Detroit Film Critics' Nominations Favor "The Help" and "The Artist"

The Detroit Film Critics Society was founded in Spring 2007 and currently consists of a group of 22 Michigan film critics who write or broadcast in the Detroit area as well as other major cities within a 150-mile radius of the city including Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing, and Flint, Michigan.

Each critic submitted his or her top 5 picks in 10 categories. From these submissions, each entry was given a point value and the top 5 in each category have been placed on the final ballot.

This year, one category, “Best Ensemble,” has a tie with 6 nominees. The 2011 winners will be announced on December 16th, 2011.  I'll keep you updated.

The Detroit Film Critics Society Nominations for 2011 (in alphabetical order):

1. BEST PICTURE
THE ARTIST
THE DESCENDANTS
HUGO
TAKE SHELTER
THE TREE OF LIFE

2. BEST DIRECTOR
MICHEL HAZANAVICIUS – THE ARTIST
TERRENCE MALICK – THE TREE OF LIFE
JEFF NICHOLS – TAKE SHELTER
MARTIN SCORSESE– HUGO
NICHOLAS WINDING REFN – DRIVE

3. BEST ACTOR
GEORGE CLOONEY– THE DESCENDANTS
JEAN DUJARDIN – THE ARTIST
MICHAEL FASSBENDER – SHAME
BRAD PITT – MONEYBALL
MICHAEL SHANNON – TAKE SHELTER

4. BEST ACTRESS
VIOLA DAVIS – THE HELP
FELICITY JONES – LIKE CRAZY
MERYL STREEP – THE IRON LADY
CHARLIZE THERON – YOUNG ADULT
MICHELLE WILLIAMS – MY WEEK WITH MARILYN

5. BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
KENNETH BRANAGH – MY WEEK WITH MARILYN
ALBERT BROOKS – DRIVE
RYAN GOSLING – CRAZY STUPID LOVE
PATTON OSWALT – YOUNG ADULT
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER – BEGINNERS

6. BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
BERENICE BEJO – THE ARTIST
JESSICA CHASTAIN – TAKE SHELTER
CAREY MULLIGAN - SHAME
VANESSA REDGRAVE – CORIOLANUS
OCTAVIA SPENCER – THE HELP

7. BEST ENSEMBLE
CARNAGE
CEDAR RAPIDS
CRAZY STUPID LOVE
THE HELP
MARGIN CALL
WIN WIN

8. BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
JESSICA CHASTAIN – THE HELP/TAKE SHELTER/THE TREE OF LIFE
FELICITY JONES – LIKE CRAZY
MELISSA MCCARTHY – BRIDESMAIDS
ELIZABETH OLSEN –MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE
SHAILENE WOODLEY– THE DESCENDANTS

9. BEST SCREENPLAY
50/50 – WILL REISER
THE ARTIST – MICHEL HAZANAVICIUS
BEGINNERS – MIKE MILLS
MONEYBALL – AARON SORKIN & STEVEN ZAILLIAN
TAKE SHELTER– JEFF NICHOLS

10. BEST DOCUMENTARY
INTO ETERNITY
INTO THE ABYSS
MARWENCOL
TABLOID
WE WERE HERE

http://detroitfilmcritics.com/Home_Page.html

Review: Can't Do Without "The Help" Movie

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 103 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Help (2011)
Running time: 146 minutes (2 hours, 26 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for thematic material
DIRECTOR: Tate Taylor
WRITER: Tate Taylor (based upon the novel by Kathryn Stockett)
PRODUCERS: Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, and Brunson Green
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Stephen Goldblatt (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Hughes Winborne
COMPOSER: Thomas Newman

DRAMA with elements of comedy

Starring: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Ahna O’Reilly, Allison Janney, Anna Camp, Eleanor and Emma Henry (twins), Chris Lowell, Cicely Tyson, Mike Vogel, Sissy Spacek, Brian Kerwin, Aunjanue Ellis, Leslie Jordan, Nelsan Ellis, and David Oyelowo

The Help is a 2011 historical drama that is based on the 2009 bestselling novel, The Help, from author Kathryn Stockett. Set in Mississippi during the 1960s, the film focuses on an aspiring author who decides to write a book detailing the experiences of the Black women who work as maids in the homes of White families.

After graduating from Ole Miss, Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan (Emma Stone) returns to her hometown of Jackson, Mississippi. She takes a job at a local newspaper writing a “homemaker hints” advice column. However, Skeeter’s mother, Charlotte (Allison Janney), wants her daughter to (1) be a southern society girl and (2) find a husband. Skeeter reconnects with her vacuous childhood friends who are all now young mothers and form a clique led by the snooty Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard).

