THE SAG AWARDS (2011)

And here are the results…

ACTRESS: NATALIE PORTMAN – BLACK SWAN
ACTOR: COLIN FIRTH – THE KING’S SPEECH
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: MELISSA LEO – THE FIGHTER
SUPPORTING ACTOR: CHRISTIAN BALE – THE FIGHTER
ENSEMBLE – THE KING’S SPEECH

THE DIRECTOR’S GUILD HAS SPOKEN (2011)

And the winner is…

TOM HOOPER – THE KING’S SPEECH

A FORTUNATE BLONDE

Our Friday musical highlight is from the film CHICAGO and is sung by the fabulous RICHARD GERE.

It’s ALL I CARE ABOUT IS LOVE.

Now it’s time for me to exit. Stage left…

A GORGEOUS RUSH

Here are some breathtaking shots from RUSSIAN VOGUE, obviously inspired by DARREN ARONOFSKY’S exquisite masterpiece BLACK SWAN.

AN INTERVIEW WITH BLUE VALENTINE DIRECTOR DEREK CIANFRANCE

This article is written by RICHARD KARPALA at THE HUFFINGTON POST

It’s not often that a Denver native has a movie in theatres.

At the moment there are two: THE COMPANY MEN by JOHN WELLS and BLUE VALENTINE by DEREK CIANFRANCE. DEREK’S film has received great critical acclaim (as well as my own) since its premiere at SUNDANCE last year. He grew up in Lakewood, attended Green Mountain High School and later the University Of Colorado at Boulder. I was too young to cross paths with him, but later discovered we attended the same schools and even shared the same teachers.

So I was eager to talk with him about his new film and the incredible journey he’s taken. We spoke the evening before the ACADEMY announced its BEST ACTRESS nomination for MICHELLE WILLIAMS, who costars in the film with RYAN GOSLING. He discussed the making of the film, getting a deal made with THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY at SUNDANCE and where he is going with his in development HBO series based on SAM FUSSELL’S book MUSCLE: CONFESSIONS OF AN UNLIKELY BODY BUILDER.

RICHARD KARPALA: It’s really nice to talk to you. One of the Green Mountain kids went out and they made a movie that’s in theatres. It’s crazy.

DEREK CIANFRANCE: Yeah, I know! It’s still a bit surreal to me too. I’ve spent so long privately dreaming about this film and trying to get it made. Now that it’s out there, it’s nice. It’s nice to know I wasn’t crazy when I was dreaming all those years, you know? I think when you dream you walk a fine line between delusion and reality.

RK: When you left CU, did you have an immediate idea for making this film?

DC: I went to CU for two years. I dropped out in 95 when I was 20 years old to make my first film BROTHER TIED which I spent like four years on. Finished it when I was 24, went to SUNDANCE in 1998 with it. It went to like thirty other festivals. I actually started writing BLUE VALENTINE in January of 1998 at SUNDANCE. I actually wrote it on the same Sunday the Broncos won their Super Bowl.

It was something that I felt like I needed to do. I think all of us grew up with this fantasy notion of relationships – the happily ever after. But I just felt like from all the relationships that I had seen, from my parents to my own relationships, those relationships didn’t work out the way they did in movies. So I wanted to make a movie about what I considered to be, or what my experience was, in a relationship, what the experiences of friends or family was in a relationship and just try to make an honest story of a relationship.

Then I started writing it and just became obsessed with it and felt like it was the film I was born to make, you know?

RK: So if you never made a movie again, you’d be proud it went out there and you did it the way you wanted to, right?

DC: I did do it the way I wanted to, but would I be happy? No, because I think the hole you’re always trying to fill as an artist, that hole, that gaping hole in me for 12 years was BLUE VALENTINE. And finally I got it made, but now I’m on the other side of it and that hole is still there. I have other things that I have to do too.

So I don’t think being an artist you can ever satisfy – the moment you do get satisfied is the moment you’re done, really. I’m actually starting to bug out now, because it’s not enough, you know what I mean? I get joy and pleasure in the movies out there in the world that people are seeing, but for me, it’s about making it. That’s why I do it, is to make it, to deal with my life, you know what I mean?

