Roundup: Did the Academy spill one of their nominees early?
Also: The Globes get a theme song, and why there's still hope for 'Les Mis' fans
Jamie Foxx in "Django Unchained."
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In these final heated days before the Oscar nominations, even the most minor kerfuffle can become a story, and so it's been with the Academy's supposedearly announcement a few days ago of one nominee: "Django Unchained" costume designer Sharen Davis. A test page announcing Davis's third nomination was accidentally published on the Academy's official site a few days ago. Scott Feinberg was among those pointing out that the "leak" can't have been legit, given that votes were still being counted, and was indeed nothing more than a randomly chosen example to test the format, but that hasn't stopped the story from spreading. In any case, Davis's nod for "Django"'s dynamic duds already looked a pretty sure thing, with or without the Academy's "confirmation." [Vanity Fair]
This year's Golden Globe awards have an official theme song by "the Bono of Asia," Japanese rocker Yoshiki. It's called, inventively enough, "Golden Globe Original Theme." [LA Times]
The man who sold "The Deer Hunter"'s Best Picture Oscar on eBay for $25,000 is, as you might imagine, not in the Academy's good books. [Hollywood Reporter]
Moved to tears by "Les Mis?" There's still hope for you, says David Denby. (One might say the same for us non-fans, who are apparently dead inside.) [New Yorker]
Three-time Oscar-winning DP Robert Richardson talks about his work on "Django Unchained." [Below the Line]
Nathaniel Rogers gets his annual Film Bitch Awards under way with a roundup of the year's best screenplays. [The Film Experience]
Another enjoyable annual feature kicks off: Slate's year-in-review Movie Club, with Dana Stevens, Stephanie Zacharek, Keith Phipps and Pulitzer Prize winner Wesley Morris. [Slate]
Speaking of Morris, the soon-to-be-former Boston Globe writer is the latest critic defecting to online pastures. [The Wrap]
Katey Rich outlines five reasons she's feeling pretty optimistic about this year's Oscar race, regardless of the outcome. [Cinema Blend]
A zoo keeper's view of "Life of Pi": seems Ang Lee's film has real-life tiger behavior more or less down pat. [The Guardian]
2012-2013 OSCAR PREDICTIONS
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Original Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best Costume Design
Best Film Editing
Best Makeup And Hairstyling
Best Original Score
Best Original Song
Best Production Design
Best Sound Editing
Best Sound Mixing
Best Visual Effects
Best Animated Feature Film
Best Documentary Feature
Best Foreign Language Film
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupRichardZ
January 8, 2013 at 8:25AM EST Reply to CommentNow I feel bad for the zoo keeper. In the end of the movie, the zoo keeper was like: will he? And then by the end credits, he's all like: sounds about right. Tigers are all the same.
MBases
January 8, 2013 at 10:00AM EST Reply to CommentWow, David Denby's review is such an insulting, condescending, narcissistic piece. Very much, "All of you silly fools who don't share my opinion, there must be something wrong with you! Don't worry, my enlightened self can fix you." Just gross. Whether you like, love, or hate the movie, this is a film criticism low point.
Matt I agree. I haven't seen the movie, so I don't yet have an opinion on the film, but man that article was horrendous. Almost Armond White-level nonsense.
January 8, 2013 at 11:24AM ESTLiz I really dislike the movie, and I still agree with you. Real-life trolling at its finest.
January 8, 2013 at 11:59AM ESTBJ
January 8, 2013 at 10:01AM EST Reply to CommentI've been reading this website for a couple of years and I love it. But i have to say that for years I've never seen predictions so bizarre and incoherent as I'm seeing here today. Michael Haneke's nom (who I never predicted in) was defended since day one here is taken out two days before the nominations. Sally Field ranked third... behind Maggie Smith? Are we still in September and I was not warned? And then this out of random try to be the only one to call The Intouchables? If if was The Impossible, that was very liked by some here, but The Intouchables? Ranked 8 over Django Unchained and Amour? And then probably the most ridiculous one: Prometheus for sound editing but no Life of Pi, The Dark Knight Rises... and we still have Snow White and the Huntsman for Visual Effects. In Contention has to pray for some 2004 vibes for many surprises on thursday but incoherence with all the site has written and predicted throughout the season is there in those predictions and is undeniable no matter what the nominations actually are. And readers don't usually like those kind of things.
Guy Lodge So last-minute hunches are forbidden? I'm not sure I understand.
January 8, 2013 at 10:22AM ESTJP I think you did understand. So... readers can stop reading the blog for the year and come back two days before the nominations. Only two... because three/four days things were clearly different.
