With the New Year’s hangover slowly wearing off and few new stimulants entering circulation, there’s now ample time to catch up on the overload of awards-contending films, with the nationwide release of Zero Dark Thirty finally completing the best picture category. Expect the box-office to reflect some of the film’s early critical acclaim, especially since its competing new comers, like Gangster Squadand Quartetgarner only mild curiosity in comparison.
Read more on Weekend Openings: 1/11/2013…
Categories: Weekend Openings Tags: Billy Connolly, Chris Colfer, Chris Messina, Christina Hendricks, Dustin Hoffman, emma stone, Eva Longoria, Fairhaven, Gangster Squad, Jason Clarke, Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, kathryn bigelow, Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Quartet, Rebel Wilson, Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn, Zero Dark Thirty
 The SAG bells rang today but they rang for many surprising and jaw-dropping exclusions. As going on record stating this is the most competitive Oscar race I’ve covered in years. Not one category seems assured with their lineups and we got many curveballs thrown at us this morning.
In Best Supporting Actress, Amy Adams was left off for performance in The Master, a turn many of cited wasn’t in the same league as co-stars Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Sally Field in Lincoln, Anne Hathaway in Les Miserables, and Helen Hunt in The Sessions, all made their appearances as expected. With Maggie Smith announcing she wasn’t going to be campaigning, she still managed to pull in four nominations for herself including her performance in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Nicole Kidman jumped back into the race for a film that was pulverized by critics. While her role in The Paperboy is quite extraordinary, the film that surrounds her doesn’t do any favors. Older members of the Academy might find it difficult to get passed some of the more controversial scenes. Also missing big here was Ann Dowd from Compliance, something that really needed a boost from the acting branch. Many pundits have speculated on the possibility of Samantha Barks finding wiggle room into the race along side co-star Hathaway for Les Miserables. That notion may have just been put to bed. Read more on SAG Nomination Analysis – What Does It All Mean?…
Categories: Article, Editor, Screen Actors Guild Tags: Argo, Editor, Helen Hunt, Jessica Chastain, John Hawkes, Les Miserables, Lincoln, Maggie Smith, nicole kidman, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robert DeNiro, SAG Nominations, Sally Field, Screen Actors Guild, Silver Linings Playbook, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The Master, The Paperboy, The Sessions, Tommy Lee Jones, Zero Dark Thirty
 With two (really one) contender left to be unveiled, this is the most exciting awards race I’ve covered in all my years of Oscar prognosticating. Every category is competitive and with races like this, anything can happen. Along with updating the official Oscar Predictions, I’ve updated the major precursors such as the Golden Globe Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
As New York gets ready to lift on Monday, which I’ve attempted to take a stab at, the National Board of Review and Los Angeles Film Critics will start the chain reaction of the awards season. Before anyone knows the winners, I’m seeing this as a three-horse race between Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables, Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, and Ben Affleck’s Argo, more particularly the first two films. Currently I’m foreseeing Hooper’s film to lead the way on Oscar nomination morning with 13 nominations, assuming lead Hugh Jackman and standout Eddie Redmayne can plow through some of the veterans in their categories.
Read more on Oscar Circuit – Music vs. History…
Categories: Article, Editor, Oscar Circuit, Oscar Predictions Tags: Amy Adams, ang lee, Anne Hathaway, Ben Affleck, Ben Lewin, Bradley Cooper, Christoph Waltz, Daniel Day-Lewis, David Ayer, David O. Russell, Dennis Quaid, Denzel Washington, Dwight Henry, Eddie Redmayne, Editor, Emmanuelle Riva, Entertainment/Culture, Helen Hunt, Helen Mirren, Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Chastain, Joaquin Phoenix, John Goodman, judi dench, kathryn bigelow, Keira Knightley, Leonardo DiCaprio, Les Miserables, Maggie Smith, Marion Cotillard, Mark Boal, Michael Haneke, Michael Pena, naomi watts, Oscar Circuit, oscar predictions 2013, Paul Thomas Anderson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Quentin Tarantino, Robert DeNiro, Sally Field, Samantha Barks, Samuel L. Jackson, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hooper, Tommy Lee Jones, Tony Kushner, Zero Dark Thirty
 Film: “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”
For Your Consideration: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Director: John Madden
Screenplay: Ol Parker
Realistic Nominations: Supporting Actress
Oscar Scene: “I’m gay. Although nowadays more in theory than in practice.”