Two things change Skeeter’s life. She does not believe her mother’s story about why Constantine Bates (Cicely Tyson), the beloved black maid who raised Skeeter, left the family. Skeeter also becomes uncomfortable with the attitude of her friends towards “the help,” the African-American maids who cook and clean for white folks, as well as parent their bosses’ children. Hilly becomes obsessed with the notion that the help not use their bosses’ bathrooms, so she launches the “Home Help Sanitation Initiative” a law that would require that homes have separate bathrooms for the help.

In response, Skeeter approaches Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis), the maid of her friend, Elizabeth Leefolt (Ahna O’Reilly), and asks her if she would mind being interviewed about her life spent taking care of other people’s homes. Reluctant at first, Aibileen consents and is also able to convince another maid, the sassy Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer), to contribute. As the women forge an unlikely friendship, they get caught in a turbulent time of change and the Civil Rights Movement.

Writer/director Tate Taylor often plays upon the proverbial “quiet dignity” of the Black maids, but his film comes on like a locomotive, because behind the quiet dignity is steely determination. This movie has such power to convey its messages and its ideas that I sometimes felt physically unprepared for the emotional toll it had on me – whether those emotions were happy or sad. I say that The Help is well-written and directed and has a number of exceptional performances because of its ability to convey with authenticity story, character, and setting.

As for the performances: Jessica Chastain is a scene-stealer as Celia Foote, the naïve young wife with child-bearing issues. Chastain crafts Celia as a struggle between the strength underneath and the soft-hearted nature that is the candy-coating. Bryce Dallas Howard is white-hot evil as the snotty racist, Hilly Holbrook, but she frequently and subtly reveals the character’s humanity at surprising moments.

Sadly, I see Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer’s bravura performances getting lost during the movie critics and film industry awards season. Emma Stone’s Skeeter is The Help’s bridge between the two separate worlds of Black and White, and she is a player on all sides of a class conflict. However, Viola Davis’ Aibileen Clark is this movie’s true anchor. Not only does Davis give a great performance, but she also embodies in Aibileen the toughness that makes an oppressed people both survive the evil ruling class and have the true grit to fight that evil.

Octavia Spencer’s Minny Jackson is simply one of those great supporting characters whose fight and spunk define the central conflict in a movie. At the end of the day, she’s not going to take anything from anyone that is the wrong thing, and The Help is about getting to what is the right thing. While Emma Stone gives a good performance, it is easy to see how she gets lost in a sea of superb performances, although Skeeter is the most important player – the central character that connects the disparate parts.

If I had to point to the one thing that makes The Help a grand film, it is that the emotions are genuine; they feel real. Writer/director Tate Taylor and his cast create a series of moments and scenes that come together to weave a narrative, one which comes to life with a sense of authenticity. When Aibileen talks about her son’s tragedy; when Minny fights her husband and employers; when Aibileen has to step to the side while grocery shopping; when Celia Foote yearns for a child; when Skeeter angrily explains to her mother the wrong done to Constantine, it all feels real. It is as if The Help were a true story. In a way, it is a true story, one told with fictional characters from a real time and place. That is why The Help is a bona fide standout in a field of fantasias and made-up stuff movies.

9 of 10
A+

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

"The Artist" and "Hugo" Dominate 2011 Critics' Choice Award Nominations

The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) has announced the nominees for the 17th annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards. The winners will be announced at the Critics' Choice Movie Awards ceremony on Friday, January 12, 2012.

BEST PICTURE

Nominees:
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

BEST ACTOR

Nominees:
George Clooney – “The Descendants”
Leonardo DiCaprio – “J. Edgar”
Jean Dujardin – “The Artist”
Michael Fassbender – “Shame”
Ryan Gosling – “Drive”
Brad Pitt – “Moneyball”

BEST ACTRESS

Nominees:
Viola Davis – “The Help”
Elizabeth Olsen – “Martha Marcy May Marlene”
Meryl Streep – “The Iron Lady”
Tilda Swinton – “We Need to Talk About Kevin”
Charlize Theron – “Young Adult”
Michelle Williams – “My Week With Marilyn”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Nominees:
Kenneth Branagh – “My Week With Marilyn”
Albert Brooks – “Drive”
Nick Nolte – “Warrior”
Patton Oswalt – “Young Adult”
Christopher Plummer – “Beginners”
Andrew Serkis – “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Nominees:
Berenice Bejo – “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain – “The Help”
Melissa McCarthy – “Bridesmaids”
Carey Mulligan – “Shame”
Octavia Spencer – “The Help”
Shailene Woodley – “The Descendants”

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS

Nominees:
Asa Butterfield – “Hugo”
Elle Fanning – “Super 8”
Thomas Horn – “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
Ezra Miller – “We Need to Talk About Kevin”
Saoirse Ronan – “Hanna”
Shailene Woodley – “The Descendants”

