As sort of presumed, the John Hawkes/Helen Hunt-starring, man-in-an-iron-lung-virginity-losing, awards-ready indie drama The Surrogate made an impressive market showing Monday following its Sundance premiere, selling for $6 million — more than twice the figure noted in last week’s festival bidding-war preview — to Fox Searchlight. Not bad! The studio also has all but closed a deal on director Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild ; drop back by for more coverage of each from Sundance and, for The Surrogate in particular, from next year’s awards season. Ahem. [ Deadline ]
Or some other lukewarm cling-monkey: “If I were feeling less generous and more cynical on this holiest of all Oscar-calendar mornings , I might say that to decipher this year’s Academy Awards contest, we need only look for inspiration to the GOP presidential race. The Artist is Mitt Romney — desperate to please, doesn’t stand for anything in particular, not especially popular with the general public, will eventually keep most of its money offshore, and, though dinged up and trash-talked, will probably cross the finish line first by default. The Descendants is Newt Gingrich (emotionally unsteady, hard on wives, doing better than expected, but probably can’t go all the way). Hugo is Rick Santorum (a little slow, doesn’t really like anything that changed in the culture in the last 80 years). And The Tree of Life is Jon Huntsman (believes in evolution, probably a little too classy for this field).” [ Grantland ]
Julie Menin (Photo: Facebook) Julie Menin, a candidate for Manhattan Borough President who has served as Chair of Lower Manhattan’s community board since 2005, cited Lower Manhattan’s post-9/11 revival when asked for her pitch to voters. “Well, I think it’s important to have people who have a strong track record of results and strong leadership, particularly in very tough economic times,” she began… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : The Politicker Discovery Date : 24/01/2012 03:36 Number of articles : 2
It’s always great to see stuff of the movies being recreated in real life, and a developer recently managed to recreate a system similar to the touchscreen computer used in Minority Report, albeit a lot less flashier. He accomplished this using a Samsung Galaxy Nexus Android smartphone, a Microsoft Kinect , a computer and a projector. A specially compiled Android ROM allowed his phone to talk to his… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : übergizmo Discovery Date : 24/01/2012 04:15 Number of articles : 3
George Clooney and BFF Brad Pitt to face off in Best Actor category. By Gil Kaufman Asa Butterfield in “Hugo” Photo: Paramount Pictures A silent picture, a baseball flick, a horse tale, a 3-D children’s movie for grown-ups, a infidelity family drama, an ode to classic cinema and a film that tackles race relations against the backdrop of the 1960’s civil right movement. The nominations for Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards read like a travelogue of the history of film. The names of the nominees for the 84th annual Academy Awards , hosted by Billy Crystal, were announced on Tuesday (January 24) morning and in addition to a lot of the expected vote-getters, a few dark horses emerged from the pack, which was led by Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” with 11 nods, followed by the acclaimed silent film “The Artist” with 10. For photos of all the Oscar nominees, click here. The Best Picture race will be a dogfight between one of the year’s most lauded films, the French silent movie “The Artist,” director Alexander Payne’s family drama “The Descendants,” the inspiring tale of “The Help,” Scorsese’s 3-D children’s film/ode to his love of the movies, “Hugo” and one of Woody Allen’s most box-office friendly flick in years, “Midnight in Paris.” Also making the list was the Brad Pitt baseball drama “Moneyball,” as well as Steven Spielberg’s “War Horse,” reclusive director Terrence Malick’s existential “The Tree of Life” and “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.” The bids for “The Artist” mark the first time in nearly 80 years that a black-and-white silent film is the leading contender to take the Best Picture award. The Oscars will air live on February 26 from the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. Golden Globe winner George Clooney and his pal Pitt will vie for the Best Actor award for their work, respectively, in “The Descendants” and “Moneyball.” They will need to overcome a strong bid from Jean Dujardin in “The Artist,” as well as Gary Oldman in the drama “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.” Also in the mix is the surprise vote for Mexican actor Demian Bichir, who was praised for his work in “A Better Life” as a