In Contention

Category: Daily

  • End of an era

    Miramax FilmsI received my last correspondence from Miramax publicity yesterday.  Today, the company has effectively been shuttered, and it is, without question, the end of an era.

    When things were streamlined for the brand back in October, I wrote a brief remembrance.  But how ironic that, as the latest and greatest in independent cinema looks for distribution and attention in the snowy hills of Sundance, the studio that made the fest in some ways and, indeed, blazed the trail for independent cinema throughout the 1990s, finds itself closing up shop.

    It was 21 years ago that Steven Soderbergh’s “sex, lies and videotape” put the fest on the map, waltzing into town with no hope for securing a deal and waltzing out under the Miramax umbrella that would eventually change first the business of indie film, and soon enough, the business of awards season.  Chris Lee, in previewing the fest’s 25th anniversary last week, writes up the film’s impact at the Los Angeles Times.

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  • 1/28 Oscarweb Round-up

    Colin Firth• Steve Pond on how Jeff Bridges being the voice of Hyundai could cause problems for the long-time Oscarcast advertiser this year. [The Odds]

    • Melena Ryzik on the Sundance-Oscar connection. [The Carpetbagger]

    • David Poland talks to “A Single Man” star Colin Firth. [The Hot Blog]

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  • The year in FYCs

    Sherlock Holmes For Your Consideration adOne of the best parts of the film awards season, for me, has always been the print advertising artwork of “For Your Consideration” ads in trade publications.  They feature a studio advertising department’s best foot forward on creatively reaching the AMPAS audience and generally make for some striking imagery.

    Though I have to say, I find myself consistently wondering how much longer they will be a mainstay.  The transition to online focus is becoming more and more evident.  After all, Paramount Pictures angled its awards budget mainly toward online outlets this year.  There wasn’t a single trade ad for “Up in the Air” all year long and it has done just fine for itself this season.  I think that’s a first (and an early promise I was surprised to see the studio make good on).  It’ll be interesting to see if other studios follow suit.

    Anyway, sorry for the tangent.  With all this in mind, an annual delight has always been Sasha Stone’s round-up of FYC ads at Awards Daily.  A few years ago the gallery duties were handed over to Dora Kappou of Film-Releases.com, who’s done a fine job of presenting the material in an attractive, easily navigable manner.  So which films were the cream of the FYC crop this year?

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  • January winner predictions

    Guy Pearce in The Hurt LockerIt’s time for me to go to the well one more time before next week’s big announcement.  That’s right, six days and the mystery of the 10 will finally be answered.  But first, some blind (since there are no nominations yet) guesses.  Just trying to find the right balance here:

    Best Picture: “The Hurt Locker”
    Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker”
    Best Actor: Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart”
    Best Actress: Meryl Streep, “Julie & Julia”
    Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds”
    Best Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique, “Precious”
    Best Adapted Screenplay: “Up in the Air”
    Best Original Screenplay: “The Hurt Locker”

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  • Klavan strikes again: ‘Basterds’ and trivializing the Holocaust

    Inglourious BasterdsYou might remember right-wing author Andrew Klavan’s head-strong declarations last year that “The Dark Knight” was a pro-Bush meditation that made him feel warm and fuzzy that a filmmaker from diluted leftist Hollywood was making a creative stand along such lines within the parameters of a blockbuster franchise.  Kooky, I know.

    Well, Klavan is at it again, this time catching Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” on pay-per-view (because the Netflix wait was too long, he makes sure to point out).  In a nutshell, his summation is that Tarantino ultimately trivializes the holocaust and has an uneasy streak of insensitivity to it.

    I was referred to the piece by a recent Big Picture post by Patrick Goldstein, appropriately irritated by the level of artistic ignorance in the conservative set.  “They either detest pop culture or have such inflexible rules about how it is supposed to be created that they end up stuck on the outside, looking at the filmmaking process with either scorn or derision,” he says in response.

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  • Jason Reitman does Leno’s 10 @ 10

    I can’t figure out how to embed the specific segment, so here’s the whole damn show. It’s the last segment:

  • Oh, have you heard about Mo’Nique?

