Over a Dozen new Updates at The Awards Circuit!

A plethora of new Film Reviews (including some new perspectives to old ones, all found here):
Cyrus, The Square, Robin Hood, Looking for Eric, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Please Give, Iron Man 2, The Human Centipede, The Losers, Harry Brown, The Back-Up Plan, and Death at a Funeral.

New perspectives on: Kick-Ass, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Chloe.

We also have an article on the elevating 3-D trend that has been hitting our theaters, is it here to stay? READ Here.

Also, our first official TV Review of HBO's 10-part Mini-series, The Pacific, is here.

And in case you don't want to watch the video, here's a link to the list of the 2003 ACCA Winners. HERE.

IFC Films picks up 'Certified Copy', 'Heartbeats', and 'Prey' for release...

...showing that they're pretty busy at Cannes. Here's the story on the first flick from The Hollywood Reporter:

IFC has scored U.S. distribution rights for Abbas Kiarostami's Festival de Cannes Competition title "Certified Copy," the film's producer and sales agent MK2 confirmed Thursday.

MK2 followed up presales of the film to Australia, Scandinavia, Argentina, Korea and Hong Kong with sales to Australia/New Zealand (Madman), the Nordic countries (Atlantic Film), Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and South Cone (CDI Films), Korea (Yega Entertainment) and Hong Kong (First Distributors) after its official festival screening.

The film, released in Gaul via MK2 on Wednesday, boasted the best opening results ever for a film by Abbas Kiarostami in France with 11,000 tickets sold on its first day in theaters on 101 prints.

And here's what IFC had to say about the other two flicks:

HEARTBEATS is the second film in two years for Xavier Dolan at the Cannes Film Festival where his debut I KILLED MY MOTHER won three of the four awards out of Director’s Fortnight. The film tells the story of Francis (Dolan) and Marie (Monia Chokri) who are good friends. One night, they meet Nicolas (Niels Schneider), a young man from the country who has just settled in Montreal. From encounter to encounter, from moment to moment, troubled by innumerable signs — some real, some imagined — Francis and Marie fall deeper and deeper into a fantastical obsession with him. Soon, they find themsleves on the precipice of a love duel that threathens the friendship they once thought indestructible.

PREY tells the story of Nathan (BEAU TRAVAIL’S Gregoire Colin) who is at a countryside retreat for a Fall family reunion that he expects to be particularly stormy. Claire, his wife, has to announce her pregnancy and there are tough decisions that need to be made to prevent the family’s pesticides business from closing down. But on the first night that the family gathers, a terrorized deer mysteriously attacks Claire’s father. The men decide to venture into the surrounding forest to find the reasons for the animal’s odd behavior. Carrying a shotgun for the first time in his life and witnessing the growing tensions between the men in the family, Nathan soon discovers that hunting season is not over yet. Now they’ve become the prey. Marking the debut film for Antoine Blossier, PREY brings together a special effects team from some of Hollywood’s best films.

-Stay tuned for more acquisitions in the coming days...thoughts?

What are some bad movies that had good trailers to tease us?

Well, Cinematic has a very interesting article here, and they mention movies like Dreamcatcher and the remakes of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Godzilla, but I thought I'd let you all do the honors and tell me what films would qualify as this for you. In my case, two examples I would go with from last year would be Sherlock Holmes and A Serious Man (though I know I'm in the vast minority there).

-What other bad movies had really good trailers?

Magnolia Pictures picks up Alex Gibney's documentary on Eliot Spitzer...

...meaning the Gibney festival season might turn into the Gibney against Gibney Oscar race this year. Here's the story from The Hollywood Reporter:

Magnolia Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to Alex Gibney's untitled Eliot Spitzer documentary. Produced by A&E IndieFilms and Wider Film Projects, the doc revolves around the rise and fall of the former New York governor and prosecutor. A work-in-progress version recently screened at the Tribeca Film Festival. Magnolia's deal seals its fifth collaboration with Gibney. It also distributed his "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room," "Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson," the recent "Casino Jack and the United States of Money" and the upcoming "Freakonomics.""Alex is the most vital documentarian working today, and this film could be his finest hour," Magnolia president Eamonn Bowles said. "It transcends what could have been a salacious expose in lesser hands to be a truly thrilling, masterful work of cinema."

