Jamie Stuart, who has regularly contributes videos to FocusFeatures.com, recently made a short online video called “Idiot with a Tripod.” The short, lyrical piece that captures the poetry and punishment in the recent East Coast storm has created a blizzard of press attention all its own. From Roger Ebert (who said it "deserves to win the Academy Award") to The Wall Street Journal to New York Magazine, the video has been quite a sensation. Indeed Jamie was even interviewed on The Today Show for his piece. Congrats Jamie. Well deserved attention.

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The New York Times film critic A.O. Scott recent review of Sofia Coppola’s new film Somewhere provides fascinating insight. In his review, Scott not only praises the film and filmmaker (a lot) but provides one of the most eloquent and articulate takes on Coppola’s unique cinematic style. Here Scott explains the subtle and “marvelous” way that Coppola modulates her film’s emotional tone:

What happens is something marvelous: a film that never raises its voice (its loudest and most assertive sound is that Ferrari) or panders to your emotions, but that nonetheless has the power to refresh your perceptions and deepen your sympathies. As it proceeds from one careful, watchful, slow shot to the next, a sad and affecting story emerges, about a father’s loneliness and a daughter’s devotion. But the experience of watching “Somewhere,” shot in lovely tones of Southern California haze by the great Harris Savides, is like reading a poem. The scenes play off one another like stanzas, producing patterns and echoes that feel like the camera’s accidental discoveries, even as they are the surest evidence of Ms. Coppola’s formidable and subtle art.

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Roger Ebert loves Sofia Coppola new feature Somewhere. The thing that Ebert picks up on in his review is the utter veracity with which Coppola observes the world of entertainment—from publicists and stars to parking attendants and hotel clerks. As he writes:

Coppola watches this world. The familiar strangers on the hotel staff are on a first-name basis because a star's world has become reduced to his support. Hookers and sex partners come and go. There are parties filled with strangers, most of them not excited to see a star because they see stars constantly.

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The Women Film Critics Circle formed in 2004 to bring attention to women (as both the makers of and subjects in film). The 2010 Awards from the Women Film Critics Circle singled out The Kids Are All Right several times––BEST WOMAN STORYTELLER (Lisa Cholodenko); BEST ACTRESS (Annette Bening); and BEST COMEDIC ACTRESS (Annette Bening).

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The Kids Are All Right writer/director Lisa Cholodenko joins a remarkable panel of filmmakers pulled together by The Hollywood Reporter for their Directors Roundtable. The group included David O. Russell (The Fighter), Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan), Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine), Peter Weir (The Way Back), and Tom Hooper (The Kings’ Speech). It was a fascinating talk, especially with Ms. Cholodenko recounted her adventures with the MPAA over which scenes raised eyebrows (and which didn't) in The Kids Are All Right

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Get ready for some fun. The Hanna trailer is now up on Yahoo movies—and it is kick ass! The film, directed by Joe Wright, is out on April 9. In the story, a girl (Saoirse Ronan), raised by her father (Eric Bana) in the Finnish woods, goes out into the world to discover that she is at the heart of a complicated CIA conspiracy, with a top operative (Cate Blanchett) out to get her. Part fairy tale, part of espionage thriller, totally fun.

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Top ten lists are starting to pile up. This Sunday the New York Times came out with their lists, and it was great to see that A. O. Scott had three Focus films––The Kids Are All Right, Greenberg, and Somewhere––on his list. And both Manohla Dargis and Stephen Holden included The Kids Are All Right, as did J.R. Jones at The Chicago Reader, Roger Ebert at the Chicago Sun-Times, Owen Gleiberman at Entertainment Weekly, Lisa Schwarzbaum at Entertainnment Weekly, Kirk Honeycutt and Todd McCarthy at The Hollywood Reporter, Peter Travers at Rolling Stone and Ann Hornaday at The Washington Post– among others.

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Whiney Matheson of POPCandy (from USA Today) attended New York Times talk with Sofia Coppola and Stephen Dorff yesterday evening. Mostly Coppola and Dorff talked about working together on Somewhere, the talk strayed as well. Matheson reports back with “16 things I learned from Sofia Coppola and Stephen Dorff” Some stuff you may already know and some may be new. My favorite was:

15. Sofia's favorite film of her dad's is Rumble Fish. In fact, she used the same camera lenses to make Somewhere.

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This morning at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles nominees for the 17th Screen Actors Guild Awards were announced. The Kids Are All Right got great news with three nominations: Annette Bening for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role; Mark Ruffalo for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role; and the entire cast of The Kids Are All Right got Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. The actual awards show will occur on January 30, 2011 and broadcast on TNT. Fingers Crossed.

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If you can’t make it to the Times Center tonight (that would be Wednesday December 15) to hear Sofia Coppola & Stephen Dorff talk about working together on Somewhere, you can still catch them online. Times Talk will be streaming this chat on their facebook page here.

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