And Then There Were Five (Finally)

Big news for the Best Animated Feature award: For the first time since 2001 (the year Hayao Miyazaki's "Spirited Away" won) there will be FIVE nominees for Best Animated Film!  This is the list of eligible films, I've highlighted the ones that I feel have the best shot at a nomination:

“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel”
“Astro Boy”
“Battle for Terra”
“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”
“Coraline”
“Disney’s A Christmas Carol”
“The Dolphin – Story of a Dreamer”
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs”
“Mary and Max”
“The Missing Lynx”
“Monsters vs. Aliens”
“9”
“Planet 51”
“Ponyo”
“The Princess and the Frog”
“The Secret of Kells”
“Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure”
“A Town Called Panic”
“Up”

Right now the favorite to win is "Up."  Mainly because it looks like Pixar has a good chance at (finally) getting a Best Picture nod with that film, and ask any person who tracks the Best Foreign Language Feature race how that usually goes.  Once in awhile a foreign film will get nominated for Best Picture.  It usually shows up in Best Foreign Language Film too.  The Academy will always go the conservative way and give the foreign film Best Foreign Language Film whether it deserves Best Picture or not.  This is an easy way to "spread the love around," so if "Up" does get nominated don't be too surprised if that fact alone makes it an automatic winner in this category.  Still, competition looks stiff, so it's going to be interesting what happens.

P.S. While I would love to see "A Christmas Carol" nominated over "Coraline" chances are the Academy will pass since they showed little love for Zemeckis's previous animated outing "The Polar Express."

Gervais To Host Globes

Ricky Gervais, creator of "The Office" and star of the recent comedy "The Invention of Lying," has been announced as this years host for the Golden Globes.  The funny thing about all this is that when discussing Oscar hosts many people were of the mindset that Gervais would make a great host for the Oscars this year.  Looks like the Academy lost out on this one.  But hey, maybe the Globes would be a better place for Gervais's improv comedy style anyway.  After all, the Globes allows their stars to get drunk, and we all know how many goofy things that can happen as a result!

The Sound of Animation

We've had a great year for animation, but one aspect of these animated films that are rarely being discussed is the music.  Believe it or not, not ONLY has animation managed to one-up many of the live action movies this year in terms of quality, but the soundtracks are also more memorable then most of the live action films.  Of course Michael Giacchino looks like a shoo in to get a nomination for his (yet to be released on CD) score for "Up," but let's face it: That nomination - while justified - will be there just to rack up the nominations for Pixar.  Below are some of the OTHER animated scores that deserve to recognized by the Academy (but most likely won't):

Astro Boy

Coraline

Ponyo

Up

Personally, if I had to award an Oscar to a score this year, it would be for "Ponyo."  Thankfully the score of "Ponyo" IS available on CD...for those willing to play the import game.  For those who WANT to play the import game but don't know how, here's a good place to start.

Next Years Oscar Producers Picked!

And the winners are Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic.  Seeing as how both men have produced big musical adaptations (with Shankman directing the surprise hit "Hairspray") I guess this will work.  Let's see if they improve on last years show which was, in my opinion, pretty good all things considered.

Press Release

BILL MECHANIC AND ADAM SHANKMAN
NAMED OSCAR® TELECAST PRODUCERS

Beverly Hills, CA — Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman will produce the 82nd Academy Awards® telecast, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak announced today. This will be the first major Oscar show involvement for both men.

“I couldn’t be happier to have this talented team on board,” said Sherak. “I’ve known Bill for many years so it’s like putting Oscar in the care of a dear friend. Bill has a tremendous love and respect of film and will draw from his vast experience as a producer, a studio executive and a film historian to help make this year’s Oscar telecast a memorable one. And Adam’s experience in producing, directing and especially choreography will be a huge asset to the production.”

“I’m thrilled to be producing the Oscars with Adam,” said Mechanic. “I think Adam has the perfect background and spirit to make the show both unique and fun to watch. Together we will build upon the best traditions from the great shows of the past while helping pave the way to the future.”

“The last time I was on the show was as a dancer, and to come back as a producer is such an unbelievable honor,” said Shankman. “I look forward to collaborating with Bill to celebrate the world’s collective love of movies and provide a fun escape from the difficult times we’re living in. Simply put, there is no show like the Oscars and I am thrilled to be a part of our industry’s most treasured tradition.”

