TheWrap

Good Morning, Oscar: September 25
By Steve Pond

Published: September 25, 2009

In today’s roundup of Oscar news `n’ notes from around the web,
Charles Darwin survives, Mr. Fox gets a fantastic slot and the
foreign-film race gets crowded.

Variety’s roundup of the foreign-language race gets one title wrong
(Armenia’s entry is sometimes called `A Magician’s Autumn’ and
sometimes `Autumn of the Magician,’ but it’s definitely not `A
Magician’s Nephew’), misses the fact that Serbia has changed its mind,
and includes capsule descriptions of only 15 of the 40 choices
announced so far. In Contention has a bigger list. So do indieWIRE
and The Film Experience.

More festival awards to give a nudge to more Oscar campaigns: at the
Gotham Independent Film Awards, November 30 in New York City, the
career achievement honorees will be Kathryn Bigelow (in the thick of
the race after directing `The Hurt Locker’), Natalie Portman (a dark
horse candidate in director Jim Sheridan’s `Brothers’), Stanley Tucci
(certainly a supporting-actor contender for `Julie and Julia,’ with
`The Lovely Bones’ on the way) and producers Tim Bevan and Eric
Fellner (with likely best-picture nominee `A Serious Man’). (Tucci
photo: Gotham Independent Film Awards)

`The Fantastic Mr. Fox,’ director Wes Anderson’s first foray into
animation, will open the AFI Fest in Hollywood on October 30. With the
animated-feature category likely limited to three nominees, it could
face quite a battle with the likes of `Up,’ `Ponyo’ and `Coraline’
already in the mix. (indieWIRE)

Newmarket Films rescues `Creation’ from awards-season limbo by
acquiring the rights to the Charles Darwin picture that opened Toronto
to mixed reviews. They’ll likely have an uphill battle getting it into
the race. (Variety)

Gerard Kennedy does an early preview of the Oscar craft categories,
figures that frontrunners `Up in the Air’ and `Precious’ are not
liable to be big contenders in those categories
`Inglourious Basterds,’ `District 9,’ `Nine’ and a few others, and
concludes that it’s too early to know much. (In Contention)

Better late than never: Nancy Kriparos’ Toronto faves are `Up in the
Air,’ `Bright Star,’ `Dogtooth,’ `Mother and Child,’ `Precious,’ `The
Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus,’ Michael Sheen in `The Damned United,’
Paul Bettany in `Creation,’ Amanda Seyfried in `Chloe,’Matt Damon in
`The Informant!’ and Robin Wright Penn in `The Private Lives of Pippa
Lee.’ (Awards Daily)