2014 Guldbaggen Awards Winners

To my surprise the awards ceremony was streamed live but my Swedish is really poor, still watch a bit of a sketch with a drinking man, which is highly unusual.

Anyway winners are in *BLUE. To check winners in all categories go here.

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1/3/14
Today the Swedish Film Institute announced the nominations for the 50th Annual Guldbaggen Awards and the great news is that most movies are new to me so I'll be looking forward to watch them as soon as possible. Leading the pack is Monica Z with 11 nominations followed by Känn ingen sorg with 9; but most interesting is The Reunion directed by Anna Odell as Odell not only directed but also performs and wrote the screenplay, giving her 4 nominations.

Awarded annually since 1964, the Guldbagge, or Golden Beetle, is the Swedish Film Institute's award for achievements in film from the previous year. The beetle-shaped award was designed by Swedish sculptor Karl Axel Pehrson. Award ceremony will include the Gullspira (for extraordinary contribution in films for children plus the Audience Award and will be on January 20, 8pm, at Cirkus in Stockholm; hope that will be streamed live as they did last year but for those living in Sweden Swedish Television (SVT) will be broadcasting the event live.

Best Film
*Återträffen (The Reunion)
Känn ingen sorg (Shred No Tears)
Monica Z

Best Director
*Per Fly for Monica Z
Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein for Känn ingen sorg (Shred No Tears)
Anna Odell for Återträffen (The Reunion)

Best Actress
*Edda Magnason in Monica Z
Anna Odell in Återträffen (The Reunion)
Gunilla Röör in En gång om året

Best Actor
Robert Gustafsson in Hundraåringen som klev ut genom fönstret och försvann (The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared)
*Mikael Persbrandt in Mig äger ingen (Nobody Owns Me)
Matias Varela in Snabba cash – Livet deluxe (Easy Money: Life Deluxe)

To check nominees in all categories go here or here.

25th Annual Producers Guild Awards Winners

Last night the guild had their award ceremony with one surprise that, on second-thought, might not be that surprising as there were several ties among the critics' groups. Yes there was a tie for the movie award! A first in PGA Awards' history A tie between Gravity and 12 Years a Slave.

Obviously I was not expecting a tie but now I can confirm that the race to Oscar Best Picture is a three-way race and the three competitors are Gravity, 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle. What I was expecting was a "fight" among Gravity and American Hustle, as they seem could attract the same type of voters, which could allow 12 Years a Slave to surface as a clearer winner. But now nothing is a sure thing in the Oscar category.

If we follow what has happened 17 times out of the 24 years of the award history and specifically during the last 6 years in a row, where PGA winner goes to win Oscar then we know that American Hustle left the race. But still there is always a chance as producers branch is about 8% of the AMPAS membership and what actors prefer could still help to split votes between Gravity and American Hustle, consequently benefit will go to 12 Years a Slave.

The official site does not have yet the full list of winners but will be here eventually. To read winners in TV categories go here with the news.

Winners are in *BLUE.

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1/2/2014
A few minutes ago the guild announced the motion picture and long-form television nominations which complement the documentary film and other television categories previously announced. Now the over 5,900 members will have to vote to define winners in each category.

All 2014 PGA awards winners will be announced on January 19 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. This year the guild will also present special honors to Peter Jackson, visual effects artist Joe Letteri and Weta Digital winging the Vanguard Award; the Milestone Award goes to Walt Disney Co. charmain and CEO Bob Iger, Chris Meledandri founder and CEO of Illumination Entertainment gets the Visionary Award; and James Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli of EON Productions will receive the David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Motion Pictures. Also Frutivale Station will be honored with the Stanley Kramer Award.

The most noticeable omission in the main category is the Coen Bros film, Inside Llewyn Davis which somehow will make a bit harder for the film to get an Oscar nod but there are other snubs like Lee Daniels' The Butler, Philomena, and August: Osage County that now really wonder if they could get an Oscar nod as Best Picture. The best news for me is the inclusion of Blue Jasmine.

