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New York Film Critics choose ‘Milk’ as best picture

Here’s the winners’ list:

Best picture: “Milk”
Best director: Mike Leigh, “Happy-Go-Lucky”
Best actor: Sean Penn, “Milk”
Best actress: Sally Hawkins, “Happy-Go-Lucky”
Best supporting actor: Josh Brolin, “Milk”
Best supporting actress: Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Best screenplay: Jenny Lumet, “Rachel Getting Married”
Best cinematographer: Anthony Dod Mantle, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best animated film: “WALL-E”
Best foreign film: “4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days”
Best documentary: “Man on Wire”
Best first film: Courtney Hunt, “Frozen River”

Best Picture: “Milk” won on ballot four with 29 points. “Rachel Getting Married” had 25 points while both “Happy-Go-Lucky” and “Slumdog Millionaire” had 20 points. LA champ “WALL-E” had to settle for a win as best animated picture.

Best Director: Mike Leigh (“Happy-Go-Lucky”) won on ballot four with 31 points. LA winner Danny Boyle (“Slumdog Millionaire”) had 30 points and David Fincher (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”) had 26 points. (Ballot two had Boyle ahead by two and ballot three had Fincher up by one.)

Best Actor: LA pick Sean Penn (“Milk”) won on ballot four with 59 points. Mickey Rourke (“The Wrestler”) had 50 points and Clint Eastwood (“Gran Torino”) had 17 points.

Best Actress: LA champ Sally Hawkins (“Happy-Go-Lucky”) won on ballot two with 39 points. Melissa Leo ( “Frozen River”) had 32 points while Anne Hathaway (“Rachel Getting Married”) and Kate Winslet (“Revolutionary Road”) each had 22 points.

Best Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin (“Milk”) won on ballot three with 33 points. LA winner Heath Ledger (“The Dark Knight” ) had 26 points and Robert Downey, Jr. (“Tropic Thunder”) had 24 points. (On ballot two, Brolin, Ledger and Eddie Marsan (“Happy-Go-Lucky”) were tied with 29 points each.)

Best Supporting Actress: LA victor Penelope Cruz (“Vicky Christina Barcelona”) won on ballot two with 40 points. Viola Davis (“Doubt”) had 31 points and both Rosemarie DeWitt & Debra Winger (“Rachel Getting Married”) had 28 points.

Best Screenplay: Jenny Lumet (“Rachel Getting Married”) won on ballot four with 44 points. LA winner Mike Leigh (“Happy-Go-Lucky”) had 38 points and Robert Seigel (“The Wrestler”) had 19 points.

Best Cinematography: “Slumdog Millionaire” won on ballot three with 37 points.”The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” had 28 points and “The Dark Knight” had 16 points.

Best Animated Picture: LA best pic “WALL-E” won on ballot one with 17 points over LA animated pic “Waltz with Bashir” with 11 points.

Best Foreign Film: “4 Months, 3 Weeks, Two Days” won on ballot four with 45 points. Two French films followed – “A Christmas Tale” had 34 points and “The Class” had 23 points.

Best Documentary: LA pick ” Man on Wire” won on ballot two with 45 points. “Waltz With Bashir” had 25 points and “Trouble The Water” had 22 points.

Best First Picture: “Frozen River” won on ballot two with 39 points. “Ballast” had 26 points and “Reprise” had 18 points.

‘Wall-E’ named best film of 2008 by LAFCA

It looks like Wall-E can add an LAFCA plaque to his stash of treasures. The Los Angeles Film Critics Association named Wall-E the Best Picture of the Year. This marks the first time the Best Picture award was ever given to an animated film. The runner-up position in the category was awarded to The Dark Knight. Batman might have cast a shadow over the friendly little trash compactor at the summer box office, but Wall-E finally got the reward that he deserved.

The Dark Knight also found itself in the runner-up position in the Best Director category. Christopher Nolan was edged out by Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle. But don’t worry; The Dark Knight was awarded the top billing where it counts with Heath Ledger being chosen as the Best Supporting Actor.

The comedy Happy-Go-Lucky received a number of nods from the LAFCA. Sally Hawkins’ portrayal of Poppy, an optimistic and cheerful schoolteacher, won her the number one spot in the Best Actress category. The film also won for Mike Leigh’s screenplay and took the second position for the Best Supporting Actor category, Eddie Marsan obviously falling just short of Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker. If you’ve got to lose, that’s surely the best way to do it.

