Prognosticators have maybe five (or even as few as two) possible Oscar winners, and most lists of ten (or so) have many of the same titles though perhaps in various orders. But folks, the nominations have yet to come in and the Academy made that clear today with its list of 282 feature films for 2012 that are eligible for Best Picture. [ Related: Oscar Index: ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ Caught In The Cross-Hairs ] Rules are rules and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences officially considers a feature film that played in a commercial motion picture theater in Los Angeles County by midnight, December 31 and begin a minimum seven consecutive day run. [ Related: Golden Globes Unveil 70th Edition Nominees ] Under Academy rules, a feature-length motion picture must have a running time of more than 40 minutes and must have been exhibited theatrically on 35mm or 70mm film, or in a qualifying digital format. Feature films that receive their first public exhibition or distribution in any manner other than as a theatrical motion picture release are not eligible for Academy Awards in any category. Diary of a Wimpy Kid Dog Days to Django Unchained ; The First Time to Flight ; Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted to Magic Mike ; 17 Girls to The Sessions … They’re all on the official list , so don’t count out the non-elite not making Awards headlines. The 85th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 10, 2013, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Sunday, February 24, 2013
Hugh Grant must be a talented actor because when he’s simply being himself, he comes off as a serious a-hole. The source? None other than Jon Stewart , the anchor of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, for my money, a more trusted news source than CNN. The website Third Beat is reporting comments that Stewart made on Friday while being interviewed by his Comedy Central colleague Stephen Colbert at a fundraiser for the Montclair Film Festival in New Jersey. During this candid chat, Stewart revealed that his least favorite guest of all time is Grant, who apparently has not been on the show since 2009 thanks to his hostile off-camera behavior. And Stewart vowed to “never” have him on again. A clip of that appearance which ET.com posted is below (via Comedy Central), and what’s remarkable is that on-camera, Grant comes off like the smug-but-charming rake that he often plays in movies (and the Murdoch phone-hacking scandal). He needles Stewart, but the interplay seems good natured. The situation was much more unpleasant behind the scenes, however. Although Stewart explained that Daily Show producers have dealt with “dictators on the show,” Grant was “giving everyone shit the whole time, and he’s a big pain in the ass.” The actor, who was appearing on the show to promote his film with Sarah Jessica Parker , Did You Hear About the Morgans? also angrily complained about the film clip that played during his segment, despite the fact that it had been supplied by the film’s publicist. Stewart told Colbert that Grant groused, “What is that clip? It’s a terrible clip.” It’s unclear whether Stewart said the following directly to Grant or as an aside to Colbert, but the Daily Show anchor’s response was, “Well, then make a better fucking movie.” Reps for Stewart and Grant did not respond by post time. [ Third Beat , ET.com ] Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
The Sundance Film Festival added four more films to its 2013 slate, including titles in its genre-heavy Park City at Midnight, Documentary Premieres and New Frontier sections. It also will feature director Robert Rodriguez ‘s El Mariachi in its “From the Collection” sidebar. [ Related: Sundance Film Festival Reveals 2013 U.S. & World Competition Slate ] With the additions, the 2013 Sundance Film Festival currently rounds out with 119 feature-length films, from 32 countries and 51 first-time filmmakers, including 27 in competition. The final 119 were selected from 12,146 submissions (429 more than for 2012), including 4,044 feature-length films and 8,102 short films. 