Avatar: The Way of Water, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and Star Trek: Picard were among the main winners Sunday at the 51st Saturn Awards, which honor the best in genre entertainment.
Winners across film, TV and home media were revealed Sunday during a ceremony at the L.A. Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel hosted by Joel McHale. The awards are presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror.
James Cameron’s Avatar sequel won a leading four awards on the film side for Best Science Fiction Film, Direction, Screenwriting and Visual Effects after coming in to the night with a leading 12 nominations. Oppenheimer, which had 11 noms, was named Best Thriller and won for Best Editing while the film’s Emily Blunt won Best Supporting Actress. Blunt also presented Nolan with the honorary Saturn Visionary Award.
Other honorary awards went to Life Career honoree Jodie Foster, Keanu Reeves, Seth MacFarlane,...
Winners across film, TV and home media were revealed Sunday during a ceremony at the L.A. Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel hosted by Joel McHale. The awards are presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror.
James Cameron’s Avatar sequel won a leading four awards on the film side for Best Science Fiction Film, Direction, Screenwriting and Visual Effects after coming in to the night with a leading 12 nominations. Oppenheimer, which had 11 noms, was named Best Thriller and won for Best Editing while the film’s Emily Blunt won Best Supporting Actress. Blunt also presented Nolan with the honorary Saturn Visionary Award.
Other honorary awards went to Life Career honoree Jodie Foster, Keanu Reeves, Seth MacFarlane,...
- 2/5/2024
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
“Avatar: The Way of Water” won Best Visual Effects at the Oscars this Sunday, and the team that brought Pandora to vivid life in James Cameron’s blockbuster took the stage to celebrate. But for one team member, the evening took a turn shortly afterwards, as senior visual effects supervisor Eric Saindon was rushed to the hospital for surgery immediately after his win.
According to a rep from Weta FX, the visual effects production company behind “The Way of Water,” Saindon experienced intense pain throughout the day of the Oscars and checked into a Beverly Hills hospital around noon. After testing negative for appendicitis and kidney stones, Saindon decided to still attend the awards ceremony, and received painkillers from his doctors.
After powering through to winning the Visual Effects award, Saindon experienced more pain, and left his press room interview at the ceremony to return to the hospital. Doctors determined...
According to a rep from Weta FX, the visual effects production company behind “The Way of Water,” Saindon experienced intense pain throughout the day of the Oscars and checked into a Beverly Hills hospital around noon. After testing negative for appendicitis and kidney stones, Saindon decided to still attend the awards ceremony, and received painkillers from his doctors.
After powering through to winning the Visual Effects award, Saindon experienced more pain, and left his press room interview at the ceremony to return to the hospital. Doctors determined...
- 3/13/2023
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
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The 2023 Oscars belonged to Everything Everywhere All At Once, which took home the award for best picture. Jimmy Kimmel hosted “incident”-free night (his third time emceeing the ceremony) that aired live on March 12 at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood.
Eeao also won best directing (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, aka The Daniels), best original screenplay, best lead actress (Michelle Yeoh), best supporting actress (Jamie Lee Curtis) best supporting actor (Ke Huy Quan) and best film editing. Brendan Fraser won best actor for his role in The Whale, while actress-turned-director Sarah Polley won best adapted screenplay for Women Talking. (Read more about all of the 2023 Oscars snubs and surprises here.)
Many of the Oscar-nominated movies are free to watch with a streaming service subscription (including Apple TV+, Disney+,...
The 2023 Oscars belonged to Everything Everywhere All At Once, which took home the award for best picture. Jimmy Kimmel hosted “incident”-free night (his third time emceeing the ceremony) that aired live on March 12 at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood.
Eeao also won best directing (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, aka The Daniels), best original screenplay, best lead actress (Michelle Yeoh), best supporting actress (Jamie Lee Curtis) best supporting actor (Ke Huy Quan) and best film editing. Brendan Fraser won best actor for his role in The Whale, while actress-turned-director Sarah Polley won best adapted screenplay for Women Talking. (Read more about all of the 2023 Oscars snubs and surprises here.)
Many of the Oscar-nominated movies are free to watch with a streaming service subscription (including Apple TV+, Disney+,...
- 3/13/2023
- by Danielle Directo-Meston
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The All Quiet on the Western Front cast and crew began trooping into the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts as the clock was about to strike 1 a.m. Monday
They were brandishing gold statuettes. “This is the Vanity Fair Oscar Party. We were were curious about this place,” the partner of one of the movie’s key creatives tells me.
Related: Oscars Analysis: First-Timers Lift Spirits And Emotions In Ceremony That Was Old-School Academy Awards In A Good Way
Related Story Vanity Fair Oscar Party Photos: See Jeff Bezos, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Wilde, Cardi B, Kendall Jenner & Many More On The Red Carpet Related Story Oscars Analysis: First-Timers Lift Spirits And Emotions In Ceremony That Was Old-School Academy Awards In A Good Way Related Story Ke Huy Quan Says He Honored His Mom By Reclaiming Birth Name As An Adult Actor; Declares "Goonies Never Say Die" – Oscars Backstage...
They were brandishing gold statuettes. “This is the Vanity Fair Oscar Party. We were were curious about this place,” the partner of one of the movie’s key creatives tells me.
Related: Oscars Analysis: First-Timers Lift Spirits And Emotions In Ceremony That Was Old-School Academy Awards In A Good Way
Related Story Vanity Fair Oscar Party Photos: See Jeff Bezos, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Wilde, Cardi B, Kendall Jenner & Many More On The Red Carpet Related Story Oscars Analysis: First-Timers Lift Spirits And Emotions In Ceremony That Was Old-School Academy Awards In A Good Way Related Story Ke Huy Quan Says He Honored His Mom By Reclaiming Birth Name As An Adult Actor; Declares "Goonies Never Say Die" – Oscars Backstage...
- 3/13/2023
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
From the electric performances of the nominated songs to all the big stars, The 95th Academy Awards went off without a slap hitch.
The performance of Rrr's hit song Naatu Naatu brought the entire house to their feet, as did the wins for Ke Huy Quan and Michelle Yeoh.
So who came out on top?
Everything Everywhere All At Once led the nominations with 11 and led the winners with seven total trophies!
Find out the rest of the winners here!
Best Picture
Everything Everywhere All at Once *Winner*
All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
The Banshees of Inisherin
Elvis
The Fabelmans
Tár
Top Gun: Maverick
Triangle of Sadness
Women Talking
Best Actress
Michelle Yeoh - Everything Everywhere All at Once *Winner*
Cate Blanchett - Tár
Ana de Armas - Blonde
Andrea Riseborough - To Leslie
Michelle Williams - The Fabelmans
Best Actor
Brendan Fraser -...
The performance of Rrr's hit song Naatu Naatu brought the entire house to their feet, as did the wins for Ke Huy Quan and Michelle Yeoh.
So who came out on top?
Everything Everywhere All At Once led the nominations with 11 and led the winners with seven total trophies!
Find out the rest of the winners here!
Best Picture
Everything Everywhere All at Once *Winner*
All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
The Banshees of Inisherin
Elvis
The Fabelmans
Tár
Top Gun: Maverick
Triangle of Sadness
Women Talking
Best Actress
Michelle Yeoh - Everything Everywhere All at Once *Winner*
Cate Blanchett - Tár
Ana de Armas - Blonde
Andrea Riseborough - To Leslie
Michelle Williams - The Fabelmans
Best Actor
Brendan Fraser -...
- 3/13/2023
- by Michael T. Stack
- TVfanatic
Oscars 2023In a big moment for India, Naatu Naatu from Rrr won the award for best original song, and The Elephant Whisperers directed by Kartiki Gonsalves won the best documentary short award.Twitter/RRRMovieThe 95th Academy Awards ceremony was held on Sunday, March 12, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Television host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel hosted the ceremony for the third time. Naatu Naatu from Rrr won the award for best original song. The Elephant Whisperers, directed by Kartiki Gonsalves and co-produced by Guneet Monga, won the best documentary short award. Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes, a film about two brothers in Delhi who care for injured black kites, was nominated for best documentary feature but lost to Navalny. Here’s the full list of Oscar nominees and winners: Best Picture Everything Everywhere All at Once — Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert and Jonathan Wang, producers - Winner All Quiet on the Western Front...
