Awards

  • Brett Ratner and Don Mischer to Produce 84th Academy Awards

    Director, producer Brett Ratner, (“Horrible Bosses,” currently in release) and Don Mischer will produce the 84th Academy Awards. This will be Ratner’s first involvement with the Oscar show; Mischer will for the second year in a row serve as a producer and as the telecast director.

    “I was so impressed with Brett when I met with him to discuss the Oscar show,” said Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak.  “He has an incredible love of film and its history and is a true student of the business of movies.  He’s unbelievably creative and knows how to take risks that are both interesting and inspiring.  Together with Don Mischer – who, by the way, just earned an Emmy nomination for his work on the 83rd Academy Awards – I think these two will give us a fantastic Oscar show that you won’t want to miss.”

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  • James Earl Jones, Dick Smith and Oprah Winfrey To Receive Honorary Academy Awards

    [caption id="attachment_1603" align="alignnone" width="550"]Oprah Winfrey received her Oscar nomination for her debut film performance in The Color Purple [/caption]

    The  Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present Honorary Awards to actor James Earl Jones and makeup artist Dick Smith and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to philanthropist Oprah Winfrey at the Academy’s 3rd Annual Governors Awards dinner on Saturday, November 12.

    The Honorary Award, an Oscar statuette, is given to an individual for “extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding service to the Academy.”

    The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, an Oscar statuette, is given to an individual in the motion picture industry whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry.

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  • Tom Sherak Re-elected President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

    Tom Sherak was re-elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on August 2.  This will be his third consecutive one-year term in the office.

    Previously, Sherak was a partner at Revolution Studios and prior to joining Revolution, Sherak held various positions at Twentieth Century Fox including senior executive vice president of Fox Filmed Entertainment.  Sherak has been responsible for the launch, distribution and/or post-production of many blockbuster films including “Black Hawk Down,” “Anger Management,” “Rent,” “Across the Universe.” “Mrs. Doubtfire,” “Speed,” “Independence Day,” “Romancing the Stone,” ” Aliens,” “Wall Street,” “Die Hard”  and “Working Girl.”  He began his career in the industry at Paramount Pictures in 1970.

     

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  • Dabangg (Fearless) is big winner at 12th International India Film Academy

    [caption id="attachment_678" align="alignnone" width="550"]Dabangg (Fearless)[/caption]

    Dabangg (Fearless) was the big winner at the 12th International India Film Academy (IIFA) awards ceremony held in Toronto, Canada on Saturday night.

    The Hollywood Reported, reported that Dabangg won for best film and took home three of the four major music awards: best male playback singer for Rahat Ali Fateh Khan for the song “Tere mast mast do nain,” best music director shared by Sajid Wajid and Lalit Pandit, and the best female playback singer trophy went to Mamta Sharma for the song “Munni badnam hui.” Also for Dabangg, the best screenplay trophy went to Abhinav Kashyap and Dilip Shukla, while Sonakshi Sinha earned the female debut award for her star-turn in the hit Bollywood film.

    The list of the winners of the 2011 IIFA Awards:

    Best Film
    Dabangg

    Best Direction
    Karan Johar (My Name Is Khan)

    Leading Role Male
    Shahrukh Khan (My Name Is Khan)

    Leading Role Female
    Anushka Sharma (Band Baaja Baaraat)

    Supporting Role Male
    Arjun Rampal (Raajneeti)

    Supporting Role Female
    Prachi Desai (Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai)

    Comic Role
    Riteish Deshmukh (Housefull)

    Negative Role
    Sonu Sood (Dabangg)

    Debut Male
    Ranveer Singh

    Debut Female
    Sonakshi Sinah (Dabangg)

    Best Story
    Shibani Bhatija (My Name Is Khan)

    Screenplay
    Dilip Shukla, Abhinav Kashyap (Dabangg)

    Dialogue
    Vishal Bhardwaj (Ishqiya)

    Music Direction
    Sajid – Wajid & Lalit Pandit (Dabangg)

    Lyrics
    Niranjan Iyengar (My Name Is Khan – Sajdaa)

    Playback Singer Male
    Rahat Fateh Ali Khan (Dabangg – Tere Mast Mast Do Nain)

    Playback Singer Female
    Mamta Sharma (Dabangg – Munni Badnam)

    Outstanding Achievement in International Cinema
    Irrfan Khan

    Lifetime Achievement Award
    Asha Bhonsle

    Outstanding Contribution to Indian cinema
    Dharmendra (50 years in cinema)

    Outstanding Achievement in Indian cinema
    Sharmila Tagore

    Best On-Screen Jodi
    Anuksha Sharma and Ranveer Singh (Band Baaja Baaraat)

    Special ‘Green’ Award
    Priyanka Chopra

    Best Editing
    Namrata Rao
    Band Baaja Baaraat

    Best Sound Recording
    Pritam Das
    Love Sex aur Dhokha

    Best Sound Re-recording
    Leslie Fernandes
    Dabangg

    Best Special Effects
    V. Srinivas Mohan
    Robot

    Best Art Direction
    Sabu Cyril
    Robot

    Best Cinematography
    Sudeep Chatterjee
    Guzaarish

    Best Dialogue
    Vishal Bharadwaj
    Ishqiya

    Best Costume
    Niharika Khan
    Band Baaja Baaraat

    Best Make-up
    Banu
    Robot

    Best Screenplay
    Abhinav Kashyap, Dileep Shukla
    Dabangg

    Best Choreography
    Farah Khan
    Dabangg

    Best Action
    Master Vijayan
    Dabangg

    Best Story
    Shibani Bhattija
    My Name Is Khan

    Best Background Score
    Shankar Ehsaan Loy
    My Name Is Khan

    Best Music
    Sajid – Wajid
    Dabangg

    Best Lyrics
    Niranjan Iyengar
    My Name Is Khan

    Best Playback Singer (Male)
    Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
    Dabangg

