In Contention

Tag: My Dog Tulip

  • My dream Oscar ballot, part two

    Yesterday, I began my very far-fetched (and in some cases, frankly impossible) wishlist for Tuesday’s Oscar nominations with my favorite achievements in the technical categories. Today, I offer up my picks in the top races, and I don’t mind telling you things got pretty agonizing in some categories.

    “Why can’t I have 15 nominees for Best Supporting Actress?” one half of my brain asked earlier this morning, as I once more marvelled that any pundits could once have deemed that particular race “weak.” Cooler instincts prevailed, but it bears repeating just what a staggering, and pleasingly varied, year it’s been for female performances on both sides of the category divide. I was also surprised to see how many performances stood tall from films that weren’t necessarily on their stars’ level — I like to think there aren’t too many coattail picks here.

    I’ve veered from Academy format in one respect: I’ve dispensed with a Best Foreign Language Film category. Not only do I dislike the award in principle — it’s a different language, not a different medium — but my general picks are heavy enough on foreign fare that a ghetto category seemed superfluous. Check out my picks after the cut, and share your thoughts in the comments.

    (more…)

  • 12/2 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Hickenlooper’s photo diary, the race’s generation gap and the ‘My Dog Tulip’ Oscar campaign

    • Anne Thompson has George Hickenlooper’s “Casino Jack” photo diary. [Thompson on Hollywood]

    • Patrick Goldstein writes up the “My Dog Tulip” Oscar campaign. [The Big Picture]

    • Vincent Cassel on “Black Swan,” movie overkill and the politics of selling out. [Movieline]

    (more…)

  • Only 15 films qualify for Oscar’s animated feature race

    I honestly didn’t expect the list to hit so soon on the heels of my item earlier this afternoon, but hit it has.  And it actually appears that “The Dreams of Jinsha” was the other title submitted, not “Chico & Rita.”

    Alas, there are only 15 titles that qualified, meaning we will only see three nominees in the category this year.  “Yogi Bear,” predictably, did not qualify, while “Idiots and Angels,” it turns out, did.  I’d LOVE to see Bill Plympton in an Oscar race.

    The rest are the usual suspects, but it’s a real shame we can’t have a full slate this year.  Speaking solely for myself, I’m liking a lot of feature animation in 2010.  TheGolden Globes, however, could still see five nominees as long as 14 titles were submitted to the HFPA for consideration.  Check out Oscar’s field of animated feature contenders after the jump.

    (more…)

  • 16 animated features submitted, but what will qualify?

    The Academy will be announcing the list of qualifying films for this year’s Best Animated Feature Film Oscar some time this week.  For now, we know of 16 titles that have submitted.  They are indicated on our dedicated page.

    There was some confusion recently over which film was the 16th submission, but I’m told it was “Chico & Rita,” which bowed at this year’s Telluride film festival (it was the first film I saw at the fest, in fact).  (CORRECTION: Turns out it was “The Dreams of Jinsha” instead, as noted here.)  If all 16 films qualify, then we’ll be looking at a slate of five nominees after all.  But if just one falls out, then it’s back to three.

    The most dubious contenders could be “Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore” and “Yogi Bear,” which may not meet eligibility requirements.  But the language is a bit loose, noting that “a significant number of the major characters must be animated, and animation must figure in no less than 75 percent of the picture’s running time.”

    (more…)