Back In Game: The State of the Race

Well, more than a year after I stopped updating this blog I thought I would never return to it. To be honest, I almost deleted this blog because I felt it was just taking up space.  Well, a recent book project I'm working on (which I'll discuss more about in a few days) sort of jolted me back to this blog, and I realized that this blog still may have some usefulness to it.  So how do I make my grand return?  Why, but discussing the state of the race.  And there are three films I want to focus on.  The first two are the closest things to locks on a Best Picture nomination, with a third that sounds like a sure thing on paper (but a long shot in practice).  The first is Terrence Malick's very polarizing "The Tree of Life."  Though praised by many (including myself) as a masterpiece that must been seen to be believed, it never-the-less has not caught on with the public.

They don't get it.  They wonder what the point of it is.  The non-linear structure confuses them.  I think most people go in expecting a story and don't realize that "The Tree of Life" is a movie more about ideas than what happens to the characters on screen.  I know that sounds strange, but that's pretty much what it is.  Despite it clearly being the best film of the year so far, this is the same Academy who awarded "The King's Speech" (a good movie by the way) a Best Picture nomination over the more ambitious "The Social Network."  Why?  Hard to tell, but there was a lot of talk that most members of the Academy didn't even know what Facebook was.  If THAT was a problem, I see "The Tree of Life" having a much steeper climb!  The other movie that seems like a good bet right now is Woody Allen's "Midnight In Paris."  Ironically, this is the polar opposite of "The Tree of Life."

This is a movie that is story driven, has well defined characters, and have a journey and destination in mind.  That fact that it's popular AND smart makes this a good bet even if the coming months should bring us more ambitious films!  Part me is still a little cynical of the idea that the Academy would nominate this for Best Picture when they couldn't bring themselves to nominate "Match Point" for anything other than it's screenplay, but with the Best Picture number that could be anywhere between five to ten films...well, anythings possible.  And then we have...

..."Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II."  None of the Harry Potter films have won Best Picture.  None of the Harry Potter films have won any Oscars.  Most of the movies are critically mixed.  But "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II" could change all that.  It's opened to the best reviews of the franchise.  It's got some of the best reviews of the year.  They match up (if not pass) the previous ten years Best Picture winners.  Not to mention audiences around the world are eating it up to the point where it could potentially make more money than "The Dark Knight" and "Avatar."  If this was any other movie, it would be automatically considered a strong Best Picture nominee (if not winner).  Since it's Harry Potter though, we're just going to have to wait and see if the Academy follows the audiences cheers.

With so little competition nobody knows anything yet.  Well, actually, I do know one thing: For the first time I can think of, Pixar has absolutely no chance of being nominated in Best Animated Feature.  That may make that race at least a little more interesting.

Back In The Game And...Oh Look, Oscar Nominations!

Hi folks, I'm back.  I know that being absent from an Oscar blog during the height of the nominations process (not to mention the nominations themselves) is incredibly fatal to a site like this but...well, it's like this.  And for those who don't want to read that article let me summarize it like this: When you move you better make sure to be prepared for the internet to not work for weeks at a time.  Not only was my internet provider EXTREMELY slow in getting to my new apartment and setting things up, but the stupid service didn't even work after they set it up!  This is why I missed commenting about Oscar predictions, and why I missed the nominations themselves.

But hey, we have Best Picture nominations.  Ten for the first time in years!  They are:

1. Avatar
2. The Blind Side
3. District 9
4. An Education
5. The Hurt Locker
6. Inglorious Basterds
7. Precious
8. A Serious Man
9. Up 
10. Up In The Air

For that most part I'd say that's a pretty decent selection.  There are critical favorites, fan favorites, and a couple of surprises (one good one...not so good).  So to make up for lost time (and to take advantage of the delayed telecast) let's discuss the pros and cons of all the nominations.  I'll do one movie//director/actor/actress a day (or at least I'll try to).  We'll go in alphabetical order so that means we'll start with...

Avatar

Nominations:

	Best Picture	James Cameron and Jon Landau	Pending
	Best Director	James Cameron	Pending
	Best Art Direction	Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg (Art Direction); Kim Sinclair (Set Decoration)	Pending
	Best Achievement in Cinematography	Mauro Fiore	Pending
	Best Film Editing	Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron	Pending
	Best Original Score	James Horner	Pending
	Best Sound Editing	Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle	Pending
	Best Sound	Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson	Pending
	Best Visual Effects

Going For It:  Aside from being loved by the public and wildly popular "Avatar" is an "event movie."  It has broken new ground in how movies are made and sold to the general public.  It's the highest grossing film of all time.  Critics and audiences both love it.  It helped expand the idea of how popular IMAX and 3D can be.  Like "Titanic" the love story is universal, and Zoe Saldana's performance has been hailed as the science fiction performance of the year.  The movie is one of two movies that leads the nominations with 9.

Going Against It:  Some people feel the movie is self-indulgent.  James Cameron won before and was less then gracious about it.  When you consider how many of the top grossing films actually WON Best Picture you'll know that financial success does not mean you'll get awards!  There are no nominations for acting or for writing.  Some feel that without the 3D or giant screen the movie would be very standard.


