An Englishman In Detroit

Julian Temple is a British filmmaker who's made most of his career worshiping at the rock and roll altar, and who could forget his debut, the Sex Pistols' whacked The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle. There was a brief and, arguably, successful foray into musical feature filmmaking (Absolute Beginners, Earth Girls Are Easy), and even an interesting detour into literate docs (Vigo and Pandæmonium) but mostly his talents have been oriented toward slick music videos and romancing the punk rock scene.

Now Temple has discovered Detroit. And he's doing a BBC doc that brings his take on the city's blight and neglect will beget innovation and evolution narrative. But if his recent article in the Guardian, which absolutely revels in descriptions of despair, is any indication, we might just get another boring example of gorgeously shot ruin porn propped up by shallow observations about renewal and youth revolution.

Or maybe not. Temple can sometimes surprise as a filmmaker, bringing clarity and insight to his subjects.

He also shot vids for Janet Jackson.

Will Detroit get the former and not the latter? If the fact Iggy turned down his request to be involved is any indication ...

Requiem for Detroit? is on BBC2 on Saturday 13 March at 9pm

ART-DAMAGED

Untitled
Adam Goldberg, Marley Shelton, Vinnie Jones.
Directed; by  Johnathan Parker
Rated: R     Run Time: 96
Grade B+


Untitled is a diamond-sharp and unsparing satire of pompous, New York gallery culture, so sharp in fact, it’s in constant danger of slicing clean through itself, and exposing the crude wire frame beneath its own artful patina. That the art world is chockablock with pretentious twits is far from the freshest premise, there were probably snobs turning up their noses at cave paintings, but writer director Jonathan Parker has a canny knack for making terminal self-absorption both hilarious and pitiable at the same time. 

Adam Goldberg stars as Adrian, a seething mass of intellectual pique, who channels his rage into dreadful, atonal sound collages that instantly drive away all by the most stout music lovers. His compositions are a tedious collection of horn bleats and whistles, and his showstopper involves kicking a bucket full of chains. He’s  so committed to destroying music from the inside out, he considers melody to be “a capitalist plot to sell pianos.” His more balanced brother Josh is equally untalented; his pastel paintings all look like Hubble telescope shots of nebulae, but they’re just bland enough to decorate corporate hotel lobbies and dentist offices. Though they turn a very tidy profit, Josh’s own broker Madeline (Marley Shelton) won’t hang them in her ultra-chic downtown art space. She’s more interested in seducing Adrian, and he’s game, because she’s hot, and her vinyl, metal and zipper laden fashionista wardrobe makes beautiful noise. In one of the film's funniest moments he can’t wait to get her skirt off, not just for the sex, but because he wants to record their crinkle sound.  The biggest star in this silly, insular world, and also the biggest phony, is a Damien Hirst-style conceptualist played by Vinne Jones, who does things like staple roosters to walls or drape pearls on a pig carcass and call it good.

The humor is as spare as a Rothko, but as absurdly meta as a Warhol, though Parker pulls up just short of Christopher Guest spoof territory. The trouble is that when everyone is either a charlatan or a buffoon there’s no one to root for. These art-mad, egocentric twits all have it coming, but Parker saves his harshest fire for the critics who sit back and lob bombs. But hey, save your ammo, dude; I dig your work. 

At the Burton Theatre.

ANOTHER CRITIC, ANOTHER LIST....

I guess I'm one of those haters Corey's talking about because while I found Up In The Air fine in a Jerry Maquire sort of way, I think it's a pretty superficial film that wants to pretend it actually has something to say. For me, the top films of this year were the ones that'll probably be forgotten by most of the award groups. Though The Hurt Locker will probaly end up in the running here and there, in my estimation it was one of the year's finest American releases.

And so, this being the time o' year where the Detroit Film Critic's Society weighs in on what it regards the finest flicks of the year I thought I too should share my choices in the various film categories.

Feel free to disagree... or let us know how you would have voted.

Best Picture

1  The Hurt Locker
2  Still Walking
3. The Cove
4  Where the Wild Things Are
5. Avatar

Best Director

1  Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
2  James Cameron (Avatar)
3  Spike Jones (WTWTA)
4  Wes Anderson (Fantastic Mr. Fox)
5  Pete Docter (Up)

Though if I could have declared a tie it would have included Quentin Tarantino (Basterds). The Coens also deserved a nod.

