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The International Documentary Association has announced its initial round of nominees for the 2017 Ida Documentary Awards, including special mentions and nods for limited series, curated series, episodic series, and more. Nominees for Best Feature and Best Short, and awards for creative recognition, will be announced on November 1. The Ida will honor director Marcel Mettelsiefen’s “Watani: My Homeland” with the Pare Lorentz Award. Also receiving a special mention in the category is Joe Berlinger’s “Intent to Destroy.”

Other standouts from this first list of nominees include Bryan Fogel’s controversial “Icarus,” Ryan White’s Netflix series “The Keepers,” Ken Burns’ revelatory miniseries “The Vietnam War,” and many more of the year’s best in documentary offerings.

Read More:Joan Didion and Arthur Miller Get the Documentary Treatment From Family Members, And That Makes All the Difference — Nyff

The 33rd edition of the annual ceremony will take place Saturday, December...

Congressman Chris Collins says both the "radical left" and the media are pushing a false narrative over what President Trump said regarding Charlottesville.

Louis Koo plays a vengeful cop rampaging through Thailand in Paradox, the third instalment of Hong Kong's Spl action franchise. Director Wilson Yip returns to the helm, as does action choreographer Sammo Hung, while Koo is joined in front of the camera by a roster of top tier talent, including Wu Yue, Gordon Lam, Chris Collins and Tony Jaa.   Sharing more in common with its 2015 predecessor than the series opener from 2005, Paradox is again anchored by a crucial father-daughter relationship, while diving once more into the murky world of illegal organ trafficking. Unfolding entirely in and around the Thai beach resort of Pattaya, the film also features dirty cops, vulnerable hookers and high-level political shenanigans, as well as showcasing a number of bone-crunching fight...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

After the success of the Ip Man trilogy, the Wilson Yip – Sammo Hung combination is back to the hugely successful Cantonese-language Spl franchise with the action thriller Paradox. Several months after the trailer whetted their appetite, action fans across the world can rejoice at the news that the film starring Louis Koo, Tony Jaa and Wu Yue will be releasing as the Opening Film at Hong Kong’s Cine Fan Summer International Film Festival on August 15, 2017. Wider theatrical release in Hong Kong is scheduled for August 25. The director and the main cast will be present at the festival screening.

Louis Koo in Paradox (2017)

Koo stars as a police negotiator who travels to Bangkok in search of his missing teenage daughter, where he is helped by local detectives played by Tony Jaa and Wu Yue. In Thailand, he encounters an organ trafficking gang headed by an American gangster (Chris Collins), who...

Wilson Yip's much-anticipated action thriller Paradox will have its world premiere on 15 August as the Opening Film of this year's Cine Fan Summer International Film Festival, organised by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society.   Paradox is the third installment is the hugely successful Spl franchise, and stars Louis Koo, Tony Jaa, Gordon Lam, Wu Yue and Chris Collins. Koo plays a Hong Kong police officer who heads to Thailand in search of his missing daughter, where he is assisted by local law enforcers Tony Jaa and Wu Yue.    Koo and Jaa both appeared in SPL2, directed by Soi Cheang, but here play new characters. Yip returns to the director's chair after making a splash with the original Spl in 2005, seen as...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

During Sunday's Last Week Tonight, John Oliver slammed Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives for endorsing a bill to "repeal and replace" Obamacare without even reading it. The host singled out New York Representative Chris Collins who, seemingly confused by one aspect of the bill in a Buffalo News interview, asked the reporter to "explain" it to him. "I can explain it to you right now," Oliver snapped. "You fucked up."

Oliver also blasted South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford, who when asked by CNN if he read the...

Emmy winner Christine Baranski didn’t have to do much acting for The Good Fight‘s opening scene, in which Diane Lockhart looks on in horror as Donald Trump gets sworn in as the 45th president of the United States.

RelatedThe Good Fight Review: The Verdict on the Spinoff Is In (and It’s… Good)

Baranski detailed the scene (and screened a clip, as seen above) during an appearance on Tuesday’s Late Show With Stephen Colbert, explaining how the Good Wife spinoff (premiering Sunday on CBS, before moving exclusively to CBS All Access) needed an 11th-hour rewrite in...

Filming has begun in Thailand for Sammo Hung’s latest movie , “Paradox” (formerly “Fate“).

Louis Koo and Tony Jaa is starring in the upcoming action flick. The lineup also includes Wu Yue, Gordon Lam, and American actor Chris Collins. It will be directed by Wilson Yip, with fight scenes choreographed by the renowned Sammo Hung.

Louis Koo’s character is a negotiator who is looking for his missing 16-year-old daughter while on a trip to Thailand. He is assisted by local detectives played by Tony Jaa and Wu Yue, and have to navigate his way around an organ trafficker played by Chris Collins.

Sun Entertainment Culture Ltd posted pictures of the traditional commencement ceremony on Oct 29th:

Tony Jaa also recently posted a picture on Facebook, announcing that his part of the movie recently wrapped up.

No release date has been set so far, but keep your eyes peeled for...

The Big Short

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced today the motion picture, long-form television, digital series, sports programs and additional television nominations for the 27th Annual Producers Guild Awards.

The categories include: The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures; The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures; The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television; Outstanding Sports Program; and Outstanding Digital Series. The feature documentary film category and other television category nominations were previously announced by the PGA in late 2015.

All 2016 Producers Guild Award winners will be announced on Saturday, January 23, 2016 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles. This year, the Producers Guild will present special honors to Jim Gianopulos (Milestone Award), Shonda Rhimes (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television), David Heyman (David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures), The Hunting Ground (Stanley Kramer...

The Producers Guild of America has announced the nominations for its 27th annual Producers Guild Awards! 10 films are vying for the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures. And sorry "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" and "Carol," you did not make the cut :sad

The PGA Awards winners will be announced on January 23. Here's the complete list of nominees of the 27th annual Producers Guild Awards:

Theatrical Motion Picture nominees

The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures

The Big Short

Producers: Brad Pitt & Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner

Bridge of Spies

Producers: Steven Spielberg, Marc Platt, Kristie Macosko Krieger

Brooklyn

Producers: Finola Dwyer & Amanda Posey

Ex Machina

This film is in the process of being vetted for producer eligibility

Mad Max: Fury Road

Producers: Doug Mitchell & George Miller

The Martian

Producers: Simon Kinberg, Ridley Scott, Michael Schaefer, Mark Huffam

The Revenant

Producers: Arnon Milchan,...

Period drama starring Carey Mulligan and Meryl Streep to receive European premiere; new trailer released.

Suffragette, the story of the British women who fought for the right to vote at the turn of the 20th century, has been named as the opening night film of the 59th BFI London Film Festival (Oct 7-18).

The period drama will receive its European premiere at the festival on October 7 – three weeks ahead of its UK release – at the Odeon Leicester Square, attended by cast members including Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter and Meryl Streep.

