Movie Chronicles » Oscars & Awards

Heath Ledger wins Best Supporting Actor, Dark Knight picks up 2 Oscars

Batman — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 07:27:50 +0000

The results are in for the 2009 81st Academy Awards — Heath Ledger has won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of the Joker. The Dark Knight also picked up another award for Best Sound Editing. In The Dark Knight’s six other nominations it often lost out to either the Curious Case of Benjamin Button or Slumdog Millionaire, the latter of which won 8 in total including Best Picture and Best Director.

Full results list after the break…

Best picture: Slumdog Millionaire
Also nominated: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Frost/Nixon; Milk; The Reader

Best director: Danny Boyle — Slumdog Millionaire
Also nominated: Stephen Daldry — The Reader; David Fincher — The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Ron Howard — Frost/Nixon; Gus Van Sant — Milk

Best actor: Sean Penn — Milk
Also nominated: Richard Jenkins — The Visitor; Frank Langella — Frost/Nixon; Brad Pitt — The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Mickey Rourke — The Wrestler

Best actress: Kate Winslet — The Reader
Also nominated: Anne Hathaway — Rachel Getting Married; Angelina Jolie — Changeling; Melissa Leo — Frozen River; Meryl Streep — Doubt

Best supporting actor: Heath Ledger — The Dark Knight
Also nominated: Josh Brolin — Milk; Robert Downey Jr — Tropic Thunder; Philip Seymour Hoffman — Doubt; Michael Shannon — Revolutionary Road

Best supporting actress: Penelope Cruz — Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Also nominated: Amy Adams — Doubt; Viola Davis — Doubt; Taraji P Henson — The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Marisa Tomei — The Wrestler

Best original screenplay: Milk
Also nominated: Happy-Go-Lucky; Wall-E; In Bruges; Frozen River

Best adapted screenplay: Slumdog Millionaire
Also nominated: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Doubt; Frost/Nixon; The Reader

Best animated feature film: Wall-E
Also nominated: Bolt; Kung Fu Panda

Best animated short film: La Maison en Petits Cubes
Also nominated: Lavatory — Lovestory; Oktapodi; Presto; This Way Up

Best foreign language film: Departures — Japan
Also nominated: Revanche — Austria; The Class — France; The Baader Meinhof Complex — Germany; Waltz With Bashir — Israel

Best documentary feature: Man on Wire
Also nominated: The Betrayal; Encounters at the End of the World; The Garden; Trouble The Water

Best documentary short subject: Smile Pinki
Also nominated: The Conscience of Nhem En; The Final Inch; The Witness — From the Balcony of Room 306

Art direction: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Also nominated: Changeling; The Dark Knight; The Duchess; Revolutionary Road

Costume design: The Duchess
Also nominated: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Australia; Milk; Revolutionary Road

Make-up: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Also nominated: The Dark Knight; Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Cinematography: Slumdog Millionaire
Also nominated: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Changeling; The Dark Knight; The Reader

Best live action short film: Spielzeugland (Toyland)
Also nominated: Auf der Strecke (On The Line); Manon on the Asphalt; New Boy; The Pig

Visual effects: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Also nominated: The Dark Knight; Iron Man

Sound editing: The Dark Knight
Also nominated: Iron Man; Wanted; Slumdog Millionaire; Wall-E

Sound mixing: Slumdog Millionaire
Also nominated: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; The Dark Knight; Wanted; Wall-E

Film editing:Slumdog Millionaire
Also nominated: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; The Dark Knight; Frost/Nixon; Milk

Best original score: Slumdog Millionaire
Also nominated: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Defiance; Milk; Slumdog Millionaire; Wall-E

Best original song: Jai Ho — Slumdog Millionaire
Also nominated: Down To Earth — Wall-E; O Saya — Slumdog Millionaire

Dark Knight breaks $1bn, Oscars Night

Batman — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:24:23 +0000

On the eve of Oscars night 2009 The Dark Knight’s total international earnings soared past the one billion mark, one of only four films to ever do so (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Titanic and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King being the others). The re-release in IMAX locations finally tipped The Dark Knight over the final elite boundary.

