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Commentary:
Leonard Klady
In
the end the final arbiter will be the audience as determined
by the Nielsen ratings. The Academy has been highly sensitive
to the fact that its television audience has been slowly but
steadily declining for more than a decade. Its last significant
upturn occurred when Titanic swept the ceremony and
they can only hope that this year’s crowning of a commercially
popular movie will translate into more eyes on the set.
Commentary:
Gary Dretzka
After
poring through the Los Angeles Times’ excruciatingly
long and exhausting Page One tome on Oscar producer Joe
Roth’s mission from God – which, incredibly,
took two writers to report – I’m still not quite
sure what it is that makes staging the Academy Awards any
more difficult than, say, finding a publicist on the red carpet.
I mean, where’s the challenge?
20
Weeks To Oscar
by
David Poland
It’s
funny. At this point in the game, there's a sense that the
shortened Oscar season is not only a success, but a triumph.
Even more so, that it could be a week or two shorter for most
people.
Nomination
Commentary
by David Poland
There
were, as it turned out, more than half a dozen surprises to
find at this morning's Academy Awards announcements. And the
greatest surprise of all was that the shortened Academy season
did, in great part, what it was supposed to do… it made
the nominations about the movies first.
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Nomination
Commentary
by Gary Dretzka
Of
all the documentaries that emerged in 2003, Morris’ Fog
of War and Capturing the Friedmans
garnered the most post-season honors. They appeared separately
or in combination with other documentaries on the top-10 lists
of dozens of critics’ lists, and split most of the Best Documentary
contests.
____________________
Gross
Behavior
by Leonard Klady
There's
no question that AMPAS and Oscar carry the authority and weight
of the film industry. It's a billion dollar imprimatur that
caught fire on February 19, 1953 when it was aired on television
for the first time with Bob Hope presiding over the
ceremony. It ruled! But fifty years on, a lot of outfits have
realized there's money and attention to be gained from being
part of the process.
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Tis
The Season
by Gary Dretzka
The HFPA
is a closed community of professional and semi-professional
journalists who owe nothing to anyone except their bosses
back home and NBC, which produces their annual show and, thus,
subsidizes their various eccentricities.
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An
Interview With Sir Ben Kinglsey
by
Ray Pride
"
Very collaborative, close, manly experience in the sense that
the two of us were going into battle together and the film,
from my part, concerning a warrior, a warrior who's lost his
primary battlefield. And his king. And his army. And his home.
The warrior now finds himself confined to a very small space.
And you shouldn't confine warriors to small spaces. They will
break the crockery! I think Vadim and I enjoyed the essential,
the elemental warrior that the film demanded that we offered
the work."
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Omar
Sharif
Monsieur
Ibrahim
Omar
Sharif is a guy you want to sit down to a three-hour dinner
with. You can’t sit down to a two-hour lunch with him because
he doesn’t eat lunch. Or breakfast. For as long as he seems
to remember, he has been a one-meal man. Maybe a little coffee
when he has to work, to maintain his energy. But he likes
to wake up late, “so it’s close to dinner,” do some work in
the afternoon, have dinner around 8pm and then watch movies
into the wee hours. He watches old movies almost exclusively.
He says that he only goes to see one movie a year in a theater.
He researches carefully, so he is never disappointed. But
at home, he watches the old black & whites.
Capturing
The Friedmans
Andrew
Jarecki would probably be being accused of being a wealthy
artistic wannabe had he completed his documentary about birthday
clowns in New York City, no matter how good or popular the
film. As I found with some terrific docs about karaoke and
modern tribalism, people tend to dismiss docs about “unimportant”
topics, no matter good or how well audiences respond.
Kevin
Costner
Open Range
Kevin
Costner
is misunderstood. It’s easier that way. When you sit down
to chat with Costner about his movies, it isn’t long before
you are on a journey with him, on the set, carefully wandering
around, examining the details of the process through his memories.
The film may be 15 years old or it might be from last summer.
Costner’s memory for the details of what happened, even on
the shows that he didn’t direct, feel as vivid as any director’s
or producer’s. That makes it hard to stick him in a box and
throw away the key…. at least not if you are honest. Like
it or not, Kevin Costner is not just another actor.
He is a filmmaker.
Robert
Duvall
Mathieu
Kassovitz
Melissa Leo
Samantha
Morton
Peter
Weir
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Someone
Noticed There Were No Musicals This Year
Media
Oscars Predictions Chart On Oscarwatch
The
Academy Honors USC Film School's 75th Anniversary
Little
Ze Is Still In The City Of God
Paramount
Classic Lands The Next Batman's Next Film
It's
Almost Time For The Big Show
Let's
Play "Predict What The Thank You Speeches Will Say!"
