Tag Archives: Stephen Daldry

By Sean O’Connell
hollywoodnews.com: Nominations for the 84th Academy Awards were revealed this morning, with nine films making it into the fluid Best Picture race.
Jennifer Lawrence and Academy President Tom Sherak revealed that “The Artist,” “The Descendants,” “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close,” “The Help,” “Hugo,” “Midnight In Paris,” “Moneyball,” “The Tree of Life” and “War Horse” will compete for Oscar’s top prize when Billy Crystal hosts this year’s ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.
In honor of the nine Best Picture nominees, here are the nine biggest surprises from this morning’s nominees:
1. “Hugo” earned more nominations than “The Artist”
That doesn’t mean Michel Hazanavicius’ film isn’t the frontrunner, as it earned nominations in the top categories including Picture, Director, Actor (Jean Dujardin) and Supporting Actress (Berenice Bejo, who had to hear her name butchered by Sherak). But Marty Scorsese’s film topped all contenders with 11 nominations, and that means something.
2. “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” represents
A late entry into the Oscar race, Stephen Daldry’s heartwrenching drama about a special needs boy (Thomas Horn) overcoming the loss of his father in the 9/11 terrorist attacks connected with enough Academy members to earn a Best Picture nomination, as well as a nod for the mighty Max Von Sydow. It also triggered the largest number of cry-baby Tweets from detractors, which are always fun to read.
3. Stephen Daldry’s Director streak is snapped
With nine Best Picture nominees and only five Best Director slots, some filmmakers had to be left out. Steven Spielberg (“War Horse”), Bennett Miller (“Moneyball”), Tate Taylor (“The Help”) and Daldry all saw their films earn Picture nods, but they missed the Director cut. For Daldry, it is the first time he has released a movie and has not been nominated.

4. Nick Nolte makes the cut!
Thankfully enough voters saw Gavin O’Connor’s grossly underrated “Warrior” to recognize Nolte’s tremendous performance.
5. Gary Oldman makes the cut!
Earning his first (FIRST!!) Oscar nomination. That, alone, is shocking. At least the Academy’s starting to wake up to this “newcomer.” (Side note: Thrilled that Demián Bichir scored a nom for “A Better Life.”)
6. Melissa McCarthy made the cut, as well!
So the “Bridesmaids” train didn’t carry the mega-comedy all the way to Best Picture, but it did churn up nominations for this year’s “It” girl, McCarthy, and a Screenplay nod for Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig.
7. Albert [...]

HollywoodNews.com: Our selected star to be included in our “Hollywood Movie Photo Gallery of the Year” is Sandra Bullock.
Sandra is the co-star with Tom Hanks in Stephen Daldry’s “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” and she will be seen next year in Alfonso Cuaron’s “Gravity” with George Clooney.
More good news for Sandra, the “Awards Season Screener” of choice from family members visiting over the holiday weekend was Stephen Daldry’s “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.”
Enjoy Sandra Bullock photo Gallery

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By Sean O’Connell
hollywoodnews.com: The “Awards Season Screener” of choice from family members visiting over the holiday weekend was Stephen Daldry’s “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.” (The second most popular was Steven Spielberg’s “War Horse,” followed by “The Artist.”)
All three went over very well – an extremely unscientific poll, which is influenced by overeating and alcohol – but “Loud” was a devastator. I now know at what moment I need to get up and get the tissue boxes ready, because the tears are about to flow.
It worked every time. And now that I’ve seen it a number of times, I’m even more confident throwing my support behind Daldry’s powerful and moving drama. Mainly, I’ve come to realize the precise structure of Eric Roth’s adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel. Mysteries about The Renter (Max von Sydow), the key, the swing and other obstacles I might have encountered on a first pass are buttoned up with repeat viewings.
And then there’s Thomas Horn’s calculated performance as Oskar, the heartbreakingly challenged escort through Daldry’s complicated, emotional expedition through post-9/11 Manhattan. It’s such a mature turn, marked by complicated flourishes in scenes that young kids shouldn’t understand. Watch his scenes with Sandra Bullock or Jeffrey Wright near the end of “Loud.” It’s hard to say whether Horn – a former “Jeopardy” contestant – has a career outside of this movie, but for this particular part, he connects with a courage that resonates.
Of course, “Loud” plays on our sympathies for those who lost someone in 9/11, but the film rarely becomes the maudlin, manipulative movie that you fear. Instead, it’s the life-affirming story of a fractured family trying to rediscover a personal balance in the wake of that national catastrophe. Oskar father, who dies in one of the attacked towers, could have had a heart attack on his way home from his suburban office. He could have lost his life in a car crash, and young Oskar still would have to work through his grief using his own unique methods.
And yet, at the onset, I hated Oskar. Hated him. He’s insufferably eccentric, who’s inquisitive mind – and his enabling parents (played by Tom Hanks and Bullock) – grated on my every nerve. Oskar’s eccentricities, his insufferable narration, blocked me from embracing this story on my first pass. I was just about ready to wave the white flag and dismiss “Extremely Loud” as pretentious [...]

