AXE - Reference - Reference Sources

The Academy Awards Database - contains the record of past Academy Award winners and nominees. The data is complete through the 2003 (76th) Academy Awards.
ForeignFilms.com - The Foreign Film Database - Search, or Browse by country, genre, or language.
Great Directors: a Critical Database - Part of "Series of Cinema",
IMDb: the Internet Movie Database - Locate credit information on over a quarter of a million movies. Links are usually provided to official movie or studio web sites, actor home pages, etc. Some television series are also included. Use their "Browse IMDb" feature to see a directory-like view of their site.
ScriptCrawler.com - A script search engine. Also included are thousands of screenplays, teleplays, radio scripts, and stage plays.

Selected Sources in Axe Library

Associations and Societies

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) - A professional honorary organization designed to advance the arts and sciences of motion pictures. The Academy is known around the world almost exclusively for its yearly Academy Awards for films, which in turn are more popularly known as the Oscars.
American Film Institute (AFI) - national organization dedicated to advancing and preserving film, television and other forms of the moving image. AFI's programs promote innovation and excellence through teaching, presenting, preserving and redefining this art form.
Director's Guild of America (DGA) - Founded in 1936 by the most prominent directors of the period, the Directors Guild today represents over 12,800 directors and members of the directorial team who work in feature film, television, commercials, documentaries and news. The DGA's mission is to protect the creative and economic rights of directors and the directorial team - working to advance our artistic freedom and ensure fair compensation for our work.
Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) - is known worldwide for its Golden Globe Awards at the end of January every year. However, in between those televised gala events, the HFPA members - all working journalists - spend the rest of the year interviewing just about everyone making a splash in motion pictures or on television and proceeding to tell the world about various aspects of show business.
Independent Filmmakers of America (IFP) - is a not-for-profit service organization dedicated to providing resources, information and avenues of communication for its members: independent filmmakers, industry professionals and independent film enthusiasts. It is committed to the idea that independent film is an important art form and a powerful voice in our society.
International Documentary Association (IDA) - promotes nonfiction film and video worldwide.
International Animated Film Association (ASIFA) - is founded in the firm belief that the art of animation can be enriched and greatly developed through close international co-operation and the free exchange of ideas, experience and information between all who are concerned with animation. The art of animation is the creation of moving images through the manipulation of all varieties of techniques apart from live action methods. This independent art, whatever its manner of expression - in theatres, on television, in education or children's film etc. - should make an extensive and important contribution to the world's cultural heritage, while playing its part in the search for new ways of artistic expression. It should help to promote progress towards peace and mutual understanding between all people.
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) - and its international counterpart, the Motion Picture Association (MPA) serve as the voice and advocate of the American motion picture, home video and television industries
Screen Actor's Guild (SAG) - is the nation's premier labor union representing actors. Established in 1933, SAG has a rich history in the American labor movement, from standing up to studios to break long-term engagement contracts in the 1940s to fighting for artists' rights amid the digital revolution of the 21st century. With 20 branches nationwide, SAG represents nearly 120,000 actors in film, television, industrials, commercials and music videos. The Guild exists to enhance actors' working conditions, compensation and benefits and to be a powerful, unified voice on behalf of artists' rights. SAG is a proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO.
Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) - is a professional organization of college and university educators, filmmakers, historians, critics, scholars, and others devoted to the study of the moving image... The goals of SCMS are to promote all areas of media studies within universities and two-and four-year colleges; to encourage and reward excellence in scholarship and writing; to facilitate and improve the teaching of media studies as disciplines and to advance multi-cultural awareness and interaction.
Writers Guild of America, West (WGAw) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) - represents writers in the motion picture, broadcast, cable and new technologies industries

Film Critics Associations

Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) - is a not-for-profit organization which maintains professional, charitable and educational goals. They oversee the Chicago Film Critics Awards, held annually to honor excellence in cinematic work.
National Board of Review (NBR) - has dedicated its efforts to the support of film, domestic and foreign, as both art and entertainment. Our nonprofit organization celebrates the distinctive voice of the individual artist, honoring excellence and supporting freedom of expression in film. The Board's core activities include presentation of educational film programs, as well as the award of scholarships and grants to promising film students and directors.
New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) - an organization of film reviewers from New York-based publications that exists to honor excellence in U.S. and world cinema.

Selected Web Sites

NOTE: Due to their commercial nature, some of these sites may generate a number of pop up windows.

Comprehensive Web Sites

Box Office Prophets - A wide range of movie information. The "Awards Tracking Section" provides dates for awards season nominations and awards for the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild, and some 25 other organizations. There are multiple Box Office and Commentary links and the obligatory Reviews and Trailers.
Dark Horizons - News, Interviews, Films, Trailers, DVD, Reviews.
Hollywood.com - Overall information on movies, celebrities
MetaCritic.com - Film and DVD reviews. Also music and video game reviews. Multiple reviews are combined and an average "metascore" is assigned for each movie; favorable, mixed, or unfavorable.
Timelapse: Film & Television Website Archive - Numerous links to the film and television industry. A wide range of industry categories are represented.
Yahoo!Movies - Latest news on movies and DVD releases.

Movie News / Films in Production

ComingSoon.net - Screen and DVD release dates, film database, latest news, trailers.
Film-releases.com Search for upcoming movie release information up to two years away. Search by release date, actor, studio, etc. Links to official film web sites and movie reviews are listed under each title. Box office results for previous week are listed (weekend gross, and total week gross), number of weeks in top ten and previous week's rank are shown.
IMDb Movies in Production Browser - Alphabetical listing of movies in the works. Links to IMDb entry for each movie. Fields such as Director or Year are active links to related movies.
Weekend Box Office Actuals (U.S.) from Yahoo! Movies. - Report on the top 100 or so movies on theatre screens over the previous weekend. Weekend and cumulative gross, this week/last week ranking, number of screens are given. Weekends are a archived for several months, and links to "Daily" and "All Time" Box Office lists are provided as well.
World Wide Box Office - Movies ranked by box office income; domestic, overseas and worldwide. You may also resort movies by title.

