I'll tell you why movie revenue is dropping...

By  ROGER EBERT
 
Box office revenue at movie theaters "lagged far behind 2010," an article by the AP's David Germain reports. Partly that was because the year lacked an "Avatar." Partly because a solid summer slate fell off in the autumn. Germain talks to several Hollywood insiders who tried to account for the general decline of ticket sales; 2011 had "smallest movie audience since 1995." I have some theories of my own, fueled by what people tell me.
 
1. Obviously, the absence of a must-see mass-market movie. When moviegoers hear about "Avatar" or "The Dark Knight," they blast off from home base and land in a theater seat as quickly as they can.

2. Ticket prices are too high. People have always made that complaint, but historically the movies have been cheap compared to concerts, major league sports and restaurants. Not so much any longer. No matter what your opinion is about 3D, the charm of paying a hefty surcharge has worn off for the hypothetical family of four.

3. The theater experience. Moviegoers above 30 are weary of noisy fanboys and girls. The annoyance of talkers has been joined by the plague of cell-phone users, whose bright screens are a distraction. Worse, some texting addicts get mad when told they can't use their cell phones. A theater is reportedly opening which will allow and even bless cell phone usage, although that may be an apocryphal story.

4. Refreshment prices. It's an open secret that the actual cost of soft drinks and popcorn is very low. To justify their inflated prices, theaters serve portions that are grotesquely oversized, and no longer offer what used to be a "small popcorn." Today's bucket of popcorn would feed a thoroughbred.

5. Competition from other forms of delivery. Movies streaming over the internet are no longer a sci-fi fantasy. TV screens are growing larger and cheaper. Consumers are finding devices that easily play internet movies through TV sets. Netflix alone accounts for 30% of all internet traffic in the evening. That represents millions of moviegoers. They're simply not in a theater. This could be seen as an argument about why newspapers and their readers need movie critics more than ever; the number of choices can be baffling.

6. Lack of choice. Box-office tracking shows that the bright spot in 2011 was the performance of indie, foreign or documentary films. On many weekends, one or more of those titles captures first-place in per-screen average receipts. Yet most moviegoers outside large urban centers can't find those titles in their local gigantiplex. Instead, all the shopping center compounds seem to be showing the same few overhyped disappointments. Those films open with big ad campaigns, play a couple of weeks, and disappear.

The myth that small-town moviegoers don't like "art movies" is undercut by Netflix's viewing results; the third most popular movie on Dec. 28 on Netflix was "Certified Copy," by the Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami. You've heard of him? In fourth place--French director Alain Corneau's "Love Crime." In fifth, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"--but the subtitled Swedish version.

The message I get is that Americans love the movies as much as ever. It's the theaters that are losing their charm. Proof: theaters thrive that police their audiences, show a variety of titles and emphasize value-added features. The rest of the industry can't depend forever on blockbusters to bail it out.

Sundance 2012 Journal: Day 7

By Aaron Peck

We're getting down to the end. Today was Day 7. It's hard to believe it's almost over already.

This morning I had to perform some ticket requesting magic. My wife is coming up on Saturday to visit me, and I'd like to take her to a movie. The catch is that we as press can only request two public screening tickets a day and they can't both be for the same movie. So, I texted my buddy and asked him if he was using his requests for Saturday. He said no, and wondered if I was using mine for Sunday. I said no, so we simply traded some requests, which works out nicely. Now my wife and I can go to 'Celeste and Jesse Forever' on Saturday night without having to try the waitlist for tickets.

After requesting tickets it was back to the press tent to take in a screening of 'Shadow Dancer.' Directed by James Marsh and starring Clive Owen and Gillian Anderson, 'Shadow Dancer' tells the story of a young mother caught in the IRA conflict. Played by Andrea Riseborough the mother fights to keep her son safe as her brothers are deep within the IRA. They even recruit her for missions, but it's all getting tobe too much. It's a lot like 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' where there's suspense, but not a whole lot of action. This is more silent tension, and it works quite well. I really enjoyed the movie.

Once the film was over I hopped on a bus back to headquarters to pick up the ticket my friend had requested for me. I decided I'd write for a while, so I went into the lounge area there. Sitting a table over from me was Brie Larson from 'United States of Tara' and 'Scott Pilgrim.' She was leaning over her coffee talking to someone I didn't recognize. She was talking about a "good script" and starting another project. What it was, I have no idea. I simply overheard a few words here and there, but it's just fun to watch Hollywood business get done across a creaky old table. There's nothing special about it.

Then it was back over to the theater to take in a recently announced screening of 'Beasts of the Southern Wild.' This is like the 'Winter's Bone' of 2012. Everyone is buzzing about how good it is and no one can get into any of the screenings because it's so popular. They set up a press screening, so I really wanted to see it. Just to see what the entire buzz was about.

While I was walking through the hotel to the press tent I was stopped by a lady who asked if I had a marker or pen that she could use. I pulled the pen out of my pocket and handed it to her. She said, "Thanks. He's going to sign an autograph for us." She was holding a DVD copy of 'Rubber.' That's when I noticed the man she was having sign her DVD case was 'Rubber' director Quentin Dupieux.

I won't bore you with my stories about waiting in lines for just as many hours as I've spent watching movies. I will, however, cut directly to the chase and tell you that 'Beasts of the Southern Wild' is really friggin' good. It's a story about a group of people who live in the Bathtub. It's an island community off the coast of Louisiana. More specifically, the movie is about Hushpuppy, an eight-year-old girl trying to deal with the death of her mother, the danger of an impending hurricane, and her seemingly crazy father. Wow. This movie floored me. It's beautiful, evocative and has one of the best Sundance acting performances I've ever seen. Quvenzhané Wallis, who plays Hushpuppy is absolutely astounding. It's giving me chills just thinking about her performance. Fox Searchlight bought the movie, so expect to see it in limited release and then on Blu-ray soon.

Then it was time for the nightcap. I really shouldn't be staying up so late, but who cares. The festival is almost over anyway. Tonight they had a hitRECord.org presentation with Joseph Gordon-Levitt talking and demonstrating his new website which invites artistic collaborators from all over the world to make movies together. Some people will score the film, some will write, some will animate. Everyone gets in on the process to create art together. It's an interesting concept, and the night was full of Gordon-Levitt showing us short films created by his collective of artists. Some were funny others a little boring, but all in all it was an interesting night. I sat dead center in the front row so I was able to snap quite a few really good pictures.

I didn't get home until well after midnight. I'm writing this journal the next morning and I'm really feeling myself dragging. Friday is an easy enough day though. Only two movies to go to. I'm going to see the documentary 'Big Boys Gone Bananas' and then it's off to see 'Smashed' at 3:00pm to see if I agree with Luke. He says that's been his favorite film so far, so we'll see if it lives up to the hype

Sundance 2012 Journal: Day 6

By Aaron Peck

Remember in my last journal when I commented about seeing an early movie the morning after staying out for a late movie? Well, that's what happened to me today. I stayed out last night for a screening of 'John Dies at the End.' I didn't get home until well after midnight. I had to wake up only a few hours later to meet Luke at the Park and Ride so we could get back into the city to catch the early morning screening of 'Goats.' Have you ever been able to feel your pulse in your eyeballs? I swear I can right now. I'm that tired.

We got to the 9:00am screening of 'Goats' in plenty of time. We found our favorite seats in the Eccles Theater, which are located in the front row. I love the front row in the Eccles because the screen is pushed far enough back to allow for great viewing and you're right there for the Q&A after the movie.

'Goats' starred David Duchovny, Vera Farmiga, and Ty Burrell. It was about a young boy who has to deal with the moronic adults in his life. I thought it was alright, but nothing special. I liked Duchovny as Goat Man (really, that's his name in the movie), but everything else felt a little phony. It all felt like it simply meandered around for 90 minutes. Or maybe it's just that every year at Sundance the festival is full of coming-of-age tales and it's very easy to become jaded against them. Maybe that's what happened here. With that said, 'Goats' is a very generic coming-of-age tale so it didn't even have much originality going for it either.

We stayed for the Q&A where Vera Farmiga talked quite a lot about inspiration for her hippie, new age mother she plays in the movie. Duchovny only gave simple one word answers to the questions he was acted. Most of the time he made wise-ass remarks and then smirked that Hank Moody smirk. There was nothing special about the Q&A, but it was fun for me because I got to see Duchovny again. Honestly, he's the only actor that I've seen up here that I've been starstruck around.

Luke and I decided to hit up the Sundance Channel Headquarters on Main Street. The rumor is that the place not only has free coffee and hot chocolate but also free gourmet sandwiches. I didn't really believe Luke, because the last time we tried to go there all the food was gone. This time, however, the legend proved true. There were mountains of free sandwiches available to anyone who liked Chase Bank on Facebook. That's all they had to do, and they got a free lunch. Luke and I simply got the lunch pass because we're with the press. At least that's what I assume.

It was a good time. I never usually make it down to Main Street. I don't really enjoy the atmosphere down there. It's too crowded and there are too many gawkers walking around hoping to catch a glimpse of a celeb. But that didn't matter, getting free food was worth it.

