Tag: ZERO DARK THIRTY

GIVEAWAY – Win A ZERO DARK THIRTY Prizepack

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The Oscar®-winning team of The Hurt Locker – director-producer Kathryn Bigelow (Best Picture and Best Director) and writer-producer Mark Boal (Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay) – reunite for the powerful drama ZERO DARK THIRTY. The story of an elite team of intelligence operatives who tracked and ultimately located Osama bin Laden, the film earned multiple Oscar® nominations, including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay and scored the No. 1 spot on numerous critics’ Top 10 Lists. Boal was also awarded honors for Best Original Screenplay from the Writers Guild of America.

ZERO DARK THIRTY debuts March 19th from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, DVD and Digital, taking viewers inside the hubs of power and to the front lines of the historic pursuit and capture of Osama bin Laden, culminating in a special operations assault on a mysterious, suburban Pakistani compound.

Jessica Chastain, who won a Best Actress Golden Globe and was up for a Best Actress Oscar, stars in ZERO DARK THIRTY alongside Jason Clarke (TV’s “Brotherhood”), Joel Edgerton (Animal Kingdom) and Chris Pratt (TV’s “Parks and Recreation”). Also starring in the film is Jennifer Ehle (Pride and Prejudice), Mark Strong (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Kyle Chandler (TV’s “Friday Night Lights”) and Edgar Ramirez (TV’s “Carlos”).

The film was nominated for numerous awards, including five Academy Award® nominations (Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing, and Best Sound Editing) and four Golden Globe® nominations (Best Motion Picture Drama, Best Director, Best Screenplay and a Best Actress win for Chastain). It has been recognized as one of the best films of 2012, by the American Film Institute and Time Magazine, among others. In addition to garnering honors from the National Board of Review (Best Film, Best Director and Best Actress), the film also won three New York Film Critics Circle Awards (Best Picture, Best Director and Best Cinematography) and a Critics’ Choice Award (Best Actress), as well as a Screen Actors Guild nomination (Best Actress).

The Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD include four featurettes: “No Small Feat,” “The Compound,” “Targeting Jessica Chastain,” and “Geared Up,” which all provide an in-depth look at the filmmaking process, documenting the great lengths to which cast, crew and filmmakers went to portray the hunt for the world’s most dangerous man.

Pre-order ZERO DARK THIRTY:

http://www.amazon.com/Zero-Dark-Thirty-UltraViolet-Digital/dp/B00AZNEW5G/ref=sr_tr_sr_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1362150243&sr=1-2&keywords=zero+dark+thirty

For a decade, an elite team of intelligence operatives, working in secret across the globe, devoted themselves to a single goal: to find and eliminate Osama bin Laden. Zero Dark Thirty reunites the Oscar® winning team of The Hurt Locker, director-producer Kathryn Bigelow and writer-producer Mark Boal, along with producer Megan Ellison, telling the story of history’s greatest manhunt for the world’s most dangerous man. Colin Wilson, Greg Shapiro and Ted Schipper served as executive producers.

WAMG and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment invite you to enter to win a
ZERO DARK THIRTY prizepack.

One (1) winner will receive a DVD, screenplay book and t-shirt from the film.

shirtbook

Send your full name to michelle@wearemoviegeeks.com along with the answer to the following question:

What Oscar did it eventually win at the 85th Academy Awards AND name the other film that it shared the Oscar with.

OFFICIAL RULES:

1. YOU MUST BE A US RESIDENT. PRIZE WILL ONLY BE SHIPPED TO US ADDRESSES. NO P.O. BOXES.

2. WINNERS WILL BE CHOSEN FROM ALL QUALIFYING ENTRIES. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. PRIZES WILL NOT BE SUBSTITUTED OR EXCHANGED.

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Blu-ray™ & DVD Special Features Include:
• Four Featurettes:

o “No Small Feat” features Bigelow sharing why this project, and the recounting of this historic event, was so important.
o “The Compound” lets audiences hear from cast and crew on the recreation of Osama bin Laden’s lair and take a walking tour of the recreated compound.
o “Geared Up” provides an in-depth look at the detailed measures taken in training, equipping and filming the raid, as well as cast and crew commentary on this great feat in filmmaking.
o “Targeting Jessica Chastain” features cast, crew and Jessica herself reflecting on her role as Maya, the pivotal force at the center of the 10-year manhunt.

ZERO DARK THIRTY has a run time of approximately 157 minutes and is Rated R for strong violence including brutal disturbing images and for language.

Like on Facebook:  https://facebook.com/ZeroDarkThirty
Follow on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/ZeroDarkThirty

ACADEMY AWARD(S)® is the registered trademark and service mark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Golden Globe® is the registered trademark of the HFPA.

Director Kathryn Bigelow Asks Moviegoers To Join ZERO DARK THIRTY In Saluting Women In The Military

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Moviegoers are invited to join an initiative with ZERO DARK THIRTY, which has been nominated for five Academy Awards® including Best Picture, that allows people to donate their social media statuses in support of a unified message applauding the women who serve in the U.S. intelligence and military communities. Via Twitter or Facebook, participant’s tweets or posts will be broadcast simultaneously with all other supporters.

