Wednesday, February 18, 2009

The Great 2009 Oscar Challenge


The Challenge:
Have the most number of correct picks in the class.

The Prize:
The top two winners will be allowed to "skip" one journal of their choice.

The Procedure:
1. Copy this ballot
2. Open the Comments option below
3. Paste the ballot into a comment box, leaving only your picks for EACH category
(Note: If you don't already have one, you may need to create a Gmail account to post)
4. I'll tally the results by Monday's class and announce the winners

The Rules:
1. All entries must be in by 12 AM Saturday
2. Only fully-completed ballots will counted


(See my picks in the Comments section as an example)

The Ballot:

BEST PICTURE
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"Frost/Nixon"
"Milk
"The Reader"
"Slumdog Millionaire"

BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway, "Rachel Getting Married"
Angelina Jolie, "Changeling"
Melissa Leo, "Frozen River"
Meryl Streep, "Doubt"
Kate Winslet, "The Reader"

BEST ACTOR
Frank Langella, "Frost/Nixon"
Sean Penn, "Milk"
Brad Pitt, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler"
Richard Jenkins, "The Visitor"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, "Doubt"
Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Viola Davis, "Doubt"
Taraji P. Henson, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Marisa Tomei, "The Wrestler"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin, "Milk"
Robert Downey Jr., "Tropic Thunder"
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Doubt"
Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight"
Michael Shannon, "Revolutionary Road"

BEST DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire"
Stephen Daldry, "The Reader"
David Fincher, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Ron Howard, "Frost/Nixon"
Gus Van Sant, "Milk"

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Dustin Lance Black, "Milk"
Courtney Hunt, "Frozen River"
Mike Leigh, "Happy-Go-Lucky"
Marttin McDonagh, "In Bruges"
Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, "WALL-E"

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Simon Beaufoy, "Slumdog Millionaire"
David Hare, "The Reader"
Peter Morgan, "Frost/Nixon"
John Patrick Shanley, "Doubt"
Eric Roth, Robin Swicord, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"The Baader-Meinhof Complex" (Germany)
"The Class" (France)
"Departures" (Japan)
"Revanche" (Austria)
"Waltz with Bashir" (Israel)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
"Bolt"
"Kung Fu Panda"
"WALL-E"

BEST ART DIRECTION
"Changeling"
"The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button"
"Dark Knight"
"The Duchess"
"Revolutionary Road"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
"Changeling" Tom Stern
"Slumdog Millionaire," Anthony Dod Mantle
"The Reader," Chris Menges
"The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button," Claudio Miranda
"The Dark Knight," Wally Pfister,

BEST FILM EDITING
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall
"The Dark Knight," Lee Smith
"Frost/Nixon," Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill
"Milk," Elliot Graham
"Slumdog Millionaire," Chris Dickens

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
"Australia," Catherine Martin
"The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button," Jacqueline West
"The Duchess," Michael O'Conner
"Milk", Danny Glicker
"Revolutionary Road," Albert Wolsky

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
"The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)"
"Encounters at the End of the World"
"The Garden"
"Man on Wire"
"Trouble the Water"

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Slumdog Millionaire," "Jai Ho," A.R. Rahman
"Slumdog Millionaire," "O Saya," A.R. Rahman & M.I.A.
"WALL-E," "Down To Earth," Peter Gabriel & Thomas Newman

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
"The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button," Alexandre Desplat
"Defiance," James Newton Howard
"Milk," Danny Elfman
"Slumdog Millionaire," A.R. Rahman
"WALL-E," Thomas Newman

BEST MAKEUP
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Colleen Callaghan, Fionagh Cush
"The Dark Knight," Peter Robb-King, John Caglione Jr.
"Hellboy II: The Golden Army," Mike Elizalde, Thom Floutz

BEST SOUND EDITING
"The Dark Knight," Richard King
"Iron Man," Frank Eulner, Christopher Boyes
"Slumdog Millionaire," Tom Sayers
"WALL-E," Ben Burtt, Matthew Wood
"Wanted," Wylie Stateman

BEST SOUND MIXING
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Mark Weingarten, David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce
"The Dark Knight," Ed Novick, Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo
"Slumdog Millionaire," Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
"WALL-E," Ben Burtt, Tom Myers, Michael Semanick
"Wanted," Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Eric Barba
"The Dark Knight," Chris Corbould, Nick Davis, Paul Franklin, Tim Webber
"Iron Man," John Nelson

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
"Auf der Strecke (On the Line)"
"Manon on the Asphalt"
"New Boy"
"The Pig"
"Spielzeugland (Toyland)"

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
"La Maison en Petits Cubes"
"Lavatory - Lovestory"
"Oktapodi"
"Presto"
"This Way Up"

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM
"The Conscience of Nhem En"
"The Final Inch"
"Smile Pinki"
"The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306"

Sunday, February 15, 2009

'Friday the 13th' scores largest horror-film debut


By Scott Bowles, USA Today
Friday the 13th scared up the largest debut on record for a horror film, taking in $42.4 million this weekend, according to studio estimates from box office tracking firm Media By Numbers.

