( best actor).

“Best animated film of the year.”-Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel“Adventures unwind almost nonstopwith great visual style and flair.The cat is back.”-Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles TimesFOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

The Awards Edition 2011-2012Issue 04Editorial TeamDEADLINE CONTRIBUTORNikki FinkeDEADLINE AWARDS COLUMNIST & CONTRIBUTORPete HammondDEADLINE FILM EDITOR & CONTRIBUTORMike FlemingDEADLINE TV EDITOR & CONTRIBUTORNellie AndreevaDEADLINE EXECUTIVE EDITOR & CONTRIBUTORDavid LiebermanDEADLINE MANAGING EDITORPatrick HipesAWARDS|LINE MANAGING EDITOR & CONTRIBUTORAnthony D’AlessandroAWARDS|LINE CONTRIBUTORSTim AdlerSharon BernsteinMonica CorcoranJoe DonnellyDiane HaithmanAri KarpelCari LynnCraig ModdernoRay RichmondScott TimbergDesign, Production, & MarketingDEADLINE MARKETING CONSULTANTMadelyn HammondSR. DIRECTOR, MARKETINGMica CampbellSR. DIRECTOR, ADVERTISING OPERATIONSCham KimADVERTISING OPERATIONS COORDINATORDavid LetchworthDESIGN & ART DIRECTION | VERSION-X DESIGNKeith KnopfJason CampbellFOUNDER, CHAIRMAN & CEOJay PenskePRESIDENTAlyson RacerEXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENTPaul WoolnoughV.P. ENTERTAINMENT SALESNic Paul02 The Awards Edition 2011-2012 Issue 04V.P. PARTNERSHIPS & PRODUCTCraig PerreaultV.P. STRATEGYWill LeeV.P. CONSUMER SALESIva CampisanoSR. ENTERTAINMENT SALES DIRECTORCathy GoepfertCONSUMER SALES DIRECTORErica NortonDebbie GoldbergENTERTAINMENT SALES MANAGERBeau LeMireADVERTISING INQUIRIESNic Paul 310.484.2517 / npaul@pmc.comIS THE PARENT COMPANY AND OWNER OF:

F O R Y O U R C O N S I D E R A T I O NBEST ACTRESS ADEPERO ODUYEBEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS KIM WAYANSBEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY DEE REES“To watch Adepero Oduye is to experience the thrillof discovery. Dee Rees’s film illuminates an individualuniverse of meaning and emotion.”A.O. SCOTT,“Adepero Oduye is luminous. Wonderful.”PETER TRAVERS,“There is nothing ordinaryabout the luminousAdepero Oduye’sperformance. Like thebest screen actors,she tricks us intobelieving she’s notacting at all.”DAVID ANSEN,“Deeply affecting.”PARIAH“Breaking is freeing. Broken is freedom. I am not broken. I am free. ”2011 SPIRIT AWARDSNOMINEEBEST ACTRESSADEPERO ODUYEWINNERBREAKTHROUGH DIRECTORDEE REESGOTHAM AWARDSWINNERFREEDOM OFEXPRESSION AWARDNATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW2011 SPIRIT AWARDSNOMINEEJOHN CASSAVETESAWARDFor up-to-the-minute screening information, exclusive video content, the score,screenplay and more on this extraordinary film, go to: www.FocusAwards2011.com

Film Veterans MayKeep Upstarts Out ofCompetitive SupportingActor RaceBy PeteHammondBRAD PITT, TREE OF LIFEAlthough there are some young Hollywood Turks trying to break through inan ‘Extremely Large and Incredibly Close’ race, 2011 may eventually becomeknown as the year of the veteran.Acting legends with decades of iconic screenperformances and Oscar ® winners dominate the fieldof front runners in one of Oscar’s ® most crowded andintriguing categories.With names that include Christopher Plummer, Maxvon Sydow, Ben Kingsley, Nick Nolte, GeorgeClooney, Brad Pitt, Albert Brooks, KennethBranagh, Tom Hanks and Robert Forster in themix, the pedigree of contenders for best performance byan actor in a supporting role is formidable indeed. But arelative newcomer like Jonah Hill or Patton Oswaltjust might swoop in and take the whole thing. Here arethe major players.| FRONT RUNNERS |04 The Awards Edition 2011-2012 Issue 04A version of this story originally ran onDeadline.com on Dec. 8, 2011.CHRISTOPHERPLUMMERBEGINNERSAt age 82, Plummer is enjoying a major resurgence ina film acting career that goes all the way back to 1958when he made his debut in Stage Struck. Since then, hisfine screen roles have often been eclipsed by his own stagestruck ways with a number of memorable performancesin the theatre, including a couple that won him Tony ®awards. He only just received his first Oscar ® nominationtwo years ago for The Last Station but with his touching roleas a 75 year widower who finally decides to come out ofthe closet, he may grab the actual statuette this time. Aneffective, if small, supporting role in The Girl With theDragon Tattoo only adds to his chances.MAX von SYDOWEXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSEWith more than 60 years before the camera, the 82year old von Sydow is an acting legend whose workranges from several landmark Ingmar Bergman filmsto the harrowing Exorcist. Yet like Plummer (who is just8 months his junior), he incredibly has been Oscar ® -nominated only once, for 1988’s Pelle the Conqueror. Hisunforgettable, and completely wordless, performance asa distant grandfather in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Closecould finally be his ticket to the Kodak stage.KENNETH BRANAGHMY WEEK WITH MARILYNAnother acting icon, Laurence Olivier, is also part ofthis year’s supporting race but in this case he is beingchanneled by none other than Olivier fan and student,Kenneth Branagh, who portrays Olivier in 1956 as hewas directing and starring with Marilyn Monroe in ThePrince and the Showgirl. Branagh has tackled many Olivierscreen roles, like Henry V and Hamlet (he even directedthe remake of Olivier’s Sleuth) but taking on the actualpersona of the man himself was particularly challengingand puts him – and his mentor – right back in the Oscar ®race. (See page 14)BEN KINGSLEYHUGOAlready an Oscar ® winner for 1982’s Gandhi, Kingsleyeffectively takes on the role of film pioneer Georges Mélièsin Martin Scorsese’s valentine to the early days ofmovies, Hugo. With a total of four nominations split evenlybetween lead and supporting categories, Kingsley is anacademy favorite who once again creates a memorablecharacter, one with great meaning for the filmmakers whowill be voting. Being the only serious candidate in a 3Dmovie may also separate him from the pack.ALBERT BROOKSDRIVEUntil now, Brooks was only known for comedy, those hewrote and directed and those he starred in. He was evenpreviously Oscar ® -nominated for his hilarious supportingturn in 1987’s Broadcast News but none of his previous workprepared critics and audiences for his nasty, villainous BernieRose in the nourish thriller Drive. His brilliant interpretationand cool new screen persona should deservedly win him asecond Oscar ® nomination. (See page 16)BRAD PITTTHE TREE OF LIFEPitt is a double threat this year. He’s already won theNew York Film Critics award given for both MoneyballContinued on p8

Supporting ActressContenders Might Wishfor an Absence of ‘Help’ forOscar ® NominationsBy PeteHammondKate Winslet, CarnageCould one movie dominate this year’s best supporting actress Oscar® lineup? Certainlyan argument could be made for any number of actresses in the ensemble hit, The Help.But it is more likely Oscar ® voters will want to spread thewealth rather than repeat what they did for 1963’s Tom Jones,when three ladies won the lion’s share of nominations in thecategory. The competition among supporting thesps is justtoo strong this year to go in that direction. Here is a look atthe way this highly competitive category is shaping up.| FRONT RUNNERS |SHAILENE WOODLEYTHE DESCENDANTSBreaking out of the cable TV teen comedy ghetto,Woodley showed she is the real deal, delivering alayered, complex and three-dimensional performanceof a teenage girl who suddenly faces big responsibilities.Creating a believable father/daughter relationshipopposite George Clooney, Woodley emerged as theone to watch from her generation. (See page 34)06 The Awards Edition 2011-2012 Issue 04A version of this story originally ran onDeadline.com on Dec. 12, 2011.OCTAVIA SPENCERTHE HELPAs Minny Jackson, a civil rights-era maid, Spencer madea very memorable pie and got the bulk of the laughsamong a large ensemble. She is a sure thing nominee, notonly for her comic ability but her dramatic scenes too,judy dench, My Week With Marilynmaking her a formidable contender and crowd favorite.(See page 33)BÉRÉNICE BEJOTHE ARTISTTaking on the challenge not only of playing the lead femalerole in a black and white silent film, Bejo also had to learn totap dance and sing in addition to being a believable buddingsuperstar of the silver screen. In other words she does it allexcept talk. But it’s more than enough. (See page 35)VANESSA REDGRAVECORIOLANUSAs an ambitious and politically shrewd military womanand mother, the inimitable Redgrave had her finest houron screen in years, particularly in one killer monologuethat remains perhaps the finest piece of acting in any 2011movie. A controversial Oscar ® winner for 1977’s Julia,her performance here is certain to net her a remarkableseventh career nomination.SANDRA BULLOCKEXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSEFor her first role since winning the best actress Oscar ® twoyears ago for The Blind Side, Bullock took on a smaller butvery meaningful role as the mother of a boy searching foranswers after his father is killed on 9/11. Highly emotionaland nicely underplayed, Bullock gets another shot at thebrass ring and should have the audience in tears once again.Continued on p12

F O R Y O U R C O N S I D E R A T I O NWINNER WINNER WINNERNEW YORK FILM CRITICS CIRCLE CANNES FILM FESTIVAL 2011 WASHINGTON D.C. AREA FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATIONBEST PICTUREBEST DIRECTOR • MICHEL HAZANAVICIUSBEST ACTORJEAN DUJARDINBEST PICTUREBEST SCORE • LUDOVIC BOURCE”THE BEST PICTURE OF THE YEAR!”“JEAN DUJARDIN IS INCANDESCENT.” “BERENICE BEJO IS LUMINOUS.”“JOHN GOODMAN IS WONDERFUL AND JAMES CROMWELL IS PEERLESS.”BEST DIRECTORMICHEL HAZANAVICIUSBEST ACTORJEAN DUJARDINBEST SUPPORTING ACTORJAMES CROMWELLJOHN GOODMANBEST SUPPORTING ACTRESSBÉRÉNICE BEJOPENELOPE ANN MILLERBEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAYMICHEL HAZANAVICIUSBEST CINEMATOGRAPHYGUILLAUME SCHIFFMANBEST FILM EDITINGMICHEL HAZANAVICIUS,ANNE-SOPHIE BIONBEST PICTURETHOMAS LANGMANNBEST ART DIRECTIONLAURENCE BENNETT (PRODUCTION DESIGNER),ROBERT GOULD (SET DECORATOR)BEST COSTUME DESIGNMARK BRIDGESBEST MAKEUPJULIE HEWETT (MAKEUP),CYDNEY CORNELL (HAIR)BEST ORIGINAL SCORELUDOVIC BOURCEBEST SOUND MIXINGGÉRARD LAMPS (SOUND MIXER),MICHAEL KRIKORIAN (SOUND MIXER)BEST SOUND EDITINGNADINE MUSE (SOUND EDITOR)BEST VISUAL EFFECTSDAVID DANESI, PHILIPPE AUBRY,LAURENT BRETTTWCGUILDS.COMTHEARTISTMOVIE.NET

Continued from p04and The Tree of Life and ever since its debut in Cannes,Terrence Malick’s Palme d’Or winner has sparked Oscar ®buzz for Pitt’s effectively low key change of pace and criticallyacclaimed work as a ’50s-era father. Could he become one ofthose rare thesps who score both supporting and lead actornominations in the same year? Don’t bet against it.JONAH HILLMONEYBALLPitt’s co-star in Moneyball, who was best known for his anticsin movies like Superbad, enjoyed his first taste of awards-buzzfor shedding several pounds and shrewdly underplayingthe whiz kid genius who comes up with an inexpensiveformula to create a winning baseball team. Going head tohead with Pitt, Hill proved he could hold his own just as hedid in last year’s lesser-known Cyrus. (See page 21)KEVIN SPACEYMARGIN CALLAlthough the film was well-received at its Sundance debut,Margin Call was not considered a major awards contender,even by its own distributor. That has changed with severalearly awards and Oscar ® talk for two-time winner KevinSpacey who has spent a lot more time in recent yearsrunning London’s Old Vic rather than his own film career.| possibilities |A change of pace performance won raves and now could putSpacey back in the front row at the Oscars. ® (See page 20)PATTON OSWALTYOUNG ADULTPerhaps best known as a stand-up comedian and thevoice of the lead rat in Pixar’s Ratatouille, Patton Oswaltis quickly establishing his credentials as a serious actor,first in the critically acclaimed indie film, The Big Fanand now on a larger scale as a lonely man whose life wasdefined by an unfortunate incident in high school. Hisscenes opposite Charlize Theron are awkward, funny,poignant and memorable.JIM BROADBENTTHE IRON LADYOscar ® winner Broadbent (Iris) is always formidable in anyrole he tackles and he certainly delivers as Denis Thatcher,doting husband of English Prime Minister Margaret. Theproblem is that Denis was always overshadowed by his wifein real life and the same is true opposite Meryl Streep here.TOM HIDDLESTONWAR HORSEHiddleston is a stand out, particularly in one scene, butthe horses are the actors people seem to be talking about.08 The Awards Edition 2011-2012 Issue 04GEORGE CLOONEYPHILIP SEYMOURHOFFMANPAUL GIAMATTITHE IDES OF MARCHA great actors’ showcase, this political thriller provides threegreat supporting roles for a trio of Oscar ® and Emmy ®winners (including its director Clooney) but they may allcancel each other out. Hoffman could have the edge amongthem due to his other fine supporting turn in Moneyball.NICK NOLTEWARRIORAnother veteran in the race, Nolte’s searing performanceas a wayward father may not have been seen by enoughvoters in this box-office challenged but much admiredearly September release.TOM HANKSEXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSEThis two-time Oscar ® winner’s presence as a devoted fatherand husband who is killed on 9/11 is felt throughout thefilm but his actual limited screen time probably means vonSydow has the better shot.ARMIE HAMMERJ. EDGARGetting to run the gamut from his 20s to his dying years,Hammer made a strong impression as the loyal confidanteand companion Clyde Tolson in Clint Eastwood’sbiopic of the FBI legend, J. Edgar Hoover, but despite thecomplex nature of his role most of the awards talk seemscentered around Leonardo DiCaprio’s lead turn.Philip Seymour Hoffman, left, and George Clooney, The ides of marchROBERT FORSTERTHE DESCENDANTSOccasionally a performer can take limited screen time andwin an Oscar. ® Think Judi Dench and Beatrice Straightamong others. In only two scenes, Forster was unforgettable.CHRISTOPH WALTZJOHN C. REILLYCARNAGEBoth male stars had their moments but Waltz stole theshow in Roman Polanski’s adaptation of the Broadwayhit. Still, it’s hard to imagine either one breaking out ontheir own, which means a split decision and a tough roadto a nomination.VIGGO MORTENSENA DANGEROUS METHODAs Sigmund Freud, Mortensen again proves he is one ofthe most versatile actors around. Don’t underestimate theadmiration his fellow actors have for him.JOHN HAWKESMARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENEAfter breaking through with his first nomination in lastyear’s Winter’s Bone, can he make it two in a row even thoughthe film has not gained a lot of awards traction yet?COREY STOLLMIDNIGHT IN PARISPlaying the embodiment of a young Ernest Hemingwaywith deadpan precision, this little known actor stole theshow in Woody Allen’s greatest boxoffice success. Couldhe be the category sleeper? He already has nabbed anIndependent Spirit nod.BENEDICTCUMBERBATCHTINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPYAnother War Horse thesp stood out in the new adaptationof the John le Carré spy thriller but for some reason buzzhas yet to build for his sterling performance, but based onthis work his time is coming.ANDY SERKISRISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APESSerkis is the undeniable king of the Mo’ Cap’ actors andhis performance as Caesar, the lead ape in this Planet ofthe Apes prequel, is getting the full campaign support ofits studio but the question remains: is the technique justtoo controversial among his fellow actors to gain himentry into the golden circle? (See page 18)•Corey Stoll, Midnight in Paris

