'Prometheus' Star Guy Pearce's Greatest TED Talks

If you weren't excited about "Prometheus" before, the recent TED Talk given by Guy Pearce's character, Peter Weyland, should do the trick. The three-minute short was conceived by "Prometheus" director Ridley Scott and writer Damon Lindelof, showing the founder of the Weyland-Yutani company delivering a rousing speech about the future of technology and robotics. It's a tantalizing teaser of what's to come with "Prometheus," establishing quite decisively that, yes, this does take place in the "Alien" universe, and this Peter Weyland character is really quite the shadester. Big props to Pearce for delivering one of the most compelling performances of 2012 to date. In fact, I kind of feel like Pearce should just keep doing in-character TED Talks for all of his famous roles. I can see some of them now Staff Sergeant Matt Thompson, "The Hurt Locker" (2008): "Bomb disposal is a lot like life. One minute, your life is under your complete and total control. The next minute" Alexander Hartdegan, "The Time Machine" (2002): "How did I get here? No, not the time travel part, I get that. I mean, how did I get here? I'm a really good actor. What am I doing here?" Leonard Shelby, "Memento" (2000): "Now remember, the most important lesson you need to take with you in life is is um ah, s---. What were we talking about again?" Captain John Boyd, "Ravenous" (1999): "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. And if you eat the thing that tried to kill you, dudes, you're going to be really strong. I'm not trying to tell you to eat people, but I'm kind of telling you to eat people." Edmund J. Exley, "L.A. Confidential" (1997): "'A hooker cut to look like Lana Turner is still a hooker.' Important word of advice: never say those words to a woman, ever. Also, Rollo Tomasi. I don't really know who that guy is, but I'm pretty sure he sucks." Give us your Guy Pearce TED Talks in the comments section and on Twitter!

Box Office: Best Picture Oscar Challengers

Very Noisy & Incredibly Close (Warner Bros) Week 10 Domestic Cume $31.2M, Worldwide $2.6M – Worldwide $33.8M War Equine (DreamWorks/Disney) Week 10 Domestic Cume$79.0M, Worldwide $62.7M – Worldwide $141.7M The Artist (The Weinstein Co) Week 14 Domestic Cume $31.8M, Worldwide $44.6M – Worldwide $76.5M Hugo (GK Films/Vital) Week 14 Domestic Cume $69.3M, Worldwide $46.4M – Worldwide $115.8M The Descendants (Fox Searchlight) Week 15 Domestic Cume $78.5M, Worldwide $77.6M – Worldwide $156.1M Moneyball (The new sony) Week 23 Domestic Cume $75.7M, Worldwide $33.2M – Worldwide $108.8M The Assistance (DreamWorks/Disney) Week 29 Domestic Cume $169.6M, Worldwide $37M – Worldwide $206.7M Tree Of Existence (Fox Searchlight) Week 40 Domestic Cume $13.3M, Worldwide $41M – Worldwide $54.3M Night time In Paris (The new sony Classics) Week 41 Domestic Cume $56.5M, Worldwide $91.8M – Worldwide $148.4M

Howard Kissel dies at 69

Howard Kissel, the longtime theater critic at the NY Daily News, died at his Manhattan home on Friday. He was 69 and had been suffering complications from a 2010 liver transplant. Kissel was the chief theater critic at the Daily News for 20 years. Before that he was arts editor for Women's Wear Daily and W magazine. He authored a biography of theater producer David Merrick and a book on Stella Adler's acting techniques. Kissel also led both the NY Drama Critics Circle and the NY Film Critics Circle. At the time of his death, Kissel was writing a blog posts on cultural affairs for the Huffington Post. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Foley to see in Fox's 'Games'

Scott Foley has grew to become part of the cast of Fox comedy pilot "The Goodwin Games," from "Generate Income Met Your Mother" vets Carter Bays, Craig Thomas and Chris Harris. Foley, most recently seen on "Grey's Anatomy," will join Becki Newton ("Ugly Betty") inside the single-cam laffer of a trio of siblings' chance to inherit lots of money utilizing their father, if possibly they could heed the idiosyncratic regards to his will. Peyton Reed will direct the 20th Century Fox TV project. Contact Jon Weisman at jon.weisman@variety.com

