'Hugo,' 'War Horse' and 'Super 8' Win Awards from Sound Editors
February, 19, 2012 11:06 pm | Comments On #Academy Awards, Awards, hugo, Motion Picture Sound Editors, MPSE, MPSE Golden Reel Awards, oscars, War Horse"Hugo," "War Horse," "Super 8," "The Muppets" and "The Adventures of Tintin" were among the films honored by the Motion Picture Sound Editors on Sunday night at the MPSE Golden Reel Awards, which saluted sound editing in seven film, 10 television and five computer and direct-to-video categories.
The Chinese film "The Flowers of War" and the Martin Scorsese documentary "George Harrison: Living in the Material World" were also winners in the film categories from the MPSE, which cast a wide net and didn't give any film more than one award.
Of the seven MPSE winners, only two – "Hugo" and "War Horse"...
Read More'The Descendants,' 'Midnight in Paris' Are Tops With Writers Guild
February, 19, 2012 6:23 pm | Comments On #Awards, WGA Awards, Writers Guild of America"The Descendants" and "Midnight in Paris" took home the top film awards from the Writers Guild of America on Sunday night.
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash won for their adapted screenplay to "The Descendants," while Woody Allen was honored for his original screenplay for "Midnight in Paris." Both are among the favorites for the screenwriting awards at next weekend's Academy...
Read More'Hugo' Sounds Best to Cinema Audio Society
February, 18, 2012 11:10 pm | Comments On #Academy Awards, Awards, Boardwalk Empire, CAS Awards, Cinema Audio Society, Cinema Audio Society Awards, hugo, oscars, Too Big to FailMartin Scorsese's "Hugo" has been honored for its achievement in sound mixing by the Cinema Audio Society, which gave out its 48th CAS Awards on Saturday night.
In the three television categories, the winners were "Too Big to Fail" (movies and mini-series), "Boardwalk Empire" (television series) and "Deadliest Catch" (non-fiction, variety or music series or special).
In the past 18 years, the CAS winner has gone on to win the Oscar for sound mixing nine times. Six of those came in a six-year stretch from 1996 through 2001. The winners have only agreed three times in the last 10 years, though two of those came in the last three years.
Of this...
Read MoreScripter Award Goes to 'The Descendants'
February, 18, 2012 10:00 pm | Comments On #A Dangerous Method, Academy Awards, Awards, Jane Eyre, Moneyball, oscars, Paul Haggis, Scripter Awards, The Descendants, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, USC Libraries Scripter Awards"The Descendants" was named the best literary adaptation of 2011 at the USC Libraries Scripter Awards on Saturday night.
The award, which honors both the screenwriters of a film and the authors of the original work on which a film is based, went to writer/director Alexander Payne, screenwriters Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, and to novelist Kaui Hart Hemmings.
Also read: "The Artist," "The Descendants" Win Top ACE Awards
The Scripter provided a boost to Payne's Hawaii-set blend of...
Read More'The Descendants,' 'The Artist' Win Top ACE Eddie Awards
February, 18, 2012 9:36 pm | Comments On #Academy Awards, ACE Eddie Awards, American Cinema Editors, Awards, Breaking Bad, Cinema Verite, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Homeland, oscars, Rango, The Artist, The Descendants"The Descendants" and "The Artist" won the ACE Eddie Awards for film editing on Saturday night, giving the former film a big boost in the Academy Awards race but perhaps reinforcing the latter's position as the Oscar frontrunner.
"The Descendants" was named Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic), beating the flashier editing of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" and "Hugo" to take the category that nearly always produces the Oscar winner. "The Artist" was named Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy or Musical), the category that produced the 2002 Oscar winner, "Chicago."
"Rango" continued its sweep of most awards by being...
Read MoreTina Fey Joins Growing, Comedy-Heavy Oscar Lineup
February, 17, 2012 11:44 am | Comments On #Academy Awards, Awards, Ben Stiller, Oscar presenters, oscars, Tina FeyTina Fey is the latest presenter to be announced for the 84th Academy Awards, and the third Oscar announcement to come on a very busy Friday for news from the Academy.
