The Artist

New Trailer for ICE AGE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT Parodies THE ARTIST

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 22nd, 2012 at 10:11 am

Since The Artist is lined-up to win big at the Academy Awards on Sunday, Fox has piggybacked off the silent film to create a parody trailer for their upcoming film Ice Age: Continental Drift.  Like every Ice Age film, the teasers are all based around Scrat trying to get an acorn but being thwarted in his attempts.  It’s very Looney Tunes, and they’re far better than the full-length films, which feature uninteresting characters and flat jokes.  Scrat sells the movie, but the movies barely features Scrat.  It’s a constant bait-and-switch.  However, the franchise has been ridiculous successful and that’s why the fourth film is on the way this summer.

To see Scrat in The Artist-form, check out the trailer after the jump.  The celebrity-packed voice cast includes Ray Romano, Jeremy Renner, Queen Latifah, Denis Leary, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Wedge, John Leguizamo, and Aziz Ansari, Nick Frost, Joy Behar, JB Smoove, Alan Tudyk, Heather Morris, Josh Gad, Kunal Nayyar, Alain Chabat, and hip/hop artist Nicki Minaj.  Ice Age: Continental Drift opens in 3D on July 13th.  A non-parody trailer is due out on March 5th.

THE ARTIST, CORIOLANUS, and Other Weinstein Company Films will Premiere on Netflix Rather than Pay TV

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 21st, 2012 at 7:39 am

Netflix has been struggling lately against competitors like Redbox, OnDemand services, and the reluctance of major studios to license their films to the streaming service.  However, The Weinstein Company are (thankfully) going against the grain by licensing some of their latest movies to Netflix over U.S. pay TV services.  According to THR, The Artist, Coriolanus, Undefeated, as well as foreign-language, documentary, and other films will be exclusively available for Netflix streaming in the U.S.

It’s obviously a great deal for Netflix and its streaming subscribers, especially since a lot of folks probably missed some of TWC’s limited-release movies like Coriolanus and Sarah’s Key.  No date has been announced for when these movies will roll out, but since The Artist is due out on DVD and Blu-ray on April 24th, we can presumably expect it by then.

THE ARTIST Takes Homes Seven BAFTAs Including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: February 12th, 2012 at 3:48 pm

I’m really hoping for some surprises on Oscar night if only to make things interesting, but it’s looking less likely every day. Last night The Artist nearly swept the British Academy Film Awards (essentially the British Oscars), taking home the prizes for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Music, Best Cinematography, and Best Costume Design. Meryl Streep was named Best Actress for The Iron Lady, while Octavia Spencer and Christopher Plummer won Best Supporting Actress and Actor. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy wasn’t sent home empty-handed, as the spy thriller won Best British Film and Best Adapted Screenplay. I was happy to see Senna get some well-deserved recognition, as the Formula 1 doc chronicling the life of driver Ayrton Senna was named Best Documentary.

While George Clooney seemed the favorite in the Best Actor Oscar race for his magnificent turn in The Descendants, The Artist’s Jean Dujardin could easily prove the spoiler. With the SAG Award in hand and now the BAFTA, the French comedian may very well step up to the podium come Oscar night. Hit the jump to see the full list of BAFTA winners. The Academy Awards will be handed out on February 26th.

SAG Award Winners Announced; THE HELP Wins Best Ensemble, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 29th, 2012 at 7:13 pm

The 2012 Screen Actors Guild Award winners were announced tonight, and The Help took home the top film prize, “Outstanding Performance By A Cast In A Motion Picture”.  The drama also took home awards for Best Actress (Viola Davis) and Best Supporting Actress (Octavia Spencer).  If you think that’s no big deal in terms of affecting the Oscar race, I have one word for you: Crash.  Granted, The Help didn’t even pick up an Oscar nomination for Best Director, but actors make up the largest block of Academy voters (25 percent).  And as we’ve seen, actors really like movies that make us think we’ve defeated racism, which we totally have.  That’s why all African-American actors pull in huge salaries.  Actors like Will Smith and…Will Smith.  I wouldn’t put The Help ahead of The Artist just yet, but Davis and Spencer should now be considered serious contenders in their respective catagories (Spencer is almost at a lock at this point).