For the last four years I’ve been working on a film called THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES and I’m just totally obsessing over that one…and now that’s the film I have to make before I die. And maybe that’s just gonna be the cycle of life for me. Because I know it was like that with BROTHER TIED too. I had to make BROTHER TIED. There was something itching in me to get it done. I got it done…and it was successful on a lot of levels and not successful on some other levels. But you just keep going. I’m hoping I don’t have to wait 12 years to do THE PINES. Hopefully I’ll get that going this summer. But I’ll do whatever it takes to get it done. I just think that this is my life, trying to make these personal intimate movies.

RK: With the attitude of committing yourself to something totally, did that rub off on your cast? MICHELLE WILLIAMS and RYAN GOSLING were committed to this project for many years before you guys filmed something. How did that happen?

DC: Yeah, as the director I consider myself to be the coach and my actors are my players. So I have to show them how committed I am, but I also want to lead by example. I think whenever you make a film, you start out alone, and then slowly start – you have to be a magnet. You have to attract people to you, to the project. And slowly but surely – it took me 12 years, very slowly – eventually I had an army of people around me that included great producers, great crew members, two of the greatest actors of our generation in RYAN and MICHELLE – and all these people that believed in the film. Everyone believed in the film as much as me.

I look at Phil Jackson as a real idol for me as a coach, he has the ability to take all these huge egos and consistently get those egos working for a greater good. And I really look at him for inspiration for me. I don’t look at someone like Josh McDaniels as a good example of that.

RK: I would absolutely agree.

DC: Yeah, he’s like the megalomaniac director and that’s cool. Some people can do that. JAMES CAMERON can do that. BILL BELICHICK can do that. He’s like the JAMES CAMERON guy. But you know, you need to get your players to go out there and do the best.

RK: If everything would have gone perfectly and there wasn’t that time gap of 12 years, do you think you would have directed a different film?

DC: Oh, absolutely. Back in 1998 the film I would have made would have been a lot different. Structurally it would have been very similar, but I think aesthetically it would have been much more showy, in terms of the content and the moments. They would have been more archetypal moments. You know more clichéd moments. Less real. I don’t think it would have worked. I felt cursed for all those years. But 12 years later I feel blessed because 12 years ago I didn’t have a family. I wasn’t married and I didn’t have kids. I think I needed to have that life experience in order to tell the story about being a parent, or being a husband, or being married.

RK: Your film premiered at SUNDANCE last year. Describe the feeling you had talking to the Weinsteins for the first time about your movie.

DC: It’s surreal. You grow up in the 90s in the independent film world. I had my first film BROTHER TIED at SUNDANCE and I went to SUNDANCE and HARVEY WEINSTEIN didn’t want to have anything to do with me. But you always hear these stories – these classic stories of deals made at 3 in the morning – at SUNDANCE with HARVEY WEINSTEIN or something.

And here I am last year at SUNDANCE, showing in front of this huge audience at Eccles…and they’re into it. Reviews start coming in, the next thing I know HARVEY saw the film at a private 1 am screening and he’s calling my producers at 3 in the morning wanting the film and 24 hours of negotiations goes by and 3 am the next day they bought the film. I had conversations with him on the phone and I felt like I was talking to DARRYL ZANUCK or DAVID O. SELZNICK.

It was just epic, legendary. And I felt like I had an experience with a legendary figure of American filmmaking. I think he’s going to go down in history – one of those guys you remember, like DAVID SELZNICK. It’s surreal. Once the surrealness goes away and you’re actually working with the guy, it’s great. You realize how he built his legend. He has such a big personality. And he champions and fights for your films…and sometimes fights with you. And it’s all in the name of making a better film.

RK: And Harvey fought for the rating too and got the NC-17 overturned.

DC: It was in the middle of October when we got the NC-17 rating. He was as shocked as I was, you know? But I tell you what. He never once asked me to cut the film. He never once even talked to me about considering I cut it. He just said, “We’re gonna go out there. We’re gonna fight this. We have to win it.”

