Gary Oldman Embraces the Season: 'I'm Determined to Enjoy Every Bloody Minute'
February, 08, 2012 6:51 pm | Comments On #Academy Awards, Awards, Gary Oldman, oscars, Tinker Tailor Soldier SpyGary Oldman, Oscar campaigner?
It seemed an unlikely role for the veteran actor when "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" began screening back in September. Despite a lengthy and brilliant career, the 53-year-old British actor had never received an Oscar nomination, and he hardly seemed the type to embrace the rigors of awards season on behalf of a moody, understated, smart movie that might well prove too subtle and thorny for voters.
But Oldman has been a constant, affable presence on the circuit for months – never with the hard sell, but always around to remind voters just how ridiculous it was that he'd never been nominated despite a career that has...
Oscar's Live-Action Shorts: The Europeans Are Coming
February, 08, 2012 10:56 am | Comments On #Academy Awards, Awards, Ciaran Hinds, Kerry Condon, Oscar shorts, oscars, Pentecost, Raju, Terry George, The Shore, Time Freak, Tuba AtlanticAs usual, this year's lineup of Oscar-nominated live-action shorts is a foreign affair.
Just as it is most years, the slate is dominated by European films – in this case, one from Norway, one from Germany, one from Ireland and one from Northern Ireland.
"Time Freak" is the sole American entry, a distinction that worked out well for last year's winner, "God of Love."
But two of this year's European entries, "Raju" (left) and "Tuba Atlantic," also share something with "God of Love": They come to the Oscars after first winning at last June's Student Academy Awards.
And one of the nominated filmmakers, Terry George, has...
Read MoreAngelina Jolie Added to Oscar Show
February, 08, 2012 10:24 am | Comments On #Academy Awards, Angelina Jolie, Awards, Cameron Diaz, Halle Berry, Milla Jovovich, oscarsNow Angelina Jolie has another reason to accompany her Oscar-nominated husband Brad Pitt to the Academy Awards on February 26: Jolie will serve as a presenter, producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer announced on Wednesday.
Jolie's directorial debut, "In the Land of Blood and Honey," was not nominated for any Oscars this year. She did, however, supply a voice for one of the Best Animated Feature nominees, "Kung Fu Panda 2."
She was last nominated for "Changeling" in 2008, and had something of an eye-opening public debut on the 1999 Academy Awards, when the won the Best Supporting Actress award for "Girl, Interrupted" and kissed her brother...
Read More'Rango' Rules at VES Awards
February, 07, 2012 11:08 pm | Comments On #Academy Awards, Awards, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, hugo, oscars, Rango, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, transformers: dark of the moon, VES Awards"Rango" was the big winner at Tuesday night's VES Awards, winning four awards from the Visual Effects Society for its effects, character creation, created environment and virtual cinematography.
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" won two awards, including Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture. That is the VES Award that most often corresponds to the Oscar winner for Visual Effects.
"Hugo" and "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" also won a pair of awards each, with "Hugo" director Martin Scorsese making a surprise appearance on behalf of his film.
Steven Spielberg's "The Adventures of Tintin," which came...
Read MoreMeryl Streep Oscar Email Angers Voters, But It's Legal (Updated)
February, 07, 2012 6:36 pm | Comments On #Academy Awards, Awards, Meryl Streep, Oscar campaigning, oscars, The Iron Lady, The Weinstein CompanyA Weinstein Company email that appears to skirt AMPAS campaign rules by using a third party to reach Oscar voters has stirred up anger among Academy members and rival campaigners.
But the email does not violate Academy regulations, AMPAS COO Ric Robertson told TheWrap on Tuesday. One of the organization's campaign rules, he said, "allows for media entities to send such things to valid subscribers who've opted into being a subscriber."
The email in question, which went out on Tuesday morning, is not part of Weinstein's aggressive Best Picture campaign on behalf of "The Artist," but instead promotes Meryl Streep's Best Actress candidacy for "The...
