Popcorn 'N Roses

Boston's Chlotrudis Society names "Once" Best Picture

Boston MA - Despite a strong showing by THERE WILL BE BLOOD, which came
away with Trudies for Paul Thomas Anderson (Best Director), Daniel Day
Lewis (Best Actor) and Paul Dano (Best Supporting Actor), this year the
Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film bestowed its Best Film award to
the charming Dubliner film ONCE, which had received a sole nomination in
that category.

The prestigious Buried Treasure award was won by Rumania’s 12:08 EAST OF
BUCHAREST. In order to be eligible, Buried Treasure nominees had to have
earned less than $250,000 in US box office.  Chlotrudis created the
category in order to shine a spotlight on those films the society feels
deserve wider attention and a second look.

Beating out Julie Christie and Ellen Page in their Oscar nominated roles
in AWAY FROM HER and JUNO, respectively, was Kate Dickie for her riveting
performance in RED ROAD.    In yet another category of strong nominees,
Jessica Yu’s PROTAGONIST emerged as first among contenders, winning Best
Documentary.  Cate Blanchett won Best Supporting Actress for I’M NOT
THERE; Visual Design ended up with PAPRIKA and PAN’S LABYRINTH sharing the
win; WAITRESS walked away with Best Ensemble; and the writing awards went
to the original THE LIVES OF OTHERS and the adapted AWAY FROM HER.

The winners from the 8th Annual Chlotrudis Short Film Festival were also
officially announced during the show.  The Audience Award went to FISH
BUT NO CIGAR, directed by Tara White & Lyn Eliot, while GIRLS ROOM by
Maria Gigante, took away the Best Film win.  Ms. Gigante made the trek
from New York to accept in person.

Presenters and guests included many members of the Boston film community,
among them nationally respected film scholar Gerald Peary and Peter
Keough, film editor for The Boston Phoenix.  In addition, representatives
from the Independent Film Festival of Boston, the Boston Jewish Film
Festival, the Boston Latino International Film Festival, Women in
Film/Video New England, the Boston Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and the
CineMental queer film series participated in the night’s festivities.

This year’s musical numbers extolled the virtue of the night’s nominees
and honoree while emulating a Feist video, and while taking on a Sondheim
operetta.  Many guest presenters had fun with their moments in the
spotlight, some even going so far to arrive with their own props in tow.

But the highlight of the night was the heartfelt and forthright speech by
Alberta Watson, the year’s special honoree, as she accepted the Society’s
Career So Far award.  Ms. Watson, an actress perhaps best known on film
for her costarring role in SPANKING THE MONKEY, and on TV for her
supporting role in LA FEMME NIKITA, pulled no punches as she spoke about
her career’s highs and lows, and her feelings about the state of the film
and television industries today, in both her country of Canada, and in
Hollywood.

The Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film is a Boston-based non-profit
group that teaches people to view film actively and experience the world
through independent film, and encourages discussion.  The group works with
film festivals, local art-houses and theatres, production companies,
directors and actors to bring creative, quality films to the attention of
audiences and film-lovers.  Visit its website, http://www.chlotrudis.org
for more information.

Full list of winners:

BEST MOVIE
Once

BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson – There Will Be Blood

BEST ACTOR
Daniel Day Lewis – There Will Be Blood

BEST ACTRESS
Kate Dickie – Red Road

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Paul Dano– There Will Be Blood

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett – I’m Not There

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE CAST
Waitress

BEST VISUAL DESIGN (tie)
Pan’s Labyrinth and Paprika

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Away From Her

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Lives of Others

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Protagonist

BURIED TREASURE
12:08 East of Bucharest

Indie Eye Awards - Voting is Open NOW!

The Indie Eye Awards are now open for voting - readers can vote in the Audience Award Catagory for favorite non-fiction film of 2007. I highly encourage you to vote for this award, because there are some stellar nominees, including our favorite Doc of 2007, The King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters.

Voting is free, of course, so click on the graphic above and go vote!   

Subject:CINEMA Special - 2008 Awards Wrap!

Time for this year's awards wrapup show!  Kim and TC discuss all the winners of the Independent Spirit Awards, the Golden Raspberry Awards, and of course the 2008 Oscars!

Which ones did you want to win? Any you really think didn't deserve to win? Let us know, subjectcinema@popcornnroses.com!

Subject:CINEMA #100 - "OH MY GOD! We're Turning 100!"

This overpacked, extra long edition of S:C is all about YOU, our listeners! Without your support, we would have NEVER made a milestone like 100 shows!

We'll take a look back at the past 99 shows, talk about what has been so special about doing this show every week, and look ahead to the future of the show. Plus - we've got this week's short Callback, a huge E-mail section, coverage of this past week's National Amusement's Kung Fu Flicks, our Oscar predictions, TC's take on his second New Year's resolution movie, The Maltese Falcon, a trip to the Brattle Theater's annual Bugs Bunny show, and full reviews of Spirit Award nominee Quiet City and the hilarious new comedy Charlie Bartlett!.

Don't miss our Awards Weekend wrapup show, available tomorrow evening around 9 PM with complete coverage of the 2008 Independent Spirit Awards, The 2008 Golden Raspberry Awards, and of course, the 2008 Academy Awards!

