Negromancer News Bits and Bites from January 7th to 13th, 2018 - Update #28

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MOVIES - From BleedingCool:  Blumhouse's "Halloween" sequel began shooting today (Jan. 13th, 2018).  David Gordon Green is directing with original director John Carpenter co-producing and scoring the film.  Jamie Lee Curtis, the original film's star, returns, as does original Michael Myers, Nick Castle.

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CELEBRITY - From BET:  Paris Jackson, daughter of the late, great Michael Jackson, tried to help some bums and they stole from her.

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MOVIES - From THR:  Oscar-winner Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) and Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther) are joining for "Expatriate," a 1970s set international thriller.

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MOVIES - From Deadline:  Leonardo DiCaprio will star in Quentin Tarantino's ninth feature length film, which is set during the summer of 1969 around the time of the Charles Manson murders.  DiCaprio appeared in Tarantino's 2012 film, "Django Unchained."

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TELEVISION - From BleedingCool:  Gareth Edwards' ("Rogue One") film, Monster, is being adapted as a TV series.  The film was originally released in the U.S. in 2010.

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COMICS-FILM - From Collider:  "Deadpool 2" will now open May 18, 2018, instead of June 1st.  Fox also moves "The New Mutants" from April 13, 2018 to February 22, 2019.

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TELEVISION - From BleedingCool:  ABC is developing a reboot of its 1980s series, "The Greatest American Hero," and a live-action version of "The Jetsons."

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COMICS-FILM - From BleedingCool:  Channing Tatum's X-Men spinoff film, "Gambit," has lost another director, Gore Verbinski.

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CULTURE - From TheNewYorker:  Legendary French actress, Catherine Deneuve, and other prominent French women denounce the #MeToo and #BalanceTonPorc (the French #MeToo) movements.

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COMICS - From TheWrap:  Marvel Studios is moving forward with a "Black Widow" stand alone movie.  Jac Schaeffer, who made her debut with the film "TiMER," will write the film.

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MOVIE - From ShadowandAct:  There is a biopic of African-American actress Hattie McDaniel in the works.  McDaniel was the first African-American to receive an Oscar nomination for acting and the first to win an Academy Award (Best Supporting Actress, "Gone with the Wind").

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MOVIE AWARDS - From HuffPost:  While introducing Meryl Streep at the "National Board of Review Annual" awards, Robert DeNiro called President Donald Trump a "fucking idiot" and a "fucking fool."

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CELEBRITY - From ComicBook:  The photography of the late actor Anton Yelchin will be at the De Buck Gallery in New York City through January 20th, 2018.

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MOVIES - From ThePlaylist:  Mark Wahlberg paid way more money than Michelle Williams for the "All the Money in the World" reshoots.

From YahooNews:  The Mark Wahlberg-Michelle pay gap on the reshoots for Ridley Scott's "All the Money in the World," is sparking growing outrage.

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ANIMATION/SCANDAL - From Variety:  TBS has ended its involvement in the animated comedy, "The Cops," co-created by and set to star Louis CK, the comedian accused of having a history of misconduct.

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OPRAH - From CNN:  The transcript to Oprah Winfrey's rousing and acclaimed Golden Globes speech after receiving the "Cecil B. DeMille Award" for lifetime achievement - the first black woman to receive the award.

From YouTube:   See Oprah's speech at the 75th Golden Globes Awards.

From RSN:  Actresses protest at 75th Golden Globes Awards.

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AWARDS - From TheWrap:  The 2018 / 75th Golden Globe Awards - the complete winners list.

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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 1/5 to 1/7/2018 weekend box office is "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle," with an estimated take of $36 million.  This is its first time winning the weekend box office, although this is also its third weekend in release.

From Variety:  "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" stumbles in its Chinese box office debut, but still moves up to $1.2 billion in worldwide box office.

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MOVIES - From IndieWire:  Ridley Scott, who directed the original "Blade Runner," is already planning a sequel to the recent "Blade Runner 2048," which he did not direct.

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MOVIE AWARDS - From GoldenGlobes:  The nominees for the 2018/ 75th Golden Globe Awards, which are tonight.

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STREAMING - From Deadline:   David Letterman's six-episode Netflix show will be entitled "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman."  It starts streaming Jan. 12th, 2018, and President Barack Obama will be Letterman's first guest.

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POLITICS:  From ThinkProgress:  Companies that announced big bonuses after GOP tax cut are now laying off their workers

TRAILER:

From YahooEntertainment:  See the teaser trailer for Marvel's "Black Panther" shown during Mon., Jan. 8th's college football National Championship Game.

OBITS:

From ESPN:  Legendary sports broadcaster Keith Jackson has died at the age of 89, Friday, January 12, 2018.  He was a play-by-play announcer for a number of sports, but is best known for his work on college football games.  He was known for his folksy manner, down-to-earth manner and for his colorful expressions like "Who, Nellie!" and "Big Uglies."  He is also credited for dubbing college football's "Rose Bowl" game as "The Granddaddy of Them All."

