billy ray

Oscar Watching: Waiting…
The top races – for picture and director – didn’t change much over the last few days, but Her thankfully made some waves with the Writers Guild of America (WGA). The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) weighs in with its picks on Feb. 16, and that’s really

Oscar Watching: An AMERICAN HUSTLE at the Oscars?
The first-ever screening of David O. Russell’s American Hustle took place on Sunday. Word on the film ranges from decent to terrific, but the one aspect on which everyone seemed to agree: Jennifer Lawrence. Last year’s best actress winner apparently steals the movie with her scenes as the wife of

Oscar Watching: It’s the HOLIDAY Season
With around $36.6 million, Thor: The Dark World again won the box office, but competition for the number one spot was surprisingly heated, so there go the “hammer” and “clobber” puns I would have otherwise used. Malcolm D. Lee’s The Best Man Holiday, sequel to 1999’s The Best Man, more

Oscar Watching: Writers Take the Spotlight
The movie world is all about the actors, though the occasional director, like Peter Jackson, George Lucas, or Steven Spielberg, gets lucky every now and then. Among the cinematic minds who almost always the short end of the stick, however, are the writers, but The Hollywood Reporter gives them the

Oscar Watching: Moving MONUMENTS
Surprise: Another film we thought would contend for Oscars this year got bumped to next year, as Sony moved The Monuments Men to 2014. Apparently there wasn’t enough time to finish the visual effects. This move might give the distributor’s upcoming American Hustle more room to breathe. Monuments director George

Oscar Watching: So, FOXCATCHER Isn’t Happening…
Another twist hit awards-watchers last week as Sony Pictures Classics bumped Bennett Miller’s Foxcatcher out of its 2013 lineup – and not too long after an impressive teaser leaked. Maybe SPC simply wants its potential Oscar pony to avoid the current best picture front-runner. As Sasha Stone of Awards Daily