Win Bleacher Seats for Red Carpet

Beginning Monday, 14 September, anyone can enter a random online drawing to be a fan in the bleacher seats flanking the red carpet at the 82nd Academy Awards®. The Awards ceremony will be held on 7 March 2010, in Hollywood, California, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®.

Registration for this drawing will begin on Monday, 14 September, at noon ET/9 a.m. PT and close on Sunday, 20 September, at midnight ET/9 p.m. PT. Click the title of this post to go to entry page.

Tribeca Film Festival Winners

The eighth annual Tribeca Film Festival, co-founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff, and presented by founding sponsor American Express, announced the winners of its competition categories in NYC last night, 30 April 2009. This year’s Festival included 85 features and 47 short films from 36 countries. The world competition winners were chosen from 12 narrative and 12 documentary features from 17 countries. All films at Festival.

Two awards were given to honor New York films, which were chosen from eight narrative and seven documentary features. Awards were also given for the best narrative, best documentary and student visionary films in the Shorts competition. The winner of The Heineken Audience Award, determined by audience ballot votes throughout the Festival, will be announced tomorrow 2 May, at the Festival Wrap party. This is a capsule of the 2009 winners in the World Narrative Feature and Documentary Feature Competitions.


2009 World Narrative Feature Film Competition (Jurors Bradley Cooper, Richard Fischoff, Todd Haynes, Meg Ryan and Uma Thurman):

The Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature – ABOUT ELLY (Darbareye Elly), written and directed by Asghar Farhadi (Iran, Persian with English subtitles). Deceit and tragedy abound when friends take a Caspian Sea seaside mini-break in this mysterious and lush who-done-it. Farhadi received the Golden Bear in Berlin this year as best director of a feature film.

Best New Narrative Filmmaker – Rune Denstad Langlofor NORTH (Nord) (Norway, Norwegian with English subtitles). A former ski champion recovering from a mental breakdown learns he has a five-year-old son. He hops on his snowmobile with a batch of moonshine, and heads for his ex-girlfriend's home in Norway's Far North. His oddball encounters along the way make this fresh and original debut comedy both tender and amusing.

Best Actor in a Narrative Feature Film – Ciarán Hinds in THE ECLIPSE, written and directed by Conor McPherson (Ireland).

Best Actress in a Narrative Feature Film – Zoe Kazan in THE EXPLODING GIRL, written and directed by Bradley Rust Gray (USA).


2009 World Documentary Feature Film Competition (Jurors Liz Garbus, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Whoopi Goldberg, Morgan Spurlock and Brian Williams):

Best Documentary Feature – RACING DREAMS, directed by Marshall Curry (USA). Three adolescent go-kart racers (to auto racing as little league is to baseball) vie for the national go-kart championship. They, and their parents, will soon find out if they have the talent, dedication, and sponsorship dollars to one day become NASCAR superstars.

Best New Documentary Filmmaker – Ian Olds for FIXER: The Taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi (USA). In 2007, the Taliban kidnapped 24-year-old Naqshbandi, an Italian journalist, one of Afghanistan's best "fixers"—someone hired by foreign journalists to facilitate, translate, and gain access for their stories.

Special Jury Mention: DEFAMATION (Hashmatsa), directed by Yoav Shamir (Denmark, Austria, USA, Israel).

HBO acquired FIXER at the Festival, First Fun the anti-Semitic documentary DEFAMATION, and ESPN the baseball documentary THE LOST SON OF HAVANA. Slim sales for Tribeca at this post, but there may be subsequent acquisitions as a result of the Festival.

For all winners and more information about the films such as juror comments, cash awards, etc., click title of this post.

Win a Seat Along Red Carpet at Academy Awards®

There will be only 300 seats available along the 500-foot-long walkway that leads into the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center® 22 February 2009, when Academy Awards® are awarded. Beginning this Monday, 22nd, fans are invited to submit an online application for the chance to win one of those seats. In previous years, as many as 20,000 fans have applied but luck might be on your side this year.

The lucky winners will watch and cheer Oscar® nominees, presenters and other ceremony guests as they arrive at the 81st Academy Awards on Sunday, 22 February 2009. Following the red carpet arrivals, the winners will be invited to watch the Academy Awards telecast at a nearby location.

Excited about it? In that case, pay attention to the procedure:

Beginning on Monday, 22 September, at 9 a.m. PT / noon ET, and continuing for only one week, fans may apply on the Academy's Official Web Site to win seats along the Academy Awards® red carpet. The application form will be available at www.oscars.org/bleachers. The online-only application process will close on Sunday, 28 September, at 9 p.m. PT / midnight ET.