He just built this arsenal around him of tools that he could go in and fight the ruling with. And he did. He fought and won. For the first time in history he got an unanimous ruling. Unanimously overturned an MPAA ruling. It’s just legendary. The guy’s powerful. There’s nothing like having him be on your side to fight a battle. I can only imagine what it’s like to be on the other side of him. I wouldn’t want to be there.

RK: Now that you have a deal with HBO, you’re doing a body building comedy right?

DS: Yeah, they call it a comedy. Of course it’s gonna be funny but I can tell you this, it’s gonna be very serious too. People just see the idea of a half hour show and they think it’s just a comedy. I can guarantee you it’s not a parody, it’s not a satire of the weight lifting world. It’s not HANS & FRANZ. It’s a true journey into the subculture of weight lifters and weight lifting and body building and everything that goes into that. And I have a great deal of respect for those people that are body builders.

The reason why I’m doing it as a TV show is I tried to get this made as a movie and I just couldn’t figure out how to get a guy to start out like me – a normal looking guy – and put on 80 pounds of muscle. Because you can’t do that in a movie. The only way to do it is fake it through special effects. But to do a TV series, I can actually have a guy over 5 years…grow.

RK: It sounds much different than anything HBO has done up to this point.

DC: TV is really a writer’s medium because you can have these characters live and grow for so long. And it’s just a great opportunity. And between myself and SAM FUSSELL, the writer of the book, he had so many stories. The thing I want to do differently is I want to make it cinematic. My favorite TV is LARS VON TRIER’S THE KINGDOM. So I want it to be a cross between THE KINGDOM and THE WIRE.

RK: Seeing your trajectory is going to be an inspiration for local filmmakers.

DC: That’s great. I can’t wait to see what kinds of films come out of Denver now.

15 HOT MOVIES FOR 2011

Our fabulous friends from EW are showcasing 15 of the hottest film releases for the new year.

They include:

RED RIDING HOOD (MARCH 11)
DIRECTED BY CATHERINE HARDWICKE
STARRING AMANDA SEYFRIED, GARY OLDMAN, VIRGINIA MADSEN, JULIE CHRISTIE

SUCKER PUNCH (MARCH 25)
EMILY BROWNING, ABBIE CORNISH, JENA MALONE, VANESSA HUDGENS, CARLA GUGINO, JON HAMM

ARTHUR (APRIL)
RUSSELL BRAND, HELEN MIRREN, NICK NOLTE

HARRY POTTER & THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2 (JULY 10)
DANIEL RADCLIFFE, EMMA WATSON, RUPERT GRINT, RALPH FIENNES, HELENA BONHAM CARTER, MIRANDA RICHARDSON, GARY OLDMAN, ALAN RICKMAN, ROBBIE COLTRANE, JULIE WALTERS, MAGGIE SMITH, GERALDINE SOMERVILLE, JOHN HURT, BILL NIGHY, JIM BROADBENT, CIARAN HINDS, DAVID THEWLIS

BREAKING DAWN PART 1 (NOVEMBER 18)
KRISTEN STEWART, ROBERT PATTINSON, DAKOTA FANNING, ASHLEY GREENE, NIKKI REED, MICHAEL SHEEN, PETER FACINELLI, KELLAN LUTZ, LEE PACE, MAGGIE GRACE

To get a gander at the gallery, please go here

CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER LOVES PLAYING JOHN BARRYMORE

FROM THE CANADIAN PRESS

CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER never met legendary actor JOHN BARRYMORE, but said he has always felt a kinship with the stage and screen great.

“I felt I knew him…because I knew his daughter Diana very well,” he said at a recent rehearsal for BARRYMORE at The Elgin Theatre.

“Through her, I got a whole feeling of not only (John) but Ethel and Lionel and everybody in the family. I didn’t have a clue I was going to do Barrymore then — I was 16 years old — but she furnished me with such a lot of material that when it came to doing it, I sort of felt I’d done my homework all ready.”

CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER won a TONY AWARD for starring in BARRYMORE on Broadway 15 years ago. The latest incarnation of the show opens Thursday night.

Written by William Luce, BARRYMORE is set in 1942 and depicts one of the greatest Shakespearean actors of all time in the final year of his life.

The setting is the stage of a Broadway theatre, where JOHN BARRYMORE is struggling with the title role of SHAKESPEARE’S RICHARD III.

CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER, who earned his first OSCAR nomination last year for playing Russian novelist LEO TOLSTOY in THE LAST STATION is the only actor on stage throughout the play. A second actor, JOHN PLUMPIS, is heard off stage, playing a prompter helping JOHN BARRYMORE with his RICHARD III lines.

“I’ve played a lot more (Shakespeare roles) than Jack Barrymore has, but his were special, I think,” said the elegant actor, looking fit in a black zip up sweater and an unbuttoned black blazer.

“He worked so hard on his voice and it was a really quite beautiful voice. And his looks — he was astoundingly handsome and the most romantic of all the Hamlets, I would think, ever.”

The Toronto born performer, who has homes in Florida and Connecticut, first starred in BARRYMORE at THE STRATFORD SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL and toured with it in several American cities before opening on Broadway in 1997.

For the current revival of the show, he’s had to juggle rehearsals with filming in Sweden and Los Angeles for THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, in which he plays the patriarch.

He said the globetrotting has been worth it as he gets to reunite with the original BARRYMORE creative team, including three time TONY AWARD winning director GENE SAKS.

“He’s wicked,” CHRISTOPHER said with a hearty chuckle in reference to Mr. Saks, who was behind eight NEIL SIMON hits.

“He comes up with some wonderful crusty old criticisms and I’m used to that and I love it. And he’s usually instinctively right. It’s terrific.”

JOHN BARRYMORE starred in more than 60 films, including GRAND HOTEL and TWENTIETH CENTURY.

He also hailed from a star studded family dynasty: His parents were performers MAURICE BARRYMORE and GEORGINA DREW BARRYMORE and his siblings were actors LIONEL BARRYMORE and ETHEL BARRYMORE.

JOHN BARRYMORE is also the paternal grandfather of film star DREW BARRYMORE.

CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER, who also has prominent lineage (his great grandfather was Prime Minister John Abbott), said that when he was young, JOHN BARRYMORE “was the ideal actor to emulate.”

“He was on top of the world for a while in the 20s. There was nobody who could touch him, classically — amazing because he only played three parts: Hamlet, Richard and Mercutio (in Romeo & Juliet) where he was mostly drunk throughout the whole thing. And I think he did a Sir Toby Belch somewhere. But that’s it.”

“He didn’t go on doing this wonderful work, which is sad.”

Indeed, the latter half of JOHN BARRYMORE’S life was tragic, with alcoholism leading to a decline in his health and career.

In BARRYMORE, he ruminates on his life while practising for his big comeback, at one point lashing out at his prompter Frank when he thinks he’s disrespected him.

“Who the hell do you think you’re talking to?” CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER (as JOHN BARRYMORE) shouted on stage during a recent rehearsal for members of the media.

“You, you miserable old ham!” Frank shouted back.

JOHN BARRYMORE then softened when Frank reminded him that he was great in RICHARD III and HAMLET, remarking: “Yeah? Well what happened to me?”

“I don’t think he liked himself very much,” said CHRISTOPHER.

“I think he sort of put all that on in a grand manner. But underneath he was a pussycat, you could push him anywhere and I think that’s another reason he drank so much.”

“He didn’t think he was terribly good.”

WHAT THE NOMINEES SAID (IN 2011)…

“I am so honoured and grateful to the Academy for this recognition. It is a wonderful culmination of the ten year journey with Darren to make this film. Making Black Swan is all ready the most meaningful experience of my career and the passion shown for the film has completed the process of communication between artists and audience. I am so thankful for the support we have received and I share this honour with the entire cast and crew of the film, especially Darren Aronofsky.” — NATALIE PORTMAN, BEST ACTRESS nominee for BLACK SWAN

“It’s very insane. It’s beyond all our expectations. You don’t go in with expectations, especially when you are making a film that’s scary and psychological and not common. I’m really happy that the Academy is recognizing this kind of movie. It’s very exciting.” — DARREN ARONOFSKY, BEST DIRECTOR nominee, BLACK SWAN

