2009 Leonard Maltin Guide and the Slate of Award Winners from Last Year

The Leonard Maltin Guide, for better or worse, sets a standard for how movies are ranked in later years. Although there are many examples of aberrations (for example Unforgiven, which frequently lands on best-films-of-all-time lists, is rated just *** out of ****) the guide has had influence in general in accessing films for future generations.






So, with that in mind, I thought I'd look up the films which received the main awards from critics, guilds, etc. from last year to see where they placed in Maltin's rankings. (Note: After a movie's rating is listed once, I won't repeat the rating):

AMPAS Best Picture Nominees:
Atonement (**)
Juno (*** 1/2)
Michael Clayton (***)
No Country For Old Men (winner) (*** 1/2)
There Will Be Blood (*** 1/2)

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood
Best Actress: Marion Cotillard for La Vie en Rose (rating for film: ***)
Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men
Best Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton for Michael Clayton
Best Original Screenplay: Juno
Best Adapted Screenplay: No Country for Old Men
Best Foreign Film: The Counterfeiters (*** 1/2)
Best Animated Film: Ratatouille (*** 1/2)
Best Documentary Feature: Taxi to the Dark Side (*** 1/2)

Multiple Oscar winners (features):
No Country for Old Men (4 Oscars)
The Bourne Ultimatum (3 Oscars) (***)
La Vie en Rose (2 Oscars)
There Will Be Blood (2 Oscars)

Most Oscar nominations (eight): No Country For Old Men, There Will Be Blood (tie at 8 each)

Golden Globes Best Drama Film: Atonement
Golden Globes Best Musical or Comedy Film: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (***)
Golden Globes Foreign-Language Film:The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (*** 1/2)
Golden Globes Animated Film: Ratatouille

BAFTA Best Film: Atonement
BAFTA Best British Film: This Is England (*** 1/2)
BAFTA Best Foreign Language Film: The Lives of Others (*** 1/2)
BAFTA Best Animated Film: Ratatouille

PGA Best Film: No Country For Old Men
PGA Best Animated Film: Ratatouille
PGA Best Documentary Film: Sicko (*** 1/2)

SAG Ensemble Award: No Country For Old Men

DGA Award: No Country for Old Men

WGA Original Screenplay: Juno
WGA Adapted Screenplay: No Country For Old Men
WGA Documentary Screenplay: Taxi to the Dark Side

Online Film Critics Society Best Picture: No Country for Old Men
Online Film Critics Society Best Foreign-Language Film: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Online Film Critics Society Best Documentary: The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (*** 1/2)
Online Film Critics Society Best Animated Feature: Ratatouille

Broadcast Film Critics Best Picture: No Country for Old Men
Broadcast Film Critics Animated Feature: Ratatouille
Broadcast Film Critics Comedy Film: Juno
Broadcast Film Critics Foreign Language Film: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

National Society of Film Critics Best Picture: There Will Be Blood
National Society of Film Critics Foreign-Language Film: 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days (*** 1/2)
National Society of Film Critics Non-Fiction Film: No End in Sight (****)

New York Film Critics Picture: No Country For Old Men
New York Film Critics Best Animated Film: Persepolis (*** 1/2)
New York Film Critics Non-Fiction Film: No End in Sight
New York Film Critics Best Foreign Language Film: The Lives of Others

Los Angeles Film Critics Picture: There Will Be Blood
Los Angeles Film Ciritics Best Animated Film: Persepolis and Ratatouille (tie)
Los Angeles Film Critics Non-Fiction Film: No End in Sight
Los Angeles Film Critics Best Foreign Language Film: 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days

National Board of Review Top Ten Films:
The Assassination of Jesse James... (** 1/2)
Atonement
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Bucket List (** 1/2)
Into the Wild (*** 1/2)
Juno
The Kite Runner (***)
Lars and the Real Girl (***)
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men (#1)
Sweeney Todd

National Board of Review Foreign Film: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
National Board of Review Animated Film: Ratatouille
National Board of Review Documentary: Body of War (n/a)

AFI Top Ten 2007:
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (** 1/2)
Into the Wild
Juno
Knocked Up (***)
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
Ratatouille
The Savages (*** 1/2)
There Will Be Blood

Indiewire and Village Voice Top Tens (listed side by side)
1 There Will Be Blood/ There Will Be Blood
2 Zodiac (*** 1/2)/ No Country for Old Men
3 No Country for Old Men/ Zodiac
4 Syndromes and a Century (n/a)/ 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
5 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days/ I'm Not There (** 1/2)
6 I'm Not There/ Syndromes and a Century
7 The Assassination of Jesse James/ The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
8 Colossol Youth (n/a)/ Killer of Sheep (*** 1/2)
9 Killer of Sheep/ Ratatouille
10 Offside (*** 1/2)/ Colossal Youth

2007 additions to Theyshootpictures top 250 films of the 21st Century [here I'll repeat the ratings]:

17. THERE WILL BE BLOOD (*** 1/2)
21. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (*** 1/2)
25. ZODIAC (*** 1/2)
51. I'M NOT THERE (** 1/2)
52. 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS (*** 1/2)
65. THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES... (** 1/2)
111. EASTERN PROMISES (***)
128. ONCE (***)
154. THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY (*** 1/2)
156. INTO THE WILD (*** 1/2)
165. PERSEPOLIS (*** 1/2)
177. RATATOUILLE (*** 1/2)
188. ATONEMENT (**)
190. AWAY FROM HER (***)
192. BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD (** 1/2)
221. MICHAEL CLAYTON (***)
235. THE DARJEELING LIMITED (** 1/2)
236. THE SAVAGES (*** 1/2)

