"Kung Fu Panda" Sweeps Annie Awards

The Annie Awards are supposed to be the biggest animation awards show out there, but they blew it tonight. Big time. Although I should have seen it coming when the nominations were announced, I didn't think they'd actually do it. Tonight "Kung Fu Panda" swept the awards including Best Picture and Pixar's "Wall-E" was shut out completely. I knew it was fishy when 'Panda' received a whopping 17 nominations and "Wall-E" received only 8, but to think that the nominations would reflect the winner so closely...I just don't get it. The only thing I can think of is that Pixar fatique is starting to sink in, and people are getting tired of giving them the awards every year. Of course, Pixar shouldn't be punished for raising the bar every year, but this shows that no matter how much praise you get, it doesn't garentee awards. See folks, there are other organizations then the Academy that get things wrong.

6th Annual Annie Award Nominees and Winners (2008)

Winners in bold*

PRODUCTION CATEGORIES

Best Animated Feature

• Bolt – Walt Disney Animation Studios

• Kung Fu Panda – DreamWorks Animation*

• $9.99 – Sherman Pictures/Lama Films

• Wall·E – Pixar Animation Studios

• Waltz With Bashir – Sony Pictures Classics, Bridgit Folman, Les Films D’ici, Razor Films

Best Animated Home Entertainment Production

• Batman: Gotham Knight – Warner Bros. Animation

• Christmas Is Here Again – Easy To Dream Entertainment in association with Renegade Animation

• Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs – The Curiosity Company in association with 20^th Century Fox Home Entertainment*

• Justice League: The New Frontier – Warner Bros. Animation

• The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning – DisneyToon Studios

Best Animated Short Subject

• Glago’s Guest – Walt Disney Animation Studios

• Hot Dog – Bill Plympton Studio

• Presto – Pixar Animation Studios

• Sebastian’s Voodoo – Joaquin Baldwin

• Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death – Aardman Animations Ltd.*

Best Animated Television Commercial

• Giant Monster – Curious Pictures

• Long Legs Mr. Hyde – Curious Pictures

• Rotofugi: The Collectors – Screen Novelties/RSA Films

• Sarah – Z Animation

• United Airlines “Heart” – Duck Studios*

Best Animated Television Production

• King of the Hill – 20^th Century Fox TV

• Moral Orel – ShadowMachine

• Phineas and Ferb – Disney Television Animation

• Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II - ShadowMachine*

• The Simpsons – Gracie Films/Fox TV

Best Animated Television Production Produced for Children

• A Miser Brothers Christmas – Warner Bros. Animation in association with ABC Family & Cuppa Coffee Studios

• Avatar: The Last Airbender – Nickelodeon*

• Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends “Destination Imagination” – Cartoon Network Studios

• The Mighty B! – Nickelodeon

• Underfist: Halloween Bash – Cartoon Network Studios

Best Animated Video Game

• Dead Space – Electronic Arts

• Kung Fu Panda – Activision*

• Wall·E – Heavy Iron Studios, a division of THQ, Inc.

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES

Animated Effects

• Alen Lai “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who” – Blue Sky Studios

• Li-Ming Lawrence Lee “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation*

• Fangwei Lee “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” – DreamWorks Animation

• Kevin Lee “Bolt” – Walt Disney Animation Studios

• Enrique Vila “Wall·E” – Pixar Animation Studios

Character Animation in a Feature Production

• James Baxter “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation*

• Jeff Gabor “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who” – Blue Sky Studios

• Philippe Le Brun “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation

• Victor Navone “Wall·E” – Pixar Animation Studios

• Dan Wagner “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation

Character Animation in a Television Production or Short Form

• Sandro Cleuzo “Secrets of the Furious Five” – DreamWorks Animation

• Joshua A. Jennings “Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II” - ShadowMachine

• Pierre Perifel “Secrets of the Furious Five” – DreamWorks Animation*

Character Design in an Animated Feature Production

• Valerie Hadida “Igor” – Exodus Film Group

• Sang Jun Lee “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who” – Blue Sky Studios

• Nico Marlet “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation*

Character Design in an Animated Television Production or Short Form

• Bryan Arnett – Mighty B! “Bat Mitzah Crashers” – Nickelodeon

• Ben Balistreri - Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends “Mondo Coco” – Cartoon Network Studios

• Sean Galloway “The Spectacular Spider-Man” – Sony Pictures Television

• Jorge Gutierrez – El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera “The Good, The Bad, The Tigre” – Nickelodeon

• Nico Marlet “Secrets of the Furious Five” – DreamWorks Animation*

Directing in an Animated Feature Production

• Sam Fell, Rob Stevenhagen “The Tale Of Despereaux” – Universal Pictures

• Ari Folman “Waltz With Bashir” – Sony Pictures Classics, Bridgit Folman, Les Films D’ici, Razor Films

• Tatia Rosenthal “9.99” – Sherman Pictures/ Lama Films

• John Stevenson & Mark Osborne “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation*

• Andrew Stanton “Wall·E” – Pixar Animation Studios

Directing in an Animated Television Production or Short Form

• Bob Anderson - The Simpsons “Treehouse of Horror XIX” – Gracie Films/Fox TV

• Joaquim Dos Santos – Avatar: The Last Airbender “Sozin’s Comet Pt. 3” – Nickelodeon*

• Craig McCracken, Rob Renzetti - Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends “Destination Imagination” – Cartoon Network Studios

