Last year's Oscar winners for "Best Live Action Short" for 'God of Love'
Ah yes, the Academy Award’s “Live Action Short” category may turn a blind eye from many who watch the Oscars, even from the most die hard of moviegoers, who neither care nor wish to know about short films that are potential stepping stones for some of the hallmark directors in cinema. Just ask acclaimed director, Taylor Hackford, who won the award back in 1978 for his short film, “Teenage Father.” Hackford has gone on to head some of the best films of the past thirty years, including An Officer and a Gentleman, Dolores Claiborne, and Ray. Did I also forget to mention that Hackford is the current president of the Director’s Guild of America? Yep, this guy ran with his “Live Action Short” victory and took his career to heights that even he probably never would have imagined reaching. It just goes to show you that this award is something especially significant for an up-and-coming filmmaker, ready for their name to be worldly recognized and respected in the motion picture industry. So before we gloss over this award, think about the lasting effects it could have on one’s career in Hollywood, and what that motivational boost could mean for future full length features from these Academy Award recipients…
The 2012 Nominees for “Best Live Action Short” Are…
- Pentecost – Peter McDonald and Eimer O’Kane
- Raju – Max Zahle and Stefan Gieren
- The Shore — Terry George and Oorlagh George
- Time Freak – Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
- Tuba Atlantic – Hallvar Witzo
Read more on Oscar Circuit: Live Action Short…
Categories: Oscar Circuit Tags: andrew bowler, ciarin hinds, conleth hill, god of love, hallar witzo, Live Action Short Film, max zahle, Oscar Circuit, oscar nominations 2012, Pentecost, peter mcdonald, rahul gandotra, Raju, terry george, The Road Home, The Shore, Time Freak, Tuba Atlantic
 I would love to wake up every morning and already have my wardrobe picked out for me. I guess that’s the beauty of working in the movies. You get to wear all types of amazing outfits and they are all tailored for you and everything. It must be an even better feeling when the costume designers wake up on Oscar morning to find out that the hard work they put in paid off.
It is the job for the costume designer to properly come up with outfits that symbolize who a particular character is and to set the mood right for a certain scene. I think the following nominees did a fantastic job in completing this task.
And the nominees are:
• Anonymous- Lisy Christl
• The Artist- Mark Bridges
• Hugo- Sandy Powell
• Jane Eyre- Michael O’Connor
• W.E.- Arianne Phillips Read more on Oscar Circuit: Best Costume Design…
 And the Nominees Are:
“The Artist” – Michel Hazanavicius
Oscar scene: The opening establishment of the times in Hollywood
“Bridesmaids” – Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig
Oscar scene: The dueling speeches
“Margin Call” – J.C. Chandor
Oscar scene: Jeremy Irons explains how they will survive the crisis
“Midnight in Paris” – Woody Allen
Oscar scene: Corey Stoll’s monologue on death
“A Separation” – Asghar Farhadi
Oscar scene: The opening scene
Read more on Oscar Circuit: Best Original Screenplay…
Categories: Oscar Circuit Tags: 2011 releases, A Separation, Asghar Farhadi, Best Original Screenplay, Bridesmaids, J.C. Chandor, Kristen Wiig, Margin Call, Michel Hazanavicius, Midnight in Paris, Oscar hopefuls, the artist, Woody Allen
 And the Nominees Are:
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse
Just as my colleague and friend Mike Ward detailed the Best Sound Mixing race (the excellent write up can be found here), I’m diving right in and tackling the Best Sound Editing race. I know that there’s often some confusion about which category is which and what exactly they both do. In short, the Mixing category deals with recording and re-recording, while Editing literally has to do with editing or design in terms of sound. This is in some ways the “sexier” category, but both obviously have their place in terms of importance. I’ll freely admit that I sometimes have a hard time predicting this category, though oddly enough my overall percentage is pretty high for Sound Editing in the end. I guess it just takes me a bit longer than in some other categories to come around to the winner. Will it be the same this year or do I already have the race figured out? Well, let’s find out…
Read more on Oscar Circuit: Best Sound Editing…
Last year's Oscar winners for Best Sound Mixing for "Inception" (L to R – Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick). Novick is a nominee again this year for "Moneyball".
The 2011 Nominees For Best Sound Mixing Are…
• THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
• HUGO
• MONEYBALL
• TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON
• WAR HORSE
At my annual Oscar party, invariably some assemblage of attendees always ask questions such as “What is Cinematography?” “How do they judge Art Direction?” and a rather common one, at least in my circles… “What is the difference between Sound Editing and Sound Mixing? How are we supposed to know the difference?”
To the lay movie fan, below-the-line work is often taken for granted and/or rarely, if ever, thought about. If a movie looks great, it looks great, but few people ever remark that the Director of Photography or Cinematographer’s work was fantastic. Sure the movie may look fantastic and the settings quite glorious, but who amongst your friends and loved ones have ever proclaimed that the art direction and set decoration work of [insert name] was exceptional.
