Also: Ranking Ron Howard’s oeuvre, and is this Lubezki’s year?
Roundup: Deneuve honored by European Film Awards
Posted by Guy Lodge · 6:09 am · September 26th, 2013
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Alfonso Cuarón on the long, strange trip of 'Gravity'
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:49 am · September 25th, 2013
“Gravity” director Alfonso Cuarón tells HitFix about the four-year journey to bring his space odyssey to life, the process of collaborating with his son on the screenplay, the technological advances that were required to achieve his vision and the joy of finally experiencing it through the eyes of an audience.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention · Interviews
Off the Carpet: Whither 'Wall Street?'
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 6:12 am · September 23rd, 2013
As the media focuses on calling the Best Picture race over in September, there are other topics worthy of discussion. Like Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street,” which could move off its Nov. 15 date, or “Mud,” which is the first screener in Academy voters’ hands this year.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Oscar Talk: Venice/Telluride/Toronto wrap
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:12 am · September 20th, 2013
In this week’s podcast, Kris and Anne discuss the just-wrapped early fall fest circuit. What landed at Venice, Telluride and Toronto and shows promise in the season? Also, this year’s Honorary Oscar recipients have been revealed.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Alfonso Cuarón on Emmanuel Lubezki: 'He's one of the great geniuses of our day'
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:54 am · September 19th, 2013
One more tease of our upcoming interview with “Gravity” director Alfonso Cuarón before we dive deep on the four-year journey of making that film. We’ve asked about his friend Guillermo Del Toro’s “Pacific Rim” and the lessons he learned on the embattled production of 1998’s “Great Expectations,” but today, I was curious about his collaboration with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, or “Chivo,” as he’s known to his friends and colleagues.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Alfonso Cuarón remembers lessons learned on 1998's 'Great Expectations'
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:17 am · September 18th, 2013
We’re going to have a few nibbles of a recent interview with director Alfonso Cuarón leading up to a larger piece dealing specifically with his work on the space spectacle “Gravity.” Today, given the scale and high level of difficulty of a film like this, I found myself curious about the lessons Cuarón learned on 1998’s “Great Expectations.”
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Sandra Bullock: Alfonso Cuarón gave me the balls to do 'Gravity'
Posted by Gregory Ellwood · 8:39 pm · September 17th, 2013
Sandra Bullock sits down to talk about the experience of shooting Alfonso Cuaron’s “Gravity” and how the puppeteers from the stage play “War Horse” allowed her to fly.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Alfonso Cuarón says 'Pacific Rim' made 'Gravity' feel like a 'tiny Sundance film'
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 4:57 pm · September 17th, 2013
We’re going to have a few nibbles of a recent interview with director Alfonso Cuarón in lead-up to a larger piece dealing specifically with his work on the space spectacle “Gravity.” Today, with the summer movie season not to far back in the rearview, I thought I’d ask Cuarón for his thoughts on “Pacific Rim.”
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Producer David Heyman on the contemporary relevance of 'Paddington'
Posted by Guy Lodge · 12:48 pm · September 17th, 2013
The family film starts shooting later this month with an all-star cast.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Best and Worst of the 2013 Toronto Film Festival
Posted by Gregory Ellwood · 10:26 pm · September 13th, 2013
The 2013 Toronto International Film Festival delivered a strong slate of films this year as “Gravity,” “12 Years A Slave,” “Bad Words,” “Can A Song Save Your Life?” and “Afflicted” were among the best selected by HitFix’s editors. What were the worst? Let’s just say Matthew Weiner, James Franco and Atom Egoyan were three filmmakers who didn’t have a pleasant stay in Toronto.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Contender Countdown: It's already hard out there for a best picture player
Posted by Gregory Ellwood · 5:25 pm · September 12th, 2013
The sniping and backstabbing has already begun, but has it affected the best picture race at all? Plus: A brand new feature. Rank the top 10 contenders as you see them.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Off the Carpet: Reindeer games
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:53 pm · September 8th, 2013
Something I’ve been fending off as just inside baseball bitching suddenly stuck in my craw this week. So let’s get this business out of the way at the top so we can enjoy the season.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Jaw-dropping Venice awards make a defiant anti-mainstream statement
Posted by Guy Lodge · 12:00 am · September 8th, 2013
Bertolucci’s jury clearly set out to provoke, but ‘Sacro GRA’ is a respectable winner.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
'Philomena' dominates preliminary Venice awards, as 'Tom at the Farm' takes critics' prize
Posted by Guy Lodge · 7:11 am · September 7th, 2013
Does this bode well for their chances at tonight’s jury awards ceremony?
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Contender Countdown: 'Gravity' and '12 Years A Slave' storm out of the gate
Posted by Gregory Ellwood · 9:55 pm · September 4th, 2013
Awards season is on and “Gravity” and “12 Years A Slave” lead the Best Picture race – right now – in this week’s contender countdown.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
'Tracks,' 'Under the Skin' among nominees for top award at London Film Festival
Posted by Guy Lodge · 3:40 pm · September 4th, 2013
The UK’s biggest film festival revealed its lineup of 234 features today.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
James Cameron on 'Gravity': 'It's the movie I've been hungry to see for an awful long time'
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 12:58 pm · September 4th, 2013
“Gravity” is a full-on ride, as immersive an experience as you could hope for in a movie. It puts you right there with Sandra Bullock, having its way with your equilibrium. So it’s high praise when a guy like James Cameron calls it “the best space film ever done.”
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention
Telluride: Wrapping up the 40th annual fest
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 6:06 am · September 3rd, 2013
The 40th annual Telluride Film Festival has come to a close, unofficially launching the Oscar season and wrapping up another wonderfully curated program that continues to be one of my most anticipated journeys each year.
Filed in: HitFix · In Contention