Film Fan Fridays for Friday February 1, 2008!

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday February 1, 2008! We have a lot to cover this week so let's get this party started!

First off we had the Genie nominations announced earlier this week. Topping the nominations are Shake Hands with the Devil and Eastern Promises both with 12 noms, including best picture. Rounding out the Best Motion Picture nominations are L'âge des ténèbres, Away From Her and Continental, un Film sans Fusil. I was surprized and delighted to realize that I have seen 4/5 of those nominations, whereas I've seen 0/5 of the Best Picture Oscar nominations. Full listings of Genie Nominations can be found here in various formats. Congratulations to all the nominees!

That takes us to this week's releases. As we fall into step with February, the romantic films walk along side us. Although both of this weeks romantic films appear to really be romantic comedies: Love and Other Dilemmas and Over Her Dead Body. I wonder if they will last until the 14th.

Our limited releases include the Canadian Love and Other Dilemmas and two music films: Honeydripper which looks rather charming and is set in Alabama in the 1950's, and we also have Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten a documentary focusing on the frontman to The Clash.

The wide releases this week include The Eye which is a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Gin gwai, and has some visual similarities to The Diving Bell and the Butterfly which is strange as The Eye is a horror flick, not a drama but they are both about sight. We also have Over Her Dead Body and Strange Wilderness which has an outdoor reality tv meets Mystery Science Theatre 3000 vibe to it.

Special Advance Screening
Up The Yangtze / 沿江⽽上, a documentary centred around the displacement of families due to the Three Gorges Dam megaproject in China. The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival is presenting the screening on Sunday February 3/08, 4:30 PM at Empire Theatres at Empress Walk, 5095 Yonge Street in Toronto with filmmaker Yung Chang (張僑勇) in attendance. Check Reel Asian site for ticket information. This event is also a fundraiser and half the proceeds will to go the Yu Family, whose story is shown in the film. Support for the Yu Family can also be made at this website. Up the Yangtze will be in regular release is Friday February 8th, 2008.

Festival Watch

1st Annual Toronto-Romanian Film Festival
February 1-3, 2008 at Innis Town Hall, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
http://toroartsgroup.com/

The Reel Paddling Film Festival Presented by The Complete Paddler, showing films on canoeing and kayaking
Thursday February 7th, 2008 at The Bloor Cinema, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
www.completepaddler.ca

Have a great week!

Shannon

Friday February 1, 2008 Releases

The Eye
Dir: David Moreau & Xavier Palud (Ils / Them)
Cast: Jessica Alba, Alessandro Nivola, Parker Posey
USA
Official Film Site (autoplays trailer), IMDb Page, Trailer
Trailer pretty decent in terms of being not too spoilery

Honeydripper
Writer/Dir: John Sayles (Casa de los babys, Lone Star, The Secret of Roan Inish)
Cast: Danny Glover, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Yaya DaCosta, Sean Patrick Thomas, Charles S. Dutton, Gary Clark Jr.
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten
Dir: Julien Temple (Glastonbury, Pandaemonium, Earth Girls are Easy)
Documentary on The Clash frontman Joe Strummer
Ireland/UK
Limited Release
Official Film Site (autoplays music), IMDb Page, Trailer
Trailer spoiler free til 1/2 way point if you aren't familiar with subject matter.

Love and Other Dilemmas
Dir: Larry Di Stefano - feature film debut
Cast: Gabrielle Miller, Stephen Lobo, Fred Ewanuick, Janet Wright, John Cassini, Erin Karpluk
Canada
Limited Release
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page
First third of trailer spoiler free, I couldn't load the rest of it (pictures on official site give some of the plot away)

Over Her Dead Body
Writer/Dir: Jeff Lowell - directorial debut
Cast: Lake Bell, Paul Rudd, Eva Longoria Parker, Jason Biggs
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
You get the gist of it by the 1/2 way point of the trailer, after which it's got some spoilers

Strange Wilderness
Dir: Fred Wolf - directorial debut
Cast: Steve Zahn, Justin Long, Allen Covert, Jonah Hill, Ashley Scott
USA
Official Film Site (autoplays trailer), IMDb Page, Trailer

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as of February 1, 2008**

Monthly Wallpaper - February 2008: Romantic Movies

With Valentine's Day, February is a month for l'amour, and Movie Dearest is taking the opportunity to celebrate our favorite romantic movies.

From the deck of the Titanic to Golden Pond to the Moulin Rouge to the burning of Atlanta, these certainly are affairs to remember: Rick and Ilsa, Tony and Maria, Jack and Ennis, Katie and Hubbell, Harry and Sally, Dr. Zhivago and Lara, Vivian and Cay and, of course, Romeo and Juliet. Whether he was a tramp or an officer and a gentleman, these stories of cinematic passion have stood the test of time.

All you have to do is click on the picture above to enlarge it, then simply right click your mouse and select "Set as Background". (You can also save it to your computer and set it up from there if you prefer.) The size is 1024 x 768, but you can modify it if needed in your own photo-editing program.

The Latest in Theaters: Eva, Jessica and Bigfoot

Beauties and a beast are the stars of this week's latest in theaters:

• Over Her Dead Body - Eva Longoria Parker, the sassy Gabby on Desperate Housewives, drops dead at her wedding to hunky Paul Rudd (don't you just hate it when that happens) and comes back to haunt his new flame Lake Bell in this fantasy rom com. Jason Biggs also stars as Bell's gay pal.
• The Eye - Jessica Alba, Alessandro Nivola and Parker Posey offer plenty of (wait for it) eye candy in this supernatural thriller.
• Strange Wilderness - Steve Zahn and Justin Long are nature TV show hosts who hatch a plan to boost ratings: track down the elusive Sasquatch. And no, the creature is not played by co-star Ernest Borgnine.

