In Contention

Tag: PGA

  • OFF THE CARPET: Game over, man

    It’s not really a question anymore, is it?

    I submit that, quite possibly, it never was.  Unfortunately, the shrieking in some quarters this year, under cover of “fighting the good fight,” has led to a mocking at the very notion that any film other than the critics’ champion could win the Oscar for Best Picture.  It’s been unnecessarily nasty in that way.

    At the end of the day, it really goes beyond critics vs. the Academy, though.  It comes down to micro vs. macro, I think.  The critics organizations are a bunch of tiny groups of people.  Get 5,000, 6,000, 10,000 people together, the odds begin to favor “The King’s Speech.” It’s simply the film that survives the scrutiny of a broader spectrum of opinion.  “Most generally agreeable.”  It always was.

    The unfortunate thing now — and if you’re watching, some are already doing an about face on their own positive opinion of Tom Hooper’s film — is that the fallout will be insufferable.  Suddenly “The King’s Speech” will be a blight on Academy history and that talking point will be regurgitated ad nauseam.  It already is.  And that’s just sad, because it’s a very good film that doesn’t deserve to be taken to task in the wake of another film’s failed (and overstated) awards season expectations.

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: Nomination week

    • In case you’ve just emerged from a coma, “The King’s Speech” led the Oscar nominations on Tuesday with 12 bids.

    • “The King’s Speech” was also the surprise winner at the Producers’ Guild Awards, drastically shaking up the Best Picture race.

    • In the wake of these developments, Kris adjusted his winner predictions accordingly.

    • In a special mid-week edition of Oscar Talk, Guy and indieWIRE’s Peter Knegt joined Kris and Anne to break down the nominations.

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  • ‘King’s Speech’ wins in PGA shocker

    Tonight’s PGA awards were the first stab at the preferential ballot for this year’s Best Picture hopefuls.  The big winner in the feature film field was…oh my…“The King’s Speech.”

    Considering this is a beefy organization (not quite as big as AMPAS but big) and its nominees are likely to match the Best Picture 10 pretty closely, I’d say this is one of the fairest indications of how things could play out in five weeks.  Last year, remember, the PGA went for “The Hurt Locker” rather than $2 billion grosser “Avatar.” I think it will prove, more and more, to be a reliable indicator, as long as it shares this voting method and breadth of nominees with the Academy.

    So does that apply this year?  Is there a major swinging of the pendulum under way?  Who knows.  And there is still the increasingly strong possibility of “The Fighter” taking the SAG ensemble prize.  Perhaps at the end of the day we’ll have a phase two to remember.

    Check out the full list of theatrical and honorary PGA award winners at The Circuit.

    [Photo: The Weinstein Company]

  • Sean Penn to receive PGA’s Stanley Kramer Award

    The press release, in part:

    The Producers Guild of America (PGA), announced today that Sean Penn will be honored with the 2011 Stanley Kramer Award. The award will be presented to Penn at the 22nd Annual Producers Guild Awards ceremony on Saturday, January 22nd at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.

    The Stanley Kramer Award was established in 2002 to honor a motion picture, producer or other individual, whose achievement or contribution illuminates provocative social issues in an accessible and elevating fashion. Kramer, considered within the film industry to have served as “Hollywood’s Conscience” during his career as a film producer and director, created some of the most respected and successful works in the annals of American motion pictures. He was the master behind such classics as The Caine Mutiny, High Noon, The Defiant Ones, and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.

    Previous recipients of the Kramer award include such films as The Great Debaters, An Inconvenient Truth, Hotel Rwanda, Innocent Voices, In America, Antwone Fisher, and the 2010 winner was PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL ‘PUSH’ BY SAPPHIRE. Sean Penn is the first individual to receive the Guild’s Stanley Kramer Award, and the first recipient of the award in 2002 was the film I AM SAM, which Penn starred in.

    [Photo: 42 West]

  • PGA nominates the expected

    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.)