THE CASE OF THE MISSING AUDIO CLIP: I said in the show that Rob Collier's 100th show wishes would run between the second and third segments. When I was editing the show, I started having so much trouble with the audio program that I totally forgot to put it in--as Rob pointed out to me later on Sunday...heh heh heh. Anyway, I apologize, but after thinking about it for a while, rather than make you all download two versions of the 100th show, I will put it in this week instead. Sorry for the mistakes, and Rob, sorry about that...i'll get it in this week's show, right between the first and second segments, I PROMISE...

See you next week!

SAG Winners: No real surprises, though Supporting Actress wasn't quite what was expected...

This is why we don't need to do a special show following the Screen Actor's Guild awards - there are only FIVE friggin' awards to the film world...and here they are:

THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
DANIEL DAY-LEWIS, There Will Be Blood

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
JULIE CHRISTIE, Away From Her

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
JAVIER BARDEM, No Country For Old Men

Outstanding Performance by a female Actor in a Supporting Role
RUBY DEE, American Gangster

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

No big shocks...and all worthy performances, from what we've heard...

OSCAR NOMINATIONS ARE HERE!!

I'm NOT pleased about the complete lack of nominations for Hairspray, nor am I pleased that Tommy Lee Jones somehow squeaked by Emile Hirsch to land a Best Actor Nomination for "In The Valley Of Elah"..but other than that, there's no real surprises...

BEST PICTURE
“Atonement” (Focus Features)
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight)
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount
Vantage)
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)

BEST DIRECTOR
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé
Renn) Julian Schnabel
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight) Jason Reitman
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.) Tony Gilroy
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount
Vantage) Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Paul Thomas Anderson
 
BEST ACTOR
George Clooney in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)
Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Johnny Depp in “Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros.,
Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Tommy Lee Jones in “In the Valley of Elah” (Warner Independent)
Viggo Mortensen in “Eastern Promises” (Focus Features)

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (Universal)
Julie Christie in “Away from Her” (Lionsgate)
Marion Cotillard in “La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse)
Laura Linney in “The Savages” (Fox Searchlight)
Ellen Page in “Juno” (Fox Searchlight)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Casey Affleck in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (Warner Bros.)
Javier Bardem in “No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Hal Holbrook in “Into the Wild” (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Charlie Wilson’s War” (Universal)
Tom Wilkinson in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett in “I’m Not There” (The Weinstein Company)
Ruby Dee in “American Gangster” (Universal)
Saoirse Ronan in “Atonement” (Focus Features)
Amy Ryan in “Gone Baby Gone” (Miramax)
Tilda Swinton in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight) Written by Diablo Cody
“Lars and the Real Girl” (MGM) Written by Nancy Oliver
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.) Written by Tony Gilroy
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Screenplay by Brad Bird
Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird
“The Savages” (Fox Searchlight) Written by Tamara Jenkins

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Screenplay by Christopher Hampton
“Away from Her” (Lionsgate) Written by Sarah Polley
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé
Renn) Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount
Vantage) Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Beaufort”
A Metro Communications, Movie Plus Production Israel
“The Counterfeiters”
An Aichholzer Filmproduktion, Magnolia
Filmproduktion Production
Austria
“Katyn´”
An Akson Studio Production Poland
“Mongol”
A Eurasia Film Production Kazakhstan
“12”
A Three T Production Russia

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“No End in Sight” (Magnolia Pictures)
A Representational Pictures Production Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
“Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime
Experience” (The Documentary Group)
A Documentary Group Production
Richard E. Robbins
“Sicko” (Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company)
A Dog Eat Dog Films Production Michael Moore and Meghan O’Hara
“Taxi to the Dark Side” (THINKFilm)
An X-Ray Production Alex Gibney and Eva Orner
“War/Dance” (THINKFilm)
A Shine Global and Fine Films Production Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine

ANIMATED FILM
“Persepolis” (Sony Pictures Classics) Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Brad Bird
“Surf's Up” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Ash Brannon and Chris Buck

ART DIRECTION
“American Gangster” (Universal) Art Direction:
Set Decoration: Arthur Max Beth A. Rubino
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Art Direction:
Set Decoration: Sarah Greenwood Katie Spencer
“The Golden Compass” (New Line in association with
Ingenious Film Partners) Art Direction: Set Decoration: Dennis Gassner Anna Pinnock
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
(DreamWorks and Warner Bros.,
Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Art Direction:
Set Decoration: Dante Ferretti Francesca Lo Schiavo
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Art Direction:
Set Decoration: Jack Fisk Jim Erickson

CINEMATOGRAPHY
“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward
Robert Ford” (Warner Bros.) Roger Deakins
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Seamus McGarvey
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé
Renn) Janusz Kaminski
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount
Vantage) Roger Deakins
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Robert Elswit

COSTUME DESIGN
“Across the Universe” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Albert Wolsky
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Jacqueline Durran
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (Universal) Alexandra Byrne
“La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse) Marit Allen
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
(DreamWorks and Warner Bros.,
Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Colleen Atwood

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
“Freeheld”
A Lieutenant Films Production Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth
“La Corona (The Crown)”
A Runaway Films and Vega Films Production Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega
“Salim Baba”
A Ropa Vieja Films and Paradox Smoke
Production
Tim Sternberg and Francisco Bello
“Sari’s Mother” (Cinema Guild)
A Daylight Factory Production James Longley
 
