Before we close the book on 2009, here’s one last rundown of our interviews with this year’s Oscar recipients.  It was lovely to meet with them all as this was truly, for the most part, a season of camaraderie. “The Cove” Louie Psihoyos (Best Documentary Feature) “Crazy Heart” Jeff Bridges (Best Actor) Ryan Bingham and […]

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As we head into the big weekend of this year’s hotly anticipated Academy Awards telecast, I thought I’d toss this list up once more, broken down by film. We’ve added to it a bit since the nominees were announced. And if you’d like to re-live the season so far, you can see how things have […]

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The Academy’s makeup category is one of two fields that calls for a whittling down of the contenders via a “bake-off.” Reels of the work from the seven finalists are screened, so an impressive assemblage is all you need. The work on the whole isn’t really being considered, so this can yield surprises in the […]

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One of the year’s biggest blockbusters redefined a franchise and even made it palatable to those unfamiliar with or uninterested in its vibrant history. The film, of course, was “Star Trek,” and as below-the-line craftsmanship goes, it was one of the most impressive efforts of the year. Director J.J. Abrams’s mandate was “to renew and […]

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