MPSE Awards

The Motion Picture Sound Editors guild have announced their best of 2012.  Sound Editing and Sound Mixing vary, not that you could really notice much considering both categories typically consist of the same movies on the Oscar ballot year after year.  It's a bit confusing-- mixing consists of the overall landscape of a films sound design with dialogue, effects and score all blending together, whereas editing is the creation of said effects in the overall sound design of a film.  I suppose its best to think of the categories as both the marco and micro of a motion pictures soundscape.  Here are the winners:

BEST SOUND EDITING: MUSIC IN A FEATURE FILM
Life of Pi

BEST SOUND EDITING: MUSIC IN A MUSICAL FILM
Les Miserables

BEST SOUND EDITING: DIALOGUE OR ADR IN A FEATURE FILM
Life of Pi

BEST SOUND EDITING: EFFECTS OR FOLEY IN A FEATURE FILM
Skyfall    

VES Awards

The Visual Effects Society favored Life of Pi and Brave.  The Visual Effects Academy Award looks like a virtual lock for Ang Lee's oceanic adventure.

VISUAL EFFECTS IN AN EFFECTS DRIVE FILM
Life of Pi

OUTSTANDING ANIMATION IN AN ANIMATED FILM
Brave

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS
The Impossible

OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN A LIVE ACTION FILM
Life of Pi- Richard Parker

OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN AN ANIMATED FILM
Brave- Merida

OUTSTANDING FX/SIMULATION IN A LIVE ACTION FILM
Life of Pi- Storm of God

OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN A LIVE ACTION FILM
Marvel's The Avengers- Midtown Manhattan

OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN AN ANIMATED FILM
Brave- The Forest

OUTSTANDING VIRTUAL CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING
Life of Pi- Storm of God

OUTSTANDING MODELS
Marvel's The Avengers- Helicarrier

OUTSTANDING FX/SIMULATION IN AN ANIMATED FILM
Brave

Two hiss fit points on Visual Effects.  Firstly, the Academy's saddening rejection of The Impossible with its bravura tsunami sequence-- a brilliant display of visual effects as storytelling, a point made even more shameless with the inclusion of the weaker, but similar Academy-approved take in Clint Eastwood's wan Hereafter a few year back.  The second one is a bit more complex, and likely involves a great deal more in the politics of rewarding the best in filmmaking than the actual fruits of the labor itself.  It was unsurprising that The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey would make the cut-- a clearly a deserving one considering the immense visual achievement, but the horror or shrieks come from the fact the film, a deviation of the already hugely honored Lord of the Rings films was shortlisted without actually being viewed by its jury.  That's shameful!          

Art Directors Guild

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN (Contemporary Film)
Skyfall- Dennis Gassner

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN (Fantasy Film)
Life of Pi- David Gropman

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN (Period Film)
Anna Karenina- Sarah Greenwood

USC Scripter Nominations

The Scripters celebrate adapted screenplays by honoring both the screenwriters and the original authors of the source material.  The 2012 nominees are:

• Argo- Joshuah Bearman, author of the article "The Great Escape," Tony Mendez, author of The Master of Disguise, and screenwriter Chris Terrio
• Beasts of the Southern Wild- Lucy Alibar, dramatist of the play, Juicy & Delicious, and screenwriters Alibar and Benh Zeitlin.
• Life of Pi- Yann Martel, author of the novel, and screenwriter Chris Magee
• Lincoln- Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, and screenwriter Tony Kushner.
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower- Stephen Chbosky, author and screenwriter.
• Silver Linings Playbook- Matthew Quick, author of the novel and screenwriter David O. Russell.

American Society of Cinematographer Nominations

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Anna Karenina- Seamus McGarvey
Les Miserables- Danny Cohen
Life of Pi- Claudio Miranda
Lincoln- Janusz Kaminski
Skyfall- Roger Deakins

A formidable selection and a tight race, like many this year, and another go around of may-it-be/will-it-be finally the year that the much nominated cinematographer/poet Roger Deakins can claim a statue.  The ASC isn't always the best indicator for the Oscar- Deakins himself claim that to be true winning here.  The variety in the lensing of these films is quite spectacular from the theatricality of Anna Karenina, the controversially shot in close-up Les Miserables, the majestic wonder of Life of Pi, the austere, but regally naturalistic look of Lincoln to the eye candy spectacle of Skyfall.  In this most contentious year of a near embarrassment of riches, one could easily see some adjustments in the line-up tomorrow morning with Zero Dark Thirty, The Master and Django Unchained noticeably absent.

BAFTA Nominations

Lincoln leads the field at the British Academy of Arts of Television Awards with 10 nominations.

