The first nominations of the season were announced today, and many were surprised at the list:

BEST FEATURE
50/50
BEGINNERS
DRIVE â?? Now Playing Village East Cinema
TAKE SHELTER â?? Now Playing Village East Cinema
THE ARTIST â?? Now Playing Angelika New York, the Paris Theatre; Opens 12/16 Angelikas Dallas and Plano
THE DESCENDANTS â?? Now Playing Angelikas Dallas, Plano, and Hawaii

DIRECTOR
Michel Hazanavicius, THE ARTIST
Mike Mills, BEGINNERS
Jeff Nichols, TAKE SHELTER
Alexander Payne, THE DESCENDANTS
Nicolas Winding Refn, DRIVE

SCREENPLAY
Joseph Cedar, FOOTNOTE
Michel Hazanavicius, THE ARTIST
Tom McCarthy, WIN WIN
Mike Mills, BEGINNERS
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, THE DESCENDANTS

MALE LEAD
Demián Bichir, A BETTER LIFE
Jean Dujardin, THE ARTIST
Ryan Gosling, DRIVE
Woody Harrelson, RAMPART
Michael Shannon, TAKE SHELTER

FEMALE LEAD
Lauren Ambrose, THINK OF ME
Rachael Harris, NATURAL SELECTION
Adepero Oduye, PARIAH
Elizabeth Olsen, MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE â?? Now Playing Angelika New York
Michelle Williams, MY WEEK WITH MARILYN â?? Now Playing Angelikas New York, Plano, and Hawaii, and the Beekman Theatre

Film Independet’s annual Spirit Awards are given to primarily American-made films of $20 million or less budget. Of note this year is the amount of nominations for THE ARTIST, which some weren’t sure would qualify as a film by a French director and starring mostly French actors; as well as the big names left off the list: George Clooney for THE DESCENDANTS, Woody Allen for MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, Glen Close for ALBERT NOBBS.

Several nominated films are on screen now at the Angelika – click your location below for showtimes and tickets

Angelika New York | Angelika Dallas | Angelika Plano | “>Angelika in Hawaii at Kahala 8

the Paris Theatre | the Beekman Theatre | Village East Cinema

Earlier this year, SEX AND ZEN 3D: EXTREME ECSTASY was released in Hong Kong with an opening day take that beat out AVATAR. lunettes ray ban Chinese nationals visited the island in droves to see The World’s First 3D Erotic Film. Australia and New Zealand next experienced the film’s glossy production, revolutionary 3D effects, and yes: erotica, Thanks to our friends at China Lion Entertainment, who import first run Asian titles for the SpotlightAsia! program at our affiliated theaters in Hawaii, SEX AND ZEN is coming to America! It’s loosely based on a sort of “Chinese Kama Sutra” - The Carnal Prayer Mat – which contains such wisdom as: For instance, if you have an ugly wife who does not greatly excite you during intercourse, and you get your pleasure by imagining her as the pretty girl you saw that day, how do you know that at that very moment your wife isnâ??t just as put off by your ugliness and isnâ??t getting her pleasure by imagining you as that handsome young fellow she saw the same day? This sort of thing is universal, of course, but although no oneâ??s chastity has been compromised, damage has been done to even the stoutest heart and, in its way, that damage is also retribution for lechery. Sage advice for the fifteenth century male. nike free run From what we gather, SEX AND ZEN 3D: EXTREME ECSTASY is going to be a lot more fun than its literary counterpart. We’re looking forward to over the top costumes, lush ancient temples, and a LOT of camp.

It’s an exciting time of year at the Angelika, as we starting seeing some of the incredible independent films that have been playing at top international film festivals and are likely to be the most interesting Academy Awards candidates this winter. Among those is MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE, a Sundance favorite that continues to impress critics and audiences alike. Adam Conway with the Angelika Blog sat down with writer/director Sean Durkin and actress Elizabeth Olsen to discuss their work on the film, including Durkin’s intensive research into women who have lived within cults which inspired the film.

MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE opens today at the Angelika in Hawaii Kahala 8, and continues through the weekend at the Angelika New York.

