foreign language oscar Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Foreign Oscar Contenders Narrowed Down to Nine Semi-Finalists
Filed under: Foreign Language », Independent », Oscar Watch », Cinematical Indie »
OK, I think this is the last narrowing-down-the-list that will occur before the actual Oscar nominations are announced a week from Thursday. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has whittled the candidates in the Best Foreign-Language category to these nine semi-finalists. It is from these that the five nominees will be chosen:Revanche, Austria; The Necessities of Life, Canada; The Class, France; The Baader Meinhof Complex, Germany; Waltz with Bashir, Israel; Departures, Japan; Tear This Heart Out, Mexico; Everlasting Moments, Sweden; Three Monkeys, Turkey.
If the Turkish film is nominated, it will be a first for that country, which has submitted a film every year since 1992 but has never made the Big 5. The other countries have all been nominated before, though Mexico and Israel have never won.
These nine shortlist contenders were culled from 67 entries. After embarrassing situations in previous years where the Academy's stodgy old foreign-language nominating committee neglected films that should have at least made the shortlist, a new rule was implemented this year that allowed that group to choose only six of the nine semi-finalists. The other three were chosen by the Academy's "foreign-film executive committee," which skews younger and less boring. The Academy didn't say which films on the shortlist came from which group, though.
As you probably know, each country is permitted to submit only one film per year. If you want to see what everyone submitted this year -- and rail against the Academy for not shortlisting, say, Italy's Gomorra or Jordan's Captain Abu Raed -- the complete list is here.
Next Movie-Turned-Musical: 'Daens'
Filed under: Foreign Language », Music & Musicals », Cinematical Indie »
The movie-turned-musical fad isn't just for rock-themed movies and cute romantic comedies anymore. Recently, I blogged about the Weinstein Co.'s plans to adapt Oscar fare like Shakespeare in Love and Chocolat for Broadway. Now, Variety reports of another Oscar nominee that's headed for the stage: Daens. Never heard of it? Maybe that's because it was up for the Best Foreign Film Academy Award 15 years ago and yet despite that honor, it doesn't seem to have ever played in U.S. theaters. The Belgian period drama won't be competing against other movie-turned-musical hits like Legally Blonde and Hairspracy, though -- at least not yet. Instead the production opens outside Antwerp this October.Here's why it could successfully make it's way across the Atlantic: Variety compares the scenario of Daens, about a priest attempting to improve conditions in the textile industry in the 19th century, to Les Miserables, which has been an enormous hit on Broadway (as well as in London). Also, though the musical will be bilingual, with some characters speaking Flemish and others speaking French, there will be subtitles, which could also be used if a Broadway version wanted to retain the original languages. Of course, I don't know that the same tourists currently making Legally Blonde a success will want to flock to a musical they have to read. And it might make singing along a little awkward, too.
TIFF Watch / Foreign-Language Oscar: Ireland Joins the Party
Filed under: Drama », Foreign Language », Independent », Oscar Watch », Toronto International Film Festival », Cinematical Indie »
Whenever I see Colm Meaney in anything, I get a warm, fuzzy feeling. It may be the Irish in me coming out -- Meaney was born in Dublin, Ireland -- but it's more likely a residue of his role as Chief Miles O'Brien in Star Trek: The Next Generation. He instantly came across as dignified yet combustible. If he'd been born 50 years earlier, he would have been an ideal supporting character in a ton of classic Hollywood movies. Eventually I discovered some of his earlier work (The Commitments and The Snapper, to name two good ones) and grew to appreciate his rich dramatic abilities. I imagine that those dramatic abilities are on full display in Kings, which has been submitted by Ireland as their official entrant in the race for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards, according to Variety.Kings is based on the play The Kings of Kilburn Road by Irish playwright Jimmy Murphy; industry vet Tom Collins wrote the script and directed. The premise is that six men left Ireland for London in search of their fortune. Thirty years have passed with none of their dreams being realized, a point driven home when one of the group dies and the others reunite for his wake. Reviewing the film earlier this year, Jay Weissberg of Variety wrote: "Though unable to completely shed its theatrical origins, Tom Collins' Kings offers a trenchant look at the recent Irish immigrant experience." Weissberg noted that the film is the first bilingual picture produced in Ireland, with the cast speaking a mixture of Irish Gaelic and English.
The film had its first public screening at TIFF on Wednesday night; it plays again on Friday morning, September 14. Kings is also scheduled to screen at the Director's Guild of America Theatre in Los Angeles on Friday, September 28, as part of the Directors Finders Series 2007. The latter screening is intended as a showcase for American distributors.
Dutch 'Duska' First Submission for Foreign-Language Oscar
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Foreign Language », Oscar Watch », Cinematical Indie »
Sixty years after the category was introduced, there remains an air of colonialism about the Best Foreign Language Film Award, as defined by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (that's the Oscar people to you and me). The first eight awards -- starting with Vittorio De Sica's Shoeshine in 1947 -- were honorary. Beginning in 1956, the award became competitive (Fellini's La Strada was the victor in the first battle). Wikipedia has a nicely formatted list of winners and nominees. As stated in the Academy's Rule Fourteen, "a foreign language film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States of America with a predominantly non-English dialogue track. ... Every country shall be invited to submit its best film to the Academy. ... Only one picture will be accepted from each country." The emphasis, in bold, is the Academy's, a reminder that all nations are equal, no matter how many or how few films are produced locally. The submission must be released theatrically in its respective country between October 1, 2006 and September 30, 2007, and sent to the Academy no later than October 1.
Perhaps fearful that their entry would be lost in the mail, the Netherlands has submitted early and is now first in line. According to european-films.net, Duska (website; more photos) is a tragicomedy about "a middle-aged film critic (Gene Bervoets), who is secretly in love with the pretty ticket seller at the local cinema (Sylvia Hoeks)." I've developed mad tragicomic crushes on theater workers before -- hello, Alamo Drafthouse ladies and Fantastic Fest volunteers! -- so, based strictly on subject matter, I say let's give the Oscar to Duska and all go home. Happily for everybody, no one listens to me, so expect plenty more news in the next couple of months as dozens of countries select their entries for the world's most expensive beauty pageant.
[ Via Movie City News ]
Volver is Spain's Oscar Submission
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Foreign Language », Independent », Awards », New Releases », Cannes », Sony », Sony Classics », Oscar Watch », Cinematical Indie »
The foreign-language Oscar race is heating up, as a good deal of high-profile names are being added to the list of contenders. Earlier Kevin reported that Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labrynth is Mexico's submission, and Kim has pointed out that other familiar names like Deepa Mehta and Ari Kuarismaki plus the much buzzed-about The Lives of Others are all up for nominations, as well. The best odds of a guaranteed spot in the noms, however, has to be Volver, which has just been announced as Spain's official entry. This was a bit of a surprise considering Pedro Almodóvar's past couple films were not submitted by Spain (Talk to Her ended up being nominated for ,and winning, the Best Original Screenplay award), but seeing as the Academy loves him (he also won the foreign-language Oscar for All About My Mother), the country must have realized it is in their favor to let the filmmaker represent them.Not only will Volver certainly be nominated, I figure it also has the best chance to win. Of course, the Academy could also give another director a shot this time around. No matter who gets the prize, this category is going to be a lot more interesting (and better filled) in 2007 than it was in 2006.
Jeremy Renner Wants To Be An Avenger
Directors We Love: Jim Jarmusch
Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
Shelf Life: Fight Club_thumbnail.jpg)
Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
_thumbnail.jpg)
