SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE Tops 81st Oscars® with Eight

Patel and Pinto in SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

The movie that I tagged as the possible "little movie that could," in September, did. The cast and crew will be taking eight golden statuettes back to the U.K., or India. It won best picture, and the best director went to Danny Boyle. There were honors for best cinematography, sound mixing, film editing, and adapted screenplay. Musically, A.R. Rahman received the best original score and best song ("Jai Ho") Oscars.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON took home three expected ones: art direction, makeup and visual effects. THE DARK KNIGHT and MILK each garnered two.

Heath Ledger was posthumously awarded best supporting actor as the Joker in DARK KNIGHT, and the movie received one technical award for sound editing.

MILK's Sean Penn was named best actor for his role as Harvey Milk, and Dustin Lance Black's original screenplay received an Oscar.

Winning actresses Winslet and Cruz

Kate Winslet and Penelope Cruz each finally won acting Oscars. Winslet was named best actress in a leading role as a former Nazi with many secrets in THE READER, and Penelope Cruz was named best supporting actress as the ex-wife in VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA. DOUBT and FROST/NIXON were shutout.



Oscars also went to:
Best Animated Feature - WALL-E
Best Costumes - THE DUCHESS - Michael O'Connor
Best Documentary Feature - MAN ON WIRE
Best Documentary Short - SMILE PINKI
Best Live Action Short - SPIELZEUGLAND (Toyland)
Best Foreign Language Film - DEPARTURES, (Okuribito, Japan), dir. Yojiro Takita.

For the list of nominees and winners see the link on the right sidebar, "81st Oscar Nominations & Winners." The link will remain until the next awards.

I have watched the Academy Awards for more years than I will admit to, and the 81st presentation last night is the best one I have ever seen. For a decade the annual event's viewer percentage has been gradually declining. Therefore, this was a year of change for the Oscar Gala, too.

Before a couple of unfortunate personal incidents, I had planned to post about the changes for the Gala. Almost everyone in the administrative and talent heads at the Academy are no longer there. Last night it was announced that President Sid Ganis had served his last year and would be leaving.

So, good show Academy! Host Hugh Jackman was able to showcase his varied talents and do so with class. The Humanitarian Award was accepted by Jerry Lewis with a short and sincere acceptance speech. The set was spectacular. The proscenium box was gone, inviting the audience in, especially by moving the orchestra out of the pit onto the expanded stage.

Mimi Picks Some Oscar® Favorites

(Order Poster)
First of all, I am sorry that my coverage of the Oscar race is a bust this year. The great ice storm of 2009 hit the last week of January and I was without electricity for three weeks, not to mention I had only minimum heat. Therefore, the best I can do now is to make this post, a rather long one at that. Again, sorry!

Harvey Weinstein (The Weinstein Company), has bet his farm and then some on THE READER. He has, by all accounts, pulled out all the stops for his entry this year. How effective was his campaign? According to what I have been reading and have heard, Harvey's kingmaker days in Hollywood may be over because of two young lovers from an Indian slum. Then, on the other hand . . . . .

Performance by an actor in a leading role:

Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor” (Overture Films);
Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon” (Universal);
Sean Penn in “Milk” (Focus Features);
Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.);
Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight).

MIMI PICKS: I think this is Sean Penn's best chance to win in the best actor category, but will the Academy members be more inclined to vote for the comeback of a loser (Mickey Rourke)?

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Performance by an actor in a supporting role

Josh Brolin in “Milk” (Focus Features);
Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder” (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount);
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt” (Miramax);
Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.);
Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage).

MIMI PICKS: Josh Brolin deserved the Oscar in this category last year for NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, and the Academy has, on rare occasions, honored an actor or actress for a performance the previous year. It might work for Brolin, except this time he plays a guy who murdered a city supervisor who was gay and took out the mayor who supported gay initiatives. However, a real dead guy, Heath Ledger, who was first nominated for playing a gay guy (BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN), seems to have a lock on the category. The question is why? Will winning give Ledger a "bump" for his career?

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Performance by an actress in a leading role

Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married” (Sony Pictures Classics);
Angelina Jolie in “Changeling” (Universal);
Melissa Leo in “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics);
Meryl Streep in “Doubt” (Miramax);
Kate Winslet in “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company).

MIMI PICKS: Hathaway is a first-time nominee and "Academy darling." This nomination is mainly to recognize her transition to adult actress, now she must prove it for another nomination. Streep is the Grand Dame in this category while Jolie is beautiful, but her movie basically tanked. So, that leaves Leo, a first time nominee, and Winslet a five-time nominee loser. Who would benefit most from the "bump"? My money is on Melissa Leo. In other words, and like it or not, I see the best actress and best supporting actor Oscars going to a dark horse and a dark knight in that order.

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Performance by an actress in a supporting role

Amy Adams in “Doubt” (Miramax);
Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (The Weinstein Company)
Viola Davis in “Doubt” (Miramax);
Taraji P. Henson in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.);Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight).

MIMI PICKS: I love Penélope Cruz, but I fear she will once again be shut out, especially since the Weinstein Company, which has both VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA and THE READER in their distribution stable is putting all their energy toward THE READER and Kate Winslet. Tomei was not as good as she could have been, and Adams gave a superb performance, but it was a low-key one. That leaves Viola Davis for DOUBT and Taraji P. Henson for BENJAMIN BUTTON. I mostly miss in this category, so I will simply say that it will either be Davis or Henson.

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Best animated feature film of the year

BOLT (Walt Disney);
KUNG FU PANDA (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount);
WALL-E (Walt Disney).

MIMI PICKS: WALL-E! Enough said.

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Best documentary feature

THE BETRAYAL (Nerakhoon) (Cinema Guild);
ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment);
THE GARDEN (A Black Valley Films Production);
MAN ON WIRE (Magnolia Pictures).

MIMI PICKS: MAN ON WIRE. I was riveted, and it has won more awards than any film in this category.

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Best foreign language film of the year

THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX (A Constantin Film Production), Germany;
THE CLASS (Sony Pictures Classics), France;
DEPARTURES (Regent Releasing),Japan;
REVANCHE (Revenge, Janus Films), Austria
WALTZ WITH BASHIR (Sony Pictures Classics), A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production, Israel.

MIMI PICKS: THE CLASS. Why? It won at Cannes, and it is a sentimental thing with me. This movie reminds me of the work of the late French director, François Truffaut, who was my friend. I miss him and his movies.

