Welcome to Oscar Talk.
In case you’re new to the site and/or the podcast, Oscar Talk is a weekly kudocast, your one-stop awards chat shop between yours truly and Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood. The podcast is weekly, every Friday throughout the season, charting the ups and downs of contenders along the way. Plenty of things change en route to Oscar’s stage and we’re here to address it all as it unfolds.
After months of sporadic special edition updates, we’re back to the weekly grind today. So check back here every Friday from here on out for our musings on the Oscar season, which is right around the corner with the start of the fall festival circuit. We go on for quite a while today. Let’s jump in and see what’s on the docket…
• Starting off today we take stock of the summer movie season, which is pretty much wrapped up now. What films come out of that frame with a legitimate angle on the Oscar conversation?
• Starting next week, the Venice Film Festival kicks off the fall festival season, with Telluride not far behind and Toronto kicking in a few days later. We spend plenty of time chewing on and mulling over the various players that will pop up in the next few weeks.
• Releasing shortly are two films we thought deserved some discussing in the Oscar context. One of them (Jonathan Levine’s “50/50”) we agree on. The other (Gavin O’Connor’s “Warrior”) we don’t.
• Finally, we wrap things up with a handful of reader questions, ranging from the Academy’s tapping Brett Ratner for the Oscarcast producing gig to Jessica Chastain’s best Oscar chances in a busy year for the actress.
Have a listen to the new (LONG) podcast below, with the trailer for “Warrior” leading the way. If the file cuts off for you at any time, try the back-up download link at the bottom of this post. And as always, remember to subscribe to Oscar Talk via iTunes here.
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Back-up download: Oscar Talk Episode 58
Comments
93 responses to “OSCAR TALK: Ep. 58 — Wrapping up the summer, fall festival preview, ‘Warrior’ and ‘50/50’”
Is anyone else having problems getting it to load? If it’s my computer, feel free to tell me to buzz off and get a better Internet connection, but I wanted to see if I wasn’t the only one.
Yeah I am having issues too. It may be the lenght, I think.
Seems to work fine for me on Firefox, Chrome and Safari. Did you try the download link at the bottom and opening up in a new window? Might work.
Yeah. I can get the first few seconds that way, maybe 2 minutes in the pop up, and about 40 seconds if I download it to my desktop. Weird. Maybe it’s just me.
Not sure how fast your connection is but maybe let it download fully before playing? If anyone else is having similar issues let me know.
It actually stops downloading at those lengths for whatever reason. It’s a decently fast connection. I will continue trying!
I can’t seem to duplicate this on any of the browsers I have. I’ll do some digging and try to figure out what’s going on, but in the meantime, those having trouble, let me know what happens and what browser you’re using.
It just started working for me. It loaded fully in about 30 seconds. I have no idea what happened but, yay.
Anthony Kaufman wrote that “The Help” may be this year’s “Crash” . (He disliked both films)
http://blogs.indiewire.com/anthony/archives/is_the_help_this_years_crash/
I had some doubts about the Oscar potential of “The Help” , but Anthony Kaufman’s article explained my doubts; now I feel that “The Help” would become a big Oscar winner like “Crash”.
I am willing to shamelessly say that “The Help” is almost locked to win the Best Picture award at Oscar 2012. Other Oscar contenders may be the masterpieces; but on surface, their subject matters seem to have much less mainstream appeal than “The Help” (which clearly has huge appeal to both mainstream audience and the Academy’s mainstream branches).
I even think that “The Help” could become the highest-grossing Best Picture Oscar winner in US since “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”.
BTW, “The Help” and “Crash” have the same editor (Hughes Winborne).
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0003893/
Did some tinkering and someone on Twitter and now will here are saying it’s working for them now. Hopefully it’s cleared up, whatever it was.
It also works for me; I can listen the podcast .
I think “The Help” has the potential to gross 150 million and I definitely think it will garner several Oscar nods, including Best Picture but I don’t think it stands much of a chance of winning.