Foreign Titles Dominate 41st New Directors/New Films Festival

An anticipated event on the annual festival circuit in the U.S. the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) unveiled the full lineup for the New Directors/New Films series taking place March 21 – April 1 in NY. The 41st edition of the event will spotlight 29 features and 12 shorts by emerging talent. Foreign titles are heavily represented in this year’s lineup with only a few Americans making the cut. Sony Classics’ Where Do We Go Now? by Nadine Labaki join the large group of foreign titles this year. Adam Leon’s Gimme The Loot, Sundance ’12 titles How To Survive A Plague by David France and An Oversimplification Of Her Beauty by Terence Nance are among the new U.S. offerings this year. ND/NF will break some precedent this year, hosting a screening of Stanley Kubrick’s Fear And Desire, twenty years older than the festival itself. Also new for the closing night is a surprise screening that will be revealed as the curtain raises April 1st. The 41st New Directors/New Films features selections include: THE AMBASSADOR (Ambassadren) (2011) 94min Directed by Mads Brgger Country: Denmark The consummate agent-provocateur–his method fittingly described as Graham Greene meets Borat–Brgger (THE RED CHAPEL, NDNF 2010) shocks and mightily entertains by performing an artistic intervention in reality using role-playing and hidden cameras to expose an awful truth about life in central Africa. BREATHING (Atmen) (2011) 90min Director: Karl Markovics Country: Austria The remarkably assured directorial debut from veteran Austrian actor Karl Markovics (THE COUNTERFEITERS) creates a slipstream between the perilousness of youth and the inevitability of death as it tells the story of an inmate at a juvenile detention center whose last hope of parole rests on his ability to hold down a job…as a morgue assistant. A Kino Lorber release. CRULIC: THE PATH TO BEYOND (2011) 73min Director: Anca Damian Country: Romania Anca Damians documentary utilizes hand drawn, cutout and collage animation techniques, combined with some very dark humor to create a striking documentary about a young Romanians hunger strike in a Polish jail. DONOMA (2011) 133min Directed by Djinn Carrnard Country: France Rumored to have been shot for about $200, DONOMA announces the arrival of an intriguing new talent on the French scene, Haitian-born, Paris based Djinn Carrnard. Devised, shot (often guerrilla-style) and edited over a period of years, the film is a choral piece that chronicles the romantic destinies of three women, offering a fresh, funny portrait of an emerging French generation. FEAR AND DESIRE (1953) 72min Director: Stanley Kubrick Country: USA Directed, photographed, and edited by the talented and ambitious 24-year-old Kubrick, FEAR AND DESIRE was written by his high school classmate, Howard Sackler, who would go on to win the Pulitzer Prize in playwriting.Some Kubrick scholars see this wartime drama of five soldiers behind enemy lines and their encounter with a native woman as a dry run for PATHS OF GLORY; others see it as the original to the second half of FULL METAL JACKET. A Kino Lorber release. 5 BROKEN CAMERAS (2011) 90min Directors: Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi Countries: Palestine/Israel/France Emad Burnats and Guy Davidis documentary began five years ago in the Palestinian town of Bilin when Burnat bought a camera to record the birth of his son Gibreel. Gibreels arrival, however, coincided with a period of great unrest in the area, which is witnessed by five video cameras, each subsequently damaged by bullets or rocks. A Kino Lorber release. FOUND MEMORIES (Historias Que So Existem Quando Lembradas) (2011) 98min Director: Julia Murat Country: Brazil The original title, which translates as “stories that only exist when remembered,” beautifully expresses the theme and core sentiment of Julia Murat’s poetic rendering of the fictive town of Jotuomba. A magical confluence of generations and cultures is occasioned by the visit of Rita, a young photographer, to this place where time has seemingly stood still and life is rooted in the fixed roles of tradition soon to be rendered obsolete. A Film Movement release. GENERATION P (2011) 116min Director: Victor Ginzburg Country: Russia Ginzburgs GENERATION P could be described as a metaphysical Mad Men from the go-go 1990s – a wonderland of images and ideas that emerged from the rebirth of a nation as a marketers paradise. The film offers a view of post-Communist Russia as the arrival of democracy and Pepsi-Cola brought the advance of capitalism with all of its mechanisms and fuzzy messages. GIMME THE LOOT (2012) 81min Director: Adam Leon Country: USA In his feature film debut, Adam Leon has created a raucous, car-less road trip that is an homage to street-smart kids and NY City. Malcolm and Sofia, two determined teens from theBronx, are the ultimate graffiti writers. When their latest masterpiece is wiped out by a rival gang, they must hustle, steal and scheme to get spectacular revenge and become the biggest graffiti writers in the city. GOODBYE (B omid didar) (2011) 104min Director: Mohammad Rasoulof. Country: Iran In his latest film, celebrated Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof creates a dramatic and tense tale set in Tehran, where a young woman is desperately attempting to acquire a visa to leave the country. The beautifully shot film uses the confinement of space to cinematically express claustrophobia, its precise framing catching every subtle expression on the face of the astonishing Leyla Zareh, who plays the disbarred human rights lawyer, Noora, looking for a way out. HEMEL (2012) 80min Director: Sacha Polak Country: The Netherlands/Spain Sacha Polaks HEMEL features Hannah Hoekstra as a strong-willed, complicated, and vulnerable heroine who longs (perhaps too much) to connect with her elusive father and ultimately find herself.The film is a powerful investigation of a sexually-empowered woman and her search for physical and intellectual intimacy. HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE (2012) 109min Director: David France Country: USA David Frances immersive moving-image document chronicling the rise of AIDS activism shows a movement though the lenses of those who captured it firsthand.Desperate people leveraged the skills they hadsome wrote, some lobbied, many marched, and all mobilizedto flight a plague that vast swaths of society saw as just punishment for immoral actions.A Sundance Selects release. HUAN HUAN (2011) 90min Director: Song Chuan Country: China Song Chuans first feature captures the dreams and desires, disappointments and regrets, of a life not fully lived via the title character. In a rural Chinese village, a young woman who is the local doctors mistress struggles against her family, government bureaucracy and social mores to move away and create a life for herself. IT LOOKS PRETTY FROM A DISTANCE (Z daleka widok jest piekny) (2011) 77min Directors: Anka and Wilhelm Sasnal Country: Poland Anka and Wilhelm Sasnals film is set in a Polish village effectively cut off from civilization, where rough and impassive Pawel makes a living scavenging for scrap metal. Theres bad blood between him and the community (a more spiteful collection of individuals would be hard to imagine), and when he goes AWOL his neighbors loot and vandalize his home. What if he returns? A brooding, almost wordless drama vision of a world in an advanced state of entropy. LAS ACACIAS (2011) 85min Director: Pablo Giorgelli Country: Argentina One of the discoveries of the 2011 Cannes Critics Week, Pablo Giogellis road movie with a difference takes a 900-mile trip from Asuncin in Paraguay to Buenos Aires in the company of Rubn, a gruff, taciturn truck driver and the two illegal immigrantsa young woman, and her new-born daughterhe is reluctantly transporting. THE MINISTER (Lexercice de ltat) (2011) 115min Director: Pierre Schller Country: France Pierre Schllers political thriller focuses on a cabinet minister (Olivier Gourmet) in charge of national transportation who believes himself to be a man of the people. He wants both to be and do good, but in order to get anything done he must, given the exigencies of compromise, cajole, bend and even betray. NEIGHBORING SOUNDS (O som ao redor) (2012) 124min Director: Kleber Mendona Filho Country: Brazil A thrilling debut from a breakout talent, Kleber Mendona Filhos NEIGHBORING SOUNDS delves into the lives of a group of prosperous middle-class families residing on a quiet street, close to a low-income neighborhood. A private security firm hired to police the street becomes the catalyst for an exploration of the neighbors discontents and anxieties, which are exacerbated by a palpable sense of unease over their societys troubled past and present inequities. NOW, FORAGER (2012) 93min Directors: Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin Countries: USA/Poland A quiet tale about the search for integrity and the perfect mushroom, Jason Cortlunds and Julia Halperins NOW, FORAGER followsLucien and Regina, an urban couple living off the land foraging for fungi in upstate NY with a dream of following the seasonal emergence of exotic varieties across the country.That is, until Reginas decision to take a job in the kitchen of a hip restaurant offers a more solid opportunity, even as it betrays Luciens off-the-grid ethos. OMAR KILLED ME (Omar ma tuer) (2011) 85min Director: Roschdy Zem Country: France Actor-turned-director Roschdy Zems OMAR KILLED ME tells a story of racism, politics, and injustice with the clarity of a documentary and the pacing of a thriller. When a rich widow was murdered in the south of France 20 years ago, her Moroccan gardener was convicted and jailed with no evidence; it took a committed journalist to try to unravel the rush to judgment that laid bare the racism that was hidden in the French justice system. OSLO, AUGUST 31ST (2011) 96min Director: Joachim Trier Country: Norway Daylight lingers at the end of August in Oslo, but sunlight is not a friend to Anders, a semi-recovered addict, facing a new life, which may not be appealing without former habits. Adapted from the same novel as Louis Malle’s THE FIRE WITHIN (1963), Joachim Triers OSLO, AUGUST 31ST follows Anders as he tries to adjust – making love, wandering through Oslo, having a job interview, seeing old friends, and trying to get comfortable with his situation. A Strand Releasing Film. AN OVERSIMPLIFICATION OF HER BEAUTY (2011) 95min Directed by Terence Nance Country: USA Frank, funny, and bracingly contemporary, visual artist Terence Nance gleefully bends the cinematic rules for his personal meditation on love in the new millennium with his film, AN OVERSIMPLIFICATION OF BEAUTY. Passages of live action sequences and direct-to-camera interviews are accented with a wide variety of animation styles as Nance analyzes his amorous history as well as his current circumstances. PORFIRIO (2011) 101min Director: Alejandro Landes Country: Colombia Paralyzed from the waist down by a stray police bullet, the title character in Alejandro Landes’ remarkable film spends his days selling minutes on his cell phone when not flirting with his comely neighbor, and secretly plotting his revenge. Landes worked on the film for five years, creating a tale that joined the most intimate details of Porfirio’s day-to-day life with an astonishing re-creation of his attempt to hijack an airplane. THE RABBIS CAT (Le chat du rabbin) (2011) 89min Director: Antoine Delesvaux Countries: France/Austria Adapted from the graphic novels by Joanne Sfar, THE RABBIS CAT is a vivid, lively, and imaginative animated film co-directed by Sfar and Antoine Delesvaux . Set in 1920s Algiers, a widower rabbi lives with his voluptuous and dutiful daughter and their pesky cat who swallows a parakeet and begins to speak, driving everyone crazy and moving the plot ahead by insisting on having a bar-mitzvah. THE RAID (2011) 100min Director: Gareth Huw Evans Countries: Indonesia/USA In Gareth Huw Evans sensational thriller, THE RAID, a police SWAT team storms a housing project ruled by gangsters and inhabited by machete-wielding lowlifesbut the mission has been leaked, the tables are turned, and a dwindling band of elite fighters find themselves massively outnumbered in a lethal game of cat and mouse. What ensues is a relentless and savage succession of close-quarters shoot-outs and punishing martial-arts combat sequences, each jaw-dropping smackdown unbelievably topping the previous one. This film is wild! A Sony Pictures Classics release. ROMANCE JOE (Ro-maen-seu Jo ) (2011) 115min Director: Lee Kwang-Kuk Country: South Korea In his playful first feature, Lee Kwang-Kuk expertly weaves several narrative strands into an elegant web and a meditation on storytelling. A teasing and pleasing portrait of a filmmaker in search of a story to tell, ROMANCE JOE begins as a young, self-possessed barmaid in a remote inn recalls the time she met the title character. TEDDY BEAR (2012) 92min Director: Mads Matthiesen Country: Denmark Mads Matthiesen’s character-based and understated comedy, TEDDY BEAR tells the story of a gentle giant of a body builder who self sculpts his muscles by day and lives quietly at home with his mom at night. But at 38, he really wants a proper girlfriend, and despite his mother’s resistance (she is a master of emotional manipulation) and his own profound awkwardness, he draws up the courage to find one–even if he has to leave Denmark to do so. TWILIGHT PORTRAIT (2011) 105min Director: Angelina Nikonova Country: Russia TWILIGHT PORTRAIT is a powerhouse collaboration co-written and co-produced by Angelina Nikonova, who directed, and Olga Dihovichnaya, who stars in this very dark, provocative and constantly surprising debut feature film. In a modern Russian city where corruption, apathy and class warfare are the norm, a woman is raped, rather casually, by the police. What follows explodes the conventions of sexual politicsand will certainly have filmgoers talking. WHERE DO WE GO NOW? (2010) 100min Director: Nadine Labaki Countries: France/Lebanon/Italy/Egypt Labakis film focuses on a group of women of different religions in a remote Lebanese village that band together and invent schemes to prevent their men from killing each other in the intractable religious conflict that surrounds their community. This entertaining and unlikely near-musical tears down stereotypes of women in the Middle East and uses humor to explore serious subjects, with one eye toward Aristophanes Lysistrata and the other toward Bollywood. A Sony Pictures Classics Release.

Ryan Phillippe Exits CBS Nick Wootton-Greg Berlanti Drama Pilot

EXCLUSIVE: Less than two weeks after Ryan Phillippe committed to his first regular series gig, a starring role in CBS’ untitled Nick Wootton-Greg Berlanti drama pilot (formerly Golden Boy), he has departed the project. I hear the parting of the ways was amicable and happened after doubts on Phillippe’s part that he was ready to commit to the rigors of a network drama series. His decision was in part influenced by his first primetime series experience — he is currently filming a major arc on the final season of DirecTV’s Damages, which has given him hands-on TV series production experience. The move mirrors that of another feature actor, Paul Bettany, who also recently committed to doing his first pilot, Showtime’s Masters Of Sex, before pulling out. (He was replaced by Michael Sheen). Phillippe had been approached about doing network pilots every season for the past few years but he had been reluctant to do it until he finally signed on for Golden Boy. The hot project will now move on with casting a new actor in the lead role, a cop who has a meteoric rise from officer to detective and ultimately police commissioner.

L.A. production increases 14% for year's high

Offlot production in La heated the other day for the finest amount of 2012, rising 14% inside the same week this past year and striking a yearly high. Production appeared to become up greater than 25% within the 2011 weekly average to 728 days, according to figures provided Tuesday with the FilmL.A. enabling agency. Features totalled 92 days the other day -- greater than double sluggish period this past year. "As Soon AsInch was most likely probably the most active film shooting the other day with 15 days with many different the lensing inside a private residence near to the Silver Lake reservoir. Other films presently shooting offlot in La include "Brahmin Bulls," "Cellar," "Pointing," "Coffee Town," "Smart Ass," "Your Pet Who Saved Christmas Eve" and "Vigilandia." TV shoots declined 9% to 385 days due partly to pilot season beginning after a year ago. Top TV shoot was totalled up by Fuse's webisode/mobisode "Mountain Dew" with 36 days. Other shows shooting in your town incorporated "Awake," "Criminal Minds," "Revenge," "The Client List," "Southland," "Touch," "Windsor Square," "America's Got Talent," "House Crashers," "Overtones, " "Push Women" and "The Glee Project." Ads shown robust activity the other day with 251 days, up 39% over same week a year ago. A Visa place was most likely probably the most active with 12 days. Contact Dork McNary at dork.mcnary@variety.com

2 international posters for Piranha 3DD

Piranha 3DD has released a new pair of posters promoting the horror sequel's schlocky wares, and they've got us ruing afresh that the film has been unable to negotiate a UK release.Whilst director John Gulager has reassured US audiences that the film will reach Stateside cinemas, the UK plan is for the film to be released direct to DVD.Now while the original was no masterpiece, it was a dopily enjoyable slice of Friday night fun. Throw in the involvement of Gary Busey and David Hasselhoff, and the sequel sounds too ridiculous to miss!The new posters trade heavily on that trashy reputation, although surprisingly, the amount of boobage on display is remarkably restrained. The fish are the stars of the show here, and once again, they look suitably fiendish.We particularly like the Jaws-aping effort featuring a blissfully unaware swimmer. Plus, that tagline is also a bit of a winner: "Double the action. Double the terror. Double the Ds." They don't write 'em like that any more...UK audiences can catch the film when it's released on DVD on 19 March 2012.

CIM fields suitors for Oscar theater

Theater owner CIM is trying to find a sponsor for the facility now that Kodak has won the right to void its naming-rights deal. Hollywood & Highland owner CIM Group is actively pursuing a sponsor to rename the erstwhile Kodak Theater in time for the Feb. 26 Academy Awards ceremony. CIM has already lined up three suitors interested in branding the current home of the Oscars, Variety has learned. Heading up the talks for CIM is Santa Monica-based naming rights and consulting firm Premier Partnerships, which is negotiating with marketers. CIM was approached by several interested companies immediately after Eastman Kodak first petitioned a bankruptcy court to void its naming-rights deal at the end of January, including Dell Computer, which at one point presented a proposal. Though the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is not actively involved in the process, it does have the power to veto any sponsor it deems unacceptable. Organizers would prefer a brand with a connection to the film biz or upscale pedigree. It wasn't immediately clear which three companies were considering a sponsorship deal. Regular Oscar sponsors have included American Express, the Coca-Cola Co., Hyundai and JC Penney. Samsung is ponying up considerable coin around this year's kudocast as it promotes its new line of smartphones. All of those companies have increasingly turned to entertainment as a platform to spotlight their brands. And Coke -- which has aggressively forged deals with exhibs to lock out rival Pepsi -- already feels at home at the venue, given that Fox's "American Idol," which it sponsors, has taken place at the Kodak. With just over a week to go before the Oscar ceremony, Kodak received court approval Wednesday to stop payments to CIM and have its name removed. The ruling came amid Kodak's ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, which argued that its $3.6 million-per-year naming rights deal provided no further value to company creditors. Though the judge's subsequent ruling did not specify a time-frame for taking down Kodak's signage, the decision threw the theater's moniker into turmoil, as the majority of publicity and marketing materials for the Oscars have already been produced. However, should a new sponsor be found before this year's ceremony, the Academy has waivers in place that will spare it from having to re-do any promotional materials that may carry the Kodak name. Despite CIM having the advantage of a few interested brands, it's unlikely that any potential sponsor will agree to anything approaching the 20-year, $72 million contract that Kodak originally signed in 2000 -- during considerably brighter economic times, and with the kudocast locked in for the decade. But with the Academy exercising its contractual rights to shop for another venue, those conditions no longer exist. Any deal would be considerably less lucrative without the Oscars, of course -- though Downtown Los Angeles' Nokia Live has expressed interest in luring the ceremony to the much larger theater, Academy president Tom Sherak has said multiple times that talks with CIM to stay at the current venue are ongoing. Corporate sponsorship for CIM's theater offers high local visibility and plenty of foot traffic. However, the glamorous sheen and international TV audience that association with the Oscars provides are the elements that will bring in deep corporate pockets, giving the Academy additional leverage in renegotiating. Messages left with Premier were not immediately returned Thursday. Reps from the Coca-Cola Co., Hyundai and Samsung declined to comment on whether talks were taking place with CIM. Premier's past clients have included the Rose Bowl Stadium, San Diego U.'s sports facilities, Mammoth Mountain and NY City's Grand Central Terminal. (Josh L. Dickey contributed to this report.) Contact Christy Grosz at christy.grosz@variety.com

'Hugo' Exclusive Featurette: Sacha Baron Cohen Goes Method

You can't expect a man who made a career out of uncomfortable interviews, like Sacha Baron Cohen has, to behave himself on the DVD special features, and he doesn't. In this exclusive behind-the-scenes look from the upcoming Blu-ray and DVD release of "Hugo," Baron Cohen and his director, Martin Scorsese, discuss the work that went into creating the character of the Station Inspector for the Academy Award-nominated movie. If they're both to be believed, it wasn't a pleasant experience for anyone involved. Just like Robert De Niro, under Scorsese's direction for "Raging Bull," Baron Cohen said he put on a large amount of weight in preparation for the role. "I decided to put on three stone," he said. "I wanted to create the effect of triple chin, which I felt in the 3D would be quite powerful." Scorsese explained that Baron Cohen's goal in all of this was possibly to win an Academy Award. "He was really feeling that he wanted to be in the running for certain serious accolades, so to speak," he said. Be sure to check out the clip in its entirety up above. "Hugo" comes out on Blu-ray and DVD on February 28. What did you think of the featurette from "Hugo"? Let us know in the comments below and on Twitter!

