 It’s time to dive, dive in deep…well, at least as deep as you can in May. As I attempted to unveil the newest set of Oscar Predictions, I realized how many promising films are left to be seen in the remaining seven months. As of now, the only real Best Picture contender that has the legs to make it until the end of the year would be Sarah Polley’s Stories We Tell, and that’s a longshot at best given its genre. You can make arguments for films like The Place Beyond the Pines by Derek Cianfrance and even Mud by Jeff Nichols but those will need a well-placed DVD release with a focused campaign, something I’m not sure the studios are willing to bet on. Cianfrance’s film also has an outside shot for Screenplay and a Supporting Actor mention for Ryan Gosling. If anything, this helps him for Nicolas Winding Refn’s Only God Forgives, if they’re feeling like recognizing him a second time. It feels like eons ago when Gosling was nominated for Ryan Fleck’s Half Nelson (2006) and then later missed other opportunities for Lars and the Real Girl (2007), Blue Valentine (2010), and Drive (2011). Not sure when it will be before he gets back onto the Oscar radar.
Down below, why don’t we start taking a look at the slate by each studio and assess where their money will and should go throughout the season. Read more on Oscar Circuit – The Studio Assessment Part 1…
Categories: Article, Editor, Oscar Circuit, Oscar Predictions Tags: 2014 Oscar Predictions, Academy Awards, Alfonso Cuarón, American Hustle, August: Osage County, Before Midnight, Ben Stiller, Blue Jasmine, Bruce Dern, Cameron Diaz, Captain Phillips, Dane DeHaan, David O. Russell, Editor, Ethan Hawke, Foxcatcher, George Clooney, Gravity, Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, John Wells, Julie Delpy, Kill Your Darlings, Kristin Wiig, Leonardo DiCaprio, Man of Steel, Maria Bello, Martin Scorsese, Matthew McConaughey, melissa leo, Michael Fassbender, Mud, Nebraska, Oscar Circuit, Pacific Rim, Paul Greengrass, Penelope Cruz, Peter Jackson, Prisoners, Richard Linklater, Ridley Scott, Ryan Gosling, Sarah Polley, Shirley MacLaine, Sony Pictures Classics, Steve Carell, Steve McQueen, Stories We Tell, The Counselor, The Great Gatsby, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Place Beyond the Pines, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, The Seventh Son, The Way Way Back, The Wolf of Wall Street, tom hanks, Twelve Years A Slave, Viola Davis, Woody Allen
 Raves continue to pour in for Sarah Polley’s Stories We Tell, the documentary about the family origins of writer/director Polley’s life. Standing sturdy at a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, one has to fathom if the expansion of the Best Picture field can lend itself to a documentary the way it has for animated and science fiction films.
As we get ready to get into the summer months, no film has presented itself as a strong Best Picture contender unless you believe in the odds for Derek Cianfrance’s The Place Beyond the Pines with Ryan Gosling. A long shot at best, all the films listed on the TRACKER, haven’t been released for audiences to gander upon just yet. We know that Richard Linklater’s Before Midnight and Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station will have strong possibilities depending on how the rest of the year shapes up. Read more on 2014 Oscar Predictions – Is ‘Stories We Tell’ Our First Best Picture Contender?…
Categories: Article, Editor, Oscar Circuit Tags: 2014 Oscar Predictions, Academy Award Predictions, Academy Awards, Documentary Feature, Editor, Fruitvale Station, oscar predictions, Ryan Gosling, Stories We Tell, The Place Beyond the Pines
 As April has completely come out of nowhere and become fully present, I’ve updated the new Oscar Tracker to keep in mind everything that has already been released this year so far or have screened at major festivals like Sundance, SXSW, and Tribeca.