My original plan was to go to the early morning screening then head over to headquarters and write until my 6:30pm screening. Then I found out Luke was going to a 1:00pm showing of 'The Words' starring Bradley Cooper, Dennis Quaid, Olivia Wilde, and Jeremy Irons. I wasn't planning on seeing it until Saturday, but I decided to join him anyway, and boy was I glad I did. 'The Words' is a thoughtful, emotional journey told 'Inception'-style. A story, within a story, within a story. Quaid is an author who's written a story about a man who plagiarizes a novel from a discarded manuscript he finds and then it becomes a best-seller. It was bought within the first day of the festival so it'll for sure be in a theater near you soon.

I've got to say, I'm sick of seeing movies with Industry people. The screenings we go to as press are also reserved for people in the industry. I'm convinced that most of these people – whether they be buyers, distributors, or cinema owners – don't really care all that much about movies. They simply want to know what is going to be marketable and because of this they are, for lack of a better term, asses in the screenings. The industry people constantly have their cell phones out emailing people. They walk out of screenings ten minutes into the movie just because. Most of them behave fine, but some of the worst offenders are ridiculous. I had a lady sitting next to me in 'The Words' who simply fell asleep and started snoring loudly. She was one of these old ladies that piles everything on her lap – huge down coat, purse, and water bottle – and then has some of it spill on over onto my lap. I'm not sure what it is, but most of these older industry people have no concept of personal space. They're oblivious and it drives me bonkers.

We're nearing the end of the festival and people are starting to get a bit snippy with each other. The buses, once places of wide-eyed optimism for future movies, have now turned into dour log jams of body parts as people yell at other people to "scoot in" or "move out of the way!" It's always around this time where people start to lose it. They've been in Park City a week. They haven't slept much. They've probably eaten mostly from fast food joints. Simply put, everyone's patience is wearing thin and you can tell.

As I was writing a few reviews in the Festival Headquarters a pair of industry folks walked into the lobby I was in and started yelling at each other. I think they may have been married, but I'm not sure. She was yelling at him for not "protecting" them, and he was yelling at her for I'm not sure what. All these people walking back and forth and they're yelling at each other. If I had to be stuck solely around industry people for that long, I'd probably be yelling at them too.

Tonight I had a screening of 'Price Check' starring Parker Posey at 6:30pm. I was planning on being home around 9:00pm. A very early day for me.

In the line for 'Price Check' I met some wonderful people from Utah who wanted to know all the movies I'd seen over my time here and what my favorites were. It was fun talking to them, and just reaffirmed how I feel about the spirit of this film festival. Nowhere else are you going to run into complete strangers and simply start talking about all the movies you've seen in the past couple days and what you thought about them.

'Price Check' was marginally funny and never really turned out to be anything more than a phony workplace comedy. I felt cheated when, at the moment of the movie where all the tension and mistrust is coming to a head it decides to fade to black. When we come back everything is perfect. Nothing horribly bad has happened and we get a warm, sappy ending. It was a major letdown.

I didn't stay for much of the Q&A because I found the movie to be generic and uninteresting. I did however stay long enough to snap a couple pictures of Posey.

Tomorrow I'm planning on seeing the movie 'Shadow Dancer' at noon which stars Clive Owen and Gillian Anderson. After that I'm headed to 'Wrong' which I've heard good things about. Finally, for the nightcap I'm going to check out Joseph Gordon-Levitt's HitRECord.org special and see what it's like. Oh, and I may fit in a free lunch in there somewhere. Everyone loves free sandwiches.

SAG Awards 2012: The Winners List

Christopher Plummer and Octavia Spencer took home the evening's first awards for supporting actor and actress, while Alec Baldwin, Kate Winslet, Betty White and the casts of Modern Family and Boardwalk Empire were among the others earning nods during the ceremony. Receiving the night's top honors were Jean Dujardin for best actor in a leading role, Viola Davis for best female actor in a leading role and The Help for best ensemble in a motion picture.

Mary Tyler Moore accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award from Dick Van Dyke midway through the show, taking the opportunity to explain why she chose to use her middle name to separate herself from the six other Mary Moore's already on SAG's roster in the early stages of her Hollywood career.
Stay tuned for real-time updates as the winners are announced. See the complete list of nominees below.

Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Supporting Role
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Armie Hammer, J. Edgar
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
*WINNER Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Supporting Role
*WINNER Octavia Spencer, The Help
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs

Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Comedy Series
*WINNER Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Steve Carell, The Office
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family

Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Comedy Series
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
*WINNER Betty White, Hot In Cleveland

Outstanding Performance By An Ensemble In A Comedy Series
30 Rock
The Big Bang Theory
Glee*WINNER Modern Family
The Office

Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Television Movie Or Miniseries
Diane Lane, Cinema Verite
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Emily Watson, Appropriate Adult
Betty White, The Lost Valentine
*WINNER Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce

Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Television Movie Or Miniseries
Laurence Fishburne, Thurgood
*WINNER Paul Giamatti, Too Big to Fail
Greg Kinnear, The Kennedys
Guy Pearce, Mildred Pierce
James Woods, Too Big to Fail

Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Drama Series
Kathy Bates, Harry’s Law
Glenn Close, Damages
*WINNER Jessica Lange, American Horror Story
Julianna Margules, The Good Wife
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Drama Series
Patrick J. Adams, Suits
*WINNER Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter

Outstanding Performance By An Ensemble In A Drama Series
*WINNER Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Dexter
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife

Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Leading Role
George Clooney, The Descendants
Demian Bichir, A Better Life
Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar
*WINNER Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Leading Role
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
*WINNER Viola Davis, The Help
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin

Outstanding Performance By A Cast In A Motion Picture
Bridesmaids
The Artist
The Descendants*WINNER The Help
Midnight in Paris

Outstanding Performance By A Stunt Ensemble In A Motion Picture
The Adjustment Bureau
Cowboys & Aliens*WINNER Harry Potter and the Deahtly Hallows: Part II
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
X-Men: First Class

Outstanding Performance By A Stunt Ensemble In A Television Series
Dexter
*WINNER Game of Thrones
Southland
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
True Blood

Weekend Report: 'The Grey' Leads the Pack

With a clear premise and a popular actor operating within his wheelhouse, The Grey delivered upstart distributor Open Road Films their first number one debut this weekend. Meanwhile, One For the Money had an okay opening that exceeded most expectations, while Man on a Ledge was the latest mid-range Summit movie to underperform. The Top 12 grossed an estimated $99.4 million, which is up 7.6 percent from the same time period last year.

The Grey devoured an estimated $20 million this weekend. Among star Liam Neeson's recent action movies, The Grey opened lower than Taken's $24.7 million and also a tad below Unknown ($21.9 million). Those were both PG-13, featured robust marketing from their big-time distributors, and were essentially cousins of the Bourne series. For The Grey to even come close to those movies speaks both to Mr. Neeson's drawing power and the importance of having an interesting, easily conveyable story (in this case, it was "Liam Neeson fights wolves!"). According to distributor Open Road, the audience was 54 percent male, and there is no CinemaScore data available.

Last weekend's winner Underworld Awakening dipped 51 percent to an estimated $12.5 million. That's a stronger hold than any of the previous Underworld movies had, and its $45.1 million total through 10 days is also a franchise best.

One For the Money took third place with an estimated $11.75 million. That's lower than star Katherine Heigl's Killers ($15.8 million) and Life as We Know It ($14.5 million), and also less than Lionsgate's last Groupon-promoted movie The Lincoln Lawyer ($13.2 million). Even though it's a fairly unimpressive debut, it's far from the trainwreck that was being forecasted by many analysts ahead of the weekend. That was odd, though, considering author Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels are extremely popular among older women. Exit polling bears this out—the audience was 79 percent women, and 74 percent over the age of 35 (36 percent were between the ages of 35 and 40). They awarded the movie a poor "B-" CinemaScore, though, so it's unlikely it will hold up as well as The Lincoln Lawyer in the long run.

According to a Lionsgate spokesperson, the initial Groupon e-mail blast reached 20 million people, most of whom were female (85 percent of Groupon's users are women). While official figures aren't available, exit polling indicated that 34 percent of One For the Money's audience had heard about the Groupon promotion, and 11 percent actually bought their tickets through the service. Out of the people who did use the promotion, 93 percent of them indicated that they would not have attended the movie otherwise. Some rough math based on these figures suggests that the "Groupon bump" probably didn't amount to much more than $1 million.

In its second weekend in theaters, Red Tails fell 45 percent to an estimated $10.4 million. Through 10 days, the World War II Tuskegee Airmen flick has earned $33.8 million.

Man on a Ledge rounded out the Top Five with an estimated $8.3 million debut, which is a bit lower than star Sam Worthington's The Debt ($9.9 million). Plenty of factors aside from Worthington contributed to this disappointing debut, though, with the most noteworthy one probably being its muddled marketing effort. Trailers and commercials jumped between Worthington out on the ledge and a corresponding heist in a nearby building, with the vague indication that the whole thing was part of some kind of revenge scheme. A confusing premise like that really can't compete with Liam Neeson fighting wolves, and so Man on a Ledge wound up the loser. It did put up solid exit polling numbers, though—the audience was split evenly between men and women, and was 56 percent under the age of 25. They awarded the movie a respectable "B+" CinemaScore, meaning Man on a Ledge might not be completely dead yet.

