Disney Consumer Products Preps for Pixar's Big 2015

Disney Consumer Products Gears Up for a Powerful Year from Pixar

Innovative New Toy Lines from TOMY Supporting Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur Unveiled Ahead of Hong Kong Toys & Games Fair

GLENDALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Disney Consumer Products today unveiled exclusive details about the new global toy lines celebrating Disney∙Pixar’s Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur, debuting theatrically in the U.S. on June 19, 2015, and Nov. 25, 2015, respectively. Both movies will have robust toy lines from best-in-class licensee TOMY, whose innovative approach, strength in international markets and ability to reflect Pixar’s unique storytelling in its product lines made them the ideal choice for Pixar Animation Studios’ most exciting year yet.

    “When I visited TOMY's headquarters in Japan, I was impressed by their commitment to quality and craftsmanship. The toys they've created for Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur are fantastic—they've truly brought our characters to life.”

"We put our hearts into these films, so it's incredibly important to us that our toy-making partners care about and do justice to these characters we know so well," said John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer, Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios. "When I visited TOMY's headquarters in Japan, I was impressed by their commitment to quality and craftsmanship. The toys they've created for Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur are fantastic—they've truly brought our characters to life.”

TOMY’s toy line for Inside Out is inspired by the humor, visual style and whimsical elements within the film. The poseable character figures have light up features and all of the toys allow for self-expression and re-creation of key movie moments. The broad toy range for The Good Dinosaur appeals to kids of all ages, for both action figure play and more sophisticated remote control walking and talking. The unique characteristics of the film’s dinosaurs, such as how they move and run, are reflected in the toy line, and several working models were built and shared with filmmakers to get the movements just right. Additionally, RFID technology allows the characters to interact as they do in the film, bringing their unique personalities and stories to life.

“With the debut of Cars in 2006, we introduced personality and humor to toy vehicles adding a new dimension of storytelling to an established play pattern, and lifting the entire category at retail. Dinosaurs have always fascinated kids and we believe Pixar’s unique take on our prehistoric friends will have a similar impact on the way they play with them in the future,” said Josh Silverman, executive vice president global licensing, Disney Consumer Products.

Pixar films have a strong track record of success at the box office and at retail. 20 years after the theatrical release of Toy Story in 1995, a film that transformed the animation industry and jumpstarted a billion dollar toy franchise, Pixar stories and characters hold a unique place in audiences’ hearts and kids’ toy boxes. Toy Story 3 holds the title of the second biggest animated film of all time reaching more than $1 billion in global box office sales. The iconic 12 inch Buzz Lightyear action figures have sold in excess of 10 million units globally over the past decade.

This summer Disney Consumer Products will roll out a special toy line to celebrate Toy Story’s 20th anniversary that will include a broad assortment of characters in a collectible figure range, favorite characters in action figure form and true-to-film talking versions of Buzz, Woody and Jessie.

About Inside Out
From an adventurous balloon ride above the clouds to a monster-filled metropolis, Academy Award®-winning director Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc., Up) has taken audiences to unique and imaginative places. In Disney∙Pixar’s original movie Inside Out, he will take us to the most extraordinary location of all—inside the mind.

Growing up can be a bumpy road, and it's no exception for Riley, who is uprooted from her Midwest life when her father starts a new job in San Francisco. Like all of us, Riley is guided by her emotions – Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith). The emotions live in Headquarters, the control center inside Riley’s mind, where they help advise her through everyday life. As Riley and her emotions struggle to adjust to a new life in San Francisco, turmoil ensues in Headquarters. Although Joy, Riley's main and most important emotion, tries to keep things positive, the emotions conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house and school.

About The Good Dinosaur
The Good Dinosaur asks the generations-old question: What if the asteroid that forever changed life on Earth missed the planet completely and giant dinosaurs never became extinct? In theaters November 25, 2015, the film is a humorous and exciting original story about Arlo, a lively Apatosaurus with a big heart. After a traumatic event unsettles Arlo’s family, he sets out on a remarkable journey, gaining an unlikely companion along the way—a human boy. The Good Dinosaur is an extraordinary journey of self-discovery full of thrilling adventure, hilarious characters and poignant heart.

