In Contention

Tag: Kung Fu Panda

  • ‘Up’ triumphs at Annie Awards

    UpLast year, the industry-voted Annie Awards appeared to have entered a peculiar grudge match with Pixar Studios, as eventual Oscar-winner “WALL-E” came away empty-handed, while “Kung Fu Panda” swept the board.

    Whether that curious outcome was the result of peer envy or professional preference, the Annies appear to be back on board with Pixar, as “Up” took Best Feature and Best Director honors at last night’s ceremony. (Ironic, given that in this banner year for animation, a deviation from the expected would have been arguably better-received than last year’s shocker.)

    Still, the Annie voters spread the wealth, with “Coraline” and “The Princess and the Frog” dominating the technical categories. Interestingly, “Coraline” composer Bruno Coulais beat out Oscar frontrunner Michael Giacchino — nice to see that undervalued score getting a moment in the sun.

    Finally, the many devotees of “Fantastic Mr. Fox” will be comforted that it took writing honors for Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach. Full list of feature winners after the cut.

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  • 5/14 Web Round-up

    (from left) Adrian Brody and Mark Ruffalo in The Brothers Bloom• A little news from my homeland: Michael Cieply reports on Durham, North Carolina finally getting its Hollywood day in the sun. [The Carpetbagger]

    • Revisiting Stephen Frears’s “The Queen” on the basis of entertainment and history. [The Guardian]

    • Rachel Abramowitz profiles new “Angels & Demons” starlet Ayelet Zurer. [Los Angeles Times]

    • Director Frank Darabont’s 223 favorite movies. [Empire]

    • Kim Voynar wonders where the muscle-bound estrogen is at the multiplexes this summer. [Movie City News]

    • Brooks Barnes reports on “Kung Fu Panda”‘s transition from animated film to Nickelodeon TV series. [New York Times]

    • Maria Puente on the many visions of Salvador Dali on film. [USA Today]

    • The home of “Slumdog Millionaire” star Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail has been demolished. [Wall Street Journal]

    • In honor of the “unbearable start” of “The Brothers Bloom,” Christopher Campbell writes up a list of 10 films ruined by voice-over narration. [Spout Blog]

  • What the techies think

    There’s an interesting article in Popular Mechanics, in which several industry experts offer their own predictions in a number of technical categories. Like Kris’ earlier post about the DPs’ thumbs-up to “Slumdog Millionaire,” it offers a perspective on the race that can widely differ from that of critics, audiences and even the Academy itself.

    I’ve often wondered just how differently the tech winners would turn out if they were voted on by the individual branches rather than the entire Academy membership. I think it’s likely that Emmanuel Lubezki would have a cinematography Oscar for “Children of Men,” for example, or perhaps the costume design gong wouldn’t always go to the film with the most opulent threads.

    Here, sound mixer Richard Van Dyke and sound editor Brian Riordan both name “WALL-E” the clear winner in their respective fields, with the latter simply remarking, “If you mute ‘WALL-E,’ you don’t have a movie … if you mute ‘Slumdog’ for five minutes, it’s still amazing.” Both men approve of the work in “Slumdog,” while Van Dyke has some qualms with the mixing in “The Dark Knight.”

    There’s an interesting conclusion in the makeup category, where artist Barney Burman’s personal standout is “Hellboy II,” though he rather surprisingly predicts that the general membership will lean towards “The Dark Knight,” given how powerfully the makeup job supported Heath Ledger’s performance.

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  • BAFTA admits it needs mending

    Interesting. Variety reports that BAFTA is to re-evaluate its voting process — and it appears to be a direct response to the widespread criticism that greeted this year’s nominations, which baffled pundits and industry folk alike with some questionable inclusions (Tilda Swinton, Freida Pinto, a whopping eight nods for “Changeling”) and equally baffling snubs (most notoriously, a hurtful donut for Mike Leigh’s widely acclaimed “Happy-Go-Lucky”).

    To begin with, one needs to understand the eccentric, back-and-forth nature of BAFTA voting. The first round of voting produces a longlist of 15 contenders in each category — 5 of which are selected by the relevant branch (or ‘chapter’) of voters in that field (and marked as such on the ballot), with the other 10 chosen by the general BAFTA membership.

    The next two rounds of voting work in a reversal of the Oscar system. The 5 nominees are determined by the general membership, while the winners are decided by the relevant ‘chapter’ voters alone — with the exception of Best Film, Best Foreign Language Film and the four acting awards, for which all members vote.

    Confused? I don’t blame you. It’s a ludicrous system that has received a lot of flak in the industry (Mike Leigh himself has been a vocal critic in the past), not least because it frequently leads to some inexpertly chosen nominees. (This, for example, is how a film like “Mamma Mia!” lands a Best Score nod.) The obvious solution, then, would be to use ‘chapter’ voting to determine the nominees, right?

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  • ‘WALL-E’ shut out of the Annie Awards?

    Wow.  “Kung Fu Panda” pretty much cleaned the floor with all comers.  Did anyone see that coming?

  • WEEKLY WRAP: ‘Slumdog’ surges, ‘River’ emerges

    Sorry it’s a day late, but here’s the week that was. Awards and nominations left, right and centre — the season is officially under way, folks:

    • “Slumdog Millionaire” emerged as a bona fide frontrunner, taking Best Picture at the season kickoff, the National Board of Review awards …

    • … only days after taking top honours across the Atlantic, at the British Independent Film Awards.