• Chris McKay – Moral Orel “Passing” – ShadowMachine

• Alan Smart - SpongeBob SquarePants “Penny Foolish” – Nickelodeon

Music in an Animated Feature Production

• Kevin Manthei – “Batman: Gotham Knight” – Warner Bros. Animation

• John Powell – “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who” – Blue Sky Studios

• Max Richter – “Waltz With Bashir” – Sony Pictures Classics, Bridgit Folman, Les Films D’ici, Razor Films

• William Ross – “The Tale Of Despereaux” – Universal Pictures

• Hans Zimmer & John Powell – “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation*

Music in an Animated Television Production or Short Form

• Carl Finch & Brave Combo - Click and Clack’s “As the Wrench Turns” – CTTV Productions

• Henry Jackman, Hans Zimmer & John Powell – “Secrets of the Furious Five” – DreamWorks Animation*

• Kevin Kiner – “Star Wars The Clone Wars: Rising Malevolence” – Lucasfilm Animation Ltd.

• Guy Moon – Back at the Barnyard “Cowman: The Uddered Avenger” – Nickelodeon/Omation

• Guy Michelmore – “Growing Up Creepie: Rockabye Freakie” – Taffy Entertainment LLC

Production Design in an Animated Feature Production

• Ralph Eggleston “Wall·E” – Pixar Animation Studios

• Paul Felix “Bolt” – Walt Disney Animation Studios

• Tang Heng “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation*

• Evgeni Tomov “The Tale Of Despereaux” – Universal Pictures

• Raymond Zibach “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation

Production Design in an Animated Television Production or Short Form

• Andy Harkness “Glago’s Guest” – Walt Disney Animation Studios

• Tang Heng “Secrets of the Furious Five” – DreamWorks Animation*

• Seonna Hong – The Mighty B! “Bee Patients” – Nickelodeon

• Dan Krall – Chowder “The Heavy Sleeper” – Cartoon Network Studios

• Raymond Zibach “Secrets of the Furious Five” – DreamWorks Animation

Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production

• Alessandro Carloni – “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation

• Ronnie Del Carmen – “Wall·E” – Pixar Animation Studios

• Joe Mateo “Bolt” – Walt Disney Animation Studios

• Jen Yuh Nelson – “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation*

• Rob Stevenhagen – “The Tale Of Despereaux” – Universal Pictures

Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production or Short Form

• Butch Hartman – Fairly OddParents “Mission: Responsible” – Nickelodeon

• Andy Kelly – Ni Hao, Kai-Lan “Twirly Whirly Flyers” – Nickelodeon Productions/Nelvana

• Andy Schuhler – “Secret of the Furious Five” – DreamWorks Animation

• Eddie Trigueros “The Mighty B! “Name Shame”– Nickelodeon

• Chris Williams “Glago’s Guest” – Walt Disney Animation Studios*

Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production

• Ben Burtt – Voice of Wall·E – “Wall·E” – Pixar Animation Studios

• Dustin Hoffman – Voice of Shifu – “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation*

• James Hong – Voice of Mr. Ping – “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation

• Ian McShane – Voice of Tai Lung – “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation

• Mark Walton – Voice of Rhino – “Bolt” – Walt Disney Animation Studios

Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production or Short Form

• Ahmed Best – Voice of Jar Jar Binks – “Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II” - ShadowMachine*

• Seth MacFarlane – Voice of Peter Griffin – Family Guy “I Dream of Jesus” – Fox TV Animation/Fuzzy Door Productions

• Dwight Schultz – Voice of Mung Daal – Chowder “Apprentice Games” – Cartoon Network Studios

Writing in an Animated Feature Production

• Jon Aibel & Glenn Berger – “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation*

• Etan Cohen and Eric Darnell & Tom McGrath – “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” – DreamWorks Animation

• Ari Folman – “Waltz With Bashir” – Sony Pictures Classics, Bridgit Folman, Les Films D’ici, Razor Films

• Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio – “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who” – Blue Sky Studios

Writing in an Animated Television Production or Short Form

• Joel H. Cohen – The Simpsons “The Debarted” – Gracie Films/Fox TV

• Scott Kreamer – El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera “Mustache Love” – Nickelodeon

• Paul McEvoy and Todd Berger – “Secrets of the Furious Five” – DreamWorks Animation

• Tom Root, Douglas Goldstein, Hugh Davidson, Mike Fasolo, Seth Green, Dan Milano, Matthew Senreich, Kevin Shinick, Zeb Wells, Breckin Meyer – “Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II” – ShadowMachine*

• Chris Williams – “Glago’s Guest” – Walt Disney Animation Studios

Saw "The Wrestler" Today...

...and it was awesome. I really wish this had gotten to my city sooner so that I could have put it on my Top Ten list. Oh well, part of me is also thankful that movies like this get delayed so that I have something to see in January.

Salute To The Great Movies of 2008

I'd like to thank Ben for making this wonderful montage of clips from some of the best films of last year. I don't agree with all the choices, but it goes to show you that there will always be many great movies that the Academy will never honor. But that doesn't make them bad movies.