From TheWrap:  The Canadian actor, Donnelly Rhodes, has died at the age of 80, Monday, January 8, 2018.  He is best known for his work on the late ABC series, "Soap" (1977-1981), the "Battlestar Galactica" reboot (2004 to 2009), and the Canadian police drama, "Da Vinci's Inquest" (1998 to 2005).

From THR:  The actress Greta Thyssen has died at the age of 90, Saturday, January 6, 2018.  Born in Denmark, Thyssen was a "blonde bombshell" of the 1950s and 1960s.  She doubled for Marilyn Monroe in the film "Bus Stop" and appeared in 3 "Three Stooges" films, including the final Stooges short film, "Sappy Bull Fighters" (1959).

Review: "The Lone Ranger" is a Little Bit Stranger

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 9 (of 2014) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Lone Ranger (2013)
Running time:  149 minutes (2 hours, 29 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence, and some suggestive material
DIRECTOR:  Gore Verbinski
WRITERS:  Justine Haythe and Ted Elliot & Terry Rossio; from Justine Haythe and Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio
PRODUCERS:  Jerry Bruckheimer and Gore Verbinski
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Bojan Bazelli
EDITORS:  James Haygood and Craig Wood
COMPOSER:  Hans Zimmer
Academy Award nominee

WESTERN/ACTION with elements of fantasy

Starring:  Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, William Fichtner, Tom Wilkinson, Ruth Wilson, Helena Bonham Carter, James Badge Dale, Bryant Prince, Barry Pepper, Leon Rippy, Stephen Root, Terry Treadaway, Saginaw Grant, Joaquin Cosio, James Frain, Leonard Earl Howze, Grover Coulson, and Mason Cook.

For those who don’t know:  The Lone Ranger is a fictional character that first debuted in a radio show in late January 1933.  The Lone Ranger is a Texas Ranger who fights injustice in the American Old West with the assistance of Tonto, his Native American friend.

The radio show ran from 1933 to the mid-1950s for almost 3,000 episodes.  The character is probably best-remembered for the television series, The Lone Ranger, which aired for eight seasons (1949 to 1957) for over 200 episodes on the ABC television network.  Clayton Moore starred as the Lone Ranger, and Jay Silverheels played Tonto.  The character also made several appearance in film, the last being an infamous and unsuccessful 1981 movie.  Early in the Summer of 2013, the Lone Ranger and Tonto returned to the big screen.

The Lone Ranger is a 2013 action and Western film from producer-director Gore Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer.  Starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer, The Lone Ranger 2013 focuses on the earliest efforts of The Lone Ranger and Tonto to end corruption in and to bring justice to the American Old West.

[A NOTE:  Since the following review is a longish one, I’ll summarize it here.  I thoroughly enjoyed The Lone Ranger 2013, and had a blast watching it.  However, it is not a traditional Western movie, just as the Pirate of the Caribbean movies are not typical pirate movies.  The Lone Ranger is funny, but quirky.  If you look past its oddness and focus on the action, you might find it to be quite entertaining.]

The Lone Ranger opens in 1933 at a fair in San Francisco.  In a sideshow, a boy named Will (Mason Cook) just happens to meet an elderly Native American who claims to be Tonto (Johnny Depp).  Learning that Will idolizes the Lone Ranger, Tonto tells the boy the story of how he first met the legendary hero.

The story moves back to 1869.  Lawyer John Reid (Armie Hammer) returns to his hometown of Colby, Texas.  He finds the Transcontinental Railroad to be the focus of attention, but railroad tycoon, Latham Cole (Tom Wilkinson), is focused on the capture of outlaw, Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner).  John joins his brother, Texas Ranger Dan Reid (James Badge Dale), who leads the search for Cavendish and his gang.

John discovers that Native American Comanche warrior, Tonto (Johnny Depp), is also searching for Cavendish, whom the Indian believes is a creature he calls “windigo.”  Events leave John a “lone Ranger,” and he is forced join Tonto in an often-contentious but effective partnership.  But can the two new partners stop a conspiracy that is bigger and older than they may realize?

I think that the movie reviews which accompanied The Lone Ranger upon its initial theatrical release back in late June 2013 can be described as mostly negative to mixed.  I unequivocally like this movie, although I will admit that it has some flaws.  For instance, I have a question that has already been asked by other critics.  What is the target audience for The Lone Ranger?

The Lone Ranger 2013 is a Western.  It has several elements that can be found throughout the history of American Western films:  brothels, construction of a railroad, cowboys and Indians, lone lawman, outlaws, quests for redemption, revenge, and the shoot ‘em up.  However, this new Lone Ranger is nothing like The Lone Ranger television series, which was a traditional Hollywood Western aimed at a general audience and relied on stock elements that were familiar to viewers of all ages.

This movie is also a comedy and action flick as much as it is a Western, but it is not reverent about the things found in many Western movies and television programs from the 1930s to the 1950s.  The film has those big, reality-bending action scenes we have come to expect of Jerry Bruckheimer movies like the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise (which also stars Johnny Depp).  As a comedy, the film sometimes mocks elements and aspects associated with The Lone Ranger franchise.  Some of the dialogue and scenes in this movie have a single purpose – be funny.

