Oscars

Oscar News: Nominated Songs May Not Be Performed Live; Milla Jovovich Will Host the Technical Awards; Group Photo from the Nominees Luncheon

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: February 6th, 2012 at 7:45 pm

The songs are rarely my favorite part of the Oscar ceremony, since the quality of entertainment is so dependent on the nominated performers.  I was really looking forward to this year’s live songs, though.  There are only two, so it would not be a major time suck in the middle of the awards.  And the two nominees are terrific.  “Real in Rio” is infectious and promised a colorful and vibrant production on stage.  “Man or Muppet” would get The Muppets on stage singing a truly clever song, which should be goal #1 in any year that releases a Muppet movie.  And yet Deadline hears the songs may be cut this year.  Said one of their sources: “It seems like a huge missed opportunity to me, and we certainly tried.”  Dude, try harder.  It’s two songs.  Of course, the show is not locked yet, so telecast producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer have time to reconsider before the February 26 broadcast.  I sincerely hope they do.

Hit the jump for more Oscar news, in which Milla Jovovich hosts the technical awards and the nominees assemble for a group photo.

Oscar-Nominated Short Films Coming to a Theater Near You

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: January 27th, 2012 at 9:30 am

With the theatrical releases of such Oscar-nominated features as The Artist, War Horse and Hugo, most people are at least aware of the movies going into the live Oscars broadcast on February 26^th. Slightly less well-known are the short films nominated for this year’s awards. Luckily for you, all of them will be shown in a limited theatrical release on February 10^th via ShortsHD and Magnolia Pictures. Similar to their successful release of last year’s nominated shorts, three theatrical programs will provide audiences access to short films from the animation, live action and short subject documentary categories. Hit the jump to check out the details.

2012 Oscar Nominations Announced; HUGO and THE ARTIST Lead the Pack

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 24th, 2012 at 6:05 am

The nominations for the 84th Annual Academy Awards have finally been unveiled. Many of the categories have fallen in line just as most have predicted (I fared alright with my predictions, but not great), with Hugo scoring 11 nods, followed closely by The Artist with 10. The biggest surprises are War Horse and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close getting in for Best Picture, the exclusion of The Adventures of Tintin from Best Animated Feature, and The Tree of Life nabbing Best Picture and Best Director nods (hooray!). On the snub side of things, despite landing the most precursor critics awards of any other actor in the race thus far, Albert Brooks was denied a Best Supporting Actor nod for his stellar work in Drive (boo). Additionally, Tilda Swinton was overlooked for giving the best performance of the year in We Need to Talk About Kevin, and AMPAS has no love for Michael Fassbender‘s haunting work in Shame.

There’s still plenty to be happy about, as Gary Oldman has his first ever Oscar Nomination (yes, that’s right) and Melissa McCarthy is a Best Supporting Actress nominee. Hit the jump to check out the full list of nominees. The 84th Academy Awards will be presented by Billy Crystal on February 26th.

Oscars 2012: Adam Predicts the Nominees

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 21st, 2012 at 2:38 pm

As I’ve been covering awards season pretty extensively here on the site over the past few months, I figured it would be appropriate to (foolishly) try to predict the upcoming Oscar nominations. It’s been a fairly tame year, as a few frontrunners were singled out early in the race and have held their ground throughout the grueling awards season. We haven’t been without a few surprises, as Steven Spielberg’s War Horse took a massive tumble following snubs from most of the major guilds, and David Fincher has surged back into the race bringing his adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with him.

Though there are plenty of safe bets when it comes to the 2012 Oscar nominations, there are still a few wildcards and tricky categories. I’ve put on my prognosticating cap (those interested can purchase one of these nifty hats at your local Target) and compiled a list of who and what I think will make the cut. Hit the jump to see how I think the nods will stack up when they’re announced on January 24th.

9 Films Advance in Best Foreign Language Film Oscar Category; A SEPARATION and PINA Make the Cut

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 18th, 2012 at 1:19 pm

The Oscar countdown continues as AMPAS announced today that nine films have advanced in the Best Foreign Language Film category for the 84th Annual Academy Awards. Early favorite A Separation (Iran) made the cut, as did the modern dance documentary Pina (Germany). Shockingly, Zhang Yimou’s period epic The Flowers of War starring Christian Bale was left off the shortlist. The Chinese entry was the most expensive film in the country’s history, and many had pegged it as a shoo-in for a nomination. Also missing the cut were Mexico’s Miss Bala and the Finland dramedy Le Havre.

