'Midnight in Paris,' 'Descendants' take WGA Awards

Posted by · 5:25 pm · February 19th, 2012

Woody Allen took his fifth Best Original Screenplay award from the WGA for “Midnight in Paris,” but with “The Artist” ineligible here, can he beat the Best Picture frontrunner at the Oscars? Meanwhile, “The Descendants” continues to lead the adapted screenplay race.

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American Cinema Editors honor Alexander Payne

Posted by · 11:58 am · February 6th, 2012

Alexander Payne will be honored at next week’s American Cinema Editors’ awards ceremony with their Filmmaker of the Year award — continuing a much-desired show of support for “The Descendants” from the editors’ contingent.

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The Long Shot: Fade away and radiate

Posted by · 1:50 pm · January 25th, 2012

This year’s Oscar nominations were not only kind to Hollywood’s old guard, but a number of films with their eye on the rear-view mirror.

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Iowa critics dig 'Descendants'

Posted by · 4:51 pm · January 19th, 2012

The Iowa Film Critics have joined and drowned in the on-going chorus of year-end kudos-dishers. Drowned-in because it’s all just a blur now. “The Descendants” came out on top, winning both Best Picture and Best Director. And there’s Melissa McCarthy, yet again.

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'Tinker, Tailor,' 'Jane Eyre' nominated for USC Scripter Award

Posted by · 7:50 am · January 12th, 2012

The USC Libraries Scripter nominees have been announced, honoring the written word by screenrwriters and authors alike.

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David Fincher, Woody Allen make the cut for DGA

Posted by · 9:07 am · January 9th, 2012

The Directors Guild of America (DGA) has announced this year’s slate of nominees for excellence in directing, and chalk another guild citation up for David Fincher, who somehow got in for “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” Also nominated was Woody Allen for “Midnight in Paris,” while Steven Spielberg and Tate Taylor were snubbed for Best Picture contenders “War Horse” and “The Help,” respectively.

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Predicting the 2011 DGA nominees

Posted by · 11:43 am · January 5th, 2012

On Monday, the most important precursor announcement of them all drops: the Directors Guild of America offers up its list of nominees for excellence in directing.

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'Tree of Life' leads Chicago film critics nods

Posted by · 8:56 am · December 16th, 2011

The Chicago Film Critics Association has announced its list of nominees this year, and it’s full of the usual. But most interesting is that “The Tree of Life” star Hunter McCracken has finally received some attention.

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Dallas-Fort Worth critics REALLY like 'The Descendants'

Posted by · 8:28 am · December 16th, 2011

The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association has picked its jumped into the fray with a list of winners and it’s rather clear they kind of had a thing for Alexander Payne’s “The Descendants.” The film won awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Screenplay. Check out the full list below.

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The Long Shot: Down on 'Descendants'

Posted by · 6:17 pm · November 23rd, 2011

Showered with critical praise, Alexander Payne’s “The Descendants” is currently regarded as one of the frontrunners for Oscar glory — but is its obliviously compromised humanism what might really appeal to the Academy?

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Oscarweb Round-up: Lasseter gets his star

Posted by · 7:11 am · November 2nd, 2011

In today’s round-up, John Lasseter gets his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Art Directors Guild pays tribute to the “Harry Potter” franchise and Disney takes to the heartland to build “War Horse” steam.

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Cinejabber: The 2011 gems under your nose

Posted by · 11:40 am · October 22nd, 2011

Welcome to Cinejabber, your weekend soapbox space to discuss whatever’s on your mind, cinematically speaking. On mine: two wonderful films currently on US release, “Martha Marcy May Marlene” and “Weekend.”

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Oscarweb Round-up: Will Czech entry 'Alois Nebel' qualify as animated and boost the field?

Posted by · 7:08 am · October 13th, 2011

In today’s round-up, Czech foreign film entry “Alois Nebel” declares intentions to submit for animated feature consideration, “Martha Marcy May Marlene” star Elizabeth Olsen is ready for her close-up and Alexander Payne sets out to cast the HELL out of his latest film, “Nebraska.”

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