Here Are The 2020 Nominations of the Visual Effects Society


Here are the 2020 nominations of the Visual Effects Society!  The winners will be announced on April 6 and on April 7th!

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature
JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY
Brad Parker
Roma Van Den Bergh
Eric Guaglione
Carlos Monzon
Stefano Pepin
PROJECT POWER
Ivan Moran
Leslie Hough
Joao Sita
Matthew Twyford
Yves Debono
TENET
Andrew Jackson
Mike Chambers
Andrew Lockley
David Lee
Scott Fisher
THE MIDNIGHT SKY
Matt Kasmir
Greg Baxter
Chris Lawrence
Max Solomon
David Watkins
THE WITCHES
Kevin Baillie
Sandra Scott
Sean Konrad
Glenn Melenhorst
Mark Holt

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature
DA 5 BLOODS
Randall Balsmeyer
James Cooper
Watcharachai “Sam” Panichsuk
EXTRACTION
Marko Forker
Lynzi Grant
Craig Wentworth
Olivier Sarda
MANK
Wei Zheng
Peter Mavromates
Simon Carr
James Pastorius
NEWS OF THE WORLD
Roni Rodrigues
Dayaliyah Lopez
Ian Fellows
Andrew Morley
Brandon K. McLaughlin
WELCOME TO CHECHNYA
Ryan Laney
Eugen Bräunig
Maxwell Anderson
Johnny Han
Piers Dennis

Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature
ONWARD
Dan Scanlon
Kori Rae
Sanjay Bakshi
Vincent Serritella
OVER THE MOON
Glen Keane
Gennie Rim
Céline Desrumaux
David Alexander Smith
SOUL
Pete Docter
Dana Murray
Michael Fong
Bill Watral
THE CROODS: A NEW AGE
Joel Crawford
Mark Swift, PGA
Betsy Nofsinger
Jakob Hjort Jensen
TROLLS WORLD TOUR
Walt Dohrn
Gina Shay, PGA
Kendal Cronkhite-Shaindlin
Matt Baer

Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature
DIE KÄNGURU-CHRONIKEN; Kangaroo
Claudius Urban
Sebastian Badea
Dorian Knapp
Ruth Wiegand
JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY; Don Juan Diego
Eric Guaglione
Shuchi Singhal
Adrien Annesley
Mahmoud Ellithy
THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN; Ivan
Valentina Rosselli
Thomas Huizer
Andrea De Martis
William Bell
THE WITCHES; Daisy
Jye Skinn
Sarah Fuller
Marco Iannaccone
Fredrik Sundqvist

Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature
ONWARD; Dad Pants
Kristopher Campbell
Jonas Jarvers
Rob Jensen
Jacob Kuenzel
OVER THE MOON; Chang’e
Siggi Orri Thorhannesson
Hyesook Kim
Javier Solsona
Alan Chen
SOUL; Terry
Jonathan Hoffman
Jonathan Page
Peter Tieryas
Ron Zorman
THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE ON THE RUN; SpongeBob
Jacques Daigle
Guillaume Dufief
Adrien Montero
Liam Hill

Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal Feature
BLOODSHOT: Neuralspace
Arnaud Brisebois
Patrick Bacon
Dawid Borkiewicz
Gérôme Viavant
MULAN; Imperial City
Jeremy Fort
Matt Fitzgerald
Ben Walker
Adrian Vercoe
THE EIGHT HUNDRED; 1937 Shanghai Downtown
Stefano Cieri
Aaron Auty
Simon Carlile
Patrick Zentis
THE EIGHT HUNDRED; Shanghai Warehouse District
Jamie Macdougall
Julian Hutchens
Mark Honer
David Pekarek

Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature
ONWARD; Swamp Gas
Eric Andraos
Laura Grieve
Nick Pitera
Michael Rutter
SOUL; You Seminar
Hosuk Chang
Sungyeon Joh
Peter Roe
Frank Tai
TROLLS WORLD TOUR; Techno Reef
Luke Heathcock
Zachary Glynn
Marina Ilic
Michael Trull
TROLLS WORLD TOUR; Volcano Rock City
Brian LaFrance
Sara Cembalisty
Christopher Sprunger
Ruben Perez

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a CG Project
GHOST OF TSUSHIMA; A Storm is Coming
Aladino Debert
Matt Dougan
Eric Beaver
David Liu
SOUL
Matt Aspbury
Ian Megibben
THE MANDALORIAN; The Believer
Richard Bluff
Matt Jensen
Chris Williams
Landis Fields IV
THE MANDALORIAN; The Siege
Dave Crispino
Kyle Winkelman
Paul Kavanagh
Jose Burgos

Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project
THE MANDALORIAN; Boba Fett’s Ship
Jay Machado
Enrico Damm
Gerald Blaise
Ryan Church
THE MANDALORIAN; The Rescue; Light Cruiser
John Knoll
John Goodson
Dan Patrascu
Rene Garcia
THE MIDNIGHT SKY; Aether
Michael Balthazart
Jonathan Opgenhaffen
John-Peter Li
Simon Aluze
THE WITCHES; Rollercoaster
Jared Michael
Peter Dominik
Sylvain Lesaint
Emily Tilson

Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature
BLOODSHOT
Omar Meradi
Jeremy Poupin
Sylvain Robert
Deak Ferrand
GREYHOUND
Mike Nixon
Nicholas Papworth
Jeremy Smith
Yashdeep Sawant
MONSTER HUNTER
Vimal Mallireddy
Warren Lawtey
Tom O’Bready
Dominik Haase
MULAN
Theo Vandernoot
Sandra Balej
James Carson
Yuri Rudakov
PROJECT POWER
Yin Lai Jimmy Leung
Jonathan Edward Lyddon-Towl
Pierpaolo Navarini
Michelle Lee

Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature
ONWARD
Dave Hale
Jonah Blue Laird
Stephen Marshall
Ricardo Nadu
OVER THE MOON
Ian Farnsworth
Brian Casper
Reinhold Rittinger
Jennifer Lasrado
SOUL
Alexis Angelidis
Keith Daniel Klohn
Aimei Kutt
Melissa Tseng
TROLLS WORLD TOUR
Stephen Wood
Carl Hooper
Spencer Knapp
Nick Augello
THE WILLOUGHBYS
Helén Ahlberg
Kyle McQueen
Russell Smith
Raehyeon Kim

Outstanding Compositing in a Feature
GREYHOUND
Chris Gooch
Tiago Santos
Stu Bruzek
Sneha Amin
MULAN
Christoph Salzmann
Beck Veitch
Joerg Bruemmer
Indah Maretha
PROJECT POWER
Russell Horth
Matthew Patience
Julien Rousseau
UNDERWATER
Sreejith Venugopalan
Ruslan Borysov
Susil Sabat
Andreas Andersson

Here Are The 2020 Nominees of the Cinema Audio Society!


