News

Distributing films by Todd Haynes, Guy Maddin, Abbas Kiarostami, Laura Poitras, Olivier Assayas, and even Jacques Demy, Zeitgeist Film has been one of the most vital caretakers of independent and international cinema in the last few decades. Founded in New York City in 1988 by Nancy Gerstman and Emily Russo, they will now get a well-deserved celebration at NYC’s Metrograph beginning this Friday, November 3, with the series Zeitgeist Films at 35, and we’re pleased to exclusively debut the trailer.

Along with Olivier Assayas’ Irma Vep, Todd Haynes’ Poison, Derek Jarman’s The Garden, Abbas Kiarostami’s Taste of Cherry, Atom Egoyan’s Speaking Parts, and Jacques Demy’s Umbrellas of Cherbourg (released in a new restoration by Zeitgeist in 1996), the series features premieres of new 4K remasters of Guy Maddin’s Archangel and Marc Rothemund’s Sophie Scholl: The Final Days, plus an exclusive series closing night Member Preview of...

Former Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins, who is currently imprisoned for multiple sex offenses and pedophilia crimes, was taken hostage by fellow inmates and brutally stabbed and beaten, according to The Mirror. He is reported to be fighting for his life.

The disgraced UK rocker is roughly 10 years into a 29-year sentence after pleading guilty to multiple counts of engaging in sex with minors. Among his many heinous charges was the attempted sexual assault of a baby.

Per The Mirror‘s report, the now 46-year-old Watkins was taken hostage on Saturday morning (August 5th) by three fellow prisoners who brutally beat and stabbed him. He was eventually freed by prison guards and treated in an ambulance outside Hmp Wakefield prison, where he is serving his sentence.

The Mirror cites a source as saying, “He was found by officers after being held hostage and battered on Saturday morning. He’s in a...

Club

Pandemic-born initiative Female Film Club (Ffc), has developed a networking space, a new separate area in the online members club where members come together specifically to network. It will be open for existing members and it allows 100 additional filmmakers to join the space for free on a first come, first serve basis.

Interested applicants need a minimum of two years in the film industry or have worked on an award-winning short film or on a feature film.

Members will gain access to the Ffc app, online speed networking events, 20 discount on all Ffc courses, a 90-day Mubi membership and can watch to selected replays from masterclasses and Q&a’s.

Ffc offers film recommendations and streaming links from films made by a female director, female writer, or a film shown from the female gaze; connections with international female and non-binary filmmakers; and masterclasses, Q&As, film festival meet-ups, goal setting and inspiration sessions.

John Mayer’s first live performance in two years was briefly interrupted Wednesday night when the singer-songwriter noticed a member of the audience was in need of medical aid.

In video captured by a staffer for The Hollywood Reporter, Mayer can be seen stopping his SiriusXM-Pandora “Small Stages Series” performance at the Hollywood Palladium to check on the fan, who appeared to have fainted. He was in the middle of performing “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room” when the attendee required medical attention.

“Stop the show,” Mayer said. “Are they conscious?...

John Mayer celebrated the arrival of his new album Sob Rock Thursday night with a visit to The Tonight Show, where the singer performed two tracks from his just-released LP.

Performing virtually from a panoramic soundstage, Mayer and his band delivered the acoustic ballad “Shouldn’t Matter But It Does” along with the Eighties-indebted single “Last Train Home.”

As Fallon noted in his introduction, Mayer announced 2022 tour dates in support of Sob Rock this morning, with the singer embarking on the arena trek starting February 17th in Albany, New York.

No one is more aware of what people think about John Mayer than John Mayer himself. The title of his eighth studio album acknowledges past accusations of sad-boy mopery. The muted pastels of the throwback cover art, complete with a simulation of the “Nice Price” sticker that Columbia Records used to slap on its bargain LPs, dares you to call him a purveyor of slick, dated studio-rock.

[Find the Vinyl for Sob Rock Here]

Is this self-deprecating? A jab at critics? Either way, the self-consciousness of the packaging is notably absent from Mayer’s music itself. He...

