The critics awards are off and running after the New York Film Critics Circle announced its picks for the best of the year yesterday, and today the National Board of Review has named Her the best picture of 2013.  Spike Jonze was also named Best Director for the film, while the acting honors went to Bruce Dern (Nebraska), Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks), Will Forte (Nebraska), and Octavia Spencer (Fruitvale Station).  Always an eclectic list, the NBR’s Top 10 includes The Wolf of Wall Street, Gravity, Lone Survivor, and Prisoners.  Wholly absent from the Top 10 is the NYFCC’s pick for Best Film, American Hustle.

The NBR winner for Best Picture has failed to match up with Oscar since 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire, as last year’s award went to Zero Dark Thirty, but for the past 13 years every NBR winner has landed a Best Picture nomination, so this bodes well for Her‘s Oscar prospects.  Read the full list of NBR winners after the jump.

The 2014 Independent Spirit Awards nominations have been announced, and director Steve McQueen’s excellent drama 12 Years a Slave tops the nominees with seven nods, including Best Feature, Best Director, and Best Actor.  Nebraska is not far behind with six nominations, and the Robert Redford drama All Is Lost also did well with four nods.  The much-beloved Short Term 12 failed to land a Best Feature nomination, but Primer director Shane Carruth’s twisty second feature Upstream Color landed nods for Best Director and Best Editing.  The Best Actor category is a strong mirror of the very tight Oscar race in the same category, and the wonderful Shailene Woodley and Brie Larson nabbed Best Actress nominations for The Spectacular Now and Short Term 12, respectively.

Hit the jump for the full list of nominations and additional commentary.  The Independent Spirit Awards will be hosted on March 1, 2014.

One of the best movies I’ve seen this year is James Ponsoldt‘s The Spectacular Now.  The coming-of-age film chronicles the unlikely relationship between directionless party boy Sutter (Miles Teller) and the quiet, reserved Aimee (Shailene Woodley).  It’s one of the few non-documentary films I’ve seen that honestly speaks to the teenage experience, and I encourage you to seek it out when it comes to your city (if it hasn’t already).

Yesterday, I got the chance to sit down with Ponsoldt and talk about the movie.  During out conversation, we talked about the film’s journey from Sundance to distribution, the casting process, working with his talented crew, going for nostalgia over sentimentality, his upcoming movies Pippin and Rodham, and much more.  Hit the jump to read the interview.  Click here to find out when where The Spectacular Now will be playing near you.

[This is a re-post of my review from the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.  The Spectacular Now opens today in limited release.]

“Live in the moment” is a nice platitude and a crappy life philosophy. Vivacity is all well and good. We should appreciate the present, but we can’t live only for the present. We have to think about tomorrow because we’re probably going to be there. In his wonderful new film The Spectacular Now, director James Ponsoldt explore the live-for-the-moment mentality with an authentic and earnest look at high school emotions, anxiety about the future, and first love. Led by extraordinary performances from stars Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley, The Spectacular Now is a thoroughly charming and surprisingly powerful coming-of-age story about the fear of looking ahead and the seductive safety of living in the present.

One of my favorite movies of the year is director James Ponsoldt (Smashed) and writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber’s (500 Days of Summer) coming of age drama The Spectacular Now.   Led by fantastic lead performances from Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley, the film is about two High School seniors that are going in opposite directions.  Sutter Keely (Teller) is the life of the party and loves to drink, while Aimee Finicky (Woodley) is pretty, but shy and removed from the popular crowd.  When Sutter wakes up on Aimee’s lawn after being dumped by his girlfriend, what starts off as a rebound quickly turn into something more.  The film also stars Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Kyle Chandler.  For more on the film, read Matt’s review.

A few days ago at the Los Ageles press day, I spoke with Teller and Woodley.  They talked about how the film feels real and not a Hollywood version of teenage life, the way everyone is praising the movie, what they collect, how they were both cast in Divergent, and more.  Hit the jump to watch.  The Spectacular Now opens in limited release this weekend.

