2008 Academy Award Nominations and Oscar Update

The 2007 Academy Awards were last night! (February 24th) This has been a great year for films. In fact, there were so many good films, that some films and actors that may have won on previous years weren't even nominated. But the nominated films are outstanding! Not a dud in the bunch. As expected, No Company for Old Men and There Will be Blood got the most nods with eight nominations each and Michael Clayton (Yeah!) coming in at seven nods.

OSCAR UPDATE: No Country for Old Men swept the Oscars with Javier Bardem winning best supporting actor (no surprise there) and writer/directors Joel Coen and Ethan Coen winning best adapted screenplay, best directing, and best picture. Daniel Day-Lewis gave a theatrical acceptance speech for Best Actor for, There Will Be Blood. And Robert Elswit gave There Will Be Blood it's second Oscar for Cinematography.

Michael Clayton is nominated for (and deserves to win) Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay for it's powerful, dynamic story about moral responsibility and redemption written and directed by Tony Gilroy. There are also some Oscar caliber performances: George Clooney (Best Actor),Tilda Swinton (Best Supporting Actress) and the outstanding Tom Wilkinson for Best Supporting Actor.

OSCAR UPDATE: Tilda Swinton represented Michael Clayton by winning their only Oscar. She appropriately gave credit to her talented writer/director Tony Gilroy.

I'm thrilled that The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (review below) was nominated for so many awards including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Directing, Best Cinematography and Best Editing! Seems to me that it should have been nominated for Best Picture too. (I would have picked it as number one on my "2007 Best Films" list but it came to Tucson too late. Oh, well...)

But there were some other pleasant surprises too. This was the year for women screenwriters and screenwriter/directors! Just check out all the nominations for Juno -- including Best Directing (Jason Reitman), Best Actress (Ellen Page), best screenplay, and best picture! Lars and the Real Girl was also nominated for best screenplay! Two comedies nominated for best screenplay and both written by women - unheard of! Hurray for Diablo Cody (Juno) and Nancy Oliver (Lars and the Real Girl)! Away from Her got a nomination for best adapted Screenplay and Best Actress (Julie Christie)! Kudos to writer/director Sarah Polley! The Savages was also nominated for best actress (Laura Linney) and best screenplay. Congrats writer/director Tamara Jenkins! Four screenwriting nods to women! Not to mention the best animated feature nominee writer/director Marjane Satrapi for Persepolis!

OSCAR UPDATE: Diablo Cody gave a moving acceptance speech where she thanked her amazing director (Jason Reitman), lead actress (Ellen Page), and her mom for "accepting me just the way I am."

Marion Cotillard deserved her Best Actress award for her transformational acting in La Vie en Rose.

Other RI reviewed films that were nominated are: “Raise It Up” from August Rush and "Falling Slowly” from Once were nominated for Best Song. The Kite Runner and Michael Clayton were nominated for Best original score! "

OSCAR UPDATE: The performers/writers of the winning song,Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, gave stirring speeches about how much it meant for them and independent musicians to win this award for their $100,000. little film.

I've highlighted the films that Reel Inspiration has promoted just in case you'd like to root for those. You can bet your sweet jujubees I will be!

OSCAR UPDATE:
There were several disappointments for me. I really thought that The Diving Bell and the Butterfly deserved best cinematography and editing. And I hoped against hope that Tom Wilkinson would win best supporting actor for his dynamic work in Michael Clayton. Also, Persepolis was definitely slighted by big studio production “Ratatouille.”

I'm delighted for our three wins - especially that Diablo Cody won for her honest and witty script, Juno and that Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova won for their song, "Falling Slowly." Great job!

Movie Blessings!
Jana Segal
Reel Inspiration

OSCAR NOMINATIONS:
(Winners in Gold)

Performance by an actor in a leading role
George Clooney in “Michael Clayton”
Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood”
Johnny Depp in “Sweeney Todd...”
Tommy Lee Jones in “In the Valley of Elah”
Viggo Mortensen in “Eastern Promises”

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Casey Affleck in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”
Javier Bardem in “No Country for Old Men”
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Charlie Wilson’s War”
Hal Holbrook in “Into the Wild”
Tom Wilkinson in “Michael Clayton”

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Cate Blanchett in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
Julie Christie in “Away from Her”
Marion Cotillard in “La Vie en Rose”
Laura Linney in “The Savages”
Ellen Page in “Juno”

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Cate Blanchett in “I’m Not There”
Ruby Dee in “American Gangster”
Saoirse Ronan in “Atonement”
Amy Ryan in “Gone Baby Gone”
Tilda Swinton in “Michael Clayton”