Chances of Winning:  If it weren't for "The Hurt Locker" this would be a lock.

PGA Nominations Announced

The Producers Guild America have chosen their nominees.  They are:

AVATAR
Producers: James Cameron, Jon Landau
DISTRICT 9
Producers: Carolynne Cunningham, Peter Jackson
AN EDUCATION
Producers: Finola Dwyer, Amanda Posey
THE HURT LOCKER
Producer(s): Awaiting final credit determination.
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
Producer: Lawrence Bender
INVICTUS
Producers: Clint Eastwood, Rob Lorenz, Lori McCreary , Mace Neufeld
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE
Producers: Lee Daniels, Gary Magness, Sarah Siegel-Magness
STAR TREK
Producers: J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof
UP
Producer: Jonas Rivera
UP IN THE AIR
Producer(s): Awaiting final credit determination.


PGA Producer of the Year Award in Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:
9
Producer(s): Awaiting final credit determination.
CORALINE
Producer(s): Awaiting final credit determination.
FANTASTIC MR. FOX
Producer(s): Awaiting final credit determination.
THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
Producer: Peter Del Vecho
UP
Producer: Jonas Rivera
PGA Producer of the Year Award in Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures:
BURMA VJ
Producer: Lise Lense-Moller
The COVE
Producers: Paula DuPre Pesman, Fisher Stevens
SERGIO
Producer(s): Awaiting final credit determination.
SOUNDTRACK FOR A REVOLUTION
Producer(s): Awaiting final credit determination.
David L. Wolper Producer of the Year Award in Long-Form Television*:
GEORGIA O’KEEFFE
Producer(s): Awaiting final credit determination.
GREY GARDENS
Producers: David Coatsworth, Lucy Donnelly, Rachael Horovitz, Michael Sucsy
LITTLE DORRIT
Producers: Lisa Osborne, Anne Pivcevic
PRAYERS FOR BOBBY
Producers: Stanley M. Brooks, Damian Ganczewski, David Permut, Daniel Sladek, Chris Taaffe
THE PRISONER
Producer(s): Awaiting final credit determination.
TAKING CHANCE
Producers: Lori Keith Douglas, Ross Katz, Brad Krevoy, Cathy Wischner-Sola

EW's "25 Movies You Need To See Before Oscar Night"

Entertainment Weekly has published their "25 Movies You Need To See Before Oscar Night" list in their latest issue.  For those who don't subscribe I've reprinted the list here (as well as links to those available for purchase if you want to help support the site).  Oh yeah, and Happy New Year everyone!

1. (500) Days of Summer DVD / BluRay / Video on Demand
   
2. Avatar
3. The Blind Side
4. Bright Star
5. Crazy Heart
6. District 9 DVD / BluRay / UMD / Video on Demand
   
7. An Education
8. Fantastic Mr. Fox
9. The Hurt Locker DVD / BluRay / Video on Demand
   
10. The Informant
11. Inglorious Basterds DVD / BluRay / Video on Demand
    
12. Invictus
13. It's Complicated
14. Julie & Julia DVD / BluRay / Video on Demand
    
15. The Last Station
    
16. The Lovely Bones
    
17. The Messenger
18. Nine
    
19. Precious
20. A Serious Man
21. A Single Man
22. Star Trek DVD / BluRay
    
23. Up DVD / BluRay
    
24. Up In The Air
25. The Young Victorian

Start checking out showtimes on Fandango folks.

The King Has Been Re-Elected

It's official all you James Cameron haters: "Avatar" is a HUGE success!  It's made it's budget back and then some.  It will continue to make money.  I personally suspect it will finally topple "Titanic" as the highest grossing film of all time (ironically also by Cameron).  This movie will get multiple Oscar nominations including Best Picture.  This movie will give IMAX the funds they need to expand and make themselves a legitimate player in the theater business.  Those who were waiting twelve years for Cameron to fail will just have to wait another twelve years.  He was King of the World back then, and the King has been re-elected.

My "Avatar" Review

Golden Globe Nominations

And so the Oscar race officially begins.  I'm not sure why the Golden Globes are considered an early indicator to what's going to be nominated come Oscar time, and it's especially true when you have strange nominations like Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock on the list for "Duplicity" and "The Proposal" (respectively), but they are here and you can discuss to your hearts content.  Will discuss some of the highs and lows for me either later tonight or early tomorrow:

Motion Picture, Drama
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
Up in the Air
Motion Picture, Comedy/Musical
500 Days of Summer
The Hangover
It’s Complicated
Julie & Julia
Nine
Actress, Drama
Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabby Sidibe, Precious
Actor, Drama
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Tobey Maguire, Brothers
Actor Comedy/Musical
Matt Damon, The Informant
Daniel Day Lewis, Nine
Robert Downey Jr., Sherlock Holmes
Joe Gordon Levitt, 500 Days of Summer
Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man
Actress, Comedy
Sandra Bullock, The Proposal
Marion Cotillard, Nine
Julia Roberts, Duplicity
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
Meryl Streep, It’s Complicated
Director
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Clint Eastwood, Invictus
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
Best Supporting Actress
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mo’nique, Precious
Julianne Moore, A Single Man
Supporting Actor
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Screenplay
Neill Blomkampt & Terri Tatchell, District 9
Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker
Nancy Meyers, It’s Complicated
Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
Original Score
Michael Giacchino, Up
Marvin Hamlisch, The Informant
James Horner, Avatar
Abel Krozeniowski, A Single Man
Karen O. and Carter Burwell, Where the Wild Things Are
Foreign Language Film
Baaria
Broken Embraces
The Maid
Un Prophete
The White Ribbon
Original Song
“Cinema Italiano,” Nine
“I Want To Come Home,” Everybody’s Fine
“I See You,” Avatar
“The Weary Kind,” Crazy Heart
“Winter,” Brothers

Sizing Up The Directors: Part 1

When the Academy announced earlier this year that the Best Picture nominees would be give five additional nominees it changed many things about the race this year.  However no race has been affected by this as much as the Best Director race.  With only five nominees here a Best Director nominee could really boost a films chance to win the top prize at the Oscars.  Not only that, but with ten nominees directors will likely get their nominations more on spectacle and interesting camera movements, and intimate acting may not factor in the directors favor as much.  Right now there are 12 people that I can think of who have people talking "nomination" around them.  I'm going to look at these people and dissect which ones have the best shot at making the nominated five (in my opinion of course).

Name: Lee Daniels
Current Film: "Precious"
Nominated Before?: No
Won Before?: No

Going For Him/Her:  Lee Daniels is easily a front runner because he's made one of "the" movies of the year.  "Precious" is riding a wave of good press and public love that is rarely seen in independent films these days, and his unusual casting choices work wonderfully in this film despite sounding like complete misfires on paper.

Going Against Him/Her:  With ten nominees there's a chance the direction nominations willlean more towards spectacle rather then acting.  Voters might vote on acting quality by voting for the actors even though directors have a huge role in this process.

My Verdict:  I think Daniels has a great shot of getting a nomination.  He has little going for him, though I doubt his direction will actually win even if the movie is the big winner.

Name: Steven Soderberg
Current Film: The Informant
Nominated Before?: Twice.  For "Traffic" and "Erin Brockovich."
Won Before?: Yes, for "Traffic"

Going For Him/Her:  Soderberg is always experimenting with film.  He makes experimental films and Hollywood successes with ease.  "The Informant" feels experimental but is widely accessible to most audiences.

Going Against Him/Her:  Some people feel Matt Damon is the real reason this movie works.  Soderberg has won before.  There's not a whole lot of obvious "directorial touches" in the film.

My Verdict:  I think praise for "The Informant" has come and gone and only Damon is talked about now, so I think he's out.

Name:  Michael Mann
Current Film:  "Public Enemies"
Nominated Before?:  Yes, for "The Informant."
Won Before?:  No.

Going For Him/Her:  "Public Enemies" was a mild summer hit.  It was a summer film that was intelligent for once.  Interesting use of digital film making.

Going Against Him/Her:  The movie isn't talked about much.  Some felt the digital camera was used poorly.

My Verdict:  I think he's out.  If Johnny Depp is looking shaky then Mann is certainly in trouble.

Name:  James Cameron
Current Film:  "Avatar"
Nominated Before?:  Yes, for "Titanic."
Won Before?:  Yes, for "Titanic."

Going For Him/Her:  Cameron aims big.  His movies are visual wonders to behold.  Has a good track record of taking financial gambles and turning them into money making hits.  "Avatar" has too much pizazz to be ignored.

Going Against Him/Her:  Some feel Cameron is indulgent.  Science fiction is rarely nominated and has never won.  Has won this award for a movie many people feel was never good in the first place.

My Verdict:  I think if "Avatar" is even half as good as the hype claims it is he's in.  Cameron is one of the few mainstream film makers the Academy loves mainly BECAUSE he's mainstream!

Name:  Peter Doctor
Current Film:  Up
Nominated Before?:  No
Won Before?:  No

Going For Him/Her:  "Up" has a good possibility of being the first animated film since "Beauty & The Beast" to get a nomination for Best Picture.  Two of the most memorable scenes of the year are in this film.  He's directed the most memorable film of the year (thus far).

Going Against Him/Her:  The Academy feels that animation contains no real direction (or acting or production for that matter).

My Verdict:  Though it would make the race VERY interesting I don't think this is going to happen!  The chances are pretty slim.

Name:  Kathryn Bigelow
Current Film:  "The Hurt Locker"
Nominated Before?:  No
Won Before?:  No

Going For Him/Her:  "The Hurt Locker" has stuck around since it's spring release to be noticed as one of the years best.  The direction is so solid more people are talking about the direction over the movie itself.

Going Against Him/Her:  The movie came out in spring.  The picture itself is not favored to be nominated in the Best Picture category anymore.  A woman has never won this award.

My Verdict:  I think she's in.  Even if "The Hurt Locker" isn't nominated Bigelow's direction has been praised too much to ignore.

Stay tuned for part 2...

'Inception' Goes IMAX

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