With “Frozen” opening today, the received wisdom that it’s the film to beat for the Best Animated Feature Oscar will be further concretized. And while a win for the film would be a first for Disney, it’d follow very much in the tradition of past champions in the 13-year-old category. Jen Chaney writes how the Academy’s choices for the award — however deserving — have reinforced the commonly held notion of animation as chiefly a kids’ medium, and how Miyazaki’s more adult-focused “The Wind Rises” presents an opportunity for the award to come of age. “An animated film that deals with complicated, non-child-friendly themes, or visuals that don”t match the playful picture-book aesthetic… [may be viewed] as a negative instead of a potentially refreshing, groundbreaking departure,” she writes, before going on to suggest that the Academy’s new, more inclusive voting system in the category means “that unintentional bias could become even more of an issue.” [The Dissolve]
Public voting is now open for the Empire Awards, in all categories from Best Film to Best Female Newcomer. Fly, my pretties. [Empire]
Like “Blue is the Warmest Color,” “The Wolf of Wall Street” is three hours long. Unlike “Blue is the Warmest Color,” it’s had sex scenes removed to dodge the NC-17 rating. [Hollywood Reporter]
Historian Alex von Tunzelmann gives “Saving Mr. Banks” the once-over — and notes some significant omissions from its portrait of P.L. Travers. [The Guardian]
The real-life Philomena Lee talks about watching Judi Dench play her on screen. She calls it an unholy travesty. OK, she doesn’t, but wouldn’t that be more interesting? [LA Times]
Peter Berg explains how they “almost lost” Mark Wahlberg on the set of “Lone Survivor.” They found him again, presumably. [Variety]
The International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam has announced its nominations. [IDFA]
“The Selfish Giant” director Clio Barnard has been awarded the first screenwriting fellowship from the BFI and UK medical charity Wellcome Trust, to explore scientific and medical issues in a future film. [Screen Daily]
Winona Ryder is more keen to talk about “Homeland” than “Homefront,” and has a David Hare BBC thriller coming up. Yay, Winona! [Daily Beast]