Cannes 2009: Ken Loach, Ang Lee, Andrea Arnold, Jacques Audiard

Derek Elley on Looking for Eric (above, Ken Loach and Eric Cantona) in Variety:
"… helmer Ken Loach and writer Paul Laverty’s ninth feature together is a curious hybrid: Three movies — boilerplate, socially aware Loach; personal fantasy; romantic comedy — wrap around a central core of a hopeless soccer fanatic who’s given a second chance to sort out his life. As in many of Laverty’s scripts, problems of overall tone and character development aren’t solved by Loach’s easygoing direction, though when it works, Eric has many incidental pleasures."
***

Anthony Kaufman on A Prophet at indieWIRE:
"If James Toback’s petty-criminal tale Fingers inspired Jacques Audiard’s previous The Beat That My Heart Skipped, it’s Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas [...]

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN Censored on Italian TV

Following a censored broadcast of the multiple-award winning Brokeback Mountain — minus the gay lovemaking scenes — on one of Italy’s public TV channels, Rai Due, Italian gay rights’ groups have demanded that the network’s director, Antonio Marano, explain the channel’s decision to censor the film.
Adding insult to injury, the cuts came days after the Vatican attacked an EU proposal for the UN to formally condemn anti-gay discrimination. (Now, when does the Catholic Boycott begin? Which film festivals will be affected in Catholic states and/or countries?)
"Who had the presumption to think that an adult public could not handle the sight of kissing and intimacy between two men?" inquired Aurelio Mancuso, president of the gay advocacy group Arcigay, which has [...]

Heath Ledger

Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain (top); in Casanova (middle); with Matt Damon in The Brothers Grimm (bottom)

A few hours ago, Heath Ledger was found dead at his home in New York City, possibly from an overdose of sleeping pills. He was 28.
I’m not a fan of Brokeback Mountain, but the film, though only a couple of years old, has undeniably become one of cinema’s cultural landmarks. In large part, the tragic love story turned into a worldwide sensation because of Ledger’s performance as the uptight Ennis Del Mar, a gay ranch hand who lets life pass him by without ever daring to live it.
Among Ledger’s other films are Roland Emmerich’s The Patriot (2000), with Mel Gibson; Marc [...]

2006 Australian Film Institute Award Winners

The winners of the 2006 Australian Film Institute Awards (AFI Awards), which cover Australian film and television, were announced in two stages: "industry" awards on Dec. 6, and the top awards on Dec. 7.
In the film categories, the top winner was Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr’s Ten Canoes, the tale of the ancestors of the ancestors of the ancestors of one group of Australian aborigines. Ten Canoes won a total of six awards, including best film, best direction, and best original screenplay (de Heer).
De Heer and Djigirr’s film is a tad too leisurely paced, but it does portray tribal life in — what seems like — a realistic manner. As a plus, those ancient men and women come across [...]

Australian Film Institute Awards 2006

2006 Australian Film Institute Awards
2006 Australian Film Institute Awards nominations: Oct. 19, 2006
2006 Australian Film Institute Awards winners: Dec. 6 ("industry" categories) and Dec. 7 (top categories), 2006
("*" denotes the winner in each category)
 

 

NARRATIVE FEATURE FILMS
BEST FILM
Candy – Margaret Fink & Emile Sherman
Jindabyne – April Films & Catherine Jarman
Kenny – Clayton Jacobson & Rohan Timlock
* Ten Canoes – Julie Ryan & Rolf de Heer
BEST DIRECTIONJindabyne – Ray Lawrence
Kenny – Clayton Jacobson
Suburban Mayhem – Paul Goldman
* Ten Canoes – Rolf de Heer & Peter Djigirr
BEST ACTORHeath Ledger – Candy
Gabriel Byrne – Jindabyne
* Shane Jacobson – Kenny
Steve Le Marquand – Last Train to Freo
BEST ACTRESSTeresa Palmer – 2:37
Abbie Cornish – Candy
Laura Linney – Jindabyne
* Emily Barclay – Suburban Mayhem
BEST SUPPORTING ACTORGeoffrey [...]