Best animated feature film of the year
“Persepolis” (Sony Pictures Classics) Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Brad Bird
“Surf's Up” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Ash Brannon and Chris Buck

Achievement in art direction
“American Gangster” Art Direction: Arthur Max; Set Decoration: Beth A. Rubino
“Atonement” : Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
“The Golden Compass” Art Direction: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” Art Direction: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
“There Will Be Blood” Art Direction: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson

Achievement in cinematography
“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” Roger Deakins
“Atonement” Seamus McGarvey
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” Janusz Kaminski
“No Country for Old Men” Roger Deakins
“There Will Be Blood” Robert Elswit

Achievement in costume design
“Across the Universe” Albert Wolsky
“Atonement” Jacqueline Durran
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age” Alexandra Byrne
“La Vie en Rose” Marit Allen
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” Colleen Atwood

Achievement in directing
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” Julian Schnabel
“Juno” Jason Reitman
“Michael Clayton” Tony Gilroy
“No Country for Old Men” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
“There Will Be Blood” Paul Thomas Anderson

Best documentary feature
“No End in Sight” (Magnolia Pictures): A Representational Pictures Production: Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
“Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience” (The Documentary Group): A Documentary Group Production : Richard E. Robbins
“Sicko” (Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company): A Dog Eat Dog Films Production: Michael Moore and Meghan O’Hara
“Taxi to the Dark Side” (THINKFilm): An X-Ray Production: Alex Gibney and Eva Orner
“War/Dance” (THINKFilm): A Shine Global and Fine Films Production: Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine

Achievement in film editing
“The Bourne Ultimatum” Christopher Rouse
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” Juliette Welfling
“Into the Wild” Jay Cassidy
“No Country for Old Men” Roderick Jaynes
“There Will Be Blood” Dylan Tichenor

Best foreign language film of the year
“Beaufort” A Metro Communications, Movie Plus Production
Israel
“The Counterfeiters” An Aichholzer Filmproduktion, Magnolia Filmproduktion Production
Austria
“Katyń” An Akson Studio Production
Poland
“Mongol” A Eurasia Film Production
Kazakhstan
“12” A Three T Production
Russia

Achievement in makeup
“La Vie en Rose” Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald
“Norbit” Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” Ve Neill and Martin Samuel

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“Atonement” Dario Marianelli
“The Kite Runner” Alberto Iglesias
“Michael Clayton” James Newton Howard
“Ratatouille” Michael Giacchino
“3:10 to Yuma” Marco Beltrami

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“Falling Slowly” from “Once” Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
Happy Working Song” from “Enchanted” Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
“Raise It Up” from “August Rush” (Warner Bros.): Nominees to be determined
“So Close” from “Enchanted” Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
“That’s How You Know” from “Enchanted” Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz

Best motion picture of the year
“Atonement” (Focus Features) : A Working Title Production ; Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Paul Webster, Producers
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight): A Dancing Elk Pictures, LLC Production; Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick and Russell Smith, Producers
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.): A Clayton Productions, LLC Production; Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox and Kerry Orent, Producers
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): A Scott Rudin/Mike Zoss Production; Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): A JoAnne Sellar/Ghoulardi Film Company Production; JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Lupi, Producers

Achievement in sound editing
“The Bourne Ultimatum” Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg
“No Country for Old Men” Skip Lievsay
“Ratatouille” Randy Thom and Michael Silvers
“There Will Be Blood” Matthew Wood
“Transformers” Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins

Achievement in sound mixing
“The Bourne Ultimatum” Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis
“No Country for Old Men” Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland
“Ratatouille” Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane
“3:10 to Yuma” Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe
“Transformers” Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin

Achievement in visual effects
“The Golden Compass” Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier
“Transformers” Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier

Adapted screenplay
“Atonement” Screenplay by Christopher Hampton
“Away from Her” Written by Sarah Polley
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
“No Country for Old Men” Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
“There Will Be Blood” Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson

Original screenplay
“Juno” Written by Diablo Cody
“Lars and the Real Girl” Written by Nancy Oliver
“Michael Clayton” Written by Tony Gilroy
“Ratatouille” Screenplay by Brad Bird; Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird
“The Savages” Written by Tamara Jenkins

Most Inspiring Films of 2007!

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After some consideration, I've chosen 12 films to be on my "Best of 2007" list. I've tried to select a diverse variety from the films that Reel Inspiration promoted this past year or films that I didn't get a chance to see while they were in the first run theaters but later ended up on my recommended movies list. All of these films fill Reel Inspiration's criteria of having entertaining, powerful stories that uplift, challenge, give hope or inspire human consciousness. We tend to review more independent films that can benefit from our grassroots promotions. We also promote studio films that aren't high concept blockbusters. Most of all, we promote outstanding films.