- 3/13/2023
- by AzeefaF
- The News Minute
The team behind Avatar: The Way of Water‘s long-expected Oscar win for Visual Effects learned first-hand how committed Academy officials and show producers are to keeping things moving.
Richard Baneham, one of four winners along with Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett, took the trophy first and thanked director James Cameron, who was not in attendance. He also shouted out producer Jon Landau and a range of technical colleagues. Just as the Academy-allotted 45 second expired, music swelled abruptly and the camera panned away just as Saindon was heard saying, “We need to thank our families–“
As applause died down, the camera found Oscar host Jimmy Kimmel, who appeared to be ready for the play-off. “It’s unfortunate,” he said. “I happen to know before he was cut off, the Avatar visual effects team asked me to announce that if anyone’s interested, the visual effects after-party is at CGI Fridays.
Richard Baneham, one of four winners along with Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett, took the trophy first and thanked director James Cameron, who was not in attendance. He also shouted out producer Jon Landau and a range of technical colleagues. Just as the Academy-allotted 45 second expired, music swelled abruptly and the camera panned away just as Saindon was heard saying, “We need to thank our families–“
As applause died down, the camera found Oscar host Jimmy Kimmel, who appeared to be ready for the play-off. “It’s unfortunate,” he said. “I happen to know before he was cut off, the Avatar visual effects team asked me to announce that if anyone’s interested, the visual effects after-party is at CGI Fridays.
- 3/13/2023
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
Surprising no one, Avatar: The Way of Water collected the Oscar in visual effects for its jaw-dropping work that helped to propel the movie to more than $2.2 billion at the box office, making it the third highest grossing movie of all time.
In doing so, Weta FX’s production senior VFX supervisor Joe Letteri collected his fifth competitive award in the category at the 2023 Oscars. He now joins Ken Ralston (Forrest Gump) in holding five competitive Oscars apiece in the category. Both trail Denis Murren (Jurassic Park), who holds the category record of eight competitive Academy Awards.
With the win for The Way of Water, visual effects supervisor Richard Baneham accepted his second VFX Oscar, having previously won the trophy for the original Avatar. Weta VFX supervisor Eric Saindon and senior animation supervisor Daniel Barrett each won their first Oscar on Sunday.
Accepting onstage, Baneham thanked director James Cameron “whose...
In doing so, Weta FX’s production senior VFX supervisor Joe Letteri collected his fifth competitive award in the category at the 2023 Oscars. He now joins Ken Ralston (Forrest Gump) in holding five competitive Oscars apiece in the category. Both trail Denis Murren (Jurassic Park), who holds the category record of eight competitive Academy Awards.
With the win for The Way of Water, visual effects supervisor Richard Baneham accepted his second VFX Oscar, having previously won the trophy for the original Avatar. Weta VFX supervisor Eric Saindon and senior animation supervisor Daniel Barrett each won their first Oscar on Sunday.
Accepting onstage, Baneham thanked director James Cameron “whose...
- 3/13/2023
- by Carolyn Giardina
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
As Gold Derby predicted, “Avatar: The Way of Water” won the Best Visual Effects Oscar on March 12 over co-nominees “All Quiet on the Western Front,” “The Batman,” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and “Top Gun: Maverick.” James Cameron‘s highly anticipated sequel was heavily favorited to claim this trophy on Sunday night, especially considering the original “Avatar” (2009) also won the visual effects category 13 years ago. “The Way of Water” also earned Oscar bids this year in Best Picture, Best Sound and Best Production Design.
Accepting the trophies for “Avatar: The Way of Water” were Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett. Letteri previously won four Oscars for “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” (2002), “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2003), “King Kong” (2005) and “Avatar” (2009), while Baneham had a single statue on his mantel for “Avatar” (2009). Today’s Oscars win marks the first Academy Awards for Saindon and Barrett.
Accepting the trophies for “Avatar: The Way of Water” were Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett. Letteri previously won four Oscars for “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” (2002), “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2003), “King Kong” (2005) and “Avatar” (2009), while Baneham had a single statue on his mantel for “Avatar” (2009). Today’s Oscars win marks the first Academy Awards for Saindon and Barrett.
- 3/13/2023
- by Marcus James Dixon
- Gold Derby
The films in the running for the 2023 Best Visual Effects Oscar are “All Quiet on the Western Front,” “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “The Batman,” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” and “Top Gun: Maverick.” Our odds currently indicate that “Avatar: The Way of Water” (31/10) is the frontrunner, followed in order by “Top Gun: Maverick” (39/10), “All Quiet on the Western Front” (9/2), “The Batman” (9/2), and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (9/2).
Included among the 20 individuals in this lineup are 12 past nominees, five of whom have triumphed at least once. The eight first-timers are Geoffrey Baumann (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”), “Top Gun: Maverick” trio Seth Hill, Bryan Litson, and Ryan Tudhope, and “All Quiet on the Western Front” quartet Markus Frank, Kamil Jaffar, Viktor Muller, and Frank Petzold.
The two returning contenders who have already won here multiple times each are Joe Letteri (“Avatar: The Way of Water”), who succeeded on four of his previous 10 bids,...
Included among the 20 individuals in this lineup are 12 past nominees, five of whom have triumphed at least once. The eight first-timers are Geoffrey Baumann (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”), “Top Gun: Maverick” trio Seth Hill, Bryan Litson, and Ryan Tudhope, and “All Quiet on the Western Front” quartet Markus Frank, Kamil Jaffar, Viktor Muller, and Frank Petzold.
The two returning contenders who have already won here multiple times each are Joe Letteri (“Avatar: The Way of Water”), who succeeded on four of his previous 10 bids,...
- 3/12/2023
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
The Batman The Batman
The aim of Matt Reeves’ The Batman was to make it feel as if the action could really happen. “There’s no science fiction element or fantastic element that removes it from our reality,” production VFX supervisor Dan Lemmon says, explaining that required doing as much in camera as possible. Special FX supervisor Dominic Tuohy and his team even built four versions of the Batmobile for different uses. Lemmon says that in the ramp jump (pictured right), which occurs as Batman chases the Penguin, his team used a stripped-down vehicle with additional features. “Eventually they were able to dial it in so the car could get up to about 12 feet high,” he claims, adding: “It soared for nearly a hundred feet before it would hit the ground again. And they were able to drive it through a wall of fire at the same time.”
The live...
The aim of Matt Reeves’ The Batman was to make it feel as if the action could really happen. “There’s no science fiction element or fantastic element that removes it from our reality,” production VFX supervisor Dan Lemmon says, explaining that required doing as much in camera as possible. Special FX supervisor Dominic Tuohy and his team even built four versions of the Batmobile for different uses. Lemmon says that in the ramp jump (pictured right), which occurs as Batman chases the Penguin, his team used a stripped-down vehicle with additional features. “Eventually they were able to dial it in so the car could get up to about 12 feet high,” he claims, adding: “It soared for nearly a hundred feet before it would hit the ground again. And they were able to drive it through a wall of fire at the same time.”
The live...
- 3/2/2023
- by Carolyn Giardina
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Latino Entertainment Journalists Association (Leja) has handed out its awards for the year, with “Everything Everywhere All at Once” scooping up 10 wins including best picture, director for the Daniels and actress for Michelle Yeoh.
The sci-fi comedy led the nominations with 16, the most in the history of the organization.
Paramount’s “Top Gun: Maverick” scored the second-most wins with three for best cinematography going to Claudio Miranda, sound and stunt design.
“I am incredibly excited by the selections of our distinguished group of Latino critics, journalists and writers from all over the country,” said Clayton Davis, Leja founder and president. “I applaud our tiny but mighty organization for selecting a respectable group of films from artists we all love and admire.”
“Wakanda Forever” won prizes for costume design (Ruth E. Carter) and original song.
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” won two prizes for animated film and adapted screenplay. In addition,...
The sci-fi comedy led the nominations with 16, the most in the history of the organization.
Paramount’s “Top Gun: Maverick” scored the second-most wins with three for best cinematography going to Claudio Miranda, sound and stunt design.
“I am incredibly excited by the selections of our distinguished group of Latino critics, journalists and writers from all over the country,” said Clayton Davis, Leja founder and president. “I applaud our tiny but mighty organization for selecting a respectable group of films from artists we all love and admire.”
