The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association named Steven Spielberg's Lincoln as the "Best Picture of 2012." At the time of this announcement (mid-December 2012), this was the first critics' group to name Lincoln as the best film of the year. However, the group chose Kathryn Bigelow as "Best Director" for her work on Zero Dark Thirty.
The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association is also known as the DFW Film Critics Association. The group describes itself as a not-for-profit, unincorporated voluntary organization of print, broadcast and internet film critics based in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area and greater North Texas who meet its membership criteria. The DFW Film Critics Association currently consists of 29 broadcast, print, and online journalists from throughout North Texas.
The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association 19th Annual Critics’ Poll:
Best Picture
1. "Lincoln"
2. "Argo"
3. "Zero Dark Thirty"
4. "Life of Pi"
5. "Les Misérables"
6. "Moonrise Kingdom"
7. "Silver Linings Playbook"
8. "Skyfall"
9. "The Master"
10. "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
Best Director
1. Kathryn Bigelow, "Zero Dark Thirty"
2. Steven Spielberg, "Lincoln"
3. Ben Affleck, "Argo"
4. Ang Lee, "Life of Pi"
5. Wes Anderson, "Moonrise Kingdom"
Best Actor
1. Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln"
2. Joaquin Phoenix, "The Master"
3. John Hawkes, "The Sessions"
4. Hugh Jackman, "Les Misérables"
5. Denzel Washington, "Flight"
Best Actress
1. Jessica Chastain, "Zero Dark Thirty"
2. Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook"
3. Emmanuelle Riva, "Amour"
4. Quvenzhané Wallis, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
5. Naomi Watts, "The Impossible"
Best Supporting Actor
1. Tommy Lee Jones, "Lincoln"
2. Philip Seymour Hoffman, "The Master"
3. Christoph Waltz, "Django Unchained"
4. Alan Arkin, "Argo"
5. Robert De Niro, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Best Supporting Actress
1. Sally Field, "Lincoln"
2. Anne Hathaway, "Les Misérables"
3. Amy Adams, "The Master"
4. Helen Hunt, "The Sessions"
5. Ann Dowd, "Compliance"
Best Screenplay
1. "Zero Dark Thirty"
2. "Django Unchained"
Best Cinematography
1. "Life of Pi"
2. "Skyfall"
Best Animated Film
1. "ParaNorman"
2. "Frankenweenie"
3. "The Pirates! Band of Misfits"
Best Foreign Language Film
1. "Amour" (Austria)
2. "A Royal Affair" (Denmark)
3. "The Intouchables" (France)
4. "Holy Motors" (France)
5. "The Kid with a Bike" (Belgium, France, Italy)
Best Documentary
1. "Searching for Sugar Man"
2. "Bully"
3. "How to Survive a Plague"
4. "West of Memphis"
5. "The Invisible War"
Saturday, January 19, 2013
DreamWorks Gets Matthew Quick's Upcoming Novel
DreamWorks Studios Acquires Matthew Quick’s “The Good Luck of Right Now”
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DreamWorks Studios has acquired the manuscript to Matthew Quick’s latest work entitled “The Good Luck of Right Now,” it was announced today by Holly Bario, President of Production of the studio. Quick authored the book "The Silver Linings Playbook," as well as the young adult novels “Boy 21,” “Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock,” and “Sorta Like a Rock Star.”
The story follows the intertwined lives of four people, who are all outsiders in their own right. However, in the wake of grieving over pain and loss in their lives, they come together to form the most unlikely family.
“We immediately sparked to Matthew Quick's book and the heart and humor which is infused in his storytelling,” said Holly Bario. “All of us at DreamWorks are excited to begin developing this story and look to make it a priority at the studio.”
Matthew Quick is repped by CAA in conjunction with Douglas Stewart of Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc., who simultaneously negotiated the publishing rights for the book to Harper Collins.
Harper-Collins pre-empted the manuscript for publishing in the U.S. and Canada. They are targeting Spring 2014 to launch the book.
About DreamWorks Studios
DreamWorks Studios is a motion picture company formed in 2009 and led by Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider in partnership with The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. The company’s recent releases include “Real Steel,” starring Hugh Jackman and directed by Shawn Levy, Steven Spielberg’s “War Horse,” based on Michael Morpurgo’s award-winning book and was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, and “The Help,” which resonated with audiences around the country and earned over $200 million at the box office and received four Academy Award nominations with Octavia Spencer winning one for Best Supporting Actress. Currently in theaters is Spielberg’s “Lincoln” starring Daniel Day-Lewis.
DreamWorks Studios can be found on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/DreamWorksStudios and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dw_studios.
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DreamWorks Studios has acquired the manuscript to Matthew Quick’s latest work entitled “The Good Luck of Right Now,” it was announced today by Holly Bario, President of Production of the studio. Quick authored the book "The Silver Linings Playbook," as well as the young adult novels “Boy 21,” “Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock,” and “Sorta Like a Rock Star.”
