Posted on February 19, 2014 at 10:49 am
My friends at Rogerebert.com wrote brief essays paying tribute to the Oscar nominees selected as the favorites by visitors to the site, continuing Roger’s beloved “If We Picked the Winners” tradition.
Posted on January 31, 2014 at 3:59 pm
For the first time ever, the Motion Picture Academy has disqualified a nominee for ethical reasons. The nomination of “Alone Yet Not Alone” as best song came as a surprise. Most people had not heard of the song or the movie it came from, a small, faith-based film of the same name.
The song was disqualified because its composer, Bruce Broughton, sent out an email to his friends in the Academy asking them to consider it for an award. While “for your consideration” lobbying is widespread, what concerned the Academy was that in this case it was coming from a former official of the Academy and was therefore seen as implicitly and improperly endorsed.
Now, according to the LA Times, there is a backlash, accusing the Academy of applying a different standard to small, independent films than it does to big studio movies.
Broughton has cried foul, saying he was simply trying to draw attention to his independent movie, as many in Hollywood do during awards season.
“They had previews and parties and huge promotion,” Broughton said of the studio campaigns for Oscar-nominated songs from other films, which include box-office hits such as Disney’s “Frozen” and Universal Pictures’ “Despicable Me 2.””We had no budget. There’s no Oscar campaign. All there is is this really stupid email that went out to about 70 people saying, ‘Please look at my song.'”
After sending out its statement Wednesday, the academy offered no further comment on Thursday. But already the story had gained traction, with “CBS This Morning” bringing Broughton on the air and conservative-leaning outlets such as the Drudge Report and the Washington Times setting up a Hollywood vs. Middle America battle.
“Christian Film Stripped of Oscar Nomination,” a headline blared on Drudge.
Even some in Hollywood thought that Broughton, a music personality, longtime head of the music branch and a USC professor, had been given a raw deal.
Posted on January 16, 2014 at 9:07 am
This year’s Oscar nominees were announced this morning. I’m sorry to see “Inside LLewyn Davis,” “The Butler,” “Fruitvale Station,” “Saving Mr. Banks” and “Enough Said” overlooked and I really wanted to see Scarlett Johansson get a nomination for “Her,” but overall, it’s an impressive list that spreads recognition among some outstanding films.
Best Picture
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
The Wolf of Wall Street
Best Actor
Christian Bale (American Hustle)
Bruce Dern (Nebraska)
Leonardo DiCaprio (Wolf of Wall Street)
Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)
Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)
Best Actress
Amy Adams, (American Hustle)
Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
Sandra Bullock (Gravity)
Judi Dench (Philomena)
Meryl Streep (August: Osage County)
Best Supporting Actor
Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)
Bradley Cooper (American Hustle)
Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)
Jonah Hill (Wolf of Wall Street)
Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)
Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)
Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave)
Julia Roberts (August: Osage County)
June Squibb (Nebraska)
Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine)
Best Director
Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street)
David O. Russell (American Hustle)
Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity)
Alexander Payne (Nebraska)
Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave)
Best Adapted Screenplay
John Ridley (12 Years a Slave)
?Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke & Richard Linklater, (Before Midnight?)
Terence Winter, (The Wolf of Wall Street?)
Billy Ray, (Captain Phillips)
?Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, (Philomena)
Best Original Screenplay
David O. Russell and Eric Singer (American Hustle)
Bob Nelson (Nebraska)
Spike Jonze (Her)
Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack (Dallas Buyers Club)
Woody Allen (Blue Jasmine)
Best Foreign Film
Denmark, The Hunt
Belgium, The Broken Circle Breakdown
Italy, The Great Beauty
Palestine, Omar
Cambodia, The Missing Picture
Best Documentary Feature
20 Feet from Stardom
The Act of Killing
Dirty Wars
The Square
Cutie and the Boxer
Best Animated Feature
The Wind Rises
Frozen
Despicable Me 2
The Croods
Ernest & Celestine
Best Song
“Alone Yet Not Alone” (Alone Yet Not Alone)
“Happy” (Despicable Me 2)
“Let It Go” (Frozen)
“The Moon Song” (Her)
“Ordinary Love” (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”
Posted on December 27, 2013 at 3:53 pm
Posted on February 25, 2013 at 9:08 pm
Did you watch the Oscars? I did, and here’s what I thought.
2. Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln.”
5. Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, “Les Miserables.”
6. Directing: Ang Lee, “Life of Pi.”
7. Foreign Language Film: “Amour.”
8. Adapted Screenplay: Chris Terrio, “Argo.”
9. Original Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino, “Django Unchained.”
10. Animated Feature Film: “Brave.”
11. Production Design: “Lincoln.”
12. Cinematography: “Life of Pi.”
13. Sound Mixing: “Les Miserables.”
14. Sound Editing (tie): “Skyfall,” ‘’Zero Dark Thirty.”
15. Original Score: “Life of Pi,” Mychael Danna.
16. Original Song: “Skyfall” from “Skyfall,” Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth.
17. Costume: “Anna Karenina.”
18. Documentary Feature: “Searching for Sugar Man.”
19. Documentary (short subject): “Inocente.”
20. Film Editing: “Argo.”
21. Makeup and Hairstyling: “Les Miserables.”
22. Animated Short Film: “Paperman.”
23. Live Action Short Film: “Curfew.”
24. Visual Effects: “Life of Pi.”