ABOUT MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE:
One of the most talked about movies out of this yearâ??s Sundance Film Festival, MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE is an intense psychological thriller starring Elizabeth Olsen as Martha, a damaged woman haunted by painful memories and increasing paranoia, who struggles to reâ??assimilate with her family after fleeing a cult and its charismatic leader (played by Oscar nominee John Hawkes (WINTERâ??S BONE). Already generating Oscar buzz, writer/Director Sean Durkinâ??s haunting and impressive debut was honored with the Best Dramatic Directing Award at the Sundance Film Festival.

 Last minute romantics, asics pink rejoice! Angelika Gift Cards are great gift for your sweetie.

Renny Harlin, director of such action classics as DIE HARD 2 and DEEP BLUE SEA, tackles real life modern warfare in 5 DAYS OF WAR – opening August 19 at the Angelika. Check this exclusive letter to Angelika Blog readers, detailing the his interest in the story of 4 civilians trapped in the middle of the Georgian struggle for indepence in 1991, and the incredible process of shooting on location in Tsalka, Georgia:

After a teeth-rattling and bottom-numbing ride of four hours we’d finally arrived. The narrow dirt road that serpentined us to our distant destination had been freshly soaked by torrential rain, an especially nice additional touch considering the 1,000-foot drop that lay only a muddy tire widthâ??s away for most of the journey. In my infinite wisdom I had requested to see this location because of its unique features. nike air max pas cher First, it was nestled in a breathtakingly beautiful valley. Second, and most importantly, it was home to the ghost town of Tsalka. I had given my producers an unusual yet gratifying task of finding me a town that I could blow up. And so here we were, in August of 2009, in Tsalka, Georgia, as the few inhabitants of the picturesque village were eyeing us with great curiosity and deep suspicion. When I say few, I include the twelve humans, a handful of cows, goats and chickens, and an entire pack of wild dogs that circled our overloaded vehicles. Now, you might ask how far from Atlanta said mountain village might be located. To clarify, Iâ??m talking about the Republic of Georgiaâ??as in the former Soviet country that won its independence in 1991 when the rusty Iron Curtain finally collapsed, creating dozens of new countries free to find their own way in the rapidly changing world. Georgia is located south of Russia and north of Turkey, between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea. It is considered a Mediterranean country, and home to some of the oldest Christian Churches in the world. Christianity started to spread throughout Georgia in the 1^st Century, and is thought to be one of the first areas that Christianity was practiced. Because of its very strategic location, Georgia has also experienced more savage wars in the last few thousand years than anyplace else. asics gel kayano The reason Tsalka is so abandoned lies in the history of the country. The town was originally populated by Greek immigrants who traveled freely between their home country and Georgia. However, under Soviet rule, the Greeks one day found themselves unable to leaveâ??the borders had been closed. Entire generations grew up in Georgia without ever seeing their original homeland. Not until Georgian independence in 1991. At that point, just about every able-bodied Greek descendant packed up their belongings and traveled back to their country of ancient Gods and temples. Tsalka almost ceased to exist. Enter Hollywood. We’d arrived to recreate a Russian assault on one of the dozens of similar towns, which were erased from the face of the earth during a brutal war between Russia and Georgia in August 2008. It was actually on the opening day of the Beijing Summer Olympicsâ??August 8, 2008â??when Russian troops crossed the border into independent Georgia, sparking a war that left hundreds dead and tens of thousands homeless. The conflict lasted only five days, and the world barely blinked. But what happened in those five days was devastating and the results will reverberate for years to come in European, Russian and US politics. But to find out what really happened you will have to see my new movie 5 Days of War. When a group of Georgian producers left Georgia in the fall of 2008 to come to America in search of film financing and filmmakers, it was almost like a scene from Billy Wilderâ??s Ninotchka. New Balance Outlet UK They were foreigners far away from home, and lacked all the connections and experience usually required to make the Pearly Gates of Hollywood open. But their mission was simple, and determination solid; they wanted to tell the world what the mass media had failed to convey. They wanted to put Georgia and its story on the map. Due to their