• Steve Pond chimes in on the rarity of tandem Oscarcast producing teams. [The Odds]
• Peter Knegt reports from a women-in-film panel at London fest. [indieWIRE]
• David Poland sits down with Paul Schneider to talk “Bright Star.” [Movie City News]
Category: Daily
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10/26 Oscarweb Round-up
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Fixing the Oscarcast … get your ideas in early
With the 2009 Oscar telecast a little over four months away, it may seem a tad premature for the annual round of “how-to-save-the-show” suggestions, but it’s really the best time — now that Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic have been handed the reins, they’ll be drawing up plans immediately.So the LA Times’s Mary McNamara has handily weighed in with her annual list of ideas and pointers for the show’s producers, ranging from the widely agreed-upon (drop the irrelevant musical numbers) to the slightly more idiosyncratic (“Do something with vampires,” she helpfully advises).
Given that, like McNamara, I wasn’t as big a fan of the last Oscarcast as many were, it follows that I would agree with several of her ideas. I do think film clips have a necessary place in the acting presentations — as strange as it seems to those of us more familiar with the films on an annual basis, a brief, well-chosen clip from a lesser-known title can arouse interest from less informed viewers. (More so than a smarmy verbal tribute from, say, Adrien Brody.)
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Comment of the day
Supporting actor is where old-men-who-are-gonna-die-soon go to win Oscars. Isn’t that universally known?
–Glenn in our discussion following Helen Mirren’s Rome fest victory.
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LONDON: Another prophet
Back in early September, which feels longer ago than it probably should, regular commenter Chris offered the following (non-Oscar-related) prediction:You need to see “A Prophet”, I saw it two days ago, and it’s such an amazing film. I don’t know if this makes any sense, but I’m predicting it to be on Guy Lodge’s top 10 of the year, just so you know what kind of film it is.
Either I am terribly predictable, or Chris is a very wise man — we’ll flatter us both and say the latter — but after staggering out of this morning’s London Film Festival press screening, I see no way this doesn’t come to pass.
There will likely be plenty of opportunities to discuss this stunner in the months to come (Kris already offered a brief take from Telluride), but suffice to say that the great Jacques Audiard has exceeded his previous career high-water mark, “The Beat That My Heart Skipped,” with this expansive, brutal, darkly funny and richly compassionate character study.
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‘Basterds’ gets dolled up for Oscar as Tarantino receives Santa Barbara’s Kirk Douglas Award
There was a moment last season where I gave up going against the grain on the notion that “The Dark Knight” would be nominated for Best Picture. I was called a fool, I was told I wasn’t with the program, I was told certain milestones related to the film would not be overlooked, etc. I just didn’t think it was going to happen.But I relented. I used the healthy precursor trail the film blazed as reason enough to join the (perhaps fanboy-driven) chorus and say sure, the film will be nominated. Why not? Still didn’t feel right. And we all know how that turned out.
I’m getting a similar vibe from “Inglourious Basterds,” which is even being considered a sure-fire lock in some quarters. An extra five nominees change the dynamic, of course, and most would argue that “The Dark Knight” would have made it in with 10 nominees. But even with a wider target, I still don’t think Quentin Tarantino’s latest will make the cut. And if I go down in flames sticking to that inclination, so be it. But I don’t think I will. Fool me once, as the saying goes.
But all of this doesn’t mean there isn’t an old-school concentrated effort on the part of The Weinstein Company to appeal to the Academy membership, and things really kicked off in earnest on that front Thursday night in Montecito.
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‘Precious,’ ‘Fish Tank,’ ‘Vincere’ win big in Chicago
On the same day that it played to a reportedly warm reception in London, “Precious” continued its impressive streak with the festival-going public by picking up the Audience Award at the Chicago International Film Festival. In case you hadn’t got the idea by now, people really, really like this movie.It was another grim study of African-American youth, however, that took the festival’s top juried prize, as Tina Mabry’s autobiographical debut “Mississippi Damned” won Best Film, in addition to Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress honors for Jossie Thacker.
The film, about three children seeking an exit from a familial cycle of poverty and abuse, has received glowing notices across the board, inviting critical comparisons to both “Eve’s Bayou” and “Ballast.”
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WEEKLY WRAP: Oscar prods, Gotham nods, ‘Amelia’ clods
• The Academy finally named the producers for next year’s Oscar telecast, first-timers Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic.• All of which added weight to the speculation that Hugh Jackman might return as host.
• The Gotham Awards provided the season with its first set of nominees, though it inspired more talk for its omissions.
• Chief among those omissions: “Precious,” prompting talk of a backlash, despite generous media exposure positioning it as the one to beat.
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Helen Mirren wins Best Actress at Rome fest
Ever since “The Last Station” entered the Oscar race with a Sony Classics acquisition, I’ve been saying Helen Mirren is a sure-fire contender for a lead actress nomination as the fiery Countess wife to Christopher Plummer’s Leo Tolstoy. It looks like she’s made her first big step in that direction.Mirren took the Rome Film Festival’s award for Best Actress today, putting her right in the thick of a race that has seen Meryl Streep and Carey Mulligan ahead of the pack. Mirren adds another veteran play for Mulligan’s newbie appeal to contend with, while fellow fresh face Gabourey Sidibe is looking better by the day. (“Precious” also took the Chicago Film Festival’s audience award today).
Looking to join the quartet will be Saoirse Ronan for Peter Jackson’s “The Lovely Bones” and Marion Cotillard in Rob Marshall’s “Nine,” but a number of indie performers could surprise, Abbie Cornish in “Bright Star” and Audrey Tautou in “Coco Before Chanel” looking like the strongest of those dark horses. I wouldn’t say there is serious competition beyond that.