FILM EDITING
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal) Christopher Rouse
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé
Renn) Juliette Welfling
“Into the Wild” (Paramount Vantage and River Road
Entertainment) Jay Cassidy
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount
Vantage) Roderick Jaynes
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Dylan Tichenor

MAKEUP
“La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse) Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald
“Norbit” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount) Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”
(Walt Disney) Ve Neill and Martin Samuel

MUSIC (SCORE)
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Dario Marianelli
“The Kite Runner” (DreamWorks, Sidney Kimmel
Entertainment and Participant Productions,
Distributed by Paramount Classics)
Alberto Iglesias
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.) James Newton Howard
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino
“3:10 to Yuma” (Lionsgate) Marco Beltrami

MUSIC (SONG)
“Falling Slowly” from “Once”
(Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
“Happy Working Song” from “Enchanted”
(Walt Disney) Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
“Raise It Up” from “August Rush”
(Warner Bros.) Nominees to be determined
“So Close” from “Enchanted”
(Walt Disney) Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
“That’s How You Know” from “Enchanted”
(Walt Disney) Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Stephen Schwartz

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
“I Met the Walrus”
A Kids & Explosions Production Josh Raskin
“Madame Tutli-Putli” (National Film Board of Canada)
A National Film Board of Canada Production Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski
“Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons
Go to Heaven)” (Premium Films)
A BUF Compagnie Production
Samuel Tourneux and Simon Vanesse
“My Love (Moya Lyubov)” (Channel One Russia)
A Dago-Film Studio, Channel One Russia and
Dentsu Tec Production
Alexander Petrov
“Peter & the Wolf” (BreakThru Films)
A BreakThru Films/Se-ma-for Studios Production Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
“At Night”
A Zentropa Entertainments 10 Production Christian E. Christiansen and Louise Vesth
“Il Supplente (The Substitute)” (Sky Cinema Italia)
A Frame by Frame Italia Production Andrea Jublin
“Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of
Pickpockets)” (Premium Films)
A Karé Production
Philippe Pollet-Villard
“Tanghi Argentini” (Premium Films)
An Another Dimension of an Idea Production Guido Thys and Anja Daelemans
“The Tonto Woman”
A Knucklehead, Little Mo and Rose Hackney
Barber Production
Daniel Barber and Matthew Brown

SOUND EDITING
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal) Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount
Vantage) Skip Lievsay
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Randy Thom and Michael Silvers
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Matthew Wood
“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in
association with Hasbro) Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins

SOUND MIXING
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal) Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount
Vantage) Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane
“3:10 to Yuma” (Lionsgate) Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe
“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in
association with Hasbro) Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin

VISUAL EFFECTS
“The Golden Compass” (New Line in association with
Ingenious Film Partners) Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”
(Walt Disney) John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier
“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in
association with Hasbro) Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier

With Oscar noms just a day away...the Razzie Nominations salute (?) Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Lohan's "I Know Who Killed Me" racked up the most nominations in this year's Golden Raspberry Award nominations.

The Razzies, as they're affectionately known, have been around since 1980, celebrating the worst of cinema each and every year.

The Complete Nominees list:

Worst Picture
Bratz
Daddy Day Camp
I Know Who Killed Me
I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry
Norbit

Worst Actor
Nicholas Cage — Ghost Rider, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, and Next
Jim Carrey — The Number 23
Cuba Gooding, Jr. — Daddy Day Camp and Norbit
Eddie Murphy (as Norbit) — Norbit
Adam Sandler — I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry

Worst Actress
Jessica Alba — Awake, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and Good Luck Chuck
Logan Browning, Janel Parrish, Nathalia Ramos, and Skyler Shaye — Bratz
Elisha Cuthbert — Captivity
Diane Keaton — Because I Said So
Lindsay Lohan (as Aubrey) — I Know Who Killed Me
Lindsay Lohan (as Dakota) — I Know Who Killed Me

Worst Supporting Actor
Orlando Bloom — Pirates of the Carob-bean: At Wit’s End — aka Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
Kevin James — I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry
Eddie Murphy (playing Mr. Wong) — Norbit
Rob Schneider — I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry
Jon Voight — Bratz, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, September Dawn, and Transformers

Worst Supporting Actress
Jessica Biel — I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry and Next
Carmen Electra — Epic Movie
Eddie Murphy (playing Rasputia) — Norbit
Julia Ormond — I Know Who Killed Me
Nicolette Sheridan — Code Name: The Cleaner

Worst Screen Couple
Jessica Alba & Either: Hayden Christiansen (Awake), Dane Cook (Good Luck Chuck), or Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer)
Any Combination of Two Totally Air-Headed Characters — Bratz
Lindsay Lohan & Lindsay Lohan — I Know Who Killed Me
Eddie Murphy (as Norbit) & Either: Eddie Murphy (as Mr. Wong) or Eddie Murphy (as Rasputia) — Norbit
Adam Sandler & Either: Kevin James or Jessica Biel — I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry

Worst Remake or Rip-Off
Are We Done Yet? — Remake/Rip-Off of Mr. Blandings Builds his Dream House
Bratz — “A rip-off if ever there was one!”
Epic Movie — “Of every movie it rips off.”
I Know Who Killed Me — Rip-Off of Hostel, Saw, and The Patty Duke Show
Who’s Your Caddy — Rip-Off of Caddyshack

Worst Prequel or Sequel
Alien vs. Predator: Requiem
Daddy Day Camp
Evan Almighty
Hannibal Rising
Hostel: Part II

Worst Director
Dennis Dugan — I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry
Roland Joffe — Captivity
Brian Robbins — Norbit
Fred Savage — Daddy Day Camp
Chris Siverston — I Know Who Killed Me

Worst Screenplay
Daddy Day Camp — Geoff Rodkey, David J. Stem, and David N. Weiss
Epic Movie — Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer
I Know Who Killed Me — Jeffrey Hammond
I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry — Barry Fanaro, Alexander Payne, and Jim Taylor
Norbit — Eddie Murphy, Charles Murphy, Jay Sherick, and David Ronn

Worst Excuse for a Horror Movie (a new category this year)
Alien vs. Predator: Requiem
Captivity
Hannibal Rising
Hostel: Part II
I Know Who Killed Me

Now, I take exception to Nicholas Cage's nomination - I loved Ghost Rider and thought he did a great job. And I feel the same about Jessica Alba and Ioan Gruffudd in Fantastic Four:Rise Of The Silver Surfer. But the rest....ehhhhh...

The Razzies will be announced, along with the Independent Spirit awards, the day before the Academy Awards, February 22.

AWARDS - "Atonement", "Sweeney Todd" take top picture honors at Globes

Gawd, what a joke...

The WGA strike reduced the annual Golden Globes to a press conference and the names of the winners were read on a schmaltzy entertainment news-style hour long show that would have been better off never airing...

The only major upset of the night was Julian Schnabel taking best director for "The Diving Bell And The Butterfly", which he snatched away from favorites Joel and Ethan Coen and their film "No Country For Old Men".

THE FILM WINNERS:

Picture, Drama: "Atonement."

Actress, Drama: Julie Christie, "Away From Her."

Actor, Drama: Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood."

Picture, Musical or Comedy: "Sweeney Todd."

Actress, Musical or Comedy: Marion Cotillard, "La Vie En Rose."

Actor, Musical or Comedy: Johnny Depp, "Sweeney Todd."

Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett, "I'm Not There."

Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men."

Director: Julian Schnabel, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly."

Screenplay: Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, "No Country for Old Men."

Foreign Language: "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," France and U.S.

Animated Film: "Ratatouille."

Original Score: Dario Marianelli, "Atonement."

Original Song: "Guaranteed" from "Into the Wild."

The SAG Awards are coming along next...we know those will be better (?) because the WGA has granted them a waiver and will be writing the show...my, how CONVENIENT...

Better luck next year, Hollywood Foreign Press...

Subject:CINEMA #90 - "The 3rd Annual Poppies And Rosies Awards!"

It's all the years best in this, our annual year-end spectacular.

In this special three-hour edition (don't worry, you can listen in shifts, heh heh heh), TC and Kim pick out the best of the best of 2007, naming their official winners in over two dozen catagories, plus over two dozen more "unofficial" awards for silly things like "Valley Dude Of The Year', and "The Bad Continuity Award" among others.

It's a spectacular show, one that we're proud of. And even though we get a little long winded in these year-end wrap ups, it's worth it. Our picks rarely match other critics lists, but you can be guaranteed that when you sit down to watch the movies that win, you'll usually love it!

So sit back, relax, and have a great new year's even with TC and Kim...we know you'll have a TON of FUN!

See you in 2008!

Subject:CINEMA #87 - "We Like You...We Have NO Taste, But We Like You! More Guilty Pleasures!"

This week, Kim and TC slowly unlock the vault of Guilty Pleasures to present 10 more movies most other people would never admit to WATCHING...let alone LIKING...

The SHOW: Ten great guilty pleasures, plus the Bonehead Of The Week, coverage of the National Board Of Review year-end awards, the Chlotrudis top 25 funniest films balloting, shining a spotlight on a talented and funny young filmmaker, and all the week's news in The Callback!

THIS WEEKS' NOTES:

Check out the films of Daniel Melick at http://youtube.com/user/MopGuy; they're very inventive and funny! And be sure you let him know you heard about him on Subject:CINEMA!

You can check out the National Board Of Review's full year end awards for 2007 by going to their site at http://www.nbrmp.org/awards/

Boston's Chlotrudis Society For Independent Film can be found at http://chlotrudis.org/!

And remember....DON'T FORGET TO VOTE AT PODCAST ALLEY! Use the contact pad button Above to cast your vote and help keep S:C in the top ten!

Next Week: Directors Chair - It's a Wonderful Life: The Films Of Frank Capra!"

Subject:CINEMA #86 - "My So-Called Life? Mocumentaries At The Movies!"

This week, Kim and TC tackle the mockumentary, from the comical to the serious and everything in-between!

Plus, the Callback, the Dancing With The Stars finals, our Bonehead Of the Week, the latest year-end awards news, and a discussion about Disney's dilemma over Ratatouille!

