Oscars® - Feature Docs Short List & New TV Director

Documentary Features

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced yesterday that 15 films in the Documentary Feature category will advance in the voting process for the 82nd Academy Awards®. Eighty-nine pictures originally qualified to vie for the Best Documentary Feature award.

The Documentary Branch Screening Committee viewed all the eligible documentaries and they will now select the five nominees from among the 15 titles on this list.

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

THE BEACHES OF AGNES, Agnès Varda;
BURMA VJ, Anders Østergaard;
THE COVE, Louie Psihoyos;
EVERY LITTLE STEP, James D. Stern & Adam Del Deo;
FACING ALI, Pete McCormack;
FOOD, INC., Robert Kenner;
GARBAGE DREAMS, Mai Iskander;
LIVING IN EMERGENCY: Stories of Doctors Without Borders, Mark N. Hopkins;
THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN AMERICA: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, Judith Ehrlich & Rick Goldsmith;
MUGABE AND THE WHITE AFRICAN, Andrew Thompson & Lucy Bailey;
SERGIO, Greg Barker;
SOUNDTRACK FOR A REVOLUTION, Bill Guttentag & Dan Sturman;
UNDER OUR SKIN, Andy Abrahams Wilson;
VALENTINO THE LAST EMPEROR, Matt Tyrnauer;
WHICH WAY HOME, Rebecca Cammisa.

The 82nd Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, 2 February 2010, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2009 will be presented on Sunday, 7 March 2010, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

New Oscar TV Gala Director

Almost simultaneously, the producers of the 82nd Academy Awards® telecast, Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman, announced Hamish Hamilton will direct the 82nd Academy Awards® telecast. Who?

It will be Hamilton's first time directing the Oscar show. If you haven't heard of him before, you are far from alone. I learned he has directed such live shows as the “MTV Video Music Awards” and the “MTV Europe Music Awards.” He has also directed live concert performances by U2, Neil Diamond, Josh Groban, Stevie Wonder, Christina Aguilera and many others. He has been tapped to direct the upcoming Super Bowl XLIV half-time show in February.

Friend of Mine Is Producer of Academy Awards

I am very pleased to announce that an acquaintance from my days at the University of Southern California (USC), Bill Mechanic, has been named one of the producers of this year's 82nd Academy Awards® telecast, set for 7 March 2010.

Mechanic is the chairman and CEO of Pandemonium Films and the former chairman and CEO of Fox Filmed Entertainment. While at Fox, the studio released titles including “True Lies” (1994), “Braveheart” (1995), “Titanic” (1997), “The Full Monty” (1997), “There’s Something About Mary” (1998), “Boys Don’t Cry” (1999) and “Cast Away” (2000) among many others. Prior to Fox, he served in executive positions at the Walt Disney Company and Paramount. His producer credits include this year’s animated feature “Coraline” and the thriller “Dark Water” (2005).

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak made the official Academy announcement today that Mechanic will produce the telecast with director / dancer / producer Adam Shankman. This is the first major involvement of Mechanic with the Awards, but Shankman has danced on the telecast.

“I couldn’t be happier to have this talented team on board,” Acacemy President Sherak is quoted as saying during the announcement. “I’ve known Bill for many years so it’s like putting Oscar in the care of a dear friend. Bill has a tremendous love and respect of film and will draw from his vast experience as a producer, a studio executive, and a film historian, to help make this year’s Oscar telecast a memorable one. And Adam’s experience in producing, directing, and especially choreography, will be a huge asset to the production.”

Shankman may be best known as a judge on the TV show, "So you Think You Can Dance," but his directorial credits include “Bedtime Stories” (2008), “Hairspray” (2007), “A Walk To Remember” (2002) and “The Wedding Planner” (2001). His upcoming projects include “Rock of Ages,” “Sinbad,” “Bob: The Musical” and “Bye Bye Birdie.” In addition to directing, Shankman and his sister Jennifer Gibgot produce films through their shingle Offspring Entertainment. Together they are currently producing “The Last Song,” “Going The Distance” and “Step Up 3D,” all set for 2010 release.