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.

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.

One Day follows the progression of one couple from their first meeting in 1988 through their much-changed lives twenty years later. The film, which is based on the novel by David Nicholls (who also wrote the script), gets along by peeking in on this couple on the same day each year. Emma Morley (Anne Hathaway) and Dexter Mayhew (Jim Sturgess) meet on July 15 on their graduation from university. The two decide to remain friends rather than pursue romantic interests, and the film takes off from there. Some years are given more attention than others as the film strings through the saga of a couple that never quite gets it all right. Hit the jump for our review of One Day on DVD.

After two weeks on top, Rise of the Planet of the Apes swapped places with last week’s number two The Help on top of the weekend box office.  That left places 3-5 for the major new releases, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World, Conan the Barbarian, and Fright Night.  Even One Day managed only a middling per-screen average in its smaller release.  Details after the jump.

More than a tale of two people taking too long to realize they should be in a romantic relationship, Lone Scherfig’s One Day mostly succeeds as a story about the ups and downs of a close friendship over the course of twenty years.  I imagine most people have had this kind of relationship, where two people grow closer, grow apart, and change drastically over the, but One Day does a solid job of hitting the emotions associated with that experience.  But the film can’t manage the actual love story as leads Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess never find the intimate chemistry that’s so crucial to the film.

Five clips from Lone Scherfig’s One Day have gone online.  The film tracks one day (July 15th) over twenty years in the relationship between Emma (Anne Hathaway) and Dexter (Jim Sturgess).  I assumed from the trailers that Emma and Dexter only meet for one day every year, but that’s not what happens at all.  The day is a window into their lives and showing how much they both change, come together, and grow apart over the course of two decades.  If you have a friend you’re close to but rarely see or hear from, you’ll want to give them a call after the movie.  Look out for my review of the film next week.

Hit the jump to check out the clips.  One Day opens August 19th.

A new trailer for director Lone Scherfig’s (An Education) adaptation of One Day has been released. The film stars Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess, and centers on two friends who continue to meet on July 15th–the anniversary of the day they met at their college graduation–over the course of twenty years. While the first trailer wasn’t great, the international trailer and this new trailer show some promise. I’m intrigued by the story, and Scherfig’s proven her talent behind the camera.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. One Day hits theaters August 19^th.

The international trailer for One Day has been released. Directed by Lone Scherfig (An Education), the adaptation of the David Nicholls book stars Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess. While the first U.S. trailer that was released was a little too “Lifetime Original Movie” for my liking, this international trailer seems to give a better feel for how the finished film will be. I’m intrigued by the story, and I’ve been told that Nicholls’ book is fantastic. Hit the jump to watch the international trailer yourself. One Day hits theaters August 19^th.

Focus Features has rescheduled Lone Scherfig’s romantic drama One Day from July 8th to August 19th.  The film stars Jim Sturgess and Anne Hathaway as friends who continue to meet on July 15th–the anniversary of the day they met at their college graduation–over the course of twenty years.  While Anne Hathaway’s British accent is cringeworthy, I like the story and I dug Scherfig’s previous film, An Education.

One Day will now be going up against major studio films on August 19th: The 3D remake of Fright Night, the 3D remake/reboot of Conan the Barbarian, and Robert Rodriguez’ Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World.  Hit the jump for the official synopsis.

The first trailer for One Day has been released. Directed by Lone Scherfig (An Education), the film stars Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess. One Day tells the story of two friends who meet on the night of their college graduation and proceed to meet exactly once each year on July 15 for the next two decades. The trailer looked alright until the banal voice-over came on, then it kind of spiraled into a horrifying train wreck. Still, the premise is interesting enough, and under Scherfig’s direction it could possibly turn out OK. Then again, it could be the next Leap Year.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer. One Day is set to be released on July 8^th.

CinemaCon (formerly ShoWest) begins tomorrow in Las Vegas.  If you haven’t heard of CinemaCon, it’s a convention for theater owners and operators to see what’s new in their industry and be wined and dined by the Hollywood Studios.  It’s essentially Comic-Con for people that make big decisions in the movie industry.

In the coming days I’ll be watching tons of footage from many upcoming movies and I’ll try and report what I see. Occasionally they ask us not to say anything, but whenever I can, you can expect video blogs and written reports.  Until then, I managed to snap pictures of the movie posters, standee’s, and escalator artwork that’s on display at the Convention.  Included are new posters for Friends With Benefits, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, Larry Crowne and After.  I’ve also got pictures of new banners including Super 8, Captain America: The First Avenger, One Day, Warrior, Bad Teacher, and a DreamWorks one that includes The Help, Fright Night, Real Steel and War Horse.  Hit the jump to check them out.

Focus Features recently moved One Day up to July 8, which I quickly marked on my calendar.  As directed by Lone Scherfig (An Education), Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess are sure to charm in this high-concept romance: two friends who meet on the night of their college graduation and proceed to meet exactly once each year on July 15 for the next two decades.  It sounds very Blue Valentine, and this washed-out One Day poster does not seem concerned with such comparison.

The Conspirator perhaps boasts an even greater pedigree: Robert Redford directs Robin Wright, James McAvoy, Evan Rachel Wood, Tom Wilkinson, and Kevin Kline in the tale of Mary Surratt, the woman who was charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.  View the first posters for both One Day and The Conspirator after the jump.

Opening this weekend is The Way Back and it’s the first film from director Peter Weir (Witness, Master And Commander, & Dead Poet’s Society) in seven years.  Starring Colin Farrell, Ed Harris, Mark Strong, Jim Sturgess, and Saoirse Ronan, the film is inspired by the true story of a group of “multi-national prisoners from a Siberian gulag in 1940 and their epic life affirming journey over thousands of miles across five hostile countries.”  The film is based on Slavomir Rawicz’s acclaimed book, The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom, as well as other real life accounts.  You can watch seven clips from the film here.

Anyway, I recently got to speak with most of the cast and Peter Weir and I’ll be posting a new interview everyday this week.  Up first is Jim Sturgess.  During the interview, Sturgess talked about how he got the part and what it was like to meet Weir for the first time.  In addition, he talked about working with a group of actors rather than having to play scenes on his own.  Finally, we talked about his upcoming projects Upside Down (which stars Kirsten Dunst) and One Day (which stars Anne Hathaway).  Hit the jump to watch the interview:

Lest you think the summer is just for big budget movies about fighting robots, Focus Features has moved the release date of their romantic comedy One Day up to July 8^th. The film stars Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess and marks the much anticipated follow up of An Education director Lone Scherfig. We brought you the first images from the film back in December. One Day “follows two friends who meet during their graduation in 1998 and reunite only on the anniversary of that day for the next 20 years.” Variety reported the schedule move for the film, which was originally going to be released in the fall.

The release date move pits the film against The Zookeeper starring Kevin James and Katherine Heigl’s new “comedy” One for the Money, in which she’s probably very unlikeable. The film opens only one week after Transformers: The Dark of the Moon hits theaters (on Fourth of July weekend, of course), and one week before Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 is released.

Focus Features has released the first images from director Cary Fukunaga’s (Sin Nombre) Jane Eyre and Lone Scherfig’s (An Education) One Day.  Jane Eyre is based on Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel and it stars Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell, Holliday Grainger, Sally Hawkins, Tamzin Merchant, Imogen Poots, and Judi Dench.  One Day is adapted from the internationally praised bestselling novel by David Nicholls and it stars Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess as two people who meet on the night of their college graduation (July 15th, 1988).  “For the next two decades, every July 15th reveals to us how [they] are faring, as their friendship ebbs and flows with the passing of the years.”

Hit the jump for the images and the full synopses.