German ‘Schindler’s List’ Tops Lola Awards + Bruce Lee Biopic Tops Hong Kong Film Awards
Inspired by real-life events, the World War II drama John Rabe won the 2009 German Film Academy’s Lola for best film. Directed by Florian Gallenberger, John Rabe tells the story of a German businessman (best actor winner Ulrich Tukur) credited with saving more than 200,000 Chinese during the Nanjing (then Nanking) massacre of 1937–1938.
Additionally, John Rabe, which has been a box office disappointment in Germany, won Lolas for best production design (Tu Ju Hua) and best costume design (Lisy Christl). I believe it’s safe to say that Gallenberger’s film will be Germany’s submission for the 2010 best foreign-language film Academy Award. And that it’ll land an Oscar nomination.
The best director Lola went to Andreas Dresen for the popular Cloud 9, in which veteran actress Ursula Werner plays a sixty-something married woman who rediscovers love and sex outside of home.
Özgür Yildirim’s feature-film debut, Chiko, a gangster drama set in a tough immigrant neighborhood in Hamburg, nabbed Lolas for best editing (Sebastian Thumler) and best screenplay (Yildirim).
The documentary Lola was given to Niko von Glasow’s NoBody’s Perfect, featuring about a dozen people born disabled (including the director) due to side effects from the drug Thalidomide, a medication given to pregnant women in the mid-20th century. The subjects then agree to pose naked for an art calendar.
Uli Edel’s box office hit and Oscar-nominated drama The Baader Meinhof Complex, about the terrorist group of the 1970s, failed to win a single award.
German Film Academy Awards – Lola 2009
2009 German Film Academy Award nominations: March 13.
2009 German Film Academy Award winners: Berlin, Apr. 24.
Best film
The Baader Meinhof Complex, director Uli Edel
Chiko, director Ozgur Yildirim
A Year Ago in Winter, director Caroline Link
Jerichow, director Christian Petzold
* John Rabe, director Florian Gallenberger
Cloud 9, director Andreas Dresen
Silver Lola: A Year Ago in Winter
Bronze Lola: Cloud 9
Best Documentary
Lenin kam nur bis Ludenscheid, director Andre Schafer
* NoBody’s Perfect, director Niko von Glasow
Best Children or youth film
Lilly the Witch, director Stefan Ruzowitzky
* Nothing Else Matters, director Julia von Heinz
Best Director
* Andreas Dresen for Cloud 9
Uli Edel for The Baader Meinhof Complex
Florian Gallenberger for John Rabe
Christian Petzold for Jerichow
Best Actress
Anne Maria Muhe for November Child
* Ursula Werner for Cloud 9
Johanna Wokalek for The Baader Meinhof Complex
Best Actor
Josef Bierbichler for A Year Ago in Winter
Denis Moschitto for Chiko
* Ulrich Tukur for John Rabe
Best Supporting actress
Irm Hermann for A Woman in Berlin
Susanne Lothar for Fleisch ist mein Gemuse
* Sophie Rois for The Architect
Best Supporting actor
Steve Buscemi for John Rabe
* Andreas Schmidt for Fleisch ist mein Gemuse
Rudiger Volger for Effi Briest
Best Screenplay
Christian Schwochow, Heide Schwochow for November Child
Johanna Stuttmann for A Hero’s Welcome
* Ozgur Yildirim for Chiko
Best Cinematography
* Kolja Brandt for North Face
Jurgen Jurges for John Rabe
Wedigo von Schultzendorff for Lulu & Jimi
Best Editing
Anne Fabini for Berlin Calling
Peter Przygodda, Oli Weiss, Mirko Scheel for Palermo Shooting
Patricia Rommel for A Year Ago in Winter
* Sebastian Thumler for Chiko
Best Score
Element of Crime for Robert Zimmermann is tangled up in love
Annette Focks for Krabat
* Niki Reiser for A Year Ago in Winter
Best Production design
Christian M. Goldbeck for Krabat
* Tu Ju Hua for John Rabe
Udo Kramer for North Face
Best Costume design
Lucie Bates for Effi Briest
* Lisy Christl for John Rabe
Birgit Missal for The Baader Meinhof Complex
Best Sound design
Manfred Banach, Tschangis Chahorkh, Dirk Jacob, Carsten Richter for Krabat
Manfred Banach, Christian Conrad, Martin Steyer for A Woman in Berlin
* Tschangis Chahrokh, Heinz Ebner, Guido Zettier for North Face
German Academy Award (Lola) website
German Film Academy website
Hong Kong Film Awards: Bruce Lee Biopic Wins
As Hong Kong celebrates 100 years of filmmaking, Wilson Yip’s biopic Ip Man (above, top image), starring Donnie Yen as Bruce Lee’s kung fu master, was chosen best picture of the year at the 2009 Hong Kong Film Awards.