There’s no super-duper “out there” contender that looks like it can go all the way as of today with the exception of Richard Linklater’s Before Midnight. While the film is an absolute marvel, it won’t be determined until the autumn if it can sustain throughout the summer and become a leading contender like last year with Moonrise Kingdom and Beasts of the Southern Wild. Obviously, the latter was the only film to crack the Best Picture lineup but if we’re in store for a change like AMPAS going back to five Best Picture nominees, as some have speculated, a small indie film like Linklater’s could get lost throughout the summer and fall months. As of now, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy could show up with Linklater in Adapted Screenplay but on their performances alone, they will warrant some consideration. Both are superb in their roles and will have their champions throughout the year. Read more on First Quarter Round-Up – Are There Any Oscar Contenders?…
Categories: Article, Editor, Oscar Circuit, Oscar Predictions Tags: Academy Awards, Ain't Them Bodies Saints, AMPAS, Before Midnight, Bradley Cooper, Channing Tatum, Chris O'Dowd, Dane DeHaan, Derek Cianfrance, Editor, Ethan Hawke, Fruitvale, Julie Delpy, Kill Your Darlings, Matthew McConaughey, Michael B. Jordan, Michael Shannon, Mud, Octavia Spencer, oscar predictions, Oscar Tracker, Oz the Great and Powerful, Richard Linklater, Rooney Mara, Ryan Gosling, Sarah Polley, Side Effects, Steven Soderbergh, Stories We Tell, The Iceman, The Place Beyond the Pines, The Sapphires
Nearly four months into the year and we finally have an (prematurely timed) awards contender, in the mix with Derek Cianfrance’s dramatic masterpiece in The Place Beyond the Pines. After deeply moving with Blue Valentine (2010), Ryan Gosling teams up with Cianfrance again to follow-up with another heavy performance, proving what we already whole-heartedly knew: that we don’t want him taking a break from acting. Also in the fray is Stephenie Meyer’s first post-Twilight novel, The Host, getting picked up in an adaptation, G.I. Joe getting some Retaliation, and the secrets behind Kubrick’s enigmatic horror classic, The Shining (1980), being discussed in Room 237.
Read more on Weekend Openings: 3/29/2013…
Categories: Weekend Openings Tags: Bradley Cooper, Derek Cianfrance, Eva Mendes, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Mental, Room 237, Ryan Gosling, The Host, The Place Beyond the Pines, Tyler Perry's Temptation, Welcome to the Punch, Wrong
 There’s something almost mythical about the story being told in The Place Beyond the Pines, Derek Cianfrance’s absolutely brilliant follow-up to his award-winning drama Blue Valentine (2010). Both traditional and unique in its nature, Cianfrance has crafted something just as strong as last time out while focusing on a different subject and painting on a far broader canvas. Again teaming up with Ryan Gosling and once more getting a searing performance out of him, Cianfrance this time has a larger cast which works out to become a powerful ensemble, notably including Bradley Cooper as essentially a co-lead with Gosling. There’s also Emory Cohen, Dane DeHaan, and Eva Mendes on hand for major parts, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Read more on The Place Beyond the Pines (****)…
Categories: Film Reviews Tags: 2013 releases, Ben Coccio, Ben Mendelsohn, Bradley Cooper, Bruce Greenwood, Dane DeHaan, Darius Marder, Derek Cianfrance, Emory Cohen, Eva Mendes, Mahershala Ali, Mike Patton, Oscar hopeful, Ray Liotta, Rose Byrne, Ryan Gosling, Sean Bobbitt, The Place Beyond the Pines
Anyone else super excited about Derek Cianfrance’s The Place Beyond the Pines? The film comes out March 29th and could potentially be the first great film (and first Oscar contender) of 2013. In the meantime, here are three French character posters for the film, which stars Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, Ray Liotta, and Ben Mendelsohn (a new personal favorite baddie of mine – see: Animal Kingdom and Killing Them Softly). See the posters after the jump.