Mechanic is the chairman and CEO of Pandemonium Films and the former chairman and CEO of Fox Filmed Entertainment. While at Fox, the studio released titles including “True Lies” (1994), “Braveheart” (1995), “Titanic” (1997), “The Full Monty” (1997), “There’s Something About Mary” (1998), “Boys Don’t Cry” (1999) and “Cast Away” (2000) among many others. Prior to Fox, he served in executive positions at the Walt Disney Company and Paramount. Mechanic’s producer credits include this year’s animated feature “Coraline” and the thriller “Dark Water” (2005).

Shankman’s directorial credits include “Bedtime Stories” (2008), “Hairspray” (2007), “A Walk To Remember” (2002) and “The Wedding Planner” (2001). His upcoming projects include “Rock of Ages,” “Sinbad,” “Bob: The Musical” and “Bye Bye Birdie.” In addition to directing, Shankman, along with his sister, Jennifer Gibgot, produce films through their shingle, Offspring Entertainment. Together they are currently producing “The Last Song,” “Going The Distance” and “Step Up 3D,” all set for 2010 release.
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2009 will be presented on Sunday, March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

This Is Jackon's Moment

Though I know most of you are groaning at the idea of the upcoming Sony release of "Michael Jackson's This Is It" the fact of the matter is that movie IS coming!  Yeah it's taking advantage of Michael's death (as well as people's willingness to all of a sudden buy anything with his name on it), but the one aspect we're not looking at is how this will affect the Oscar race.  No, I don't think this is going to be nominated for Best Picture.  I question whether or not the movie will even crack the Best Documentary Feature race.  However the title track of the movie has never been released before, and the studio is making this song a movie exclusive.

If I'm not mistaken this makes it an easy favorite for the Best Song race, a category that has been losing respect slowly but surely over the past several years due to lame nominations and even worse winners.  If nominated "This Is It" will be the favorite song to win.  The only question left will be who sings the song.  I'm not even going to speculate and let the producer of the show deal with that problem.  You know, once a producer is picked that is.

"Toy Story 3" Trailer Released

Though it was supposed to be kept offline until the double feature run of the first two films had closed, it appears Disney has decided to let the clip out of the bag for those who don't want to go to the theater and relive some great nostalgia:

IMAX has scored another mature film: Chrisopher Nolan's follow-up to the cirtically acclaimed (but not by the Oscars) film "The Dark Knight."  That movie is "Inception," starring Leonardio DiCaprio, and the film has a budget someone could only get by making the second highest grossing film of all time.  This new film is a science fiction film.  You can see the trailer below.  I have to admit that I'm impressed with IMAX.  Though movies like this, "Where The Wild Things Are," and "Avatar" are helping make IMAX a legitimate experience for people who love more then documentaries and 3D family films.

More Inception Info

Polanski's 'Ghost' In Limbo

Due to the recent arrest of Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski ("Chinatown," "The Pianist"), his almost-finished-but-not-quite film "The Ghost" has been put on hold.  From what I understand most of the film is in the can.  Polanski was practically done with the editing with only a few more scenes to go, but most of the postproduction work involving the sound is not.  Sound mixing, editing, and scoring still need to be done.  Of course this could all be done without Polanski's involvement, but chances are he'd rather not have the movie released then have someone else touch it.  Obviously production will not go forward until we know for sure whether or not Polanski will be extradited to the United States.

One things for sure though: If Polanski is extradited and forced to serve a jail sentence then the movie will most likely have to be completed without him.  Sorry, but as much as I'd love Polanski to finish this film there's too much at stake to drop it just because he can't finish it.  The movie is practically done at this point, and too much money has been spent on it to let it stay in limbo.  Ghost writers finish uncompleted book series when authors pass away suddenly, so I have on doubt the movie will be finished.  Who knows, maybe in a pity vote Hollywood would give Polanski a second Best Director Oscar (seeing how many Hollywood stars want him released, this movie could be very important next Oscar season depending on how this situation pans out).

Another thing we have to keep in mind is whether or not this situation will help sell the movie or hurt selling the movie.  On one hand he could go to jail and there could be interest in it because it's his last film.  If he goes free people might not be interested in seeing a movie made by someone who got away with rape.  Such a very, very interesting situation.  The movie stars Pierce Bronson and Ewan McGregor and was set to be released sometime in 2010.

Full 'Princess' Clip

Though I don't like spoiling too much Disney has released a full clip of their highly anticipated "The Princess and the Frog."  Okay, so it's not a great scene, but it sure is great to hand drawn animation again.

Animated Race Gets More 'Fantastic' By The Day

I know I've said it before, but the Best Animated Feature race actually feels like a race this year.  Though people predict that Pixar's "Up" will walk away with the prize (as well as a Best Picture nomination) I can't help but feel that in a year with such strong contenders, Pixar won't be the favorite to win even if their film is the best of the bunch.  They've won this award four times already.  In fact they've won the previous two years.  I think one of these others films is going to walk home with the gold, and our good friend "The Fantastic Mr. Fox" looks to be another contender in this race.

