Thursday, February 04, 2010
IFTA Report Lauds Indies' Take of Oscar Noms
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Independently financed films received more Academy Award nominations this year than those from the major studios, according to figures released Thursday from the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA).
Films from independents received 79 overall Oscar nominations versus 42 for the majors, while in the top categories indies had 21 nominations to 14 for the majors.
Independent best picture nominations included “District 9” (QED International), “An Education” (Hanway Films), “The Hurt Locker” (Voltage Pictures/Summit), “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Co.), “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate) and “A Serious Man” (Focus Features/Studio Canal).
“We are not surprised to see these numbers, since over the past quarter-century, independents have produced the most Oscar-winning movies, including ‘Slumdog Millionaire,’ ‘Lord of the Rings,’ ‘Crash’ and ‘Million Dollar Baby,’” said IFTA president-CEO Jean Prewitt.
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Wednesday, February 03, 2010
There's 'After.Life' at Anchor Bay
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Anchor Bay Films has acquired domestic and U.K. rights to Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo’s thriller “After.Life,” the closing-night film at the Santa Monica portion of the recent AFI Fest, The Hollywood Reporter reported. The director’s first feature-length film stars Liam Neeson as a funeral director and Christina Ricci as a woman caught between life and death. The film will be released in the spring. (Moving Pictures sponsored the afterparty for “After.Life” at AFI Fest.)
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Selvin Award to 'Invictus' Writer Peckham
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“Invictus” screenwriter Anthony Peckham has been named the recipient of the Writers Guild of America, West’s 2010 Paul Selvin Award, “recognizing written work which embodies the spirit of constitutional rights and civil liberties.” Peckham’s work, along with other Guild honorees, will be recognized at the 2010 Writers Guild Awards’ West Coast ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 20, at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.
Said WGAW president John Wells in a statement, “Anthony Peckham’s screenplay for ‘Invictus’ perfectly illustrates what the Paul Selvin Award stands for, expertly conveying how only a few men can unite to impact positive change, and have that change resonate around the world.”
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Monday, February 01, 2010
Phase 4 Pays for 'Freebie'
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Phase 4 Films said Monday it had acquired announced North American rights to the 2010 Sundance Film Festival entry “The Freebie.” Written, directed and starring Katie Aselton, “The Freebie” is a romantic comedy-drama about a contented, yet sexually frustrated couple’s experiment to allow each other “one night off.” Dax Shepard co-stars with Aselton. Phase 4 plans to release the film theatrically this summer throughout North America.
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Thursday, January 28, 2010
Damon to be Honored by American Cinematheque
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Matt Damon will be honored with the American Cinematheque Award for career achievement in a special event to be aired for the first time on ABC. “Hollywood Salutes Matt Damon: An American Cinematheque Tribute” takes place Saturday, March 27, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. The Academy Award-winning Damon was the unanimous choice of the Cinematheque Board of Directors selection committee, which since 1986 has annually honored an extraordinary artist (actor, director or writer) in the entertainment industry, “who is fully engaged in his or her work and is committed to making a significant contribution to the art of the motion picture.” The ceremony will be taped for broadcast at a later date. Show participants will be announced as they are confirmed.
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Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Mass. Gov. Asks for Cap on Incentives
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In response to the state budget crisis, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick suggested to the legislature Wednesday that qualified spending on film & TV production in Massachusetts be temporarily capped at $200 million per year for the next two years on a first-come, first-serve basis, the independent monitoring firm The Incentives Office reported.
"The temporary nature of this cap should not interfere with long-term plans to build film studios and will ultimately keep Massachusetts among the most competitive states for this significant industry," Patrick said in a statement.
During this proposed two-year period (2010 and 2011), above-the-line spending would still qualify without limitation. If adopted, the proposed temporary annual cap would automatically expire in 2012 after which the credit would return to its current "no cap" status.
The Incentives Office said $200 million in qualified spending remains available for this year.