List Of 84th Annual Academy Award Nominations

First Published: January 24, 2012 9:44 AM EST Credit: Fox Searchlight Caption George Clooney and Shailene Woodley in Fox Searchlights The Descendants, 2011LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Complete list of 84th Annual Academy Award nominations announced Tuesday: 1. Best Picture: The Artist, 'The Descendants, 'Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, 'The Help, 'Hugo, 'Midnight in Paris, 'Moneyball, 'The Tree of Life, 'War Horse. 2. Actor: Demian Bichir, A Better Life; George Clooney, The Descendants; Jean Dujardin, The Artist; Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy; Brad Pitt, Moneyball. 3. Actress: Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs; Viola Davis, The Help; Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo; Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady; Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn. 4. Supporting Actor: Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn; Jonah Hill, Moneyball; Nick Nolte, Warrior; Christopher Plummer, Beginners; Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. 5. Supporting Actress: Berenice Bejo, The Artist; Jessica Chastain, The Help; Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids; Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs; Octavia Spencer, The Help. 6. Directing: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist; Alexander Payne, The Descendants; Martin Scorsese, Hugo; Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris; Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life. 7. Foreign Language Film: Bullhead, Belgium; Footnote, Israel; In Darkness, Poland; Monsieur Lazhar, Canada; A Separation, Iran. 8. Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, The Descendants; John Logan, Hugo; George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon, The Ides of March; Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin and Stan Chervin, Moneyball; Bridget OConnor and Peter Straughan, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. 9. Original Screenplay: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist; Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids; J.C. Chandor, Margin Call; Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris; Asghar Farhadi, A Separation. 10. Animated Feature Film: A Cat in Paris; Chico&Rita; Kung Fu Panda 2; Puss in Boots; Rango. 11. Art Direction: The Artist, 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, 'Hugo, 'Midnight in Paris, 'War Horse. 12. Cinematography: The Artist, 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, 'Hugo, 'The Tree of Life, 'War Horse. 13. Sound Mixing: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, 'Hugo, 'Moneyball, 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon, 'War Horse. 14. Sound Editing: Drive, 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, 'Hugo, 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon, 'War Horse. 15. Original Score: The Adventures of Tintin, John Williams; The Artist, Ludovic Bource; Hugo, Howard Shore; Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Alberto Iglesias; War Horse, John Williams. 16. Original Song: Man or Muppet from The Muppets, Bret McKenzie; Real in Rio from Rio, Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown and Siedah Garrett. 17. Costume: Anonymous, 'The Artist, 'Hugo, 'Jane Eyre, 'W.E. 18. Documentary Feature: Hell and Back Again, 'If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, 'Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, 'Pina, 'Undefeated. 19. Documentary (short subject): The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement, 'God Is the Bigger Elvis, 'Incident in New Baghdad, 'Saving Face, 'The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom. 20. Film Editing: The Artist, 'The Descendants, 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, 'Hugo, 'Moneyball. 21. Makeup: Albert Nobbs, 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, 'The Iron Lady. 22. Animated Short Film: Dimanche/Sunday, 'The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, 'La Luna, 'A Morning Stroll, 'Wild Life. 23. Live Action Short Film: Pentecost, 'Raju, 'The Shore, 'Time Freak, 'Tuba Atlantic. 24. Visual Effects: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, 'Hugo, 'Real Steel, 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes, 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Hal Sadoff to exit ICM

Hal Sadoff, longtime mind of worldwide and indie film at ICM, is ankling after several weeks of exit discussions -- the start of an expected flurry of staff comings and goings because the percentary changes right into a partner-possessed agency. ICM on Monday also marketed eight planners to agent status across multiple departments. But there is much chatter in the market about the possibilities of agent departures within the coming days. The shuffle may come as ICM undergoes a change in possession to the core partner agents, six years following a majority stake within the agency was acquired by private equity finance shingle Rizvi Traverse Management. ICM cake toppers Chris Silbermann and Shaun Berg happen to be hammering out a restructuring deal since late this past year. Sadoff have been thinking of getting an exit as internal instability increased and infighting between Silbermann and Berg made worse. Introduced aboard by Berg a lot more than seven years back, Sadoff is anticipated to remain in his current role as the agency prepares to grow it internally. The eight planners marketed to agent Monday are Shaun Craig, Bryan Diperstein, Remington Franklin, Laura Haas, Andrew Kurland, Ann Murphy, Eric Skinner and Howie Tanenbaum. Contact Rachel Abrams at Rachel.Abrams@variety.com

Training your f/x eye

'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2''Real Steel'S ome inside the Acad's vfx branch once worried that if there were five visual effects nominees, the general membership would vote the Oscar to "the wrong movie." That argument will be tested this year, as there are five vfx nominees for the first time. So for those who are a lot more comfortable sizing up a star turn or a screenplay, Variety asked supervisors from each of the five nominated pics how they judge the quality of vfx. REALISM Paradoxically, the less real an object is, the easier it is to make it "realistic." No one's ever seen a flying dragon; but everyone's seen trees and hills and buildings, and can tell when they look wrong. Yet when they look right, it's hard to tell they're vfx at all. "It's almost the curse of good visual effects," says Tim Burke, vfx supervisor on "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2." "If we've done our job very, very well, the audience won't be able to appreciate what we've done. That makes it difficult to judge." In the climactic battle of "Deathly Hallows," for example, it's tempting to focus on the magic elements and miss the fact the sets and locations are mostly virtual. "It's so photographically real, people are just going to think we just went to a location and there was a real castle," Burke says. "Of course none of those things existed. The whole thing was shot on the backlot of Leavesden studios." SEAMLESSNESS "Real Steel" vfx supervisor Erik Nash says: "One thing I look for when I watch a big visual-effects movie is how consistent is the work from beginning to end. You can build up a lot of great work, scene after scene, shot after shot, but when a visual effect falls flat, or doesn't ring true to the tone and the overall look, it takes me out of the movie." A vfx picture, then, is arguably only as good as its weakest shot. In "Real Steel," for example, Nash's team worked hard to blend shots with animatronic and CG robots. "We should shoot reference and then render and composite our CG version right next to it, in all different environments," Nash says. "Until we couldn't tell the difference, we knew our job wasn't done." DIFFICULTY Most voters would probably agree great work on a hard task ought to count for more than equally great work on an easier task. But how to judge difficulty? "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" animation supervisor Scott Benza observes one thing to look for is destruction. "Although Michael (Bay) was given unprecedented access in Chicago," says Benza, "he didn't have permission to do any physical damage to the city. And the quantity of the damage being done is directly related to how hard that is to achieve." So the wreckage is f/x, be they practical or digital. In the sequence where a glass skyscraper is broken in half, note that the glass is all reflective, so all those reflections have to be rendered too. That makes the job very, very difficult. PERFORMANCE "Transformers" and "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" both rely on CG-animated characters as major actors that must carry entire scenes. "The goal as with any actor is to have them be something the audience wants to engage with and wants to watch," says "Apes" vfx supervisor Joe Letteri. Letteri and Benza both tend to point to quiet, subtle moments that deliver a lot of emotional impact through performance. Caesar, the CG simian played by Andy Serkis with the help of performance-capture technology, goes through a "growing-up story," notes Letteri. "He's forced to be away from his family and find his own path. Everyone in the audience can relate to some aspect of that." ARTISTRY Non-pros think of vfx as a technical craft, but nowadays it's rare for one company or another to have much of a technical edge. "If you can make water or fire, that's no longer the achievement," says "Hugo's" vfx supervisor Rob Legato. "It's how well does it work, how does it help you advance the story." He adds, "You're judging the artistic merits of the films in every other category. And now I would love for people to judge visual effects the same way." He is proud of the fact that the compositions and shot designs in "Hugo" aren't compromised for visual effects. "If we had all the money and the world and we were David Lean, we would probably shoot it the same way." Eye on the Oscars: Vfx, Sound & EditingTraining your f/x eye | Sound nominees aim to take auds deeper | Cuts help exotic settings play their role in the story Contact David S. Cohen at david.cohen@variety.com