    The PGA could hardly have stuck any more closely to the script with this morning’s announcement, which points to a rapidly solidifying race three weeks ahead of the Oscar nominations. Still, questions remain, and I’d still bet against the Academy following this list precisely to the letter.

    Among the titles left off the PGA’s list is “Winter’s Bone,” but the microbudget no-name indie was never likely to score with these guys. Will passion votes still propel it into the Oscar Ten — and if so, among the presumed stragglers, will “127 Hours” or “The Town” make way?

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  • Predict the PGA nominees

    Tomorrow the guild circuit launches with the WGA (separate post coming) and PGA nominations.  The critics’ circuit was well and good but this is where crossover memberships begin to give us a tangible view of how the race will fill out.

    Last year the PGA (Producers Guild of America) piggy-backed the Academy’s plan to expand the field of nominees from five to 10.  It also copied the new voting scheme, which uses the preferential balloting system to determine nominees.

    The two films that missed with the guild but made it into the Best Picture 10 were “The Blind Side” (odd that it missed, given its box office take) and the Coens’ “A Serious Man.” In their place: Clint Eastwood’s “Invictus” (why?) and the blockbuster “Star Trek.” What can we expect this year?  Continue after the jump to see what I’m thinking.

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: Precursors begin, ‘Grit’ unveiled and Oscar hosts tapped

    • The biggest news of this busy week may well have been the announcement of James Franco and Anne Hathaway as this year’s Oscarcast hosts.

    • Unless you count “The Social Network” dominating the National Board of Review as bigger news, that is.

    • Or, for that matter, our first look at the Coen brothers’ “True Grit.”

    • Speaking of which, Kris reported on the current eligibility status of Carter Burwell’s score (still up in the air).

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  • PGA nominates documentaries

    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”

  • Cameron to be feted by PGA

    The press release, in part:

    The Producers Guild of America (PGA)…announced today that the legendary Oscar award-winning producer, director, writer James Cameron will be honored with the 2011 Milestone Award. The award will be presented to Cameron at the 22nd Annual Producers Guild Awards ceremony on Saturday, January 22nd at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles.

    The Milestone Award is the Guild’s highest honor that recognizes an individual (or team) who has made historic contributions to the entertainment industry. The Producers Guild has paid tribute to such luminaries as Clint Eastwood, Alfred Hitchcock, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Ron Howard & Brian Grazer, and Walt Disney, among others.

    “James Cameron is an exceptionally talented producer—a true innovator with the rare combination of technical ingenuity and creative vision,” said Paula Wagner, Chair of the 2011 Producers Guild Awards. “Jim has continued to change the film landscape with his ability to deliver groundbreaking masterpieces that present audiences and the industry with unrivaled beauty, originality and impact.”

    [Photo: 42 West]

  • WEEKLY WRAP: Guild awards, pre-nomination jitters

    A scene from Inglourious Basterds• In the biggest upset of the season so far, “The Hurt Locker” came up trumps at the PGA Awards.

    • “Inglourious Basterds” took the top prize at the SAG Awards, which also gave another boost to Sandra Bullock.

    • With Oscar nominations out next week, we listed some of the greatest nominee fields in Oscar history.

    • Off the Carpet took stock following the weekend’s precursors, and Kris revised his winner predictions.

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  • OSCAR TALK: Ep. 19 — Sundance, David and Goliath, potential surprises, Bullock/Streep

    Oscar TalkWelcome to Oscar Talk, a weekly kudocast between yours truly and Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood.

    Two weeks since our last installment, Sundance is fading away and nominations announcement is a mere four days away. In our last pre-nom discussion, we dig into the following:

    • Fresh off of Sundance, we briefly discuss the success of “The Kids Are Alright” and “Cyrus” and potential awards prospects for the films next year.

    • The PGA winner was a shocker last weekend as “The Hurt Locker” reigned supreme. We address the implications as the race moves into a David vs. Goliath frame.

    • The Oscar nominations announcement is literally around the corner, and in the first year of “the 10,” surely there will be surprises? We talk a few possibilities.

