Yahoo! Movies has an awesome exclusive look today behind the scenes of Wes Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and the unusual process by which he and his team of actors recorded voices for the film. Check it out:
Category: Daily
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The odd couple
I … have no words. Let’s hope that Oscar campaign for “London River” picks up steam, shall we?
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Insight within madness
Further to yesterday’s discussion of the film’s critical reception, Armond White’s furious pan of “Precious” is already gaining notoriety for its more attention-seeking flourishes.It’s hard to find much justification for his claim that “Norbit” and “Marci X” are “excellent” films about the black experience, and his suggestion that the film is being principally championed by “patronizing white folk” is a cheap provocation.
But look past his trademark perversity, and there’s sincere, articulate anger in the review that deserves to prompt debate, even if you couldn’t agree less:
Perry and Winfrey may think Precious is serious, but Daniels is hoisting his freak flag. He gets off on degradation. Flashbacks to Precious’ rape contain a curious montage of grease, sweat, bacon and Vaseline. Later, he intercuts a shot of pig’s feet cooking on a stove with Precious being humped while her mother watches from a corner. Another misjudged scene recreates De Sica’s B&W Two Women—a half-camp trashing of motherhood that compounds the problem of cultural alienation. So does the film’s Ebonics credit sequence and the scene of Precious rotating amidst a bombardment of success icons—Martina Arroyo, MLK, Shirley Chisholm—to which she either relates or is ignorant. This incoherence should not pass for sociology.
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Andrea Bocelli, Paul McCartney join the race for Best Original Song
Catching up with Robert Zemeckis’s “A Christmas Carol” last night (which I absolutely adored), I noticed the film featured a tune called “God Bless Us Everyone” by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. Might we have a new contender for Best Original Song?Each of Zemeckis’s prior performance-capture efforts included original songs — Josh Groban’s “Believe” from “The Polar Express” and Idina Menzel’s “A Hero Comes Home” from “Beowulf” — but I hadn’t yet heard of the track featured in the new film. The song is what you might expect, a festive vocal power hymn, the first cue over the closing credits and, therefore, eligible.
But not a likely nominee, I suppose. “Believe” made the cut in 2004, but that was before the new voting process. Where the track is situated will probably not prove intriguing enough to warrant serious consideration. But nevertheless, it’s a new hopeful in a category that is already more competitive than normal.
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11/5 Oscarweb Round-up
• Anthony Breznican on the opening of “A Christmas Carol” and the early holiday grab. [USA Today]• Dissecting “Amelia”‘s troubled road to the screen. [Hollywood Reporter]
• Hugh Jackman gives newly tapped Oscar hosts Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin his blessing. [Vulture]
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‘A Single Man’ poster
Talk about a missed opportunity. The film boasts one of the year’s most unique visual sensibilities and the best they can do is slap Tom Ford’s trademark lettering over an already-ubiquitous still? And call me cynical, but are they trying to hide the fact that it’s about a gay man? Anyway, thanks to Glenn for pointing it out.
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Just to get it off my chest
Gabby Sidibe, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Helen Mirren, Carey Mulligan, Meryl Streep, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Katie Jarvis, Charlize Theron, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tilda Swinton and Penelope Cruz; some would say Abbie Cornish, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Michelle Monaghan, Emily Blunt, Audrey Tautou and Zooey Deschanel; potentially Marion Cotillard, Saoirse Ronan, Meryl Streep (again) and Natalie Portman — this is NOT a weak year for lead actress performances.
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Kinda awesome, kinda weird official Jim Carrey site
Thanks to Cinematical for the tip here. Click the image below to enter the world of JimCarrey.com. Very…strange. Tons of Flash:
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‘Crazy Heart’ has the goods
It’s not just Jeff Bridges who leaps onto the Oscar landscape with Scott Cooper’s “Crazy Heart.” It’s possible in a few months that we’ll be talking pretty seriously about Maggie Gyllenhaal in the supporting actress race and, most certainly, T Bone Burnett’s contributions as the film’s music supervisor.Fox Searchlight screened the film this morning to a handful of press and will do so again this evening, looking to gauge reactions to what could be a big boost both on the awards front and commercially. With “Amelia” losing money at the box office and a dwindling slate of product for the Oscar push, it seemed almost inevitable that this little mid-summer pick-up would find its way onto the 2009 schedule. More and more, that’s looking to be the case.
But back to the film. I would rather not offer up a proper review for a movie that hasn’t been color-timed, still has some sound mixing work to be done and, on the whole, just isn’t finished yet, but I feel comfortable calling it a slow burn that settles warmly in the tradition of “Tender Mercies” or “Nobody’s Fool.” While it might be unfair to reduce it to a “country-music ‘Wrestler’” (as The Hollywood Reporter’s Steven Zeitchik did yesterday without having seen the film), that is nevertheless a pretty streamlined way of describing the narrative.
More importantly, however, that “performance of a lifetime” from Jeff Bridges that Fox Searchlight was on about when the studio bought the film nearly four months ago? I think it could be this year’s Oscar-winning lead actor turn walking away.
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Fox Searchlight looks to salvage season with potential 2009 release for ‘Crazy Heart’
Just when you thought last year’s Best Picture victor was down for the count, Fox Searchlight goes and shakes things up in November. First, some background…When we kicked off our coverage of the 2009-2010 Oscar season a year in advance, one of the more anticipated titles was Scott Cooper’s “Crazy Heart,” based on the novel by Thomas Cobb about an alcoholic country music singer on the road to redemption. The film stars Jeff Bridges in the leading role, along with Colin Farrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Robert Duvall.