Movies that feature teenagers and authentically speak to the teenage experience are rare.  The Spectacular Now is a rare movie, and one that demands to be seen.  The film stars Miles Teller as a young high school student who strikes up a friendship with a fellow student (Shailene Woodley) as graduation and some big life decisions loom closer.  The film was met with rave reactions when it premiered at Sundance earlier this year (click here to read my review), and I’m so glad that a wider audience now has the chance to see it.  It’s funny, heartwarming, and most importantly, emotionally honest.  If you haven’t had a chance to see many indie movies this summer, you’re going to want to make time for this one.

I’m pleased to announce we’re giving away 20 pairs of passes to the Atlanta screening of The Spectacular Now.  Hit the jump to find out how you can see the movie early and for free.  The film stars Brie Larson, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Kyle Chandler.  The Spectacular Now opens in limited release on August 2nd and expands to Altanta on August 9th.

The first trailer for director James Ponsoldt’s (Smashed) drama The Spectacular Now has been released online.  The film premiered to wildly positive reviews at Sundance earlier this year, and stars Miles Teller as a young high school student who strikes up a friendship with a fellow student (Shailene Woodley) as graduation and some big life decisions loom closer.  I loved the film when I saw it at Sundance, and you should definitely go see it.  Please take my word on this, because the trailer will take you through the entire movie.  If you can’t take my word, then go ahead and watch the trailer, but consider yourself warned.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and poster, and click here to watch Steve’s interview with Teller and Woodley from Sundance.  The film also stars Brie Larson, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Kyle Chandler.  The Spectacular Now opens on August 2nd.

Blockbusters dominate the summer movie season, and some will definitely be worth your time.  You’ll pre-order your ticket, get together with friends for the earliest possible screening, and probably have a grand time.  But there are some smaller films this summer that shouldn’t escape your attention.  I’ve compiled a list of ten worthwhile indie films I saw at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival, the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, and SXSW 2013.  The list includes coming of age comedies, moving romances, brutal dramas, and more.  There are other smaller films this summer that might be worth a look such as The Bling Ring and Blue Jasmine, but I haven’t seen them yet.  I can vouch for these ten.  Hit the jump for the list.

The lineup for the 2013 Los Angeles Film Festival has been announced.  Fox Searchlight’s The Way, Way Back—which marks the directorial debut of Oscar-winning The Descendants screenwriters Jim Rash and Nat Faxon—has been selected as the closing night film, while Nicolas Winding Refn’s Only God Forgives and the Sundance hits Fruitvale Station and The Spectacular Now will also fill out the festival.  Additionally, the fest will host the US premiere of the sci-fi thriller Europa Report starring Sharlto Copley and there will be community screenings of Badlands, Dazed and Confused and John Waters’ Hairspray.  Hit the jump for the full press release.

Release dates have been announced for a couple of anticipated 2013 features from A24 Films.

• The Bling Ring – Writer/director Sofia Coppola’s film about the group of teenagers who robbed the homes of the rich and famous between 2008 and 2009 will hit theaters in limited release on June 14th. The film stars Emma Watson, Taissa Farmiga, and Leslie Mann.
• The Spectacular Now – Director James Ponsoldt’s (Smashed) excellent teen drama made a big splash at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and A24 has set the film for an August 2nd release.  The pic stars Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley and centers on the relationship between two teenagers who are struggling with some serious issues.  Read Matt’s highly positive review here.

At the very least, the 2013 Atlanta Film Festival will open strong and close great.  The festival has announced that their opening night film will be Jeff Nichols‘ Mud.  It’s a deeply southern film that some have compared to a lost Mark Twain novel, and it’s a fitting opener to this year’s AFF.  Furthermore, the festival will close out with one of the best films I’ve seen so far this year, The Spectacular Now from Athens, Georgia native James Ponsoldt, who previously won the Atlanta Film Festival’s 2008 Screenwriting Competition and the 2003 Perfect Pitch Award.  I don’t know what films will be in between, but I can say without hesitation that you should rush out to get tickets for these two movies.

Click here to go to Atlanta Film Festival’s website, and you can follow them on Twitter and Facebook.  The 2013 Atlanta Film Festival runs from March 15 – 24th.