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WB Taps Galano to Head Up Int'l Acquisitions
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Warner Brothers has named longtime New Line executive Camela Galano to fill the newly created position of president, international film acquisitions, the studio announced Wednesday.
In her new role, Galano will be responsible for acquiring the rights across all media – theatrical, home entertainment, television and digital - to non-Warner Brothers produced English-language films. She will report to Richard Fox, executive vice president, international.
Galano previously spent more than 20 years at New Line Cinema, where she most recently served as president of the studio's international releasing, overseeing and managing the release of films in over 120 international territories.
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MacFarlane to Host WGA's L.A. Ceremony
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Writer-producer and “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane will host the 2010 Writers Guild Awards’ West Coast ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 20, at the Hyatt Regency Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. MacFarlane also serves as co-creator/executive producer/voice actor on the Fox animated series “American Dad” and “The Cleveland Show.”
“I’m honored and humbled to be chosen as host of the WGAW awards. I look forward to catching up with my strike buddies from 2007, and making some new strike buddies for 2011,” quipped MacFarlane in a statement.
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Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Phase 4 Gets Rights to Berman's Hefner doc
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Phase 4 Films has acquired all U.S. rights, and DVD, Video-on-Demand, Pay Per View and Digital Rights in Canada, to the theatrical version of Oscar-winning director/producer Brigitte Berman’s feature documentary “Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel.” The film, which screened at the recent Toronto International Film Festival, will be released in late spring.
Berman won an Academy Award for her feature documentary “Artie Shaw: Time is All You’ve Got.” Berman’s friendship with Hefner began when the Playboy founder contacted her after discovering she had made a feature documentary about one of his favorite musicians – Bix Beiderbecke. Being an avid film collector, Hefner wanted to add her documentary to his collection. He also released Berman’s film, “Bix: ‘Ain’t None of Them Play Like Him Yet,’” on his Jazz Video label.
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Monday, January 25, 2010
Izzard Tapped to Host Spirit Awards
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Actor-comedian Eddie Izzard has been named emcee of the 25th anniversary edition of the Film Independent Spirit Awards set for this March, it was announced Monday.
Izzard was praised in a release from Film Independent for his “tangential, absurd, bizarre, and surreal comic narratives [that have been] lauded for their creativity and wit, which suits the laid-back style of the Spirit Awards.”
The ceremony will air live at 8 p.m. PST/11 p.m. EST Friday, March 5, on IFC.
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Thursday, January 21, 2010
Minnihan's Pitch Wins AFM Prize
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David Minnihan’s pitch of “Father John” will receive a People’s Choice Award as winner of the American Film Market’s 2009 Favorite Film Pitch contest, announced AFM Managing Director Jonathan Wolf and People’s Choice Awards President Fred Nelson.
After casting tens of thousands of votes at www.peopleschoice.com from Jan. 6-20, the public named the pitch for the adventure spy drama produced by Minnihan and written by Steven G. Long as its favorite to receive an official Waterford Crystal People’s Choice Award. The winning pitch can be viewed at www.peopleschoice.com/pca/influence/AFM/.
Additionally, Minnihan will receive an AFM 2010 package that includes full access for two to the AFM; airfare for two to Los Angeles; hotel for five nights in Santa Monica; and scheduled meetings with producers and distributors.
AFM teamed with the People’s Choice Awards to create the Favorite Film Pitch contest, providing an increased opportunity to get film pitches in front of producers, distributors and, in a unique twist, the voting public.
