NINE FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILMS ADVANCE IN OSCAR® RACE - - SHORT LIST

 Nine features will advance to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category for the 87th Academy Awards®.  Eighty-three films had originally been considered in the category.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are:

Argentina, "Wild Tales," Damián Szifrón, director;

Estonia, "Tangerines," Zaza Urushadze, director;

Georgia, "Corn Island," George Ovashvili, director;

Mauritania, "Timbuktu," Abderrahmane Sissako, director;

Netherlands, "Accused," Paula van der Oest, director;

Poland, "Ida," Paweł Pawlikowski, director;

Russia, "Leviathan," Andrey Zvyagintsev, director;

Sweden, "Force Majeure," Ruben Östlund, director;

Venezuela, "The Liberator," Alberto Arvelo, director.

Foreign Language Film nominations for 2014 are being determined in two phases.

The Phase I committee, consisting of several hundred Los Angeles-based Academy members, screened the original submissions in the category between mid-October and December 15.  The group’s top six choices, augmented by three additional selections voted by the Academy’s Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee, constitute the shortlist.

The shortlist will be winnowed down to the category’s five nominees by specially invited committees in New York, Los Angeles and, for the first time, London.  They will spend Friday, January 9, through Sunday, January 11, viewing three films each day and then casting their ballots.

The 87th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 15, 2015, at 5:30 a.m. PT, in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

The Oscars® will be held on Sunday, February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

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10 CONTENDERS REMAIN IN VFX (Visual Effects) OSCAR® RACE - Short List

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that 10 films remain in the running in the Visual Effects category for the 87th Oscars®.

The films are listed below in alphabetical order:

    “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”
    “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”
    “Godzilla”
    “Guardians of the Galaxy”
    “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”
    “Interstellar”
    “Maleficent”
    “Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb”
    “Transformers: Age of Extinction”
    “X-Men: Days of Future Past”

The Academy’s Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee determined the short list.  All members of the Visual Effects Branch will now be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the short-listed films on Saturday, January 10, 2015.  Following the screenings, the members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.

The 87th Academy Awards® nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 15, 2015, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

The Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

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DOCUMENTARY FEATURES ADVANCE IN 2014 OSCAR® RACE - The Short List

15 films in the Documentary Feature category advance in the voting process.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that 15 films in the Documentary Feature category will advance in the voting process for the 87th Oscars®.  One hundred thirty-four films were originally submitted in the category.

The 15 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies:

"Art and Craft," Purple Parrot Films
"The Case against 8," Day in Court
"Citizen Koch," Elsewhere Films
"CitizenFour," Praxis Films
"Finding Vivian Maier," Ravine Pictures
"The Internet’s Own Boy," Luminant Media
"Jodorowsky’s Dune," City Film
"Keep On Keepin’ On," Absolute Clay Productions
"The Kill Team," f/8 filmworks
"Last Days in Vietnam," Moxie Firecracker Films
"Life Itself," Kartemquin Films and Film Rites
"The Overnighters," Mile End Films West
"The Salt of the Earth," Decia Films
"Tales of the Grim Sleeper," Lafayette Film
"Virunga," Grain Media

The Academy’s Documentary Branch determined the shortlist in a preliminary round of voting.  Documentary Branch members will now select the five nominees from among the 15 titles.

     The 87th Academy Awards® nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 15, 2015, at 5:30 a.m. PT, in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

      The Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

Please send comments regarding this blog to: mimi_lafinca@aol.com

FILMS ADVANCE FOR OSCAR RACE IN THE MAKEUP AND HAIR STYLING CATEGORY

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that seven films remain in competition in the Makeup and Hair Styling category for the 86th Academy Awards®.

The short list of films, from whence the nominees will come, are listed below in alphabetical order:

    "American Hustle"
    "Dallas Buyers Club"
    "The Great Gatsby"
    "Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters"
    "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire"
    "Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa"
    "The Lone Ranger"

On Saturday, January 11, 2014, all members of the Academy's Makeup Artists and Hair Stylist Branch will be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the seven shortlisted films. Following the screenings, members will vote to nominate three films for final Oscar consideration.

