Interview: The Return of Kirsten Dunst (A Very Good Thing)

at the NYC premiereof All Good Things.It might sound silly to say, but seeing her in the flesh is something of a shock. Kirsten Dunst has been in the movies for many years, and she's made such indelible mark in them, whether as a child vampire, an unknowable teen dream, a disciplined cheerleader, a superhero's better half and so on; one half expects her to flicker when one meets her,as if she's

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The Year In Funny

year in review parts 1-7 tear-jerkers, music videos, worst films, gay characters and more...   Four LionsMichael C. from Serious Film here for a few good laughs.Any future film historians examining the tail end of 2010 will likely mark this year as dark days for screen comedy. Comedy icons Woody Allen and James L Brooks rolled twin gutter balls, while mainstream audiences lined up around the

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Here Comes a New Year...

What's your biggest movie wish? (I haven't given 2011 that much thought yet but I'm hoping that the Pedro/Antonio reunion is worth the wait.)*

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Crybaby Countdown: The Tearjerk-iest Moments of 2010

year in reviewKurt here from Your Movie Buddy, getting honest about choking up. I live to cry at the movies, but it's so, so rare. It's like genuine belly laughs: they're great, but they just don't happen that much, especially for frequent, discerning filmgoers. My strongest recent memory of getting all sniffly would probably be during the candlelight vigil scene at the end of Milk. Such a

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Let's Do the Link Warp Again

A note for  impatient readers: My top ten list is coming (I'm aiming for January 1st / 2nd) but first there's a couple year in reviews things and an interview with Kirsten Dunst. The new site will be up soon, too. Hopefully everything will be running smoothly within the next week.Vulture Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu speaks out. Good read. I especially liked the Woody Allen bits./Film Remember when

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Distant Relatives: Repulsion and Black Swan

Robert here, with my series Distant Relatives, where we look at two films, (one classic, one modern) related through a common theme and ask what their similarities and differences can tell us about the evolution of cinema.  Since one of these films is still in theaters, I thought I'd mention that while certain plot elements are revealed I've done my best not to spoil any of the film's dramatic

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Patty Clarkson's 2010 Triple: Cairo Time, Easy A and Shutter Island

come see the new blogPatty and the NYC premiere this summerEarlier this month I met with Patricia Clarkson to discuss another fine year in one of the most pleasurable of modern character actor filmographies. Hers. I was waiting for the right opportunity to share it with you, and since Cairo Time is out on DVD, Academy voters are busy weighing the various Best Actress options, and today is Patty's

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Alexandre Desplat Interview Part 2

Part 1 "How to Watch Movies... with Alexandre Desplat"Part 2 ExcerptsAlexandre Desplat is the busiest composer in film but he made time to talk a few weeks back. My profile will be up at Tribeca Film in January but for now I thought I'd share a few unused excerpts from our conversation whilst Academy voters are presumably scribbling down his name on their ballots for Best Original Score. But will

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Year in Review: Music Videos a.k.a. Short Movie Musicals

I couldn't be happier that the music video has regained its cultural capital in the age of YouTube. There's something about the form that is just magical. Or maybe it's just that it's been the most reliable fix for movie-musical lovers during the past 30 years. You can pretend these 3 to 5 minute show stoppers are but one scene in a larger movie musical, can't you? At least that's what I do with

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Yes, No, Maybe So Double: "Hanna" and "The Other Woman"

It's a double dip for Yes No Maybe So as we're way behind. Can't the movie world just stop for a little bit during the holidays so that we can all enjoy the movies we have right in front of us? Too many things. Too many things. Here's a girlish double and we'll get more manly in the next installment.Let's start with The Other Woman which used to be called Love and Other Impossible Pursuits (

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A Lisa Kudrow Binge

"I don't need to see that."This week I accidentally binged on Lisa Kudrow.I've usually enjoyed her comic movie roles (especially in the Don Roos films The Opposite of Sex and Happy Endings) though I was a little unnerved by what seemed to be an encroaching bitterness in her comic persona the last time couple of times we visited (Kabluey and Easy A). I was starting to miss "Phoebe"'s sunniness on

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Utah & Phoenix Film Critics: 127 Inceptions For the King

It's so cute that film critics circles are so interested in "their own" as it were. Boston is always accused of rallying behind Boston-set films (in their defense they often have many of them to choose from) and a few days back Utah, where 127 Hours takes place, really handed that film some water in its moment of need. Not that the Academy voters are actively debating Utah's choices before

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Link House

In Contention on another 'Year of the Woman.'Acidemic's wildly surprising top ten. Erich is his own man as a critic. Which is why I like reading him.BoingBoing life size wax figure of Patrick Swayze in Road House. No really. Playbill if you're in NYC for the holidays, a ton of good shows are closing. Here's your last chance to see them.Movie|Line Mike Ryan looks back at his year interviewing

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Box Office Blather: Jeff Bridges Double Dips

A weekly box office series, in beta, to see if we like. To remind you that you're here and not elsewhere and we can't just do things normally, we'll come at it from weird angles when we can.Jeff Bridges stars in TRON GRITLittle Fockers $30 NEW True Grit $24.8 NEWTron Legacy $19.5 (cumulative: $87.3)The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader $9.4 (cumulative: $62.5)Yogi Bear $7.8 (

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Curio: Rich Pellegrino's Portraits

"Marty McFly" gouacheon hardboard, 5 x 7Alexa here with your weekly art appreciation.Nathaniel shared a link to this artist's work with me and I just had to blog it. Rich Pellegrino is a painter, RISD graduate, and child of the 80s. He paints in watercolor, acrylic, or gouache, straight out of the tube, creating richly textured portraits that are almost musical. ("I want a brush stroke to sound

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No Clue ... Gets It

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Toy Story 3's Brilliant Oscar Campaign

[COME SEE THE NEW BLOG]Let's talk about the best FYC campaign of the year. The one where Pixar tries to build a case for Toy Story 3 as the Best Picture of the year, not just a nominee. Pixar won't be happy to just get the annual ghetto Oscar for Animated Feature, they want the big one. Do you believe this is possible? I can't say that I do...Or, rather, it's possible but not bloody likely. A

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For Natalie & Benjamin: A Swan-Themed Wedding.

