Well, the blockbuster movie season is upon us. Though I guess it’s left to be seen how many blocks “John Carter” will really bust. I haven’t seen the film yet, so I have nothing to offer. I’ve heard some good things but mostly I’ve been warned off a few dozen times. I’ll saddle up to it in due time, but for now, I imagine many of you will be hitting the multiplex this weekend to have a look for yourselves. When/if you do, head on back here and give us your take.

The Cannes Film Festival has a reputation for choosing slight-to-major disappointments for its opening night — think back on such flat party-starters as “Robin Hood,” “Blindness,” “My Blueberry Nights,” “The Da Vinci Code” and “Hollywood Ending,” if indeed you care to remember them at all. But the odds have improved lately: two recent Cannes curtain-raisers (and eventual Best Picture nominees), “Up” and “Midnight in Paris,” salvaged the slot’s reputation sufficiently that the news of a major auteur’s latest opening this year’s fest needn’t sound alarm bells. 

That auteur, as most Cannes-watchers correctly speculated, is Wes Anderson, whose “Moonrise Kingdom” was confirmed yesterday as the film that will kick things off on May 16. Given that the film is opening in French theaters on the very same day — and in the US only nine days later — it was an inevitable choice, though it’s worth noting that this is Anderson’s first film to play the Croisette. (His last live-action feature, 2007’s “The Darjeeling Limited,” premiered at Venice, marking his European-major debut.)

It hasn’t been clarified yet whether “Moonrise Kingdom” will compete for the Palme d’Or or not — the trend of late has been for festival openers to play out of competition, but “Blindness” is the most recent exception to that rule. Either way, it’s nice to see Cannes opting again for a film that at least resembles festival fare, rather than a wholly commercial blockbuster looking to filch some Euro prestige.

Hit or miss, the film makes perfect sense as a festival opener — a typically starry Anderson ensemble, including Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray and Frances McDormand, will make it a major red-carpet attraction for the media, while Anderson’s name  lends the choice more critical credibility than, say, “The Da Vinci Code.” It’s Anderson’s second straight film to be handed festival-opening duties: though a lower-profile premiere, “Fantastic Mr. Fox” did the honors at the 2009 London Film Festival.

“Moonrise Kingdom” promises a mellow start to Cannes: set in 1960s New England, this story of a small-town search for a pair of runaway lovers looks as lushly stylized as we’ve come to expect from the director. I’ve long been in the gritted-teeth, twee-allergic camp when it comes to Anderson’s work, though his foray into animation warmed me up slightly to his charms; here’s hoping his latest repeats the trick. 

For more views on movies, awards season and other pursuits, follow @GuyLodge on Twitter. 

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Elizabeth Olsen emerged with one of last season”s most notable performances in the psychological meditation on identity, community and occultism: “Martha Marcy May Marlene.” She had a strong presence in the critics” circuit and many felt she ought to have been granted an Oscar nod. An aspect of the intrigue surrounding Olsen”s debut is, of course, her familial connection to the industry.

Her older sisters, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, who began their careers before they even had the power of speech, have long been famous, essentially, for being famous. The twins have been associated with the dramatic spectrum of celebrity for years. Unthinkable wealth (they are said to have net worth of upwards of $120 million dollars and preside over a billion-dollar fashion empire) is countered with a near constant onslaught by a press corps in search of the details of their private lives.

So to have their younger sister make her theatrical entry in a rich, thought provoking, independent film that presented her free of artifice and stark in her emotional vulnerability and physical beauty was, for many, a surprise.

We will get our second glimpse of Olsen”s aesthetic and talent this weekend when the horror film “Silent House” makes its way into theatres in the U.S. and Canada. Olsen shot the film directly after she wrapped production on “Martha” so, while it may present a snapshot of her skills as an actress, it will not truly reveal how she plans to shape her career now that she has been afforded the privilege of choice.

“Silent House” — which was, for a time, marketed as a “single-shot” movie — is in fact a series of long takes (10-15 minutes in length) which are stitched together to create the illusion of one continuous shot. Part of Olsen”s acting challenge was to summon terror, rage and heartbreak and sustain it again and again through grueling 12-hour days. What the film offers its audience is an opportunity to see the actress rise to that occasion.

Olsen spoke a bit about her career thus far and the challenges of working on a film with “Silent House””s parameters at the Los Angeles press event for the film recently. “It became a muscle,” she says of her emotional endurance. “It actually became detrimental in my personal life.”

The actress realized just how raw she had become during a meeting at NYU where there had been a misunderstanding about the date that she had submitted withdrawal papers for the semester. A clerical error indicated that she had not submitted her paperwork on time and, as such, was going to be forced to pay 40% of the semester”s tuition. Frustrations over the misunderstanding quickly lead her to tears.

“I said ‘I”m so sorry, I can”t believe I”m crying!”” she recalls. “But it was because my body had been worked over so many times and there were so many buttons to push. I was so mortified that I was dealing with something so business/work-oriented and I just made it so personal so fast but it became this automatic muscle.”

Olsen”s sudden career rise has made it impossible for her to continue her studies at NYU for the time being. But she did not enter the cinematic arena lightly. Perhaps a bit gun shy after witnessing the insanity that her sisters were subjected to, Olsen has moved into her own career with slow, measured steps thus far.

“I very consciously focused on doing theatre when I was in high school because I wanted to be an actor, and the idea of doing film work was very intimidating to me,” she says. “Because it”s a much more public thing you”re choosing to do. I did acting classes when I was a kid with professional child actors, but I wasn”t working, it was just something I enjoyed doing.”

The actress continued her training at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Institute in New York, the Moscow Theatre School in Russia and the Atlantic Acting School through the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. Olsen spent her sophomore year in college as an understudy in both off-Broadway and Broadway productions where she was able to meet casting directors as well as her agent. She made a commitment not to begin work until she had completed the three years of conservatory work that NYU requires. That was two years ago.

“I know that I”m in a very odd situation where the first movie I”ve worked on happened this way without having to do a ‘Law & Order’ or anything,” she says of her rapid fire entrance into the world of cinema. “I did audition for those kinds of things, but they didn”t cast me. What”s happened is very odd and lucky and I couldn”t expect any of it. And I”m going to keep trying to work until I have so many misses that I have to try and work back up and start again. I am well aware that it is a roller-coaster.”

For now, Olsen has moved past the audition phase (for the most part) and into a career where she takes meetings to explore her connection to a character or a project, something she notes with some measure of loss. “I love auditioning,” she says. “I”ve always liked it. I think it”s an important part of the process where you get to say, ‘This is what I”ve got; do you jive with it?” But sometimes you can tell just by meeting with someone if you”re going to have a compatible working style, which I guess is equally important.”

As she moves through and beyond this “year of firsts,” Olsen is slowly laying the groundwork for her long-term professional goals, even as she discovers exactly what those are. “What”s happening right now is that I am so excited that I have choices that I kind of want to do everything,” she says. “So I am doing a small part in an Allen Ginsberg movie ‘Kill Your Darlings.” I”m in four scenes and I cannot wait to work on it. And then I get to do a period movie with Glenn Close [‘Therese Raquin”] for three months of my life.

“I”m just trying to do things that I”ve never done, that are challenging and interesting to me and with people I respect and want to work with. I feel very lucky to be in a position where I don”t have children and I don”t have to pay for a mortgage and things like that so I can make independent movies because I just take care of myself. When I have kids I”m going to try and do as many animation movies as possible to pay for tuition.”

In the interim, Olsen attempts to maintain a sense of balance in the face of circumstances that are, doubtless, often surreal. Perhaps the lessons of her youth will provide her with a sense of grounding that many other young actors must struggle with.

