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2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 1997

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New Year Parade, The | Review

23 December 2009 9:01 PM, PST | SmellsLikeScreenSpirit | See recent SmellsLikeScreenSpirit news »

Director: Tom Quinn Writer: Tom Quinn Starring: Greg Lyons, Jennifer-Lynn Welsh, Andrew Conway, MaryAnn McDonald, Tobias Segal, Irene Longshore, Paul Blackway The story begins with the announcement that the South Philadelphia String Band placed a lowly 13th place in the Philadelphia New Year Parade (a.k.a. Mummers Parade). Mike McMonogul (Andrew Conway) and his 25-year old son Jack (Greg Lyons – some might know him as the drummer for the Eastern Conference Champions) are devastated; but it is not only their squad’s depressing loss that has got them down in the dumps – Mike recently discovered that his wife Lisa (MaryAnn McDonald) cheated on him and he has moved out of his family’s home. The working class Irish-American McMonogul family finds themselves in a state of flux and one of significant turmoil. Jack and his younger sister Kat (Jennifer Walsh) find a majority of the financial and housekeeping burdens resting steadily on their shoulders, »

- Don Simpson

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Peter Sarsgaard: The Hollywood Interview

21 December 2009 9:12 AM, PST | The Hollywood Interview | See recent The Hollywood Interview news »

(Peter Sarsgaard in An Education, above.)

by Terry Keefe

(Currently appearing in this month's Venice Magazine.)

Like a seal of approval, it’s always a good sign of a film’s merit to see Peter Sarsgaard in the opening credits, because he chooses his projects well, whether it has been in a leading or supporting role. For a few years now, he has been in a strong enough career position that he could opt only to play leads, even if those were in smaller films, but from his film choices, he has also clearly been more interested in the quality of role, and not necessarily the size of the part, or the paycheck. As Mark, the uniquely resourceful slacker best friend of Zach Braff in Garden State, and as Clyde Martin, the protégé in Kinsey, and in his portrayal of real-life New Republic editor Charles Lane in Shattered Glass, and »

- The Hollywood Interview.com

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Jay Dipietro's Top Ten Films of All Time

12 December 2009 6:25 PM, PST | ioncinema | See recent ioncinema news »

Have you ever wondered what are the films that inspire the next generation of filmmakers? As part of our monthly Ioncinephile profile, we ask the filmmaker the incredibly arduous task of identifying their top ten list of all time favorite films. This month we profile Jay Dipietro, helmer behind Peter & Vandy which receives its theatrical release via Strand Releasing on October.9th. - Have you ever wondered what are the films that inspire the next generation of filmmakers? As part of our monthly Ioncinephile profile, we ask the filmmaker the incredibly arduous task of identifying their top ten list of all time favorite films. This month we profile Jay Dipietro, helmer behind Peter & Vandy which receives its theatrical release via Strand Releasing on October.9th. He gave us his top ten (as of October 2009). Midnight Run (1988) Martin Brest An all time favorite. I could recite that movie at one point. »

- Ioncinema.com Staff

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Directors of the Decade: Gus Van Sant

10 December 2009 5:47 PM, PST | FilmExperience | See recent FilmExperience news »

Robert here, continuing my series of the directors that shaped the past 10 years. Most of the directors I’ve written about have been either newcomers or have taken their earlier success and continued it into the aughts. Not many have reinvented themselves for this decade. But today’s man did: Gus Van Sant

Number of Films: Six

Modern Masterpieces: Oh who’s to say. I don’t expect this to be echoed but I’m going with Gerry.

Total Disasters: No. Psycho was last decade.

Better than you remember: All three entries in the death trilogy have gotten somewhat of a bad rep.

Awards: Nominated for Best Director for Milk and the Palme D’or for Elephant

Box Office: With over 51 mil, Finding Forrester understandably tops the more experimental fare.

Critical Consensus: With a Rotten Tomatoes score over 90%, Milk understandably tops the more experimental fare.

