Desplat, a native of Paris, France, has been nominated for two Academy Awards and has composed for over a hundred films, including Julie & Julia, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, The Golden Compass, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, The Painted Veil, The Queen, Syriana, and Hostage.

Desplat will be presented with the award at the Hollywood Awards on October 26th, during the 13th annual Hollywood Film Festival.

[via Examiner]

I have wanted more features for Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium (the DVD had some, the Blu-ray had none… explain that to me), and I hope I’m not wanting for more features for this.

It really is a shame that more people didn’t go see City of Ember at theatres. Probably a combination of the economy and the time of year it was released.

Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actor:

Alex Etel … The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep
Josh Hutcherson … Bridge to Terabithia
Zach Mills … Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium

Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actress:

AnnaSophia Robb … Bridge to Terabithia

Best Performance in a Feature Film – Actress Age 10 or younger:

Bailee Madison … Bridge to Terabithia

Best Performance in a Feature Film – Young Ensemble Cast

“Bridge to Terabithia” – Buena Vista Pictures: Josh Hutcherson, AnnaSophia Robb, Bailee Madison, Cameron Wakefield, Isabelle Rose Kircher, Lauren Clinton, Elliott Lawless, Carly Owen, Devon Wood, Emma Fenton and Grace Brannigan

Big thanks to Liz Lawless for tipping us off to this! Good luck to all nominees.

High-Def Digest reports:

In an early alert to retailers, Fox has revealed a March Blu-ray arrival for the family fantasy ‘Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium.’

Although it hoped to capture the imagination in the way of such classics as ‘Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,’ ‘Mr. Magorium’ failed to make much a dent at the fall box office (scoring a meager $25 million domestic gross). Fox will give the Dustin Hoffman-Natalie Portman starrer another shot when it debuts the flick on Blu-ray March 4, day-and-date with the standard DVD.

Due to the early nature of the retail announcement, there are no detailed specs yet available, aside from the Fox’s standard 1080p video and DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 5.1 Surround audio.

Suggested retail for the Blu-ray has been set at $39.98.

Question: I’ve read that you came up with the character or Magorium, from a voice you use in a joke about an Ostrich. What was this?

Dustin Hoffman: I read it and said, I wanna play this part, but I don’t want to use a lot of makeup, so I tried to think, how was I going to sound at 243? The director, Zach Helm, we made the decision, that you can’t put prosthetics on. I’m not going to try and literally look like a zombie back from the dead. So if you can create a character that has an eccentricity about him, which you believe, he believes he’s 243, then we’ve done it. Then when we thought, what was I going to sound like? Nothing was coming to me, then my wife said, “if you’re going to do this movie, I’m going to read the script”, ’cause she won’t read it, if I’m not going to do it. She read it and said “I kept hearing the voice you use in the ostrich joke”. That surprised me, so I went into a room and started practicing and reading. You can write whatever answer you want, ’cause that’s a better story.

Question: What’s it like playing an old man?

Dustin Hoffman:I don’t know if you’ve all seen the movie, I’m sure that you all have different opinions about it, ’cause that’s the way the ball bounces sometimes. The idea is that the child in us, the child, that was us, has diminished as we get older. The child is the most pure part of ourselves. It’s the most unadulterated. It is the individual that never existed before and presumably doesn’t exist now with 7 billion people. There ain’t no-one else like you, but you. That’s profound. The child is fully that. The more you fit in the more you are generic. The best way that I can put it is; I knew a painter, years ago, when my 36 year old was 3 or 4, he’s since passed on , he’s a very good abstract painter. I thought. He came into the house and saw a picture that Genna had done on the wall, and he saw it on passing as he walked and said “I can’t do that anymore”. I knew what he was talking about.

There’s a lot more to the story and interview at Collider.com!

You see, I had a HORRIBLE experience on Friday. A girl behind me kept coughing loudly and many times in a row all throughout (her mom didn’t seem to care and just told her “try to keep it down”). But that’s not all. That same group had what had to be a four year old boy that kept walking around the aisle, playing with the straw in his drink, and clicking this toy around and around. I might have caught moments, but I was too angry to pay attention, and contemplated walking out, if it did not mean having to walk right in front of that woman with her kids. The problem wasn’t the kids. The problem was bad parenting. She never taught her kids theatre etiquette, and didn’t seem to care that something was wrong with her daughter. The girl’s cough was disconcerting, and sounded like she should see a doctor.

I missed so much of the movie because I was in my own head trying to tune all of that out, and getting really angry, that I don’t count that as a film viewing.

