It’s the only one of the three major European festivals he hasn’t won gold at, but the Berlin Film Festival is also the first to tap leading British director Mike Leigh as their jury president.
Mike Leigh to head 2012 Berlinale jury
Posted by Guy Lodge · 9:03 am · December 2nd, 2011
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
London Critics' Circle honors Nicolas Roeg
Posted by Guy Lodge · 8:08 am · December 2nd, 2011
The director of such offbeat British classics as “Performance,” “Don’t Look Now” and “The Man Who Fell to Earth” will receive the group’s Dilys Powell Award for contribution to British cinema.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Satellite Award nominations topped by 'War Horse'… and 'Drive'
Posted by Guy Lodge · 2:25 am · December 2nd, 2011
The Satellite Awards don’t get much respect on the precursor beat, but it’s hard not to be a little tickled by a nominee list that is jointly led, with seven nods apiece, by two films at such opposite ends of the bait spectrum.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Grammy nods highlight original song contenders
Posted by Guy Lodge · 6:49 am · December 1st, 2011
The Grammy race for Best Song Written for Visual Media highlights three eligible compositions I hadn’t really thought to include in my predictions, including songs from “Footloose” and “Winnie the Pooh.”
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Are you there, Fox? It's me, 'Margaret'
Posted by Guy Lodge · 3:38 pm · November 30th, 2011
Kenneth Lonergan’s long-delayed sophomore “Margaret” has emerged from nightmarish post-production difficulties to emerge as one of the year’s very best films, but distributor Fox Searchlight isn’t even sending out awards screeners for the little-seen title. A critic-led online petition is hoping to change that.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Streep defends subjective politics of 'Iron Lady'
Posted by Guy Lodge · 12:33 pm · November 30th, 2011
Meryl Streep’s turn as Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady” is already winning awards, but as the film’s politics come into question, the actress claims it is, to some extent, a work of fiction.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
The Lists: Top 10 films about the movie business
Posted by Guy Lodge · 8:39 am · November 30th, 2011
With “The Artist,” “Hugo” and “My Week With Marilyn” all released this month, nostalgia for the old-fashioned nuts and bolts of moviemaking would appear to be one of the season’s dominant themes. We join in with 10 of the best films about the business, including the likes of “A Star is Born,” “Mulholland Drive” and “8½.”
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Remembering the madness of Ken Russell
Posted by Guy Lodge · 7:40 pm · November 28th, 2011
Back in July, I had the rare privilege of seeing Ken Russell’s grandly insane 1971 film “The Devils” in all its restored glory on the big screen — little knowing the director soon would be returning to the conversation for sadder reasons.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
'Tree of Life' easily tops Sight & Sound's Best of 2011 poll
Posted by Guy Lodge · 1:45 pm · November 28th, 2011
Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life” was named the year’s best film by a comfortable majority in Sight & Sound magazine’s poll of 100 international critics. Does this bode well for upcoming critics’ awards?
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
The unexpected legacy of 'V for Vendetta'
Posted by Guy Lodge · 12:54 pm · November 28th, 2011
The sinister Guy Fawkes mask from “V for Vendetta” — both the graphic novel and the film — has recently been re-appropriated as a symbol of protest by political and environmental demonstrators, and its creator, Alan Moore, is pleased with that.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Interview: 'Surviving the silent movie' and beating the odds with 'The Artist'
Posted by Guy Lodge · 12:42 pm · November 25th, 2011
“The Artist,” a silent, black-and-white, French-made ode to classic Hollywood, is one of the year’s biggest cinematic gambles, and it has paid off handsomely. Director Michel Hazanavicius and stars Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo talk about how it came together.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention · Interviews
Chastain, Lawrence, Jones longlisted for BAFTA Rising Star Award
Posted by Guy Lodge · 4:24 am · November 25th, 2011
BAFTA is allowing the public to determine the finalists for its annual Rising Star Award — from a shortlist that includes Jessica Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence. But are they at a disadvantage with the British public?
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Tell us what you thought of 'A Dangerous Method'
Posted by Guy Lodge · 4:56 pm · November 24th, 2011
David Cronenberg’s measured Freud-Jung study “A Dangerous Method” opened in limited release earlier this week, and we’re keen to hear your thoughts.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
'The Artist' among contenders for Louis Delluc Prize
Posted by Guy Lodge · 9:56 am · November 24th, 2011
It’s not often that the Louis Delluc Prize overlaps with the Best Picture Oscar race, but Michel Hazanavicius’s “The Artist” has been shortlisted for what is arguably the most prestigious trophy in French cinema.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
The Long Shot: Down on 'Descendants'
Posted by Guy Lodge · 6:17 pm · November 23rd, 2011
Showered with critical praise, Alexander Payne’s “The Descendants” is currently regarded as one of the frontrunners for Oscar glory — but is its obliviously compromised humanism what might really appeal to the Academy?
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
The Lists: Top 10 craft contributions to Martin Scorsese films
Posted by Guy Lodge · 6:20 am · November 23rd, 2011
“Hugo” is the latest in a long line of Scorsese films boasting astonishing technical artistry — we round up the finest below-the-line elements from his oeuvre, including contributions from such films as “Shutter Island,” “The Age of Innocence” and “Raging Bull.”
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Interview: David Cronenberg on 'A Dangerous Method,' psychoanalysis and being an adjective
Posted by Guy Lodge · 3:40 pm · November 22nd, 2011
His historical drama about rival psychoanalysts Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, “A Dangerous Method,” has been criticized in some quarters for playing it too straight — but veteran director David Cronenberg claims it’s more “Cronenbergian” than we might think.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention · Interviews
David Fincher plays it cool with Academy on 'Dragon Tattoo'
Posted by Guy Lodge · 4:44 pm · November 21st, 2011
David Fincher is adamant that his remake of “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” is not an Academy movie — but is he merely employing reverse psychology on Oscar voters?
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
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