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'21 Jump Street' to Debut at South by Southwest

February, 01, 2012 12:13 pm | On #21 Jump Street, Big Easy Express, Channing Tatum, film festivals, Jay Duplass, Johnny Depp, Jonah Hill, Killer Joe, mark duplass, Movies, South by Southwest, SXSW

The world premiere of "21 Jump Street" will serve as one of the centerpieces of the 2012 South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival, SXSW organizers announced on Wednesday.

The new film, based on the late-'80s television show that launched Johnny Depp's career, stars Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum as youthful cops who go undercover in a local high school. It was directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and will screen at SXSW on Monday, March 12.

Also read: ...

Stephen Daldry Lands Palm Spring Fest's Directing Award

December, 22, 2011 8:28 am | On #Awards, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, film festivals, Palm Springs International Film Festival, Stephen Daldry

"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" director Stephen Daldry has secured what is expected to be the final slot on the Palm Springs International Film Festival's Awards Gala lineup, taking the Director of the Year Award from the fest.

Stephen Daldry PSIFF announced on Thursday that Daldry will receive the award, which last year went to "The Fighter" director David O. Russell, and which in previous years has also been given to Jason Reitman, Alexander Payne, Ang Lee and Anthony Minghella.

“Stephen Daldry has garnered international acclaim as a director, bringing his consummate skill to both the cinema and stage,” said PSIFF chairman Harold Matzner in a statement announcing the...

The Academy's Master List: Few Contenders, Lots of Pretenders

December, 20, 2011 1:03 am | On #Academy Awards, Awards, Ocars

The first film on the list of 265 films that have qualified for the 2011 Academy Awards, the Taylor Lautner action flick "Abduction" (below), has virtually no chance of getting an Oscar nomination.

Taylor Lautner The last movie on the list, "Zookeeper," is in pretty much the same boat.

And in between those bookends, you'll find far more pretenders than contenders, by a margin of two-or-three-to-one.

The 265 eligible films sit in between the 248 that qualified last year, and the 274 in the running two years ago.

For the record, here's the Academy's list of everything in the running. An expanded list, with the full cast of each eligible film, is available...

Slamdance Lineup: Disco, Porn & Hacking

December, 14, 2011 9:04 am | On #film festivals, independent film, indies, Movies, slamdance, Slamdance Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival

The Slamdance Film Festival, the rowdier cousin of the Sundance, has announced a competitive lineup that includes films about disco, porn, hacking and three virgins inspired by "The Catcher in the Rye."

The Slamdance lineup, which was chosen out of nearly 5,000 submissions, is limited to first-time directors and films made for less than $1 million.

Past Slamdance premieres include "Paranormal Activity" and the documentaries "Mad Hot Ballroom" and "The King of Kong,"

Slamdance will take place from January 20 through 26 in Park City, Utah, simultaneously with Sundance.

The lineup, with descriptions from the Slamdance press release:

NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION PROGRAM, PRESENTED BY KODAK:

"Bindlestiffs"
Director: Andrew Edison,...

Lars von Trier Won't Be Tried Over Nazi Comments, Says French Prosecutor

December, 06, 2011 11:37 am | On #cannes film festival, Lars von Trier, Melancholia, Movies

French authorities who filed charges against director Lars von Trier no longer plan to prosecute him for remarks he made about Nazis at a Cannes Film Festival press conference in May.

Lars von Trier "In my clear opinion von Trier should not be prosecuted," Grasse public prosecutor Jean-Michel Cailleau told the Danish daily Politiken earlier this week.

Cailleau said his recommendation to drop the charges had been forwarded to the French Ministry of Justice, which would make its final decision within a couple of weeks.

Also read: ...

Spike Lee, Stephen Frears, Julie Delpy Films to Premiere at Sundance

December, 05, 2011 1:27 pm | On #film festivals, films, independent film, indies, joe berlinger, Julie Delpy, Movies, spike lee, Stacy Peralta, Stephen Frears, Sundance Film Festival

Spike Lee, Stephen Frears, Julie Delpy, Joe Berlinger and Stacy Peralta are among the directors whose new films will premiere at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, Sundance announced Monday.

The directors will all have films in the premiere and documentary premiere sections of the festival, which were unveiled on the heels of last week's announcement of the competition, spotlight and midnight sections.

...

More Awards Confusion: Only 2 PGA Doc Nominees Are on Oscar Shortlist

December, 02, 2011 9:16 am | On #Awards, Beats Rhymes & Life, Bill Cunningham New York, Cinema Eye Honors, documentaries, IDA Awards, PGA Awards, Producers Guild Awards, producers guild of america, Project Nim, Senna, The Union

(Corrected to include "Project Nim" as another PGA nominee on Oscar's shortlist.)

Reinforcing that 2011 documentary-awards picture is almost as confusing as the Oscar Best Picture race, the Producers Guild of America nominated five films for its top doc award on Friday – and only two of the five even made the final 15 in the Oscars doc category.

The five films competing for the PGA's Documentary Theatrical Motion Picture award are "Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest," "Bill Cunningham New York," "Project Nim," "Senna" and "The Union."

Only "Cunningham"...

Sundance 2012: New Films From Jonathan Kasdan, Kirby Dick to Debut

November, 30, 2011 1:10 pm | On #film festivals, independent films, indies, Movies, Sundance Film Festival

New films from directors Jonathan Kasdan, Todd Louiso and Kirby Dick will debut at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, along with works starring John Hawkes, William H. Macy, Olivia Thirlby, Paul Dano and Jena Malone and written by Lena Dunham and...

Celebs Back to Jury Duty as Economy Kills Special Treatment (Exclusive)

November, 17, 2011 6:02 am | On #court, Jimmy Fallon, Julianna Margulies, Juror Appreciation Day, jurors, jury duty, Media, Rosanne Cash, Tom Brokaw, uma thurman

Cutbacks and fiscal belt-tightening have killed a cherished New York ritual that gave celebrities an out from jury duty, TheWrap has learned.

Every November, a group of celebrities who'd been called for jury duty over the past year would assemble in the Manhattan Supreme Court as part of statewide Juror Appreciation Day, where they'd talk to high school kids about the importance of serving.

And in return, the celebrities were excused from serving.

Such was the case for more than a dozen years. But not any more.

Also read: The Jobs Crisis: Poor Folk...

Dolby Uses Extreme Sports to Hype Its Booming New Sound

November, 02, 2011 7:12 am | On #dolby, Dolby Laboratories, Dolby Surround, Movies, The Art of Flight

When Dolby Laboratories want to show off the latest and greatest in sound and visual technology, you figure they'd turn to one of Hollywood's big-budget, state-of-the-art blockbusters.

But that's not the direction the company took on Tuesday night, when Dolby hosted a presentation entitled "The Art of Entertainment featuring "The Art of Flight'" at its San Francisco headquarters.

Instead, Dolby spotlighted an extreme-sports movie about snowboarding, "The Art of Flight," which was made with backing from an energy drink company and which went straight to DVD, Blu-Ray and iTunes.

But "The Art of Flight," which has been on sale in...

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Steve Pond, author of the L.A. Times bestseller The Big Show, has been covering entertainment for more than two decades. He also writes on the awards circuit for TheWrap, in his column "The Odds."

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