29th Golden Raspberry Awards Nominations

Though this site tends to focus more on Oscar and other awards shows that award excellence in film making, I do like to make an exception in mentioning the Golden Raspberry Awards. Now in case you don't know what the Raspberries are, they are basically the anti-Oscar, giving awards to movies that have the least artistic merit to them. This year the nominees are:

Worst Picture:

• "Disaster Movie" and "Meet the Spartans"
• "The Happening"
• "The Hottie and the Nottie"
• "In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale"
• "The Love Guru"

Worst Actor:

• Larry the Cable Guy, "Witless Protection"
• Eddie Murphy, "Meet Dave"
• Mike Myers, "The Love Guru"
• Al Pacino, "88 Minutes" and "Righteous Kill"
• Mark Wahlberg, "The Happening" and "Max Payne"

Worst Actress:

• Jessica Alba, "The Eye" and "The Love Guru"
• Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett Smith and Meg Ryan, the Cast of "The Women"
• Cameron Diaz, "What Happens in Vegas..."
• Paris Hilton, "The Hottie and the Nottie"
• Kate Hudson, "Fool's Gold" and "My Best Friend's Girl"

Worst Supporting Actor:

• Uwe Boll, "Postal"
• Pierce Brosnan, "Mamma Mia!"
• Ben Kingsley, "The Love Guru", "War, Inc." and "The Wackness"
• Burt Reynolds, "Deal" and "In The Name of The King: A Dungeon Siege Tale"
• Verne Troyer, "The Love Guru" and "Postal"

Worst Supporting Actress:

• Carmen Electra, "Disaster Movie" and "Meet The Spartans"
• Paris Hilton, "Repo: The Genetic Opera"
• Kim Kardashian, "Disaster Movie"
• Jenny McCarthy, "Witless Protection"
• Leelee Sobieski, "88 Minutes" and "In The Name of The King: A Dungeon Siege Tale"

Worst Screen Couple:

• Uwe Boll and ANY Actor, Camera or Screenplay
• Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher, "What Happens in Vegas..."
• Paris Hilton and either Christine Lakin or Joel David Moore, "The Hottie and the Nottie"
• Larry the Cable Guy and Jenny McCarthy, "Witless Protection"
• Eddie Murphy IN Eddie Murphy, "Meet Dave"

Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel:

• "The Day the Earth Stood Still"
• "Disaster Movie" and "Meet The Spartans"
• "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"
• "Speed Racer"
• "Star Wars: The Clone Wars"

Worst Director:

• Uwe Boll, "Tunnel Rats", In The Name of The King: A Dungeon Siege Tale" and "Postal"
• Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, "Disaster Movie" and "Meet The Spartans"
• Tom Putnam, "The Hottie and the Nottie"
• Marco Schnabel, "The Love Guru"
• M. Night Shyamalan, "The Happening"

Worst Screenplay:

• "Disaster Movie" and "Meet The Spartans" - Both Written by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer
• "The Happening" - Written by M. Night Shyamalan
• "The Hottie And The Nottie" - Written by Heidi Ferrer
• "In The Name of The King: A Dungeon Siege Tale" - Screenplay by Doug Taylor
• "The Love Guru" - Written by Mike Myers and Graham Gordy

Worst Career Achievement (Special Category!): Uwe Boll (Germany's Answer to Ed Wood)

Nice to see Uwe Boll getting a special award. I hope he walks away with more Raspberries then anyone.

The 81st Academy Awards: Will They Watch?

Now that we've (mostly) gotten "The Dark Knight" snub out of our system, it's time to ask a burning question: Will people watch the Oscars this year? I'd like to be positive, I really would, but I think the answer is going to be a loud 'no.' In fact, I think this is going to be the poorest ratings for the Oscars in ten years (if not twenty). And this goes beyond "The Dark Knight." While that movie would have helped ratings, there were a few other things that would have helped. Not nominating songs from "The Wrestler" and "Bolt" cost the Academy two performers that would likely draw crowds: Bruce Spriengstein and Miley Cyrus. Yeah, I'm kind of glad that the Academy didn't vote for the "Bolt" song, but it's going to be really difficult to get people to watch a show when the performers consist of Peter Gabriel and a bunch of Indian singers doing Bollywood style dance numbers. And if Pete calls in sick, then we are in even more trouble.

"Wall-E" would help the ratings much. For starters, everyone knows it's going to win. Secondly, the Best Animated Film category hasn't helped draw in kids to watch the show much. After that what have you got? The actors? Well, that could help, but nobody cares about actors who win awards for films they haven't seen. Hugh Jackman might entertain people, but no matter how good a job he does if the ratings tank then the Academy will start pointing their finger at him for being the reason. Seeing as how only "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" has been a blockbuster, these movies will not draw in the audience. In short, I think this is the last year we'll see the Oscars on ABC. Next year the show will likely move to HBO, Showtime, or TNT. It's airing will be up for auction, and if the nominees next year prove to be films that don't attract audiences, I can imagine the buying price being very low.

Now, more then ever, the ratings of the Academy Awards will be most interesting. It will effect whether or not the show is commercially viable anymore. The fact that the movies getting nominations haven't gotten much of a boost from the awards speaks volumes. In short, this is going to be one rough year for the Academy. May God have mercy on their souls.

A Best Picture Nominated Classic Gets Updated...By Hilary Duff?

In one of the strangest movie reports I've read yet, it appears the Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway classic "Bonnie & Clyde" is going to be getting a remake. Aside from the shock of wondering why anyone would want to mess with a good thing, apparently Hilary Duff (of all people) is interested in playing Bonnie.