“I’m very grateful and humbled by the nominations for The Social Network . I’m incredibly proud of the work of my wildly talented collaborators in front of and behind the camera — all of whom gave the best of themselves and their talents in service to a film about a groundbreaking American innovation. This directing nomination represents the sum of the work of all of us and I want to acknowledge the vast contributions to this film of all of my good friends and creative partners. The success of our movie belongs to many people and this nomination is theirs to share.” — DAVID FINCHER, BEST DIRECTOR nominee, THE SOCIAL NETWORK

“I am honoured to receive this nomination. Making Blue Valentine was unlike any experience I’ve ever had before, or may ever have again. I share this recognition with Ryan [Gosling] and [director] Derek [Cianfrance] who always brought out the best in me. Thank you to the Academy and to The Weinstein Company for their support of this film.” — MICHELLE WILLIAMS, BEST ACTRESS nominee, BLUE VALENTINE

“When you make a tiny movie like [Winter's Bone] on a shoestring budget in the freezing cold, this has surpassed any expectation I could’ve had. And that’s why it just feels so good. We all made it without this in mind. We all made it because we loved and believed in the movie. And to see this happen to it and to us, there’s no feeling like it.” — JENNIFER LAWRENCE, BEST ACTRESS nominee, WINTER’S BONE

“I had no idea they were announcing today. I swear! I was totally taken by surprise. I just dropped the kids off at carpool. I was about five minutes from the school with a car full of kids. With so many kids, I didn’t even realize it was today. I’m glad I forgot about it. It’s made it all the more — I don’t know, just sweet and poignant and unexpected, you know?” — MARK RUFFALO, BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR nominee for THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

“What an extraordinary journey this film has taken me on! Rabbit Hole has been a labour of love…and I’m so thankful to John Cameron Mitchell, David Lindsay Abaire and the brilliant cast. This nomination reflects all of the heart and soul that these people have put into it and I can’t thank them enough.” — NICOLE KIDMAN, BEST ACTRESS nominee for RABBIT HOLE

“I’m currently celebrating with my colleagues three feet above the ground. Not used to this much joy or this much champagne at this hour.” — COLIN FIRTH, BEST ACTOR nominee for THE KING’S SPEECH

“It’s so fantastic. I was up most of the night but nodded off and missed my actual announcement. But I got a call right away and lots of text messages from my ex husband and my family and friends. I knew we were doing good work all along, but I had no idea it would get this kind of affection. The ball started rolling a year ago when it won the World Jury Prize at Sundance — that’s what made Sony Classics buy it and that’s what got it the attention. I got several text messages from David [Michod, the writer/director] and finally we spoke and he was very excited. He was over the moon!” — JACKI WEAVER, BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS nominee, ANIMAL KINGDOM

“Four nominations and four kids. I am damn proud!” — BEST ACTRESS nominee ANNETTE BENING on THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT’S quadruplicity of OSCAR nods

“I’m celebrating with the people who helped get me there – you and your colleagues in the various forms of press and media that have long witnessed my work and long written and spoken beautiful things about it and really, truly helped me get to this day. Everyone asks about celebrations and glasses of champagne. That I get the opportunity to talk to all of you and say: ‘We did it! This is awesome! Look at us now!’” — MELISSA LEO, nominated for BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS for THE FIGHTER

“I think what resonated is that it is a timeless story, one with themes as old as storytelling itself: of friendship and loyalty, of betrayal, power, class, jealousy. These are things that Aeschylus would have written about or Shakespeare would have written about. And it’s just lucky for me that neither of those guys were available so I got to write about it.” — AARON SORKIN, nominated for BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY for THE SOCIAL NETWORK

“I’m feeling relieved proud, vindicated, celebrated — everything…Stuart [Blumberg, co screenwriter] and I worked incredibly hard on the script and one of our objectives was to take this subject and really transcend the politicking and the polemics around it. We just wanted to make a great human story and kind of move this subject along and make it a non subject. And having the Globe win and this nomination really validates our work…The ease of working with these actors, seeing what they did as I let them do what they are going to do…how much fun it was to work with them, how many moments of pleasure seeing things hit the mark, it was a real indication. I felt incredibly confident when I wrapped the film that I got great stuff.” — LISA CHOLODENKO, BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY nominee, THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

