Official Cannes Lineup

Notes: Competition lineup heavy on auteurs and dark films; another Filipino film (also by Mendoza) gets in the Competition slate; and cinema icon Isabelle Hupert leads the jury. Notes on the Best Actress race to follow.

OPENER
"Up," U.S., Pete Docter, Bob Peterson

CLOSER
"Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky," France, Jan Kounen

IN COMPETITION
"Bright Star," Australia-U.K.-France, Jane Campion
"Spring Fever," China-France, Lou Ye
"Antichrist," Denmark-Sweden-France-Italy, Lars von Trier
"Enter the Void," France, Gaspar Noe
"Face," France-Taiwan-Netherlands-Belgium, Tsai Ming-liang
"Les Herbes folles," France-Italy, Alain Resnais
"In the Beginning," France, Xavier Giannoli
"A Prophet," France, Jacques Audiard
"The White Ribbon," Germany-Austria-France, Michael Haneke
"Vengeance," Hong Kong-France-U.S., Johnnie To
"The Time That Remains," Israel-France-Belgium-Italy, Elia Suleiman
"Vincere," Italy-France, Marco Bellocchio
"Kinatay," Philippines, Brillante Mendoza
"Thirst," South Korea-U.S., Park Chan-wook
"Broken Embraces," Spain, Pedro Almodovar
"Map of the Sounds of Tokyo," Spain, Isabel Coixet
"Fish Tank," U.K.-Netherlands, Andrea Arnold
"Looking for Eric," U.K.-France-Belgium-Italy, Ken Loach
"Inglourious Basterds," U.S., Quentin Tarantino
"Taking Woodstock," U.S., Ang Lee

OUT OF COMPETITION
"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," Canada-France, Terry Gilliam
"The Army of Crime," France, Robert Guediguian
"Agora," Spain, Alejandro Amenabar

MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS
"A Town Called Panic," Belgium, Stephane Aubier, Vincent Patar
"Ne te retourne pas," France-Belgium-Luxembourg-Italy, Marina de Van
"Drag Me to Hell," U.S., Sam Raimi

SPECIAL SCREENINGS
"Petition," China, Zhao Liang
"L'epine dans le coeur," France, Michel Gondry
"Min ye," France-Mali, Souleyumane Cisse
"Jaffa," Israel-France-Germany, Keren Yedaya
"Manila," Philippines, Adolfo Alix Jr., Raya Martin
"My Neighbor, My Killer," U.S., Anne Aghion

UN CERTAIN REGARD
"Samson & Delilah," Australia, Warwick Thornton
"Adrift," Brazil, Heitor Dhalia
"The Wind Journeys," Colombia, Ciro Guerra
"Demain des l'aube," France, Denis Dercourt
"Irene," France, Alain Cavalier
"Air Doll," Japan, Hirokazu Kore-eda
"Independance," Philippines-France-Germany, Raya Martin
"Le Pere de mes enfants," France-Germany, Mia Hansen-Love
"Dogtooth," Greece, Yorgos Lanthimos
"Nobody Knows About the Persian Cats," Iran, Bahman Ghobadi
"Eyes Wide Open," Israel, Haim Tabakman
"Mother," South Korea, Bong Joon-ho
"The Silent Army," Netherlands, Jean van de Velde
"To Die Like a Man," Portugal, Joao Pedro Rodrigues
"Police, Adjective," Romania, Corneliu Porumboiu
"Tales from the Golden Age," Romania, Hanno Hofer, Razvan Marculescu, Cristian Mungiu, Constantin Popescu, Ioana Uricaru
"Tale in the Darkness," Russia, Nikolay Khomeriki
"Tzar," Russia-France, Pavel Lounguine
"Nymph," Thailand, Pen-ek Ratanaruang
"Precious," U.S., Lee Daniels

FEATURE FILM JURY
Isabelle Huppert (president), actress, France
Asia Argento, actress, director, screenwriter, Italy
Nuri Bilge Ceylan, director, screenwriter, actor, Turkey
Lee Chang-dong, director, author, screenwriter, South Korea
James Gray, director, screenwriter, U.S.
Hanif Kureishi, author, screenwriter, U.K.
Shu Qi, actress, Taiwan
Robin Wright Penn, actress, U.S.

LA CINEFONDATION AND SHORT FILM JURY
John Boorman (president), director, author, producer, U.K.
Bertrand Bonello, director, France
Ferid Boughedir, director, Tunisia
Leonor Silveira, actress, Portugal
Zhang Ziyi, actress, China

Source

Pinoy Director Focus: Mike de Leon

Itim (1976)

Number of films (as director): 14

Number of awards: 10 wins (including: 1 FAP Award; 5 Gawad Urian Awards)

Most important films: Itim (1976); Kakaba-kaba Ka Ba? (1980); Kisapmata (1981); Batch '81 (1982); Sister Stella L. (1984); Bayaning Third World (2000). Kisapmata and Batch '81 were included in the Directors' Fortnight of the 1982 Cannes Film Festival. Sister Stella L. was an entry in the 1985 Venice Film Festival.