The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures (tie)

*Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, Brad Pitt and Dede Gardner for 12 Years a Slave
Megan Ellison, Jon Gordon, Charles Roven, and Richard Suckle for American Hustle
Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum for Blue Jasmine
Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, and Scott Rudin for Captain Phillips
Robbie Brenner and Rachel Winter for Dallas Buyers Club
*Alfonso Cuarón and David Heyman for Gravity
Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze, and Vincent Landay for Her
Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa for Nebraska
Ian Collie, Alison Owen and Philip Steuer for Saving Mr. Banks
Riza Aziz, Emma Koskoff and Joey McFarland for Wolf of Wall Street

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures

Kristine Belson and Jane Hartwell for The Croods
Janet Healy and Chris Meledandri for Despicable Me 2
Jerry Davis and Lori Forte for Epic
*Peter Del Vecho for Frozen
Kori Rae for Monsters University

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures

Julie Goldman, Ryan Harrington, Kristi Jacobson, and Lori Silverbush for A Place at the Table
Brad Bernstein and Rick Cikowski for Far Out Isn't Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story
Andrea Nix Fine, Sean Fine, and Miriam Weintraub for Life According to Sam
*Alexis Bloom, Alex Gibney, and Marc Shmuger for We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks
James Brabazon and Nick Quested for Which Way is The Front Line from Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington

To check nominations in television categories go Official site. As we know these awards gives us an idea of the possible Oscar nominations for the Best Film category. Now we have the best guess for the Best Film Oscar category IF 10 films get nominated, but if you check previous years' nods you will notice that NOT all PGA's honored films went to get an Oscar nod.

NOW SHOWING AT A BLOG NEAR YOU

Ugh. The January movie season is underway, which means it’s time to put awards season behind me and once again start reviewing exceptionally average motion pictures. Case in point, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, which I took in for Aleteia this week. Watch it. Forget it. Move on.

But while not every new release is Academy Award material, it turns out that some films you’ve never heard of actually are. Peter T. Chattaway at Filmchat has the scoop on the Christian indie that managed to sneak into the Best Original Song category this year. You can listen to the song here. It’s a straight up worship piece, so I would expect it to fall on mostly deaf ears amongst Academy voters.

Speaking of things people probably don’t want to hear, it appears K. V. Turley at Crisis Magazine has gotten wind of the upcoming NBC remake of Rosemary’s Baby. Just what we needed, right, another unnecessary reimagining? Who knows, maybe it’ll actually turn out be a quality production. But even if it is, the whole exercise brings to Mr. Turley’s mind a few sobering thoughts about curiosity and the supernatural.

Not to be outdone by Turley’s lack of enthusiasm for a single movie, Foxfier at Catholic Stand takes a look at an entire genre and finds some awful examples of theology that are popping up in modern vampire stories. While you’re there, you might want to check in on Foxfier’s colleague, Bob Kurland, who takes some time to ponder the nagging question, “Does Yoda have a soul?”

Ah, Star Wars, it never stops providing fodder for articles. If you’re in the mood for something a little less blockbustery, then perhaps you’ll want to check out Joss Whedon’s Cabin In The Woods, which Enbrethiliel over at Shredded Cheddar finds has some interesting connections with The Holy Innocents.

Stepping away from movies for a minute, If page hits are any indication, it would seem my Pulp Catholicism cartoon series is one of the more popular items here at the B-Movie Catechism. But I’m hardly the only one out there having fun with Catholics and cartooning. If you haven’t run across Jeff B. Harris at Sword of Peter yet, be sure to stop by and check out his work.

And finally, just for fun, the multi-talented Roo Raymond has started producing a series of songs based on old B-Movies for the No-Budget Nightmares podcast. A ballad inspired by Boardinghouse? A composition for Cannibal Campout? These flicks are tough enough to make it through as they are, much less sit down and write songs about them. Be sure to stop by and show Roo some love for his effort.

That should keep you busy for awhile. See you next time.

20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards Winners

Last night the guild had their awards ceremony and to my surprise show was entertaining as was very fluid plus oriented only to give awards, allow winners to speak, presenters had good sketches and was fun in general.

Now Oscar categories like Actress in a Leading Role and Actor in a Supporting Role seem to be locked into SAG winners, if Blanchett or Leno does not win Oscar it will be a major upset. What many believe was also a sure thing, Actress in a Supporting Role, seem is no longer as with Lupita Nyong'o win maker her a contender and a race between her and Jennifer Lawrence. But perhaps there is no other category more different to what critics honor and what is starting to happen in larger awards, including last night, as Matthew McConaughey is beating Chiwetel Ejiofor in Actor in a Leading Role.

This year I am not really sure what the Cast win means or translates into Oscar as what it seems a growing trend (including last night 5,000+ Academy voters result) could be misleading just because there is one movie that has good Oscar possibilities but has NO cast. I'm talking about Gravity with one actor performance that when all Academy members vote Gravity will get votes which could allow 12 Years a Slave to jump pass American Hustle and Gravity. That is a possibility that could be cleared tonight when PGA announces the Darryl F. Zanuck award where we will learn if it was a three way race or not.

Winners are in *BLUE. To check winners in all categories go Official Site.

