Showing posts with label "Up in the Air". Show all posts
Showing posts with label "Up in the Air". Show all posts

Sunday, February 21, 2010

'Hurt Locker,' 'Up in the Air,' and 'The Cove' win WGA film awards


The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) announced the winners of the 2010 Writers Guild Awards for outstanding achievement in writing for screen, television, radio, news, promotional, and videogame writing at simultaneous ceremonies last night at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles and the Hudson Theatre at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York City.

Iraqi war film The Hurt Locker and corporate downsizing drama Up In the Air won honors from screenwriters in the final, major Hollywood awards show leading up to the Oscars.

The Hurt Locker writer Mark Boal won best original screenplay from the Writers Guild of America and Up In the Air claimed the prize for best adapted screenplay for co-writers Sheldon Turner and Jason Reitman.

Reitman, who also directed "Up in the Air," thanked several people including his father, producer Ivan Reitman, who he said read his first screenplay and said, "you know, you really got the goods."

Boal similarly took to the stage and talked about being honored to be a screenwriter and acknowledged the troops in Iraq with whom he had been embedded as a journalist before he wrote his screenplay about a group of men who defuse bombs.

They were the ones, Boal said, who showed him, "the tragedy and chaos and hellishness they face day in and day out."

The Writers Guild represents film and television writers in the United States, and their awards are often seen as a key indicator on who will go on to win Oscars, the world's top film honors, because many Writers Guild members also belong to Oscar organizer, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

So far this Oscar season, "Hurt Locker" has been honored by guilds of film producers and directors and is considered a favorite for the best film Academy Award along with key rival, box office hit "Avatar," urban drama "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" and "Up In the Air."

Richard O'Barry, 'The Cove'

Elsewhere in film categories, the Writers Guild gave its best documentary screenwriting award to The Cove, which details the slaughter of dolphins in Japan, and a lifetime achievement honor for film to writer/director Barry Levinson.

SCREEN WINNERS

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

The Hurt Locker, Written by Mark Boal; Summit Entertainment

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Up in the Air, Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner; Based upon the novel by Walter Kirn; Paramount Pictures

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

The Cove, Written by Mark Monroe; Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions

TELEVISION WINNERS

DRAMA SERIES

Mad Men, Written by Lisa Albert, Andrew Colville, Kater Gordon, Cathryn Humphris, Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Brett Johnson, Erin Levy, Marti Noxon, Frank Pierson, Robin Veith, Dahvi Waller, Matthew Weiner; AMC

COMEDY SERIES

30 Rock, Written by Jack Burditt, Kay Cannon, Robert Carlock, Tom Ceraulo, Vali Chandrasekaran, Tina Fey, Donald Glover, Steve Hely, Matt Hubbard, Dylan Morgan, Paula Pell, Jon Pollack, John Riggi, Tami Sagher, Josh Siegal, Ron Weiner, Tracey Wigfield; NBC

NEW SERIES

Modern Family, Written by Paul Corrigan, Sameer Gardezi, Joe Lawson, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Dan O'Shannon, Brad Walsh, Caroline Williams, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker; ABC

EPISODIC DRAMA – any length – one airing time

“Broken, Part 1 and Part 2” (House), Written by Russel Friend & Garrett Lerner & David Foster & David Shore; Fox

EPISODIC COMEDY – any length – one airing time (**TIE**)

“Apollo, Apollo” (30 Rock), Written by Robert Carlock; NBC

“Pilot” (Modern Family), Written by Steven Levitan & Christopher Lloyd; ABC

LONG FORM – ORIGINAL – over one hour – one or two parts, one or two airing times

Georgia O’Keeffe, Written by Michael Cristofer; Lifetime

LONG FORM – ADAPTATION – over one hour – one or two parts, one or two airing times

Taking Chance, Teleplay by Lieutenant Colonel Michael R. Strobl, USMC (Ret.) and Ross Katz, Based on the short story by Lieutenant Colonel Michael R. Strobl, USMC (Ret.); HBO

ANIMATION – any length – one airing time

“Wedding for Disaster” (The Simpsons), Written by Joel H. Cohen; Fox

COMEDY / VARIETY – (INCLUDING TALK) SERIES (**TIE**)