By Sean O’Connell
hollywoodnews.com: Stephen Daldry’s “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” which held its premiere over the weekend in New York City, is taking its promotional campaign overseas. The film will hold its international premiere with an out-of-competition screening at the Berlin International Film Festival. This year’s event runs from Feb. 9-19.
Daldry’s captivating drama adapts Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel about a special-needs boy (Thomas Horn) coping with the loss of his father (Tom Hanks) in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. Sandra Bullock and Max von Sydow co-star in the emotionally stirring story, which was one of the last films to enter the Oscar season.
Gradually, “Loud” is picking up some awards heat – the BFCA recognized Daldry and his film with their Critics’ Choice Movie Awards nominations – and Warner Bros. Plans a Dec. 25 release in the States to keep it on Oscar’s radar.
It belongs there. those who’ve read Foer’s book know that Horn’s challenging character, Oskar, has Asperger’s Syndrome. It’s a subtle reveal, and one that changes the complexity of the film’s narration. With that knowledge comes tremendous sympathy, and overwhelming respect for Horn’s portrayal. Suddenly, the mission of this special-needs child isn’t as phony as you fear. It’s blunt. Honest. Emotional. And outstanding.
We’ll have more on “Loud” as the release date approaches. In the meantime, Berlin revealed that Zhang Yimou’s “The Flowers of War,” with Christian Bale, also will screen out of competition. And the following three films will compete: Brillante Mendoza’s “Captive;” Antonio Chavarrias’ “Childish Games;” and “Postcards From the Zoo,” the latest from Edwin.
Awards Alley brings you the best Oscar coverage. Click below to read our exclusive interviews with:
- Harvey Weinstein
- The cast of “The Artist.”
- Sir Ben Kingsley and Chloe Grace Moretz for “Hugo.”
- Tilda Swinton for “We Need to Talk About Kevin.”
- Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer for “The Help.”
- Tate Taylor for “The Help.”
- Gavin O’Connor for “Warrior.”
- Gary Oldman and Colin Firth for “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.”
- Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody for “Young Adult.”
- Steve McQueen for “Shame.”
- Glenn Close for “Albert Nobbs.”
- Seth Rogen and Will Reiser for “50/50.”
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By Roger Friedman
HollywoodNews.com: It was the penultimate movie premiere of the fall Oscar season– Stephen Daldry’s “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.” Or is it “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”? No one can remember. This is what we know: it’s Extremely Late and Incredibly Tearful. The movie is based on Jonathan Safran Foer‘s novel about a 10 year old boy whose father dies in the World Trade Center. That’s Tom Hanks. The mom is Sandra Bullock. The mysterious grandfather is Max von Sydow, who is so good he should be nominated for an Oscar. It will take members of the Academy to save him.
Along the way the boy–who was found on “Jeopardy!”–meets Viola Davis and Geoffrey Wright, among others. He walks from the Upper West Side to Fort Greene, Brooklyn. You either find it preposterous or very moving. Or both.
At the premiere at the Ziegfeld, all the stars and the director arrived. Everyone had to pass through massive metal detectors even though this film is not the biggest of the year and probably no one wants to pirate it. There were no metal detectors at the premieres of “War Horse” or even “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” This is called ‘overkill.’ There were dozens of very serious security people eying the guests as if they were recent residents of Rikers Island. It was kind of funny.
All the stars bunched up near the little green room just beyond the inside theater doors. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson were briefly separated. “Where’s Tom?” Rita asked, nervously. She told me her album is coming on May 6th from Decca Records. She’s a good singer. Tom Hanks, stuck in this little passageway, said, “I want to keep everyone incredibly close.” I told him I’d seen the movie last week, and that he was very affecting in it. (He is.) He said, “Tell me, is at as good as, say, “New Year’s Eve”? He’s very funny. “New Year’s Eve” got the lowest score of the year just about, on Rotten Tomatoes.
Viola Davis came along. She’s been nominated by every award group this week for “The Help.” She’s also in this movie. She greeted Sandra Bullock. They immediately started talking about their adopted toddlers. They’re all very happy, which is nice. Gabourey Sidibe wandered through, and said hi to everyone. It was like an Oscar reunion.
Then came Stephen Daldry. He kisses everyone. He’s light as a [...]

