Interview: Richard Curtis and Jeremy Irvine on Spielberg, ‘War Horse’ and human empathy

Posted by · 9:49 pm · December 29th, 2011

Screenwriter Richard Curtis and star Jeremy Irvine discuss the creation of a quintessentially Spielbergian tale.

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Tech Support Interview: The ubiquitous Alexandre Desplat on living his dream

Posted by · 9:52 am · December 29th, 2011

When Tech Support first launched at In Contention five years ago, Alexandre Desplat had proven his talents with top-notch scores for “The Girl With a Pearl Earring,” “Birth” and “Syriana.” Today we chat with him about a ubiquitous year doing what he loves to do.

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Round-up: Did cinematography turn a corner in 2011?

Posted by · 7:45 am · December 29th, 2011

Also: A potential Oscar double for ‘Pina,’ and Hollywood’s sequel binge

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Jessica Chastain and Howard Shore to be honored at Palm Springs

Posted by · 6:41 pm · December 28th, 2011

The Palm Springs International Film Festival has announced its final honorees for this year’s Awards Gala. Jessica Chastain will receive the Spotlight Award for her work in “The Help,” “The Tree of Life,” “Take Shelter,” “The Debt” and “Coriolanus,” while composer Howard Shore will be feted with the Frederick Loewe Music Award for “Hugo.”

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Taking questions for 12/30 Oscar Talk

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

Offer up your burning queries.

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

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

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

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Round-up: 'Shame' and 'Martha Marcy' going for a song

Posted by · 10:18 am · December 28th, 2011

Also: Reznor on working with Fincher, and ‘War Horse’ the one to beat?

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Austin film critics like 'Hugo,' Refn and Shannon

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

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

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The 'Drive' that binds

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

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

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'The Artist' triumphs with Phoenix critics

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

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

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Gary Oldman to receive career retrospective at the Arclight Theater in Hollywood

Posted by · 4:19 pm · December 27th, 2011

The Arclight Hollywood announced today that it will host a six-film retrospective of of character portraits featuring “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” star Gary Oldman.

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First-Half FYC: Best Supporting Actor and Actress

Posted by · 3:32 pm · December 27th, 2011

With the Oscar race so skewed towards late-year releases, worthy contenders from films released between January and June often slip through the cracks. We highlight some standout supporting performances from 2011’s first half, including Christopher Plummer and two stars of “Bridesmaids.”

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A look at science fiction in 2012

Posted by · 11:24 am · December 27th, 2011

The trailer for Ridley Scott’s “Prometheus” was released last week, and for science-fiction appreciators, it served as a reminder that 2012 has the potential to be one of the strongest years for smart sci-fi in recent memory.

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The Lists: Top 10 Steven Spielberg films

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

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

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Finders keepers: Guy's top 20 films of 2011

Posted by · 1:48 pm · December 26th, 2011

From “Drive” to “Melancholia,” Guy Lodge counts down the 20 titles that made 2011, for him, a great year at the movies.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Round-up: Score one for #teammargaret

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

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

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