“I don”t really want it to infiltrate my personal life,” she says. “I”m very well aware of what reality is and what work is. Even if you”re going to a party, that”s work and that”s not my reality. I”m seeing my little sister play in her championship basketball game tonight and that”s my reality. You just try and work and know that that”s why you”re doing your job.”

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In 2003, three friends — Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey and Laren Poole — traveled to Africa in search of “untold stories.” What they found would inspire a movement and alter the course of their lives.

Each of the boys was a recent college grad with film, structural engineering and mathematics degrees respectively. But it was Russell who spearheaded their initial journey. The young filmmaker had traveled to Kenya in 2000 and, as he recalls in an interview with the 700 Club, had his “American bubble” popped.

“I suddenly realized we are the privileged percentage of the world,” Russell said. “I knew I had to go back to Africa.” He reached out to several friends to make the trip with him but it was only Bailey and Poole who responded with equal passion.

The boys traveled from the Sudan to Kenya and eventually landed in Uganda where they discovered a conflict that had already raged for 20 years by the time of their arrival, one that had destroyed the lives of countless children. The three Americans came into contact with the traumatized survivors of the rebel faction the Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA, lead by Joseph Kony, a man who has proclaimed himself to be a “spokesperson” for God.

Kony and his forces have been kidnapping children as young as 5-years-old since 1987 and forcing them to fight, kill and mutilate, sometimes their own parents. The girls are often forced into sexual slavery. Russell, Bailey and Poole became determined to shine a light on the children who fled from Kony and the LRA and, with that goal in mind, created the documentary “Invisible Children” to give voice to the horror that they had suffered, and that so many children continue to endure.

“Invisible Children” was subsequently screened at thousands of American high schools, college campuses, churches and special events with the sole purpose of spreading the word about what was happening in central Africa. The trio believed that if people knew, then something would be done to stop it.

The United States government was reluctant to intercede as the atrocities held no threat to U.S. national security or financial interests. The group officially formed a non-profit in 2006 in order to continue with their campaign of awareness as well as to raise money for health and educational programs designed to support the LRA survivors.

I remember “Invisible Children” coming to my own university campus. It was at a time when I was working on two social issues documentaries. I now understand documentary filmmaking (particularly social justice documentary filmmaking) to be a herculean effort that requires a level of commitment and patience that very few possess. I am awed by what Russell, Bailey and Poole have been able to accomplish in the ensuing years.

This year, they are taking on their greatest challenge: to make Joseph Kony famous. The intention is that awareness of both Kony and the LRA will reach a critical mass, ensuring that military aid will be provided to the Ugandan mission to find Kony and bring him to trial at The Hague by December 31, 2012. The Facebook and social networking communities will serve to support and promote additional grass roots methods in order to reach a saturation point.

This campaign, and the way the “Invisible Children” team has devised it, highlights all the possibilities that exist for a new way to exercise power and to engage with the world of technology we find ourselves in today. Perhaps that is all a bit idealistic. But so what? We”ve got to spend our time on something and speaking for myself, I am reminded of how often throughout the course of my life it has been spent on nothing.

Take a look at the video KONY 2012 below. You can also visit the “Invisible Children” website here as well as the KONY 2012 site here, and if you feel so inclined, share it.

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/37119711 w=640&h=360]

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“A Separation” holds a place of significance in Iran. It represents the nation”s first Best Foreign Language Film Oscar win and greatest box office success (over $10 million in international sales). It nearly failed to see the light of day and has been subject to multiple politically motivated interpretations.

The Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance placed a ban on “A Separation” while it was still in production following director Asghar Farhadi”s comments at the 2010 Iran Cinema Celebration criticizing the Iranian cultural policy for singling out and censuring some of the country”s most prominent filmmakers. The film’s production license was eventually reinstated, however, allowing Farhadi to complete his film.

“A Separation” was originally interpreted as a protest against the current regime and yet has since been co-opted by said regime as a jewel in Iran”s geopolitical crown. According to Payvand Iran News, Fars news agency, which is referred to as “False News” by some and is reportedly connected to Iran”s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), misquoted Farhadi”s Oscar speech in an article that linked the director to the current nuclear crisis.

Fars printed the following as an excerpt from the acceptance speech:

“I proudly offer this award to the people of my country who, despite all the tensions and hostility of recent months between Iran and the West over Iran”s nuclear program, respect all cultures and civilizations.”

Farhadi, in fact, never mentioned the nuclear program in his speech. Here is the actual quote:

“I proudly offer this award to the people of my country, the people who respect all cultures and civilizations and despise hostility and resentment. Thank you so much.”

Meanwhile, The Indian Express reports that Javad Shamaghdari, an official from Iran”s cultural ministry, had the following to say in reference to “A Separation””s Oscar win:

“The Americans bowed vis-à-vis Iranian culture, the voters of the academy reacted differently compared to the Zionist lobby which is beating the drums of war.”

Each instance represents an attempt to use the film’s notoriety as a platform to push the idea of the legitimacy of Iran”s current nuclear agenda.

Amidst the political game of chess that the various parties are playing with the film, “A Separation” star Peyman Moaadi has released a public letter to Farhadi acknowledging the film”s global and national significance, denying the claim certain organizations have made on it and celebrating the director”s achievement. “A certain group is trying to make a connection between the film”s success and politics on imaginary grounds,” he writes. “This is enough motivation for me to write and publish this letter.”

The actor also highlights key moments throughout the awards season in the letter: Woody Allen expressing his surprise at the depths to which “A Separation” impacted him and requesting a meeting with Farhadi to discuss the film at length; Angelina Jolie and Meryl Streep each indicating a desire to work with the director; Steven Spielberg saying he believed that “A Separation” would be the best film of the year by a wide margin; Bob Dylan, David Fincher, Francis Ford Coppola and a plethora of cinema”s most revered creators relaying felicitations and demonstrating profound respect for the film.

The politics are a factor, the celebrity attention is both beneficial and, likely, a thrill, but it is the universal nature of the story that  “A Separation” tells that is, in some ways, most extraordinary. It inspires us to move beyond the limits of our perception into the sometimes more uncomfortable reality of just how closely connected and alike we truly are.

In his letter, Moaadi reminds us of how his director simultaneously corrected some exaggerated perceptions of Iran and emphasized our interconnectivity at the Golden Globes press conference. “You said, ‘I don”t want to say that filmmaking conditions are ideal in my country, but the image you have of filmmaking in Iran is also not accurate,”” Moaadi writes. “Another thing you said which elicited the audience”s applause was when you pointed out that differences among people in various parts of the world were much fewer than their similarities, and that it was more to the benefit of politics to exaggerate differences and gaps and put more emphasis on them.”

Though we may understand on an intellectual level that, despite the appearance of a cultural divide, our human desires and needs are fundamentally alike, our commonality doesn”t always seep into our emotional responses. I recall speaking with a woman in the West Bank who had lost three sons in different conflicts. At one point she turned to me with a look of contemplation on her face. “You”re American?” she asked. “I thought all Americans were just machines with no hearts.”

I can still feel my sadness at her assessment. I understood. Contact is essential to understanding and the heartbreak she had been forced to endure would harden anyone to some degree. Still, I felt a sense of powerless remorse that she had come to see me, my family and my country in such one-dimensional terms. In truth, there are those that consider themselves egalitarian humanitarians who speak about others, just across the political aisle, with hatred and violence, though.

If “A Separation” is to be read as a political allegory it is one that expresses the idea that in most (though not all) circumstances where there are oppositional sides, each “side” and each player is flawed, imperfect and often blinded, if not crippled, by his or her own motivations.