The debut was $17 million more than many analysts projected and trounced the record held by 2004's The Grudge, the previous highest-opening horror film with $39 million.


The 12th film to spring from the 1980 original is good news for studios rushing to reboot classic horror titles. Remakes of A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Wolf Man and The Last House on the Left are headed to the big screen.


The romantic comedy He's Just Not That Into You was second with $19.6 million, bringing its 10-day total to $55.1 million.


The thriller Taken also held well, taking third place with $19.3 million. The Liam Neeson picture has done $77.9 million in three weeks.


The Isla Fisher comedy Confessions of a Shopaholic met most expectations with $15.4 million, good for fourth place, while the animated Coraline took $15.3 million and fifth place.


The only other major newcomer, Clive Owen's political thriller The International, was seventh with $10 million, meeting most projections.


Ticket sales surged 28% over last weekend and 43% over the same weekend last year.


Final figures are due Tuesday because of the Presidents Day weekend.

Auteurship Research Paper: Director List

Here is the list of directors to choose from for your auteurship paper:

Woody Allen:

Annie Hall
Broadway Danny Rose

Crimes and Misdemeanors

Alison Anders:
Gas Food Lodging
Mi Vida Loca
Grace of My Heart

Wes Anderson:
Bottle Rocket
Rushmore

The Royal Tennenbaums


Michael Bay:
The Rock
Pearl Harbor
Transformers

Brad Bird:
The Iron Giant
The Incredibles

Ratatouille

Alfonso Cuarón:
Y Tu Mamá También
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Children of Men

Jane Campion:
Sweetie
The Piano
The Portrait of a Lady

Frank Capra:

It Happened One Night
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
It’s a Wonderful Life

Charlie Chaplin:
The Kid
City Lights

Modern Times


The Coen Bros.:
Raising Arizona
Barton Fink
Fargo


Sofia Coppola:
The Virgin Suicides
Lost in Translation
Marie Antoinette


Guillermo del Toro:

Cronos
The Devil's Backbone

Pan's Labyrinth

Clint Eastwood:
Unforgiven
Million Dollar Baby
Flags of Our Fathers


Bob Fosse:
Sweet Charity
Cabaret
All That Jazz


Mel Gibson:
The Man Without a Face
Braveheart

The Passion of the Christ

Terry Gilliam:
Brazil
Twelve Monkeys
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Lasse Hallström:

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
The Cider House Rules
Chocolat

Curtis Hanson:
L.A. Confidential
Wonder Boys

In Her Shoes


Todd Haynes:
Poison
Safe
Far From Heaven

Alfred Hitchcock:
Rear Window
Vertigo
Psycho

Alejandro González Iñárritu:
Amores perros
21 Grams

Babel


Jean-Pierre Jeunet:

Delicatessen
La Cité des Enfants Perdus (co-directed with Marc Caro)
Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain

Ang Lee:
Sense and Sensibility
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Brokeback Mountain

Spike Lee:
Do the Right Thing
Jungle Fever
Get on the Bus

Jerry Lewis:
The Nutty Professor
The Bellboy
Cinderfella

Sidney Lumet:
Network
Dog Day Afternoon
Long Day’s Journey Into Night

Hayao Miyazaki:

Kiki's Delivery Service
Princess Mononoke

Spirited Away


Mira Nair:
Salaam Bombay!
Mississippi Masala

Monsoon Wedding


Gregory Nava:
El Norte
Mi Familia
Selena

Mike Nichols:
The Graduate
Silkwood
Closer


Neil LaBute:

In the Company of Men
Possession
The Shape of Things


Alexander Payne:
Election
About Schmidt
Sideways


Satyajit Ray:
Pather
Panchali Aparajito

The World of Apu


M. Night Shyamalan:
The Sixth Sense
Unbreakable

Lady in the Water

John Singleton:
Boyz in the Hood
Higher Learning
Poetic Justice

James Whale:

Frankenstein
The Old Dark House

The Invisible Man


Robert Wise:
West Side Story
The Haunting

The Sound of Music

Week 3- Razzle Dazzle ‘Em: Musicals


M 2.16
No Class (Presidents’ Day)

W 2.18
Razzle Dazzle ‘Em: Musicals
Lecture: Musicals—An Overview, Pt. 1
Due: OSR 1 (Silents-1939)