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BAFTA Unveils Orange British Academy Film Noms
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The nominations for the Orange British Academy Film Awards in 2010 were released. Final awards are given out at the Royal Opera House on February 21st:
BEST FILM
AVATAR James Cameron, Jon Landau
AN EDUCATION Amanda Posey, Finola Dwyer
THE HURT LOCKER Nominees TBC
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness, Gary Magness
UP IN THE AIR Ivan Reitman, Jason Reitman, Daniel Dubiecki
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
AN EDUCATION Amanda Posey, Finola Dwyer, Lone Scherfig, Nick Hornby
FISH TANK Kees Kasander, Nick Laws, Andrea Arnold
IN THE LOOP Kevin Loader, Adam Tandy, Armando Iannucci, Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Tony Roche
MOON Stuart Fenegan, Trudie Styler, Duncan Jones, Nathan Parker
NOWHERE BOY Kevin Loader, Douglas Rae, Robert Bernstein, Sam Taylor-Wood, Matt Greenhalgh
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
LUCY BAILEY, ANDREW THOMPSON, ELIZABETH MORGAN HEMLOCK, DAVID PEARSON Directors, Producers – Mugabe and the White African
ERAN CREEVY Writer/Director – Shifty
STUART HAZELDINE Writer/Director – Exam
DUNCAN JONES Director – Moon
SAM TAYLOR-WOOD Director – Nowhere Boy
DIRECTOR
AVATAR James Cameron
DISTRICT 9 Neill Blomkamp
AN EDUCATION Lone Scherfig
THE HURT LOCKER Kathryn Bigelow
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS Quentin Tarantino
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
THE HANGOVER Jon Lucas, Scott Moore
THE HURT LOCKER Mark Boal
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS Quentin Tarantino
A SERIOUS MAN Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
UP Bob Peterson, Pete Docter
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
DISTRICT 9 Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
AN EDUCATION Nick Hornby
IN THE LOOP Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE Geoffrey Fletcher
UP IN THE AIR Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
BROKEN EMBRACES Agustín Almodóvar, Pedro Almodóvar
COCO BEFORE CHANEL Carole Scotta, Caroline Benjo, Philippe Carcassonne, Anne Fontaine
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN Carl Molinder, John Nordling, Tomas Alfredson
A PROPHET Pascale Caucheteux, Marco Chergui, Alix Raynaud, Jacques Audiard
THE WHITE RIBBON Stefan Arndt, Veit Heiduschka, Margaret Menegoz, Michael Haneke
ANIMATED FILM
CORALINE Henry Selick
FANTASTIC MR FOX Wes Anderson
UP Pete Docter
LEADING ACTOR
JEFF BRIDGES Crazy Heart
GEORGE CLOONEY Up in the Air
COLIN FIRTH A Single Man
JEREMY RENNER The Hurt Locker
ANDY SERKIS Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
LEADING ACTRESS
CAREY MULLIGAN An Education
SAOIRSE RONAN The Lovely Bones
GABOUREY SIDIBE Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
MERYL STREEP Julie & Julia
AUDREY TAUTOU Coco Before Chanel
SUPPORTING ACTOR
ALEC BALDWIN It’s Complicated
CHRISTIAN McKAY Me and Orson Welles
ALFRED MOLINA An Education
STANLEY TUCCI The Lovely Bones
CHRISTOPH WALTZ Inglourious Basterds
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
ANNE-MARIE DUFF Nowhere Boy
VERA FARMIGA Up in the Air
ANNA KENDRICK Up in the Air
MO’NIQUE Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS Nowhere Boy
MUSIC
AVATAR James Horner
CRAZY HEART T-Bone Burnett, Stephen Bruton
FANTASTIC MR FOX Alexandre Desplat
SEX & DRUGS & ROCK & ROLL Chaz Jankel
UP Michael Giacchino
CINEMATOGRAPHY
AVATAR Mauro Fiore
DISTRICT 9 Trent Opaloch
THE HURT LOCKER Barry Ackroyd
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS Robert Richardson
THE ROAD Javier Aguirresarobe
EDITING
AVATAR Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua, James Cameron
DISTRICT 9 Julian Clarke
THE HURT LOCKER Bob Murawski, Chris Innis
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS Sally Menke
UP IN THE AIR Dana E. Glauberman
PRODUCTION DESIGN
AVATAR Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg, Kim Sinclair
DISTRICT 9 Philip Ivey, Guy Poltgieter
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS Nominees TBC
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds Wasco
COSTUME DESIGN
BRIGHT STAR Janet Patterson
