In Contention

Author: Chad Hartigan

  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 1975 and 1976

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    These two years offer two of the best slates of Best Picture nominees ever in my opinion. ’75 of course belonging to the second ever winner of the top five awards, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” I’ve got no qualms with that particular film, but for my money, “Barry Lyndon” is inch perfect, every frame.

    1976 is viewed as one of the biggest Oscar travesties of all time. “Rocky” beating out films like “Network,” “Taxi Driver,” and “All the President’s Men” doesn’t sit well with most cinephiles. Guess what though, “Rocky” is in my top five films of all time and totally deserved it. Don’t listen to the haters, Sly!

    Stallone would join Charlie Chaplin and Orson Welles as the only people nominated for acting and writing the same film at that time. Lina Wertmuller would also make history as the first female ever nominated for Best Director, possibly taking Marty Scorsese’s spot.

    The underdog box office champion winning top honors didn’t help the broadcast from becoming the lowest rated ever, and the first to last longer than three and a half hours.

    (more…)

  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 1973 and 1974

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    “The Sting” swept the 1973 awards and it remains one of the breeziest films to win top honors. The combination of Newman and Redford, working at the top of their game and re-teaming with “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” director George Roy Hill proved irresistible.

    Unbelievably, it was joined in the Best Picture race by films from Best Director nominees George Lucas and Ingmar Bergman. If ever there was a pair that represented polar opposites of the filmmaking spectrum, they were nevertheless cinematic equals for a night here.

    Tatum O’Neal became the youngest winner of a competitive Oscar while 1974 saw Art Carney win over Pacino, Nicholson, Hoffman and Finney in some of the roles of their careers. Try explaining that one to anyone today without having to google Art Carney.

    1974 also gave us the first sequel to ever win Best Picture in “The Godfather Part II” and you’ll find no complaints here, although Coppola’s other Best Picture nominee that year, “The Conversation” is equally good.

    Oh, and Oscar’s one and only instance of full frontal nudity. So far…

    (more…)

  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 1971 and 1972

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    Kubrick gets robbed again as his visionary, “A Clockwork Orange” loses out to a well-executed genre flick in 1971. The Oscars like nothing more than a slightly better version of the crap that Hollywood continually churns out. It’s almost as if one film doing it really well justifies them lazily attempting to film the same thing over and over. All that said, “The French Connection” is quite good.

    You can directly trace the recent win for “The Departed” back to this precedent, not to mention the debt Eminem and Three 6 Mafia owe to Isaac Hayes, who picked up a Best Song Oscar for “Shaft” this year.

    “The Godfather” won in 1972 and nobody can really complain about that, can they? Apparently, “Cabaret” was the heavy favorite at the time, but thank Christ that didn’t happen (although it did win Best Director and seven other Oscars). The ceremony is best remembered as the one where Marlon Brando sent an Indian to turn down his Oscar.

    It also saw 14-year old Michael Jackson perform the nominated song, “Ben.”

    Oh, and Peter O’Toole lost.

    (more…)

  • SUNDAY CENTS: Photo finish!

    *All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    One last bit of excitement before the summer ends and Tapley starts posting random Redskins photos on Sundays. We have a dead heat race for the top spot at the box office, but estimates are handing the crown to “The Last Exorcism.” If it does, indeed, win the weekend, it will be the first time Lionsgate has had two consecutive number one films.

    The official estimate is $21.3 million, which puts it just a fraction behind the $23.1 million debut of “Exorcist: The Beginning” on this same weekend of 2004. It’s also a smidge behind the $24.5 mil debut of Lionsgate’s similar looking 2009 shocker, “The Haunting in Connecticut,” but let’s remember that this is a no budget endeavor with no recognizable actors that the studio had to market with smarts and Eli Roth’s name.

    Incidentally, they couldn’t use Roth’s name to market his own movie, “Hostel Part II,” to a debut past $9.5 million, but the man can’t win them all. Now we just sit back and wait for the inevitable porno knock-off called “The Last Circumcision.”