Kakaba-kaba Ka Ba? (1980)


Kisapmata (1981)

Batch '81 (1982)

My favorite Mike de Leon films: Bayaning Third World, Itim, Sister Stella L.

Bayaning Third World (2000)


Sister Stella L. (1984)

Popularity: Though not as generally revered as Lino Brocka or Ishmael Bernal, de Leon is considered by most Filipino cineastes as a major player in the Second Golden Age of Philippine Cinema (1970s to early 1980s). Film fans praise him for being perhaps the most consistently excellent filmmaker of his generation, probably since.

Current status: Last film was Bayaning Third World in 2000.

Image source: Video 48
Information source: IMDb

Anne Hathaway as Judy Garland

The Weinstein Company supposedly has Oscar-nominee Anne Hathaway attached to star as Judy Garland in both the film and stage versions of the biography Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland. Oscar fodder, anyone?

Winners of the 3rd Asian Film Awards

Here are some of the winners of the 3rd Annual Asian Film Awards:

BEST FILM
Tokyo Sonata

BEST DIRECTOR
Kore-Eda Hirokazu (Still Walking)

BEST ACTOR
Motoki Masahiro (Departures)

BEST ACTRESS
Zhou Xun (The Equation of Love and Death)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jung Woo-sung (The Good, the Bad, the Weird)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Gina Pareno (Service)

Film-Otaku Awards 2008

BEST PICTURE

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE


2. The Dark Knight
3. WALL-E
4. Australia
5. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
6. In Bruges
7. Milk
8. Doubt
9. The Reader
10. Valkyrie

BEST DIRECTOR

CHRISTOPHER NOLAN (THE DARK KNIGHT)


2. Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
3. Baz Luhrmann (Australia)
4. Martin McDonagh (In Bruges)
5. David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
6. Gus Van Sant (Milk)
7. Steven Soderbergh (Che: Part One)
8. Stephen Daldry (The Reader)
9. Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon)
10. Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)

BEST ACTOR

SEAN PENN (MILK)


2. Colin Farrell (In Bruges)
3. Leonardo DiCaprio (Revolutionary Road)
4. Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
5. Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt)
6. Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino)
7. Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)
8. Ben Kingsley (Elegy)
9. Benicio del Toro (Che: Part Two)
10. Hugh Jackman (Australia)

BEST ACTRESS

MERYL STREEP (DOUBT)


2. Kate Winslet (The Reader)
3. Nicole Kidman (Australia)
4. Cate Blanchett (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
5. Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road)
6. Melissa Leo (Frozen River)
7. Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky)
8. Kate Beckinsale (Nothing But the Truth)
9. Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)
10. Keira Knightley (The Duchess)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

HEATH LEDGER (THE DARK KNIGHT)


2. Liev Schreiber (Defiance)
3. Robert Downey Jr. (Tropic Thunder)
4. Ralph Fiennes (In Bruges)
5. Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road)
6. Ralph Fiennes (The Reader)
7. Paul Bettany (The Secret Life of Bees)
8. Josh Brolin (Milk)
9. Brandon Walters (Australia)
10. Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

PENELOPE CRUZ (VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA)


2. Viola Davis (Doubt)
3. Amy Adams (Doubt)
4. Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
5. Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler)
6. Vera Farmiga (Nothing But the Truth)
7. Rosario Dawson (Seven Pounds)
8. Eugene Domingo (100)
9. Tessie Tomas (100)
10. Julia Ormond (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)

BEST ENSEMBLE

DOUBT


2. The Dark Knight
3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
4. Milk
5. Elegy

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

ANDREW STANTON (WALL-E)


2. Dustin Lance Black (Milk)
3. Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
4. Martin McDonagh (In Bruges)
5. Rod Lurie (Nothing But the Truth)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

NICHOLAS MEYER (ELEGY), based on the novel The Dying Animal by Philip Roth


2. Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight), based on characters created by Bob Kane
3. Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire), based on the novel Q&A by Vikas Swarup
4. John Patrick Shanley (Doubt), based on his stage play
5. Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon), based on his stage play

BEST ART DIRECTION

HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY

2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
3. Australia
4. The Duchess
5. Valkyrie

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

WALLY PFISTER (THE DARK KNIGHT)


2. Claudio Miranda (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
3. Anthony Dod Mantle (Slumdog Millionaire)
4. Mandy Walker (Australia)
5. Chris Menges, Roger Deakins (The Reader)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

MICHAEL O'CONNOR (THE DUCHESS)