Favorite Actor: Matt Damon in »

- Robert

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Guilty Pleasures Reality TV Showdown: 'Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica' vs. 'Britney & Kevin: Chaotic'

7 December 2009 6:00 AM, PST | EW.com - PopWatch | See recent EW.com - PopWatch news »

PopWatch is on a quest to determine the Greatest Guilty Pleasure Reality TV Show of All Time. We have 32 seeded contestants in four categories (see full bracket here), and we're moving on to the Celeb-Reality category (much like questioning the "realness" of the "Real" Lives category, we know that the Kardashians are only a certain level of celebrity). After you vote, please leave comments about why you love the show you chose. Quarterfinals, Celeb-Reality: Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica vs. Britney & Kevin: Chaotic Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica Back when "celebreality" was shiny and new and we believed that if someone called his »

- EW staff

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Full of the strange

5 December 2009 4:09 PM, PST | The Guardian - Film News | See recent The Guardian - Film News news »

In September Roman Polanski was arrested in Switzerland. He faces extradition to the Us, having fled the States in 1978 to avoid being sentenced for unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. The debate about the case has raged ever since. Martin Amis was the first writer to interview Polanski after his flight, meeting him in Paris in 1979 for a magazine article. Here, we publish the encounter in full

When I was being driven to the police station from the hotel, the car radio was already talking about it. The newsmen were calling the police before I was arrested to see whether they can break the news. I couldn't believe… I thought, you know, I was going to wake up from it. I realise, if I have killed somebody, it wouldn't have had so much appeal to the press, you see? But… fucking, you see, and the young girls. Judges want to fuck young girls. »

- Martin Amis

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Discuss: What Would Tarantino’s ‘Green Lantern’ Be Like?

2 December 2009 5:56 PM, PST | FilmSchoolRejects.com | See recent FilmSchoolRejects news »

So MTV Splash Page found out that Qt is not only a comic book fan but that he was once approached to direct a Green Lantern movie as one of the probably several dozen concept offers he gets a month. There's no telling how long ago this was, but it got me thinking. What would that movie have been like? So I'm reaching out to our astute readers (that's you) to see what you would have liked to see in it. What would Qt have gotten perfect? What would he have fouled up beyond measure? To get the ball rolling, I've included a brief pitch that I think would have been pretty close: Returning from the Vietnam war, Alan Scott (Eli Roth) finds his wife and child raped and murdered. After a lengthy discussion about revenge, the history of the cassette tape, and the influence John Cassavetes had on Blacksploitation Films with his mentor (Samuel L. Jackson), Scott »

- Dr. Cole Abaius

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Mariah Carey's 'Precious' Leads 2010 Spirit Awards Nominations

1 December 2009 8:36 PM, PST | Celebrity Mania | See recent Celebrity Mania news »

"Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire" has come out as one of the nominations leaders at 2010 Independent Spirit Awards. The drama film, which sees Mariah Carey as a social worker, was on Tuesday, December 1 announced to be collecting five nods from the awards honoring independent filmmakers, and thus shared similar number with another drama "The Last Station".

The movie about an abused teen mother nabbed nominations for Best Feature, Best Director, Best Female Lead, Best First Screenplay and Best Supporting Female. It will battle against "Last Station" in the first three categories. For the Best Feature title, it is also up against "500 Days of Summer" "Amreeka" and "Sin Nombre".

"Precious" fails to bring recognition to Carey, but it does land two of its other major cast Gabourey Sidibe and Mo'Nique. Sidibe is listed against Maria Bello, Nisreen Faour, Gwyneth Paltrow and Helen Mirren for Best Female Lead, while »

- celebrity-mania.com

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The Independent Spirit Awards

1 December 2009 7:19 PM, PST | Makingof.com | See recent Makingof.com news »

The Independent Spirit Awards announced their nominees earlier today. Listed below is the complete list of this year's nominated films, cast and crew members. MakingOf would like to congratulate the nominees and applaud the diverse roster of talented filmmakers. Please scroll down for links to exclusive interviews we've conducted with some of the nominated directors and writers.

The Independent Spirit Awards eligibility requirements for consideration are that the feature film must be 70 minutes in length and the total cost must be below $20 million. A film also must have screened at a major film festival or had a one-week engagement at a commercial theater.

The awards' ceremony has taken place the past 24 years the Saturday afternoon before the Academy Awards in Santa Monica. The ceremony is moving this year to downtown L.A. and will be held in the evening on Friday, March 5th.

This year's Independent Spirit Awards Nominees:

Best »

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'The Last Station,' 'Precious' Lead Spirit Award Noms

1 December 2009 1:32 PM, PST | Extra | See recent Extra news »

Actors Taraji P. Henson and Matt Dillon announced the nominees for the 25th Film Independent Spirit Awards on Tuesday morning. Dramatic films "The Last Station" and "Precious" lead the pack with five nods each.

The winners will be announced on Friday, March 5, 2010 in L.A.

2010 Spirit Award Nominations

Best Feature (Award given to the Producer, Executive Producers are not listed)

(500) Days of Summer - Producers: Mason Novick, Jessica Tuchinsky, Mark Waters, Steven J. Wolfe

Amreeka - Producers: Paul Barkin, »

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2010 Independent Spirit Award Nominees

1 December 2009 1:23 PM, PST | newsinfilm.com | See recent newsinfilm news »

Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire and The Last Station led the nominations for the 2010 Independent Spirit Awards with five each.

