with his at the SAG Awards. [Playbill]

Jon Weisman advises us not to read to much into the Globe awards when assessing the Oscar race, stating that the lack of a directing nod for “Argo” leaves it no higher than #6 in the Best Picture running. I disagree. [The Vote]

Tom Shone, on the other hand, thinks Ben Affleck’s film now presents a highly compelling underdog narrative to Academy voters. (After all, the vast majority of them had no hand in the Best Director noms.) [The Guardian]

Still on the Globes, those grumpy reaction shots from Tommy Lee Jones — not usually the smiliest of figures, to be fair — have apparently gone viral. [LA Times] 

Brian Grasko analyzes how Quentin Tarantino’s films talk to another — and talk back to their critics. [Salon] 

US indies, including Sundance-bound directorial efforts from James Franco and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, feature prominently in the Panorama lineup for next month’s Berlin Film Festival. [Berlinale]

It may not be obvious to the naked eye, but Carrie Rickey explains why 2012 represented a small advance for woman filmmakers in the industry, as 9% of the year’s top 250 grossers were female-helmed. [New York Times]

The USC Scripter Awards is celebrating its silver anniversary this year. And in this 25th year, the USC Libraries’ set of nominees is reflective of a very competitive year as, for the first time ever, a tie resulted in six nominees as opposed to the usual five.

All of the nominees from this year’s Best Adapted Screenplay category at the Oscars were represented, plus a WGA nominee that had a a big head of steam going into the nominations announcement last Thursday but ultimately come up short.

The USC Scripter prize is unique in that it recognizes both the screenwriters and the authors of the original source material. This year’s nominees were selected from a field of 82 eligible adaptations by a committee co-chaired by screenwriter Naomi Foner and USC professor and vice president of the WGA, West, Howard Rodman.

The nominees are…

“Argo”
Joshua Bearman, author of “The Great Escape” (article) Antonio J. Mendez, author of “The Master of Disguise” (book) and Chris Terrio, screenwriter

“Beasts of the Southern Wild”
Lucy Alibar, writer of “Juicy and Delicious” (play) and screenwriter, and Benh Zeitlin, screenwriter

“Life of Pi”
Yann Martel, author of “Life of Pi” (novel) and David Magee, screenwriter

“Lincoln”
Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln” (book) and Tony Kushner, screenwriter

“The Perks of Being a Wallflower”
Stephen Chbosky, author of “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” (novel) and screenwriter

“Silver Linings Playbook”
Matthew Quick, author of “The Silver Linings Playbook” (novel) and David O. Russell, screenwriter

Those serving on the committee included film critics Leonard Maltin and Kennth Turan, authors (and former USC Scripter winners) Michael Chabon and Kaui Hart Hemmings and screenwriters Geoffrey Fletcher and Lawrence Ksdan, among others.

Winners will be announced at the 25th annual USC Scripter Awards at the historic Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library on the University Park campus of the University of Southern California (Fight On) on February 9, 2013. Previously announced, Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana will receive the Literary Achievement Award.

As always, keep track of all the ups and downs of the 2012-2013 film awards season via The Circuit.

The Directors Guild of America (DGA) has offered up its list of nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary Filmmaking, and it’s a nice slice of vindication for a pair of Oscar snubees.

My love for Lauren Greenfield’s “The Queen of Versailles” is well on the record. The film landed in my top 10 list because it was such an electric snapshot of a country’s shifting values. This before you get to the more superficial (but no less intriguing) idea of a riches-to-rags story. Well, Greenfield made the cut with the guild after her film failed to even make the Academy’s list of 15 documentary finalists last month.

Meanwhile, Alison Klayman’s “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry” did manage to make the list of finalists, but was left off the eventual list of nominees. She gets some love in the form of a DGA nomination, though, and it’s nice to see two female directors get the recognition, too.

Oscar nominees filled out the rest of the category: Malik Bendjelloul for “Searching for Sugar Man,” Kirby Dick for “The Invisible War” and David France for “How to Survive a Plague.” Bendejelloul’s film is the only one to have netted nods from the PGA, DGA and Academy and, as ever, seems the odds-on favorite to win the Oscar.

Once again, the DGA nominees for documentary filmmaking are:

“Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry” (Alison Klayman)
“How to Survive a Plague” (David France)
“The Invisible War” (Kirby Dick)
“The Queen of Versailles” (Lauren Greenfield)
“Searching for Sugar Man” (Malik Bendjelloul)

Winners will be announced at the 65th annual DGA Awards on Saturday, February 2.

The last 100 hours or so in Hollywood has been intriguing, to say the least. The Oscar nominations on Thursday sent a series of shockwaves throughout the industry and were marvelously reflective of a tightly contended, stellar year of filmmaking. And of course, two names have been on everyone’s lips since the Thursday morning bombshell: Ben Affleck and Kathryn Bigelow.