2. Catherine Martin (Australia)
3. Isis Mussenden (The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian)
4. Jacqueline West (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
5. Anais Romand (The Last Mistress)

BEST MAKEUP

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON


2. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
3. Hellboy II: The Golden Army
4. The Dark Knight
5. Tropic Thunder

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

A.R. RAHMAN (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE)


2. James Newton Howard, Hans Zimmer (The Dark Knight)
3. Carter Burwell (In Bruges)
4. James Newton Howard (Defiance)
5. Alexandre Desplat (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)

BEST SONG

"JAI HO" (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE)


2. "Barcelona" (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
3. "Rock Me Sexy Jesus" (Hamlet 2)
4. "The Call" (The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian)
5. "Gran Torino" (Gran Torino)

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

IRON MAN


2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
3. Hellboy Ii: The Golden Army
4. The Dark Knight
5. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

BEST CAMEO PERFORMANCE

TILDA SWINTON (THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN)


2. Tom Cruise (Tropic Thunder)
3. Amy Poehler (Hamlet 2)
4. Kristin Wigg (Ghost Town)
5. Lena Olin (The Reader)

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE

DEV PATEL (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE)


2. David Kross (The Reader)
3. Fu'ad Ait Aattou (The Last Mistress)
4. Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire)
5. Brandon Walters (Australia)

BEST COMEDIC PERFORMANCE

SALLY HAWKINS (HAPPY-GO-LUCKY)


2. Colin Farrell (In Bruges)
3. Robert Downey Jr. (Tropic Thunder)
4. Steve Coogan (Hamlet 2)
5. Ricky Gervais (Ghost Town)

BEST VILLAIN

THE JOKER (THE DARK KNIGHT)


2. Obadiah Stane (Iron Man)
3. Irina Spalko (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)
4. King Miraz (The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian)
5. Neil Fletcher (Australia)

BEST FIGHT

LU YAN VS. THE SILENT MONK (FORBIDDEN KINGDOM)


2. Hellboy vs. Prince Nuada (Hellboy II: The Golden Army)
3. Hulk vs. Abomination (The Incredible Hulk)
4. Peter vs. Miraz (The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian)
5. Iron Man vs. Obadiah Stane (Iron Man)

WORST PICTURE

THE LOVE GURU

WORST PERFORMANCE

THANDIE NEWTON (W.)

81st Academy Award Winners (and Thoughts)

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
Slumdog Millionaire

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Sean Penn (Milk)
*Predicted: Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Kate Winslet (The Reader)

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Dustin Lance Black (Milk)
*Predicted: Andrew Stanton (WALL-E)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Andrew Stanton (WALL-E)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Japan (Departures)

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Man on Wire

ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
Anthony Dod Mantle (Slumdog Millionaire)

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
Michael O'Conner (The Duchess)

ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
Chris Dickens (Slumdog Millionaire)

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire)

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
"Jai Ho" (Slumdog Millionaire)

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
Slumdog Millionaire

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
The Dark Knight

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
Smile Pinki
*Predicted: The Final Inch

BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
La Maison en Petits Cubes
*Predicted: Presto

BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
Toyland
*Predicted: The Pig

Overall score: 19/24. Not bad. Probably my best so far. The three categories on shorts are where I went wrong mostly, with gusty predictions of wins for Rourke and WALL-E for screenplay also not working out. It turned out to be a mostly predictable year, but all the winners are deserving and I loved the ceremonies. It was the most entertaining, heartfelt, and aptly paced show that I've seen in a long time. Hugh Jackman was a great host, very classy.

My favorite thing about this year's Oscars:
-The new format of presenting the winners of the acting awards. Bringing out former winners to honor a new one is an emotional tribute that must become the new tradition. With over 70 past winners in these categories, it would be easy to get a new batch of presenters every year, and it would cause excitement to guess who'll be coming out to give the Oscar. I especially loved the lineup of presenters for the lead categories. What star power!

The new format did, however, result in the loss of a good tradition of the acting awards: the clips. I'm sure there's a way to make this work where clips are still shown. I would have particularly loved to see a clip of Ledger's Joker performance.

Still, overall, it was a great Oscar show. The right people and films won (how long has it been since that was the case?), and the show itself is heading in the right direction.

On to the new Oscar year!

Winners of the 2009 BAFTA Awards

Here are the winners of the 2009 Orange British Film Awards:

BEST FILM
Slumdog Millionaire. It is written. Oscars, here it comes.

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
Man on Wire. The likely winner of the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.

THE CARL FOREMAN AWARD
Steve McQueen (Hunger). Totally deserving.

DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire). He'll win the Oscar, too.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Martin McDonagh (In Bruges). Yahoo! I'd love to see McDonagh get the Oscar, too, but competition from Black (Milk, the WGA winner) and Stanton (WALL-E) is fierce.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire). Can anything stop this film? Not that anything deserves to.

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
I've Loved You So Long. Not eligible for the same category in the Oscars, of course.

ANIMATED FILM
WALL-E. Totally deserving. That Kung Fu Panda sweep in the Annies was a [stupid] fluke.

LEADING ACTOR
Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler). Wow. He just might win the Oscar over Penn. This win makes that category a bit more unpredictable (which is always exciting).

LEADING ACTRESS
Kate Winslet (The Reader). Winslet: BAFTA, Globes, and SAG (albeit for Supporting). Streep: SAG. Methinks the Oscar will go to Winslet.

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight). Another inevitable win come Oscar night.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona). Finally! She'll likely take home the Oscar, too.

MUSIC
A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire). Just reward for one of the best elements in the best film of the year.

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Anthony Dod Mantle (Slumdog Millionaire). Would have loved a win for Pfister here, but Mantle did an amazing job, too. But the Oscar race in this category is still wide open.

EDITING
Chris Dickens (Slumdog Millionaire). I've said enough.

PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. A consolation prize, but deserving.

COSTUME DESIGN
Michael O'Connor (The Duchess). Will likely repeat at the Oscars.

SOUND
Slumdog Millionaire

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. This will win the Oscar.

MAKE UP AND HAIR
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Here, too.

SHORT ANIMATION
Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death

THE ORANGE RISING STAR AWARD
Noel Clarke

Slumdog and Milk Win the WGA Awards

Danny Boyle Wins the DGA Award

BAFTA Thoughts

On 8 February, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) will be handing out their Orange British Academy Film Awards. More so now (and last year) than ever before, these awards have a lot of significance in determining how the Academy Awards will be playing out a few weeks after. Last year, the British support for Atonement, whose support for Oscar play was waning before the BAFTA rally, translated into a nod for Best Picture. The winners of the four acting awards repeated in the Oscars; this was especially significant for La Vie en Rose's Marion Cotillard, who beat British favorite Julie Christie (then already the SAG winner), and Michael Clayton's Tilda Swinton, who beat favored Cate Blanchett. This year, the Brits propelled The Reader, its director Stephen Daldry, and its lead actress Kate Winslet--who they nom'd in the right category--to [slightly] unexpected Oscar noms. What will the actual BAFTA results on 8 February say about those of the Oscars on the 22nd?

Slumdog Millionaire will win the Best Film award. After that, nothing can beat it for the Oscar gold.

Sean Penn will likely win, but Mickey Rourke can never be fully counted out.

Whoever wins Best Actress will be the likely Oscar winner of the same award. It's Kate Winslet (for The Reader) or Meryl Streep. My bet is Kate.

Heath Ledger will win. The Oscar is his.

Penelope Cruz will win and go on to claim the Oscar, too. But Viola Davis remains a serious threat.

Winners of the 15th SAG Awards

Here are the winners of the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards for film:

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Sean Penn (Milk)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Meryl Streep (Doubt)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Kate Winslet (The Reader)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE
Slumdog Millionaire

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
The Dark Kngiht

Slumdog Millionaire Snags the PGA Award

Nominations for the 81st Academy Awards

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

Score: 3/5. Predicted The Dark Knight and WALL-E instead of Frost/Nixon and The Reader. I hate the Dark Knight snub, especially after how well it has performed at the guilds (except SAG), but I'm learning to accept it. It was a dream after all, wishing that the Academy would finally be open to rewarding such mainstream (i.e., comic book) fare. I should have foreseen the nom for The Reader. The British have major clout; they've proven that last year with Atonement.

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
David Fincher (Slumdog Millionaire)
Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon)
Gus Van Sant (Milk)
Stephen Daldry (The Reader)
Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)

Score: 4/5. Predicted Nolan instead of Daldry. They should have nominated Nolan at the very least. Oh well.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)
Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)
Sean Penn (Milk)
Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

Score: 4/5. Predicted Eastwood instead of Jenkins. Too late a surge for Gran Torino, perhaps. It would have been nice to see the Man up there among the nominees. But Jenkins is the actor's actor; it's no surprise.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)
Angelina Jolie (Changeling)
Melissa Leo (Frozen River)
Meryl Streep (Doubt)
Kate Winslet (The Reader)

Score: 3/5. Predicted Hawkins and Winslet for Revolutionary Road instead of Leo and Winslet for The Reader. The Good: Melissa Leo! She was great in the film. And a brave move for the Academy to go against the category fraud and place Winslet in the right category. The Bad: Where's Sally Hawkins?! Having won all those critics awards, she should have been a shoo-in. As I write this I realize that this makes me even sadder than the Dark Knight snub does. Was hoping Blanchett would sneak in, too (would a 14th nom for Button have hurt? hehe), but that was never a likely scenario.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Josh Brolin (Milk)
Robert Downey Jr. (Tropic Thunder)
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt)
Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road)

Score: 4/5. Predicted Patel instead of Shannon. Wow, talk about surprises! A good one at that; Shannon deserves the slot. I loved Patel's performance in Slumdog, but the voters ultimately made the right decision; that was NOT a supporting perf. Yey Downey and Ledger!