    Mo'Nique at the 2010 Golden Globe AwardsYes, more of this.  But for the most part, this Vanity Fair/Little Gold Men piece from Mark Olsen on the season of Mo’Nique is spot on.  It reflects everything that is refreshing about her non-campaign campaign and, in quoting awards nut Tom O’Neil and unbalanced Mo’Nique basher Jeffrey Wells, it addresses the people she’s driven crazy along the way — the people who won’t really matter as her career (if she wants it to) skyrockets post-“Precious.”

    (Seriously, who has Mo’Nique pissed off that can “pay her back someday,” as O’Neil puts it?  The elitist New york Film Critics Circle?  Come on.)

    Knowing Olsen’s personal feelings on the film (he is no fan in the slightest) also makes the piece land just right for me.  Yeah, Olsen is a good journalist who doesn’t let bias show up in the course of his reporting, but I get the feeling he also believes that the need for breathless, saturated Oscar mugging is somewhat tacky, and the idea of someone like Mo’Nique coming along and bucking that trend, it’s exciting.

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  • Mark Harris on Zoe Saldana and performance capture

    Zoe Saldana in AvatarPerhaps I missed it, but I’m surprised there hasn’t been more online conversation about EW writer Mark Harris’s recent critical essay on “Avatar” and performance capture technology.As one would expect from the author of “Pictures at a Revolution,” it’s a thoughtful piece, but one that should stir up considerable dissent.

    He begins by slamming James Cameron for suggesting that performance capture can be used to preserve an actor’s physical features: “Will Smith could still make an action movie when he’s 75 years old, looking like he looks now,” Cameron stated, a thought that makes me as uneasy as it does Harris.

    But the beef of Harris’s argument comes when he turns his attention to “Avatar,” and the widely praised performance of Zoe Saldana, who some (including my esteemed editor) think merits Oscar consideration.

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  • 1/27 Oscarweb Round-up

    Woody Allen• Captain Kirk to host the Annie Awards. [The Independent]

    • Roger Ebert writes a love letter to famed paparazzo Ron Galella in the course of reviewing “Smash His Camera” in Sundance. [Chicago Sun-Times]

    • Carey Mulligan, self-deprecating British actress rejected by three drama schools who went on to star in An Education has Tinseltown at her feet. [The Times]

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  • Is there a ‘Precious’ in this year’s Sundance lineup?

    (from left) Chyna Layne, Amina Robinson and Gabourey Sidibe in PreciousWhen (at this stage, I think it’s safe to say “when”) “Precious” and “An Education” land Best Picture nods on Tuesday morning, there will be an interesting trivia note to attach to the occasion: they’ll be the first Sundance competition entries since 2001 to make it all the way to Oscar’s top race.

    Indeed, “Precious” will be the first Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner ever to score a Best Picture Oscar nod in the festival’s 25-year history.

    These are two interesting stats that aren’t mentioned in AP writer David Germain’s story on the relationship between Sundance and Oscar, which casts a more positive gaze on the number of overlaps between the two. And he’s right to an extent: the past decade alone has given Oscar-watchers plenty of reason to keep a close eye on Sundance.

    In the eight years since “In the Bedroom” became the last Sundance contender to crack the Best Picture lineup,  Sundance has presented a number of future Oscar contenders in acting and writing categories, including “Maria Full of Grace,” “Hustle and Flow,” “Junebug,” “The Squid and the Whale,” “Half Nelson” and, most recently, “Frozen River.”

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  • Stars ‘Howl’ in Sundance

    Our friend Anthony Breznican of USA Today picked up a copy of Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl” while in Sundance, and in honor of the Epstein/Friedman film of the same name, starring James Franco as Ginsberg and centered on the poet’s obscenity trial, had a few laughs with some of the stars in attendance at the fest.  Have a look:

  • On the shots column…one more time

    People are still sending emails daily on this, so while I’m glad the interest is high, I’d like to point out, once again, that it’s a bit of a task getting 10 cinematographers on the phone to discuss specific elements and get the piece going. So, in the way of an update, I’ve narrowed the list to roughly 13 shots, and have an idea of what the top 10 will look like. I’ve gotten a few folks on the record and am in the process of getting the last few on the horn.