The Lone Ranger 2013 is also surprisingly quirky.  It is kind of a “weird Western,” like the films, Jonah Hex and Wild Wild West (1999).  The movie has a strange mixture of imitation Native American mysticism and quasi-occultism, with a funky supernatural twist.  Much of that is tied to violence, cannibalism in particular.

I think that in order to enjoy this film, the viewer has to focus more on the basic plot, the characters, and the big action scenes and sequences and less on the setting (the post-Civil War “Old West”) and genre (the Western).  I didn’t mind that The Lone Ranger is an unusual Western film, and I certainly like the plot, characters, and action set pieces.

Also, Armie Hammer turned out to fit in this movie better than I thought he would.  Still, to me, it seems as if he can never make his character, John Reid/The Lone Ranger, escape the tremendous shadow cast by Johnny Depp’s Tonto.  Depp owns this movie, and that is a bigger problem for this movie than anything else.  It is more about Tonto than it is about The Lone Ranger.  In fact, whenever the story switched to other characters, I could feel myself chomping-at-the-bits for the movie to go back to Depp/Tonto.

I have to admit that I wish that we get a sequel to The Lone Ranger.  That is unlikely, as this movie is considered a box office disappointment and, to some, a flop.

7 of 10
B+

NOTES:
2014 Academy Awards, USA:  2 nominations:  ‘Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling” (Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua Casny) and “Best Achievement in Visual Effects” (Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams, and John Frazier)

2014 Razzie Awards:  1 win: “Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel;” 4 nominations: “Worst Picture,” “Worst Actor” (Johnny Depp), “Worst Director” (Gore Verbinski), and “Worst Screenplay” (Ted Elliott-screen story and screenplay, Justin Haythe-screen story and screenplay, and Terry Rossio-screen story and screenplay)

Tuesday, March 04, 2014


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

2014 Razzie Awards - Complete Winners aka Losers List

by Amos Semien

The Golden Raspberry Award or, as it is best known, the Razzie Award, is basically the opposite of the Academy Awards (the Oscars).  This award honors the worst achievements in film in a calendar year, as determined by the paid membership of the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation.

And now… the haters.  The winners (or losers, if you will) of the 2014 Razzie Awards were announced Saturday, March 1, 2014, one day before the Academy Awards ceremony (or “Oscar eve”) – the traditional date for the Razzies.

After Earth and Movie 43 each won three awards.  Movie 43, an anthology comedy film, was named “Worst Picture” of 2013.  Grown Up 2, the Adam Sandler and pals film that was a sequel to an earlier Adam Sandler and pals film, had received nine nominations, but did not win any – apparently the biggest shutout in Razzie Award history.

2014 / 34th Annual Razzie Awards winners (for the year in film, 2013):

WORST PICTURE:
Movie 43 – Relativity Media

WORST ACTOR
Jaden Smith: After Earth

WORST ACTRESS
Tyler Perry: A Madea Christmas

WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Kim Kardashian: Tyler Perry’s Temptation

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Will Smith: After Earth

WORST DIRECTOR:
The 13 People Who Directed Movie 43 (Elizabeth Banks, Steven Brill, Steve Carr, Rusty Cundieff, James Duffy, Griffin Dunne, Peter Farrelly, Patrik Forsberg, Will Graham, James Gunn, Bob Odenkirk, Brett Ratner, and Jonathan van Tulleken)

WORST SCREEN COMBO
Jaden Smith & Will Smith on Planet Nepotism: After Earth

WORST SCREENPLAY
Movie 43: Written by 19 “Screenwriters” (Steve Baker, Ricky Blitt, Will Carlough, Tobias Carlson, Jacob Fleisher, Patrik Forsberg, Will Graham, James Gunn, Claes Kjellstrom, Jack Kukoda, Bob Odenkirk, Bill O'Malley, Matthew Alec Portenoy, Greg Pritikin, Rocky Russo, Olle Sarri, Elizabeth Wright Shapiro, Jeremy Sosenko, Jonathan van Tulleken and Jonas Wittenmark)

WORST REMAKE, RIP-OFF or SEQUEL
The Lone Ranger – Walt Disney Pictures

http://www.razzies.com/

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Kansas City Film Critics Chose "The Descendants" in 2011

by Leroy Douresseaux

I'm still playing catch-up on the 2012 film awards season.  I discovered that I missed the Kansas City Film Critics Circle (KCFCC) in 2011, although I covered them in 2010.  So here are their 2011 awards:

2011 Loutzenhiser Awards:

Best Film: The Descendants

Robert Altman Award for Best Director: Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life

Best Actor: George Clooney, The Descendants

Best Actress: Kirsten Dunst, Melancholia

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Supporting Actress: Jessica Chastain, The Tree of Life

Best Original Screenplay: Mike Mills, Beginners

Best Adapted Screenplay: Steven Zaillian & Aaron Sorkin, Moneyball

Best Animated Film: Rango

Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation (Iran)

Best Documentary: Cave of Forgotten Dreams

Vince Koehler Award for Best Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror Film: Hugo

"Rango" Wins Best Animated Feature Oscar

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year

WINNER - Rango: Gore Verbinski

Nominees:
A Cat in Paris: Alain Gagnol, Jean-Loup Felicioli
Chico & Rita: Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal
Kung Fu Panda 2: Jennifer Yuh
Puss in Boots: Chris Miller

2012 Annie Awards Winners - Complete List; "Rango" Wins Best Film

ASIFA-Hollywood, the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Society, presents the Annie Awards. The Annie honors achievements in animation as a whole, including current animated productions, as well as career and lifetime achievements. At the beginning of this week, the group announced the nominations and award recipients for the 39th Annual Annie Awards.

