Another day, another “open letter.” Closed letters are under-appreciated, as are, you know, articles. Still, Martin Scorsese’s open letter to his daughter Francesca — effectively an excuse for him to wax lyrical about the current (and future) state of film — is coming from a good place, and a welcome corrective to all those “cinema is dead” thinkpieces that surface on an annual basis: “I don”t want to repeat what has been said and written by so many others before me, about all the changes in the business, and I”m heartened by the exceptions to the overall trend in moviemaking – Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater, David Fincher, Alexander Payne, the Coen Brothers, James Gray and Paul Thomas Anderson are all managing to get pictures made, and Paul not only got The Master made in 70mm, he even got it shown that way in a few cities. Anyone who cares about cinema should be thankful.” [Espresso]
Armond White says reports of him verbally abusing Steve McQueen at the NYFCC Awards are entirely fabricated. [Hollywood Reporter]
Ramin Setoodeh reports from the National Board of Review awards, where Meryl Streep had a good go at Walt Disney. [Variety]
Spike Jonze on the scene he found hardest to write in “Her.” [Vulture]
Tim Gray addresses four misconceptions about Oscar precursor awards. [Variety]
Nathaniel Rogers, Sasha Stone, Kurt Osenlund and Christopher Rosen gather to discuss some of their pre-nomination concerns and question marks. [Film Experience]
Melanie Goodfellow on why French cinema looks to be facing a tough year. [Screen Daily]
Historian Alex von Tunzelmann is bowled over by “12 Years a Slave,” giving it her highest-ever rating on the history front. [The Guardian]
Thomas Vinterberg on what led him to make “The Hunt,” casting Mads Mikkelsen against type and why Denmark’s film industry is flourishing. [New York Times]
Steve Pond weighs up the winners and losers from the Guild nominations thus far. [The Wrap]