“Wakanda Forever” won prizes for costume design (Ruth E. Carter) and original song.
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” won two prizes for animated film and adapted screenplay. In addition,...
- 2/26/2023
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
“Avatar: The Way of Water” is a sequel, but the VFX team had a mandate far beyond supplying “more of the same.” The follow-up to the 2009 original “Avatar” had many new demands — and these jaw-dropping innovations have helped make the film one of the top box-office films of all time.
Joe Letteri, heading up his team at Weta FX, tells Variety, “We were working on this film since the last one finished, identifying what we could do better. Then there was a big burst of research-and-development” about six years ago, when writer-director James Cameron delivered the scripts for this and three more sequels; that’s when they realized the full scope of the film, which takes place in water about 60% of the time.
For the first “Avatar,” they had developed a tool kit to simulate water.
“But we knew it wasn’t going to be good enough,” says Letteri. “In facial closeups,...
Joe Letteri, heading up his team at Weta FX, tells Variety, “We were working on this film since the last one finished, identifying what we could do better. Then there was a big burst of research-and-development” about six years ago, when writer-director James Cameron delivered the scripts for this and three more sequels; that’s when they realized the full scope of the film, which takes place in water about 60% of the time.
For the first “Avatar,” they had developed a tool kit to simulate water.
“But we knew it wasn’t going to be good enough,” says Letteri. “In facial closeups,...
- 2/26/2023
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
2Nd Update: Netflix’s Edward Berger-directed All Quiet on the Western Front triumphed at the BAFTA Film Awards in London this evening, scoring seven wins, including Outstanding Film, Director, Film Not in the English Language, Cinematography, and Adapted Screenplay.
From early on, there was momentum for the World War I drama, while Searchlight’s The Banshees of Inisherin also had a strong showing, converting its 10 nominations to four wins, including Outstanding British Film, Original Screenplay, and the Supporting acting categories.
Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis was also a strong performer with four wins, including Best Actor for Austin Butler.
Check out the full list of winners below, and see here for more from the night and here for Pete Hammond’s analysis.
Previous Update : Netflix’s All Quiet on the Western Front, the leading nominee coming into this evening, is currently pulling ahead of the pack with six wins,...
From early on, there was momentum for the World War I drama, while Searchlight’s The Banshees of Inisherin also had a strong showing, converting its 10 nominations to four wins, including Outstanding British Film, Original Screenplay, and the Supporting acting categories.
Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis was also a strong performer with four wins, including Best Actor for Austin Butler.
Check out the full list of winners below, and see here for more from the night and here for Pete Hammond’s analysis.
Previous Update : Netflix’s All Quiet on the Western Front, the leading nominee coming into this evening, is currently pulling ahead of the pack with six wins,...
- 2/19/2023
- by Nancy Tartaglione, Joe Utichi and Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
‘Banshees’ duo, ’Navalny’, ’Aftersun’ among early winners.
The 2023 Bafta Film Awards show is taking place today (February 19) from London’s Royal Festival Hall on the Southbank this year (it was previously at the Royal Albert Hall).
The show started at around 18:00 UK time, finishing at approximately 21:00, and will be broadcast with a time delay on BBC One starting at 19:00, with the final four awards broadcast live for the first time.
Richard E. Grant is hosting the ceremony, with presenter Alison Hammond providing backstage and winners access through a new Bafta studio.
Screen is posting all the winners...
The 2023 Bafta Film Awards show is taking place today (February 19) from London’s Royal Festival Hall on the Southbank this year (it was previously at the Royal Albert Hall).
The show started at around 18:00 UK time, finishing at approximately 21:00, and will be broadcast with a time delay on BBC One starting at 19:00, with the final four awards broadcast live for the first time.
Richard E. Grant is hosting the ceremony, with presenter Alison Hammond providing backstage and winners access through a new Bafta studio.
Screen is posting all the winners...
- 2/19/2023
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
The blockbuster took nine of the 14 awards for which it was nominated.
Avatar: The Way of Water emerged as the big winner at the Visual Effects Society’s Ves Awards on Wednesday (February 15) night, taking nine awards including the prize for photoreal feature.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio was the most honoured animated film, winning the animated feature award and two other prizes.
The Way of Water had gone into the ceremony, held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, with 14 nominations, and Pinocchio with five.
The Ves Lifetime Achievement award went to producer Gale Anne Hurd and the...
Avatar: The Way of Water emerged as the big winner at the Visual Effects Society’s Ves Awards on Wednesday (February 15) night, taking nine awards including the prize for photoreal feature.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio was the most honoured animated film, winning the animated feature award and two other prizes.
The Way of Water had gone into the ceremony, held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, with 14 nominations, and Pinocchio with five.
The Ves Lifetime Achievement award went to producer Gale Anne Hurd and the...
- 2/16/2023
- by John Hazelton
- ScreenDaily
James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” swept the 21st annual Ves Awards Wednesday night in an unprecedented wave of dominance in every category, winning nine of its record-breaking 14 nominations, including the top photoreal feature, and the newest category, The Emerging Technology Award, for its innovative water toolset.
Although the prestigious visual effects honorary society has not been a reliable Oscar bellwether in recent years — picking the VFX winner only twice in the last six years — this now looks like a lock for the “Avatar” sequel.
Hosted by Patton Oswalt at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” (from Netflix) — the favorite to win the Best Animated Feature Oscar — won the top animation trophy and took home three awards; Amazon’s “Thirteen Lives” snagged the supporting prize, and Amazon Prime Video’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” grabbed the episodic prize and also took home three awards.
Although the prestigious visual effects honorary society has not been a reliable Oscar bellwether in recent years — picking the VFX winner only twice in the last six years — this now looks like a lock for the “Avatar” sequel.
Hosted by Patton Oswalt at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” (from Netflix) — the favorite to win the Best Animated Feature Oscar — won the top animation trophy and took home three awards; Amazon’s “Thirteen Lives” snagged the supporting prize, and Amazon Prime Video’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” grabbed the episodic prize and also took home three awards.
- 2/16/2023
- by Mark Peikert
- Indiewire
“Avatar: The Way of Water” topped the 21st Annual Ves Awards with nine wins, including for photoreal feature.
Meanwhile, Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio” was named best animated feature and took home three awards total. On the TV side, Amazon’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” won three awards and was named best photoreal episode.
Rian Johnson, Domee Shi, Tig Notaro, Jay Pharoah, Tyler Posey and Randall Park were among the presenters for the night. James Cameron presented the Ves Lifetime Achievement award to acclaimed producer Gale Anne Hurd.
Former Ves executive director Eric Roth received the Board of Directors Award from the current board, which includes Lisa Cooke, current Ves Chair; Jim Morris, Ves, president of Pixar Animation and founding Ves Chair; and former Chairs Jeffrey A. Okun, Ves; Mike Chambers, Ves; Carl Rosendahl, Ves; and Jeff Barnes.
“As we celebrate the 21st Annual Ves Awards,...
Meanwhile, Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio” was named best animated feature and took home three awards total. On the TV side, Amazon’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” won three awards and was named best photoreal episode.
Rian Johnson, Domee Shi, Tig Notaro, Jay Pharoah, Tyler Posey and Randall Park were among the presenters for the night. James Cameron presented the Ves Lifetime Achievement award to acclaimed producer Gale Anne Hurd.
Former Ves executive director Eric Roth received the Board of Directors Award from the current board, which includes Lisa Cooke, current Ves Chair; Jim Morris, Ves, president of Pixar Animation and founding Ves Chair; and former Chairs Jeffrey A. Okun, Ves; Mike Chambers, Ves; Carl Rosendahl, Ves; and Jeff Barnes.
“As we celebrate the 21st Annual Ves Awards,...
- 2/16/2023
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
“Avatar: The Way of Water” came out on top at the Visual Effects Society’s 2023 Ves Awards, held Wednesday evening at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.
The James Cameron epic set a Ves record this year with 14 nominations in nine different categories, and it set a record for wins by coming out on top in every category in which it was nominated. By contrast, the original 2009 “Avatar” received 10 nominations and won five awards. The previous record for wins by a film was set by “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” at the first Ves Awards in 2003, when it won eight awards. (The show had fewer awards then than it does now.)