F O R Y O U R C O N S I D E R A T I O N“HHHH!WHAT AN ExTRAORDINARY THRILL TO LEAVE THE THEATER FEELINGExHILARATED AND REJUVENATED. A MAGICAL ExPERIENCE.”“MICHELLE WILLIAMSIS brIllIant, flawleSSand exhIlaratIng.”– VANITY FAIR“JUDIDENCHIS MagnIfICent. ”– SHOWBIZ 411“EDDIEREDMAYNEIS terrIfIC. ”– INDIEWIRE“KENNETHBRANAGHIS SUPerb. ”– ROLLING STONE“DOMINICCOOPERIS delICIOUS. ”– FILM JOURNAL“EMMAWATSONIS exCellent. ”– DAILY MAIL“TOBY JONEShaS PrOfeSSIOnalISMand graCe. ”– MOVIEFONE“ZOËWANAMAKERIS SterlIng. ”– NEW YORK DAILY NEWSBEST DIRECTORSimon CurtisBEST ACTRESSMichelle WilliamsBEST ACTOREddie RedmayneBEST SUPPORTING ACTRESSJudi Dench, Julia Ormond,Zoë Wanamaker, Emma WatsonBEST PICTURE OF THE YEARDavid Parfitt, Harvey WeinsteinBEST SUPPORTING ACTORKenneth Branagh, Dominic Cooper,Dougray ScottBEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAYAdrian HodgesBEST CINEMATOGRAPHYBen SmithardBEST FILM EDITINGAdam RechtBEST ART DIRECTIONDonal Woods (Production Designer)Judy Farr (Set Decorator)BEST COSTUME DESIGNJill TaylorBEST MAKEUPJenny ShircoreBEST ORIGINAL SCOREConrad PopeTwCGUILDS.COmmYwEEKwITHmARILYNmOVIE.COmArtwork © 2011 The Weinstein Company. All Rights Reserved.BEST SOUND MIXINGRichard Dyer (Production Sound Mixer)Mike Dowson (Re-Recording Mixer)BEST SOUND EDITINGNick Lowe(Supervising Sound Editor)BEST VISUAL EFFECTSStefan Drury (Head of Visual Effects)Sheila Wickens (Visual Effects Supervisor)

The Few, the Not AlwaysProud, The HFPA: ® TheirAwards Stay Golden Evenin Face of RidiculeGettyBy RayRichmondFormer HFPA ® President Philip BerkIt’s often difficult to separate fact from fiction when it comes to the Hollywood ForeignPress Association ® and its crown jewel, the Golden Globe Awards, ® which will be handedout for the 69th time on Jan. 15, 2012 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel and telecast live on NBC.10 The Awards Edition 2011-2012 Issue 04Seemingly from the time of the first ceremony in1944, both the Globes ® and the organization thatsponsors them have been steeped in allegation andoccasionally outright scandal.Indeed, it isn’t just any select group of internationaljournalists that can claim to be embroiled in a pair ofactive lawsuits – one as plaintiff and one as defendant– while steeling itself for an awards show that willbe presided over for the third time by a comedian(Ricky Gervais) whose repertoire of jokes evinceopen contempt for the very organization that hireshim. The HFPA ® might be described as a peculiarlyseamless blend of enthusiasm, entitlement, insecurityand persecution complex.But before revealing or speculating further, a fewHFPA/Globes ® basics would seem in order. And forthose, we go straight to the source: goldenglobes.org.A bewilderingly small group of individuals choose theGolden Globes, ® which is well known. The HFPA ®Members Page presently lists 82 active members whovote on the Globes ® . That’s it. In other words, whilethousands cast ballots for the Oscars ® as members of theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, ® fewerthan seven dozen folks choose the Golden Globes. ®The Globes ® utilize two rounds of paper ballot votingwith HFPA ® members, all of it monitored by theaccounting firm of Ernst & Young (which both mailsout the ballots and exclusively receives all submissions).All active HFPA ® members are permitted to vote onall of the categories, film and TV, no matter theirjournalistic affiliation or particular area of expertise.The first round determines nominees, the secondround the winners. And voters are asked to rank theirwinners picks on a weighted 1 to 5 basis – with No. 1being their first choice and going down in descendingorder with No. 5 being their least favorite. The purposeof that is to break potential ties.There has been discussion of online voting but, as isthe case with the Motion Picture Academy’s voting forOscars, ® it has yet to be permitted because technologyPIA ZADORAGettyneeds to improve to the point where it’s hack-proof. Inthe absence of that, Ernst & Young provides a timetestedand secure haven.Ballots also are outfitted with a page in back that’sdesigned to reduce the risk of potential conflicts ofinterest, asking voters to list any jobs, duties, volunteerwork or affiliations that could be seen as tainting theirjudgment. It’s happened that some members have hadtheir Globes ® votes removed from certain categoriesdue to perceived – and perhaps unwitting – conflict.Just who are these people who vote on the Globes ® ?Well, some are full-time entertainment reportersemployed by overseas publications. Others are parttimefreelance “stringers” who merely dabble in theoccasional newspaper or magazine piece and maketheir primary living in another field entirely. Theyrepresent countries all over the globe, from Lebanonto Dubai, Russia to Brazil, South Korea to Israel,Germany to Australia.Because there are so comparatively few HFPA ® members,their collective influence can vastly outstrip the tangiblemagnitude of their jobs. But to be sure, the requiredcommitment to the Hollywood Foreign Press itselfappears to leave little time for actual writing. In its FAQwebsite link, an answer details how HFPA ® members“attend more than 300 interviews and countless movieand television screenings throughout each year.”Qualifying for membership in this privileged grouprequires one to have their “permanent, primary”residence in Southern California; be registered withthe Motion Picture Association of America ® in itsInternational Directory for at least one year precedingan application for membership; be sponsored bytwo active HFPA ® members; and submit a letter ofappointment as a Hollywood correspondent from apublication published outside the continental U.S.They also need to submit four “complete and original”issues from said publication(s), each featuring one ormore articles/interviews that include their byline,along with evidence of payment. Photographers alsoare welcome to become members.The vigorous vetting process has led to charges overthe years that the HFPA ® is an impenetrable andtightly cliquish organization that rarely permits in newmembers. It also hasn’t done much to mute regularcriticism from either the Hollywood productioncommunity or the A-list acting honorees at the Globeswhose tongues have perhaps been loosened by theliberal flow of alcohol. Gervais himself cracked tothe roomful of showbiz heavyweights and some 17Continued on p12

F O R Y O U R C O N S I D E R A T I O N“THE DIRECTOR HAS AMASSED A GREAT CAST. BOTHLEONARDO D ICAPRIO AND ARMIE HAMMER ARE TREMENDOUS HERE.”CHRISTY LEMIRE,BEST PICTUREBEST ACTORLEONARDO D i CAPRIOBEST SUPPORTING ACTORARMIE HAMMERBEST SUPPORTING ACTRESSNAOMI WATTSJUDI DENCHONE OF THE BESTPICTURES OF THE YEARNATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEWWWW.WARNERBROS2011.COM

Continued from p10million television viewers this past January that he“had to help (former HFPA ® president Philip Berk) offthe toilet and pop his teeth in.” Berk, still an activemember, was evidently not one of those campaigningfor Gervais’ return next year.Deserved or not, the HFPA ® has fought thereputation that its members invite coddling andaccept extravagant gifts, while at the same timeallegedly fawning embarrassingly over stars whoseperformances they’re ethically bound to judge withoutbias. Part of the problem is the HFPA’s ® decidedlycheckered history. Its most shameful moment goesback 30 years to 1982, when Pia Zadora was votedThe Globes’ ® “New Star of the Year in a MotionPicture” for her widely ridiculed performance inButterfly. It was later discovered that Zadoras’s thenhusband,the billionaire tycoon Meshulam Riklis, hadflown members in to stay free at his Riviera Hotelin Las Vegas while also tossing an opulent Butterflyscreening party for the group at one of his mansions.The days of such blatant payola are a thing of the past,according to many insiders. At least, that was thoughtto be the case until the HFPA ® got sued for $2 millionin January on the eve of this year’s Golden Globes ®by Michael Russell, the awards show’s publicist for 17years. Russell listed in his 35-page lawsuit filing multiplecharges of corruption and fraud inside the association,including the sale of media credentials and red carpetspace and the taking of bribes including money, junketsand gifts from studios in trade for Globe ® nominations.But forgetting all of that for a moment, what does winninga Golden Globe ® really mean to, say, a television show orstar? Probably not a whole lot apart from the fun of beinghonored at a party in front of your peers after maybehaving had a few too many. To be sure, it’s unlikely thata Globe triumph has ever helped to keep a low-ratedTV show on the air, or was cited as a major point duringcontract negotiations. Hence the HFPA’s ® perpetualinferiority complex.“We’re just looking to get a little respect,” one member says. “It’ssomething that has always seemed to elude this organization.Because trust me, no one wants to be a punchline.” •Continued from p6Janet McTeer, Albert NobbsJESSICA CHASTAINTHE HELP, THE TREE OF LIFE, TAKE SHELTERWhere to start with Chastain, who it seems was in every othermovie released in 2011? Chastain was superb in all, so sheruns the risk of cancelling herself out completely. The NewYork Film Critics gave her their supporting actress award for atrio of films (and they didn’t even mention The Debt), but theAcademy doesn’t have that luxury. Her best bet will probablybe the role most widely seen, as Celia Foote in The Help but itmay be hard to separate her from a group of very talentedco-stars. (See page 32)JUDI DENCHMY WEEK WITH MARILYNMultiple Oscar ® nominee Dench actually won for aneight minute role in 1998’s Shakespeare in Love and herrole here as the great actress Dame Sybil Thorndikeis not much bigger, but just as memorable. Afterall, there is nothing like a Dame playing a Dame.Her role as Hoover’s mother in J. Edgar also givesher added exposure.MELISSA McCARTHYBRIDESMAIDSBroad comedic performances like McCarthy’s inthis female raunch comedy rarely get serious Oscar ®recognition but the Emmy ® -winning star of Mike & Mollyso thoroughly and shamelessly stole every single scene shewas in that there is lots of buzz percolating, and Universal’smain hope of sneaking into this year’s race. (See page 30)JANET McTEERALBERT NOBBSThis movie is supposed to belong to Glenn Close but herco-star Janet McTeer dominates every scene she’s in andnabbed an Indie Spirit nomination for her efforts. Unlessyou know in advance she’s even in the film you won’trecognize her and actors love roles where a performercompletely disappears into the character.| possibilities |12 The Awards Edition 2011-2012 Issue 04JUDY GREERTHE DESCENDANTSAnother small but great supporting turn from this veteranactress who has never really gotten the recognition shedeserves. Actors know her though and they are doing thevoting. Her funny, touching portrayal of a betrayed wifewho tries to make amends for her husband’s indiscretionsis unforgettable. A hospital room confrontation with starGeorge Clooney is priceless.MARION COTILLARDMIDNIGHT IN PARISThis Oscar ® winner is a delight under the direction ofWoody Allen and we all know Woody has a knackfor landing his supporting stars Oscar ® nods, so don’tdiscount her chances.ANJELICA HUSTON50/50As the doting, concerned mother of a cancer victim,Huston is pitch perfect, another fine outing from an actresswho has grown into one of our finest. She won an Oscar ®for 1985’s Prizzi’s Honor and could find herself in contentionyet again if enough people pop in the DVD screener.CAREY MULLIGANSHAMEAfter charming audiences and winning a BAFTA andan Oscar ® nomination in An Education, Mulligan changespace, and hair color, completely to tackle this raw, nakedNC-17 role – and she nails it again even getting to sing“New York New York.” Is there anything she can’t do?EVAN RACHELWOODTHE IDES OF MARCHThis is the kind of tortured role young actresses killfor and Wood delivers on all cylinders. For whateverreason, there hasn’t been a whole lot of awardsbuzz around it but actors will recognize a total properformance and she could be a sleeper.JODIE FOSTERKATE WINSLETCARNAGELike their male counterparts, Oscar ® winners Foster andWinslet may split the difference in this screen adaptation ofAnjelica Huston, 50/50Evan Rachel Wood, with Ryan Gosling, The Ides of Marchthe Broadway farce, God of Carnage. It is a King Solomon’schoice between the two, so take your pick.BRYCE DALLASHOWARDTHE HELPWe started with The Help and we will end with it. ButHoward deserves some kind of recognition for believablyplaying two very unlikeable women and making us still carewhat happens to them. She made the most of her few scenesin 50/50 but she dominated them as a spoiled southern bellein The Help. She may be overshadowed by a couple of herco-stars but consideration should be paid. •

F O R Y O U R C O N S I D E R A T I O NBEST CINEMATOGRAPHYDARIUSZ WOLSKI, ASCBEST ART DIRECTIONProduction Designer:JOHN MYHRESet Decorator:GORDON SIMBEST FILM EDITINGDAVID BRENNER, A.C.E.,WYATT SMITHBEST SOUND MIXINGProduction Sound Mixer:LEE ORLOFFRe-Recording Mixers:PAUL MASSEY, CHRISTOPHER BOYESBEST SOUND EDITINGSupervising Sound Editors:GEORGE WATTERS II,SHANNON MILLSBEST COSTUME DESIGNPENNY ROSEBEST MAKEUPJOEL HARLOW,PETER SWORDS KINGBEST VISUAL EFFECTSCHARLES GIBSONBEN SNOWGARY BROZENICHMARK HAWKERwww.WaltDisneyStudiosAwards.com©2011 DISNEY

