Oscarland | Showbuzz Daily

OSCARLAND: Producers Guild Produces a Tie

The Producers Guild of America didn’t clarify much of anything tonight by giving its Best Picture award to both 12 YEARS A SLAVE and GRAVITY. That provided all 3 of the presumed frontrunners with a prize for the ...

by Mitch Salem

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OSCARLAND: We Are Here

Like presidential politics, the Oscar race doesn’t really stop anymore; one campaign gets underway before the last has even ended. Argo had yet to collect its statuettes in February before we were already hearing...

by Mitch Salem

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OSCARLAND: Why and Why Not? – Best Director

We’ve reviewed all the performers in the Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Actress and Best Actor categories, and now it’s time to look at the filmmakers themselves. Here’s a last ...

by Mitch Salem

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OSCARLAND: The Foreign-Language Short List

What do Blue Is the Warmest Color and The Past have in common? Two things, actually: they’re both widely considered among the best foreign-language films shown in the US this year–and neither will be nomi...

by Mitch Salem

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OSCARLAND: Directors Guild Puts “Gravity” Into Orbit

The Directors Guild of America tonight gave its prize for best film direction to Alfonso Cuaron and GRAVITY. This was not an unexpected result, but it solidifies the sense that this year we have what is (at least) a thr...

by Mitch Salem

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OSCARLAND: The Battle Between Good and Evil Begins

Over the weekend, this year’s Oscarland acquired its first helping of Conventional Wisdom, thanks to the initial release of 12 YEARS A SLAVE (Fox Searchlight) in theatres and the unveiling of SAVING MR. BANKS (Disn...

by Mitch Salem

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OSCARLAND: Why and Why Not? – Best Picture

We’ve taken a tour through Best Actress and Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, and Best Director, and that leaves one last major gold statue to be handed out. As we have all along, we ...

by Mitch Salem

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OSCARLAND: Producers Guild Nominations

The calendar has turned to 2014, and the critics, for the most part, have spoken. Now Oscar season is moving into the Guild part of its schedule, and today the Producers Guild announced its Best Picture nominees. The...

by Mitch Salem

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OSCARLAND: “Alone Yet Not Alone” Now Really Alone

The Oscars are not the Golden Globes. That appears to be the underlying message of today’s action by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, revoking the Best Original Song nomination of “Alone Y...

by Mitch Salem

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OSCARLAND: Xmas at Marty’s

The big news this week in Oscarland was the confirmation that Martin Scorsese’s WOLF OF WALL STREET (Paramount), starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matthew McConaughey, Jonah Hill and many more, which wasn’t finish...

by Mitch Salem

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OSCARLAND: Why and Why Not?

Here are links to all our Oscarland “Why and Why Not” pieces, running through the rationales for and against all the nominees in the major Academy Award categories: Best Picture Best Director Best Actor Best ...

by Mitch Salem

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OSCARLAND: Writers Guild Nominations

The Writers Guild is unusual among awards-giving groups in that it strictly enforces the rule that only screenplays written for films produced under Guild agreements are eligible. That tends to exclude some of the majo...

by Mitch Salem

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OSCARLAND: WGA Awards and The Woody Allen Issue

Tonight the Writers Guild of America followed the lead of the Golden Globes and gave its award for Best Original Screenplay to Spike Jonze for HER rather than to AMERICAN HUSTLE. The WGA awards were seen as Hustle̵...

by Mitch Salem

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OSCARLAND: The Too Many Best Actors Problem

It’s been a relatively quiet week in Oscarland: 12 YEARS A SLAVE expanded well if not phenomenally, ALL IS LOST continued to struggle at the box office despite superb reviews, DALLAS BUYERS CLUB had a moderately...

by Mitch Salem

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