gardener in East L.A. intent on keeping his son out of a local gang. It’s a mix of the usual suspects and some new names in the Best Actress category, with 16-time nominee Meryl Streep leading the list for her take on Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron lady,” Viola Davis earning major kudos for her work as a sweet-natured maid in “The Help,” Michelle Williams getting a nod for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in “My Week With Marilyn” and first -time nominee Rooney Mara for her goth punk blitzkrieg in “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.” Glenn Close was also honored for her gender-bending turn in “Albert Nobbs.” Best Director will pit three legends — Scorsese, Allen and Malick — against Payne and a rising star in against Payne Michel Hazanavicius for “The Artist.” The Best Supporting Actor category features Kenneth Branagh (“My Week with Marilyn”), Johan Hill (“Moneyball”), Nick Nolte (“Warrior”) Christopher Plummer (“Beginners”) and Max Von Sydow (“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”). In the Best Supporting Actress race, Octavia Spencer (“The Help”), will take on “Janet McTeer (“Albert Nobbs”), Melissa McCarthy (“Bridesmaids”), Jessica Chastain (“The Help” and Berenice Bejo (“The Artist”). Break-out “Saturday Night Live” star Kristen Wiig and her writing partner Annie Mumulo were honored with a Best Original Screenplay bid for their explosively funny “Bridesmaids” script, along with Allen for “Midnight in Paris,” Hazanavicius for “The Artist,” Asghar Farhadi for “A Separation” and J.C. Chandor for “Margin Call.” The Animated Feature battle will feature such popcorn pleasers as “Kung Fu Panda 2” going up against “Puss in Boots” and “Rango” as well as two lesser-known movies, “A Cat in Paris” and “Chico & Rita.” Related Videos Oscars 2012: And The Nominees Are… Related Photos 2012 Oscar Nominees
Viola Davis, Meryl Streep and Michelle Williams should continue their streak of awards-season love at Tuesday’s announcement. By Kara Warner Michelle Williams in “My Week With Marilyn” Photo: The Weinstein Company After a fun-filled start to the 2012 awards season with the People’s Choice Awards , Critics’ Choice Movie Awards and Golden Globes , the nominations announcement for the 64th annual Academy Awards are upon us. Before Tuesday morning’s reveal, we’re making a few predictions about which lucky leading ladies will get the good news. Here are our predictions for the nominees in the Best Actress category: Viola Davis : Davis has been a shoo-in for awards-season love since early August, when audiences first experienced her critically acclaimed performance in “The Help.” Davis has already won a Critics’ Choice Movie Award and received a Globe nomination for her portrayal of sweet-natured maid Aibileen Clark; the Oscar nomination is next. Meryl Streep : At this point in her illustrious career, it’s basically a given that any year Streep makes an appearance in a film, she will be nominated. As the most-nominated actor in history, Streep has 16 Oscar nods under her belt, along with two wins, plus 26 Golden Globe nominations and eight wins — including this year’s Globe for Best Actress in a Drama. And although the reviews of her film, “The Iron Lady,” have been mixed, the praise for her performance is expectedly high. Michelle Williams : Not many of those who first met Williams via her work on teen soap “Dawson’s Creek” would have predicted that she would become one of the most talented, respected and critically acclaimed actresses of her generation, and yet, here we are. Following last year’s nominations haul for her work in “Blue Valentine,” the recent Globe winner should expect to hear her name called tomorrow. Tilda Swinton : The nominating body within the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is just as likely to recognize performances in films with mass audience appeal and success as it is to single out performers in films that push boundaries and step outside the box. Tilda Swinton is an actress who has done just that in several films, the most recent being the harrowing drama “We Need to Talk About Kevin,” for which she will surely land an Oscar nomination. Rooney Mara or Charlize Theron : Singling out a fifth nominee is a tough call given the number of strong performances by leading ladies this year. It’s a toss-up between Oscar winner Charlize Theron’s performance in the dark comedy “Young Adult” and Rooney Mara’s bold, buzz-worthy transformation into Lisbeth Salander in David Fincher’s “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.” Winner : Viola Davis. The woman is due; just check out her r
