ग्लोबीकरण में जिस तरह से व्यक्ति व उसके संघर्ष,प्रकृति और पर्यावरण से मनुष्य के अनिवार्य सहअस्तित्व को बाजार में निष्णात कर दिया गया है, उससे मुक्ति की राह बताती हैं ये फिल्म

ग्लोबीकरण में जिस तरह से व्यक्ति व उसके संघर्ष,प्रकृति और पर्यावरण से मनुष्य के अनिवार्य सहअस्तित्व को बाजार में निष्णात कर दिया गया है, उससे मुक्ति की राह बताती हैं ये फिल्में।

पलाश विश्वास

Life of Pi: watch the trailer - video Link to this video

फिर अंतरराष्ट्रीय पुरस्कारों की रोशनी में एक और भारत पर केंद्रित फिल्म की खूब चर्चा है रही है।आज एक बार फिर से कनाडाई लेखक यैन मार्टल के उपन्यास पर आधारित फिल्म 'लाइफ ऑफ पाई' की चर्चा जोरों पर है।इस  ३ डी फिल्म का सत्तर प्रतिशत हिस्सा ताईवान में फिल्माया गया।ताईवान में ही बाक्स आफिस से इस फिल्म की कमाई ४० करोड़ डालर पार कर चुकी है।दृश्य माध्यम में उत्कृष्ट  फिल्मांकन के लिए इस फिल्म की टक्कर स्पीलबर्ग की फिल्म लिंकन से हो रही है।इस फिल्म को लोग आध्यात्मिक बता रहे हैं, लेकिन  इसका धर्म से कोई नाता के बजाय प्रकृति से मनुष्य के सहअस्तित्व से ज्यादा है।समीक्षक इसे अत्यंत भव्य पिल्म बता रहे हैं। उसे ग्लोबल अवार्डस से नवाजा गया है।इसके निर्माण में अनिल अंबानी के मालिकाना हक वाली रिलायंस ड्रीमवर्क्‍स का भी नाम जुड़ा है। जिसके बाद भारतीय काफी खुश नजर आ रहे हैं।ईरान के बंधक मामले पर केंद्रित 'आर्गो' ने गृहयुद्ध पर बनी 'लिंकन' को सोमवार को 70वें गोल्डन ग्लोब्स पुरस्कार समारोह के दौरान सर्वश्रेष्ठ फिल्म एवं सर्वश्रेष्ठ निर्देशक श्रेणी में पछाड़कर गोल्डन ग्लोब्स पुरस्कार हासिल किया जबकि भारत पर केंद्रित 'लाइफ आफ पाई ' ने सर्वश्रेष्ठ 'ऑरिजनल' फिल्म की श्रेणी में बाजी मारी।आंग ली की फिल्म 'लाइफ ऑफ पाई' को गोल्डन ग्लोब्स पुरस्कार समारोह में सबसे वास्तविक फिल्म यानी कि ओरिजनल अवार्ड के लिए चुना गया है। ओरिजनल ग्लोब अवार्ड देने के लिए माइकल डाना को मंच पर बुलाया गया। यह पुरस्कार उन्हें जेसन स्टैथम और जेनिफर लोपेज ने दिया।डाना ने यह अवॉर्ड जॉन विलियम्स (लिंकन), ऐलक्जेंडर डिस्प्लैट (आर्गो)और दारियो मैरियनली जैसे संगीतकारों को पछाड़कर जीता। उन्हें जेसन स्टैथम और जेनिफर लोपेज ने पुरस्कार प्रदान किया। पुरस्कार लेने के बाद डाना ने कहा, 'इस फिल्म को बनाना सार्थक हुआ।'मालूम हो कि भारतीय कर्नाटक संगीत गायिका बंबई जयश्री रामनाथ को 'लाइफ ऑफ पाई' के एक गाने के लिए संगीतकार माइकल डाना के साथ 'ओरिजनल सांग' श्रेणी में ऑस्कर के लिए नामांकित किया गया है। यही नहीं यह फिल्म ऑस्कर के लिए 11 श्रेणियों में नामंकित हुई है।इसके अलावा स्टीवन स्पीलबर्ग की फिल्म 'लिंकन' के लिए डेनियल डे लेविस को बेस्ट ऐक्टर (ड्रामा) के अवॉर्ड से नवाजा गया। समारोह के खास आकर्षण पूर्व अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति बिल क्लिंटन रहे। वह स्पीलबर्ग की फिल्म लिंकन का इंट्रो देने के लिए स्टेज पर आए थे। दर्शकों ने तालियों की गड़गड़ाहट से उनका स्वागत किया। 'लाइफ ऑफ पाई' में एकबार फिर भारतीय सितारे चमके हैं तो दूसरी ओर, लिंकन से भारतीय उद्योगपति अनिल अंबानी ने हालीवूड में धमाके के​​ साथ प्रवेश किया है। दोनों फिल्में अलग अलग कथा सूत्र के बावजूद मनुष्य की अनुपम संघर्ष गाथाएं हैं।'लाइफ ऑफ पाई' में जहां व्यक्ति​ ​ की जिजीविषा को आध्यात्मिक ऊचाई मिली है, वहीं अश्वेतों की स्वतंत्राता का इतिहास 'लिंकन'  में चित्रित हुआ है। यह बैश्विक फिल्म परिदृश्य के लिए एक सुखद घटना मानी जानी चाहिए। लिंकन तो बाक्स आफिस पर धूम मचा ही रही है। ग्लोबीकरण में जिस तरह से व्यक्ति व उसके संघर्ष,प्रकृति और पर्यावरण से मनुष्य के अनिवार्य सहअस्तित्व को बाजार में निष्णात कर दिया गया है, उससे मुक्ति की राह बताती हैं ये फिल्में।


इससे पहले स्पीलबर्ग ने ग्लोबीकरण और कारपोरेट साम्राज्यवाद के प्रतिरोध की कहानी अपनी फिल्म अवतार में फिल्मांकित की थी। दोनों​​ फिल्में प्रकृति और मनुष्य की जिजीविषा, उसके अस्तित्व व नैसर्गिक अधिकारों की लड़ाई पर केंद्रित है। विषय के बतौर यह अद्भुत है। भारतीय फिल्में तो अब समाजवास्तव से कटकर ही होती हैं और उसमें काल्पनिक गढ़ी हुई दुनिया के स्वप्न के अलावा कुछ नहीं होता। फिल्म ​​माध्यम के लिए यथार्थ में वापसी की यह बेहतरीन पहल है। ग्लोबीकरण चुंकि दासता आधारित व्यवस्था ही बनाती है और नरसंहार​ ​ संस्कृति व बहिष्कार की अर्थव्यवस्था में वर्चस्ववादी सत्ता वर्ग के लिए प्रकृति के तमाम संसाधनों की लूट खसोट पर केंद्रित हैं, दासता के विरुद्ध लड़ाई और प्रकृति व मनुष्य के नैसर्गिक संबंध पर केंद्रित दोनों फिल्में सचमुच फिल्म माध्यम की उपलब्धियां हैं।आर्थिक सुधारों के नाम पर अबाध पूंजी प्रवाह के जरिये विकास गाथा का भ्रम फैलाकर एक उत्तरआधुनिक दासता के शिकंजे में ​​भारतवासियों को फांसा जा रहा है और हम धर्मोन्मादी युद्धक राष्ट्रवाद की गिरफ्त में अपनी स्वतंत्रता, प्रकृति से हमारे तादात्म और ​​बाहैसियत नागरिक अपनी स्वतंत्रता उपभोक्तावादी बाजार के हवाले कर रहे हैं। भारतीय मीडिया और फिल्में मस्तिष्क नियंत्रण के सत्तावर्ग ​​के कार्यभार के मुताबक ही हैं, उसमें समाजज और मनुष्यता के प्रति सरोकार बहुत तेजी से खत्म हो रहे हैं। एक नकली दुनिया के ख्वाब ​​में खो गयी हमारी आत्मा को कहीं तो ये पिल्में छूने का प्रयास कर रही हैं​।गौरतलब है कि 'जुरासिक पार्क' बनाने वाले हॉलीवुड के मशहूर निर्देशक स्टीवन स्पीलबर्ग ने आखिरकार अपनी नई फिल्म के लिए विषय का चुनाव कर लोगों के होश उड़ा दिए हैं। स्टीवन स्पीलबर्ग अपनी अगली फिल्म पूरी दुनिया में छा जाने वाले विकीलीक्स प्रकरण और उसके संस्थापक जूलियन असांजे पर बनाना चाहते हैं।विकीलीक्स हीरो जूलुयन असांजे इन दिनों अमेरिका के जाल में फंसने से बचने के लिए ब्रिटेन में अपनी कानूनी लड़ाई लड़ रहे हैं। स्टूवन ने इस फिल्म को बनाने के लिए अपना काम शुरू कर दिया है। सबसे पहले उन्होने इसके लिए असांजे की आत्मकथा के अधिकार खरीदे हैं। ब्रिटेन के समाचार पत्र द गार्जियन ने इस बारे में सूचना दी है। यह किताब पिछले महीने फरवरी में गार्जियन बुक्स द्वारा प्रकाशित की जा चुकी है। इस किताब में असांजे के जीवन और विकीलीक्स को स्थापित करने के बारे में सारे विवरण प्रकाशित किए गए हैं। विकीलीक्स की स्थापना असांजे ने साल 2006 में की थी। हालांकि इस फिल्म के बारे में स्पीलबर्ग ने अब तक कोई आधिकारिक बयान जारी नहीं किया है।