It's a new month, so don't forget to vote for Subject:CINEMA on Podcast Alley - see the contact pad button marked "Podcast Alley" on our website!

AWARDS: 2008 Independent Spirit Awards - The Nominees

Nominees for the 2008 Spirit Awards were announced the morning of Tuesday, November 27. They are:

2008 SPIRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS by category

BEST FEATURE (Award given to the Producer - Executive Producers are not listed)

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Jon Kilik

I'm Not There
Producers: Christine Vachon, John Sloss, John Goldwyn, James D. Stern

Juno
Producers: Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Mason Novick, Russell Smith

A Mighty Heart
Producers: Dede Gardner, Andrew Eaton, Brad Pitt

Paranoid Park
Producers: Neil Kopp, David Cress

BEST DIRECTOR

Todd Haynes, I'm Not There
Tamara Jenkins, The Savages
Jason Reitman, Juno
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Gus Van Sant, Paranoid Park

BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)

2 Days in Paris
Director: Julie Delpy
Producers: Julie Delpy, Christophe Mazodier, Thierry Potok

Great World of Sound
Director: Craig Zobel
Producers: Melissa Palmer, David Gordon Green, Richard Wright, Craig Zobel

The Lookout
Director: Scott Frank
Producers: Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber, Laurence Mark, Walter Parkes

Rocket Science
Director: Jeffrey Blitz
Producers: Effie T. Brown, Sean Welch

Vanaja
Director: Rajnesh Domalpalli
Producer: Latha R. Domalapalli

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000;
award given to the writer, director, and producer - Executive Producers are not listed)

August Evening
Writer/Directpr: Chris Eska
Producers: Connie Hill, Jason Wehling

Owl and the Sparrow
Writer/Director: Stephane Gauger
Producers: Nguyen Van Quan, Doan Nhat Nam, Stephane Gauger

The Pool
Director: Chris Smith
Producer: Kate Noble
Writer: Chris Smith & Randy Russell

Quiet City
Director: Aaron Katz
Producers: Brendan McFadden, Ben Stambler
Writers: Aaron Katz, Erin Fisher, Cris Lankenau

Shotgun Stories
Writer/Director: Jeff Nichols
Producers: David Gordon Green, Lisa Muskat, Jeff Nichols

BEST SCREENPLAY

Ronald Harwood, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Tamara Jenkins, The Savages
Fred Parnes & Andrew Wagner, Starting Out in the Evening
Adrienne Shelly, Waitress
Mike White, Year of the Dog

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

Jeffrey Blitz, Rocket Science
Zoe Cassavetes, Broken English
Diablo Cody, Juno
Kelly Masterson, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
John Orloff, A Mighty Heart

BEST FEMALE LEAD

Angelina Jolie, A Mighty Heart
Sienna Miller, Interview
Ellen Page, Juno
Parker Posey, Broken English
Tang Wei, Lust, Caution

BEST MALE LEAD

Pedro Castaneda, August Evening
Don Cheadle, Talk To Me
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Savages
Frank Langella, Starting Out in the Evening
Tony Leung, Lust, Caution

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
Anna Kendrick, Rocket Science
Jennifer Jason Leigh, Margot at the Wedding
Tamara Podemski, Four Sheets to the Wind
Marisa Tomei, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

BEST SUPPORTING MALE

Chiwetel Ejiofor, Talk To Me
Marcus Carl Franklin, I'm Not There
Kene Holliday, Great World of Sound
Irrfan Khan, The Namesake
Steve Zahn, Rescue Dawn

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Mott Hupfel, The Savages
Janusz Kaminski, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Milton Kam, Vanaja
Mihai Malaimare, Jr., Youth Without Youth
Rodrigo Prieto, Lust, Caution

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director)

Crazy Love
Director: Dan Klores

Lake of Fire
Director: Tony Kaye

Manufactured Landscapes
Director: Jennifer Baichwal

The Monastery
Director: Pernille Rose Grønkjær

The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair
Directors: Petra Epperlein & Michael Tucker

BEST FOREIGN FILM (Award given to the director)

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
Director: Cristian Mungiu
(Romania)

The Band's Visit
Director: Eran Kolirin
(Israel)

Lady Chatterley
Director: Pascale Ferran
(France)

Once
Director: John Carney
(Ireland)

Persepolis
Directors: Vincent Paronnaud & Marjane Satrapi
(France)

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
(Given to one film's director, casting director and its ensemble cast)
I'm Not There
Director: Todd Haynes
Casting Director: Laura Rosenthal
Ensemble Cast: Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Ben Whishaw, Marcus Carl Franklin, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Bruce Greenwood

IFC/Acura Someone to Watch Award
The 14th annual IFC/Acura Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.

Ramin Bahrani, director of Chop Shop
Ronnie Bronstein, director of Frownland
Lee Isaac Chung, director of Munyurangabo

Truer Than Fiction Award
The 12th annual Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant attention.

Laura Dunn for The Unforeseen
Gary Hustwit for Helvetica
John Maringouin for Running Stumbled

Producers Award
The 11th annual Producers Award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality, independent films.