The figures break down as:

Domestic: $533,090,262 53.3%
Foreign: $467,991,898 46.7%

What a day to be comparing the $1bn making Dark Knight with films such as Titanic and Return of the King — movies that swept the Academy Awards up in stunning fashion — each grabbing 11 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director; making the Academy’s 2009 Best Picture and Best Director Dark Knight snubs even more galling. As it is, all our chips lie on the Best Supporting Actor where we are all crossing our fingers and hoping that Heath Ledger can pick up that much deserved posthumous Oscar award for his stunning portrayal as The Joker.

Other categories include: Art Direction, Cinematography, Film Editing, Makeup, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Visual Effects. The Dark Knight could win a total of 8 awards, which would be a grand enough sweep minus the big two, although this is predicted as very unlikely.

Heath Ledger BAFTA Acceptance speech

Batman — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:18:42 +0000

The BBC have put up the BAFTA acceptance speeches, below is the speech made on behalf of Heath Ledger on winning Best Supporting Actor:

Heath Ledger wins Best Supporting Actor BAFTA

Batman — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 22:34:21 +0000

The British movie awards have just ended, Slumdog Millionaire swept up the majority of the awards whilst The Dark Knight picked up just the one — Heath Ledger posthumously awarded Best Supporting Actor:

Supporting actor
Robert Downey Jr — Tropic Thunder
Brendan Gleeson — In Bruges
Heath Ledger — The Dark Knight
Brad Pitt — Burn After Reading
Philip Seymour Hoffman — Doubt

View the full results at the BBC.

Heath Ledger wins “Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role” at Screen Actors Guild Awards

Batman — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 21:02:01 +0000

Last night was the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, usually seen as a very good indication of who the Oscar winners shall be. Heath Ledger’s The Joker pulled through fending off competition from the likes of Downey Jr. and Josh Brolin:

Outstanding Actor In A Supporting Role

Heath Ledger — The Dark Knight
Phillip Seymour Hoffman — Doubt
Dev Patel — Slumdog Millionaire
Robert Downey Jr. — Tropic Thunder
Josh Brolin — Milk
WINNER: Heath Ledger — The Dark Knight

The signs are looking good, and given TDK’s Best Picture and Best Director snubs, all our chips and Heath Ledger’s are in on this one.

TDK also brought home a second award from the SAGs for “Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture”.

The Dark Knight nominated for 8 Oscars, Heath Ledger up for Best Supporting Actor

Batman — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 19:10:58 +0000

The Dark knight has picked up 8 Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor, Art Direction, Cinematography, Film Editing, Makeup, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Visual Effects. Most importantly Heath Ledger is up there amongst Downey Jr., Hoffman, Brolin and Shannon in the Best Supporting Actor category.

Sad to see it miss out on the big ones though — Best Picture and Best Director.

Sunday February 22nd is the date for your books.

BEST PICTURE:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), A Kennedy/Marshall Production, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
Frost/Nixon (Universal), A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Working Title Production,Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers
Milk (Focus Features), A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production, Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers
The Reader (The Weinstein Company), A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production, Nominees to be determined
Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight), A Celador Films Production,Christian Colson, Producer

DIRECTING:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Fincher
Frost/Nixon (Universal), Ron Howard
Milk (Focus Features), Gus Van Sant
The Reader (The Weinstein Company), Stephen Daldry
Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight), Danny Boyle

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Richard Jenkins — The Visitor (Overture Films)
Frank Langella — Frost/Nixon (Universal)
Sean Penn — Milk (Focus Features)
Brad Pitt — The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Mickey Rourke — The Wrestler (Fox Searchlight)

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Anne Hathaway — Rachel Getting Married (Sony Pictures Classics)
Angelina Jolie — Changeling (Universal)
Melissa Leo — Frozen River (Sony Pictures Classics)
Meryl Streep — Doubt (Miramax)
Kate Winslet — The Reader (The Weinstein Company)

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Josh Brolin — Milk (Focus Features)
Robert Downey Jr. — Tropic Thunder (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Philip Seymour Hoffman — Doubt (Miramax)
Heath Ledger — The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.)
Michael Shannon — Revolutionary Road (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Amy Adams — Doubt (Miramax)
Penélope Cruz — Vicky Cristina Barcelona (The Weinstein Company)
Viola Davis — Doubt (Miramax)
Taraji P. Henson — The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Marisa Tomei — The Wrestler (Fox Searchlight)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Screenplay by Eric Roth, Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
Doubt (Miramax), Written by John Patrick Shanley
Frost/Nixon (Universal), Screenplay by Peter Morgan
The Reader (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Hare
Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Frozen River (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Courtney Hunt
Happy-Go-Lucky (Miramax), Written by Mike Leigh
In Bruges (Focus Features), Written by Martin McDonagh
Milk (Focus Features), Written by Dustin Lance Black
WALL•E (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
The Baader Meinhof Complex A Constantin Film Production, Germany
The Class (Sony Pictures Classics), A Haut et Court Production, France
Departures (Regent Releasing), A Departures Film Partners Production, Japan
Revanche (Janus Films), A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production, Austria
Waltz with Bashir (Sony Pictures Classics), A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production, Israel

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
Bolt (Walt Disney), Chris Williams and Byron Howard
Kung Fu Panda (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount), John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
WALL•E (Walt Disney), Andrew Stanton

ART DIRECTION:
Changeling (Universal), Art Direction: James J. Murakami, Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Nathan Crowley, Set Decoration: Peter Lando
The Duchess (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Art Direction: Michael Carlin, Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
Revolutionary Road (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Art Direction: Kristi Zea, Set Decoration: Debra Schutt

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Changeling (Universal), Tom Stern
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Claudio Miranda
The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.), Wally Pfister
The Reader (The Weinstein Company), Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight), Anthony Dod Mantle

COSTUME DESIGN:
Australia (20th Century Fox), Catherine Martin
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Jacqueline West
The Duchess (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Michael O’Connor
Milk (Focus Features), Danny Glicker
Revolutionary Road (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Albert Wolsky

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon) (Cinema Guild), A Pandinlao Films Production, Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
Encounters at the End of the World (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment), A Creative Differences Production, Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
The Garden A Black Valley Films Production, Scott Hamilton Kennedy
Man on Wire (Magnolia Pictures), A Wall to Wall Production, James Marsh and Simon Chinn
Trouble the Water (Zeitgeist Films), An Elsewhere Films Production, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

FILM EDITING:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.), Lee Smith
Frost/Nixon (Universal), Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
Milk (Focus Features), Elliot Graham
Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight), Chris Dickens

MAKEUP:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Greg Cannom
The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.), John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O’Sullivan
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Universal), Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz

ORIGINAL SCORE:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Alexandre Desplat
Defiance (Paramount Vantage), James Newton Howard
Milk (Focus Features), Danny Elfman
Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight), A.R. Rahman
WALL•E (Walt Disney), Thomas Newman

ORIGINAL SONG:
“Down to Earth” from WALL•E (Walt Disney), Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel
“Jai Ho” from Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight), Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar
“O Saya” from Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman andMaya Arulpragasam

SOUND MIXING:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.), Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight), Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
WALL•E (Walt Disney),Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
Wanted (Universal), Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt

SOUND EDITING:
The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.), Richard King
Iron Man (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight), Tom Sayers
WALL•E (Walt Disney), Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
Wanted (Universal),Wylie Stateman

VISUAL EFFECTS:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.), Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
Iron Man (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan

DOCUMENTARY SHORT:
The Conscience of Nhem En A Farallon Films Production, Steven Okazaki
The Final Inch A Vermilion Films Production, Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant
Smile Pinki A Principe Production, Megan Mylan
The Witness — From the Balcony of Room 306 A Rock Paper Scissors Production, Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde

ANIMATED SHORT FILM:
La Maison en Petits Cubes A Robot Communications Production, Kunio Kato
Lavatory — Lovestory A Melnitsa Animation Studio and CTB Film Company Production, Konstantin Bronzit
Oktapodi (Talantis Films) A Gobelins, L’école de l’image Production, Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand
Presto (Walt Disney) A Pixar Animation Studios Production, Doug Sweetland
This Way Up A Nexus Production, Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM:
Auf der Strecke (On the Line) (Hamburg Shortfilmagency), An Academy of Media Arts Cologne Production, Reto Caffi
Manon on the Asphalt (La Luna Productions), A La Luna Production, Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont
New Boy (Network Ireland Television), A Zanzibar Films Production, Steph Green and Tamara Anghie
The Pig An M & M Production, Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh
Spielzeugland (Toyland) A Mephisto Film Production, Jochen Alexander Freydank

