Xixax Film Forum

Six Indie Spirit noms to 'Squid'
Source: Hollywood Reporter

With six nominations, Noah Baumbach's "The Squid and the Whale," the autobiographical tale of two boys dealing with their parents' divorce, led the list of nominees for Film Independent's 2006 Independent Spirit Awards, which were announced Tuesday morning.

It will compete for best feature with "Brokeback Mountain," "Capote," "Good Night, and Good Luck" and "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada," which all picked up four nominations each.

Selected from more than 200 submissions, winners of the Independent Spirit Awards, which recognize American independent features, made for less than $20 million, will be presented March 4 in Santa Monica.

Jeff Daniels, who plays the novelist dad in "Squid," was nominated for best male lead, along with Philip Seymour Hoffman, who portrays the title character in "Capote"; Terrence Howard, who stars as a pimp who aspires to be a rapper in "Hustle & Flow," Heath Ledger, who's a taciturn cowboy who falls in love with another man in "Brokeback Mountain," and David Strathairn, who embodies journalist Edward R. Murrow in "Good Night, and Good Luck."

In the best female lead category, "Squid" also earned a nomination for Laura Linney, who plays a mom who is having an affair. The category also includes Felicity Huffman, who appears as a male-to-female transexual in "Transamerica," Dina Korzun, in the role of a Russian woman living in Memphis in "Forty Shades of Blue," S. Epatha Merkerson, who runs a boarding house in "Lackawanna Blues," and Cyndi Williams, who plays a Texas woman haunted by psychic visions in "Room."

Nominees for best supporting female are Amy Adams, "Junebug"; Maggie Gyllenhaal, "Happy Endings"; Allison Janney, "Our Very Own"; Michelle Williams, "Brokeback Mountain"; and Robin Wright Penn, "Nine Lives."

Those nominated for best supporting male are Firdous Bamji, "The War Within"; Matt Dillon, "Crash"; Jesse Eisenberg, "The Squid and the Whale"; Barry Pepper, "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada"; and Jeffrey Wright, "Broken Flowers."

Of the best feature nominees, three of the films also picked up nominations for best director: "Brokeback's" Ang Lee, "Good Night's" George Clooney and "Squid's" Noah Baumbach. The other two best director nominations went to Gregg Araki for "Mysterious Skin," a tale of how sexual molestation shapes the lives of two boys, and Rodrigo Garcia for "Nine Lives," a portrait of nine different women.

Nominations for best first feature, an award that goes to both director and producers, include: "Crash," directed by Paul Haggis and produced by Cathy Schulman, Don Cheadle, Bob Yari, Mark R. Harris, Bobby Moresco and Paul Haggis; "Lackawanna Blues," directed by George C. Wolfe and produced by Nellie Nugiel; "Me and You and Everyone We Know," directed by Miranda July and produced by Gina Kwon; "Thumbsucker," directed by Mike Mills and produced by Anthony Bregman and Bob Stephenson; and "Transamerica," directed by Duncan Tucker and produced by Rene Bastian, Sebastian Dungan and Linda Moran.

Nominations in other categories include:

John Cassavetes Award, for best first feature made for under $500,000: "Brick," "Conventioneers," "Jellysmoke," "The Puffy Chair" and "Room."

Best screenplay: Ayad Akhtar, Joseph Castelo and Tom Glynn for "The War Within," Guillermo Arriaga for "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada," Baumbach for "The Squid and the Whale," Dan Futterman for "Capote" and Garcia for "Nine Lives."

Best first screenplay: Kenneth Hanes for "Fixing Frank," July for "Me and You and Everyone We Know," Angus MacLachlan for "Junebug," Sabina Murray for "The Beautiful Country" and Tucker for "Transamerica."

Best cinematography: Robert Elswit for "Good Night, and Good Luck," John Foster for "Keane," Adam Kimmel for "Capote," Chris Menges for "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada" and Harris Savides for "Last Days."

Best foreign film: Christi Puiu's "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu" (Romania); Fernando Eimbcke's "Duck Season" (Mexico); Fatih Akin's "Head-On" (Germany/Turkey); Hany Abu-Assad's "Paradise Now" (Palestine/Netherlands/Germany/France) and Jun Ichikawa's "Tony Takitani" (Japan).

Best documentary: Alex Gibney's "Enron: The Smarest Guys in the Room"; Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man"; Scott Dalton and Margarita Martinez's "La Sierra"; Mark Becker's "Romantico" and David Zeiger's "Sir! No Sir!"

The IFC/Acura Someone to Watch Award, recognizing a filmmaker "who has not yet received appropriate recognition": Ian Gamazon and Neill Dela Llana, directors of "Cavite"; Robinson Devor, director of "Police Beat"; and Jay Duplass, director of "The Puffy Chair."

The Truer Than Fiction Award, presented to an emerging director of nonfiction features: Rachel Boynton for "Our Brand Is Crisis"; Garrett Scott and Ian Olds for "Occupation: Dreamland"; Mark Becker for "Romantico"; and Thomas Allen Harris for "Twelve Disciples of Nelson Mandela."

The AMC/American Express Producers Award, honoring emerging producers: Caroline Baron for "Capote" and "Monsoon Wedding," Ram Bergman for "Brick" and "Conversations with Other Women"; and Mike S. Ryan for "Junebug" and "Palindromes."

'Brokeback' best pic, director for L.A. critics

"Brokeback Mountain" was voted top honors from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association on Saturday, taking best picture and best director for Ang Lee.

Best actor honors went to Philip Seymour Hoffman for his portayal of writer Truman Capote in "Capote," while best actress went to Vera Farmiga for "Down to the Bone."
 
William Hurt was named best supporting actor for "A History of Violence," while Catherine Keener was named best supporting actress for her work in "Capote" as well as in "The Ballad of Jack and Rose," "The Interpreter" and "The Forty Year Old Virgin."

Best screenplay honors were a split decision for "Capote," written by Dan Futterman, and "The Squid and the Whale" by Noah Baumbach.

Actor Terrence Howard won voting for the New Generation Award for his work in "Hustle & Flow," "Four Brothers" and "Get Rich or Die Tryin'".

Nick Park and Steve Box's stop-motion film "Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit" was named best animated feature. Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man," a bleak portrait of a man killed by bears, was named best documentary, while Michael Haneke's "Cache" ("Hidden") was named best best foreign-language film.

In the craft categories, Robert Elswit's black-and-white cinematography for director George Clooney's "Good Night, and Good Luck" received the top nod. Production design honors went to William Chang Suk-Ping for his work on Wong Kar Wai's "2046," and Joe Hisaishi's won top honors for his music for director Hayao Miyazaki's animated "Howl's Moving Castle."

The 2005 Los Angeles Film Critics Association awards will be handed out Jan. 17 at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Century City.

AFI AWARDS 2005

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) -- Critics' darling "Brokeback Mountain," the upcoming effects extravaganza "King Kong" and the raucous comedy "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" are among the 10 films that the American Film Institute has judged as the most outstanding motion pictures of the year.

The official selections of AFI Awards 2005 for top films and TV programs were announced Sunday after two days of deliberations by two juries that selected the year's best in film and television.

The AFI will honor the creative ensembles behind each of the honorees January 13 at a luncheon at the Four Seasons in Los Angeles.

"AFI is proud to honor these 20 collaborative teams. As the institute recognizes and celebrates excellence across the century, these honorees will be part of the record that documents America's enduring cultural legacy," AFI director and CEO Jean Picker Firstenberg said.

In addition to "Mountain," "Kong" and "Virgin," the movies chosen are "Capote," "Crash," "Good Night, and Good Luck," "A History of Violence," "Munich," "The Squid and the Whale" and "Syriana."

The 10 TV programs are: "24," "Battlestar Galactica," "Deadwood," "Grey's Anatomy," "House," "Lost," "Rescue Me," "Sleeper Cell," "Sometimes in April" and "Veronica Mars."

The film jury was: producer Robert G. Rehme, director Martha Coolidge, critic David Denby, scholar Anna Everett, director Norman Jewison, producer Tom Pollock, director Jay Roach, critic Lisa Schwarzbaum, scholar Vivian Sobchack, author David Thomson, critic Kenneth Turan, scholar Stephen Ujlaki and producer Laura Ziskin.

The TV jury's members were: director Marshall Herskovitz, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences president Dick Askin, writer Lionel Chetwynd, scholar Mary Corey, producer Tony Jonas, producer Jeffrey Kramer, critic Melanie McFarland, scholar Tara McPherson, producer Dorothea Petrie, director Frank Pierson, critic James Poniewozik, writer Del Reisman and critic Matt Roush.

Quote from: andyk on December 12, 2005, 09:03:08 AM
AFI AWARDS 2005

The 10 TV programs are: "24," "Battlestar Galactica," "Deadwood," "Grey's Anatomy," "House," "Lost," "Rescue Me," "Sleeper Cell," "Sometimes in April" and "Veronica Mars."

No Six Feet Under????? These ppl have no memory.

The only thing that will make me more nauseous than seeing Crash on this list, even though I knew it was coming, is when Paul Haggis wins the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. 

Quote from: hacksparrow on December 12, 2005, 09:57:28 AM
The only thing that will make me more nauseous than seeing Crash on this list, even though I knew it was coming, is when Paul Haggis wins the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. 

I saw Crash a few months before it came out and Haggis was there for a Q&A.  I saw the film, thought it was awful and then listened for 30+ mins as people kept telling him how great it was.  They (as does haggis himself) really think Crash is a very important film in the way it looks at race relations.  In fact, one girl suggested he should win a Nobel Peace Prize for how incredible and important it will be for society.

Quote from: SHAFTR on December 12, 2005, 10:24:05 AMThey (as does haggis himself) really think Crash is a very important film in the way it looks at race relations.

I'd like to do a poll of people of all different races in LA finding out who liked it and who didn't.  I'd bet Asians, who were basically just macguffins in the movie (no offense, MacGuffin), would like it the least.

The only important thing that came out of this film, re: race relations, is that it woke me up to how many people in this country see themselves and others as one-dimensional stereotypes.  Even friends of mine whose opinions I otherwise respect thought this movie was great. 

I'm sorry for my digression.  I'm going to try to stop talking about this, as I've ranted to everyone I've had contact with in the last month or so just how much I hated this movie and I didn't want to bump the Crash thread just to get this off my chest again. 

"Brokeback" builds Oscar buzz with NY award

N.Y. critics ride with 'Brokeback'

NEW YORK -- Focus Features' gay-themed western "Brokeback Mountain" swept the top New York Film Critics Circle honors Monday, garnering awards for best picture, best director (Ang Lee) and best actor (Heath Ledger). The group's best actress award went to Reese Witherspoon for "Walk The Line." Wong Kar Wai's "2046" earned the group's best foreign-language film and best cinematography kudos, while Werner Herzog was honored for two best non-fiction films, the docus "Grizzly Man" and "White Diamond." Bennett Miller earned a best first film nod for his direction of "Capote," and best animated feature went to Hayao Miyazaki's "Howl's Moving Castle." "The Squid and the Whale" earned Noah Baumbach the NYFCC best screenplay award. David Cronenberg's "A History of Violence" locked up best supporting actor and actress honors for William Hurt and Maria Bello. The 71st annual awards will be presented on Jan. 8 at New York's Cipriani's 42nd Street.

NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW AWARDS

NBR picks 'Good Night' as year's best

NEW YORK -- Three Warner Independent Pictures releases topped the National Board of Review's list of awards Monday, including George Clooney's sophomore feature "Good Night, and Good Luck" as best film, Hany Abu-Assad's terrorism-themed "Paradise Now" as best foreign-language film and Luc Jacquet's surprise hit "March of the Penguins" as best documentary. WIP's parent company, Warner Bros. Pictures, scored a best animated feature win with "Tim Burton's Corpse Bride."

Reflecting this year's trend in films with gay themes and characters, the 150-member NBR committee voted Philip Seymour Hoffman ("Capote") and Felicity Huffman ("Transamerica") as best actor and actress, while Ang Lee and Jake Gyllenhall earned best director and best supporting actor awards, respectively for "Brokeback Mountain." Best supporting actress honors went to Gong Li for her role in "Memoirs of a Geisha."


After "Good Night," NBR's list of 2005's best 10 films includes (in alphabetical order) "Brokeback Mountain," "Capote," "Crash," "History of Violence," "Match Point," "Memoirs of a Geisha," "Munich," "Syriana" and "Walk The Line." "Brokeback" led the pack with three awards, while "Capote," "Crash," "History," "Hustle & Flow" "Memoirs" and "Syriana" nabbing two each.