The premiere will be broadcast live from the red carpet ahead of simultaneous screenings of the film at cinemas across the UK.

The film stars Mulligan, Bonham Carter, Brendan Gleeson, Anne-Marie Duff, Ben Whishaw and Streep.

It is directed by Sarah Gavron, who returns to the festival for a third time, reteaming with her Brick Lane screenwriter Abi Morgan (The Iron Lady).

The film is produced...

Scott Graham’s drama stars Ruth Negga of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The 69th Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) is to close with the world premiere of Scott Graham’s Iona on June 28 at the Festival Theatre Edinburgh.

Shot entirely on location in Scotland, the film stars Ruth Negga (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D), Douglas Henshall (Shetland), Tom Brooke (The Boat That Rocked) and Michelle Duncan (Atonement), with debuts by two Scottish actors, Ben Gallagher and Sorcha Groundsell.

Iona is director Graham’s second film following his award winning Shell in 2012.

Graham said: ‘I discovered many films and filmmakers at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Edinburgh was my home all through my twenties and it was in venues like Filmhouse and the Cameo where I learned the value of the stories we tell and the emotions we share.

“I’m thrilled Iona will have its premiere here and doubly thrilled it will...

Teaser trailer released of period drama starring Carey Mulligan about women’s fight for the vote.

Suffragette is to open in UK cinemas on October 30, 2015, Pathé announced today.

The film centres on the ordinary British women at the turn of the 20th century who risked everything in the fight for equality and the right to vote.

With the UK General Election taking place on May 7, Pathé has released a teaser trailer in support of the #votingmatters campaign (after more than 9 million women failed to vote in the 2010 election, there is a major campaign to get women to register to vote before the April 20 deadline).

Suffragette stars Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, Brendan Gleeson, Anne-Marie Duff, Ben Whishaw and Meryl Streep.

The film is directed by Sarah Gavron, who reteams with her Brick Lane screenwriter Abi Morgan (The Iron Lady), and is produced by Faye Ward and Alison Owen (Saving Mr Banks).

Mulligan plays Maud, a working...

Sundance Selects has acquired North American rights to the Berlinale selection 45 Years starring Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay. Separately, The Orchard has acquired Cartel Land while monterey media will release Runoff.

Andrew Haigh directed and adapted the screenplay from the short story by David Constantine about a couple whose 45th anniversary celebrations are stymied when the body of the man’s former girlfriend is found frozen in ice 50 years after her death in the Swiss Alps.

Tristan Goligher of London-based The Bureau produce, while the executive producers are Christopher Collins, Lizzie Francke, Sam Lavender, Tessa Ross, Richard Holmes and Vincent Gadelle.

The BFI, Film4 and Creative England financed 45 Years and Film4 and the BFI jointly developed the film.

IFC distributed Haigh’s 2011 SXSW entry Weekend.

Arianna Bocco brokered the deal with Match Factory on behalf of the film-makers.

The Orchard has acquired North American theatrical and digital rights to Matthew Heineman’s Cartel Land, winner of the...

Two films forgotten by the Academy, the animated adventure "The Lego Movie" and the Roger Ebert Documentary "Life Itself," triumphed at the recently concluded 2015 Producers Guild Awards.

"The Lego Movie" took home the Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures for producer Dan Lin while "Life Itself" won the Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures for producers Garrett Basch, Steve James, and Zak Piper.

Meanwhile, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, and James W. Skotchdopole took the Oscar glitter away from Richard Linklater's "Boyhood" when "Birdman" was awarded the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures.

The Oscars just got interesting! Will "Boyhood" triumph over "Birdman" at the Academy Awards?

In TV land, NBC was the big winner of the evening with two of their shows taking home trophies for Competition Television ("The Voice") and Live Entertainment & Talk Television ("The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon...

Movies made by women directors were snubbed by the Producers Guild of America when they announced the nominees today! Both "Selma" by Ava DuVernay and "Unbroken" by Angelina Jolie were left in the dust. I agree with not nominating the latter movie (sorry Ms. Jolie but "Unbroken" is too earnest for my taste) but "Selma" deserved a nod! It's a profound movie aided by DuVernay's skilled directing and David Oyelowo's fine performance as Martin Luther King Jr.

You know who I'm blaming for this? Paramount! The studio did not send screeners to Academy voters. Heck, they did not sent one to us, the Broadcast Film Critics Association. But after begging, they did send a link so I could watch "Selma" in time for our Critics' Choice Movie Award nominations.

"Selma" is a "late to the party" entry that is gaining momentum dashed by the PGA! If you remember, Clint Eastwood...

The Producers Guild of America announced today the motion picture and long-form television nominations for the 26th Annual Producers Guild Awards. On the list are American Sniper, Birdman, Boyhood, Foxcatcher, Gone Girl, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, Nightcrawler, The Theory Of Everything and Whiplash.

Noticeably absent among the ten are Selma and Unbroken.

Last year’s PGA winners were 12 Years A Slave and Gravity.

The Directors Guild of America nominees will be announced on January 13, 2015. The 87th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 15, 2015, at 5:30 a.m. Pt in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

2006 was the last time a film (The Departed) won the Oscar for Best Picture, while the PGA’s The Darryl F. Zanuck Award went to Little Miss Sunshine. The last seven years in a row the PGA winner ultimately went onto win the Academy Award – No Country For Old Men,...

American Sniper, Birdman, Boyhood, Foxcatcher, Gone Girl, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, Nightcrawler, The Theory Of Everything and Whiplash have been nominated for the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures, the PGA announced today. There were some surprising omissions– Selma, Unbroken, Interstellar and Into The Woods. On the TV side, American Horror Story: Freak Show, Fargo, The Normal Heart, The Roosevelts: An Intimate History and Sherlock are the nominees for the David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television. Big Hero 6, The Book Of Life, The Boxtrolls, How To Train Your Dragon 2, and The Lego Movie were nominated in the Animated Feature category. The 2015 PGA Award winners will be announced January 24 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles.

This year, the Producers Guild will present special honors to Jon Feltheimer (Milestone Award), Mark Gordon (Norman Lear Achievement...

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) added to the industry mix Monday morning with a list of 10 nominees to keep the awards season grist mill churning. "Gone Girl" popped up again, and it shouldn't be a surprise. It's one of the year's biggest hits. And speaking of hits, I had a hunch "Nightcrawler" would find a place after becoming such a well-liked, profitable success. There it sits. The question for both of these films is whether this on-going industry/guild love ends up translating to Oscar recognition. After the "Dragon Tattoo" rush a few years ago, I'm pretty much wait-and-see on stuff like this. Absent from the list was anything out of the Marvel Studios comic book factory, notable as both "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" were both on the top tier of box office earners in 2014. The former currently maintains the throne, though it...

The Producers Guild Of America (PGA) announced on Monday (January 5) its motion picture and long-form television nominees for the 26th Annual Producers Guild Awards - but there is no place at the table for Selma or Unbroken.

