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  • ‘King’s Speech’ rules BIFAs, ‘Ghost Writer’ sweeps EFAs

    Apologies for getting to both these announcement so late: my laptop is currently (perhaps terminally) hospitalized, so posting is rather spotty on my end. The timing is particularly bad, since this past weekend’s awards activity included two major European ceremonies that I should have been all over.

    That said, if you paid even vague attention to the nominee lists for the British Independent Film Awards and the European Film Awards when they were announced, you probably could have guessed how they panned out without much help from me.

    In both ceremonies, the nomination leader emerged easily as top dog. With the BIFA voters throwing fewer curveballs than usual for them, “The King’s Speech” won five of its eight bids, including Best British Independent Film and three of the four acting races. It was left to scrappy sci-fi sleeper “Monsters” to disrupt the yawnfest, as debut helmer Gareth Edwards pipped Tom Hooper to the Best Director prize. (He lost Best Debut Director the same night, incidentally — such is the spread-the-wealth logic of juried awards.)

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  • Well put

    Misconceptions about Daft Punk’s musical score: Fans became excited when it was announced that Grammy winning electronica duo Daft Punk would be scoring the film. They received their first taste of the music when the track “End of Line” was played in the hidden room that displayed the new lightcycle at the Flynn’s arcade set-up for San Diego Comic-Con 2009. Immediately fan produced mixes of the track were created and music released by other electronica artists was falsely labeled as new tracks from the Tron Legacy score. A few weeks back another up tempo track Derezzed was released in anticipation of the score’s December 6 release. Yet many fans fail to realize that most of the music Daft Punk has composed for the film is not dance music, but an actual score. It works fine on it’s own, but it’s meant to support and enhance the theatrical film. Daft Punk even incorporated a 90 piece orchestra making for some exciting and truly emotional music cues. If you expect to be dancing along to the Tron Legacy soundtrack you’re gonna be sorely disappointed.

    From Ron Henrique’s Latino Review piece entitled “10 things surrounding ‘TRON Legacy’ that bug me.”

  • AMPAS counts down to 83rd Oscarcast

    Via press release:

    On December 7 (tomorrow!), we will be 83 days away from the 83rd Academy Awards. Beginning tomorrow, we will be counting down to the February 27 ceremony by revisiting all of the Academy Awards ceremonies that have come before. You’re invited to visit Oscars.org on December 7 – and every day thereafter – to experience highlights from throughout the history of one of the world’s most anticipated annual events. We’ll be showcasing photos, audio clips, video segments and interesting facts (from the year’s awards winners and ceremony, as well as around the world in general) and all of the content featured will be shareable.

    We hope you’ll spend a few minutes each day venturing back in time as we continue on our journey forward to the 83rd Oscars. You can sign up for our RSS feed of the Countdown, follow us on Facebook (Facebook.com/The Academy) or Twitter (twitter.com/TheAcademy), or just check oscars.org each day.

  • OFF THE CARPET: Time to flex

    All of the cards (save for the elusive James L. Brooks title “How Do You Know,” which few seem to be expecting much from at this stage — a commodity in Oscar season, actually) are on the table.

    The critics are beginning to speak up with their faves (likely to be “The Social Network” after “The Social Network” after “The Social Network”) and the working (and voting) industry is just now getting its first look at many of the films that have been stirring conversation throughout the festival season via DVDs and Academy screenings. They’ll make their voices heard with guild nominations throughout January. But now is not the time to show weakness.

    The thoroughbreds of the season remain “The King’s Speech” and the aforementioned “The Social Network.” I’m confidant “True Grit” will soon join their ranks, while “The Kids Are All Right” could be fairly considered in that group as well. And “Toy Story 3” is riding sentiment like a champ (with even more campaign strategy to come).

    “The Town” is the only other film that I know has registered in a big way with Academy types (and it’s laid back campaign approach feels like the right call). “The Fighter” screened for AMPAS this weekend and is receiving media attention at just the right time. I think it will soon prove itself to be a formidable contender in the race, if it hasn’t already.

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  • Geoffrey Rush to receive Santa Barbara’s Montecito Award

    The press release, in part:

    The Santa Barbara International Film Festival will honor Academy Award® winning actor Geoffrey Rush with the Montecito Award at the 26th edition of the Festival, which runs January 27– February 6, 2011…The Tribute will take place Monday, January 31, 2011, at the historic Arlington Theatre.