कृपया याद करें,अब्राहम लिंकन (१२ फरवरी, १८०९ - १५ अप्रैल १८६५) अमेरिका के सोलहवें राष्ट्रपति थे। इनका कार्यकाल १८६१ से १८६५ तक था। ये रिपब्लिकन पार्टी से थे। उन्होने अमेरिका को उसके सबसे बड़े संकट - गृहयुद्ध (अमेरिकी गृहयुद्ध) से पार लगाया। अमेरिका में दास प्रथा के अंत का श्रेय लिंकन को ही जाता है।अब्राहम लिंकन का जन्म एक गरीब अश्वेत परिवार में हुआ था। वे प्रथम रिपब्लिकन थे जो अमेरिका के राष्ट्रपति बने। उसके पहले वे एक वकील, इलिअन्स स्टेट के विधायक (लेजिस्लेटर), अमेरिका के हाउस ऑफ् रिप्रेस्न्टेटिव्स के सदस्य थे। वे दो बार सीनेट के चुनाव में असफल भी हुए।अमेरिकी गृहयुद्ध (अंग्रेजी: American Civil War, अमॅरिकन सिविल वॉर) सन् १८६१ से १८६५ के काल में संयुक्त राज्य अमेरिका के उत्तरी राज्यों और दक्षिणी राज्यों के बीच में लड़ा जाने वाला एक गृहयुद्ध था जिसमें उत्तरी राज्य विजयी हुए। इस युद्ध में उत्तरी राज्य अमेरिका की संघीय एकता बनाए रखना चाहते थे और पूरे देश से दास प्रथा हटाना चाहते थे। अमेरिकी इतिहास में इस पक्ष को औपचारिक रूप से 'यूनियन' (Union यानि संघीय) कहा जाता है और अनौपचारिक रूप से 'यैन्की' (Yankee) कहा जाता है। दक्षिणी राज्य अमेरिका से अलग होकर 'परिसंघीय राज्य अमेरिका' (Confederate States of America, कन्फ़ेडरेट स्टेट्स ऑफ़ अमॅरिका) नाम का एक नया राष्ट्र बनाना चाहते थे जिसमें यूरोपीय मूल के श्वेत वर्णीय (सफ़ेद) लोगों को अफ्रीकी मूल के कृष्ण वर्णीय लोगों को गुलाम बनाकर ख़रीदने-बेचने का अधिकार हो। दक्षिणी पक्ष को औपचारिक रूप से 'कन्फ़ेडरेसी' (Confederacy यानि परिसंघीय) और अनौपचारिक रूप से 'रेबेल' (Rebel, रॅबॅल, यानि विद्रोही) या 'डिक्सी' (Dixie) कहा जाता है।इस युद्ध में ६ लाख से अधिक अमेरिकी सैनिक मारे गए (सही संख्या ६,२०,०००) अनुमानित की गई है।तुलना के लिए सभी भारत-पाकिस्तान युद्धों को और १९६२ के भारत-चीन युद्ध को मिलाकर देखा जाए तो इन सभी युद्धों में १५,००० से कम भारतीय सैनिक मारे गए हैं।यह कहना सर्वथा उचित न होगा कि यह युद्ध केवल दास प्रथा को लेकर हुआ। वास्तव में इस संघर्ष का बीज बहुत पहले बोया जा चुका था और यह विभिन्न विचारधाराओं में पारस्परिक विरोध का परिणाम था। उत्तर के निवासी भौगोलिक परिस्थिति, यातायात के साधन तथा औद्योगिक सफलता के फलस्वरूप अधिक संतुष्ट तथा संपन्न थे। कृषि-प्रधान दक्षिणी राज्यों में 17वीं और 18वीं शताब्दियों में अफ़्रीका से बहुत से अफ़्रीकी दास यहाँ लाए गए थे और वे ही कृषि में मज़दूरी करते थे। इसलिए दक्षिणी राज्य इन हबशी दासों को मुक्त नहीं करना चाहते थे। अमेरिका के सभी उत्तरी राज्यों ने १८०४ तक दासप्रथा को धीरे-धीरे ख़त्म कर देने के लिए क़ानून बना लिए थे। मशीन युग के आने ने उत्तर और दक्षिण के बीच की खाई बढ़ा दी। उत्तरी निवासी मशीन के प्रयोग से आर्थिक क्षेत्र में प्रगति करने लगी। उनका कोयले और लोहे का उत्पादन बढ़ा और वहाँ बहुत से कारखाने काम करने लगे। वहाँ की जनसंख्या भी तेजी से बढ़ने लगी। दक्षिणी राज्यों के लोग अभी केवल कृषि पर आधारित थे और उन्होंने युग के साथ प्रगति नहीं की। यहाँ की जनसंख्या भी अधिक तेजी से नहीं बढ़ी। अमेरिका की व्यापारिक नीति उत्तरी राज्यों के लिए लाभदायक थी पर दक्षिणवाले उससे लाभ नहीं उठा सकते थे। व्यापारिक नीति का दक्षिण में विरोध हुआ और दक्षिणी इसे अवैध ठहराने लगे। वे स्वतंत्र व्यापार के अनुयायी थे, जिससे वे अपना कच्चा माल बिना नियंत्रण के विदेश भेज सकें और अपने आवश्यकतानुसार बनी हुई चीजें खरीदें। दक्षिण कैरोलाइना ने जान कूल्हन के मतानुसार प्रत्येक राज्य को संयुक्त राज्य की किसी भी नीति को मानने या न मानने का पूर्ण अधिकार था। संघर्ष बढ़ा। संविधान की आड़ में उत्तर और दक्षिण के राज्य अपने-अपने मत की पुष्टि का पूर्णतया प्रयास करने लगे।युद्ध के मोर्चे मुख्यत: तीन थे - समुद्र, मिसिसिप्पी घाटी और पूर्व समुद्रतट के राज्य। युद्ध के आरंभ में प्राय: समग्र जलसेना संयुक्त राज्य के हाथ में थी, किंतु वह बिखरी हुई और निर्बल थी। दक्षिणी तट की घेराबंदी से यूरोप को रुई का निर्यात और वहाँ से बारूद, वस्त्र और औषधि आदि दक्षिण के लिए अत्यंत आवश्यक आयात की चीजें पूर्णतया रुक गई। संयुक्त राज्य के बेड़े ने दक्षिण के सबसे बड़े नगर न्यू ओर्लियंस से आत्मसमर्पण करा लिया। मिसिसिप्पी की घाटी में भी संयुक्त राज्य की सेना की अनेक जीतें हुई। वर्जिनिया कानफेडरेतों को बराबर सफलताएँ मिलीं। 1863ई. में युद्ध का आरंभ उत्तर के लिए अच्छा नहीं हुआ, पर जुलाई में युद्ध की बाजी पलट गई। 1864ई. में युद्ध का अंत स्पष्ट दीखने लगा। 17 फरवरी को कानफेडरेतों ने दक्षिण कैरोलाइना की राजधानी कोलंबिया को खाली कर दिया। चाल्र्स्टन संयुक्त राज्य के हाथ आ गया। दक्षिण के निर्विवाद नेता राबर्ट ई. ली द्वारा आत्मसमर्पण किए जाने पर 13 अप्रैल को वाशिंटन में उत्सव मनाया गया। गृहयुद्ध की समाप्ति के बाद दक्षिणी राज्यों के प्रति कठोरता की नीति नहीं अपनाई गई, वरन् कांग्रेस ने संविधान में 13वाँ संशोधन प्रस्तुत करके दासों की स्वतंत्रता पर कानूनी छाप लगा दी।

गौरतलब है कि 'लाइफ ऑफ पाई' कनाडाई लेखक यैन मार्टल के उपन्यास पर आधारित है। उन्हें इस उपन्यास के लिए मैन बुकर पुरस्कार मिला था। यह फिल्म एक भारतीय लड़के अब्दुल पाई पटेल की रोमांचक यात्रा की कहानी है। समुद्र की इस यात्रा में लड़के का जहाज तूफान की चपेट में आ जाता है और वह एक बाघ के साथ जीवन के लिए एक लाइफ-बोट पर कई दिन संघर्ष करता है।वैसे तो डायरेक्टर आंग ली का नाम ही इस फिल्म को देखने की सबसे बड़ी वजह है। ली की फिल्मों 'क्राउचिंग टाइगर हिडन ड्रैगन' और 'ब्रोकबैक माउंटेन' जैसी फिल्मों को ऑस्कर समेत कई अवॉर्ड मिले। 2003 में आई 'हल्क' भी लोगों को अब तक याद है।

'लाइफ ऑफ पाई' में मुख्य भूमिका दिल्ली के सूरज शर्मा ने निभाई है। इसके अलावा इस फिल्म में इरफान खान, तब्बू और आदिल हुसैन ने भी काम किया है। ऑस्कर विजेता फिल्मकार आंग ली की फिल्म लाइफ ऑफ पाई में पहली बार परदे पर आए सूरज शर्मा ने जो भावाभिव्यक्ति दी है उसकी तारीफ के लिए शब्द नहीं हैं। हर पल भावों को कुशलता के साथ चेहरे पर लाकर उन्होंने आगामी वर्ष ऑस्कर पुरस्कार के लिए अपनी दावेदारी पेश कर दी है।निर्देशक आंग ली ने चार वर्ष तक इस फिल्म की पटकथा पर काम किया नतीजा दर्शकों के सामने है। दृश्यों का संयोजन इतनी कुशलता से किया गया है कि महसूस ही नहीं होता कि इन्हें अलग-अलग टुकडों में फिल्माया गया है जिन्हें बाद में कम्प्यूटर की सहायता से एक साथ मिलाया गया है।निर्देशन के साथ तारीफ करना चाहेंगे छायाकार की, जिसने आंग ली की इच्छा को पूरा किया है। उन्होंने समुद्र की उफनती लहरों के साथ हवाओं के जोर को कैमरे में इतनी कुशलता के साथ पकडा कि हवा के वेग से उडती पानी की बूंदें अलग से नजर आती हैं। 3डी में यह दृश्य दर्शकों को भीगने का अहसास दिलाते हैं। हॉलीवुड की अवतार के बाद 3डी तकनीक का प्रयोग ज्यादा होने लगा है।

अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति बराक ओबामा ने निदेशक स्टीवन स्पीलबर्ग को उनकी नवीनतम फिल्म 'लिंकन' व्हाइट हाउस में दिखाने के लिए निमंत्रण दिया है।हॉलीवुड रिपोर्टर ने खबर दी है कि यह फिल्म 16वें राष्ट्रपति अब्राहिम लिंकन के जीवन के अंतिम चार महीने पर केंद्रित हैं और ऑस्कर विजेता डेनियल डे लेविस ने उनका किरदार निभाया है। फिल्म में बताया गया है कि कैसे उन्होंने दासता खत्म की।व्हाइट हाउस ने बताया कि गुरुवार को राष्ट्रपति ओबामा स्टीवन स्पीलबर्ग की इस फिल्म के कलाकारों की मेहमाननवाजी करेंगे।

स्टीवन स्पीलबर्ग की राजनीतिक ड्रामा 'लिंकन' 85वें अकादमी पुरस्कारों में 12 नामांकनों के पहले स्थान पर है जबकि भारतीय परिप्रेक्ष्य में बनी आंग ली निर्देशित 'लाइफ ऑफ पाई' 11 नामांकनों के साथ दूसरे नंबर पर है।'लाइफ ऑफ पाई' सर्वश्रेष्ठ फिल्म और सर्वश्रेष्ठ निर्देशक के लिए भी नामांकित हुई है। वर्ष 2009 में 'स्लमडाग मिलिनेयर' के बाद एक बार फिर से भारत केंद्रित एक कहानी पर बनी फिल्म को दूसरा सबसे ज्यादा नामांकन मिला है। सर्वश्रेष्ठ फिल्म के लिए इस वर्ष प्रतियोगिता बहुत कड़ी है। इस श्रेणी में कुल नौ फिल्में प्रतियोगिता में शामिल हैं। इस समारोह का आयोजन 24 फरवरी को लॉस एंजेलिस के हॉलीवुड में होगा।सबसे बड़े फिल्मी पुरस्कार ऑस्कर में जिस तरह भारत का कनेक्शन देखा जा रहा है,वह अभूतपूर्व है। कहा जा रहा है कि 36 नामांकन से भारत का रिश्ता है, पर सिर्फ एक भारतीय पुरस्कार की दौड़ में हैं।

सबसे ज्यादा नामांकन पाने वाले लिंकन में भारत के उद्योगपति अनिल अंबानी का पैसा, 11 नामांकन हासिल करने वाली लाइफ ऑफ पाई में भारत की कहानी और भारत में शूटिंग। कैथरीन बिगेलो की जीरो डार्क थर्टी की भारत में शूटिंग और सिल्वर लाइनिंग्स प्लेबुक में अनुपम खेर का शानदार अभिनय। कुछ इस तरह भारत को ऑस्कर की दौड़ में शामिल किया गया है।  


शास्त्रीय संगीत की कर्नाटक शैली की गायिका बॉम्बे जयश्री को 'लाइफ ऑफ पाई' फिल्म के गाने 'पाई लल्लाबाय' के लिए ऑस्कर के लिए नामांकित किया गया है और वह इस खबर से बेहद खुश हैं।इस गाने का गीत-संगीत तैयार करने के साथ-साथ उन्होंने इसे अपनी आवाज भी दी है।

दिवाली पर बड़े बैनर की रिलीज हुई फिल्म जब तक है जान और सन ऑफ सरदार का ही असर था पिछले शुक्रवार को बॉलिवुड के किसी प्रड्यूसर ने कोई नई फिल्म रिलीज करने की हिम्मत नहीं दिखाई। लेकिन ऑस्कर अवॉर्ड विनर डायरेक्टर आंग ली ने भारतीय कलाकारों के साथ बनी अपनी बहुचर्चित फिल्म लाइफ ऑफ पाई को रिलीज कर दिया।बॉक्स ऑफिस पर पहले से टिकी दो बडे़ बैनर की फिल्मों की मौजूदगी के बीच सूरज कुमार, इरफान खान, तब्बू स्टारर लाइफ ऑफ पाई का दर्शकों की एक बड़ी क्लास में ऐसा जबर्दस्त क्रेज नजर आ रहा था कि रिलीज के पहले दिन नई दिल्ली के डायमंड थिएटर पर पहले दिन इसे 80 और अगले दोनों दिन सौ फीसदी ओपनिंग मिली।

आंग ली पिछले कई सालों से यैन मार्टल के नाम से लिखे उपन्यास पर फिल्म बनाने की प्लैनिंग में लगे थे। पिछले साल ली इंडियन कलाकारों के साथ फिल्म बनाने का फैसला किया। उसके बाद फिल्म की शूटिंग स्टार्ट टू फिनिश पूरी की। इस फिल्म में हर किसी के अंदर कहीं ना कहीं छिपी किसी भी सूरत में जीने की आस को बेहद असरदार ढंग से पेश किया है। ली की तारीफ करनी होगी कि उन्होंने इंसानों के साथ-साथ बेजुबान जानवरों में छिपी जीने की चाह को बेहद असरदार और मार्मिक ढंग से सिल्वर स्क्रीन पर परोसा है।आंग ली की पूरी फिल्म पर पकड़ है।