However, the small-scale docudrama The Way We Are (above, bottom image), set in the working-class town of Tin Shui Wai near the border with China, took home most of the top awards, including best director (Ann Hui), actress (Paw Hee-ching), supporting actress (Chan Lai Wun) and screenplay (Lou Shiu Wa).
The Best Actor winner was Nick Cheung, who plays a kidnapper in the action thriller The Beast Stalker, while Liu Kai Chi received the best supporting actor award for his work in the same film.
The Best New Performer award went to 11-year-old Xu Jiao for her performance in Stephen Chow’s sci-fi film CJ 7.
John Woo’s expensive historical epic Red Cliff, set in the final days of the Han Dynasty in the early 3rd century, won a total of five awards, including best visual effects and art direction.
The best Asian film was Feng Xiaogang’s socially conscious war drama Assembly, from China, in which a veteran soldier tries to gain social and political recognition for the efforts of his Chinese Civil War comrades.
Veteran actress Josephine Siao – three-time Golden Horse winner, two-time Hong Kong Film Award winner, and best actress winner at the Berlin Film Festival in 1995 – received the lifetime achievement award from director Wong Kar-Wai.
2009 Hong Kong Film Awards
2009 Hong Kong Film Award nominations: Feb. 12
2009 Hong Kong Film Award winners: Apr. 19
Best Film
The Way We Are (prods: Ann Hui & Wong Yat Ping)
Red Cliff (prods: Terence Chang & John Woo)
CJ 7 (prods: Stephen Chow, Chui Po Chu, Han San Ping, Vincent Kok, Shi Dong Ming, Connie Wong)
Painted Skin (prod: Gordon Chan Ka Seung)
* Ip Man (prod: Raymond Wong Pak Ming)
Best Asian Film
If You Are The One (China)
Cape No. 7 (Taiwan)
Suspect X (Japan)
Forever Enthralled (China)
* Assembly (China)
Best Director
* Ann Hui On Wah (The Way We Are)
Johnnie To Kei Fung (Sparrow)
John Woo (Red Cliff)
Benny Chan (Connected)
Yip Wai Shun (Ip Man)
Best New Director
* Derek Kwok (The Moss)
Heiward Mak (High Noon)
Ivy Ho (Claustrophobia)
Best Actor
Louis Koo (Run Papa Run)
Simon Yam (Sparrow)
Tony Leung Chiu Wai (Red Cliff)
* Nick Cheung Ka Fai (The Beast Stalker)
Donnie Yen (Ip Man)
Best Actress
* Paw Hee Ching (The Way We Are)
Prudence Liew (True Women For Sale)
Barbie Hsu (Connected)
Zhou Xun (Painted Skin)
Karena Lam (Claustrophobia)
Best Supporting Actor
Zhang Feng Yi (Red Cliff)
Stephen Chow (CJ 7)
* Liu Kai Chi (The Beast Stalker)
Lam Ka Tung (Ip Man)
Fan Sui Wong (Ip Man)
Best Supporting Actress
Nora Miao (Run Papa Run)
* Chan Lai Wun (The Way We Are)
Zhao Wei (Red Cliff)
Race Wong (True Women For Sale)
Sun Li (Painted Skin)
Best New Performer
Monica Mok (Ocean Flame)
Zhang Yu Qi (All About Women)
Juno Leung (The Way We Are)
Lin Chi Ling (Red Cliff)
* Xu Jiao (CJ 7)
Best Screenplay
Susan Chan Suk Yin, Sylvia Chang, Mathias Woo (Run Papa Run)
* Lou Shiu Wa (The Way We Are)
Gordon Chan Ka Seung, Lau Ho Leung & Kwong Man Wai (Painted Skin)
Jack Ng & Dante Lam (The Beast Stalker)
Ivy Ho (Claustrophobia)
Best Cinematography
Tony Cheung (Three Kingdoms, Resurrection of the Dragon)
Cheng Siu Keung (Sparrow)
Lu Yue & Zhang Li (Red Cliff)
* Arthur Wong Ngok Tai (Painted Skin)
O Sing P ui (Ip Man)
Best Film Editing
David Richardson (Sparrow)
Angie Lam, Robert A. Ferretti & Yang Hong Yu (Red Cliff)
* Yau Chi Wai (Connected)
Chan Ki Hop (The Beast Stalker)
Cheung Ka Fai (Ip Man)
Best Original Film Score
Henry Lai (Three Kingdoms, Resurrection of the Dragon)
Xavier Jamaux, Fred Avril (Sparrow)
* Taro Iwashiro (Red Cliff)
Fujiwara Ikuro (Painted Skin)
Kenji Kawai (Ip Man)
Best Original Film Song
“Flying With Dreams” (An Empress And The Warriors)
“L For Love, L For Lies” (L For Love, L For Lies)
“Red Cliff” (Red Cliff)
* “Painted Skin” (Painted Skin)
“Eternal Love” (Missing)
Best Art Direction
Daniel Lee & Horace Ma (Three Kingdoms, Resurrection of the Dragon)
Yee Chung Man & Ben Lau (An Empress And The Warriors)
* Tim Yip (Red Cliff)
Bill Lui Cho Hung (Painted Skin)
Kenneth Mak (Ip Man)
Best Costume & Make Up Design
Thomas Chong & Wong Ming Ha (Three Kingdoms, Resurrection of the Dragon)
Willam Chang Suk Ping (All About Women)
Yee Chung Man & Dora Ng (An Empress And The Warriors)
* Tim Yip (Red Cliff)
Ng Po Ling (Painted Skin)
Best Action Choreography
Sammo Hung (Three Kingdoms, Resurrection of the Dragon)
Corey Yuen (Red Cliff)
Lee Chung Chi (Connected)
Stephen Tung Wai (Painted Skin)
* Sammo Hung & Leung Siu Hung (Ip Man)
Best Visual Effects
* Craig Hayes (Red Cliff)
Eddy Wong, Victor Wong & Ken Law (CJ 7)
Ho Siu Lun (Missing)
Ng Yuen Fai, Chas Chau Chi Shing & Tam Kai Kwan (Painted Skin)
Henri Wong (Ip Man)
Best Sound Design
* Wu Jiang & Roger Savage (Red Cliff)
Chris Goodes & Sam Wong (Connected)
Kinson Tsang & Lai Chi Hung (Painted Skin)
Phyllis Cheng, Nip Kei Wing & David Wong (The Beast Stalker)
Kinson Tsang (Ip Man)
Lifetime Achievement Award: Josephine Siao
Professional Achievement Award: Ding Yue
Source: ScreenDaily.com
Hong Kong Film Awards Site
Paolo Sorrentino’s Il Divo, a biopic of former Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti, and Matteo Garrone’s organized crime thriller Gomorrah, both starring Toni Servillo, were the top nominees for the Italian Academy’s 2009 David di Donatello awards.
Il Divo led the field with 16 nominations, followed by Gomorrah with 11. Both films, which are in the running in the best picture category, have already won several international awards: Il Divo received the Special Jury Award at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival and a European Film Award for best actor Toni Servillo (also for Gomorrah); Gomorrah won Cannes’ Grand Prix and five European Film Awards, including best film and Servillo’s shared best actor prize. Gomorrah was also Italy’s submission for the 2009 Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award, but was surprisingly bypassed at nomination time.
Others vying for the David di Donatello for best film are Fausto Brizzi’s romance Ex, starring Alessandro Gassman; Paolo Virzi’s comedy Tutta la Vita Davanti / Her Whole Life Ahead, about a recent university graduate trying to get work in Italy’s increasingly ruthless job market; and Giulio Manfredonia’s comedy about mental institutions, Si può fare / You Can Do It.
