Thompson on Hollywood

Awards Video: BAFTA Winners Streep and Dujardin Campaign for Oscar, Davis and Spencer Get Real on Smiley

Awards

Thankfully for Oscar Show ratings, while many races are seemingly locked in, the Best Actor and Best Actress race are not. This opens up an opportunity for each viral video clip, awards win, or high-profile in-depth interview to make a difference with Academy voters. Thus Meryl Streep and Jean Dujardin's BAFTA wins Sunday drove forward Oscar momentum (see below).

By Anne Thompson and Sophia Savage
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February 13, 2012 12:26 PM
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London Critics Circle Give 'The Artist' and 'A Separation' Three Film Awards Each UPDATED

Awards

"The Artist" and "A Separation" were the big winners at the London Critics Circle Film Awards, with the former sweeping Best Film, Best Actor for Jean Dujardin and Best Director for Michel Hazanavicius while the latter walked off with Best Supporting Actress for Sareh Bayat (triumphing over Vanessa Redgrave for "Coriolanus" and Jessica Chastain for "The Help"), Foreign Language Film and Screenwriter of the Year for filmmaker Asghar Farhadi.

By Matt Mueller
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January 19, 2012 10:39 PM
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Oscar Front-Runner Streep to Accept Berlinale's Golden Bear Lifetime Achievement Award

Awards

The Berlinale's honorary lifetime achievement award, the Golden Bear, will be given to "The Iron Lady"'s Meryl Streep on February 14. The Berlin fest's Dieter Kosslick calls Streep "a brilliant, versatile performer who moves with ease between dramatic and comedic roles."

By Sophia Savage
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January 2, 2012 1:35 PM
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Will The Iron Lady's Nasty Reviews Hurt Meryl Streep at the Oscars?

Reviews

Well, these are not the reviews Harvey Weinstein had in mind when he backed "The Iron Lady." So far the movie is scoring 64% on Rotten Tomatoes. Stateside critics are praising Meryl Streep's impeccable portrait of a much-revered and reviled British leader, while many question Phyllida Lloyd's direction as one-sided and overly revisionist.

By Anne Thompson and Maggie Lange
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December 29, 2011 2:47 PM
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Media Update: Streep vs. Davis Interviews, Fincher, Mara, Pitt and Hill Do Charlie Rose, Masters vs. Damon

Awards

Meryl Streep charmed Morley Safer and viewers on "60 Minutes" (video below) and appears on the cover of Newsweek as the race for Best Actress shifts into high gear. It's hers to lose after 16 nominations and two wins, for "Sophie's Choice" and "Kramer vs. Kramer" lo these many years ago. She tells Safer she gets tired of doing takes over and over, and annoyed when women like Thatcher are described as strong-minded. When are strong men described that way?

By Anne Thompson
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December 20, 2011 4:18 PM
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Oscar Watch: The Artist is the One to Beat

Awards

Yes, "The Artist" is running away with the Oscar ball. It's has love from critics, dominated the SAG and Golden Globes nominations, and is strong with actors and craftspeople alike. As a nostalgic love letter to the movies--and a comic/tragic/romance--it has everything a Academy member could love, and will grab more Oscar nominations than any other film.

By Anne Thompson
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December 15, 2011 4:29 PM
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Screen Actors Guild Surprises: Close, Bichir, and McCarthy Are In, Theron, Redgrave, Woodley and Fassbender, Out

Awards

"Albert Nobbs" star Glenn Close can heave a sigh of relief, as she landed a Screen Actors Guild nomination as Best Actress, along with frontrunners Meryl Streep ("The Iron Lady") and Viola Davis, whose film "The Help" gets a surge in the Oscar race as it dominated the field with four nominations, including best ensemble and two supporting nods for Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain.

By Anne Thompson
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December 14, 2011 11:21 AM
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Oscar Talk: Verdict on War Horse, Streep as Iron Lady, Theron as Young Adult, Animated Frontrunners

Awards

By Anne Thompson
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November 25, 2011 8:45 PM
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Media and Industry Get a Gander at Spielberg's War Horse and Streep as The Iron Lady

Awards

Sight unseen, many predicted that with Steven Speilberg at the helm, World War I drama "War Horse" was the film to beat for best picture and Meryl Streep the front runner for Best Actress in Phyllida Lloyd's Margaret Thatcher biopic "The Iron Lady." At last, in advance of the November 29 New York Film Critics voting, both films are being screened for media and industry alike. The verdict? Yes, they are in contention for awards. "War Horse" will win multiple nominations including best picture and director; it could win the big prize because it boasts the epic scale and scope missing in the race so far. And Streep will vie with Viola Davis for best actress, for channeling Thatcher in a weak biopic that is eerily similar to "J. Edgar," as an older public figure looks back on their rise to power.

By Anne Thompson
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November 25, 2011 6:05 PM
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Interview Watch: Brutal Honesty from Jeremy Renner, Streep & Coen Talk Film in China, Knightley on Dangerous Method & Anna Karenina

News

Here's some brutal honesty from Jeremy Renner, whose "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol" comes out December 21, followed by "The Avengers" in May 2012. Career comes first: "Even now, any woman would take a No. 2 seat to my job.” No thanks, "Transformers": "Thank God I don’t have to do a monologue to a robot. I don’t know how Shia, God bless him, does that.” As for celebrity attention? “I don’t pay attention to that horseshit." And a touch of film wisdom, via his experience building houses: