Pina

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.

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.

Writers Guild Award Nominations Announced; YOUNG ADULT, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, and THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Nominated

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 5th, 2012 at 10:39 am

The Writers Guild of America has announced their nominations for the 2012 Writers Guild Awards, and some of their nominations are pretty terrible.  It’s nice to see nominations for Young Adult, The Descendants, and Bridesmaids.  It’s less nice to see nominations for slavish adaptations of poorly written novels like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Help.  There’s also a major snub for awards-season favorite The Artist, and before you mention the “no dialogue” aspect, there’s still a script and the movie was in contention.  The documentary nominations also overlooked the terrific Project Nim in favor of Pina, which is borderline unwatchable for anyone who doesn’t love modern dance.

Hit the jump for the full list of nominees.  Winners will be announced at the 2012 Writers Guild Awards on Sunday, February 19th. [Correction: The Artist was deemed ineligible by the WGA, but it's still a snub since the WGA's rules are kind of stupid in the first place]

Director Wim Wenders PINA Interview

by Sheila Roberts    Posted: December 21st, 2011 at 8:05 am

In his exhilarating new film, Pina, German master Wim Wenders captures the brilliantly inventive dance world of late avant-garde choreographer Pina Bausch who led the Tanztheater Wuppertal ensemble. Wenders had conceived with Bausch a dance film like none seen before, one which would take the fullest advantage yet of new 3D technology to put the viewer deep inside Bausch’s playful, thrillingly unpredictable pieces. After her untimely death in 2009, Wenders continued with the project, turning it into the most exciting tribute he could imagine to the legendary artist. The end result is a sensual and visually stunning film.

Wenders talked to us at a roundtable interview about his collaboration with Bausch and her dancers, the technical challenges of the project, and its surprising emotional resonance. He told us what inspired him to make Pina, how 3D allowed him to take audiences into Bausch’s work and her imaginative sets and render the beauty and sheer physicality of the dances and dancers, and what he took away from the experience as a fellow artist and filmmaker. He also discussed the dance company’s plans to honor Bausch’s legacy through their performance at the London 2012 Olympics and why he thinks there’s nothing more exciting than to explore the human imagination and learn about another person’s creativity and craft.

15 Documentaries Advance for the 84th Annual Academy Awards

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: November 18th, 2011 at 2:49 pm

Now that the Oscars officially have a host and a producer, we can get down to focusing on the films that will compete for the awards. Out of a pool of 124 qualified documentary pictures vying for contention, 15 have advanced through the voting process. This list will be further whittled down by the Documentary Branch Screening Committee to a selection of five nominees. Some of the 15 films include:  Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, about the continuing legal battles of the West Memphis Three (3); Project Nim, a study of Nim, the chimpanzee who was raised as a human child to allow researchers to discern the differences between men and beasts; and Buck, the story of Buck Brannaman, the real life Horse Whisperer. Notably absent from the list: the extremely well-received Formula-1 racing doc Senna. Hit the jump to see the rest.

Full List of Submissions for the Best Foreign Film Oscar; Includes MISS BALA and THE ELITE SQUAD: THE ENEMY WITHIN

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 13th, 2011 at 2:47 pm

As you may or may not know, every country is only allowed to submit one movie for consideration.  It’s a little weak that a country can have multiple Oscar-worthy films but can only submit one and I think it would be better if each country could submit three to five films (unlimited submissions would be unfeasible).  The full list of eligible contenders for this year’s Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar has been announced and it features some notable submissions that have already picked up some buzz.  Brazil submitted its highest-grossing film of all-time, The Elite Squad: The Enemy Within, directed by RoboCop reboot helmer Jose Padilha.  Mexico has chosen the acclaimed crime thriller Miss Bala as its submission, Germany put forward Wim Wenders’ snooze-fest Pina, and China has selected Zhang Yimou’s historical drama The Flowers of War starring Christian Bale

Hit the jump for the full list.  Only five of the films will receive nominations for Best Foreign-Language Film.  Oscar nominations will be announced on January 24, 2012, and the winners will be announced at the 84th Academy Awards on February 26, 2012.