It was Canada’s turn for glitz and glamour last night as the red carpet rolled out for The 31st Annual Genie Awards, Canada’s biggest night in film. Awards were handed out at the National Arts Center in our nation’s capital last night and hosted by icon and current funnyman William Shatner. The televised event on CBC only lasted a meager 1 hour, whereas the entire ceremony itself was an hour and a half. Several awards were already given out prior to the telecast, cutting to the chase for the night’s biggest contenders. The night’s biggest winners were also the ones who dominated the nominations: Incendies and Barney’s Version

Quebec’s critically and commercially successful Incendies took home the night’s top honor for Best Motion Picture, writer/director Denis Villeneuve snatched up honors for Achievement in Direction and Adapted Screenplay and star of the film...

HollywoodLife.com’s Editor-in-Chief Bonnie Fuller strolled the red carpet with her fellow Canadian stars! Check out all the pics!

Bonnie returned to her native Canada for the star-studded 31st Annual Genie Awards in Ottawa, Ont. and rubbed shoulders with some big Hollywood names — some you might not have realized were Canadian! Bonnie had the honor of presenting the fan-voted favorite actor category, which was awarded to Canadian cutie and star of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Jay Baruchel. Keep reading for a full list of winners!

Jay was most recently in the movie The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, but you would also recognize him from hit movies like Million Dollar Baby, Knocked Up, How to Train Your Dragon, and She’s Out of My League. He must have been super excited to win, because as he was accepting the awards he thanked his “fiancée,” actress Allison Pill, and accidentally announced his engagement for the first time!

Incendies, Barney’s Version, and the other winners of the 2011 Genie Awards (Prix Genie) have been announced. The 31st Annual Genie Awards were held by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television and are handed out to recognize the best of Canadian cinema. The Genie Awards were “broadcast live from the National Arts Centre in Ottawa on CBC, the awards presentation was hosted by the legendary William Shatner and featured musical performances from Melissa Etheridge, Serena Ryder, Johnny Reid, and Karkwa.” The full listing of the 2011 Genie Awards (Prix Genie) winners is below.

Best Motion Picture

Incendies – Luc Déry, Kim McCraw

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Paul Giamatti - Barney’s Version

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

Dustin Hoffman - Barney’s Version

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Lubna Azabal - Incendies

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

Minnie Driver...

While Denis Villeneuve's Incendies lost out in its Best Foreign Picture bid, but in what constitutes a nice consolation prize, the film picked up a total of eight awards, including Best Motion Picture, Achievement in Direction, Adapted Screenplay (both going to Villeneuve), and Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role which goes to versatile thesp Lubna Azabal at the Canadian Oscars otherwise known as The Genie Awards. The other big winner of the evening was Barney's Version -- it picked up seven awards (three in the acting departments and costume and make-up kudos). Xavier Dolan's sophomore film Heartbeats went zero for four - but that was to be expected when you measure it up to Incendies. This sunday are French Canada's Oscars (the Jutra awards) - and Villeneuve should will undoubtedly continue his winning streak. Here are all the winners/categories. Best Motion Picture: Incendies - Luc Déry,...

Reviewer: Jeffrey M. Anderson

Rating (out of 5): ***½

Filmmaker Lixin Fan served as a producer on the remarkable documentary Up the Yangtze, and he continues with much that same style with his directorial debut Last Train Home. It's a fascinating, heartbreaking attempt to capture both the overwhelming hugeness and harsh growing pains of China's exploding economy, by focusing on one family.

For over a decade, the Zhangs have worked in a big city factory and returned to their rural home only once a year, for Chinese New Year. According to the film, about 130 million Chinese in the same situation make a similar journey at the same time, making it the largest human migration in history. This, of course, makes for a nightmarish journey, including hard-to-get train tickets, cramped quarters and flared tempers.

Hitting movie theaters this weekend:

Drive Angry – Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard, William Fichtner

Hall Pass – Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Christina Applegate

Shelter – Julianne Moore, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Jeffrey DeMunn (limited)

Movie of the Week

Hall Pass

The Stars: Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Christina Applegate

The Plot: A married man (Wilson) is granted the opportunity to have an affair by his wife.

The Buzz: I’m happy to see, after a four-year hiatus, the Farrelly Brothers are back (Dumb & Dumber, There’s Something About Mary, Shallow Hal) — it’s also nice to see Owen Wilson back to his regular Hollywood hard-working self. I didn’t think the red-band trailer for Hall Pass was as funny as the green-band, but I am still holding out hope that the Farrelly’s and Mr. Wilson are as good a match-up in reality as they are on paper. The supporting cast looks solid, with Jason Sudeikis,...