-Spitzer is a very interesting figure to me, so I'm definitely interested...thoughts?

Did Megan Fox get the boot from 'Transformers 3'?

Yes she did, according to Variety:

Paramount is parting ways with Megan Fox on "Transformers 3."

A studio spokeswoman disclosed Wednesday that Par has decided against picking up Fox's option to star as Mikaela Banes in the third installment, but declined to elaborate.

Sources close to the production indicated that Par and director Michael Bay want to take the storyline in another direction and plans to cast another actress as the love interest for star Shia LaBeouf, who plays Sam Witwicky. Those sources indicated that Fox's ouster was un- related to a September interview with a British magazine in which Fox compared Bay with Adolf Hitler.
Bay's directing from a script by Ehren Krueger with the storyline kept under wraps. Working title is "Transformers 3."

Pic, produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Ian Bryce, is set to open July 1, 2011. Steven Spielberg is exec producing.

Patrick Dempsey, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich and Ken Jeong have signed on to the project. Thesps Kevin Dunn and Julie White will return in the roles of Ron Witwicky and Judy Witwicky.

"Transformers" is Paramount's most valuable franchise, particularly since the studio is the sole financier. The first "Transformers" grossed $709.7 million worldwide, followed by $836.4 million for last year's "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."

Initially, Bay had wanted to take a longer break before lensing the threequel, but ultimately decided to meet the studio's summer 2011 release date.

Fox will be seen next in Warner's supernatural Western "Jonah Hex" opposite Josh Brolin. "Hex" opens June 18.

-I don't especially hate her, but I've hated the Transformers flicks, so it's a wash for me...thoughts?

Predators gets 2 new Posters!

Thoughts?

'Heavy Rain' could be the next big Video Game adaptation coming to theaters...

...according to this in Deadline, at least:

An auction of screen rights for the PlayStation3 game Heavy Rain is coming to a close. I'm told a deal is near with Unique Features, the film shingle started by Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne after they exited New Line.
Using their own money, Shaye and Lynne posted top bid in an auction held by CAA on behalf of game developers Quantic Dream.
Heavy Rain has sold 1 million units since its release in February. The game's combination of murder, rain and an inherent atmospheric gloom evokes memories of the David Fincher-directed Seven, one of the formative blockbusters at New Line when Shaye and Lynne grew that company into a rival to the majors.
Players hunt the “Origami Killer,” a serial murderer who drowns his victims four days after they are abducted, leaving only a small origami figure and an orchid on the corpse. The game becomes a procedural in which four characters try to solve the crime after another potential victim is kidnapped.
Unique has a first look deal with Warner Bros, but Shaye liked it enough to use his own money and not wait for approval to buy it. A deal should be sealed shortly.

-I enjoyed the game a lot and can see a decently good movie coming out of it, if they handle some of the plot holes...thoughts?

Will Brad Pitt be going directly to James Gray's 'Lost City' after some 'Moneyball'?

Well, that seems to be the plan, according to Collider:

Director James Gray (Two Lovers) may be finally shooting his adaptation of David Grann’s bestselling non-fiction book The Lost City of Z. We first reported on the project back in December 2008 and in April 2009 we reported that Brad Pitt was attached to star. Now, Screen Daily reports that Lost City may get in front of cameras once Pitt wraps filming on Bennett Miller’s adaptation of Michael Lewis’ baseball statistics drama, Moneyball. The film has been gaining major heat from buyers at Cannes due to the combination of the material and Pitt’s star power.
Via Screen Daily, The Lost City of Z “takes place in the early twentieth century and charts 30 years in the life of Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett, a former decorated British soldier turned explorer.” The film has been gaining major heat from buyers at Cannes due to the combination of the material and Pitt’s star power.

-James Gray really got me back on his bandwagon with Two Lovers, and Brad Pitt has been doing some very strong work lately, so count me in...thoughts?

