The sweeping and spectacular musical extravaganza LES MISÉRABLES has been seen by more than 60 million people in 42 countries around the globe. Now the motion picture adaptation that grossed more than $340 million worldwide arrives on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, DVD and On Demand on March 22, 2013, from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Critically acclaimed and star-studded, LES MISÉRABLES is a stunningly realized interpretation of Victor Hugo’s epic tale of broken dreams, passion, sacrifice and redemption – a timeless testament to the endurance of the human spirit.
Hugh Jackman, Academy Award® winner Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway star in this critically acclaimed adaptation of the epic musical phenomenon. Set against the backdrop of 19th-century France, Les Misérables tells the story of ex-prisoner Jean Valjean (Jackman), hunted for decades by the ruthless policeman Javert (Crowe), after he breaks parole. When Valjean agrees to care for factory worker Fantine’s (Hathaway) young daughter, Cosette, their lives change forever. This enthralling story is a timeless testament to the survival of the human spirit and “an unforgettable experience” (Richard Roeper, RichardRoeper.com). Check out Melissa Thompson’s glowing review HERE.
WAMG invites you to enter to win a
LES MISÉRABLES prizepack.
One (1) winner will receive the film, character coaster set and earbuds.
3 lucky runner-ups will receive the character coaster set and earbuds.
Answer the following:
Fantine had a dream. Tell us yours.
OFFICIAL RULES:
1. YOU MUST BE A US RESIDENT. PRIZE WILL ONLY BE SHIPPED TO US ADDRESSES. NO P.O. BOXES.
2. SEND YOUR FULL NAME and ANSWER TO: michelle@wearemoviegeeks.com.
3. WINNERS WILL BE CHOSEN FROM ALL QUALIFYING ENTRIES. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. PRIZES WILL NOT BE SUBSTITUTED OR EXCHANGED.
This Golden Globe®-winning cinematic event can now be experienced over and over again on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and DVD with more than an hour of bonus features including cast interviews. Additionally, the Blu-ray™ Combo Pack is loaded with an extra 45 minutes of exclusive content taking viewers behind the scenes of the groundbreaking production for an unmatched entertainment experience.
Directed by Academy Award® winner Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech), Les Misérables features an all-star cast including Golden Globe® winner Hugh Jackman (X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Prestige), Oscar® winner Russell Crowe (Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind), Golden Globe® winner Anne Hathaway (The Dark Knight Rises, The Devil Wears Prada), Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia!, Dear John), Eddie Redmayne (My Week With Marilyn, The Other Boleyn Girl), Helena Bonham Carter (Harry Potter series, Sweeney Todd), Golden Globe® winner Sacha Baron Cohen (Hugo, Borat) and newcomer Samantha Barks.
Compelling and poignant, Les Misérables has earned kudos from critics around the world, including Vogue’s Adam Green, who describes it as “a spectacular achievement” and Deadline.com’s Pete Hammond, who calls it “remarkably entertaining and powerful” and praises its “stunning imagery and performance.” Les Misérables dominated the 2013 awards season, garnering eight Academy Award® nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress, and sweeping the Golden Globes with awards for Jackman, and Hathaway, as well as the prize for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
The Blu-ray™ Combo Pack allows consumers to view Les Misérables anytime, anywhere on the platform of their choice. It includes a Blu-ray™ disc, a DVD, a Digital Copy and UltraViolet™ for the ultimate, complete viewing experience.
Blu-ray™ disc unleashes the power of your HDTV and is the best way to watch movies at home, featuring perfect hi-def picture and hi-def sound.
DVD offers the flexibility and convenience of playing movies in more places, both at home and away.
Digital Copy provides consumers with a choice of formats from a variety of partners, including options to watch on iPhone®, Android™, computers and more.
UltraViolet™ is a revolutionary new way for consumers to collect their movies and TV shows in the cloud. UltraViolet™ lets consumers instantly stream and download to tablets, smartphones, computers and TVs. Now available in both the United States and Canada.
Bonus Features Exclusive to the Blu-ray™
Les Misérables Singing Live: The star-studded cast and production team discuss how the daunting challenge of singing live rather than lip-syncing to pre-recorded tracks ultimately gave them the creative freedom to deliver nuanced, emotionally powerful performances.
Battle at the Barricade: Director Tom Hooper wanted the dramatic building of the barricade to be as visceral and intense as possible, so he had his actors build it in real time, literally hurling furniture out of windows to construct an actual barricade. This featurette takes an in-depth look at the creation and filming of all the action on this remarkable set.
The West End Connection: Meet the “godfather” of theoriginal stage production of Les Misérables,renowned West End producer Cameron Mackintosh, who was deeply involved in the filming, as well as former Les Misérables, theatrical stars who were thrilled to appear in supporting roles in the current film.
Les Misérables on Location: Filming rather than staging Les Misérables presents the opportunity to shoot in real world locations: a massive dry dock on the coast of England, a beautiful underground chapel in the heart of London and the ancient city of Winchester. Members of the cast and crew talk about what it was like to find and work in these incredible locations.
Bonus Features on Both the Blu-ray™and DVD
The Stars of Les Misérables: DirectorTom Hooper talks about casting the iconic characters, and the actors discuss why it was important to them to be a part of this groundbreaking version of Les Misérables.
Creating the Perfect Paris:Production designer Eve Stewart created a massive Paris set featuring real cobblestones and running water. Take an intricate look into the detailed recreation of these Paris streets that no longer exist in today’s world.
The Original Masterwork: Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables: This mini-documentary takes a look at the historical backdrop and universal themes of Hugo’s classic, and how the filmmakers mined the novel to enrich the look and feel of the film.
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Aaron Tveit, Samantha Barks, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen
Directed By: Tom Hooper
Produced By: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh
Screenplay By: William Nicholson, Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Herbert Kretzmer
Music By: Claude-Michel Schönberg
Lyrics By: Herbert Kretzmer
Based on the Original Stage Musical By: Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg
From The Novel By: Victor Hugo
Executive Producers: Liza Chasin, Angela Morrison, Nicholas Allott, F. Richard Pappas
Director of Photography: Danny Cohen BSC
Production Designer: Eve Stewart
Costume Designer: Paco Delgado
Edited By: Chris Dickens, Melanie Ann Oliver
TECHNICAL INFORMATION – BLU-RAY™:
Street Date: 3/22/13
Copyright: 2013 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Selection Numbers: 61125042 / 61125654 (CDN)
Running Time: 2 hours, 38 minutes
Layers: BD-50
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen
Rating: PG-13 for suggestive and sexual material, violence and thematic elements
Technical Info: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, English DTS Surround 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French and Spanish
TECHNICAL INFORMATION DVD:
Street Date: 3/22/13
Copyright: 2013 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Selection Numbers: 61123149 / 61125663 (CDN)
Running Time: 2 hours, 38 minutes
Layers: Dual Layer
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Rating: PG-13 for suggestive and sexual material, violence and thematic elements
Technical Info: English Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French and Spanish
Contributed by Michelle McCue, Melissa Thompson and Ken Parker.
The Clock is Ticking…tick tock, tick tock Oscar voters. The ballots are due today at 5 p.m. PT so not much can happen now. It’s all up in the air, but we’re definitely rooting for the dark horses. As we begin what’s annually known as Oscar Week, we’ve compiled a list of Oscar hopefuls. Some of our choices are undoubtedly the frontrunners, while others we wanted you to have a second look at.
We kick off the list with Best Song from this year’s Oscar Host and Nominee, Seth MacFarlane. Here’s “Everybody Needs A Best Friend” from TED.
PARANORMAN – Animated Feature Film Nominee
This is the first nomination for both Sam Fell and Chris Butler. Like Burton and the geniuses at Aardman Animations, this latest production from the studio behind the wonderful CORALINE employs stop-motion animation to provide hand-crafted appeal to the clever and surprisingly scary story of a Massachusetts town whose witch-hunting past catches up with it on its 300th anniversary. PARANORMAN is probably the year’s most visually dazzling movie and the stunning climax centering on an 11-year-old witch is too good to spoil.
LINCOLN – Best Actor Nominee Daniel Day Lewis
Daniel Day-Lewis is extraordinary as the president, capturing his wit and generosity but also the iron will that made him the country’s greatest hero. Day-Lewis’ voice is thin and reedy, which jibes with historical accounts but subverts our expectations. His attitude makes listeners lean in, and so do we, magnetized by his kindly reserve. LINCOLN provides Daniel Day-Lewis with an opportunity for his latest extraordinary performance, one filled with kindness and strength in equal measure.
This is his fifth nomination in this category. He won Oscars for his performances in My Left Foot (1989) and There Will Be Blood (2007). He was also nominated for his leading roles in In the Name of the Father (1993) and Gangs of New York (2002).
LIFE OF PI – Director Nominee Ang Lee
No one ever thought author Yann Martel’s LIFE OF PI could successfully be translated to the big screen… until the Oscar-winning filmmaker masterfully took charge of the material. With Lee’s visionary use of 3D, we are there with Pi and Richard Parker, experiencing these extraordinary and visually stunning moments, immersed like never before in an epic movie adventure interwoven with an emotional and spiritual journey. The film is a triumph.
This is the third nomination in this category for Ang Lee, who won the award for Brokeback Mountain (2005). He received Directing and Best Picture nominations for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) and is also nominated for Best Picture this year.
LES MISERABLES – Hair and Makeup Nominees Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell
Jackman embraced the physical challenges and the changes required of the character as he goes from convict to outcast to mayor over several years. It was decided to shoot the scenes of the convict Valjean at the start of principal photography to allow Jackman to not only lose weight, but also to grow his own beard. “It was important to tell the story that he had been in prison for 19 years,” notes Jackman. “I was surviving on very limited food, but Valjean was also known for his strength, so I was spending three hours in the gym. It was a tough beginning.” So committed was Jackman to the part, for 36 hours before he shot the opening sequences of the film, the performer also decided to go without water. This gave him the hollowness and gauntness befitting a convict of the era.
