Pollo 13
A once-peaceful neighborhood erupts in an explosion of pent-up violence... because of one too many chicken-themed restaurants.  (Based on a true story)

Sven
The adventures of a Scandinavian serial killer.   (Based on a true story)

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Cloes
Apparently she really hated this one.   (Based on a true story)

Planet Error
In an alternate universe, there is a planet where everybody does everything wrong.  (Twist ending, it was Earth all along.)   (Based on a true story)

Full Meta Jacket
A documentary about Stanley Kubrick's trials and tribulations while making Full Metal Jacket, in which the documentary crew itself becomes the biggest obstacle.   Directed by Stanley Kubrick.

Oh, did we forget to mention?    The twelve on the list that don't make the cut, we will NEVER EVER DO.   

How's THAT for stakes, huh?   HUH?

I must admit, the sole reason I didn't vote off Airbender before we opened the voting was because I know Dorkman wants to cover that one sooo much.  I give not a rodent's patootie about it myself, but I'm sure curious to find out what the big deal is...

/Unforgiven!
/Ron Paul!

You can always edit your existing post, if you've changed your mind about anything.

The "top 6 vote-getters" are what they are, whether or not any are tied.   The only (unlikely) issue would be if there's a tie specifically for 6th place, that would require a run-off.

Fair enough - in my experience, it's always been a very specific contractual thing as to when artists are allowed to add shots to their reels - usually because the studio mandates it.  At best it isn't until the movie debuts, often it isn't until it's released on video.   But of course I haven't worked with every company, some may not have that requirement.  Or if they just never get around to making you sign a contract at all, then rock on. 

Cute story from my Tippett days, I got a reel from an animator who specifically said in his cover letter:  "I'm not supposed to release these clips yet, but I thought you'd find them interesting."  Well yes, is IS interesting that you'd actually tell us, your next prospective employer, that you are openly ignoring the terms of your contract with your previous employer.  I mean, jeezus, at least don't say that. 

Great Train Robbery is a goodie, and the movie version wasn't half bad either as I recall, though it seems mostly forgotten now.

Andromeda Strain - though it's been quite a while since I last read it - has a lot of significance for me because I read it when I was quite young, and found it fascinating.   The movie came out not long after, and I got to go see it for my birthday.    The movie I did see again not that long ago, and like most older movies it's a little slow by modern standards, but it's almost entirely about scientists doing science, actual credible science at that.  For that reason alone it still rates high on my list.

I have to say Eaters of the Dead is another fave book, though maybe just because I felt so smart when I realized Crichton was creating a "real" version of the origin of the tale of Beowulf.   I even like the movie version, even though it's one of those movies that got a reputation for being bad before anyone ever saw it.  Yeah, Antonio Banderas as an Arab is a stretch, but there's a lot of good stuff in that one.

/lo, there do I see the face of my father....

Well, other than there's officially no such thing, sure. 

True,  there is a vague precedent that Lucasfilm chooses not to prosecute such things - they didn't take any action against The Phantom Edit, nor any of the other thousands of remixes online, because George finds them amusing.   They're all still copyright violations, they just go unprosecuted.

Which is fine unless SOPA passes, at which point it's not just George's call, the Department of Justice can step in and enforce the law.  They're not as cuddly as George, apparently.

I rather doubt SOPA will ever become law, or that yet another re-edit of the prequels would actually run into legal trouble.  I have to say that it astounds me that here on a website mostly for media professionals, we talk so blithely about committing felonies... without at least acknowledging that that's what they are. 

Now that's interesting...   it would take a copyright lawyer to really sort that out, but I wonder if that would indeed be less actionable.   It involves no transmission or reproduction of someone else's media, so I would think so.

Some clever person should come up with a "universal EDL" app that re-edits existing works, and you just trade the EDL data.  Or does that exist already?   Hmmm.

Blunt the knives and bend the forks!
Smash the bottles and burn the corks!
Eddie's making food for dorks!

Actually, this sounds fun.  I may have to bring a dish myself..... maybe Gimli's Malt Beerrrrrr and Red Meat Off The Bone...

Well, first they'll have to get nominated, but as I said last year (readable earlier in this thread) I suspect Harry P. will get nominated this year, retroactively, for a decade's worth of almost entirely awesome work.

As for whether it will ultimately WIN, well, that's up to the voters of the entire Academy, not just the VFX branch.  But I think there's enough general awareness of the Potter films to make it the front runner.

I agree that Apes is one of the few contenders on the list that could spoil it for Harry, but I think the one Harry really should worry about is Tree of Life (assuming IT makes the cut).  The movie has that "important" feel to it that Academy voters love to vote for in other categories, and hardly ever get to vote on in VFX.

This is all being said before the bakeoff of course, the vibe on the night might be different and my suspicions may change.   I'm planning to go, as usual.   Who's in?

Interesting to note that there's been another rules change this year - last year they upped the final nominees to five (before last year, there were only three VFX finalists), and this year they upped the bakeoff list from seven to ten films... and meanwhile cut the length of the reels from fifteen minutes down to ten.  (Understandable because otherwise the event would end at two in the damn morning.)   So this year there will be many more people staggering on and off the stage, all with 30% less screen time to showcase their fx.   It'll be interesting to see if that changes the dynamics at all.

All I can say is what I said in the commentary itself - the subject matter of Social Network was of no interest to me before I saw it, and I couldn't imagine how it could be an interesting, entertaining movie.  And yet, somehow it was.

To be fair, I haven't seen Moneyball yet, because if there's one thing I care less about than Facebook, it's baseball... and yet I've heard a lot of good things, so I'll probably check it out.

I gather that Social Network and Moneyball decided to stay (basically) true to the real-life events they portrayed, and real life rarely comes with tidy happy endings.  So if that's not your thing, fair enough.