“It’s very exciting to have J.J. aboard leading the charge as we set off to make a new Star Wars movie,” said Kennedy. “J.J. is the perfect director to helm this. Beyond having such great instincts as a filmmaker, he has an intuitive understanding of this franchise. He understands the essence of the Star Wars experience, and will bring that talent to create an unforgettable motion picture.”

George Lucas went on to say “I’ve consistently been impressed with J.J. as a filmmaker and storyteller. He’s an ideal choice to direct the new Star Wars film and the legacy couldn’t be in better hands.”

“To be a part of the next chapter of the Star Wars saga, to collaborate with Kathy Kennedy and this remarkable group of people, is an absolute honor,” J.J. Abrams said. “I may be even more grateful to George Lucas now than I was as a kid.”

J.J., his longtime producing partner Bryan Burk, and Bad Robot are on board to produce along with Kathleen Kennedy under the Disney / Lucasfilm banner.

Also consulting on the project are Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg. Kasdan has a long history with Lucasfilm, as screenwriter on The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Return of the Jedi. Kinberg was writer on Sherlock Holmes and Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

Abrams and his production company Bad Robot have a proven track record of blockbuster movies that feature complex action, heartfelt drama, iconic heroes and fantastic production values with such credits as Star Trek, Super 8, Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol, and this year’s Star Trek Into Darkness. Abrams has worked with Lucasfilm’s preeminent postproduction facilities, Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound, on all of the feature films he has directed, beginning with Mission: Impossible III. He also created or co-created such acclaimed television series as Felicity, Alias, Lost and Fringe.

Creating and sharing one’s art with the world is a vulnerable act, and many who try get laughed out of town or go down in a less-than-glorious frenzy of self-reproach. Others are elevated to god-like status and worshiped for obscure reasons. Seldom is art ever appreciated the way the artist intended.

At the helm of some of the greatest works of art in filmmaking are the agreed-upon masters, such as Federico Fellini, Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola. They are followed by a host of lesser-known auteurs who have been glossed over or misunderstood by the public. Even if a film or director isn’t your particular cup of tea, a true connoisseur appreciates a work of art from all vantage points. The artists below are often under-appreciated, and even if you’re not a fan, their relevancy is worth taking a second look.

Michael Bay: Lights, Cameras, Lots of Action

Love him or hate him, Michael Bay has incredible technical prowess coupled with an impressive resume. Bay attended Wesleyan University, where he brainstormed the plot for what would later be Armageddon while taking a geometry course from a tectonic expert who said, Calamities happen; it’s the plumbers who will fix the world.” Only a few years out of college, Bay won two of the most prestigious awards the advertising world has to offer, a Clio and a Grand Prix Clio, and Bay’s visual storytelling abilities are considered some of the best in the business (he created the Got Milk? ad campaigns).

Two of Bay’s movies “The Rock” (1996) and “Armageddon” (1998) are a part of the Criterion Collection, meaning they have been chosen by esteemed film scholars as beacons of accomplishment worthy of study. What the untrained eye sees as a mass of explosions and flashing lights, the true artist realizes is a complex style of camera angles and rapid cuts that few can come close to replicating. As far as the oft-criticized lack of depth in his plots, film philosopher Jeanine Basinger explains this plot device is, “a kind of abstraction and unreality that is found in musicals.”

Rob Zombie: Horror Highness

Mr. Zombie is a unique horror-core icon, easy to brush under a rug because he’s so graphic, unapologetic and raw. Oftentimes the world doesn’t like being reminded of the gore that exists, but Zombie’s gore isn’t just for gore’s sake. His genre of exploitation horror is a throwback to the early 70′s style with an eerie twist. Films like his debut House of 1,000 Corpses and his re-boot Halloween 2 have been panned by critics for their excessive gore, hick-like style and weak plots, but hey, he never was trying to create the next Schindler’s List, folks.

A Zombie plot is meant to be looked at through a satirical lens of sadism and sleaze as he aims to create an homage to all things slasher. His films are meant to be experienced for what they are, so next time you pop in a Zombie, look at it through blood-colored glasses and your appreciation will grow.

Whether you fancy yourself an aspiring filmmaker, fan or critic, films often have layers that are undetected by the average viewer. Taking a lesson from history’s great artists, immediate success isn’t a barometer for greatness.

Nominees and winners at the 70th annual Golden Globes on Sunday night (winners names in bold):

Movies

Drama

WINNER: Argo

Django Unchained

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Zero Dark Thirty

Comedy or musical

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

WINNER: Les Miserables

Moonrise Kingdom

Silver Linings Playbook

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Director

WINNER: Ben Affleck, Argo

Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty

Ang Lee, Life of Pi

Steven Spielberg, Lincoln

Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

Actor, comedy or musical

Jack Black, Bernie

Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook

WINNER: Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables

Ewan MacGregor, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Bill Murray, Hyde Park on Hudson

Actress, comedy or musical

Emily Blunt, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

WINNER: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

Judi Dench, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Maggie Smith, Quartet

Meryl Streep, Hope Springs

Actor, drama

WINNER: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

Richard Gere, Arbitrage

John Hawkes, The Sessions

Joaquin Phoenix, The Master

Denzel Washington, Flight

Actress, drama

WINNER: Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty

Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone

Helen Mirren, Hitchcock

Rachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea

Naomi Watts, The Impossible

Supporting actor

WINNER: Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Alan Arkin, Argo

Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained

Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master

Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

Supporting actress

Amy Adams, The Master

Sally Field, Lincoln

WINNER: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

Helen Hunt, The Sessions

Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy

Screenplay

Chris Terrio, Argo

WINNER: Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

Tony Kushner, Lincoln

David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook

Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty

Original score

Alexandre Desplat, Argo

Dario Marianeli, Anna Karenina

Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek, Reinhold Heil, Cloud Atlas