Best Actor

1  Sam Rockwell (Moon)
2  Colin Firth (A Single Man)
3  Matt Damon (The Informant!)
4  Ben Foster (The Messenger)
5  George Clooney (Up in the Air)

In retrospect I should have selected Jeff Bridges over Clooney.

Best Actress

1  Alison Lohman (Drag Me to Hell)
2  Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)
3  Carey Mulligan (An Education)
4  Saoirse Ronan (The Lovely Bones)
5  Maya Rudolph (Away We Go)

Best Supporting Actor

1  Christoph Waltz (Basterds)
2  Christian McKay (Me and Orson Welles)
3  Woody Harrelson (The Messenger)
4  Jason Bateman (State of Play)
5  Michael Pena (Observe & Report)

Best Supporting Actress

1  Marie Cotillard (Nine)
2  Penelope Cruz (Nine)
3  Anna Kendrick (Air)
4  Mo'Nique (Precious)
5  Melanie Lynskey (Away We Go)

Best Ensemble

1  In the Loop
2  Fantastic Mr. Fox
3  Star Trek
4  The Hangover
5  Zombieland

Biggest Breakthrough

1  Oren Moverman (The Messenger - writer/director)
2  Christian McKay (Welles)
3  Carey Mulligan (Education)
4  Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)
5  Neill Blomkamp (District 9 - writer/director)

Brittany Murphy Essentials

Two Brittany film essentials that went unnoticed:

It’s a tragedy that Brittany Murphy’s dead. Maybe not only because she was young and beautiful and had a suitcase pimp of a hubby, but because she was a mighty skilled actress, a fact that’ll likely be overshadowed by her ditzy film personas. See, beyond the Clueless, Just Married and Don’t Say a Word megaplex trips, and other lesser-known and unfortunate blonde-for-dollars roles, the lovely actress soared in true Tinseltown alternatives, out beyond 8 Mile.

The chirpy girl-woman with the little bug eyes and bony elbows could convey real innocence and sadness, particularly as an extremely flawed character, a street urchin like those most people rarely notice in real life. And here are two little-seen films that show how Murphy was, in fact, a gifted, intuitive actor.

The first, 2006’s shockingly great and literate The Dead Girl. Murphy’s a single-mom prostitute, delusional on the pipe, with an undertone of child-like innocence that’s somehow kept alive despite how she has prematurely outlived her youth and beauty. The multi-tiered film, which involves detailed circumstances surrounding her character’s death and how it changes others she couldn’t possibly have known, sees Murphy (and director-writer Karen Moncrieff) humanize her character with aplomb, and without manipulating the audience with cheap tricks and clichés — you develop empathy for her as a mother, as a daughter, as a broken human being, and it sneaks up on you, peaking in the movie’s final tragic moments. It’s as emotionally absorbing as great fiction, and stays with you the same, for days.

The indie Spun is another thing of (wretched) beauty. This 2002 turn, alongside Mickey Rourke and Jason Schwartzman (who’s really the film’s weak link), actually portrays meth-heads convincingly. You can sense the unhinged grime-skinned sex drive here; that speedy madness, all rushing at 200 beats a minute. And you can practically smell the sweat, dirt and drain-cleaner. You sense that you’ve fallen so low so as to exist among people who’d normally repulse you, and that’s where Murphy is, tied up (literally) with Rourke’s meth cook. The film, in fact, was co-written by a tweaker, so nearly every grainy and purposely overlit scene (like your eyes are dilated) feels as real as a three-day bender, down to unshowered homelessness. It’s said that Murphy and Rourke have never done crystal meth, so this is testament to their honed actorly skills. Yes, Spun was a tiny-budgeted movie directed in three weeks by a Swede known for his rock videos — and it repulsed and fooled soft and white mainstream film critics who thought it was irony — but it lives on in the underbelly with moments of truth and beauty.

And my nominees are...

The Detroit Film Critics Society, of which I am a proud member, has announced its nominations for 2009, and just like the group, it's pretty eclectic. The full list can be found elsewhere, but just for giggles, I've included my personal picks, many of which made the final list, and some that didn't.