The story follows the intertwined lives of four people, who are all outsiders in their own right. However, in the wake of grieving over pain and loss in their lives, they come together to form the most unlikely family.
“We immediately sparked to Matthew Quick's book and the heart and humor which is infused in his storytelling,” said Holly Bario. “All of us at DreamWorks are excited to begin developing this story and look to make it a priority at the studio.”
Matthew Quick is repped by CAA in conjunction with Douglas Stewart of Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc., who simultaneously negotiated the publishing rights for the book to Harper Collins.
Harper-Collins pre-empted the manuscript for publishing in the U.S. and Canada. They are targeting Spring 2014 to launch the book.
About DreamWorks Studios
DreamWorks Studios is a motion picture company formed in 2009 and led by Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider in partnership with The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. The company’s recent releases include “Real Steel,” starring Hugh Jackman and directed by Shawn Levy, Steven Spielberg’s “War Horse,” based on Michael Morpurgo’s award-winning book and was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, and “The Help,” which resonated with audiences around the country and earned over $200 million at the box office and received four Academy Award nominations with Octavia Spencer winning one for Best Supporting Actress. Currently in theaters is Spielberg’s “Lincoln” starring Daniel Day-Lewis.
DreamWorks Studios can be found on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/DreamWorksStudios and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dw_studios.
Friday, January 18, 2013
Review: "Resident Evil: Retribution" is OK
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 4 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux
Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Canada/Germany; Language: English
Running time: 96 minutes (1 hour, 36 minutes)
MPAA – R for sequences of strong violence throughout
DIRECTOR: Paul W.S. Anderson
WRITER: Paul W.S. Anderson (based upon the videogame, Resident Evil)
PRODUCERS: Paul W.S. Anderson, Jeremy Bolt, Don Carmody, Samuel Hadida, and Robert Kulzer
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Glen MacPherson
EDITOR: Niven Howie
COMPOSER: tomandandy
HORROR/SCI-FI/ACTION
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Michelle Rodriguez, Aryana Engineer, Bingbing Li, Johann Urb, Kevin Durand, Oded Fehr, Robin Kasyanov, Ofilio Portillo, Colin Salmon, Shawn Roberts and Boris Kodjoe
Resident Evil: Retribution is a 2012 science fiction-action film. It is the fifth installment in the film franchise based upon the Capcom survival horror video game series, Resident Evil. This film is a direct sequel to the fourth movie, Resident Evil: Afterlife.
After the events depicted in Afterlife, Alice (Milla Jovovich) finds herself in the clutches of the Umbrella Corporation and being interrogated by her former ally, Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory). Alice isn’t sure what is real, as she starts encountering old allies like Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr) and Rain Ocampo (Michelle Rodriguez).
Even more surprising, an enemy claims to be a friend and declares that he has already initiated a plan to free Alice from the clutches of Umbrella. Alice is trapped in Umbrella Prime, and a five-man strike team is coming to her rescue. More than just Alice’s life is at stake, however, as she becomes the guardian of a hearing-impaired little girl named Becky (Aryana Engineer). Now, Alice is determined that nothing stops her: not zombie hordes, Las Plagas zombies, monsters, or even lickers.
Over the years, I have read many movie reviews in which the writers described action movies, especially ones they didn’t like, as video game movies. Because it is based on a video game, Resident Evil: Retribution is a video game movie, but that’s not the only reason it is. With its fire-fights, hand-to-hand combat, car chases, shootouts, monsters, science fiction elements, and explosions, Resident Evil: Retribution is a video game doing a decent impersonation of an actual movie.
Retribution isn’t a bad movie, but the acting is poor. The script is confusing. The plot barely has a pulse. This movie is about something, but not much other than action scenes. So what is the plot? Alice has to escape? There is some human interest by throwing in a child that the female action hero must save, similar to the surrogate mother-daughter dynamic in James Cameron’s Aliens (1986).
Still, the action scenes are good, especially after the movie crawls out of the hole that is the first twenty minutes or so runtime. The special effects and fight choreography save a mediocre story. Visually, Resident Evil: Retribution is pretty, but it feels like an empty installment in what has been a good franchise.
5 of 10
C+
Sunday, January 06, 2013
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
2013 "Scripter Award" Nominations Announced
USC Libraries Name Finalists for 25th-Annual Scripter Award
Tie results in six sets of writers and screenwriters earning nominations
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The USC Libraries have named the authors and screenwriters of Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Perks of Being a Wallflower and Silver Linings Playbook as finalists for the 25th-annual USC Libraries Scripter Award. A tie resulted in six sets of finalists for the 2013 honor, rather than the typical five.