Hathaway’s dedication to the role was by all accounts extraordinary, and her physical journey, as well as the emotional one, was just as intense as Jackman’s. Not only did she choose to have her own hair cut in the scene where Fantine sells her tresses, the already slim actress lost a great deal of weight to make completely believable Fantine’s physical decline from, and ultimately her death because of, consumption.
“Over the course of five weeks, I lost 25 pounds,” relays Hathaway. “It was very intense and very extreme and to be honest, if I had stopped and really thought about what I was doing, it probably would have felt too hard. I knew that I had an end moment, and all I needed to do was keep my spirits up and keep my focus on that point.
Listen in as nominees Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell describe the process of taking these beautiful actors and turning them into “bloody messes.”
SKYFALL – Cinematography Nominee Roger Deakins
Nominated nine times and winner of the 2013 American Society of Cinematographers award, SKYFALL was Deakins third collaboration with Sam Mendes having worked on Jarhead and Revolutionary Road. To accommodate Deakins’ brilliant lighting there was a lot of thought that went into the juxtaposition between a location environment, such as the Old Vic Tunnels, and sets built on sound stages, including the underground MI6 bunker.
This clip includes Adele’s Oscar nominated song “Skyfall.”
ZERO DARK THIRTY – Editing Nominees Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg
After photography completed on ZERO DARK THIRTY, Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow headed for the editing room. There she worked with Oscar-nominated editors Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg, poring through the footage to construct the final story – she had shot nearly two million feet of digital footage. “It was a mountain of material,” Bigelow notes, “We could have had a cut more than three hours long. But Billy and Dylan were great at helping me cut it down to size.”
DJANGO UNCHAINED – Supporting Actor Nominee Christoph Waltz
Golden Globe & BAFTA winner, Waltz plays Dr. King Schultz. Shortly following the release of INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, Tarantino worked feverishly on the screenplay for DJANGO UNCHAINED. Christoph Waltz, an Academy Award-winner for BASTERDS, was present for much of the creative process. “I read the script as it was in the making,” Waltz remembers.
“It unfolded in front of me, more or less. I went up to Quentin’s house and he sat me at his table and put the pages in front of me and then watched me read it. It was a wonderful ritual. I was very touched that he would actually let me participate not in the genesis of the script, but in his train of thought.”
ARGO – Best Picture Nominee
“It’s thrilling and suspenseful and scary, but it’s also funny and, I hope, entertaining. On a deeper level, it’s about the power of storytelling because for so long this story could not be told. But this is a moment when we can all be proud of what these people did.” – Ben Affleck.
Directors Guild winner, Producers Guild winner, BAFTA winner, Screen Actors Guild winner, ARGO is produced by Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck and George Clooney.
This is the second nomination for Grant Heslov in this category. He received Best Picture and Original Screenplay nominations for Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005) and an Adapted Screenplay nomination for The Ides of March (2011).
This is the first nomination for Ben Affleck in this category. He won an Oscar for the original screenplay for Good Will Hunting (1997).
This is the first nomination for George Clooney in this category. He won an Oscar for his supporting role in Syriana (2005) and was also nominated for his leading roles in Michael Clayton (2007), Up in the Air (2009) and The Descendants (2011). He also received Directing and Original Screenplay nominations for Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005) and an Adapted Screenplay nomination for The Ides of March (2011). With his Best Picture nomination for Argo, George Clooney joins Warren Beatty as the only individuals to have competitive nominations for Best Picture, directing, writing and acting.
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK – Adapted Screenplay Nominee David O. Russell
I was shown the book by Sidney Pollack who had acquired it with Harvey Weinstein. This was before THE FIGHTER. Although SILVER LININGS was fiction, it was likewise filled with very intense authentic people in a very specific local world the author knew well: emotional homes, people under great pressure, surprising drama, and unintended comedy. I am very drawn to these worlds, I find them fascinating. A certain place, a certain time, certain foods, certain rituals, unlike anything else, yet all the emotions and yearnings for love and respect and livelihood are deeply universal. I found that Bradley Cooper had, as we spoke, so much of the perceptive directness, fierceness, and vulnerability the Pat Solatano character has; and he was very hungry to play an intense unexpected character for him, which is the best timing for a director. Jennifer Lawrence and I had not met, but she knocked me out on her Skyped audition, and Harvey’s “Oh my God” upon viewing expressed his complete agreement. I love romance as much as I love authentic neighborhood worlds; the chemistry of Bradley and Jennifer was palpably combustible as the two very particular people, a gift. In another gift, I was fortunate to find Mr. De Niro with his own strong desire to be authentic in an emotional role of the kind we had discussed over the years that had personal ties for both of us as fathers. The rest of the neighborhood family constellated around the remarkable Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker, Anupam Kher, John Ortiz, Julia Stiles, Shea Whigham, Paulie Herman, and Dash Mihok. At the end of the day I love to peer into the lives of these people trying to overcome what they face, often themselves, in their own particular house on their own particular block, in ways that are heartbreaking and unbearable before somehow they pull through. For now.
-David O. Russell
MOONRISE KINGDOM – Original Screenplay Nominee Wes Anderson
“What’s universal and relatable about Moonrise Kingdom is that this is a story about first love and a magical summer,” comments producer Jeremy Dawson. “It’s about a young boy and girl (Youngsters Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward) who run away to be together. There is a sweetness and charm to this movie, and it’s also funny.
“The title references the cove that the two kids run away to. It has the technical name of Mile 3.25 Tidal Inlet on the map – but for them it’s a secret, magical place, so they re-name it: Moonrise Kingdom.”
Both the technical name and the more meaningful one represent the creative attention to detail that moviegoers have come to expect from a Wes Anderson picture. Anderson collaborated with his fellow filmmaker Roman Coppola in writing the script for Moonrise Kingdom, marking the second time that the two have scripted Anderson’s ideas into the road map of a movie, following The Darjeeling Limited (2007).
Actor Bob Balaban notes that he was struck by how “Wes makes movies according to his own particular sensibilities. His is not just a talented mind; it is an organized and kind one. He makes movies like nobody else, and he’s not trying to do it to be different; he’s doing it because that’s who he is.”
Gilman enthuses, “It’s got action. It’s got comedy. It’s got drama. It’s got romance. It really packs a punch!”
ANNA KARENINA – Costume Design Nominee Jacqueline Durran
In her third nomination, as well as collaboration with director Joe Wright and actress Keira Knightley, Oscar nominee Jacqueline Durran rose to the challenge in creating the massive amount of costumes needed for the film. As she did with her work on previous films ATONEMENT and PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, the British costume designer breathed richness and elegance into Tolstoy’s tale of tragedy, passion and love.
THE SESSIONS – Supporting Actress Nominee Helen Hunt
This is Hunt’s second nomination and the first in this category. She won an Oscar for her leading role in As Good as It Gets (1997).
Of his rapport with his co-star, actor John Hawkes remarked, “She was very daring to accept the role in the first place and then she just stepped up and embodied it, physically and emotionally.”
THE GATEKEEPERS – Documentary Nominee
For the first time ever, six former heads of Israel’s domestic secret service agency, the Shin Bet, share their insights and reflect publicly on their actions and decisions. Since the Six Day War in 1967, Israel has failed to transform its crushing military victory into a lasting peace. Throughout that entire period, these heads of the Shin Bet stood at the center of Israel’s decision-making process in all matters pertaining to security. They worked closely with every Israeli prime minister, and their assessments and insights had—and continue to have—a profound impact on Israeli policy.
THE GATEKEEPERS offers an exclusive account of the sum of their successes and failures. In the process it sheds light on the controversy surrounding the Occupation in the aftermath of the Six Day War.
Director Dror Moreh adds, “I was startled but thrilled when six former heads of the Shin Bet (“The Gatekeepers”) agreed to discuss their careers openly on camera for the very first time. This gave me a unique and intimate opportunity to enter the inner sanctum of Israel’s security decisionmakers for almost half a century. Numerous times during the making of this film, I found myself overwhelmed by their stories and testimonies. I kept asking myself how far I would have gone when confronting the same life or death dilemmas. I still do.”
AMOUR – Foreign Language Nominee
In his review of director Michael Haneke’s film, Jim Batts wrote, “AMOUR is a truthful examination of the part of love that’s not the subject of countless ballads and pop tunes. It’s emotionally brutal and unforgettable. Tough to watch, but it’s a subject which will touch every viewer.”
From Austria, AMOUR is the fifth film to be nominated for both Best Picture and Best Foreign Language Film. The others were Z, which won the Foreign Language Film award in 1969; The Emigrants, a Foreign Language Film nominee in 1971 and a Best Picture nominee in 1972; Life Is Beautiful, which won the Foreign Language Film award in 1998; and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the Foreign Language Film winner in 2000.
In addition, the film’s co-star, Emmanuelle Riva, becomes the oldest Best Actress nominee at 85 years old.
BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD – Best Actress Nominee Quvenzhané Wallis
With her first nomination, Nine-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis becomes the youngest Best Actress nominee. The youngest acting nominee overall is Justin Henry, who was eight years old when he received a Supporting Actor nomination for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979). No one will ever forget this fearless little five-year-old saying,”Once there was a Hush puppy and she lived with her Daddy in the Bathtub.”