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Adapted screenplay

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJHAMIN BUTTON (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Screenplay by Eric Roth, Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord;
DOUBT (Miramax), Written by John Patrick Shanley;
FROST/NIXON (Universal), Screenplay by Peter Morgan;
THE READER (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Hare;
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy.

MIMI PICKS: All of these adaptations presented challenges, and all movies are nominated for best picture. Oh, dear. Oh, dear. I'm going with Simon Beufoy (THE FULL MONTY) for SLUMDOG.

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Original screenplay

FROZEN RIVER (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Courtney Hunt;
HAPPY-GO-LUCKY (Miramax), Written by Mike Leigh;
IN BRUGES (Focus Features), Written by Martin McDonagh;
MILK (Focus Features), Written by Dustin Lance Black;
WALL-E (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter.

MIMI PICKS: MILK gets the nod here for being the sensitive subject and I think it would be a splendid pick in this category, but WALL-E blew me away with its intricacies and beautiful heart, and I'm going to say, WALL-E.

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MIMI PICKS: Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score) - SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (Fox Searchlight), A.R. Rahman.

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song) - “Down to Earth” from WALL-E (Walt Disney), Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel.

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Achievement in directing

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Fincher;
FROST/NIXON (Universal), Ron Howard;
MILK (Focus Features), Gus Van Sant;
THE READER (The Weinstein Company), Stephen Daldry;
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (Fox Searchlight), Danny Boyle.

MIMI PICKS: First, I am delighted that the Academy members did not pick any director out of left field for this category as they did last year. This year they nominated directors of movies nominated for best picture. Well done! Who will win? I pick, Danny Boyle (TRAINSPOTTING, 1996 and SUNSHINE, 2007) for SLUMDOG.

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Best motion picture of the year

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON (Paramount and Warner Bros.);
FROST/NIXON (Universal);
MILK (Focus Features);
THE READER (The Weinstein Company);
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (Fox Searchlight).

MIMI PICKS: SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. I first learned of this film at the Toronto Film Festival where it won the 2008 Cadillac People's Choice Award this past September. After that, this U.K. production shot in Mumbai, and Maharashtra, India, has won award after award, after award, after . . . well, you get the picture.

Good luck, everyone and party hardy!

Ice Storm 2009 - Have Electricity!

Electricity came on at 7:00 last night. Not sure about Hornersville yet.

New Post on Boggling Blog

See post today on My "Boggling the Mind" Blog: http://bogglingthemind.blogspot.com/2009/02/ice-storm-fallout.html

Ice Storm 2009 Stops Me Cold

Sorry that I have not posted in over two weeks. The Ice Storm of 2009 roared in 26 January and lasted two days. Power is still off. Everywhere I look there are no standing light poles. 90,000 people were out of power in Missouri alone. About 1/2 of them still are.

I have been following what is happening with the Academy Awards, and will begin posting as soon as possible.

I live in the house my parents built and almost everything is run on Liquid Propane, but my furnace requires electricity to run the circulating fan. I had a laptop but it went down a few days before the storm and I took it to my tech. He determined the problem is the Motherboard. Three days ago, I was able to retreive it. It is now in the hands of UPS going to Temple, Texas, for repair or replacement. Meanwhile, I have rented a laptop and am charging it in my car.

The Red Cross was here, but they have turned over their Meals on Wheels and meals at the local community center to the Salvation Army. If anyone would like to help the people in Missouri and Arkansas, they are being asked to send a check to the Salvation Army and/or the Red Cross and mark their check "Ice Storm 2009 Relief." You may designate a particular state, if you wish. Your contribution is tax deductible, and since almost 1/2 million have been affected in six states, they will certainly appreciate any donation.

At first, the only heat I had was from my propane cookstove. I have a propane line into my house, so a friend went out and bought me a propane infared wall heater that does not need venting. He hooked it up and I have been toasty warm. I also have hot water, and a telephone (land line and cell), just no power, so I see by a battery-powered lantern and flashlights.

But, everything considered, I am well and functioning. They say it may be at least another week before power is restored. I'll try to keep you posted.

Oscar® Nominations Tomorrow - - Official Site and Media

Nominations for the 81st Academy Awards® will be announced tomorrow, Thursday, 22 January, 5:30 a.m. PT. As usual, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis will make the announcement assisted by a member of the Academy. Oscar-winning actor and Academy member Forest Whitaker (THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND) will accompany him this year.

Ganis and Whitaker will unveil the nominations in 10 of the 24 award categories in a news conference at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Of course, hundreds of media representatives from around the world will be gathered.

The Academy's official Oscar Web site is now up and will be activated when the nominations are announced. Information for all categories will be distributed simultaneously to news media in attendance and via the Internet on the official Oscar Web site, www.oscar.com.

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 also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

Nine Foreign Language Films Advance in Oscar® Race

Nine films on this shortlist will advance to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category for the 81st Academy Awards®. Sixty-five films originally qualified in the category.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are:
Austria, REVANCHE (Revenge), Gotz Spielmann, director;
Canada, THE NECESSITIES OF LIFE, Benoit Pilon, director;
France, THE CLASS, Laurent Cantet, director;
Germany, THE BAADER MEINHJOF COMPLEX, Uli Edel, director;
Israel, WAlTZ WITH BASHIR, Ari Folman, director;
Japan, DEPARTURES, Yojiro Takita, director;
Mexico, TEAR THIS HEART OUT, Roberto Sneider, director;
Sweden, EVERLASTING MOMENTS, Jan Troell, director;
Turkey, 3 MONKEYS, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, director.

Foreign Language Film nominations for 2008 are determined in two phases. The Phase I committee, consisting of several hundred Los Angeles-based members, screened the 65 eligible films between mid-October and January 10. That group’s top six choices, augmented by three additional selections voted by the Academy’s Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee, constitute this shortlist.

The provision for the Executive Committee to augment the first short list was added last year because certain films that were eligible, and had received a number of awards, were completely overlooked by the first committee. Main case in point was the Romania movie, 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, AND 2 DAYS, directed by Cristian Mungiu. Among its many awards was best film at Cannes, 2007. I am happy to see that at least four in the above list are, indeed on this short list, especially THE CLASS from France, which won best film at Cannes last May.

The other three are THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX, WALTZ WITH BASHIR (won Golden Globe this past week for BFLF), and 3 MONKEYS. In THE CLASS (Entre les murs), French teacher and novelist François Bégaudeau plays a version of himself teaching a year with a racially mixed class in a tough Parisian neighborhood.