Saturday Night Live, Head Writer: Seth Meyers, Writers Doug Abeles, James Anderson, Alex Baze, Jessica Conrad, James Downey, Steve Higgins, Colin Jost, Erik Kenward, Rob Klein, John Lutz, Lorne Michaels, John Mulaney, Paula Pell, Simon Rich, Marika Sawyer, Akiva Schaffer, John Solomon, Emily Spivey, Kent Sublette, Jorma Taccone, Bryan Tucker, Additional Sketch by Adam McKay, Andrew Steele; NBC

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Head Writer: Steve Bodow, Writers Rory Albanese, Kevin Bleyer, Rich Blomquist, Tim Carvell, Wyatt Cenac, Hallie Haglund, JR Havlan, David Javerbaum, Elliott Kalan, Josh Lieb, Sam Means, Jo Miller, John Oliver, Daniel Radosh, Jason Ross, Jon Stewart; Comedy Central

COMEDY / VARIETY – MUSIC, AWARDS, TRIBUTES – SPECIALS

Film Independent’s 2009 Spirit Awards, Written by Billy Kimball, Neil MacLennan; IFC/AMC

DAYTIME SERIAL

The Young and the Restless, Written by Amanda L. Beall, Tom Casiello, Lisa Connor, Janice Ferri Esser, Eric Freiwald, Jay Gibson, Scott Hamner, Marla Kanelos, Beth Milstein, Natalie Minardi Slater, Melissa Salmons, Linda Schreiber, James Stanley, Sandra Weintraub, Teresa Zimmerman; CBS

CHILDREN'S EPISODIC & SPECIALS

“Welcome to the Jungle” (The Troop), Written by Max Burnett; Nickelodeon

CHILDREN’S SCRIPT – LONG FORM OR SPECIAL

Another Cinderella Story, Written by Erik Patterson, Jessica Scott; ABC Family

DOCUMENTARY – CURRENT EVENTS

“The Madoff Affair” (Frontline), Written by Marcela Gaviria, Martin Smith; PBS

DOCUMENTARY – OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS

“The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer” (American Experience), Written by David Grubin; PBS

NEWS – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN OR BREAKING REPORT

World News with Charles Gibson, Written by Lee Kamlet, Julia Kathan, Joel Siegel; ABC

NEWS – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY

“A Private War: Expose: America’s Investigative Reports” (Bill Moyers Journal), Written by Thomas M. Jennings; PBS

RADIO WINNERS

DOCUMENTARY

2008 Year in Review, Written by Gail Lee; CBS

NEWS – REGULARLY SCHEDULED OR BREAKING

World News This Week − July 11, 2009, Written by Darren Reynolds; ABC Radio

NEWS – ANALYSIS, FEATURE OR COMMENTARY

Paul Harvey: An American Life, Written by Stu Chamberlain; ABC Radio

PROMOTIONAL WRITING AND GRAPHIC ANIMATION WINNERS

ON-AIR PROMOTION (RADIO OR TELEVISION)

“Vegas” (Dateline), “The Wanted” Promo, NBC Nightly News Promo, “Iran” (Dateline), “Cheat” (Dateline), Written by Barry Fitzsimmons; NBC

TELEVISION GRAPHIC ANIMATION

“Hudson Splashdown” (CBS Evening News with Katie Couric), David M. Rosen, Shannon L. Toma; CBS

VIDEOGAME WRITING WINNER

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Written by Amy Hennig; Sony Computer Entertainment


Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy) hosted the West Coast show, which was executive produced by Spike Jones, Jr. Presenters scheduled to appear at the Los Angeles show included: Morgan Freeman, Billy Crystal, Judd Apatow with Jason Segel, Diablo Cody with John Corbett, Ali LeRoi with Chris Rock, David Shore with Hugh Laurie, Jason Alexander, Mila Kunis, Bill Blinn with Billy Dee Williams, Aaron Sorkin with Thomas Schlamme, Sally Sussman Morina with Anthony Morina, Todd J. Greenwald with David Henrie, WGAW President John Wells, and Robin Williams via a special video tribute to Barry Levinson. Host MacFarlane opened the show with a house-rocking production number with back-up singers featuring his version of “Ya Got Trouble” from The Music Man. Also in attendance at the WGAW’s L.A. ceremony were: Meg Ryan, Danny McBride, Cheryl Hines, Kathryn Bigelow, and Lee Daniels.

