Spain Submits Almodóvar’s VOLVER

Pedro Almodóvar’s movie VOLVER, a comic drama of murder, adultery, family happiness, and women making do without men, will represent Spain for nomination as the Best Foreign Language Film of 2006 for the 79th Academy Awards® this coming February. The announcement was made in Madrid by the Minister of Culture, Carmen Calvo.

Almodóvar received word of VOLVER'S selection while in Los Angeles promoting the film. Sony Pictures Classics is the U. S. distributor.

VOLVER (To Return) competed with ALATRISTE, dir. Agustín Díaz Yanes, and SALVADOR, dir. Manuel Huerga. Almodóvar has two of the coveted statuettes, one for the best foreign language movie ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER and another for the script TALK TO HER.

October 2nd is the deadline for films in the best foreign language film category to be submitted to the Academy. Five films will be nominated, and VOLVER must first make that cut. Nominations will be announced Tuesday, 23 January, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater, Beverly Hills.

The 79th Annual Academy Awards® honoring film achievements for 2006 will be held on Sunday, February 25, 2007, and broadcast live from the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland by the ABC Television Network, beginning at 5:00 p.m. (PST) with an arrivals segment.

See links to the Academy's Web site, and the official Oscar® site on the right sidebar.

Oliver Stone Criticizes Bush in San Sebastian

U. S. film director Oliver Stone criticized G. W. Bush in San Sebastián, Spain, saying Bush has "set America back 10 years."

Stone was speaking to journalists at the San Sebastián International Film Festival prior to a screening of his latest movie, WORLD TRADE CENTER. He maintained that the U.S. policies in response to the plane hijackings, the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, and the Pentagon September 11, 2001, were misdirected.

Also, the director of blockbusters such as PLATOON and JFK said, "From Sept. 12 on, the incident was politicized and it has polarized the entire world. . . . It is a shame because it is a waste of energy to see that the entire world five years later is still convulsed in the grip of 9/11."

"This war on Iraq is a disaster. I'm disgraced. I'm ashamed for my country," he said. "I'm also ashamed that America has attacked itself with constitutional breakdowns. I'm deeply ashamed. . . . We have destroyed the world in the name of security."

Stone's movie is a dramatization of the true story of survival and rescue of two policemen who were trapped in the rubble of the World Trade Center when they went to help people escape.

Mimi notes. From the time I was little, I was taught that there is no such thing as security, and that anyone who thinks they can guarantee security is a fool. H-u-u-um, should someone pass that on to G. W. Bush? Naw. He wouldn't listen.

Ellen DeGeneres will host Academy Awards

Ellen DeGeneres will host the 79th Academy Awards® telecast, producer Laura Ziskin announced recently. It will be DeGeneres’ first time as Oscar® host, as well as her first appearance on an Academy Awards telecast.

DeGeneres is the host of the syndicated talk show “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” which this year won its third Emmy® for Outstanding Talk Show and earned DeGeneres her second Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show Host. She has twice hosted the Primetime Emmy Awards telecast and co-hosted the show in 1994. For her first solo Emmy stint, which took place shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, she received high praise.

The 79th Annual Academy Awards honoring film achievements for 2006 will be held on Sunday, February 25, 2007, and broadcast live from the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland by the ABC Television Network, beginning at 5:00 p.m. (PST) with an arrivals segment.

See links to the Academy's Web site, and the official Oscar site on the right sidebar.

Lopez, Anthony Sell Movie at Toronto

Marc Anthony and his wife Jennifer Lopez's movie EL CANTANTE (The Singer) did not win a big award at the recent Toronto Film Festival, but it received good buzz after its premiere last week. Anthony plays the late Puerto Rican salsa superstar Hector Lavoe, and Lopez plays Lavoe's wife Puchi. J-Marc made a deal for the biopic on Friday.

EL CANTANTE was bought for almost $5 million by executives at Picturehouse, who now plan to release the film in July 2007. Picturehouse believes the under-served Latino community will respond mightily, and they also think it will cross over to general audiences.

I say that July will be a great release date to attract the younger crowd, the salsa music should be top notch, and J-Marc will be delicious eye candy for the viewers. The track record for musical biopics in the race for Oscar® has been excellent the past three years, but will the over-all quality of the film be good enough to propel it to Oscar's door in 2008?

VIVA PEDRO!

Pedro Almodóvar, seen above with Penelope Cruz, is currently promoting his latest movie VOLVER in the U. S., where it will be released 3 November. Prior to its release, Sony Pictures Classics presents eight of Almodóvar’s greatest movies in various cities throughout the nation. The movies are being re-released as part of the retrospective entitled Viva Pedro!

VIVA PEDRO! opened in New York and Los Angeles in August. The first of September the festival expanded to other cities in the United States, and will continue throughout the Fall. The theatrical re-release will introduce new audiences to Almodóvar and at the same time present the movies to his many fans in the manner which they are meant to be seen and appreciated.

The eight films are:

WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN
(1988); ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER (1999); TALK TO HER (2002); FLOWER OF MY SECRET (1995); LIVE FLESH (1996); LAW OF DESIRE (1987); MATADOR
(1986); and BAD EDUCATION (2004).

New prints have been made of all eight films. Several of these titles have not been shown in theaters since their original release. (MATADOR and LAW OF DESIRE have never been released on DVD). All of the other films have been withdrawn from the DVD marketplace to accommodate their theatrical re-release. Check the [FULL SCHEDULE], and then your local theater for details.

For more on Almodóvar's films see Mimi's page ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER.

Almodóvar's VOLVER to receive FIPRESCI

Pedro Almodóvar

VOLVER, directed by Pedro Almodóvar, will receive the FIPRESCI Grand Prix for Best Film of the Year at this year's 54th DONOSTIA San Sebastián International Film Festival, San Sebastián, Spain. Producer Agustín Almodóvar will accept the award at the opening gala, 21 September in the Kursaal.

This Grand Prix, awarded annually by The International Federation of Film Critics, means recognition by film critics in over 60 countries. More than 350 critics from all over the world have voted for a film from among those released between August 2005 and July 2006.

VOLVER premiered in Spain 17 March 2006, and has been a smash hit with audiences and critics alike. It was one of the most applauded films at the last Cannes Festival Official Selection, where it earned the Best Actress prize for all of the six actresses in the cast: Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Yohana Cobo and Chus Lampreave.

Pedro Almodóvar is currently promoting VOLVER in the U. S., where it will be released 3 November. Prior to its release, eight of his films will be re-released as part of a retrospective entitled ¡Viva Pedro! Will Spain submit it for the Academy Awards? Stay tuned.

For more see Mimi's Film Festival Page link on the right sidebar.

FIRST OSCAR DEADLINE TODAY

Today is the first deadline for consideration by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences® for the 79th Academy Awards® (Oscars®) is today for documentary filmmakers. The must submit their short subject and feature-length documentaries to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for consideration.

The next deadline is Monday, October 2, 2006, when entry forms for acceptance in the process for nomination in the Best Foreign Language Film (BFLF) category must be received at the Academy. The deadline to receive the film prints is Friday, October 13, 2006. The selection process in the BFLF category has been completely revised. For more details see my previous post of 22 July, "AMPAS Update. . . " post below.

Nominations will be announced Tuesday, January 23, 2007, 5:30 a.m., PST, from the Samuel Goldwyn Theater, Beverly Hills (Wilshire Blvd.). The 79th Academy Awards presentation will be Sunday, February 25, 2007, at the Kodak Theatre, Hollywood & Highland®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network.

For more dates and info, click the "79th Academy Awards Schedule" and "Official Oscars Web Site" links on the sidebar at right.