The Oscars' Humble Beginnings
Each day this week we’re bringing you Oscar Week coverage. Tune in tomorrow for more! Long before viewers were fixated on red carpet arrivals, acceptance speeches and winning their office pools, the Oscars barely made headlines. The very first Academy Awards show, held on May 16, 1929, was a far cry from the ridiculously over-the-top production it is today. There’s no way the mere 270 guests who attended the ceremony at the Blossom Room in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel could have ever imagined the importance these awards would one day hold for the film industry. With the 84th Annual Academy... read more
Sundance Report: Three Darkly Funny Films
Sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying. Here are three films from Sundance 2012 that found humor in dark places.... read more
Sundance Report: Three Great Thrillers
The thriller is a genre whose films are so often done so poorly, it can be a real shock when we’re reminded just how effective they can be when they’re done well. Here are three of the best from Sundance 2012:... read more
Is Extremely Loud the Worst-Reviewed Oscar-Nominated Movie in History?
Forty-six. That’s what Best Picture-nominated Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close scored on Metacritic. Think about that number for a minute: have you ever recieved such a low score on a test, but were praised for it? Sure, it’s a decent number for a basketball player’s three-point field goal percentage and maybe even a high school quarterback. But this is the Oscars we’re talking about. How is a film rated 46 (out of 100 mind you) worthy of being one of nine films nominated for the best film of the year? read more
Sundance Report: Three Great Documentaries
This year’s best Sundance documentaries so far feature everyone from wrongfully accused prisoners to passionate street organizers to American royalty. Here’s a rundown of our three early favorites.... read more
Sundance Report: Three Great Comedies
Among the narrative films at Sundance 2012, the comedies seem to be getting the most buzz. Here’s an early report on three of the best:... read more
Caitlin Fitzgerald: Best of What's Next
The return of Ed Burns to a career as an ultra-low-budget indie filmmaker is good news for a host of reasons, but perhaps primary among them is his determination to feature extraordinarily talented actors who aren’t yet household names. read more
Harry Lloyd: The Iron Man
Oscar-bred projects drenched in star power pose a challenge for lesser-known actors, as they desperately try to avoid being swallowed by the enormity of the film before them. Game of Thrones star Harry Lloyd fights his way to the frontline, delivering a charismatic and commendable performance as a young Denis Thatcher in The Iron Lady. read more
Sundance Report: James Murphy, Drake & Wiz Khalifa To Play The Bing Bar
Many brands, large and small, have attempted to reach Sundance crowds to increase awareness of their offerings, but over the past few years no one has gotten more extravagant than Bing. This year, the Bing Bar expands to three floors with more activities—and bigger names—than ever.... read more
Sundance Filmmaker Preview: Katie Aselton, Director of Black Rock
Some readers will likely know Katie Aselton as “that bombshell from The League.” Others will know her as the wife and frequent collaborator of mumblecore icon Mark Duplass. If she continues on her recent path, though, she’ll soon be best known as a director. This week she brings Black Rock, her second straight feature as a director, to Sundance, where she premiered The Freebie in 2010.... read more
Watch Every Available Sundance Trailer
If you want a one-stop-shopping place to see every single Sundance trailer available, there’s only one place to go. And, surprisingly, it’s not the official Sundance site. Prescreen.com, a new site, has collected all of those trailers for you. Founder Shawn Bercurson tells us that the concept started because they loved the festival.... read more
Sundance Filmmaker Preview: Cindy Cowan, Producer of Red Lights
Producer Cindy Cowan wants you to know that virtually everyone else in the world is just as much in the dark about Red Lights as you and I are. The thinking person’s thriller, which debuts this week at Sundance, stars Robert DeNiro, Sigourney Weaver, Cillian Murphy, and current It Girl Elizabeth Olsen, so you might think the filmmakers would have wanted to get it in front of as many people as quickly as possible. But Cowan insists, “No one has seen Red Lights. It’s literally getting its premiere next Friday night at Sundance and we’ve kept it very under the... read more
2012 Golden Globes Live Blog
Join us tonight as Paste's editor-in-chief Josh Jackson, publisher Nick Purdy, film editor Michael Dunaway and assistant editor Bonnie Stiernberg live-blog the 69th Annual Golden Globes. read more
Tree of Life: 2011 Film of the Year
Any preconceptions one might have about cigar-chomping, gold-chain-bedecked, commerce-above-art Hollywood producers go right out the window early in your first conversation with Dede Gardner. Gardner, the head of Brad Pitt’s Plan B Productions, and one of the producers of Paste’s 2011 Narrative Film of the Year The Tree of Life, explodes those stereotypes. She’s warm, generous, and—surprise!—utterly entranced with the idea of making great films. “One of the reasons I treasure the movie so much is that it’s really honest,” she says. “This is how real life works. I don’t think it’s ever simple. You’re a sum total of all... read more
Steve James: Film Person of the Year (Documentaries)
In addition to being the most artful documentary of the year, The Interrupters is easily the most socially important. Where else will you find a film that addresses one of the most crucial issues of our time, actually offers a feasible solution and presents a group of inspiring protagonists to boot? read more
Jessica Chastain: Film Person of the Year (Narrative)
It’s been quite a while since anyone has had a coming out party like that of Paste’s 2011 Person of the Year for Narrative Film, Jessica Chastain. She had significant roles in seven feature films; played the female lead in Paste’s two favorite movies this year (The Tree of Life and Take Shelter); and seems very likely to be rewarded with an Academy Award nomination for a third (The Help). read more
Killing Bono (Or At Least Making Him Laugh)
Killing Bono is a work of fiction, but the boys did go to school together and did meet up in Larry Mullen’s mom’s kitchen. “We went down to Dublin to do research and we saw that kitchen,” director Nick Hamm says, “and it’s literally the size of a small car. Larry’s drum kit that day was half inside the door and half in the garden...” read more
Inni: Vincent Morisset's Sigur Rós Doc
Vincent Morisset has now found himself twice in the court of indie-rock’s royalty, first with The Arcade Fire and more recently with Sigur Rós. In just a matter of three years, he’s released Mirror Noir and Inni—two highly impressive films on two highly influential bands. But the filmmaker, whose primary focus lies outside of music-related work, didn’t pursue either project himself. “Both projects came as accidents in a way,” he admits. “I don’t know to be honest…I liked the fact that these things just happened by accident.” Morisset’s Mirror Noir documented the Arcade Fire around the time of their 2007... read more
Adam Busch: Buffy Star Diplays Triple-Threat
Best known for his turn as Warren Mears in Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Adam Busch’s been acting onscreen since 1994, but his musical career stretches back even further. read more
The Other F Word: When Punks Become Parents
What happens when punk rockers grow up and have kids? That's the central question of a very different kind of punk documentary that just hit theaters. read more
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