Heath Ledger wins Golden Globe

Batman — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 08:16:07 +0000

Heath Ledger has posthumously won the award of Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of The Joker. Chris Nolan accepted the award on behalf of Heath Ledger:

Full Winners List

Best Supporting Actress: Kate Winslet, “The Reader“
Best Original Song: Bruce Springsteen, “The Wrestler“
Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Movie: Tom Wilkinson, “John Adams“
Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or Movie: Laura Dern, “Recount“
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Drama: Gabriel Byrne, “In Treatment“
Best Actress in a TV Series, Drama: Anna Paquin, “True Blood“
Outstanding Animated Feature: “WALL-E“
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy: Sally Hawkins, “Happy-Go-Lucky“
Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: “John Adams“
Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture: Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight“
Best Foreign Language Film: “Waltz With Bashir“
Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Laura Linney, “John Adams“
Best Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy, “Slumdog Millionaire“
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy: Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock“
Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Paul Giamatti, “John Adams“
Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy: “30 Rock“
Best Original Score, A.R. Rahman: “Slumdog Millionaire“
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy: Tina Fey, “30 Rock“
Cecil B. DeMille Award: Steven Spielberg
Best Director — Motion Picture: Danny Boyle “Slumdog Millionaire“
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy: Colin Farrell, “In Bruges“
Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy: “Vicky Cristina Barcelona“
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture –Drama: Kate Winslet, “Revolutionary Road“
Best Television Series — Drama: “Mad Men“
Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama: Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler“
Best Motion Picture — Drama: “Slumdog Millionaire”

Trio of nominations for The Dark Knight

Batman — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:50:47 +0000

The Writers Guild, Producers Guild and Directors Guild have all nominated The Dark Knight in their respective awards:

Director’s Guild — Best Picture:

David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Christopher Nolan, “The Dark Knight”
Ron Howard, “Frost/Nixon”
Gus Van Sant, “Milk”
Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”

Writers Guild — Best Adapted Screenplay:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Screenplay by Eric Roth; Screen Story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord; Based on the Short Story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures

The Dark Knight, Screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan; Story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer; Based on Characters Appearing in Comic Books Published by DC Comics; Batman Created by Bob Kane, Warner Bros. Pictures

Doubt, Screenplay by John Patrick Shanley, Based on his Stage Play, Miramax Films

Frost/Nixon, Screenplay by Peter Morgan, Based on his Stage Play, Universal Pictures

Slumdog Millionaire, Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy, Based on the Novel Q and A by Vikas Swarup, Fox Searchlight Pictures

Producer’s Guild — Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award:

Slumdog Millionaire
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Milk
Frost/Nixon
The Dark Knight

In other news, MTV recently spoke to Dark Knight producer Chuck Roven about Chris Nolan’s Batman 3, but there’s nothing new to be heard on that for now — Nolan and writer Goyer are talking, that’s the full extent of the article.

Dark Knight in running for Visual Effects and Makeup Oscars

Batman — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:17:35 +0000

Visual Effects shortlist:

Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Iron Man
Journey to the Center of the Earth
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

These will be narrowed down on the 15th of January after members of the Academy’s visual effects branch have viewed 15 minute clips of these movies, presumably showcasing their effects. The members shall then vote, and then there will be three.

Makeup shorltist:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
The Reader
Synecdoche, New York
Tropic Thunder
The Wrestler

There is only a ten minute clip for these movies, they will be voted on on 17th January, to produce the final list of 3.

The 81st Academy Awards are on EDIT: February 22nd.

Producers nominate Dark Knight for Best Picture

Batman — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 20:33:05 +0000

Via SHH:

The Producers Guild of America has just nominated the movie for its annual Producers Guild Awards taking place Saturday, January 24 at the Hollywood Palladium. The Dark Knight is going up against The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk and Slumdog Millionaire for Best Picture.

Things are looking on course for an Oscar nomination come January 22nd!