Film news...

- A record-breaking 55 countries have submitted films to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Academy Award(R) consideration in the Foreign Language Film Award category. How many of these films will get picked up and released by a distributor? (Or how many are just going to sit on some shelf over at Miramax for a few years?)

- No screeners: No Critics Awards! 'Take that', says the LA Critics.

- Wow, I just realized to my amazement that the New York Times has a page where you can (I think) check out all of the movie reviews they have written since 1929. The section is broken down by year, genre, critic and country.

- Robert Bresson's Au Hasard Balthazar - a rarely seen masterpiece from 1966 - has just been released by Rialto pictures. It is in New York now. Here is a review by J Hoberman. And here is a good page on the film from Film Forum.

- I just found a good film/politics site called Green Cine Daily. It's a good read and seems to update daily, check it out.