To the Surprise Of Exactly Zero People, ‘Fifty Shades Of Grey’ Sets a Box Office Record
The movie clears $81.7 million to break the record for biggest Presidents Day Weekend opening, while Kingsman: The Secret Service does a solid $35.6 million for second place, and the Spongebob movie surpasses $30 million in its second week. Meanwhile, American Sniper does more than $16 million to rocket past the $300 million mark. (BO)
A Preview Of Next Week? ‘Grand Budapest’ and ‘Imitation Game’ Take Top WGA Honors
Wes Anderson’s script won for Original Screenplay, while Graham Moore took the prize for Adapted. Birdman was not one of the nominees, as it wasn’t eligible. Because of WGA rules restricting its awards to films that are made under the guild’s Minimum Basic Agreement or the agreements of several affiliated international guilds, neither was The Theory of Everything. (TW)
‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ Clean Up at the Make-Up and Hair Awards
Each film won two awards at Saturday night’s Make-up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild Awards. For Guardians, David White took home the award for best special effects make-up, while Elizabeth Yianni-Georgio won for best contemporary make-up. Grand Budapest Hotel’s Frances Hannon and Julie Dartnell nabbed awards for best period and/or character hair styling, as well as best period and/or character make-up. All the winners, save Dartnell, are up for Oscars. (EW)
Meanwhile, ‘Birdman’ and ‘Big Hero 6’ Are the Big Winners At the Cinema Audio Society Awards
Birdman won for sound mixing in a live-action film at the event, held Saturday night at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Other prizes went to Sherlock: His Last Vow in the TV movies and mini-series category as well as Game of Thrones: The Children for hourlong skein and half-hour winner Modern Family: Australia. Foo Fighters Sonic Highways: Los Angeles won nonfiction television kudos. (VAR)
The Sound Editors Also Reward ‘Birdman,’ as Well as ‘American Sniper’ and Others
Among the other winners at the MPSE Golden Reel Awards were Unbroken and Get On Up, while Darren Aronofsky accepted the MPSE’s 2015 Filmmaker Award, and Skip Lievsay received its Career Achievement Award. He has worked on more than 100 features including all of the Coen brothers’ films. Lievsay won the Oscar last year for Sound Mixing on Gravity. (DH)
And the American Society of Cinematographers Do the Obvious and Give Their Prize To Emmanuel Lubezki
The defending Oscar winner for Cinematography is once again the front runner for the big trophy, even more so now after once again winning the ASC top prize for his work on Birdman. He topped a field of nominees that included Roger Deakins for Unbroken; Oscar Faura, The Imitation Game; Dick Pope, Mr Turner; and Robert Yeoman, The Grand Budapest Hotel. (BTS)
The Berlin International Film Festival Wrapped Up Over the Weekend, Announcing Its Winners as It Did
Jafar Panahi’s Taxi and Pablo Larrain’s El Club took the Golden Bear and Silver Bear, respectively. Both earned big accolades at the fest, and their wins are hardly surprising. Same goes for the acting sweep by Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay’s in Andrew Haigh’s buzzed about 45 Years. (TP)
PBS Distribution Announces Fall Theatrical Release for Stanley Nelson’s ‘The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution’
The film will be distributed by PBS Distribution in select theaters in the fall of 2015. It will also be broadcast as part of PBS’ independent film series Independent Lens in winter of 2016. Promising a definitive portrait of the Black Panther Party — its rise and fall — acclaimed veteran director Stanley Nelson aims to paint a complete and accurate account of the revolutionary black nationalist organization, a film that should act as a reminder, as well as an education (especially for the uninitiated, unaware of those whose shoulders they stand on). (SAA)
Trailer Buzz: ‘The Comedians’
The first extended look at the upcoming FX sitcom, starring Billy Crystal and Josh Gad, playing alternate versions of themselves. The show premieres on April 9th. (COL)
Screenwriters: Script Angel — How To Make Us Love Your Script
Love can have a powerful affect on us, our work and on those around us. To love someone or something is to feel a strong, positive emotional reaction, one that is unbidden and can be overwhelming. Storytelling, whatever genre your script, is about eliciting a strong emotional response from your audience and it doesn’t come much stronger than love. (SM)