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Awards || ||

'Lincoln,' 'Les Misérables,' 'Life Of Pi' Lead British Film Academy Nominations

'Lincoln,' 'Les Misérables,' 'Life Of Pi' Lead British Film Academy Nominations

Lincoln, Les Misérables and Life of Pi lead the pack Wendesday among the 2013 British Academy Film Award nominations, with Spielberg's pic on the 16th U.S. president receiving ten nominations including Best Film while Les Mis and Pi each received nine, also picking up Best Film noms.
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Awards || ||

Directors Guild Award Nominations: Was The Wrong Director Snubbed?

Directors Guild Award Nominations: Was The Wrong Director Snubbed?

Quentin Tarantino and David O. Russell were edged out of the pack in today's Directors Guild Award nominations announcement, giving way to a rather conservative quintet of Oscar hopefuls. So let the DGA backlash begin: Between Ben Affleck (Argo), Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty), Steven Spielberg (Lincoln), Tom Hooper (Les Miserables), Ang Lee (Life of Pi), which nominee should have gotten the shaft to make the DGA race even remotely interesting?
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Lists || ||

'Argo' Named Best Film By Roger Ebert For 2012

'Argo' Named Best Film By Roger Ebert For 2012

There are Top 10s galore this time of the year, but no doubt Ben Affleck is taking a bit of extra notice on this one. Uber critic Roger Ebert gave Argo his choice for the Best of 2012.

He called the year "one of the best recent years in cinema," noting that he wrote over 300 reviews over the year, which is a personal record. He also noted that it was "unusually difficult" to leave out films in the top ten.

Picking Argo, Ebert noted that the feature had the "classic values of a Hollywood thriller" and noted the story, based on true events, "reveals surprises about a story we all lived through. It is told with classic comedy and tension."

Oscar power-house Lincoln placed third on Ebert's list after Ang Lee's Life of Pi. He called Daniel Day-Lewis' performance "powerful," while describing Pi as a "miraculous achievement."

Also making the list was Sundance winner Beasts of the Southern Wild and perhaps surprisingly considering the momentum of the Oscar race, End of Watch Oslo, August 31 and A Simple Life.

Notables not making the cut in the top ten at least include Zero Dark Thirty, Django Unchained, Les Misérables and Silver Linings Playbook.

Ebert has long taken a course of his own. You can see his comments on his Top 10 here.

Roger Ebert's Top 10:

1. Argo by Ben Affleck

2. Life Of Pi by Ang Lee

3. Lincoln by Steven Spielberg

4. End Of Watch by David Ayer

5. Arbitrage by Nicholas Jarecki

6. Flight by Robert Zemeckis

7. The Sessions by Ben Lewin

8. Beasts of the Southern Wild by Benh Zeitlin

9. Oslo, August 31st by Joachim Trier

10. A Simple Life by Ann Hui

Biz Break || ||

'Twilight' Triumphs At The Box Office Again; Lindsay Lohan's 'Liz & Dick' Draws So-So Response: Biz Break

'Twilight' Triumphs At The Box Office Again; Lindsay Lohan's 'Liz & Dick' Draws So-So Response: Biz Break

In Monday afternoon's round-up of news stories, Twilight rocketed atop the box office again. Liz & Dick is Lifetime is a 'moderate' success despite the hype. Dubai picks an opening film and highlights lineup. Susan Boyle may head to the big screen. And India is set for a Cannes fete.
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Review || ||

REVIEW: Crouching Tiger, Condescending Director Make For Frustrating 'Life Of Pi'

REVIEW: Crouching Tiger, Condescending Director Make For Frustrating 'Life Of Pi'

Ang Lee's Life of Pi is a doubled-edged argument for the transcendent capabilities of film. Its central section uses the latest technological achievements to transform the fantastical, fable-like tale of Yann Martel's award-winning novel into some of the most innovative and wondrous images to flicker across the big screen this year. And in its framing story, one it returns to periodically as if needing to keep the audience from getting too caught up in the gorgeous abstraction of its narrative at sea, it provides a reminder of why we should trust more in those images, as it ploddingly trots out its source material's heavy-handed and unnecessary delineation of its own themes.
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AFI Fest || ||

Life of Pi & On the Road Among AFI Fest Galas

Life of Pi & On the Road Among AFI Fest Galas

AFI Fest is fast approaching and the event unveiled Centerpiece Gala and Special Screenings details with Ang Lee's Life of Pi (3-D) and Walter Salles' On the Road on tap for their West Coast debuts. Peter Ramsey's Rise of the Guardians and Jacques Audiard's Rust and Bone will also debut. Bone star Marion Cotillard will receive a tribute during the festival, taking place November 1 - 8. All galas will take place at Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
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Festivals || ||