F O R Y O U R C O N S I D E R A T I O NI N A L L C A T E G O R I E S I N C L U D I N GBest PictureBest ActressGLENN CLOSEBest Supporting ActressJANET MCTEERW I N N E R !Glenn CloseBest ActressTokyo Film FestivalW I N N E R !Glenn CloseDonostia Lifetime Achievement AwardSan Sebastian Film FestivalW I N N E R !Glenn CloseCareer Achievement AwardHollywood Film FestivalW I N N E R !Glenn CloseMill Valley Film Festival AwardMill Valley Film Festivalwww.roadsideawards.com“Glenn Close plays Albert withtranscendent restraint. Her range, energy,originality, humor and intelligence meritserious Oscar ®attention. And then there’sJanet McTeer, who is pure pow!”- Peter Travers, Rolling Stone“A jaw-dropping performance byGlenn Close…brilliant.”- Marlow Stern, Newsweek“Great acting…Glenn Close is surroundedby other exceptional actors, especiallyJanet McTeer.”- A.O. Scott, The New York Times“A career-crowning role for Glenn Close.”- Peter Debruge, VarietyW I N N E R !Audience FavoriteWorld Cinema AwardMill Valley Film FestivalW I N N E R !Glenn CloseCareer Achievement AwardPalm Springs InternationalFilm FestivalW I N N E R !Janet McTeerBest Supporting Actress NominationFilm Independent Spirit Awards©2011 Roadside Attractions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Despite Years of Creating Laughs,Albert Brooks Seems Right in a NewSuit: Cold-Blooded KillerBy AnthonyD’AlessandroAfter keeping us laughing with his late-night bits (Danny the Dummy, his SNLcomedy shorts) and absurdist multi-hyphenate projects (Lost in America,Defending Your Life), Albert Brooks silenced the crowds with his knife-wielding turnas uber-violent gangster Bernie Rose in Nicolas Winding Refn’s crime noir Drive.Both on set and off, Brooks is adored for his riotoussense of humor and warm demeanor, but his Bernie isso scary, it makes James Gandolfini’s Tony Sopranoon The Sopranos look like a girl scout lost in the woods.There was never any question that Brooks couldpull this off. Go back and look at the scene in 1987’sBroadcast News where his news producer Aaron Altman– a part that nabbed him a best supporting Oscar ®nod – reveals his love to Holly Hunter’s Jane Craig,who has her eye on another man. Any guy who hasever been rejected, from junior high school age to 82,can sympathize with the character because of Brooks’affecting performance. In his walk on the dark side,Brooks wonderfully loses himself onscreen and youforget it’s actually him.AWARDSLINE: It’s great to see you back on the big screen again. Ihave heard two theories on why we don’t see you often. You’ve saidin interviews ‘Sometimes people don’t ask.’ Then I hear you’reparticular about the roles you take on.16 The Awards Edition 2011-2012 Issue 04BROOKS: When I made my own movies, that tookprecedence. I turned down so many acting roles thatan actor who wants to have a career should have taken.I turned down the Dragnet movie. Tom Hanks tookthe part, so no one is punishing him for taking Dragnet24 years later [laughs]. But I was writing a script atthe time and that was so foremost in my mind that tohalt the process, the role had to be ‘Oh My God!’ Aftera while, you turn down roles enough and people justassume you don’t want to act and don’t ask.AWARDSLINE: What role prior to Bernie would you consider wasyour most unexpected?BROOKS: My First Mister, which Christine Lahti directed.It was released soon after 9/11 in one theater in NewYork and that complex had an anthrax scare. That rolewas an unexpected turn because it’s more than funny.Funny is a compartment. When you’re in funny, that’swhere you’re placed. By the way, it’s the same whenyou’re in drama. Nobody walked around thinkingRobert De Niro could get a laugh until he got laughs.15 directors beside Nicolas [Winding Refn] couldsay ‘I’m not going to have Albert Brooks stab anybody,they’ll just laugh.’ But the audience doesn’t, becausethey’re into the character. So it’s a story. If a movieopens and I’m in a wheelchair, and you believe I amin a wheelchair, anything I did from that wheelchairis believable. If you don’t believe it, it doesn’t workno matter who you are. It’s like when women are toopretty, and then have to play ugly women.ALBERT BROOKS, LEFT, RON PERLMANAWARDSLINE: How did you prepare for the role of a gangster?BROOKS: I write a history of who I think the man is, from hischildhood to his marriages. I will tell Nicolas my thoughts:‘I think [Bernie] has two kids he doesn’t see. It’s like acostume, a mental costume. So when you walk into theroom and the cameras are on, you’re mentally dressed. Ifill in as many details as I can on the person that I don’tget from what was given to me. Since he worked withknives, I had to learn how to handle them correctly.AWARDSLINE: How key was Nicolas in shaping the character?BROOKS: He developed a shorthand with me. When he feltI was lacking in authority, he would say to me ‘OrsonWelles.’ Which meant bigger, more authority, own themoment, like Citizen Kane. He didn’t have a reverse whenhe wanted less; he didn’t say ‘Shirley Temple’ [laughs].AWARDSLINE: When you received your first Oscar ® nomination forBroadcast News, how did your career change?BROOKS: I think it’s the performance that propels you to getother roles. I was getting offered a lot of things at thatperiod, but I was interested in making my own movies.AWARDSLINE: Do you enjoy awards season?BROOKS: What it means is that the film is alive at the endof the year and that’s a good feeling. Because we’rehaving this discussion, it meant that it went the rightway, instead of the wrong way. One of the biggestthrills I had during awards season years ago was whenI was in New York promoting Mother and received acall that it won best screenplay from the New YorkFilm Critics. It didn’t lead to an Oscar ® nominationfor best writing, but it was exciting because the scriptwas recognized. That was cool. Now there’s so manywebsites that put up odds like a horse race [laughs].‘How are you doing today? I’m 6-2!’AWARDSLINE: Are Oscar ® voters too conservative?BROOKS: I don’t know who Oscar ® voters are. I was allowedin the Academy because I was nominated. You’re infor life like the Supreme Court. Let’s put it this way: Idon’t know if I’m going to get Ernest Borgnine’s vote(laughs). If he reads this, ‘C’mon Ernie!’There’s something that gets in the air: There’s agroup of people who decide what they like best,then there’s some who see the ads or hear about thefilm. It’s impossible to predict, but the people whospend the money feel it works. When I read thatHarvey Weinstein paid to have Charlie Chaplin’sgrandchildren flown in before The Artist showed, Ithought – that’s something. •

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION IN ALL CATEGORIESThE BEST FILM OF 2011PETER TRAvERS - ROLLING STONEALBERT BROOKSWINNER BEST SUPPORTING ACTORNEW YORK FILM CRITICS CIRCLEWASHINGTON AREA FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATIONFOUR NOMINATIONSFILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDSBEST FEATUREBEST DIRECTORBEST MALE LEADBEST SUPPORTING MALENICOLAS WINDING REFN“Refn is a virtuoso, blending tough and tenderwith such uncanny skill that he deservedly wonthe Best Director prize at Cannes.”Peter Travers - Rolling StoneDrive-movie.com

All The World’s a MotionCapture Studio, andAndy Serkis, its ActorBy AnthonyD’AlessandroThe looming best supporting actor race looks to be brutal this year. Albert Brooks shedjokes for knives. Christopher Plummer is long overdue. And Max Von Sydow is gainingheat for playing a kindhearted mute in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.Throwing a monkey wrench into this contest is AndySerkis’ moving turn as the misunderstood genius chimpCaesar in 20th Century’s Fox’s Rise of the Planet ofthe Apes – a film which looked like a quickie sequel inthe summer schedule, until it surprised both critics andaudiences ($481 million global box office). For Serkis,motion-capture has never been a means for him to enhancehis performance. In fact, it is he who makes this technologylook good. Finally the Academy has reconciled its standon motion capture and is permitting the cyber-thespian tobe submitted in the best supporting actor category. He’srecently reprised his mo’ cap’ progenitor Gollum in PeterJackson’s The Hobbit franchise and has even taken on secondunit directing with the films.AWARDSLINE: Let’s go back to the basics. When you were learning yourcraft in body movement and voice – were there any axioms you learnedthat you carry today in your motion capture work?18 The Awards Edition 2011-2012 Issue 04SERKIS: When I started working professionally as an actor,I did what was known as stock theater. My first job wasdoing 14 plays back to back from day to night. I workedwith a director who believed that being in the theater wasa service to the community. You go out and research thecharacter, make them as emotionally as truthful as possibleand bring that back to share as evidence. I alwayscarried that emotion with me: Acting isn’t something youdo for yourself, but for other people.AWARDSLINE: How did you psychologically map Caesar? We see everydetail of his emotional arc that it’s easy to sympathize with him.SERKIS: When you look at [Gollum, King Kong, Caesar],disregard the fact that it’s performance capture. From anacting point of view, Caesar begins his life thinking he’ssomeone who is loved by a father figure, then suddenlyhas his life turned on its head when he reaches his teenageyears. His whole life has been a lie. He realizes he’s a freakand an outsider. He’s thrown into a hard core prison andhas to survive among those who are his own kind, butwho totally alienate him.Then he finds the courage to reject the humanity he grewup with and connect with his own kind, which leads himto freedom. It’s a huge arc. That can all be played as ahuman being. The story feels very human.[Director] Rupert [Wyatt] and I worked on how do weshow what Caesar is feeling without anthropomorphizinghim? How do we access that gifted child? We craftedevery single scene like he was a conventional live actioncharacter, but he happens to be an ape. I didn’t have asmuch time to prep for the role as I did on King Kong whenI went to Rwanda to study gorillas, but there was this oneparticular chimp I studied, Oliver, from the 1970s. Hewas called the ‘human-zee.’ He was likened to a humanAndy Serkistrapped in a chimpanzee’s body. He exhibited a lot ofhuman behavior. Experiments were done on him. He wastreated like a scientific freak and had a sad existence.AWARDSLINE: I understand you find motion capture liberating becauseyou’re not weighed down in costumes.SERKIS: I love wearing a costume as much as the next actorand the stimulation you get from costume choices. When Iplayed roles like King Kong, I had heavy weights attachedto my hips, my forearms and ankles to make the physicsof his arms work. You find ways of assisting yourself. Thecores of these characters are the emotion and physicality.Look at Gollum, Kong, and Caesar -- the momentsthat count with them are their close-ups where emotionexudes. You don’t have to over puppeteer yourself. You’reacting. Knowing you can let these characters be read ina close up is a huge difference. I’m not dissing animators,but they would make choices to keep a character such asthese busy, so that they look alive.AWARDSLINE: It’s got to be a relief that the Academy finally realizes thatmotion capture isn’t a form of ‘cheating’ when you’re acting, evident inthat you can be submitted in the best supporting acting category.SERKIS: Absolutely. This has always been the big debate and adifficult thing for people to get their head around. It mighthave been better if I was wearing prosthetic makeup toplay Gollum. Often the analogy is John Hurt’ performancein The Elephant Man. He was [nominated for best actor inthe 1980 film], but he was completely unrecognizable. Hislook was created by a team of artists. Because it’s physicalmakeup, people have an easier understanding with this. Iread countless amounts online about the [motion capture]debate, that it’s not all the actor’s work. I don’t believeany actor’s performance in a movie is entirely their work.Filmmaking is such a collaborative medium.The point is between acting and animation: Where doesthe authorship of the character come from? Where doesthe ownership of the emotional content of that role thattriggers a response? If you take the character in Up. Thefirst four minutes of that movie is incredibly moving. Thevoice of the actor playing that role [Ed Asner] is significant,but it’s part of a much bigger team of people who controlthe movement of that character.With a performance capture movie, it’s entirely the sameprocess as a live action. You do the preparation, theresearch, the physical building of the character. Yourehearse with the actors and you take authorship of thatcharacter from page 1 through the end of the script. Whenthe camera takes a picture of your performance, that’swhat the audience connects with. The director has to editthis movie before he hands it off to the visual effects postproduction team. And when he cuts the movie, he signs offon that cut before effects come into play. In doing this, heis signing off on my performance. You can’t manufacturethe underlying performance. You can only lose that intranslation by animation and the visual effects. •

F O R Y O U R C O N S I D E R A T I O NBEST PICTUREOF THE YEARDamian JonesBEST DIRECTORPhyllida LloydBEST ACTRESSMeryl StreepBEST SUPPORTINGACTORJim BroadbentHarry LloydBEST SUPPORTINGACTRESSOlivia ColmanAlexandra RoachBEST ORIGINALSCREENPLAYAbi MorganBESTCINEMATOGRAPHYElliot DavisBEST FILM EDITINGJustine WrightBEST ORIGINAL SCOREThomas NewmanWINNERBEST ACTRESSMERYL STREEPNEW YORK FILM CRITICS CIRCLE“Is there anything thatMeryl Streep can’t do as an actress?One can only marvel at her virtuosoperformance as Margaret Thatcher...Jim Broadbent is wonderful. Bravo...THIS IS ACTING OFTHE HIGHEST ORDER.”ThePeter Travers,IronLadyMovie.comTWCguilds.comArtwork © 2011 The Weinstein Company.All Rights Reserved.

Two-Time Oscar ® - winner KevinSpacey Revels in the Kudos andOther Rewards of a Singular CareerBy PeteHammondKevin Spacey may be Hollywood’s go-to master of the cynical, hard-heartedmodern male – think of his title role in this year’s Horrible Bosses, or hisOscar®-winning performances in The Usual Suspects ( best supporting actor) andAmerican Beauty ( best actor).20 The Awards Edition 2011-2012 Issue 04Yet Spacey, who is generating Oscar ® talk again for hisrole in filmmaker J.C. Chandor’s feature directingdebut, Margin Call, is the embodiment of boyishenthusiasm and humble grace in a recent conversationfrom Singapore, latest stop on a world tour he’s headliningof Shakespeare’s Richard III.This consummate actor, who is restarting his film careerafter taking off the better part of the last dozen yearsas artistic director of London’s Old Vic Theatre, talkswith passion and energy about everything from thelucky timing of Margin Call, the expectations attachedto Oscar ® winners and the gift of being allowed to acton film and on stage.AWARDSLINE: Margin Call has become a surprise success, which peopleweren’t expecting just because of the nature of its subject matter.SPACEY: We had a wonderful launch at Sundance andeveryone was very excited about the response to themovie. But I think something happened between thenand the time the movie was released. Obviously noneof us could have predicted that the sort of zeitgeist ofconversation and the occupying, not of just Wall Street,but of so many places around the world, where citizensare in protest and revolt and anger and all the confusionand stuff that the movie is about, seems to really haveKevin Spacey, Margin Calltaken hold and I’m just incredibly pleased that the film isgetting a chance to be seen.AWARDSLINE: What was it about the character you play that attractedyou to this project? It is different from what I’ve seen you do in recenttimes; he’s very vulnerable in a lot of ways.SPACEY: What I liked so much about this film and oneof the things that attracted me to it in a big way is, Iactually thought to myself, this is the kind of part thatJack Lemmon would have done when he was in his 60s.I like the everyman quality of it and the fact that [mycharacter] was the moral compass, if there was one, ofthe film. I like it because it gave me the opportunity to dothe kind of work that I really like to do and I haven’t beengiven an opportunity to do that often, and certainly not inthe last eight, nine years, but that’s partly by choice. AndI believed so much in the story that J.C. wanted to tell andI thought his script was wonderful. We just got incrediblyfortunate with the number of actors that joined once Icame on and it’s just turned out to be a kind of wonderfulblessing that the film is being discovered.AWARDSLINE: Do you find any major difference between the kinds offilms you’ve done recently that are really of the moment, and some ofthe other films you’ve been trying to bring to the screen?SPACEY: It’s funny, I’m sort of being able to experiencethe best of both worlds. On the one hand, being ableto do Moon for the Misbegotten, Speed the Plow, or a classicwork like Richard III – dealing with that side of the arts– but at the same time trying to keep my work on thepulse of what is happening currently is an incredibleexperience: to be able to cross-over from one place tothe other.AWARDSLINE: There’s Oscar ® buzz about this performance in thesupporting category, but you already have two. Does it still meansomething to you, this whole process, and the idea that maybethere would be some Oscar ® recognition? How important is it fora film like this?SPACEY: For me, it’s just extraordinary that this kind ofconversation is happening. I’m the guy who sort oftook off and I’ve been doing theater; maybe theater inthe film world doesn’t quite translate. So I’ve been, as Isay, blessed to be able to do what I’ve wanted, when Iwanted to do it. At the same time, it’s incredibly excitingto me that I’ve been given the chance to play a kind ofrole I haven’t been offered all that often, a quieter, muchsubtler [part].I’ve been one of the fortunate few who have beenhonored by the Academy Awards ® more than once,and [it’s especially gratifying] to have the kind ofconversations happen where it doesn’t feel like it’s hyped.Because look, since I have already won AcademyAwards ® before, every time I do a movie people talkabout it or they start hyping it up. But, actually, thisfeels quite genuine to me and I don’t feel like it’s beingorganized or generated. I think the film company hasbeen sort of thrown for a surprise.AWARDSLINE: That is exactly true. They’re really into it now.SPACEY: If you look back at my career, so many of theexperiences I had were working with first-time directorsand second-time directors and first-time writers. Thathas always been such a big mandate of mine that to havebeen able to join this movie and to support J.C. and tosee the accolades that he’s been getting as a writer anddirector is just incredibly thrilling because, I think, that iswhat we are supposed to do.Jack Lemmon believed in me and became my mentor.And so many opportunities I’ve had were becausesomeone took a chance on me, a risk on me before Iproved myself. And to be able to do that now for someonelike J.C., for the kind of directors that I’ve had the chanceto work with, is just incredibly exciting. •