To be eligible for the random drawing, an individual must complete the application form in its entirety. Applications may only be submitted online. Forms may not be returned via U.S. mail, fax or private delivery service such as UPS or FedEx.

Applicants may register up to four persons. However, only one form will be accepted per person or group.

Those whose names are selected in the random drawing will be notified in early October. They will then be required to submit additional information for security purposes prior to final approval. Eligible attendees will receive a confirmation letter in early December with information pertinent to the event. The Academy will not be responsible for securing travel and/or hotel accommodations for winners.

Only those individuals who have been pre-approved by the Academy will have access to the bleachers. Those who wait overnight to attempt admittance will not be granted entry.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2008 will be presented on Sunday, 22 February 2009, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

And the Oscar® goes to . . . . .

80th Academy Awards®24 February 2008Winners

Full list of all 80th Academy Award winners and nominees. There is a link on the right sidebar, too - - 80th Winners & Nominees.

In the previous post, I gave my picks for the major awards. My hypothesis was that the data collected through my Awards and Film Festival Pages, showing the most wins in a particular nominated category, would correlate to support an Oscar win in that category. I went with the data I had collected, and these were my conclusions, not including some of the tech stuff and short films (three I missed marked in red):

NOTE: I really didn't have enough data for the score and song, so to be fair, these first two were really my choices.
Best original score: Dario Marianelli, ATONEMENT, because I REALLY like the last name!
Best song: "Falling Slowly," ONCE, written by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova .

Best cinematography: THERE WILL BE BLOOD.
Best supporting actress: Amy Ryan for GONE BABY GONE. MISSED
Best supporting actor: Javier Bardem for NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN.
Best actress: Julie Christie for AWAY FROM HER. MISSED
Best actor: Daniel Day-Lewis for THERE WILL BE BLOOD.
Best animated feature: RATAEOUILLE, paws down.
Best documentary: SICKO, Michael Moore. MISSED
Best foreign-language feature: THE COUNTERFEITERS, Austria.
Best original screenplay: JUNO, by Diablo Cody.
Best adapted screenplay: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, by Ethan & Joel Coen.
Best director(s): Ethan and Joel Coen, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN.
Best motion picture feature (best picture) - NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN.

I gave a rationale for the picks in the previous post. Now I shall give the rationale for the three I missed. They were and they went to:

Best Actress: Marion Cotillard for LA VIE EN ROSE.
Best Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton for MICHAEL CLAYTON.
Best Documentary: TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE.

In the best supporting actress category, Ruby Dee was nominated for AMERICAN GANGSTER, Tilda Swinton for MICHAEL CLAYTON, and Amy Ryan for GONE BABY GONE. SAG nominated all of them in this category along with Cate Blanchett, I'M NOT THERE, and Catherine Keener, INTO THE WILD. Neither of these last two ladies had shown any legs in other awards.

SAG gave the award to Dee. Because all the data was stronger for Amy Ryan, I went with Ryan, figuring the SAG award for Dee was a sentimental one. I never gave Swinton a thought because her award tally was almost nothing. Apparently, the actual vote was really split in this category. Anyway, my data showed Ryan, so I went with her, and she did not win.

Both Julie Christi and Marion Cotillard were nominated by SAG in the best actress category. SAG gave the award to Christi, and the other data for Cotillard was weak as it was for Swinton, so I went with Christi. Again, with the rules.

Members of the Academy have told me that when they face that final ballot, they often vote their "gut," and the odd thing was that my "gut" was telling me to go ahead and vote for Marion Cotillard, but I stayed true to my experiment.

The documentary category is like the music categories, there isn't that much data out there to make a strong case for any particular film. SICKO had the most votes according to the data available to me.

However, the experiment basically worked. It worked perfectly in the other categories. This year, at least.

Mimi's Oscar® Picks for 80th Awards

Host Jon Stewart opening television gala in 2006, and he returns tonight.

Trying to choose the winners of the Academy Award® Oscar® is no picnic. Never has been, but every year I try, and every year I miss some.

All year long, I track the winners of film festivals and the various awards. Not all. That's impossible. I try to track the ones I think might influence voters of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS®).

The cold facts are these: AMPAS is composed of voting members that come from the guilds, i.e. unions, who work in the movie industry. The largest voting block is the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), followed in a random order by the Writers Guild (WGA), Directors Guild (DGA), and Producers Guild (PGA), etc.

Then there are the so-called "technical guilds," e.g., cinematographers, film editors, sound mixers, lighting designers, etc., and all of these have a cadre of technicians. Next come the "artistic guilds," and they are the folks who design, decorate, and execute sets, costumes, hair, makeup, etc. Plus, there is a plethora animators, running the gamut of everything necessary from enhancing major motion pictures to bringing those cute little critters who populate animated movies to life.