103 feature films at the Festival will be world premieres. [ Related: Sundance Film Festival Unveils Star-Studded Premieres & Documentary Premieres Lineup ] Commented Sundance Film Festival director John Cooper in a statement: “With the addition of these four films, the 2013 Sundance Film Festival will present an even more well rounded program of independent films. Each adds to the Festival in exciting, challenging and entertaining ways.” [ Related: Sundance 2013 Sets New Matthew McConaughey, James Franco Films & Midnight Pics ] Four additional films follow with information provided by Sundance: PARK CITY AT MIDNIGHT Magic Magic / U.S.A., Chile (Director and screenwriter: Sebastián Silva) — An American girl vacationing in remote Chile mentally unravels, putting herself and those around her in danger. Cast: Michael Cera, Juno Temple, Emily Browning, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Augustín Silva. World Premiere DOCUMENTARY PREMIERES Muscle Shoals / U.S.A. (Director: Greg ‘Freddy’ Camalier) — Down in Alabama Rick Hall founded FAME Studios and gave birth to the Muscle Shoals sound. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Gregg Allman, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Alicia Keys, Bono and others bear witness to the greatest untold American music story. World Premiere NEW FRONTIER (Film) Wrong Cops / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Quentin Dupieux) — Imagine a Los Angeles where crime is so low that a bored cop sells drugs and harasses a teenager to pass the time. Shot in standalone chapters, as it is being financed, screened and released, watch the 45 minutes of crazy. Cast: Mark Burnham, Marilyn Manson, Steve Little, Eric Wareheim. FROM THE COLLECTION El Mariachi / U.S.A. (Director: Robert Rodriguez, Screenwriters: Carlos Gallardo, Robert Rodriguez) — A mariachi musician arrives in a Mexican border town at the same time as a hit man. Each carries a guitar case, but the mariachi’s contains his beloved instrument, while the hit man’s is full of gadgets and weapons. Cast: Carlos Gallardo, Consuelo Gomez, Jaime De Hoyos, Peter Marquardt, Reinol Martinez. El Mariachi premiered at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival. A newly struck preservation print of El Mariachi, created by Sony Pictures Entertainment to commemorate the film’s 20th anniversary, will screen on Saturday, January 19 at the Egyptian Theatre in Park City. Director Robert Rodriguez is expected to introduce the film and participate in the Q&A.
Why yes, there are musical numbers in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey , which hurtles into theaters this week. Alas, none of them are eligible for the Oscars’ Best Song category, though I’d love to see Richard Armitage, AKA Thorin Oakenshield, face off against Katy Perry and Adele on that Academy Awards stage. Listen to Thorin and his not-so-merry band of dwarves prepare for peril with a solemn ditty in a clip from The Hobbit . Verdict : It’s no “Bilbo Baggins,” but then again, what is? [via TheOneRing.net ]
By now you know that the list of songs eligible to be nominated for Best Original Song at the 85th Academy Awards is kind of mind-blowing. Not so mind-blowing is the generally risk-averse bent of the average Academy voter, which is why we should probably just send congratulations now to Brave , Les Miserables , and Adele , resting easy one of them will actually be the right recipient. But maybe not! Yeah, we all agree that Skyfall is the best thing to happen to our ears since the invention of the lobe massage, but does the winner have to be that obvious? Every now and then something crazy slips through the filter, like Elliot Smith in 1998, or Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova ten years later. Really, there’s so much about the list that is pure, wonderful bonkersness and they would all shake things up more than accidentally slurring a huge chunk of your audience and getting fired from Oscars-production duties. If we had our way, one of these cuts below would send its songwriter home with a clunky golden statue. * “Casa De Mi Padre” from Casa De Mi Padre ! Dios mio! The title track from the criminally underrated Will Ferrell comedy accurately nails tone of 1970s theme songs, a perfect fit for the film’s lightly mocking telenovella/grindhouse vibe. The only problem is that the other two songs from Casa that made this list, ‘Del Cielo’ and ‘Yo No Se’, are just as good. Let’s just make a mashup and get them all through. * “100 Black Coffins” from Django Unchained We don’t know why Rick Ross wants a honey baked muffin so much, or what that has to do with the title of this song (Kidding! Now try not hearing “I want a honey baked muffin” whenever you listen to the song), but this track from Django Unchained accomplishes the unlikely task of making Mr. Ross’ rapping bearable, (production and beats by Jamie Foxx help.) It would be awesome if the Teflon Don manages to win the same number of Oscars as Martin Scorsese, just like Three Six Mafia back in 2006. * “Ladies of Tampa” from Magic Mike Thank you, Magic Mike for making it possible for the world to once again rejoice in the sleazy musk that exudes from Matthew McConaughey