The Nevada Film Critics Society has added one more notch to “Argo”‘s tally of Best Picture wins. The group tied Ben Affleck with “Zero Dark Thirty” helmer Kathryn Bigelow for Best Director and went in a relatively unique direction with its Best Actor call, opting for John Hawkes in “The Sessions.”
Nevada critics go for 'Argo,' John Hawkes, Helen Hunt
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:39 am · December 23rd, 2012
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
'Argo,' 'Lincoln' and 'Zero Dark Thirty' lead Alliance of Women Film Journalists nods
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 12:43 pm · December 22nd, 2012
The Alliance of Women Film Journalists has announced its list of nominees this year, with its own fair share of unique categories. The Best Film nominees were “Argo,” “Lincoln” and “Zero Dark Thirty” (each also cited for Best Director). Winners will be announced next month.
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'Zero Dark Thirty' fares well with Women Film Critics Circle
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 12:14 pm · December 22nd, 2012
The Women Film Critics Circle has announced its annual…unique…slate of award winners. “Zero Dark Thirty” won three awards while “Lincoln” won two. And they have a bone to pick with “Killer Joe” and “Think Like a Man.”
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Tell us what you thought of 'The Impossible'
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:59 am · December 22nd, 2012
J.A. Bayona’s riveting tsunami drama hits theaters this weekend.
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Tell us what you thought of 'This is 40'
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:50 am · December 22nd, 2012
Judd Apatow’s latest hits theaters this weekend.
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'Tinker, Tailor' dominates biennial International Online Film Critics' Poll
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:41 am · December 21st, 2012
Here’s something novel. A biennial awards presentation. The eligibility period for the International Online Film Critics’ Poll is November 16, 2010 to November 15, 2012, leaving a wide array of films to choose from. Pity, then, that the critics’ choices aren’t themselves as varied. Tomas Alfredson’s “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” won five awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor.
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Dublin critics award Haneke, Phoenix, Riva and…'The Artist?'
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:22 am · December 21st, 2012
If you thought we had escaped the year of “The Artist,” you were wrong. The Dublin Film Critics Circle has chosen Michel Hazanavicius’s Best Picture winner as the year’s best film, as it opened on those shores in 2012. It joins Michael Haneke, Joaquin Phoenix, Emmanuelle Riva and more for top honors this year.
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Oscar Talk: Ep. 100 — Looking back, from 'Hurt Locker' to 'Zero Dark Thirty'
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:00 am · December 21st, 2012
In this week’s podcast, Kris and Anne celebrate their 100th episode by looking back at the show that started them all. They also discuss the ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ controversy and dig in on Best Animated Feature Film.
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Utah critics award 'Zero Dark Thirty,' Wes Anderson
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 7:33 am · December 21st, 2012
The Utah Film Critics Association has announced its 2012 winners, and, big surprise, “Zero Dark Thirty” took top honors. But the group went in a couple of different directions elsewhere, tapping Dwight Henry for Best Supporting Actor, Wes Anderson for Best Director and “Indie Game: The Movie” for best doc.
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Nine foreign language finalists announced by Academy
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 6:51 am · December 21st, 2012
The Academy has announced the nine finalists for this year’s Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. Seventy-one films were submitted from countries around the world.
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Black Film Critics Circle springs for 'Zero Dark Thirty,' 'The Intouchables,' 'Rise of the Guardians'
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 2:18 pm · December 20th, 2012
The Black Film Critics Circle has jumped on the “Zero Dark Thirty” bandwagon, handing the film Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress honors. “Django Unchained” and “Lincoln” each won a pair of awards, Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Christoph Waltz) for the former, Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis) and Best Ensemble for the former.
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For writer Lucy Alibar, 'Beasts of the Southern Wild' couldn't be more personal
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:37 am · December 20th, 2012
As indie sensation “Beasts of the Southern Wild” makes its way through the awards season, and director Benh Zeitlin and star Quvenzhané Wallis pick up countless breakthrough prizes along the way, it would be worth bearing in mind how the identity of the film grew from a little play by writer Lucy Alibar.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention · Interviews
Tech Support: International lineup of Best Original Song contenders presents a great opportunity
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 7:55 am · December 20th, 2012
With the recent reveal of the Academy’s list of Best Original Song qualifiers — all 75 of them — the music branch has a wide swath of popular artists to choose from. Of course, the branch tends to focus on the work itself, not necessarily the talent involved, but it’s worth mentioning that Fiona Apple, Florence + the Machine, Karen O, Christina Aguilera, Adele, Keith Urban, Mumford and Sons, The Bootleggers & Emmylou Harris, Arcade Fire, Dolly Parton, Katy Perry, Paul Williams, Jordin Sparks and Norah Jones are all in the mix. That’s quite the role call.
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Ben Affleck sets the record straight on 'Justice League'
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:37 pm · December 19th, 2012
The internet was abuzz a few months back when an overzealous report put Ben Affleck in the driver’s seat of the planned Warner Bros. team-up film “Justice League.” The report was soon enough shot down and everyone went about their business, but in a recent interview about his work on “Argo,” Affleck said he hated talking about it in the media at all because the eventual stories shed a negative light on the project.
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Ben Affleck and Chris Terrio on 'Argo,' the Middle East and the root of all drama
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 1:05 pm · December 19th, 2012
When he made his way into the director’s chair for a new phase in his career, Ben Affleck always assumed that if he came across an existing script, he would likely just take over and re-write it. And of course, he has the credentials: an Oscar for co-writing “Good Will Hunting” with Matt Damon goes a long way toward legitimizing his talent as a writer. But when “Argo” was fired across his bow by Smoke House honchos Grant Heslov and George Clooney, that wasn’t the case.
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10 outside-the-box considerations as the Academy votes
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 1:12 pm · December 18th, 2012
With ballots in Academy members hands as of yesterday, the great settling is off and running. Various critics groups and top 10 lists have narrowed the pile enough that voters have a pretty good idea of the landscape in each category. More than that, “frontrunners” have staked their claim on the race, leaving precious little space for dark horses to maneuver.
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Jessica Chastain on mining for details and feminism's new moment in 'Zero Dark Thirty'
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:00 am · December 18th, 2012
On stage and screen, Jessica Chastain is playing a wide range of emotions and arcs. From the frailty of “The Heiress”‘s Catherine to the rigidity of “Zero Dark Thirty”‘s Maya, it’s a playground for an actress. She discusses her work in both.
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'Zero Dark Thirty' wins Best Picture from Austin film critics…and nothing else
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:27 am · December 18th, 2012
“Zero Dark Thirty” remains on top of the critics awards haul today with another Best Picture nod, this time from the Austin Film Critics Association. Oddly, though, the film won nothing else. “The Master” seemed to be more of a favorite, taking Best Director, Best Actor and Best Cinematography.
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