A look at what's new on DVD today:

"Black Lightning" (2009)

Directed by Dmitriy Kiselev and Aleksandr Voytinskiy

Released by Universal Studios

"Wanted" director Timur Bekmambetov produced this Russian action flick about a man and his flying car, using the same effects team that worked on all of his previous films including "Night Watch." A Russian trailer is here since where we're going, we don't need to understand words.

"7th Hunt" (2010)

Directed by Jon Cohen

Released by Vanguard Cinema

A motley group of young adults are abducted and forced to fend for their survival at an abandoned military training center in the middle of nowhere in Jon Cohen's thriller.

"Alien Vs. Ninja" (2010)

Directed by Seiji Chiba

Released by Funimation

A selection of last year's New York Asian Film Festival, Seiji Chiba's crazy genre mashup may just be "the best and wittiest movie ever to air at 2am on the SyFy Channel" in the future,...

The nominees for the 31st Annual Genie Awards, Canada’s answer to the Oscars, were unveiled at simultaneous press conferences in Montreal and Toronto yeseterday. After being snubbed by the major Hollywood awards, only receiving 1 nomination and win for Paul Giamatti at the Golden Globes, Barney’s Version has been highly recognized by Canadian audiences. This is no surprise as its source material is a novel from beloved Canadian treasure Mordecai Richler and the film was partially shot in Montreal. Barney’s VersionIncendies leads the pack with 11 nominations including Best Motion Picture and populating most of the acting categories including one for Paul Giamatti for a Performace by an Actor in a Leading Role and Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for Dustin Hoffman. Following closely is the other Canadian darling this year, Incendies , which garnered 10 nominations such as Adapted Screenplay (Denis Villeneuve) and Performance by an Actress...

It was a wonderful night celebrating documentary filmmaking at the fourth annual Cinema Eye Honors, held in the beautifully renovated Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens, N.Y. on January 18th. Hosted by filmmakers Aj Schnack (Kurt Cobain: About a Son) and Esther Robinson (A Walk Into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory), the nominees comprised of some of the best documentary films of 2010, truly a celebration of nonfiction filmmaking rather than a competition. David Schwartz, the chief curator of the Museum, relayed the thoughts of many filmgoers who say that “the best films at festivals are the documentaries.” The night kicked off with musical accompaniment by the Quavers and an excerpt of Utopia in Four Movements, performed by Sam Green. His excerpt was at both funny and poignant, touching upon a mix of history and comedy, segueing between 1960s ideas of the future world to...

Last night's fourth annual Cinema Eye Honors, the awards show dedicated entirely to documentary excellence, belonged to street artist Banksy. His film "Exit Through the Gift Shop" took home two awards including the film's top prize for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking and the man himself delivered the acceptance speech of the night. Well, not quite the man himself, since Banksy was a no show (obviously, since nobody outside of one random seller on eBay). But "Gift Shop" producer Jaimie D'Cruz, accepting the award on Banksy's behalf, read some words the man himself had prepared. And they were fantastic. After some pleasantries, D'Cruz got down to business. I had my tape recorder rolling. Here was Banksy's speech:

"Now's not the time for long, rambling speeches. I'll leave that for the director of 'Waiting for Superman.'

I'd like to thank the Cinema Eye awards. It's great...

Documentaries became a box office factor with the rise of such films as "Hoop Dreams" and "Roger & Me." Before then, there were hit music documentaries like "Woodstock" but most other nonfiction films could expect short runs in few theaters before dutiful audiences. What a small but growing minority of Friday night moviegoers is beginning to discover is that there's a good chance the movie they might enjoy most at the multiplex is a doc.

In alphabetical order, these were the best documentaries I saw in 2010:

"45365" is the zip code of Sidney, Ohio. The brothers Bill and Turner Ross were born there perhaps 30 years ago. They knew everybody in town, and when they spent seven months of 2007 filming its daily life, their presence must have become commonplace. Their film evokes what Winesburg, Ohio might have looked like as a documentary.

The film is privileged. No one is filmed with a hidden camera.

Note: Sorry about the delay in the top ten -- probably tonight. maybe tomorrow morning. Depends on how the day goes. The writeups take awhile. But now... news and linkage.