The categories include: The Darryl F Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer Of Theatrical Motion Pictures; The Award For Outstanding Producer Of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures; and The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer Of Long-Form Television.

The feature documentary film category and other television category nominations were previously announced by the PGA in late 2014.

All 2015 Producers Guild Award winners will be announced on January 24th at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles.

The PGA will present special honours to Lionsgate chief Jon Feltheimer (Milestone Award), Mark Gordon (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television), Gale Anne Hurd (David O Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures), the HBO television motion picture The Normal Heart (Stanley Kramer Award), and production...

Gearing up for an exciting awards show season, the Producers Guild of American just announced the nominees for the Documentary, TV Series/Specials and Digital Series categories of the 26th annual PGA Awards.

Slated to take place on Saturday, January 24th, 2015 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles, the big event focuses on the production aspect of the entertainment industry.

Furthermore, the PGA will announce the remaining nominees on January 5th, so stay linked to the GossipCenter for all the latest updates.

And the nominees are:

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures:

The Green Prince (Music Box Films)

Life Itself (Magnolia Pictures)

Merchants of Doubt (Sony Pictures Classics)

Particle Fever (Abramorama/Bond 360)

Virunga (Netflix)

The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama:

Breaking Bad (AMC): Producers: Melissa Bernstein, Sam Catlin, Bryan Cranston, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Mark Johnson, Stewart Lyons,...

Alfonso Cuaron's "Gravity" and Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" both won the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for outstanding producer of theatrical motion pictures at the 2014 Producers Guild of America awards. It's an unprecedented tie that just makes the Academy Awards much more unpredictable!

"We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks" took home the documentary trophy while "Frozen" won the animated category.

Here's the complete list of winners (highlighted) of the 2014 Producers Guild Awards (PGA):

Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures (Tie):

*Gravity (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Producers: Alfonso Cuarón, David Heyman

*12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Producers: Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, Brad Pitt & Dede Gardner

American Hustle (Columbia Pictures)

Producers: Megan Ellison, Jon Gordon, Charles Roven, Richard Suckle

Blue Jasmine (Sony Pictures Classics)

Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum

Captain Phillips (Columbia Pictures)

Producers: Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Scott Rudin...

The 25th Annual Producers Guild of America Awards were handed out last night, with Gravity and 12 Years a Slave tying for the guild's top honor, the The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for 'Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures'. Some guilds do not allow for ties to happen, and this is the first time in the PGA's history that it has happened for their biggest award.

Take a look at the rest of the big winners below, which were announced at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures:

- Gravity (Warner Bros. Pictures) - Producers: Alfonso Cuar&#243n, David Heyman

- 12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight Pictures) - Producers: Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, Brad Pitt & Dede GardnerAmerican Hustle (Columbia Pictures) - Producers: Megan Ellison, Jon Gordon, Charles Roven, Richard SuckleBlue Jasmine (Sony Pictures Classics) - Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen...

12 Years A Slave and Gravity have tied at this year’s PGA. With American Hustle taking the SAG ensemble on Saturday night, we have a bonafide Best Picture race on our hands folks! This is the first tie for the top film in Producers Guild Award history.

The PGA split keeps the Oscar race wide open in one of the tightest three-way battles in years, with “American Hustle” still in the game following a week of big showings at the Golden Globes, Oscar nominations and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Tonight the Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced this year’s winning motion picture and television productions at the 25th Annual Producers Guild Awards ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.

David Heyman, Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Dede Gardner, Alfonso Cuaron, Steve McQueen, Brad Pitt (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision for Producers Guild/AP Images)

In addition to the competitive awards,...

One of the most up-in-the-air Academy Award races in memory just got even more unpredictable. For the first time in its 25-year history, the Producers Guild Awards—generally considered the most reliable predictor of which film will take home the Best Picture Oscar—ended in a tie. Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity and Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave shared the group’s prize for Best Picture.

The other Best Picture nominees were American Hustle, Her, Blue Jasmine, Captain Phillips, Dallas Buyers Club, Her, Nebraska, Saving Mr. Banks, and The Wolf of Wall Street.

In 17 out of the past 24 years—and...

Plenty of groups give out awards for excellence in film and television at the end of every year, but no set of nominations is watched more carefully by Oscar predictors than the picks from the Producers Guild. That’s because year after year their choices end up being a fairly good indicator of which films will also be granted Best Picture nominations when the Academy makes their selections.

The Guild has announced their 2014 nominations today and there aren’t really any major surprises here. All the expected films are present, including 12 Years A Slave, American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Gravity, Her and The Wolf Of Wall Street. Animated films that nabbed nominations are The Croods, Despicable Me 2, Epic, Frozen and Monsters University. Included in the documentary nominations are A Place at the Table, Far Out Isn’t Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story, Life According to Sam, We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks...

The Producers Guild of America has announced the nominees for the 25th annual PGA Awards. In the movie category, the Coen Brothers' "Inside Llewyn Davis" and the awards hopefuls from the Weinstein Company were ignored -- no "August: Osage County," "Fruitvale Station" (darn!), "Philomena" (another darn), "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom," and "Lee Daniels' The Butler." Sorry Harvey and Bob Weinstein!

We'll find out the winners on Jan. 19. Here's the complete list of nominees of the 25th Annual PGA Awards (including TV categories):

The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures:

American Hustle (Columbia Pictures)

Producers: Megan Ellison, Jon Gordon, Charles Roven, Richard Suckle

Blue Jasmine (Sony Pictures Classics)

Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum

Captain Phillips (Columbia Pictures)

Producers: Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Scott Rudin

Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features)

Producers: Robbie Brenner, Rachel Winter

Gravity (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Producers: Alfonso Cuarón, David Heyman

Her (Warner Bros.

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced today the motion picture and long-form television nominations for the 25th Annual Producers Guild Awards. The categories include: The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures; The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures; and The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television. The documentary film category and other television category nominations were already announced by the Guild in late 2013.

All 2014 Producers Guild Award winners will be announced on January 19th at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. This year, the Producers Guild will also present special honors to Barbara Broccoli & Michael G. Wilson (David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures), Robert Iger (Milestone Award), Peter Jackson & Joe Letteri (Vanguard Award), Chuck Lorre (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television), Chris Meledandri (Visionary Award) and Fruitvale Station (Stanley Kramer Award).

The Producers Guild Awards Co-Chairs are Lori McCreary (Invictus,...

The Producers Guild of America has accurately forecast the last six Best Picture Oscar winners, so it was good news for 10 films that were nominated today for the PGA’s Darryl F. Zanuck Award. While Gravity, 12 Years a Slave, and American Hustle were among the films that made the cut, Inside Llewyn Davis, The Butler, and Fruitvale Station did not. Last year, eight of the 10 movies that received nods from the PGA went on to earn Oscar nominations for Best Picture.

Fruitvale will go home with a special award when the hardware is handed out on Jan. 19. The movie from...

