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Academy Awards took a cleaver and shortened their Best Short Animation list from 37 to 10.  My favorite is The Cat Piano, an eight-minute Aussie short narrated by Nick Cave.  

In Contention website introduced me to this short.  It’s a real gem of a short, so I am sharing it with you.

Here is the full list of the Academy’s short list:

• “The Cat Piano,” Eddie White and Ari Gibson, directors (The People’s Republic of Animation)
• “French Roast,” Fabrice O. Joubert, director (Pumpkin Factory/Bibo Films)
• “Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty,” Nicky Phelan, director, and Darragh O’Connell, producer (Brown Bag Films)
• “The Kinematograph,” Tomek Baginski, director-producer (Platige Image)
• “The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte),” Javier Recio Gracia, director (Kandor Graphics and Green Moon)
• “Logorama,” Nicolas Schmerkin, producer (Autour de Minuit)
• “A Matter of Loaf and Death,” Nick Park, director (Aardman Animations Ltd.)
• “Partly Cloudy,” Peter Sohn, director (Pixar Animation Studios)
• “Runaway,” Cordell Barker, director (National Film Board of Canada)
• “Variete,” Roelof van den Bergh, director (il Luster Productions)

Popularity: unranked [?]

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science announced this week the return to ten best picture nominations for 2009 82nd Academy Awards.  In the official press release President Sid Ganis states the Academy’s reasons for going back to more than five nominations:

“After more than six decades, the Academy is returning to some of its earlier roots, when a wider field competed for the top award of the year,” said Ganis. “The final outcome, of course, will be the same – one Best Picture winner – but the race to the finish line will feature 10, not just five, great movies from 2009.

“Having 10 Best Picture nominees is going to allow Academy voters to recognize and include some of the fantastic movies that often show up in the other Oscar categories, but have been squeezed out of the race for the top prize,” commented Ganis. “I can’t wait to see what that list of ten looks like when the nominees are announced in February.”

I don’t think this decision will affect the general movie goers and those who watch the Oscars for sheer viewing pleasure.  And those who are privy to the behind-the-scenes decision making process, I am sure the Academy has made concessions for members who want to see their movies showcased even more, generating more dollars in the bank.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Directed by John Singleton, The Biggest Movie Event of the Year trailer for the 81st Annual Academy Awards. This version from YouTube is, I am guessing, one second short of the official trailer at Hollywood Reporter.

Popularity: 1% [?]