Off the Carpet

Off the Carpet: Unexpected virtue at the 87th Oscars

Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 12:51 pm · February 23rd, 2015

The 87th Oscars was a memorable event despite itself, drawing a number of fascinating narratives to a close and teaching a couple of lessons we may or may not take to heart in subsequent seasons.

Filed in: HitFix · In Contention

Off the Carpet: Less than a week to go, it's 'Birdman's' Oscar to lose

Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 11:00 pm · February 15th, 2015

With less than a week to go before the 87th annual Oscars, it seems like “Birdman” is the film the industry is behind. Big wins from a number of guilds signify a wave of support and betting any other way really requires ignoring a deafening industry hum at this point.

Filed in: HitFix · In Contention

Off the Carpet: How to look at what the guilds and BAFTA Awards have told us

Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 1:35 pm · February 8th, 2015

With guilds and the British Academy speaking up in this year’s Oscar race, things feel spread as thin as ever. Or do they? How to read the tea leaves left by the industry roll-out…

Filed in: HitFix · In Contention

Off the Carpet: 'Birdman' asserts itself as the Oscar frontrunner

Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:36 am · January 26th, 2015

With a weekend of major guild wins under its belt, “Birdman” has shot to the top of the 2015 Oscar class…for now. How many more twists in the road will there be before all is said and done?

Filed in: HitFix · In Contention

Off the Carpet: 'Sniper' aims for Oscar with box office dominance

Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:24 am · January 19th, 2015

Deep breath post-nominations, as #OscarsSoWhite ignites, “American Sniper” crushes it at the box office and everyone wonders how phase two will shake out.

Filed in: HitFix · In Contention

Off the Carpet: Pondering the twists in Oscar's road with nominations on the horizon

Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 1:18 pm · January 12th, 2015

Oscar nominations will be revealed Thursday, and there have been a lot of twists and turns leading to this week. How will things settle, and what surprises might be in store?

Filed in: HitFix · In Contention

Off the Carpet: Five films have universal industry and guild support so far

Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:48 am · January 5th, 2015

So far, four industry groups have announced nominations this year: the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), the American Cinema Editors (ACE), the Art Directors Guild (ADG) and the Producers Guild of America (PGA). And so far, only five films have been recognized by all four groups.

Filed in: HitFix · In Contention

Off the Carpet: 'Unbroken,' 'Selma,' 'Sniper' in the headlines as Oscar voting begins

Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:00 am · December 29th, 2014

Oscar voting begins on Monday, just as “Unbroken” is lighting up the box office and “Selma” is getting ridiculed in op-eds.

Filed in: HitFix · In Contention

Off the Carpet: Frontrunners try to maintain buzz while others aim to capitalize in phase two

Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 12:18 pm · February 10th, 2014

The Oscar nominees are gathering for lunch this afternoon as the Winter Olympics forge ahead in Sochi, gobbling up two weeks and extending the phase two timeline of this year’s film awards season. The question is, how will that extension affect the race, if at all?

Filed in: HitFix · In Contention

Off the Carpet: How the BAFTA Awards could actually matter this year

Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 1:21 pm · January 27th, 2014

After the industry events of the last few weeks, “Gravity” has to be considered the de facto frontrunner in this year’s Best Picture race. With a PGA award (albeit half of one) and a DGA honor in tow, it tends to be a done deal this time of year. But this isn’t a typical year by any stretch, and the BAFTA Awards could actually matter for a change.

Filed in: HitFix · In Contention

Off the Carpet: The closest Best Picture Oscar race ever?

Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:56 am · January 20th, 2014

It’s wonderful when an exemplary year of filmmaking yields an awards season as unpredictable and wide open as this one is. With three evenly dispersed films, it could be the Academy’s closest race to date.

Filed in: HitFix · In Contention

Off the Carpet: Final thoughts on Oscar season's competitive first phase

Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:26 am · January 13th, 2014

We’re in the home stretch with votes being tallied and the line-up of nominees for the 86th annual Academy Awards being readied. We’ll know what’s what on Thursday, bright and early, as will those who find themselves in this very competitive race.

Filed in: HitFix · In Contention

Off the Carpet: Will Harvey have his first Oscar off-year since 2007?

Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:08 pm · January 6th, 2014

Harvey Weinstein has had a heck of a Best Picture run since getting the Weinstein Company’s engine revved in 2008 with “The Reader.” But does all of that look to come to an end with 2013’s slate?

Filed in: HitFix · In Contention

Off the Carpet: Could David O. Russell finally strike Oscar gold with frizzy 'American Hustle?'

Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 6:37 am · December 23rd, 2013

The precursor film awards circuit seems to have rallied around “12 Years a Slave” as the year’s consensus pick, but could it be “American Hustle” that becomes the most generally agreeable movie of the year for the Academy?

Filed in: HitFix · In Contention

Off the Carpet: The critics leave it wide open

Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:21 am · December 9th, 2013

The chatter that has arisen in the wake of this initial precursor wave could have been predicted: it’s anyone’s game. New York, Los Angeles, Boston and other regional critics have had their say and there’s plenty of love being spread around so far.

Filed in: HitFix · In Contention

Off the Carpet: With the table set, the critics are ready to have their say

Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 2:23 pm · December 2nd, 2013

“American Hustle” has screened. “The Wolf of Wall Street” has screened. All the cats are out of the bag, and just in time, too. Because the critics are about to have their say.

Filed in: HitFix · In Contention

Off the Carpet: 'American Hustle' comes out to play

Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:48 pm · November 24th, 2013

After weeks of audience testing, editors Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers futzing with the various tones director David O. Russell captures take-to-take during production, “American Hustle” finally came out to play Sunday night as Sony Pictures unveiled the film to a swath of press and SAG nominating committee members, among others.

Filed in: HitFix · In Contention