Visit Fandango - Search movie showtimes and buy tickets.

Once and Again

"Falling Slowly", the Oscar-nominated Original Song from the indie fave Once whose eligibility had been called into question earlier this week, has been cleared of all charges and remains a nominee.

And if you haven't heard it yet or even if you have, here is a great reason to listen to it again: a well-made tribute video honoring the best movies of 2007.

31 Days of Oscar: The Adventures of Robin Hood

Starting tomorrow, Turner Classic Movies will begin their annual salute to Academy Award-winning and nominated films from the past 80 years with the "31 Days of Oscar".

So, starting today, I will be highlighting one of my personal favorite classic Oscar-noted movies, one that will air on TCM the following day. (And for the record, I have seen all but one of the 31 movies that I will spotlight, and you'll see why I picked that one anyway when I get to it.)

Kicking off the celebration (literally -- it's the first movie scheduled for the month) is one of my favorite adventure films of all time: The Adventures of Robin Hood. Directed by Michael Curtiz and starring the dashing Errol Flynn and the beautiful Olivia de Havilland, the 1938 Warner Bros. hit was nominated for four Academy Awards, winning all but the big one: Best Picture.

The Adventures of Robin Hood airs tomorrow at 6:00 AM EST on Turner Classic Movies.

Oscars at 80: The Best Pictures

In recognition of entering their eighth decade this year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be offering this new "best of" poster shortly after the 80th Best Picture is named. And you can pre-order it now so you'll get it just in time before all the Oscar post-mortems die down.

If you need a refresher of the first 79 Best Picture winners, here is an up-to-date video review, spanning from 1927's Wings to last year's The Departed.

And as for this year's contenders, here is a super-cool mash-up of all five BP '07 wannabes combined into one well-edited mock trailer. Enjoy.

First Look: Sean as Harvey

A blast from the past: Sean Penn gets shaggy as Harvey Milk in Gus Van Sant's Milk, now filming on location in San Francisco.

From Pan's Labyrinth to Middle Earth

If you were worried about who would take over as director of The Hobbit with Peter Jackson only producing, worry no more: Guillermo del Toro, of Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth fame, is currently in talks to take on the potential blockbuster, as well as a follow up feature rumored to be a story bridging the prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

However, one only has to take a look at del Toro's Imdb page to see that he will be an awful busy guy, writing and/or directing and/or producing eleven films in the foreseeable future (including the H.P. Lovecraft fantasy At the Mountains of Madness). And that's not even including the movies he's wants to make, such as his take on Frankenstein and a little movie called Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, not to mention this summer's Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

UPDATE: As Empire states, "Guillermo Del Toro is directing pretty much every film coming out between now and 2017": he also wants to direct a big screen version of another comic book hero, Doctor Strange.

'S Wonderful

On the dancing heels of The Band Wagon, another classic MGM movie musical is traveling from screen to stage: the 1951 Oscar winning Best Picture An American in Paris.

In addition to the classic songs from the movie, the score will be enhanced with such other Gershwin standards as "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" and "The Man I Love". The plot has also been tweaked, and will now revolve around the making of a fictional movie also titled An American in Paris. Crazy for You's Harry Groener and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang's Erin Dilly star.

The new tuner, officially titled The Gershwins' An American in Paris, will have its world premiere in April in Houston.

UPDATE: Playbill.com has an interview with playwright Ken Ludwig, who is adapting An American in Paris for the stage. Ludwig received a Tony Award nomination for his work on Crazy for You, which also featured the songs of George and Ira Gershwin. In the article, he mentions the Broadway possibilities for the show.

A Nightmare Re-Awakens on Elm Street

The franchise that put New Line Cinema on the map, A Nightmare on Elm Street, is now the latest horror series to get the "reboot" treatment (in Hollywood speak, "reboot" has become the new "re-imagining", but of course, they are all just remakes).

Following in the bloody wake of the recent returns of Leatherface, Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees (also in the works), this return to Elm Street will reportedly have a new Freddy Krueger as well. Now how anyone could (or want to) don the stripped sweater and finger blades made iconic by Robert Englund is beyond me.

(That sound you hear is outraged fanboys scrambling to post boycott notices and online petitions as we speak.)

What if Flight 815 ...

... crash-landed in ... the Twilight Zone?

Lost returns with the first of eight new episodes tomorrow night on ABC, with an encore showing of last season's finale airing tonight.

And for a refresher course on all things Lost, check out Doc Jensen's "cheat sheet" over at EW.com.

Women We Love: Norma Shearer

Object of our affection: Norma Shearer, actress.

- She is credited as "the first American film actress to make it chic and acceptable to be single and not a virgin on screen".

- She won the third ever Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Divorcée and was nominated another five times (Their Own Desire, A Free Soul, The Barretts of Wimpole Street, Romeo and Juliet and Marie Antoinette).

- Married for nine years to "boy wonder" film producer Irving Thalberg, twenty-five years her junior; he was head of production at Metro Goldwyn Meyer, thus she was known as "The First Lady of MGM". After Thalberg's death in 1936, her interest in her career wavered; she would pass on the lead roles in such future classics as Gone With the Wind, Mrs. Miniver and Now, Voyager.

- Life imitates art: infamously feuded with co-star Joan Crawford during the filming of George Cukor's The Women, her last great role.

- Two of Norma Shearer's early pre-code classics, The Divorcée and A Free Soul, will be released on DVD for the first time on March 25 as part of the TCM Archives - Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Volume 2,now available for pre-order from Amazon.com.