Michel Hazanavicius Wins Feature Film Directors Guild Award for THE ARTIST

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 29th, 2012 at 10:28 am

The Academy Award for Best Picture of the Year will go to The Artist. It’s over. Call off the dogs. The little silent film that could will be crowned the winner at next month’s ceremony. After riding a pretty solid frontrunner status throughout the past two months, the film has now picked up two of the most important Oscar precursor awards: the Producers Guild Award and the Directors Guild Award. Michel Hazanavicius was given the Best Feature Film director award at last night’s DGA ceremony, besting the likes of Hugo’s Martin Scorsese and The Descendants’ Alexander Payne.

The writing has been on the wall for a while now, but with the PGA and DGA in hand, there’s virtually zero chance of anything upsetting The Artist for Best Picture. I’m not saying Hazanavicius isn’t deserving of the DGA, as his crafting of the silent pic is certainly commendable (though I’m partial to Scorsese’s work on Hugo), I’m just pointing out that we’re most likely in for an incredibly predictable ceremony come next month. Hit the jump to see the full list of DGA winners in both film and television. The 84th Academy Awards will be held February 26th.

Weekend Box Office – THE GREY the Clear Winner with $20 Million; ONE FOR THE MONEY in Third

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: January 29th, 2012 at 9:14 am

Newbie distributor Open Road Films has claimed its first number one opening with the wolf vs. man thriller The Grey.  From 3,185 locations, The Grey took in an estimated $20 million, or well above the mid-teens that was projected.  Second place was claimed by Underworld Awakening, pushing the adaptation of Janet Evanovich’s bestselling novel, One For the Money, into third.

	Title	Weekend	Total
1	The Grey	$20,000,000	$20
2	Underworld Awakening	$12,500,000	$45.1
3	One For the Money	$11,750,000	$11.7
4	Red Tails	$10,400,000	$33.7
5	Man on a Ledge	$8,250,000	$8.2
6	Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close	$7,145,000	$21.1
7	The Descendants	$6,550,000	$58.8
8	Contraband	$6,532,200	$56.4
9	Beauty & the Beast 3D	$5,345,000	$41.1
10	Haywire	$4,000,000	$15.2

If 2012 Oscar Nominee Posters Told the Truth

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 25th, 2012 at 12:13 pm

A staple of any awards season is the obligatory “If These Movie Posters Told the Truth” mock-up. However, just because the gimmick is trite doesn’t mean it’s not amusing. This year’s line-up of Academy Award nominees isn’t lacking in Oscar-bait material, with everything from The Iron Lady to The Artist. The fact that films like these so blatantly seem to fit into the category of “Oscar nominee” makes them ripe for this kind of ribbing. We’ve amassed a number of “honest posters” for films like The Artist, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and The Descendants, as well as a few “almost Oscar nominated” films like Shame and We Need to Talk About Kevin. Hit the jump to check them out.

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.

THE ARTIST, BOARDWALK EMPIRE, and MODERN FAMILY Take Home Top Prizes at Producers Guild Awards

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 22nd, 2012 at 9:24 am

The Artist has yet again taken home a major Oscar precursor award. The black-and-white silent film was recognized for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Pictures at the 23rd Annual Producers Guild Awards last night. This is yet another notch in the column that points to a very big night for The Artist at the upcoming 84th Academy Awards. In a slight surprise, The Adventures of Tintin was the winner among animated films, besting critical favorite Rango. On the television side of things, Boardwalk Empire won for excellence in dramatic series (beating out fare like Mad Men and Game of Thrones), Modern Family was the winner for the comedies, and the fantastically addictive Downton Abbey won in the movies of the week/mini-series category.

Hit the jump to see the full list of winners.

Weekend Box Office – UNDERWORLD AWAKENING Leads with $25.4 Million; RED TAILS Second with $19.1 Million

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: January 22nd, 2012 at 9:15 am

Underworld Awakening had no trouble topping a crowded field of new or expanding releases this weekend. Nine years after the action-horror series launched, Underworld 4 took in an estimated $25.4 million from 3,078 locations for the second-highest opening weekend in the franchise’s history. Red Tails also had reason to be happy with its second-place showing while returns for the week’s three other highly-touted features were more modest.

