March 4, 2011
‘Hurt Locker’ director seeks lawsuit’s dismissal
Anthony McCartney, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) – The Oscar-winning director and screenwriter of “The Hurt Locker” are asking a federal judge to dismiss an Iraq war veteran’s lawsuit alleging the film is based on him.
Attorneys for director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal argue in court filings that Master Sgt. Jeffrey Sarver cannot prove he is the basis for the bomb technician in the film. They also argue in court papers filed Wednesday that the movie is protected by the First Amendment.
The film’s producers have also asked to have Sarver’s lawsuit dismissed. The case was filed in March 2010, just days before Bigelow, Boal and the film won Academy Awards.
A phone message for Sarver’s attorney Todd Weglarz was not immediately returned. According to court filings, Sarver is currently deployed in Afghanistan.
‘Red Dead’ dominates Game Developer Choice Awards
Derrik J. Lang, Entertainment Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – “Red Dead Redemption” lassoed the most trophies at the Game Developers Choice Awards.
The open-world Wild West action-adventure game developed by Rockstar Games corralled four awards, including game of the year, at the Game Developers Conference ceremony Wednesday evening. “Red Dead Redemption,” which casts players in the role of a former outlaw who is tasked to bring down his former gang, was also honored for best game design, technology and audio.
“This game was a product of a lot of people who worked extremely hard with a lot of passion,” said Rockstar San Diego studio manager Steve Martin.
“Minecraft,” the blocky sandbox game from Swedish developer Mojang, received three trophies: best debut, downloadable game and the innovation award. “Minecraft” also picked up the fan-favorite audience award and Seumas McNally grand prize earlier in the evening at the 13th annual Independent Games Festival Awards, which exclusively honors indie games.
Selected by a jury of game creators, the Game Developers Choice honor the best games of the past year. Other winners at the Moscone Convention Center ceremony included ZeptoLab’s physics puzzler “Cut the Rope” for best handheld game, BioWare’s sci-fi saga sequel “Mass Effect 2” for best writing and Playdead’s dark side-scroller “Limbo” for best visual design.
“Out Run” and “Virtua Fighter” designer Yu Suzuki won the pioneer award, while conference associate program mangers Tim Brengle and Ian MacKenzie were given with the ambassador award, which recognizes individuals who have helped advanced the gaming industry. Lionhead Studios founder Peter Molyneux was honored with the lifetime achievement award.
“I’m so unbelievably humbled by this award,” said Molyneux, the “Fable” series mastermind and creative director of Microsoft Game Studios Europe. “I’ve been coming here since it was in a really small hall. I can remember the first time I stood in the back of the room and thought, ‘Jesus, these people are so many more times smarter than I ever will be.'”
Report: DreamWorks buys rights to WikiLeaks books
LONDON (AP) – A British newspaper says Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks Studio has bought screen rights to its book about WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange.
The Guardian says DreamWorks has optioned “WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange’s War on Secrecy” by Guardian journalists David Leigh and Luke Harding, as well as “Inside WikiLeaks” by site defector Daniel Domscheit-Berg.
Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger described the proposed film Thursday as “Woodward and Bernstein meets Stieg Larsson meets Jason Bourne. Plus the odd moment of sheer farce.”
No writer, director or cast have been lined up.
The Guardian worked with WikiLeaks to publish thousands of U.S. military documents and diplomatic cables, but later fell out with the secret-spilling site.
Mexican judge orders controversial film pulled
MEXICO CITY (AP) – A judge in Mexico City has ordered officials to temporarily pull a film about the failings of Mexico’s justice system from theaters, after a prosecution witness who appears in the film filed a complaint.
The documentary “Presumed Guilty” centers on an apparently innocent man convicted of murder. The movie opened Feb. 18 to widespread praise, including from officials who recognize the system needs changes.
The federal Interior Department said Wednesday it will appeal the ruling.
A hearing on the complaint is scheduled for March 11.
One of the perceived failings of the Mexican justice system is its closed system, in which trials have long been held in private, without oral arguments. Defendants often never see the judge.
Gary Winick, movie producer, director, dies at 49
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Gary Winick, who produced or directed more than two dozen movies including “Bride Wars” and “13 Going on 30,” has died. He was 49.
Winick died Sunday of cancer in New York, Missy Davy, spokeswoman for Creative Artists Agency, which represented Winick, said Monday.
