The BAFTA Rising Star Award, the one prize subjected to a public vote at the UK’s answer to the Oscars, can be a frustrating business. More often than not, it pits a host of gifted young actors against one contender with a higher profile among Britain’s youthful texting masses, rendering the competition a bit flat — and the outcome often a bit iffy. Noel Clarke over Michael Fassbender? Adam Deacon over anyone? We may routinely complain about awards bodies’ decisions, but it still beats hearing the people sing.

This year, however, the BAFTA jury charged with compiling the nominees appears to have safeguarded against that problem with a discerning, evenly matched shortlist of names, most of whom will be unfamiliar to multiplex crowds.

The 2012 BAFTA Rising Star nominees are:

Elizabeth Olsen
Andrea Riseborough
Suraj Sharma
Juno Temple
Alicia Vikander 

The heavily female slant of this year’s list is refreshing, and seems to issue a tacit apology for last year’s contentiously all-male lineup. “Life of Pi” star Suraj Sharma is the lone male nominee, though he may wind up the winner, given that he’s in the highest-profile film of the lot — one that is doing robust business at the UK box office right now.

That said, Sharma also has the shortest résumé of any of the nominees. Given that the award recognizes overall star potential rather than individual performances, it’s rare for the BAFTA jury to cite a debut actor — they must have been extremely impressed by the Indian newcomer’s solo shouldering of a tricky project.

The jury is usually inclined to wait to see a little more from a bright new star — which is why Elizabeth Olsen, for example, pops up this year. Last year, BAFTA joined most major awards groups in ignoring her striking debut turn in “Martha Marcy May Marlene.” This year, with her screen presence further proven, if less generously acclaimed, in “Red Lights,” “Liberal Arts” and “Silent House” (in which I think she’s particularly impressive), the jury decided she’s ready for her close-up.

I’m pleased to see Olsen here, but that goes for all the actresses selected. Juno Temple has been steadily climbing the ranks since an early appearance in “Atonement,” but a lot of critics woke up to the 23-year-old Brit following her blazing baby-doll turn in “Killer Joe,” in which she’s part Tennessee Williams naif, part Juliette Lewis: she cracks my hypothetical Best Supporting Actress ballot for the second year running, after similarly flavorful work in Gregg Araki’s “Kaboom.”

If I boarded the Temple train earlier, Swedish star Alicia Vikander was a genuine 2012 discovery for me. Months after holding her own opposite two formidable male leads in Danish Oscar hopeful “A Royal Affair,” she made her English-language debut in “Anna Karenina” — and gave, for my money, the film’s strongest performance with her fragile, nuanced take on Kitty.

Riseborough seems the most advanced of this group — and not just because, at the age of 31, she’s the oldest by a several years. Between such films as “Brighton Rock,” “Never Let Me Go” and “W.E.,” she’s been appearing on Best Newcomer lists for over two years now, and she already has a TV BAFTA nod for her turn as Margaret Thatcher in “The Long Walk to Finchley.” It took me a while to warm to her, but I came round after her superb turn as an IRA informant in “Shadow Dancer,” for which she recently won the British Independent Film Award for Best Actress — there’s a slim chance she could be a double BAFTA nominee this year.

Who gets your vote from this lineup? I’m torn, but I think I may spend a text’s worth on Olsen. Voting details are here; the winner will be announced at the BAFTA ceremony on February 10. (The rest of the nominees, by the way, land on Wednesday.)

The Best Foreign Language Film race so far has proceeded with a minimum of the usual controversy: most countries’ selections were met with approval, and the Academy’s eventual shortlist is a credible one. Still, dissatisfaction lingers, whether it’s with the overwhelmingly European slant of this year’s shortlist, or the one-film-per-country rule. Mark Olsen speaks to the directors and distributors of this year’s shortlisted films to get their take on the fundamentally flawed award. Jeff Lipsky, head of “Sister” distributor Adopt Films has this to say: “The category is called best foreign language film, not best foreign language film as selected by an overly politicized committee in every nation of the world.” (He also describes the widespread presumption that “Amour” is going to win an “inexplicable manifest avalanche.”) [LA Times] 

Michael Haneke has withdrawn “Amour” from contention at the Austrian Film Awards: it was already ineligible in several categories, and he claims he wants other filmmakers to have a greater chance of being recognized. [The Guardian]

Steve Pond claims Sally Field’s “killer speech” at the Palm Springs festival awards gala could help her challenge Anne Hathaway for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. [The Wrap]

Andrew O’Hehir, who’s been on great form lately, evaluates “Lincoln” and “Django Unchained” relative to the “new Civil War” he claims is erupting in the US. [Salon]

Anne Thompson talks to composer Thomas Newman: as “Skyfall” gathers momentum, could he nab his 11th Oscar nomination? [Thompson on Hollywood]

Following last year’s triumph with “The Artist,” the French continue to have a significant presence in this year’s awards season. Scott Feinberg discusses. [Hollywood Reporter]

Geoffrey Macnab examines just how important awards attention is for documentaries still seeking an audience. [Screen Daily]

Tom Stempel evaluates “Lincoln,” “Flight,” “Skyfall” and indie outsider “Middle of Nowhere” from a screenwriting perspective. [The House Next Door]

Nathaniel Rogers considers the waterlogged narratives of many of this year’s Oscar contenders, culminating in a discussion of two Scandinavian maritime tales in the running for Best Foreign Language Film. [The Film Experience]

Here’s a connection few have picked up on: Baltasar Kormakur, the Icelanic director of one of those films, “The Deep,” also helmed last year’s Mark Wahlberg thriller “Contraband” (itself a remake of an Icelandic thriller Kormakur produced). [The Carpetbagger]

I’m not aware of this news breaking in any other format, so I guess it fell to Seth MacFarlane’s Twitter feed to announce that he and Emma Stone will be announcing the nominations for the 85th Academy Awards at 5am PST on Thursday.

