Friday, February 24, 2012
Happy Birthday, Laura
This day almost got by me (Thanks, Microsoft Works calendar). I wish you a Happy Birthday and many, many more.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Review: "Contagion" is Uncomfortably Real
Contagion (2011)
Running time: 106 minutes (1 hour, 46 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for disturbing content and some language
CINEMATOGRAPHER/DIRECTOR: Steven Soderbergh
WRITER: Scott Z. Burns
PRODUCERS: Gregory Jacobs, Michael Shamberg, and Stacey Sher
EDITOR: Stephen Mirrione
COMPOSER: Cliff Martinez
DRAMA/THRILLER
Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Bryan Cranston, Jennifer Ehle, Sanaa Lathan, Elliot Gould, Chin Han, John Hawkes, Anna Jacoby-Heron, and Enrico Colantoni
Contagion is a 2011 film from director Steven Soderbergh. Essentially an ensemble drama and thriller, Contagion documents the spread of a virus that turns into a global pandemic, causing worldwide social chaos. Meanwhile, government officials try to contain it and medical officials try to identify the virus in order to create a vaccine for it. Contagion is a smart, scary disaster movie that will simultaneously give you the creeps while making you wonder if you are prepared for a pandemic.
The film begins by focusing on Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow), a businesswoman in Hong Kong. Unbeknownst to her, Beth returns to the United States bringing with her a pestilence that will leave half her immediate family dead. From there, the story focuses on countless players dealing with the aftermath of the virus that is eventually named, MEV-1. Beth’s husband, Mitch Emhoff (Matt Damon), balances his need to protect his daughter, Jory (Anna Jacoby-Heron), who is frustrated with the quarantine, with her need to be a teenager. Alan Krumwiede (Jude Law), an Internet blogger who is obsessed with conspiracy theories, schemes to make money off the chaos created by the spread of the virus.
At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Dr. Ellis Cheever (Laurence Fishburne) leads a team trying to identify the virus, contain it, and create a vaccine for it. A World Health Organization (WHO) epidemiologist, Dr. Leonora Orantes (Marion Cotillard), travels to Hong Kong to trace the origin of the virus. CDC scientist, Dr. Ally Hextall (Jennifer Ehle), feels the pressure to find a cure, so she makes a decision that is either selfish or selfless. Meanwhile, fear and mass hysteria spread faster than the contagion.
Contagion has no single protagonist and no outright human antagonist. However, because it is an ensemble drama, Contagion can explore multiple themes, such as mass panic, loss of social order, the limitations of government during a disaster, cronyism, and greed, etc., from the view point of multiple characters.
Director Steven Soderbergh has this film jumping from one character and plot to the next. Because the characters are so well-defined and the plots so riveting, he always leaves the viewer wanting more, which can directly engage the viewer with the story, almost as if it were a real event. Contagion’s ultra-realism makes the movie feel more human and less post-human like so many modern, computer effects enhanced film thrillers. Of course, Soderbergh has an excellent multi-layered script by Scott Z. Burns from which to work. This reach and scope of this screenplay practically demands that Burns or someone else turn it into a novel.
Contagion is by no means perfect. It burns so hot, which is why it is so intense as a thriller, but Soderbergh needed to dial that back a few notches in certain parts of the story. Sometimes, the film is too aloof when it needs to stop and focus longer on certain characters in certain scenes.
7 of 10
A-
NOTES:
2012 Black Reel Awards: 1 nomination: “Outstanding Supporting Actor” (Laurence Fishburne)
2012 Image Awards: 1 nomination: “Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture” (Laurence Fishburne)
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
---------------------------
Review: "Full Frontal" is a Frontal Assault on Hollywood Sameness
Full Frontal (2002)
Running time: 101 minutes (1 hour, 41 minutes)
MPAA – R for language and some sexual content
DIRECTOR: Steven Soderbergh
WRITER: Coleman Hough
PRODUCERS: Gregory Jacobs and Scott Kramer
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Peter Andrews (Steven Soderbergh)
EDITOR: Sarah Flack
COMPOSER: Jacques Davidovici
COMEDY/DRAMA/ROMANCE
Starring: Julia Roberts, Blair Underwood, David Duchovny, Nicky Katt, Catherine Keener, David Hyde Pierce, Tracey Vilar, Mary McCormack, Jeff Garlin, Erika Alexander, Enrico Colantoni with Terrence Stamp, David Fincher, and Brad Pitt
Steven Soderbergh laid down the law to his large cast of stars for his low budget ($2 million) film, Full Frontal, denying them the amenities that movie stars have come to expect on the sets of films in which they appear (star). Apparently, he really wanted the focus to be on actually making a film and less on the celebrity politics of Hollywood filmmaking. Full Frontal is one of those “meta” films like Spike Jonze’s two films, Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, in which there is a film within a film within a film, a story within a story, and a play within a play. All the elements: filmmakers, actors, characters, settings, story and script blend together to create some kind of hyper fictional/documentary movie hybrid.