The nine awards for “Avatar: The Way of Water” included Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature, the Ves category that aligns most closely with the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Competing with “Avatar...
The James Cameron epic set a Ves record this year with 14 nominations in nine different categories, and it set a record for wins by coming out on top in every category in which it was nominated. By contrast, the original 2009 “Avatar” received 10 nominations and won five awards. The previous record for wins by a film was set by “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” at the first Ves Awards in 2003, when it won eight awards. (The show had fewer awards then than it does now.)
The nine awards for “Avatar: The Way of Water” included Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature, the Ves category that aligns most closely with the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Competing with “Avatar...
- 2/16/2023
- by Libby Hill
- The Wrap
James Cameron’s juggernaut Avatar: The Way of Water swept the awards in the feature competition at the 21st annual Visual Effects Society Awards on Wednesday night at the Beverly Hilton.
Its nine wins included one for the top category of outstanding VFX in a photoreal feature. The movie also collected trophies for animated character (for Kiri, played by Sigourney Weaver), practical effects (for the current machine and wave pool), compositing and lighting (water integration), effects simulations (water), model (the sea dragon), environments (the reef) and virtual cinematography. Additionally, its water toolset won the new Ves award for emerging technology. The movie entered the evening with a record 14 noms (it earned multiple nominations in some of the categories that it won).
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio was a big winner in the feature animation field, winning a trio of prizes including one for outstanding VFX in an animated feature. Meanwhile...
Its nine wins included one for the top category of outstanding VFX in a photoreal feature. The movie also collected trophies for animated character (for Kiri, played by Sigourney Weaver), practical effects (for the current machine and wave pool), compositing and lighting (water integration), effects simulations (water), model (the sea dragon), environments (the reef) and virtual cinematography. Additionally, its water toolset won the new Ves award for emerging technology. The movie entered the evening with a record 14 noms (it earned multiple nominations in some of the categories that it won).
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio was a big winner in the feature animation field, winning a trio of prizes including one for outstanding VFX in an animated feature. Meanwhile...
- 2/16/2023
- by Carolyn Giardina
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The ninth annual Variety Artisans Awards celebrated the craftspeople behind Oscar-nominated films at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Monday.
A crowd of movie lovers, local Academy members and students from the nearby University of Santa Barbara came to see the artisans discuss their processes and talk about the biggest misconception people have about their crafts.
The full panel of honorees included “Rrr” songwriter M.M Keeravaani, composer Ryan Lott representing Son Lux who did the music for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “Elvis” costume designer Catherine Martin, “Babylon” production designer Florencia Martin, “Top Gun: Maverick” cinematographer Claudio Miranda, “The Whale” hairstyling and makeup artist Adrien Morot, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” editor Paul Rogers, “Avatar: The Way of Water” VFX supervisor Eric Saindon and “All Quiet on the Western Front” sound designer Markus Stemler.
“Avatar 2’s” Saindon discussed the difficulty of filming underwater, including using 70 cameras above the water line and 70 below.
A crowd of movie lovers, local Academy members and students from the nearby University of Santa Barbara came to see the artisans discuss their processes and talk about the biggest misconception people have about their crafts.
The full panel of honorees included “Rrr” songwriter M.M Keeravaani, composer Ryan Lott representing Son Lux who did the music for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “Elvis” costume designer Catherine Martin, “Babylon” production designer Florencia Martin, “Top Gun: Maverick” cinematographer Claudio Miranda, “The Whale” hairstyling and makeup artist Adrien Morot, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” editor Paul Rogers, “Avatar: The Way of Water” VFX supervisor Eric Saindon and “All Quiet on the Western Front” sound designer Markus Stemler.
“Avatar 2’s” Saindon discussed the difficulty of filming underwater, including using 70 cameras above the water line and 70 below.
- 2/15/2023
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
There's no denying the power of James Cameron. Even 13 years after the first film, "Avatar: The Way of Water" is a massive success, becoming not only the biggest movie of 2022, but the biggest movie since "Avengers: Endgame." It's not hard to see why: This is a giant spectacle of a blockbuster movie, a family epic that smartly handles the "Avatar" story for the next generation, virtually improves on every aspect of its predecessor, and gives us the most expensive save the whales ad ever made.
Just like the first movie, "The Way of Water" is a monumental achievement in visual effects. New tools were created for the film, from water simulators to advances in performance capture, building on what was there from the first "Avatar" but making them bigger and better.
Now that the movie is out, we're finally getting more in-depth looks behind the scenes of the film, especially its Oscar-nominated visual effects.
Just like the first movie, "The Way of Water" is a monumental achievement in visual effects. New tools were created for the film, from water simulators to advances in performance capture, building on what was there from the first "Avatar" but making them bigger and better.
Now that the movie is out, we're finally getting more in-depth looks behind the scenes of the film, especially its Oscar-nominated visual effects.
- 2/15/2023
- by Rafael Motamayor
- Slash Film
Avatar: The Way of Water and Elvis were big winners at the 13th Advanced Imaging Society Lumiere Awards, which celebrated the creative and technical achievements that brought showmanship to entertainment during the year.
“It’s just this great big glorious marriage between the performing arts and the technical arts,” summed up Elvis helmer Baz Luhrmann during the presentation Friday at The Beverly Hills Hotel. Honorees and presenters included The Way of Water producer Jon Landau and the film’s Oscar-nominated VFX supervisors, Eric Saindon from Wētā FX and Richie Baneham from Lightstorm; Elvis star Austin Butler; Pinocchio‘s Guillermo del Toro; Babylon‘s Damien Chazelle; and Top Gun: Maverick‘s Jerry Bruckheimer.
Avatar: The Way of Water won the award for best live-action feature. Accepting with Saindon and Baneham, Landau saluted the technical community and urged them to continue to “innovate technologies that allow filmmakers to tell stories that could not otherwise be told.
“It’s just this great big glorious marriage between the performing arts and the technical arts,” summed up Elvis helmer Baz Luhrmann during the presentation Friday at The Beverly Hills Hotel. Honorees and presenters included The Way of Water producer Jon Landau and the film’s Oscar-nominated VFX supervisors, Eric Saindon from Wētā FX and Richie Baneham from Lightstorm; Elvis star Austin Butler; Pinocchio‘s Guillermo del Toro; Babylon‘s Damien Chazelle; and Top Gun: Maverick‘s Jerry Bruckheimer.
Avatar: The Way of Water won the award for best live-action feature. Accepting with Saindon and Baneham, Landau saluted the technical community and urged them to continue to “innovate technologies that allow filmmakers to tell stories that could not otherwise be told.
- 2/11/2023
- by Carolyn Giardina
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Avatar: The Way of Water” and “Elvis” are among the films that took top honors at the 13th annual Lumiere Awards, the Advanced Imaging Society (Ais) announced today.
The Feb. 10 ceremony was presented by Microsoft and held at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles. Twenty-three awards were given out to the creative teams behind entertainment that utilizes technology to make immersive content.
Jon Landau, producer of the “Avatar” sequel, took to the stage with visual effects supervisors Eric Saindon and Richie Baneham to accept the award for best live action feature film. The feature, directed by James Cameron, was painstakingly crafted using performance capture above and below water and dubbed by Ais as the “most awe-inspiring and astonishing cinematic experience of the year.”
Though not in attendance at the ceremony, Cameron was also honored with the Voices for the Earth Award in recognition of the filmmaker’s green thumb.
The Feb. 10 ceremony was presented by Microsoft and held at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles. Twenty-three awards were given out to the creative teams behind entertainment that utilizes technology to make immersive content.
Jon Landau, producer of the “Avatar” sequel, took to the stage with visual effects supervisors Eric Saindon and Richie Baneham to accept the award for best live action feature film. The feature, directed by James Cameron, was painstakingly crafted using performance capture above and below water and dubbed by Ais as the “most awe-inspiring and astonishing cinematic experience of the year.”
Though not in attendance at the ceremony, Cameron was also honored with the Voices for the Earth Award in recognition of the filmmaker’s green thumb.
- 2/10/2023
- by Katie Reul
- Variety Film + TV
Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages are Davis’ assessment of the current standings of the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any film or performance. Like any organization or body that votes, each individual category is fluid and subject to change. Predictions are updated every Thursday.