About Disney Consumer Products
Disney Consumer Products (DCP) is the business segment of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) that delivers innovative and engaging product experiences across thousands of categories from toys and apparel to books and fine art. As the world's largest licensor, DCP inspires the imaginations of people around the world by bringing the magic of Disney into consumers' homes with products they can enjoy year-round. DCP is comprised of three business units: Licensing, Publishing and Disney Store. The Licensing business is aligned around five strategic brand priorities: Disney Media, Classics & Entertainment, Disney & Pixar Animation Studios, Disney Princess & Disney Fairies, Lucasfilm and Marvel. Disney Publishing Worldwide (DPW) is the world's largest publisher of children's books, magazines, and digital products and also includes an English language learning business, consisting of Disney English learning centers across China and a supplemental learning book program. DPW's growing library of digital products includes best-selling eBook titles and original apps that leverage Disney content in innovative ways. The Disney Store retail chain operates across North America, Europe and Japan with more than 350 stores worldwide and is known for providing consumers with high-quality, unique products. Disney's official shopping portals online are www.DisneyStore.com and www.DisneyStore.co.uk. For more information, please visit Disney Consumer Products www.DisneyConsumerProducts.com or follow us at www.YouTube.com/DisneyLiving, www.Facebook.com/DisneyLiving, www.Twitter.com/DisneyLiving and www.Pinterest.com/DisneyLiving andwww.Instagram.com/DisneyLiving.

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"Boyhood" Wins Critics' Choice Award for "Best Picture"

The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) is the largest film critics organization in the United States and Canada.  It represents almost 300 television, radio and online critics. For additional information about the BFCA and their memberships, visit www.criticschoice.com.

The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) recently announced the winners for The 20th Annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards. The winners were revealed at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, which was broadcast live on A&E from the Hollywood Palladium on Thursday, January 15th, 2015 at 9pm ET/ 6pm PT.

“Boyhood” was named Best Picture and garnered three additional wins including Best Supporting Actress for Patricia Arquette, Best Young Actor/Actress for Ellar Coltrane, and Best Director for Richard Linklater.

“Birdman,” the most nominated film of the evening, won seven awards including Best Actor for Michael Keaton, Best Acting Ensemble, Best Original Screenplay for Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr., and Armando Bo, Best Cinematography for Emmanuel Lubezki, Best Editing for Douglas Crise and Stephen Mirrione, Best Actor in a Comedy for Michael Keaton, and Best Score for Antonio Sanchez. Michael Keaton is the first person in the 20-year history of the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards to win three awards in a single year (Best Actor, Best Actor in a Comedy, and as part of the “Birdman” Best Ensemble).

“The Grand Budapest Hotel” claimed three awards including Best Comedy, Best Art Direction for Adam Stockhausen (Production Designer) and Anna Pinnock (Set Director), and Best Costume Design for Milena Canonero.

As announced previously, Kevin Costner, Ron Howard and Jessica Chastain each received special honors at the ceremony. Rene Russo presented Kevin Costner with the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ celebrating more than three decades of incredible work in film. Chris Hemsworth presented the ‘Critics’ Choice LOUIS XIII Genius Award’, established to honor an icon who has demonstrated unprecedented excellence in the cinematic arts, to multiple award-winning director, producer and actor Ron Howard. Chris Pratt presented the inaugural ‘Critics’ Choice MVP Award,’ to Jessica Chastain, recognizing an extraordinary actress for her work in several standout movies throughout a single year – Interstellar, Miss Julie, A Most Violent Year (which also earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination this year), and The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby.

The 2015 / 20th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Award winners (for the year in film, 2014):

Best Picture – “Boyhood”

Best Actor – Michael Keaton, “Birdman”

Best Actress – Julianne Moore, “Still Alice”

Best Supporting Actor – J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash”

Best Supporting Actress – Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood”

Best Young Actor/Actress – Ellar Coltrane, “Boyhood”

Best Acting Ensemble – “Birdman”

Best Director – Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”

Best Original Screenplay – Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr., Armando Bo, “Birdman”

Best Adapted Screenplay – Gillian Flynn, “Gone Girl”

Best Cinematography – Emmanuel Lubezki, “Birdman”