Movie Music: Jaan Pehechaan Ho

Made famous in the movie Ghost World, the quirky, practically surreal "Jaan Pehechaan Ho" production number is from the 1965 Indian movie Gumnaam.

Watch it in its original, head-bopping form here ... it's just as mesmerizing as Thora Birch made it look.

Lee, Nolan on Ledger

Two of the directors that worked with him pay tribute to the late Heath Ledger:

Ang Lee, Academy Award-winning director of Brokeback Mountain: "He brought to the role of Ennis more than any of us could have imagined -- a thirst for life, for love, and for truth, and a vulnerability that made everyone who knew him love him. His death is heartbreaking."

Christopher Nolan, director of Ledger's final completed performance in The Dark Knight, currently being edited: "Heath was bursting with creativity. It was in his every gesture ... I see him every day in my edit suite. I study his face, his voice. And I miss him terribly."

Falling Slowly ... Out of the Running?

Every year there is usually at least one scandal amidst all the Oscar hoopla, and this year is no different. Seems Once's "Falling Slowly", nominated for Original Song, may not be so original after all.

The Academy's music branch is reportedly meeting this week to determine the eligibility of the tune (widely believed to be the front-runner to win), which prompts the question: aren't they supposed to do that before the nominations?

Cloverfield

Dir: Matt Reeves (The Pallbearer)
Cast: T.J. Miller, Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel
USA, 2008

Seen: January 22/08 at Scotiabank

Reason to see: Oh, the spectacle! But seriously, Jamie invited me.

Even though the previews for this film were very 'teaser' like and didn't give much away, I found myself actively trying not to think about what might happen next. For the most part that wasn't too hard because the film style and plot keep you constantly off balance between knowing almost nothing and then POW! visuals of everything and anything... what *is* that? It can't be.... it is!!! And so on and so forth. It's a pretty fun ride if you meet the strong resistant to nausea requirements, which luckily I did so I watched with wide open eyes and sometimes dropped jaw during the very loud screening.

Considering the setting and content, it does bring up the question of whether or not it is too soon after 9/11 for this type of film. So far, I've mostly seen people asking the question but not responding so maybe people are feeling ok about it.

Warning: For those whom are susceptible to nausea from shaky-can (a la Blair Witch Project), I would say you'd likely want to give this one a pass. There were walk outs during the screening I went to and it did give an unpleasant reaction to a fair number of people I've spoken to.

Shannon's Overall View:
It was certainly a film 'experience'
I'd not likely watch it again
If disaster films are your thing, you want to see this - in the theatre

roughly 10 minutes of preshow including 2 commercial and 6 previews: Step Up 2, Jumper, 10,000 BC, The Ruins, Star Trek and Iron Man.

Return to Film Reviews

© Shannon Ridler, 2008

Start of Something New

The legit stage version of Disney's High School Musical just got a little more legit: it will open in London's West End this summer following a sold out tour of the United Kingdom.

Best of the Fests: Sundance 2008

The 2008 Sundance Film Festival came to a close this past weekend. The big news was the surprising lack of big buys; one would think the studios would be snapping up these ready-made films to stock up for the strike-weary future.

But it isn't all about deal making in Park City (at least, it's not supposed to be); awards were handed out as well, with the bleak drama Frozen River and the Hurricane Katrina doc Trouble the Water taking the grand jury prizes.

And for all the scoop on the fest's queer offerings, head over to AfterElton.com for Lawrence Ferber's extensive "Gay Film Dispatches".

Real American Heroes

The sure to be high-testosterone big screen version of G.I. Joe just got even more manlier: Channing Tatum and Dennis Quaid have been drafted as the leads (Duke and Hawk, respectively).

They join the already cast Marlon Wayans, Sienna Miller, Ray Park, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who co-stars next month with Tatum in another military movie, the expected to be far more realistic Stop-Loss.

Crash TV

The movie Crash -- the Paul Haggis one, sadly not the David Cronenberg one -- is being developed as a drama series for the Starz network, a first for the movie channel.

Considering that the Oscar winning Best Picture (it still hurts to say that) was as episodic, derivative and pretentious as most television dramas these days, it should fit in just fine on the boob tube.

Awards Watch: SAG Pulls a Stunt

Hollywood stunt people just can't seem to catch a break.

Not only have they been constantly turned down by the Academy for their own Oscar category, but even the Screen Actors Guild, which did create a "Stunt Ensemble" award this year, ended up showing them little respect come showtime. Instead of actually showing the presentation of the new awards during the ceremony telecast itself, they were actually handed out beforehand ... and on the red carpet no less.

The winners were The Bourne Ultimatum for film and 24 for television.

Film Art: Up, Up and Away

First look at concept art for Disney/Pixar's 2009 release Up, a tale of a 70-year-old man who "travels the globe, fights beasts and villains and eats dinner at 3:30 in the afternoon".

The film will show Up in theaters on May 29, 2009.

Day-Lewis Honors Ledger

The most memorable moment of Sunday night's Screen Actors Guild Awards was Best Actor winner Daniel Day-Lewis' heartfelt dedication of the award to the late Heath Ledger. Backstage, Day-Lewis elaborated to the press:

"I suppose that's all I've been thinking about for the last few days. I never met him. I thought he was beautiful. I just have a very strong feeling that I would have liked him very much as a man. I admired him very much."

This proves that not only is Day-Lewis one of the finest actors of our time, he is also one of the classiest.

In related news, Ryan Gosling also paid quiet tribute to his fellow actor at the ceremony.