The Advocate Rabbit Hole's John Cameron Mitchell (He never ages. 47!) A.V. Club interviews Aaron Eckhart, also of Rabbit Hole. And in case you missed it... The Film Experience ...that's my 11th favorite of the year The Telegraph Bond is not a director's franchise, Tim Robey, reminds us as Sam Mendes preps Bond 23 (to be titled later obviously) In Contention DGA's documentary nominees. Yes on Lixin Fan for Last Train Home. The Academy really botched that one. It's one of the best films of the year. Rotten Tomatoes gives out its Golden Tomatoes for the best reviewed movies of 2010. Naturally the animated films dominate as they're generally critic proof if they're any good at all. Though we're slightly...

Variety: Dave McNary shares the news that the Directors Guild of America, which earlier this week announced its five DGA Award nominees in the feature film category, has now unveiled its five DGA Award nominees in the documentary category. They are: Lixin Fan for “Last Train Home,” Charles Ferguson for “Inside Job,” Alex Gibney for “Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer,” Davis Guggenheim for “Waiting for ‘Superman’,” and Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger for “Restrepo.” All are first-time DGA nominees except for Gibney, who was previously nominated for “Taxi to the Dark Side” (2007), which went on to win the best documentary (feature) Oscar. McNary notes that only three of this year’s DGA-nominated docs — “Inside Job,” “Restrepo” and “Waiting for ‘Superman’” — also made it onto the Academy’s shortlist of 15 docs from which its documentary branch will ultimately select five nominees. Last year’s DGA winner, Louis...

Charles Ferguson's Inside Job, about the greed, corruption, and general idiocy that led to the still-lingering global financial meltdown, narrated by Matt Damon Lixin Fan's Last Train Home, Charles Ferguson's Inside Job, Alex Gibney's Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer, Davis Guggenheim's Waiting for 'Superman', and Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger's Restrepo are the Directors Guild of America's nominees for the 2011 DGA Award in the Documentary Feature category. Notably absent from the DGA Awards' shortlist are Banksy's Exit Through the Gift Shop and Amir Bar-Lev's The Tillman Story. Last Train Home, about a Chinese peasant family's long trek home, is the only DGA nominee not found on the Academy Awards' list of documentary feature semi-finalists. All but one of the shortlisted documentary filmmakers are first-timers. The sole exception is Alex Gibney, who was nominated for Taxi to the Dark Side...

"Waiting for Superman's" Davis Guggenheim received a DGA (Directors Guild of America) nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentaries for 2010.

According to the Directors Guild of America President, Taylor Hackford,.the excellent work of our five nominees illuminates, educates and inspires us in extraordinary ways. My congratulations to each of our nominees."

This is the first DGA nomination for four nominees except Alex Gibney ("Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer") who received his second nod. His first nomination for DGA Documentary Award category was for 2007's "Taxi to the Dark Side."

The winners will be revealed at the 63rd Annual DGA Awards on Saturday, January 29.

Here's the complete list of nominees (Check our Awards Avenue for complete winners/nominees for all award-giving bodies):

Lixin Fan

Last Train Home

Eye Steel Film, Itvs, Canada

Council for the Arts

Zeitgeist Films

Charles Ferguson

Inside Job

Representational Pictures...

We know the Directors Guild of America already announced the feature film nominees from 2010 for their annual awards show. Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan), Tom Hooper (The King's Speech) and David O. Russell (The Fighter) all received well deserved first-time nominations, along with multi-nominated colleagues David Fincher (The Social Network) and Christopher Nolan (Inception). But now the DGA has announced their nominations for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentaries in 2010, and considering some of the stellar work in that arena this year, the nominations probably weren't easily chosen. See the full list below! The DGA's nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentaries in 2010: » Lixin Fan for Last Train Home » Charles Ferguson for Inside Job » Alex Gibney for Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer » Davis Guggenheim for Waiting for Superman » Tim Hetherington & Sebastian Junger for Restrepo Once again Banksy's Exit Through the Gift Shop has been overlooked in...

The DGA named their documentary award nominees. The voting body selected five nominees for its documentary award. They are: Lixin Fan for "Last Train Home," Charles Ferguson for "Inside Job," Alex Gibney for "Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer," Davis Guggenheim for "Waiting for Superman" Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger for "Restrepo." The winner will be announced at the DGA Awards on Jan. 29 at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood and Highland.

