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Oscar Index: Everything’s ‘Dark’ And ‘Miserables,’ Until We Get ‘Unchained’

Welcome back to Movieline’s Oscar Index, where each week we take the pulse of the awards chatter en route to Hollywood’s big day. This week both Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables and Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty surged through the ranks after debuting in their first, successful, awards screenings, though Spielberg’s Lincoln still reigns supreme — but Peter Jackson ‘s 48fps gamble The Hobbit and Quentin Tarantino ‘s Django Unchained are right around the corner, gunning for the spotlight… The Leading 10 1. Lincoln 2. Les Miserables 3. Zero Dark Thirty 4. Argo 5. Silver Linings Playbook 6. Life of Pi 7. Django Unchained 8. Beasts of the Southern Wild 9. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 10. Anna Karenina Outsiders: Skyfall , Moonrise Kingdom , Flight , The Dark Knight Rises , The Master Despite strong guild and critic screening debuts for Les Miserables and Zero Dark Thirty , which absolutely sealed their positions as Best Picture top dogs, Spielberg’s Lincoln is still holding onto its momentum and #1 spot in the race in the hearts and minds of pundits. Meanwhile, David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook searches for a way to keep up, while Fox Searchlight’s Beasts of the Southern Wild is making its surge, trotting out Spirit Award-nominated star (and Best Actress hopeful) Quvenzhané Wallis for awards events this week. Best Director 1. Steven Spielberg ( Lincoln ) 2. Kathryn Bigelow ( Zero Dark Thirty ) 3. David O. Russell ( Silver Linings Playbook ) 4. Ben Affleck ( Argo ) 5. Quentin Tarantino ( Django Unchained ) Spielberg still reigns atop the race, but this week’s Zero Dark Thirty splash should boost Bigelow above the ranks of Affleck, whose popular Argo treads similar true history ground but doesn’t match ZDT ‘s weightiness or relevancy. Russell’s staying in the game as well thanks to lingering Silver Linings love, but the Django curiosity factor props Tarantino up even though critics have yet to see it. Next: Who leads the pack for Best Actor & Actress?

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Oscar Index: Everything’s ‘Dark’ And ‘Miserables,’ Until We Get ‘Unchained’

‘Moonrise Kingdom,’ ‘How To Survive A Plague’ ‘Beasts’ Win Gothams

Wes Anderson ‘s Moonrise Kingdom won Best Feature tonight at the IFP Gotham Independent Film Awards tonight in New York, while David France’s How to Survive a Plague took Best Director. Benh Zeitlin ‘s Beasts of the Southern Wild , meanwhile won two awards including the Breakthrough Director prize and the inaugural Bingham Ray award. Moonrise Kingdom actors Bob Balaban took to the stage with fellow actors noting that if “Wes Anderson asks you to be in a movie…just be in it.” Anderson was a no-show, however, for the big win. Zeitlin took Best Breakthrough Director for Beasts of the Southern Wild . Taking to the stage, he said he hopes more people gets the kind of “freedom” he had to make his film which won Sundance earlier this year and the Camera d’Or in Cannes earlier this year. Zeitlin also won the inaugural Bingham Ray Award which honors a “promising emerging filmmaker.” How to Survive a Plague won Best Documentary. The film captures the ACT-UP movement and the push to get antivirals through government roadblocks. The emotional doc won accolades at Sundance. “It’s a story not about what AIDS did to our community, but a story about what our community did to HIV,” said director David France. Best Ensemble Cast went to Your Sister’s Sister . Actor Mark Duplass thanked his fellow actors Rosemarie Dewitt and Emily Blunt for their work only making $100 a day. The film beat out the likes of heavy-hitting Oscar contender Silver Linings Playbook as well as Moonrise Kingdom and Bernie . Said an excited Emayatzy Corinealdi about her Best Actor win: “This time last year I was at home eating Frosted Flakes… But to go from Sundance to Gotham with [ Middle of Nowhere ] is a dream for me…This role doesn’t come around often, so I’m grateful.” Best Feature: Moonrise Kingdom – Wes Anderson, director; Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson, producers (Focus Features) Best Documentary: How to Survive a Plague – David France, director; Howard Gertler, David France, producers (Sundance Selects) Best Ensemble Performance: Your Sister’s Sister – Emily Blunt, Rosemarie Dewitt, Mark Duplass (IFC Films) Breakthrough Director: Benh Zeitlin for Beasts of the Southern Wild (Fox Searchlight Pictures) Breakthrough Actor: Emayatzy Corinealdi in Middle of Nowhere (AFFRM and Participant Media) Bingham Ray Award (Recognizes “Emerging American Filmmaker” includes a Panavision camera package valued at $60K) Benh Zeitlin , director of Beasts of the Southern Wild Gotham Independent Film Audience Award : Artifact , directed by Bartholomew Cubbins Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You: An Oversimplification of Her Beauty – Terence Nance, director; Terence Nance, Andrew Corkin, James Bartlett, producers Calvin Klein Spotlight on Women Filmmakers ‘Live the Dream’ grant: Stacie Passon , director, Concussion