After Tom Wilkinson received his first Oscar nomination for In the Bedroom (2001), there was nothing I thought he couldn’t do. A string a slightly above average performances in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Batman Begins (2005), and of course his Oscar-nominated turn in Michael Clayton (2007) only confirmed my theory. As Graham in John Madden’s The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Wilkinson illuminates a romantic sensitivity that stands as one of the year’s best works.
Read more on Circuit Consideration – Tom Wilkinson…
Categories: Article, Circuit Considerations, Editor Tags: Circuit Consideration, Editor, Entertainment/Culture, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, John Madden’s The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Maggie Smith, Michael Clayton, Oscar Scene, Supporting Actress, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Tom Wilkinson
 AFI Festival: Shifting from acting shoes to directing shoes, Dustin Hoffman makes his directing debut with Quartet (2012), starring Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly, Pauline Collins, and Michael Gambon. Quartet is a touching comedy about the lives of retired opera singers, musicians, and the like, living in a retirement home and reuniting with old friends. Their day-to-day lives vary from each others, though holds a comforting similarity that is quite comedic. To save their retirement home from going under, the occupants hold an annual gala, where they display their talents for donations. Due to the arrival of Jean Horton (Maggie Smith), the original quartet is reunited and the idea to perform together is something Jean doesn’t like. In the end, the past proves to be the link to their future of happiness. Read more on Quartet (***)…
Read more on Quartet (***)…
 Nominating films from The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel to The Imposter, the British Independent Film Awards cast a wide net with their nominations announced this morning. The aforementioned Best Exotic manage to nab 5 nods including Best British Independent Film, and acting notices for Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, and Tom Wilkinson. Also showing up in acting races are Elle Fanning for Ginger and Rosa and Oscar queen Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady (which also picked up a screenplay nomination. The Foreign Language race might prove to be the most interesting with films like Beasts of the Southern Wild, Amour, and Rust and Bone battling it out to take the crown. View the full list of nominees after the jump!
Read more on ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’ leads diverse selection of British Independent Film Awards nominations…
Categories: News, Precursors Tags: awards, Beasts of the Southern Wild, elle fanning, judi dench, Maggie Smith, Meryl Streep, news, Quartet, Rust and Bone, Searching for Sugar Man, Sightseers, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, the British Independent Film Awards, The Hunt, The Iron Lady, Tom Wilkinson
 Despite a mild backlash from a minority of rather high-profile critics, hit period drama Downton Abbey returned to UK television earlier this month for a much anticipated third run. Since its September 2010 debut, the record-breaking show has captivated viewers with its lavish production and soap opera storylines that juxtapose the upstairs-downstairs relationships between a noble family and their myriad servants in early 20th century England.
Oscar-winning writer and series creator Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park) has crafted a believable and historically reverent world for a twenty-strong ensemble cast who have faced the likes of the First World War, Spanish influenza, the sinking of the Titanic, and the Dowager Countess’ forked tongue with unrelenting English resistance and a rather twisted magnetism for scandal. It all adds up to a dangerously addictive concoction that has already earned the show 9 Emmys, 2 BAFTAs, a Golden Globe, and legions of fans across the globe. After just two episodes, this latest series has already become the most watched television drama in the UK this year.
