Final Oscar Predictions

Will The Artist sweep the Oscars?  Will Meryl Streep FINALLY win a long overdue second Oscar for lead actress?  All will be answered this Sunday night when the awards will be handed out.  The real question is… will people really care?  Compared to last year, most of the films nominated this year haven’t really polarized the general public as much while the current frontrunner is a black and white silent film most are hesitant to see at first.  Regardless, I’m still a faithful Oscar watcher and prognosticator (read my post from Feb 1) and I’ll still make my annual predictions.  Here’s who I think will win in all 24 categories.
 
Best Picture: The Artist
Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Descendants
Best Original Screenplay: Midnight in Paris
Best Actor: Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Best Actress: Viola Davis, The Help
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, The Help
Best Cinematography: The Tree of Life
Best Art Direction: Hugo
Best Costume Design: The Artist
Best Makeup: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II
Best Visual Effects: Hugo
Best Editing: The Artist
Best Sound Mixing: Hugo
Best Sound Editing: War Horse
Best Original Score: The Artist
Best Original Song: “Man or Muppet”, The Muppet Movie
Best Animated Feature: Rango
Best Documentary Feature: Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation
Best Live Action Short: Tuba Atlantic
Best Animated Short: A Morning Stroll
Best Documentary Short: The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

And… to make a shameless plug, we have a special promotion in honor of the Oscars.  Anyone who purchases a Producers Badge to the 2012 Austin Film Festival & Conference by Sunday, February 26th will be entered for a chance to win a copy of the screenplay of THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, signed by Academy Award®-winning writer Steven Zaillian!

Zaillian, who was awarded with the Distinguished Screenwriter Award at the 2009 Austin Film Festival, wrote both THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO and MONEYBALL, each earning a handful of Oscar nominations.

And everyone who has purchased a Conference Badge or below by February 26th will be entered in a raffle to win an upgrade to a Producers Badge!  Click here to buy your Badge.

--Matt Dy, Screenplay & Teleplay Competition Director

Austin Film Festival Announces Outstanding Television Writer Awardee!

Remember the episode of Seinfeld where the George & Elaine fight over a stolen parking space outside of Jerry’s house? Or The Simpsons episode where Bart sells his soul to Milhouse for $5? Have you spent your week waiting for the latest episode of The Office, or Sunday evenings winding down with the second longest-running animated television show of all time, King of the Hill?

Having proved his undeniable talent as a comedy writer, producer and director – The 15th annual Austin Film Festival is proud to announce this year’s recipient of the Outstanding Television Writer award - none other than the multi-talented and award-winning Greg Daniels.

Greg Daniels began writing for the National Lampoon at Harvard University, with fellow future The Simpsons writer Conan O’Brien. His first television engagement was with the hit HBO show Not Necessarily the News, which soon became Saturday Night Live, and followed with him winning his first Emmy Award, for Outstanding Writing in a Variety Series (1989).

Daniels then continued his career by joining The Simpsons as a writer and producer. He is said to have been the creator behind “some of the most popular episodes in the history of the series”: "22 Short Films About Springfield", "Homer and Apu", "Bart Sells His Soul", and "Lisa's Wedding." He also co-wrote the legendary “The Parking Space” episode for Seinfeld, for which he received a Writer’s Guild Award nomination.

After his long, successful stint with The Simpsons, including becoming co-executive producer and winning another Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Series (1995), Daniels moved onto a new project with Mike Judge: King of the Hill. The Simpsons is the longest-running animated series in television, and with his same magical touch he made the Emmy-winning King of the Hill the second longest-running animated series in television!

His most recent project, The Office, has also been a hit and won Daniels two more Emmy-awards including Outstanding Comedy Series (2006) and Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Comedy Series (2007).

Daniels is currently working on a new series with Emmy-nominated Saturday Night Live star Amy Poehler to air on NBC in early 2009.

Want to hear the ins and outs of writing for television with Greg Daniels himself? Join us at the Austin Film Festival Conference!

Badges start at just $95 and allow access to panels, movies and networking parties – plus access to purchasing a seat at the Awards Luncheon, where you can see Daniels accept his honor alongside Distinguished Screenwriter Awardeee Sam Shepard. For more information call 1-800-310-3378 or visit http://www.austinfilmfestival.com/.

Reserve your badge today before prices go up September 22!

AFF @ 15: Screenplay Alumni Stories

Jimmy Miller (2007 Adult/Family Winner for Slugger) is managed by Josh McGuire of Washington Square Arts. At the 2007 festival he met Gayla Nethercott of Don Buchwald & Associates and she signed on to be his agent. He also met Mary Stuart Masterson who was screening her film Cake Eaters at AFF. Jimmy and Mary Stuart met and knew that Slugger was a perfect project for them to work on together. It has been optioned by Barndoor Productions and Jimmy is currently working on a rewrite. Mary Stuart has signed on to direct Slugger and continues to work closely with Jimmy to develop the project.