Aside from the larger themes that are present, and indeed the film does subtly illuminate some of the dynamics in Iran”s social realms, “A Separation” also presents a portrait of a couple, Nadir and Simin, that is as vulnerable and stubborn as any, anywhere in the world. The intimate connections depicted in the film are as relatable as the broader ideas.

Making a right-versus-wrong assessment should be as painstaking for us as choosing between her parents is for Nadir and Simin”s daughter, Termeh. The child’s awakening to her father”s limitations is one we each must go through with our own parents, our nations or political affiliations and, ultimately, ourselves.

“A visual error of us humans is that when we see something from close range, we do not generally appreciate its grandeur,” Moaadi writes to open his letter. It is lovely, and to be admired, that he took the time to ensure that this moment did not pass without a demonstration of his gratitude for Farhadi”s work and, indeed, its grandeur.

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While “The Godfather” is busy celebrating its 40th anniversary this year (and got a re-release courtesy of Cinemark Theatres), another American celluloid treasure will be turning 70 and getting it’s own fresh look on screens later this month.

Michael Curtiz’s undeniable classic, “Casablanca,” premiered in November of 1942 before being released into theaters in early 1943. The film won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay and was nominated for Best Actor (Humphrey Bogart, who lost to Paul Lukas in “Watch on the Rhine”), Best Supporting Actor (Claude Rains, who lost to Charles Coburn in “The More the Merrier”), Best Black-and-White Cinematography (lost to “The Song of Bernadette”), Best Film Editing (lost to “Air Force”) and Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (lost to “The Song of Bernadette”).

Ingrid Bergman was nominated for Best Actress, though not for Curtiz’s film. She was cited instead for Sam Wood’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls.”

If somehow you’re a film lover and have never seen “Casablanca,” I think you should probably remedy that soon. I don’t think it’s the kind of film that can be over-hyped, fortunately, as every praised element is absolutely inarguable.

In any case, Turner Classic Movies has announced a 70th anniversary event for “Casablanca” to be held one day only in theaters nationwide. A new digital transfer will land on over 450 screens March 21 (curiously far removed from the actual anniversary date, though I guess the annual Oscar glut would make a latter-year release a little more difficult to achieve effectively).

I caught “Casablanca” on the big screen (and on film, no less) a long time ago. It was a truly wonderful experience. I imagine if you haven’t seen it, you could certainly do a lot worse than catching it for the first time on the big screen and via a slick transfer.

But wait, there’s more. Notes the press release, “The event will begin with Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne taking audiences behind the scenes of this epic love story in a special original production showcasing stories from those who were on set and those who simply admire this timeless classic.”

Also worth noting is TCM’s second annual film festival, which will be held in Los Angeles the weekend of April 12. I was bummed to miss it last year but I’ll definitely try to hit it up this time around.

Check out a trailer announcing the “Casablanca” 70th anniversary event below.

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Of course, these things are arranged too far in advance — July last year, to be exact — for the exchange to be quite as neat as it sounds, but the timing of this announcement underlines it anyway: in the same week that Harvey Weinstein won France its first Best Picture Oscar, the French in turn have honored the super-producer with its highest form of official recognition, the Légion d”Honneur.

Established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802, the Légion is approximately equivalent to the Queen’s Honours in Britain, noting outstanding individual contributions to French society and culture — previous recipients in the film world range from Ennio Morricone to Kristin Scott Thomas to Clint Eastwood, alongside any number of homegrown talents. Weinstein was selected for the honor by French president Nicolas Sarkozy, as a measure of gratitude “to someone who has always shown great friendship towards our country and our cinema which you have enabled so many Americans to discover.”

(“The Artist,” of course, wasn’t the only one of this year’s Best Picture nominees in which Sarkozy had a rooting interest: his wife, Carla Bruni, is one of the SAG-winning stars of “Midnight in Paris.” Woody Allen’s name, of course, doesn’t appear on the list of former Légion recipients; I can’t imagine the director, so beloved in France, hasn’t been asked before.)

“The Artist” aside, Weinstein has been good to the French film industry over the years, having shepherded such crossover successes as “Amélie” and the “Three Colors” trilogy onto US screens. (He’s also, incidentally, the man responsible for netting Juliette Binoche an Academy Award.) It’s an appropriate form of recognition, albeit in a week where Weinstein hardly needs another vote of thanks.

Weinstein’s formal letter of notification below:  

LETTER TO HARVEY WEINSTEIN FROM PRESIDENT NICOLAS SARKOZY

July 22, 2011

Dear Mr. Weinstein,

I have great pleasure of informing you that I have signed a decree which nominates you to the order of the Legion D”Honneur. This prestigious distinction, which I wanted to come from my personal allocation, is a testimony of the admiration of millions of French citizens for the exceptional quality of the films that you have produced. It also expresses our gratitude to someone who has always shown great friendship towards our country and our cinema, which you have enabled so many Americans to discover.

I would like to express my personal congratulations for the well-deserved distinction which France has bestowed on you.

Yours sincerely,

Nicolas Sarkozy

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It looks like 2012 is going to be a big year for studio anniversaries. We’ve already talked about Paramount’s centennial celebration, which was rung in with a classy screening of 1927 inaugural Best Picture winner “Wings” at the Academy in January, as well as a new iPad app putting the studio’s classic output on a pedestal.

Also celebrating this year are Universal Pictures (getting 100 spankings like Paramount) and subsidiary Focus Features (marking its tenth year). Like Paramount, Universal has unveiled a new logo trailer for its films (see below) and started a stream of restoration Blu-ray releases that makes the mouth water. (Drew McWeeny is all over it.)

Focus, meanwhile, has released a tribute package of great performances in the company’s films over the years, including those from Oscar winners Rachel Weisz (“The Constant Gardener”), Sean Penn (“Milk”) and Christopher Plummer (“Beginners”) and Oscar nominees Julianne Moore (“Far From Heaven”), Heath Ledger (“Brokeback Mountain”) and Viggo Mortensen (“Eastern Promises”).

Curiously there’s no mention of the company’s big coming out, Roman Polanski’s “The Pianist,” which brought the company three big, surprising Oscar wins in Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director and Best Actor. Adrien Brody’s performance in the film is, to me, the jewel in Focus’s crown.

I thought I’d use it as an opportunity to scan back across the last decade and pinpoint my favorite performances. Of course, those spotlighted are inarguable, but I’d have to point out Sean Penn’s best performance of 2003, from “21 Grams,” as well as pretty much that entire film’s cast. Bill Murray and Scarlet Johansson in “Lost in Translation” also go without saying, while other Oscar-nominated performers like Kate Winslet (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”), Jake Gyllenhaal & Michelle Williams (“Brokeback Mountain”), Keira Knightley (“Pride & Prejudice”), Saoirse Ronan (“Atonement”) and Gary Oldman (“Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”) would have to be included in this conversation.

However, I do find my favorite performances from the company’s stable lying outside the awarded spectrum. I think of Ben Affleck’s pleasantly surprising turn as George Reeves in Allen Coulter’s “Hollywoodland,” the film that really seemed to resurrect his mojo. The dark comedic stylings of Colin Farrell, Ralph Fiennes and Brendan Gleeson in Martin McDonagh’s “In Bruges” emboss the stable’s tendency toward comedic diversity (also evident in “Brick,” “Broken Flowers,” “The Ice Harvest” and “Shaun of the Dead”). And both Gael García Bernal and Rodrigo de la Serna brought something special in Walter Salles’s “The Motorcycle Diaries.”

I have three favorites, though, and those are refined and penetrating performances from Tang Wei (“Lust, Caution”), Jeff Bridges (“The Door in the Floor”) and Jim Carrey (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”). Each of those would rank considerably high on a personal consideration of the decade’s best performances, in fact.