Gugu Mbatha-Raw looks absolutely beautiful in this first poster for Amma Asante's Belle from Fox Searchlight Pictures. The film opens next spring and also includes Tom Wilkinson, Sam Reid, Sarah Gadon, Miranda Richardson, Penelope Wilton, Tom Felton, James Norton, Matthew Goode and Emily Watson. Misan Sagay wrote the screenplay. Damian Jones produces while Steve Christian, Julie Goldstein, Steve Norris, Ivan Dunleavy, Phil Hunt, Compton Ross and Christopher Collins serve as executive producers. Belle opens in theaters on May 2nd, 2014 and is inspired by the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle (Mbatha-Raw), the illegitimate mixed race daughter of Admiral Sir John Lindsay (Goode). Raised by her aristocratic great-uncle Lord Mansfield (Wilkinson) and his wife (Watson), Belle’s lineage affords her certain privileges, yet her status...

Check out the official trailer for Amma Asante’s Belle starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Sam Reid, Tom Wilkinson, Emily Watson, Tom Felton, Miranda Richardson and Matthew Goode.

Scheduled for a May 2014 release, the film was shown at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival to positive reviews.

Justin Chang (Variety): “The pleasures of Jane Austen and the horrors of the British slave trade make a surprisingly elegant fit in Amma Asante’s handsome period piece.” John Oursler (Sound on Sight): “Amma Asante’s Belle, a new entrant in the genre, strikes all the right notes.” John DeFore (The Hollywood Reporter): “Moviegoers should respond well when Fox Searchlight brings it to theaters next spring.”

I can’t wait to see this. Being a fan of period-piece dramas, Belle looks to be the perfect blend of courage, love and history.

Belle is inspired by the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw...

A week before the 65th annual Primetime Emmy Awards rock the entertainment industry, nearly 80 awards were scheduled to be presented at the Creative Arts Emmys ceremony Sunday (Sept. 15) at the Nokia Theatre. Fxx will air an edited version of the Creative Arts Emmys ceremony on Sept. 21 at 9 p.m. Et.

HBO's "Behind the Candelabra" unsurprisingly took home a number of awards, while Bob Newhart won his first career Emmy for guest-starring on CBS' "The Big Bang Theory."

Here is the full list of winners:

Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series - 2013: Carrie Preston, as Elsbeth Tascioni on "The Good Wife"

Outstanding Guest Actor In A Drama Series - 2013: Dan Bucatinsky, as James Novack on "Scandal"

Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series - 2013: Melissa Leo, as Laurie on "Louie"

Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy Series - 2013: Bob Newhart, as Arthur Jeffries/Professor Proton...

Tonight the Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced this year's winning motion picture and television productions at the 24th Annual Producers Guild Awards ceremony held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.

In addition to the competitive awards, the PGA recognized several producers with honorary awards including Bob Weinstein and Bob Weinstein (Milestone Award), Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner (David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures), J.J. Abrams (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television), Russell Simmons (Visionary Award) and Bully (Stanley Kramer Award). The 2013 Producers Guild Awards were chaired by Michael De Luca.

The 2013 Producers Guild nominated films and television programs are listed below in alphabetical order by category, along with producers. The producers' names for each nominated production are listed in alphabetical order and may not reflect the order of screen credits.

The theatrical motion picture nominees and winners are:

The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for...

Oh yes it still hurts that Ben Affleck was not given a Best Director Oscar nomination, yet his fantastic film "Argo" continues its ascension to Oscar glory! The film took home the top prize at the Producers Guild of America Awards taking home the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures.

So guess which film will win the Oscar Best Picture? Yup, it will be "Argo!" Why? Well, Hollywood really loves movies about them and "Argo" is about a movie of a fake movie in order to help free some Americans trapped in Iran during the hostage crisis.

And, the PGA award is a significant Academy Awards precursor. Only seven times in 24 years has the PGA winner failed to win a Best Picture Oscar. So "Argo" has a strong chance.

I'm also happy that "Searching for Sugar Man" won the Documentary category, and not so happy...

Vol. I Issue 6

Send us links to your sizzle reels and film sites.

Note: See Issues 1, 2, 3, and 4 for reviews and clips of the Academy documentary films and short films. Additional reviews of the documentary features follow in this issue.

Best documentary feature

5 Broken Cameras Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi

The Gatekeepers Nominees to be determined *See note below

How to Survive a Plague Nominees to be determined

The Invisible War Nominees to be determined

Searching for Sugar Man Nominees to be determined

Best documentary short subject

Inocente Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine

Kings Point Sari Gilman and Jedd Wider

Mondays at Racine Cynthia Wade and Robin Honan

Open Heart Kief Davidson and Cori Shepherd Stern

Redemption Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill

Best animated short film

Adam and Dog Minkyu Lee

Fresh Guacamole Pes

Head over Heels Timothy Reckart and Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly

Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare David Silverman

Paperman John Kahrs

Best live action short film

Asad Bryan Buckley and Mino Jarjoura

Buzkashi Boys Sam French and Ariel Nasr

Curfew Shawn Christensen

Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw) Tom Van Avermaet and Ellen De Waele

Henry Yan England

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song) from a documentary

Before My Time from The documentary feature Chasing Ice Music and Lyric by J. Ralph

Note: *Nominees to be determined* The Documentary Brand gives the nomination to the individual(s) most involved in the key creative aspects of the filmmaking process. A maximum of two persons may be designated as nominees, one of whom must be the credited director who exercised directorial control, and the other of whom must have a producer or director credit. If a producer is named, that individual must have performed a major portion of the producing functions, in accordance with Academy producer criteria. No more than two statuettes will normally be given in the Documentary Feature category. All individuals with a “Producer” or “Produced by” credit on films that reach the semifinal round will automatically be vetted.

The Documentary Branch Executive Committee will determine which producers, if any, are eligible to receive an Oscar. In the unlikely event of a dispute, filmmakers may appeal the committee’s decision. In extremely rare circumstances, a third statuette may be awarded.

Production companies or persons with the screen credit of executive producer, co-producer or any credit other than director or producer shall not be eligible as nominees for the motion picture.

DGA Documentary Award Nominations

Kirby Dick The Invisible War

This is Mr. Dick’s first DGA Award nomination.

Malik Bendjelloul Searching For Sugar Man

This is Mr. Bendjelloul’s first DGA Award nomination.

Lauren Greenfield The Queen of Versailles

This is Ms. Greenfield’s first DGA Award nomination.

David France How To Survive A Plague

This is Mr. France’s first DGA Award nomination.

Alison Klayman Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry

This is Ms. Klayman’s first DGA Award nomination.

Two Academy Nominated Documentary Features

& One Academy Short Listed Documentary Reviewed

The Gatekeepers, directed by Dror Moreh

Documentary Feature Nominee

Six former heads of Israel’s domestic secret service agency, the Shin Bet, share their insights and reflect publicly on their actions and decisions in The Gatekeepers, a film by Dror Moreh. These six heads of the Shin Bet stood at the center of Israel's decision-making process in all matters pertaining to security. They worked closely with every Israeli prime minister, and their assessments and insights had—and continue to have—a profound impact on Israeli policy. The Gatekeepers is an exclusive account of their successes and failures.