Noah Baumbach scored a best original screenplay award for "The Squid and the Whale," while Stephen Gaghan won best adapted screenplay for "Syriana."

Rounding out the top five in the best foreign language slot are "2046," "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress,""Downfall" and "Walk on Water." The runners-up for best documentaries were "Ballets Russes," "Grizzly Man," "Mad Hot Ballroom" and "Murderball."

The unofficial secondary list for best film, which NBR dubs a "Special Mention for Excellence in Filmmaking," includes "Breakfast on Pluto," "Cape of Good Hope," "The Dying Gaul," "Everything Is Illuminated," "Hustle & Flow," "Junebug," "Layer Cake," "Lord of War," "Nine Lives," "The Thing About My Folks" and "The Upside of Anger."

Among the thespian honors, "Mrs. Henderson Presents" earned best acting by an ensemble cast. Terrence Howard took the breakthrough performance award for an actor in "Crash," "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" and "Hustle & Flow," while Q'Orianka Kilcher earned breakthrough performance for an actress in "The New World."

Julian Fellowes earned a best directorial debut award for "Separate Lies," and, in a semi-annual award, "Lackawanna Blues" won best film or miniseries made for cable TV. The socially relevant pics "Innocent Voices" and "The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till" each earned special recognition for films that reflect freedom of expression.

"King Kong" was given an outstanding achievement in special effects award, which an NBR spokesperson said is only the second such honor in the group's 96-year history. In 1997, James Cameron received a special effects technology award for "Titanic."

Previously announced career achievement awards for Jane Fonda and composer Howard Shore were fleshed out by three more: David Cronenberg was given the Billy Wilder award for excellence in direction, George Feltenstein received the William K. Everson Award for Film History, and Saul Zaentz was named producer of the year.

Due to a clerical error, not all 2005 films were lsted on the group's original ballot, and so the award announcements were delayed from Wednesday until Monday as NBR members were asked to recast their ballots. "Almost 97% of the group revoted," said recently installed NBR president Annie Schulhof.

The award ceremony will be held Jan. 10 at New York's Tavern On The Green, with Paul Reiser serving as emcee.

man, this year sucked!

Quote from: MacGuffin on December 12, 2005, 03:16:29 PM
while Ang Lee and Jake Gyllenhall earned best director and best supporting actor awards, respectively for "Brokeback Mountain."

thats total BS politics.  jake is just as leading as heath was. 

Quote from: modage on December 12, 2005, 07:42:20 PM
man, this year sucked!

I dunno if that was in reference to just that nomination, but this is one time where the bigger movies, like Batman, War of the Worlds, even Virgin, were better than the smaller ones. BUT I still haven't seen Capote, Squid, Grizzly, Junebug, etc etc etc.

Quote from: Gamblour on December 12, 2005, 07:49:16 PM

Quote from: modage on December 12, 2005, 07:42:20 PM
man, this year sucked!

I dunno if that was in reference to just that nomination, but this is one time where the bigger movies, like Batman, War of the Worlds, even Virgin, were better than the smaller ones. BUT I still haven't seen Capote, Squid, Grizzly, Junebug, etc etc etc.

yeah.  i guess i meant that seeing the award nominees all laid out like that is a reminder of what a shitty year it truly has been.  and yeah, my list is mostly cluttered with bigger films.

in response to above: brokeback is already WAAAAY overrated.  no MUNICH!?  no kong?   

I'm surpised that Squid is getting the recogntion.  I'm happy though, cause currently it's my favorite of the year (without seeing 2046, grizzly man, brokeback, kiss kiss, history of violence).  batman needs recognition though.  cause that movie was awesome. 

any year with Turtles Can Fly and Nobody Knows and Save the Green Planet all playing side by side can't be that bad.  but too bad American critics don't really watch those films.

PRIDE of the British
Joe Wright's Pride & Prejudice and Fernando Meirelles' The Constant Gardener lead this year's London Critics Circle Awards nominations.

The London Film Critics showed their Pride earlier this week awarding Joe Wright's adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice with eight nominations for the London Critics Circle Awards. Not only is the film up for British Film of the Year, it also scored nods for Wright as British Director with Wright and co-star Matthew Macfadyen picking up mentions in the British Newcomer category.

In addition, several of Pride's key cast members picked up nominations, including Keira Knightley, Rosamund Pike, Brenda Blethyn and Tom Hollander.

Following not far behind was the indie British pic The Constant Gardener, which garnered seven nominations. The Ralph Fiennes starrer was nominated for both Film of the Year and British Film of the Year and picked up a nomination for helmer Fernando Meirelles and a nod for scribe Jeffrey Caine. Leads Fiennes and Rachel Weisz were also mentioned in the British Actor and British Actress categories, respectively.

Awards season favorite Brokeback Mountain also landed a slot in the Film category, with helmer Ang Lee and actor Heath Ledger also taking nods. The Film of the Year category is rounded out by Crash, A History of Violence and King Kong, while those films' directors - Paul Haggis, David Cronenberg and Peter Jackson - round out the directing category.

Most studio films were left out of the London loop this year, although King Kong and Warner Bros. Pictures' Batman Begins both picked up two nods. Instead, in addition to the likes of Pride and Constant Gardener, indie fare, such as Mrs. Henderson Presents and Separate Lies, earned the most nods.

The London Critics Circle Awards well be held on February 9 at the Dorchester Hotel.

A list of the nominees follows:

FILM:
Crash
A History of Violence
Brokeback Mountain
King Kong
The Constant Gardener

DIRECTOR:
Fernando Meirelles - The Constant Gardener
Ang Lee - Brokeback Mountain
Paul Haggis - Crash
Peter Jackson - King Kong
David Cronenberg - A History of Violence

SCREENWRITER:
Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana - Brokeback Mountain
Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco - Crash
Jeffrey Caine - The Constant Gardener
Shane Black - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Bernd Eichinger - Downfall

ACTRESS:
Juliette Binoche - Cache
Naomi Watts - King Kong
Catalina Sandino Moreno - Maria Full of Grace
Laura Linney - Kinsey
Maria Bello - A History of Violence

ACTOR:
Bruno Ganz - Downfall
Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain
Don Cheadle - Hotel Rwanda
Viggo Mortensen - A History of Violence
Johnny Depp - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

FOREIGN FILM:
Downfall
Cache
The Sea Inside
The Beat My Heart Skipped
The Chorus

ATTENBOROUGH AWARD FOR BRITISH FILM:
Pride & Prejudice
Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
The Constant Gardener
The Descent
Mrs. Henderson Presents

BRITISH PRODUCER:
Peter Lord - Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Simon Channing Williams - The Constant Gardener
Andrew Eaton and Michael Winterbottom - A Cock and Bull Story
Christian Colson - The Descent
Mark Boothe and Ruth Caleb - Bullet Boy

BRITISH DIRECTOR:
Joe Wright - Pride & Prejudice
Terry George - Hotel Rwanda
Neil Marshall - The Descent
Christopher Nolan - Batman Begins
Stephen Frears - Mrs. Henderson Presents

BRITISH ACTOR:
Ralph Fiennes - The Constant Gardener
Christian Bale - The Machinist
Liam Neeson - Kinsey
Chiwetel Ejiofor - Kinky Boots
Tom Wilkinson - Separate Lies

BRITISH ACTRESS:
Rachel Weisz - The Constant Gardener
Judi Dench - Mrs. Henderson Presents
Keira Knightley - Pride & Prejudice
Emily Watson - Separate Lies
Kristin Scott Thomas - Keeping Mum

BRITISH ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Thandie Newton - Crash
Sophie Okonedo - Hotel Rwanda
Tildon Swinton - The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Rosamund Pike - Pride & Prejudice
Brenda Blethyn - Pride & Prejudice

BRITISH ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Brendan Gleeson - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
James McAvoy - The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Paddy Considine - Cinderella Man
Tom Hollander - Pride & Prejudice
Cillian Murphy - Batman Begins

BRITISH NEWCOMER:
Joe Wright, director - Pride & Prejudice
Kelly Reilly, actress - Mrs. Henderson Presents
Annie Griffin, writer-director - Festival
Julian Fellowes, director - Separate Lies
Matthew Macfadyen, actor-writer - Pride & Prejudice.

where the fuck is the love for the new world...?
and why all the love for brokeback...if it wasnt for the fact that the characters are gay this would be young guns III..but hollywood loves the risque stuff... :embrace:

sorry, this thing is kind of off topic but i didn't wanted to start a thread about it
it's an article about stuff to look forward in 2006:

January
New Year begins bright and sunny. It is one of the quirks of the film calendar that distributors tend to reserve their classiest output for January, presumably in the belief that audiences who have binged on festive blockbusters are now up for something more rigorous. Recent Januaries have given us the likes of American Splendour, City of God, Lost in Translation and Sideways. This time we get Michael Haneke's acclaimed Hidden, Michael Winterbottom's rambunctious A Cock and Bull Story, Steven Spielberg's controversial Munich and Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain (whose status as an Oscar favourite will be further burnished at the Golden Globes on January 16). Elsewhere, keep an eye out for Neil Jordan's flamboyant 1970s-set Breakfast On Pluto, if only for Bryan Ferry's unnerving cameo as a kerb-crawler and the sight of Brendan Gleeson as a violent Womble. On the festival circuit, Sundance premieres new features from Michel Gondry, Paul McGuigan and Terry Zwigoff.


February
February brings Berlin and the Baftas, with Charlotte Rampling installed as jury president at the former while a galaxy of thespians line up to present gongs at the latter. Big winners on the night (February 19) should be The Constant Gardener and Pride and Prejudice, with a consolation prize for Mrs Henderson Presents and a wooden spoon for Revolver.

Out in the real world, fact-based dramas dominate the UK cinemas. Joaquin Phoenix impersonates Johnny Cash in Walk the Line, Philip Seymour Hoffman shows off his Capote and David Strathairn plays 1950s news anchor Ed Murrow in George Clooney's acclaimed Good Night, and Good Luck. Meanwhile, Charlize Theron climbs back into the ugly wardrobe for her turn as a miner in North Country. She emerges with a dilapidated hair-do and a smudge of grime adorning her perfect upturned nose.

March

The culture wars come to Hollywood with the announcement of the 78th Academy Awards on March 4. This year's contenders paint a portrait of America guaranteed to have the Bush crowd fulminating. It is a place where the cowboys are gay (Brokeback Mountain), where the pioneer spirit is embodied by a preoperative transsexual (Transamerica) and (most alarmingly) where corrupt rightwing demagoguery is rumbled by a principled news anchor (Good Night, and Good Luck).

Away from the battle lines, British hopes rest on Keira Knightley (for Pride and Prejudice) and Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener). The big release in UK cinemas is V For Vendetta, the Wachowski brothers' epic re-imagining of a London ruled by a fascist dictatorship. Early (and entirely putative) contenders for turkey of 2006 include Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction and the Pink Panther prequel, with Steve Martin as Clouseau.

April

The London premiere of Mission: Impossible 3 provides Tom Cruise with another opportunity to glad-hand the fans in Leicester Square, converse with nonplussed relations on their mobile phones and then explode with fury after being squirted with a water pistol. Playing at your local picture palace is Confetti, a British rom-com in the Four Weddings mould in which a bunch of lovey-dovey couples (including Martin Freeman and Jessica Stevenson) prepare for their impending nuptials. And in celebrity news, Gwyneth Paltrow is expecting her second baby with Coldplay's Chris Martin. April, in other words, is looking grim. Let's all leave the country in April.

May

The industry effectively splits down the middle in May. Over in Hollywood, executives will be praying that the 2006 blockbusters will be a marked improvement on last year's feeble crop as they scrutinise the opening weekend figures for X-Men 3 and the big-screen adaptation of The Da Vinci Code, in which Tom Hanks discovers who ate Jesus (or something). On the other side of the Atlantic, the wilder inhabitants of the film menagerie gather on the Croisette for the annual Cannes film festival. No word as yet on this year's line-up, but expect the usual tumultuous press conferences, porn star photo-calls and teeth-gnashing arguments over the merits of the Palme d'Or winner.

June

He has blessed the world with such motion pictures as Medicine Man, The Avengers and Highlander 2: The Quickening. Now, at long last, it is time for the world to give something back to Sir Sean Connery - namely a lifetime achievement award from the American Film Institute. Who in the here-and-now can aspire to Connery's legacy? Possible candidates include Kurt Russell, who stars in the Poseidon Adventure remake or Hugh Grant, who plays a self-loathing TV presenter in American Dreamz. Both actors will be vying for your affections in the month of June.

