February
16
Oscar Watch: Guild Awards Update
There isn't much suspense building for this year's Oscar show on February 22--final ballots are due Tuesday, February 17--as the various guilds dole out their prizes. Anthony Dod Mantel nabbed the Society of Cinematographers prize for Slumdog Millionaire, while animated feature Wall-E, live-action feature Slumdog Millionaire and documentary Man on Wire won editing awards at the ACE Eddies. Slumdog is favored to win the cinematography and editing Oscars, and Man on Wire should score for best doc.
I always enjoy the Art Directors Guild awards, a black-tie affair at the Beverly Hilton, partly because I get a kick out of the anachronistic Johnny Crawford orchestra; the bandleader sings and swings just like Fred Astaire, top hat and all. He even had to play off the stage loquacious life achievement award winner Paul Sylbert (Heaven Can Wait), who looked like he could have talked all night.
Mainly I enjoy the clip reels from the past, such as this year's The Magnificent 100, a short celebrating 100 Years of production design from 1898 to 2000, highlighting films from Man in the Moon, Intolerance and Metropolis to The Wizard of Oz, Lawrence of Arabia, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The ADG will release the 9-minute short in theaters.
Ron Howard paid tribute to Outstanding Contribution to Cinematic Imagery Award-winner George Lucas, whose Star Wars inspired the evening's glowing light saber decor--which was recycled for the later Eddies show. "Don't take the centerpieces," pleaded host Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad). Here are the ADG winners, led by contemporary winner Slumdog Millionaire, fantasy The Dark Knight and period The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
Anyone wanting to learn more about the creation of this year's Oscar-nominated films should check out a cool panel on Saturday February 21 at 2:30 pm at Hollywood Boulevard's Egyptian Theatre, with production designers and set decorators from Changeling, Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, The Duchess, and Revolutionary Road.



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