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Steven Spielberg couldn’t have put it more concisely during his presentation of the Best Picture category last night. To paraphrase, he noted that whichever films did not happen to win Best Picture this year would join the ranks of numerous classics of the medium. Was it preemptive damage control? I hope not. Why be apologetic? [...]
OFF THE CARPET: Sun came up
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:11 am · February 28th, 2011
Filed in: Off the Carpet
The five categories giving me hell
Posted by Guy Lodge · 3:48 pm · February 25th, 2011
With a little over 48 hours until the big night, I find myself in an uncommon state of disarray — my crammed Oscar weekend “To Do” list includes viewing all 15 short nominees in order to make an informed dart-throw of a prediction (stickler that I am, I held out for a theatrical screening), preparing [...]
Filed in: Daily
OSCAR GUIDE: Best Documentary (Feature)
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 7:24 am · February 18th, 2011
It has been noted what a solid year of documentary filmmaking 2010 was. It was well-reflected in the Academy’s initial narrowing of the feature field to 15 contenders and is certainly evident in the ultimate quintet of nominees, each of them informative and bold in their own ways. Still, it came as quite a shock [...]
Filed in: Oscar Guide
Someone’s campaigning for Banksy
Posted by Guy Lodge · 11:34 am · February 1st, 2011
Following its semi-surprise Oscar nomination last week, “Exit Through the Gift Shop” has received a nifty publicity boost from this prominent Banksy-honoring mural (pictured right, and in more detail after the jump) that went up recently in Los Angeles. Although some were quick to assume it’s the work of the man himself, all signs point [...]
Filed in: Daily
Tom Hooper wins DGA Award
Posted by Guy Lodge · 10:43 pm · January 29th, 2011
Even after “The King’s Speech” surprised at the Producers’ Guild Awards and took a dozen Oscar nominations, I held on to the notion that critical favorite “The Social Network,” a film more in line with the Academy’s recent choices, would emerge victorious on Oscar night. However, Kris called it right. When the former film’s comparatively inexperienced [...]
Filed in: Daily
A look at Oscar’s 15 documentary feature hopefuls
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:08 am · January 19th, 2011
While Guy has been surveying the foreign field, I’ve been diving in elsewhere. It has been considered a banner year for documentary filmmaking. So naturally, the Best Documentary Feature race has been an interesting one to watch since the season’s early days. Two months ago the Academy announced 15 finalists (whittling it down from 101 [...]
Filed in: Daily
DGA announces documentary nominees
Posted by Guy Lodge · 11:11 am · January 12th, 2011
Two days after revealing their feature film nominees, the Directors’ Guild of America has named their five selections in the documentary category. It’s a list that mostly lends credence to the presumed Oscar frontrunners, with one notable exception: Chinese director Lixin Fan, whose lavishly acclaimed debut “Last Train Home” was left off the Academy’s 15-title [...]
Filed in: Daily
January winner predictions
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:27 am · January 11th, 2011
After taking a stab at winner predictions early last month, it seemed now would be a good time to re-assess. Only three adjustments, though — for Best Picture, Best Film Editing and Best Original Score. I’ll try my hand at another set post-nominations. Best Picture: “The Social Network” Best Director: David Fincher, “The Social Network” [...]
Filed in: Daily
PGA nominates the expected
Posted by Guy Lodge · 7:09 am · January 4th, 2011
Look to your right, at Kris’s current Best Picture predictions. Now look at the list of 10 films just nominated for the Producers Guild of America’s top award. Ready for a quick game of Spot the Difference? It’ll be very quick — there are none. (Kris’s hopes yesterday for one wild-card nod were in vain.) [...]
Filed in: Daily
Likability: the best films of 2010
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 11:51 am · December 13th, 2010
I don’t quite know how to peg 2010. On one hand it has felt like a weak year. On the other hand, I’ve enjoyed quite a few films. Maybe the story lies in that sentence: “enjoyed.” There were precious few films that really rocked me, but plenty that were a nice enough experience. If you [...]
Filed in: Daily
Predict the LA and NY critics’ awards
Posted by Guy Lodge · 7:58 am · December 11th, 2010
Tomorrow brings out the big guns in the critics’ awards derby, as the Los Angeles Film Critics’ Circle unveil their picks, with the New York Film Critics’ Circle following on Monday. (I believe the less prestigious but often interesting New York Online crix are announcing tomorrow too.) I offered some thoughts on the significance of [...]
Filed in: Daily
OSCAR TALK: Ep. 44 — The top 10 films of 2010 (x2)
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 12:30 pm · December 10th, 2010
Welcome to Oscar Talk. In case you’re new to the site and/or the podcast, Oscar Talk is a weekly kudocast, your one-stop awards chat shop between yours truly and Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood. The podcast is weekly, every Friday throughout the season, charting the ups and downs of contenders along the way. Plenty [...]
Filed in: Oscar Talk
PGA nominates documentaries
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:22 am · December 3rd, 2010
Via press release, the nominees are: “Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer” “Earth Made of Glass” “Inside Job” “Smash His Camera” “The Tillman Story” “Waiting for Superman”
Filed in: Daily
December winner predictions
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:00 am · December 1st, 2010
I haven’t bothered taking a stab at predicting this year’s Oscar winners yet. Now seems like the right time, given that everything has been seen (save for two Sony entries with comedy stylings that look to be commercial enterprises more than awards plays). I’m long on the record as thinking “The King’s Speech” is the [...]
Filed in: Daily
11/26 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: The hairy task of ‘Tangled,’ Britain’s Oscar potential, Julianne Moore a best bet?
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:42 am · November 26th, 2010
• Steve Pond chats with “Casino Jack” star Kevin Spacey. [The Odds] • Rebecca Keegan writes up the hairy task of creating Rapunzel in “Tangled.” [24 Frames] • Marc Lee thinks it’s looking up for Britain at the Oscars this year. [Daily Telegraph]
Filed in: Daily
WEEKLY WRAP: Weinstein takes the gloves off, Hollywood mourns its own, doc and animated fields shortlisted
Posted by In Contention Staff · 11:10 am · November 20th, 2010
• The Academy honored legends Francis Ford Coppola, Eli Wallach, Jean-Luc Godard and Kevin Brownlow at the annual Governors Awards. • Kris attended a Summit Entertainment holiday party, chatting with the talent in attendance. • Disney revealed a clever plan geared toward presenting “Toy Story 3″ as a legitimate Best Picture contender. • The Weinstein [...]
Filed in: Daily
15 films shortlisted for documentary feature Oscar
Posted by Guy Lodge · 1:04 pm · November 18th, 2010
Cue the annual outcry over what titles didn’t make it — judging from the Twitter reaction, this year’s most-mourned snubee is the Chinese critical darling “Last Train Home.” (I’d join the pitchfork-wielders, but I haven’t had an opportunity to see the film yet.) More surprising, however, is the omission of such widely fancied contenders as [...]
Filed in: Daily
INTERVIEW: ‘Inside Job’ director Charles Ferguson
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 2:12 pm · November 16th, 2010
I’m getting to that point where the interviews are stacking up and there’s precious little time to transcribe and write them up. It pains me to resort to audio for these purposes as I enjoy writing them out and giving a narrative interpretation of a persona, but sometimes one’s hand is forced. This morning I [...]
Filed in: Interviews
