(The annual “Will Win/Should Win” of the Awards Circuit has been our most popular yet most challenging series where each writer let’s their final thoughts be known on the Oscar categories. Each writer will reveal their choices everyday leading up to the Oscar ceremony. Think you can do better? Let your final thoughts be known in the comment section or by joining our Oscar Pool. -CD)
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’…
New name. Same Category. The Academy Award for Best Production Design celebrates the best in art direction and set design. Production designers have an incredibly difficult role in the making of film. Whether it’s a fantasy film set in far off world or a recreation of a historical building, production designers create the physical building blocks that allow us into the world of the film. Last year this award (called the Academy Award for Art Direction), went to Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo for Hugo.
And the 2012 Nominees are…
Sarah Greenwood – Anna Karenina
Dan Hennah – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Eve Stewart – Les Miserables
David Gropman – Life of Pi
Rick Carter, Jim Erickson, and Peter T. Frank – Lincoln Read more on Oscar Circuit: Best Production Design…
The Avengers – Janek Sirrs, Daniel Sudick, Jeff White, and Guy Williams Oscar Scene: Hulk smashing The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – David Clayton, Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, and R. Christopher White Oscar Scene: The introduction to Gollum Life of Pi – Erik De Boer, Donald Elliott, Guillaume Rocheron, and Bill Westenhofer Oscar Scene: Any involving Richard Parker Prometheus – Charley Henley, Martin Hill, Richard Stammers, and Trevor Wood Oscar Scene: The Opening Scene Snow White and the Huntsman – Phil Brennan, Neil Corbould, Michael Dawson, and Cedric Nicolas-Troyan Oscar Scene: The Mirror Man
A category often filled with summer blockbusters, it’s not every day that the Best Visual Effects field has a Best Picture nominee contained within it. That alone makes it one of the more interesting categories, but it’s hardly the only reason for that. Many of the other tech categories are harder for layman to comprehend and as such feel a bit exclusionary (Film Editing or Sound Mixing, for example), whereas this category is a lot simpler to wrap your brain around. This year, happen to have a bit of mix between high octane and low key contenders, which I find unique. Of the 5 nominees, it seems like more or less a 2 horse race. Which are they, you ask? Well, lets dive right in and find out!
Makeup can be a truly wonderful thing. I apply makeup to my face every morning and I am transformed into a better looking version of myself. In film, a makeup team is put together to transform an actor into their character. This team is compiled of artists with different talents ranging from hair design, to makeup design to creating prosthetics for the actor.
The Visual Effects Society (VES) has announced their nominees for the VES Awards, and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey leads the pack with seven nominations. Life of Pi (presumed by many to be the favorite come Oscar time) and The Avengers are right behind the furry-footed hobbits with six nods. We’ll have to wait until February 5th to find out who wins, but you can have a look at the entire slate of nominees after the jump.
Nine years after Peter Jackson put a wrap on The Lord of the Rings trilogy (LOTR), the acclaimed director returns to Middle-earth with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. I should start by making everyone aware of what a geek I am for this world of wizards, elves, and dwarves: I named the LOTR trilogy as the greatest film of the past decade (2000-2009) – and yes, I consider the three as one, we can debate that another time if you wish. So you can basically knock a half-star or so off this review if you are just a mild fan of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy as seen through the vision of Peter Jackson and company.
Say what you will about The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (I happened to have enjoyed it a lot), but there is no denying the excellent work delivered from the craft side of the film, perhaps most notably, the sound. As the good people of Sound Works Collection always do, they have put together a detailed look at what went into producing the fantastic sound in the film. After the jump, check out the featurette that includes interviews with Re-recording Mixers Michael Hedges, Chris Boyes, and Michael Semanick, Co-Supervising Sound Editors Brent Burge and Chris Ward, and Dolby Atmos Re-recording Mixer Gilbert Lake. It really is fascinating to see how it all comes together behind the scenes, so I highly recommend checking this out.
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’…
The big buzz around the web this week was in response to the SAG and Golden Globe nominations. The actors that receive a nomination never seem to generate as much discussion as the actors that get left off, and the web was humming the same tune about the SAG omissions of Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams for their performances in The Master, a film that seemed almost DOA this awards season before the Golden Globes swooped in to save them. Many around the web had the same feelings on the race at this point, but the very best came from the fact-filled SAG analysis from The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Feinberg, and his factoids on the Globes impact.