COCO BEFORE CHANEL Catherine Leterrier
AN EDUCATION Odile Dicks-Mireaux
A SINGLE MAN Arianne Phillips
THE YOUNG VICTORIA Sandy Powell
SOUND
AVATAR Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson, Tony Johnson, Addison Teague
DISTRICT 9 Nominees TBC
THE HURT LOCKER Ray Beckett, Paul N. J. Ottosson, Craig Stauffer
STAR TREK Peter J. Devlin, Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, Mark Stoeckinger, Ben Burtt
UP Tom Myers, Michael Silvers, Michael Semanick
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
AVATAR Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, Andrew R. Jones
DISTRICT 9 Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros, Matt Aitken
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE John Richardson, Tim Burke, Tim Alexander, Nicolas Aithadi
THE HURT LOCKER Richard Stutsman
STAR TREK Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh, Burt Dalton
MAKE UP & HAIR
COCO BEFORE CHANEL Thi Thanh Tu Nguyen, Jane Milon
AN EDUCATION Lizzie Yianni Georgiou
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS Sarah Monzani
NINE Peter ‘Swords’ King
THE YOUNG VICTORIA Jenny Shircore
SHORT ANIMATION
THE GRUFFALO Michael Rose, Martin Pope, Jakob Schuh, Max Lang
THE HAPPY DUCKLING Gili Dolev
MOTHER OF MANY Sally Arthur, Emma Lazenby
SHORT FILM
14 Asitha Ameresekere
I DO AIR James Bolton, Martina Amati
JADE Samm Haillay, Daniel Elliott
MIXTAPE Luti Fagbenle, Luke Snellin
OFF SEASON Jacob Jaffke, Jonathan van Tulleken
THE ORANGE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
JESSE EISENBERG
NICHOLAS HOULT
CAREY MULLIGAN
TAHAR RAHIM
KRISTEN STEWART
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Wednesday, January 20, 2010
9 Films Competing for Best Foreign Film Oscar
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Nine films have advanced to the next round of voting in the Foreign Film category for the 82nd Academy Awards. These titles were culled from a list of 65 films that originally qualified in the category.
The films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are:
Argentina, “El Secreto de Sus Ojos,” Juan Jose Campanella, director;
Australia, “Samson & Delilah,” Warwick Thornton, director;
Bulgaria, “The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks around the Corner,” Stephan Komandarev, director;
France, “Un Prophete,” Jacques Audiard, director;
Germany, “The White Ribbon,” Michael Haneke, director;
Israel, “Ajami,” Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani, directors;
Kazakhstan, “Kelin,” Ermek Tursunov, director;
The Netherlands, “Winter in Wartime,” Martin Koolhoven, director;
Peru, “The Milk of Sorrow,” Claudia Llosa, director.
Foreign Language Film nominations for 2009 are again being determined in two phases. The Phase I committee, consisting of several hundred Los Angeles-based members, screened the 65 eligible films between mid-October and Jan. 16. The group’s top six choices, augmented by three additional selections voted by the Academy’s Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee, constitute the shortlist. The shortlist will be winnowed down to the five nominees by specially invited committees in New York and Los Angeles. They will spend Friday, Jan. 29, through Sunday, Jan. 31, viewing three films each day and then casting their ballots.
The 82nd Academy Awards nominations will be announced at 5:30 a.m. PT on Tuesday, Feb. 2. The Oscars will be presented on Sunday, March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.
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Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Webb to Spin Web on Next 'Spider-Man'
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“(500) Days of Summer” director Marc Webb will direct the next installment of “Spider-Man,” with the blockbuster set to hit theaters in summer 2012, it was jointly announced Tuesday by Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios.
Webb, whose summer comedy hit was nominated for a best-picture Golden Globe, takes the reins of the franchise from Sam Raimi, director of the first three chapters of the film series based on the long-running Marvel comic book. Also not part of the next film is Tobey Maguire, who played Peter Parker in the three films.
