This year’s Oscar nominations announcement brought more surprising omissions than usual, from Tom Hanks to Sarah Polley to Emma Thompson to Lana del Rey. We run through some of the most shock shut-outs.
Tom Hanks and Oprah Winfrey lead the list of shocking Oscar snubs
Posted by Guy Lodge · 5:55 am · January 16th, 2014
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
'Gravity' (what else?) leads the way with eight Visual Effects Society nominations
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 11:11 am · January 14th, 2014
“Gravity” led the Visual Effects Society nominations announcement today with eight. “Pacific Rim” was a few steps behind with six while “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” and “Iron Man 3” picked up five apiece.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Tech Support: Final predictions for Best Cinematography, Makeup, Score, Song and Visual Effects
Posted by gerardkennedy · 12:16 pm · January 9th, 2014
Here we go again. A week from today, the nominees for the 86th annual Academy Awards will be announced. Here at Tech Support, we’ve analyzed each of the 10 crafts categories, and interviewed several of the contenders. It’s now a waiting game with final calls to be made. Today, we take a final look at the fields of cinematography, music, makeup and hairstyling and visual effects.
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'American Hustle' and '12 Years a Slave' lead Critics' Choice Movie Awards nominations
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 7:47 am · December 16th, 2013
“American Hustle” and “12 Years a Slave” led the way with this year’s Critics’ Choice Movie Awards nominations with 13 apiece. David O. Russell’s Abscam comedy had the added benefit of padding in the comedy categories, however, a luxury “12 Years a Slave” couldn’t boast.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
'Man of Steel' grounded by Best Visual Effects Oscar bake-off list
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 1:32 pm · December 5th, 2013
Sorry, it’s a little ridiculous that “Man of Steel” — I don’t care WHAT you think of the film otherwise — was left off the Academy’s list of seven bake-off finalists for Best Visual Effects. But these things are often about politics, and I imagine there was plenty of that at play here.
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'Despicable Me 2' comes out strong with Annie Awards nominations
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:32 am · December 2nd, 2013
It was Universal’s “Despicable Me 2” leading the way today with 11 nominations for the 41st annual Annie Awards. But Disney’s “Frozen” — not far behind with 10 mentions — was the only film to receive nominations for Best Animated Feature, Best Direction and Best Writing.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Tech Support: Space, music and the high seas clash in the race for Best Sound Mixing
Posted by gerardkennedy · 7:36 pm · November 28th, 2013
HitFix’s Gerard Kennedy surveys the field of Best Sound Mixing, from “Gravity” to “Pacific Rim” to maybe even Disney’s animated musical “Frozen.”
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Tech Support: A tight race beyond 'Gravity' for Best Visual Effects features hobbits, Jaegers and men of steel
Posted by gerardkennedy · 10:43 am · October 17th, 2013
This year’s race for Best Visual Effects Oscar may already be over as “Gravity” seems undeniable, but the race for nominations is much more up in the air.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Tech Support: Kicking off crafts coverage of the 2013-2014 Oscar season
Posted by gerardkennedy · 6:27 am · October 3rd, 2013
Welcome back. It’s hard for me to truly appreciate that this is the eighth season of Tech Support here at In Contention (third in our association with HitFix). I’m pleased to say that this column has come a long way during this time, as has media coverage of below-the-line Oscar races as a whole.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Alfonso Cuarón says 'Pacific Rim' made 'Gravity' feel like a 'tiny Sundance film'
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 4:57 pm · September 17th, 2013
We’re going to have a few nibbles of a recent interview with director Alfonso Cuarón in lead-up to a larger piece dealing specifically with his work on the space spectacle “Gravity.” Today, with the summer movie season not to far back in the rearview, I thought I’d ask Cuarón for his thoughts on “Pacific Rim.”
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Watch: Travis Beacham reps for 'Pacific Rim' at Comic-Con 2013
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 4:16 pm · July 19th, 2013
I kinda feel compelled to post this because, look, I’m not in the tank for “Pacific Rim” or anything, but I’m SUPER happy for a guy like Travis Beacham, a former schoolmate of mine, making it so big that he’s signing autographs for adoring fans at Comic-Con and soaking it up and just, well, I guess I’m living vicariously. Sue me.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Tell us what you thought of 'Pacific Rim'
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:00 pm · July 11th, 2013
Guillermo del Toro’s kaiju-mech disasterpiece tears into theaters this weekend
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Taking stock of the Best Visual Effects race during the summer blockbuster season
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 11:04 am · July 9th, 2013
We’re right in the middle of the blockbuster movie season so it seems now would be a nice opportunity to look at the race for Best Visual Effects.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Screenwriter Travis Beacham on the innovative spirit of 'Pacific Rim'
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 7:30 pm · July 3rd, 2013
One foggy morning in 2007, screenwriter Travis Beacham was walking along the beach in Santa Monica and he looked out at the famed amusement park pier jutting out into the water. His imagination ever running rampant, he pictured behind those mist-covered, empty rides a towering machine, a robot — a mech, actually — waiting to do battle with some vicious monstrosity. The germ of “Pacific Rim” was born.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
How the comic book format allowed Travis Beacham to expand on the 'Pacific Rim' universe
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 4:21 pm · June 29th, 2013
When Guillermo del Toro’s “Pacific Rim” crashes into theaters on July 12, you’ll only be getting part of the story. The universe of the film was too big for one movie, you see. It inevitably spilled over the edges and left an excess of material without a home, but with so much to say.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Design your own 'Pacific Rim' Jaeger
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 2:25 pm · May 31st, 2013
Little marketing hooks like this are always fun for the geek in us all. Sometimes they’re a stretch, sometimes you can get lost toying with this and that. Confession: I totally “Frankenweenie”-fied my cat last year.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Check out this massive 'Pacific Rim' banner
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 12:09 am · May 3rd, 2013
It’s understandable, then, that Warner Bros. would cook up a bit of promotion that attempts to match the scale of Guillermo Del Toro’s latest.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
What summer 2013 movie are you most looking forward to seeing?
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 11:01 am · April 30th, 2013
We’ve wrapped up our preview and the season gets underway this weekend.
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