Awards

[caption id="attachment_1595" align="alignnone"]The Interrupters[/caption]

Steve James’  The Interrupters, about violence mediators in Chicago, took two top awards at the 5th Annual Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking at the Museum. James took the prize for Outstanding Achievement in Direction, and the film was named as this year’s winner for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking.  It is the first time that a film has received both the Feature Film and the Directing award in the history of Cinema Eye.  “Tonight, I don’t care about the Oscars!” James said.

Cinema Eye presented an award for Nonfiction Short Filmmaking, going to the late Tim Hetherington’s Diary (accepted by his parents),  as well as the Heterodox Award for Narrative Filmmaking, going to Mike Mills’ Beginners.

This year’s Legacy Award was presented to the landmark 1967 documentary, Titicut Follies, a stark and graphic portrayal of the conditions that existed at the State Prison for the Criminally Insane at Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

Cinema Eye also awarded its first-ever Hell Yeah Prize, given to filmmakers who have created works of incredible craft and artistry that also have significant, real-world impact, to Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky for their HBO Documentary Films trilogy Paradise Lost, which played a critical role in securing the release from prison of the wrongly prosecuted and convicted West Memphis Three. Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky and Jason Baldwin, one of the West Memphis Three, accepted the award.

“The Hell Yeah Award, right! It’s always been no, no, no,” said Baldwin. “Since August, my life has begun.”

“It’s been a dream come true for us,” said Berlinger. “You can make a difference when you make these films. We’ve had this amazing journey the past 20 years. We’re really appreciative of HBO.”

The following is a complete list of Cinema Eye Honors winners for 2012:

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking
The Interrupters
Directed by Steve James
Produced by Alex Kotlowitz and Steve James
Presented by Michael Moore

Outstanding Achievement in Direction
Steve James
The Interrupters
Presented by Alex Gibney

Audience Choice Prize
Buck
Directed by Cindy Meehl
Presented by Robert Krulwich

Outstanding Achievement in Production
Gian-Piero Ringel and Wim Wenders
Pina
Presented by Peter Davis and Andrea Meditch

Outstanding Achievement in Editing
Gregers Sall and Chris King
Senna
Presented by Peter Davis and Andrea Meditch

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
Danfung Dennis
Hell and Back Again
Presented by Kirsten Johnson and Darius Marder

Spotlight Award
The Tiniest Place
Directed by Tatiana Huezo Sánchez
Presented by Kirsten Johnson and Darius Marder

Heterodox Award
Beginners
Directed by Mike Mills
Presented by Kimberly Reed and Alrick Brown

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Short Filmmaking
Diary
Directed by Tim Hetherington
Presented by Nanette Burstein and Josh Fox

Outstanding Achievement in an Original Music Score
John Kusiak
Tabloid
Presented by Nanette Burstein and Josh Fox

Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design and Animation
Rob Feng and Jeremy Landman
Tabloid
Presented by Jeff Malmberg and Chris Shellen

Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature Film
Clio Barnard
The Arbor
Presented by Jeff Malmberg and Chris Shellen

Hell Yeah Prize
Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky
The Paradise Lost Trilogy
Presented by Jason Baldwin

Legacy Award
Titicut Follies
Directed by Frederick Wiseman
Presented by Steve James

 

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[caption id="attachment_2176" align="alignnone"]Best First Film – J.C. Chandor’s Margin Call [/caption]

The Artist continues to dominate Awards season, taking home the Best Picture and Best Director for Michel Hazanavicius at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards. Cave of Forgotten Dreams took home the award for Best Documentary, A Separation received the award for Best Foreign Film and J.C. Chandor’s Margin Call was honored with Best First Film award.