tenacity, they managed to find Hollywood producer George Lascu for the project, and through a series of coincidences, a blueprint for a film about the war ended on my desk. It was now summer of 2009, and I had been begging my agent to find something interesting for me to do for a while. I had grown tired of the typical Hollywood fare and wanted to mount a project that would involve my heart and soul. After the first meeting with the producers I was hooked. I saw photos from the war and read the stories of survivors. I knew that my twenty-five years of making action films and thrillers had only been a training phase on my road to this story. I asked my friend, screenwriter Mikko Alanne (Oliver Stoneâ??s Pinkville, Angelina Jolieâ??s West with the Night and The Dictatorâ??s Shadow), to come on board, and together we dove into research, interviewing war journalists, refugees, politicians, soldiers, and everyday people who had all been there as the tanks rolled down their streets and fighter jets dropped bombs in their neighborhoods. adidas UK We sifted through reportage from all sides and read various independent reports of the war by the United Nations, the European Union, and Human Rights Watch. And we decided to look at the events from the point of view of war correspondents. After all, five of them died in this strikingly brief conflict, and over fifty die every year at different hotspots around the world. This focus also gave us an opportunity to connect to the everyday people in the story and show the horrors of war from a civilianâ??s point of view. We wanted to shoot in Georgia, mostly in the actual locations of the war, only one year after the end of hostilities. You can imagine that setting off loud pyrotechnics and hours-long volleys of gunfire just 20 miles from an actual, patrolled conflict zone border comes with its own list of apprehensions and considerations. Our crew was put together from 17 different countries. The actors came from all ends of the world. The financing was a patchwork of independent financiers, bank loans, and pre-sales of distribution rights. The project fell apart a half dozen times, but by October of 2009 we were all on location, in Tsalka, ready to shoot. asics cheap Facing us now on the mountaintop, as the sun was rising, were eighty T-72 tanks and other military vehicles, eight MI-24 and Huey helicopters, and 2,500 troops in full battle gear. Overhead, three SU-25 fighter jets were screaming through the terrain with their afterburners glowing. I was speechless, and so was everyone else. I lifted my megaphone to my mouth with emotions dwelling in my heart. This is what I had dreamed of doing when I was a kid, watching classic war movies, and here I was standing in front of thousands of people with only one request on their minds: â??Tell our story to the world.â? I took a deep breath, prayed for confidence in my voice, and said: â??Cue the jets.â? Hollywood agents spend weeks negotiating the size of their starsâ?? motor homes, and hotel accommodations in five star hotels. asics gel lyte 3 Tsalka was four hours away from any hotel or restaurant. The crew lived on an old Russian train, parked next to the village. The train had no showers, and a nightâ??s sleep was frequently interrupted by the noise of workers shoveling coal into glowing furnaces in order to keep the temperature from dropping below 20 Fahrenheit. The cast, Mikkoâ??the writer, and I shared an old farmhouse. We each had a bedroom, and shared a tiny kitchen and one bathroom and shower. Some of the cockroaches were big enough to be put on a leash. It rained often, and all roads turned into impenetrable mush. nike air presto femme But never did I hear a word of complaint from the cast or crew. The Georgians welcomed us with open arms. Their homemade meals, wine and chacha (a local firewater), kept our spirits high. The days flew by, and our relationships grew into camaraderie that nothing could break. We blew up houses, staged firefights, shot car chases… well, tank chases actually… 5 Days Of War is a movie I wanted to make for that segment of the movie-going public (especially Americans) who are not exactly drawn to subtitled art house films set in foreign countries at war. The story of what happened in Georgia in August 2008 is too important for that. So while the film has a serious heart and deeply emotional moments, itâ??s still a Renny Harlin film, with all the action, thrills, and exciting visuals people like to see in my movies. And while several of the war correspondent characters and their storylines are admittedly dramatic creations, all the major events of the war that you will seeâ??as well as the film’s glimpses behind the scenes of war politicsâ??are all very real, recreated as faithfully as we could make them. Adidas Zx pas cher As for the distant mountain village of Tsalka, itâ??s still standing, and a new highway is in the works.