दिल्ली के सेंट स्टीफन कॉलेज के स्टूडेंट सूरज शर्मा यंग पाई पटेल के रोल में परफेक्ट हैं। खतरनाक समुद्री लहरों के बीच रोंगटे खडे़ करने वाली समुद्री यात्रा के सीन में सूरज ने बहुत मेहनत की है। इस रोल के लिए सूरज ने पॉन्डिचेरी में करीब एक महीने तक समुद्री लहरों के बीच तैराकी सीखने के अलावा योगा की वर्कशॉप अटेंड की। पाई के अब्बा के रोल में आदिल हुसैन और मां की छोटी सी भूमिका में तब्बू ने अपनी पहचान दर्ज कराई। चंद मिनटों की भूमिका में इरफान खान ने एक बार फिर खुद को बेहतरीन ऐक्टर साबित किया।

कहानी: अब्दुल पाई पटेल (सूरज शर्मा/ इरफान खान) के पिता संतोष पटेल (आदिल हुसैन) का पांडिचेरी में अपना जू है। पाई के पिता बेहतर बिजनस की तलाश में अक्सर अपने इस छोटे से जू के साथ बाहर जाते रहते हैं। इस बार फिर पाई और उसके मां-बाप अपने जू के जानवरों के साथ कनाडा के लिए निकले हैं। समुद्री मार्ग से पाई पटेल का कारवां रवाना होता है। भीषण समुद्री तूफान के बीच फंसकर उनका जहाज पलट जाता है। तूफान की बर्बादी के बाद सिर्फ पाई पटेल के साथ जू का शेर, जेब्रा, लकड़बग्घा और वनमानुष ही जिंदा बचते हैं। इन चारों की जिंदा रहने की जंग में पाई के साथ शेर ही जिंदा बचता है।

फिल्म की प्रशंसक मुंबई की सविता चौधरी ने ट्विटर पर लिखा है कि 'लाइफ ऑफ पाई' एक बेहतरीन फिल्म है, लंबे अरसे बाद एक ऐसी फिल्म लोगों के सामने आयी है जो कि एक बढ़िया संदेश के रूप में उभरी है। ना केवल 3 डी के प्रयोग के लिए बल्कि बेहतरीन अभिनय और कहानी के लिए भी यह फिल्म हमेशा जानी जायेगी। अब तो मुझे यकीन हो गया है कि यह फिल्म ऑस्कर जरूर ले कर आयेगी। मैं फिल्म की पूरी टीम को ग्लोबल अवार्ड जीतने के लिए बधाई और ऑस्कर के लिए शुभकामनाएं देती हूं।

सर्वश्रेष्ठ म्यूजिकल या कॉमेडी श्रेणी में 'लेस मिजरेबल्स' ने बाजी मारी और इसके कलाकारों ह्यूज जैकमेन तथा एनी हैथवे ने अपनी अपनी भूमिकाओं के लिए पुरस्कार हासिल किया।

बेन अफलेक के निर्देशन में बंधक प्रकरण पर बनी 'आर्गो' ने 'बेस्ट मोशन पिक्चर ड्रामा' अवार्ड जीता। वर्ष 1979 के ईरान बंधक संकट पर आधारित 'आर्गो' का मुकाबला 'जैंगो अनचेंड', 'लाइफ ऑफ पाई', 'लिंकन' और 'जीरो डार्क थर्टी' से था।

स्पीलबर्ग की 'लिंकन' को आलोचकों ने पसंदीदा बताया लेकिन 7 श्रेणियों में नामांकन के बावजूद इसे एकमात्र ट्रॉफी मिलने से लोगों को आश्चर्य हुआ। 'लिंकन' के लिए डेनियल डे लेविस ड्रामा श्रेणी में सर्वश्रेष्ठ अभिनेता घोषित किए गए।

16 वीं शताब्दी में हुए गृहयुद्ध प्रभावित अमेरिका में दास प्रथा समाप्त करने पर आधारित 'लिंकन' में अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति अब्राहम लिंकन की भूमिका के लिए लेविस ने खासी सराहना बटोरी। 'लिंकन' को ऑस्कर पुरस्कारों की 12 श्रेणियों के लिए नामांकित किया गया है।

भारत पर केंद्रित 'लाइफ ऑफ पाई' भी गोल्डन ग्लोब्स में खास महत्व नहीं पा सकी। फिल्म के लिए माइकल डाना को 'बेस्ट ओरिजनल मोशन पिक्चर' के लिए पुरस्कार प्रदान किया गया। लेकिन 'लाइफ ऑफ पाई' सर्वश्रेष्ठ ड्रामा और सर्वश्रेष्ठ निर्देशक श्रेणियों में पुरस्कार नहीं पास की।

निर्देशन की श्रेणी में ऑस्कर के लिए नामांकित होने से चूक गए बेन अफलेक ने 'आर्गो' के लिए सर्वश्रेष्ठ निर्देशक श्रेणी में गोल्डन ग्लोब पुरस्कार जीता। यह फिल्म 1979 में अमेरिकी राजनयिकों को ईरान में बंधक बनाए जाने के बारे में है।

अफलेक का मुकाबला स्टीवन स्पीलबर्ग की 'लिंकन', आंग ली की भारत पर केंद्रित 'लाइफ ऑफ पाई', कैथरीन बिगेलो की ओसामा बिन लादेन पर बनी 'जीरो डार्क थर्टी' और क्वेन्ताइन तारान्तिनो की 'जैंगो अनचेंड' से था।

ट्रॉफी लेने के बाद उन्होंने कहा कि पुरस्कारों की मुझे परवाह नहीं है, लेकिन जब आपका नाम दिग्गजों के नाम के बाद पुकारा जाए तो यह जीवन का अविस्मरणीय पल बन जाता है। शो की प्रस्तोता अभिनेत्री फे ने सर्वश्रेष्ठ निर्देशक श्रेणी के लिए स्पीलबर्ग, ली, कैथरीन बिगेलो और क्वेन्ताइन तारान्तिनो के बाद अफलेक का नाम लिया था।

लेविस ने पुरस्कार ग्रहण करते हुए कहा ‍कि क्या आप निश्चित तौर पर कह सकते हैं कि मंच पर किसी दूसरे पूर्व राष्ट्रपति के लिए जगह है। मोशन पिक्चर ड्रामा में सर्वश्रेष्ठ अभिनेत्री का पुरस्कार जेसिका चेस्टियन को 'जीरो डार्क थर्टी' के लिए मिला।

कैथरीन बिगेलो के निर्देशन में बनी यह फिल्म अमेरिका द्वारा ओसामा बिन लादेन की खोज किए जाने पर आधारित है। फिल्म में जेसिका सीआईए की एक एजेंट बनी हैं। पुरस्कार लेने के बाद जेसिका ने कहा 'बरसों तक हाशिए पर रहने के बाद मेरे लिए यह यादगार पल आया है।

लिंकन में पैसा

अनवर जे अशरफ के मुताबिक  डेनियल डे लेविस की अदाकारी और पारस पत्थर समझे जाने वाले स्टीवन स्पीलबर्ग की लिंकन अलबत्ता अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति और दास प्रथा के गंभीर मुद्दे पर बनी हो लेकिन इसमें भारतीय कंपनी का बड़ा योगदान है। सिर्फ दो महीने में तैयार होने वाली इस फिल्म में अनिल अंबानी भी प्रोड्यूसर हैं। लिंकन की कहानी और निर्देशन को लेकर चर्चा इसके रिलीज होने से पहले ही होने लगी थी और जब इसे 12 ऑस्कर पुरस्कारों के लिए नामांकित किया गया, तो अनिल अंबानी फूले नहीं समाए।उनका कहना है कि वह स्पीलबर्ग के साथ साझीदारी करके फख्र महसूस कर रहे हैं. डे लेविस ने फिल्म में लिंकन की भूमिका निभाई है।फिल्म की ज्यादातर शूटिंग ड्रीमवर्क स्टूडियो में हुई है, जिसका 50 फीसदी शेयर अनिल अंबानी के पास है। इस स्टूडियो की स्थापना खुद स्पीलबर्ग ने की थी। लिंकन की सफलता पर भारत के सुपर स्टार अमिताभ बच्चन भी खुश नजर आए। ट्विटर और फेसबुक पर उन्होंने इसे जाहिर करते हुए लिखा, "लिंकन को ऑस्कर के लिए 12 नामांकन मिले हैं। वे कह रहे हैं कि यह रिकॉर्ड है। स्टीवन स्पीलबर्ग के अलावा यह इसके सह निर्माता रिलायंस के लिए भी गर्व की बात है, जिसके मालिक अनिल अंबानी हैं। भारत के लिए गर्व की बात।"

कहानी भारत की

अनवर जे अशरफ के मुताबिक   बिग बी जिसे भारत के लिए गर्व की बात कर रहे हैं, वह सिर्फ पैसों की हिस्सेदारी भर है। तथ्य तो यह है कि आज तक किसी भारतीय फिल्म या अभिनेता को ऑस्कर नहीं मिला है। ब्रिटिश फिल्म स्लमडॉग मिलयेनियर को भले ही आठ ऑस्कर मिले हों लेकिन संगीत में एआर रहमान और रसूल पुकुट्टी को छोड़ कर किसी भारतीय को पुरस्कार नहीं मिला। फिल्म की ज्यादा प्रशंसा इसलिए हुई क्योंकि वह भारत के दागदार हिस्से को दिखाता है।

लाइफ ऑफ पाई में इरफान और सूरज शर्मा जैसे भारतीय अदाकार हैं

इस बार भी भारत में फिल्माई और भारतीय अदाकारों के साथ बनाई गई लाइफ ऑफ पाई को 11 नामांकन मिले हैं, लेकिन इसमें काम करने वाले इरफान खान और सूरज शर्मा जैसे अदाकारों को नहीं।चूंकि फिल्म भारतीय पृष्ठभूमि पर बनी है, लिहाजा भारतीय संगीत का इस्तेमाल हुआ और जयश्री रामनाथ को तमिल गाने के लिए ऑस्कर में नामांकित किया गया है। बॉम्बे जयश्री के नाम से मशहूर कर्नाटक गायिका बेहद खुश हैं।उनका कहना है कि गाना तैयार करने में उन्हें कोई परेशानी नहीं हुई, "यह भारतीय संगीत के लिए खुशी का लम्हा है। कोई भी मां अपने बच्चे को यह सुना सकती है। भाषा अहम नहीं है, बल्कि इसका अहसास ज्यादा अहम है।"

जयश्री को अकेले नहीं, बल्कि कनाडा के माइकल डाना के साथ ऑस्कर के लिए नामांकित किया गया है। दो ऑस्कर जीत चुके एआर रहमान ने जयश्री को बधाई देते हुए ट्वीट किया, "बॉम्बे जयश्री को बधाई। पहली बार किसी तमिल गाने को पुरस्कार के लिए नामांकित किया गया।"

सबसे बड़ा उद्योग

भारत दुनिया के सबसे बड़े फिल्म उद्योगों में गिना जाता है और हर साल यहां 1000 से ज्यादा फिल्में बनती हैं लेकिन अंतरराष्ट्रीय स्तर पर इसकी पहचान नाच गाने और इंडियन शादियों तक सिमट कर रह जाती है। सत्यजीत रे के तौर पर भारत के नाम इकलौता ऑस्कर है, जो किसी निर्देशक को मिला हो। वह भी उन्हें किसी फिल्म के लिए नहीं, बल्कि उनके आखिरी दिनों में लाइफटाइम अचीवमेंट के लिए दिया गया था। इसके अलावा रिचर्ड एटेनबरो की गांधी के लिए भानु अथैया को कॉस्ट्यूम का ऑस्कर दिया गया है।