Last Updated: Feb. 9, 2023
2023 Oscars Predictions: Best Visual Effects Top Gun: Maverick, Tom Cruise, 2020. © Paramount Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
Category Commentary: James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” has led the box office for seven weeks in the U.K. and Ireland and has amassed over 2 billion globally. Does that make the movie too difficult to ignore for visual effects?
There’s still a...
Last Updated: Feb. 9, 2023
2023 Oscars Predictions: Best Visual Effects Top Gun: Maverick, Tom Cruise, 2020. © Paramount Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
Category Commentary: James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” has led the box office for seven weeks in the U.K. and Ireland and has amassed over 2 billion globally. Does that make the movie too difficult to ignore for visual effects?
There’s still a...
- 2/9/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
The Oscar for Best Visual Effects is particularly tough to predict because of the complicated system by which the nominees are determined in three stages. The members of the executive committee of the branch cast preferential ballots to determine 20 films for further consideration. These are then winnowed down to 10 semi-finalists, which were announced on December 21, 2022. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2023 Oscars Best Visual Effects predictions.)
All members of the branch are invited to a virtual screening of excerpts from these 10 films in January at which potential nominees may discuss their work. Ballots are counted using a system of re-weighted range voting to determine the five nominees, which will be revealed on January 24. The entire voting membership of the academy will then vote for the winners, which will be revealed during the 95th Academy Awards ceremony on March 12.
When it comes to picking the winner of Best Visual Effects, you...
All members of the branch are invited to a virtual screening of excerpts from these 10 films in January at which potential nominees may discuss their work. Ballots are counted using a system of re-weighted range voting to determine the five nominees, which will be revealed on January 24. The entire voting membership of the academy will then vote for the winners, which will be revealed during the 95th Academy Awards ceremony on March 12.
When it comes to picking the winner of Best Visual Effects, you...
- 2/6/2023
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
M.M Keeravaani, “Rrr” composer and “Naatu Naatu” songwriter; Catherine Martin, costume designer, production designer and producer on “Elvis”; Claudio Miranda, cinematographer of “Top Gun: Maverick”; and Florencia Martin, production designer for “Babylon” are among the recipients of Variety’s Artisans Awards.
The honorees will be feted at the Santa Barbara Film Festival on Feb. 13 at the Arlington Theatre.
Now in its ninth year, Variety‘s partnership with the Santa Barbara Film Festival celebrates the artisans who have showcased the most innovative work of the year in their craft.
Said Roger Durling, the festival’s executive director, “From big-budget productions to independent cinema, artisans have shown us this past year the strength and vitality of the collaborative process in filmmaking, and we at Sbiff cherish our partnership with Variety and the opportunity to spotlight the accomplishments of these singular artists.”
Jazz Tangcay, Variety‘s senior artisans editor, will moderate a...
The honorees will be feted at the Santa Barbara Film Festival on Feb. 13 at the Arlington Theatre.
Now in its ninth year, Variety‘s partnership with the Santa Barbara Film Festival celebrates the artisans who have showcased the most innovative work of the year in their craft.
Said Roger Durling, the festival’s executive director, “From big-budget productions to independent cinema, artisans have shown us this past year the strength and vitality of the collaborative process in filmmaking, and we at Sbiff cherish our partnership with Variety and the opportunity to spotlight the accomplishments of these singular artists.”
Jazz Tangcay, Variety‘s senior artisans editor, will moderate a...
- 1/26/2023
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
Avatar: The Way of Water — which this week crossed the 2 billion mark at the worldwide box office and is now the sixth highest-grossing movie in history — earned a best picture Oscar nomination this morning, as well as noms for its production design, sound and visual effects.
But James Cameron, who has now directed three of the six highest-grossing movies ever — his 2009 Avatar sits at the top of that chart — was passed over in the directing competition for his groundbreaking film for the 2023 Oscar nominations. (The movie also missed an editing nomination; Cameron edited the movie, along with Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua, and the late David Brenner, who died in early 2022).
In this year’s best picture race, Cameron and producer Jon Landau (who together won best picture for Titanic, for which Cameron also claimed the directing trophy) are nominated alongside the producers of All Quiet on the Western Front, The Banshees of Inisherin,...
But James Cameron, who has now directed three of the six highest-grossing movies ever — his 2009 Avatar sits at the top of that chart — was passed over in the directing competition for his groundbreaking film for the 2023 Oscar nominations. (The movie also missed an editing nomination; Cameron edited the movie, along with Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua, and the late David Brenner, who died in early 2022).
In this year’s best picture race, Cameron and producer Jon Landau (who together won best picture for Titanic, for which Cameron also claimed the directing trophy) are nominated alongside the producers of All Quiet on the Western Front, The Banshees of Inisherin,...
- 1/24/2023
- by Carolyn Giardina
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
"Avatar: The Way of Water" is close to a worldwide box office total of 2 billion dollars, according to Box Office Mojo at the time of this writing. The further adventures of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), and the family they've created on Pandora have captured moviegoers' imaginations. It sounds like we'll be getting the promised sequels from director James Cameron. Whatever you think of the story and the high frame rate, which I personally found incredibly distracting, it's tough to deny that the visual effects in this film are groundbreaking and spectacular.
The first film really drove home the fact that 3D wasn't dead, and this one did the same, despite some pronounced stick-poking-style effects in the beginning and nausea-inducing moments early on. It's shockingly easy to forget that the creatures we're watching on screen aren't really there and that the actors just don't look like that. Though...
The first film really drove home the fact that 3D wasn't dead, and this one did the same, despite some pronounced stick-poking-style effects in the beginning and nausea-inducing moments early on. It's shockingly easy to forget that the creatures we're watching on screen aren't really there and that the actors just don't look like that. Though...
- 1/17/2023
- by Jenna Busch
- Slash Film
To the surprise of no one, James Cameron’s dazzling Avatar: The Way of Water dominated the 21st annual Visual Effects Society Award nominations, which were announced on Tuesday. The juggernaut earned 14 Ves noms, a record number for a feature film or any single project in the society’s awards history.
That includes a nomination in the top category for outstanding VFX in a photoreal feature. Alongside The Way of Water, the category nominees are Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, Jurassic World: Dominion, The Batman and Top Gun: Maverick. Nominees in the category for supporting VFX are Death on the Nile, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, The Fabelmans, The Gray Man, The Pale Blue Eye and Thirteen Lives.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio leads the animated contenders, with six nominations including one for outstanding VFX in an animated feature. Meanwhile The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power...
That includes a nomination in the top category for outstanding VFX in a photoreal feature. Alongside The Way of Water, the category nominees are Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, Jurassic World: Dominion, The Batman and Top Gun: Maverick. Nominees in the category for supporting VFX are Death on the Nile, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, The Fabelmans, The Gray Man, The Pale Blue Eye and Thirteen Lives.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio leads the animated contenders, with six nominations including one for outstanding VFX in an animated feature. Meanwhile The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power...
- 1/17/2023
- by Carolyn Giardina
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Avatar: The Way of Water” has made history once more.
As James Cameron’s long-gestating sequel continues its climb up the all-time box-office charts, “The Way of Water” set a new record for the most nominations for a single project from the Visual Effects Society Awards, announced this morning. The film’s 14 nods highlight achievements that range from VFX to character animation to emerging technology, where it accounts for three of the category’s five nominees. This tally surpasses the previous records set by the 11 nominations for the original “Avatar” in 2010 and the 13 nominations for “The Mandalorian” in 2021.
Joining “The Way of Water” on the Ves leaderboard are “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” which respectively top the animation and TV fields with six and seven nominations. The 21st annual Visual Effects Society Awards will take place February 15 at the Beverly Hilton,...
As James Cameron’s long-gestating sequel continues its climb up the all-time box-office charts, “The Way of Water” set a new record for the most nominations for a single project from the Visual Effects Society Awards, announced this morning. The film’s 14 nods highlight achievements that range from VFX to character animation to emerging technology, where it accounts for three of the category’s five nominees. This tally surpasses the previous records set by the 11 nominations for the original “Avatar” in 2010 and the 13 nominations for “The Mandalorian” in 2021.
Joining “The Way of Water” on the Ves leaderboard are “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” which respectively top the animation and TV fields with six and seven nominations. The 21st annual Visual Effects Society Awards will take place February 15 at the Beverly Hilton,...