    Best Playback Singer (Female)
    Mamta Sharma
    Dabangg

    Debutant Star Award (Male)
    Ranveer Singh
    Band Baaja Baaraat

    Debutant Star Award (Female)
    Sonakshi Sinha
    Dabangg

    Best Performance in a Comic Role
    Ritesh Deshmukh
    House Full

    Best Performance in a Negative Role
    Sonu Sood
    Dabangg

    Best Performance in a Supporting Role (Female)
    Prachi Desai |
    Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai

    Best Performance in a Supporting Role (Male)
    Arjun Rampal
    Raajneeti

    Lifetime Achievement Award
    Dharmendra

    [via india-spicy]

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  • Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Extend Invitations to 178 New Membes

    [caption id="attachment_1471" align="alignnone" width="550"]Anthony Mackie in [/caption]

    The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has extending invitations to join the organization to 178 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures.  Those who accept the invitation will be the only additions in 2011 to the Academy’s roster of members.

    “These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today,” said Academy President Tom Sherak.  “Their talent and creativity have entertained moviegoers around the world, and I welcome each of them to our ranks.”

    The Academy’s membership policies would have allowed a maximum of 211 new members in 2011, but as in other recent years, several branch committees endorsed fewer candidates than were proposed to them.  Voting membership in the organization has now held steady at just under 6,000 members since 2003.

    In an unprecedented gesture, the list of new members includes documentary filmmaker Tim Hetherington, who was killed in action in Libya in April.  Hetherington had been a 2010 nominee for his film “Restrepo,” but died prior to the Academy’s spring meetings to select new members.  The Documentary Branch proposed that Hetherington’s name be included among the year’s invitees.  The governors agreed.

    The 2011 invitees are:

    Actors
    Russell Brand – “Arthur,” “Get Him to the Greek”
    Gerard Butler – “The Ugly Truth,” “300”
    Vincent Cassel – “Black Swan,” “Eastern Promises”
    Robbie Coltrane – “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1,” “Mona Lisa”
    Bradley Cooper – “Limitless,” “The Hangover”
    John Corbett – “Sex and the City 2,” “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”
    Rosemarie DeWitt – “The Company Men,” “Rachel Getting Married”
    Peter Dinklage – “Find Me Guilty,” “The Station Agent”
    David Duchovny – “Things We Lost in the Fire,” “The X-Files”
    Jesse Eisenberg – “The Social Network,” “The Squid and the Whale”
    Jennifer Garner – “Arthur,” “Juno”
    John Hawkes – “Winter’s Bone,” “The Perfect Storm”
    Thomas Jane – “The Mist,” “The Thin Red Line”
    Nastassja Kinski – “An American Rhapsody,” “Tess”
    Beyonce Knowles – “Dreamgirls,” “Austin Powers in Goldmember”
    Mila Kunis – “Black Swan,” “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”
    Jennifer Lawrence – “Winter’s Bone,” “The Burning Plain”
    Tea Leoni – “Ghost Town,” “Spanglish”
    Anthony Mackie – “The Hurt Locker,” “Million Dollar Baby”
    Lesley Manville – “Another Year,” “Topsy-Turvy”
    Rooney Mara – “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” “The Social Network”
    Dominic Monaghan – “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”
    Connie Nielsen – “Brothers,” “Gladiator”
    Ellen Page – “Inception,” “Juno”
    Wes Studi – “Avatar,” “The Last of the Mohicans”
    Mia Wasikowska – “Jane Eyre,” “The Kids Are All Right”
    Jacki Weaver – “Animal Kingdom,” “Cosi”

    Animators
    Geefwee Boedoe – “Let’s Pollute,” “Monsters, Inc.”
    Alessandro Carloni – “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Over the Hedge”
    Sylvain Chomet – “The Illusionist,” “The Triplets of Belleville”
    Jakob Hjort Jensen – “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Flushed Away”
    Biljana Labovic – “The Cow Who Wanted to Be a Hamburger,” “Idiots and Angels”
    Tomm Moore – “The Secret of Kells,” “Backwards Boy”
    Teddy Newton – “Day & Night,” “Ratatouille”
    Bob Peterson – “Up,” “Finding Nemo” (also invited to the Writers Branch)
    Javier Recio Gracia – “The Lady and the Reaper,” “The Missing Lynx”
    Andrew Ruhemann – “The Lost Thing,” “City Paradise”
    Kristof Serrand – “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas”
    Shaun Tan – “The Lost Thing,” “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!”
    Simon Wells – “Mars Needs Moms,” “The Prince of Egypt”

    Art Directors
    Anahid Nazarian – “The Virgin Suicides,” “The Godfather, Part III”
    Lauren E. Polizzi – “Cowboys & Aliens,” “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”

    At-Large
    George Aguilar
    Barry Bernardi
    Christopher Dodd
    Ted Gagliano
    James L. Honore
    Dawn Hudson
    Beverly Pasterczyk
    Randall Poster
    Ric Robertson
    David Schnuelle
    Randy Spendlove
    Beverly Joanna Wood

    Casting Directors
    Nina Gold – “The King’s Speech,” “Jane Eyre”
    Jina Jay – “The Reader,” “Layer Cake”
    Lora Kennedy – “The Town,” “Syriana”