सिल्वर लाइनिंग्स प्लेबुक में अनुपम खेर ने भी छोटी भूमिका की है

भारत सरकार विदेशी श्रेणी में ऑस्कर पुरस्कार के लिए फिल्म भेजती है और हर बार चयन पर विवाद होता है। इस बार भी चर्चा में रही अच्छी फिल्मों को छोड़ बर्फी को भेजा गया, जो पहले राउंड में ही बाहर हो गई। अब डेविड ओ रसेल की सिल्वर लाइनिंग्स प्लेबुक को आठ ऑस्कर के लिए नामांकित किया गया है, जिसमें अभिनेता ब्रैडले कूपर ने पागलखाने में रह कर निकले चरित्र को बखूबी निभाया है।

नामांकन नहीं, पर खुश

इस फिल्म में अनुपम खेर ने डॉक्टर पटेल की छोटी सी भूमिका की है। वह इसके नामांकन पर फूले नहीं समा रहे हैं। उन्होंने ट्वीट किया, "फिल्म की पूरी टीम को बधाई और शुक्रिया. यह शानदार सफर रहा। भारतीय फिल्म का शुक्रिया।" भारतीय अखबारों ने लिंकन की भूमिका वाले डेनियल डे लेविस और खेर की तस्वीरें एक साथ छापी हैं, जो भ्रामक हैं। लेकिन खेर इसमें भी खुश हैं, "मैं निजी तौर पर नामांकित नहीं किया गया हूं. लेकिन डेनियल के साथ तस्वीर देख कर अच्छा लग रहा है।"

ऑस्कर में नामांकित चौथी फिल्म, जिसे भारत के साथ जोड़ा जा रहा है, वह है अल कायदा प्रमुख ओसामा बिन लादेन के मारे जाने पर तैयार की गई फिल्म जीरो डार्क थर्टी। कनेक्शन सिर्फ इतना है कि फिल्म के कुछ हिस्सों की शूटिंग चंडीगढ़ के पास मनीमाजरा में हुई। पिछले साल इस इलाके को पाकिस्तान के एबटाबाद का रंग दिया गया था, जहां ओसामा बिन लादेन आखिरी समय में रह रहा था। लेकिन पाकिस्तानी झंडे लहराने और गाड़ियों पर पाकिस्तान के नंबर प्लेट लगाने की वजह से लोग इतना गुस्सा हुए कि उन्होंने शूटिंग पूरी नहीं होने दी। अब चूंकि फिल्म ऑस्कर के लिए नामांकित हुई है, भारतीय मीडिया ने रिपोर्ट दी है कि "मनीमाजरा बाजार के दुकानदार फूले नहीं समा रहे हैं कि बिगेलो की फिल्म को ऑस्कर के लिए नामित किया गया है।"

Lincoln (2012 film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lincoln
North American release poster
Directed by	Steven Spielberg
Produced by	Steven Spielberg Kathleen Kennedy
Screenplay by	Tony Kushner
Based on	Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Starring	Daniel Day-Lewis Sally Field David Strathairn Joseph Gordon-Levitt James Spader Hal Holbrook Tommy Lee Jones
Music by	John Williams
Cinematography	Janusz Kamiński
Editing by	Michael Kahn
Studio	DreamWorks Studios 20th Century Fox Reliance Entertainment Participant Media Amblin Entertainment The Kennedy/Marshall Company
Distributed by	Touchstone Pictures (Domestic) Reliance Entertainment (International) 20th Century Fox (International)
Release date(s)	October 8, 2012(New York Film Festival) November 9, 2012(United States)[1]
Running time	150 minutes[2]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$65 million[3]
Box office	$152,579,000[3]

Lincoln is a 2012 American historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg, starring Daniel Day-Lewis as United States President Abraham Lincoln andSally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln.^[4] The film is based in part on Doris Kearns Goodwin's biography of Lincoln, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, and covers the final four months of Lincoln's life, focusing on the President's efforts in January 1865 to have the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution passed by theUnited States House of Representatives.

Filming began October 17, 2011,^[5] and ended on December 19, 2011.^[6] Lincolnpremiered on October 8, 2012, at the New York Film Festival. The film was released on November 9, 2012, in select cities and widely released on November 16, 2012, in the United States by DreamWorks through Disney's Touchstone distribution label in the U.S.^[7] The film is scheduled for release on January 25, 2013 in the United Kingdom, with distribution in international territories, including the U.K., by 20th Century Fox.^[8]

Lincoln received widespread critical acclaim, with major praise directed to Day-Lewis' performance. In December 2012, the film was nominated for seven Golden Globe Awardsincluding Best Picture (Drama), Best Director for Spielberg, and Best Actor (Drama) for Day-Lewis. The film has been nominated for twelve Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Spielberg and Best Actor for Day-Lewis. The film also became a commercial success by grossing over $148 million at the domestic box office.^[3]

Contents   [hide]  1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Music 5 Reception 5.1 Box office 5.2 Critical response 5.3 Home media 5.4 Accolades 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit]Plot

Lincoln recounts President Abraham Lincoln's efforts, during January 1865, to obtain passage for the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in the United States House of Representatives, which would formally abolish slavery in the country. Expecting the Civil War to end within a month but concerned that his 1863 Emancipation Proclamation may be discarded by the courts once the war has concluded and the 13th Amendment defeated by the returning slave states, Lincoln feels it is imperative to pass the amendment by the end of January, thus removing any possibility that slaves who have already been freed may be re-enslaved. The Radical Republicans fear the amendment will merely be defeated and some wished to delay; the support of the amendment by Republicans in the border states is not yet assured either, since they prioritize the issue of ending the war. Even if all of them are ultimately brought on board, the amendment will still require the support of several Democratic congressmen if it is to pass. With dozens of Democrats having just become lame ducks after losing their re-election campaigns in the fall of 1864, some of Lincoln's advisers believe that he should wait until the new Republican-heavy Congress is seated, presumably giving the amendment an easier road to passage. Lincoln, however, remains adamant about having the amendment in place and the issue of slavery settled before the war is concluded.

Lincoln's hopes for passage of the amendment rely upon the support of the Republican Party founder Francis Preston Blair, the only one whose influence can ensure that all members of the western and border state conservative Republican faction will back the amendment. With Union victory in the Civil War seeming highly likely and greatly anticipated, but not yet a fully accomplished fact, Blair is keen to end the hostilities as soon as possible. Therefore, in return for his support, Blair insists that Lincoln allow him to immediately engage the Confederate government in peace negotiations. This is a complication to Lincoln's amendment efforts since he knows that a significant portion of the support he has garnered for the amendment is from the Radical Republican faction for which a negotiated peace that leaves slavery intact is anathema. If there seems to be a realistic possibility of ending the war even without guaranteeing the end of slavery, needed support for the amendment from the more conservative wing which does not favor abolition will certainly fall away. Unable to proceed without Blair's support, however, Lincoln reluctantly authorizes Blair's mission.

In the meantime, Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward work on the issue of securing the necessary Democratic votes for the amendment. Lincoln suggests that they concentrate on the lame duck Democrats, as they have already lost re-election and thus will feel free to vote as they please, rather than having to worry about how their vote will affect a future re-election campaign. Since those members also will soon be in need of employment and Lincoln will have many federal jobs to fill as he begins his second term, he sees this as a tool he can use to his advantage. Though Lincoln and Seward are unwilling to offer direct monetary bribes to the Democrats, they authorize agents to quietly go about contacting Democratic congressmen with offers of federal jobs in exchange for their voting in favor of the amendment.

With Confederate envoys ready to meet with Lincoln, he instructs them to be kept out of Washington, as the amendment approaches a vote on the House floor. At the moment of truth, Stevens decides to moderate his statements about racial equality to help the amendment's chances of passage. A rumor circulates that there are Confederate representatives in Washington ready to discuss peace, prompting both Democrats and conservative Republicans to advocate postponing the vote on the amendment. Lincoln explicitly denies that such envoys are in or will be in the city — technically a truthful statement, since he had ordered them to be kept away — and the vote proceeds, narrowly passing by a margin of two votes. When Lincoln subsequently meets with the Confederates, he tells them that slavery cannot be restored as the North is united for ratification of the amendment, and that several of the southern states' reconstructed legislatures would also vote to ratify.

After the amendment's passage, the film's narrative shifts forward two months, portraying Lincoln's visit to the battlefield at Petersburg, Virginia, where he exchanges a few words with General Grant. Shortly thereafter, Grant receives General Lee's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse. On the night of April 14, 1865, Lincoln is in a late-night meeting with his cabinet, discussing possible future measures toenfranchise blacks, when he is reminded that Mrs. Lincoln is waiting to take them to their evening at Ford's Theater.

The next morning, after Lincoln is shot, his physician pronounces him dead. The film concludes with a flashback to Lincoln delivering his second inaugural address.

[edit]Cast

• Daniel Day-Lewis as President Abraham Lincoln^[9]

Liam Neeson was originally cast as Lincoln in January 2005, having previously worked with Spielberg in Schindler's List.^[10] In preparation for the role, Neeson studied Lincoln extensively.^[11] However, in July 2010, Neeson left the project, saying that he had grown too old for the part. Neeson was 58 at the time, and Lincoln, during the time period depicted, was 55 and 56.^[12] Co-star Sally Field, in a 2012 PBS interview, intimated that Neeson's decision was influenced by the tragic loss of his wife less than a year earlier.^[13][14] In November 2010, it was announced that Day-Lewis would replace Neeson in the role.^[15] Doris Kearns Goodwin described Lincoln in his final months as a leader with "the rare wisdom of a temperament that consistently displayed an uncommon magnanimity to those who opposed him".^[16] Producer Kathleen Kennedy described Day-Lewis's performance as "remarkable" after 75% of the filming had been completed, and said, "Every day you get the chills thinking that Lincoln is sitting there right in front of you." Kennedy described Day-Lewis's method acting immersion into the role: "He is very much deeply invested and immersed throughout the day when he's in character, but he's very accessible at the end of the day, once he can step outside of it and not feel that – I mean, he's given huge scenes with massive amounts of dialogue and he needs to stay in character, it's a very, very performance-driven movie."^[17] His performance as Abraham Lincoln earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

• Sally Field as First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln^[18]

Field was first announced to join the cast as early as September 2007, but officially joined the cast in April 2011.^[19] Field said, "To have the opportunity to work with Steven Spielberg and Daniel Day-Lewis and to play one of the most complicated and colorful women in American history is simply as good as it gets."^[20] Spielberg said, "she has always been my first choice to portray all the fragility and complexity that was Mary Todd Lincoln".^[21] Her performance as Mary Todd Lincoln earned her a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

• David Strathairn as Secretary of State William H. Seward^[22]

According to John Hay, "The history of governments affords few instances of an official connection hallowed by a friendship so absolute and sincere as that which existed between these two magnanimous spirits", namely Seward and Lincoln.^[23]

• Tommy Lee Jones as Radical Republican Congressional leader Thaddeus Stevens^[24]

A fervent abolitionist, Stevens feared that Lincoln would "turn his back on emancipation." Stevens "excoriated him on the floor of the House" for meeting with a Confederate peace delegation.^[23] His performance as Thaddeus Stevens earned him a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

• Hal Holbrook^[25] (who won an Emmy portraying Lincoln in a 1976 mini-series) as Francis Preston Blair^[26]

Blair was an influential Republican politician who tried to arrange a peace agreement between the Union and the Confederacy

• Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Robert Todd Lincoln^[24]

Robert Lincoln had recently left his studies at Harvard Law School and was newly named a Union Army captain and personal attendant to General Grant. He returned to the White House on April 14, 1865 to visit his family. His father was assassinated that night.^[23]

• James Spader as Republican Party operative William N. Bilbo

Bilbo had been imprisoned but was freed by Lincoln, and then lobbied for passage of the Thirteenth Amendment.^[27]

• John Hawkes^[25] as Colonel Robert Latham

Latham founded Lincoln College in 1865

• Jackie Earle Haley as Confederate States Vice President Alexander H. Stephens^[28]

Stephens had served with Lincoln in Congress from 1847 to 1849. He met with Abraham Lincoln on the steamboat River Queen at the unsuccessful Hampton Roads Conference on February 3, 1865

• Lee Pace as Democratic Congressman Fernando Wood: A former Mayor of New York City, Wood became a CopperheadDemocratic Congressman sympathetic to the Confederacy
• Gloria Reuben^[27] as Elizabeth Keckley

Keckley was a former slave who was dressmaker and confidant to Mary Todd Lincoln

• Bill Raymond as Schuyler Colfax: Colfax served as the Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1863 to 1869. He was later (1869-1873) Vice President of the United States.
• David Costabile^[25] as James Ashley
• Julie White as Elizabeth Blair Lee: Lee was the daughter of Francis Preston Blair, and wrote hundreds of letters documenting events during the Civil War^[26]
• S. Epatha Merkerson as Lydia Smith: Smith was Thaddeus Stevens's biracial housekeeper. Stevens was a bachelor and Smith lived with him for many years.^[26]
• Elizabeth Marvel as Ms. Jolly^[26]
• Stephen Henderson as William Slade^[26]
• Adam Driver as Samuel Beckwith^[26]
• Lukas Haas as First White Soldier^[26]
• Dane DeHaan as Second White Soldier^[26]
• Colman Domingo as Private Harold Green^[26]
• Michael Stuhlbarg as George Yeaman^[26]
• Stephen Spinella as Asa Vintner Litton^[26]
• Bruce McGill as Secretary of War Edwin Stanton^[29]

Stanton took charge of the investigation of the assassination plot^[23]

• Tim Blake Nelson^[30] as Richard Schell

Schell was a politician who later represented New York in the United States House of Representatives.