Honorable Mention – MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS – Visual Effects Nominees Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams and Dan Sudick
For the visual effects nominess to pull off the destruction of a New York City street, special effects supervisor Dan Sudick involved precision pyrotechnics and well-timed car gags so that the production’s stunt people could safely maneuver through the explosions and flipping cars. To pull off the large pyrotechnic event, Sudick and his team rigged 28 explosions, which went off in a wave fashion down the street to simulate an air attack. The sequence also included setting up 14 cars down the middle of the street, which included ‘cannon cars,’ ‘flipper cars,’ ‘pyro’ cars as well as a big semi truck that exploded. Sudick and his team pulled off the impressive sequence without a hitch and even though it was shot on East 9th Street in downtown Cleveland, it still made the cover of the New York Post with the headline: “Save us, Thor!”
So now that you’ve seen our list, here’s how things stand from our point of view.
For Best Actor, the sure bet is Daniel Day-Lewis, but Hugh Jackman has been everywhere. BAFTAs were Sunday, February 10th and Hugh was all over the red carpet. He was on The Tonight Show right after the Oscar Nominees Luncheon trying to promote Movie 43, but all Jackman and Leno could talk about was LES MISERABLES. Jackman could definitely finish with the statuette in hand and here’s why. Hollywood loves him and voters would relish in being a part of awarding him his first Oscar. Day-Lewis has 2 already. Even with his Screen Actor Guild and BAFTA wins, are Academy voters ready to put him in the small group (4) that has won 3 acting Oscars? (Katherine Hepburn has won 4).
In the Best Picture race, ARGO has the momentum…and the pity votes for Affleck. Winning best picture would more than make up for the snub in Best Director category. We like Affleck and his films, but it just feels like there’s an underlying agenda…oh let’s make a movie about Hollywood inside stuff so we’ll win awards. They can deny it all they want, but they’re betting on the industry’s ego. Hollywood loves to pat itself on the back.
But don’t count out Les Miz just yet. The screen adaptation of the record-breaking musical plays mostly to the older Academy voting crowd who go to the theater and love Les Miz. Having already been shut out of the other big awards this season, Les Miz is truly a long-shot. But so was Braveheart. It also had no momentum and was released in May – nowhere near awards season. Whichever film wins, the votes for it won’t be by much as this year will be nail-biter down to the very end.
Best Director will be Steven Spielberg. With Affleck not in play, they’ve clearly stacked the deck in his favor for the win. And if Jackman and Les Miz edge out Day-Lewis and Lincoln, at least Lincoln won’t go home empty handed.
And while we’re wishing for things, how about one more.
With the James Bond salute and the possibility of all the actors who’ve embodied the role of 007 coming on the stage, we’ve wondered why Shirley Bassey was given the single honor of performing alone at the ceremony. Why not have all the performing artists in a medley of the songs, Bassey included… with her handing over the Bond baton to Adele as she goes into her previously announced performance of her Oscar nominated SKYFALL. Goldfinger is iconic Bond to be sure, but having Duran Duran, Sheena Easton and Paul McCartney walk on stage – in a Big Hollywood surprise – would’ve been water cooler talk for weeks.
Just the thought of Bassey passing the mic to Adele would’ve reduced us to sobbing.
“We are thrilled to welcome the legendary Dame Shirley Bassey to our Oscar show,” said Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. “Her association with film music is world renowned and we are proud that she will be making her first Oscar appearance on our telecast.”
If Bassey’s solo performance is ultimately the plan for the telecast, we’re hoping show director Don Mischer doesn’t plan for too many shots of the audience – they’ll look like they’ve just had a shot of novocaine. You’ll already have the seniors wondering who Seth MacFarlane is and the below 30 crowd won’t know Shirley Bassey.
But seeing as the Geeks are big Oscar fans, the Academy has invited us into the pressroom on Sunday where we’ll bring you all the results and reactions firsthand.
Watch the 85th Academy Awards on Oscar Sunday, February 24th on ABC. Download the new app at oscar.com.
The sweeping and spectacular musical extravaganza Les Misérables has been seen by more than 60 million people in 42 countries around the globe. Now the motion picture adaptation that grossed more than $340 million worldwide arrives on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, DVD and On Demand on March 22, 2013, from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Critically acclaimed and star-studded, Les Misérables is a stunningly realized interpretation of Victor Hugo’s epic tale of broken dreams, passion, sacrifice and redemption – a timeless testament to the endurance of the human spirit. This Golden Globe®-winning cinematic event can now be experienced over and over again on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and DVD with more than an hour of bonus features including cast interviews. Additionally, the Blu-ray™ Combo Pack is loaded with an extra 45 minutes of exclusive content taking viewers behind the scenes of the groundbreaking production for an unmatched entertainment experience.
Directed by Academy Award® winner Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech), Les Misérables features an all-star cast including Golden Globe® winner Hugh Jackman (X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Prestige), Oscar® winner Russell Crowe (Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind), Golden Globe® winner Anne Hathaway (The Dark Knight Rises, The Devil Wears Prada), Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia!, Dear John), Eddie Redmayne (My Week With Marilyn, The Other Boleyn Girl), Helena Bonham Carter (Harry Potter series, Sweeney Todd), Golden Globe® winner Sacha Baron Cohen (Hugo, Borat) and newcomer Samantha Barks.
Compelling and poignant, Les Misérables has earned kudos from critics around the world, including Vogue’s Adam Green, who describes it as “a spectacular achievement” and Deadline.com’s Pete Hammond, who calls it “remarkably entertaining and powerful” and praises its “stunning imagery and performance.” Les Misérables dominated the 2013 awards season, garnering eight Academy Award® nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress, and sweeping the Golden Globes with awards for Jackman, and Hathaway, as well as the prize for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
The Blu-ray™ Combo Pack allows consumers to view Les Misérables anytime, anywhere on the platform of their choice. It includes a Blu-ray™ disc, a DVD, a Digital Copy and UltraViolet™ for the ultimate, complete viewing experience.
Blu-ray™ disc unleashes the power of your HDTV and is the best way to watch movies at home, featuring perfect hi-def picture and hi-def sound.
DVD offers the flexibility and convenience of playing movies in more places, both at home and away.
Digital Copy provides consumers with a choice of formats from a variety of partners, including options to watch on iPhone®, Android™, computers and more.
UltraViolet™ is a revolutionary new way for consumers to collect their movies and TV shows in the cloud. UltraViolet™ lets consumers instantly stream and download to tablets, smartphones, computers and TVs. Now available in both the United States and Canada.
Bonus Features Exclusive to the Blu-ray™
Les Misérables Singing Live: The star-studded cast and production team discuss how the daunting challenge of singing live rather than lip-syncing to pre-recorded tracks ultimately gave them the creative freedom to deliver nuanced, emotionally powerful performances.
Battle at the Barricade: Director Tom Hooper wanted the dramatic building of the barricade to be as visceral and intense as possible, so he had his actors build it in real time, literally hurling furniture out of windows to construct an actual barricade. This featurette takes an in-depth look at the creation and filming of all the action on this remarkable set.
The West End Connection: Meet the “godfather” of theoriginal stage production of Les Misérables,renowned West End producer Cameron Mackintosh, who was deeply involved in the filming, as well as former Les Misérables, theatrical stars who were thrilled to appear in supporting roles in the current film.
Les Misérables on Location: Filming rather than staging Les Misérables presents the opportunity to shoot in real world locations: a massive dry dock on the coast of England, a beautiful underground chapel in the heart of London and the ancient city of Winchester. Members of the cast and crew talk about what it was like to find and work in these incredible locations.
Bonus Features on Both the Blu-ray™and DVD
The Stars of Les Misérables: DirectorTom Hooper talks about casting the iconic characters, and the actors discuss why it was important to them to be a part of this groundbreaking version of Les Misérables.
Creating the Perfect Paris:Production designer Eve Stewart created a massive Paris set featuring real cobblestones and running water. Take an intricate look into the detailed recreation of these Paris streets that no longer exist in today’s world.
The Original Masterwork: Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables: This mini-documentary takes a look at the historical backdrop and universal themes of Hugo’s classic, and how the filmmakers mined the novel to enrich the look and feel of the film.
Feature Commentary with Director Tom Hooper
SYNOPSIS
Hugh Jackman, Academy Award® winner Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway star in this critically acclaimed adaptation of the epic musical phenomenon. Set against the backdrop of 19th-century France, Les Misérables tells the story of ex-prisoner Jean Valjean (Jackman), hunted for decades by the ruthless policeman Javert (Crowe), after he breaks parole. When Valjean agrees to care for factory worker Fantine’s (Hathaway) young daughter, Cosette, their lives change forever. This enthralling story is a timeless testament to the survival of the human spirit and “an unforgettable experience” (Richard Roeper, RichardRoeper.com).
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Aaron Tveit, Samantha Barks, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen Directed By: Tom Hooper Produced By: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh Screenplay By: William Nicholson, Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Herbert Kretzmer Music By: Claude-Michel Schönberg Lyrics By: Herbert Kretzmer Based on the Original Stage Musical By: Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg From The Novel By: Victor Hugo Executive Producers: Liza Chasin, Angela Morrison, Nicholas Allott, F. Richard Pappas Director of Photography: Danny Cohen BSC Production Designer: Eve Stewart Costume Designer: Paco Delgado Edited By: Chris Dickens, Melanie Ann Oliver
TECHNICAL INFORMATION – BLU-RAY™: Street Date: 3/22/13 Copyright: 2013 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved. Selection Numbers: 61125042 / 61125654 (CDN) Running Time: 2 hours, 38 minutes Layers: BD-50 Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen Rating: PG-13 for suggestive and sexual material, violence and thematic elements Technical Info: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, English DTS Surround 5.1 Subtitles: English SDH, French and Spanish
TECHNICAL INFORMATION DVD: Street Date: 3/22/13 Copyright: 2013 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved. Selection Numbers: 61123149 / 61125663 (CDN) Running Time: 2 hours, 38 minutes Layers: Dual Layer Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen Rating: PG-13 for suggestive and sexual material, violence and thematic elements Technical Info: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: English SDH, French and Spanish
The Best Picture nominees have been announced and for the seventh straight year, AMC Theatres has announced its AMC Best Picture Showcase. Since 2007, AMC has offered audiences the rare opportunity to experience every movie nominated for Best Picture by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (@TheAcademy) for one great price. The nine Best Picture nominees will be shown on Saturday, Feb. 16 and Saturday, Feb. 23 at more than 100 theatres in nearly every AMC market in the United States. Plus, 12 select theatres will host a Best Picture movie marathon where guests can watch all nine movies in a row.