The news that the "30 Rock" creator and star would appear on the show follows the earlier announcements that Cirque du Soleil would perform on the show, and that Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy would serve as presenters.
With comic actor Ben Stiller announced as a presenter on Thursday, it seems clear that producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer are following the path described last August by then-producer Brett Ratner – who, before he self-destructed in a blaze of intemperate comments and resigned from his job as producer, made...
The Muppets Make It to the Oscars
February, 17, 2012 9:45 am | Comments On #Academy Awards, Awards, kermit the frog, Man or Muppet, miss piggy, Oscar presenters, oscarsThe Muppets may not be singing on the Oscar show, but they will be in the house.
And Brad and Angelina will now have some stiff red-carpet competition in the form of a frog and a pig.
Although the Oscar producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer have decided not to include onstage performances of the two nominated songs, including "Man or Muppet," they have booked the Muppets to be presenters on the show, ABC and the Academy announced on Friday.
But the new Muppet Walter, who sings the Bret McKenzie song "Man or Muppet" with Jason Segel, was snubbed again: According to the press release, the Muppets power couple of Kermit the Frog and Miss...
Cirque du Soleil Returns to the Oscars -- 10 Years After Almost Burning the Place Down
February, 17, 2012 8:35 am | Comments On #Academy Awards, Awards, Brian Grazer, Cirque du Soleil, Don Mischer, Laura Ziskin, oscarsCirque du Soleil will be returning to the Academy Awards, just in time to mark the 10th anniversary of the time they set the Oscar stage on fire.
The French-Canadian circus troupe will perform "a wholly unique and exclusive performance" at the 84th Oscar show, producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer announced on Friday. The performance will include more than 50 Cirque artists from around the world, the largest group of performers ever assembled for a single act.
Composer Danny Elfman, who wrote the music for the Cirque show "IRIS," which plays at the Kodak Theater during the 11 months when the Oscars are not being staged, will supply music for the performance....
SAG, DGA Stake Out Dates in January 2013
February, 16, 2012 5:03 pm | Comments On #Academy Awards, Awards, DGA Awards, Directors Guild Awards, oscars, SAG Awards, Screen Actors Guild AwardsThe day after the Producers Guild announced the date of its 2013 awards show, the Screen Actors Guild and the Directors Guild have staked out their territory as well.
The 2013 SAG Awards will take place on Sunday, Jan. 27, the guild announced on Thursday morning. The DGA Awards will be held the previous day, Jan. 26.
Both dates are in keeping with those guilds' traditional timing. This year's DGA Awards took place on Jan. 28, and the SAG Awards the following day.
The SAG Awards will take place at the Shrine Exposition Center, its usual location, and once again will be simulcast live on TNT and TBS. The DGA did not announce a location for its show.
The Academy will not address the date of the 2013 Oscars show until its Board of Governors meeting in either March or June. It is currently in negotiations to remain at the theater currently...
Read MoreOscar Voting: Passion's Got Nothing to Do With It
February, 16, 2012 2:51 pm | Comments On #Academy Awards, Awards, best picture, Oscar ballots, oscars, preferential systemDo we need another quick primer on the Oscar voting process?
I think Variety does. In a piece this week headlined "Passion can propel pics' prospects" (that's some old-school trade-paper alliteration!), the publication advances the notion that the key to winning a Best Picture Oscar is getting a passionate minority to rally behind your film.
That's dead wrong.
It is, perhaps, an easy mistake to make – because in the nominations round, the preferential system of vote-counting does reward love 'em or hate 'em films with narrow but fervent support.
Also read:...
Read More
- Previous
- •
- •
- •
- •
- Next
Description
The Odds is an informed, bemused, skeptical and authoritative look at all aspects of the Academy Awards race. Steve Pond, author of the L.A. Times bestseller The Big Show, has been covering this particular circus for more than two decades, much of that time as the only reporter with full backstage and rehearsal access to the Oscar show.