July

There is no avoiding it; we are now officially into blockbuster season. Across Britain, the multiplexes are given over to Hollywood's biggest beasts while the smaller animals go begging. So in the one camp you have films like Xiaoshuai Wang's Shanghai Dreams, described as "the story of a girl's conflict with her father who wants the family to move to more prosperous Shanghai". And in the other you have Pirates of the Caribbean 2, the lon-awaited Superman Returns, and Cars, the latest animated spectacular from the Pixar stable.

According to the celebrity grapevine, this is also the month that Tom Cruise gets married to that one out of Dawson's Creek. Faced with such an onslaught, Shanghai Dreams clearly doesn't stand a chance.

August

August means the Edinburgh film festival, and Michael Mann's big-screen version of Miami Vice and Robert Rodriguez's second visit to Sin City. In the meantime, I'm intrigued by Nacho Libre, which stars Jack Black as a Mexican priest who moonlights as a masked wrestler and is "reportedly based on a true story". Parlour game of the month will be attempting to guess the twist at the end of M Night Shyamalan's new film. The Lady in the Water stars Paul Giamatti as a caretaker who discovers a fairytale nymph (played by Bryce Dallas Howard) in his apartment swimming pool. So on this evidence the twist will either be that Howard isn't really a nymph, or that Giamatti is the actual nymph, or that we're all really nymphs if we could all but learn to love our inner nymph. I'm betting it's that last one.

September

This is where things start turning tricky. The nights are drawing in, the landscape grows darker by degrees and we are forced to navigate by the stars (or at least the big pictures with stars attached). September, for instance, offers a constellation of Nicolas Cage, who headlines as Ghost Rider in Mark Steven Johnson's comic book outing but also plays a fireman in Oliver Stone's take on 9/11 (still officially known as The Untitled World Trade Center Rescue Project). Nicole Kidman pops up in the rejigged Invasion of the Body Snatchers, while Will Ferrell stars in the intriguingly named "Will Ferrell Nascar Comedy". The smart money, however, will be on Southland Tales, a futuristic musical comedy from Richard (Donnie Darko) Kelly.

October

Out of the autumn mists looms a bona fide contender for the 2007 Oscars: Clint Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers, a (presumably) imposing and patriotic salute to America's wartime heroics on Iwo Jima. Elsewhere, Hideo Nakata commandeers the Hollywood remake of The Eye (with Renée Zellweger attached to star) and Richard Linklater unveils his A Scanner Darkly, a Philip K Dick adaptation featuring Keanu Reeves and Robert Downey Jr. Oh, and the London film festival showcases a glut of films that we have yet to hear about. At the time of writing most of them are probably still languishing at various stages of development.

November

Ringside seats, please, for a heavyweight contest between the Bond that is and the Bond that might have been. In one corner stands Daniel Craig, making his 007 debut in Casino Royale. In the other we have that hotly tipped also-ran Clive Owen, who stars in Children of Men, Alfonso Cuarón's take on the PD James tale about a futuristic dystopia where a mystery virus has rendered the population infertile. Putting us in the festive spirit, we also have the first big Christmas movie of 2006. The bad news is that it turns out to be The Santa Clause 3.

December

And so we come full circle. Christmas is upon us and the 2007 Oscar race is already under way. Billboards trumpet an outlandish gallery of future-films: Flushed Away (an Aardman animation about a rat lost in the London sewers), Deja Vu (a time-travelling thriller with Denzel Washington) and Eragon (fantasy epic about a kid who uncovers a dragon egg). Sofia Coppola tackles the costume drama with Marie-Antoinette (starring Kirsten Dunst and Jason Schwartzman) and film hacks are looking ahead to the release of Spider-Man 3 and Robert Zemeckis's Beowulf adaptation, which they suspect will be awful. Sit tight: December will be here before you know it

African-American Critics Honor 'Crash'

"Crash," the Los Angeles ensemble drama about the prejudices of intersecting characters, has been selected as the top film of the year by the African-American Film Critics Association.

Besides "Crash," the AAFCA chose nine other movies as the top films of the year: "The Constant Gardener," "Good Night, Good Luck," "Brokeback Mountain," "Syriana," "Walk the Line," "Hustle & Flow," "Capote," "Batman Begins" and "North Country."

"The films selected for 2005 boldly reflect a bridge towards tolerance," AAFCA President Gil Robertson IV said in a statement this week.

Last year, "Ray" was selected by the AAFCA as 2004's best film. The association was founded in 2003.

The AAFCA chose as Terrence Howard as best actor for his performance in "Hustle & Flow." Felicity Huffman earned the best-actress recognition for her gender-bending role in "Transamerica."

"Although our organization pays special attention to work by artists of African descent, in the end, merit carries the day and Ms. Huffman is undeniably amazing in this role," Robertson said.

John Singleton, the producer of "Hustle & Flow," was given the achievement honor. Singleton's other films include 2000's "Shaft," "Rosewood" and "Boyz n the Hood."

WGA unveils noms for original, adapted scripts

The Writers Guild Awards named the finalists Wednesday for best screenplay, a field weighed heavily to the year's most serious dramas but wide enough to include an off-beat comedy.

The nominees for original screenplay were "Cinderella Man," "Crash," "Good Night, and Good Luck," "The Squid and the Whale" and "The 40 Year-Old Virgin."

Nominees for adapted screenplay were "Brokeback Mountain," "Capote," "The Constant Gardener," "A History of Violence" and "Syriana."

The winners will be announced Feb. 4 as the WGA West holds its ceremony at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles and the WGA East celebrates the winners at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York.

The individual nominees for original screenplay were: "Cinderella Man" (Universal Pictures), screenplay by Cliff Hollingsworth and Akiva Goldsman, story by Cliff Hollingsworth; "Crash" (Lions Gate Films), screenplay by Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco, story by Paul Haggis; "Good Night, and Good Luck" (Warner Independent Pictures), written by George Clooney and Grant Heslov; "The Squid and the Whale" (Samuel Goldwyn Films), written by Noah Baumbach.

Individuals nominated for adapted screenplay were "Brokeback Mountain" (Focus Features), screenplay by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, based on the short story by Annie Proulx; "Capote" (Sony Pictures Classics), screenplay by Dan Futterman, based on the book by Gerald Clarke; "The Constant Gardener" (Focus Features), screenplay by Jeffrey Caine, based on a novel by John le Carre; "A History of Violence" (New Line Cinema), screenplay by Josh Olson, based on the graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke; "Syriana" (Warner Bros. Pictures), written by Stephen Gaghan, based on the book "See No Evil" by Robert Baer.

A complete list of nominations follow.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

"Cinderella Man"
Screenplay by Cliff Hollingsworth and Akiva Goldsman
Story by Cliff Hollingsworth

"Crash"
Screenplay by Paul Haggis & Bobby Moresco
Story by Paul Haggis

"The 40-Year-Old Virgin"
Written by Judd Apatow & Steve Carell

"Good Night, and Good Luck"
Written by George Clooney & Grant Heslov

"The Squid and The Whale"
Written by Noah Baumbach

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

"Brokeback Mountain"
Screenplay by Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana
Based on the short story by Annie Proulx

"Capote"
Screenplay by Dan Futterman
Based on the book by Gerald Clarke

"The Constant Gardener"
Screenplay by Jeffrey Caine
Based on the novel by John le Carre

"A History of Violence"
Screenplay by Josh Olson
Based on the Graphic Novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke

"Syriana"
Written by Stephen Gaghan
Based on the book "See No Evil" by Robert Baer
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Producers Guild thinks independently for noms

The Producers Guild of America announced the nominees for its awards Wednesday, featuring a host of independent films in the closely watched category of best picture.

Vying for the top honor, the Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award for theatrical motion pictures, are "Brokeback Mountain" (Focus Features), "Capote" (Sony Pictures Classics), "Crash" (Lions Gate Films), "Good Night, and Good Luck" (Warner Independent Pictures) and "Walk the Line" (20th Century Fox).

This year's best picture nominees come largely from independents or the specialty divisions of the major studios, whereas the PGA has traditionally focused on big-budget pictures. The upshot is that it is the first PGA nomination for four of the five distributors with best picture noms, the exception being 20th Century Fox with "Walk the Line."

This year's PGA Awards, which will take place Jan. 22 in Los Angeles, also include an inaugural award for animated film, with the finalists being "Chicken Little," "Madagascar," "Robots," "Tim Burton's Corpse Bride" and "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit."

For long-form television, the David L. Wolper Producers of the Year award, the finalists are "Empire Falls," "Into the West," "Lackawanna Blues," "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers" and "Warm Springs."

Episodic TV drama nominees for the Norman Felton Producer of the Year award include "24," "Boston Legal," "Grey's Anatomy," "Lost" and "Six Feet Under."

Episodic TV comedy nominees for the Danny Thomas Producer of the Year award include "Arrested Development," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Desperate Housewives," "Entourage," and "Two and a Half Men."

The variety TV award nominees include the "77th Annual Academy Awards," "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," "Late Night With Conan O'Brien," "Late Show With David Letterman" and "Real Time With Bill Maher."

Nominees for nonfiction television are "30 Days," "60 Minutes," "Amazing Race 6," "Amazing Race 7" and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

'Brokeback's' 4 rides to lead SAG film noms

The ranch hands of "Brokeback Mountain" continued to rope in awards nominations Thursday, as the film led contenders for the 12th Screen Actors Guild Awards by lassoing four nominations -- for lead actor Heath Ledger, supporting players Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Williams, and for its ensemble cast.

In selecting the movies whose casts were nominated, SAG generally fell in line with the Producers Guild and Writers Guild, whose year-end choices were announced Wednesday, by favoring smaller pictures over big-budget studio fare. In addition to "Brokeback," SAG singled out "Capote," which focuses on Truman Capote's seminal book "In Cold Blood"; "Crash," an interconnecting drama about race relations in Los Angeles; "Good Night, and Good Luck," an account of Edward R. Morrow's jousting with Sen. Joseph McCarthy; and "Hustle & Flow," the tale of a Memphis pimp who aspires to a music career.

On the distaff side, Felicity Hoffman was nearly ubiquitous. She received a best film actress nomination for her performance as a transgendered woman encountering her past in "Transamerica" as well as two TV noms for her role as a harried, working mom on "Desperate Housewives."

Joining her in the lead film actress category were Judi Dench, playing an uppercrust woman who opens a burlesque theater in 1930s London; Charlize Theron as the plaintiff in sexual harassment lawsuit in "North Country"; Reese Witherspoon, who warbles as Johnny Cash's wife June Carter in "Walk the Line"; and Ziyi Zhang, who is schooled as a courtesan in "Memoirs of a Geisha."

In addition to Ledger, the best film actor nominees included Philip Seymour Hoffman, who plays the title role in "Capote"; Russell Crowe, who takes to the ring as Depression-era boxer Jim Braddock in "Cinderella Man"; Joaquin Phoenix, who stars as Johnny Cash in "Walk the Line"; and David Strathairn, who appears as Murrow in "Good Night, and Good Luck."

For supporting males in a film role, nominations went to Gyllenhaal; Don Cheadle and Matt Dillon, both from "Crash"; George Clooney, "Syriana"; and Paul Giamatti, "Cinderella Man."

The lineup for supporting actress included Williams; Amy Adams, "Junebug"; Catherine Keener, "Capote"; Frances McDormand, "North Country"; and Rachel Weisz, "The Constant Gardener."

While "Brokeback" led the film pack with four nominations, it was followed by "Capote" and "Crash," with three noms each.

The ensemble nominations for a dramatic TV series went to "The Closer," "Grey's Anatomy," "Lost," "Six Feet Under" and "The West Wing," whose nominated cast included the late John Spencer.

The comedy series ensemble nominees were "Arrested Development," "Boston Legal," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Desperate Housewives," "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "My Name Is Earl."

Huffman was the only performer from "Desperate Housewives" singled out for an individual nomination, however. She'll contend in the outstanding performance by a female actor in a comedy series with Candice Bergen, "Boston Legal"; Patricia Heaton," "Everybody Loves Raymond"; Megan Mullally, "Will & Grace"; and Mary-Louise Parker, "Weeds."

Male actors nominated for a comedy series included Larry David, "Curb Your Enthusiasm," Sean Hayes, "Will & Grace"; Jason Lee, "My Name Is Earl"; and both William Shatner and James Spader from "Boston Legal."