TIFF 2011: PINA Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: September 8th, 2011 at 8:48 pm

I admire the hell out of dancers.  They’re athletes and artists.  They must train their bodies to the nth degree and remember complex choreography while still delivering the emotion of a performance, usually without the benefit of words.  In his 3D documentary Pina, Wim Wenders attempts to take us deep into the artistry of modern dance and a company’s deep love for their fallen leader Pina Bausch.  There’s just one problem: I don’t speak modern dance.

Telluride Film Festival Line-Up Announced; Includes THE DESCENDANTS, A DANGEROUS METHOD, and SHAME

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: September 1st, 2011 at 11:26 am

The prestige of the Telluride Film Festival continues to rise each year.  It’s the waypoint between the Venice Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival and it’s a great opportunity to see the hot fall films without travelling internationally.  Last year, Telluride showed off Best Picture winner The King’s Speech, Best Picture nominees Black Swan and 127 Hours, and a variety of other films that picked up Oscar nominations.  The line-up for this year’s festival has been announced and it looks like it will be equally exciting if not more so.  Movies playing at Telluride this year include Alexander Payne’s The Descendants, David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method, the critically acclaimed silent film The Artist, Steve McQueen’s Shame, Werner Herzog’s Into the Abyss, Martin Scorsese’s documentary Living in the Material World, Rodrigo Garcia’s Albert Nobbs, and Lynne Ramsay’s We Need to Talk about Kevin.  And keep in mind that these are only the films with pre-festival buzz.  No one was paying much attention to The King’s Speech until it kicked off at Telluride and landed at TIFF.  Plus there’s the TBA screenings to consider (Black Swan and 127 Hours were both TBA films).

Hit the jump for the line-up.  The 2011 Telluride Film Festival runs from September 2 – 5th.

Line-Up Announced for New York Film Festival; Features CARNAGE, MY WEEK WITH MARILYN, and THE DESCENDANTS

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: August 17th, 2011 at 10:38 am

This year’s festival season continues to take shape as the full line-up for the 2011 New York Film Festival has been revealed.  Roman Polanski’s Carnage will open the festival, Simon Curtis’ My Week with Marilyn will be the “Centerpiece Gala Section”, there will be special gala presentations of David Croneneberg’s A Dangerous Method and Pedro Almodovar’s The Skin I Live In, and Alexander Payne’s The Descendants will close out the festival.  Other noteworthy films playing are the Cannes’ sensations The Artist and Melancholia, the hit Sundance films Marcy Martha May Marlene, Martin Scorsese’s documentary George Harrison: Living in the Material World, Abel Ferrara’s 4:44: Last Day on Earth, and Wim Wenders’ 3D film Pina.

Hit the jump for the full line up.  The New York Film Festival runs from September 30 – October 16th.

TIFF 2011: First Images from PINA, SARAH PALIN – YOU BETCHA!, I’M CAROLYN PARKER, and INTO THE ABYSS

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: August 5th, 2011 at 11:07 am

Yesterday, we reported on the strong documentary line-up for the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival.  Today, we have the first images from four of the documentaries: Wim Wenders’ first 3D film Pina, Nick Broomfield’s Sarah Palin – You Betcha!, Jonathan Demme’s I’m Carolyn Parker: The Good, the Mad, and the Beautiful, and Werner Herzog’s Into the Abyss.

Hit the jump to check out the images along with a synopsis for each film.  The 2011 Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 8 – 18th.

 

Documentaries, Midnight Madness, and More Line-Ups Announced for 2011 Toronto International Film Festival

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: August 3rd, 2011 at 8:02 am

We’ve already seen the heavy-hitters of non-documentary films showing at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.  Today, TIFF has announced its impressive documentary line-up along with line-ups for the interesting smaller films that are worth your attention at the fest.  The documentaries include Morgan Spurlock’s Comic-Con: Episode IV – A Fan’s Hope, Werner Herzog’s Into the Abyss, Jonathan Demme’s I’m Carolyn Parker: The Good, the Mad, and the Beautiful, and Wim Wenders’ 3D film Pina. The Midnight Madness line-up includes Bobcat Goldthwait’s latest, God Bless America and Douglas Aarniokoski’s The Day starring Ashley Bell and Dominic Monaghan.

Hit the jump for the documentary line-ups (“Real to Reel”), “Midnight Madness”, “Vanguard” (international genre flicks), “TIFF Kids”, and “City to City” (an annual programme that focuses on films from one city; this year is Buenos Aires).  The 2011 Toronto Film Festival runs from September 8th to 18th.

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