Supporters can donate their social statuses by joining the Thunderclap initiative at bit.ly/JoinZDT. The message will be sent on February 1 at noon Eastern time.

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On the Thunderclap sign-up page, Oscar®-winning filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow, the director of the film, said,

“Women have long played a critical role in our national security, too frequently without proper credit. The recent decision by the Department of Defense to lift the ban on women serving in combat is a move toward acknowledging their important and strategic contributions to our national defense. Though I personally believe war should be avoided whenever and wherever possible, there is no justification for inequality among those ready and willing to serve our country in the armed forces. Please join me in backing this social media campaign that salutes their important and strategic contribution to America’s national defense.”

For a decade, an elite team of intelligence and military operatives, working in secret across the globe, devoted themselves to a single goal: to find and eliminate Osama bin Laden. ZERO DARK THIRTY reunites the Oscar® winning team of director-producer Kathryn Bigelow and writer-producer Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker) for the story of history’s greatest manhunt for the world’s most dangerous man. ZERO DARK THIRTY is now playing in theaters nationwide.

http://www.zerodarkthirty-movie.com

https://www.facebook.com/ZeroDarkThirty

 https://twitter.com/ZeroDarkThirty

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See The Academy’s 9 Nominated Films During AMC Theatres’ Annual Best Picture Showcase Before Oscar Sunday

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 )

Facebook at facebook.com/amctheatres.

The Academy Awards® will be presented on Oscar Sunday, Feb. 24 with host Seth MacFarlane at the Dolby Theatre™ at the Hollywood & Highland Center® and televised live on ABC.

85th Academy Award Nominations – LINCOLN Leads With 12 Nods

Contributors: Michelle McCue and Melissa Thompson

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.

Download the Official Oscars App:
Apple App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/oscars/id411784735?ls=1&mt=8 
            Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.abc.oscars 
            Amazon App Store: http://www.amazon.com/gp/mas/dl/android?p=com.abc.oscars

FOLLOW THE ACADEMY
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#OscarNoms

Visit the official Academy Awards website www.oscar.com.

Follow Oscars’ Host Seth MacFarlane on Twitter
https://twitter.com/SethMacFarlane

You Can Even Follow the Oscars’ Producer on Twitter for Behind the Scenes Updates
http://twitter.com/NeilMeron

ZERO DARK THIRTY Sweeps Alliance of Women Film Journalists EDA Awards With Five Wins

The Alliance of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ), a membership organization of leading women film journalists and critics from across the U.S., Canada and the U.K., has announced the winners of its 7th Annual EDA Awards. Starting with Best Film, “Zero Dark Thirty” swept the AWFJ EDA “Best of” categories with five awards, took another two in the female-centric EDA Focus Awards, and earned its eighth win in the EDA Special Mention section.

In the EDA ‘Best of’ categories – which parallel those used by other voting organizations – Jessica Chastain and Daniel Day Lewis were honored for their leading roles, with supporting role awards going to Anne Hathaway and  Philip Seymour Hoffman. Malik Benjelloul’s “Searching for Sugar Man” received the EDA for Best Documentary, and Michael Haneke’s “Amour” was embraced for “Best Non-English-Language Film.”

The AWFJ also presents two award categories that reflect the organization’s mission to celebrate women in filmmaking, as well as the perspective of women in film journalism.

The EDA Focus Award pays tribute to achievements in filmmaking by women. Among the 2012 winners are Lucy Alibar, who received the Best Woman Screenwriter Award for “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” which she co-wrote with and Benh Zeitlin; Jennifer Lawrence who grabbed the Kick Ass Award For Best Female Action Star for her role in “The Hunger Game”; and the “Brave” heroine Merida, voiced by Kelly Macdonald, which drew Best Animated Female.  Best Breakthrough Performance went to Quvenzhané Wallis for “Beasts of the Southern Wild.” This Year’s Outstanding Achievement By A Woman In The Film Industry, celebrates the overall achievements this year by “Women Documentary Filmmakers,” with five named for special mention.

AWFJ EDA ‘BEST OF’ AWARDS

Best Film:  “Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Director:  Kathryn Bigelow – “Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Screenplay, Original:  Mark Boal – “Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Screenplay, Adapted:  Chris Terrio – “Argo”

Best Documentary:  “Searching For Sugar Man”

Best Animated Film:  “ParaNorman”

Best Actress:  Jessica Chastain – “Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Actress in a Supporting Role:  Anne Hathaway – “Les Miserables”

Best Actor:  Daniel Day Lewis – “Lincoln”

Best Actor in a Supporting Role:  Phillip Seymour Hoffman – “The Master”

Best Ensemble Cast:  “Silver Linings Playbook”

Best Editing:  William Goldenberg, Dylan Tichenor – “Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Cinematography:  Claudio Miranda – “Life of Pi”