Nominees for outstanding performance by a male actor in a drama series were: Alan Alda, "The West Wing"; Patrick Dempsey, "Grey's Anatomy"; Hugh Laurie, "House"; Ian McShane, "Deadwood"; and Kiefer Sutherland, "24."

Outstanding performance by a female actor in a drama series: Patricia Arquette, "Medium"; Geena Davis, "Commander in Chief"; Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit"; Sandra Oh, "Grey's Anatomy"; and Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer."

Outstanding performance by a male actor in a television movie or miniseries: Kenneth Branagh, "Warm Springs"; Ted Danson, "Knights of the South Bronx"; Ed Harris, "Empire Falls"; Paul Newman, "Empire Falls"; and Christopher Plummer, "Our Fathers."

Outstanding performance by a female actor in a television movie or miniseries: Tonantzin Carmelo, "Into the West"; S. Epatha Merkerson, "Lackawanna Blues"; Cynthia Nixon, "Warm Springs"; Joanne Woodward and Robin Wright Penn, both for "Empire Falls."

Shirley Temple Black is set to receive SAG's 42nd annual Life Achievement Award.

The awards will be announced Jan. 29 at the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center, televised live by Turner Network Television and TBS. The SAG nominations were chosen by two randomly selected panels comprised of 4,200 SAG members. The guild's entire membership of 98,000 is eligible to vote for the winners.

A complete list of nominations follows.

MOVIES

ACTOR
Russell Crowe, "Cinderella Man"
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Capote"
Heath Ledger, "Brokeback Mountain"
Joaquin Phoenix, "Walk the Line"
David Strathairn, "Good Night, and Good Luck"

ACTRESS
Judi Dench, "Mrs. Henderson Presents"
Felicity Huffman, "Transamerica"
Charlize Theron, "North Country"
Reese Witherspoon, "Walk the Line"
Ziyi Zhang, "Memoirs of a Geisha"

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Don Cheadle, "Crash"
George Clooney, "Syriana"
Matt Dillon, "Crash"
Paul Giamatti, "Cinderella Man"
Jake Gyllenhaal, "Brokeback Mountain"

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, "Junebug"
Catherine Keener, "Capote"
Frances McDormand, "North Country"
Rachel Weisz, "The Constant Gardener"
Michelle Williams, "Brokeback Mountain"

ENSEMBLE CAST
"Brokeback Mountain"
"Capote"
"Crash"
"Good Night, and Good Luck"
"Hustle & Flow"

TELEVISION

ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINISERIES
Kenneth Branagh, "Warm Springs"
Ted Danson, "Knights of the South Bronx"
Ed Harris, "Empire Falls"
Paul Newman, "Empire Falls"
Christopher Plummer, "Our Fathers"

ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINISERIES
Tonantzin Carmelo, "Into the West"
S. Epatha Merkerson, "Lackawanna Blues"
Cynthia Nixon, "Warm Springs"
Joanne Woodward, "Empire Falls"
Robin Wright Penn, "Empire Falls"

ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Alan Alda, "The West Wing"
Patrick Dempsey, "Grey's Anatomy"
Hugh Laurie, "House"
Ian McShane, "Deadwood"
Kiefer Sutherland, "24"

ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Patricia Arquette, "Medium"
Geena Davis, "Commander in Chief"
Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"
Sandra Oh, "Grey's Anatomy"
Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"

ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Larry David, "Curb Your Enthusiasm"
Sean Hayes, "Will & Grace"
Jason Lee, "My Name Is Earl"
William Shatner, "Boston Legal"
James Spader, "Boston Legal"

ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Candice Bergen, "Boston Legal"
Patricia Heaton, "Everybody Loves Raymond"
Felicity Huffman, "Desperate Housewives"
Megan Mullally, "Will & Grace"
Mary-Louise Parker, "Weeds"

DRAMA ENSEMBLE
"The Closer"
"Grey's Anatomy"
"Lost"
"Six Feet Under"
"The West Wing"

COMEDY ENSEMBLE
"Arrested Development'
"Boston Legal"
"Curb Your Enthusiasm"
"Desperate Housewives"
"Everybody Loves Raymond"
"My Name Is Earl"

DGA unveils five noms for film prize

The Directors Guild of America named the five nominees Thursday for its feature film award, an honor that has tended to predict the eventual Oscar winner.

Three of the nominees were first-timers: George Clooney for "Good Night, and Good Luck," Paul Haggis for "Crash" and Bennett Miller for "Capote."
 
The other two have been here before: Ang Lee received his third nomination for "Brokeback Mountain," while Steven Spielberg's nom for "Munich" was his 10th. Spielberg has won this award three previous times, Lee once.

The DGA Award for outstanding directorial achievement has been the same as the best director Academy Award in 51 of the past 57 years, including three of the four past years. Last year, both the DGA and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences both picked Clint Eastwood for "Million Dollar Baby."

"Obviously this distinction makes this nomination special," DGA fifth vp Betty Thomas said in announcing the nominees at the guild's Los Angeles headquarters. "But what makes this award truly meaningful to directors is the knowledge that only this award is decided solely by their peers -- men and women who innately know the passion and energy that go into each production."

The winner will be announced at the 58th annual DGA Awards dinner Jan. 28 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.

The nominations also recognized the directorial teams behind each film.

Clooney's team on "Good Night, and Good Luck" (Warner Independent Pictures) included unit production manager Barbara Hall, first assistant director David Webb, second assistant director Melissa Barnes and second second assistant director Richard Gonzalez.

On "Crash" (LionsGate Films), Haggis worked with unit production manager Betsy Danbury, first assistant director Scott Cameron and second assistant director Simone Farber.

Lee's team on "Brokeback Mountain" (Focus Features) included unit production managers Scott Ferguson and Tom Benz, first assistant directors Michael Hausman and Pierre Tremblay, second assistant director Donald Murphy and second second assistant director Brad Moerke.

Lee last won the DGA Award in 2000 for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

For "Capote" (United Artists/Sony Pictures Classics), Miller worked with unit production managers Ellen Rutter and Caroline Baron, first assistant directors Ronaldo Nacionales and Richard Moran and second assistant director Charles Crossin.

Spielberg's team on "Munich" (Universal Pictures) was unit production manager Ian Hickinbotham, first assistant director Adam Somner and second second assistant director Pierre Ellul.

Spielberg has previously won the award in 1998 for "Saving Private Ryan," in 1993 for "Schindler's List," and in 1985 for "The Color Purple."

Clint Eastwood is also set to receive the DGA's highest tribute, the Lifetime Achievement Award, at this year's show. First presented in 1953, it has only been awarded 31 times, mostly recently to Mike Nichols in 2004.

George Clooney has been nominated by the DGA, WGA, SAG and PGA.

Four of the SAG Best Actor noms are for biopics.

At the Oscars, I think Brokeback Mountain is a lock for Best Picture, and Ang Lee will win Best Director.  I'm sure there are a lot of people who think Lee should have won the Best Director Oscar for Crouching Tiger. 

Quote from: soixante on January 06, 2006, 12:51:22 PM
Four of the SAG Best Actor noms are for biopics.

Is every film about the life of someone a biopic? I'd hardly call Good Night, and Good Luck a biopic. Hell, Capote is not about his life but his book. It just happens he was real. I hate the term biopic.

Quote from: Gamblour on January 06, 2006, 02:09:25 PM

Quote from: soixante on January 06, 2006, 12:51:22 PM
Four of the SAG Best Actor noms are for biopics.

Is every film about the life of someone a biopic? I'd hardly call Good Night, and Good Luck a biopic. Hell, Capote is not about his life but his book. It just happens he was real. I hate the term biopic.

i agree that it's an extremely general term.

but your sentence about Capote doesn't make any sense. his life during that period of time was spent writing that book. that's what the movie's about - his life, writing that book. they're the same thing .. what are you talking about  :shock:

a biographical work does not necessarily span the subject's entire life.

Quote from: Hedwig on January 06, 2006, 02:31:28 PM

Quote from: Gamblour on January 06, 2006, 02:09:25 PM

Quote from: soixante on January 06, 2006, 12:51:22 PM
Four of the SAG Best Actor noms are for biopics.

Is every film about the life of someone a biopic? I'd hardly call Good Night, and Good Luck a biopic. Hell, Capote is not about his life but his book. It just happens he was real. I hate the term biopic.

i agree that it's an extremely general term.

but your sentence about Capote doesn't make any sense. his life during that period of time was spent writing that book. that's what the movie's about - his life, writing that book. they're the same thing .. what are you talking about  :shock:

a biographical work does not necessarily span the subject's entire life.

yeah you're right. I tried to overapply my new definition of the term. It's not like the film is about something other than Capote's life, ie the plot is genuinely his, i think is one way to put it. plus, the movie's named Capote  :oops:

Perhaps I should have said that four of the SAG Best Actor noms were for actors playing real-life characters.

A number of Best Actor Oscars went to actors portraying real people -- Patton, French Connection, Raging Bull, Gandhi, Amadeus, My Left Foot, Reversal of Fortune, Shine, The Pianist, Ray.

Nat'l Society honors 'Capote,' Cronenberg

"Capote" was named best picture Saturday by the National Society of Film Critics in a hard-fought contest that saw the feature about Truman Capote's creation of the non-fiction book "In Cold Blood" prevail over David Cronenberg's "A History of Violence" by 12 votes to 11 on the group's sixth ballot. Wong Kar-wai's "2046" came in third in the balloting.

In the best director vote, the positions shifted, however, and Cronenberg was named best director with 32 points, followed by Wong with 26 and "Capote's" Bennet Miller with 23.

For his lead performance in "Capote," Philip Seymour Hoffman was named best actor, while Ed Harris, who portrays a menacing figure in "Violence" was chosen best supporting actor.

Reese Witherspoon took best actress honors for her performance as June Carter in "Walk the Line," and Amy Adams was chosen best supporting actress for her role as a pregnant Southern girl in "Junebug."

Noah Baumbach was hailed for best screenplay for "The Squid and the Whale," which he also directed. "2046" earned best cinematography honors for Christopher Doyle, Kwan Pun-leung and Lai Yiu-fai. Fatih Akin's "Head-On" was named best foreign film, and Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man" was selected as best non-fiction picture.

The group issued two experimental awards: To William Greaves for the 1968 film "Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One" and the 2005 film "Take Two," and to James Benning for three 2005 productions, "13 Lakes," "Ten Skies" and "27 Years Later."

It recognized the 7-disc DVD box set "Unseen Cinema," assembled by Anthology Film Archives and Bruce Posner, with its Film Heritage Award. And it issued a Special Citation, commending and congratulating Kevin Thomas for his 44-year tenure as a movie critic at the Los Angeles Times.

The National Society, which is chaired by David Sterritt and which is made up of 57 critics from around the country, met at Sardi's Restaurant in New York City. Voting was conducted using a weighted ballot system.

The complete list of the group's voting, as well as its choices for runners-up, includes:

BEST PICTURE
1. "Capote" (Bennett Miller) – 12 votes (on sixth ballot)
2. "A History of Violence" (David Cronenberg) – 11 votes (on sixth ballot)
3. "2046" (Wong Kar-wai) (fifth ballot)

BEST NONFICTION PICTURE
1. "Grizzly Man" (Werner Herzog) – 60 points
2. "Darwin's Nightmare" (Hubert Sauper) – 27
3. "Ballets russes" (Daniel Geller, Dayna Goldfine) – 19

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE PICTURE
1. "Head-On" (Fatih Akin) – 26
2. "2046" (Wong Kar-wai) – 23
3. "Cache" (Michael Haneke) – 18

BEST DIRECTOR
1. David Cronenberg ("A History of Violence") – 32
2. Wong Kar-wai ("2046") – 26
3. Bennett Miller ("Capote") – 23

BEST SCREENPLAY
1. "The Squid and the Whale" (Noah Baumbach) – 37
2. "Capote" (Dan Futterman) – 33
3. "Munich" (Tony Kushner and Eric Roth) – 14

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
1. "2046" (Christopher Doyle, Kwan Pun-leung, Lai Yiu-fai) – 50
2. "Good Night, and Good Luck" (Robert Elswit) – 16
3. "The New World" (Emmanuel Lubezki) – 11

BEST ACTOR
1. Philip Seymour Hoffman ("Capote") – 68
2. Jeff Daniels ("The Squid and the Whale") – 41
3. Heath Ledger ("Brokeback Mountain") – 40

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
1. Ed Harris ("A History of Violence") – 27
2. Frank Langella ("Good Night, and Good Luck") – 22
2. Matthieu Amalric ("Munich") – 22

BEST ACTRESS
1. Reese Witherspoon ("Walk the Line") – 37
2. Keira Knightley ("Pride and Prejudice") – 27
3. Vera Farmiga ("Down to the Bone") – 18
3. Kate Dollenmayer ("Funny Ha Ha") – 18

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
1. Amy Adams ("Junebug") – 33
2. Ziyi Zhang ("2046") – 28
3. Catherine Keener – 22 ("Capote," "The Interpreter," "Ballad of Jack and Rose," "The 40-Year-Old Virgin")

Ok apparently I need to watch 2046

Quote from: Gamblour on January 08, 2006, 09:26:27 AM
Ok apparently I need to watch 2046

well, yes and no.  i think most critics feel about 2046 the same way i feel about Elizabethtown.  they're so in love with the director even when his film isnt his best work and even it has problems they still love it and can forgive its missteps.  so its a whole lot of mood and amazing cinematography but not a whole lot going on in the story/character dept.  still, it's worth watching.