UPDATE: SAG has posted the complete transcript of Day-Lewis' speech.

Awards Watch: Golden Tomatoes '07

And a rat shall lead them: Rotten Tomatoes has revealed their 9th Annual Golden Tomato Awards, honoring the best-reviewed films of 2007, with the Disney/Pixar hit Ratatouille landing in the top spot. Netting an overall score of a whopping 96%, the Oscar nominated animated comedy won director Brad Bird his second Golden Tomato; he received his first four years ago for The Incredibles.

Rounding out the top ten for wide release movies are No Country for Old Men, The Bourne Ultimatum, Sicko, Hairspray, Juno, Knocked Up, Gone Baby Gone, Enchanted and Zodiac. See the comments section below for the top ten films in limited release and the number one movie per genre.

Poster Post: Army Fatigue

MTV Films is hoping to steer clear of the bleak box office of other recent war-themed dramas with this Outsiders-esque image for Kimberly Peirce's Stop-Loss.

Of course, the presence of Channing Tatum, Ryan Philippe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt can't hurt. Stop-Loss opens in theaters March 28.

Click here to buy Stop Lossposters from Amazon.com.

The Latest on DVD: Big Lewton

Warner Home Video has released another DVD box set devoted to old school horrormeister Val Lewton. In addition to nine of Lewton's best films (including Cat People and I Walked With a Zombie), the set now includes the brand new feature length TCM documentary Martin Scorsese Presents: Val Lewton - The Man in the Shadows.

Click here for more info and to order The Val Lewton Horror Collectionfrom Amazon.com. And for more of this week's latest on DVD, see the Amazon widgets located in the sidebar to your right.

Advance Screening: Up The Yangtze / 沿江⽽上

The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival presents a Special Advance Screening of Up The Yangtze / 沿江⽽上 on Sunday February 3/08, 4:30 PM at Empire Theatres at Empress Walk, 5095 Yonge Street in Toronto.

Filmmaker Yung Chang (張僑勇) will be in attendance for a Q&A after the screening.

Up The Yangtze / 沿江⽽上 is a documentary centred around the displacement of families due to the Three Gorges Dam megaproject in China. The film has screened at Sundance and is a selection for the 2007 Canada's Top Ten.

A new block of tickets went on sale January 28/08, click here for online ticket purchases. Get them while you can!

Up The Yangtze / 沿江⽽上 website
Up The Yangtze / 沿江⽽上 - Reel Asian
Up The Yangtze / 沿江⽽上 - Canada's Top Ten (autoplays interview with filmmaker Yung Chang (張僑勇))
Up The Yangtze / 沿江⽽上 - imdb

The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival 2008 runs from November 12-16, 2008 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Genie Awards List

31st Genie Awards (2010 Films)
The Genie Awards were held at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and broadcasted live on CBC on Thursday March 10, 2011.
31st Genie Winners
31st Genie Nominations - detailed
31st Genie Awards Nominations - film list with nominations detailed
31st Genie Awards Nominations - film list (titles & # of nominations only)

30th Genie Awards (2009 Films)
30th Genie Winners
30th Genie Nominations - detailed
30th Genie Awards Nominations - film list with nominations detailed
30th Genie Awards Nominations - film list (titles & # of nominations only)

29th Genie Awards (2008 Films)
29th Genie Winners
29th Genie Awards Nominations - detailed
29th Genie Awards Nominations - film list with nominations detailed
29th Genie Awards Nominations - film list (titles & # of nominations only)

28th Genie Awards (2007 Films)
28th Genie Winners
28th Genie Awards Nominations - detailed
28th Genie Awards Nominations - film list with nominations detailed
28th Genie Awards Nominations - film list (titles & # of nominations only)

27th Genie Awards (2006 Films)
Nominations & Winners

For more information, check out: Genie Awards Site, Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television Site

28th Genie Award Nominations

Quite a stellar year for Canadian film! The majority of the nominations this year are for English films, and the front runners are Eastern Promises and Shake Hands with the Devil with 12 nominations each. There is a fair amount of crossover to Canada's Top Ten list (4 of the 10 are nominated) and a number of the categories have fierce competition. For example, check out the nominations for Best Director: Denys Arcand, Sarah Polly, David Cronenberg, Roger Spottiswoode and Bruce McDonald. Also, both lead acting categories are also jam packed with outstanding performance. The men: Roy Dupuis, Marc LaBrèche, Claude Legault, Viggo Mortensen and Gordon Pinsent. The women: Anne-Marie Cadieux, Julie Christie, Ellen Page, Molly Parker and Béatrice Picard. We can't leave out the zombie love, good thing Fido is here to represent!

The Genies will be held on March 3rd, 2008.

BEST MOTION PICTURE / MEILLEUR FILM
L'âge des ténèbres/ Days of Darkness - Denise Robert, Daniel Louis
Away From Her - Daniel Iron, Simone Urdl, Jennifer Weiss
Continental, un Film sans Fusil / Continental, a Film Without Guns - Luc Déry, Kim McCraw
Eastern Promises - Robert Lantos, Paul Webster
Shake Hands with the Devil- Laszlo Barna, Michael Donovan

ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN / MEILLEURE DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE
André-Line Beauparlant - Continental, un film sans fusil / Continental, a Film Without Guns
Lindsey Hermer-Bell, Justin S.B. Craig - Shake Hands With the Devil
Rob Gray, James Willcock - FIDO
François Séguin - Silk
Carol Spier - Eastern Promises

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN / MEILLEURS COSTUMES
Dolly Ahluwallia - Partition
Denise Cronenberg - Eastern Promises
Carlo Poggioli, Kazuko Kurosawa - Silk
Mary E. McLeod - FIDO
Joyce Schure - Shake Hands With the Devil