• Joseph Cross as John Hay

Hay was assistant and secretary to Abraham Lincoln, and later Secretary of State under William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt.

• Jared Harris as Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant^[26]

Commanded the Union Army from March 1864 and directed the strategy that led to Union Victory.

• Peter McRobbie as Ohio Democrat, U.S. Representative George H. Pendleton
• Gulliver McGrath as Tad Lincoln^[31]
• Jeremy Strong^[25] as John George Nicolay^[26]

Nicolay was secretary to Abraham Lincoln

• Boris McGiver^[25] as Alexander Coffroth
• Walton Goggins as Democratic Congressman Wells A. Hutchins^[32]

Hutchins was one of only 16 Democrats who broke with his party to cast decisive votes in favor of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished slavery

• David Warshofsky^[25] as William Hutton
• David Oyelowo as Ira Clark^[33]
• Byron Jennings^[25] as Montgomery Blair^[26]

Blair was the son of Francis Preston Blair, was the former Postmaster-General, and was a political opponent of the Radical Republicans

• Richard Topol as James Speed^[26]

Speed was United States Attorney General and brother of Joshua Speed, Lincoln's oldest personal friend

• Dakin Matthews^[25] as John Palmer Usher^[26]

Usher was the Secretary of the Interior in Lincoln's cabinet

• Wayne Duvall as Radical Republican Senator Benjamin "Bluff Ben" Wade
• Gregory Itzin as John Archibald Campbell^[26]

Campbell was a former Supreme Court Justice who had resigned at the start of war and then served as Assistant Secretary of War in the Confederate government. He was also a member of the Confederate delegation that met with Lincoln at the Hampton Roads Conference.

[edit]Production

While consulting on a Steven Spielberg project in 1999, Goodwin told Spielberg she was planning to write Team of Rivals, and Spielberg immediately told her he wanted the film rights.^[34] DreamWorks finalized the deal in 2001,^[10] and by the end of the year, John Logan signed on to write the script.^[35] His draft focused on Lincoln's friendship with Frederick Douglass.^[36] Playwright Paul Webb was hired to rewrite and filming was set to begin in January 2006,^[10] but Spielberg delayed it out of dissatisfaction with the script.^[37]Neeson said Webb's draft covered the entirety of Lincoln's term as President.^[38]

Tony Kushner replaced Webb. Kushner considered Lincoln "the greatest democratic leader in the world" and found the writing assignment daunting because "I have no idea [what made him great]; I don't understand what he did anymore than I understand howWilliam Shakespeare wrote Hamlet or Mozart wrote Così fan tutte." He delivered his first draft late and felt the enormous amount written about Lincoln did not help either. Kushner said Lincoln's abolitionist ideals made him appealing to a Jewish writer, and although he feltLincoln was Christian, he noted the president rarely quoted the New Testament and that his "thinking and his ethical deliberation seem very talmudic".^[39] By late 2008, Kushner joked he was on his "967,000th book about Abraham Lincoln".^[40] Kushner's initial 500-page draft focused on four months in the life of Lincoln, and by February 2009 he had rewritten it to focus on two months in Lincoln's life when he was preoccupied with adopting the Thirteenth Amendment.^[38]

While promoting Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in May 2008, Spielberg announced his intention to start filming in early 2009,^[41] for release in November, ten months after the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth.^[34] In January 2009, Taunton andDighton, Massachusetts were being scouted as potential locations.^[42] Spielberg arranged a $50 million budget for the film, to pleaseParamount Pictures CEO Brad Grey, who had previously delayed the project over concerns it was too similar to Spielberg's commercially unsuccessful Amistad (1997). Spielberg had wanted Touchstone Pictures–which agreed to distribute all his films from 2010–to distribute the film, but he was unable to afford paying off Paramount, which DreamWorks had developed the film with.^[43]

Filming took place in Petersburg, Virginia. According to location manager Colleen Gibbons, "one thing that attracted the filmmakers to the city was the 180-degree vista of historic structures" which is "very rare".^[44] Lincoln toured Petersburg on April 3, 1865, the day after it fell to the Union Army. Scenes have also been filmed in Fredericksburg, Virginia and at the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, which served as the Capitol of the Confederacy during the Civil War.^[28][45] Abraham Lincoln visited the building on April 4, 1865, after Richmond fell to the Union Army.

On September 4, 2012, DreamWorks and Google Play announced on the film's Facebook page that they would release the trailer for the film during a Google+ hangout with Steven Spielberg and Joseph Gordon-Levitt on September 13, 2012 at 7pm EDT/4pm PDT.^[46]Then, on September 10, 2012, a teaser for the trailer was released.^[47]

[edit]Music

The soundtrack to Lincoln was released on November 6, 2012 in the United States and was recorded by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Chorus.^[48][49]

All music composed by John Williams.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The People's House"	3:43
2.	"The Purpose of the Amendment"	3:07
3.	"Getting Out the Vote"	2:49
4.	"The American Process"	3:57
5.	"The Blue and Grey"	3:00
6.	"With Malice Toward None"	1:51
7.	"Call to Muster and Battle Cry of Freedom"	2:17
8.	"The Southern Delegation and the Dream"	4:43
9.	"Father and Son"	1:42
10.	"The Race to the House"	2:42
11.	"Equality Under the Law"	3:12
12.	"Freedom's Call"	6:08
13.	"Elegy"	2:35
14.	"Remembering Willie"	1:51
15.	"Appomattox, April 9, 1865"	2:38
16.	"The Peterson House and Finale"	11:00
17.	"With Malice Toward None (Piano Solo)"	1:31
Total length:		58:46

[edit]Reception

[edit]Box office

As of January 14, 2013, the film has made $152,579,000 domestically from 2,293 theaters, well exceeding its budget. The film opened limited in 11 theaters with $944,308 and an average of $85,846 per theater. It opened at the #15 rank, becoming the highest opening of a film with such a limited release. The film opened wide in 1,175 theaters with $21,049,406 and an average of $11,859 per theater.^[3]Due to the widespread success of Lincoln, Disney had to produce additional prints of the film to accommodate theater demand.^[50]

[edit]Critical response

Lincoln received widespread critical acclaim. The film currently holds a 91% approval rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 8.1/10. Among the site's "Top Critics", the film scored a 95% approval rating and an average rating of 8.6/10. The site's critical consensus is "Daniel Day-Lewis characteristically delivers in this witty, dignified portrait that immerses the audience in its world and entertains even as it informs."^[51] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 based on reviews from critics, the film has a score of 86 (out of 100) based on 42 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim", thus making it Spielberg's highest rated film on the site since Saving Private Ryan.^[52]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 4 out of 4 stars and said, "The hallmark of the man, performed so powerfully by Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln, is calm self-confidence, patience and a willingness to play politics in a realistic way." Ebert went on to name it as one of the best films of the year.^[53] Glenn Kenny of MSN Movies gave it 5 out of 5 stars stating, "It's the most remarkable movie Steven Spielberg has made in quite a spell, and one of the things that makes it remarkable is how it fulfills those expectations by simultaneously ignoring and transcending them."^[54]

Colin Covert of the Star Tribune wrote, ""Lincoln" is one of those rare projects where a great director, a great actor and a great writer amplify one another's gifts. The team of Steven Spielberg, Daniel Day-Lewis and Tony Kushner has brought forth a triumphant piece of historical journalism, a profound work of popular art and a rich examination of one of our darkest epochs."^[55] It has been praised by Charlie McCollum of the San Jose Mercury News as one "of the finest historical dramas ever committed to film." Despite mostly positive reviews, Rex Reed of the New York Observer stated, "In all, there's too much material, too little revelation and almost nothing of Spielberg's reliable cinematic flair." However, the reviews have been unanimous in their praise of Daniel Day-Lewis's performance asAbraham Lincoln. A. O. Scott from The New York Times stated the movie "is finally a movie about how difficult and costly it has been for the United States to recognize the full and equal humanity of black people" and concluded that the movie was "a rough and noble democratic masterpiece".^[56]

Scott also stated that Lincoln's concern about his wife's emotional instability and "the strains of a wartime presidency... produce a portrait that is intimate but also decorous, drawn with extraordinary sensitivity and insight and focused, above all, on Lincoln's character as a politician. This is, in other words, less a biopic than a political thriller, a civics lesson that is energetically staged and alive with moral energy."^[56]

Academic historians have been more ambivalent in their reaction than movie critics. Eric Foner (Columbia University), a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian of the period, claims in a letter to the New York Times that the movie "grossly exaggerates" its main points about the choices at stake in the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment (November 26, 2012).^[57] Kate Masur (Northwestern University) accuses the film of oversimplifying the role of blacks in abolition and dismisses the effort as "an opportunity squandered" in an op-ed for the New York Times (November 12, 2012).^[58] Harold Holzer, co-chair of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation and author of more than 40 books, served as a consultant to the film and praises it but also observes that there is "no shortage of small historical bloopers in the movie" in a piece for The Daily Beast (November 22, 2012).^[59] Allen Guelzo (Gettysburg College), also writing for The Daily Beast has some plot criticism, but disagrees with Holzer, arguing that, "The pains that have been taken in the name of historical authenticity in this movie are worth hailing just on their own terms" (November 27, 2012).^[60] David Stewart, independent historical author, writing forHistory News Network, describes Spielberg's work as "reasonably solid history" and tells readers of HNN, "go see it with a clear conscience" (November 20, 2012).^[61] Lincoln Biographer Ronald White also admired the film, though he noted a few mistakes and pointed out in an interview with NPR, "Is every word true? No." (November 23, 2012).^[62] Historian Joshua M. Zeitz, writing in The Atlantic, noted some minor mistakes, but concluded "Lincoln is not a perfect film, but it is an important film."^[63] However American Civil War historian Ed Goodger described the content of the film as having "great inaccuracies simply for the sake of drama", saying that for much of the civil war Lincoln blocked emancipation due to the risk of an escalation in the war.^{[citation needed]}

[edit]Home media

Lincoln will be released on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital download on March 26, 2013 from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. The release will be produced in two different physical packages: a 2-disc combo pack (Blu-ray and DVD); and a 1-disc DVD.