3 Critics Choice nods, including best pic, for 'Brokeback'

Despite a few protesters outside the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium who objected to the film, Focus Features' "Brokeback Mountain" had a triumphant night Monday at the Broadcast Film Critics' 11th annual Critics Choice Awards. In addition to being named best picture, "Brokeback" earned director honors for Ang Lee and a supporting actress nod for Michelle Williams.

Writer-producer Diana Ossana accepted the best picture award, saying, "I never, never imagined that a film from our little screenplay would be received like this. Ang, weren't we making a small film?" In his acceptance, Lee asked, "How do you compare artistic work?" Then he changed course and answered himself, saying, "But what the hell, thank you."
 
Philip Seymour Hoffman took home the actor award for "Capote," and the actress prize went to Reese Witherspoon for "Walk the Line." "I love critics," Witherspoon said. "Well, this year anyway." She thanked director James Mangold for "pushing me to sing in this movie. I was incredibly intimidated by it, and I didn't think I could do it."

A very surprised Paul Giamatti took to the stage when he was named best supporting actor for his work as Jim Braddock's boxing coach in "Cinderella Man."

Brendan Fraser presented the supporting actress category, which triggered gasps when he announced that the award had resulted in a tie between Amy Adams for "Junebug" and "Brokeback's" Williams.

"We made this film for under a million dollars, and it's unbelievable what can happen when you put your heart and soul in it," Adams said.

The racial drama "Crash" took home two awards, one for screenwriting and one for best acting ensemble.

"This is stunning. We never even thought we'd get this movie made," said screenwriter-director Paul Haggis, who took to the stage with co-writer Bobby Moresco.

"Crash's" Matt Dillon presented the critics group's first-ever best comedy award. He said the association began a best animated film category before the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences did. "Just as the critics pioneered the animation category, they now have the comedy category," Dillon added before revealing that the winner in the virgin category was, inevitably, "The 40-Year-Old Virgin." With most of the cast behind him, writer-director Judd Apatow accepted the award, saying, "At no moment did we think that awards would follow." On his list of thank-yous were his children, who, he said, "have not seen the movie and never will."

The young actor award went to Freddie Highmore ("Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"), while the young actress award was presented to Dakota Fanning ("War of the Worlds").

"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe" received a nod for family film. "I didn't realize that this was a family film until tonight. I thought we were making a film for everyone who read the books," the film's producer Mark Johnson said.

"March of the Penguins" waddled away with the documentary prize, which was accepted by Warner Independent Pictures president Mark Gill, and Sony Pictures Classics' "Kung Fu Hustle" won the foreign-film award. "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" was best animated feature, and the multipart "Into the West" was named best picture made for television.

In the music categories, "Walk the Line" picked up the soundtrack award, John Williams was named best composer for "Memoirs of a Geisha," and the title song from "Hustle & Flow," performed in the film by Terrence Howard, was chosen as best song.

"King Kong" was awarded a special Distinguished Achievement in Performing Arts Award to recognize blend of visual effects with Andy Serkis' performance to bring the big ape to life.

Julia Roberts presented the Freedom Award to George Clooney, director of "Good Night, and Good Luck." Clooney said that watching his father, broadcaster Nick Clooney, taught him "to challenge those who had more power than you and to help those that don't. I have often failed at that." But he said he was heartened by the movies that have came out last year, noting that the spirit of freedom "is alive here. When I look at 'Munich,' at 'Crash,' at 'The Constant Gardener,' we are taking chances, and we are succeeding. This is a great night for the freedom of filmmaking."

Dennis Miller hosted the ceremony, which was broadcast by WB Network, and he pointed out that the Critics Choice awards, chosen by nearly 200 TV, radio and online film critics, have established themselves as a barometer pointing to eventual Oscar winners.

The following is a complete list of winners at the 11th annual Critics Choice Awards:

BEST PICTURE - "Brokeback Mountain"
BEST ACTOR - Philip Seymour Hoffman ("Capote")
BEST ACTRESS - Reese Witherspoon ("Walk the Line")
BEST DIRECTOR - Ang Lee ("Brokeback Mountain")
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - Paul Giamatti ("Cinderella Man")
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Amy Adams ("Junebug"), Michelle Williams ("Brokeback Mountain")
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE - "Crash"
BEST YOUNG ACTOR - Freddie Highmore ("Charlie and the Chocolate Factory")
BEST YOUNG ACTRESS - Dakota Fanning ("War of the Worlds")
BEST WRITER - Paul Haggis, Bobby Moresco ("Crash")
BEST COMEDY - "The 40-Year-Old Virgin"
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - "March of the Penguins"
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM - "Kung Fu Hustle"
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE - "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit"
BEST FAMILY FILM (LIVE ACTION) - "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"
BEST PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION - "Into the West"
BEST SONG - "Hustle and Flow (It Ain't Over)" (composed by Al Kapone, performed by Terrence Howard)
BEST SOUNDTRACK - "Walk the Line"
BEST COMPOSER - John Williams ("Memoirs of a Geisha")
CAREER ACHIEVEMENT (previously announced) - George Clooney

Quote from: MacGuffin on January 05, 2006, 11:35:10 AM
'Brokeback's' 4 rides to lead SAG film noms

ENSEMBLE CAST
"Brokeback Mountain"
"Capote"
"Crash"
"Good Night, and Good Luck"
"Hustle & Flow"

Ludacris now has two SAG nominations.

Winners of the 2005 Chicago Film Critics Awards.

BEST PICTURE: "Crash"

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM: "Cache" (Hidden)

BEST DIRECTOR: David Cronenberg-"A History of Violence"

BEST SCREENPLAY: Paul Haggis & Bobby Moresco-"Crash"

BEST ACTOR: Philip Seymour Hoffman-"Capote"

BEST ACTRESS: Joan Allen-"The Upside of Anger"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Mickey Rourke-"Sin City"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Maria Bello-"A History of Violence"

BEST DOCUMENTARY: "Grizzly Man"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Rodrigo Prieto-"Brokeback Mountain"

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: Gustavo Santaolalla-"Brokeback Mountain"

MOST PROMISING PERFORMER: Miranda July-"Me and You and Everyone We Know"

MOST PROMISING DIRECTOR: Bennett Miller-"Capote"

Why is Crash?

'Star Wars' strikes back in US audience awards

The final installment of George Lucas' "Star Wars" movies series has struck back after being snubbed by Hollywood juries by winning top honours at the 2005 People's Choice Awards.

"Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" picked up the favourite movie drama award at Tuesday night's populist honours that are decided by US audiences and not by juries made up of movie industry insiders.

Sandra Bullock and Johnny Depp won the titles of America's favourite movie stars, while "Legally Blonde" star Reese Witherspoon and heartthrob Brad Pitt picked up the favourite leading actors honours.

The awards were handed out at a glittering but relaxed ceremony in Los Angeles attended by a galaxy of top Hollywood cinema and television stars.

The awards for favourite action stars went to "Alias" actress Jennifer Garner and actor Matthew McConaughey, while stars Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson were voted the favourite on-screen match-up in "Wedding Crashers," which also won the title of favourite movie comedy of 2005.

The People's Choice Awards were handed out as Hollywood's frenzied annual awards season shifts into top gear ahead of the announcement of the Oscar nominations on January 31.

The gay cowboy movie "Brokeback Mountain," starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, is currently leading the race for honours this year, after winning seven Golden Globe nominations as well as topping the lists of nominees for the Screen Actors Guild and Directors' Guild awards.

People are stupid. and it seems like the directors' awards are all over the map. Is this typical?

Anybodyu else feel that Brokeback Mountain is a lock for the academy awards?

Quote from: JimmyGator on January 11, 2006, 09:07:54 PM
Anybodyu else feel that Brokeback Mountain is a lock for the academy awards?

yeah, i'm sure it will...i havent seen it and i dont care to..i am sure it is a great film...but i doubt that the film comes close to the ice storm...thats such a beautiful film...gots such a great aura about it..must the music and ice........

i cant believe the new world hasnt been well received...besides a cinematography and a pochohantus nod...thats it..i guess....im convinced that he new world is the greatest thing this year..it has to be...

Quote from: JimmyGator on January 11, 2006, 09:07:54 PM
Brokeback Mountain  is a lock

Quote from: pyramid machine on January 11, 2006, 09:19:56 PM
yeah, i'm sure it will...i havent seen it and i dont care to..

Quote from: RegularKarate on January 11, 2006, 09:16:22 PM
oh surprise surprise, Neon is uneasy about non-white-male-on-top-of-white-female-in-standard-christian-married-missionary-position sex.

Quote from: pyramid machine on January 11, 2006, 09:19:56 PM

Quote from: JimmyGator on January 11, 2006, 09:07:54 PM
Anybodyu else feel that Brokeback Mountain is a lock for the academy awards?

yeah, i'm sure it will...i havent seen it and i dont care to..i am sure it is a great film...but i doubt that the film comes close to the ice storm...thats such a beautiful film...gots such a great aura about it..must the music and ice........

i cant believe the new world hasnt been well received...besides a cinematography and a pochohantus nod...thats it..i guess....im convinced that he new world is the greatest thing this year..it has to be...

I have seen it and while it's no Ice Storm (that's one of my favorite movies) it has the ability, much like the Ice Storm, to stick with you long after you have left the theatre.  go see it.  you'll like it. 

Quote from: Fernando on December 12, 2005, 09:31:55 AM

Quote from: andyk on December 12, 2005, 09:03:08 AM
AFI AWARDS 2005

The 10 TV programs are: "24," "Battlestar Galactica," "Deadwood," "Grey's Anatomy," "House," "Lost," "Rescue Me," "Sleeper Cell," "Sometimes in April" and "Veronica Mars."

No Six Feet Under????? These ppl have no memory.

deadwood is on there. i think the past season of deadwood was better than the last season of six feet under. i'm happy. i think lost is gonna get it, though. you?

hasn't six feet under pick up some awards in past years anyway?

BAFTAS 2005 NOMINATIONS.