Anne Clements, producer of Ping Pong Playa and Quinceañera
Alexis Ferris, producer of Cthulhu and Police Beat
Neil Kopp, producer of Paranoid Park and Old Joy

***

All in all an interesting and eclectic group of films. Still, some major stunners among the bunch, the biggest of which is perhaps the unbelievable and almost complete shutout of the year's most successful indie, Waitress, with the exception of the nomination for the late Adrienne Shelly for Best Screenplay.

And Gus Van Zant's Paranoid Park grabbed two top nominations, Best Feature and Best Director, despite fairly scathing reviews at Sundance last January. A couple people I know have seen it, and they're split on it - one loved it, one hated it. So it's not a cut and dried piece of work. As a voter in the Spirit Awards, I am glad it got nominated because i've wanted to see it since Sundance - if skateboarding is involved, i'm interested, despite Wassup Rockers in 2006 - and now i'll have the chance to see it before it comes out next March.

I'm also disapponted, that Wristcutters: A Love Story was shut out, but that was to be expected, as it was submitted while on the festival circuit and landed a first time director nomination for Goran Dukic last year. But I was hoping that Fierce People would get something out of it, but alas, it was not to be.

The 2008 Spirit Awards will be handed out on the beach in Santa Monica, live on Saturday, February 23, 2008, one day before the 2008 Academy Awards.

Stay tuned to PNR throughout awards season as we bring you all the nominations and best of lists as the awards season ramps up!

Subject:CINEMA #85 - "Madcap Mayhem - The All-Star Movies"

This week, Kim and TC discuss the all-star slapstick comedies.

THE SHOW: Kim and TC take a look at the old fashioned screwball all-star comedies, and name a few more recent ones as well. Plus, this week's Callback with all kinds of site goodies, and the Bonehead Of The Week, which marks the first time the same person has been awarded the Bonehead twice for the same thing, but with a later statement. And it could only be ONE person...you STAR TREK fans will know what we mean... And in response to a letter from a listener, TC and Kim discuss how far is too far for a movie critic to go, and why the Boston Globe's Ty Burr went way way WAAAAAY too far when he revealed the complete surprise ending of Stephen King's The Mist in his review last week, spoiler alert or not. Finally, Awards Season is HERE!! You'll get this year's first Year-End awards list from Paste Magazine, and a review of another concert starring the Swell Season - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova of the indie smash "Once".

NEXT WEEK: My So-Called Life? Mocumentaries At The Movies!

AWARDS SEASON IS HERE! Paste Magazine names "Juno" Best Picture Of The Year

Awards season has officially arrived for 2007, and Paste Magazine gets the honor of the first "Best Of" list of 2007.

Paste names Jason Reitman's "Juno" as best picture. "Juno", starring PNR 2006 Rising Star Ellen Page as a pregnant teen who arranges to give her baby up for adoption to a childless couple (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner), was the hit of the Toronto Film Festival this year. The movie opens nationally on December 14th.

Paste has named Viggo Mortensen as best actor for "Eastern Promises"; Julie Christie has been named best actress for "Away From Her"; Best Ensemble goes to the cast of "Before The Devil Knows Your Dead"; David Cronenberg snagged Paste's best director for "Eastern Promises"; Diablo Cody picks up best screenplay for "Juno", and their annual "Originality Of Vision" award went to Julie Taymor and her voyage through the Vietnam era via Beatles music, "Across The Universe"

Paste's Top 10 Movies:

1. Juno

2. Once

3. Eastern Promises

4. Away From Her

5. Margot At The Wedding

6. Michael Clayton

7. The Wind That Shakes The Barley

8. No Country For Old Men

9. The Kite Runner

10. Syndromes And A Century

The full list of Paste's top 50 movies (which inexplicably does NOT include Wristcutters: A Love Story or Fierce People, grumble grumble) is available in the December issue, and on their website at http://pastemagazine.com. If you're unfamiliar with Paste, I highly recommend it - it's the music and movie equivilant to foods Saveur magazine, with a unique perspective on entertainment. It's my absolute favorite multi-coverage entertainment magazine, and the only one of it's kind I have a subby to.

This is only the beginning, folks....many many MANY more will be coming in the weeks and months ahead...stay tuned to Popcorn N Roses and Subject:CINEMA for complete coverage of the 2007 Awards season!

Subject:CINEMA #82 - "The First Cut Is The Deepest"

This week, we take a look at the first roles of a number of today's biggest stars, including Nicole Kidman, Clint Eastwood, Kevin Costner, Jackie Chan, Sly Stallone, Arnold Schwartznegger, and more, plus a few of our rising stars as well...

THE SHOW: a ton of first roles, plus coverage of the two entertainment strikes, this years' Peoples Choice Nominations, and all our regular features - The Callback, the Bonehead of The Week, and E-mail.

AND

THE WINNER OF THE MASTERS OF THE MACABRE TRIVIA CHALLENGE IS ANNOUNCED!

THIS WEEK'S NOTES:

On this Veteran's Day, we take a look at some show biz vets and some relative newcomers to the movie world, and take a look at the first role they had, proving that playing a waiter can someday make you a superstar...

Hope everyone likes the changes occuring on the site - I addressed these last Thursday on the site, and there will be more over the next week. If you have any ideas, please drop me a line at subjectcinema@popcornnroses.com!

NEXT WEEK: Mini-Glorious-Movies: The MGM Animation Stars!

