Holy cow, I almost choked on my coffee as I looked at these covers.  You never see non-whites on the cover of Vanity Fair, never ever.  In the second term with our first African American president, a film that looks like it might become — MIGHT BECOME — the first ever film written by, directed by and starring black filmmakers …

    Music moves me – duh – and that is like having a window opening on a heightened reality, but the effect is fleeting: When the music ends, the magic, the uplifting, vanishes and the window slams shut. Words, on the other hand, by the nature of how they work, emotions evoked by dint of carefully laid out thoughts, …

Best Picture Amour Director Michael Haneke, Amour Actress Emmanuelle Riva, Amour Actor Jean-Louis Trintignant, Amour Original Screenplay Michael Haneke, Amour

Like many of us, the Producers Guild seems anxious to put the current dance marathon behind us and look ahead to the sharp elbows and foot stomps of next year’s tango fiasco. LOS ANGELES (February 21, 2013) – The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced today that the Producers Guild Awards, honoring excellence in motion picture, television and new media …

(Press release): LOS ANGELES – February 19, 2013 – CBS Films announced today it has acquired US rights to INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS. Written and directed by Academy Award©-winners Joel and Ethan Coen and produced by Scott Rudin and Joel and Ethan Coen, the film stars Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund, F. Murray Abraham and Justin Timberlake.

I can’t recall the last time I ever read a more devastating shredding of a film than this dismantling written by Jesse Williams (mild-mannered actor, model, producer, star of Grey’s Anatomy by day; heroic blogger, teacher, Temple University grad, though-provoker, and movie-bullshit fighter by night). Today a tweet from Ava DuVernay led me to Williams 1500 word critique of Tarantino’s …

Jeff White joined the legendary LucasFilm visual effects company Industrial Light and Magic roughly ten years ago, and has since worked on some of the biggest blockbusters of the past decade. His work spans all three Transformers movies, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, and Star Wars: Episode III “Revenge of the Sith.” During the course of those films …

Sally Field was featured on ABC Evening News tonight in a story that originally aired on Valentine’s Day. Sally Field has been a beloved part of American pop culture for nearly a half-century. At 66, she has as many Best Actress Academy Awards as Meryl Streep. Pretty good for someone who began on the ABC sitcoms “Gidget” and “The Flying …

Since the Oscar race that started with Argo in Telluride is now finishing with Argo in Hollywood I have really no choice but to quote Bob Dylan — “You just kinda wasted my precious time but don’t think twice, it’s all right.” All of the in-between that happened there? That was the stuff that dreams are made of. One of …

All the films up for Best Picture are formidable challengers in their own right. But only one of these has a secret weapon: a charming, handsome actor-director most people have known for years. The public knows his suave celebrity disposition, the industry knows his reputation as one of the nicest guys in town. Good luck going up against that. Likeable …

Best Film: Argo Leading Actor: Lincoln, Daniel Day-Lewis Leading Actress: Amour, Emmanuelle Riva Director: Argo, Ben Affleck Film not in the English Language: Amour, Michael Haneke, Margaret Ménégoz Supporting Actor: Django Unchained, Christoph Waltz Supporting Actress: Les Miserables, Anne Hathaway Cinematography: Life of Pi, Claudio Miranda

Life of Pi and Brave each win 4 awards at the 11th Annual VES Awards.   (thanks to Mikhail) Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture Life of Pi Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture Brave Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture The Impossible Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Feature Motion …

Ben Affleck has just become the third director in DGA/Academy history to win the DGA without a corresponding Oscar nomination. Best Feature: Ben Affleck, Argo Best Documentary Feature: Malik Bendjelloul, Searching for Sugarman Televison Directors award winners, after the cut.

ENTER OUR CONTEST! For 82 out of 86 Oscar years the directors have controlled the way Best Picture has been handed down. They matter. They are what the Academy was built to do: professionals deciding the best of the year. The entire Academy has looked to them for guidance in almost every year of their existence.  Yet this year, suddenly, …

EXCELLENCE IN PERIOD FILM Anna Karenina – Jacqueline Durran Argo – Jacqueline West Les Misérables – Paco Delgado Lincoln – Joanna Johnston Moonrise Kingdom – Kasia Walicka-Maimone (thanks, Elton!)  Nominees in Contemporary and Fantasy categories after the cut.  

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary Malik Bendjelloul (Searching for Sugar Man) Kirby Dick (The Invisible War) David France (How to Survive a Plague) Lauren Greenfield (The Queen of Versailles) Alison Klayman (Ai Wei Wei: Never Sorry) (thanks to Paddy at ScreenOnScreen)

Best Picture: Argo Best Director: Ben Affleck, Argo Best Actress: Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty! Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln Best Picture, Musical/Comedy: Les Miserables Best Foreign Language Film: Amour, Michael Haneke! Best Actress Comedy: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook best Actor Musical: Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, Django …

BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (DRAMATIC): Argo, William Goldenberg, A.C.E. Life of Pi, Tim Squyres, A.C.E. Lincoln, Michael Kahn, A.C.E. Skyfall, Stuart Baird, A.C.E. Zero Dark Thirty, Dylan Tichenor, A.C.E. and William Goldenberg, A.C.E. (Comedy Musical, Documentary and Animated cats after the cut)

WINNERS OF THE 18TH ANNUAL CRITICS’ CHOICE MOVIE AWARDS Best Picture – Argo Best Actor – Daniel Day-Lewis Best Actress – Jessica Chastain Best Supporting Actor – Philip Seymour Hoffman Best Supporting Actress – Anne Hathaway Best Young Actor/Actress – Quvenzhane Wallis Best Acting Ensemble – Silver Linings Playbook Best Director – Ben Affleck Best Adapted Screenplay – Tony Kushner …

Sally Field (Supporting Actress) – “I’m spinning and beyond thrilled on so many levels. To be included in this amazing group of extraordinary craftsman and exquisite talents has been an honor in itself. But now for us all to receive so much recognition from the Academy I’m deeply appreciative and overwhelmed, and basically, I still can’t believe I got the …