In Contention

Tag: Cinema Audio Society

  • WEEKLY WRAP: Guild onslaught, Postlethwaite passes, more best of 2010

    • The Producers’ Guild of America surprised no one with their list of nominees.

    • The Writers’ Guild, however, threw a few curveballs (aided by assorted ineligibilities), while the USC Scripter Awards surprised some with one of their selections.

    • In sadder news, we said goodbye to esteemed British character actor Pete Postlethwaite.

    • After a few weeks of deliberation, Guy picked his best and worst films of 2010.

    • Continuing this week’s guild run, both the Cinema Audio Society and the Art Directors’ Guild weighed in with their nominees.

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  • ‘Shutter Island,’ ‘Social Network’ surprise with Cinema Audio Society, ‘TRON’ snubbed

    The immediately striking thing about this year’s slate of nominees from the Cinema Audio Society (which honors sound mixing) is the appearance of “Shutter Island.” This is the film’s second below-the-line guild citation in as many days (following an Art Directors Guild nomination yesterday).

    If it had managed a PGA nomination earlier this week, I’d be saying, “Watch out.”  But the crafts are what were going to help this film along, if anything.  Just remember, there’s a 10th Best Picture slot somewhat up for grabs and there is always the “steak eaters” theory (however overstressed) to consider.  People in the industry do like the film, though maybe for its parts more than their sum.

    The second thing that’s striking is “The Social Network” making it in.  Though that shouldn’t be too unexpected.  It’s an amazing mix from veteran craftsmen.  But could this be the “Finding Neverland” or “Babel” of this year’s slate?  It’s possible.  (Check back later this morning for more on that as today’s Tech Support interview includes sound mixers Ren Klyce and Michael Semanick.)

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: Globe awards, BAFTA noms, foreign shortlist

    Ed Helms in The Hangover• “Avatar” and “The Hangover” took top honors at a very populist Golden Globes ceremony — Off the Carpet reported from the party circuit.

    • The Academy revealed the nine films shortlisted for Best Foreign Language Film; we sized up the race.

    • BAFTA announced their nominations, with “An Education,” “The Hurt Locker” and “Avatar” topping the list.

    • The Long Shot, meanwhile, pondered the identity crisis of this particular awards institution.

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  • CAS nominees

    The Hurt LockerIronic that his release drops tonight just as I’m transcribing an interview with sound mixer Greg Russell for tomorrow’s Tech Support column.

    The list of nominees for the Cinema Audio Society doesn’t exactly hold any surprises.  The only film on the list that isn’t being predicted in the sidebar as of right now is “District 9” (I have “Inglourious Basterds” in there at the moment).  Michael Minkler and his team could still slide in, but given the names involved, this really does feel like a safe batch of films to predict for all you office poolers.

    The CAS doesn’t always match up with the Academy on winners, of course, because no one outside the sound branch of the Academy has a friggin’ clue what quality sound mixing is (or the difference between that and sound editing, for that matter).  But regardless, I would expect “Avatar” to win both this time.  The makings of a juggernaut, all of that.

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  • TECH SUPPORT: Gleaning the guilds

    Tech Support at In ContentionIt’s been three weeks since the last “Tech Support” column. For that, my apologies. In the meantime, we’ve had Thanksgiving, the NBR, the LAFCA, the NYFCC, the BFCA and the Golden Globes to keep us entertained.

    The Screen Actors Guild is the first guild to announce its nominees and will do so next week. Between then and the date the Oscar nominations are announced, the various crafts guilds will also announce their nominees.

    The guilds have a knack of shaking up the race, even more so than the Globes. The guilds have crossover membership with the Academy, which is incredibly important in predicting AMPAS nominees. The American Cinematographers Society (ASC), the American Cinema Editors (ACE), the Art Directors Guild (ADG), the Costume Designers Guild (CDG) and the Cinema Audio Society (CAS) all have a tendency to accurately predict the eventual Oscar nominees –- and often, winners –- in their respective categories.

    So what to expect from these groups when they announce their nominees in January?

    The ASC has what is probably the best correlation of any guild-to-Oscar nominees. Every year, at least three, usually four, of its five nominees tend to be cited by AMPAS.  Last year, all five nominees were cited by both groups.  This year, I would expect Roger Deakins (a guild favorite) to be nominated for “Revolutionary Road.” The living legend of cinematographers lensed what seems to be a major player among this year’s contenders. Moreover, the work has his customized style and class.

    Claudio Miranda (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”) and Anthony Dod Mantle (“Slumdog Millionaire”) also seem primed for citations from this guild and AMPAS. Though awards have not been common in their careers to date, both are working on films which are leading the Oscar race so far. Moreover, the cinematography on both films is incredibly showy and Mantle has already been awarded by the NYFCC for his efforts. Miranda may face difficulty come Oscar time due to the use of visual effects to brush up his work. But that tends to be less of a problem from the guilds.

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  • Cinema Audio Society to vet Dennis Maitland, Paul Mazursky

    The Cinema Audio SocietyThe Cinema Audio Society (CAS) has announced plans to honor esteemed but wrongfully Oscar-snubbed sound mixer Dennis Maitland and Oscar-nominated writer and director Paul Mazursky at this year’s CAS Awards, set to be held on February 14.  Here is the press release, in part:

    In keeping with the synergy of the three previous CAS Filmmaker and Career Achievement recipients, Maitland and Mazursky both have distinguished individual careers which have overlapped on many projects resulting in wonderful collaborations on several films including the Oscar® Nominated AN UNMARRIED WOMAN, TEMPEST, WILLIE AND PHIL and MOSCOW ON THE HUDSON.

    In making this announcement, CAS President Edward L. Moskowitz said “We are thrilled to present both our Career Achievement and our Filmmaker Award to two consummate filmmakers who have contributed so much to filmmaking and brought us so many enjoyable and prestigious projects. This is what the CAS awards endeavor to acknowledge and this year we have hit another home run.”

    Maitland has worked on more than 80 feature films including the critically acclaimed and Oscar® nominated: AS GOOD AS IT GETS, THE PRINCE OF TIDES, MOONSTRUCK, PRIZZI’S HONOR, …AND JUSTICE FOR ALL, LENNY, THE PAWNBROKER, THE WAY WE WERE, THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR and SEARCHING FOR BOBBY FISCHER to name a few

    As the 27th recipient of the Cinema Audio Society’s highest honor, Mr. Maitland joins an illustrious group of past honorees that include: Ray Dolby, Robert Altman, Jack Solomon, John Bonner, Bill Varney, Don Rogers, Walter Murch, Jim Webb, Richard Portman, Tomlinson Holman, Mike Minkler, Ed Greene and Dennis Sands.