I was happy to see Focus find itself from the remnants of strong indie companies like Polygram and October Films, the short-lived USA Films, etc. And when you look back at this decade, it’s pretty dense with quality. James Schamus and company should be (and no doubt are) very proud.

A Best Picture prize has eluded the company so far, though. They were *this* close with “Brokeback Mountain” (and, presumably, “The Pianist”). It took fellow studio dependent Fox Searchlight 13 years to get there with “Slumdog Millionaire.” Maybe Focus’s day is coming in the near future.

One to keep an eye on for 2012 is Roger Michell’s “Hyde Park on Hudson,” featuring Bill Murray as FDR. Everyone from Laura Linney to Olivia Williams to Olivia Colman could pop up in a theoretical supporting actress race. Joe Wright’s Tom Stoppard-scripted “Anna Karenina” could also be a player, with performances from Keira Knightley and Jude Law.

But we won’t go there just yet.

And where do you even start with Universal? “Double Indemnity,” “The Breakfast Club,” “Do the Right Thing,” “Touch of Evil,” “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial,” the classic movie monsters, just as a quick and varied cross-section of some personal favorites. That new “Deer Hunter” Blu-ray should be arriving tomorrow. You can learn more about all that at www.universal100.com.

After “Bridesmaids” success in 2011, Tom Hooper’s “The King’s Speech” follow-up “Les Misérables” is on the way from the studio this year, as well as Judd Apatow’s sure-to-be-too-long “This is 40.”

Check out a trailer celebrating the anniversary below, followed by that updated logo intro and then the Focus Features performance tribute reel (courtesy of Thompson on Hollywood).

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VUFefkVVuA&w=640&h=360]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Pd9n75wZNU&w=640&h=360]

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Now that the Oscar dust has settled and the early-year dumping ground has come to a close, studios are beginning to float materials for their (hopeful) moneymakers out there. Two trailers have dropped this week, for “The Avengers” (opening May 4) and Tim Burton’s “Frankenweenie” (which doesn’t hit until October).

On the former, I have to say, I’m on board. I have a built-in sense of caution when it comes to Joss Whedon, though, and I have to admit, as much as I don’t mind seeing her face in, well, anything, Scarlet Johansson seems incredibly pointless to that enterprise. Nevertheless, my fingers are crossed Marvel pulls this off.

Robert Downey Jr. called it the real “most ambitious film” of the Hollywood system at Comic-Con two years back (amid similar talk surrounding “Avatar” at the time). Marrying these properties together, getting it to come off without an ego hitch, it’s daunting. And there are money shots in the trailer that have me stoked. It should be an awesome way to kick off the summer movie season.

On Burton’s latest, wow, it’s been forever since I saw his 1984 short film “Frankenweenie” (which, by the way, features a very young Sofia Coppola in its voice cast). I used to have a VHS of it, I think. I was a fan. And there always seemed to be the possibility that he’d some day develop it as a feature length motion picture. While director is, more and more, wallowing in the typicalities of “Tim Burton cinema,” I guess it makes sense that he’d go there now. Along with “Dark Shadows” the film will mark a double-dip for him this year, much like the one-two punch of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “Corpse Bride” in 2005 (both of which landed Oscar nominations).

It’s basically a teaser trailer, since we’re a ways off here. And it looks, well, harmless enough, I guess. I tend to champion Burton and his sensibilities, even if I am getting a bit bored by his great settling as of late. After all, few filmmakers have such definable an aesthetic, and sometimes that aesthetic makes for breathtaking results. This year’s Best Cinematography Oscar winner Robert Richardson invoked Emmanuel Lubezki’s work on “Sleepy Hollow” when we spoke a few weeks back, still enamored by that film’s beauty. (Indeed, it’s one of my favorite Burton entries.)

The only 2012 movie I’ve even seen so far this year is “The Grey,” which I loved. There isn’t much coming immediately that I’m all that interested in. We’ve all heard about the train wreck of “John Carter.” “Silent House” looks intriguing for it’s “single take” dynamic if nothing else. We’ll all be hearing plenty about “21 Jump Street” out of SXSW (and by most early accounts, it’s fun, but I still don’t find myself all that interested.

I caught “Free Men” at the Santa Barbara Film Festival and, along with my fellow jury member, decided on it as the best of that fest’s international competition. It’ll be opening in limited release later this month. As will “The Raid: Redemption,” which I saw at Sundance and liked even if I did become exhausted by it. And I don’t imagine anyone asked for “Wrath of the Titans,” so who’s going to see it?

April brings “Titanic 3D,” which I may just see in 2D, as well as Richard Linklater’s “Bernie,” which I’ve heard falls short but I like the filmmaker so I’ll be there. Not much else, though. Then, finally, “The Avengers” blows up the box office to announce the summer season. Then comes Cannes (which Guy will be covering, as always), a few more months of popcorn fun and before you know it, Venice, Telluride, Toronto, the season. The season!

Okay, not yet. For now, though, check out the trailers for “The Avengers” and “Frankenweenie” below to wash down the season we just finished.

For year-round entertainment news and awards season commentary follow @kristapley on Twitter.

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One of the things that always seems to be nebulous to new film enthusiasts and, in particular, new Oscar watchers is the difference between sound editing and sound mixing. We’ve certainly made it a point to explain it over the years via the two categories’ separate Tech Support entries each season, but for those in the LA area, here’s your opportunity for a thorough crash course, AMPAS-style.

The Academy has just announced its “40 Years of Sound for Film” event set to take place on Tuesday, March 6 at the Linwood Dunn Theatre in Hollywood. Fresh off his Oscar win for “Hugo,” sound mixer Tom Fleischman will be on hand along withlegendary three-time Oscar-winning mixer Chris Newman (“Amadeus,” “The English Patient,” “The Exorcist”) to “explore the intricacies of building a motion picture soundtrack using clips from ‘Hugo,’ ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ and ‘The French Connection,'” according to the press release.

Furthermore, the program will demonstrate how raw tracks recorded on a set become part of the finished aural product through the collaboration of various sound engineers involved in a film: sound mixers, sound designers, sound effects editors and everyone’s favorite, foley artists. There will also be a discussion of how digital technology has progressed the art form as the two mixers share stories of working with directors like Jonathan Demme, Milos Forman, William Friedkin and Martin Scorsese.

Tickets for “40 Years of Sound for Film” are a measly $5 for the general public ($3 for Academy members and students with valid ID). They are available for purchase at the Academy’s official website, at the Academy box office located at 8949 Wilshire Blvd. or by mail. Doors will open at 7pm and the programs gets underway at 8pm.

If you’re a film enthusiast in the area, I strongly recommend taking in an event such as this. The knowledge and insight you’ll gain into the process will be invaluable, I guarantee it.

For year-round entertainment news and awards season commentary follow @kristapley on Twitter.

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The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films has announced the nominees for this year”s Saturn Awards and they are fairly across the map. There is a strong showing for the usual genre suspects with “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” receiving 10 nominations, “Super 8” (fittingly) eight, “Captain America: The First Avenger” seven and “The Adventures of Tintin” and “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” six each.

But Martin Scorsese”s “Hugo” seemed to be held in high favor. The film received 10 nominations, matching “Harry Potter,” but the director is also set to receive The George Pal Memorial Award for his “brilliant ode to the triumphant spirit of early cinema” in the film.

“This was a phenomenal year for genre films and TV series, which broadened the horizons of storytelling and technology, bringing audiences new ways to dream,” said Academy President Robert Holguin. “Every one of the nominated films represents a major contribution to science fiction, fantasy and horror and Martin Scorsese truly exemplified what is best about films and filmmaking.”

