Just as Cannes 2013 is getting underway, Editor-in-Chief Clayton Davis felt an Awards Circuit Oscar Prediction 2014 update was in order. Check out his complete list of predicted nominees in every major category. According to him, Ridley Scott and his film The Counselor are the ones to beat, along with Bruce Dern for Nebraska, Naomi Watts for Diana, Michael Fassbender for 12 Years a Slave, and the great philanthropist/talk show host/book junkie/occasional actress Oprah Winfrey for The Butler. What do you all think? Be sure to share your own predictions with us as well! Also alongside his predictions, Clayton helps us break down the competition by way of studio assessment in the latest Oscar Circuit piece. Read more on Circuit Round-Up (Week Ending 5/19)…
2012 has been a great year for movie music, therefore it would be no surprise that the nominees for the International Film Music Awards would be pretty good. Lincoln and Life of Pi lead the nominated field with 4 nominations, including citations for their composers in Film Composer of the Year, John Williams and Mychael Danna, respectively. Cloud Atlas also managed 3 nominations including Score of the Year, Best Original Score for a Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror Film, and Composition of the Year for Cloud Atlas Sextet. The International Film Music Critics Association will announce the winners of the 9th IFMCA Awards on February 21, 2013. By now, everyone has seen a million of these posts, so I thought it’d be fun to add a little bit of commentary along with the categories, so check it out after the jump! Read more on International Film Music Award Nominations highlight ‘Cloud Atlas’ and ‘Life of Pi’…
Contrary to popularbelief, I am not a member of the Houston Film Critics Society. But you’ll be hard pressed to see me arguing with the nominations they’ve released. Lincoln leads the diverse groups of chosen films with 8 nominations, with Les Miserables and The Master behind it with 6. They also threw some love to Cloud Atlas and Judi Dench and Javier Bardem in Skyfall. Check out the nominations below for Picture and everything else after the jump!
The fantasy epic. Full of beautiful vistas, big sequences involving CGI, and usually a large than life score to emphasize how grand the proceedings are. Today’s Spotlight on Scores will focus on two adapted epics, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Cloud Atlas. If this is your first time reading this series, I’ve tried grouping each score with another one similar to it and there will also be links (if available) to Youtube playlists so you can peruse the score on your own, and links to iTunes and Amazon if you want to purchase it. Let’s take a closer look! Read more on Spotlight on Scores: ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ and ‘Cloud Atlas’…
As ever-changing as the recent weather, during the week, Argo (WB) was in a clear lead on an every day basis nationally. Sitting on top of the weekday’s polls, even despite the release of Cloud Atlas (Warner Bros.) during the week and the weekend ride of Silent Hill: Revelation 3D (ORF), Argo claimed the #1 spot on the charts during the weekdays. Cloud Atlas (WB) followed with Hotel Transylvania (Sony) at #3 and Paranormal Activity 4 (Par.) at #4. Outside of the top 10, The Master (Wein.) fell down to #20, followed by The Dark Knight Rises at #21. The Bourne Legacy (Uni.), currently #1 in China, fell down to #26 on American charts. The Other Son (Cohen), a new release, climbed up to #29, but many other movies fell as opposed to climbed higher on the charts. For the most part, thrillers and movies with Halloween themes are still doing quite well in theaters, despite being after Halloween. Read more on Box Office (11.04.12)…
It’s time to visit the week that was via our Around the Circuit piece, where we look back at articles that we feel are worth your time covering the Oscar race, new releases, or really just anything film related.
Link(s) of the week:
The big news this week (or year) was Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm for $4 billion, and the subsequent announcement that there would be three new Star Wars films starting in 2015. Following this announcement, the first instinct was to speculate on who should direct (Christopher Nolan, please). Nathan Adams of Film School Rejects, Ethan Anderson of First Showing, Oliver Lyttelton at The Playlist, and Matt Goldberg at Collider, were just a few who weighed in on the director discussion. While Susan Wloszczyna of USA Today talked about the odds of returning characters, and – enter shameless plug – yours truly was asked who I’d like to see reappear.
The Awards Circuit Power Hour returns twelve hours earlier before Hurricane Sandy plows through the East Coast. Just in case my internet and electricity go out, you’ll have our episode down in the books. The staff and I discuss the following things on this week’s episode.
The reception to Cloud Atlas. Is it an Oscar contender? What are some of the feelings swirling around the web about this ambitious feature? Is there room in the race for newcomers Doona Bae and Ben Whishaw?
Ballots for the International Press Academy’s Satellite Awards went out this past week. Without seeing the big, end of the year favorites, is the award show telling of anything at all?