80th Annual Academy Awards: The Final Tally

Fourteen feature-length films join the list of Oscar-winners this year, as follows:

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
— 4 Oscars

THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
— 3 Oscars

LA VIE EN ROSE
— 2 Oscars
THERE WILL BE BLOOD
— 2 Oscars


ATONEMENT— 1 Oscar
THE COUNTERFEITERS— 1 Oscar
ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE— 1 Oscar
THE GOLDEN COMPASS— 1 Oscar
JUNO— 1 Oscar
MICHAEL CLAYTON— 1 Oscar
ONCE— 1 Oscar
RATATOUILLE— 1 Oscar
SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET— 1 Oscar
TAXI TO THE DARKSIDE— 1 Oscar

80th Annual Academy Awards: Interesting Facts

With the Awards over, here are some statistics about the winners:

• For only the second year in Oscar history have all four acting winners been of foreign descent. The only other time was for films 1964: Rex Harrison, Julie Andrews, Peter Ustinov, Lila Kedrova.

• Marion Cotillard is the first winner ever for a French-speaking performance.

• Marion Cotillard is the second Best Actress winner ever for a foreign-language performance; the first was Sophia Loren for TWO WOMEN (1961).

• Of the 11 times an actor has been nominated in both lead and supporting categories in the same year, Cate Blanchett joins the losers of both, making it 7 to 4 in favor of the winners.

• The Coen Brothers are only the second "duo" to win Best Director (following Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins for WEST SIDE STORY [1961]).

• Austria won its first Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film with THE COUNTERFEITERS.

• ENCHANTED joins last year's DREAMGIRLS as the two films that received three Best Song nominations but failed to take the category (BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and THE LION KING are the only other films to get three nonminations— both won the award).

• Kevin O'Connell, Oscar's "biggest loser" after twenty nominations and no wins, retains his unfortunate title having lost for Best Sound for TRANSFORMERS.

80th Annual Academy Awards: A Review

Jon Stewart has become the Johnny Carson of Oscar hosts with this year’s awards. He brought a low-key classiness to the show, which was mared only by less-than-memorable speeches and few genuine “moments.” In fact, it was Stewart himself who engineered the best speech of the night by bringing out slighted ONCE singer-songwriter Markéta Irglová to speak after she’d been cut off unjustly.

Both “parts” of the ONCE Best Song acceptances were the highlight of the show. “Make art” said Glen Hansard; “no matter how far out your dreams are, it's possible,” said Markéta Irglová. And the performing of “Falling Slowly” was so charming: love that Glen Hansard used the damaged guitar from the film.

Stewart was not the right choice I thought a couple years ago, but this year following the WGA strike and it being an election year, he was perfect. I can easily see him becoming an Oscar-show-host fixture: the heir to Billy Crystal following the reigns of Bob Hope (40s, 50s, 60s), Carson (70s, 80s), and Crystal (80s, 90s).

The evening was off brilliantly with Stewart zeroing in on the VANITY FAIR party as the target for humor (rather than going for the studios or producers). His political jokes fared well too (AWAY FROM HER is about a woman who forgets her husband— Hilary Clinton thought it was the “feel good” movie of the year; Oscar is 80 which makes him the front-runner for the Republican nomination.)

The use of old Oscar footage (which dated back to the 1939/40 ceremony and Hattie McDaniel) was well played and gave the show the sense of history it always seems to be missing. The only famous clip I missed was Art Carney kicking his foot up in the air when he won in the 70s: they hit ALL the biggies though. Oddly the reel that DIDN’T work for me was the Best Picture rundown, and I think I know why. Because there have been so many oddball winners over the years, the reel should have included sound-ups on the BIG winners: the CASABLANCAs and the LAWRENCE OF ARABIAs to cover the CIMARRONs and the BEAUTIFUL MINDs. The way they did it gave every film equal weight: but time has exposed the duds. The “interview” bites with Barbra Streisand and Michael Douglas/Catherine Zeta-Jones actually worked, but they were dropped halfway through the show: it would have been better not introducing these at all, if they would just be in the first half (you know others were done but cut for time).

What we could have done without is the Jerry Seinfeld “Bee” from BEE MOVIE! Can we be finally be freed from this movie? It wasn’t even nominated for Best Animated Film: doesn’t this tell the Oscar producers something?

Jennifer Hudson’s appearance was a little startling in a way we all could have predicted last year: it was like oh yeah Jennifer Hudson has an Oscar, weird. Liked John Travolta’s entrance even if his hair is totally bizarre. Nominee Viggo Mortensen resembled Michael Douglas in KING OF CALIFORNIA. Katherine Heigl was a bundle of nerves. Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen’s Halle Berry/Judi Dench thing went on far too long and was barely amusing. BIZZAREST cutaway of the night: Cameron Diaz (for several seconds) during the Robert Boyle tribute.

Robert Boyle: nice speech and actually his extreme age didn’t really come off that badly, which I had feared. It was nice that he rattled off directors that he was honored to work with. This is EASILY the last hurrah for Mr. Hitchcock at the Oscars.

Winner Tilda Swinton’s paleness, particularly in a black dress, was disconcerting. Note to nominess: try to look AT LEAST as good as you did in the movie you’re up for. I will say this for Swinton though, when she was harassed on the red carpet about who she’d thank if she won (TRANSLATION: you have no chance), she declined to answer. And then Richard Roeper had the nerve to say that SHE didn’t think she’d win: no bonehead, she didn’t want to answer a question that ASSUMED she wouldn’t.

