2015 USC Scripter Award Goes to "The Imitation Game"

‘The Imitation Game’ Outplays Competition to Win USC Libraries Scripter Award

Graham Moore and Andrew Hodges take the 27th-anniversary honor.

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Screenwriter Graham Moore and author Andrew Hodges received the 27th-annual USC Libraries Scripter Award for “The Imitation Game.” Selection committee chair Howard Rodman announced the winners at the black-tie event on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015 at USC’s historic Doheny Memorial Library.

    “Our Cinematic Arts Library is a tangible embodiment of cinema history and of the cultural history of the world”

Moore based his adaptation on “Alan Turing: The Enigma,” a 1983 biography by Hodges of the brilliant British World War II code-breaker and computer pioneer who was later persecuted for his homosexuality. Rodman accepted the award on behalf of Hodges, who teaches mathematics at Oxford University’s Wadham College.

“Alan Turing never got to stand on a stage and hear people applaud his name,” Moore said in his acceptance speech. “And I do right now, and that is a profound injustice. All that I can do is spend the rest of my life endeavoring to repair it.”

“The Imitation Game’s” Scripter win adds to the accolades for the Weinstein Co. film, which has been nominated for eight Academy Awards and eight BAFTAs.

Scripter, established by the Friends of the USC Libraries in 1988, honors the screenwriter of the year’s most accomplished cinematic adaptation as well as the author of the written work upon which the screenplay is based. Scripter is the only award of its kind that recognizes authors of the original work alongside the adapting screenwriters.

USC Libraries Dean Catherine Quinlan welcomed the attendees gathered in the Los Angeles Times Reference Room of Doheny Memorial Library, and noted that the proceeds from the night’s event benefited the USC Cinematic Arts Library.

“Our Cinematic Arts Library is a tangible embodiment of cinema history and of the cultural history of the world,” Quinlan said. “It connects our students and scholars from near and far with knowledge that exists nowhere else but here, knowledge that makes possible their discoveries in the art, craft, and business of making films.”

Chaired by USC screenwriting professor and vice president of the Writers Guild of America, West, Howard Rodman, the Scripter selection committee chose “The Imitation Game” from a field of 97 eligible films.

Rodman also presented writer Walter Mosley with the Literary Achievement Award for his prizewinning career encompassing a range of genres from mystery to science fiction, erotica to nonfiction.

Mosley, a native of Southern California, has set much of his work there, including his “Easy” Rawlins series that features a black detective working in post-war Los Angeles. He is currently working on a Broadway version of his first novel, “Devil in a Blue Dress,” which was adapted in 1995 into a film starring Denzel Washington.

“In one stroke, Walter stood the crime genre on its head,” Rodman said. “And in doing so, over the course of a 25-year career, has triumphantly turned the world 180 degrees.”

In receiving the award, Mosley credited libraries for their central role in guaranteeing intellectual freedom and a civil society, “By making libraries stronger we make America stronger.”

This year’s event featured a silent auction, the proceeds of which support the renovation of USC’s Cinematic Arts Library. In-kind donors to the event and auction included AOC, Actuant Corporation, Al Brooks Tickets, Alexander Denk, Allison Adato, Alma Books Ltd., American Eye Institute, Anchor Distilling Company, Ann Hill, Anthony Solorzano, At Your Side Private Exercise, Averill's Flathead Lake Lodge, Bacara Resort & Spa, Badgley Mischka, BENJAMIN with Negin Zand, Bennett Farms, Bonny Doon Vineyard, Bouchon Bistro, Broadway Books, Burton Morris, Carol Muske-Dukes, Carol Soucek King, Richard King, Chris Lahti, Christine Ofiesh, Cynthia Baseman, Daryle Ann and Mark Giardino, David Lebovitz, David St. John, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and the San Diego County Fair, Faith & Flower, Feld Entertainment, Final Draft, Focus Features, Fox Searchlight, Fred Kayne, Gearys Beverly Hills, Geffen Playhouse, Glenn Sonnenberg, Gloria Kaplan, Hang Zhang, Hayley Kaplan, Health Allie, Hector Aguilar, Hotel Del Coronado, Hotel Indigo Del Mar, Hotel Kabuki, Howard Rodman, Jack Lindquist, Jar, Joel Prell, Jon Summers, Katherine Schwarzenegger, Kenneth Breisch, KFK Jewelers, LA Contemporary Dance Company, LA Opera, LA Phil, LACMA, Laila Lalami, Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa, Laura Casner, Left Brain Travel, Leo Braudy, Lisa Barkett, Lisa Dixon, Loews Regency Hotel, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Dodgers, M. Kantor & Associates, Mark Danielewski, Mark Koenig, Matthew Kenney Cuisine, Maureen Furniss, Michael Kheshvadjian, Motif Seattle and Frolik Kitchen + Cocktails, Myrna Oken and Montage Hotels & Resorts, Neal Baseman and Twentieth Century Fox Television, Oheka Castle Hotel & Estate, Oliverio at Avalon Hotel, One of A Kind Glass Designs and Patsy Dewey, Osteria Mozza, Pacific Dining Car, Penguin Books, Piel Skin Care, Porta Via, Pro SUP Shop, Richelle Gribble, Robert Plumleigh, Sandra Tsing Loh, Save Our Heritage Organization (SOHO) San Diego, Seattle Seahawks, Shelley Berman, Silver King, South Beverly Grill, St. Regis San Francisco, Stephen's Hay and Grain, Steven Travers, T.C. Boyle, Tank Town USA, Ted Ushirogata and the Academy of Magical Arts, Inc., The Belvedere at the Peninsula Hotel, The Fearey Group, The Kitchen for Exploring Foods, The Rosenzweig Company, The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, The Weinstein Company, U.S. Senator Dean Heller, United Artists Media Group, USC Athletics, USC Office of the President, Villa Aurora, Warner Bros. Pictures, Will Ferrell, Wilshire Center Dental Group, and Wine of the Month Club.

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"How to Train Your Dragon 2" Wins "Best Animated Feature" at 42nd Annie Awards

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.  These awards were created in 1972 by veteran voice talent, June Foray.

The 42nd Annie Awards winners were announced at a black tie ceremony on Saturday, January 31, 2015 at UCLA’s Royce Hall.  DreamWorks Animation’s hit sequel, How To Train Your Dragon 2, won the “Best Animated Feature” award.  Written and directed by Dean DeBlois, Dragon 2 also scored a leading six trophies, including “Best Director.”

2015/42nd Annie Awards winners:

PRODUCTION CATEGORIES

Best Animated Feature
How to Train Your Dragon 2 - DreamWorks Animation

Best Animated Special Production
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey - Voyager Pictures LLC

Best Animated Short Subject
Feast
- Walt Disney Animation Studios

Best Animated TV/Broadcast Commercial
Flight of the Stories - Aardman Animations

Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Preschool Children
Tumble Leaf
- Amazon Studios

Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Children’s Audience
Gravity Falls - 
Disney Television Animation

Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production
The Simpsons
 - The Simpsons

Best Animated Video Game
Valiant Hearts: The Great War - Ubisoft

Best Student Film
My Big Brother 
- Jason Rayner

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES

Outstanding Achievement, Animated Effects in an Animated Production
Michael Kaschalk, Peter DeMund, David Hutchins, Henrik Falt, John Kosnik - Big Hero 6 - Walt Disney Animation Studios

Outstanding Achievement, Animated Effects in a Live Action Production
Steve Avoujageli, Atsushi Ikarashi, Pawel Grochola, Paul Waggoner, Viktor Lundqvist - Edge of Tomorrow - Sony Pictures Imageworks

Outstanding Achievement, Character Animation in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production
Justin Nichols - Wander Over Yonder - Disney Television Animation

Outstanding Achievement, Character Animation in a Feature Production
Fabio Lignini - How to Train Your Dragon 2 
- DreamWorks Animation

Outstanding Achievement, Character Animation in a Live Action Production
Daniel Barrett, Paul Story, Eteuati Tema, Alessandro Bonora, Dejan Momcilovic - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
 - Weta Digital

Outstanding Achievement, Character Animation in a Video Game
Mike Mennillo - Assassin's Creed Unity - Ubisoft

Outstanding Achievement, Character Design in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Benjamin Balistreri - Wander Over Yonder 
-  Disney Television Animation

