DGA Nominations Announced! Five Wonderful Directors

Hey World family,
Falcon here with a quick mention: The Directors Guild of America nominations for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Film are out. The list will not be surprising to most of you, but it is one of the strongest in recent years:

James Cameron-yeah, the man who is truly King of the World at the global box office. Of course, you all know Cameron for TITANIC, the number one grossing box office film of all time, but in a mere 21 days, his masterpiece, AVATAR has moved into second place, passing THE RETURN OF THE KING on Wednesday. AVATAR has now earned a staggering 1.13 billion in just 3 weeks. TITANIC earned 1.87 billion. It appears that a new champion is on the horizon. For bringing this stunning, visually intoxicating, magnificent tale to the screen, Cameron makes the cut for the nomination.

Kathryn Bigelow-for THE HURT LOCKER, an intense, never-lets-up film with war and psychological clastrophobia in the extreme. Yes, she is Jim Cameron's Ex-and she rocks!She also did MISSION ZERO and K-19: THE WIDOWMAKER, and shows a strong eye and an unflinching courage to do the tough stuff, yet her vision is balanced. Every frame is important.

Lee Daniels-for the most unblinking film of the year, PRECIOUS. He has done the best job with material that moves the soul and ignites the desire to change the human condition for the precious people in our lives. Lee, you are local (from Philly) and strong, I am so glad you are getting the attention you have longed deserved, and Falcon and Dove personally congratulate you for being the first African-American director to be nominated by the DGA.
For those of you who don't know about Lee, he built his own business by age 21, then sold it to fund his film interests. He has also managed some of the top talent in the industry, as well as direct this tremendous film. He is a model man, not only because he has industriously managed to finance his career, but also because he raised twins as his own who were a niece and nephew. He handles material and people with respect and with an intimate vision missing from so much modern filmmaking.

Quentin Tarantino-what can we say about him: daring, creative, scary, seductive...and nominated for INGLOUROUS BASTERDS. Quentin has a history of insane, controversial films, some of them excellent, and some we were sure he left the building on. All of his projects from PULP FICTION, to KILL BILL are smooth as silk, and deadly if you blink. That style gives him a spot on this distinguished list of the best of 2009.

Jason Reitman-he is nominated for his job on the vast ensemble cast sort-of comedy, UP IN THE AIR. He is the son of Ivan Reitman, as you might has gathered, and did the wildly entertaining, THANK YOU FOR SMOKING, with Aaron Eckhart and J.K. Simmons. Obviously, we thik of this Canadian's work on television more than for films, but he has ambitiously taken on a great piece and delivered the goods. It is well shot, edited well, and has some spice to it. He is in pretty powerful company, and we give him props for making the cut.

Congratualtions, all. You have done some of the finest work of the decade; thank you for your dedication to the craft, and your visionary fortitude.

Peace,
Falcon and Dove

Golden Globe Nominations Announced!!!

Hello World Family!
Falcon here with an analysis of the Golden Globe nominations. What a broad based list of superb contenders! Small films, independents, and strong Hollywood films all make an appearance. This may be the most balanced, fully-stocked with goodies award season in years. The Best Picture Nominations are: The Hurt Locker, Precious, Inglorious Bastards, Avatar, and Up in the Air. WOW!!! Can’t we just give them all the Best Pic and be done with it?! They are all excellent films, all for different reasons.

The Best Actress category is no easier, with Precious actress along side Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side, and Helen Mirren for The Last Station. The category is rounded out with young actresses Emily Blunt, who was delightful as The Young Victoria and Carey Mulligan in An Education. Three of these five we viewed in Savannah at the film fest and this will be another tough category for competition. I agree that getting the nomination is quite the honor.

Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart was a bit of a surprise, and I am happy to see him there. Colin Firth did an amazing job in A Single Man; Morgan Freeman is my favorite for this category because he plays Nelson Mandela and the film has Rugby-Invictus. The ever-present George Clooney for Up in the Air and Tobey Maguire surprises in the powerful and emotional, Brothers. Every one of these actors is so strong it is going to be tough to narrow down a winner. Can we have a tie?

The most difficult category for the judges? I think best animated feature, which has five of the most visually enchanting and extraordinary productions side by side in film history. Yes, it’s that good: The stop-motion masterpiece Coraline is not only a great tale, but the excruciatingly difficult details and work that shot approximately 4 seconds per week for years deserves a category award all its own. Fantastic Mr. Fox is another impressive work, along side with Up, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and Disney’s new tale, The Princess and the Frog. How do you choose?! How can you choose?! The biggest winners are audiences this year who get to see all of them!

The most interesting nominations? Well, we can start with Robert Downey, Jr. for Best Performance by an Actor in a Comedy or Musical for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. Does this guy have a broad spectrum or what?! He may be one of the most brilliant actors of a generation, and he has a lot of fun while he’s doing it. Matt Damon gets a double dip for noms both in The Informant and Invictus.

More great surprises: Kathryn Bigelow for Best Director, The Hurt Locker. This is an intense, never lets up film that must be seen. I suppose Quentin Tarrantino is dancing in the street after his Best Director nom for Inglorious Bastards.

Woody Harrelson got his Best Actor in a Supporting Role nomination for The Messenger as well he should-along side other nominated thespians Christopher Plummer (The Last Station) and Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones). My mouth is watering already. Yum!

Mo’Nique has a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her brutal portrayal of the worse mommy ever in Precious and she deserves every bit of it.

Other expected nominations of note include Nine (8 ½ gone just a little further with a strong ensemble cast of all my favorites), some attention for It’s Complicated and some music nominations for scores-Where the Wild Things Are and Avatar.

On the television side of things, it all looks good with nominations for productions of Georgia O’Keefe, Dexter, The Mentalist, Mad Men (go Charles Shaughnessy), Wallander: One Step Behind (a nom for Kenneth Brannagh), 30-Rock…all the good stuff. Yes, House and The Closer are in contention again. Love these shows and television movies!

For a complete list of nominees, please go to the Golden Globe website. The awards will air on January 17.

Peace,
Falcon and Dove