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‘Moonrise Kingdom,’ ‘How To Survive A Plague’ ‘Beasts’ Win Gothams

Race Matters: Cal State University Professor Under Fire For Neo-Nazi Teachings “White People Are A Minority That Need Protection”

Get this guy outta here… Cal State University Professor Under Fire For Neo-Nazi Teachings California State Univeristy, Long Beach psychology professor Kevin MacDonald, a man the Southern Poverty Law Center calls the “ neo-Nazi movement’s favorite academic,” continues to rile community members with language that some say teaches white supremacist and neo-Nazi beliefs. According to HuffPo : MacDonald prefers the description “white advocate.” As a director of the new political party American Third Position (AP3), he believes that immigration (both illegal and legal) must be stopped in order to preserve American society. According to the OC Register, part of AP3′s mission statement reads: “Government policy in the United States discriminates against white Americans … white Americans need their own political party to fight this discrimination.” MacDonald stands firm in his positions, noting in an interview with KCAL9 that white citizens will be a minority in the U.S in 2042. “I think the white middle class is scared economically,” MacDonald said. “They’re concerned about the future of the country. Underlying it, there is a fear of the future. When whites are a minority, there is a concern the country won’t be the same anymore.” Funny he’s a psychology professor. Opinions like his should be a paramount study in the field of psychology. There is something clearly mentally wrong if you deem yourself superior to other people. Then you spend all your time trying to prove your theory by suppressing those people to keep them from proving you wrong. KAL9

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Race Matters: Cal State University Professor Under Fire For Neo-Nazi Teachings “White People Are A Minority That Need Protection”

Innocence of Muslims Filmmaker Nakoula Basseley Unmasked By New York Tabloids

As protesters in Pakistan, Indonesia and Afghanistan raged against the anti-Islam film Innocence of Muslims over the weekend,  the media was also awash with photos and video of the Egyptian immigrant first tied to the crude inflammatory video, Nakoula Basseley , as he was escorted from his Southern California home looking like the Elephant Man so that he could be questioned by police. (See the video after the jump.) Basseley, who was first identified as Sam Bacile — a pseudonym that calls to mind the word “imbecile,” — covered his face with a white scarf and wore a newsboy’s cap on his head to protect his identity. His appearance didn’t remain hidden for long, however. Both the New York Daily News and the New York Post have run a picture of Basseley, sans disguise, sitting with one of the actors in Innocence of Muslims , Anna Gurji, who has been talking to a number of media outlets, and wrote a letter to the horror/fantasy writer Neil Gaiman about how she and her fellow cast members were duped by Basseley.  (Gurji also notes in her letter to Gaiman, which he posted on his website, that The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood  helmsman Alan Roberts (a.k.a. Robert Brownell) was the director of Innocence of Muslims.) Basseley, who’s reportedly a 55-year-old Coptic Christian who immigrated from Egypt, does not have the face of a man who sparked a wave of violence that led to the deaths of U.S. Ambassador to Libya  J. Christopher Stevens and three other American diplomatic staffers.  What’s that they say about the banality of evil? Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.

