Awards Season 2008

[Barmy]

Whoever wrote that article is a poor representative of the retarded community. And didn't LotR swallow loads of Oscar?

[Haggai]

LotR is mentioned in the article as an exception, but the whole thing is pretty confused. Is the article predicting that Dark Knight won't even get many Oscar nominations, or just that it won't win best picture? It mostly seems to be about nominations, but the argument isn't very clear.

For instance, the political discussion at the end talks about what might happen "come nomination time." But that comes just after the claim that "Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Jaws will be remembered as masterpieces that Oscar ignored," even though all three of those films won multiple Oscars and were all nominated for best picture.

[Antoine Doinel]

National Society Of Film Critics

Best Picture: Waltz With Bashir
Best Actor: Sean Penn (Milk)
Best Actress: Sally Hawkins (Happy Go Lucky)
Best Supporting Actor: Eddie Marsan (Happy Go Lucky)
Best Supporting Actress: Hanna Schygulla (The Edge Of Heaven)
Best Director: Mike Leigh (Happy Go Lucky)
Best Screenplay: Mike Leigh (Happy Go Lucky)
Best Non-Fiction Film: Man On Wire

[lacritfan]

National Society Of Film Critics

It handed out several Film Heritage Awards, citing the Criterion Collection for its DVD release of Samuel Fuller's "White Dog"; Kent Mackenzie's 1961 film "The Exiles," about Native Americans in Los Angeles, which was restored by Ross Lipman of the UCLA Television and Film Archives and distributed by Milestone; Flicker Alley for releasing DVD collections of rare early U.S. and foreign silent films; and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment for its DVD set "Murnau, Borzage and Fox."

[lacritfan]

National Society Of Film Critics

It handed out several Film Heritage Awards, citing the Criterion Collection for its DVD release of Samuel Fuller's "White Dog"; Kent Mackenzie's 1961 film "The Exiles," about Native Americans in Los Angeles, which was restored by Ross Lipman of the UCLA Television and Film Archives and distributed by Milestone; Flicker Alley for releasing DVD collections of rare early U.S. and foreign silent films; and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment for its DVD set "Murnau, Borzage and Fox."

National Society Of Film Critics

Best Picture: Waltz With Bashir
Best Actor: Sean Penn (Milk)
Best Actress: Sally Hawkins (Happy Go Lucky)
Best Supporting Actor: Eddie Marsan (Happy Go Lucky)
Best Supporting Actress: Hanna Schygulla (The Edge Of Heaven)
Best Director: Mike Leigh (Happy Go Lucky)
Best Screenplay: Mike Leigh (Happy Go Lucky)
Best Non-Fiction Film: Man On Wire

Also -
Best Cinematography: Anthony Dod Mantle (Slumdog Millionaire)
Best Experimental Film: Razzle Dazzle

Runners-up :
Best Picture: WALL-E and Happy-Go-Lucky
Best Actor: Mickey Rourke (The Wrester) and Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino)
Best Actress: Melissa Leo (Frozen River) and Michelle Williams (Wendy and Lucy)
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger (Dark Knight) and Josh Brolin (Milk)
Best Supporting Actress: Viola Davis (Doubt) and Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Best Director: Gus Van Sant (Milk and Paranoid Park) and Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
Best Screenplay: Arnaud Desplechin (A Christmas Tale) and Charlie Kaufman (Synecdoche, New York)
Best Non-Fiction Film: Trouble the Water and Encounters at the End of the World
Best Cinematography: Lee Ping-Bing (Flight of the Red Balloon), Wally Pfister (The Dark Knight) and Yu Luk-Wai (Still Life)

[domino harvey]

Best Supporting Actor: Eddie Marsan (Happy Go Lucky)

=D>
God I hope this happens

[Antoine Doinel]

New Oscar site goes live.

Salon Ten Best Indie Movies

(their definition of "indie" seems to fairly elastic)

1. A Christmas Tale
2. Waltz With Bashir
3. Chop Shop
4. Encounters At The End Of The World
5. Flight Of The Red Balloon
6. The Secret Of The Grain
7. Momma's Man
8. Man On Wire
9. The Order Of Myths
10. Reprise

[Barmy]

PGA. (It's over).

THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Mlk
Slumdog Millionaire

[reno dakota]

PGA. (It's over).

THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Mlk
Slumdog Millionaire

The PGA nominations have matched 5-for-5 with the AA Best Picture nominations only 2 of 16 times (in 1993 and 1994), so what exactly do you think is over?

[Barmy]

It. They are matching this year.