Outstanding Achievement, Character Design in an Animated Feature Production
Paul Sullivan, Sandra Equihua, Jorge R. Gutierrez - The Book of Life - Reel FX 

Outstanding Achievement, Directing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Aaron Springer - Disney Mickey Mouse 
- Disney Television Animation

Outstanding Achievement, Directing in an Animated Feature Production
Dean DeBlois - How to Train Your Dragon 2
 - DreamWorks Animation

Outstanding Achievement, Music in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Christopher Willis - Disney Mickey Mouse - Disney Television Animation

Outstanding Achievement, Music in an Animated Feature Production
John Powell, Jónsi - How to Train Your Dragon 2
 - DreamWorks Animation

Outstanding Achievement, Production Design in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Narina Sokolova - Mickey Shorts
- Disney

Outstanding Achievement, Production Design in an Animated Feature Production
Paul Lasaine, Tom McClure & August Hall - The Boxtrolls
 - Focus Features/Laika

Outstanding Achievement, Storyboarding in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Joaquim Dos Santos - Legend of Korra -Nickelodeon Animation Studio

Outstanding Achievement, Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
Truong "Tron" Son Mai - How to Train Your Dragon 2
 - DreamWorks Animation

Outstanding Achievement, Voice Acting in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Bill Farmer as the voices of Goofy and Grandma - Disney Mickey Mouse
 - Disney Television Animation

Outstanding Achievement, Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
Sir Ben Kingsley as the voice of Archibald Snatcher - The Boxtrolls
 - Focus Features/Laika

Outstanding Achievement, Writing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Darrick Bachman - Disney Mickey Mouse
 - Disney Television Animation

Outstanding Achievement, Writing in an Animated Feature Production
Phil Lord & Christopher Miller - The Lego Movie
 - Warner Bros. Pictures

Outstanding Achievement, Editorial in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Illya Owens - Disney Mickey Mouse
 - Disney Television Animation

Outstanding Achievement, Editorial in an Animated Feature Production
John K. Carr - How to Train Your Dragon 2 - DreamWorks Animation


JURIED AWARDS

Winsor McCay Award – Didier Brunner, Don Lusk and Lee Mendelson for their career contributions to the art of animation

June Foray Award – Charles Solomon for his significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation

Ub Iwerks – DreamWorks Animation's Apollo Software for technical advancement that has made a significant impact on the art or industry of animation

Special Achievement Award – The Walt Disney Family Museum recognizing the unique and significant impact on the art and industry of animation


www.annieawards.org

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Negromancer Loves February 2015

Super Bowl Sunday.  Valentine's Day.  And, of course, Black History Month!  Welcome to Negromancer 2.0.  This is the rebirth of Negromancer, the former movie review website as a new movie review and movie news site.

All images and text appearing on this blog are © copyright and/or trademark their respective owners.

Oklahoma Film Critics Name "Boyhood" Best Picture of 2014

The Oklahoma Film Critics Circle (OFCC) is the statewide group of professional film critics.  OFCC members are Oklahoma-based movie critics who write for print, broadcast and online outlets that publish or post reviews of current film releases.

The OFCC announced its 9th annual awards list in early January of 2015.

Oklahoma Film Critics Circle 2014 Winners:

Best Picture: “Boyhood.”

Best Actor: Michael Keaton, “Birdman.”

Best Actress: Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl.”

Best Animated Film: “The LEGO Movie.”

Best Body of Work: Christopher Miller and Phil Lord “The Lego Movie” and “22 Jump Street.”

Best Director: Richard Linklater, “Boyhood.”

Best Documentary: “Life Itself.”

Best First Feature: “Nightcrawler.”

Best Foreign Language Film: “Force Majeure.”

Best Guilty Pleasure: “Edge of Tomorrow.”

Not So Obviously Worst Film: “Monuments Men.”

Obviously Worst Film: “Transformers: Age of Extinction.”

Best Original Screenplay: “The Grand Budapest Hotel.”

Best Adapted Screenplay: Gillian Flynn, “Gone Girl.”

Best Supporting Actor: Edward Norton, “Birdman.”

Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood.”

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Happy Birthday, Ed

I hope you had a great day.  I won't go there on the age thing, except to say that you predate the Kennedy administration.  Happy Birthday and many, many, many more... "Dad."