This is one of those things where I have to ask: Why? Why bother. Not only will you be remaking a movie that is still considered a benchmark film since it's original release in 1967, but you're not even going to put some decent talent into the darn thing? Didn't Hollywood learn anything from last years "The Day The Earth Stood Still?" Remakes aren't always a bad idea, but this seems to have disaster written all over it. The only positive thing I could think of was that at least the studio producing this film is talking about doing their own thing with it. That could only help at this point.

Now For Something A Little Different

I discovered this article through a Digg It link, and while I disagree with it on some points, it does make some arguments on why the heat for the lack of Best Picture nomination for "The Dark Knight" should subside:

Besides, what does it matter to any of you whether or not the films YOU like get nominated? It doesn’t depreciate the film and shouldn’t de-value your enjoyment of it. Look back to the year 2000. Gladiator won Best Picture, while Traffic, Erin Brockovich, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Chocolat were nominated alongside it. Do you know which movie is most memorable and has stuck with me since? Almost Famous. Dances with Wolves won Best Picture for 1990, yet Goodfellas is regarded by many as one of the greatest films of all time.

Does this mean that the Academy got it wrong? No. It just means the voters went a different way than the public. The Academy Awards are not a democracy of the people; it’s an organization of professionals patting each other on the back and peers recognizing peers for their achievements. Helen Hunt received an Oscar for being annoying in an above-average romantic comedy. Nicole Kidman got one for putting on a fake nose. Likewise, Charlize Theron was mesmerizing in Monster and Daniel Day Lewis gave a bravura, towering performance worth every accolade in There Will Be Blood. Sometimes their awards are pretty dubious; sometimes they f*cking nail it. But what it really boils down to is: The Oscars are essentially meaningless.

I think mentioning "Wall-E" would have been nice, but then, that might have undermined the whole argument. Whether I think "The Reader" should be nominated or not, I have to admit some great points were made here. A definite must-read.

YouTube Reactions To Oscar Nominees

I knew that the internet would be up in a blaze over the snubbing of "The Dark Knight" and "Wall-E" for "The Reader," but it looks like people aren't just reacting, they are reacting with a vengeance. Here are some random YouTube videos I picked up:

It's just going to get worse from here on out folks.

A Dark Day For Oscar

"A Dark Day For Oscar"

By Kevin T. Rodriguez

Today is indeed a dark, dark day for the Academy Awards. After years of being the scorn of public ridicule for being “out of touch” with movie goers and “old fashioned,” the Academy had two chances to prove that they were still an awards show above all else. That they, despite getting a nomination wrong here and there, could still recognize artistic quality when they saw it. This year two movies defined 2008: “Wall-E” and “The Dark Knight.” Now “Wall-E” was always a long shot for the Best Picture race, but it can at least fall back on the Best Animated Film category and revel in it’s Best Original Screenplay nomination. “The Dark Knight” though...that’s a whole different story. Hailed as a contemporary masterpiece, the second highest grossing film of all time, and one of the most critically acclaimed blockbusters since “The Lord of the Rings,” “The Dark Knight” seemed poised for greatest.

Read More...

Tapley To Academy: This Years Nominees Are A 'Tragedy'

Kristopher Tapley of In Contention.com has written a critical piece of the AMPAS choices for Best Picture nominations. Here's my favorite bit of the article:

This all brings us to the elephant in the room: “The Reader” was the film to steal the Bat’s thunder, not “Gran Torino” like I expected, not “WALL-E” as others had hoped. And I think we all knew it was coming once Stephen Daldry’s name was called. A pornographic account of a sympathetic Nazi, rushed through post-production and ultimately a sloppy piece of drama, rightly abandoned by its initial producer at a crucial time on the basis of principle on one hand, politics on the other — this is one of the Academy’s five Best Pictures of the year.

These people should have their cards taken away. This member-for-life shit has to go because you end up with crotchety fools that have no idea what good cinema is, let alone a care about how their organization’s choices will be looked upon in the future. Years from now, “The Reader” will be a blip on the map of film obscurity. “The Dark Knight” will live on in infamy as one of the year’s titans, both a popular blockbuster and a critically acclaimed work of art.

What an absolute tragedy.

I have to say I'm in agreement with him 100% here. I was in too much shock yesterday to voice my opinion on the nominations, so that's why you'll get them today instead. Stay tuned.

The Scorecard

Here's the scorecard of the nominations folks. I'll talk in more detail about the nominees later on in the day (particularly about a big snub that was very "dark" indeed), but for now here's the scorecard and how the movies stack up nomination-wise (documentaries disqualified for obvious reasons):

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: 13
Slumdog Millionaire: 10
Milk: 8
The Dark Knight: 8
Wall-E: 6
Frost/Nixon: 5
The Reader: 5
Doubt: 5
Changeling: 3
The Wrestler: 2
Frozen River: 2
The Dutchess: 2
Revolutionary Road: 2
Wanted: 2
Iron Man: 2
The Visitor: 1
Tropic Thunder: 1
Rachel Getting Married: 1
Vicky Christina Barcelona: 1
Bolt: 1
Kung Fu Panda: 1
Australia: 1
Hellboy II: The Golden Army: 1
Defiance: 1
Happy-Go-Lucky: 1
In Brudges: 1

The Nominees (Updated: Full List Included)

Here is a partial list of the nominees. The rest will be filled in later on:

Best motion picture of the year

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Frost/Nixon
• Milk
• The Reader
• Slumdog Millionaire

Performance by an actor in a leading role

• Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)
• Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)
• Sean Penn (Milk)
• Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
• Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