    (more…)

  • FRIDAY FORECAST: End of the Road

    *All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    It’s the last full weekend of the summer, the last weekend of me being 27, and the last weekend for Friday Forecast on InContention. A time of introspection. A time of reflection. A time of paying another $20 to see those blue things in 3D again. I can’t wait to not see it again… for the first time.

    The dog days of August are notoriously tough on the multiplex as kids start heading back to school so don’t expect any Oscar nominations for this week’s crop of films. Leading the pack is “The Last Exorcism” from Lionsgate. This could be the first time in that company’s history that one of its films takes the top spot away from another one of its films. A low budget faux-documentary, Lionsgate picked up distribution rights and has sold it fantastically with sharp trailers and posters.

    Exorcism is a foolproof box office meme, with Sony able to milk a $37.3 million debut for “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” in September 2005. That film had some movie stars and a true story hook, while Lionsgate is definitely no Sony, but we should still be looking at a strong opening for the film. Something like $18 million, but if Lionsgate can get some stories printed about audience members puking, then you can bump that up to $22 million.

    (more…)

  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 1969 and 1970

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    As the 60’s came to a close, Oscar decided to embrace its dirty side and give X-rated “Midnight Cowboy” the top prize. Coming a year after “Oliver!” makes it quite a juxtaposition and the film remains one of the most interesting picks by the Academy, particularly as it triumphed in the “Year of the Western.”

    “The Wild Bunch,” “True Grit,” “Paint Your Wagon” and “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” all found themselves up for top prizes in a year that Tapley would probably have died to cover. Also great to see “Z” become the second foreign language Best Picture nominee in a year that Wikipedia claims is still the highest rated Oscar telecast ever. Take note current producers- there was no host and it lasted 145 minutes.

    The 70’s were introduced with “Patton” earning Best Picture. War, epic, biopic, strong male lead; it completely fits the bill for a Best Picture winner. Of course, George C. Scott would famously become the first actor to refuse his award this year.

    It was also the year The Beatles finally won an Oscar (for “Let it Be”) but had already broken up and failed to appear. Timely as ever, Academy.

    (more…)

  • SUNDAY CENTS: Six Flags > Movies

    *All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    Sorry this is checking in a little late today but I’ve been at Six Flags all day having the time of my life. I hadn’t been since they opened a crazy new ride called Tatsu and it kind of blew my mind, but the X will always be the best ‘coaster. In any case, some movies came out this weekend too and performed with varying degrees of success.

    The number one movie, again, is “The Expendables.” Stallone and his fellow band of ‘roid Rangers dropped 53% to $16.5 million but took advantage of a terrible weekend to notch a second frame at the summit. The last time Sly was in a film that spent two weeks at the top was in 1993, when Wesley Snipes was huge and an unknown Sandra Bullock and Jack Black lent support in “Demolition Man.”

    “Vampires Suck” confirmed the absence of any justice or God in the world by opening in second place with $12.2 million. $18.6 million has already been conned out of America since Wednesday and I’m pretty sure that’s ten times the total amount of my top 10 favorite films of last year combined.

    “Eat Pray Love” takes the bronze, dropping 48% to $12.0 million. Don’t be surprised if this is the real runner-up when actuals are released and even though that drop might seem harsh, “Julie & Julia” did almost exactly the same before leveling out and sticking around through early September.

    (more…)

  • FRIDAY FORECAST: Stop giving Friedberg & Seltzer your money!

    *All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    Alright guys. Enough is enough. The only thing less funny than a spoof movie made by Friedberg & Seltzer is the conceptual gag that America keeps playing where we ironically buy tickets to see them. Just to make fun of it, of course. Only problem is we’re giving them real money and they are super rich and successful, despite being the worst thing to happen to filmmaking since, well, ever.

