"Give me my bloody Oscar!"
Let’s face the facts everybody: 2011 will probably go down as one of the most disappointing years in animation. That being said, I’m actually glad that the Academy was able to come up with five worthy candidates for this nomination category. Sure, Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin: Rise of the Unicorn should have made this list, but maybe its obnoxious sense of entitlement throughout the entire awards season turned off many voters. I personally enjoyed the film, and happen to feel that much of the backlash was because it was a CGI film using motion capture, a film technique that is clearly not embraced by Oscar voters. Oh well, their victory was at the Globes. It amazes me how soon we forget that this category was created a little over ten years. Some people find the category pointless, but I don’t particularly mind because adults tend to gloss over animated films like they are child’s play, so it’s great to have movie’s biggest night focus at least a minute and a half on animation. Speaking of adults, while these nominated films certainly aren’t dark and twisted this side of Tim Burton, one could argue this is the most “mature” and “adult-oriented” animated lineup we’ve ever seen. Even Kung Fu Panda 2 wasn’t afraid to dive deep into dark territory. So while Animation of 2011 may be looked back in hindsight with scorn, I absolutely have zero problem with the Academy’s five nominated selections.
The 2012 Nominees for “Best Animated Feature” are…
- A Cat in Paris — Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
- Chico & Rita — Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
- Kung Fu Panda 2 – Jennifer Yuh Nelson
- Puss in Boots — Chris Miller
- Rango – Gore Verbinski
Read more on Oscar Circuit: Best Animated Feature…
 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…
- The events of the previous week – as far as the Oscar season goes – were, shall we say, a complete and utter shitstorm. Obviously the Ratner fiasco was the biggest thing on every Oscar-watcher’s mind for the past few days, but we at The Awards Circuit had plenty of other content for y’all despite that, such as:
Read more on Circuit Round-Up (Week Ending 11/13)…
Categories: Circuit Round-Up Tags: billy crystal, Brett Ratner, Circuit Round-Up, Clint Eastwood, Colin Farrell, dancing with the stars, eddie murphy, Immortals, J. Edgar, Jack And Jill, Keira Knightley, Melancholia, puss in boots, the artist, The Help, The Son of No One, the x factor
There is no resisting…
In box office prognostication, sometimes the only thing ever for sure…is that nothing is ever for sure. No one anticipated that DreamWorks’ “Puss In Boots” would not only win the weekend over the much hyped action comedy “Tower Heist”, but would also set a record for the smallest drop ever for a fall movie release (non-holiday). The precocious little swashbuckling cat banked another $33.1 million, raising its 10-day totals to $75.5 million domestic/$114.5 million worldwide and finishing a substantial distance in front of the #2 movie of the weekend. Well on its way to making back its $130 million budget, “Puss In Boots” looks to rule the family movie roost for one more weekend until a suffocating avalanche of family films arrive with “Happy Feet Two” releasing on November 18 and “Arthur Christmas”, “Hugo”, and “The Muppets” all opening on November 23 in advance of the Thanksgiving holiday. For those bemoaning a lack of family friendly titles at the box office, your cup is about to runneth over for certain.
So what led to the disappointing start for “Tower Heist” and did audiences warmly receive a third “Harold and Kumar” film? Did any Oscar hopefuls and independent titles make any news? Details and more after the cut!
Read more on Box Office Final: “Puss In Boots” Fights Off The Competition……
Categories: News Tags: analysis, anonymous, box office report, Courageous, Footloose, In Time, Like Crazy, Margin Call, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Moneyball, Paranormal Activity 3, puss in boots, The Ides of March, The Son of No One, Tower Heist
Read more on Circuit Round-Up (Week Ending 10/30)…
Categories: Circuit Round-Up Tags: anonymous, Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey, Best Supporting Actor, Circuit Round-Up, dancing with the stars, Horror, Margin Call, Melancholia, Oscar race, Paranormal Activity 3, puss in boots, Shame, the double, The Rum Diary, The Skin I Live In, The Three Musketeers, William Shakespeare, Winnie the Pooh
 Lifted from the insanely successful “Shrek” franchise, “Puss In Boots” puts one of the most beloved animated supporting characters of recent memory front and center on the big screen. Memorably debuting in “Shrek 2″, with his snarky wit, swashbuckler’s persona, and those eyes…Puss In Boots stole the show, voiced with priceless energy and enthusiasm by Antonio Banderas. Previously experienced in small doses, can Puss In Boots carry a full-length feature on his tiny little shoulders? Well, yes and no.