    The Montecito Award was created in recognition of a performer who has given a series of classic and standout performances in his/her career, and has previously been presented to Julianne Moore, Kate Winslet, Javier Bardem, Naomi Watts and Annette Bening, who was the very first recipient in 2005. Geoffrey Rush stands tall within a rare and genuine class of actors, able to command the screen in each and every one of his roles. Ranging from the comedic to the dramatic, Rush’s vast and eclectic body of work illustrates him as one of Hollywood’s most versatile actors.

    “I feel like Royalty’s coming to SBIFF,” remarked [festival executive director Roger) Durling. “Having been an admirer of everything Geoffrey Rush has done (including his Tony-winning performance in Exit The King), we’re truly blessed to get to celebrate him this year where he once again reminds us in The King’s Speech that he’s one of our greatest actors.”

    [Photo: The Weinstein Company]

  • ‘TRON Legacy’ reeks and rocks with equal measure

    Disney has probably been wise to discontinue the original “TRON” on DVD in advance of the release of “TRON Legacy,” lest people be reminded of how truly bad it was.  Beyond being conceptually ahead of its time, it never seemed to be more than a pop culture blip in cinema history, if we’re being perfectly honest.

    Bottom line: the film had unrefined if progressive narrative ideas and got points for pushing boundaries if nothing else.  Naturally, then, it developed a cult following that heaped appreciation for what wasn’t really on the screen, but rather what existed in the conceptual ether of the thing.  This puts “TRON Legacy” in decent enough position to capitalize on throwback mania.

    Here’s the thing.  The new film has plenty of issues, but I doubt I’ve had a better time in a movie theater all year.  Expectations couldn’t have been lower, which played to the film’s advantage I imagine, but I was strapped in and game from the opening text.

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  • ‘Inception’ in real time

    To say the least, beware of spoilers here.  And I imagine Warner Bros,. might have this yanked at some point, but it’s intriguing hype for the film, so maybe not.  Courtesy of Buzz Feed:

  • ‘Dragon’ dominates Annie Award nominations

    It was cute of the Annies to throw “Tangled” and “Toy Story 3” a bone in the Best Animated Feature, directing and screenplay categories this year, but the absence of Disney product in virtually every other field is clearly evidence of a reaction to the studio withdrawing from the organization earlier this summer. Credibility: out the window.

    As best as I can tell, “How to Train Your Dragon” led the way considerably with 15 nominations.  And I think we can pretty well expect the film to triumph in quite a few of them, including Best Animated Feature, when the awards are handed out February 5.

    A distant second with seven total bids was Universal’s “Despicable Me,” but fret not, DreamWorks was right back in there at third with six nods for “Shrek Forever After.”

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  • Making Christian Bale “all happy and shiny”

    I’m tellin’ ya, Christian Bale is taking from the Mo’Nique school of Oscar campaigning more and more.  Okay, not really, though that’ll make a nice narrative for the press to wrap around his usual prickliness as the season unfolds, just you watch.

    Of course, I’m sure Paramount would rather he go through the usual tame but hype-driving motions.  Witness “The Fighter” co-star Mark Wahlberg, who has already exhausted the same talking points on what a feat and a challenge his work on the film and behind the scenes was (and not to take anything away from a guy who really wants a nomination, because I do have a lot of respect for what he did with this film on camera and off).

    But for Bale, the standoffishness will be the story, and I’ll submit this: at least it’s unique, in the scheme of this particular season, anyway.  And the latest example, after a humorous Esquire Q&A, is this Dennis Lim interview in the pages of The New York Times.

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  • Listen to Cee Lo Green’s ‘What Part of Forever’ from ‘The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’

    Can you tell I’m grasping at straws with this category yet?  I’m planning on writing up this year’s Best Original Song category in Thursday’s Tech Support column and I thought I’d squeeze a few more contenders in this week, but there’s not a lot to choose from.

    Cee-Lo Green’s “What Part of Forever” from “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” was nominated for a Satellite Award by the International Press Academy last week so I guess giving it some space here makes (a little) sense.  I haven’t seen the film so I can’t speak to its usage therein.  I watched the first two films of the series back-to-back last year and was stunned.  I never want to feel that way again so I avoid them like the plague.

    Also included on the soundtrack were tunes from Muse, Beck and Bat For Lashes and Muse (whose “Eclipse (All Yours)” was also nominated for a Satellite), all eligible (I think).