"Terminator Genisys" Super Bowl Commerical Debuts

NEW MISSION. NEW THREAT. NEW FATE.

WATCH THE TERMINATOR GENISYS "BIG GAME" TV SPOT

Watch: http://youtu.be/N4zhBQfqVCc

PARAMOUNT PICTURES and SKYDANCE PRODUCTIONS Present “TERMINATOR GENISYS”

Executive Producers: Bill Carraro, Laeta Kalogridis, Patrick Lussier, Megan Ellison, Robert Cort
Produced: David Ellison, p.g.a. Dana Goldberg, p.g.a.
Written: Laeta Kalogridis & Patrick Lussier
Directed: Alan Taylor

Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Clarke, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, J. K. Simmons, Dayo Okeniyi, Matthew Smith, Courtney B. Vance and Byung-Hun Lee

Synopsis: When John Connor (Jason Clarke), leader of the human resistance, sends Sgt. Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back to 1984 to protect Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) and safeguard the future, an unexpected turn of events creates a fractured timeline. Now, Sgt. Reese finds himself in a new and unfamiliar version of the past, where he is faced with unlikely allies, including the Guardian (Arnold Schwarzenegger), dangerous new enemies, and an unexpected new mission: To reset the future…

Official Site:  http://www.terminatormovie.com/
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TerminatorGenisys
Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/terminator
Official Instagram: http://instagram.com/TerminatorGenisys

#TERMINATOR

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Negromancer's Fave Poli-Reads - January 2015 Edition - Updated #27

From TheNewYorker:  By Andy Borowitz - 6 weeks leave opposed by people who get 33 weeks paid leave.

From TheVox:  Even FOX News is ripping on the John Beohner plot to invite Benjamin Netanyahu (Throw -A-Net-Over-That Yahoo) to speak before Congress.

From TheDailyDot:  Blogger who outed Congressman Steve Scalise for his connection to Louisiana Klansman and Nazi, David Duke, had his home Internet connections cut.

From TheGuardian:  Eric Garner prosecutor has gall - I'll give him that.  His campaign for Congress should go through hell.  Hopefully, the activists will give him hell.

From Time:  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on what terrorists attacks are about.

From BuzzFlash:  The American Sambo Right (black conservative) manga Dr. King's message.

From YahooNews:  Steve Scalise voted "No" to MLK holiday while in the Louisiana legislature.  We're not surprised.

From TheDailyBeast:  This may be irony when it comes to cops and open-carry activist.

From TheDailyBeast:  Steve Scalise's Louisiana Nazis.

From RollingStone:  They are not exactly Charlie by Matt Taibbi.

From ReaderSupportedNews:  Senator Elizabeth Warren announces her support for California Attorney General Kamala Harris in her bid to replace retiring Senator Barbara Boxer.

From WashingtonPost:  The Dept. of Justice curbs civil asset forfeiture.  I think the Washington Post's article last September helped this decision come to be.

From WashingtonPost:  The legacy of Bill Moyers.

From YahooNews:  Republicans can't condemn Klan-boy, Steve Scalise, but they'll compare President Obama to Hitler.

From CenLaMar:  The story that originally busted Steve Scalise as a Duker - a supporter of David Duke.  OK, that's not what the article said...

From TheIntercept:  David Cameron marches in Paris, while at home in the U.K., brown people are prosecuted for speech that offends white people

From HuffingtonPost:  A list of Charlie Hebdo cartoons that made the magazine a target.

From the NYT:  President Obama orders full restoration of relations with Cuba.

From USAToday:  Pope Francis plays role in Obama's Cuba plan.

From YahooNews:  The U.S. Supreme Court rejects a new challenge to the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare), although it is currently hearing one.

From RollingStone:  6 ideas for a cop-free world.

From TheIntercept:  In case you hadn't heard, Cuba is not returning Assata Shakur.

From CounterPunch:  I am a 20th century escaped slave.

From CounterPunch:  Raul Castro speaks.

From YahooAutos:  President Obama warns Americans not to get to comfortable with falling gas prices.

From RSN:  Yeah, this makes sense.

From NYT:  Ask Congressman Steve Scalise if he ever voted for David Duke.  For a lot of white men who were eligible to vote in the late 1980s and early 1990s, that will be their political kryptonite.