The actual award ceremony will be held on Monday, January 12th at the InterContinental Los Angeles. The big question is whether or not the 34th annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association awards could foreshadow potential Oscar results. Being that the association pinpointed a number of fan-favorites, most people must be hoping they do. Check the entire list of winners below:

Picture: “Wall-E”
Runner-up: “The Dark Knight”

Director: Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Runner-up: Christopher Nolan, “The Dark Knight”

Actor: Sean Penn, “Milk”
Runner-up: Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”

Actress: Sally Hawkins, “Happy-Go-Lucky”
Runner-up: Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”

Supporting actor: Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”
Runner-up: Eddie Marsan, “Happy-Go-Lucky”

Supporting actress: Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and “Elegy”
Runner-up: Viola Davis, “Doubt”

Screenplay: Mike Leigh, “Happy-Go-Lucky”
Runner-up: Charlie Kaufman, “Synecdoche, New York”

Foreign-language film: “Still Life”
Runner-up: “The Class”

Documentary: “Man on Wire”
Runner-up: “Waltz With Bashir”

Animation: “Waltz With Bashir”

Cinematography: Yu Lik Wai, “Still Life”
Runner-up: Anthony Dod Mantle, “Slumdog Millionaire”

Production design: Mark Friedberg, “Synecdoche, New York”
Runner-up: Nathan Crowley, “The Dark Knight”

Music/score: A.R. Rahman, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Runner-up: Alexandre Desplat, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

New Generation: Steve McQueen, “Hunger”

Douglas E. Edwards independent/experimental film/video: James Benning, “RR” and “Casting a Glance”

I Am Legend (Wide Screen Edition)

Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence.
Release Date: 2007-12-14
Starring: Akiva Goldsmith, Mark Protosevich
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://wwws.warnerbros.es/iamlegend/?frompromo=movies_maintouts_iamlegend

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‘Four Christmases’ – second week at #1!

With the annual post-Thanksgiving multiplex malaise setting in and just one big new movie (Punisher: War Zone, which I’ll get to later…uh, much later) in theaters, the box office results remarkably resembled those of a week ago.

So, yep, you guessed it: Four Christmases was No. 1 with $18.2 million, according to Sunday’s estimates. That brings the holiday comedy’s two-week sum to a sweet $70.8 mil–and it restores my confidence in Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon as box office draws. For now, at least.

The rest of the top five was comprised of the same movies we’ve been seeing for a while now. Twilight moved back up to the No. 2 spot with a tidy $13.2 mil haul; its three-week sum is $138.6 mil. Bolt (No. 3) followed with $9.7 mil, a huge and surprising 64 percent decline from its impressive Thanksgiving weekend sum. Australia declined 53 percent to bank $7 mil at No. 4. And Quantum of Solace (No. 5) grossed $6.6 mil and crossed the $500 mil mark worldwide.

Among major new releases, the biggest was hardly the baddest: Punisher: War Zone (No. 8) grossed a mere $4 mil in 2,508 theaters, a tally that’s way off from the $13.8 mil that The Punisher premiered with in 2004. More punishment: The Marvel franchise reboot failed to defeat even last week’s action disappointment, Transporter 3 (which was No. 7 with $4.5 mil). Ouch! Meanwhile, the other sorta-substantial new movie, Cadillac Records (No. 9), fared a bit better, bringing in a decent $3.5 mil in 686 locations. But the indie drama Nobel Son failed to take any prize (except, perhaps, that of Box Office Flop of the Week), grossing just $370,575 in 893 venues–a redonkulously low average of $415 per theater.

Nay, the only real news of note came in the ultra-limited-release sphere, where the buzzy drama Frost/Nixon debuted with a tremendous $60,049 average in three theaters in New York, L.A., and Toronto. The Oscar contender will roll out wider in the coming weeks.

Overall, the slow box office was actually up more than 6 percent from the same (even slower) frame a year ago, when The Golden Compass bowed to disappointing returns. That makes this the fifth straight “up” weekend of the fall season, and all things considered, it should be enough to spread some holiday cheer in Hollywood.

Exclusive! First Pics Of ‘Madea Goes to Jail’ With Sofia Vergara

For all you fans of Tyler Perry and the sultry Colombian actress Sofia Vergara, we just got these 2 exclusive movie stills of “Madea Goes to Jail” to be released February 20th, 2009. If you haven’t found out what the movie is about, here is the official synopsis:

At long last, Madea returns to the big screen in TYLER PERRY’S MADEA GOES TO JAIL.  This time America’s favorite irreverent, pistol-packin’ grandmomma is raising hell behind bars and lobbying for her freedom…Hallelujer!

After a high-speed freeway chase puts Madea (TYLER PERRY) in front of the judge, her reprieve is short-lived as anger management issues get the best of her and land her in jail.  A gleeful Joe (TYLER PERRY) couldn’t be happier at Madea’s misfortune.  But Madea’s eccentric family members the Browns (DAVID and TAMALA MANN) rally behind her, lending their special “country” brand of support.

Meanwhile, Assistant District Attorney Joshua Hardaway (DEREK LUKE) is on the fast track to career success. But Hardaway lands a case too personal to handle – defending young prostitute and former drug addict Candace Washington (KEISHA KNIGHT PULLIAM) – and asks his fiancée and fellow ADA Linda Holmes (ION OVERMAN) to fill in on his behalf.  When Candace ends up in jail, Madea befriends the young woman, protecting her in a “motherly” way as only Madea can.