This marks a break from tradition in a few ways. As long I’ve been watching the Oscars, it has been the president of the Academy who has delivered the crack-of-dawn news, joined by a former Oscar winner or nominee. (Recently, Jennifer Lawrence, Mo’Nique, Anne Hathaway and Forest Whitaker have all had the bleary-eyed pleasure.)

But MacFarlane’s tweet suggests recently elected AMPAS chief Hawk Koch won’t be joining them, while the entire roster of post Oscar nominees have been allowed their beauty sleep: as much as I prefer to remember that Emma Stone won Best Actress two years ago for “Easy A,” her day has yet to arrive. Still, it’s clear the 24-year-old dynamo is in the Academy’s good books. Perhaps this is her reward for being Most Valued Presenter at last year’s ceremony?

Meanwhile, the Academy’s clearly getting maximum value out of MacFarlane — who will, of course, also be presenting the ceremony itself next month. Between him and Stone, I guess we can expect a livelier nominee announcement than the usual brisk roll-call of names. One question remains, though: is the Academy counting on MacFarlane not getting any nominations for “Ted?” Or Stone for “The Amazing Spider-Man?” That’s a gentle way to break it, I suppose.

So, does this news make you any more excited for Thursday’s announcement — or will you be catching the news at a more civil hour?

After “Lincoln” led the way with nominations from the Houston Film Critics Society last month, it was “Argo” that took the prizes for Best Picture and Best Director. Steven Spielberg’s film did win Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Screenplay, while most other awards followed established canon. This is the seventh Best Film prize for “Argo” on the critics circuit so far, bringing it ever closer to the “Zero Dark Thirty” tally of eight. Check out the full list of winners below and as always, keep track of the season via The Circuit.

Best Picture
“Argo”

Best Director
Ben Affleck, “Argo”

Best Actor
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln”

Best Actress
Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook”

Best Supporting Actor
Tommy Lee Jones, “Lincoln”

Best Supporting Actress
Anne Hathaway, “Les Misérables”

Best Screenplay
“Lincoln”

Best Cinematography
“Skyfall”

Best Original Score
“Cloud Atlas”

Best Animated Film
“Wreck-It Ralph”

Best Foreign Language Film
“Holy Motors”

Best Documentary
“The Imposter”

Texas Independent Film Award
“Bernie”

Technical Achievement
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”

Outstanding Contribution to Cinema
Jeff Millar

Lifetime Achievement Award
Robert Duvall

Worst Film
“That’s My Boy”

The last of the major US critics’ awards landed today, and the National Society of Film Critics sided with the Los Angeles crowd, handing their Best Picture award to Michael Haneke’s “Amour.” The French-Austrian production narrowly saw off “The Master” to the top prize, also nabbing Best Director and Best Actress for Emmanuelle Riva. Paul Thomas Anderson’s film had to settle for Best Supporting Actress for Amy Adams (again echoing the LA Critics’ choice), as well as the Best Cinematography prize.

Another double winner was “Lincoln,” which took Best Screenplay by a comfortable margin, while Daniel Day-Lewis extended his run of Best Actor victories. Critics’ award heavyweight “Zero Dark Thirty,” meanwhile, could only manage runner-up citations for Best Picture, Director, Actress and Cinematography.

In Best Supporting Actor, it’s nice to see another big win for Matthew McConaughey, whose awards momentum has unfortunately stalled since taking the New York critics’ award; of course, this boost arrives too late to aid his chances of an Oscar nomination. The Society sided with another foreign-language effort, “The Gatekeepers,” in the Best Documentary category — and logically scrapped the Best Foreign Language Film award in light of “Amour”‘s bigger win.

The choice of “Amour” isn’t a surprising one for this traditionally highbrow group, who also handed last year’s Best Picture award to a European auteur piece, Lars von Trier’s “Melancholia.” The last time, incidentally, that a foreign-language film won this prize in addition to either of the other so-called Big Three critics’ groups’ top honors was in 1969, when Costa-Gavras’s “Z” triumphed with the NSFC and NYFCC. “Z” founds its way to an Oscar nomination for Best Picture; is this a similarly good omen for Haneke’s film, even if it falls after the Academy voting deadline? The last film that failed to secure a Best Picture nod after landing two of the Big Three was “American Splendor” in 2003.   

Full list of winners below; catch up with the season thus far at The Circuit. 

Best Picture: “Amour” (28)
Runners-up: “The Master” (25); “Zero Dark Thirty” (18)

Best Director: Michael Haneke, “Amour” (27)
Runners-up: Paul Thomas Anderson, “The Master” (24); Kathryn Bigelow, “Zero Dark Thirty” (24)

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln” (59)
Runners-up: Denis Lavant, “Holy Motors” (49); Joaquin Phoenix, “The Master” (49)

Best Actress: Emmanuelle Riva, “Amour” (50)
Runners-up: Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook” (42); Jessica Chastain, “Zero Dark Thirty” (32)

Best Supporting Actor: Matthew McConaughey, “Magic Mike” (27)
Runners-up: Tommy Lee Jones, “Lincoln” (22); Philip Seymour Hoffman, “The Master” (19)

Best Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, “The Master” (34)
Runners-up: Sally Field, “Lincoln” (23); Anne Hathaway, “Les Miserables” (13)

Best Screenplay: Tony Kushner, “Lincoln” (59)
Runners-up: Paul Thomas Anderson, “The Master” (27); David O. Russell, “Silver Linings Playbook” (19)

Best Documentary: “The Gatekeepers” (53)
Runners-up: “This Is Not A Film” (45); “Searching for Sugar Man” (23)

Best Cinematography: Mihai Milaimare Jr., “The Master” (60)
Runners-up: Roger Deakins, “Skyfall” (30); Greig Fraser, “Zero Dark Thirty” (21) 

Best Experimental Film: Jafar Panahi, “This Is Not A Film”

Film Heritage Award: Laurence Kardish; Milestone Film & Video

The field of documentary feature contenders this year is bursting at the seams with quality and the signs of a true golden age for the form. And this even with a number of the year’s best having failed to make the finalists cut. Issues tackled are wide-ranging, artistry is apparent in a number of entries and the stories that are being shared are as powerful as ever. How do you even begin to handicap this thing?

