LOLCats! Michael Haneke & His Twitter Parody Had A Few Things In Common

The parody Twitter account that bore Amour director Michael Haneke's name actually got a few things right about the Austrian director. On Thursday, Benjamin Lee, the Shortlist.com Deputy Editor who, earlier this week, revealed himself to be the prankster behind the memorably loopy @Michael_Haneke parody Twitter feed, wrote about learning that the real Haneke is more of a "goofball" than he expected.  And a cat lover, too. more »

Michael Haneke Has Little 'Amour' For Parody Twitter Account

Amour director Michael Haneke is aware of the parody Twitter account that bears his name, and, as you might expect from a filmmaker who's made an incredibly intense, Oscar-nominated film about love, life and death, he's not too worked up about it.  more »

Academy Award Nominations − The Behind-The-Scenes Winners & Losers

It's a good morning for Harvey Weinstein, Fox and Sony Pictures Classics.  Sifting through the more surprising-than-usual list of Academy nominations, these are the three big winners of the fierce behind-the-scenes campaigning that movie studios, their specialty divisions (and their consultants) do to get their pictures, directors, actors, etc. onto the hallowed Oscars short list.

The Weinstein Company has the enviable dilemma of now having to decide how to run two Best Picture campaigns for Silver Linings Playbook and Django Unchained.  It also managed to get Joaquin Phoenix a Best Actor nomination for The Master despite Phoenix's slagging of the Oscars as the "stupidest thing in the world" and the picture's quick fade as a contender in the awards buzz circus. David O. Russell's nomination, after being passed over by the Director's Guild, is another sign of TWC's political muscle, particularly since the Silver Linings Playbook director is an outsider in Hollywood — like Weinstein and Phoenix, for that matter. (Okay, so Weinstein may be way more inside than he was in the Miramax days, but he's still an outsider. Fox employee and this year's Oscars host Seth MacFarlane made that clear earlier this morning, when referring to the Best Supporting Actress nominees, he cracked: "Congratulations, you five ladies no longer have to pretend to be attracted to Harvey Weinstein.")

Fox and Sony also did well in the Best Picture category: Fox 2000 has Life of Pi and Fox Searchlight has Beasts of the Southern Wild in the top category, but Sony is the more interesting story here.  While the Annapurna-produced Columbia Pictures-distributed Zero Dark Thirty  was nominated for Best Picture as expected, director Kathryn Bigelow's omission in the Best Director category goes down as one of the biggest snubs of this morning.  On the other hand, the nominations of Sony Pictures Classics' Amour in the Best Picture and Best Foreign Picture categories and Michael Haneke for Best Director is quite a coup for the mini major given the competition this year and the film's difficult subject matter. In other words, Haneke's gain is related to Bigelow's loss.

Thoughts? Leave them in the comments section.

More On Today's Oscar Nomintions: 

Academy Award Nominations — What Were The Biggest Snubs & Shocks Of The 2013 Oscar Noms?

Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. 

Follow Movieline on Twitter. 

One Of The Last Top 10s Of 2012

Top 10s abound, but what the hell, its New Year's Eve and there are mere hours left (in the Western Hemisphere at least) to look back on the year while it's still here - Happy New Year Australia, N.Z., Japan and much of Asia.
more »

Oscar Index: Critics Have 'Amour' For 'Zero Dark Thirty' & 'The Master,' But Who's 'Les Miserables' This Christmas?

Academy ballots were mailed out last week to 5,586 voting members, the most significant news on the Oscar front. Not that it was a quiet week in Lake Globesbegone. The New York Times’ critics A.O. Scott and Manohla Dargis both named Amour 2012’s best film, as did the Los Angeles Times’ Kenneth Turan. The AP triumvirate of Christy Lemire, David Germain and Jake Coyle anointed Argo, Moonrise Kingdom and Amour, respectively.
more »

'Amour' Is A Masterpiece For Brave Audiences

Amour is a true rarity, and for lovers of cinema it is one of the year's high notes, though it's most certainly no easy ride. Austria's Best Foreign-language contender in the Oscars race, the feature by director Michael Haneke is a true masterpiece dealing with a topic most would rather ignore. The feature, which will be released by Sony Pictures Classics this weekend Stateside, most certainly is in the running for more than one Oscar nomination or at least it should be. Amour deservedly won the Palme d'Or in Cannes in May where it debuted and was even picked by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association as their Best Film of 2012. That is some feat for a film that centers on an elderly Parisian couple who are suddenly faced with illness and life's sunset, beating out Hollywood's big contenders.
more »

