One of my shidi sent me this - it's too precious not to post here. Van Damme.
Printable View
One of my shidi sent me this - it's too precious not to post here. Van Damme.
LOL! Pretty funny!:D
So let me get this straight, Van Damme isn't the greatest ever.
Now that's very funny!
I'll say this for Jet Li. Despite my criticism of his acting skills elsewhere in this folder, he's not nearly as painful to watch as Jean Claude Van Damme.
Someone having their eyes gouged out with blunt, rusty spoons isn't as painful to watch as JCVD.Quote:
Originally posted by Chang Style Novice
I'll say this for Jet Li. Despite my criticism of his acting skills elsewhere in this folder, he's not nearly as painful to watch as Jean Claude Van Damme.
Remember when JCVD got sued for blinding a stuntman in a choreographed fight? Ouch.
mad article :D im not gonna embarass myself by listing how many of those i have seen :eek:
i remember that Gene - it was some guy from Cyborg... also remember when he got mugged TWICE?
dawood
Speaking of bizarre and scandalous ex-celebrity news, did anyone hear about Don Johnson getting stopped at a german airport last month with eight billion dollars in liquid assets (bearer bonds and so on) in a suitcase?
Yes, that's billion with a b as in boy. I haven't heard any follow up stories on that, but I'll bet the tale behind his moving that kind of scrilla is a doozy.
If memory serves, when authorities asked him why he was carrying so much he said "I'm buying a car" to which they replied "It looks like your buying the factory."
Seriously? What's the story behind that one?Quote:
Originally posted by GeneChing
Remember when JCVD got sued for blinding a stuntman in a choreographed fight? Ouch.
He's been sending me more JCVD stuff - here you go!
that's really hilarious! the part about a "musical training montage..." was the best. for such a terrible actor, he's got a lot of movies under his belt. still sucks though
Dang he has a lot of movies
Ironically I have never seen Bloodsport. The only JCVD movies I have seen are Kickboxer, Streetfighter, Time Cop and The Quest (which was like a remake of Bloodsport).
According to the Internet Movie Database
http://us.imdb.com/Bio?Van%20Damme,%20Jean-Claude
The eye thing was
Quote:
In 1989, he was sued for "willfully" gouging the eye of an extra in a swordfight while filming Cyborg.
From the site Philbert linked:
LOL.Quote:
His fight scenes are so intense that he won't film them in the U.S. for fear of being sued.
I'd sue the pr!ck if he pulled one of the crazy splits things while fighting me.
I like to the movie. I dun like the ending.
A 30 year old waitress turned boxer.
It landed best actress, best director, actor in supporting role and best film.
Ziyi Zhang was shining or stunning as usual.
Christ as the host was quite tame with his humors.
--
:cool:
Finally! So deserved. Congrats to Jackie!
More than 30 martial arts movies? More like over a 100. :rolleyes:Quote:
http://oscar-prod-images.bls-custome...g?t=1472751564
1 SEP 2016 5:46 pm
ACADEMY ANNOUNCES JACKIE CHAN, ANNE COATES, LYNN STALMASTER, AND FREDERICK WISEMAN WILL RECEIVE 2016 GOVERNORS AWARDS
BY. MICHELINE GOLDSTEIN
The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted on August 30th to present Honorary Awards to actor Jackie Chan, film editor Anne V. Coates, casting director Lynn Stalmaster and documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman. The four Oscar® statuettes will be presented at the Academy's 8th Annual Governors Awards on Saturday, November 12, at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center®.
"The Honorary Award was created for artists like Jackie Chan, Anne Coates, Lynn Stalmaster and Frederick Wiseman – true pioneers and legends in their crafts," said Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs. "The Board is proud to honor their extraordinary achievements, and we look forward to celebrating with them at the Governors Awards in November."
After making his motion picture debut at the age of eight, Chan brought his childhood training with the Peking Opera to a distinctive international career. He starred in – and sometimes wrote, directed and produced – more than 30 martial arts features in his native Hong Kong, charming audiences with his dazzling athleticism, inventive stunt work and boundless charisma. Since Rumble in the Bronx in 1996, he has gone on to enormous worldwide success with the Rush Hour movies, Shanghai Noon, Shanghai Knights, Around the World in 80 Days, The Karate Kid and the Kung Fu Panda series of animated films.
A native of Reigate, England, Coates worked her way up to lead editor on a handful of features before collaborating with David Lean on Lawrence of Arabia and winning her first Oscar. In her more than 60 years as a film editor, she has worked side by side with many leading directors on an impressive range of films, including Sidney Lumet (Murder on the Orient Express), Richard Attenborough (Chaplin) and Steven Soderbergh (Erin Brockovich). She also earned four additional Oscar nominations, for Becket, The Elephant Man, In the Line of Fire and Out of Sight.
Stalmaster, a one-time stage and screen actor from Omaha, Nebraska, began working in casting in the mid-1950s. Over the next five decades, he applied his talents to more than 200 feature films, including such classics as Inherit the Wind, In the Heat of the Night, The Graduate, Fiddler on the Roof, Harold and Maude, Deliverance, Coming Home, Tootsie and The Right Stuff. He has enjoyed multiple collaborations with directors Stanley Kramer, Robert Wise, Hal Ashby, Norman Jewison and Sydney Pollack, and has been instrumental in the careers of such celebrated actors as Jon Voight, Richard Dreyfuss, Scott Wilson, Jill Clayburgh, Christopher Reeve and John Travolta.
From his home base in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Wiseman has made one film almost every year since 1967, illuminating lives in the context of social, cultural and government institutions. He created a sensation with his first documentary feature, Titicut Follies, which went behind the scenes at Bridgewater State Hospital for the criminally insane. The film established an unobtrusive, observational storytelling style that has strongly identified his work, from the gritty (Law and Order, Public Housing, Domestic Violence) to the uplifting (La Danse – The Paris Opera Ballet, National Gallery, In Jackson Heights).
The Honorary Award, an Oscar statuette, is given "to honor extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding service to the Academy."
If Hollywood really wants to pander to China it will...I mean, come on. Skiptrace? :rolleyes:
Quote:
China's Oscar Selection 'Xuanzang' Wins Big at Inaugural Golden Screen Awards
6:43 PM PDT 11/4/2016 by Valerie Zhou
http://cdn4.thr.com/sites/default/fi...een_awards.jpg
John Li
Rob Schneider
The ceremony, presented by the U.S.-China Film & TV Industry Expo, honored the period epic in five categories, including best co-production.
The inaugural Golden Screen Awards, which specifically focuses on co-productions between the U.S. and China, took place Thursday at L.A. Live. Held by the U.S.-China Film & TV Industry Expo in partnership with the Motion Picture Association (MPA), China Film Co-Production Corporation and The Hollywood Reporter, Xuanzang was the biggest winner, receiving best co-production film, director, cinematography, actor and production design honors.
The film, which depicts the perilous journey of the legendary Chinese monk who brought Buddhism from India to China, is the latter country's official Academy Award foreign-language submission this year. “This is a great opportunity for us," said director Huo Jianqi, "but I don’t think too much about the result, as long as this film can spread the spirit of Xuanzang.”
Paula Patton, who starred in the U.S.-China co-production film Warcraft, attended the ceremony, which was hosted by Rob Schneider.
“It’s great to be in Hollywood, the entertainment capital of the world. Hollywood is proud to be an equal-opportunity spender of other people’s money,” joked Schneider in his edgy remarks. “First we took money from Germany, then from France. Then we raped Japan pretty good. Now we are delighted to take China. Bend them over, for as much money as we could steal from them.”
Other films receiving awards included Three, Mountain Cry, Skiptrace and Kung Fu Panda 3.
A complete list of winners follows:
Best Co-Production Film
Da Tang Xuan Zang
Best Director
Huo Jianqi (Da Tang Xuan Zang)
Best Screenplay
Yau Nai Hoi / Lau HoLeung / Mark Tinshu (Three)
Best Cinematography
Su Ming (Da Tang Xuan Zang)
Best Actor
Huang Xiaoming (Da Tang Xuan Zang)
Best Actress
Lang Yueting (Mountain Cry)
Best Supporting Actor
Eric Tsang (Skiptrace)
Best Supporting Actress
Fan Bingbing (Skiptrace)
Best Production Design
Wu Ming (Da Tang Xuan Zang)
Best Animation
Kung Fu Panda 3
Really short interview.
Quote:
Jackie Chan reflects on 50 year career and honorary Oscar
https://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/im...Eea6RlPbV_DjUQ
FILE - In this Dec. 18, 2013, file photo, Hong Kong actor Jackie Chan smiles during a news conference to promote his new film “Police Story 2013,” in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. On Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016, Chan will accept an honorary Academy Award from the film academy’s Board of Governors. (Lai Seng Sin, File/Associated Press)
By Sandy Cohen | AP November 8 at 2:10 PM
LOS ANGELES — As an action star, Jackie Chan never expected to get an Oscar.
