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“Oh Sister, I have such doubts!” I’m not given to quoting overwrought (if Oscar-nominated) ecclesiastical dramas at the best of times, but let’s face it, this is not the best of times. There comes a time in every Oscar-watcher’s life when he has to accept the things he cannot change — or simply stop changing […]
Guess again: final predictions and preferences
Posted by Guy Lodge · 10:23 am · February 27th, 2011
Filed in: Daily
The In Contention Readership Ballot
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:20 am · February 27th, 2011
Today’s the big day. No more Oscar Guide, no more polls, just a few choice hours left in the season and then, the 83rd annual. (And not a moment too soon.) I appreciate everyone participating in the daily polls this month and last, which accompanied each of our Oscar Guide entries. It offers us a […]
Filed in: Daily
The Oscar-winning Boston Movie
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:17 am · February 26th, 2011
Filed in: Daily
OSCAR GUIDE: Best Picture
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:11 am · February 26th, 2011
And so we come to the end of this year’s Oscar Guide, and the category that has been the cause of more conversation than ever this year: Best Picture. And that can’t be overstated. I can’t recall the last time the debate around a Best Picture winner was so heated, and I’m tempted to say […]
Filed in: Oscar Guide
Just walk away: final predictions
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 4:45 pm · February 25th, 2011
While Guy is pulling his hair out (I know the feeling), I’m backing off. At some point you have to put your pencil down and step away, and so I am. For me, the most difficult categories to pick — and the ones I found myself flip-flopping on down the stretch — were Best Supporting […]
Filed in: Daily
OSCAR GUIDE: Best Directing
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:36 am · February 25th, 2011
Coming down to the wire, the race for Best Directing remains a very close one. Earlier in the year the prevailing wisdom was that a split could be in the cards, with the Oscar-bait frontrunner more likely to win Best Picture and the zeitgeisty competition likely to see its talented helmer finally noticed. Then things […]
Filed in: Oscar Guide
THE LONG SHOT: A toast to the douchebags
Posted by Guy Lodge · 5:34 pm · February 24th, 2011
(Not-quite-final predictions here.) 176 days from the unofficial opening of my Oscar season — a breakfast-hour press screening of “Black Swan” on the first day of the Venice Film Festival — it’s fair to say I’m ready for the endgame. Aren’t we all? Whether you’re delighted or disappointed by where the awards trail has led […]
Filed in: The Long Shot
TECH SUPPORT: Final analysis, part one
Posted by gerardkennedy · 10:35 am · February 24th, 2011
So this is it. Over the last seven-plus months here at Tech Support, we have tried to illuminate and analyze the craft races as they unfolded. On Sunday, the winners will be revealed, ushering some new faces into Oscar’s club. And indeed, I expect the vast majority of the winners to make their first trip […]
Filed in: Tech Support
2/23 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Leo speaks again on Adgate, hosts speak out on show, Burwell on ‘Grit’ score
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:14 am · February 23rd, 2011
• Melissa Leo tells a different story on Adgate: She was doing what Parmount told her to do. [Daily Beast] • Telecast hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway in their first interview on the upcoming festivities. [Hollywood Reporter] • Meanwhile, Tom Sherak tells Susan Wloszczyna we’ll like the style of the show. [USA Today]
Filed in: Daily
OSCAR GUIDE: Best Film Editing
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:38 am · February 21st, 2011
I’m afraid you’ll find that I’m having trouble getting all that excited about this year’s race for Best Film Editing. How can I when the absolute best editing job of the year (from a true master, no less) was shunned altogether, while a cruel joke was played in the form of “Inception” editor Lee Smith […]
Filed in: Oscar Guide
BOX OFFICE: ‘Swan,’ ‘Speech’ cross $100 million
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:36 am · February 20th, 2011
The headline says it all. The two films join “Toy Story 3,” “Inception” and “True Grit” as the only Best Picture nominees to reach that mark this year. “The Fighter” has slowed too much to get there and a re-release of “The Social Network” didn’t go as well as planned in that regard. (Courtesy: Exhibitor […]
Filed in: Box Office
Presenter ideas to spice up the show
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 1:23 pm · February 17th, 2011
Over at his indieWIRE blog The Lost Boy, Peter Knegt expresses some displeasure with what he calls a “boring” list of Academy Award presenters announced so far. So he’s compiled a list of suggestions that could spice things up on Oscar night. For instance, what a howler it would be to see Bono and Julie […]
Filed in: Daily
2/17 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Leo’s faux pas, Bagger chats up ‘Waste Land’ helmer, what to learn from Grammys
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:18 am · February 17th, 2011
• Nikki Finke chats with Relativity Media honcho Ryan Kavanaugh. [Deadline] • Gregory Ellwood thinks Melissa Leo flushed her chances at an Oscar down the drain. [Awards Campaign] • Melena Ryzik catches up with “Waste Land” director Lucy Walker. (Oscar Guide on documentary features coming tomorrow.) [The Carpetbagger]
Filed in: Daily
INTERVIEW: ‘The Fighter’ actress Amy Adams
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 2:30 pm · February 16th, 2011
Amy Adams. You know the girl. Sweet, bright-eyed, purveyor of naive, fresh-faced screen creations. You certainly wouldn’t peg her as an expected fit for Charlene Fleming, boxer Micky Ward’s tough-as-nails bartender girlfriend in David O. Russell’s “The Fighter,” but as it turns out, she delivers perhaps her most accomplished performance to date in that role, […]
Filed in: Interviews
OSCAR TALK: Ep. 52 — Nominees Luncheon, Bening vs. Portman to a photo finish, WGA and Scripter awards, Melissa Leo’s personal campaign, BAFTA preview with Guy Lodge
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:00 am · February 11th, 2011
Welcome to Oscar Talk. In case you’re new to the site and/or the podcast, Oscar Talk is a weekly kudocast, your one-stop awards chat shop between yours truly and Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood. The podcast is weekly, every Friday throughout the season, charting the ups and downs of contenders along the way. Plenty […]
Filed in: Oscar Talk
2/10 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: ‘Gasland’ director fires back, Wahlberg/Russell on Aronofsky, hoping Banksy stays away
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:00 am · February 10th, 2011
• Mark Wahlberg and David O. Russell on Darren Aronofsky’s departure from “The Fighter.” [Inside Movies] • Eric Kohn writes up the Oscar shorts. [indieWIRE] • Josh Fox fires back at gas industry accusations about the accuracy of his documentary, “Gasland.” [Facebook]
Filed in: Daily
OSCAR GUIDE: Best Supporting Actor
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:59 am · February 8th, 2011
Very few of the 20 actors nominated for Oscars this year (if any) feel like egregious calls. As usual, the lead actor race is the most impressive, but the Best Supporting Actor slate isn’t too shabby, either. Each performance is masterful in its own way, and each serves its respective narrative to the fullest. Two […]
Filed in: Oscar Guide
BOX OFFICE: Is there a game on?
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 12:05 pm · February 6th, 2011
And with that, “True Grit” crosses $150 million domestic and keeps chugging. “The King’s Speech” moved up a notch in rank and still has $100 million in its sights (and has also leaped-frogged a few 2011 debuts in the process). “Black Swan” brings up the rear and one more week will get it across that […]
Filed in: Box Office