Oscar 2006

2006 Academy Awards
2006 Academy Award nominations: January 31, 2006
2006 Academy Award winners: Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland in Los Angeles on March 5, 2006
2006 Oscar Ceremony
2006 Oscar Nominations
("*" denotes the winner in each category)
Photos: © AMPAS
 

Best Film
Brokeback Mountain, Diana Ossana and James Schamus
Capote, Caroline Baron, William Vince, and Michael Ohoven
* Crash, Paul Haggis and Cathy Schulman
Good Night and Good Luck., Grant Heslov
Munich, Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg, and Barry Mendel

Best Foreign Language Film
La Bestia nel cuore / Don’t Tell (Italy)
Joyeux Noël / Merry Christmas (France)
Paradise Now (Palestine)
Sophie Scholl – Die Letzten Tage / Sophie Scholl – The Final Days (Germany)
* Tsotsi (South Africa)

Best Documentary, Features
Darwin’s Nightmare, Hubert Sauper
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, [...]

SIGHT & SOUND’s Top Ten Films of 2005

Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain (top); Viggo Mortensen in A History of Violence (middle); Tony Leung, Gong Li, Ziyi Zhang in 2046 (bottom)

Sight & Sound’s Top-Ten (actually top-fourteen) Films

1 Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee)
2 A History of Violence (David Cronenberg) and La Niña santa / The Holy Girl (Lucretia Martel)

4 2046 (Wong Kar Wai) and Mysterious Skin (Gregg Araki)
6 Le Conseguenze dell’amore / The Consequences of Love (Paolo Sorrentino) and The Descent (Neil Marshall)
8 Moolaadé (Ousmane Sembene)
9 Sud pralad / Tropical Malady (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
10 De battre mon coeur s’est arrêté / The Beat That My Heart Skipped (Jacques Audiard), Gegen die Wand / Head-On (Fatih Akin), Hauru no ugoku [...]

BAFTA 2006

2006 BAFTA Awards
2006 Orange British Academy of Film and Television Arts nominations: January 19, 2006
2006 BAFTA award winners: Odeon Leicester Square in London on February 19, 2006
("*" denotes the winner in each category)
 

Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain
 

FILM
* BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN – Diana Ossana / James Schamus
CAPOTE – Caroline Baron / William Vince / Michael Ohoven
THE CONSTANT GARDENER – Simon Channing Williams
CRASH – Credits TBC
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK. – Grant Heslov
THE ALEXANDER KORDA AWARD for the Outstanding British Film of the Year
A COCK & BULL STORY – Andrew Eaton / Michael Winterbottom / Martin Hardy
THE CONSTANT GARDENER – Simon Channing Williams / Fernando Meirelles / Jeffrey Caine
FESTIVAL – Christopher Young / Annie Griffin
PRIDE & PREJUDICE – Tim Bevan / Eric [...]

BAFTA 2006 Winners

Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain. Photo: Kimberly French / Focus Films

Brokeback Mountain was the big winner at the BAFTA 2006 Awards. Based on E. Annie Proulx’s short story about the doomed love affair between two Wyoming ranch hands, Brokeback Mountain won a total of four awards: best picture, best director (Ang Lee), best adapted screenplay (Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana), and, surprisingly, best supporting actor for Jake Gyllenhaal. (While accepting the best film award, producer James Schamus jokingly complained that his film has been unfairly labeled “the gay cowboy movie,” when it actually is a “universal love story about two gay shepherds.”)

Two actors portraying real-life characters also came out on top: Philip Seymour Hoffman was chosen best [...]

Scripter Award 2006

2006 USC Scripter Awards
2006 Scripter Award winners: Feb. 11, 2006
("*" denotes the winner)
 

Capote, directed by Bennett Miller and starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, won the 2006 Scripter Award after a run-off vote, as it had initially tied with Stephen Gaghan’s Syriana screenplay
 

Brokeback Mountain — Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana (screenwriters); E. Annie Proulx (author)
* Capote — Dan Futterman (screenwriter); Gerald Clarke (author)
The Constant Gardener — Jeffrey Caine (screenwriter); John le Carré (author)
A History of Violence — Josh Olson (screenwriter); John Wagner and Vince Locke (authors)
Syriana — Stephen Gaghan (screenwriter); Robert Baer (author)
 
USC Scripter Awards
USC Scripter Awards: 2005 2006 2007 2008
Film Awards: 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

London Film Critics Awards 2006

2006 London Film Critics’ Circle Awards
2006 London Film Critics’ Circle Award winners: Dorchester Hotel on February 8, 2006
("*" denotes the winner in each category)
 

Heath Ledger, Michelle Williams in Brokeback Mountain
 

Best Film:
* Brokeback Mountain
The Constant Gardener
Crash
A History of Violence
King Kong
The Attenborough Award for British Film:
* The Constant Gardener
The Descent
Mrs. Henderson Presents
Pride & Prejudice
Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Best Foreign-Language Film:
Hidden
The Chorus
The Beat That My Heart Skipped
The Sea Inside
* Downfall
Best Director:
David Cronenberg (A History of Violence)
Paul Haggis (Crash)
Peter Jackson (King Kong)
* Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain)
Fernando Meirelles (The Constant Gardener)
Best British Director:
Stephen Frears (Mrs. Henderson Presents)
Terry George (Hotel Rwanda)
Neil Marshall (The Descent) [...]