The 2011 New York Film Critics Circle Awards

Best Picture
The Artist

Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius
The Artist

Best Screenplay
Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin
Moneyball

Best Actress
Meryl Streep
The Iron Lady

Best Actor
Brad Pitt
Moneyball, The Tree of Life

Best Supporting Actress
Jessica Chastain
The Tree of Life, The Help, Take Shelter

Best Supporting Actor
Albert Brooks
Drive

Best Cinematographer
Emmanuel Lubezki
The Tree of Life

Best Non-Fiction Film (Documentary)
Cave of Forgotten Dreams

Best Foreign Film
A Separation

Best First Film
J.C. Chandor
Margin Call

Special Award
Raoul Ruiz

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[caption id="attachment_2174" align="alignnone"]MICHEL HAZANAVICIUS – The Artist-[/caption]

The Directors Guild of America announced the five nominees for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2011.

“The directors nominated this year for the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film Award have each demonstrated an inspired command of the medium.  The fact that their prodigious talents have been recognized by their peers is the highest honor a director can achieve,” said DGA President Taylor Hackford.  “I offer my most sincere congratulations to each of the nominees.”

The winner will be named at the 64th Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, January 28, 2012, at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood and Highland.

The nominees are (in alphabetical order):

WOODY ALLEN

Midnight in Paris
(Sony Pictures Classics)
Mr. Allen’s Directorial Team:

Unit Production Managers:  Matthieu Rubin, Helen Robin
First Assistant Director:  Gil Kenny
Second Assistant Director:  Delphine Bertrand

This is Mr. Allen’s fifth DGA Feature Film Award nomination.  He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for Annie Hall (1977), and was previously nominated in that category for Manhattan (1979), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989).  Mr. Allen was honored with the DGA Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996.

DAVID FINCHER

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
(Columbia Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures)

Mr. Fincher’s Directorial Team:

Unit Production Manager:  Daniel M. Stillman
First Assistant Director:  Bob Wagner
Second Assistant Director:  Allen Kupetsky
Production Manager (Sweden Unit): Karolina Heimburg
Second Assistant Directors (Sweden Unit): Hanna Nilsson, Pontus Klänge
2nd Second Assistant Director (Sweden Unit): Niklas Sjöström
2nd Second Assistant Director (U.S. Unit):  Maileen Williams
Unit Production Manager (Zurich Unit): Christos Dervenis
Unit Production Manager (U.K. Unit): Lara Baldwin
Second Assistant Director (U.K. Unit): Paul Taylor

This is Mr. Fincher’s third DGA Feature Film Award nomination.  He was previously nominated in this category last year for The Social Network and for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in 2008.  He previously won the DGA Commercial Award for Speed Chain (Nike), Gamebreakers (Nikegridiron.com), and Beauty for Sale (Xelibri Phones) in 2003 and was nominated in that category again in 2008.

MICHEL HAZANAVICIUS

The Artist
(The Weinstein Company)

Mr. Hazanavicius’ Directorial Team:

Unit Production Manager:  Antoine De Cazotte
Production Manager (FR): Ségoléne Fleury
First Assistant Director (FR): James Canal
First Assistant Director (US):  David Cluck
Second Assistant Director:  Dave Paige
Second Second Assistant Directors: Karla Strum, Ricky Robinson 

This is Mr. Hazanavicius’ first DGA Feature Film Award nomination.

ALEXANDER PAYNE

The Descendants
(Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Mr. Payne’s Directorial Team:

Unit Production Manager:  George Parra
First Assistant Director:  Richard L. Fox
Second Assistant Director:  Scott August
Second Second Assistant Director:  Amy Wilkins Bronson

This is Mr. Payne’s second DGA Feature Film Award nomination.  He was previously nominated in that category for Sideways in 2004.

MARTIN SCORSESE

Hugo
(Paramount Pictures)

Mr. Scorsese’s Directorial Team:

Unit Production Managers:  Charles Newirth, Georgia Kacandes, Angus More Gordon
First Assistant Director:  Chris Surgent
Second Assistant Director:  Richard Graysmark
Second Assistant Directors:  Tom Brewster, Fraser Fennell-Ball
Production Managers (Paris Unit): Michael Sharp, Gilles Castera
First Assistant Director (Paris Unit): Ali Cherkaoui

This is Mr. Scorsese’s ninth DGA Award nomination.  He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film in 2006 for The Departed, and was previously nominated in that category for Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990), The Age of Innocence (1993), Gangs of New York (2002), and The Aviator (2004). Mr. Scorsese also won the DGA Award last year for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Television for Boardwalk Empire.  In 1999, Mr. Scorsese was presented with the Filmmaker Award at the inaugural DGA Honors Gala, and he was honored with the DGA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003.

The DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film has traditionally been one of the industry’s most accurate barometers for who will win the Best Director Academy Award.

Only six times since the DGA Awards began in 1948 has the Feature Film winner not gone on to win the corresponding Academy Award.

The six exceptions are as follows:

1968: Anthony Harvey won the DGA Award for The Lion in Winter while Carol Reed took home the Oscar® for Oliver!
1972: Francis Ford Coppola received the DGA’s nod for The Godfather while the Academy selected Bob Fosse for Cabaret.
1985: Steven Spielberg received his first DGA Award for The Color Purple while the Oscar® went to Sydney Pollack for Out of Africa.
1995: Ron Howard was chosen by the DGA for his direction of Apollo 13 while Academy voters selected Mel Gibson for Braveheart.
2000: Ang Lee won the DGA Award for his direction of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon while Steven Soderbergh won the Academy Award for Traffic.
2002: Rob Marshall won the DGA Award for Chicago while Roman Polanski received the Academy Award for The Pianist.

 

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[caption id="attachment_2171" align="alignnone"]Jennifer Lawrence[/caption]

Oscar-nominated actress Jennifer Lawrence will join Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak to announce the nominations for the 84th Academy Awards® on Tuesday, January 24.

Sherak and Lawrence will unveil the nominations in 10 of the 24 categories at a 5:30 a.m. PT news conference at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, where hundreds of media representatives from around the world will be gathered. Nominations information for all categories will be distributed simultaneously to news media in attendance and via the Internet on the official Academy Awards website, www.oscar.com.

Last year, for the 83rd Academy Awards, Lawrence received a nomination for her lead performance in “Winter’s Bone.” She will be seen next in “The Hunger Games” and recently completed work on “The Silver Linings Playbook.” Lawrence’s other film credits include “The Burning Plain,” “Like Crazy,” “The Beaver” and “X-Men: First Class.”

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

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[caption id="attachment_2169" align="alignnone"]Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life[/caption]

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the name of the seven films that remain in competition in the Makeup category for the 84th Academy Awards®.

The films are listed below in alphabetical order:

“Albert Nobbs”
“Anonymous”
“The Artist”
“Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”
“Hugo”
“The Iron Lady”

On Saturday, January 21, all members of the Academy’s Makeup Branch will be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the seven shortlisted films. Following the screenings, members will vote to nominate three films for final Oscar consideration.

The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, and the Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012.

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[caption id="attachment_2167" align="alignnone"]Melancholia [/caption]

“Melancholia”  was chosen as Best Picture of the Year 2011 by the National Society of Film Critics. Kristin Dunst was named best actress for her performance in Lars von Trier’s film, and Brad Pitt was named best actor for his work in “Moneyball” and “The Tree of Life.” Albert Brooks won best supporting actor for his appearance in “Drive,” and Jessica Chastain was named best supporting actress for her work in three films: “The Tree of Life,” “Take Shelter” and “The Help.”

See below for all votes in Best Picture and other categories for outstanding film achievement.

The Society, which is made up of 58 of the country’s most prominent movie critics, held its 46th annual awards voting meeting at Sardi’s Restaurant in New York City, using a weighted ballot system. Scrolls will be sent to the winners.