So he considers receiving an honorary Academy Award from the film academy’s Board of Governors his proudest professional achievement.
Chan will accept his Oscar statuette Saturday at the eighth annual Governors Awards. Film editor Anne Coates, casting director Lynn Stalmaster and documentarian Frederick Wiseman are also receiving honorary Academy Awards, which recognize lifetime achievement and contributions to the film industry.
“I never imagined that I’d receive such an award,” Chan said. “I still remember my very first proudest moment was when I received an award for stunt choreography. At that time, I didn’t know much about directing, I just knew how to do action and fighting sequences and stunts. Receiving this honorary award has raised my feelings to another level.”
The 62-year-old writer, director, producer and actor reflected on his career in an email interview with The Associated Press from his home base in Hong Kong. He plans to be in Los Angeles to accept his award in person.
___
AP: What was your most challenging film to make and why?
Chan: “Rumble in the Bronx” had a lot of action choreography, fighting sequences, and dangerous stunts. In “Operation Condor” I filmed in extreme temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius in the desert. I had a near death accident while doing a stunt in “Armor of God.” In “Rush Hour,” I found the English dialogue most challenging.
AP: How does making movies in Hong Kong differ from Hollywood’s approach to film?
Chan: I find Hollywood’s approach to film production very systematic and organized. Of course, being organized is a good thing, but sometimes I feel restrained within set rules. Hong Kong filmmaking is more dynamic because things can be changed on the set while we’re still filming. It’s more flexible and encourages creativity, and if we think of something that might work, we try it right away.
AP: What changes in the industry have been most surprising to you?
Chan: Because I’ve been in the film industry for over 50 years, the most significant change I’ve noticed is the change from using 35mm film to digital technology, and even 3D filming. The improvement of technology has changed how films are now made. What we used to use back then is now part of history. I’m still fascinated by digital technology and the amount of work that can be done in post-production with CG (computer-generated) effects.
AP: What has been was your most exciting Hollywood experience?
Chan: All my experiences in Hollywood have been interesting and exciting. I’ve learned so many new things in Hollywood, made new friends and family, such as my American Chinese brother Brett Ratner. I’ve had many great memorable moments while working in Hollywood. I guess the most fun was making the “Rush Hour” series.
___
Follow AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen at www.twitter.com/APSandy .
George makes some good points here, but I'd argue that Jackie is the last of his kind because no one is training like he did from childhood. The article we published last September addresses his upbringing: Painted Faces: A tribute to the old "Seven Little Fortunes" by Emilio AlpansequeQuote:
JACKIE CHAN
http://cdn2.i-scmp.com/sites/default...?itok=A8ydE6qg
WHY CHINA’S RISE MEANS HONG KONG STARS LIKE JACKIE CHAN WILL BE THE LAST OF THEIR KIND
At a ceremony in Los Angeles on Saturday, Jackie Chan will receive a lifetime achievement Oscar from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Chan, 62, is the most famous living Hong Kong movie star – and easily tops the Internet…
BY MICHAEL T. GEORGE
11 NOV 2016
http://cdn3.i-scmp.com/sites/default...?itok=x1ZzE29M
Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in Rush Hour 2.
At a ceremony in Los Angeles on Saturday, Jackie Chan will receive a lifetime achievement Oscar from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Chan, 62, is the most famous living Hong Kong movie star – and easily tops the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) star meter rankings for Hong Kong actors. Thanks to Chan’s early kung fu films and the hugely successful “Rush Hour” franchise, he could walk down the main street of Anytown, USA and turn heads.
http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/fi...?itok=_3wKwyMc
Cast member Jackie Chan poses with Paris Hilton at the premiere of Rush Hour 3. Photo: Reuters
Jet Li and Donnie Yen are No 2 and 3 respectively on the IMDB list. Li broke into Hollywood via the Lethal Weapon franchise and has stayed in the limelight with roles in all three Expendables movies, while Yen has risen to global fame thanks in part to the Ip Man movies.
Michele Yeoh and Chow Yun Fat (in that order) round out the Hong Kong Top 5 on the IMDB star meter list, which ranks actors based on the interest shown in them. And despite their fine performances, the Hong Kong A-listers Tony Leung, Andy Lau, Louis Koo, Aaron Kwok and Sean Lau are hardly known outside Asia.
One thing the Top 5 actors have in common: they are all over 50. Which begs the question, what about the next generation of Hong Kong A-list stars with global recognition? Will any of the younger actors appearing in Hong Kong cinema today break out beyond Asia in future?
http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/fi...?itok=xaTEk8TE
Jet Li in Fist of Legend
Not likely, and here’s why. Mainland China, now the No 2 box office worldwide, has sucked most of the talent (and money) away from Hong Kong. The big Hong Kong film production companies are using their advantaged access to the Chinese film market to make formulaic comedies and dramas specifically aimed at mainland tastes. Who can blame them? The financial rewards are huge.
Many Hong Kong actors find regular work in these types of mainland films – and will continue to do so, provided they remain “patriotic” in the eyes of Beijing by not voicing support for Hong Kong democracy. But the problem is that mainland films don’t travel outside China. Name a Chinese movie that has had critical and commercial success in the West in the past decade? You have to go as far back as Zhang Yimou’s Hero in 2002 (which starred Jet Li). Prior to that was the global hit Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), which propelled Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh to global fame.
http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/fi...?itok=DJeg5tcL
A still of Donnie Yen in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny
So, any opportunity for Hong Kong actors to break into Hollywood – or at least appear in films aimed at non-Asian audiences – may have passed due to the “mainlandisation” of the Hong Kong film industry. A further risk for our local actors is if, over time, mainland Chinese audiences grow to prefer their own A-list and B-list actors, which would mean Hong Kong talent is relegated to minor supporting roles.
When Jackie Chan and Jet Li first landed their overseas roles, Hong Kong cinema was still strong. Hollywood producers effectively made them global A-list stars by casting them in major films. Now, with Hollywood’s love affair with mainland China, it is more likely these producers would choose mainland actors for these potentially breakout roles. The fact is, Hong Kong is not even on Hollywood’s radar anymore.
To be sure, local Hong Kong actors are still the staple of the “local” Hong Kong films – those not made as co-productions with the mainland. Alas, these are even less likely to travel abroad. Ten Years achieved global publicity far beyond its micro-budget due to its contentious political content, but the actors in that film are unlikely to be offered roles in bigger movies as a result.
http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/fi...?itok=OXUSWMMR
Hong Kong actress Michelle Yeoh sits beneath a giant poster of James Bond while speaking to reporters during a news conference about the filming of the 18th Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies. Photo: AP
Many of these local films are funded or supported by Hong Kong government programmes aimed at keeping alive the indigenous film industry. In this respect, Hong Kong is similar to Austria, Belgium and Canada, which each share a border with a larger country that speaks the same language. Germany, France and the US produce enough screen content to meet the needs of these neighbouring countries without them needing to make any of their own. So, why do Austria, Belgium and Canada invest heavily in their own film industries? Because each rightly believes that they have distinct cultures that should be shared with their own people and internationally as well.
Only the government and NGOs can provide the support via development capital, subsidies and access to cinemas which will ensure that Cantonese language and culture can survive mainland attempts to absorb and ****genise it. So the future of Hong Kong cinema may increasingly depend on handout and charity. No wonder the road ahead looks so narrow for the new crop of Hong Kong actors.
Michael T. George is general manager of Hong Kong-based MTG Asia, a film distribution consultancy
Jackie is spot on with these comments.Quote:
Jackie Chan on Hong Kong Filmmaking’s ‘Unique Style and Orientation’
Vivienne Chow
http://i2.wp.com/pmcvariety.files.wo...70%2C377&ssl=1
TOP PHOTO CORPORATION/REX SHUTTERSTOCK
NOVEMBER 11, 2016 | 10:00AM PT
Hong Kong cinema will continue to live alongside mainland Chinese cinema despite the recent boom of China’s film industry, says Jackie Chan ahead of receiving an Honorary Oscar at the Academy’s Governors Awards.
“Hong Kong filmmaking has its own unique style and orientation, which I think works side-by-side with the Chinese film industry,” says Chan, who will be presented with the award on Nov. 12. “Our Chinese culture is the same but I don’t think Hong Kong cinema will cease to exist,” the Hong Kong-born action superstar tells Variety.
Chan is arguably the world’s best known Asian actor since Bruce Lee. Born in 1954, Chan was enrolled in the China Drama Academy for training in the art of Peking opera when he was 7. He made his motion picture debut a year later, but continued his training until he was 17.
Initially Chan was a stuntman. His major breakthrough came when he was cast as the lead in Yuen Woo-ping’s kung fu comedy “Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow” (1978). The instant hit was followed by “Drunken Master” released in the same year, also directed by Yuen. The 1980s saw Chan establish himself as an action hero in his native Hong Kong with his inventive stunt work in a number of successful action thrillers including “Project A” (1983) and “Police Story” (1985).