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11/12
A few minutes ago the first guild announced their nominations for theatrical Motion Pictures and Television with a few surprises but most were expected, at least by me. Most interesting are the nods for The Butler that at least in those critics groups that have announced their winners or nominations was remarkably absent but here gets 3 nominations out of 5 possible; still, not surprising, 12 Years a Slave leads with 4 as the only category with no nods is Leading Female Actor.

Leading Female Actor category looks and feels like what I can imagine will be same category in Oscars as yes, I imagine that Meryl Streep HAS to get another nomination for her always outstanding performances in dramas and now definitively her movie got a big boost in the award season. From five nominees any can win the award as all are excellent actresses and to my huge surprise film and Sandra Bullock's performance in Gravity was truly outstanding. In supporting female actor category had no idea that Oprah had a supporting role, so was kind of a surprise to find her there.

Also surprising is the absence of Robert Redford in lead male actor and the biggest pleasant surprise is to find Daniel Bruhl nominated for supporting male actor as I have much enjoyed his performances in many European movies.

As we know awards history says that it is almost "impossible" to win a Best Picture Oscar without a SAG ensemble nod, BUT this year could be the exception as Gravity got no ensemble nod but surely will get an Oscar nod to maybe win the category. Most notable is the absence of The Wolf of Wall Street but many are saying that NOT many people have seen it, so it is suffering with the early announcements.

Life Achievement Award this year goes to Rita Moreno.

Theatrical Motion Pictures

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

12 Years a Slave
Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Garret Dillahunt, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Paul Giamatti, Scoot McNairy, Lupita Nyong'O, Adepero Oduye, Sarah Paulson, Brad Pitt, Michael Kenneth Williams, and Alfre Woodard.

*American Hustle
Amy Adams, Christian Bale, Louis C.K., Bradley Cooper, Paul Herman, Jack Huston, Jennifer Lawrence, Alessandro Nivola, Michael Pena, Jeremy Renner Elisabeth Rohm, and Shea Whigham.

August: Osage County
Abigail Breslin, Chris Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliette Lewis, Margo Martindale, Ewan McGregor, Dermot Mulroney, Julianne Nicholson, Julia Roberts, Sam Shepard, Meryl Streep, and Misty Upham.

Dallas Buyers Club
Jennifer Garner, Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, Denis O'Hare, Dallas Roberts, and Steve Zahn.

Lee Daniels' The Butler
Mariah Carey, John Cusack, Jane Fonda, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Terrence Howard, Lenny Kravitz, James Marsden, David Oyelowo, Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Redgrave, Alan Rickman, Liev Schreiber, Forrest Whitaker, Robin Williams, and Oprah Winfrey.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
*Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock in Gravity
Judi Dench in Philomena
Meryl Streep in August: Osage County
Emma Thompson in Saving Mr. Banks

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Jennifer Lawrence in American Hutle
*Lupita Nyong'O in 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts in August: Osage County
June Squibb in Nebraska
Oprah Winfrey in Lee Daniels' The Butler

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Bruce Dern in Nebraska
Chiwetel Eijofor in 12 Years a Slave
Tom Hanks in Captain Phillips
*Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club
Forest Whitaker in Lee Daniels' The Butler

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Barkhad Abdi in Captain Phillips
Daniel Bruhl in Rush
Michael Fassbender in 12 Years a Slave
James Gandolfini in Enough Said
*Jared Leto in Dallas Buyers Club

To check the Television and stunt nominations go Official Site. Wish only to comment that believe is the first year that Julianna Margulies is not nominated in Drama Series which is a shame as this season her Good Wife characters is back with excellent performances. Most surprising is that Masters of Sex got no actors' performances love but I'm sure that this award season will get lots of love from other awards.

The 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will be simulcast live nationally on TNT and TBS on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014 at 8 p.m. (ET)/5 p.m. (PT) from the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center. An encore performance will air immediately following on TNT at 10 p.m. (ET)/7 p.m. (PT). A live stream of the SAG Awards can also be viewed online through the TBS and TNT websites, as well as through the Watch TBS and Watch TNT apps for iOS or Android. (Viewers must sign in using their TV provider user name and password in order to view the live stream.)

