Introducing Hugo
Awards and Nominations for 'Hugo'
Martin Scorsese's Hugo won most of the leading technical categories at the 84th Annual Academy Awards. It won the Oscar for Best Cinematography, Art Direction, Visual Effects, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing. While there were no Oscars for Scorsese or his editor Thelma Schoonmaker, another long-time friend who had done many Scorsese films received another statue. Dante Ferretti (Production Design) and Francesca Lo Schiavo (Set Decoration) won Oscars for Best Achievement in Art Direction for Hugo.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gave the lion's share of Oscar nominations to "Hugo," Martin Scorsese's heartfelt love letter to filmmaking and introduction to 3D, with 11, including best picture, best director, best screenplay, art direction, cinematography, costume, and several technical Oscars.
Scorsese won the 69th annual Golden Globe award for Best Director with 'Hugo', which was his third win.
Hugo is based on the best-selling children's book by Brian Selznick. It tells the story of a 12-year-old orphan boy who lives in the walls of a Paris train station in the 1930s and is trying to solve the mystery of a broken robot to fulfill his late father's dying wish.
This 2011 Martin Scorsese picture marks the director's foray into 3D filmmaking: "We see in depth, for the most part. We go to the theater - it’s in depth.”
View more trivia and quote on Hugo here.
Official Site: www.HugoMovie.com
Cast: Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, Sacha Baron Cohen, Ben Kingsley, Jude Law, Ray Winstone, Christopher Lee, Helen McCrory, Richard Griffiths, Frances de la Tour, Emily Mortimer, Michael Stuhlbarg
About the DVD
Release on February 28, 2012, just two days after it won 5 technical Oscars, Hugo
became one of the top selling movies on DVD of 2012. As one of the best films of 2011, Scorsese's masterpiece is a tale of childhood wonder but also relays his lifelong love of film in every frame. Also available in blue ray format - this is a Scorsese film you will watch again and again.
About the Book
Synopsis from www.theinventionofhugocabret.com: ORPHAN, CLOCK KEEPER, AND THIEF, twelve-year-old Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric girl and the owner of a small toy booth in the train station, Hugo’s undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message all come together...in The Invention of Hugo Cabret.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
From Publishers Weekly:
Here is a true masterpiece—an artful blending of narrative, illustration and cinematic technique, for a story as tantalizing as it is touching. Twelve-year-old orphan Hugo lives in the walls of a Paris train station at the turn of the 20th century, where he tends to the clocks and filches what he needs to survive. Hugo's recently deceased father, a clockmaker, worked in a museum where he discovered an automaton: a human-like figure seated at a desk, pen in hand, as if ready to deliver a message. After his father showed Hugo the robot, the boy became just as obsessed with getting the automaton to function as his father had been, and the man gave his son one of the notebooks he used to record the automaton's inner workings. The plot grows as intricate as the robot's gears and mechanisms [...] To Selznick's credit, the coincidences all feel carefully orchestrated; epiphany after epiphany occurs before the book comes to its sumptuous, glorious end. Selznick hints at the toymaker's hidden identity [...] through impressive use of meticulous charcoal drawings that grow or shrink against black backdrops, in pages-long sequences. They display the same item in increasingly tight focus or pan across scenes the way a camera might. The plot ultimately has much to do with the history of the movies, and Selznick's genius lies in his expert use of such a visual style to spotlight the role of this highly visual media. A standout achievement. Ages 9-12.
More on Automatons
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In the article "Historical Watches: Automatons" by Kingsley Walcott, he gives a brief history of the lost art of automatons:
"The automaton is a concept that has existed in both myth and reality since as far back as ancient Greece. The word means “acting on one's own will,” and is a term used to describe machines that operate by themselves and without the help of humans. The term “animated puppet” is often used to describe an automaton, and it is also considered to be synonymous with robots, a concept which came into existence in the 20th century. Automatons are popularly identified with machines that look like humans or animals, but they can also come in the form of clocks and other strictly utilitarian devices. The plural forms of automaton are both automatons and automata."
The video below was recorded on November 4, 2007, when Brian Selznick visited The Franklin Institute for a signing of his book, "The Invention of Hugo Cabret." The Franklin Institute's Maillardet Automaton was a principal inspiration for Selznick's book. In the clip, Andy Baron, who restored the machine with Charles Penniman in April, 2007, operates the machine.
Check out Maillardet's Automaton and bobswatches.com for more reading on this interesting subject. (A special thanks to Molly for suggesting the links!)
The Cast of Hugo
   
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Film Cast:Chloe Moretz .... Isabella |
Behind the Scenes photos:
Chloe Moretz and Asa Butterfield
Sir Ben Kingsley
Chloe and Asa with Scorsese
More Information / Links:
www.theinventionofhugocabret.com