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Amy Adams (Doubt)
Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Viola Davis (Doubt)
Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler)

Score: 4/5. Predicted Winslet (The Reader) instead of Henson. I'm glad I'm wrong and that Henson got in for her adorable, touching performance. And now that Winslet's in the right category (don't get me wrong, I love the girl), Cruz will easily (not surely, but easily) sail into well deserved victory. Fun tidbit: Bardem, likely to present the award as is traditional (he won Best Supporting Actor last year), will be giving it to his lover Cruz.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Courtney Hunt (Frozen River)
Mike Leigh (Happy-Go-Lucky)
Martin McDonagh (In Bruges)
Dustin Lance Black (Milk)
Andrew Stanton (WALL-E)

Score: 2/5. Predicted Lumet (Rachel Getting Married), Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), and Siegel (The Wrestler) instead of Hunt, Leigh, and McDonagh. I LOVE the In Bruges nod! Totally deserving. Now if only it had been able to sneak into the Best Picture and Best Actor (Farrell) categories... Glad about the Leigh nod, too, though I was rooting for one for Allen just like many other people were. Stanton deserves the nod, totally.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Eric Roth. Robin Swicord (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
John Patrick Shanley (Doubt)
Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon)
David Hare (The Reader)
Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire)

Score: 4/5. Predicted the Nolans (The Dark Knight) instead of Shanley. Another major Dark Knight snub, though this was a less likely nom that the Best Pic and Best Director ones.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Der Baader Meinhof Komplex (Germany)
The Class (France)
Departures (Japan)
Revanche (Austria)
Waltz with Bashir (Israel)

Score: 3/5. Predicted Sweden and Turkey instead of Japan and Austria.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
WALL-E

Score: 2/3. Predicted Waltz with Bashir instead of Bolt.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water

Score: 3/5. Predicted Pray the Devil Back to Hell and Standard Operating Procedure instead of Betrayal and Garden. Not bad, for a category that I know nothing about (I have not seen any of the eligible films).

ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Duchess
Revolutionary Road

Score: 3/5. Predicted Indiana Jones and Slumdog Millionaire instead of Changeling and The Duchess. Happy about the nod for Duchess; it's a criminally underrated film.

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
Tom Stern (Changeling)
Claudio Miranda (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Wally Pfister (The Dark Knight)
Chris Menges (The Reader)
Anthony Dod Mantle (Slumdog Millionaire)

Score: 4/5. Predicted Deakins (Revolutionary Road) instead of Stern.

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
Catherine Martin (Australia)
Jacqueline West (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Michael O'Conner (The Duchess)
Danny Glicker (Milk)
Albert Wolsky (Revolutionary Road)

Score: 3/5. Predicted Hopper (Changeling) and Hemming (The Dark Knight) instead of Martin and Glicker.

ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Lee Smith (The Dark Knight)
Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill (Frost/Nixon)
Elliot Graham (Milk)
Chris Dickens (Slumdog Millionaire)

Score: 4/5. Predicted Simpson (The Reader) instead of Hanley and Hill. For a very good but not very passion-inducing film, Frost/Nixon sure got a lot of nods.

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Score: 2/3. Predicted The Reader instead of Hellboy. Good choices.

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
Alexandre Desplat (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
James Newton Howard (Defiance)
Danny Elfman (Milk)
A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire)
Thomas Newman (WALL-E)

Score: 4/5. Predicted Howard and Zimmer (The Dark Knight) instead of Howard. Another terrible oversight. The score of The Dark Knight was one of last year's most memorable and most intense. The above are great choices, too, but I would have bumped off Elfman (though I predicted his nom).

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
"Jai Ho" (Slumdog Millionaire)
"O Saya" (Slumdog Millionaire)
"Down to Earth" (WALL-E)

Score: 2/3. I actually predicted 5, with only "Jai Ho" and "Down to Earth" getting in. The biggest snub: Springsteen's The Wrestler. I'm personally fine with it. Loved Slumdog and its songs, especially "Jai Ho," but two nods of three, really?

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted

Score: 4/5. Predicted Quantum of Solace instead of Wanted. Where did that nom for such a silly film come from? Now it's "Oscar-nominated Wanted." Eew. But I guess it was a good film in terms of the technical aspects.