Rosalie Swedlin, Winick’s longtime manager, said in a statement he would be remembered for his “extraordinary talents as a mentor, a director, a producer, and a pioneer in the independent cinema world, but perhaps his greatest talents of all was his genius for friendship. He turned professional relationships into lifelong friendships and he gave endless support and enthusiasm to lifelong friends.”
Winick also directed the 2006 live-action version of “Charlotte’s Web” with Dakota Fanning and last year’s “Letters to Juliet,” a romance starring Amanda Seyfried.
Winick both produced and directed “Tadpole,” which won the 2002 director’s award at the Sundance Festival. It starred Aaron Stafford and Sigourney Weaver in a comedy about a teenager who is in love with his stepmother.
Winick also produced episodes of TV’s “Ugly Betty” and “Lipstick Jungle.”
John Lasseter wins lifetime achievement award
Derrik J. Lang, Entertainment Writer
WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (AP) – John Lasseter’s pair of Oscars have a new friend: a lifetime achievement trophy. The Pixar and Disney animation chief received the award Friday night for his dedication to the 40-minutes-or-less medium from Shorts International, an entertainment organization which promotes, distributes, broadcasts and produces short films.
“It feels fantastic because I love short films,” said Lasseter. “I love the art form and what it did for me as a filmmaker. I learned so much from making short films. They’re these little gems, these fantastic little ideas that are not meant to be a feature film. They’re perfect unto themselves. A great short film leaves you smiling and thinking about it.”
Lasseter won the animated short film Oscar in 1988 for “Tin Toy,” as well as a special achievement award in 1995 for “Toy Story,” the first feature-length computer-generated film. The lifetime achievement award from Shorts International may not be his only prize this weekend. He’s nominated with the other “Toy Story 3” filmmakers for best adapted screenplay.
“Toy Story 3” is also competing in the sound editing, original song, animated feature and best picture categories. Lasseter is hopeful about it’s chances for the top prize, even though the motion picture academy has never bestowed an animated film with the best picture honor. “Toy Story 3” is only the third animated film to be nominated in that category.
“I do believe we will one day see an animated film win the best picture Oscar, and I hope it’s on Sunday,” said Lasseter. “I think that over time, more and more of Hollywood and the Academy has gotten to know animation. It’s exactly the same as live action filmmaking. We tell great stories. We use great actors. We just use a different camera.”
Other honorees Friday included director Kenneth Branagh and actresses June Foray and Melissa Leo, who commended short films for keeping her “going many a time when things were quite blue.” This year’s crop of live action, documentary and animated short film nominees were also recognized during the swanky affair at Soho House overlooking the Sunset Strip.
Oscars go young and hip, with traditional results
Christy Lemire, Movie Critic
LOS ANGELES (AP) – These were supposed to be the younger, hipper Academy Awards, the ones that shook up the ceremony’s conventions with popular, great-looking emcees in actors James Franco and Anne Hathaway, who were unlike the middle-aged comedians and TV talk-show hosts of years past.
But the results couldn’t have been more traditional, with “The King’s Speech” – a prestigious, impeccably made historical film that cries out “Oscar” with every fiber in its being – winning best picture and three other prizes over more daring, contemporary contenders like “The Social Network” and “Black Swan.”
They also couldn’t have been more predictable. Front-runners in other major categories throughout this long and repetitive awards season also took home trophies from Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre Sunday night: best-actor Colin Firth for “The King’s Speech,” best-actress Natalie Portman for “Black Swan,” and supporting actors Christian Bale and Melissa Leo, both for “The Fighter.” ”King’s Speech” director Tom Hooper, who’d already won the Directors Guild Award – an excellent predictor of Oscar success.
Despite multiple attempts to make the Oscars seem current – including an opening montage that inserted Franco and Hathaway in the best-picture nominees, “Inception”-style, and an auto-tune “Harry Potter” spoof – some of the biggest applause and longest standing ovations were for a couple of Academy Awards stalwarts.
Besides the four Oscars for “The King’s Speech” – picture, director, actor and original screenplay for David Seidler – “Inception” also won four, all in technical categories, as expected: visual effects, cinematography, sound editing and sound mixing. The great Roger Deakins, who was also up for the cinematography prize for the Coen brothers’ “True Grit,” went home empty-handed once again. He’s now 0-for-9.
Among the front-runners in other categories that were winners Sunday night were the latest Pixar blockbuster, “Toy Story 3,” for animated feature and “Inside Job,” about the 2008 economic collapse, for documentary feature.
