Beverly Hills, CA — Sixty-five countries have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 82nd Academy Awards®, Academy President Tom Sherak announced today.

The 2009 submissions are:

Albania, “Alive!,” Artan Minarolli, director;

Argentina, “El Secreto de Sus Ojos,” Juan Jose Campanella, director;

Armenia, “Autumn of the Magician,” Rouben Kevorkov and Vaheh Kevorkov, directors;

Australia, “Samson & Delilah,” Warwick Thornton, director;

Austria, “For a Moment Freedom,” Arash T. Riahi, director;

Bangladesh, “Beyond the Circle,” Golam Rabbany Biplob, director;

Belgium, “The Misfortunates,” Felix van Groeningen, director;

Bolivia, “Zona Sur,” Juan Carlos Valdivia, director;

Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Nightguards,” Namik Kabil, director;

Brazil, “Time of Fear,” Sergio Rezende, director;

Bulgaria, “The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks around the Corner,” Stephan Komandarev, director;

Canada, “I Killed My Mother,” Xavier Dolan, director;

Chile, “Dawson, Isla 10,” Miguel Littin, director;

China, “Forever Enthralled,” Chen Kaige, director;

Colombia, “The Wind Journeys,” Ciro Guerra, director;

Croatia, “Donkey,” Antonio Nuic, director;

Cuba, “Fallen Gods,” Ernesto Daranas, director;

Czech Republic, “Protektor,” Marek Najbrt, director;

Denmark, “Terribly Happy,” Henrik Ruben Genz, director;

Estonia, “December Heat,” Asko Kase, director;

Finland, “Letters to Father Jacob,” Klaus Haro, director;

France, “Un Prophete,” Jacques Audiard, director;

Georgia, “The Other Bank,” George Ovashvili, director;

Germany, “The White Ribbon,” Michael Haneke, director;

Greece, “Slaves in Their Bonds,” Tony Lykouressis, director;

Hong Kong, “Prince of Tears,” Yonfan, director;

Hungary, “Chameleon,” Krisztina Goda, director;

Iceland, “Reykjavik-Rotterdam,” Oskar Jonasson, director;

India, “Harishchandrachi Factory,” Paresh Mokashi, director;

Indonesia, “Jamila and the President,” Ratna Sarumpaet;

Iran, “About Elly,” Asghar Farhadi, director;

Israel, “Ajami,” Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani, director;

Italy, “Baaria,” Giuseppe Tornatore, director;

Japan, “Nobody to Watch over Me,” Ryoichi

... Read More »

WEDNESDAY, February 18th
6:30PM Children Mending Hearts Event
Sheryl Crowe will perform, Anderson Cooper will be honored
House of Blues, 8430 Sunset Blvd, Hollywood

6:30PM-9:30PM Swarovski 2009 Award Season Celebration
Thompson Hotel, 9360 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills

7PM-9PM Vanity Fair Dior Party
Hosted by Wendy Stark Morissey, LACMA and BMW
LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles

7:30PM Milk Private Dinner hosted by William Morris Agency
Chateau Marmont, 8221 West Sunset Blvd, Hollywood

8PM Alfre Woodard Dinner Honoring Taraji Henson, Viola Davis

THURSDAY, February 19
1PM Essence Honors Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon
Beverly Hills Hotel, 9641 Sunset Blvd, Beverly Hills

4PM GBK hosts Industry Mixer to celebrate 81st Academy Awards
SLS Hotel, 465 S. La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles

5:30PM Moet and Australians in Film
For nominees Kirk Bakster, Heath Ledger, Katherine Martin, Lee Smith, Ben Snow
And to present the first annual Heath Ledger scholarship
Chateau Marmont, 8221 West Sunset Blvd, Hollywood

6PM-8:30PM Vanity Fair Dior Party Launch of Brandaid
Hosted by Paul Haggis, Diane Lane & Josh Brolin
Environment (Furniture), 8126 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles

6:30PM-11PM 4th Annual Oscar Wilde: Honoring the Irish in Film
Honoring Brendan Gleeson, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Hylda Queally
The Ebell, 743 South Lucerne Blvd, Los Angeles

8PM Sixth Annual Global Green Pre-Oscar Party
Hosted by Leonardo DiCaprio, Penelope Cruz, Orlando Bloom, Rosario Dawson
Avalon Hollywood, 1735 Vine St, Hollywood

FRIDAY, February 20
11AM 16th Annual Oscar Week Student Filmmakers Scholarship Luncheon
Hosted by the Multicultural Motion Picture Association
Four Seasons Hotel, Ballroom, 300 South Doheny Drive, Beverly Hills

5PM AMPAS cocktail party for Foreign Language ... Read More »

Like the blog purporting to have an "Oscar 2009 winners list leaked". At this point, with so many of the categories locked as far back as December, I'm sure a chimpanzee could have come up with the same names.

Then comes right-wing wacko flack Michael Levine offering to opine about what he's calling "Luxury Shame". "Award shows often mean free loot for celebrities, but with the economy tanking, this Academy Awards season will see real changes in the giveaway culture. My sources inside Hollywood, including studio heads and academy award winners say that 'luxury shame' plays a big role. The world is hurt economically. People feel a need to be more conservative and not flaunt their wealth. I thought this was a timely idea for you. Please let me know if you’d like to discuss it more fully." What an idiot. He doesn't even know the Oscar gift baskets were cancelled years ago.

The traffic around the Kodak Theater is a mess now that streets get closed a full week before Sunday's broadcast. I sympathize with this complainer: "I'm a motion picture sound editor who works southwest of the Kodak. Of course, the traffic here is never good and only gets worse any time there's an awards show and ESPECIALLY during the Academy season, which for some reason takes 7+ days of street closures. However, they have ... Read More »