Though I preferred Alan Rickman in Harry Potter 7.2, much praise due to Ralph Fiennes. The character he created on screen is no where in the novels; he, unlike any other HP actor, invented a character. That’s fantastic in and of itself.
@Sam: I think Jason Isaacs deserves the most credit for creating a character outside of the books. I’m on the record preferring Jim Broadbent to the rest of the cast, though.
Also, in regards to Scott Rudin NOT campaigning The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo…doesn’t this seem an awful lot like the campaign for The Departed? Purely “box office” lob from a respected director. I think it could be that commercial film that just rocks.
I just burst out laughing uncontrollably when Anne said Serkis won’t be nominated because he is playing a chimpanzee/monkey. I mean its true and all but to put it so bluntly is so wonderful.
:D
Jane Eyre is a shrug and ain’t happening at all. Its a good well intentioned movie but doesn’t bring anything new to the period piece adaptation genre. Fassbender is good but yeah, nothing to sing about.
I don’t mean to sound rude, but… I work 70+ hour weeks in April-May. I get, like, 1 week off, and I’m back to working 40-50 hour weeks. So this whole “wow, I only got 5 months off” complaint sounds really strange to me.
Anyway, good discussion today. Thanks for making this afternoon (so far) fly by faster, Kris and Anne!
Joe: I think you’re reading/hearing it wrong. Read it as “five months off FROM THE OSCAR RACE,” because the point being made here is that, once again, here we are facing this slog, and it’s nice to work on OTHER things between Oscar seasons. But the “between” time feels less and less each year.
Thanks for answering the Chastain question, I’m really glad you both liked her in The Help as much as I did. I think she’s not getting nearly as much talk as she deserves to for that movie.
I have to agree with you Kris, what was wrong with the costumes in ‘The Help’? I don’t understand Anne’s point. I also didn’t think Stone was as distracting as Anne suggests. Her hair, yes, was a device. But overall, she held her own.
I would LOVE to see Jane Eyre gain some traction. I thought it was fantastic and easily one of the best films of the year thus far.
On the topic of Olsen and Jones, could those performances register like Williams in ‘Blue Valentine’? Small scope there too, but got Williams a nomination…
More than anything, this podcast made me really really anxious to see ’50/50′ and ‘Warrior’. I am going to be one emotional mess when both come out.
I just keep getting reminded of Winter’s Bone and Frozen River and how small of productions those were to get as much attention as they did. Like Crazy and Martha Marcy May Marlene could easily pick up the same kinda cues.
My Oscar talk does not work…cuts out after 10 minutes..please help!!!!!
Oscar Talk still not working for me on Safari. Also tried the back-up download, but got an error message.
Okay, now I need to track down the issue again. Quite a few have told me after the initial issues it is working for them now, so I have no idea what’s going on. Try clearing caches.
It worked perfectly fine for me in Firefox.
Three minutes into the season and you’re already arguing. :D
Working for me now on Safari. Thanks!
Great sum-up of the year so far. I think it’s great that Allen is being considered so strongly.
In a year of 10, sure. But since we are talking the 5% deal, is it REALLY that locked down that 250 people will put MIDNIGHT IN PARIS as the #1 movie of the year? It really seems like a solid Top 5, but not a Top 1. Or am I crazy?
Anne irked me no less than 3 times.
So, in that case, yesssss, Oscar Talk is back!!! :)
What is her beef with The Help’s costumes? Sheesh. They were lovely. They’re pretty (bing! Oscar!). And they’re from a 2-time Oscar nominee. I understand her not finding them authentic, I guess (?). But Marie Antoinette’s costumes won. And their bubble gum sweet costumes couldn’t have been authentic, either. And I repeat, ‘pretty’ wins out. The Help’s costumes were prrty.
On Alan Rickman: I think the “well, he’s playing the same role for 8 movies in a row” argument is unfair & incorrect. Rickman’s Snape has always had his ‘moments’. But in this final film, he really brings it in quite a few potent scenes. He had nothing like those scenes in any previous installment.
