 Read the Press Release:Los Angeles, CA – Friday, January 27, 2012 – Drafthouse Films announces that Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award-nominee BULLHEAD will open Friday, February 17 in New York, Los Angeles and Austin in the following theaters and will expand to new markets following its initial limited release.
New York – AMC Empire & Angelika
Los Angeles – Laemmle Santa Monica, Laemmle NoHo, Laemmle Playhouse & The Cinefamily
Austin – Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar & Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek
Read more on Academy Award Nominated ‘Bullhead’ opens February 17th…
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January 27, 2012
Categories: News, Oscar Circuit, Oscar Tracker . Tags: academy award nominee, academy awards, Bullhead, Drafthouse Films, Foreign Language Film, Oscars, Release date . Author: Clayton Davis . Comments: 1 Comment
 Sasha Stone of Awards Daily wrote this very passionate piece about racism and the Oscars. I never share opinion pieces with readers but I was very taken by the truth that was said in the piece. Here’s an excerpt and please give it a quick read:
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January 27, 2012
Categories: Article, Editor . Tags: Andy Serkis, Article, Editor, politics, racism, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Help . Author: Clayton Davis . Comments: 7 Comments
 Picking the Top 5 Contestants to Watch from San Diego, Aspen, and Houston.
Welcome everyone to week two of the American Idol auditions. This week was the largest set of episodes strung together over a three day period. Some east coast fans missed parts of the telecast from the San Diego auditions, as the football game of the Giants versus The 49ers pushed into overtime, and so FOX decided to air a repeat episode on Tuesday. So yes, we had three consecutive nights of American Idol this week, four if you count Sunday’s show. Some may see this as overkill, but as a fan of the show who has fully embraced the new judges, I could not be more thrilled. It’s funny, I’d never thought I’d say this but I prefer Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez any day of the week over Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul. Tyler and Jennifer actually care about the contestants and look like they are having a blast doing their jobs. Simon always seemed incredibly bored and let his snarky quips draw more attention to the show than the talent from the contestants. Paula, while nurturing as a judge, failed to communicate a proper critique since she seemed so loopy and easily distracted by Simon’s antics. In fact, what I love about the new judges as a whole is how small their egos are. Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez have established careers, and yet they always seem down to earth, as if every meal before the auditions is humble pie. These singing competition shows need to be about the talent first and foremost. Seasons Seven through Eight seemed to have forgotten that, but Seasons Ten and Eleven are right on track with this agenda. Read more on American Idol Auditions: Week 2 Wrap Up…
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January 27, 2012
Categories: TV/Music . Tags: 5 contestants to watch, american idol, american idol auditions week 2, american idol wrap up, aspen, houston, Jennifer Lopez, paula abdul, picking 5 best auditions this week, Randy Jackson, Ryan Seacrest, san diego, simon cowell, Steven Tyler . Author: Joseph Braverman . Comments: Leave a Comment
 France’s César Award nominations have been released, and The Artist has done quite well, nabbing 10 nods. Leading the field with 13, however is Poliss. Here’s the full list (apologies that they’re in French) of nominees for your perusal:
Meilleur film :
The Artist de Michel Hazanavicius
La Guerre est déclarée de Valérie Donzelli
L’Exercice de l’Etat de Pierre Schoeller
Intouchables d’Eric Toledano et Olivier Nakache
Polisse de Maïwenn
Le Havre d’Aki Kaurismaki
Pater d’Alain Cavalier
Read more on ‘The Artist’ receives 10 César nominations!…
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January 27, 2012
Categories: Precursors . Tags: 2011 releases, European Awards, nominations, Oscar hopefuls . Author: Joey Magidson . Comments: 1 Comment
 Following up a bit from my recent Alternate Oscar Nominations piece (found here if you missed it), I wanted to see what everyone thought the Academy would have selected as their 10th choice for Best Picture if they had gone one beyond the 9 they ultimately decided on. There’s about 15-20 films that were excluded that at one point or another were talked about as potential nominees, including The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Drive, and Harry Potter, among others, and a quick survey of my colleagues reared a few different choices, but no real consensus. My best guess was that it was likely The Ides of March, but who really knows? In case you were curious, the two most common answers were Dragon Tattoo and Ides, for whatever that might be worth. Anyway, I mostly want to see what you all think in a bit, but first I’ll throw up my 2 cents again to start it off. Here are the 10 I came up with in the “alternate nominees” article: Read more on The Infamous 10th Spot – Which film could have been there?…