    It will come. Probably post-nominations at this point (though I will try my damnedest for Friday.) Patience, young ones.

  • Costume Designers Guild nominees

    Sacha Baron Cohen in BrunoA nice guild mention for “Crazy Heart” which establishes some wider-spread love for the film.  It’s still a threat to slide into the 10, I’m telling you.

    I expect this to be the period field minus “Julie & Julia” and add “Inglourious Basterds” (which was surprisingly snubbed) or “Bright Star” (which, the fact that it missed here is a friggin’ TRAVESTY).

    Then again, I suppose Nora Ephron’s film, or even the flashy “Bruno,” are certainly possibilities.  Maybe even the vibrant threads of “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,” my pick for best in show in this category.

    “Avatar” gets another guild boost, while Danny Glicker is cited for “Up in the Air,” reminding me of our discussion of his vision for the threads in Jason Reitman’s film.  Check out the full list after the jump and at The Circuit.

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  • Dear Errol

    The only reason I’m posting this is because Errol Morris was okay with doing the same, but I have to say, it’s hilarious:

    Letter to Errol Morris from Harvey Weinstein re: The Thin Blue Line

  • 1/26 Oscarweb Round-up

    Christoph Waltz• Donna Freydkin talks to man of the hour, Christoph Waltz. [USA Today]

    • Is 27 years without an Oscar too many to deny Meryl Streep in 2010? [Rope of Silicon]

    • We’re happy to be among the top 50 “best blogs for moviemakers.” [MovieMaker Magazine]

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  • Anne Hathaway to perform Oscar nomination honors

    Anne HathawayNo reason to stop the presses or anything, but good to know. If I had to get up at the crack of dawn to watch the nominations announcement (luckily, I don’t), Anne Hathaway’s face is as pleasant a sight to wake up to as I can imagine. (No offence, Forest Whitaker.) Thanks to commenter Ziyad for the tip:

    Nominations for the 82nd Academy Awards® will be announced on Tuesday, February 2, by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak and Oscar-nominated actress and Academy member Anne Hathaway. Sherak and Hathaway will unveil the nominations in 10 of the 24 categories at a 5:30 a.m. news conference at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, where hundreds of media representatives from around the world will be gathered.

  • Tim Burton named Cannes jury president

    Tim BurtonIn a move that should remind some of his more disenchanted fans of the high esteem with which he is still held in the industry, Hollywood’s resident kook-auteur Tim Burton has been tapped to head the jury of this year’s Cannes Film Festival. He said in a statement:

    After spending my early life watching triple features and 48-hour horror movie marathons, I’m finally ready for this … It’s a great honor and I look forward, with my fellow jurors, to watching some great films from around the world. When you think of Cannes you think of world cinema. And as films have always been like dreams to me, this is a dream come true.

    The selection makes him the first full-time American filmmaker to preside over Europe’s most sanctified cinematic institution since Quentin Tarantino in 2004. (Actor-director Sean Penn took the gig two years ago). A more mainstream pick than usual, he’s nonetheless one of the industry’s most identifiable directorial brands, and therefore an obvious candidate for the position.

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  • This again

    (from left) Jason Reitman and Sheldon TurnerWait, did Pete Hammond really say that “the bloggers” are responsible for the whole (sensationalized) Jason Reitman/Sheldon Turner dispute thing without noting that Steven Zeitchik, at Hammond’s own outlet, was the one responsible for spurring the debate without having (or seemingly being interested in) certain facts?

    Anyway, not that Hammond needed to be anything other than a showman when he moderated last night’s WGA post-screening Q&A between Turner and Reitman, but let’s not deflect too much here.  And I think Steve Pond is stretching matters a bit further when he writes that Reitman failed “to thank his credited co-writer” at the CCMAs last weekend.  Reitman clearly said “our screenplay,” gestured to Turner and stepped away for him to speak when he was finished.  He wasn’t conducting the band.

    I wasn’t going to bother with this whole mess because it was built on some sloppy journalism from the outset and serves to point a finger at something that isn’t as big a story as certain parties would like it to be, but, too late.  Here I am doing it anyway.