Award recipients claimed their trophies at the 39th Annual Annie Awards in ceremony held Saturday, February 4, 2012 at UCLA's Royce Hall in Los Angeles, California.

39th (2012) Annual Annie Awards Winners:

PRODUCTION CATEGORIES

Best Animated Feature
Rango – Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies present A Blind Wink/GK Films Production

Annie Award for Best Animated Special Production
Kung Fu Panda – Secrets of the Masters – DreamWorks Animation

Best Animated Short Subject
Adam and Dog – Minkyu Lee

Best Animated Television Commercial
Twinings “Sea” – Psyop

Best General Audience Animated TV Production
The Simpsons – Gracie Films

Best Animated Television Production - Preschool
Disney Jake and the Never Land Pirates – Disney Television Animation

Best Animated Television Production – Children
The Amazing World of Gumball – Cartoon Network in Association with Dandelion Studios, Boulder Media
& Studio Soi

Best Animated Video Game
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet – Shadow Planet Productions, Gagne/Fuelcell

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES

Animated Effects in an Animated Production
Kevin Romond “Tintin” – Amblin Entertainment, Wingnut Films and Kennedy/Marshall

Animated Effects in a Live Action Production
Florent Andorra “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” – Industrial Light & Magic

Character Animation in a Television Production
Tony Smeed “Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice” – Walt Disney Animation Studios

Character Animation in a Feature Production
Jeff Gabor “Rio” – Blue Sky Studios

Character Animation in a Live Action Production
Eric Reynolds “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” – 20th Century Fox

Character Design in a Television Production
Bill Schwab “Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice” – Walt Disney Animation Studios

Character Design in a Feature Production
Mark “Crash” McCreery “Rango” – Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies present A Blind Wink/GK Films Production

Directing in a Television Production
Matthew Nastuk “The Simpsons” – Gracie Films

Directing in a Feature Production
Jennifer Yuh Nelson “Kung Fu Panda 2” – DreamWorks Animation

Music in a Television Production
Grace Potter, Michael Giacchino “Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice” – Walt Disney Animation Studios

Music in a Feature Production
John Williams “Tintin” – Amblin Entertainment, Wingnut Films and Kennedy/Marshall

Production Design in a Television Production
Mark Bodnar, Chris Tsirgiotis, Sue Mondt and Daniel Elson “Secret Mountain Fort Awesome” – Cartoon Network Studios

Production Design in a Feature Production
Raymond Zibach “Kung Fu Panda 2” – DreamWorks Animation

Storyboarding in a Television Production
Brian Kesinger “Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice” – Walt Disney Animation Studios

Storyboarding in a Feature Production
Jeremy Spears “Winnie The Pooh” – Walt Disney Animation Studios

Voice Acting in a Television Production
Jeff Bennett as Kowalski “Penguins of Madagascar” – Nickelodeon and DreamWorks Animation

Voice Acting in a Feature Production
Bill Nighy as Grandsanta “Arthur Christmas” – Sony Pictures Animation, Aardman Animations

Writing in a Television Production
Carolyn Omine “The Simpsons -Treehouse of Horror XXII” – Gracie Films

Writing in a Feature Production
John Logan, Gore Verbinski and James Byrkit “Rango” – Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies present A Blind Wink/GK Films Productions

Editing in Television Production
Ted Machold, Jeff Adams, Doug Tiano, Bob Tomlin “Penguins of Madagascar” – Nickelodeon and DreamWorks Animation

Editing in a Feature Production
Craig Wood, A.C.E. “Rango” – Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies present A Blind Wink/GK Films Production

JURIED AWARDS
Winsor McCay Award —Walt Peregoy, Borge Ring, Ronald Searle

June Foray — Art Leonardi

Special Achievement — Depth Analysis

Oscar-Nominated "Rango" Returns in Limited Engagement

PARAMOUNT TO RE-RELEASE ACADEMY AWARD®-NOMINATED “RANGO” BEGINNING THIS FRIDAY, JANUARY 27th

The now Academy Award®-nominated Rango, from director Gore Verbinski and starring the voice of Johnny Depp, saddles up for a one week limited engagement at the ArcLight Hollywood beginning this Friday, January 27th. The original animated comedy-adventure from Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies a Blind Wing/GK Films Production that takes moviegoers for a hilarious and heartfelt walk in the Wild West, was this morning nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Animated Feature Film.

Rango is the winner of the National Board of Review and Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Animated Feature, while top critics’ groups around the country have declared Rango the Best Animated Film of 2011, including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington D.C.