This Academy was founded in 1972 by film historian Dr. Donald A. Reed to honor and recognize genre entertainment, which, as the organization notes, “is frequently overlooked by mainstream entertainment-industry awards.”

It”s interesting that “Hugo,” a film that isn”t strictly sci-fi or fantasy, and has been honored throughout the awards season this year, is receiving so much of the thunder on this, the 40th anniversary of the organization. Certainly the film has fantasy elements. Its muse and one of its central characters, Georges Méliès, was an early fantasy innovator. The sequences in the third act that merge the worlds of 1930s Paris and Méliès’ cinematic heyday have gorgeous fantasy elements (they also happen to be my favorite portion of the film). But “Hugo” is not, fundamentally, a fantasy.

The awards traverse a wide terrain in terms of genre as well as aesthetic merit. Elizabeth Olson is nominated for her gripping break-out performance in “Martha Marcy May Marlene” (which, again, has some elements of horror, but is really a psychological drama) among other notable inclusions. It makes me wonder how and where the nominating body draws the line.

They have made sure to acknowledge Andy Serkis with a Best Supporting Actor nod, but I am surprised that “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” (one of the best science fiction films of last year) did not leave a deeper footprint on the nominations. It is also odd that Serkis was relegated to supporting.

In any event, 2012 has all the potential to yield a field of powerful, legitimate sci-fi and fantasy contenders. So we look forward to checking back in with Saturn next year.

The Saturn Awards will be presented at a special ceremony on Wednesday, June 20, in Burbank. Check out the full list of film nominees below. You can read through the TV nominees at the Saturn Awards website. And as always, remember to look back on the 2011-2012 film awards season via The Circuit.

Best Science Fiction Film
“The Adjustment Bureau”
“Captain America: The First Avenger”
“Limitless”
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
“Super 8”    
“X-Men: First Class”

Best Fantasy Film
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”
“Hugo”
“Immortals”
“Midnight in Paris”
“The Muppets”
“Thor”

Best Horror/Thriller Film
“Contagion”
“The Devil”s Double”
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
“The Grey”
“Take Shelter”
“The Thing”

Best Action/Adventure Film
“Fast Five”
“The Lincoln Lawyer”
“Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol”
“Red Tails”
“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows”
“War Horse”

Best Direction
Steven Spielberg, “The Adventures of Tintin”
David Yates, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”
Martin Scorsese, “Hugo”
Brad Bird, “Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol”
Rupert Wyatt, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
J.J. Abrams, “Super 8”

Best Actor
Antonio Banderas, “The Skin I Live In”
Dominic Cooper, “The Devil”s Double”    
Tom Cruise, “Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol”    
Chris Evans, “Captain America: The First Avenger”
Ben Kingsley, “Hugo”    
Michael Shannon, “Take Shelter”

Best Actress
Jessica Chastain, “Take Shelter”
Kirsten Dunst, “Melancholia”
Rooney Mara, “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
Brit Marling, “Another Earth”
Keira Knightley, “A Dangerous Method”
Elizabeth Olson, “Martha Marcy May Marlene”

Best Supporting Actor
Ralph Fiennes, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”    
Harrison Ford, “Cowboys and Aliens”
Tom Hiddleston, “Thor”    
Alan Rickman, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”    
Andy Serkis, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
Stanley Tucci, “Captain America: The First Avenger”

Best Supporting Actress
Elena Anaya, “The Skin I Live In”
Emily Blunt, “The Adjustment Bureau”    
Charlotte Gainsbourg, “Melancholia”
Paula Patton, “Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol”
Lin Shaye, “Insidious”
Emma Watson, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”

Best Performance by a Younger Actor
Asa Butterfield, “Hugo”
Joel Courtney, “Super 8”
Elle Fanning, “Super 8”    
Dakota Goyo, “Real Steel”    
Chloe Grace Moretz, “Hugo”
Saoirse Ronan, “Hanna”

Best Writing
“Another Earth”
“Hugo”
“Midnight in Paris”
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
“Super 8”
“Take Shelter”

Best Costumes
“Anonymous”
“Captain America: The First Avenger”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”
“Hugo”
“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows”
“Thor”

Best Editing
“The Adventures of Tintin”
“Fast Five”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”
“Hugo”
“Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol”
“Super 8”

Best Makeup
“Conan the Barbarian”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”
“Immortals”
“The Skin I Live In”
“The Thing”
“X-Men: First Class”

Best Music
“The Adventures of Tintin”
“Captain America: The First Avenger”
“Hugo”
“Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol”
“Super 8”
“War Horse”

Best Production Design
“The Adventures of Tintin”
“Captain America: The First Avenger”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”
“Hugo”
“Immortals”
“Thor”

Best Special Effects
“The Adventures of Tintin”
“Captain America: The First Avenger”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
“Super 8”
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”

Best Animated Film
“The Adventures of Tintin”
“Cars 2”
“Kung Fu Panda 2”
“Puss in Boots”
“Rango”
“Rio”

Best International Film
“Attack the Block”
“The Heir Apparent: Largo Winch”
“Melancholia”
“Point Blank”
“The Skin I Live In”
“Troll Hunter”

For year-round entertainment news and commentary follow @JRothC on Twitter.

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Spinning off of Roth’s piece this morning about the “Godfather” re-release, I just flipped it over to AMC and see that the film is airing there now. It’ll show again at midnight.

According to Entertainment Weekly, “The Godfather: Part II” will air on Tuesday and Thursday at 8 pm and 12:30 am. “The trilogy will then be aired in its entirety on Friday, March 2, from 9:30 am through 10 pm. The celebration culminates on Saturday with AMC”s premiere of the digitally-restored version of ‘The Godfather Saga’ beginning at 10 am.” You can learn more about the latter here. It’s awesome.

Anyway, in a nice bit of self-promotion, AMC has tapped stars of its hit series “Mad Men” to promote the film, its 40th anniversary and the channel’s special presentations. Jon Hamm, Jared Harris and Vincent Kartheiser are tapped for comments. I also saw “Breaking Bad”‘s Giancarlo Esposito thrown in there, too.

You can check out a truncated clip of those remembrances at EW (and test your “Godfather” trivia at AMC), but Hamm’s full thoughts I just caught while watching and figured I’d type them out. Not that it’s overly insightful, but Hamm said that Coppola’s 1972 Best Picture winner is one of the films he remembers “seeing and being blown away by, all the performances, all the characters, this unbelievably epic story. It’s an immigrant story and it’s a crime story and the music is so evocative. It’s so deeply interwoven. It’s really a masterpiece.”

The “M” word. #truthbomb

I remember “The Godfather” as this daunting near deity of movies when I was young, something higher than. I liked that sight-unseen sizzle, so naturally it had already taken on a mythic shape before I finally put in a VHS some time in high school to really study it.

It lived up to the hype. To say the least. It felt like the Mona Lisa of the form I was just beginning to understand on a deeper level. It had an aura that was palpable. It wasn’t just the nuts and bolts, the narrative precision, the thematic complexity. It was the attitude of the film which set it apart from anything I had ever seen. It was its self-assurance.

That’s a word I used to describe Benh Zeitlin’s “Beasts of the Southern Wild” at Sundance this year, “assured.” It’s rare that it comes along. It’s rarer, still, the directors that maintain it throughout a career. But “The Godfather” had it in spades, and despite its own circumstances (its embattled behind-the-scenes life).

When I saw “The Godfather Part II,” well, I didn’t know it was possible to be that wowed by a sequel, even though the line on the film was always that it somehow topped the first. I don’t actually agree with that notion, but it comes pretty damn close.

Some films can actually be diminished by expected or agreed-upon greatness, I think. Something like “The Godfather” becomes taken for granted. “Of course it’s great.” (Meryl Streep no doubt has suffered that kind of passive acceptance in her career.) But some films need to be consistently held up as a standard.

