Pre-Globes party weekend: Weinstein, AFI, Paramount, Film Independent and BAFTA do it up

Posted by · 6:45 pm · January 14th, 2012

Leading into tomorrow’s Golden Globes ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Hollywood has been all abuzz with events aimed at making the most of having talent in town for the big awards show weekend.

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Filed in: HitFix · In Contention

'Tintin,' 'Harry Potter' and 'Transformers' out front with Visual Effects Society nominations

Posted by · 12:37 am · January 9th, 2012

The Visual Effects Society has announced its list of nominees for the organization’s 10th annual ceremony, and leading the way wasn’t one of the live action blockbusters on the whittled-down slate of 10 advancing Oscar contenders. It was Steven Spielberg’s animated offering “The Adventures of Tintin,” which landed six nominations across the feature film categories.

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Filed in: HitFix · In Contention

Sound mixer Greg P. Russell talks creating 'dynamic range' on 'Transformers'

Posted by · 10:27 am · December 28th, 2011

Greg P. Russell has amassed 14 Oscar nominations throughout his career (including two in 1998), but the statue has eluded him. As part of a “Contenders” series, he recently participated in an interview with Below the Line, a trade paper that’s been doing great work spotlighting craft talent for years.

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Filed in: HitFix · In Contention

Oklahoma critics march in step, spring for 'The Artist,' Clooney and Williams

Posted by · 3:11 pm · December 23rd, 2011

The Oklahoma Film Critics Circle has spoken up and added nothing to the precursor conversation, going with a slate of typical winners. Most annoying, they totally got their “Obviously Worst Film” and “Not-So-Obviously-Worst-Film” awards mixed, but whatever.

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Filed in: HitFix · In Contention

2011: the year in superlatives

Posted by · 10:11 am · December 16th, 2011

Who am I to complain about the amount of year-end kudos announcements when I had this post coming all along? I know. I’m so hypocritical.

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Filed in: HitFix · In Contention

Academy narrows visual effects race to 15 films

Posted by · 5:17 pm · December 9th, 2011

The Academy has announced a shortlist of 15 contenders for the Best Visual Effects Oscar, and all the usual suspects, from “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” to “The Tree of Life,” are present. Still, it’s bad news for “Anonymous” and “Immortals.”

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Filed in: HitFix · In Contention

Tech Support: 'War Horse,' 'Transformers' in the, uh, mix for Best Sound Mixing

Posted by · 7:47 am · November 10th, 2011

In this week’s edition of Tech Support, we turn our gaze to Best Sound Mixing. Contenders include “War Horse,” “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” and.. “The Artist?”

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Filed in: HitFix · In Contention

'Harry Potter,' George Clooney, Michelle Williams honored with Hollywood Film Awards

Posted by · 4:02 pm · October 24th, 2011

The Hollywood Film awards were held tonight, marking the first awards ceremony of the season. All honorees were previously announced. George Clooney and Michelle Williams won top acting honors while the public-voted Hollywood Movie Award went to “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.”

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Filed in: HitFix · In Contention

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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Filed in: HitFix · In Contention

Greg P. Russell on the 7.1 experience of 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon'

Posted by · 8:22 am · September 29th, 2011

Greg P. Russell has been nominated 14 times for the Best Sound Mixing Oscar. But “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” is, to him, the most complex mixing job of his career. A lot of that is owed to the new 7.1 surround sound platform, which he recently discussed in an interview.

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Filed in: HitFix · In Contention

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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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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Filed in: HitFix · In Contention

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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Filed in: HitFix · In Contention