And now, the Coens. Yes, their speech(es) were cocky and mostly pointless. But, then again, it would have been worse if they suddenly weren’t themselves, just to please “Oscar.” So, I’ll just say I’m mixed on their acceptances.

Marion Cotillard is as cute as a button. I think she expected to be clapped off sooner, which is why the end of her speech got a little rambly and overdone. Still, she was genuinely overwhelmed and she was sweet. And her win was groundbreaking, since it was a foreign-language performance. The Oscars have slighted foreign-language performances more than any other “minority” through the years— they’re only just getting around to honoring them. I also liked Javier Bardem’s speech when he talked about (and to) his mother, and included a little Spanish.

Diablo Cody wisely stepped away from the mike when she began to cry at the end of her speech: it made for a heartfelt moment rather than a potentially awkward one.

Other funny Stewart bits: LAWRENCE OF ARABIA on the iphone, the Angelina Jolie “and the baby goes to” award, playing Wii tennis with young actress Jamia Simone Nash.

This was the best Oscars in recent history. Not very many AMAZING moments, but quietly classy.

80th Annual Academy Awards

What film title will be placed on the Hollywood/Highland Oscar Best Picture placard for 2007? Following the awards, see below for the full list of winners. Click here for the official Oscar ballot.

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN WINS BEST PICTURE, 4 OSCARS TOTAL

Complete List of Nominees and Winners:

BEST PICTURE
"Atonement"
"Juno"
"Michael Clayton"
"No Country for Old Men" (Winner)
"There Will Be Blood"

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"
Julie Christie, "Away From Her"
Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose"(Winner)
Laura Linney, "The Savages"
Ellen Page, "Juno"

BEST ACTOR
George Clooney, "Michael Clayton"
Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood"(Winner)
Johnny Depp, "Sweeney Todd"
Tommy Lee Jones, "In the Valley of Elah"
Viggo Mortensen, "Eastern Promises"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, "I'm Not There"
Ruby Dee, "American Gangster"
Saoirse Ronan, "Atonement"
Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"
Tilda Swinton, "Michael Clayton" (Winner)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Casey Affleck, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men"(Winner)
Hal Holbrook, "Into The Wild"
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Charlie Wilson's War"
Tom Wilkinson, "Michael Clayton"

BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood"
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men" (Winner)
Julian Schnabel, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"
Jason Reitman, "Juno"

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Diablo Cody, "Juno" (Winner)
Nancy Oliver, "Lars and the Real Girl"
Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"
Brad Bird, Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird, "Ratatouille"
Tamara Jenkins, "The Savages"

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood"
Christopher Hampton, "Atonement"
Ronald Harwood, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men"(Winner)
Sarah Polley, "Away From Her"

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"Beaufort" (Israel)
"The Counterfeiters" (Austria) (Winner)
"Katyn" (Poland)
"Mongol" (Kazakhstan)
"12" (Russia)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
"Persepolis"
"Ratatouille" (Winner)
"Surf's Up"

BEST ART DIRECTION
"American Gangster"
"Atonement"
"The Golden Compass"
"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (Winner)
"There Will Be Blood"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" Roger Deakins
"Atonement," Seamus Mcgarvey
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," Janusz Kaminski
"No Country For Old Men," Roger Deakins
"There Will Be Blood," Robert Elswit (Winner)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
"Across the Universe," Albert Wolsky
"Atonement," Jacqueline Durran
"Elizabeth: The Golden Age," Alexandra Byrne (Winner)
"La Vie En Rose," Marit Allen
"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street," Colleen Atwood

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
"No End in Sight"
"Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience"
"Sicko"
"Taxi to the Dark Side" (Winner)
"War/ Dance"

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
"Freeheld" (Winner)
"La Corona" ("The Crown")
"Salim Baba"
"Sari's Mother"

BEST FILM EDITING
"The Bourne Ultimatum," Christopher Rouse (Winner)
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," Juliette Welfling
"Into the Wild," Jay Cassidy
"No Country for Old Men," Roderick Jaynes
"There Will Be Blood," Dylan Tichenor

BEST MAKEUP
"La Vie en Rose" (Winner)
"Norbit"
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
"Atonement", Dario Marianelli (Winner)
"The Kite Runner", Alberto Iglesias
"Michael Clayton", James Newton Howard
"Ratatouille", Michael Giacchino
"3:10 to Yuma", Marco Beltrami

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Falling Slowly" from "Once" (Winner)
"Happy Working Song" from "Enchanted"
"Raise It Up" from "August Rush"
"So Close" from "Enchanted"
"That's How You Know" from "Enchanted"

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
"I Met the Walrus"
"Madame Tutli-Putli"
"Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)"
"My Love (Moya Lyubov)"
"Peter & the Wolf" (Winner)

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
"At Night"
"Il Supplente (The Substitute)"
"Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)" (Winner)
"Tanghi Argentini"
"The Tonto Woman"

BEST SOUND EDITING
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Winner)
"No Country For Old Men"
"Ratatouille"
"There Will Be Blood"
"Transformers"

BEST SOUND MIXING
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Winner)
"No Country For Old Men"
"Ratatouille"
"3:10 to Yuma"
"Transformers"

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
"The Golden Compass" (Winner)
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"
"Transformers"

Official winners list.