Full Frontal follows a day in the life of a group of men and women in Hollywood as they approach an evening birthday party for their friend Gus/Bill (David Duchovny). If you’re wondering why Duchovny’s character has two names it’s because this is a movie within a movie, and some of the film’s characters have dual identities: one is a “real person” and the other is a fictional character. If this is confusing, it is because Full Frontal can be very hard to follow, unlike the aforementioned Spike Jonze films which were both written by Charlie Kaufman and which were both very easy to follow.
Julia Roberts and Blair Underwood (an under appreciated and underutilized actor likely because he is Africa-American) play dual parts and it’s a doozy to separate the lives of four characters that are so alike both professionally and personally. The script by Coleman Hough has that thing we all look for in a story that’s supposed to engage us – pathos. It is a fine dramatic presentation of several slices of several lives ably put to words, and Soderbergh expertly captures the sometimes-farcical nature of life and the sometimes quiet, sometimes manic nature of the beast that is romance.
Full Frontal is a movie within a movie and a film about filmmaking for people who really like movies. Yes, it’s sometimes confusing and following it is occasionally arduous, but numerous excellent performances, sharp film editing, and some neat star cameos make it worth the effort. Steven Soderbergh is a gifted, imaginative and inventive director who really loves to play around with the process of making movies, so anything he makes is not just interesting; it’s damn interesting. Plus, Full Frontal is such an absolute pleasure to watch, even if it bends the mind one too many times.
8 of 10
A
-------------------------
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
"The Descendants" Wins USC Libraries Scripter Award
The Descendants Ascend with Scripter Win
Authors and screenwriters of the family drama take the 2012 USC Libraries Scripter Award
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Author Kaui Hart Hemmings and screenwriters Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash won the 24th-annual USC Libraries Scripter Award for their creative contributions to The Descendants. Selection committee co-chair Naomi Foner announced the winners at the black-tie ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 18.
“This is such a wonderful honor and to be part of something that celebrates and puts books on a pedestal and none of this would have been possible without Kaui’s wonderful book,” said Rash. “It was such a wonderful journey for us to fall in love with the book and have the opportunity to turn it into the film.”
Hemmings noted that the collaboration has been a positive experience for her.
“An adaptation can sometimes bring so many more readers that I never would have had and to have those readers say that they love both the book and the film and that they work so well together is such a blessing,” she said.
Payne—who was unable to attend—has been a Scripter finalist twice before for his work on the adaptations About Schmidt and Sideways. Payne also directed The Descendants. Faxon acknowledged Payne’s critical decision-making skills in his acceptance speech.
“I am thankful to Alexander Payne for directing such a beautiful film and I think he was right in the end—it was a good call casting George Clooney and not me,” Faxon joked. “That ended up being a benefit.”
The Descendants’ Scripter win adds to its many accolades. The film has been named the American Film Institute’s Movie of the Year and the best film of the year by the Los Angeles, Dallas, Florida, Kansas City, and Southeastern film critics associations, among others. It was named the best drama of the year at the Golden Globes and is nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay.
The Scripter gala, presented by the Friends of the USC Libraries, honors each year’s best cinematic adaptation of the written word. Scripter is the only award of its kind that honors screenwriters as well as the author of the work upon which the adaptation is based.
With filmmaker and USC alumnus Taylor Hackford (‘67, International Relations) and Academy Award-winning actress Helen Mirren serving as honorary dinner chairs, USC Libraries Dean Catherine Quinlan welcomed the attendees to USC’s historic Edward L. Doheny Memorial Library.
“The authors and screenwriters of these books, plays, stories, and screenplays embody the stellar, transformative accomplishments our libraries inspire and make possible.” Quinlan added that by supporting the libraries, all who attended were “supporting the academic and artistic excellence of the entire university.”