The long-awaited (expected) journey back to Middle Earth finally sets off with the first installment of Peter Jackson’s imminent The Hobbit trilogy (still baffled as to how this turned into a hat-trick). As Bilbo, Thorin, Gandalf and the rest of the Dwarves make their way to the Lonely Mountain, so too will the film soar to the top of the box office this weekend. Not in the mood for second breakfast? Skip right to lunch with a handful of other menu options…
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Language: English
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Fantasy/Adventure
Director: Peter Jackson
Starring: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellan, Richard Armitage
In his younger years, sensible Bilbo Baggins finds himself somehow convinced to venture out of the Shire to accompany a band of Dwarves on a dangerous quest to reclaim a treasure stolen by the evil dragon, Smaug. See what Terrence had to say about this first act. Read more on Weekend Openings: (12/14/2012)…
Suffering under the weight of the previous Lord of the Rings films, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey tries really hard to be its own entity while still tying into the previous franchise. Unfortunately, this film is nothing more than an adequate filmmaking exercise that strikes most of the same beats as Lord of the Rings without any of the importance, epic scope or je ne sais quoi is that a movie has to have in order to be really successful. That’s not to say this is a bad film, just one that wants you to believe that it’s great based on sheer will, 48 fps, a long running time, and closeups of the cast. Read more on The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (**)…
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey may not open until December 14th, but until then you can probably expect a blitz of promotional materials similar to what we saw prior to Prometheus and The Dark Knight Rises earlier this year. With advanced tickets already on sale, and crushing the likes of Skyfall and Breaking Dawn Part Two in earnings, the buzz and anticipation for the first Hobbit film will only grow as the date draws nearer. And you know we’ll be more than happy to usher in any new materials we can find in order to share in the enthusiasm with you. After the jump, have a look at seven new banners for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey…
This week we have several character posters (Les Mis; The Hobbit; Rise of the Guardians) as well as new posters from Ang Lee’s Life of Pi, Robert Redford’s The Company You Keep, Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty, and a teaser for Marc Forster’s World War Z. The poster of the week honor goes to Andrew Dominik’s mob film, Killing Them Softly. The simplistic final poster for the film is timely, patriotic. Have a look at the posters after the jump.
It was recently announced that advanced tickets would go on sale for both The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Lord of the Rings marathons beginning Wednesday, November 7th. You can see more on this in the newest TV spot for the film. But as an added bonus, we have a preview for Academy Award winning composer Howard Shore’s score to The Hobbit. “Radagast the Brown” is the first track released to the public, and you can listen to it after the jump.
In what has become a yearly occurence (though maybe the new Oscar rules will change it), many high profile movies move their release dates closer to the end of the year. Even though there were already 8 major film titles being released between Dec 19-Dec25, we can add another as Universal moves Les Miserables‘ opening from December 14 to Christmas Day. Universal felt comfortable moving the film after seeing an early cut from Oscar winning director Tom Hooper. Now instead of opening against the first of The Hobbit trilogy, it’ll go head to head with Django Unchained, Parental Guidance and The Guilt Trip.
The second trailer for Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has arrived! This will be the first in what will be a trilogy of Hobbit films spanning the next three years. An Unexpected Journey will be in theatres on December 14th of this year, followed by The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug on Dec. 13, 2013 and The Hobbit: There And Back Again on July 18, 2014.
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:
Hey everyone! Terence here, reporting on a pretty calm end to my time at Comic-Con, mostly due to the INSANE line to get into Hall H. I got to get some much needed rest after yesterday’s marathon Hall H day before heading to the Hilton Bayfront to do some interviews with members of the Art Directors Guild. I really enjoyed talking with them about their experiences working on movies and TV shows. Film and TV, being visual mediums, require great imagination and skill to bring forth the written words on the page and I definitely got a sense of the work required to bring that to life. After interviewing these great designers, I tried to see about getting into some panels but everywhere I turned there was a long line, so I decided to head back to my room and get a few things in order.
It’s hard to believe that we’re over the hill on 2012. And while time is flying by at an alarming rate, for a movie fan this time of year means things are just about to heat up. We’re halfway through the summer blockbuster period and can see the glow of awards season just over the horizon. There are still an incredible amount of movies out there to look forward to. So many, in fact, that I really feel we are going to look back on 2012 as being an exceptional year for cinema.
Have a look at a preview for the second half of 2012 after the jump, and be sure to leave the three films you are most excited about in the comment section…
Now that Ridley Scott’s Prometheus is behind us, the movie I am most excited about for the rest of 2012 is Peter Jackson’s adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. As someone who placed the three The Lord of the Rings films in the crowning spot of their top 10 lists for 2001, 2002, and 2003 (and named the trilogy as the best film of the aught’s – 2000-2009), I have high expectations for Jackson’s return to Middle Earth.
Thanks to Entertainment Weekly, we have some new photos from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey to browse through, including images from returning characters like Ian McKellen’s Gandalf and Cate Blanchett’s Galadriel, as well as new heroes like Martin Freeman’s Bilbo Baggins and Richard Armitage’s Thorin Oakenshield. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens December 14th. Are you excited to return?
It’s the first of the month. Not only that, it’s the first day of the second half of the year. Anybody else feel like that was fast? Yet, here we are.
It’s time to start getting serious, Oscar-wise. Not many things have come out, and not many films are looking like Best Picture nominees from the first half. Some will argue The Avengers with a $600 million dollar bank is in talks. Some think the little indie-film Moonrise Kingdom from Wes Anderson could be our “Little Miss Sunshine” of the year. In limited release, Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild has opened and received one of the best word-of-mouth reviews of the year. Is that a contender for the big prize? I’d say it is.
I’m ready to start getting down and dirty with these predictions.
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!
New name. Same Category. The Academy Award for Best Production Design celebrates the best in art direction and set design. Production designers have an incredibly difficult role in the making of film. Whether it’s a fantasy film set in far off world or a recreation of a historical building, production designers create the physical building blocks that allow us into the world of the film. Last year this award (called the Academy Award for Art Direction), went to Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo for Hugo.
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! 
Suffering under the weight of the previous Lord of the Rings films, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey tries really hard to be its own entity while still tying into the previous franchise. Unfortunately, this film is nothing more than an adequate filmmaking exercise that strikes most of the same beats as Lord of the Rings without any of the importance, epic scope or je ne sais quoi is that a movie has to have in order to be really successful. That’s not to say this is a bad film, just one that wants you to believe that it’s great based on sheer will, 48 fps, a long running time, and closeups of the cast. 