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Innocence of Muslims Filmmaker Nakoula Basseley Unmasked By New York Tabloids

Don’t Worry Guys, The Human Centipede 3 Will Be Even Grosser [PIC]

So this is happening: “For all you fans of the Centipede Sequence Series, Principal photography on Human Centipede 3 will take place in the Southern states of the U.S and Writer-director Tom Six himself will play a supporting role in the film. The American finale will be 100% politically incorrect and will answer questions left lingering from the first films. The Human Centipede 3 will have a 500+ person ‘pede. XXXXL American style! ” That’s a statement from The Human Centipede 3 producer Ilona Six , who confirmed plans for a third Human Centipede movie in a press release announcing a fancy new Blu-ray/DVD release of The Human Centipede (2009) and The Human Centipede 2 (2011) for UK audiences just in time for Halloween. But while we actually enjoyed The Human Centipede (2009) (much more than we thought we would, in fact), after the pointless exercise in shock value that was The Human Centipede 2 (2011) we have just one lingering question: does anybody actually want a third installment? Think you’ve got a steel stomach? Then put yourself to the test with barf-worthy scenes from A Serbian Film (2009), Saw III (2006), Hostel (2005) and more right here at MrSkin.com!

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Don’t Worry Guys, The Human Centipede 3 Will Be Even Grosser [PIC]

Skinheads, Neo-Nazis & Gang Bangers Protect And Serve: Racism Running Rampant In The U.S. Military

Racism In The U.S. Military They call it “rahowa” — short for racial holy war — and they are preparing for it by joining the ranks of the world’s fiercest fighting machine, the U.S. military. White racists, neo-Nazis and skinhead groups encourage followers to enlist in the Army and Marine Corps to acquire the skills to overthrow what some call the ZOG — the Zionist Occupation Government. Get in, get trained and get out to brace for the coming race war. If this scenario seems like fantasy or bluster, civil rights organizations take it as deadly serious, especially given recent events. Former U.S. Army soldier Wade Page opened fire with a 9 mm handgun at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin on August 5, murdering six people and critically wounding three before killing himself during a shootout with police. The U.S. Defense Department as well has stepped up efforts to purge violent racists from its ranks, earning praise from organizations such as the Southern Poverty Law Center, which has tracked and exposed hate groups since the 1970s. Page, who was 40, was well known in the white supremacist music scene. In the early 2000s he told academic researcher Pete Simi that he became a neo-Nazi after joining the military in 1992. Fred Lucas, who served with him, said Page openly espoused his racist views until 1998, when he was demoted from sergeant to specialist, discharged and barred from re-enlistment. Experts have identified the presence of street gang members as a more widespread problem. Even so, the Pentagon has launched three major pushes in recent decades to crack down on racist extremists. The first directive was issued in 1986, when Defense Secretary Casper Weinberger ordered military personnel to reject supremacist organizations. That failed to stop former Marine T.J. Leyden, with two-inch SS bolts tattooed above his collar, from serving from 1988 to 1991 while openly supporting neo-Nazi causes. A member of the Hammerskin Nation, a skinhead group, he said he hung a swastika from his locker, taking it down only when his commander politely asked him to ahead of inspections by the commanding general. “We’re very strict on the tattoo policy here within this recruiting station,” said Sergeant Aaron Iskenderian, head of the Army recruiting office in Fayetteville, the Army town next to Fort Bragg. Iskenderian cited the example of a young man who came in recently with a tattoo of the Confederate flag. The potential recruit also told Iskenderian he had a black girlfriend. Iskenderian sent the issue up the chain of command, and the young man was rejected. Academics who study white supremacists say proponents of the “infiltration strategy” of joining the U.S. military have adapted, telling skinheads to deceive military recruiters by letting their hair grow, avoiding or covering tattoos, and suppressing their racist views. For neo-Nazis who get past the screeners, as with the gang members, the military needs a comprehensive strategy, said Carter F. Smith, a former military investigator who is now a professor of criminal justice at Austin Peay State University in Tennessee. “They are some of the most disciplined soldiers we have. They really want to learn to shoot those weapons,” Smith said. “The problem wasn’t just that we were opening the floodgates to let them in. We let them out after prosecution or when their time was up and we didn’t let the police know.” SMH at the guy telling them he had a “black girlfriend”… Thoughts on this? Source

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Skinheads, Neo-Nazis & Gang Bangers Protect And Serve: Racism Running Rampant In The U.S. Military