    Cinematographers
    Frank Byers – “Illegal Tender,” “Boxing Helena”
    Patrick Cady – “Lottery Ticket,” “Broken Bridges”
    Danny Cohen – “The King’s Speech,” “Pirate Radio”
    Lukas Ettlin – “The Lincoln Lawyer,” “Middle Men”
    Steven Fierberg – “Love & Other Drugs,” “Secretary”
    Barry Markowitz – “Crazy Heart,” “Sling Blade”
    Charles Minsky – “Valentine’s Day,” “Pretty Woman”
    Lawrence Sher – “The Hangover,” “Garden State”
    Eric Steelberg – “Up in the Air,” “(500) Days of Summer”

    Costume Designers
    Odile Dicks-Mireaux – “An Education,” “The Constant Gardener”
    Sarah Edwards – “Salt,” “Michael Clayton”
    Danny Glicker – “Up in the Air,” “Milk”

    Directors
    Gregg Araki – “Kaboom,” “Nowhere”
    Susanne Bier – “In a Better World,” “After the Wedding”
    Neil Burger – “Limitless,” “The Illusionist”
    Lisa Cholodenko – “The Kids Are All Right,” “Laurel Canyon” (also invited to the Writers Branch)
    Debra Granik – “Winter’s Bone,” “Down to the Bone” (also invited to the Writers Branch)
    Tom Hooper – “The King’s Speech,” “The Damned United”
    John Cameron Mitchell – “Rabbit Hole,” “Shortbus”
    Yojiro Takita – “Departures,” “Himitsu”

    Documentary
    Jon Alpert – “China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province,” “Lock-up: The Prisoners
    of Rikers Island”
    Amir Bar-Lev – “The Tillman Story,” “Fighter”
    Lesley Chilcott – “Waiting for ‘Superman’,” “It Might Get Loud”
    Carl Deal – “Capitalism: A Love Story,” “Trouble the Water”
    Charles Ferguson – “Inside Job,” “No End in Sight”
    Tim Hetherington – “Restrepo” (posthumous)
    Sebastian Junger – “Restrepo”
    Thomas Lennon – “The Warriors of Qiugang,” “The Blood of Yingzhou District”
    Diane Weyermann – “Waiting for ‘Superman’,” “Food, Inc.”
    Ruby Yang – “The Blood of Yingzhou District,” “The Warriors of Qiugang”

    Executives
    William J. Damaschke
    Richard M. Fay
    Donna Langley
    Leslie Moonves
    Vanessa L. Morrison
    Bill Pohlad
    Rich Ross
    Jeff Small
    Thomas Tull

    Film Editors
    Tariq Anwar – “The King’s Speech,” “American Beauty”
    Naomi Geraghty – “Limitless,” “Reservation Road”
    Jon Harris – “127 Hours,” “Layer Cake”
    Darren Holmes – “How to Train Your Dragon,” “The Iron Giant”
    Pamela Martin – “The Fighter,” “Little Miss Sunshine”
    Joel Negron – “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” “The Karate Kid”
    Terilyn A. Shropshire – “Jumping the Broom,” “Eve’s Bayou”
    Angus Wall – “The Social Network,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
    Andrew Weisblum – “The Black Swan,” “The Wrestler”

    Live Action Short Films
    Luke Matheny – “God of Love,” “Earano”

    Makeup Artists and Hairstylists
    Judy Chin – “Black Swan,” “Requiem for a Dream”
    Kathrine Gordon – “3:10 to Yuma,” “Ocean’s Eleven”
    Trefor Proud – “W.,” “Topsy-Turvy”
    Cindy Jane Williams – “Burlesque,” “Hancock”
    Wesley Wofford – “Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son,” “A Beautiful Mind”

    Music
    Terence Blanchard – “Inside Man,” “Malcolm X”
    Fernand Bos – “Crazy Heart,” “Cold Mountain”
    Graeme Revell – “Darfur Now,” “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider”

    Producers
    Iain Canning – “Oranges and Sunshine,” “The King’s Speech”
    Cean Chaffin – “The Social Network,” “Fight Club”
    Kevin Feige – “Thor,” “Iron Man”
    Gary Goetzman – “Where the Wild Things Are,” “Mamma Mia!”
    Sisse Graum Jorgensen – “In a Better World,” “After the Wedding”
    Jeffrey Levy-Hinte – “The Kids Are All Right,” “Laurel Canyon”
    Todd Lieberman – “The Fighter,” “The Proposal”
    Robert Lorenz – “Letters from Iwo Jima,” “Mystic River”
    Celine Rattray – “The Kids Are All Right,” “Grace Is Gone”
    Emile Sherman – “The King’s Speech,” “Candy”
    Emma Thomas – “Inception,” “The Dark Knight”
    Gareth Unwin – “The King’s Speech,” “Exam”

    Production Designers
    Howard Cummings – “I Love You, Beth Cooper,” “John Grisham’s The Rainmaker”
    Therese DePrez – “Black Swan,” “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days”
    Guy Hendrix Dyas – “Inception,” “The Brothers Grimm”
    Jess Gonchor – “True Grit,” “Capote”
    Jane Musky – “Something Borrowed,” “Finding Forrester”
    Eve Stewart – “The King’s Speech,” “Topsy-Turvy”

    Public Relations
    Susan Ciccone
    Alissa Grayson
    Jeffrey Hall
    Jill Ann Jones
    Mark Markline
    Carmelo Pirrone
    Ira Rubenstein
    David Schneiderman
    Loren Schwartz
    Lance Volland

    Set Decorators
    Judy Farr – “The King’s Speech,” “Death at a Funeral”
    Gene Serdena – “The Fighter,” “House of Sand and Fog”