And what did I hear correctly, or did Anne lump ‘The Tree of Life’ with ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ together as two of the year’s best reviewed films? ‘TTOL’, sure. It’s got an 87 on metacritic. ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’, while enjoying a nice 83% on RT, has a 65 on metacritic – which basically puts it at even keel with probably 100 or more reviewed films each year. No?
Gahh, gotta love Anne, anyway. And I actually agreed with her on a lot of other points.
Kris, so happy that you, Anne, and eventually the others, are back for Oscar Talk.
I think she’s crazy about the costumes. They were fantastic and authentic.
@JJ1
Your above statement just shows how irrelevant Metacritic is. 30 or so critics is not a consensus.
Well, if it’s true that the Academy only cares about the positive reviews then I would imagine Harry Potter would do just fine, at least judging from how it’s doing on Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic. I think it’s chances of a Best Picture nomination are slim as well, I’m just commenting on what was mentioned in the podcast.
And I also think the 2001 comparisons to the origins of the universe sequence in The Tree of Life has gotten very tired. I don’t see much to really compare.
Anyways, great podcast. Looking forward to hearing more in the coming months.
tony rock, no I know. I see what you’re saying.
I’m just saying that I think the quality of ROTPOTA doesn’t match up with TTOL (and I think most critics, on the whole, would agree).
We all know that a film with 93% on RT can have a user rating of 7.2, while a film with 84% can have a user rating of 8.1. So, no review indicator is perfect, it seems.
I agree with Anne on “The Help” not being able to stay afloat. There are going to be a few more movies that come along that will grab the Academy’s heart. I will not be surprised if it gets in Best Picture, I’m just not seeing it. I don’t agree on the costumes however.
Kris: Regarding yours and Anne’s stance on “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”, I think Polland made a good point on Movie City News that the novel is a hit with older audiences, many of whom in the Academy. Yes, the material isn’t their cup of tea, but with guys like Fincher and Rudin involved, that could bring it into their wheelhouse. I think your argument that. If the film is a commercial and also a critical (which given Fincher’s track record, is likely) hit, I think it could easily shape up as a contender. I’m not saying either of you are completely wrong (I think Anne is spot on with only Acting and craft nominations), but I think you’re both underestimating it quite a bit.
We’ll see.
After what the Academy did to Fincher last year how can you not bet against Tattoo? It will be great but the Academy will show it no love.
If I were betting I would bet Reznor/Ross, Cronenweth and maybe Baxter/Wall. That’s it.
“After what the Academy did to Fincher last year how can you not bet against Tattoo?”
So because they happened to like a perfectly good and far more Academy friendly film more than TSN, that means that Fincher has been sent to the dog house for good? I don’t get your logic there, If the Academy doesn’t go for “Tattoo” it’ll be because it’s a violent genre film, not because of a non-existent grudge against Fincher.
I would also toss Best Sound Mix in there as a possible contender. Ren Klyce is very well-respected and very good at what he does. He’s been nominated three times before, once for work in a Fincher film that wasn’t loved by the Academy, and I’m sure the sound work on “Tattoo” will be very atmospheric.
Well, looks like Anne’s positive remarks on Gerard Butler’s career moving forward may be put to an abrupt halt if these ‘Romancing the Stone’ remake rumors are to be believed. It’s all downhill from here.
What was that comment about Like Crazy and Martha Marcy?
Wasn’t Jennifer Lawrence in Winter’s Bone one of Anne favorite performance/contender of last year?
I think Felicity Jones has a great shot and I hope she’ll get there because she’s damn good in that movie.
I think Like Crazy could get a Original Scenario nod and why not best picture?
Dylan I didn’t intend to mean the Academy has a grudge against Fincher. They obviously don’t as they have nominated him twice now.