Sony Pictures Classics picks up Mike Leigh's 'Another Year' at Cannes!

Here's the story from The Hollywood Reporter:

In a major film sale at Cannes, Sony Pictures Classics on Tuesday acquired domestic distribution rights to Mike Leigh's "Another Year."An ensemble drama, the British production has been among the fest's Competition films attracting the most accolades. Lesley Manville, who portrays the film's sadly befuddled Miss Lonely Hearts, is touted as a strong candidate for a best actress award at the fest."Year" focuses on a happily married couple, some troubled friends and the nuanced emotions of aging. Other cast members include Jim Broadbent, Oliver Maltman and Ruth Sheen ("Heartless").

Details of distribution plans were unavailable, but at a minimum it's likely that SPC will book "Year" for Oscar-qualifying exclusive engagements in 2010. SPC specializes in foreign-produced films and handled last year's Oscar winner in the foreign-language category, Argentine thriller "The Secret in Their Eyes."Miramax unspooled Leigh's last pic -- bittersweet dramatic comedy "Happy-Go-Lucky" -- in limited release in October 2008, with the Sally Hawkins starrer ringing up a total of $3.5 million domestically.

-Keep an eye out for this one in the fall/winter...thoughts?

Ellen Page could be gunning for another Oscar nomination...

..if this project she's signed on to turns out as potentially baity as it sounds. Here's the story via Variety:

Ron Nyswaner will adapt Cynthia Wade's 2007 Oscar-winning short doc "Freeheld" into a feature film starring Ellen Page. James D. Stern's Endgame Entertainment is financing.
Stern will produce with Double Feature Films' Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher and Vie Entertainment's Kelly Bush and Cynthia Wade. Endgame's Doug Hansen and Adam Del Deo are exec producers.
Wade's "Freeheld" tells the true story of New Jersey car mechanic Stacie Andree and her domestic partner Laurel Hester, a police detective who tries to secure pension benefits for her partner after she's diagnosed with a terminal illness, only to be turned down by Republican legislators.
"As a documentarian and feature producer, you always look for powerful stories with subject matter that will resonate with audiences, and Cynthia's remarkable chronicle of the battle forged by two women did just that," said Stern.
Nyswaner is no stranger to portraying the battle for gay rights on the bigscreen, having penned "Philadelphia." His other credits include "The Painted Veil" and "Soldier's Girl."
Page ("Juno") will next be seen in Christopher Nolan's Leonardo DiCaprio starrer "Inception," which Warner Bros. opens later this summer. Endgame has co-financed more than 25 titles, including "Hotel Rwanda" and "Lord of War."

-Thoughts?

How will Cannes shape up this year in terms of a buying market?

Well, here's an article in The Hollywood Reporter on just that:

Buyers need movies to fill release slates, and any titles with solid casting or a director attached are generally good bets. And sellers want to strike deals at a price that realistically reflects the economic gloom and falling production budgets without erasing profit margins. So the two sides are talking, but are they, you know, talking?

As the Marche du Film enters the home stretch Wednesday, there is reticence on both sides to be the ones to come out and say the marketplace is on its uppers. Certainly fewer and fewer sellers are hollering about North American sales.

The usual North American power buyers, including IFC Films and Phase 4 Films, had made it through Tuesday without pulling out their wallets.

Sony Pictures Classics, though, stepped up to the plate and acquired domestic rights to Mike Leigh's "Another Year" in the wake of a pre-emptive deal for Stephen Frears' "Tamara Drewe" it struck ahead of Cannes.

Newbies such as Red Flag Releasing ("8: The Mormon Proposition") and Oscilloscope Laboratories ("Howl") have yet to splash the cash. But another new guy on the block, Olive Films, opened its wallet, picking up a raft of titles. In addition to Danish film "R," which Olive snatched from TrustNordisk, the company did a major package deal with Germany's The Match Factory. Olive grabbed North American rights from Match for Semih Kaplanoglu's "Yusuf Trilogy": "Yumurta" (Egg) and "Sut" (Milk) and Berlin Golden Bear winner "Bal" (Honey), as well as last year's Berlin winner "The Milk of Sorrow" from Peruvian director Claudia Llosa and San Sebastian favorite "Me Too" from directors Alvaro Pastor and Antonio Naharro.