Fashioned as a prequel and filling in the backstory of Puss’ childhood, we learn that Puss was raised in an orphanage and grew up as best friends with a misfit anthropomorphic egg named Humpty Dumpty (voiced by Zach Galifianakis). Quickly becoming close like brothers, Humpty Dumpty and Puss dream of one day stealing magic beans, creating and climbing the fantastical beanstalk which stretches high and into the clouds, and then stealing the eggs laid by the Golden Goose. With those gold eggs on hand, Puss and Humpty will simply live happily ever after.
Read more on Puss In Boots (**)…
DreamWorks Animation continues to replicate the formula for successful animated films this weekend. Its competition being relatively weak doesn’t hurt either. And, oh yes, the “Shakespeare didn’t write his own plays!” movie also opens. Let’s take a look:
Though the Shrek series has supposedly ended, its spin-offs are only getting started. Puss in Boots is pretty much guaranteed to win the box office by a big margin. A prequel to his introduction in Shrek 2, the suave little kitty bands together a group of heroes to save his town. So you got a popular animated character voiced by a big star in his own film coming out in a year when family films are dominating (more than usual)…I swear, criminals couldn’t print this much money. The fact that it’s also the best-reviewed new release of the year certainly doesn’t hurt its financial prospects, either. I honestly think this’ll bring in at least $45-50 million at the end of the weekend. The lack of Oscar competition from Pixar this year and Puss in Boots’ oft-acknowledged triviality make its chances in the Best Animated Feature race a wash at this point…but we’ll see what happens. Read more on Weekend Openings (October 28-30)…
Categories: Weekend Openings Tags: anonymous, Antonio Banderas, In Time, Johnny Depp, Justin Timberlake, Like Crazy, Oscar hopefuls, puss in boots, Richard Gere, Roland Emmerich, the double, The Rum Diary, Weekend Openings
 Some studios have made their 2011 Awards or For Your Consideration sites LIVE. They’re up and running and it’s so fun to look at them when considering what films will or will not be on Oscar’s radar. Not everyone is up yet and some aren’t listing categories but it’s good to see the roster that some of these studios have on their hands. Weinstein has a squad this season. Another Weinstein Oscar ceremony? We’ll see. Check em’ out below.
The Weinstein Company:
-The Artist
-Coriolanus
-The Iron Lady
-My Week with Marilyn
-Undefeated
-W.E.
-No categories listed.
20th Century Fox:
-Rio
-Rise of the Planet of the Apes
-No categories listed.
Sony Pictures Classic:
-The Skin I Live In – No categories listed.
Read more on Studio FYC Sites are LIVE…
Categories: Editor, News Tags: anonymous, arthur christmas, Beginners, Cars 2, disney pictures, Editor, focus features, For Your Consideration, Hanna, Hugo, Jane Eyre, Kung Fu Panda 2, Like Crazy, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Moneyball, My Week With Marilyn, news, pariah, pirates of the caribbean, puss in boots, Rango, rio, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Shame, sony pictures, Super 8, The Adventures Of Tintin, the artist, The Debt, The Descendants, the girl with the dragon tattoo, The Help, The Ides of March, The Iron Lady, The Tree of Life, the weinstein company, tinker tailor soldier spy, transformers, undefeated, war horse, Warrior, Win Win, Winnie the Pooh, Young Adult
|
