Tag: oscars (last 300)
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(LAT) Fox Searchlight resuscitated both ‘Slumdog’ and ‘Crazy Heart’ after other studios passed. The current movie industry favors ‘Transformers’-- CG, sequels, teens.
10 ‘Slumdogs’
(NYT) Oscars planned for 10 arthouse nominees, a ‘disaster,’ but the ‘Slumdog’ rule yielded some popular favorites. Movies now ranked, tallied via instant runoff voting.
‘Kavi’ for the Oscars
No more frickin’ art flicks
(NYT) Oscars’ expanded shortlist (the ‘Slumdog’ rule) actually includes some good movies: ‘D9,’ ‘An Education,’ ‘A Serious Man,’ ‘Up.’
‘Couples’ advance
‘Slumdog’ killed the TV star
(Newsweek) The Oscars are indeed doubling # of best pic nominees because of ‘Slumdog.’ Without any megahits, the ratings continue to slide.
Oscars double best picture slots
(Reuters) ‘Slumdog’ wins best picture, and Oscars suddenly doubles the # of nominees they accept. Hmm...
First Indian Oscar presenter
It takes an Oscar
(ToI) The gov’t will give the two main child actors from ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ more habitable homes after the movie’s Oscars success.
Crying over spoilt ‘Milk’
(WaPo) STAR Asia silenced the words ‘gay’ and ‘lesbian’ during the ‘Milk’ Oscars acceptance speeches, affecting India, Malaysia and Singapore among others.
Rahman in Tamil
‘Slumdog,’ the ‘Transformers’ of the Oscars
(Greatbong) Faced with a choice between dumb action flicks and elitist ones nobody watches, the Academy used their get-out-of-jail-free card with ‘Slumdog’: intellectually untaxing, visually spectacular and unabashedly exotic.
Was ‘Slumdog’ a one-off?
(BBC) Theories abound on ‘Slumdog’s’ success. Was it the recession? Was it that ‘Benjamin Button was a film about death whereas Slumdog Millionaire was a film about getting the girl and several million rupees’?
Hollywood glum over flukey ‘Slumdog’
(WSJ) ‘Slumdog’ is the kind of fluke that’s tough for Hollywood to replicate on demand... The entire evening was a parade for the film. The cast arrived en masse on the red carpet, and most every warm-up interview wove in some mention.
‘Slumdog’ points to globalized Hollywood
(NYT) The evening was dominated by a little film that none of the studio execs wanted — bystanders at their own party... ‘Slumdog’ was test-screened in OC w/no marketing, and the room loved it... I awkwardly namasted. ‘I’m going to have to learn that.’
Mandvi toasts ‘Slumdog’
(Daily Show) Aasif Mandvi wanders into the Daily Show’s Oscars skit, still hung over from ‘Slumdog’ parties. At 2:50.
India ‘desperate for recognition’
(LAT) ‘Slumdog’ is ‘a Hollywood version of a Bollywood myth that’s inverted and speeded up,’ but ‘whether it’s a spelling bee or the Oscars, we’re desperate for recognition.’
Brown claims ‘Slumdog’ success
(AP) UK PM: ‘Last night was a great night for Britain.’ ‘Chariots of Fire’ won 4 Oscars including best picture. It was 15 years before another British film, ‘The English Patient,’ took the top prize.
Seacrest whiffs
(TWOP) Instead of trying to say the ‘Slumdog’ child actors’ names, Seacrest just held up the list. Seriously? They GAVE you the names, how hard is it to read them off? These pint-sized cuties deserved better. (ht: brimful)
Lost in tarnation
(Tabloid) Ryan Seacrest just interviewed the kids from ‘Slumdog Millionaire.’ It might have gone a little better if he prepped himself on their names first ... and knew they didn’t all speak English.
From 2 to 5
(WaPo) The # of Indian Oscar winners leapt by 3: with double winner A.R. Rahman for score and song, and Resul Pookutty, part of the sound mixing team. [Missing hat tips: Loveleen Tandan, Suketu Mehta.]
Bandra slum celebrates child actors
(AP) ‘My eyes couldn’t believe that I was seeing Rubina in America,’ said Saba Qureshi, Rubina’s best friend, squealing every time Rubina came on screen. The Bandra slum is nestled between a major road and filthy train tracks.
Smile doc
This palette is too monochromatic
(Gettyimages) A.R. Rahman surrounded by backup dancers at Oscars. The entire series misidentifies singer in yellow as M.I.A.
