With the announcement of Oscar nominations this morning and a definitive win at last weekend's Directors Guild of America Awards, helmer Kathryn Bigelow is poised to make history as the first women director to win a Best Director Oscar for her work on the intense Iraq War drama THE HURT LOCKER.
Bigelow is only the fourth woman director ever to be nominated in the 85 year history of the awards (her predecessors included Italian director Lina Wertmuller for SEVEN BEAUTIES, Amer...
Yes, we all expected AVATAR and THE HURT LOCKER to have good showings for this morning's Oscar nomination announcements (they are both tied at 9 nominations each) and we were not surprised when the names George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep were intoned at the 5:30am ceremony in Los Angeles. And yes, even the six nods for PRECIOUS (including well-deserved nominations for Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, director Lee Daniels and screenwriter Geoffrey Flet...
Well, after watching the Golden Globe Awards ceremonies last evening, I had the distinct feeling: who needs the Oscars? I've already seen the winning films, directors and actors and heard their acceptance speeches. The Oscar ceremony, which is not scheduled until six weeks from now, seems quite besides the point. Except for the fashion ("who are you wearing?" is the question of the moment), I am imagining that last night's Golden Globe winners will be simply re-doing their &...
While most of the films that are being showered with awards by the various film critics and guild organizations in the end-of-the-year awards season are a mix of Hollywood and American independent films, a few European films (most notably from France) are seizing some of the awards thunder.
When the National Society of Film Critics made their awards announcements earlier this week, a few French films and talents were prominent. Although THE HURT LOCKER was the overwhelming winner ...
While most people go to the movies to escape the avalanche of bad news that seeks to overwhelm us, two films with topical subjects are emerging as the frontrunners in the Best Picture Oscar race. THE HURT LOCKER, the much lauded Iraqi War drama directed by Kathryn Bigelow, and UP IN THE AIR, the Jason Reitman-helmed, George Clooney-starrer that has the economy and corporate layoffs as its background motif, are the most honored films of the year so far by a range of critics groups and ...
In the 81 year history of the Academy Awards, nearly 500 films have been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. Up until now, not a single film that was directed by a black filmmaker has been included on that list. However, this year, with the critical and popular success of the urban indie drama PRECIOUS, that ignoble record could be history.
PRECIOUS, directed by Lee Daniels, has undergone a fascinating journey to become the "it" film of the indie film season.....a jo...
AN EDUCATION, the 1960s-set drama by Danish director Lone Scherfig, led the pack at the announcement of the 30th London Film Critics’ Circle Awards nominations. The film scored seven nominations, including British Film of the Year and notices for actors Carey Mulligan, Alfred Molina, Rosamund Pike and Olivia Williams.
AN EDUCATION will compete for Best British film with the likes of Jane Campion’s BRIGHT STAR, Armando Iannucci’s IN THE LOOP, Andrea Arnold’s FISH TANK, ...
NINE (directed by Rob Marshall)
The Screen Actors Guild, the most important union of actors and actresses working in film and television, have announced their award nominees for this year. With the focus squarely on the acting arts, the list of those tapped for possible awards makes another pit stop in the road to the Oscars (which will be given out this year on March 7).
As expected, lead and supporting actors in the films as UP IN THE AIR, PRECIOUS and INGLORIOUS BASTERDS ...
Jeremy Renner in THE HURT LOCKER
It happens every year.....key performances, outstanding films and worthy indies and international titles that seem primed for awards consideration are inexplicably ignored. This has happened again with the announcement last week of the Golden Globe Award nominations, considered second only to the Oscars.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the group of 80 international film critics and journalists who vote for the prizes, is known f...
How do you follow up an international success like JUNO?Well....writer/director Jason Reitman, who has only three feature films to his credit, is sailing into Oscar town with his latest serious satire, UP IN THE AIR. The George Clooney-starrer has already been named Best Picture of the Year by several critics groups and has now posted the biggest nomination record for this year's Golden Globe Awards (will Oscar gold be far behind????).
UP IN THE AIR has scored six 2009 Golden G...