The incomparable Johnny Depp voices Rango, a chameleon living as an ordinary family pet who dreams of being a fearless hero and is challenged to become just that when he inadvertently becomes the sheriff of a lawless desert town called Dirt. Story by John Logan, Gore Verbinski, and James Ward Byrkit, Written by John Logan, Directed by Gore Verbinski, the visionary behind the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Rango delighted audiences of all ages, earning more than $230 million worldwide. The film also features the voices of Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Ned Beatty, Harry Dean Stanton, Ray Winstone and Timothy Olyphant.


About Paramount Pictures Corporation
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. Paramount controls a collection of some of the most powerful brands in filmed entertainment, including Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films, and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home Media Distribution, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., and Paramount Studio Group.

2012 Academy Award Nominations: Best Animated Feature Film of the Year

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year Nominees:

A Cat in Paris (2010): Alain Gagnol, Jean-Loup Felicioli

Chico & Rita (2010): Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal

Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011): Jennifer Yuh

Puss in Boots (2011): Chris Miller

Rango (2011): Gore Verbinski

Austin Film Critics Name Scorsese's "Hugo" Best Film

The Austin Film Critics Association (AFCA) describes itself as “a group dedicated to supporting the best in film, whether at the international, national, or local level.” The group includes Austin-based members who write for such publications, television media, and websites as Ain't It Cool News, the Austin American-Statesman, the Austin Chronicle, CNN, Fandango, Film.com, Film School Rejects, Fox News, MSN Movies, Movies.com, among others.

2011 AFCA Awards:

Best Film:
Hugo

Top 10 Films:
1. Hugo
2. Drive
3. Take Shelter
4. Midnight in Paris
5. Attack the Block
6. The Artist
7. Martha Marcy May Marlene
8. I Saw the Devil
9. 13 Assassins
10. Melancholia

Best Director:
Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive

Best Actor:
Michael Shannon, Take Shelter

Best Actress:
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin

Best Supporting Actor:
Albert Brooks, Drive

Best Supporting Actress:
Jessica Chastain, Take Shelter

Best Original Screenplay:
Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Drive, Hossein Amini

Best Cinematography:
The Tree of Life, Emmanuel Lubezki

Best Original Score:
Attack the Block, Steven Price

Best Foreign Language Film:
I Saw the Devil, South Korea: Jee-woon Kim – director

Best Documentary:
Senna: Asif Kapadia – director

Best Animated Feature:
Rango: Gore Verbinski – director

Robert R. "Bobby" McCurdy Memorial Breakthrough Artist Award:
Jessica Chastain for her appearances in the films: Take Shelter, The Tree of Life, The Help, The Debt, Coriolanus, and Texas Killing Fields

Best First Film:
Attack the Block: Joe Cornish – director

Austin Film Award:
Take Shelter: Jeff Nichols – director

http://austinfilmcritics.org/

Los Angeles Film Critics Vote "The Descendants" Best Picture

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) is a professional organization of Los Angeles-based, professional film critics working in the Los Angeles print and electronic media. Since 1975, LAFCA members vote on the year's Achievement Awards each December, honoring screen excellence on both sides of the camera.

37th Annual (2011) Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards:

BEST PICTURE: "The Descendants"
Runner-up: "The Tree of Life"

BEST DIRECTOR: Terrence Malick, "The Tree of Life"
Runner-Up Martin Scorsese, "Hugo"

BEST ACTOR: Michael Fassbender, "A Dangerous Method", "Jane Eyre", "Shame", "X-Men: First Class"
Runner-up: Michael Shannon, "Take Shelter"

BEST ACTRESS: Yun Jung-hee, "Poetry"
Runner-up: Kirsten Dunst ("Melancholia")

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, "Beginners"
Runner-up: Patton Oswalt ("Young Adult")

Best Supporting Actress: Jessica Chastain, "Coriolanus," "The Debt," "The Help," "Take Shelter," "Texas Killing Fields," "Tree of Life"
Runner-up: Janet McTeer ("Albert Nobbs")

BEST Screenplay: Asghar Farhadi, “A Separation"
Runner-up: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash ("The Descendants")

BEST Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, "The Tree of Life"
Runner-up: Cao Yu ("City of Life and Death")

Best Production Design Dante Ferretti, "Hugo"
Runner-up: Maris Djurkovic ("Tinker Tailor Solider Spy")

Best Music Score "Hanna" The Chemical Brothers
Runner-up: "Drive" Cliff Martinez

Best Foreign-Language Film: "City of Life and Death" Directed by CHUAN LU
Runner-up: "A Separation" directed by Asghar Farhadi

Best Documentary/Non-Fiction Film "Cave of Forgotten Dreams" directed by Werner Herzog
Runner-up: "The Arbor" directed by Clio Barnard

Best Animation: "Rango" directed by Gore Verbinski
Runner-up: "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn" directed by Steven Spielberg

New Generation: Antonio Campos, Sean Durkin, Josh Mond and Elizabeth Olsen, "Martha Marcy May Marlene"

Career Achievement: Doris Day

The Douglas Edwards Experimental/Independent Film/Video Award: Bill Morrison, "Spark of Being"

http://www.lafca.net/

Paramount Pictures Announces Animation Division

Paramount Pictures to Launch Paramount Animation

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIA and VIA.B), will launch an in-house animation division, with its first title slated for release in 2014.