Both were nominated for best feature along with (500) Days of Summer, Amreeka, and Sin Nombre.

If you’re wondering where indie favorite and Oscar hopeful The Hurt Locker is, the movie was submitted for consideration last year and was no eligible for this year’s list.  Though Kathryn Bigelow picked up “Best Feature” for the film at the Gotham Independent Film Awards last night.

As far as I know, Duncan Jones’ Moon is considered a British film and was correctly included in the British Indie Film nominees with several other solid picks (though I didn’t care for Fish Tank).

I was glad to see Anvil! included in the documentaries after it was left off the Oscar short list — though where’s The Cove? — plus love for 500 Days and Adventureland, »

- Jeff Leins

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Precious & The Last Station Lead Spirit Nominations

1 December 2009 1:08 PM, PST | Filmmaker Magazine - Blog | See recent Filmmaker Magazine news »

Film Independent announced the nominations for this year's Spirit Awards. The award will be celebrating its 25th anniversary this year when the ceremony takes place on Friday, March 5. Precious and The Last Station lead in nominations with five each, including Best Feature and Best Director. Full list of nominations below. Best Feature (500) Days Of Summer Amreeka Precious Sin Nombre The Last Station Best Director Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, A Serious Man Lee Daniels, Precious Cary Joji Fukunaga, Sin Nombre James Gray, Two Lovers Michael Hoffman, The Last Station Best First Feature A Single Man Crazy Heart Easier With Practice Paranormal Activity The Messenger Awards Guide John Cassavetes Award (Given to the best feature made »

- Jason Guerrasio

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Spirit Awards Nominations Announced! "Precious," "The Last Station" Score!

1 December 2009 12:31 PM, PST | Manny the Movie Guy | See recent Manny the Movie Guy news »

Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization behind the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, announced nominations this morning for the 25th Film Independent Spirit Awards.

Nominees for Best Feature include "(500) Days Of Summer," "Amreeka," "Precious," "Sin Nombre," and "The Last Station."

Taraji P. Henson and Matt Dillon also announced finalists for the Acura Someone to Watch Award, the Truer Than Fiction Award, and the Piaget Producers Award.

A Serious Man was selected for the Robert Altman Award, which is given to one film's director, casting director and ensemble cast.

The awards show will be held March 5, two days before the Oscars. The event will be held at the La Live campus downtown.

Visit the Spirit Awards official site right here.

And now, the nominees of the 25th Film Independent Spirit Awards:

Best Feature

"(500) Days Of Summer" - Producers: Mason Novick, Jessica Tuchinsky, Mark Waters, Steven J. Wolfe

"Amreeka" - Producers: Paul Barkin, »

- Manny

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2009 Spirit Award Nominees

1 December 2009 10:47 AM, PST | Collider.com | See recent Collider.com news »

Film Independent’s Spirit Awards are meant to honor “indie” films, i.e. no blockbuster movies allowed but if you played at some festivals and didn’t cost a lot of money, you’re in consideration.  The Spirit Awards are a good indicator of what smaller films could be getting a shot at Oscar nominations in various categories.  Usually, their nominees are pretty solid and play like a nice alternative universe where the Oscars went to more deserving nominees (last year The Wrestler won Best Film and Best Actor).

But this year’s choices are obvious mixed with disappointingly bizarre.  In a year where some strong, hard-sell films came out of Sundance with strong buzz, the Spirit Awards have instead shown love to movies like Two Lovers, Cold Souls, and (500) Days of Summer.  It’s not that any of these films are resoundingly bad, but when placed alongside obvious contenders »

- Matt Goldberg

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'Last Station' and 'Precious' Lead the 2010 Independent Spirit Award Nominees

1 December 2009 10:41 AM, PST | Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news »

This morning, Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, announced the nominees for the 25th Film Independent Spirit Awards. The leading nomination getters where Sony Pictures Classics' The Last Station and Lionsgate's Precious, both of which earned five nominations including Best Feature along with Amreeka, 500 Days of Summer and Sin Nombre. Precious also enjoyed nominations in Best Director (Lee Daniels), Best Actress (Gabourey Sidibe), Best Supporting Actress (Mo'Nique) and Best First Screenplay.

The leading studios where Fox Searchlight and Sony Classics, each of which took home 7 nominations, Searchlight even earning one for the critically loathed Gentlemen Broncos with Jemaine Clement earning a Best Supporting Male nod.

