13/12/2005

Match Point by American veteran Woody Allen and The Constant Gardener [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Brazilian director Fernando Meireles are the two European productions running for the Golden Globe for Best drama picture at the 63rd Golden Globe Awards gala. The two films compete against George Clooney's Good Night and Good Luck, David Cronenberg's A History of Violence and Ang Lee's Venice Golden Lion winner Brokeback Mountain, which received a total of seven nominations.

Match Point was the first film by Woody Allen to be shot in London, produced in majority by BBC Films. The unexpected combination of social satire and film noir received a total of four nominations (best drama, best director and best screen play - Woody Allen - and best supporting actress - Scarlett Johansson), while The constant Gardener, co-produced by Potboiler Productions, Scion Films and Studio Canal, runs in three categories (best film, best director and best supporting actress – Rachel Weisz). Meireles' thriller already won the three top BIFA awards earlier this month (read the article).

As for the Best Foreign Language Film, only two of the 34 European qualified titles (read the article) managed to remain in the final list. 18 million euros film Merry Christmas [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Christian Carion
interview: Christophe Rossignon
film profile] by Christian Carion (read the Film Focus) and Dutch-German co-production Paradise Now [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Hany Abu-Assad will run against Kung fu Hustler (Hong Kong), Tsotsi (South Africa) and Master of the Crimson Armor (China).

Welsh-born actor Anthony Hopkins will receive the HFPA's Cecil B. Demille Award at the Golden Awards gala. Named after the famous American producer and director, the award is given to a personality whose career is said to have a strong impact on the entertainment industry. Hopkins - who is rumoured to be part of a new project starring French actor Gaspard Ulliel as young Hannibal Lecter – is now part of the select list of European Personalities who have received the Cecil B. Demille award. Previous winner include Alfred Hitchcock (1972), Laurence Olivier (1983), Sophia Loren (1995) and Sean Connery (1996).

The Golden Globes were created by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of Southern California-based international journalists. Winners will be announced on January 16, 2006. Oscar nominations come out on January 31, and the awards will be presented March 5.