	Title	Weekend	Total
1	Underworld Awakening	$25,400,000	$25.4
2	Red Tails	$19,100,000	$19.1
3	Contraband	$12,240,000	$46.1
4	Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close	$10,545,000	$11.2
5	Haywire	$9,000,000	$9
6	Beauty & the Beast 3D	$8,556,000	$33.3
7	Joyful Noise	$6,075,000	$21.9
8	Mission: Impossible 4	$5,540,000	$197.3
9	Sherlock Holmes	$4,805,000	$178.6
10	The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo	$3,750,000	$94.7

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.

THE ARTIST and A SEPARATION Win Big at London Film Critics Circle Awards

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 19th, 2012 at 2:14 pm

Another awards ceremony, another The Artist triumph. Michel Hazanavicius’ silent film continues its near sweep of awards season as it took home the Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor prize from the London Film Critics Circle Awards. Surprisingly, the other film to tie The Artist with three awards was the Iranian drama A Separation. The foreign film has been riding a wave of immense positive word of mouth, and the London Film Critics awarded the pic with Foreign Language Film of the Year, Best Screenwriter, and Best Actress.

Nearly shut out of the awards was Britain’s own Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. The espionage drama failed to pick up any major prizes and was sent home with a win for Best Production Design. Elsewhere, We Need to Talk About Kevin was named Best British Film, Anna Paquin shared the Best Actress prize with Meryl Streep for her work in Margaret (quickly becoming the little engine that could), and Michael Fassbender won British Actor of the Year for his stellar work in Shame and A Dangerous Method. Full list of winners after the jump, which includes the critics’ top 10 films of 2011.

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, THOR, and HUGO Among Costume Designers Guild Nominees

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 19th, 2012 at 9:12 am

Though many are busy finalizing their predictions for the Best Actor and Best Picture Oscar categories, the Costume Designers Guild today announced nominees for excellence in wardrobe. The nods are split into three categories: contemporary, fantasy, and period. Among the films singled out are superhero fare like X-Men: First Class and Thor, blockbusters franchises Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and dramatic critical favorites like Drive and The Descendants. Personally, I’m thrilled to see the excellent work in X-Men: First Class singled out, and I’m still waiting for a reasonably priced way to own Ryan Gosling’s ridiculously cool jacket from Drive.

Hit the jump to see the full list of nominees. The winners will be announced on February 21st, and the nominees for the upcoming 84th Annual Academy Awards will be revealed this coming Tuesday, January 24th.

TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, HUGO, and THE ARTIST Lead 2012 BAFTA Nominations

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 17th, 2012 at 7:38 am

If you’re in a position to give out prestigious awards, chances are you’re partial to The Artist.  The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) handed out their nominations for 2011′s best films, and leading the pack was Michael Hazanavicius‘ silent film with 12 nominations.  Close behind were Tomas Alfredson‘s spy-thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (11 nominations), and Martin Scorsese‘s Hugo (9 nominations).  However, Hugo is not in the race for Best Film.  The Artist and Tinker Tailor will competed against The Help (boo), The Descendants (expected), and Drive (yay!).  Drive also netted nominations for Best Director (Nicolas Winding Refn), Best Supporting Actress (Carey Mulligan), and Best Editing (Mat Newman), but strangely no nomination for Albert Brooks for Best Supporting Actor.

There are some fun nominations scattered around the BAFTA nods, so hit the jump to check out the full list.  The 2012 BAFTA Awards will be handed out on February 12th.

HUGO, DRAGON TATTOO, and THE ARTIST Among ACE Nominees for Excellence in Editing

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 16th, 2012 at 6:35 pm

The American Cinema Editors have announced their list of nominees for the 62nd Annual Eddie Awards. Before you brush editing off as an insignificant category, take note that no film has won the Best Picture Oscar without at least a Best Editing Eddie nomination in 20 years. Martin Scorsese’s longtime collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker was nominated for her work on Hugo, as were last year’s Oscar winners Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Other films singled out include The Artist, The Descendants, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, and Young Adult.

On the television side of things, Breaking Bad, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Friday Night Lights, and Game of Thrones all landed nods. Hit the jump to see the full list of nominees. ACE’s 62nd awards ceremony, hosted by Patton Oswalt, will be held February 18th.

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