Best Art Direction – Adam Stockhausen (Production Designer), Anna Pinnock (Set Decorator), “The Grand Budapest Hotel”

Best Editing – Douglas Crise, Stephen Mirrione, “Birdman”

Best Costume Design – Milena Canonero, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”

Best Hair & Makeup – “Guardians of the Galaxy”

Best Visual Effects – “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”

Best Animated Feature – “The Lego Movie”

Best Action Movie – “Guardians of the Galaxy”

Best Actor in an Action Movie – Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper”

Best Actress in an Action Movie – Emily Blunt, “Edge of Tomorrow”

Best Comedy – “The Grand Budapest Hotel”

Best Actor in a Comedy – Michael Keaton, “Birdman”

Best Actress in a Comedy – Jenny Slate, “Obvious Child”

Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie – “Interstellar”

Best Foreign Language Film – “Force Majeure”

Best Documentary Feature – “Life Itself”

Best Song – “Glory”, Common and John Legend, “Selma”

Best Score – Antonio Sanchez, “Birdman”

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2015 Oscar Nominations Announced - Complete List

by Leroy Douresseaux

This morning, Thursday, January 15, 2015, the nominations for the 87th annual Academy Awards were announced by filmmakers Alfonso Cuarón and J.J. Abrams, actor Chris Pine, and Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs live from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills.

This is a quickie posting for our readers.  We will post these again, but with complete credits including the names of individuals who received Oscar nods in categories like “Best Picture,” “Best Animated Feature Film,” and other feature film and short film categories.  But if you need that info now, please go here or http://oscar.go.com/nominees?cid=Noms_ampas

The 87th Academy Award Nominations for the 2015 Oscars:

Best Picture
"American Sniper"
"Birdman"
"Boyhood"
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
"The Imitation Game"
"Selma"
"The Theory of Everything"
"Whiplash"

Best Director
Alejandro González Iñárritu, "Birdman"
Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"
Bennett Miller, "Foxcatcher"
Wes Anderson, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Morten Tyldum, "The Imitation Game"

Best Actor
Steve Carell, "Foxcatcher"
Bradley Cooper, "American Sniper"
Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Imitation Game"
Michael Keaton, "BIrdman"
Eddie Redmayne, "The Theory of Everything"

Best Actress
Marion Cotillard, "Two Days, One Night"
Felicity Jones, "The Theory of Everything"
Julianne Moore, "Still Alice"
Rosamund Pike, "Gone Girl"
Reese Witherspoon, "Wild"

Best Supporting Actor
Robert Duvall, "The Judge"
Ethan Hawke, "Boyhood"
Edward Norton, "Birdman"
Mark Ruffalo, "Foxcatcher"
J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash"

Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette, "Boyhood"
Laura Dern, "Wild"
Keira Knightley, "The Imitation Game"
Emma Stone, "Birdman"
Meryl Streep, "Into the Woods"

Best Adapted Screenplay
"American Sniper" (Jason Hall)
"The Imitation Game" (Graham Moore)
"Inherent Vice" (Paul Thomas Anderson)
"The Theory of Everything" (Anthony McCarten)
"Whiplash" (Damien Chazelle)

Best Original Screenplay
"Birdman" (Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo)
"Boyhood" (Richard Linklater)
"Foxcatcher" (E. Max Frye, Dan Futterman)
"The Grand Budapest Hotel" (Wes Anderson, Hugo Guiness)
"Nightcrawler" (Dan Gilroy)

Best Cinematography
"Birdman" (Emmanuel Lubezki)
"The Grand Budapest Hotel" (Robert D. Yeoman)
"Ida" (Ryszard Lenczweski; Lukasz Zal)
"Mr. Turner" (Dick Pope)
"Unbroken" (Roger Deakins)

Best Costume Design
"The Grand Budapest Hotel" (Milena Canonero)
"Inherent Vice" (Mark Bridges)
"Into the Woods" (Colleen Atwood)
"Mr. Turner" (Jacqueline Durran)
"Maleficent" (Anna B. Sheppard)

Best Film Editing
"American Sniper" (Joel Cox, Gary Roach)
"Boyhood" (Sandra Adair)
"The Grand Budapest Hotel" (Barney Pilling)
"The Imitation Game" (William Goldenberg)
"Whiplash" (Tom Cross)