9 Make Oscars' Best Foreign Language Shortlist

Nine films have advanced to the final round of pre-nominations in the Academy's Best Foreign Language category. Previously 71 films had qualified for consideration. This weekend's Sony Classics release, Amour, which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival is among the films making the shortlist as well as Canada's War Witch, the Gael Garcia Bernal starter No (Chile), France's huge global box office hit A Royal Affair, Iceland's Baltasar Kormákur's The Deep and lauded Romanian director Cristian Mungiu's Beyond the Hills.

Five nominees will emerge from this list via Academy members who will view the shortlist after the new year and then casting their ballots. The 85th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 10, 2013, at 5:30 a.m. PT, and the Oscar ceremony will take place February 24th.

The Best Foreign-Language Oscar Shortlist for the 85th Academy Awards:
Austria, "Amour," Michael Haneke, director 
    
Canada, "War Witch," Kim Nguyen, director   
Chile, "No," Pablo Larraín, director
    
Denmark, "A Royal Affair," Nikolaj Arcel, director
    
France, "The Intouchables," Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, directors
    
Iceland, "The Deep," Baltasar Kormákur, director
    
Norway, "Kon-Tiki," Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, directors
    
Romania, "Beyond the Hills," Cristian Mungiu, director
    
Switzerland, "Sister," Ursula Meier, director

AARP Gives Its Top 10 'Movies For Grownups'

Popular culture may suffer from youth obsession and the movies may be front and central in perpetuating it all, but older folks have made strides this year in capturing the box office dollar with titles like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Hope Springs. So, why not have the nation's most prominent organization for people hitting their Golden Years weigh in on the year's best movies?

AARP — less popularly known as the American Association of Retired Persons — gave its Top Ten films of the year, joining a chorus of other groups this time of the year giving their lists. The interest group noted that 2012 was "hot for both older movie-goers and movie-makers," citing Golden Globe nominations for Helen Mirren, Richard Gere, Denzel Washington, Bill Murray and Judi Dench.

AARP's picks include titles by directors such as Ben Affleck, David O. Russell and Kathryn Bigelow which feature stars that aren't exactly on the cusp of receiving Social Security benefits, but their picks seem to indicate themes of maturity over age.

AARP dubbed their 2012 best films list as a "Year-end Top Ten Movies for Grownups." Their picks follow:

        
Argo
        Amour
       Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
        Hitchcock
       Les Miserables
        Lincoln
        Quartet
        The Sessions
        Silver Linings Playbook
        Zero Dark Thirty

Movies made for older audiences became an issue earlier this year after comments by an actress perfectly comfortable embracing senior citizenry in roles such as the Dowager Countess of Grantham on Downton Abbey and as Muriel Donnelly in box office hit The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Maggie Smith made waves criticizing Hollywood's youth obsession, pointing out that films that portray older people have historically performed well.

"It seems to me there is a change in what audiences want to see," she said. "I can only hope that's correct, because there's an awful lot of people of my age around now and we outnumber the others. I don't think films about elderly people have been made very much. But I think of [films like] Cocoon and Driving Miss Daisy and they always seem to be fairly successful, so it's a bit baffling as to why everybody has to be treated as if they were five years old."

REVIEW: Michael Haneke's Amour A Beautifully Calculated Demise

Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke has a distinctively aggressive relationship with his audience that ranges from the provocation of Caché and The Piano Teacher to the outright antagonism of Funny Games and Benny's Video. Amour, his latest work and the winner of the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival, might be considered Haneke's version of a love story, and its grimness is of a much quieter but no less impactful sort. It is, more than any of Haneke's previous work, infused with compassion, but of a sort that cuts like a knife. For all that it is, as promised, about love, it's also a subtly punishing affair that grinds you into the ground as you watch an elderly couple deal with one member's slow deterioration of health and sanity.
more »

LA Film Critics Name 'Amour' Best Picture, Boost 'The Master,' Jazz Up Oscar Race

After so much Zero Dark Thirty domination from the New York Film Critics Circle, their West Coast counterparts in the Los Angeles Film Critics Association made a splash with more art house-leaning picks, voting Michael Haneke's Amour the best film of 2012 — technically a foreign language entry, though Leos Carax's Holy Motors earned that honor. (I see what you did there, LAFCA — and I like it.) LA critics also showed love for Beasts of the Southern Wild, whose non-professional actor/NOLA-area baker Dwight Henry earned a Best Supporting Actor nod, launching his awards season prospects.