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January 26, 2012
Categories: Article . Tags: 2011 releases, best picture, Oscar hopefuls . Author: Joey Magidson . Comments: 25 Comments
 It is with great sadness that I have to report a negative review of a new series on FOX which stars one of my favorite television actors, Kiefer Sutherland, who was the star of one of my most beloved television series of all time, 24. Yes, Sutherland’s new series, Touch, does not hold a candle to the suspense and addiction that 24 provided viewers for eight seasons, because it simply is not that compelling a show to begin with. I can hear the detractors now saying I need to bide my time, let the show develop, let its plot flesh out to comprehensibility, but I completely object! A pilot episode should at least give us a sense of purpose and provide viewers with some direction as to where the show is heading. Touch is simply a sappy post-9/11 drama series that attempts on multiple occasions to pull heartstrings, but you are more likely be tortured by its blatant manipulation. After the jump, I will delve into why Touch may be one of the most disappointing premieres in quite some time. Read more on TV Review:Touch (**)…
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January 26, 2012
Categories: TV/Music . Tags: 24, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Babel, Crash, danny glover, dramas with interconnected stories, fox, fox network, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, human dramas, Keifer Sutherland, paul haggis, supernatural shows, Touch . Author: Joseph Braverman . Comments: 1 Comment
 The Sundance Film Festival is always a place where lots of films get sold, and some of them go on to have healthy lives while others are barely heard from again. This year is no exception, and we already have some Oscar buzz coming out of the fest for John Hawkes and Helen Hunt in the film The Surrogate. Go figure, it’s also one of the first sales of the festival (other popular films have sold too, like the comedies Liberal Arts and For A Good Time, Call…, plus the supernatural thriller Red Lights and the drama The Words, among others), along with the romantic comedy Celeste and Jesse Forever. Here’s Collider on both of those sales:
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January 26, 2012
Categories: News . Tags: 2012 releases, film acquisitions, Oscar hopeful, Sundance Film Festival, The Surrogate . Author: Joey Magidson . Comments: 3 Comments
 I’ve done this the past few years at The Awards Circuit, and this year seems like an even more apt time to do it. Consider this the alternate universe Oscar nominations, where only those who weren’t nominated for real are eligible. Essentially, for those of you who don’t remember this piece, I go through all the major categories and look at what each field would have looked like minus the films and performances that actually were nominated. The method I use is a combination of what/who got snubbed, what their likely next choices were, and I’ll admit it…a little wishful thinking as well. The point of this all is to both see what the biggest omissions were by the Academy as well as seeing how their slate stacks up. Do you prefer what they nominated or what I put down here as the alternate choice? For me, it varies by the category. Anyway, lets get on with it and see just how the Oscar nominations could have turned out in a different world. Here goes nothing!
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January 25, 2012
Categories: Article . Tags: 2011 releases, alernatives, lists, random, shot in the dark . Author: Joey Magidson . Comments: 34 Comments
 I have a confession to make. It may shock you, but then again, it may not. Here it comes…I’m not a huge Meryl Streep fan. Some of you may have gathered this already, but for those of you who don’t know…now you do. I say this because I was never going to be blind to the flaws that ‘The Iron Lady’ has in order to blindly praise Streep. I found her performance fine but nothing special at all, and one of the most wildly overpraised of 2011. The film itself is rather terrible, and for my money one of the poorest biopics in recent memory (yes, even ‘J. Edgar’ is superior to me, and I didn’t care one bit for that one either). Director Phyllida Lloyd barely improves on her poor work on ‘Mamma Mia’ (which also wasted Streep), writer Abi Morgan makes me suspect her work on the script for ‘Shame’ was a fluke, and the acting on the whole is unworthy of much praise. Streep is doing the same sort of imitation acting that some love, but I didn’t like in ‘Julie & Julia’ either. Her voice sounds like the former Prime Minister, but she never goes any deeper than that in her performance. Honestly, Jim Broadbent gives a better performance to me. The story of Margaret Thatcher was always going to be a difficult story for me to embrace politically, but I’m relieved to say that its politics are the least of my issues (it’s actually rather mild overall). I can safely dislike this film on its own merits and failings as a biopic. And boy does it fail. The movie is incredibly self important without telling us why, as well as being boring and slow to the point of almost causing pain…perhaps its biggest failing.