By now you've probably heard the exciting news that Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millipeid, the Black Swan pair who've been our "crush of the moment" for too many moments now (see sidebar), are pregnant and engaged.a photoshopped imagining of their wedding caketop from The Film Experience.There's no exact word on when either of the blessed events (baby & wedding) are to occur though hundreds of

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Links: True Grit, Spidey, Gay Rugby, and "Original" Films

Movie|Line celebrates a year of "The Verge," their great up-and-coming actor series.Cinema Blend goosing the sales of True Grit (the novel) Today One of the Fantastic Four will die in the comic's #587th issue. Does anyone still believe in these marketing ploys? I'm sure they'll come back to life within 3 years. That's how comics do.MUBI The great Michel Piccoli is 85 today. Has anyone seen La

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The Ballots Are Coming. The Ballots Are Coming.

The day has arrived. Today, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences mails out those mythical Oscar nomination ballots to their members. Each member gets to nominate for their branch category(or categories) and for Best Picture. The ballots are due back on Friday January 14th at the latest but supposedly the majority of voters are quick about mailing them back. On the morning of Tuesday,

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Cinematic Shame: Worst of the Year

year in review part 5 of severalCOME SEE THE NEW BLOG FOR THE FINAL CELEBRATION OF 2010 I thought it would be tasteless to drop this lump of coal on Christmas so I saved it one day. It's naughty, not nice. But before we get to the unsatisfying trends, performances, and movies of the year, some caveats. I didn't see everything and am not, generally speaking, paid to attend terrible movies. Even

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Seasons Greetings!

[Thx to Jeffery for this fun image]Happy Holidays.Be back tomorrow!

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Movie Thingamajigs. Put That In Your Stocking

year in review - part 4 of severalAre you ever stumped as to what to put in your loved ones Christmas stockings? Here are some ideas culled from this year's movies. Gadgets, random junk or magical objects that lingered after the credits rolled. (If you don't have time to use these ideas for Christmas, there's always birthdays.)Let them inspire gift giving!Tiny things are wonderful. How about some

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Make Room For Pearce

Michael C. here from Serious Film to file a complaint.If I were to name the biggest problem currently facing the nation today that problem would be category fraud. Okay, maybe not, but it still irks the hell out of me. Not because, like some political press release, this Oscar-grubbing is treated completely legit despite everyone knowing it's total bull. That's no biggie. No, what bugs me is the

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Year in Review: Best LGBT Characters

year in review part 3 of severalWith 2010 about to wrap, let's do a top ten list albeit a very specific one. Let's make like Barbara Walters and choose The Most Fascinating (Fictional, LGBT) People. Barbara obviously uses a different criteria than "fascinating" in her annual roundup. Hers seems closer to "constantly in the news /has overworked publicist"  and our choices are also debatable.

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Distant Relatives: Metropolis and District 9

Robert here, with my series Distant Relatives, where we look at two films, (one classic, one modern) related through a common theme and ask what their similarities and differences can tell us about the evolution of cinema. Upstairs/DownstairsThey tell bird owners to avoid putting your new pet in one of those high hanging Tweety-bird cages.  See, if the bird spends most of his time positioned

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Anticipation... The Year in Film Promotion

Year in ReviewNATHANIEL: Hey kids. So some time ago I was introduced to Mark Blankenship who writes The Critical Condition. I've been reading that blog ever since. Mark writes about everything pop culture -- I love his music posts especially -- and he's now officially a "talking head" having done a couple of Joy Behar Show gigs. We decided to have a little year in review convo. Part one is here

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More Critics: Oklahoma, Austin, Women Film Critics...

If you'd like to discuss the latest round of critics awards, have at it.Three more groups have announced and so the usual suspects play the game of musical chairs. The most interesting note right off the bat is that the Women Film Critics Circle have bestowed an award on Black Swan that isn't a flattering one. They've given it "Worst Female Images in a Movie".I understand the impulse behind this

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My Spider Links Are Tingling

Playbill Julie Andrews and Dolly Parton are both getting special Grammys this year.Pixar Blog another FYC ad for Toy Story 3 as Titanic. Hmmm. I gotta say, I am not sure about the taste level on this one. What'cha think?BBC Anne Hathaway discusses that Judy Garland biopic. There's some hesistancy about the singing. Here's a clue. If you can sing as well as Anne Hathaway (very well) star in a

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Merry Christmahanakwanzukkah. It's an Open Thread.

We've hit some roadblocks and posting may be light for the next few days. Or heavy. You never know. It's the holidays. So let this be an open thread. What's on your mind? To you readers who are starting your festive travels today, be safe. If any of you are offline this week have a great time. thanks for visiting and making this place so festive in the comments, just like it's the holiday season

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Box Office Blather: Spectacles, Star Vehicles, Subtitles and Easy $

Year in Review Pt 1 of ManyIt's time to wrap up 2010. You'll have to have patience since The Film Experience likes to do this piecemeal... and often! Let's do it every day at 10 AM or 10 PM or both when we magically have free time. How about that? We'll start with the US box office.Box office hits get much coverage in the media so let's just dispense that basic "smash hit" list quick-like and

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This Link Roundup Will Soon Be Adapted Into a Stage Musical

Towleroad Far From Heaven being adapted into a stage musical. I've been burned on this sort of thing too many times but at least it's by the composer of Grey Gardens and that had a few lovely tunes. And would make a good stage-to-movie candidate actually... NYT the latest injury from the set of the Spider Man musical on Broadway. Wednesday matinee cancelled. I am 100% certain that someone will

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Never Let Them Go. A Video Essay by Matt Zoller Seitz

Beautifully constructed video essay for L Magazine on 2010 cinema. Worth your ten minutes. I'd embed it here but it's one of those videos that starts immediately without pressing a button. Hate that!

