The inaugural nominees are:

The Soily for Worst Picture of 2011
The most appalling, misconceived and/or unpleasant-to-watch film of 2011. The more ambitious/pretentious, the better.

Abduction
Conan the Barbarian
Green Lantern
The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence)
Transformers: Dark of the Moon

The Soily for Achievement in Bad Directing
The director of the most appalling, misconceived and/or unpleasant-to-watch film of 2011 — or maybe just most appalling director? (NOTE: The award will be named after its inaugural winner.)

Michael Bay, Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Dennis Dugan, Jack and Jill
Clint Eastwood, J. Edgar
David Gordon Green, Your Highness and The Sitter
Zack Snyder, Sucker Punch

The Soily for Achievement in Bad Acting
A unisex award recognizing the worst and/or least inspired performance by any actor in any film in 2011.

Russell Brand, Arthur
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Taylor Lautner, Abduction and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part I
Alex Pettyfer, I Am Number Four and Beastly
Adam Sandler, Just Go With It and Jack and Jill

The Brown Paycheck Achievement in Bad Acting
A unisex award recognizing the most lopsided ratio of salary to quality.

Bradley Cooper, The Hangover Part II
Harrison Ford, Cowboys and Aliens
Nicole Kidman, Just Go With It
Helen Mirren, Arthur
Natalie Portman, Your Highness, No Strings Attached and Thor

The Shart Prize
A film that seemed like it might be bad but turned out much, much more aromatically awful than anyone could have imagined.

Arthur
Atlas Shrugged: Part I
Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star
Your Highness
Zookeeper

The Shit-the-Bed Award
Arguably the most prestigious Soily, this honor goes to the movie that, despite its pedigree and everything it had going for it on paper, nevertheless resulted in a massive failure to move the cultural needle or achieve anything remotely resembling entertainment.

Carnage
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Iron Lady
J. Edgar
War Horse

I would like to thank the Soilies' extraordinary Brown-Ribbon Panel for their contributions both here and to come as we vote on the year's worst:

· Michael Adams, author, Showgirls, Teen Wolves, and Astro Zombies
· Lewis Beale, freelance film journalist
· Brad Brevet, Rope of Silicon
· Edward Douglas, Coming Soon
· Alonso Duralde, The Wrap and What the Flick?!
· David Edelstein, New York Magazine
· Jordan Hoffman, freelance columnist/critic
· Patric King, House of Pretty
· Eric Kohn, indieWIRE
· Dan Kois, Razziewatch columnist for Grantland
· Will Leitch, New York Magazine
· Guy Lodge, In Contention
· Julie Miller, Vanity Fair
· Mat Newman, writer/publicist
· David Poland, Movie City News
· Kevin Polowy, NextMovie
· Steve Pond, The Wrap
· Dustin Rowles, Pajiba
· Brad Slager, Movieline and CHUD
· Jamie Stuart, The Mutiny Company

[Back to top]

Many thanks also to Gleba McHamish and Mat Newman for helping to conceive the Soily Awards in the first place.

Drop back by Movieline this Wednesday, March 14, for the introduction of the prestigious Brown Note Prize — voted by you, the reader. And all of the inaugural Soily winners will be announced right here on March 23. Spread the word!

Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter.
Follow Movieline on Twitter.

To win a pair of tickets to the screening this Friday, March 9 at 6 p.m., all you have to do is write a 10-word review — no more, no less — of your favorite Shakespeare screen adaptation. For example:

· Kenneth Branagh showed Olivier how it's done in Henry V.
· Vanessa Redgrave and Ralph Fiennes should whack Oscar over Coriolanus.
· As Bad Shakespeare Movies We Love go, nothing beats O.

Etc. etc. Please post it in ONE of the following places to be considered:

· In the comments section of this post (please remember to sign in with an e-mail address)
· On Twitter with the hashtag #MLgiveaway
· On Movieline's Facebook page (under the Shakespeare High giveaway post)

The deadline to participate is this Thursday, March 8 at noon ET. Your editors will announce the winner shortly afterward.

Thanks in advance for your participation, and good luck!

Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter.
Follow Movieline on Twitter.

To win a pair of tickets to the screening this Friday, March 9 at 6 p.m., all you have to do is write a 10-word review — no more, no less — of your favorite Shakespeare screen adaptation. For example:

· Kenneth Branagh showed Olivier how it's done in Henry V.
· Vanessa Redgrave and Ralph Fiennes should whack Oscar over Coriolanus.
· As Bad Shakespeare Movies We Love go, nothing beats O.

Etc. etc. Please post it in ONE of the following places to be considered:

· In the comments section of this post (please remember to sign in with an e-mail address)
· On Twitter with the hashtag #MLgiveaway
· On Movieline's Facebook page (under the Shakespeare High giveaway post)

The deadline to participate is this Thursday, March 8 at noon ET. Your editors will announce the winner shortly afterward.

