"Elvis" maxes out on nominations from the AACTA

by Travis Cragg

Baz Luhrmann’s musical biopic Elvis has thoroughly dominated the film categories of the Australian Academy Cinema Television Arts (AACTA) scoring a nod in every category for which it was eligible. The grand total is 15 nominations! Not too far behind, with 13 nods each, are George Miller’s fairytale 3000 Years Of Longing and Leah Purcell’s revisionist Western The Drover’s Wife: The Legend Of Molly Johnson. In recent times, the big movie of the nominations tends to sweep the wins as well (see Nitram, Babyteeth, Lion, and Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby for evidence), so if you’re wanting to make predictions, the Presley biopic is the best bet for all. 

After the jump a list of nominations, where you can stream them in the US, and a few comments. In case Elvis leaves the building, we offer a few alternatives as to what might win...

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A Weak Weekend at the Box Office

by Nathaniel R

A deflating weekend for Hollywood, proving once again that if you don't put enough new glitzy stuff in theaters (and don't promote them well) people don't show up! But for what it's worth, here's what the weekend was like...

Weekend Box Office  August 26th-28th 🔺 = new or expanding /  ★ = Recommended links if we've written about it
WIDE (OVER 800 SCREENS)	LIMITED / PLATFORM
THE INVITATION	ORPHAN: FIRST KILL

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Cannes Diary #5: Genies, Spies, Influencers, and Xenophobia

by Elisa Giudici

Sometimes I wish people who plan the daily schedule of festivals would love their audiences more. Placing a Cristian Mungiu movie at the end of very long day of screenings is a challenge. Even the most hardy of festivalgoers might have trouble. Why not use a more energetic movie for the 10 PM slot like Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness? Sorry for whining a little, but sometimes the real struggle is to give every movie the right chance to shine. Revising titles after seeing them at festivals throughout the years, I've noticed that late night spots sometimes result in harsher reviews than the film deserved.

After the jump three main competition films plus the buzzy Three Thousand Years of Longing from George Miller starring Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton... 

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