The most glaring omission in my eyes was the snub of Jeff Bridges, who was stellar as a boozed out old wreck of an underground country legend Bad Blake, an homage to Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, Ramblin Jack Elliot and other cig stained road warriors. Part of the problem is that the film hasn't opened yet, and the studio was a little tardy in getting the review copies out. The other real letdown was the shutout for the Coen Bros bleak, black comic kick in the nuts, A Serious Man. Maybe people thought it was too big a bummer, but for my money, suburban Jewish angst doesn't come any better. Also, despite a late, spirited rally, local boy Sam Raimi failed to make the cut for directing Drag Me to Hell, a film which taught us all the perils of denying a one-eyed gypsy lady who smells like cat pee a home loan, for fear that she'll sick an evil goat demon on you and your yuppie boyfriend.

On the plus side Chris Pine got a nod as best breakthrough , for taking Captain Kirk to warp nine on the smug, bad boy showoff scale, while still being charming, and not doing a bad Shatner. Also, Christian Mckay came out of nowhere to actually scare some folks with his uncanny, supernatural impersonation of Orson Welles.

And yes haters, Up in the Air is as good as the hype.

So what are your thoughts?
  

2009
 BEST OF BALLOT

1.  BEST FILM
•    UP IN THE AIR
•    500 DAYS OF SUMMER
•    THE HURT LOCKER
•    THE LOVELY BONES
•    THE COVE

2.  BEST DIRECTOR
•    SAM RAIMI – DRAG ME TO HELL
•    JASON REITMAN – UP IN THE AIR
•    MARC WEBB – 500 DAYS
•    PETER JACKSON-THE LOVELY BONES
•    KATHRYN BIGELOW – THE HURT LOCKER

3.  BEST ACTOR
•    GEORGE CLOONEY – UP IN THE AIR
•    MICHEAL SHEEN – THE DAMMNED UNITED
•    JEFF BRIDGES – CRAZY HEART
•    COLIN FIRTH – A SINGLE MAN
•    MATT DAMON – THE INFORMANT

4.  BEST ACTRESS
•    CAREY MULLIGAN – AN EDUCATION
•    SAORISE RONAN  –THE LOVELY BONES
•    ZOEY DESCHANEL-500 DAYS OF SUMMER
•    ABBIE CORNISH-BRIGHT STAR
•    KATHERINE KEENER – WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

 
5.  BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
•    CHRISTIAN MCKAY. – ME AND ORSON WELLES
•    CHRISTOPH WALTZ-INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
•    ALFRED MOLINA – AN EDUCATION
•    WOODY HARRELSON- THE MESSENGER
•    FRED MELAMED-A SERIOUS MAN

6.  BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
•    MONIQUE-PRECIOUS
•    MELANIE LYSNKEY– UP IN THE AIR
•    MELANIE LAURENT- INGLORIOUS BASTERDS 
•    CLAIRE DANES- ME AND ORSON WELLES
•    KATHERINE KEENER- WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

7.  BEST ENSEMBLE
•    A SERIOUS MAN
•    STAR TREK
•    PRECIOUS
•    THE INFORMANT
•    THE FANTASTIC MR. FOX

8.    BREAKTHROUGH
 
•    CHRIS PINE-STAR TREK
•    SHARLTO COPLEY- DISTRICT 9 –
•    GABOURNEY SIDIBE-PRECIOUS
•    NEIL BLOMKAMP-DISTRICT 9 
•    JEREMY RENNER- THE HURT LOCKER

G.I. Joe: Showing is half the battle

In perhaps the least shocking surprise of the year, Paramount has declined to pre-screen G.I Joe for reviewing press.
This, of course, is the international symbol that a movie is not only lame or not good, but likely bad enough to cause severe birth defects for generations to come. G.I Joe has been shown for interview purposes to junket press, like Channel 20’s own Greg Russell, and for a small cadre of hand-picked bloggers like sweaty uber geek Harry Knowles, but, by and large, those of us ink-stained wretches who get paid to opine about such things got shut out.

Well fine, Paramount, be that way. I’ll take my action figures and go home. It’s not as if I was exactly clamoring to see boyhood buddies like Snake Eyes and Duke turned into some sort of idiotic “extreme” sports drink-swilling adenoidal goons leaping through windows in cgi robot pants. Truthfully, this spares me from 9-odd minutes of Dolby stereo-induced tinnitus, as the explosions and dumb dialog rattle my brainpan like a beach house in a hurricane. I mean, come on, it’s a PG-13 action flick directed by Stephen Sommers, the “genius” behind the recent Mummy movies, and featuring the walking harbinger of doom that is Marlon Wayans: Truffaunt this thing surely ain’t.