    Sound
    Andrew DeCristofaro – “Hall Pass,” “Crazy Heart”
    Joe Dorn – “The Wolfman,” “Spider-Man 3”
    Marc Fishman – “Bridesmaids,” “Crash”
    Lora Hirschberg – “Inception,” “The Dark Knight”
    Chris Jargo – “Robin Hood,” “American Gangster”
    John Midgley – “The King’s Speech,” “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace”
    Ed Novick – “Inception,” “The Dark Knight”
    Hammond Peek – “King Kong,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”
    Brian Vessa – “Nemesis,” “Lambada”
    Mark Weingarten – “The Social Network,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

    Visual Effects
    Tim Alexander – “Rango,” “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”
    Rob Bredow – “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” “The Polar Express”
    Tim Burke – “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1,” “Gladiator”
    Peter Chesney – “No Country for Old Men,” “Men in Black”
    Paul Franklin – “Inception,” “The Dark Knight”
    Kevin Tod Haug – “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” “Quantum of Solace”
    Florian Kainz – “Mission: Impossible III,” “The Perfect Storm”
    Marshall Krasser – “Iron Man 2,” “Titanic”
    Sean Phillips – “Alice in Wonderland,” “The Polar Express”
    Peter G. Travers – “Watchmen,” “The Matrix Reloaded”
    Brian Van’t Hul – “Coraline,” “I, Robot”
    Mark H. Weingartner – “Sex and the City 2,” “Inception”

    Writers
    Stuart Blumberg – “The Kids Are All Right,” “Keeping the Faith”
    Lisa Cholodenko – “The Kids Are All Right,” “Laurel Canyon” (also invited to the Directors Branch)
    Debra Granik – “Winter’s Bone,” “Down to the Bone” (also invited to the Directors Branch)
    Karen McCullah Lutz – “The Ugly Truth,” “Legally Blonde”
    Aline Brosh McKenna – “27 Dresses,” “The Devil Wears Prada”
    Bob Peterson – “Up,” “Finding Nemo” (also invited to the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch)
    David Rabe – “The Firm,” “Casualties of War”
    Anne Rosellini – “Winter’s Bone”
    David Seidler – “The King’s Speech,” “The King & I”
    Scott Silver – “The Fighter,” “8 Mile”
    Kirsten Smith – “The Ugly Truth,” “Legally Blonde”
    Aaron Sorkin – “The Social Network,” “A Few Good Men”
    Daniel Waters – “Batman Returns,” “Heathers”

    Additionally, the Academy invited John Coffey, Risa Gertner and Robert C. Rosenthal to Associate membership. Associate members are not represented on the Board and do not have Academy Awards® voting privileges.

    source: AMPAS

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  • Academy Shakes Up Best Picture Rules Again

    The governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted on Tuesday (6/14) to add a new twist to the 2011 Best Picture competition, and a new element of surprise to its annual nominations announcement.  The Board voted to institute a system that will now produce anywhere between five and 10 nominees in the category.  That number won’t be announced until the Best Picture nominees themselves are revealed at the January nominations announcement.

    “With the help of PricewaterhouseCoopers, we’ve been looking not just at what happened over the past two years, but at what would have happened if we had been selecting 10 nominees for the past 10 years,” explained Academy President Tom Sherak, who noted that it was retiring Academy executive director Bruce Davis who recommended the change first to Sherak and incoming CEO Dawn Hudson and then to the governors.

    During the period studied, the average percentage of first place votes received by the top vote-getting movie was 20.5.  After much analysis by Academy officials, it was determined that 5% of first place votes should be the minimum in order to receive a nomination, resulting in a slate of anywhere from five to 10 movies.

    “In studying the data, what stood out was that Academy members had regularly shown a strong admiration for more than five movies,” said Davis.  “A Best Picture nomination should be an indication of extraordinary merit.  If there are only eight pictures that truly earn that honor in a given year, we shouldn’t feel an obligation to round out the number.”

    If this system had been in effect from 2001 to 2008 (before the expansion to a slate of 10), there would have been years that yielded 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 nominees.

    The final round of voting for Best Picture will continue to employ the preferential system, regardless of the number of nominees, to ensure that the winning picture has the endorsement of more than half of the voters.

    Other rules changes approved by the Board include:

    In the animated feature film category, the need for the Board to vote to “activate” the category each year was eliminated, though a minimum number of eligible releases – eight – is still required for a competitive category.   Additionally, the short films and feature animation branch recommended, and the Board approved, refinements to the number of possible nominees in the Animated Feature category.  In any year in which eight to 12 animated features are released, either two or three of them may be nominated.  When 13 to 15 films are released, a maximum of four may be nominated, and when 16 or more animated features are released, a maximum of five may be nominated.

    In the visual effects category, the “bakeoff” at which the nominees are determined will expand from seven to 10 contenders.  The increase in the number of participants is related to a change made last year in which the number of films nominated in the visual effects category  was increased from three to five.

    Previously, the Board approved changes to the documentary feature and documentary short category rules that now put those categories’ eligibility periods in line with the calendar year and thus with most other awards categories.  The change means that for the 84th Awards cycle only, the eligibility period is more than 12 months; it is from September 1, 2010 to December 31, 2011.

    Other modifications of the 84th Academy Awards rules include normal date changes and minor “housekeeping” changes.

    Rules are reviewed annually by individual branch and category committees.  The Awards Rules Committee then reviews all proposed changes before presenting its recommendations to the Academy’s Board of Governors for approval.

    The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, 2012, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

    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.

