Tag Archives: octavia spencer

Women Film Journalists Favor Artist, The Help, Bridesmaids

Awards! So many awards — this time around it’s the Alliance of Women Film Journalists passing along the EDA Awards, their annual choices for the best, worst, weirdest and otherwise noteworthy films of 2011. Find an old standby at the top of the list, along with a few of the Alliance’s customarily female-forward and refreshingly cheeky (“Most Egregious Love Interest Age Difference Award,” anyone?) accolades. Congrats to all the winners! EDA ANNUAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS Best Film : The Artist Best Director : Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist Best Screenplay, Original : Midnight in Paris – Woody Allen Best Screenplay, Adapted : (TIE) The Descendants – Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash; Moneyball – Steven Zallian and Aaron Sorkin Best Documentary : Buck Best Animated Film : Rango Best Actress : Viola Davis as Abileen in The Help Best Actress in a Supporting Role : (TIE) Janet McTeer as Hubert Page in Albert Nobbs ; Octavia Spencer as Minny Jackson in The Help Best Actor : Michael Fassbender as Brandon Sullivan in Shame Best Actor in a Supporting Role : Christopher Plummer as Hal Fields in Beginners Best Ensemble Cast : Bridesmaids Best Editing : Hugo – Thelma Schoonmaker Best Cinematography : The Tree of Life – Emmanuel Lubezki Best Film Music Or Score : (TIE) The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Original Score; Hanna – The Chemical Brothers, Original Score Best Non-English-Language Film : A Separation – Ashgar Farhadi, Iran EDA FEMALE FOCUS AWARDS Best Woman Director : Lynne Ramsey – We Need To Talk About Kevin Best Woman Screenwriter : Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo – Bridesmaids Kick Ass Award For Best Female Action Star : (TIE) Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander in Girl With The Dragon Tattoo ; Saoirse Ronan as Hanna in Hanna Best Animated Female : Isla Fisher as Beans in Rango Best Breakthrough Performance : Elizabeth Olsen as Martha in Martha Marcy May Marlene Female Icon Award : Glenn Close as Albert Nobbs in Albert Nobbs Actress Defying Age and Ageism : Helen Mirren as Rachel Singer in The Debt This Year’s Outstanding Achievement By A Woman In The Film Industry : Jessica Chastain for performances in four highly acclaimed films AWFJ Award For Humanitarian Activism : Angelina Jolie for UN work and making In The Land of Blood and Honey to raise awareness about genocide. EDA SPECIAL MENTION AWARDS AWFJ Hall Of Shame Award : The Hollywood Reporter for failing to invite any women to join the Directors Roundtable Actress Most in Need Of A New Agent : All actresses in New Year’s Eve Movie You Wanted To Love But Just Couldn‘t : Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy Unforgettable Moment Award: The Artist – The sound of the glass clinking on the table. Best Depiction Of Nudity, Sexuality, or Seduction : (TIE) Melancholia – Justine in the moonlight; Shame – Opening sequence on the subway train. Sequel Or Remake That Shouldn’t Have Been Made Award : The Hangover Part II Most Egregious Love Interest Age Difference Award : (TIE) Albert Nobbs – Glenn Close (64) and Mia Wasilkowska (22); Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part I – Bella (18) and Edward (Over 100) [ AWFJ ]

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Women Film Journalists Favor Artist, The Help, Bridesmaids

Oscar Index: And the Winner is… Old

We’ve officially crossed the halfway point of this year’s Oscar Index — a bittersweet milestone where the team at Movieline’s Institute for the Advanced Study of Kudos Forensics takes a deep breath, orders a stiff drink, and then… orders another eight or so stiff drinks. While they slam their ways over the awards-season hump, join me for a quick run-through of where things stand this week.

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Oscar Index: And the Winner is… Old

Oscar Index: Hurricane Meryl Makes Landfall; Artist, Hugo Surge Toward Top

The bleary-eyed minions at Movieline’s Institute for the Advanced Study of Kudos Forensics have shoved off for the long holiday weekend, leaving it to me to sort out the hectic awards scramble as we head into the third month of this year’s Oscar Index. And by “hectic,” I do mean hectic , with a lead change at the top of two categories, a neck-and-neck tie atop another and plenty of feverish competition foreseen in another. Read on for a closer look.

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Oscar Index: Hurricane Meryl Makes Landfall; Artist, Hugo Surge Toward Top

Oscar Index: Hello, Hugo! (And Goodbye, J. Edgar)

Oscar-ed out for the week? Don’t be! Movieline’s Institute for the Advanced Study of Kudos Forensics is here to remind both the casual and obsessive fan alike that the Academy Awards are, first and foremost about movies . With that in mind, let’s have a look at where this season’s Oscar Index crop landed after one of the most turbulent patches in recent memory.

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Oscar Index: Hello, Hugo! (And Goodbye, J. Edgar)

Talkback: Is Melissa McCarthy an Oscar Contender?

Melissa McCarthy sailed through her SNL hosting gig last night on pure charm and panache, even if the skits weren’t particularly novel. Coming off her recent Emmy win for Mike & Molly , she’s officially the most likable (and most liked) dame in primetime right now, which begs the question: Is this a wave of well wishes that can lead to the Oscar dais? Should we expect her name to pop in the Best Supporting Actress category alongside shoo-ins Octavia Spencer and Vanessa Redgrave?

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Talkback: Is Melissa McCarthy an Oscar Contender?

And They’re (Almost) Off: The Preliminary 2011-12 Oscar Index

Ready or not, the Oscar Equinox is upon us: The Venice Film Festival is underway, the Telluride Film Festival launches this weekend, and the Toronto International Film Festival commences a week from tomorrow. Amid that crop of movies will be the bulk of this year’s awards-season contenders, which will compete against an elite class already having opened in theaters and another fistful yet to come this winter. Same game, new players. And Movieline’s redoubtable Oscar Index has the preliminary breakdown of who to watch.

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And They’re (Almost) Off: The Preliminary 2011-12 Oscar Index

Read An Excerpt From Late Restrepo Director Tim Hetherington’s Last Interview

A day after Tim Hetherington was tragically killed while covering the ongoing conflict in Libya, a final interview with the acclaimed war photographer and documentarian has surfaced. Conducted a few weeks ago, Hetherington discussed the difficulty and uncertainty of making a documentary in a war-torn country.

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Read An Excerpt From Late Restrepo Director Tim Hetherington’s Last Interview

The Help Poster: Viola in Violet

The trailer for The Help worried us with its Blind Side y condescension, but the new poster for the film presents Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Emma Stone, and Bryce Dallas Howard (who looks a lot like Ellie Kemper here) in a more positive, yellow-and-purple sorta light. Watch and judge.

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The Help Poster: Viola in Violet