Best Film Music or Score:  Dan Romer, Benh Zeitlin – “Beasts of the Southern Wild”

Best Non-English-Language Film:  “Amour”

EDA FEMALE FOCUS AWARDS

Best Woman Director:  Kathryn Bigelow – “Zero Dark Thirty”  

Best Woman Screenwriter:  Lucy Alibar (and Benh Zeitlin) – “Beasts of the Southern Wild”                 

Kick Ass Award For Best Female Action Star:  Jennifer Lawrence – “The Hunger Games”

Best Animated Female:  Merida (Kelly Macdonald) – “Brave”

Best Breakthrough Performance:  Quvenzhané Wallis – “Beasts of the Southern Wild”

Actress Defying Age and Ageism:  Judi Dench – “Skyfall”

AWFJ Award for Humanitarian Activism – Female Icon Award, presented to an actress for the portrayal of the most positive female role model, or for a role in which she takes personal and/or career risks to plumb the female psyche and therefore gives us courage to plumb our own, and/or for putting forth the image of a woman who is heroic, accomplished, persistent, demands her rights and/or the rights of others:

Jessica Chastain – “Zero Dark Thirty”

This Year’s Outstanding Achievement By A Woman In The Film Industry, presented only when warranted to a female who has had a banner–making, record–breaking, industry–changing achievement during any given year:

Women Documentary Filmmakers – including Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (“Detropia”), Lauren Greenfield (“Queen of Versailles”), Alison Klayman (“Ai Weiwei Never Sorry”) and Sarah Burns (“The Central Park Five”).

See the full list of 2012 winners on http://awfj.org/eda–awards/2012–eda–award–winners/

Top 10 Films of 2012

From great documentaries to sweet indies to big studio movies, 2012 was one of the biggest years ever. It will be remembered for the reinvention of musicals with Tom Hooper’s LES MISERABLES, the meet-and-greet of horrifying engineers in Ridley Scott’s PROMETHEUS and the toppling of an empire in Lauren Greenfield’s QUEEN OF VERSAILLES.

There was no shortage from which to choose from at your local cinemas where superheroes reigned supreme at the box office, animated adventures were welcomed by young and old alike, and favorite characters from the various prequels and sequels were embraced like old friends.

As we head into the new year, some of the most anticipated films of 2013 are Zack Snyder’s MAN OF STEEL, J.J. Abrams’ STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, Shane Black’s IRON MAN 3, Marc Forster’s WORLD WAR Z, Dan Scanlon’s MONSTERS UNIVERSITY, Gore Verbinski’s THE LONE RANGER, Joseph Kosinski’s OBLIVION, M. Night Shyamalan’s AFTER EARTH, Guillermo del Toro’s PACIFIC RIM, James Mangold’s THE WOLVERINE, Neill Blomkamp’s ELYSIUM, Sam Raimi’s OZ: THE GREAT AND POWERFUL, Baz Luhrmann’s THE GREAT GATSBY, Kenneth Branagh’s JACK RYAN, Alfonso Cuarón’s GRAVITY and George Clooney’s THE MONUMENTS MEN.

In our look back at the year that was, WAMG has compiled our list of the ten best films of 2012.

Honorable Mention – SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS

SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS is the second feature film from writer/director Martin McDonogh and the second to show his prowess with smart, dark comedic material. Once again enlisting Colin Farrell, McDonogh throws Sam Rockwell and Christopher Walken into his alchemy and creates an unexpected yet very satisfying reaction. Much like Charlie Kaufman’s ADAPTATION, SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS blurs the lines of reality and fiction, art as life and vice-versa. The main character, a screenwriter suffering a creative block embarks on a dangerous journey into the mind of psychotic killers to research ideas, unaware that he’s living his next film.

10. SKYFALL

It turns out that it’s always possible to reinvigorate a movie series, even after fifty years and twenty-three installments. Sam Mendes, seemingly the most ill-fitting director for the job, ended up making the newest James Bond the best in years, even decades. With a smart script, terrific cast, and astonishing cinematography from Roger Deakins, SKYFALL mixes the best of traditional Bond elements with a fresh sensibility to make a great statement on what James Bond is, and what he could be moving forward.

9. PARANORMAN

PARANORMAN paid homage to some of the best known horror movies. The creative filmmakers behind the lovable CORALINE brought audiences their second stop-motion animated feature. Nominated for 8 Annie Awards, all the films’ tiny food, sets and characters were given great care down to the minutest detail. Directed by Sam Fell and Chris Butler, PARANORMAN is the story of an outcast boy who can see dead people and talk to zombies – all the while being bullied by the kids at school. We loved that Norman found a loyal pal in the energetic Neil. The movie grabbed us emotionally and we cheered Norman on as he became the hero of the town. A pleasant mix of scares for both the kiddos and their parents, PARANORMAN easily found a place in our hearts and on WAMG’s best of the year list.

8. MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS

2012’s biggest box office earner may also be the most fun popcorn flick of the year. After laying the ground work for this team-up flick since IRON MAN in 2008, Marvel Studios did the unexpected. They handed the reins of this new potential franchise (combining four film franchises) over to relative movie director newcomer and TV wunderkind (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) Joss Whedon (who also had a hand in this year’s delightful fright flick CABIN IN THE WOODS). And did he deliver! Of course there are the big action set pieces (like in the classic comics, the Marvel Superheroes battle when they first meet), but the biggest surprise may be the witty, multi-layered screenplay. Unlike many films that feature a large core cast (X-MEN, STAR TREK), each character truly got a chance to shine, even screen newbie Hawkeye. Perhaps Joss’s biggest coup was finally turning the Hulk into a real movie star after two solo features. Let’s hope we hear the rallying cry of “Avengers Assemble” again at the multiplexes very soon!

7. LIFE OF PI

Based on the best-selling novel by Yann Martel, Ang Lee’s fantastic adventure film centers on a young Indian boy named Pi, who survives a disaster at sea and has to fight for survival aboard a lifeboat for weeks on end with another survivor – a Bengal tiger. This is not the story of a boy and his tiger becoming buddies. This is about a boy fighting to stay alive without starving, becoming dehydrated, and most importantly – being EATEN BY A TIGER. Ultimately, LIFE OF PI also the story of a boy finding faith in God. It is a rousing adventure film with breathtaking visuals and spectacular 3D imagery.

6. ZERO DARK THIRTY

ZERO DARK THIRTY tackles one of the biggest man-hunts in history as its subject… The search for Osama bin Laden. The film follows the search following the unspeakable events of September 11th, 2001 and gives Americans a glimpse into how Navy S.E.A.L. Team 6 ultimately found, and killed the most wanted man in the world. Although graphic at times, the film offers suspense, intensity, and fantastic writing. It’s a must see for 2012.

5. DJANGO UNCHAINED

Quentin Tarantino often talks of quitting as a filmmaker, but when he continues to turn out work as vital and alive as DJANGO UNCHAINED, I hope that remains the idle chatter between each recharge of his battery, because his voice is one of the true treasures of modern movies, with this newest, the melding of Blaxploitation and classic Westerns, simply the latest entry in one of the most interesting filmographies today.

4. AMOUR

AMOUR is, as promised by its title, a movie about love. It’s hard to watch, not least because Austrian director Michael Haneke does not intend for the audience to be passive spectators. Rather, he wants us to feel uncomfortable as uninvited guests to the private intimacy shared by long-married couple Georges and Anne. Before we have a chance to feel familiar with them, Anne suffers a stroke that begins the unraveling of her mortal coil. Haneke shows her and Georges’ loss of dignity with dignity. This movie is not an auteur’s opinion of love; it is the offering of an artist who asks us to contemplate what love means to us so that our lives may be enriched.

3. LOOPER

LOOPER is an entertaining science fiction thriller that neatly blurs the line between suicide and murder, it’s a narrowly conceived yarn about victims sent back in time to be bumped off by assassins called loopers. Rian Johnson, in his third feature, keeps the action going while trying to maintain interest in the long arc of a story about Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a man assigned to kill his 30-years-older self (Bruce Willis). LOOPER is mostly set in a seedy metropolis that doesn’t look all that different from sketchy neighborhoods in some big cities today; there are derelicts, bombed-out buildings, ruined cars and enough other signs of urban ills to suggest that, in Johnson’s view, things will just gradually decline over the next three decades. There really is no sense in the time-travel in LOOPER, but no less sense than in any other film in this genre. Johnson makes up for it with narrative force, mesmeric fascination and a sense of a profound taboo being broken.

2. LINCOLN

LINCOLN is a stupendous film. It will later be considered an important film in Spielberg’s career. As a film about a beloved president, it is subtle and power. After reading many books on Lincoln, including ‘Team of Rivals, which this film is partially based on, I think that there has never been a more authentic and realistic portrayal of the president seen in a motion picture. Steven Spielberg’s direction is first-rate and very restrained here. I love his skill with the camera and cinematic visuals, but here he allows the history to shine through! The screenplay stays true and authentic to the period—the 1860’s. I didn’t catch any dialogue that seemed wrong…or a piece of set design, which was glaringly unreal. Historically, nothing egregious appeared in the film that took me out of the story. Daniel Day Lewis is almost supernatural in his ability to transform into a character. He brings the word ‘Art’ into the realm of acting once again, which is cool in a world in which ‘Stars’ without talent who denigrate the craft. As for the subject of the film: Lincoln was a genius, in my opinion, able to show great compassion, but also leadership powers akin to a tightrope walker, able to contain a ‘Team of Rivals’ within his own cabinet; he was very rational, able to tell a witty story one minute and give a beautifully written speech the next. On all these levels, Daniel Day Lewis is able to bring out the most accurate Lincoln I have ever seen. And, from what I’ve read, the voice Daniel came up with for Abe is spot-on and as accurate as it is possible to be. Whether it was Daniel’s role in the brilliant, ‘There Will Be Blood’ or his early performance in ‘A Room With a View,’ this is one hell of an excellent actor. It isn’t just the performance of Abe, either. All the actors, including Sally Field as Mary Lincoln, are perfect. As far as history goes, no piece of dialogue, no part of a set, no performance seemed to betray the 21st Century. This film is almost a time capsule of one of the most glorious, terrible and revolutionary times (The Civil War and the final eradication of slavery) in our country. As a motion picture, I cannot think of a more worthy film deserving of the ‘Best Picture.’ It is super that there are films out there that break the limits of censorship, that entertain us with often-entertaining, weird and offensive subject matter, BUT I also demand that there be ART in motion pictures. I want to know that my interest isn’t just made up of bilious, though fun, garbage. It is wonderful that a serious movie was made so skillfully about a man and subject so important, poignant, brave and vital.

