"Waking Sleeping Beauty" Review

One of the great things about “Waking Sleeping Beauty” is that it gives you reasons to both root and condemn the studio it’s about. Rarely will you see a documentary that is more insightful then political, but it just goes to prove that insightful documentaries are always going to be better then political ones. The movie was directed by Don Hahn, producer to some of Disney’s biggest hits including “Beauty & The Beast,” which for the longest time was the only animated film to be nominated for Best Picture (until Pixar’s “Up” came along). Hahn took a break from the studio so that he could work on other projects, and this is the first time we’ve seen him in the directors chair. Turns out he can direct a pretty effective documentary.

Read Rest of Review

New "Toy Story 3" Trailer

More Toy Story 3 Info

We now have more of an idea of what "Toy Story 3" will look like.  I like what I see, and while some people are complaining because they don't like the idea of making sequels...well, if anyone can make a good sequel it's Pixar.  With "Up's" recent Best Picture nomination some are wondering whether or not "Toy Story 3" is next.  Eh, hard to say.  The movie would have to be special to get nominated there.  The Academy is lukewarm to live action sequels, so an animated sequel seems more unlikely right now.  Either way we almost certainly have another Best Animated Feature nomination on their hans.

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.

37th Annie Award Nominations

And here are the nominations for the Annie Awards (this isn't looking good for "Ponyo"):

Best Animated Feature

• Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs — Sony Pictures Animation
• Coraline — Laika
• Fantastic Mr. Fox — 20th Century Fox
• The Princess and the Frog — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• The Secret of Kells — Cartoon Saloon
• Up — Pixar Animation Studios

Best Home Entertainment Production

• Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas — Universal Animation Studios
• Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder — The Curiosity Company in association with 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
  
• Green Latern: First Flight — Warner Bros. Animation
  
• Open Season 2 — Sony Pictures Animation
  
• SpongeBob vs. The Big One — Nickelodeon

Best Animated Short Subject

• Pups of Liberty — Picnic Pictures
• Robot Chicken: Star Wars 2.5 — ShadowMachine
• Santa, The Fascist Years — Plymptoons
• The Rooster, The Crocodile and The Night Sky — Barley Films
• The Story of Walls — Badmash Animation Studios

Best Animated Television Commercial

• Goldfish: In The Dark — Blur Studios, Inc.
• Idaho Lottery “Twiceland” — Acme Filmworks, Inc.
• McDonald's Nutty Trade — Blue Sky Studios
• Spanish Lottery “Deportees” — Acme Filmworks, Inc.
• The Spooning — Screen Novelties /Acne Media

Best Animated Television Production

• Glenn Martin, DDS — Tornante, Cuppa Coffee Studios & Rogers Communications
• Merry Madagascar — DreamWorks Animation
• Prep and Landing — ABC Family/Walt Disney Animation Studios
• The Simpsons — Gracie Films

Best Animated Television Production for Children

• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse — Disney Television Animation
• SpongeBob SquarePants — Nickelodeon
• The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack — Cartoon Network Studios
• The Mighty B! — Nickelodeon/Polka Dot Pictures/Paper Kite Productions
• The Penguins of Madagascar — Nickelodeon and DreamWorks Animation

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES___________________

Animated Effects

• Scott Cegielski “Monsters vs. Aliens” — DreamWorks Animation
• Alexander Feigin “9” — 9 L.L.C.
• Eric Froemling “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios
• Tom Kluyskens “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” — Sony Pictures Animation
• James Mansfield “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios

Character Animation in a Television Production

• Mark Donald “B.O.B.'s Big Break” — DreamWorks Animation
• Mark Mitchell “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Kevan Shorey “Merry Madagascar” — DreamWorks Animation
• Tony Smeed “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Phillip To “Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space” — DreamWorks Animation

Character Animation in a Feature Production

• Andreas Deja “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Eric Goldberg “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Travis Knight “Coraline” — Laika
• Daniel Nguyen “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios
• Bruce Smith “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios

Character Design in a Television Production

• Bryan Arnett “The Mighty B! - Catatonic” — Nickelodeon/Polka Dot Pictures/Paper Kite Productions
• Ben Balistreri “Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends” — Cartoon Network Studios
• Craig Kellman “Merry Madagascar” — DreamWorks Animation
• Bill Schwab “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios

Character Design in a Feature Production

• Daniel Lopez Munoz “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios
• Shane Prigmore “Coraline” — Laika
• Shannon Tindle “Coraline” — Laika

Directing in a Television Production

• Pam Cooke & Jansen Yee “American Dad: Brains, Brains & Automobiles” — 20th Century Fox/Fuzzy Door/Underdog
• Rob Fendler “Popzilla” — Animax
• John Infantino, J.G. Quintel “The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack: Candy Casanova” — Cartoon Network Studios
• Bret Haaland “The Penguins of Madagascar - Launchtime” — Nickelodeon and DreamWorks Animation
• Jennifer Oxley “The Wonder Pets: Help The Monster” — Nickelodeon/Little Airplane Productions

Directing in a Feature Production

• Wes Anderson “Fantastic Mr. Fox” — 20th Century Fox
• Pete Docter “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios
• Christopher Miller, Phil Lord “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” — Sony Pictures Animation
• Hayao Miyazaki “Ponyo” — Studio Ghibli
• Henry Selick “Coraline” — Laika

Music in a Television Production

• Michael Giacchino “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Kevin Kiner “Star Wars: The Clone Wars “Weapons Factory” — Lucasfilm Animation Ltd.
• Guy Moon “The Fairly OddParents: “Wishology-The Big Beginning” — Nickelodeon

Music in a Feature Production

• Bruno Coulais “Coraline” — Laika
• Michael Giacchino “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios
• Joe Hisaishi “Ponyo” — Studio Ghibli
• John Powell “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” — Blue Sky Studios

Production Design in a Television Production

• Mac George “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Andy Harkness “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Janice Kubo “Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends” — Cartoon Network Studios

Production Design in a Feature Production

• Christopher Appelhans “Coraline” — Laika
• Ian Gooding “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Tadahiro Uesugi “Coraline” — Laika
• Christophe Vacher “9” — 9 L.L.C.

Storyboarding in a Television Production

• Sunil Hall “The Mighty B!: Catatonic” — Nickelodeon/Polka Dot Pictures/Paper
• Robert Koo “Merry Madagascar” — DreamWorks Animation
• Brandon Kruse “The Fairly OddParents: Fly Boy” — Nickelodeon
• Joe Mateo “Prep and Landing” — ABC Family/Walt Disney Animation Studios Kite Productions
• Adam Van Wyk “The Spectacular Spider-Man: Final Curtain” — Culver Entertainment

Storyboarding in a Feature Production

• Sharon Bridgeman “Astro Boy” — Imagi Studios
• Chris Butler “Coraline” — Laika
• Ronnie Del Carmen “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios
• Tom Owens “Monsters vs. Aliens” — DreamWorks Animation
• Peter Sohn “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios

Voice Acting in a Television Production

• Danny Jacobs - Voice of King Julien - “Merry Madagascar” — DreamWorks Animation
• Nicky Jones - Voice of Chowder - “Chowder: The Dinner Theatre” — Cartoon Network Studios
• Tom Kenny - Voice of SpongeBob - “SpongeBob SquarePants — Truth or Square” — Nickelodeon
• Dwight Schultz - Voice of Mung Daal - “Chowder:The Party Cruise” — Cartoon Network Studios
• Willow Smith - Voice of Abby - “Merry Madagascar” — DreamWorks Animation

Voice Acting in a Feature Production

• Jen Cody - Voice of Charlotte - “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Dawn French - Voice of Miss Forcible - “Coraline” — Laika
• Hugh Laurie - Voice of Dr. Cockroach Ph.D. - “Monsters vs. Aliens” — DreamWorks Animation
• John Leguizamo - Voice of Sid - “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaur” — Blue Sky Studios
• Jenifer Lewis - Voice of Mama Odie - “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios

Writing in a Television Production

• Daniel Chun - “The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror XX” — Gracie Films
• Kevin Deters, Stevie Wermers-Skelton - “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Valentina L. Garza - “The Simpsons: Four Great Women and a Manicure” — Gracie Films
• Billy Kimball and Ian Maxtone-Graham - “The Simpsons: Gone Maggie Gone” — Gracie Films
• Billy Lopez - “The Wonder Pets - Save the Honey Bears” — Nickelodeon Productions/Little Airplane Productions

Writing in a Feature Production

• Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach - “Fantastic Mr. Fox” — 20th Century Fox
• Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy - “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios
• Timothy Hyde Harris and David Bowers - “Astro Boy” — Imagi Studios
• Christopher Miller and Phil Lord - “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” — Sony Pictures Animation

JURIED AWARDS__________________________________

Winsor McCay Award — Tim Burton, Bruce Timm, Jeffrey Katzenberg

June Foray — Tom Sito

Ub Iwerks Award — William T. Reeves

Special Achievement — Martin Meunier and Brian McLean

Certificate of Merit — Myles Mikulic, Danny Young and Michael Woodside

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...