BEST FILM
Argo
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Zero Dark Thirty

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
Anna Karenina
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Miserables
Seven Psychopaths
Skyfall

BEST DIRECTOR
Ben Affleck, Argo
Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
Michael Haneke, Amour
Ang Lee, Life of Pi
Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained 

Ben Affleck's Argo did well with the British Academy, and he himself earned a Best Director nod, and a near shock, a Best Actor nomination for his leading performance, knocking John Hawkes and Denzel Washington curbside.

BEST ACTOR
Ben Affleck, Argo
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master 

The less than glowing reception for Hitchcock has nonetheless netted Helen Mirren nominations from the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild and now BAFTA.

BEST ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard, Rust & Bone
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Helen Mirren, Hitchcock
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour

Could Javier Bardem stand a chance to be the first Bond villain ever to get an Oscar nomination?

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin, Argo
Javier Bardem, Skyfall
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained 

While The Master failed to net a Best Picture nod, the actors were noticed-- Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams were all nominated by the British contingent.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, The Master
Judi Dench, Skyfall
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions 

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Amour- Michael Haneke
Django Unchained- Quentin Tarantino
The Master- Paul Thomas Anderson
Moonrise Kingdom- Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
Zero Dark Thirty- Mark Boal

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Argo- Chris Terrio
Beasts of the Southern Wild- Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin
Life of Pi- David Magee
Lincoln- Tony Kushner
Silver Linings Playbook- David O. Russell

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Brave
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman

BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Imposter
Marley
McMillin
Searching for Sugar Man
West of Memphis 

BEST FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Amour
Headhunters
The Hunt
The Intouchables
Rust & Bone


BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Anna Karenina- Seamus McGarvey
Les Miserables- Danny Cohen
Life of Pi- Claudio Miranda
Lincoln- Janusz Kaminski
Skyfall- Roger Deakins

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Anna Karenina- Sarah Greenwood & Katie Spencer
Les Miserables- Eve Stewart & Anna-Lynch Robinson
Life of Pi- David Gropman & Anna Pinnock
Lincoln- Rick Carter & Jim Erickson
Skyfall- Dennis Gassner & Anna Pinnock

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Anna Karenina- Jacqueline Durran
Great Expectations- Beatrix Aruna Pasztor
Les Miserables- Paco Delgado
Lincoln- Joanna Johnston
Snow White & the Huntsmen- Colleen Atwood

BEST FILM EDITING
Argo- William Goldenberg
Django Unchained- Fred Raskin
Life of Pi- Tim Squyres
Skyfall- Stuart Baird
Zero Dark Thirty- Dylan Tichenor & William Goldenberg

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC
Anna Karenina- Dario Marianelli
Argo- Alexandre Desplat
Life of Pi- Michael Danna
Lincoln- John Williams
Skyfall- Thomas Newman

BEST SOUND
Django Unchained
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Skyfall 

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Dark Knight Rises
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Life of Pi
Marvel's The Avengers
Prometheus 

BEST MAKE-UP AND HAIRSTYLING
Anna Karenina
Hitchcock
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Miserables
Lincoln 

RISING STAR AWARD
Elizabeth Olsen
Andrea Riseborough
Suraj Sharma
Juno Temple
Alicia Vikander

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH FILMMAKER
Bart Layton, Dimitri Doganis, The Imposter
David Morris, Jacqui Morris, McMillin
Dexter Fletcher, Danny King, Wild Bill
James Bobin, The Muppets
Tina Gharavi, I Am Nasrine   

Art Directors Guild Nominations

PERIOD FILM
Anna Karenina- Sarah Greenwood
Argo- Sharon Seymour
Django Unchained- J. Michael Riva
Les Miserables- Eve Stewart
Lincoln- Rick Carter

FANTASY FILM
Cloud Atlas- Uli Hanisch & Hugh Bateup
The Dark Knight Rises- Nathan Crowley & Kevin Kavanaugh 
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey- Dan Hannah
Life of Pi- David Gropman
Prometheus- Arthur Max

CONTEMPORARY FILM
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel- Alan MacDonald
Flight- Nelson Coates
The Impossible- Eugenio Caballero
Skyfall- Dennis Gassner
Zero Dark Thirty- Jeremy Hindle

Las Vegas Film Critics Society

PICTURE: Life of Pi
DIRECTOR: Ang Lee, Life of Pi
ACTOR: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
ACTRESS: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
SCREENPLAY: Looper- Rian Johnson
ANIMATED FEATURE: ParaNorman
DOCUMENTARY: Bully
FOREIGN FILM: Amour
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Life of Pi- Claudio Miranda
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Prometheus- Arthur Max
COSTUME DESIGN: Anna Karenina- Jacqueline West
FILM EDITING: Zero Dark Thirty- William Goldenberg & Dylan Tichenor
SCORE: Life of Pi- Mychael Danna
SONG: "Skyfall," Skyfall
VISUAL EFFECTS: Life of Pi
BREAKOUT FILMMAKER AWARD: Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild
YOUTH IN FILM AWARD: Suraj Sharma, Life of Pi
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT: Alan Arkin

TOP TEN OF 2012

1. Life of Pi
2. Zero Dark Thirty
3. Argo
4. Silver Linings Playbook
5. Lincoln
6. Moonrise Kingdom
7. The Impossible
8. Les Miserables
9. Beasts of the Southern Wild
10. The Master 

Critics Choice Awards Nominations

The Broadcast Film Critics Association have announced their awards.  The winners-- everyone!

