The Descendants

Shailene Woodley Talks THE DESCENDANTS, SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN TEENAGER, and More at SBIFF

by Christina Radish    Posted: February 5th, 2012 at 8:36 am

One of the most memorable debut performances in a feature film this past year was unquestionably that of Shailene Woodley, as Alexandra King in Alexander Payne’s The Descendants. At the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF), she was honored for her portrayal as the 17-year-old daughter of a distant father (played by George Clooney) and comatose mother. Collider was there to cover and attend the event, and we’ve compiled the highlights of what the always friendly actress had to say, both on the press line and during the Q&A.

While there, Shailene Woodley talked about what the whole award season experience has been like for her, what she was doing when she found out she had been cast in the film, that Alexander Payne is one of her top five favorite human beings on the planet, how much she appreciated George Clooney’s understated comradery, how exciting it is to know that her ABC Family TV show The Secret Life of the American Teenager will make it to the 100 episodes mark since it just got picked up for Season 5, and how she would love to play a really dark and messed up character. Check out what she had to say after the jump.

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.

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.

2012 Golden Globe Winners Announced; THE ARTIST and THE DESCENDANTS Take Top Prizes

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 15th, 2012 at 8:20 pm

I’ve just spent the past three hours watching and live-blogging the 2012 Golden Globe Awards.  My brain feels mushy.  After the jump and presented without comment is a list of this year’s winners. If you don’t even want to hit the jump, The Artist and The Descendants won Best Comedy/Musical and Best Drama, respectively.  If you want to awards prognosticate, I’ll save you the trouble: both were nominated for a Best Picture Oscar.  Those nominations haven’t been announced yet, but they were nominated.  Trust me.  I’m a professional.

Also, feel free to sound off on the winners and losers.  Lord knows I’ve been doing it for the past three hours.

THE ARTIST Wins Top Prize at Critics Choice Awards; George Clooney Named Best Actor

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 12th, 2012 at 7:52 pm

With each passing awards ceremony, it’s looking more and more likely that we’re in for a fairly boring/predictable Oscars this year. The Artist continues to dominate the precursor ceremonies as it took home the Best Picture and Best Director prize at the Critics Choice Awards. On the acting side of things, George Clooney was named Best Actor for his work in The Descendants, and Viola Davis won Best Actress for The Help. The Artist is our clear frontrunner headed towards Oscar night, and I don’t really think anything else will be able to take it down. I can’t really complain about any of the acting wins, though for what it’s worth I think Brad Pitt gave the best performance of the year in Moneyball.

Elsewhere, Drive won Best Action Movie (though it’s really a drama) Bridesmaids won Best Comedy, and Rango was named Best Animated Feature. Hit the jump to see the full list of winners.

Directors Guild Nominations Announced; Contenders Include Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, and David Fincher

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 9th, 2012 at 10:36 am

As we move ever closer to the Academy Awards, the director’s guild has just announced the five nominees who will contend for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2011. The DGA’s are a major prognosticator for the Best Director award at the Oscars, as only six times has the DGA winner not gone on to win Best Director. This year’s nominees include Martin Scorsese for Hugo, Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris, Michel Hazanavicious for The Artist, Alexander Payne for The Descendants, and David Fincher for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Hit the jump for more, including my thoughts on the nominees.

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]

2012 Art Directors Guild Award Nominees Include HUGO, HARRY POTTER, DRIVE, and GAME OF THRONES

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: January 3rd, 2012 at 8:56 pm

I like to see the guild awards, because the specificity allows for nominees that you won’t see on more general lists.  The Art Directors Guild is especially interesting because they separate the films into three categories: period, fantasy, and contemporary.  The 15 nominees highlight everything from Oscar favorites Hugo and The Artist, to crowd-pleasers Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Captain America, to poorly received films like Cowboys & Aliens and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.  There’s a similar contrast in the TV nominees between the classy HBO programs you’d expect (Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, and Mildred Pierce) and the critical punching bags American Horror Story and The Playboy Club.  The full list of nominees is after the break.

2012 Producers Guild Awards Nominations for Film and Television Announced; Nominees include THE ARTIST and GAME OF THRONES

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 3rd, 2012 at 9:42 am

The Producers Guild of America has announced the nominees for their 2012 awards.  The PGA chose ten nominees this year for Best picture, but the Oscars will choose between five and ten.  The PGA nominees include the usual suspects (The Artist, The Descendants, Hugo) as wellas movies that have stagnated in the awards race or never really got it into (Moneyball, The Help, The Ides of March).  If you want to get a good prediction for the Best Picture Oscar, the PGAs can be a good barometer.  Follow the PGA choice to the Director’s Guild of America choice to Best Director and finally to Best Picture.

Among the TV nominees were 30 Rock, Modern Family, Game of Thrones, and Mad Men.  I’m going to be generous and assume Breaking Bad was ruled ineligible and that’s why it wasn’t nominated.  Hit the jump for the full list of nominees.

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