Oscar's Animated Shorts: Zombies Are Out for Pixar's Blood
February, 07, 2012 11:43 am | Comments On #A Morning Stroll, Academy Awards, Awards, Best Animated Short Film, La Luna, Oscar shorts, oscars, Pixar, Sunday/Dimanche, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, Wild Life, William JoycePixar is riding a losing streak, Canada has two films in the running, and the contenders include everything from a bloodthirsty, chicken-chasing zombie to a kindly Humpty Dumpty.
That’s the landscape in the Oscar Best Animated Short Film category, one of the three shorts categories that TheWrap will survey this week.
The categories may still be the tie-breakers in everybody's Oscar pool, but they're easier to call than they used to be, when "look for the one about the Holocaust" was about as far as shorts-category conventional wisdom extended.
Now, for the seventh year in a row, the nominated shorts will be available on a series of three theatrical programs – one for...
Read More'War Horse,' 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' Nominated for Genesis Awards
February, 07, 2012 8:34 am | Comments On #Awards, Born to Be Wild, Buck, Dolphin Tale, Genesis Awards, Humane Society of the United States, One Lucky Elephant, Rio, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, War Horse"Rise of the Planet of the Apes," "War Horse" and the documentary "Buck" were among the films nominated for the 26th Genesis Awards by the Human Society of the United States, the HSUS announced on Tuesday.
The Genesis Awards honor films with animal-friendly themes and creative portrayals of animal protection. (In the case of "Planet of the Apes," that means a film in which apes engage in a violent revolt against mistreatment.)
In the feature film category, "Apes" and "War Horse" were nominated alongside "Dolphin Tale" and the animated film "Rio."...
Read MoreSean Lennon to Serve as Artistic Director of L.A. Animation Fest
February, 07, 2012 12:27 am | Comments On #animated film, animation, Awards, Bill Plympton, Fantastic Planet, independent film, indies, Movies, Sean Lennon, Shrek, Team America: World PoliceNew screenings of "Team America: World Police" and "Shrek," a tribute to Bill Plympton and programs curated by musician Sean Lennon will highlight the third annual Los Angeles Animation Festival, which announced the lineup for its March festival on Tuesday.
Lennon will serve as artistic director of LAFF, introducing screenings of "Akira, "Fantastic Planet" and other films. "Fantastic Planet" will feature a live score performed by onstage musicians and actors.
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Veteran animator Plympton will be the subject of a world-premiere documentary, "Adventures in Plymptoons," as well as a 20th anniversary...
Read MoreOscar Luncheon: Hints About the Show, and a Standing O for Max von Sydow
February, 06, 2012 5:10 pm | Comments On #Academy Awards, Awards, George Clooney, Max Von Sydow, Meryl Streep, Nominees Luncheon, oscars, Rooney Mara, Sergio Mendes, Steven SpielbergIf one were to judge by the applause inside the room at the Oscar Nominees Luncheon, Max von Sydow had better prepare a place on his mantle for the Best Supporting Actor trophy he'll win on February 26.
Then again, you can't really judge anything by the applause at the Nominees Luncheon.
But one of the time-honored rituals of the luncheon, of which Monday's was the 32nd, is the procession of nominees to the stage to receive their certificates of nomination and their official Oscar Nominee Sweatshirts. Considering that the room is filled with Oscar voters -- nominees and Academy officials included -- gauging the applause level can be something of a parlor...
Read MoreAlexander Payne Makes the Cut with Cinema Editors
February, 06, 2012 8:48 am | Comments On #Academy Awards, ACE Eddie Awards, Alexander Payne, American Cinema Editors, Awards, oscars, The DescendantsAlexander Payne, director of "The Descendants," has been named Filmmaker of the Year by the American Cinema Editors, the ACE Board of directors announced on Monday.
The ACE Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award will be presented to Payne at the 62nd annual ACE Eddie Awards ceremony on February 18, where "The Descendants" was also nominated in the Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic) category along with "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," "Hugo," "Moneyball" and "War Horse."
All of those films except "War Horse" are nominated in the Oscars' film editing category; the fifth Oscar nominee, "The Artist,"...
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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.