And our number one film of the year…

1. ARGO

ARGO tells the recently-declassified true story of a CIA agent named Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) who concocted and led a scheme involving a fake movie production to get six U.S. embassy workers out of Iran during the Iranian Revolution and the resulting hostage crisis. Mendez is brought on as an advisor and when he learns how bad the CIA’s plan is to extract them, he comes up with an outlandish plan: pass the workers off as members of a Canadian film crew on a location scout for a sci-fi Star Wars ripoff called Argo. Look for solid, funny performances by Alan Arkin and John Goodman. Also directed by Affleck, ARGO is intense with it’s nailbiting ending and hilarious as it pokes fun at Hollywood.

Win Passes To The Advance Screening Of ZERO DARK THIRTY In St. Louis

The hunt for Osama bin Laden preoccupied the world and two American presidential administrations for more than a decade. But in the end, it took a small, dedicated team of CIA operatives to track him down. Every aspect of their mission was shrouded in secrecy. Though some of the details have since been made public, many of the most significant parts of the intelligence operation––including the central role played by that team––are brought to the screen for the first time in a nuanced and gripping new film by the Oscar®-winning creative duo of Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal.

Their account of bin Laden’s pursuit and capture, vivid yet faithful to the facts, takes the viewer inside the hubs of power and to the front lines of this historic mission, culminating in the special operations assault on a mysterious, suburban Pakistani compound.

But it is the lead-up to the raid that truly distinguishes ZERO DARK THIRTY from other accounts. The quest to find bin Laden was fraught with danger from the start, and not every U.S. operative survived. Some intelligence experts came to believe that the assignment was impossible to carry out, but on the ground a determined team of analysts and interrogators defied the odds and proved them wrong. For the first time, their struggle to find Osama bin Laden is told on the screen in electrifying detail. At its core, ZERO DARK THIRTY offers a cinematic rendition into one of the most discussed but least known events of modern times from creative artists challenging themselves to push the limits of their craft. Events are recreated with a fidelity to the facts, including filming in Pakistan itself, embedding the viewer into the center of the action. The result is a film as profound and provocative as it is stunning and real.

ZERO DARK THIRTY stars Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, Mark Strong, Jennifer Ehle, Kyle Chandler, and Edgar Ramirez. Columbia Pictures unveiled the action-thriller in limited release on December 19, 2012 with a wide release set for January 11, 2013.

Columbia Pictures and WAMG invite you to enter to win a pass (good for 2) to the advance screening of ZERO DARK THIRTY on January 10th at 7 pm in St. Louis.

OFFICIAL RULES:

1. YOU MUST BE IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA THE DAY OF THE SCREENING.
2. Name the 2008 film for which Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
3. SEND YOUR NAME AND ANSWER TO: michelle@wearemoviegeeks.com

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.

This film has been rated R by the MPAA for STRONG VIOLENCE INCLUDING BRUTAL DISTURBING IMAGES, AND FOR LANGUAGE.

Columbia Pictures presents a Mark Boal production, a First Light production, an Annapurna Pictures production, a Kathryn Bigelow film, Zero Dark Thirty. Starring Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Ehle, Mark Strong, Kyle Chandler, and Edgar Ramirez. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow. Written by Mark Boal. Produced by Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow, and Megan Ellison. Executive Producers are Colin Wilson, Ted Schipper, and Greg Shapiro. Director of Photography is Greig Fraser ACS. Production Designer is Jeremy Hindle. Edited by Dylan Tichenor, A.C.E. and William Goldenberg, A.C.E. Costumes Designed by George L. Little. Music by Alexandre Desplat. Sound Design by Paul N. J. Ottosson. Casting by Mark Bennett, CSA, Richard Hicks, CSA, and Gail Stevens.

http://www.zerodarkthirty-movie.com

https://www.facebook.com/ZeroDarkThirty

 https://twitter.com/ZeroDarkThirty  

National Board of Review Names ZERO DARK THIRTY 2012 Film Of The Year; Best Director – Kathryn Bigelow

Hot on the heels of the New York Film Critics Circle giving it their top prize, The National Board of Review (@NBRfilm) has followed suit and named ZERO DARK THIRTY the Best Film of the Year for 2012. “ZERO DARK THIRTY is a masterful film,” said Annie Schulhof, NBR President. “Kathryn Bigelow takes the viewer inside a definitive moment of our time in a visceral and unique way. It is exciting, provocative and deeply emotional.” While these voters are not Oscar voters, it still worth noting that the NBR went with LES MISERABLES as Best Ensemble. The Los Angeles FIlm Critics will be live-tweeting winners from their awards voting, kicking off at 10am PST this Sunday. (@LAFilmCritics).

