It was a bittersweet morning for Sony Pictures Classics co-president Michael Barker. One one hand his company’s films “Before Midnight,” “Blue Jasmine” and “The Invisible Woman” combined for a total of five nominations, including a somewhat surprising bid for “Blue” supporting actress Sally Hawkins. On the other, it was a rare occasion where the indie distributor had no nominees in either the Best Documentary Feature or Best Foreign Language Film categories, and neither “Blue” nor “Midnight” was able to push into the Best Picture field.
Michael Barker on 'bittersweet' nominations and watching Richard Linklater's career bloom
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 7:04 am · January 16th, 2014
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Tech Support: Final predictions for Best Costume Design, Film Editing, Production Design and Sound
Posted by gerardkennedy · 3:54 pm · January 10th, 2014
We’re within a week of the big moment. Oscar nominations will be announced on Thursday next week and we’ll find out which films are the dominant forces throughout the Academy’s various craft categories. Yesterday HitFix’s Gerard Kennedy began final Tech Support analysis of the field with the categories of Best Cinematography, Makeup and Hairstyling, Original Score, Original Song and Visual Effects. Today we round out the field with the rest.
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Ralph Fiennes on bringing sweat to the costume drama in 'The Invisible Woman'
Posted by Guy Lodge · 11:28 am · December 23rd, 2013
Ralph Fiennes may only be two films into his directing career, yet his costume drama “The Invisible Woman” — the story of the secret mistress of Charles Dickens — has his stamp of elegant restraint all over it. We talk to him about the challenges of directing himself, and finding the contemporary humanity in history.
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From 'All is Lost' to 'The Wolverine,' 114 films vying for the Best Original Score Oscar
Posted by Guy Lodge · 3:49 pm · December 12th, 2013
The Academy today revealed the 114 films in contention for the Best Original Score Oscar. All the widely predicted contenders are present, but don’t look for “Frozen,” “Nebraska” or “The Lone Ranger.”
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Tech Support: Can 'Catching Fire' crack the costume design Oscar race?
Posted by gerardkennedy · 3:38 pm · December 5th, 2013
HitFix’s Gerard Kennedy surveys the field of Best Costume Design Oscar contenders, from period stand-out “12 Years a Slave” to the contemporary designs of “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
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Tech Support: The production designers go it alone this year
Posted by gerardkennedy · 12:18 pm · October 31st, 2013
This year’s race for Best Production Design is a little different in that the costumers have split off and formed their own branch. How will that affect the race? From this vantage point, films like “12 Years a Slave,” “The Great Gatsby” and “Inside Llewyn Davis” seem formidable.
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Roundup: Felicity Jones defeats category fraud
Posted by Guy Lodge · 3:22 am · October 28th, 2013
Also: Academy’s e-voting upgrade, and screenwriters turning to adaptations.
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Review: Ralph Fiennes and Felicity Jones can't light a fire in 'The Invisible Woman'
Posted by Gregory Ellwood · 12:23 am · September 2nd, 2013
Ralph Fiennes continues to show much skill as a filmmaker, but his lack of chemistry with co-star Felicity Jones keeps “The Invisible Woman” from taking flight.
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Alfonso Cuarón, Jason Reitman, the Coens and more set for 40th annual Telluride Film Festival
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 6:00 am · August 28th, 2013
The Coen brothers, T Bone Burnett and Robert Redford are among those to be feted at the 40th annual Telluride Film Festival, which will feature the world premieres of Jason Reitman’s “Labor Day” and Ralph Fiennes’ “The Invisible Woman.” Prestige titles from the 2013 festival circuit so far have been curated for the weekend as well, including Alexander Payne’s “Nebraska,” J.C. Chandor’s “All is Lost” and the Coens’ “Inside Llewyn Davis.”
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Cate Blanchett and Ralph Fiennes to receive Gala Tributes at NYFF
Posted by Guy Lodge · 10:35 am · August 22nd, 2013
Fiennes’ directorial effort ‘The Invisible Woman’ will also bow at the fest.
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2013 New York Film Festival line-up unveiled: 'Inside Llewyn Davis,' 'The Invisible Woman,' 'The Wind Rises'
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:08 am · August 19th, 2013
The Film Society of Lincoln Center has announced the main slate of selections for the 51st annual New York Film Festival, and it’s another choice cross-section of top festival offerings from the year so far.
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'The Fifth Estate,' '12 Years a Slave,' 'August: Osage County' and more set for 2013 Toronto Film Festival
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 6:51 am · July 23rd, 2013
It was revealed today that Bill Condon’s “The Fifth Estate,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Wiki Leaks found Julian Assange, will be the opening night film of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, which kicks off on Sept. 5. The closing night film will be Daniel Schecter’s “Life of Crime” with John Hawkes, Mos Def and Jennifer Aniston.
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Spitballing possibilities for the 40th annual Telluride Film Festival
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:13 am · July 22nd, 2013
HitFix’s Kristopher Tapley puts a finger to the air and makes a few educated guesses on what we might see at the 2013 Telluride Film Festival.
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Where will Bennett Miller's 'Foxcatcher' end up?
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 3:20 pm · June 27th, 2013
With a full slate of films to campaign and market this fall, Sony Pictures may be moving Bennett Miller’s “Foxcatcher” to art house shingle Sony Pictures Classics for distribution, or the film could be held for 2014 release.
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