    [ press release via AMPAS ]

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  • Academy Honors 2011 Student Academy Award® Winners with Medals

    [caption id="attachment_1456" align="alignnone" width="560"]The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented its 38th Annual Student Academy Awards® on Saturday, June 11, in Beverly Hills. Front row (left to right): Hallvar Witzø, Julian Higgins, Avner Geller, Stevie Lewis, Tal S. Shamir, Wonjung Bae and Soham Mehta. Back row (left to right): Theo Rigby, Anthony Weeks, Shawn Wines, Max Zähle, Karzan Kader, Zach Hyer, Bernardo Warman and Shaofu Zhang.[/caption]

    Fifteen students from colleges and universities around the world were honored last night (June 11) as winners in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 38th Annual Student Academy Awards® competition awards ceremony, which featured as presenters actress Jennifer Garner, Oscar®-nominated animator John Musker, and Academy Award-winning producer Edward Zwick alongside Academy President Tom Sherak at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

    The 2011 winners are:

    Alternative category
    Gold Medal*:   “The Vermeers,” Tal S. Shamir, The New School, New York
    * Only one medal was awarded in the Alternative category.

    Animation category
    Gold Medal (tie):   “Correspondence,” Zach Hyer, Pratt Institute, New York; and “Dragonboy,” Bernardo Warman and Shaofu Zhang, Academy of Art University, California
    Bronze Medal:       “Defective Detective,” Avner Geller and Stevie Lewis, Ringling College of Art and Design, Florida

    Documentary category
    Gold Medal:       “Vera Klement: Blunt Edge,” Wonjung Bae, Columbia College Chicago
    Silver Medal:      “Imaginary Circumstances,” Anthony Weeks, Stanford University
    Bronze Medal:   “Sin Pais (Without Country),” Theo Rigby, Stanford University

    Narrative category
    Gold Medal:     “Thief,” Julian Higgins, American Film Institute, California
    Silver Medal:    “High Maintenance,” Shawn Wines, Columbia University
    Bronze Medal:  “Fatakra,” Soham Mehta, University of Texas at Austin

    Foreign Student Film category
    Gold Medal:     “Tuba Atlantic,” Hallvar Witzo, The Norwegian Film School, Norway
    Silver Medal:    “Bekas,” Karzan Kader, Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts, Sweden
    Bronze Medal:  “Raju,” Max Zaehle, Hamburg Media School, Germany

    The Academy established the Student Academy Awards in 1972 to support and encourage excellence in filmmaking at the collegiate level. Past Student Academy Award winners have gone on to receive 43 Oscar nominations and have won or shared eight awards. At the 83rd Academy Awards earlier this year, 2010 Student Academy Award winner Luke Matheny took home the Oscar for Live Action Short Film for “God of Love.” Tanel Toom, another 2010 Student Academy Award winner, also was nominated in the Live Action Short Film category for “The Confession,” and John Lasseter, a 1979 and 1980 Student Academy Award winner, was a nominee in the Adapted Screenplay category for “Toy Story 3.”

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  • 2011 Amsterdam Film Festival Announces Van Gogh Awards; The Secret Friend, Der Sandmann, Wish, and Happy Earn Grand Jury Awards

    [caption id="attachment_1447" align="alignnone" width="560"]Adam Bowers writes, directs and stars in the low-budget comedy ‘New Low[/caption]

    The 2011 Amsterdam Film Festival Van Gogh Awards announced the winners of the prestigious Van Gogh Awards. The Grand Jury Prize was presented to four films – The Secret Friend directed by Flavio Alves (Brazil), Der Sandmann directed by Peter Luisi (Switzerland), Wish directed by Kyle Milardo (USA) and Happy directed by Roko Belic (USA).

    The De grote Prijs van de Jury was presented to New Low directed by Adam Bowers (USA); a film about a neurotic twentysomething struggling to figure out which girl he really belongs with: the best or the worst one he’s ever known.

    The Cinematic Vision Award was presented to The Greater Good directed by Chris Pilaro & Kendall Nelson (USA). The Greater Good looks behind the fear, hype and politics that have polarized the vaccine debate in America today. The film re-frames the emotionally charged issue and offers, for the first time, the opportunity for a rational and scientific discussion on how to create a safer and more effective vaccine program.

    The Van Gogh Award was presented to Bert’s Plan directed by Yair Shvartz (USA). Bert is a struggling middle-aged writer attempting to get his book published. Downtrodden and plagued with rejection, Bert comes up with a plan. In a twist of hilariously dark, ironic and serendipitous events, Bert’s original plan takes an unexpected turn.

    The Prodigy Auteur Prize was presented to Victim, directed by Leon Rowe (USA). Victim is a psychological thriller about a man who is plagued by guilt, anger and vengeance struggling with a decision that will change his life forever.

    2011 VAN GOGH AWARDS:

    De grote Prijs van de Jury: New Low directed by Adam Bowers
    Cinematic Vision Award: The Greater Good directed by Chris Pilaro & Kendall Nelson
    Van Gogh Award: Bert’s Plan directed by Yair Shvartz
    Prodigy Auteur Prize: Victim directed by Leon Rowe

    Grand Jury Prize: The Secret Friend directed by Flavio Alves
    Grand Jury Prize: Der Sandmann directed by Peter Luisi
    Grand Jury Prize: Wish directed by Kyle Milardo
    Grand Jury Prize: Happy directed by Roko Belic

    Best Director: The Story directed by Steve Bellamy
    Documentary Directing Award: Lift Up directed by Philip Knowlton & Huguens Jean
    Dramatic Directing Award: A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation directed by Stefan Leuchtenberg & Martin Wallner