My point was rather in line with your thinking that Tattoo will be snubbed because of its style and genre. If Social Network and Fincher couldn’t win last year what chance does a film like Tattoo have at becoming a contender?
I think you’ll ultimately find you were overestimating it all along, Dylan. That’s my humble opinion.
Kidman, yes! That’s the other Anne comment that had me rolling.
Last year, all I heard from her mouth was “Winter’s Booonnnne. Yes, Winter’s Bone. Oh, it’s amazing. And the critics …. yes, the critics will bring it back. They’ll remember that. They’ll bring it around. You see. The critics will keep this small film afloat. And Jennifer Lawrence is too good to miss. Winter’s Bonnneee. The Academy knows taste. They know quality, however small. Winter’s Booonnne”.
I exaggerate, of course. And she was right about the film.
But for her to say that ‘Martha Macy’ or ‘Like Crazy’ doesn’t have a shot – one of them with John Hawkes in it, and both with two apparently Jennifer Lawrence-esque ‘wow, who are you?” performances ……. her commentary on the subject just made absolutely no sense to me.
Love having the podcast back! I will put out that not only did Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises play at TIFF, but it also won People’s Choice that year. Also Tom Hardy for the win!
Anne: “Do you really think that Felicity Jones or Elizabeth Olsen can be nominated?”
Well, we know one person who doesn’t visit this site.
Anyway, Kris, I understand what you’re saying; although it’s difficult for me to picture it as a slog, it very well could seem that way for someone who’s knee-deep in the middle of it. Maybe I was in a bad mood because I had to work late yesterday (I’m still working right now, in fact).
Kris: You’re probably right. I’m just not ready to toss it to the wayside quite yet. And I do think it will get craft nominations and possibly acting nominations regardless. Let’s see the film and hear what people have to say.
Better get in a comment before Hurricane Irene sodomizes NJ!
I’m glad some others agree that Martha Marcy May Marlene (and Like Crazy, too, perhaps) have a strong shot and you should probably have more faith in it. Like Frozen River, Precious, and Winter’s Bone before it, MMMM is a dark drama centered on a female. It’s also a major prize-winner at Sundance. I think these tend to follow a pattern of being embraced by the Academy because it starts its buzz early, but doesn’t peak. It’s a quiet storm, and I think the guilds will be the first sign of passion for either/both films. The Globes will definitely pass them over, as always. (They nominated Gosling/Williams, but those names carried much more weight.) Some critics might show some love, but the critics are so unanimous/boring these past few years, I’m not holding my breath.
Original Screenplay seems weak enough that both could be nominated–and Actress *might* have room for both, but I’d lean towards Olsen for having the more complex role. Still, both Lawrence and Williams got in last year, so Jones and Olsen might both make it. I also wonder if Hawkes might have the power to secure a second consecutive nod. Renner pulled it off last year, albeit in a more high profile follow-up. But the actors do the nominating, after all, and his role seems like a powerful one, and different from his WB character. Hm.
If either film garners the 5% support/passion for a BP nomination though, it’s MMMM. LC seems less likely to achieve that. Still interested in both.
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On another note, just read on IMDb today before clearing out my backyard that The Lady is opening Rome Film Festival. Probably old news for some people, but just thought I’d share in case anyone sees it for the first time =).
M’kay, back to hurricane panic slave labor.
I don’t think “The Tree of Life” deserves a Best Visual Effects nomination, as good as the effects were. They’re simply too minimal, and after being wowed by them in the first 25 minutes or so, they almost completely disappear and the focus is put entirely on the grounded, non-FX elements of the story. They simply don’t have the presence of some of the heavier contenders.
They’re hardly minimal, English. They’re grand and unique and well-executed, not to mention pertinent to the story being told. But just because they don’t have the presence of a film with wall-to-wall robots doesn’t mean they don’t deserve a fair shake, and in this case in particular, they deserve MORE than a fair shake.
So, Kris. You can’t drop any kind of cryptic hint/clue about your opinion of ‘Contagion’, eh? :)