With such poor discipline as critics, we discuss the Documentary Feature race and which films could emerge on top. Could an early year favorite and high-profile film like Bully make the final cut with the Weinsteins backing?
We attempt to break down nearly every category.
Of course, we take a bunch of YOUR questions as well.
Simply put, Andy and Lana Wachowski and Tom Tykwer’s Cloud Atlas is an allegory about love, freedom, and the connectivity of the human spirit throughout all of time, space, and everything in between. But there is nothing simple about this film – this challengingly ambitious and wildly intrepid film – that weaves six unique stories through different periods in time (between 1849 and approximately 2346), all following the same actors redefined in each tale by different ethnicities, genders, and ages, in what is almost certainly a nod to reincarnation. If you try to connect the dots between each story being told, you might miss the larger point of the narrative, as Cloud Atlas is most profoundly felt in the sum of all its exuberant parts. And while I was intrigued with each separate story being told, I was surprised by the wave of emotion that hit me as the film pulled itself together marvelously in the end. Cloud Atlas is already an esoteric and devisive film amongst critics and audiences alike, but count this writer as one on the side of this being one of the best films of the year.
Watching movies can provide you a range of experiences. There are films that make you question them, films that are just for enjoyment and films that make you feel. While a certain studio has coined the latter for most of its Oscar fare, those films barely scratch the surface of the power that film has. Cloud Atlas, the mesmerizing film from the Wachowski siblings and Tom Tykwer, is a cinematic force of nature that jolts you out of your reverie and gives you reaffirmation of what it means to live. Tracking six storylines that span from the 1850s to sometime around 2250, this film effortlessly blends the separate, yet interconnected parts, into an incredible whole.
Sunday is always a very bust at TIFF largely because the studios are here with junkets and getting around is a tad more difficult than other days. Cabs are scare, the Bell Lightbox buzzes with people and the theaters are jammed. Case in point the first screening this morning was packed to capacity, good news for The Weinstein Company as the company enjoys what could be their most impressive year yet.
The breakthrough performance of the festival could be Michael Shannon in The Iceman, a film which came in with very little buzz but will leave with Shannon a potential Oscar nominee for Best Actor. I know the next time I change my picks he will leap onto the prediction page for me as a nominee. Anyone who has seen the film is talking about Shannon, and only Shannon, good news the difficult little film about a real life hit man for the mob who was also a serial killer. Read more on TIFF: Lawrence owns “Playbook,” Visuals Stun “Atlas,” and Over-Saturation Hurts “Watch”…
A new and shorter trailer has premiered for the upcoming Cloud Atlas with Tom Hanks and Halle Berry. The film is directed by The Wachowski Siblings (The Matrix, 1999) and Tom Tykwer (Perfume: The Story of a Murder, 2006).
The new trailer showcases a possible strong turn from Oscar winner Berry, who’s hasn’t turned in too many “worthy” performances since Monster’s Ball (2001). The question lingering is will the entire cast be pushed on a Supporting campaign or will they try to capitalize on a weak Best Actress field?
The film will be shown at the Toronto Film Festival as well as the New York Film Festival this month. The film opens October 26, 2012.
The second half of the year is upon us. The race is about to heat up with big Oscar hopefuls coming down the pike. Our John Foote will be in attendance at the Toronto International Film Festival and many films will be unveiling themselves to critics alike. There is a very unclear yet still feasible shape to the race looking from ten thousand feet.
There are internet jitters building for Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master starring Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman. With the trailers released and now the film being pushed up to September, it looks as though we may be in store for a master class in filmmaking. Phoenix also looks to be a lead contender for his first Oscar after delivering in his previous nominated works, Gladiator (2000) and Walk the Line (2005). Phoenix does have tough competition ahead of him including what looks to be a critical darling-type performance coming from John Hawkes in Ben Lewin’s The Sessions. Early word is very positive for the film and the turns by Hawkes along with co-stars Helen Hunt and William H. Macy. Since Hawkes’ initial nomination two years ago for Winter’s Bone, he hasn’t shown any signs of letting up. He was arguably left off last year in Sean Durkin’s Martha Marcy May Marlene and will be seen later this year in Julia Dyer’s The Playroom and Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln. There seems to be a tremendous following and support for him in his current state. Speaking of Spielberg, we’re still awaiting some type of marketing material for his upcoming Lincoln biopic. No poster or trailer has been released with very few stills leaked online. One starts to think if it will even be ready in time.