In July, Searchlight picked the film up, touting Bridges’s “performance of a lifetime,” but the studio slated the release for the spring of 2010. It seemed a shame at the time given the fact that the film was shaping up to be a potential awards vehicle for Bridges at the very least, perhaps more. But with “Amelia” on the way, a (so we thought) potentially major player in the race with its typical AMPAS tropes. But that ship has sailed, leaving the studio with only the animated “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and Marc Webb’s summer entry “(500) Days of Summer” to hawk for awards consideration.
Until now. Maybe.
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The animated feature race doesn’t have to ‘Panic’ now
We’ve been hot on the animated feature trail as of late, keeping a keen eye on the number of films that have qualified, plan to qualify, or have opted out of qualifying, the magic number of 16 titles (which would warrant a five-nominee slate rather than three) being the key throughout.Earlier this week Raul Garcia’s “The Missing Lynx: Paws on the Run” was submitted for Academy consideration and is in the midst of its required Los Angeles qualifying run in Encino. Now, Steve Pond reports that another film has joined the party, one that was, for a time, considered out: “A Town Called Panic.”
Screen International’s Allan Hunter called the film a “blast of freewheeling inventiveness,” while Variety’s Leslie Felperin noted that the stop-motion effort “proves you don’t need fancy CGI techniques, 3-D, or stunt voice casting to make a sparkly little gem.” The film was reviewed extensively out of Fantastic Fest last month and plays AFI Fest later this week.
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11/4 Oscarweb Round-up
• Gregory Ellwood slams “Everybody’s Fine,” calls last night’s AFI festivities a Miramax wake. I’m having trouble disagreeing with him. [Awards Campaign]• Rebecca Milzoff gets some face time with “An Education” director Lone Scherfig. [Vulture]
• Jim Carrey’s Scrooge rings in the holiday spirit. [Associated Press]
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Shankman talks Oscar hosts, admits Fey was on the cards
I couldn’t be more delighted with the selection of Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin as the 2009 Oscar hosts. Martin remains the smartest, sharpest, most urbane Oscar host I’ve seen in my lifetime, and the pairing of his wit with Baldwin’s goofier charm should ensure a ceremony that’s adult, but not too elitist. Either way, it’ll be more my cup of tea than Hugh Jackman’s style.Of course, another reason I’m down with the choice is that it’s only one “30 Rock” cast member removed from the pairing I’ve been pleading for. I was in favor of Tina Fey because she had proven chemistry with Martin, plus current pop appeal — Baldwin has both, plus a higher Academy profile (lest we forget, he is an Oscar nominee himself).
So, in a way, Oscar producers Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic have improved on my suggestion. But I was interested to read Shankman admit, in this EW interview following the announcement, that they actually tried for Martin and Fey.
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Emily Blunt named British Artist of the Year
Okay, let me get this out the way: I love Emily Blunt.On screen and off, she exudes smarts, class and a welcome streak of British eccentricity. Most still remember her principally as the girl who cut through “The Devil Wears Prada” like a hot knife through butter, though it was 2004’s “My Summer of Love” which best showcased her dramatic chops and tart sex appeal. Put simply, she’s got it.
I did not, however, love Emily Blunt in “The Young Victoria.” Usually so alert and thoughtful on camera, the actress is stifled by the bland dramatics and fussy styling of Jean-Marc Vallee’s royal biopic; a practised scene-stealer herself, she gets a taste of her own medicine as Rupert Friend walks off with the film, in an underwritten part to boot.
Meanwhile, the film that was supposed to be her star-making vehicle (and awards breakthrough) instead got shrugged off by critics, as her name tumbled down the Oscar pundits’ lists.
So why has BAFTA’s Los Angeles branch chosen this of all years to hand her the Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year?
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Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin tapped to host the 82nd annual Academy Awards
Well, I guess Martin was available after all. And he’s going to have company.The Academy has announced this year’s Oscar emcee, and as expected, it’s a pair: Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, stars of “It’s Complicated” and one person removed from the suggestion our own Guy Lodge made last month. Lodge proposed Tina Fey alongside Martin. Academy producers Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic opted instead for Fey’s “30 Rock” co-star Alec Baldwin.
The quoted portion of the press release:
“We think the team of Steve and Alec are the perfect pair of hosts for the Oscars,” said Shankman and Mechanic. “Steve will bring the experience of having hosted the show in the past and Alec will be a completely fresh personality for this event.”
“I am happy to co-host the Oscars with my enemy Alec Baldwin,” said Martin.
“I don’t play the banjo but I’m thrilled to be hosting the Oscars – it’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” said Baldwin.
And that’s that. Thoughts? I find myself completely thrilled.
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Stiller/Downey turn down tandem Oscar hosting gig
Or at least that’s what Nikki Finke is reporting. Roger Ebert quips, “They have Lakers tickets.” The search continues on. Steve Martin and Tina Fey are not available. Hugh Jackman has graciously declined being pigeonholed.
Who’s gonna step up? Out-of-the-box pick of the day: Richard Kind.
EDITED TO ADD: This just hit me, but it makes sense that Downey would decline this offer. After all, he turned down the chance to present the post-production awards alongside Will Smith last year out of fear of being upstaged.