Susie Essman of Curb Your Enthusiasm hosted the East Coast show, which was executive produced by Craig Shemin, who was also the head writer. Presenters scheduled to appear at the show in New York included: Elisabeth Moss, Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Ana Ortiz, Fred Armisen, Fran Brill and Prairie Dawn, Josh Charles, Stephanie D’Abruzzo, Abby Elliott, Chris Elliott, Edie Falco, Nancy Giles, Don Hastings, Bill Irwin, Marc Lawrence, Elizabeth I. McCann, Bob McGrath, Seth Meyers, Mo Rocca, Wallace Shawn, Jeremy Sisto, Harry Smith, WGAE President Michael Winship, and Senator Al Franken in a special video tribute to honorary award recipient Alan Zweibel. Musical entertainment during the ceremony was provided by the Mark Pender Band featuring LaBamba. Also in attendance were: Tina Fey, Anthony Mackie, Nora Ephron, Michael H. Weber, Tom Fontana, and Terry George.

The Writers Guild of America, West presented special honors to: Larry David – Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television for lifetime achievement; Barry Levinson – Screen Laurel Award for lifetime achievement; Anthony Peckham (Invictus) – Paul Selvin Award, recognizing written work which spotlights constitutional rights and civil liberties; Carl Gottlieb – Morgan Cox Award, honoring longtime Guild service.

The Writers Guild of America, East presented special honors to: Alan Zweibel - Ian McLellan Hunter Lifetime Achievement Award; Gary David Goldberg – Herb Sargent Award for Comedy Excellence; Edward Albee – Evelyn F. Burkey Award for contributions bringing honor and dignity to writers everywhere; David Steven Cohen - Jablow Award for devoted service to the Guild, and Philippa Leverman - John Merriman Award for Study of Broadcast Journalism at American University. In addition, the Writers Guild of America, East Foundation presented the Michael Collyer Memorial Fellowship in Screenwriting to Antal Zambo of Wayne State University.

For more information about the 2010 Writers Guild Awards, please visit www.wga.org or www.wgaeast.org.
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Monday, December 28, 2009

Reitman Delivers: Book Your "Up in the Air" Ticket Now! [Review]


Once in awhile a movie comes along which captivates and entertains on so many levels; a real laugh-out-loud gem! Multi-award winner Up in the Air, is one of those movies. Jason Reitman's (Oscar® nominated director of Juno,) latest brainchild stars Oscar® winner George Clooney as Ryan Bingham, a corporate downsizing expert whose cherished life on the road is threatened just as he is on the cusp of reaching ten million frequent flyer miles and after he's met the frequent-traveler woman of his dreams. Anyone who does alot of flying absolutely must see this movie! You'll be dazzled by the brilliant, fast-paced dialogue and references.

Ryan Bingham is the Organization Man for the 2000s. He never comes to the office. Technically, he doesn't have an office, he has an address where his employer has an office. His life is devoted to visiting other people's offices, and firing them.  The movie opens with interviews of real people who have been fired. “Up in the Air” takes the trust people once had in their jobs and pulls out the rug; a film about the reality of today's world.

“To know me is to fly with me,” Bingham says in an early voice-over, choosing his words, as ever, to sound like an advertising campaign.  Last year, he says, three hundred and twenty-two days were spent travelling, leaving “forty-three miserable days at home,” in Omaha. Now and then, we see his apartment, and it’s just like a hotel suite, minus the personal warmth—no room service, no express checkout, not even a chocolate on the pillow. Bingham seea no purpose nor profit in being at rest. “The slower we move, the faster we die,” he says to a business gathering. “We are not swans. We’re sharks.”