Sundance 2012 Journal: Day 5

By Aaron Peck,

I'm convinced that the toughest part of Sundance is catching a screening that goes until midnight, and then turning around and going to a 9:00am screening the next morning. I don't do it very often, but that's what happened to me today.

Last night I was up until midnight watching the teenage girl edition of 'Shame,' 'Young and Wild.' I was about to head over to an early screening of 'The Bachelorette,' but being up so late just floored me. I couldn't do it. I slept in and didn't make it out until noon.

When I got into Park City I could hear the distant booms of the avalanche control blowing up charges in the back country to help prevent avalanches. My first order of business was to head on over to the Festival Headquarters to do some writing. Seeing movie after movie doesn't provide for my writing, so I've got to fit it in where I can.

I have a bone to pick with the way they do balloting here. Some of you may have seen the picture I posted on the High-Def Digest Facebook page of the ballots they use for in-competition films here at the festival (if not it's pictured above). As you can see, the lowest score you can give a film is "fair." It's understandable why they do this. They don't want ballots being passed around with "terrible" or "this movie sucks so bad you may rethink ever watching movies again" printed on them, so instead they just say "fair." It's silly. If anything they should leave off the words and just do it by stars. Everyone knows how stars correlate into scoring movies. It's like they don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.

While I was writing, a documentary was being filmed next to me. I'm not sure what it was about, but a couple of filmmakers were interviewing an Indian gentleman about the political state of India. Although I had no idea what the documentary was about, it was neat seeing something being shot right next to me. These types of things happen often up here. There have been numerous times when I've been sitting next to distribution people as they discuss the details of buying movies that the general public are going to be seeing during the next year. It's kind of crazy watching these movie deals taking place over a cup of coffee at a small table in a hotel lobby.

Later I went to my first movie of the day called 'For a Good Time, Call…' There have been a couple raunchy movies starring women at this year's festival. 'For a Good Time, Call…' a movie about two girls who start a phone sex line, owes a lot to 'Bridesmaids.' It almost seems like this movie, featuring two girls behaving like horny guys, couldn't have been made and accepted if it wasn't for a movie like 'Bridesmaids.' I actually enjoyed the movie. It's funny, and has some great cameos. It could probably be helped by an additional edit, but it's definitely going to be seeing a wide audience at some point.

When the movie was over Luke and I decided to head up to Main Street to check out the Sundance Channel Headquarters, and to also see Luke get his hair done by the Axe hair people. Luke was in the middle of his haircut when they made him get out of his chair. We waited for a while, then David Duchovny came walking down the stairs and sat in the chair. He was funny, but you could tell he didn't want to be there. They only wanted to take his picture of him in front of Axe product. He even said, "You can give me a product to hold if you want." Then the hairdresser who was doing Luke's hair, asked, "So, what are we going to do here?" Duchovny looked distressed and quickly blurted, "Huh?! We're doing something? No I'm fine." We found out a bit later that he's a stickler for his hair and he was genuinely freaking out because he thought they were going to style his hair for him. Soon after that Vera Farmiga walked by (she's even hotter in person). When we were leaving Ty Burrell (Phil Dunphy) was being mobbed outside on the street by a gang of fans. Oh, and Brie Larson was walking around Main Street talking on her phone. I've seen more celebrities this year than any of my other years at the festival combined.

After that we headed back down to the theaters for 'Safety Not Guaranteed.' Starring Aubrey Plaza, Jake Johnson, and Mark Duplass, this is probably my favorite movie at the festival this year. I've seen 15 or so films this far, and this is the one that felt like the most complete narrative. So many of the full-length features have felt good, but in need of one or two edits. This one is perfect the way it is. A quirky movie about the concept of time travel. It's definitely one you should keep a look out for.

'The Surrogate' was my next movie. You know you're at Sundance when you see a John Hawkes film. This is probably the performance of his career, and considering his body of work, that's saying a lot. He plays a paralyzed man who lives his life in an iron lung. He's a brilliant poet, but types every word with a rod he holds in his mouth as he taps keys on a keyboard. His only dream is to have sex. He comes into contact with a sex therapist played by Helen Hunt, who helps him achieve his goal. It's an extremely moving film. I know I said 'Safety Not Guaranteed' was my favorite movie, but 'The Surrogate' comes really close.

I had planned to head back home after that movie, but for some reason decided to stay for the late showing of 'John Dies at the End.' It didn't start until 10:00pm and I debated a few times about stepping out of line and heading home. I was planning on seeing a 9:00am screening the next morning, but I really wanted to see this one. So, I decided to do it – a decision I would regret in the future. The only way to explain 'John Dies at the End' is this: 'Supernatural' on acid. It's hilarious for the first 40 minutes, but soon overstays its welcome. Still, a decent effort for a comedic horror/supernatural film. It kind of has a dark 'Donnie Darko' feel to it.

That was it. I was beat. I'd only planned on staying for three movies and being back at home before 9:00. Instead I was getting home at well after midnight, completely smashed, and ready to wake up at 6:45am the next morning to make it for my 9:00am screening. I'll let you know tomorrow if I actually survived.

Sony’s biggest misses

....The PlayStation Vita won't hit store shelves for another month, but some critics are already declaring it a disaster, based on early sales returns.

That's quite premature -- not to mention a bit fatalistic -- but you don't get to become a multi-billion dollar, multinational company without making a few mistakes. For every Walkman and Playstation 2 there exists a handful of other Sony ideas that didn't ring true with consumers.

Some were critical flops. Some had disappointing sales. Some weren't even physical products. But, in the end, all of them fell short in one way or another. Here's hoping the Vita avoids the fate of these Sony misfires.

PSP Go

The concept of a gaming system that only delivers content via digital delivery sounded promising. After all, by bypassing retail and doing away with physical media, costs would be lower and players could get great titles for less. Well, that's what we assumed, anyway.

It turned out that the digital games were no cheaper than physical copies — and worse, Sony struggled getting digital copies out in time with the physical retail release. A steep price point ($250?!) gave it a black eye, while the lack of a UMD drive meant that gamers who had built inventories of PSP games weren't able to port them over without buying new copies. Though it's still being produced in North America, it was discontinued in other regions a mere two years after its release. Talk about going nowhere fast.

BetaMax

The war in the mid-1970s for the home video audience was a fierce one — and you would think that Sony, then at the height of their power, would have been the force to bet on when they unveiled the BetaMax in 1975.

Instead, consumers rejected the company's attempt to dictate an industry standard and opted to go with JVC's VHS format, which traded picture quality for recording length (three hours to Betamax's one). The studios backed VHS as well, which would go on to rule the decade, while Sony's format would quietly fade away.

The PS3's launch price

When Kaz Hirai took to the E3 stage in 2006 and announced the PlayStaton 3 would cost as much as $599, jaws dropped — and more than a few people in the audience wondered if he had misread the teleprompter.

He hadn't. That stratospheric price point put a damper on enthusiasm for the console and led a lot of fans to the less expensive Xbox 360 for their high definition gaming options. While the PS3 hardly flopped, the initial pricing is often pointed to as the reason the system isn't leading the pack like its predecessor.

eVilla Network Entertainment Center

While the idea of a 'network entertainment center' makes sense today, it was a little less obvious in 2001. The idea was to create a web and e-mail station that cost less than a standard PC.

It didn't catch on. Why? Lots of reasons, including a crummy sound system, Sony's refusal to support platforms such as Shockwave and Windows Media, and a baffling $500 price point (in addition to monthly charges). Sony recognized the problem quickly, killing the eVilla within two months and refunding everyone who bought one.

MiniDisc

In 1992, Sony offered a recording option that let people make crystal clear copies of their music. It was markedly better than the audio cassette and cheaper than the recordable CD (which at the time cost $14 each — plus the cost of hardware). Sony counted on CD-R to remain at stratospheric price levels for 10 years, but they didn't.

They also didn't count on the advent of the MP3 file format. The adoption of MP3 as an industry standard further doomed the MiniDisc and its ATRAC format, and while it was something of a hit in Japan, it just never caught on in North America.

AIBO

How can you go wrong with a robotic dog? Simple: Make it kind of creepy and overly expensive.

Launched in 1999, AIBO (short for Artificial Intelligence roBOt) was able to walk and "see" its environment, and even recognize certain spoken commands. But outlandish pricing -- a base model cost a cringeworthy $2000 -- the digital doggie was never adopted by the mainstream market. It made it through three generations, but was mercifully put to sleep in 2006.

PSX/PlayTV

While there has been plenty of chatter about game consoles doubling as DVRs, no one has hit upon the magic formula to make that work yet. You have to give Sony credit for trying, at least.

The PSX (for the PS2) and Play TV (for the PS3) had a similar function: letting people record their favorite shows using their PlayStations. Priced exorbitantly, neither struck a chord with users, and Sony killed both products before they ever set foot onto U.S. shelves.

PlayStation Home

Xbox Live managed to take the lead in the online console space by offering a sense of community and a sense of achievement. Sony, in 2008, tried to launch something similar with the free PlayStation Home virtual world, which one-upped Microsoft by giving users an avatar and both private and common areas. It was, in some ways, a sort of Second Life for the PS3.

