Wedged between an army of high-minded Oscar contenders (Milk, Frost/Nixon) and a mob of big-budget Holiday Diversions (Four Christmases, Yes Man), this weekend's Cadillac Records is exactly the kind of movie that's going to get lost in the shuffle at the most wonderful time of the year. And that's a shame: Cadillac Records is a big, rousing, blunt story of the early days of rock and roll -- when the Blues became business, when "race music" became the sound of America, when imperfect people made perfect pop music.

Written and directed by Darnell Martin (I Like It Like That, Their Eyes Were Watching God), it plays fast and loose with the facts -- like portraying a romance between Chess Records label head Leonard Chess (Adrian Brody) and singer Etta James (Beyonce Knowles) and suggesting harmonica maestro Little Walter (Columbus Short) shot and killed an imitator in cold blood. Neither of these scenarios can be proven as true, but if you want facts, go to the library; if you want a great story, go to the movies.

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On the red carpet for Frost/Nixon, Ron Howard claims you don't need to know your American history to watch the movie -- a love for excitement and courtroom dramas is all it takes. Michael Sheen takes more of a political stance; he hopes the human aspect of the movie reminds us how not to run a presidency.

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AMC News correspondent Jacob Soboroff sits down with producer-director Ron Howard to discuss Frost/Nixon, and how the movie's unlikely hero, David Frost, got Richard Nixon to admit to wrongdoing in the Watergate scandal.

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AMC News brings you a look at Frost/Nixon, the gripping story of how one journalist took on the biggest challenge of his life as he attempts to give former President Richard Nixon the trial he never had. The movie is directed by Ron Howard, and stars Michael Sheen as journalist David Frost and Frank Langella as Richard Nixon.

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Those who say independent film is dead are wrong -- but those who say it's no longer independent might be right. Film Independent's Spirit Award nominees were announced this morning, and Hollywood heavyweights (on both sides of the camera) are among them.

Rachel Getting Married, the dysfunctional-family pic directed by Jonathan Demme and starring former Disney darling Anne Hathaway, garnered six nominations, including best picture; little-known names Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler) and Sean Penn (Milk) are on the best actor list; and the new leader in indie distribution is apparently Sony Pictures Classics, with 18 nominations. (Check out our video interview with Rourke on The Wrestler.)

Sarcasm aside, there are still some under-the-radar movies and artists getting well-deserved attention, including Ballast (about a single mother surviving on the rural Mississippi Delta), from first-time director Lance Hammer, and Frozen River (a border smuggling tale), from newcomer Courtney Hunt; both tied Rachel with six nominations.

The awards ceremony will take place on February 21, and will be broadcast on IFC and later in the evening on AMC.

Here's a full list of this year's nominees:

Continue reading "Spirit Award Nominees Announced; The Wrestler is a Heavy Weight Contender" »

Every year the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles honors an artist who has made a significant contribution to the motion picture arts. Tonight, George Lucas will present Samuel L. Jackson with the 23rd Annual American Cinematheque Award at this year's annual benefit gala. The award presentation features tributes from the likes of Vin Diesel, Andy Garcia, Sharon Stone, and Denzel Washington. AMC will air the tribute on December 9.

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Opening this week in select cities before rolling out nationwide, Milk has proven to stick with me in unexpected ways. I went to see it a second time just because I kept thinking about how it was made, what it meant, how it played out. Milk stars Sean Penn as San Francisco politician and activist Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to public office in California, who was shot and killed (along with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone) in 1978. Some box-office watchers and Oscar prognosticators are doubting that Milk, as a "gay movie," will play outside of big cities, but Milk isn't a one-issue movie built around a single star -- it's also a great, fascinating political procedural.

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Aussies invade Hollywood as Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman and Baz Luhrmann attend the opening night of Australia. AMC News correspondent Jacob Soboroff gets the director to issue an open invite to join him for Thanksgiving Down Under, while Jackman and Kidman each see the movie differently. He connects to the political part; she, to the personal.

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On the eve of the release of his epic new film, Australia, Baz Luhrmann talks with AMC News correspondent Jacob Soboroff about foreign perceptions of the country, and Hugh Jackman explains its metaphoric significance as a frontier land that transforms its visitors.

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"Hollywood and Washington always had a dance," says Shootout co-host Peter Guber. This week he and co-host Peter Bart discuss what that dance will be like with Barack Obama. Are the cozy Clinton years back? Or does "change" mean distance from Hollywood lobbyists... otherwise known as celebrities.

"Obama is really by nature going to pull back from Hollywood," says Bart. "His instincts are such that we may find him burying himself more in academia." Guber, who was a guest at the Clinton White House, sees things differently. The new president will court this constituency because, Guber argues, he'll need their help. "I think both Hollywood and Washington are rebooting and I think that the old programs are still inside, and each will decide how they can use that currency."

Continue reading "Will Hollywood Influence White House Policy?" »