like light from the tarnished halo of a fallen angel. This creepy ballad from late in the film should be required listening for anyone wondering if they have what it takes to strip for a living. You don’t. Period. McConaughey has that shit covered for life, as proven by this obviously Oscar-caliber track. * “Razors Out” from The Raid I hate myself for loving this song, because it kind of drips with over-processed drums and emo singing and oh god no it’s written by Linkin Park frontman Mike Shinoda. But then I remember that it’s really put to amazing use in The Raid , and since The Raid isn’t likely to get noticed even though it should be your current favorite movie , this song’s worthiness for the Oscar is self evident. So please, Academy voters, please let Sony Pictures Classics and Stage 6 Films slap a “nominated for an Academy Award” sticker on the The Raid Blu-ray. “The Baddest Man Alive” from The Man With The Iron Fists The Rza ‘s directoral debut might have suffered from being cut to shreds in the editing process, but the soundtrack is everything that makes us still weak in the knees at the thought of a Wu-Tang Clan reunion. Thus, “The Baddest Man Alive” is also the baddest track on this list. An Oscar nomination for this instant classic won’t make up for the death of Ol’ Dirty Bastard, but it definitely makes up for a Crash Best Picture win. RELATED: Oscars Name Rick Ross, Katy Perry & ‘Ladies Of Tampa’ Tracks Eligible For Best Song Do you have your own dark horse favorites from the Best Song contenders list? Leave ’em in the comments. Ross Lincoln is a LA-based freelance writer from Oklahoma with an unhealthy obsession with comics, movies, video games, ancient history, Gore Vidal, and wine. Follow him on twitter (@rossalincoln). Follow Movieline on Twitter .
The camps are entrenched, the battle lines drawn, and the barbs and quips are flying like cannon shot across the divide. But as the debate rages on Movieline and on other sites across the web over Peter Jackson ‘s directorial decision to film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in 48 frames per second , as opposed to the more traditional 24, no single quip seems to draw the ire of the “traditionalists” more than this one, aimed square in the chest of the old timers: Resisting 48 frames is like resisting color. As if an argument over aesthetic choice could be so absurdly reduced. Right, four time Academy Award winning legendary SFX master and Hobbit visual effects supervisor, Joe Letteri? “If you grew up seeing films in black and white and suddenly start seeing films in color, some people are going to have the reaction ‘Wow, that’s great!’ and other people are going to have the reaction, ‘That’s not moviemaking! Films should be made in black and white! You’re losing the mystery of how to deal with tonality, you’re sacrificing that to deal with color!'” Letteri told Movieline in an exclusive one-on-one chat. “But if you grew up with only seeing color, you don’t know that. Just talking to the people that have seen it so far, and obviously that’s been a very limited audience, the younger ones that I’ve spoken with don’t really have an issue with it because they’re not so ingrained with what 24 frames mean. To them they’re just watching a movie.” A movie that doesn’t actually look like a movie, opponents might counter, since one of the effects of shooting at 48 fps — which projects 48 individual static shots every second — is to give your brain twice as much visual information as compared to 24 fps. In turn, this extra visual information translates to a more immediate and “real” experience for viewers, lifting at least partly the screen’s veil (think of the look of many American soap operas). It’s a more visceral experience. But is it an equally cinematic one? ‘It’s a choice,” Letteri insisted. “You have time to adjust. [Then you can ask] Do I want this or do I not want this?” According to Letteri, it’s a choice that may be driven in the future more in tandem with the choice to go 3-D, or “stereo,” as Letteri refers to the process, than it is from a narrative compulsion, in large part because of how the human brain interprets three-dimensional filmmaking. In all films, objects not in focus or that are moving very fast will have blurriness (or “motion blur” in the case of quick moving objects). In 3-D, however, this same blurriness can cause your brain distress since it naturally wants to interpret the image as it does the real world, Letteri explained. “I think it’s beneficial with stereo,” Letteri said of the high frame rate process. “One of the artifacts of stereo — for example, if you look at something that’s out of focus, maybe an over the