"There are some gems out there that we're going to be going after," Oscilloscope's David Fenkel said. "You'll see, there will be plenty of deals over the next month. It is a quieter year but that's not because there aren't good films. The big companies aren't going after these movies right now, and that is what typically creates a lot of excitement."

Pre-Cannes, agency sales reps essentially shrugged at the potential for domestic deals, recognizing that shifts in the rhythm of the industry have made the Cannes market even less important for domestic sales.

Whereas the 2008 Cannes featured high-profile titles with U.S. distribution rights available, such as "Two Lovers," "Che" and "Synecdoche, New York," there aren't as many "substantial" titles available this year. CAA is repping Inarrituπs "Biutiful," which is one of the few pictures that seems destined for a domestic deal, but it sold Doug Limanπs "Fair Game" to Summit in the lead-up to the festival.

"The buyers are being very conservative," said Julie Sultan, Peace Arch Entertainment's president of international sales and distribution. "They are being very thoughtful with their selections."

At the same time that U.S. buyers are feeling less and less compelled to make early deals and foreign buyers are busy ... ish.

U.S. sales, finance and production banner Myriad Pictures jetted into Cannes with late sales slate addition "Margin Call," starring Kevin Spacey and Zachary Quinto. Cassian Elwes, along with UTA and Untitled Entertainment, is handling domestic for the banking crisis thriller and Myriad has already struck deals for the picture in Germany, the Middle East, Turkey, Romania, Yugoslavia and Latin America for pay TV.

"Buyers have gone for it because it is truly timely and is a film about what is happening now," Myriad president Kirk D'Amico said.

Make no mistake, while market attendees are not shouting "the good times are back," there is an air of quiet calm if you come with a good script, talent attached and reasonable budget levels.

So while French company MK2 CEO Nathanael Karmitz thinks there are fewer films in the market overall "and hardly any interesting indie titles from the U.S.," Karmitz said international sales are positive.

MK2 scored pre-sales for Walter Salles' "On the Road" to Icon in the U.K. and Australia, Cineart in Belgium and Concorde Tele Munchen in Germany. German sales agent Telepool sold four films -- "Cargo," "The Door," "Mein Kampf" and Tribeca winner "When We Leave" to Mongrel for Canada; two ("Cargo," "The Door") to Seven Sept for France and two ("Cargo," "Mein Kampf") to CCV for Scandinavia.

Ramy Choi, director of acquisitions and deistribution for Jackie Chan International, reported brisk sales for Chan's most recent picture, "Little Big Soldier," as well as the new slate of movies in which he will star and/or produce. "Soldier" went to the U.K.'s Shadowbox Media Group as well as Italy's One Movie SRL, France's Metropolitan Filmexport, Benelux's Splendid Film and Japan's Presidio. His upcoming star turn in "Drunken Master 1945" attracted buys from Shadowbox, the Middle East's Gulf Film, and distributors in Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia/Brunei. The Chan-produced "The Break-Up Artist," starring Lin Peng, went to Shadowbox, One Movie and a host of Middle East and Asian buyers. New company Shadowbox, which is building up its DVD library, and Gulf Film also took rights to such future Chan titles as "Cambodia Landmine," "Tiger Mountain" and "Manhattan."

Confidence could also do with a boost if Japan showed any signs of being back at the top tables.

"Unfortunately, Japan has become an inward-looking territory, one North American sales excutive said. "Because local, less expensive productions seem to be working at the boxoffice there, the buyers are not here spending lots on U.S. product anymore."

So while most agree that, while the days of headline-grabbing deals seem to a part of Cannes' past, the good times may yet return.

-Stay tuned...

There's some Prestige on DVD this week...

