nofilmschool » academyawards

Oscar-Winning, Partly iPhone-Shot 'Searching for Sugar Man' Proves Content is King

Robert Hardy — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 08:35:59 +0000

It’s far too easy to get caught up in the technological aspects of filmmaking, whether it be with new cameras, lenses, NLEs, or anything else. Focusing on gear is easy when something new comes out practically every day, but all of this technology is in place for the purpose of helping us tell better stories. What better way to remind ourselves of this than to see a great story made with what is widely considered to be “less than adequate” equipment? Such is the case with Searching for Sugar Man, the Academy Award winner for Best Feature Documentary at this year’s Oscars, part of which was shot on, as you might have already guessed, an iPhone. Check out the trailer for this fascinating film below: (more…)

Shorts 'Paperman' and 'Curfew' Win Oscars, 'Inocente' is 1st Academy Award-Winning Kickstarter Film

Joe Marine — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 08:13:54 +0000

Another year, another Oscars, but this one was very special to the indie community for one major reason: the documentary short Inocente made history as the first Kickstarter film to win an Academy Award. Hollywood might have just started noticing the crowdfunding platform recently, but independent films have benefitted greatly over the last few years, and Kickstarter has been involved in a number of festival and award-winning films — including a few Oscar nods. Also, if you missed it previously, embedded below is Paperman, which took home the best animated short film Academy Award, and the trailer for Curfew, shot on the RED ONE, which received the live action short film award. (more…)

Oscar Nominees for Writing Share Their Nomination Experiences (In Writing, Of Course)

Christopher Boone — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 17:32:44 +0000

With the final major guild awards behind us, (Argo and Zero Dark Thirty won last night’s WGA awards for Adapted and Original Screenplays, respectively), pundits can finally channel all of their attention and prognostications on the big show, the Academy Awards (as if they weren’t already). Ten screenplays are nominated, but of course, only two will win. This year, however, that doesn’t mean we won’t get to hear from some of the other writing nominees about their Oscar experiences. (more…)

Savor Lush ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ Visual Screenplay with BTS Stills, Maps, and Shooting Diagrams

Dave Kendricken — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 18:30:05 +0000

In the spirit of consideration for the highest honors a work may receive in our field, we have been keeping you up to date with a number of scripts seeking nomination — one of the earliest of these was Moonrise Kingdom, which has in fact been nominated for Best Original Screenplay. Interestingly enough, and in contrast to the rest of the scripts you may have caught so far, the script for Moonrise Kingdom is now also available in a new, very unique textual-visual version, complete with an interactive navigator. Read on for the details of this ‘Screenplay 2.0′ below. (more…)

'Beasts of the Southern Wild' Surprises with 4 Oscar Nods, and is This the Last Major Year for Celluloid?

Joe Marine — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 02:05:39 +0000

It’s that time of year again, when Hollywood nominates the ~~films that ran the best Oscar campaigns~~ best films from the previous year in a number of categories. Even just being nominated for an Academy Award is usually an honor for most of these filmmakers and actors, and many of them have been on the ballot a number of times. Probably the most interesting selection is Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild, a true independent film not just in budget but in spirit, which was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and the youngest Best Actress nomination ever in Quvenzhané Wallis. What’s even more interesting is how many of these films were still shot on actual film, but how long will that last? (more…)