Following numerous US-based critics’ citations, Emmanuel Lubezki’s work on Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life has earned him the American Society of Cinematographers’ Award at the ASC’s 26th annual awards. The ceremony was held Sunday night at the Hollywood and Highland Grand Ballroom in Los Angeles.
An Oscar nominee for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Cinematography, The Tree of Life is a complex family drama starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, and Jessica Chastain. The film marked the second time the Mexican-born Lubezki took home the ASC Award; he had previously won for Alfonso Cuarón’s Children of Men (2006). An earlier ASC nomination for Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow (1999) preceded Lubezki two victories.
Brad Pitt recently spoke with Variety’s Christy Grosz about his work on two best picture Oscar nominees, “Moneyball” and “The Tree of Life,” and collaborating with one of the most reclusive directors in the business.
How did Terrence Malick convey his concepts for “Tree of Life” to you as an actor?
He would come in with three pages of single-spaced thoughts and maybe some dialogue. What he does is he gets up in the morning and just bangs on the typewriter for an hour, ideas for the day’s work. I learned as an actor to pick a few things from that consciousness notebook that he would give me, and I would start to build something around that.
He starts with a very dense script but (uses) that as a spring board to capture those truthful missteps. He would do stuff like push Chivo (cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki) before a shot just to put him off balance. We were in the car doing what I thought was a very important scene and all of a sudden he threw the dog in the front seat to create this chaos.
How did that work with the young actors? I know the dialogue, at least as it is written, and Jessica (Chastain) knows the dialogue, but the boys don’t. He may tell them right before a scene, give them a response to aim for, but it’s very free form.
If The Tree of Life is named best picture at the 84th annual Academy Awards, Brad Pitt, one of the movie’s five credited producers, will not be invited up onstage to accept the award.
Instead, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Friday that the four producers it has approved as official nominees are Bill Pohlad, Sarah Green, Dede Gardner and Grant Hill.
Academy rules allow for no more than three producers to be nominated and to potentially receive Oscar statuettes for best picture. In “rare and extraordinary circumstances,” it may approve a fourth producer at the recommendation of the Producers Branch Executive Committee, which in this case decided to approve four individuals after considering the contributions of the various producers to the film.
Saying he was “dizzy with joy … and caffeine,” Brad Pitt had plenty to celebrate early Tuesday morning after the Oscar nominations were announced in Beverly Hills.
Not only did he receive a nod for Best Actor in Moneyball, but that film, along with his movie Tree of Life, were both nominated for Best Picture.
But the star, 48, isn’t solely about celebrating himself.
“I am especially over the moon for Jonah [Hill] (and the other Moneyballers acknowledged today),” Pitt said in a statement. “Considering both films … nearly didn’t make it to the screen, this is especially sweet.”
Pitt’s plan to honor his fellow nominees this very special morning? “Pancakes for everyone.”
It’s been a good day for Brad Pitt. Not only is he Brad Pitt, but he also scored a Best Actor nomination for his work in Moneyball and watched both Moneyball and The Tree of Life nab nominations for Best Picture. So it’s no surprise that the actor is “over the moon” about the 2012 Oscars lineup. � Pitt tells EW. “So this is it, a great honor for everyone involved.” And Moneyball costar Jonah Hill’s nomination for Best Supporting Actor? “That’s just icing on the cake,” he says.
This year’s nomination is an especially meaningful one for Pitt. The actor, who has been nominated twice before for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) and Twelve Monkeys (1995), served as producer on both Moneyball and The Tree of Life. “I was working on both films from their inception,” he says. “And just what it took to get to the screen — all the artists and all the craftsmen, all the great talented people. And I’m just so happy that Tree of Life wasn’t forgotten.”
Of course, it has some stiff competition, especially from front-runners The Artist and The Descendants. But, for now, Pitt’s not focusing on Oscar’s Feb. 26 outcome. “At this point it almost becomes apples and oranges,” he says. “It’s a great, great group of films and I’m just so happy that our two films are recognized this way, because as I said, Moneyball was just dead in the water two years ago and The Tree of Life had its own difficulties.”
Speaking of The Descendants, how does Pitt feel about going up against good cane-stealing friend George Clooney in the Best Actor category? “It’s great fun having a friend in there and if it’s not me, then it might as well be him,” he says. I couldn’t be more happy.”
Brad won the Best Actor award for Moneyball! And Best Supporting Actor for Tree of Life.
Tree of Life also won Best Director, Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography, and Best Art Direction. Moneyball also won Best Adapted Screenplay. Read more. Thanks Mickey.
With awards season about to kick off in earnest, Hollywood royalty Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie set flashbulbs alight on the red carpet once again last night, at the prestigious Critics Circle Awards in New York.
Fresh from a dazzling appearance at the Palm Springs Film Festival – where Brad was awarded the Desert Palm Achievement Award – the pair struck a smouldering pose outside the event.