“The key for us as we sought a new director was to identify filmmakers who could give sharp focus to Peter Parker’s life,” said Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Columbia Pictures president Matt Tolmach in a joint statement. “We wanted someone who could capture the awe of being in Peter’s shoes so the audience could experience his sense of discovery while giving real heart to the emotion, anxiety, and recklessness of that age and coupling all of that with the adrenaline of Spider-Man’s adventure. We believe Marc Webb is the perfect choice to bring us on that journey.”
Written by James Vanderbilt, Webb will work with producers Avi Arad and Laura Ziskin in developing the project, which is set to begin production later this year.
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IFC Films Enters 'Void'
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IFC Films said Tuesday it has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Gaspar Noé’s “Enter the Void” in advance of its upcoming U.S. premiere at Sundance in the Spotlight section. The film is centered around a drug-dealing teen killed in Japan, after which he reappears as a ghost to watch over his sister.
Noé’s follow-up to the 2002 award-winning and controversial film “Irreversible,” “Enter the Void” premiered in competition at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and was also featured at the 2009 Toronto Film Festival. The film stars newcomers Nathaniel Brown, Paz de la Huerta and Cyril Roy.
IFC Films will release “Enter the Void” in 2010 via its IFC in Theaters platform, making it available to on-demand viewers at home the same day it premieres in theaters.
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'Avatar' Flies Away with 11 VES Noms
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In a year when James Cameron was already chosen to receive the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the director’s “Avatar” dominated the nominations for the annual VES Awards by scoring 11 in the competition that recognizes outstanding visual effects in more than 20 categories of film, animation, TV, commercials and video games.
Placing second in the nominations announced Tuesday was the animated film “Coraline” with four.
The Visual Effects Society will hand out its prizes at its eighth annual awards ceremony on Feb. 28 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.
A complete list of nominees in the motion picture categories follows:
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture
“2012”
Volker Engel, Visual Effects Supervisor
Josh Jaggars, Visual Effects Producer
Marc Weigert, Visual Effects Supervisor
“Avatar”
Richard Baneham, Animation Supervisor
Joyce Cox, VFX Producer
Joe Letteri, Senior Visual Effects Supervisor
Eileen Moran, Overall VFX Producer
“District 9”
Stefanie Boose, VFX Producer
Dan Kaufman, VFX Supervisor
Peter Muyzers, On-set VFX Plate Supervisor
James Stewart, Creature Supervisor
“Star Trek”
Burt Dalton, Special Effects Supervisor
Russell Earl, Visual Effects Supervisor
Roger Guyett, Visual Effects Supervisor
Shari Hanson, Visual Effects Producer
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”
Scott Benza, Animation Director
Wayne Billheimer, Visual Effects Producer
Scott Farrar, Visual Effects Supervisor
John Frazier, Special Effects Supervisor
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture
“Angels & Demons”
Angus Bickerton, VFX Supervisor
Mark Breakspear, VFX Supervisor
Ryan Cook, VFX Supervisor
Barrie Hemsley, VFX Producer
“The Box”
Peter Cvijanovic, Compositing Supervisor
Mark Kolpak, Visual Effects Producer
Olcun Tan, Digital Effects Supervisor
Thomas Tannenberger, Visual Effects Supervisor
“Invictus”
Geoff Hancock, VFX Supervisor
Dennis Hoffman, Head of Production
Cyndi Ochs, VFX Producer
Michael Owens, VFX Supervisor
“The Road”
Mark O. Forker, VFX Supervisor
Paul Graff, VFX Supervisor - Crazy Horse Effects
Ed Mendez, Compositing Supervisor
Phillip Moses, VFX Producer
“Sherlock Holmes”
Dan Barrow, VFX Producer
Jonathan Fawkner, VFX Supervisor
Chas Jarrett, VFX Supervisor
David Vickery, VFX Supervisor
Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
“9”
Ken Duncan, Animation Supervisor
Jinko Gotoh, Co-Producer
Daryl Graham, Supervising Animator
Joe Ksander, Animation Director
“Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs”
Mike Ford, CG Supervisor
Chris Juen, Co-Producer
Alan Hawkins, Supervising Animator
Pete Nash, Animation Director
“Coraline”
Claire Jennings, Animation Producer
Henry Selick, Animation Director
“Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs”
Galen Chu, Supervising Animator
Jeff Gabor, Senior Animator
Anthony Nisi, Animation Production Supervisor
Melvin Tan, Senior Animator
“Up”
Gary Bruins, Effects Supervisor
Pete Docter, Director
Steve May, Supervising Technical Director
Jonas Rivera, Producer
Best Single Visual Effect of the Year
“2012” - Escape from L.A.