The Academy Preps for the 80th Oscars

So I was down to see the Academy's "Meet the Oscars" exhibit at Hollywood and Highland. I snapped some shots of the outside pre-set-up for this year's awards, in addition to the exhibit. They really didn't have that many "old" Oscars on display-- below is one of the old statuettes (note the marble base). I liked that they had Robert Boyle's Honorary Oscar (with nameplate) in a nice display with his photo, etc. Mostly you got to see the myriad of not-yet-labeled Oscars for this year plus they had some touch screens for Oscar trivia-- I did pretty well on these.

My Predictions: The 80th Annual Academy Awards

We're less than a week away from the big night. Here are my predictions for the winners in the big categories:

Best Picture: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Best Director: Joel and Ethan Coen for NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis for THERE WILL BE BLOOD
Best Actress: Since I posted this (yesterday) I've already changed my mind about Julie Christie and I'm gonna go with Ellen Page for JUNO (changed 2/19/08)!
Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem for NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Best Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett for I'M NOT THERE

I also think NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN not only gets the above three awards, but that it will sweep— an early sign will be if it takes Sound Editing and Sound Mixing away from TRANSFORMERS.

Ebert & Roeper: If We Picked the Winners... Online

Michael Phillips and Richard Roeper did the annual show as an online webisode. I won't reveal what they picked (especially since there are many surprises). I've seen 18/20 performances (I didn't see Tommy Lee Jones' performance in IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH or Cate Blanchett in ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE), in this record-breaking year of 18 films represented in the acting categories. I've seen all the Picture and Director nominees. And here are...

my picks:

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis in THERE WILL BE BLOOD
Best Actress: Julie Christie in AWAY FROM HER
Best Supporting Actor: Hal Holbrook in INTO THE WILD
Best Supporting Actress:Amy Ryan in GONE, BABY GONE
Best Director: Jason Reitman for JUNO
Best Picture: JUNO

Link to Ebert & Roeper webisode.

BAFTA Winners 2007

BAFTA AWARDS:

Best Film - Atonement

Best British Film - This Is England

The Carl Foreman Award - Matt Greenhalgh (Control)

Director - Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country For Old Men)

Best Original Screenplay - Juno

Best Adapted Screenplay - The Diving Bell And The Butterfly

Film Not in the English Language - The Lives Of Others

Best Animated Film - Ratatouille

Leading Actor - Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)

Leading Actress - Marion Cotillard (La Vie En Rose)

Supporting Actor - Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men)

Supporting Actress - Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton)

Music - La Vie En Rose

Cinematography - No Country For Old Men

Editing - The Bourne Ultimatum

Production Design - Atonement

Costume Design - La Vie En Rose

Sound - The Bourne Ultimatum

Special Visual Effects - The Golden Compass

Make Up & Hair - La Vie En Rose

Short Animation - The Pearce Sisters

Short Film - Dog Altogether

Orange Rising Star Award - Shia LaBeouf

Bafta Fellowship - Sir Anthony Hopkins

Link to BAFTA site's list of nominees and winners.

WGA Awards 2007 & London Film Critics Winners Announced

No surprises here... and a clear shot to the Oscar for JUNO and NO COUNTRY.

Original Screenplay: JUNO

Adapted screenplay: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

Documentary Screenplay: TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE

Link to complete list of winners.


London Film Critics Winners:

FILM OF THE YEAR
* No Country for Old Men
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
There Will Be Blood
Zodiac
The Bourne Ultimatum

ATTENBOROUGH AWARD FOR BRITISH FILM OF THE YEAR
Once
* Control
Atonement
Eastern Promises
This Is England

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
* The Lives of Others
Letters from Iwo Jima
Tell No One

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck — The Lives of Others
* Paul Thomas Anderson — There Will Be Blood
Joel and Ethan Coen — No Country for Old Men
David Fincher — Zodiac
Cristian Mungui — 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

BRITISH DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Anton Corbijn — Control
* Paul Greengrass — The Bourne Ultimatum
Shane Meadows — This Is England
Joe Wright — Atonement
Danny Boyle — Sunshine

ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Ulrich Mühe — The Lives of Others
Casey Affleck — The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
George Clooney — Michael Clayton
Tommy Lee Jones — In the Valley of Elah
* Daniel Day Lewis — There Will Be Blood

ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Laura Linney — The Savages
* Marion Cotillard — La Vie en Rose
Maggie Gyllenhaal — Sherrybaby
Angelina Jolie — A Mighty Heart
Anamaria Marinca — 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

BRITISH ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Sam Riley — Control
* James McAvoy — Atonement
Christian Bale — 3:10 to Yuma
Jim Broadbent — And When Did You Last See Your Father
Jonny Lee Miller — The Flying Scotsman

BRITISH ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Samantha Morton — Control
* Julie Christie — Away from Her
Keira Knightley — Atonement
Helena Bonham Carter — Sweeney Todd
Sienna Miller — Interview

BRITISH ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
* Tom Wilkinson — Michael Clayton
Toby Jones — The Painted Veil
Alfred Molina — The Hoax
Toby Kebell — Control
Albert Finney — Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead

BRITISH ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (tie)
Saoirse Ronan — Atonement
Imelda Staunton — Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Tilda Swinton — Michael Clayton
* Kelly Macdonald — No Country for Old Men
* Vanessa Redgrave — Atonement

SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR
* Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck — The Lives of Others
Joel and Ethan Coen — No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson — There Will Be Blood
Ronald Harwood — The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Christopher Hampton — Atonement

BRITISH BREAKTHROUGH — ACTING
Saoirse Ronan — Atonement
* Sam Riley — Control
Thomas Turgoose — This Is England
Benedict Cumberbatch — Amazing Grace
Dakota Blue Richards — The Golden Compass

BRITISH BREAKTHROUGH — FILMMAKING
John Carney, writer and director — Once
Sarah Gavron, director — Brick Lane
* Anton Corbijn, director — Control
Matt Greenhalgh, writer — Control
Stevan Riley, writer, director, producer — Blue Blood

DILYS POWELL AWARD: Julie Walters

PGA Awards 2007

The best feature film PGA award went to NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN— besting co-Oscar frontrunner THERE WILL BE BLOOD.