“I am absolutely overwhelmed by the 12 Oscar nominations for The King’s Speech. I am so grateful to the Academy. I am incredibly proud of my extraordinary cast and crew. This is a day I will remember for the rest of my life.” — TOM HOOPER, BEST DIRECTOR nominee, THE KING’S SPEECH

“As an Australian, I’m as excited to be recognized and honoured by the Academy as my character must have been when his London speech therapy business flourished when the future King Of England happened to pop by one day. This story has struck such a rich resonant chord with audiences of all ages, which is very exciting — to have your work honoured by your industry peers is even better.” — GEOFFREY RUSH, BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR nominee, THE KING’S SPEECH

“It’s always very nice, a nice thing. It always does make me feel better but only for a few hours.” — RANDY NEWMAN, who has been nominated for more than a dozen OSCARS, this year for the song WE BELONG TOGETHER from TOY STORY 3

“I tried to act all cool and sleep through it and my dreams woke me up four times and finally I just accepted the fact that I really cared and I got up and watched it on line.” — STUART BLUMBERG, nominated for BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY for THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

THE 2011 ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEES

Well, I’m thrilled to bits that BLACK SWAN and INCEPTION made it into the Top 10. This year’s group is truly exceptional.

But I’d just like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to MELISSA LEO, HAILEE STEINFELD, JACKI WEAVER, ANNETTE BENING, NICOLE KIDMAN, JENNIFER LAWRENCE, NATALIE PORTMAN, MICHELLE WILLIAMS, CHRISTIAN BALE, MARK RUFFALO, GEOFFREY RUSH, JAVIER BARDEM, JEFF BRIDGES, JESSE EISENBERG, COLIN FIRTH, DARREN ARONOFSKY, JOEL & ETHAN COEN, DAVID FINCHER, AARON SORKIN and CHRISTOPHER NOLAN.

Here are the 2011 nominees in select categories…

BEST PICTURE
BLACK SWAN
THE FIGHTER
INCEPTION
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
THE KING’S SPEECH
127 HOURS
THE SOCIAL NETWORK
TOY STORY 3
TRUE GRIT
WINTER’S BONE

BEST ACTRESS
ANNETTE BENING – THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
NICOLE KIDMAN – RABBIT HOLE
JENNIFER LAWRENCE – WINTER’S BONE
NATALIE PORTMAN – BLACK SWAN
MICHELLE WILLIAMS – BLUE VALENTINE

BEST ACTOR
JAVIER BARDEM – BIUTIFUL
JEFF BRIDGES – TRUE GRIT
JESSE EISENBERG – THE SOCIAL NETWORK
COLIN FIRTH – THE KING’S SPEECH
JAMES FRANCO – 127 HOURS

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
AMY ADAMS – THE FIGHTER
HELENA BONHAM CARTER – THE KING’S SPEECH
MELISSA LEO – THE FIGHTER
HAILEE STEINFELD – TRUE GRIT
JACKI WEAVER – ANIMAL KINGDOM

SUPPORTING ACTOR
CHRISTIAN BALE – THE FIGHTER
JOHN HAWKES – WINTER’S BONE
JEREMY RENNER – THE TOWN
MARK RUFFALO – THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
GEOFFREY RUSH – THE KING’S SPEECH

BEST DIRECTOR
DARREN ARONOFSKY – BLACK SWAN
JOEL COEN & ETHAN COEN – TRUE GRIT
DAVID FINCHER – THE SOCIAL NETWORK
TOM HOOPER – THE KING’S SPEECH
DAVID O. RUSSELL – THE FIGHTER

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
127 HOURS – DANNY BOYLE & SIMON BEAUFOY
THE SOCIAL NETWORK – AARON SORKIN
TOY STORY 3 – MICHAEL ARNT (STORY BY JOHN LASSETER, ANDREW STANTON & LEE UNKRICH)
TRUE GRIT – JOEL COEN & ETHAN COEN
WINTER’S BONE – DEBRA GRANIK & ANNE ROSSELLINI