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted

Score: 3/5. Predicted Defiance and Indiana Jones instead of Slumdog and Wanted. Make that "double Oscar-nominated Wanted." Glad I'm wrong about the Indiana Jones nods; that crappy film deserves the complete snub.

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Iron Man

Score: 3/3. A no-brainer.

TOTAL: 68/97. Certainly not my best, but not bad.

Nominees for 2009 BAFTA Film Awards

Here are the nominees for the 2009 Orange British Academy Film Awards (taken from the BAFTA site):

BEST FILM

• THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Ceán Chaffin
• FROST/NIXON – Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard
• MILK – Dan Jinks, Bruce Cohen
• THE READER – Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack, Donna Gigliotti, Redmond Morris
• SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – Christian Colson

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM

• HUNGER – Laura Hastings-Smith, Robin Gutch, Steve McQueen, Enda Walsh
• IN BRUGES – Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Martin McDonagh
• MAMMA MIA! – Judy Craymer, Gary Goetzman, Phyllida Lloyd, Catherine Johnson
• MAN ON WIRE – Simon Chinn, James Marsh
• SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – Christian Colson, Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy

THE CARL FOREMAN AWARD

for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer for their First Feature Film

• SIMON CHINN (Producer) – Man On Wire
• JUDY CRAYMER (Producer) – Mamma Mia!
• GARTH JENNINGS (Writer) – Son of Rambow
• STEVE McQUEEN (Director/Writer) – Hunger
• SOLON PAPADOPOULOS, ROY BOULTER (Producers) – Of Time And The City

DIRECTOR

• CHANGELING – Clint Eastwood
• THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – David Fincher
• FROST/NIXON – Ron Howard
• THE READER – Stephen Daldry
• SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – Danny Boyle

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• BURN AFTER READING – Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
• CHANGELING – J. Michael Straczynski
• I’VE LOVED YOU SO LONG – Philippe Claudel
• IN BRUGES – Martin McDonagh
• MILK – Dustin Lance Black

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Eric Roth
• FROST/NIXON – Peter Morgan
• THE READER – David Hare
• REVOLUTIONARY ROAD – Justin Haythe
• SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – Simon Beaufoy

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

• THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX – Bernard Eichinger, Uli Edel
• GOMORRAH – Domenico Procacci, Matteo Garrone
• I'VE LOVED YOU SO LONG – Yves Marmion, Philippe Claudel
• PERSEPOLIS – Marc-Antoine Robert, Xavier Rigault, Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Parannaud
• WALTZ WITH BASHIR – Serge Lalou, Gerhard Meixner, Yael Nahl Ieli, Ari Folman

ANIMATED FILM

• PERSEPOLIS – Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Parannaud
• WALL•E – Andrew Stanton
• WALTZ WITH BASHIR – Ari Folman

LEADING ACTOR

• FRANK LANGELLA – Frost/Nixon
• DEV PATEL – Slumdog Millionaire
• SEAN PENN – Milk
• BRAD PITT – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• MICKEY ROURKE – The Wrestler

LEADING ACTRESS

• ANGELINA JOLIE – Changeling
• KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS – I’ve Loved You So Long
• MERYL STREEP – Doubt
• KATE WINSLET – The Reader
• KATE WINSLET – Revolutionary Road

SUPPORTING ACTOR

• ROBERT DOWNEY JR. – Tropic Thunder
• BRENDAN GLEESON – In Bruges
• PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN – Doubt
• HEATH LEDGER – The Dark Knight
• BRAD PITT – Burn After Reading

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• AMY ADAMS – Doubt
• PENÉLOPE CRUZ – Vicky Cristina Barcelona
• FREIDA PINTO – Slumdog Millionaire
• TILDA SWINTON – Burn After Reading
• MARISA TOMEI – The Wrestler

MUSIC

• THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Alexandre Desplat
• THE DARK KNIGHT – Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard
• MAMMA MIA! – Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus
• SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – A. R. Rahman
• WALL•E – Thomas Newman

CINEMATOGRAPHY

• CHANGELING – Tom Stern
• THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Claudio Miranda
• THE DARK KNIGHT – Wally Pfister
• THE READER – Chris Menges, Roger Deakins
• SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – Anthony Dod Mantle

EDITING **

• CHANGELING – Joel Cox, Gary D. Roach
• THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall
• THE DARK KNIGHT – Lee Smith
• FROST/NIXON – Mike Hill, Dan Hanley
• IN BRUGES – Jon Gregory
• SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – Chris Dickens

**As there was a tie in this category there are six nominations

PRODUCTION DESIGN

• CHANGELING – James J. Murakami, Gary Fettis
• THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Donald Graham Burt, Victor J. Zolfo
• THE DARK KNIGHT – Nathan Crowley, Peter Lando
• REVOLUTIONARY ROAD – Kristi Zea, Debra Schutt
• SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – Mark Digby, Michelle Day