Serious About Not Being Sarcastic:By AnthonyD’AlessandroJonah Hill in MoneyballItstands to reason that a dramatic film about taking second chances on unproventalent would cast a comedic performer opposite Brad Pitt.Having long been branded the master of deadpan inJudd Apatow’s canon, Jonah Hill aimed for thebleachers and lobbied for the role of the Oakland As stathead(after Demetri Martin fell out) Peter Brand, whopersuades Pitt’s general manager Billy Beane to radicallychange his ways in Sony’s feature take on Michael Lewis’novel Moneyball.It was a natural progression in range for Hill, who hadalready shown a fierce literal side as the mama’s boy in2010’s Cyrus. One of Moneyball’s takeaway moments:Watching Hill flawlessly straight-man Pitt’s overexuberantBeane during an Oakland A’s managersmeeting; piping up “He gets on base” each time Beanepoints at him.Unlike his funny forefathers Tom Hanks and Jim Carrey,who went through numerous films before they turned somber,Hill is part of a comedic generation that’s trading in their funnybones early on in their career (read Zach Galifianakis,Seth Rogen) for Yorick skulls. It’s no wonder that DustinHoffman, a family friend of Hill’s since high school, tooknotice of the wisenheimer’s range and landed him an auditionon David O. Russell’s I Heart Huckabees.AWARDSLINE: As a comedy actor, did you face any challenges from thedirector or studio heads over your capability to play drama?Hill: I didn’t audition. I showed Bennett [Miller] Cyrusbefore it came out and that’s what they cast me from. Iwas at the bottom of a list of actors who weren’t knownfor their dramatic work. I knew Bennett socially and heknew I was eager to break out of whatever box I was in.And [Sony Pictures co-chairman] Amy Pascal and I had areally great relationship coming off of Superbad. She knewI was trying to do more dramatic work.Regarding those comedic performers who segue todrama; out of my generation I think I made the mosteffort do both. If you think of my last two films last year,Cyrus and Get Him to the Greek bowed a month apart andnow I have Moneyball and The Sitter coming out about amonth apart [almost three, actually]. Those two films twoyears in a row are completely unrecognizable and that’sthe career I strive to have.AWARDSLINE: I ask because one of the faults of this business is thatpeople love to pigeonhole.Hill: It’s easy. I’m guilty of it as well. Why waste time tryingto get to know every single person that you don’t evenknow in your real life when you have friends and familyyou need to get to know? So if someone is an actor orentertainer, it’s easy [for a director] to say ‘That guy doesthis thing, on to the next.’ I’m guilty of it as anyone, that’swhy I make an effort to do different things. I’ve been luckybetween Cyrus and Moneyball that people have acceptedme as a dramatic actor.AWARDSLINE: When making a change in roles with Cyrus andMoneyball, I imagine it’s a team effort. It’s you at bat withyour agents, managers and the casting director muscling.Jonah Hill, MoneyballHill: The beauty of my position is that as a comedy actor,because the comedies I’ve made have been successful,I’m valuable to getting movies made by acting in them.These people [directors] are trying to put together theirmovies from a financial point of view. The fact thatI have movies that people have gone out to go see ismeaningful. A movie like Cyrus helps get made becauseof my involvement and I help make that movie because Iam anxious to do something different. It’s like one handwashes the other.AWARDSLINE: How did the role of Peter Brand speak to you?Hill: I thought it was a beautiful story from my characters’point of view, about a guy who blends into the wall andhow a big spotlight that shines on him changes his life andmakes him grow.AWARDSLINE: When you were prepping for your role of Peter Brand, Iunderstand you hung out with Paul DePodesta who was the assistantto [Oakland A's general manager] Billy Beane and a pivotalcharacter in Michael Lewis’ novel. Is Peter a variation on Paul?Hill: Peter is a character that myself, Aaron[Sorkin], Bennettand Steve[Zaillian] created. He’s an amalgamation. In himare elements of those guys who worked for Billy and elementsof a person who never had a light shown on them before. Inpreparing for the role, I spent as much time in MLB frontoffices as I could as well as with Paul who was using sabermetrics at that time.AWARDSLINE: Are you a member of the Academy of Motion PicturesArts and Sciences? ®Hill: No, but I presented an award a few years back. [Hillco-presented the sound editing Oscar ® in 2008 with SethRogen, where they debated over who gave off a moreHalle Berry vibe.]AWARDSLINE: I know you’re an excellent improviser. Was there ampleopportunity to veer from the script?Hill: We would improvise, but when Aaron Sorkin andSteve Zaillian write the script, it’s less of an improvisationalenvironment. Bennett is a detailed, elegant filmmakerand I think he was searching for those little raw moments.He taught me a lot about the words not mattering in thatit’s not the words you’re saying, it’s what you’re feelingand sometimes the words may not match up with whatyou’re feeling at all. •

Best pictureProduced bySteven Spielberg,Kathleen KennedyBest DirectorSteven SpielbergBest ActorJeremy IrvineBest supportiNG ActorNiels ArestrupBENEDICT CUMBERBATCHTOM HIDDLESTONPeter MullanBest supportiNG ActressEmily WatsonBest ADApteD screeNplAyLee Hall and RichARD CurtisBased on the Novel by Michael MorpurgoBest ciNemAtoGrAphyJanusz KaminskiBest Art DirectioNProduction Designer:Rick CarterSet Decorator:Lee SandalesBest Film eDitiNGMichael Kahn, A.C.E.Best costume DesiGNJoanna JohnstonBest mAkeupLois Burwell, Jon Henry GordonBest souND mixiNGProduction Sound Mixer:Stuart WilsonRe-recording Mixers:Gary Rydstrom,andy nelson, tom johnsonBest souND eDitiNGSupervising Sound Editors:Gary Rydstrom, Richard HymnsBest VisuAl eFFectsVISUAL EFFECTS SUPERVISOr:BEN MORRISspecial effects supervisor:Neil CorbouldBest oriGiNAl scoreJohn Williams

“The perfect Christmas gift.Exquisitely visualized and nakedly heartfelt,‘War Horse’ will leave only the stoniest hearts untouched.”Richard Corliss,F O R Y O U R C O N S I D E R A T I O NFor screening information,visit www.DreamWorksPicturesAwards.com©2011 DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC

Rogen and Partner Reiser BeatOdds to Place 50/50 in Thick ofAwards Season ContentionBy DianeHaithmanIt’s not too surprising that Seth Rogen and Will Reiser – producer/star and writer,respectively, of 50/50 – would go for the jokes in an interview shortly after their film’sselection as a competitor for best feature film of 2011 by the Independent Spirit Awards.“There were more question marks in my situation thanthere were in Adam’s. Initially, I was misdiagnosed asincurable.” Although no one ever gave him 50/50 odds– in the film, Adam pulls that grim statistic off a medicalwebsite – the spinal surgery required to remove Reiser’stumor was riskier than the actual disease.But this pair is not the only creative team in Hollywoodlooking for humor in cancer. Rogen was in the midstof making The Green Hornet when along came theShowtime TV series The Big C. “Big C” executiveproducer Neil Moritz also produced Green Hornet. “Iwas working with Neil Moritz when ‘Big C’ was gettingdeveloped, picked up and sold, so I kinda had a frontrow seat for it,” Rogen says.24 The Awards Edition 2011-2012 Issue 04Will Reiser, LEFT, SETH ROGENAfter making a comedy about cancer, anything is fairgame for a gag.“I’ve been told many times that I encapsulate the indiespirit,” cracks Rogen, better known for raunchy R-ratedcomedies including Pineapple Express, Zack and Miri Makea Porno and Judd Apatow’s Knocked Up than a sensitive$8-million film that now finds itself competing for awardsseason honors with such critical darlings as Beginners,Drive, Take Shelter, The Artist and TheDescendants. “Actually, I’m joking,” he adds. “Thatwas a very large surprise so yeah, it’s really flattering.”The natural next question is: Do Rogen and firsttimefilm writer Reiser, a fellow alumni of SachaBaron Cohen’s Da Ali G Show, expect a best pictureOscar ® nomination for 50/50 to follow? And, giventhat Rogen has said in recent press interviews that hecouldn’t care less about any [dang] Hollywood awards,has he started caring now?“I’m not sure that’s exactly what I said,” Rogen replies withhis signature throaty laugh. “But now that we’ve beennominated for some, I care about these [dang] awards.”Upon being asked whether a win might lead themto compare themselves to another pair of thentwentysomethingOscar ® winners, Ben Affleck andMatt Damon, for 1997’s Good Will Hunting, Rogendeadpans: “Yeah – we’re their ugly Jewish counterparts.”Last year, Rogen had choice words for the many whodissed the performance of his Pineapple Express co-starJames Franco, last year’s Independent Spirit Awardswinner for best male lead (127 Hours), as Oscar ® cohost:“Why hire James Franco and then give him BillyCrystal’s monologue? ... It’s the same [stuff] they doevery [dang] year,” he fumed. But now he acknowledgesthat an Oscar,® even one presented by Crystal, couldreally help expand the audience of a movie “with amargin of error as large as a cancer comedy.”Adds Reiser, “I think it will help us, and [the Indienomination] has helped us. I think some movies arereview proof. I don’t think this is one of those movies.”The pair also says that an Indie Award – or an Oscar ®– may serve to educate those who take their popcornbuckets into the theater expecting a typical Rogen comedy.“I understand the double-edged swordedness of my ownpresence in a movie like this,” Rogen says. “But ultimately,you just have to do what you know you want to do.”The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as AdamLerner, a character whose experiences after beingdiagnosed with a life-threatening cancer are based onReiser’s own. In both the film and real life, Rogen isthe pal who stands by his sick friend. Both Rogen andReiser reject the Hollywood term “bromance,” butRogen admits that even in his broader comedies, malefriendship is key.Reiser’s diagnosis was somewhat different from that ofthe film character, but the reactions of those around himwere the same, Reiser observes. “The story is reflectiveof people who couldn’t handle it in my own life,” he says.“I don’t view things competitively. I think that kind ofthing helps us, honestly,” Rogen adds. “I’m not thekind of guy who, when I see another R-rated comedy,says [dang] those [annoying people]. I think, ‘ThankGod, that will help my next movie get made.’ All thatsaid to me was, ‘Oh, good, people seem accepting ofthe idea of watching a cancer comedy.’”Rogen insists that he and Reiser are not a lifetimecomedy team, but Reiser’s next screenplay, Jamaica,counts among its producers Rogen and 50/50collaborator Evan Goldberg, and 50/50’s JonathanLevine directs. The film is based on Reiser’s real lifeCaribbean vacation with his grandmother at age 14.The two end up at a couples’ resort by accident. “Shehad recently developed Alzheimer’s and I didn’t knowit, and I actually lost her,” Reiser says.Alzheimer’s. Now that’s funny. •joseph gordon-levitt

“ JODIE FOSTER STRIKESJUST THE RIGHTPITCH OF SHREWISHSELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS.”-Geoffrey Macnab, THE INDEPENDENT“KATE WINSLET’SPERFORMANCE WILLREMAIN THE MOSTUNFORGETTABLE.”-Roderick Conway Morris,THE NEW YORK TIMESBEST SUPPORTING ACTRESSJODIE FOSTERBEST SUPPORTING ACTRESSKATE WINSLET“…THE CAST IS VERY FINE.PARTICULARLY OUTSTANDING...IS THE SUAVE, SENSATIONALCHRISTOPH WALTZ.”-Manohla Dargis, THE NEW YORK TIMES“SNAPPY, NASTY, DEFTLY ACTED.JOHN C. REILLY SEEMS RIGHT ON THE MONEY.”-Todd McCarthy, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTERBEST SUPPORTING ACTORCHRISTOPH WALTZBEST SUPPORTING ACTORJOHN C. REILLYA COMEDY OF NO MANNERSWWW.SONYCLASSICSAWARDS.COMA ROMAN POLANSKI FILM

Curse of the Oscar ® win?More likely the Fallacy ofFalse Presumptions AboutWhat a Win RepresentsBy RayRichmondA.M.P.A.S. ® Cuba Gooding, Jr.They call it the Oscar® Curse, and it’s said to correlate with particular specificity to theAcademy Awards® supporting acting categories.26 The Awards Edition 2011-2012 Issue 04The prevailing wisdom holds that if you win an Oscar, ®it’s the equivalent of attaching a stick of dynamite toyour acting career. The golden man turns out to bea compass pointing you to lousy post-victory projects.After a win, you’re pretty much guaranteed a one-wayticket to Obscurity City.That’s the perception, anyway. The truth turns outto be not nearly so cut-and-dried for the winners ofsupporting actor and supporting actress statuettes overthe past 30 years or so.In fact, a majority continued to find as much successafter the Academy Award ® entered their lives as before.It’s essentially the small handful of high-profile post-Oscar ® disappearing acts that tend to paint the rosterof victors with a broad – and largely inaccurate – brushof professional failure.Take, for instance, Timothy Hutton. A spectacularHollywood future was predicted for him after he wonthe supporting actor trophy in 1981 at age 20 forOrdinary People, becoming the youngest performer everto win that Oscar ® category. He had a few notablestarring roles subsequently - Taps (1981) and The Falconand the Snowman (1985) - but never came close since tocashing in on that early promise.Another example could be Geena Davis, funny,statuesque, and the winner of the supporting actressOscar ® in 1989 for The Accidental Tourist. Memorablestar turns in Thelma & Louise (which earned her a 1992Oscar ® nomination) and A League of Their Own wouldquickly follow. But then came the 1995 megaflopCutthroat Island directed by her then-husband RennyHarlin, and things have never been quite the same.You want more names? Try Mercedes Ruehl (whotriumphed in 1992 for The Fisher King), Mira Sorvino(supporting actress winner in 1996 for her spot-on turnas hooker Linda Ash in Woody Allen’s Mighty Aphrodite),Cuba Gooding Jr. (so jubilant in victory in 1997 forhis supporting work in Jerry Maguire) and Kim Basinger(who took the prize in 1998 for L.A. Confidential). Whileall four have kept working in movies, the quality of theirfeatures seemed to progressively dwindle. Goodingwas relegated to Snow Dogs and Boat Trip within fiveMarissa Tomei, left, ryan gosling, the ides of marchyears of his Oscar ® triumph, while Basinger – asidefrom portraying Eminem’s mother in 8 Mile in 2002and an appearance in the 2010 Zac Efron flop CharlieSt. Cloud, hasn’t had much going on at all.But it should be noted that, more often than not,perception does not meet with reality. Perhaps no Oscar ®victor over the past two decades has greater representedthe “What Were They Thinking?” poster child than didMarisa Tomei with her surprise win for My Cousin Vinnyin 1993. The presumption until recently was that Tomei’scareer instantly imploded and that Hollywood tried tomake amends for its inexplicable choice by ignoring her.Yet the evidence yells a different story. Tomei received asecond supporting actress nom in 2002 for In the Bedroomand then a third in 2009 for The Wrestler.As one Oscar ® strategist notes, “The media and theInternet take pleasure in dumping on Oscar ® winnersand trying to build a case for why choices were lame.But when you look at someone like Marisa, you cansee that this game isn’t at all so black and white. And Imean, just because someone isn’t continuing to rack upAcademy Award ® nominations doesn’t necessarily meantheir career has gone kaput. The film industry may behorrified to consider it, but a performer can enjoy just asmuch satisfaction and success from working in televisionor on stage as they can from the big screen.”In fact, someone like Ruehl has worked steadily andseemingly done just fine despite the popular view that