...one of which is my top choice. First off, apologies for this not going up until late, but I've added a full time job onto my screenwriting and the full time job that is being a Senior Staff Writer here. Forgive me for the delay, as I'm learning to live without sleep. That being said, let's press on. My choice for the PICK OF THE WEEK got nominated for 2 Oscars. It's:
The Messenger
This movie grew on me as the year went on. When I first saw it at a very early screening last year, I was impressed mostly with the lead performance of Ben Foster (my original review can be found here). When I revisited it when it came out in general release, the rest of its charms came out to me. This human drama about the emotional costs of war is powerful stuff, and if you're looking for a low-key companion piece to The Hurt Locker, this is an excellent choice.
-Also out this week is Clint Eastwood's latest Invictus. It didn't do much for me, but I recognize that it's not a bad film. Perhaps I would have preferred a traditional Nelson Mandela biopic, but this is what we ended up with. It's lesser Eastwood, but it certainly has its fans. If you're among them, pick it up and enjoy.
-The rest of the releases include the ensemble romantic comedy Valentine's Day, the documentary When You're Strange, the drama Extraordinary Measures, the "comedy" The Spy Next Door, and the foreign drama The Girl on the Train. None of them rocked my world, but id any appeal to you, go for it.
-My Vintage pick is, in honor of Shrek Forever After, the original film that started it all. It's Shrek, and despite the way the franchise crumbled with the third installment, the first two flicks (the first one especially) are rather hilarious. Pop the first one in and enjoy!
-What will you be watching on DVD this week?

The Visual Effects category at the Oscars will expand to 5 nominees!

Here's the story from Variety:

Setting aside a swirling controversy in the visual effects community, the executive committee of the Motion Picture Academy's vfx branch has voted to expand the number of vfx Oscar nominees from three to five.
The move was the subject of heated debate at last Thursday's branch meeting, according to insiders, even though the Visual Effects Society and several of the bigger vfx studios have pressed for the change.
The change must be now approved by the Acad's Awards Rules Committee and then by the Board of Governors. Both bodies usually defer to the branches on such matters, but changes of this scale are unusual, and approval is not automatic.
If approved, there would be five vfx nominees for the next Oscar ceremony.
Move would help the Oscars' efforts to bring popular pics into the show, as the tentpoles that dominate the box office charts, like this year's "Alice in Wonderland" and "Iron Man 2," typically are vfx-heavy.
Oscarcast producers, though, would have to build in time for the reading of eight more names -- four names on each nominated film -- and probably two more clips in the show's already full-to-bursting timeline.
Vfx studios reached by Daily Variety reacted favorably to the move. Christian Roberton of Moving Picture Co.. called the movie "really exciting," adding, "It shows a renewed understanding of the art of vfx and the key role it plays in the filmmaking process today."
Miles Perkins, director of marketing & communications for Industrial Light & Magic, said, "It actually has a real impact on us, in being able to have the work recognized for the quality that's out there."
Several concerns fueled the debate within the vfx community over the move.
Some vfx pros have argued that with five pics eligible, the Oscar won't necessarily go to the most cutting-edge work. Perkins, however, said, "I think at times you can see that happen in any category. But I think that's a separate issue. That's an issue of making sure the voters are educated as to where the contribution is."
Under existing rules, the Academy doesn't allow befores-and-afters to be shown at the annual bakeoff or making-of information on Acad screeners. Perkins and ILM favor loosening those strictures to educate Oscar voters on how the process works.
Another objection is that with four names on each nomination, that would mean 20 individuals nominated for a single category, which arguably dilutes the value of the nom.
Those favoring the change note that even though the vfx teams on a major tentpole can outnumber the cast and crew on the set, there is only one vfx category. At the same time, there are two sound categories, two screenplay categories and four for acting, so the number of names up for vfx honors isn't out of line with other disciplines.
The fate of the visual effects bakeoff, now used to trim the contenders from seven to the final three, is unclear. Given the popularity of the event with members and the public, it's more likely to be expanded to eight or nine pics than eliminated.
The visual effects Oscar in its current form was created in 1984, at a time when vfx-heavy films were rare and generally genre pics. Over the last decade, however, digital visual effects have become common in all genres, and 20 or more pics a year have arguably had vfx of sufficient quality and quantity to lay claim an Oscar nomination.
Digital Domain topper Cliff Plumer said, "The numbers are important because I see digital production changing the way we make movies. The lines are getting grayer and grayer between the crafts."
Noting that each year's top grossers are almost all vfx-driven, Visual Effects Society exec director Eric Roth said, "To say there hasn't been enough room to shine the Oscar spotlight on a fourth and fifth movie is almost laughable in this day and age. So we say thanks to the Academy for allowing visual effects to take its rightful place at the Academy grownups table!"