Still, it’s galling to watch as studios grow increasingly paranoid about their expensive products, and keep attempting to strangle the pipeline of information any way they can, which means doing an end run around on those pesky critics. Several movies a year are deemed “critic proof,” but it’s usually saved for beyond-cheesy horror pics in the dead zone of winter, not big budget summer fare.

The weird thing is, those nerdy Interweb hacks who just a few years ago were the bane of the L.A, suits' existence, are now coveted, since, if you can parse through the semi-literate ramblings, their less discerning palates tend to be more open to big goopy mouthfuls of junk food like G.I Joe. Judging by the Rotten Tomatoes score, most of them gobbled this one up.

Let’s make a deal Hollywood; You stop insisting that your ludicrous brain-dead spectacles are something more than extended toy commercials, and we’ll stop pretending to give a crap.

McG hearts the Mitten.

A few hundred eager area moviegoers were treated to a nice bonus on Monday night, when an advance screening of Terminator Salvation turned into a meet and greet with the film's director, the man know as McG.  Kalamazoo born and bred Joseph McGinty Nichol has made a splash in Hollywood with his glossy, hyper kinetic music video take on the Charlie's Angels flicks, and now he's traded Drew Barrymore for killer robots. The director was full of smiles and homeboy love for his fellow Michiganders, as he fired up the already juiced crowd, hyping the pic and hurling t-shirts into the cheap seats. He even hinted that our pleasant penninsula might host the next man vs. machine slugfest, saying: "Maybe we'll bring the sequel here and you guys can come hang out with Bale". Dude's got a point, if you need a post apocalyptic wasteland; look no further.

After the credits rolled McG was mobbed in the lobby by throngs of appreciative fans, thier ears still ringing from the the movies nonstop dolby explosions, and thier heads filled with the promise of more star sightings in the near future, as the state continues to transform into a 21st century filmaking hub.    

ALL HAIL JACKIE EARLE HALEY

I was a pup when I first saw Bad News Bears; developed a heady childhood crush on Tatum O’ Neal, as a matter of fact. Be that as it may, what really got me was the anti-heroics of 14-year-old Jackie Earle Haley — as Kelly Leak— the smirk-y, cigarette-pack-in-sleeve badass whose manner bucked all kid-’70s suburban conventions, down to the motorcycle wheelies in the baseball diamond. His rock star features and swagger shaped wet dreams of a teen-girl nation; he was what ’70s cornflakes like Willie Aames or Leif Garrett or Scott Baio wished they were. I’d often wonder about Jackie Earle Haley and what happened to him, where he’d gone, how he survived. He sidestepped dire “Where are they now?”-type TV shows and by my imagination’s connect-the-dots, seeped into some self-medicated netherworld (I figured just below Cahuenga and Hollywood.) Shit, Haley could’ve been dead.

Then, from nowhere, came 2006’s Little Children, the spectacularly literate and engrossing Todd Field film adapted from Tom Perrotta’s novel that peers scarily below contemporary suburban conventions. Field brilliantly cast Haley as the odd and oedipal child-molester who, in an act of self-sacrifice, lops off his own cock on a child’s swing in a park at night, a few feet away from Kate Winslet’s Sarah Pierce. Little Children was Haley’s first film in 13 years and he was a stunner. He got nominated for an Oscar. It was the comeback of the century.

Haley’s glorious return barely blipped public radar, though — no kisses from Sean Penn, no triumphant and hyperboliffic headlines — partially because child actors are mostly considered freaks and who remembers Bad News Bears or Breaking Away anyway? But his rise was bigger, better, and more profound than Mickey Rourke’s recent star-popping (re)turn in The Wrestler, where he essentially plays himself. Rourke, by the way, was just as spot-on as the meth dealer in 2002's Spun, the one who sodomizes Brittney Murphy. But you didn’t see Spun, did you? Remember, after 1976’s Bad News Bears and 1979’s Breaking Away, Haley all but vanished. He was done. His star fall was hard and mighty, like how talkies killed off John Gilbert and Pola Negri — in those down years Haley worked as a limo-driver and a pizza delivery guy, a descent any celeb kid with even a hardened psyche wouldn’t/couldn’t have endured.