Read more on TV Review: Downton Abbey (***)…
Categories: TV/Music Tags: British TV, Downton Abbey, Hugh Bonneville, ITV, Julian Fellowes, Maggie Smith, Masterpiece Theatre, Michelle Dockery, Shirley MacLaine, television, tv review
The Emmy Awards are tonight! Many of the staff members will be LIVE blogging here on the site. If you’re watching, come join us for the party. Listed below are my last minute Emmy Predictions:
Read more on Final Editor Emmy Predictions!…
Categories: Editor, TV/Music Tags: Bette White, Christina Hendricks, Claire Danes, Downton Abbey, Emmy, Entertainment/Culture, Film, Human Interest, Jay Roach, Jessica Lange, Jim Parsons, Julianna Marguilles, Julianne Moore, Julie Bowen, Kevin Reynolds, Lena Dunham, Louie, Maggie Smith, Masterpiece Theatre, nicole kidman, Ryan Seacrest, Sarah Paulson, sofia vergara, Supporting Actress, television, The Emmy Awards, The Good Wife
 The Primetime Emmy Awards are just around the corner and while Joseph and I had fun talking to each other during our Emmy Chatter series, we’re tired of each other’s voices and want to hear from you the readers! So join us and the rest of the staff on Sunday at 7:00/4:00 pm as we live blog the Primetime Emmy Awards, covering everything from red carpet snafus to the awards as they are handed out live. The full list of nominees is available here and you can peep Joseph and I’s predictions after the jump. See you Sunday!
Read more on Emmy Chatter…Awards Circuit live blogs the Emmys this Sunday!…
Categories: News Tags: bryan cranston, Christina Hendricks, Claire Danes, Downton Abbey, ed harris, Giancarlo Esposito, Idris Elba, Jessica Lange, Jim Parsons, Jon Stewart, Julianne Moore, Julie Bowen, Maggie Smith, Martin Fremman, Max Greenfield, Primetime Emmy Award, sofia vergara, The Primetime Emmy Awards, Woody Harrelson, Zooey Deschanel
 October Baby (*½)
What makes October Baby so disappointing is not just the “cheese” that’s spread all over the film like a tray of orderves at a church cocktail party or the uninspired and forceful humor we’re suppose to laugh at; it’s the poor attempt at taking a seemingly interesting premise, a girl who finds out she’s adopted and was a failed abortion, and executing it like third grade love story that “Curious George” could have told better. Read more on The Blu Circuit – Bad “Baby” and “Exotic” Bliss…
Categories: Article, Blu-Ray/DVD, Editor Tags: Andrew Erwin, Bill Nighy, Blu-ray Disc, British people, Chris Sligh, Dev Patel, DVD, Entertainment/Culture, Information science, Jasmine Guy, John Madden’s The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Jon Erwin, judi dench, Maggie Smith, Ol Parker, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Tom Wilkinson, Writer
 So what now? With screenings finished, TIFF closed, and New York’s Film Festival looming, how will TIFF impact the Oscar race? Believe it or not it has already begun; in fact it was happening as TIFF was playing out. You could hear the chatter in the theaters, press rooms, and hallways as critics talked with various producers, studio PR folk, or those in the know about how the Oscar race was changing. One thing I heard over and over is that all eyes are on three films for the year end, Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, the musical Les Miserables, and Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty. The feeling seems to be until those films are screened and reaction begins to trickle out, one cannot really, truly predict the race, though as we all know, you cannot do that anyway. A conversation which took place behind me was between two executives who had seen a good portion of the footage from Les Miserables, and one of them stated, “it’s unlike any musical ever made, it captures the emotion of the play.” That is good news, and then Thursday night and Friday morning the talk was the Lincoln trailer, which impressed nearly everyone I heard or talked too, in particular the performance of two time Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis. Read more on TIFF and the Aftermath…
Categories: Article Tags: American film directors, Amour, Bill Murray, Bradley Cooper, Cinema of the United States, Daniel Day-Lewis, David O. Russell, Dustin Hoffman, Emmanuelle Rivera, Entertainment/Culture, Film, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jennifer Lawrence, Joaquin Phoenix, John Hawkes, Keira Knightley, Les Miserables and Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty, Lincoln, Maggie Smith, Marion Cotillard, Michael Shannon, Oscar, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Quartet, Robert De Niro, screenplay, Supporting Actress, Tagged Image File Format, the Academy Award, The Master, Toronto International Film Festival
 This is Part 2 of the Drama Series chat. You can check out Part 1 where Joseph and I discussed the supporting actors here.
