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.

THE ARTIST Gets Top Honors from Screen Actor, Director, and Producer Guilds

SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS (SAG) 2012

Jean DuJardin and Bérénce Bejo, The Artist

The 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG) were presented January 29, 2012, from the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center. The 2012 SAG Awards ceremony honored the outstanding performances by actors in 2011. The awards gala was simulcast live on TNT and TBS.

 One of the highlights of the evening was Mary Tyler Moore receiving the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor an actor receives from SAG. Moore, 75, got her big break when she starred as Laurie Petrie in the 1960s CBS sitcom opposite Dick Van Dyke in the show carrying his name. However, she hit her stride as Mary Richards in her own TV show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show with the likes of Betty White and Edward Asner. It premiered on CBS in 1970, and ran seven years.

In addition, the Screen Actors Guild Foundation announced last week that Alec Baldwin is SAG's first Ambassador, a new position designed to draw attention to the national non-profit organization, and its ongoing work as a vital, humanitarian support system within the acting community. For more about Ambassador Baldwin and his duties, click here.

Motion Picture Nominees and Winners (*):

Male Actor, Lead
 *JEAN DuJARDIN, The Artist
Demián Bichir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Male Actor, Supporting
 *CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER, Beginners
Kenenth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Armie Hammer, J Edgar
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior

Female Actor, Lead
 *VIOLA DAVIS, The Help
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Female Actor, Supporting
 *OCTAVIA SPENCER, The Help
Bérénce Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs

Cast in a Motion Picture
*THE ARTIST
Bridesmaids
The Descendants
The Help
Midnight in Paris

For all nominees and winners, including television, click title of this post for SAG Official Website, and/or click here for Eonline.

DIRECTORS GUILD AWARDS (DGA) 2012

The 64th Annual Directors Guild Of America Awards were presented in Hollywood, California, Saturday, January 28th, 2012, in a televised gala hosted by actor Kelsey Grammer. 
 

The 64th Annual Directors Guild Of America nominees with award winners (*), for those awards that have some relevance to movies - - -

Feature Motion Picture:

*MICHAEL HAZANAVICIUS, The Artist
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
David Fincher, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo

Movies for Television and Mini-Series:
*JEFF BLECKNER, Hallmark Hall of Fame, "Beyond The Blackboard"
Jon Cassar, The Kennedys
Stephen Gyllenhaal, Girl Fight
Demi Moore, Jennifer Aniston, Penelope Spheeris, Alicia Keys, Patty Jenkins, Lifetime's "Five"
Michael Stevens, Thurgood

Documentary:
*JOE BERLINGER and BRUCE SINOFSKY, Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Steve James, The Interrupters
James Marsh, Project Nim
Richard Press, Bill Cunningham New York
Martin Scorsese, George Harrison: Living in the Material World

Musical Variety:

*GLENN WEISS, 65th Annual Tony Awards
Louis J. Horvitz, The Kennedy Center Honors
Don Roy King, Saturday Night Live With Host Justin Timberlake
Don Mischner, 83rd Annual Academy Awards
Chuck O'Neil, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Episode #16070

For all nominees and winners, includng television, click here, or Director's Guild Official Website.

 

PRODUCERS GUILD AWARDS (PGA) 2012

Here's one I missed posting. The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced this year’s winning motion picture and television productions at the 23rd Annual Producers Guild Awards' ceremony held at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, Saturday, January 21, 2012.

The 2012 Producers Guild nominated films, with winners (*), are listed below in alphabetical order by category, along with producers. The producers’ names listed for each nominated production are listed in alphabetical order and are not necessarily the proper order of credits.

The theatrical motion picture nominees and winners, with producer(s), are:

The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures - -
 
    *THE ARTIST -  Thomas Langmann;

    Bridesmaids - Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, Clayton Townsend;
    The Descendants - Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor;
    The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Ceán Chaffin, Scott Rudin; 

    The Help - Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, Brunson Green;
    Hugo - Graham King, Martin Scorsese;
    The Ides of March - George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Brian Oliver;
    Midnight in Paris - Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum;
    Moneyball - Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz, Brad Pitt;
    War Horse - Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg.

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures - -
 
   *THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN - Peter Jackson, Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg;
    Cars 2 - Denise Ream;
    Kung Fu Panda 2 - Melissa Cobb;
    Puss In Boots - Joe M. Aguilar, Latifa Ouaou
    Rango - John B. Carls, Gore Verbinski.
 

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures - -
 
   * BEATS, RHYMES & LIFE: THE TRAVELS OF A TRIBE CALLED QUEST - Debra Koffler, Frank Mele, Edward Parks, Michael Rapaport;
    Bill Cunningham New York - Philip Gefter;
    Project Nim - Simon Chinn;
    Senna - James Gay-Rees;
    The Union - Cameron Crowe, Michelle Panek.

The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television, which  encompasses both movies of the week and mini-series - -

 The Cast of Downton Abbey 

  * "DOWNTON ABBEY" (Masterpiece) (PBS) - Julian Fellowes, Nigel Marchant, Gareth Neame;
    "Cinema Verite” (HBO) - Zanne Devine, Karyn McCarthy;
    "The Kennedys” (ReelzChannel) - Jon Cassar, Jonathan Koch, Stephen Kronish, Steve Michaels, Michael Prupas, Jamie Paul Rock, Joel Surnow;
    "Mildred Pierce” (HBO) - Todd Haynes, Pamela Koffler, Ilene S. Landress, Christine Vachon;
    "Too Big To Fail” (HBO) - Carol Fenelon, Jeffrey Levine, Paula Weinstein.

To see the winners in the television categories that are not in long form see the PGA Official Website. See the previous post on this blog for all Oscar nominations.

 

 
Christopher Plummer - from Sound of Music to The Beginners!

Cast of The Help 

Octavia Spencer, Minny (2nd from left) and Viola Davis, Aibileen  (far right).

Jessica Chastain, Celia (far left) Emma Stone, Skeeter (btw 
 Spencer and Davis).

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