Get out your scorecard. The Toronto Film Critics Association, Dallas-Fort Worth Critics Association, Houston Film Critics Association, and Chicago Film Critics Association have weighed in with their choices for 2008.
Add these to the list of previously announced (and posted here) National Board of Review, Gotham, Los Angeles, New York Film Critics Circle, New York Film Critics Online, Boston, Satellite, Austin, San Diego, and San Francisco Critics Awards winners and you have a pretty good indication of what to expect at the 2009 Critics Choice, Spirit, Golden Globes, and Academy Awards (only the latter has yet to announce their nominations).
]]>
2008 TORONTO FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION AWARDS WINNERS 2008 DALLAS-FORT WORTH CRITICS ASSOCIATION AWARDS WINNERS 2008 HOUSTON FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION AWARDS WINNERS 2008 CHICAGO FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION AWARDS WINNERS]]>
The 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards nominations were announced this morning in Los Angeles at the Pacific Design Center’s Silver Screen Theater in West Hollywood. Like the Golden Globes, separate awards are given for movies and television. Garnering the most nominations are Doubt, Milk, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The awards will be simulcast live nationally on TNT and TBS on Sunday, January 25, 2009 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, 7 p.m. CT, and 6 p.m. MT from the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center. ]]>
Here are the motion picture nominees:
As 2008 comes to a close, it becomes immediately apparent that the 16th edition of the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference & Festival is just 12 weeks away. As readers of this blog know, of the many I attend each year, few film festivals can beat SXSW for sheer enjoyment, both in the quality of the program as well as the kickass rock 'n roll setting in which it takes place. ]]>
The festival has now announced its Opening Night film. Kicking off SXSW 2009 at the Paramount Theater in Austin, Texas on March 13 will be the DreamWorks Pictures film I Love You, Man, co-written and directed by John Hamburg (Along Came Polly, co-writer of Meet The Parents, Meet The Fockers, and Zoolander) and starring Paul Rudd, Jason Segel and Rashida Jones.
Don't relax just yet -- there are plenty of awards still being announced. The Austin Film Critics Association, San Diego Film Critics Society, and San Francisco Film Critics Circle have just weighed in with their selections for 2008. Milk and Slumdog Millionaire continue to haul them in, The Dark Knight gets some well-deserved recognition, and Sweden's Let The Right One In, one of my Top 10 Picks from Tribeca, sweeps all three lists for Best Foreign Film.]]>
2008 Austin Film Critics Association Awards Winners
The AFI's mission:
Awards season rolls on with the The Boston Society of Film Critics, New York Film Critics Online, and International Press Academy all announcing their selections over the weekend.]]>
A look back through the previous posts on this blog will reveal a trend emerging among this year's lists so far -- Slumdog Millionaire and Milk consistently top the narrative features while Man on Wire nabs best documentary kudos. Among foreign films, the wonderful Swedish coming-of-age film Let The Right One In is being honored by many groups. It was one of my Top 10 Picks from this year's Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award.
Is it worth going to the Sundance Film Festival? The short answer is, "it depends." It depends on what you're looking for. The focus of the festival has changed over the years. What was once the premiere showcase of cutting-edge, independent film has become more of a glitz and glamour Hollywood studio production replete with stars and the paparazzi that inevitably follow them. Although it's "gained luster" for much of the public, it has also lost the edge it was known for, and other festivals now fill that void. However, being smartly aware of how their reputation within the film community has changed, the programmers have tried to shift the focus back to what it was at the outset.]]>
The first time I attended, I waited for the schedule to come out in mid-December before deciding whether or not to go. Then I selected just a few films. I didn't "do the festival," so to speak. But as the year went on I found myself regretting that decision as more and more films began to show up on my radar which had premiered there. I vowed then that I'd do it up the next time around.
As we first announced here back in October, Michael Welch, currently being seen as Mike Newton in the blockbuster smash hit Twilight, will soon be appearing in a gritty independent film titled Rough Hustle. ]]>
The project is well underway with weeks of shooting completed on location in Mesquite, Nevada and Las Vegas. The town of Mesquite welcomed the crew with open arms and the local media reported on the excitement. "It's been fantastic, better than we expected," said Executive Producer Brendan Davis. "Until you get to a place, you just don't know. We're really pinching ourselves at how well it's going."