The 86th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 16, 2014, at 5:30 a.m. PT, in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2013 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

Mimi asks, "Does a dead bird on someone's head count as a hair style?"

Lost comments for this blog have been found and will be posted soon.

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ONLY NINE FOREIGN LANGUAGE FEATURES SHORT-LISTED FOR OSCAR

Out of 76 feature Foreign Language Motion Pictures submitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS®), only nine have been short-listed to advance to the next round of voting, which will be for the official Oscar nominees in the Foreign Language Film category for the 86th Academy Awards®. 

The motion pictures, listed in alphabetical order by country with director, are:

Belgium, "The Broken Circle Breakdown," Felix van Groeningen;

Bosnia and Herzegovina, "An Episode in the Life of an  Iron Picker," Danis Tanovic";

Cambodia, "The Missing Picture," Rithy Panh;

Denmark, "The Hunt," Thomas Vinterberg;

Germany, "Two Lives," Georg Maas;

Hong Kong, "The Grandmaster," Wong Kar-wai;

Hungary, "The Notebook," Janos Szasz;

Italy, "The Great Beauty," Paolo Sorrentino;

Palestine, "Omar," Hany Abu-Assad.

Foreign Language Film nominations for 2013 are being determined in two phases. 

The Phase one committee, consisting of several hundred Los Angeles-based Academy members, screened the original submissions in the category between mid-October and December 16.  The group's top six choices, augmented by three additional selections voted by the Academy's Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee, constitute the short list.

The short list will be winnowed down to the five nominees by specially invited committees in New York and Los Angeles.  They will spend Friday, January 10, through Sunday, January 12, viewing three films each day and then casting their ballots.

Now, five nominees in this Oscar category will be selected by specially invited committees in New York and Los Angeles.  They will spend Friday, January 10, through Sunday, January 12, viewing three films each day and then casting their ballots.

The 86th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 16, 2014, at 5:30 a.m. PT, in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2013 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® and televised live on the ABC Television Network.  The presentation, produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. gala will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

MIMI COMMENTS: "Five nominees to come from only nine entries out of 76? Oh, my. What about those motion pictures submitted for previous award winners by their native countries such as Asghar Farhadi's new 'The Past' (Iran), Berlinale standout 'Gloria' (Chile), Canada's entry 'Gabrielle,' and last but not least, Saudi Arabia's submission of Haifaa Al-Mansour's 'Wadjda,' a number of critic's top choices. This may be a record for a winnowed down AMPAS list.

"Aadjda" - Official Trailer   

WARNING - there are a number of things blowing up before the trailer starts about 30 seconds in, so, please wait: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pcCCbLzhcY

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15 DOCUMENTARY FEATURES ADVANCE IN 2013 OSCAR® RACE

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that 15 documentaries in the Documentary Feature category will advance in the voting process for the 86th Oscars®. Originally, 147 docs qualified in this category.

The 15 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies:

"The Act of Killing," Final Cut for Real
"The Armstrong Lie," The Kennedy/Marshall Company
"Blackfish," Our Turn Productions
"The Crash Reel," KP Rides Again
"Cutie and the Boxer," Ex Lion Tamer and Cine Mosaic
"Dirty Wars," Civic Bakery
"First Cousin Once Removed," Experiments in Time, Light & Motion
"God Loves Uganda," Full Credit Productions
"Life According to Sam," Fine Films
"Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer," Roast Beef Productions
"The Square," Noujaim Films and Maktube Productions
"Stories We Tell," National Film Board of Canada
"Tim’s Vermeer," High Delft Pictures
"20 Feet from Stardom," Gil Friesen Productions and Tremolo Productions
"Which Way Is the Front Line from Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington," Tripoli Street

The Academy’s Documentary Branch determined the short list in a preliminary round of voting. Documentary Branch members will now select the five nominees from among the 15 titles. The winner will be chosen from those five titles.

So, keep following this blog for latest updates. The Oscars nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 16, 2014, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. To get instant notification of a post on this bog, click this link to subscribe:
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Thanks, Mimi