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY / MEILLEURES IMAGES
Miroslaw Baszak - Shake Hands With the Devil
Bruce Chun - Nitro
Alain Dostie - Silk
Vic Sarin - Partition
Peter Suschitzky - Eastern Promises

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION / MEILLEURE RÉALISATION
Denys Arcand - L'Âge des ténèbres / Days of Darkness
Sarah Polly - Away From Her
David Cronenberg - Eastern Promises
Roger Spottiswoode - Shake Hands With the Devil
Bruce McDonald - The Tracey Fragments

ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE
Jean-François Bergeron - Les 3 P'tits Cochons / The 3 Little Pigs
Susan Maggi - Poor Boy's Game
Jeremiah Munce, Gareth C. Scales - The Tracey Fragments
Ronald Sanders - Eastern Promises
David Wharnsby - Away From Her

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SCORE / MEILLEURE MUSIQUE ORIGINALE
David Hirschfelder - Shake Hands With the Devil
Steve London - That Beautiful Somewhere
Don MacDonald - FIDO
Ryuichi Sakamoto - Silk
Howard Shore - Eastern Promises

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SONG/ MEILLEURE CHANSON ORIGINALE
Alan Doyle - Young Triffie's Been Made Away With - Young Triffie's Been Made Away With
Valanga Khoza, David Hirschfelder - Shake Hands With the Devil - Kaya
Byron Wong, Luke Nicholson - Poor Boy's Game - Breathe

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE
Roy Dupuis - Shake Hands With the Devil
Marc LaBrèche - L'Âge des ténèbres / Days of Darkness
Claude Legault - Les 3 P'tits Cochons / The 3 Little Pigs
Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises
Gordon Pinsent - Away From Her

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN
Danny Glover - Poor Boy's Game
Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge - Les 3 P'tits Cochons / The 3 Little Pigs
Armin Mueller Stahl - Eastern Promises
Michelange Nzojibwami - Shake Hands With the Devil
Gilbert Sicotte - Continental, un film sans fusil / Continental, a Film Without Guns

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE
Anne-Marie Cadieux - Toi / You
Julie Christie - Away From Her
Ellen Page - The Tracey Fragments
Molly Parker - Who Loves the Sun
Béatrice Picard - Ma tante Aline / My Aunt Aline

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN
Marie-Ginette Guay - Continental, un film sans fusil / Continental, a Film Without Guns
Véronique le Flaguais - Surviving My Mother / Comment survivre à sa mère
Laurence LeBoeuf - Ma fille mon ange
Fanny Mallette - Continental, un film sans fusil / Continental, a Film Without Guns
Kristen Thompson - Away From Her

ACHIEVEMENT IN OVERALL SOUND / MEILLEUR SON D'ENSEMBLE
Claude la Haye, Oliver Calvert, Hans Peter Strobl, Bernard Gariépy Strobl - Silk
Eric Fitz, Jo Caron, Gavin Fernandes, Benoît Leduc - Shake Hands With the Devil
John. J. Thomson, Stephan Carrier, Martin Lee - Citizen Duane
John Hazen, Matt Chan, Brad Dawe - The Tracey Fragments
Stuart Wilson, Christian Cooke, Orest Sushko, Mark Zsifkovits - Eastern Promises

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE SONORE
Martin Pinsonnault, Pierre-Jules Audet, Michelle Cloutier, Simon Meilleur, Louis Molinas - Nitro
Wayne Griffin, Robert Bertola, Tony Currie, Andy Malcolm, Michael O’Farrell - Eastern Promises
Marie-Claude Gagné, Diane Boucher, Guy Francoeur, Claire Pochon, Jean-Philippe Savard - Roméo et Juliette
Marcel Pothier, Guy Francoeur, Antoine Morin, Guy Pelletier, François Senneville - Shake Hands With the Devil
Steven Munro, John Sievert, David Drainie Taylor - The Tracey Fragments

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY / MEILLEUR SCÉNARIO
Pierre Lamothe, Claude Lalonde - Les 3 P'tits Cochons / The 3 Little Pigs
Denys Arcand - L'Âge des ténèbres / Days of Darkness
Marc-André Lavoie, Simon Olivier Fecteau, David Gauthier - Bluff
Steve Knight - Eastern Promises
Douglas Coupland - Everything's Gone Green

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY / MEILLEURE ADAPTATION
Sarah Polley - Away From Her
Michael Donovan - Shake Hands With the Devil
Maureen Medved - The Tracey Fragments

BEST DOCUMENTARY / MEILLEUR DOCUMENTAIRE
Panache / Antlers - André-Line Beauparlant, Danielle Leblanc
Radiant City - Gary Burns, Jim Brown, Bonnie Thompson, Shirley Vercruysse
Sharkwater - Robert Stewart

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT DRAMA / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE DRAMATIQUE
Après Tout - Alexis Fortier Gauthier, Élaine Hébert
Fair Chaluim Mhic Leòid / The Wake of Calum MacLeod - Marc Almon, Nona MacDermid
Regarding Sarah - Michelle Porter, Amy Belling
Screening - Anthony Green, Philip Svoboda
The Tragic Story of Nling - Jeffrey St. Jules, Larissa Giroux

BEST ANIMATED SHORT / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE D'ANIMATION
Here and There - Diane Obomsawin, Marc Bertrand
Jeu - Georges Schwizgebel, Michèle Bélanger, Marcel Jean
Madame Tutli-Putli - Maciek Szczerbowski, Chris Lavis, Marcy Page

The 2008 Genie Awards will be presented on March 3rd, 2008. See Genie Awards website for more information.

