• Tom Tapp rallies behind Kristin Scott Thomas’s work in “I’ve Loved You So Long.” [The Daily Beast]
• Anne Thompson, meanwhile, thinks the actress leads the field. (Sorry — the film just didn’t speak to me.) [Thompson on Hollywood]
• After Spielberg and Greengrass bowed out, “The Trial of the Chicago 7” might end up in the hands of…Ben Stiller? WTF? [The Hollywood Reporter]
• Michael Ordoñachats it up with Hope Davis, probably the least interesting female component of Charlie Kaufman’s “Synecdoche, New York.” [Los Angeles Times]
• John Horn, meanwhile, writes a love letter to Clint Eastwood with “Changeling” set to bow nationwide. [Los Angeles Times]
• Anthony Breznican gets some quality “Gran Torino” time with Clint Eastwood, plus some exclusive looks at the film’s first materials. [USA Today]
• Missing the boat on so much of the subtle brilliance to be found in “W,” Christopher Rosen thinks Oliver Stone has simply gotten old. [New York Observer]
• The director, meanwhile, takes part in an esteemed panel discussing the marks to be left by the current administration. [Slate]
• Peter Bart makes the completely wrong-headed decision to chalk slumping ad sales revenue up to studios displaying a lack of talent support. [Peter Bart]
Comments
10 responses to “10/23 Oscarweb Round-up”
On “The Trial of the Chicago 7”:
Damn, just give it to Sidney Lumet! He’d be perfect.
That Ben Stiller story is ludicrous. WTF are they thinking?
“the least interesting female component of Charlie Kaufman’s ‘Synecdoche, New York.’ â€
Hell yes. But KST stunned me in ILYSL. I thought the movie and her performance were incredible. I’m campaigning for her Oscar too today, but I don’t she needs that much help.
No, Kris! Hope Davis was a hoot in “Synecdoche.” She had all the best jokes, none of which I will spoil here.
The most compelling female in ‘Synecdoche’ was Emily Watson. Keener did her longstanding scowl, and Williams who I love, seemed to be out of her element and uncomfortable. Samantha Morton was great, but there’s something about Watson’s smaller role and her performance that really struck me.
Tilda Swinton was once rumored (cast?) to be in this film and I wish she would have taken Davis’ role instead. I thought she was horribly miscast.
Agreed, Playlist. I don’t think that just because Davis had the best lines she was therefore the most fascinating aspect of the film.
I actually don’t think that Ben Stiller is that bad of a director. His movies have immature and comedic subject matter and he is a goofy guy but I think he can handle a serious movie. At the very least, I’m curious to see how he handles the project
I thought Williams handled her prickly “Synecdoche” character really well, particularly in her earlier scenes. But it’s Morton (admittedly with the most expansive arc) who has stuck with me the most — if the film weren’t so Academy-unfriendly, I’d predict awards attention for her.
I never said Davis was the most fascinating aspect of the film, just that her character provided some welcome humor.
If you want to talk about the “least interesting female component” of the movie, that’s easy: Jennifer Jason Leigh.
If we’re going to there (re: Leigh) which is totally fare enough, can we just note how awesome and funny, Leigh’s role is in the script?
The whole sequence where PSH’s daughter [REDACTED] in the end is soo much more funny in the script and that scene is so sorrowful in mournful. I guess that’s one of my major issues overall, as funny as it is sometimes, it’s just way too much of a downer compared to the really funny screenplay.
Also what happened with that scene where the woman gets hit by the car and the whole Haley Joel Osment thing? That thread was great, but perhaps the film was already too jam-packed as it is.
While we’re giving props, Tom Noonan was great and funny, but again his character is hysterical in the script. Doesn’t totally translate.