Features







2007-08 Oscar Calendar



[Monday, December 3, 2007]

Official Screen Credits
Forms Due.


[Wednesday, December 26, 2007]

Nominations ballots mailed.


[Saturday, January 12, 2008]

Nominations polls close
5 p.m. PST.


[Tuesday, January 22, 2008]

Nominations announced
5:30 a.m. PST
Samuel Goldwyn Theater


[Wednesday, January 30, 2008]

Final ballots mailed.


[Monday, February 4, 2008]

Nominees Luncheon


[Saturday, February 9, 2008]

Scientific and Technical
Awards Dinner


[Tuesday, February 19, 2008]

Final polls close 5 p.m. PST.


[Sunday, February 24, 2008]

79th Annual
Academy Awards Presentation
Kodak Theatre

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April 22, 2008

Update

Hello all. An update on the new site launch.


Everything looks to be on pace for the May 1 redesign. I've got two new contributors, and might have a third in the next week or so. John Foote is moving over to general blogging duties in addition to his Toronto coverage, and of course, Brian and Gerard will be back for the ride.


We'll take flight in just over a week with a review of "Iron Man" and the new phase of In Contention. Until then, keep an eye out...

April 06, 2008

05-01-2008

Tentative date for the new redesign of In Contention. I was going to wait until the fall to break out the new look, but I'd rather get it over with during the summer. We'll have a slick new design, a few new faces and, hopefully, a nice new start after a solid two years at the URL. New, new, new. Keep an eye out.

March 13, 2008

The Send-off...finally

sendoff.jpg


Yeah...uh...sorry about that. Things just kind of turned into a ghost town around here for the last two weeks, a bit too abruptly. Midterms have kind of owned my butt for a while, but now I can finally, and properly, put a bow on the 2007 Oscar season (great...since everyone else is WAY past that!)


Gerard's piece has finally landed, which gives his mini-reactions to the tech winners. Like me, Gerard has been dealing with higher education this season (and law school has to be a hell of a lot more difficult than graduate journalism), but I have to say thank you for his hard work in spotlighting those fields this year. And what a year it was for crafts categories. I found myself jealous at times of his beat this season, so much so that I had to poach the cinematographers for that "best shots of the year" piece a few weeks back. Hopefully Gerard will forgive me.


Most of my reactions landed at Red Carpet District, but two weeks later, I feel this strange void in Oscar history. I don't quite understand why. Maybe it was the strike or other factors, but 2007 felt like the year that just...happened. I touched on this a few days ago, but honestly, I can't put my finger on why. I was unhappy with some of the major winners, but that's never brought this feeling out before. The glut of coverage this year certainly added a numbing effect, though haven't we seen that coming? Maybe the Oscars are seeming more and more (personally speaking) like a pointless exercise, and therefore, the coverage isn't as satisfying as it once was.


I don't know. Not that that's gonna stop us from blabbering on about them.


With that in mind, I thought I'd note that next year's In Contention experience will be much more streamlined. Hopefully. I'm working on a few things here and there, brainstorming this and that, but mostly, I want to develop a lighter, swifter experience on the whole. So, on that note, I'm interested as to whether there are a few skillful souls out there who'd like to join as contributing bloggers here at the ole' homestead. If you think you'd be interested, send me a shout.


With that, I'm locking up the joint. Spring break is...well, now...and I have nothing on my mind but the white sands and deep blue waters of Kauai, so enjoy your time away from the fray. We'll be back in no time.

March 07, 2008

A week without Oscar...

Jeez, that was a weird feeling. And is it just me, or does the 2007-08 Oscar season suddenly seem like a cypher, a ship that passed in the night while more pressing matters (the writers' strike, the election...personally speaking, GRAD SCHOOL) were at hand? Add the lowest-ratings-ever and the perception that the nominees were by and large unpopular (relatively speaking) and I have to say, this looks like it's going to be a black hole as far as I'm concerned in the Oscar landscape of recent times.


Strangely enough, 2007 was my favorite year for movies in nearly a decade.


ANYWAY, all that is the lead-up to say that I'm not QUITE done for the season. Poor Gerard has a wrap-up column that I've been dragging my feet in editing and turning around, and I haven't exactly given a proper send-off. I just needed some decompression, I suppose. Back with more later...

February 25, 2008

Looking Ahead: The 2008 Year-in-Advance Oscar Column

revolutionary1.jpg


Another year another set of wins...and another look ahead at what's in store NEXT year.


It's never too late to take a long gander at what we might see dominating the film awards landscape in 365 days, and with that in mind, I've been doing my usual mulling over the possibilities for a few weeks to put together the sadly thorough examination of the 2008-09 award season that follows. Let's get into it. There are some major considerations to take into account. right off the top.


Like Leonardo DiCaprio, for instance, who is set to be the entertainer of the year. With performances in "Body of Lies" (Ridley Scott) and "Revolutionary Road" (Sam Mendes), DiCaprio is working with a duo of awards proven talent this yearr. Perhaps that will work against him, much like it did in 2006, and no major Oscar success will come knocking. But we'll wait until we see the performances. Each of them could be enticing.