Chan then ventured into America and starred in a series of box office hits. After the success of “Rumble in the Bronx” in 1996, his other blockbuster hits include “Rush Hour” (1998), “Shanghai Noon” (2000), and “Shanghai Knights” (2003).
His dazzling on-screen action choreography and slapstick humor have not only sealed his status as a global cinema icon, but also bring back Hong Kong cinema on the world map. He was the ambassador for Hong Kong tourism for decades.
Although Chan had his success in Hollywood, he still praises filmmaking in Hong Kong. “The greatest qualities about Hong Kong cinema is the flexibility when it comes to making a film, ” he says. “But I think the Hong Kong movie business still hasn’t developed to its full potential because of budget limitations.”
Overcoming the language barrier, says Chan, is not the greatest challenge for Asian films breaking into the global market.
“The greatest challenge is finding the right topic, using brilliant techniques and being creative,” he says.
The star says he’s working on several projects, including collaborations with some of Hollywood’s biggest players. Although he declines to disclose more details, he promises he will never retire. “The day I stop making films is the day my heart stops beating.”
We know about Jackie's stuffed pandas - Jackie Chan's La & ZyQuote:
Why Jackie Chan was carrying two stuffed pandas on the red carpet of the Oscars
https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2...rip=all&w=3200
Jackie Chan arrives at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)
Group photo. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)
WRITTEN BY
Echo Huang
February 26, 2017
Martial arts superstar Jackie Chan walked down the red carpet with two cute companions at the Oscars.
Chan, who was awarded an honorary Oscar last year for his “extraordinary achievements,” attended tonight’s (Feb. 26) 89th Academy Awards ceremony holding two panda toys.
“I am the ambassador of panda,” the Hong Kong actor told interviewer Ryan Seacrest. The two panda plush toys, dressed in yellow jackets and shiny silver boots, represent the two real pandas that Chan adopted in China. “After earthquake, they get hurt, I raise them,” said Chan, referring to the earthquake that hit Sichuan province, home of the giant panda, in 2008 which killed some 87,000 people.
62-year-old Chan adopted a female and male panda named Cheng Cheng and Long Long in Sichuan in 2009 through a donation of one million yuan ($145,000). “Cheng” and “Long” are the two Chinese characters in Chan’s name in Mandarin.
We'll see how far this gets. I would be impressed if it makes it into the finalists.
Wolf Warrior 2 & The-Academy AwardsQuote:
Oscars: 92 Films Submitted in Foreign-Language Category
10:09 AM PDT 10/5/2017 by Gregg Kilday
http://cdn3.thr.com/sites/default/fi...y_-_h_2017.jpg
Tim Boyle/Getty
Nominations will be announced Jan. 23.
A record 92 countries have submitted films for consideration in the foreign-language film category for the 90th Academy Awards.
Haiti, Honduras, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mozambique, Senegal and Syria have all submitted films for the first time.
The 2017 submissions are:
Afghanistan, A Letter to the President, Roya Sadat, director;
Albania, Daybreak, Gentian Koçi, director;
Algeria, Road to Istanbul, Rachid Bouchareb, director;
Argentina, Zama, Lucrecia Martel, director;
Armenia, Yeva, Anahit Abad, director;
Australia, The Space Between, Ruth Borgobello, director;
Austria, Happy End, Michael Haneke, director;
Azerbaijan, Pomegranate Orchard, Ilgar Najaf, director;
Bangladesh, The Cage, Akram Khan, director;
Belgium, Racer and the Jailbird, Michaël R. Roskam, director;
Bolivia, Dark Skull, Kiro Russo, director;
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Men Don’t Cry, Alen Drljević, director;
Brazil, Bingo – The King of the Mornings, Daniel Rezende, director;
Bulgaria, Glory, Petar Valchanov, Kristina Grozeva, directors;
Cambodia, First They Killed My Father, Angelina Jolie, director;
Canada, Hochelaga, Land of Souls, François Girard, director;
Chile, A Fantastic Woman, Sebastián Lelio, director;
China, Wolf Warrior 2, Wu Jing, director;
Colombia, Guilty Men, Iván D. Gaona, director;
Costa Rica, The Sound of Things, Ariel Escalante, director;
Croatia, Quit Staring at My Plate, Hana Jušić, director;
Czech Republic, Ice Mother, Bohdan Sláma, director;
Denmark, You Disappear, Peter Schønau Fog, director;
Dominican Republic, Wood******s, Jose Maria Cabral, director;
Ecuador, Alba, Ana Cristina Barragán, director;
Egypt, Sheikh Jackson, Amr Salama, director;
Estonia, November, Rainer Sarnet, director;
Finland, Tom of Finland, Dome Karukoski, director;
France, BPM (Beats Per Minute), Robin Campillo, director;
Georgia, Scary Mother, Ana Urushadze, director;
Germany, In the Fade, Fatih Akin, director;
Greece, Amerika Square, Yannis Sakaridis, director;
Haiti, Ayiti Mon Amour, Guetty Felin, director;
Honduras, Morazán, Hispano Durón, director;
Hong Kong, Mad World, Wong Chun, director;
Hungary, On Body and Soul, Ildikó Enyedi, director;
Iceland, Under the Tree, Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson, director;
India, Newton, Amit V Masurkar, director;
Indonesia, Turah, Wicaksono Wisnu Legowo, director;
Iran, Breath, Narges Abyar, director;
Iraq, Reseba – The Dark Wind, Hussein Hassan, director;
Ireland, Song of Granite, Pat Collins, director;
Israel, Foxtrot, Samuel Maoz, director;
Italy, A Ciambra, Jonas Carpignano, director;
Japan, Her Love Boils Bathwater, Ryota Nakano, director;
Kazakhstan, The Road to Mother, Akhan Satayev, director;
Kenya, Kati Kati, Mbithi Masya, director;
Kosovo, Unwanted, Edon Rizvanolli, director;
Kyrgyzstan, Centaur, Aktan Arym Kubat, director;
Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Dearest Sister, Mattie Do, director;
Latvia, The Chronicles of Melanie, Viestur Kairish, director;
Lebanon, The Insult, Ziad Doueiri, director;
Lithuania, Frost, Sharunas Bartas, director;
Luxembourg, Barrage, Laura Schroeder, director;
Mexico, Tempestad, Tatiana Huezo, director;
Mongolia, The Children of Genghis, Zolbayar Dorj, director;
Morocco, Razzia, Nabil Ayouch, director;
Mozambique, The Train of Salt and Sugar, Licinio Azevedo, director;
Nepal, White Sun, Deepak Rauniyar, director;
Netherlands, Layla M., Mijke de Jong, director;
New Zealand, One Thousand Ropes, Tusi Tamasese, director;
Norway, Thelma, Joachim Trier, director;
Pakistan, Saawan, Farhan Alam, director;
Palestine, Wajib, Annemarie Jacir, director;
Panama, Beyond Brotherhood, Arianne Benedetti, director;
Paraguay, Los Buscadores, Juan Carlos Maneglia, Tana Schembori, directors;
Peru, Rosa Chumbe, Jonatan Relayze, director;
Philippines, Birdshot, Mikhail Red, director;
Poland, Spoor, Agnieszka Holland, Kasia Adamik, directors;
Portugal, Saint George, Marco Martins, director;
Romania, Fixeur, Adrian Sitaru, director;
Russia, Loveless, Andrey Zvyagintsev, director;
Senegal, Félicité, Alain Gomis, director;
Serbia, Requiem for Mrs. J., Bojan Vuletic, director;
Singapore, Pop Aye, Kirsten Tan, director;
Slovakia, The Line, Peter Bebjak, director;
Slovenia, The Miner, Hanna A. W. Slak, director;
South Africa, The Wound, John Trengove, director;
South Korea, A Taxi Driver, Jang Hoon, director;
Spain, Summer 1993, Carla Simón, director;
Sweden, The Square, Ruben Östlund, director;
Switzerland, The Divine Order, Petra Volpe, director;
Syria, Little Gandhi, Sam Kadi, director;
Taiwan, Small Talk, Hui-Chen Huang, director;
Thailand, By the Time It Gets Dark, Anocha Suwichakornpong, director;
Tunisia, The Last of Us, Ala Eddine Slim, director;
Turkey, Ayla: The Daughter of War, Can Ulkay, director;
Ukraine, Black Level, Valentyn Vasyanovych, director;
United Kingdom, My Pure Land, Sarmad Masud, director;
Uruguay, Another Story of the World, Guillermo Casanova, director;
Venezuela, El Inca, Ignacio Castillo Cottin, director;
Vietnam, Father and Son, Luong Dinh Dung, director.
Nominations for the 90th Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, Jan. 23.
The 90th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 4, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, and will be televised live on ABC.
