The NAACP announced the nominees for the 42nd Annual Image Awards. Nominees for Outstanding Motion Picture include “For Colored Girls” (Lionsgate/34th Street Films), “Just Wright” (Fox Searchlight Pictures), “The Book of Eli” (Warner Bros. Pictures), “The Kids Are All Right” (Focus Features) and “Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too?” (Lionsgate).
South By Southwest Film Festival has announced 6 more films in the SXSW 2011 Film program. They join the previously announced 2011 Opening Night Film, Duncan Jones’ Source Code. The complete lineup will be announced in February.
The American Cinema Editors announced its nominees on Friday for the 61st annual Eddie Awards in film, TV and documentaries. The winners will be announced at the 61st annual ACE awards ceremony Feb. 19 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
IFC Films has grabbed the U.S. rights to director Rowan Joffe’s debut feature Brighton Rock. Joffe, whose previous writing credits include 28 Weeks Later and The American, adapted the script from Graham Greene’s 1939 iconic crime novel of the same name. Produced by Paul Webster (Atonement, Eastern Promises) and co-produced by Paul Ritchie (Nowhere Boy, Slumdog Millionaire), the film stars Sam Riley (Control), Andrea Riseborough (Never Let Me Go), John Hurt (Immortals), and Helen Mirren (The Last Station) and will be released by IFC Films in the summer of 2011.
“Inception” and “The Social Network” were the big winners with the Broadcast Film Critics Association, with ‘Inception’ picking up six trophies and “Network” grabbing four wins, including Best Director for filmmaker David Fincher. Unfortunately while “Black Swan” broke a Critics Choice Movies Award record for the most-nominated movie ever with 12 nods, Natalie Portman walked away with with the only award, the award for Best Actress.
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival has announced the official selections for their eighth annual event to be held in Missoula, Montana February 11-20, at the Historic Wilma Theatre. The 140 film program, culled from nearly 1000 entries from all over the world will feature a live performance by indy rock band Yo La Tengo, a free opening night screening of Peter D. Richardsons How To Die In Oregon (sponsored by HBO Documentary Films), a retrospective of films by venerable filmmaker Chuck Workman, and more than twenty-five World, North American and US premiers of new non-fiction films.
The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival has announced their Thematic Program, 2011 Career Award and the first US Premiere of the 2011 festival. Rick Prelinger will curate a series around archival footage for the Festival’s 2011 thematic program. The 2011 Career Award will be presented to Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg, who will present the US Premiere of their most recent film “Burma Soldier” at the 14th annual event.
Cinema Guild announced that they will release Putty Hill, a film by Matt Porterfield. An official selection of the Berlin International Film Festival and SXSW, among many others, and nominated for the Cinema Eye Heterodox Award (a new award category created to honor a narrative film that imaginatively incorporates nonfiction strategies), Putty Hill will open in New York at Cinema Village on February 18. A national release will follow.
In national voting completed on Friday, members of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Screen Actors Guild voted overwhelmingly to approve a new, three-year contract covering theatrical and television production under the Producer-Screen Actors Guild Basic Agreement and Television Agreement, Exhibit A to the AFTRA Network Television Code and the CW Supplement, which applies to both unions.
AFTRA, SAG and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers reached a tentative agreement in November on the deal that provides increases in base rates, contributions to the unions’ benefits plans, expanded employment opportunities and other improvements for working performers.
The Milwaukee Film Festival made two big announcements this week. First Baseball Commission Allan H. (Bud) Selig and wife Suzanne L. Selig renewed their support of the festival for another three years, totaling $400,000, including $100,000 in 2011 and increasing to $150,000 in both 2012 and 2013. The Selig family was one of the first major supporters of the festival in 2008, committing $100,000 for each of the 2009 and 2010 festivals.
The USA Network made its first ever independent film acquisition by snagging ‘The Space Between’, a drama starring Melissa Leo. Written and directed by Travis Fine, the movie premiered at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival.
Directors Guild of America announced the nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentaries for the year 2010. The winners will be announced at the 63rd Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, January 29, 2011 in Los Angeles.