I’m watching it now, simultaneously in awe of its grandeur and its intimate exactitude. There Vito lies in bed, asking after his son Michael. It was Michael who took vengeance on Sollozzo, of course. He’ll be in hiding for some time, Hagen reveals. And you can see Vito’s heart break, in his eyes, in his slow, painful acceptance of what’s to come. The film is rich with that.

Robert Duvall and Marlon Brando were responsible for that moment, and James Caan, Diane Keaton, Sterling Hayden, Richard S. Castellano, Talia Shire and John Cazale many more.

“The Godfather” has kind of remained that sort of American cinema standard for me. There are films I like better because they speak to me in this or that magnetic way, but I can’t deny the, well, undeniable. “The Godfather” is indeed the “M” word.

Tell us about the first time YOU saw “The Godfather.”

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It may be Cannes that generates all the media-friendly controversy, but as it turns out, it was the Venice Film Festival that was quietly hatching the eventual NC-17 films. First came “Shame,” which received the MPAA’s most severe rating for its plentiful sexual activity and generous exposure of Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan’s privates. Now, a less celebrated Venice title, William Friedkin’s adaptation of the Tracy Letts play “Killer Joe,” has been similarly branded ahead of its summer release Stateside.

LD Entertainment, the Friedkin film’s new-on-the-block distributor, plans to appeal the MPAA’s decision, which was made on the grounds of “graphic aberrant content involving violence and sexuality, and a scene of brutality.” They believe “Killer Joe” is closer to R-rated material; I agree with them.

The film, a nastily funny if stylistically clumsy black comedy starring Matthew McConaughey as a grossly corrupt cop hired by Emile Hirsch’s scuzzy Southern hick to kill off a family member, is casually violent, kinkily erotic and features Gina Gershon doing inappropriate things with fried chicken. You probably wouldn’t take your mom to see it.

But it’s been six months since I saw the film, and while my memory of specific offenses may have faded, I don’t remember any taboos being tested either. Critics after the screening were generally amused; certainly, no one was offended.

My initial reaction to the news of the rating was that I couldn’t recall anything in the film that might warrant such treatment. Returning to my September review of the film, however, I see that I specifically note Gershon’s character being “introduced vagina-first to the audience”; perhaps that sets the bar for what the MPAA finds more out-of-bounds than, say, critics do.

On the face of it, the rating is a fair one — the film likely isn’t suitable for many viewers under the age of 17. The problem, of course, remains the stigma irrationally attached to it by the public, the media and exhibitors alike, perhaps because NC-17s are handed out too rarely and selectively to feel justified in many instances. It’s an issue Fox Searchlight commendably tried to address last year with “Shame,” as they openly accepted the rating as, in their words, a “badge of honor”; a major-category Oscar nomination might have gone some way toward validating their approach, but it seems the industry remains shy. 

“Killer Joe” doesn’t stand to lose too much over the MPAA’s decision. The star presence of Matthew McConaughey (never better, incidentally) notwithstanding, its commercial prospects are as minimal as its awards prospects; at the very least, the hitherto low-lying Friedkin will probably be encouraged to hear people still recognize his edge. And whether LD win their appeal or not, the rating drums up some welcome publicity for the film ahead of its US premiere at SXSW next month.

Meanwhile, it’s not just NC-17 ratings being fought this week. The Weinstein Company continues to challenge the MPAA over the R rating given their March release “Bully,” a reportedly hard-hitting documentary about bullying in US schools, aimed at precisely the audience that would be excluded by an R. The MPAA’s official explanation for the rating — recently upheld on appeal — is given as “some language,” which apparently extends to six uses of the word “fuck.”

This seems an absurdly literal-minded application of the rules on the MPAA’s part, discriminating against a film aspiring to engage and educate teenagers on a topic that pertains directly to their own lives, for the crime of repeating an everyday expletive they known already. The Weinsteins were clearly justified in their appeal, and feel strongly enough about the matter to threaten to release the film unrated.

This, in turn, has prompted a rather rash response from the National Association of Theater Owners, who claim that such a move on the Weinsteins’ part will result in the film being treated as an NC-17 regardless, which benefits precisely no one. I suspect the solution might lie, as it did with the Weinsteins’ similarly questionably R-rated “The King’s Speech,” in releasing an alternative, PG-13-ready cut of the film with the offending language deleted, but I commend their resistance.

For more views on movies, awards season and other pursuits, follow @GuyLodge on Twitter.

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With the long slog of the Oscar season only just out the way, one would like to put off the 2012 awards conversation for as long as possible. Yet the Cannes Film Festival is only 11 weeks away, and with a higher-than-usual presence of Croisette fare in the last Oscar race — Best Picture winner “The Artist” debuted there, as did “The Tree of Life” and “Midnight in Paris” — people’s minds will start wandering in that direction sooner rather than later.

As if mindful of the connection, Cannes organizers chose this post-Oscar week to reveal the official poster for this year’s fest, and it follows the pattern set by the last few festival posters of adopting an iconic screen beauty as a festival mascot of sorts. Monica Vitti served that purpose in 2009, Juliette Binoche (en route to a Best Actress win) in 2010, Faye Dunaway last year — and for their 65th, they’ve gone for broke with Marilyn Monroe blowing out their birthday candles. It’s a pretty enough poster, but based around such a familiarly iconic shot that it doesn’t seem as emphatic a feat of branding as it should be.

Anyway, job done — we’re aware the festival is closer than it seems, and our appetite is duly whetted. Check out the poster below.  

For more views on movies, awards season and other pursuits, follow @GuyLodge on Twitter. 

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I’d be curious to know how close “Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory” was to winning this year’s Best Documentary Feature prize (which ultimately went to “Undefeated”). It would have been nice to see Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky up there accepting an award for a body of work that saved a man’s life.

Some speculated that the presence of Amy Berg’s “West of Memphis,” produced by Peter Jackson, took some of the sting out of the final film’s punch. It bowed at Sundance last month with exclusive insights and interviews in the saga of the West Memphis Three. It also played the Santa Barbara fest a week later.

Sony Pictures Classics has announced today that it has acquired US rights to the film, which could yet pop up in the film awards season and extend the much-need spotlight for this miscarriage of justice.

“We are very proud to be partnering with Sony Pictures Classics on the release of ‘West of Memphis,'” Berg and Jackson said in a joint statement via press release. “We have been working with Lorri Davis, Damien Echols and his defense team for the past seven years, and during that time we came to understand that this was not just a story of a terrible injustice; it’s also a story about hope; about how two people found each other, saved each other, and loved each other through the hardest of times. This is Damien and Lorri’s film, and we are very excited to share it with the world.”

Added Davis and Echols, “Working with Fran, Peter and Amy has been the most powerful and fulfilling of experiences for us. We see this film as a source of inspiration, and it carries our heart and soul with it.”

Berg’s “Deliver Us from Evil” landed a Best Documentary feature nomination in 2006. Perhaps Sony Classics is hoping for similar results, but for now, it’s nice to see so much light being shed on the cause (which Jackson first heard about, like many celebrities, when he first saw Berlinger and Sinofsky’s groundbreaking film a few years after it aired on HBO).

No word yet on the film’s release date. Here is Drew McWeeny’s review of “West of Memphis” from Sundance.

For year-round entertainment news and awards season commentary follow @kristapley on Twitter.

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It”s been 40 years since Francis Ford Coppola”s adaptation of Mario Puzo”s seminal crime novel “The Godfather” was released in theaters. To mark the anniversary, Paramount Pictures, in a partnership with Cinemark Theatres, is re-releasing the restored version of the film in 55 Cinemark XD auditoriums on Thursday, March 1.

