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In so many words, this is it. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences unveils it’s slate of nominees bright and early tomorrow morning, and this being the first year with a 10-film Best Picture field, all eyes will be on the top category to gauge which way the wind blew on this AMPAS [...]
Entries filed in: 'Off the Carpet'
OFF THE CARPET: The time is nigh
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 3:44 pm · February 1st, 2010
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OFF THE CARPET: David and Goliath
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 12:05 pm · January 25th, 2010
The stunning PGA victory for “The Hurt Locker” last night not only injected some more excitement into what was a coagulating Oscar race, but it also injected some intrigue and drama as well.
Some might want to say it wasn’t such a surprise, and if you called it, great. But it was an against-all-odds victory no [...]
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OFF THE CARPET: All Globed out
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 11:13 am · January 18th, 2010
As it turned out, the only celebration I made it to last night was Fox’s Globes after-party at Craft in Century City. Given that “Avatar” and “Crazy Heart” were two of three films to win more than one Globe (the other being Pixar’s “Up”), it kind of felt like the place to be.
The early part [...]
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OFF THE CARPET: Memo to the Academy
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 3:07 pm · January 12th, 2010
–MEMO–
TO: Members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences
FROM: Kristopher Tapley
RE: The ballot you recently received
Ladies and gentleman,
As you sit to ponder the year’s best in your various fields of professional expertise, you might find yourself strong-armed into the consensus view 2009’s film product has been whittled down to over the last several [...]
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OFF THE CARPET: Why it should be ‘The Messenger’
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:46 am · January 4th, 2010
The writing is on the wall. “Nine” is on the precipice, teetering, on the brink of falling from the Best Picture ranks, 10 nominees or not. Speculation flies as to which film will be the beneficiary (as most concede this is the only slot in flux, though there are certainly compelling arguments against [...]
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OFF THE CARPET: A spade is a spade
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 11:10 am · December 28th, 2009
Oscar ballots are being mailed to AMPAS members today. So now is the time to pay attention to the buzz, as most ballots are returned within the first couple of weeks (which says everything you need to know about how much time and care is put into the process by voters).
However, it’s somewhat amazing to [...]
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OFF THE CARPET: Pump your brakes
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 3:52 pm · December 7th, 2009
It is true. The annual Oscar season has forged an epidemic of instant judgment and facile analysis that has become a fairly significant blight on the fraternity of film criticism.
Not everyone is guilty. In fact, most aren’t. But from where I sit, and speaking solely for myself, the initial quality-assessors of the industry have twisted [...]
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OFF THE CARPET: Let it all bleed out
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:57 am · November 30th, 2009
Every now and then this season, I’ve sat down and taken on the fool’s errand of deciphering what 2009, the year in film, has been “about.” It’s silly because a given film year is the result of years and years of preparation and development, so to think a collective thematic consciousness settles in is a [...]
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OFF THE CARPET: Field of adaptations
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:34 am · November 23rd, 2009
As always, the year’s adapted screenplay race is much more competitive than the original screenplay race. But what’s intriguing to note is that of the anticipated “big four” still to be widely screened, three of them are right in the thick of this discussion.
In the case of “Nine,” there is a chance for Anthony [...]
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OFF THE CARPET: Original players
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 2:44 pm · November 16th, 2009
When I had the unmitigated gall last week to project a set of winners for this year’s Oscar race, I was a bit startled at how easy Mark Boal’s script for “The Hurt Locker” slid into the Best Original Screenplay slot. Looking over the landscape of contenders in the category, it’s a little obvious why [...]
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OFF THE CARPET: Looking at the supporting gentlemen
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:10 am · November 9th, 2009
In recent weeks we’ve been covering the performance categories in this space. With little else of tangible interest, what else can we possibly discuss? It’s as good a time as any to take note of what we have on our hands. Be sure to check out our looks at Best Actor, Best Actress and Best [...]
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OFF THE CARPET: Looking at the leading gentlemen
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:31 am · November 2nd, 2009
We’ve taken concentrated looks at the lead actress and supporting actress categories in recent weeks. Now let’s turn our attention over to the fellas.
Behind the Best Picture race, of course, the lead actor competition is perhaps the most hotly anticipated award of a given Oscar telecast. Movie stars are born, Hollywood staples are rewarded and [...]
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OFF THE CARPET: Looking at the supporting ladies
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:37 am · October 26th, 2009
A few weeks ago in this space I took a dedicated look at the lead actress category. With little in the way of actual development (this season is curiously divided on the timeline as we’ve got maybe another month before more major titles begin screening), I figured it would be a good idea to keep [...]
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OFF THE CARPET: Looking at the leading ladies
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:24 am · October 5th, 2009
Now is the time when everyone begins assessing the race at its beginnings, and the gist I’m getting is that no one really knows what to write about. Stabs at analysis end up being responses to other takes or rehashed arguments, and nothing really insightful is being brought to the table.
And let’s face it. As [...]
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OFF THE CARPET: Underdog season
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:50 am · September 28th, 2009
It suddenly occurred to me when I got a screening invite last week to “That Evening Sun,” a potential awards prospect for lead actor Hal Holbrook, that the film actually had a distributor: Freestyle Releasing.
Freestyle is a boutique company that doesn’t have a lot on deck, but it reminded me of how spread out this [...]
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