Top Gun - 42% Risky Business - 27% Jerry Maguire - 11% Eyes Wide Shut - 6% Mission Impossible - 5% A Few Good Men - 4% The Firm - 2% Vanilla Sky - 2% TOP Write in BALLOT: Magnolia
Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire" added another kudo to its list of honors on Sunday as it was named one of the year's eight "Moments of Significance" by the AFI.
The pic "stands as a monument to the possibilities of cross-cultural storytelling," the American Film Institute said Sunday.
Tina Fey also picked up another laurel, with AFI dubbing her America's First Lady of Laughs for her appearances as GOP veep candidate Sarah Palin on "Saturday Night Live" and for her multi-tasking on her Peacock sitcom "30 Rock."
Other significant moments in 2008 included TV and new-media coverage that allowed a worldwide aud to fixate on the historic presidential race between Barack Obama and John McCain and NBC's coverage of the Summer Olympics in Beijing.
The rapid changes in the TV distribution landscape were noted by AFI as being part of the "Age of Anxiety" for showbiz as traditional business models evolve. The org cited such examples as the growth of Internet website Hulu, DirecTV's funding of a third season of NBC's "Friday Night Lights" and the Peacock's decision to move Jay Leno into a Monday-Friday primetime berth.
Joss Whedon's online success with his made-for-Internet tuner "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" earned a separate nod.
On the film side, AFI noted the downturn for indie filmmakers, with specialty divisions such as Paramount Vantage, New Line, Warner Independent and Picturehouse disappearing. It also noted the loss of influence for film critics as many full-time positions were eliminated at Time, Newsweek, Los Angeles Times, Village Voice and Newsday.
SAG NEEDING TO FIND EXIT STRATEGY FOR STRIKE
As the evidence mounts that SAG’s 122,000-plus members are in no mood to approve a strike authorization vote, the guild’s top two bosses seem to be twisting in the chilly December wind, looking for reinforcement on their ill-advised decisions as the contract negotiations impasse continues with Hollywood’s majors.
The glaring disconnect between Screen Actors Guild prexy Alan Rosenberg and national exec director Doug Allen and the will of the membership is spurring talk of Allen’s ouster as a means of breaking the guild’s months-long stalemate with the majors.
The latest maneuver from SAG’s leaders came Dec. 22, when Allen advised members via email that the strike authorization vote, originally skedded to commence Jan. 2, would be delayed until after SAG holds an emergency national board meeting on Jan. 12-13.
According to Allen, the powwow is needed to “address the unfortunate division and restore consensus” among SAG leaders for the strike authorization vote. Rosenberg said it would also give the guild more time for “member education and outreach” on why SAG leaders need to have the club of a strike threat in their back pocket.
The move to delay is a reaction to the rising chorus of SAG members saying “What are you, nuts?” in response to the guild’s call for a strike authorization vote. That list includes the bulk of the guild’s New York board, which requested the emergency meeting; the Chicago board; and more than 1,500 members, many of them marquee names, who have vowed to vote against the authorization.
CLASSIC FILMS
BY GENRE
The Reader
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Valkyrie
Bedtime Stories
Marley and Me
Milk
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
Nothing Like the Holidays
Yes man
Slumdog Millionaire
Frost/Nixon
The Day the Earth Stood Still