[edit]Accolades

List of awards and nominations

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipients and nominees	Outcome
AFI Awards 2012[64]	January 11, 2013	Movies of the Year		Won
85th Academy Awards	February 24, 2013	Best Picture	Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy	Pending
		Best Director	Steven Spielberg	Pending
		Best Actor	Daniel Day-Lewis	Pending
		Best Actor in a Supporting Role	Tommy Lee Jones	Pending
		Best Actress in a Supporting Role	Sally Field	Pending
		Best Adapted Screenplay	Tony Kushner	Pending
		Best Original Score	John Williams	Pending
		Best Sound Mixing	Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom &Ronald Judkins	Pending
		Best Production Design	Rick Carter & Jim Erickson	Pending
		Best Cinematography	Janusz Kamiński	Pending
		Best Costume Design	Joanna Johnston	Pending
		Best Film Editing	Michael Kahn	Pending
2nd AACTA International Awards[65]	January 2013	Best International Film	Kathleen Kennedy and Steven Spielberg	Pending
		Best International Direction	Steven Spielberg	Pending
		Best International Screenplay	Tony Kushner	Pending
		Best International Actor	Daniel Day-Lewis	Pending
Alliance of Women in Film Journalists Association	January 7, 2013	Best Picture		Nominated
		Best Director (Female or Male)	Steven Spielberg	Nominated
		Best Screenplay, Adapted	Tony Kushner	Nominated
		Best Actress in a Supporting Role	Sally Field	Nominated
		Best Actor	Daniel Day-Lewis	Won
		Best Actor in a Supporting Role	Tommy Lee Jones	Nominated
		Best Ensemble Cast		Nominated
33rd Boston Society of Film Critics Award[66]	December 9, 2012	Best Actor	Daniel Day-Lewis	Won
		Best Supporting Actress	Sally Field	Won
		Best Screenplay	Tony Kushner	Won
66th British Academy Film Awards[67]	February 10, 2013	Best Film		Pending
		Best Actor in a Leading Role	Daniel Day-Lewis	Pending
		Best Actor in a Supporting Role	Tommy Lee Jones	Pending
		Best Actress in a Supporting Role	Sally Field	Pending
		Best Adapted Screenplay	Tony Kushner	Pending
		Best Cinematography	Janusz Kaminski	Pending
		Best Original Music	John Williams	Pending
		Best Production Design	Rick Carter, Jim Erickson	Pending
		Best Costume Design	Joanna Johnston	Pending
		Best Makeup and Hair	Leo Corey Castellano, Mia Kovero	Pending
Chicago Film Critics Association[68]	December 17, 2012	Best Picture		Nominated
		Best Director	Steven Spielberg	Nominated
		Best Actor	Daniel Day-Lewis	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Tommy Lee Jones	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Sally Field	Nominated
		Best Adapted Screenplay	Tony Kushner	Won
		Best Cinematography	Janusz Kamiński	Nominated
		Best Art Direction		Nominated
18th Critics' Choice Awards[69]	January 10, 2013	Best Picture		Nominated
		Best Actor	Daniel Day-Lewis	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Tommy Lee Jones	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Sally Field	Nominated
		Best Director	Steven Spielberg	Nominated
		Best Acting Ensemble		Nominated
		Best Adapted Screenplay	Tony Kushner	Won
		Best Cinematography	Janusz Kamiński	Nominated
		Best Art Direction	Rick Carter, Jim Erickson	Nominated
		Best Editing	Michael Kahn	Nominated
		Best Costume Design	Joanna Johnston	Nominated
		Best Makeup	Leo Corey Castellano, Mia Kovero	Nominated
		Best Score	John Williams	Won
6th Detroit Film Critics Society Awards[70]	December 14, 2012	Best Actor	Daniel Day-Lewis	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Tommy Lee Jones	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Sally Field	Nominated
		Best Ensemble		Won
		Best Screenplay	Tony Kushner	Nominated
65th Director's Guild of America Awards [71]	February 2, 2012	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film	Steven Spielberg	Pending
70th Golden Globe Awards [72]	January 13, 2013	Best Motion Picture - Drama		Nominated
		Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama	Daniel Day-Lewis	Won
		Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture	Tommy Lee Jones	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture	Sally Field	Nominated
		Best Director	Steven Spielberg	Nominated
		Best Screenplay	Tony Kushner	Nominated
		Best Original Score	John Williams	Nominated
3rd International Online Film Critics' Poll[73][74]	December 20, 2012	Best Film - Motion Picture		Nominated
		Top Ten Films		Won
		Best Director	Steven Spielberg	Nominated
		Best Actor in a Leading Role	Daniel Day-Lewis	Nominated
		Best Adapted Screenplay	Tony Kushner	Nominated
		Best Cinematography	Janusz Kamiński	Won
		Best Production Design	Rick Carter	Nominated
		Best Editing	Michael Kahn	Nominated
Las Vegas Film Critics Society[75]	December 13, 2012	Best Actor	Daniel Day-Lewis	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Tommy Lee Jones	Won
National Board of Review of Motion Pictures[76]	December 5, 2012	Top 10 Films		Won
78th New York Film Critics Circle Awards[77]	December 3, 2012	Best Actor	Daniel Day-Lewis	Won
		Best Supporting Actress	Sally Field	Won
		Best Screenplay	Tony Kushner	Won
12th New York Film Critics Online Awards[78]	December 9, 2012	Top 10 Films of 2012		Won
		Best Actor	Daniel Day-Lewis	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Tommy Lee Jones	Won
North Texas Film Critics Association	January 7, 2013	Best Picture		Won
		Best Director	Steven Spielberg	Won
		Best Actor	Daniel Day-Lewis	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Tommy Lee Jones	Won
24th Producers Guild of America Awards[79]	January 26, 2013	Best Theatrical Motion Picture	Kathleen Kennedy and Steven Spielberg	Pending
17th San Diego Film Critics Society Awards[80]	December 11, 2012	Best Actor	Daniel Day-Lewis	Won
		Best Adapted Screenplay	Tony Kushner	Nominated
17th Satellite Awards[81]	December 16, 2012	Best Picture		Nominated
		Best Director	Steven Spielberg	Nominated
		Best Actor	Daniel Day-Lewis	Nominated
		Best Actor in a Supporting Role	Tommy Lee Jones	Nominated
		Best Adapted Screenplay	Tony Kushner	Nominated
		Best Original Score	John Williams	Nominated
		Best Cinematography	Janusz Kamiński	Nominated
		Best Art Direction & Production Design	Curt Beech, Rick Carter, David Crank, Leslie McDonald	Won
19th Screen Actors Guild Awards[82]	January 27, 2013	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture		Pending
		Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role	Daniel Day-Lewis	Pending
		Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role	Tommy Lee Jones	Pending
		Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role	Sally Field	Pending
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards 2012	December 10, 2012	Best Picture		Nominated
		Best Actor	Daniel Day-Lewis	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Tommy Lee Jones	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Sally Field	Nominated
		Best Director	Steven Spielberg	Nominated
		Best Adapted Screenplay	Tony Kushner	Nominated
		Best Acting Ensemble		Nominated
		Best Art Direction	Rick Carter and Jim Erickson	Nominated
		Best Score	John Williams	Nominated
Women Film Critics Circle	December 22, 2012	Best Actor	Daniel Day-Lewis	Won
		Best Male Images		Won
Writers Guild of America Award [83]	February 17, 2013	Best Adapted Screenplay	Tony Kushner	Pending

[edit]See also

• Cultural depictions of Abraham Lincoln

[edit]References

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2. ^ "LINCOLN (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. 2012-11-28. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
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6. ^ "Filmmakers really liked Petersburg". The Progress-Index(Petersburg, Virginia). December 29, 2011. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
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19. ^ Carly Mayberry (September 25, 2007). "Field is Spielberg's new first lady". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 26, 2007.^{[dead link]}
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25. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Schaefer, Sandy. "Spielberg's 'Lincoln' Casts Every Other Good Actor Under The Sun". Screen Rant. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
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45. ^ Kumar, Anita (November 8, 2011). "Virginia Politics: Lights, camera, action. Spielberg's Lincoln movie films at Capitol".Washington Post (Washington, DC). Retrieved November 28, 2011.
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55. ^ "Making history with 'Lincoln'". Retrieved January 11, 2013.
56. ^ ^a b Scott, A. O. (8 November 2012). "A President Engaged in a Great Civil War". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
57. ^ "Lincoln's Use of Politics for Noble Ends". NYTimes.com. 2012-11-26. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
58. ^ Kate Masur (2012-11-12). "In Spielberg's 'Lincoln,' Passive Black Characters". NYTimes.com. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
59. ^ Harold Holzer (2012-11-22). "What's True and False in "Lincoln" Movie". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
60. ^ Frum, David (2012-11-27). "A Civil War Professor Reviews 'Lincoln'". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
61. ^ Author:  David O. Stewart. "How True is "Lincoln"? | History News Network". Hnn.us. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
62. ^ Updated: Nov 23, 2012 04:49 PM EST (2012-11-23). "Fact-Checking Steven Spielberg's 'Lincoln' Movie with Biographer Ronald C. White : Books : Books & Review". Booksnreview.com. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
63. ^ "Fact-Checking 'Lincoln': Lincoln's Mostly Realistic; His Advisers Aren't - Joshua Zeitz". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
64. ^ "AFI Awards 2012". American Film Institute. Retrieved December 11, 2012.
65. ^ Garry, Maddox (9 January 2013). "Jackman, Kidman up for AACTA awards". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). Retrieved 11 January 2013.
66. ^ "2012 Winners". Boston Society of Film Critics. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
67. ^ "'Lincoln' dominates BAFTA nominations, earning 10". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
68. ^ "2012 Chicago Film Critics Awards". Chicago Film Critics Association. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
69. ^ "'LINCOLN' LEADS THE 18TH ANNUAL CRITICS' CHOICE MOVIE AWARDS NOMINATIONS WITH A RECORD 13 NOMS". Broadcast Film Critics Association. Retrieved December 11, 2012.
70. ^ "The 2012 Detroit Film Critics Society Awards". Detroit Film Critics Society. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
71. ^ "Affleck, Spielberg, Bigelow among Director's Guild film nominees". DGA. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
72. ^ "2013 Golden Globe Nominations". HFPA. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
73. ^ http://www.imdb.com/news/ni41861385/
74. ^ http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2012/12/international-online-film-critics-poll_20.html
75. ^ "LVFCS Sierra Award Winners". LVFCS. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
76. ^ "2013 National Board Of Review Awards". MovieCityNews.com. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
77. ^ NYFCC. "2012 Awards". NYFCC. NYFCC. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
78. ^ "New York Film Critics Online Hail "Zero Dark Thirty"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
79. ^ "PGA Motion Picture Nominees Announced". PGA. Retrieved January 03, 2013.
80. ^ "San Diego Film Critics Select Top Films for 2012". SDFCS. Retrieved December 11, 2012.
81. ^ "17th Satellite Awards Nominations". International Press Academy. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
82. ^ "Nominations Announced for the 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards". 2012-12-11. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
83. ^ "2013 Writers Guild Awards Screen Nominations Announced". WGA. Retrieved January 4, 2013.

[edit]External links

• Official website
• Lincoln at the Internet Movie Database
• Lincoln at Rotten Tomatoes
• Lincoln at Metacritic
• Lincoln on Facebook
• Lincoln at Box Office Mojo
• Lincoln: Meet the Cast at the Entertainment Weekly
• Lincoln's Last Days: Short Film and Original Historical Manuscripts Shapell Manuscript Foundation

Life of Pi (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Life of Pi
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ang Lee
Produced by	Ang Lee Gil Netter David Womark
Screenplay by	David Magee
Based on	Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Starring	Suraj Sharma Irrfan Khan Tabu Adil Hussain Gerard Depardieu Rafe Spall
Music by	Mychael Danna
Cinematography	Claudio Miranda
Editing by	Tim Squyres
Studio	Rhythm & Hues Fox 2000 Pictures
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	November 21, 2012
Running time	127 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$120 million[2]
Box office	$451,098,000[2]

Life of Pi is a 2012 American adventure drama film based on Yann Martel's 2001 novel of the same name. Directed by Ang Lee, the film is based on an adapted screenplay byDavid Magee, and stars Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Gérard Depardieu, Tabu, and Adil Hussain.

The storyline revolves around a 16-year old boy named Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, who survives a shipwreck in which his family dies, and is stranded in the Pacific Ocean on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. The film had its worldwide premiere as the opening film of the 50th New York Film Festival at both the Walter Reade Theater andAlice Tully Hall in New York City on September 28, 2012.^[3]

Upon release, Life of Pi was met with favorable reviews and earned eleven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Visual Effects, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It has also been nominated for three Golden Globe nominations, including Best Picture - Drama and Best Director.