In making the announcement, Paramount Chairman & CEO Brad Grey said the initiative was part of the studio’s long-term strategy for growth and that the new division, Paramount Animation, will focus on high quality animation with budgets per picture of up to $100 million.

Paramount Animation’s mandate will be the development of the broadest range of family CGI animated films, with a key piece being titles under the label of Viacom’s Nickelodeon, the number one entertainment brand for kids worldwide. Paramount will also look to build on Viacom’s already thriving global consumer products business by seeking to capitalize on merchandising opportunities tied to all Paramount Animation releases.

The division will be part of the Paramount Motion Picture Group, reporting to the group’s president, Adam Goodman, and will initially target one release per year. Vice Chair Rob Moore, COO Frederick Huntsberry and Goodman are now conducting a search for the leader of the division.

“We’ve come a long way over the last six years," said Grey. "Our team has worked hard to build best in class production, marketing and distribution divisions which have proven they consistently execute at the highest level across all genres and price points. Establishing an in-house animation division was the logical next step for us.”

“The marketplace has never offered as many opportunities to create wonderfully imaginative pictures at very appealing budget levels, so we feel this is a perfect moment to launch this effort. We are now eager to expand in animation with appropriate and prudent overhead and production budgets in a way that will allow us to be nimble, creative and innovative,” added Grey. “Paramount also has the distinct advantage of being part of the Viacom family, giving us the ability to leverage its portfolio of powerful and youthful brands to create and market great films and consumer products.”

While Paramount has released an array of successful animated films in its history, the company’s first fully owned CGI animated property was Rango, released to great acclaim in March 2011. The Western, directed by Gore Verbinski and featuring the voice of Johnny Depp in the title role, has grossed over $240 million worldwide and is the best reviewed animated movie so far this year.

Last week’s release of Transformers: Dark of the Moon marks the 5th consecutive film to surpass $100 million in domestic box office revenue for Paramount, a milestone which has never been accomplished before in the industry. Overall, the last 12 months have brought the studio a series of box office and critical successes, including Super 8, Marvel’s Thor, Paranormal Activity 2, Justin Beiber: Never Say Never, DWA’s Kung Fu Panda 2, Jackass 3D, True Grit and The Fighter. Upcoming Paramount movies include Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, The Adventures of Tintin and the remake of Footloose.


About Paramount Pictures Corporation
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Review: "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead's Man Chest" a Bloated Corpse

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 146 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)
Running time: 2 hours, 31 minutes
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of adventure violence, including frightening images
DIRECTOR: Gore Verbinski
WRITERS: Ted Elliot & Terry Rossio (based upon characters created by Stuart Beattie, Jay Wolpert, and Elliot & Rossio and Walt Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean)
PRODUCER: Jerry Bruckheimer
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Dariusz Walski
EDITOR: Stephen E. Rivkin and Craig Wood
Academy Award winner

FANTASY/ADVENTURE/DRAMA/COMEDY

Starring: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Jack Davenport, Bill Nighy, Jonathan Pryce, Lee Arenberg, Mackenzie Cook, Kevin McNally, David Bailie, Stellan Skarsgård, Tom Hollander, Geoffrey Rush, Naomie Harris

When Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl debuted in early July 2003, it had already received mixed reviews from the nation’s major movie critics – many of them deriding the film for having been derived from the Walt Disney theme park ride, “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Disney certainly expected the film to be a hit, but surely they didn’t think it would gross just over $305 million in domestic box office take or go on to do just under $654 million in worldwide business. The Curse of the Black Pearl was the proverbial dumb and silly film that was very well made, a fantasy adventure that caught the imaginations of a broad audience, in particularly that all-important summer demographic – the family. Johnny Depp even earned an Oscar nomination for playing Pirates’ charming rogue of an anti-hero, Captain Jack Sparrow. All in all, this movie delightfully surprised me when I expected so little.

The first of two sequels just opened. Ironically, this new film, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, actually turned out to be the un-fun dumb movie that I expected the first to one to be. It’s everything bad summer movies usually are – full of sound and fury signifying nothing, nothing, and nothing again.

Dead Man’s Chest opens to find the first film’s young lovers, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom, seems bored with this part) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley, ditto), imprisoned for aiding and abetting Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp impersonating a robot impersonating him from the first Pirates movie). The couple’s nemesis is Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander), a British official with warrants for their arrests, as well as that of Sparrow, but Beckett’s really after something else. Will makes a deal with Beckett that would free him and Elizabeth, but Will has to find Sparrow and retrieve Sparrow’s apparently enchanted compass for Beckett. Elizabeth later escapes prison with the aid of her father, Governor Weatherby Swann (Jonathan Pryce), and makes her own deal with Beckett to find Sparrow.