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
"Foxcatcher"
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
"Guardians of the Galaxy"

Best Music (Original Score)
"The Grand Budapest Hotel" (Alexandre Desplat)
"The Imitation Game" (Alexandre Desplat)
"Interstellar" (Hans Zimmer)
"Mr. Turner" (Gary Yershon)
"The Theory of Everything" (Jóhann Jóhannsson)

Best Music (Original Song)
"Lost Stars" from "Begin Again"
"I'm Not Gonna Miss You" from "Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me"
"Everything is Awesome" from "The LEGO Movie"
"Glory" from "Selma"
"Grateful" from "Beyond the Lights"

Best Production Design
"The Grand Budapest Hotel" (Adam Stockhausen; Anna Pinnock)
"The Imitation Game" (Maria Djurkovic; Tatiana Macdonald)
"Interstellar" (Nathan Crowley; Gary Fettis, Paul Healy)
"Into the Woods" (Dennis Gassner; Anna Pinnock)
"Mr. Turner" (Suzie Davies; Charlotte Watts)

Best Sound Editing
"American Sniper"
"Birdman"
"The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies"
"Interstellar"
"Unbroken"

Best Sound Mixing
"American Sniper"
"Birdman"
"Interstellar"
"Unbroken"
"Whiplash"

Best Visual Effects
"Captain America: The Winter Soldier"
"Dawn of the Planet of the Apes"
"Guardians of the Galaxy"
"Interstellar"
"X-Men: Days of Future Past"

Best Animated Feature Film
"Big Hero 6"
"The Boxtrolls"
"How to Train Your Dragon 2"
"Song of the Sea"
"The Tale of Princess Kaguya"

Best Foreign Language Film
"Wild Tales" (Damián Szifrón; Argentina)
"Tangerines" (Zaza Urushadze; Estonia)
"Timbuktu" (Abderrahmane Sissako; Mauritania)
"Ida" (Pawel Pawlikowski; Poland)
"Leviathan" (Andrey Zvyagintsev; Russia)

Best Documentary Feature
"CITIZENFOUR"
"Finding Vivian Mayer"
"Last Days in Vietnam"
"The Salt of the Earth"
"Virunga"

Best Documentary (Short Subject)
"Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1"
"Joanna"
"Our Curse"
"The Reaper"
"White Earth"

Best Short Film (Animated)
"The Bigger Picture"
"The Dam Keeper"
"Feast"
"Me and My Moulton"
"A Single Life"

Best Short Film (Live Action)
"Aya"
"Boogaloo and Graham"
"Butter Lamp"
"Parvaneh"
"The Phone Call"

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58 Individuals to Receive Scientific and Technical Academy Awards

21 Scientific And Technical Achievements To Be Honored With Academy Awards®

David W. Gray to receive Gordon E. Sawyer Award

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that 21 scientific and technical achievements represented by 58 individual award recipients will be honored at its annual Scientific and Technical Awards Presentation on Saturday, February 7, 2015 at the Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills.

In addition, veteran sound engineer and Dolby® Laboratories executive David W. Gray will receive the Gordon E. Sawyer Award (an Oscar® statuette), presented “to an individual in the motion picture industry whose technological contributions have brought credit to the industry.” Gray’s career has encompassed the design, refinement and implementation of groundbreaking cinema sound technologies, including stereo optical soundtracks, digital sound on film and most recently, Dolby Atmos®. He has served for many years on the Academy’s Science and Technology Council and its Theater Standards Committee, among others, as well as chaired the audio study group of SMPTE’s pioneering DC28 technology committee, from which the first two SMPTE Digital Cinema standards were published.

“Our honorees represent an enormous range of technologies, from camera rigs to software systems, with names as colorful as ‘Biscuit Jr.,’ ‘Barbershop’ and ‘PhysBAM,’” said Richard Edlund, Academy Award®-winning visual effects artist and chair of the Scientific and Technical Awards Committee. “They exemplify the phenomenal creativity of professionals in the scientific and technical community, and the invaluable contributions they make to what is arguably the most creative industry in the world.”