RATATOUILLE won best animated film. SICKO won best documentary film. (Could it win the Oscar over NO END IN SIGHT?)

Link to UPI story with full list of PGA winners.

SAG Awards 2007

The big surprise/upset was Ruby Dee's win in the supporting actress category-- nice for her (it's unlikely though that it will translate into an Oscar).

Here is the list of winners in the film categories (link to full list):

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (Miramax Films)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
DANIEL DAY-LEWIS / Daniel Plainview – There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
JULIE CHRISTIE / Fiona – Away From Her (Lionsgate)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
JAVIER BARDEM / Anton Chigurh – No Country For Old Men (Miramax Films)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
RUBY DEE / Mama Lucas – American Gangster (Universal Pictures)

DGA Awards 2007

As expected, Joel and Ethan Coen won the DGA award for NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN— they're that much closer to the Oscar. Barry Sonnenfeld was one of the TV winners (Comedy Series) for PUSHING DAISIES. Link to full list of DGA winners.

Oscar Nominations 2007: My Thoughts

It's been said for years that the movies that get the nominations are the ones that are released in the last month or so of the year, and generally I'd like to think that this ISN'T true— a really good movie or really good performance from the early part of the year will make it. However, this year I think a few films did get slighted because of just this: AMERICAN GANGSTER certainly, INTO THE WILD, maybe; and I think if A MIGHTY HEART and ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE's release dates were switched there would be a switch-up there as well (Jolie in, Blanchett out). And I wonder how ZODIAC would have fared if it were a December release? THERE WILL BE BLOOD definately benefited from a late release by getting the critical buzz necessary to launch it into serious Best Picture contention.

Here's my reactions to the nominations:

TOP TEN BIGGEST SHOCKS (NOMINEES)— Not necessarily 'cause I did or didn't like them, just surprising
1. Jason Reitman (Best Director: JUNO)
2. Tommy Lee Jones (Best Actor: IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH)
3. SURF'S UP (Best Animated Feature)
4. AWAY FROM HER (Best Adapted Screenplay)
5. ENCHANTED (Best Song: "Happy Working Song")
6. ENCHANTED (Best Song: "So Close")
7. MICHAEL CLAYTON (Best Picture)
8. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END (Best Visual Effects): thought this had run its course [no pun intended]
9. Laura Linney (Best Actress: THE SAVAGES)
10. ACROSS THE UNIVERSE (Best Costume Design)

TOP TEN BIGGEST SHOCKS (SHUT-OUTS)— Again, not necessarily 'cause I like or dislike them, just surprising
1. INTO THE WILD (Best Song)
2. CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR (Best Adapted Screenplay)
3. THERE WILL BE BLOOD (Best Score)
4. Tim Burton (Best Director: SWEENEY TODD)
5. Angelina Jolie (Best Actress: A MIGHTY HEART)
6. Sean Penn (Best Director: INTO THE WILD)
7. INTO THE WILD (Best Picture)
8. PERSEPOLIS (Best Foreign Language Film)
9. BEE MOVIE (Best Animated Feature)
10. Denzel Washington (Best Actor: AMERICAN GANGSTER)

TOP TEN MOST EXCITING NOMINATIONS (SOOO HAPPY THESE MADE IT)
1. AWAY FROM HER (Best Adapted Screenplay)
2. Julie Christie (Best Actress: AWAY FROM HER)
3. Marion Cotillard (Best Actress: LA VIE EN ROSE)
4. SICKO (Best Documentary)
5. RATATOUILLE (Best Original Screenplay)
6. Laura Linney (Best Actress: THE SAVAGES)
7. Daniel Day-Lewis (Best Actor: THERE WILL BE BLOOD)
8. Hal Holbrook (Best Supporting Actor: INTO THE WILD)
9. INTO THE WILD (Best Editing)
10. ONCE (Best Song)

TOP TEN BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS— WISH THEY HAD MADE IT (HAD A DEFINITE CHANCE AT A NOMINATION)
1. 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS (Best Foreign Language Film)
2. Sean Penn (Best Director: INTO THE WILD)
3. INTO THE WILD (Best Picture)
4. Jennifer Garner (Best Supporting Actress: JUNO)
5. Catherine Keener (Best Supporting Actress: INTO THE WILD)
6. Emile Hirsch (Best Actor: INTO THE WILD)
7. THE SIMPSONS MOVIE (Best Animated Feature)
8. 300 (Best Visual Effects)
9. THE DARJEELING LIMITED (Best Art Direction-Set Decoration)
10. THERE WILL BE BLOOD (Best Score)

TOP TEN BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS— WISH THEY HAD MADE IT (PERFECT WORLD NOMINATIONS)
1. THE KING OF KONG: A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS (Best Picture)
2. Anamaria Marinca (Best Actress: 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS)
3. Sarah Polley (Best Director: AWAY FROM HER)
4. Michael Cera (Best Supporting Actor: JUNO)
5. Cristian Mungiu (Best Director: 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS)
6. AWAY FROM HER (Best Picture)
7. 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS (Best Original Screenplay)
8. Ethan Hawke (Best Supporting Actor: BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD)
9. Olympia Dukakis (Best Supporting Actress: AWAY FROM HER)
10. THE DARJEELING LIMITED (Best Screenplay)

WISH THEY HADN'T BEEN NOMINATED: I just can't do it— I can't begrudge anyone an Oscar nomination. (But believe me I could think of some!)

