award Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Jess Franco Receives Lifetime Achievement Sword at Fantastic Fest
Filed under: Awards », Fantastic Fest »
Director Jess Franco was on-hand at Fantastic Fest during a screening of his 1969 film Venus in Furs, and he was surprised by the presentation of a Lifetime Achievement Sword. Lars Nilsen, film guru extraordinaire of the Drafthouse presented the award as part of the celebration of Franco's films going on during Fantastic Fest. The festival officially opened last Wednesday with a midnight screening of Franco's Eugenie: The Story of Her Journey into Perversion (1980), and since then they've shown Succubus (1968), and The Bare Breasted Countess (1973).
Franco has directed nearly 200 films since 1957, up to and including A Bad Day At The Cemetery from 2008. He's worked tirelessly in Spanish cinema as everything from composer, writer, cinematographer, and editor for years, and his films are truly different. To dismiss them as arthouse schlock is a crime, and if you have a chance you should seek out one of the three films featured on this special Franco poster created for Fantastic Fest. They are chock full of oddities, nudity, and era-specific slang.
NASCAR Documentary Introduces The Next Generation
Filed under: Documentary », Independent », Sports », Deals », Family Films », DIY/Filmmaking », Cinematical Indie »
It's not as if Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby did much to dispel some of the more stereotypical images of NASCAR fans, but you can always count on a documentary to provide a slightly more informed approach. Movieweb reports that GOOD (a socially minded collective that includes a print and online magazine and a documentary film production unit called Reason Pictures) have announced that they are putting a doc into production about the kids who dream of making it to prime time racing and the culture of NASCAR racing in the U.S.The film is being directed by Marshall Curry, who was nominated for an Academy Award in 2005 for his political doc Street Fight, about an election in Newark that turned into an all-out brawl between the candidates. Racing Dreams will be about kids who race in the World Karting Association's National Pavement Series -- which by the sounds of it are not your average go-karts, since they travel at speeds in excess of 60-70MPH. The series has been a training ground for future NASCAR racers. The film is going to follow three boys age 10-13 as the work their way through the highly competitive circuit -- and if Sports Moms and Dads has taught me anything, it's that when competition and family mix, it can get pretty ugly.
Could Eddie Murphy Win An Oscar?
Filed under: Drama », Music & Musicals », Romance », RumorMonger », Movie Marketing », Oscar Watch »
Since there isn't much to do until February except speculate about the Oscars, buzz around who is going to receive a nomination is already starting to build. The New York Times has an article on the support behind Eddie Murphy's performance in the film adaptation of the stage hit musical Dreamgirls.Plenty has been written about the career of Eddie Murphy, from his rise on Saturday Night Live to his seemingly permanent residency in family-oriented comedies. Dreamgirls hasn't even been released yet, but already heavyweight Jeffrey Katzenberg is throwing his support behind Murphy for a best supporting actor nomination: "Eddie can walk on water, it's just instinct. I know he can do it." The producer John Davis was willing to declare that "Eddie will definitely win the Oscar" for the film, allegedly after seeing only the first five minutes of Murphy's performance. The film has even stirred talk of a revival of the show on Broadway.
It's probably pretty unlikely that Murphy will win an Oscar, however the Academy loves those crazy "wild card" picks and if Murphy gets the nod, I have a feeling he would be filling that requirement. Dreamgirls opens this Christmas so we'll all get the chance to see if Murphy is going to be a serious Oscar contender among other suggested heavies like Jack Nicholson (The Departed), Michael Caine (The Prestige), and Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine). The question will be with competition like that does Murphy even stand a chance?
Whitaker, Luke and ... Lohan to Receive Hollywood Awards
Filed under: Awards »
Among the honorees at this year's Hollywood Film Festival's Hollywood Awards are Forest Whitaker, Derek Luke and against all odds, Lindsay Lohan. Ms. Lohan will be receiving a breakthrough acting award (probably for her turn in A Prairie Home Companion, which was actually decent). I hope she gets enough sleep the night before and doesn't show up in a state of exhaustion. A letter of reprimand from the President of the Hollywood Film Festival could really damage her career at this juncture.The Hollywood Awards definitely embrace films that the Oscars would turn their nose up at, as nominees for best film of the year include: Cars, Mission: Impossible III, Superman Returns, and X-Men: The Last Stand. World film nominees include Pedro Almodovar's highly anticipated Volver and the fantastical Pan's Labyrinth from Guillermo del Toro. The Hollywood Film Festval is, predictably, in Hollywood and runs from October 18th through the 23rd, culminating in the Hollywood Awards which will be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, a standard for non-Oscar awards events in town.
The people have spoken: Sith rocks!
Filed under: Awards », George Lucas », Brad Pitt », Johnny Depp »
Darn, I missed the People's Choice Awards last night.
Completely forgot ... if I knew they were going to be on in the first place. I didn't even get the chance to vote!I had to find out on the Web that Revenge of the Sith won both Best Overall Film and Best Drama Film. I wouldn't have voted for it myself, but then I never saw the film. So I am probably not the typical audience member, which is why I don't understand how Sandra Bullock won an award for Favorite Female Movie Star. Was she even in a movie last year? (Oh yeah, Miss Congeniality 2.) Wedding Crashers won Best Comedy Film and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory won Best Family Film.
I remember watching the People's Choice Awards when I was a little girl (yes, they had the awards back then ... shut up) and realizing that the big-name stars who won were never there. The actors who did show up to gather awards were second-tier or maybe desperate for any kind of publicity. Has this changed in recent years? Or should we speculate on the careers of the winners who collected their awards in person: George Lucas, Sandra Bullock, Jessica Simpson, Owen Wilson, and Reese Witherspoon, who won for her performance in Walk the Line. Wilson and Witherspoon don't seem to need the extra attention right now. Meanwhile, Brad Pitt won an award for Favorite Leading Man and Johnny Depp won one for Favorite Male Movie Star (these are separate awards?) and neither showed up. Do "the common people" as voters have more clout than they once did? If you watched the show, share your thoughts.
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