And make no mistake, all of that is fine in a general sense. At the end of the day, people go to the movies to escape, to live another life or decompress from their daily affairs. People paying to see Transformers: Dark Of The Moon or Jack And Jill, or even a conventional dramatic Oscar contending film will simply not be concerned with how a film was lensed, how the sets were constructed, or possibly even be aware that the pacing and rhythm and sequencing of shots they enjoy are meticulously planned out and performed by an editor. At the end of the day, people just want to be entertained and not analyze every moment of the story they just experienced.
Read more on Oscar Circuit: Best Sound Mixing…
And the Nominees Are:
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2″
Oscar scene: The climactic battle between Harry and Voldemort
“Hugo”
Oscar scene: The train crash
“Real Steel”
Oscar scene: The final robot boxing match
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
Oscar scene: The apes rising
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
Oscar scene: The Decepticon wraps around a building
One of the more interesting categories out there for Oscar is Best Visual Effects. Many of the other technical categories are harder for the layman to comprehend and as such feel more exclusionary (Film Editing or Sound Mixing, for example), whereas this particular category is a lot simpler to wrap your head around. This year, we don’t especially have a lower key nominee as in years past (just look at Hereafter scoring a nod last year), so it’s pretty much going to be which film was the best feast for the eyes. Of the 5 nominees, it seems like a 3 horse race to me. Which 3 are they, you ask? Well, let’s dive right in and find out!
Read more on Oscar Circuit: Best Visual Effects…
 Makeup is a wonderful thing. I put it on every morning and I am transformed into a better looking version of myself and a happier and hotter Anna. In cinema it’s used to transform an actor into a character, to display wounds and massive injuries or just to make an actor look damn good in the role they are playing.
I actually hate this category because most of the time the films that deserve the nomination don’t receive it, and the winner is usually predictable. The winners the past few years include, The Wolfman, Benjamin Button, La Vie en Rose, and Star Trek. It’s like the most elaborate makeup is the winner and after sometime it gets a little boring. So, Harry Potter pretty much doesn’t stand a chance.
Read more on Oscar Circuit: Best Makeup…
 And the Nominees Are:
Bullhead – Belgium
Footnote – Israel
In Darkness – Poland
Monsieur Lazhar – Canada
A Separation – Iran
If I were king for a day…well, a lot of things would happen, but one of them would be to get rid of this damn category and force Academy members to venture out of the U.S. and Britain once in a while! Kidding aside, this is what I would call one of the “ghetto” categories. It’s a way for the Academy to begrudgingly recognize a certain type of film without going through the messy business of actually acknowledging it for one of the major awards (see also: Best Documentary Feature, Best Animated Feature). Further grinding down any vestige of internationality from their competition are the trends of who historically wins in this category. Culturally-specific films that highlight intricate and/or contrasting perspectives of the world rarely win or even get nominated, while compromised films from other countries that fit more comfortably within Hollywood’s myopic sense of “universal” values emerge victorious nearly every year. Not that this means the Foreign Language Film winners are always of inferior quality, necessarily, but it is a depressing exception to the general trend that I observed in my Sizing Up articles.
Read more on Oscar Circuit: Best Foreign Language Film…
Categories: Oscar Circuit Tags: A Separation, Agnieszka Holland, Asghar Farhadi, Best Foreign Language Film, Bullhead, Footnote, In Darkness, Joseph Cedar, Michaël R. Roskam, Monsieur Lazhar, Oscar Circuit, Philippe Falardeau
 And the Nominees Are:
Ludovic Bource – “The Artist”
Oscar Scene: “Bang!” (in the home theater)
John Williams – “The Adventures of Tintin”
Oscar Scene: Tintin and the big chase through the town square.
Howard Shore – “Hugo”
Oscar Scene: Georges Méliès’ movie
Alberto Iglesias – “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”
Oscar Scene: Opening Credits
John Williams – “War Horse”
Oscar Scene: Joey running through the war.
Read more on Oscar Circuit: Best Original Score…
Categories: Editor, Oscar Circuit, TECHNICALS Tags: Academy Award Nominations, academy awards, Alberto Iglesias, Best Original Score, howard shore, Hugo, John Williams, Ludovic Bource, Oscars, oscars 2012, The Adventures Of Tintin, the artist, tinker tailor soldier spy, war horse
 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…
 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!…
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
 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…
 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
Read more on More Oscar Nominee Reactions…
 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
Read more on Oscar Nominees Reactions…
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!…
 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…
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
 Read the Press Release:
Beverly Hills, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that eight scientific and technical achievements represented by 28 individual award recipients will be honored at its annual Scientific and Technical Awards Presentation at the Beverly Wilshire on Saturday, February 11, 2012.