    World Cinema Directing Award: Ronan’s Escape directed by A.J. Carter
    World Cinema Directing Award: Unravelling directed by Kuldip Powar

    Excellence in Cinematography Award: Out of the Darkness directed by Stefano Levi
    Excellence in Cinematography Award: Hipolito directed by Teodoro Ciampagna
    Excellence in Cinematography Award: Vous Etes Servis directed by Jorge Leon
    Excellence in Cinematography Award: The Big Uneasy directed by Harry Shearer

    World Cinema Cinematography Award: Protect The Nation directed by C. R. Reisser
    World Cinema Cinematography Award: Small Change directed by Cathy Brady
    World Cinema Cinematography Award: Beatboxing – The Fifth Element Of Hip Hop directed by Klaus Schneyder
    World Cinema Cinematography Award: The Girls in the Band  directed by Judy Chaikin

    Best Documentary Film Editing: I am Nancy directed by Arlene Marechal
    Best Dramatic Film Editing: Vicissitude directed by Will Jobe
    Best Feature Film Screenplay: Face to Face directed by Michael Rymer
    Best Short Film Screenplay: IFAKAT directed by Orhan  Tekeoglu

    World Cinema Documentary Film Editing Award: May I Be Frank directed by Gregg Marks, Conor Gaffney, Ryland Engelhart & Cary Mosier
    World Cinema Dramatic Film Editing Award: Vento directed by Marcio Salem
    World Cinema Screenwriting Award, Feature Film: Behind the Eight Ball directed by Mike Graveline
    World Cinema Screenwriting Award, Short Film: DILF directed by Geoff Edwards

    Special Jury Prize, World Cinema Documentary: Sharkwise directed by Lieven Debrauwer
    Special Jury Prize, World Cinema Dramatic: Sofia directed by Shervin Kermani
    Special Jury Prize, World Cinema Short: Return directed by Cyd Chartier Cohn
    Special Jury Prize, World Cinema Student: Landlocked directed by Jerry Melichar
    Special Jury Prize, World Cinema Music Video: Corrupted Scene Behind the Stage directed by Ivan Mena Tinoco
    Special Jury Prize, World Cinema Animation: Los Estrandados directed by Derek Evanick
    Special Jury Prize, Dutch Documentary: Mila’s Journey directed by Annie Perkins & Rinku Kalsy
    Special Jury Prize, Dutch Dramatic: In Transit directed by Kees-Jan Husselman
    Special Jury Prize for Originality: How It Ended directed by Gabriel Nussbaum
    Special Jury Prize for Spirit of Independence: Streets of Flamenco directed by Marisa Lloreda Saez
    Special Jury Prize for Acting, World Cinema: Spinster directed by Pip Satchell
    Special Jury Prize for Acting: Sissy directed by Bonnie Root

    Jury Prize – Dutch Short Filmmaking: Riding Bikes with the Dutch directed by Michael Bauch
    Jury Prize – International Short Filmmaking: Falling Apart directed by Christopher Valori

    World Cinema – Experimental Film: Extincion II: La Cuadratura De Los Círculos directed by Fernando Usón Forniés
    World Cinema – Animated Film: Searching directed by Hyun Joo Cho
    World Cinema – Music Video: Stretch directed by Arturo Cubacub
    World Cinema – Student: Mezzanotte Obscura directed by    Lori Petchers
    World Cinema – First Time Director: I’m Just Saying directed by Brian Douglas

    Best Action Film: Slashimi directed by Anthony Powell
    Best Avant-Garde Film: Hallucination directed by Christian Jean
    Best Biography: Klondike’s Calling directed by Paola Rosà & Antonio Senter
    Best Children’s Film: Little Gobie directed by Tony Tang
    Best Comedy: The Winking Boy directed by Marcus Dineen
    Best Coming of Age Film: Een Kleine Duw directed by Philippe Verkinderen
    Best Crime Film: Una Calle Sin Salida directed by Robert Fernandez-Ferreira
    Best Drama: The Price of Sex directed by Mimi Chakarova
    Best Educational Film: Harvest of Loneliness directed by Adrian Salinas, Gilbert Gonzalez & Vivian Price
    Best Environmental Film: Liquid Amber directed by Maggi Payne
    Best Fantasy Film: A Complex Villainelle directed by Nathan Billington, Rebecca Forth, Bart Ovaitt & Ryan Porter
    Best Horror Film: Message directed by Lee Yat Fung
    Best Human Rights Film: Children in Exile directed by Chris Swider
    Best Mockumentary: Frontman directed by Ben Hyland
    Best Musical: Mr. Foley directed by D.A.D.D.Y.
    Best Personal Narrative: Beautiful Enough directed by Claire Oakley
    Best Romance: I Love My Woman directed by Otis Kriegel
    Best Romantic Comedy: Sombras Nada Mas directed by Max Valverde
    Best Sci-Fi Film: Cockpit:  The Rule of Engagement directed by Jesse Griffith
    Best Spiritual Film: The Time Machine directed by Mark Kendall
    Best Sports Film: One Revolution directed by Amanda Stoddard
    Best Student Film: Amanda directed by Michael Tanner Cusumano
    Best Urban Film: Storie Urgenti directed by Joseph Edward Rozzo

    SCREENPLAY COMPETITION WINNERS:

    Feature Screenplay Competition

    First Place: You’re Sick written by Donn Warr Lewis
    Second Place: Halfway Home written by David Schroeder
    Third Place: The Quarry written by Adam Ford-smith

    Short Screenplay Competition

    First Place: Push Bike written by Tracey Walker
    Second Place: Sunset Fire written by A. Wayne Carter
    Third Place: Born as Ghosts written by Mark Skinner