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Kathleen Turner Checks Out "The King's Speech"

Look it's Kathleen Turner attending a screening of The King's Speech. (The woman to her right is Jean Doumanian who produced many of Woody Allen's 90s pictures)Photo SrcKathleen has one of the most famous speaking voices in the entirety of cinematic history. How could she possibly relate to the king's predicament?I kid. Perhaps she loved it. How much would you love to see Ms. Turner's Oscar

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Curio: My Holiday Wish List

Alexa from Pop Elegantiarum here with your weekly arts and crafts.Every year I dutifully make up a wish list for Christmas, filled with things that I need (cozy socks, a blogging muumuu). But here is a wishlist of things to satisfy my filmic flights of fancy this year. In fact, I may have already bought one of these for myself. Merry shopping everyone! Inception spinning top totem. Available

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Charting Oscar's Age Preferences.

Please Note: The Film Experience has moved to a brand new home.As an addendum to last week's popular Tribeca Film article on the limited age range of Oscar's taste in Best Actresses and a footnote to the is this Hailee Steinfeld thing really happening (?) gripe,  I thought a few charts were in order to better illustrate the Academy's distinct age biases from category to category. Let's get this

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Oscar's Music Branch Might Need Some Fine Tuning.

As you may have heard the Academy's music branch has made some rulings about this year's original score eligibility issues. Variety reports that Clint Mansell's Black Swan score (too much Tchaikovsky), Carter Burwell's True Grit score (too many Protestant hymns), and The Kids Are All Right and The Fighter scores (too many pop/rock songs) are officially out of the running.All of these rulings make

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Chicago Critics: Collegiate Men and Serious Little Girls Dominate.

The Chicago Film Critics are the latest critics association to announce their awards and they've gone, like virtually everyone else, with The Social Network. These 52 critics love Sorkin & Fincher's warring young entrepeneurs. They also like their actresses real young and their prizes spread out.Best Picture The Social NetworkBest Director David Fincher, The Social NetworkBest Actress Natalie

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Links: Dorff, Franco, Hendricks, Robyn

My Life as a Blog "Why I Want a Golden Globe" satiric piece on the greatest awards show gong of all.Vulture I'm not sure how I missed this enjoyable interview with Stephen Dorff but...My New Plaid Pants quotes all the funny bits about working on Tarsem Singh's Immortals Movie "abs, abs, abs, abs, abs."Self Styled Siren another look back at Blake Edwards, and three personal favorites.Cinema Blend

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Houston, St. Louis & Florida Name Their Favorites

I'm just going to keep using this one photo I concocted below until people stop with the Hailee Steinfeld is a supporting actress in True Grit meme. I've even seen her so labelled IN REVIEWS that have nothing to do with Oscars. Oscar culture has truly distorted all concepts of narrative in our modern society. I realize that I'm the lone ornery voice of dissent but, so what? I'm demonstrating my

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Mary-Louise Parker Is... Mary Louise Parker!

Thoughts I had while watching... RED (2010)A few years ago I attended one of those New Yorker festival interviews that featured Mary-Louise Parker and the writer/moderator called her "a chameleon" after showing a clip of her from a movie I didn't recognize in which she wore a blond wig. It was the most ridiculous thing I heard that entire movie year.Mary-Louise Parker is not a chameleon.

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Satellite Wins Favor Network, Inception and... Uh... Wonderland.

If you care about the Golden Satellite Awards -- and you'd probably care more if they had a televised ceremony. Television is magic -- you should know that they went for The Social Network for 3 big prizes (Pic, Dir, Screenplay) and Inception for 3 important craft citations (Art Direction, Cinematography, Score) indicating that they liked it. They really did.What would Mark Zuckerberg's totem

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Will Amy Adams Have a Happy (Oscar-Winning) New Year?

Amy Adams familiar cheer seems ideally suited to the holidays. It makes perfect sense that's she's all ornamented and mistletoed for Parade magazine. She's even sharing a pumpkin pie recipe. Or her people are. Whichever. We like the celebrity "they're just like us!" illusion from time to time so we're totally willing to pretend that she bakes this exact pumpkin pie herself. Mmmmm pumpkin pie.We

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Take Three: Season 1 Wrap

Craig here with a quick pre-Xmas wrap-up of season #1 of Take Three. If you have a very short memory, that'd be the Sunday Film Experience series which looked at three notable performances from a supporting or character actor's work. The Big Cs: Considine, Cartwright, CheadleLast week’s actor Paddy Considine was the last Take Three for a spell (it's seasonal shenanigans, then everything Oscar

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Wimps?

Michael C here trying to piece together some conclusions from this first wave of precursors.One thing we can say for certain. With all the support materializing for Black Swan this past week the message is unequivocal: no discussion of the year’s best work will be complete without Aronofsky’s dance phantasmagoria in the mix. Yet Swan’s place in the lineup isn't the sure thing it should be. Due to

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Link You. Link You. And Link You.

GQ Winona Ryder's Black Swan parallels. She's being replaced! "I'm at that age I've been warned my whole life about"Lisanti Quarterly a mysterious top ten list. Such fun. Try to guess the movies ... or even the film year for that matter.In Contention Can that late breaking Fighter overtake the Best Pic frontrunners? Interesting question.Indie Wire Film Comment's top 50 - the tippity top exactly

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I Am Love Sour Grapes

Have you seen I Am Love yet? The Globe nominee is available for rental so get on that.Director Luca Guadagnino with Marisa Berenson & Tilda SwintonI read the following quote over at Hollywood Reporter and I found it both amusing, right-on and the kind of thing you shouldn't say out loud. Seems Luca Guadagnino, the man behind the brilliant Globe & BFCA nominated I Am Love is not happy with the

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Blake Edwards (RIP)

Mrs & Mrs Blake Edwards (1974)Our heart goes out to the divine Julie Andrews in what is surely a difficult time as her husband the writer/director Blake Edwards passed away a few days ago. We apologize for the delay in honoring him. Edwards was long beloved and praised for his comic sensibilities as a writer and director, most famously within The Pink Panther series starring Peter Sellers.What

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What are you seeing this weekend?