BEST ACTOR
*1. Brad Pitt – 35 (Moneyball, The Tree of Life)
2. Gary Oldman – 22 (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
3. Jean Dujardin – 19 (The Artist)

BEST ACTRESS
*1. Kirsten Dunst – 39 (Melancholia)
2. Yun Jung-hee – 25 (Poetry)
3. Meryl Streep – 20 (The Iron Lady)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
*1. Albert Brooks – 38 (Drive)
2. Christopher Plummer – 24 (Beginners)
3. Patton Oswalt – 19 (Young Adult)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
*1. Jessica Chastain – 30 (The Tree of Life, Take Shelter, The Help)
2. Jeannie Berlin – 19 (Margaret)
3. Shailene Woodley – 17 (The Descendants)

BEST PICTURE
*1. Melancholia – 29 (Lars von Trier)
2. The Tree of Life – 28 (Terrence Malick)
3. A Separation – 20 (Asghar Farhadi)

BEST DIRECTOR
*1. Terrence Malick – 31 (The Tree of Life)
2. Martin Scorsese – 29 (Hugo)
3. Lars von Trier – 23 (Melancholia)

BEST NONFICTION
*1. Cave of Forgotten Dreams – 35 (Werner Herzog)
2. The Interrupters – 26 (Steve James)
3. Into the Abyss – 18 (Werner Herzog)

BEST SCREENPLAY
*1. A Separation – 39 (Asghar Farhadi)
2. Moneyball – 22 (Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin)
3. Midnight in Paris – 16 (Woody Allen)

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
*1. A Separation – 67 (Asghar Farhadi)
2. Mysteries of Lisbon – 28 (Raoul Ruiz)
3. Le Havre – 22 (Aki Kaurismäki)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
*1. The Tree of Life – 76 (Emanuel Lubezki)
2. Melancholia – 41 (Manuel Alberto Claro)
3. Hugo – 33 (Robert Richardson)

EXPERIMENTAL
Ken Jacobs, for “Seeking the Monkey King.”

FILM HERITAGE
1. BAMcinématek for its complete Vincente Minnelli retrospective with all titles shown on 16 mm. or 35 mm. film.
2. Lobster Films, Groupama Gan Foundation for Cinema and the Technicolor Foundation for Cinema for the restoration of the color version of George Méliès’s “A Trip to the Moon.”
3. New York’s Museum of Modern Art for its extensive retrospective of Weimar Cinema.
4. Flicker Alley for their box set “Landmarks of Early Soviet Film.”
5. Criterion Collecton for its 2-disc DVD package “The Complete Jean Vigo.”

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has partnered with Funny Or Die to produce a trailer for the 84th Academy Awards. The trailer features host Billy Crystal and celebrity cameo appearances by Robin Williams, Josh Duhamel, Megan Fox, William Fichtner and Vinnie Jones.

“We wanted to try something a little bit different this year instead of a traditional, clip-based piece,” said Academy Chief Marketing Officer Christina Kounelias. “The trailer has a fun twist that conveys how excited everyone is to have Billy back.”

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012.

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[caption id="attachment_2153" align="alignnone"]Starbuck[/caption]

The Artist topped the Vancouver Film Critics Circle nominations, receiving nods for best picture, best actor, best director and best screenplay.

The Vancouver Film Critics Circle which highlights Canadian films, nominated Café de flore, Small Town Murder Songs and Starbuck for best Canadian film, and Daydream Nation, People of a Feather and Sisters& Brothers for best British Columbia film.

The nominees for the 2012 Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards:

BEST CANADIAN FILM

Café de flore

Small Town Murder Songs

Starbuck

BEST ACTOR IN A CANADIAN FILM

Mohamed Fellag, Monsieur Lazhar

Patrick Huard, Starbuck

Peter Stormare, Small Town Murder Songs

BEST ACTRESS IN A CANADIAN FILM

Keira Knightley, A Dangerous Method

Vanessa Paradis, Café de flore

Ingrid Veninger, i am a good person/i am a bad person

Rachel Weisz, The Whistleblower

Michelle Williams, Take This Waltz

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A CANADIAN FILM

Vincent Cassel, A Dangerous Method

Viggo Mortensen, A Dangerous Method

Seth Rogen, Take This Waltz

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A CANADIAN FILM

Hélène Florent, Café de flore

Jill Hennessy, Small Town Murder Songs

Hallie Switzer, I am a good person/I am a bad person

BEST DIRECTOR OF A CANADIAN FILM

David Cronenberg, A Dangerous Method

Ed Gass-Donnelly, Small Town Murder Songs

Ken Scott, Starbuck

Jean-Marc Vallée, Café de flore

BEST BRITISH COLUMBIA FILM

Daydream Nation

People of a Feather

Sisters&Brothers

BEST FILM

The Artist

The Descendants

The Tree of Life

BEST ACTOR

Michael Fassbender, Shame

Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Michael Shannon, Take Shelter