Guy typically handles the doc feature Contenders page, but I wanted to offer up some thoughts on the films in play and see if we can’t suss out which five will be left standing. It’s nearly a fool’s errand but let’s give it a go. Two of the films on the list I didn’t catch up to until last week and they are two of the most powerful statements in the race. So I might as well start by diving into the deep end on those.

Mojtaba Mirtahmasb and Jafar Panahi’s “This is Not a Film,” smuggled into France in a cake and a last-minute Cannes submission that has remained a critical favorite all season, is perhaps the most unique entry of the bunch. A document of four days in the embattled Iranian filmmaker’s life as he waits to hear the decision on his appeal of a jail sentence for riling the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, it’s a plea from an artist desperate to create and could make it in on principle.

Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi’s “5 Broken Cameras,” meanwhile, rocked me to my core. A glimpse at strife between peaceful Palestinian protesters and Israeli military in the West Bank village of Bil’in, it has a clear point of view. But it’s elgiac in its rendering, the result of five years (and, well, broken — shot, pummeled, etc. — cameras) and it puts a faraway affair right in your living room. It’s perhaps the most intimate portrait of the lot and, in my opinion, the best of the bunch. And it could slide in. (NOTE: You can stream “5 Broken Cameras” for free via the film’s website through Sunday.)

But if it does, what of Sony Pictures Classics’ “The Gatekeepers?” A film treading similar waters, though novel and, indeed, miraculous for its level of access, it is Dror Moreh’s at times jaw-dropping talking head study of former Shin Bet leaders admitting futility in the Palestine/Israel conflict. The studio already has presumed frontrunner “Searching for Sugar Man” lined up for a nod, though, and picking up two spots could be tough.

Two studs of the documentary world could face resistance in the form of professional jealousy (it exists) and/or an overall desire to recognize new blood. In “Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God,” two-time nominee (and one-time winner) Alex Gibney paints a heartbreaking portrait of four deaf Wisconsin men who were some of the first to ever blow a whistle on pedophilia in the Catholic Church. Meanwhile, Kirby Dick’s “The Invisible War” documents the truly infuriating reality of rape in the military and the cover-ups that are considered status quo. But there are those who may not feel the latter is all that impressive on a formal level, which is also something “The Gatekeepers” is contending with. (NOTE: You can stream “The Invisible War” currently at Netflix.)

Bart Layton’s “The Imposter,” meanwhile, is fully mounted on its formal aspects. Like “Man on Wire” before it, it could hop over the hurdle of reenactments due to its creative handling of the story of a French con man who impersonated a Texas boy 20 years ago. It has done well on the circuit and should be seen as a real threat.

Continuing along similar lines, character studies can have an impact and one that could find room is “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry.” A delightful look at the eponymous outspoken Chinese artist, it is well-liked by the branch and deserves a seat at the table. (NOTE: You can stream “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry” currently at Netflix.) Rory Kennedy’s “Ethel,” meanwhile, feels like a lesser work against all of these heavier hitters, but it’s nevertheless a meaningful and admirable profile of Robert F. Kennedy’s widow and the Kennedy legacy through her eyes. It’s a very personal touch in the line-up.

On a smaller scale, you have something like “Detropia.” I didn’t think this handsomely mounted film added a whole lot in the spectrum of laments for the Motor City, but it has a lot of respect from the branch. The self-distribution element is particularly impressive for some and there is a perception that Michael Moore’s new system has unfairly held the little guys in check. A vote for this could be a statement in that regard. Ditto Peter Nicks’s “The Waiting Room,” for that matter, a study of an Oakland hospital that gets right at issues of health care in this country.

“How to Survive a Plague” really stirred the conversation when it picked up the New York Film Critics Circle’s award for Best First Film this year, and indeed, David France’s effort is a brilliant account of the ACT UP activist group that took on the AIDS epidemic in 1987 and, more to the point, the government’s feet-dragging on addressing it seriously. But it is largely a feat of editing, wrangling tons of preexisting footage, though of course no less powerful for it. But that can sometimes hold a film back. I wonder if “Senna” last year suffered similarly. (NOTE: You can stream “How to Survive a Plague” currently at Netflix.)

“The House I Live In” from Eugene Jarecki is a favorite among prognosticators, and indeed, this distillation of the pointless “war on drugs” is a vital piece of work. But, as my colleague Anne Thompson likes to say, “it’s a bit too smart for the room” and there are those in the branch who feel Jarecki didn’t fully rein the story in.

A few years ago “The Cove” dominated the scene, and Jeff Orlowski’s “Chasing Ice” finds itself in similar terrain this time around. A stone-cold, undeniable document of the planet’s receding glaciers, it is a feat of photography, no doubt. And it, like “The Cove,” has a hero at its center. But is that enough?

And finally, last year’s winner in the category was The Weinstein Company, which surprised most with an Oscar win for “Undefeated.” They’re back in the mix this year with Lee Hirsch’s “Bully.” The ratings controversy was the only real heat the film had along the way and that died down long ago, but it’s a pretty heart-wrenching look at a very real problem. I suppose that kind of thing should never be counted out.

Where do I stand on all of this? I haven’t the foggiest. I think we all know “Searching for Sugar Man” is in there. Beyond that, I’m currently betting on “5 Broken Cameras,” “Detropia,” “How to Survive a Plague” and maybe “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry” or “The Imposter.” Ask me again tomorrow and I’ll have a strong case for “The Invisible War” and/or “The Gatekeepers.” The next day, “Mea Maxima Culpa.” It’s just that kind of year. Any of the 15 could get in and no one ought to be surprised, because it just doesn’t get any more competitive than this.

What are your predictions for Best Documentary Feature? Have your say in the comments section below!