Earlier this week, the Directors Guild of America named its nominees for Best Director.  Now they've named their nominees for Best Documentary Director.  And the nominees are: Lixin Fan for Last Train Home Charles Ferguson for Inside Job Alex Gibney for Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer Davis Guggenheim for Waiting for "Superman" Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger for Restrepo Among the notable snubs were Banksy for Exit Through the Gift Shop and Amir Bar-Lev's The Tillman Story.  It's possible that the DGA's nominees will be the five Oscar nominees as well, but I honestly don't see what's so spectacular about Client 9.  Obviously, I'm biased towards Exit Through the Gift Shop, but I think it's the more enduring and thought-provoking work.  Winners will be announced Saturday, January 29th. [TheWrap]...

Two days after they dropped the nominations for feature film directors, the DGA has revealed their choices for the documentary category, and there are some pretty interesting choices and one glaringly huge omission. For the most part, the nominees are the safe obvious choices we probably would have guessed months ago with Lixin Fan (“Last Train Home”), Charles Ferguson (“Inside Job”), Alex Gibney ("Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer”), Davis Guggenheim (“Waiting for 'Superman'”), and Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger (“Restrepo”) all getting recognition from their peers. But there is one huge, glaring omission. Where is "Exit…...

Lixin Fan – Last Train Home Charles Ferguson – Inside Job Alex Gibney – Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer Davis Guggenheim – Waiting for “Superman” Tim Hetherington & Sebastian Junger – Restrepo...

The nominees for the Directors Guild of America Award for documentary for 2010 are here and below. The Oscar frontrunners are DGA nominees Charles Ferguson (Inside Job), Alex Gibney (Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer), Davis Guggenheim (Waiting for Superman) and Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger (Restrepo). The surprise entry is Lixin Fan (Last Train Home), who did not make the Oscar short list of 15. The DGA did not include, from that Oscar list, outsider Banksy's Exit Through the Gift Shop or Lucy Walker's Wasteland. (in alphabetical order): Lixin Fan Last Train Home Eye Steel Film, Itvs, Canada Council for the Arts Zeitgeist Films This is Mr. Fan’s first DGA Award nomination. Charles Ferguson Inside Job Representational ...

hollywoodnews.com: ‘Directors Guild of America President Taylor Hackford today announced the DGA’s nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentaries for the year 2010.

“The best documentary filmmaking provides the audience with the rare opportunity of experiencing a life, a place or a situation that might otherwise be too remote or too unknown to ever discover on our own,” said Hackford. “The excellent work of our five nominees illuminates, educates and inspires us in extraordinary ways. My congratulations to each of our nominees.”

The winners will be announced at the 63rd Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, January 29, 2011 at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland in Los Angeles.

***

Documentary

The nominees for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary for 2010 are (in alphabetical order):

Lixin Fan

Last Train Home

Eye Steel Film, Itvs, Canada

Council for the Arts

Zeitgeist Films

This is Mr. Fan?...

Los Angeles –Directors Guild of America President Taylor Hackford today announced the DGA’s nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentaries for the year 2010. "The best documentary filmmaking provides the audience with the rare opportunity of experiencing a life, a place or a situation that might otherwise be too remote or too unknown to ever discover on our own," said Hackford. "The excellent work of our five nominees illuminates, educates and inspires us in extraordinary ways. My congratulations to each of our nominees." The winners will be announced at the 63rd Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, January 29, 2011 at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland in Los Angeles. *** Documentary - The nominees for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary for 2010 are (in alphabetical order): Lixin Fan, Last Train Home Eye Steel Film, Itvs, Canada Council for the Arts, Zeitgeist Films This is Mr.

The Directors Guild of America has completed its three-day process of announcing its 2010 nominees by unveiling a slate of documentary nominations that singled out the features "Last Train Home," "Inside Job," "Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer," "Waiting for 'Superman'" and "Restrepo." Of the nominated directors, only Alex Gibney ("Client 9") has received a previous DGA nomination. The other directors -- Lixin Fan for "Last Train Home," Charles Ferguson for "Inside Job," Davis Guggenheim for "Waiting for 'Superman'" and Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger (left) for "Restrepo"...

Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical

-- Send a letter and gross someone out at the same time with this Zombie Stationary! [via BoingBoing]

-- Remember Lena Headey from 'The Sarah Connor Chronicles' and Zack Snyder's '300?' She's been cast as the villain (yay for female villains!) in the newest Judge Dredd movie 'Dredd.' She'll be playing a gang leader named Madeline Madrigal (Aka Ma-Ma).

