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Immersed in Movies: Final Oscar Thoughts

Features

During this final week leading up to Sunday's 85th Academy Awards, I was reminded of the extraordinary meta-experience that underlies several of this year's nominees. In the end, at least for me, it's not about the frantic Oscar race and ultimately who wins and who doesn't but about the joy of making and watching the movies...

By Bill Desowitz
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February 22, 2013 1:47 PM
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Awards

Disney's animated comedy hit "Wreck-It-Ralph" dominated Saturday's Annies with five awards, winning best animated feature Saturday night at UCLA's Royce Hall. It is considered the frontrunner for the animated feature Oscar. Director Rich Moore also won best director; Alan Tudyk (King Candy) won voice acting; Phil Johnston and Jennifer Lee won for writing and Henry Jackman, Skrillex, Adam Young, Matthew Thiessen, Jamie Houston and Yasushi Akimoto won for music.

By Anne Thompson
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February 3, 2013 1:34 AM
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Features

"Wreck-It Ralph" has quickly gone from Oscar dark horse to front runner since the nominations: an acknowledgment that it not only thwarts our expectations of what a Disney movie should be but also that it's much more than a nostalgic video game romp.

By Bill Desowitz
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January 21, 2013 2:00 PM
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Features

What were the noteworthy takeaways from yesterday's Oscar nominations? In terms of animation, stop-motion was the big winner among animated features, with Sony/Aardman's "The Pirates! Band of Misfits" bumping DreamWorks' "Rise of the Guardians" to join Tim Burton's "Frankenweenie" and Laika's "ParaNorman," and Disney grabbing three of the five nominees with "Brave," "Frankenweenie," and "Wreck-It Ralph." And, of course, "Life of Pi" dominated the tech awards, including VFX, with eight nods overall.

By Bill Desowitz
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January 11, 2013 3:50 PM
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Awards

On this week's Oscar talk podcast, In Contention's Kris Tapley and I examine the "Zero Dark Thirty" smear campaign, and wonder if "Wreck-It Ralph" and "ParaNorman" have the right stuff to win the animation race. Here's the podcast, which is also on iTunes. We're also celebrating our 100th episode and four years. We'll be back after the holidays!

By Anne Thompson
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December 21, 2012 12:22 PM
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Awards

Nominees for the 40th Annie Awards, recognizing the best in animation, have been announced. Between Pixar and the Walt Disney Studio branches, Disney secured three Best Picture nods for "Brave," "Frankenweenie" and "Wreck-It Ralph." Full list below.