We’ve moved into October and I’m about a week, week-and-a-half away from eliminating any film without a distributor from our forecast. It’s crunch time for the 15 titles in our Contenders section still seeking a domestic buyer. I count five lead actors, 10 lead actresses and a handful of supporting campaigns that are looking like holdovers. And who knows what will go the way of “Lovely, Still” (still distributorless over a year after playing Toronto)?
Most puzzling straggler: “Leaves of Grass,” which seems to me like it could prove both commercial and a fun awards push (for Norton). And what gives on “Mother and Child,” which was something of a Toronto darling?
Comments
11 responses to “Crunch time”
I really hope Mother and Child gets a distributor. Annette Bening for the Oscar!
At this point, if they land distributors, it will be an outfit like Vitagraph, Abramorama, Roadside Attractions, Freestyle or Samuel Goldwyn and the odds of them milking an Oscar nom are slim to none.
All you need is a chip and a seat.
I am really hoping to see Abbie Cornish, Paul Schneider, and the entire film to make a comeback. It is far too lovely to be left off.
and here, we, go
Agreed James D.
“Bright Star” is a great film. I’m also baffled by the lack of affection for Whishaw’s subtly brilliant performance. Ideally, all three actors would receive nods.
SALO, he was fine as well, but Best Actor is stacked in comparison. The only nominee in Tapley’s list that I have seen is Streep, who deserves it, but Cornish should be up there.
My biggest hope is for Schneider, though. It may be the best performance of a prick of the year.
He certainly does have lots of competition, especially from big Hollywood names like Clooney, Day-Lewis, Freeman, Mortensen, the obscenely overrated Damon, and now Firth.
But I suspect that one of the three young and fairly unknown contenders — Renner, Stuhlbarg, and Whishaw — will slip in. Sadly, Whishaw probably has the least chance of the three since critics have given him the least ink.
Does anyone know when “A Serious Man” goes into wide release?
Good question. It doesn’t have an official website that I can see, and IMDb does not have anything either. I would think that, even if the reviews were not as good, the Coen Brothers name would guarantee a few hundred theaters at least.
I keep expecting “Rabbit Hole” to just suddenly pop itself into the race and throw a complete wrench into everything. As in it could become a “Million Dollar Baby” type of surprise.