    • Has Sandra Bullock really pulled out ahead of Meryl Streep in the lead actress category? Is it actually neck-and-neck? We talk about, arguably, the year’s tightest race.

    • With the DGAs on the way tomorrow night, we briefly preview the proceedings.

    You can listen to this week’s podcast below, with a little of Michael Giacchino’s Golden Globe-winning score for “Up” leading the way. As always, you can subscribe to Oscar Talk via iTunes here.

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    Subscribe to Oscar Talk

  • ‘Hurt Locker,’ ‘Up,’ ‘The Cove’ win with PGA

    The Hurt LockerWow.  Summit Entertainment’s “The Hurt Locker” took down Goliath to win the PGA award tonight.  I’m at a total loss.  The film has asserted itself, rather dramatically, as a film to contend with, one that won’t be stampeded by the “Avatar” express.  And I am, quite frankly, ecstatic at the notion.

    Actor Jeff Bridges presented the award to producers Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicholas Chartier and Greg Shapiro. We wanted a horse race.  We got one.  Wow.

    Pixar’s “Up,” also nominated in the field of 10 Best Picture contenders, won the animated feature award, the highest grossing film of the category.  Louie Psihoyos’s “The Cove,” meanwhile, won the documentary prize.

    Mo’Nique presented the Stanley Kramer Award to “Precious” director Lee Daniels, Tom Hanks and Tim Allen presented the David O. Selznick Award to Pixar honcho John Lasseter and Will Smith presented the Milestone Award to Sony’s Amy Pascal and Michael Lynton.

    On to the DGAs next weekend, which will likely go in Kathryn Bigelow’s favor, too.  Watch out.

  • THE LONG SHOT: Hollywood fights back

    Sharlto Copley in District 9I may be looking out at my snow-caked garden as I write this, but it was in the spirit of spring-cleaning that I revised my nomination predictions this morning, ridding myself of most of the clinging personal hopes and hunches that lingered when I last updated them a month ago.

    It wasn’t the most drastic of revisions (rather to my surprise, I found I’d already predicted a robust haul for “District 9” before the Guilds made it such a strong bet), but it was my most detached one to date, anticipating a race that looks set to be rather passionless on my part.

    Rarely have so many of the leading players in the Best Picture race left me so cold – as “Avatar,” “Invictus,” “Precious,” “Inglourious Basterds,” “Up in the Air,” “Star Trek” and even “Up” all failed to arouse any particularly warm feelings in me, I began to wonder if I should just retreat to bed until March 8.

    (Unfortunately, for those of you wishing I’d do just that, a healthy precursor run for “The Hurt Locker,” one contender I love without reservation, is keeping me invested.)

    Still, my individual response to the films in question isn’t the only reason I’m feeling a little distanced from this year’s competition. As it currently stands, Hollywood looks set to enjoy its most homegrown Oscar race in some time.

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: Guilds, lists and disqualifications

    Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker• In a big week for precursor announcements, the DGA nominations were the biggest — and least surprising.

    • The PGA, meanwhile, found room for all three of the year’s hot sci-fi titles in its nominee slate.

    • “The Hurt Locker” triumphed at the National Society of Film Critics Awards, the first film in 12 years to sweep the three top critics’ prizes.

    • Over five days, I counted down my personal Top 50 films of the decade that was.

    • And we’re not done listing: Chad also gathered his 20 favorites of 2009.

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  • OSCAR TALK: Ep. 17 — Guilds, Scripters and ‘Hurt Locker’ running strong

    Oscar TalkWelcome to Oscar Talk, a weekly kudocast between yours truly and Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood.

    There have been a few major announcements this week, so let’s dig in. We wander a bit this time, but on the docket today:

    • The Producers Guild of America went largely populist with its list of feature nominees. Anne and I discuss the implications.

    • With “The Hurt Locker” firmly holding the major guild quartet (since we can probably safely assume WGA), we get into its potential to win the big prize, perceived two-horse race or not. And we think it owes the critics for that.

    • The Directors Guild of America also announced nominees, confirming the top five Best Picture contenders. But is this the Oscar line-up?

    • The Scripter nods were also unveiled, which leads to some debate over eligibility concerns (which also plays a roll in the forthcoming WGA announcement).

    You can listen to this week’s podcast below, with a little of the brilliant (and undervalued) score from “The Hurt Locker” leading the way. As always, you can subscribe to Oscar Talk via iTunes here.

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    Subscribe to Oscar Talk

  • ‘Precious’ to be honored by PGA

    (from left) Lenny Kravitz and Gabourey Sidibe in PreciousThe press release, in part:

    The Producers Guild of America (PGA), a national non-profit trade group committed to protecting the rights and credits of producers in film, television and new media, announced today that PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL ‘PUSH’ BY SAPPHIRE will be honored with the 2010 Stanley Kramer Award. The film’s producers will be honored with the award at the 21st Annual PGA Awards ceremony on Sunday, January 24, 2010 at the Hollywood Palladium.

    The Stanley Kramer Award was established in 2002 to honor a motion picture, television program, studio, network, producer, executive or other individual entity whose work illuminates provocative social issues in an accessible and elevating fashion. Kramer, considered within the film industry to have served as “Hollywood’s Conscience” during his career as film director and producer, created some of the most respected and successful works in the annals of American motion pictures. He was the master behind such classics as “The Caine Mutiny,” “High Noon,” “The Defiant Ones,” and “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.” Previous recipients of the Kramer award include “Milk,” “The Great Debaters,” “An Inconvenient Truth,” “Good Night, and Good Luck,” “Hotel Rwanda,” “Innocent Voices,” “In America,” “Antwone Fisher” and “I Am Sam.”

  • OSCAR TALK: Ep. 4 — Foreign submissions, PGA’s 10, ‘A Single Man’ a Best Picture possibility?

    Oscar TalkRecorded yesterday, here’s the fourth installment of Oscar Talk with yours truly and Anne Thompson of indieWIRE.  We took the week off last Friday due to traveling conflicts, but we’re back on today.

    On the docket:

    • Anne and I discuss the foreign language film submissions, up to 62 entries so far (61 at the time of this recording).

    • The PGA’s copy cat move to 10, which leads of course to further discussion on the Academy’s move to 10.

    • Jane Campion’s “Bright Star,” which has opened to glowing reviews.  Odds on Oscar, box office potential, etc.

    • Sony Pictures Classics’ shucking and jiving with their Oscar schedule, grabbing “The Last Station” (confirmed today) and moving “Get Low” (as reported here last week).

    • Anne wonders whether Weinstein pick-up “A Single Man” could be an under-the-radar contender for Best Picture.

    • The weekend’s releases: “A Serious Man” (covered extensively last time) and “Zombieland” (to steer away from awards talk for a moment).

    • Anne talks Alain Resnais’s “Wild Grass,” which recently opened the New York Film Festival.

    • And the distribution strategy for “Paranormal Activity,” hardly an Oscar contender but right in line with Anne’s recent column on studios missing an opportunity to experiment with release paradigms on modestly budgeted films.

    Check out the podcast below, with a musical lead-in from Mark Bradshaw’s “Bright Star” score.  And as always, you can subscribe to Oscar Talk via iTunes here.

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: Festival pick-ups, the season’s fetes and the PGA’s 10

    Robert Duvall in Get Low• We wrapped up Toronto as Lee Daniels’s “Precious” took the festival’s audience award, putting it on a solid track for Oscar.

    • We got a look at the first trailer for “Harry Brown,” which may or may not be an awards film for actor Michael Caine.  John, you’ll recall, isn’t feeling it.

    • We saw ‘Meatball’ dominance at the box office in this weekend’s Sunday Cents column.

    • This week’s Off the Carpet column kicked off our weekly Oscar coverage with a call for perspective on the perceived Best Picture frontrunners, while a new weekly column from across the pond — The Long Shot — introduces a different perspective mid-week.

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