The other winners of the festival (which is only four years old) include the Danish “Brotherhood” for Best Film, about a gay love affair between two members of a neo-Nazi group and Italy’s Sergio Castellitto for Best Actor in “Alza la Testa.” Streep, by the way, was right there in the mix, receiving career achievement honors from the fest.
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Tell us what you thought of ‘Amelia’
I’ve already added my thoughts on today’s big release, both off the cuff and then in detail in this morning’s installment of Oscar Talk. Enough about me, what about you? If you happen to see the film over the weekend (though a rough critical assessment might have driven those numbers down), come on back here and tell us your thoughts.
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The other Max on ‘Wild Things’
Max Records, the 12 year-old actor who, by handy coincidence, plays young Max in “Where the Wild Things Are,” gives pretty good interview. He talks here to the LA Times about the book, the film and his frankly awesome hobby, which consists of the following:Me and my friends like to wrap mattress film and duct tape around PVC piping and then make foam weapons out of it that we have big foam battles with.
Great kid. Back to the film itself, he has a matter-of-fact response to voices from some quarters suggesting that the film is too adult in sensibility:
It depends on the kid. There are parts of it that are pretty intense. When I was 7 years old, I could not have seen this movie. It would’ve scared me. But my younger brother, who’s now 7, could’ve seen this a year ago. It depends on the kid.
Sometimes it takes a 12 year-old to speak common sense. More here.
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Should Lee Daniels tread more carefully?
Based on an unexpected blanking in the Gotham Award nominations, plus the lingering resentment in some quarters over Mo’Nique’s reluctance to play the publicity game, talk has surfaced this week of a “Precious” backlash. I’m not buying it until there’s a larger press reaction to the film upon its release — if it receives further anti-consensus pans along the lines of Ed Gonzalez’s, perhaps.Either way, according to Patrick Goldstein, director Lee Daniels isn’t helping matters with some cocky statements that could rub some Academy voters the wrong way. His assertion that “‘Precious’ is so not Obama … so not P.C.,” in the film’s recent NYT spread, strikes me as a harmless bit of bluster, while I’m not sure why anyone but the most conservative bluehairs would be concerned by him describing himself as “a little homo … a little Euro … a little ghetto.”
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The Great Performances: 1997
1997 was a great year for actors, but a tough year for Oscar; how do you choose when there are so many deserving nominees?It’s that age-old issue that some award-worthy performances are going to be left out, which though unfair and sad, is very much part of the Academy Awards and frankly what makes the whole thing interesting for us. The Best Actor field ended up largely a battle of the old boys. The acting warriors from the 1970s gave some of their finest performances in 1997, and four of the five nominees for Best Actor had been icons for 20 years.
In fact the Academy could have allowed the one upstart to slip past and nominated Al Pacino in “Donnie Brasco,” which was the actor’s best work in years. As it was Pacino was by-passed in favor of young Matt Damon in “Good Will Hunting,” who found himself going toe-to-toe with Robert Duvall in “The Apostle,” Jack Nicholson in “As Good As It Gets,” Dustin Hoffman in “Wag the Dog” and Peter Fonda in “Ulee’s Gold.”
I first saw Duvall’s performance at the 1997 Toronto International Film Festival and have written about it many times since. He won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association’s Best Actor award, and then the National Society of Film Critics’ honor, but the Mayor of Hollywood stood in the way of Duvall’s second Oscar.
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10/23 Oscarweb Round-up
• Pete Hammond follows up on the Academy’s foreign screenings, plus more. [Notes on a Season]• Like me, Steven Zeitchik senses a little “Slumdog” in “Precious.” [Risky Business]
• David Poland catches some intriguing similarities between the recently released “Invictus” and a number of other posters from Eastwood flicks. [The Hot Blog]
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AMPAS scares up sound experts for horror presentation
If you’re into the below-the-line filmmaking process (which we attempt to spotlight as best we can throughout the season in our weekly Tech Support column), then this is for you.The Academy will be sponsoring an event call “The Sound Behind the Image III: Real Horrorshow” on Thursday, Ocotber 29, or one week from today. The event will be held at AMPAS headquarters in the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre over on Wilshire.
“The program explores the art and technology of sound in motion pictures and the vital role it plays, specifically, in horror films,” according to the press release. Sound editor David E. Stone (“Reservoir Dogs”) will play emcee to the festivities.
Three-time nominee Mike Mangini (“Aladdin,” “The Fifth Element”) and two-time nominee Richard L. Anderson (“Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Daylight”) will offer a presentation on the sound effects and design of Tobe Hooper’s 1982 horror classic “Poltergiest” (for which Anderson was nominated).
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‘The Cove’ premieres at Tokyo fest amid controversy
Thanks to Steve Pond’s round-up this morning, we’re pointed to the AFP’s story concerning the Tokyo Film Festival premiere of “The Cove,” which took some doing to happen, you’ll recall.The film, of course, stirred a controversy immediately in the town of Taiji, but the line of copy noting that “film makers [are] accused of covertly shooting footage using divers and hidden cameras” kind of makes me laugh out loud, I have to say. Accused? It’s there for you to see!
Naturally, the Taiji fisheries cooperative has written a letter of protest in defense of the barbaric slaughtering of dolphins (which, beyond a mere animal rights issue, becomes a health concern, as you see in the film). An official notes in the letter that the cooperative has “heard that the film includes factual errors, and so we may take some sort of action, including legal steps, if we watch it and find problems.”