This was a great year for outstanding films. All of the films on my list have one thing in common -- something important to say.

If you read my review of The Great Debaters, (below) it will come as no surprise to you that I chose it for the most inspiring, empowering film of the year. The message of this film is that it is our responsibility to speak up against injustice, even unjust laws. In fact, the main character risks his life fighting injustice. Amazing Grace * has this same important theme only presented on a more epic scale. I've chosen The Great Debaters as my number one film because it genuinely moved me. I get teary eyed just watching the trailer. Away from Her is so beautifully written, directed and acted. This truly original movie is about life long love and commitment. The suspense film, The Lives of Others, surprised me with its message that you can find life altering beauty even in the darkest, most suppressed environments. Get past the "clever" dialog and Juno is a very touching, human story with some weighty issues. The Darjeeling Limited is the off the beaten track to spirituality. In Once, a shared passion results in an unexpected kindness. The Namesake is about balancing cultural heritage with discovering yourself. Vitus is an empowering film for every kid that struggles with "less intelligent" adults running their lives. I chose, I'm Not There, for it's director's unique, intelligent vision about the burden and responsibility of fame.  Lars and the Real Girl is a heartwarming story about unconditional love for a rubber girl and the man who loves her. Finally, I've included Noelle with it's themes of forgiveness and church community. The quirky characters really grew on me. I want to watch it again for it's powerful ending.

Movie Blessings! 
Jana Segal

(The Diving Bell and the Butterfly hadn't opened in Tucson when I made my list. But it blew me away how accurately the visual point of view of the paralyzed man was captured.)

"Away from Her"

guest reviewer Gary Ray

One Liner Review

Should Julie Christie’s inevitable Oscar nomination for Best Actress (and probable win) bring AWAY FROM HER back to the theaters in your town do not miss it! A film that slipped through the cracks to some extent in the US in May (although it’s grossed a respectable $4.5 million to-date), it’s one of THE film experiences of 2007.

Directed by twenty-something Sarah Polley (lead actress of such films as “MY LIFE WITHOUT ME") it has the assured directorial hand of an old master; in fact to me it was reminiscent of 1970s Ingmar Bergman. Julie Christie does indeed give a tour de force performance, but the entire ensemble is award-worthy.

The story (adapted by Polley from an Alice Munro short story) concerns Fiona Anderson (Christie), who has already begun losing her memory to Alzheimer’s disease as the film begins. She’s decided to have herself placed in a care facility to ease the struggle her husband will eventually face. At one point we see Fiona cross country skiing away from her wintery home as her husband Grant (Gordon Pinsent) watches her slip over a crest and disappear, just as she soon will from his life. In fact, when she wanders off following this excursion, it forces Grant’s hand in agreeing to put her into the Meadowlake care facility.

Her transformation is almost instantaneous in screen time, because the movie has little to do with observing Fiona’s progression into an addled state. Instead its about the discovery of how much her husband of 44 years is in love with her, seen in his actions over the next several months watching her from afar, mostly, as she is frequently disturbed by his presence, never quite remembering who he is. Pinsent plays Grant unsentimentally which is key to the characterization and pivotal to the film’s uniqueness.

In between the scenes at Meadowlake, are intercut Grant’s meeting with a woman named Marian (Olympia Dukakis). Marian is the wife of Aubrey (Michael Murphy), a man who the memory-lost Fiona grows attached to at Meadowlake. Dukakis plays the no-nonsense, almost fatalistic Marian flawlessly. Marian’s “such is life” philosophy in some way eases the audience along in accepting Fiona’s condition and thereby focusing the movie on the bond between Grant and Fiona, which, despite hinted at difficulties, has remained intact over their long marriage.

At several times during the movie the audience seems to be brought right out onto the edge of writing the film off as far-too-depressing, only to have a wrinkle in the plot refocus attention to the love story and away from the downbeat. Several times throughout the film Polley has a character walk away down a corridor at Meadowlake that’s designed to bring in the sunlight; at these perfectly timed moments that cap dramatic sequences, the celluloid brightens and your heart breaks just a little bit reflecting on what has just transpired.

As the end of the movie’s final scene approached, I found myself thinking: wow, this could end right here—and after one nice brief final touch, the credits began to roll. AWAY FROM HER has been out on DVD for a few months and may not suffer on the small screen, however, if you prefer the big screen, you may want to catch it while you have a second opportunity, it’s is a stunning achievement, a great film.

OSCAR UPDATE: Writer/Director Sarah Polley was nominated for Best Screenplay. Julie Christie was nominated for Best Actress!