Vancouver Film Critics Awards 2006

2006 Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards
2006 Vancouver Film Critics winners: Main Street’s Heritage Hall on February 7, 2006
("*" denotes the winner in each category)
 

Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain
 

Best Film:
* Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Good Night and Good Luck.
Best Canadian Film:
* C.R.A.Z.Y.
It’s All Gone Pete Tong
Water
Best Foreign-Language Film:
Kung Fu Hustle
* Paradise Now
Downfall
Best British Columbian Film:
Eve and the Fire Horse
* It’s All Gone Pete Tong
A Simple Curve
Best Director:
George Clooney, Good Night and Good Luck.
David Cronenberg, A History of Violence
* Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
Best Director of a Canadian Film:
Michael Dowse, It’s All Gone, Pete Tong
* Deepa Mehta, Water
Jean-Marc Vallée, C.R.A.Z.Y.
Best Actor:
Terrence Howard, Hustle and Flow
Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain
* Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote
Best Actor in a Canadian Film:
* Marc-André [...]

Oscar 2006: Nominations

The Academy Award nominations are in.
Brokeback Mountain (above, with Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger) led the pack with 8 nods. Crash, Good Night and Good Luck., and Memoirs of a Geisha tied with six nominations each, while Munich and Capote received five nominations apiece. Of the aforementioned six films, the one left out of the best picture race was Memoirs of a Geisha.
Even though he’s not a film, George Clooney also received multiple nominations, three in all: best director and best original screenplay (with Grant Heslov) for Good Night and Good Luck., and a best supporting actor nod for Syriana. Clooney has just made Oscar history by becoming the first actor-director to be nominated for different films in [...]

2006 SAG Award Winners

Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix in Walk the Line (top); Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener in Capote; Sandra Bullock in Crash

Among the winners of the 2006 Actor statuettes, the Screen Actors Guild awards, were:

Best actress Reese Witherspoon for playing country singer June Carter in the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line
Best actor Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote, for playing another real-life character, Truman Capote
Best (faux) supporting actress Rachel Weisz for her tragic human-rights fighter in The Constant Gardener (Weisz is actually a lead character in the political drama, and is being recognized as such in Britain)
Best supporting actor Paul Giamatti for the box-office disappointment Cinderella Man
The ethnically conscious melodrama Crash, for its all-star cast, including Matt [...]

SAG Awards 2006

2006 SAG Awards
2006 Screen Actors Guild of America award winners: January 29, 2006
("*" denotes the winner in each category)
 

Thandie Newton, Matt Dillon in Crash
 

THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Russell Crowe / CINDERELLA MAN – Jim Braddock (Universal Pictures)
* Philip Seymour Hoffman / CAPOTE – Truman Capote (UA/Sony Pictures Classics)
Heath Ledger / BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN – Ennis Del Mar (Focus Features)
Joaquin Phoenix / WALK THE LINE– John R. Cash (20th Century Fox)
David Strathairn / GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK. – Edward R. Murrow (Warner Independent Pictures)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Judi Dench / MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS – Mrs. Laura Henderson (The Weinstein Company)
Felicity Huffman / TRANSAMERICA – Bree [...]

Directors Guild Awards 2006

2006 Directors Guild Awards
2006 DGA award winners: January 28, 2006
("*" denotes the winner in each category)
 

Clint Eastwood, Ang Lee © Directors Guild of America
 

Theatrical Features:
George Clooney, Good Night and Good Luck.
Clooney’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Barbara A. Hall
First Assistant Director: David Webb
Second Assistant Director: Melissa V. Barnes
Second Second Assistant Director: Richard Gonzales
Paul Haggis, Crash
Haggis’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Betsy Danbury
First Assistant Director: Scott Cameron
Second Assistant Director: Simone Farber
* Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
Lee’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Scott Ferguson, Tom Benz
First Assistant Directors: Michael Hausman, Pierre Tremblay
Second Assistant Director: Donald Murphy
Second Second Assistant Director: Brad Moerke
Bennett Miller, Capote
Miller’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Ellen Rutter, Caroline Baron
First Assistant Directors: Ronaldo Nacionales, Richard O’Brien Moran
Second Assistant Director: [...]