- 1/17/2023
- by Erik Adams
- Indiewire
James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” leads the feature competition at the 21st Annual Ves Awards.
The film earned a total of 14 Ves Awards nominations, setting a new record for record nominations for a feature film. The original “Avatar” was the previous record holder when it received 11 nominations at the 8th Annual Ves Awards held in 2010.
“Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio” received six nominations in the animation category making it the top animated contender.
Ves members selected nominees in 25 categories at 27 in-person and virtual nomination events conducted worldwide. The winners will be announced on Feb. 15 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.
This year marks the presentation of the first Ves Emerging Technology Award, which celebrates the creators of the technology behind the visuals and honors the inventors of a novel and uniquely innovative tool, device, software or methodology of outstanding value to the art and science of visual effects,...
The film earned a total of 14 Ves Awards nominations, setting a new record for record nominations for a feature film. The original “Avatar” was the previous record holder when it received 11 nominations at the 8th Annual Ves Awards held in 2010.
“Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio” received six nominations in the animation category making it the top animated contender.
Ves members selected nominees in 25 categories at 27 in-person and virtual nomination events conducted worldwide. The winners will be announced on Feb. 15 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.
This year marks the presentation of the first Ves Emerging Technology Award, which celebrates the creators of the technology behind the visuals and honors the inventors of a novel and uniquely innovative tool, device, software or methodology of outstanding value to the art and science of visual effects,...
- 1/17/2023
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
Suffice it to say that Avatar: The Way of Water commanded the Visual Effects Society’s attention. James Cameron box office-smash sequel scored a record 14 nominations for the 2023 Ves Awards, which were announced today.
Helped by three noms in the Emerging Technology category, Disney’s The Way of Water topped the single-year noms haul by Disney+’s The Mandalorian in 2021. It also shattered the old high-water mark for films, set by — no big surprise here — the original Avatar, which amassed 11 noms in 2010.
Related Story 2022-23 Awards Season Calendar – Dates For The Oscars, Grammys, Guilds & More Related Story Moviegoing Happens Over MLK: 'Avatar 2' Soars With 40M 4-day, 'M3GAN' Moves 21M+, 'Puss In Boots 2' Hits 112M, 'Otto' Bright At 15M+ – Update Related Story C'mon Voters: The Oscars Could Use A Little Sequel-itis
The hardware will be doled out at the 21st annual Ves Awards on Wednesday,...
Helped by three noms in the Emerging Technology category, Disney’s The Way of Water topped the single-year noms haul by Disney+’s The Mandalorian in 2021. It also shattered the old high-water mark for films, set by — no big surprise here — the original Avatar, which amassed 11 noms in 2010.
Related Story 2022-23 Awards Season Calendar – Dates For The Oscars, Grammys, Guilds & More Related Story Moviegoing Happens Over MLK: 'Avatar 2' Soars With 40M 4-day, 'M3GAN' Moves 21M+, 'Puss In Boots 2' Hits 112M, 'Otto' Bright At 15M+ – Update Related Story C'mon Voters: The Oscars Could Use A Little Sequel-itis
The hardware will be doled out at the 21st annual Ves Awards on Wednesday,...
- 1/17/2023
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
With so much emphasis on Best Picture and acting races this Oscar season, get ready for some special attention to the crafts and artisans who made these movies possible.
American Cinematheque announced Monday its honorees for its second edition of Tribute to the Crafts, taking place on Thursday, February 9 at the Cinematheque’s Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. Among the achievements being celebrated are such blockbuster films Top Gun: Maverick, Avatar: The Way of Water, Elvis, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, in addition to indie sensations like Everything Everywhere All at Once and Rrr.
After a successful inaugural ceremony last year, once again it is the key goal of Tribute to the Crafts to honor those at the heart of filmmaking, and have exhibited extraordinary work behind the camera over the past year, according to the Cinematheque. The evening will celebrate individuals in 15 categories covering all aspects of filmmaking and...
American Cinematheque announced Monday its honorees for its second edition of Tribute to the Crafts, taking place on Thursday, February 9 at the Cinematheque’s Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. Among the achievements being celebrated are such blockbuster films Top Gun: Maverick, Avatar: The Way of Water, Elvis, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, in addition to indie sensations like Everything Everywhere All at Once and Rrr.
After a successful inaugural ceremony last year, once again it is the key goal of Tribute to the Crafts to honor those at the heart of filmmaking, and have exhibited extraordinary work behind the camera over the past year, according to the Cinematheque. The evening will celebrate individuals in 15 categories covering all aspects of filmmaking and...
- 1/9/2023
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
This interview with “Avatar: The Way of Water” visual effects supervisors Richard Baneham and Eric Saindon and Weta FX director Joe Letteri first appeared in a special section of the Below-the-Line issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.
When James Cameron began working on the story of “Avatar: The Way of Water” and subsequent sequels in the early 2010s, his visual effects team started scripting their own way forward. “At that point it was mostly the functional technical stuff—how do we build a system that Jim could use live?” said visual effects supervisor Richard Baneham, who added that testing on the new systems didn’t start until 2016. “This is coming from Jim’s desire to treat the digital world and the real world the same,” Weta FX director Joe Letteri added. “He wanted to use the camera like a real camera, see his actors, see the lighting, art-direct the shots,...
When James Cameron began working on the story of “Avatar: The Way of Water” and subsequent sequels in the early 2010s, his visual effects team started scripting their own way forward. “At that point it was mostly the functional technical stuff—how do we build a system that Jim could use live?” said visual effects supervisor Richard Baneham, who added that testing on the new systems didn’t start until 2016. “This is coming from Jim’s desire to treat the digital world and the real world the same,” Weta FX director Joe Letteri added. “He wanted to use the camera like a real camera, see his actors, see the lighting, art-direct the shots,...
- 12/26/2022
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
James Cameron brought a little of Pandora — and a lot of his starry cast — to London for the “Avatar: The Way of Water” world premiere on Tuesday night. The long-promised, eagerly-awaited sequel has been 13 years in the making, and now it’s finally set to debut in cinemas in just a few days, a moment the director wasn’t always sure would come.
“I had a lot of doubt when the pandemic hit,” Cameron told Variety on the blue carpet in Leicester Square. “We got shut down for six months. We didn’t know if there were going to be any movie theaters left to release the movie into. But we’ve survived all that. The theaters are full again. It’s all back. We’re all sold out for the first few weeks. So yeah, pretty happy!”
“The Way of Water” reunites Cameron with his “Titanic” star Kate Winslet,...
“I had a lot of doubt when the pandemic hit,” Cameron told Variety on the blue carpet in Leicester Square. “We got shut down for six months. We didn’t know if there were going to be any movie theaters left to release the movie into. But we’ve survived all that. The theaters are full again. It’s all back. We’re all sold out for the first few weeks. So yeah, pretty happy!”
“The Way of Water” reunites Cameron with his “Titanic” star Kate Winslet,...
- 12/7/2022
- by Amon Warmann
- Variety Film + TV
Irish-language ‘The Quiet Girl’ enjoys historic win at 2022 Irish Film And Television Academy awards
It is the first Irish-language feature to win the best film prize.
Colm Bairéad’s debut The Quiet Girl (An Cailín Ciúin) won the main prize at the 2022 Irish Film And Television Academy (IFTA) awards, presented during a virtual ceremony on Saturday night (March 12).
Irish-language drama The Quiet Girl follows a young girl as she spends the summer away from her dysfunctional family in 1980s Ireland, and goes to stay with a foster couple. The drama won the prize for best film – the first time in IFTA history that an Irish-language film has taken this award.
Scroll down for the...
Colm Bairéad’s debut The Quiet Girl (An Cailín Ciúin) won the main prize at the 2022 Irish Film And Television Academy (IFTA) awards, presented during a virtual ceremony on Saturday night (March 12).
Irish-language drama The Quiet Girl follows a young girl as she spends the summer away from her dysfunctional family in 1980s Ireland, and goes to stay with a foster couple. The drama won the prize for best film – the first time in IFTA history that an Irish-language film has taken this award.
Scroll down for the...
- 3/14/2022
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Colm Bairéad’s Irish-language drama An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl) was the big film winner at last night’s vritual Irish Film and Television Academy awards with eight wins. Scroll down for the full list of winners.