MEINHOF COMPLEX concerns Germany's terrorist group, The Red Army Faction (RAF), which organized bombings, robberies, kidnappings and assassinations in the late 1960s and '70s. Based on Stefan Aust's best-selling nonfiction book. In BASHIR, a young man tells the film's director about being chased by 26 vicious dogs. A family with problems refuses to hear, see, or talk about them, so they are like the 3 MONKEYS (Üç maymun) in the well-known bric-a-brac.

In Phase Two of the nomination procedure for this category, specially selected committees in New York and Los Angeles will winnow this list to five eligible for nomination for the Best Foreign Language Film (BFLF). The number of originally qualified films allows for a maximum of five nominees in the BFLF category. The committee members will spend this Friday, Saturday and Sunday viewing three of the films each day

The 81st Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Thursday, 22 January 2009, at 5:30 a.m. PT, in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.The 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 also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

SLUMDOG Tops Golden Globes 2009

SLUMDOG is Top Dog at Globes


SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, the Hollywood Bollywood-inspired fantasy movie filmed in Mumbai, India, received four Golden Globes at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's (HFPA) Golden Globes Gala Sunday night. Not only did SLUMDOG win the Best Motion Picture Award, drama, the director (Danny Boyle), screenwriter (Simon Boufoy), and musical score composer (A.R. Rahman), all took home a Globe.

This is what I wrote about SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE in my post on this blog 12/12/2008, exactly one month before the Golden Globes Gala, in regards to the nominations: "In addition, the 'little movie that might,' SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, received a best picture (drama) nomination, and the director Danny Boyle received a best director nomination. SLUMDOG also received a best original score nomination for composer A. R. Rahman. This movie has been picked up by Fox Searchlight. Pay attention to it."

SLUMDOG could be the mighty little independent movie in the Oscar race this year. Think LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, JUNO, etc. SLUMDOG bested the heavyweight nominees THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJIMIN BUTTON (Brad Pitt), FROST/NIXON (directed by Ron Howard), REVOLUTIONARY ROAD (Winslet and DeCaprio), and THE READER (Winslet, again).

BENJAMIN BUTTON, FROST/NIXON and DOUBT all tied with five nominations, but went home sans statuette. So did actress Meryl Streep, having been nominated for best actress in DOUBT (drama) and MAMA MIA! (musical/comedy). However, there were delights with some of the other winners such as actress Kate Winslet. Nominated five times before in the acting category she had won nothing, and this year she hit a double. She received Globes in the drama category for best supporting actress as a Nazi concentration camp guard in THE READER, and the best actress for REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, the latter directed by her husband Sam Mendes.

Two other big winners for the evening were actors Collin Farrell and Mickey Rourke. Farrell won best actor, musical/comedy, for his portrayal of a hit man in the weakly distributed, IN BRUGES. It is available now on DVD. I saw it and highly recommend it.

Rourke, who makes a spectacular comeback in the comeback drama THE WRESTLER, won best actor, drama. I was not surprised that Rourke knocked out the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio (Revolutionary Road), Frank Langella (Frost / Nixon), Sean Penn (Milk), and Brad Pitt (The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button). In the before-mentioned post I wrote, "However, the one to watch in this category is Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)."

Director Woody Allen, in my humble opinion, richly deserves VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA'S win as best musical/comedy motion picture, while the big surprise of the evening was British actress Sally Hawkins' win as best actress, musical/comedy, for her Pollyanna-like role in HAPPY-GO-LUCKY, directed by Mike Leigh.

The win by the animated movie from Israel, WALTZ WITH BASHIR, is an odd choice for Best Foreign Language Film, but the HFPA may not be out in left field about this award-winning animated movie.

The late actor Heath Ledger was honored posthumously for the Joker in THE DARK KNIGHT. There is speculation about an Oscar repeat for Ledger. Only one actor has won a posthumous best-actor Oscar, and that is Peter Finch for NETWORK, 1976.

Of, course, I can't forget Bruce "The Boss" Springsteen who won the best song in a motion picture for THE WRESTLER'S "The Wrestler".

Congratulations to director / producer Stephen Spielberg, this year's recipient of the prestigious Cecil B. DeMille Award! Now, the big question is, "Are the winners of the Gold Globe Awards precursors of the upcoming Oscars?"

Motion Picture Winners (Sunday, 11 January 2009)

Best Motion Picture - Drama: SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Best Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy: VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA
Best Animated Feature: WALL-E
Best Foreign Language Film: WALTZ WITH BASHIR, Israel, Animated

Best Performance by an Actress - Drama: KATE WINSLET (Revolutionary Road)
Best Performance by an Actor - Drama: MICKEY ROURKE
Best Performance by an Actress - Musical/Comedy: SALLY HAWKINS (Happy-Go-Lucky)
Best Performance by an Anctor - Musical/Comedy: COLIN FARRELL (IN BRUGES)
Best Performance by an Actress in a supporting role: KATE WINSLET (The Reader)
Best Performance by an Actor in a supporting role: HEATH LEDGER (The Dark Knight)

Best Director - Motion Picture: DANNY BOYLE (Slumdog Millionaire).
Best Screenplay - Motion Picture: SIMON BEAUFOY (Slumdog Millionaire).
Best Original Musical Score - Motion Picture: SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, Composed by A. R. Rahman.
Best Original Song - Motion Picture: THE WRESTLER, Music & Lyrics by: Bruce Springsteen.

To see all the winners and nominees for motion pictures and television CLICK.

Golden Globes® Gala Tonight

The second annual biggest party in the electronic Universe, the Golden Globes Gala, sponsored by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), is back tonight after a horrible makeshift televised awards program last year. More than 50 Hollywood stars are confirmed as presenters.

Steven Spielberg will receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award for his "outstanding contribution to the entertainment field." He was scheduled to receive it last year, but the HFPA postponed it due to the scaled down event.

The HFPA Golden Globes honor their choices for both the film and television professionals at the same gala. So, welcome back HFPA. I, among many others, missed the glitz and glam last year.

There is no doubt that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association suffered financial loss and the honorees lost valuable "buzz" because the gala was canceled due to the Writers Guild strike. The HFPA promises that the 66th annual gala tonight, broadcast on NBC (8-11 EST), will be bigger and better. The Globe nominations are a roster of the hot and new films, actors, technical achievements, etc.

Because the members represent the foreign press there is a much greater emphasis on who and what is hot at the very moment they fill out their nomination, or final, ballots. Their choices are often based on the feedback the members get from residents of their native countries. After all, they want as many of their fellow country persons to watch as possible.

