Oscars Topics

Democracy Now! stories, posts and pages that relate to Oscars

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  • In_the_loop_copy

    "In the Loop": Oscar-Nominated Comedy Satirizes Lead-Up to US-UK Invasion of Iraq

    In the Loop takes the view that the US-UK effort to attack Iraq was so absurd that it’s perfect fodder for a comedy. The Oscar-nominated film is a satire of the Anglo-American diplomatic wrangling in the lead-up to the war. We speak to In the Loop director and co-writer Armando Iannucci. [includes rush transcript]
    Feb 17, 2010 | Story
  • China-earthquake

    "China's Unnatural Disaster": Oscar-Nominated Doc on Sichuan Earthquake Brings World Attention to Chinese Crackdown on Dissidents

    Chinese courts are cracking down on dissident activists. Liu Xiaobo lost his appeal Thursday and now faces eleven years in prison for advocating political reform. Earlier this week, another prominent writer and activist, Tan Zuoren, was sentenced to five years in prison. Zuoren had been campaigning on behalf of thousands of parents whose children were killed when shabbily built schools collapsed in the massive Sichuan earthquake two years ago....
    Feb 12, 2010 | Story
  • Pollan-foodrules-democracynow

    Michael Pollan on "Food Rules: An Eater's Manual"

    Michael Pollan, the author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food, discusses the link between healthcare and diet, the dangers of processed foods, the power of the meat industry lobby, the “nutritional-industrial complex,” the impact industrial agriculture has on global warming, and his sixty-four rules for eating. "The markets are full of what I call edible food-like substances that you have to avoid," says Michael Pollan....
    Feb 08, 2010 | Story

  • Oscar Nominees Include Docs on China Earthquake, Burma and Pentagon Papers

    Nominations have been announced for the 82nd annual Academy Awards. In the documentary category, three films featured on Democracy Now! in the past year received nods:

    * China’s Unnatural Disaster

    * The Most Dangerous Man in America

    * Burma VJ

    Feb 03, 2010 | DN Archives

  • "The Most Dangerous Man in America": New Documentary Chronicles Story of Daniel Ellsberg, Whose Leak of the Pentagon Papers Helped End Vietnam War

    Daniel Ellsberg once faced espionage charges and possibly life in prison after leaking what became known as the Pentagon Papers, a 7,000-page classified history outlining the true extent of US involvement in Vietnam. Daniel Ellsberg’s actions directly contributed to the end of Nixon presidency and the Vietnam War. His story is chronicled in the new documentary The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers. We...
    Sep 16, 2009 | Story

  • "Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country"

    As Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi goes on trial, we look at an award-winning documentary film about media activism in Burma and the extraordinary risks citizen journalists take to get information out of the country. The film follows a collective of undercover video journalists in Burma called the Democratic Voice of Burma, who smuggle out footage from Burma to Norway, from where it is broadcast around the world. [includes rush transcript]
    May 18, 2009 | Story

  • "China's Unnatural Disaster": New HBO Documentary Chronicles Struggles of Grieving Parents Following 2008 Sichuan Earthquake

    China says just over 5,300 schoolchildren died or remain missing after last year’s devastating Sichuan earthquake, far lower than initial reports at the time. Parents have blamed local corruption and official neglect for the collapse of so many schools and for the loss of their children. We speak to co-directors Jon Alpert and Matt O’Neill about their new HBO film China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province, which...
    May 07, 2009 | Story

  • Taxi to the Dark Side

    On the Sunday following Sept. 11, 2001, Vice President Dick Cheney told the truth. On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” he said regarding plans to pursue the perpetrators of that attack: “We have to work the dark side, if you will. We’re going to spend time in the shadows.”

    The grim, deadly consequences of his promise have, in the intervening six years, become the shame of our nation and have outraged millions around the world. President George...

    Feb 28, 2008 | Columns & Articles

  • "Taxi to the Dark Side": Exposé on US Abuses in "War on Terror" Wins Oscar for Best Documentary

    Alex Gibney joins us to talk about his Academy Award win for his documentary Taxi to the Dark Side. The film investigates some of the most egregious abuses associated with the so-called “war on terror.” [includes rush transcript]
    Feb 26, 2008 | Story

  • Discovery Channel Accused of Political Censorship for Dropping Oscar-Nominated Doc on U.S. Torture

    Days after its Academy Award nomination, the documentary Taxi to the Dark Side was dropped by the Discovery Channel over concerns it was "controversial." The film investigates some of the most egregious abuses associated with the so-called “war on terror,” including the US torture of prisoners. We get reaction from filmmaker Alex Gibney. [includes rush transcript]
    Feb 12, 2008 | Story