One of my favorite movies at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was director James Ponsoldt (Smashed) and writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber’s (500 Days of Summer) coming of age drama The Spectacular Now.   Led by fantastic lead performances from Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley, the film is about two High School seniors that are going in opposite directions.  Sutter Keely (Teller) is the life of the party and loves to drink, while Aimee Finicky (Woodley) is pretty, but shy and removed from the popular crowd.  When Sutter wakes up on Aimee’s lawn after being dumped by his girlfriend, what starts off as a rebound quickly turn into something more.  The film also stars Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Kyle Chandler.  For more on the film, here is Matt’s review.

The day after the world premiere I sat down with Teller and Woodley for an exclusive video interview.  We talked about being at Sundance, how they got cast, the fact that the characters in the film are real and relatable, and more.  In addition, each of them talks about their upcoming projects including The Amazing Spider-Man 2.  Hit the jump to watch.

Ryan Coogler‘s Fruitvale made audiences at this year’s Sundance Film Festival weep with the true story of Oscar Grant, who was murdered by BART Station police in 2009.  At last night’s awards ceremony, Coogler’s debut feature was awarded with both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award, which made it the first film to win in both categories since 2009′s Precious.  The Weinstein Company picked up the movie for $2 million after a heated bidding war, and I would expect a release sometime later this year.  Click here for my review.

Other winners included This Is Martin Bonner for “Best of NEXT” (voters must have connected with a movie where nothing happens), best screenwriting for Lake Bell for In a World… (click here for my review), and Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley for their tremendous performances in The Spectacular Now.  Hit the jump for the full list of winners.

One of my favorite movies at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was director James Ponsoldt (Smashed) and writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber’s (500 Days of Summer) coming of age drama The Spectacular Now.   Led by fantastic lead performances from Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley, the film is about two High School seniors that are going in opposite directions.  Sutter Keely (Teller) is the life of the party and loves to drink, while Aimee Finicky (Woodley) is pretty, but shy and removed from the popular crowd.  When Sutter wakes up on Aimee’s lawn after being dumped by his girlfriend, what starts off as a rebound quickly turn into something more.  The film also stars Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Kyle Chandler.

The day after the world premiere I sat down with Ponsoldt and Larson for an exclusive video interview.  We talked about being at Sundance, why they wanted to make the film, how things changed during production, how the characters looked and felt real, deleted scenes and more.  In addition, I asked Larson if she’s going to be in the 21 Jump Street sequel and Ponsoldt talked about why he wanted to write and direct the young adult adaptation of Pure.  He compared it to The Wizard of Oz and Pan’s Labyrinth and says he’s already started writing it.  Hit the jump for more.

Steve, Matt, and I are currently braving the cold of Park City for the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, and following the premieres of some of the major films this past weekend, a few high profile acquisitions are taking place.  Briefly:

• Don Jon’s Addiction – Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s directorial debut, a comedy that follows the life of a guido addicted to porn, has been picked up by Relativity Media for a record-breaking $4 million, per Variety.  Read Matt’s review here.
• The Spectacular Now – This coming of age drama from director James Ponsoldt (Smashed) and writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (500 Days of Summer) garnered some great buzz, and A24 films has picked up the domestic rights.  Read Matt’s review here.
• Fruitvale – Fresh off its premiere on Saturday night, this Octavia Spencer and Michael B. Jordan-fronted drama is currently the “buzz” film that everyone’s rushing to see.  Variety reports that the Weinstein Company is closing in on a deal worth north of $2 million following a heated bidding war.
• The Look of Love – IFC Films has picked up the rights to Michael Winterbottom’s comedy starring Steve Coogan.  Read Matt’s review here.
• Austenland – The new comedy from Jerusha Hess and starring Keri Russell may be been picked up by Exclusive and FilmDistrict. [Update: Talks with FilmDistrict and Exclusive fell through, but Heat Vision reports that Sony Pictures Worldwide has now acquired distribution rights.]

Hit the jump to read the press releases.