-- The first trailer for 'X-Men: First Class' will hit theaters this Friday in front of 'The Green Hornet.' Look for it to arrive online even sooner. Update: Apparently Fox emailed Collider to let them know that this is not true, and there's currently no word on when the trailer will actually premiere.

-- DreamWorks Animation has announced their first animated musical, 'Monkeys of Bollywood.' It'll be a Bollywood-style musical inspired by the Hindu poem 'The Ramayana' and it will follow...

Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical

-- Send a letter and gross someone out at the same time with this Zombie Stationary! [via BoingBoing]

-- Remember Lena Headey from 'The Sarah Connor Chronicles' and Zack Snyder's '300?' She's been cast as the villain (yay for female villains!) in the newest Judge Dredd movie 'Dredd.' She'll be playing a gang leader named Madeline Madrigal (Aka Ma-Ma).

-- The first trailer for 'X-Men: First Class' will hit theaters this Friday in front of 'The Green Hornet.' Look for it to arrive online even sooner. Update: Apparently Fox emailed Collider to let them know that this is not true, and there's currently no word on when the trailer will actually premiere.

-- DreamWorks Animation has announced their first animated musical, 'Monkeys of Bollywood.' It'll be a Bollywood-style musical inspired by the Hindu poem 'The Ramayana' and it will follow...

The Directors Guild of America unveiled their nominations this week for their annual ceremony, and the five selections (as much as the omissions) underscored just how competitive this year will be for filmmakers vying for an Oscar.

Only six times since its inception in 1949 has the DGA’s “Outstanding Directorial Achievements in Motion Pictures” award not matched the Academy Award for “Best Director.”

Christopher Nolan (Inception), Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan), David Fincher (The Social Network), David O. Russell (The Fighter), and Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech) received nods for the top prize.

But this leaves worthy directors standing on the outside, like Joel and Ethan Coen who won the award three years ago for No Country for Old Men and are witnessing a new financial peak in their careers with the $100+ million success of True Grit. It also unfortunately means The Kids Are All Right’s Lisa Cholodenko is...

David Fincher's "The Social Network" topped the National Society of Film Critics Awards winning four categories including Best Picture, Best Actor (Jesse Eisenberg), Best Director for Fincher, and Aaron Sorkin winning Best Screenplay.

The best part of me? Olivia Williams from "The Ghost Writer" won Best Supporting Actress yay! Check out my interview with the actress when I met her for "Ghost Writer" and I told her -- she deserved to win Best Supporting Actress! Watch my interview with Williams right here.

Check the complete list of winners below (winners are highlighted -- numbers by names show total votes):

Best Actor

*1. Jesse Eisenberg 30 . The Social Network

2. Colin Firth 29 . The King.s Speech

2. Edgar Ramirez 29 . Carlos

Best Actress

*1. Giovanna Mezzogiorno 33 . Vincere

2. Annette Bening 28 . The Kids Are All Right

3. Lesley Manville 27 . Another Year

Best Actor In A Supporting Role

*1. Geoffrey Rush 33 . The King.s Speech

2. Christian Bale 32 . The Fighter

3. Jeremy Renner...

I hope everyone here had a happy holiday break! I had the chance to finally sit back, relax aimlessly for a few days, and take in some Netflix Watch Instantly films that I wouldn’t get to during the normal course of events. One such film was Sweetgrass [1], which guest Matt Singer discussed on a previous episode of the /Filmcast [2]. As I watched, I was struck with the film’s breathtaking beauty, and I realized that there’ve been some great-looking films this past year. Here are what I consider to be the 10 most beautiful films of 2010. There’s no grand unifying theory to this list, other than that these are movies I personally really enjoyed looking at for one reason or another. They are presented in no particular order. Oh, and tune in on Tuesday night at 9 Pm Est at slashfilm’s live page [3] to hear us countdown our...

Canada’s Top Ten honors “excellence in Canadian cinema and raises public awareness of Canadian achievements in film.” (via IndieWire) Canada’s Top Ten feature film selections for 2010 (in alphabetical...

The Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) revealed the top 10 best features and top 10 best short films of 2010 last night at the 10th annual Canada's Top Ten industry event. Established in 2001, Canada's Top Ten celebrates "excellence in Canadian cinema and raises public awareness of Canadian achievements in film." The winners included Lixin Fan's "Last Train Home," Denis Villeneuve's "Incendies," Richard J. Lewis's "Barney's Version," Bruce McDonald's "Trigger," ...