Do share in the comments -- or maybe you're just Christmas shopping?Sorry I've been away: internet connectivity problems today. Have you already started your holiday break?I must see several movies this weekend and over the holiday week so as to finalize all the year in review goodies and listicles, the 11th annual Film Bitch Awards are right around the corner. The new website is on the way too

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What are you doing in my closet, Jeffrey Beaumont?

..

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There Are 41 Songs (& Vids). There Is Only 1 CHER.

41 Songs were declared eligible for Oscar's least cinematically relevant prize a short while ago. Wheeee!We only didn't share them yesterday because every single damn thing happens in the same week. I'd be more excited about this category if recent years hadn't seen the big show trending away from original performers singing their original songs. If I can't see Cher doing her Burlesque number(s)

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Oscar's Gonna Have His Way Toniiiiiight.

Jose here.The brand new poster for the 83rd Academy Awards was released today.Here it is if you have yet to see it...The main poster (which seems to be yet another variation of the "Oscar as superhero" theme AMPAS always seems to recur to) is accompanied by three other posters which all include iconic images of Oscar night.He will leave someone speechless tonight.Reads the one accompanying the

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Distant Relatives: The Entertainer and The Wrestler

Robert here, with my series Distant Relatives, where we look at two films, (one classic, one modern) related through a common theme and ask what their similarities and differences can tell us about the evolution of cinema. Angry Old Men As a society we have such a strange relationship with celebrities.  We admire them and we despise them.  We love when they fail, embarrassing humiliation and then

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SAG Injustice: When a Nomination is Still a Snub

In the afterglow of the SAG nominations, when publicists, stars and pundits are all aglow with congratulatory messaging of every sort and critics are bemoaning the fate of talented but snubbed performances, one annual dismaying group of snubs always slips through the cracks. I'm talking about the people who contributed to the movies nominated as Best Ensemble but weren't actually included when

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Good News: Black Swan Spreads Its Wide Wings

Your wait is over (or nearly so depending on where you live). Due to its constantly packed houses -- it's been landing in the top ten US box office daily despite being on less than 100 screens -- Black Swan goes wide quite a bit earlier than expected. Tomorrow the one-of-a-kind movie flies into 800+ more theaters. Enjoy. Report back.

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Screen Actors Guild Nominations

JoBeth Williams welcomes you! "They're heeeeeeeee--eeeere"Giggly Rosario Dawson & Angie Harmon announced the SAG nominations at 9:00 AM EST after being introduced by JoBeth Williams. Though this is the last major clue as to where Oscar acting nominations will go, it is not the "this is it!" twin that many like to claim. Important Differences From SAG to Oscar: Contrary to what you often read on

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"Different Places" (Critics Awards & Dragon Tattoos)

Please read the title in your best exasperated Nomi Malone voice. Plz and thx. I can't read the words "different places" without hearing Showgirls in my head.The big critics prizes (Los Angeles and New York) have come and gone but more cities are following suit declaring their bests. Now, by the magic of the expandable post, we can share them all without appearing to be as dull obsessive and

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Here She Comes!

Jose here.There are few things I enjoy more than "discovering" a new performance by an artist I adore. Such was the case last night when I screened The Harvey Girls for the very first time. I have always known Judy was adorable and could sing like nobody on the planet has since her. What I loved to see this time was her marvelous entrance performing the Oscar winning song "On the Atchison, Topeka

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Eight Links: Unhinged Women, Union Protests, Unctuous Celebrity

Awards Daily "Women Unhinged" fun piece on all the bat-shit crazy lady characters fighting for Oscar recognition. We're glad to see Lesley Manville (Another Year) getting some attention in her week of snubs.Movies Kick Ass sees and loves Paprika Steen in Applaus. What a performance that is.Disney Blog I hadn't heard of this but apparently there's a union protest against Toy Story 3 outside of

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Tackling the Magic Kingdom

.JA from MNPP here. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times yesterday Jon Favreau opened up about why he's not doing the third Iron Man film (Nat mentioned it yesterday), and in so doing this tid-bit presented itself:"Favreau is set to direct “Magic Kingdom,” which the 44-year-old filmmaker described as a family fantasy adventure that will tap into the vintage Disney creations that “loomed so

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Glenn Close as Albert Nobbs

Glenn Close got back in front of movie cameras two days ago. Albert Nobbs has just started filming. She plays a cross dressing woman in 1890's Ireland.[photo src]Barring the movie going to cable (these things happen) of failing to get distribution (these things happen, too) will Glenn Close finally be back in the Oscar race next year at this time? She was last nominated for 1988's Dangerous

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Can the Globes be Skipped?

Michael C. here with some trivia for you to mull over as you finish digesting the Globe line-up and ponder the influence of an organization that looks at The Tourist and Red and sees awards fodder. Maybe they were just eager to provide Ricky Gervais with some good material. It is all about the party, after all.The Golden Globes are to the Oscars what the Iowa caucuses are to the presidential race

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Christian Bale, Honorary Powerpuff Girl

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone fame is being roasted again as the all time champ of shameless Blurb Whores but that's not the point of this post.While interviewing Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg for The Fighter, who seem to be in great moods (why wouldn't they be after the Globe & BFCA announcements?) Travers tries to entice Bale to serenade us with a little Newsies number. And why shouldn't he

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Age & (Best) Actressing

Guess what's the most common age to win Best Actress? 29. Guess who's 29 right now? I'll give you one guess.If Natalie Portman wins Best Actress in February she'll join the ranks of seven previous movie star beauties who won on the cusp of 30 including the immortal Elizabeth Taylor (who won for BUtterfield 8 at 29, pictured above with Portman's Black Swan turn).Guess which decade of life has the

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Link Catches Us (As We Catch Up)

