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The Dude abides
Snapped Tuesday afternoon over lunch at the Four Seasons. Interview to come, maybe next week/over the holiday. Fascinating discussion on “The Contender,” “Starman,” “Heaven’s Gate,” etc., including, of course, plenty of talk about “Crazy ...
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Making the werewolves of ‘New Moon’
I’m only posting this because it cracks me up how, I don’t know, disinterested Chris Weitz appears at the beginning of this clip (courtesy of MakingOf ). “One more big pay day before hanging it up. Just get through it. Go through the motions.” Probably the wrong ...
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Short Oscar hopeful ‘The Cat Piano’
Chalk “The Cat Piano” up as a nominee pronto. Probably the win, too. EVERYONE loves that short. So says regular reader Glenn in the comment thread on the Best Animated Short Oscar shortlist. Having now watched this 8-minute Australian gem in all its noir -tinged, Nick Cave-narrated splendor, ...
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AMPAS announces shortlisted animated shorts
Via press release : • “The Cat Piano,” Eddie White and Ari Gibson, directors (The People’s Republic of Animation) • “French Roast,” Fabrice O. Joubert, director (Pumpkin Factory/Bibo Films) • “Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty,” Nicky Phelan, director, and Darragh O’Connell, producer ...
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WEEKLY WRAP: Doc shortlist, honorary Oscars and more
• The shortlist of contenders for the documentary Oscar was announced , surprising many — we dug into it a little. • The season’s first Oscars were handed out , as Lauren Bacall, Gordon Willis, Roger Corman and John Calley were celebrated at the Governors’ Awards. • This ...
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The Great Performances: 2001
In one of the weakest years in memory, not just for performances but for great films, 2001 saw Denzel Washington and Halle Berry knock “two birds out with one stone,” as the former declared on Oscar night, as two African Americans won the top acting prizes for the first time ever.  ...
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Could Baldwin be a sure thing for ‘It’s Complicated?’
Since I made my first Oscar nomination predictions in early June, I’ve had a weird hunch about Nancy Meyers’s “It’s Complicated” being something of a surprise package in the race. Now while I’ve known all along that Best Picture and Best Actress nods for ...
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Define “extortion”
A few hours ago, we mentioned James Toback’s allegations of “extortion” within the Academy’s doc branch being responsible for the failure of his film “Tyson” to make the Oscar shortlist. I wrote that the lack of detail provided made it difficult to know how ...
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‘Nine’ gets big response from SAG
Rob Marshall’s hotly anticipated movie musical adaptation “Nine” played before a jam-packed SAG Nominating Committee crowd at the Pacific Design Center Wednesday night, and judging by the response, we’ve got a real player on our hands. Of course, one can never tell ...
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OSCAR TALK: Ep. 11 — Doc feature short list, ‘That Evening Sun,’ Governors Awards and ‘Basterds’ on the march
Welcome to Oscar Talk, your weekly kudocast featuring yours truly and Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood . On the docket today: • Anne and I discuss the week’s big Oscar news, the revelation of 15 short list contenders for the Best Documentary Feature category, including ...
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Toback charges Oscar doc committee with “extortion”
As I wrote yesterday about the Best Documentary Feature shortlist, I didn’t think the list’s much-ballyhooed omissions were indicative of much more than the rather particular tastes of one Academy branch. That, and perhaps an inclination to shine a light on worthy, but ...
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Stunning
Do you know how many people saw The Assassination of Jesse James?…You and seven other people. Paul Blart grossed nearly $200 million worldwide. I’ll take Paul Blart all day, every day. –Producer/financier Ryan Kavanaugh in a recent Esquire profile . Does this make anyone ...
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FRIDAY FORECAST: Bad ‘Moon’ rising
*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars. It’s Edward and Bella’s world and we’re just living in it. The film to beat for the Holiday season is “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” and fans finally got their chance to lay eyes on it tonight at midnight. Twi-hards have been ...
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11/20 Oscarweb Round-up
• With his directorial debut “The Merry Gentleman” on the way, Michael Keaton gets a profile across the pond. [ The Guardian ] • Laura Almo sits down with “Up in the Air” editor Dana Glauberman. [ Editors Guild Magazine ] • “Avatar”’s Sigourney ...
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TECH SUPPORT: Best Original Score — Volume II
Some categories haven’t had that much renewal since I last reviewed them. Best Original Score is an exception. Principally, this is because the category is very difficult to judge before hearing the scores, not to mention last minute personnel changes (as composers always seem to be the most ...
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Just to be clear
There seems to be a bit of uncertainty among several bloggers and commenters about the Golden Globe category placement of a number of titles. What it highlights, rather interestingly, is just how many heavyweight contenders straddle the line between comedy and drama this year. For the record, ...
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Thoughts on the Oscar doc list
Thoughts on the Oscar doc list
incontention.com — Perhaps inevitably, the bulk of online chatter about the Best Documentary Feature shortlist unveiled yesterday focused less on the films that made it, and more on those that didn’t. It’s par for the course for the Academy’s ... Thoughts on the Oscar doc list
Desperate measures
Desperate measures
incontention.com — After “Amelia” took in just £49,000 (just over $82,000) in 133 theatres — less than “The White Ribbon” managed on 18 screens — last weekend, the film’s UK distributors are trying a new strategy: Oh dear. ... Desperate measures
Something for the soundphiles
Thanks to Sasha Stone at Awards Daily for a pretty sweet find this Oscar season. We are, of course, very proud of our dedication to the crafts categories via Gerard’s Tech Support columns here at In Contention. It’s been a concentrated effort on our part to help carry the flag ...
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Listen to Paul McCartney’s ‘(I Want to) Come Home’ from ‘Everybody’s Fine’
Paul McCartney was in the thick of the Best Original Song race back in 2001 for his title track from Cameron Crowe’s “Vanilla Sky.” Unfortunately, the film was a pale reflection of Alejandro Amenabar’s “Abre Los Ojos” and didn’t register with voters ...
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