The other finalists for the 2012 Scripter Award, in alphabetical order by film title, were: screenwriter Christopher Hampton for A Dangerous Method, adapted from the nonfiction book A Most Dangerous Method: The Story of Jung, Freud, and Sabina Spielrein by John Kerr and the 2002 stage play The Talking Cure by Hampton; screenwriter Moira Buffini for Jane Eyre, adapted from the 1847 book by Charlotte Brontë; screenwriters Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, and Stan Chervin for Moneyball, based on Michael Lewis’ book, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game; and screenwriters Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughan and author John le Carré for the thriller Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
Co-chaired by Golden Globe-winning screenwriter Naomi Foner and USC screenwriting professor and vice president of the Writers Guild of America, West, Howard Rodman, the Scripter selection committee chose The Descendants as the year’s best adaptation from a field of 109 eligible films.
The 32-member selection committee included film critics Kenneth Turan and Leonard Maltin; Fox Filmed Entertainment co-chairman and chief executive officer Tom Rothman; screenwriters Eric Roth, Geoffrey Fletcher, and Gale Anne Hurd; author Michael Chabon; and USC deans Catherine Quinlan, Elizabeth M. Daley and Madeline Puzo.
Academy Award-winning screenwriter Paul Haggis accepted the 5th-annual USC Libraries Scripter Literary Achievement Award. Haggis’ credits include the screenplays for films such as Crash, Million Dollar Baby, and the two James Bond films starring Daniel Craig, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.
During his acceptance speech, Haggis spoke about the influence his parents had on his writing career.
“They encouraged me from a young age largely because they saw I wasn’t good at much else,” Haggis joked. “You have to be a little emotionally unstable to be in this kind of profession—it’s a ridiculous profession, writing.”
“I’m very proud to be here with my daughters tonight—all three of whom grew up to choose ridiculous and difficult careers, in writing, in art, and in music,” Haggis explained. “I’m trying to learn the lesson my parents taught me—to encourage your children to be ridiculous to take on ridiculous challenges, choose ridiculous careers. Only by doing that do they really have a chance to be great.”
Haggis—along with author F. X. Toole—also captured a USC Libraries Scripter Award for Million Dollar Baby in 2005.
This year’s in-kind sponsors included Esquire Bar & Lounge (Pasadena, Calif.); the Wine of the Month Club; John and Dana Agamalian and Blue Ice Vodka; Barry Eggleston II of the Exotic Car Collection by Enterprise; Final Draft Inc., Movie Magic: Screenwriter; Paperblanks; and thinkThin.
For more details on Scripter—including additional images from the ceremony—visit http://scripter.usc.edu/.
Authors and screenwriters of the family drama take the 2012 USC Libraries Scripter Award
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Author Kaui Hart Hemmings and screenwriters Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash won the 24th-annual USC Libraries Scripter Award for their creative contributions to The Descendants. Selection committee co-chair Naomi Foner announced the winners at the black-tie ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 18.
“This is such a wonderful honor and to be part of something that celebrates and puts books on a pedestal and none of this would have been possible without Kaui’s wonderful book,” said Rash. “It was such a wonderful journey for us to fall in love with the book and have the opportunity to turn it into the film.”
Hemmings noted that the collaboration has been a positive experience for her.
“An adaptation can sometimes bring so many more readers that I never would have had and to have those readers say that they love both the book and the film and that they work so well together is such a blessing,” she said.
Payne—who was unable to attend—has been a Scripter finalist twice before for his work on the adaptations About Schmidt and Sideways. Payne also directed The Descendants. Faxon acknowledged Payne’s critical decision-making skills in his acceptance speech.
“I am thankful to Alexander Payne for directing such a beautiful film and I think he was right in the end—it was a good call casting George Clooney and not me,” Faxon joked. “That ended up being a benefit.”
The Descendants’ Scripter win adds to its many accolades. The film has been named the American Film Institute’s Movie of the Year and the best film of the year by the Los Angeles, Dallas, Florida, Kansas City, and Southeastern film critics associations, among others. It was named the best drama of the year at the Golden Globes and is nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay.
The Scripter gala, presented by the Friends of the USC Libraries, honors each year’s best cinematic adaptation of the written word. Scripter is the only award of its kind that honors screenwriters as well as the author of the work upon which the adaptation is based.
With filmmaker and USC alumnus Taylor Hackford (‘67, International Relations) and Academy Award-winning actress Helen Mirren serving as honorary dinner chairs, USC Libraries Dean Catherine Quinlan welcomed the attendees to USC’s historic Edward L. Doheny Memorial Library.
“The authors and screenwriters of these books, plays, stories, and screenplays embody the stellar, transformative accomplishments our libraries inspire and make possible.” Quinlan added that by supporting the libraries, all who attended were “supporting the academic and artistic excellence of the entire university.”
The other finalists for the 2012 Scripter Award, in alphabetical order by film title, were: screenwriter Christopher Hampton for A Dangerous Method, adapted from the nonfiction book A Most Dangerous Method: The Story of Jung, Freud, and Sabina Spielrein by John Kerr and the 2002 stage play The Talking Cure by Hampton; screenwriter Moira Buffini for Jane Eyre, adapted from the 1847 book by Charlotte Brontë; screenwriters Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, and Stan Chervin for Moneyball, based on Michael Lewis’ book, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game; and screenwriters Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughan and author John le Carré for the thriller Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
Co-chaired by Golden Globe-winning screenwriter Naomi Foner and USC screenwriting professor and vice president of the Writers Guild of America, West, Howard Rodman, the Scripter selection committee chose The Descendants as the year’s best adaptation from a field of 109 eligible films.
The 32-member selection committee included film critics Kenneth Turan and Leonard Maltin; Fox Filmed Entertainment co-chairman and chief executive officer Tom Rothman; screenwriters Eric Roth, Geoffrey Fletcher, and Gale Anne Hurd; author Michael Chabon; and USC deans Catherine Quinlan, Elizabeth M. Daley and Madeline Puzo.
Academy Award-winning screenwriter Paul Haggis accepted the 5th-annual USC Libraries Scripter Literary Achievement Award. Haggis’ credits include the screenplays for films such as Crash, Million Dollar Baby, and the two James Bond films starring Daniel Craig, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.
During his acceptance speech, Haggis spoke about the influence his parents had on his writing career.
“They encouraged me from a young age largely because they saw I wasn’t good at much else,” Haggis joked. “You have to be a little emotionally unstable to be in this kind of profession—it’s a ridiculous profession, writing.”
“I’m very proud to be here with my daughters tonight—all three of whom grew up to choose ridiculous and difficult careers, in writing, in art, and in music,” Haggis explained. “I’m trying to learn the lesson my parents taught me—to encourage your children to be ridiculous to take on ridiculous challenges, choose ridiculous careers. Only by doing that do they really have a chance to be great.”
Haggis—along with author F. X. Toole—also captured a USC Libraries Scripter Award for Million Dollar Baby in 2005.
This year’s in-kind sponsors included Esquire Bar & Lounge (Pasadena, Calif.); the Wine of the Month Club; John and Dana Agamalian and Blue Ice Vodka; Barry Eggleston II of the Exotic Car Collection by Enterprise; Final Draft Inc., Movie Magic: Screenwriter; Paperblanks; and thinkThin.
For more details on Scripter—including additional images from the ceremony—visit http://scripter.usc.edu/.
"Pride" is Also About Determination
Pride (2007)
Running time: 109 minutes (1 hour, 49 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for thematic material, language including some racial epithets, and violence
DIRECTOR: Sunu Gonera
WRITERS: Kevin Michael Smith & Michael Gozzard, J. Mills Goodloe, and Norman Vance, Jr.
PRODUCERS: Brett Forbes, Patrick Rizzotti, Michael Ohoven, Adam Rosenfelt, and Paul Hall
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Matthew F. Leonetti
EDITOR: Billy Fox, A.C.E.
DRAMA/HISTORICAL
Starring: Terrence Howard, Bernie Mac, Kimberly Elise, Tom Arnold, Brandon Fobbs, Alphonso McAuley, Regine Nehy, Nate Parker, Kevin Phillips, Scott Reeves, Evan Ross, and Gary Sturgis
Pride is a 2007 biopic and drama starring Terrence Howard and Bernie Mac. The film is loosely based upon the true story of Philadelphia swim coach, James “Jim” Ellis, who, in 1971, formed the first swim team made of African-American swimmers.
In 1973, Jim Ellis (Terrence Howard), a college educated African-American, arrives in Philadelphia looking for work. He lands a job with the Philadelphia Department of Recreation to begin closing the Marcus Foster Recreational Center. Instead, he refurbishes the rundown center’s abandoned swimming pool, and then, shocks this local inner city community by forming a swim team. With the help of the center’s janitor, Elston (Bernie Mac), Ellis forms Philadelphia’s first black swim team. He recruits from a group of young men who hang around the center, and eventually adds one female swimmer.
They struggle to be a winning swim team, but soon, Team PDR (Philadelphia Department of Recreation) is earning respect and also the ire of an all-white team, the Barracudas, the swim team of the affluent Main Line Academy. Team PDR heads for their biggest competitive test at the Eastern Regional Swimming Final, but a dark incident from Coach Ellis’ past might sink their dreams.
Pride might come across as an amalgamation of many different Hollywood sports movies, especially those based on true stories or real life events. Out of its clichés, however, comes a truly inspirational film that is both an uplifting and moving story about a teacher who encourages his pupils to be not just proud, but also determined and resolute in pursuing their goals.
The film isn’t marked by any great performances, but both Terrence Howard and Bernie Mac give high-quality turns as the fatherly and stern, but loving African-American role models. Howard as Ellis seems strangely serene, but he cleverly hides Ellis’ passion and firebrand spirit until the moments that it is most needed. Mac’s performance exposes Elston as a terse, but gentlemanly father figure who simply wants more for the young people of his community. In a time when so many are cynical without really knowing why they should be, a film like Pride will seem like a stereotype. Taken in context, however, Pride is a winning film about a man who taught marginalized children to be proud.
7 of 10
B+
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
NOTES:
2008 Image Awards: 2 nominations: “Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture” (Terrence Howard) and “Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture (Theatrical or Television)” (Sunu Gonera)
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Cinema Audio Society Honors "Hugo"
Founded in 1964, the Cinema Audio Society is a philanthropic, non-profit organization formed for the purpose of sharing information with Sound Professionals in the Motion Picture and Television Industry. Cinema Audio Society Awards or The C.A.S. Awards is an annual awards ceremony honoring “Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing” and began doing so 1994.
The Cinema Audio Society Awards for “Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing” for 2011 nominees and winners (in bold):
MOTION PICTURES:
WINNER:
Hugo
Production Mixer: John Midgley
Re-recording Mixer: Tom Fleischman, CAS
Scoring Mixer: Simon Rhodes
Hanna
Production Mixer: Roland Winke
Re-recording Mixers: Christopher Scarabosio, Craig Berkey, CAS
Scoring Mixer: Andrew Dudman
Moneyball
Production Mixer: Ed Novick
Re-recording Mixers: Deb Adair, CAS, Ron Bochar, CAS, David Giammarco
Scoring Mixer: Brad Haehnel
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Production Mixer: Lee Orloff, CAS
Re-recording Mixers: Paul Massey, CAS, Christopher Boyes
Scoring Mixer: Alan Meyerson
Super 8
Production Mixer: Mark Ulano, CAS
Re-recording Mixers: Tom Johnson, Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer
Scoring Mixer: Dan Wallin
TELEVISION MOVIES AND MINI-SERIES:
WINNER:
Too Big to Fail
Production Mixer: James J. Sabat, CAS
Re-recording Mixers: Chris Jenkins ,Bob Beemer, CAS
Scoring Mixer: Chris Fogel
Cinema Verite
Production Mixer: Petur Hliddal
Re-recording Mixers: Lora Hirschberg, Scott Lewis, Douglas Murray
Scoring Mixer: Greg Townley
Innocent
Production Mixer: Shane Connelly
Re-recording Mixers: Mark Hensley, Tamara Johnson, CAS
Scoring Mixer: Tom Brissette
The Kennedys: Hour 7
Production Mixer: Henry Embry, CAS
Re-recording Mixer: Frank Morrone, CAS, Stephen Traub
Scoring Mixer: Larold Rebhun
Mildred Pierce : Part 5
Production Mixer: Drew Kunin
Re-recording Mixer: Leslie Shatz
Scoring Mixer: Todd Whitelock
TELEVISION SERIES:
WINNER
Boardwalk Empire – To The Lost
Production Mixer: Franklin D. Stettner, CAS
Re-recording Mixers: Tom Fleischman, CAS
Breaking Bad – Face Off
Production Mixer: Darryl L. Frank, CAS
Re-recording Mixers: Jeffrey Perkins, Eric Justen
Dexter – Just Let Go
Production Mixer: Greg Agalsoff
Re-recording Mixers: Pete Elia, CAS, Kevin Roache, CAS
Game of Thrones – Baelor
Production Mixer: Ronan Hill
Re-recording Mixer: Mark Taylor
The Walking Dead - What Lies Ahead
Production Mixer: Bartek Swiatek, CAS
Re-recording Mixers: Gary D. Rogers, CAS, Daniel J. Hiland, CAS
TELEVISION – NON-FICTION, Variety or Music – Series or Specials:
WINNER
Deadliest Catch: New Blood
Re-recording Mixer: Bob Bronow, CAS
American Experience – Triangle Fire
Production Mixer: G. John Garrett, CAS
Production Mixer: Rick Angelella
Production Mixer: Everett Wong
Re-recording Mixer: Coll Anderson
Bobby Fischer Against the World
Production Sound: Mark Maloof
Re-recording Mixer: Bill Marino
Great Performances At The Met: Nixon in China
Re-recording Mixer: Ken Hahn, CAS
Music Mixer: Jay David Saks
Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden
Production Mixer: John Harris
Re-recording Mixer: Brian Riordan, CAS
The Cinema Audio Society Technical Awards for 2011 nominees and winners (in bold):
PRODUCTION
WINNER Zaxcom Nomad Production Sound System
Calrec Apollo Broadcast Mixing Console (software release 1.6 and later)
Movie Slate Sound Dept. Plugin by Pureblend Software
Remote Audio Meon LiFe
Yamaha 01V96i Digital Mixer
POST PRODUCTION:
WINNER Avid Pro Tools 10
Avid Eucon Protocol Version 2.6.2
Dolby Media Meter 2
Izotope Ozone 5 Advanced
Meyer Sound Acheron Designer Screen Channel Loudspeaker
http://www.cinemaaudiosociety.org/
The Cinema Audio Society Awards for “Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing” for 2011 nominees and winners (in bold):
MOTION PICTURES:
WINNER:
Hugo
Production Mixer: John Midgley
Re-recording Mixer: Tom Fleischman, CAS
Scoring Mixer: Simon Rhodes
Hanna
Production Mixer: Roland Winke
Re-recording Mixers: Christopher Scarabosio, Craig Berkey, CAS
Scoring Mixer: Andrew Dudman
Moneyball
Production Mixer: Ed Novick
Re-recording Mixers: Deb Adair, CAS, Ron Bochar, CAS, David Giammarco
Scoring Mixer: Brad Haehnel
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Production Mixer: Lee Orloff, CAS
Re-recording Mixers: Paul Massey, CAS, Christopher Boyes
Scoring Mixer: Alan Meyerson
Super 8
Production Mixer: Mark Ulano, CAS
Re-recording Mixers: Tom Johnson, Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer
Scoring Mixer: Dan Wallin
TELEVISION MOVIES AND MINI-SERIES:
WINNER:
Too Big to Fail
Production Mixer: James J. Sabat, CAS
Re-recording Mixers: Chris Jenkins ,Bob Beemer, CAS
Scoring Mixer: Chris Fogel
Cinema Verite
Production Mixer: Petur Hliddal
Re-recording Mixers: Lora Hirschberg, Scott Lewis, Douglas Murray
Scoring Mixer: Greg Townley
Innocent
Production Mixer: Shane Connelly
Re-recording Mixers: Mark Hensley, Tamara Johnson, CAS
Scoring Mixer: Tom Brissette
The Kennedys: Hour 7
Production Mixer: Henry Embry, CAS
Re-recording Mixer: Frank Morrone, CAS, Stephen Traub
Scoring Mixer: Larold Rebhun
Mildred Pierce : Part 5
Production Mixer: Drew Kunin
Re-recording Mixer: Leslie Shatz
Scoring Mixer: Todd Whitelock
TELEVISION SERIES:
WINNER
Boardwalk Empire – To The Lost
Production Mixer: Franklin D. Stettner, CAS
Re-recording Mixers: Tom Fleischman, CAS
Breaking Bad – Face Off
Production Mixer: Darryl L. Frank, CAS
Re-recording Mixers: Jeffrey Perkins, Eric Justen
Dexter – Just Let Go
Production Mixer: Greg Agalsoff
Re-recording Mixers: Pete Elia, CAS, Kevin Roache, CAS
Game of Thrones – Baelor
Production Mixer: Ronan Hill
Re-recording Mixer: Mark Taylor
The Walking Dead - What Lies Ahead
Production Mixer: Bartek Swiatek, CAS
Re-recording Mixers: Gary D. Rogers, CAS, Daniel J. Hiland, CAS
TELEVISION – NON-FICTION, Variety or Music – Series or Specials:
WINNER
Deadliest Catch: New Blood
Re-recording Mixer: Bob Bronow, CAS
American Experience – Triangle Fire
Production Mixer: G. John Garrett, CAS
Production Mixer: Rick Angelella
Production Mixer: Everett Wong
Re-recording Mixer: Coll Anderson
Bobby Fischer Against the World
Production Sound: Mark Maloof
Re-recording Mixer: Bill Marino
Great Performances At The Met: Nixon in China
Re-recording Mixer: Ken Hahn, CAS
Music Mixer: Jay David Saks
Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden
Production Mixer: John Harris
Re-recording Mixer: Brian Riordan, CAS
The Cinema Audio Society Technical Awards for 2011 nominees and winners (in bold):
PRODUCTION
WINNER Zaxcom Nomad Production Sound System
Calrec Apollo Broadcast Mixing Console (software release 1.6 and later)
Movie Slate Sound Dept. Plugin by Pureblend Software
Remote Audio Meon LiFe
Yamaha 01V96i Digital Mixer
POST PRODUCTION:
WINNER Avid Pro Tools 10
Avid Eucon Protocol Version 2.6.2
Dolby Media Meter 2
Izotope Ozone 5 Advanced
Meyer Sound Acheron Designer Screen Channel Loudspeaker
http://www.cinemaaudiosociety.org/
Cheesy "Shark Night" Actually Has Some Bite
Shark Night 3D (2011)
Running time: 91 minutes (1 hour, 31 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for violence and terror, disturbing images, sexual references, partial nudity, language and thematic material
DIRECTOR: David R. Ellis
WRITERS: Will Hayes and Jesse Studenberg
PRODUCERS: Chris Briggs, Mike Fleiss, and Lynette Howell
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Gary Capo
EDITOR: Dennis Virkler
COMPOSER: Graeme Revell
HORROR
Starring: Sara Paxton, Dustin Milligan, Chris Carmack, Katharine McPhee, Joel David Moore, Donal Logue, Joshua Leonard, Sinqua Walls, Alyssa Diaz, and Chris Zylka
Set in Louisiana, Shark Night 3D is a 2011 3D horror movie directed by David R. Ellis, who directed two films in the Final Destination series. I did not see Shark Night in 3D; although I wanted to, it did not play in a theatre near me. After having seen it, I must admit that I am glad that I did not pay the inflated price for a 3D movie ticket to see it in a theatre.
The film introduces us to seven Tulane University undergraduates: Sara Palski (Sara Paxton), Nick LaDuca (Dustin Milligan), Beth (Katharine McPhee), Blake Hammond (Chris Zylka), Gordon (Joel David Moore), Malik (Sinqua Walls) and his girlfriend, Maya (Alyssa Diaz). They are going to spend the weekend at an island beach house on a private lake near Lake Pontchartrain. Their weekend of debauchery turns sour when one of them loses an arm in a waterskiing accident. When they discover that the accident is really a shark attack, their weekend becomes a hellish nightmare.
If nothing else, director David R. Ellis is a master of gruesome and bloody flesh-ripping death. Final Destination 2 and The Final Destination, Ellis’ two Final Destination films, are the most fun and most ghastly inventive of the lot. Shark Night 3D is similar in style and tone to both of these films, but the story isn’t well-developed nor the script well-written, even for something that is just a youth-oriented horror movie.
Ellis and his cast make this work to the degree that it is merely dumb fun. The young actors in Shark Night turn on the passion and dramatic theatrics, and they give it their all. Watching them, you might even get the idea that some of them are fighting for a part in a “Shakespeare in the park” production. This is not Jaws or even Deep Blue Sea, but it’s thrilling and enjoyable.
Plus, at the end of the credits, we are treated to an excellent and amusing rap music video featuring these young actors, and they are surprisingly good at rapping. Shark Night 3D doesn’t stop trying to entertain.
5 of 10
C+
Friday, February 10, 2012
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