RIP Ernest Borgnine; Fassbender Joins Videogame Franchise: Biz Break

In Monday morning’s round-up of news briefs, Oscar-winner Ernest Borgnine is remembered after he died over the weekend. Also, as awards season approaches, SAG opens up its submissions; Christopher Nolan gets his prints at Grauman’s Chinese; Michael Fassbender boards a franchise; Beasts still strong in the specialty box office and Norway’s The Almost Man wins a top film festival prize. Submissions for SAG Nominations Open Submissions for performances for consideration for the 19th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards are now open online at sagawards.org/submissions. For the first time, submissions will be accepted online only. Submissions are open through Thursday, October 25 at 5pm Pacific Time. Around the ‘net… RIP Ernest Borgnine Actor Ernest Borgnine, who won an Oscar for 1955’s Marty , playing a lovelorn butcher, died at the age of 95 his manager said Sunday. He gained a reputation playing heavies in early films From Here to Eternity , and Bad Day at Black Rock . He received three Emmys over his career, the most recent in 2009 for a guest spot on television’s ER , CNN reports . Deadline’s Pete Hammond also has a great remembrance of Borgnine, found here . Christopher Nolan Receives Rare Hollywood Honor Nolan had his hands and feet cemented at Hollywood’s Grauman’s Chinese Theater. At 41, he’s one of the youngest to receive the honor and out of 262 that have left their prints over 85 years, he’s only the eighth director to do so, Deadline reports . Fassbender Boards Assassins’ Creed Michael Fassbender will star and co-produce the big screen adaptation of Ubisoft’s video game franchise via his DMC Film label. The story centers on a man who finds out his ancestors were trained assassins after he is kidnapped by a mysterious group with ties to the Knights Templar, and sent back in time to retrieve historical artifacts, Variety reports . Beasts of the Southern Wild Still Strong in 2nd Weekend; Newcomers Soft: Specialty Box Office A trio of holdovers grabbed the bulk of specialty business this weekend, with Fox Searchlight’s Beasts Of The Southern Wild , Sony Classics’ To Rome With Love and Focus’ Moonrise Kingdom leading the pack. Three films, China Heavyweight from Zeitgeist, Magnolia’s The Magic Of Belle Isle and Red Flag’s The Do-Deca-Pentathlon reported numbers for their new, very limited rollouts, Deadline reports . Norway’s The Almost Man Takes Top Prize at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Martin Lund’s character study of a man in his 30s grappling with aging won the Czech festival’s Gran Prix Crystal Award. The Almost Man star Henrik Rafaelsen won the Best Actor prize, while Iranian director Ali Mosaffa’s The Last Step took the FIPRESCI prize with the film’s Leila Hatami winning Best Actress. Susan Sarandon received a lifetime achievement award and dedicated the prize to Nora Ephron, tearfully calling her “my friend and wonderful director,” THR reports .

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RIP Ernest Borgnine; Fassbender Joins Videogame Franchise: Biz Break