• Josh Brolin (Milk)
• Robert Downey Jr. (Tropic Thunder)
• Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt)
• Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
• Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road)

Performance by an actress in a leading role

• Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)
• Angelina Jolie (Changeling)
• Melissa Leo (Frozen River)
• Meryl Streep (Doubt)
• Kate Winslet (The Reader)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

• Amy Adams (Doubt)
• Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
• Viola Davis (Doubt)
• Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
• Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler)

Best animated feature film of the year

• Bolt
• Kung Fu Panda
• WALL•E

Achievement in art direction

• “Changeling” (Universal), Art Direction: James J. Murakami, Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
• “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
• “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Nathan Crowley, Set Decoration: Peter Lando
• “The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Art Direction: Michael Carlin, Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
• “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Art Direction: Kristi Zea, Set Decoration: Debra Schutt
  

Achievement in cinematography

• “Changeling” (Universal), Tom Stern
• “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Claudio Miranda
• “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Wally Pfister
• “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
• “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Anthony Dod Mantle

Achievement in costume design

• “Australia” (20th Century Fox), Catherine Martin
• “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Jacqueline West
• “The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Michael O’Connor
• “Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Glicker
• “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Albert Wolsky
  

Achievement in directing

• David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
• Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon)
• Gus Van Sant (Milk)
• Stephen Daldry (The Reader)
• Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)

Best documentary feature

• “The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)” (Cinema Guild), A Pandinlao Films Production, Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
• “Encounters at the End of the World” (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment), A Creative Differences Production, Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
• “The Garden” A Black Valley Films Production, Scott Hamilton Kennedy
• “Man on Wire” (Magnolia Pictures), A Wall to Wall Production, James Marsh and Simon Chinn
• “Trouble the Water” (Zeitgeist Films), An Elsewhere Films Production, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal
  

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

• “The Conscience of Nhem En” A Farallon Films Production, Steven Okazaki
• “The Final Inch” A Vermilion Films Production, Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant
• “Smile Pinki” A Principe Production, Megan Mylan
• “The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306” A Rock Paper Scissors Production, Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde
  

Achievement in makeup

• “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Greg Cannom
• “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O’Sullivan
• “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (Universal), Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz
  

Achievement in film editing

• “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
• “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lee Smith
• “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
• “Milk” (Focus Features), Elliot Graham
• “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Chris Dickens
  

Best foreign language film of the year

• The Baader Meinhof Complex
• The Class
• Departures
• Revanche
• Waltz With Bashir

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

• “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.),Alexandre Desplat
• “Defiance” (Paramount Vantage), James Newton Howard
• “Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Elfman
• “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A.R. Rahman
• “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Thomas Newman
  

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

• “Down to Earth” from “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel
• “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar
• “O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman andMaya Arulpragasam
  

Achievement in sound editing

• “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Richard King
• “Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
• “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Tom Sayers
• “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
• “Wanted” (Universal),Wylie Stateman
  

Achievement in sound mixing

• “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
• “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
• “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
• “WALL-E” (Walt Disney),Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
• “Wanted” (Universal), Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt
  

Achievement in visual effects

• “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
• “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
• “Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan
  

Adapted screenplay

• Eric Roth & Robin Swicord (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
• John Patrick Shanley (Doubt)
• Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon)
• David Hare (The Reader)
• Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire)

Original screenplay

• Courtney Hunt (Frozen River)
• Mike Leigh (Happy-Go-Lucky)
• Martin McDonagh (In Bruges)
• Dustin Lance Black (Milk)
• Andrew Stanton and Jim Reardon (WALL•E)

Mark Harris's Oscar Predictions

Mark Harris, author of the excellent Oscar book "Pictures at a Revolution," has given his two cents on the Oscar nominations. He feels "Slumdog Millionaire" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" are locks. Says "Frost/Nixon" and "Milk" aren't as locked as we might think, and he feels either "The Dark Knight" or "Wall-E" will take that final slot:

Only six more hours to go...

Soderbergh's Next Big Film Stars...A Porn Star?

Oscar winning director Steven Soderbergh is one tough guy to figure out. Bouncing between mainstream Hollywood fare ("Out of Sight" and the Ocean's Trilogy) to weird little indie films ("Bubble" and "The Good German"). He's so strange that while he's on my list for my "Great Directors" feature, I'm putting off writing about him because he's just so off the wall. Normally he makes multiple films a year, but this year he released one film. Though, considering that film is the four and a half hour Spanish epic "Che," I think we can forgive him for focusing on one film. Apparently during the final editing phrase of "Che" Soderbergh decided to make another indie film. It's entitled "The Girlfriend Experience" and it's...well, this clip from an LA Times article:

The film stars porn star Sasha Grey as an escort in New York City. With a website to sell herself, she approaches her work like a job, and she spends much of her time when she isn't working taking meetings with various people who claim they can boost her business in various ways. She has a live-in boyfriend who works as a personal trainer, and their domestic discord becomes the film's dramatic throughline.

Soderbergh seems interested in exploring, as one character puts it, the "transactional," the exchange that occurs between people at all levels of interaction -- in business, in love, in everyday life. Everybody wants something.

It also must be noted that there seems to be a continuing subtext to the film that can only be read as Soderbergh's dig at critics and journalists, perhaps in the wake of the mixed reception to his film "Che." (And considering how the room was full of an august selection of them, his timing was impeccable.) Film critic Glenn Kenny shows up as a sleazy porn blogger -- his first appearance onscreen elicited something of a gasp of recognition from the crowd, and he also grabbed the film's biggest laugh line -- and his "review" of the escort's services is petty and an outright lie. His sequence ends with the camera on two street singers as they declare "everyone's a critic."