By Sean O’Connell
hollywoodnews.com: That uppercut to the gut we’ve been waiting for all awards season? It finally arrives in the form of young Thomas Horn.
Full reviews still have to be held until closer to release date, but I’m currently allowed to comment on the awards hopes for the film, which moved me in ways I certainly didn’t expect.
Warner screened the film late, which might have led to the goose egg from the Golden Globes. The Broadcast Film Critics Association responded to this film’s intense gravitational pull, awarding it with four nominations including Best Picture, Best Young Actor (for Horn), Best Director (for Daldry) and Best Adapted Screenplay (for Roth). And I’m hoping Oscar recognizes the film and its talent.
Daldry’s an Oscar veteran. That’s an understatement. When it comes to the Best Picture and Director races, Daldry’s a perfect three-for-three. If the Academy’s paying a bit of attention, he has a very good chance of going four-for-four in those two (and several other) categories come January.
More commentary and review coming soon …

Awards Alley brings you the best Oscar coverage. Click below to read our exclusive interviews with:
- Harvey Weinstein
- The cast of “The Artist.”
- Sir Ben Kingsley and Chloe Grace Moretz for “Hugo.”
- Tilda Swinton for “We Need to Talk About Kevin.”
- Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer for “The Help.”
- Tate Taylor for “The Help.”
- Gary Oldman and Colin Firth for “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.”
- Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody for “Young Adult.”
- Steve McQueen for “Shame.”
- Glenn Close for “Albert Nobbs.”
- Seth Rogen and Will Reiser for “50/50.”
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By Sean O’Connell
hollywoodnews.com: The Broadcast Film Critics’ Association spread its end-of-year awards love to multiple films this morning, nominating Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” and Michel Hazanavicius’ “The Artist” for a field-leading 11 nominations each for the 17th Annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards. Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Drive” and Tate Taylor’s “The Help” each grabbed 8 nominations, while Alexanader Payne’s “The Descendants” and Steven Spielberg’s “War Horse” nabbed 7 a piece.
But a thorough scan of this morning’s CCMA nominees did produce a few surprises, either in the form of omissions or inclusions that those of us tracking the annual Oscar race didn’t expect. Here are a few things that jumped out at me while scanning the list of the CCMA nominees.
- Pixar’s “Cars 2” was shut out of the Best Animated Feature category.
- Andy Serkis. Best Supporting Actor. “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.” That, I can get behind.
- In fact, the Best Supporting Actor category is solid, with nods for Christopher Plummer, Kenneth Branagh, Albert Brooks, Patton Oswalt and Nick Nolte. Every one is a winner.
- Glenn Close was on the outside of a competitive Best Actress field, looking in.
- Similarly, Gary Oldman was on the outside of a competitive Best Actor field, looking in. Both still could get into the Oscar race, but BFCA noms would have helped.
- “Drive” is a legitimate awards contender. Picture and Director noms really help the film’s Oscar cause. But the film also nabbed Actor, Supporting Actor, Cinematography, Editing, Action Movie and Score.
- David Fincher’s “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” is a solid genre film, but it does not appear to be an awards contender. The film earned two CCMA noms for Editing and Score, but did not crack the top categories.
- Stephen Daldry’s late-entry “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” might be a contender. Even though BFCA members didn’t see the film until a day or two before ballots were due, it still earned four key nominations including Best Picture, Best Young Actor/Thomas Horn, Best Director/Stephen Daldry, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
- The “Harry Potter” Oscar train took a hit. The film earned technical nominations, but did not get into the Picture or top Acting categories.
- “The Muppets” has great songs. Three of the film’s four noms were in the Best Song category. It’s other nomination was for Best Comedy.
- Finally, Nick Nolte got into the Best Supporting Actor race for [...]