One advantage of the Globe broadcast is that it is leaner, cleaner, tighter, and not as long, as the top awards show, the Academy Awards®, a.k.a., The Oscars. In the past, one disadvantage was the members seemed to nominate and vote for their favorite "eye candy," not necessarily upon the film or nominee's professional achievements and skills.

The Golden Globes broadcast has been increasing the number of countries and cities where it is broadcast, undoubtedly helped by Internet broadcast. In other words, what fifteen years ago was a little step child of the Oscars is no longer.

It's a big self-sufficient grownup player. One thing evident is that the members of the foreign press are becoming more knowledgeable about cinematic arts and less into voting for that "eye candy".

However, I'm sure there will be lots of hot new eye candy, and they venerate those older actors, actresses, directors, cinematographers and writers, honoring them whenever they can. They don't wait until the film professionals are 80 years old, or almost on their deathbed to do it.

Check the Links Relevant at the bottom of this post to quickly find some information that will increase your viewing pleasure.

For quick access to posts on this blog you can sign up for an Atom instant notice when Mimi makes a post. Look at the top of the right sidebar under "Profile" for Atom.

LINKS RELEVANT:

Yahoo article about Globes Gala tonight.

Mimi's Quick Links to helpful info about tonight at the Golden Globes' Gala.

Link to Mimi's previous post about the 66th Golden Globes on "Mimi at the Movies" blog.

Private Golden Globes Web Site with archive of previous winners.

HFPA Site.

Short List for Visual Effects Oscar®

Seven movies made the short list for possible nomination for an Oscar in the Visual Effects category for the 81st Academy Awards®, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today. The films are listed below in alphabetical order: AUSTRALIA, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, THE DARK KNIGHT, HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY, IRON MAN, JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, and THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR.

On Thursday, 15 January, all members of the Academy’s Visual Effects Branch will be invited to view 15-minute excerpts from each of the seven shortlisted films. Following the screenings, the members will vote to nominate three films for final Oscar consideration.

The 81st Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Thursday, 22 January 2009, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

281 Feature Films Vie for 2008 Oscar® Nominations

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has certified 281 feature films eligible for the Academy Award® for Best Picture of 2008, and only five will be nominated to compete. Participants in these films are eligible for other Oscar nominations such as Best Director, Best Actress, Best Costumes, etc.

To be eligible for 81st Academy Awards® consideration, feature films must open in a commercial motion picture theater in Los Angeles County by midnight, 31 December and begin a minimum run of seven consecutive days. Feature films that receive their first public exhibition or distribution in any manner other than as a theatrical motion picture release are not eligible for Academy Awards in any category.

Under Academy rules, a feature-length motion picture must have a running time of more than 40 minutes and must have been exhibited theatrically on 35mm or 70mm film, or in a qualifying digital format. See the full list (in .pdf) of 281 films, and read more about the rules, by clicking the title of this post.

The 81st Oscar nominations will be announced 5:30 a.m. PT, Thursday, 22 January 2009, at in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2008 will be presented on Sunday, 22 February 2009, in 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.

2008 Oscar® Nomination Ballots Mailed

Ballots for Oscar nominations for the 81st Academy Awards® are being mailed today to the 5,810 voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The deadline for ballots, which must be returned to the office of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), is 5 p.m. Monday, 12 January. Ballots received after the deadline will not be counted. The 81st Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Thursday, 22 January, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Nomination and final award ballots are tabulated by PricewaterhouseCoopers to ensure that all aspects of the balloting process are conducted with fairness and accuracy. Prior to mailing, the PricewaterhouseCoopers staff administers a thorough verification process to ensure that there are no duplicate ballots and that none are missing. In addition to being counted and sorted, the ballots are numbered to guarantee that each one is addressed to the appropriate Academy voter.

The 81st 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.

GOLDEN GLOBES NOMINATE FOREIGN FILMS

These five films were nominated by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) to vie for a Golden Globe as best foreign language film (BFLF):

THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX (DER BAADER MEINHOF KOMPLEX, Germany)*;

EVERLASTING MOMENTS (MARIA LARSSONS EVIGA ÖGONBLICK, Sweden/Denmark)*;

GOMORRAH (GOMORRA, Italy)*;
I'VE LOVED YOU SO LONG (IL Y A LONGTEMPS QUE JE T’AIME, France). Releasing: Sony Pictures Classics;
WALTZ WITH BASHIR (Israel)*. Releasing: Sony Pictures Classics.
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* Submitted to the Academy for consideration for BFLF Oscar. EVERLASTING MOMENTS submitted by Sweden, and France submitted THE CLASS instead.
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In addition, the "little movie that might," SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, received a best picture (drama) nomination, and the director Danny Boyle received a best director nomination. SLUMDOG also received a best original score nomination for composer A. R. Rahman. This movie has been picked up by Fox Searchlight. Pay attention to it.

All the directors in the best motion picture (drama) competition were nominated, to wit: THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON (David Fincher) , FROST / NIXON (Ron Howard), THE READER (Stephen Daldry), and REVOLUTIONARY ROAD (Sam Mendes). Oh, if the Oscars could only be that clean this year.

Four of the nominated pictures picked up nominations for their leading actors: Leonardo DiCaprio (Revolutionary Road), Frank Langella (Frost / Nixon), Sean Penn (Milk), and Brad Pitt (The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button). However, the one to watch in this category is Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler).

Only one actress from the nominated best motion picture (drama) list was nominated, Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road). The other actresses are: Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married), Angelina Jolie (Changeling), Meryl Streep (Doubt), and Kristin Scott Thomas (I've Loved You So Long). Meryl Streep is also nominated for best actress (musical or comedy) for MAMMA MIA!

The five nominees in the best motion picture (musical or comedy) category are: BURN AFTER READING, HAPPY-G0-LUCKY, IN BRUGES, MAMMA MIA! and VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA. The actresses nominated in this category, other than Streep, are: Rebecca Hall (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky), Frances McDormand (Burn After Reading) and Emma Thompson (Last Chance Harvey).

My favorite actor leads the actors nominated in the best actor (musical or comedy) category, Javier Bardem (Vicky Cristina Barcelona). The others are: Colin Farrell (In Bruges), James Franco (Pineapple Express), Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges) and Dustin Hoffman (Last Chance Harvey).

You can see the full list of nominees by clicking here, or the title of this post and hopefully, there will be a Golden Globes ceremony. You must remember that the gala was canceled last year because of the Writers Guild strike. Well, the actors (Screen Actors Guild) have been threatening to walk. Let us hope not, especially with the economy in such bad shape.