While some may be put off by the film's icy surfaces and exacting framing -- Soderbergh mentioned Antonioni's "Red Desert" as an influence -- it is exciting to see a major filmmaker in the middle of a staggering run of work continue to push himself at the prolific pace Soderbergh does. Even if he is only doodling or sketching or working out some latent hostility issues, it is thrilling to see, and provides insight on his mind at work.

Okay...whatever. I have to admit that this caught me by surprise. Of course, Soderbergh is honestly one of the few directors to consistantly surprise me. I was shocked when I discovered he was making "Ocean's Thirteen" a few years ago. Who knows if this will be good, as Soderbergh's stuff can be very hit and miss. Either way though it will most likely be interesting.

'Spidey 4' To Shoot In 2010

Getting the news straight from MTV is a report that actor J.K. Simmons has reveled that filming for Sony's much anticipated "Spider-Man 4" will begin shooting in 2010, with a 2011 release date planned. Though the article also mentions that director Sam Raimi, nor actors Toby McGuire and Kirsten Dunst, have officially signed on yet. I mean, really, what's going on? Are they signed on or not? Sony made a big deal when they announced that Raimi and McGuire were on board with the project, and Raimi was even bragging about the good deal he got (and his intention to end the series properly this time around). Dunst has always been in the air, but now these two are not fully commited? Folks, this is how Hollywood works: It's an endless sea of confusion. Someone could be attached to a project for years and never see it into production. Just ask Tim Burton, who did pre-production work on a new Superman movie for over a year and never saw a single frame of the movie filmed (Bryan Singer would eventually direct).

As for this article...hey, I'm just reporting what I see. I don't doubt Simmons comments (esspecially his comments on how he wants to stay a supporting character, seeing as he only does a couple weeks of work that way), but I do doubt MTV's reports about the cast and director. I find this earlier report from The Hollywood Reporter to be of more value, them being a magazine who specilizes in this sort of stuff. But you never know. Hopefully when the film is finished, and regardless of who stars and directs it, it will be as great as "Spider-Man 2," and they will have learned from a competing superhero franchise how to do serious comic book movies right.

This May The 'Angles & Demons' Fight

Though Ron Howard is currently enjoying lots of pre-Oscar love for his latest film "Frost/Nixon," many are quick to forget that he directed last summers turkey "The Da Vinci Code." The movie was very poorly received with harsh reviews and public scorn (though it was still a box off success, so he wasn't hurt too much from the hate). Now that "Frost/Nixon" has restored his reputation, Howard is diligently working on the Da Vinci sequel "Angels & Demons." Now the book was actually released before "The Da Vinci Code," so it should be a prequel, but Howard has decided to make it a sequel instead. Makes sense I guess: If there are any connectign events in the books I can't see them. Now, I liked "The Da Vinci Code" book. Keep in mind I said liked and not loved. The movie was a dissapointment but, eh, oh well. It was a good but not great book anyway. "Angels & Demons" on the other hand IS a great book!

Full of suspense, intrique, and a conflict that actually does incourage debate that's worth talking about, "Angels & Demons" has the chance to be the compelling blockbuster "The Da Vinci Code" wasn't. And I'm talking about "The Dark Knight" compelling. Thing is, we won't know whether the film lives up to expectations until May, and I'm wondering how the public is going to react to this film. While 'Da Vinci' was easy to write off beause it was a silly adventure story in the first place, 'Angels' is a far more realistic tale, one that does ask some hard questions and purposfully doesn't answer them. The book was a thinking mans adventure, and I know Hollywood has trouble with that kind of thing. They'd rather the movie be easily disposible, and they hate controversy.

"The Da Vinci Code" had pre-release controversy that quickly faded when the film was released and people got to see that they were complaining about nothing. "Angels & Demons" is likely to have the opposite effect: It will be released to minor outcry that will likely grow with time. Once that happens time will tell whether that helps the films box office and awards potential. Right now though, I'm just hoping Howard does this adaptation justice.

Carrey Goes Gay

It turns out Jim Carrey's next major role after "Yes Man" will be playing a gay man in "I Love You Phillip Morris." The love interest will be played by the mostly reliable Ewan McGregor. While some people may find this shocking, I'm not too surprised. Jim Carrey is a man whose been wanting to be taken seriously for years. Trouble is, his serious movies rarely match the box office appeal that his comedy films do. So whenever he makes a Carrey-vehicle like "Yes Man," you know that he's only doing it for the paycheck. His next film will always be far, far more ambitious. Don't believe me? Just remember that after he made the highly sucessful comedy "Bruce Almighty" he then moved onto what is arguebly his best role to date: "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." Of course, Carrey has never been nominated for an Academy Award for any of these serious roles.

On one hand it surprises me, considering he's been in "The Truman Show," "Man on the Moon," "The Majestic," and the aforementioned "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." Then I remember that this is the Oscars we're talking about, and there are still many acclaimed actors who have never won an Oscar in actual competition (Peter O'Toole anyone?). Despite this history though, chances are this will be Carrey's first nomination. If for no other reason then the fact that the Academy feels that a straight man playing a gay man is "bold and daring," as if it's really a big stretch for Carrey to be acting flamboyant. I haven't seen the movie yet, and who knows if this is really an Oscar worthy film, but keep an eye on it next year. Something tells me this could really, truly be Carrey's first Academy Award nomination.