Sorrentino, Garrone, Brizzi, and Manfredonia also received nominations for best director, along with Pupi Avati for Il Papa di Giovanna / Giovanna’s Father.
Among the acting nominees in the lead categories are Servillo for Il Divo (but not for Gomorrah); two-time David di Donatello winner Silvio Orlando for Il Papa di Giovanna, for which he received the best actor prize at the 2008 Venice Film Festival; and Valeria Golino as a night teacher with a secret in Giulia non esce la sera (above, with Valerio Mastandrea, nominated for Non pensarci).
Among the nominees for best European Union film are Slumdog Millionaire and Waltz with Bashir, while Milk and WALL-E are among those in the running for the best foreign film David.
The David di Donatello awards ceremony will take place on May 8.
2009 David di Donatello Award nominations: April 9, 2009
2009 David di Donatello Award winners: May 8, 2009
Best Film / miglior film
Il divo
produced by Andrea Occhipinti, Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima, Maurizio Coppolecchia
directed by Paolo Sorrentino
Ex
produced by Fulvio Lucisano, Federica Lucisano
directed by Fausto Brizzi
Gomorra
produced by Domenico Procacci
directed by Matteo Garrone
Si può fare
produced by Angelo Rizzoli
directed by Giulio Manfredonia
Tutta la vita davanti
produced by Motorino Amaranto – Medusa
directed by Paolo Virzì
Best Film from the European Union / miglior film dellUnione Europea
Entre les murs, by Laurent Cantet
Lemon Tree, by Eran Riklis
Slumdog Millionaire, by Danny Boyle
The Reader, by Stephen Daldry
Waltz with Bashir, by Ari Folman
Best Foreign Film / miglior film straniero
Gran Torino, by Clint Eastwood
Milk, by Gus Van Sant
The Visitor, by Tom McCarthy
The Wrestler, by Darren Aronofsky
WALL – E, by Andrew Stanton
Best Documentary Feature / miglior documentario di lungometraggio
211: Anna, by Giovanna Massimetti and Paolo Serbandini
Come un uomo sulla terra, by Andrea Segre, Dagmawi Yimer, in collaboration with Riccardo Biadene
Diario de un curato di montagna, by Stefano Saverioni
Non tacere, by Fabio Grimaldi
Best Director / migliore regista
Pupi AVATI, Il papa di Giovanna
Fausto BRIZZI, Ex
Matteo GARRONE, Gomorra
Giulio MANFREDONIA, Si può fare
Paolo SORRENTINO, Il divo
Best New Director / migliore regista esordiente
Marco AMENTA, La Siciliana ribelle
Umberto CARTENI, Diverso da chi?
Tony DANGELO, Una notte
Gianni DI GREGORIO, Pranzo di ferragosto
Marco PONTECORVO, PA-RA-DA
Best Actress / migliore attrice protagonista
Donatella FINOCCHIARO, Galantuomini
Claudia GERINI, Diverso da chi?
Valeria GOLINO, Giulia non esce la sera
Ilaria OCCHINI, Mar Nero
Alba ROHRWACHER, Il papa di Giovanna
Best Actor / migliore attore protagonista
Luca ARGENTERO, Diverso da chi?
Claudio BISIO, Si può fare
Valerio MASTANDREA, Non pensarci
Silvio ORLANDO, Il papa di Giovanna
Tony SERVILLO, Il Divo
Best Supporting Actress / migliore attrice non protagonista
Piera DEGLI ESPOSTI, Il Divo
Sabrina FERILLI, Tutta la vita davanti
Maria NAZIONALE, Gomorra
Micaela RAMAZZOTTI, Tutta la vita davanti
Carla SIGNORIS, Ex
Best Supporting Actor / migliore attore non protagonista
Giuseppe BATTISTON, Non pensarci
Claudio BISIO, Ex
Carlo BUCCIROSSO, Il Divo
Luca LIONELLO, Cover Boy – lultima rivoluzione
Filippo NIGRO, Diverso da chi?