The critically acclaimed MARGIN CALL has been playing for a few weeks now, and continues to impress movie goers at our theaters. Teale at the Angelika New York recently had the opportunity to sit down with director JC Chandor to talk about his feature directorial debut — Chandor had been working in the industry for years, but his background in real estate and unique perspective on the 2008 financial collapse really inspired him to write this insider’s look at first days of what would turn into one of the largest financial crises this country has faced. Check out the interview below:

MARGIN CALL continues through this weekend at the Angelika New York, Dallas, and Plano, as well as the Angelika in Hawaii Consolidated Kahala 8. Tickets are available online at www.AngelikaFilmCenter.com.

ABOUT MARGIN CALL:
One of the most talked about films of the Sundance Film Festival, MARGIN CALL follows the staff of a high-powered brokerage firm on the eve of the 2008 stock market crash. This methodical, absorbing boardroom thriller unfolds over a tense 24 hour period as a looming real estate crisis threatens the companyâ??s assets. Featuring an all-star cast including Stanley Tucci, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto (STAR TREK), Paul Bettany (MASTER AND COMMANDER), and Kevin Spacey, J.C. Chandorâ??s debut feature film is an engrossing, unconventional insiderâ??s look the New York Times called “dazzling in its sweep and implication.”

On opening night of Blue Valentine, adidas powerlift 3 director/filmmaker Derek Cianfrance paid a special visit to the Angelika to host a Q&A to a sold out 7:30 screening! If you still haven’t seen Blue Valentine (shame on you), adidas original hoodie sale purchase your tickets HERE.

None are bigger fans of How I Met Your Mother than the Angelika Blog team, so obviously we’re excited for Josh Radnor’s big screen writing and directing debut HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE to open at the Angelikas New York, Dallas, and Plano this month.

The film opens this weekend at the Angelika New York and Josh will be in attendance for a Q&A following the 8:00PM show Friday 3/4. Purchase advance tickets online.

If you can’t make it to the 8:00PM show, be one of the first 50 to attend the 11:00AM show Friday and receive a free HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE tote bag!

A favorite at last yearâ??s Sundance Film Festival and helmed by first time feature writer/director Josh Radnor (HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER), HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE earned the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize nomination in the dramatic category. air max 2018 A sincere relationship comedy, HAPPY follows Sam (Radnor) as he grows attached to a young boy (Michael Algieri) he rescused from a perilous home situation, his friends Mary and Charlie (Tribeca Best Actress Award winner Zoe Kazan (THE EXPLODING GIRL) and Pablo Schreiber) – who are split between two coasts and his best friend Annie (Malin Akerman) – who chooses all the wrong men until she meets a friendly coworker (Tony Hale â?? ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT). timberland shop The Hollywood Reporter calls HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE â??the happy side of indie filmmakingâ?¦studio-level production values but thankfully without the glossâ?¦â?

HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE opens March 4 at the Angelika New York and March 11 at the Angelikas Dallas and Plano.

Kim Cattrall, ugg shoe sale outlet Dustin Ingram, nike outlet and director Keith Bearden spent the weekend with us to discuss their hilarious new film MEET MONICA VELOUR. They’ll be back for a Q&A tonight 5/1 following the 7:10PM show – tickets are still available at online.

ABOUT MEET MONICA VELOUR:

In this irreverent comedy, adidas nmd awkward teenager Tobe (Dustin Ingram, TV series UNFABULOUS) sets off on a road trip to meet Monica Velour (Kim Cattrall, oakley twoface covert SEX AND THE CITY), new balance 997 his favorite â??80â??s porn star, buy uggs in uk at a rare live appearance hundreds of miles away. Instead of the glamorous sexpot portrayed on film, he finds a 49-year-old single mom living in a trailer in rural Indiana, performing at seedy strip clubs to make ends meet. asics chaussures A starry-eyed Tobe, lunette de soleil soldes still captivated by his crush, befriends Monica, further complicating her difficult life.