Earlier today, the Cinema Audio Society announced their nominees for the best sound mixing of 2020!  Now, you may be wondering what the difference is between sound mixing and sound editing and, unfortunately, not a lot of people (outside of the people who actually work in the audio industry) can tell you.  That’s one reason why the Academy decided to combine Sound Mixing and Sound Editing into one category a year — which is a shame because, even though I’m hardly an expert on them, I do know that they are two separate things!

Anyway, here are the film nominees.  The winners will be announced on April 17th!

Motion Pictures – Live Action
“Greyhound”
Production Mixer – David Wyman CAS
Re-Recording Mixer – Michael Minkler CAS
Re-Recording Mixer – Christian Minkler CAS
Re-Recording Mixer – Richard Kitting
Re-Recording Mixer – Beau Borders CAS
Scoring Mixer – Greg Hayes
Foley Mixer – George A. Lara CAS
“Mank”
Production Mixer – Drew Kunin
Re-Recording Mixer – Ren Klyce
Re-Recording Mixer – David Parker
Re-Recording Mixer – Nathan Nance
Scoring Mixer – Alan Meyerson CAS
ADR Mixer – Charleen Richards-Steeves
Foley Mixer – Scott Curtis
“News of the World”
Production Mixer – John Patrick Pritchett CAS
Re-Recording Mixer – Mike Prestwood Smith
Re-Recording Mixer – William Miller
Scoring Mixer – Shawn Murphy
ADR Mixer – Mark DeSimone CAS
Foley Mixer – Adam Fil Méndez CAS
“Sound of Metal”
Production Mixer – Phillip Bladh CAS
Re-Recording Mixer – Nicolas Becker
Re-Recording Mixer – Jaime Baksht
Re-Recording Mixer – Michelle Couttolenc
ADR Mixer – Carlos Cortez Navarrette
Foley Mixer – Kari Vähäkuopus
“The Trial of the Chicago 7”
Production Mixer – Thomas Varga CAS
Re-Recording Mixer – Julian Slater CAS
Re-Recording Mixer – Michael Babcock CAS
Scoring Mixer – Daniel Pemberton
ADR Mixer – Justin W. Walker
Foley Mixer – Kevin Schultz

Motion Pictures – Animated
“A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon”
Dialogue & ADR Mixer – Dom Boucher
Re-Recording Mixer – Chris Burdon
Re-Recording Mixer – Gilbert Lake
Re-Recording Mixer – Adrian Rhodes
Scoring Mixer – Alan Meyerson CAS
Foley Mixer – Ant Bayman
“Onward”
Original Dialogue Mixer – Vincent Caro CAS
Original Dialogue Mixer – Doc Kane CAS
Re-Recording Mixer – Michael Semanick CAS
Re-Recording Mixer – Juan Peralta
Scoring Mixer – Brad Haehnel
Foley Mixer – Scott Curtis
“Soul”
Original Dialogue Mixer – Vincent Caro CAS
Re-Recording Mixer – Ren Klyce
Re-Recording Mixer – David Parker
Scoring Mixer – Atticus Ross
Scoring Mixer – David Boucher CAS
ADR Mixer – Bobby Johanson CAS
Foley Mixer – Scott Curtis
“The Croods: A New Age”
Original Dialogue Mixer – Tighe Sheldon
Re-Recording Mixer – Christopher Scarabosio CAS
Re-Recording Mixer – Leff Lefferts
Scoring Mixer – Alan Meyerson CAS
Foley Mixer – Richard Duarte
Foley Mixer – Scott Curtis
“Trolls World Tour”
Original Dialogue Mixer – Tighe Sheldon
Re-Recording Mixer – Scott Millan CAS
Re-Recording Mixer – Paul Hackner
Scoring Mixer – Christopher Fogel CAS
Foley Mixer – Randy K. Singer CAS

Motion Pictures – Documentary
“David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet”
Re-Recording Mixer – Graham Wild
Scoring Mixer – Gareth Cousins CAS
“My Octopus Teacher”
Re-Recording Mixer – Barry Donnelly
Foley Mixer – Charl Mostert
“The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart”
Re-Recording Mixer – Gary A. Rizzo CAS
Re-Recording Mixer – Jeff King
“The Social Dilemma”
Production Mixer – Mark A. Crawford
Re-Recording Mixer – Scott R. Lewis
Scoring Mixer – Mark Venezia
Foley Mixer – Jason Butler
“Zappa”
Production Mixer – Monty Buckles
Re-Recording Mixer – Marty Zub CAS
Re-Recording Mixer – Lon Bender

Lisa Reviews An Oscar Nominee: The Guns of Navarone (dir by J. Lee Thompson)


The Oscar nominations are finally due to be announced on March 15th and the Oscars themselves are scheduled to be awarded at the end of April.  In anticipation of the big event (and the end of this current lengthy awards season), I am going to spend the next two months watching and reviewing Oscar nominees of the past.  Some day, I hope to be able to say that I have watched and reviewed every single film nominated for Best Picture.  It’s a mission that, with each passing year, I come a little bit closer to acomplishing.

Tonight, I decided to start things off by watching the 1961 best picture nominee, The Guns of Navarone.