The nominees are: AMOUR, ARGO, BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD, DJANGO UNCHAINED, LES MISÉRABLES, LIFE OF PI, LINCOLN, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, ZERO DARK THIRTY
Feb. 16 – 10:30 a.m.
Feb. 23 – 10 a.m.
AMOUR
BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
LES MISERABLES
LIFE OF PI
ARGO
LINCOLN
DJANGO UNCHAINED
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
ZERO DARK THIRTY
Feb. 23 Marathon – 10 a.m.
AMOUR
LINCOLN
ARGO
DJANGO UNCHAINED
LES MISERABLES
ZERO DARK THIRTY
LIFE OF PI
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
AMC Best Picture Showcase Pricing:
●
Two-Day Pass:
$60 (includes all nine movies on Feb. 16 and Feb. 23; available only at the box office)
●
Marathon Pass:
$60 (includes all nine movies at select theatres on Feb. 23)
●
One-Day Pass (2/16):
$30 (includes four movies on Feb. 16)
●
One-Day Pass (2/23):
$40 (includes five movies on Feb. 23)
AMC Stubs members will receive an additional $5 credit added to their AMC Stubs card for each one-day pass purchased before the event day, up to four tickets. AMC Stubs members who purchase a two-day pass or purchase a ticket to the marathon event will receive $10 credit to their AMC Stubs card for purchasing prior to the event day. AMC Stubs credit can be used for concessions throughout that day.
Tickets are for sale now online and at the box offices of participating AMC locations. For a list of participating theatres, showtimes, and to purchase one-day and marathon passes for the AMC Best Picture Showcase, visit amctheatres.com/bps. The two-day pass is available only at the box office of participating theatres.
Follow the Best Picture Oscar buzz:
Twitter by using the hashtag #amcbps ( @AMCTheatres )
The Academy Awards® will be presented on OscarSunday, Feb. 24 with host Seth MacFarlane at the Dolby Theatre™ at the Hollywood & Highland Center® and televised live on ABC.
It was a morning of Oscar surprises – both shocking and welcomed. Nominations for the 85th Academy Awards® were announced today (Thursday, January 10) by this year’s Oscar host (and nominee) Seth MacFarlane, and actress Emma Stone. Minus the usual podium, MacFarlane and Stone humorously unveiled the nominees at a 5:38 a.m. PT live news conference attended by more than 400 international media representatives. WAMG and the various outlets were greeted with a golden breakfast, strong coffee and Jamba Juice.
Let’s get right to it. Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln scored the most nominations with 12, followed by Life of Pi with 11, and Les Misérables and Silver Linings Playbook at 8 apiece.
The nominees for best motion picture of the year are:
“Amour” Nominees to be determined
“Argo” Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck and George Clooney, Producers
“Beasts of the Southern Wild” Dan Janvey, Josh Penn and Michael Gottwald, Producers
“Django Unchained” Stacey Sher, Reginald Hudlin and Pilar Savone, Producers
“Les Misérables” Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward and Cameron Mackintosh, Producers
“Life of Pi” Gil Netter, Ang Lee and David Womark, Producers
“Lincoln” Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers
“Silver Linings Playbook” Donna Gigliotti, Bruce Cohen and Jonathan Gordon, Producers
“Zero Dark Thirty” Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow and Megan Ellison, Producers
While Beasts of the Southern Wild nomination was well deserved, the hopes of many presumed nominees abruptly came to an end.
Kathryn Bigelow and Tom Hooper – both DGA nominees – being passed over in Best Director category was unfortunate (best pictures don’t direct themselves), but the biggest diss of the day was not hearing Ben Affleck’s name. Thought by some to be a shoo-in, the same thing happened to another Director Guild nominee in 1995 when Apollo 13 director, Ron Howard, was left off the Academy’s nomination list but then went onto win the DGA award. On the Today show this morning, even Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper conceded the Argo director “was robbed.”
Sadly John Hawkes was also robbed of a nod in the Best Actor category and no love from the Academy voters for Leonardo DiCaprio in the Supporting category. Our favorite animated film, Rise of the Guardians, was absent from the Best Animated category. While Lincoln is the favorite for gold, our pick for the dark horse to win the Big Award is the emotional Les Misérables. Last musical nommed for best picture was Chicago (2002 75th).
For those keeping track it was a good morning for Silver Linings Playbook. It is the first film to receive nominations for Best Picture, Directing, Writing and all four acting categories since Reds (1981). Amour saw 2 nominations. It is the fifth film to be nominated for both Best Picture and Best Foreign Language Film. The others were Z, which won the Foreign Language Film award in 1969; The Emigrants, a Foreign Language Film nominee in 1971 and a Best Picture nominee in 1972; Life Is Beautiful, which won the Foreign Language Film award in 1998; and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the Foreign Language Film winner in 2000.
At 85 years old, Emmanuelle Riva becomes the oldest Best Actress nominee. Nine-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis becomes the youngest Best Actress nominee. This marks the first time since the earliest Awards that records for the oldest and youngest nominees in a single acting category have been set in the same year. The oldest nominee across all the acting categories remains Gloria Stuart, who was 87 when she received a Supporting Actress nomination for Titanic (1997). The youngest acting nominee overall is Justin Henry, who was eight years old when he received a Supporting Actor nomination for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979).
We spoke with KTLA entertainment reporter Sam Rubin right after the nominations and he remarked, “No surprises in my book.”
Nominations for the 85th Academy Awards
Performance by an actor in a leading role
Bradley Cooper in “Silver Linings Playbook”
Daniel Day-Lewis in “Lincoln”
Hugh Jackman in “Les Misérables”
Joaquin Phoenix in “The Master”
Denzel Washington in “Flight”
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Alan Arkin in “Argo”
Robert De Niro in “Silver Linings Playbook”
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “The Master”
Tommy Lee Jones in “Lincoln”
Christoph Waltz in “Django Unchained”
Performance by an actress in a leading role
Jessica Chastain in “Zero Dark Thirty”
Jennifer Lawrence in “Silver Linings Playbook”
Emmanuelle Riva in “Amour”
Quvenzhané Wallis in “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
Naomi Watts in “The Impossible”
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Amy Adams in “The Master”
Sally Field in “Lincoln”
Anne Hathaway in “Les Misérables”
Helen Hunt in “The Sessions”
Jacki Weaver in “Silver Linings Playbook”
Best animated feature film of the year
“Brave” Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman
“Frankenweenie” Tim Burton
“ParaNorman” Sam Fell and Chris Butler
“The Pirates! Band of Misfits” Peter Lord
“Wreck-It Ralph” Rich Moore
Achievement in cinematography
“Anna Karenina” Seamus McGarvey
“Django Unchained” Robert Richardson
“Life of Pi” Claudio Miranda
“Lincoln” Janusz Kaminski
“Skyfall” Roger Deakins
Achievement in costume design
“Anna Karenina” Jacqueline Durran
“Les Misérables” Paco Delgado
“Lincoln” Joanna Johnston
“Mirror Mirror” Eiko Ishioka
“Snow White and the Huntsman” Colleen Atwood
Achievement in directing
“Amour” Michael Haneke
“Beasts of the Southern Wild” Benh Zeitlin
“Life of Pi” Ang Lee
“Lincoln” Steven Spielberg
“Silver Linings Playbook” David O. Russell
Best documentary feature
“5 Broken Cameras” Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi
“The Gatekeepers”
Nominees to be determined
“How to Survive a Plague”
Nominees to be determined
“The Invisible War”
Nominees to be determined
“Searching for Sugar Man”
Nominees to be determined
Best documentary short subject
“Inocente”
Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine
“Kings Point”
Sari Gilman and Jedd Wider
“Mondays at Racine” Cynthia Wade and Robin Honan
“Open Heart”
Kief Davidson and Cori Shepherd Stern
“Redemption”
Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill
Achievement in film editing
“Argo” William Goldenberg
“Life of Pi” Tim Squyres
“Lincoln” Michael Kahn
“Silver Linings Playbook” Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers
“Zero Dark Thirty” Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg
Best foreign language film of the year
“Amour” Austria
“Kon-Tiki” Norway
“No” Chile
“A Royal Affair” Denmark
“War Witch” Canada
Achievement in makeup and hairstyling
“Hitchcock” Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater and Tami Lane
“Les Misérables” Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“Anna Karenina” Dario Marianelli
“Argo” Alexandre Desplat
“Life of Pi” Mychael Danna
“Lincoln” John Williams
“Skyfall” Thomas Newman
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“Before My Time” from “Chasing Ice”
Music and Lyric by J. Ralph
“Everybody Needs A Best Friend” from “Ted”
Music by Walter Murphy; Lyric by Seth MacFarlane
“Pi’s Lullaby” from “Life of Pi”
Music by Mychael Danna; Lyric by Bombay Jayashri
“Skyfall” from “Skyfall”
Music and Lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth
“Suddenly” from “Les Misérables”
Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; Lyric by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil
Achievement in production design
“Anna Karenina”
Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey“
Production Design: Dan Hennah; Set Decoration: Ra Vincent and Simon Bright
“Les Misérables”
Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Anna Lynch-Robinson
“Life of Pi”
Production Design: David Gropman; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
“Lincoln”
Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson
Best animated short film
“Adam and Dog” Minkyu Lee
“Fresh Guacamole” PES
“Head over Heels” Timothy Reckart and Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly
“Maggie Simpson in “The Longest Daycare”” David Silverman
“Paperman” John Kahrs
Best live action short film
“Asad” Bryan Buckley and Mino Jarjoura
“Buzkashi Boys” Sam French and Ariel Nasr
“Curfew” Shawn Christensen
“Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)” Tom Van Avermaet and Ellen De Waele
“Henry” Yan England
Achievement in sound editing
“Argo” Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn
“Django Unchained” Wylie Stateman
“Life of Pi” Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton
“Skyfall” Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers
“Zero Dark Thirty” Paul N.J. Ottosson
Achievement in sound mixing
“Argo”
John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Jose Antonio Garcia
“Les Misérables”
Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes
“Life of Pi”
Ron Bartlett, D.M. Hemphill and Drew Kunin
“Lincoln”
Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Ronald Judkins
“Skyfall” Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell and Stuart Wilson
Achievement in visual effects
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and R. Christopher White
“Life of Pi” Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott
“Marvel’s The Avengers”
Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams and Dan Sudick
“Prometheus” Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley and Martin Hill
“Snow White and the Huntsman”
Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, Neil Corbould and Michael Dawson
Adapted screenplay
“Argo” Screenplay by Chris Terrio
“Beasts of the Southern Wild” Screenplay by Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin
“Life of Pi” Screenplay by David Magee
“Lincoln” Screenplay by Tony Kushner
“Silver Linings Playbook” Screenplay by David O. Russell
Original screenplay
“Amour” Written by Michael Haneke
“Django Unchained” Written by Quentin Tarantino
“Flight” Written by John Gatins
“Moonrise Kingdom” Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
“Zero Dark Thirty” Written by Mark Boal
In the acting categories, four individuals are first-time nominees (Bradley Cooper, Hugh Jackman, Emmanuelle Riva, Quvenzhané Wallis). Nine of the nominees, including all of the Supporting Actor nominees, are previous acting winners (Daniel Day-Lewis, Denzel Washington, Alan Arkin, Robert De Niro, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tommy Lee Jones, Christoph Waltz, Sally Field, Helen Hunt). Jessica Chastain is the only one of this year’s acting nominees who was also nominated last year. She received a Supporting Actress nomination for The Help.