“There is no greater iconic film than ‘The Godfather,”” states James Meredith, VP of Marketing and Communication at Cinemark in the press release. “It has set the standard for story-telling, launched a generation of great actors and provided movie-goers an unparalleled experience.”

Indeed, “The Godfather” is considered by many to be one of the greatest films ever made, which makes its rather nebulous relationship with Oscar all the more interesting. In looking back, one gets the sense that the AMPAS was in an argument with itself during the 1972 season.

There were two films poised to sweep the Academy Awards that year, “The Godfather” and the Bob Fosse’s musical “Cabaret.” The former was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and, as we will see below, won three, including Best Picture. The latter was nominated for 10 and won eight, including Best Director. “Cabaret,” in fact, set a record that year for most Oscar wins sans Best Picture, just ahead of “A Place in the Sun” and “Star Wars,” both of which had six wins that did not include Best Picture.

The Academy seemed to understand that “The Godfather” represented a significant achievement in filmmaking but was, perhaps, so taken aback by its financial and aesthetic success that they were not prepared to fully back it with a sweep. (The film emerged from a troubled studio with a contentious relationship with the man at the helm.) Or, perhaps, they were (consciously or not) simply splitting the difference with “Cabaret.” Of course, that presupposes that the AMPAS voters operate with some sort of hive mind, which, they do not.

Let’s look at each nomination individually, as Kris did with “Titanic” when the 3D footage for the re-release was screened earlier this year, in an attempt to suss out the Academy”s judgments with hindsight as our guide.

BEST PICTURE (WON)

Well done, Oscars. It”s impossible for me to argue with this win, and I say that as someone who happens to love both Bob Fosse and “Cabaret.” The other nominees that year were “The Emigrants,” “Sounder” and a third strong contender for Best Picture, “Deliverance.” “Deliverance” and “Cabaret” are each films that have maintained their place in cinema history as time has passed. And I feel strongly enough about each to recommend a first or second viewing, though that may make for a Daliesque double feature.

Ultimately, however, it is “The Godfather” that left the deepest, most lasting impression on the landscape. It is a shattering metaphor for capitalism set against a world of violence that we, as the audience, feel the same attraction/repulsion towards that the central protagonist does. It is a familiar story that takes place in an unfamiliar realm drawn with rich and vivid character renderings. It is simply, and against all odds, one of the most outstanding cinematic achievements of all time.

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE: MARLON BRANDO (WON)

This one is a bit tricky. I wouldn’t say Brando did not deserve the win over his competition: Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier in “Sleuth,” Peter O’Toole in “The Ruling Class” and Paul Winfield in “Sounder.” Indeed, it”s fair to say that Brando easily won on merit. But I think this nomination is an example of the Academy putting a supporting actor in the Best Actor field and the leading actor (Pacino) in the supporting field.

BEST DIRECTOR (LOST)

The Best Director honor, as mentioned, went to Bob Fosse for “Cabaret.” Now, allow me to become a bit effusive. Fosse was a genius. Truly. He was a genius and an innovator as a musical theater dancer, choreographer and director. He was well established, respected and beloved (as well as hated) as a director at the time of this win. However, to my way of thinking, his true masterwork was his gorgeous autobiographical exploration of his own relationship with obsession, ambition and death in 1979″s “All That Jazz.” If you have not yet seen that film, I implore you to do so tonight. And then call me. I”d love to discuss.

Having said all that, this award was Coppola”s. But he was a relatively new director at that point and had a notoriously antagonistic and problematic relationship with Paramount throughout the course of production (he was a last ditch hire after Sergio Leone and Peter Bogdanovich passed) and was nearly fired on several occasions. He went over budget, over schedule and argued at every turn. Indeed (and this is guesswork), there may have been those who credited the film”s success to then studio head Robert Evans despite Coppola”s efforts. Those inner politics must (at least to some degree) play into how a voting member ultimately casts his or her ballot, for better or worse. The other nominees that year were John Boorman for “Deliverance,” Joseph L. Mankiewicz for “Sleuth” and Jan Troell for “The Emigrants”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY (WON)

Coppola had already won an Oscar as the co-screenwriter of “Patton.” So, it may well have been that the Academy felt some measure of safety in casting their vote in this direction. We must always bear in mind that Hollywood is run primarily by three guiding forces: fear, ego and desire. There is of course a genuine passion for film and craft in play, as well as a drive toward financial and/or artistic success, but we count those as desire.

No one wants to be “wrong.” Indeed, an abject sense of terror surrounds the very idea (for a number of legitimate and self-created reasons). As such, many are loath to make a bold choice or an unusual decision. Data and reassurances must be in play before we stake our name on any given person or property.

The other nominees in the field were “Cabaret,” “The Emigrant,” “Pete ‘n’ Tillie” and “Sounder.”

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE James Caan, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall (LOST)

The performances in “The Godfather” rightly dominated this field of nominees. The award ultimately went to Joel Grey for his role as the Master of Ceremonies in “Cabaret.” This is a tough one. Grey delivered a compelling and indelible performance (if intrinsically somewhat broad). Caan, Pacino and Duvall each delivered powerful, nuanced, textured and equally indelible performances in “The Godfather,” however. As a voter, it would have been challenging to choose between the three, and it may have been simpler just to default to Grey, who had already won a Tony. (And, no doubt, vote splitting figured in as well.) Ultimately, Pacino simply did not belong in the field, and the Academy was not yet prepared to give him the Best Actor nod that he so richly deserved.

Eddie Albert was also nominated for his portrayal of Mr. Corcoran in “The Heartbreak Kid.” So I kind of feel bad for Eddie.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN (LOST)

Confession: I”ve not seen “Travels with My Aunt,” the film that won this category, so I”ll go ahead and give the Academy the benefit of the doubt on this one. The other nominees included “Lady Sings the Blues,” “The Poseidon Adventure” and “Young Winston.”

BEST FILM EDITING (LOST)

Again, there is no clear cause for uproar with this loss. David Hildyard and Robert Knudson”s editing on “Cabaret,” which took home the Oscar, really was spectacular. The other nominees were “Deliverance,” “The Hot Rock” and “The Poseidon Adventure.”

BEST SOUND MIXING (LOST)

“Cabaret” won for sound as well, and it was well-crafted and evocative work. I”d have to watch each of the films again to really have a definitive take, but my sense is that this was an appropriate choice. I do have an odd inclination to screen “The Poseidon Adventure,” which was also nominated for sound, to see if that may not have been a miss. I”d likely have been pleased with either “The Godfather” or “Cabaret” taking home the Oscar in Editing and Sound. My memory of “Cabaret” tells me that the sound win was rightly and richly deserved, though. The other nominees were “Butterflies are Free” and “The Candidate.”

BEST SCORE (NOMINATION RETRACTED. YEP.)

To add to the drama of the proceedings, this is the AMPAS”s official description of the debacle surrounding the film’s score:

“‘The Godfather’ score, composed by Nino Rota, was originally announced as one of the five official nominees. It was later pointed out that portions of the score and the main theme were composed by Rota for his score to the 1958 Italian film, ‘Fortunella.’ The Music Branch was given this information and re-balloted to determine the fifth nomination. The list of six films they were to choose from were the remaining five of the top 10 preliminary listings, plus ‘The Godfather’ score. The results of the re-balloting was that the fifth nomination became ‘Sleuth,’ composed by John Addison.”

So, as much as we all love “The Godfather”’s score, and I can hear its bittersweet, menacingly melodious tones floating around my mental ether as I type, it was simply not meant to be. (Though we can take umbrage with the music branch’s regulations if we wish, a branch still embattled to this day.)