By Sean O’Connell
hollywoodnews.com: The Oscar race expects to narrow (slightly) over the next few days, with new critics’ groups weighing in on their selections for year-end bests, and the HFPA expected to reveal its Golden Globe nominations on Thursday. Let’s do a quick run through the stories of the weekend, so far:
- The Broadcast Film Critics’ Association (of which I am a member) votes on their annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards this weekend. Ballots are due back on Sunday. Nominees will be revealed shortly after. Stay tuned.
- The Los Angeles Film Critics’ Association [ LAFCA] votes Sunday. Glenn Whipp guesses Alexander Payne’s “The Descendants” will triumph.
- Oscar blogger Jeff Wells thinks Stephen Daldry’s “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” could upset “War Horse” in the battle to beat “The Artist” in the Oscar race. I tend to agree.
- Fifteen films will compete for the Visual Effects Oscar, and they are …
- And finally, will there be an Oscar statues to hand out next year?
Awards Alley brings you the best Oscar coverage. Click below to read our exclusive interviews with:
- Harvey Weinstein
- Gary Oldman and Colin Firth for “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.”
- Charlize Theron, Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody for “Young Adult.”
- Steve McQueen for “Shame.”
- The cast of “The Artist.”
- Glenn Close for “Albert Nobbs.”
- Tilda Swinton for “We Need to Talk About Kevin.”
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By Sean O’Connell
hollywoodnews.com: It’s the last of the Oscar hopefuls to maintain a shred of mystery. Stephen Daldry’s “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” a 9/11-set adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer’s award-winning novel about a young boy (Thomas Horn) searching for a treasured item left behind by his father (Tom Hanks), who died in the World Trade Center on that fateful day.
Daldry has a remarkable track record with the Academy: Three feature films, three Best Picture nominations. Can it continue? I’ll know Friday.
In the meantime, here is the film’s latest trailer, which teases the drama ahead of its year-end release. “Extremely Loud” co-stars Viola Davis, Sandra Bullock and Max von Sydow. It will open in limited release on Dec. 25 before expanding in January.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUIafzL6Le8
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By Sean O’Connell
hollywoodnews.com: The New York Film Critics’ Circle has convened in Manhattan and named Michel Hazanavicius’ “The Artist” as the year’s best film. The full list of winners can be found below.
Hazanavicius also won Best Director from the group, while “Moneyball” and “Tree of Life” divided up ket categories. Albert Brooks probably bolstered his slot in the Best Supporting Actor Oscar race for his mesmerizing turn in “Drive.” And the challenge for Jessica Chastain will be deciding which award-worthy performance she should put her weight behind.
Here are the NYFCC selections for 2011:
Best Picture: “The Artist”
2011 Special Award to be given posthumously to filmmaker Raoul Ruiz
Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki for “Tree of Life”
Best Screenplay: Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin for “Moneyball”
Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius for “The Artist”
Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation
Best Actor: Brad Pitt for “Moneyball,” and “Tree of Life”
Best Supporting Actor: Albert Brooks for “Drive”
Best Actress: Meryl Streep for “The Iron Lady”
Best Supporting Actress: Jessica Chastain for Tree of Life, The Help and Take Shelter
Best Nonfiction Film: Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Best First Feature: Margin Call
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