Emmanuelle Riva’s nominated performance in Amour is in French. Five performers have won Academy Awards for roles using spoken languages other than English. They are Sophia Loren (1961, Actress in Two Women), Robert De Niro (1974, Supporting Actor in The Godfather Part II), Roberto Benigni (1998, Actor in Life Is Beautiful), Benicio Del Toro (2000, Supporting Actor in Traffic) and Marion Cotillard (2007, Actress in La Vie en Rose). In addition, Marlee Matlin received the 1986 Best Actress award for a performance almost entirely in American Sign Language.
Kathleen Kennedy and Steven Spielberg share the record for the most Best Picture nominations for individual producers with eight each. With his Best Picture nomination for Argo, George Clooney joins Warren Beatty as the only individuals to have competitive nominations for Best Picture, directing, writing and acting.
John Williams has more nominations than any other living person, extending his lead with 48 (the only person with more is Walt Disney at 59). Woody Allen has the second-highest number of nominations among living persons at 23. Williams also extends his record for the most music scoring nominations with 43. Michael Kahn is now the most-nominated film editor, having received his eighth nomination this year. Thomas Newman’s nomination for Original Score for Skyfall is his eleventh and brings the total for members of the Newman family (Alfred, Lionel, Emil, Thomas, David and Randy) to 87, more than any other family. With his Original Screenplay nomination for Moonrise Kingdom, Roman Coppola becomes the sixth member of the extended Coppola family (Carmine Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola, Talia Shire, Nicolas Cage and Sofia Coppola) to receive a nomination, for a family total of 24.
Best Picture Release Dates:
Beasts of the Southern Wild – June 27, 2012
Argo – October 12, 2012
Lincoln – November 9, 2012
Silver Linings Playbook – November 16, 2012
Life of Pi – November 21, 2012
Amour – December 19, 2012
Zero Dark Thirty – December 19, 2012
Les Misérables – December 24, 2012
Django Unchained – December 25, 2012
NOMINATIONS BY PICTURE –
(This list does not include Short Films or Documentary Short Subjects.)
“Amour,” a Les Films du Losange/X Filme Creative Pool/Wega Film Production (Sony Pictures Classics) (5 nominations)
Emmanuelle Riva – Performance by an actress in a leading role
Directing
Best foreign language film (Austria)
Best picture
Original screenplay
“Anna Karenina,” a Working Title Films Production (Focus Features) (4 nominations)
Cinematography
Costume design
Original score
Production design
“Argo,” a Stage 16 Pictures Production (Warner Bros.) (7 nominations)
Alan Arkin – Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Film editing
Original score
Best picture
Sound editing
Sound mixing
Adapted screenplay
“Beasts of the Southern Wild,” a Cinereach and Court 13 Production (Fox Searchlight) (4 nominations)
Quvenzhané Wallis – Performance by an actress in a leading role
Directing
Best picture
Adapted screenplay
“Brave,” a Pixar Animation Studios Production (Walt Disney) (1 nomination)
Best animated feature film
“Chasing Ice,” an Exposure Production (Submarine Deluxe) (1 nomination)
Original song – “Before My Time”
“Django Unchained,” a Weinstein Company and Columbia Pictures Production (The Weinstein Company) (5 nominations)
Christoph Waltz – Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Cinematography
Best picture
Sound editing
Original screenplay
“5 Broken Cameras,” a Guy DVD Films/Burnat Films Palestine Production (Kino Lorber) (1 nomination)
Documentary feature
“Flight,” a Paramount Pictures Production (Paramount) (2 nominations)
Denzel Washington – Performance by an actor in a leading role
Original screenplay
“Frankenweenie,” a Walt Disney Pictures Production (Walt Disney) (1 nomination)
Best animated feature film
“The Gatekeepers,” a Les Films du Poisson/Dror Moreh/Cinephil Production (Sony Pictures Classics) (1 nomination)
Documentary feature
“Hitchcock,” a Montecito Picture Company/Barnette/Thayer Production (Fox Searchlight) (1 nomination)
Makeup and hairstyling
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” a New Line and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Production (Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) (3 nominations)
Makeup and hairstyling
Production design
Visual effects
“How to Survive a Plague,” a How to Survive a Plague Production (Sundance Selects) (1 nomination)
Documentary feature
“The Impossible,” an Apaches Entertainment/Telecinco Cinema in association with La Trini, CANAL +, ICAA, IVAC and Generalitat Valenciana Production (Summit Entertainment and Mediaset España) (1 nomination)
Naomi Watts – Performance by an actress in a leading role
“The Invisible War,” a Chain Camera Pictures Production (Cinedigm/Docurama Films) (1 nomination)
Documentary feature
“Kon-Tiki,” a Nordisk Film Production (The Weinstein Company) (1 nomination)
Best foreign language film (Norway)
“Les Misérables,” a Universal Pictures and Working Title Production (Universal) (8 nominations)
Hugh Jackman – Performance by an actor in a leading role
Anne Hathaway – Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Costume design
Makeup and hairstyling
Original song – “Suddenly”
Best picture
Production design
Sound mixing
“Life of Pi,” a Fox 2000 Pictures Production (20th Century Fox) (11 nominations)
Cinematography
Directing
Film editing
Original score
Original song – “Pi’s Lullaby”
Best picture
Production design
Sound editing
Sound mixing
Visual effects
Adapted screenplay
“Lincoln,” a DreamWorks Pictures/20th Century Fox Production (Walt Disney/20th Century Fox) (12 nominations)
Daniel Day-Lewis – Performance by an actor in a leading role
Tommy Lee Jones – Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Sally Field – Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Cinematography
Costume design
Directing
Film editing
Original score
Best picture
Production design
Sound mixing
Adapted screenplay
“Marvel’s The Avengers,” a Marvel Studios Production (Walt Disney) (1 nomination)
Visual effects
“The Master,” a Ghoulardi Film Company/Annapurna Pictures Production (The Weinstein Company) (3 nominations)
Joaquin Phoenix – Performance by an actor in a leading role
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Amy Adams – Performance by an actress in a supporting role
“Mirror Mirror,” a Goldmann Pictures/Relativity Media/RAT Entertainment/Misher Films Production (Relativity Media) (1 nomination)
Costume design
“Moonrise Kingdom,” an Indian Paintbrush Production (Focus Features) (1 nomination)
Original screenplay
“No,” a Fabula Production (Sony Pictures Classics) (1 nomination)
Best foreign language film (Chile)
“ParaNorman,” a LAIKA Production (Focus Features) (1 nomination)
Best animated feature film
“The Pirates! Band of Misfits,” a Columbia and Sony Pictures Animation Production (Sony Pictures Releasing) (1 nomination)
Best animated feature film
“Prometheus,” a 20th Century Fox Production (20th Century Fox) (1 nomination)
Visual effects
“A Royal Affair,” a Zentropa Production (Magnolia Pictures) (1 nomination)
Best foreign language film (Denmark)
“Searching for Sugar Man,” a Red Box Films and Passion Pictures in association with Canfield Pictures Production (Sony Pictures Classics)(1 nomination)
Documentary feature
“The Sessions,” a Such Much Films/Rhino Films Production (Fox Searchlight) (1 nomination)
Helen Hunt – Performance by an actress in a supporting role
“Silver Linings Playbook,” a Weinstein Company Production (The Weinstein Company) (8 nominations)
Bradley Cooper – Performance by an actor in a leading role
Robert De Niro – Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Jennifer Lawrence – Performance by an actress in a leading role
Jacki Weaver – Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Directing
Film editing
Best picture
Adapted screenplay
“Skyfall,” an Eon Productions Ltd./Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures/Columbia Pictures Production (Sony Pictures Releasing and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) (5 nominations)
Cinematography
Original score
Original song – “Skyfall”
Sound editing
Sound mixing
“Snow White and the Huntsman,” a Universal Pictures Production (Universal) (2 nominations)
Costume design
Visual effects
“Ted,” a Media Rights Capital Production (Universal) (1 nomination)
Original song – “Everybody Needs A Best Friend”
“War Witch,” an Item 7 Production (Tribeca Film) (1 nomination)
Best foreign language film (Canada)
“Wreck-It Ralph,” a Walt Disney Animation Studios Production (Walt Disney) (1 nomination)
Best animated feature film
“Zero Dark Thirty,” a Columbia Pictures Production (Sony Pictures Releasing) (5 nominations)
Jessica Chastain – Performance by an actress in a leading role
Film editing
Best picture
Sound editing
Original screenplay
Academy members from each of the branches vote to determine the nominees in their respective categories – actors nominate actors, film editors nominate film editors, etc. In the Animated Feature Film and Foreign Language Film categories, nominees are selected by vote of multi-branch screening committees. All voting members are eligible to select the Best Picture nominees.