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has announced its screen nominees for the year. As always, certain films were ineligible with the WGA due to signatory issues. Examples this year which could still make a play at Oscar recognition include “Amour,” “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” “Django Unchained,” “Les Misérables” and “Seven Psychopaths.” So let’s get that out of the way right at the top.

Making the cut in the adapted category was Stephen Chbosky and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” which has had a steady presence on the critics awards circuit and, in my opinion, could push on through to an Oscar nomination. He joins frontrunners “Argo,” “Life of Pi,” “Lincoln” and “Silver Linings Playbook” and, assuming “Beasts,” “Best Exotic” and “Les Misérables” fail to make a solid push, that could be our Academy line-up.

The original side of things saw John Gatins manage a notice for “Flight” while “The Master” held off its guild dry spell by securing a nod for Paul Thomas Anderson. In all likelihood, though, WGA non-member Quentin Tarantino will push one of those out at the Oscars, as “Moonrise Kingdom” and “Zero Dark Thirty” are looking pretty good in the race.

I’m most pleased to see Rian Johnson round out that quintet for “Looper” and I think he could turn the trick with the Academy, too. But other originals like “Amour” and “Seven Psychopaths,” in addition to “Django,” that weren’t eligible here might have something to say about that.

Finally, the guild spoke up for “The Central Park Five” and “West of Memphis” in the documentary category, two films that were surprisingly snubbed when the documentary branch named its finalists a number of weeks ago. That’s nice.

So far, with SAG, PGA, ADG and now WGA all having spoken up, the only films with a perfect industry awards showing are: “Argo,” “Lincoln,” and “Zero Dark Thirty.”

Check out the full list of nominees below.

Best Adapted Screenplay:

“Argo”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“The Perks of Being a Wallflower”
“Silver Linings Playbook”

Best Original Screenplay:

“Flight”
“Looper”
“The Master”
“Moonrise Kingdom”
“Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Documentary Screenplay:

“The Central Park Five”
“The Invisible War”
“Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God”
“We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists”
“West of Memphis”

Winners will be announced at the 65th annual Writers Guild Awards on February 17.

Keep up with all the ups and downs of the 2012-2013 film awards season via The Circuit.

Less than a week away from the unveiling of the Academy Award nominations, a question near the top of many Oscar pundits’ minds is whether or not “Skyfall” can actually crack a Best Picture nomination. What seemed a long shot just two months ago has since become a far less fanciful notion, as the 23rd official entry in the James Bond franchise has consolidated its strong reviews and gangbusters box office with a healthy precursor showing, most notably with the guilds.

Javier Bardem’s surprise SAG nod was a good sign, as was yesterday’s Art Directors’ Guild mention, but the best news was a nomination for the Producers’ Guild award earlier this week. Add that to what is likely to be a healthy haul of BAFTA nominations next week, and things are looking as good as they could be for the veteran spy.

Of course, it’s just as easy to imagine the film being relegated to the technical categories. As “The Dark Knight” reminded us only a few years ago, popcorn franchise entries — even the classiest ones — struggle to be taken seriously by the Academy. Moreover, the 007 franchise is one for which the Academy has never had much use: only seven films in the series have ever been nominated for Oscars (in below-the-line categories only, to boot), and the last of those was “For Your Eyes Only” in 1981.

But while a sizeable audience will be disappointed in “Skyfall” fails — as I suspect it narrowly will — to secure a top nod, the Academy has a contingency plan  in place. It was announced today that next month’s Oscar telecast will include a tribute to the franchise to mark its 50th anniversary. 

Telecast producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron offered this statement: “We are very happy to include a special sequence on our show saluting the Bond films on their 50th birthday. Starting with ‘Dr. No” back in 1962, the 007 movies have become the longest-running motion picture franchise in history and a beloved global phenomenon.”

I take “special sequence” to mean one of those montages so beloved of Oscarcast producers, but the gesture is more significant than the execution. Though the Academy sometimes uses the ceremony to lightly point out their own blind spots — that limp horror montage two years ago springs to mind — it’s rare for them to celebrate particular films and series outside of a competitive or honorary context.

If “Skyfall” doesn’t nab the Best Picture nod, the tribute could be seen to serve as a tacit apology, and a tip of the hat to a series that has maintained and even improved standards over the years. If it does, it might seem a little unorthodox for one nominee to receive the extra attention — but since it’s never going to win, the Academy safely has all bases covered. 

Welcome to Oscar Talk.

In case you’re new to the site and/or the podcast, Oscar Talk is a weekly kudocast, your one-stop awards chat shop between yours truly and Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood. The podcast is weekly, every Friday throughout the season, charting the ups and downs of contenders along the way. Plenty of things change en route to Oscar’s stage and we’re here to address it all as it unfolds.

There’s only one order of business this week as we charge into the new year with Oscar nominations right around the corner: firming up predictions. Of course, we won’t offer up final thoughts on those until next week but in the meantime, there are plenty of close races to mull over and attempt to handicap, so we give it our best.

Have a listen to the new podcast below. If the file cuts off for you at any time, try the back-up download link at the bottom of this post. You to subscribe to Oscar Talk via iTunes here. And as always, if you have a question you’d like us to address on a future podcast, send it to OscarTalk@HitFix.com.

“Here I Come” courtesy of Stuart Park.

As usual, the Oscar race for Best Cinematography presents an embarrassment of riches this year. Contending directors of photography have offered exemplary work, whether highlighting fantasy or history, focusing on land or water, displaying composed and gorgeous widescreen shots or gripping action and dynamic camera movement.

One film managed to do all of these things, and used two DPs to do it. I’m referring, of course, to “Cloud Atlas,” where John Toll and Frank Griebe collaborated with the Wachowskis and Tom Twyker on what is widely considered one of the most ambitious films of the year.

Toll, a back-to-back Oscar winner for “Legends of the Fall” and “Braveheart,” worked with the Wachowskis on the segments of the film set in the 1840s, the 2100s and the 2300s. Griebe, who has shot all of Twyker”s feature films, lensed the stories set in the 1930s, 1970s and 2012. Generally speaking, there were two crews that worked with the respective directors. Obviously, however, the actors were shared. But having two sets of directors and two DPs posed inherent challenges to creating a consistent look for the film.