Best Screenplay / migliore sceneggiatura
Paolo SORRENTINO, Il divo
Fausto BRIZZI, Marco MARTANI, Massimiliano BRUNO, Ex
Maurizio BRAUCCI, Ugo CHITI, Gianni Di GREGORIO, Matteo GARRONE, Massimo GAUDIOSO, Roberto SAVIANO, Gomorra
Fabio BONIFACCI, Giulio MANFREDONIA, Si può fare
Francesco BRUNI, Paolo VIRZI, Tutta la vita davanti
Best Producer / migliore produttore
Augusto ALLEGRA, Isabella COCUZZA, Giuliana GAMBA, Arturo PAGLIA, Cover Boy – Lultima rivoluzione
Andrea OCCHIPINTI, Nicola GIULIANO, Francesca CIMA, Maurizio COPPOLECCHIA, Il Divo
Domecìnico PROCACCI, Gomorra
Matteo GARRONE, Pranzo di ferragosto
Angelo RIZZOLI, Si può fare
Best Cinematographer / migliore direttore della fotografia
Luca BIGAZZI, Il Divo
Arnaldo CATINARI, I demoni di San Pietroburgo
Marco ONORATO, Gomorra
Italo PETRICCIONE, Come Dio comanda
Vittorio STORARO, Caravaggio
Best Editor / migliore montatore
Esmeralda CALABRIA, Giulia non esce la sera
Luciana PANDOLFELLI, Ex
Marco SPOLETINI, Gomorra
Cristiano TRAVAGLIOLI, Il Divo
Cecilia ZANUSO, Si può fare
Best Composer / migliore musicista
Teho TEARDO, Il Divo
Bruno ZAMBRINI, Ex
BAUSTELLE, Giulia non esce la sera
Paolo BUONVINO, Italians
PIVIO e Aldo DE SCALZI, Si può fare
Best Original Song / migliore canzone originale
“IL CIELO HA UNA PORTA SOLA” music, lyrics, and performed by Biagio ANTONACCI, Ex
“PIANGI ROMA” music and lyrics by Francesco BIANCONI, performed by BAUSTELLE and Valeria GOLINO, Giulia non esce la sera
“HERCULANEUM” music by Robert DEL NAJA, lyrics by Neil DAVIDGE and Euan DICKINSON, performed by Robert DEL NAJA and Neil DAVIDGE, Gomorra
“PER FARE A MENO DI TE” music by GIORGIA e Fabrizio CAMPANELLI, lyrics and performed by GIORGIA, Solo un padre
“SENZA FARSI MALE” music and lyrics by Fabio ABATE, performed by Carmen CONSOLI, Luomo che ama
Best Production Designer / migliore scenografo
Giancarlo BASILI, Sanguepazzo
Paolo BONFINI, Gomorra
Giantito BURCHIELLARO, Caravaggio
Lino FIORITO, Il Divo
Francesco FRIGERI, I demoni di San Pietroburgo
Best Costume Designer / migliore costumista
Alessandra CARDINI, Gomorra
Mario CARLINI e Francesco CRIVELLINI, Il papa di Giovanna
Daniela CIANCIO, Il Divo
Elisabetta MONTALDO, I demoni di San Pietroburgo
Lia MORANDINI, Caravaggio
Best Visual Effects / migliori effetti speciali visivi
EDI – EFFETTI DIGITALI VISIVI, Come Dio comanda
FRAME BY FRAME, I demoni di San Pietroburgo
Nicola SGANGA, Rodolfo MIGLIARI per VISION, Il Divo
Giuseppe SQUILLACI, Italians
PROXIMA, Tutta la vita davanti
Best Sound / migliore fonico di presa diretta
Emanuele CECERE, Il Divo
Marco FIUMARA, Ex
Maricetta LOMBARDO, Gomorra
Gaetano CARITO, Marco GRILLO, Bruno PUPPARO, Italians
Bruno PUPPARO, Si può fare
Best Makeup / migliore truccatore
Alessandro BERTOLAZZI, Caravaggio
Enrico IACOPONI, Sanguepazzo
Vincenzo MASTRANTONIO, Due partite
Luigi ROCCHETTI, I demoni di San Pietroburgo
Vittorio SODANO, Il Divo
Best Hair Stylist / migliore acconciatore
Enzo CERA, Caravaggio
Maria Teresa CORRIDONI, Sanguepazzo
Mirella GINNOTO, I demoni di San Pietroburgo
Ferdinando MEROLLA, Due partite
Aldo SIGNORETTI, Il Divo
Best Documentary Short / miglior documentario di lungometraggio
Rata nece biti (La guerra non ci sara), by Daniele Gaglianone
Lamore e un giogo, by Andrea Rovetta
Best Narrative Short / miglior cortometraggio
Larbitro, by Paolo Zucca
Bisesto, by Giovanni Esposito, Francesco Prisco
Cicatrici, by Eros Achiardi
La madonna della frutta, by Paola Randi
Young David Award / David Giovani
Ex, by Fausto Brizzi
PA-RA-DA, by Marco Pontecorvo
Si può fare, by Giulio Manfredonia
LA siciliana ribelle, by Marco Amenta
Solo un padre, by Luca Lucini
Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting
The deadline for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 24th annual Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition is May 1, 2009. Entries must be postmarked by May 1 or submitted online by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on May 1.