Of course, these members are subject to influence by their guilds and others such as film critics and film festival juries, but it basically comes down to how the AMPAS members vote when faced with that annual final ballot. However, I am going with the data I have collected, and these are my conclusions (not including some of the tech stuff and short films):

Best original score: Dario Marianelli, ATONEMENT, because I REALLY like the last name!
Best song: "Falling Slowly," ONCE, written by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova .
Best cinematography: THERE WILL BE BLOOD.
Best supporting actress: Amy Ryan for GONE BABY GONE. *
Best supporting actor: Javier Bardem for NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN.
Best actress: Julie Christie for AWAY FROM HER.
Best actor: Daniel Day-Lewis for THERE WILL BE BLOOD.
Best animated feature: RATAEOUILLE, paws down.
Best documentary: SICKO, Michael Moore. * *
Best foreign-language feature: THE COUNTERFEITERS, Austria. * * *
Best original screenplay: JUNO, by Diablo Cody.
Best adapted screenplay: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, by Ethan & Joel Coen.
Best director(s): Ethan & Joel Coen, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN.
Best motion picture feature (best picture) - NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN.

My rationale? NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN has won more major guild and critical awards than any other nominee, including the DGA, PGA, SAG, and WGA. I think it is finally the year the Coen brothers reap their rewards. However, one interesting note, JUNO has garnered more box office than any of the other "best picture" nominees, and has been dubbed, "The little movie that could".
__________________
* - - NOTE - Ruby Dee (MICHAEL CLAYTON) has won only one major award in the best supporting actress category, but it is the SAG award, and she is a sentimental favorite of AMPAS (as was her late husband Ossie Davis). However, the actress who has won most awards in this category, including influential critics awards such as the National Board of Review, plus the BFCA, L.A., N.Y., S.F., and Boston critics' awards is Ryan. Therefore, I'm going with Ryan with a possible Dee.

* * - - NOTE - The best documentary feature category is a tough one, but I'm going with Michael Moore's SICKO, because it has won more awards in this category, with NO END IN SIGHT running strong. Then, there is TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE that got out of the gate late. Who knows? Only the envelope does.

* * * - - NOTE - This year, the BFLF category is a disaster. Many respected critics agree. Unfortunately, AMPAS made it so. AMPAS either fixes the mechanism by which foreign movies are selected before the awards next year, or the category will become a mockery. See my previous blog post for much more on this year's BFLF nominees.

Download and print an Oscar ballot from IMDb's "Road to the Oscars".

LINKS RELEVANT: Mimi's Movie Awards Page / Mimi's Film Festival Page07 / Mimi's Foreign Movie Page (also on right sidebar).

The Year of the Oscar® Rat?

In this Year of the Rat in Chinese astrology, it is may be only fitting that the Academy Awards honor Remy, the young rodent chef wannabe. The Academy members may, or may not, but the Annie Award, which is almost as important to animators as the golden statuette, did.

Pixar Animation Studios' RATATOUILLE dominated the 35th annual Annie Awards Thursday night. The International Animated Film Society (ASIFA, Hollywood) honors the best in animated features.

The Chinese consider the Year of the Rat lucky, and the Chinese lunar year 4705 (06) began 7 February, the day before the Annie Awards. The determined charismatic rodent not only took the top prize for the best animated feature movie, but the top directing and screenwriting awards for Brad Bird as well, a total of nine overall, which included character animation, character design, music, production design, storyboarding and voice acting.

RATATOUILLE is nominated for an Oscar in the best animated feature category along with PERSEPOLIS and SURF'S UP. The latter received Annies for animated effects and animated production artist, but the other ASIFA nominees, PERSEPOLIS and THE SIMPSONS MOVIE, came up empty handed.

The Annie Award has become one of those "predictors" for winning an Academy Award® in the best animated feature category. However, last year ASIFA gave CARS the Annie, and the dancing penguins won (HAPPY FEET). Win some. Lose some.

PERSEPOLIS was submitted by France to compete in the Best Foreign Language Film (BFLF) Oscar category instead of submitting THE DIVING BELL and the BUTTERFLY. The irony? PERSEPOLIS missed the Oscar BFLF nod, but is nominated in the best animated feature category.

Well, what about people born in the Year of the Rat? They are noted for their charm and attraction for the opposite sex. They work hard to achieve their goals, acquire possessions and are likely to be perfectionists. They are basically thrifty with money. Rat people are easily angered and love to gossip. Their ambitions are big, and they are usually very successful.

Are you a "rat person?" You are if you was born in 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, or 1996. If so, this could be your lucky year, too. Uh, oh. Time to stir the Sauce Béarnaise. See my Chinese New Year Page.