Director Colm Bairéad’s debut won best film, best director and lead actress for Catherine Clinch in addition to multiple craft awards. Bairéad also won the rising star prize. The coming-of-age drama had debuted at the Berlin Film Festival where it won two prizes.
Creators Ciaran Donnelly and Peter McKenna’s Kin won big in the TV categories with six prizes including best drama, script for McKenna, lead actress drama for Clare Dunne, lead actor drama for Sam Keeley and supporting actress drama for Maria Doyle Kennedy.
Ciaran Hinds won both the film and drama supporting actor awards on the night for Belfast and Kin, respectively. Belfast, which had garnered ten nominations,...
Director Colm Bairéad’s debut won best film, best director and lead actress for Catherine Clinch in addition to multiple craft awards. Bairéad also won the rising star prize. The coming-of-age drama had debuted at the Berlin Film Festival where it won two prizes.
Creators Ciaran Donnelly and Peter McKenna’s Kin won big in the TV categories with six prizes including best drama, script for McKenna, lead actress drama for Clare Dunne, lead actor drama for Sam Keeley and supporting actress drama for Maria Doyle Kennedy.
Ciaran Hinds won both the film and drama supporting actor awards on the night for Belfast and Kin, respectively. Belfast, which had garnered ten nominations,...
- 3/13/2022
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Feature debutant Colm Bairéad’s Berlin-winning “An Cailín Ciúin” (“The Quiet Girl”) was the big film winner at the 2022 Irish Film and Television Academy awards on Saturday with eight wins.
“An Cailín Ciúin” won best film, director and lead actress for Catherine Clinch in addition to a raft of craft awards. Bairéad also won the rising star award.
Creators Ciaran Donnelly and Peter McKenna’s “Kin” led the television awards with six wins including best drama, script for McKenna, lead actress drama for Clare Dunne, lead actor drama for Sam Keeley and supporting actress drama for Maria Doyle Kennedy.
Ciaran Hinds won both the film and drama supporting actor awards on the night for “Belfast” and “Kin” respectively. Overall, despite a slew of nominations, it was a disappointing outing at the awards for Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast,” which, besides Hinds’ win, won script for Branagh and nothing else.
Lead actor...
“An Cailín Ciúin” won best film, director and lead actress for Catherine Clinch in addition to a raft of craft awards. Bairéad also won the rising star award.
Creators Ciaran Donnelly and Peter McKenna’s “Kin” led the television awards with six wins including best drama, script for McKenna, lead actress drama for Clare Dunne, lead actor drama for Sam Keeley and supporting actress drama for Maria Doyle Kennedy.
Ciaran Hinds won both the film and drama supporting actor awards on the night for “Belfast” and “Kin” respectively. Overall, despite a slew of nominations, it was a disappointing outing at the awards for Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast,” which, besides Hinds’ win, won script for Branagh and nothing else.
Lead actor...
- 3/13/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Both have received 10 nominations.
Colm Bairéad’s debut The Quiet Girl (An Cailín Ciúin) and Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast are the joint frontrunners for the 2022 Irish Film And Television Academy (IFTA) awards, with 10 nominations each.
The Quiet Girl is an Irish-language drama telling the story of a young girl’s summer break away from her dysfunctional family in 1980s Ireland, when she stays with a foster couple. It is set to receive its premiere as the opening film at the Dublin International Film Festival tomorrow, and recently won the grand prize in the Generation Kplus strand at the Berlinale.
Scroll...
Colm Bairéad’s debut The Quiet Girl (An Cailín Ciúin) and Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast are the joint frontrunners for the 2022 Irish Film And Television Academy (IFTA) awards, with 10 nominations each.
The Quiet Girl is an Irish-language drama telling the story of a young girl’s summer break away from her dysfunctional family in 1980s Ireland, when she stays with a foster couple. It is set to receive its premiere as the opening film at the Dublin International Film Festival tomorrow, and recently won the grand prize in the Generation Kplus strand at the Berlinale.
Scroll...
- 2/22/2022
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
While the reaction to David Lowery’s The Green Knight has run the gamut here at The Film Stage, we can all agree on one thing: its use of visual effects is amongst the most impressive of the year, successfully selling this fantastical Arthurian world with a budget that certainly wasn’t on the levels of its superhero-sized summer competition. Thanks to Weta, Outpost, and Maere Studios, we now have a glimpse behind the process thanks to a pair of visual effects breakdowns. From sky replacements to rendering giants to CGI foxes to adding a great deal of scope, it’s fascinating to see how Lowery and team brought their vision to life.
“The medieval town and the fox were difficult, but known, visual effects problems,” notes Weta VFX supervisor Eric Saindon at Animation Magazine. “The time-lapses and the more arthouse shots were more complicated. Our saving grace was that...
“The medieval town and the fox were difficult, but known, visual effects problems,” notes Weta VFX supervisor Eric Saindon at Animation Magazine. “The time-lapses and the more arthouse shots were more complicated. Our saving grace was that...
- 10/25/2021
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Director David Lowery’s comfort zone with Weta Digital was cemented from the start with “Pete’s Dragon,” and has continued with “A Ghost Story,” and now “The Green Knight” and next year’s “Peter Pan and Wendy.” Eric Saindon, the director’s go-to VFX supervisor from Weta, explains the collaboration as creating “atmospheric landscapes and strange characters and telling time in different ways.”
On “The Green Knight,” Lowery’s mystical, hallucinatory adaptation of the 14th-century Arthurian poem about slacker Sir Gawain (Dev Patel) risking his head to earn knighthood, Weta’s work conveyed the story’s long journey and eerie medieval vibe. “It’s all about the experience,” Saindon said. “And it’s the perfect type of movie for visual effects. It goes back almost to ‘The Lord of the Rings.’ But it’s hard to believe that the first one was only 250 visual effects shots. So it was similar...
On “The Green Knight,” Lowery’s mystical, hallucinatory adaptation of the 14th-century Arthurian poem about slacker Sir Gawain (Dev Patel) risking his head to earn knighthood, Weta’s work conveyed the story’s long journey and eerie medieval vibe. “It’s all about the experience,” Saindon said. “And it’s the perfect type of movie for visual effects. It goes back almost to ‘The Lord of the Rings.’ But it’s hard to believe that the first one was only 250 visual effects shots. So it was similar...
- 8/5/2021
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
The Visual Effects Society is handing out its 18th annual Ves Awards tonight at the Beverly Hilton, and Deadline is updating the winners list live as they are announced. Check out the list below.
Patton Oswalt is hosting the ceremony, which recognizes and honors the most outstanding visual effects work of the year and honors the artists who created them. Check out the latest winners and the nominees in all remaining categories below.
Since the Ves Awards launched in 2002, the winner of its top film category — Best Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Motion Picture — has gone on to score the Best Visual Effects Oscar in 10 of the 17 years. (Hugo won the Ves in the Feature Motion Picture category in 2011 and later won the Oscar.) But Ves and the Film Academy have differed in each of the past two years, with War for the Planet of the Apes losing the...
Patton Oswalt is hosting the ceremony, which recognizes and honors the most outstanding visual effects work of the year and honors the artists who created them. Check out the latest winners and the nominees in all remaining categories below.
Since the Ves Awards launched in 2002, the winner of its top film category — Best Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Motion Picture — has gone on to score the Best Visual Effects Oscar in 10 of the 17 years. (Hugo won the Ves in the Feature Motion Picture category in 2011 and later won the Oscar.) But Ves and the Film Academy have differed in each of the past two years, with War for the Planet of the Apes losing the...
- 1/30/2020
- by Erik Pedersen and Antonia Blyth
- Deadline Film + TV
Disney dominated the 18th annual Ves Awards with five nominations apiece for Jon Favreau’s frontrunner “The Lion King” and Robert Rodriguez’s surprising “Alita: Battle Angel” (acquired from Fox). Joining them for the top photo-real prize were the Disney-led “Avengers: Endgame” and “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” along with Ang Lee’s “Gemini Man”. The Ves Awards will be held January 29th at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Competing for supporting VFX were Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman”, Sam Mendes’ “1917,” (which stitched together the World War I thriller as one continuous shot and offered various enhancements), James Mangold’s “Ford v Ferrari,” Todd Phillips’ “Joker,” and “The Aeronauts.”