Cinematic Crush: Scott Bakula

Crush object: Scott Bakula, actor.

- Best known for his time-traveling Dr. Sam Beckett on the cult sci fi drama Quantum Leap, a role that earned him a Golden Globe and four Emmy nominations.

- Also appeared on such TV shows as Designing Women, Murphy Brown and Star Trek: Enterprise, wherein he played the dashing Captain Archer.

- His film work includes co-starring roles in Color of Night; My Family, Mi Familia; American Beauty and Life as a House.

- Onstage, he was nominated for a Tony Award for the tuner Romance, Romance; also on Broadway, he played Joe DiMaggio in the musical Marilyn.

- Stepping into the shoes of none other then Fred Astaire, he has been cast as the lead in Dancing in the Dark, the new stage musical version of the classic movie musical The Band Wagon.

Poster Post: The Adventures of Indiana Spurlock

Raiders-inspired artwork for the latest documentary from the cheeky Morgan Spurlock (of Super Size Me fame): Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?

Be-Leaguered

In their time, the heroes that have made up the Justice League of America have faced their fare share of fearsome foes and nefarious nemeses, always emerging triumphant. Alas, their greatest defeat may be due to Hollywood politics.

That's right, the big screen debut of the world's greatest superheroes has become the latest casualty of the accursed writers strike.

Film Art: The Second Star to the Right ...

... is Tina Fey as that sassy sprite Tinker Bell, joined by supermodel Gisele Bündchen as Wendy Darling and dance legend Mikhail Baryshnikov as Peter Pan (looks like the boy that would never grow up, well, grew up).

This is just one of four new images created by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz for Disney Parks' never-ending "Year of a Million Dreams" campaign. Other pix include two inspired by Aladdin (Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez as Al and Jasmine and Whoopi Goldberg as the Genie) and pale face Jessica Biel as Pocahontas.

You can se all ten of the special photographs here; something tells me that at least two more will pop up by the end of the year and the whole lot will be repackaged as a wall calendar on sale at your local Disney Store.

28th Genie Nominations - film list (titles & # of nominations only)

Eastern Promises (12)
Shake Hands with the Devil (12)
Away From Her (7)
The Tracey Fragments (6)
Continental, un Film sans Fusil / Continental, a Film Without Guns (5)
Silk (5)
L'âge des ténèbres/ Days of Darkness (4)
Les 3 P'tits Cochons / The 3 Little Pigs (4)
Poor Boy's Game (3)
FIDO (3)
Partition (2)
Nitro (2)
That Beautiful Somewhere (1)
Young Triffie's Been Made Away With (1)
Toi / You (1)
Who Loves the Sun (1)
Ma tante Aline / My Aunt Aline (1)
Surviving My Mother / Comment survivre à sa mère (1)
Ma fille mon ange (1)
Citizen Duane (1)
Roméo et Juliette (1)
Bluff (1)
Everything's Gone Green (1)

--one nomination, nature of the category--

Panache / Antlers (1)
Radiant City (1)
Sharkwater (1)
Après Tout (1)
Fair Chaluim Mhic Leòid / The Wake of Calum MacLeod (1)
Regarding Sarah (1)
Screening (1)
The Tragic Story of Nling (1)
Here and There (1)
Jeu (1)
Madame Tutli-Putli (1)

28th Genie Nominations - film list with nominations detailed

Eastern Promises (12)
BEST MOTION PICTURE / MEILLEUR FILM - Robert Lantos, Paul Webster
ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN / MEILLEURE DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE - Carol Spier
ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN / MEILLEURS COSTUMES - Denise Cronenberg
ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY / MEILLEURES IMAGES - Peter Suschitzky
ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION / MEILLEURE RÉALISATION - David Cronenberg
ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE - Ronald Sanders
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SCORE / MEILLEURE MUSIQUE ORIGINALE - Howard Shore
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE - Viggo Mortensen
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN - Armin Mueller Stahl
ACHIEVEMENT IN OVERALL SOUND / MEILLEUR SON D'ENSEMBLE - Stuart Wilson, Christian Cooke, Orest Sushko, Mark Zsifkovits
ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE SONORE - Wayne Griffin, Robert Bertola, Tony Currie, Andy Malcolm, Michael O’Farrell
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY / MEILLEUR SCÉNARIO - Steve Knight

Shake Hands with the Devil (12)
BEST MOTION PICTURE / MEILLEUR FILM - Laszlo Barna, Michael Donovan
ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN / MEILLEURE DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE - Lindsey Hermer-Bell, Justin S.B. Craig
ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN / MEILLEURS COSTUMES - Joyce Schure
ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY / MEILLEURES IMAGES - Miroslaw Baszak
ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION / MEILLEURE RÉALISATION - Roger Spottiswoode
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SCORE / MEILLEURE MUSIQUE ORIGINALE - David Hirschfelder
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SONG/ MEILLEURE CHANSON ORIGINALE - Kaya - Valanga Khoza, David Hirschfelder
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE - Roy Dupuis
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN - Michelange Nzojibwami
ACHIEVEMENT IN OVERALL SOUND / MEILLEUR SON D'ENSEMBLE - Eric Fitz, Jo Caron, Gavin Fernandes, Benoît Leduc
ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE SONORE - Marcel Pothier, Guy Francoeur, Antoine Morin, Guy Pelletier, François Senneville
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY / MEILLEURE ADAPTATION - Michael Donovan