Ah yes, we remember Hero.Quote:
Oscars: China Selects Blockbuster 'Wolf Warrior II' for Foreign-Language Category
1:30 AM PDT 10/6/2017 by Patrick Brzeski
http://cdn2.thr.com/sites/default/fi...183-h_2017.jpg
Courtesy of Well Go USA
'Wolf Warrior 2'
Written, directed by and starring Wu Jing, the film earned $852 million to become China's biggest box-office success ever.
China has selected mega-blockbuster Wolf Warrior II as its submission for the best foreign-language film category at the 2018 Oscars.
The film is easily the most financially successful movie ever to be submitted in the Academy Awards category. Written, directed by and starring Chinese martial artist and multi-hyphenate Wu Jing, Wolf Warrior II has earned an astonishing $851.6 million in the Middle Kingdom since its release on July 27. Only one film has ever earned more from a single market — J.J. Abrams' The Force Awakens (2015) with $936.6 million in North America.
A crowd-pleasing patriotic action flick, Wolf Warrior II follows a former Chinese special-forces operative (Wu) as he battles bloodthirsty Western mercenaries to save Chinese civilians who have gotten caught up in an African civil war. American actor Frank Grillo (Captain America: Civil War, Warrior) plays the film's villain, while American-Hong Kong actress Celina Jade is the female heroine.
News of the film's selection was first carried locally by China's state-backed newspaper Global Times.
Wolf Warrior II was co-produced by emerging powerhouse studio Beijing Culture, China Film Group, Bona Films and others. While a distinctly Chinese success story, traces of Hollywood's influence can be detected on the final product.
Marvel mainstays Joe and Anthony Russo, co-directors of the Captain America franchise, consulted on the film via their Chinese studio venture Anthem & Song, which has strategic partnership with Beijing Culture. The Russos are understood to have introduced Grillo and some of their usual stunt team, led by veteran action coordinator Sam Hargrave (Captain America: Civil War, Atomic Blonde), to boost the production values of the film's fight scenes. Many attribute the film's local success to this seamless combination of Hollywood production polish and rousing, authentically Chinese storytelling.
China has been nominated in the best foreign-language film category twice — for Ju Dou (1990) and Hero (2002), both directed by Zhang Yimou — but the world's most populous country has yet to bag an Oscar.
http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/imag.../Cov2004_5.jpg
Wolf Warrior 2 & The-Academy Awards
Interesting take on this year's candidates.
continued next postQuote:
This year’s Oscar contenders from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan are the perfect lens into the places they’re from
https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2...rip=all&w=1600
A screenshot from Huang Hui-chen's "Small Talk" (YouTube/Visual Communications)
WRITTEN BY
Josh Horwitz
October 09, 2017
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recently announced the complete list of country submissions for the Best Foreign Language Film category for the 2018 Oscars. Titles garnering hype include Foxtrot, an Israeli film about an IDF soldier’s grieving parents; BPM: Beats Per Minute, a depiction of France’s AIDS crisis in the early 90s; and In the Fade, a German drama about a woman’s search for justice against neo-Nazi terrorists.
By comparison, the nominations coming from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China have not attracted much buzz internationally, but each region’s submission touches on issues in that capture the ambitions, desires, and insecurities of its people. Taken as a trio, they provide the perfect glimpse into three culturally distinct, but closely intertwined, places.
Small Talk: Taiwan’s LGBT movement
Shot over a nearly 20-year period, Small Talk is a documentary on filmmaker Huang Hui-chen’s attempts to connect with her emotionally distant mother Anu. While working as a Taoist priestess in Taipei, Anu maintained many romances with women in an era when ****sexuality was taboo. While she never attempted to hide her sexuality, she also never discussed it with her daughter. Huang tries to break her mother’s silence on her past, coaxing her through the film’s titular chit-chat.
Critics describe Small Talk as a portrait of a relationship rather than a politically charged argument about ****sexuality in Taiwan. “The documentary doesn’t aim to criticize the country’s current socio-political climate or use Anu’s accounts to generalize its human rights issues. Quite the contrary: the film charms with its ability to stay compelling and critical by merely centering on one family, whose struggles feel more realistic and salient than those of a whole nation,” writes Point of View Magazine.
But the film also comes as Taiwan’s LGBT movement reaches its apex. Small Talk hit theaters in Taiwan weeks before the island’s top court declared a civil code barring same-sex marriage unconstitutional—paving the way for its eventual legalization. That landmark decision placed Taiwan well ahead of its peers in Asia on gay rights, including Australia and Hong Kong.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIOBU8dK-hs
continued next postQuote:
Mad World: Hong Kong’s social ills, packed into 100 minutes
The first feature film by director Wong Chun, Mad World tells the story of Tung, a finance industry professional whose struggle with bipolar disorder lands him in a psychiatric ward. Upon release, Tung moves in with his absentee father, an impoverished truck driver. Sharing one of Hong Kong’s tiny, often dangerous, sub-divided apartments—as featured on the film’s promotional posters—the two must look after one another as Tung comes to terms with the the impact of his illness on his career and marriage, as well as his role in the death of his mother, who was also mentally ill.
In its initial review of the film, the South China Morning Post described Mad World as a “bid to shed light on every conceivable challenge of Hong Kong urban living in the film’s 100-minute runtime,” from poverty to housing and the stresses faced by those in the finance industry. Hong Kong’s sub-divided flats house many impoverished and marginalized people, including many with mental illness, and the cramped spaces only serve to compound their illness. Meanwhile, mental health patients in Hong Kong remain stigmatized and underserved. Wait times to visit a psychiatrist in a public hospital can last up to three years. The Economist Intelligence Unit scored Hong Kong behind Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan—its closest peers in Asia—in its Asia-Pacific Mental Health Integration Index (pdf) last year.
In order to depict the subject matter realistically, Wong and Chan conducted interviews with mental illness patients and their families prior to shooting. “My ultimate hope is that by showing mental illness in this way through the film, that it can help pull us all a little closer to the understanding of mental illness,” Wong said in an interview. Domestic audiences have responded positively to Mad World—the film grossed HK$16.8 million (US$2.1 million) during its first two months in theaters, compared with its budget of HK$2 million (US$256,000)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=28q-bSBvsXE
I'm copying this last portion of this article continued from the previous post on the Academy Awards thread on the Wolf Warrior 2 thread.
Quote:
Wolf Warrior 2: China’s propaganda smash
While Taiwan and Hong Kong’s submissions are quiet independent films, Wolf Warrior 2 is an action blockbuster that projects Beijing’s idealized vision of China on the world stage, as well as the growing nationalist sentiment among its citizens.
The film tells the story of Leng Feng, a Rambo-esque former member of the Chinese Special Forces who leaves China for an unnamed African country after being discharged from the army. There, he winds up fighting to save overseas Chinese workers and locals stuck in a civil war. There’s also a subplot involving a fictitious disease known as “Lamanla,” and a romance between Leng and Rachel Smith, a dual US-Chinese citizen who worked with a team of Chinese doctors to develop the vaccine for the disease.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkqGiPB2D8M
Of course, what appears as a generic action film on the surface is really a subversion of the white savior Hollywood trope, with Chinese characteristics. Its theatrical release came days before China opened its first-ever overseas military base in Djibouti, which also coincided with the 90th anniversary of the formation of the People’s Liberation Army.
The film’s overt politics will likely prevent it from receiving the nomination, but reviews suggest that there’s value in considering what a Hollywood-style action film would look like when the geopolitical context is flipped. Noel Murray of the Los Angeles Times writes, “There’s something bracing about its patriotic fervor, which asserts that the Chinese will act in the best interests of the world’s downtrodden, while the rest of the world just exploits them. It’s instructive to recognize the presumptions we’re used to finding in American blockbusters, but with the heroes and villains reversed.”
Chinese moviegoers have flocked to Wolf Warrior 2. The film has raked in 5.6 billion yuan ($824 million) to date at China’s box office (link in Chinese), making it the highest-grossing film ever in the country. Explosions and car chases certainly help draw viewers, but there is also a palpable sense of increasing nationalism (paywall) among Chinese citizens themselves. In Africa and elsewhere, China has asserted itself more aggressively, at times championing itself as a bastion of globalization particularly at a time when America’s leadership role is in question. Meanwhile, many Chinese individuals, whether online or in real life, are standing up for China’s interests in the face of criticism from abroad. After years of watching white men save the world, Wolf Warrior 2 gives Chinese audiences a hero of its own.
Wolf Warrior 2 didn't make the Academy Awards Foreign language cut. I had my doubts that it would.Quote:
Oscars: Academy Unveils Foreign-Language Film Shortlist
5:12 PM PST 12/14/2017 by Gregg Kilday
https://cdn1.thr.com/sites/default/f...y_-_h_2017.jpg
Tim Boyle/Getty
The nine films include the Palme d'Or winner 'The Square,' but not Angelina Jolie's 'First They Killed My Father.'
The Academy on Thursday announced the nine films that will compete for a nomination for the best foreign-language film Oscar.
