Writers Guild Oscar Nominations, and Short List for Visual Effects

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Interesting that The Tree of Life is on the current visual effects list and not on the Writers Guilds' list. Here are the nominees from the Writers Guild:

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

50/50, written by Will Reiser;

Bridesmaids, written by Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig; 

Midnight in Paris, written by Woody Allen;
Win Win, screenplay by Tom McCarthy; story by Tom McCarthy and Joe Tiboni;
Young Adult, written by Diablo Cody.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

The Descendants, screenplay by Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash; based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemming;
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, screenplay by Steven Zaillian; based on the novel by Stieg Larsson, originally published by Norstedts;
The Help, screenplay by Tate Taylor; based on the novel by Kathryn Stockett;
Hugo, screenplay by John Logan; based on the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick;
Moneyball, screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin; Story by Stan Chervin; based on the book by Michael Lewis.

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

Better This World, written by Katie Galloway & Kelly Duane de la Vega;
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, written by Marshall Curry and Matthew Hamachek;
Nostalgia for the Light, written by Patricio Guzmán;
Pina, screenplay by Wim Wenders;
Position Among the Stars, script by Hetty Naaijkens-Retel Helmrich, Leonard Retel Helmrich;
Senna, written by Manish Pandey.

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There are now 10 motion pictures are on the short list in the 84th Academy Awards Visual Effects (VFX) category awaiting a possible Oscar nomination. They are listed below in alphabetical order:

    Captain America: The First Avenger

    Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

    Hugo

    Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

    Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

    Real Steel

    Rise of the Planet of the Apes

    Transformers: Dark of the Moon

    The Tree of Life

    X-Men: First Class

All members of the Visual Effects Branch will be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the 10 shortlisted films on Thursday, January 19. Following the screenings, the members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.

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 The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

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

‘The Artist’ tops 69th Golden Globe Nominations

The Golden Globe nominations were announced the middle of last week. In the race for best motion picture The Artist, a silent black-and-white movie about an actor at the time of the transition to talkies, led the pack with six Golden Globe nominations. It is nominated for best picture in the musical or comedy category.

 

George Clooney's two movies each received a nod for best picture, drama. The Descendants seems to be favored over The Ides of March. The former received five nominations, including best feature movie in the drama category, and a best actor nomination for Clooney.

But Ides of March was not slighted by the HFPA. Clooney, Heslov, and Beau Willimon are nominated for best screenplay and Clooney has a best director nomination.

Not nominated? The Tree of Life. Not enough "T and A" in the movie, perhaps, or was the Cannes winner's Transcendental premise over their heads? There is more about the actual nominations but, first, a digression.

I caution you, dear reader, to be aware where the Oscar race is concerned that the Golden Globe Awards are sponsored and the recipients chosen by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). That is the association of credentialed reporters, etc., from outside the USA, who follow and report on the American entertainment industry. Some live here, some don't. The Globes give awards to both the movie and television industries.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the sponsor of the Academy Awards (Oscars). The membership of the Academy (AMPAS) consists of people who work in the movie industry, and who are card caring members of an industry guild. Every member must be invited to join. Only members of the Academy can nominate and vote, and awards are only given to the motion picture industry.

I know some people still call these awards, and festivals, "film," but it is a misnomer now because movies are not photographed on film and projectors don't project film, they are all digital in the USA. So, now we should call them the best picture, best motion picture, best movie, best feature, best short motion picture, etc. Technically there is no longer a best film in any category.

Besides, when I was in cinema school, I was taught that film is the medium whereby motion pictures, sometimes called by their shortened slang name, movies, are made. Motion Pictures are the products, one product medium that comprises The Media. Get the picture? If so, enjoy the motion picture festivals and watch lots of movies at your local picture show, as they were originall called. Of course today they are shown in a movie theater, or cinema!

But, quick, amend that. We don't even need to go out to see a movie anymore. We can get it on demand from a provider server There's TV, cable, satellite, or watch it on our computer. On demand, when we want it. Wow! The method of delivering  movies has come a long way, indeed.

Many critics and writers will indicate that the Globe winners predict the Oscars. They do not. What they do is bring the movies before the general public, and probably do cause some Academy members to consider, or reconsider, some movie they have either previously overlooked or dismissed.

For instance, The Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences last chose the same best picture in 2009, when director Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire won both.  I picked that movie for best picture in October when it won best picture at the Toronto Festival. After I saw it, I knew I had made the best choice.

Not only do the Globes honor television shows and actors, but they have two categories for best picture: musical or comedy, and drama, as well as the same two categories for best and supporting actors and actresses. The Academy makes the same distinction for actors and actresses, but there is only one best picture, and comedy usually gets the short piece of the wishbone when it comes to the Academy Awards.

The 69th annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony will be held Sunday, January 15th, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, and broadcast live on NBC. Ricky Gervaise will host them again this year.

The Oscar nominations will be announced January 24th at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences,  Beverly Hills.The 84th Academy Awards gala will be broadcast by ABC February 26th, and Billy Crystal will host.

NOMINATIONS FOR BEST MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA

The Descendants, starring George Clooney.
The Ides of March - George Clooney wrote, directed and stars in the Ides of March. To me, it is basically Clooney's take on politics. Of course, it is a liberal-progressive one, so I like that. Tagline: An idealistic staffer for a newbie presidential candidate gets a crash course on dirty politics during his stint on the campaign trail.

 The Help, received nine nominations. Three actresses in the movie were nominated, but not Emma Stone who played Skeeter. These were: Viola Davis (Aibileen) for best actress, Jessica Chastain (Celia) and Octavia Spencer (Minny) for an actress in a supporting role. 


Hugo (Paramount), Martin Scorsese's animated movie is not nominated in the animation category, but for best motion picture. The other Paramount animated movie, Rango, is nominated in the animation category.

 Moneyball, an excellent baseball movie starring Brad Pitt, and costarring Jonah Hill, is for those who love the allure of baseball statistics, and a baseball movie that is all heart, at the same time. Pitt received a best actor nomination for his role as real-life manager Billy Beane, but Jonah Hill did not receive a best-supporting nod.

 War Horse, the latest horse opera. This one is set in World War One, and is directed by Steven Spielberg. Take Kleenex.

Click the title of this post to see the full list of nominations, and much more, on the HFPA's Official Site. Please come back here after the first of the year for some more unique takes on the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards.

Boston Society of Film Critics Choose 'The Artist' as Best Film of 2011

THE ARTIST

This past weekend, the Boston Society of Film Critics chose to name the black and white movie The Artist recipient of their top prize for 2011. The actual awards will be presented February 4, 2012 at the Brattle Theater in Boston.

BOSTON FILM CRITICS' List:

Best Picture - The Artist
Best Actor - Brad Pitt, Moneyball
Best Actress - Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
Best Supporting Actor - Albert Brooks, Drive
Best Supporting Actress - Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Best Director - Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Best Screenplay - Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin and Stan Chervin, Moneyball
Best Cinematography - Emmanuel Lubezki, The Tree of Life
Best Documentary - Project Nim
Best Foreign-Language Film - - Incendies
Best Animated Film - Rango
Best Film Editing - Christian Marclay, The Clock
Best New Filmmaker - Sean Durkin, Martha Marcy May Marlene
Best Ensemble Cast - Carnage
Best Use of Music in a Film - Tie: Drive and The Artist

For more, click the title of this post.

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