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In what has become something of a tradition, this year’s best foreign language film Oscar shortlist — which was announced this morning by the Academy — is prompting outrage in some circles, and I can understand why. Despite the existence of a 20-person executive committee that was created in 2008 with the sole purpose of rectifying glaring omissions made by the general committee who screen and score all of the submissions — the latter group picks six films and then the former group adds three more — we still have wound up with a list this year that snubs several of the most popular and respected films eligible for the category.

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By Sean O’Connell

The excellent “A Separation” won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Feature on Sunday evening.

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By Sean O’Connell

Pedro Almodovar’s “The Skin I Live In” was the classiest horror movie I’ve seen in some time (and if you’ve seen the twisted places the director goes with his passionate play, you understand the unnerving scares that await newcomers).

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A short time ago, the Writers Guild of America announced its nominees for the 64th annual WGA Awards, which celebrate the year’s best adapted and original screenplays. The nominees will be feted and the winners announced on February 19 during simultaneous ceremonies on both coasts.

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By Scott Mendelson

This is the third of several year-end wrap essays detailing the year in film. This time, it’s about highlighting the good or great films that slipped under the radar somehow. Some got rave reviews and wide releases but stiffed at the box office while some never made it out of limited release. All are worth tracking down and all are, with one exception I will point out, now available on DVD/Blu Ray/download/etc. And nearly all of them are not hardcore independent films, but seemingly mainstream dramas and comedies that would have likely merited a wide release even a few years ago. Once again, these will be inalphabetical order.

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The following list and remarks reflect my personal opinions and do/will not in any way impact my projections or analysis on this site, wherein I strive above all else to correctly forecast what will happen, not what I believe should happen.

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Early this morning, the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) — of which I am proud to be a voting member –revealed its nominations for the 17th annual Critics’ Choice Awards, which will take place on January 12 in Hollywood.

In recent years, the BFCA’s choices have correlated with the Academy’s as often as any of the early awards groups’. Last year, the two agreed on nine out of 10 best picture nominees and 18 acting nominees (though, in fairness, the BFCA sometimes includes six nominees in each acting category, whereas the Academy always has just five), and for the past two years they agreed on the same four acting winners. It is a pattern that is hard to explain, since they have literally no overlap — the BFCA is composed of roughly 250 journalists, while the Academy is made up of over 6,000 filmmakers — but it is also one that is hard to ignore. Consequently, people like me who try to predict the Oscars pay very close attention to what the BFCA has to say.

So what are the big trends and take-aways from today’s announcement?

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As most of us prepare to give thanks, some among us — particularly young and up-and-  coming film composers — are saying please, as in, “Please Academy, give us a chance!”

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The 15th annual Hollywood Awards took place on Monday night at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, kicking off a months-long season of self-congratulations and chicken dinners shared by the same core group of people.

There is something special about this event, though, because it offers industry observers our first opportunity to see how dozens of awards hopefuls handle the spotlight. There is no tension about who will get called to the podium, since the honorees are announced weeks before the ceremony (determined by the event’s executive director Carlos de Abreu and a panel of advisors), but there is still plenty on the line. Indeed, a highlight clip, introduction, or acceptance speech can immensely help or hurt a contender’s prospects, as the many studio publicists, executives, and chiefs in attendance (including The Weinstein Company’s Harvey Weinstein and Sony Pictures Classics’s Michael Barker) were well aware.

Based on what I was able to gauge last night from a seat in the audience and access that I was exclusively granted to the backstage area and green room throughout the show, nobody really set themselves back very much at this particular awards show, but a few people certainly came away from the festivities stronger than they entered them.

Some highlights…

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I’m very pleased to bring you the third episode of “Feinberg & Friends,” a podcast that will air on The Race every week, usually on Tuesdays. Each episode features a discussion between me and a different guest — a film blogger, critic or journalist of some other variation — about 10 different awards-related topics (which we will list in the text accompanying the audio so that you know exactly what you’re signing up for) and will last approximately 30 minutes (so that if one topic is not of particular interest to you it will only be about three minutes before we’re on to the next one, which hopefully will be).

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