Cloudy With A Chance of Oscars

Well folks, I personally didn't care for "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs" much.  You can read my review here, but I thought that the movie - while funny - wasn't something worth remembering.  That said the movie does hold a 86% fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes and was a surprise number 1 hit at the box office, so at this point anything is possible.  I'm still not sure if we're getting three nominated films or five (I'm guessing three), but Sony's animated underdog (in the sense that Sony needs this film to succeed...badly) might just squeeze into the nominees at one point.  If we get stuck with three nominees they should be:

• Ponyo
• The Princess and the Frog
• Up

If we get five nominees they should be:

• 9
• Coraline
• Ponyo
• The Princess and the Frog
• Up

I would hate to see 'Cloudy' sneak in on either of those lists (but if we have five, nudging out "9" for a slot would be a lesser offender since that was a movie with lots of style but little substance).

Producers Guild Goes 10

Not to be outdone by the Academy, the Producers Guild of America has announced that they will also expand their Best Picture nominees to 10 films.  Here's their press release:

PRODUCERS GUILD OF AMERICA AWARDS EXPAND
NOMINATIONS IN BEST PRODUCED MOTION PICTURE CATEGORY
TO INCLUDE TEN FILMS

LOS ANGELES (September 21, 2009) –The Producers Guild of America announced today that the 2010 PGA Awards nominations in the Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures Category will be expanded from five to ten films. The 10 nominees will be announced on Tuesday, January 5, 2010. The 21st Annual PGA Awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, January 24, 2010.

The PGA board approved the expansion of our Best Produced Picture category nominations to support our colleagues at the Academy, but also because we feel it better represents the unprecedented diversity of films being produced today,” said PGA President Marshall Herskovitz.

“We’re excited to involve even more industry members in this year’s event, as having 10 Best Produced Picture nominees allows us to recognize even more extraordinary films,” said David Friendly and Laurence Mark, co-chairs of the PGA Awards. “The PGA Awards ceremony is the only night of the year that celebrates the meaningful contributions of producers across all mediums.” In 1990, the PGA held the first-ever Golden Laurel Awards, which were renamed the Producers Guild Awards in 2002. Richard Zanuck and Lili Fini Zanuck took home the award for Best Produced Motion Picture for Driving Miss Daisy, establishing the Guild awards as a bellwether for the Oscars. Last year, the PGA awarded Slumdog Millionaire its Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures.

In June 2009, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that they will have 10 feature films vying in the Best Picture category at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards.

Key dates for theatrical motion pictures competing in the 21st Annual PGA Awards include.

November 6, 2009:    Deadline for Receipt of NOTICE OF CREDITS and PRODUCER ELIGIBILITY Forms for Theatrical Motion Pictures

December 7, 2009:     Polls Open for Theatrical Motion Picture and Long-Form Television Nominations

January 4, 2010:        Polls Close for Theatrical Motion Picture and Long-Form Television Nominations

January 5, 2010:        Producers Guild Awards Nominees Are Announced; Final Polls Open

January 22, 2010:      Final Polls Close

January 24, 2010:      Producers Guild Awards

About the Producers Guild of America

The Producers Guild of America is the non-profit trade group that represents, protects and promotes the interests of all members of the producing team in film, television and new media. The PGA has over 4,000 members who work together to protect and improve their careers, the industry and community by providing members health benefits, enforcing workplace labor laws, the creation of fair and impartial standards for the awarding of producing credits, as well as other education and advocacy efforts. The PGA hosts important industry events including the annual PGA Awards and the Produced By Conference. Visit www.producersguild.org for more information.

RIP Patrick Swayze

Patrick Swayze lost his battle with cancer yesterday and died at the young age of 57.  He wasn't always my favorite actor in the world, but he made a few good films that I would be lying if I claimed I didn't watch them once every few years (*cough*Dirty Dancing*cough*).  I know it's probably customary to post clips of him dancing with Jennifer Grey from his most famous movie, but I think it's more fitting to watch this scene instead:

New Trailer For "The Princess and the Frog"

Before I go to bed I present the second trailer for Disney's much anticipated return to traditional animation "The Princess and the Frog":

The "Julie & Julia" Project Delayed

So yeah, that Oscar feature that was going to be done via "Julie & Julia" style is going to have to be delayed by about a week. Sorry, but there are other projects I'm dealing with right now that are providing to be more lucrative (financially), so for now the project is delayed. Not by much, but I didn't want to be a liar to everyone who visited my blog today hoping to see that feature.