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE

Nominees:
The Artist
Bridesmaids
The Descendants
The Help
The Ides of March

BEST DIRECTOR

Nominees:
Stephen Daldry – “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
Michel Hazanavicius – “The Artist”
Alexander Payne – “The Descendants”
Nicolas Winding Refn – “Drive”
Martin Scorsese – “Hugo”
Steven Spielberg – “War Horse”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Nominees:
“The Artist” – Michel Hazanavicius
“50/50” – Will Reiser
“Midnight in Paris” – Woody Allen
“Win Win” – Screenplay by Tom McCarthy, Story by Tom McCarthy & Joe Tiboni
“Young Adult” – Diablo Cody

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Nominees:
“The Descendants” – Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” – Eric Roth
“The Help” – Tate Taylor
“Hugo” – John Logan
“Moneyball” – Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, Story by Stan Chervin

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Nominees:
“The Artist” – Guillaume Schiffman
“Drive” – Newton Thomas Sigel
“Hugo” – Robert Richardson
“The Tree of Life” – Emmanuel Lubezki
“War Horse” – Janusz Kaminski

BEST ART DIRECTION

Nominees:
“The Artist” – Production Designer: Laurence Bennett, Art Director: Gregory S. Hooper
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” – Production Designer: Stuart Craig, Set Decorator: Stephenie McMillan
“Hugo” – Production Designer: Dante Ferretti, Set Decorator: Francesca Lo Schiavo
“The Tree of Life” – Production Designer: Jack Fisk, Art Director: David Crank
“War Horse” – Production Designer: Rick Carter, Set Decorator: Lee Sandales

BEST EDITING

Nominees:
“The Artist” – Michel Hazanavicius and Anne-Sophie Bion
“Drive” – Matthew Newman
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” – Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
“Hugo” – Thelma Schoonmaker
“War Horse” – Michael Kahn

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Nominees:
“The Artist” – Mark Bridges
“The Help” – Sharen Davis
“Hugo” – Sandy Powell
“Jane Eyre” – Michael O’Connor
“My Week With Marilyn” – Jill Taylor

BEST MAKEUP

Nominees:
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Iron Lady
J. Edgar
My Week With Marilyn

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Nominees:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Super 8
The Tree of Life

BEST SOUND

Nominees:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Super 8
The Tree of Life
War Horse

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Nominees:
The Adventures of Tintin
Arthur Christmas
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

BEST ACTION MOVIE

Nominees:
Drive
Fast Five
Hanna
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Super 8

BEST COMEDY

Nominees:
Bridesmaids
Crazy, Stupid, Love
Horrible Bosses
Midnight in Paris
The Muppets

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Nominees:
In Darkness
Le Havre
A Separation
The Skin I Live In
Where Do We Go Now

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Nominees:
Buck
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
George Harrison: Living in the Material World
Page One: Inside the New York Times
Project Nim
Undefeated

BEST SONG

Nominees:
“Hello Hello” – performed by Elton John and Lady Gaga/written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin – Gnomeo & Juliet
“Life’s a Happy Song” – performed by Jason Segel, Amy Adams and Walter/written by Bret McKenzie – The Muppets
“The Living Proof” – performed by Mary J. Blige/written by Mary J. Blige, Thomas Newman and Harvey Mason, Jr. – The Help
“Man or Muppet” – performed by Jason Segel and Walter/written by Bret McKenzie – The Muppets
“Pictures in My Head” – performed by Kermit and the Muppets/written by Jeannie Lurie, Aris Archontis and Chen Neeman – The Muppets

BEST SCORE

Nominees:
“The Artist” – Ludovic Bource
“Drive” – Cliff Martinez
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” – Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
“Hugo” – Howard Shore
“War Horse” – John Williams


About The Broadcast Film Critics Association:
The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) is the largest film critics organization in the United States and Canada, representing 250 television, radio and online critics. BFCA members are the primary source of information for today's film going public. The very first opinion a moviegoer hears about new releases at the multiplex or the art house usually comes from one of its members.

AFI Names Its Top 10 Films and TV Series of 2011

The American Film Institute (AFI) describes itself as “America’s promise to preserve the history of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work and to educate the next generation of storytellers.” Their awards focus on American feature films and television programs.

AFI’s Ten Films of 2011:
BRIDESMAIDS

THE DESCENDANTS

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

THE HELP

HUGO

J. EDGAR

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

MONEY BALL

THE TREE OF LIFE

WAR HORSE

AFI’s Ten TV Programs of 2011:
Breaking Bad

Boardwalk Empire

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Game of Thrones

The Good Wife

Homeland

Justified

Louie

Modern Family

Parks and Recreation

AFI gave special awards to the film, The Artist, and the entire “Harry Potter” film series.