In animation, Disney also fared well, with Pixar’s “Toy Story 4” (which grabbed five nominations) and “Frozen 2.” They were joined by Golden Globe nominee “Missing Link” from Laika, surprise nominee “Klaus” (the innovative 2D feature from Netflix and Spanish director Sergio Pablos), and,...
Competing for supporting VFX were Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman”, Sam Mendes’ “1917,” (which stitched together the World War I thriller as one continuous shot and offered various enhancements), James Mangold’s “Ford v Ferrari,” Todd Phillips’ “Joker,” and “The Aeronauts.”
In animation, Disney also fared well, with Pixar’s “Toy Story 4” (which grabbed five nominations) and “Frozen 2.” They were joined by Golden Globe nominee “Missing Link” from Laika, surprise nominee “Klaus” (the innovative 2D feature from Netflix and Spanish director Sergio Pablos), and,...
- 1/7/2020
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
The Visual Effects Society has unveiled nominations for its 18th annual Ves Awards, which honor VFX work in film, animation, TV, commercials and video games. Winners will be revealed at a ceremony January 29 at the Beverly Hilton.
Disney’s CG redo of the The Lion King and 20th Century Fox’s Alita: Battle Angel lead all film nominees with five apiece, joining the top animated nominee Toy Story 4. In TV, Disney+’s Star Wars spinoff The Mandalorian and the final season of HBO’s epic Game of Thrones lead the field with six nominations each.
Along with naming winners in 25 categories, the group’s ceremony later this month includes honoring Martin Scorsese with the Ves Lifetime Achievement Award. The Ves Visionary Award will be given to Roland Emmerich, and the Ves Award for Creative Excellence will be presented to VFX supervisor Sheena Duggal.
Here’s the list of noms:...
Disney’s CG redo of the The Lion King and 20th Century Fox’s Alita: Battle Angel lead all film nominees with five apiece, joining the top animated nominee Toy Story 4. In TV, Disney+’s Star Wars spinoff The Mandalorian and the final season of HBO’s epic Game of Thrones lead the field with six nominations each.
Along with naming winners in 25 categories, the group’s ceremony later this month includes honoring Martin Scorsese with the Ves Lifetime Achievement Award. The Ves Visionary Award will be given to Roland Emmerich, and the Ves Award for Creative Excellence will be presented to VFX supervisor Sheena Duggal.
Here’s the list of noms:...
- 1/7/2020
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
When Robert Rodriguez first saw James Cameron’s “art reel” for a live-action version of Yukito Kishiro’s comic Battle Angel Alita in 2005, he recalls his jaw hitting the floor. “I’ve known Jim since before Desperado,” the director says over the phone, referencing his 1995 postmodern-Western/action movie. “I remember visiting him on the set of when he was shooting that Terminator 2 ride, trading all these ideas about how to use 3-D. So we go way back, and I’ve seen him do a lot of crazy, innovative things. But...
- 2/17/2019
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
Josh Brolin hardly looked tough shooting his role as super-villain Thanos in Marvel’s “Avengers: Endgame,” dressed as he was in a skintight motion capture bodysuit with multicolored tracking markings, two HD cameras attached to headgear pointing at his dotted face, and a pole sticking up from the back of his vest holding a cardboard cutout of his character’s countenance above his head. But the sibling directing team of Anthony and Joe Russo still acted as if he were a badass.
“Brolin would love it that we would treat Thanos like he was a gangster character,” says younger brother Joe Russo. “We’d use terminology that would be reflective of that and say he’s a psychopath and he wants control, not he’s a giant purple creature who relates to the universe this way, so he could correlate it to a genre and character motivation that he could access.
“Brolin would love it that we would treat Thanos like he was a gangster character,” says younger brother Joe Russo. “We’d use terminology that would be reflective of that and say he’s a psychopath and he wants control, not he’s a giant purple creature who relates to the universe this way, so he could correlate it to a genre and character motivation that he could access.
- 2/15/2019
- by Todd Longwell
- Variety Film + TV
The wizards of Weta have taken facial capture to the next level with “Alita: Battle Angel,” the manga-inspired sci-fi adventure directed by Robert Rodriguez and produced by James Cameron and Jon Landau. Check out the new Fox trailer below for the movie which opens February 14, 2019.
IndieWire got a sneak peek of exclusive footage at Weta in Wellington, New Zealand. Like moviegoers who finally embraced the blue Na’vi once they saw them in Cameron’s “Avatar,” there’s nothing creepy about Alita, the doll-like cyborg with big eyes (performance-captured by Rosa Salazar). In fact, when she wakes up in a morning bathed in sunlight without any memory of her former existence as a badass warrior, it’s hard to believe that she’s totally CG.
Read More: ‘Alita: Battle Angel’ Team Promises Manga Adaptation Is ‘Not Whitewashing’ Like ‘Ghost In the Shell’
“I feel more like an audience member on this than any other movie,...
IndieWire got a sneak peek of exclusive footage at Weta in Wellington, New Zealand. Like moviegoers who finally embraced the blue Na’vi once they saw them in Cameron’s “Avatar,” there’s nothing creepy about Alita, the doll-like cyborg with big eyes (performance-captured by Rosa Salazar). In fact, when she wakes up in a morning bathed in sunlight without any memory of her former existence as a badass warrior, it’s hard to believe that she’s totally CG.
Read More: ‘Alita: Battle Angel’ Team Promises Manga Adaptation Is ‘Not Whitewashing’ Like ‘Ghost In the Shell’
“I feel more like an audience member on this than any other movie,...
- 11/13/2018
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
They've done what they've had to do to survive on AMC's The Walking Dead, brining hope and despair to palpable life on the small screen with gritty realism every week. Covered in grime, splattered in blood, and trudging down the sun-baked backroads and brush-bordered trails this season, the stellar cast and crew of The Walking Dead have paid their dues and then some, and now they're getting a tip of the cap in return with seven nominations for the 41st Annual Saturn Awards.
Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Emily Kinney, Melissa McBride, Chandler Riggs, and Andrew J. West have all earned nominations, with the TV series itself receiving one as well. Also recognized in this year's nominations is Scream Factory's Nightbreed: The Director's Cut Blu-ray, NBC's Hannibal TV series, Only Lovers Left Alive, and many more.
Press Release - "The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films announces the...
Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Emily Kinney, Melissa McBride, Chandler Riggs, and Andrew J. West have all earned nominations, with the TV series itself receiving one as well. Also recognized in this year's nominations is Scream Factory's Nightbreed: The Director's Cut Blu-ray, NBC's Hannibal TV series, Only Lovers Left Alive, and many more.
Press Release - "The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films announces the...
- 3/4/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
From BAFTA to DGA, the Latest Winners this Awards Season
With the Oscars upon us, the awards season is almost over! But the last trek to the Academy Awards include many guild awards and of course, BAFTA! So here.s the latest congratulatory awards list of the winners from BAFTA to DGA, from Annie to Ace and everything in between!
Your full BAFTA winners (winners are highlighted):
Best Film
Birdman Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, James W. Skotchdopole
Boyhood Richard Linklater, Cathleen Sutherland
The Grand Budapest Hotel Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson
The Imitation Game Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky, Teddy Schwarzman
The Theory Of Everything Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce, Anthony McCarten
Director
Birdman Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Boyhood Richard Linklater
The Grand Budapest Hotel Wes Anderson
The Theory Of Everything James Marsh
Whiplash Damien Chazelle
Leading Actor
Benedict Cumberbatch The Imitation Game
Eddie Redmayne The Theory of Everything...
With the Oscars upon us, the awards season is almost over! But the last trek to the Academy Awards include many guild awards and of course, BAFTA! So here.s the latest congratulatory awards list of the winners from BAFTA to DGA, from Annie to Ace and everything in between!
Your full BAFTA winners (winners are highlighted):
Best Film
Birdman Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, James W. Skotchdopole
Boyhood Richard Linklater, Cathleen Sutherland
The Grand Budapest Hotel Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson
The Imitation Game Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky, Teddy Schwarzman
The Theory Of Everything Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce, Anthony McCarten
Director
Birdman Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Boyhood Richard Linklater
The Grand Budapest Hotel Wes Anderson
The Theory Of Everything James Marsh
Whiplash Damien Chazelle
Leading Actor
Benedict Cumberbatch The Imitation Game
Eddie Redmayne The Theory of Everything...
- 2/9/2015
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
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