    “Vampires Suck” leads a gaggle of new releases this week and it’s actually already been out since Wednesday. The beyond tired spoof racked up $6.4 million in two days and should be on course for another $14 or $15 million during the weekend. The last time these two got behind a camera was “Disaster Movie,” which epic failed at the end of summer 2008 and gave hope that these clowns would never work again. But that film was their only one released by Lionsgate, not Fox, and they didn’t know how to market the gold placed in their hands.

    Focusing on the biggest phenomenon in film isn’t a bad idea either to get back on track. Congratulations America. You’ve made a scene where something large falls out of the sky and lands on the Old Spice Guy on a horse a part of cinema box office history (note: I have not seen “Vampires Suck” but I’ll eat my hat if that scene isn’t in it).

    (more…)

  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 1967 and 1968

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    The civil rights struggle raged through America in the late 60’s and the issue found its way to Oscar’s front door in 1967 with “In the Heat of the Night” triumphing over “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.” Neither has the lasting impact of fellow nominees “The Graduate” or “Bonnie and Clyde” but we can’t expect the Academy to award progressive filmmaking over safe filmmaking with a progressive message.

    1968 was a strange year indeed, with two big musicals, two historical, costume dramas and one independent thriller. “Oliver!” came away with the Best Picture prize while “2001: A Space Odyssey” had to settle for one win in the Visual Effects category. So…. why do we care about the Oscars again?

    More exciting is the fact that 1968 saw an exact tie in the Best Actress race. How thrilling must that have been to the Oscarwatchers in that day? Assuming there were any. And Alfred Hitchcock picked up the Irving “whoops, sorry we didn’t award you an Oscar” G. Thalberg award and gave the best speech in Oscar history.

    So, what failed to impress Ernest Borgnine and company these years?

    (more…)

  • SUNDAY CENTS: AARP Action Squad!

    *All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    The internet had been buzzing for weeks. Would the fact that he spent most of the decade in straight to video titles hurt his box office clout. Did Dolph Lundgren still have the box office muscle we all thought he had or did the lackluster performance of “Direct Contact”, “Hidden Agenda” and “The Mechanik” cause too much irreparable damage? We have our answer this weekend as “The Expendables” tops the chart with $35.0 million.

    Some had speculated that since Dolph hadn’t appeared in a single film that hit theaters since his role as “Street Preacher” in “Johnny Mnemonic” that nobody would care about him punching people in the face and killing them anymore. I’m sorry we ever doubted you Dolph. He is now solely responsible for the sixth biggest Lionsgate debut of all time (biggest non-Madea, non-“Saw”). Word of mouth is likely to be atrocious as it seems he wasn’t able to deliver on the early Oscar promise of the project. A steep drop awaits next week but maybe now the Lundgren haters will stay in their place.

    “Eat Pray Love” takes second place with $23.7 million. Readers suggested I went over the line making fun of this film and the women who might like it so I’ll let the numbers speak for themselves here.

    (more…)

  • FRIDAY FORECAST: Nerdgasm!

    *All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    If you are a nerd, this is the weekend for you. It doesn’t matter if you’re an action movie nerd, video game nerd or self-help nerd, Hollywood has you covered. All in all, it’s an abnormally stacked August weekend with three films that all have breakout potential and is especially baffling when you look at the shitshow of titles nobody cares about just seven days away.

    Of the three openers, Lionsgate is going the widest with “The Expendables.” First off, no matter what happens, this will be profitable for the studio since they just bought the distribution rights from Millennium Films, who actually financed the thing. Lionsgate pulled a similar move with “Rambo” and saw that film open with $20.1 million and tap out at $47.3 million. For an ultra-violent sequel to a franchise dead longer than most of our readers have been alive, all were pretty satisfied.

