R.I.P. Ennio Morricone (1928-2020)

On July 6, 2020 composer Ennio Morricone died at the age of 91 in Rome, Italy. Over the course of 60 years, he has been known as one of the most prolific musicians in history. With over 400 movie scores to his credit, the Oscar-winning composer is considered one of the most influential and important in his field, producing such masterpieces as The Good The Bad and The Ugly. While he never moved to America, his collaborations with various American filmmakers remain unparalleled, managing to bring their voices to life in meaningful and exciting ways. While he's gone, his endless body of work will continue to live on in meaningful and exciting ways.

Check This Out: "The Hateful Eight" Extended Edition Comes to Netflix (With a Catch!)

There's a lot of reason to have Quentin Tarantino on the brain in 2019. Along with this year marking the 25th anniversary of Pulp Fiction, he is returning to cinemas this summer with the highly anticipated Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood. Despite the barrage of reasons to celebrate, there's one that falls on the curious side, especially given that the director isn't often associated with TV miniseries. His Oscar-winning 2016 film The Hateful Eight received a lot of acclaim during its theatrical run and gave the filmmaker one of his longest running times. It's hard to imagine, but there was an even longer Roadshow cut that was hard to see outside of theaters... until Netflix. The only catch is that you'll have to watch it, albeit in a fairly butchered form.

"Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" Will Only Have 2 Screens Showing Its Intended Version

Scene from Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

For those keeping tallies on reviews for upcoming Oscar movies, one should easily be concerned about director Ang Lee's Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. The general consensus is that the director behind such acclaimed hits as Brokeback Mountain and Life of Pi is unable to strike gold in the ambitious 120 frames per second (FPS) format that his latest film works within. The story has also received some negative reviews, causing worry for anyone expecting the ambitious director to show up big this Oscar season. However, those wanting to take Lee on benefit of the doubt will likely be unable to see the magic of the 120 FPS format. In a recent report, there will only be two actual theaters currently equipped to hand its ambitious nature.

Super Delegates Bonus: The Lincoln Letter in "The Hateful Eight" (2015)

Samuel L. Jackson in The Hateful Eight

Welcome to Super Delegates Bonus. As a subsidiary of Super Delegates, the sporadic additional column is meant to explore depictions of politicians on film outside of the conventional methods of the column. This ranges from everything such as political candidates in TV movies and miniseries to real life candidates providing feedback on their pop culture representation. While not as frequent or conventional, the goal is to help provide a vaster look at politics on film as it relates to the modern election year. Join in and have some fun. One can only imagine what will be covered here.

Here's the Dates For the Last 5 Weeks of Super Delegates

Scene from All the King's Men

If you're a loyal reader to The Oscar Buzz, you'll likely notice that the past few months have introduced a special column called Super Delegates. This was done specifically to focus on politicians in Oscar-nominated films, as well as a few bonus columns dedicated to special depictions from other less prestigious resources. With today marking the one month countdown to America's big election on November 8, it is time to start closing up shop. That means that the column (which I assure you will come back in four years, if The Oscar Buzz is still viable) is coming to an end. As a treat, I thought that I would clue in readers to the final countdown, which will all lead up to November 8th's entry covering the only politician-lead movie to win Best Picture: All the King's Men. So, what else made the cut? Read on to find out.

Failed Oscar Campaigns: "The Hateful Eight" (2015)

Scene from The Hateful Eight

As awards seasons pick up, so do the campaigns to make your film have the best chances at the Best Picture race. However, like a drunken stupor, sometimes these efforts come off as trying too hard and leave behind a trailer of ridiculous flamboyance. Join me on every other Saturday for a highlight of the failed campaigns that make this season as much about prestige as it does about train wrecks. Come for the Harvey Weinstein comments and stay for the history. It's going to be a fun time as I explore cinema's rich history of attempting to matter.

Here is the Official List of Every 2016 Oscar Winner

The cast and crew of Spotlight winning Best Picture

There you have it, everyone. Another Academy Awards ceremony is in the books. With a competitive, unpredictable year, it was nice to know that the winners this were just as random as the moments leading up to it. But, who won all of the awards? Who won the most? Spotlight walked away with the Best Picture, but very little else, while Mad Max: Fury Road left with six. If you wish to know who won in every category, click the jump to see the results. Also, I will answer the proverbial question that comes with each post-ceremony recap: how did I do? To say the least, it wasn't my best year even if I'm not mad at who won.