The FighterIn Contention Sports Illustrated names The Fighter "the best sports movie of the decade." I guess they're using that 2001-2010 definition. Hate that. I like to end with the 9s.Low Resolution Speaking of The Fighter. Check out Joe Reid's awesome post "The Art of the Skank"CartoonsMilo oh, this is lovely. Toy Story 3 by the numbers. Tons of infographic pleasure... if thinking about how

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How to Watch Movies (With Alexandre Desplat)

I'll be sharing a two part interview with the three time Oscar nominated composer Alexandre Desplat soon but I thought I'd give you this off topic teaser during this week of heavy awardage. It's a handy salve.During our conversation, I broached the topic of Desplat's time on the Cannes jury this summer and I asked a rather awkward question about how he judged the films, implying that he has a

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Curio: Christmas Greetings

Alexa from Pop Elegantiarum here with your weekly arts and crafts.The hubby and I had a very predictable night last week, sitting on the couch, crying during It's a Wonderful Life. (My excuse is I'm still recovering from an appendectomy, making me all soft around the edges. He has no excuse.) Aside from this obvious picture, the holidays are really all about the movies, what with all the award

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The Most Hilarious Thing About The Globe Nominations Is...

... no, no, no. It's NOT that hideous Comedy/Musical best picture lineup. It's even more absurdist than that.  The most hilarious thing about the Golden Globe noms is...[photos from: Return to Cranford and The Client List]Dame Judi Dench vs. Jennifer Love HewittOnly at the Globes, people, only at the Globes.This is the first and last circumstance in which they'll ever be mentioned in the same

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Globes Snubs From Ruff' to Gritty

While the Hollywood Foreign Press Association does not have member overlap with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, their very high profile assures that their nominees get a large media platform with which to pursue more Oscar votes. Sometimes it helps sometimes it doesn't. But here's a list of major contenders shunned by the Globe voters this morning."I never thought they'd use my

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Golden Globe Nomination Announcement

8:12 AM Nothing happening yet.8:13 Flashbulb tests! That's it.8:16 Okay Josh Duhamel and Katie Holmes and Blair Underwood are there.Blair, Josh and Katie for what it's worth.8:18 Guy Lodge cracks me up. On Twitter he says to me "The Holmes will not be hurried."8:19 Blair begins. Here we go.8:35 We've been on a short break. They start again in 4 minutes. I know I could wait to cut and paste press

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7 Word Reviews: True Grit, The Illusionist. Somewhere

Because this week is about trying to keep up with screenings, interviews and endless precursor announcements, here are some very very short reviews.The IllusionistA magician in the twilight of his career, finds companionship in a young woman. 7WR: Slow but just sublimely rendered. Devastating finale. B+/A-?All Good ThingsUnsolved mystery from the 80s about a wealthy heir and his missing wife.7WR:

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Oscar Night. Featuring Appearances By...

We already know that Anne Hathaway and James Franco are hosting and the only thing we have to say about that going forward is that Hathaway better sing again! From here and out we'll hear names of presenters. Most of them will be globally famous because that's how they do. So far we've got:Halle Berry Oprah WinfreyJeff Bridges & Sandra Bullock -- last year's lead winners. We wonder if this means

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The Assassination of Yogi Bear By The Coward Boo Boo

!!!I expect this won't stay on YouTube for long so watch it now. [hat tip]

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NYFCC's 2010 Wins: "The Social Kids That Are All Right Network"

The New York Film Critics Circle forms, together with LAFCA (Los Angeles Film Critics Association) and the NSFC* (National Society of Film Critics), the holy trinity** of critics awards. LA & NY combined can be a potent influential mix... not that they often agree. But this year they did, further underlining the dominance of The Social Network this awards season. The other big boost went to The

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Broadcast Film Critics: Black Swan Shows True Grit

The BFCA have revealed their "Critics Choice" nominees and Black Swan looms like an evil tutu'ed shadow over the competition with a record breaking 12 nominations. True Grit and The King's Speech were second with 11 nominations each, indicating that the BFCA voters really do like the films they've just seen the most. The BFCA has long been known (and celebrated and reviled) as being obsessed with

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Nicole would love to stay and chat...

...but she's got places to be.*

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The Adorable Jacki Weaver, Sweetie (LAFCA Winner!)

Points to our friend Glenn for pointing this out. Here's Jacki Weaver's acceptance speech at the Australian Film Awards for Animal Kingdom -- introduced by her current co-star Cate Blanchett. The speech is so adorable we are just going to pretend that it was delivered to us in America via satellite for her Los Angeles Film Critics Association triumph and NBR win.How ya feeling about her Oscar

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Resist The Tide

Quick...  In this day overflowing with critics awards (Los Angeles finally wrapped up), share a movie thought that has NOTHING to do with this year's critics awards or Oscars.What's on your mind?(My brain was just in 1961 fantasyland with Natalie & Warren, left. This is one of my brain's favorite places.)*

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Los Angeles Critics (Social Network vs. Carlos)

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association, now in their 35th year, hosted a battle between Carlos the Jackal and Mark Zuckerberg the punk. genius. billionaire. The Social Network co-founder won. But not without some concessions... including a tie.Picture: The Social Network[Runner up: Carlos]Director: (tie) Olivier Assayas for Carlos and David Fincher for The Social NetworkActress: Kim Hye-Ja in

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NYFCO (Prizes and Top Ten List)

Need one more critics group for the day? No? Well then don't open up this window. The New York Film Critics Online, which is a fairly new organization as critics awards go, embraced most of the Oscar frontrunners with the exception of The King's Speech. Their awards went like so... I may have missed a few but I shall update again if I have.Picture: The Social NetworkTheir top ten list is (alpha

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"Meryl Streep on Ice!"