WGA Agreement and Awards

The Writers Guild Boards, East and West, today tentatively approved the agreement discussed in the previous post. It is still a nail biter, because the cut-off date to proceed with the full Oscar® telecast, which will include the presence of the host (Jon Stewart), celebrity presenters and recipients, etc., is this Thursday, Valentine's Day.

As of the moment of this post, according to a recent "breaking news" notification, membership meetings will be held Tuesday to allow writers to decide whether the three-month strike should be brought to an immediate end. This according to Patric Verrone, president of the guild's West Coast branch.

The Guild also announced their annual screenwriting awards. Diablo Cody won for her original feature script, JUNO. The adapted script award went to NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, written by brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, which is based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy. Both are Oscar-nominated for best motion picture.

The best documentary award went to Alex Gibney for TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE, which looks at U.S. torture practices in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is nominated in the best oscar documentary category.

In TV, HBO's "The Wire" won for the best writing of a TV drama, and NBC's "30 Rock" won for comedy.

AMPAS® Unveils Best Picture Poster

New Poster"80 Years of Best Motion Picture Oscar® Winners"

In celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Academy Awards®, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences® unveiled the latest edition of its Best Picture poster this week. Currently only the 79 known Best Picture winners are shown in the poster. The 80th Best Picture winner will be added on Oscar Sunday, February 24, immediately following the Academy Awards presentation.

The 27 x 40-inch poster is printed on premium quality, Forest Stewardship Certified paper. The poster is available for purchase on the Academy’s Web site, publications, or by calling 1-800-993-4567. Posters will be shipped in March 2008. The official poster for the 80th Academy Awards is shipping now and may be ordered on the same page as the 80 Best Picture poster. See my post Thursday, 17 January about the posters.

Designed by Alex Swart, the poster features a spiraling gold ribbon containing the one-sheets for all the Best Picture winners, forming the shape of the Oscar statuette. Swart, head of SwartAd, a marketing design agency, designed the official posters of the 73rd and 75th Academy Awards as well as previous editions of the Best Picture poster.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2007 will be presented on Sunday, 24 February 2008, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m., PT. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

Best Foreign Language Movie Goes English

Actors Ulrich Muehe and Ulrich Tukur in a scene from the Oscar®-winning foreign movie THE LIVES OF OTHERS. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
When it came time for me to choose a Best Foreign Language Film, I was stumped. The winner in the too-close-to-call race was THE LIVES OF OTHERS from Germany.

As I posted 23 February, it was easy to conclude that the two front runners were THE LIVES OF OTHERS (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, director, Germany), and PAN'S LABYRINTH (Guillermo del Toro, director, Mexico), order of rank undeterminable. I, like many writing about the Oscars®, found myself unable to make a decision in this category. I bemoaned I had seen neither movie. Had I seen both of them, I would have gone out on a limb and picked THE LIVES OF OTHERS. I did warn PAN'S fans that I was doubtful it would win.

Possible reasonsing for LIVES win? The Academy mandates that all Academy members casting final votes in this category must prove that they have seen all five nominees. Up until this time it was only important for members of the two evaluating committees who made the preliminary cuts to see the movies.

Let's face it, the younger members of the Academy are busy. In the main, they do not have time to view all the films in the Foreign Language category. Many are simply not interested.

That skews the votes towards the older members of the Academy. Now, knowing that, I should have gone out the limb and predicted THE LIVES OF OTHERS as the winner. I was about 90% certain that this was the way the votes would come down but, in the Oscar race, 90% is not good enough. Well, next year is another year, and since Martin Scorsese did win the Best Director Oscar, I will, God willing, be watching and evaluating this category again next year.

MEANWHILE, Daily Variety reported yesterday (Thursday), that THE LIVES OF OTHERS will be remade as an English-language movie, if the current round of plans and deal-making is successful. The team is composed of former Miramax Films chiefs Bob and Harvey Weinstein, and Oscar-winning filmmakers Sydney Pollack (OUT OF AFRICA, 1985) and Anthony Minghella (THE ENGLISH PATIENT, 1996), partners in Mirage Productions. The Weinstein brothers will develop the project through their Weinstein Co., partnering with Mirage.

According to Pollack, the partners teamed to secure the rights to do the project from the writer/director von Donnersmarck. The development team feels that this movie about wiretaps, spying, and loss of personal privacy is relevant in the lives of Americans today, and the movie deserves wider distribution than it will receive in the original German language. The remake in English will facilitate this.

LIVES is von Donnersmarck's debut movie. Oh, my. Might we possibly see this movie nominated again in the best feature motion picture category for 2008? It is possible. Keep watching the movies!