The shortlist includes a number of expected entries, like Ruben Ostlund's Swedish art-world satire The Square, which won the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival, and the Russian drama Loveless, about a divorcing couple searching for their missing son and directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev, which won the Cannes Jury Prize.
But it also has some striking omissions: Angelina Jolie failed to earn a nomination for her film First They Killed My Father, which was submitted by Cambodia and also has earned a Golden Globe nomination. And the list also failed to find room for France's submission, Robin Campillo's BPM (Beats Per Minute), about AIDS activists, which won the Grand Prix prize at Cannes.
The shortlist of films was chosen from a record 92 titles that were submitted by their respective countries. The selected films will now screen for committees in New York, Los Angeles and London, which will cast the ballots for the film nominees in the category, to be announced Jan. 23.
The films on the shortlist, and their country of origin, are:
Chile, A Fantastic Woman, Sebastián Lelio, director
Germany, In the Fade, Fatih Akin, director
Hungary, On Body and Soul, Ildikó Enyedi, director
Israel, Foxtrot, Samuel Maoz, director
Lebanon, The Insult, Ziad Doueiri, director
Russia, Loveless, Andrey Zvyagintsev, director
Senegal, Félicité, Alain Gomis, director
South Africa, The Wound, John Trengove, director
Sweden, The Square, Ruben Östlund, director
The 90th Oscars will be held Sunday, March 4, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center and will be televised live on ABC. Nominations will be announced Tuesday, Jan. 23.
I only listed the PRC & HK entries for the Academy Awards Foreign film entries because I think the only two of these that we've discussed have been Hidden Man and Operation Red Sea, right? Follow the link to the article if you want to see the full list.
Quote:
NOVEMBER 8, 2018 8:45AM PT
Oscars: A Guide to the 2018 Foreign-Language Entries Accepted by the Academy
By ALISSA SIMON
Film Critic
https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.c...0&h=563&crop=1
CREDIT: COURTESY OF TRIGON-FILM
Among the 87 entries this year, down five from 2017’s whopping 92, there are more documentaries than ever, plus two African countries submitting for the first time: Malawi and Niger. Here’s a guide to the films, including logline, sales, and production contact.
...
https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.c...ddenman_01.jpg
China
“Hidden Man”
Director: Jiang Wen
Logline: A martial arts-infused spy thriller set in 1930s Beijing in which a young man gets revenge on bad guys who killed his family in his youth.
Key Cast: Eddie Peng, Liao Fan
Intl. Sales: Warner Bros. China
...
https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.c...on-red-sea.jpg
CREDIT: T.NOR
Hong Kong
“Operation Red Sea”
Director: Dante Lam
Logline: When a terrorist plot to obtain nuclear materials is hidden under the cover of a violent coup, the Chinese Navy’s elite Jiaolong Assault Team has to handle the situation.
Key Cast: Zhang Yi, Huang Jingyu
U.S. Distributor: Well Go USA
So deserved if for Enter the Dragon alone. :cool:Quote:
Composer Lalo Schifrin Says Oscar Is an 'Amazing Honor'
'Mission: Impossible ' composer Lalo Schifrin has been nominated for six Academy Awards and gone home empty handed every time until now.
Nov. 16, 2018, at 11:28 a.m.
https://www.usnews.com/dims4/USNEWS/...frin_26388.jpg
FILE - In this Nov. 10, 2016 file photo, Argentina's composer Lalo Schifrin gestures as he arrives before being awarded Commandeur in the Arts and Letters order by French Culture and Communication minister Audrey Azoulay in Paris. Schifrin has been nominated for six Academy Awards and gone home empty handed every time until now. The Argentinian musician behind the iconic themes for "Mission: Impossible" and "Dirty Harry" will be accepting an honorary Oscar this Sunday, Nov. 18, 2018, at the Governors Awards in Hollywood, alongside actress Cicely Tyson and publicist Marvin Levy. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File) The Associated Press
By LINDSEY BAHR, AP Film Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Composer Lalo Schifrin has been nominated for six Academy Awards and gone home empty handed every time until now.
The Argentinian musician behind the iconic themes for "Mission: Impossible" and "Dirty Harry" will be accepting an honorary Oscar this Sunday at the Governors Awards in Hollywood, alongside actress Cicely Tyson and publicist Marvin Levy .
The 86-year-old has been studying music his entire life. Although he focuses more on classical compositions now instead of film scores, Schifrin says he has enjoyed the enduring popularity of his "Mission: Impossible" theme.
Well, not at those prices. I was thinking more like $1. ;)Quote:
Two Best Picture Oscars to Be Auctioned Off in Rare Sale
12:31 PM PST 11/19/2018 by the Associated Press
https://cdn1.thr.com/sites/default/f...statuettes.jpg
Christopher Polk/Getty Images
Auctions of Oscar statuettes are very uncommon because winners from 1951 onward have had to agree that they or their heirs must offer to sell it back to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for $1 before selling it to anyone else.
Two Academy Awards for best picture are going up for sale in a rare auction of Oscars.
Auction house Profiles in History announced Monday that an Oscar awarded to Mutiny on the Bounty in 1936 and another given to Gentleman's Agreement in 1948 will go up for auction in Los Angeles starting Dec. 11.
The Mutiny on the Bounty best picture statuette is expected to go for between $200,000 and $300,000. Frank Capra presented the award to Irving Thalberg at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles when the Academy Awards were less than 10 years old. The Oscar is being put up for sale for the first time by the family of Thalberg, an essential figure in the early history of Hollywood.
The best picture Oscar for Gentleman's Agreement, the 1947 film starring Gregory Peck that took on anti-Semitism and won three Academy Awards, is expected to fetch between $150,000 and $200,000. Its seller wants to remain anonymous.
Hans Dreier's art direction Oscar for 1950's Sunset Boulevard and Gloria Swanson's Golden Globe for best actress in a drama for the film are also on offer in the December auction, along with other historic movie awards.
Auctions of Oscar statuettes are very uncommon because winners from 1951 onward have had to agree that they or their heirs must offer to sell it back to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for $1 before selling it to anyone else. The Academy has said it firmly believes Oscars should be won, not sold.
Still, occasionally Oscars beyond the reach of the rules go up for sale and sell for large sums of money.
The late Michael Jackson acquired David O. Selznick's Gone With the Wind Oscar for a record $1.5 million in 1999.
Orson Welles' Citizen Kane statuette sold for $861,542 in 2011.
And in 2014, James Cagney's best actor Oscar for 1942's Yankee Doodle Dandy failed to sell when no one would meet the minimum bid demand of $800,000.