Nominee
Trivia You Just Can't Live Without
| And
More | And
Even More
The
New Show: Oscar Meets Tomcats
Mathews
Reduces Actor Race To 4
House
Of Rumors & Great Performances
Oscar's
Best (And Worst) Moments
Get
Your Passion Jewelry
The
Global Face Of Oscar
Medved
On Oscar Politicking
It's
Not Easy Having Standards And Selling Ads Too
"If
people don't want to take a chance on their kids seeing something
objectionable, they simply shouldn't watch the show"
Titanic
Gets The Vote As The Least Deserved Oscar Film
Sean
Penn: Hollywood Conundrum
Johnny
Depp & Charlize Theron Take SAGs Home
Golden
Satellite Awards
American
Splendor & Lost In Translation For The WGA
Peter
Jackson Lands Directors Award From DGGBA
Barbarian
Invasions & Mystic River Get Cesars
"We
Don't Talk About The Gift Bags"
A
Kinder, Gentler Oscar This Year
Eight
Simple Steps To Oscar
Oscar Quiz Time:
Could
You Win An Oscar? | Oscar
Trivia
Oscar's
Animation - See Clips From Shorts & Features
Oscar's
Boys From Brazil
More
From The Great Oscar Debate
The
Awards Keep Coming For Return Of The King .
The
ACE Awards
Kings
And Pirates Lead The Saturn Nominations
Everyone
Wants An Oscar Hooker!
Oscar
Honors The Techies
Ebert
Predicts The Oscar
Lord
Of The Rings Captures BAFTAs
BAFTA
Photos
The
Updated Awards Scoreboard
Lost In Translation
& Return Of The King Still Tied
The
Scoreboard By Category
Naomi
Watts Road To Oscar Nominee
Oscar
Previews The Fashions
Will
The BAFTAs Really Impact Oscar Voting?
Death,
Disease And Divorce Make Oscar Smile
Ranking
Oscars On The Grimmness Scale
Doesn't
Pay To Be Funny At Oscar Time
Oscar's
Biggest Mistakes
Jude
Law Throws His Oscar Vote To Penn
No
Xmas Cards For Samantha Morton This Year From Liz Hurley
He
Wants To Go To The Oscars - But He Wants Asylum In Norway More
Oscars
Work Their Magic On European Boxoffice Too
More
From The Oscar Debate Across The Pond..
ASC
Awards
| DGA | Annies
| Vancouver Critics
The
Hasty Pudding Man & Woman Of The Year To Sandra Bullock &
Robert Downey, Jr.
Will
Oscar Loosen Up?
The
Academy Passes On The Tape Delay
Charlize,
The Death Penalty, And Only So Many Pretty Stories To Tell
The
Academy: A Primer
Johnny
Depp: Outsider May Be In The Gold
Rating
The Awards Shows
Bill
Muller Predicts The Oscars
Jackson
Wins The DGA
Finding
Nemo Wins Annie Award | Lost
In Translation Is Vancouver's Best Picture
The
Updated Awards Scoreboard
A
Shortened Season, DVDs, And New Oscar Marketing Strategies
Corliss
Wraps Up This Year's Oscars
Co-Director
Maybe, But Not Oscar Co-Nominee
A Brazilian Journalist Makes The Case For City Of God
Oscar,
Coppola And The Glass Ceiling
Mystic
River Runs For Gold
Something's
Gotta Give - Is It Jack's Carefree Days?
 Cold
Mountain Whitewash?
** Miramax
Gets A Correction Before The Story Runs
Yesterday
- Village
Voice On Cold Mountain's Oscar Black Out
Bono
Joins Jimbo In America
Aragorn
Doesn't Fight For Golden Statues
Put
Those Oscar Thoughts On The Table
Talking
To Fernando Meirelles
Evening
Standard British Film Awards: Paul Bettany, Touching The Void,
Emma Thompson
The
Central Ohio Film Critics Hand Out Awards
The
Updated Awards Scoreboard
Newsweek
Gathers The 5 Directors It Expects To See Nominated.... Hits .600
Matt
Wolf Looks At Oscar And Sees A Lot Of Boys
The
Many Opinions Of Diane Keaton
Mathews
On Awarding Youth & Women Of The Rings
Daniel
Wallace Went A' Big Fishing
A
Short Nibbles At Oscar
The
Oscars: A Game Show With Glamour
For
Lost In Translation, A Nomination Really Is A Win | And
It Will Help Those DVD Sales
Spending
Waaay Too Much Time Reading Through Oscar's Lines
With
Oscar's Age: Wisdom
Directors
Guild Of Great Britain Nominations
Newsweek's
Eight Little Oscar Stories
Liz
Smith Weighs In On Oscars
There's
At Least One Person Doesn't Like The Rings
Wilmington
Goes To Oscar's Source
Watt
Are The Chances?