“We spoke a lot of exactly that,” Toll says. “We approached it as a unified film. Tom and Lana and Andy had prepped it together. We spent a lot of time talking about individual approaches to the segments. From my point of view, I thought to ask how to create each individual story as a standalone story, but we wanted to make sure it didn”t feel like six different movies that were all connected.”

Adds Griebe, “This is moviemaking. You try something new and find out if it works or if it doesn”t.” For the 1970s segment, he says he looked to movies from the era, such as “Sleuth” and “Three Days of the Condor.” But he was not concerned about confusing the audience. “I think today so many people watch three minutes here and there,” he says of this sort of YouTube culture that could easily adapt to a jumpy storyline.

Toll notes the need to advance each individual story within its own aesthetic, observing that “Neo Seoul” was “an emotionally dark story” that consequently required dark photography. The futuristic Tom Hanks story, however, had lots of exterior work and tension needed to be created in the light. “I just do what makes sense,” he says of trusting his instincts along the way.

While Griebe had a shorthand in place with Tykwer due to two decades of work together, Toll had to develop a fresh relationship with the Wachowskis. “They”re very visually articulate,” Toll says. “They put an enormous amount of time into collaboration. They work very much on their feet, which is the way I like to work.”

The DPs also spotlight the contributions of the production designers and makeup artists in bringing the film to life. “There was a great working relationship among everyone,” Toll recalls. “We were setting the tone for the entire production and we all had the opportunity to share the prep time together. If I had suggestions for modification, they were receptive – things like the color of the wall and for special makeup, areas that might be problematic.”

“I”ve worked with the production designer [Uli Hanisch] for over a decade,” Griebe says. “So we know each other very well. The makeup artist – Daniel Parker – is very new. He had a lot of work and he had a very, very good crew. We did a lot of makeup tests to ensure everything worked.”

Despite a lengthy and accomplished career, Toll had never done a film before this that relied on visual effects to such a great extent. But both his strengths and the directors’ ended up being symbiotic. “The Wachowskis obviously know their way around visual effects,” he says. “When we started, I said, ‘I”m going to learn a lot about shooting visual effects.’ But they hadn”t shot large exteriors, an area where I had had experience. So we learned from each other.”

Griebe, whose career has been mostly focused in Europe to date, admits there is a difference between German and American filmmaking, “Especially with the money,” he says. But how did he think “Cloud Atlas” fit into this paradigm? “They collected money from all around the world,” he says. “It is a mix between American, German and I think it”s a ‘world movie” – players came from China, Korea, England, Germany, France and the States.”

While maintaining a certain continuity across the various stories was a stated challenge, Toll also marvels at the actors” ability to switch gears along the way. “It was a particularly elaborate schedule,” he says. “We were shooting all different stories wherever we went. Both units were shooting simultaneously and we were sharing the actors. It was hard on everybody but the actors had it toughest of all. I can just imagine what they were going through. I have to give an enormous amount of credit to them.”

When he looks back on the film, though, he feels its unique nature – and what the filmmakers were reaching for – is what he”ll remember most. “It”s not a commercially-minded film,” he says. “It is trying to say something about the human condition, about really big ideas. As a filmmaker, those opportunities are rare.”

Whether the film succeeded in its ambitious goals is a matter people have debated and will undoubtedly continue to debate. But there may be more seemingly successful films from 2012 that I”m willing to bet won”t be nearly as well-remembered in the future. And with their work behind the camera, Griebe and Toll contributed immeasurably to that place in cinematic history.

Ang Lee could well miss the Best Director cut when the Oscar nominations are announced next week, but even if he does, the “Life of Pi” director is receiving plenty of appreciation from below-the-line branches. The Motion Picture Sound Editors will be feting him in February, and now the Visual Effects Society has followed suit: Lee will receive their Visionary Award, first presented last year to Christopher Nolan, at their awards ceremony next month. VES awards chair Jeff Okun says, “[Lee] pushed the envelope of creation of visual effects for telling a story. In our generation, only ‘Star Wars’ did that.” It certainly won’t be the only recognition “Life of Pi” receives from this particular guild. [Variety]  

Steve Pond offers a comprehensive examination of the 75 tunes in contention for Best Original Song; he calls “Les Mis” track “Suddenly” the “closest thing to a category favorite,” but also “thin and undernourished.” [The Wrap]

The Santa Barbara fest will open with the US premiere of Henry-Alex Rubin’s “Disconnect,” starring Jason Bateman and Andrea Riseborough. I wasn’t a fan at Venice, but it might play better at home. [SBIFF]

Sharon Seymour’s ADG nod yesterday for “Argo” surprised some people, but the film is certainly a meticulous period showcase. She discusses her process. [New York Times] 

On the success of Steven Spielberg’s “anti-campaign” for “Lincoln.” [The Hollywood Reporter]

Speaking of “Lincoln,” Jackson Truax talks to industry legend Ben Burtt about the film’s quietly detailed sound design. [Awards Daily]

R. Kurt Osenlund handicaps the race for Best Supporting Actress, which he deems “the year’s most riches-packed race, and the one with the least room for disappointment.” [The House Next Door]

Susan King looks into the technical magic that went into creating the remarkable tsunami sequence in “The Impossible.” Shame the Academy’s VFX branch wasn’t sufficiently impressed. [LA Times]

Jessica Chastain may be a newish face to most us, but Tim Walker claims an Oscar would be an “overdue reward” for an actress whose success is hardly the overnight variety. [The Independent]

“Why would I ever get cocky? I’m not saving anyone’s life … I’m making movies. It’s stupid.” I’m not bored yet of Jennifer Lawrence’s interview demeanour. [Vanity Fair]  

Finally someone would like to shake things up a little bit again. The Central Ohio Film Critics Association has chosen Wes Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom” as the year’s best film, and not only that, but given it five awards, including Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Score and Best Ensemble. Daniel Day-Lewis won Best Actor for “Lincoln” while Jennifer Lawrence took Best Actress for “Silver Linings Playbook.” Check out the full list of winners below and as always keep up with the season via The Circuit.

