(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)
The calendar year for most people runs January through December, but for such Oscar-obsessed people as you will find writing here at The Awards Circuit the year ends with Oscar Sunday. Everything we do at this site leads to and culminates in the big ceremony. We’ve spent countless hours going back and forth trying to figure out just where the pieces fit best into the jigsaw puzzle that the Academy Awards race has become, and I have to tell you, I have never seen a year quite like this.
Read more on Oscar 2013 Will Win/Should Win Selections (Mark Johnson)…
Categories: Article Tags: Amour, AMPAS, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Django Unchained, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Lincoln, oscar predictions, Oscars, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty
(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)
It’s here, the Big One. The Oscars are finally upon us, generating a frenzy of excitement and a torrent of ever-changing predictions in its path to the big stage on Sunday. This is the highly anticipated annual organized free-for-all when ideals shatter, frustrations bubble over, and sometimes (though not often) pleasant surprises challenge the odds. The final results could go any which way, and especially in such a quality-loaded year, it’s been a dizzying process trying to peg the sway of Academy Voters. Finally dashing aside unrealistically hopeful designs of one candidate over another, I’ve joined my Awards Circuit colleagues in settling on the probable winners, though not without putting up a fight for my preferred winners. In the spirit of the games, here are my “Win Will/Should Win” Oscar Selections: Read more on Oscar 2013 Will Win/Should Win Selections (Melkonian)…
Categories: Article Tags: Argo, Bradley Cooper, Brave, Daniel Day-Lewis, David O. Russell, Disney, Jacki Weaver, Jennifer Lawrence, Joaquin Phoenix, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Mark Boal, oscar predictions, Paul Thomas Anderson, Prometheus, Quentin Tarantino, Robert De Niro, Roman Coppola, Silver Linings Playbook, Skyfall, Steven Spielberg, the dark knight rises, The Secret World of Arietty, Wes Anderson, Will Win/Should Win, Wreck-It Ralph, Zero Dark Thirty
(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)
Read more on Oscar 2013 Will Win/Should Win Selections (Young)…
Categories: Article Tags: Amour, ang lee, Anna Karenina, Anna Young, Anne Hathaway, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Ben Affleck, Bradley Cooper, Brave, Chris Terrio, Christoph Waltz, Daniel Day-Lewis, Django Unchained, Emmanuelle Riva, End of Watch, Holy Motors, Inglourious Basterds, Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Chastain, John Goodman, John Hawkes, Joss Whedon, kathryn bigelow, Kerry Washington, Leonardo DiCaprio, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Logan Lerman, Mark Boal, Moonrise Kingdom, oscar predictions, Oscar snubs, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Quentin Tarantino, Robert DeNiro, Samantha Barks, Samuel L. Jackson, Searching for Sugarman, Silver Linings Playbook, Skyfall, Stephen Chbosky, Steven Speilberg, The Academy Awards, the avengers, the dark knight rises, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Impossible, The Sessions, Tommy Lee Jones, Will Win/Should Win, Wreck-It Ralph, Zero Dark Thirty
Commentary coming tomorrow. Too tired.
Best Original Screenplay
Mark Boal – Zero Dark Thirty
Best Adapted Screenplay
Chris Terrio – Argo
Documentary Feature
Searching for Sugar Man
Read more on Writers Guild Winners…
 With all the craziness of awards season, I hadn’t fully noticed the big story circulating among the writers branch that the two great screenwriters Mark Boal and Quentin Tarantino were squaring off in the Original Screenplay category once again. The last time the two dueled was in 2009 when Boal’s The Hurt Locker triumphed over Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds.
In the 2009 season, many had assumed it was a no-brainer that Boal would emerge the victor after winning the Writers Guild of America Award and after the impressive showing the film had with the major guilds. Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, though an audience favorite, had to settle with Christoph Waltz being the sole representation for the film in Oscar’s Supporting Actor category. Coincidentally, Waltz is nominated again this year for his performance in Django Unchained. Read more on The Tarantino Effect – When Will Oscar See Him as a Director, Not a Writer…
 The Writers Guild of America will be announcing their winners tomorrow, Sunday, February 17. All season long there have been many instances, which I’m just as guilty of, where we doubt Argo’s chances in an awards show. The BFCA and Golden Globes seemed expected. The Producers Guild of America was cool. The SAG Ensemble win was jaw-dropping. The Directors Guild of America was a fine achievement and something that should have happened anyway. For me, the BAFTA win was very telling since Argo never seemed like it would appeal to an overseas group like BAFTA when films like Les Miserables and Life of Pi were nominated alongside it.