And while Brad looked undeniably dapper in a sleek charcoal Versace suit – accessorised with a cooky cane, after he tore a ligament during a ski trip – it was Angelina who set tongues wagging.
Scoring yet another style hit to add to her collection, Ms Jolie was the epitome of chic as she sashayed down the red carpet, choosing a sizzling Ferragamo leather skirt, simple silk blouse and jaw-dropping jade jewels for the occasion.
Despite winning hands down in the fashion stakes, it was Brad who took home an award during the evening, garnering the prestigious Best Actor prize for his roles in Moneyball and The Tree of Life.
“I’m so glad,” Brad Pitt muttered, stepping away from the mike, “this isn’t televised.”
Well, he may be glad – or otherwise there’d be endless YouTube clips of him talking about once getting cruised on Christopher Street (or busybodies wondering why he forgot to thank Angelina Jolie in his best-actor acceptance speech).
But there are plenty of movie fans who are probably sad today that Monday night’s New York Film Critics Circle awards were presented without any network cameras around.
Pitt – who was also honored for “Moneyball” — remembered his first trip to New York too, back in 1989 to audition for a soap opera. He didn’t get the part, but he did stay with a friend down in the Village, and he thought the city was very special.
“My God, there’s a lot of guys in New York,” he remembered thinking, walking down Christopher Street. “But they’re so nice!”
The National Society of Film Critics on Saturday, January 7th, 2012, chose “Melancholia”
as Best Picture of the Year 2011. Kristin Dunst was named best actress for her performance in Lars von Trier’s film, and Brad Pitt was named best actor for his work in “Moneyball” and “The Tree of Life.” Albert Brooks (or his evil twin) won best supporting actor for his appearance in “Drive,” and Jessica Chastain was named best supporting actress for her work in three films: “The Tree of Life,” “Take Shelter” and “The Help.”
Academy Award nominee Brad Pitt will be honored at the 23rd annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala.
Pitt will receive the Desert Palm Achievement Actor Award for his lead role in Moneyball and his supporting role in The Tree of Life.
Hosted by Mary Hart, the Gala will also present awards to previously announced honorees George Clooney, Glenn Close, Michel Hazanavicius, Octavia Spencer and Michelle Williams.
The Awards Gala will be held Saturday, January 7, at the Palm Springs Convention Center.
Read more. Gosh did the critics wake up finally? Recognition!
In 54 wide-ranging lists, TIME surveys the highs and lows, the good and the bad, of the past 12 months
1. Brad Pitt for The Tree of Life, Moneyball and Happy Feet Two
Wednesday, Dec. 07, 2011
Forty-eight on Dec. 18, he still hears the music of dreamboat squeals from his fans. Now an alto chorus of critical approval has joined the Brad Pitt symphony. The New York Film Critics Circle gave him its Best Actor award for two exceptional performances. In The Tree of Life he plays Mr. O’Brien, a demanding father of three boys; he loves them but is unable to express it, barking out commands, because that’s what a father does, when he wants nothing more than to hold them and be held in their esteem. In Moneyball, Pitt plays the sort of man Mr. O’Brien might wish he could be: Billy Beane, the real-life general manager of the Oakland As, who has a vision (of reviving his team with the smart application of statistics), knows how to communicate it and gets instant results. While Pitt poured his considerable star quality into playing Beane, he also got results as the film’s producer, spending years coaxing the adaptation of Michael Lewis’s best seller through many rewrites and three directors (finally settling on Bennett Miller). We’ll add a third Pitt accolade: he does deliciously comic voice work as Will the Krill in Happy Feet Two. What actor this year could equal the man who has everything?
Gosh so many, here’s a small update and overlook of the nominations. For the fellow nominees just follow the appropriate links. There we will also post the results when available. Thanks Gabriella, Mickey and Danielle. So yea, sign up for the forum, just email me (see info on the right).
Critics’ Choice Movie Awards
BEST ACTOR
Brad Pitt – “Moneyball”
BEST PICTURE
“Moneyball”
“The Tree of Life”
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“Moneyball” – Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, Story by Stan Chervin
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“The Tree of Life” – Emmanuel Lubezki
BEST ART DIRECTION
“The Tree of Life” – Production Designer: Jack Fisk, Art Director: David Crank
The 2011 award recipients were voted on Tuesday and revealed via Twitter.
The New York Film Critics Circle named Roadside Attractions’ Wall Street-set thriller Margin Call best first feature as it gathered on Tuesday to vote its best films of the year.
Announcing its picks via a Twitter feed, the account’s first tweet read, “We are convening now and will be tweeting as the voting progresses,” Tuesday morning.
Margin Call was the first winner, revealed at 10:10 a.m. ET. The film was directed by J.C. Chandor and starred Zachary Quinto, Stanley Tucci and Kevin Spacey.
Merle Streep was awarded the best actress prize for her portrayal of form Britain Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, in The Iron Lady.
The best actor title was given to Brad Pitt for his roles in Moneyball and Tree of Life.