BEST ACTRESS

Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene

Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn

Albert Brooks, Drive

Christopher Plummer, Beginners

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Jessica Chastain, The Help, Take Shelter, The Tree of Life

Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids

Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

BEST DIRECTOR

Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Terence Malick, The Tree of Life

Martin Scorsese, Hugo

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Cave of Forgotten Dreams

The Interrupters

Nostalgia for the Light

Project Nim

Surviving Progress

BEST SCREENPLAY

Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris

Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash, The Descendants

Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, Moneyball

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

A Separation

Poetry

The Kid with a Bike

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The 2012 BAFTA Film Awards Fellowship will be presented to Martin Scorsese at the Orange British Academy Film Awards ceremony, on 12 February.

Awarded annually by BAFTA, the Fellowship is the highest accolade bestowed upon an individual in recognition of an outstanding and exceptional contribution to film. Previously honoured Fellows include Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, Sean Connery, Elizabeth Taylor, Stanley Kubrick, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Judi Dench and Vanessa Redgrave. Christopher Lee received the Fellowship at the Film Awards last February.

Tim Corrie, Chairman of BAFTA, said: “Martin Scorsese is a legend in his lifetime; a true inspiration to all young directors the world over. We are delighted to honour his contribution to cinema history and look forward to paying tribute to him in London on 12 February.”

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[caption id="attachment_2148" align="alignnone"]The Tree of Life[/caption]

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 10 films remain in the running in the Visual Effects category for the 84th Academy Awards®.

The films are listed below in alphabetical order:

“Captain America: The First Avenger”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”
“Hugo”
“Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”
“Real Steel”
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
“The Tree of Life”
“X-Men: First Class”

All members of the Visual Effects Branch will be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the 10 shortlisted films on Thursday, January 19. Following the screenings, the members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.

The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, and the Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26.

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[caption id="attachment_2144" align="alignnone"]Snow on tha Bluff[/caption]

The Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking today announced the five nominees for its second annual Cinema Eye Heterodox Award, sponsored by Filmmaker Magazine. The 2012 Heterodox Award will be presented at the Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking on January 11 at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens, New York.

The Cinema Eye Heterodox Award honors a narrative film that imaginatively incorporates nonfiction strategies, content and/or modes of production. These films illuminate the formal possibilities of nonfiction filmmaking while raising provocative questions about on-going documentary orthodoxy and the perceived boundaries between narrative and nonfiction filmmaking. Last year’s inaugural Heterodox Award went to Matt Porterfield’s Putty Hill.

“As more and more nonfiction films integrate artistic fictional devices and narrative structures, and fiction films take on elements seen in documentary storytelling – the importance of artist-led conversation grows,” said Cinema Eye Honors Co-Chair Esther Robinson. “In its second year, the Heterodox Award continues to be an exciting and important home to this discussion, contributing to a rich and important cross-genre dialogue.”

The five films nominated for the second Heterodox Award are: Mike Mills’ BEGINNERS, Ivan Fund and Santiago Loza’s THE LIPS, Lech Majewski’s THE MILL AND THE CROSS, Sergei Loznitsa’s MY JOY, and Damon Russell’s SNOW ON THA BLUFF.

The Cinema Eye Honors nominations committee made its recommendations for nominations based on a list of eligible films that met the general criteria for the Cinema Eye Honors including two extra festivals that program narrative films. Finalists were then selected jointly by the committee and the writers and editors of Filmmaker Magazine.