Chris Terrio’s script is beloved among critics and audiences however, of all the seven nominations that Argo has received with the Academy Awards, the Adapted Screenplay category is clearly a three-horse race with Tony Kushner (Lincoln) and David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook). Please note the WGA is not an indicator of Best Picture like PGA, DGA, and SAG. This is citing the screenplay and the screenplay alone. If that was the case, masterpieces like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) would have had more a shot for a Motion Picture mention. Read more on 2013 Writers Guild of America Preview…
Categories: Article, Editor Tags: Argo, Chris Terrio, David O. Russell, Django Unchained, Lincoln, Mark Boal, Moonrise Kingdom, Quentin Tarantino, Silver Linings Playbook, Tony Kushner, WGA, Writers Guild of America, Zero Dark Thirty
Woody Allen made history when “Midnight In Paris” earned the filmmaker his third Oscar and 15th nomination for screenwriting last year.
Whether viewed as a consolation prize for a well-regarded film that has no chance of winning Best Picture, or a sign that a film in the discussion for the Academy’s highest honor has broad and far-reaching support, the Writing categories – Adapted Screenplay and Original Screenplay are not always that easy to predict. A case could be made that more adventurous films land in the Academy’s screenplay categories, but with regard to the Original Screenplay category, only five films (Thelma & Louise, The Usual Suspects, Almost Famous, Talk To Her, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) have won the Oscar since 1990 without landing a Best Picture nomination. Three Best Picture nominees are competing in this category and it would seem that for the other two nominees, being featured in the clips package will be as close as they get to scoring a win this year.
Read more on Oscar Circuit: Best Original Screenplay…
 The Oscars are less than two weeks away. It seems everyone and his mother is choosing Argo to take it all in the end, which is perfectly sound since the film did pick up Producers Guild, Directors Guild, SAG Ensemble, Golden Globe, Critics Choice, and – a bit surprisingly – BAFTA. If Ben Affleck had been nominated for Best Director, there would be no argument that the film would be taking it on Oscar night, but Affleck was snubbed, and 2012 was an amazing year for cinema. I suspect Oscar is going to want to spread their love in a lot of areas for different films.
Argo is nominated for seven Oscars, with two of them being in Sound Mixing and Sound Editing – two categories I wouldn’t name as Argo‘s strong points. Terence said it best on this week’s Power Hour, Argo winning Best Picture is an expected achievement, but there are some problems with the thinking that the film could pull in a sweep in categories like Sound Mixing, Original Score, and Adapted Screenplay. The LA Times article that cited the votes of four Academy members had some scratching their heads, as they went for their favorite film in every single category in which it was nominated. Read more on Oscar Predictions – State of the Race and Peaking at Oscar Ballots…
And the nominees are:
Argo – William Goldenberg
Life of Pi – Tim Squyres
Lincoln – Michael Kahn
Silver Linings Playbook – Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers
Zero Dark Thirty – Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg
Read more on Oscar Circuit: Film Editing…
Categories: Oscar Circuit Tags: AMPAS, Argo, Dylan Tichenor, Film Editing, Film Editing Oscar, Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Michael Kahn, Oscar Circuit, Oscar Circuit: Film Editing, oscar predictions, Oscars, Silver Linings Playbook, Tim Squyres, William Goldenberg, Zero Dark Thirty
 This year we don’t have the fortune of knowing exactly who will win Best Actress. We have five nominees that include two frontrunners, one possible upset and two actresses who should be honored to receive recognition for their work.
Read more on Oscar Circuit: Best Actress…
Categories: Oscar Circuit Tags: Amour, Anna Karenina, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Best Actress, Deep Blue Sea, Emmanuelle Riva, Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Chastain, Keira Knightley, Marion Cotillard, naomi watts, Oscar Circuit, Oscars, Quvenzhané Wallis, Rachel Weisz, Rust &Bone, Silver Linings Playbook, The Impossible, Zero Dark Thirty
Every year, The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) selects one lucky artist to create posters for the films nominated for their awards. This year, Jonathan Franks of handsomefrank.com was chosen, and the work is quite impressive. Have a look at the beautiful images after the jump or click the gallery below.
