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British Academy Goes for Argo, Les Miz, Pi, Lincoln, Zero Dark

Roger Friedman
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British Academy Goes for Argo, Les Miz, Pi, Lincoln, Zero Dark

BAFTA, the British Academy, has announced its nominees for its own Academy Awards. The Best Picture nominees are Argo, Les Miz, Life of Pi. Lincoln, and Zero Dark Thirty. Silver Linings Playbook was about a sport they didn’t understand (football) and Django Unchained was shown to them very late. Anyway, both movies got a lot of acting and miscellaneous nominations. Also Quentin Tarantino was nominated for Best Director nevertheless, which is strange. So was Michael Haneke, director of Amour. So they directed well, but not the best pictures. And neither Tom Hooper nor Steven Spielberg was nominated for Best Director, even though they made the best pictures. In the end BAFTA will choose a Michael Powell movie from the 40s or 50s, and everyone will have a good cup of tea.

BEST FILM

ARGO Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck, George Clooney

LES MISÉRABLES Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh

LIFE OF PI Gil Netter, Ang Lee, David Womark

LINCOLN Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy

ZERO DARK THIRTY Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow, Megan Ellison

 

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM

ANNA KARENINA Joe Wright, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Webster, Tom Stoppard

THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL John Madden, Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Ol Parker

LES MISÉRABLES Tom Hooper, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh, William Nicholson, Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Herbert Kretzmer

SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS Martin McDonagh, Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin

SKYFALL Sam Mendes, Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, John Logan

 

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER

BART LAYTON (Director), DIMITRI DOGANIS (Producer) The Imposter

DAVID MORRIS (Director), JACQUI MORRIS (Director/Producer) McCullin

DEXTER FLETCHER (Director/Writer), DANNY KING (Writer) Wild Bill

JAMES BOBIN (Director) The Muppets

TINA GHARAVI (Director/Writer) I Am Nasrine

 

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

AMOUR Michael Haneke, Margaret Ménégoz

HEADHUNTERS Morten Tyldum, Marianne Gray, Asle Vatn

THE HUNT Thomas Vinterberg, Sisse Graum Jørgensen, Morten Kaufmann

RUST AND BONE Jacques Audiard, Pascal Caucheteux

UNTOUCHABLE Eric Toledano, Olivier Nakache, Nicolas Duval Adassovsky, Yann Zenou, Laurent Zeitoun

 

DOCUMENTARY

THE IMPOSTER Bart Layton, Dimitri Doganis

MARLEY Kevin Macdonald, Steve Bing, Charles Steel

McCULLIN David Morris, Jacqui Morris

SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN Malik Bendjelloul, Simon Chinn

WEST OF MEMPHIS Amy Berg

 

ANIMATED FILM

BRAVE Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman

FRANKENWEENIE Tim Burton

PARANORMAN Sam Fell, Chris Butler

 

DIRECTOR

AMOUR Michael Haneke

ARGO Ben Affleck

DJANGO UNCHAINED Quentin Tarantino

LIFE OF PI Ang Lee

ZERO DARK THIRTY Kathryn Bigelow

 

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

AMOUR Michael Haneke

DJANGO UNCHAINED Quentin Tarantino

THE MASTER Paul Thomas Anderson

MOONRISE KINGDOM Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola

ZERO DARK THIRTY Mark Boal

 

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

ARGO Chris Terrio

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin

LIFE OF PI David Magee

LINCOLN Tony Kushner

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK David O. Russell

 

LEADING ACTOR

BEN AFFLECK Argo

BRADLEY COOPER Silver Linings Playbook

DANIEL DAY-LEWIS Lincoln

HUGH JACKMAN Les Misérables

JOAQUIN PHOENIX The Master

 

LEADING ACTRESS

EMMANUELLE RIVA Amour

HELEN MIRREN Hitchcock

JENNIFER LAWRENCE Silver Linings Playbook

JESSICA CHASTAIN Zero Dark Thirty

MARION COTILLARD Rust and Bone

 

SUPPORTING ACTOR

ALAN ARKIN Argo

CHRISTOPH WALTZ Django Unchained

JAVIER BARDEM Skyfall

PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN The Master

TOMMY LEE JONES Lincoln

 

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

AMY ADAMS The Master

ANNE HATHAWAY Les Misérables

HELEN HUNT The Sessions

JUDI DENCH Skyfall

SALLY FIELD Lincoln

 