Below is a full list of the awards given by the National Board of Review:

Best Film:  ZERO DARK THIRTY
Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, ZERO DARK THIRTY
Best Actor: Bradley Cooper, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
Best Actress: Jessica Chastain, ZERO DARK THIRTY
Best Supporting Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, DJANGO UNCHAINED
Best Supporting Actress: Ann Dowd, COMPLIANCE
Best Original Screenplay: Rian Johnson, LOOPER
Best Adapted Screenplay: David O. Russell, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
Best Animated Feature: WRECK-IT RALPH
Special Achievement in Filmmaking: Ben Affleck, ARGO
Breakthrough Actor: Tom Holland, THE IMPOSSIBLE
Breakthrough Actress: Quvenzhané Wallis BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
Best Directorial Debut: Benh Zeitlin, BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
Best Foreign Language Film:  AMOUR
Best Documentary: SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN
William K. Everson Film History Award: 50 YEARS OF BOND FILMS
Best Ensemble: LES MISÉRABLES
Spotlight Award: John Goodman (ARGO, FLIGHT, PARANORMAN, TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE)
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: CENTRAL PARK FIVE
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: PROMISED LAND

Top Films
(in alphabetical order)

ARGO
BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
DJANGO UNCHAINED
LES MISÉRABLES
LINCOLN
LOOPER
THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER
PROMISED LAND
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

Top 5 Foreign Language Films
(In Alphabetical Order)

BARBARA
THE INTOUCHABLES
THE KID WITH A BIKE
NO
WAR WITCH

Top 5 Documentaries
(In Alphabetical Order)

AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY
DETROPIA
THE GATEKEEPERS
THE INVISIBLE WAR
ONLY THE YOUNG

Top 10 Independent Films
(In Alphabetical Order)

ARBITRAGE
BERNIE
COMPLIANCE
END OF WATCH
HELLO I MUST BE GOING
LITTLE BIRDS
MOONRISE KINGDOM
ON THE ROAD
QUARTET
SLEEPWALK WITH ME

A select group of knowledgeable film enthusiasts and professionals, academics, young filmmakers and students, the National Board of Review viewed over 250 films this year including studio, independent, foreign-language, animated and documentary selections. These screenings were frequently followed by in-depth discussions with filmmakers, directors, actors, producers, and screenwriters. Voting ballots were tabulated by the accounting firm of Lutz & Carr, LLP.

The National Board of Review honors diverse members of the film community at their annual Awards Gala, which also acts as a fundraiser for student grant philanthropy. Hosted by Meredith Vieira, this year’s gala will take place on January 8, 2013 at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City.

Kathryn Bigelow And Mark Boal Discuss ZERO DARK THIRTY

Yesterday the New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) named ZERO DARK THIRTY Best Picture. Wins also went to Kathryn Bigelow, Best Director and Greig Fraser, Best Cinematography. Here’s the latest clip from Columbia Pictures’ film.

The hunt for Osama bin Laden preoccupied the world and two American presidential administrations for more than a decade. But in the end, it took a small, dedicated team of CIA operatives to track him down. Every aspect of their mission was shrouded in secrecy. Though some of the details have since been made public, many of the most significant parts of the intelligence operation – including the central role played by that team – are brought to the screen for the first time in a nuanced and gripping new film by the Oscar®-winning creative duo of Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal.

Their account of bin Laden’s pursuit and capture, vivid yet faithful to the facts, takes the viewer inside the hubs of power and to the front lines of this historic mission, culminating in the special operations assault on a mysterious, suburban Pakistani compound.

But it is the lead-up to the raid that truly distinguishes ZERO DARK THIRTY from other accounts. The quest to find bin Laden was fraught with danger from the start, and not every U.S. operative survived. Some intelligence experts came to believe that the assignment was impossible to carry out, but on the ground a determined team of analysts and interrogators defied the odds and proved them wrong. For the first time, their struggle to find Osama bin Laden is told on the screen in electrifying detail.

The initial, self-imposed creative challenge Bigelow and Boal faced in developing Zero Dark Thirty was how to tell this multifaceted story in the compressed time frame of a motion picture.  The film encompasses sweeping events spanning nearly a decade, journeying across multiple countries and involving a precisely chosen cast of hundreds along with a devoted crew whose objective was to capture the on-the-ground reality of this mission as truthfully and viscerally as possible. To that end, it pulls no punches in documenting the moral lines – including torture – that were crossed. The intention was to create a cinematic work with the sweep and human emotion of a historical novel.