Former ‘Dawson’s Creek’ co-star says at Sundance that ‘My Week With Marilyn’ actress ‘had the clearest idea about what she wanted to do.’ By Josh Wigler, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Michelle Williams Photo: Jeff Vespa/ WireImage PARK CITY, Utah — A lot has changed since the days of “Dawson’s Creek.” Joshua Jackson is off fighting a war between parallel universes on “Fringe.” Katie Holmes is busy trying to get her husband down from that stupid couch. James Van Der Beek is … somewhere. But perhaps the most impressive arc of the old “Dawson’s” gang belongs to Michelle Williams. Since wrapping up her role as troubled teen Jen Lindley on the WB series, Williams has racked up two Academy Award nominations, for “Brokeback Mountain” and “Blue Valentine.” Very soon, she could be looking at her third, as many onlookers consider her a lock for a Best Actress nod for her work in “My Week With Marilyn,” a role for which she’s already won a Golden Globe. Though her days on the “Creek” are long behind her, Williams’ work has not gone unnoticed by her former co-stars. MTV News spoke with “Lay the Favorite” star Jackson at the Sundance Film Festival, where he expressed his joy in seeing his old friend’s success in the awards circuit. “It’s surreal in that it would be surreal to see any of your friends [up for an Oscar],” he said. “It’s amazing. She’s an excellent actress.” Still, Jackson doesn’t sound surprised by Williams’ continued awards buzz. “Of all of us, when we finished that show, she was the one who had the clearest idea about what it was that she wanted to do,” he said. “To be able to go out and achieve that is no small feat. I just think it’s wonderful.” That said, Jackson joked that Williams must be getting a bit tired of all the attention from Oscar voters: “You think she would be bored of it by now. She has to do a guns and explosions movie. ‘Come on! Enough! Quit giving me these awards!’ ” The 2012 Sundance Film Festival is officially under way, and the MTV Movies team is on the ground reporting on the hottest stars and the movies everyone will be talking about in the year to come. Keep it locked with MTV Movies for everything there is to know about Sundance. Related Videos Sundance 2012: Interviews From Park City
Here is a trailer for Jeff Who Lives at Home , which tells the very unusual story of sibling men-children (Jason Segel and Ed Helms) dealing with crises of various import. Epiphanies are had, edgy humor is achieved, Porsches are wrecked. Susan Sarandon cries and enjoys the cathartic eruption of office fire sprinklers. Some kids sing cheerily over the closing credits. It opens March 16. What did I miss?
October Films co-founder and San Francisco Film Society executive director died near the Sundance Film Festival. By Josh Wigler Bingham Ray Photo: Arun Nevader/WireImage PARK CITY, Utah — Bingham Ray, a champion of independent filmmaking, died on Monday (January 23) near Park City, Utah, the Sundance Institute has announced. Ray, 57, was the co-founder of October Films and the executive director of the San Francisco Film Society. He suffered a stroke during the Sundance Film Festival last week and was initially hospitalized in Park City. Following a second stroke, Ray was transferred to Provo, where he later died. “It is with great sadness that the Sundance Institute acknowledges the passing of Bingham Ray, cherished independent film executive and most recently Executive Director of the San Francisco Film Society,” reads a statement posted on Deadline . “On behalf of the independent film community in Park City for the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and elsewhere, we offer our support and condolences to his family. Bingham’s many contributions to this community and business are indelible, and his legacy will not be soon forgotten.” “The board of directors and staff of the Film Society are stunned and deeply saddened by the untimely death of our executive director Bingham Ray,” said Pat McBaine, board president of the San Francisco Film Society. “We at the Film Society and the entire film community have lost far too early an energetic and visionary impact player who has helped shape the independent film industry for decades in so many important and valuable ways.” Ray is perhaps best known as the co-founder of October Films, the 1990s-era independent film production company and distributor responsible for movies such as “Secrets and Lies,” “Lost Highway” and “Cherry Falls.” October was later acquired by Universal Pictures and renamed USA Films, which itself became the basis of Focus Features, Universal’s art house arm that counts “In Bruges” and “Milk” among its many credits. The San Francisco Film Society named Ray as executive director in November 2011 after the death of the SFFS’ director Graham Leggat this past August. Share your condolences with Bingham Ray’s friends and family in the comments below.