15 Docs Continue in 2008 Oscar® Race

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that 15 films in the Documentary Feature category will advance in the voting process for the 81st Academy Awards®. A record 94 pictures originally qualified in the category. The Documentary Branch Screening Committee viewed all the eligible documentaries for the preliminary round of voting. Documentary Branch members will now select the five nominees from among the 15 titles on this shortlist.

The 15 films are listed below in alphabetical order:

AT THE DEATH HOUSE DOOR

THE BETRAYAL (Nerakhoon)

BLESSED IS THE MATCH: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF HANNAH SENESH

ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD

FUEL

THE GARDEN

GLASS: A PORTRAIT OF PHILIP IN TWELVE PARTS

I.O.U.S.A.

IN A DREAM

MADE IN AMERICA

MAN ON WIRE

PRAY THE DEVIL BACK TO HELL

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE (S.O.P.)

THEY KILLED SISTER DOROTHY

TROUBLE THE WATER

The 81st Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Thursday, 22 January 2009, at 5:30 a.m., PT, in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

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 also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

Here are the five I would like to see nominated: GLASS: A PORTRAIT OF PHILIP IN TWELVE PARTS, MADE IN AMERICA, MAN ON WIRE, PRAY THE DEVIL BACK TO HELL, and STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE. What are your picks?

Fourteen Features May Qualify For 81st Oscars®

Fourteen feature films have been submitted for consideration in the Animated Feature Film category for the 81st Academy Awards®. However, seven are not yet fully qualified to proceed in the Oscar-nomination process because they have not had their required Los Angeles qualifying theatrical releases.

The complete conditional list is:
BOLT
DELGO
DR. SEUSS' HORTON HEARS A WHO!
DRAGON HUNTERS
FLY ME TP THE MOON
IGOR
KUNG FU PANDA
MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA
$9.99
THE SKY CRAWLERS
SWORD OF THE STRANGER
THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX
WALL-E
WALZ WITH BASHIR

BOLT, DELGO, DRAGON HUNTERS, $9.99, THE SKY CRAWLERS, THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX, and WALZ WITH BASHIR have not yet had their required Los Angeles qualifying runs. Submitted features must fulfill the theatrical release requirements and meet all of the category’s other qualifying rules before they can advance in the voting process.

Under the rules for this category, a maximum of three (3) films can be nominated in a year in which the field of eligible entries numbers at least eight (8) but fewer than 16. Right now, there are eight (8) films qualified to move forward, and only seven (7) left to qualify. Thus, there will definitely be fewer than 16 eligible films, and the maximum nominations can only be three (3). Films submitted in the Animated Feature Film category also may qualify for Academy Awards in other categories, including Best Picture, provided they meet the requirements for those categories.

The 81st Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Thursday, 22 January 2009, at 5:30 a.m., PT, in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. 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 also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

Author Rushdie and Director Mehta Team

Mehta and Rushdie

Director Deepa Mehta is collaborating with Salman Rushdie on a feature-film adaptation of the author's 1981 novel "Midnight's Children," which won Britain's prestigious Booker literary prize. The story is narrated by a young man born on the stroke of midnight 15 August 1947, the day India won independence from Britain.

Both Mehta and Rushdie were born in India, with the filmmaker eventually making her base in Toronto, Canada, and Rushdie resides somewhere in Britain. They will co-write the screenplay and hope to roll cameras in 2010. Indian actors Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das, who starred in two earlier Mehta films, FIRE and EARTH, will star in the project.

Mehta's movie WATER was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film (BFLF) category in 2007. Germany's Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's "Das Leben der Anderen" (THE LIVES OF OTHERS) captured the Oscar for best foreign-language film that year.

Digitally Restored “Rashomon” to Premiere in NYC

Machiko Kyo

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ “Monday Nights with Oscar®” series will present the East Coast premiere of the new digitally restored print of renowned filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s 1950 masterpiece RASHOMON on Monday, November 17, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy Theater in New York City. The Academy Theater is located at 111 East 59th Street in New York City. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. All seating is unreserved.

RASHOMON won the Honorary Foreign Language Film Award for Japan and was nominated for Black-and-White Art Direction (Takashi Matsuyama, H. Matsumoto). It stars Toshiro Mifune and Machiko Kyo. This screening will feature the new restoration from the Academy Film Archive in association with the Kadokawa Culture Promotion Foundation and The Film Foundation.

A crime drama that questions the very nature of truth, RASHOMON is set in feudal Japan and depicts a violent incident from four different points of view. The film’s innovative approach and style cemented Kurosawa’s international reputation as a significant creative force and had a profound influence on cinematic storytelling, reflected in such films as THE USUAL SUSPECTS (1995) and COURAGE UNDER FIRE (1996), and on numerous works in other media.

Tickets are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Tickets may be purchased through the Academy's online ticketing system at http://www.oscars.org/. There are no transaction or processing fees. Tickets may also be purchased by mail or at the door on the night of the event (subject to availability). For additional information call (212) 821-9251 or visit www.oscars.org/events.

Motion Picture Academy Awards $450,000 to Festivals

The Academy Foundation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences® has awarded $450,000 to 24 U.S. film festivals for the 2009 calendar year, Festival Grants Committee Chair Gale Anne Hurd announced yesterday.

Two festivals, the Nashville Film Festival and the New Orleans Film Festival, will each receive a total of $75,000 over a three-year period to help develop long-term projects. The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival and the Virginia Film Festival are each in the second year of a multi-year grant. The San Francisco International Film Festival will receive $50,000 as part of multi-year grant awarded in 2007.

While the grants are awarded for a variety of programs, film festivals are encouraged to submit proposals that make festival events more accessible to the general public, provide greater access to minority and less visible filmmakers, and help strengthen the connection between the filmmaker and the general public.

The 2009 film festival program allocations are as follows:

$50,000
San Francisco International Film Festival **
$30,000
Chicago International Film Festival
Heartland Film Festival (Indianapolis, IN)
Mill Valley Film Festival (San Rafael, CA) **
Sarasota Film Festival (FL)
Seattle International Film Festival
$25,000
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival (Durham, NC)
Nashville Film Festival
New Orleans Film Festival
Virginia Film Festival (Charlottesville)
$20,000
Portland International Film Festival
Native American Film & Video Festival (New York City)
Roger Ebert’s Film Festival (Urbana, IL) **
Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival (Birmingham, AL)
Woodstock Film Festival (NY)
$10,000
Asian American International Film Festival (New York City)
$5,000
Arizona International Film Festival (Tucson)
BAMKids Film Festival (Brooklyn, NY)
Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival (AZ)
Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival (WY)
Olympia Film Festival (WA)
Rocky Mountain Women’s Film Festival (Colorado Springs)
San Francisco Black Film Festival
Washington Jewish Film Festival (D.C.)