Based on Perry’s successful stage play, TYLER PERRY’S MADEA GOES TO JAIL is written, and directed by Tyler Perry.  The film is produced by Reuben Cannon.  TYLER PERRY’S MADEA GOES TO JAIL also stars RONREACO LEE, VANESSA FERLITO, VIOLA DAVIS, ROBIN COLEMAN, SOFIA VERGARA, and BOBBI BAKER.

Penelope Cruz, ‘Slumdog’, win big from ‘National Board of Review’

If “Slumdog Millionaire” is really the new “Chariots of Fire” — a little indie flick about champion underdogs that wins best picture at the Oscars — then it just hit a kudos jackpot by being named best picture of 2008 by the National Board of Review. In 1981, the National Board of Review was the first and only major U.S. awards group to give its top prize to the small film about runners with big dreams of breaking into the Olympics before it went the distance in the Oscars derby. Now the little movie about a ghetto boy who wins India’s version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” has emerged as a top dog in this year’s Oscars race.

This is the second year in a row that National Board of Review issued its top 10 list of best films separately from the winner of best picture. This year’s entries: “Burn After Reading,” “Changeling,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Defiance,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Gran Torino,” “Milk,” “Wall-E,” “The Wrestler.” Notable snubs: “Doubt,” “Revolutionary Road,” “The Reader,” “Australia” and — considering the awards love it received in other NBR categories — “Frozen River.”

All major movies were seen by National Board of Review members this year with one exception: United Artists did not screen “Valkyrie” before voting but will show it to members before it’s released to theaters this month. In past years, NBR’s awards came out so early in December that its voters missed seeing such Oscar best picture winners as “Gone with the Wind” (1939), “Rain Man” (1988), “A Beautiful Mind” (2001) and “Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” (2003).

Other winners of 2008 NBR Awards:

Best director: David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Best actor: Clint Eastwood, “Gran Torino”
Best actress: Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”
Best supporting actor: Josh Brolin, “Milk”
Best supporting actress: Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Best foreign-language filim: “Mongol”
Best documentary: “Man on Wire”
Best animated feature: “Wall-E”
Best ensemble cast: “Doubt”
Best breakthrough actor: Dev Patel, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best breakthrough actress: Viola Davis, “Doubt”
Best directorial debut: Courtney Hunt, “Frozen River”
Best original screenplay: Nick Schenk, “Gran Torino”
Best adapted screenplay (tie): Simon Beaufoy, “Slumdog Millionaire”; Eric Roth, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Spotlight Award: Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”; Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor”
Freedom of Expression: “Trumbo”
William K. Everson Film History Award: Molly Haskell, Andrew Sarris

Top five best foreign-language films, listed alphabetically: “Edge of Heaven,” “Let the Right One In,” “Roman de Guerre,” “A Secret,” “Waltz with Bashir”

Top five documentary films, listed alphabetically: “American Teen,” “The Betrayal (Nerakhoon),” “Dear Zachary,” “Encounters at the End of the World,” “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired”.

Of the 100 films nominated for best picture at the Oscars over the last two decades, the NBR named 72 of them on their annual lists. The comparison is a bit skewed since National Board of Review picks 10 or 11 films per year instead of five, but it’s still worthy of note. Three times in those 20 years all five Oscar nominees made the NBR top list and the winners agreed: 1989 (“Driving Miss Daisy”), 1994 (“Forrest Gump”) and 2002 (“Chicago”). The two awards also chose the same best pictures five other times in those two decades: 1990 (“Dances With Wolves”), 1991 (“Silence of the Lambs”), 1993 (“Schindler’s List”), 1999 (“American Beauty”) and 2007 (“No Country for Old Men”).

Del Toro and Cuaron to do ‘The Witches’

It was announced back in 2006 that Alfonso Cuaron would direct and Guillermo del Toro would produce a remake of the film, which could easily turn into a mega-franchise. New details have finally surfaced online, which report that producer Guillermo del Toro might direct!

In the original 1990 film a young boy stumbles onto a witch convention and must stop them, even after he has been turned into a mouse…

Empire got the exclusive low down on Alfonso Cuaron’s involvement in “THE WITCHES”, which would put Del Toro in the director’s chair.

“Although it was rumoured that Cuaron was down to direct, it seems that he will instead be producing, while legend-in-the-making Guillermo Del Toro [taking] the helm,” reports Empire.

“The pair were discussing the potential of adapting the much naughtier Dahl story Uncle Oswald, when the conversation turned to The Witches. Cuaron told us: ‘Guillermo wrote this amazing screenplay really quickly.’

He also said that, ‘It won’t be like the original Nicolas Roeg version, which was a beautiful film,’ because (and this is the very exciting part), del Toro plans to ‘do it completely in stop-motion animation.’ We will just have to wait and see how they could ever replace Roeg’s army of cross-dressing bald-headed extras, however. “