Great news for our readership! Our “Power Hour” will be moving to a weekly delivery. As the thick of the race heats up and the Awards Circuit begins to move to the next phase of its existence, our conversations are moving to Mondays. So now, every Monday, our “Power Hour” will be up and running for your entertainment. Also, get ready for some wonderful additions and guest spots from some people in the coming weeks. For now, the agenda is listed below:
With the 5-minute trailer premiering this past week, this simple poster has hit. Do we have an Oscar contender on our hands? We shall see. Comment and see the full poster after the jump. Read more on Poster for “Cloud Atlas”…
Up until now, we haven’t really seen too much from the upcoming adaptation of ‘Cloud Atlas’ that the Wachowskis and Tom Twyker have made. We’ve gotten hints and tidbits about how out there and ambitious it is, but nothing to really hang your hat on. That changed today however, as there’s a 5 minute International Trailer for share with you all. It’s certainly much longer than a normal Domestic Trailer and serves a different purpose, but it does work as a great preview for the flick. You can see it after the jump, but do keep in mind that it might actually show you a bit more than you’d prefer to see. If that doesn’t bother you, the Trailer is right here for you below…
The Toronto International Film Festival is often seen as the start of the Oscar season and judging by the lineup, we’re in for a doozy this year if the release from Variety is complete. Oscar contenders Argo, Anna Karenina, Cloud Atlas, and Hyde Park on Hudson will all be at the festival, as well as the Terrence Malick film To the Wonder and Joss Whedon’s adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing. Coolest of all might be that Rian Johnson’s Looper, a time travel sci-fi pic with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, and Emily Blunt, was chosen to open the festival. It was one of my three favorite things I saw while at Comic-Con so it’s quite a feat that it manages the opening night slot of such a respected festival.
Directed By: Andy and Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer Written By: Andy and Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer
Cast: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Susan Sarandon, Hugh Grant, Ben Wishaw, Jim Broadbent
Synopsis: “An epic story of humankind in which the actions and consequences of our lives impact one another throughout the past, present and future as one soul is shaped from a murderer into a savior and a single act of kindness ripples out for centuries to inspire a revolution.”
I have absolutely no clue what to expect with the film ‘Cloud Atlas’, a joint venture between the Wachowskis (Lana and Andy…formerly Larry and Andy) and Tom Tykwer. Based on the highly praised novel by David Mitchell, it’s a layered and bizarre sounding work that could either go horribly wrong or dazzlingly right. We won’t know that until the film comes out, but word has spread from the Cannes Film Festival in an article from The Playlisthere that the movie is coming out on December 6th. I’ll share details of the novel after the jump (without spoiling things for the movie, of course), but hey…at least we now know when we’ll be able to see the flick.
It begins. 2011 film year is behind us and we saw Octavia Spencer crowned Best Supporting Actress for her work in “The Help.” As we embark on the 2012 film year together, I will be breaking down each category individually throughout the month of March. I will also unveil the Awards Circuit Staff Predictions one at a time for all of you to enjoy. Trust me, we all have different takes on what the 2012 season will bring.
We break down the Supporting Actress category first. Any supporting category is difficult to analyze because you never know who will hit it out of the park with a mere eight minute screen time or what borderline Lead performance will be pushed in another category. The rankings of the Supporting Actress are ordered #1 through #25 as you see them on the predictions page but there are outside contenders that could just as easily make the lineup given a strong showing with critics and audiences.
Looking into a crystal ball, Amy Adams will be starring in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The Master” and with three prior nominations (“Junebug,” “Doubt,” and “The Fighter”), Adams could finally score an Oscar. She also has a role in the long-awaited “On the Road” directed by Walter Salles which could catch on. Co-star Kristen Stewart can return to what we loved about her in “Into the Wild.” The question seems to be, is Oscar aching to reward Adams or does she need to be accepted as a leading lady? Have the “Twilight” franchise ruined Stewart forever? Perhaps.
2012 has been a great year for movie music, therefore it would be no surprise that the nominees for the International Film Music Awards would be pretty good. Lincoln and Life of Pi lead the nominated field with 4 nominations, including citations for their composers in Film Composer of the Year, John Williams and Mychael Danna, respectively. Cloud Atlas also managed 3 nominations including Score of the Year, Best Original Score for a Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror Film, and Composition of the Year for Cloud Atlas Sextet. The International Film Music Critics Association will announce the winners of the 9th IFMCA Awards on February 21, 2013. By now, everyone has seen a million of these posts, so I thought it’d be fun to add a little bit of commentary along with the categories, so check it out after the jump!
Contrary to 
The fantasy epic. Full of beautiful vistas, big sequences involving CGI, and usually a large than life score to emphasize how grand the proceedings are. Today’s Spotlight on Scores will focus on two adapted epics, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Cloud Atlas. If this is your first time reading this series, I’ve tried grouping each score with another one similar to it and there will also be links (if available) to Youtube playlists so you can peruse the score on your own, and links to iTunes and Amazon if you want to purchase it. Let’s take a closer look! 