The Golden Globe nominations were announced by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association early this morning. The awards will be handed out on January 11 and are widely considered to be a good indicator of Oscar potential. While the numerous critics nominations and awards revealed over the past week can often be even more reliable in predicting who will win the Academy Awards, it's the Golden Globes which have the highest public visibility and are said to signal the traditional "start of Oscar season."]]>
The glitzy Globes were canceled last year after celebrities said they would boycott the show in honor of a strike by the Writers Guild of America. Winners were announced at a hasty news conference instead. Hollywood faces labor strife again with a potential strike by the Screen Actors Guild. But a strike-authorization vote early next month would come too late to affect the Globes this time.
The New York Film Critics Circle has weighed in with their picks of the 2008 year in cinema. "It's a mark of a healthy culture that people want to read and engage in the debate on movies on a serious level," Entertainment Weekly critic Lisa Schwarzbaum told indieWIRE. The chair of the New York Film Critics Circle this year, she noted that the awards were spread among a number of films. "Earlier in the year people were saying it's no a strong year, but there is such a variety this year." ]]>
The winners of the 2008 New York Film Critics Circle Awards are:
The South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival (SXSW) has announced that the winning short films featured at the festival will qualify for consideration in the Short Films category of the Annual Academy Awards without the standard theatrical run, provided the film otherwise complies with the Academy Rules.]]>
The final deadline to submit a film for the 2009 SXSW Film Festival is this Friday, December 12. Filmmakers are invited to submit their new projects in the Narrative, Documentary, Experimental, Music Video, and Shorts categories. Submissions can only be entered via the official SXSW Website where you can find complete submission rules and regulations.
The Film Independent's Spirit Awards are very close to my heart, as they're essentially the Oscars for indies, and often foretell some of those awards as well. Last year many of the films which were nominated for (and eventually won) Spirit Awards went on to dominate many Academy Awards categories.]]>
The 2009 Film Independent's Spirit Awards ceremony will take place in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica and will air uncut, uncensored, and commercial-free on IFC (Independent Film Channel) at 5 PM Eastern and Pacific Time on Saturday, February 21, 2009. An edited re-broadcast will air later that night on AMC.
The Critics Choice Awards are well-known to the public not just for the fact that they are broadcast on national television (January 8 on VH1) but also because they are considered among the most reliable indicators for the Oscars. "Since the Critics' Choice began announcing nominees in 2005 (instead of just winners, as it had previously), every Academy Award winner in a major category has been nominated for a Critics' Choice," according to a report in indieWIRE. "Last year, all five eventual best picture Oscar nominees were listed in the BFCA's top ten, and No Country For Old Men went on to sweep the winners, including best picture, director and supporting actor Javier Bardem." ]]>
The Broadcast Film Critics Association is the largest film critics organization in the United States and Canada, representing 199 television, radio and online critics. The very first opinion a moviegoer hears about new releases at the multiplex or the art house often comes from one of their members.
The calendar has turned to the major film awards. The big ones are the Golden Globes, sponsored by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and the Oscars, of course, sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. But there are a few other significant groups as well.]]>
We posted the National Board of Review (NBR) Awards winners earlier. Last week IFP's 18th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards took place in New York on the same day that Film Independent's Spirit Award nominations were handed out. And today, for the first time in their 33 year history, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association has awarded its highest honor to an animated film.
The National Board of Review (NBR) Awards are significant in being the first of the major critics' awards to be handed out over the next few months. They are often a bellwether for the year's Academy Award-nominated selections. This year the NBR screened over 330 films, including 209 narratives, 63 documentaries, 53 foreign language films, and 10 animated films. ]]>
"2008 was a very special year for film with diverse and wonderful storytelling and we are proud to honor these achievements. Several of the films from our Top 10 list, along with our Best Film of the Year, share the universal message about the resilience and the strength of the human spirit. Slumdog Millionaire, with brilliant direction by Danny Boyle and incredible performances, shares a passionate story about one man's courage and determination for the woman he loves," said NBR President Annie Schulhof. "The NBR is so thrilled to launch our Centennial celebration with a gala hosted by Whoopi Goldberg. We are looking forward to celebrating with all our honorees."