I came for the frequent flier miles
Excitable Kapoor
Smile Slumdogs
(NYT) Beaufoy rattled off a list of places he never expected to be — ‘the moon, the South Pole, the Miss World podium and here.’ ‘Slumdog’s’ 8 Oscars was the largest total since LoTR’s 11 in ’04. ‘Smile Pinki’ won the doc selection, and Pinki was present.
Tandan gracious over Oscar credit
(ToL) Loveleen Tandan: A group of women in Chicago said I was not getting the right credit or awards for co-directing the film. It was whipped up out of proportion. It was always meant to be Danny’s film.
Academy of blue chiffon
‘Slumdog’ is a popcorn movie
(Calendarlive) I’ve been astonished at some of the anti-’Slumdog’ backlash, by those who want it to be a position paper from Human Rights Watch. Demanding that poor people rend their garments on screen is patronizing,
Gabriel refuses to share spotlight with Rahman
(Telegraph) Peter Gabriel has refused to take part in an original song medley with AR Rahman because he felt 60-65 secs of ‘Down t oEarth’ was too short. (ht: SN)
NYT profiles Rahman
(NYT) ‘Bombay Dreams’ spent $14M and closed in 8 mos on Broadway... Only 2 Indians have received Oscars: Bhanu Athaiya for ‘Gandhi’ costume design and Satyajit Ray, lifetime achievement.
Last UK big winner: ‘English Patient’
(Telegraph) Slumdog Millionaire will need to win all 10 nominations to beat The English Patient, which won 9 in ’97... Photo of the 2 child actors on way back from U.S. visa interview for Oscars.
Ravi rules the Oscars
(WaPo) The Oscars original songs medley will be driven by Rahman’s ‘Slumdog’ songs and played by 4 dholis incluing DJ Ravi Drums and African, Japanese and Chinese percussionists.
‘Slumdog’ is a formula
(NYT) For four of the last five years Searchlight has had a best picture nominee that’s both a scrappy little underdog and a specimen of an established mainstream breed. ‘Slumdog’ is a twofer, a coming of age comedy and a crime drama.
‘Slumdog’ babies coming to Oscars
(AP) The child actors from ‘Slumdog’ will be flown to Los Angeles and put up in a five-star hotel for two days during the Oscars.
Don’t bet on ‘Button’
(SF Chron) ‘Slumdog’ and ‘Milk’ will be seen years from now as art, while ‘Button’ is a decaffeinated ‘Gump,’ arguably Fincher’s fifth-best film, tied with ‘Panic Room.’
Mediocre ‘Slumdog’
(MoJo·L) ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ wore badly. The game show schtick frayed halfway through, and the rest of the contrivances were worthy of a mediocre cable drama. If this had been a Hollywood movie, no one would’ve given it a 2nd look.
Underdog millionaire
(Newsweek) No one thinks that ‘The Reader’ can beat ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ except Harvey Weinstein, who goes to voters’ homes with the DVD and makes them watch his movies. [And his ‘Bride and Prejudice’ wasn’t nominated? Curious.]
Nate Silver predicts Oscars
(NY Mag) Silver: ‘Slumdog’ is a serious film, which the Academy favors. If there’s an upset, it will be Milk; guilt over Prop 8 and the Brokeback snub of ’06 could split the vote, with Boyle getting Director and Milk getting Picture.
Hothkati no longer
(BBC) The doc ‘Smile Pinki’ is up for an Oscar. ‘When she was born, her lip was torn. It looked awful. Even I couldn’t bear to look at her, how could I blame my neighbourd. Everyone used to call her hothkati’ (cut lip).’
Ma ho
(Eonline) The big question after giving birth is whether M.I.A. will sing ‘O Saya’ at the Oscars. ‘We’re willing to have her enter on a large bed. We’ll make it as easy for her as we can.’
Ebert’s Oscar predictions
(Suntimes) If you’re a star in India, Oscar doesn’t care. It takes place in a world that for many was long ago. But Indians are among us, the novels are popular, and it’s the most exotic which speaks English... Beaufoy will win because ‘Button’ rehashes ‘Gump.’
Pieces of Rahman
(NYT) 2 songs from ‘Slumdog’ could give the Oscars a Bollywood flavor. Part of each song will be played in a single production number... Hugh Jackman will sing in a Baz Luhrmann number.
How to beat ‘Slumdog’ for an Oscar
(NY Mag humor) ‘Benjamin Button’ should talk about M.I.A.’s Tamil Tiger connection. Or does that crap only work in presidential campaigns?
