The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced that the submission deadline for the 2008 Scientific and Technical Achievement Awards is Thursday, July 31. A completed online entry form must be submitted to the Academy by 5 p.m. PT.

The Academy recognizes scientific and technical achievement on three levels: Technical Achievement Award (a certificate), Scientific and Engineering Award (a plaque), and the Academy Award of Merit (an Oscar statuette).

The 2008 Scientific and Technical Awards Presentation will be held on Saturday, February 7, 2009, at the Beverly Wilshire hotel in Beverly Hills.

Interested individuals and companies that did not receive the initial mailing may submit applications online at http://scitech.oscars.org.

Further information may be obtained at the Web site or by contacting Miller’s office at (310) 247-3000, ext. 130, or via e-mail at scitech@oscars.org.

Oscar 2009: Academy Mails Entry Forms for Foreign Language Films

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present a weekend of public events and exhibitions focusing on the art and science of animation: "The Sound behind the Image II: Now Hear This!," "Normand Roger on The Animation Soundtrack," and "Frederic Back: A Life’s Drawings." The events will be held from Friday–Sunday, August 8–10, in Beverly Hills and Hollywood.

On August 8, "Now Hear This!," presented by the Academy’s Science and Technology Council, will examine the evolution of sound in animation throughout the decades. The program, hosted by Mark Mangini, will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

On August 10, the Academy will present "Normand Roger on The Animation Soundtrack" at 7:30 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. The program will be moderated by Academy Award-nominated composer Michael Giacchino.

Also on August 10, the Academy will open a new exhibition, "Frederic Back: A Life’s Drawings" in the lobby of the Linwood Dunn Theater. The exhibition will showcase drawings, illustrations, and sketches by Frederic Back, who won Academy Awards for CRAC and THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES.

"Frederic Back: A Life’s Drawings" will have special viewing hours on August 10, from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. The exhibition will be open to the public through November 1 on Saturdays from noon to 6 p.m., and whenever Academy public programs are hosted at the Dunn Theater. Admission is free.

See also the Academy’s ongoing summer exhibition, "Ink & Paint: The Art of Hand-Drawn Animation."

Now Hear This!, Normand Roger, and Frederic Back images

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The 15th Annual Slamdance Film Festival, which is scheduled to take place from January 15–23, 2009, in Park City, Utah, has launched its call for entries today. As per the festival’s press release, they’re "looking for short and feature film submissions in all genres" in addition to, for the first time, music video submissions. Entry forms, rules, and regulations are available on the Slamdance website. The early submission deadline is August 25, 2008; it includes a "significant" entry fee discount. The final submission deadline is October 10.

Slamdance 2009, presented by Kodak and Indie Road, will screen approximately 100 films. The film selections will be posted on the 2008 festival page in the second week of December.

As stated in its press release, "Slamdance serves as a showcase for the discovery of new and emerging talent and is dedicated to the nurturing and development of new filmmakers and their cinematic vision. The feature competition programs are reserved for first time directors working with limited budgets, thus enabling the Festival’s mission to give exposure to emerging filmmaking talent. Slamdance is programmed through a unique democratic method, just one of many elements that make Slamdance a pioneering standout among its festival counterparts. Every film is programmed by majority rule by a committee of filmmakers. Slamdance alumni are recruited to serve as programmers, so first-timers are represented and assisted by Slamdance veterans. The mantra of ‘by filmmakers, for filmmakers’ resounds at every level of the organization, and plays a part in all of its undertakings."

Slamdance also features writing competitions for screenplays, teleplays, and horror scripts; the Anarchy Online Short Film Competition; the Dirty Dozen Short Film DVD Series; and a $99 Special short film production project.

Among former Slamdancers are THE DARK KNIGHT director Christopher Nolan (’99 award-winner FOLLOWING) and Marc Forster (’96 Audience Award winner Loungers), the director of MONSTER’S BALL and FINDING NEVERLAND.

Slamdance Film Festival Awards 2008

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Two of the Boys Shorts (DGA 1, 11:00 am), Benjamin M. Piety’s poetic THE LONELY LIGHTS. THE COLOR OF LEMONS and Benedict Campbell’s understated but quite moving LLOYD NECK are particularly worth watching. The screenings will be followed by a discussion with the shorts’ directors.

Also on Saturday, A Conversation With Donna Deitch (DGA 2, Noon), moderated by Kimberly Peirce (Deitch is the director of the 1986 lesbian romantic drama DESERT HEARTS), and Adrian Shergold’s CLAPHAM JUNCTION DGA 1, 4:00 pm), which stars James Wilby and Rupert Graves.

More info at the Outfest website.

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Press Release from the Screen Actors Guild:

Submissions for the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® nominations open Monday, July 14, and continue until 5 p.m. (PST), Wednesday, Oct. 29, it was announced today by SAG Awards® Committee Chair Yale Summers.