First and foremost, I don’t think it’s an “embarrassment” that they were left off the list of Best Director nominees. That word has been thrown around a lot this weekend but I think it’s a facile direction to go. Let’s be honest. Steven Spielberg, Ang Lee, Michael Haneke, Benh Zeitlin and, though I don’t like the film, David O. Russell (it is, after all, a genre rarely recognized, certainly for direction) is a strong, fascinating slate of nominees. And it would appear the two who scooted Affleck and Bigelow out of the mix were Haneke and Zeitlin. So let’s look at that.

We have the director of a foreign film and the young mind behind a fabulous independent film that has become a Cinderella story. It’s hard to hate on that kind of vision from this branch, truly. The intrigue in that category this year has everything to do with the drum I’ve been banging all year long: this has been an incredibly competitive season, particularly in the Best Director arena, where Affleck and Bigelow certainly have illustrious company on the sidelines.

With all of that out of the way, there is obviously something interesting in the air this season. While the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards and Golden Globes happened outside the frame of Oscar voting, they have built an incredible amount of momentum for “Argo.” Last night after the show, Warner Bros. publicists were adamant that they still had a shot. Of course, they wanted to take council and feel it out. “What do you think our chances are, honestly?” But the vibe I got was one of not throwing the towel in by a longshot, and that passion can go a long way.

The theories abound. Maybe the directors figured Affleck and Bigelow were safe and sound so they let their vote be heard elsewhere. Maybe they wanted to put an actor-turned-director in his place as they did Ron Howard in 1995. And on that note, Howard won the DGA that year. I think there’s a very real possibility that Affleck does the same. But it was, of course, “Braveheart” that ultimately took the Oscar.

Things are a little different this time around, however. The preferential ballot is the best ammunition the campaign has right now. “Argo” and “Silver Linings Playbook” are the only two films that seem to be universally praised when I talk to Academy members. There’s just never a bad word said about them. They are, again, generally agreeable. And when those #2 and #3 votes start mattering, they’ll be showing up there.

There’s also the idea floating around that there could be a sense of reactive goodwill to Affleck’s snub. Normally I’d call that hogwash because things speed up in the second phase, but this year, again, is different. We have six weeks. That’s such a massive amount of time to flex a strategy, and when you’re as motivated as the Warner Bros. team is now, that matters.

Of course, others will pull out their tricks. DreamWorks and Steven Spielberg flashed their ace in the hole last night when Bill Clinton presented the “Lincoln” clip and in his comments, cemented the film’s zeitgeist status (and could have even sewn up the Oscar then and there). Harvey Weinstein obviously has a playbook for this kind of thing. And Fox will certainly sit back and gladly watch the blood fest as their unassuming 11-nominee wonder from a visionary (that has raked in more box office than any other Best Picture nominee worldwide) looks for its opportunity. But I would wager none of them have the same drive Warner has now.

My favorite film of the Best Picture nominees is “Django Unchained.” My second favorite is “Amour” and my third favorite is “Lincoln.” If I’m honest, I think one of those three should win. But if I’m REALLY honest, I’d say I don’t really want to see that. “Django” could get its reward in the screenplay arena where Quentin Tarantino has already been recognized in the past. “Amour” is a massive longshot and it seems to me the win is in the nominations. Plus, a win for Emmanuelle Riva (which is very possible) would be a great piece of recognition for the film. Spielberg, meanwhile, has been amply rewarded and Daniel Day-Lewis will make a lovely steward for the film on Oscar night. But an “Argo” win is the stuff of storybooks.

I know some find the film thematically flat or dramatically manipulative and people are free to their opinion. I would argue that we need more films like “Argo,” mid-budget dramas that don’t bog down in brand appeal and find an audience rather than die on the vine and yield safe, overtly commercial productions. But Affleck’s story these last few years is an inspiring one. A decade ago, his name was literally a joke. And he’s climbed out of that pit tooth and nail and shown real chops in the process. To see him take the stage on Oscar night as part of a Best Picture-winning “Argo” crew, hopping over this last hurdle in the Best Director category, would just be the ultimate capper on this journey. Speaking personally, it would just register more as an Oscar win than any other film in the category.

Those are the moments I like at the Oscars. Objectivity on quality has to go out the window. We all like what we like and think this or that should win for a reason. But, objectively, Ben Affleck deserves this leg up. He’s earned it.

It was all smiles at the Warner Bros./In Style party Sunday night as team “Argo” had grabbed yet another one-two Best Picture/Best Director punch after the film’s director Ben Affleck was unceremoniously snubbed from the Oscars’ Best Director line-up late last week. The film is hitting rare air and hopes are high with the studio that they can still pull off some magic at the Academy Awards, despite the “stats.

For his part, Affleck felt vindicated. He confided that after Thursday morning he wondered how much people really liked the movie, if it was a sign of something. But after the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards and the Golden Globes, he has an extra spring in his step. And as an observer, I love this moment for him. But I’ll get into that more in a column tomorrow.

There were some long faces at the Weinsteins’ Trader Vics soirée as “Silver Linings Playbook” walked away with just one prize (being stamped out by Universal’s “Les Misérables” for both Best Picture – Comedy or Musical and Best Actor – Comedy or Musical). But “Django Unchained” managed to bring in two wins, for Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Christoph Waltz), so there was plenty of cause for celebration.