Voters will screen the nine shortlisted films this weekend, after which they’ll make their official selection. The five nominees will be announced alongside all the other Oscar nominees on Tuesday morning. The 84th Annual Academy Awards will be held on February 26th. Hit the jump to read the full press release.

Academy Releases Trailer for 84th Annual Awards

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: January 5th, 2012 at 5:53 pm

In a new trailer, Josh Duhamel and Megan Fox team up at the behest of William Fichtner to track down a mysterious figure who has fallen “off the grid.”  While this might not seem too far fetched at the outset, it all turns a bit snarky when you realize it’s a trailer for the 84^th Annual Academy Awards. While it’s all very tongue-in-cheek and self-deprecating, there’s a certain sigh-factor to it. Even though you know who’s going to show up at the end as the team is looking for a man known only as “The Host,” it made me smile to see who was there waiting for them.

The 2012 Oscar nominations will be announced on Tuesday, January 24^th with the live awards show airing Sunday, February 26^th at 7pm EST on ABC. Hit the jump to check out the trailer.

Visual Effects Oscar Category Narrowed Down to 10 Choices; Contenders Include HARRY POTTER, CAPTAIN AMERICA, and THE TREE OF LIFE

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 4th, 2012 at 2:00 pm

We’re just a little less than two months away from the 84th Annual Academy Awards, and today the choices in yet another category have been pared down. AMPAS announced today that 10 films remain in contention for the Best Visual Effects award, with films like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, Hugo, and The Tree of Life making the cut. The pretty clear frontrunner in this race is Rise of the Planet of the Apes (and rightfully so), but there’s much to admire in the 10 films that have been shortlisted.

Though Terrence Malick’s existential drama The Tree of Life is heavy on the naturalistic visuals, the extended “history of the universe” sequence is gloriously enchanting and features some breathtaking visual effects work (dinosaurs!), so I’m happy to see that it hasn’t been overlooked. All members of the Academy’s visual effects branch will view 10-minute excerpts from each of the 10 shortlisted films, after which they’ll vote to nominate five pics for the Academy Award. Hit the jump to read the full press release, which includes all 10 singled-out films. The Oscars will be presented on February 26th.

Official Poster for the 2012 Academy Awards

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: December 28th, 2011 at 9:07 am

It was a bumpy road getting there, but the 84th Academy Awards are on the schedule for February 26, 2012 with Billy Crystal at the helm.  The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has unveiled the official poster for the awards with the tagline “Celebrate the movies in all of us.”  The movies the poster celebrates are Gone with the Wind (1939), Casablanca (1943), Giant (1956), The Sound of Music (1965), The Godfather (1972), Driving Miss Daisy (1989), Forrest Gump (1994) and Gladiator (2000).  Curiously, Giant stands out as the movie that did not win Best Picture, though George Stevens won Best Director.  Hit the jump for the poster.

Cinemath: What Makes a Best Picture? A Look at Rating, Runtime, and Genre Over 80 Years of Oscars

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: December 27th, 2011 at 5:52 pm

While we are in the heart of awards season, I wanted to do something about the Oscars for Cinemath, our semi-regular feature that combines the wonder of movies with the tedium of mathematical analysis.  This edition is inspired by something Eric D. Snider wrote in his writeup on Marty, the shortest Best Picture in Oscar history:

“Don’t expect that record to be broken anytime soon, either. Oscar winners are gettin’ longer, not shorter.”

That got me curious.  That sounds reasonable, but could it also be statistically true?  I went over to IMDB to check out the runtimes of Oscar Best Picture nominees from 1928-2010—while I was there, I grabbed data on the genres and public ratings to see what it takes to win Hollywood’s top honor.  Hit the jump for the analysis.

97 Original Scores Up for Oscar; DRIVE and ATTACK THE BLOCK Ruled Ineligible

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: December 23rd, 2011 at 12:04 pm

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.