I find The Gatekeepers remarkable. Not for its craft but for its concept and vision. Imagine

J Edger Hoover talking about his tenure at the FBI, his successes and his failures, his interactions with the Presidents and members of Congress, and his critical self-evaluation of his mission and how his agency’s work affected our nation. Imagine. Dror Moreh accomplished this feat when he convinced these six surviving members of the Shin Bet, to speak on camera.

The film provides a historical perspective of Israel that is both candid and critical of the successive governments in this rare Middle Eastern democracy. The Shin Bet was created in 1949 by David Ben-Gurion’s government to focus on the internal affairs of Israel and evolved into dealing with counterterrorism and intelligence gathering in the West Bank and Gaza.

These intelligence heads, like ours, report to the President/Prime Minister. They are not part of the military complex. It is this context that gives this work its power. We hear the story of Israel’s struggle to protect itself from both its internal and external enemies; the bombers, terrorists, agents and others who worked to destroy this small country. These men are not glamorous or like the fictional heads of the spy agencies we have seen in James Bond and Bourne films. They are bald or balding grandfather-types. Articulate, highly educated, calm and yet we know that they protected Israel from its enemies even if they had them killed.

This is one of the strongest of the nominated docs. It raises significant issues of personal responsibilities. Despite the lack of oversight we don’t feel that this is an organization gone amuck like the Catholic Church not protecting children or the Us Military not protecting its members from sexual harassment. We see these articulate men as guardians and protectors of their nation steadfastly doing their duty within the confines of their moral beliefs. What is scary about The Gatekeepers is that clearly there could have been abuses and wrongs done by the Shin Bet if these six had less character or their mission was redefined by the government without regard to moral or ethical standards. The film on reflection is troubling for regardless of how the spectator might feel about Israel it forces us to look at this conflict through the lenses of these six guardians and we can only wonder what they don’t tell us about what they did in the name of their country.

Credits:

Director: Dror Moreh

Camera: Avner Shahaf

Producers: Dror Moreh, Estelle Fialon, Philippa Kowarsky

Co Producer: Anna Van Der Wee

Sound: Amos Zipori

Sound Design: Aex Claude

Music: Ab Ovo, Jérôme Chassagnard, Régis Baillet

Editor: Oron Adar

Production Companies: Dror Moreh Productions, Les Films du Poisson, Cinephil

In Co-Production with: Mac Guff, Wild Heart Productions, Arte France, Iba, Ndr, Rtbf

With the support of: Cnc, Media, Région Ile-de-France, Procirep, Angoa, The Rabinovich Foundation for the Arts – Cinema Project

Distribution: Sony Classics

Trailer: http://www.sonyclassics.com/thegatekeepers/

The House I Live In, directed by Eugene Jarecki

Short Listed Documentary Feature for Academy Award nomination

The House I Live In looks at how America has waged war on some of its poorest citizens, costing countless lives, destroying families, and inflicting untold damage on future generations of Americans. It posits that over the last forty years, the War on Drugs has accounted for more than 45 million arrests and shows how America became the world’s largest jailer, damaging poor communities at home and abroad. Yet today drugs are cheaper, purer and more available than ever before. It shows that drug abuse is a public health issue. Despite this, it is treated by our society as a criminal matter and a vast machine has been created that feeds on the men and women who are incarcerated. Because of this, the prisoners are not offered help or a cure for their underlying problems, so they return to prison in a never ending cycle.

Eugene Jarecki, whose previous films looked at the military industrial complex (Why We Fight and The Trials of Henry Kissinger), won the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at Sundance in both 2005 and 2010. The film tackles difficult material. Material that has been in scores of documentaries and television shows over the years. Yet Jarecki, using his personal experience, a wealth of interviews and strong case studies, builds a compelling case for changing the sentencing guidelines for crack (and cocaine) and for dealing with both addiction and the underlying causes of addiction. Jarecki is a skillful filmmaker who has picked a vast and complex subject and has created a work that while rich in content moves along at a good pace although it might have been stronger if it had tried to do less. The film editor Paul Frost and the composer Robert Miller do an excellent job building strong sequences with evocative music. It was nicely shot by Sam Cullman and Derek Hallquist. Richard Abramowitz’s Abramorama handled the distribution and was successful getting the work out which is never easy for such an issue oriented film.

Credits:

Director, Producer, Screenwriter: Eugene Jarecki

Producers: Melinda Shopsin, Sam Cullman, Christopher St. John

Executive Producers: Eugene Jarecki, Nick Fraser, Joslyn Barnes, Danny Glover, Russell Simmons, Roy Ackerman, John Legend, Sally Jo Feifer, Nick Fraser

Camera: Sam Cullman, Derek Hallquist

Sound: Matthew Freed, Art Jaso

Music: Robert Milller

Editor: Paul Frost

Production Companies: Charlotte Street Films, Zdf Enterprises, Independent Television Services, BBC, Aljazeera Documentary Channel, Vpro, Special Broadcasting Service Corporation, Louverture Films, Nhk

Distribution (Us): Abramorama Entertainment, Snag Films

How to Survive a Plague, directed by David France

Documentary Feature Nominee

How to Survive a Plague by writer and filmmaker David France tells the story of how two coalitions came together to lobby for effective treatments and funding for treatments of AIDS in the late 1980s when it was evident that the Us government and its health and other agencies were not being very effective dealing with the AIDS epidemic. The coalitions, Act Up and Tag (Treatment Action Group) helped to make AIDS more treatable. While there is still no cure for AIDS and thousands of people globally still die from the virus, it is now possible to prolong life with treatments that have been developed.

Despite having no scientific training, these self-made activists infiltrated the pharmaceutical industry and helped identify promising new drugs, moving them from experimental trials to patients in record time. With access to never-before-seen archival footage from the 1980s and '90s, filmmaker David France puts the viewer smack in the middle of the controversial actions, the heated meetings, the heartbreaking failures, and the exultant breakthroughs. Faced with their own mortality an improbable group of young men and women, many of them HIV-positive took on Washington and the medical establishment.

While there have been a handful of outstanding films dealing with the AIDS epidemic including Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt, The Broadcast Tapes of Dr. Peter and Silverlake Life, to name a few, How to Survive a Plague picks up on the story begun in the landmark Common Threads and updates the struggle, looking at the quest to find a treatment and possibly a cure for this vicious disease. The film weaves together stories of activism and shows how a small determined group can effect change not just nationally but globally. While the film is not as well made as Common Threads or Dr. Peter, it’s powerful. The archival footage manages to capture some of the key figures of Act Up and Tag showing actions as they take place. Instead of relying on talking heads to tell this amazing story, it is presented with footage shot as the story unfolded. This footage and its solid editing distinguishes this film from so many of the works that have tried to tell this story.