ZERO DARK THIRTY (the title is military jargon for the dark of night, as well as the moment – 12:30 a.m. – when the Navy SEALs first stepped foot on the compound) marks Kathryn Bigelow’s most ambitious production to date. Deploying the full arsenal of filmic art, from the naturalistic performances of an ensemble that includes Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Ehle, Mark Strong, Kyle Chandler, and Edgar Ramirez, to innovative cinematography in extreme low-light conditions, to the painstakingly layered art direction, every facet of the production became a proving ground for Bigelow to make living history come alive on screen.


Director/Producer Kathryn Bigelow on the set of Columbia Pictures’ thriller ZERO DARK THIRTY. ©2012 Zero Dark Thirty, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

For screenwriter and producer Mark Boal, a trained journalist and award-winning dramatist, sourcing and reporting the story so that it could be told accurately and fully presented countless unique challenges. He made a commitment to his sources that he would chronicle not only their personal struggles, but also the details and the ramifications of this historic operation, while simultaneously protecting the identities of those he interviewed.  Through dialogue and scenes inspired by extensive interviews, Boal crafted characters that captured the essence of the real life people involved in the operation as well as other members of the military and intelligence communities.

At the end of the day, the filmmakers chose to tell the story through the eyes of a little-known participant in the intel hunt: Maya, a young CIA officer and targeter whose job is finding terrorists.  In a multifaceted performance by Chastain, the character of Maya, which is based on a real person, became Boal’s vehicle for dramatizing the individual’s role in the larger scheme. In some ways, the portrait of her development, from innocence to horror and grim determination, echoes the evolution of a nation struggling to cope with the ruthless calculus of terrorism.

Unlike Bigelow and Boal’s previous collaboration, THE HURT LOCKER, in which fictional characters were set against the terrifying real world of Iraq, ZERO DARK THIRTY is distinctive and singular in its approach. It is an amalgam of action-film and investigative reporting and drama, neither a work of fiction nor a documentary but an exciting hybrid that tracks closely what is known of the intelligence hunt, while shedding new light on the secretive, dark corridors of the war on terror.  It deftly depicts the mysteries of human courage and the ambiguities of a situation in which the usual moral rules no longer apply.

Cinematic story telling became the perfect means to relay the narrative. In staking out this novel territory, Boal’s inspiration was the New Journalism of the 1960s, when major American writers learned to apply the techniques of literature to the description of real events. In this sense, ZERO DARK THIRTY attempts to move the genre of literary reportage forward, offering the audience a unique kind of movie: the reported film.

At its core, ZERO DARK THIRTY offers a cinematic rendition into one of the most discussed but least known events of modern times from creative artists challenging themselves to push the limits of their craft. Events are recreated with a fidelity to the facts, including filming in Pakistan itself, embedding the viewer into the center of the action. The result is a film as profound and provocative as it is stunning and real.


©2012 Zero Dark Thirty, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

In the storied history of manhunts for international criminals, the quest for Osama bin Laden has no real precedent.

“It is the story of finding a very sharp needle in a very large haystack,” notes director Kathryn Bigelow. “Once bin Laden escaped from Afghanistan, he fenced himself in with a byzantine network that took years and years to unravel. And what I think is so intriguing about Mark’s script is the way it tracks all the minute steps, in a way that’s dramatic yet totally unsentimental, unsparing, and unsettling. This is a very raw account.”

Where would the breakthroughs come? What clues might give bin Laden’s location away? Could Al Qaeda operatives be turned?

While these were all essential questions, for Bigelow and Boal a more fundamental question loomed: who were the CIA operatives who refused to give up and stayed on bin Laden’s trail even when it went cold and the world was distracted by other crises? For the first time, a film focuses on the human dimension of that story, illustrating the internal struggle of the operatives and the overwhelming toll of the mission.

“The question for me as a filmmaker was, how do you tie all the pieces of this epic story together in a way that will be tonally united and all in the same register?” says Bigelow. “Mark’s research and script brought the breadth of it, from Afghanistan to Washington to Pakistan, to life. And then it became a kind of instinctual process, moment-by-moment, scene-by-scene, of telling the story with restraint at every level. It was both a massive undertaking and a very careful, subtle undertaking and there is no way I could have made ZERO DARK THIRTY without all the experiences I’ve had as a filmmaker so far.”


©2012 Zero Dark Thirty, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

The quest to tell the story of ZERO DARK THIRTY would eventually lead Bigelow and Boal into their own labyrinthine encounter with secretiveness and intense production challenges.  But it all started simply and quietly, six years ago,

“This thing is pretty hand made,” says Boal, “and it’s gone through two iterations. It began six years ago as a movie about the failure to capture bin Laden in Tora Bora. I spent a few years on that, researching and writing, and we were in pre-production of that film by 2011, with scouts in Romania. Then, more or less out of the blue, bin Laden was killed, and that film became ancient history. So I had to start again.”