See you then!

2007 IFP Gotham Awards nominees announced

The IFP's Gotham Awards have selected only lower-budget films from indie distributors and specialty divisions in this year's crop of nominees. Last year, a huge controversy exploded that cast a shadow over last year's ceremony, due to the number of larger-budget films being nominated.

The big winner among the nominees was the low-budget Magnolia pickup "Great World Of Sound," which received nominations for best feature, breakthrough director (Craig Zobel) and breakthrough actor (Kene Holliday).

A trio of films picked up two nominations each. Julia Loktev's "Day Night Day Night" from IFC First Take recieved nominations for breakthrough director Loktev and breakthrough actor Luisa Williams, "Into The Wild" picked up nods for best feature and breakthrough actor Emile Hirsch, and "Margot at the Wedding" was nominated for best feature and best ensemble cast).

Film critic Roger Ebert and production designer Mark Friedberg, Javier Bardem, Mark Friedberg, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and IFC's Jonathan Sehring will receive Gotham tributes.

The awards will be presented Nov. 27 at Brooklyn's Steiner Studios.

The complete list of 2007 Gotham Awards nominees:

Best feature
"Great World of Sound" -- Craig Zobel, director; Melissa Palmer, David Gordon Green, Richard Wright, Craig Zobel, producers (Magnolia Pictures)
"I'm Not There" -- Todd Haynes, director; Christine Vachon, James D. Stern, John Sloss, John
Goldwyn, producers (Weinstein Co.)
"Into the Wild" -- Sean Penn, director; Sean Penn, Art Linson, Bill Pohlad, producers
(Paramount Vantage & River Road Entertainment)
"Margot at the Wedding" -- Noah Baumbach, director; Scott Rudin, producer (Paramount Vantage)
"The Namesake" -- Mira Nair, director; Lydia Dean Pilcher, Mira Nair, producers (Fox
Searchlight)

Best documentary
"The Devil Came on Horseback" -- Annie Sundberg & Ricki Stern, directors; Ricki Stern, Annie Sundberg, Gretchen Wallace, Jane Wells, producers (International Film Circuit)
"Jimmy Carter Man From Plains" -- Jonathan Demme, director; Jonathan Demme, Neda Armian, producers (Sony Pictures Classics)
"My Kid Could Paint That" -- Amir Bar-Lev, producer/director (Sony Pictures Classics)
"Sicko" -- Michael Moore, director; Michael Moore, Meghan O'Hara, producers (Weinstein
Co.)
"Taxi to the Dark Side" -- Alex Gibney, director; Alex Gibney, Eva Orner, Susannah Shipman, producers (ThinkFilm)

Best ensemble cast
"Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" -- Albert Finney, Rosemary Harris, Ethan Hawke, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Brian F. O'Byrne, Amy Ryan, Michael Shannon, Marisa Tomei (ThinkFilm)
"The Last Winter" -- Connie Britton, Kevin Corrigan, Zach Gilford, James LeGros, Ron Perlman (IFC First Take)
"Margot at the Wedding" -- Jack Black, Flora Cross, Ciarán Hinds, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Zane Pais, John Turturro (Paramount Vantage)
"The Savages" -- Philip Bosco, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Laura Linney (Fox Searchlight)
"Talk to Me" -- Cedric the Entertainer, Don Cheadle, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mike Epps, Vondie Curtis Hall, Taraji P. Henson, Martin Sheen (Focus Features)

Breakthrough director
Lee Isaac Chung, "Munyurangabo"
Stephane Gauger, "Owl and the Sparrow"
Julia Loktev, "Day Night Day Night" (IFC First Take)
David Von Ancken, "Seraphim Falls" (Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Craig Zobel, "Great World of Sound" (Magnolia Pictures)

Breakthrough actor
Emile Hirsch, "Into the Wild" (Paramount Vantage)
Kene Holliday, "Great World of Sound" (Magnolia Pictures)
Ellen Page, "Juno" (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Jess Weixler, "Teeth" (Roadside Attractions)
Luisa Williams, "Day Night Day Night" (IFC First Take)

Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You (for films without a current distributor)
"August the First" -- Lanre Olabisi, director; Shawn Alexander, Gabriel "Swede" Sedgwick, Nicky Arzeu Akmal, Lanre Olabisi, producers
"Frownland" -- Ronald Bronstein, director; Marc Raybin, producer
"Loren Cass" -- Chris Fuller, director; Chris Fuller, Frank Craft, Kayla Tabish, producers
"Mississippi Chicken" -- John Fiege, director; John Fiege, Anita Grabowski, Victor Moyers, producers
"Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa" -- Jeremy Stulberg & Randy Stulberg, directors; Eric Juhola, Jeremy Stulberg, Randy Stulberg, producers

CANNES FILM FESTIVAL - Romanian abortion drama takes top prize

The 60th anniversary edition of the Cannes Film Festival wrapped up Sunday night with the presentation of the festival's coveted awards.

The top prize, the Palm d'Or, was given to Romanian director Cristian Mungui's abortion film 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. The drama, which follows the lives of two students dealing with an unwanted pregnancy in the waning days of the Ceausescu regime, bested 21 other films in competition, including Wong Kar-Wai's Cannes opener My Blueberry Nights, Emir Kustirica's Promise Me This, Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof, the Coen brothers No Country for Old Men and Russian auteur Alexander Sokurov's Alexandra.

