In Contention

Tag: The Door

  • If YOU had a ballot

    Colin FirthTonight’s the big night, and as we close in on the final hours of the 2009-2010 film awards season, I thought I’d offer up this list (another one!), which reflects how you, the readership, would like the night’s festivities to go.  These are the results of the daily polls that accompanied our Oscar Guide series during the second phase of the season.  Thanks for participating.

    Best Picture: “The Hurt Locker”
    Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker”
    Best Actor: Colin Firth, “A Single Man”
    Best Actress: Meryl Streep, “Julie & Julia”
    Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds”
    Best Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique, “Precious”
    Best Adapted Screenplay: “Up in the Air”
    Best Original Screenplay: “Inglourious Basterds”

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  • Nut up or shut up: final predictions

    Jeremy Renner in The Hurt LockerAs I look over my final predictions for tomorrow night’s Oscar ceremony, I notice that I’ve made only one change — in the Best Live Action Short category — since taking my initial stab the day of the nominations.  And I haven’t made a single change since I started the Oscar Guide series.

    Am I that confidant in my picks?  Not really.  It’s a very unpredictable year all of a sudden (the AP chimes in on that here), even if conventional wisdom would have us believe much of this is a foregone conclusion.  But nothing has really moved the needle during the bulk of phase two and the one controversy that popped up may not be as detrimental as some suspect.  Regardless, I’m frankly bracing myself for having an off year.

    And it kinda sucks because I set a pretty high bar for myself last year, a personal best, as I nailed down a web-leading 21 of the 24 categories (23 of 24 if you count alternates).  That included a call for “Departures” that left me exposed to plenty of “You’re just trying to be different” heckling.  Ahem.

    If I even approach those numbers this time around, I’ll certainly be surprised.  I frankly don’t expect to hit 21 ever again, but who knows?  Many areas of this race are coming right down to the wire.

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  • OSCAR GUIDE: Best Short Film (Live Action)

    Simon J. Berger in Instead of AbracadabraThis year’s crop of live action shorts is, in my opinion, one of the weaker fields in recent memory. There isn’t anything that stands out and announces its storytelling or cinema prowess, though the usual caveat with shorts — gimmicks in the plot — are mercifully scarce this time around.

    Generally films that showcase top notch filmmaking techniques, mini-features with noticeably rich production values, have a leg up here. There are exceptions, of course, and many times that built-in bias tends to shun more profound stories that might be assembled with lesser means, but nevertheless, there’s a decent mixture of budgets, genres and talent this time around.

    The nominees are:

    “The Door” (Juanita Wilson and James Flynn)
    “Instead of Abracadabra” (Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström)
    “Kavi” (Gregg Helvey)
    “Miracle Fish” (Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey)
    “The New Tenants” (Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson)

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  • 10 live action short films short-listed by AMPAS

    Sidney TurtlebaumThe Academy announced today 10 finalists for the Best Live Action Short category.  They are:

    • “The Door,” Juanita Wilson, director, and James Flynn, producer (Octagon Films Ltd.)
    • “The Ground Beneath,” Rene Hernandez, director, and Kristina Ceyton, producer (Passion Pictures)
    • “Hotel,” Tim Conrad, director-producer (Oyster Films)
    • “Instead of Abracadabra,” Patrik Eklund, director, and Mathias Fjellstrom, producer (Direktorn & Fabrikorn)
    • “Kavi,” Gregg Helvey, director-producer (Gregg Helvey)
    • “Miracle Fish,” Luke Doolan, director, and Drew Bailey, producer (Druid Films)
    • “The New Tenants,” Joachim Back, director, and Tivi Magnusson, producer (Park Pictures)
    • “The Response,” Adam Rodgers, director, and Sig Libowitz, producer (Look at the Moon Productions)
    • “Short Term 12,” Destin Daniel Cretton, director-producer, and Michelle Steffes, producer (Destin Cretton)
    • “Sidney Turtlebaum,” Tristram Shapeero, director, and Daniel Jewel, producer (Third Man Films Limited)

    Check out excerpts/trailers for six of these films after the jump.

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