Mystic,
Nemo, Keaton Get AARP Awards For Adults
The
Empire Awards Nominations
The
Shorts
Harvey
Krumpet Gets The Limelight
A
Sneak Peek At Pixar's Boundin
Waxman Goes Round The Oscar Horn, Slips In Some Manure, But Wins
Big With Alec Baldwin Closing Quote
Glenn
Whipp Rides With The King
Evaluating
Oscar Chances From BBC's Tom Brook
13
And A Leading Lady
The
Foreign Language Mystery Nominations
Surprise!
Surprise! Getting Nominated
Miramax
And The Oscar
Timing
Is Everything | 
John
Horn On The End Of The Miramax Streak | Victory
On Oscar Day
Holson
On Next Year's Oscar
USA
Today Slots The Front Runners
Roger's
Golden Glow
The
Divine Right Of The King
"This
is really something coming from nowhere. The film had four nominations.
I'm shocked."
Nominees
Speak | Peter
Jackson | Fernando
Meirelles
The
Snubs
Call
Your Bookie .. Odds On Best Picture
Full
List of Oscar Nominations | By
Film
Ebert's
Predictions
Les
Triplettes de Belleville Wins A New BBC Award
Andy
Seiler Explores The Tissue-Thin Connective Tissue Between Globes
& Oscars
Some Post Game
Commentary
Seattle
Post
| Chicago
Sun Times | NY
Times | Toronto
Star
And,
Of Course, The Fashion Commentary
The
Golden Globes Are Done
...... Globe
Moments
.......The
Fashion
.......The
Minute By Minute
.......THR
Has Some Choice Moments
Waxman
Looks At The Globes
From
Sundance To Oscar Guesses
Anne
Thompson's Best Oscar Guesses
Predicting
Globes For Hobbits
Mathews
Predicts The Globes
Going
For Oscar Green
Charlize
TheOne
Strickler
Predicts Oscar Noms
Lumenick
On Globes
Burning
Oscar Questions From Dallas
The
Globes, A Misstep, The Obvious Oscars
Claudia
Puig Talks Oscars
Gus
Van Sant Opens Up About Elephant
WGA
Nominations Announced
There's
An Award For Everything: The Skinnies - For Non-Excellence In Dermatology
In Film
Crystal
Will Get A Little Hairspray Help
The
Updated Big Top Ten Chart | The
Critics List
Sound
Editors Guild Nominations
The
Ballots Are In
Cinemarati
Hand Out Awards
A
Word From The Samwise: Awards Can Make A Big Difference But "It's
everything that happens afterward that matters."
Other
Awards Have Their Controversies, Too
The
BAFTA Nominations
Makeup
And Hair Stylists Guild Honor Charlie's Angels And Pirates
Mystic
River, Seabiscuit & The Scripter Award
Lord
Of The Rings Takes The PGA
Ken
Turan Picks The Oscars
Palestine
Is In The Oscar Race
Oscar's
Science & Technology Awards Announced
Roger
Friedman Left Scratching His Head
Oscar
Noms: It's Really About The Gift Bag
The
FBI Takes On The Screener Issue
"It's
In The Mail" .. Oscar's Missing Ballots
A
Lonely Oscar Road For Some
Guild Award
Nominations: ASC | ACE
Time's
Seven Great Performances This Year
Fewer
January Movies Reflect The Shorter Oscar Season
The
Unlikely Pair That Inspired American Splendor
John
Hurt Didn't Hate Lost In Translation .. He HATED It
The
Accent's The Key
Best Oscar Bets
From David
Thomson, Glenn
Whipp
And Bob
Strauss
Sean
Smith & The Charlize Thang
"If
the worst thing critics can say is that we have too many ads, I'm
thrilled." The Seabiscuit Race
A
Little Oscar Disbelief
Counting
Oscar Dollars
"I
live stories rather than tell them" Says Big Fish Albert Finney
NAACP
Nominees Include Whale Rider And Beckham
New
Best Of The Bad Lists: Cogill, Wuntch, Collette, Morris ...