The problem? It was boring and sprawling and players largely ignored it. Undaunted, Sony's still trying to keep Home relevant, and to be fair, it has actually gotten a lot better since its rough beginning. But most PS3 owners still bypass it and head straight into their games.

Mylo

Short for 'My Life Online', this handheld device was meant for portable instant messaging, Web surfing and the playback and sharing of media files. Sound familiar? That's because you've probably got a cell phone in your pocket that can do the same things.

Adding to the problems? It only worked in WiFi hotspots and originally cost nearly $300. Even worse, it was released in 2006, a mere year before Apple would change the mobile experience forever with the iPhone. The fact that Sony kept it alive for four years is the really amazing part, though.

Lair

How can a game about a guy flying a dragon while fighting monsters, created by the team who made the superb Rogue Squadron games, all powered by the graphical force of the PS3 go wrong? Simple: Ignore any real story components and pair it with one of the worst controllers to hit the gaming world (that would be the PS3's Sixaxis controller).

Once hoped to be a system-seller, Lair turned out to be anything but. GameTrailers, Games Radar and countless other sites dubbed it one of the most disappointing games of the decade. And Sony didn't earn a lot of love by sending critics a reviewer's guide and a note encouraging them to "open your mind and hands for something very different" long after reviews were posted.

Sundance 2012 Journal: Day 4

By Aaron Peck

The buses were unkind to me today.

This morning I caught my normal bus into town and for some reason it took a wrong turn into a neighborhood and came out facing the wrong direction. The driver assured us we were still headed into town, but then he grabbed his jacket and stepped off the bus without explaining anything. People were freaking out. A lady next to me was channeling 'Jurassic Park' as she repeated, "He left us," a few times.

I know I should've known better. I should've stayed on the bus, because I knew that they weren't just going to leave us there, but I was in a hurry. Every time I'm at the grocery store I always pick the wrong line and get behind the person taking the longest. When it comes to situations like this bus my mind starts racing, wondering if I'll make my movie on time, so I jumped off the bus and started walking. I only needed to go about three blocks to get to where I was going, but three blocks on icy sidewalks seems more like 10 blocks. It was a stupid move on my part because right after I started walking down the street a new driver appeared, hopped in the bus, turned it around, and they were off. I, on the other hand, was beginning to sweat because of all the layers I had on. It was cold outside, but I was walking at a pretty steady clip.

I finally did make my first destination, which was the movie 'Liberal Arts' directed by Josh Radnor. I took up my favorite seat in the whole place, front row, off to the side. The front row in the Eccles theater, which is a huge high school auditorium, is a great place to sit. The screen is pushed all the way to the back of the stage so there's no neck breaking going on. Then, when the Q&A starts after the show, you're right there in front to take it all in.

I liked 'Liberal Arts,' but do admit that you probably have to be a fan of Radnor's in the first place. If you're into How I Met Your Mother then you'll probably like 'Liberal Arts.' It's not as zany as that show, actually it's quite dramatic, but there's a lot of similarities. Mainly, Radnor, who is just playing a slightly calmer version of Ted Mosby.

Elizabeth Olsen is fantastic in it, but she's great in everything she's in. A friend of mine wondered, while we were in line for another movie, if Elizabeth Olsen ever brags to her two multi-millionaire sisters that she's a better actor than the both of them put together and then in turn they whip out a million bucks and burn it in front of her just because they can.

During the Q&A it was freaky how much Radnor acts and talks like Ted Mosby. So much so that I wonder if he is actually doing any sort of acting in How I Met Your Mother. All his mannerisms, inflections, and slightly pretentious anecdotes were totally Ted Mosby. It was eerie.

After that was over I hopped on another bus and encountered my second bus mishap of the day. Around noon the buses start to become really crowded. Standing room only. This is difficult because sometimes the bus driver can't see that you're trying to get off the bus because the crowds are so thick. We pulled up to the stop where I wanted to get out, but the driver couldn't pull all the way up so he opened the doors to let some people out. I thought he was going to wait for the bus in front of us to leave, then pull up further into the bus stop, but he didn't. He simply took off, headed straight downtown and I was stuck. I had to ride it into town and then back out in order to get to the stop that I wanted.

When I finally got to the press tent I went in and got into line with Luke for 'Save the Date,' which ended up being a very charming, very funny rom-com. Only it's one of those movies where really grungy guys continuously score really good-looking women. None of the people that get together in this movie would ever be put together if we were matching them up in the real world. It doesn't matter though, because the movie really is quite fun.

After that it was off to write a bit. I was going to hit up 'Nobody Walks,' but decided not to just because it's already hard enough to take out enough time to write everything I need to write. Luke and I hung out in the Yarrow Hotel for a little while, and then it started snowing again. Not as bad as Snowpocalypse, but it was still pretty ugly out there. What's funny is that out-of-towners really romanticize the snow. All these people from Los Angeles think snow is simply the greatest thing they've ever seen. That is until they have to start trudging through the wet, muddy slush created by buses and cars. Then suddenly snow falling isn't so awesome anymore.

At 6:00pm I got in line for 'Black Rock.' A survivalist horror film written by Mark Duplass. It was directed by his wife Katie Aselton, who also stars alongside Lake Bell and Kate Bosworth. As much as I love everyone involved, 'Black Rock' is simply awful. The men hunting the girls down in the woods are completely moronic idiots. When it comes to a hunter-and-hunted movie the film is only as good as its villains and these guys aren't scary in the least. What a letdown that movie was.

After fuming about 'Black Rock' I headed back to the bus stop to catch a bus out to the Redstone Cinemas to take in one last movie. It was a Chilean movie called 'Young and Wild,' about a 17 year-old girl who goes through sort of a sexual awakening. Only, it's not as fun as it sounds. This is more like watching 'Shame' the teenage girl edition. As the sex acts get weirder and more explicit, I honestly felt extremely uncomfortable watching it with a theater full of movie-goers.

Then it was back home. I got back around midnight and crashed. My first movie tomorrow isn't until noon so I can take some time to relax and sleep in a little. I'm planning on seeing a would-be comedy about a startup phone sex business called 'For a Good Time, Call…' After that I'm going to the third Mark Duplass movie that's at the festival this year, which also stars 'Parks and Rec.'s Aubrey Plaza. The movie is called 'Safety Not Guaranteed.' It has something to do with time travel but I really have no idea what to expect. Then I might hit up 'The Surrogate' after that. Only three movies today. I planned on five, but decided that I didn't want to wake up and try to make it to an 8:30 screening of 'Bachelorette.'

This festival is doing anything but flying by. It's only Tuesday, but I feel like it should be Friday. That's not necessarily a bad thing though...

Time Warner Subscriptions Down by 129,000

The numbers for Time Warner Cable are indicative of the cable business as a whole – except for Verizon of course.

Cable providers, in general, aren’t doing too well. Customers are cutting the cord in favor of streaming or over-the-air content and companies like Time Warner are starting to feel it.

Time Warner Cable (TWC) lost 129,000 video subscribers in the final quarter of 2012. Over the course of 2011, 453,000 customers dropped the service. That’s a significant part of their subscriber base, which almost certainly has Time Warner a bit worried.

Though subscribers were down, Time Warner is actually sitting at a happy place in terms of revenue. The company says that revenue stayed about the same in 2011 thanks to raised prices and more customers adding additional tiers of service.

Customers are subscribing to bigger bundles, but, interestingly enough, they’re dropping premium channels like HBO and Showtime.

2011 Academy Award Nominations

After two years in a row in which the Best Picture race was populated with a handful of blockbusters, The Help is the only one of 2011's nine nominees that has so far earned more than $100 million. On average the movies have made just $57.6 million prior to the nominations, which is up on the five-nominee years from 2004-2008 but way off from ten-nominee years 2010 ($119.5 million) and 2009 ($151.5 million).

Aside from The Help, in order of grosses the Best Picture nominees are Moneyball, War Horse, Midnight in Paris, Hugo, The Descendants, The Tree of Life, The Artist and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. Out of those nominees, War Horse is the only one with an conceivable chance of reaching $100 million, though at $72.6 million it still has a very long way to go.

Hugo ($55.97 million) led all movies with 11 nominations. The Artist ($12.4 million) was close behind with 10 nominations, and was followed by War Horse and Moneyball ($75.5 million) at six nominations each.

Considering they both reached nationwide release on Friday, The Artist and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close have the most to gain from their Best Picture nominations. Fox Searchlight is also set to expand The Descendants in to 900 theaters this weekend, though interested audiences have had plenty of opportunities to see the movie already.

With The Artist and Hugo looking like pretty clear front-runners at this point, it appears that 2011 will be the latest year where Best Picture does not go to one of the top-grossing movies in the category. This happened in 2009 with The Hurt Locker and 2010 with The King's Speech, as they ranked eighth and fourth, respectively, at the time of the awards ceremony.

The Academy Awards will be handed out on Sunday, February 26 at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, California. Billy Crystal will host the show, which is set to air on ABC at 8:30 p.m. ET.