RomaQuote:
THE 91ST ACADEMY AWARDS | 2019
Dolby Theatre at the Hollywood & Highland Center
Sunday, February 24, 2019
Honoring movies released in 2018
NOMINEES
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
NOMINEES
YALITZA APARICIO
Roma
GLENN CLOSE
The Wife
OLIVIA COLMAN
The Favourite
LADY GAGA
A Star Is Born
MELISSA MCCARTHY
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
CINEMATOGRAPHY
NOMINEES
COLD WAR
Łukasz Żal
THE FAVOURITE
Robbie Ryan
NEVER LOOK AWAY
Caleb Deschanel
ROMA
Alfonso Cuarón
A STAR IS BORN
Matthew Libatique
COSTUME DESIGN
NOMINEES
THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS
Mary Zophres
BLACK PANTHER
Ruth Carter
THE FAVOURITE
Sandy Powell
MARY POPPINS RETURNS
Sandy Powell
MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS
Alexandra Byrne
DIRECTING
NOMINEES
BLACKKKLANSMAN
Spike Lee
COLD WAR
Paweł Pawlikowski
THE FAVOURITE
Yorgos Lanthimos
ROMA
Alfonso Cuarón
VICE
Adam McKay
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
NOMINEES
CAPERNAUM
Lebanon
COLD WAR
Poland
NEVER LOOK AWAY
Germany
ROMA
Mexico
SHOPLIFTERS
Japan
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
NOMINEES
BORDER
Göran Lundström and Pamela Goldammer
MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS
Jenny Shircore, Marc Pilcher and Jessica Brooks
VICE
Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia DeHaney
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
NOMINEES
BLACK PANTHER
Ludwig Goransson
BLACKKKLANSMAN
Terence Blanchard
IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
Nicholas Britell
ISLE OF DOGS
Alexandre Desplat
MARY POPPINS RETURNS
Marc Shaiman
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
NOMINEES
ALL THE STARS
from Black Panther; Music by Mark Spears, Kendrick Lamar Duckworth and Anthony Tiffith; Lyric by Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, Anthony Tiffith and Solana Rowe
I'LL FIGHT
from RBG; Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
THE PLACE WHERE LOST THINGS GO
from Mary Poppins Returns; Music by Marc Shaiman; Lyric by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman
SHALLOW
from A Star Is Born; Music and Lyric by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt
WHEN A COWBOY TRADES HIS SPURS FOR WINGS
from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs; Music and Lyric by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch
BEST PICTURE
NOMINEES
BLACK PANTHER
Kevin Feige, Producer
BLACKKKLANSMAN
Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Raymond Mansfield, Jordan Peele and Spike Lee, Producers
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
Graham King, Producer
THE FAVOURITE
Ceci Dempsey, Ed Guiney, Lee Magiday and Yorgos Lanthimos, Producers
GREEN BOOK
Jim Burke, Charles B. Wessler, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly and Nick Vallelonga, Producers
ROMA
Gabriela Rodríguez and Alfonso Cuarón, Producers
A STAR IS BORN
Bill Gerber, Bradley Cooper and Lynette Howell Taylor, Producers
VICE
Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Adam McKay and Kevin Messick, Producers
PRODUCTION DESIGN
NOMINEES
BLACK PANTHER
Production Design: Hannah Beachler; Set Decoration: Jay Hart
THE FAVOURITE
Production Design: Fiona Crombie; Set Decoration: Alice Felton
FIRST MAN
Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Kathy Lucas
MARY POPPINS RETURNS
Production Design: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
ROMA
Production Design: Eugenio Caballero; Set Decoration: Bárbara Enríquez
SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
NOMINEES
ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR
Alison Snowden and David Fine
BAO
Domee Shi and Becky Neiman-Cobb
LATE AFTERNOON
Louise Bagnall and Nuria González Blanco
ONE SMALL STEP
Andrew Chesworth and Bobby Pontillas
WEEKENDS
Trevor Jimenez
SOUND EDITING
NOMINEES
BLACK PANTHER
Benjamin A. Burtt and Steve Boeddeker
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
John Warhurst and Nina Hartstone
FIRST MAN
Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan
A QUIET PLACE
Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
ROMA
Sergio Díaz and Skip Lievsay
SOUND MIXING
NOMINEES
BLACK PANTHER
Steve Boeddeker, Brandon Proctor and Peter Devlin
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin and John Casali
FIRST MAN
Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, Ai-Ling Lee and Mary H. Ellis
ROMA
Skip Lievsay, Craig Henighan and José Antonio García
A STAR IS BORN
Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic, Jason Ruder and Steve Morrow
VISUAL EFFECTS
NOMINEES
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR
Dan DeLeeuw, Kelly Port, Russell Earl and Dan Sudick
CHRISTOPHER ROBIN
Christopher Lawrence, Michael Eames, Theo Jones and Chris Corbould
FIRST MAN
Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles and J.D. Schwalm
READY PLAYER ONE
Roger Guyett, Grady Cofer, Matthew E. Butler and David Shirk
SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY
Rob Bredow, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan and Dominic Tuohy
WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
NOMINEES
THE FAVOURITE
Written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara
FIRST REFORMED
Written by Paul Schrader
GREEN BOOK
Written by Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly
ROMA
Written by Alfonso Cuarón
VICE
Written by Adam McKay
Black Panther
Bao
I long ago ceased to see any relevance the Oscars have to how good a movie or actor's/actress's performance truly is. It's absolutely ridiculous that the Oscars snubbed the movie Hereditary and star Toni Collette. Sure, horror movies on the whole don't do well at the Oscars (which also shows the whole show is a snob-fest), but Hereditary is a great film with great performances. And it's FAR superior to the generic horror movies nowadays, with their over-exaggerated, screaming entities and cheap 'jump scares' that you can see coming from a mile away. All the actors in Hereditary are excellent, and Toni Collette's performance is phenomenal.
continued next postQuote:
The New Category That Could Save the Oscars
Jack Gill has been campaigning for a stunt-category Oscar for decades, one that surely would highlight blockbuster films that audiences care about. Too bad the Academy keeps ignoring his pleas.
by CRAIG TOMASHOFF
JANUARY 18, 2019 9:00 AM
https://media.vanityfair.com/photos/...S-Fall-Guy.png
Stuntman Jack Gill in 1980's The Exterminator.
Photographs courtesy of Jack Gill.
In his 40-plus years as a stunt performer, coordinator, and second-unit director on such movies as Venom, Jumanji, and several entries in the Fast and Furious franchise, Jack Gill has dropped cars from a plane hovering at 10,000 feet (for 2017’s Furious 7) and sped through the streets of Puerto Rico in a muscle car dragging a 9,000-pound vault (2015’s Fast Five). He’s broken his back twice and his neck once. He’s accumulated 23 other broken bones, eight concussions, one punctured lung, and a finger that was sewn back on. Gill, in other words, is not easily rattled. But that changes when it comes to the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which for almost three decades Gill has lobbied to add an Oscar category for stunt work.
“Dealing with the Academy has been more dangerous for me than any stunt I’ve done, because I have no idea which way this is going to go,” Gill says, standing inside a massive garage on his Agoura Hills, California, ranch that’s filled with career souvenirs such as the driving suit he used to double for Will Ferrell in Talladega Nights. “When I’m designing an action sequence, I can break it into three pieces so each part is safe and we get the results we want. With the Academy, I can’t break it into any pieces. I just have no idea how to change their minds about what we do to get the result we want.”
What Gill and the rest of the film-stunt community want is pretty straightforward: recognition of their work by their industry on its biggest stage. The Television Academy honors TV stunt people at the Emmys. The Screen Actors Guild has a stunt-ensemble category at its awards ceremony that a SAG Awards spokesperson says was created specifically to recognize how stunt people not only ensure safety on set, but also “create the same characters as the actor-performers are bringing to life.” And yet, the Academy will have nothing to offer stunt people when it hands out Oscars in some two dozen categories during its ceremony on February 24. (The Academy declined to comment for this story.)
The Oscar ceremony has paid tribute to the stunt community a handful of times over the years. The Academy gave a 1966 honorary award to Yakima Canutt, a stuntman and second-unit director who doubled for the likes of John Wayne and designed the chariot-race sequence in Ben Hur. Hal Needham, who did stunt work in more than 90 films before becoming a director of films like Smokey and the Bandit, received a 2012 honorary award for his work.
Still, if ever there was a year to pay tribute to stunt people in the thick of their careers, this would be it. In an era when it’s far more convenient to stay home and watch films on Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Hulu, the movies that get audiences into theaters tend to feature the sorts of spectacular stunts that beg to be seen on a big screen. Eight of the top 10 movies at the box office so far this year feature extensive, intricate action sequences, including Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, and Mission: Impossible—Fallout. That might explain why, earlier this summer, the Academy floated—and then quickly retracted—the idea of adding an award for what it called “outstanding achievement in popular film.”
“I understand giving an honorary Oscar for one exceptional career, but as a regular category, it doesn’t make sense,” says one Academy member who declined to be identified. “I look at Mission: Impossible, and it was chockablock with stunts and great visual and mechanical effects, but I wouldn’t know how to single it out and award it.”
In the early days of film, stunt performers were generally regarded as “the ones you brought in to fall off a horse or a wagon,” says Gill. “This started out as a roughneck type of thing. I’ve talked to the older guys, who told me when they got into the business they had no idea what was going to happen when they did a scene. [Producers] would say, ‘Raise your hand if you want to turn this car over.’ And if you were man or woman enough, you raised your hand. One guy said, ‘A lot of times I’d get into a car with an open top, turn it over, and try to leap free. Sometimes you made it. Sometimes you didn’t.’ ”
Things weren’t much better when Gill got his first stunt job, working on the 1976 Burt Reynolds movie Gator. He’d been a champion motocross racer up to that point, and took a friend’s suggestion to visit the set, where he met Needham, the film’s second-unit director. Needham, who at one point was the highest-paid stuntman in town, took a liking to Gill and brought him on board to do some motorcycle scenes. He also introduced his new protégé to what was at the time an important stunt person’s tradition.Quote:
“They look at us like we’re a bunch of dumb cowboys.”
It's relevant in the big picture (no pun intended) in terms of how the Academy works. Of course, whenever there's a contest for anything artistic, whether it be movies, TV, music, even martial arts tournaments, there's a huge element of subjectivity and politics involved. There's so much that happens behind the scenes. Many call 'foul' or finger-point to cheats, and that's part of it all for sure. But in the end, like my old Fencing coach used to say 'no one ever remembers who takes second, except maybe their moms.'Quote:
https://media.vanityfair.com/photos/...S-Fall-Guy.png
Top: Jack Gill consults Vin Diesel on the set of 2017’s The Fate of the Furious. Bottom: a scene from the film.
Courtesy of ©Universal Pictures/Everett Collection.
“He showed me what he called his stunt bag and said, ‘This is how you do it, kid,’ ” Gill recalls. “I looked in there and saw all these pills to take pain away, and a bottle of Jack Daniels.”
Gill dove right in, working on such movies as First Blood and TV shows like Knight Rider and The Dukes of Hazzard. After more than four decades and around 200 TV shows and films, he remains one of the most sought-after stunt coordinators in the business. “There’s nobody better at this sort of thing,” says director Tim Story, who worked with Gill on Ride Along and Ride Along 2.