The
Total Ambition Of Scarlett Johanson
The
Transformation Of Charlize Theron
Errol
Morris And The Fog Of War
Martin
Grove, Robert Shaye And The Rings
New
Top Ten Lists: Siegel, Friedman, Lyons, Brook ..
Premiere
Picks The Oscars
Marcia
Gay Harden Escaping The Oscar Curse
Will
They Get Overlooked By Oscar?
Cinemarati Awards Nominations
Dallas/Ft. Worth Awards
People's
Choice Nominations
Martin
Grove On Actually Seeing The Films
Goldman's
Current Take On Oscar, Via Weekly Variety
Vegas
Lays The Oscar Odds
DGA
Nominees Announced
| PGA
Nominees
The
Faithful Sidekick
| Samwise
Gamgee Comes Into His Own
Picking
Oscars As Rocket Science
Online
Film Critics Awards
Kansas
City Film Critics Awards
Vadim
Perelman's Journey To The Big Show
Ray
Pride Interviews Ben Kingsley
"It would be lovely if it rained beer, too,
but I don't think that's gonna happen," he says
William
Macy's Oscar
Shohreh
Ahdashloo
Speaks
Why
Is Tom So Cranky?
Will
Russell Crowe Command The First Awards Of The Season?
The
Contenders From Overseas
The
Worst of 2003 | The
Scoreboard
Demanding
Oscar's Attention
254
Films Will Vie For Best Picture
Do
The Critics Groups Matter?
Thinking
Small And Being Quiet
Peter
Jackson: Man Of The Year
Scarlett
J - From Panties To Oscar
'If
you wrote this, no one would believe it - that Sir Ben Kingsley,
the guy who was Gandhi, actually ended up playing my Col. Behrani!"
Comedies
May Have A Shot This Year
Lucas
Black's Cold Mountain
"It's
an emotional Rorschach test. There is no right or wrong answer."
It's
Harvey's Time Of Year
Renee
Zellweger Keeps Defying Expectations
Looking
Back On The Road To Oscar With Marcia Gay Harden
"Maybe
there'll come a day when Americans won't suggest that a fiftysomething
actress deserves an Oscar for simply removing her clothes"
The
Matrix: Overlooked
Kidman
Looks Forward To The Great Movie Of Her Career
Sofia
Coppola And God Save The Queen
Diary
Of An AFI Critic
Has
Animation Changed Now That It's Courting Oscar?
"All
the emotions, the hysteria and the crying. My God, acting isn't
the same as brain surgery."
And
The Award For Hair Goes To ... Nic Cage?
Overcoming
Jude The Obscure
Watts
The Missing Aussie At The Globes
A
Golden Globes Commentary By Gary Dretzka
The
Murky Side Of Gollum
"The
Oscar is disastrous on a professional level”
CBS
Looks At The Oscar Race
The
Scotsman's Year In Film
A
No-Longer-Unnoticed Helen Mirren
Nicole
Isn't Talking Oscar
It's
Oscar, Not Viggo, That's King
She's
A Dame, She's Older And She's Better
AMPAS
Sues To Get It's Oscars Back
On
Awards And Lists .. Be They Movies Or Sports
Comedy?
Not A Friend Of Oscars
The
Case For Peter Jackson
Waxman
On The Chill Factor Of Cold Mountain
The
London Film Critics Make Their Nominations
Actor-Turned-Star
Jude Law
Would
Oscar Frighten The Horse?
Starting
To Believe It Could Happen
Watt's
Isn't About Oscar, But Heart
Epics
And Horses And Deaths, Oh My
David
Thomson Looks At Jack, The Beginning, And An Autobiography
Holidays,
Movies And Oscar Tradition
In
Threes For Nicole
Two
Friends And A Little Gold Guy
Infernal
Affairs Wins A Golden Horse, But Wants Oscar, Too
Measuring
Nicole's Box Office Muscle
Sidebar - The
Civil War Curse
Awards
Are Becoming A Shohreh Bet
"He's
a beautiful T-45 tank, the kind that crashed into Berlin in 1945."
Theron's
Monster Of A Role
Errol
Morris & The Fog Of McNamara
Renee
Zellweger "had to be a kind of troll, a kind of creature from
the mountains"
National
Iranian American Council's Perspective On House Of Sand &
Fog
Albert
Finney: His Time Is Now
Chris
Kelly Handicaps The Oscars
Newsweek
Places Its Bets
Best
Picture Contenders From Colin Covert
Finding
The Inner Magic (And Maybe A Little Gold Man) In The Rings
Blake
Edwards Feted By Oscar
Doubling Up On Oscar Roles
Peter
Jackson Says "What About The Actors?"