2012 Journal: Day 3

By Aaron Peck

After having such hectic schedules the first two days I decided that for Day 3 I'd take it easy...well, at least in the morning.


Instead of being up bright and early to head out the door around 7:00 I slept in a little and skipped the first movie I had planned for today, which was 'The End of Love.' It's just too hard to do continuous four- and five-movie days. I know what you're saying to yourself: "This guy is complaining about watching movies all day?" Well, watching movies is only half of the equation. The other half is packing into crowded buses, walking through a foot and a half of muddy slush water, and standing in hour-long lines just to get into the next movie. There's much more to a festival than meets the eye. Don't get me wrong, it's a blast, but even the most hardened movie watcher like me has their limits, and I was simply beat.

The weather had calmed down and Snowpocalypse passed on by, but not before it dumped about a foot and a half of snow in Park City, making getting around ten times more difficult. Every bus you step off of you have to be extra careful not to step in the deceptively deep slush pool or you might find yourself shin deep in freezing cold mud water. Yeah, it's not a fun thing to have happen. The last thing you want is to be squishing around from theater to theater in soggy socks.

My first movie was at noon. It was a high school rom-com entitled 'The First Time' and it's one of the best movies I've seen up here so far. After you can get past the initial 'Gilmore Girls' fast-talking, hip dialogue, there's some real substance here. Witty, smart teenagers, which is always a welcome respite from the norm.

From there I headed on back to the Festival Headquarters in order to finally get some writing done. That's the other con to seeing movies back-to-back-to-back-to-back: you never have time to write. I was able to crank out three reviews in a new lounge I found sponsored by Southwest. It's the perfect place to write, because it's quiet and it has outlets for your computer cables. If you want to know the top survival technique of any writer when it comes to covering a film festival, know where the outlets are. Your laptop battery will inevitably fail, or you're like me and have laptops whose batteries are doing nothing more than adding weight to the computer. Outlets are essential. They're as important as knowing where the nearest bathrooms are. Go to any film festival and head on over to wherever the press office is, and guaranteed you'll find journalists wandering rooms, hallways, and lobbies looking for outlets and getting frustrated when they can't find them.

I contemplated skipping the next movie I had planned, which was 'Red Lights.' I hadn't heard anything good about it, and specifically that the ending really stank. At a festival, news spreads quickly about which movies are gaining ground and which ones simply fizzle out. 'Red Lights' was getting a reputation of having a decent first two acts and then completely going off the rails in the third. At the last minute I decided to try to see if I could still get in. I did, about a minute late, and had to sit almost in the front row. The rumors were right. The supernatural thriller starring Cillian Murphy and Robert De Niro starts off rather well – if not a little generically as far as supernatural thrillers go – and then completely comes off the hinges when it's time to end the movie. Oh boy is it bad. Really bad. So bad that they should consider rewriting and reshooting a completely different ending.

After 'Red Lights' I had it all planned out. I was going to catch Stephen Frear's new movie 'Lay the Favorite.' I was going to perfectly line up with the last movie of the night 'Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap.' Only, it wasn't until I was in line for 'Lay the Favorite' that I found out the movie didn't start at 7:00pm like I thought it did. No, it started at 7:30pm, which cut out 30 minutes of travel time I desperately needed to make it to the distant Redstone Theaters for 'Something From Nothing.' Reluctantly I had to step out of line and head on out to the Redstone Theaters. I had to make the choice because I was covering 'Something From Nothing' for Film.com, whereas 'Lay the Favorite' would've just been something to see for fun. I was bummed, but I'll try and fit it in later in the week.

I got out to Redstone but still had about an hour to kill. I walked by a bistro which was empty save a few patrons. They had the NFC Championship game on TV. I was watching from outside, when a nice waiter walked up to the glass and motioned me to come in. "Come in, we don't charge for you to watch," he said. So I sat at the bar and watched the 49ers lose in overtime, and then took off back to the theater for my last movie of the day.

'Something From Nothing' is a must see movie if you have even the slightest interest in rap. It's a master's thesis in the way rap works, how it evolved, and the way lyricists put pen to paper and come out with something magical. It was directed by Ice-T, who was there. He sat directly behind me as a matter of fact. His question and answer session after the movie was the best I've ever been to at Sundance. In detail he described his passion for the movie and even did some freestyling for everyone. It was fantastic. I could've listened to him talk all night.

I tried to sneak a couple incognito pictures of Ice-T and his wife Coco and the best I got was the picture above. After that the night was done. Ice-T's laid back Q&A was the perfect way to end what turned out to be my own version of a laid back day at Sundance.

On Day 4 I'm planning on seeing five movies but I doubt I'll get to them all. Up first, in the morning, is Josh Radnor's 'Liberal Arts,' followed by the relationship comedy 'Save the Date.' I plan on taking in 'Nobody Walks' but I may cut out and take some time off to write. After that it's off to Katie Aselton's 'Black Rock,' and then a nightcap with the Chilean film 'Young and Wild.'

Sundance 2012 Journal: Day 2

By Aaron Peck

People up here are much more talkative than, I assume, they normally are. It's just the environment of the festival that brings it out of them. They're ready and willing to share any experiences or advice they have with perfect strangers, although sometimes, the discussion really is unwarranted...

I started off my morning waiting for the bus into town. Since it wasn't going to be by for another 30 minutes or so I decided to walk across the street to the local Starbucks. At least wait in someplace warm, right? It's around 7:30 in the morning and I'm sitting at my table half asleep and not really paying attention to everyone around me. Suddenly this man sitting on the couch in front of me does a complete 180 to stare me down. He then launches into a stream of expletives about this horribly written article he's just read in the newspaper. "Can you believe it?!" he said, and then he went on to tell me how incensed he was that the writer in the newspaper commented on the Elizabeth Smart wedding by saying that the affair wouldn't rival that of the royal wedding a few months ago. Surprised, I nodded my head and chuckled. Then the guy ended with, "I don't normally read the Tribune. I read the New York Times."

The great thing is that the polite, helpful, and friendly people outnumber the cranky self-privileged up here. I know it's hard to believe after seeing all the reports about parties and celebrity watching up here, but what you don't hear about on the entertainment news is that many of the people that travel up to Sundance are just looking to take in a few great movies.

I was still laughing about the guy in Starbucks when I met two very nice ladies at the bus stop. They were waiting for the same bus I was. They asked me if I ski, since I'm from Utah. They were surprised when I answered no. I think this is akin to asking everyone in California if they surf. One of the ladies was a curator for the film portion of a museum in Connecticut. These are the kind of people I love talking to at the festival. They want to know what you've seen and what you've liked, especially when they find out you're a critic.

My first movie of the day was entitled 'Celeste and Jesse Forever.' I met up with resident HDD reviewer Luke Hickman who had no idea that he actually had to have a hard ticket to the movie. After seeing our press badges they let us in through a door around the corner, away from the general public. I don't know if they were supposed to do that, but they did. We had another friend from Utah with us, Blogcritics.org writer Brooks Bird. He didn't have a hard ticket either. Luke walked in, they looked at his press badge and let him in. I gave them my ticket and they let me in. As we walked in to find seats we noticed Brooks wasn't behind us. He'd been stopped because he had a ticket, whereas Luke had snuck his way in. We still don't know how it all worked out, but it made for a good laugh. Brooks had to run outside and procure a ticket from the movie's publicist waiting outside.

We sat front row for the screening. The front row in the Eccles theater is great, because the screen is pushed back on the stage just enough that you don't have to crank your head straight up to see. Also, when you're in the front row you're dead center for the question and answer session that follows the movie.

The entire cast, minus Emma Roberts, was there to talk about the movie. Andy Samberg hammed it up most of the time. Elijah Wood was asked where he "channeled his gay" from, which made him laugh to the point that it was hard for him to answer the question. Rashida Jones talked about her process in writing the movie and how much she cares about it and how they shot the entire movie in 22 days. All in all, a great little Q&A session.

Once we walked outside we found out that Snowpocalypse had arrived in Park City. The snow was coming down hard and fast. It didn't stop. Park City would soon be buried in over a foot of snow. Good thing I spent most of my time in warm theaters. However, a personal emergency arose when my wife, who was coming up to visit me, had slipped off the road in her car. She's okay now, and was helped back onto the road, but it was a trying few hours. I was stuck about an hour away from her and couldn't do anything for her.

Much of the rest of the day was uneventful in the way of stories or anecdotes. I went to see 'The Pact' which is an absolutely laughable, and utterly terrible horror film that was crafted from a short film that played at the festival last year. The short film, while rough, was much more subtle and worked much better than this full-length hilarious atrocity.

Then it was on to 'The Raid.' Wow! Just wow! Now that's a movie. Everything you've been expecting and hoping about 'The Raid' is true. It's a symphony of punching, kicking, head-butting, shooting, stabbing, and ax chopping. It's 100 minutes of pure unfiltered awesome. The premise is just like a video game. There's a crime lord at the top of an apartment building, only the entire complex is full of thugs, criminals, and murderers all beholden to their criminal landlord. So this swat team must fight their way through every floor in order to get to the boss man. It's unlike anything you've ever seen. It's one of those movies where you're flabbergasted while watching it because you have no idea how they filmed this without actually hurting, maiming, or even killing some people. It's completely and utterly insane. It's everything I'd thought it would be.