Courtesy of Gill’s advocacy for an Oscar category, he also has become his profession’s most passionate promoter. His quixotic quest for Oscar recognition began nearly three decades ago while working on Sidney Lumet’s A Stranger Among Us in 1991. The Serpico director told him, “You [stunt] guys have really come up from what you were in the 60s and 70s. You need an Oscar category. You’re department heads just like production designers and directors of photography.”
Lumet was so earnest in his belief that he helped Gill gain membership in the Academy after they worked together in 1991; Gill was eventually made a member in 1996, making him one of 14 stunt coordinators who were members at the time. There are now 68 stunt coordinators in the Academy, which has 17 membership branches and two categories covering everything from actors to makeup artists—but none for stunt workers.
Later in 1991, heartened by Lumet’s enthusiasm, Gill met with Bruce Davis, then executive director of the Academy. He says Davis seemed encouraging, explaining it could take three to five years to persuade the Board of Governors to, first, create an action branch in the Academy, and then to get them to O.K. an award.
“Then it just stagnated,” says Gill, 63, whose lean frame and deep tan give him the air of the Marlboro Man’s tougher brother. “They kept moving the request further down the line, with excuse after excuse that was different from whatever they told me the year before. At first, it was that they weren’t going to add new categories because the show was too long. We said we didn’t care about the show. Just bring us in during the [Scientific and Technical Awards], or do it during the red-carpet, before the show is televised.” (Stunt performers are not alone. Since Gill started his quest, casting directors—who have their own Academy branch—have asked to add a casting category; they were denied.)
The Academy’s “Sci-Tech” Awards, handed out at a separate ceremony before the main Oscars telecast, honor the role that science and technology play in making movies. According to Gill, a stunt award would fit right in because of all the rigging and technical aspects that go into creating a modern action sequence. The Academy has rejected every one of his suggestions with as many lines of reason as he has broken bones. He says he was told that stunt coordinators didn’t have enough potential members to give them their own group in the roughly 9,000-person Academy. There was the assertion that stunt people should remain in the background because moviegoers want to believe that actors are really performing the action. Then, there was the sentiment that, if stunt people got awards, they’d start doing more dangerous action sequences in an effort to win an Oscar.
Stunt work is dangerous. While it’s tough to pin down the number of safety-related injuries, in 2017 two stunt people were killed in on-set accidents on Deadpool 2 and The Walking Dead.
“There are more stunt people in the workplace today, creating more possibilities to get injured,” Gill says. “But the accident-rate percentage has gone down dramatically. . . . We now have safety advisers on all sets, and we include the entire crew in meetings before each and every action sequence so everyone is aware of what’s going to happen.”
https://media.vanityfair.com/photos/...S-Fall-Guy.png
Car action scenes shot in Pikes Peak, Colorado, for 2015’s Furious 7.
Courtesy of David Graves/©Universal Pictures/Everett Collection.
Gill scoffs at the idea that a stunt Oscar would reverse this trend, and figures it was born from the Board of Governors not understanding the work of stunt coordinators—the ones who would receive his proposed award. In 2012, he sent the board a 20-page booklet outlining the difference between coordinators—the ones who work with a director to map out the logistics of every action sequence—and stunt performers, who actually do the work once cameras start rolling.
“Stunt coordinators come up with storyboards to show every action scene we’re going to do, every frame we’re going to shoot,” Gill says. “We will even do animated versions of the stunts. . . . We sit on set and ask if anyone has any questions. We do the rehearsals. We know it will work. But we still say, ‘Tell me if there is anything we’re doing that bothers you.’ ”
Gill has also sent the board a registered letter almost every year for the past 27 years before its annual Oscars postmortem, requesting an opportunity to present his case. He says he is always denied. He is also involved with an online petition that currently has more than 90,000 signatures. “There really should be an Oscar for stunt work,” Helen Mirren told a U.K. Web site earlier this year. “Those guys are incredible and they’re so careful and so professional. And they’re artists. They do amazing things.”
None of this has had any effect, which has left Gill and many of his peers convinced the Academy has something against stunt performers.
“They look at us like we’re a bunch of dumb cowboys, even though we don’t do much with horses anymore,” says Conrad Palmisano, a veteran stunt performer and former president of the Stuntmen’s Association of Motion Pictures. “It’s pure snobbiness. It’s disrespect.”
Story thinks some level of ignorance about the work might also be a factor. “I know what they go through, so with all the other categories we acknowledge, why not them?” the director says.
Gill insists the last thing he wants to do is make the Academy look bad. But that just might happen in February. “Most of the stunt people I talk to want to stage a protest because they’re so tired of this,” Gill says. “Every year for probably the past 15 years, before the awards, I go through a million e-mails and calls from people saying they want a protest, and I’ve been able to quash that. This year, I may not be able to do that. It’s gotten to the point where I don’t see a way to turn this around.”
Whether a protest helps or hurts his cause, Gill insists he’s “at a point in my career where I’ve dug in my heels. I’ve said, ‘That’s it. I’m not going to give up. I don’t care what happens.’ If this goes past when I’m done living, I’ll have somebody else ready to start the process again.”
Plus I like the evening gowns. ;)
THREADSQuote:
Oscars winners 2019: See the full list of winners
By Chloe Melas, CNN
Updated 4:09 AM ET, Mon February 25, 2019
https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/asse...xlarge-169.jpg
(CNN)The 91st Academy Awards was a night marked by historic firsts, inclusiveness and a final twist.
The following is a list of nominees and the winners.
BEST PICTURE
"Black Panther"
"BlacKkKlansman"
"Bohemian Rhapsody"
"The Favourite"
"Green Book" *WINNER
"Roma"
"A Star Is Born"
"Vice"
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Amy Adams, "Vice"
Marina de Tavira, "Roma"
Regina King, "If Beale Street Could Talk" *WINNER
Emma Stone, "The Favourite"
Rachel Weisz, "The Favourite"
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Mahershala Ali, "Green Book" *WINNER
Adam Driver, "BlackKKlansman"
Sam Elliott, "A Star Is Born"
Richard E. Grant, "Can You Ever Forgive Me"
Sam Rockwell, "Vice"
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"Capernaum"
"Cold War"
"Never Look Away"
"Roma" *WINNER
"Shoplifters"
DOCUMENTARY (SHORT)
"Black Sheep"
"End Game"
"Lifeboat"
"A Night at the Garden"
"Period. End of Sentence." *WINNER
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
"Free Solo" *WINNER
"Hale County This Morning, This Evening"
"Minding the Gap"
"Of Fathers and Sons"
"RBG"
ORIGINAL SONG
"All The Stars" - "Black Panther"
"I'll Fight" - "RBG"
"Shallow" - "A Star Is Born *WINNER
"The Place Where Lost Things Go" - "Mary Poppins Returns"
"When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings" - "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs"
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
"Incredibles 2"
"Isle of Dogs"
"Mirai"
"Ralph Breaks the Internet"
"Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" *WINNER
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
"The Ballad of Buster Scruggs"
"BlacKkKlansman" *WINNER
"Can You Ever Forgive Me?"
"If Beale Street Could Talk"
"A Star Is Born"
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
"First Reformed"
"Green Book" *WINNER
"Roma"
"The Favourite"
"Vice"
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Christian Bale, "Vice"
Bradley Cooper, "A Star Is Born"
Willem Dafoe, "At Eternity's Gate"
Rami Malek, "Bohemian Rhapsody" *WINNER
Viggo Mortensen, "Green Book"
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Yalitza Aparicio, "Roma"
Glenn Close, "The Wife"
Lady Gaga, "A Star Is Born"
Olivia Colman, "The Favourite" *WINNER
Melissa McCarthy, "Can You Ever Forgive Me?"
DIRECTOR
Spike Lee, "BlacKkKlansman"
Pawel Pawlikowski, "Cold War"
Yorgos Lanthimos, "The Favourite"
Alfonso Cuarón, "Roma" *WINNER
Adam McKay, "Vice"
PRODUCTION DESIGN
"Black Panther" *WINNER
"The Favourite"
"First Man"
"Mary Poppins Returns"
"Roma"
CINEMATOGRAPHY
"Cold War"
"The Favourite"
"Never Look Away"
"Roma" *WINNER
"A Star Is Born"
COSTUME DESIGN
"The Ballad of Buster Scruggs"
"Black Panther" *WINNER
"The Favourite"
"Mary Poppins Returns"
"Mary Queen of Scots"
SOUND EDITING
"A Quiet Place"
"Black Panther"
"Bohemian Rhapsody" *WINNER
"First Man"
"Roma"
SOUND MIXING
"Black Panther"
"Bohemian Rhapsody" *WINNER
"First Man"
"Roma"
"A Star Is Born"
ANIMATED SHORT FILM
"Animal Behaviour"
"Bao" *WINNER
"Late Afternoon"
"One Small Step"
"Weekends"
LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
"Detainment"
"Fauve"
"Marguerite"
"Mother"
"Skin" *WINNER
ORIGINAL SCORE
"Black Panther" *WINNER
"BlacKkKlansman"
"If Beale Street Could Talk"
"Isle of Dogs"
"Mary Poppins Returns"
VISUAL EFFECTS
"Avengers: Infinity War"
"Christopher Robin"
"First Man" *WINNER
"Ready Player One"
"Solo: A Star Wars Story"
FILM EDITING
"BlacKkKlansman"
"Bohemian Rhapsody" *WINNER
"Green Book"
"The Favourite"
"Vice"
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
"Border"
"Mary Queen of Scots"
"Vice" *WINNER
The Academy Awards
Roma
Black Panther
Bao
So nice to get some of the films we've discussed here recognized.