Golden Globes ® asOscar ® Bellwether31 60 40The number of times out of 60 cases that the bestsupporting actor-actress categories have had likewinners at the Globes ® and Oscars ® since 1981.More than 60% of the time since 1981 has the bestsupporting actor winners from the Golden Globes ®lined up with Oscars ® or 19 of the past 30 races.12 times out of the last 30 races, 40% ofthe supporting actress Golden Globes ®winners have matched Oscars ® winners.her career did a nosedive following her Fisher Kingwin. In fact, the same year she was starring in thatfilm (1991), she was also winning a Tony Award ® onBroadway for her lead work in Neil Simon’s Lost inYonkers. She was also nominated for the Tony ® on twoother occasions post-Oscar ® (1995 and 2002) and alsowon a 2005 Obie Award.Then there is the preponderance of supporting actor/actress winners who have overcome the so-called “curse”to fairly thrive. One could make a convincing argumentthat Judi Dench’s career shifted fully into overdriveafter her 1999 victory for Shakespeare in Love even thoughshe was 64 years old at the time. She’s followed it withfour more Oscar ® noms in the intervening decade, alsowinning a couple of BAFTA’s ® and a Golden Globe ®while appearing in everything from celebrated indiefilms (2001’s Iris) to big budget studio releases (M in theJames Bond films since 1995’s GoldenEye).On the men’s side, since winning the supporting actorAcademy Award ® for Glory in 1990, Denzel Washingtonalso seems to have done all right for himself. He’s beennominated three times for Oscars ® and four times forGolden Globes ® following that first victory, winning asecond Oscar ® in 2002 as lead actor for Training Dayand a Globe ® in 2000 for The Hurricane. He’s consideredone of the film business’ most dependable leading men.This isn’t to say that the Oscar ® is anything close to aguaranteed momentum creator, or indeed always helps boostthe quality of winners’ future projects. Sorvino is proof ofthat: Mimic, Summer of Sam and The Replacement Killers anyone?Maybe the problem is a faulty presumption aboutwhat an Oscar ® really represents. Far from beinga validation of the worth of a career – or, perhaps,innate talent – the awards are meant to celebratea particular performance in a specific film. Evenif Timothy Hutton’s meatiest role since he won isin TNT’s series Leverage, his performance in OrdinaryPeople remains haunting and effecting, 30 years later.And who isn’t still moved by F. Murray Abraham’s bestactor-winning performance in Amadeus, or outraged byLouise Fletcher’s icily evil Nurse Ratched in 1975’s OneFlew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest?, even if neither may not havereached such heights subsequently?“I think the bottom line is that there are really noabsolutes for you after winning the Oscar ® ,” per onelongtime publicist and awards strategist. “Some peoplehave admitted that the Academy Award ® didn’t dowhat they assumed it would. But that can be due asmuch to being in projects that were poorly written asanything the actor has control over.”And what about The Curse?“There is no Curse,” the publicist adds. “That’s justsomething that people in the media create to stokeinterest. I mean, if there’s a curse, then nobodybothered to tell Michael Caine about it, you know?” •A.M.P.A.S. ® Mira Sorvino

Wiig and Mumolo’s Altar ComedyMay Just Alter Awards Luck forPics with Laughs for and by WomenBy CariLynnAt the mere mention of a possible Oscar ® nomination for best original screenplay,Bridesmaids co-writers Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo seem gobsmacked.“Wow, I don’t even know what to say about that, oh my gosh, I don’t know,” a tonguetiedWiig sputters.Despite creating one of the year’s biggest box-office hits –grossing $288 million on a $32.5 million budget – this writingduo is self-effacing, readily confessing to embarking on theirscript by buying a how-to book. “We didn’t know what wewere doing,” Wiig says. “We bought Syd Field’s book, andthen we were like, ‘OK, I think on page 30, our first act hasto be over…?’”Wiig and Mumolo met in the early 2000s at L.A.’s improvand sketch theater group, the Groundlings, where theydescribe gravitating toward each other. “Some of myfavorite things that I wrote at the Groundlings – all ofthem, I think – were with Annie,” Wiig says. “We justhave a great writing marriage. I call her my creative wife.”Wiig made her Saturday Night Live debut in 2005, but itwas after her two-minute scene in 2007’s Knocked Up(she plays a mid-level suit who bitingly tells KatherineHeigl’s character that they cannot legally ask her to loseweight) that director/writer/producer Judd Apatowapproached Wiig about doing a movie of her own. Sheimmediately recruited Mumolo as her writing partner.The duo drew on themes from their own lives asthirtysomethings. “The original nugget of the idea camefrom the feeling I would get every time one of my friendsgot married,” Mumolo explains. “They would hop intotheir wedding-mobile, the Rolls Royce or whatever it was,and as they drove away, I’d get this heavy feeling in mychest of being left behind. I was single and strugglingreally hard, doing these sketch comedy shows andworking every job under the moon. And then, as eachof my friends went along a more traditional path, andI was going to all these fancy engagement parties andweddings and being in that whole bridesmaid culture, Ifelt like I was always comparing myself to other women.That was the main story we wanted to tell, and that wasthe most important part to us. The comedy, we hoped,would come out later.”In only six days they pounded out the first draft ofBridesmaids, which Apatow then took to Universal. Butthe writing collaboration hardly ended there. Over thenext four years, Wiig and Mumolo continued to revisethe script under Apatow’s tutelage. “The evolution of itis kind of staggering,” Wiig says. “Rewrite after rewriteand years of working on it and fine-tuning it and havingtable reads and changing characters and trying to figureout what the story was and what the emotional journeywas – before the jokes.”Even before the release of the film, there was a frenzyof shock and awe about this all-female buddy movie, this28 The Awards Edition 2011-2012 Issue 04KRISTEN WIIG, LEFT, ANNIE MUMOLOguys-movie-for-girls, this ladies version of The Hangover.As if Sex and the City hadn’t taught us anything aboutwomen’s behavior? And besides, isn’t funny, funny?Wiig and Mumolo admit that they too were surprisedabout the hoopla. “We didn’t realize how much of animpossibility this seemed to people,” Mumolo says. “Igrew up watching Gilda Radner, Madeline Kahn andGoldie Hawn, and I just thought, let’s do somethinglike that in an ensemble, but we never anticipated this.Kristen always says, ‘I never thought that six women on aposter would send the town into a frenzy.’”The cast, heavy on Groundlings alums (WendiMcLendon-Covey, Michael Hitchcock, MelissaMcCarthy and Maya Rudolph), brings some powerfulimprovisation chops to the table, and the release of theBridesmaids DVD has no shortage of outtakes and extras.But don’t go thinking it’s just a bunch of riffing. “Peoplealways assume that if there’s improv you just showed upand made up the movie as you went along,” Mumolo says.She describes how, in addition to the shooting script,she and Wiig brought in volumes of previous drafts,organized into scene-by-scene packets, as well as alternatelines of dialogue and jokes they’d written. “After we shotthe script, we’d see if there was room for playing. Everyday we were going through packets and rewriting andcircling and highlighting.” After shooting alternates, ifthere was still time, they’d shoot what Mumolo referredto as Dealer’s Choice. “If the story was tight enough wewould have room to let people improvise.”Historically, Oscar ® hasn’t taken comedy seriously.However, this year, possible contenders may includea handful of Groundlings alums – screenwriters NatFaxon and Jim Rash (The Descendants), and writer/director Drake Doremus (Like Crazy). “You have theluxury [at the Groundlings] of putting so many sketchesup every week that you exercise that muscle of what theaudience might gravitate toward or connect with,” saysWiig, who was there at the same time as Faxon and Rashand gushed over their success.According to Mumolo, she and Wiig are working on anew collaboration. “It’s in the very beginnings, like a seedright now...just a discussion between Kristen and myself.”She also breaks the news that we won’t be seeing Annie(which wasn’t meant to be Mumolo’s sake, the name justhad the right “rhythm”) as the bride anytime soon. “Itdoesn’t seem like we will be doing a sequel. You knowwhen you just feel like something worked and that youshould just leave it alone and let it be what it was?” Yes,we’ll toss some rice in the air to that! •

elativitymedia.com/awards

McCarthy Hopes to Make Most of HerBreakthrough Year – PerhapsBy CariLynnan Oscar ® to Go With Her Emmy ®It’s been quite a year for actress Melissa McCarthy. This former Gilmore Girlsbest friend took home the Emmy ® for outstanding lead actress in a comedy seriesfor her role in Mike & Molly, but it was her deft and hilarious portrayal of Megan,the Dockers-wearing, secret operative, sexually aggressive, sister of the groom inBridesmaids that propelled her to a household name.30 The Awards Edition 2011-2012 Issue 04MELISSA McCARTHYShe’s still buzzing about her breakthrough film role,written by Kristen Wiig (who also stars in Bridesmaids)and Annie Mumolo, about the friendships – andromance – that started at the L.A,-based sketch andimprov comedy troupe, the Groundlings, and abouthow she might react if she wins an Oscar. ®AWARDSLINE: You got your start with the Groundlings, as did theco-writers and much of the cast of Bridesmaids. Were you at theGroundlings at the same time as Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo?MCCARTHY: Yes! They’re two of the greatest ladies I know,really, they’re remarkable. I want them to write 700more things. I was in with Annie a little longer, andI only did one show with Kristen and then she wentto SNL. I was also in [the Groundlings] with Wendi[McLendon-Covey] and Maya [Rudolph].AWARDSLINE: You had so many scene-stealing lines in Bridesmaids.Do you know if that part was written with you in mind?MCCARTHY: It wasn’t, and they had seen quite a few people.Annie told me that they were about to get rid of theMegan character because it wasn’t working out. I camein and, luckily, they did not, because I loved it.AWARDSLINE: Were you able to do a lot of improvising on Bridesmaids?MCCARTHY: It was the most collaborative, creative setand work experience I’ve ever had in my life. We didimprovise a lot, and it was in the greatest way possiblebecause they had already written such a great scriptthat you didn’t have to veer far, but they gave you all thefreedom you wanted. [Director] Paul Feig would yell,‘Dealer’s Choice,’ which meant, do whatever you want.AWARDSLINE: Air Marshal Jon is played by your husband, BenFalcone. Did shooting with your spouse make it easier or moredifficult to play such an aggressive character?MCCARTHY: It was so easy with him. We met at Groundlingsdoing weird, extreme characters. It felt like we weredoing a little Groundlings show. Bizarrely, it turned outto be this big movie.AWARDSLINE: It’s a big year for the Groundlings alums, with lotsof Oscar ® buzz for Nat Faxon and Jim Rash with TheDescendants and Drake Doremus with Like Crazy… .MCCARTHY: Jim and Nat and I, and my husband, we wereall in together.AWARDSLINE: What is it that Groundlings is doing right, especiallywhen it comes to writing?MCCARTHY: They’re hard on you, if you pay the tuitionit doesn’t mean you pass. You write so much and somuch gets rejected and you just keep writing andwriting. The more you do it, the better you get. For me,I love that there’s a real emphasis on characters. Youcan be big and broad and stretch to the furthest limits,but in some way you have to ground your characters.You can’t just play crazy. It makes you push yourself tostay in the realm of reality. And when you do that, it’sa lot funnier. That’s my favorite, when you think it’s areal strange person and not just someone being wacky.AWARDSLINE: You’re a writer too, with a screenplay called Tammy.Tell me about it.MCCARTHY: Tammy is a feature I wrote with my husband,Ben. I write with him quite a bit. We were writingtogether at Groundlings before we started dating. It’salways been easy, we both have different strengths, andwe work really well together. I know some people thinkit’s a terrible idea, but I love it.AWARDSLINE: And you and your husband also sold a pilot to CBSabout a woman going through a mid-life crisis?MCCARTHY: Ben and I wrote the show for Warner Bros.and then we went to CBS with it. We’ve been doinga lot of writing.AWARDSLINE: You had an endearing Emmy ® speech where you said,‘I’m from Plainfield, Illinois, and I’m standing here and it’s kindof amazing.’ Tell me about Plainfield, I’ve read that you werecaptain of the cheerleading team and then became a Goth, andin a Catholic school no less. It almost sounds like training for afuture career in acting.MCCARTHY: I guess I was kinda bored, and maybe it’s whyI like character work so much now. I was full-fledgedGoth, with capes and shaved patches around my headand Kabuki - white makeup and black lips, and crazyearrings, and I looked super, super menacing. But Ialways blew it when I opened my mouth because Iwas still Midwestern and chatty and pleasant. Yearsago, I did The Life of David Gale and they wanted [mycharacter] to be really Goth. I was like, give me a pair ofscissors, I’ll do my own wardrobe and it’ll be great. Andthen I thought, if people [from my hometown] saw mein that movie, were they going to think, ‘Oh God, she’sstill dressing like that? How sad, 15 years later!"AWARDSLINE: A la the beauty pageant spoof at the Emmys, ® do youhave any gags or jokes up your sleeve if you wind up at the Oscars? ®MCCARTHY: My hope is just that Bridesmaids in some capacityis recognized. I really root for comedy to have a place atthe Oscars ® and I certainly think Bridesmaids is worthyof it. But no, if we get up there, I will be so happy myconcentration will be on trying not to pass out. •

“JONAH HILL IS THE PERFECT FOIL FOR AFORCE OF NATURE LIKE BEANE. HE FINDSTHE QUIET CONFIDENCE IN THIS CHARACTER.”THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CHRISTY LEMIREWINNERNEW YORK FILM CRITICS CIRCLEBEST ACTOR BRAD PITTBEST SCREENPLAYSTEVEN ZAILLIAN AND AARON SORKINBEST PICTUREBEST SUPPORTING ACTOR JONAH HILLF O R Y O U R C O N S I D E R ATI O NCHANGE YOUR GAME

It’s Been a New Film Again, andAgain, and Again, and Yet Againfor Chastain in 2011By Ari KarpelHas anyone submitted Jessica Chastain to the Guinness Book of World Recordsyet? She has to have set a record this year for an actor making her film debut (in TheTree of Life) and following it up with the most films ever – seven! – to come out in the nextsix months (Chastain actually shot 11 movies in the last four years, so there’s still morewhere those came from).The Juilliard graduate, on the phone from Morocco,talks about the whirlwind she’s been on, workingwith Terrence Malick, and her (politely expressed)disdain for the lack of roles that aren’t “the wife.”AWARDSLINE: Considering how prolific you are, I imagine you’re notin Marrakech on vacation.CHASTAIN:[Laughs.] You know what? It is my vacation! I wasin Toronto, shooting a movie called Mama, producedby Guillermo del Toro. It was a very long shoot andwe were working through weekends, and I finished onThursday and went straight to the airport to come toMarrakech. This is the first time this year I’m not goingsomewhere to film something or promote something.I’m with my best friend, Jess, and I’m sitting on the juryof the Marrakech [International] Film Festival, whichis so exciting. I don’t really do beach vacations so thisis kind of a typical vacation for me – I get to go seemovies and talk about them.AWARDSLINE: What has surprised you about the new-toyouprocess of promoting a movie upon release and thencampaigning for possible awards?CHASTAIN: This has been the most intense six months Ithink I’ll ever have in my life. It’s just a really, really steeplearning curve. I was so scared, everyone kept saying‘It’s so tough,’ ‘It’s soul sucking.’ And, yes, sometimesyou get asked the same silly question over and overagain, but you’re also being asked interesting questionsabout acting, and it makes me want to talk! But as faras awards campaigning, I don’t really understand that.Other people are in charge of campaigning, and forme I’m just excited that I get to talk about a film.AWARDSLINE: Coriolanus is getting great reviews.CHASTAIN: [I don’t read reviews] because if you believe agood review, then you have to believe a bad review. Idid a play in school and the New York Times came and allthe review said [about me] was ‘Chastain gets paler asthe night progresses.’ [Laughing] And all I rememberis thinking, ‘What does that mean?! How do I not getpaler?!’ I don’t know what to do with that.AWARDSLINE: Once The Tree of Life came out suddenly youstarted getting scripts for supportive mother roles. Has the trendcontinued?CHASTAIN: I think since The Tree of Life was the first thing tocome out, they saw me as that character, but since thenI think they don’t know what to see me as. After TheDebt, I definitely started getting some tougher characters,but I will say that the majority of what I read is for thesupportive wife to the husband who is the lead of the film,and I’ve decided that unless it’s something that I haven’tdone before, [I’d rather] go and do theater instead.AWARDSLINE: Take Shelter is one of the best-reviewed films ofthe year; it seems to have tapped into a fear that we’ve lost control,which feels very relevant.CHASTAIN: I absolutely can connect to that story. [Writerdirector]Jeff [Nichols] is wonderful. In Take Shelter,with the storm coming, it’s like King Lear with theblowing winds, when Lear starts to go mad. I don’tthink Jeff is even aware when he’s doing it, but hisstories are so modern, they have their finger on thepulse of what’s happening in our society but theirthemes are really grand. I think that’s the sign of avery important filmmaker and I plan to work with himover and over again.AWARDSLINE:With all the films you had come out this year, is therea movie that received more attention than you expected, and onethat got less than you think it deserves?CHASTAIN: The Debt had such a good opening weekend thatI don’t see it as a failure, but I do feel that it is somehowforgotten. I loved making that film; John Madden didsuch a terrific job, and I was surprised that it didn’thave a longer life. Also Wilde Salomé, which I did withAl Pacino, we don’t have a distributor yet, and that’ssurprising to me. But I have faith that that one willeventually come out. I just always expect a film to bereceived well. Maybe I live a life of hope.AWARDSLINE: The Help certainly had legs.CHASTAIN: I first heard about The Help from mygrandmother; she was such a fan of the book, andwhen she saw [the movie] and loved it, I thought, ‘OK,it passed the Grandma Test,’ so I knew the rest of theaudience would love it as well.AWARDSLINE: What’s coming up next?CHASTAIN: Horizons is a film for Universal with TomCruise. It’s a fantastic science fiction film, which I’venever done, and it’s a huge, huge budget, which I’vealso never done before.AWARDSLINE: And you’re voicing a character in the next animatedMadagascar. That seems like an unlikely choice.32 The Awards Edition 2011-2012 Issue 04JEssica chastainCHASTAIN: I fought for it. I want to do different things thanI’ve done before. My character is a sultry Italian jaguar.I never once thought I would play an Italian personbecause I’m a redhead, so I thought, ‘This’ll give me achance to work on that accent.’ And I get to work withBen Stiller! My jaguar works with his lion a lot. Everyfew months they’ll call and ask to do another sessionwith me. It’s very much like [working with] TerrenceMalick, really. [Laughs.] •