Volker Engel, Visual Effects Supervisor
Josh R. Jaggars, Visual Effects Producer
Mohen Leo, Visual Effects Supervisor
Marc Weigert, Visual Effects Supervisor
“Avatar” - Quarich's Escape
Jill Brooks, Visual Effects Producer
John Knoll, Visual Effects Supervisor
Frank Losasso Petterson, Simulation Technical Director
Tory Mercer, Compositor
“Avatar” - Neytiri Drinking
Thelvin Cabezas, Lighting Technical Director
Joyce Cox, VFX Producer
Joe Letteri, Senior Visual Effects Supervisor
Eileen Moran, Overall VFX Producer
“Knowing” - Plane Crash
Dan Breckwoldt, Lead Compositor
Camille Cellucci, VFX Producer
Andrew Jackson, VFX Supervisor
Angelo Sahin, Special Effects Supervisor
“Terminator Salvation” - VLA Escape
Chantal Feghali, Studio Producer
Charles Gibson, Studio Visual Effects Supervisor
Susan Greenhow, Visual Effects Producer
Ben Snow, Visual Effects Supervisor
Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture
“Avatar” – Neytiri
Andrew R. Jones, Animation Director
Joe Letteri, Senior Visual Effects Supervisor
Zoe Saldana, Actress
Jeff Unay, Facial Lead
“District 9” - Christopher Johnson
Brett Ineson, Motion Capture Supervisor
Jeremy Mesana, Animation Lead
Steve Nichols, Animation Supervisor
Vera Zivny, Senior VFX Coordinator
“G-Force” – Bucky
Benjamin Cinelli, Senior Character Animator
Peter Tieryas, Character Set-Up Technical Director
Dustin Wicke, Lead Cloth and Hair
Ryan Yee, Animator
“Watchmen” - Doctor Manhattan
Aaron Campbell, Character Rigger
Kevin Hudson, CG Modeling Supervisor
Victor Schutz, Lead CG Lighting and Compositing Artist
Keith Smith, Lead Animator
Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
“Coraline” – Coraline
Travis Knight, Lead Animator
Trey Thomas, Lead Animator
“Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” – Buck
Simon Pegg, Buck
Peter de Seve, Characters designed by
“Monsters vs. Aliens” - B.O.B.