...China! ;)
THREADSQuote:
FEBRUARY 25, 2019 9:08PM PT
U.S. Drama ‘Green Book’ Touted as Oscar Win for China
By PATRICK FRATER and BECKY DAVIS
https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.c...0&h=563&crop=1
CREDIT: PATTI PERRET
Chinese companies have been quick to claim their share of Oscar glory since Sunday’s ceremony, despite an awards season that largely shut out films from or about Asia, including “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Shoplifters.”
Alibaba Pictures, the heavily loss-making film financing and production arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, is busily talking up its involvement in best picture winner “Green Book.” The production company boarded the movie as an investor alongside Participant Media, Dreamworks Pictures and Amblin Partners (of which Alibaba is a minority owner) last summer. The film was nominated for five Oscars and won three Sunday, including best original screenplay and best actor in a supporting role. It will hit Chinese theaters on Friday.
“Even though Alibaba Pictures is a relatively new entrant into Hollywood, we have a track record of choosing quality projects that not only have high entertainment value, but also have positive messages we believe in,” said Zhang Wei, president of Alibaba Pictures. The company also made investments in two other awards contenders, “Capernaum” and “On the Basis of Sex.”
Another Chinese player, Perfect World Entertainment, which has interests stretching from games to movies, claimed its share of reflected glory with “BlacKkKlansman” (six nominations, including one win in the adapted screenplay category) and “First Man” (four nominations, including one win for best visual effects). Both were co-funded by Perfect World through its five-year finance deal with Universal Pictures.
China’s propaganda apparatus has gone a step further, including several Oscar winners that have Chinese involvement of some kind as examples of Chinese excellence. On Monday, China’s state-owned news agency Xinhua pronounced Pixar-produced “Bao” a Chinese-centric Oscars triumph.
“The short is written and directed by Chinese-born Canadian director Domee Shi,” who, Xinhua helpfully explained, “is the first woman and first Chinese writer and director of a Pixar short.” The news agency noted that “Bao” beat “One Small Step,” a “Chinese-American short film, directed by Zhang Shaofu…[which] tells the story of a young Chinese-American protagonist who dreams of being an astronaut.” In the documentary category, Xinhua claimed Chinese success through winner “Free Solo,” directed by Jimmy Chin and Elisabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, and through nominee “Minding the Gap,” directed by Chinese-American Liu Bing.
While there is much celebration on Chinese social media that “Bao” – a touching, realistic story about Chinese food and family – won such a high-profile accolade, several nationalistic state media reports champion a narrative that the wins, despite originating in other countries, are wins for China itself. The reports play up an old but recently much more prominent idea that people with Chinese heritage all over the world are connected to China by their ethnic identity. “Each of them is connected to China in its own way,” said Xinhua.
“It is a remarkable success given [U.S. President] Trump’s relentless China bashing,” said another commentator.
Beyond the rhetoric, however, there is increasing industrial synchronization between Hollywood and China. “The 91st Academy Awards can be viewed as the starting point for a new period of growing influence for China in the international film industry,” said Xinhua. The assertion is only inaccurate in that the movement quietly started several years ago.
The current dynamics are subtly different from those made in the 2012-2016 period, when Chinese companies were making aggressive and highly visible moves at the corporate level, like Alibaba and Wanda’s serious discussions about buying a piece of Sony Pictures Entertainment. Wanda bought Legendary Entertainment and unsuccessfully bid $1 billion for Dick Clark Productions. Video platform Le Vision/Le Eco made lavish slate announcements in Hollywood as recently as 2016, before gravity and Chinese regulators dragged them back to reality.
However, what has replaced that five-year surge of Chinese mad money has been a quieter drive to invest, learn, and integrate China into Hollywood. The initiative has been conducted by a smaller number of companies – Alibaba Pictures, Tencent, and Perfect World – which each have long-term game plans and have quietly opened offices in L.A.
Perfect World’s deal with Universal is largely a passive investment, but the company is simultaneously behaving like a Hollywood indie and developing its own material and scripts. (In China, Perfect World is further partnered with Hollywood names Village Roadshow and WME in Perfect Village Entertainment, a local production venture.)
“Both luck and persistence are very important. Alibaba Pictures will do everything in its power to support every young director to go global and vie for the Oscars,” said chairman and CEO of Alibaba Pictures Fan Luyan.
The Academy Awards
Bao
Alibaba
Chollywood rising
It's kinda like if a blog got 'best magazine article' - I'd be put out too. :rolleyes:
THREADSQuote:
Giving Awards to 'Roma' Is a "Devaluation of the Oscars," Say European Exhibitors
7:16 PM PST 2/25/2019 by Scott Roxborough
https://cdn1.thr.com/sites/default/f...ent-h_2018.jpg
Courtesy of TIFF
'Roma'
Theater owners complain of Netflix “buying the Oscars” and call for the Academy to honor only “films designed for cinemas and released in cinemas.”
If you thought that Roma losing out to Green Book for this year's best picture Oscar would mean the end of Netflix bashing, think again.
The winners of the 91st Academy Awards barely had time to start in on the champagne before theater owners — particularly in Europe — began to weigh in with criticism of the decision to award Alfonso Cuaron's Netflix production Roma the Oscar for best director, best cinematography and best foreign-language film.
“We consider giving three awards to Roma a devaluation of the Oscars,” Detlef Rossmann, president of art house cinema association CICAE, told The Hollywood Reporter, adding that because Roma wasn't “visible in most cinemas worldwide,” the Oscars have become another version of the Emmys, honoring “television productions.”
CICAE called on the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences to “redefine the Oscar nomination rules and terms to clarify the difference between film and television.”
It was a sentiment echoed by exhibitors across Europe, where the majority of theater owners have been united in their opposition to Netflix and to Roma being given pride of place at film festivals and cinema awards ceremonies.
Exhibitors in France last year successfully lobbied to get the Cannes Film Festival to ban Netflix films from its official competition, a move that led Roma to skip Cannes and premiere in Venice, where Cuaron won the Golden Lion for best film, kicking off the movie's award campaign. But at every stage, theater owners have protested Netflix's decision to not give Roma a “proper” theatrical bow.
Francois Ayme, president of France's art house cinema association AFCAE, welcomed the Academy's decision to award Green Book the best picture Oscar over Roma, noting it was a way to say “that Roma is not 'totally' a film because it lacked a theatrical release.”
Ayme also noted Netflix's costly Oscar campaign, saying the streaming giant “spent an astronomical sum promoting Roma to the Academy, well beyond the cost of the film itself.” The money, Ayme argued, would have been better spent promoting a proper theatrical release for Cuaron's movie.
"The Oscars proved correct in defending the theatrical release," added Francesco Rutelli, president of ANICA, Italy's national association of producers and distributors. "Green Book's victory indirectly reasserts the power of cinema halls even as the value chain is becoming increasingly integrated."
“Netflix obviously didn't care about the film Roma, they just wanted to use the Oscars as a way to promote their brand,” Christian Brauer, chair of German exhibitors association AG Kino, told THR. “And to try and force their strategy of bypassing theatrical releases onto the industry.” He noted, however, that Roma's failure to clinch the best picture Oscar shows “that money can't buy everything.”
While united in their opposition to Netflix, European exhibitors all praised the film itself, and most welcomed the Academy's decision to give Cuaron the best director Oscar.
Some also held out hope that the debate surrounding Roma would lead to Netflix reassessing its theatrical strategy.
“We saw a film like Cold War — also foreign-language, also black-and-white — did extremely well theatrically,” said Brauer. “Roma could have been a box office success, and Netflix could have benefited from that.”
Added Tim Richards, CEO of British-based cinema chain Vue International: “Netflix should not underestimate the value and impact of a full theatrical release for the content it owns and we are hopeful they will be open to discussing how to reach a broader audience with exhibitors in the future.”
Jason Chae, CEO of South Korean indie distributor Mirovision, was a dissenting voice, however, arguing that in many markets the streamer is filling a market gap.
“Netflix allows smaller and more experimental films to reach larger audiences in more territories,” he said. “I myself was happy to find a film I had missed at Sundance to be available on Netflix. Consumption patterns are changing, and it’s about time the industry does, too.”
The Academy Awards
Roma