Off the Carpet: We won't get another hero

Posted by · 10:44 am · February 20th, 2012

Oscar season heads into the home stretch with no real surprises in sight.

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Filed in: HitFix · In Contention

Off the Carpet: Pencils down

Posted by · 10:31 am · January 23rd, 2012

Declaring final predictions in all categories.

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Off the Carpet: As the music stops, fringe hopefuls cross their fingers

Posted by · 10:33 am · January 16th, 2012

As of Friday, phase one of this year’s Oscar season has drawn to a close. Ballots were due by 5pm and it’s pencils down, the music has stopped, whatever metaphor you want to apply. And the period of December 27 – January 13 was crucial for films looking to grab a last-minute foothold and those hoping to maintain dominance alike.

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Off the Carpet: Wrench in the works

Posted by · 10:32 am · January 9th, 2012

As the 2011-2012 film awards season forges ahead, general assumptions and standby wisdom are beginning to fly out the window. What was beginning to seem somewhat settled is anything but. The bed looked like it was made, now the covers are thrown to the far reaches of the room. That’s a good thing.

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Off the Carpet: Waiting on the guilds as 'War Horse' hits the box office running

Posted by · 1:33 pm · December 26th, 2011

The sleigh bells have been silenced, the decorations are ready to be stored another year and the online Christmas spirit is giving way once again to the power of snark. And as we enter the lull between holidays, I glance at the box office and see good news for Disney…

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Off the Carpet: Against the grain of dystopic claims

Posted by · 9:33 am · December 13th, 2011

There is a film I can talk about, a film I can’t talk about and a bunch of precursor awards that have faded into an indistinguishable blur. Let’s try to make some sense out of the week’s shenanigans.

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Off the Carpet: Contenders hope to stand out against big spending and buzz-heavy pics

Posted by · 9:09 am · December 5th, 2011

As campaigns heat up this season, the “Moneyball” way seems to translate. Modest hopefuls need to stand out to be seen, and being seen is perhaps more than half the battle this time of year.

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Off the Carpet: Critical condition

Posted by · 12:29 pm · November 28th, 2011

The Gotham Awards this evening and the NYFCC vote tomorrow signal the start of the precursor awards season. What needs a boost?

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Off the Carpet: Deep breath before the critics have their say

Posted by · 12:09 pm · November 21st, 2011

It’s getting to be crunch time for many studios looking to bring their product back around for awards voting bodies. Generally most critics groups and the like have just about everything, save for the really late-breaking films, by Thanksgiving. But the NYFCC changed that course a bit this year.

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Off the Carpet: The ultimate Rorschach season

Posted by · 11:38 am · November 7th, 2011

This year’s slate of Oscar-contending films is particularly wide-ranging with something for everyone. The question becomes, what is the season about for you?

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Off the Carpet: Building the perfect strategy

Posted by · 11:06 am · October 31st, 2011

It takes all kinds. Finding the right strategy to navigate an awards season is a tricky thing and it varies, naturally, from film to film. Whether it’s “Young Adult” of “The Artist” or “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” there is no mold, no skeleton key, no single solution.

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Redgrave and the ladies of 'The Help' lead the conversation on Best Supporting Actress

Posted by · 9:51 am · October 17th, 2011

Rounding out four weeks of performance analysis this week, we turn to Best Adapted Screenplay. Contenders include Vanessa Redgrave, Octavia Spencer, the ubiquitous Jessica Chastain and Shailene Woodley, among others.

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Off the Carpet: Streep and Davis head up a tight but lacking pack of Best Actress contenders

Posted by · 12:09 pm · October 10th, 2011

Moving on to the lead actress contenders today, we dig in on who’s looking good, who’s lacking and who could spoil.

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Off the Carpet: The great, appreciated unknown

Posted by · 6:00 am · September 19th, 2011

The Venice, Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals have commenced. But contrary to recent years, there is no unanimous Oscar heavy coming out of that frame.

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