Aside from the wins and losses, it is also notable that “The Godfather” (shockingly) failed to receive a nomination for either Best Cinematography or Best Art Direction (both of those honors went to “Cabaret,” ultimately). Cinematographer Gordon Willis wasn’t even recognized with a nomination for the series until “Part III” in 1990. He received an honorary Academy Award in 2009. Again, not to take anything away from “Cabaret,” but the cinematography in “The Godfather” was simply breathtaking, however, as was the art direction. They at least deserved the recognition of a nod, if not the win.

I”m sure we each have our own “Godfather” moments and memories to share: the first time we saw it, the well-meaning neighbor we secretly called Fredo (just me?), our favorite sequence in the film and so on. As for me, I have a rather unusual connection with the film. As a prime example of my bizarre “very New York, I lived the film ‘Heathers’ in Brooklyn” High School experience: My best friend and I would watch the film repeatedly and then she would make lists of the classmates we had “in our pocket” and those we had to “take down.” Yep. In my mind I was Tom Hagen, but in reality I think I was Sonny. Alas.

Locations and show times for “The Godfather” re-release can be found at www.cinemark.com. The studio also plans to re-release “The Godfather Part II” in partnership with Cinemark on April 19th. It is somewhat fitting to revisit this, the follow-up to a darkly told allegory for capitalism, so soon after tax day.

Take a look at the trailer for the Cinemark engagement below.

For year-round entertainment news and commentary follow @JRothCon Twitter.

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And so, the Oscar madness has come to a close. Before moseying on into the new territory of 2012, one more time, here is The Circuit, your one-stop shop for all of the announcements from the 2011-2012 film awards season.

From AFI to the Washington D.C. Film Critics Association and everything in between, this list represents the most comprehensive cross-section of the year you’re bound to find, all of it providing tea leaves and intrigue, building right up to the film industry’s big moment: Oscar night.

Enjoy reliving the memories. And before you know it, we’ll be putting together another one for the new season.

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Academy Awards) – Nominees | Winners

Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films (Saturn Awards) – Nominees | Winners

AFI Top 10 Films of the Year

African American Film Critics Association

Alliance of Women Film Journalists – Nominees | Winners

American Cinema Editors (ACE Awards) – Nominees | Winners

American Society of Cinematographers (ASC Awards) – Nominees | Winners

Annie Awards – Nominees | Winners

Art Directors Guild (ADG Awards) – Nominees | Winners

Austin Film Critics Association

Black Film Critics Circle

Boston Society of Film Critics

British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA Awards) – Nominees | Winners

British Independent Film Awards – Nominees | Winners

Broadcast Film Critics Association (Critics’ Choice Movie Awards) – Nominees | Winners

Casting Society of America Awards

Central Ohio Film Critics Association – Nominees | Winners

Chicago Film Critics Association – Nominees | Winners

Cinema Audio Society (CAS Awards) – Nominees | Winners

Cinema Eye Honors – Nominees | Winners

Costume Designers Guild (CDG Awards) – Nominees | Winners

Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association

Denver Film Critics Society – Nominees | Winners

Detroit Film Critics Society – Nominees | Winners

Directors Guild of America (DGA Awards) – Nominees | Winners

Dublin Film Critics Circle

European Film Awards

Evening Standard Film Awards – Nominees | Winners

Film Independent Spirit Awards – Nominees | Winners

Florida Film Critics Circle

French Academy of Cinema Arts and Techniques – Nominees | Winners

Gay & Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association – Nominees | Winners

Georgia Film Critics Association – Nominees | Winners

Gotham Awards – Nominees | Winners

Hollywood Film Festival (Hollywood Film Awards)

Hollywood Foreign Press Association (Golden Globes) – Nominees | Winners

Houston Film Critics Society – Nominees | Winners

Indiana Film Journalists Association

International Cinephile Society – Nominees | Winners

International Documentary Association – Nominees | Winners

International Film Music Critics Association – Nominees | Winners

International Press Academy (Satellites) – Nominees | Winners

International 3D Society

Internet Film Critics Society

Iowa Film Critics

Kansas City Film Critics Circle

Las Vegas Film Critics Society

London Film Critics Circle – Nominees | Winners

Los Angeles Film Critics Association

Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE Golden Reel Awards) – Nominees | Winners

NAACP Image Awards – Nominees | Winners

National Board of Review

National Society of Film Critics

Nevada Film Critics Society

New York Film Critics Circle

New York Film Critics Online

North Texas Film Critics Association

Oklahoma Film Critics Circle

Online Film Critics Society – Nominees | Winners

Phoenix Film Critics Society – Nominees | Winners

Producers Guild of America (PGA Awards) – Nominees | Winners

San Diego Film Critics Society – Nominees | Winners

San Francisco Film Critics Circle

Screen Actors Guild (SAG Awards) – Nominees | Winners

Sight & Sound’s Best of 2011 Poll

Southeastern Film Critics Association

St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association – Nominees | Winners

Toronto Film Critics Association

USC Libraries Scripter Award – Nominees | Winners

Utah Film Critics Association

Vancouver Film Critics Circle – Nominees | Winners

Visual Effects Society – Nominees | Winners

Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association – Nominees | Winners

Women Film Critics Circle

World Soundtrack Awards

Writers Guild of America (WGA Awards) – Nominees | Winners

Another season in the record books. It’s been my eleventh. How has it been for you?

Customarily, after a quick Off the Carpet recap, I circle back to considering the film awards season at the end of this day. So here I am with a handful of such considerations.

I still find myself seeing the year as something it really wasn’t in the eyes of Academy. I think of “Margaret.” I think of “Martha Marcy May Marlene.” I think of “Shame.” I think of the films that popped for me but not for AMPAS and I think, wow, my year was better than theirs. And that’s fine. That’s the subjectivity of it all. That’s what it’s all about.

But I also think about the transition to HitFix, which happened five months and one week ago today and couldn’t have been smoother.

I’ve just come back from a dinner with members of the team here and I’m still very pleased with the arrangement. I think of the readership that followed and stepped things up, the conversation more encouraging and substantial than ever, as well as the added readers we gained in the move who helped expand the horizon of that conversation. It has been, I feel, an unqualified success. And I don’t mind admitting to you that I was a little nervous about it at first.

I think of Gerard, just wrapping up his sixth season of covering the crafts categories, a driving identifier of In Contention and a special one to my heart. I think of Guy, finishing his fourth season with me, and wonder what on earth I’d do without him. And I think of Roth, whose added voice is a unique one not only within our ranks, but on the net in general, I’d wager, always looking (as I asked of her to start) for different angles on film, different considerations, different ways to have this conversation we have throughout the year.

I think of the artists I’m happy to have met this season and the others I’m happy to have seen again. On the former, the Gary Oldmans, the Nic Refns, the Viola Davises, the George Clooneys, the Bennett Millers, the Marty Scorseses. On the latter, the Greg Russells, the Leo DiCaprios, the Michael Shannons, the Bob Richardsons. I think of the moments they had throughout the year and, of course, I’m happy for them.

I think of the wild ride, and I steel myself for the next.

And with that, the season ended. But In Contention isn’t going into a slumber. Indeed, we haven’t taken the full off-season off in ages so I doubt you expected much of a lull anyway, but we’ll be charging on through.

We’re looking at adding SXSW and Tribeca to our already broad and far-reaching festival coverage and we want to keep the conversation going. I’ll be busy tying the knot and celebrating that in the next few weeks, but things won’t die down too much. I hope you’ll keep coming back and engaging us, because you’re why we keep writing this stuff.

Many thanks to you. And here’s to 2012.

For year-round entertainment news and awards season commentary follow @kristapley on Twitter.

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