Few documentaries have such powerful antagonists, the government, incompetence, a lack of urgency on the part of the medical community and fear. Throw in homophobia and it is evident that the dramatic actions of these heroes saved hundreds of thousands of possible victims from this mostly sexually spread plague.

My only serious criticism of this documentary is its failure to be clearer that the plague continues, that there is no cure for HIV/AIDS and that the community continues to give a false sense of hope. Currently the Cdc states:

” ..estimates that 1,148,200 persons aged 13 years and older are living with HIV infection, including 207,600 (18.1%) who are unaware of their infection1. Over the past decade, the number of people living with HIV has increased, while the annual number of new HIV infections has remained relatively stable. Still, the pace of new infections continues at far too high a level—particularly among certain groups.

HIV Incidence(new infections): The estimated incidence of HIV has remained stable overall in recent years, at about 50,000 new HIV infections per year.2 Within the overall estimates, however, some groups are affected more than others. Msm (men who have sex with men) continue to bear the greatest burden of HIV infection, and among races/ethnicities, African Americans continue to be disproportionately affected.”

This information could have been contained in the last few minutes of this powerful work, to inspire and warn the audience that testing is critical and that safe sex is still the only way to contain AIDS.

The Filmmaker

David France, Director, Producer

David France is an award-winning journalist and New York Times best-selling author who has been writing about AIDS since 1982 and today is one of the best-known chroniclers of the epidemic. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Newsweek, GQ, and New York magazine, where he is a contributing editor, and has received the National Headliner Award and the GLAAD Media Award, among others. Several films have been inspired by his work, most recently the Emmy-nominated Showtime film Our Fathers, for which he received a WGA nomination. He is at work on a major history of AIDS, due from Alfred A. Knopf in 2013. Based on decades of reporting, How to Survive a Plague is his directorial debut.

Credits

Director: David France

Writers: David France, Todd Woody Richman, Tyler H. Walk

Producers: David France, Howard Gertler

Executive Producers: Dan Cogan, Joy A. Tomchin

Co-Producer: Todd Woody Richman

Camera: Derek Wieshahn

Sound: Stuart Deutsch, Topher Reifeiss

Original Music: Stuart Bogie

Editor: Todd Woody Richman, Tyler H. Walk

Production Companies: Public Square Films, Ninety Thousand Words

Distribution (Us): Sundance Selects

Short Notes and Update:

The International Documentary Association in Los Angeles presents Doc U: The Doc Reporter

Navigating the Intersection of Documentary and Journalism

Moderated by: Karin Skellwagen (The Brooks Institute)

With Panelists:

Sarah Burns (The Central Park Five)

Michael Donaldson (Partner, Donaldson & Callif)

David France (How To Survive A Plague)

For information: http://doc-u-jan-2013-la.eventbrite.com/

Sundance Announces 2013 International Documentary Competition:

Fallen City/ China (Director: Qi Zhao) — Fallen City spans four years to reveal how three families who survived the 2008 Sichuan earthquake to embark on a journey searching for hope, purpose, identity, and to rebuild their lives in a new China torn between tradition and modernity. North American Premiere

Fire in the Blood/ India (Director: Dylan Mohan Gray) — In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Western governments and pharmaceutical companies blocked low-cost antiretroviral drugs from reaching AIDS-stricken Africa, causing 10 million or more unnecessary deaths. An improbable group of people decided to fight back. North American Premiere

Google and the World Brain/ Spain, United Kingdom (Director: Ben Lewis) — In the most ambitious Internet project ever conceived, Google is working to scan every book in the world. Google says it is building a library for mankind. But some are trying to stop it, claiming that Google may have other intentions. World Premiere

The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear/ Georgia, Germany (Director: Tinatin Gurchiani) — A film director casting a 15-23-year-old protagonist visits villages and cities to meet people who answer her call. She follows those who prove to be interesting enough through various dramatic and funny situations. North American Premiere

The Moo Man/ United Kingdom (Directors: Andy Heathcote, Heike Bachelier) — A year in the life of heroic farmer Steve, scene stealing Ida (queen of the herd), and a supporting cast of 55 cows. When Ida falls ill, Steve’s optimism is challenged and their whole way of life is at stake. World Premiere

Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer/ Russian Federation, United Kingdom (Directors: Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin) — Three young women face seven years in a Russian prison for a satirical performance in a Moscow cathedral. But who is really on trial: the three young artists or the society they live in? World Premiere

A River Changes Course/ Cambodia, U.S.A. (Director: Kalyanee Mam) — Three young Cambodians struggle to overcome the crushing effects of deforestation, overfishing, and overwhelming debt in this devastatingly beautiful story of a country reeling from the tragedies of war and rushing to keep pace with a rapidly expanding world. World Premiere

Salma/ United Kingdom, India (Director: Kim Longinotto) — When Salma, a young girl in South India, reached puberty, her parents locked her away. Millions of girls all over the world share the same fate. Twenty-five years later, Salma has fought her way back to the outside world. World Premiere

The Square (Al Midan)/ Egypt, U.S.A. (Director: Jehane Noujaim) — What does it mean to risk your life for your ideals? How far will five revolutionaries go in defending their beliefs in the fight for their nation? World Premiere

The Stuart Hall Project/ United Kingdom (Director: John Akomfrah) — Antinuclear campaigner, New Left activist and founding father of Cultural Studies, this documentary interweaves 70 years of Stuart Hall’s film, radio and television appearances, and material from his private archive to document a memorable life and construct a portrait of Britain’s foremost radical intellectual. World Premiere

The Summit/ Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Nick Ryan) — Twenty-four climbers converged at the last stop before summiting the most dangerous mountain on Earth. Forty-eight hours later, 11 had been killed or simply vanished. Had one, Ger McDonnell, stuck to the climbers' code, he might still be alive. International Premiere

Who is Dayani Cristal?/ United Kingdom (Director: Marc Silver) — An anonymous body in the Arizona desert sparks the beginning of a real-life human drama. The search for its identity leads us across a continent to seek out the people left behind and the meaning of a mysterious tattoo. World Premiere. Day One Film

Producer’s Guild Announces Nominations for the Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures and Non-Fiction Television:

A People Uncounted(Urbinder Films)

Producers: Marc Swenker, Aaron Yeger

The Gatekeepers(Sony Pictures Classics)

Producers: Estelle Fialon, Philippa Kowarsky, Dror Moreh

The Island President(Samuel Goldwyn Films)

Producers: Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen

The Other Dream Team(The Film Arcade)

Producers: Marius Markevicius, Jon Weinbach

Searching For Sugar Man(Sony Pictures Classics)

Producers: Malik Bendjelloul, Simon Chinn

Nominations for the Award for Outstanding Producer of

Non-Fiction Television:

American Masters(PBS)

Producers: Prudence Glass, Susan Lacy, Julie Sacks

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations(Travel Channel)

Producers: Anthony Bourdain, Christopher Collins, Lydia Tenaglia, Sandy Zweig

Deadliest Catch(Discovery Channel)