Meanwhile, we learn that 13-years ago or so, Sparrow made a deal with cursed sea captain, Davy Jones (played by Bill Nighy with much assistance from CGI). For the cost of his soul, Sparrow got to be captain of a ship, the Black Pearl. Now, Jones, who has an octopus-like head, has returned from the gloomy ocean depths to claim his payment: Sparrow must hand himself over to Jones’ servitude and join the other sea phantoms aboard Jones’ ghostly ship, the Flying Dutchman. Sparrow’s only way out is to give Jones 100 souls in exchange for his one, but Sparrow doesn’t intend to honor even that deal. Sparrow intends to find the dead man’s chest. Buried in some secret location, it holds Davy Jones still-beating heart. The man or woman who possesses it can destroy Jones and/or rule the seas. Sparrow, however, isn’t the only one who wants the treasure of the dead man’s chest, and the fight to find it means that Jack Sparrow may not meet his deadline to appease Davy Jones.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest looks and sounds exactly like the first film, but whereas the first film was fun and filled with the spirit of adventure, Dead Man’s Chest is much darker. Magic and curses play a larger part, and the lead characters: Sparrow, Will Turner, and Elizabeth Swann are all in much more peril. That makes for a film rotten with the stench of gloom, doom, and peril, which wouldn’t be bad if that made Dead Man’s Chest a good movie. Like everything else in this flick (acting, directing, shamelessness, etc.), this dark mood lands with resounding thud.

Dead Man’s Chest is noisy and ponderous, a lazy flick that goes nowhere. It begins well enough with an island misadventure – Sparrow, his Black Pearl crew, and Will Turner engaging in a madcap escape from a tribe of cannibals, but that’s the only bit of slapstick from this flick that recalls the original. It has a lot of potential, with many of the scenes and sub-plots ripe to deliver a good time, but ultimately the moviemakers just fumble it away. It’s hard to believe, but after 2½ hours, this movie goes nowhere. Dead Man’s Chest is just a setup for the third film in this franchise, which is currently titled, Pirates of the Caribbean: The World’s End (the second and third films were shot back-to-back). Dead Man’s Chest seems like the chopped-off half of a longer story because it is. I only hope that this next film, scheduled for release Summer 2007, is the better half.

3 of 10
C-

Saturday, July 08, 2006

NOTES:
2007 Academy Awards: 1 win for “Best Achievement in Visual Effects” (John Knoll, Hal T. Hickel, Charles Gibson, and Allen Hall); 3 nominations for “Best Achievement in Art Direction” (Rick Heinrichs, art director and Cheryl Carasik, set decorator), “Best Achievement in Sound Editing” (Christopher Boyes, George Watters II), and “Best Achievement in Sound Mixing” (Paul Massey, Christopher Boyes, Lee Orloff)


2007 BAFTA Awards: 1 win for “Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects” (John Knoll, Hal T. Hickel, Charles Gibson, and Allen Hall); and four nominations for costume design, make up/hair, production design, and sound


2007 Golden Globes: 1 nomination for actor-motion picture comedy/musical (Johnny Depp)

Review: "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" is a Surprise

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 111 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Running time: 143 minutes; MPAA – PG-13 for action/adventure violence
DIRECTOR: Gore Verbinski
WRITERS: Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio, from a screen story by Stuart Beattie, Jay Wolpert, and Ted Elliot & Terry Rossio
PRODUCER: Jerry Bruckheimer
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Darius Wolski (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Stephen E. Rivkin, Arthur Schmidt, and Craig Wood
Academy Award nominee

FANTASY/ACTION/ADVENTURE/HISTORICAL with elements of romance

Starring: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Jack Davenport, Jonathan Pryce, Lee Arenberg, Mackenzie Crook, Zoe Saldana, and Isaac C. Singleton, Jr.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that some movie critics and reviewers are stanking on Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl mainly because the movie is loosely based on a theme park ride at Disney World. That’s beside the point; it’s not like a theme park ride is the worst thing upon which a movie could be based, especially since we’ve all lost track of how many movies have been based upon skits from “Saturday Night Live.” All that really matters is the question whether this is a fun film or not, which it is – the rousing good, old-fashioned adventure film that Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas tried to be. I guess I should also mention that I have an incredible weakness for pirate films, so that could color my judgment.

Will Turner (Orlando Bloom, sexy elf-warrior from the Lord of the Rings films), a talented blacksmith, joins a the pirate captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and becomes a pirate himself to rescue the love of his life, Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) from the wicked pirates of the fearsome ship, The Black Pearl. Led by their mutinous Captain Barbosa (Geoffrey Rush), the men of the Pearl are cursed and must break the ancient spell with the blood of Elizabeth.

Directed by Gore Verbinski (The Ring), Black Pearl is an SFX-laden movie distraction that’s worth the time distracted. The plot is bare (then, again aren’t most made-to-order blockbusters thin on plot), and the story gets muddled at the end, hitting more than it’s share of sand bars. Don’t think, enjoy. High production values, costumes, great sets, wonderful backdrops and vistas, the open sea, nasty pirates, colonial military, brave sea dogs, and a bucketful of obstacles facing our heroes – it’s the makings of a movie meant for summer or holiday release. If this is eye candy, it’s a sweet dessert without the worrisome aftertaste of plot and story that stays with you.

I always say that the price of a ticket is worth the cost if you can find at least two performances worth watching. Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow is a campy, burlesque pirate with an over-the-top nutty flavor. Every time you think that Sparrow might become annoying, Depp, in swarthy getup, rises to the occasion with a flourish of hand gestures and twisted facial expressions that for some unearthly reason endear him to the audience again. Not to be outdone, Geoffrey Rush, a very fine actor, hams it up with same intensity that he’d give to a “serious and worthy dramatic film. He gets inside Pirates, sloshes around when he wants to be zombie suave and then turns on nasty ooze when he’s supposed to be a really, really, really bad man.