FILM

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN - Diana Ossana/James Schamus
CAPOTE - Caroline Baron/William Vince/Michael Ohoven
THE CONSTANT GARDENER - Simon Channing Williams
CRASH - Credits TBC
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK - Grant Heslov

THE ALEXANDER KORDA AWARD for the Outstanding British Film of the Year

A COCK & BULL STORY - Andrew Eaton/Michael Winterbottom/Martin Hardy
THE CONSTANT GARDENER - Simon Channing Williams/Fernando Meirelles/Jeffrey Caine
FESTIVAL - Christopher Young/Annie Griffin
PRIDE & PREJUDICE - Tim Bevan/Eric Fellner/Paul Webster/Joe Wright/Deborah Moggach
WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT - Peter Lord/David Sproxton/Nick Park/
Steve Box/Mark Burton/Bob Baker

THE CARL FOREMAN AWARD for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer in their First Feature Film

DAVID BELTON (Producer) - Shooting Dogs
PETER FUDAKOWSKI (Producer) - Tsotsi
ANNIE GRIFFIN (Director/Writer) - Festival
RICHARD HAWKINS (Director) - Everything
JOE WRIGHT (Director) - Pride & Prejudice

THE DAVID LEAN AWARD for Achievement in Direction

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN - Ang Lee
CAPOTE - Bennett Miller
THE CONSTANT GARDENER - Fernando Meirelles
CRASH - Paul Haggis
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK - George Clooney

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

CINDERELLA MAN - Cliff Hollingsworth/Akiva Goldsman
CRASH - Paul Haggis/Bobby Moresco
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK - George Clooney/Grant Heslov
HOTEL RWANDA - Keir Pearson/Terry George
MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS - Martin Sherman

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN - Larry McMurtry/Diana Ossana
CAPOTE - Dan Futterman
THE CONSTANT GARDENER - Jeffrey Caine
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE - Josh Olson
PRIDE & PREJUDICE - Deborah Moggach

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

DE BATTRE MON COEUR S'EST ARRÊTÉ (The Beat That My Heart Skipped) - Pascal Caucheteux/Jacques Audiard
LE GRAND VOYAGE - Humbert Balsan/Ismaël Ferroukhi
KUNG FU HUSTLE - Stephen Chow/Chui Po Chu/Jeff Lau
JOYEUX NOËL (Merry Christmas) - Christophe Rossignon/Christian Carion
TSOTSI - Peter Fudakowski/Gavin Hood

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

DAVID STRATHAIRN - Good Night, And Good Luck
HEATH LEDGER - Brokeback Mountain
JOAQUIN PHOENIX - Walk the Line
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN - Capote
RALPH FIENNES - The Constant Gardener

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

CHARLIZE THERON - North Country
JUDI DENCH - Mrs. Henderson Presents
RACHEL WEISZ - The Constant Gardener
REESE WITHERSPOON - Walk the Line
ZIYI ZHANG - Memoirs of a Geisha

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

DON CHEADLE - Crash
GEORGE CLOONEY - Good Night, And Good Luck
GEORGE CLOONEY - Syriana
JAKE GYLLENHAAL - Brokeback Mountain
MATT DILLON - Crash

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

BRENDA BLETHYN - Pride & Prejudice
CATHERINE KEENER - Capote
FRANCES McDORMAND - North Country
MICHELLE WILLIAMS - Brokeback Mountain
THANDIE NEWTON - Crash

THE ANTHONY ASQUITH AWARD for Achievement in Film Music

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN - Gustavo Santaolalla
THE CONSTANT GARDENER - Alberto Iglesias
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA - John Williams
MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS - George Fenton
WALK THE LINE - T Bone Burnett

CINEMATOGRAPHY

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN - Rodrigo Prieto
THE CONSTANT GARDENER - César Charlone
CRASH - J Michael Muro
MARCH OF THE PENGUINS - Laurent Chalet/Jerôme Maison
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA - Dion Beebe

EDITING

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN - Geraldine Peroni/Dylan Tichenor
THE CONSTANT GARDENER - Claire Simpson
CRASH - Hughes Winborne
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK - Stephen Mirrione
MARCH OF THE PENGUINS - Sabine Emiliani

PRODUCTION DESIGN

BATMAN BEGINS - Nathan Crowley
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY - Alex McDowell
HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE - Stuart Craig
KING KONG - Grant Major
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA - John Myhre

COSTUME DESIGN

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY - Gabriella Pescucci
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE - Isis Mussenden
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA - Colleen Atwood
MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS - Sandy Powell
PRIDE & PREJUDICE - Jacqueline Durran

SOUND

BATMAN BEGINS - David G Evans/Stefan Henrix/Peter Lindsay
THE CONSTANT GARDENER - Joakim Sundström/Stuart Wilson
CRASH - Richard Van Dyke/Sandy Gendler
KING KONG - Hammond Peek/Christopher Boyes/Mike Hopkins/ Ethan Van der Ryn
WALK THE LINE - Paul Massey/D M Hemphill/Peter F Kurland/Donald Sylvester

ACHIEVEMENT IN SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS

BATMAN BEGINS - Janek Sirrs/Dan Glass/Chris Corbould
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY - Nick Davis/Jon Thum/Chas Jarrett/Joss Williams
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE - Dean Wright/Bill Westenhofer/Jim Berney/Scott Farrar
HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE - Jim Mitchell/John Richardson
KING KONG - Joe Letteri/Christian Rivers/Brian Van't Hul/Richard Taylor

MAKE UP & HAIR

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY - Peter Owen/Ivana Primorac
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE - Howard Berger/Gregory Nicotero/Nikki Gooley
HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE - Nick Dudman/Amanda Knight/Eithne Fennell
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA - Noriko Watanabe/Kate Biscoe/Lyndell Quiyou/Kelvin R Trahan
PRIDE & PREJUDICE - Fae Hammond

SHORT ANIMATION FILM

FALLEN ART - Jarek Sawko/Piotr Sikora/Tomek Baginski
FILM NOIR - Osbert Parker
KAMIYA'S CORRESPONDENCE - Sumito Sakakibara
THE MYSTERIOUS GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORATIONS OF JASPER MORELLO - Anthony Lucas/Julia Lucas/Mark Shirrefs
RABBIT - Run Wrake

SHORT FILM

ANTONIO'S BREAKFAST - Howard Stogdon/Amber Templemore-Finlayson/Daniel Mulloy
CALL REGISTER - Kit Hawkins/Adam Tudhope/Ed Roe
HEAVY METAL DRUMMER - Amanda Boyle/Luke Morris/Toby MacDonald
HEYDAR, AN AFGHAN IN TEHRAN - Homayoun Assadian/Babak Jalali
LUCKY - Bex Hopkins/Avie Luthra

Terrible.
A double Clooney support nom for GNGL role is not really award worthy, Syriana certainly is though, but for two films that havent even been released here. Then two crash nominations in the same catergory (Dillon is worthy but wheres the love for Factotum in the leading role, award?). Crash's dominance is extremely depressing, especially for best writing...Cheadle seems to have been at every ceremony since Oceans 11. Obligatory Dench nomination aswell as Brenda Blethyn. The only way this will be entertaining is if Clooney cleans up.

'Brokeback's' Lee wins DGA Award

"Brokeback Mountain" director Ang Lee took the honor Saturday for best feature at the 58th annual DGA Awards in Los Angeles.

The DGA's feature award is considered a harbinger of the best director Academy Award because the DGA winner has gone on to win the Oscar in 51 of the past 57 years, including three of the four past years. In 2001, Lee won the DGA prize for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" while Steven Soderbergh took home the directing Oscar for "Traffic."
 
Several honorary awards were also given out, including a Lifetime Achievement Award to Clint Eastwood. The award has only been given out 31 previous times, most recently to Mike Nichols in 2004.

The show was held at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.

A complete list of winners follows.

Feature film: Ang Lee, "Brokeback Mountain."

Documentary: Werner Herzog, "Grizzly Man."

Movies for television: (tie) Joseph Sargent, "Warm Springs," HBO; George C. Wolfe, "Lackawanna Blues," HBO.

Reality television: (tie) Tony Croll, "Three Wishes," ABC; J. Rupert Thompson, "Fear Factor," NBC.

Daytime serials: Owen Renfroe, "General Hospital," ABC.

Dramatic series night: Michael Apted, "Rome," HBO.

Children's programs: Chris Eyre, "Edge of America," Showtime.

Musical variety: Matthew Diamond, "Swan Lake with American Ballet Theater," PBS.

Comedy series: Marc Buckland, "My Name is Earl," NBC.

Commercials: Craig Gillespie, MJZ.

Lifetime achievement award: Clint Eastwood.

Witherspoon, Hoffman, 'Crash' lead SAG nods

Reese Witherspoon as singer June Carter in "Walk the Line" and Philip Seymour Hoffman as author Truman Capote in "Capote" won lead-acting awards Sunday from the Screen Actors Guild, while the ensemble drama "Crash" pulled off an upset win over Brokeback Mountain" for the overall cast award.

Rachel Weisz of the murder thriller "The Constant Gardener" and Paul Giamatti of the boxing drama "Cinderella Man" received supporting-acting honors.

"Oh, my God, y'all. Sometimes, I can't just shake the feeling that I'm just a little girl from Tennessee," said Witherspoon, who plays Carter during her long, stormy courtship with country legend Johnny Cash. "I want to say my biggest inspiration for this movie obviously was June Carter. She was an incredible woman."

Hoffman, considered the favorite for the best-actor Oscar as Capote amid the author's struggles to research and write the true-crime novel "In Cold Blood," had gushing thanks for his "Capote" co-stars.
 
"It's important to say that actors can't act alone, it's impossible. What we have to do is support each other," Hoffman said. "Actors have to have each others' backs. It's the only way to act well is when you know the other actor has your back, and these actors had my back, and I hope they know I had theirs."

"Brokeback Mountain" has been considered the best-picture front-runner at the Oscars, whose nominations come out Tuesday, with awards presented March 5. Its loss to "Crash" could prove a speed-bump on the film's path toward becoming the first explicitly gay-themed movie to win a best picture award at the Oscars, but "Brokeback Mountain" has dominated earlier Hollywood honors so it will likely continue to be considered the favorite.

It led the Jan. 16 Golden Globes with four wins, among them best dramatic film and director for Ang Lee, who took the same prize Saturday from the Directors Guild of America.

Adapted from Annie Proulx's short story about old sheepherding buddies who conceal a homosexual affair from their families, "Brokeback Mountain" also has earned top honors from key critics groups and the Producers Guild of America.

Sean Hayes, won for best actor in a TV comedy for his role as a gay man in "Will & Grace," had a ready wisecrack about "Brokeback Mountain."

"First of all, I would like to thank Ang Lee for taking a chance on me," said Hayes, who is not in "Brokeback Mountain."

Last year, the wine-country romp "Sideways" won SAG's ensemble prize, while "Million Dollar Baby" went on to earn best-picture.

"Crash" follows the lives of a far-flung cast of characters over a chaotic 36-hour period in Los Angeles.

"This celebrates the definition of what an ensemble is all about. There's 74 of us," "Crash" co-star Terrence Howard said of the film's huge cast.

Weisz won supporting-actress for her role as a rabble-rousing humanitarian-aid worker, while Giamatti was honored as supporting actor for playing the manager of Depression-era fighter Jim Braddock. Both had gracious thanks for their fellow actors.

"I can't imagine a greater honor than being acknowledged by my peers," Giamatti said. "Being an actor is a hell of a thing. It's a hell of a thing. It's up and down. It's great, but I found the best thing about it is hanging around the craft-service table with other actors and crew people, eating doughnuts."

"It's so special to be honored by fellow actors, so thanks very much to the tribe," said Weisz, who also won the Golden Globe supporting-actress prize.

Felicity Huffman, who has been considered the best-actress Oscar front-runner for her gender-bending role in "Transamerica," lost to Witherspoon but won the guild prize for best actress in a TV comedy for "Desperate Housewives," which also won for best comedy ensemble.

"I love actors. I married one. OK, I married a fantastic one," Huffman said, of her husband, William H. Macy. "But even more than acting, I love the community of actors. I love the green room. I love the hair and makeup trailer. ... I'm so happy I can make a living at it, because I was never very good at math."

The best-actress honor for a television drama series went to Sandra Oh for the medical drama "Grey's Anatomy." Oh said she was gratified at how the casting of the show reflected real-world diversity.

"This is unbelievable. I thank every single actor out there. I'm so grateful for having a job," Oh said. "To all my fellow Asian-American actors out there, I share this with you, and be encouraged and keep shining."

Kiefer Sutherland won as best actor in a TV drama for the action series "24," while the airplane-disaster show "Lost" won for TV dramatic ensemble.

"A friend of mine always says if you don't have something nice to say about someone, say it," said "Lost" co-star Terry O'Quinn, surrounded by fellow cast members. "This is the saddest collection of climbing, grasping, paranoid, back-stabbing, screen-grabbing schmoozers and losers that you ever saw in your life. But we love each very much."

