Art Directors Guild nominees include 'Anonymous,' 'Captain America' and 'Drive'

Posted by · 7:12 pm · January 3rd, 2012

The Art Directors Guild and the Costume Designers Guild announced its slate of nominees this evening, and the surprises were few and far between. One of them, though, was the exclusion of “War Horse” in the period category.

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‘Drive’ cruises back for a limited engagement

Posted by · 5:56 pm · January 3rd, 2012

Will this brief theatrical re-release persuade the Academy to get in gear for “Drive?”

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First-Half FYC: Best Original and Adapted Screenplay

Posted by · 3:15 pm · January 3rd, 2012

From ‘Rango’ to ‘Jane Eyre,’ several films from the first six months of the 2011 release calendar deserve more buzz in the screenplay categories than they’re getting. We pick out 10 for your consideration.

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The Lists: Our top 10 most anticipated films of 2012

Posted by · 9:54 am · January 3rd, 2012

With a new year comes a new reserve of hope for what the multiplexes might have to offer. While HitFix has already cranked out a big list of 30 titles most movie-lovers are anticipating this year, we at In Contention put our heads together and came up with our own.

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PGA nominees include the usual, plus 'Dragon Tattoo' and 'The Ides of March'

Posted by · 8:20 am · January 3rd, 2012

The Producers Guild of America has announced its list of 10 films competing for the Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award as well as the animated feature nominees that will compete separately.

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Round-up: Looking to break Hollywood's stranglehold

Posted by · 6:00 am · January 3rd, 2012

Also: See the Best Picture ballot, and Mazursky on Streep

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‘Harry Potter’ and the hunt for the golden statue

Posted by · 6:51 pm · January 2nd, 2012

As the precursor season comes to a close Warner Bros. pins its hopes on Alan Rickman for a Best Supporting Actor nod.

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'The Artist' leads with 4 Vancouver critics nods

Posted by · 5:07 pm · January 2nd, 2012

The Vancouver Film Critics Circle has joined the chorus with a list of nominees (mostly three in each category). “The Artist” led the way with four mentions. Melissa McCarthy made it in for “Bridesmaids” despite it being a trimmed-down category.

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Celebrate 100 years of Paramount on your iPad

Posted by · 4:17 pm · January 2nd, 2012

Paramount Pictures has launched a new app for the iPad that celebrates the studio’s landmark 100th anniversary this year. The 100 Years of Movie Magic app “is an exploration of the studio’s incredibly rich and storied history,” the iTunes blurb reads. Every studio should do something like this.

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Berlin Film Festival to honor Meryl Streep

Posted by · 12:02 pm · January 2nd, 2012

On the heels of an elaborate tribute to the actress at the Kennedy Center Honors comes news of a similar award on the other side of the ocean: Streep will be presented with an Honorary Golden Bear at next month’s Berlin International Film Festival.

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Predicting the 2011 PGA nominees

Posted by · 10:57 am · January 2nd, 2012

This year’s PGA nominees will do little to clear up the Best Picture scenario at the Oscars. Why? Because the guild will be chalking up a full slate of 10 nominees once again, despite the fact that the Academy’s final line-up could be anywhere from five to 10. So what will the PGA spring for?

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'Tree of Life,' Fassbender, Swinton win with Online critics

Posted by · 9:20 am · January 2nd, 2012

After releasing quite the agreeable slate of nominees last week, the Online Film Critics Society has awarded “The Tree of Life” its 2011 Best Picture prize. The film won five awards in total. Previously announced special awards go to Jessica Chastain and Martin Scorsese.

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'Tree of Life' leads the way with Central Ohio critics nominations

Posted by · 9:11 am · January 2nd, 2012

The Central Ohio Film Critics Association should implement different nominating procedures so that ties, etc., don’t leave them with a ridiculous slate of 15 BEST PICTURE NOMINEES. Anyway, it looks like “The Tree of Life” has the most mentions.

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Round-up: When 'The Birdcage' won

Posted by · 9:03 am · January 2nd, 2012

In today’s round-up, Nathaniel Rogers remembers the Best Ensemble win for “The Birdcage” at the third annual Screen Actors Guild awards, the Academy plans to exercise a Kodak Theatre escape clause and someone’s already making 2012 Oscar predictions.

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Ringing out the old with hope for the new

Posted by · 1:32 pm · December 31st, 2011

‘Twas a year of change to say the least at In Contention.

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

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

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

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84th Oscars poster could have been better

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

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

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Round-up: Raising a glass to 'Tintin'

Posted by · 7:45 am · December 30th, 2011

Also: the invisibility of Tate Taylor, and the dark horses in the Oscar race

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