Unlike other Academy Awards to be presented this year, achievements receiving Scientific and Technical Awards need not have been developed and introduced during 2014. Rather, the achievements must demonstrate a proven record of contributing significant value to the process of making motion pictures.

The Academy Awards for scientific and technical achievements are:

TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS (ACADEMY CERTIFICATES)

--To Peter Braun for the concept and development of the MAT-Towercam Twin Peek, a portable, remote-controlled, telescoping column that smoothly positions a camera up to 24 feet vertically.

This small cross-section system from Mad About Technology can operate from above or below the camera, achieving nearly impossible shots with repeatable movements through openings no larger than the camera itself.

--To Robert Nagle and Allan Padelford for The Biscuit Jr. self-propelled, high-performance, drivable camera and vehicle platform.

The Biscuit Jr.’s unique chassis and portable driver pod enables traveling photography from a greater range of camera positions than previously possible, while keeping actors safe and the rig out of frame.

--To Harold Milligan, Steven Krycho and Reiner Doetzkies for the implementation engineering in the development of the Texas Instruments DLP Cinema digital projection technology.

Texas Instruments’ color-accurate, high-resolution, high-quality digital projection system has replaced most film-based projection systems in the theatrical environment.

--To Cary Phillips, Nicolas Popravka, Philip Peterson and Colette Mullenhoff for the architecture, development and creation of the artist-driven interface of the ILM Shape Sculpting System.

This comprehensive system allows artists to quickly enhance and modify character animation and simulation performances. It has become a crucial part of ILM’s production workflow over the past decade.

--To Tim Cotter, Roger van der Laan, Ken Pearce and Greg LaSalle for the innovative design and development of the MOVA Facial Performance Capture system.

The MOVA system provides a robust way to capture highly detailed, topologically consistent, animated meshes of a deforming object. This technology is fundamental to the facial pipeline at many visual effects companies. It allows artists to create character animation of extremely high quality.

--To Dan Piponi, Kim Libreri and George Borshukov for their pioneering work in the development of Universal Capture at ESC Entertainment.

The Universal Capture system broke new ground in the creation of realistic human facial animation. This technology produced an animated, high-resolution, textured mesh driven by an actor’s performance.

--To Marco Revelant for the original concepts and artistic vision, and to Alasdair Coull and Shane Cooper for the original architectural and engineering design, of the Barbershop hair grooming system at Weta Digital.

Barbershop’s unique architecture allows direct manipulation of full-density hair using an intuitive, interactive and procedural toolset, resulting in greatly enhanced productivity with finer-grained artistic control than is possible with other existing systems.

--To Michael Sechrest for the modeling design and implementation, Chris King for the real-time interactive engineering, and Greg Croft for the user interface design and implementation of SpeedTree Cinema.

This software substantially improves an artist’s ability to create specifically designed trees and vegetation by combining a procedural building process with the flexibility of intuitive, direct manipulation of every detail.

--To Scott Peterson, Jeff Budsberg and Jonathan Gibbs for the design and implementation of the DreamWorks Animation Foliage System.

This toolset has a hierarchical spline system, a core data format and an artist-driven modeling tool, which have been instrumental in creating art-directed vegetation in animated films for nearly two decades.

--To Erwin Coumans for the development of the Bullet physics library, and to Nafees Bin Zafar and Stephen Marshall for the separate development of two large-scale destruction simulation systems based on Bullet.

These pioneering systems demonstrated that large numbers of constrained rigid bodies could be used to animate visually complex, believable destruction effects with minimal simulation time.

--To Brice Criswell and Ron Fedkiw for the development of the ILM PhysBAM Destruction System.

This system incorporates innovative research on many algorithms that provide accurate methods for resolving contact, collision and stacking into a mature, robust and extensible production toolset. The PhysBAM Destruction System was one of the earliest toolsets capable of depicting large-scale destruction with a high degree of design control.

--To Ben Cole for the design of the Kali Destruction System, to Eric Parker for the development of the Digital Molecular Matter toolkit, and to James O’Brien for his influential research on the finite element methods that served as a foundation for these tools.

The combined innovations in Kali and DMM provide artists with an intuitive, art-directable system for the creation of scalable and realistic fracture and deformation simulations. These tools established finite element methods as a new reference point for believable on-screen destruction.

--To Magnus Wrenninge for leading the design and development of Field3D.

Field3D provides a flexible and open framework for storing and accessing voxel data efficiently. This allows interchange between previously incompatible modeling, simulation and rendering software.

--To Robert Bridson for early conceptualization of sparse-tiled voxel data structures and their application to modeling and simulation.

Robert Bridson’s pioneering work on voxel data structures and its subsequent validation in fluid simulation tools have had a significant impact on the design of volumetric tools throughout the visual effects industry.

--To Ken Museth, Peter Cucka and Mihai Alden for the creation of OpenVDB.

OpenVDB is a widely adopted, sparse hierarchical data structure that provides a fast and efficient mechanism for storing and manipulating voxels.

SCIENTIFIC AND ENGINEERING AWARDS (ACADEMY PLAQUES)
--To lain Neil for the optical design, and to Andre de Winter for the mechanical design, of the Leica Summilux-C series of lenses.

Incorporating novel telecentric multi-element aspherical optics, these camera lenses have delivered unprecedented optical and mechanical performance.

--To Brad Walker, D. Scott Dewald, Bill Werner, Greg Pettitt and Frank Poradish for their contributions furthering the design and refinement of the Texas Instruments DLP Cinema projection technology, whose high level of performance enabled color-accurate digital intermediate preview and motion picture theatrical presentation.

Working in conjunction with the film industry, Texas Instruments created a high-resolution, high-quality digital projection system that has replaced most film-based projection systems in the theatrical environment.

--To Ichiro Tsutsui, Masahiro Take, Mitsuyasu Tamura and Mitsuru Asano for the development of the Sony BVM-E Series Professional OLED Master Monitor.

These precise, wide-gamut monitors allow creative image decisions to be made on set with confidence that the desired images can be accurately reproduced in post-production.

--To John Frederick, Bob Myers, Karl Rasche and Tom Lianza for the development of the HP DreamColor LP2480zx Professional Display.

This cost-effective display offered a stable, wide color gamut, allowing facility-wide adoption in feature animation and visual effects studios.

ACADEMY AWARD OF COMMENDATION (SPECIAL PLAQUE)
--To Steven Tiffen, Jeff Cohen and Michael Fecik for their pioneering work in developing dye-based filters that reduce IR contamination when neutral density filters are used with digital cameras.

The Tiffen Company identified the problem and rapidly engineered a series of absorptive filters that ameliorated infrared artifacts with lenses of all focal lengths. These widely adopted filters allow cinematographers to work as they have done with film-based technology.

ACADEMY AWARD OF MERIT (OSCAR STATUETTE)
--To Dr. Larry Hornbeck for the invention of digital micromirror technology as used in DLP Cinema projection.

The Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) is the core technology that has enabled Texas Instruments’ DLP Cinema projection to become the standard of the motion picture industry.

GORDON E. SAWYER AWARD (OSCAR STATUETTE)

--David W. Gray

Given to an individual in the motion picture industry whose technological contributions have brought credit to the industry.

Portions of the Scientific and Technical Awards Presentation will be included in the Oscar telecast.

Oscars® for outstanding film achievements of 2014 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® and televised live on the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.  The Oscars, produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

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Woody Allen to Create Television Series for Amazon Prime Instant Video

Amazon Studios Signs Woody Allen to Create His First Television Series Ever

Amazon orders a full season of Untitled Woody Allen Project, which will premiere exclusively on Prime Instant Video

Episodes will be written and directed by Allen

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon Studios today announced it has signed the critically-acclaimed director Woody Allen to write and direct his first television series ever. Untitled Woody Allen Project, a half-hour series, has received a full season order and episodes will be written and directed by Allen. Customers will be able to see the series exclusively on Prime Instant Video in the US, UK and Germany. Additional details, including casting information, will be made available in the future.

    “I don’t know how I got into this. I have no ideas and I’m not sure where to begin. My guess is that Roy Price will regret this.”

“Woody Allen is a visionary creator who has made some of the greatest films of all-time, and it’s an honor to be working with him on his first television series,” said Roy Price, Vice President of Amazon Studios. “From Annie Hall to Blue Jasmine, Woody has been at the creative forefront of American cinema and we couldn’t be more excited to premiere his first TV series exclusively on Prime Instant Video next year.”

