Oscar's Animated Shorts: A Student Film and a Cooking Lesson Take on Disney, 'The Simpsons'
January, 29, 2013 2:24 pm | Comments On #Academy Awards, Adam and Dog, Awards, Best Animated Short, Fresh Guacamole, Head Over Heels, Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare, oscars, PapermanThe three shorts categories used to be the tie-breaker categories in Oscar pools, the ones where conventional wisdom (look for the movie about the Holocaust!) was all you had to go on in choosing potential winners.
But since ShortsHD and Magnolia Pictures began showing the films theatrically eight years ago, the nominees have been easier to see -- and the categories easier to predict. (They're still not easy, but they're easier.)
This week, TheWrap will survey the Best Animated Short, Best Live-Action Short and Best Documentary Short category, running down the nominees with an eye to what might appeal to Oscar voters.
It's likely there will be more of those voters this year than ever before,...
Read MoreShort Spotlight: After 27 Emmys, the Simpsons Want an Oscar
January, 29, 2013 2:23 pm | Comments On #Academy Awards, Awards, Best Animated Short, David Silverman, Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare, oscars, The SimpsonsIf "Maggie Simpson in 'The Longest Daycare'" stuck out among the titles in the Oscar Best Animated Short category, it may be because we think of Maggie and her family as belonging to television. After all, "The Simpsons" is TV's longest-running series ever, with 27 Emmys under its belt over the last 24 seasons.
But director David Silverman can testify to the fact that Homer's brood also has a place on the big screen: He was admitted to the Academy on the heels of the 2007 feature "The Simpsons Movie," even though that film was overlooked by voters.
"We'd been experimenting with 3D on one of our Halloweeen episodes, and we just thought that since we weren't doing a feature right now, it'd be nice to do a short," Silverman told TheWrap.
But he wasn't thinking of an Oscar: "The whole thing...
Read MoreIn a Crazy Awards Year, Is It Really Smooth Sailing for 'Argo'?
January, 29, 2013 11:49 am | Comments On #Academy Awards, argo, Awards, Ben Affleck, Golden Globes, Lincoln, oscars, Producers Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, Silver Linings Playbook, zero dark thirtyBy most of the usual benchmarks treasured by awards-watchers this time of year, "Argo" is now the Academy Award frontrunner. It had a very good weekend at the Producers Guild and Screen Actors Guild awards, winning both to become the film most likely to take home the Best Picture Oscar on Feb. 24.
But is Ben Affleck's CIA-goes-to-Hollywood drama really a clear leader?
The PGA, to be sure, is one of the most reliable precursor awards. The SAG ensemble award is a sign of love from the actors who make up the largest Academy branch. And the film previously won the top prize at the Golden Globes and the Critics' Choice Movie Awards.
But minus a Best Director...
Read More'Argo' Wins at PGA and SAG - Is the Oscar Race Over? (Video)
January, 28, 2013 2:10 pm | Comments On #argo, Movies, oscars, Steve Pond, videoThis weekend, the Oscar race sharpened in a significant way. With the double wins by "Argo" at the Producers Guild and Screen Actors Guild, Sharon Waxman and I discuss what that means for the ultimate outcome at the Oscars.
And Sharon offers her take on the surprise appointment of Kevin Tsujihara as CEO of Warner Bros. Monday.
Have a look, share your views.
See other video: Sundance 2013 Finds Women Out Front, Oscars Loom (Video)
Post Golden Globes, Who's the Oscar Front-Runner? (...
Read MoreSAG Awards 2013 Analysis: Even When It's Not Supposed To, 'Argo' Keeps Winning
January, 27, 2013 8:11 pm | Comments On #Awards, SAG Awards, Screen Actors Guild AwardsOn a night when "Argo" was thought to be vulnerable, Ben Affleck's drama did the same thing it has done ever since Affleck was snubbed by the Academy's Directors Branch: It won.