39 Songs Contend for Best Original Song Oscar; Nominees Include THE MUPPETS and CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: December 19th, 2011 at 2:38 pm

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced today that 39 eligible songs will contend for the Best Original Song Oscar this year. Important to note is that a relatively recent rule change states that songs must be judged in the capacity that they appear in each film. In early January the voting body will get together and watch clips from each eligible movie in which the 39 songs are featured, after which they will determine the nominees. The list of eligible songs include three tracks from The Muppets, Sigur Ros frontman Jonsi’s song “Gathering Stories” (which director Cameron Crowe co-wrote) from We Bought a Zoo, and composer/songwriter/eight-time Oscar-winner Alan Menken’s “Star Spangled Man” from Captain America: The First Avenger. I’m partial to Jonsi’s work or “Man or Muppet” from The Muppets, but we’ll see how the Academy’s taste stacks up towards the end of January.

Hit the jump to check out the full list of eligible songs. The 84th Academy Award nominations will be announced on January 24th.

What Awards Can DRIVE Actually Win?

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: December 17th, 2011 at 5:26 pm

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve taken a look at the awards prospects of The Muppets and Bridesmaids; two films that, while critically and commercially successful, aren’t necessarily your typical awards season fare. Today we thought we’d consider the awards status of another impressive film from 2011: Drive. Director Nicolas Winding Refn’s violent genre pic premiered as a little independent film at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. The movie blew audiences away, and Refn nabbed the Best Director prize.

The film finally opened to general audiences this past September with plenty of advanced buzz and stellar reviews. While Drive didn’t exactly break box office records, critics and cinephiles fell in love with the peculiar drama, and now the film is headed into a very crowded awards stretch. Hit the jump to see our take on how Drive will fare during this year’s awards season.

What Awards Can THE MUPPETS Actually Win?

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: December 3rd, 2011 at 3:56 pm

The Muppets returned to theaters this year in a big way with director James Bobin’s aptly named The Muppets. While the film could have easily become a heavy-handed and groan-worthy kids movie, Bobin and Co. delivered a sweet, funny, and ultimately touching flick that is just as effective for 7-year-olds as it is for cold, cynical cinephiles. When the Oscar hosting gig was once again up for grabs earlier this year, a campaign to have our lovely Muppets take up the duties gained some significant traction. While producers ultimately went with Billy Crystal, the whole idea got us thinking: what awards could the film actually win?  Hit the jump for our take on The Muppets’ chances in this coming awards season.

2012 Oscar Preview: Best Picture and Best Director

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: November 27th, 2011 at 7:24 am

And so our 2012 Oscar Preview has come to a close. Over the past three days we’ve brought you our coverage of how the race stacks up for Best Supporting Actress and Actor, Best Actress and Actor, and Best Animated Feature, Screenplay, as well as the technical categories. Today, we’re covering the big ones: Best Picture and Best Director. There are two early frontrunners for the big prize, but we’ve still got a number of unseen pics that could play the spoiler. As for the director race, does Steven Spielberg have a shot at his first trophy in over a decade, or will an Oscar virgin take home the prize? Hit the jump for the current state of the race in the Best Picture and Best Director categories.

2012 Oscar Preview: Best Animated Feature, Best Original Screenplay, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Technical Category Quick Picks

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: November 26th, 2011 at 10:19 am

Continuing on with our look at the 2012 Oscar race, today we delve into Best Animated Feature and the technical categories. As Pixar’s Cars 2 was the studio’s worst-received feature to date (it currently sits at 38% on Rotten Tomatoes), we’ve got ourselves an actual competition in the Animated Feature category. Not only that, but if all 18 films that were submitted to the Academy are deemed eligible, we’ll have a total of five nominated films. This leaves us to debate the merits of Rango and The Adventures of Tintin against the likes of Puss in Boots and Arthur Christmas.

Additionally, we’ve taken a stab at Best Original Screenplay, Best Adapted Screenplay, and the technical categories. As these are incredibly tricky to predict this far out (and my picks would be doomed to haunt me come February), I’ve simply listed a couple of frontrunners in each category instead of going in depth. Though it’s still early, we’ve got an overall picture of how things look like they’ll stack up; so hit the jump to check out the state of the race so far. If you missed our previous preview articles, be sure to take a look at our picks for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, and Best Actor and Best Actress.

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