Read more on Incredible Looking Posters for the BAFTA Nominated Films…
 Oscar winning director Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) has sparked a lot of controversy and debate around her latest film, Zero Dark Thirty. This week, she graces the cover of TIME Magazine in which she partakes in a pretty in depth and fascinating interview. When asked about the torture scenes depicted in her film, Bigelow replied: “On a personal level, those scenes were really hard to do. The audience wants to look away but knows they shouldn’t. It’s wrenching and difficult, and that is acknowledged in the cues we see in Jessica Chastain. She looks away; she covers her mouth. That is how many people in the audience react, or how they would react if they were in that room.” You can read the entire interview here. Read more on Kathryn Bigelow Gets the Cover of TIME Magazine…
Read more on Kathryn Bigelow Gets the Cover of TIME Magazine…
And the nominees are:
Argo – Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn
Django Unchained – Wylie Stateman
Life of Pi – Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton
Skyfall – Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers
Zero Dark Thirty – Paul N.J. Ottosson
When it comes to the Oscars, one of the questions I hear most often is what the heck is the difference between Sound Mixing and Sound Editing? So I figured I would start with explaining their differences first, before diving into the nominees for Best Sound Editing.
Read more on Oscar Circuit: Sound Editing…
 2012 went in the blink of an eye. By July of last year, I was fearful of how the year would turn out for film. At that point my top two films, Beasts of the Southern Wild and Moonrise Kingdom were very good but nothing that I wanted to be in the top-tier of my annual top ten list since neither received a top-notch review from myself. September rolled around and film after film was blowing audiences, critics, and prognosticators away. There’s always a narrative a critic and blogger tries to write for the year. Is it the year of action films? Is it the year of big studios? While large studios definitely stepped up their games, it was documentaries that pushed the boundaries of storytelling and bringing enigmatic issues to the surface. I can only hope a worthy documentary manages to get their due in the future and hit the cultural zeitgeist that will “allow” Oscar to recognize.
As I unveil my personal ballot over the next few days, looking over the citations as a whole make me very proud of what filmmakers, performers, and studios are choosing to do with their narrative techniques. Of course, our beloved readership will have a different top ten, criticize choices, and scream anarchy for glowing omissions, but that’s what the Awards Circuit is about. Make your choices known not only in the comment section but also in the Awards Circuit Community Awards which are currently underway.
Without further ado: Read more on Editor Top Films of 2012 – The Year of the Film…
Categories: Article, Editor Tags: Amour, Arbitrage, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Bernie, chasing ice, Editor, End of Watch, Flight, Jeff, Les Miserables, Lincoln, Moonrise Kingdom, Red Hook Summer, Rise of the Guardians, Searching for Sugar Man, seven psychopaths, Silver Linings Playbook, Ted, The Central Park Five, the dark knight rises, The Grey, the house i live in, The Impossible, The Invisible War, The Master, The Painting, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Sessions, Top Ten of 2012, Top Tens, West of Memphis, Zero Dark Thirty
The American Cinema Editors (ACE) nominations used to be announced prior to the Oscar nominations, and would be a good bellwether towards the eventual Oscar outcome. But with AMPAS moving up their date to turn in ballots, and ACE sticking firmly to their normal procedures, their noms ended up coming in after the fact. The ACE Eddies award excellence in Film Editing in four categories: Drama, Comedy/Musical, Animated, and Documentary. All five Oscar noms are recognized by ACE. The 63rd annual ACE Eddie Awards will be held on February 16, have a look at the full slate of nominees after the jump.
Read more on ACE Eddie Nominations: Round Up The Usual Suspects…
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
 With the Oscar nominations being announced tomorrow morning and all other nominations revealed, it’s that time folks where we all wonder and debate who will be honored with a nomination Oscar morning.
Read more on Women in Cinema- The “Oscarettes”: Who will be nominated for Best Actress?…
Categories: Oscar Predictions, Women in Cinema Tags: Amour, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Emmanuelle Riva, Helen Mirren, hitchcock, Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Chastain, La Vie En Rose, Marion Cotillard, naomi watts, Oscars, Quvenzhané Wallis, Rachel Weisz, Rust and Bone, Silver Linings Playbook, The Deep Blue Sea, The Impossible, Winter's Bone, women in cinema, Zero Dark Thirty
 Today I’m bringing you my chat with ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ co-star Jason Clarke. I had the pleasure of speaking in person with him a few weeks back at a luncheon in New York City, and Jason was kind enough to schedule a longer talk over the phone shortly thereafter. He’s a lot of fun to just shoot the breeze with, but he also has plenty to say about the Oscar hopeful film he has out now, as well as what’s coming up next for him.
