It's Oscartown, Jake
A Civil Year
by Kristopher Tapley

It is far too easy to filter everything down to a cinematic year of "political" or "social" statements. Those sentiments are obviously happening on the surface, but the deeper you look, especially within the Academy's Best Picture candidates, the more the focus seems to tighten. More than any year I can think of, this year's nominees are representative of the human experience as it relates to civil interaction and personal relationships.

_________________________

The Weekend Report
by Leonard Klady

Distributors buckled down for movie going erosion as the Super Bowl weekend arrived. Weekend business was arcing toward roughly $108 million or a 16% decline from the prior weekend. However, it also represented a 6% boost from 2005.

For those with long memories, the original When a Stranger Calls with Carol Kane and Charles Durning opened in 1979 and scared up great business and a totally forgettable sequel.
Weekend Estimates (Full List)
Domestic Market Share

The Ultimate DVD Geek
Lady Sings The Blues
by Doug Pratt

What the film does to Holiday's life, Ross does to her music, glossing it over a bit and condensing its artistry while infusing it with pop star glamour. This isn't a bad thing, because what really happened is that it revitalized Holiday's reputation and re-introduced her music to a new generation, while offering a definitive context for that music, the way that all of the best biographical music dramas do. At the same time, the film's success contributed to the deconstruction of the very prejudices it was depicting, proving that a drama glamorizing the African-American experience could attract audiences across the spectrum.

__________________________

MCN DVD Wrap-Up
Bubble

Unless you've been locked in a closet for the last two weeks, you've probably already heard of Bubble. It is the film some fear portends the collapse of film distribution as we've known it for more than 100 years. God forbid. By electing to debut Steven Soderbergh's fragile blue-collar drama simultaneously in select theaters, on HDNet and in video stores, its producers have advanced the day when many, if not all movies will be released day-and-date on several complementary formats.

Plus: Bubble, Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, Captains Courageous, Cimarron, Goldstein, The Good Earth, Hill Street Blues, Johnny Belinda, Kitty Foyle, Lincoln and Lee at Antietam: The Cost of Freedom, Lust for Life, The Pink Panther Film Collection, The Pink Panther Classic Cartoon Collection, Rat Patrol, The Ultimate Lesbian Short Film Festival

20 Weeks To Oscar
Pass, Present And Future
by David Poland

It's the micro/macro Oscars this year.

There will be competition in the tech/craft categories… and there looks to be some intense competition in the top two categories, Best Picture and Best Director. The only high-profile category that is seriously competitive is Best Supporting Actor… and as I recall, that is the second award given out in the evening. So buckle up and try not to fall out of your chair in boredom as you wait the three hours between seeing if George Clooney, Paul Giamatti, or the upset-minded Matt Dillon of Crash wins and finally finding out whether Brokeback Mountain has been backed or broken.
The Oscar Chart

_________________________

Digital Nation
The Oscar Docs
by Gary Dretzka

The Great Snub of 2006 is – the envelope, please -- the elimination of Werner Herzog’s fascinating Grizzly Man, which used the victims’ own tapes to document the events leading up to the horrific deaths of Xtreme naturalists Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard. That the critically lauded film didn’t even make the documentary committee’s short list of 15 titles, announced more than two months ago, ranks right up there with last January’s inexplicable exclusion of Paul Giamatti from the list of nominees for Sideways.

The Gurus offer their first impressions in all the categories... and if this holds up, it's going to be a very predictable night in most of the top categories... Page One Page Two

20 Weeks To Oscar:
Nominations Morning
I Hear You Knocking...
But It's Time To Kick The Door Down Or Just Shut Up
by David Poland

Another big advantage for Brokeback Mountain in the Best Picture race… it will be the highest grosser of all five BP nominees as of some time this week.

Brokeback has to be the presumptive favorite, but I am still of the belief that a strong Phase II campaign for Munich can score the Pianist-style upset, though in Best Picture and Director and not in Best Actor (where it's not nominated).

In the absence of a full-blown push by Universal, the strongest contender to upset Brokeback Mountain will be Crash. Lionsgate will NOT give up on this movie ever again.

Very Few Surprises
In Oscar Nominations

Brokeback Mountain leads with 8 nominations... Crash with 6... Munich pulls out 5 including
Picture/Director/Screenplay.... Terrence Howard grabs a Hustle & Flow nom... Star Wars shockingly left out of EFX category
Full List
By The Numbers
By Film
Fact Sheets
Reactions

Updated throughout the day
Updated: 11:28 pm

The Man Enters The Red Tent For The First Time This Award Season... Qs&As The Way Only Manohla Does

How Do You Help Pay $7 Billion for Pixar? Sell Your Radio Division For $2.7 Billion

Joining The Fray In Discussing Old Media's Most Recent Attack On The Web
Also - Patrick Goldstein & John Horn's Podcasts On The Unvelope

Breznican Rolls A Clerks II J With Silent Bob

Lord Of The Rings The Musical Hits Toronto And The Audience Loves It!

Pellicano Indicted... No Fresh Meat Thrown Into The Mix Though Some Still Anticipated

Disney Rats Out The Name Of Pixar's Next Annual Billion Dollar Movie

Gay Groups Celebrate Brokeback Mountain... But Are These Stories Better News , In Terms Of Oscar Voting, For BBM Or Crash?

Fabrikant Brings Some Much Needed Cynicism To Parade Of Recent Borderline Deals
And - A Videogame Dip Too
Plus - The Western Union Telegram Is No More, Passing Into History After 1555 Years

If Only We Had Known! - "Brad Grey doesn't just need to make movies. He needs to make movies that people want to see."
See The Paper Of Record Carry Brad Grey's Water, Spilling Just Enough To Appear Tough

Mike Russell Delivers The Comic View Of Park City, Literally

Wallace And Gromit Sweep The Feature Awards At The Annies

MGM Starts Planning Its Separation From Sony - With Many Rights, Particularly Home Entertainment Staying With Sony For Another Few Years - Just A Year After The "Merger"
Reported On April 7, 2005 - "The Consortium" More Likely To IPO Or Sell MGM/UA In A Few Years Than Sony Is To Purchase It."