Read more on Character Posters for Gosling, Cooper, and Mendes in ‘The Place Beyond the Pines’…
One of the most anticipated films of 2013 is Derek Cianfrance’s The Place Beyond the Pines, starring Academy Award nominees Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper. In Pines, Gosling plays a motorcycle rider turned bank robber, while Cooper is the rookie cop out to stop him. Eva Mendes, Ray Liotta, and Dane DeHaan also star. Fortunately, the film opens March 29th, 2013, so we won’t have to wait until the end of the year for this one. Check out nine new images from the film (plus the one above) after the jump.
Read more on 10 New Images from ‘The Place Beyond the Pines’ Starring Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper…
It’s been about three years since Ryan Gosling teamed up with director Derek Cianfrance to bring us the riveting Blue Valentine, and now the pair have reunited to deliver The Place Beyond the Pines. Gosling plays Luke, a professional motorcycle rider who turns to robbing banks to support his newborn son. Meanwhile Bradley Cooper plays an honest cop attempting to track Luke down, and in the process discovers corruption in the police force. Both Gosling and Cooper look pretty incredible here, and I can only wonder if this trailer will help Academy members take Cooper’s performance in Silver Linings Playbook even more seriously.
Read more on Gosling and Cooper in the Trailer for ‘The Place Beyond the Pines’…
 When Focus Features picked up Derek Cianfrance’s follow up to ‘Blue Valentine’, it was expected that they’d either be looking to have an Oscar qualifying run this December or would be holding it until the awards season of 2013. Well, the studio certainly is putting it out next year, but it’s going to hit theaters on March 29th, a curious choice in my mind. The Ryan Gosling led flick is obviously not out of contention at all, but it does put it at an early disadvantage. For a quick reminder of what the film is about, you can read the synopsis after the jump, but keep this one in mind during the first quarter of 2013. Read on below for more on the flick.
Read more on ‘The Place Beyond the Pines’ gets an official release date!…
The good news is Focus Features has acquired the U.S.distribution rights for Derek Cianfrance’s latest film, The Place Beyond the Pines, which stars Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, and Eva Mendes. The bad news is we have to wait until 2013 to see it. So you can cross this one off your Oscar charts, people. At least for this year. But there are high hopes for the film, especially after some positive buzz in the festival circuit.
Focus already has several horses in the race this year (Moonrise Kingdom, ParaNorman, Hyde Park on Hudson, Promised Land, and Anna Karenina), so it is entirely possible this is just a strategic move and has nothing to do with the quality of the film.
Read more on Focus Features moves ‘The Place Beyond the Pines’ to 2013!…
 I’ve been looking forward to Derek Cianfrance’s follow-up to ‘Blue Valentine’ since the moment I learned about it, and while not everyone fell for ‘The Place Beyond the Pines‘ a few days ago following its Toronto début, the reviews seem to indicate a high quality motion picture. That of course led to a frenzy to try and purchase the film, with The Weinstein Company initially in the lead. However, it seems that Focus Features has come out on top, beating Harvey and gaining distribution rights for the flick. After the jump you can see what I think will happen to the movie, in terms of its awards prospects and whether it’ll wind up a 2012 or a 2013 release date, but either way I’m still just as interested in seeing it as ever. Read on below for more…
Read more on Focus Features acquires “The Place Beyond the Pines”…
 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.
UPDATED: Full list with gala and special screenings added!
Read more on Looper set to open the Toronto International Film Festival, Full Lineup released!…
 Now that the Cannes Film Festival has come to a close, we can now turn our attention to the more Oscar centric festivals that we’ll be seeing in the coming months (mainly the fall). First up is the Venice Film Festival, and the new artistic director of the fest is looking to have some high profile debuts, according to The Hollywood Reporter here. After the jump you can see a few more names and my thoughts, but right at the top is Paul Thomas Anderson with ‘The Master’ and Terrence Malick with ‘To The Wonder’. Will they actually show up? Well, check out my quick thoughts below…
Read more on Venice Film Festival may screen ‘The Master’ and ‘To The Wonder’…
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