Writers Guild Awards 2006

2006 Writers Guild Awards
2006 WGA Award winners: February 4, 2006
("*" denotes the winner in each category)
 

Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain (top); Matt Dillon in Crash (bottom)
 

THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURE
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
CINDERELLA MAN, Screenplay by Cliff Hollingsworth and Akiva Goldsman, Story by Cliff Hollingsworth, Universal Pictures
* CRASH, Screenplay by Paul Haggis & Bobby Moresco, Story by Paul Haggis, Lions Gate Films
THE 40 YEAR-OLD VIRGIN, Written by Judd Apatow & Steve Carell, Universal Pictures
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK, Written by George Clooney & Grant Heslov, Warner Independent Pictures
THE SQUID AND THE WHALE, Written by Noah Baumbach, Samuel Goldwyn Films
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
* BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, Screenplay by Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana, Based on the Short Story by Annie Proulx, [...]

2005 BAFTA Nominations

The 2006 British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) have been announced. The largest number of nominations went to The Constant Gardener (10), Crash (9), and Brokeback Mountain (9). All three films were nominated for best picture, while The Constant Gardener (above) also received a best British film nod. Mirroring the trend on the western side of the Atlantic, the best picture contenders are all relatively "small" (at least partly) American-financed films. The other two nominees are Capote and Good Night and Good Luck.
Peter Jackson’s King Kong only managed three nominations, all in the technical categories, whereas Steven Spielberg’s Munich, probably because of a screener snafu, was completely shut out. Considering how the British Academy awards tend to favor British [...]

Producers Guild Awards 2006

2006 Producers Guild Awards
2006 Producers Guild of America’s Golden Laurel winners: January 22, 2006
("*" denotes the winner in each category)
 

Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain
 

THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURE
* BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Diana Ossana
James Schamus
CAPOTE
Caroline Baron
William Vince
Michael Ohoven
CRASH
Paul Haggis
Cathy Schulman
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK
Grant Heslov
WALK THE LINE
James Keach
Cathy Konrad
 
ANIMATED MOTION PICTURE
CHICKEN LITTLE
Randy Fullmer
MADAGASCAR
Mireille Soria
ROBOTS
Jerry Davis
John C. Donkin
William Joyce
TIM BURTON’S CORPSE BRIDE
Tim Burton
Allison Abbate
* WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT
Claire Jennings
Nick Park
 
TELEVISION: LONG-FORM
EMPIRE FALLS (HBO)
INTO THE WEST (TNT)
LACKAWANNA BLUES (HBO)
Ruben Santiago-Hudson
Halle Berry
Vincent Cirrincione
Shelby Stone
Nellie Rachel Nugiel
* THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PETER SELLERS (HBO)
Freddy DeMann
George Faber & Charles Pattinson
WARM SPRINGS (HBO)
Mark Gordon
Celia Costas
Chrisann Verges
 
TELEVISION SERIES: COMEDY
ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT (FOX)
Ron Howard & Brian Grazer
David Nevins
Mitchell Hurwitz
John Levenstein
Richard [...]

Golden Globes 2006

2006 Golden Globes
2006 Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Golden Globe nominees
2006 Golden Globe winners: Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills on January 16, 2006
("*" denotes the winner in each category)
 

James Schamus, Diana Ossana, Ang Lee. © HFPA / 63rd Golden Globe Awards®

Best Motion Picture – Drama
* Brokeback Mountain
The Constant Gardener
Good Night and Good Luck.
A History of Violence
Match Point
Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Mrs Henderson Presents
Pride & Prejudice
The Producers
The Squid and the Whale
* Walk the Line
Best Foreign Language Film
Joyeux Noël / Merry Christmas (France)
Kung fu / Kung Fu Hustle (Hong Kong)
Mo gik / The Promise (China)
* Paradise Now (Palestine)
Tsotsi (South Africa)
Best Director – Motion Picture
Woody [...]

