Today's News: Toronto didn't produce another 'Slumdog' this year (according to Variety), The Weinsteins shuffle their holiday slate again, and more...

In the news:

Variety has an article in which they claim that no film at Toronto got a big Oscar push, and therefore is not in a position as 'Slumdog Millionaire' was last year...a debatable point.

The Weinstein Company moves around their 2009 releases again, shifting 'Youth in Revolt' to January, only giving 'Nine' a limited bow in November before coming out around Christmas, and 'A Single Man' getting a December release, among other moves.

Look for Paul Giamatti to play King John in an upcoming medieval action flick beginning production next month.

Richard Linklater's next film adds Rebecca Hall and Kat Dennings to the cast, in a road trip dramedy about a woman on a road trip during the Obama Inauguration.

Speaking of road trip movies, the next one by Todd Phillips has cast Michele Monaghan to go along with Robert Downey Jr. and Zack Galifianakis.

Finally, look for 'Tron Legacy' to come out on December 17, 2010, in 3D and available in Imax, of course.

-Thoughts?

More responses to 'Up in the Air'...

While everyone seems to be prefacing their statements about 'Up in the Air' by saying that this is darker and perhaps less unanimously appealing than 'Juno' or 'Slumdog Millionaire' was last year, the almost universal raves coming out of the Telluride Film Festival are going to make Jason Reitman's third film hard to ignore it seems.
Anne Thompson of indieWire raves about it, saying that he's "delivered a winner". We also have Kris Tapley of In Contention going hard for it, saying here in a 4 star review that "This is one of the year’s finest films."
-Could this be the breakout film of the Festival season?

An Update to The Awards Circuit: The Academy Tracker Page!

Indeed, new on the Main Page of the site is our new Oscar Tracker, which keeps a record of the films and/or performances that have Oscar Buzz so far in the year. It's a great way to get a sense of who the earliest contenders might be, and it's also a new way for you to interact with us, because if you see a film or performance missing that you think should be on there, let us know and we might just add it to our list. Take a look at the new page here!
-What do you guys and girls think of this new addition to the site?

Is Revoutionary Road The Secret Frontrunner?

I've been doing a lot of thinking about it lately, and I think the fact that Revolutionary Road has sort of fallen a bit silent in terms of buzz is a good thing for the flick. If it had been touted all year as loudly as it had been at the start of the year, it probably would have fallen under its own weight in terms of recognition in the big categories by the Academy, ala Dreamgirls. Letting Benjamin Button and Slumdog and Milk get the mentions now leads it to almost fly under the radar and make a bigger splash. It certainly has the potential with the cast and crew, almost all of which are Academy favorites (excpet for the screenwriter Justin Haythe and Michael Shannon, but that could easily change with a nomination this year) like Leo and Kate and Kathy Bates, and let's not forget that Sam Mendes already has an Oscar on his mantle. Toss in the fact that the film is based on an incredibly well regarded novel by Richard Yates and that the early word doesn't make any mention of the book being butchered and I think we might just see Revolutionary Road make a, well..."Revolution" of sorts come Oscar time.

-What does everyone make of my little theory/rant?

In Case You Thought The Dark Knight is Going Away...

I received an email today pointing me towards a grassroots campain for the film in terms of awards buzz (http://www.darkcampaign.com/). It really does work as a great FYC ad, and it shows just how popular this film is with people. One of the biggest things we've been looking for is to see if this film ends up being rewarded with a nomination or not, and movements like this one only point it in the right direction.

-Do you think this helps TDK at all? And just to ask one more time...do you think The Dark Knight will get a Best Picture nomination?

Any Oscar potential for Slumdog Millionaire?

...Not sure. But there is certainly a lot of praise of the film coming out of Telluride.

On The Road pt.3

Thanks to Sasha (www.awardsdaily.com) for this link.

Here are pictures of the upcoming sleeper pic, The Road. They look great, and capture the book's description spot on. I read the script and book, and this is definitely going to be a tearful ride for most people. It's probably going to be the most gruesome one too. But, it's incredibly well written, and speaks to a different level of thinking. Please more Road love!

Melissa Leo=Best Actress?

The trailer for the recently released Frozen River sure seems to confirm the early buzz:

Guerrilla/The Argentine Trailer