ORIGINAL MUSIC

ANNA KARENINA Dario Marianelli

ARGO Alexandre Desplat

LIFE OF PI Mychael Danna

LINCOLN John Williams

SKYFALL Thomas Newman

 

CINEMATOGRAPHY

ANNA KARENINA Seamus McGarvey

LES MISÉRABLES Danny Cohen

LIFE OF PI Claudio Miranda

LINCOLN Janusz Kaminski

SKYFALL Roger Deakins

 

EDITING

ARGO William Goldenberg

DJANGO UNCHAINED Fred Raskin

LIFE OF PI Tim Squyres

SKYFALL Stuart Baird

ZERO DARK THIRTY Dylan Tichenor, William Goldenberg

 

PRODUCTION DESIGN

ANNA KARENINA Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer

LES MISÉRABLES Eve Stewart, Anna Lynch-Robinson

LIFE OF PI David Gropman, Anna Pinnock

LINCOLN Rick Carter, Jim Erickson

SKYFALL Dennis Gassner, Anna Pinnock

 

COSTUME DESIGN

ANNA KARENINA Jacqueline Durran

GREAT EXPECTATIONS Beatrix Aruna Pasztor

LES MISÉRABLES Paco Delgado

LINCOLN Joanna Johnston

SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN Colleen Atwood

 

MAKE UP & HAIR

ANNA KARENINA Ivana Primorac

HITCHCOCK Julie Hewett, Martin Samuel, Howard Berger

THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY Peter Swords King, Richard Taylor, Rick Findlater

LES MISÉRABLES Lisa Westcott

LINCOLN Lois Burwell, Kay Georgiou

 

SOUND

DJANGO UNCHAINED Mark Ulano, Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti, Wylie Stateman

THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY Tony Johnson, Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick, Brent Burge, Chris Ward

LES MISÉRABLES Simon Hayes, Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson, Jonathan Allen, Lee Walpole, John Warhurst

LIFE OF PI Drew Kunin, Eugene Gearty, Philip Stockton, Ron Bartlett, D. M. Hemphill

SKYFALL Stuart Wilson, Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell, Per Hallberg, Karen Baker Landers

 

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Peter Bebb, Andrew Lockley

THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, R. Christopher White

LIFE OF PI Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer

MARVEL AVENGERS ASSEMBLE Nominees TBC

PROMETHEUS Richard Stammers, Charley Henley, Trevor Wood, Paul Butterworth

 

SHORT ANIMATION

HERE TO FALL Kris Kelly, Evelyn McGrath

I’M FINE THANKS Eamonn O’Neill

THE MAKING OF LONGBIRD Will Anderson, Ainslie Henderson

 

SHORT FILM

THE CURSE Fyzal Boulifa, Gavin Humphries

GOOD NIGHT Muriel d’Ansembourg, Eva Sigurdardottir

SWIMMER Lynne Ramsay, Peter Carlton, Diarmid Scrimshaw

TUMULT Johnny Barrington, Rhianna Andrews

THE VOORMAN PROBLEM Mark Gill, Baldwin Li

 

THE EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)

ELIZABETH OLSEN

ANDREA RISEBOROUGH

SURAJ SHARMA

JUNO TEMPLE

ALICIA VIKANDER

General Hospital Hits Two Year High in Ratings

Roger Friedman
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0
General Hospital Hits Two Year High in Ratings

I’m picking this up from tvbythenumbers.com: General Hospital hit a two year high in the ratings the last week of December–and that’s with the conspicuous absence of long time star Tony Geary. ABC Daytime must be choking on this after killing two soaps and almost doing away with this one. But producer Frank Valentini and head writer Ron Carlivati have totally revived the show that was almost suffocated death to by former exec producer Jill Farren Phelps.

The show added 217,000 viewers from December 24th to December 28th from the prior week, and had 590,000 more than it did the same week in 2011. This was Christmas week, when shows are usually slow thanks to low viewership. Not General Hospital. They are booming.Their total rating was a 3.0, and GH also finished second among the remaining four soaps among Women 18-49.

All this news comes as “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” are rumored to be on the way back, to the internet at least, via Prospect Park Productions. The word is they’ve got studio space and have hired a couple of the “All My Children” actors. But still word on the show’s respective stars, Susan Lucci and Erika Slezak, or any of the other principals. Time will tell.

PS Entertainment Weekly reports that Genie Francis is finally returning to “GH” as Laura for a run from February through at least the show’s 50th anniversary in April. That should propel them over the top.