“This story was always personal to me because I grew up in New York City, in the shadow of The World Trade Center and, after 9/11, I really felt I needed to understand more about bin Laden and the U.S. response to him,” notes Boal, who has reported on national security issues and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for magazines as diverse as Playboy and Rolling Stone. “The guy attacked my hometown, and the long aftermath of that day has defined my professional life as a writer. I can’t say I picked the topic. Writers, like children, don’t always get to pick their influences. It picked me.”

At that time, Bigelow was already drawing critical and popular attention as a director with her own uncompromising vision and affinity for meshing taut, involving action with human intrigue in features including NEAR DARK, BLUE STEEL and K-19: THE WIDOWMAKER. In the midst of Boal’s initial research on Tora Bora, he and Bigelow made THE HURT LOCKER, which would win her a place in history as one of the leading chroniclers of 21st Century warfare and as the first woman ever to win the Oscar® for Best Director.

Still, even with acclaim and awards on their side, the topic of bin Laden remained a non-starter in Hollywood and the filmmakers had to find independent financing to get the project off the ground. Boal and Bigelow joined forces with producer and financier Megan Ellison, who funded the picture through her label, Annapurna Pictures.


Director/Producer Kathryn Bigelow (left) and Writer/Producer Mark Boal on the set of Columbia Pictures’ thriller ZERO DARK THIRTY. ©Jonathan Olley

After the historic events of May 1, 2011, when news of bin Laden’s death stunned the world, Boal moved to Washington for several months, diving into 80-plus hour work-weeks, literally pounding the pavement and knocking on doors. He then travelled to Pakistan and other parts of the Middle East to follow the leads of the story.

“Public affairs at some agencies were helpful, and then a lot of the reporting was done the old-fashioned way, with shoe leather, and sourcing and luck,” explains Boal. “My intention was to get as many first-hand accounts from those who were involved as possible, and I was at the end of the day fortunate to be able to write a script drawn almost entirely from first-hand accounts of the people directly involved in the mission.”

“Obviously, unless you are making a documentary, at a certain point, you have to take off your journalist’s hat and put on your screenwriter’s hat to tell a great story. This is a movie after all. When you are detailing a ten-year manhunt and compressing those facts and that research into a two-hour movie, you have to tell your story efficiently.”

Boal’s approach synched perfectly with Bigelow’s vision for the film. “The public knows very little about what the unsung heroes in the intelligence community go through, which is as it has to be, but here you get a rare opportunity to have a first-hand look at the men and women at the heart of one of the most covert operations in our history,” says the director. “Mark didn’t just ascertain facts; he absorbed the subtle nuances permeating the atmosphere of this world – the personalities, the conflicts, the motivations, the uncertainties – and then brilliantly illuminated them.”

Bigelow concludes, “The ultimate goal for all of us was to bring people into this shadowy, yet vitally important, world that is seen only in the rarest moments, and illuminate its human face.”


Jonathan Olley ©2012 Zero Dark Thirty, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

ZERO DARK THIRTY has been rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for Strong Violence Including Brutal Disturbing Images, and for Language. The film will be released in theaters in New York and Los Angeles on December 19, 2012. In theaters wide January 11, 2013.

Columbia Pictures presents a Mark Boal production, a First Light production, an Annapurna Pictures production, a Kathryn Bigelow film, ZERO DARK THIRTY. Starring Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Ehle, Mark Strong, Kyle Chandler, and Edgar Ramirez. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow. Written by Mark Boal.  Produced by Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow, and Megan Ellison. Executive Producers are Colin Wilson, Ted Schipper, and Greg Shapiro. Director of Photography is Greig Fraser ACS. Production Designer is Jeremy Hindle. Edited by Dylan Tichenor, A.C.E. and William Goldenberg, A.C.E. Costumes Designed by George L. Little. Music by Alexandre Desplat.  Sound Design by Paul N. J. Ottosson. Casting by Mark Bennett, CSA, Richard Hicks, CSA, and Gail Stevens.

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ZERO DARK THIRTY New Poster

A brand new poster for Academy-Award winning director Kathryn Bigelow’s film ZERO DARK THIRTY has come online (via Moviefone).

This poster moves away from the previous style set by the promotional materials, which made the text look like it’d been redacted as part of secret government documents. This is less “black ops” and more “epic.” And you could certainly say that the long, bitter hunt for Osama bin Laden was epic, in a way.

Set to bow in the thick of this Awards Season, Columbia Pictures and Annapurna Pictures will unveil the action-thriller in limited release on December 19, 2012 with a wide release January 4, 2013.

For a decade, an elite team of intelligence and military operatives, working in secret across the globe, devoted themselves to a single goal: to find and eliminate Osama bin Laden. ZERO DARK THIRTY reunites the Oscar® winning team of director-producer Kathryn Bigelow and writer-producer Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker) for the story of history’s greatest manhunt for the world’s most dangerous man.

The film stars Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, Mark Strong, Jennifer Ehle, Kyle Chandler, and Edgar Ramirez.

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