Hellboy Wallpaper, #7204

Related: OSCARS: 85th Academy Award Nominations The six-part video series Behind The Ballot that launched today on Oscar.com features panels of experts breaking down what Oscar voters look for in contenders for Production Design, Cinematography, Makeup & Hairstyling, Film Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Costume Design. In the seemingly endless chatter about the marquee categories during an awards season that seems to get longer every year, it’s a refreshing initiative that shines a light on the behind-the-scenes folks that form the backbone of the year’s best movies. A new video will debut each week — the lead-off panel is Cinematography, which features a chat with DPs Daryn Okada, Theo van de Sande and Mandy Walker (check it out below). Here’s the full lineup announced today by the Academy: Production Design: Scott Chambliss, “Cowboys & Aliens,” “Star Trek,” “Mission: Impossible III” Alex McDowell, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Minority Report,” “Fight Club” Jeannine Oppewall, “Catch Me If You Can,” “Pleasantville,” “L.A. Confidential” Bo Welch, “Men in Black,” “Batman Returns,” “Edward Scissorhands” Makeup and Hairstyling: Cydney Cornell, “The Artist,” “The Aviator,” “American Beauty” Mike Elizalde, “Hellboy II: The Golden Army,” “Fantastic Four,” “Men in Black” Beth Miller, “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” “The Nutty Professor,” “Dances with Wolves,” Christien Tinsley, “No Country for Old Men,” “The Passion of the Christ,” “Ocean’s Eleven” Film Editing: Mark Goldblatt, “X-Men The Last Stand,” “Armageddon,” “The Terminator” Virginia Katz, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1,” “Dreamgirls,” “Kinsey” Lynzee Klingman, “Man on the Moon,” ... Read More »

Today, Alfred Hitchcock’s "The Man Who Knew Too Much" will officially be available on Blu-ray via The Criterion Collection. To honor its release, Criterion has posted a video on YouTube of Guillermo del Toro ("Hellboy," "Pan’s Labyrinth") speaking very fondly of the film and of Hitchcock. Del Toro explains why he considers the 1934 film to be the earliest evidence of Hitchcock’s greatness. The clip is part of a longer interview that Guillermo del Toro did for Criterion, and the rest can be found in the special features of the DVD/Blu-Ray disc. Also notable among those special features are audio excerpts between the Master Of Suspense and Francois Truffaut, from back when Truffaut had conducted a long series of interviews with Hitchcock in 1962. The biggest draw would of course be the new digital restoration of the film itself. Surely the Blu-ray will be the must-have item for any cinephile and Hitchcock fan. Meanwhile, this...