A delicious spoof of Meryl's 'who me?' tossed off perfection. Even the sweater made me giggle. Plus, it's blissfully short as all such jokes should be. Well done SNL. (But how did they keep it so brief? They usually overkill their good jokes.)*

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Boston Society of Film Critics. Juliette is a Rock Star

The Boston Society of Film Critics have been known to surprise in the past and this year, they've opted for Juliette Lewis as Best Supporting Actress in Conviction. Bet you didn't see that under five minute surprise coming! A good day for The Fighter, Black Swan and The Social Network. Less so for The Kids Are All Right which did manage two runner up citations but, alas, runner up citations

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You Were Saying...? (Extended Thoughts on Previous Topics)

I pray my occasional 'look at these comments!' posts don't come off as desperate. I'm just a very chatty person, what can I say? Since we are all becoming cyborgs, comments feel closer to conversation all the time. One day we will all forget how to speak. We will grow extra sets of fingers for more typing speed. Evolution will shrink our hands so that we can text with greater ease on our tiny

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What Kerry Washington Needs For Christmas

an iPhone.People still use blackberries? That's one gadget too many.update: Here's an interview with Kerry by friend of the film experience Kurtis. Also "The Pretentious Know It All" says forget an iPhone. What Kerry needs for Christmas is a role worthy of her gifts. That's SO true.*

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Critics Awards Cometh. Swan vs. Network?

Ballots were due today for the BFCA "Critics Choice Awards" so you can be sure I did my share of handwringing before I sent it in. My god, you think you know what you want to vote for and you stare at the ballot and it's just >gah< indecision! (It doesn't help that you can only vote for 3 items in each category, 5 for best picture). Those nominations will be announced on Monday.Tomorrow we'll be

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Take Three: Paddy Considine

Craig here with the last in the current series of Take Three. Today: Paddy ConsidineTake One: Dead-end England, twice "Phil" in My Summer...Colin Firth, Daniel Craig, Colin Farrell, Clive Owen. And so on. When I think of an actor who encapsulates exactly what is crucial, surprising and truly versatile about British male acting right now, none of the above quite pass muster, for me. Paddy

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You Sweet Link.

I Need My Fix Cameron Crowe and Nancy Wilson (of Heart fame) are divorcing. God, it feels like forever since Crowe made a movie, right? Maybe I've just forgotten something.Mr Hipp imagines Inception's dream team. So cute! I love the take on Joseph Gordon-Levitt.Boy Culture Isabella Rossellini finally addresses Madonna's "Sex" 18 years after the fact. To your left is one of my favorite photos from

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Oscars Visual FX Finalists: Love of Teal & Orange Light Shows Continues Unabated

The Academy's visual effects branch has released its list of finalists for the eventual nominations. For the first year the category will be five-wide. It had always been limited to three nominees in previous years. Given how much of modern cinema is f/x driven, the expansion makes sense. But their finalist-list only serve to remind us that the category, which is technically called Achievement in

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Distant Relatives: The Spirit of the Beehive and Pan's Labyrinth

Robert here, with my new series Distant Relatives, where we look at two films, (one classic, one modern) related through a common theme and ask what their similarities and differences can tell us about the evolution of cinema. Érase una vez...There was a young girl in the civil war-torn Spainish country, very alone in the world, her mother hung up with a new lover, all she had was the flights of

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Comment Party. "We've Got Choreography!"

Which Academy Awards category that doesn't exist should?...Stunts? Ensemble? Casting? Which nonexistent category do you wish they'd invent?You know that if they still had Best Dance Direction (1935-1937 RIP) or some such choreography prize, that Benjamin Millipied who dances, acts, and choreographs Black Swan (as well as romancing Natalie Portman offscreen) would be in the running for an

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Jeremy Renner. Kirsten Dunst. It's "All Good..."

Here's some worthwhile reading today: a top ten list from Tom Shone. It's a performance list rather than a movie list and it's crowned by Jeremy Renner's dangerous ex-con in The Town. Shone goes so far as to compare Renner's gift to Steve McQueen's which is an interesting comparision but begs the question: Will Renner start getting major lead roles after his back to back successes with The Town

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Yes, No, Maybe So: "Real Steel"

Mackie say"Hey Hey Hey, Hugh Jackman is in the house!!!"Real Steel opens in October 2011. A weird time for a summer movie to open. Except that it's a parody of a summer movie and not an actual summer movie, right? Right. Thought so. What? It's not? ohno. LOLZIn Shawn Levy's Real Steel, Hugh Jackman builds giant boxing robots to carry on in his manly sweaty boxing footsteps. He now runs a boxing

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"I'm Awesome!"

A reminder._____love,  The BeningP.S. Or "Love The Bening." Both punctuations work, my fans.

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Unsung Heroes: The Editing of Exit Through the Gift Shop

Michael C. back again from Serious Film. It's time to wrap up the first season of Unsung Heroes and I thought what better way to do that than to focus on a film that's still in the 2010 conversation while there's a chance to upgrade its status from "unsung" to "frequently honored".The editing of Banksy’s Exit Through the Gift Shop would be a long shot even if it didn’t come from a documentary.

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12 Hungry Films (Plus: Black Swan Geek-Out)

My Oscar charts are in terrible need of reassessment but I've been devoting all my hours to working on the new website. It's a hungry beast. So, in the interim, you should check out my new article at Tribeca Film where I wonder about the 12 pictures that seem to have the most heat going into balloting season. 8 films have looked to be fairly settled for Best Picture nods for a couple of months

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Today's Must Watch: 14 (Silent) Character Types

Oh to have the New York Times arts budget. They've asked 14 actors to recreate classic character types in 1 minute segments and the results are at turns breathtakingly gorgeous (Natalie Portman), funny (James Franco), exciting (Javier Bardem), questionable (Jesse Eisenberg?) and sometimes plain old garden variety awesome (Tilda Swinton's Falconetti?) Yes please.Tilda SwintonNoomi RapaceAnthony

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*Live Blog* The Hollywood Reporter's Actors Roundtable

Y'all remember when I did this for the ladies so I figure it's twin-time. You have to have both pieces of a matching set. Not that I'm looking forward to this one as much. Impress or surprise me fellas! You're not actresses so you have to work harder to provide Film Experience jollies. (If you have time to watch the full video it's at the bottom of the post.)1:00 Robert Duvall (Get Low) tells a

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It's Top Ten Time! (Not Here, But Elsewhere.)