Get the full winners after the jump along with results from today's awards announcements from the Boston Society of Film Critics and the New York Film Critics Online groups, both boosters of Kathryn Bigelow and Zero Dark Thirty...
more »

'Amour' Wins Big At European Film Awards

Michael Haneke's Amour swept the European Film Awards over the weekend, picking up four big wins including best European film and best director. The Cannes Palme d'Or winner also won two acting awards for its principal stars, Emanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant. The film, which centers on an elderly couple whose lives change when the woman has an attack, will open in the U.S. December 19th via Sony Pictures Classics.

Winners were chosen by the 2,700 members of the European Film Academy. The ceremony took place over the weekend in Malta.

EUROPEAN FILM 2012:
Amour
France / Germany / Austria, 127 min
Written & directed by Michael Haneke
produced by Margaret Menegoz, Stefan Arndt, Veit Heiduschka & Michael Katz
 
EUROPEAN DIRECTOR 2012:
Michael Haneke for Amour
 
EUROPEAN ACTRESS 2012:
Emmanuelle Riva in Amour
 
EUROPEAN ACTOR 2012:
Jean-Louis Trintignant in Amour
 
EUROPEAN SCREENWRITER 2012:
Tobias Lindholm & Thomas Vinterberg for Jagten (The Hunt)
 
CARLO DI PALMA EUROPEAN CINEMATOGRAPHER AWARD 2012:
Sean Bobbitt for Shame
 
EUROPEAN EDITOR 2012:
Joe Walker for Shame
 
EUROPEAN PRODUCTION DESIGNER 2012:
Maria Djurkovic for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
 
EUROPEAN COMPOSER 2012:
Alberto Iglesias for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
 
EUROPEAN DISCOVERY 2012 – Prix FIPRESCI:
Kauwboy by Boudewijn Koole (The Netherlands)
 
EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY DOCUMENTARY 2012:
Hiver Nomade (Winter Nomads) by Manuel von Stürler (Switzerland)
 
EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY ANIMATED FEATURE FILM 2012:
Alois Nebel by Tomáš Luňák (Czech Republic / Germany / Slovakia)
 
EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY SHORT FILM 2012:
Superman, Spiderman Or Batman by Tudor Giurgiu, Romania
 
EUROPEAN CO-PRODUCTION AWARD 2012 - Prix EURIMAGES:
Helena Danielsson, Sweden
 
EUROPEAN ACHIEVEMENT IN WORLD CINEMA 2012:
Dame Helen Mirren, UK
 
EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD:
Bernardo Bertolucci, Italy
 
THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD 2012:
Hasta La Vista (Come As You Are)
directed by da Geoffrey Enthoven

Michael Haneke's 'Amour' Leads European Film Awards Nominations

The European Film Academy unveiled its nominees for the 2012 European Film Awards over the weekend at Spain's Seville European Film Festival, with Michael Haneke's Palme d'Or winner Amour receiving noms in six categories including Best Film and Best Director. Also in the group is worldwide box office smash Intouchables, Thomas Vinterberg's The Hunt, currently playing at L.A.'s AFI Fest, Barbara, Caesar Must Die and Shame, which had its roll-out last year Stateside.