I'm very happy to see Christian McKay for Me and Orson Welles enjoying some love and hope it can translate to an Oscar nomination and I wonder if Samantha Morton's nomination for »

- Brad Brevet

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25th Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations

1 December 2009 9:02 AM, PST | WeAreMovieGeeks.com | See recent WeAreMovieGeeks.com news »

Precious and The Last Station have the most nods with 5 nominations a piece. So glad to see Jeff Bridges’ nomination for Crazy Heart. Even Paranormal Activity saw a nomination in  Best First feature category.

The ceremony will air live and uncut on Friday, March 5, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. Pst/11:00 p.m. Est on IFC from downtown Los Angeles.

The complete list of nominations:

Best Feature (Award given to the Producer)

“(500) Days Of Summer,” Producers: Mason Novick, Jessica Tuchinsky, Mark Waters, Steven J. Wolfe

“Amreeka,” Producers: Paul Barkin, Christina Piovesan

“Precious,” Producers: Lee Daniels, Gary Magness, Sarah Siegel-Magness

“Sin Nombre,” Producer: Amy Kaufman

“The Last Station,” Producers: Bonnie Arnold, Chris Curling, Jens Meuer

Best Director

Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, “A Serious Man”

Lee Daniels, “Precious”

Cary Joji Fukunaga, “Sin Nombre”

James Gray, “Two Lovers”

Michael Hoffman, “The Last Station”

Best First Feature (Award given to the director and producer)

A Single Man »

- Michelle

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The gutting of Miramax, Pt. II: Is this the end of New York movie culture?

2 November 2009 3:58 PM, PST | EW.com - The Movie Critics | See recent EW.com - The Movie Critics news »

Last week, it was announced that Miramax Films would close its New York offices, and that its president, Daniel Battsek, was being asked to step down. If that sounds like an unhappy day for the world of independent film -- well, it is. Yet as far as Miramax is concerned, it's really just one more nail in a coffin that was already slamming shut. In case you missed the news, here's the post I wrote back on Oct. 11 about the gutting of Miramax that took place last month, and what it could portend, in general, for studio specialty divisions. There's »

- Owen Gleiberman

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Podcast: Tom Noonan (The House of the Devil)

31 October 2009 6:52 AM, PDT | GreenCine Daily | See recent GreenCine Daily news »

Among other things, Tom Noonan is a musician, playwright, and writer-director of two acclaimed films (What Happened Was, The Wife), but most will sooner recognize this tall, reserved but eerily intense gentleman as a memorable character actor from films as diverse as Manhunter, Mystery Train, and Synecdoche New York. His latest chance to effortlessly steal scenes arrives in Ti West's wonderfully slow-burning, retro-horror flick, The House of the Devil: Sam (Jocelin Donahue) is a pretty college sophomore, so desperate to earn some cash for a deposit on an apartment that she accepts a babysitting job even after she finds out there is no baby. Mr. and Mrs. Ulman (cult actors Tom Noonan and Mary Woronov) are the older couple who lure Sam out to their creeky Victorian mansion deep in the woods, just in time for a total lunar eclipse. Megan (Greta Gerwig) is Sam's best friend, who »

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Top 7 Films Directed by Actors Turned Directors

30 October 2009 4:34 AM, PDT | The Scorecard Review | See recent Scorecard Review news »

We start the Top 7. You finish the Top 10.

The old joke is that all actors want to direct.  Though it’s maybe not true of all, I still had plenty to choose from in making this list.  The directors on this list all started life as actors, some still are, but I’d argue that they’re better known as directors.  This month, two well known actresses have tried their hand at direction, Drew Barrymore with Whip It (which was a great movie, I have no idea why it did so badly) and Natalie Portman doing a segment of New York I Love You.  Who knows, maybe one (or both) has a second career around the corner.

7. A Woman Under the Influence (1974)

Directed by John Cassavetes

Recap: A portrait of family in crisis when a woman (Gena Rowlands) goes mad and her husband (Peter Falk) tries to understand it.

Reason: »

- Megan Lehar

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cinemadaily | Recent Restorations Shine at MoMA

26 October 2009 8:14 AM, PDT | IndieWIRE | See recent indieWIRE news »

To Save and Project: The Seventh MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation is currently underway at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Dedicated to showcasing recently restored films, this year’s edition includes screenings of over 25 works, including a week-long run of John Cassavetes’ “A Woman Under the Influence,” recent restorations of Robert Flaherty’s “Nanook of the North” and Frank Capra’s “Forbidden,” and more. “In retrospect, ‘A Woman … »

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2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 1997

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