PICTURE
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
The Master
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

DIRECTOR
Ben Affleck, Argo
Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
Tom Hooper, Les Miserables
Ang Lee, Life of Pi
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook

ACTOR
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight

ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard, Rust & Bone
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts, The Impossible

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin, Argo
Javier Bardem, Skyfall
Robert DeNiro, Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, The Master
Judi Dench, Skyfall
Ann Dowd, Compliance
Sally Field, The Sessions
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Django Unchained- Quentin Tarantino
Flight- John Gatins
Looper- Rian Johnson
The Master- Paul Thomas Andersno
Moonrise Kingdom- Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
Zero Dark Thirty- Marc Boal

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Argo- Chris Terrio
Life of Pi- David Magee
Lincoln- Tony Kushner
The Perks of Being a Wallflower- Stephen Chbosky
Silver Linings Playbook- David O. Russell

ANIMATED FEATURE
Brave
Frankenweenie
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Watned
ParaNorman
Rise of the Guardians
Wreck-It-Ralph

DOCUMENTARY
Bully
Central Park Five
The Imposter
The Queen of Versailles
Searching for Sugarman
West of Memphis

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Amour
The Intouchables
A Royal Affair
Rust & Bone

YOUNG ACTOR\ACTRESS
Elle Fanning, Ginger & Rosa
Kara Hayward, Moonrise Kingdom
Tom Holland, The Impossible
Logan Lerman, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Suraj Sharma, Life of Pi
Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

ACTING ENSEMBLE
Argo
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Miserables
Lincoln
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Les Miserables- Danny Cohen
Life of Pi- Claudio Miranda
Lincoln- Janusz Kaminski
The Master- Mihai Malaimare Jr.
Skyfall- Roger Deakins

ART DIRECTION
Anna Karenina- Sarah Greenwood & Katie Spencer
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey- Dan Hennah, Ra Vincent & Simon Bright
Les Miserables- Eve Stewart & Anna Lynch-Robinson
Life of Pi- David Gropman & Anna Pinnock
Lincoln- Rick Carter & Jim Erickson

FILM EDITING
Argo- William Goldenberg
Les Miserables- Melanie Ann Oliver & Chris Dickens
Life of Pi- Tim Squyres
Lincoln- Michael Kahn
Zero Dark Thirty- William Goldenberg & Dylan Tichenor

COSTUME DESIGN
Anna Karenina- Jacqueline Durran
Cloud Atlas- Kym Barrett & Pierre-Yves Gayraud
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey- Bob Buck, Ann Maskrey & Richard Taylor
Les Miserables- Paco Delgado
Lincoln- Joanna Johnson

ORIGINAL SCORE
Argo- Alexandre Desplat
Life of Pi- Mychael Danna
Lincoln- John Williams
The Master- Jonny Greenwood
Moonrise Kingdom- Alexandre Desplat

ORIGINAL SONG
"For You," Act of Valor
"Learn Me Right," Brave
"Suddenly," Les Miserables
"Still Alive," Paul Williams Still Alive
"Skyfall," Skyfall 

MAKE-UP
Cloud Atlas
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Miserables
Lincoln

VISUAL EFFECTS
Cloud Atlas
The Dark Knight Rises
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Life of Pi
Marvel's The Avengers

ACTION MOVIE
The Dark Knight Rises
Looper
Marvel's The Avengers
Skyfall

ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Christian Bale, The Dark Knight Rises
Daniel Craig, Skyfall
Robert Downey, Jr., Marvel's The Avengers
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Looper
Jake Gyllenhaal, End of Watch

ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Emily Blunt, Looper
Gina Carano, Haywire
Judi Dench, Skyfall
Anne Hathaway, The Dark Knight Rises
Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games

COMEDY MOVIE
21 Jump Street
Bernie
Silver Linings Playbook
Ted
This is 40 

ACTOR IN A COMEDY MOVIE
Jack Black, Bernie
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Paul Rudd, This is 40
Channing Tatum, 21 Jump Street
Mark Wahlberg, Ted

ACTRESS IN A COMEDY MOVIE
Mila Kunis, Ted
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Shirley MacLaine, Bernie
Leslie Mann, This is 40
Rebel Wilson, Pitch Perfect