Since its establishment in 1999, the Academy’s Festival Grants Program has distributed 198 grants totaling $3.5 million in funding. For more information on the program, visit www.oscars.org/grants/filmfestival.

The program is one of the many activities of the Academy Foundation – the Academy’s cultural and educational wing – which annually grants more than $1 million to film scholars, cultural organizations and film festivals throughout the U.S. and abroad. The Foundation also presents the Academy’s rich assortment of screenings and other public programs each year.

** I follow these and more on my Film Festivals Page. Links on sidebar to the 2008 page, parts I, II, and III.

Roger Ebert of Ebertfest

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema. In addition to the annual Academy Awards – in which the members vote to select the nominees and winners – the Academy presents a diverse year-round slate of public programs, exhibitions and events; provides financial support to a wide range of other movie-related organizations and endeavors; acts as a neutral advocate in the advancement of motion picture technology; and, through its Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive, collects, preserves, restores and provides access to movies and items related to their history. Through these and other activities the Academy serves students, historians, the entertainment industry and people everywhere who love movies.

COUNTRIES SUBMIT FILMS FOR BFLF OSCAR®

A record 67 countries (63 last year), including first-time entrant Jordan, have submitted feature films for Oscar® consideration in the Best Foreign Language Film (BFLF) category for the 81st Academy Awards® for Best Foreign Language Film of 2008.

In June, the Academy invited 95 countries to submit a film in the category. The deadline to receive the application and all supporting material was 1 October. Selected committees will now select a short list from which five films will be nominated by those in the full Academy membership who can certify they have seen all five films nominated. [This post is also in the link on the right sidebar from now until next year.]

The 2008 submissions, along with director(s) are:

Afghanistan, OPIUM WAR, Siddiq Barmak;

Albania, THE SORROW OF MRS. SCHNEIDER, Piro Milkani and Eno Milkani;

Algeria, MASQUERADES, Lyes Salem;

Argentina, LION'S DEN, Pablo Trapero;

Austria, REVANCHE, Gotz Spielmann;

Azerbaijan, FORTRESS, Shamil Nacafzada;

Bangladesh, AHA!, Enamul Karim Nirjhar;

Belgium, ELDORADO, Bouli Lanners;

Bosnia and Herzegovina, SNOW, Aida Begic;

Brazil, LAST STOP 174, Bruno Barreto;

Bulgaria, ZIFT, Javor Gardev;

Canada, THE NECESSITIES OF LIFE, Benoit Pilon;

Chile, TONY MANERO, Pablo Larrain;

China, DREAM WEAVERS, Jun Gu, director;

Colombia, DOG EAT DOG, Carlos Moreno;

Croatia, NO ONE'S SON, Arsen Anton Ostojic;

Czech Republic, THE KARAMAZOVS, Petr Zelenka;

Denmark, WORLDS APART, Niels Arden Oplev;

Egypt, THE ISLAND, Sherif Arafa;

Estonia, I WAS HERE, Rene Vilbre;

Finland, THE HOME OF DARK BUTTERFLIES, Dome Karukoski;

France, THE CLASS, Laurent Cantet;

Georgia, MEDIATOR, Dito Tsintsadze;

Germany, THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX, Uli Edel;

Greece, CORRECTION, Thanos Anastopoulos;

Hong Kong, PAINTED SKIN, Gordon Chan;

Hungary, ISKA'S JOURNEY, Csaba Bollok;

Iceland, WHITE NIGHT WEDDING, Baltasar Kormakur;

India, TAARE ZAMEEN PAR, Aamir Khan;

Iran, THE SONG OF THE SPARROWS, Majid Majidi;

Israel, WALTZ WITH BASHIR, Ari Folman;

Italy, GOMORRA, Matteo Garrone;

Japan, DEPARTURES, Yojiro Takita;

Jordan, CAPTAIN ABU RAED, Amin Matalqa;

Kazakhstan, TULPAN, Sergey Dvortsevoy;

Korea, CROSSING, Tae-kyun Kim;

Kyrgyzstan, HEAVENS BLUE, Marie Jaoul de Poncheville;

Latvia, DEFENDERS OF RIGA, Aigars Grauba;

Lebanon, UNDER THE BOMBS, Philippe Aractingi;

Lithuania, LOSS, Maris Martinsons;

Luxembourg, NUITS D'ARABIE, Paul Kieffer;

Macedonia, I’M FROM TITOV VELES, Teona Strugar Mitevska;

Mexico, TEAR THIS HEART OUT, Roberto Sneider;

Morocco, GOODBYE MOTHERS, Mohamed Ismail;

The Netherlands, DUNYA & DESIE, Dana Nechushtan;

Norway, O’HORTEN, Bent Hamer;

Palestine, SALT OF THIS SEA, Annemarie Jacir;

Philippines, PLONING, Dante Nico Garcia;

Poland, TRICKS, Andrzej Jakimowski;

Portugal, OUR BELOVED MONTH OF AUGUST, Miguel Gomes;

Romania, THE REST IS SILENCE, Nae Caranfil;

Russia, MERMAID, Anna Melikyan;

Serbia, THE TOUR, Goran Markovic;

Singapore, MY MAGIC, Eric Khoo;

Slovakia, BLIND LOVES, Juraj Lehotsky;

Slovenia, ROOSTER'S BREAKFAST, Marko Nabersnik;

South Africa, JERUSALEMA, Ralph Ziman;

Spain, THE BLIND SUNFLOWERS, Jose Luis Cuerda;

Sweden, EVERLASTING MOMENTS, Jan Troell;

Switzerland, THE FRIEND, Micha Lewinsky;

Taiwan, CAPE NO. 7, Te-Sheng Wei;

Thailand, LOVE OF SIAM, Chookiat Sakveerakul;

Turkey, 3 MONKEYS, Nuri Bilge Ceylan;

Ukraine, ILLUSION OF FEAR, Aleksandr Kiriyenko;

United Kingdom, HOPE ETERNAL, Karl Francis;

Uruguay, KILL THEM ALL, Esteban Schroeder;

Venezuela, THE COLOR OF FAME, Alejandro Bellame Palacios.