How Did I Do?: A Look Back at My August Oscar Predictions

Scene from Carol

Back in August, I wrote my premature, pre-Oscar season predictions for the main categories for this year's nominees. To say the least, it's an interesting list that manages to miss the point, ignoring films like Room, Brooklyn, and The Big Short all together. But, did I really do as bad as I have made it out to be? The following is a rundown of the list that will feature my original picks first followed by the actual results. If there's any embarrassing or profound comment to accompany this, I will also share them. So, step into the time capsule and recognize just how surprising 2015's Academy class ended up being and how rapidly things could change between August and January.

My Predictions for This Year's Top 6 Oscar Category Nominations

This is it, everyone Tomorrow is the day when we finally discover who all of this year's Oscar nominees are. What has made 2015 a very interesting season is that while we've had a front runner (Spotlight), we haven't had as clear of a road map for every other category. With that said, this could either become yet another conventional year, mirroring last year's "Oscars So White" backlash; or we can be seeing a random year where Mad Max: Fury Road and other blockbusters manage to compete for Oscar gold. The following is my predictions for the six big categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress. It's a difficult year to predict, and I am likely to be wrong in some ways (as I usually am). However, join in the fun and share the picks that you feel are deserving of nominations, and return to The Oscar Buzz tomorrow morning for in depth reporting and commentary on every high and every low.

My Top 10 Picks for Oscar Nomination Long Shots

Chris Rock

Ladies and gentlemen, we are only a few days away from learning who will be on this year's Oscar nominations list. It's an exciting time, notably because the season has been very unpredictable this year. With major upsets shown in the past, Spotlight isn't as safe of a front runner as one would've initially expected. While I do intend to share my overall predictions for the major categories, I present you today with my long shots. The following is 10 nominations that I really want to happen, but will likely not for whatever reason. It's my own hypothetical hope for The Oscars, and more my desire to see the better film make the cut. Check them out, and leave your own long shots below. Then come back in a few days and see just how unlikely these options were.

Tarantino to Turn "The Hateful Eight" into a Stage Play

Tarantino on the set of The Hateful Eight

Fresh off of claiming that film composers are "ghetto," director Quentin Tarantino has given hint to what his next project may be. While this set-up is usually regarded in the way of his next film, it is actually in reference to his first foray into live theater.  For those that have seen The Hateful Eight, it is likely that you felt that it could have been done as a stage production. Well, the good news is that once this whole awards season is over, Tarantino may very well be turning his script into theater. 

The 10 Best and Worst Moments of This Year's Golden Globes

Left to right: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Leonardo DiCaprio

Last night marked this year's Golden Globes, in which the big winners were The Revenant and The Martian. However, it is also likely the year when the ceremony itself became irrelevant to TV viewers without access to their own minibar. You see, with returning host Ricky Gervais, the show's three hour run felt like an eternity not because it was a slow year (though the winners weren't exceptional), but because nobody cared. Yes, The Golden Globes have long been The Razzies of prestigious movie awards, but usually their ceremonies are fun moments to have people let loose. The following is a look at the highs and lows of the show as it relates to Oscar culture. Prepare for a ride through the drollness.

Review: "The Hateful Eight" is Like a Great Dinner Mystery Show, With Bloody Results

Scene from The Hateful Eight

It's easy to forget the impact that director Quentin Tarantino made back in 1992 with Reservoir Dogs. While Pulp Fiction would take most of the credit, the film introduced an American voice that mixed stylized violence, witty dialogue, and movie references into a blender and produced an impressive heist drama that featured none of the heist. It was a small ingenuity that made him the talk of the town, causing him to get even more high concept with each passing film. However, one cannot help but think of Reservoir Dogs when watching The Hateful Eight; being reminded of how powerful Tarantino could be with limited locations. Even if his latest structurally feels like it owes some debt to his debut, it's possibly his most ambitious attempt to make a real movie with real messages beyond the blood and guts.