Online Film Critics Society Awards Winners

BEST PICTURE
WALL*E

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Let the Right One In

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Man On Wire

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
WALL*E

BEST DIRECTOR
Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight

BEST ACTOR
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

BEST ACTRESS
Michelle Williams, Wendy and Lucy

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
WALL*E, Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Let the Right One In, John Ajvide Lindqvist

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Dark Knight, Wally Pfister

BEST EDITING
Slumdog Millionaire, Chris Dickens

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Dark Knight, James Newton Howard & Hans Zimmer

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Lina Leandersson, Let the Right One In

BREAKTHROUGH FILMMAKER
Tomas Alfredson, Let the Right One In

Keep an eye on "Wall-E": this is the movie that's going to upset one of the so-called "locked in" nominations.

Reaching for the stars.

Circuit City Goes 'Bye, Bye'

Well, today was a somber day for me in more then one day. First off I was laid off from my job, a job I held for more then two years, and am in the process of finding another one during economic hard times. The second thing though is that Circuit City has decided to close it's doors. Now I'm not too surprised by this. First of all, the company has been losing money for years. Secondly, they haven't done anything to remedy this. I didn't go there too often, but when I did there was a lack of salesmen, product, and the customer service counter doubled at the cashier counter. This stuff can get in the way of quality service, and Circuit City never bothered to fix this it seems. Thirdly, they didn't do much to stay competitive in sales with other companies. I've been waiting for the stores to close for while now, so I wasn't a frequent shopper or anything. The sad thing is that it feels like so many things are coming to an end. KB Toys, Circuit City, F.Y.E., everything. What's next? Toys R Us? Suncoast? It doesn't seem like anything is safe anymore. The only positive thing I see coming from this is that as the stock market closes down on more and more franchises, that people eventually go back to mom and pop shops that have been the lifeblood of America for many years. So while this is depressing, there's at least a silver lining somewhere down the road.

Ben Lyons Is Ruining 'At The Movie'

Well folks, I've waited long enough before writing this, but I feel enough time has gone by that I now have the right to complain about something. See, as you all know from reading my sites and listening to my podcasts (new episode coming soon - I promise) you'll know that I'm a huge fan of "At The Movies," and Siskel and Ebert were personal heroes of mine. Well, both those men aren't on the show anymore (one due to death and the other illness), replaced with Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz. Now Mankiweicz I don't have too much of a problem with. Sure, he's wrong about the Oscar potential of "The Dark Knight" and "Slumdog Millionaire," and he put "Rachel Getting Married" on his Top Ten Worst list at number two (I put it on my best list at...number two), but overall he's not too bad. This is a guy who works for actual newspapers, gets to show off his knowledge on Turner Classic Movies (my favorite channel now that Cartoon Network has gone to the dogs), and can defend his opinion well.

So no matter how much I disagree with him at least he's a critic, however small that may be. No, my main problem is with Ben Lyons, the quote-grabbing whore who makes poor desisions and couldn't back up his opinion to save his life. This is a guy who said "I Am Legend" was "One of the greatest movies ever made!" I know that because it was a major selling point in the ads, and it's hard to look at someone with a straight face when they put that movie in the same category as "Casablanca," "Gone With The Wind," and "The Godfather." His major complaint with "Max Pain" (and, trust me, I'm NOT defending this movie) was that he didn't care about the story or characters, he just wanted to see things blow up, and was worried that "The Dark Knight" had set a bad trend in summer movies by inspiring story. Yes, Ben, let's all rally against "The Dark Knight" for it's complicated characters, deep story, and grand directional scope.

Damn that movie for actually raising the bar for summers movies just a "little" bit higher then it has been in previous years. No, Ben is not a real critic. He's not even half a critic. He's a faux-critic for the "Digital Age," a pretty face who's there to hype of movies with flashy graphics and cool catch phrases. Yeah, I know that the day of watching film critics discuss movies has drastically changed since Siskel and Ebert came onto the scene, and "At The Movies" was feeling a little stale in comparison to the E! channel shows (of which Ben comes from), but there's a proper way to do flashy, legitimate film critism and be taken seriously. Like compare Spill.com's review of "Bedtime Stories" with the same review on "At The Movies:"

See, Spill.com may just be a bunch of under thirty year olds talking about movies in cartoon form, but take a closer look: They actually DISCUSS the films! They point out it's good points, it's bad points, they help you understand their opinion, and they have an actual debate about the film. Now compare that to Ben's review of the film and it's laughably bad. Not only is he calling this a comedy classic for kids (up there with "Home Alone" and "A Christmas Story" I assume), but he doesn't actually review the film. He uses phrases like "the kids will love it," "perfect family film," and "another classic Sandler film" (Editor's Note: The quotes may vary, but the general idea is the same). This isn't a review, this is some guy hoping to get quoted on the commericials. Which, speaking about, it looks like he was beaten to the punch by Rachel Smith...

...whoever that is. The bottom line is I know that times are changing, and the ways people get recommendations on movies they watch is rapidly changing. A percentage number on Rotten Tomatoes is more likely to garner interest then a single review. But TV shows that specialize in movie reviews shouldn't deliberatly dumb down film critism. Esspecially when you are producing the longest running show about film critism out there. Oh, and as for Roger Ebert...