I went home and immediately ordered a ticket to see the movie again the next day, but this time at a GOOD theatre. Celebration Cinema. In DLP (Digital Projection). This time, all I had to put up with was the occasional slurping noises and some popcorn sounds from people around me. The gentleman that had those kids with him actually apologized to me after the film, because I looked back once. I thanked him for that.

If you haven’t considered seeing this film: think again. It is one of the most original movies that I have seen in years. It is full of heart, soul and magic. The score is spot on, the acting is more than adequate and the story is magnificent. Take a chance on it, and I promise that you won’t regret it. I have confidence that the film will surprise you as it did me. When I saw it today, I saw what it is that I missed, and I want to see it again. Once is not enough for this movie.

Movies like this just don’t come around very often, and you have to support them when they do: we need more originality like this.

To answer some things that might be on your mind: It is NOTHING like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Even the trailer makes a five minute scene in the movie seem like it’s the whole film. Do NOT judge this film by the trailer. I’m glad the trailer saved the good stuff for the film, because it made the experience all the more fulfilling.

It’s about a very old man that has been running a toy store for a long portion of his life. However, he’s moving on, and is passing the toy store on. The film is about every characters’ reaction to that and how they deal with it. Molly Mahoney is a musician that is trying to write a concerto, and who works in the toy store.

It’s been amazing, because when I’ve told some friends that I was going to see it, they reacted with: “You’re actually going to see that?” What I will tell them when I see them is: “You must see it, and see it with an open mind. You just might love it.” I did, even though it took two trips to two theatres for me to see it once.

I’m going to go ahead and give this film a 10/10. And I know that this is going to seem ridiculous as this is a Walden Media fan site, and the film is a Walden Media film: but when a film is this good, it is worth every point. To be honest, the score is just arbitrary. All that means is that I loved it and am considering placing it on my list of favorite films of all time. That is a list that, out of the 600+ films that I’ve seen, I’ve only added 30 total films.

I already want the DVD so I can watch it in peace and quiet and really take things in. I’m thinking of going to see it again next week.

That’s how Francis “Chip” X. Flaherty Jr., general counsel at Walden Media, talks about Walden’s latest movie (released with Fox today), in an interview with National Review Online Editor Kathryn Lopez. Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium is the story of a 243-year old toy-store owner, hits theaters.

Kathryn Jean Lopez: So how much make-up did it take to make Dustin Hoffman look 243?

Francis X. Flaherty Jr.: Mr. Magorium, played brilliantly by Dustin Hoffman, has maintained a youthful visage throughout his life so we were not required to do a thing. It should be noted that Magorium fit much living into those 243 years: making toys for Napoleon (which may be the genesis for the toyshop’s generous return policy – try telling Napoleon he needs to have a receipt), arm wrestling with Abraham Lincoln, and providing Thomas Edison with the idea for the lightbulb.

Lopez: Which is better the book or the movie?

Flaherty: Well, this is one of the few Walden Media movies not based on a book. It was a script by Zach Helm (Stranger Than Fiction). After reading the script we knew that it would make a great family movie and Zach served as both writer and director for the film. In our ongoing effort to promote literacy, Walden Media did partner with Scholastic to publish companion books around the film. We feel that a movie can get kids’ attention, and we use that opportunity to drive home the fact that while films tell great stories, literacy is the bedrock of education, learning, and knowledge.

Lopez: Hasn’t this movie already been made? Looks a little like Willie Wonka to me?

Flaherty: Like Willy Wonka, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium is visually stunning and if there is anything a kid dreams about as much as candy it is probably toys. But the movies tell very different stories, each in their own unique, inimitable, and entertaining way. It is interesting you ask the question though. Before this interview started I was looking at an archived edition of Epic Poets Illustrated and Virgil was asked why he wrote the Aeneid given that it sounded a little like Homer’s Iliad. Well his answer is long and written in iambic pentameter so I do not quote it here – but, in short, if he were around, Virgil would be at a Friday night showing of Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium.

Lopez: What would your kids do with a magic toyshop?

Flaherty: My definition of a magic toyshop is anyplace my credit cards aren’t declined, so I’d imagine if we found such a place, I would instruct my kids to take full advantage before the clock struck midnight.

Lopez: Beyond toys, the movie deals with a heavy topic. Should parents be warned?

Flaherty: The movie is rated G which is a rating of which we are proud. The rating shows that we have a made a film for the entire family. In the film a character dies and in that way the movie is not unlike Charlotte’s Web which we made last year and parents just loved. The issue here is dealt with gently. The character’s life is celebrated as a great life, well lived and the lesson learned is that life is an opportunity to be treasured and lived to the fullest. Magorium has a great line in the film when he says, “Life is an occasion, rise to it.”