Read more on Film Review: The Iron Lady (*1/2)…
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January 25, 2012
Categories: Film Reviews . Tags: 2011 releases, Abi Morgan, Jim Broadbent, Meryl Streep, Oscar hopeful, Phyllida Lloyd, The Iron Lady . Author: Joey Magidson . Comments: 47 Comments
 The Oscar Nominations were announced today as you all know. About a week or so ago, we announced the 2011 Awards Circuit Community Awards where “The Artist,” “Drive,” and “Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 2″ led the way with nominations. It’s time to cast your vote in each category. Voting will be open for the next few weeks leading up to the Oscar ceremony. Let your voice be heard and spread the word. You can click on the “ACCA” button on the side or click here.
Also, courtesy of Picktainment, our annual Oscar pool is open. You can click here or go to Picktainment.com and search for the group name: The Awards Circuit. Choose your winners in each category. The winner of course will be handsomely rewarded.
Just in case you missed it, the FULL list of Awards Circuit Community Award Nominations is after the jump. Use the comment section for “FYC (For Your Consideration)” purposes.
Read more on ACCA Final Balloting is Open along with Annual Oscar Pool!…
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January 25, 2012
Categories: ANIMATED FEATURE, Editor, LEAD ACTOR, LEAD ACTRESS, MOTION PICTURE, Oscar Circuit, Oscar Predictions, Precursors, SCREENPLAYS, Staff, SUPPORTING ACTOR, SUPPORTING ACTRESS, TECHNICALS . Tags: academy awards, ACCA, Awards Circuit Community Awards, Oscar Pool, Oscars, Picktainment . Author: Clayton Davis . Comments: 5 Comments
 Wow…writing this up took all day. Just when we think we’ve figured the Academy out, they throw not just one wrench but many in the mix. Academy Award Nominee Jennifer Lawrence announced the nominees today along with AMPAS President Tom Sherak. Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” led the nominations with eleven including Best Picture and Director and Michel Hazanavicius’ “The Artist” garnered ten nominations. Let’s breakdown each category and see what just happened here.
Best Motion Picture
“The Artist”
“The Descendants”
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
“The Help”
“Hugo”
“Midnight in Paris”
“Moneyball”
“The Tree of Life”
“War Horse”
Read more on Oscar Circuit: “What the Hell Just Happened” – Editors’ Reactions…
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January 24, 2012
Categories: Editor, Oscar Circuit, Oscar Tracker . Tags: 84th Annual Academy Awards, Academy Award Nominations, academy awards, AMPAS, Editor, Oscar, oscar nominations, Reactions . Author: Clayton Davis . Comments: 16 Comments
 Yes, I know today is going to be pretty much dominated by the Oscar nominations and their odd choices (though honestly, is it ever not this way?) with this morning’s announcement, but there’s a place for this column as well (and perhaps you can distract yourself from wondering what the Academy was thinking by watching one or two of my selections), so here it is. This week, one of the best films of 2011 hits shelves, along with some other high quality selections. In fact, this is one of the most stacked release weeks in a long time. 2 of my top 30 films of last year are out, plus a host of other titles I can easily recommend. This is an embarrassment of riches…a superlative DVD/Blu-Ray release week and the Oscar nods. How lucky are we? Anyway, there are two flicks that rose to the top today, and one of them is an easy choice for my PICK OF THE WEEK overall. It was one of my very favorite movies of 2011, an Oscar player all winter long (though sadly completely ignored this morning…a real shame), and a shockingly good piece of cinema. It’s:
50/50
There were a whole host of ways that this dramedy about a young man struggling with a cancer diagnosis could have gone wrong. It’s a real testament to those involved that it not only does everything right, but in an exceptional way as well. Directed with a really deft hand by Jonathan Levine, based on a real life event in scribe Will Reiser’s life, and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the lead role, the flick is an incredible achievement. Factor in great supporting turns by Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Phillip Baker Hall, and Anjelica Huston, along with a career best performance by Seth Rogen, and you have easily one of the best films of 2011. It came in at #7 on my Top Ten list, and now that it’s available to own I urge all of you to pick it up. It’s going to be a classic one day, even if the Academy didn’t see fit to honor it with a nomination. It’s just that great!
Read more on Joey’s DVD Picks of the Week (1/24/2012)…
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January 24, 2012
Categories: Blu-Ray/DVD . Tags: blu ray, DVD, Joey's DVD Column, weekly DVD column . Author: Joey Magidson . Comments: 9 Comments
 Please see Viola Davis’s statement regarding her Oscar nomination for THE HELP:
“It’s an honor to be nominated a second time, it is a personal accomplishment and triumph for women and women of color. I’m so glad the film has been recognized, it was a labor of love from the moment it was conceived and it is rewarding to see the impact it is having.”