WINNER: Mychael Danna, Life of Pi

John Williams, Lincoln

Best Original Song

Keith Urban, For You (Act of Valor)

Taylor Swift, Safe & Sound (The Hunger Games)

Hugh Jackman, Suddenly (Les Miserables)

WINNER: Adele, Skyfall (Skyfall)

Jon Bon Jovi, Not Running Anymore (Stand Up Guys)

Animated feature film

WINNER: Brave

Frankenweenie

Hotel Transylvania

Rise of the Guardians

Wreck-It Ralph

Foreign film

WINNER: Amour

The Intouchables

Kon-Tiki

A Royal Affair

Rust & Bone

Television

Miniseries or TV movie

WINNER: Game Change, HBO

Hatfields & McCoys, History

The Girl, HBO

The Hour, BBC America

Political Animals, USA

Drama

Boardwalk Empire, HBO

Breaking Bad, AMC

Downton Abbey, PBS

WINNER: Homeland, Showtime

The Newsroom, HBO

Comedy or musical

The Big Bang Theory, CBS

Episodes, Showtime

WINNER: Girls, HBO

Modern Family, ABC

Smash, NBC

Actor, drama series

Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire, HBO

Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad, AMC

Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom, HBO

Jon Hamm, Mad Men, AMC

WINNER: Damian Lewis, Homeland, Showtime

Actress, drama series

Connie Britton, Nashville, ABC

WINNER: Claire Danes, Homeland, Showtime

Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey, PBS

Glenn Close, Damages, DirecTV

Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife, CBS

Actor, comedy or musical series

Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock, NBC

WINNER: Don Cheadle, House of Lies, Showtime

Louis C.K., Louie, FX

Matt LeBlanc, Episodes, Showtime

Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory, CBS

Actress, comedy or musical series

Zooey Deschanel, The New Girl, Fox

WINNER: Lena Dunham, Girls, HBO

Tina Fey,30 Rock, NBC

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep, HBO

Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation, NBC

Supporting actor, series, miniseries or movie

Max Greenfield, New Girl, Fox

WINNER: Ed Harris, Game Change, HBO

Danny Huston, Magic City, Starz

Mandy Patinkin, Homeland, Showtime

Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family, ABC

Supporting actress

Hayden Panettiere, Nashville, ABC

Archie Punjabi, The Good Wife, CBS

Sarah Paulson, American Horror Story, FX

WINNER: Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey, PBS

Sofia Vergara, Modern Family, ABC

Actor, miniseries or TV movie

WINNER: Kevin Costner, Hatfields & McCoys, History

Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock, PBS

Woody Harrelson, Game Change, HBO

Toby Jones, The Girl, HBO

Clive Owen, Hemingway & Gellhorn, HBO

Actress, miniseries or TV movie

Nicole Kidman, Hemingway & Gellhorn, HBO

Jessica Lange, American Horror Story, FX

WINNER: Julianne Moore, Game Change, HBO

Sigourney Weaver, Political Animals, USA

For anyone dreaming of being on the silver screen or currently pursuing an acting degree, the festival provides plenty of inspiration. A total of 113 feature-length films from 32 countries were selected for the famous event, including 27 that are in the competition, according to the festival website.

Several accomplished actors appear in films being screened as part of the U.S. dramatic competition, including Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara, who both star in “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints.” Other well-known names include Daniel Radcliffe, who’s taking a break from his Harry Potter character by starring in “Kill Your Darlings,” Kristen Bell in “The Lifeguard” and Jessica Biel in “Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes.”

John Cooper, director of the Sundance Film Festival, told The Hollywood Reporter that the fact so many well-known actors are taking roles in independent films is “a reflection of the landscape.” Small movies with big names are not new to Sundance. Last year’s event featured Richard Gere in “Arbitrage” and Helen Hunt in “The Surrogate” (since renamed “The Sessions”), both of whom are up for 2013 Golden Globe awards for their roles (they’re expected to get Oscar nods, too; Academy Award nominations are slated to be announced Thursday, Jan. 10). Witnessing the success that already-successful actors can have in independent movies may very well encourages other seasoned performers to do the same.

Sundance also has a record lineup of female directors who are competing for the top honor, noted the Seattle Times. Half of the 16 films that were recently announced in the dramatic competition were directed by women. This beats the previous record from 2000, when six of the 16 movies in the same category had female directors.

Two to watch: Lynn Shelton’s “Touchy Feely,” a story about a massage therapist who no longer likes bodily contact, starring Rosemarie DeWitt, Allison Janney and Ellen Page; and Liz W. Garcia’s “The Lifeguard,” in which Kristen Bell plays a reporter who moves home to Connecticut to take a job as a lifeguard.

While male directors still tend to dominate the big screen, the lower-budget indie world has definitely seen more women in prominent roles. Cooper said some Sundance film categories have had a nearly even split between male and female directors in past years, which he called a sign that more women are getting into filmmaking.

Film festivals like Sundance are a great way for filmmakers to get exposure as well as acceptance, as the event is a magnet for top film executives, actors and actresses. Many independent filmmakers got their start in Utah, too – the careers of Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith and Edward Burns all took off after being participating in Sundance.

by TheMovieTribute

by genrocks

by Darox91

by Entertainment Weekly

by leepyskunk