COSTUME DESIGN

• CHANGELING – Deborah Hopper
• THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Jacqueline West
• THE DARK KNIGHT – Lindy Hemming
• THE DUCHESS – Michael O'Connor
• REVOLUTIONARY ROAD – Albert Wolsky

SOUND

• CHANGELING – Walt Martin, Alan Robert Murray, John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff
• THE DARK KNIGHT – Lora Hirschberg, Richard King, Ed Novick, Gary Rizzo
• QUANTUM OF SOLACE – Jimmy Boyle, Eddy Joseph, Chris Munro, Mike Prestwood Smith, Mark Taylor
• SLUMDOG MILLIONARE – Glenn Freemantle, Resul Pookutty, Richard Pryke, Tom Sayers, Ian Tapp
• WALL•E – Ben Burtt, Tom Myers, Michael Semanick, Matthew Wood

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS

• THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Eric Barba, Craig Barron, – Nathan McGuinness, Edson Williams
• THE DARK KNIGHT – Chris Corbould, Nick Davis, Paul Franklin, Tim Webber
• INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL – Pablo Helman
• IRON MAN – Shane Patrick Mahan, John Nelson, Ben Snow
• QUANTUM OF SOLACE – Chris Corbould, Kevin Tod Haug

MAKE UP & HAIR

• THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Jean Black, Colleen Callaghan
• THE DARK KNIGHT – Peter Robb-King
• THE DUCHESS – Daniel Phillips, Jan Archibald
• FROST/NIXON – Edouard Henriques, Kim Santantonio
• MILK – Steven E. Anderson, Michael White

SHORT ANIMATION

• CODSWALLOP – Greg McLeod, Myles McLeod
• VARMINTS – Sue Goffe, Marc Craste
• WALLACE AND GROMIT: A MATTER OF LOAF AND DEATH – Steve Pegram, Nick Park, Bob Baker

SHORT FILM

• KINGSLAND #1 THE DREAMER – Kate Ogborn, Tony Grisoni
• LOVE YOU MORE – Caroline Harvey, Sam Taylor-Wood, Patrick Marber
• RALPH – Olivier Kaempfer, Alex Winckler
• SEPTEMBER – Stewart le Maréchal, Esther May Campbell
• VOYAGE D’AFFAIRES (THE BUSINESS TRIP) – Celine Quideau, Sean Ellis

THE ORANGE RISING STAR AWARD

• MICHAEL CERA
• NOEL CLARKE
• MICHAEL FASSBENDER
• REBECCA HALL
• TOBY KEBBELL

Foreign Language Film Shortlist

The following have been shortlisted for the Best Foreign Language Film category:

Revance (Austria)
The Necessities of Life (Canada)
The Class (France)
The Baader Meinhof Complex (Germany)
Waltz with Bashir (Israel)
Departures (Japan)
Tear This Heart Out (Mexico)
Everlasting Moments (Sweden)
3 Monkeys (Turkey)

Nominees for 11th CDG Awards

Here are the nominees for the 11th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards:

Excellence in Period Film
Deborah Hopper (Changeling)
Jacqueline West (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Michael O' Connor (The Duchess)
Danny Glicker (Milk)
Albert Wolsky (Revolutionary Road)

Excellence in Contemporary Film
Laura Jean Shannon, Rebecca Bentjen (Iron Man)
Ann Roth (Mamma Mia!)
Patricia Field (Sex and the City)
Suttirat Larlarb (Slumdog Millionaire)
Amy Westcott (The Wrestler)

Excellence in Fantasy Film
Isis Mussenden (Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian)
Lindy Hemming (The Dark Knight)
Sanja Milkovic Hays (The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor)

Nominees for 59th ACE Eddie Awards

Here are the nominees for the 59th Annual American Cinema Editors (ACE) Eddie Awards:

Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic)
Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Lee Smith (The Dark Knight)
Mike Hill, Dan Hanley (Frost/Nixon)
Elliot Graham (Milk)
Chris Dickens (Slumdog Millionaire)

Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy or Musical)
Jon Gregory (In Bruges)
Leslie Walker (Mamma Mia!)
Greg Gayden (Tropic Thunder)
Alisa Lepselter (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Stephen Schaffer (WALL-E)

Best Edited Documentary
Steve Audette (Bush's War)
Stuart Levy (Chicago 10)
Jinx Godfrey (Man on Wire)

Grading the Frontrunners

I have now seen all of the generally presumed Oscar Best Picture nominees (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Frost/Nixon, Milk, Slumdog Millionaire) and what may very well be the most serious threat for the fifth slot, WALL-E. Of the other possibilities, I have yet to see Doubt, Rachel Getting Married, The Reader, and The Wrestler.