Away From Her (7)
BEST MOTION PICTURE / MEILLEUR FILM - Daniel Iron, Simone Urdl, Jennifer Weiss
ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION / MEILLEURE RÉALISATION – Sarah Polly
ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE - David Wharnsby
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE - Gordon Pinsent
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE - Julie Christie
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN - Kristen Thompson
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY / MEILLEURE ADAPTATION - Sarah Polley

The Tracey Fragments (6)
ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION / MEILLEURE RÉALISATION - Bruce McDonald
ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE - Jeremiah Munce, Gareth C. Scales
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE - Ellen Page
ACHIEVEMENT IN OVERALL SOUND / MEILLEUR SON D'ENSEMBLE - John Hazen, Matt Chan, Brad Dawe
ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE SONORE - Steven Munro, John Sievert, David Drainie Taylor
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY / MEILLEURE ADAPTATION - Maureen Medved

Continental, un Film sans Fusil / Continental, a Film Without Guns (5)
BEST MOTION PICTURE / MEILLEUR FILM - Luc Déry, Kim McCraw
ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN / MEILLEURE DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE - André-Line Beauparlant
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN - Gilbert Sicotte
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN - Marie-Ginette Guay
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN - Fanny Mallette

Silk (5)
ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN / MEILLEURE DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE - François Séguin
ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN / MEILLEURS COSTUMES - Carlo Poggioli, Kazuko Kurosawa
ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY / MEILLEURES IMAGES - Alain Dostie
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SCORE / MEILLEURE MUSIQUE ORIGINALE - Ryuichi Sakamoto
ACHIEVEMENT IN OVERALL SOUND / MEILLEUR SON D'ENSEMBLE - Claude la Haye, Oliver Calvert, Hans Peter Strobl, Bernard Gariépy Strobl

L'âge des ténèbres/ Days of Darkness (4)
BEST MOTION PICTURE / MEILLEUR FILM - Denise Robert, Daniel Louis
ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION / MEILLEURE RÉALISATION - Denys Arcand
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE - Marc LaBrèche
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY / MEILLEUR SCÉNARIO - Denys Arcand

Les 3 P'tits Cochons / The 3 Little Pigs (4)
ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE - Jean-François Bergeron
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE - Claude Legault
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN - Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY / MEILLEUR SCÉNARIO - Pierre Lamothe, Claude Lalonde

Poor Boy's Game (3)
ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE - Susan Maggi
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SONG/ MEILLEURE CHANSON ORIGINALE - Breathe - Byron Wong, Luke Nicholson
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN - Danny Glover

FIDO (3)
ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN / MEILLEURE DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE - Rob Gray, James Willcock
ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN / MEILLEURS COSTUMES - Mary E. McLeod
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SCORE / MEILLEURE MUSIQUE ORIGINALE - Don MacDonald

Partition (2)
ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN / MEILLEURS COSTUMES - Dolly Ahluwallia
ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY / MEILLEURES IMAGES - Vic Sarin

Nitro (2)
ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY / MEILLEURES IMAGES - Bruce Chun
ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE SONORE - Martin Pinsonnault, Pierre-Jules Audet, Michelle Cloutier, Simon Meilleur, Louis Molinas

That Beautiful Somewhere (1)
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SCORE / MEILLEURE MUSIQUE ORIGINALE - Steve London

Young Triffie's Been Made Away With (1)
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SONG/ MEILLEURE CHANSON ORIGINALE - Young Triffie's Been Made Away With - Alan Doyle

Toi / You (1)
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE - Anne-Marie Cadieux

Who Loves the Sun (1)
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE - Molly Parker

Ma tante Aline / My Aunt Aline (1)
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE - Béatrice Picard

Surviving My Mother / Comment survivre à sa mère (1)
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN - Véronique le Flaguais

Ma fille mon ange (1)
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN - Laurence LeBoeuf

Citizen Duane (1)
ACHIEVEMENT IN OVERALL SOUND / MEILLEUR SON D'ENSEMBLE - John. J. Thomson, Stephan Carrier, Martin Lee

Roméo et Juliette (1)
ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE SONORE - Marie-Claude Gagné, Diane Boucher, Guy Francoeur, Claire Pochon, Jean-Philippe Savard

Bluff (1)
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY / MEILLEUR SCÉNARIO - Marc-André Lavoie, Simon Olivier Fecteau, David Gauthier

Everything's Gone Green (1)
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY / MEILLEUR SCÉNARIO - Douglas Coupland

--one nomination, nature of the category--

Panache / Antlers (1)
BEST DOCUMENTARY / MEILLEUR DOCUMENTAIRE - André-Line Beauparlant, Danielle Leblanc

Radiant City (1)
BEST DOCUMENTARY / MEILLEUR DOCUMENTAIRE - Gary Burns, Jim Brown, Bonnie Thompson, Shirley Vercruysse

Sharkwater (1)
BEST DOCUMENTARY / MEILLEUR DOCUMENTAIRE - Robert Stewart

Après Tout (1)
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT DRAMA / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE DRAMATIQUE - Alexis Fortier Gauthier, Élaine Hébert

Fair Chaluim Mhic Leòid / The Wake of Calum MacLeod (1)
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT DRAMA / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE DRAMATIQUE - Marc Almon, Nona MacDermid

Regarding Sarah (1)
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT DRAMA / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE DRAMATIQUE - Michelle Porter, Amy Belling

Screening (1)
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT DRAMA / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE DRAMATIQUE - Anthony Green, Philip Svoboda

The Tragic Story of Nling (1)
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT DRAMA / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE DRAMATIQUE - Jeffrey St. Jules, Larissa Giroux

Here and There (1)
BEST ANIMATED SHORT / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE D'ANIMATION - Diane Obomsawin, Marc Bertrand