The runner up, who gets what's know as the Grand Prize (go figure), was Japanese director Naomi Kawase's The Mourning Forest, about the journey of a caregiver and her elderly patient who wind up stranded in the woods after setting out on a drive in the country.

Julian Schnabel earned Best Director honors for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, the harrowing story of a 43-year-old French journalist whose entire body was paralyzed by a massive stroke except his left eye, which he subsequently used to blink out a memoir composed entirely in his head. Although much in demand at the festival, the film is thought to be one that will be hard to market in the U.S.

The Jury Prize, which amounts to third place, was a tie between two movies:  Persepolis, an animated feature by first-time French-Iranian director Marjane Satrapi, an account of growing up under fundamentalist rule in Iran featuring voice work by the legendary Catherine Deneuve; and Silent Night by Mexican director Carlos Reygadas, which explores a father's faith after he falls for another woman.

In the acting department, Russia's Konstantin Lavronenko landed the Best Actor award for his role in The Banishment, while South Korean Jeon Do-yeon was named Best Actress for the comedy romance Secret Sunshine.

Gus Van Sant, who grabbed the Palm d'Or in 2003 for his dark fictional retelling of the Columbine massacre with Elephant, was given a special 60th Anniversary Prize for his latest film, Paranoid Park, about a Portland skateboarder whose life is turned upside down after he accidentally kills a security guard.

Turkish-German filmmaker Fatih Akin, who won the prestigious Golden Bear a few years back at the 2004 Berlin Film Festival with the hard-hitting love story Head On, scored Best Screenplay Award for his latest, The Edge of Heaven.

Walking away with the Camera d'Or, which honors a first-time filmmaker, was the Israeli husband and wife team of Etgar Keret and Shira Geffen for Meduzot. Keret is best known in the film world at the moment for his short story "Kneller's Happy Campers", the basis for the critical 2006/07 film festival darling (and one of my personal favorites) Wristcutters: A Love Story. The short film prize went to Watching It Rain by Elisa Miller of Mexico.

This year's jury was headed by Oscar-nominated British director, Stephen Frears, and the jury included Aussie actress Toni Colette, Hong Kong star Maggie Cheung, French screen star Michel Piccoli and Nobel Prize-winning Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk.

So now it is over and Cannes takes a back seat until next year. And please, now that all the hype and hoopla is over, get George Clooney and Brad Pitt off my tv for a while, will ya?

Heh heh heh...

SUNDANCE, SLAMDANCE: Juries award prizes

Here are the press releases announcing the winners for Sundance and Slamdance jury prizes....

First up, Sundance...

2007 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES
JURY AND AUDIENCE AWARDS

Park City, UT–The jury and audience award-winners of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival were announced tonight at the Festival’s closing Awards Ceremony in Park City, Utah. The films receiving jury awards were selected by distinguished jurors from films screening in the Independent Film Competition and the World Cinema Competition. Awards were given to both dramatic and documentary films screening in the four competitive categories: Documentary Competition, Dramatic Competition, World Cinema Documentary Competition, and World Cinema Dramatic Competition. The films in these categories were also eligible for the 2007 Sundance Film Festival Audience Awards as selected by Film Festival audiences.

The premier showcase for U.S. independent film, the Film Festival is an important new platform for international independent film and screens films that embody risk-taking, diversity, and aesthetic innovation.

In addition, the Shorts Jury awarded a Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking to a U.S. and international filmmaker. Other awards recognized at the ceremony include the recipient of the Alfred P. Sloan Prize, awarded to a film which excels in addressing compelling topics in science or technology and the recipients of the Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Award, created to honor and support emerging filmmakers with their next screenplays.

“The films in this year’s program have opened up the possibilities of what independent film can be and will be in the future,” said Geoffrey Gilmore, Director of the Sundance Film Festival. “The 2007 Sundance Film Festival award-winners reflect the talent, diversity, and evolution of independent film and exemplify the artistic power of film to illuminate and explore issues that are prevalent in our global society.”

The Independent Film Competition is the heart and soul of the Sundance Film Festival program. It has introduced audiences to many of the best American and international independent films and filmmakers of the past 24 years. Films selected to screen in the Dramatic and Documentary Competitions were eligible for a number of jury awards.

The 2007 Sundance Film Festival Award-Winners are:
The Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was given to MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET), directed by Jason Kohn. In Brazil, known as one of the world's most corrupt and violent countries, MANDA BALA follows a politician who uses a frog farm to steal billions of dollars, a wealthy businessman who spends a small fortune bulletproofing his cars, and a plastic surgeon who reconstructs the ears of mutilated kidnapping victims.

The Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was given to PADRE NUESTRO, directed by Christopher Zalla. Fleeing a criminal past, Juan hops a truck transporting illegal immigrants from Mexico to New York City, where he meets Pedro, who is seeking his rich father.

The World Cinema Jury Prize: Documentary was given to ENEMIES OF HAPPINESS (VORES LYKKES FJENDER)/Denmark, directed by Eva Mulvad and Anja Al Erhayem. In ENEMIES OF HAPPINESS, Malalai