So what do I think of this year's front runners? Interestingly enough, for the first time since I started doing these things in 2002, my current top 6 favorite films of 2008 are a perfect match to the presumed top 6 in Oscar's best pic race. I've ranked WALL-E third only to Slumdog Millionaire and The Dark Knight, but the other three are up there in my list. I've given all of these films a rating of A. What a great year for cinema.


And just like the BFCA and other critics, the HFPA, and the Globes crowd (did you see and hear them go wild?), I LOVE SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. How can anyone not? Its direction is topnotch, the performances are endearing (special props to Dev Patel), the splashes of color and the rousing score are amazing, and the sheer exuberance of the whole thing... I've read someone describe the ending as "giddy," and I'd have to agree. But it's not the sort of giddy of innane childishness that some films have. What I felt for most of the movie's duration and, more importantly, after watching it, is how cinema was meant to make one feel: invigorated, joyful, youthful, exhilarated, and appreciative of the medium.


Until I saw Slumdog, The Dark Knight was my favorite film of the year, and even now that I have I'm still inclined to consider it the most well crafted. It easily goes beyond Heath Ledger's performance, which is of course transcendent. The gritty look, the chaotic madness (intensified by that eerie score), the concept of White Knight vs. Dark Knight (i.e., the heroes that we need and the heroes that we deserve). It's what every serious comic book adaptation should aspire to be in terms of sheer quality and gravitas. It greatly helps that the cast is topnotch; it's my favorite ensemble of the past year.


Acting is also a primary strength of that other Best Picture favorite, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Cate Blanchett is, as always, superb (my favorite lead female perf of 2008 so far), Taraji P. Henson is adorable and moving, Brad Pitt is a strong presence, and Julia Ormond is a surprising treat. It's a tad overlong (and to think it was adapted from a short story!), with a few ounces of fat that could have been trimmed, but it's an effective film that is, above all, simply sumptuous to look at. Still, I would have to say that I understand where the comments saying that the film seems a bit detached or even cold are coming from.

Milk is a small picture compared to these big visual and aural feasts, but it packs the emotional punch that many may have missed in Button. Sean Penn gives a near-flawless performance, perhaps the best of his career (easily better than his Oscar-winning, typical-Penn Mystic River perf) as Harvey Milk. He's so convincingly gay without being overly indulgent. Assisted by a strong cast, he makes us feel what Harvey Milk and his community felt and continue to feel as their society continues to persecute them. Given recent political events, particularly in California, it is perhaps the most important of all the films vying for the top Oscar honor.

Frost/Nixon is a film that is quite easy to like. Ron Howard directs it with simplicity and honesty. Frank Langella turns in a memorable performance as Richard Nixon, and Michael Sheen is just a good a co-lead as he was in The Queen. The moments of tension during their interviews are palpable. But as great a film as I thought it was, it's not the type of film that I see inspiring passion and adoration among its viewers. It's not exciting enough.

And therein lies its problem Oscar-wise. Nominations work on a preferential ballot, with #1 votes of the Academy members counting more than #2's and so on. Frost/Nixon is critically lauded, yes, but it is not easy to see the film getting so many #1 votes among Oscar voters.


WALL-E, on the other hand, is a delightful, intelligent work of art that has impressed critics, performed very well in the box office, and is undoubtedly on top of many people's lists. Do those people include Academy members? If there weren't a Best Animated Feature category, the Best Picture nom would be in the bag and it would even be a serious threat for the win. If enough voters see past that and vote with their heart, WALL-E could definitely sneak in.

By awards consensus, these films represent the best of 2008. So far, I'm agreeing. If only for the number of very good films that came out, last year was pretty decent. I hope WALL-E sneaks past Frost/Nixon, but I wouldn't mind seeing what so many people are predicting as the final slate of Oscar nominees.

Winners of the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards

Hurray for Slumdog Millionaire!

Here are the winners of the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards:

BEST MOTION PICTURE-DRAMA
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE-DRAMA
Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE-DRAMA
Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

BEST MOTION PICTURE-MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Vicky Cristina Barcelona

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE-MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE-MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Colin Farrell (In Bruges)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Kate Winslet (The Reader)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
WALL-E

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Waltz with Bashir (Israel)

BEST DIRECTOR - MOTION PICTURE
Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)

BEST SCREENPLAY - MOTION PICTURE
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE - MOTION PICTURE
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ORIGINAL SONG - MOTION PICTURE
"The Wrestler" (The Wrestler)

Final Oscar Predictions coming soon...

I'll be posting my final predictions for the 81st Academy Award nominees a day or two after the winners of the Golden Globe Awards are announced on Sunday, 11 January 2009.