FILM

Actor
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Capote" (Sony Pictures Classics)

Actress
Reese Witherspoon,"Walk the Line" (20th Century Fox)

Supporting Actor
Paul Giamatti, "Cinderella Man" (Universal)

Supporting Actress
Rachel Weisz, "The Constant Gardener" (Focus Features)

Cast
"Crash" Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, William Fichtner, Brendan Fraser, Terrence Howard, Thandie Newton, Ryan Phillippe, Larenz Tate (Lionsgate)

TELEVISION

Actor, Telefilm or Miniseries
Paul Newman, "Empire Falls" (HBO)

Actress, Telefilm or Miniseries
S. Epatha Merkerson, "Lackawanna Blues" (HBO)

Actor, Drama Series
Kiefer Sutherland, "24" (Fox)

Actress, Drama Series
Sandra Oh, "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC)

Actor, Comedy Series
Sean Hayes, "Will & Grace" (NBC)

Actress, Comedy Series
Felicity Huffman, "Desperate Housewives" (ABC)

Ensemble, Drama Series
"Lost" Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Naveen Andrews, Emilie De Ravin, Matthew Fox, Jorge Garcia, Maggie Grace, Josh Holloway, Malcolm David Kelley, Daniel Dae Kim, Yunjin Kim, Evangeline Lilly, Dominic Monaghan, Terry O'Quinn, Harold Perrineau, Michelle Rodriguez, Ian Somerhalder, Cynthia Watros (ABC)

Ensemble, Comedy Series
"Desperate Housewives" Roger Bart, Andrea Bowen, Mehcad Brooks, Ricardo Antonio Chavira, Marcia Cross, Steven Culp, James Denton, Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Brent Kinsman, Shane Kinsman, Eva Longoria, Mark Moses, Doug Savant, Nicollette Sheridan, Brenda Strong, Alfre Woodard (ABC)

Life Achievement Award
Shirley Temple Black

"Son of the Mask," Couch-Jumping Cruise Razzed

As if we needed the Razzie folks to tell us how superlatively sucking Son of the Mask was.

Nonetheless, the Jim Carrey-less sequel stands atop the field of 2005's craptacular cinema, notching a leading eight nominations for the 26th Annual Razzie Awards: Worst Picture, Worst Actor for star Jamie Kennedy (filling in for Carrey), Worst Supporting Actor for Alan Cumming and Bob Hoskins, Worst Screen Couple (for Kennedy and anybody sharing the screen with him), Worst Director, Worst Screenplay and Worst Sequel/Remake.

And while its lameness isn't up for debate, Son of the Mask actually has some serious competition for the distinction of Worst Film, namely: Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, House of Wax, The Dukes of Hazzard and Jenny McCarthy's blink-and-you-missed-it "comedy," Dirty Love.

Not only was it a disaster year for Hollywood at the box office, but with Hollywood's most reliably bankable star jumping the couch on Oprah, Razzie organizers decided to add a brand-new category: Most Tiresome Tabloid Target.

Naturally, the list is headed up by Tom Cruise (who doubled his displeasure with a Worst Actor nomination for War of the Worlds). He'll square off against another double nominee, Paris Hilton (whose "performance" in House of Wax garnered a Worst Supporting Actress nod), as well as Britney Spears and Kevin Federline (nominated as "Mr. & Mrs. Britney) and the Simpsons, which in this case include Jessica, Ashlee and Nick.

Cruise's betrothed didn't escape the Razzies wrath, either. Katie Holmes nabbed a Worst Supporting Actress nomination for Batman Begins.

Joining Cruise and Kennedy in the Worst Actor race were Will Ferrell, dinged for the twin bill of turkeys Bewitched and Kicking & Screaming, Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson for Doom and Rob Schneider for foisting a Deuce Bigalow sequel on the world.

On the actress side, McCarthy (who also is up for Worst Screenplay and Worst Couple) will face off against Jessica Alba (Fantastic Four and Into the Blue), Hilary Duff (Cheaper by the Dozen 2 and The Perfect Man), Jennifer Lopez for Monster-in-Law and Tara Reid for playing a "genius anthropologist" in Alone in the Dark.

Formerly know as the Golden Raspberry Awards, the Razzies were founded in 1980 and chosen by 725 film professionals, film journalists and film fans willing to pay a $25 fee.

Per tradition, the Razzie ceremonies will be held the night before the Oscars, Mar. 4, at the Hollywood's Ivar Theater.

Here's the complete list of Razzie contenders:

Worst Picture:
Son of the Mask
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigalow
House of Wax
Dirty Love
The Dukes of Hazzard

Worst Actor:
Tom Cruise (War of the Worlds)
Rob Schneider (Deuce Bigalow: European Gigalow)
Jamie Kennedy (Son of the Mask)
Will Ferrell (Bewitched and Kicking & Screaming)
The Rock (Doom)

Worst Actress:
Jenny McCarthy (Dirty Love)
Jessica Alba (Fantastic Four, Into the Blue)
Hilary Duff (Cheaper by the Dozen 2, The Perfect Man)
Jennifer Lopez (Monster-in-Law)
Tara Reid (Alone in the Dark)

Worst Supporting Actor:
Alan Cumming (Son of the Mask)
Bob Hoskins (Son of the Mask)
Hayden Christensen (Star Wars: Episode III--Revenge of the Sith)
Eugene Levy (Cheaper by the Dozen 2, The Man)
Burt Reynolds (The Dukes of Hazzard, The Longest Yard)

Worst Supporting Actress:
Paris Hilton (House of Wax)
Katie Holmes (Batman Begins)
Carmen Electra (Dirty Love)
Jessica Simpson (The Dukes of Hazzard)
Ashlee Simpson (Undiscovered)

Worst Director:
John Asher (Dirty Love)
Ewe Boll (Alone in the Dark)
Jay Chandrasekhar (The Dukes of Hazzard)
Nora Ephron (Bewitched)
Lawrence Guterman (Son of the Mask)

Worst Screenplay:
Jenny McCarthy (Dirty Love)
Rob Schneider, David Garrett & Jason Ward (Deuce Bigalow: European Gigalow)
Nora Ephron, Delia Ephron & Adam McKay (Bewitched)
John O'Brien (The Dukes of Hazzard)
Lance Khazei (Son of the Mask)

Worst Sequel or Remake:
Bewitched
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
The Dukes of Hazzard
House of Wax
Son of the Mask

Worst Screen Couple:
Jamie Kennedy and Anybody Stuck Sharing the Screen with Him (Son of the Mask)
Will Ferrell and Nicole Kidman (Bewitched)
Jenny McCarthy and Anyone Dumb Enough to Befriend or Date Her (Dirty Love)
Rob Schneider and his Diapers (Deuce Bigalow: European Gigalow)
Jessica Simpson and her Daisy Dukes (The Dukes of Hazzard)

Most Tiresome Tabloid Target:
Tom Cruise and...His Anti-Psychiatry Rant, Oprah Winfrey's Couch, the Eiffel Tower and "Tom's Baby"
Paris Hilton and...Who-EVER!
Mr. and Mrs. Britney, Their Baby and Their Camcorder
The Simpsons--Ashlee, Jessica and Nick

Writers Guild taps 'Enron' for documentary award

The writer/director of "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" is the second winner of the Writers Guild of America's award for best documentary writing, the union said Wednesday.

Alex Gibney, who also has been nominated for a documentary feature Academy Award, was set to receive the honor from actor James Woods during a ceremony in Hollywood in Wednesday evening.

"Enron" beat a field that included the matchmaker film "Cowboy del Amor," the political thriller "The Fall of Fujimori," the blockbuster nature study "March of the Penguins" and the mayoral saga "Street Fight."

In addition to "Enron," "Street Fight" and "Penguins" also were nominated this week for an Academy Award. The two other Oscar contenders are "Darwin's Nightmare" and "Murderball."

Gibney wrote, directed and produced his documentary about Enron, based on the book "The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron" by Peter Elkind and Bethany McLean. By coincidence, the fraud trial of former Enron Corp. founder Kenneth Lay and former CEO Jeffrey Skilling got under way this week in Houston.

Gibney is producing "Possibilities," a film about Herbie Hancock, and "The Ten Commandments" a series of 10 hour-long films on each of the different commandments. Steven Soderbergh is executive producer on the latter.

The WGA's documentary award was awarded for the first time last year to Morgan Spurlock for "Super Size Me."

The guild has been working to organize nonfiction writing, most recently by establishing a first-ever contract for low-budget documentaries just two weeks ago.

'Crash,' 'Brokeback' Honored by Writers

The writers of "Brokeback Mountain," the sweeping tale about the longtime forbidden romance between rugged ranch hands, won best adapted screenplay Saturday night at the 58th annual Writers Guild Awards.

The screenplay was written by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana and based on a short story by Annie Proulx. The film stars actors Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal and received a leading eight Oscar nominations.

The writers of the ensemble drama "Crash," which follows the lives of a cast of characters over a chaotic 36-hour period in Los Angeles, won for best original screenplay. The screenplay was written by Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco based on a Haggis story.

In other awards, the ABC television show "Grey's Anatomy" won the writing award for a new series.

Larry David, the writer and star of the HBO comedy "Curb Your Enthusiasm," won for best writing in a comedy series.

The crew of writers for the hit ABC show "Lost" were honored in the dramatic series category.

In the television animation category, Michael Price won for "Mommie Beerest" an episode on the long-running Fox show "The Simpsons."

Winners were announced in ceremonies held in Los Angeles and New York.

Other television winners announced Saturday:

Episodic Drama: "Autopsy" ("House"), Lawrence Kaplow, Fox.

Episodic Comedy: "You Can't Miss the Bear" ("Weeds"), Jenji Kohan, Showtime.

Long Form-Original: "Warm Springs," Margaret Nagle, HBO.

Long-Form Adapted: "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers," Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, based on the book by Roger Lewis, HBO.

Comedy/Variety Series: "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," Mike Sweeney, Chris Albers, Jose Arroyo, Andy Blitz, Kevin Dorff, Dan Goor, Michael Gordon, Tim Harrod, Berkley Johnson, Brian Kiley, Michael Koman, Brian McCann, Guy Nicolucci, Conan O'Brien, Allison Silverman, Robert Smigel, Brian Stack, Andrew Weinberg, NBC.

Are we doing the Xixax Awards this year?

Quote from: life_boy on February 11, 2006, 08:58:15 PM
Are we doing the Xixax Awards this year?

Yes, but we're pushing 'em back a bit this year in order to give everyone a chance to see the 'contender' films as they become available on DVD.

Quote from: MacGuffin on February 11, 2006, 11:22:35 PM

Quote from: life_boy on February 11, 2006, 08:58:15 PM
Are we doing the Xixax Awards this year?

Yes, but we're pushing 'em back a bit this year in order to give everyone a chance to see the 'contender' films as they become available on DVD.

Great, for once the ppl won against the powers that be.  :yabbse-cool:

Did anyone see the BAFTA's? There was a strong spirit there this year, convincing me that 2005 was certainly a great year for films.

Particularly inspirational and moving was Lord Puttnam's acceptance speech for his Bafta fellowship. A highly personal anecdote about his relationship with film and also gave specific kudos to Clooney and his friends for the kind of work that he'd always dreamed would come to the forefront of cinema.

What makes the BAFTAS stand out above the Oscars (at least in one area) is that its a ceremony where two longstanding, hardworking crew (a gaffer and a best boy) can receive and give thanks for honorary awards in front of the many celebs attending.

"Brokeback Mountain" Wins 4 BAFTA Awards, Including Best Picture

Tonight in London, "Brokeback Mountain" won four top British Academy Film Awards from BAFTA (the British Academy of Film and Television Arts), nabbing prizes for best picture (Diana Ossana & James Schamus, producers), best director (Ang Lee), adapted screenplay (Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana), and best supporting actor (Jake Gyllenhaal). "Memoirs of a Geisha" won three BAFTA awards tonight (for film music, cinematography, and costume design).

The complete list of winners follows.

ACADEMY FELLOWSHIP Lord Puttnam

THE MICHAEL BALCON AWARD for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Robert (Chuck) Finch and Bill Merrell

FILM "Brokeback Mountain" - Diana Ossana/James Schamus

THE ALEXANDER KORDA AWARD for the Outstanding British Film of the Year "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" - Claire Jennings/David Sproxton/Nick Park/Steve Box/Mark Burton/Bob Baker

THE CARL FOREMAN AWARD for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer in their First Feature Film Joe Wright (Director) - Pride & Prejudice

THE DAVID LEAN AWARD for Achievement in Direction "Brokeback Mountain" - Ang Lee

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY "Crash" - Paul Haggis/Bobby Moresco

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY "Brokeback Mountain" - Larry McMurtry/Diana Ossana

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE "De Battre Mon Coeur s'est Arrete" (The Beat That My Heart Skipped) - Pascal Caucheteux/Jacques Audiard

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE Reese Witherspoon - Walk the Line

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Jake Gyllenhaal - Brokeback Mountain

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Thandie Newton - Crash

THE ANTHONY ASQUITH AWARD for Achievement in Film Music "Memoirs of a Geisha" - John Williams

CINEMATOGRAPHY "Memoirs of a Geisha" - Dion Beebe

EDITING "The Constant Gardener" - Claire Simpson

PRODUCTION DESIGN "Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire" - Stuart Craig

COSTUME DESIGN "Memoirs of a Geisha" - Colleen Atwood

SOUND "Walk The Line" - Paul Massey/D M Hemphill/Peter F Kurland/Donald Sylvester

ACHIEVEMENT IN SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS "King Kong" - Joe Letteri/Christian Rivers/Brian Van't Hul/Richard Taylor

MAKE UP & HAIR "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" - Howard Berger/Gregory Nicotero/Nikki Gooley

SHORT ANIMATION FILM "Fallen Art" - Jarek Sawko/Piotr Sikora/Tomek Baginski

SHORT FILM "Antonio's Breakfast"- Howard Stogdon/Amber Templemore-Finlayson/Daniel Mulloy

THE ORANGE RISING STAR AWARD James McAvoy

ASC puts focus on 'Geisha'

Dion Beebe won the top cinematography prize for "Memoirs of a Geisha" in the feature film race Sunday at the 20th annual American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Achievement Awards at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza.