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."

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.

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).

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.

Are Pixar's Best Picture Odd's Looking "Up?"

The movie has received a 96% fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.com. It was the first animated film chosen to open the prestige Cannes Film Festival. Critics are calling it a revolutionary film. Roger Ebert loves it. It will likely open at number 1 this weekend and stay in the top five for months. Chances are it's already won the Best Animated Feature Oscar (though the competition in that category is looking more tough then it has in recent years). So now we ask the ultimate question: Will "Up" be the Pixar film that finally break into the Best Picture category? Boy I would love to think so. I loved the movie. I think it's excellent. This would easily be a Best Picture contender for any other film. But I'm going to go on a limb and say, no, it's not happening. Now I'm not saying I throw in the towel. I'm putting that title under my Best Picture Predix and I'll leave it there til the end of the year.

I think it's time the Academy stop mucking around and recognize that Pixar makes classics and it's nonsense that they haven't cracked the top category by now. The only reason I'm not fully backing this idea is simple: "Wall-E." If "Wall-E" couldn't crack the top category then I'm having a hard time thinking of any reason this one will. Is it THAT much better then "Wall-E." No. It's more of less of the same quality. But despite a lackluster year where we're considering an apocalyptic film that's based on a highly overrated book as a frontrunner for Best Picture shows just how much the Academy goes out of their way to keep animation out of the top category. It will get multiple nominations but will likely only walk home with Best Animated Feature. And really, if that happens again, that category is going to feel like such a shallow victory. I mean, more so then it already does.

Pixar's 'Up' Opens Cannes

In what will surely be considered a big step for "Up" for animated films everywhere, Pixar's newest film "Up" is going to be opening the important Cannes Film Festival. John Lasseter is obviously thrilled. As he said so perfectly, "This is a huge step for animation, and further supports our belief that a great animated film is simply a great film." This is actually the first Disney, Pixar, and animated film to open the prestige festival. Here's hoping it wows the audience and judges alike.

"Coraline" Opens Big

Some of you may be worried that I'm jumping the gun a bit, but in my eyes "Coraline" has solidified it's status of being an early contender for the Best Animated Film Oscar for this year. The movie has opened to great reviews (88% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.com) and good box office (close to $5 in it's first day). Considering we live in a world of computer animation and fart jokes, this is pretty impressive. I wrote about the project when I first heard about it, and despite being in a position where I'm supposed to be agnostic about a films prospects, I had a good feeling about this film. The combination of stop-motion master Henry Selleck and graphic novel genius Neil Gaiman sounded like a recepeit for instant magic. I haven't seen the film yet. I was supposed to see it last night but there was a problem and I couldn't go. Now that word-of-mouth is out on how good this film is I feel more mad that I didn't get to see it last night.

I also feel "Coraline" is the first horse in a race that hasn't been interesting in years. I love Pixar as much as the next person, but it's frustrating to see them win every year. Of course, the only reason this is the case is because the competition normally doesn't step up to the plate to offer any real competition ("Persepolis" aside). This year we have "Coraline," we have the Tim Burton produced "9," we have the latest from Hayao Miyazaki "Ponyo On A Cliff," we have Disney's return to traditional animation "The Princess and the Frog," etc, etc...let's just say that Pixar's "Up" has some serious competition this year. Which is a good thing. Far too long the animated feature race has been too predictable and boring. This year it looks like animation is going to come fully swinging as something to be taken seriously. And who knows: Maybe "Up" will even receive a Best Picture nomination.

Update 2-8-2009: Well the numbers are in, and "Coraline" opened at number 3 with about $16 million dollars in it's first weekend. It made more money then "The Pink Panther 2" (which many predicted to be the number 1 movie this week), and judging on good word-of-mouth this movie should do very well in the coming weeks.