In my Blu-Ray review of Tower Heist, I mentioned how the special features reignited my hopes that there are filmmakers out there who really care about how a film is made and sharing that experience with others. Today we have for you a little taste of those special features in these new bonus clips that include an interview with director Brett Ratner and producer Brian Grazer about how they first met, as well as interviews with actors Eddie Murphy and Michael Pena about their involvement with the film. Also included is a fascinating look behind the scenes at how a replica of a car driven by Steve McQueen was produced for the film.
It’s that time of year again. Time to make the final predictions about how this Sunday’s Academy Awards is going to turn out as well as which nominee(s) I feel to be the most worthy of taking home the award.
The Secret World of Arrietty is a return to the land of imagination that is so often the basis for these beautiful films that continually show that animation can be so much more than just a cartoon.
Rampart doesn’t end up having as much emotional punch to it as The Messenger did, mainly because it feels as though the idea was not thought out to completion.
Earlier today, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) announced their awards with The Artist ending up as the big winner, which is no surprise given its amazing success throughout the awards season thus far. The film took home a total of seven awards including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Original Screenplay.
Earlier this evening, the Screen Actors Guild handed out their awards for excellence in acting in movies and television. It was a night of very few surprises as The Help ended up being the biggest winner, winning Best Actress (Viola Davis), Best Supporting Actress (Octavia Spencer), and Best Ensemble, SAG's top award.
Earlier this evening, The Directors Guild of America honored the best achievements in directing for 2011. The categories ranged from commercials all the way to feature films. Unlike last week's Producers Guild Awards, where there was little chance of anything but The Artist winning, the DGA's top honor for feature film directing was down to two contenders with a slight edge toward Michel Hazanavicius for directing The Artist. There were some who thought that perhaps Martin Scorsese could pull a surprise win here for Hugo, but the love of The Artist was too much to overcome as Hazanavicius was named the winner.
