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LATEST OSCARS NEWS

Elle

France submits Verhoeven’s 'Elle' to Oscar race

By Melanie Goodfellow

First time France submits film by non-French national since 1977.

fire at sea

Oscars: Italy selects 'Fire At Sea'

By Liz Hawkins

Gianfranco Rosi’s Golden Bear-winning doc has been chosen as the country’s Best Foreign Language Film submission.

HEADLINES

KEY DATES 2016/17

  • Nov 12 The Governors Awards
  • Jan 5 Nominations voting opens
  • Jan 13 Nominations voting closes
  • Jan 24 Oscar nominations
  • Feb 6 Oscar Nominees Luncheon
  • Feb 11 Scientific Technical Awards
  • Feb 13 Final voting begins
  • Feb 21 Final voting closes
  • Feb 26 89th Academy Awards
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AWARDS FEATURES

The Big Short

'The Big Short': prophets of loss

Producers Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner and director Adam McKay of The Big Short tell Elbert Wyche how they made an entertaining, informative film about the build-up to the calamitous global banking meltdown.

ex machina

'Ex Machina': rise of the machine

As Alex Garland’s Ex Machina vies for five Baftas and two Oscars, the film-makers look back on its production and debate the pros and cons of an international release strategy that saw the sci-fi film become a sleeper hit in the US. Mark Salisbury reports.

Bryan Cranston

'Trumbo': from blacklist to shortlist

Bryan Cranston, the Oscar and Bafta-nominated star of Trumbo, talks to Jeremy Kay about digging deep to find the truth behind one of Hollywood’s screenwriting greats.

BAFTA Stephen Fry

Awards countdown: Bound for glory

With just two weeks to go until the Baftas on February 14, we are into the final stretch of awards season.

Tim Angel Angels Costumes

The angels and their outfits

London costume house Angels has made and supplied outfits to hundreds of films, from Lawrence Of Arabia to Maggie Smith’s muddy boots in The Lady In The Van. As Bafta is poised to honour the company, Sarah Cooper meets the family of Angels.

Sandy Powell

Sandy Powell: the dress maker

UK costume designer Sandy Powell has four Bafta and Oscar nominations this year for her work on Cinderella and Carol. She talks to Tiffany Pritchard.

Ryuichi Sakamoto

Interview: 'The Revenant' composers, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto

Alternative music pioneer Ryuichi Sakamoto and his regular collaborator, the leading electronic musician known as Alva Noto, talk to Tiffany Pritchard about their Bafta-nominated work on The Revenant.

Composers: Daniel Pemberton, 'Steve Jobs'

Having worked with Ridley Scott, Guy Ritchie and now Danny Boyle on Steve Jobs, Daniel Pemberton is rapidly becoming one of the industry’s most sought-after composers.

The VFX of 'Ex Machina'

In a year of stunning visual-effects work, Ex Machina’s bewitching robot stands out as a peerless use of VFX. Mark Salisbury speaks to the team that created her.

Ron Howard and Anthony Dod Mantle

Anthony Dod Mantle talks shooting 'In The Heart Of The Sea'

Inspired by Turner and Delacroix, cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle tells Mark Salisbury how intensity was key for In The Heart Of The Sea.

Documentaries

Awards Season: Documentary

Interviews with Michael Moore, Alex Gibney, Laurie Anderson and more…

Amy

Documentary: US flourishing while Europe struggles

While Netflix and Amazon among others are revitalising the documentary sector in the US, it’s a different story in Europe, where factual film-makers are fighting for funds.

Best Picture

Awards Season: Best Picture

In-depth looks at Carol, Mad Max: Fury Road, Room and Spotlight

Cate Blanchett and Todd Haynes

'Carol': producer Elizabeth Karlsen on her 14-year passion project

In her own words, Carol producer Elizabeth Karlsen reveals the 14-year-long journey to bring the adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel to the screen.

'Room': if these walls could talk

Bestseller or not, Room’s sensitive subject matter was always going to be a cinematic challenge. Jeremy Kay speaks to writer Emma Donoghue, director Lenny Abrahamson and producer Ed Guiney about translating its emotional and physical space to the screen

Tom McCarthy with Liev Schreiber

'Spotlight': drama in the newsroom

From avoiding lawsuits to casting a prestige acting ensemble, the team behind best picture hopeful Spotlight reveal how they pulled off the high-wire act.

Mad Max Fury Road behind the scenes

'Mad Max: Fury Road': driven to the edge

Mad Max: Fury Road has garnered critical acclaim and global box office of $375m and counting. But it was an arduous journey, as director George Miller, producer Doug Mitchell and production designer Colin Gibson tell Tom Grater.

The Hateful Eight

Best Picture race: bounty hunters

Will Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight be the film to shake up this year’s awards season? Jeremy Kay looks at which movies have achieved glory so far.