“In a year when the reality of our social, political and economic situation dawned on 99% percent of us, filmmakers made their own reckoning,” said Filmmaker Magazine Editor-in-Chief Scott Macaulay. “This year’s Heterodox honorees are bracing, lovely, radical and troubling – fiction features for which the purely invented is not enough.”

Inspired by their subjects — which include people, countrysides, and even a painting — the filmmakers selected for this year’s Heterodox Award let these subjects’ realities bleed into their films, creating fascinating dramas in which the world outside is given a voice and documentary tactics are skillfully deployed in the pursuit of dramatic truth.

The jury selecting the winner of the 2012 Heterodox Award consists of: Natalia Almada (Director: EL VELADOR – 2011 Cannes Film Festival; EL GENERAL – 2009 Sundance Film Festival Documentary Directing Award), Sandi Dubowski (Director /Producer: TREMBLING BEFORE G-D – 2001 Teddy Award for Best Documentary at Berlin Film Festival; JIHAD FOR LOVE), Shannon Kennedy (Editor, The Trials of Darryl Hunt; A Walk Into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory – 2007 Teddy Award for Best Documentary at Berlin Film Festival), Alrick Brown (Director/Writer: Kinyarwanda – 2011 Sundance Film Festival World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award Winner), and Kimberly Reed (Director: PRODIGAL SONS – Winner, FIPRESCI Prize at Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival).

The Five Nominees:

[caption id="attachment_785" align="alignnone"]Beginners[/caption]

Beginners: Drawing from autobiographical elements, including his relationship to his dying father, Mike Mills has made a sensitive, insightful, and whimsically funny ode to romance and reinvention. Starring Ewen McGregor, Melanie Laurent and Christopher Plummer, Beginners mixes drama with not only humor but also brief documentary essays that examine everything from art to the history of California gay culture.

[caption id="attachment_2145" align="alignnone"]The Lips[/caption]

The Lips: Ivan Fund and Santiago Loza’s Argentine picture, “The Lips” (“Los Labios”), a subtle and challenging mix of documentary and narrative filmmaking, follows three women who deeply inhabit their cinematic roles as social workers interacting with members of an impoverished rural Argentine community. Facing desperate poverty that threatens to overwhelm even the greatest reserves of calm, humor, and empathy, the trio moves into makeshift living quarters and records data on the needs of the community, while still taking time for an occasional night out.

[caption id="attachment_1998" align="alignnone"]The Mill and the Cross[/caption]

The Mill and the Cross: Lech Majewski’s The Mill and the Cross is an epic restaging of and journey into Pieter Bruegel’s celebrated 1564 painting, “Way to Calvary.” Rutger Hauer stars as Bruegel, Michael York is his art collector friend, and Charlotte Rampling is the inspiration for his Virgin Mary. Majewski explores not only the rich iconography of this work but, using digital technology to make his picture a dialogue with not only the past but the nature of creativity itself.

[caption id="attachment_2146" align="alignnone"]My Joy[/caption]

My Joy: Ukranian documentary director Sergei Loznitsa made his debut drama with My Joy, a harshly riveting journey through the countryside of contemporary Russia. Following a truck driver as he makes his various deliveries, Loznitsa draws upon his own experience shooting and traveling through the Russian provinces in this bold and terrifying film.

Snow on tha Bluff: As authentic a document of the life of a young, black, crack-dealing single parent as you will ever see, Damon Russell’s “Snow on tha Bluff” audaciously mixes footage from the camcorder of the film’s real-life inspiration with dramatic scenes to create a sometimes indecipherable mixture of real life and fiction, documentary authenticity and cultural mythmaking.

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[caption id="attachment_795" align="alignnone"]MIDNIGHT IN PARIS[/caption]

The Artist, The Descendant, and Midnight In Paris were among the nominees for the 23rd Annual Producers Guild Awards announced today by the Producers Guild of America (PGA).

All 2012 Producers Guild Award winners will be announced on January 21, 2012 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The Producers Guild will also award special honors to Leslie Moonves (Milestone Award), Steven Spielberg (David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures), Don Mischer (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television), Stan Lee (Vanguard Award), and IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY (The Stanley Kramer Award). The 2012 Producers Guild Awards co-chairs are Paula Wagner and Michael Manheim.