January 8, 2013 at 10:33AM ESTLiz That would make sense if readers were only here for the sidebar with the predictions. The site has a regular readership year-round for articles and reviews that are only slightly or not at all related to the Oscars.
January 8, 2013 at 10:47AM ESTBJ Not slightly or not at all related to the Oscars? What I (hope) get get from what you say is that the blogs talk about awards in general (it's even on the motto of the site); not the Oscars in special. This is OK although the Oscars are the center of the awards. My problem is that it's throwing coherence in the trash. Two days ago was Haneke, Haneke, Haneke. I spent an hour listening to that podcast. Today a film that they didn't even consider a long shot hours ago jumps to number 8 without its director ranking among the 21. Predictions are just fun. But even in fun you have to make some sense.
January 8, 2013 at 10:56AM ESTGuy Lodge Kris has his ear to the ground. He hasn't plucked The Intouchables, for example, out of clear blue sky -- he's heard a late surge of buzz for it. He may or may not be right, but predicting what 6000 other people are thinking from one week to the next isn't always an especially coherent business. (He was taken to task by readers a few years ago for taking a late gamble on Maggie Gyllenhaal for "Crazy Heart," and it paid off.)
January 8, 2013 at 11:12AM ESTIn any event, as Liz says, I like to think we have more to offer you guys than mere predictions.
JP I only complain because I really like this blog. This and Awards Daily are the two bests. The articles and podcasts here are very good and the predictions sidebar should reflect whatever is written or said. And that is my problem with all of this. But there are just two things I cannot possibly understand: 1) Intouchables buzz had a late surge. So had Django, who also has Weinstein. It's not feel-good. But it's also not spoken in French. Intouchables can't rank higher than Django. You could even predict it but with the last ELIC-Blind Side spot. Not over Django or even Amour in my opinion. 2) There's no possible reality in which film ranked 8 in the predictions for BP doesn't have its director ranked in the top 20. Really no possible way. And If you're truly believing in it, Omar Sy in 14 doesn't make sense also. He would have to be a bit higher.
January 8, 2013 at 11:32AM ESTJoe7827 BJ/JP: come on, now. I don't recall Kris and Anne chanting Michael Haneke's name for the entire hour of the podcast. And if you felt like your hour was wasted just because Kris suckered you into thinking Haneke was going to be nominated, only to pull the rug out from under you, then maybe you're listening for the wrong reasons.
January 8, 2013 at 11:39AM ESTGuy Lodge How nice it must feel to be so certain of so many things. I'm not sure why you need our predictions, to be honest.
January 8, 2013 at 11:47AM ESTI'm being flip, I know, and I appreciate your praise for the site. But lighten up. It's a game.
keenad23 I fail to see why Kris can't go with a last second prediction. As has already been said, it's more fun than if he had just gone with the same predictions everyone else is making.
January 8, 2013 at 11:48AM ESTAlso, you say a film can't be predicted for best picture but not be in the shortlist for director. By that logic should The Blind Side's director have been in consideration because the film was in the top 10?
sosgemini Awards Daily? And with that your whole argument is invalidated. LOL (I kid...I kid....or not.) ;-)
January 8, 2013 at 11:50AM ESTKristopher Tapley I've replied to this person's weird obsessiveness in the other thread where he/she thought he/she needed to be heard a second time. But I'm happy to see that kind of lunacy is marginalized and the rest of the readers get that predictions are but a fraction of what we do. I don't even care about predictions anymore, honestly, and it bugs me that there are those out there who foam at the mouth wanting to take them apart and figure out WHY, WHY, WHY??? Life's too short, BJ/JP.
January 8, 2013 at 11:53AM ESTJP Joe,
January 8, 2013 at 12:14PM ESTListen to the podcast again if you want. I never had Haneke close to my top 5. Never. And don't think he deserves the nomination either. I was just surprised how his nom was so supported here throughout the season and all of a sudden he's gone. And I have to say I'm sorry to Tapley if I was too hard on my comments. Truly. I really felt I listened to something hours ago on a podcast and now I read different things. But I'm taking too seriously. I agree with you.
And from the guy who said something about AD: agreeing with Sasha or not, it's the mother of all of those blogs.
Kristopher Tapley Just because Haneke is out of my predictions doesn't mean I see every angle on his potentially finding a spot. It could absolutely happen and I certainly hope it does. And hey, some time tomorrow night I may get restless and throw him back in. But David O. Russell, Tom Hooper, these guys have been very apparent and put in a lot of face time with Academy members this season. Particularly Russell. Haneke, not so much.
January 8, 2013 at 12:57PM EST