Now, Haley’s the take-no-shit Rorschach in The Watchmen — he’s basically Kelly Leak from Bad News Bears, but all grown up. In a world of pretend, Rorschach’s who you’d expect young Leak to have evolved into, a crushing, noirish presence of ominous shadows and existential badassness. I held the freckly, smooth-skinned Haley in high esteem because his Bad News persona saw a kid who lived outside compromise, and he did it naturally. In The Watchmen, his Rorschach — with that Snake Pliskan-doing-Dirty Harry dialog delivery — lives life without compromise; Rorschach sports Leak’s weird aura of untouchability, but with harder, more sobering stares. (And Haley’s face is narrower now and his complexion’s coarse like Scott Glenn's, hard years etched in lines.) He’s more dimunitive than I'd thought too, but his presence is mighty tall. You can’t keep your eyes off him as he snaps limbs and torches SWAT guys.

See the feature on Haley running in the print edition of Metro Times that hits streets Wednesday.

Jackie Earle Haley: Existential badass

Morons at the movies.

The president has been pushing for more civility lately, but it can't come soon enough to the multiplex. Last night I attended an advance screening for a hard R rated slasher movie, one held at a later time of night than usual. Exactly the sort of event where you wouldn't expect to hear the cries of an infant, but there were at least two in the theater. And strangely enough, the babies did what babies do in dark places with scary noises, they cried, through the whole two hour movie. While horror movies are not known for audience decorum, and there was plenty of screaming, hooting and talking back at the screen "Don't go in there!" "Oh My God you idiot he's behind you!!", etc. No biggie, when adults do it, but a child can't help them selves, because kids under five don't belong in a freaking movie theater! 
    
To make matters worse, when the lights came up we spotted several kids under 13 in attendance, including two cute young girls around ten, who just watched roughly 14 murders involving knives, axes, arrows through the head, a wood chipper, a bear trap, and several topless women getting diced into cat food sized chunks.

An annoyed colleague chased down this family and asked the mother why in hell she brought kids to a flick like this, and her answer was "If only I'd known". Right. Because there's no possible way to know that a twenty eight year old film series about a blade wielding mass murderer, would be, you know, violent or something.


So who's to blame?

Well mostly the classless, dim witted twits who think that bodily fluid exchange qualifies them for parenthood. The promotion company is tasked with getting a good turnout, and can't really control who shows up or gets in, but they should at least include a disclaimer on the passes, which will of course be ignored. But if you ask me, the studios, the theater chains and the MPAA, are all guilty, for failing to create or support in any way a true rating that works for adults. NC-17 is seen as the kiss of death, because they just can't dream of giving up a nickel to the lucrative teenage crowds they peddle gore, slime and choas to. 

Mitten Movie Night

Every month for the last few years, the Mitten Movie Project has taken to the screen, showing some of the best short subject films from around the state and beyond. It happens the first Tuesday night of every month, half-screening, half-party, a way to showcase local talent and bring local movie folk together.

If you’re a local filmmaker, you probably already know what’s on offer. But for those considering plopping down $10 for some unknown films, it can be a gamble. Well, now, through the miracle of Internet video, those who are unsure what to expect can drink in some teasers when making up their minds.

For a gander at one of the evening’s more serious films, take a look at this clip for It All Adds Up, a doc about Wayne State University’s Math Corps program.

For a peek at a documentary about feet, called, um, Feet, there’s a trailer online to help get you in step with what that’s about.

But best of all, you can view the final entry in its entirety, Snippy's New Year. When animated clay figures discover booze, can Plasticine puke be far behind? (We thought not.) And if you like the little blue guy, he now has his own website: snippyworld.com. Enjoy!



Mitten Movie Project is Feb. 3, at the Main Art Theatre (118 N. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-263-2111); mix-and-mingle reception starts at 6:30 p.m., films roll at 7:30 p.m.; afterglow at Mr. B’s (215 S. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-399-0017); tickets are $8 in advance, $10 at door. See myspace.com/mittenmovieproject for more info.

Oscar List: Robert Downey, Jr is In, Detroit Snubbed!

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released its list of nominated films, this morning.  

On the list for the 81st Oscars are some obvious picks -- Sean Penn in "Milk", Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight" and the numerous nods for "Benjamin Button". 