Official screenings of all motion pictures with one or more nominations will begin for members on Saturday, January 19, at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Screenings will also be held at the Academy’s Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood and in London, New York and the San Francisco Bay Area. Active members of the Academy are eligible to vote for the winners in all categories.
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Sunday, February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.
2012 was full of memorable movie moments. Moments that moved us, made us think, inspired laughter & tears and moments that surprised. When was the last time Christopher Walken really moved you? When has a Bond film looked so amazing? Were you also concerned when you heard about the casting of Anne Hathaway in both the new Batman movie and LES MISÉRABLES, one of the most beloved musicals of all time? And when was the last time you knew the outcome of a fact-based film but were on the edge of your seat during the climactic scene nonetheless? And what movie moments charmed you the most from 2012 and which ones will you remember for years to come?
In a countdown to 2013, here are some of my memorable moments and I believe at least a couple of yours:
Jack Black’s Music Man bit in BERNIE.
Tommy Lee Jones’ words on the Senate floor in LINCOLN.
Two stellar supporting turns from an actor that I don’t like: Matthew McConaughey (BERNIE/MAGIC MIKE).
Christopher Walken’s understated and touching performance in SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s dinner scene monologue in DJANGO UNCHAINED.
Roger Deakins’ cinematography in SKYFALL.
Anne Hathaway exceeding (low) expectations as Catwoman/Fantine (THE DARK KNIGHT RISES/LES MISÉRABLES).
Robert De Niro and Bradley Cooper’s attic scene in SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK.
The re-enactment & last 20 mins. of ARGO.
The re-enactment & last 45 mins. of ZERO DARK THIRTY.
The return of Sam Jones as Flash Gordon in TED.
Norman getting ready for school in PARANORMAN.
Undeniable chemistry between cinematic pairings of Andrew Garfield/Emma Stone (THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN), Daniel Craig/Judi Dench (SKYFALL), Jennifer Lawrence/Bradley Cooper (SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK) and Jamie Foxx/Christoph Waltz (DJANGO UNCHAINED).
Ang Lee’s masterful use of a cgi tiger in LIFE OF PI.
And I will always remember that Hushpuppy lived with her father in the Bathtub.
THEATRICAL TRAILER: the official theatrical piece, usually cut from the first (very long) cut of the picture or sometimes (if there is no first cut yet) from dailies (all the shot footage, including all the different takes and angles), maximum length of a trailer is two and a half minutes.
TEASER TRAILER: A first, short theatrical preview piece (usually not longer than a minute and a half), cut from a few selected takes and scenes while the picture is still being shot.
For those of you who think it’s okay to show up to a film after the coming attractions – move along. No self-respecting movie geek would dare miss the previews. And don’t get us started on the individuals who arrive during the trailer you’ve been dying to see only to move through your line of sight during the all-important money shot.
In most cases, trailers are the first thing the casual moviegoer sees of an upcoming release – be it next month or next year. But sometimes that’s all it takes to plant the enthusiastic seed of “I have to see that!” There’s no denying it. Trailers are visual forces of nature. They are emotional magnets. They are harbingers of things to come and herald what might be.
While not all of them turned out to be everyone’s cup of tea, the unsung heroes in the editing room behind these previews are what had us going to the theaters in 2012 in record numbers. Along with the official synopsis of each movie, below is a compilation of some of the best trailers from this past year. So get your drink & munchies, have the volume up & the lights down low and find your favorite seat – the coming attractions are about to start.
BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
In a forgotten but defiant bayou community cut off from the rest of the world by a sprawling levee, a six-year-old girl exists on the brink of orphanhood. Buoyed by her childish optimism and extraordinary imagination, she believes that the natural world is in balance with the universe until a fierce storm changes her reality. Desperate to repair the structure of her world in order to save her ailing father and sinking home, this tiny hero must learn to survive unstoppable catastrophes of epic proportions. “Welcome to the Bathtub!”
THE RAID: REDEMPTION
Deep in the heart of Jakarta’s slums lies an impenetrable safe house for the world’s most dangerous killers and gangsters. Until now, the rundown apartment block has been considered untouchable. Cloaked under the cover of pre-dawn darkness and silence, an elite swat team is tasked with raiding the safe house in order to take down the notorious drug lord that runs it. But when a chance encounter with a spotter blows their cover and news of their assault reaches the drug lord, they find themselves stranded on the 6th floor with no way out. The unit must fight their way through the city’s worst to survive their mission
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ “The Dark Knight Rises” is the epic conclusion to filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. It has been eight years since Batman vanished into the night, turning, in that instant, from hero to fugitive. Assuming the blame for the death of D.A. Harvey Dent, the Dark Knight sacrificed everything for what he and Commissioner Gordon both hoped was the greater good. For a time the lie worked, as criminal activity in Gotham City was crushed under the weight of the anti-crime Dent Act. But everything will change with the arrival of a cunning cat burglar with a mysterious agenda. Far more dangerous, however, is the emergence of Bane, a masked terrorist whose ruthless plans for Gotham drive Bruce out of his self-imposed exile. But even if he dons the cape and cowl again, Batman may be no match for Bane.
MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS
When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins. Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Tom Hiddleston, with Stellan Skarsgard and Samuel L. Jackson, and written and directed by Joss Whedon, “Marvel Avengers Assemble” is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series “The Avengers,” first published in 1963 and a comics institution ever since.
RISE OF THE GUARDIANS
We were doing fine until Alec Baldwin, along with his Russian accent, proclaimed “it is our job to protect the children of the world – for as long as they believe in us, we will guard them with our lives.” Waterworks were pouring out. RISE OF THE GUARDIANS is an epic adventure that tells the story of a group of heroes – each with extraordinary abilities. When an evil spirit known as Pitch lays down the gauntlet to take over the world, the immortal Guardians must join forces for the first time to protect the hopes, beliefs and imagination of children all over the world.
LES MISÉRABLES
Les Misérables is the motion-picture adaptation of the beloved global stage sensation seen by more than 60 million people in 42 countries and in 21 languages around the globe and still breaking box-office records everywhere in its 27th year. Helmed by The King’s Speech’s Academy Award®-winning director, Tom Hooper, the Working Title/Cameron Mackintosh production stars Hugh Jackman, Oscar® winner Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Aaron Tveit, Samantha Barks, with Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen. Set against the backdrop of 19th-century France, Les Misérables tells an enthralling story of broken dreams and unrequited love, passion, sacrifice and redemption – a timeless testament to the survival of the human spirit. Jackman plays ex-prisoner Jean Valjean, hunted for decades by the ruthless policeman Javert (Crowe) after he breaks parole. When Valjean agrees to care for factory worker Fantine’s (Hathaway) young daughter, Cosette, their lives change forever. Les Misérables, the show of shows, was reborn as the cinematic musical experience of a lifetime.
CLOUD ATLAS
CLOUD ATLAS explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another throughout the past, the present and the future. Action, mystery and romance weave dramatically through the story as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero and a single act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution in the distant future. A lofty, gorgeous, trailer that boldly tugged at the heart-strings.
MEN IN BLACK 3
Agent Jay traveled back in time to 1969, where he teams up with a younger version of Agent Kay to stop an evil alien from destroying the future. The time-traveling, third installment of the Men in Black franchise reunited Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. The trailer was jam-packed with car chases and monocycle pursuits, as the famous, black-suited duo employed a brand-new collection of galactic gadgets to fight off retro aliens. Proves a successful and fun 3rd chapter to a franchise can be accomplished.
THE MASTER
Paul Thomas Anderson’s sixth feature film, THE MASTER, unfolds a vibrantly human story inside this atmosphere of spiritual yearning on the cusp of 1950. The film follows the shifting fortunes of Freddie, portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, a volatile former Naval seaman unable to settle down into everyday life, and the unpredictable journey he takes when he stumbles upon a fledgling movement known as The Cause. Coming to The Cause as an itinerant and outsider, Freddie will ultimately become a surrogate heir to its flamboyant leader: Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Lancaster Dodd. And yet, even as The Cause probes the mastery of human emotions, the camaraderie between Freddie and Dodd will mount into a fierce and intimate struggle of wills. The first feature film shot using 65mm film stock in several decades, THE MASTER is brought to life by a devoted cast and crew who have crafted a visually alluring and emotionally provocative portrait of three people pursuing a vision of betterment.