Woody Allen added, “I don’t know how I got into this. I have no ideas and I’m not sure where to begin. My guess is that Roy Price will regret this.”

Allen is represented by ICM Partners.

About Amazon Studios
Amazon Studios most recently debuted its dramatic comedy Mozart in the Jungle from Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, Paul Weitz, John Strauss and Alex Timbers, as well as Jill Soloway’s multi-Golden Globe Award-winning dark comedy Transparent; its first live-action series for kids 6-11, Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street; and a second season of the Garry Trudeau political comedy Alpha House. The studio has also launched three additional children’s series, the Annecy International Animated Film Festival Award-winning and Annie Award-nominated Tumble Leaf from Bix Pix Entertainment; Creative Galaxy from Angela Santomero and Out of the Blue Enterprises, the creators of Blue’s Clues; and Annedroids, from Emmy nominated Sinking Ship Entertainment.

Amazon Studios has also announced five additional, original series to debut in 2015 including Michael Connelly’s Bosch; Hand of God from Marc Forster and Ben Watkins; Red Oaks from Steven Soderbergh, David Gordon Green, Greg Jacobs and Joe Gangemi; and kids series Wishenpoof! from Angela Santomero and Out of the Blue Enterprises; as well as a second season of Transparent.

Amazon Studios launched in 2010 as a new way to develop feature films and episodic series—one that’s open to great ideas from creators and audiences around the world. Anyone can upload a script online and Amazon Studios will read and review all submissions. Those who choose to make their projects public can also receive feedback from the Amazon Studios community.

Comprehensive cast and crew information, including bios and filmographies, is available on Amazon's IMDb (www.imdb.com), the world’s most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content.

About Amazon
Amazon.com opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. The company is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire phone, Fire tablets, and Fire TV are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon.

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Las Vegas Film Critics Name "Birdman" Best Picture of 2014

The Las Vegas Film Critics Society (LVFCS) is a non-profit organization that describes itself as “progressive” and “dedicated to the advancement and preservation of film.”  The LVFCS membership is comprised of “select” print, television and internet film critics in the Las Vegas area. The LVFCS presents its "Sierra" awards each year for the best in film, including The William Holden Lifetime Achievement Award, which is named for the late Academy Award winning actor.

2014 Sierra Award winners:

Best Picture
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”

Best Actor
Michael Keaton, “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”

Best Actress
Reese Witherspoon, “Wild”

Best Supporting Actor
J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash”

Best Supporting Actress
Tilda Swinton, “Snowpiercer”

Best Director
Alejandro González Iñárritu, “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”

Best Screenplay
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”

Best Cinematography
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”

Best Film Editing
James Herbert and Laura Jennings, “Edge of Tomorrow”

Best Costume Design
Alexandra Byrne, “Guardians of the Galaxy”

Best Art Direction
“The Grand Budapest Hotel.”

Best Visual Effects
“Interstellar”

Best Foreign Film
“Ida” (Poland)

Best Documentary
“Citzenfour”

Best Animated Film
“The Lego Movie”

Best Family Film
“The Lego Movie”

Best Horror/Sci-Fi Film
“Babadook”

Best Comedy Film
“Top 5”

Best Action Film
“Guardians of the Galaxy”

Best Ensemble
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”

Best Score
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”

Best Song
“I Love You All,” Stephen Rennicks – “Frank”

Youth in Film
Jaeden Lieberher, “St. Vincent”

Breakout Filmmaker of the Year
Damien Chazelle, “Whiplash”

William Holden Lifetime Achievement Award
Bill Murray

Cinema Heritage Award
Prof. Francisco Menendez, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Film Dept. Chair

LVFCS Top 10 Films of 2013:

1. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

2. Boyhood

3. Whiplash

4. Nightcrawler

5. The Grand Budapest Hotel

6. Wild

7. Selma

8. The Imitation Game

9. Snowpiercer

10.  Under the Skin

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Review: Entertaining "Hercules" is Old-Fashioned and a Bit Different

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 2 (of 2015) by Leroy Douresseaux