Terran Boylan, Character Technical Director
David Burgess, Head of Character Animation
Scott Cegielski, Effects Lead
David Weatherly, Animator
“Up” - Carl - “No Dad Scene”
Ed Asner, Voice of Carl
Carmen Ngai, Character Cloth Artist
Brian Tindall, Character Modeling and Articulation Artist
Ron Zorman, Animator
Outstanding Effects Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
“Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs”
Rob Bredow, VFX Supervisor
Matt Hausman, Effects Animation Supervisor
Carl Hooper, Effects Animation Supervisor
Dan Kramer, Digital Effects Supervisor
“Coraline”
John Allan Armstrong, VFX Animator
Richard Kent Burton, Stop Motion Effects Animator
Craig Dowsett, CG Modeler
“Monsters & Aliens”
David Allen, Effects Animator
Amaury Aubel, Effects Lead
Scott Cegielski, Effects Lead
Alain De Hoe, Effects Lead
“Up”
Alexis Angelidis, Effects Artist
Eric Froemling, Effects Artist
Jason Johnston, Effects Artist
Jon Reisch, Effects Artist
Outstanding Matte Paintings in a Feature Motion Picture
“Avatar” – Pandora
Jean-Luc Azzis, Senior Compositor
Peter Baustaedter, Senior Matte Painter
Brenton Cottman, Lead Matte Painter
Yvonne Muinde, Lead Matte Painter
“Franklyn” - Meanwhile City Scapes
Tania Richard, Matte Painter
Christoph Unger, Matte Painter
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
David Bassalla, TD
Emily Cobb, 3D Artist
Tania Richard, Matte Painter
“Star Trek”
Brett Northcutt, Digimatte Lead
Shane Roberts, Digimatte
Masahiko Tani, Digimatte
Dan Wheaton, Digimatte
Outstanding Models and Miniatures in a Feature Motion Picture
“Avatar” - Samson/Home Tree/Floating Mountains/ Ampsuit
Simon Cheung, Modeller
Paul Jenness, Lead Modeller
John Stevenson-Galvin, Senior Modeller
Rainer Zoettl, Senior/Lead Modeller
“Coraline”
Deborah Cook, Lead Costume Design Fabricator
Matthew DeLeu, Miniature Lighting Technician
Paul Mack, Model Maker
Martin Meunier, Facial Animation Design
“Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” - National Air and Space Museum Escape
Robert Chapin, Digital FX Supervisor
Tony Chen, Model Maker
Forest Fischer, Model Crew Chief
Ian Hunter, VFX Supervisor
“Terminator Salvation” - Practical Models and Miniatures
Nick d'Abo, Model Shop Supervisor
Brian Gernand, Creative Director, Model Shops
Geoff Heron, Special FX Supervisor
Patrick Sweeney, Director of Photography
Outstanding Created Environment in a Feature Motion Picture
“2012” - Los Angeles Destruction
Haarm-Pieter Duiker, CG Supervisor
Marten Larsson, CG Effects Animation Lead
Ryo Sakaguchi, CG Effects Animation Lead
Hanzhi Tang, CG Lighting Supervisor
“Avatar” - Floating Mountains
Dan Lemmon, Visual Effects Supervisor
Keith F. Miller, CG Supervisor
Cameron Smith, Lead Compositor
“Avatar” - Jungle / Biolume
Shadi Almassizadeh, CG Supervisor
Jessica Cowley, Senior Texture Painter
Dan Cox, CG Supervisor
Ula Rademeyer, Lead Texture Painter
Eric Saindon, Visual Effects Supervisor
“Avatar” - Willow Glade
Thelvin Cabezas, Lighting Technical Director
Miae Kang, Lead Lighting Technical Director
Daniel Macarin, Lighting Technical Director
Guy Williams, Visual Effects Supervisor
Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture
“Avatar”
Erich Eder, Compositor
Robin Hollander, Compositor
Giuseppe Tagliavini, Compositor
Erik Winquist, Compositing Supervisor
“Avatar” - End Battle
Jay Cooper, Technical Director
Beth D'Amato, Digital Paint
Eddie Pasquarello, Compositing Supervisor
Todd Vaziri, Compositor
“District 9”
Janeen Elliott, Senior Compositor
Simon Hughes, Senior Compositor
Hamish Schumacher, Lead Compositor
Shervin Shogian, Compositing Supervisor
“Sherlock Holmes” - Wharf Explosion Sequence
Jan Adamczyk, Mid Compositor
Alex Cumming, Junior Compositor
Sam Osborne, Compositor
Kate Windibank, Senior Compositor
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Friday, January 15, 2010
MTV Networks, Clooney Join for Haiti Telethon
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MTV Networks said Friday a global telethon being co-produced by actor George Clooney will air commercial-free on a host of several major U.S. broadcast networks at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Friday, Jan. 22. Joel Gallen and Tenth Planet Productions, in association with MTV Networks and Clooney, are joining to produce “Hope for Haiti,” the two-hour fundraiser to be telecast from New York and Los Angeles.