Submissions can be accepted online at www.sagawards.org or submission forms can be obtained by calling the Screen Actors Guild Awards office at (323) 549-6707.

The Screen Actors Guild Award—The Actor®—is presented for outstanding performances in motion pictures and primetime television. Actors may submit their own performances from 2008 for consideration in categories of the actor’s choosing. With the actor’s permission, producers, studios/networks, agents, managers, or publicists may also submit performances for consideration. Nominations for the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will be announced on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008 at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood.

Of the top industry honors presented to performers, only the Screen Actors Guild Awards are selected entirely by actors’ peers. Recipients of the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will be announced at ceremonies on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2009, simulcast from the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center on TNT and TBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT, 7 p.m. CT and 6 p.m. MT.

The nominees for performances in 2008, including the distinctive ensemble awards and the year-old stunt ensemble honors, will be chosen by two separate film and television nominating panels, each comprised of 2,100 SAG members from across the United States, randomly selected each April. Nomination voting closes on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008. Final SAG Awards ballots will be mailed Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2008, to all eligible voting members of Screen Actors Guild, to be returned by Friday, Jan. 23, to the Guild’s election firm, where results will be sealed until they are opened onstage at the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Categories for submission are as follows:

Theatrical Motion Pictures
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Motion Picture

Primetime Broadcast and Cable Television Programs
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
Stunt Ensemble Honors (recipients to be announced from the SAG Awards® red carpet on Sunday, Jan. 25).
Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series

Upcoming key deadlines and events leading to the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards are:

Monday, July 14, 2008
Submissions Open

Friday, September 19, 2008
Deadline for Nominating Committee Members to Make Address Changes

Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Media Nomination Announcement & Telecast Credential Applications Open
Publicists Nomination Announcement Credential Applications Open

Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Submissions Close (Due at SAG by 5 pm, PT)

Friday, October 31, 2008
Media Nomination Announcement & Telecast Credential Applications Close
Publicists Nomination Announcement Credential Applications Close

Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Nominations Ballots Mailed

Monday December 15, 2008
Deadline for Paying November 2008 Dues and/or Changing Address with SAG to be Eligible for Final Balloting

Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Nomination Ballots Due at the Elections Firm by 12 Noon PT

Thursday, December 18, 2008
Nominations Announced at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood

Thursday, December 18, 2008
Records Pulled for Final Balloting

Thursday, December 18, 2008
Publicists Telecast Credential Applications Open

Friday, December 26, 2008
Final Ballots Mailed to Members

Monday, January 5, 2009
Publicists Telecast Credential Applications Close

Friday, January 23, 2009
Final Ballots Due at the Elections Firm by 12 Noon PT

Sunday, January 25, 2009
15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards®

Screen Actors Guild Awards 2008 winners

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WHAT WE DO IS SECRET was screened at Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival, and is scheduled to open in select cities in the United States in August 2008.

WHAT WE DO IS SECRET review

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Outfest 2008 official website

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Martin Scorsese’s 2002 Best Picture nominee GANGS OF NEW YORK is the next feature in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences‘ "Great To Be Nominated" series. The gripping period drama will be screened on Monday, July 14, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

The Oscar-nominated animated short DAS RAD will be screened prior to the feature.

Passes for part five of "Great To Be Nominated" are $30 for the general public and $25 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Including GANGS OF NEW YORK, there are seven films remaining in the series. A $5 discount is available for those who wish to renew their passes from parts one, two, three or four of the series. Individual tickets are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Passes and tickets may be purchased online at www.oscars.org, by mail, in person at the Academy during regular business hours or, depending on availability, on the night of the screening when the doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Curtain time for all features is 7:30 p.m., and pre-show elements will begin at 7 p.m. The Academy is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more information, call (310) 247-3600.

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A film series dedicated to the actor, "William Holden: A Different Kind of Hero," is currently taking place at the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York City. The series runs until July 15.

Among the series’ upcoming films are Sam Peckinpah’s violent THE WILD BUNCH (1969); what is probably Holden’s best film and performance, Sidney Lumet’s over-the-top anti-television drama NETWORK (1976), in which Holden plays a disillusioned TV executive; and George Seaton’s undeservedly forgotten THE COUNTERFEIT TRAITOR (1962), an espionage drama in which Holden capably plays the title character — though the film belongs to Lilli Palmer’s spy-with-a-conscience.

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The 12th edition of the Fantasia Film Festival, North America’s premier genre film festival, began on July 3 and continues until July 23 in Montreal.

This year, the festival has been showcasing films from about two dozen countries, including Japan, Spain, South Korea, Italy, Uruguay,and Canada. Oftentimes, those are either world or North American premieres.

Among the screening films are BAD BIOLOGY, about a sexually (highly) dysfunctional couple; MACHINE GIRL, in which an avenging young woman replaces her chopped-off hand with a machine gun; and Dario Argento’s MOTHER OF TEARS.

Keith Waterfield has a lengthy article on the Fantasia Film Festival selections.

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