Every year 'round about this time the Toronto International Film Festival Group announces their selections as Canada's Top Ten Feature Films and Short Films. Selected by a jury of industry professionals it's general a pretty good guide for what's happening here in any given year.

This year's selections were announced today and while I personally consider the absence of Jacob Tierney's Good Neighbours to be a significant omission it's pretty hard to argue with the titles that are actually in there. The films selected will all screen at the Tiff Bell Lightbox beginning in January. Here's the full announcement:

Toronto -- Tiff revealed the top 10 best features and top 10 best short films of 2010 this evening at the 10th annual Canada's Top Ten industry event, hosted by Peter Keleghan and Leah Pinsent. Established in 2001, Canada's Top Ten celebrates excellence in Canadian cinema and raises public awareness of Canadian achievements in film.

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards have been announced and David Fincher’s The Social Network and Olivier Assayas’ Carlos both did quite well this year.

The Social Network took home best picture, best screenplay, best director and best score for Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

Carlos tied for best director, won best foreign film, and was runner-up for both best picture and best actor for star Edgar Ramirez.

Colin Firth and Jackie Weaver won acting awards for The King’s Speech and Animal Kingdom respectively. In a surprise turn, Kim Hye-ja won for best actress for Mother and best supporting actor Niels Arestrup won for A Prophet. Natalie Portman, Jennifer Lawrence (who was runner-up) Christian Bale and Geoffrey Rush (who was runner-up) in the latter were expected to take home the awards.

Toy Story 3 added another prize to its growing batch of animated feature wins. Lixin Fan...

Another good day for The Social Network. David Fincher may be sharing the Los Angeles Film Critics Association's Best Director award with Olivier Assayas (whose Carlos also wins Best Foreign Language Film and is the runner-up for Best Picture), but otherwise, it's won Best Picture, Best Screenplay (Aaron Sorkin) and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross share the Best Music/Score award with The Ghost Writer's Alexandre Desplat.

Best Actress: Kim Hye-ja in Bong Joon-ho's Mother. Best Actor: Colin Firth in Tom Hooper's The King's Speech. A couple of surprises in the Best Supporting categories: Niels Arestrup for A Prophet and Jacki Weaver and Animal Kingdom. Best Cinematography: Matthew Libatique for Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan. Best Production Design: Guy Hendrix Dyas for Christopher Nolan's Inception.

Lixin Fan's Last Train Home wins Best Documentary. Best Animated Film: Lee Unkrich's Toy Story 3. The Douglas E Edwards...

Editor's Note: This is part of a daily December series that will feature new or previously published interviews, profiles and first-persons of some of the year's best filmmakers, writers, actors and actresses. This edition is an interview with "Last Train Home" director Lixin Fan, who just won the La Film Critics' Award for best documentary. Filmmaker Lixin Fan may very well be one of modern-day China's great non-fiction storytellers. His ...

Editor's Note: This is part of a daily December series that will feature new or previously published interviews, profiles and first-persons of some of the year's best filmmakers, writers, actors and actresses. This edition is an interview with "Last Train Home" director Lixin Fan, who just won the La Film Critics' Award for best documentary. Filmmaker Lixin Fan may very well be one of modern-day China's great non-fiction storytellers. His ...

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association announced their awards for 2010 today and in doing so continue the trend of naming David Fincher's The Social Network as the best film of the year. The film also took home Best Screenplay (Aaron Sorkin).

However, instead of winning director outright, David Fincher shares those honors with Carlos helmer Olivier Assayas. Additionally, the film tied for best score with Alexandre Despalt's score for Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer. So it wasn't total domination, but Fincher's film did come away with the most awards.

At Best Actor, Oscar front-runner Colin Firth (The King's Speech) takes those honors with Carlos star Edgar Ramirez taking runner-up rather than the likes of Jesse Eisenbeg (The Social Network) or James Franco (127 Hours), the two actors most likely competing with Firth for Oscar's Best Actor.

Best Supporting Actor surprised me a little, but not by the win...

