Good Morning Oscar, December 22: More ‘Social’-ism

Palm Springs honors two more filmmakers, and "The Social Network" adds two more critics' groups to its tally.

Two more, and that's it. The Palm Springs International Film Festival has announced what they swear are the final two additions to the slate of honorees at their 2011 Awards Gala: Ben Affleck and Danny Boyle. Affleck gets the Chairman's Award (and my award for the most dramatic publicity photo of any PSIFF honoree, left), Boyle gets the Sonny Bono Visionary Award, and "The Town" and "127 Hours" get minor boosts in visibility just as Oscar voters are starting to return their ballots. The full slate of honorees for the January 8 ceremony: Javier Bardem, Robert Duvall, Colin Firth, Jennifer Lawrence, Carey Mulligan, Natalie Portman, David O. Russell, Diane Warren and the cast of "The Social Network." (Palm Springs International Film Festival)

You know the equation. Critics poll = "The Social Network." The indieWIRE folks voted, and the Facebook movie won. By a lot: 467 points to 361 for the runner-up, the five-and-a-half hour "Carlos." "Winter's Bone," "Black Swan" and the German film "Everyone Else" filled out the rest of the top five in the idiosyncratic poll of 124 critics, while "Carlos" star Edgar Ramirez and "Winter's Bone" supporting actor John Hawkes topped the genderless acting categories. The same page with the critics' results has a readers poll – and there, as of Tuesday midnight, "Black Swan" was holding a slight lead over "Social Network," 14.7 percent to 14.5 percent. (indieWIRE)

One more critics poll, this one from the Village Voice and L.A. Weekly. And, well, stop me if you've heard this before: "Social Network" won easily, "Carlos" came in second, "Winter's Bone" third. "The Ghost Writer" and "Everyone Else" followed. "Inception" was a versatile contender indeed: it ranked 28^th on the list of best films, and tied for first with "The Last Airbender" on the list of worst films. "Black Swan," "Life During Wartime" and "Catfish" also made both lists. (LA Weekly)

AJ Schnack lands the toughest interview of awards season: Banksy. He doesn't sit down with the elusive graffiti artist who directed the documentary "Exit Through the Gift Shop," and I guess he can't really prove that these answers truly did come from Banksy, but Schnack had an entertaining email exchange (through the "Exit" producers) with someone who purports to be the first-time director, and I'm inclined to believe that the interview is legit. Among the tidbits from Banksy: all of his graffiti-artist cohorts hate the movie; he's "a volatile drunk" so it's a good thing he hasn't been showing his face to promote the movie; and "if Michaelangelo or Leonardo Da Vinci were alive today they'd be making 'Avatar,' not painting a chapel." Film, he says, "is … the best option if you actually want to change the world, not just re-decorate it." (All These Wonderful Things)

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