Spencer’s Ability to Relate to andIlluminate Her Role is a ‘Help’By CraigModdernofor Oscar ® Season AttentionOnce a year it seems a performance comes across as more than the sum of goodwriting, strong direction and lucky timing. The performance appears to be rootedin the reality of the actor's history; in essence they have lived much of what they arebeing asked to portray.Such is Octavia Spencer’s portrait of Minny Jacksonin The Help. Spencer plays the heavy-set blackmaid, who suffers through emotional and physicalbeatings like a native but not a naive veteran of the1960s civil rights movement. Ms. Spencer grew up inMontgomery, Ala. and graduated with a BS in LiberalArts from Auburn, Ala.Perhaps it's the combination of her education, southerncomfort and humor that have helped Spencer emergeas a likely supporting actress frontrunner for the 2012Oscars ® even with such equally impressive co-starsas Jessica Chastain, Bryce Dallas Howard,Allison Janney and Oscar ® winner Sissy Spacek.One imagines somewhere Hattie McDaniel is smiling.AWARDSLINE: Many actors say they’re perfect for the role especially whenthey’re auditioning. Was your part in The Help a natural fit for you?SPENCER: I don’t know. Basically it was physically, becauseI suspect Kathryn Stockett, author of The Help, whoI knew while she was writing the book, might havemodeled the character after me. But there are a lotof other short and round black women in the southwho also seem to not hesitate in speaking their minds.Even though I was friends with the author and otherinfluential members of the production team, I still hadto audition for the role. When I did, in the back of mymind, I thought I was hearing someone ask if JenniferHudson was available yet!AWARDSLINE: Most actors struggle to get a signature role thatidentifies their character like Anne Bancroft as Mrs. Robinsonin The Graduate. Do you see your role in The Help as onemaking you a household name?SPENCER: I doubt that. The positive effect it’s had is raisingmy profile and getting me into interesting rooms, whichis important for meetings and auditions. Hopefully thatwill translate into me getting involved in more qualityprojects. Nowadays, I get people pointing at me andsaying ‘You look just like someone’ and then they shaketheir head and snap their fingers, which is kind of ahard thing to respond to.AWARDSLINE: If Viola Davis’ character Aibileen is the heart ofThe Help, would you consider your character to be its soul?SPENCER: I’m more like its muscle. We, the ensemble as aunit, were the soul, as you put it. I’d go one step furtherand say Mississippi herself is the soul of the film. It’s onthe backs of domestics that she and other states werecultivated into what we know today as an imperfectunion seeking perfection. By taking us on a journeyOctavia Spencer,left, JEssica chastainthrough one of the darkest times in our nation’s history,The Help brings us closer to that goal, reminding us thatordinary people are this country’s true heroes.AWARDSLINE: Did you approach your character as if she was anacting ensemble or did you have a different mindset?SPENCER: Being a part of an ensemble. IntellectuallyI knew the character was her own entity and I hada problem with how she responded to the batteredwife syndrome until I realized that was her link toseveral other characters. The Help is a movie aboutrelationships. It’s a testament to the true ensemble ofactors that our part of the picture worked.AWARDSLINE: What’s has it been like on the awards circuit so far?SPENCER: “ I don’t want to talk about my own chancesbecause I don’t want to jinx myself, also out of respectfor my fellow co-stars.AWARDSLINE: You were born in 1972, long past the majorlandmarks of the civil rights struggle. Did you research theassassination of Medgar Evers, an event your film covers?SPENCER: I spoke to his wife. I researched the FreedomRiders, Rosa Parks and other icons that contributedto the social climate of the time. For people wholive in parts of Mississippi the civil rights strugglecontinues.AWARDSLINE: How would you describe the current state of racerelations in the South?SPENCER: During my research for the film, I discoveredmuch hasn’t changed. It’s definitely regressing socially,but at the same time blacks and whites in the South getalong better than outsiders and political pundits give uscredit for. Oddly this was a wonderful climate for TheHelp to hit theatres. You’ve got the Tea Party makingcrazy political statements. Some of their beliefs nowechoed issues of the 1960s. Gay rights and women’srights are part of the social conscience now but haveeluded us in the past. There are very serious issuesin the world which hopefully Hollywood and filmslike The Help can shed some light on.AWARDSLINE: Did filming in Mississippi have any specific effect onyour psyche and work?SPENCER: Filming in Mississippi added another layer ofauthenticity in revisiting the civil rights era. Not forthe obvious reasons: the beautiful landscape, expansivefoliage, or sprawling homes. While the Delta is famousfor its rich farmlands and being the birthplace ofblues music, it was also the epicenter of volatility andbrutality with regard to the civil rights struggle. EmmettTill›s body was found six miles away from where wefilmed the church scene. Many atrocities took placealong the very back roads we walked or drove daily.Not surprisingly, the ghosts of that bygone era stillloom heavily, which made it difficult for me to sleepat night. It really allowed me to be in the oppressivemindset of my character. Being there, and being a partof the project, was transformative. •

Shailene Woodley’s Life as anAmerican Teenager: GoingToe-to-Toe With George Clooneyin The DescendantsBy AnthonyD'AlessandroNothing floors Oscar ® voters more than a little woman who comes off like, well, LittleCaesar. Those gals who’ve spoken truth to power and muzzled their elders have reapedsome serious traction with The Academy, from Tatum O’Neal’s Oscar®-winning turn as thecigarette-smoking Addie Loggins in 1973’s Paper Moon to Hailee Steinfeld’s nominatedperformance as a piss and vinegar cowgirl in last year’s True Grit.34 The Awards Edition 2011-2012 Issue 04Enter Shailene Woodley. As the spitfire rebelliousdaughter to George Clooney’s Hawaiian patriarch inAlexander Payne’s The Descendants, this 20-yearoldraged her hormones accordingly: weathering hermother’s coma, tearfully telling her father that he’s acuckold and inappropriately making out with her b.f.Payne was looking for a Debra Winger ala Terms ofEndearment -- a title that isn’t even listed on Woodley’s iPod.However the actress didn’t need a character landmark: Asthe 17-year old maternal protagonist of ABC Family’s hitTV series The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Woodleyalready knew too much about adolescents in peril. Actingin a Payne dramedy turned out to be second nature toher: The drama was all on the page. The only chopsrequired for the job: To just be.Shailene WoodleyAWARDSLINE: Wow! A best supporting actress award from NationalBoard of Review and an Indie Spirit nomination. What’s yourimpression of your first awards season?WOODLEY: It’s so crazy! It’s a weird juxtaposition for me. Halfof me is never wearing shoes, always wearing sweats, hikingin the mountains, making my own food and sauerkrautand gardening. And then the other half of me is on a redcarpet with a pancake of makeup on and a fancy dress bya designer I just found out about that morning because Iknow nothing about designers. It’s this juxtaposition of beingmyself in one light and myself in another light. It’s exciting,new and different. But I’m not savvy when it comesto the industry. I don’t know directors, producers, writers oraward shows. I’ve never heard about The Graduate before Iworked with Alexander. I don’t know much about awardsshow, but I’ve seen the Oscars ® before. I feel like a little girlwho went to Tokyo for the first time.AWARDSLINE: How did you learn about the role and how did youprepare for the audition? After all, you’re working with a director thathas a heavy duty Oscar ® pedigree under his belt..WOODLEY: I read the script before Alexander [Payne] andGeorge [Clooney] were attached. It was a differentcopy of the script by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash. Ithought it was a raw and human story, whereas moststories like this are beautified or glamorized. Beginningin 2009 and every single week for months I emailed myagent on the project’s status.I’m typically not like this. If I don’t book a project, Idon’t dwell on it because someone else is meant to bookit. Finally in November 2009, I auditioned for Alexanderand thought it went well. In Feb. 2010, I got a call thatI was booked. The script I first read was very differentfrom the movie we ended up making. Still, the underlyingthemes of being messy, raw and intense were still there.They’re both great scripts in different ways. Though mycharacter didn’t change between drafts, she was moreabundant in Alexander’s version. But her attitude andevolution were the same.AWARDSLINE: How did Alexander provide a proper environment tonurture your character?WOODLEY: Two notes that I got from Alexander every singleday was to slow down and talk louder, because I tend totalk fast. The most profound thing he said to me at onepoint was ‘You’re not being you, be Shai.’ And it clickedin me; I knew exactly what he was talking about. He getsto know you so well as a human being. When I would getaway from me and started to act, he would come up andjust reground me in my own body. Ultimately, acting is justbeing yourself through a particular character’s afflictions,when you have a director who recognizes when you’re notbeing yourself, that’s special.AWARDSLINE: Was George Clooney a mentor?WOODLEY: He inspired me in infinite ways to grow as aperson. George has helped me more with the businessside of the industry, in the interviews and the politics,which has boosted my confidence. My rule has alwaysbeen, when I want better films, I have to be passionate.When I read a script, I either get those butterflies or Idon’t. When I read The Descendants, there was no doubt inmy mind that I wanted to fight for it. If I don’t get thosebutterflies then I’m in no rush to do a movie.AWARDSLINE: You’ve played strong teenage roles, what’s your philosophyon today’s teen culture?WOODLEY: I don’t know. I have nothing to compare it to,because I grew up in this era, versus if I grew up in the1970s or 1980s. There’s a lack of education: on currentday issues, on what’s going on around the world, the typeof food we eat and on the environment. There’s a lot offocus on the past and not on the present.AWARDSLINE: Growing up as a teenage actor, did you ever feel any pressure?WOODLEY: I’m lucky. My dad is a school principal and mymother is a middle school counselor. Acting was neversomething on the horizon, it just manifested and stuck.When you tell people that you acted since you where five,[the automatic assumption] is that ‘She’s just one of thosechild actors.’ However, I can’t think of a more normalchildhood. I would go to auditions while my friendswould go to soccer practice. We would all reconvene inthe cul-de-sac. Most of my friends didn’t know I was anactress until my junior year when Secret Life aired. I neverthought of myself as an actor. I wanted to be a thirdgrade teacher as a kid and act on the side. I would love toact for the rest of my life. Acting has never taken controlof my life and I’ve never given it the power. •

Bérénice Bejo’s Silence LeavesBy DianeHaithmanCrowds SpeechlessIt’s not that Bérénice Bejo is in any way blasé about the acclaim and awards buzzshowered on her and the film in which she appears, The Artist.Indeed, she remains humbled by and amazed at theimprobable, wholly unexpected attention the black-andwhitesilent film about a 1930s Hollywood romance fromFrench director Michel Hazanavicius has received.Still, when New York Film Critics Circle dubbed TheArtist the best movie of the 2011, Bejo, was already backin France shooting a new film, Populaire. Exhausted bythe shooting schedule and a recent round of promotionfor The Artist, she found herself less jump-up-and-downexcited than her significant other Hazanavicius, writerdirectorof The Artist. “I’m like, oh great, oh great – I’mgoing to bed,” Bejo recalls with a laugh.But while she’s avoided reading the glowing reviews, Bejo– 35-year-old daughter of Argentine filmmaker Miguelsaid best actress is too complicated. Especially this year,with Meryl Streep and Glenn Close, Viola Davis forThe Help, Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe, itwould just be impossible. Those are big roles and big parts.I think my character is a big role in the movie, I don’t thinkit’s an easy role – but whatever comes, I’ll take it.AWARDSLINE: You had a role in Hazanavicius’ 2006 comedy OSS117-Cairo, Nest of Spies, part of his series of spy film parodies.But you weren’t a couple back then. What is it like to be cast anddirected by…shall I say your husband, is that correct?BEJO: Yeah. We are not married, but he is the one, he ismy one. I admired him before I fell in love with him, soI couldn’t wait as an actress to be on set with him again.We are not complicated people; there were no problemsBEJO: It was in France. My first big movie [in 2000] wasabout a young girl who wanted to become an actress,actually. It was called Meilleur Espoir Feminine, in Englishit’s Most Promising Young Actress. This young girl lives in asmall village in France with her dad, a hairdresser, andshe wants to become an actress. It is the interaction ofthese two worlds.AWARDSLINE: Your father wasn’t a hairdresser, he was a filmmaker.Did your parents encourage you to go into the business?BEJO: They were not parents who took me to auditionswhen I was 5 years old and 10 years old. I started doingauditions when I was 17 or 18 and started doing somework around that time. I was doing my study in the sametime. My parents were not pushy or anything like that. IBÉRÉNICE BEJO, LEFT, MALCOLM MCDOWELLBejo – is aware that the Critics Circle nod will most likelybe followed by an Oscar ® nomination for The Artist whichis distributed by the Weinstein Co. (they were also behindlast year’s best picture, The King’s Speech). And could a bestdirector nomination for Hazanavicius be far behind? Andthen… well, wasn’t it another French brunette, MarionCotillard, who stole the best actress Oscar ® for the 2007film La Vie en Rose?Bejo is not thinking about it… but she is thinking aboutit. And, with a little prompting from Awardsline, she’s alsotalking about portraying spunky young American starletPeppy Miller in The Artist.AWARDSLINE: Have you been submitted for Oscar ® consideration forbest actress, or best supporting actress?BEJO: Harvey [Weinstein] said it was supporting actress. Heor hysterics and whatever. And to live through all that’sgoing on now together, it’s very special.AWARDSLINE: Is Oscar ® talk putting too much pressure on this film,raising expectations higher than the movie’s aspirations?BEJO: This kind of movie, it’s, how do you say it – it’s notmade to be something else. It’s just a beautiful love story,set in the 1930s, told with images. For me, I grew upwatching so many movies from the Hollywood GoldenAge, and I really wanted to be an actress because of that.So when Michel started writing this movie, and he saidit was going to be set in the 1930s and it going to be inHollywood, for me it was like, ‘Oh my God, I am goingto be one of them.’AWARDSLINE: In the movie, Peppy gets her big break in Hollywood.What was your big break?think my mom was still expecting me to be an astronaut,but now she is very happy that I’m not doing that.AWARDSLINE: What kind of roles do you get offered?BEJO: A little bit of everything, but I guess I’m the perfectyoung lead actress. I’m not Chloë Sevigny -- I’m not reallya character actress. Some actors have character faces.AWARDSLINE: You and the cast share the acclaim with dog star Uggie,the Jack Russell terrier. But I’ve heard your husband does not like dogs.BEJO: He’s not a big fan of dogs. When we met, I arrivedwith a dog, and he arrived with his two girls. So I said,‘Well, we have to take each other the way we are.’ Hemade fun of me. He said ‘At least if your dog is botheringme, I can put him in a room and close the door; you can’tdo that with my daughters.’ I said, ‘That’s fair.’ •

