As the 84th Academy Awards move closer, we’re starting to get a better sense of how things will pan out. We recently shared the 39 songs that will contend for the Best Original Song category, and now the Academy has announced the 97 original scores eligible for the Best Original Score award. AMPAS is notoriously picky when it comes to eligibility in this category, and as we feared the scores for both Drive and Attack the Block have been deemed ineligible. Also disappointing is the ineligibility of Alexandre Desplat’s mesmerizing score for The Tree of Life.

While it’s upsetting to see some of the year’s best work side-lined, there’s plenty to be happy about. I was a huge fan of Howard Shore’s work in Hugo and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s score for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, as well as The Chemical Brothers’ brilliant work in the criminally underseen Hanna. Hit the jump for the full list, as well as who I think will make the cut.

The National Board of Review has announced their honors for 2011.  As always, the wide selection allows the NBR to technically have a say in directing awards season, and their picks remain solid.  While I didn’t go nuts over Hugo, a lot of people did and so it’s not surprising NBR gave it Best Picture and named Martin Scorsese as Best Director.  For the most part, I like all of NBR’s choices.  I’m glad any time Drive gets attention, the acting picks are all worthy, and I’m happy Crime After Crime and 13 Assassins got some love.  Notable snubs include Young Adult, Moneyball, and Martha Marcy May Marlene.  Of course, anything Clint Eastwood does has to make NBR’s Top 10 so that’s why a spot is wasted on J. Edgar.

Hit the jump for the full list of winners.

The nominations for the 27th Annual Independent Spirit Awards were announced this morning with The Artist and Take Shelter each nabbing five nominations. In addition to The Artist and Take Shelter, Drive, 50/50, The Descendants, and Beginners will duke it out for the top prize. Absent from the Best Feature list is Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, though the film was recognized in Best Supporting Male (Corey Stoll) and Best Cinematography. Also of note, Elizabeth Olsen and John Hawkes landed nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Male for Martha Marcy May Marlene, and Ryan Gosling and Woody Harrelson were both singled out in Best Actor for Drive and Rampart respectively.

Hit the jump to check out the full list of nominations. Recognizing the best in independent film, the awards will be handed out on February 25th, the day before the Oscars.

In the unique and thought-provoking sci-fi drama Another Earth, actor William Mapother plays renowned composer John Burroughs, a man who has suffered a terrible tragedy that has left him disconnected, mistrustful and full of doubts about who he is. Then he meets Rhoda Williams (Brit Marling), a young woman with a horrible secret, searching for a way to right an unforgivable wrong. When Rhoda gets the chance to travel to Earth 2 – a mysterious yet mirror planet that has appeared in the sky – it forces her to expose the hidden truth between her and John, derailing the risky love affair that they have found themselves in.

At the film’s press day, William Mapother did this exclusive interview with Collider, in which he talked about how he came to this provocative indie film, his desire to rehearse and rewrite his scenes with the filmmakers once he was cast, the need to ground the sci-fi aspect of the film as much as possible in order to keep the relationship real, learning to play the musical saw for the role, the relief in knowing that people seeing the film are responding in the same way that he did when he read the script, and that he would take the opportunity to go to Earth 2 himself, with the stipulation that it could be a round-trip experience. He also talked about his upcoming roles in the comedy FDR: American Badass! (about FDR fighting werewolves), Edwin Boyd and A Warrior’s Heart (with Twilight stars Kellan Lutz and Ashley Greene), and what it was like to have been a part of the television series Lost. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

Another Earth is a compelling and thought-provoking sci-fi drama about a world just like ours, that suddenly and mysteriously has a similar planet – dubbed Earth 2 – appear overnight. When Rhoda (Brit Marling) gets behind the wheel after a night of partying, a tragic accident halts her dreams and leaves her with no sense of the future. She is drawn to the man whose life she irrevocably changed, wanting to make things different for him. As Rhoda and John Burroughs (William Mapother) become involved in a risky love affair, and she gets the incredible chance to travel to Earth 2, she feels the need to tell him of their true connection.

With Another Earth, the film’s lead actress, Brit Marling – who also produced the provocative piece and co-wrote the script with director Mike Cahill – proved that she is a talent to keep an eye on. At the film’s press day, the rising star, who began writing scripts so that she had films to act in, did this exclusive interview with Collider, in which she talked about what drew her to the sci-fi genre, what led her from being an economics major to an actress, balancing an intimate love story with such an epic concept, and how “positive dissatisfaction” keeps her grounded. She also talked about selling both Another Earth and the equally compelling Sound of My Voice (which she co-write with director Zal Batmanglij) to Fox Searchlight, how she envisioned Sound of My Voice as a trilogy that she hopes to someday complete, what made her want to be a part of Arbitrage and act from someone else’s script, and how she’d love to continue to work outside of her comfort zone. Check out what she had to say after the jump:

A new trailer and poster for the sci-fi drama Another Earth have gone online.  Rather than sit in the mold of sci-fi action-adventure, Another Earth takes a sci-fi concept (another Earth emerges from the other side of the sun and has other versions of ourselves) and uses it to explore an emotional drama.  I missed the film at Sundance but I have no intention of making that mistake again and plan to see it at this year’s Atlanta Film Festival.  This is a fantastic trailer and an intriguing premise.  Additionally, the film’s star and co-writer Brit Marling also co-wrote and starred in the acclaimed sci-fi drama Sound of My Voice, which was recently picked up for distribution by Fox Searchlight.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and poster for Another Earth.  The film opens July 22nd.