"Alice In Wonderland" Johnny Depp Trailer

I keep hearing how Disney plans to release multiple trailers for Tim Burton's upcoming "Alice In Wonderland" movie. Trailers starring Alan Rickman, Helen Boham Carter, and all those other famous people that are starring in the film. So far all the focus has been on Johnny Depp as The Mad Hatter. While I get the fact that Depp is famous and a big box office draw, focusing the ad campaign on him still strikes me as odd seeing that The Mad Hatter very much a supporting character, and too much Depp in the ads could prove fatal once the public realizes just how little of the film he's in.

"The Lovely Bones" Trailer

I know it was released a month ago, but every time I watch this thing I keep thinking the same thing: Peter Jackson is a great director and I get excited about every project he's involved with. As someone who poured over the novel in less then a couple of days this movie is especially anticipated by me, and from the looks of things it's going to be big.

More "Ponyo" Trailers

We've got an additional two trailers for Hayao Miyazaki's "Ponyo." One bragging about the voice talent and the other one actually selling the film on it's own merits. And while it may be premature to say this, I think "Ponyo" may actually be a hit. It seems like Disney is finally getting behind this movie. With Miyazaki visiting the states, the 800 screen release, and for the first time Disney has made more then one trailer for a Miayazaki film and they don't totally suck. Who knows, but I think this is the perfect oportunity for the world to discover Miyzaki. Here's hoping they do.

Are The Oscars Stone Cold Deaf? #1: 1968

Welcome to a new feature on this blog called "Are The Oscars Stone Cold Deaf?" This is a feature that is dedicated to one of the most highly publicized awards in the Oscar season that is (for some reason) still underrated. This may have more to do with the fact that the Best Song category is the reason we still have dance numbers in the Oscar telecast (and people hate those dance numbers), but it doesn't change the fact that there are many great songs that get nominated for Best Song that never win. Sometimes the winners are either of lesser quality, not nearly as good, or so inferior to a fellow nominee that you just have wonder if the Oscars are just stone cold deaf. For our first installment we're going to look at the year 1968 (where the winner was not a total loss). Here's what won:

"Born Free" by Matt Monro (from "Born Free")

Not too bad. It has a nice (if unspectacular) sound to it. But chances are if you are a movie and music buff then you haven't heard that song. Nope, if your of the more casual type chances are you've heard this classic tune:

"What's It All About? (Alfie)" by Cher (from "Alfie")

Which is the song that should have won in the first place. In the second case the song had a more memorable memory, great vocals, and considering what the movie "Alfie" was all about made the song that much more poetic when the film ended and you had to reflect on the film with the words of this song. A good second choice (if not similarly unspectacular) would be this song from "Georgy Girl:"

"Georgy Girl" by The Seekers (from "Georgy Girl")

Yeah it's not as deep, but it sure was a lot of fun.

5 to 10 (What A Way To Make A Living)

Today the Academy made a startling announcement: the number of films eligeble for Best Picture will be bumped up form 5 to 10. There will still be 5 nominees in all the other categories, but 10 films will now be up for Best Picture, the first time since 1943. No doubt this is in response to "The Dark Knight" and "Wall-E" just barely not making the top five last year. The Academy received a lot of flack for that and deservingly so. Chances are they are doing this to hopefully get the publics latest critical darling, "Up," into the Best Picture race. This still might not happen as Academy voters could still vote for more 'Oscar friendly' films that are of lesser quality. Movies like "The Soloist" may not be great films, but since that movie is more in line with the Academies tastes we could be looking at more mediocrity getting nominated.

If that happens you can be sure the Academy will get Hell from the public. But before we jump all over the cons lets look at some of the pros:

1. Movies like "Up," "Watchmen," and even "Star Trek" have decent shots at getting into the Best Picture race. There's no telling whether they will or not, but they have a shot.


2. The Best Director award may be forced to stand seperate from the Picture category. Seriously, I know the director is important, but just because you made one of the best films of the year does NOT mean you are a great director! "The Queen" was one of my favorite films of 2006, and even I wouldn't say Stephen Frears direction was anything special.


3. Foreign films, animated films, and even documentaries have a better shot at getting Academy recognition that is normally overlooked in favor of more "dramatic" fare.


4. Now with 10 nominees, studios have more freedom to spread out their Oscar over the year.

I'll talk about the cons in another post, but for now I feel this is great news. I can't wait to see how this plays out next year when it's time to announce the nominees.