MGM's Capote Receives Highest Praise From LA Film Critics

MGM's Capote Receives Highest Praise From LA Film Critics

Biopic Wins Best Actor (Philip Seymour Hoffman) Supporting Actress (Catherine Keener) and Ties for Best Screenplay (Dan Futterman)

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Still basking in its wins at the Gotham Awards in New York City, Capote has also made an equally impressive showing with the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, as the organization bestowed top honors on the film in the categories of Actor (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Supporting Actress (Catherine Keener) and Screenplay (Dan Futterman) during an awards ceremony held December 10.

A United Artists and Sony Pictures Classics presentation of an A-Line Pictures, Cooper's Town Productions, Infinity Media production, Capote is generating plenty of Oscar buzz as it continues to collect critical acclaim and awards on both coasts.

Fanning Capote's Oscar fire, the LA Film Critics selected Philip Seymour Hoffman in the Actor category, citing him for bringing a striking dedication, passion, intelligence and complexity to the role of Truman Capote. Catherine Keener was also lauded for her Supporting Actress performance as Capote's researcher Harper Lee. And Dan Futterman was feted for his remarkably sensitive and sharp script which is a focused adaptation of Gerald Clarke's 1988, Capote: A Biography.

Critics outside of New York and Los Angeles are also predicting big wins for Capote come Oscar night. The Associated Press reported: "Philip Seymour Hoffman bursts into the Oscar forefront in the title role of Capote," while Variety wrote: "With near unanimous praise, Hoffman is a front-runner for an Oscar nom."

Phil Villarreal, film critic for the Arizona Daily Star wrote: "The Oscar buzz has already all but coronated Hoffman as the best-actor winner of 2005 ..." and Kimberley Jones, film critic for the Austin Chronicle said: " ... Hoffman's commanding performance in Capote (an Oscar nod is a foregone conclusion) ... "

Reel Views' James Berardinelli wrote: "One cannot write about this film without tossing superlatives in the direction of Philip Seymour Hoffman, whose performance will earn him an Oscar nomination ... Capote is strong medicine that will demand recognition at next year's Oscars."

Celebrated film critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times, said: "Capote is a film of uncommon strength and insight ... Philip Seymour Hoffman's precise, uncanny performance as Capote doesn't imitate the author so much as channel him ... "

Capote also recently won Best Picture and Breakthrough Director (Bennett Miller) in the Gotham Awards and also received four Independent Spirit Award nominations, including Best Picture.

The film covers the six-year period when Capote the author, assisted by his friend Harper Lee, unearths the secrets of a small Kansas community in dissecting the murder of a local family. Clifton Collins Jr. (Life of the Party, Traffic) takes on the role of Perry Smith, one of the accused killers with whom Capote develops a close relationship. The end result is a classic piece of American literature, In Cold Blood, which revealed America's violent heart and signaled the ultimate destruction of a literary genius.

About Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is actively engaged in the worldwide production and distribution of motion pictures, television programming, home video, interactive media and licensed merchandise. The company owns the world's largest library of modern films, comprising around 4,000 titles. Operating units include MGM Pictures, United Artists, MGM Television Entertainment, MGM Networks, MGM Home Entertainment, MGM on Stage, MGM Consumer Products & Location-Based Entertainment, and MGM Interactive. In addition, MGM has ownership interests in international TV channels reaching nearly 120 countries. For more information, visit www.mgm.com.

CONTACT: Jeff Pryor/Priority Public Relations USA
t. 818-338-3555; e. jeff@prioritypr.net

Marylou Johnston/Priority Public Relations EUROPE
t. 011 33 6 8777 4989; Marylou@prioritypr.net

Source: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.

CONTACT: USA, Jeff Pryor, +1-818-338-3555, jeff@prioritypr.net, or
Europe, Marylou Johnston, 011 33 6 8777 4989, Marylou@prioritypr.net, both of
Priority Public Relations for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.

Web site: http://www.mgm.com/

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