The teaser trailer and a couple of clips from Sundance darling Another Earth have gone online. The sci-fi film that centers on the discovery of a second Earth was one of the more buzzed about films at the festival this past January, winning the Special Jury Prize and securing distribution from Fox Searchlight. Breakout star/co-writer Brit Marling recently joined the cast of Nicholas Jarecki’s Arbitrage opposite Richard Gere.

Hit the jump the watch the teaser and clips. Another Earth stars William Mapother, Brit Marling, Jordan Baker, Robin Lord Taylor, and Flint Beverage and will be released on July 22^nd.

After a brief sequel detour of Toy Story 3 and Cars 2, Pixar returns to original properties in 2012 with Brave.  According to The Wrap, Disney has moved the release date from July 22 to July 15, 2012.  Brave is a princess fairy tale set in the Scottish highlands and features the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson,  Julie Walters, and (like all Pixar films that precede it) John Ratzenberger.

Fox Searchlight acquired Another Earth out of the Sundance Film Festival and has now scheduled a limited release for July 22.  William Mapother, Brit Marling, Jordan Baker, Robin Lord Taylor, and Flint Beverage star in the sci-fi film that centers on the discovery of a second Earth.  Hit the jump for synopses for both Brave and Another Earth.

With the 2011 Sundance Film Festival entering its second and final weekend, we have a few bits of new to bring you out of Park City, Utah.  First up, Mike Cahill’s sci-fi film Another Earth has been awarded the festival’s Alfred P. Sloan Award for its status as an “outstanding feature film focusing on science or technology as a theme, or depicting a scientist, engineer or mathematician as a major character.”  The award carries with it a $20,000 cash award for Cahill and Co.  Briefly, Another Earth stars William Mapother and Brit Marling and centers on two strangers who strike up an unlikely love affair against the backdrop of the discovery of a duplicate Earth.

Next up are a couple of Sundance acquisitions and we begin with the annoucement that Focus Features has snatched up the rights to Dee Rees’ Pariah.  Starring Adepero Oduye, Pernell Walker, and Kim Wayans, the drama tells the story of a Bronx teenager who is charged with the difficult task of choosing between losing her best friend or destroying her family.  Lastly, New Video has acquired the David Sington documentary The Flaw.  Briefly, the economically-concerned project attempts to explain the underlying causes of current U.S. financial woes.  New Video will release The Flaw under its Docurama Films moniker via multiple platforms including a limited theatrical run, cable VOD, and DVD.

Hit the jump to check out the press releases.  Click here to catch up on all of our previous Sundance 2011 coverage.

Quite a few more acquisitions to report from the 2011 Sundance Film Festival today. Two star-studded films found distributors at the festival, with The Weinstein Company picking up worldwide rights to the dark comedy The Details starring Tobey Maguire and Elizabeth Banks, and Magnolia Pictures grabbing the US rights to the polarizingly dark drama I Melt With You starring Rob Lowe, Thomas Jane and Jeremy Piven. IFC Films acquired North American rights to the Ewan McGregor and Eva Green romantic thriller Perfect Sense, Sony Pictures Classics acquired the action comedy The Guard starring Don Cheadle and Brendan Gleeson, and Fox Searchlight snatched up the sci-fi drama Another Earth starring William Mapother and Brit Marling. Magnolia SVP Tom Quinn had this to say about acquiring I Melt With You:

“Mark Pellington has made a maverick, stylish and powerful film that resonates for days after viewing. Thomas Jane, Rob Lowe, Jeremy Piven and Christian McKay give some of the best performances of their entire careers and attention must be paid.”

Hit the jump to read the full press releases of all of the aforementioned films. Be sure to check out all of our Sundance coverage (including interviews, reviews and acquisitions) here.

Continuing our coverage of films that will be featured at the Sundance Film Festival in January, today we’re bringing you two films that will premiere in-competition at the festival: Another Earth and Pariah. Another Earth stars William Mapother, Brit Marling, Jordan Baker, Robin Lord Taylor, and Flint Beverage. The film tells the story of two strangers who meet on the eve of when a duplicate Earth has been discovered, and the two strike up an unlikely love affair.

Pariah stars Adepero Oduye, Pernell Walker, Kim Wayans, Charles Parnell, and Aasha Davis. The film focuses on a Bronx teenager who is forced to choose between losing her best friend or destroying her family. Hit the jump to check out images and a brief synopsis for each film. The 2011 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 20 – 30th.

The films playing in-competition at this year’s Sundance Film Festival have been announced.  Some of this year’s competitors include Vera Farmiga’s directorial debut Higher Ground, Paddy Considine’s feature directorial debut Tyrannosaur, Matthew Chapman’s thriller The Ledge, Michael Rapaport’s documentary Beats, Rhymes and Life (which is about the hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest), and a documentary about lovable Sesame Street resident Elmo (or rather, his puppeteer).

However, the movies playing in-competition at Sundance are only a fraction of the total number of films that play at the festival.  This will be my first year attending the festival and I’m super-excited about going.  Hit the jump for a full list of the in-competition films.  The 2011 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 20 – 30th.