letters-from-iwo-jima

Trade Round-Up: 'Blazing Saddles' Farts Its Way Into The Library Of Congress

seth · 12/27/06 01:46PM

· The Library of Congress added 25 titles to the National Film Registry, including Fargo, Groundhog Day, and Blazing Saddles, the last of which you can draw up alphabetically, or by typing in "Movies: Bean-Induced Flatulence." [Variety]
· Eragon is faring much better overseas than it did in North America, while Letters From Iwo Jima has topped the Japanese box office for the third week in a row, proving unless the giant flying monster movie has a "Vs." in the title, the Japanese aren't interested. [Variety]
· Apocalypto has been "stuck in neutral" since its big opening weekend, despite Disney's attempts to re-market it to families with all new subtitles that tell the story of an ancient warrior who needs to get home for Christmas before the evil Santa Mayan Claus can reach into his chest and pull out a beating heart for a lucky little girl or boy. [Variety]
· Samantha Corbin-Miller has been hired as showrunner on Lifetime's series Army Wives, not to be confused with ABC's Football Wives. Yes, 2007 TV is definitely going to be Year of the Woman Defined by Her Relationship to a Man. You go, girl! [THR]
· Elijah Wood will star in Spanish director Alex de la Iglesia's first English-language film, Oxford Murders, saying "I'm delighted to work with Elijah, who undoubtedly has the most powerful eyes in the industry and who is perfect for the part." Sounds like someone has a cruuush. [THR]

Awards Round-Up: SF Critics March To Beat Of Their Own Adulterous, Suburban-Dwelling Drummers

seth · 12/13/06 03:02PM

· The mavericks of the San Francisco Film Critics Circle give their top honors—picture and directing—to Todd Fields' Little Children. Helen Mirren wins best actress for The Queen, a status quo concession they make up for by awarding Sacha Baron Cohen best actor for his Pamela Anderson-stalking work in Borat. Screenplay honors go to the hardboiled, Raymond-Chandler-meets-Degrassi indie, Brick. [SFFCC.org]
· Time's Richard Corliss gives us yet more insight into the shadowy goings on behind the closed doors of the New York Film Circle's annual gang bang ("The job is simple: tear yellow-lined paper into cracker-size bits; write a name or three on one piece; wait while the names are read out and tabulated," he writes, grippingly), and does some actual math to figure out if these lists actually predict Oscar results. Answer: Yes, they do! Occasionally. [Time.com]
· Clint vs. Clint. Leo vs. Leo. Peter vs. Peter. (Morgan: he wrote The Queen and Last King of Scotland.) In a bounty year of award-worthy output, will ceremonies like the Golden Globes (nominations out this Thursday) see multiple nods for single artists who did double-duty, or will vote-splitting end up cancelling them out? [LAT]
· Letters From Iwo Jima and United 93's strong showing in critics' polls puts the underhyped downer movies high on Academy members' radars; Ellen DeGeneres and her writers are already salivating at the hilarious opening montage sequence in which she single-handedly foils the plans of a group of 9-11 terrorists, only to jet-pack to the ground and find herself trapped in a Japanese internment camp. [Reuters]