Author: Kristopher Tapley
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‘Happy’ season for Miramax?
I’ve been meaning to write about Mike Leigh’s “Happy-Go-Lucky” ever since I saw it some three weeks ago, but I haven’t found a window until now. I’m off to Berlin on the weekend and I’d really like to get this off my plate before I leave, so amid all the packing, I thought I’d hammer out some brief thoughts.I’m never really let down by a Leigh film. Even his lesser efforts seem to exist on some simple but probing level that makes argument a fool’s errand. More often than not, his work sparks appreciation during the awards season, and he even managed a second Best Director nomination for “Vera Drake” in 2004, which surprised more than a few people.
“All or Nothing” was one of my absolute favorite gems of 2002, yet it was ignored completely, while going back to the epic year in cinema that was 1999, we find perhaps Leigh’s most ambitious effort in “Topsy-Turvy.” Then, of course, there was “Secrets & Lies,” which captured the hearts of many in an Oscar year dominated by independent film.
Leigh’s pre-“Secrets & Lies” work is a slightly different breed, but still fundamentally the work of the same artist and, at times, the same vision of the world. And he has come back to it with “Happy-Go-Lucky,” the shrewd observation of which Guy made in his April review of the film.
Something feels even more off-the-cuff about “Happy” than Leigh’s recent films. There is an even greater sense of spontaneity and improvisation lurking between the frames that can be both exciting and off-putting, but the purpose is served throughout: bringing the audience into the devil may care world of a woman hell-bent on saving the drama for your mama.
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Strike ‘9’
I just caught wind that Focus Features’ animated endeavor “9” from writer/director Shane Acker (and based on his Academy Award-nominated short film) has been slated for 2009, removing it from the already thin slate of contenders in the animated feature category. Apparently, this has always been the case, so I’ve either been out to lunch, going on bad information or both. It happens.The studio still, presumably, has a horse in the race with Henry Selick’s Neil Gaiman adaptation “Coraline,” should it maintain a platform release pattern that puts in in U.S. cinemas by the end of the year. We’ll see.
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Zimmer taking the Joker ‘punk?’
Todd Martens, who always does a fine job of rounding up news and talking points regarding the year’s film music compositions (especially around the Oscar season), sat down recently with Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard. The composing duo of “Batman Begins” and the upcoming “The Dark Knight” are enjoying a nice publicity push, including a press day last week in Los Angeles solely for the pair.Martens was able to listen to about 10 minutes of the new score (jealousy isn’t a strong enough adjective at the moment), and he managed to get some details on the way the two composers are splitting duties. It seems Zimmer is on Joker duties, while Howard is fleshing out the aural rhytms of Harvey Dent.
Zimmer had some interesting things to say on his approach to the Caped Crusader’s latest foe:
Yet some early signs show “The Dark Knight” departing at least a little bit from the more subtle tones of “Batman Begins”…the theme Zimmer wrote for the Joker, played in the film by the late Heath Ledger, is a damning piece of music. It’s an intense eight-minute piece that comes off like an orchestral interpretation of a something created by Trent Reznor’s Nine Inch Nails. Zimmer says the work is only two notes, but the two notes are twisted and manipulated into mimicking the sounds of thunder, razors and all sorts of clatter heard in alleyways probably better left unexplored.
Though that description may not make it sound like music to the ears, it’s still immensely listenable. It plays out like something from a horror film, with many a shift in direction and a nod to “Psycho.” But all of it is tied together by a striking blow of strings that keep it from falling apart, and Zimmer said it bears a punk influence.
Check out the rest. And here’s a glimpse of what might be some of the new score, by the way.
Anticipation is killing me by the day on this.
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Battsek in the pink ‘un
Flipping through the Financial Times earlier today (a British newspaper famous for the pink paper on which it is printed — “Give me a pink ‘un”), I came across a profile of Miramax honcho Daniel Battsek that made for a pleasant read amid all the TPG and Bernanke mumbo-jumbo.In a lot of ways the story is rather derivative and even stale. Nothing we’ve not read elsewhere, especially after an Oscar season that saw “No Country for Old Men,” “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” and “There Will Be Blood” tear through with the media latching on for the ride.
But Battsek is one of the good guys. Any ink, really, is good ink, considering what he’s done with the company in the wake of the brothers Weinstein. And hey, he’s a hell of a nice guy. That’s reason enough for me to pass it along.
Matthew Garrahan has the byline. Here’s a look:
Making films that achieve critical and commercial success “is not rocket science…and it’s not as complicated as some people make out”. Still, it is not easy. “You have to be very sure of yourself when you acquire the material. You have to be very conscientious and detailed when you’re working with your filmmakers. And you have to find ways of being able to make [the film] as quickly as possible.”
The physical process of making a film is not of great personal interest. “I’ve never had the movie-making bug. Sitting on a set watching a scene being filmed doesn’t turn me on at all. But I love being in a cinema watching a film. I love the creative side, working with filmmakers, writers, actors . . . and I love the production process.”
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Have we finally put this thing to bed?
From the Associated Press:Barack Obama effectively clinched the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, becoming the first black candidate to lead a major party into a campaign for the White House. Rival Hillary Rodham Clinton, meanwhile, signaled an interest in joining the ticket as running mate but stopped short of conceding to Obama or dropping out of the race.
Obama arranged a victory celebration at the site of this summer’s Republican National Convention — an in-your-face gesture to Sen. John McCain, who will be his opponent in the race to become the nation’s 44th president.
The 46-year-old Obama outlasted Clinton in a historic campaign that sparked record turnouts in primary after primary, yet exposed deep racial and gender divisions within the party.