The finalists are, in alphabetical order by film title:
•Joshuah Bearman, author of the article “The Great Escape,” Antonio J. Mendez, author of The Master of Disguise, and screenwriter Chris Terrio, for Argo
•For Beasts of the Southern Wild, dramatist Lucy Alibar, who wrote the play Juicy and Delicious, and screenwriter Benh Zeitlin, who co-wrote the screenplay with Alibar
•Novelist Yann Martel and screenwriter David Magee for Life of Pi
•Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, and screenwriter Tony Kushner for Lincoln
•Stephen Chbosky, author of the novel Perks of Being a Wallflower, as well as the screenplay based upon the book
•For Silver Linings Playbook, author Matthew Quick and screenwriter David O. Russell
The Scripter Award honors the screenwriter or screenwriters of the year’s most accomplished cinematic adaptation as well as the author of the written work upon which the screenplay is based. The Friends of the USC Libraries established Scripter in 1988, presenting the inaugural awards to author Helene Hanff and screenwriter Hugh Whitemore for 84 Charing Cross Road. This year marks the award’s 25th anniversary.
Other previous Scripter winners include the screenwriters and authors of The Descendants, The Social Network, Schindler’s List and L.A. Confidential.
Co-chaired by Golden Globe-winning screenwriter Naomi Foner and USC professor and vice president of the Writers Guild of America, West, Howard Rodman, the 2013 Scripter selection committee selected the six finalists from a field of 82 eligible adaptations.
Serving on the selection committee, among many others, are film critics Leonard Maltin and Kenneth Turan; authors Michael Chabon, Kaui Hart Hemmings and Jonathan Lethem; screenwriters Geoffrey Fletcher, Gale Ann Hurd and Lawrence Kasdan; and USC deans Elizabeth Daley of the School of Cinematic Arts, Madeline Puzo of the School of Dramatic Arts and Catherine Quinlan of the USC Libraries.
The studios distributing the finalist films and the publishers of the original stories are:
•Argo—Warner Bros., Wired for Bearman’s article, and Penguin for Mendez’s book
•Beasts of the Southern Wild—Fox Searchlight and Diversion Books, publisher of the play Juicy and Delicious, upon which Beasts of the Southern Wild is based
•Life of Pi—20th Century Fox and Mariner Books
•Lincoln—DreamWorks and Mariner Books
•Perks of Being a Wallflower—Summit Entertainment and MTV Books
•Silver Linings Playbook—Weinstein Company and Sara Crichton Books
The USC Libraries will announce the winning authors and screenwriters at a black-tie ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013 in the historic Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library on the University Park campus of the University of Southern California. Academy Award winners Helen Mirren and Taylor Hackford are serving as honorary dinner chairs.
Brokeback Mountain screenwriters Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana will attend the ceremony to receive the previously announced Literary Achievement Award.
Current silent auction donors and other sponsors include Bennett Farms, the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Hawaii Five-0 and Eye Productions, Hungry Cat Santa Monica, L.A. Saddlery, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Namale Resort & Spa in Fiji, Paperblanks, PGA Tour, Picca Peruvian Cantina, the NFL, Pizzeria Mozza, Pleasant Holidays, the Sundance Institute, Terranea Resort, Tony Robbins, Montage Beverly Hills, the Wine of the Month Club, the USC Roski School of Fine Arts, the USC Thornton School of Music and the Friends of the USC Libraries board of directors.
For more information about Scripter—including ticket availability, additional sponsorship opportunities, and an up-to-date list of sponsors—please email scripter@usc.edu or visit scripter.usc.edu.
Tie results in six sets of writers and screenwriters earning nominations
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The USC Libraries have named the authors and screenwriters of Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Perks of Being a Wallflower and Silver Linings Playbook as finalists for the 25th-annual USC Libraries Scripter Award. A tie resulted in six sets of finalists for the 2013 honor, rather than the typical five.
The finalists are, in alphabetical order by film title:
•Joshuah Bearman, author of the article “The Great Escape,” Antonio J. Mendez, author of The Master of Disguise, and screenwriter Chris Terrio, for Argo
•For Beasts of the Southern Wild, dramatist Lucy Alibar, who wrote the play Juicy and Delicious, and screenwriter Benh Zeitlin, who co-wrote the screenplay with Alibar
•Novelist Yann Martel and screenwriter David Magee for Life of Pi
•Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, and screenwriter Tony Kushner for Lincoln
•Stephen Chbosky, author of the novel Perks of Being a Wallflower, as well as the screenplay based upon the book
•For Silver Linings Playbook, author Matthew Quick and screenwriter David O. Russell
The Scripter Award honors the screenwriter or screenwriters of the year’s most accomplished cinematic adaptation as well as the author of the written work upon which the screenplay is based. The Friends of the USC Libraries established Scripter in 1988, presenting the inaugural awards to author Helene Hanff and screenwriter Hugh Whitemore for 84 Charing Cross Road. This year marks the award’s 25th anniversary.