Soon-To-Be-Departing Co-Chair Tom Rothman Lively Over Pi, Robopocalypse At New York Film Festival

Soon-To-Be-Departing Co-Chair Tom Rothman Lively Over Pi, Robopocalypse At New York Film Festival

Fox Filmed Entertainment co-chairman Tom Rothman hit headlines two weeks ago when an announcement came from the studio that the 59 year-old would exit the studio at the end of the year, effectively ending a longstanding pairing with fellow co-chairman/CEO Jim Gianopulos. News soon came out that he'll produce Steven Spielberg's next project, Robopocalypse. At a New York Film Festival event over the weekend, Rothman remained tight lipped about casting rumors surrounding the feature.
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Watch This || ||

WATCH: Ang Lee Says 3-D Is The Future Of Movies As Life of Pi Opens The New York Film Festival

WATCH: Ang Lee Says 3-D Is The Future Of Movies As Life of Pi Opens The New York Film Festival

Friday night saw the opening gala for the fantasy adaptation Life of Pi at the 50th Annual New York Film Festival, and oh boy the times they are a'changing!  Who'd have ever guessed that a 3-D flick would open a prestigious film festival?

Well, apparently if it's from Ang Lee all bets are off.  The director got major kudos from his peers for embracing 3D, with Fox head honcho Tom Rothman saying Lee has even topped Scorsese's use of the medium in Hugo! more »

Festivals || ||

Ang Lee Shares Emotion, Enters Oscar Race With Debut Of His Sumptuous Life Of Pi

Ang Lee Shares Emotion, Enters Oscar Race With Debut Of His Sumptuous Life Of Pi

Years in the making, director Ang Lee was apparently still tweaking his ravishing Life of Pi up until the Friday morning pre-gala screening of his latest for press and industry Friday morning. The epic 3-D adaptation of the book by Yann Martel delivered a rare cinematic experience about a young Indian boy who endures a seemingly endless time at sea. Fox released visuals from the film during summer, but suppositions about what the film is about may be dashed — at least for those who have not read the book. One thing is predictable, however: Oscar night will certainly reserve some — and likely many — spots for Life of Pi, Lee will certainly be up for another Best Director nomination, and the feature will undoubtedly be up for Best Picture. The Film Society of Lincoln Center scored a coup debuting this spectacle on its opening night of the 50th New York Film Festival.
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Watch This || ||

New Life Of Pi Trailer Debuts Ahead Of New York Film Festival Premiere

New Life Of Pi Trailer Debuts Ahead Of New York Film Festival Premiere

Just in time for its World Premiere at the New York Film Festival this Friday, a new and more sweeping trailer for Ang Lee's Life of Pi has hit the web, setting up the 3-D adventure based on the 2001 novel by Yann Martel. The fantasy-adventure follows "Pi," an Indian boy who survives a shipwreck and is stranded on a boat in the ocean with a Bengal tiger along with some other charming critters.
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Festivals || ||

Ang Lee's Life Of Pi To Open 50th New York Film Festival

Ang Lee's Life Of Pi To Open 50th New York Film Festival

The World Premiere of Ang Lee's Life Of Pi will open the New York Film Festival September 28th. The screening launching the 50th anniversary of the annually anticipated film event will be a return for the Oscar-winning director, who screened Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon as the festival's closing night event 12 years ago. Robert Altman, Pedro Almodóvar and Francois Truffaut are the only other directors to have had more than one film chosen to bow the festival. Lee's The Ice Storm opened the 1997 edition of NYFF.
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Watch This || ||

Take a Gander at Ang Lee's Life of Pi

Take a Gander at Ang Lee's Life of Pi

Oscar-winning director Ang Lee's upcoming 3-D adventure Life of Pi is based on the 2001 novel of the same name by Yann Martel. The fantasy-adventure follows "Pi," an Indian boy who survives a shipwreck and is stranded on a boat in the ocean with a Bengal tiger along with some other charming critters.
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Awards || ||

Enough, Already, With the CinemaCon Oscar Hype

Enough, Already, With the CinemaCon Oscar Hype

Every year, studios, exhibitors and press gather in Vegas for the annual hype harvest that is CinemaCon (née ShoWest), glimpsing first looks, clips and other previews of hotly anticipated movies to come. Surprises invariably appear, for better or worse, and conversations naturally ensue. Fine. What is not fine — at all — is grounding an Oscar frenzy in 10 minutes of footage from an unfinished film with a release date eight months away.
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