Best Film
1. “Moonrise Kingdom”
2. “Argo”
3. “Django Unchained”
4. “Zero Dark Thirty”
5. “The Cabin in the Woods”
6. “Silver Linings Playbook”
7. “Lincoln”
8. “Looper”
9. “The Master”
10. “Les Misérables”

Best Director
Wes Anderson, “Moonrise Kingdom” (Runner-up: Ben Affleck, “Argo”)

Best Actor
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln” (Runner-up: John Hawkes, “The Sessions”)

Best Actress
Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook” (Runner-up: Naomi Watts, “The Impossible”)

Best Supporting Actor
Christoph Waltz, “Django Unchained” (Runner-up: Leonardo DiCaprio, “Django Unchained”)

Best Supporting Actress
Anne Hathaway, “Les Misérables” (Runner-up — TIE — Helen Hunt, “The Sessions” and Ann Dowd, “Compliance”)

Best Adapted Screenplay
“Lincoln” (Runner-up: “Argo”)

Best Original Screenplay
“Moonrise Kingdom” (Runner-up: “The Cabin in the Woods”)

Best Cinematography
“Skyfall” (Runner-up: “Life of Pi”)

Best Score
“Moonrise Kingdom” (Runner-up: “Cloud Atlas”)

Best Animated Film
“ParaNorman” (Runner-up: “Wreck-It Ralph”)

Best Foreign Language Film
“The Kid with a Bike” (Runner-up: “Headhunters”)

Best Documentary
“How to Survive a Plague” (Runner-up: “The Imposter”)

Best Ensemble
“Moonrise Kingdom” (Runner-up: “Lincoln”)

Best Overlooked FIlm
“Killer Joe” (Runner-up: “Safety Not Guaranteed”)

Breakthrough Film Artist
Bart Layton, “The Imposter” (Runner-up: Quvenzhané Wallis, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”)

Actor of the Year (for exemplary body of work)
Matthew McConaughey, “Bernie,” “Killer Joe,” “Magic Mike” and “The Paperboy” (Runner-up: Anne Hathaway, “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Les Misérables”)

Nominations have been announced by the Denver Film Critics Society. “Argo,” “Lincoln,” “The Master” and “Silver Linings Playbook” led the way with four nominations each, though “Lincoln” and “The Master” were edged out of the Best Picture category by “Django Unchained.” Check out the full list of nominees below. Winners will be announced on January 8. Keep up with the season via The Circuit.

Best Film
“Argo”
“Django Unchained”
“Silver Linings Playbook”

Best Director
Ben Affleck, “Argo”
Paul Thomas Anderson, “The Master”
Kathryn Bigelow, “Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Actor
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln”
John Hawkes, “The Sessions”
Denzel Washington, “Flight”

Best Actress
Jessica Chastain, “Zero Dark Thirty”
Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Quvenzhané Wallis, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”

Best Supporting Actor
Robert De Niro, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Philip Seymour Hoffman, “The Master”
Tommy Lee Jones, “Lincoln”

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, “The Master”
Anne Hathaway, “Les Misérables”
Sally Field, “Lincoln”

Best Adapted Screenplay
“Argo”
“The Perks of Being a Wallflower”
“Silver Linings Playbook”

Best Original Screenplay
“Django Unchained”
“The Master”
“Moonrise Kingdom”

Best Original Score
“Argo”
“The Dark Knight Rises”
“Lincoln”

Best Original Song
“Suddenly” from “Les Misérables”
“Skyfall” from “Skyfall”
“When Can I See You Again?” from “Wreck-It Ralph”

Best Animated Feature
“Frankenweenie”
“ParaNorman”
“Wreck-It Ralph”

Best Documentary Feature
“Bully”
“Jiro Dreams of Sushi”
“Samsara”

Best Non-English Language Feature
“Amour”
“Holy Motors”
“The Intouchables”

Under-the-radar Oscar hopeful “The Impossible” may be one of the year’s most emotionally battering films, but not everyone’s feeling it — as the adjusted true-life tale of surviving the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami continues to take flak for overwhelming focus on the white tourists affected by the tragedy. British historian Alex von Tunzelmann is among the least impressed, acknowledging the film’s skilful construction, but writing: “The film seems unaware of its own politics – though it certainly has some … Both at the beach and in the hospital, almost all the victims of this disaster appear to be white. The Alvárez-Belón family’s story is moving, dramatic and true, and there’s no reason it shouldn’t be told; but it’s a shame that that the film excludes any meaningful acknowledgment of the disaster’s Asian victims while doing so.” [The Guardian]   

David Sirota, meanwhile, considers the racial discussion around “Dajango Unchained,” and wonders how different the reception would be had a black director made the film. [Salon]

A great interview with “Django” costume designer Sharen Davis. So much going on in that film’s sartorial choices. [Clothes on Film]. 

Stacy Wolf on why “Les Mis” continues to move millions of viewers — despite its retrograde gender stereotyping. [Washington Post]

Mark Blankenship addresses the same issue, referring specifically to the “insidious kind of sexism” around the character of Cosette, but concludes that she’s required to be insipid. [New Now Next]

Meredith Blake talks to “Life of Pi” marine consultant Steven Callhan, whose experience as real-life shipwreck survivor lent some authenticity to the magical-realist tale. [LA Times]

Michael Cieply examines documentary maker Steven C. Barber’s self-funded Oscar campaign to get his film “Until They Are Home” nominated in the music categories. It’s not a cheap business. [New York Times]

Steve Pond talks to Cristian Mungiu, director of the Oscar-shortlisted foreign language contender “Beyond the Hills” — five years after the Academy’s exclusion of his last feature partially triggered a major change to the voting system. [The Wrap]

Randee Dawn celebrates the multiple outstanding child performers featured in this year’s awards crop — whether they themselves find recognition or not. [Variety]

Not only is Russell Crowe unfazed by Adam Lambert’s recent criticism of the live singing in “Les Mis” — he doesn’t even particularly disagree. Man’s mellowed over the years. [THR]

The Art Directors Guild has announced nominees for excellence in production design for 2012. A wide cross-section of work was selected, though high-profile exclusions include “The Master” and “Moonrise Kingdom.”