Online Film Critics Awards 2006

2006 Online Film Critics Society Awards
2006 Online Film Critics Society award winners: January 16, 2006
("*" denotes the winner in each category)
 

Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen in A History of Violence
 

Best Film
Brokeback Mountain
Crash
Good Night and Good Luck.
* A History of Violence by David Cronenberg
Munich
Best Foreign-Language Film
Hidden
Kung Fu Hustle
Oldboy
2046
* Downfall by Oliver Hirschbiegel
Best Documentary
The Aristocrats
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
* Grizzly Man by Werner Herzog
March of the Penguins
Murderball
Best Animated Feature
Howl’s Moving Castle
Madagascar
Robots
Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride
* Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit by Nick Park and Steve Box
Best Director
George Clooney, Good Night and Good Luck.
* David Cronenberg, A History of Violence
Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
Peter Jackson, King Kong
Steven Spielberg, Munich
Best Actor
Terrence Howard, Hustle & Flow
Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix, Walk [...]

Central Ohio Film Critics Awards 2006

2006 Central Ohio Film Critics Association Awards
2006 Central Ohio Film Critics Association award winners: January 12, 2006
 

Viggo Mortensen, Mario Bello in A History of Violence
 
Best Film: A History of Violence
Runner-up: Brokeback Mountain
Others in the Top-Ten List:
Wallace and Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Good Night and Good Luck.
Munich
Murderball
Crash
Sin City
Pride & Prejudice
Batman Begins
Best Director: David Cronenberg, A History of Violence
Runner-up: Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
Best Lead Performance: Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain
Runner-up: Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line
Best Supporting Performance: Maria Bello, A History of Violence
Runner-up: Amy Adams, Junebug
Actor of the Year: Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain, Casanova, Lords of Dogtown, The Brothers Grimm
Runner up: Terrence Howard
Best Screenplay: Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, Brokeback Mountain
Runner [...]

Iowa Film Critics Awards 2006

2006 Iowa Film Critics Association Awards
2006 Iowa Film Critics Association award winners: January 10, 2006
 

Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain
 

Best Film: Brokeback Mountain
Best Director: Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
Best Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote
Best Actress: Joan Allen, The Upside of Anger
Best Supporting Actor: Paul Giamatti, Cinderella Man
Best Supporting Actress: Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener
The Best Movie Yet to Open in Iowa: Match Point directed by Woody Allen
 
Iowa Film Critics Association Awards: 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Film Awards: 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
 

Critics’ Choice Awards 2006

2006 Critics’ Choice Awards
2006 Broadcast Film Critics Association’s Critics’ Choice Awards winners: January 9, 2006
("*" denotes the winner in each category)
 

 

Best Film
* Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Cinderella Man
The Constant Gardener
Crash
Good Night and Good Luck.
King Kong
Memoirs of a Geisha
Munich
Walk the Line
Best Foreign-Language Film
2046
Caché / Hidden
* Kung Fu Hustle
Oldboy
Paradise Now
Best Documentary Feature
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Grizzly Man
Mad Hot Ballroom
* La Marche de l’empereur / March of the Penguins
Murderball
Best Animated Feature
Chicken Little
Corpse Bride
Howl’s Moving Castle
Madagascar
* Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Best Director
George Clooney – Good Night and Good Luck.
Paul Haggis – Crash
Ron Howard – Cinderella Man
Peter Jackson – King Kong
* Ang Lee – Brokeback Mountain
Steven Spielberg – Munich
Best Actor
Russell Crowe – Cinderella Man
* Philip Seymour Hoffman – [...]

St. Louis Film Critics Awards 2006

2006 St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Awards
2006 St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association award winners: January 8, 2006
 

 

Best Film Brokeback Mountain by Ang Lee
Runner-up: Good Night and Good Luck. by George Clooney
Best Foreign-Language Film Tsotsi (South Africa) by Gavin Hood
Runner-up: 2046 (China) by Wong Kar Wai
Best Documentary March of the Penguins by Luc Jacquet
Runner-up (tie): Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room by Alex Gibney, Mad Hot Ballroom by Marilyn Agrelo
Best Director Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
Runner-up: George Clooney – Good Night and Good Luck.
Best Actor Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain
Runner-up: Philip Seymour Hoffman – Capote
Best Actress Judi Dench, Mrs. Henderson Presents
Runner-up: Felicity Huffman – Transamerica
Best Supporting Actor George Clooney, Syriana
Runners-up (tie): Mickey Rourke – Sin City, [...]

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