Giving birth to Grammys
(MTV) M.I.A. on Oscar nom: ‘Maybe I can afford to book Dave Chappelle at the baby shower now.’ She’s due on the same night as the Grammys (Feb. 8), where she’s up against Leona Lewis, Adele, Coldplay for record of the year.
Rahman, Sukhwinder performing at Oscars
(NDTV) A.R. Rahman will adapt ‘Jai Ho’ to the live orchestra for his stage performance. Sukhwinder Singh will sing. Lyricist Gulzar will also show. [And M.I.A.?] (ht: Sapna)
$15M ‘Slumdog’ up against $150M ‘Button’
(LAT) Warner Independent closed, and ‘Slumdog’ may have gone straight to DVD. Then Fox Searchlight acquired rights for $2.5M and is revenue-sharing with Warner.
‘Slumdog’ is the grandma movie
(Slate) ‘Slumdog’ is a cute, inoffensive crowd pleaser that no one hates. My warm glow gradually congealed into faint annoyance. It’s the grandma movie. It will split the best-song vote, making Peter Gabriel’s Wall-E ballad the default winner.
Best pic nominees are all niche
(WSJ) ‘Slumdog Millionaire,’ ‘The Reader,’ ‘Milk’ and ‘Frost/Nixon,’ combined have brought in only $105M worldwide. [Similar complaints about the Booker Prize.] Rahman has sold more than 100M albums but isn’t well-known in the U.S.
Academy going indie
(NYT) Each of the films selected for a best-picture nomination represents the auteur ideal, in which a director is bankrolled and left alone. ‘Slumdog,’ the leader, features actors you wouldn’t know if they showed up on your doorstep. [Kapooooor!]
‘Smile Pinki’ nominated for Oscar
(Silverdocs) Megan Mylan’s doc ‘Smile Pinki’ (Bhojpuri) about cleft lip surgery gets Oscar nomination.
Slumdog gets numerous Oscar nominations
(Oscar) ‘Slumdog’ gets Oscar nominations for best picture, director, cinematography, editing, score, 2 out of 3 best song noms (‘Jai Ho’ and ‘O Saya’), sound editing, sound mixing and adapted screenplay. None for acting.
Thanks for the script
(Latimeslatimes) The ‘Slumdog’ cast stopped by Fox Searchlight’s party at Craft in Century City. The chairman will attend the Mumbai premiere next week and marvels at Warner Independent giving him the indisputable Oscar front-runner.
‘Slumdog’ producer swore on primetime
(LAT) Darren Aronofsky flipped off his star Mickey Rourke, and ‘Slumdog’ producer Christian Colson seemed to utter a four-letter word when music cut into his speech. ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ is now a favorite for multiple Oscars.
Director’s Guild awards may define Oscars
(NYT) Many ‘Slumdog’ fans can’t name any of its stars. Star worship ‘has been replaced by a culture of worshiping directors,’ so the Director’s Guild Awards heavily influence the Oscars.
‘Sita’s’ copyright problem
(Questioncopyright) 80 years later, Annette Hanshaw’s sync rights are still not out of copyright, so ‘Sita Sings the Blues’ can’t get a commercial release without paying $220K to the rights holders. And therefore is not eligible for the Oscars. (ht: Suzy)
Ebert seconds ‘Slumdog’ Oscar nom
(Suntimes) Ebert: ‘Slumdog’ combines the suspense of a game show with the energy of ‘City of God.’ I walked out of Toronto and flatly predicted it would win the Audience Award. It did. And it could land a best picture Oscar nomination.
‘Slumdog’ plausible for best picture
(Tribune) After last year’s black-hearted ‘No Country,’ the Oscars may well be in the mood to embrace a fairy tale like ‘Slumdog’... Anil Kapoor plays a perfectly unctuous weasel.
Rushdie, Oscar critic
(Observer) Rushdie is friends with actress Saffron Burrows. He thought ‘Charlie Wilson’s War’ and Ellen Page should’ve won Oscars. ‘Juno was stylized, but stylized is good. We overrate naturalism these days.’ [His readers might agree.]
India’s Oscar winners
(HT) The only Indian to win a regular Oscar is costume designer Bhanu Aithaya for ‘Gandhi.’ The clothier on a Bollyflick was long known as a mere ‘dresswallah.’ Satyajit Ray got a lifetime achievement special Oscar (thanks, prakruti).
Irrfan Khan bitter at Oscars
(Yahoo) Irrfan Khan: I knew ‘The Namesake’ won’t find favour at the Oscars. Americans live in an enclosed kind of society where their way of life is all that matters... The Academy rejected ‘The Warrior,’ as if a British film can only be in English!