Look For Narnia's Prince Caspian In 2007... But No Back-To-Back Sequels As Originally Projected

Commentary By Gary Dretzka
Earlier - Variety's Double Feature On Buzz/Gossip... Still Trying To Keep The Future From Coming
First, A Story That Fails To Report The Many Times MCN Has Scooped Variety While Falsely Associating Standards Here With Those Of Self-Labeled Gossip Site Defamer, Grossly Misestimating MCN Traffic Figures Based On A Metering Company Owned By VNU Which Is Parent To Another Competing Trade Mag, And While Claiming Journalistic Ethics, Fails to Contact At Least This Trade Outlet Before Making Self-Serving Proclamations
Then, Peter Bart Runs Clearly Inaccurate Gossip In His Column
And By The Way - Stacey Snider & Universal's Non-Denial Of Last Week's Rumors Invariably Means Either Some Specific Truth Or That She Is Leveraging The Buzz Against GE In Renewal Talks... Please Note That MCN Always Labels Gossip As Gossip And Fact As Fact

Oscar's Frontrunning Duo, Crash & Brokeback Mountain, Win WGA Awards

New York Magazine Suck On The Weinstein's Tailpipe... Inhales Deeply

David Reminck Talks Capote With Hoffman
And - The Lipp Sticks The Other Capote Movie Front & Center

The Guardian On Al Gore In Sundance
And - MCN Cameras Have A Different Experience

A Video Chat With The Director Of Sundance Entry Journey From The Fall

The Mystique Of Betty Friedan Passes At 85

RoJo's On The (Long Delayed) Nightwatch

Another Mediocre Movie With Lots Of Graphic Sex? Write About It NOW!

Why A Black Dahlia Story Seven Months Before Release? Beats Us

Geoff Pevere Battles His Way Back From Oscar Ennui

An Early Look At Superbowl Trailers
Cars
Pirates of the Carribbean: Dead
Man's Chest
The Shaggy Dog

The Notorious Bettie Page: The Trailer, The Poster, And The Pin Up

The Bagger On Brokeback And The Other Best Picture Chances

Yes, There Is A Golden Groundhog Award, And Sunnyvale Is The Winner

Ellwood On The Oscar Battle
"Crash is more than a stealth candidate to take the top prize from Brokeback -- it may be the actual front runner."

The Shaggy Dog Superbowl Trailer

Evangelicals Struck By The End Of Chad Allen's Spear And His Willingness To Share It With Men

75 Years Of Karloff

QT/RR Flick Set For Weinsteins

Terry Press' Animated Life Confirmed
And - The Japanese Check Out Of DW

The Hot Rumor Of The Day
Stacey Snider Has Said It Isn't Happening, But The Rumor Persists
Brad Grey Moves Up Corporately, Gail Berman Moves Out, Stacey Snider Moves To Studio Chairmanship
Meanwhile, More Blood Will Be Spilt At Paramount... At Least One Par VP Being Replaced By A DW Assistant... If Snider Rumor Became Fact, More Now Unseen Changes Loom

Miss Crabtree On The CG-Free Animation Nominees

Movie City News Proudly Presents
The Directorial Debut Of Oscar Nominee
Amy Adams

Harry Potter & The Enormous Cash Infusion The WB Needs To Keep Carl Icahn Off Their Ass Commences Production

The Woz, Captain Puig & Super Bowles Handicap The Races

Nikki Finke Returns To The LA Weekly Just In Time To Piss All Over Oscar As Only She (And Perhaps Her Spiritual Twin, Jeff Wells) Can, Will Or Wants To... Making Some Good Points, And Some Grotesque

WGA's Award For Doc Screenplay Goes To Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room

Robert Altman On Stage
"Everything I've learned has come from watching other directors: Bergman, Fellini, Kurosawa, Huston and Renoir."

Paramount Confirms Close Of DW Deal... Couches Story In Imminent Sale Of Library, Which Is The Biggest Danger To Viacoom Stock Price
Yesterday - The Fact : The DreamAmount Deal Closed On Tuesday
The Rumor Wednesday Will Be A Major Pink Slip Day At Paramount, Led By Hits In Marketing & Distribution

The Omen, Which Will Be Released On 6-6-06, But Is Not Called Omen 666 (Or Pennsylvania 6-5000) Has A Teaser Trailer... And When We Say "Tease," We Mean That If You Watch It Your Soul Will Be Eternally Damned

Louis Lumenickus III Says Goodbye To Yet Another Landmark NY Theater (That Has Been Kinda Stanky In Recent Years)

Mathews Handicaps The Oscar Race

The Bagger Breaks Down The Top Categories

Canada's Dry Joy For Crash

A Fine Occar Whine From The NY Observer

Oscar Noms From The Brit View

Why L.A. Doesn't Have Natascha McElhone To Kick Around (Or Stare At) Anymore

If You Went To A Doc Fest In Tahiti, Would You Make It to The Theater?

The Woz On Clooney's Triple Crowning

USC Professor Larry Gross Digs Into The "Year Of The Queer"

More Reactions To Oscar
"Brokeback is going to go all the way, I think. And how could you feel badly about that, being in the company of all these wonderful films this year?"

Digging Into The Powerful Draw of Brokeback Mountain For Some Gay Men

Which Critics Group Is The Best Oscar Predictor Of Them All?

Eugene Hernandez Talks To The Nominated Bossmen