I finished off the night with 'Filly Brown' starring Lou Diamond Phillips. It's a sleep-inducing Lifetime movie of the week only with more swearing. Blech.

It was time to head back to my car that was parked at a Park and Ride in the adjacent town. After I got off the bus I noticed that my car had been buried in about a foot and a half of snow. I left it there and a relative picked me up. Snowpocalypse ate my car.

Day 3 is chock-full of movies once again. I think I'm going to end up skipping my 10:00am screening of 'The End of Love' because I need sleep, desperately. The first movie I hit up will be a teen comedy called 'The First Time' followed up by a supernatural thriller starring Cillian Murphy and Robert De Niro called 'Red Lights.' Later that night I'll catch Stephen Frears' new film 'Lay the Favorite' and then cap off the night with a late showing of 'Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap.'

It's only been two full days, but I feel like I've been here for 10. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Sundance 2012 Journal: Day 1

By Aaron Peck

Today I got up bright and early, 6:00 am to be exact, and packed up my car for the short two-hour drive from my home in Logan to Park City. Being a local is nice. No airplanes, taxis, or hotels to deal with. I’m simply here for the movies and that’s it.

So begins my fourth year at the Sundance Film Festival.

These daily journals of my festival experience have less to do with movies and more to do with the goings-on of a film festival like Sundance. Yes, I will be discussing my thoughts on some of the movies here (but for more in-depth film analysis check out my individual reviews on The Bonus View), but I’d like to take you on a journey with me through the festival.

Nine complete days of movies requires a lot more than just standing in lines – although that’s a big part. There’s a certain spirit at a festival like Sundance. A love of film and stories that doesn’t exist in your normal everyday theater. The people here are actually excited to view films that not many people will end up seeing. Sure, some films will be bought and distributed, but compared to the ‘Transformers’ of the world, their audiences will still end up being miniscule. Even the movies that gain traction and notoriety at the festival will come out of it and still get relatively limited releases. Still, the journey of finding and seeing new films is an enjoyable one. At a festival like Sundance you get to see films before they’ve been touched by marketers or studios. These are full, unaltered cuts. These are the exact movies, for better or worse, which the directors intended you to see. Those are the main reasons I keep coming back to the festival. There’s just something about being around groups of honest-to-goodness film lovers that makes watching unknown movies that much better.

I got to Kimball Junction (a city just outside of Park City) at around 8:20 am and boarded my first bus to travel into Park City. If you ever find yourself in Park City during the festival you’ll be amazed by the bus drivers. I always am. Park City has a city-wide free bus service and the drivers couldn’t be nicer. You’d think that they’d get mad being asked the same questions over and over by out-of-towners, but they’re always courteous and polite. They never get enough credit as far as I’m concerned. On the second bus I boarded, as I was heading over to claim my credentials from the Festival Headquarters, one of the bus drivers noticed my Utah State University beanie and launched into a conversation about going to the same school. That’s the way it is around here, if you stay off Main Street where all the celebrity hype is, you’ll meet some of the nicest people ever.

Festival Headquarters was abuzz with all sorts of journalists, volunteers, and people lugging around boxes of sponsor booze. With my credentials finally in hand I headed over to the Press Ticketing Station where press members can request tickets to public screenings. I had my heart set on seeing the premiere of ‘Your Sister’s Sister’ (starring Emily Blunt, written by Mark Duplass) tonight, but premieres are usually hard to get into. However, with a bit of luck I was able to secure a ticket to tonight’s premiere without any hassle. I also got a ticket for the 9:00am screening of ‘Celeste and Jesse Forever’ (starring Andy Samberg and Rashida Jones).

I hadn’t even seen my first film yet when I decided to switch up my schedule and catch the documentary ‘The Ambassador’ instead of ‘This Must Be the Place’ (starring Sean Penn). I made the decision based primarily on the fact that I thought fellow HDD writer Luke Hickman would be there. Was he? No. He ditched out on even coming up to the festival today. Guess he couldn’t handle it or something.

I immediately regretted my decision to switch movies because ‘The Ambassador’ a story about a Danish journalist who pays a lot of money to become a Liberian diplomat, turned out to be a road to nowhere. That’s the nature of the festival though. Sometimes you switch up your plans and it works out, and sometimes you sit through 90 minutes of “I wish I had that time back," – actress Brie Larson just walked by while I was writing this part of the journal.

After 'The Ambassador' it was onto a deeply frustrating, but very good documentary called 'The Queen of Versailles.' Billionaires whining because they lost all their money and they couldn't finish their 90,000-square-foot home. It was disgusting and fascinating all at the same time.

Finally, it was on to the last stop of the day the premiere of 'Your Sister's Sister' starring Emily Blunt, Mark Duplass, and Rosemarie DeWitt. While sitting in line I started chatting with a woman next to me who wanted to know the movies I'd already seen. This is what's great about Sundance (and probably any film festival for that matter). Strangers will talk to you in line and suddenly you're embroiled in deep conversations about film. It's completely unique to the film festival experience.

While we were waiting in line actress Malin Akerman walked up beside us. People swarmed her for pictures. She obliged. From there the entire screening was full of notable faces. I spotted Ron Livingston in a breezeway as we were ushered to our seats. Andie McDowell walked in after I'd found my seat and sat two rows directly behind me, and may I say, she smelled amazing. The stars from the movie came in next. Emily Blunt walked in, right past me and found a seat about three rows behind me as did Mark Duplass and Rosemarie DeWitt.

Quite possibly my favorite thing about Sundance is the question and answer sessions after the movies are over. The entire cast and crew get up and the audience lobs questions to them. From here we found out that the great little character piece 'Your Sister's Sister' was largely improvised – only about 20 percent was actually scripted. They shot the movie in a little under two weeks. Four hours after meeting each other Duplass and DeWitt filmed a sex scene and a very intimate drunken conversation together. This was one of the more informational and interesting Q&As I've ever been to. It's events like this that really set the film festival experience apart from plain old movie-going.

I finally caught a bus back to where I'm staying and wrote reviews into the wee hours of the morning only to get up at 6:00am tomorrow and do it all over again. I'm planning on seeing a new comedy starring Andy Samberg and Rashida Jones called 'Celeste and Jesse Forever'; a fledgling horror film called 'The Pact'; a coming-of-age drama about a young hip-hop artist in L.A. called 'Filly Brown'; and my most anticipated movie of the festival, 'The Raid.' Make sure to join me for Day 2!

‘Hugo,’ ‘The Artist,’ Clooney Lead Oscar Nominees

Buzzed about silent black-and-white film "The Artist" and Hawaii-set dramedy "The Descendants," starring George Clooney, both snagged multiple Oscar nominations on Tuesday, but it was Martin Scorsese's animated film "Hugo" that led the pack with 11 nominations. All three movies landed best picture nods.

"The Hunger Games" star Jennifer Lawrence, herself nominated for a best actress Oscar last year, helped announce the top nominees for this year's 84th annual Academy Awards.

A non-traditional movie about the transition from silent film to talkies in 1920s Hollywood, "The Artist" also landed a best actor nomination for its French lead Jean Dujardin and a best director nod for Michel Hazanavicius. Clooney, disheveled as a vulnerable dad in "The Descendants," claimed a best actor nomination as well, with filmmaker Alexander Payne following suit for best director. Both films revved up the Oscar race with best film and fest actor Golden Globes in drama and musical/comedy categories.

Other Oscar competition for best picture includes Woody Allen's literary comedy "Midnight in Paris," civil rights era '60s maid ensemble "The Help,"  Steven Spielberg's World War I fable "War Horse," Terrence Malick's experimental "Tree of Life," baseball tome "Moneyball" and post Sept. 11 drama "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close."

Dujardin and Clooney face off in the best actor category against Brad Pitt in "Moneyball," Gary Oldman as an espionage vet in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" and Demian Bichir as an East Los Angeles father in "A Better Life." Suave up-and-comer Ryan Gosling was left out for his roles in "Drive" and "The Ides of March."

The best actress category comes down to a head-to-head between frontrunners Meryl Streep and Michelle Williams, both nominees.

Streep's tight-lipped, nuanced take on Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady" goes up against normally demure Michelle Williams channeling the sexy swagger of Marilyn Monroe in "My Week with Marilyn." Both women snagged Golden Globe awards for their roles.

Other best actress nominees include Glenn Close as a gender-bending butler in "Albert Nobbs," Viola Davis as a mistreated maid in "The Help" and Rooney Mara as popular rebel Lisbeth Salander in "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."

Malick, Allen and Scorsese also grabbed best director nods. Angelina Jolie's Bosnian film "In the Land of Blood and Honey" was snubbed from the best foreign film category.

The ceremony, held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, honors nominees in 24 film categories, voted on by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' roughly 6,000 members. Comic Billy Crystal is set to host the telecast for the ninth time.