Thanks in advance for your participation, and good luck!

Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter.
Follow Movieline on Twitter.

(The Artist costume designer Mark Bridges was unavailable to participate.)

Congrats to them! But now we have some questions. Take a moment to get to know them, their stories, their takes on the race, and, of course, their respective Oscar-night dates.

Where do you get started in the huge undertaking that is costume design for a film?

CRISTAL: It starts with the wonderful work of research and the decision to stay true to and yet imaginative with the era. You start with how it was and then you find your own interpretation of the era. After a certain time, I became familiar with the time period; day by day it became more natural to design costumes and to dress nobles, theater actors, poor locals, etc. from the 16th century. Of course, finding the right people for the costume crew and the workshops is also a huge undertaking as well. We decided to work with two famous workshops in London (Sands Film and Cosprop).

O’CONNOR: After reading the script, I normally read the book. Sometimes it can be very useful. There can be extra character information in the book that is nuanced in the script. Then I start, as detailed as I can, researching the time period and what I think is most important about it, such as silhouette and textiles. I will meet with the director to get a brief about how he/she thinks it should be visualised and then with the production designers to see what their thoughts are; it is always a collaboration in some way. I start looking for materials at the same time as the meetings and briefings are ongoing. I then take my ideas to the actors at the first fitting.

PHILLIPS: Meetings with the director. Then lots of RESEARCH, research, research, especially for a biographical or historical film.

POWELL: Having read the script [and] met with the director to hear his views, opinions and ideas, I will approach all my regular collaborators to set up the department that will work with me to create and produce the costumes. The first thing to do usually is to research and accumulate as much visual reference as possible. This is done by looking at photography from the period, films and paintings. I also look at original clothing and textiles and start to pull all the clothing used for extras from the costume houses around the world. This was a huge undertaking on Hugo as there were so many extras in two different periods, 1931 and the early 1900s.

This is another big year for period costumes at the Oscars. Why does the Academy seem to gravitate toward period costumes?

CRISTAL: Period costumes are something like the "home country" of costume making. You can’t buy a period costume. It represents and brings you into a certain era. It gives a "historical skin" to the actors. All of this lets the audience move away from the ordinary, daily environment.

O’CONNOR: I think with period costume when done well, the Academy recognizes a level of skill and creativity that is needed produce individual characters in an historical context. Clothing of the past is a lot more complicated than that of today. That is not to say that contemporary costume is easy because, in most cases, it is certainly not, if done well. Sometimes great contemporary costumes which are right for the film can be far more persuasive than period costumes.

PHILLIPS: The mystery of "what was" is always enchanting, creating a world from a past time. Nostalgia also can play into it. We notice period costumes. They help set the tone, time and place. We rely on costumes to let us know when the story takes place. Period costumes inform the audience where we are in time. The audience relies on them. It can be far more challenging and subtle in contemporary film, which is all about a shared language of what is now.

POWELL: Unfortunately, I think not only the Academy but most people think that the word “costume” only refers to something vintage. It does seem to be very rare that a contemporary costumed film gets noticed in this category. I think it’s easier to be impressed by period costume as it’s an unknown thing to most people, whereas everyone knows about and has had an opinion on contemporary clothes. There is as much effort, thought and skill in designing a contemporary film as well as doing a period one. I think there should be two categories recognized, as it’s difficult to compare contemporary to period.



How did you keep the designs fresh yet true to their era?

CRISTAL: My ambition is to see an era with my "modern" eyes. To integrate my taste in the time period, I try to overcome the distance between my taste and the historical taste.

O’CONNOR: It is necessary to be able to make new costumes specifically for the current production you are working on. This way you are able to control the look of the film and how you intend to represent the period and the different characters within it. Also a lot can be said about how much of the period you choose to reject for whatever reason.

PHILLIPS: It is all about from what point of view you are telling the story. A good script with compelling characters demands truth. I design period costumes, keeping a modern contemporary eye on it. What will tell the period in a more intelligent way, how can I avoid anything retro that might take the audience out of the story? I edit the period, and consider the quiet moments, to help underscore the emotional work often being done on film by the actors.

POWELL: I like to always begin a period film by researching it accurately but then maybe taking a bit of artistic license by sometimes giving it a contemporary twist. Quite often this can be done unintentionally simply by using a fabric or color that is popular or fashionable at the time of making the film. However hard one might try to be historically accurate, there will always be telltale signs indicating when the film was actually shot. I think it would be impossible to make something look exactly like its original period as we no longer have the same materials or machinery, so everything will look different now anyway. In a way, this is how things can look true to an era yet still look fresh.

Were there any challenges you had to overcome for this particular film?