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  • 12/6 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Truth behind ‘Speech,’ Mara on ‘Tattoo’ remake and a new breed of film director

    • The real story behind ‘The King’s Speech.’ [Speakeasy]

    • John Lopex has exclusive video on the making of “Black Swan”‘s production of “Swan Lake.” [Little Gold Men]

    • How “The Long Walk” became “The Way Back.” [BBC]

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  • ‘Social Network’ wins with D.C. critics

    The Washington, D.C. Area Film Critics Association will officially announce its winners tomorrow (after releasing a list of nominees yesterday), but we’ve got them for you in advance at The Circuit.

    David Fincher’s “The Social Network” took the Film/Director/Screenplay trifecta, while Christopher Nolan’s “Inception” was the big winner over all, taking four awards including Best Original Screenplay.

    Also notable was Melissa Leo and Christian Bale’s wins in the supporting categories, a one-two punch for “The Fighter” that could well be reflected by the Academy in a couple of months.  Meanwhile, “The Town” has taken its second ensemble award (along with last week’s National Board of Review honor).  Could this all be prelude to a SAG ensemble nod and, eventually, a Best Picture nomination?  I’m thinking yes.

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  • BOX OFFICE: ‘Tangled’ tops

    Nothing too sensational this weekend, though “Black Swan” did extremely well in limited release.  (The Academy screening was held this weekend and I hear there was very little response.)  “127 Hours,” meanwhile, is crawling to $10 million.

    (Courtesy: Exhibitor Relations)

  • D.C. critics apparently saw only 33 films this year

    I have to say, this year’s list of awards nominees from the Washington, D.C. Area Film Critics Association is even more uninspired and Oscar-guessing than last year’s slate.  But they kick off the critics’ awards circuit nevertheless.

    Winners will be announced Monday, but I imagine “The Social Network,” which racked up a field-leading eight nominations, will be declared Best Film and continue to be rather dominant as the critics’ darling of the year.  The Oscar question, however, is whether the critics can force the issue like they did last year.

    Or is there just not a sexy enough narrative as 2009’s battle of the exes to get it there?

    You know what I think.  But anyway, head on over to The Circuit to see what they’re springing for in the nation’s capital.

    [Photo: Columbia Pictures]

  • CINEJABBER: Peace settled across the galaxy

    Catch up with the idea behind these weekend posts here.

    It’s been a busy week.  It’s snowing back home and boy do I wish I were there for that, but I’m spending the afternoon on the phone with the “True Grit” crew, so I can’t complain.

    It’s like the Oscar Season Film Festival in my house these days as I push through the remaining screeners of films that slipped through the cracks all year.  In some cases three films in a day.  Finally last night I watched something top 10 worthy (to say the least), but there’s still quite a few to push through, all in preparation for Friday’s top 10 podcast.  (Trying to cover all bases.)

    I’m such a perfectionist about stupid stuff that I literally sat down and racked my brain last night trying to decide what was honestly my favorite cartoon character from childhood (for the on-going Facebook movement against child abuse).  I mean, is Batman considered a “cartoon character?”  Yeah, there was the animated series, but still.  Then I thought maybe Beavis and Butt-Head, but that’s early 90s and late middle school, so it doesn’t really fit “childhood.”

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  • ‘Waste Land’ wins IDA feature award

    Lucy Walker and company’s film beat out fellow AMPAS doc short-lister “Exit Through the Gift Shop.” The other winners at The Circuit.

  • ‘The Beaver’ trailer

    Everyone has been wondering what will come of Jodie Foster’s “The Beaver” ever since Mel Gibson went flying off the rails earlier this year.  The film is set for a Spring 2011 release and many in the know seemed to think Gibson could have been an awards play for his performance in the film amid other circumstances.  The trailer has just been released via Apple, however, so we all finally get a look at what the troubled actor was up to.  Check it out by clicking the image below or watch an embed after the jump..

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  • Tell us what you thought of ‘Black Swan’

    Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan” opens in eight cities today, so a considerable portion of our audience finally gets a look at the film (and at the attached trailer for “The Tree of Life,” for that matter).  We’ve been discussing it since it bowed at Venice (where Guy gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up) and Telluride (where I caught up with it).  And you can expect some interviews with those involved later in the season, but for now, we’d love to hear your thoughts.  If you’re able to catch it this weekend, head on back here and give us your take (or re-visit this post when the film reaches your neck of the woods).