[swo17]

Mlk

Is this that movie where Sean Penn plays Martin Luther King?

[tavernier]

With title song by U2.

[domino harvey]

PGA. (It's over).

THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Mlk
Slumdog Millionaire

I think Happy-Go-Lucky gets in over Dark Knight but yeah

[lacritfan]

PGA. (It's over).

THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Mlk
Slumdog Millionaire

I think a lot can happen between now and Jan 22, who knows what kind of campaigning has been going on behind the scenes? I think the sure bets are DK, Milk and Slumdog, I don't sense that much momentum for CCofBB and F/N right now.

[domino harvey]

I don't sense that much momentum for CCofBB and F/N right now.

Those two have been nominated for, like, everything-- there couldn't possibly be more momentum for them

[Michael]

If there's one film that must sweep the Oscars, it's Milk.

[domino harvey]

If nothing else, Penn's a lock... though these reports of his supposed homophobia (!) aren't helping matters

[Michael]

But I've always adored Penn ever since I saw him in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, a screening I somehow sneaked into when I was still in my puberty. He was wonderful in Dead Man Walking, Before Night Falls and Sweet and Lowdown. And now because Mickey Rourke and Sean Penn are pretty much 50/50 for Best Actor, Rourke started accusing Penn for being homophobic, blah blah. I don't recall any proof of his admission of homophobia.

However Milk is more of a Van Sant vehicle than Penn's. Penn's performance may be central to Milk but every single performance in the film is just as magnificent and powerful; its ensemble is really amazing and inspiring. Van Sant's personality and artistry are too strong to let Penn take over his project. His signature is all over Milk, every single frame and beyond.

[lacritfan]

I don't sense that much momentum for CCofBB and F/N right now.

Those two have been nominated for, like, everything-- there couldn't possibly be more momentum for them

Yeah, but I don't have the sense people are saying "You have to go to see this" like with Milk and Slumdog. No "Langella is finally gonna be nominated" or "This is Fincher's best" buzz etc. I think Doubt could've easily replace one of them and no one would bat an eye.

[Barmy]

CC/BB is a lock because it is actually making $$$ for some reason. Frost/Nixon is the one that could fall, but I doubt it since Oscar wants to include a "political" "statement" in the list, and Mlk doesn't "count" in that regard.

[lacritfan]

American Society of Cinematographers noms

Roger Deakins & Chris Menges : The Reader
Roger Deakins : Revolutionary Road
Anthony Dod Mantle : Slumdog Millionaire
Claudio Miranda : The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Wally Pfister : The Dark Knight

Second year in a row Deakins has scored two nominations.

[Jeff]

Writer's Guild

I'm very surprised to see Rachel Getting Married and Happy-Go-Lucky ditched in favor of Burn After Reading and The Visitor.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Burn After Reading, Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, Focus Features

Milk, Written by Dustin Lance Black, Focus Features

Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Written by Woody Allen, The Weinstein Company

The Visitor, Written by Tom McCarthy, Overture Films

The Wrestler, Written by Robert Siegel, Fox Searchlight Pictures


ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Screenplay by Eric Roth; Screen Story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord; Based on the Short Story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures

The Dark Knight, Screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan; Story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer; Based on Characters Appearing in Comic Books Published by DC Comics; Batman Created by Bob Kane, Warner Bros. Pictures

Doubt, Screenplay by John Patrick Shanley, Based on his Stage Play, Miramax Films

Frost/Nixon, Screenplay by Peter Morgan, Based on his Stage Play, Universal Pictures

Slumdog Millionaire, Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy, Based on the Novel Q and A by Vikas Swarup, Fox Searchlight Pictures

[lacritfan]

Writer's Guild

I'm very surprised to see Rachel Getting Married and Happy-Go-Lucky ditched in favor of Burn After Reading and The Visitor.

Wow, that's a blow to Jenny Lumet though I think she'll still get nominated come Oscar time. Can't see anyone but Milk winning out of these five. Also Waltz with Bashir was nominated for best documentary screenplay, which is...interesting.

[brendanjc]

Going back to the first post in this thread, is there a chance for a film that's not on the Academy's "short-list" to wind up Oscar-nominated? It would be a shame if "Dear Zachary" doesn't get a nod - it absolutely needs to be seen and after catching it on MSNBC it's jumped up to the top half of my top 10 of the year.

[lacritfan]

Directors Guild noms
Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire
David Fincher - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard - Frost/Nixon
Christopher Nolan - The Dark Knight
Gus Van Sant - Milk