Terence: Well since you mention sign sealed and delivered awards last time, do we see Jon Hamm finding some way to rig ballots so Bryan Cranston won’t win again?
OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Hugh Bonneville, Downton Abbey
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Damian Lewis, Homeland
Jon Hamm realizing Cranston will win again
Joseph: No, no, and no. And I hate that. Jon Hamm has deserved his Emmy win for so long. Every time people think it’s his year, it suddenly isn’t and some other person gets the win, mostly Cranston. But Cranston’s new found Hollywood upsurge really makes him an even stronger contender than before, Hamm’s acting hasn’t been praised outside of Mad Men, whereas Cranston’s has been.
Read more on Emmy Chatter: Drama Series, Pt. 2 – Lead Actor, Actress and Series Predictions!…
Categories: Article, Blog Tags: Boardwalk Empire, Breaking Bad, bryan cranston, Claire Danes, Damages, Damian Lewis, Dan Stevens, Dexter, Downton Abbey, Elisabeth Moss, emmy awards, Emmy Chatter, Game of Thrones, Glenn Close, Harry's Law, Homeland, Hugh Bonneville, Jon Hamm, Julianna Marguilles, Kathy Bates, Kerry Washington, mad men, Madeline Stowe, Maggie Smith, Michael C. Hall, Michelle Dockery, Primetime Emmy Awards, Steve Buscemi, The Good Wife
 This is part 1 of a two-part look at the Drama contenders. Part 2 coming soon…
Terence: Alright everyone we’re back with the last Emmy Chatter in what I’m dubbing it as Drama in two acts as we’re spreading this one out to give you more detail than ever before.
Read more on Emmy Chatter: Drama Series, Pt 1 – Supporting Actor and Actress…
Categories: TV/Music Tags: Anna Gunn, Archie Panjabi, Breaking Bad, Christina Hendricks, Christine Baranski, Colin Hanks, Dan Stevens, Downton Abbey, Drama, Edward James Olmos, emilia clarke, Emmy, Emmy Chatter, Entertainment/Culture, Game of Thrones, Giancarlo Esposito, Ginnifer Goodwin, Jared Harris, Jennifer Carpenter, John Slattery, Lucy Liu, mad men, Maggie Smith, Mandy Patinkin, Margo Martindale, Oscar, OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA, OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA, peter dinklage, Primetime Emmy Awards, Rose Byrne, television, The Good Wife
 Love him or hate him, you have got to give the man credit. How many times has Harvey Weinstein been down, how many times has he been counted out of the film game and yet here he is at TIFF with several films that are going to be heard come Oscar time. Not one, not two, but more. Did anyone ever think after he and brother Bob left Disney, hell, were booted out, that they would rise like a phoenix to become more powerful, more interesting than they were before?? Beyond The Master and The Silver Lining Playbook, they have Django Unchained coming in December, all three to be heard from in the Oscar race, and now with the right push (which it will get) and the right sort of attention from the the Academy, which Harvey will assure it gets, we have Quartet, Dustin Hoffman’s directing debut. In his book, Dirty Little Pictures, writing Peter Biskind painted a controversial portrait of Weinstein, arrogant, bombastic, abusive, and entitled, yet brilliant at getting a film seen by the right people or taking the risk of making a film for all the right reasons. What he and his brother Bob have done with The Weinstein Company is nothing short of a miracle, but they have done it and in a very short time. They make the movies exciting, and as long as they are with us, we know that there will be something coming from them worth seeing. Read more on TIFF: Quartet (****)…
Our frontrunner?
Trying to sand down the rough slate that is the Actress categories is an intimidating task. The past few years, the category has produced the likes of Natalie Portman in her career-topping performance in Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan and Marion Cotillard’s transformation like no other in the Foreign Language film, La Vie en Rose.
It’s August. Summer’s coming to an end. Eight months have passed and we have one, count, one, Best Actress contender on the chart. Quvenzhané Wallis is more and more looking like the little engine that could for her heartbreaking turn in Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild. While many are shouting from the rooftops that she could be the one to hold the Oscar, barely reaching the microphone, and being a Cinderella story for the millennium, there’s no one to challenge her as of now.