    Official Finalists

    American Trash written by David Kornfield
    Beyond the Horizon written by George Ferris
    Borderline written by Joshua Paolino
    Courting Death written by Heather Silvio
    Cradle of the Stars written by Joey Kent
    En Route written by Philip Howe
    Neon Cactus written by Philip Sedgwick
    Poetease written by Jeffrey Morin
    The Kiarsidia written by Bruce Golde
    The Only Living Man with a Hole in His Head written by Todd Colby Pliss
    There is a Season written by Stuart Creque
    Too Fat to Fly written by Anthony Amenta

    Honorable Mentions

    180 Proof written by Adam Sumner
    A Mind of Glass written by Louise Dautheribes McKerl
    China Girls written by Gary Riester
    Drosselbart written by Effie Bathen
    Eaglet written by Eugene Gavrilenko
    Ghost Light written by Philip Marcoccio
    God’s Architect written by Michael Mares
    Happiness in Pieces written by Krzysztof Rostek
    Hunting Paradise written by Craig Harwood
    Meet Jane Doe written by Jacqueline Gault
    Murder in the Lakelands written by Patrick Nash
    Pot Shop written by Judah Ray Neiditch
    The Parting Glass written by Philip Marcoccio
    T.W.I.N written by Malaika Langa
    Wrigly & King written by Cornelius Murphy

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  • The 2011 Honolulu Film Awards; Annie Perkins’ “Mila’s Journey” awarded Grand Jury Prize

    [caption id="attachment_1443" align="alignnone" width="560"]Mila’s Journey[/caption]

    The 2011 Honolulu Film Awards Ceremony Dinner was held last month at the Sarento’s Top of the “I” restaurant located on the top floor of the beautiful Ilikai Hotel & Suites with breathtaking views of Diamond Head and Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Honolulu Film Awards honor the best from around the world in several competition categories including Feature Films, Documentaries, Short Films, Foreign Films, Hawaiian Films, Action Sports Films, Music Videos, Experimental Films, Television Pilots, Environmental Films, Screenplays and more.

    Annie Perkins’ “Mila’s Journey” was awarded the Grand Jury Prize and was in attendance to pick up the prize. Mila’s Journey follows Mila & her decision to return to India after more than 30 years. The film juxtaposes modern images with the old 8mm footage & pays homage to romance, adventure, spirituality, freedom and female independence. The film shows one Dutch woman’s attempt to answer the question ‘what would happen if I went back?’

    Other winning filmmakers in attendance included Dana Neves, Director, “The Green Tie Affair” – Best of Hawaii; Bret Malley, Director, “Greenwashers” – Best Documentary Short; Mary Piller, Director, “Greenwashers” – Best Environmental Film; and Yurij Luhovy, Director, “Genocide Revealed” – Best Historical Film.

    Additional Best of Category Winners include:
    Special Jury Award: Minnie Loves Junior – Directed By Andy Mullins
    Special Jury Award: Lychee Thieves – Directed By Kathleen Kwai Ching Man
    Special Jury Award: Little Gobie – Directed By Tony Tang
    Jury Prize: OnAir – Directed By Carsten Vauth & Marco J. Riedl
    Jury Prize: Down This Road – Directed By Vinz Feller
    Jury Prize: The Buck Johnson Story – Directed By Blake McCray
    Best Feature Film: 5th & Alameda – Directed By Richard Friedman
    Best Actor: Dryerthèque – Lead Actor Trevor Wissink-Adams
    Best Actress: An Affair with Dolls – Lead Actress Alexandra Chalupa
    Best Animation: For a Fistful of Snow – Directed By: Julien Ezri
    Best Cinematography: The Two Escobars – Directed By Jeff Zimbalist & Michael Zimbalist
    Best Coming of Age: Fast Times and Fast Food – Directed By Kyle Niemier
    Best Director: Das Tub – Directed By James Cunningham
    Best Documentary Feature: Hollywood, 90038 – Directed By Jennifer Kes Remington
    Best Documentary Short: Greenwashers – Directed By Bret Malley     
    Best Drama: Mental – Directed By Joy Gohring
    Best Educational Film: Out of the Darkness – Directed By Stefano Levi
    Best Family Film: My Father, Joe – Directed By Nikila Cole
    Best Foreign Film: Suburbs of Downtown – Directed By Sergio García Locatelli
    Best Human Rights Film: Via Gori – Directed By George Barbakadze
    Best Independent Short: Apocalypse Story – Directed By Jeffrey P. Nesker
    Best Music Video: To The Death – Directed By Danielle French
    Best Screenplay: Not Worth A Bullet – Directed By Markus F. Adrian
    Best Short Film: Bathing and the Single Girl – Directed By Christine Elise McCarthy
    Best Student Film: Falling Apart – Directed By Christopher Valori

    Screenplay Competition Winners
    1st Place: Finding Thomas written by Jaimee Campbell
    2nd Place: Molokai written by Tuesday Rose
    3rd Place: Hogwild written by Dayan Paul

    Short Screenplay Competition Winners
    1st Place: The Wedding Bet written by Vicki Bartholomew
    2nd Place: Sunset Fire written by A. Wayne Carter
    3rd Place: Assassins written by JimmyLee Smith