 

Lance Armstrong Will Ask Oprah for Absolution, Forgiveness in Interview

Roger Friedman
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Lance Armstrong Will Ask Oprah for Absolution, Forgiveness in Interview

Lance Armstrong has decided to come clean, so to speak. Since the big dope’s life is essentially ruined, he’s apparently going to admit it all and ask for forgiveness. And who better to give it to him that Oprah? She’s got him on January 17 from 9 to 10:30pm on the hard to find OWN channel. Good for her. It used to be that celebrities went to Larry King or Barbara Walters when they needed to eat crow publicly and return to the world.

But for this generation it’s Oprah. Lance will cry, his eyes will  well up when he talks about his kids, he’ll show Oprah his scars from various surgeries, and recommend a healing expert in Nepal which she’ll put on her next Best Things list.

Will she grant him absolution? I hope not. But Armstrong has nothing to lose–he’s lost everything. He deceived the world for years, and kept lying about it. He had plenty of chances to explain himself. I don’t care if he came from a broken home, was beaten with a bat, or made to wash the dishes. Maybe this will be the last time we’ll have to hear from him.

We will wait for the usual clips, leaks, and advance bites.

PS Apparently the Showtime show, “60 Minutes Sports” is also headlining a tremendous piece by Scott Pelley. Check it out at CBSNews.com

http://www.showbiz411.com/2012/10/18/lance-armstrong-foundation-livestrong-public-contributions-slide-salaries-are-up

http://www.showbiz411.com/2012/10/17/lance-armstrong-ousted-from-his-own-charitable-foundation

http://www.showbiz411.com/2012/11/12/lance-armstrong-erased-from-livestrong-name-image-removed-from-website

 

Directors Guild Nominations Shake Up Oscar Race: Ang Lee In, Russell Out

Roger Friedman
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Directors Guild Nominations Shake Up Oscar Race: Ang Lee In, Russell Out

Directors Guild of America nominations: Steven Spielberg, Ben Affleck for Argo, Kathryn Bigelow for Zero Dark Thirty, Tom Hooper for Les Miserables, Ang Lee for Life of Pi. No David O. Russell or Quentin Tarantino in a tight race. But the DGA, matter as it does, doesn’t preclude changes when Oscar noms are announced tomorrow. But it does clarify the situation a bit. “Life of Pi” definitely looks stronger now, but you never know. This year, the DGA nominees can’t be used as a crib sheet for Oscar voters. The Academy votes were in last week, and the winners will be announced on Thursday. So it will be fascinating to see if the Academy on its own will follow this list or go another way. I do think either Russell or Tarantino could find their way into the Oscar top 5. Who would be dislodged is a mystery.

Woody Allen’s New Film Gets a Home; Franco Does Bieber; Old Jews Speak Esperanto; Ethan Hawke’s New Play

Roger Friedman
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3

Woody Allen’s next film, “Blue Jasmine,” will be released by Sony Pictures Classics. The classy mini studio has been Woody’s home for a while now, and they’ve always had great success with his pictures.  from Gravier Productions. “Blue Jasmine” stars Alec Baldwin, Cate Blanchett, Bobby Cannavale, Louis C.K., Andrew Dice Clay, Sally Hawkins, Peter Sarsgaard and Michael Stuhlbarg. It is the story of the final stages of an acute crisis and a life of a fashionable New York housewife. The filmis produced by Woody’s sister, our friend Letty Aronson, with Stephen Tenenbaum and Edward Walson. Maybe it will go to Cannes…

James Franco does Justin Bieber: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evl1bGzhbwQ

…An email was recently generated by a primary New York-area speaker of Esperanto saying that he will be going to see an off-Broadway show co-created by Dan Okrent, the uncle of linguist scholar Arika Okrent. The show in question:  the off-Broadway hit Old Jews Telling Jokes – or in Esperanto – Maljunaj Judoj Dirante Sxercojn, which actually translates as “Not Young Jews Say Jokes.”

In case your Esperanto history is rusty, Wikipedia says that the goal of its creator was to establish an easily learned and politically neutral language that transcended nationality, and would foster peace and international understanding between people.  And if a mother-in-law joke can’t do that, is there any hope at all?

OJTJ is currently running in New York.  Other productions, including Chicago and London, are being planned….