Animation

Awards Season: Animation

Reports on the making of Inside Out, Shaun The Sheep Movie, The Good Dinosaur, Anomalisa, The Peanuts Movie and Minions

Minions

'Minions': the three stooges

Charlie Chaplin, Peter Sellers and Mr Bean were the inspirations behind animation success story Minions. John Hazelton explores the rise of the be-goggled ones.

COMMENT

Locarno-European-Casting-Director-Award

Locarno: 'Standing Tall' team win inaugural European Casting Director Award

Antoinette Boulat and Elsa Pharaon took home the prize, which has been founded to recognise an overlooked film-making sector.

AWARDS COUNTDOWN: INTERVIEWS

Finola Amanda 2

Wildgaze: building on 'Brooklyn'

Celebrating six BAFTA nominations and three Oscar nominations, Wildgaze Films duo Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey look back at Brooklyn’s journey and ahead to their future slate and ambitions

The Revenant producers Steve Golin and Mary Parent

'The Revenant' producer Mary Parent on the biggest challenge of her career

After the Golden Globes, Bafta and Oscar nominations, The Revenant has become this awards season’s front-runner. Jeremy Kay talks to producer Mary Parent about bringing the most challenging project of her career to fruition

Johann Johannson

Composers: Johann Johannsson, 'Sicario'

Johann Johannsson’s score for Sicario rumbles and intimidates “like a beast lurching in slow motion”, he tells Tiffany Pritchard, who meets five of the composers in contention this awards season

Tom Holkenborg Junkie XL

Composers: Tom Holkenborg (aka Junkie XL), 'Mad Max: Fury Road'

More commonly known as Junkie XL, the Dutch composer turned to religious themes and heavy metal to score Mad Max: Fury Road

Composers: Alexandre Desplat, 'The Danish Girl'

The politically engaged composer discusses why he was drawn to Suffragette and The Danish Girl 

Carter Burwell and Todd Haynes

Composers: Carter Burwell, 'Carol', 'Anomalisa'

The self-taught composer of Carol and Anomalisa used very different methods to score - and conduct - both films

Tom Courtenay and Charlotte Rampling

Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay talk '45 Years'

Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay speak to Elbert Wyche about portraying a married couple shocked from their quietude by a ghost from the past, in Andrew Haigh’s 45 Years 

Emmanuel Lubezki on the set of The Revenant

Emmanuel Lubezki on the gruelling shoot of 'The Revenant'

Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki talks to Mark Salisbury about the gruelling shoot in ice and snow that ensured The Revenant became a wholly immersive viewing experience

viva still 2

Paddy Breathnach and Robert Walpole on Irish Oscar entry ‘Viva’

Director Paddy Breathnach and producer Robert Walpole recall the 17-year process behind their Oscar foreign-language contender Viva.

Palio

Cosima Spender on making 'Palio'

Cosima Spender talks about making Palio under the watchful eye of Siena’s authorities.

Cartel Land

Matthew Heineman on entering the dangerous world of 'Cartel Land'

Matthew Heineman reveals why he simply picked up a camera and headed into the dangerous world of Mexico’s drug wars.

He Named Me Malala

'He Named Me Malala' producers talk switching from narrative to documentary

Producers Walter Parkes and Laurie Macdonald reveal why they changed tack to make Davis Guggenheim’s He Named Me Malala as a documentary rather than narrative feature.

Going Clear

Alex Gibney reveals Scientology intimidation

Alex Gibney describes the intimidation tactics deployed against his Scientology exposé.

Abi Morgan Sarah Gavron Faye Ward

Strength in numbers: the making of 'Suffragette'

The team behind timely historical drama Suffragette speak about bringing the story to the screen and playing a part in global cultural change.

Heart Of A Dog

Laurie Anderson reveals the inspirations for 'Heart Of A Dog'

Laurie Anderson talks the inspirations for her intimate documentary Heart Of A Dog.

Where To Invade Next

Michael Moore talks 'Where To Invade Next'

Michael Moore reveals how his electrifying Where To Invade Next was made under the radar.

Directors and Writers

Awards Season: Directors, Writers

Interviews with Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, Danny Boyle, Aaron Sorkin, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Phyllis Nagy.

Steven Spielberg Tom Hanks Bridge of Spies

Steven Spielberg talks 'Bridge Of Spies' and future projects

Steven Spielberg reveals how his latest feature, Bridge Of Spies, has been more than 50 years in the making, why he continues to shoot on film and whether he would ever re-cast Indiana Jones. Michael Rosser reports

Ridley Scott The Martian

Ridley Scott on why he landed on 'The Martian'

With The Martian, Ridley Scott has landed the biggest global hit of his career. The director tells Jeremy Kay about his initial reservations, working with Matt Damon and why he keeps so busy

Danny Boyle and Aaron Sorkin

Danny Boyle and Aaron Sorkin talk 'Steve Jobs'

Danny Boyle and Aaron Sorkin, the director and writer of Steve Jobs, tell Mark Salisbury why it is crucial for film-makers to tell the stories of the tech titans shaping our world