Pirates of the Caribbean might occasionally play at being a pirate film in the classic tradition of old Hollywood, but it’s true to its modern roots. It’s a get-on-and-ride attraction with all the ups-and-downs and thrill machine delivery that Disney engineering creates in theme park rides.

6 of 10
B

NOTES:
2004 Academy Awards: 5 nominations for “Best Actor in a Leading Role” (JohnnyDepp), “Best Makeup” (Ve Neill, Martin Samuel), “Best Sound Editing” (Christopher Boyes, George Watters II), “Best Sound Mixing” (Christopher Boyes, David Parker, David E. Campbell, Lee Orloff), “Best Visual Effects” (John Knoll, Hal T. Hickel, Charles Gibson, Terry D. Frazee)

2004 BAFTA Awards: 1 win for “Best Make Up/Hair” (Ve Neill, Martin Samuel); and four nominations for “Best Actor in a Leading Role” (Johnny Depp), “Best Costume” (Penny Rose), “Best Sound” (Christopher Boyes, George Watters II, David Parker, David E. Campbell, Lee Orloff)

2004 Golden Globes: 1 nomination for actor-motion picture comedy/musical (Depp)

Review: "At World's End" Excellent Conclusion to Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 03 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007)
Running time: 168 minutes (2 hours, 48 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of action/adventure violence and some frightening images
DIRECTOR: Gore Verbinski
WRITERS: Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio; based upon characters created by Stuart Beattie, Jay Wolpert, and Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio and based upon the Walt Disney theme park attraction
PRODUCER: Jerry Bruckheimer
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Dariusz Wolski (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Stephen Rivkin and Craig Wood
Academy Award nominee

ACTION/FANTASY/ADVENTURE

Starring: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush, Bill Nighy, Tom Hollander, Naomie Harris, Chow Yun-Fat, Jack Davenport, Jonathan Pryce, Lee Arenberg, Mackenzie Cook, Kevin McNally, Stellan Skarsgård, and Keith Richards

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End is an extravagant, entertaining, and exciting finish to the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, which hit a bump with the middle segment, the hugely boring, excessive, and gaudy CGI lump, Dead Man’s Chest.

Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) are allied with the resurrected Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) in a desperate quest to free Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) from the surreal and mind-bending afterlife trap that is Davy Jones' locker. The trio strikes a deal with the Chinese Pirate lord, Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat), for a map to guide them to Davy Jones’ locker.

Meanwhile, Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander) of the East India Trading Company has control of the terrifying ghost ship, The Flying Dutchman, and its captain, Davy Jones (Bill Nighy). Doing Beckett’s bidding, Jones and the Dutchman wreak havoc across the Seven Seas, destroying all pirate vessels and helping Beckett achieve his dream of ending piracy.

To save their way of life, Barbossa calls for a truly rare event, a meeting of the Brethren Court, a council the gathers the nine pirate lords of the Seven Seas. Treachery, however, abounds. Both Jack Sparrow and Will Turner secretly plot behind their colleagues’ backs – Sparrow to rid himself of his debt to Davy Jones and Turner to free his father “Bootstrap” Bill Turner (Stellan Skarsgård) from the Dutchman. All must ultimately choose a side in a final, titanic battle, as their lives, fortunes, and the entire future of the freedom-loving pirate way, hangs in the balance.

Amusing and exciting: I can say that about Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, but I certainly couldn’t say that about its predecessor, Dead Man’s Chest (2006). Whereas Dead Man’s Chest was painfully boring, exceedingly dull, and came across a mere filler material between the beginning and end of this story, At World’s End is showy (with costumes and production design that is so lavish it would give the Bourbons pause), amusing (a delightfully spry comedy for such a big budget production), and exciting (a whirlwind adventure that seems to span the seven seas, told in storytelling that is brisk and efficient).

Like they did in the original film, director Gore Verbinski and his stunt and special effects crew blended live action and CGI with such ease that the viewer might have a hard time separating solid realism from the magical un-real of Hollywood FX. In overseeing such an impressive blend of live action stunts and CGI wizardry (perhaps the best union of the two ever put on screen at that time), Verbinksi’s work was worthy of an Oscar nomination (which it didn’t get).

Verbinski’s success in directing this movie was also evident in the performances of his cast. Johnny Deep made Jack Sparrow a richer more dramatic character, and not just caricature fit for no more than merchandising. Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley brought a touch of romantic drama to their characters’ storyline, and in their own way, transformed At World’s End from merely a summer blockbuster into an old-fashioned romantic adventure right out of the 19th century.

7 of 10
B+

NOTES:
2008 Academy Awards: 2 nominations for “Best Achievement in Makeup” (Ve Neill, Martin Samuel) and “Best Achievement in Visual Effect” (John Knoll, Hal T. Hickel, Charlie Gibson, John Frazier)


2008 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination for “Best Special Visual Effects” (John Knoll, Hal T. Hickel, Charlie Gibson, John Frazier)

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