The theatrical motion picture nominees are:

Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures:

THE ARTIST
Producer: Thomas Langmann

BRIDESMAIDS
Producers: Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, Clayton Townsend

THE DESCENDANTS
Producers: Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
Producers: Ceán Chaffin, Scott Rudin

THE HELP
Producers: Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, Brunson Green

HUGO
Producers: Graham King, Martin Scorsese

THE IDES OF MARCH
Producers: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Brian Oliver

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum

MONEYBALL
Producers: Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz, Brad Pitt

WAR HORSE
Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg

The Producers Guild Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN
Producers: Peter Jackson, Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg

CARS 2
Producer: Denise Ream

KUNG FU PANDA 2
Producer: Melissa Cobb

PUSS IN BOOTS
Producers: Joe M. Aguilar, Latifa Ouaou

RANGO
Producers: John B. Carls, Gore Verbinski 

The television nominees are:

The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television:


“Cinema Verite” (HBO)

Producers: Zanne Devine, Karyn McCarthy

“Downton Abbey” (Masterpiece) (PBS)
Producers: Julian Fellowes, Nigel Marchant, Gareth Neame

“The Kennedys” (ReelzChannel) Producers: Jon Cassar, Jonathan Koch, Stephen Kronish, Steve Michaels, Michael Prupas, Jamie Paul Rock, Joel Surnow

“Mildred Pierce” (HBO)
Producers: Todd Haynes, Pamela Koffler, Ilene S. Landress, Christine Vachon

“Too Big To Fail” (HBO)
Producers: Carol Fenelon, Jeffrey Levine, Paula Weinstein

*The Long-Form Television category encompasses both movies of the week and mini-series.

In December 2011, the Producers Guild of America announced the Documentary Theatrical Motion Picture, Television Series and Non-Fiction Television Nominations; the following list includes complete producer credits.

The Producers Guild Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures:

BEATS, RHYMES & LIFE: THE TRAVELS OF A TRIBE CALLED QUEST
Producers: Michael Rapaport, Edward Parks (*additional producers eligibility pending arbitration completion)

BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK
Producer: Philip Gefter

PROJECT NIM
Producer: Simon Chinn

SENNA
Producer: James Gay-Rees

THE UNION
Producers: Cameron Crowe, Michelle Panek

The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy:

“30 Rock” (NBC)
Producers: Robert Carlock, Tina Fey, Marci Klein, Jerry Kupfer, Lorne Michaels, David Miner, Jeff Richmond, John Riggi, Don Scardino

“The Big Bang Theory” (CBS)
Producers: Chuck Lorre, Steve Molaro, Faye Oshima, Bill Prady

“Glee” (FOX)
Producers: Ian Brennan, Dante Di Loreto, Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy, Kenneth Silverstein

“Modern Family” (ABC)
Producers: Paul Corrigan, Abraham Higginbotham, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Morton, Jeffrey Richman, Dan O’Shannon, Brad Walsh, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker

“Parks and Recreation” (NBC)
Producers: Greg Daniels, Dan Goor, Howard Klein, Amy Poehler, Morgan Sackett, Michael Schur

The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama:

“Boardwalk Empire” (HBO)
Producers: Eugene Kelly, Howard Korder, Stephen Levinson, Martin Scorsese, Rudd Simmons, Tim Van Patten, Terence Winter

“Dexter” (Showtime)
Producers: Sara Colleton, John Goldwyn, Chip Johannessen, Robert Lloyd Lewis

“Game of Thrones” (HBO)
Producers: David Benioff, Frank Doelger, Mark Huffam, Carolyn Strauss, D.B. Weiss

“The Good Wife” (CBS)
Producers: Brooke Kennedy, Michelle King, Robert King, Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, David W. Zucker

“Mad Men” (AMC)
Producers: Jonathan Abrahams, Scott Hornbacher, Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Blake McCormick, Dwayne Shattuck, Dahvi Waller, Matthew Weiner

