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.