Category: Daily
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Confirmed: ‘The Last Station’ goes to Sony Classics
A few days ago there were whispers on the winds that “The Last Station” had been picked up by a specialty division with a number of art house releases primed for the season. All signs pointed to Sony Pictures Classics.Today we get a confirmation (and I’ve independently verified) that, indeed, the film is a new awards hopeful in the Sony Classics stable. This has been the natural fit, in my view, since I saw the film at Telluride.
So, expect lead acting campaigns for Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren, the latter being a definite possibility. Also, I’m sure supporting campaigns for James McAvoy and Paul Giamatti will be in store, odds on the former more than the latter.
And cngrats to Michael Hoffman for finding a home for his film, a tight, warm, well-made piece of work that deserves a look if only to see these wonderful actors working off of one another.
Thge film will hit theaters in limited release on December 23.
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On acting
What constitutes a great performance? What makes it something that puts it head and shoulders above the rest? What does an artist do to go to that level of art and achieve something that is both extraordinary and rare?Does the Academy, or rather the branch that nominates the actors, look as closely at performance as critics do? Is a performance considered great because it is an Oscar-winning piece of acting or nominated for one of the acting prizes?
An actor reads a script and likes both the character he or she is being offered and the story on the page. The actor accepts, and begins (we hope) work on the character. A year or so later, after shooting and cutting the film, on the screen in front of us the actor’s work will be seen and judged, commented on, praised, perhaps showered with accolades or negative comments, perhaps winning an Oscar or a Razzie, maybe becoming discussed for years to come, or forgotten moments after seeing it.
I doubt, seriously, that an actor accepts a role with any of that in mind. Perhaps I am overly idealistic, but I hope actors accept roles because they are trying (always) to evolve as an artist, to discover something different in their acting and themselves, and to do something they have never done before. Of the many actors I have interviewed over the years, most of them take a role based on something that speaks to them in the screenplay.
Meryl Streep once told that me she seeks something that “touches my soul” while Robert Duvall looks for a character that is “real, something that will challenge me, but he has to be real.” Tom Cruise said he “likes to try different things each time out, and hopes he does the part justice”, while Hilary Swank looks “for something that speaks to me, as though the character were whispering to me.”
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10/2 Oscarweb Round-up
• Maurice Sendak’s one nit-pick with the adaptation of his “Where the Wild Things Are.” I agree with him. [io9]• Capturing the miniature worlds of the film. [Los Angeles Times]
• Adding a new dimension to Woody and Buzz Lightyear. [New York Times]
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Foreign film watch: ‘Dogtooth’ and ‘The Milk of Sorrow’
Among the films squeezing in under yesterday ‘s foreign-language submission deadline were two pretty major titles, both boasting hefty festival hardware — not that that makes them strong Oscar possibilities by any means.As we suspected, Greece (not nominated in the category since 1977) did indeed submit Yorgos Lanthiomos’s surreal family drama “Dogtooth,” which won the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes, and recently played at Toronto. The film is gradually acquiring an ardent critical following, chief champion of which is James Rocchi, who suggests it is the year’s best so far:
“Dogtooth” speaks to Greek history, to be sure, but it also works as a universal fable about the blunt mechanics — and bizarre appeal — of dictatorship … “Dogtooth” is funny and then terrifying and, somehow, both at the same time. Haunting, bold and truly cinematic in its ambitions, expressions and convictions, “Dogtooth” might be the best film I’ve seen all year — and, somehow, it got even deeper and more disturbing on the second viewing.
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New ‘Up in the Air’ trailer features original song contender ‘Help Yourself’
A new trailer has dropped for Jason Reitman’s “Up in the Air,” considerably more broad than the one the director conceived as an internet exclusive teaser, but still very much on the nose for the film’s tone and rhythms. Furthermore, the final moments feature the Sad Brad Smith song “Help Yourself,” which will more than likely be in the hunt for an original song nomination as it plays over a portion of the film, as opposed to the closing credits title track.
Here’s the new trailer (see it in HD here):
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Comment of the day
The “I hate this year’s fantastic, long-odds indie success just because” machine is nothing if not efficient.
–Marlowe in today’s Mo’Nique “scandal” thread.
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Smit-McPhee and Jenkins in ‘Let the Right One In’ remake
Word just in from Overture Films that Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Road”), Richard Jenkins (Oscar-nominated this year for “The Visitor”) and Chloe Moretz (I profess ignorance) are to headline “Let Me In,” the forthcoming and unwelcome (in these parts, anyway) U.S. remake of last year’s arthouse sensation “Let the Right One In.”The presence of Jenkins adds a sheen of respectability, I suppose. (After the sterling work Overture did in securing him that unlikely Oscar nod, perhaps he owes them one.) As for McPhee, the jury’s still out: I was thoroughly unmoved by his work in “The Road,” but perhaps he has something.
The press release, in part, after the cut.
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Friedman tries to get Mo’Nique backlash under way
Well, this is unpleasant. I don’t know whether gossipmonger Roger Friedman has it in for presumed Best Supporting Actress frontrunner Mo’Nique or not, but this attack on her professional behavior in regard to publicizing “Precious” strikes me as distinctly unnecessary.According to Friedman, the actress has been cagey about doing press for the film, not appearing at the Cannes, Toronto or New York festival premieres of the film — apparently due other professional commitments. Friedman isn’t impressed:
I did tell you that Mo’Nique has gotten herself a reputation for demanding money for showing up to promote “Precious.” It’s a first in Oscar history.