    • Speaking of indies, “Frozen River” also enjoyed a great week, emerging victorious at the Gotham Awards …

    • … while it was also one of the top nominees for the Independent Spirit Awards.

    • We took a break from the awards beat to chat to the impressive ladies of “I’ve Loved You So Long,” Kristin Scott Thomas and Elsa Zylberstein …

    • The former of whom took a gong at the European Film Awards, which were otherwise all about “Gomorrah.”

    • The Annie Awards for animation revealed their nominees, with “Kung Fu Panda” surprisingly leading the field.

    • Meanwhile, the mysterious Golden Satellite nominations were as head-scratching as ever.

    • The first reviews finally emerged on “The Reader,” and they generally like it … from a distance.

    • While the appearance of reviews doesn’t make “Gran Torino” any less of a puzzle this awards season.

    • And all the while, the rumblings around “The Dark Knight” grow louder.

  • ‘Kung Fu Panda’ leads the way at the Annies with 17 noms

    Kung Fu PandaDreamWorks Animation has to be happy this morning.  The studio pulled in 27 total nominations with the International Animated Film Society’s annual Annie Awards, including 17 for “Kung Fu Panda,” which led with the most nominations and nearly double the next film on the list.  Walt Disney’s “Bolt” took down 9 nods while Pixar’s “WALL-E” managed 8.

    As for Oscar, I’m still sticking with my predicted three: “Kung Fu Panda,” “WALL-E” and Ari Folman’s “Waltz with Bashir,” which also did well today.  But I will say that my spoil sense is tingling regarding “Bolt.”  Maybe it will surprise and knock “Waltz” out of the running, maybe not, but there is a definite constituency of support for that film both within the industry (as witnessed by the nominations tally) and in the critical fraternity.  But the safe bet is that Folman’s unique documentary secures a spot.

    Speaking of “Bolt,” if there is any competition for Ben Burtt in the voice acting category, it had better be Mark Walton, the closest I’ve ever come to considering a vocal performance Oscar-worthy since Ellen Degeneres in “Finding Nemo.”  And additionally, congrats to Mike Judge for the Winsor McKay designation.  A true hero to the form, from a “Beavis” head from way back.

    The Annie Awards will be held Friday, January 30 in Los Angeles.  The nominees are (with more — much more — after the jump):

    Best Animated Feature
    “Bolt” (Walt Disney Animation Studios)
    “Kung Fu Panda” (DreamWorks Animation)
    “$9.99” (Sherman Pictures/Lama Films)
    “WALL-E”  (Pixar Animation Studios)
    “Waltz With Bashir” (Sony Pictures Classics/Bridgit Folman, Les Films D’ici, Razor Films)

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  • Random

    I always love the artwork they plaser on the front and back facades of the Hotel Figueroa in downtown L.A.  This shot was taken maybe a month ago; I just found it in my iPhone.  There is a “Kung Fu Panda” DVD promotional job up there now, but on the backside, recently enough, there was a beautiful “Max Payne” painting that almost made one want to see the film.  Almost.

    Anyway, lazy Sunday.  I thought I’d share.

    South-facing wall of Hotel Figeuroa

  • Chalk one up for ‘WALL-E’

    The Academy has revealed the 14-strong shortlist of films competing in the Best Animated Feature category, and, well, it doesn’t make for very inspiring reading. What’s most significant about the news is that it means the nominees will, as usual, be limited to three films; to accommodate five, more than 15 shortlisted titles are required. That has only happened once before, in 2002. Here’s the list:

    “Bolt”; “Delgo”; “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!”; “Dragon Hunters”; “Fly Me to the Moon”; “Igor”; “Kung Fu Panda”; “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa”; “$9.99”; “The Sky Crawlers”; “Sword of the Stranger”; “The Tale of Despereaux”; “WALL-E”; “Waltz With Bashir”

    It’s a nail-biting race. “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” may appear to be the locked-in frontrunner, but “Bolt” has Academy veteran Miley Cyrus powering its chances, and watch out for the lovely Australian stop-motion work “$9.99,” which is creeping up on the outside lane, and could take it all…

    Okay, okay, forgive me for trying to make it sound a little more exciting. (I am pleased to see “$9.99” in there, though.) I think we can safely eliminate most of the titles on the list from consideration — even if the voters have in the past nominated the odd head-scratching dud. (“Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius,” anyone?) Anyway, We all know “WALL-E” is winning this by a country mile, so the only thing left to ponder is which two films it will beat.

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  • Behind the scenes of Henry Selick’s ‘Coraline’

    Every time I walk into the comic book store lately I feel the urge to pick up Neil Gaiman’s “Coraline.” I haven’t done so yet (mainly because I’m buried in so many other books at the moment), but it’s an interesting tale that could make a fabulous feature film.

    Henry Selick is, of course, doing just that and Rotten Tomatoes has secured a behind-the-scenes look at the film. Focus Features is set to distribute “Coraline” in February of next year, but there is still an outside shot at an Academy-qualifying run in 2008 if the film is finished in time. It would enter into the animated feature derby with “WALL-E,” perhaps Sony Classics’ “Waltz With Bashir” and DreamWorks SKG’s “Kung Fu Panda” (which is just asking to be kicked to the awards curb).

    Next year, the competiton looks to be Pixar’s “Up,” Walt Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog” and Focus’s own “9.” Perhaps Robert Zemeckis’s “A Christmas Carol” will turn the tide for motion capture for the animators, but I doubt it.

    “Coraline” is currently set for release on February 6, 2009.