The 2012 European Film Awards Nominations with information provided by organizers:

European Film 2012:

Amour (Love), written & directed by Michael Haneke, Produced by Margaret Menegoz, Stefan Arndt, Veit Heiduschka & Michael Katz, Austria/France/Germany, 127 min

Barbara, Written & Directed by Christian Petzold, Produced by Florian Koerner von Gustorf & Michael Weber, Germany, 105 min

Cesare Deve Morire (Caesar Must Die), Directed by Paolo & Vittorio Taviani, written by Paolo & Vittorio Taviani, in collaboration with Fabio Cavalli, Produced by Grazia Volpi, Italy, 76 min

Intouchables (Untouchable), Written & Directed by Olivier Nakache & Eric Toledano, Produced by Nicolas Duval Adassovsky, Yann Zenou & Laurent Zeitoun, France, 108 min

Jagten (The Hunt), Directed by Thomas Vinterberg, Written by Thomas Vinterberg & Tobias Lindholm, Produced by Morten Kaufmann & Sisse Graum Jørgensen
, Denmark, 111 min

Shame, Directed by Steve McQueen, Written by Steve McQueen & Abi Morgan, Produced by Iain Canning & Emile Sherman, UK, 96 min

European Director 2012:

Nuri Bilge Ceylan for Bir Zamanlar Anadolu'da (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia)

Michael Haneke for Amour (Love)

Steve McQueen for Shame

Paolo & Vittorio Taviani for Cesare Deve Morire (Caesar Must Die)
Thomas Vinterberg for Jagten (The Hunt)



European Actress 2012:

Emilie Dequenne in A Perdre La Raison (Our Children)

Nina Hoss in Barbara

Emmanuelle Riva in Amour (Love)

Margarethe Tiesel in Paradies: Liebe (Paradise: Love)

Kate Winslet in Carnage



European Actor 2012:

François Cluzet & Omar Sy in Intouchables (Untouchable)

Michael Fassbender in Shame

Mads Mikkelsen in Jagten (The Hunt)

Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Jean-Louis Trintignant in Amour (Love)


European Screenwriter 2012:

Michael Haneke for Amour (Love)

Tobias Lindholm & Thomas Vinterberg for Jagten (The Hunt)

Cristian Mungiu for Dupa Dealuri (Beyond the Hills)

Olivier Nakache & Eric Toledano for Intouchables (Untouchable)

Roman Polanski & Yasmina Reza for Carnage


Carlo Di Palma European Cinematographer Award 2012:

Sean Bobbitt for Shame

Bruno Delbonnel for Faust

Darius Khondji for Amour (Love)

Gökhan Tiryaki for Bir Zamanlar Anadula'Da (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia)

Hoyte Van Hoytema for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy


European Editor 2012:

Janus Billeskov Jansen & Anne Østerud for Jagten (The Hunt)

Roberto Perpignani for Cesare Deve Morire (Caesar Must Die)

Joe Walker for Shame


European Production Designer 2012: 

Maria Djurkovic for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Niels Sejer for En Kongelig Affaere (A Royal Affair)

Elena Zhukova for Faust


European Composer 2012:

Cyrille Aufort & Gabriel Yared for En Kongelig Affaere(A Royal Affair)

François Couturier for Io Sono Li (Shun Li and the Poet)

George Fenton for The Angels' Share

Alberto Iglesias for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

AFI Fest Unveils World Cinema & Midnight Selections

AFI Fest rounded out its 2012 program with films screening in its World Cinema, Breakthrough, Midnight and Shorts sections. Festival favorites The Angels' Share, Greatest Hits, Laurence Anyways, Nairobi Half Life, Pieta, White Elephant and Zaytoun are among the titles set to screen at the L.A. festival, taking place November 1 - 8. As previously announced, the festival will kick off with the world premiere of Hitchcock and will close with the the world premiere of Lincoln.
more »

Oscars 2013: 71 Countries Submit For Best Foreign-Language Consideration

A record 71 countries, including first-time entrant Kenya, have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 85th Academy Awards®. Not joining the list this year is Iran which is boycotting this year's Oscars because of fall out from the anti-Islam video Innocence of Muslims. Last year, Iranian director Asghar Farhadi won the Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language film for A Separation, a first for a filmmaker from that country. The list of contenders follows:
more »

Hamptons International Film Festival Unveils 20th Anniversary Lineup

The Hamptons International Film Festival released its 2012 slate with a lineup of festival circuit notables as well as World, U.S. and East Coast premieres. HIFF released its Opening Films, including Love, Marilyn, Silver Linings Playbook, Argo and Not Fade Away recently. Today's list includes the festival's Spotlight Films section including Tim Burton's latest, Frankenweenie and Cannes Palme d'Or winner Amour. And The Girl with Toby Jones, Sienna Miller and Imelda Staunton will have its worldwide debut at the upcoming event.
more »