Macintosh Plus in Flubber (1997)

Macintosh Plus in Flubber

Where To See MovieBob At #ARISIA 2014

Hey guys. Just a head's up, I'll be working my butt off all weekend on panels at Boston's ARISIA scifi/fandom convention. Only had one yesterday evening, but I've got 13 more spread out between Saturday and Monday. Here's where/when to come look for me:


SATURDAY:
11AM "Man of Steel, Plot of Kleenex?" (Otis Media 442)
4PM "DC Comics: The New 52" (Adams Comics 382)
5:30PM "Enders Game" (Paine Media 513)
7PM "Why Do So Many YA Franchises Bomb Onscreen?" (Paine Media 458)
10PM "Remembering Roger Ebert" (Paine Media 458)

SUNDAY:
10AM "2013 Games Consoles: The Review" (Adams Gaming 176)
1PM "The Year In Marvel Comics" (Adams Comics 565)
2:30PM "Star Wars: What's Next?" (Paine Media 471)
4PM "State of the Star Trek" (Otis Media 469)
5:30PM "Marvel Cinematic/TV Universe" (Burroughs Media 262)
7PM "Up, Up And Away With Superman!" (Adams Comics 570)

MONDAY:
10AM "Race and Identity In Fandom" (Burroughs Communities 548)
1PM "Transformers: A 30 Year Retrospective" (Otis 139)

So, yeah. If you're already at the Con or were considering swinging in for a day-pass, you can show to these times/places and watch me either work panels or collapse from exhaustion - whichever comes first :)

Round 1: MARVEL. Warner Bros. Blinks, Moves "SUPERMAN VS. BATMAN" To 2016

Yikes.

Everything I've heard regarding the production of the "MAN OF STEEL" sequel - both stuff that's widely known and not-easily-confirmed insider gossip - has added up to one conclusion: They don't know what they're doing. Not in an incompetent way, in a "We haven't really settled on what this movie is" way. It's fairly clear that they had a definite plan in place well before "MOS" ever came out, that that plan involved a new Batman showing up, and that they were already working on it to some degree as the first film was rolling out in theaters.

What's equally clear is that Warner Bros. had a Karl Rove on Election Night 2012 reaction - in slow motion - in regards to "MAN OF STEEL's" performance, which they'd forecast as a huge moneymaker and a game-changing fanboy lovefest. Instead? A hit, but not an "AVENGERS" or even an "IRON MAN 3." The audience? Bitterly divided... between "ruined forever!!!" and merely "deeply flawed" - hardly anyone, as far as the pop-culture tea-leaves are concerned, thought it was great.

As a result, whatever the Big Plan was for the sequels and tie-ins has been getting revised on the fly (cameos expanded to supporting characters, plans to split the production in half with the second film being "JUSTICE LEAGUE,") as the studio and filmmakers try to figure out what it is the audience actually wants to see since "More 'Man of Steel" has become clearly not the answer.

Added to all that: The film had been scheduled to hit mid-Summer 2015 - just two month's after "AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON" - as part of a cluttered field what was already making that year a blockbuster bloodbath waiting to happen. So it's only a little bit surprising that Warner Bros. has bitten the bullet and moved the film almost a full year ahead to May of 2016. For the kind of money involved, that's a really big deal... but it's probably the best news that could've possibly hit the project. Now they can, potentially, work out a functioning screenplay instead of whatever half-rewritten mess they'd been working from thus far (on the down side: David Goyer is moving with the movie.)

I wonder how much playing release-date tic-tac-toe contributed to this decision. Across town from WB, Disney is still having problems with "STAR WARS: EPISODE VII" (the buzz: nasty power-struggle between J.J. Abrams and LucasFilm boss Kathleen Kennedy for control of the franchise.) They've already moved the film once, from the series' traditional May release date to XMas 2015, and I'd been hearing some say they'd be better going all the way to the following May. The only thing really stopping them was that Big Boss Disney had already staked May 2016 for "Untitled Marvel Project" (presumed to be either "DOCTOR STRANGE" or an unannounced character possibly spinning-off directly from "AGE OF ULTRON") and that they'd promised shareholders they'd meet a 2015 target. Disney would almost certainly have moved the Marvel project to make room for "EPISODE VII," but now they're blocked. This stuff is simply Byzantine, after awhile.

I also wonder if this will lead to any major cast or crew defections. Henry Cavill has really nothing else as major going on (ditto Gal Gadot), but Ben Affleck had another prestige-project movie scheduled to start after he was done shooting this - would he walk and hand back his Batman money to keep that commitment? They've been aggressively pursuing certain actors (The Rock, Jason Momoa, possibly Denzel Washington) and characters (Green Lantern, AquaMan), are any of those commitments solid enough for this to not displace anyone? Goyer's script was already getting a rewrite by Affleck's pal from "ARGO," does he move on? Is this room enough for the Nolan Bros. to wash their hands of the DC movies at last? Hell, does even Snyder maybe depart to make room for someone to helm both movies? There's a lot that can happen here.