Other previous Scripter winners include the screenwriters and authors of The Descendants, The Social Network, Schindler’s List and L.A. Confidential.
Co-chaired by Golden Globe-winning screenwriter Naomi Foner and USC professor and vice president of the Writers Guild of America, West, Howard Rodman, the 2013 Scripter selection committee selected the six finalists from a field of 82 eligible adaptations.
Serving on the selection committee, among many others, are film critics Leonard Maltin and Kenneth Turan; authors Michael Chabon, Kaui Hart Hemmings and Jonathan Lethem; screenwriters Geoffrey Fletcher, Gale Ann Hurd and Lawrence Kasdan; and USC deans Elizabeth Daley of the School of Cinematic Arts, Madeline Puzo of the School of Dramatic Arts and Catherine Quinlan of the USC Libraries.
The studios distributing the finalist films and the publishers of the original stories are:
•Argo—Warner Bros., Wired for Bearman’s article, and Penguin for Mendez’s book
•Beasts of the Southern Wild—Fox Searchlight and Diversion Books, publisher of the play Juicy and Delicious, upon which Beasts of the Southern Wild is based
•Life of Pi—20th Century Fox and Mariner Books
•Lincoln—DreamWorks and Mariner Books
•Perks of Being a Wallflower—Summit Entertainment and MTV Books
•Silver Linings Playbook—Weinstein Company and Sara Crichton Books
The USC Libraries will announce the winning authors and screenwriters at a black-tie ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013 in the historic Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library on the University Park campus of the University of Southern California. Academy Award winners Helen Mirren and Taylor Hackford are serving as honorary dinner chairs.
Brokeback Mountain screenwriters Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana will attend the ceremony to receive the previously announced Literary Achievement Award.
Current silent auction donors and other sponsors include Bennett Farms, the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Hawaii Five-0 and Eye Productions, Hungry Cat Santa Monica, L.A. Saddlery, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Namale Resort & Spa in Fiji, Paperblanks, PGA Tour, Picca Peruvian Cantina, the NFL, Pizzeria Mozza, Pleasant Holidays, the Sundance Institute, Terranea Resort, Tony Robbins, Montage Beverly Hills, the Wine of the Month Club, the USC Roski School of Fine Arts, the USC Thornton School of Music and the Friends of the USC Libraries board of directors.
For more information about Scripter—including ticket availability, additional sponsorship opportunities, and an up-to-date list of sponsors—please email scripter@usc.edu or visit scripter.usc.edu.
2012 Women Film Critics Circle Awards - Complete List
The Women Film Critics Circle Awards went to many different films in 2012, although Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty received three awards. The Women Film Critics Circle is an association of women film critics, who are involved in print, radio, online and TV broadcast media. Founded in 2004, this group is the first women critics’ organization in the United States.
2012 Women Film Critics Circle Awards:
BEST MOVIE ABOUT WOMEN
A Royal Affair
BEST MOVIE BY A WOMAN
Zero Dark Thirty
BEST WOMAN STORYTELLER (Screenwriting Award)
Two Days In NY (Julie Delpy)
BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
BEST ACTOR
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
BEST YOUNG ACTRESS
Quvenzhanee Wallis, Beast Of The Southern Wild
BEST COMEDIC ACTRESS
Maggie Smith, Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
BEST FOREIGN FILM BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
Where Do We Go Now (from Lebanon with Egypt, France, and Italy)
BEST FEMALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
Zero Dark Thirty
WORST FEMALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE-TIE
Killer Joe
Think Like A Man
BEST MALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
Lincoln
WORST MALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
Killer Joe
BEST THEATRICALLY UNRELEASED MOVIE BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
Hemingway And Gellhorn
BEST EQUALITY OF THE SEXES
Zero Dark Thirty
BEST ANIMATED FEMALES
Brave
BEST FAMILY FILM-TIE
Life Of Pi
Rise Of The Guardians
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Barbra Streisand
ACTING AND ACTIVISM.AWARD
Sally Field – Field is a dedicated advocate for women's rights. She has served on the Board of Directors of Vital Voices Global Partnership, an international women's NGO, and has co-hosted the Global Leadership Awards. Field suffers from osteoporosis and has become a vocal advocate for women's health issues, encouraging early diagnosis of such conditions through technology, such as bone density scans.
*ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD: For a film that most passionately opposes violence against women -TIE
Compliance
The Invisible War
*JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD: For best expressing the woman of color experience in America
Middle Of Nowhere
*KAREN MORLEY AWARD: For best exemplifying a woman’s place in history or society, and a courageous search for identity
A Royal Affair (from Denmark)
COURAGE IN ACTING: Taking on unconventional roles that radically redefine the images of women on screen
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
THE INVISIBLE WOMAN AWARD: Performance by a woman whose exceptional impact on the film dramatically, socially or historically, has been ignored
Helen Mirren, Hitchcock
BEST DOCUMENTARY BY OR ABOUT A WOMAN
Queen Of Versailles
WOMEN’S WORK: BEST ENSEMBLE
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
BEST SCREEN COUPLE
Moonrise Kingdom: Bill Murray and Frances McDormand
*WFCC HALL OF SHAME*
Bachelorette with Kirsten Dunst, had all sorts of ditzy former high school classmates getting together for the wedding of a girl they used to make fun of. Just stupid on so many levels: male strippers, drinking, general girly silliness.
Ici-Bas (Down Below). Rape romance: A raped nun (Celine Sallette) falls in love with her rapist. The male fantasy horror of 'rape romance' on screen. A WFCC Hall Of Shame pick in tribute to the unnamed Indian student and rape murder victim, in the kind of traditional culture where women and girls are pressured to marry their rapists.
Skyfall: 'Bond Girl' is only on screen long enough to sell trailers and products like OPI's 'Skyfall Collection' of nail polishes, and gets bumped off at the end of Act II; M turns into a cowering incompetent and gets bumped off at the end of Act III; and the female sharp-shooter in Act I loses her nerve and leaves 'Field Operations' to become an office assistant in Act III. I loved the Sean Connery/James Bond films as a kid. Women got to be part of the action; the Bond Girl was always there to celebrate success at the end. But as a 50th anniversary tribute to the Bond series made in 2012, Skyfall truly broke my heart!
MOMMIE DEAREST WORST SCREEN MOM OF THE YEAR AWARD
Helena Bonham Carter, Les Miserables
BEST LINE IN A MOVIE 2012
"...You can't kill the animals in a movie, only the women." - Christopher Walken/Seven Psychopaths
JUST KIDDING AWARD:
Best Male Images In A Movie: Magic Mike
*Please Note: The WFCC Top Ten Hall Of Shame represents the ‘don’t tell me to shut up’ sidebar contribution of individual members, and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the entire Circle. Also, members may be objecting to particular characters in a film, and not the entire movie. Clarification: If an aspect of the movie is intentionally negative to make a point, rather than offensive, that is not under consideration for this category.
*ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD: Adrienne Shelly was a promising actress and filmmaker who was brutally strangled in her apartment in 2006 at the age of forty by a construction worker in the building, after she complained about noise. Her killer tried to cover up his crime by hanging her from a shower20rack in her bathroom, to make it look like a suicide. He later confessed that he was having a “bad day.” Shelly, who left behind a baby daughter, had just completed her film Waitress, which she also starred in, and which was honored at Sundance after her death.
*JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD: The daughter of a laundress and a musician, Baker overcame being born black, female and poor, and marriage at age fifteen, to become an internationally acclaimed legendary performer, starring in the films Princess Tam Tam, Moulin Rouge and Zou Zou. She also survived the race riots in East St. Louis, Illinois as a child, and later expatriated to France to escape US racism. After participating heroically in the underground French Resistance during WWII, Baker returned to the US where she was a crusader for racial equality. Her activism led to attacks against her by reporter Walter Winchell who denounced her as a communist, leading her to wage a battle against him. Baker was instrumental in ending segregation in many theaters and clubs, where she refused to perform unless integration was implemented.
*KAREN MORLEY AWARD: Karen Morley was a promising Hollywood star in the 1930s, in such films as Mata Hari and Our Daily Bread. She was driven out of Hollywood for her leftist political convictions by the Blacklist and for refusing to testify against other actors, while Robert Taylor and Sterling Hayden were informants against her. And also for daring to have a child and become a mother, unacceptable for female stars in those days. Morley maintained her militant political activism for the rest of her life, running for Lieutenant Governor on the American Labor Party ticket in 1954. She passed away in 2003, unrepentant to the end, at the age of 93.
2012 Women Film Critics Circle Awards:
BEST MOVIE ABOUT WOMEN
A Royal Affair
BEST MOVIE BY A WOMAN
Zero Dark Thirty
BEST WOMAN STORYTELLER (Screenwriting Award)
Two Days In NY (Julie Delpy)
BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
BEST ACTOR
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
BEST YOUNG ACTRESS
Quvenzhanee Wallis, Beast Of The Southern Wild
BEST COMEDIC ACTRESS
Maggie Smith, Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
BEST FOREIGN FILM BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
Where Do We Go Now (from Lebanon with Egypt, France, and Italy)
BEST FEMALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
Zero Dark Thirty
WORST FEMALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE-TIE
Killer Joe
Think Like A Man
BEST MALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
Lincoln
WORST MALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
Killer Joe
BEST THEATRICALLY UNRELEASED MOVIE BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
Hemingway And Gellhorn
BEST EQUALITY OF THE SEXES
Zero Dark Thirty
BEST ANIMATED FEMALES
Brave
BEST FAMILY FILM-TIE
Life Of Pi
Rise Of The Guardians
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Barbra Streisand
ACTING AND ACTIVISM.AWARD
Sally Field – Field is a dedicated advocate for women's rights. She has served on the Board of Directors of Vital Voices Global Partnership, an international women's NGO, and has co-hosted the Global Leadership Awards. Field suffers from osteoporosis and has become a vocal advocate for women's health issues, encouraging early diagnosis of such conditions through technology, such as bone density scans.
*ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD: For a film that most passionately opposes violence against women -TIE
Compliance
The Invisible War
*JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD: For best expressing the woman of color experience in America
Middle Of Nowhere
*KAREN MORLEY AWARD: For best exemplifying a woman’s place in history or society, and a courageous search for identity
A Royal Affair (from Denmark)
COURAGE IN ACTING: Taking on unconventional roles that radically redefine the images of women on screen
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
THE INVISIBLE WOMAN AWARD: Performance by a woman whose exceptional impact on the film dramatically, socially or historically, has been ignored
Helen Mirren, Hitchcock
BEST DOCUMENTARY BY OR ABOUT A WOMAN
Queen Of Versailles
WOMEN’S WORK: BEST ENSEMBLE
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
BEST SCREEN COUPLE
Moonrise Kingdom: Bill Murray and Frances McDormand
*WFCC HALL OF SHAME*
Bachelorette with Kirsten Dunst, had all sorts of ditzy former high school classmates getting together for the wedding of a girl they used to make fun of. Just stupid on so many levels: male strippers, drinking, general girly silliness.
Ici-Bas (Down Below). Rape romance: A raped nun (Celine Sallette) falls in love with her rapist. The male fantasy horror of 'rape romance' on screen. A WFCC Hall Of Shame pick in tribute to the unnamed Indian student and rape murder victim, in the kind of traditional culture where women and girls are pressured to marry their rapists.
Skyfall: 'Bond Girl' is only on screen long enough to sell trailers and products like OPI's 'Skyfall Collection' of nail polishes, and gets bumped off at the end of Act II; M turns into a cowering incompetent and gets bumped off at the end of Act III; and the female sharp-shooter in Act I loses her nerve and leaves 'Field Operations' to become an office assistant in Act III. I loved the Sean Connery/James Bond films as a kid. Women got to be part of the action; the Bond Girl was always there to celebrate success at the end. But as a 50th anniversary tribute to the Bond series made in 2012, Skyfall truly broke my heart!
MOMMIE DEAREST WORST SCREEN MOM OF THE YEAR AWARD
Helena Bonham Carter, Les Miserables
BEST LINE IN A MOVIE 2012
"...You can't kill the animals in a movie, only the women." - Christopher Walken/Seven Psychopaths
JUST KIDDING AWARD:
Best Male Images In A Movie: Magic Mike
*Please Note: The WFCC Top Ten Hall Of Shame represents the ‘don’t tell me to shut up’ sidebar contribution of individual members, and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the entire Circle. Also, members may be objecting to particular characters in a film, and not the entire movie. Clarification: If an aspect of the movie is intentionally negative to make a point, rather than offensive, that is not under consideration for this category.
*ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD: Adrienne Shelly was a promising actress and filmmaker who was brutally strangled in her apartment in 2006 at the age of forty by a construction worker in the building, after she complained about noise. Her killer tried to cover up his crime by hanging her from a shower20rack in her bathroom, to make it look like a suicide. He later confessed that he was having a “bad day.” Shelly, who left behind a baby daughter, had just completed her film Waitress, which she also starred in, and which was honored at Sundance after her death.
*JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD: The daughter of a laundress and a musician, Baker overcame being born black, female and poor, and marriage at age fifteen, to become an internationally acclaimed legendary performer, starring in the films Princess Tam Tam, Moulin Rouge and Zou Zou. She also survived the race riots in East St. Louis, Illinois as a child, and later expatriated to France to escape US racism. After participating heroically in the underground French Resistance during WWII, Baker returned to the US where she was a crusader for racial equality. Her activism led to attacks against her by reporter Walter Winchell who denounced her as a communist, leading her to wage a battle against him. Baker was instrumental in ending segregation in many theaters and clubs, where she refused to perform unless integration was implemented.
*KAREN MORLEY AWARD: Karen Morley was a promising Hollywood star in the 1930s, in such films as Mata Hari and Our Daily Bread. She was driven out of Hollywood for her leftist political convictions by the Blacklist and for refusing to testify against other actors, while Robert Taylor and Sterling Hayden were informants against her. And also for daring to have a child and become a mother, unacceptable for female stars in those days. Morley maintained her militant political activism for the rest of her life, running for Lieutenant Governor on the American Labor Party ticket in 1954. She passed away in 2003, unrepentant to the end, at the age of 93.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
2013 Directors Guild Award Nominations
The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is the entertainment labor union that represents film and television directors. The DGA gives out the Directors Guild of America Award each year to honor outstanding achievement.