Setting aside for a moment the personal view that people rush too quickly into naming their favorites every year (usually well before the annum is over) I do love reading a good top ten list. When those  lists are from magazines, they have a long lead excuse so let's enjoy them.The L Magazine, a local NYC offering ("the L"is a subway), has released their Best Films of 2010 and as usual there's a

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"Hoist My Spanks Up!" The Ever-Delightful Queen Helen Mirren Speaks Out.

Behold: Helen Mirren at the Women in Hollywood event. Once she's done re-revelling in Halle Berry's Oscar win (Berry must have preceded her onto the stage), she brings us to the now with this smackdown of Hollywood's relentless and innate sexism.You don't often hear celebrities getting pointed about the hand that feeds them. Like...I resent having witnessed in my life the survival of some very

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Box Office Blather: Unstoppable Potter and the 127 Tangled Swans

No, not that BOB.Box Office Blather. Let's call it "BOB".One should probably discuss it weekly (and not on Wednesday? Shut it. I'm late.) if only to be more "in the world" and less hermetically sealed in one's own bubble, he said to himself while gazing at his navel in his 360º mirror.In all seriousness this is a problem. I sometimes stare at box office charts and think "'The Warrior's Way'?  

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Five x Five

5 Funny ReadsThen fuck you, Jack Outlaw Vern on Animal Kingdom 'Australia's answer to Goodfellas'. Hilarious as always, that Vern.Tom & Lorenzo "Kristin Chenoweth had a gayer Saturday night than we did."The Onion "Oscar Contenders" It's all about the killer punchline.SteveMartinToGo every so often I forget how much I love Steve Martin and then I remember while laughing. Usually I have this weird

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The King's Weakness

Michael C here from Serious Film.That low hissing you may have heard coming from the Hollywood area over the last week is the sound of the air leaking out of Tom Hooper's The King’s Speech and its status as Oscar frontrunner. That’s the trouble with leading the pack. Any indication you’re not steamrolling the competition is instantly seized upon as proof that you are nothing but a lot of

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Curio: Paintings of a Tourist

Alexa from Pop Elegantiarum here with your weekly art break.The media machine just can't get enough of the dueling fabulosity of Jolie and Depp in The Tourist. (What was it like basking in each other's glow? Will they out-charisma each other?) Of course we all know about the impressive extracurriculars of St. Angelina, but Depp has a few of his own. Most people are aware that he came to acting

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My Favorite Thing About "The Fighter" Is...

I saw The Fighter last week and didn't even deliver a "this is all the time I have" 7 word review. I have more than 7 words on this one though what follows is not a traditional review. The first thing I tweeted was...It still applies. Yep, Christian Bale is doing his best work ever in the co-lead role of Dicky Eklund (Let's call it The Fighters) or at least his best since American Psycho (2000).

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Links. Episode #∞

Noupe interesting overview of current movie poster design trends.Black Book interviews the lovely Farran of 'Self Styled Siren' on classic movie blogging.Go Fug Yourself "Unfug or Fab" catches up with Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban-Kidman.Cinema Blend Emma Stone gone blonde for Spider-Man's "Gwen Stacy".Back Stage Blog Stage Rob Reiner wants to make the stage musical Next to Normal into a movie. He

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Monty the Film Critic

Despite being named for a movie star, my furry son rarely pays any heed to movies. The only thing he enjoys about DVDs is the reflected light they throw on the walls.But this morning his paws sifted through a stack of Fox Searchlight screeners and he was suddenly all opinionated. He immediately claimed Danny Boyle's 127 Hours for his own. Moments later -- my god how I wish I had been filming --

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The King's Acceptance Speeches Begin

King and Queen of the BIFAsThe British Independent Film Awards forced the reluctant king to the mic again when they gave Colin Firth the Best Actor prize for his stammering royal in The King's Speech. The BIFAs also gave the movie 4 additional prizes: Helena Bonham-Carter and Geoffrey Rush took their first wins of the season and the film won screenplay and the BIFA equivalent of Best Picture "

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Take Three: Emily Watson

Craig here with Take Three. Today: Emily WatsonTake One: Upstairs 0 - Downstairs 1The Academy often doubles up with their supporting ladies – i.e. Weaver and Cusack for Working Girl, Farmiga and Kendrick for Up in the Air, and so on. It was true also for 2001’s Gosford Park's Helen Mirren and Maggie Smith. I always thought a third should’ve been added. Watson delivered five-star service and, for

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"The Ghost Writer" Haunts Europe. Can it Win American Oscar Nods?

The European Film Awards were held yesterday in Estonia's capital Tallin (next year the ceremony will be in Malta). Roman Polanski and Ewan McGregor both appeared via the wonders of the internet (you may have heard Polanski doesn't travel much) to accept for The Ghost Writer. The mystery thriller about a politician under fire and the two sorry writers who attempt to ghost his memoirs is filled

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Day of Rest

shhhhhhhhhh. Daniel Craig needs his beauty sleep. (Aren't you excited that he's coming back for a third round at Bond, James Bond?)We'll be back tomorrow. Go see a movie! *

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I Love Like You Phillip Morris

Jim Carrey adds a little swish to his familiar physical dexterity as con-man Steven Russell in I Love You Phillip Morris. His rubber face sad-comic mask falls hard for mild-mannered Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor), while both are in prison. Their affair prompts much elaborate scheming from Steven about how to bust them out.The film's strange and gleefully offensive comic tone comes courtesy of

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Julianne Moore @ 50

I couldn't let the day pass without an acknowledgement of the great Julianne Moore hitting the big 5-0 milestone.<--- This is what 50 looks like when you're Her. (Yes, that picture was taken this year.)Having celebrated Julianne Moore many times over the years (just click the label or read this summer's interview) I thought we shouldn't make too much of a fuss today. But bless bless. Isn't she

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Distant Relatives: Taxi Driver and One Hour Photo

Robert here, with my new series Distant Relatives, where we look at two films, (one classic, one modern) related through a common theme and ask what their similarities and differences can tell us about the evolution of cinema. God's Lonely MenWhen they tell what drew them so passionately to Paul Schrader's Taxi Driver script, Martin Scorsese and Robert DeNiro often cite the line "I am God's

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Daryl Hannah is 50.