In the period category, Oscar frontrunners such as “Anna Karenina,” “Les Miserables” and “Lincoln” were chalked up alongside “Argo” (which is likely to keep burning it up with industry awards) and “Django Unchained” (more support for Quentin Tarantino’s film).

Meanwhile, in the fantasy field (which is likely to offer up one or a few Oscar nominees itself), PGA nominee “Life of Pi” made a showing, as did Ridley Scott’s “Alien” prequel “Prometheus.” Warner Bros. ought to be happy with the films rounding it out, as “Cloud Atlas,” “The Dark Knight Rises” and “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” all come from their stable.

Finally, the contemporary field — which rarely produces work that stands out enough with the Academy’s design branch enough to find space in the nominations (unfortunately) — saw “Skyfall” and “Zero Dark Thirty” pick up their second guild nominations of the day. “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” (still an industry favorite that could surprise next Thursday), “Flight” and “The Impossible” filled out the set.

This is bummer news for “The Master,” and production designer Jack Fisk remains a one-time nominee with the guild and, potentially, with the Academy. Of course, one can pay TOO much attention to guild announcements. Last year Steven Spielberg’s “War Horse” seemed like it was all but dead as it missed industry nod after industry nod. Meanwhile, David Fincher’s “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” managed to keep getting nominations. The former got the Best Picture nod over the latter.

And it’s a shame to see “Moonrise Kingdom” miss, as it had some exemplary work to say the least. I’m not sure that missing here says a whole lot about its Best Picture chances, and frankly, Adam Stockhausen’s work shouldn’t be ruled out for Oscar recognition just yet, either.

As for this particular category, I’d say “Anna Karenina,” “Les Miserables” and “Lincoln” are still the good bets. “Django Unchained” would make a handsome addition, and might just, while I might look to the fantasy field to fill out the slate. Perhaps “Cloud Atlas” or the supremely crafted “Prometheus.”

And let’s not forget, Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy managed nominations for three-straight years. So perhaps “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” has a better shot than most might think? And honestly, I wouldn’t rule out “Argo” here. Sharon Seymour’s detailed work could easily manage a bid.

Check out the full list below. The 17th annual Art Directors Guild Awards will be held on February 2.

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

Period Film:

“Anna Karenina”
“Argo”
“Django Unchained”
“Les Misérables”
“Lincoln”

Fantasy Film:

“Cloud Atlas”
“The Dark Knight Rises”
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
“Life of Pi”
“Prometheus”

Contemporary Film:

“The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”
“Flight”
“The Impossible”
“Skyfall”
“Zero Dark Thirty”

The Producers’ Guild of America caught us unawares this afternoon by announcing their nominees a day ahead of schedule, and while we’re currently expecting the Writers’ Guild to reveal their picks on Friday, it seems safest to preview them two days in advance. Guild award season is upon us (the Art Directors’ Guild also offers its own list tomorrow), so we’re trying not to be caught out.

As any practised awards-watcher knows, while the Guilds are generally the most reliable of all precursors when it comes to anticipating Oscars fortunes, the WGA are a notable exception — not least because, every year, much of the heavyweight competition in the screenplay categories is disqualified.

Screenplays not written by Guild members, among other qualifying conditions, aren’t eligible for the WGA, which invariably leads to a significant discrepancies between the Guild nominees in the adapted and original screenplay races, and the Academy’s eventual picks. With such different pools to choose from, it’s no surprise that In the last decade, only 27 of the Guild’s 50 Best Original Screenplay nominees have also nabbed an Oscar nod; that figure rises to 35 in the adapted race, but it’s still a low strike rate compared to other Guild awards. 

That may lead some to write off the WGA Awards as an irrelevant, needlessly exclusive backpatting affair, but of course, any professional guild has the right to recognize and reward whomever they wish. The upside, for those of us in the market for some awards-circuit variety, is that the depleted field can force the Guild voters into some decidedly offbeat choices. Remember when “I Love You, Philip Morris” made the adapted field two years ago — the same year Nicole Holofcener popped up in the original slate for “Please Give?” Neither would likely have shown up had the Guild been working prom the same field of contenders as the Academy.

This year is no different. As Kris reported last month, the long list of titles ineligible for WGA consideration includes “Django Unchained,” “Amour,” “Middle of Nowhere,” “The Impossible,” “Take This Waltz” and “Seven Psychopaths” in the original category; in the adapted race,  “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” “Les Miserables,” “Anna Karenina” and “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”are among those out of the running.

You can breathe easy, however: “Parental Guidance,” “The Watch,” “Taken 2” and “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” are all on the list of 112 titles eligible for the WGA: 68 in original and just 44 in adapted.

When it comes to predicting the nominees, this narrowed field makes some easy calls even easier: there is no doubt, for example, that “Zero Dark Thirty” and “Moonrise Kingdom” are cemented nominees for the Best Original Screenplay WGA and Oscar; the same goes for “Argo,” “Lincoln” and “Silver Linings Playbook” in adapted. (I’d stop short of listing “Life of Pi” as an equally sure thing, given the film’s softer buzz and some critical reservations about its structure, but chances are Guild voters will respect the attempt.) Those films would constitute a standard level of Academy-Guild overlap in their categories, but surprises could lie further down?

