Oscar News

• The Academy sent out a letter this week to members, announcing that they will now be able to vote for the awards electronically.
• Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival last weekend. It became the first American film to win the prize since Fahrenheit 9/11 in 2004. Kirsten Dunst won Best Actress for Melancholia and Jean Dujardin won Best Actor for the French silent film The Artist. Nicholas Winding Refn took Best Director for the Ryan Gosling film Drive. A full list of winners is here.

Review Round-Up

• Tree of Life, fresh off its big win at the Cannes Film Festival, opened in New York and Los Angeles this week. The polarizing film has a strong 87 on Metacritic, with many more praises than pans, proving that it could have more life at awards season than expected.
• Kung Fu Panda 2 has a 67 score on Metacritic, a very strong reception for an animated film. Most critics point out that the film is a little darker and more serious than the previous Oscar nominee, which could open it up to a possible Oscar nomination this year.

Oscar Box Office

• Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris made over half a million dollars last weekend in only 6 locations. The highest per screen average of the year so far proves that Woody could have a small hit on his hands.

Oscar Farewell

• Joseph Brooks, who won an Oscar for the song “You Light Up My Life”, died this week at the age of 73.  He also won a Grammy for the song.