THANK GOD IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!: John Travolta (Best Supporting Actor: HAIRSPRAY)

Referring back to my "ballot" (link to blog entry), here's my scorecard in terms of what I wished for (a poor showing, sad to say):

Best Picture (1/5): JUNO
Best Director (0/5!)
Best Actor (3/5): George Clooney, Daniel Day-Lewis, Viggo Mortensen
Best Actress (3/5): Julie Christie, Marion Cotillard, Laura Linney
Best Supporting Actor (1/5): Hal Holbrook
Best Supporting Actress (1/5): Amy Ryan
Best Original Screenplay (2/5): JUNO, RATATOUILLE
Best Adapted Screenplay (1/5): AWAY FROM HER

Other categories: INTO THE WILD (Best Editing), NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (Best Sound Editing), ONCE (Best Song), RATATOUILLE (Best Animated Film), SICKO (Best Documentary), SWEENEY TODD (Best Art Direction-Set Decoration), THERE WILL BE BLOOD (Cinematography).

Oscar Nominations 2007: Interesting Facts

• This year BREAKS A RECORD for most films garnering acting nominations: 18 films are represented in the acting categories— the most in any year in the entire 80-year history of the Academy Awards. Additionally, this is the first time since 1935 that only one movie got multiple nominations in acting (MICHAEL CLAYTON) [this happened several times in the early years: 1927-28 (0 crossover), 1928-29 (0 crossover), 1929-30 (0 crossover), 1931-32 (1 film), 1932-33 (0 crossover), 1934 (1 film), 1935 (1 film)].

• Cate Blanchett is the first person to be nominated for Best Actress twice for playing the same role (this has happened in Best Actor a few times). She is the 11th person to be nominated in lead and supporting categories in the same year.

• The Coen Brothers are only the third "duo" to be nominated for Best Director (the others were winners Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins for WEST SIDE STORY and nominees Warren Beatty and Buck Henry for HEAVEN CAN WAIT).

• ENCHANTED is only the fourth film to receive three nominations in the Best Song category (BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, THE LION KING, and DREAMGIRLS are the others).

• This is the first year since 1996 that an animated movie didn't get a Best Song nomination.

• This is the first year since 1992 that neither John Williams nor Thomas Newman were nominated for Best Score.

• Kevin O'Connell, Oscar's "biggest loser" after nineteen nominations and no wins, has garnered his 20th nomination for TRANSFORMERS.

Oscar Nominations 2007

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN and THERE WILL BE BLOOD tied for most nominations: Eight

Oscar Nominations (link):

Performance by an actor in a leading role
George Clooney in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)
Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Johnny Depp in “Sweeney Todd...” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Tommy Lee Jones in “In the Valley of Elah” (Warner Independent)
Viggo Mortensen in “Eastern Promises” (Focus Features)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Casey Affleck in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (Warner Bros.)
Javier Bardem in “No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Charlie Wilson’s War” (Universal)
Hal Holbrook in “Into the Wild” (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment)
Tom Wilkinson in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Cate Blanchett in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (Universal)
Julie Christie in “Away from Her” (Lionsgate)
Marion Cotillard in “La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse)
Laura Linney in “The Savages” (Fox Searchlight)
Ellen Page in “Juno” (Fox Searchlight)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Cate Blanchett in “I’m Not There” (The Weinstein Company)
Ruby Dee in “American Gangster” (Universal)
Saoirse Ronan in “Atonement” (Focus Features)
Amy Ryan in “Gone Baby Gone” (Miramax)
Tilda Swinton in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)

Best animated feature film of the year
“Persepolis” (Sony Pictures Classics) Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Brad Bird
“Surf's Up” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Ash Brannon and Chris Buck

Achievement in art direction
“American Gangster” (Universal): Art Direction: Arthur Max; Set Decoration: Beth A. Rubino
“Atonement” (Focus Features): Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
“The Golden Compass” (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners): Art Direction: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount): Art Direction: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Art Direction: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson

Achievement in cinematography
“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (Warner Bros.): Roger Deakins
“Atonement” (Focus Features): Seamus McGarvey
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn): Janusz Kaminski
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Roger Deakins
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Robert Elswit

Achievement in costume design
“Across the Universe” (Sony Pictures Releasing): Albert Wolsky
“Atonement” (Focus Features): Jacqueline Durran
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (Universal): Alexandra Byrne
“La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse): Marit Allen
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount): Colleen Atwood

Achievement in directing
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn) Julian Schnabel
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight) Jason Reitman
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.) Tony Gilroy
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Paul Thomas Anderson

Best documentary feature
“No End in Sight” (Magnolia Pictures): A Representational Pictures Production: Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
“Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience” (The Documentary Group): A Documentary Group Production : Richard E. Robbins
“Sicko” (Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company): A Dog Eat Dog Films Production: Michael Moore and Meghan O’Hara
“Taxi to the Dark Side” (THINKFilm): An X-Ray Production: Alex Gibney and Eva Orner
“War/Dance” (THINKFilm): A Shine Global and Fine Films Production: Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine

Best documentary short subject
“Freeheld”: A Lieutenant Films Production: Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth
“La Corona (The Crown)”: A Runaway Films and Vega Films Production: Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega
“Salim Baba”: A Ropa Vieja Films and Paradox Smoke Production: Tim Sternberg and Francisco Bello
“Sari’s Mother” (Cinema Guild): A Daylight Factory Production: James Longley

Achievement in film editing
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal) Christopher Rouse
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn) Juliette Welfling
“Into the Wild” (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment) Jay Cassidy
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Roderick Jaynes
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Dylan Tichenor

Best foreign language film of the year
“Beaufort” A Metro Communications, Movie Plus Production
Israel
“The Counterfeiters” An Aichholzer Filmproduktion, Magnolia Filmproduktion Production
Austria
“Katyń” An Akson Studio Production
Poland
“Mongol” A Eurasia Film Production
Kazakhstan
“12” A Three T Production
Russia

Achievement in makeup
“La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse) Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald
“Norbit” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount) Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (Walt Disney) Ve Neill and Martin Samuel

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Dario Marianelli
“The Kite Runner” (DreamWorks, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Participant Productions: Distributed by Paramount Classics) Alberto Iglesias
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.) James Newton Howard
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino
“3:10 to Yuma” (Lionsgate) Marco Beltrami

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“Falling Slowly” from “Once” (Fox Searchlight): Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
Happy Working Song” from “Enchanted” (Walt Disney) : Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
“Raise It Up” from “August Rush” (Warner Bros.): Nominees to be determined
“So Close” from “Enchanted” (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
“That’s How You Know” from “Enchanted” (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz

Best motion picture of the year
“Atonement” (Focus Features) : A Working Title Production ; Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Paul Webster, Producers
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight): A Dancing Elk Pictures, LLC Production; Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick and Russell Smith, Producers
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.): A Clayton Productions, LLC Production; Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox and Kerry Orent, Producers
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): A Scott Rudin/Mike Zoss Production; Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): A JoAnne Sellar/Ghoulardi Film Company Production; JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Lupi, Producers

Best animated short film
“I Met the Walrus” : A Kids & Explosions Production: Josh Raskin
“Madame Tutli-Putli” (National Film Board of Canada): A National Film Board of Canada Production; Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski
“Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)” (Premium Films): A BUF Compagnie Production: Samuel Tourneux and Simon Vanesse
“My Love (Moya Lyubov)” (Channel One Russia): A Dago-Film Studio, Channel One Russia and Dentsu Tec Production
Alexander Petrov
“Peter & the Wolf” (BreakThru Films): A BreakThru Films/Se-ma-for Studios Production: Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman

Best live action short film
“At Night”: A Zentropa Entertainments 10 Production: Christian E. Christiansen and Louise Vesth
“Il Supplente (The Substitute)” (Sky Cinema Italia): A Frame by Frame Italia Production: Andrea Jublin
“Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)” (Premium Films): A Karé Production
Philippe Pollet-Villard
“Tanghi Argentini” (Premium Films): An Another Dimension of an Idea Production; Guido Thys and Anja Daelemans
“The Tonto Woman” : A Knucklehead, Little Mo and Rose Hackney Barber Production; Daniel Barber and Matthew Brown

Achievement in sound editing
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal): Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Skip Lievsay
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney): Randy Thom and Michael Silvers
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Matthew Wood
“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro): Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins

Achievement in sound mixing
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal): Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney): Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane
“3:10 to Yuma” (Lionsgate): Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe
“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro) : Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin

Achievement in visual effects
“The Golden Compass” (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners): Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (Walt Disney): John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier
“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro): Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier

Adapted screenplay
“Atonement” (Focus Features): Screenplay by Christopher Hampton
“Away from Her” (Lionsgate): Written by Sarah Polley
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn): Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson

Original screenplay
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight): Written by Diablo Cody
“Lars and the Real Girl” (MGM) : Written by Nancy Oliver
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.): Written by Tony Gilroy
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney): Screenplay by Brad Bird; Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird
“The Savages” (Fox Searchlight) : Written by Tamara Jenkins

What Film Will Get the Most Oscar Nominations?

Tomorrow morning at 5:38:30 AM PST, the Oscar nominations will be announced. What is your guess for the film that will get the most nominations? Last year it was DREAMGIRLS-- any easy pick (and which managed the feat without being nominated for Best Picture).

Here are the possible choices for this year:

ATONEMENT: It'll clean-up in the Art Direction, Costume Design-type nods; however, it might get completely shut out of the acting nods (but has a chance at four). It received the most Golden Globe nominations.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD: Shoo-in for two acting noms (Day-Lewis, Dano) and all the technical stuff (Editing, Sound Mixing, etc.), plus Cinematography and Score.

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN: Least likely of the probably Best Picture nominees for most nominations since only Javier Bardem has acting buzz and the absense of a Score nomination will hurt it in the final count.

INTO THE WILD: Again, just one acting nomination is predicted (Hal Holbrook), but it could score two Best Song nominations. Unfortunately, it might not get nominated for Best Picture.

JUNO: Ellen Page and maybe Jennifer Garner will make the acting nominations; but less likely in such categories as Costume Design and Editing.

SWEENEY TODD: Might get complete acting shut-out: Depp is the only one really in the running anyhow.

Well, it seems like ATONEMENT is the one but I'm going to put my money on dark horse INTO THE WILD to score the most nominations: maybe Catherine Keener and Emile Hirsch will make the list and a Best Picture nomination could put it over the top.