This year's Best Picture Oscar victor Scott Rudin is back again, by the way, with "Revolutionary Road," recently inherited by Paramount Vantage and probably one of the true "frontrunners" this far out that we could put our finger on. The only other film in Vantage's arsenal is Edward Zwick's "Defiance," which could simply b a commercial success, but might find its way to multiple nods like "The Last Samurai" and "Blood Diamond" in recent years.

Continue reading “Looking Ahead: The 2008 Year-in-Advance Oscar Column” »

Columns on the way...

I'm calling it a night. A final reactions column will be up in the morning, along with the year in advance column. Though, obviously. you can check out year in advance predix in the sidebar for now. More later. Zzzzzz...

February 24, 2008

Wrapping up the 80th Annual

oscars.jpg


Alright, so that's a wrap on the 80th annual Academy Awards. A snooze for the most part, but I had a hell of a time doing the podcasts with John and the boys. I hope you enjoyed them as well. I'll be back later on to finalize the season, and then, of course, check back here tomorrow for our annual Year in Advance Oscar column.


How I did: 18/24


And the Oscars went to:


Best Costume Design: "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"
Best Animated Feature Film: "Ratatouille"
Best Makeup: "La Vie en Rose"
Best Visual Effects: "The Golden Compass"
Best Art Direction: "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"
Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men"
Best Short Film - Live Action: "The Mozart of Pickpockets"
Best Short Film - Animated: "Peter & the Wolf"
Best Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton, "Michael Clayton"
Best Adapted Screenplay: "No Country for Old Men"
Best Sound Editing: "The Bourne Ultimatum"
Best Sound Mixing: "The Bourne Ultimatum"
Best Actress: Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose"
Best Film Editing: "The Bourne Ultimatum"
Best Foreign Language Film: "The Counterfeiters"
Best Music - Original Song: "Once"
Best Cinematography: "There Will Be Blood"
Best Music - Original Score: "Atonement"
Best Documentary - Short Subject: "Freeheld"
Best Documentary - Feature: "Taxi to the Dark Side"
Best Original Screenplay: "Juno"
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood"
Best Director: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, "No Country for Old Men"
Best Picture: "No Country for Old Men"

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2008 Year in Advance Predictions


UPDATED: 2/25/2008





Main Charts | Tech Charts



[Motion Picture]

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

“Doubt”

“Frost/Nixon”

“Revolutionary Road”

“The Soloist”



[Directing]

David Fincher
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

Ron Howard
“Frost/Nixon”

Gus Van Sant
“Milk”

Sam Mendes
“Revolutionary Road”

Joe Wright
“The Soloist”



[Actor in a Leading Role]

Benicio Del Toro
“The Argentine”

Jamie Foxx
“The Soloist”

Frank Langella
“Frost/Nixon”

Sean Penn
“Milk”

Brad Pitt
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”



[Actress in a Leading Role]

Vera Farmiga
“Nothing But the Truth”

Angelina Jolie
“Changeling”

Julianne Moore
“Blindness”

Meryl Streep
“Doubt”

Kate Winslet
“Revolutionary Road”



[Actor in a Supporting Role]

Josh Brolin
“Milk”

Russell Crowe
“Body of Lies”

Robert Downey, Jr.
“The Soloist”

Heath Ledger
“The Dark Knight”

Michael Sheen
“Frost/Nixon”



[Actress in a Supporting Role]

Amy Adams
“Doubt”

Kathy Bates
“Revolutionary Road”

Cate Blanchett
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

Catherine Keener
“The Soloist”

Carice van Houten
“Body of Lies”



[Writing, Adapted Screenplay]

“Body of Lies”

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

“Doubt”

“Frost/Nixon”

“Revolutionary Road”



[Writing, Original Screenplay]

“Changeling”

“Hamlet 2”

“Milk”

“The Soloist”

“WALL·E”



[Art Direction]

“Australia”

“Defiance”

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom
of the Crystal Skull”

“Red Cliff”

“Revolutionary Road”



[Cinematography]

“Australia”

“The Dark Knight”

“Defiance”

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom
of the Crystal Skull”

“Revolutionary Road”



[Costume Design]

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

“Doubt”

“The Other Boleyn Girl”

“Red Cliff”

“Revolutionary Road”



[Film Editing]

“Body of Lies”

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

“Defiance”

“Frost/Nixon”

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom
of the Crystal Skull”



[Makeup]

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

“The Dark Knight”

“Red Cliff”



[Music, Original Score]

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom
of the Crystal Skull”

“The Soloist”

“Revolutionary Road”

“WALL·E”



[Music, Original Song]

coming soon



[Sound Editing]

“Defiance”

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom
of the Crystal Skull”

“Iron Man”

“Speed Racer”

“WALL·E”



[Sound Mixing]

“Defiance”

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom
of the Crystal Skull”

“Cloverfield”

“The Chronicles of Narnia:
Prince Caspian”

“WALL·E”



[Visual Effects]

“The Chronicles of Narnia:
Prince Caspian”

“The Incredible Hulk”

“Iron Man”



[Animated Feature Film]

“9”

“Kung Fu Panda”

“WALL·E”



[Foreign Language Film]

coming soon



[Documentary, Features]

coming soon



[Documentary, Short Subjects]

coming soon



[Short Film, Animated]

coming soon



[Short Film, Live Action]

coming soon