RIP Ernest Borgnine; Fassbender Joins Videogame Franchise: Biz Break

In Monday morning’s round-up of news briefs, Oscar-winner Ernest Borgnine is remembered after he died over the weekend. Also, as awards season approaches, SAG opens up its submissions; Christopher Nolan gets his prints at Grauman’s Chinese; Michael Fassbender boards a franchise; Beasts still strong in the specialty box office and Norway’s The Almost Man wins a top film festival prize. Submissions for SAG Nominations Open Submissions for performances for consideration for the 19th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards are now open online at sagawards.org/submissions. For the first time, submissions will be accepted online only. Submissions are open through Thursday, October 25 at 5pm Pacific Time. Around the ‘net… RIP Ernest Borgnine Actor Ernest Borgnine, who won an Oscar for 1955’s Marty , playing a lovelorn butcher, died at the age of 95 his manager said Sunday. He gained a reputation playing heavies in early films From Here to Eternity , and Bad Day at Black Rock . He received three Emmys over his career, the most recent in 2009 for a guest spot on television’s ER , CNN reports . Deadline’s Pete Hammond also has a great remembrance of Borgnine, found here . Christopher Nolan Receives Rare Hollywood Honor Nolan had his hands and feet cemented at Hollywood’s Grauman’s Chinese Theater. At 41, he’s one of the youngest to receive the honor and out of 262 that have left their prints over 85 years, he’s only the eighth director to do so, Deadline reports . Fassbender Boards Assassins’ Creed Michael Fassbender will star and co-produce the big screen adaptation of Ubisoft’s video game franchise via his DMC Film label. The story centers on a man who finds out his ancestors were trained assassins after he is kidnapped by a mysterious group with ties to the Knights Templar, and sent back in time to retrieve historical artifacts, Variety reports . Beasts of the Southern Wild Still Strong in 2nd Weekend; Newcomers Soft: Specialty Box Office A trio of holdovers grabbed the bulk of specialty business this weekend, with Fox Searchlight’s Beasts Of The Southern Wild , Sony Classics’ To Rome With Love and Focus’ Moonrise Kingdom leading the pack. Three films, China Heavyweight from Zeitgeist, Magnolia’s The Magic Of Belle Isle and Red Flag’s The Do-Deca-Pentathlon reported numbers for their new, very limited rollouts, Deadline reports . Norway’s The Almost Man Takes Top Prize at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Martin Lund’s character study of a man in his 30s grappling with aging won the Czech festival’s Gran Prix Crystal Award. The Almost Man star Henrik Rafaelsen won the Best Actor prize, while Iranian director Ali Mosaffa’s The Last Step took the FIPRESCI prize with the film’s Leila Hatami winning Best Actress. Susan Sarandon received a lifetime achievement award and dedicated the prize to Nora Ephron, tearfully calling her “my friend and wonderful director,” THR reports .

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RIP Ernest Borgnine; Fassbender Joins Videogame Franchise: Biz Break

Beasts of the Southern Wild Clip: Welcome to the Bathtub

A community of survivors exists on the outskirts of a Louisiana levee, where a six-year-old girl with a boundless imagination and a deep connection to the world around her lives with her father. In Movieline’s exclusive clip, enter the world of Benh Zeitlin’s impressive feature debut/Sundance hit Beasts of the Southern Wild (in limited release this week), as seen through the eyes of the film’s pint-sized heroine, Hushpuppy (played with tremendous fearlessness by discovery of the year, Quvenzhané Wallis). Beasts of the Southern Wild debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January, where it won the Grand Jury Prize and the Cinematography Award before nabbing four honors at Cannes , including the FIPRESCI Prize and the Caméra d’Or. Zeitlin’s magical-realist fable is a deeply emotional experience, thanks in great part to Wallis’s central turn as the fierce Hushpuppy, whose relationship with her troubled father Wink (local chef/baker Dwight Howard, in his acting debut) anchors the film. Plucked from over 4,000 prospective actresses, Wallis, who was just five years old when she auditioned, commands the screen with an impressive intensity and naturalism. “When she first walked in, she was defiant towards me,” director Zeitlin told Movieline . “Most of the times you figure you can easily puppeteer a kid, but she was not like that at all. She was refusing to do this thing that I asked her to, because she didn’t it was right. I wanted her to throw something at somebody, and she said, ‘No, that’s not right to throw something at somebody you don’t know.’ Filmed on location in Louisiana, Beasts began principal photography on April 20, 2010 — the day of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the impact of which mirrored the plight of the residents of the Bathtub within the film. The story celebrates the resilience of a community in the face of disaster, highlighting the spirit of the people who remain. Beasts of the Southern Wild is in limited release today. Follow Movieline on Twitter .

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Beasts of the Southern Wild Clip: Welcome to the Bathtub

Recession Is Real: Justin’s In Atlanta Announces Plans To Close

Diddy’s ATL Restaurant To Shut Down After 14 profitable years in business, Diddy-owned ATL restaurant Justin’s announced that it would soon shut down for good. Nearly five years after P. Diddy’s Justin’s Restaurant in NYC closed, the Atlanta location will now be shutting its doors as well. Named after his eldest son, Justin’s was initially a regular site to spot celebrities in the popular city. Amid rumors of renovation and new management, the southern-Caribbean eatery stayed open for 14 years but announced its closure last weekend. A spokesperson from Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group said that it’s pursuing “other business ventures in music, television, fashion, fragrance and spirits” and that they are “actively exploring business opportunities in Atlanta.” Although the restaurant was known on Peachtree Road, patrons often complained about the food and décor. Source

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Recession Is Real: Justin’s In Atlanta Announces Plans To Close