PROMETHEUS
Director Ridley Scott takes fans on a gripping sci-fi adventure that “kicks ass so hard and often that it’s impossible not to be thrilled by it.” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone).Archeologist couple Elizabeth Shaw (Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Marshall-Green) discover a star map that they interpret as an invitation from humanity’s forerunners, the “Engineers.” Determined to find out more about them, the couple boards the scientific vessel Prometheus, created and funded by Peter Weyland (Pearce), CEO of Weyland Corporation. Lead by mission director Meredith Vickers (Theron) and monitored by Weyland’s android David (Fassbender), the team of explorers find a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth and embark on a thrilling journey to the darkest corners of the universe where they fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.
A LOOPER GLOSSARY
Looper: A low level assassin who works for a mob in the future, killing targets they send back and disposing of the bodies.
Gat Man: A higher level gangster, the Gat men work locally with more typical thug responsibilities. They tend to look down on Loopers as a lot of untrained dandies.
Blunderbuss: A short stout hand cannon used by Loopers. Powerful but with a wide spread – impossible to hit anything more than 10 yards away, impossible to miss anything closer.
Gat: Generic term for a gun, but colloquial name for the Gat Men’s high caliber revolver. Powerful, accurate and reliable.
TK: Short for “telekinetic.” By 2040 a very low grade telekenetic power has developed in about 15% of the general population. Far from being a superpower, it’s weak and short range, and mostly used for bar tricks.
Closing Your Loop: A stipulation in every Looper’s contract that he may some day be required to kill his future self, thus closing his contract, getting a huge pay-off and erasing any trace of the very illegal arrangement with his future employer.
THE EXPENDABLES 2
The Expendables are back and this time it’s personal… Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), Yin Yang (Jet Li), Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), Toll Road (Randy Couture) and Hale Caesar (Terry Crews) — with newest members Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth) and Maggie (Yu Nan) aboard — are reunited when Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) enlists the Expendables to take on a seemingly simple job. The task looks like an easy paycheck for Barney and his band of old-school mercenaries. But when things go wrong and one of their own is viciously killed, the Expendables are compelled to seek revenge in hostile territory where the odds are stacked against them. Hell-bent on payback, the crew cuts a swath of destruction through opposing forces, wreaking havoc and shutting down an unexpected threat in the nick of time - five tons of weapons-grade plutonium, far more than enough to change the balance of power in the world. But that’s nothing compared to the justice they serve against the villainous adversary who savagely murdered their brother. That is done the Expendables way..
THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS
Quentin Tarantino presents THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS, an action-adventure inspired by kung-fu classics as interpreted by his longtime collaborators RZA and Eli Roth. Making his debut as a big-screen director, co-writer and leading man, RZA – alongside an exciting international cast led by Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu – tells the epic story of warriors, assassins and a lone outsider hero who all descend on one fabled village in China for a winner-takes-all battle for a fortune in gold. Blending astonishing martial-arts sequences from some of the masters of this world with the signature vision he brings as the leader of the Wu-Tang Clan and as one of hip-hop’s most dominant figures of the past two decades, RZA embarks upon his most ambitious, stylized and thrilling project to date.
Joining Crowe, RZA and Liu in the cast are Rick Yune, Jamie Chung, Cung Le, Dave Bautista, Byron Mann, Daniel Wu and Pam Grier.
THE GREY
Liam Neeson (Schindler’s List, Taken, Taken 2) stars as the unlikely hero Ottway in this undeniably suspenseful and powerful survival adventure. After their plane crashes into the remote Alaskan wilderness, a roughneck group of oil drillers are forced to find a way back to civilization. As Ottway leads the injured survivors through the brutal snow and ice, they are relentlessly tracked by a vicious pack of rogue wolves that will do anything to defend their territory. Adrenaline-fueled, action-packed and loaded with some of the most intense and brutally realistic attack scenes ever filmed, The Grey is being hailed as “a thriller you can sink your teeth into!” (The Washington Post)
SKYFALL
Stunts always play a large role in Bond films and SKYFALL is no exception. Director Sam Mendes, Second Unit Director Alexander Witt and Stunt Coordinator Gary Powell worked closely together to create a physical and believable journey for Bond. It was important for both Mendes and Powell to approach the film from a more realistic point of view. The action started on the pages. “Writing action sequences is one of the great challenges and the great joys of being a screenwriter,” says screenwriter John Logan. “The challenge as a writer on Skyfall was to find ways to make the action as ‘Bondian’ as possible – which to me means it’s tough, it’s real and it’s heightened.”
As you can see in this trailer, no actor had more stunts than Craig. Javier Bardem describes watching Craig take on the role: “There is some physicality to the role that you have to be prepared to do, but of course mine compared to Daniel’s was nothing. And he does the action scenes so easily “From the outside, watching him, I was thinking, If I were you, I wouldn’t be doing that!” Bardem laughs. “I mean, I did a little bit, but nothing in comparison to with what Daniel did.”
HYDE PARK ON HUDSON
Not quite the lofty follow up to THE KING”S SPEECH as we had hoped, this preview had all the makings of finally giving Bill Murray that long-awaited Oscar. The end result was a stark look into the all-too-human side of one of history’s iconic leaders.
HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA
“Hotel Transylvania is a story about a father and a daughter… it’s just that the father happens to be Dracula,” says Genndy Tartakovsky, director of the Sony Pictures Animation film, Hotel Transylvania. “Like all fathers, he’s an overprotective, psychotic, and endearing guy who’d do anything for his daughter, but unlike other fathers, he’s the Prince of Darkness.”
In Hotel Transylvania, it turns out that the world’s most famous monsters (including Dracula, Frankenstein, the Werewolf, the Invisible Man, and the Mummy) are just like regular people, with families and problems and a need to get away from it all – but unlike humans, they have to live in hiding from a world that thinks they’re, well, monsters. What better place to hide than Hotel Transylvania, which Dracula himself operates as a sanctuary from the rest of the world and has been human-free since 1898? But Dracula has issues of his own – his daughter, Mavis, is a teenager – in fact, she’s about to turn 118 – and as she becomes a woman, the vampire’s greatest fear is losing his relationship with her. Well, his two greatest fears are losing his relationship with his daughter and garlic, but that’s another story.
DJANGO UNCHAINED
We were ready to go on another wild and wily trek with Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece DJANGO UNCHAINED. The trailer had us hooked right from the start – almost made us forget Franco Nero in Corbucci’s DJANGO (1966). “I like evoking the Django title for what it means to Spaghetti Westerns and that mythology,” Tarantino says. “At the same time, there’s a 40-film series of nonrelated DJANGO rip-off sequels that are their own spot of Spaghetti Western history. I’m proud to say that we are a new edition to the unrelated DJANGO rip-off sequels.”
THE RAVEN
The macabre and lurid tales of Edgar Allan Poe are vividly brought to life – and death — in this stylish, gothic thriller starring John Cusack as the infamous author. Boy were they ever. When a madman begins committing horrific murders inspired by Poe’s darkest works, a young Baltimore detective (Luke Evans) joins forces with Poe in a quest to get inside the killer’s mind in order to stop him from making every one of Poe’s brutal stories a blood chilling reality. A deadly game of cat and mouse ensues, which escalates when Poe’s love (Alice Eve, She’s Out of My League) becomes the next target. Intrepid Pictures’ The Raven also stars Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges) and Oliver Jackson-Cohen (Faster).
THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
Boy we couldn’t wait to return to the Shire. THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY follows title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Sorcerers. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain, first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever…Gollum. Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of ingenuity and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities… A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.
SEEKING A FRIEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD
SEEKING A FRIEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD stars Golden Globe Award winner Steve Carell and Academy Award nominee Keira Knightley. Set in a too-near future, the movie explores what people will do when humanity’s last days are at hand. As the respective journeys of Dodge (Carell) and Penny (Knightley) converge, the two spark to each other and their outlooks – if not the world’s – brighten. Director Lorene Scafaria had us in tears when the end finally came.
PARANORMAN
This is how you do a teaser! In August Laika, the makers of Coraline, brought us PARANORMAN, a stop motion, ghost-filled zombie comedy in 3D. The delightful movie starred the voices of Kodi Smit-McPhee, John Goodman, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck, Elaine Stritch, Leslie Mann, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Jeff Garlin. “You don’t become a hero by being normal.” Amen to that brother!
TED
Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane (as well as this year’s Oscar host) brings his boundary-pushing brand of humor to the big screen for the first time as writer, director and voice star of TED. In the live action/CG-animated comedy, he tells the story of John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg), a grown man who must deal with the cherished teddy bear who came to life as the result of a childhood wish…and has refused to leave his side ever since. The trailer has us skeptical until we saw the hilarious final product!
HITCHCOCK
HITCHCOCK is a love story about one of the most influential filmmakers of the last century, Alfred (Anthony Hopkins) Hitchcock and his wife and partner Alma Reville (Helen Mirren). The film takes place during the making of Hitchcock’s seminal movie PSYCHO. The trailer had us fascinated and left us wanting to see more once the film finally arrived in November.
MOONRISE KINGDOM
In a return to the world of Wes Anderson, MOONRISE KINGDOM was thought by some to be one of the best films this year. Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, MOONRISE KINGDOM tells the story of two twelve-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore — and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in more ways than anyone can handle. Bruce Willis plays the local sheriff. Edward Norton is a Khaki Scout troop leader. Bill Murray and Frances McDormand portray the young girl’s parents. The cast also includes Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, and Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward as the boy and girl.