With a surprising victory at Sunday night's Screen Actors Guild Awards in the crucial ensemble-cast category to follow its recent victories at the Producers Guild Awards, Golden Globes and Critics' Choice Movie Awards "Argo" showed that it is indeed the film to beat in this year's awards race, its Oscar misstep notwithstanding.
"I am really amazed and stunned," said Affleck, whose film had not really been expected to contend for the SAG ensemble award -- it had only one individual acting nomination, to three for fellow nominees "Silver Linings Playbook" and Lincoln" and two for "Les Miserables" -- but who is now in...
Read More'Argo' Named Best Motion Picture at PGA Awards
January, 26, 2013 10:05 pm | Comments On #Awards, oscars, PGA, producers guild of americaBen Affleck's "Argo" has sealed its comeback from Oscar-nomination disappointment to become the clear frontrunner in the Best Picture race, winning the top feature-film award from the Producers Guild of America on Saturday night.
"Argo" producers Affleck, George Clooney and Grant Heslov were given the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures, an honor that is one of the most reliable of all Oscar precursors.
This year's best-picture race has been wide open, with "Lincoln" landing the most Oscar nominations and "Argo" seemingly hurt by the fact that Affleck was overlooked by the...
Academy Shows Some Respect to Costume Designers, Makeup Artists With Branch Changes
January, 25, 2013 4:44 pm | Comments On #Academy Awards, academy of motion picture arts and sciences, ampas, Awards, oscarsThe men and women responsible for the look of motion pictures are getting increasing representation within the Academy with the creation of a new Costume Designers Branch, AMPAS announced on Friday.
At the same time, the Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch is being brought into parity with the rest of the Academy's branches, moving from a single governor to a full complement of three.
The moves were made on Wednesday night at a meeting of the Academy's Board of Governors, which will expand from 43 to 48 members as a result of the changes.
In the most significant change, costume designers, who were previously members of the Designers Branch, will become part of the new Costume Designers Branch, the 16th branch in the Academy.
Jeffrey Kurland, who currently serves as an Academy governor representing the Designers Branch, will become the first...
Read More'Amour,' 'Camille Redouble' Top France's Cesar Nominations
January, 25, 2013 1:05 pm | Comments On #Academy Awards, Amour, Awards, Camille Redouble, Cesar Awards, Holy Motors, Michael Haneke, oscarsOne year after "The Artist" became the only film to win the top honor at both the Cesar Awards, France's version of the Academy Awards, and the Oscars, Michael Haneke's "Amour" is among the top nominees for this year's Cesars.
Haneke's film, which is up for five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, received 10 Cesar nominations. But it was beaten in the total count by Noemie Lvovsky's time-travel comedy "Camille Redouble," which received 13 Cesar nods on the strength of seven separate acting nominations (to three for "Amour").
In last year's Cesar nominations, "Polisse" also led with 13 nods, but lost the top award to...
Read MoreSeth MacFarlane Gets Posterized, Plus Oscar Posters Through the Years (Photos)
January, 23, 2013 2:09 pm | Comments On #Academy Awards, Awards, Oscar posters, oscars, Seth MacFarlaneIs Seth MacFarlane the first Oscar host to get name-above-the-title billing on an Academy Awards poster? He might be, on a poster for the 85th Oscars. Courtesy of the AMPAS archives and Margaret Herrick Library, here's a gallery of Oscar posters through the years.
Read MoreSundance 2013 Finds Women Out Front, Oscars Loom (Video)
January, 21, 2013 11:06 am | Comments On #Awards, Movies, oscars, Sharon Waxman, Steve Pond, Sundance2013, videoSundance 2013 has brought a slew of women directors making movies but so far there's been no breakout hit that has buyers spending big money.
Wrap editor-in-chief Sharon Waxman and I take a look at this year's indie film festival and discuss the boundaries directors are pushing this year.
We also cast a look forward to this weekend's awards ceremonies -- the Producers Guild and Screen Actors Guild. These Oscar indicators will tell us a lot about the Best Picture and Best Actor races.
Read More
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Description
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."