...he doesn't strike me as too pleased with the new critic sitting in Gene's chair.

"The Dark Knight" on NES?

Oh, and while we're talking about "The Dark Knight," a man named El Macbee created a fake intro for a fake NES game of "The Dark Knight," and what it would look like if Nintendo made it on their classic console. And yes, the end result is rather neat. Though we can't play this game, you can find lots of copies of the original "Batman" game based off the Tim Burton movie available, and that movie adaptation IS worth playing:

RB Says It Best

Reading through reader comments in response to an article written by Sasha Stone about "The Dark Knight's" shaky ground with Oscar leads to some interesting responses. Most of the responses are from rabid fanboys and rabid haters, and therefor aren't worth spending time reading, but this response from reader RB sums it up nicely (number 15 for those curious):

Despite my own reservations about [The Dark Knight] (as Sasha yelled at me earlier about), I just cannot fathom a Best Picture list without it. Sometimes the Oscars just have to give it up to something that is as beloved by the audience as this is - i.e. Titanic (another flawed film, but had everything else going for it).

I cannot bring myself to like this film more than I do (a solid B on my review) but I also cannot bring myself to imagine a Best Picture lineup without it. It would just feel like the Academy officially lost its damn mind. And I honestly and truly hope they don’t pit Wall-E and TDK against each other as the popularity contest. You know, sometimes, the audience DOES get it right.

I feel this sums up my feelings about the nominations nicely. Well, the nominations are announced next week, let's hope they don't let us down.

Guide For Gamers: How To Catch Up On Your Best Picture Viewing

I always find myself amazed at who reads this site. People send me e-mails all the time telling me how much they learn about film from me, how they appreciate certain movies more after reading reviews of them, and so forth. Surprisingly, many of my readers are video game fanatics. Being a someone who is "plugged in" with the video game culture (so to speak) I figured I would take this moment to let all you gamers out there catch up on great movies. Many of you gamers are Oscar fans (well, of course you are, why else would you be here?), but from what I've read most of you guys don't know where to find all the Best Picture winners. Oh sure there's Fry's Electronics, Suncoast, and Blockbuster out there to help, but what about some of the more abstract films? Not only that, but since everyone is more concious of their budget these days, they don't want to spend money watching a Best Picture movie that might not have aged well (*cough*"Out of Africa"*cough*).

Well my gamer friends I have a solution for you: Netflix. More specifically, Netflix on XBox 360. Now please rest assured that, no, Netflix has not paid me to write this article. In fact, if Netflix wants to advertise they can, but at the moment they aren't. No, I'm writing this because this is the most logical, most ecconomic way to watch some of the Best Picture winners you might not have seen. Below is a list of Best Picture winners that are available for streaming free through XBox 360:

• All Quiet On The Western Front (1930)
• Cimarron (1931)
• It Happened One Night (1934 - Oscar Grand Slam)
• The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
• You Can't Take It With You (1938)
• Casablanca (1942)
• Going My Way (1944)
• The Lost Weekend (1945)
• Gentleman's Agreement (1947)
• Around The World In 80 Days (1956)
• Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
• Ben-Hur (1959)
• A Man For All Seasons (1966)
• Oliver! (1968)
• Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
• Ordinary People (1980)
• Chariots of Fire (1981)
• Gandhi (1982)
• The Silence of the Lambs (1991 - Oscar Grand Slam)
• No Country For Old Men (2007 - Yeah, I'm surprised this one's available too)

See, that's about twenty movies up there. Or in other words, it's about a quater of the winners. Some really old stuff as well as a few recent winners. By the way, for those who might not know, the term "Oscar Grand Slam" refers to a film winning all five major Oscars: Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay. Only three films have done this, and with Netflix on XBox 360 you can view two of those (you'll have to rent "One Flew Over The Cukoo's Next"). See, that's a huge plus right there.

Great Movie Music (That Outlived The Movie)

I am a bit of an audiophile, and I hate the digital revolution. I love buying albums, and with all the music going digital (or being sold of iTunes cards) I can't do that anymore. What makes me more mad though is that movie studios have, to be blunt, not been producing great music for their movies in the last several years. Sure you've still got good scores as well as the occasional good ending song that no one hears because they're trying to get out of the theater, but rarely do we have great songs that outlive the movies they appear in. If you need proof, just look up all the songs that won the Best Song Oscar in the last several years. Yeah, not a great lineup huh? Well, as a little bit of fun, let's look at some of the songs that have survived the test of time, and maybe even became more memorable then the movies themselves:

St. Elmo's Fire



Dirty Dancing


Love Story


Top Gun


Flashdance


Beaches


Mannequin


Philidelphia


007: Live and Let Die


Toy Story 2

Karate Kid Part II

There's more I'm missing for sure, but maybe we'll save those for next time.

Behold: Astro Boy

After the box office failure of "Speed Racer" I'm hoping that wither the upcoming live action "Dragon Ball: Evolution" or animated "Astro Boy" will be a financial success, as I would like to see more anime films turned into live action movies. Sadly, while the movie may still be good, my first impression of "Astro Boy" is fairly weak. With a non-exciting image...

...with an even duller trailer...



...well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see on this one. Chances are it will turn in some profit due to the lack of movies choices next year due to the Writers Strike. I have to admit one thing though: For better or for worse, it looks EXACTLY like the comic books!

Coming October 23rd, 2009