The awards season is officially on with the presentation last evening of the GOTHAM INDEPENDENT FILM AWARDS in New York City. The Awards are sponsored by the Independent Feature Project/IFP, a filmmaker organization that is at the forefront of the American independent film movement.
The Iraq war drama THE HURT LOCKER has solidified its chances at Oscar gold by winning two awards, was named Best Feature and captured the prize for Best Ensemble Cast (shared by Jeremy Renner, Antho...
The Oscar for Best Animated Short Film is in the group of 10 nominated films announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences yesterday. In all, 37 short animated films from around the world were submitted, and that list has now been culled down to 10 films.
The Short Films and Feature Animation Branch Reviewing Committee viewed all the eligible entries for the preliminary round of voting in screenings held in New York and Los Angeles. They will now select the fin...
Michael Moore's name and his latest film CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY were stark omissions when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences named 15 films that have made the short-list in the Documentary Feature category for the 82nd Academy Awards. Of 89 films submitted, the Oscar race has been pared down to these fifteen.
“The Beaches of Agnes”
Agnes Varda, director (Cine-Tamaris)
“Burma VJ”
Anders Ostergaard, director (Magi...
The MIAAC Indian Film Festival, sponsored by the Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council, wrapped up five days of premiere screenings, special events, chic parties and industry networking events with a gala awards ceremony on Sunday night, November 15th at the Walter Reade Theatre at New York's Lincoln Center. The ceremony included the US premiere of Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s ANTAHEEN. Stars Rahul Bose and Kalyan Roy attended the premiere along with actors and filmmakers including Sh...
Charting the documentaries that will eventually will be tapped for Oscar gold is a sport popular in the world of non-fiction filmmakers and their devoted public. With documentaries showing considerable clout at the box office and responsible for adding to the public discourse about global warming, globalization and other 21st century vices, the announcements last week of nominees from the International Documentary Association holds special interest. Winners will be feted on December 4t...
Wednesday, December 3-------The British Independent Film Awards, referred to as the "Brit indie Oscars" were announced this past weekend in London. A groovy event held this year at the Old Billingsgate Market, the BIFAs have become the cool alternative to the BAFTA Awards, which will be given out in January 2009.
The big winner of the evening, further consolidating its international box office performance is SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, the crowd-pleaser fr...
Wednesday, December 3-------On the same day as the Film Independent Spirit Award nominations were announced (cheeky, that), the annual Gotham independent Film Awards were given out in New York City. Winning top honors were FROZEN RIVER by Courtney Hunt as Best Feature Film and TROUBLE THE WATER by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal as Best Documentary.
FROZEN RIVER'S lead actress Melissa Leo also won the Gotham Breakthrough Actor award, and along wih her Film Inde...
Tuesday, December 2-------The Film Independent Spirit Awards, also referred to as the "indie Oscars" has announced its nomination list today, giving added fuel to the awards season. Top nominees include FROZEN RIVER (Courtney Hunt), BALLAST (Lance Hammer) and RACHEL GETTING MARRIED (Jonathan Demme). Other films competing for the Best Feature Award include THE WRESTLER (Darren Aronofsky) and WENDY AND LUCY (Kelly Reichardt).
FROZEN RIVER, which won the ...
Wednesday, October 15-----Canadian debut filmmaker Cameron Labine has been awarded the inaugural International Film Guide Inspiration Award at this past weekend’s Awards Gala at the Vancouver International Film Festival (www.viff.org). Labine won for his feature debut, the comedy Control Alt Delete (www.controlaltdeletemovie.com), which screened in the Canadian Images section of the Festival. The film was chosen from among nearly 100 Canadian films by the Programming Committee ...
Tuesday, May 20---------At a special reception held yesterday in Cannes at the Plages des Palmes Cafe, the Hamptons International Film Festival and indieWIRE announced the recipient of their annual Industry Toast Honoree, to be presented during thed 16th edition of the Festival, from October 15 to 19, 2008.This year's recipient is Wouter Barendrecht, founder and co-chairman of Fortissimo Films, one of the world's leading international film, television and video sales organizations specializing ...
Mandelberger Sandy 