Check Out the 112 Finalists on the Best Original Score Shortlist

Michael Fassbender in Steve Jobs

The short lists keep on coming. While yesterday saw me tackle a variety of categories, I am choosing to focus solely on one for the Best Original Score list. More than the other field, this category is probably too subjective and controversial for me on a year-to-year basis. While there's certain ones that give me problems (the definition of "original"), I do think that sometimes The Academy gets it right, as the music used to emphasize emotional or action sequences are important to the film. This year's shortlist features 112 scores, including the absence of one of this year's biggest contenders (The Revenant, by Ryuichi Sakamoto). The following is a list of every contender, followed by the composer in parenthesis. There will also be opinions following the list for the ones that stand out to me.

Tarantino Mad at Disney for Stealing His Theater Venue for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"

For those who love movies, there's a good chance that you're already making plans to see director Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight (if you're lucky, you can see it in 70 mm next week). With the typical great reviews already pouring in, it feels like things are going the directors way, right? Well, not everything exactly. This past morning, Tarantino appeared on The Howard Stern show to discuss why his plan for a great release has been foiled by Disney because of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It isn't just because the latest in the franchise will likely trump its box office. It's also because it's taken away something very personal and important to Tarantino's release plan: The Cinerama Dome. 

Check Out the 100 Locations Where You Can See "The Hateful Eight" Roadshow

Scene from The Hateful Eight

If you're one of those film nerds, you're likely gearing up to see director Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight. You're likely even excited about the "roadshow" version, which is slightly longer and features more trinkets. With the "roadshow" version planned for next week, you're likely wondering where you can check it out. Well, there's good news for some of you. With the film planned to be released in 100 locations, it will be a small but worthwhile venture for those who live near the cities. The following is a list of the 100 locations of which you can check it out. For those interested, get psyched for Christmas with one of the bloodiest films of the season.

Tarantino Reveals Why Django Was Not in "The Hateful Eight"

Jamie Foxx in Django Unchained

With the release of director Quentin Tarantino's latest film The Hateful Eight only weeks away, it feels like a great time to pull up old retrospectives about his career. With a great ear for dialogue and some of the best stylized violence in mainstream cinema, the director has slowly built his way into being one of the most definitive voices of his generation. Among his more controversial films is 2012's Django Unchained, which starred Jamie Foxx as a freed slave who seeks revenge on his white captors in a bloody, anachronistic fashion. While these two films share relations to the western genre, there's something else that they have in common. Django almost appeared in The Hateful Eight.

Harvey Weinstein is Disappointed With This Oscar Season

Harvey Weinstein

If you're someone who follows Oscars culture annually, there's certain names that you have on your Rolodex. There is, of course, Meryl Streep, David O. Russell, and Steven Spielberg. Among the producers that will usually be good for a news piece or two, there's Harvey Weinstein of The Weinstein Company and former head of Miramax. At The Oscar Buzz, he is someone of constant reference, especially in the Failed Oscar Campaigns column; of which he's been the subject of using bizarre tactics for Oscar nominations. However, the man who helped to give the world films like Pulp Fiction and Shakespeare in Love has come forward in a recent op-ed piece regarding his personal thoughts on Oscar season. Apparently, he's not happy with how things have turned out.

Check Out the Track List for "The Hateful Eight"

Samuel L. Jackson

There's a good chance that, like most people, you are getting very exciting by the upcoming film from director Quentin Tarantino called The Hateful Eight. His second venture into western-themed storytelling is schedule for a special Christmas release, then followed by a January 2016 wide release. While there's a good chance that you likely have seen the footage and have prepared yourself, it's been awhile since we've heard anything regarding the soundtrack, which is supposed to be penned by compose Ennio Morricone. Today marks the release of the soundtrack, which features Morricone, but a few other surprises from rock and pop artists that you've likely heard. Click to find out who's on the compilation.

The 70mm Version of "The Hateful Eight" to Have Alternative Cut

Samuel L. Jackson in The Hateful Eight

It is likely that as Oscar season heats up, you're already marking your calendar of all the big films. Among the obvious selections is director Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight. With a great first trailer, it looks to keep the eccentric director in top shape. With the film planned to also feature the widest 70mm film release in history, it's going to be special this winter. However, there's a new wrinkle to the release plan. If you're going to be seeing The Hateful Eight, there's a good chance that you will be seeing two different versions pop up. You can thank the 70mm release for that.