"Star Wars" Satire Makes 2011 Black List

The Black List is an annual collection of the “most-liked” unproduced screenplays of the year. The list is the child of Overbrook Entertainment executive, Franklin Leonard, and is selected by 307 industry readers.

The Top 10 (title, author(s), author representation, and development company:

1. The Imitation Game by Graham Moore (CAA, The Safran Co.)

2. When the Street Lights Go by Chris Hutton & Eddie O'Keefe (WME, Tariq Merhab Management)

3. Chewie by Evan Susser & Van Robichaux (WME, Industry Entertainment)

4. The Outsider by Andrew Baldwin (CAA, Anonymous Content)

5. Father Daughter Time: A Tale of Armed Robbery and Eskimo Kisses by Matthew Aldrich (CAA, Silent R Management)

6. In the Event of a Moon Disaster by Mike Jones (CAA, The Gotham Group)

7. TIE: Maggie by John Scott III (CAA, Trevor Kaufman) and The Current War by Michael Mitnick (WME, Fourth Floor Productions)

8. The End by Aron Eli Coleite (CAA)

9. Beyond the Pale by Chad Feehan (CAA, Management 360)

10. Ezekiel Moss by Keith Bunin (CAA, Kaplan/Perrone)

Chewie is apparently a satire of Star Wars, and there is at least one zombie movie in the top ten. As a side note, I had a rude encounter with Anonymous Content (see #4) over a science fiction comic book I created almost a decade ago. An employee at Anonymous Content feigned interest in the comic as a property they wanted to develop. After I spent my time and money to get them material, the employee just left me hanging. Next time I’ll do more than just play hard to get; I’m going to cuss a mutha out if they bother me.

For the complete 2011 Black List, including the screenplays that finished out of the top ten, go to http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/risky-business/black-list-2011-top-screenplays-272332

Boston Film Critics Pick "The Artist"

The Boston Society of Film Critics was formed in 1981. The group claims that its mission is to make “Boston's unique critical perspective heard on a national and international level by awarding commendations to the best of the year's films and filmmakers and local film theaters and film societies that offer outstanding film programming.”

2011 Winners:

Best Picture - The Artist

Best Actor - Brad Pitt for Moneyball

Best Actress - Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn

Best Supporting Actor - Albert Brooks for Drive

Best Supporting Actress - Melissa McCarthy for Bridesmaids

Best Director - Martin Scorsese for Hugo

Best Screenplay - Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin for Moneyball

Best Cinematography - Emmanuel Lubezki for The Tree of Life

Best Documentary - Project Nim

Best Foreign-Language Film - Incendies

Best Animated Film - Rango

Best Film Editing (awarded in memory of Karen Schmeer) - Christian Marclay for The Clock

Best New Filmmaker (awarded in memory of David Brudnoy) - Sean Durkin for Martha Marcy May Marlene

Best Ensemble Cast - Carnage

Best Use of Music in a Film - TIE: Drive and The Artist

"The Help" Passes $200 Million in Worldwide Box Office

DreamWorks Pictures and Participant Media’s “The Help” Surpasses $200M Worldwide

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DreamWorks Pictures announced Dec. 8 that its empowering film “The Help” has surpassed $200 million in worldwide ticket sales. “The Help,” directed and written for the screen by Tate Taylor, is based on the New York Times best-selling novel by Kathryn Stockett.

“The Help” has resonated with audiences around the globe, sparking conversation and comments across all media platforms from such notables as Oprah, Scott Fujita, Tyler Perry, Russell Simmons, Katy Perry, Diane Sawyer, Jason Whitlock, Jackie Jackson and others.

“The Help” stars Emma Stone (“Easy A”) as Skeeter, Academy Award®–nominated Viola Davis (“Doubt”) as Aibileen and Octavia Spencer as Minny—three very different, extraordinary women in Mississippi during the 1960s, who build an unlikely friendship around a secret writing project that breaks societal rules and puts them all at risk. Also starring Bryce Dallas Howard (“Hereafter”), Allison Janney (“Juno”), Academy Award®–winner Sissy Spacek (“In the Bedroom,” “Coal Miner’s Daughter”) and Jessica Chastain (“Tree of Life”), “The Help” is deeply moving, filled with poignancy, humor and hope—a timeless and universal story about the ability to create change.

Rounding out the cast are Ahna O’Reilly (“Forgetting Sarah Marshall”), Cicely Tyson (“Sounder,” “Fried Green Tomatoes”), Chris Lowell (“Up in the Air”), Mike Vogel (“Blue Valentine”), Aunjanue Ellis (“Ray”) and Mary Steenburgen (“Did You Hear About the Morgans?”).

From DreamWorks Pictures and Reliance Entertainment, in association with Participant Media and Imagenation Abu Dhabi, “The Help” was produced by Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan.

“The Help” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.