BAFTA Goes for THE ARTIST, ASC for THE TREE OF LIFE

There were two major motion picture awards yesterday, Sunday, February 12th. First, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) gave out their Orange Awards, and the American Society of Cinematographers presented their ASC Awards.

1. First, the BAFTA Awards. The French Motion Picture, THE ARTIST, received the most awards, seven: best feature film; actor, JEAN DUJARDIN; director and screenplay, MIKEL HAZANAVICIUS; original music, LUDOVIC BOURCE; cinematography, GUILLAUME SCHIFFMAN; and costume design, Mark Bridges.

THE IRON LADY's Meryl Streep was named best actress and THE IRON LADY received the award for best hair and makeup. No surprise in either. OCTAVIA SPENCER (The Help), and CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER (Beginners), were honored as supporting actors.

The Spanish motion picture produced by the Almodóvar brothers from Spain, Pedro and Agustin. THE SKIN I LIVE IN, received the nod for best motion picture not in the English language, directed by Pedro and produced by both. Spain did not submit this motion picture for Oscar consideration  in the Best Foreign Language Film Category.

The best documentary award went to SENNA, a documentary about Brazilian Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna, who won the Formula1 world championship three times before his death at age 34. It also won the BAFTA for best editing.

The outstanding British feature was TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, which also won the best adapted screenplay. TINKER stars Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy and John Hurt.

                                                                                   The best animated motion picture was RANGO (voiced by Johnny Depp).  Concerning RANGO, on 2/2, I Tweeted (@mimifink), "Last week, International Animated Society #AnnieAwards picked RANGO with Johnny Depp best for 2011." Those two awards elevate RANGO to the top of the Oscar speculation list for best animated feature.

If you are interested in the Best Animated Short Film for 2011, you might do well to put Minkyu Lee's ADAM and DOG – from Warner Brothers and Pixar Animation Studios - on your speculation list. Two smaller companies were involved, I Tawt I Taw A Puddy Tat and La Luna. See Annie Awards.

For more about the BAFTA Awards, including the honorary awards and other winners, click the title of this post.

2. Also on Sunday, the 26th Annual American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Awards were presented in the Hollywood and Highland Grand Ballroom.

WINNER: Emmanuel Lubezki for THE TREE OF LIFE.

Winners of the ASC award go on to win an Oscar about 50% of the time. The BAFTA went to Guillaume Schiffman for THE ARTIST. If statistics hold, ladies and gentlemen, the 84th Academy Award will go to one of these two. The awards are not yet posted on the ASC Official Website, so go to Reuters for more.

 UPCOMING AWARDS THIS WEEK

Friday, February 17th -  43rd Annual NAACP Image Awards, which celebrate people of color in the arts and individuals who promote social justice. THE HELP has eight nominations.
 

Saturday, February 18, 2012 -  The 62nd Annual American Cinema Editors' (ACE) Eddie Awards will be presented at the Beverly Hilton. The Eddie Awards honor editors working in motion pictures and television.

Sunday, February 19th - Writers Guild Awards at the Hollywood Palladium. See their Website.

Final Oscar Ballots Mailed & Upcoming Awards

BALLOTS

Final ballots for the 84th Academy Awards® have been mailed to the 5,783 voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Completed ballots must be returned to PwC* by 5 p.m. Tuesday, February 21.  Ballots received after the deadline will not be counted!

Listed on the ballots are nominees in 19 Awards categories.  Separate ballots for five categories (Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, Foreign Language Film, Animated Short Film and Live Action Short Film) will be distributed after verification of mandatory member attendance at screenings.

Following the tabulation of the votes, the winners’ names will be placed in sealed envelopes to be opened on Oscar Sunday, February 26.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

* Accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

UPCOMING AWARDS

1. Saturday, February 4, 2012   ASIFA - The International Animated Film Society, (ANNIE AWARDS), Hollywood.
at UCLA's Royce Hall, in Los Angeles, CA. Website


2. Sunday, February 12, 2012 - 26th Annual American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Awards, in the Grand Ballroom at the Hollywood and Highland Grand Ballroom.

Harrison Ford, the actor known for the characters Han Solo and Indiana Jones, will receive the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) 2012 Board of Governors Award. He will be honored during the 26th Annual ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards gala. The nominees are:

For feature film: Guillaume Schiffman, AFC (The Artist),
Jeff Cronenweth, ASC (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo),
Robert Richardson, ASC (Hugo),
Hoyte van Hoytema, FSF, NSC (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy),
and Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC (The Tree of Life).
have been nominated in the feature film category of the 26th Annual American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Outstanding Achievement Awards. The winner will be announced at the ASC Awards celebration at the Hollywood and Highland Grand Ballroom on February 12.

Guillaume Schiffman and Hoyte van Hoytema are both first-time ASC nominees, while this is the 10th nomination for Robert Richardson, and the second consecutive ASC Award nomination for Jeff Cronenweth who was recognized last year for The Social Network. Website

3. Sunday, February 12, 2012 - British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards (BAFTA®), presented at the Royal Opera House, London, England. The BAFTA Orange Awards are considered another indicator of the way the Academy Awards may go. Members cannot vote for a film unless they are certified as having seen it, and there is a voting branch in Los Angeles.

Website

5. Saturday, February 18, 2012 -  The 62nd Annual American Cinema Editors' (ACE) Eddie Awards will be presented at the Beverly Hilton. The Eddie Awards honor editors working in motion pictures and television. Website