Nominations for the 81st Academy Awards will be announced on Thursday, 22 January 2009, at 5:30 a.m., PT, in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

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.

San Sebastian IFF and Web Site Success

Awards Presentation and Gala 2008
Final report from San Sebastian IFF. Their improved Web site for the 56th International Film Festival (SSIFF) was a huge success attracting millions. Over-all attendance, media coverage and country participation were also up.

The Festival was followed online this year in record-breaking numbers. The official Web site, sansebastianfestival.com/, provided online live and repeat broadcasts of the opening and closing galas, plus the two Donostia award ceremonies. Those impressive new features, plus up-to-date information with a photo gallery, press conference videos, photocalls, Zabaltegi Meetings and other festival events helped the Festival enjoy a very successful run.

The official Web site logged more than four million visits during the ten days of the Festival. In addition, there were nearly 100,000 video downloads.

The Festival had the highest attendance on record. A total of almost 180,000 spectators took part in the various Festival activities. That figure includes 3,041 film industry professionals and members of the press. Among those were 1,091 registered journalists, representing media outlets from 41 countries. The highest film industry and media attendance in the history of the Festival.

A total of 64 films from 20 countries were part of the 14th edition of Films in Progress: Germany, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, United States, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Portugal, Uruguay and Venezuela. Of the 64 films presented, 13 were co-productions between different countries and 12 had participated in previous years.

Cinema in Motion included projects from 13 countries. Four films were selected to take part in the event during the Festival, attended by 63 companies.

Mimi welcomes follow-up reports from the festivals she follows on her Film Festival Page, which has also grown. The 2008 page is now in three parts: Part I (January - May), Part II (June - September), and Part III (October - December). Also, check Mimi's Awards Page as the Movie Awards Season is now open and will get hectic by December. Links to all these pages are on the right sidebar.

Are you a member of Facebook? Please join "Mimi's Movie Gang," in the Entertainment & Arts Groups.

First Shortlist for Oscar® Nominations Announced

The Academy of Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences® announced today the first shortlist for the 81st Academy Awards®. It is a list of eight films for the Documentary Short Subject category. From this list three to five films will be nominated in January. Other such shortlists will be announced in the coming days.

The deadline for submission to the Academy of short and feature documentary films was Tuesday, 2 September. Voters from the Academy’s Documentary Branch viewed this year’s 31 eligible short-film contenders in Documentary and submitted their ballots to PricewaterhouseCoopers for tabulation from which eight films were selected. For full schedule, click here, or the link on the right sidebar for 81st Academy Awards Schedule.

The eight short films, in alphabetical order, are:

The Conscience of Nhem En
David McCullough: Painting with Words

Downstream

The Final Inch

Smile Pinki

Tongzhi in Love

Viva La Causa

The Witness from the Balcony of Room 306

The 81st Academy Awards nominations for outstanding film achievements of 2008 will be announced on Thursday, 22 January 2009, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

The presentation of the 81st Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2008 will be televised live by ABC Television, Sunday, 22 February 2009, from the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, Hollywood.

In February of this year, winners of the 80th Academy Awards in the Documentary Short Subject and Documentary Feature categories, respectively, were Freeheld and Taxi to the Dark Side.

SAG Honors James Earl Jones with Achievement Award

Actor James Earl Jones will receive the Screed Actors Guild (SAG) Lifetime Achievement Award when the Guild's annual awards are presented Sunday, 25 January 2009. His million-dollar voice is one of the most recognizable of any actor working today.

He is probably best known as the voice of Darth Vader in STAR WARS and Mufasa in THE LION KING. He has also done countless voiceovers (VO) in commercials and on CNN.

Jones has garnered laurels for his distinguished acting on television and in movies, as well as his appearances on the stage. This year, he starred in Broadway revivals of 'On Golden Pond' (Normal Thayer Jr.) and 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' (Big Daddy). His honors include one Golden Globe, two Tony awards, three Emmys, an Oscar nomination (male lead actor in THE GREAT WHITE HOPE, 1971), and the National Medal of Arts.

In 1995, he received the prestigious National Board of Review, USA, Career Achievement Award. The next year, he was nominated for a SAG award for best performance by a male leading actor in a movie, CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY.

Probably few know today that Jones had a terrible stuttering problem as a child. His problem was so acute that he actually stopped speaking for a long time. His love of reading eventually helped him gain confidence to begin speaking again.

When he did find his voice, he soon became aware his presence and deep resonant voice might lead to an acting career. The 77-year-old actor says his voice is his most prominent asset.

He has two VO projects in the pipeline at the moment: JACK AND THE BEANSTALK (2008), completed, and QUANTUM QUEST: A CASSINI SPACE ODYSSEY (2010), in post-production. However I suspect, as an accomplished actor his real love is live theatre.

For more on current and upcoming awards, click the link on the right sidebar for Mimi's Awards Page.

San Sebastián Film Festival Winners

View of San Sebastián and Festival Office

Award winners at the 56th San Sebastián International Film Festival (56 Festival Internacionál de San Sebastián Donostia Zinmaldea), 18 - 27 September 2008, have been announced. The winner of the Golden Shell (Concha de oro) for Best Film was: PANDORANIN KUTUSU / PANDORA'S BOX, Yesim Ustaoglu, (Turkey - France - Germany - Belgium).

An American movie, FROZEN RIVER, won two awards for the director, Courtney Hunt, and a Silver Shell (Concha de plata) best-actress for Melissa Leo, in a tie with the lead actress of PANDORA'S BOX.

Here is the FULL LIST with many pictures and much info. Click title of this post for the Festival's official Web site.

There is extensive information about the Festival, including the opening gala, on my Film Festivals Page. Here's the direct link for 2008. The opening gala was broadcast live on the Festival's Official Video Site, Telefestival, the Screen of Plaza Oquendo, and on Spanish Television's 2nd channel. This is the widest coverage the SSIFF has ever guarnered. The General Coordinator of the multi-media broadcasts was my buddy Diego Galán, and Manuel Palacios directed.

Oscar® Entries Deadline for Foreign Language, and Shot Films

The Best Foreign Language Film submission deadline for possible Oscar® nomination is Wednesday, 1 October 2008. It is also the deadline for Live Action Short Film and Animated Short Film.

Entry forms for consideration for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nomination for the 81st Academy Awards®, along with documentaion and one English-subtitled film print, and all other required materials, must be at the Academy in Beverly Hills by 5:00 p.m., 1 October. Only one entry per country.