    Screenplay Official Finalists
    180 Proof written by Adam Sumner
    Are You Lonesome Tonight? written by Robert Factor
    Blink of an Eye written by Anthony Williams
    Courting Death written by Heather Silvio
    DAM 999 Script written by Sohan Roy
    Kill Haole Day written by Shelley Krawchuk
    Nisei Warrior written by Sandie Vea
    Olohana written by Daniel Fan
    On Any Other Day written by Lee Vehe
    Pot Shop written by Judah Ray Neiditch
    Sedah High written by Mpaki Molapo
    The Hickory Horse written by Vicki Bartholomew
    The Last Mermaid written by Shanon Culiner
    Walking In The Sand written by Curt Lambert
    Wrigley & King written by Cornelius Murphy

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  • Jennifer Garner and John Musker to Present at 2011 Student Academy Awards

    [caption id="attachment_1439" align="alignnone" width="560"]Jennifer Garner (pictured) and Oscar®-nominated animator John Musker have been tapped to present at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 38th Annual Student Academy Awards ceremony on Saturday, June 11, at 6 p.m., at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.[/caption]

    Jennifer Garner and Oscar-nominated animator John Musker have been tapped to present at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 38th Annual Student Academy Awards ceremony on Saturday, June 11, at 6 p.m., at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.  The awards ceremony is the culmination of a week of industry-related activities and social events that the Academy is hosting for the 15 students from the U.S. and abroad who have been selected as winners this year.

    Garner was most recently seen in “Arthur,” released earlier this year.  Her other acting credits include “Valentine’s Day,” “Juno” and “13 Going on 30.”  She will next be seen in “The Odd Life of Timothy Green,” due out later this year.

    Musker received an Oscar nomination in 2009 for the animated feature “The Princess and the Frog.”  His other credits include “Treasure Planet,” “Aladdin” and “The Little Mermaid,” all of which he co-wrote and co-directed.

    [AMPAS]

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  • 2011 MTV Movie Awards Winners

    [caption id="attachment_1430" align="alignnone" width="560"]Jason Sudeikis hosted the 2011 MTV Movie Awards[/caption]

    The offbeat 2011 MTV Movie Awards went down on Sunday night and the The Twilight Saga: Eclipse was the big winner taking home a total of five golden popcorn awards including “BEST MOVIE,” “BEST FEMALE” and “BEST MALE PERFORMANCE,” “BEST KISS” and “BEST FIGHT.”

    Actress Reese Witherspoon was honored with this year’s “MTV Generation Award” and took the opportunity to send a not-too subtle message to some fellow female celebrities. “I know it’s cool to be bad, I get it … but it’s also possible to make it in Hollywood without a reality show,” Witherspoon said. “When I came up in this business, you made a sex tape and you were embarrassed and hid it under your bed and like if you took naked pictures of yourself on your cell phone, you hid your face.”

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    The complete list of winners is as follows:

    Best Male Performance
    Robert Pattinson, “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse”

    Best Female Performance
    Kristen Stewart, “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse”

    Best Fight
    Robert Pattinson vs. Bryce Dallas Howard and Xavier Samuel, “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse”

    Best Kiss
    Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse”

    Best Jaw-Dropping Moment
    Justin Bieber, “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never,” Performance Spectacular

    Best Villain
    Tom Felton, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1”

    Best Line From A Movie (New Category)
    Alexys Nycole Sanchez, “Grown Ups”: “I want to get chocolate wasted.”

    Best Scared-As-Sh*t Performance
    Ellen Page, “Inception”

    Best Movie
    “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse”

    Best Comedic Performance
    Emma Stone, “Easy A”

    Best Breakout Star
    Chloë Grace Moretz, “Kick-Ass”

    Biggest Badass Star
    Chloë Grace Moretz, “Kick-Ass”

     

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  • Academy Announces Winners for 2011 Student Academy Awards®

    12 students from nine U.S. colleges and universities and three students from outside the U.S. have been selected as winners in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 38th Annual Student Academy Awards competition.  The student filmmakers will be brought to Los Angeles for a week of industry-related activities and social events that will culminate in the awards ceremony on Saturday, June 11, at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

    The winners are (listed alphabetically by film title):

    Alternative category
    “The Vermeers,” Tal S. Shamir, The New School, New York

    Animation category
    “Correspondence,” Zach Hyer, Pratt Institute, New York
    “Defective Detective,” Avner Geller and Stevie Lewis, Ringling College of Art and Design, Florida
    “Dragonboy,” Bernardo Warman and Shaofu Zhang, Academy of Art University, California

    Documentary category
    “Imaginary Circumstances,” Anthony Weeks, Stanford University
    “Sin Pais (Without Country),” Theo Rigby, Stanford University
    “Vera Klement: Blunt Edge,” Wonjung Bae, Columbia College Chicago

    Narrative category
    “Fatakra,” Soham Mehta, University of Texas at Austin
    “High Maintenance,” Shawn Wines, Columbia University
    “Thief,” Julian Higgins, American Film Institute, California

    Foreign Student Film category
    “Bekas,” Karzan Kader, Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts, Sweden
    “Raju,” Max Zaehle, Hamburg Media School, Germany
    “Tuba Atlantic,” Hallvar Witzo, Norwegian Film School, Norway

    The Academy established the Student Academy Awards in 1972 to support and encourage excellence in filmmaking at the collegiate level.  Past Student Academy Award® winners have gone on to receive 43 Oscar® nominations and have won or shared eight awards.  At the 83rd Academy Awards earlier this year, 2010 Student Academy Award winner Luke Matheny took home the Oscar for Live Action Short Film for “God of Love.”  Tanel Toom, another 2010 Student Academy Award winner, also was nominated in the Live Action Short Film category for “The Confession,” and John Lasseter, a 1979 and 1980 Student Academy Award winner, was a nominee in the Adapted Screenplay category for “Toy Story 3.”

    [source: AMPAS]

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