And CNN:
Sen. Hillary Clinton on Tuesday told New York lawmakers she is open to being the running mate of Sen. Barack Obama, her rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, two of the lawmakers told CNN.
Sen. Hillary Clinton trails Obama by 159 delegates and is 201 delegates shy of capturing the nomination.
Rep. Charles Rangel, a senior member of the New York Democratic delegation, also told CNN, “I have reason to believe she is open to the [vice president] slot.”
One of the sources added that former President Clinton has been privately pushing for a couple of weeks for his wife to be No. 2 on the ticket.
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A ‘legendary’ profile
I need to ring up John Campea, editor of The Movie Blog, and ask if this Legendary Characters feature is going to be an on-going thing. Whatever the case, Doug Nagy’s extended thoughts on Daniel Plainview add up to one of the more profound assessments of the character I’ve read at any outlet.Here’s the quote that sold me:
As the movie begins, so it ends. With no opponents left to test him, and not a friend in the world, Plainview is left alone in a hole of his own creation.
Check out the rest here.
And for some humorous context, don’t forget to check out Doug’s expletive-filled review of “Enchanted.” Good for a laugh any day.
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Great idea
I was glad to see yesterday that Peter Bart has launched a daily blog at Variety. Hearing all those overblown and uneducated declarations that Bart “hates the internet” has been taxing in my time as an adjunct employee of the trade (and I’m the first to admit I’ve been one of the voices in the crowd in the past). But the truth is, Peter has always had a more progressive view of the Web than people seemed to think. That’s always the impression I got, in any case.This decision is a step in the right direction.
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Big ole’ poll this month
Inspired by John’s recent post on Oscarless directors, I thought I’d leave it to the masses to decide which helmer deserves it most. I collected 16 names from the discussion for the sidebar poll, so tell us what you think.
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Universal backlot fire
By now you’ve read the news about portions of the Universal backlot going up in flames following an apparent propane explosion.This isn’t the first time, however. I ran across this at Anne Thompson’s blog:
…a number of buildings on the Universal lot were destroyed by fire in 1990. Parts of the Universal tour were burned in a 1967 fire. Earlier this year, a March brush fire threatened the studio but was extinguished before it reached the lot.
Just before I left for London I participated in the studio’s VIP Experience Tour for a Los Angeles Magazine article I was working on, and I have to say, it remains one of the best backlots and superlative tours in town. For education on the filmmaking process especially. I really hope this mess is sorted with minimal losses because that acreage collectively represents a gem of the San Fernando Valley.
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The June Oscar update
EDIT: Broken link now functioning. Apologies.
I’ve done some chart management this month in the wake of the Cannes International Film Festival. Also, we’ve added pages for each of our contributors to offer up his predictions in various races. You’ll find them linked in the bios section.
I’ll likely keep Oscar updates to a monthly basis until we sink our teeth into the season in September. For now, there isn’t a whole lot to discuss. So…enjoy.
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Why I will miss Sydney Pollack
It has now been nearly four days since filmmaker Sydney Pollack passed away. The loss was not crippling for me, however, because of equal parts expectancy and, strangely, indifference.As fine a filmmaker as Pollack was, he was always something of an afterthought in my cinema-going experience.
I want to be measured here, because the last thing I mean is disrespect. In fact, I’m aiming more toward appreciation of a sort of confident casualness that has been eradicated in this fresh new world of cock-sure filmmaking youths and the veterans who, at times, struggle to keep up, and at others, tap into their own former risk-taking ways to establish a new vision of the “old school.”
Pollack was never about that. He seemed to make his way from film to film with grace and a willingness to take stock of the lessons that came. I never knew him — can’t offer any first hand accounts of exchange — but if anything about his May 26 death strikes a profound chord with me, it is to know that an ever agreeable constant has been removed from this business, this art form. Sometimes the disconnect of casual dependency can sting as much as the loss of the closest of comrades.
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Huh?
People are fascinating. We have a huge and complex capacity to be all kinds of things. And you look at someone like Condoleezza Rice and you see an example of just how far a person can stretch themselves. And I don’t mean that in a good or bad way, but she is an…oh God, I really want to get this right…she is an incredible example of discipline.
Oy. Still the worst casting decision of the film.
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I want to say something about Sydney Pollack…
…and I will. When the time is right. The irony is, of course, that his passing follows so closely behind that of his friend and colleague Anthony Minghella. I hope they are at peace together, and however expected yesterday’s news might be, sadness is the overriding emotion at the moment.
In the meantime, I’m compiling tribute quotes here at The Times. Let me know if you guys stumble across a memoriam that ought to be represented.
More to come…
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Could two potentially great film scores get the AMPAS shaft this year?
It’s a debate that never gets old regarding the music branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. When is it going to clean house regarding shady rules that seem to fly in the face of what the organization sets out to do each and every year: honor the best in cinematic achievement?The foreign film committee had a major shakeup last year, and promises of attention were made, but it’s high time the same happened with the musicians. One of the rules seems poised to become a serious talking point later this season, however.
Within Rule 16B of the Academy’s eligibility guidelines — launched into infamy last year when the caca hit the fan regarding Jonny Greenwood’s “There Will Be Blood” score — you’ll find the key language:
Only the principal composer(s) or songwriter(s) responsible for the conception and execution of the work as a whole shall be eligible for an award. This expressly excludes from eligibility…scores assembled from the music of more than one composer.
Specifically, it’s Rule 16B-5f. And it will likely affect two promising works of film music composition this year.