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| home | news lTwo political sleepers put Noyce a cut above the restBy Garry Maddox, Film Writer 6 December 2002 - Australian director Phillip Noyce was stunned yesterday after Rabbit-Proof Fence and another controversial film won him the first major prize of the Hollywood awards season, which culminates with the Oscars. "Incredible," was his response, when the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures named him director of the year. The surprise was that he won for Rabbit-Proof Fence and The Quiet American - two political films that have struggled for American release. Noyce edited the films simultaneously at Fox Studios in Sydney after shooting them back-to-back. The board - which includes teachers, writers, actors and film production workers - also included them in its list of the year's top 10 films. "It's fantastic for both films," said Noyce from Melbourne, where Rabbit-Proof Fence is up for the main prize at the Australian Film Institute awards tomorrow. He played down any talk about the Oscar chances of either film, calling the award "the first swallow of summer". Rabbit-Proof Fence, the film about the stolen generation that was a box-office success in Australia, has opened in four American and Canadian cities ahead of a wider release at Christmas. The Quiet American, a drama based on Graham Greene's novel about Vietnam in the 1950s, is having a two-week season to qualify for the Oscars. Miramax previously stalled the film's release amid fears that showing an American character involved in a terrorist attack would be unpalatable for audiences after September 11. Noyce said he hoped the award would draw attention to two films that have attracted comment about their politics in American reviews. "Rabbit-Proof Fence has just started its run and, given that it has no stars, we could see that it was going to be a hard mountain to climb ... And The Quiet American seemed like it was never going to see the light of a projector in America. It's a film that has resurrected itself over and over." Noyce said the award had already helped the film, which stars Michael Caine and Brendan Fraser. The two-week season in Los Angeles has been extended. It is scheduled for a wider release in February. With Caine being touted as an Oscar contender, the award positions The Quiet American for further honours. Moulin Rouge won the board's award for best picture last year, an early step towards two Academy Awards. The board named The Hours, which stars Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore, as the year's best film. Its top 10 also included Chicago, Gangs of New York, Adaptation, The Pianist, Far From Heaven, Thirteen Conversations About One Thing and Frida. Source:The Sydney Morning Herald
Aussies star in Oscars lead-up 06dec02 - AUSTRALIAN director Philip Noyce may need to clear a space on his mantlepiece after being named director of the year in awards considered the first step to Oscars predictions. The US National Board of Review of Motion Pictures bestowed the award on Noyce in recognition of his two films The Quiet American and Rabbit-Proof Fence. Based on Michael Cunningham's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, the film follows three women in three eras who are all tied to Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway. Moore won the board's best actress award for Far From Heaven while Campbell Scott, son of George C.Scott, won best actor for Rodger Dodger. The board's top 10 movies for 2002 were Chicago, Gangs of New York, The Quiet American, Adaptation, Rabbit-Proof Fence, The Pianist, Far From Heaven, Thirteen Conversations About One Thing and Frida. The National Board of Review awards are viewed as the first step in anticipating Academy Award winners. And they like films with an Australian connection. Last year Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge was the board's best movie but the Academy Award for best picture went to A Beautiful Mind. In 2000, Quills, starring Geoffrey Rush was the board's top choice and the Oscar winner was Gladiator, starring Russell Crowe. Source: The Daily Telegraph
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