The Guns of Navarone takes place in 1943, during World War II.  2,000 British troops are stranded on the Greek island of Kheros and the Nazis are planning on invading the island in a show of force that they hope will convince Turkey to join the Axis powers.  The Allies need to evacuate those troops before the Nazis invade.  The problem is that, on the nearby island of Navarone, there are two massive guns that can shoot down any plane that flies over and sink any ship that sails nearby.  If the British soldiers are to be saved, the guns are going to have to be taken out.

Everyone agrees that it’s a suicide mission.  Even if a commando team manages to avoid the patrol boats and the German soldiers on the island, reaching the guns requires scaling a cliff that is considered to be nearly unclimbable.  Still, the effort has to be made.  Six men are recruited to do the impossible.  Leading the group is Major Roy Franklin (Anthony Quayle), a natural-born leader who is described as having almost supernatural luck.  Franklin’s second-in-command is Keith Mallory (Gregory Peck), an American spy who speaks several languages and who is an expert mountain climber.  Spyros Pappadimos (James Darren) and Butcher Brown (Stanley Baker) are both assigned to the team because they have fearsome reputations as killers, though it quickly becomes clear that only one of them kills for enjoyment.  Colonel Stavrou (Anthony Quinn) is a member of the defeated Greek army and he has a complicated past with Mallory.  Finally, Corporal Miller (David Niven) is a chemistry teacher-turned-explosive expert.  Waiting for the men on the island are two members of the Resistance, Spyros’s sister Maria (Irene Papas) and her friend, Anna (Gia Scala).  The mission, not surprisingly, the mission doesn’t go as planned.  There’s violence and betrayal and not everyone makes it to the end.  But everyone knows that, as tired as they are of fighting, the mission cannot be abandoned.

The Guns of Navarone was a huge box office success when it was originally released, which probably has a lot to do with it showing up as a best picture nominee.  It’s an entertaining film and, watching it, it’s easy to see how it served as a prototype for many of the “teams on a mission” action films that followed.  Though none of the characters are exactly deeply drawn, that almost doesn’t matter when you’ve got a cast that includes actors like Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, and David Niven.  At it best, the film works as a triumph of old-fashioned movie star charisma.  Peck is upright and determined to do whatever needs to be done to get the job done.  Quinn is tempermental and passionate.  David Niven is cynical, witty, and very, very British.  Quayle, Darren, and especially Stanley Baker provide strong support.  Before Sean Connery got the role, Stanley Baker was a strong contender for James Bond and, watching this film, you can see why.

Seen today, there’s not a lot that’s surprising about The Guns of Navarone.  It’s simply a good adventure film, one that occasionally debates the morality of war without forgetting that the audience is mostly watching to see the bad guys get blown up.  Some of the action scenes hold up surprisingly well.  The scene where the team is forced to deal with a German patrol boat is a particular stand-out.

The Guns of Navarone was nominated for 7 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.  Though it lost the top prize to West Side Story, The Guns of Navarone still won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects.

Here Are The Golden Reel Nominations!


For those of you who are really, really determined to make an informed choice when making your Oscar predictions, here are the Golden Reel nominations!  The Golden Reels are awarded by Motion Picture Sound Editors and, as you can probably guess, it’s meant to honor the best sound editing of the year.

(Of course, this year, the Academy has combined Sound Editing and Sound Mixing into one category.)

The nominations are below!  The winners — which will undoubtedly include Sound of Metal — will be announced on April 18th!

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Feature Animation
“The Croods: A New Age”
DreamWorks
Supervising Sound Editors: Brian Chumney, Leff Lefferts
Sound Designer: Randy Thom, MPSE
Supervising Music Editor: Dominick Certo, MPSE
Dialogue Editor: Jonathan Greber
Sound Effects Editors: Pascal Garneau, Mac Smith
Foley Editors: Doug Winningham, Dee Selby
Foley Artists: John Roesch, MPSE; Shelley Roden, MPSE; Ronni Brown, Jana Vance
“Onward”
Disney / Pixar
Supervising Sound Editor: Shannon Mills
Sound Designer: Nia Hansen
Sound Effects Editors: Samson Neslund, Kimberly Patrick, David C. Hughes, Josh Gold
Supervising Dialogue Editor: Chris Gridley
Foley Editors: Christopher Flick, Steve Orlando
Foley Artists: John Roesch, MPSE; Shelley Roden, MPSE
Music Editor: Erich Stratmann
“Over the Moon”
Netflix
Supervising Sound Editors: Qianbaihui Yang, MPSE; Jeremy Bowker
Dialogue Editors: James Spencer, Brad Semenoff
Foley Editors: Dee Selby, Chris Frazier, Larry Oatfield, Alyssa Nevarez
Foley Artists: Ronni Brown, Jana Vance
Music Editor: Bradley Farmer
“Soul”
Disney
Supervising Sound Editor: Coya Elliott
Sound Effects Editors: Kimberly Patrick, Steve Orlando, Jonathan Stevens
Supervising Dialogue Editor: Cheryl Nardi
Sound Designer: Ren Klyce
Foley Editor Thom Brennan
Foley Artists: John Roesch, MPSE; Shelley Roden, MPSE; Dee Selby
“Wolfwalkers”
Apple TV Plus
Supervising Sound Editors: Christine Seznec, Sebastien Marquilly, Bruno Seznec
Sound Effects Editors: Baptiste Bouche, Felix Davin, Alexandre Fleurant, Axel Steichen
Dialogue Editor: Anne-Lyse Haddak
Foley Editor: Stéphane Werner
Foley Artist: Florian Fabre

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Feature Documentary
“Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart”
HBO Documentary Films
Supervising Sound Editor: Jonathan Greber
Sound Effects Editor: Pascal Garneau
“Crip Camp”
Netflix
Supervising Sound Editor: Jacob Bloomfield-Misrach
Dialogue Editor: Greg Francis
Sound Designers: Bijan Sharifi, William Sammons, James LeBrecht
“John Lewis: Good Trouble”
Magnolia Pictures
Sound Effects Editor: Richard Gould
Sound Designer: Christopher Barnett
“My Octopus Teacher”
Netflix
Supervising Sound Editor: Barry Donnelly
Foley Artist: Charl Mostert
“The Reason I Jump”
Vulcan Productions
Sound Effects Editors: Laurence Love Greed, Alexej Mungersdorff, Jack Wensley
Dialogue Editor: Jamie McPhee
Foley Editor: Srdjan Kurpjel
“Rebuilding Paradise”
National Geographic
Sound Effects Editors: David Hughes, Richard Gould
Sound Designer: Christopher Barnett
“The Social Dilemma”
Netflix
Supervising Sound Editor: Richard Gould
Dialogue Editor: James Spencer
Foley Artist: Andrea Gard
“Zappa”
Magnolia Pictures
Supervising Sound Editor: Lon Bender, MPSE
Dialogue Editors: Ryan Owens, George Anderson, Nick Pavey
Sound Effects Editors: Alex Nomick, P. Daniel Newman, Chris Kahwaty, MPSE

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Foreign Language Feature
“Bacurau”
Globo Filmes
Supervising Sound Editor: Ricardo Cutz Gaudenzi
Dialogue Editor: Victor Quintanilha
Sound Effects Editor: Matheus Miguens
Foley Editor: Rafael Faustino
Foley Artist: Pedro Coelho
“The Eight Hundred”
CMC Pictures
Supervising Sound Designer and Editor: Kang Fu
Sound Effects Editor: Steve Miller
Dialogue Editor: Ai Long Tan
Music Editor: Fei Yu
“I’m No Longer Here”
Netflix
Supervising Sound Editor: Javier Umpierrez
Dialogue Editor: Juan Sosa Rosell
Foley Editor: Lía Perez
Foley Artist: Marisela Suárez
Music Editor: Javier Umpierrez
“Jallikattu”
Opus Penta
Supervising Sound Editor: Ranganath Ravee
Sound Effects Editors: Sreejith Sreenivasan, Boney M. Joy, Arun Rama Varma, MPSE
Foley Artists: Amandeep Singh, Mohammad Iqbal Paratwada
“The Life Ahead”
Netflix
Supervising Sound Designer and Editor: Maurizio Argentieri
Dialogue Editor: Riccardo Righini
Foley Artist: Mauro Eusepi

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Feature Underscore
“The Invisible Man”
Universal Pictures
Supervising Music Editor: Brett “Snacky” Pierce
Music Editor: Devaughn Watts
“The Midnight Sky”
Netflix
Supervising Music Editor: Michael Alexander
Scoring Editor: Peter Clarke, MPSE
“News of the World”
Universal Pictures
Supervising Music Editor: Arabella Winter
Music Editors: David Olson, Jim Weidman
“Sound of Metal”
Amazon
Supervising Music Editor: Carolina Santana
Scoring Editors: Nicolas Becker, Abraham Marder
“Tenet”
Warner Bros.
Supervising Music Editor: Alex Gibson
Music Editor: Nicholas Fitzgerald
“The Trial of the Chicago 7”
Netflix
Music Editor: Allegra de Souza
“Wonder Woman 1984”
Warner Bros.
Supervising Music Editors: Gerard McCann, Ryan Rubin
Music Editors: Timeri Duplat, Michael Connell
Scoring Editors: Chris Barrett, Adam Miller, Alfredo Pasquel

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Feature Musical
“Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of the Fire Saga”
Netflix
Music Editors: Allegra De Souza, Peter Oso Snell, MPSE; Jon Mooney
“The High Note”
Focus Features
Music Editor: Louis Schultz
“I Am Woman”
Transmission Films
Supervising Music Editor: Stuart Morton, MPSE
Music Editors: Bry Jones, Michael Tan
“The Forty-Year-Old Version”
Netflix
Music Editor: Lightchild
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Netflix
Supervising Music Editor: Todd Kasow
Music Editor: Tim Marchiafava
“The Prom”
Netflix
Music Editors: David Klotz, Nick Baxter

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Feature Dialogue/ADR
“Emperor”
Sobini Films
Supervising Sound Editors: Glenn Morgan, D. Chris Smith
Dialogue Editors: Robert Jackson
“Greyhound”
Apple TV Plus
Supervising Sound Editors: Michael Minkler, Warren Shaw, Will Digby, MPSE
Supervising ADR Editor: Dave McMoyler
Dialogue Editors: Michelle Pazer, David Tichauer, Paul Carden
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Netflix
Supervising Sound Editors: Paul Urmson, Skip Lievsay, MPSE
Supervising ADR Editor: Lidia Tamplenizza
Dialogue Editors: Michael Feuser
“Mank”
Netflix
Supervising Sound Editors: Ren Klyce, Jeremy Molod
Supervising ADR Editor: Richard Quinn
Dialogue Editors: Kim Foscato, Lisa Chino, Cameron Barker
“News of the World”
Universal Pictures
Supervising Sound Editor: Oliver Tarney, MPSE
Supervising Dialogue Editor: Rachael Tate, MPSE
Supervising ADR Editor: Anna MacKenzie
“Nomadland”
Searchlight Pictures
Supervising Sound Editors: Sergio Diaz, MPSE; Zach Seivers, MPSE
“Sound of Metal”
Amazon
Supervising Sound Editor: Nicolas Becker
Supervising ADR Editor: Carolina Santana
Dialogue Editor: Michelle Couttolenc
“The Trial of the Chicago 7”
Netflix
Supervising Sound and ADR Editor: Renee Tondelli
Dialogue Editors: Michael Hertlein, MPSE; Jeena Schoenke, Jon Michaels

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Feature Effects/Foley
“Cherry”
Apple TV Plus
Supervising Sound Editor: Mark Binder, MPSE
Sound Effects Editors: Donald Flick, Michael Gilbert, Matthew Coby
“Greyhound”
Apple TV Plus
Supervising Sound Editors: Warren Shaw, Michael Minkler, Will Digby, MPSE
Sound Designers: Ann Scibelli, Jon Title
Sound Effects Editors: Jeff Sawyer, Richard Kitting, Odin Benitez, MPSE; Jason King
Foley Editor: Luke Gibleon
Foley Artist: Marko Costanzo
“The Midnight Sky”
Netflix
Supervising Sound Editors: Bjørn Schroeder, Randy Thom
Sound Designer: Kyrsten Mate
Sound Effects Editor: Leff Lefferts
Foley Editor: Nicholas Docter
Foley Artists: John Roesch, Shelley Roden
“News of the World”
Universal Pictures
Supervising Sound Editor: Oliver Tarney
Sound Designer: Mike Fentum
Sound Effects Editors: Kevin Penney, Dawn Gough
Foley Editor: Hugo Adams
Foley Artists: Sue Harding, Andrea King, Oliver Ferris
“Sound of Metal”
Amazon
Supervising Sound Editor: Nicolas Becker
Sound Effects Editor: Carolina Santana
Foley Editor: Pietu Korhonen
Foley Artist: Heikke Kossi
“Tenet”
Warner Bros.
Supervising Sound Editor: Richard King
Sound Effects Editors: Michael W. Mitchell, Joseph Fraioli, Mark Larry
Foley Editors: Bruce Tanis, MPSE; Angela Ang
Foley Artists: Catherine Harper, MPSE; John Roesch, MPSE; Katie Rose, Alyson Dee Moore, Chris Moriana, Shelley Roden, MPSE; Dan O’Connell, John Cucci, MPSE
“Wonder Woman 1984”
Warner Bros.
Supervising Sound Editor: Richard King, Jimmy Boyle
Sound Effects Editors: Rowan Watson, Michael Babcock, Jeff Sawyer
Foley Editors: Kevin Penney, Lily Blazewicz
Foley Artists: Peter Burgess, Zoe Freed

Sound Effects Editor: Lucas MillerOutstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Non-Theatrical Feature
“Bad Education”
HBO
Supervising Sound Editor: Gene Park
Sound Effects Editor: Ric Schnupp
Dialogue Editor: Craig Kyllonen
ADR Editor: Colin Alexander, MPSE
Music Editor: Shari Johanson, MPSE
“Bliss”
Amazon
Supervising Sound Editors: Steve Boeddeker, Lee Salevan
Dialogue Editor: Michael Feuser
ADR Editor: Lidia Tamplenizza
Foley Editor: Igor Nikolić
Foley Artist: Jay Peck
“Blow the Man Down”
Amazon
Supervising Sound Editor: Chris Foster
Dialogue Editors: Matt Rigby, Michael Flannery
ADR Editors: John Bowen, Nora Linde
Foley Editor: Laura Heinzinger
Music Editor: Brian McOmber
“The Bygone”
Tubi
Supervising Sound Editor: David Barber, MPSE
Sound Effects Editors: Ben Zarai, Roland Thai, MPSE; George Haddad, MPSE; Dave Eichhorn
Foley Editor: Michael Kreple
Foley Artists: Gonzalo “Bino” Espinoza, David Kitchens, MPSE
“Christmas On the Square”
Netflix
Supervising Sound Editor: Trip Brock, MPSE
Supervising ADR Editor: Jacob Ortiz, MPSE
Sound Effects Editor: Raymond Park, MPSE
Dialogue Editors: Jackie Johnson, Bruce Stubblefield
Supervising Music Editors: Marc S. Perlman, MPSE; Michael T. Ryan, MPSE
Music Editor: Tom Ruttledge, Michael Farrow
“Safety”
Disney
Supervising Sound Editors: Christopher S. Aud, MPSE; Byron Wilson
Sound Effects Editors: Phil Barrie, Greg ten Bosch, MPSE; Aaron Glascock
Dialogue Editor: Daniel Saxlid, MPSE
Foley Editor: Terry Rodman, MPSE
Supervising Music Editor: Steve Durkee
“Troop Zero”
Amazon
Supervising Sound Editors: Erin Oakley, Sean McCormick
Sound Effects Editors: Paul Pirola, Andrew Neil, Dylan Barfield
Dialogue Editors: Robert Chen, Will Riley, MPSE
Foley Editor: Troy Mauri
Foley Artist: Adrian Medhurst
“The Ultimate Playlist of Noise”
Hulu
Supervising Sound Editor: Odin Benitez, MPSE
Supervising ADR Editor: Ryan Briley
Sound Designer: Russell Topal, MPSE
Foley Editor: Rustam Gimadlyev
Foley Artists: Bogdan Zavarzin, Natalia Syeryakova
Music Editor: Katerina Tolkishevskaya

The Oscars: Must The Show Go On?


Ever since the COVID lockdowns started roughly 12 months ago ago, there have been people saying that we should cancel all of the big events that usually define the year. Sometimes, the argument has been that it’s just simply gauche to celebrate or indulge in sort of distraction while the world is suffering.   Other times the argument has been that doing anything other than staying inside and feeling miserable will lead to a superspreader event.  Over the past 12 months, there have been efforts to cancel everything from football and baseball to Halloween and Christmas.

My response to these efforts has always been to proudly yell, “No! People need some sort of normalcy, now more than ever!   Traditions are important and we all need something to look forward to. The show must go on!” Even though I’m not into football, I was happy that the regular NFL season went forward as scheduled.  I was happy that, even with everything going on, there was at least a Super Bowl.  Even though I’ve never cared that much about the Emmys, I was still glad that they made it a point to hold some sort of ceremony.   And when it comes to Oscars, I’ve been looking forward to them for a year now. The show must go on, right?

Indeed, ever since the lockdown started, I’ve been saying that the show must go on.  It’s a belief in which my faith was unwavering.

Until last night.

Last night, I watched The Golden Globes and, as I’ve already said on this site, it was an amazingly depressing experience. While I knew that the Globes would be different this year and there would undoubtedly be a few awkward moments, nothing could have prepared for me for just how terrible last night’s show truly was. The entire show felt weird and creepy and vaguely dystopian.  Even the jokes about the HFPA’s lack of diversity and the nominations for stuff like Music and Emily In Paris felt less like speaking truth to power and more like officially sanctioned dissent, delivered in smarmy fashion by officially approved messengers.  It felt like watching a carefully rehearsed roast of a corrupt politician, where all of the jokes are carefully written so that the subject of them can later say, “See, I can laugh at myself!” in between looting the treasury and putting dissidents in prison.  It was depressing not just because it reflected what’s currently going on in the world but also because it seemed to indicate what we had to look forward to in the future.

Awards show have always been vapid, of course. For the most part, the humor has always been smarmy and self-congratulatory.   (There’s a reason why Ricky Gervais will probably never be invited back to host another Golden Globes ceremony.)   The political statements have always lacked self-awareness.  The winners have often been regrettable. But, in the past, we could at least focus on the glamour.  We could distract ourselves with the clothes and the hair and the gossip.  There was no glamour last night.  There was just an overwhelming blandness.

Traditionally, the Golden Globes are the “fun” awards ceremony so, if the Golden Globes were that bad, can you imagine what the Oscars are going to be like?  The Oscars, after all, are the staid and, at times, painfully formal ceremony.  If the Globes represent your shady, self-destructive, but always unpredictable uncle, the Oscars represent the rich uncle who awkwardly shows up at the annual family reunion out of a sense of obligation and who never seems to be having as much fun as he should.  (That said, you’re still always happy to see him and you know you’ll miss him if he ever stops coming.)  If the Globes were that depressing, it’s frightening to imagine the depths of despair to which the Oscars could potentially descend.

It’s enough to make you wonder whether the show must really go on!  I mean, technically, there’s really no need to have a big Oscar ceremony.   The show gets terrible ratings, with less and less people watching each year.  In fact, it’s only a few of us awards fanatics who really care about the ceremony.  One could just as easily post the names of the winners online and then everyone could just upload their acceptance speeches to YouTube, where people like me could watch the speeches we care about and ignore the rest.  At this point, even those of who love the show understand that it’s rare that the best films actually win.  The appeal of the Oscars is not really to be found in the results of the contest.  Instead, the appeal of the Oscars has always been the glamour of the ceremony.  If there’s no glamour, what’s the point?  One could just as easily take the money that’s usually spent on the ceremony and instead donate it to the communities that are still recovering from last month’s winter storm.

It’s a legitimate question.  Must the show go on?

Despite the way that I found my faith wavering last night, I still ultimately think that the show should go on. I still believe that, psychologically, it’s important to have some sort of normalcy.   I think that if the world could survive the lack of good Super Bowl commercials, it should be able to survive the Oscars.  But, seriously, let’s hope that the Oscar producers learned something from last night’s disastrous ceremony. Let’s hope that the producers give some serious thought to what went wrong for the Globes and that they make an effort not to repeat the same mistakes.  Somehow, the Oscars have to keep glamour alive.  They can’t repeat the mistake of the Golden Globes of allowing themselves to just become a tepid zoom conference call.  The Oscars are many things, both good and bad.  But they should never be depressing.

This year, Steven Soderbergh is one of the Oscar producers and, while I’m not really a huge fan of some of his more recent films, I think he does understand the importance of glitz and glamour.  (Let’s hope we get the Ocean’s 11 Soderbergh as opposed to the Soderbergh who makes self-indulgent Meryl Streep films.)  I’m looking to you, Steven Soderbergh, with hope in my eyes.  Don’t let me down.

Because, in the end …. THE SHOW MUST GO ON!

 

The Shattered Lens Live Tweets The Golden Globes


It turns out that Patrick had the right idea.  Jeff, Leonard, Case, and I watched the Golden Globes tonight and it was seriously the most depressing awards show that I can remember.  The tables were largely empty and Amy Poehler and Tina Fey’s attempts at humor felt forced and awkward.  The constant bragging about the amount of money that the show was raising for charity felt like an attempt to deflect from all of the negative publicity that the HFPA has received over the past few weeks.  Nothing about the show felt right.

The winners accepted from home.  I enjoyed seeing Eugene Levy’s house.  It’s a very nice house.  But it still felt, to use that familiar term again, forced and awkward.  Even the surprise winners — and there were more than a few — could do little to alleviate the gloomy feel of the show.  At a time when we could use a little glamour, the Golden Globes were subdued and painful.  One can only imaging how painful the Oscars are going to be.

Here’s a few tweets from tonight:

Here Are The Golden Globe Winners!


Supporting Actor, Motion Picture — Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah

Supporting Actor, Television — John Boyega, Small Axe

Actress, TV Music or Comedy — Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek

Motion Picture, Animated — Soul

Actor, TV Limited Series or Movie — Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much Is True

Screenplay, Motion Picture — Aaron Sorkin, The Trial of the Chicago 7

Actress, TV Series, Drama — Emma Corrin, The Crown

Original Song, Motion Picture — lo Si, The Life Ahead

Original Score, Motion Picture — Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Jon Batiste, Soul

Actor, TV Series, Musical or Comedy — Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso

TV Series, Musical or Comedy — Schitt’s Creek

Actress. Musical or Comedy Film — Rosamund Pike, I Care A Lot

Actor, TV Series, Drama — Josh O’Connor, The Crown

Foreign Language Film — Minari

TV Series, Drama — The Crown

Supporting Actress, Film — Jodie Foster, The Mauritanian

Supporting Actress, TV Drama — Gillian Anderson, The Crown

Actress, TV Limited Series or Made-For-Television Film — Anya Taylor-Joy, The Queen’s Gambit

Limited Series or TV Movie — The Queen’s Gambit

Actor, Motion Picture Drama — Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Director, Motion Picture — Chloe Zhao, Nomadland

Motion Picture Comedy — Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Actor, Motion Picture Comedy — Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Actress, Motion Picture Drama — Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holliday

Motion Picture Drama — Nomadland

Film Review: The Little Things (dir by John Lee Hancock)


Rami Malek and Jared Leto In The Little Things

Since it’s due to leave HBOMax at the end of the day and since HBOMax isn’t exactly cheap, I decided that I should go ahead and watch The Little Things, the serial killer thriller that has been getting some unexpected Oscar buzz due to the performance of Jared Leto.

Taking place in the 90s, The Little Things follows two cops as they investigate a series of murders.  Deacon (Denzel Washington) is the former hotshot homicide detective who, back in the day, allowed his obsession with an unsolved murder to destroy his life. He lost not only his wife but also nearly his life.  Now, he’s a small town deputy who is still haunted by the cases that he didn’t solve.  Jim (Rami Malek) is the detective who has picked up where Deacon left off.  Deacon is haunted and unable to move on.  Jim is young and cocky and obviously doomed to repeat all of Deacon’s mistakes.  At first, Jim doesn’t want to work with Deacon and Deacon seems to be a little bit skeptical of Jim’s abilities.  Eventually, though, they bond over their mutual righteousness.  Jim is the type of who reminds the crime scene technicians that they’re working for the victim.  Deacon is the type who muses about whether or not God has abandoned humanity.  On the one hand, we should be thankful that they’re good at their job.  On the other hand, you wouldn’t necessarily want to invite either of them to a party.

Deacon and Jim’s investigation leads them to a suspect named Sparma (Jared Leto) and you know that he’s a bad dude as soon as you learn that his name is “Sparma.”  It sounds like too much of a mix of sperm and pharma for this guy to be anything other than dangerous.  Sparma is an appliance repairman with unwashed hair, a permanent smirk on his face, and a disconcerting history of confessing to crimes that he didn’t actually commit.  Jim and Deacon both think that Sparma is guilty but can they prove it?  How far will they go to take a possible killer off the streets?

Jared Leto is certainly creepy as Sparma.  In fact, I think you could probably argue that he’s a little bit too obviously creepy and unhinged in the role. Most real life serial killers — especially the ones who manage to kill for years without being detected — are able to blend in with society. Consider the cases of killers like Gary Ridgway, the Green River killer who avoided capture for nearly three decades, or Dennis Rader, the infamous BTK killer.  While it’s true that everyone in his hometown apparently thought Rader was a dick even before he was revealed to be a serial killer, he also still managed to hold down a respectable job while raising a family and fooling people into thinking that he was just a normal jerk as opposed to a homicidal one.  That ability to blend in and disguise their true selves is one of the things that makes real-life serial killers so frightening.  Sparma, however, might as well have the words “murderer” tattooed on his forehead.  I can understand why Jared Leto is getting Oscar buzz because it’s a showy role and it allows him to act up a storm.  But it’s still hard not to feel that the film, which tries to introduce the idea that Deacon and Jim’s obsession with this case has led to them developing a tunnel vision that has left them incapable of suspecting anyone other than Sparma, might have been a bit more effective if it had taken a slightly more ambiguous approach to the character.

That said, The Little Things is a well-made movie.  Though it’s bit overlong and occasionally meanders a bit too much for its own good, the film looks great and director John Lee Hancock does a good job of creating an effectively creepy atmosphere, providing the viewer with some wonderfully ominous images as Deacon and Jim search for the truth in the middle of the night.  For instance, the scene where Deacon imagines himself talking to the ghosts of the killer’s victims really shouldn’t work but it does because Washington gives such a committed performance and Hancock, as a director and writer, is smart enough to just let the scene develop naturally.  Even as he ages, Denzel Washington remains a compelling actor and he helps to carry The Little Things over more than few speed bumps on the way to the end credits. At its best, the film works as an examination of obsession and there is a haunting intensity to the film’s final moments that suggests the movie that The Little Things could have been if the film’s pace had been just a little bit tighter.

In the end, The Little Things is uneven but it has enough effective moments to be watchable.

Scenes That I Love: The Opening of Staying Alive


We’re still in the process of recovering from last week’s winter storm down here and I have to admit that, for me personally, it’s been a bit of a struggle to actually maintain my focus.  Last week’s combination of power outages and freezing weather threw me off of my usual rhythm and I’m still getting it back.

Fortunately, I have a little help from my friends.  Earlier tonight, a group of us watched the 1983 film, Staying Alive.  Staying Alive is the somewhat notorious sequel to Saturday Night Fever.  If Saturday Night Fever was actually a dark and gritty coming-of-age story disguised as a crowd-pleasing musical, Staying Alive is …. well, it’s something much different.  It’s a film about dancing and Broadway, directed and at least partially written by Sylvester Stallone.  Why exactly would anyone think that Sylvester Stallone was the right director to make a movie about dancing and Broadway?  Your guess is as good as mine but, in the end, the important thing is that Stallone wrote a key supporting role for his brother, Frank Stallone.  Frank not only performs several songs but he proves that he can glare with the best of them.

As for the film itself, it opens with Tony Manero (John Travolta) having left behind Brooklyn and the world of disco.  Now, he lives in Manhattan, he teaches a dance class, he humiliates himself looking for an agent, and he’s struggling to make it on Broadway.  (Basically, he’s turned into Joey from Friends.)  When Tony’s lucky enough to get cast in a lavish musical called Satan’s Alley, Tony has a chance to become a star but only if he can …. well, I was going to say control his ego but actually, his ego isn’t that much of a problem in Staying Alive.  Actually, there’s really nothing standing in Tony’s way, other than the fact that — in Staying Alive as opposed to Saturday Night Fever — he’s portrayed as kind of being an irredeemable idiot.  If Saturday Night Fever was all about revealing that Tony was actually smarter and more sensitive than he seemed, Staying Alive seems to be all about saying, “Whoops!  Sorry!  He’s just as obnoxious as you thought he was.”

Staying Alive is a notoriously ill-conceived film, though it’s also one of those films that’s just bad enough to be entertaining when viewed with a group of snarky friends.  That said, the opening credits montage — which features Tony dancing while Kurtwood Smith glares at him — is actually pretty good.  Travolta smolders with the best of them and the sequence does a good job of capturing Tony’s mix of desperation and determination.  It’s unfortunate that Kurtwood Smith pretty much disappeared from the film following the opening credits.  Judging from what little we see of him, Smith would have been pretty entertaining as a permanently annoyed choreographer.  Finally, how can you not love the neon credits?  This a scene that screams 80s in the best possible way.

So, while I continue to work on getting back to my usual prolific ways, why not enjoy this scene that I love from Staying Alive?

The Art Directors Guild nominates Palm Springs!!


The Art Directors Guild has announced their nominees for the best of 2020.  The guilds are one of the more reliable precursors when it comes to making your Oscar predictions, if just because the guilds — as opposed to the various regional critics groups — actually include members of the Academy.