Jeu (1)
BEST ANIMATED SHORT / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE D'ANIMATION - Georges Schwizgebel, Michèle Bélanger, Marcel Jean

Madame Tutli-Putli (1)
BEST ANIMATED SHORT / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE D'ANIMATION - Maciek Szczerbowski, Chris Lavis, Marcy Page

SAG Awards '07: Best Cast

No Country for Old Men

SAG Awards '07: Best Actress

Julie Christie in Away from Her

SAG Awards '07: Best Actor

Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood

SAG Awards '07: Best Supporting Actress

Ruby Dee in American Gangster

SAG Awards '07: Best Supporting Actor

Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men

Poster Post: Gimme Shelter

Not that it would be too hard to advertise a movie about two surfer dudes who fall in love, but the new poster for festival favorite Shelter sure is sexy.

And if that doesn't do it for you, this video preview should.

You can learn more about the movie at its MySpace page.

From Barbary Lane to Broadway

A stage musical version of Armistead Maupin's beloved Tales of the Cityhas been rumored about for some time now, and now it appears to be a bit closer to reality: Jake Shears, lead singer of the Scissor Sisters, says he is currently writing the show's songs.

Anyone who has heard the group's Bee Gees-esque "I Don't Feel Like Dancing" will agree that Shears is a good choice for the 70's set story.

Perhaps we'll even get a madrigal from Mrs. Madrigal?

UPDATE: The producers, librettist and director of the Tony Award-winning Avenue Q are now attached to this project, with eyes on Broadway for the 2009/2010 season.

LA Times' O'Neil: Child Rape = Gay

It is usually easy to dismiss the often obsessively overenthusiastic Tom O'Neil, the Los Angeles Times resident entertainment award guru, he of the "tail that wags the dog" school of such coverage (i.e.: more concerned about a film's awards chances then the actual, you know, quality of said films). But a recent outrageous blunder of his cannot -- and should not -- be ignored.

While perusing the recent nominees for the GLAAD Media Awards, O'Neil scoffs at the "not gay enough" contenders and wonders why The Kite Runner, a film deemed homophobic by the queer press, was "snubbed":

"One great film with a gay subtext got overlooked by other awards this derby season and deserved to be noted here, but wasn't: The Kite Runner, which contains a controversial boy-rape scene. Why did GLAAD wimp out?"

Seems that in O'Neil's eyes, lesbian cheerleaders and cross-dressing pirates are nothing compared to child rapists. In the comments of his article, be sure to leave a virtual quarter so that Tom can buy a clue.

UPDATE: AfterElton.com tries to get the bottom of O'Neil's comments; in his replies, O'Neil repeatedly uses the offensive term "gay rape" ... and then throws a hissy fit in the comments section of his original post.

Queer Quartet

Four critically acclaimed gay-themed movies from 2007 will be hitting DVD in the next few weeks:

• The Bubble- Eytan Fox's film festival winner about two men -- one Israeli, the other Palestinian -- who fall in love in Tel Aviv.
• Dirty Laundry- This dramady recently made history as the first gay film to be nominated for an NAACP Image Award.
• Fat Girls- Another fest fave, this comedy is for anyone who never quite fit in in high school.
• For the Bible Tells Me So- Although this documentary on organized religion's view on homosexuality didn't make the final five, it was a finalist for the Academy Award. Click here for interviews with the film's producer, Robin Voss, and one of its subjects, Bishop V. Gene Robinson.

The latter film will be available February 19; the other three come out February 12. Click on the title links for more information and to pre-order from Amazon.com.

Shrekland?

DreamWorks Animation, home to Shrek and other crude-minded toons, is branching out into the theme park business ... in Dubai?

Talk about Far Far Away ...

Film Art: Keeping Up With the Jonses

Steve Anderson's classicly-styled cover painting for the upcoming Dark Horse comic book adaptation of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Awards Watch: Coens Win DGA & More

No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood each added one more trophy to their respective cases last night.

Joel and Ethan Coen won the Directors Guild of America award for No Country, thereby more or less ensuring their eventual victory come Oscar night (in its 60 year history, the DGA and AMPAAS have only not matched 6 times). And Blood's Robert Elswit was anointed the best of the year by his peers in the American Society of Cinematographers.

Also, the last of the guilds has chimed in with their nominations: the Motion Picture Sound Editors. Leading the pack are American Gangster and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End with three nods each. See the comments section below for a quick look at the nominees; winners of the Golden Reels will be announced February 23.

MD Poll: If You Picked the Oscars 2007

With the nominations this week of the 80th Annual Academy Awards, Oscar season is in full swing. So today, Movie Dearest is kicking off a month-long countdown to show biz's biggest night (a.k.a. "the gay man's Super Bowl") that will include special Cinematic Crush and Women We Love looks at this year's acting nominees, Oscar trivia and video clips of our favorite past Oscar moments, plus the usual predictions and breaking news.

To start the festivities, the latest batch of MD Polls ask you not to merely predict who will win (with this year's race, the outcome has become pretty predictable), but what movies and actors you would vote for if you were lucky enough to be a member of the prestigious Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The five separate polls for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress can be found in the sidebar at your right. Be sure to vote in each one, and remember, this is who you would vote for, not the Academy (and sorry, no DVD screeners are available).

You'll have plenty of time to make your decisions, as the polls will run from now until 12 noon EST Saturday February 23, the day before Oscar day, with the results of the MD Oscars to be posted shortly thereafter.

UPDATE: This poll is now closed. Click here for the results, and click here to vote in the latest MD Poll.