Read more on Chit-Chat with Jason Clarke!…
Having emerged as somewhat of the frontrunner in the awards race in recent weeks, Zero Dark Thirty opens to special limited engagements this week before nationwide release in January. It’s a pretty strong week in terms of variety, with Judd Apatow’s latest, This Is 40, foreign drama powerhouse, Amour,and Walter Salles’ adaptation of On the Road. Add a natural disaster survival drama, a case of double-dipping with a popular animated feature, and Tom Cruise reaching for justice for a well-stocked long weekend of cinematic entertainment.
Zero Dark Thirty
Language: English
Rating: R
Genre: Action/Drama/History
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Jason Clarke
“The greatest manhunt in history” follows the decade-long efforts to find Osama bin Laden, spanning from the September 11 attacks to his death at the hands of Navy S.E.A.L. Team 6 in May 2011. See Clayton and Joey’s early reviews. Read more on Weekend Openings: (12/19-12/21)…
Categories: Weekend Openings Tags: Amour, Barbara, billy crystal, Ewan McGregor, Garrett Hedlund, Jessica Chastain, John Goodman, kathryn bigelow, kristen stewart, Leslie Mann, Michael Haneke, naomi watts, On the Road, paul rudd, Rosamund Pike, Seth Rogen, The Guilt Trip, The Impossible, This Is 40, tom cruise, Walter Salles, Zero Dark Thirty
 On Monday I was able to conduct a couple of ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ interviews on behalf of The Awards Circuit. Today I’m bringing you my chat with editors William Goldenberg and Dylan Tichenor. Both gentlemen are Oscar nominated craftsmen who rank in the top tier of their field. Collaborating on ‘Zero Dark Thirty’, they’re each having standout years and deserve all of the accolades being thrown their way. The guys were kind enough to speak to me by phone during the Los Angeles based Craft Junket for the film, and the transcript of our chat can be found below. Enjoy!
Read more on In the Editing room with William Goldenberg and Dylan Tichenor!…
The Chicago Film Critics Association has bestowed five awards upon Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty, including Best Picture and Director of 2012. Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master continues to have a nice showing as of late, winning four awards, including Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress for Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams, respectively. Full list after the jump…
Read more on Chicago Film Critics Association Honors ‘Zero Dark Thirty’…
 San Francisco Film Critics Circle has named The Master the best film of 2012, along with bestowing Joaquin Phoenix their Best Actor prize. Zero Dark Thirty also did well, winning prizes for Kathryn Bigelow in director and Mark Boal in screenplay. I have to say, as a San Francisco native, I was pleased to see the hometown critics pick ParaNorman as the Best Animated Feature. Check out the rest of the winners after the jump!
Read more on San Francisco Film Critics Circle cites ‘The Master’ as 2012′s Best Film…
Categories: News, Precursors Tags: Amour, Argo, critics groups, Emmanuelle Riva, Helen Hunt, Joaquin Phoenix, kathryn bigelow, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Moonrise Kingdom, news, ParaNorman, The Master, The Waiting Room, Tommy Lee Jones, Zero Dark Thirty
 Contrary to popular belief, 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!
Read more on Houston Film Critics Society announces nominations, Lincoln leads with 8…
Categories: News, Precursors Tags: Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Cloud Atlas, Django Unchained, Houston Film Critics, Houston Film Critics Society, Les Miserables, Lincoln, Moonrise Kingdom, Silver Linings Playbook, The Master, Zero Dark Thirty
- Aside from the 84th Annual Academy Awards™, there was no bigger week this year at The Awards Circuit than this one. Sunday began with three critics groups — Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Boston Film Critics and New York Film Critics Online — announcing their winners and runners-up for the best in Film 2012. Zero Dark Thirty continued its dominance with the critics groups, but wavering contenders like Dwight Henry and Joaquin Phoenix a hefty boost by winning “Best Supporting Actor” and “Best Actor,” respectively, from LAFCA. As this was going on, we managed to successfully debut our first-ever LIVE Power Hour Podcast. Ann Dowd, winner of the National Board of Review’s “Best Supporting Actress” award, was an utter delight as our guest and we wish her all the best in this highly competitive awards season.
Read more on Circuit Round-Up (Week Ending 12/16)…
Read more on Circuit Round-Up (Week Ending 12/16)…
Categories: Circuit Round-Up Tags: anna belickis, Best Original Song, clayton davis, Daniel Ashtiany, Golden Globe Nominations, Joey Magidson, joeys dvd pick of the week, John H. Foote, Joseph Braverman, Mark Johnson, Mike Ward, Nicole Melkonian, oscar predictions 2013, oscars 2013, Robert Hamer, SAG Nominations, Sizing Up series, Ted, Terence Johnson, Tiff Chai, Zero Dark Thirty
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