    Expectations are amped up for “The Expendables,” since a bunch of other old guys with muscles are in it. Count me among those not buying the hype that Steve Austin, Terry Crews and Dolph Lundgren add significant interest among any crowd of patrons. Cameos from Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis have been shamefully advertised and that will dupe a few old timers into thinking there’s something special here, but that trio didn’t really help Planet Hollywood from epic failing. I think a strong Friday will lead to a $32 million weekend and it free falls from there.

    (more…)

  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 1965 and 1966

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    I’m back guys. Sorry for taking a week off but my older brother got hitched and I had a drunken Best Man speech that needed attending to. I trust you spent the week watching all the wonderful movies being highlighted in this column.

    We’re halfway through my favorite decade of film and 1965 is the first time the Oscar telecast came to you live and in color (any readers actually old enough to remember?). Going into the ceremony, bookies were split between “The Sound of Music” and “Doctor Zhivago,” but it was the light-hearted former that waltzed away with top honors.

    The Academy continued to show courageous love to foreign titles with Hiroshi Teshigahara earning a Best Director nomination for “Woman in the Dunes” in ’65 and Claude Leloach doing the same for “A Man and a Woman” in 1966.

    That was the year that Fred Zinnemann’s morality play, “A Man for All Seasons” took Best Picture and five other awards, beating out Mike Nichols’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” which remains one of the greatest film debuts of all time in my book. The Oscars were making some risky choices but they still missed out on honoring these timeless films.

    (more…)

  • SUNDAY CENTS: ‘Cats’ is a dog

    *All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    Hey gang. Sorry this is late but I spent all morning at work and then all afternoon at the Home Depot Center watching the Galaxy get shellacked by the Chicago Fire and getting a sunburn on half my face. I’ll try to keep it short and sweet.

    The number one movie, for a third weekend in a row, is “Inception.” It’s the third film to spend three weeks at the top in 2010, but the first that wasn’t in 3D. The drop was 36%, a bit harsher than last weekend’s slip and gave it $27.5 million for the three days and $193.3 million total. The film is holding fantastically well and will be only the third live action film of the summer to cross the $200 million mark. The $268.4 million of “The Matrix” is not out of reach, which would make it the most successful original sci-fi property since “Independence Day.” that movie with the big, blue things.

    “Dinner for Schmucks” performed to expectations with $23.3 million. As I mentioned on Friday, that’s a bit above normal for Paul Rudd, who is used to sharing a bill with B-listers like Jason Segel and Seann William Scott. Throw Steve Carell in the mix and you’re good for an extra few million. Throw in an animated Steve Carell in a ridiculous accent and you’re good for the surprise smash of the summer. No wonder he’s leaving “The Office.”

    (more…)

  • FRIDAY FORECAST: Reigning ‘Cats & Dogs?’

    *All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    Hey kids! How about that terrifying photo to the right? Make you want to see cats and dogs brutally fighting to the death voiced by Nick Nolte and Joe Pantoliano? While Chris O’Donnell looks on confused? Of course it does. We’ve got three new releases this week but are probably looking at a third straight week at the top for “Inception.”

    “Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore” is probably a half decade too late to capitalize on any good will the audience had for the original (a $131 million grossing summer surprise). Warner Bros. has even wisely lopped off the number two from the title since what few fans there are will know and anyone else might just think it’s a family film with a cool concept. They’ve also given it a hefty 3,700 screen count.

    Here’s the thing though. With “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” being the only exception, talking animal movies have terrible drop offs from the original to the sequel. “Babe,” “Garfield” and “Stuart Little” can all attest. With so much time in between films here, and the almost identical “G-Force” less than a year old, it seems like these cats and dogs are headed for the same pile. I think $17 million is the best they can hope for.

    (more…)

  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 1963 and 1964

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    The Beatles weren’t the only British invasion happening around 1963 as “Tom Jones” took the big prize at the Academy Awards and British talent racked up no less than 9 of the 20 acting nominations. It also became one of the few comedies to win, slaying proud heavyweights like “Cleopatra” in the process.

