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.

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.

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.

With Roland Emmerich’s period drama Anonymous now playing, it’s time to post the last of my video interviews with the cast.  While Emmerich is known for his big-budget disaster movies like 2012 and Independence Day, Anonymous is a big departure by centering on a conspiracy to cover up the true author of Shakespeare’s plays.  Emmerich made a really entertaining political thriller wrapped in a controversial theory.  The film stars Rhys Ifans, Jamie Campbell Bower, David Thewlis, Joely Richardson, Xavier Samuel and Vanessa Redgrave.  Here are some clips and the trailer.

During my interview with Joely Richardson, we talked about how she got cast, karaoke, video games, her thoughts on the authorship of Shakespeare’s plays, and how early she starts to prepare once she gets a project.  In addition, with Richardson just having worked with David Fincher on The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, she talked about what it was like to work for him. Hit the jump to watch.

With Roland Emmerich’s period drama Anonymous opening this weekend, I recently got to speak with Rafe Spall about playing William Shakespeare.  While Emmerich is known for his big-budget disaster movies like 2012 and Independence Day, Anonymous is quite a departure, as the story centers on a conspiracy to cover up the true author of Shakespeare’s plays.  There are no monsters or aliens.  Instead, Emmerich has made a really entertaining political thriller wrapped in a conspiracy theory that also stars Rhys Ifans, Jamie Campbell Bower, David Thewlis, Joely Richardson, Xavier Samuel and Vanessa Redgrave.  Here are some clips and the trailer.

During a very fun interview, Spall talked about the sexual favors he gave Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg for casting him in both Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, karaoke, video games, does he think Shakespeare wrote the plays, and the research he did.  In addition, Spall talked about what it was like to work for Ridley Scott in Prometheus and who he plays in the film. Hit the jump to watch.

Today is a good day. The Cardinals are World Series champions, trick r’ treaters will soon be out in full force, and I’ve got a night of horror films to look forward to. Once a year, my fiancée agrees to watch a few pics of the scary variety (or at least Halloween themed ones, i.e. Ernest Scared Stupid) with me in the hopes that I won’t ask her to partake in them again until the following Halloween weekend. Last year’s highlights included Drag Me to Hell and Trick r’ Treat. This year is shaping up to be Tobe Hooper-heavy with Poltergeist and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre possibly making the cut. Like I said, today is a good day.

Before you dive into whatever Halloween festivities may await you, I hope you’ll take a few minutes and check out what this week’s “Top 5″ has to offer. In this installment you’ll find the first trailer for Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace 3D, a new trailer for Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, and interviews for this weekend’s openers In Time, Anonymous and The Rum Diary. Hit the jump for a brief recap and link to each.

[This is a re-print of my review from the 2011 Toronto Film Festival]

In Anonymous, Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford (Rhys Ifans) tells young playwright Ben Jonson (Sebastian Armesto), “All artists have something to say because otherwise they’d just make shoes.” It’s a funny quote when you consider that director Roland Emmerich‘s previous filmography is mainly comprised of brainless blockbusters like Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, and 2012. Anonymous, a political thriller wrapped in a conspiracy theory, could not be further from those movies and Emmerich sets out like a man with something to prove. There are no monsters, aliens, cataclysms, and the only explosion is the destruction of the Globe Theatre, which actually did burn to the ground in 1613. The film plays fast and loose with most historical facts (including why the Globe burned down), but it manages to craft an intriguing period piece before getting bogged down in political intrigue and tearing down historical figures.

With Roland Emmerich’s period drama Anonymous opening this weekend, I recently got to speak with two of the stars, Rhys Ifans and Jamie Campbell Bower.  While Emmerich is known for his big-budget disaster movies like 2012 and Independence Day, Anonymous is quite a departure, as the story centers on a conspiracy to cover up the true author of William Shakespeare’s plays.  There are no monsters or aliens.  Instead, Emmerich has made a really entertaining political thriller wrapped in a conspiracy theory that also stars David Thewlis, Joely Richardson, Rafe Spall, Xavier Samuel and Vanessa Redgrave.  Here are some clips and the trailer.

During a very fun and relaxed interview, Ifans and Campbell Bower talked about video games, karaoke, whether or not Shakespeare really wrote his plays, 3D, and Ifans talks about what fans can look forward to in The Amazing Spider-Man and Campbell Bower talks about Twilight and Mortal Instruments. Hit the jump to watch.

With Roland Emmerich’s period drama Anonymous opening this weekend, I recently got to speak with the high profile director about making the film. Best known for his big-budget disaster movies like 2012 and Independence Day, Anonymous is quite a departure, as the story centers on a conspiracy to cover up the true author of William Shakespeare’s plays.  There are no monsters or aliens.  Instead, Emmerich has made a really entertaining political thriller wrapped in a conspiracy theory that stars Jamie Campbell Bower, Rhys Ifans, David Thewlis, Joely Richardson, Rafe Spall, Xavier Samuel and Vanessa Redgrave.