Producers: Thom Beers, Jeff Conroy, Sean Dash, John Gray, Sheila McCormack, Bill Pruitt, Decker Watson

Inside the Actors Studio(Bravo)

Producers: James Lipton, Shawn Tesser, Jeff Wurtz

Shark Tank(ABC)

Producers: Rhett Bachner, Becky Blitz, Mark Burnett, Bill Gaudsmith, Yun Lingner, Brien Meagher, Clay Newbill, Jim Roush, Laura Skowlund, Paul Sutera, Patrick Wood

BAFTA Short and Documentary Feature Nominations (British Academy of Film and Television Arts, London)

Documentary Feature

The ImposterBart Layton, Dimitri Doganis

Marley Kevin Macdonald, Steve Bing, Charles Steel

McCullin David Morris, Jacqui Morris

Searching for Sugar Man Malik Bendjelloul, Simon Chinn

West of Memphis Amy Berg

Short Animation

Here to Fall Kris Kelly, Evelyn McGrath

I’m Fine Thanks Eamonn O'Neill

The Making of Longbird Will Anderson, Ainslie Henderson

Short Film

The Curse Fyzal Boulifa, Gavin Humphries

Good Night Muriel d'Ansembourg, Eva Sigurdardottir

Swimmer Lynne Ramsay, Peter Carlton, Diarmid Scrimshaw

Tumult Johnny Barrington, Rhianna Andrews

The Voorman Problem Mark Gill, Baldwin Li

The Broadcast Film Critics Association (Bfca)

Documentary Feature Nominations

Bully

The Imposter

Queen of Versailles

Searching for Sugar Man (Winner)

The Central Park Five

West of Memphis

________________________________________________________________________

Credits: Editing by Jessica Just for SydneysBuzz

________________________________________________________________________

Block Doc Workshops in Los Angeles February 2013 Ida Doc U

The International Documentary Association will be hosting Documentary Funding and Documentary Tune-Up Workshops with Block on February 9/10. http://www.documentary.org/news/february-documentary-producing-workshops-mitchell-block

Mitchell Block specializes in conceiving, producing, marketing & distributing independent features & consulting. He is an expert in placing both completed works into distribution & working with producers to make projects fundable. He conducts regular workshops in film producing in Los Angeles and most recently in Maine, Russia and in Myanmar (Burma).

Poster Girl, produced by Block was nominated for a Documentary Academy Award and selected by the Ida as the Best Doc Short 2011. It was also nominated for two Emmy Awards and aired on HBO. He is an executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Carrier, a 10-hour series that he conceived & co-created. Block is a graduate of Tisch School and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. He is a member of Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Television Academy, a founding member of BAFTA-la and has been teaching at USC School of Cinematic Arts since 1979. Currently Block teaches a required class in the USC Peter Stark Producing Program.

______________________________________________________________________

©2013Mwb All Rights Reserved All Rights Reserved. All information and designs on the Sites are copyrighted material owned by Block. Reproduction, dissemination, or transmission of any part of the material here without the express written consent of the owner is strictly prohibited.All other product names and marks on Block Direct, whether trademarks, service marks, or other type, and whether registered or unregistered, is the property of Block.

Earlier this week The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced the nominations for their annual awards for theatrical motion picture, animated motion picture and long-form television nominations for the 2013 Producers Guild Awards.

This was an incredible year for films, and most of the movies nominated here deserve to be. Out of all the films listed here, I'd like to see Zero Dark Thirty or Silver Linings Playbook take the top prize for motion picture, Paranorman for animated film, Game of Thrones for TV drama, and Curb Your Enthusiasm for TV Comedy. In case you missed them, here they are! Look them over and let us know what films you'd like to see win!

Ten nominations in the theatrical motion picture category include:

Argo (Warner Bros.)

Beasts of the Southern Wild (Fox Searchlight)

Django Unchained (The Weinstein Company)

Life of Pi (20th Century Fox)

Lincoln (DreamWorks)

Les Misérables (Universal)

Moonrise Kingdom...

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced today the motion picture and long-form television nominations for the 24th Annual Producers Guild Awards. The categories include: The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures; The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures; and The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television. The documentary film category and other television category nominations were already announced by the Guild in November 2012.

All 2013 Producers Guild Award winners will be announced on January 26th at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. This year, the Producers Guild will also present special honors to Bob Weinstein and Bob Weinstein (Milestone Award), Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner (David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures), J.J. Abrams (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television), Russell Simmons (Visionary Award) and Bully (Stanley Kramer Award).

The 2013 Producers Guild Awards Chair is Michael De Luca.

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) has announced the nominees in both motion picture and television for the 24th Annual Producers Guild Awards. "Skyfall" made the cut as one of the nominees of the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures.

Winners will be announced on January 26th at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Here's the complete list of nominees (including television); for winners/nominees of other award-giving bodies, click here:

Theatrical Motion Picture Nominees

The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures

.Argo. (Warner Bros.)

Producers: Ben Affleck, George Clooney, Grant Heslov

.Beasts of the Southern Wild. (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Producers: Michael Gottwald, Dan Janvey, Josh Penn

.Django Unchained. (The Weinstein Company)

Producers: Reginald Hudlin, Pilar Savone, Stacey Sher

.Les Misérables. (Universal Pictures)

Producers: Tim Bevan & Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh

.Life of Pi. (Fox 2000 Pictures)

Producers: Ang Lee, Gil Netter,...

The Producers Guild of America has announced its nominations for best productions of the year, in what is often looked to as an indicator for how the Academy Awards may go.

The guild selected 10 films — most of them common guesses for the group that could make up the Oscar list of the best films of 2012: Argo, Lincoln, Les Misérables, among others.

The one surprise: Skyfall. No 007 film has ever cracked the Best Picture list, but if this nomination is any indication, that could change when the Oscar nods are revealed Jan. 10.

Check out the full list …

The Darryl F. Zanuck...

On Wednesday, the Producers' Guild of America announced the TV and digital nominees for the 24th Annual Producers Guild Awards. The winners will be announced in a ceremony on January 26, 2013 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. In addition to the nominees listed below, the PGA will present special honors to  Bob and Harvey Weinstein, J.J. Abrams, and Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner.

The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama:

"Breaking Bad" (AMC) Producers: Melissa Bernstein, Sam Catlin, Bryan Cranston, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Mark Johnson, Stewart Lyons, Michelle MacLaren, George Mastras, Diane Mercer, Thomas Schnauz, Moira Walley-Beckett

"Downton Abbey" (PBS) Producers: Julian Fellowes, Gareth Neame, Liz Trubridge

"Game of Thrones" (HBO) Producers: David Benioff, Bernadette Caulfield, Frank Doelger, Carolyn Strauss, D.B. Weiss

"Homeland" (Showtime) Producers: Henry Bromell, Alexander Cary, Michael Cuesta, Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon, Chip Johannessen, Michael Klick, Meredith Stiehm

"Mad Men" (AMC) Producers: Jon Hamm,...