    Also worth mentioning is Sidney Poitier’s historic Best Actor win for “Lilies of the Field.” Normal business resumed the following year as the lavish musical, “My Fair Lady” swept the board, although Julie Andrews got a bit of sweet revenge by stealing the Best Actress award away from Audrey Hepburn, who was cast in the role Andrews made famous on stage.

    Not winning an Oscar that year? You guessed it, Peter O’Toole. And maybe the biggest snub in Oscar history occured when none of the songs from “A Hard Day’s Night,” including the title number received a nomination for Best Song. Nice job Academy, it’s only The Beatles.

    (more…)

  • SUNDAY CENTS: ‘Inception’ shakes ‘Salt’

    *All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    Despite the collective nerd consciousness being zeroed in on the events happening in San Diego, there were enough nerds elsewhere to propel “Inception” to a second week at the top of the box office. Actually that’s unfair, it’s not just nerds who are seeing the movie as Christopher Nolan’s dreamscape now looks to be the leggy, late summer blockbuster that nerds and Warner Bros. always hoped it would be. If it gets my Mom to go, then it’ll be a downright phenomenon, but the last non-animated film she saw was probably “Mamma Mia!.”

    Alright, “Inception” dropped a petite 31% to $43.5 million and easily walked away with what I predicted would be a close race at the box office. For comparison, “The Dark Knight” dropped 53% in its second weekend, but that was coming off a much, much higher figure and it eventually settled into 35-40% drops after that. If “Inception” continues at this pace or better, it could make a decent pass at $300 million. To put those legs into perspective, you would have to go back six years to “Meet the Fockers” to find a film that crossed that threshold with a debut under $65 million.

    “The Other Guys” will take a bit of the audience away, but other than that, I don’t see much in terms of competition. While remakes and sequels continue to post one and done weekend numbers and get people talking, it’s nice to see “Avatar” and “Inception” showing that original properties are the ones that keep them talking.

    (more…)

  • FRIDAY FORECAST: Pass the ‘Salt’

    *All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    Laziest headline ever? It’s that kind of Friday folks.

    Hey boys! Anything you can do, Angelina Jolie can make look sexier and she’s here to prove it with “Salt.” Originally a vehicle for Tom Cruise, Jolie stepped in and is literally the only woman in Hollywood who can have action scripts rewritten and re-gendered to fit her interest. She’s also the only woman in Hollywood who is currently sleeping with Brad Pitt, so let me just add this up; Angelina Jolie-2, every other woman in Hollywood-0.

    This clout came from solid performances for “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider,” “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” and “Wanted.” The last of which opened to a very strong and surprising $56.4 million back in 2008. Sure, it was based on a comic book and had other recognizable faces in it, but the marketing really didn’t have much going for it other than the promise of Jolie shooting ridiculous weapons and leaning out of cars.

    She’s had less success when dipping into dramatic territory, with “Changeling” and “A Mighty Heart” earning her rave reviews but fizzling at the box office. Nobody wants to see those hit lips quivering like a victim. We want to see fights and just enough skin to warrant a PG-13 rating!

    (more…)

  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 1961 and 1962

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    I know it’s a fool’s game to do any kind of post that doesn’t mention “Inception,” but I just did so I guess it’s all good. Back at the Oscars, a big film swept the proceedings for the third year in a row with “West Side Story” earning ten statues from eleven nominations. Wikipedia tells me that 1961 is the first time the televised ceremony ran over two hours long. Slippery slope.

    1962 gave us the first nomination for Oscar’s favorite loser, Peter O’Toole, in another epic sweep for “Lawrence of Arabia.” It’s hard to argue with that film’s broad appeal but it also does seem like at this point, the Academy was just like, “Can’t we just pick one film per year and give it all the awards?”

    Luckily, there are more than enough excluded films worth mentioning from these years so get your Netflix queue’s ready for these bad boys!

    (more…)