Features
As we enter the fall festival season with an Oscar prediction sheet still covered in question marks, there is at least one category where almost all the viable contenders have already been seen. I speak, of course, of Best Documentary Feature, a race already crowded with possibilities from earlier fests and the summer release calendar, […]
Deadline for Oscar docs looming
Posted by Guy Lodge · 5:21 pm · August 26th, 2010
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Philippe Petit to perform high wire acts in U.S. next fall
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 2:54 pm · April 14th, 2009
It seems the focus of last year’s Oscar-winning documentary feature will be putting on an encore. From the AP: The 59-year-old says they’ll include midtown Manhattan, and will promote literacy. He’s keeping mum about other details. Secrecy also preceded Petit’s 1974 walk between the World Trade Center towers. A documentary about it, “Man on Wire,” […]
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Solid quote
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:23 am · February 22nd, 2009
“We’re an industry town, obviously, but we’re a lot more than trendy clubs and the Hollywood sign and surfers…It’s an enormous community of different cultures and different people, and through that I hope it becomes a universal story. Because when it comes down to it, it’s universal struggles and people trying to do right by […]
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‘The Wrestler’ wins big at the Indie Spirits
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 2:18 pm · February 21st, 2009
Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler” walked away three trophies at today’s Independent Spirit Awards, including top honors for Best Actor (Mickey Rourke) and Best Feature. In his greatest acceptance speech of the season, Rourke seemed fully uninhibited, almost as if he said, “Screw it, ballots are in,” and he cut loose. The tough guy thing poked […]
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You were right, I was wrong: Guy’s final predictions
Posted by Guy Lodge · 1:24 pm · February 21st, 2009
(Expanded thoughts and reasonings on yesterday’s list of predictions.) It’s years like 2008 when I throw my hands up and admit (albeit with great reluctance) that my family and friends have been right for the last two decades. Carla, Tom, Kim, Auntie Mavis: I give up. I am insane to care as much as I […]
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OFF THE CARPET: Taking a final stab
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 11:05 am · February 20th, 2009
Well, this is what it all boils down to. I almost DON’T want to go on the record, but I kind of have to, right? Anyway, this is the first year I’ve actually seen every single nominated frame of film before the big night so these will either be the most educated guesses I’ve ever […]
Filed in: Off the Carpet
‘Man on Wire’ wins Doc Eddie
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 7:57 pm · February 15th, 2009
The year’s most talked about documentary just beat out “Chicago 10” and “Bush’s War” here at The Beverly Hilton’s Crystal Ballroom in the second award of the evening. Sadly, editor Jinx Godfrey wasn’t here to accept the trophy, but she sent along her assistant to handle things. More to come…
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WEEKLY WRAP: BAFTAs, Berlin, pre-Oscar jitters
Posted by Guy Lodge · 2:37 am · February 14th, 2009
Aside from two major precursors, it’s been a slow week for news — which leads to a lot of prediction second-guessing. • “Slumdog” swept at the BAFTAs, which also put new wind in Mickey Rourke’s sails. We live-blogged it here. • The “Slumdog” streak inevitably continued at the WGA Awards, where “Milk” picked up some […]
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How did ‘Man on Wire’ become the favorite in a field of superior documentary features?
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:46 am · February 11th, 2009
It often seems that when there isn’t an obvious, populist pick in the Academy’s documentary feature category (such as “Bowling for Columbine,” “March of the Penguins” or “An Inconvenient Truth”), the field is rife for an upset. Last year a number of awards watchers were sure that either “No End in Sight” or “Sicko” would […]
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UK press forgives Winslet
Posted by Guy Lodge · 8:01 am · February 9th, 2009
Good. After weeks of mean-spirited mockery for her admittedly messy Golden Globe acceptance speeches, it appears that Winslet-baiting has finally gone out of style in the British press. UK media can demonstrate a weird tall-poppy syndrome when it comes to homegrown successes, but judging by this Independent article, they obviously approved of her restrained, clipped […]
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Predicting BAFTA, part two — main categories
Posted by Guy Lodge · 4:20 pm · February 7th, 2009
Continuing yesterday’s not-so-educated guesses at tomorrow’s BAFTA Awards, we move on the main categories. In many ways, they’re easier to predict than the frequently confounding technical categories, but that’s no reason to get complacent – as we saw last year with then-unexpected wins for Tilda Swinton and Marion Cotillard, BAFTA is more than capable of […]
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Wow, ‘Man on Wire’ lost something…
Posted by Guy Lodge · 6:06 am · February 1st, 2009
… as “Waltz With Bashir” helmer Ari Folman beat James Marsh in the Documentary category at the DGA Awards. Not that it means anything really in the grand scheme of things but, y’know, interesting. (I’d say it seals up “Bashir”‘s probable victory in the foreign-language race, but if there’s one Oscar category that’s resistant to […]
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‘Slumdog,’ ‘WALL-E,’ ‘Wire’ win PGA
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:49 pm · January 24th, 2009
And so the long, slow march continues…
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Last minute thoughts
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 6:35 pm · January 21st, 2009
Like I said, I’m on the record. I’ve given some left-field choices (as have you). But here are some lingering thoughts bouncing around inside my tired old head this evening: 1) I think we’re going to see tomorrow, finally, that “Rachel Getting Married” is nothing more than a critical fave. Personally, I liked it enough, […]
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BAFTA predictions
Posted by Guy Lodge · 2:00 pm · January 14th, 2009
The BAFTA nominations drop tomorrow, and while I hardly covered myself in glory with my foreign film Oscar forecast yesterday, I’m going to wade into the murky waters of prediction once more. On the one hand, it’s a fool’s errand trying to predict the BAFTA nods, as they can frequently be the most perverse and contrarian awards […]
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A night at the Critics’ Choice Awards
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:43 pm · January 8th, 2009
It’s an event that keeps on getting better and better, a little awards show that’s escalated into one of the hallmarks of the film awards season, whether the “we’re one of the best Oscar predictors” stuff is annoying or not (which it is). The night had a number of surprises, but in a sense, one […]
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NSFC goes with ‘Bashir’ and ‘Happy’ in a big way
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 4:24 pm · January 3rd, 2009
This is just like the National Society of Film Critics. Sorry, just coming around to this (football has taken some precedence this afternoon as I unwind post-vacation). “Waltz with Bashir” may have taken the top prize, but “Happy-Go-Lucky” was the clear favorite. Perhaps added fuel to the film’s Oscar fire. Lone director nomination? Hmmm… Best […]
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December winner predictions
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 7:07 am · December 27th, 2008
Before we get to the end of the month here I thought I’d go ahead and toss up another set of winner predictions. This’ll be the last pre-nom set. I’ll go back to them next month, probably the day of the nominations announcement. But for now, it’s really all blind guessing, as always. For last […]
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