shoulder shot, this is where stereo differs from the real world. In the real world, wherever your eye focuses that object snaps to focus. So if you’re looking at a big screen and your eye wanders to something that is out of focus, your eye expects it to go into focus. It can’t. So you’re sitting there focusing on an out of focus object. That’s one of the things that causes your brain [to fritz].” “The same thing also happens temporally,” he continued. “If you’ve got an object moving across the screen in the real world your eye wants to be able to track that and your eye wants to see it in focus. But because you’ve already photographed that with this motion blur, your eye cannot focus on something in space that’s blurry. Again, in the real world you never see that. It’s one of those other things that in 3-D your brain says something’s not right here. Well, if you go to high frame right, it is in focus. Your eye can focus on these fast moving objects or even slow moving ones and the details always there. So your brain can make sense of it.” Of course, if 48 fps can reduce blur, enhance 3-D, and make for a more absorbing experience, then why stop at just 48 frames per second? For those who don’t like the process, it may be time to batten down the hatches. They aren’t. “Oh no, Jim [Cameron] is considering 60 fps [for Avatar 2 ],” Letteri, who won an Oscar for his groundbreaking work on the original Avatar said. “That’s closer to where persistence of vision almost disappears. In fact, these discussions came out of when we noticed the effect of that in Avatar . And we were brainstorming with Jim on how to fix it — well, this is inherent in the photography and the only thing you can do is go shorter shutter, butt that introduces strobing, or you can go higher frame rate. We started experimenting with higher frame rate [from a standpoint of] how do we solve the problem?” “It looks,” he added, sending up either the victory flag or the white flag, depending on your opinion of the movie-like quality of movies, “like something happening live.” RELATED ARTICLES: WATCH: At ‘Hobbit’ Premiere, Robinov Says Warner Is Taking Wait-And-See Approach To 48 FPS ‘The Hobbit’ At 48 FPS: A High Frame Rate Fiasco? ‘The Hobbit’ 3-D Early Review: Back Again, But Not Quite There Follow Shawn Adler on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Here come the Birds! And they’ll be CG-animated, in 3-D and – angry ? The video game franchise creator Rovio Entertainment is tapping Despicable Me producer John Cohen to produce a planned Angry Birds movie, with former Marvel Studios chairman David Maisel on board as executive producer. Rovio will finance the pic, which is set for Summer 2016. John Cohen produced Illumination Entertainment/Universal Pictures’ Despicable Me in 2010 with Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud directing, who also took the helm for the 2010 short Despicable Me Presents: Minion Madness . Cohen also worked with Pierre Coffin in the first animated short he produced, Banana . Could the pair or some combination thereof be ready to take flight for Angry Birds ? 2010’s Despicable Me revolved around a criminal mastermind who uses three orphan girls to hatch his scheme, but is moved by their profound love. Could this signal a less pissed off flock four years from now? “Rovio will produce and finance the movie outside the studio system and retain full creative control while creating innovative entertainment at the highest level of quality,” the company said, adding that it is taking a cue from David Maisel’s direction he ushered in at Marvel. “I’m so excited and honored to be working on this film with Mikael, David, and Rovio’s incredibly talented game developers and artists,” said Cohen via Rovio’s website . “From both an entertainment and strategic perspective, Rovio is at the forefront of game innovation and is trailblazing terrific new ways for Angry Birds fans to interact with these characters. I’ve personally spent countless hours playing the Angry Birds games over the last few years, which I can now happily justify as research for the movie.” The movie will mark Rovio Entertainment’s first move into feature films, though fans are already familiar with those Angry Birds through Rovio’s games, books, consumer products and animation. Since they first left the nest in 2009, they have been downloaded over 1 billion times across platforms. Most recently, Angry Birds Star Wars ascended to the stratosphere of the US iPhone charts after two-and-a-half hours in release. Prior to Illumination, Cohen was VP of Production at Twentieth Century Fox Animation. What do you think a John Cohen-produced Angry Birds has in store?
