Ellen Page and Michae Ceral in Juno courtesy Fox Searchlight
Thanks primarily to good timing, this year's Academy Award contenders for best picture drew in an extra $111 million between the Jan. 22 announcement of the nominees and Sunday's telecast, E! reports.Unlike some past years when all of the nommed films were released before November, many of this year's nominees rolled out much closer to the nominations, taking advantage of the buzz. Juno was the biggest earner, adding about $43.3 mil to its previous earnings. There Will Be Blood made 75 percent of its $35 mil post-nominations, having been in limited release until late January.Even Michael Clayton, which had a disastrous box office debut last fall, tacked on nearly $10 mil with a re-release. Atonement earned an extra $16 mil, while big winner No Country for Old Men added a respectable $15 mil to its gross in the past month. — Adam Bryant
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Keira Knightley, Atonement by Alex Bailey/Focus Features
If you haven't seen most (or any) of the Best Picture nominees, have no fear: Neither have most of your friends. So here's a quick primer — an Oscars cheat sheet, if you will, to Hollywood's top prize. —Steve PondAtonement• Themes: Love, guilt, war, memory, obligation... and, well, atonement.• Covers six decades, using three actresses (Saoirse Ronan, Romola Garai and Vanessa Redgrave) to play the lead character.• Adapted by Christopher Hampton from the novel by Ian McEwan, an award-winning British writer who, between writing acclaimed novels, also penned the screenplay for the 1993 Macaulay Culkin flop The Good Son.• Acting style inspired by British movies of the '30s and '40s, especially Brief Encounter.• Made use of all eight World War II vintage British ambulances still known to exist.• Includes a mammoth, uninterrupted five-and-a-half-minute tracking shot that covers the British evacuation of Dunkirk; director Joe Wright said he was forced...
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There have been tons of spoofs made about the drama that the WGA strike has caused in the entertainment industry. We were exceptionally impressed with this FunnyorDie gem, featuring David Spade parodying Daniel Day Lewis and his Oscar nom for There Will Be Blood. These actors have really been coming out of the woodwork to become web stars lately, eh? Your take: What do you think of David Spade's performance? Does it give DDL a run for his money?
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George CLooney in Michael Clayton courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
And now to the films that made out like banditsTheres Juno of course and Paul Thomas Andersons bleak There Will Be Blood based on Upton Sinclairs muckraking 1927 novel Oil was nominated for best picture best actor Daniel Day-Lewis best director and best adapted screenplay The quietly effective Paul Dano of last years indie favorite Little Miss Sunshine was passed over for best supporting actor Lewis was widely considered a shoo-in but the rest of the nominations were less than givens despite critical raves for this lengthy 158 minutes epic examination of greed false prophets and near-biblical retributionThinking-mans thriller Michael Clayton scored big with critics without exciting much attention among moviegoers Its nominated for best picture with star George Clooney recognized in the best-actor category Costars Tilda Swinton and Tom Wilkinson were both nominated in the supporting categories and first-time director Tony Gilroy got a nod both for direct
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George Clooney in Michael Clayton courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures, Ellen Page in Juno by Doane Gregory/Fox Searchlight
Nominations for the 80th-annual Academy Awards were announced on Tuesday morning, and No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood led the pack with eight nods each, among them best picture and acting honors for Daniel Day-Lewis and Javier Bardem. Who else is going for gold come Feb. 24, in a ceremony of as-yet-to-be-determined magnitude? The contenders are:Lead ActorGeorge Clooney, Michael ClaytonDaniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be BloodJohnny Depp, Sweeney ToddTommy Lee Jones, In the Valley of ElahViggo Mortensen, Eastern PromisesLead ActressCate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden AgeJulie Christie, Away from HerMarion Cotillard, La Vie en RoseLaura Linney, The SavagesEllen Page, JunoSupporting ActorCasey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James... Javier Bardem, No Country for Old MenPhilip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson's WarHal Holbrook, Into the WildTom Wilkinson, Michael ClaytonSupporting ActressCate Blanchett, I'm Not ThereRuby Dee, American GangsterSaoirse Ronan, AtonementAmy...
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No Country for Old Men and Gone Baby Gone's Amy Ryan are the ones to beat this awards season. Take a look at the accolades issued this weekend:The Boston Society of Film CriticsBest picture: No Country for Old Men (edging out The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by just a single vote)Best director: Diving Bell's Julian Schnabel Best actors: Frank Langella (Starting Out in the Evening) and Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose) Best supporting actors: Javier Bardem (Old Men) and Amy RyanThe D.C. Area Film Critics AssociationBest picture: No Country for Old MenBest director: The Coen brothers (Old Men)Best actors: George Clooney (Michael Clayton) and Julie Christie (Away from Her)Best supporting actors: Bardem and RyanLos Angeles Film Critics AssociationBest picture: There Will Be Blood (which I am told is not based on the Saw movie tagline but some Upton Sinclair novel)Best director: Paul Thomas Anderson (Blood) Best actors: Daniel Day-Lewis (Blood) and Cotillard Best supporting actors: Val...
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