One shocker is how well the voters liked "Benjamin Button" -- 13 nominations overall. Also, Clint Eastwood received a shutout for his work on Detroit lensed "Gran Torino". Speaking to some critics, they felt Clint would get something for the film because it is said to be his last acting role. But not all is lost for Mr. Eastwood, his other film in 2008, "Changeling" received multiple nominations -- but none for the 78-year-old mulit-talent and multi-award winner. 
 
But the real shocker on the list -- for me -- is that the Academy gave a nomination to this guy for this role:



If I'm correct, that would make Robert Downey Jr. the first actor nominated for a role featuring an actor in "racially incorrect" make-up. But, what's interesting about Downey in "Tropic Thunder" is how he uses that characterisation to mock the pomposity of Hollywood types. Check out this video for more on his feelings about doing the blackface role:



Beyond Downey -- who will probably lose out to Heath Ledger -- it was good to see Mickey Rourke for "The Westler" on the list. Too bad the film itself only received two nominations -- Rourke and co-star Marisa Tomei.

That's just my quick observation of the list. I'm looking forward to what my fellow "Film Forum" hosts on WDET, Jeff and Corey, have to say about it.

Here's the full list:

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor”
Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon”
Sean Penn in “Milk”
Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler”

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Josh Brolin in “Milk”
Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder”
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt”
Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight”
Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road”

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married”
Angelina Jolie in “Changeling”
Melissa Leo in “Frozen River”
Meryl Streep in “Doubt”
Kate Winslet in “The Reader”

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Amy Adams in “Doubt”
Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Viola Davis in “Doubt”
Taraji P. Henson in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler”

Best animated feature film of the year
“Bolt”
“Kung Fu Panda”
“WALL-E”

Achievement in art direction
“Changeling”
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“The Duchess”
“Revolutionary Road”

Achievement in cinematography
“Changeling” Tom Stern
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Claudio Miranda
“The Dark Knight” Wally Pfister
“The Reader” Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
“Slumdog Millionaire” Anthony Dod Mantle

Achievement in costume design
“Australia”
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Duchess”
“Milk”
“Revolutionary Road”

Achievement in directing
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” David Fincher
“Frost/Nixon” Ron Howard
“Milk” Gus Van Sant
“The Reader” Stephen Daldry
“Slumdog Millionaire” Danny Boyle

Best documentary feature
“The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)” Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
“Encounters at the End of the World” Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
“The Garden” Scott Hamilton Kennedy
“Man on Wire” James Marsh and Simon Chinn
“Trouble the Water” Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

Best documentary short subject
“The Conscience of Nhem En” Steven Okazaki
“The Final Inch” Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant
“Smile Pinki” Megan Mylan
“The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306” Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde

Achievement in film editing
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
“The Dark Knight” Lee Smith
“Frost/Nixon” Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
“Milk” Elliot Graham
“Slumdog Millionaire” Chris Dickens

Best foreign language film of the year
“The Baader Meinhof Complex” Germany
“The Class” France
“Departures” Japan
“Revanche” Austria
“Waltz with Bashir” Israel

Achievement in makeup
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Hellboy II: The Golden Army”

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Alexandre Desplat
“Defiance” James Newton Howard
“Milk” Danny Elfman
“Slumdog Millionaire” A.R. Rahman
“WALL-E” Thomas Newman

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“Down to Earth” from “WALL-E”, Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel
“Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire”, Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar
“O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire”, Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam

Best motion picture of the year
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Milk”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

Best animated short film
“La Maison en Petits Cubes” Kunio Kato
“Lavatory - Lovestory” Konstantin Bronzit
“Oktapodi” Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand
“Presto” Doug Sweetland
“This Way Up” Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes

Best live action short film
“Auf der Strecke (On the Line)” Reto Caffi
“Manon on the Asphalt” Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont
“New Boy” Steph Green and Tamara Anghie
“The Pig” Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh
“Spielzeugland (Toyland)” Jochen Alexander Freydank

Achievement in sound editing
“The Dark Knight”
“Iron Man”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“WALL-E”
“Wanted”

Achievement in sound mixing
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“WALL-E”
“Wanted”

Achievement in visual effects
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Iron Man”

Adapted screenplay
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Doubt” “Frost/Nixon”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

Original screenplay
“Frozen River”
“Happy-Go-Lucky”
“In Bruges”
“Milk”
“WALL-E”

The B-Roll

March 2010

February 2010

December 2009

August 2009

May 2009

March 2009

February 2009

January 2009

November 2008

October 2008

September 2008

August 2008

July 2008