MAGIC MIKE
A dramatic comedy set in the world of male strippers, “Magic Mike” is directed by Academy Award® winner Steven Soderbergh (“Traffic”) and stars Channing Tatum in the title role. The film follows Mike as he takes a young dancer called The Kid (Alex Pettyfer) under his wing and schools him in the fine arts of partying, picking up women, and making easy money. Also starring Matthew McConaughey, Matt Bomer, Joe Mangianello, Olivia Munn, Riley Keough, Cody Horn and Adam Rodriguez.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER
Not to be confused with the Spielberg-ized version of the 16th President, filmmakers Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov (Director of Wanted) brought audiences this edgy thriller about the untold story that shaped our nation. Abraham Lincoln, history’s greatest hunter of the undead, must risk the presidency, his family and his life to protect America from bloodthirsty vampires. Thrust into an epic fight against the ruthless killers, Lincoln must rely on those around him. But it’s unclear who he can trust in this intense and violent thriller that’s ablaze with plot twists, blood-pumping action and spectacular special effects!
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN PT. 2
Okay so maybe it wasn’t anything you’d ever venture out to see – even on a dare – but you knew we had to show the trailer for the final TWILIGHT movie. The conclusion to the series, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN — PART 2, illuminates the secrets and mysteries of this spellbinding romantic epic that has entranced millions of teenage girls – and sometimes their Moms.
KILLING THEM SOFTLY
This wicked trailer was one of the best of 2012. Three dumb guys who think they’re smart rob a Mob protected card game, causing the local criminal economy to collapse. Brad Pitt plays the enforcer hired to track them down and restore order. KILLING THEM SOFTLY also features Richard Jenkins (THE VISITOR), James Gandolfini (“The Sopranos”), Ray Liotta (NARC), Scoot McNairy (MONSTERS), Ben Mendelsohn (ANIMAL KINGDOM), and Vincent Curatola (“The Sopranos”). Max Casella, Trevor Long, Slaine and Sam Shepard also make appearances.
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
The Amazing Spider-Man focused on an untold story that tells a different side of the Peter Parker story and starred Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, with Martin Sheen and Sally Field. The film is the story of Peter Parker (Garfield), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance – leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Ifans), his father’s former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors’ alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.
THE SAPPHIRES
Inspired by a true story, THE SAPPHIRES follows four vivacious, young and talented Australian Aboriginal girls from a remote mission as they learn about love, friendship and war when their all girl group The Sapphires entertains the U.S. troops in Vietnam in 1968. Cynthia (Tapsell), Gail (Mailman), Julie (Mauboy) and Kay (Sebbens) are discovered by Dave (O’Dowd), a good-humored talent scout with a kind heart, very little rhythm but a great knowledge of soul music. As their manager, Dave books the sisters their first true gig giving them their first taste of stardom, and travels them to Vietnam to sing for the American troops. The film was shown at the St. Louis International Film Festival in November and was met by a cheering audience as the credits rolled. See this charming film!
MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE’S MOST WANTED
Finally we leave you with Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Gloria the Hippo, and Melman the Giraffe. Over the summer this fearless foursome were fighting to get home to their beloved Big Apple and of course, King Julien, Maurice and the Penguins were all along for the comedic adventure. Their journey took them through Europe where they found the perfect cover: a traveling circus, which they reinvented – Madagascar style.
Over a year ago, when it was announced that Academy award-winning director Tom Hooper would be bringing the iconic musical LES MISÉRABLES to the big screen – as a musical, diehard fans of the show breathed a collective sigh of skepticism. When it comes to musicals adapted to film, the general rule of thumb is that you have to trade professional Broadway caliber “no-names” for A-list Hollywood stars who aren’t trained singers (see RENT, ROCK OF AGES – both hugely successful on stage but bombed as movies because RENT was cast with relative no-names and ROCK OF AGES had the big names that couldn’t sing a note!).
It’s a tricky combination to pull off and I am very happy to say that FINALLY it has been done!
Miraculously, Tom Hooper has put together the exact perfect combination, with staggering credentials. In Hugh Jackman (Valjean), you have a Broadway trained, Tony award-winning, A-list actor that was born to play this role. Also perfectly cast is Russell Crowe (Javert), an A-list, Academy award-winning actor who just so happens to sing in a rock band in his spare time! Then you have Anne Hathaway (Fantine), another A-lister and Hollywood darling who has shown she has an aptitude for musical theater. It just doesn’t get any better than that. Throw in Sascha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter (The Thenardiers), who are also perfectly cast and more than capable, and you have what I consider The Dream Team.
The other near-impossible undertaking was that Hooper declared that for his adaptation, the actors – all of the actors – would be singing live. LIVE! For those not familiar with how movie musicals are normally filmed, the actors pre-record the songs in a recording studio and then lip-sync to the tracks played back when filming. While this allows a sort of vocal perfection, the emotion of the music and lyrics is lost trying to perfectly match the lip-sync. What Hooper has created is raw emotion while the actors are singing because they are singing live and the music stays with them, rather than them having to stay with the music. They are perfectly in the moment.
And even though Jackman, Hathaway, Crowe and the rest of the cast are at different singing-ability levels, the entire movie is sung with no real spoken dialogue. And it works. When Hathaway gut-wrenchingly sings Fantine’s “I Dreamed a Dream” while sobbing and getting her hair chopped off, it’s heartbreaking (and Oscar gold, by the way). Crowe’s Inspector Javert is so angry and menacing that when he sings in that state of anger, you get it. And Jackman’s Valjean is just one huge pile of raw, exposed emotions that you forget he’s singing and concentrate on what he’s emoting so flawlessly.
As a diehard fan of this show, having seen it many times on stage, I think this movie is perfection. It’s sweeping and epic and emotional and I hope it gets all the appreciation and accolades that it deserves. As for movie musicals, this is a game changer. LES MISÉRABLES will be the blueprint for how musicals are filmed from now on. The live singing will make everyone step up their game and the big winners will be audiences.
In theaters on Christmas Day, LES MISÉRABLES should absolutely be experienced on the big screen. So after the presents are opened, and the family meal is over, go to the movies! Go see LES MISÉRABLES
Check out this new LES MISÉRABLES featurette. In it Hugh Jackman tells about his experience with creating the character of Jean Valjean. The Golden Globe nominee describes his process and what this film has meant for him (via Yahoo! Movies). Last week LES MISÉRABLES was nominated for 4 Golden Globe Awards, announced as one ofthe official selections of the AFI AWARDS 2012 and this past weekend the Academy announced director Tom Hooper’s film was among the seven shortlisted films remaining in competition in the Makeup and Hairstyling category for the 85th Academy Awards.
LES MISÉRABLES is the motion-picture adaptation of the beloved global stage sensation seen by more than 60 million people in 42 countries and in 21 languages around the globe and still breaking box-office records everywhere in its 27th year. Helmed by The King’s Speech’s Academy Award®-winning director, Tom Hooper, the Working Title/Cameron Mackintosh production stars Hugh Jackman, Oscar® winner Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Aaron Tveit, Samantha Barks, with Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen.
Set against the backdrop of 19th-century France, Les Misérables tells an enthralling story of broken dreams and unrequited love, passion, sacrifice and redemption—a timeless testament to the survival of the human spirit. Jackman plays ex-prisoner Jean Valjean, hunted for decades by the ruthless policeman Javert (Crowe) after he breaks parole. When Valjean agrees to care for factory worker Fantine’s (Hathaway) young daughter, Cosette, their lives change forever.
In December 2012, the world’s longest-running musical brings its power to the big screen in Tom Hooper’s sweeping and spectacular interpretation of Victor Hugo’s epic tale. With international superstars and beloved songs—including “I Dreamed a Dream,” “Bring Him Home,” “One Day More” and “On My Own”—Les Misérables, the show of shows, is now reborn as the cinematic musical experience of a lifetime.
LES MISÉRABLES will be released on December 25, 2012. Rated PG-13 for suggestive and sexual material, violence and thematic elements.
LES MISÉRABLES is the motion-picture adaptation of the beloved global stage sensation seen by more than 60 million people in 42 countries and in 21 languages around the globe and still breaking box-office records everywhere in its 27th year. Helmed by The King’s Speech’s Academy Award®-winning director, Tom Hooper, the Working Title/Cameron Mackintosh production stars Hugh Jackman, Oscar® winner Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Aaron Tveit, Samantha Barks, with Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen.
Set against the backdrop of 19th-century France, Les Misérables tells an enthralling story of broken dreams and unrequited love, passion, sacrifice and redemption—a timeless testament to the survival of the human spirit. Jackman plays ex-prisoner Jean Valjean, hunted for decades by the ruthless policeman Javert (Crowe) after he breaks parole. When Valjean agrees to care for factory worker Fantine’s (Hathaway) young daughter, Cosette, their lives change forever.
In December 2012, the world’s longest-running musical brings its power to the big screen in Tom Hooper’s sweeping and spectacular interpretation of Victor Hugo’s epic tale. With international superstars and beloved songs—including “I Dreamed a Dream,” “Bring Him Home,” “One Day More” and “On My Own”—Les Misérables, the show of shows, is now reborn as the cinematic musical experience of a lifetime.
LES MISÉRABLES will be released on December 25, 2012.
Universal Pictures and WAMG invite you to enter to win a pass to the advance screening of LES MISÉRABLES on December 18th at 7 PM in St. Louis.
OFFICIAL RULES:
1. YOU MUST BE IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA THE DAY OF THE SCREENING.
2. SEND YOUR NAME AND ANSWER TO: michelle@wearemoviegeeks.com
3. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: In what country and during what time in history does Victor Hugo’s novel take place?
WINNERS WILL BE CHOSEN THROUGH A RANDOM DRAWING OF QUALIFYING CONTESTANTS. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. PASSES WILL NOT BE SUBSTITUTED OR EXCHANGED. DUPLICATE TICKETS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
Rated PG-13 for suggestive and sexual material, violence and thematic elements.