CRISTAL: Many…

O’CONNOR: The challenges were to create a believable world in which these characters existed and to make character-specific costumes while overall keeping to a subtle and muted colour palette, also keeping the beauty of the period details without allowing it to dominate. Making Jane simple and plain and keeping her look attractive was something I was always aware of. Trying to make her clothes elegant but not ostentatious.
 
PHILLIPS: Lots of challenges. Both philosophical and logistical. How to re-create and re-imagine this rarified world of the British monarchy, London society, Park Avenue, Sotheby's, and Parisian haute couture on a $15 million independent film budget in Europe!

POWELL: The challenges were many, but not insurmountable. The biggest one was dressing the large numbers of extras. Each one had to look as good as a principal as the camera was constantly moving, and so were the crowd. We would never know who would end up in close-up, so we had to be prepared for every eventuality!

What will you be wearing at the Oscars?

CRISTAL: A dressmaker from Berlin named Lisa Kern and I designed the dress; the rest will be a surprise. :) 

O’CONNOR: I have my own bespoke tux!

PHILLIPS: I am having a dress made by a young fashion designer whose work I believe in and who generously offered to design me a dress. His name is Juan Carlos Obando. He is extremely talented and thoughtful about his work. I am super excited.

POWELL: A dress!


Who is accompanying you to the ceremony?

CRISTAL: Anonymous producer Kirstin Winkler and my agent Claire Best.

O’CONNOR: My partner John.

PHILLIPS: My longtime boyfriend and love of my life, Mike Monzingo, and my mom and dad (Dan & Judy Phillips).

POWELL: A friend!

How are you following this film? What is your next project?

CRISTAL: My next film is still a secret. Anonymous is an affair of the heart, and I will follow this film as long as I can.

O’CONNOR: I am currently working on The Invisible Woman, directed by Ralph Fiennes, a story about the secret love affair between Charles Dickens and an actress, Nelly Ternan.

PHILLIPS: I have just started preparing the costumes for Madonna's 2012 world tour. It is a 12-week design process just like a film.

POWELL: I’m waiting to find out!

PREVIOUS VIRTUAL ROUNDTABLES
Best Documentary Feature
Best Foreign-Language Feature

· Uggie was on Ellen today, reprising some of his finest performance tricks and probably cutting a mean rug with the famously dance-friendly host after the credits rolled:

video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player

· The BBC devoted an entire segment to the matter of Uggie's -- and, by extension, all animals' -- ineligibility at the the Oscars, led by an uncanny simulation of what an Uggie acceptance speech might sound like. Skip ahead to the 52:00 mark; it is goosebump-inducing and extraordinary. Or it'll make the skeptics bang their heads on a wall -- which is fine with me! Just bang them hard.

· People's pet site rounded up five noteworthy facts for Uggie newcomers, including this remarkable performance anecdote I hadn't heard or read before:

While shooting one intense scene in which a character turns a handgun on himself, Uggie jumped into action. "Uggie was barking and pulling on the pant leg, but what they didn't show in the scene was Uggie actually reached up and tried to pull the gun out of his hand," [co-trainer Sarah Clifford] says. "It was so incredible, I actually got emotional on set."

Are you listening, AMPAS Actors Branch?

· Failing that, are you listening, AMPAS? Especially when it comes to Lana Berkowitz's suggestion that the Academy split the difference between Team Uggie and its skeptics by letting the pooch simply co-host the Oscars with Billy Crystal. "The Academy has tried lots of combinations to enliven the awards ceremony," Berkowitz writes, "and Uggie seems like the best idea yet as a partner for Crystal, who is making his ninth appearance as host." In the unthinkable instance of an Uggie snub among next Tuesday's Oscar nominations, Team Uggie may consider that compromise. One thing at a time, though!

· Uggie and his Artist co-star Penelope Ann Miller were reportedly slated to announce the nominations for the inaugural Golden Collar Awards this morning, but I'm not able to locate much about it beyond the barking, Doggie Drudge-style headline at the GCA founder's Web site. Developing...

· And finally, is this brand-new American Greetings video Valentine's Day card Uggie's Norbit? OK, don't answer that. Let's go, Uggie!

Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter.
Follow Movieline on Twitter.

Unfortunately, details on what exactly this "creative director" position would be were lost in West's Tweet-crazy haze of thoughts on the creative process and the limits celebrity have imposed on his artistic freedom, or whatever. "Being a celebrity has afforded me many opportunities but has also boxed me in creatively," he wrote, also noting that he hasn't bought new jewelry in two whole years. See? You don't know Yeezy! But anyway, those Jetsons plans:

I was just discussing becoming the creative director for the Jetson movie and someone on the call yelled out.. you should do a Jetsons tour!

This just happened a few hours ago. I was very insulted of course becuase for anyone that's seen the Watch the Throne Tour...