During the interview, Emmerich talked about where the idea for Anonymous came from, how much is fact and how much was “Hollywoodized,” editing, deleted scenes, extended cuts on home video, and he gave me updates on Asteroids and Singularity - which he’s working on now and will be his next movie.  Hit the jump to watch.

The October 28 release date of Anonymous is fast approaching, but Sony is making a last-minute change in the distribution plan.  Pre-release surveys predict a weak opening weekend (under $5 million) if Anonymous were thrust into the unforgiving expectations of a wide release.   Instead, per Company Town, Sony will scale back the open the film in just 250 theaters rather than thousands.  Anonymous came out of Toronto with surprisingly positive early reviews for a Roland Emmerich picture.  Sony distribution president Rory Bruer explained the plan: “We love the picture and think it’s going to get great word of mouth.  We’re committed to expanding it until it plays wide.”  The Shakespearean tale at the center of Anonymous could play well in the arthouses—I am very curious to see how the platform plays out.

Hit the jump for details on the postponement of Kathryn Bigelow’s Bin Laden movie and the move of the Kevin James MMA comedy Here Comes the Boom.

In Anonymous, Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford (Rhys Ifans) tells young playwright Ben Jonson (Sebastian Armesto), “All artists have something to say because otherwise they’d just make shoes.”  It’s a funny quote when you consider that director Roland Emmerich’s previous filmography is mainly comprised of brainless blockbusters like Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, and 2012.  Anonymous, a political thriller wrapped in a conspiracy theory, could not be further from those movies and Emmerich sets out like a man with something to prove.  There are no monsters, aliens, cataclysms, and the only explosion is the destruction of the Globe Theatre, which actually did burn to the ground in 1613.  The film plays fast and loose with most historical facts (including why the Globe burned down), but it manages to craft an intriguing period piece before getting bogged down in political intrigue and tearing down historical figures.

We’ve been provided with 5 clips from director Roland Emmerich’s period drama Anonymous to share with our readers.  Best known for big-budget films like 2012 and Independence Day, the film marks quite a departure for the director.  The story centers on a conspiracy to cover up the true authors of William Shakespeare’s plays, as the works were used to criticize the monarchy.  The cast includes Jamie Campbell Bower, Rhys Ifans, David Thewlis, Joely Richardson, and Vanessa Redgrave.  Hit the jump to watch the clips. Anonymous opens October 28th.

A new trailer for Roland Emmerich’s Anonymous has gone online.  Like the previous trailer, there’s the poor decision to use Radiohead’s “Everything in Its Right Place”, but we also get a better explanation of the plot.  The movie isn’t simply about the controversial theory that William Shakespeare didn’t write his own plays.  The controversy is wrapped up in a much larger period drama involving political intrigue and how the plays were used to criticize the monarchy while protecting the identities of the true authors.  The larger question isn’t whether or not Shakespeare wrote his plays and poems, but if a big-budget director like Emmerich can go through an entire movie without destroying a revered building or monument.

Hit the jump to check out the new trailer.  The film stars Jamie Campbell Bower, Rhys Ifans, David Thewlis, Joely Richardson, and Vanessa Redgrave.  Anonymous will play at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival and hit theaters on October 28th.

With the announcement of films playing at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, plenty of new images have been release.  After the jump you’ll find new images from 50/50 (starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen), A Dangerous Method (starring Michael Fassbender and Viggo Mortensen), Anonymous (starring Rhys Ifans and Vangessa Redgrave), The Ides of March (starring Ryan Gosling), and Rampart (starring Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster).  All of the films will be playing at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival and we’re going to have plenty of new images to show you throughout the morning.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  We’ve also provided the synopses.  The 2011 Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 8th – 18th.  Expect coverage everyday from the Festival.  50/50 opens September 30th, Anonymous opens October 28th, The Ides of March opens October 7th.  A Dangerous Method and Rampart currently do not have US release dates.

In my article yesterday about the Venice Film Festival, I made some predictions on which films would make their world premiere at this year’s Toronto Film Festival and not Venice.  It turns out a few of my guesses were only the tip of the iceberg.  Moneyball, 50/50, and The Descendants are all going to premiere at TIFF.  But my lord, does Toronto have an incredible line-up this year.  I’m praying my application gets approved because when you hit the jump and check out this line-up, you’ll understand my agony if I’m stuck in Atlanta while these films are premiering.

Hit the jump for the line-up of Galas and Premieres for this year’s festival.  The 2011 Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 8th – 18th.