VFX Wonders: Dragons,Apes, Mermaids, ExplodingKremlins and Skyscraper-Eating RobotsBy AnthonyD'AlessandroHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2If visual effects masters have done their job properly, the audience will believeit’s completely real. That’s the big challenge these contending VFX-laden titlesfaced in bringing their make-believe worlds to life. Here’s a few films recentlyqualified by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences: ®Transformers: Darkof the MoonVFX team: Scott Benza (1 Oscar ® nom),Matthew Butler, Scott Farrar (5 noms, 1win), John Frazier (9 noms, 1 win)No. VFX shots: 600Revolutionary moments: Farrar says, “The fact that you can see3D dimensionality close up of each character is amazing.We also executed super slow motion so that the audiencecould savor the moments when the Transformers changefrom cars to robots.”wow moments: “Colossus wrapping around the building inChicago. Everything had to look photo-real, especiallysince it was a reflective building. It took 122 hours a frameand it was rendered in 40 shots…to get the photo-reallook, I shot a number of photographs from a helicopterat various hours, then built an exact computer duplicateof the building,” Farrar adds.What the Academy likes: “The artistry, the flourish, themovement [of an image] and the execution. It doesn’talways have to be a ‘wow’ moment,” Farrar says.36 The Awards Edition 2011-2012 Issue 04Rise of the Planetof the ApesVFX team: Daniel Barrett, Dan Lemmon,Joe Letteri (5 Oscar ® noms, 5 wins),R. Christopher WhiteNo. of VFX shots: 1,200Revolutionary moments: Rise of the Planet of the Apes is thefirst film that used the motion-capture technology in anexterior environment. Previous films such as Avatar wereconfined to inner studios. “The challenge in previouslyusing motion capture outside is that there was a lot ofinterference with the actors’ suits; the technology relies onthe markers of the suit. Our team at Weta came up with aTransformers: Dark of the Moonnew means for us to obtain a good reading on the motioncapture suits in broad daylight. The San FranciscoGolden Gate bridge scene was shot outside of Vancouveron a 100 meter section of a bridge. We also built a digitalversion of the bridge so that we could drop our live actionversion into the digital one,” Letteri says.wow moments: Letteri says, “Giving Caesar [the lead ape]the ability to communicate, to have his facial reveal whathe’s thinking, without using dialogue. In creating thechimps, we did an incredible amount of detail to get theirskin right, which has a leathery look, but is actually soft.”What the Academy likes: “It’s based on what’s in front of youwhen you’re watching the visual reels at the bake off; thequality of the work,” Letteri says.Harry Potterand the DeathlyHallows: Part 2VFX team: Tim Burke (3 Oscar ® noms, 1 win),greg butler, john richardson (5 Oscar ®Noms, 1 win)No. of VFX shots: 1,200Revolutionary moments: “Creating the world of Hogwartsseamlessly through a virtual environment. This hadnever really existed in previous films.” Burke says.wow moments: “We designed a lot of the environment in fullCG. Sets were built and then rebuilt in CG. We tried toContinued on p39

With Eight Scores for 2012Contenders, Alexandre Desplat isBy PeteHammondMusic to Oscar’s ® EarsIs Alexandre Desplat the new hardest working man in show business? The prolificFrench composer, who has had four Oscar® nominations in the last five years, is coming offhis busiest year since gaining international notoriety in 2003 with Girl With a Pearl Earring.incredible, sensual, intelligent woman,” Desplat says, andhis lilting, haunting theme conveys all that and more.As for the political drama, The Ides of March, he saysClooney’s a dream to have as a director. “It’s alwayseasy to come on to a project when the director likesyour music and knows your work. Everything seemskind of easier. My exchange with George was fruitful.He knows what he’s doing and has a strong point ofview. Otherwise he wouldn’t be a great director. WhenI composed he would be near me at the piano in mystudio. He is enthusiastic and always positive.”ALEXANDRE DESPLATA version of this story originally ran onDeadline.com on Nov. 23, 2011.Since then he has been one of, if not the, most indemandcomposers in the business with a remarkableoutput that made me tired just reading all the titles. ThoseOscar ® -nominated scores, The King’s Speech, Fantastic Mr.Fox, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Queen arejust a tiny sample of the nearly 60 scores he has written inthe last 10 years, a decade of major achievement for thenow-50-year-old Desplat who can probably safely say lifereally does start at 40.He has actually been actively composing for filmsfor a quarter century but has only become aninternational household name in movie music circlessince 2003. When I sat down with him at a small dinnerin November, he was in town for 36 hours and betweenback-to-back Q&As with his The Ides of March directorGeorge Clooney. That morning he had just completedthe score for Stephen Daldry’s Christmas release,Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. It was arush job to be sure as he was brought in as a last minutereplacement for the film’s first composer, Nico Muhly.“I had a gap where I could have rested. I was supposedto be working on a Stephen Frears movie then StephenDaldry’s came around. It’s a brave score and it took methree weeks to compose. The story is about sorrow andloss – a child loses his father. It’s a contemporary tragedymuch like a Greek one that you can transpose into anyperiod, a universal story,” he says. Desplat used extremelyfast piano, sometimes using two pianos on top of eachother, to convey the high degree of emotion.Extremely Loud is just the latest of his scores for 2011, as hehad seven other films released this year, all with varyingchallenges. Two of them – My Week With Marilynand Roman Polanski’s Carnage – actually requiredvery little music on his part. In the case of the latter, musicis used only at the beginning and ending credit sequences,outside of the apartment, but it is crucial in adding theright tone the film needs to establish. “It’s a drama andcomedy at the same time. It has a lot of wit so the trickwas trying to find this balance between this nasty, angryenergy and a more witty color,” he says.For My Week With Marilyn, it took a trip to Paris from thevery persuasive producer of the film, Harvey Weinstein,to secure his limited involvement. “Harvey needed me todo the score, but I had stopped working last summer. Weagreed I would just write the theme and I passed the restof the work over to my friend Conrad Pope. Marilynis a lost soul, an abused child who grows up to be thisAlthough he is eligible to continue his Oscar ® nominationstreak with Ides and Extremely Loud, as well as his sharedcredit on Marilyn and his fine work on the Mexicanimmigrant drama A Better Life, there probablyisn’t enough music in Carnage to qualify, and there arequestions about two other very well-known movies he didthis year. He returned to do the finale of the Harry Potterfranchise, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:Part 2, after doing the first part in 2010. Because he ispicking up on work established by John Williams in theearlier films, the music branch may deem it not originalenough, though Desplat believes it is.Then there’s Terrence Malick.The elusive, reclusive director is no less secretive even when itcomes to his composers and for The Tree of Life, Desplathad a real challenge: he couldn’t see the movie. “The processwith Terrence is that he asked me to write music withoutthe picture, so I wrote and recorded without the picture. It’sa rare and different experience. It took me three years ofdiscussions before I recorded several segments. Some movies,like Harry Potter take three months,” he says.Malick however used those three years of work verysparingly in the film and it is likely there just isn’t enoughmusic to qualify under Academy rules. He’s proud ofwhat he achieved though. “Terrence was looking for somekind of river flowing of music that would go throughoutthe film,” Desplat recalls. “It was about how love passesalong. How do you show love and children musically?The music also had a hymn-like quality and Terrence didask me to write some hymns.”For 2012, Desplat says he plans to dial it back a bit, andwith the kind of work he’s been producing, he deserves alittle time off., But I imagine he will be back around Oscar ®time next year. The odds are definitely in his favor. •

Encore PerformancesBy Lauded ComposersStrike A New ChordSuper 8Some of this year’s most moving scores were penned by composers who’vealready sat through the suspense of an Oscarcast. ® And while their notes havepopulated a myriad of adult dramas and popcorn pics throughout the years, theirstyles couldn’t be more different.38 The Awards Edition 2011-2012 Issue 04Michael Giacchino cut his teeth churning out musicalcues for blood and guts videogames like The Lost World:Jurassic Park and the Medal of Honor franchise beforebecoming part of Pixar’s composer roster as well as J.J.Abrams’ go to maestro.Before Canadian-composer Howard Shore was belovedby Lord of the Rings fanatics for his epic Celtic-Medievalhued scores, he started in of all places working for LorneMichaels as the first musical director for Saturday Night Live,appearing as a bee-clad bandmember in John Belushi andDan Aykroyd’s cover of Slim Harpo’s “I’m a King Bee.”Waxing a French accordion and guitar, Shore continues todemonstrate his comfort with large scale stories in Hugowhile also busying himself on A Dangerous Method, thefilm helmed by the Great North brethren who gave him hisscoring start: David Cronenberg.As the scion of the late 20 th Century Fox lot composerAlfred Newman, Thomas Newman was destined fora life at the piano, but this composer never mails it inbased on nepotism. His tubular, metallic and marimbaaccentuations on such scores as American Beauty sets himapart from the herd. Though Newman moved a gentle,affecting sound though piano and strings this time aroundon The Help, his style can also be heard on such tracks as“Heart Palpitations” in the Tate Taylor period piece.Michael GiacchinoMichael GiacchinoFilms: Super 8, Cars 2Awards pedigree: 2 Oscar noms, 1 winHow the project spoke to him: Super 8 for me was an emotionaljourney in that I grew up making super 8 films. That’swhat I did all my life. I had such a connection to whatwas going on in that film, albeit I never met an alien inmy hometown. Maybe someday. And come on, StevenSpielberg was also producing it. Just to sit there on thestage, what was really special about it was Steven’s at thesession and I’m asking him, ‘What was it like when youwere making Jaws?’ Having those conversations with himas a filmmaker really brought home that what those kidswere doing in the movie, what I was doing as a kid, led tothis moment here.Key instruments: We used a fairly traditional orchestra, a104-piece orchestra, and we pretty much used all of them,but one of my favorite things we had in there was a pipeorgan and a Hammond organ. It lends just a twinge ofthe 1950s monster music you want without going overboardwith it, and it adds a little spice to the score. [Super8 is] not about the making of a movie, it’s not about thisalien, it’s about this kid who has a strained relationshipwith his father after his mother passes away. So most ofthe work was trying to understand what that would be like.I was afraid to make the film sonically about the monsterbecause then I’d be missing the mark about what themovie’s about. There’s monsterish music but as far as Iwent was this four-note motif that opens the film, whichalludes to the oddness going on in the town.Musical influences: Both JJ and I knew we wanted it to feelorchestral, we wanted it to feel big and thematic, like allthe films we loved growing up, all the way from the firsttime I saw Planet of the Apes or 2001, and I’ll never forgetgoing to see Back to the Future.The music behind Cars 2: When I was a kid, there was this DickDale album that I used to love that my dad had. I madea cassette tape of it and I used to ride around on my bikelistening to this music and I would always imagine that Iwas involved in something much bigger than what wasreally going on. I imagined I was driving real fast, peoplewere chasing me – you’re just making up things in yourHoward Shorehead and when I saw Cars 2, I thought that’s the feeling. Isaid to John [Lasseter], ‘I’m going to throw out a termthat doesn’t make sense: British Surf Guitar. ‘British SurfGuitar?!’ I said, ‘I can imagine if the Michael Caine character[Finn McMissile] were a young car in the Swingin’’60s of London this is what he’d listen to while he wasdriving around,’ and John loved that.How winning an Oscar ® has changed his career: More peopleprobably call now asking if I can work with them butin the end nothing has changed really. I still really onlywork with the people I love to work with, on projects I’mactually excited about. I’ve never taken a job because it’sa paying job. I’ve only ever worked on things that I’ve hadsome sort of emotional connection to, [whether it’s] theproject or the people.What the Academy likes: Now that I’m in the Academy I’velearned you never know what they’re going to like or notlike. You put it out there and all you can hope for is thatsomeone reacts to it. You hope they like it. I think Up was