He bumps into his twin soul, Alex played by Vera Farmiga. They get talking in a hotel bar and, before long, they are comparing the contents of their wallets. Not money but credit cards, room keys, memberships, privileges, and points. “I’ll bet it’s huge,” Alex says. “You have no idea,” Bingham replies. He means his tally of air miles, of course, or rather his goal as a miles collector: ten million. He sleeps with Alex that night, but he still can’t divulge the magic number. Alex calls Bingham and confides, “I am the woman you don’t have to worry about. Just think of me as yourself, only with a vagina.” Alex is a fellow-shark. After sex they sit at their laptops and find a common gap in their schedules for the next encounter. Reitman shot the scene from the side showing each opening and closing their laptops in sync with one another. Each becomes a mirror of the other. Bingham and Alex hurl sharp wit at each other like skillfully tossed knives.

Natalie played by multi-award nominee Anna Kendrick has joined the company with a plan to transform the act of termination into an iChat. Rather than travel to another town and fire people, you could stay in one spot and use videoconferencing screens. Bingham is appalled, on two grounds: first, his footloose habits would have to stop, and, second, he does, despite everything, retain some principles—the least you can offer, when you’re destroying a human being, is to do it face to face. Natalie joins Bingham on a string of trips to observe what he does first-hand.

Bingham is both a wise guy and dork. He he tells Natalie, to always stand behind Asians while going through airport security because they wear slip-on shoes, a stereotype he shares in order to facilitate rapid boarding. We are here to make limbo tolerable,” he says of his profession. 

Prior to the two being pulled back to corporate headquarters, Bingham decides to attend the wedding of his sister (Melanie Lynskey), taking Alex as his unexpected date. Bingham has always laughed at love but in this scene we can sense his real emotions beginning to surface.

Up in the Air opened with a kick-ass song and then the score went downhill from there.  I would have accentuated the bleakness of the movie with an austere score by a different composer. The indie guitar plucking was annoying in parts and diluted the intensity.  Hey, its not a big deal if you don't notice it, eh?

Up in the Air is everything a fast-faced paced laugh-out-loud dramadey should be...witty, hilarious, dark, romantic, tugs at your heart-strings and ends ultimately on a tragic high note, if there's such a thing. Clooney, Kendrick and Farmiga are outstanding in their roles. A "must see" movie this holiday season!

Rating: 4 (out of 5 stars)

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Up in the Air official Site

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Streep & Waltz "Up in the Air" on Cloud "Nine"-- 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards Nominations Announced

HOLLYWOOD FOREIGN PRESS ASSOCIATION
2010 G
OLDEN GLOBE AWARDS

The nominations for the Golden Globes – the glitzy awards ceremony that are constantly proclaimed as indicators of where the Oscars might go, even though they’re not really – have been announced, with Up In The Air leading the way.

It has also picked up two nominations for best supporting actress for Anna Kendrick and Vera Farmiga, as well best screenplay. Inglorious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino’s World War Two feature, picked up four nominations including best film, best director and best supporting actor for Christoph Waltz.

Meryl Streep has picked up two nominations for best actress in a musical or comedy for Julie & Julia and It’s Complicated, while Sandra Bullock also scored two with a nomination for best actress in drama The Blind Side and best actress in a comedy or musical for The Proposal.

The Golden Globes will be hosted by Ricky Gervais on Jan. 17 at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.

...and the nominees are:

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Avatar (2009)

Up in the Air (2009/I)


BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Emily Blunt
for The Young Victoria (2009)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Jeff Bridges
for Crazy Heart (2009)

Tobey Maguire for Brothers (2009/I)


BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL


BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE –
COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Sandra Bullock for The Proposal (2009/I)


BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE –
COMEDY OR MUSICAL

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Coraline (2009)


BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Los abrazos rotos (2009)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING
ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

Penélope Cruz
for Nine (2009)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
IN A MOTION PICTURE
Matt Damon for Invictus (2009)

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE

Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker (2008)


BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE


District 9 (2009):
Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell

BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE

Avatar (2009): James Horner, Simon Franglen, Kuk Harrell("I Will See You")

Brothers (2009/I): U2, Bono("Winter")

Crazy Heart (2009): T-Bone Burnett, Ryan Bingham("The Weary Kind")

Everybody's Fine (2009): Paul McCartney("(I Want To) Come Home")

Nine (2009): Maury Yeston("Cinema Italiano")


BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

"Big Love" (2006)

"Dexter" (2006)

"Mad Men" (2007)


BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

Glenn Close for "Damages" (2007)


BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

Simon Baker for "The Mentalist" (2008)

Jon Hamm for "Mad Men" (2007)


BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
"Entourage" (2004)

"Glee" (2009)

"Modern Family" (2006)

"30 Rock" (2006)


BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES–COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Toni Collette for "United States of Tara" (2009)

Tina Fey for "30 Rock" (2006)

Lea Michele for "Glee" (2009)


BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES –
COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Alec Baldwin for "30 Rock" (2006)

Thomas Jane for "Hung" (2009)

Matthew Morrison for "Glee" (2009)


BEST MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Georgia O'Keeffe (2009) (TV)

Grey Gardens (2009) (TV)

Into the Storm (2009) (TV)

Taking Chance (2009) (TV)


BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Joan Allen for Georgia O'Keeffe (2009) (TV)

Jessica Lange for Grey Gardens (2009) (TV)


BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Kevin Bacon
for Taking Chance (2009) (TV)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Jane Adams
for "Hung" (2009)

Jane Lynch for "Glee" (2009)


BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Michael Emerson
for "Lost" (2004)

WINNERS BY MOTION PICTURE DISTRIBUTOR
& TELEVISION NETWORK

MOTION PICTURE DISTRIBUTOR
The Weinstein Company 12
Warner Bros. Pictures 9
Paramount Pictures 7
Sony Pictures Classics 6
Lionsgate 5
Twentieth Century Fox 5
Fox Searchlight Pictures 4
Sony Pictures Releasing 4
Summit Entertainment 4
Universal Pictures 4
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures 4
Focus Features 2
Relativity Media LLC 2
Apparition 1
Elephant Eye Films 1
Miramax Films 1
Oscilloscope Laboratories 1

TELEVISION NETWORK
HBO 17
FOX 6
SHOWTIME 6
NBC 5
CBS 4
LIFETIME TELEVISION 4
ABC 3
AMC 3
FX NETWORKS 3
PBS 3
TNT 1


WINNERS BY MOTION PICTURE
& TELEVISION SERIES OR PROGRAM

MOTION PICTURE
UP IN THE AIR 6
NINE 5
AVATAR 4
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS 4
THE HURT LOCKER 3
INVICTUS 3
IT’S COMPLICATED 3
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE 3
A SINGLE MAN 3
(500) DAYS OF SUMMER 2
BROTHERS 2
CRAZY HEART 2
THE INFORMANT! 2
JULIE & JULIA 2
THE LAST STATION 2
UP 2
BAARIA 1
THE BLIND SIDE 1
BROKEN EMBRACES 1
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 1
CORALINE 1
DISTRICT 9 1
DUPLICITY 1
AN EDUCATION 1
EVERYBODY'S FINE 1
FANTASTIC MR. FOX 1
THE HANGOVER 1
THE LOVELY BONES 1
THE MAID 1
THE MESSENGER 1
THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG 1
A PROPHET 1
THE PROPOSAL 1
A SERIOUS MAN 1
SHERLOCK HOLMES 1
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE 1
THE WHITE RIBBON 1
THE YOUNG VICTORIA 1


WINNERS BY MOTION PICTURE
& TELEVISION SERIES OR PROGRAM

TELEVISION SERIES OR PROGRAM
GLEE 4
30 ROCK 3
BIG LOVE 3
DAMAGES 3
DEXTER 3
GEORGIA O'KEEFFE 3
GREY GARDENS 3
INTO THE STORM 3
MAD MEN 3
ENTOURAGE 2
HOUSE 2
HUNG 2
THE OFFICE 2
TAKING CHANCE 2
TRUE BLOOD 2
CALIFORNICATION 1
THE CLOSER 1
COUGAR TOWN 1
THE COURAGEOUS HEART OF IRENA SENDLER 1
ENDGAME 1
THE GOOD WIFE 1
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER 1
LITTLE DORRIT 1
LOST 1
THE MENTALIST 1
MODERN FAMILY 1
NURSE JACKIE 1
PRAYERS FOR BOBBY 1
UNITED STATES OF TARA 1
WALLANDER: ONE STEP BEHIND 1
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Source: GoldenGlobes.org