Moonrise Kingdom Grabs Oscar Nomination

The Rhode Island Film & TV Office announced that Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom, which was shot entirely in Rhode Island, has been nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Original Screenplay.

Premiering to a worldwide audience in the spring of 2012 at the Cannes Film Festival, "Moonrise Kingdom" became a critical hit. Starring Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Harvey Keitel, Jason Schwartzman and Bob Balaban, "Moonrise Kingdom" follows a young boy and girl (newcomers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward) who fall in love and run away together while a variety of townspeople mobilize to search for them on a unique island off the coast of New England in the 1960s.

Gov. Lincoln Chafee pointed out the attention the film has brought the state. "We are very pleased that the Academy of Arts and Sciences has recognized the remarkable efforts of Wes Anderson and his team for their film 'Moonrise Kingdom,'" Chafee said in a release. "With the collaboration of our Film & TV Office, various city and town officials, and a dedicated local workforce, 'Moonrise Kingdom' is a prime example of how, through teamwork, our beautiful state can be showcased to a worldwide audience."

Steven Feinberg, executive director of the Rhode Island Film & TV Office, addedd, “When the visionary artist Wes Anderson picked Rhode Island as the unique location for his personal project and enlisted our talented local crew and vendors to make his movie dream come true, we could not have been more enthusiastic. Now that 'Moonrise Kingdom' is receiving so many awards and accolades, it officially puts Rhode Island at the top of the independent filmmaking map.”

To date, more than 100 critics, have deemed "Moonrise Kingdom" “one of the year’s best pictures.“ It was selected as Movie of the Year at the American Film Institute Awards and Best Film at the Gotham Awards. The National Board of Revue voted it one of the Top Ten Independent Films. It also won a Boston Society of Film Critics award for Best Film, Best Screenplay and Best Use of Music in a Film; Best Production Design from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association; and Best Screenplay from the New York Film Critics Circle.

Additional nominations include the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy; the Gotham Award for Best Ensemble Cast; Independent Spirit Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Feature, Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Male (Bruce Willis).

The Academy Awards will be presented on Sunday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m. EST on ABC.

The Rhode Island Film & TV Office is a government agency under the umbrella of the State of Rhode Island Department of Administration. For more information, visit www.film.ri.gov.