The telethon, a response to Tuesday’s devastating earthquake in Haiti that Red Cross estimates say has claimed the lives of up to 50,000 people will air commercial-free across ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, BET, The CW, HBO, MTV, VH1 and CMT. It will also be made available to MTV Networks International, CNN International and National Geographic channels worldwide.
Clooney will host from Los Angeles, with musician Wyclef Jean in New York City and CNN’s Anderson Cooper from Haiti. The two-hour telethon will feature musical performances and celebrity appearances to be announced prior to the event, as well as live news reports from CNN.
All proceeds will be split evenly among five relief organizations currently operating in Haiti: Oxfam America, Partners in Health, the Red Cross, UNICEF and Yele Haiti Foundation. Facebook and MySpace have also signed on as official social media partners to help drive donations and tune-in to the telethon.
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Wednesday, January 13, 2010
GLAAD Cites 10 Films for Awards Consideration
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The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the nation’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender media advocacy and anti-defamation organization, on Wednesday announced its nominees for the 21st annual GLAAD Media Awards.
Cited by the group are 10 feature films that will compete for the honor of 2009’s Outstanding Film. In the Wide Release category, the nominees are “Everybody’s Fine” (Miramax), “I Love You, Man” (DreamWorks SKG), “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate), “A Single Man” (The Weinstein Company) and “Taking Woodstock” (Focus Features).
In the Limited Release field, the pictures chosen are “Casi Divas” (Maya Entertainment), “The Country Teacher” (Film Movement), “Little Ashes” (Regent Releasing), “Phoebe in Wonderland” (THINKfilm) and ”The Secrets” (Monterey Media).
GLAAD also announced the “Sex in the City” star Cynthia Nixon will be honored with the Vito Russo Award at the organization’s New York ceremony. The Vito Russo Award is named after a founding member of GLAAD and is presented to an openly LGBT media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for our community. Additional special honorees for GLAAD’s New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco events will be announced at a later date.
The GLAAD Media Awards ceremonies will be held on March 13 at the Marriott Marquis in New York; April 17 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles; and June 5 at the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco.
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Tuesday, January 12, 2010
6 in Running for DGA Documentary Prize
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Six first-time nominees were chosen by the Directors Guild of America to compete for the honor of Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary for 2009.
The nominees are directors Sacha Gervasi (“Anvil! The Story of Anvil”), Mai Iskander (“Garbage Dreams”), Robert Kenner (“Food, Inc.”), Louie Psihoyos (“The Cove”), Geoffrey Smith (“The English Surgeon”) and Agnes Varda (“The Beaches of Agnes”).
The winner will be announced at the 62nd annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, Jan. 30, at the Hyatt Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.
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Cinema Editors Choose Eddie Nominees
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The American Cinema Editors on Tuesday announced its nominees for the 60th annual ACE Eddie Awards, honoring the best in editing for film and television. Final ballots for the voting are set to go out on Jan. 19, with voting closing Feb. 2. The winners will be announced at a ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 14, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.
A list of nominees in the motion picture categories follows:
BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (DRAMATIC)
“Avatar”
Stephen Rivkin, A.C.E., John Refoua, A.C.E. &
James Cameron, A.C.E.
“District 9”
Julian Clarke
“The Hurt Locker”
Bob Murawski & Chris Innis
“Star Trek”
Maryann Brandon, A.C.E. & Mary Jo Markey, A.C.E.
“Up in the Air”
Dana Glauberman, A.C.E.
BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (COMEDY OR MUSICAL)
“(500) Days of Summer”
Alan Edward Bell
“The Hangover”
Debra Neil-Fisher, A.C.E.
“Julie & Julia”
Richard Marks, A.C.E.
“A Serious Man”
Roderick Jaynes
“It's Complicated”
Joe Hutshing, A.C.E. & David Moritz
BEST EDITED ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
“Coraline”
Christopher Murrie & Ronald Sanders
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
Andrew Weisblum
“Up”
Kevin Nolting
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