OSCAR NOMINATION STATEMENTS FOR ALL TWC FILMS
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January 24, 2012
Categories: News, Oscar Circuit . Tags: academy awards, news, Oscar Nominees, Reactions . Author: Clayton Davis . Comments: 6 Comments
 I am deeply honored to have been nominated by the Academy for my work on Hugo. Every picture is a challenge, and this one – where I was working with 3D, HD and Sacha Baron Cohen for the first time – was no exception. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that you’ve been recognized by the people in your industry. I congratulate my fellow nominees. It’s an impressive list, and I’m in excellent company.
- Martin Scorsese, Producer/Director of HUGO
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January 24, 2012
Categories: News, Oscar Circuit . Tags: academy award nominees, academy awards, howard shore, Hugo, Kung Fu Panda 2, Martin Scorsese, puss in boots, Rango . Author: Clayton Davis . Comments: Leave a Comment
No "Shame"
Nominations for the 84th Academy Awards
Actor in a Leading Role
- Demián Bichir in “A Better Life”
- George Clooney in “The Descendants”
- Jean Dujardin in “The Artist”
- Gary Oldman in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
- Brad Pitt in “Moneyball”
Actor in a Supporting Role
- Kenneth Branagh in “My Week with Marilyn”
- Jonah Hill in “Moneyball”
- Nick Nolte in “Warrior”
- Christopher Plummer in “Beginners”
- Max von Sydow in “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
Actress in a Leading Role
- Glenn Close in “Albert Nobbs”
- Viola Davis in “The Help”
- Rooney Mara in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
- Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady”
- Michelle Williams in “My Week with Marilyn”
Actress in a Supporting Role
- Bérénice Bejo in “The Artist”
- Jessica Chastain in “The Help”
- Melissa McCarthy in “Bridesmaids”
- Janet McTeer in “Albert Nobbs”
- Octavia Spencer in “The Help”
Read more on Oscar Nominations Announced!…
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January 24, 2012
Categories: News, Oscar Circuit, Oscar Tracker . . Author: Clayton Davis . Comments: 67 Comments
 Twas the night before the Oscar nominations and all through the house, not a single Academy member was stirring, but us prognosticators were nervous as a mouse.
Aside from that crummy rhyme, I do have a few things to say now that we’re just a matter of hours away from knowing who the latest crop of Oscar nominees are. Before I begin though, I must say how much fun 2011 was in terms of trying to get a handle on the awards race. Plenty of questions still remain…questions like “which films will have enough #1 votes to get a Best Picture nominations?”, along with my curiosity about how films as varied as Drive, A Separation, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and We Need to Talk About Kevin will do. I’m awaiting the nominations with baited breath, but before that, a couple of points that I’d like to bring up on Oscar Nomination Eve…
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January 24, 2012
Categories: Article . Tags: 2011 releases, looking back, Oscar hopefuls, oscar nominations, random . Author: Joey Magidson . Comments: 6 Comments
 Sad news out of Sundance as one of the behind the scenes legends of indie film has passed away. Bingham Ray isn’t a name that everyone knows, but those who do know it are aware of his impact on the film world, mainly in terms of getting smaller films to a theater near you. He will be missed. Here’s the obituary from Deadline:
Sundance Institute just announced that independent film champion Bingham Ray passed away today. He was 58. ”It is with great sadness that the Sundance Institute acknowledges the passing of Bingham Ray, cherished independent film executive and most recently Executive Director of the San Francisco Film Society. On behalf of the independent film community in Park City for the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and elsewhere, we offer our support and condolences to his family. Bingham’s many contributions to this community and business are indelible, and his legacy will not be soon forgotten.” He had taken ill unexpectedly and was hospitalized but stable in Provo, Utah. That’s nearby Park City where he was attending the Art House Convergence Conference before the Sundance Film Festival began.
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January 24, 2012
Categories: News . Tags: Bingham Ray, deaths . Author: Joey Magidson . Comments: 1 Comment
 With the Oscar nominations right around the corner and the critics’ awards nearly complete, it’s that time of the year folks where we all wonder and debate who will be honored with a nomination Oscar morning. Right now it seems that the women who will be nominated are Viola Davis, Meryl Streep, and Michelle Williams. But while some of these women may be a lock for a nomination, we all know there’s plenty of room for upset. So let’s go through the performances that have a chance to score a nomination January 24th.