Top 250 Films of the 21st Century

Every January, the website THEY SHOOT PICTURES, DON'T THEY? re-issues their "top films of the 21st century" list to incorporate the films from the previous year. This is an interesting list to look at, particularly in light of what manages to "stay" on it: the future VERTIGOs and KANEs. Still #1 is Wong Kar-wai's IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE (photo left).


Here is a list of the 2007 additions (and link to the entire list):

17. THERE WILL BE BLOOD
21. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
25. ZODIAC
51. I'M NOT THERE
52. 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS
65. THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES...
111. EASTERN PROMISES
128. ONCE
154. THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY
156. INTO THE WILD
165. PERSEPOLIS
177. RATATOUILLE
188. ATONEMENT
190. AWAY FROM HER
192. BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD
221. MICHAEL CLAYTON
235. THE DARJEELING LIMITED
236. THE SAVAGES

Oscar Poster Uses Trajan!

AMPAS has released the poster design for the 80th Annual Academy Awards. It's a little sad the poster employs the Trajan font which has lately been outed as the most overused and cliche font choice for movie posters/trailers. See links below for some funny takes on Trajan!

Check out the Goodie bag episode: TRAJAN IS THE MOVIE FONT: link

And funny short, ETCHED IN STONE, about the font in movie posters: link

BAFTA and Iowa Film Critics Assn. Announcements

That's an odd duo— but these two groups both announced their picks today.

BAFTA Film Noms, main categopries (and link to full list):

FILM
AMERICAN GANGSTER – Brian Grazer/Ridley Scott
ATONEMENT – Tim Bevan/Eric Fellner/Paul Webster
THE LIVES OF OTHERS – Quirin Berg/Max Wiedemann
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN – Scott Rudin/Joel Coen/Ethan Coen
THERE WILL BE BLOOD – JoAnne Sellar/Paul Thomas Anderson/Daniel Lupi

BEST BRITISH FILM
ATONEMENT – Tim Bevan/Eric Fellner/Paul Webster/Joe Wright/Christopher Hampton
THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM – Frank Marshall/Patrick Crowley/Paul L Sandberg/Paul Greengrass/Tony Gilroy/Scott Z Burns/George Nolfi
CONTROL – Orian Williams/ Todd Eckert/Anton Corbijn/Matt Greenhalgh
EASTERN PROMISES – Paul Webster/Robert Lantos/David Cronenberg/Steve Knight
THIS IS ENGLAND – Mark Herbert/Shane Meadows

THE CARL FOREMAN AWARD for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer in their First Feature Film
CHRIS ATKINS (Director/Writer) – Taking Liberties
MIA BAYS (Producer) – Scott Walker: 30 Century Man
SARAH GAVRON (Director) – Brick Lane
MATT GREENHALGH (Writer) – Control
ANDREW PIDDINGTON (Director/Writer) – The Killing of John Lennon

DIRECTOR
ATONEMENT – Joe Wright
THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM – Paul Greengrass
THE LIVES OF OTHERS – Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN – Joel Coen/Ethan Coen
THERE WILL BE BLOOD – Paul Thomas Anderson

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
AMERICAN GANGSTER – Steven Zaillian
JUNO – Diablo Cody
THE LIVES OF OTHERS – Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
MICHAEL CLAYTON – Tony Gilroy
THIS IS ENGLAND – Shane Meadows

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
ATONEMENT – Christopher Hampton
THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY – Ronald Harwood
THE KITE RUNNER – David Benioff
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN – Joel Coen/Ethan Coen
THERE WILL BE BLOOD – Paul Thomas Anderson

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
nominations announced on Friday 4 January
THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY – Kathleen Kennedy/Jon Kilik/Julian Schnabel
THE KITE RUNNER – William Horberg/Walter Parkes/Rebecca Yeldham/Marc Foster
THE LIVES OF OTHERS – Quirin Berg/Max Wiedemann/Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
LUST, CAUTION – Bill Kong/James Schamus/Ang Lee
LA VIE EN ROSE – Alain Goldman/Olivier Dahan

ANIMATED FILM
RATATOUILLE – Brad Bird
SHREK THE THIRD – Chris Miller
THE SIMPSONS MOVIE – Matt Groening/James L Brooks

LEADING ACTOR
GEORGE CLOONEY – Michael Clayton
DANIEL DAY-LEWIS – There Will Be Blood
JAMES McAVOY – Atonement
VIGGO MORTENSEN – Eastern Promises
ULRICH MÜHE – The Lives of Others

LEADING ACTRESS
CATE BLANCHETT – Elizabeth: The Golden Age
JULIE CHRISTIE – Away From Her
MARION COTILLARD – La Vie en Rose
KEIRA KNIGHTLEY – Atonement
ELLEN PAGE – Juno

SUPPORTING ACTOR
JAVIER BARDEM – No Country for Old Men
PAUL DANO – There Will Be Blood
TOMMY LEE JONES – No Country for Old Men
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN – Charlie Wilson’s War
TOM WILKINSON – Michael Clayton

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
CATE BLANCHETT – I’m Not There
KELLY MACDONALD – No Country for Old Men
SAMANTHA MORTON – Control
SAOIRSE RONAN – Atonement
TILDA SWINTON – Michael Clayton

Iowa Film Critics Association Picks:

Best Film: No Country for Old Men by Joel and Ethan Coen

Best Director: Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men

Best Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Savages, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, Charlie Wilson’s War

Best Actress: Julie Christie, Away From Her

Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men

Best Supporting Actress: Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone

Best Animated Film: Ratatouille by Brad Bird

Best Film Yet to Open in Iowa: There Will Be Blood by Paul Thomas Anderson