In the past week, Carey Mulligan has dropped off due to the “sudden” push of The Great Gatsby to summer 2013. Was that telling of something? We’ll discuss on this week’s episode of Power Hour if it was. With Mulligan out, we are struggling to find spots filled from performances coming down the pike.
Read more on “Best” Actress Award or “Whatever We Have Left Over”…
Categories: Article, Editor, Oscar Circuit Tags: Amy Adams, Anna Karenina, Anne Hathaway, Carey Mulligan, Darren Aronofsky, david cronenberg, emily watson, Emmanuelle Riva, Greta Gerwig, Halle Berry, Helen Hunt, Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Chastain, Joe Wright, Julianne Moore, Keira Knightley, La Vie En Rose, Laura Linney, Lost in Translation, Maggie Smith, Marion Cotillard, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Michael Haneke, naomi watts, nicole kidman, olivia colman, Olivia Williams, Oscar, Paul Thomas Anderson, Pride & Prejudice, Rob Marshall, Robert Lorenz, Rose Byrne, Scarlett Johansson, The Great Gatsby, The Weinstein Company Holdings LLC, To the Wonder
Two-time Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman is making his directorial debut with Quartet, a film based on the acclaimed play by Ronald Harwood, who wrote the screenplay for the film. Quartet takes place in a retirement home for former opera singers, and with a cast that includes Maggie Smith, Billy Connolly, Pauline Collins, Tom Courtenay and Michael Gambon, one can expect some cheeky humor.
With her recent surge in popularity via Downton Abbey and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Maggie Smith could find herself being recognized somewhere during the awards season for this performance. However, the first trailer doesn’t do enough to get me run out and include her in my predictions just yet. Fans of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – which has made well over $100 million now - will probably eat this up. The UK release date is November 2nd. There is no US date set.
Check out the trailer and synopsis for Quartet after the jump…
Read more on Dustin Hoffman Makes His Directorial Debut with ‘Quartet’…
 Essentially the British version of the Emmys, the 58th annual BAFTA Television Awards took place tonight at London’s Royal Festival Hall, with the big winners including Dominic West, Emily Watson, and Rolf Harris, who was inducted into the prestigious BAFTA Fellowship.
Presented by Irish comedian Dara O’Briain, the show takes a more fun and mischievous tone than its film-based sibling, which fell uncharacteristically flat this year. The nominees here are somewhat less A-list, but an eclectic bunch nonetheless, with the best of comedy, soaps, reality TV and serious drama all crammed under one roof.
More coverage and full list of winners after the jump…
Read more on Fred West drama ‘Appropriate Adult’ wins big at TV BAFTAs…
 Directed by: Dustin Hoffman
Written by: Ronald Harwood (Play & Screenplay)
Cast: Maggie Smith, Billy Connolly, Michael Gambon, Pauline Collins, Tom Courtenay, Sheridan Smith
Synopsis (Courtesy of IMDB): Cecily, Reggie and Wilfred are in a home for retired opera singers. Every year, on October 10, there is a concert to celebrate Verdi’s birthday and they take part. Jean, who used to be married to Reggie, arrives at the home and disrupts their equilibrium. She still acts like a diva, but she refuses to sing. Still, the show must go on… and it does.
Read more on Awards Profile: Quartet…
And so, in what seemed like an impossible dream to just about every comic book geek in the world, the first-ever major superhero crossover film finally opens in America today. There’s really no point in pretending that this won’t absolutely kill at the box office this weekend, it’s just a matter of how high it can soar at this point:
Read more on Weekend Openings (May 4-6)…
Categories: Weekend Openings Tags: Bill Nighy, Captain America: The First Avenger, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, comic book films, Demi Moore, Dev Patel, fanboyism, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2, iron man, Jeremy Renner, Joss Whedon, judi dench, Maggie Smith, Mark Ruffalo, middlebrow art films, Mother's Day, popcorn movies, Rebecca De Mornay, remake, robert downey jr, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, superhero movie, the avengers, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Thor, Tom Hiddleston, Tom Wilkinson, Weekend Openings
|