SCI-FI\HORROR MOVIE
The Cabin in the Woods
Looper
Prometheus

Life of Pi

Life of Pi, Ang Lee's tackle of the deemed unfilmable best-selling novel by Yann Martel, opens with an invitation-- an opening title sequence that's bouncy and energetic.  Set in a zoo, the one in which our young hero-- an inquisitive imp-- the audience meets the animals set about for an enchanting adventure.  Lee, the modern cinema's great shape-shifter, has long been known to channel his specific filmmaking artistry into a wide foray of genres and milieus-- from the Austenian world of Sense and Sensibility to the very American and widely different worlds of 70s era sexual culture in The Ice Storm and '60s old world of frontierism in Brokeback Mountain-- in Life of Pi, he charts and sets his visual canvas more so than ever before.  Delving in to land of CG and 3-D with an aplomb that's at once awe-inspiring, but discerningly graceful.  Life of Pi cements his gift as a marvelous showman and filmmaker, even though he's perhaps one of the few A-list auteurs without a imprinteur quite his own.  Think of Avatar by way of Cast Away with a nugget of We Bought a Zoo marked with the awards magnitude of Slumdog Mullionaire, and that's the high concept pitch behind Life of Pi, a film that's far more penetrable than can be perhaps described on terms of scope, beauty and visual mastery.  It's perhaps a shame, that despite whatever good there is on display (and there's tons), that either by conviction or other pressures, that the film, scripted by Finding Neverland's David Magee, is framed in ways that are firstly too obvious for a film of such visual depth, and secondly too maudlin for what its scope deserves.  The heart of the film, its center, however, is something of cinema beauty, and a savory experience for the mind and heart.

Pi, or by his full name, Piscine Molitor Patel, is met first as an adult (and played by Slumdog Millionaire vet Irrfan Khan) as he's chronicling his larger than life story to a tony writer (Rafe Spall.)  Told at the beginning, Pi's tale is the one that will make the non-believer a devout follower, and such words are markings of a patchy start.  So is shaky framework of Life of Pi, a story of mythic and spiritual proportions, one that once it finally gets going may well have the power and dignity to make the harshest cynic succumb to the wonder of it all...  It's a shame and a pity that the structure was used at all.  There's hardly a need for a stuffy interloper to play story advocate for a film of such ripe and beautiful imagery.  And there's hardly need for a film that has plenty to speak for itself to frame itself in such a tiring way that seemingly lack confidence.

There's a few rich moments that orientate the direction of Pi, surely.  Such as the amusing anecdotal response of the childhood hell given by his unusual name, and his directive to nip it in the bud.  There's a even niftier bit as the questioning and embracing young boy (played by Ayush Tandon in tween years), a born and bred Hindi, embraces all the religions that enter his path.  But this is a slow trek to the quintessential money shot of the piece.  As Pi grows, and is replaced by newcomer actor Suraj Sharma, his family embarks on a quest outside India by ship, along with the zoo he grew up with.  A massive and striking storm is looming, and the ever adventurer in Pi, seeks it and as the ship is capsizing is forced into a lifeboat and left stranded at sea.  He's got a few animal visitors as well-- an injured zebra, riled up hyena, orangutan, and and lastly a massively imposing Bengal tiger, amusingly named Richard Parker.  There's a backstory between Richard Parker and Pi, as a childhood trauma is recalled.

The bulk of Life of Pi is the shipwrecked majesty of Pi and Richard Parker at sea.  A fable, adventures story, survivalist tale, that as absurd as it sounds, plays beautifully with an elegant gracefulness.  The greatest stretches are the nearly wordless images of visual majesty at sea, played with a taut tension and visual splendor that invites one to question how'd they do that only til it subsides by the nearly effortless and beatific wonder of it all.  Inexplicably linked and dependent on one another for survival, there's a seemingly transcendent merging of souls between Pi and Richard Parker that permeates, enriches and engulfs the best stretches of Life of Pi.  Throwing logic away and marveling at the translucent visual poetry of Ang Lee's work successfully navigates a non-narrative of spirituality and one's place in the universe.  The shots themselves seem compressed from tiny works of grand artistry.

It's a harder thing to swallow as the screenplay insists the vacuous violins must come out towards the end.  Prompting a senseless need to either wrap things up, or connect the younger Pi with the older Forrest Gump version telling his tale.  There's a soaring lack of dignity and a nearly blatant disrespect for the beauty that is the heart of Life of Pi, one such that nearly belittles the gentle and dangerous tale.

Life of Pi, I suppose, is the latest and most potent example of art versus commerce.  At least that I've seen in recent movie houses.  The bulk is a hard to sell piece of art, equipped with pricy and wondrous effects, luminous cinematography (courtesy of Claudio Miranda, of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button fame) and nearly austere storytelling.  It's wrapped in Hollywood cellophane that nearly tries to make it an indistinguishable as possible.  That's a pity and a shame for the true merits of the work.  B