I've always had a thing for mermaids. I can't truly remember if it preceded Daryl Hannah or if she caused it but in my movie addled brain I have come to blame her. I remember our first magical meeting vividly: I was fully clothed, she was naked.Was it the allure of the fantastical?Was it the iamcurious shock of nudity in a family movie? (The 80s. Different times.)Was it that guileless smile?Was

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Interview: Javier Fuentes-León and the Oscar Submission "Undertow"

I meet first-time feature director, US based Javier Fuentes-León in a tasty Puerto Rican restaurant called Sazon. We're there to chat up his Peruvian/Colombian movie "Undertow" (also known as Contracorriente), a romantic gay drama which is also a portrait of a rural community and also a ghost story. But the 'where from?',  'what kind?' and 'why this?' of it are surface details. Javier

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Future Awards Dates & Unmentioned Actors (Thus Far)

Just a heads up to all of you who like to play along in the Oscar race. Here are the next big dates. And just for fun, I've illustrated with the pictures of 14 of the most prominent players who seemed like they might catch fire (at some recent point) but who have still not been mentioned at all in the first handful of acting citations... not even at the Satellites. I've updated the actor, actress

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Searching the Sundance Lineup

Michael C from Serious Film here.This Tuesday the Sundance Film Festival announced its 2011 Dramatic Competition lineup. It's ironic that a festival devoted to independence and originality has me looking over the list of films like the crassest studio boss ever to chomp down on a cigar behind a giant desk. You can't help but gravitate towards big stars and familiar concepts. "You've got fifty

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Anne Hathaway, 'Next' Cover Girl

This is a gay rag here in NYC. Anne was on the holiday weekend cover promoting Love and Other Drugs, and though the inside article is dependably slim, she once again proves herself not just a wonderful celeb but a cool person and major friend of the gays."I was at the Empire State Pride Agenda dinner a few years ago," she recalls. "And Margaret Cho put it perfectly. She said, 'I can't believe

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The Kick-Off! NBR Favors "The Social Network", Shuns "127 Hours"

God, they get us every time! The National Board of Review has haters all over the internet but despite endless attacks on their legitimacy claiming that their choices are nothing but studio banquet-table-buying driven ... we (collectively speaking) still always let them kick it off.Sometimes we get a kick out of it. Sometimes we just get kicked in the gut. It's totally an S&M relationship. But

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Randomness: Menacing Cologne, Chained Actress, Bloodied Benjamin

Oh hello there. You're back? I'm just basking in the beauty that is this new Rabbit Hole poster. I loved the first one, too. What is happening? Posters are supposed to be terrible and they keep doing right by this film. This one visually gets at the disconnect between two people who are still very much connected,  physically, legally, experientally and emotionally. I love it.We're down to the

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The Gluttonous Golden Satellites

You guys. I really can't be bothered to talk about the Golden Satellites (a.k.a. The International Press Academy, who can't even be bothered to update their own website) and here's why: When you nominate everyone* under the sun, it's hard to take you seriously. The Satellites have more categories than any of the important precursors and then, as if the orgy of categories weren't enough, they have

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Grammy Nominations and Film Star Nominees

Though I don't much care about the Grammys --even when I was a teenager when you're supposed to care a lot, I didn't as my favorites were rarely nominated -- I do always cast a curious eye over their choices in case a favorite of mine was accidentally nominated or in case I hear about a record that piques curiousity. The nomination I'm happiest about tonight is Best Dance Recording. That really

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Unsung Heroes: Kirk Douglas for Producing Paths of Glory

Hey everybody. Michael C. from Serious Film back again. This week is all about Kirk Douglas, and although his acting career has enough high points to fill this blog for a month, today we're here to honor the hand he had in launching one of the most important directorial careers of the last century. One fact everyone in the film business seems to agree on is that it is incredibly difficult to get

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Red Carpet Lineup: Swan Break

The New York premiere of Black Swan was held last night at the Ziegfeld which is the theater for premiere's here in Manhattan. I have so many fond memories of the place. All the stars were in attendance including Darren Aronofsky, Vincent Cassell and Barbara Hershey. Plus the deliciously dark rival ballerinas Mila, Natalie and Noni.I think it goes without saying but I'll say it: Winona Ryder is

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Spirit Awards. What They Do and Don't Say About Oscar.

Now that I've had a day to think over the Spirit Awards (nominee discussion) and what they reveal and obscure about the Oscar race, here's a deeper look for my Tribeca Film column.Eligible "Best Feature" SnubsBlue Valentine, Get Low, Somewhere, Rabbit HoleNot eligible for "Best Feature" or Acting Prizes The King's Speech, I Am Love, Another Year, Animal KingdomNot eligible for anything Toy Story

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Actors on Actors: SAG Buzz

Have you read the Variety feature where SAG card holders are essentially campaigning for other actors for awards season? Sometimes the admiration is surely talent-based and not about who they're friends with or have worked with and sometimes it's clearly a mixture of the two.Nicole Kidman, marvelous again in Rabbit Hole.Marion Cotillard worked with Nicole Kidman on Nine, for example, but her

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Woody Turns 75. Undoubtedly Writing 43rd Feature Film.

What you're looking at below is a screenshot from the new Film Experience site (opening in a couple of weeks) in the "top tens" section... which is more like a "top 1" for each year from 1920-1979 (until I see or revisit more films from those years).Woody Allen made my favorite films of 1977 (Annie Hall), 1979 (Manhattan) and 1985 (The Purple Rose of Cairo) and came very close to doing so in 1986

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