Best Picture

• The Artist
• The Descendants
• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
• The Help
• Hugo
• Midnight in Paris
• Moneyball
• The Tree of Life
• War Horse

Best Supporting Actor

• Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
• Jonah Hill, Moneyball
• Nick Nolte, Warrior
• Christopher Plummer, Beginners
• Max Von Sydow, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Best Supporting Actress

• Berenice Bejo, The Artist
• Jessica Chastain, The Help
• Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
• Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
• Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best 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

Best Actor

• Demian Bichir, A Better Life
• George Clooney, The Descendants
• Jean Dujardin, The Artist
• Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
• Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Best Director

• Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
• Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
• Alexander Payne, The Descendants
• Martin Scorsese, Hugo
• Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life

Best Adapted Screenplay

• The Descendants, Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash
• Hugo, John Logan
• The Ides of March, George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
• Moneyball, Steve Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Story by Stan Chervin.
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Bridget O' Connor and Peter Straughan

Best Original Screenplay

• The Artist, Michael Hazanavicius
• Bridesmaids, Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig
• Margin Call, J.C. Chandor
• Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen
• A Separation, Asghar Farhadi

Best Animated Feature

• A Cat in Paris
• Chico & Rita
• Kung Fu Panda 2
• Puss in Boots
• Rango

Screen Actors Guild Awards

Lauded by critics for its style, simplicity and genuine warmth, the Screen Actors Guild Awards®, which made its debut in 1995, has become one of the industry's most prized honors. The only televised awards shows to exclusively honor performers, it presents thirteen awards for acting in film and television in a fast moving two hour show which airs live on TNT and TBS.

The awards focus on both individual performances as well as on the work of the entire ensemble of a drama series and comedy series, and the cast of a motion picture. These honors are fundamental to the spirit of the Screen Actors Guild Awards because they recognize what all actors know - that acting is a collaborative art.

In that same spirit, the SAG Awards® also commends the outstanding performances by film and television stunt ensembles. These accolades are announced from the SAG Awards red carpet during TNT and TBS' pre-show webcasts.

Other highlights of the Screen Actors Guild Awards include the Life Achievement Award, presented to an established performer for fostering the highest ideals of the acting profession and tributes to the varied talents within the Guild’s membership. SAG’s 48th Life Achievement Award will be presented to Mary Tyler Moore.

The Screen Actors Guild Awards is the only national network television show to acknowledge the work of union members. Screen Actors Guild is affiliated with the AFL-CIO through the Associated Actors and Artistes of America (the Four A's).

The 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will be simulcast live on TNT and TBS Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012 at 8/7c

Consumer Movie Disc Rentals -11% In 2011 As Paid VOD Grows

The year end report from market research firm The NPD Group provides yet more evidence that the disc rental business is in trouble. That shouldn’t bother Redbox yet: The firm’s kiosks accounted for 37% of all movie DVD and Blu-ray rentals, up from 25% in 2010. Netflix remained flat for the year at 30% — although its self-inflicted wounds (remember Qwikster?) were apparent in Q4 when it had just 25% of the disc rentals, a two-year low.

The big loser was Blockbuster which shuttered hundreds of stores as it retrenched from bankruptcy. Bricks-and-mortar stores, the field Blockbuster dominates, accounted for 17% of rentals down from 23% in 2010. The silver lining is that many consumers now are paying to rent movies from VOD services: They accounted for 31% of all paid movie rentals last year. Netflix is the leader here, but can take small comfort from the NPD tally: Its VOD market share dropped from 59% in Q2 and Q3 to 55% in Q4. “

The movie-rental market is clearly undergoing a sea change, as consumers become better equipped to access on-demand and streamed movies and are more comfortable with available delivery options,” says Russ Crupnick, SVP for Industry Analysis. “Even so renting physical discs from now-ubiquitous kiosks in grocery stores and other venues has taken the lead as the most popular movie-rental method in the U.S.”

Toddler's cuss word on 'Modern Family' draws ire

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An anti-profanity crusader on Tuesday asked ABC to pull this week's "Modern Family" episode in which a toddler appears to use a bleeped curse word.

"Our main goal is to stop this from happening," said McKay Hatch, an 18-year-old college student who founded the No Cussing Club in 2007. "If we don't, at least ABC knows that people all over the world don't want to have a 2-year-old saying the 'F-bomb' on TV."

"We hope they know better," said Hatch. He's asking his club's members, whom he said number 35,000 in the United States and about three-dozen other countries, to complain to ABC.

ABC has yet to respond, he said Tuesday. The network had no comment, a spokeswoman said.
In the episode titled "Little Bo Bleep" airing 9 p.m. EST Wednesday, 2-year-old Lily shocks parents Mitchell and Cameron (Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet) with her first expletive.

The dads, who are preparing Lily to serve as flower girl in a wedding, now have an added parenting challenge.

The tot is played by Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, who says the word "fudge" during taping. It will be bleeped on the air and her mouth will be obscured by pixilation, and viewers will get the impression that her character used the actual F-word.

Steven Levitan, creator and executive producer of the sitcom with Christopher Lloyd, told the Television Critics Association last week that he's "proud and excited" about the F-word plotline that ABC was persuaded to allow.

"We thought it was a very natural story since, as parents, we've all been through this," Levitan said to EW.com. "We are not a sexually charged show. It has a very warm tone so people accept it more. I'm sure we'll have some detractors."

The program, which won the Emmy Award for best comedy last fall, was named best musical or comedy series at Sunday's Golden Globes ceremony.

Hatch, who is from South Pasadena and attends Brigham Young University in Rexburg, Idaho, said he began his anti-profanity club in 2007 when he noticed how rampant cursing was at his school and how it was linked to bullying.

"If kids are accountable for their choices, then adults should be as well," and that includes media, he said.
TV profanity was an issue before the Supreme Court last week, which heard arguments about whether regulating curse words and nudity on broadcast stations is sensible when cable and satellite services offer channels with few restrictions. A decision is expected by late June

George Clooney, Martin Scorsese and Michelle Williams were among the winners Sunday night at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

There were a lot of French accents at the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards Sunday night as The Artist, written and directed by France's Michel Hazanavicius, was proclaimed best comedy/musical. With two other awards -- one for its star Jean Dujardin and another for Ludovic Bource's score -- the silent movie, which is in the process of taking awards season by storm, was the evening's big film winner.

The ceremonies, hosted with his usual irreverance by Ricky Gervais, also elevated the Hawaii-set The Descendants. The Fox Searchlight release claimed the final award of the evening when it was named best dramatic film, and its star George Clooney took the prize for best dramatic actor for his performance as a dad under seige.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which votes the awards, also rewarded Meryl Streep, best dramatic actress for her performance as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady, and Michelle Williams, best comedy actress for My Life With Marilyn. The best director nod went to Martin Scorsese for his 3D fantasy film Hugo.

On the TV side, awards were scattered across the landscape. While HBO and Showtime both notched three prizes, no one show was especially dominant. ABC's Modern Family took comedy honors, while Showtime's Homeland was deemed best drama, and PBS' Downton Abbey took the prize for miniseries.

But the night's really big winner could be said to be the Weinstein Co.'s Harvey Weinstein, whose company had a hand in six of the 14 film awards that went to The Artist, The Iron Lady, Marilyn and W.E. Early in the evening, when she shared in the award for best song, Madonna dubbed Weinstein "the punisher," and the nickname stuck, with others, like Streep, picking up the refrain.

In accepting for The Descendants team, producer Jim Burke dubbed Clooney "our quarterback ... a generous actor who helped everyone do their very best," and said that if the movie becomes a timeless film, it will be because of the talent of writer/director Alexander Payne.

In his own acceptance, Clooney, picking up the third Globe of his career, was his usual, charming self, acknowledging his fellow actors like Brad Pitt (for both his films and his humanitarian efforts) and Michael Fassbender (for going full-frontal on screen).

In her appearance on stage for Iron Lady, Streep, racking up her eighth Globe win, also offered lavish praise to the actresses in her category. "This is such a thrill, but really, really embarrassing in a year that saw so many extraoridinary performances by women in leading roles," she said.

For his part, Dujardin, celebrated as best actor in a comedy for his turn as a silent film star in The Artist, silently mouthed some of the words in his acceptance speech.

Williams won her first Globe for My Week With Marilyn, in which she plays Marilyn Monroe, who herself won in the same category in 1960 for Some Like It Hot. After first thanking her daughter because, as she explained, "I consider myself a mother first and an actress second," Williams also acknowledged her predecessor, by thanking the HFPA "for putting my my hands this same award that Marilyn Monroe herself won over 50 years ago."

For playing a widower who comes out late in life, Christopher Plummer captured his first-ever Golden Globe, a supporting actor trophy for Beginners. He offered a shout-out to the movie's star Ewan McGregor, "that wiley Scot," and offered thanks to the movie's writer-director Mike Mills "whose talent and wisdom made Beginners such an enchantingly human story."

Octavia Spencer, who received the supporting film actress award for The Help, in which she plays a maid, came equipped with the words of Martin Luther King, whom the nation remembers on Monday. "With regard to domestics in this country, now and then, I think Dr. King said it best," she said. "All labor that uplifts humanity has dignifty and importance."

The prize for best screenplay went to Woody Allen for his bubbly Midnight in Paris. Since Allen maintains his distance from awards ceremony, presenter Nicole Kidman accepted on his behalf.