The winner of the DGA Award for “Feature Film” usually wins the best director Oscar. As of last year, only six DGA winners in the “Feature Film” category have not also won the best director Oscar. The last time this happened was for the year 2002. Rob Marshall was the DGA choice for Chicago. The Oscar went to Roman Polanski for The Pianist.
The winners of the 65th Annual DGA Awards will be announced at the 65th Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, February 2, 2013 in Los Angeles.
65th Annual DGA Awards Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film nominees (for 2012):
BEN AFFLECK for Argo
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
Mr. Affleck’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Amy Herman
First Assistant Director: David Webb
Second Assistant Director: Ian Calip
Second Second Assistant Directors: Clark Credle, Gavin Kleintop
First Assistant Director (Turkey Unit): Belkis Turan
This is Mr. Affleck’s first DGA Feature Film Award nomination.
KATHRYN BIGELOW for Zero Dark Thirty
(Columbia Pictures)
Ms. Bigelow’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Colin Wilson
First Assistant Director: David A. Ticotin
Second Assistant Directors: Ben Lanning, Sarah Hood
First Assistant Director (Jordan Unit): Scott Robertson
Second Assistant Directors (Jordan Unit): Jonas Spaccarotelli, Yanal Kassay
Second Second Assistant Director (Jordan Unit): Tarek Afifi
Unit Production Manager (India Unit): Rajeev Mehra
This is Ms. Bigelow’s second DGA Feature Film Award nomination. She won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for The Hurt Locker in 2009.
TOM HOOPER for Les Misérables
(Universal Pictures)
Mr. Hooper's Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Patrick Schweitzer
First Assistant Director: Ben Howarth
Second Assistant Director: Harriet Worth
Second Second Assistant Director: Dan Channing Williams
This is Mr. Hooper's second DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for The King's Speech (2010) and was previously nominated for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television/Mini-Series for John Adams in 2008.
ANG LEE for Life of Pi
(Twentieth Century Fox)
Mr. Lee’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Michael J. Malone
Unit Production Manager (Taiwan): Leo Chen
First Assistant Directors: William M. Connor, Cliff Lanning
Second Assistant Directors: Robert Burgess, Ben Lanning
Unit Production Manager (India Unit): Sanjay Kumar
First Assistant Director (India Unit): Nitya Mehra
Second Assistant Director (India Unit): Ananya Rane
Second Second Assistant Directors (India Unit): Namra Parikh, Freya Parekh
Second Assistant Directors (Montreal Unit): Derek Wimble, Renato De Cotiis
This is Mr. Lee’s fourth DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) and was nominated for Sense and Sensibility in 1995.
STEVEN SPIELBERG for Lincoln
(Dreamworks Pictures/Twentieth Century Fox)
Mr. Spielberg’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Susan McNamara
First Assistant Director: Adam Somner
Second Assistant Director: Ian Stone
Second Second Assistant Directors: Eric Lasko, Trevor Tavares
This is Mr. Spielberg’s eleventh DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film three times for Saving Private Ryan (1998), Schindler’s List (1993) and The Color Purple (1985). He was also nominated in this category for Munich (2005), Amistad (1997), Empire of the Sun (1987), E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial (1982), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and Jaws (1975). Mr. Spielberg was honored with the DGA’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.
The winner of the DGA Award for “Feature Film” usually wins the best director Oscar. As of last year, only six DGA winners in the “Feature Film” category have not also won the best director Oscar. The last time this happened was for the year 2002. Rob Marshall was the DGA choice for Chicago. The Oscar went to Roman Polanski for The Pianist.
The winners of the 65th Annual DGA Awards will be announced at the 65th Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, February 2, 2013 in Los Angeles.
65th Annual DGA Awards Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film nominees (for 2012):
BEN AFFLECK for Argo
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
Mr. Affleck’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Amy Herman
First Assistant Director: David Webb
Second Assistant Director: Ian Calip
Second Second Assistant Directors: Clark Credle, Gavin Kleintop
First Assistant Director (Turkey Unit): Belkis Turan
This is Mr. Affleck’s first DGA Feature Film Award nomination.
KATHRYN BIGELOW for Zero Dark Thirty
(Columbia Pictures)
Ms. Bigelow’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Colin Wilson
First Assistant Director: David A. Ticotin
Second Assistant Directors: Ben Lanning, Sarah Hood
First Assistant Director (Jordan Unit): Scott Robertson
Second Assistant Directors (Jordan Unit): Jonas Spaccarotelli, Yanal Kassay
Second Second Assistant Director (Jordan Unit): Tarek Afifi
Unit Production Manager (India Unit): Rajeev Mehra
This is Ms. Bigelow’s second DGA Feature Film Award nomination. She won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for The Hurt Locker in 2009.
TOM HOOPER for Les Misérables
(Universal Pictures)
Mr. Hooper's Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Patrick Schweitzer
First Assistant Director: Ben Howarth
Second Assistant Director: Harriet Worth
Second Second Assistant Director: Dan Channing Williams
This is Mr. Hooper's second DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for The King's Speech (2010) and was previously nominated for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television/Mini-Series for John Adams in 2008.
ANG LEE for Life of Pi
(Twentieth Century Fox)
Mr. Lee’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Michael J. Malone
Unit Production Manager (Taiwan): Leo Chen
First Assistant Directors: William M. Connor, Cliff Lanning
Second Assistant Directors: Robert Burgess, Ben Lanning
Unit Production Manager (India Unit): Sanjay Kumar
First Assistant Director (India Unit): Nitya Mehra
Second Assistant Director (India Unit): Ananya Rane
Second Second Assistant Directors (India Unit): Namra Parikh, Freya Parekh
Second Assistant Directors (Montreal Unit): Derek Wimble, Renato De Cotiis
This is Mr. Lee’s fourth DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) and was nominated for Sense and Sensibility in 1995.
STEVEN SPIELBERG for Lincoln
(Dreamworks Pictures/Twentieth Century Fox)
Mr. Spielberg’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Susan McNamara
First Assistant Director: Adam Somner
Second Assistant Director: Ian Stone
Second Second Assistant Directors: Eric Lasko, Trevor Tavares
This is Mr. Spielberg’s eleventh DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film three times for Saving Private Ryan (1998), Schindler’s List (1993) and The Color Purple (1985). He was also nominated in this category for Munich (2005), Amistad (1997), Empire of the Sun (1987), E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial (1982), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and Jaws (1975). Mr. Spielberg was honored with the DGA’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.
Review: Still Taken with Original "Taken"
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 3 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux
Taken (2008)
Running time: 93 minutes (1 hour, 33 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, disturbing thematic material, sexual content, some drug references and language
DIRECTOR: Pierre Morel
WRITERS: Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen
PRODUCER: Luc Besson
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Michel Abramowicz (director of photography)
EDITOR: Frédéric Thoraval
COMPOSER: Nathaniel Méchaly
ACTION/THRILLER
Starring: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Xander Berkeley, Leland Orser, Jon Gries, David Warshofsky, Holly Valance, Olivier Rabourdin, Gerard Watkins, Arben Bajraktaraj, Nicolas Giraud, and Katie Cassidy
The subject of this movie review is Taken, a 2008 French thriller produced by Luc Besson and starring Liam Neeson. The film was released in January of 2009 in the United States. Taken follows a retired CIA agent through Paris as he tries to find his kidnapped daughter.
Former CIA operative Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) wants to be closer to his daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace), whom he calls “Kimmie.” The 17-year-old lives with her mother, Lenore (Famke Janssen), and her wealthy stepfather, Stuart (Xander Berkeley). Bryan has a rocky relationship with Lenore, who pressures him not to be overprotective of Kim. That’s why Bryan reluctantly signs a permission slip that allows Kim to travel to Paris, France with her older friend, Amanda (Katie Cassidy).
Not long after the girls arrive in Paris, they are kidnapped by a group of men. Bryan races to Paris to find Kim, but her kidnappers are ruthless, murderous men who hide in Paris’ shadowy criminal underworld. Now, he must rely on old skills as he races through Paris’ darker districts to save his daughter before she disappears forever. Heaven help anyone who gets in his way.
I had put off seeing Taken for about four years, and, now that I’ve seen it, I can say that it easily surpassed my expectations. Taken is a terrific thriller. It is a feisty little revenge flick that plays like a big-time, big studio thriller. I think that there are a few holes in the plot and even some things that the characters do in the movie that poke credulity. It is not enough to stop me from enjoying the movie.
Perhaps, this film was not meant to be a Liam Neeson vehicle, but it became one because of Neeson’s fierce performance. He is genuine as a daddy both desperate to make up for lost time with his daughter and resolved to let no one and no thing get in the way of him finding his stolen child. Neeson does the best killer-robot-like-action dude. When other actors take on that kind of character, they can sometimes seem too cold and/or too stiff: either inadvertently (Wesley Snipes in Blade: Trinity) or because of limited acting range (Chuck Norris – pick a movie).
I must also say that, once again, the Luc Besson slick-shiny-cool action movie generator has produced another pop movie hit. Director Pierre Morel plows through this script’s inanities like a chef determined to make the best meal that he can out of Big Mac ingredients. His resulting dish, Taken, is actually quite tasty.
8 of 10
A
Monday, January 14, 2013
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