Reviews

All Movie Guide - Plot synopsis, cast, reviews, and ratings of popular and current-release movies. Find other movies in a similar vein by clicking on keywords under headings such as Keywords, Themes, Tones, Moods. Includes other links to each movie.
MetaCritic.com: Film - Multiple reviews are combined and an average "metascore" is assigned for each movie; favorable, mixed, or unfavorable. Links go directly to reviews in other publications.
MRQE: the Movie Review Query Engine - Locate reviews for over 41,000 movies. Search results are links to newspaper and web site reviews. Twenty days after it's release, a search on "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" returned 166 articles from varied sources such as the New York Times, Chicago Sun-Times, Denver Post, Village Voice, Hollywood Reporter, Film Freak Central, etc. Some newspapers require registration to view.
Rotten Tomatoes - a play on the old Vaudeville practice of throwing rotten tomatoes at bad performers . A popular site reviewing good and bad movies. Active discussion in the forums.

"Best of" / "Worst of"

AFI's 100 Greatest Movies - Also links to top 100 Songs, Heroes & Villians, Stars, Laughs, etc.
Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made - by the Film Critics of the New York Times - this list is drawn from the second edition of "The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made"
The Films considered the worst ever - at Wikipedia
IMDb Top 250 movies (and IMDb Bottom 100) as voted by IMDb users
United States National Film Registry - In 1988, the (United States) Library of Congress established the National Film Preservation Board, to preserve film deemed "culturally, historically, or esthetically important". Each year, the board selects 25 films to add to the National Film Registry. Herein is the complete list of those films so honoured to date.

Studios & Distributors

Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group
- Columbia Pictures
  - TriStar Entertainment
- Sony Pictures Classics
- Screen Gems
DreamWorks SKG - Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen launched DreamWorks SKG in October 1994. Their vision was to create an artist-friendly studio to develop, produce and distribute superior film and music entertainment that would inspire and delight audiences worldwide. DreamWorks SKG is now a leading producer of live-action motion pictures, animated feature films, network, and cable television programming, home video and DVD entertainment and consumer products.
Lucasfilm - Founded by George Lucas, Lucasfilm incorporates divisions such as Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound to produce some of the largest grossing films of all time.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM Studios) - has long been a classic American icon, its distinguished reputation embodied in its renowned moniker and roaring lion trademark. Since its founding in 1924, the Company has prided itself on creating and shaping cinematic history, delighted audiences worldwide with entertainment of unparalleled distinction.
- United Artists
Paramount Pictures - celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2002, and traces its beginnings to July 12, 1912, when Adolph Zukor founded the production company Famous Players Film Corp. After producing over 3,000 films, Paramount remains committed to the company's original slogan: "If it's a Paramount Picture, it's the best show in town."
Pixar Animation Studios - combines creative and technical artistry to create original films in the medium of computer animation. Pixar has created and produced five of the most successful and beloved animated films of all time: Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., and Finding Nemo.
20th Century Fox
- Fox Searchlight Pictures
Vivendi Universal Entertainment
- Universal Studios
  - Focus Features - is a motion picture production, financing, and worldwide distribution company committed to bringing moviegoers the most original stories from the world's most innovative filmmakers.
- StudioCanal - a French company, specializing in financing, and distributing films throughout Europe.
Warner Bros. Entertainment
- Warner Bros. Pictures
  - Castle Rock Entertainment
- New Line Cinema - is the oldest and most successful fully integrated independent film company in the world. In addition to the production and distribution of theatrical motion pictures, it has divisions devoted to home entertainment, television, music, theater, licensing, merchandising and international marketing and distribution. New Line has been a pioneer in franchise filmmaking and its "Lord of the Rings" trilogy is the most successful film franchise in history.
- Warner Independent Pictures - aims to be a home to films that are adventurous, intimate, personal, taboo-breaking, and experimental, and to artists who explore the unexamined with courage and insight, and in ways that shed new light on the human condition.
Walt Disney Studio Entertainment
- Buena Vista Motion Picture Group
  - Walt Disney Pictures
    - Buena Vista Pictures
  - Touchstone Pictures
    - Hollywood Pictures
- Miramax Film Corporation
  - Dimension Films

Awards

The Academy Awards "Oscars" - The most prestigious award in cinema, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This is the "more commercial" site of the Oscars and focuses on the most recent/upcoming event. Recognizes excellence in cinema achievement.
Annie Awards - Honoring animated filmmaking since 1972. Awarded by ASIFA-Hollywood, the International Animated Film Society
British Academy of Film and Television Arts "BAFTA Award" - The British "Academy Award", launched in 1998, this organization is the UK's leading organisation promoting and rewarding the best in film, television and interactive media. Renowned for its high-profile Award ceremonies covering Film, Television, Children's and Interactive Entertainment.
The Golden Globe Awards - An award for film and television, presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association . Includes the "Cecil B. DeMille Award". Current news and Award archives back to 1943.

Film Festivals

Cannes Film Festival
Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee - seeks to celebrate independent filmmaking because after all the hard work, creativity and generosity of the many people who make an independent project happen, there needs to be a time for celebration! We celebrate by providing an audience and recognition to the filmmakers, casts and crews.
Sundance Film Festival