Kristen Stewart will star opposite Ben Affleck in a con-artist comedy. Also in Monday’s round-up of news briefs, a Chinese actor will take up a role in Iron Man 3 as the production heads to Beijing; NY Online Film Critics pick their top film for 2012; and Broken wins top British Independent Film prize. Kristen Stewart Confirms Focus with Ben Affleck Stewart says she’ll join Ben Affleck in the con-artist comedy Focus . She’ll play an inexperienced con artist who meets a more seasoned counterpart, played by Affleck. Glenn Ficarra and John Requa are directing from their script, Deadline reports . Bradley Cooper to Receive Palm Springs International Film Festival Fete Silver Linings Playbook” star Bradley Cooper will receive the Desert Palm achievement award for acting at the Palm Springs Film Festival’s awards gala. The ceremony will be held Jan. 5 during the 24th edition of the festival taking place January 3 – 14, Variety reports . China’s Wang Xuequi Joins Iron Man 3 Marvel starts filming Iron Man 3 scenes in Beijing and has cast actor Wang Xuequi as a new character, ‘Dr. Wu.’ It was rumored Hong Kong actor Andy Lau would join the pic as an ally of billionaire inventor Tony Stark, but he backed out, Deadline reports . NY Film Critics Online Pick Zero Dark Thirty The New York Film Critics Online gave their kudos to Zero Dark Thirty on Sunday, voting it the year’s best picture and also naming Kathryn Bigelow best director. The film also won an award for Mark Boal’s screenplay, THR reports . Broken Wins Top British Independent Film Awards Prize Broken , the debut feature by theatre director Rufus Norris, also picked up a best supporting actor prize for Rory Kinnear. Psychological thriller Berberian Sound Studio won the most awards including best director for Peter Strickland and best actor for Toby Jones, BBC reports .
If you’d like one good reason to see Killing Them Softly in spite of its “F” Cinemascore and anemic opening box-office numbers, I’ll give you a great one: Scoot McNairy’s portrayal of the tragi-comic hood Frankie in Andrew Dominik’s contemporary film noir is the kind of breakthrough performance that will stick with you long after the financials are forgotten. Killing Them Softly is studded with top-notch acting — Ben Mendelsohn , Ray Liotta , James Gandolfini and Richard Jenkins also put in memorable turns — but McNairy’s emotionally dexterous performance as the in-over-his-head Frankie is something to behold, particularly in the tense bar scene where he first encounters Brad Pitt’s mob enforcer character Jackie Cogan. (Even novelist and outspoken cinema curmudgeon Bret Easton Ellis was moved to tweet that “Scoot McNairy is now officially on the radar” after the American Psycho author saw Killing Them Softly. ) McNairy talked to Movieline about shooting those pivotal moments with Pitt, his admiration for Dominik (Cinemascore be damned), and his busy work slate. The Texas native can currently be seen in the Ben Affleck -directed Argo, a job that, he says got with the help of Dominik, and also has a few scenes in the Gus Van Sant -directed Promised Land , which opens Dec. 28. Next up, are two films with Michael Fassbender , a trip to Australia to appear in Animal Kingdom director David Michod’s The Rover with Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson . Movieline: Looking through your credits, I noticed that you’ve done quite a bit of producing as well as acting. Scoot McNairy: Yeah, it’s funny. I got into producing from having done commercials for so long. I was financially stable at the time, and I had so much time on my hands that I just got bored and said I can’t be sitting around. I figured that I could at least be putting together projects or looking for material for me to do. I felt like I should just be generating my own work. Tell me a little bit about yourself. Where are you from and how’d you get into acting? I was born and raised outside of Dallas. I did some theater when I was a kid. I’ve always loved movies. I’ve always been passionate about them. And it wasn’t until I was 18 that I moved down to Austin, Texas and, just for a hobby, started to take these classes at the Dougherty Art Center. One day, the director Alex Holdridge came in to one of the classes and said he was