Great news everyone!!
Czech Drama May Bump Oscar Animated-Feature Category to 5 Nominees
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/ ... 1820111013
For only the third time in the category's 10-year history, Oscar's Best Animated Feature race may have a full slate of five nominees. And if it does, it could thank a Czechoslovokian film that crept in via the Best Foreign-Language film category. The animated film "Alois Nebel" is the Czech Republic’s official entry in the Best Foreign-Language Oscar race, it was announced today.
A representative for the Czech Republic's entry, "Alois Nebel," told TheWrap Wednesday that the filmmakers plan to enter the graphic-novel-based drama in the animation race as well as the foreign-language race. Its reps have been in touch with the Academy, and are currently working on the details of a seven-day qualifying run that will make the film eligible in the category. Details have yet to be completed, and "Alois Nebel" is not yet a guaranteed qualifier. (It uses the rotoscoping technique, which might trigger discussion within the branch.)
But if it does make the cut, and if the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch approves the entries of "The Adventures of Tintin," "Happy Feet Two" and "Mars Needs Moms," the number of qualifying films will reach 16, the number required to trigger a full five nominees. Filmmakers for those three films have been asked to tell the branch about their intent in using the motion-capture technique, which by itself is not deemed "animation" by the Academy.
But with Steven Spielberg directing "The Adventures of Tintin," and with "Happy Feet Two" being the sequel to a film that won the Animated Feature Oscar in 2006, most insiders in the category expect the films to be approved.
The Animated Feature category works on a sliding scale: It has three nominees if between eight and 12 films qualify, four if 13 to 15 films make the cut, and a full slate of five if 16 or more features are entered. (In previous years, there was no provision for four nominees; fewer than 16 entrants meant three nomination slots, while more than 16 meant five.)
The Best Animated Feature category was created in 2001, and has had three nominees every year except 2002 and 2009, when it had five. So far in 2011, eight films have qualified: "Gnomeo and Juliet," "Rango," "Rio" and "Hoodwinked Too" were released in the first four months of the year. The summer saw "Kung Fu Panda 2," "Cars 2," "Winnie the Pooh" and the animation/live-action hybrid "The Smurfs." For the remainder of the year, "Puss in Boots" is slated to be released in October, "Arthur Christmas" in November and "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked" in December. The Spanish-language film "Chico and Rita" is also scheduled for a qualifying run, bringing the total to 12 before the three motion-capture titles, and before "Alois Nebel."
Entry forms are due in the Animated Feature category by November 1. The Academy typically announces the list of qualifying films in mid-November.
Update: According to Brad Brevet of Rope of Silicon, GKids has said it plans a qualifying run for the film "A Cat in Paris." which would add one more film to the list of qualifiers and make it even likelier to reach five nominees.
GKIDS Dances With 'Chico and Rita'
http://www.animationmagazine.net/featur ... -and-rita/
New York-based indie distributor GKIDS has acquired the U.S. distribution rights to Fernadno Trueba and Javier Mariscal’s acclaimed 2D animated feature Chico & Rita.
The film made its world premiere at Telluride Film Festival, was an official selection at Toronto International Film Festival, and has been released to wide acclaim in the UK, France, and Spain. It will be qualifying for the Oscars in the Best Animated Feature category with a Los Angeles qualifying run December 2011, followed by U.S. theatrical release in early 2012. The film will be released by GKIDS under the new Luma Films banner for adult animation.
Three 2D Toons Up for Euro Film Awards
http://www.animationmagazine.net/events ... lm-awards/
New York-based GKids, which distributed the Oscar-nominated The Secret of Kells two years ago, will also distribute Chico and Rita and A Cat in Paris in early 2012. Both films will get a limited Oscar-qualifying run later this year.
Singapore Picks Animated 'Tatsumi' as Oscar Title
http://www.animationmagazine.net/featur ... car-title/
Eric Khoo’s animated documentary about manga artist Yoshihiro Tatsumi has been selected as Singapore’s official entry in the foreign-language category at the 84th Academy Awards. Tatsumi, which is based on the 800-page manga A Drifting Life, received solid reviews at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it premiered in the Un Certain Regard section.