-Thoughts?

Is 'Blue Valentine' becoming one of the darlings of Cannes this year?

Well, in some circles it definitely is. For example, here's what Entertainment Weekly's Dave Karger had to say after leaving his screening:

I’ve just come out of a screening of Blue Valentine, starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, and I am now completely gutted. I had heard from colleagues who saw it at Sundance that it was intense, but nothing really could have prepared me for this utterly devastating, completely believable marriage drama. It’s been a while since I saw an on-screen couple as convincing as Gosling and Williams, and if there’s any justice, they’ll both earn their second Oscar nominations for their raw, arresting performances. (Gosling scored a Best Actor nod for Half Nelson, while Williams was recognized in the supporting actress race for Brokeback Mountain.) The film, which I hear has been re-edited since Sundance, will definitely get hit from some quarters as being “too depressing” (there’s no semi-uplifting Precious-style ending here) but I hope that critics, moviegoers, and Oscar voters will deem truth a more important criterion than sunniness. If the seemingly impassioned response from the crowd at today’s Cannes screening is any indication, the new cut was a success.

-Excellent news for this flick and the buzz it built out of Sundance...thoughts?

Cameron Crowe officially signs up for his next project behind the camera...

...and it's a story that we previously reported, according to The Hollywood Reporter:

Cameron Crowe is returning to movies for the first time since 2005's "Elizabethtown."The filmmaker signed on to direct "We Bought a Zoo," an adaptation of a memoir by Benjamin Mee, being produced by Julie Yorn. Crowe is notoriously picky about his projects and had been circling "Zoo" since the winter. Once he dedicated himself to the project, he began rewriting the script, originally written by Aline Brosh McKenna, to reflect is sensibilities.

The studio liked the direction enough to commit to the movie over the weekend and has dated it for December 23, 2011. "Zoo" tells the true account of how Mee and his family used their life savings to buy a dilapidated zoo, replete with 200 exotic animals facing destruction, in the English countryside.

Mee, along with his children, had to balance caring for his wife, who was dying of brain cancer, with dealing with escaped tigers, raising endangered animals, working with an eclectic skeleton crew and readying the zoo for a reopening. The author also was the subject of a BBC documentary titled "Ben's Zoo." With Crowe on board, Fox plans to move fast to cage an A-lister to play Mee.

The release date and the subject matter marrying cute animals and dramatic storylines are similar to Fox’s 2008 box-office smash "Marley & Me," and the studio is hoping emulate that success. Though not a very prolific filmmaker, CAA-repped Crowe has written and directed films such as "Say Anything," "Jerry Maguire" and "Almost Famous," which have tended to become part of the pop culture lexicon.

-The release date certainly inspires some confidence...thoughts?

Here's another Cannes Critics Chart update!

I'll keep bringing this to you as the festival continues...thoughts?

Ewan McGregor joins Terry Gilliam's long in development 'Don Quixote' flick...

...moving this project one step closer towards finally happening, according to Coming Soon:

Empire magazine talked to Terry Gilliam at the Cannes Film Festival last night and learned that Ewan McGregor will star in the director's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.

McGregor is replacing Johnny Depp, who was going to star in the original, aborted version ten years ago.

According to previous reports, the new version will revolve around a filmmaker (McGregor) who is charmed into joining Don Quixote's (Robert Duvall) eternal quest for his ladylove, becoming an unwitting Sancho Panza.

Gilliam is planning a September start for the film, which will have a budget of about $20 million.

-Thoughts?