Or Coachella or Glow in the Dark or Runaway.. you know I have real ideas...

Not that West seems to be interested in anything but forward momentum, but a Jetsons movie along the aesthetic lines of his space-toony Takashi Murakami-designed Graduation album would be kind of awesome. In the least, it would make the very idea of a Jetsons reboot vaguely palatable. But while that idea would be cool and all, how can West possibly fit that in with the huge world-changing plans he Tweeted out last night, which include:

· Designing more NIKE sneakers, because only one pair of Kanye West shoes every two years isn't enough
· Starting a new company called DONDA (named after mom) "which will galvanize amazing thinkers and put them in a creative space to bounce there dreams and ideas...to help simplify and aesthetically improve everything we see hear, touch, taste and feel."
· Creating "a new 7 screen experience"
· Making something called "2016 OLYMPIC's ... It's a semi sic-fi since 2016 is only 4 years away"
· Designing the MTV Awards
· Changing the education system to omit higher math courses for kids who'll never need it as adults (That's what I was saying in fifth grade!)
· Starting an alternative summer school with filmmaker Spike Jonze ("Spike Jonze and I want to do a Summer school that tries new forms of cuuriculim")
· (Bonus Movieline suggestion: Grammar lessons)

All of which is nice and all, but back to the important stuff: When are we getting that Jetsons movie??

[@KanyeWest]

Beyond digging the totally intuitive movie grouping, I just have a few things:

· What? No Elephant Man?
· All kidding aside, no Godfather?
· I can't prove this, but I'm pretty certain that the commentary by Bob Eubanks and Stephanie Edwards is modeled after the bickering airport-P.A. couple ("Don't you tell me which zone is for loading, and which zone is for stopping!" "Listen Betty, don't start up with your white zone shit again") in the Paramount masterpiece Airplane! Things get really good when Eubanks drops the trivia about his stunt-driver son.
· What the parade truly needs is the USC Trojan marching band running from a huge boulder surfaced with gray roses, Raiders of the Lost Ark-style. File under missed opportunities.

[THR]

Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter.
Follow Movieline on Twitter.

It’s time to do some shopping, kids. After a week of semi-reasonable Golden Globe nominations (!) and the tragic downfall of The Daldry, I’m throwing away wads of cash at the Glendale Americana and never looking back. Do you think they sell the exotic headgear Elizabeth Taylor wore in Raintree County? Maybe at Zara or something? I don’t know. Let’s review the week and run away somewhere.

· We had a fabulous week of interviews — check out our one-on-ones with Jeremy Renner, Jonah Hill, Brad Bird, and Guy Ritchie.

· Hey, guess what? The Golden Globe nominations weren’t that crazy, and the Oscars are kind of a tight race this year. Is there a chance both ceremonies will be — I don’t know — dignified and entertaining?

· Christian Bale is big trouble in little China, and he doesn’t even get to bed Kim Cattrall.

· Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby looks like an amazing high school production of an Agatha Christie play.

· Michelle Orange lived through Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, and now Mother Teresa’s feats are irrelevant in comparison.

· I cheated with this week’s Bad Movie We Love and treated you to the greatest movie of all time, Clue.

Which new/old releases are in your weekend plans? Share below!

If Movieline ran a feature to accompany Bad Movies We Love called Bad Trailers We Love, the gory sales preview for Dario Argento’s monsterpiece Dracula 3D would be spotlighted this week. It features everything that is awful about bad horror movies — but in such a straightforward way that you can’t help but watch the trailer in knee-slapping awe. Beware: One gratuitous sponge bath, buckets of movie blood and spoilers galore await you.

Argento’s take on the Bram Stoker classic stars Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong) as Dracula, Rutger Hauer (Hobo With a Shotgun) as Van Helsing and Asia Argento (actress and daughter of the director) as Lucy. Shot last summer, this “sales trailer” appears to have been cobbled together from the film’s most climactic scenes before the visual effects have been completed. Enjoy then, the after-school-special quality of acting on both the parts of the humans and the animals (sadly, the woman confronted by wolves did not have minibar booze bottles handy to fend off these beasts). If Uggie were reviewing this movie, which he appears fully capable of doing, he would give this two paws down and a tortured whimper.

Also, for those keeping count at home, Dracula 3D does appear to feature:

· 1 19th century character with breast implants
· At minimum, 3 untraceable accents
· 1 fully nude woman baring her fangs while on all fours for no apparent reason
· 1 GIGANTIC PRAYING MANTIS WITH OCTOPUS ARMS
· 1 man being crudely decapitated by another man’s claws
· 1 actor who hisses like a cat every time he reveals his fangs

No word yet on when Dracula 3D will see the light of day.

VERDICT: I may not admit to it afterward, but yes, I would watch Dracula 3D.

[via BadAssDigest.com]