HBO’s Game of Thrones, Showtime’s Homeland, CBS’ Big Bang Theory and FX’s Louie were among the nominees in the top categories for the annual Producers Guild of America awards.

There’s a lot of overlap here with the 2012 Emmy award nominations, with a few exceptions: HBO’s Boardwalk Empire missed landing a slot for best drama series (there were six Emmy nominees and five for PGA). While on the comedy side, HBO’s Girls and Veep weren’t nominated, but Louie was. If you’re wondering why Comedy Central’s Emmy favorite The Daily Show with Jon Stewart...

Assassins is a kick ass short film which was Directed and Co-Written by Michael Bonomo and stars Actor Bill Oberst Jr. as Nathan.

The short film is currently making its way through the festival circuit and the filmmakers have started an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds for the feature film of Assassins.

Check out the trailer below as well as our "Assassins" review where More Horror writer Jason Lees says "It’s a complete story, satisfying and fully realized, all in its brief run time. There’s an art to pulling that off, one that Bonomo proves he’s adept at." Take a gander at the trailer below as well as the crazy cool poster.

Check out the Pitch video for the Assassins Feature with a word from Bill Oberst Jr.

Assassins Synopsis:

Life changed for Chris that Thursday evening. The brutal murder of his ex-girlfriend has left him shaken.

Last night the Producers Guild of America (PGA) gave out awards for achievement in films and television released in 2011. The big winner was The Artist, which took home the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures. As the winner of this award takes the Best Picture Oscar three times out of four, any betting on the top Oscar honor is pretty much over at this point. Read on for the full list of winners. The PGA website provides the list. In each case I've left the full slate of nominees, and winners are bolded. I'm happy to see the excellent A Tribe Calle Quest doc, Beats, Rhymes and Life, picking up the award for best documentary. The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures: The Artist Producer: Thomas Langmann Bridesmaids Producers: Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, Clayton Townsend The Descendants Producers: Jim Burke,...

By Sean O’Connell

hollywoodnews.com: It’s beginning to look a bit like a landslide. The Producers Guild of America is the latest group to reward Michel Hazanavicius’ “The Artist” with its year-end Best Picture honors, paving the way for what could be Oscar domination next month.

The black-and-white and predominantly silent film has been picking up top prizes throughout the season, winning Best Picture awards at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards and the Golden Globes. On accepting the PGA distinction, producer Thomas Langmann said that when they “dreamed of making ‘The Artist,’ we knew we were dreaming of writing a love letter to American cinema.”

Oscar nominations arrive on Tuesday morning, and “The Artist” is expected to lead all films with the most nominations. It’s best to caution against landslide victories in what amounts to “the primaries.” Last year, David Fincher’s “The Social Network” did very...

John Goodman, The Artist Motion Pictures Darryl F. Zanuck Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures * The Artist Producer: Thomas Langmann Bridesmaids Producers: Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, Clayton Townsend The Descendants Producers: Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Producers: Ceán Chaffin, Scott Rudin The Help Producers: Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, Brunson Green Hugo Producers: Graham King, Martin Scorsese The Ides Of March Producers: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Brian Oliver Midnight In Paris Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum Moneyball Producers: Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz, Brad Pitt War Horse Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures * The Adventures Of Tintin Producers: Peter Jackson, Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg Cars 2 Producer: Denise Ream Kung Fu Panda 2 Producer: Melissa Cobb Puss In Boots Producers: Joe M. Aguilar, Latifa Ouaou Rango Producers: John B. Carls, Gore Verbinski Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures * Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels...

The Producers Guild of America has announced the nominees for their 2012 film and TV awards.

The Producers Guild Awards (PGA) nominees include the obvious choices such as The Artist, The Descendants, and Hugo, but also some films that have not often been mentioned in the build-up to the Oscars, including Moneyball, The Help, The Ides of March. Among the TV nominees, as well, are 30 Rock, Modern Family, Game of Thrones, and Mad Men.

The PGA has also chosen ten nominees this year for Best picture, but the Oscars will choose between five and ten. Here are the nominees:

The theatrical motion picture nominees are:

Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures:

The Artist

Producer: Thomas Langmann

Bridesmaids

Producers: Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, Clayton Townsend

The Descendants

Producers: Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Producers: Ceán Chaffin, Scott Rudin

The Help

Producers: Michael Barnathan,...

The Producers Guild of America has announced their nominations for the PGA Awards and it's hard not to agree with every movie on the list. All of the ones I've seen are great films, and the ones I haven't seen I've heard are amazing. The only two on the list I haven't watched are The Artist and The Descendants, both of which I'm looking forward to seeing. I'd love Hugo or War Horse to take home the top prize though. Those were my two favorite movies of 2011. The winners will be announced on January 21st, 2012; check out the full press released with the list of nominations below and tell us what you think! What would you like to see win?

Here's the Press Release:

Los Angeles, CA (January 3, 2012) – The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced today the motion picture and long-form television nominations for the 23rd Annual Producers Guild Awards.

Universal Pictures Kristen Wiig in “Bridesmaids”

The movies “Bridesmaids,” “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and “Midnight in Paris” were among the nominees announced today for the 2012 Producers Guild Awards.

The awards, which go to TV and film producers, often help forecast the Oscar nominees and winners.

The fact that “Bridesmaids” made the list is an indication that the light comedy may be in the running for some major nominations when the Oscars roll around. A number of expected movies,...

We really can’t say that 2011 is behind us until award season is finished, and as we get closer to the coveted Academy Awards in February, various other guilds and organizations are recognizing the best that 2011 had to offer. Today the Producers Guild of America announced their nominees for Best Picture. The PGA is generally a good indicator as to which movies will be nominated for best Picture when the Oscars roll around.

There are some pretty safe picks. Movies like War Horse, The Artist, The Descendants, and Hugo all made the list, but its Bridesmaids that came completely out of no where.

Below is the full press release of those that are nominated. This includes animated films and television shows. As you can see there are a lot of movies you expect to see on this list with a few surprises on it as well.

Los Angeles, CA (January...

George Clooney, The Ides of March Terrence Malick/The Tree Of Life, Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive, Clint Eastwood/J. Edgar Bypassed: PGA Award Nominations Motion Pictures Darryl F. Zanuck Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures The Artist Producer: Thomas Langmann Bridesmaids Producers: Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, Clayton Townsend The Descendants Producers: Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Producers: Ceán Chaffin, Scott Rudin The Help Producers: Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, Brunson Green Hugo Producers: Graham King, Martin Scorsese The Ides Of March Producers: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Brian Oliver Midnight In Paris Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum Moneyball Producers: Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz, Brad Pitt War Horse Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures The Adventures Of Tintin Producers: Peter Jackson, Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg Cars 2 Producer: Denise Ream Kung Fu Panda 2 Producer: Melissa Cobb Puss In Boots Producers: Joe M. Aguilar,...