Contents   [hide]  1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 3.1 Development 3.2 Pre-production 3.3 Production 3.4 Post-production 4 Distribution 4.1 Marketing 4.2 Theatrical release 4.3 Home media 5 Reception 5.1 Box office 5.2 Critical reception 5.3 Controversies 5.4 Accolades 6 References 7 External links

[edit]Plot

Pi Patel, an immigrant from Pondicherry in India living in Montreal, Canada, is approached by a local novelist who has been referred to him by his "uncle" (a family friend), believing that Pi's life story would make a great book. Pi relates an extended tale:

His parents had named him Piscine Molitor after a swimming pool in France. He changes his name to "Pi" (the mathematical symbol, π) when he begins secondary school, even repeating numerous digits of pi, because he is tired of being taunted with the nickname "Pissing Patel". His family owns a local zoo, and Pi takes an interest in the animals, especially a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker because of a clerical error. Pi tries to feed the tiger, endangering himself to being attacked, and to teach him the reality of the tiger's nature as a carnivore, Pi's father forces him to witness it killing a goat. He is raisedHindu and vegetarian, but at 12 years old, he is introduced to Christianity and then Islam, and starts to follow all three religions as he "just wants to love God." When asked if he is also Jewish, he replies that he lectures inKabbalah at the university.

When Pi is 16, his father decides to close the zoo and move his family to Canada, and sell the zoo animals, to ensure a good future for his children. They book passage with their animals (to be sold in North America) on a Japanese freighter named the Tsimtsum. On board the ship, Pi's father gets into an argument with the ship's cook when he speaks to Pi's mother rudely. One night, the ship encounters a heavy storm and begins to sink while Pi is on deck marveling at the storm. He tries to find his family, but a crew member throws him into a lifeboat; from the rough sea, he watches helplessly as the ship sinks, killing his family and its crew.

After the storm, Pi finds himself in the lifeboat with an injured zebra, and is joined by an orangutan who lost her offspring in the shipwreck. A spotted hyena emerges from the tarp covering half of the boat, and kills the zebra. To Pi's distress, the hyena also mortally wounds the orangutan in a fight. Suddenly Richard Parker emerges from under the tarp, and kills and eats the hyena.

Pi finds emergency food and water rations on the boat. He builds a small raft of flotation devices so that he can stay at a safe distance from the tiger. Realizing that he must feed the tiger to protect himself, Pi begins fishing, with some success. He also collects rain water for both to drink. At one point, he makes a board ladder for the tiger to climb back into the boat after it had jumped off to hunt fish. In a nighttime encounter with a breaching whale, Pi loses much of his supplies. Faced with starvation, he eats raw fish. After many days at sea, Pi realizes that he can no longer live on the tiny raft and trains the tiger Richard Parker to accept him in the boat. He also realizes that caring for the tiger is keeping him alive.

After weeks longer at sea, near the end of their strength, they reach a floating island of edible plants, supporting a forest, fresh water pools, and a large population of meerkats. Both Pi and Richard Parker eat and drink freely and regain strength. But at night the island transforms into a hostile environment, with the fresh water turning acidic, digesting all the dead fish that died in the pools. The tiger returns to the lifeboat at night. Pi finds a human tooth inside a plant flower and concludes that the plants are carnivorous, requiring them to leave the island.

The lifeboat eventually reaches the coast of Mexico. Finally back on land, Richard Parker stumbles away from Pi and stops at the edge of the jungle. Pi expects that the tiger will turn toward him and acknowledge him, but instead he looks into the jungle for a while and goes in. Pi, too weak to follow, lies in the sand. He is rescued by a group who carry him to hospital, but he weeps that the tiger had walked away without him.

In hospital, insurance agents for the Japanese freighter come to hear his account of the incident. They find his story unbelievable, and ask him to tell them what "really" happened, if only for the credibility of their report. He answers with a less fantastic but detailed account of sharing the lifeboat with his mother, a sailor with a broken leg, and the cook. In this story, the cook kills the sailor to use him as bait and food. In a later struggle, Pi's mother pushes him to safety on a smaller raft, and the cook stabs her as she falls overboard to the sharks. Later, Pi returns to grab the knife and kills the cook.

In the present, the writer notes parallels between the two stories: the orangutan was Pi's mother, the zebra was the sailor, the hyena was the cook, and Richard Parker, the tiger, was Pi himself. Pi asks him which story the writer prefers; he chooses the one with the tiger because it "is the better story", to which Pi responds, "And so it is with God". Glancing at a copy of the insurance report, the writer notices a closing comment about the remarkable feat of surviving 227 days at sea, especially with a tiger: the insurance agents chose that story as well.

[edit]Cast

• Suraj Sharma as Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, age 16
  • Irrfan Khan as Pi, adult
  • Ayush Tandon as Pi, age 13
  • Gautam Belur as Pi, age 5
• Tabu as Gita Patel, Pi's mother
• Adil Hussain as Santosh Patel, Pi's father
• Gérard Depardieu as the Cook
• Po-Chieh Wang as the Taiwanese Sailor
• Rafe Spall as the Writer
• Shravanthi Sainath as Anandi, Pi's teenage girlfriend
• Andrea Di Stefano as the Priest
• Vibish Sivakumar as Ravi Patel, Pi's older brother, age 18
  • Mohamed Abbas Khaleeli as Ravi, age 15
  • Ayan Khan as Ravi, age 7

[edit]Production

[edit]Development

Life of Pi is directed by Ang Lee and based on a screenplay by David Magee. The screenplay is adapted from the 2001 novel of the same name written by Yann Martel. Before Lee, the project had numerous directors and writers attached, and the Los Angeles Timescredited Fox 2000 Pictures executive Elizabeth Gabler with keeping the project active.^[4] Gabler in February 2003 had acquired the project to adapt Life of Pi into a film. She hired the screenwriter Dean Georgaris to write an adapted screenplay. In the following October, Fox 2000 announced a partnership with M. Night Shyamalan to direct the film. Shyamalan was attracted to the novel particularly because its protagonist also comes from Pondicherry (Puducherry) in India. The partners anticipated for Shyamalan to direct the film adaptation after completing The Village. Shyamalan also replaced Georgaris as the screenwriter, writing a new screenplay for the film.^[5] Ultimately, Shyamalan chose to film Lady in the Water after The Village, and Fox 2000 Pictures decided to find another director. In March 2005, they entered talks with Alfonso Cuarón to become the director.^[6] Shyamalan said in 2006, "I was hesitant [to direct] because the book has kind of a twist ending. And I was concerned that as soon as you put my name on it, everybody would have a different experience."^[7]

Cuarón decided to direct Children of Men instead, and in October 2005, Fox 2000 Pictures hired Jean-Pierre Jeunet to direct the film. Jeunet began writing the adapted screenplay with Guillaume Laurant, and filming was scheduled to begin in mid-2006, partially in India.^[8] Jeunet eventually left the project, and in February 2009, Fox 2000 Pictures hired Ang Lee to direct the film.^[9] In May 2010, Lee and the producer Gil Netter proposed a reported budget of $70 million, at which the studio balked, placing the project's development on hold for a short time.^[4] David Magee was hired to write the screenplay, as Lee began to spend several months looking for someone to cast as Pi.

[edit]Pre-production

After 3,000 men auditioned for the film's lead, in October 2010 Lee chose to cast Suraj Sharma, a 17-year-old student and an acting newcomer.^[10] Upon receiving the role, Sharma underwent extensive training in ocean survival, as well as in yoga and meditation practices to prepare for the part.^[11] Two months after Sharma was cast, it was announced that Gerard Depardieu would play the role of the Chef, Irrfan Khan would play the adult Pi. Aalif Surti, Development and Production head at Fox Star Studios, later revealed via Twitter that Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan had been highly recommended and seriously considered for the role, but was not approached in the end as he was too recognisable and his superstar presence would break consistency with the other casting choices. It was also announced that Adil Hussain would play Pi's father, while Bollywood star Tabu was in talks to play the role of Pi's mother.^[12]

In April 2011, it was announced that Tobey Maguire would be joining the film in the role originally referred to as "a reporter."^[13] However, in September 2012, it was announced that Lee had cut Tobey Maguire from the film. Lee justified the cut by stating that he did it "to be consistent with the other casting choices made for the film, I decided to go with an entirely international cast."^[14] Like Shah Rukh Khan, Lee described Maguire's presence also as "too jarringly recognizable." He reshot the scenes with Rafe Spall in the role later referred to as the Writer.^[14]

[edit]Production

Principal photography for the film began on January 18, 2011 in Pondicherry, India at the Holy Rosary Church in Muthialpet. Filming continued in Pondicherry until January 31 and moved to other parts of India, including the popular hill station of Munnar in Kerala, as well as Taiwan. The crew filmed in Taiwan for five and a half months in Taipei Zoo, an airport in Taichung, and Kenting National Park, located in Pingtung County where Lee was born.^[15][16] Over there, the ocean scenes of the film were shot at a giant wave tank built by the crew in an abandoned airport.^[17] The tank is known as the world's largest self-generating wave tank, with a capacity of 1.7 million gallons.^[18] After photography was completed in Taiwan, production moved back to India and concluded in Montreal, Canada.^[10]

[edit]Post-production

The lead visual effects company for Life of Pi is Rhythm & Hues Studios (R&H) which has its corporate headquarters in El Segundo, California. 3D effects for the film were created by a team of artists from all of the R&H divisions, including locations in Mumbai andHyderabad (India), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Vancouver (Canada), and Kaohsiung (Taiwan).^{[19][20][21][22][23][24]} Artist Abdul Rahman in the Malaysian branch underscored the global nature of the effects process, saying that "the special thing about Life Of Pi is that it was the first time we did something called remote rendering, where we engaged our cloud infrastructure in Taiwan called CAVE (Cloud Animation and Visual Effects)."^[25]

The R&H Visual Effects Supervisor Bill Westenhofer said that discussions of the project began with Ang Lee in August 2009.^[26]Westenhofer noted that Lee "knew we had done the lion in the first Narnia movie. He asked, 'Does a digital character look more or less real in 3D?' We looked at each other and thought that was a pretty good question."^[27] He also stated that during these meetings, Lee said, "'I look forward to making art with you.' This was really for me one of the most rewarding things I've worked on and the first chance to really combine art with VFX. Every shot was artistic exploration, to make the ocean a character and make it interesting we had to strive to make it as visually stunning as possible."^[28] Rhythm & Hues spent a year on research and development, " building upon its already vast knowledge of CG animation" to develop the tiger.^[29] The British Film Institute's Sight & Sound magazine suggested that, "Life of Pi can be seen as the film Rhythm & Hues has been building up to all these years, by taking things they learned from each production from Cats & Dogs to Yogi Bear, integrating their animals in different situations and environments, pushing them to do more, and understanding how all of this can succeed both visually and dramatically."^[30]

Additional visual effects studios that worked on the film include yU+co, Buf, Crazy Horse Effects, Look Effects, Christov Effects, Lola VFX, Reliance Mediaworks, and Stereo D.^[28]

The film's musical score was composed by Mychael Danna, who previously wrote the music to Lee's films The Ice Storm and Ride with the Devil. A soundtrack album of the music was released by Sony Music on November 19, 2012.^[31] The album features the track "Pi's Lullaby," which was co-written by Danna and Bombay Jayashri, who performs the song in the Tamil language.^[32] The nomination marks the first ever Tamil language song to be nominated for a Best Original Song Oscar.