The Academy mailed entry forms to 95 countries in June. Last year, the Academy invited 93 countries to submit. Of those who submitted, films from 61 countries were qualified for nomination.

In the short film categories, filmmakers must submit an entry form, one film print, or copy in an approved digital format, and all other required materials by the same deadline.

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

For more information contact:

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences®
8949 Wilshire Boulevard Beverly Hills, CA 90211-1972
Or, click the 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.

Toronto Festival Wraps - Let the Film-Awards Season Begin

Dev Patel and Freida Pinto in SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

The film festival in the city that has been dubbed "Hollywood North," Toronto, Canada, wrapped Sunday. The Toronto International Film Festival is also considered the opening of the film-awards season, which culminates with the Academy Awards® in February.

However, the first major awards after Toronto's IFF are usually the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' Primetime Emmy Awards®. This year is no exception.

The 60th Primetime Emmy gala (Diamond Jubilee) will be broadcasting live on ABC from the NOKIA Theatre, Staples Center, Los Angeles (8:00-11:00 PM, ET / PT, 7:00 PM CT) next Sunday the 21st. The New York party will be held at the Frederick P. Rose Hall, Time Warner Building, NYC.

The next night, Monday 22, the 29th News and Documentary Emmy Awards is at the Fredrick P. Rose Hall, Time Warner Building, NYC, and will not be broadcast. You can get a bird's eye view of both the Primetime and the News and Documentary awards on my Awards Page. Here's the link to the Official Primetime Emmy Site for more details.

As for Toronto, it is interesting to me that the Cadillac Audience Award went to British Director Danny Boyle's movie SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE filmed in India, the story of a orphaned young man trying to win big on a television show that is the Indian version of a U.S. show, and the Best Canadian First Feature Film was awarded to Marie-Hélène Cousineau and Madeline Piujuq Ivalu's BEFORE TOMORROW. The movie is based on the novel by Danish author Jørn Riel, which is about a strong Inuit woman and her beloved grandson, who become trapped on a remote Island.

Toronto IFF proves every year how truly international filmmaking is becoming. Go to my Film Festivals Page and see what I am talking about. There's plenty of highlights on my page, including pictures and the recent awards. For more details go to the TIFF Official Site.

Also, I have highlighted some of the movies at the festival that most likely will make the nomination list, in some aspect, for the upcoming 81st Academy Awards® on Sunday, 22 February 2009. Go. Get a heads-up!

Duplicate Capra Oscar® Returned to Army

Duplicate statuette and PRELUDE TO WAR poster on display at ceremony returning Oscar statuette to the Department of the Army, 3 September 2008. Photo: Todd Wawrychuk / ©A.M.P.A.S.

A duplicate of an Oscar statuette earned by director Frank Capra’s acclaimed 1942 documentary PRELUDE TO WAR, the first film in the United States Army Special Services’ seven-picture “Why We Fight” series, was removed from the auction block by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Academy President Sid Ganis returned the statuette to the care of the U.S. Army in a special ceremony yesterday.

The duplicate statuette was requested by and granted to the Department of Defense in 1958 in connection with a special exhibition. In the years following the exhibition, the award was in the care of the Army Pictorial Center. The original Oscar for Best Documentary of 1943, PRELUDE TO WAR, remains in the care of the Capra family.

The Army Pictorial Center closed in 1970. Academy officials, who monitor auction houses, on-line sales, and other sales outlets, saw that Christie's auction house was offering the statuette for sale. The Army asserted its claim on the Award immediately after being notified by the Academy. Exactly what happened to the statuette between 1970 and 2008 is unknown, but the auction house was pleased to return the statuette to the Army.

Frank Capra (L) and John Ford during World War II, undated.
Photo courtesy of the Margaret Herrick Library.

The “Why We Fight” films, directed by then-Major Frank Capra (IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, 1946) are widely recognized as the most effective of the many films produced by the armed services to educate Americans in general, and new servicemen in particular, about the nation’s objectives in entering WWII.

“We are very grateful that the Academy contacted us and has returned the Oscar to the U.S. Army. . . . The award will be proudly and prominently displayed at the Department of the Army Headquarters for Public Affairs Office at the Pentagon for all to see," said Brigadier General Jeffrey E. Phillips, Deputy Chief of Public Affairs.

TRIVIA NOTE from Mimi: Frank Capra (18 May 1897, Sicily - 3 September 1991, Palm Springs, CA)

Actually, Frank Capra was not credited on PRELUDE TO WAR, the official World War II US Government film made for distribution to the American public. It defines the various enemies of the Allies and why they must be fought. It was made at a time when the war was going badly for the USA, 1942. The entire "Why We Fight" series, directed by Frank Capra, was placed on the National Film Registry, National Film Preservation Board, USA, in 2000.

Capra's first studio feature film after returning from his Army film assignment was IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946), starring Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, etc. He won three Oscars for directing in the 1930's for YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU, MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN and IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT. Ironically, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE was nominated for five Oscars, including directing, but won none.

MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, also starring Jimmy Stewart, was nominated for 10 Oscars in 1940, including Stewart and Capra, but only Lewis R. Foster received one for writing the original story.

Capra has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but never received a lifetime achievement Oscar from the Academy. His last movie was the 1961 POCKETFULL OF MIRACLES.

I met him at the La Quinta Resort, Palm Springs, CA, about 1984. I was there working with a partner's meeting for what was then Price Waterhouse. I was distributing credentials for the evening parties, when a casually dressed older gentleman, only slightly taller than I, walked up to me and asked, "May I come to the parties."

I knew he was not part of the seminar and asked, "What is your name?"

"Frank Capra. Do you think you could get me in?"

I was stunned for a moment, and then recognized him as, indeed, one of the Hollywood directors that I most admired. I replied, "I'm not sure, Mr. Capra, these are private parties, but I'll be happy to ask my boss."

"Oh," he said, "I was just kidding, but thank you."

He gave me a card with only the number of his residence at La Quinta. The next day, I knocked on the door at the time he had indicated.

Mr. Capra answered, invited me in, and I visited with him for about an hour. We exchanged pleasantries and talked in generalities - - families, current movies, current events, about his life at La Quinta, my work at Price Waterhouse, etc.

Although tempted, I never asked him any questions. He seemed very pleased about the visit and invited me to visit him again the next time I was at the resort. Much to my regret, due to circumstances in my life that were beyond my control, I never returned to La Quinta.