There's
No Finding A Film For Oscar In India
Next
On Minghella's Mountain
USA
Today On Macy
& Johansson
The
Aussies Stake Their Claims To Oscar
Jack
& The Man
Brendan
Gleeson Talks Cold Mountain
The
Top Ten Lists Begin!
LAFCA
Back On... Voting 12/20 Or Later.... Chicago Expected To Follow
Suit, Rescinding Their Awards "Suspension"
LA
Film Crix Get Over Themselves
Bill
Murray's Not Desperate For Oscar
...
But It Would Mean A Lot To Gollum
A
Whale Rider's Seeing Oscar?
Cold
Mountain's Hopefuls
A
Winner In The House Of Sand And Fog
The
Screener Ban Story Archive
Wells
On Vikram Jayanti's The Golden Globes: Hollywood's Dirty Little
Secret
BFCA:
A New Leader For The Awards Season?
And
So Begins The Golden Globes .. DeMille Award To Michael Douglas
Kidman
Wins OverThe Cinematheque
Chicago
Film Critics Suspend Awards Until Screener Ban Is Lifted, Or Broken
- Hollywood Travel Agents Devastated
Tom
Cruise And The Elusive Oscar
Judge
Issues A Temporary Restraining Order On The Screener Ban
Peter
Travers Does His 10 Best
Lou
Do Oscar For You
Legally
Blonde Oscar Bait & The Ban
"This
Is Not A Robin Hood Exercise!"
And - 
Gill-ty
Of Being Honest
Harvie
Krumpet Shortlisted For Oscar
Sean
Penn Gets A Leg Up
The
Magnetism Of Russell Crowe
No
Oscar Campaigns For Me, Says Phil Collins
Hearts
A-Twitter At The Art House
Anne
Thompson's New Oscar Piece
The
Screener Ban Story Archive
Will
Peter Jackson See Gold?
Studio
Oscar Strategies
Michael
Caine's Statement
Decision
On Screener Ban Temporary
Restraining Order Delayed Until At Least December 3
Pull Quote Of The Day:
"THE COURT:
You mean these awards aren't given on the merits?"
Full
Transcript Of The Screener Ban Hearing
Watts
v. Kidman On Oscar Night
Oscar
Night For The Return Of The King
Passing
Up Oscar Night For Nappies
The Screener
Ban Lawsuit
Page
1 | Page
2 | Page
3 | Page
4 | Page
5 | Page
6
Sean
Smith Handicapped by Oscar
Rememeber
When -
MCN
Broke Down The Oscar Race In The Same Way
The
Missing Oscar For Cate
Tis
The Season To Be Oscar
Sony
Classics Breaks Screener Ban By Using European Scam
Cate
Blanchett And The Little Gold Guy
Regretting
The Things She Didn't Say - Susan Sarandon
Ron
Howard's Missing
Samantha
Morton Holds Her Own
A
Mellow Tommy Lee Jones
Oscar
Predictions From The Chronicle
Getting
Back To Their Roots For Oscar
Liz
Smith Says It's Oscar Time For Cruise (2nd
item)
Laying
The Early Odds On Oscar
And
So Begins The Golden Globes .. DeMille Award To Michael Douglas
Valenti
Makes The Call - No Adjustment To Ban For Critics, Others
Limato
Resigns As A Non Voting Academy Member Over The Screeners
Kidman
Wins OverThe Cinematheque
Elf
Wows The B.O., Theron Goes To Head Of Oscar Pack In A Role With
B.O. & AFI Fest Bows Out
Oscar
Gets His Poster
Rating
The Oscar Chances Down Under
Anne
Thompson's Oscar List O' 13
Moving
Oscar
SAG
Leaders Anti-Ban, Pro-Whining
After
The Jack Off, HFPA Deludes - "I
got the hint that the door is not completely closed"
Chicago
Film Critics Suspend Awards Until Screener Ban Is Lifted, Or Broken
- Hollywood Travel Agents Devastated
Valenti
On Why The Ban & The Academy Exception (Scroll
Down, 1st Item)
Two
Psycho Brothers Sue One Wacky Oscar Winner For Libel
MCN
Flash - The
Alamo Moves To April 2004, Changing Oscar Picture / Press
Release
The
Brits Weigh In: BAFTA Says Screener Ban Is "Catastrophe"
And None Of The
Screeners Sent To Their Members Have Ever Been Pirated
The
Screener Ban Story Archive
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