Lopez: Can you see Mr. Magorium without kids?

Flaherty: By all means. At Walden Media we have always tried to make movies keeping in mind the C.S. Lewis quote, “a children’s story which is only enjoyed by children is a bad children’s story. The good ones last.” A central character in the film is Molly Mahoney, played by Natalie Portman. Molly feels that she is not ready to take over the toyshop. That feeling of being at the crossroads, seeing an opportunity but feeling that you are quite ready for it, is a theme to which all adults can relate. This truly is a film for everyone.

Lopez: How did you manage to break a Guinness book toy drive before the movie even opened?

Flaherty: We broke the record for most toys collected in one week. We did it with the incredible help of many partners, including Toys for Tots. There were stations to drop toys off all around the country, many at movie theaters. The toy drive was a great promotion because no matter what occurs in terms of film awareness, many young kids now will get toys they ordinarily would not have received. And, I love the Toys for Tots affiliation with the Marines — it is a great confidence boost to have the Marines around when you are trying to accomplish something.

[Read the Rest at National Review Online]

The film honors the unique possibilities life presents to each of us and gently urges us to embrace the gifts we possess but may be afraid to use. Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium is a whimsical reminder that life’s most “unlikely adventures require unlikely tools: imagination, creativity, invention, and belief in one’s self.”

Simplymini toys are all about bringing imagination and creativity back to children. “Like the film, we believe it is important to encourage children’s imagination without use of fancy gadgets or batteries. It is also important to teach our children to help those in need. Hopefully, Simplymini toys can bring lots of smiles to those less fortunate children this holiday season,” says founder of AK Toy Co.

Simplymini toys encourage children’s imagination with its highly detailed fashion stickers and stickerbooks. Dress up is the name of the game here with accessories galore (all interchangeable) and a concept that pleases both “girly girls” and the rougher and tumbler types alike. The fashion doll stickers peel on and off numerous times for endless hours of fun. The 16-page sticker books have many colorful themes and hip characters to dress. It is fun to play with, great for travel and a lovely “quiet time” activity (which we moms all adore!) The sticker books, kits and albums are also wonderful for collecting.

The World Toy Drive and the film’s premiere press event is sponsored by Walden Media and Toys for Tots. AK Toy Company plans to donate over 250 Simplymini toys.

Look for Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium in theaters on November 16, 2007. Simplymini toys are availabe online at www.target.com, www.amazon.com, and in Creative Kidstuff stores, as well as other speciality toy stores.

Hint has created a special version of their popular Tropical Punch water featuring images from the film on the bottle. The branded water will be distributed at family events and press junkets surrounding the movie’s release and New York City premiere on November 11^th, as well as at fine grocery stores and retailers nationwide. Hint is also conducting an online promotion on their website (www.drinkhint.com) where consumers can enter to win free tickets to the movie from October 15^th to December 1^st.

“Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium is a fun and magical fantasy that people of every age will enjoy,” says Kara Goldin, Hint’s creator and founder. “Hint is very proud to be uniting with Fox Walden and Mandate Pictures to promote this remarkable and captivating production.”

“We are delighted to be partnering with such a high-quality product on our magical family film, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium,” says Lisa Bay Adams,Vice President of Marketing & Promotions at Fox Walden. “The creative packaging and magic flavor is a natural extension of the film’s colorful themes and inspiring messaging.”

From Walden Media and Mandate Pictures, “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium”, written and directed by Zach Helm and starring Natalie Portman and Dustin Hoffman, is the strangest, most fantastic, most wonderful toy store in the world. In fact, it’s a magic toy store and everything in it comes to life – including the store itself. The Emporium only asks one thing of its customers; you must believe it to see it.

WHAT: Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium World Record Toy Drive for Toys for Tots!

WHERE: In 10 metro areas: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Seattle and Washington, D.C.

WHO: YOU! Schools, libraries and community centers are all eligible to host toy drives.

WHEN: November 6-13th, 2007

WHY: To celebrate the release of Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium by bringing a little magic to kids who might not otherwise receive gifts this holiday season. And because breaking a Guinness World Record^® is pretty cool!

HOW: Sign up by September 28, 2007 and get ready to collect some toys! You provide the space and enthusiasm. We provide the “magical” toy chest, a how-to guide and the means to distribute your toys to local tots!

Click here for more information and to sign up!