Read more on Women in Cinema- The “Oscarettes”: Who Will be nominated for Best Actress?…
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January 23, 2012
Categories: Article, Women in Cinema . Tags: Charlize Theron, Elizabeth Olsen, Glenn Close, Kirsten Dunst, Meryl Streep, Michelle Williams, oscarettes, Rooney Mara, Tilda Swinton, Viola Davis, women in cinema . Author: Anna Belickis . Comments: 4 Comments
 Every year the Supporting Categories are the hardest to predict. And it makes me so damn frustrated. Grr. This year I am 100% positive two actresses will receive nominations; Octavia Spencer and Berenice Bejo.
Read more on Women in Cinema- The “Oscarettes”: Who Will be nominated for Best Supporting Actress?…
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January 23, 2012
Categories: Article, Women in Cinema . Tags: Berenice Bejo, Carey Mulligan, janet mcteer, Jessica Chastain, Melissa McCarthy, Octavia Spencer, oscarettes, Shailene Woodley, vanessa redgrave, women in cinema . Author: Anna Belickis . Comments: 4 Comments
 It’s done. With the Giants game in the background (GO GIANTS!!), I’ve completed my Final Oscar Predictions. Some notable things before I’m crucified.
I’ve stuck with seven Best Picture nominees. A big part of me wanted to exclude David Fincher’s “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” from the shortlist but if the film would miss a Best Picture nomination, it would be unprecedented. No film has been cited by nearly all the guilds and miss out in the end. It did miss the Golden Globe and SAG nod so it’s very possible to miss. I still believe “War Horse” will make it. Can you imagine an older member of the Academy not checking off his name? I can’t. I’m foreseeing a very low show for Bennett Miller’s “Moneyball,” although I did stick with Jonah Hill but I’m crossing my fingers for him. Even though I respect Scott Feinberg, I still don’t see the “Drive” love coming through to get it nominated. It currently sits at #9 on the predictions but I couldn’t choose the film to be nominated with only one other nomination for Albert Brooks. I think it would need Editing and Cinematography and I don’t see either happening.
Read more on Oscar Circuit: “It’s the Final Countdown!” – FINAL Oscar Predictions Updated…
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January 23, 2012
Categories: Article, Editor, Oscar Circuit . Tags: 2011 releases, 84th Annual Academy Awards, academy awards, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Animated Feature, Best Animated Short, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Director, Best Documentary Feature, Best Documentary Short Subject, Best Film Editing, Best Foreign Language Feature, Best Makeup, Best Original Score, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Song, best picture, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Visual Effects, Final Oscar Predictions, Oscar Circuit, oscar predictions . Author: Clayton Davis . Comments: 10 Comments
 My buddy Joey covered some aspects of the snubs we might see Tuesday morning, but I thought I might weigh from the historical perspective.
It has been happening since the beginning of the awarding of the Academy Awards, a great piece of cinema is snubbed for a nomination as Best Picture while other films, which will be forgotten as time moves along relentlessly manage to make the cut. As far back as 1927, when Cecil B. Demille’s handsome production of The King of Kings (1927) was passed over for a Best Picture nominature, the Academy has made its share of errors. Consider that the following films were NOT nominated for Best Picture and you will see what I mean.
Read more on Could a “Great” Film be Snubbed?…
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January 23, 2012
Categories: Article . . Author: John H. Foote . Comments: 17 Comments
 Today we have the nominees for the 9th annual International Cinephile Society Awards. A Separation leads the field with 10 nods, followed by Mysteries of Lisbon with 9, and then both Drive and the Tree of Life with 7 citations. Take a gander at all the nominees:
PICTURE
• Certified Copy
• Drive
• Hugo
• Margaret
• Meek’s Cutoff
• Melancholia
• Mysteries of Lisbon
• A Separation
• The Tree of Life
• Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
• Weekend
Read more on ‘A Separation’ Leads the ICS Nominations!…
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January 23, 2012
Categories: Precursors . Tags: 2011 releases, ICS, nominations, Oscar hopefuls . Author: Joey Magidson . Comments: 11 Comments
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- Re: Drive reaction thread by: samchn07
December 16, 2011, 14:08 - Re: Top 10 Movies of 2011 by: kailor
December 14, 2011, 18:53 - Oscar Gold ! by: Juha Tapani
December 11, 2011, 13:04 - Re: Why no love for Dominic Cooper? by: George
December 11, 2011, 08:15 - Re: Why no love for Dominic Cooper? by: Jim Wilson
December 10, 2011, 10:58
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