awards weekend | there will be pillows

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Hands down, the best party of awards weekend was Miramax's bash celebrating its nominees: "There Will Be Blood", "No Country For Old Men", and "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (my personal three favorite films of 2007). Celebs, amazing food, and a cozy space with an amazing view of the city made the soiree a memorable one. And decorating the chairs and sofas around the party were pillows featuring various scenes from the three films, but by the end guests had grabbed their favorites as souvenirs. I nabbed a "There Will Be Blood" pillow...
[photo by eugene hernandez]



the upset | "la soledad"

While Americans were watching New York's football Giants upset the Patriots, in Spain a little arthouse film topped the frontrunner for the country's annual Goya Awards. A friend in Madrid wrote via Facebook late Sunday:

"The huge shock came with [best picture] and [best director]. "La Soledad," a small, art house film shot almost 50% in split screen, without much of a plot, and that didn't make a dime in theaters but was revered by critics won both, bringing its total tally to three (Including also best newcomer). This is the equivalent of Gus Van Sant's 'Gerry' beating 'Titanic' for best pic (Not quite, but close; maybe if 'Gerry' had gotten great reviews). But no, really: 'The Orphanage' sold 4 million tickets; La soledad, 30,000. It's one of the biggest, if not THE biggest, upset of all time at the Goyas."



thank you, writers

globesupersm.jpgDear Writers,

By going on strike and forcing the cancellation of the Golden Globes this year, you reminded the movie industry and film fans alike how pointless the event ultimately is.

Amidst all the pomp and circumstance, it was quite easy to ignore the fact that many within the film industry refer to the Globes as a sham because the winners are chosen mostly by a dubious group of "journalists." And now, contrary to the overblown televised ceremony and lavish after-parties of previous years, Sunday night's 30 minute press conference to announce the winners was more in keeping with the value of the actual awards.

Sincerest thanks.



coens v. critics?

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"I always thought film critics were full of shit," began Ethan Coen (pictured, right) while accepting an award Sunday night at the festive New York Film Critics Circle dinner in Times Square. He paused a healthy moment as the audience roared. "But this year you've shown a lot of taste and discernment." He then generously thanked the critics for their support of his and his brother Joel Coen's (left) new film. We'll have some iPOP images on indieWIRE on Tuesday, but here's one from my seat as the Coens accepted one of their three awards on Sunday night, including best picture, director and screenplay. I was thrilled to be seated with The Carpetbagger himself, David Carr, who offers a terrific rundown of the evening's big winners over at his New York Times blog. As always, the NYFCC dinner was a classy, entertaining affair, celebrating the best of the year and saluting the hard work done each week by New York's many terrific film critics. Cheers!



goodbye globes (and good riddance?)

I should resist the temptation to kick someone when their down... No, I'm not talking about Hillary Clinton, but rather the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Is anyone really upset that this year's three-hour event has been canceled? (Ok, maybe one person.) But the loss of this year's Globes is hardly going to send Hollywood back to the bargaining table. For jaded industry types its one less night they are forced to don their Sunday best on the road to the Academy Awards.

I baited a top Hollywood insider on Monday afternoon by email as buzz about the Globes cancellation spread:

"Thank goodness they don't really matter. OK, they do... (but, not really)," I teased. To which the mover and shaker quickly resonded by email, "90 voting members and none is a member of the Academy - I would say you are correct."

Latest conspiracy theory (but, not really): SAG actually bailed out of the Globes to create more momentum for their own televised awards show, which has already been granted a waiver by the WGA and will go on as scheduled, with celebrities on hand to walk the red carpet and accept their awards.



oscar marathon | mile 11

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There are 26 weeks between Labor Day and Oscar night, so in my mind the race for the Academy Awards is a marathon. It starts the week of the Telluride fest then heats up days later Toronto. And slowly, a few leaders emerge.

Now, we are in Mile 11.

The current front-runners for the trophy are "Atonement" and "No Country For Old Men" (at least according to latest edition of the weekly "Gurus o' Gold" survey I participate in with other prognosticators).

This week, while we all still have a number of movies to watch, we were each asked to name the underdogs we are personally rooting for and I chose:

Best Picture - "I'm Not There"
Best Actress - Nikki Blonsky, "Hairspray"
Best Actor - Frank Langella, "Starting Out in the Evening"
Best Supporting Actress - Catherine Keener, "In The Wild"
Best Supporting Actor - John Travolta, "Hairspray"
Best Director - Todd Haynes, "I'm Not There"
Best Original Screenplay - "Lust, Caution"
Best Adapted Screenplay - "Persepolis"

Check out all of our personal picks and our top ten best picture rankings on the Movie City News site.



awards season | frontrunners & underdogs (part one)

With the publication of the first in a series of awards season article today at indieWIRE, my colleague Peter Knegt and I are publishing a round of predictions for the Oscar race, so far.

NOTE: These are my guesses in a few categories, not necessarily my personal favorites. And I haven't seen all of the films listed, its a prognostication weighing the current buzz.

BEST PICTURE
1. "No Country For Old Men"
2. "Atonement"
3. "Into The Wild"
4. "There Will Be Blood"
5. "Sweeney Todd"
6. "Michael Clayton"
7. "Before The Devil Knows You're Dead"
8. "Hairspray"
9. "Juno"
10. "American Gangster"
UNDERDOG: "I'm Not There"

More below...

» Continue reading "awards season | frontrunners & underdogs (part one)"