My immediate thought, upon looking at these nominees, is that there’s a lot of them and I definitely forgot to take my ADD meds this morning.  That said, I’m glad Palm Springs was nominated.  Palm Springs was one of the best films of 2020 and, while it’ll probably be too strange and comedic to score a best picture nod, it would still be nice to see it score an Oscar nomination or two.

The winners will be announced on April 10th!  Here are the nominees:

PERIOD FEATURE FILM
Mank – Production Designer: Donald Graham Burt
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – Production Designer: Mark Ricker
Mulan – Production Designer: Grant Major
News of the World – Production Designer: David Crank
The Trial of the Chicago 7 – Production Designer: Shane Valentino

FANTASY FEATURE FILM
Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn – Production Designer: K.K. Barrett
Pinocchio – Production Designer: Dimitri Capuani
Tenet – Production Designer: Nathan Crowley
The Midnight Sky – Production Designer: Jim Bissell
Wonder Woman 1984 – Production Designer: Aline Bonetto

CONTEMPORARY FEATURE FILM
Da 5 Bloods – Production Designer: Wynn Thomas
I’m Thinking of Ending Things – Production Designer: Molly Hughes
Palm Springs – Production Designer: Jason Kisvarday
Promising Young Woman – Production Designer: Michael T. Perry
The Prom – Production Designer: Jamie Walker McCall

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
A Shawn the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon – Production Designer: Matt Perry
Onward – Production Designer: Noah Klocek
Soul – Production Designer: Steve Pilcher
The Croods: A New Age – Production Designer: Nate Wragg
Wolfwalkers – Production Designers: Ross Stewart, Tomm Moore, Maria Pareja

ONE-HOUR PERIOD OR FANTASY SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES
Lovecraft Country: “I Am” – Production Designer: Kalina Ivanov
Perry Mason: “Chapter Three” – Production Designer: John Perry Goldsmith
The Crown: “War” – Production Designer: Martin Childs
The Mandalorian: “Chapter 13: The Jedi” – Production Designers: Andrew L. Jones, Doug Chiang
Westworld: “Parce Domine” – Production Designer: Howard Cummings

ONE-HOUR CONTEMPORARY SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES
Killing Eve: “Are You from Pinner?” – Production Designer: Laurence Dorman
Ozark: “Wartime” – Production Designer: David Bomba
The Flight Attendant: “After Dark” – Production Designer: Sara K. White
The Twilight Zone: “Among the Untrodden” – Production Designer: Michael Wylie
Utopia: “Just a Fanboy” – Production Designer: Steve Arnold

TELEVISION MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES
Fargo – Production Designer: Warren Alan Young
Hollywood – Production Designer: Matthew Flood Ferguson
Little Fires Everywhere – Production Designer: Jessica Kender
The Alienist: Angel of Darkness – Production Designer: Ruth Ammon
The Queen’s Gambit – Production Designer: Uli Hanisch

HALF HOUR SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES
Dead to Me: “You Don’t Have to Go,” “It Had to Be You” – Production Designer: L.J. Houdyshell
Emily in Paris: “Emily in Paris” – Production Designer: Anne Seibel
Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet: “Pilot” – Production Designer: Mark Worthington
Space Force: “THE LAUNCH” – Production Designer: Susie Mancini
What We Do in the Shadows: “Resurrection,” “Collaboration,” “Witches” – Production Designer: Kate Bunch

MULTI-CAMERA SERIES
Ashley Garcia: Genius in Love: “Unintended Consequences” – Production Designer: Josee F. Lemonnier
Bob Hearts Abishola: “Randy’s a Wrangler,” “Paris is for Lovers, Not Mothers” “Straight Outta Lagos” – Production Designer: John Shaffner
Family Reunion: “Remember When Jade Was Down with the Swirl?” “Remember When Shaka Got Beat Up?” – Production Designer: Aiyana Trotter
The Neighborhood: “Welcome to the New Pastor,” “Welcome to the Hockey Game” – Production Designer: Wendell Johnson
Will & Grace: “Accidentally on Porpoise,” “We Love Lucy,” “It’s Time” – Production Designer: Glenda Rovello

SHORT FORMAT: WEB SERIES, MUSIC VIDEO OR COMMERCIAL
Adidas Originals: “Superstar – Change is a Team Sport” – Production Designer: Ruth De Jong
Apple: “Vertical Cinema” – Production Designer: Shane Valentino
Camila Cabello: “My Oh My” – Production Designer: François Audouy
Harry Styles: “Falling” – Production Designer: François Audouy
Taylor Swift: “Cardigan” – Production Designer: Ethan Tobman

VARIETY, REALITY OR COMPETITION SERIES
Earth to Ned: “Ned: The Musical” – Production Designer: Darcy Prevost
Saturday Night Live: “Host: John Mulaney + Music: David Byrne,” Host: Adele + Music: H.E.R.,” “Host: Dave Chappelle + Music: Foo Fighters” – Production Designers: Keith Raywood, Eugene Lee, Akira Yoshimura, N. Joseph De Tullio
The Masked Singer: “The Season Premiere – The Masks Return” – Production Designer: James Connelly
The Voice: “Live Finale Ep. 18,” “The Blind Auditions, Season Premiere Ep. 1,”The Battles Premiere Ep. 6” – Production Designers: Zeya Maurer, James Connelly, Anton Goss
Wheel of Fortune: “Consumer Cellular Secret Santa,” “Fabulous Food” – Production Designer: Renee Hoss-Johnson

VARIETY SPECIAL
Black Is King – Production Designers: Hannah Beachler, Carlos Laszlo, Susan Linss, Miranda Lorenz, Brandon Mendez, Rika Nakanishi, Ethan Tobman
Democratic National Convention 2020 – Production Designer: Bruce Rodgers
Super Bowl Half Time Show Starring Jennifer Lopez & Shakira – Production Designer: Bruce Rodgers
The Oscars – Production Designer: Jason Sherwood
Yearly Departed – Production Designer: Suzuki Ingerslev