Features
For the first time I can ever remember, the Motion Picture Sound Editors have announced their list of nominees BEFORE the Academy has announced the Oscar nominees. Because these always came a few days after the big announcement, I have to say, I have never bothered to see how often they match up with the […]
‘Avatar,’ ‘Star Trek’ lead the way with MPSE
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:13 am · January 22nd, 2010
Filed in: Daily
‘Avatar’ leads VES nominations
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 5:49 pm · January 18th, 2010
No surprises there. James Cameron’s film landed 11 separate mentions from the Visual Effects Society (some more specifically indicated than others). “2012” and “District 9” each landed three nominations, while “Sherlock Holmes” and “Star Trek” each landed two. The nominees in the main field, “visual effects in a visual effects driven feature motion picture,” are: […]
Filed in: Daily
Visual effects bake-off leaves seven
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:28 am · January 6th, 2010
And they are, via AMPAS press release: “Avatar” “District 9” “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” “Star Trek” “Terminator Salvation” “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” “2012” And the three I still expect to get in are in the mix, so, whew. I think we all know what will eventually win here, but if there’s a […]
Filed in: Daily
12/29 Oscarweb Round-up
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:58 am · December 29th, 2009
• John Campea talks to “Avatar” star Stephen Lang. [AMC Entertainment] • Scott Feinberg spotlights 50 performances that “shoulda been contendas” in the 2009 Oscar race. [And the Winner Is…] • Nikki sez Warner Bros. has broken the studio’s own domestic box office record by crossing $2 billion across the States. Wowsers. [Deadline Hollywood Daily]
Filed in: Daily
OFF THE CARPET: Let it all bleed out
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:57 am · November 30th, 2009
Every now and then this season, I’ve sat down and taken on the fool’s errand of deciphering what 2009, the year in film, has been “about.” It’s silly because a given film year is the result of years and years of preparation and development, so to think a collective thematic consciousness settles in is a […]
Filed in: Off the Carpet
INTERVIEW: Woody Harrelson
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:35 am · November 24th, 2009
Woody Harrelson is running behind…about a half an hour behind. This after a number of delays and schedule changes throughout the week. When he strolls nonchalantly out onto the rooftop spread of a posh West Hollywood hotel, you can see why. It’s not irresponsibility. It’s not eccentric nuisance. The guy just marches to his own […]
Filed in: Interviews
WEEKLY WRAP: Doc shortlist, honorary Oscars and more
Posted by Guy Lodge · 6:38 pm · November 20th, 2009
• The shortlist of contenders for the documentary Oscar was announced, surprising many — we dug into it a little. • The season’s first Oscars were handed out, as Lauren Bacall, Gordon Willis, Roger Corman and John Calley were celebrated at the Governors’ Awards. • This week’s Off the Carpet column broke down the wide-open […]
Filed in: Daily
Something for the soundphiles
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:03 am · November 19th, 2009
Thanks to Sasha Stone at Awards Daily for a pretty sweet find this Oscar season. We are, of course, very proud of our dedication to the crafts categories via Gerard’s Tech Support columns here at In Contention. It’s been a concentrated effort on our part to help carry the flag for folks who deserve as […]
Filed in: Daily
Listen to Adam Lambert’s ‘Time For Miracles’ from ‘2012’
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 12:46 pm · November 16th, 2009
Okay, it’s a stretch under the new voting scheme to think that Adam Lambert’s closing credits track “Time For Miracles” from Roland Emmerich’s blow-stuff-up-good entry “2012” would be an Oscar contender, but with the film hitting theaters over the weekend (and with the just-announced news that another big sci-fi entry will have an original tune […]
Filed in: Daily
Leona Lewis to sing ‘Avatar’ theme
Posted by Guy Lodge · 11:42 am · November 16th, 2009
Chalk up another contender for Best Original Song. British pop diva Leona Lewis is to sing the (presumably multi-octave-scaling) theme song from James Cameron’s “Avatar.” Best known Stateside for her megahit “Bleeding Love,” the 24 year-old chanteuse rose to fame as the 2006 winner of “The X Factor,” the UK’s “American Idol” equivalent — thus […]
Filed in: Daily
11/16 Oscarweb Round-up
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:03 am · November 16th, 2009
• Catch video highlights of Saturday night’s Honorary Oscars celebration. [Oscars.org] • Baltimore Ravens OT Michael Oher on his life’s inspiration for Hollywood. [CNN] • Hoping “Avatar” is the new face of filmmaking. [Los Angeles Times]
Filed in: Daily
SUNDAY CENTS: Apocalypse wow
Posted by Chad Hartigan · 10:25 am · November 15th, 2009
*All historical figures are adjusted to today’s dollars. Roland Emmerich’s still got it. And by “it,” I mean the ability to make blockbuster hits out of the same movie again and again. “2012” opened at the top of the box office with $65 million and the seventh-biggest opening of 2009. It’s also the 10th-biggest November […]
Filed in: Box Office · Sunday Cents
Lenny Bruce is not afraid
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:34 pm · November 13th, 2009
I’m in San Francisco through the weekend and, having missed the week’s “2012” press screenings, I headed on over to the Van Ness AMC to settle in for Roland Emmerich’s two and a half hours of global destruction, and as overwrought, cheesy, painstakingly contrived (“Where’s the map!?”) and downright BAD as the film is — […]
Filed in: Daily
FRIDAY FORECAST: ‘2012’ on the way
Posted by Chad Hartigan · 1:28 am · November 13th, 2009
*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars. (This is the first of a new series of columns splitting the weekly Sunday Cents column in half. We’ll cover the weekend box office on Sundays and save the forecasts for Thursdays from here on out.) Roland Emmerich returns this weekend to popular landmark destruction for […]
Filed in: Box Office · Friday Forecast
TECH SUPPORT: Best Sound Mixing — Volume II
Posted by gerardkennedy · 5:53 pm · November 12th, 2009
As a recap from the last time we covered this field, the category of Best Sound Mixing (formerly known as merely Best Sound) rewards re-recording mixers — individuals who mix music, dialogue, effects and everything else into the soundtrack we ultimately hear — as well as production sound mixer — those responsible for capturing the […]
Filed in: Tech Support
11/12 Oscarweb Round-up
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:05 am · November 12th, 2009
• Steve Pond shrewdly catches a Twitter leak from Oscarcast producer Adam Shankman: David Rockwell will be back on production design duties. [The Odds] • The Gurus o’ Gold chime in with supporting predictions. [Movie City News] • Charting the reasons “Avatar” will defy the odds and succeed at the box office. [Hollywood.com]
Filed in: Daily
11/10 Oscarweb Round-up
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:55 am · November 10th, 2009
• Deborah Sontag talks “The Messenger” with Oren Moverman, Woody Harrelson, etc. [New York Times] • Roger Ebert sits down with the fast-becoming new “it” girl, Gabourey Sidibe. [Chicago Sun-Times] • With movies still to be seen in 2009, Noah Forrest pegs “25th Hour” as the decade’s best. Brave choice. I’m a fan. [Movie City […]
Filed in: Daily
Calling the Best Picture wild cards
Posted by Guy Lodge · 8:52 am · October 30th, 2009
Tom O’Neil has pooled the thoughts of 16 awards-watchers on which 10 films will make the Best Picture cut, and the results make for ominously predictable reading. All 16 agree that “The Hurt Locker” and “Invictus” are in (I guess it’s just me holding out on the latter then), while there’s near-consensus on the likes […]
Filed in: Daily
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