Read more on 8 Scientific and and Technical Achievements to be Honored with ACADEMY AWARDS®…
 While many notable contenders are ineligible for a citation from the Writers Guild of America, many films that are not in serious contention will likely show up as the group unveils their picks tomorrow. Below are the predicted nominees. Include yours in the comment section.
Best Original Screenplay
- “Bridesmaids”
- “50/50″
- “Midnight in Paris”
- “A Separation”
- “Win Win”
Alternate: Contagion, Super 8, Warrior
Best Adapted Screenplay
- “The Descendants”
- “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
- “The Help”
- “Hugo”
- “Moneyball”
Alternate: The Ides of March, Jane Eyre, The Muppets
Read more on Writers Guild of America Predictions…
 Short and sweet:
- The Artist
- Bridesmaids
- The Descendants
- Drive
- Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 2
- The Help
- Hugo
- Midnight in Paris
- Moneyball
- War Horse
“Bridesmaids” is a curve ball but I think it’s making some ground. My one alternate is “The Tree of Life” but I don’t think enough votes will make it through. Same goes for “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” which is tanking little by little.
Read more on Producers Guild of America Predictions…
Oscar Predictions Updated! Who is the frontrunner now?
Oscar Predictions have been updated!
I’ve come, I saw, well, I didn’t conquer but I feel comfortable with the picks thus far. I’ve spent hours analyzing and looking at categories while trying to think like an AMPAS voter. The past eight days or so have presented many answers to questions we thought we knew the answer to. When looking at the Critics Choice, Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild, and the two dozen critics’ awards that have announced their favorites for Year 2011, one thing remains clear. This is one of the most open races we’ve seen in years.
I hate using the word “lock” because as history has told us, AMPAS can “unlock” someone just as fast as we put them in. Think Paul Giamatti in “Sideways.” However, I feel comfortable using the word for a few films thus far. Michel Hazanavicius’ “The Artist” is the clear favorite and the one to beat. It has the Oscar flair that they love and the critics have taken to it in a big way as well. I still feel the same way about it that I did when I first saw it and that means something. “Slumdog Millionaire” which had the same effect on many critics, including myself, aged very poorly and looking back, not necessarily the best film of the year. Not by a long shot. Alexander Payne’s “The Descendants” has made a strong showing. George Clooney is working his magic and has encountered many awards along the way. It doesn’t hurt that he also directed and starred in “The Ides of March,” a film not locked by any means despite the Golden Globe nomination. Steven Spielberg’s great epic “War Horse” has everything that Oscar loves. While it doesn’t carry a strong showing on the performance front, the story alone will get voters checking the film off.
Read more on Oscar Circuit: “Nice Guys (or Gals) Finish Last”…
Categories: Editor, Oscar Circuit, Oscar Predictions Tags: academy awards, Albert Brooks, Albert Nobbs, Beginners, Berenice Bejo, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, best picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Brad Pitt, Christopher Plummer, Drive, George Clooney, Glenn Close, Hugo, jean dujardin, Jessica Chastain, Martin Scorsese, Michel Hazanavicius, Moneyball, Oscar Circuit, oscar predictions, Oscars, the artist, The Descendants, The Help, Viola Davis
 My very own organization, the Broadcast Film Critics Association will be revealing their picks for the best in 2011. They have a very great track record with in correlating with what Oscar thinks but with a wide open race in various categories this year, anything can happen. Here are the predictions.
Read more on Broadcast Film Critics Preview & Predictions…
While I will not go into as much depth with some of the regional critics’ organizations as I have done with the more well known precursor awarding groups, the WAFCAs began in 2002 and have an interesting bend to their award giving. They trumpet a film’s increased Oscar potential at times in their award press releases, so they obviously feel they have an impact in the conversation. I’m not sure they are the “kingmakers” they think they are (are any regional critics groups?!?), but without question they are next up, turning their announced nominees from 12/3 into the latest winners on the road to Oscar, Monday morning, December 5, 2011, at 8am EST/5am PST.
Read more on WAFCA (Washington D.C. Film Critics) History and Preview…
 National Board of Review names their winners for 2011 tomorrow and I could not be more excited. In past years, they have kicked off the awards season and bursting out of the gates with bold, eclectic choices. This year with the New York Film Critics getting out of the gate first, this will be interesting to see if the organization has the same effect like in other years. In 2005, they chose George Clooney’s Good Night, and Good Luck, a film beloved by critics but something not too many thought of as a real threat. The film locked itself in for the rest of the season and did exceedingly well at the Oscars. Other films like Finding Neverland and Up in the Air followed suit. They have been known to make head-scratcher choices like Quills and Gods and Monsters, films that in the end, Oscar did not embrace.
Read more on Editor: National Board of Review Predictions…
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