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
ANOTHER YEAR – MIKE LEIGH
THE FIGHTER – SCOTT SILVER, ERIC TAMASY & ERIC JOHNSON (STORY BY KEITH DORRINGTON, PAUL TAMASY & ERIC JOHNSON)
INCEPTION – CHRISTOPHER NOLAN
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT – LISA CHOLODENKO & STUART BLUMBERG
THE KING’S SPEECH – DAVID SEIDLER

CINEMATOGRAPHY
BLACK SWAN – MATTHEW LIBATIQUE
INCEPTION – WALLY PFISTER
THE KING’S SPEECH – DANNY COHEN
THE SOCIAL NETWORK – JEFF CRONENWETH
TRUE GRIT – ROGER DEAKINS

COSTUME DESIGN
ALICE IN WONDERLAND – COLLEEN ATWOOD
I AM LOVE – ANTONELLA CANNOROZZI
THE KING’S SPEECH – JENNY BEAVAN
THE TEMPEST – SANDY POWELL
TRUE GRIT – MARY ZOPHRES

ART DIRECTION
ALICE IN WONDERLAND – PRODUCTION DESIGN: ROBERT STROMBERG/SET DECORATION: KAREN O’HARA
HARRY POTTER & THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1 – PRODUCTION DESIGN: STUART CRAIG/SET DECORATION: STEPHENIE McMILLAN
INCEPTION – PRODUCTION DESIGN: GUY HENDRIX DYAS/SET DECORATION: LARRY DIAS & DOUG MOWAT
THE KING’S SPEECH – PRODUCTION DESIGN: EVE STEWART/SET DECORATION: JUDY FARR
TRUE GRIT – PRODUCTION DESIGN: JESS GONCHOR/SET DECORATION: NANCY HAIGH

MAKEUP
BARNEY’S VERSION – ADRIEN MOROT
THE WAY BACK – EDOUDARD F. HENRIQUES, GREGORY FUNK & YOLANDA TOUSSIENG
THE WOLFMAN – RICK BAKER & DAVE ELSEY

ANIMATED FEATURE
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
THE ILLUSIONIST
TOY STORY 3

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
BIUTIFUL (MEXICO)
DOGTOOTH (GREECE)
IN A BETTER WORLD (DENMARK)
INCENDIES (CANADA)
OUTSIDE THE LAW (ALGERIA)

DOCUMENTARY
EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP
GASLAND
INSIDE JOB
RESTREPO
WASTE LAND

EDITING
BLACK SWAN – ANDREW WEISBLUM
THE FIGHTER – PAMELA MARTIN
THE KING’S SPEECH – TARIQ ANWAR
127 HOURS – JON HARRIS
THE SOCIAL NETWORK – ANGUS WALL & KIRK BAXTER

ORIGINAL SCORE
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON – JOHN POWELL
INCEPTION – HANS ZIMMER
THE KING’S SPEECH – ALEXANDRE DESPLAT
127 HOURS – A.R. RAHMAN
THE SOCIAL NETWORK – TRENT REZNOR & ATTICUS ROSS

VISUAL EFFECTS
ALICE IN WONDERLAND – KEN RALSTON, DAVID SCHAUB, CAREY VILLEGAS & SEAN PHILLIPS
HARRY POTTER & THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1 – TIM BURKE, JOHN RICHARDSON, CHRISTIAN MANZ & NICOLAS AITHADI
HEREAFTER – MICHAEL OWENS, BRYAN GRILL, STEPHAN TROJANSKI & JOE FARRELL
INCEPTION – PAUL FRANKLIN, CHRIS CORBOULD, ANDREW LOCKLEY & PETER BEBB
IRON MAN 2 – JANEK SIRRS, BEN SNOW, GED WRIGHT & DANIEL SUDICK

JAVIER BARDEM TAKES AN INTENSE EMOTIONAL JOURNEY IN BIUTIFUL

FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

JAVIER BARDEM has his own A list cheering section.

JULIA ROBERTS, SEAN PENN and writer/director ALEJANDRO GONZALEZ INARRITU are among the celebrities rooting for him to receive awards recognition for his emotional performance in BIUTIFUL, which opens Friday.