Last week I spoke to one of her representatives, who said, “It’s just supporting actress. It’s not lead, is it?” What the heck! It would be nice if someone close to Mo’Nique will explain her behavior soon. Otherwise, her “cinch” Oscar is about to fade away. “Precious” will go on and be just fine without Mo’Nique.
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The foreign films that got away
With the deadline for Best Foreign Language Film submissions upon us, indieWIRE’s Peter Knegt is taking stock of the possible injustices that already have taken place in the race … and at this early stage, the Academy isn’t even responsible. (Well, unless we count the problems of the one-film-per-country system, not to mention leaving the countries to choose their own contenders, but that’s another conversation.)For better or worse — it’s terribly hard to say without having seen all the films in question — several countries have surprised pundits and filmgoers alike by picking lower-profile candidates and critical and/or public favorites.
We’ve already discussed what is probably the most ill-received submission so far, as Italy selected Giuseppe Tornatore’s critically panned period saga “Baaria” over the film most presumed was a shoo-in to represent the country, Marco Bellocchio’s Cannes-lauded Mussolini biopic “Vincere.”
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Campion’s ‘Peel’
Speaking of Jane Campion, New York Magazine was recently resourceful enough to dig up the director’s breakthrough short “Peel,” which won the Palme d’Or (in the short category, of course) at Cannes in 1986. It remains, for me, one of the finest things the director’s ever done. Check it out below if you’ve never seen it.
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Jane Campion’s pick of the Criterion Collection
I’m glad to see that, whatever the eventual awards fate of “Bright Star,” Jane Campion is by and large back in the critics’ good books. As one of those who feels she’s never really made a bad film — simply some more completely realized than others — it’s a case of reputation rehab being both overdue and unnecessary, if that makes any sense.The Criterion Collection, however, always had her back, adding her to their list in 2005 with her 1991 literary biopic “An Angel at My Table,” with her debut “Sweetie” joining it later. (You might be surprised to learn that her signature film “The Piano” still isn’t in the collection.)
Anyway, at the time, Criterion asked Campion to name nine films from their collection that she holds in highest esteem, and the results make for predictably interesting reading. It doesn’t take a psychic to figure out that the erotic transgressions of “The Night Porter” float her boat, but the inclusion of say, Milos Forman’s wonderful “The Firemen’s Ball,” is less self-evident and no less pleasing.
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Foreign film watch: Uruguay, Mongolia submit
Today is officially the Academy deadline for Best Foreign Language Film submissions — though countries have made late entries in the past — so expect more titles to trickle in through the day. (Our contenders page is presently up to 59 titles, and counting.)Greece, for example, is widely expected to submit Cannes prizewinner “Dogtooth” as their entry later today — we’re just awaiting the official announcement.
Two to formally add to the pile, however, are Uruguay’s “Bad Day to Go Fishing” and Mongolia’s “By the Will of Genghis Khan.” The latter country, making only their third ever submission, are seeking a first nomination; Uruguay, meanwhile, is still seeking a breakthrough after their only nominated film (“A Place in the World,” 1992) was disqualified by the Academy for having too little local input.
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Supporting actors, step forward
A while back, certain folks were (rather unfairly) dredging up the routine annual complaint about the supposed scarcity of viable Best Actress contenders. Dave Karger, however, has located the real weak spot of this year’s awards race, and it concerns the opposite sex for a change: where, he asks, are the Best Supporting Actor standouts?Pound for pound, I tend to find Best Supporting Actor the least compelling of the acting races, a haven for affectionately regarded stalwarts in bit parts that are frequently less than challenging. The last two years have raised the bar considerably, but recent wins for Morgan Freeman, Alan Arkin and Michael Caine are typical of the laziness with which the Academy often treats the category.
Even by the category’s usual standards, however, this year’s pickings look unusually lean, as Karger narrows the serious contenders so far to a scant three.
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10/1 Oscarweb Round-up
• “Up in the Air” gets a December release date to avoid Clooney vs. Clooney at the November box office. [Variety]• Karen O channels Daniel Johnston for “Wild Things” soundtrack. [The Playlist]
• Steve Pond on the forthcoming Oscar short deadline. [The Wrap]
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Here come the girls
I know I’m hardly the first person to mention it, but as I was fiddling around with my predictions recently, I was struck once more by just how young the Best Actress category is skewing.At present, 15 year-old Saoirse Ronan is the only teenager being talked up for a nomination, but with three other solid contenders — Carey Mulligan, Gabourey Sidibe and Abbie Cornish — all playing teens in their respective vehicles, you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. (As if that weren’t enough, in a perfect world, 18 year-old Katie Jarvis would be leading the field for “Fish Tank.” We can but dream.)
Meanwhile, you can bet that a sizable number of Academy members are under the impression that waif-like 24 year-old it-girl Mulligan (the current frontrunner for “An Education,” in case you need reminding), and especially 26 year-old non-pro Sidibe (whose buzz for “Precious” has rocketed since Toronto), are even younger than they are.