As per the Academy’s press release, “the program is open to screenwriters who have not earned more than $5,000 writing fictional work for film or television. Entry scripts must be feature length and the original work of a sole author or of exactly two collaborative authors. The scripts must have been written originally in English. Adaptations and translated scripts are not eligible. Up to five $30,000 fellowships are awarded each year.”
Several past Nicholl fellows have gone on to successful screenwriting careers, including Doug Atchison (Akeelah and the Bee), Ehren Kruger (Reindeer Games, Scream 3), and Andrew Marlowe (Air Force One).
Returning as Nicholl Committee Chair is 1992 Nicholl fellow Susannah Grant, who wrote the The Soloist, opening nationwide on Friday. Grant also wrote and directed Catch and Release (2007), shared writing credit on Charlotte’s Web (2006), adapted In Her Shoes (2005), and in 2000 received an Academy Award nomination for Erin Brockovich. Grant’s writing credits also include 28 Days, Ever After and Pocahontas.
Since the program’s inception in 1985, 108 fellowships have been awarded.
Application information is available now on the Academy’s Web site at www.oscars.org/nicholl.
SAG Awards key dates
The key deadlines for the 2010 Screen Actors Guild Awards were announced today by SAG Awards Committee Chair JoBeth Williams (best known for her role as the distraught mother in Poltergeist). This will be the 16th edition of the annual event honoring performances in motion pictures and primetime television.
Submissions for the 2010 Screen Actors Guild Awards will open Monday, July 13, 2009, at www.sagawards.org/submissions. The nominations will be announced Thursday, Dec. 17, 2009. On Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010, in the United States, TNT and TBS will simulcast the presentation of the Actor statuettes from the Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles at 8 p.m. ET/PT (which unfortunately means tape delay for those on the West Coast), 7 p.m. Central and 6 p.m. MT.
As per SAGs press release, “Actor® nominees are selected by separate film and television nominating committees, each consisting of 2,100 SAG members from around the country, randomly selected anew each year. All active members of SAG will receive ballots to determine who will receive Actors® for the outstanding performances of 2009.”
Among the 2009 SAG Award winners were best actor Sean Penn for Milk, best actress Meryl Streep for Doubt, best supporting actress Kate Winslet for The Reader, best supporting actor Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight, and the cast of Slumdog Millionaire for the best ensemble.
The 2010 Screen Actors Guild Awards will be produced by Jeff Margolis Productions in association with Screen Actors Guild Awards, LLC. Jeff Margolis is the executive producer and director. Kathy Connell is the producer. JoBeth Williams, Daryl Anderson, Shelley Fabares, Paul Napier and Yale Summers are producers for SAG. Gloria Fujita O’Brien and Mick McCullough are supervising producers. Benn Fleishman is executive in charge of production. More information is available online at www.sagawards.org.
The Screen Actors Guild is the nation’s largest labor union representing working actors. It was established in 1933, and currently represents more than 120,000 actors working in film, television, industrials, commercials, video games, music videos and other new media formats. More information is available online at www.sag.org.