[edit]Distribution

[edit]Marketing

Due to the film's holiday release, Life of Pi's financial success had been under review. Dorothy Pomerantz of Forbes said, "It looks like chances are very slim that the film will earn back its production and marketing costs let alone turn a profit." Pomerantz attributes this to the fact that film is not led by a big name star and faces other winter blockbusters.^[33] John Horn and Ben Fritz of The Los Angeles Times compared the film to Martin Scorsese's Hugo, a large-budget 3D film that opened during the 2011 Thanksgiving week. They said that Life of Pi could have ended up like Hugo by "failing to connect with moviegoers" and become a "financial failure."^[34] Similar speculation had been made by other news sources.^[35][36]

Whether or not Hurricane Sandy would affect the film's publicity was also a question. Because the film includes a massive storm, it was speculated that the recent storm may result in lower box office revenue due to the unintentional overtones of Sandy's devastation. A Fox spokesperson made note that there were no plans to change the film's marketing approach.^[37]

During the marketing campaign for Life of Pi, the film was promoted as "the next Avatar" in trailers and TV spots.^[38] James Cameron, the director of Avatar, later became the subject of two featurettes that focus on the film's 3D and computer-generated imagery.^[39] In addition, the original novel was re-released in a movie tie-in edition.^[40] This was later followed by the release of The Making of Life of Pi: A Film, a Journey, a book by Jean-Christophe Castelli that details how Life of Pi was brought to the big screen.^[41]

[edit]Theatrical release

Life of Pi had a wide release in the United States on November 21, 2012 in both traditional and 3D viewing formats. It was originally scheduled to be released on December 14, 2012, but when The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was announced for the same release date, Life of Pi was postponed a week. It was then shifted a month in advance.^[42]

[edit]Home media

Life of Pi will be released on DVD and Blu-ray, on March 5, 2013.^[43]

[edit]Reception

[edit]Box office

A commercial success, Life of Pi has earned an estimated $451,098,000 worldwide.^[2] During its opening on the extended Thanksgiving weekend, the film debuted in 2,902 theaters throughout the United States and Canada and grossed an estimated $30 million.^[44] The film did well internationally and is among one of the few Hollywood films to earn more in China than in the United States.^[45]

[edit]Critical reception

Life of Pi received mostly favorable reviews from film critics. It has an 89% approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes based on 209 reviews.^[46] On Metacritic, the film had an average score of 79 out of 100, based on 44 reviews, indicating "Generally favorable reviews."^[47]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave Life of Pi 4 out of 4 stars, referring to it as "a miraculous achievement of storytelling and a landmark of visual mastery" as well as "one of the best films of the year." He particularly praised the film's use of 3D that he described as "deepen[ing] the film's sense of places and events."^[48] Comparatively, Peter Travers of Rolling Stone highlighted the use of 3D in the film suggesting that "like Hugo, from Martin Scorsese, Life of Pi puts 3D in the hands of a worldclass film artist. [Ang] Lee uses 3D with the delicacy and lyricism of a poet. You don't just watch this movie, you live it."^[49] Parmita Borah of Eastern Fare says, "There is this one scene in particular where the entire ocean is covered with jelly fishes which makes you feel like 'this is what heaven must look like'."^[50]

The Los Angeles Times critic Betsy Sharkey referred to the film as a "masterpiece," stating that

"There is always a poetic aesthetic that Lee brings to his best work — the brutal martial arts ballet of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or the homophobic hatred against the backcountry grandeur of Brokeback Mountain, which would win him an Oscar for directing in 2006. In Life of Pi, certainly given its technological achievements, the filmmaker has raised the bar. Not since James Cameron's breathtaking blue Avatar in 2009 has 3-D had such impact."^[51]

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, the director James Cameron highlighted the use of 3D in the film stating that

"Life of Pi breaks the paradigm that 3-D has to be some big, action fantasy spectacle, superhero movie [....] The movie is visually amazing, inventive, and it works on you in ways you're not really aware of. It takes you on a journey, and unless you've read the book -- which I hadn't -- you have no idea where that journey is going. It does what good 3-D is supposed to do, which is, it allows you to forget you're watching a 3-D movie."^[52]

According to French journalist Marjolaine Gout, the movie is "a philosophical tale where Noah's Ark metamorphoses into 'The Raft of the Medusa'". She adds that it is "a visual masterpiece" in which "Ang Lee proves, once again, his talent as a universal storyteller". She also writes about the visual poetry of the movie reminding viewers of the works of classical painters and the symbolic of kolams. The film got 8 out of 10 stars, the readers gave 7 stars.^[53]

Yann Martel, the author of the novel on which the film is based, found the film to be a "delightful" adaptation, saying,

"I'm happy it works so well as a film. Even if the ending is not as ambiguous as the book's, the possibility that there might be another version of Pi's story comes at you unexpectedly and raises the same important questions about truth, perception and belief."^[54]

A. O. Scott of the The New York Times was critical of the film's narrative frame, arguing that "the movie invites you to believe in all kinds of marvelous things, but it also may cause you to doubt what you see with your own eyes - or even to wonder if, in the end, you have seen anything at all." Scott further criticized the film for repressing the darker themes of the tale, "And also, more disturbingly, to repress the darker implications of the story, as if the presence of cruelty and senseless death might be too much for anyone to handle."^[55] Nick Schager of The Village Voice also panned the film stating "A stacked-deck theological inquiry filtered through aTitanic-by-way-of–Slumdog Millionaire narrative, Life of Pi manages occasional spiritual wonder through its 3-D visuals but otherwise sinks like a stone."^[56] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, and states "despite some lovely images and those eyepopping effects, it is a shallow and self-important shaggy-dog story - or shaggy-tiger story[....] It deserves every technical prize going."^[57]

On his Twitter page, Actor Russell Crowe has praised the film, calling it "amazing" and a "beautiful film".^[58]

In an interview with People, President Barack Obama said the film "was good - because we had read that book together."^[59]

[edit]Controversies

A trust named after Carnatic musician Irayimman Thampi has accused Bombay Jayashri's Oscar-nominated song 'Pi's Lullaby' of not being an original composition. The trust has alleged that it is a word-by-word translation of composer Thampi's renowned lullaby in Malayalam Omanathinkal Kidavo. However Jayashri has denied the allegation.^[60][61]

[edit]Accolades

List of awards and nominations

Award	Category	Winner/Nominee	Result
85th Academy Awards[62]	Best Picture	Ang Lee, Gil Netter, David Womark	Pending
	Directing	Ang Lee	Pending
	Adapted Screenplay	David Magee	Pending
	Cinematography	Claudio Miranda	Pending
	Production Design	David Gropman (Production Design); Anna Pinnock (Set Decoration)	Pending
	Film Editing	Tim Squyres	Pending
	Sound Editing	Eugene Gearty, Philip Stockton	Pending
	Sound Mixing	Ron Bartlett, D. M. Hemphill, Drew Kunin	Pending
	Visual Effects	Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan de Boer and Donald R. Elliott	Pending
	Original Score	Mychael Danna	Pending
	Original Song	"Pi's Lullaby" from Life of Pi, Music by Mychael Danna; Lyric by Bombay Jayashri	Pending
AFI Awards[63]	Movies of the Year	Ang Lee, Gil Netter and David Womark	Won
Producers Guild of America Award[64]	Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures	Ang Lee, Gil Netter and David Womark	Pending
Art Directors Guild[65]	Excellence in Production Design for a Feature Film	David Gropman	Pending
Writers Guild of America Award[66]	Adapted Screenplay	David Magee	Pending
Directors Guild of America Awards[67]	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film	Ang Lee	Pending
American Society of Cinematographers Awards[68]	Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography	Claudio Miranda	Pending
63rd American Cinema Editors Awards[69]	Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic)	Tim Squyres	Pending
66th British Academy Film Awards[70]	Best Picture	Ang Lee, Gil Netter, David Womark	Pending
	Director	Ang Lee	Pending
	Adapted Screenplay	David Magee	Pending
	Cinematography	Claudio Miranda	Pending
	Production Design	David Gropman, Anna Pinnock	Pending
	Editing	Tim Squyres	Pending
	Sound	Drew Kunin, Eugene Gearty, Philip Stockton, Ron Bartlett, D. M. Hemphill	Pending
	Special Visual Effects	Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan de Boer	Pending
	Original Music	Mychael Danna	Pending
2nd AACTA International Awards[71]	Best Film	Ang Lee, Gil Netter, David Womark	Pending
	Best Direction	Ang Lee	Pending
Visual Effects Society Awards[72]	VES Visionary Award	Ang Lee	Won
	Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects - Driven Feature Motion Picture	Thomas Fisher, Susan Macleod, Guillaume Rocheron, Bill Westenhofer	Pending
	Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture	Richard Parker - Erik De Boer, Sean Comer, Betsy Asher Hall, Kai-Hua Lan	Pending
	Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture	Open Ocean - Jason Bayever, Sho Hasegawa, Jimmy Jewell, Walt Jones	Pending
	Outstanding FX and Simulation Animation in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture	Storm of God - Harry Mukhopadhyay, David Stopford, Mark Williams, Derek Wolfe	Pending
		Ocean - Jason Bayever, David Horsley, Scott Townsend, Miles Vignol	Pending
	Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture	Storm of God - Ryan Clarke, Jose Fernandez, Sean Oharas, Hamish Schumacher	Pending
Annie Awards[73]	Character Animation in a Live Action Production	Orangutan - Erik de Boer, Amanda Dague, Matt Brown, Mary Lynn Machado, Aaron Grey	Pending
		Tiger - Erik de Boer, Matt Shumway, Brian Wells, Vinayak Pawar, Michael Holzl	Pending
Palm Springs International Film Festival[74]	Frederick Loewe Award	Mychael Danna	Won
Online Film Critics Society[75]	Best Cinematography	Claudio Miranda	Nominated
Alliance of Women Film Journalists[76]	Best Cinematography	Claudio Miranda	Won
Chicago Film Critics Association[77]	Best Cinematography	Claudio Miranda	Nominated
Houston Film Critics Society[78]	Best Cinemaography	Claudio Miranda	Nominated
	Best Original Score	Mychael Danna	Nominated
	Technical achievement		Nominated
Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards 2012[79]	Top Ten Films		Won
	Best Cinematography	Claudio Miranda	Won
18th Critics' Choice Awards[80]	Best Picture		Nominated
	Best Director	Ang Lee	Nominated
	Young Actor	Suraj Sharma	Nominated
	Best Adapted Screenplay	David Magee	Nominated
	Best Cinematography	Claudio Miranda	Won
	Best Art Direction	David Gropman/Production Designer; Anna Pinnock/Set Decorator	Nominated
	Best Editing	Tim Squyres	Nominated
	Best Visual Effects		Won
	Best Score	Mychael Danna	Nominated
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards[81]	Best Director	Ang Lee	Won
70th Golden Globe Awards[82]	Best Motion Picture – Drama		Nominated
	Best Director	Ang Lee	Nominated
	Best Original Score	Mychael Danna	Won
International 3D Society[83]	Harold Lloyd Award	Ang Lee	Won
Las Vegas Film Critics Society[84]	Best Picture		Won
	Best Director	Ang Lee	Won
	Best Cinematography	Claudio Miranda	Won
	Best Visual Effects		Won
	Best Score	Mychael Danna	Won
	Youth in Film	Suraj Sharma	Won
12th New York Film Critics Online Awards[85]	Top 10 Films of 2012		Won
	Best Cinematography	Claudio Miranda	Won
Phoenix Film Critics Society[86]	Top Ten Films		Won
	Best Director	Ang Lee	Nominated
	Best Live Action Family Film		Won
	Best Original Score	Mychael Danna	Nominated
	Best Cinematography	Claudio Miranda	Won
	Best Film Editing	Tim Squyres	Nominated
	Best Visual Effects		Won
	Breakthrough Performance On Camera	Suraj Sharma	Nominated
17th Satellite Awards[87]	Best Picture		Nominated
	Adapted Screenplay	David Magee	Won
	Best Cinematography	Claudio Miranda	Won
	Best Sound Mixing & Editing	Drew Kunin, Eugene Gearty, Philip Stockton	Nominated
	Best Visual Effects	Bill Westenhofer	Nominated
St. Louis Film Critics[88]	Best Film		Nominated
	Best Director	Ang Lee	Nominated
	Best Adapted Screenplay	David Magee	Nominated
	Best Cinematography	Claudio Miranda	Nominated
	Best Visual Effects		Won
Washington D. C. Area Film Critics Association[89]	Best Adapted Screenplay	David Magee	Nominated
	Best Cinematography	Claudio Miranda	Won
Women Film Critics Circle	Best Family Film	Life of Pi - Tied with Rise of the Guardians	Won

[edit]References

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[edit]External links

• Official website
• Life of Pi at the Internet Movie Database
• Life of Pi at AllRovi
• Life of Pi at Box Office Mojo
• Life of Pi at Rotten Tomatoes
• Life of Pi at Metacritic

[hide] v   t   e Films directed by Ang Lee 1990s Pushing Hands (1992)   The Wedding Banquet (1993)   Eat Drink Man Woman (1994)   Sense and Sensibility (1995)   The Ice Storm (1997) Ride with the Devil (1999) 2000s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)   Hulk (2003)   Brokeback Mountain (2005)   Lust, Caution (2007)   Taking Woodstock (2009) 2010s Life of Pi (2012)