a film that so many people could connect to because itwas about something we all go through in our lives. It wasabout that idea of loss, how you move on. [My] connectingto that may have been part of that.–Ari KarpelHoward ShoreFilm: HugoAwards pedigree: 3 Oscar ® noms, 3 wins(2 for score, 1 for song)How the project spoke to him: I love working with Marty[Scorsese] and his editor Thelma Schoonmaker,and the story is so appealing to me on so many levels. It’sa great filmmaker making a movie about another greatfilmmaker and early filmmaking. What’s also appealingto me was the time period, the beginning of silent films,1895. Hugo takes place in a Parisian train station in 1931.That 36-year period is really of interest both musicallyand historically as to how films were developed and thetechnology.Key instruments: The score was written for a symphonyorchestra, but nestled inside the orchestra is a Parisiancafé orchestra, a sextet, composed of a lot of vintageinstruments of the period. This little group was insideof the symphony orchestra, similar to the way Hugowas nestled inside this grand train station. The OndesMartenot was developed in this period in France; itwas one of the very early electronic instruments. Themusette we used very extensively. There’s gypsy guitar,1930s percussion, tack piano, and old pianos were usedto recreate the silent movie scenes. I used a coronet incertain scenes that had to do with the station inspector(Sacha Baron Cohen) and other woodwinds, thebassoon. The sound of the coronet evokes the period ofthe first world war.Musical influences: Silent films were never really silent, ofcourse. They didn’t really have dialogue and effects, butthey always had live music. The Aviator, which was a filmI did with Marty a few years ago, also crossed that periodfrom the late 1920s into the 1930s, but the style of scoringfor Hugo is a more traditional use of the orchestra – ithearkens back to an older period of filmmaking and theclassic use of the orchestra in Hollywood in the 1940s.The Lord of the Rings was also very steeped in that samelanguage, the use of music for storytelling, using themesand leitmotifs.How winning an Oscar ® has changed his career: It gives you alift, coming from your colleagues, and it’s a very specialthing, the Oscar. ® Having won it, it becomes a landmark,really, of your work. It allows you to build on that inyour work. It’s a thrilling event, to sit in the theater withyour colleagues, other filmmakers. I’m not so sure [it hasopened doors for me]. Everything has been very linear; Ihad been working already for quite a while.What the Academy likes: What we’re always looking for, I think,is the detail, the quality of filmmaking. Quality alwayswins out, doesn’t it? Even for the understated score, it’snoticed. For people who are listening, it’s all noted.–Ari KarpelThomas NewmanFilm: The HelpAwards pedigree: 9 Oscar ® noms (bestscore), 1 nom (best song)How the project spoke to him: The Help was special to mebecause my mother was born in Clarksdale, Miss.They flew me out to Greenwood, Miss. to meet withthe director and soak up the atmosphere. To feel[writer-director] Tate Taylor’s passion for the projectand see the performances he was getting was veryThomas Newmaninspirational to me as was reading the book before Iwrote the score.Key instruments: The Help has an orchestral palate as Iwanted to emphasize the human element. I used guitarfor a sequence involving the Jim Crow scene to makeit more accessible. I try to write music that compels theaudience to pay attention, to also make the directorfeel the audience is being moved. Sometimes the scorewas just a string orchestra.Musical influences: I tend to think of musical scores by mydad Alfred, my cousin Randy, Bernard Hermann andJerry Goldsmith. At various dramatic levels they havethe ability to make you get involved in their scores.Their scores affect you and the reasons why are difficultto analyze.What the Academy likes: It depends on the quality of themovie. When my score for American Beauty lost to TheRed Violin, I later realized how essential the musicalscore, which was excellent, was to that film. Therewere a lot more outstanding elements to our picturethan just my score.–Craig ModdernoContinued from p36free up the camera in all these sequences to make thingsfluid…With the attic room that catches on fire, we builta 25 foot-high stage set then finished in CG to make itlook like 60 feet … the rolling fire creatures were difficultas every time we ran our animated designs, the result wasdifferent,” Burke adds.What the Academy likes: “They always respond to things thatare new and are also part of the storytelling.”Mission: Impossible –Ghost ProtocolVFX team: Lindy de quattro, russellearl, John Knoll (5 Oscar ® noms, 1 win),michael meinardus and Tom PeitzmanNo. of VFX shots: 800 shotsRevolutionary moments: Peitzman explains, “There’s a greatscene in a cylinder parking garage where Tom [Cruise] isjumping between cars. We only built a small portion of it,the rest is digital. We shot Tom leaping onto a car eightfeet off the ground, but we make it look like 40-50 feetoff the ground. It was also shot in Imax which takes yourbreath away. [In terms of VFX and Imax] you have tohide your tricks. About 30 minutes are in Imax.”WOW moments: Peitzman says, “With the Kremlin explosion,we had to film the plates of its exterior well before TomCruise shot the scene. We had a small crew of people inMoscow in August last year and in terms of lensing Tom’srunning scene, that was completed in March in Vancouver.We had no idea what the weather was going to be like whenhe did his scenes, so when we were in Moscow, we had toshoot the heck out of it in low light, sun, overcast.“In terms of Tom jumping off the [the world’s tallestbuilding], the 160-story Burj Khalifa in Dubai, for themost part our work just entailed erasing wires and digitallyrecreating the building’s windows after the camera pulledthem out to shoot Tom.”What the Academy likes: “The great thing about them is thatthey judge on various criteria such as quality, innovationand groundbreaking technologies and how the visual effectsfit into the story,” Peitzman adds.Pirates of theCaribbean: OnStranger TidesVFX team: Gary Brozenich, CharlieGibson (3 Oscar® noms, 2 wins), MarkHawker, Ben Snow (4 noms)No. of VFX shots: 700 shotsRevolutionary moments: “The mermaids. When Syrena themermaid is being carried in a coffin, it’s a divine effectespecially when she transforms immediately out of thewater. We wanted to avoid the classic ‘bent-knee’ look witha big joint. In creating a CG tail, we studied models ofsharks and dolphins swimming. In capturing the essenceof the performers, we put dots on their faces, henna tattooson their arms and these psychedelic pants on them whichis where the tail would be digitally imposed,” Snow says.wow moments: “We used all sorts of simulation particlesto make the water, that Jack Sparrow plays with, lookteary. The water then falls on the roof and Blackbeardcomes to a watery demise.”What the Academy likes: “If you look at the make-up ofthe effects branch, there are a variety of types of artistsoriented toward computer graphics and the special effectsworld. The big flashy spectacle films will be nominated,but there’s always room for more realistic films that havepractical effects like a bridge collapsing.”Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Maverick Maestros RaiseTheir BatonsDriveWhile world music scores from such films as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon;Babel and Frida have dominated throughout the last decade at the Oscars ® ,Trent Reznor’s Oscar ® -winning score for The Social Network last year might haveopened the floodgates for eclectic, experimental scores to usher in a new sound eraat The Academy.40 The Awards Edition 2011-2012 Issue 04While this crop of composers haven’t walked down ared carpet at Hollywood & Highland yet (except twotimeOscar ® nominee Alberto Iglesias), what they sharewith the Nine Inch Nails frontman is a flair for makingan offbeat melody a character in their auteurish projects;pieces that are not only completely hummable when youleave the theater, but trigger distinctive memories of tornurban lovers in a neon-hued Los Angeles, Cold War spies,silent films stars, tragic Shakespearean protagonists and avain, immature stiletto heel queen.Cliff MartinezFilms: Drive, ContagionAwards Pedigree: 1 Grammy ® nomHow the projects spoke to him: With Drive, the film got mevery enthusiastic from the first frame. I actually got to seea polished final cut, which is rare for a composer beforethey begin scoring. I had never done a score for an actionfilm. The director [Nicolas Refn Winding] told me hewanted a score for Drive that would not put the audienceto sleep. On Contagion, I responded to the director’s[Steven Soderbergh’s] unique take on the material,which much like the Drive score made the music seem likea character unto himself.Key instruments: On Drive I used software emulationsof vintage synthesizers and a cristal baschet, whichis a custom crystal instrument. The five songs theyalready had set the mood for the synthesizer. I workedon Contagion at the same time as Drive. Steven Soderberghused Tangerine Dream as a temp track. I got to use anorchestra, which gave a big sound to the picture and anenergetic pace that was also backed by a lot of drums. It’snot the traditional orchestra score. Soderbergh told methe picture was a horror film and referred me to [thriller]scores from The French Connection and Marathon Man.Musical influences: On Contagion it was initially his tempscores including the soundtrack for The Battle of Algiers. Inthe final version Soderbergh referenced more contemporaryscores like Heat so I combined Tangerine Dreamand all those other scores. On Drive the key temp trackwas Brian Eno’s “Ascent,” which has been used in severalfilms. Many critics were upset that there wasn’t morechase music in Drive but I was told to emphasize the romanticside of the main character.–Craig ModdernoCliff MartinezAlberto IglesiasFilm: Tinker Tailor Solider SpyAwards Pedigree: 2 Oscar ® noms, 1golden globe ® nomHow the project spoke to him: I had problems with it when Ifirst read the script. Then I put myself in the heads ofthe audience, who might be slightly confused, especiallyat the start of the picture. The movie was a big challengebecause I had to write music that was like a spy, almostmake the music as transparent as the colorless characters.Key instruments: I used the orchestra and electronic sounds.We are in the Cold War in the film, but I tried to usewarm music to warm up the spies. The music is tryingto transfer the complexities of the men. Their silencesactivated the music. I used the harp because it has femininecharacteristics that emphasize the softer side of the spies.Musical influences: In the film, they come from (composers)like Alex North, Nino Rota, Bernard Hermann andmany others.. Sometimes they seep through me whenI’m composing. They are in my head and my roomwhen I’m composing. I think there’s a strong presence ofHermann’s score from North by Northwest in this film, themore subtle parts obviously.–Craig ModdernoIlan EshkeriFilm: CoriolanusHow the project spoke to him: I studied English Literaturealongside music at college and have always been passionateabout Shakespeare. I really wanted a chance to workwith Shakespeare material and what better opportunitythan to do it with [star and director] Ralph Fiennes,one of the greatest and most admired Shakespeareanperformers about.Key instruments: Trumpets represented Coriolanus as asoldier. Timpani was played because in pre-romanticperiod orchestration, it’s the bass of the brass section, soit naturally goes with trumpet and also we associate itwith a sense of old world military. Taiko drums are lowand war-like and drive the score through. The metalgroup of instruments seemed to match the industrialand contemporary setting of the film. The bowed metalinstruments are cold and dispassionate and help us toidentify with the emotional repression of many of thecharacters. The violins and cellos sometimes help to drivethe film forward with extremely aggressive sounds andContinued on p42Alberto Iglesias

has the awards season coveredDAILYNIKKI FINKEEDITOR-IN-CHIEFPETE HAMMONDAWARDS COLUMNISTMIKE FLEMINGFILM EDITORWEEKLYAWARDS| LINE PRINT EDITIONSDEADLINE.cOMAWARDS NEWSLETTERS EACH THURSDAY7 ISSUESCOVERING EACH FACET OF THE AWARDS SEASONNOv 16 OvErvIEw / PrODUcErSNOv 30 DIrEcTOrS / wrITErSDEc 9 ANIMATION / FOrEIGN LANGUAGEDEc 16 SUPPOrTING AcTOr & AcTrESS / MUSIcSPEcIAL EFFEcTS / cINEMATOGrAPHyJAN 2 AcTOr / AcTrESSHAIr, MAKEUP AND cOSTUMEF E b 1 THE NOMINEES / THE STUDIO MOGULSTO SIGN Up FOR AWARDS NEWSLETTERS GO TO:WWW.DEADLINE.COM/AWARDS-SIGNUpFEb 8 THE NOMINEES / THE wINNErSFOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Nic paul, Vice president Entertainment Salesnpaul@pmc.comNETWORK:

Ilan EshkeriContinued from p40sometimes play strange, almost wind-like, hushed soundsfor more internal moments. Synth bass was tappedbecause sometimes you just need a bit of bass!The instruments were all used in quite unusual, extremeand radical ways. Timpani and strings were performedwith exceptional softness or tremendous aggressionand nothing in-between, so much so that it was difficultto record. With the trumpet we focused only on singlesolitary notes; in the entire score the trumpet only plays39 notes. I wanted to distill the instruments into theirquintessential attributes, which I believe reflects theway Shakespeare wrote the characters in Coriolanus, thethemes of Pride, Virtue, Status (too mention a few) areacutely written into the roles, so I wanted the musicalperformances to be radical and impactful to match theextremes in the writing and performing.Musical influences: There was no temp music on the filmand Ralph Fiennes was looking for something extremelyunusual and minimalist. Any attempt to put other musicon the film was generally rejected, so I began by writingthe score one concept at a time and literally one trumpetnote at a time, until we ended up with a developedand layered musical language. I suppose there was alsosomething of a punk rock attitude to the process ofwriting and recording the score.Ludovic BourceFilm: The Artist–Craig ModdernoHow the project spoke to him: The chance to participate[in] one unique performance, a sort of experimentalexperience. Without dialogue you have the place toput many melodies but we tried to be careful not togive indigestible music and film. You must to be humble.Michel [Hazanavicius, the film’s writer-director] andI have been friends for 15 years, and this adventure wouldhave been more complicated had it not been for that.Key instruments: Piano and all the instruments in aphilharmonic and more. At the beginning of the film,in the first sequence, we tried to use a Theremin, but itreminded me too much of Danny Elfman’s scores – I dolove him.Musical influences: At the beginning of the project, myinfluences were Brahms, Ravel, Debussy, Wagner, Mahlerand Strauss. Then [there were the] heirs of these legends:Max Steiner, Hugo Friedhofer, Erich Wolfgang Korngold,Franz Waxman, Alfred Newman, Dimitri Tiomkin,Miklós Rózsa and Bernard Hermann. During one yearI immersed [myself] in old movies (1910-40s) and inromantic, heroic and patriotic music. I refused to hear orsee other styles. I wanted to be connected with this stateof mind, [this] spirit, from the masters I’ve just mentioned.Sometimes, when Michel was writing the script, I wentto visit him and we watched some silent movies togetherMurnau and Borzage, Ernst Lubitsch, Eisenstein,Chaplin. Michel Loved Sunset Boulevard; that’s why myoverture to the film is a tribute to [Franz] Waxman.Rolfe KentFilm: Young AdultAwards Pedigree: 1 Golden Globe ®nom (Sideways)– Ari KarpelHow the project spoke to him: [Director] Jason Reitmanhas extraordinary intuition. This is a rare thingamong directors. He’s a fantastic guide towardsimplicity in music. I will write a piece of music that

Ludovic Bourcehas four instruments and he’ll want me to removetwo of them. Then I realize everything that I need isright there. I have to say composers love to add stuff.And for me, it takes a great collaborator like Jason toguide me toward simplicity. It was never my originalconception with the momentum [gypsy guitar] themein Young Adult to have guitars playing on their own;rather they would accompany other instruments. Itwas Jason who suggested that we just go with guitarsand we got this groove thing going and suddenly itworked beautifully. Then when you added drums andbass, it changed the gear. Having someone like Jasonworking as a music producer is a unique thing for meand he unlocked the potential of music.Key instruments: Piano, drums, bass, zither and marimba.I have a few different guitars, one of them being anOvation. It has the clunkiest, junkiest sound and Igravitated toward it. It had an immediate, visceralfeeling to it, unrefined. It has light strings that fizzagainst the finger board and vibrate in a bad way.I supplemented it with other things like a 12-stringguitar. I also used a customized electric violin pitchedlike a cello for the love sequence between CharlizeTheron and Patton Oswalt’s characters. That’s anincredible instrument that tends to be moving in anon-interfering way. It’s emotional without thinkingit’s emotional. It also has a warm bass register.Musical influences: The basic idea was to make certainscenes feel isolated and small. But in terms of all thatmomentum music [the main jazzy guitar theme], itwas an experiment Jason and I came up with; a gypsyguitar type of thing. My normal approach is to writefor character and I like writing themes and melodiesand when one is attached to a character, it has alogic for the music to proceed throughout the film.Sometimes I write for scenes within the film, like fora relationship. For Charlize’s character Mavis Gary,it was a combination of themes and character music.When she first arrives at the hotel, there’s a lonelypiano theme because she is a lonely person lookingfor connections, but not finding them.– Anthony D’Alessandro

2013 Oscar ® Show MayNot Be Moving EarlierBy PeteHammond44 The Awards Edition 2011-2012 Issue 04With more than a week to go until Christmas, awards season is now in full swing.In some way, this year was slower to get going than others, in part because anumber of high-profile awards contenders were not screened until early December.These include such big titles as The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Extremely Loudand Incredibly Close and Angelina Jolie’s In The Land of Blood and Honey.A version of this story originally ran onDeadline.com on Nov. 28, 2011.But things could become even more hurried if theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences® actuallyfollows through on its much-talked about plan to move theOscars® earlier in 2013, by as much as a month. The mostdiscusseddate is the last Sunday of January that year — the27th. The current season’s Oscars ® will be on Sunday, Feb.26th. But as it turns out, a significantly earlier Oscarcast®is very unlikely for 2013 and even 2014.The prevailing thinking is that an earlier Oscars® wouldmercifully shorten the long awards season and make itmore competitive with the slew of movie awards showsthat precede the Academy Awards,® beginning withsuch early December kudos as the Gotham Awards, theNew York Film Critics Awards, The National Board ofReview and the Independent Spirit Award nominations.Past Academy President Sid Ganis and current PresidentTom Sherak have been known to favor an earlier awardsdate but sources close to the discussions tell me there arecomplications.I checked this out after hearing that at least two prominentGuilds that hand out their own awards, (in late January/early February), were extremely worried about theAcademy making such a major move and were told anannouncement may be imminent. One guild source saidit would cause complete chaos with everyone’s schedulesmeaning there would be a pileup of awards and obviouslyeach show including the BAFTAs, ® Golden Globes, ®various Guild awards and others would all try to movemuch earlier too. BAFTA® chief executive AmandaBerry whose show airs two weeks before the Oscars ® toldme she would definitely have to consider a move ratherthan following the Academy Awards. ® One guild execangrily told me, “I don’t know why they would do this. TheOscars® are the Super Bowl. What do they have to worryabout? Everyone else, including us, are like playoff games.”Actually the real Super Bowl is part of the problem. TheAcademy’s broadcast partner, ABC, has a say in theseplans and I have been told by a very informed Academysource that the Jan. 27, 2013 date has been ruled outand the earliest they could go is Feb. 3. Problem is thathappens to be the date of the Super Bowl, so obviouslythat Sunday is out. So is the next Sunday after that foran undisclosed reason. The earliest the show could go isFeb. 17 and frankly my sources say they will have to thinkabout the value of moving it just one week earlier than itis already. Academy voters already are crunched with aplethora of films to watch and losing that extra week mayjust not be worth the minimum return the Academy gets inmoving up a few days. The calendar for 2014 has a similarconfiguration and presents the exact same scenario.Of course they could always move the show back toMonday where it aired for many years before landingon the much more desirable Sunday berth a few yearsago. Word is that’s not being seriously considered. In factI have been told absolutely no decision will be made untilthe Academy has figured out how to implement onlinevoting. Some experimentation is taking place now butthere won’t be a big test until later in the Spring. Oncethey know they can safely make the switch from paper toelectronic ballots without fear of getting hacked or havingvote totals uncovered by some enterprising college kid,they will decide if and when the show can move.Of course for most of the critics groups moving earlier isno big deal because they generally are the first to see themovies. The much larger nearly 6,000 member Academyhas a hell of a time trying to see all the major contendersA.M.P.A.S. ®The Girl With the Dragon TattooTom Sherak, A.M.P.A.S. ®as it is, especially on the big screen instead of via screenerswhich is what the Academy is actively urging membersto do. Another guild exec suggested that “moving earlierwould have the undesired effect of making critics groupsand their choices even more influential since manyOscar® voters might only have time to watch what thesegroups vote for.”That apparently was the bone-headed thinking thisyear when the New York Film Critics, under newpresident John Anderson boldly moved up their awardsvoting by two weeks just so they could be first and beatthe National Board of Review which normally getsthat first slot. Originally they were to have voted onNov. 28 but then Scott Rudin told them he couldn’tpossibly show them The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo anyearlier. Considering the film was directed by last year’sNYFCC darling David Fincher they agreed to movetheir vote to Tuesday, Nov. 29. However another Rudinfilm, one with a special New York connection, the post9/11 drama Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close was notready in time and Warner Bros. had to turn down theNYFCC’s request to see it early causing a war of wordsbetween the critics group and the studio — and it won’tbe considered. Isn’t this early move a case of the tailwagging the dog? No matter what awards the groupdoes or doesn’t bestow on Dragon Tattoo, it’s a lose-losesituation with some members complaining aggressively.One told me, ”If I can’t see everything, I just won’t vote.”Perhaps therein lies a storm warning for the Academy’searly bird proponents as well. •