In the original field, three-time WGA nominee Paul Thomas Anderson seems a solid bet for “The Master,” but an omission — after the Actors’ and Producers’ Guilds cold-shouldered the chilly, inscrutable film — wouldn’t surprise me. A safer nominee, strange as this may have sounded at the start of the season, may be Rian Johnson for “Looper.” The high-concept sci-fi hit has received a healthy number of critics’ citations for its screenplay in the last month, and the WGA is friendlier than the Academy towards genre fare: “Avatar” and “Star Trek” both landed WGA nods in 2009, for example.

The Guild also has significantly more time for comedy, both of an independent and mainstream hue — recent nominees that ultimately didn’t make the Academy’s cut include “The Hangover,” “(500) Days of Summer” and “50/50.” (Last year’s WGA original screenplay roster, for that matter, was wholly comic.) That could bode well for a range of comedies across the commercial spectrum, from “Damsels in Distress” to “Magic Mike” and even to “Ted.”

My instinct, however, tells me this year’s list will skew more dramatic, with quiet indie “Arbitrage” claiming an up-for-grabs fifth spot that good as easily go to John Gatins’s heavily promoted script for well-liked studio hit “Flight.” If they’re in a particularly playful mood, they could even recognize Joss Whedon’s successful year with a nod for his co-writing of clever-clever horror exercise “The Cabin in the Woods.”

It’s perhaps likelier that Whedon could find recognition in the adapted race for his box-office behemoth “The Avengers,” but there’s far less room for maneuver in that category — and if the PGA didn’t feel inclined to nominate the year’s top grosser, it’s a stretch to imagine the writers doing so. The same probably goes for the summer’s other superhero smash “The Dark Knight Rises,” even if the WGA nominated its predecessor.  

No, if one action-heavy franchise hit makes the cut, I’m putting my chips on “Skyfall.” The critically acclaimed James Bond adventure received a hefty boost today with a PGA nomination, and the film seems poised to score well with the below-the-line Guilds, so it’s not hard to imagine the writers: the film’s screenplay may not be its most dazzling attribute, but it’s sturdy work, co-written by one of the industry’s hardest-working go-to guys, John Logan. (If that comes to pass, don’t get too excited about its Oscar chances: remember that “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” scooped multiple Guild nominations, only to miss the Academy’s Best Picture lineup.)

Failing that, look for indie favorites “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” (which has picked up a number of unexpected citations along the way) or “Bernie” to show up, or for “This is 40” to return Judd Apatow to their good graces. That the comedy scribe, also nominated in the TV race as a member of the “Girls” writing team, was nominated for both “The 40 Year-Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up” without the Academy taking much notice is as good an example as any of the different, though not uninteresting, world these awards inhabit.

My best guesses:

Best Original Screenplay
Nicholas Jarecki, “Arbitrage”
Rian Johnson, “Looper”
Paul Thomas Anderson, “The Master”
Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola, “Moonrise Kingdom”
Mark Boal, “Zero Dark Thirty”

Look out for: “The Cabin in the Woods,” “Damsels in Distress,”  “Flight,”  “Magic Mike,””Ruby Sparks,” “Ted”

Best Adapted Screenplay
Chris Terrio, “Argo”
David Magee, “Life of Pi”
Tony Kushner, “Lincoln”
David O. Russell, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan, “Skyfall”

Look out for: “The Avengers,” “Bernie,” “On the Road,” “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” “The Sessions,” “This is 40”

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival has announced that “Django Unchained” star Leonardo DiCaprio will received its American Riviera Award.

It’s a nice bit of recognition for one of the film’s more dynamic performances. Christoph Waltz has received the bulk of the precursor awards attention, owed plenty to his co-lead status, while DiCaprio and co-star Samuel L. Jackson have been largely ignored. DiCaprio did, however, pick up an early prize from the National Board of Review.

“We are thrilled to be honoring Leonardo DiCaprio with the American Riviera Award, in a year where he has shown us another layer of his immeasurable talent,” festival director Roger Durling said via press release. “His performance in ‘Django Unchained’ reaffirms that he is the most relevant actor of this generation.”

Previous winners of the award include Martin Scorsese, Annette Bening, Sandra Bullock, Mickey Rourke and Tommy Lee Jones. The event will take place on February 1 at the Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara.

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival runs January 24 – February 3.

Nominees for the 24th annual PGA Awards have been announced. Expected money-makers such as “Argo” and “Lincoln” which have been mainstays in the season joined blockbuster fare such as “Skyfall” (Sony’s first billion-dollar grosser to date and an over-performer overall) as well as indies such as “Beasts of the Southern Wild” and “Moonrise Kingdom.”

That both “Beasts” and “Moonrise” managed nominations is a huge boost for those films’ Oscar potential. Some think the former is in for Oscar, others the latter. At the end of the day, both could make the cut, and the overall list of nominees might even look something like the below if there were a full slate of 10.

Films left off, perhaps not unexpectedly, include “Flight,” “The Impossible” and “The Master.” Though one film’s exclusion has me a little surprised: Marvel’s “The Avengers.” Of course, it’s not a major awards sort of film, but it IS the third-highest grossing film of all time and established a paradigm that is sure to be copied by the industry for years to come.

On the animation front, things are as expected. Studio fare dominated. But when the animation branch gets a hold of things, it could look a little different. After all, there are four GKIDS offerings in the mix that had no shot here but could easily appeal to animators, particularly “The Painting” and “The Rabbi’s Cat.”

Check out the full list of nominees below.

The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures:

“Argo”
“Beasts of the Southern Wild”
“Django Unchained”
“Les Misérables”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“Moonrise Kingdom”
“Silver Linings Playbook”
“Skyfall”
“Zero Dark Thirty”

Nominees for animated theatrical motion pictures:

“Brave”
“Frankenweenie”
“ParaNorman”
“Rise of the Guardians”
“Wreck-It Ralph”

Previously announced, the PGA documentary nominees are:

“The Gatekeepers”
“The Island President”
“The Other Dream Team”
“A People Uncounted”
“Searching for Sugar Man”

The 24th annual PGA Awards will be held on January 26, 2013.

Keep track of all the ups and downs of the 2012-2013 film awards season via The Circuit.