From 'Best Man Holiday' to 'The Butler,' BFCA hails a banner year for black film

Posted by · 8:47 am · November 27th, 2013

It’s widely acknowledged that 2013 has been an exceptional year for black filmmakers and black-themed films, and the Broadcast Film Critics Association is acknowledging that with a “Celebration of Black Cinema” evening on January 7.

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'Spring Breakers,' 'Short Term 12' and 'Mud' lead 2014 Spirit Awards snubs and surprises

Posted by · 4:30 pm · November 26th, 2013

HitFix’s Gregory Ellwood and Guy Lodge run down the snubs and surprises after Film Independent announced the 2014 Independent Spirit Awards this morning.

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Off the Carpet: The Oscar season has never been so stuffed

Posted by · 3:07 pm · November 18th, 2013

Tons of events and a lot of great movies make this one to remember. I honestly didn’t know my iCal application could hold this many events.

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Roundup: Bullock joins McConaughey on Palm Springs honor roll

Posted by · 3:55 am · November 18th, 2013

In today’s roundup of notable online news and views, Sandra Bullock receives a Desert Palm Achievement Award — usually presented to likely Oscar nominees — from the Palm Springs Film Festival. Also, what are 2013’s best undistributed films?

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'12 Years a Slave,' 'Fruitvale Station' compete for Gotham audience award

Posted by · 5:40 am · November 8th, 2013

Festival favorites “12 Years a Slave” and “Fruitvale Station” were nominated for the public-voted Gotham Audience Award today, alongside three far lower-profile documentaries. Lest you think it’s an unfair fight, however, this award has an unpredictable history.

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Off the Carpet: The awards circuit comes to life ahead of AFI Fest

Posted by · 11:34 am · November 4th, 2013

With the 2013 AFI Fest on the horizon, studios are circling the wagons and gearing up their campaigns along the circuit. But there are still a few weeks left before all the puzzle pieces are revealed. What happens in the meantime?

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Forest Whitaker scores an early Oscar season honor

Posted by · 4:30 am · October 25th, 2013

Forest Whitaker, star of “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” and a ubiquitous figure in this year’s movie awards season, has been tapped by the Santa Barbara Film Festival for the annual Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film. Previous recipients include Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Harrison Ford, Quentin Tarantino, Ed Harris, John Travolta

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Off the Carpet: How do this year's Oscar hopefuls reflect the zeitgeist?

Posted by · 7:55 am · October 14th, 2013

We’ve weighed the contenders and early declarations have been made. The whisper campaigns and casual takedowns have begun with no real (comfortable) frontrunner to emerge for a while yet. But as we look out over this year’s Oscar contending crop, what does it have to say about where and who we are?

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Roundup: 'Her' arrives in the Oscar race

Posted by · 4:49 am · October 14th, 2013

Also: The Weinsteins’ ‘Fruitvale Station’ error, and LAFCA honors Richard Lester.

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Roundup: The 'real' start of the Oscar race

Posted by · 5:42 am · September 27th, 2013

Also: Tom Sherak’s new appointment, and when Kerry met Cicely

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Roundup: Deneuve honored by European Film Awards

Posted by · 6:09 am · September 26th, 2013

Also: Ranking Ron Howard’s oeuvre, and is this Lubezki’s year?

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Matthew McConaughey bursts into crowded Best Actor field with career-best 'Dallas Buyers Club' portrayal

Posted by · 9:42 am · September 10th, 2013

Matthew McConaughey gives his best performance to date in “Dallas Buyers Club,” but he enters a Best Actor conversation that is already in full swing and stuffed with strong contenders. Where’s the wiggle room?

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Oscar in August: 10 predictions for the 2013-2014 awards season

Posted by · 9:44 am · August 27th, 2013

Our annual look at some of the surefire Oscar nominees and trends a little over six months from the 86th Academy Awards.

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On the dismissive attitude toward indie Oscar hopefuls

Posted by · 12:21 pm · August 7th, 2013

I was thinking recently about something that really agitates me when it comes to the awards season, which is this notion that certain accomplishments are instinctively relegated to the “indie” bin of the Independent Spirit Awards or the Gotham Awards, like some ghetto of would-be Oscar contenders.

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With 'Before Midnight' expanding once more, can it stay on the awards radar?

Posted by · 10:00 am · August 1st, 2013

Over two months after its release, Sony increases the screen count to 226.

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Tell us what you thought of 'Fruitvale Station'

Posted by · 9:09 am · July 14th, 2013

The big Sundance winner opened on Friday… does it live up to expectations?

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Review: The train misses a few stops in well-acted but phony 'Fruitvale Station'

Posted by · 6:20 pm · July 12th, 2013

Ryan Coogler’s debut hints at a powerful story, but where’s the rest of it?

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Off the Carpet: Half-time

Posted by · 8:06 am · July 1st, 2013

The mid-way point of 2013 is here. How has the first half of the year shaped up for awards hopefuls? A month-by-month dissection answers that very question.

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