In what JAVIER calls his most difficult role to date, he plays Uxbal, a hustler who deals in undocumented workers on the streets of Barcelona. He has two young kids, a mentally unstable ex wife and he is dying. The film follows his struggle to provide for his children, look after his workers and create some kind of legacy in the short time he has left.

JULIA has called the performance “a magic trick and a miracle all together.” And SEAN compared its “soulful gravitas” to MARLON BRANDO’S work in LAST TANGO IN PARIS.

JAVIER was nominated for a BAFTA award last week and his supporters hope he’ll add an OSCAR nod to it when ACADEMY AWARD nominations are announced tomorrow morning.

All ready a winner for NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN and a previous nominee for BEFORE NIGHT FALLS, JAVIER said that the glory of such accolades is precious but fleeting. The real reward comes in stretching himself emotionally and studying life – and sometimes death – through the characters he plays.

For him, becoming Uxbal was profoundly challenging. The role is “the most emotionally complex that I’ve ever portrayed,” he remarked over a soda at THE BEVERLY HILLS HOTEL’S POLO LOUNGE.

“There are many layers and there are many open doors in his life, places that he has to come in and get out of. There are many departments going on.”

Uxbal is tough and street smart as he peddles illegal labour, but he also cares about his workers and tries to protect them. He’s tender with his children, but also temperamental and demanding. He extends warmth to his ex wife, but withdraws it just as quickly. He seeks spiritual solace and simultaneously exploits it.

Embodying those emotions over the five month shoot was exhausting, JAVIER stated.

“You need a lot of focus and attention and concentration and also the ability to be vulnerable. Sometimes you feel like you’re in control; sometimes the role is in control of you.”

Mr. Inarritu said that he had JAVIER in mind for the part from the beginning.

“Nobody else could have brought to the character what he has brought. This film could not have been done without him. I think he did monumental work.”

BIUTIFUL is on the short list to become a FOREIGN LANGUAGE OSCAR nominee.

They shot it two years ago, but Uxbal made a permanent mark on JAVIER.

“You have to really open yourself and allow – in this case – this man and his drama to take place within yourself and of course it creates a turbulence, an imbalanced situation where you don’t know where your feet are any more. But also, it expands you in a different way, like it makes you wider, mentally and psychologically…emotionally wider.”

It’s that emotional expansion that drew him to acting. An aspiring painter in a family of actors, JAVIER started performing as a teenager. When he got his first speaking part at 19, he went to acting school.

“Once I got there, I saw all these colleagues of mine going through the same ocean of fears and doubts and also illusions and needs and desires and dreams. When I was in the group, I was like: I belong to this. I belong to these people. I belong to this way of thinking. I belong to this way of studying life.”

“I don’t know if it’s studying life. It sounds too important.”

JAVIER’S studies have brought him close to death twice: In this film and in 2004′s THE SEA INSIDE, in which he plays a paraplegic advocating for his own euthanasia. He has portrayed lovers, thieves, an openly gay Cuban poet and a murderous sociopath.

“Sometimes those lives are not the best ones or the ones that you would choose for a holiday or for a party. But they are very powerful and they have an impact on you about trying to see the world from different perspectives, so you are open to different points of view rather than only blocking your own. Also, when you come back to yourself you come back a little bit more renewed, a little different.”

Watching movies can have the same effect, he said…and BIUTIFUL invites viewers on a profound emotional journey. Though the story is tragic, JAVIER also sees it as uplifting.

He noted that SEAN PENN said the film might be called the feel good movie of the year for its message about human nature.

“You feel that we can – that we are able – to cope with things. We know how important it is to feel for the other and to put yourself in the other’s place…and how much it means to really take care and bring warmth to your little community, even if that community is just you and somebody else. I would call that a really feel good thing and this movie allows you to get there not intellectually, but emotionally, which is what only movies can do, or music or good art.”

For JAVIER, it’s the emotional journey that makes us alive, and he’s about to take a big trip: He and wife PENELOPE CRUZ are becoming first time parents. The experience might be his most expansive yet.

“That’s for me to discover. An actor brings what he is and what he knows into his work and that changes through the ages. That’s why performing is a living experience, because you really have to know about life in order to be able to portray it.”

“So life is welcome, whatever it brings.”