UK box office for 'Tintin' tells an uncertain tale

Posted by · 1:01 pm · November 2nd, 2011

Steven Spielberg’s first animated feature has earned healthy takings in the UK, but it’s fallen shy of phenomenon status. Will American audiences be more convinced?

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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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Spielberg's 'Tintin' to close out AFI Fest

Posted by · 2:57 pm · October 31st, 2011

After already landing a nice get in Clint Eastwood’s “J. Edgar” as its opening night film, AFI Fest has secured the North American premiere of Steven Spielberg’s “The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn” for its closing night. Other galas include “Carnage,” “My Week with Marilyn” and “The Artist.”

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Oscarweb Round-up: More on 2011 as 'the year of The Beard'

Posted by · 7:03 am · October 31st, 2011

In today’s round-up, Michael Cieply catches on to “The Year of The Beard,” the original music of “Albert Nobbs” owes plenty to Skype and production of “Iron Man 3” will head to North Carolina.

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Tech Support: Best Pic hopefuls from 'War Horse' to 'Ides of March' highlight Best Film Editing

Posted by · 9:19 am · October 27th, 2011

This week our weekly Tech Support column turns its gaze to the Best Film Editing category. Serious possibilities include Steven Spielberg’s one-two punch of “War Horse” and “The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn,” festival favorite “The Artist” and summer blockbusters like “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.”

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Oscar Talk: Ep. 66 — Gotham Awards, NYFCC's FIRST! move, 'Tintin,' London fest and more

Posted by · 8:00 am · October 21st, 2011

In this week’s Oscar Talk podcast Anne and Kris are joined by Guy Lodge from London, who is taking in the London Film Festival and saw Steven Spielberg’s “The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn” recently. We also dig in on the Gotham Award nominations announcement and the NYFCC’s recent surprising twist on the season.

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Listen to John Williams's 'Tintin' score

Posted by · 2:11 pm · October 17th, 2011

After yesterday’s positive London reception, things are looking good for Steven Spielberg’s “The Adventures of Tintin,” but will the Academy respond to it? We don’t know, but John Williams’s old-school score, at least, looks a solid bet.

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Review: Fun, frisky 'Tintin' pages Indiana Jones

Posted by · 2:55 pm · October 16th, 2011

You’d have been forgiven for thinking that Steven Spielberg had lost his fun gene after “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” — but “The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn” is a springy, souped-up entertainment that hews far closer to the original Indiana Jones template.

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Scorsese and Spielberg join in elegy for celluloid

Posted by · 11:51 am · October 13th, 2011

A new exhibition in London celebrates the dying medium of 35mm, and Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg are among its most high-profile advocates — despite both directors entering new technical territory in their latest films.

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Tech Support: 'Tintin' and 'Super 8' stand out among Best Sound Editing contenders

Posted by · 9:23 am · October 13th, 2011

In this week’s Tech Support column, we analyze the Best Sound Editing category. Top contenders include “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” “Super 8” and “The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn.”

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Britain braces quietly for 'Tintin'

Posted by · 2:55 pm · October 7th, 2011

While Americans have to hold tight until December, it’s less than three weeks until “The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn” hits UK screens. If I’m being honest, however, it hardly feels that way.

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Oscarweb Round-up: Clint back in the saddle

Posted by · 5:41 am · October 6th, 2011

In today’s round-up, Clint Eastwood comes out of his short-lived retirement from acting to star in another film, Ryan gosling’s “Drive” jacket could be yours and Academy CEO talks the AMPAS museum.

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Tech Support: 'Apes' and 'Deathly Hallows' lead the way for Best Visual Effects

Posted by · 7:19 am · September 29th, 2011

This week in Tech Support we survey the Best Visual Effects category, from typical blockbuster fare like “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” to unusual possibilities like “The Tree of Life” and “The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn.”

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Oscarweb Round-up: Will mo-cap projects like 'Tintin' and 'Happy Feet 2' qualify for Oscar's animated feature race?

Posted by · 6:23 am · September 29th, 2011

In today’s round-up, the Academy’s feature animation branch debates the eligibility of motion capture films, Melissa McCarthy teams up with the director of “The Help” and “The Ides of March” premieres in Los Angeles.

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Tech Support: A new year of crafts coverage

Posted by · 11:37 am · September 22nd, 2011

Welcome back. Today marks the beginning of the sixth year of Tech Support here at In Contention. I am delighted about the new collaboration with HitFix, which will doubtless result in even more comprehensive awards coverage. Over the next 10 weeks, we will analyze each of the “technical” category races in this space: Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Film Editing, Makeup, Original Score, Original Song, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Visual Effects.

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Steven Spielberg tapped for PGA's David O. Selznick Award

Posted by · 8:32 am · September 21st, 2011

The Producers Guild of America has chosen prolific filmmaker Steven Spielberg for its David O. Selznick Award this year. Could that feed a fire that is sure to burn for his up-coming one-two punch of “War Horse” and “The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn?”

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Off the Carpet: The great, appreciated unknown

Posted by · 6:00 am · September 19th, 2011

The Venice, Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals have commenced. But contrary to recent years, there is no unanimous Oscar heavy coming out of that frame.

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