I happened upon Leonardo DiCaprio at the event, who lost out to his co-star in the supporting actor category. He says Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street,” which he’s been filming in New York, will be his best work. It’s never too late to start building that buzz, I guess. Quentin Tarantino, meanwhile, was high on life and a pleasure to finally meet face-to-face.

Tina Fey held court at the NBC/Universal roof-top party and John Hawkes was seen bouncing from this to that. The LA Lakers’ Kobe Bryant was even poking around. But anyway, it was a night of parties, like any other, so I won’t bog down in those specifics.

I watched the show at the Fox Pavilion viewing party, which was mostly jumping due to TV wins for “Homeland” as the only prize “Life of Pi” landed was Best Original Score for Mychael Danna. It seemed to me Fey and Amy Poehler landed just right and a personal highlight was seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger hand fellow Austrian Michael Haneke the Best Foreign Language Film award. But the real show stopper was former President Bill Clinton, who was on hand to present Best Picture – Drama nominee “Lincoln.” The whole room was abuzz at how much of a coup that was for the DreamWorks Oscar campaign. It was truly a great moment.

And speaking of great moments: Jodie Foster’s Cecil B. DeMille Award acceptance speech. Brave, monumental in many respects. It seemed a bit ragged at first but I watched it again and I have to say, it’s one of the great speeches. Such honesty.

How will this affect the Oscar race, if at all? Anyone who dismissively calls it a non-issue doesn’t get it. With six weeks, every little nuance and acceptance speech will be grist for the mill. It matters. It’s about the image. But again, we’ll get to that soon. For now, this year’s winners:

Best Picture – Drama
“Argo”

Best Picture – Comedy or Musical
“Les Misérables”

Best Director
Ben Affleck, “Argo”

Best Actor – Drama
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln”

Best Actor – Comedy or Musical
Hugh Jackman, “Les Misérables”

Best Actress – Drama
Jessica Chastain, “Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Actress – Comedy or Musical
Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook”

Best Supporting Actor
Christoph Waltz, “Django Unchained”

Best Supporting Actress
Anne Hathaway, “Les Misérables”

Best Screenplay
“Django Unchained”

Best Original Score
“Life of Pi”

Best Original Song
“Skyfall” from “Skyfall”

Best Animated Feature
“Brave”

Best Foreign Language Film
“Amour”

Kudos to The Weinstein Company this year for finding a fortunate release strategy in “Silver Linings Playbook” after bungling the release of “The Master” in September. It looks like it’s going to work out. But I imagine most over there are happy as of late that “Django Unchained” is hitting as big as it is. Indeed, they needed this.

Not only that, but with this weekend’s $11 million take, the film has become Quentin Tarantino’s highest-grossing film to date. “Django” crossed the $125 million mark this weekend, besting the $120 million total “Inglourious Basterds” brought in 2009. It was down about 40% from last weekend with very little change in screen count and will likely percolate for a while longer.

Meanwhile, this is all part and parcel of the story of the year: Best Picture nominees have been box office hogs.

“Lincoln” is currently on top with its nothing-short-of-miraculous $150 million take. It added another $6 million this weekend after extremely small drops from week-to-week (and one huge jump in box office after it lost over 300 screens around the holidays, which is amazing). It shows no signs of slowing and that’s a huge talking point for its angle on the Best Picture win, to say the least. Oh, and it hasn’t even rolled out overseas yet.

Next in line is “Django” with its $125 million before we come to “Les Misérables,” which was primed to be a money-maker given built-in brand appeal. Bringing in $10 million more this weekend, it’s up to $119 million so far. And “Argo,” which added 300 more screens after Thursday’s Oscar nominations announcement, is still hanging out. It brought in a million more this weekend bringing it up to $111 million to date.

That’s four $100 million-grossers before the nominations even came out. And that’s just sensational, particularly given the fact that two of them are adult dramas.

But don’t snooze on Ang Lee’s “Life of Pi,” which is sure to cross the $100 million domestic mark sooner or later. It added another $2 million to the tank this weekend, bringing it up to $94 million. But it actually has the biggest wallet of all Best Picture players as it’s been a monster hit internationally. It’s closing in on $500 million worldwide. I imagine that makes Tom Rothman smile, all things considered.

Where will “Zero Dark Thirty” and “Silver Linings Playbook” tap out? Could they bring the ultimate tally to seven $100 million-grossing Best Picture nominees? (“Amour” and “Beasts of the Southern Wild” are obviously limited by what they are, which is nothing to be ashamed of.)

And “Flight” should really be noted here, too, as its $92 million is a major success for a mid-budget drama and the Best Original Screenplay nominee is highly respected as a result.

All of this is the story of the season. And it’s a nice change of pace.

At this point, anyone who hasn’t seen “Zero Dark Thirty” — which is the majority of the movie-going public — has had to hear it chewed on and mulled over for well over a month. Critics awards and controversy have shrouded the film upon delivery to a wider audience this weekend, and it’s turned up #1 at the box office as a result. But how about some reactions? When/if you get around to the film, and indeed, if you already have, cut loose with your thoughts on it in the comments section below.