With a DVD/Blu-ray release imminent, Paramount is milking the “Super 8” comeback train while splitting focus with other awards contenders already in the mix. It’s always tough to bring the conversation back around on a movie, especially on a summer entertainment hoping to be something more in the eyes of voters. One move was a big screening and reception at the Academy last night in honor of the release, part and parcel of a campaign party free-for-all this season. Director J.J. Abrams recently sat down with Geoff Boucher to talk about the big lessons of small budgets (conservative spending being a particular narrative on that film all year). [Hero Complex]
Pete Hammond, meanwhile, writes up that campaign party free-for-all as the inevitable result of loosened rules that it is. [Deadline]
Errol Morris mini-docs The Umbrella Man at Dealy Plaza. [New York Times]
Speaking of docs, the Academy has “The Lottery” and “Waiting for ‘Superman'” set to screen for free in Hollywood. [Oscars.org]
Greg Ellwood thinks Meryl Streep will break her Oscar losing streak with “The Iron Lady.” [Awards Campaign]
Viggo Mortensen wants the Oscars to recognize David Cronenberg. [Vulture]
Scott Feinberg on the complicated line between serious and light-hearted Golden Globe contenders. [The Race]
Why the Globes, meanwhile, crawled back to Ricky Gervais. [Hollywood Reporter]
Jim Henson and the Muppet legacy he left behind. [Film School Rejects]
All you need to dupe the internet: a white door and a dry erase board. [Batman-News.com]