Features
It’s almost that time. I’m having a modest gathering at the homestead tonight, contrasting strongly with the 12-head Thanksgiving feast and the week-long trip to New York that dominated the last two holidays. But before I go about entertaining, before the clock ticks to zero, a few things. It’s been a good year, and a […]
Entries from December 2009
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Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 7:00 pm · December 31st, 2009
Filed in: Daily
TECH SUPPORT INTERVIEW: The crafts of ‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’
Posted by gerardkennedy · 6:14 pm · December 31st, 2009
Terry Gilliam’s “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” is the latest entry in the director’s long history of wondrous, fantastical worlds. The film might be best remembered as containing Heath Ledger’s final performance. But Gilliam’s rich imagination is also seen in the work of below-the-line craftspeople who brought his world alive with splendid visuals and a […]
Filed in: Interviews · Tech Support
Karger goes out on a limb for ‘The Messenger’
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:52 am · December 31st, 2009
In the last week or two, the buzz for Rob Marshall’s “Nine” has, undeniably, plummeted. It took a while for it to get to that point. The first screening was held nearly a month and a half ago in New York, after all. But enough goodwill and a certain lazy expectation that the below-the-line elements […]
Filed in: Daily
The most memorable Oscar moments of the decade
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:57 am · December 31st, 2009
The first time I stumbled into this labyrinth of Oscar coverage and analysis, it wasn’t a labyrinth. It was a handful of dedicated Oscarphiles and movie fans. It was Thanksgiving break, 2000, and I discovered Sasha Stone’s Oscarwatch (now Awards Daily). At the time, it was such an interesting, novel endeavor. No one was really […]
Filed in: Daily
Ebert names ‘Synecdoche’ the decade’s best
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:22 am · December 31st, 2009
I’m happy to see the Chicago Sun-Times’ Roger Ebert is bold enough to tap something like Charlie Kaufman’s “Synecdoche, New York” as the best film of the decade. His list on the whole is rather singular, I found, which is also refreshing. Of his number one pick, he says: “Synecdoche, New York” is the best […]
Filed in: Daily
Rendered irrelevant
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:19 am · December 31st, 2009
At the start of the decade, movie stars were hit by a giant tidal wave. By the end, they had been stomped on by giant robots and kicked into a flaming abyss. Over the past 10 years, digital spectacles have become a bigger draw than famous actors. The lede on Anthony Breznican’s USA Today story […]
Filed in: Daily
12/31 Oscarweb Round-up (NEW YEAR’S EVE EDITION)
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:02 am · December 31st, 2009
• Tom O’Neil serves some crow up to a few colleagues while failing to understand that his prize pony needed a few films to underwhelm in order to be in the position it’s in. [Gold Derby] • David Poland crunches the “Avatar” numbers yet again. The film is still…almost…breaking records. [The Hot Blog] • Neill […]
Filed in: Daily
THE LONG SHOT: Four to the floor
Posted by Guy Lodge · 4:13 pm · December 30th, 2009
“It might as well rain until September,” wrote Carole King in her jaunty 1960s ditty of that title, an ode to summertime breakup blues that may as well have been composed for the autumnally-activated awards season. Swap September for December, and you have an apt description of the approach many studios and Oscar-watchers alike take […]
Filed in: The Long Shot
Baldwin on Letterman
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 11:14 am · December 30th, 2009
This is from the holiday episode, which aired 12/23. Early in the interview they touch on the Oscar hosting gig and later, of course, there’s “It’s Complicated” talk. And a great story mid-way through about when Baldwin met Burt Lancaster in an elevator. Hilarious stuff. Here’s part one, part two after the jump.
Filed in: Daily
On the sound of ‘Transformers’
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:47 am · December 30th, 2009
A few weeks back we told you about a new site called SoundWorks Collection, which has been doing a great job of featuring the sound mixing and sound editing on a number of the year’s contenders. Using brief video pieces to illustrate an element of the industry that is still somewhat mysterious to many, I […]
Filed in: Daily
Good point
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:19 am · December 30th, 2009
I’d also suggest that the resurgence of women as box office makers or breakers is not to be under-estimated. Yes, women went to the movies before “Sex and the City: The Movie” last year (18 months ago), but it seems that since then there have been more women-oriented hits that can be solely claimed as […]
Filed in: Daily
‘Up in the Air’ gets EW’s first Oscar cover of the season
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:53 am · December 30th, 2009
I think I have a few Entertainment Weekly Oscar special issues dating back to, oh, 1995 or so. I used to relish in the odds, the Oscar articles cooked up by the magazine’s staff, and, obviously, Dave Karger’s work throughout. Yeah, I’m a bit jaded on the circuit now, but once upon a time, I […]
Filed in: Daily
12/30 Oscarweb Round-up
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:40 am · December 30th, 2009
• Weinstein scales back the “Nine” expansion in the wake of low box office, bad reviews. [Reuters] • “Avatar” effects guru Joe Letteri sure is making the rounds. Next stop: Steve Pond. [The Odds] • On Oscar’s consistent rule changes. [Variety]
Filed in: Daily
December winner predictions, part 2: Yours and mine
Posted by Guy Lodge · 4:53 pm · December 29th, 2009
As I like to do when Kris boldly throws out a set of winner predictions, I thought I’d follow up with an indication of which way our readers are leaning — as well as an update of my own previous guesses. The conclusion: well, what a difference seven weeks makes. Of course, it’s inevitable that […]
Filed in: Daily
THE LISTS: Top 10 movie-related moments of 2009
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 12:38 pm · December 29th, 2009
As the year (and decade) slowly winds down, I thought it would be a pretty good time to revive our long-slumbering Lists feature here at In Contention. And what better way to do so and salute the year at hand than to lay out the most significant movie-related moments of 2009? The American Film Institute kind […]
Filed in: The Lists
“Dull, dull, dull”
Posted by Guy Lodge · 10:42 am · December 29th, 2009
As is usually the case when British outlets offer Oscar analysis, there are few fresh insights to be found in Jeremy Kay’s assessment of the current race in today’s Guardian. Well, there is his unusual offhand assertion that “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and “Star Trek” are locked-in Best Picture nominees, with “Julie & Julia” and “The […]
Filed in: Daily
The math
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:14 am · December 29th, 2009
I Tweeted about this yesterday, but in case you missed it, Steve Pond has painstakingly revealed the craziness of Oscar’s math once more, but this time, with added detail and some new bits that will either clear things up for you or make them much, much more confusing. I know which of those camps I’m […]
Filed in: Daily
‘Avatar’ and ‘Thundercats’
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:15 am · December 29th, 2009
Random, I know. But allow my inner 6-year-old to have a moment here. I guess there was a report somewhere over the holiday about how Warner Bros. had scrapped plans to film a live action “Thundercats” movie. As a child of the 1980s, and speaking as a guy who may have had more He-Man action […]
Filed in: Daily
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