casting the lead of his first film, Wrong Numbers . I stuck around after class and read for it. He called me two weeks later and gave me the part. Nice. I mean, talk about a shoestring budget. We probably made that movie for $2,000, but it got some attention. The film went to the Austin Film Festival and in 2001 won the Grand Jury prize and the Audience award. Through the process of shooting that movie, I fell in love with cinematography. I really thought that I wanted to be a cameraman. And that’s what brought me out to California. I went to film school to be a cinematographer. Where did you go? I went to the Art Institute of Los Angeles, but I only did a year of that. Then, for about nine months to a year in L.A., I worked building sets. When I was younger, my trade was carpentry, and I knew a lot about construction. The guy in the warehouse next to where I worked, Jesus Pedroza, was running a floral business. He and I always hung out on our smoke breaks, and one day, he asked me to bartend at his friend John Pierce’s agency Christmas party. It was a really small boutique agency for commercials. It was $100 or $200 for the night. I needed cash. I took the job. That’s where I met John, who is now my producing partner, my theatrical manager and my personal agent. He said, “Can I send you out?” And I said, “Yeah, sure.” He turned to his friend and said, “This kid will never work, but I like him and I’ll take him on.” I ended up doing about 15 national spots that first year. (Check out McNairy’s first commercial, directed by Mike Mills for Levi’s.) Wow. And that’s when he was like, “You should be doing TV and movies.” So I got into an acting class and really started to hit it hard. I got back into theater and started doing plays in L.A. Still, it was another four years of just doing commercials, and that’s when I had so much time on my hands that I got into producing. Down the line, that led to In Search of a Midnight Kiss . I’d done a second movie in Austin with Alex, Sexless, in 2003 and then he moved to California and we did Midnight Kiss . I was a producer on that and in 2009 we won the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award. I think that gave me a little bit of credibility as far as an actor. And then I went on to do Monsters , which gave me a little bit more credibility. And then Andrew cast me in Killing Them Softly . He told me, “I’d never seen you, never heard of you.” He cast me from my audition tape.
The American Film Institute gave its selections for the best of 2012. The recent New York and Boston critics darling Zero Dark Thirty . AFI Awards selections are made through AFI’s jury process in which scholars, film and television artists, critics and AFI Trustees determine the most outstanding achievements of the year, as well as provide a detailed rationale for each selection. This year’s juries – one for film and one for television – were chaired by producers and AFI Board of Trustees Vice Chairs Tom Pollock (former Vice Chairman of MCA, Chairman of Universal Pictures) for the movies and Rich Frank (former Chairman of Walt Disney Television, President of Walt Disney Studios, President of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences) for television, and includes award-winning artists such as Angela Bassett, Brad Bird, Chris Carter, Marta Kauffman and Octavia Spencer ; film historian Leonard Maltin; scholars from prestigious universities with recognized motion picture arts programs (Syracuse, UCLA, University of Texas, USC, Wesleyan); AFI Board of Trustees; and critics. “AFI AWARDS celebrates America’s storytellers as collaborators,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO in a statement. “We are honored to bring together artists as a community, without competition, to acknowledge the gifts they have given the world in 2012.” AFI will honor the creative ensembles for each of the selections on January 11th in Los Angeles. AFI Movies of the Year: Argo Beasts of the Southern Wild The Dark Knight Rises Django Unchained Les Misérables Life of Pi Lincoln Moonrise Kingdom Silver Linings Playbook Zero Dark Thirty AFI TV Programs of the Year: American Horror Story Breaking Bad Game Change Game of Thrones Girls Homeland Louie Mad Men Modern Family The Walking Dead