…from a press release: Ethan Hawke will direct and star in the title role of Clive, written by Jonathan Marc Sherman. The New Group will present the play’s world premiere Off-Broadway at The New Group at Theatre Row (The Acorn Theatre, 410 W. 42nd St.). The production features Brooks Ashmanskas, Vincent D’Onofrio, Zoe Kazan, and Jonathan Marc Sherman, among others. Previews begin January 17th with Opening Night set for Thursday, February 7th at 7 PM.

Daniel Day Lewis Likes Pop Culture But Is No Fan of “Downton Abbey”

Roger Friedman
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1
Daniel Day Lewis Likes Pop Culture But Is No Fan of “Downton Abbey”

Not everyone was watching “Downton Abbey” on Sunday night. Two time (and soon maybe three time) Oscar winner Daniel Day Lewis, a Brit who is also Irish, laughed when I asked if he’d been among the 7.9 million viewers of Matthew and Mary Crawley’s wedding. “Are you kidding?” he said, sort of smiling and outraged at the same time. “That [sort of thing] is why I left England!”

Apparently, the “Lincoln” star’s sixteen year marriage to American writer-director Rebecca Miller (daughter of the late quintessential American playwright Arthur Miller) has made him more like us that Shirley MacLaine’s Martha Levinson– who told all the other characters in Sunday’s episode that their days of splendor were at an end.

But what about Maggie Smith, I asked, naively? (I mean, we all love the Dowager Countess.) “Oh come on!” Daniel said, rolling his eyes, and laughing a bit. He’s not a snob–quite the contrary. In a prior conversation, he had recounted for me a full knowledge of current pop culture. He’s with it, just not into revisiting England’s imperious past.

There wasn’t a lot of standing on ceremony last night at the New York Film Critics Circle dinner, where DDL won Best Actor for playing Honest Abe. A guest of one of the film critics, a young Christian man, hurled an epithet at Michael Moore when the documentary filmmaker criticized the Catholic church during his speech. His “F– you!” was heard right across the mic, and the miso sea bass. Moore responded by speaking in Latin, and laughing it off. He’s been heckled before. But the moment seemed to enliven his speech about how the church had ignored the AIDS crisis initially, and he went on to present David France with his award for “How to Survive a Plague.”

Chris Rock arrived, presented an award, and when done, immediately exited. It would have taken more time to wait in line and buy a sweater at Banana Republic. “Magic Mike” director Steven Soderbergh came, sat until he was called, presented the very gaunt Matthew McConnaughey with his award for Best Supporting Actor, and then he left immediately thereafter. McConnaughey made a rambling 13 minute speech, briefly returned to his table, then he exited.

People seemed to be dropped like flies. Winner Sally Field made a nice acceptance speech for playing Mary Todd Lincoln, then she also hot footed it out of there. “Lincoln” director Steven Spielberg also made a quick run for the door. Doesn’t anyone stay for dessert anymore? Actually, some do: Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig, Daniel Day Lewis and Rebecca Miller, and French actress Emmanuelle Riva (“Amour”) all hung around for quite a bit, chatted and were all in great moods.

Craig–who is hard to get a read on sometimes– was all smiles when I mentioned how many awards and top 10 lists “Skyfall” had made it onto.

“Isn’t it great?” he said, which is a lot for James Bond. He and Weisz held hands all through this last part of the night, it should be noted. Aw, shucks!

 

David Bowie Celebrates Birthday with New Video, Song, And Album Announcement

Roger Friedman
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5
David Bowie Celebrates Birthday with New Video, Song, And Album Announcement

Happy Birthday, David Bowie! A young 66 today! I don’t know about you, but I’ve really missed him. Bowie has a new song today and a video to go with it called “Where Are We Now?” It’s a beautiful, elegiac ballad. A new album — his first in freakin’ ten years– is due in March called “The Next Day.” The video is on Bowie’s site, www.davidbowie.com. The song, which I downloaded for $1.29, is on iTunes, so it’s a closed system thing. But you can hear a snippet of it there. The video is on vimeo, another closed system. The album will be on Sony, since RCA–Bowie’s old label–is part of that company now. Can’t wait for the album. The single is lovely. The video is arty, just like Bowie. By the way, “Changes” came out 41 years ago yesterday. It’s not possible since I remember hearing it on the radio when it debuted, and I’m only 34. Happy Birthday, Ziggy Stardust. Welcome back!

PS I will tell you a true story. I can remember doing homework, listening to WNEW-FM when they first played “Space Oddity.” It was the most remarkable thing coming out of the radio. And it still is. What passes for “music” today is criminal by comparison.