Beebe beat out Rodrigo Prieto's "Brokeback Mountain," Andrew Lesnie's "King Kong," Robert Elswit's "Good Night, and Good Luck" and Wally Pfister's "Batman Begins."
 
Robbie Greenberg and Nathan Hope won the television heats, with Greenberg leading the field in the television movie competition with HBO's "Warm Springs." Hope won his second ASC Award for CBS' "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," for the episode "Who Shot Sherlock?"

Special tributes were presented to Richard Kline, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award; Sydney Pollack, who was recognized with a Board of Governors Award; Woody Omens, who received the Presidents Award; Fredrick Wiseman, who received an Award of Distinction; and British cinematographer Gilbert Taylor, who earned the International Achievement Award.

"Brokeback," "Capote," "Crash," "Transamerica" Honored With Spirit Awards

For the first time in memory, the Independent Spirit Awards honored a group of films that are likely to dominate the Academy Awards. Presented each year on the eve of the Oscars, the Independent Spirit Awards (presented by the recently re-branded Film Independent) honor work made outside the Hollywood system, with lower budgets and a "uniqueness of vision." Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain," Bennett Miller's "Capote," Paul Haggis' "Crash," and Duncan Tucker's "Transamerica," all nominated for multiple awards at tomorrow's Oscars, dominated the Spirit Awards this afternoon at the ceremony held in a tent, on the beach, in Santa Monica, CA. Each won two Independent Spirit Awards, while "Capote" also was honored with a special producing prize.

"Brokeback Mountain" won the award for best feature, while "Crash" won the prize for best first feature. "Brokeback" director Ang Lee won the award for best director at the event today. Screenwriter Dan Futterman was honored with the screenplay prize from the Spirit Awards, while "Transamerica" writer and director Duncan Tucker was awarded the prize for best first screenplay.

Mora Stephens' "Conventioneers" won this year's John Cassavetes Award, honoring a film made for under $500,000.

Today's event, telecast live on IFC, was hosted by salty, sassy comedian Sarah Silverman, who is currently starring in her own indie film ("Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic"). Committees choose nominees for the Spirits, with the winners selected by the membership of FIND and branches of the IFP around the country (FIND recently split from the other IFP chapters and re-named itself Film Independent.)

In the acting awards, "Capote" star Philip Seymour Hoffman won the best actor prize, while Felicity Huffman was honored as best female lead. Supporting actor prizes went to Amy Adams for "Junebug" and Matt Dillon for "Crash."

Filmmaker Garrett Scott, who died earlier this week, won the Truer Than Fiction prize, along with his "Occupation: Dreamland" director Ian Olds. The award is one of three special prizes selected by separate juries and each includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant. "Capote" producer Caroline Baron won the AMC/American Express Producers Award, while Ian Gamazon and Neill Dela Llana received the Someone to Watch Award for "Cavite".

The complete list of Independent Spirit Awards winners:

Best Feature: "Brokeback Mountain" Producers: Diana Ossana and James Schamus

Best Director: Ang Lee, "Brokeback Mountain"

Best Screenplay: Dan Futterman, "Capote"

Best First Feature: "Crash" Director: Paul Haggis Producers: Cathy Schulman, Don Cheadle, Bob Yari, Mark R. Harris, Bobby Moresco, Paul Haggis

Best First Screenplay: Duncan Tucker, "Transamerica"

John Cassavetes Award: "Conventioneers" (For the Best Feature made for under $500,000) Director: Mora Stephens Writers: Mora Stephens and Joel Viertel Producer: Joel Viertel

Best Supporting Female: Amy Adams, "Junebug"

Best Supporting Male: Matt Dillon, "Crash"

Best Female Lead: Felicity Huffman, "Transamerica"

Best Male Lead: Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Capote"

Best Cinematography: Robert Elswit, "Good Night, and Good Luck"

Best Foreign Film: "Paradise Now" Director: Hany Abu-Assad

Best Documentary: "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" Director: Alex Gibney

AMC/American Express Producers Award: Caroline Baron, "Capote", "Monsoon Wedding" ($25,000 unrestricted grant -- honors producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality independent films.)

IFC/Acura Someone To Watch Award: Ian Gamazon and Neill Dela Llana, "Cavite" ($25,000 unrestricted -- honors a director of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.)

Truer Than Fiction Award: Ian Olds and Garrett Scott, "Occupation: Dreamland" ($25,000 unrestricted -- presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features.)

Quote from: MacGuffin on March 04, 2006, 06:39:10 PM
The complete list of Independent Spirit Awards winners:

Best Feature: "Brokeback Mountain" Producers: Diana Ossana and James Schamus
Best Director: Ang Lee, "Brokeback Mountain"
Best Screenplay: Dan Futterman, "Capote"
Best First Feature: "Crash" Director: Paul Haggis
Best Supporting Female: Amy Adams, "Junebug"
Best Supporting Male: Matt Dillon, "Crash"
Best Female Lead: Felicity Huffman, "Transamerica"
Best Male Lead: Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Capote"
Best Cinematography: Robert Elswit, "Good Night, and Good Luck"

i watched this awards show again this year and it really is kind of ridiculous.  as sarah silverman joked "but the Spirit Awards honor little-known filmmakers like directors Ang Lee and George Clooney."  so it's better if they just own up to it, they want to award all the mainstream indie just as much as anybody else. but the awards rep comes out halfway through and says something about all the films nominated that are ALSO up for oscars and says that well 75% of the nominated films ARENT nominated for oscars.  but look at the winners above.  EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM IS NOMINATED FOR AN OSCAR!  and in most cases they're the favorites to win!  so it really doesnt matter if they nominate Miranda July also because they're awarding Haggis anyways for Best First Feature!  the guy is 53 years old!  and as one of the winning producers said, 'thanks for giving me this award for the second time' cause he also won for 'gods and monsters' a few years ago.  so sarah silverman is funny but awards are full-of-crap.  and i love watching them.  oscar rant(s) to follow.

Yeah, but Huffman could not have said that speech at the Oscars.

Quote from: modage on March 05, 2006, 01:59:44 PM

Quote from: MacGuffin on March 04, 2006, 06:39:10 PM
The complete list of Independent Spirit Awards winners:

Best Feature: "Brokeback Mountain" Producers: Diana Ossana and James Schamus
Best Director: Ang Lee, "Brokeback Mountain"
Best Screenplay: Dan Futterman, "Capote"
Best First Feature: "Crash" Director: Paul Haggis
Best Supporting Female: Amy Adams, "Junebug"
Best Supporting Male: Matt Dillon, "Crash"
Best Female Lead: Felicity Huffman, "Transamerica"
Best Male Lead: Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Capote"
Best Cinematography: Robert Elswit, "Good Night, and Good Luck"

i watched this awards show again this year and it really is kind of ridiculous.  as sarah silverman joked about the best indie artists like 'george clooney and ang lee'.  so it's better if they just own up to it, they want to award all the mainstream indie just as much as anybody else. but the awards rep comes out halfway through and says something about all the films nominated that are ALSO up for oscars and says that well 75% of the nominated films ARENT nominated for oscars.  but look at the winners above.  EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM IS NOMINATED FOR AN OSCAR!  and in most cases they're the favorites to win!  so it really doesnt matter if they nominate Miranda July also because they're awarding Haggis anyways for Best First Feature!  the guy is 53 years old!  and as one of the winning producers said, 'thanks for giving me this award for the second time' cause he also won for 'gods and monsters' a few years ago.  so sarah silverman is funny but awards are full-of-crap.  and i love watching them.  oscar rant(s) to follow.

Looking around at IMDB, I found this...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114244/

I guess Crash isn't his first feature after all.

Miranda July seems to echo my sentiment...

Director Miranda July, nominated for Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay for Me and You and Everyone We Know, expressed concern that the congruity between many of this year's Independent Spirit and Oscar nominees tend to eclipse smaller independent films that would otherwise be celebrated and brought to the attention of audiences. "It's troubling to think that the establishment consumes independent films and filmmakers. A new wave of truly independent filmmakers will always be emerging," says July, who is already working on her second feature. "I'm very gratified by the attention my film is getting, but I think if you're doing too well in this celebrity-driven awards environment--be it Spirit Awards or Oscars--you should probably wonder what you're doing wrong."

Cruise, McCarthy Singled Out at Razzies

Jenny McCarthy may have been singled out as this year's top Razzie recipient, but Tom Cruise's couch-jumping antics did not go unrewarded.

As the star, writer and producer of 2005's little-seen, but universally panned "comedy" Dirty Love, the onetime Playboy Playmate earned a trio of dishonors at Saturday's awards ceremony--namely Worst Actress, Worst Screenplay and Worst Picture.

In introducing the film, Golden Raspberry Award Foundation "Head Berry" John Wilson described it as "the bastard child that might have resulted had John [Bolero] Derek and Tom [Freddy Got Fingered] Green spent the winter together tending sheep on Brokeback Mountain." (Translation: this is what happens when you allow the former host of an MTV dating show to write, produce and star in her own movie.)

Unsurprisingly, McCarthy did not put in an appearance at the 26th Annual Razzie Awards to claim her trophies. Also absent was her soon-to-be ex-husband, John Asher, who was named Worst Director for helming his wife's box office disaster, which took in only $58,116 during the limited time it remained in theaters.

On a more positive note, Dirty Love failed to sweep the six categories in which it was nominated. Worst Supporting Actress nominee Carmen Electra lost out to House of Wax star Paris Hilton, and McCarthy, nominated for Worst Onscreen Couple, along with Anyone Dumb Enough to Befriend or Date Her, lost to Bewitched duo Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell.

Perhaps the closest race of the night came down to the newly created Razzie Award for Most Tiresome Tabloid Target, a category in which Tom Cruise: The Anti-Psychiatry Rant was matched up against Tom Cruise: Katie Holmes, Oprah's Couch, the Eiffel Tower and Tom's Baby.

In the end, Cruise's "jump the couch" antics won out over his distaste for mind-altering pseudosciences, though it was undoubtedly a tough decision for the voting parties.

Rob Schneider, a contender for five awards on the strength of Deuce Bigalow: European Gigalo, took the Worst Actor prize, but was shut out in all other categories. (We're guessing Schneider is busy drafting a blistering written response to the Razzie Foundation right about now.)

The force was not with Hayden Christensen, who earned Worst Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Darth Vader in Star Wars: Episode III--The Revenge of the Sith, an award he previously earned in 2003 for his work as Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode II--The Attack of the Clones.

Son of the Mask, which went into the Razzies with a leading eight nominations, scored the biggest upset of the night, earning only the award for Worst Sequel or Remake.

The best of the worst were determined by a voting panel of about 750 film critics, industry professions and movie fans in 41 states and 15 countries.

While last year's Worst Actress winner Halle Berry famously showed up at the Razzies to accept her award in person, this year's dishonorees unanimously boycotted the event.

Here's a complete rundown of the "winners" of the 2006 Razzie Awards:

WORST PICTURE: Dirty Love
WORST ACTRESS: Jenny McCarthy, Dirty Love
WORST ACTOR: Rob Schneider, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigalo
WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Paris Hilton, House of Wax
WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Hayden Christensen, Star Wars: Episode III--Revenge of the Sith
WORST ONSCREEN COUPLE: Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell, Bewitched
WORST DIRECTOR: John Asher, Dirty Love
WORST SCREENPLAY: Dirty Love
WORST SEQUEL OR REMAKE: Son of the Mask
MOST TIRESOME TABLOID TARGET: Tom Cruise: Katie Holmes, Oprah's Couch, the Eiffel Tower and Tom's Baby