The shortlist for the Documentary Feature category of the 2011 Academy Awards has been announced and has been met with equal amounts of pleasant surprise and puzzled scratching of heads. The joyous bemusement in reaction to the inclusion of Banksy's Exit Through the Gift Shop, which many of us were convinced would be this year’s Anvil, and the shock that Laura Poitas' The Oath was notably absent. It’s particularly refreshing to see the inclusion of Exit given the general view that the Academy only saw the more "worthy"-subject based documentaries as genuine contenders, and that more populist fare never stood a chance. As documentaries don't compete within other filmmaking categories such as editing and cinematography (of which Armadillo would certainly deserve to be listed) the Documentary Feature category has always felt that it has to be an award based on overall filmmaking achievement, rather than subject, impact or agenda.

Not entirely sure why much lauded docs films that stuck out this year in Janus Metz's Armadilllo, Lixin Fan's Last Train Home, Michelangelo Frammartino's le quattro volte and Jeff Malmberg's Marwencol failed to make the grade (I'm not entirely sure how this works with the cut-off dates), but there are plenty on the list of 15 that have earned the right to be deemed among the best docs of the year. Shockingly, they included Exit through the Gift Shop and not surprisingly, this along with seven other docus if my count is good, first began their public life at the January launch-pad known as the Sundance Film Festival. The preliminary round of voting will determine five noms (announced live on Tuesday, January 25, 2011, at 5:30 a.m. Pt) and the only one I can honestly say is a shoe-in for a top 5 nom spot is Charles Ferguson's Inside Job.

Company Town: Ben Fritz believes that “there should be something for everyone this weekend at the multiplex” — the animated “Megamind” for the kiddies, the road comedy “Due Date” for the guys, and the female-centric “For Colored Girls” for the ladies, all of which are “generating strong pre-release interest among their distinct audiences” — and that this could result in “the biggest opening weekend in the month of November ever,” topping the $154 million take from the first weekend in November 2003.

Cinema Eye: Aj Schnack announces the nominees for the 2011 Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking, which are chosen by “representatives from top film festivals showcasing nonfiction work” and have feted documentary films since 2007. This year’s nominees for best nonfiction film are Janus Metz’s “Armadillo,” Banksy’s “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” Lixin Fan’s “Last Train Home,” Jeff Malmberg’s “Marwencol,” and Laura Poitras’s “The Oath.” The winner will...

The Cinema Eye Honors, devoted to highlighting the best of the year's nonfiction films, have flipped for Lixin Fan's fantastic "Last Train Home," which follows a family of migrant workers as they struggle to stay connected while living separated by hundreds of miles. "Last Train Home" received the most nominations -- seven -- while Banksy's "Exit Through The Gift Shop" and Afghanistan documentary "Armadillo" each received six. The award ceremony will take place on January 18 at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York, and will be broadcast on the Documentary Channel.

Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking

Armadilllo

Directed by Janus Metz

Produced by Sara Stockmann and Ronnie Fridthjof

Exit Through The Gift Shop

Directed by Banksy

Produced by Jaimie D'Cruz

Last Train Home

Directed by Lixin Fan

Produced by Mila Aung-Thwin and Daniel Cross

Marwencol

Directed by Jeff Malmberg

Produced by Jeff Malmberg, Tom Putnam, Matt Radecki, Chris Shellen...

Given that Oscar-winner The Cove grabbed seven nominations at last year's Cinema Eye documentary honors at the UK's Sheffield Doc/Fest, that bodes well for this year's nominations leader (with seven), Last Train Home, Lixin Fan's story of a migrant Chinese family. Other Outstanding Feature nominees include Janus Metz’s Armadillo, Banksy’s Exit Through The Gift Shop, Laura Poitra’s The Oath, and Jeff Malmberg’s Marwencol. The 2011 Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking event takes place on January 18, 2011 in Astoria, Queens. For the first time, the Documentary Channel will broadcast. My last look at the doc race is here; more on Cinema Eye Honors at indieWIRE.

“Last Train Home,” a documentary by Lixin Fan that follows a family of migrant workers traveling across China, was the top nominee for the 2011 Cinema Eye Honors, one of the chief awards given to non-fiction filmmaking. The film received seven nominations, including Outstanding Feature and Outstanding Direction; the Danish war documentary “Armadillo” and the sly art-world doc “Exit Through the Gift Shop” each received six. Besides “Last Train Home,” nominees in the Outstanding Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking category include Laura Poitras’ “The Oath” and Jeff Malmberg’s “Marwencol,” both of which received four...

Cinema Eye has just announced its doc nominees for the 2010 season. The audience choices fit what we’re all thinking of as the hot docs of the year more than...