 

Play this, kids:

Space Oddity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhSYbRiYwTY

Heroes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgcc5V9Hu3g

Changes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xorNjvg1B48

 

Steve Martin-Edie Brickell Album I Announced Last June is Ready

Roger Friedman
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Steve Martin-Edie Brickell Album I Announced Last June is Ready

I told you last June that Steve Martin and Edie Brickell were recording an album together. http://www.showbiz411.com/2012/06/25/the-new-steve-martin-and-edie-brickell-aka-mrs-paul-simon-team-up Now it’s ready.

Produced by the great Peter Asher, the man who made the bulk of Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor’s key albums successes in the 1970s, “Love Has Come for You” will be released in April, and lead to a tour. Brickell, if somehow you don’t know it, is also Mrs. Paul Simon. She had a big hit circa 1988 with “What I Am.” But then she decided to get married and have children. She and Simon have three, and at least two of them are said to be burgeoning musicians.

Brickell made a terrific but little known album with Simon’s older son, Harper, a few years ago, called “The Heavy Circles.” All of her songs can be streamed over at www.ediebrickell.com

Photo here is from Steve Martin’s Twitter feed– he says, from the day of their album cover shoot. “Love Has Come For You” will be on Rounder Records/Universal Music Group.

Confirmed: Paul Thomas Anderson Making Thomas Pynchon Novel into a Film–with Robert Downey Jr.

Roger Friedman
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3
Confirmed: Paul Thomas Anderson Making Thomas Pynchon Novel into a Film–with Robert Downey Jr.

There were a lot of internet rumors and some clues over the last week. Now I can confirm that Paul Thomas Anderson’s next film will be an adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s novel “Inherent Vice.” And also, it does like Robert Downey, Jr. and perhaps Charlize Theron will be the stars, with more names coming. After disappointing box office on “The Master,” PTA is said to be interested in having a moneymaker.

I can tell you that the brilliant and relatively young Megan Ellison is going to produce via her Annapurna Productions. Ellison is also busy prepping David O. Russell’s next one, “American Bullshit,” with Bradley Cooper and Christian Bale and, obviously, a new title.

Pynchon is notoriously reclusive. The legendary author of “Gravity’s Rainbow” and “V” has lived for years right here in New York, married to literary agent Melanie Jackson. He’s our J.D. Salinger, meaning no one ever sees him. (Other writers like this include Thomas Harris, the creator of Hannibal Lecter, who lives in Sag Harbor, and Harper Lee, who used to be in New York and is now down south in what I’m told may be assisted living.)

Pynchon did narrate a video for “Inherent Vice” which can be –and has been–found on You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjWKPdDk0_U&feature=player_embedded#!. I’m told he thinks very highly of Anderson, who’s met with him a lot. “Pynchon only wants Paul to make this movie,” says a source. And we do too. More: “It’s closer to Boogie Nights than any of his other films.”

PS The original rumor of a PTA-Pynchon collaboration can be credited to Vulture, Collider, CinemaBlend, the New York Daily News, and the New York Times.

“Downton Abbey” Season 3 Debut Scores Like Crazy for PBS–Second only to NFL Game on Fox

Roger Friedman
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1
“Downton Abbey” Season 3 Debut Scores Like Crazy for PBS–Second only to NFL Game on Fox

“Downton Abbey” scored 7.9 million viewers last night, and quadrupled PBS’s regular evening rating. Wow. According to PBS just now: Between 9:00-11:00 p.m., PBS was the second-most watched broadcast network on Sunday. Highest local-market ratings were at member stations KCTS-Seattle (9.6 rating, 17 share), WGBH-Boston (8.8/14), KLRU-Austin (8.1/13) and WNET-New York (8.0/12).

Seattle? Who knew? That city didn’t even exist in the minds of the Granthams et al back in 1920. But at least New York and Boston pulled their weight. “Downton” ratings should calm down a little now as the season settles in. But the final show of this season, aka the Christmas Special, will probably be even bigger since Dan Stevens –ignoring advice from David Caruso and Patrick Duffy– leaves the series in a blaze of ignominy.

The only show that did better last night was the Seahawks vs. Redskins on Fox. Otherwise, “Downton” ruled.

And Mitt Romney wanted to get rid of PBS. I’ll bet Ann and several Romneys were actually watching Mary and Matthew’s wedding!

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