Although he wasn't nominated for directing War Horse, Steven Spielberg still scored an award when The Adventures of Tintin was named best animated film. Among his thank-yous, he hailed his producer and partner on the film Peter Jackson, expressed thanks to both Sony and Paramount for backing the movie, and gave a shout-out "to the man of a thousand digital faces Andy Serkis."

The award for foreign film went to Iran's A Separation, directed by Asghar Farhadi, who took the opportunity to say of his fellow countrymen, "they are a truly loving people."

The first suggestion that The Artist was on a roll came during the evening's first hour when Bource was named best composer. "Right now, If I were to write a song, it would be a tap-dance number," he said.
For best song, Madonna -- who was nominated against the likes of Elton John and Glenn Close -- secured the win for her tune "Masterpiece," which she wrote, along with Julie Frost and Jimmy Harry, for the movie she directed W.E. She thanked her manager Guy Oseary for insisting she write the song, which she initially resisted doing.

In the anticipated showdown between PBS' Downton Abbey and HBO's Mildred Pierce, Downton's upstairs/downstairs drama took home the prize for best miniseries. Julian Fellowes, the show's very English creator, offered up thanks to "the audience, because it's the audience that makes a success."

But Mildred had its moment in the spotlight, when Kate Winslet, who took home two Globes in 2009 for her movie work in Revolutionary Road and The Reader, picked up her third Globe for playing the self-sacrificing heroine of the Depression-set drama. "Mildred Pierce was the definition of a team effort, and I want to share this with our team leader, our brilliant director Todd Haynes," she said.

Luther, the British police drama aired by BBC America, brought a summons to the stage for Idris Elba when he was named best actor in a miniseries.

Showtime's freshman series Homeland, about the battle against terrorism, claimed the award for best dramatic TV series. The show also earned Claire Danes, who won a Globe last year for Temple Grandin, a back-to-back win as she was voted best drama series actress for her portrayal of a slightly unhinged intelligence officer. Noting that she won the same award 15 years ago for My So-Called Life and then promptly burst into tears because on that night she forgot to thank her parents, she used the opportunity to rectify that omission  by paying tribute to her mother, who accompanied her to the awards.

Kelsey Grammer, who collected two Globes during the run of Frasier, was another of the evening's three-time winners as he was awarded a new Globe as best dramatic TV series actor for his turn as a Chicago mayor in Starz's Boss. He acknowledged Starz president and CEO Chris Albrecht "for his insight and balls and money actually for going ahead and ordered all eight episodes without a pilot."

Series creator Steve Levitan and one of the show's stars Sofia Vergara turned Modern Family's win for best comedy series into something of a comedy routine in its own right, as they delivered the requisite thank yous in both English and Spanish, and Vergara urged the actresses in the room to search out the show's writers who, Levitan claimed she said, "are the greatest lovers I have ever had."

Laura Dern has a long history with the Globes: Back in 1982, as a daughter of celebrities, she handed out the trophies as a Miss Golden Globes. This year, she picked up her third personal Globe, earning the trophy for best actress in a television comedy series for her performance in HBO's Enlightened as a woman who undergoes a spiritual awakening.

Playing a version of himself in Showtime's Episodes brought Matt LeBlanc his first Globe, perhaps because, he claimed, his on-screen persona "is way more interesting and fun than the real thing."

Jessica Lange is no stranger at the Globes. She's previously won four of the awards, for her work in both film and TV, and Sunday night she took home her fifth as TV supporting actress for her monstrous mom in FX's American Horror Story. She offered special praise for the show's writers "because I find it more and more rare, or rarer, every year to find a piece of work that is beautifully written."

Even though his mother predected that Mildred Pierce's Guy Pearce would win in the supporting actor category, Peter Dinklage proved the victor for playing Tyrion Lannister in the fantasy series Game of Thrones. "I just love our moms because they keep us humble," he observed.

Sidney Poitier made an appearance, and was greeted with a standing ovation, to testify on behalf of Morgan Freeman, this year's winner of the HFPA's Cecille B. DeMille Award, "You become the character, the character becomes you, and so begins a process that captivates the audience," he said. "In my humble opinion, sir, you are indeed a prince in the profession you have chosen."

Helen Mirren, who starred with Freeman, in Red, followed him to introduce a clip package of Morgan's films.

"I can't really tell you how it feels to be up here to be touted by a woman I love so much," Freeman responded once he took the stage. "And Sidney, Mr. Poitier, being up here receiving this award, this tribute that you yourself received, getting it from you, makes it clear to me that though they call it the Cecil B. DeMille Award, in my house it will also be known as the Sidney Poiter Award."

The full winners and nominee list is below.

MOTION PICTURE 
Motion Picture, Drama
The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
War Horse

Best Performance By An Actor In A Motion Picture – Drama
George Clooney, The Descendants 
Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar
Michael Fassbender, Shame
Ryan Gosling, The Ides of March
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Best Motion Picture – Comedy Or Musical
The Artist 
50/50
Bridesmaids
Midnight in Paris 
My Week With Marilyn

Best Performance By An Actress In A Motion Picture  – Drama
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Tilda Swinton, We Need To Talk About Kevin

Best Performance By An Actor In A Motion Picture – Comedy Or Musical
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Brendan Gleeson, The Guard
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 50/50
Ryan Gosling, Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Owen Wilson, Midnight in Paris

Best Director – Motion Picture
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris 
George Clooney, The Ides of March 
Michel Hazanvicius, The Artist 
Alexander Payne, The Descendants

Best Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role In A Motion Picture
Octavia Spencer, The Help 
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants 

Best Foreign Language Film
A Separation (Iran) 
The Flowers of War (China)
In the Land of Blood and Honey (USA)
The Kid With A Bike (Belgium)
The Skin I Live In (Spain)

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris 
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon, The Ides of March
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist 
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, The Descendants
Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, Moneyball

Best Animated Feature Film
The Adventures of Tintin
Arthur Christmas 
Cars 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

Best Performance By An Actress in A Motion Picture – Comedy Or Musical
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn 
Jodie Foster, Carnage
Charlize Theron, Young Adult 
Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids
Kate Winslet, Carnage

Best Original Song – Motion Picture
“Masterpiece” — W.E.
Music & Lyrics by: Madonna, Julie Frost, Jimmy Harry
“Hello Hello” — Gnomeo & Juliet 
Music by: Elton John
Lyrics by: Bernie Taupin
“The Keeper” — Machine Gun Preacher 
Music & Lyrics by: Chris Cornell
"Lay Your Head Down” — Albert Nobbs
Music by: Brian Byrne
Lyrics by: Glenn Close
“The Living Proof” — The Help
Music by: Mary J. Blige, Thomas Newman, Harvey Mason Jr.
Lyrics by: Mary J. Blige, Harvey Mason Jr., Damon Thomas

Best Original Score – Motion Picture
Ludovic Bource, The Artist 
Abel Korzeniowski, W.E.
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Howard Shore, Hugo
John Williams, War Horse

Best Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role In A Motion Picture 
Christopher Plummer, Beginners 
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Albert Brooks, Drive
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Viggo Mortensen, A Dangerous Method 

TELEVISION
Best Television Series – Comedy Or Musical
Modern Family, ABC
Enlightened, HBO
Episodes, Showtime
Glee, FOX
New Girl, FOX

Best Performance By An Actor In A Television Series – Comedy Or Musical
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock 
David Duchovny, Californication 
Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory 
Thomas Jane, Hung

Best Performance By An Actress In A Television Series – Drama
Claire Danes, Homeland
Mireille Enos, The Killing
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Madeleine Stowe, Revenge
Callie Thorne, Necessary Roughness

Best Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role In A Series, Mini-Series, Or Motion Picture Made for Television 
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story 
Kelly Macdonald, Boardwalk Empire
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family 
Evan Rachel Wood, Mildred Pierce 

Best Performance By An Actor in A Supporting Role in A Series, Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made For Television 
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Paul Giamatti, Too Big to Fail
Guy Pearce, Mildred Pierce 
Tim Robbins, Cinema Verite
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family 

Best Performance By An Actor In A Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made For Television
Idris Elba, Luther
Hugh Bonneville, Downton Abbey 
William Hurt, To Big to Fail
Bill Nighy, Page Eight
Dominic West, The Hour

Best Television Series – Drama
Homeland, Showtime
American Horror Story, FX
Boardwalk Empire, HBO
Boss, STARZ
Game of Thrones, HBO

Best Performance By An Actor In A Television Series – Drama
Kelsey Grammer, Boss 
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Jeremy Irons, The Borgias
Damian Lewis, Homeland 

Best Performance By An Actress In A Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made For Television
Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce
Romola Garai, The Hour
Diane Lane, Cinema Verite 
Elizabeth McGovern, Downton Abbey
Emily Watson, Appropriate Adult

Best Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made For Television
Downton Abbey,  PBS (Masterpiece)
Cinema Verite, HBO
The Hour, BBC America
Mildred Pierce, HBO
Too Big to Fail,  HBO

Best Performance By An Actress In A Television Series – Comedy Or Musical
Laura Dern, Enlightened
Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Laura Linney, The Big C
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation