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
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
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