The Academy Award for Best Production Design recognizes achievement for art direction in film. The category's original name was Best Art Direction, but was changed to its current name in 2012 for the 85th Academy Awards. This change resulted from the Art Directors' branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) being renamed the Designers' branch. Since 1947, the award is shared with the set decorators. It is awarded to the best interior design in a film.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion pictures. The Academy's corporate management and general policies are overseen by a board of governors, which includes representatives from each of the craft branches.
The Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling is the Academy Award given to the best achievement in makeup and hairstyling for film. Traditionally, three films have been nominated each year with exceptions in the early 1980s and 2002 when there were only two nominees; in 1999, when there were four nominees. Beginning with the 92nd Academy Awards, five films were nominated.
The Academy Award for Best Visual Effects is an Academy Award given for the best achievement in visual effects.
The Academy Award for Best Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. For 33 consecutive years, 1981 to 2013, every Best Picture winner had also been nominated for the Film Editing Oscar, and about two thirds of the Best Picture winners have also won for Film Editing. Only the principal, "above the line" editor(s) as listed in the film's credits are named on the award; additional editors, supervising editors, etc. are not currently eligible.
OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies released in France as OSS 117 : Le Caire, nid d'espions, is a 2006 French spy comedy film directed and co-written by Michel Hazanavicius in his feature film debut. It stars Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, and Aure Atika. Set in 1955, the film follows the exploits of the French secret agent Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath / OSS 117, as he is sent to Cairo to investigate the disappearance of his best friend and fellow spy Jack Jefferson, only to stumble into a web of international intrigue.
Jean Edmond Dujardin is a French actor and comedian. He began his career as a stand-up comedian in Paris before guest starring in comedic television programmes and films. He first came to prominence with the cult TV series Un gars, une fille, in which he starred alongside his partner Alexandra Lamy, before gaining success in film with movies such as Brice de Nice, Michel Hazanavicius's OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies and its sequel OSS 117: Lost in Rio, as well as 99 Francs.
Bérénice Bejo is a French-Argentine actress best known for playing Christiana in A Knight's Tale (2001) and Peppy Miller in The Artist (2011). Her work in the latter earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and won her the César Award for Best Actress. For her performance in The Past, she won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival in 2013 and was nominated for a César.
Michel Hazanavicius is a French film director, screenwriter, editor, and producer. He is best known for his 2011 film, The Artist, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 84th Academy Awards. It also won him the Academy Award for Best Director. He also directed spy film parodies OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (2006) and OSS 117: Lost in Rio (2009).
The Artist is a 2011 French comedy-drama film in the style of a black-and-white silent film or part-talkie. The film was written and directed by Michel Hazanavicius, produced by Thomas Langmann and stars Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo. The story takes place in Hollywood, between 1927 and 1932, and focuses on the relationship between a rising young actress and an older silent film star as silent cinema falls out of fashion and is replaced by the "talkies".
Ludovic Bource is a French composer best known for his work in film scoring. He rose to international critical acclaim in 2011 for composing the Golden Globe- and Academy Award-winning score for The Artist.
The 65th British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, were held on 12 February 2012 at the Royal Opera House in London, honouring the best national and foreign films of 2011. The nominations were announced on 17 January 2012 by actor Daniel Radcliffe and actress Holliday Grainger. Presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, accolades are handed out for the best feature-length film and documentaries of any nationality that were screened at British cinemas in 2011. Stephen Fry, who hosted from 2001 to 2006, returned to host the ceremony. The Artist won seven awards out of its twelve nominations, including Best Film, Best Director for Michel Hazanavicius, and Best Actor for Jean Dujardin. Meryl Streep won Best Actress for The Iron Lady. Christopher Plummer won Best Supporting Actor for Beginners and Octavia Spencer won Best Supporting Actress for The Help. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, directed by Tomas Alfredson, was voted Outstanding British Film of 2011. Director Martin Scorsese was given the BAFTA Fellowship and Sir John Hurt garnered the BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award.
Thomas Langmann is a French film producer and actor, known for producing The Artist (2011), for which he received an Academy Award for Best Picture as producer in 2012.
The 37th César Awards ceremony, presented by the French Academy of Cinema Arts and Techniques, was held on 24 February 2012, at the Théâtre du ChâThe Artist won six out of its ten nominations, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Cinematography. The ceremony was chaired by Guillaume Canet, with Antoine de Caunes as master of ceremonies. Nominations were announced 27 January 2012.
Jarin Blaschke is an American cinematographer, best known for his work on the psychological horror film The Lighthouse, which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
The Artist (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the 2011 French comedy-drama film of the same name directed by Michel Hazanavicius, and stars Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo in the lead. The film features original score composed by Ludovic Bource, Michel's norm collaborator, and the album consists of 24 tracks of Bource's score, which also incorporates works from other composers such as Alberto Ginastera's "Estancia".