Hercules (2014)
Running time:  98 minutes (1 hour, 38 minutes)
MPAA - PG-13 for epic battle sequences, violence, suggestive comments, brief strong language and partial nudity
DIRECTOR:  Brett Ratner
WRITERS:  Ryan J. Condal and Evan Spiliotopoulos (based on the Radical Studios Hercules: The Thracian War comic book written by Steve Moore)
PRODUCERS:  Beau Flynn, Barry Levine, and Brett Ratner
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Dante Spinotti (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Mark Helfrich and Julia Wong
COMPOSERS:  Fernando Velázquez and Johannes Vogel (score composer)

FANTASY/ACTION/ADVENTURE/DRAMA

Starring:  Dwayne Johnson, Ian McShane, John Hurt, Rufus Sewell, Aksel Hennie, Ingrid Bolso Berdal, Reece Ritchie, Joseph Fiennes, Tobias Santelmann, Peter Mullan, Rebecca Ferguson, Karoline Szymczak, and Isaac Andrews

Hercules is a 2014 fantasy drama and action-adventure film from director Brett Ratner.  This film presents a new take on the mythical Greek hero, Hercules, and the film's story is based on Hercules: The Thracian Wars, a graphic novel written by the late Steve Moore.  In this Hercules movie, Hercules and his band of mercenaries enter the service of a Thracian lord who is fighting a bloodthirsty warlord.  Of note, director Peter Berg is one of this film's executive producers.

This movie finds Hercules (Dwayne Johnson) as the leader of a band of mercenaries:  the prophet, Amphiaraus (Ian McShane); the knife-throwing thief, Autolycus (Rufus Sewell); the feral warrior, Tydeus (Aksel Hennie); the Amazon archer, Atalanta (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal); and Hercules' nephew, Iolaus (Reece Ritchie), a storyteller.   It is the year, 358 B.C., and they are on the Macedonian Coast in Northern Greece, paid to dispatch troublesome pirates.

Shortly after that mission, Hercules and his band are celebrating at a tavern where they are approached by Ergenia (Rebecca Ferguson) with the offer of a new mission.  She has come to Hercules on behalf of her father, Lord Cotys (John Hurt) of East Thracia.  Cotys wants Hercules to lead his army against Rheseus (Tobias Santelmann), a bloodthirsty warlord said to have mystical powers.  The legend of his “twelve labors” precedes Hercules, and the people expect supernatural results from him in dealing with the mysterious Rheseus.  All is not what it seems, however.

The trailers, commercials, and advertisements do not do justice to Hercules.  I am not going to lie to you and say that this is a great movie, but Hercules is an old-fashioned, action-adventure movie that manages to be both different and quite entertaining.  The film has dramatic heft because the story engages Hercules' shame and grief, and also the nature of his personality as related to the legends about him.  The story also delves deeply into Hercules' relationships with his band of mercenaries, as a whole and as individuals.  They are a family, and the story allows each member of this family to reveal his or her's personality and desires (or goals).

The advertising for Hercules emphasized the battle scenes, and the trailers made Hercules look like a Conan the Barbarian movie set in Greek antiquity.  However, this Hercules is not quite swords-and-sandals (or swords-and-sorcery, for that matter), but there are indeed two battles fought directly against Rheseus' forces.  These two battle sequences are fantastically staged.  I wish that they were longer, or that there was a third fight out on the battlefield.

Early in this film, Dwayne Johnson looks bored as Hercules, and he may be.  On the other hand, I think that his attitude is a deliberate choice of performing the character on the part of Johnson.  Having experienced the fickleness of the gods or perhaps of existence, Johnson's Hercules does not take everything so seriously that every professional setback seems like the end of the world.  Hercules and his friends take each job as it comes, with a jaundiced eye toward the declared motivations of potential buyers of their services.

Director Brett Ratner takes that and makes a Hercules that is spirited and fun, but not shallow.  It is a film not overwhelmed by computer generated imagery, environments, and actions.  The CGI simply enhances the fantasy, while the story stays grounded.  So Hercules is the kind of solidly-entertaining action-adventure that is worth repeated viewings.  And yeah, I'd like a sequel.

6 of 10
B

Monday, January 12, 2015


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