44 days til Oscar nominations. Screenplay stats!

by Nathaniel R

With only 44 days until Oscar nominations and lots of confusion as to what might be nominated for screenplay (there are seemingly 7 locks for Original and only 1 contender for Adapted -- the math doesn't work. Haha!) let's use today's numerical trivia prompt for writing awards. Fact: Oscar's 4 favorite screenwriters have 44 nominations between them for writing. That's a lot of hogging of writing honors. They are...

OSCAR'S 20 FAVORITE SCREENWRITERS
(Numbers below are for screenwriting categories only)
01 Woody Allen (16 nominations and 3 wins)
He's also been in the Acting and Directing races. Classics include Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, Manhattan and more...
02 Billy Wilder (12 nominations and 3 wins)
He's also been in the Directing and Producing races. Classics include Sunset Blvd, The Apartment, Some Like it Hot, and more...
03 John Huston (8 nominations and 1 win)
He's also been in the Acting, Directing, and Producing races. Classics include The African Queen, The Asphalt Jungle, Prizzi's Honor and more...
04 Federico Fellini (8 nominations but he never won for writing)
He's also been in the Directing, and Producing races and of course his films have taken multiple Foreign Language Film Oscars. He's the Academy's favorite Italian... yes, even more than Sophia Loren. Classics include La Dolce Vita, I Vitelloni, 8½ and more...

It's perhaps no surprise that all of these writers are also directors and thus were in charge of bringing their own words to visual life. With greater control comes greater consistency in results. Without checking before you hit the jump can you guess which working writers are next in line to join this group?

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SAG Predictions: Outstanding Ensemble

by Nathaniel R

The SAG nominating committe has to turn in their ballots tomorrow (Sunday, December 10th) and we're naturally very curious as to how their votes turned out. We'll find out this coming Wednesday. The bulk of the nominees are usually the obvious set who are carrying a ton of buzz. But that's just the bulk. SAG has been known to throw at least one total wildcard into the mix (remember Naomi Watts for St Vincent, 2014, or Sarah Silverman in I Smile Back, 2015, or Hustle & Flow for ensemble in 2005?).

Let's take a look at the truly competitive Outstanding Ensemble category...

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European Film Awards - Much Love to "The Square"

by Nathaniel R

The annual European Film Awards have logged many frequent flyer miles over the years as they hop around to various host countries. Today they were held in Berlin Germany and multiple Oscar hopefuls in Best Foreign Language Film took home prizes. The Cannes Palme d'Or winner The Square won the most statues and Hungary's Alexandra Borbely who stars in the weirdly compelling On Body and Soul (reviewed here) took Best Actress. You can see all the winners after the jump...

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Happy 101st, Kirk Douglas!

The screen legend, whose centennial we celebrated this time last year with looks back at Spartacus, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Bad and the Beautiful, and Lust for Life, is celebrating his 101st birthday today. He's the second oldest living Oscar nominee or winner (two time winner Olivia de Havilland is five months older) and here he is celebrating the big day with his daughter-in-law Catherine Zeta-Jones (as shared on her Instagram). 

Tweetstruck

We have to start with this exchange since Chris' love of mother! is well known. 

Where the hell am I going to fit 100 sinks, Matt?

— Chris Feil (@chrisvfeil) December 5, 2017

After the jump our tweet roundup of amusements, provocations, and random movie-loving featuring Moonstruck, I Tonya, P.T. Anderson, Big Little Lies, Meryl Streep's forehead, and more...

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