Awards Leftovers: The Editors, The DPs, The Gays

The Editors
Do you have any thoughts you need to get off your chest about the ACE Eddies? They barely received any play coming as they did on the heels of the Oscar nominations but I wanted to mention them anyway since I love 'the invisible art' and it's what I think I would have done had I gone into filmmaking (if not casting). This year their drama nominees Argo, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty, Skyfall, all received Oscar nominations but for the latter which was bumped to make way for Silver Linings Playbook, the only Comedy recipient to transfer with AMPAS. Also nominated in comedy or musical: Les Misérables, Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Moonrise Kingdom, and Ted.

"I know this will sound batshit crazy but your editing is just not as good as the editing in Silver Linings Playbook! which is also better than Skyfall"

This is not meant as a knock on Playbook since I know its fans are sensitive about my generally "meh" reaction to it (and distaste when pushed) but I actually have no problem with its nomination here in comedy. But that it should be the one chosen over the impeccably odd combo of razor sharp pathos and cool comic timing of Moonrise? And then bump out the action stylings of Skyfall? Me no understand.

Seamus McGarvey photo courtesy of the IECThe DPs
Likewise I forgot to mention the American Society of Cinematographers who chose Seamus McGarvey from Ireland  for Anna Karenina, Danny Cohen from Britain for Les Misérables, Claudio Miranda from Chile for Life of Pi, Janusz Kaminski from Poland for Lincoln, and Roger Deakins from Britain for Skyfall. All of these men went on to Oscar nominations but for Cohen who was replaced by Robert Richardson of Massachusetts for Django Unchained.

The Gays
Another group that waited to announce their nominees until Oscar time was The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association or "GALECA" who hand out the Dorian Awards. Full disclaimer: I became a member this year. I'm happy to be a part of it but, as with my BFCA membership, I don't always want to be associated with the results ;) That said, I joined this group because I like the presence of groups who, by their very nature, are forced to step outside the Oscar pool. You can't exactly nominate Argo and Lincoln for your LGBT FILM OF THE YEAR prize you know? Well... maybe 'Argo Fuck Yourself' and Lincoln. (haha. i'm here all week) But of course they also have a FILM OF THE YEAR prize which finds room for the titles you'll be totally sick of by Oscar night.

LGBT FILM OF THE YEAR 

• Any Day Now (interview!)
• Cloud Atlas (I can't escape this movie. Argh. That's the true true)
• Gayby (interview!)
• Keep the Lights On (capsule)
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower (interview)

I assume Keep the Lights On can't lose since it's the only LGBT film that's also nominated for Film of the Year but I'm personally trying to decide between Gayby and Perks for my vote. Both are so adorable I just want to cuddle with them. 

Complete Gayness after the jump...

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Screenplays of '12. Page 12. "Zero Dark Thirty"

New daily! I'll be sharing page 12 of every screenplay I've received for 2012 Films. With commentary!

The following scene stars Jason Clarke as "bad news" Daniel who has surprisingly not been getting much Supporting Actor buzz despite shooting off unmissable 'next big thing' vibes and Reda Kateb* as his tortured prisoner Ammar. I've drawn a little storyboard for you since the studio hasn't released any stills from this particular scene.  

INT. MAYA'S APARTMENT - ISLAMABAD

The loud WAILING of the early morning call to prayer from the loudspeakers of a nearby mosque wakes Maya on the couch.

CUT TO:

INT. BLACK SITE - AFTERNOON

Daniel and the guards enter Ammar's cel with Maya. Daniel switches on the floodlights, awakening Ammar.

                    DANIEL
Let's take it easy today, huh?

Daniel hands Ammar a bottle of orange juice and a bag of falalfel.

                    DANIEL (CONT'D)
Hungry? The food in here sucks so I
got you some of this.

* more scene and commentary after the jump...

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Beasts of the Precursor Wild

New Podcast ~ Part 2 of 2 
[Part 1 Here]
When we left off we were talking about the Globe Comedy and SAG Ensemble nods specifically and now the conversation continues. We turn to two films which could receive several nominations or none: The Master and Beasts of The Southern Wild and explore other Oscar mysteries too. [With Nathaniel, Nick, Katey, and Joe.]

Topics include:

• The Master and P.T. Anderson's shift from ensemble to two-man dramas
• Beasts of the Southern Wild, the outsider film
• Globe categorizations. Why wasn't The Sessions a comedy?
• Marion Cotillard is so Hollywood
• Screenplays, Original and Adapted
• Cinematography is neither Art Direction nor Visual Effects. Discuss
• Oscar Stats. Will Supporting Actor be the only acting lineup ever that goes in with all previous winners? 
• Screener piles. Are AMPAS voters more likely to watch The Paperboy or Compliance?

You can download the podcast on iTunes or listen right here at the bottom of the post. But, as always, the podcast isn't complete without you. Join in the conversation by commenting!

Beasts of the Precursor Wild

The Modern Bias in Best Cinematography.

Jose here. When the New York Film Critics began announcing their awards yesterday the biggest shock, for me, came early on as they decided to award Greig Fraser with Best Cinematography for Zero Dark Thirty. Don't get me wrong. I have absolutely nothing against Mr. Fraser and up to that moment I hadn't even seen the movie (I did later and ZOMG!). Anyway, what surprised me the most is that a contemporary movie had been recognized for an award that usually goes to period or fantasy movies. It's as if awards bodies don't feel that modern life is "pretty" enough to give it a photographic award. 

Yet the fact that people assume that "best" cinematography instantly means "prettiest" cinematography might be the greatest mistake in a category whose winners sometimes defy all logic...

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Top Ten: Greatest Lone Oscar Nods of the Past 20 Years

Glenn here with another look at one of my favourite bi-products of the Oscar season. They’re the nominations that we sometimes forget about (unless it’s Norbit – we all remember that one!), but which forever brand a movie as “Oscar nominated”. Sometimes they’re the result of one aspect of a film sucking up all the energy in the room, and sometimes they’re the result of a prickly film finding an appreciative consensus in one category. Oh sure, all of the films below probably deserve the sort of Oscar haul that will greet Les Mis, Lincoln, or Argo, but receiving just one makes for fun statistics and even more fun list making! Let’s count down the best films of the last 20 years to receive just one nomination* on Oscar morning, and take a look at the films of 2012 that could very well reap a similar fate in 37 days.

*We’re going to exclude films that competed only in the animated/foreign/documentary categories since the Academy assigns them a ghetto for reason.

serial killer films don't usually generate the multiple Oscar wins of Silence of the Lambs

Honourable Mentions: I couldn’t go further without mentioning Tarsem Singh’s The Cell (Best Makeup, 2000) and David Fincher’s Se7en (Best Editing, 1995) since these two audaciously constructed classics of the serial killer subgenre are such bold choices for the Academy in their respective categories. They make a particularly disturbing double feature, too. You’ll be disgusted at the world for weeks!

The Best Single Nominee Films of the Past Twenty Years

10. Monster (Lead Actress, 2003)
I’m most definitely on Team Nick Davis when it comes to this captivating portrayal of an unravelling American life. Told as if through hazy, overly orchestrated memory pieces, Patty Jenkins’ film about Aileen Wuornos arguably deserved more credit than just for Charlize Theron’s pulverising central portrayal. A makeup nomination was the least the Academy could have done.

And in 2012: Now that tsunami disaster drama The Impossible has been nixed from the visual effects category, surely its only strong shot at a nomination is for star Naomi Watts. Will the Academy recognise the desperate plight of a white woman in danger? Probably.

Nine more achievements and their possible mirrors this year are after the jump...

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