The Producers Guild Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television:

“The Colbert Report” (Comedy Central)
Producers: Meredith Bennett, Stephen T. Colbert, Richard Dahm, Tanya Michnevich Bracco, Tom Purcell, Jon Stewart (*additional producers eligibility pending arbitration completion)

“The Ellen DeGeneres Show” (Syndicated)
Producers: Mary Connelly, Ellen DeGeneres, Melissa Geiger Schrift, Ed Glavin, Andy Lassner, Kevin A. Leman II, Jonathan Norman, Derek Westervelt

“Real Time with Bill Maher” (HBO)
Producers: Scott Carter, Sheila Griffiths, Marc Gurvitz, Dean Johnsen, Bill Maher, Billy Martin

“Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
Producers: Ken Aymong, Steve Higgins, Erik Kenward, Lorne Michaels, John Mulaney

“The 64th Annual Tony Awards” (CBS)
Producers: Ricky Kirshner, Glenn Weiss

The Producers Guild Award for Outstanding Producer of Competition Television:

“The Amazing Race” (CBS)
Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer, Elise Doganieri, Jonathan Littman, Bertram van Munster, Mark Vertullo

“American Idol” (FOX)
Producers: Charles Boyd, Cecile Frot-Coutaz, Simon Fuller, Patrick Lynn, Nigel Lythgoe, Megan Michaels, Ken Warwick

“Dancing with the Stars” (ABC)
Producers: Ashley Edens Shaffer, Conrad Green, Joe Sungkur, Rob Wade

“Project Runway” (Lifetime)
Producers: Jane Cha Cutler, Desiree Gruber, Tim Gunn, Heidi Klum, Jonathan Murray, Sara Rea, Colleen Sands

“Top Chef” (Bravo)
Producers: Daniel Cutforth, Casey Kriley, Jane Lipsitz, Dan Murphy, Nan Strait

The Producers Guild Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television:

“30 for 30” (ESPN)
Producers: John Dahl, Connor Schell, Bill Simmons

“American Masters” (PBS)
Producers: Susan Lacy, Julie Sacks

“Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations” (Travel Channel)
Producers: Christopher Collins, Julie Lei, Lydia Tenaglia, Tom Vitale

“Deadliest Catch” (Discovery Channel)
Producers: Thom Beers, Jeff Conroy, John Gray, Sheila McCormack, Ethan Prochnik, Bill Pruitt, Matt Renner

“Undercover Boss” (CBS)
Producers: Chris Carlson, Susan Hoenig, Eli Holzman, Sandi Johnson, Stephen Lambert, Allison Schermerhorn

**Below are new categories for the 2012 Producers Guild Awards; three television categories and one web category. As such, these programs were not vetted for producer eligibility this year but winners in these categories will be announced at the official ceremony on January 21st:

News Programs:

“Anderson Cooper 360” (CNN)

“BBC World News America” (BBC)

“NBC News with Brian Williams” (NBC)

“The Rachel Maddow Show” (MSNBC)

“60 Minutes” (CBS)

Sports Programs: (*There was a tie, which is why there are six nominees.)

“Monday Night Football” (ESPN)

“Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” (HBO)

“Sports Center” (ESPN)

“30 for 30” (ESPN)

“2010 FIFA World Cup” (ABC / ESPN / ESPN2)

“U.S. Open Tennis Championship” (CBS / ESPN2 / Tennis Channel)

Children’s Programs:

“Dora the Explorer” (Nickelodeon)

“iCarly” (Nickelodeon)

“Phineas and Ferb” (Disney Channel)

“Sesame Street” (PBS)

“SpongeBob Squarepants” (Nickelodeon)

Web Series:

“Ask a Ninja” (blip.tv)

“The Guild” (WatchTheGuild.com)

“Parks and Recreation Presents: ‘April & Andy’s Road Trip’” (NBC.com)

“30 Rock Presents Jack Donaghy, Executive Superhero” (NBC.com)

“Web Therapy” (LStudio.com)

 

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