In Contention

Category: Daily

  • On the sound of ‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon’

    I think “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” will be back for the full trio of Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Visual Effects at the Oscars this year, after the franchise’s second installment managed only one of those. The sound work in particular is once again top notch, one of the most carefully sculpted and edited aural experiences I’ve heard in a theater.

    Erik Aadahl, Peter Devlin, Jeff Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Ethan Van der Ryn, among others, were all back to their respective duties creating the soundscape of the film, and as always, the Soundworks Collection has done a wonderful job bringing that task to light.

    In an accompanying interview of the featurette (which you can check out after the jump), Russell says, “It’s the most ambitious sound film I know, without question, I’ve ever been a part of,” and that’s a pretty bold statement for a guy with his resume.

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  • ‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol’ trailer

    It must be tricky to pull off a sub-title for a franchise that already features a colon, but anyway, this is a terrible trailer. It’s aimed at the “Fast Five” crowd, what with the glitz and Eminem, which immediately cheeses down the series (a series I kind of dig, to be honest), and that’s before we get to the terrible structure (What’s with the random Renner plot point beat?). And nothing about this seems to indicate that an artist like Brad Bird is at the wheel, but whatever. That’s marketing for you. Check out the trailer for “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” at Yahoo! Movies by clicking the image below or watch an embed after the jump.

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  • Tell us what you thought of ‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon’

    I ducked out to Vegas for the weekend, so no box office or “Cars 2” reaction threads. Sorry. But yesterday I caught “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” with most of the press corps and I had a blast. The action begins to melt your face in the final hour to a numbing degree. The screenplay is naturally all over the place. But it’s a full-on ride with beautifully realized 3D and, as always, impeccable sound design. I’d say it’s my favorite of the series, but I’d love to hear your thoughts. The film opens tonight at 9pm screenings in order to get a massive jump on the weekend (expect a trillion dollars in the bank by the time the fireworks hit Monday). So head on back here with your take when you get around to it this week.

  • No refunds

    Passed along via Twitter by Christopher Misch (originally posted by a guy named Joe Meyers) snapped at the Avon Theatre in Stamford, CT:

  • ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ trailer

    I’ll be updating Oscar shenanigans with some predictions and charts in a week and a half, and in them, you’ll see that of all the superhero movies this year, I’m counting on “Captain America: The First Avenger” to be the one that registers much at all with the Academy. We’ll see if that pans out, but for now, the final trailer has been released via Yahoo! Movies, and it has some impressive strokes. Check it out by clicking the image below or watch an embed after the jump.

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  • On the ballots wasted under new Best Pic rules

    Since the Academy announced its latest mathematical tweak to the Best Picture category last week, few have taken against the adjustment in principle — in a race notionally about “best,” it seems fair that films liked by many but loved by few should be left out, even if there’s no clear way of knowing which films that might hinder. (Many are taking it for granted that the new system would have spared us a “The Blind Side” nomination last year — but can we be so sure that fewer than 1 in 20 voters named it their favorite film of the year? I’m not.)

    The downside of the change, as The Wrap’s Steve Pond explains, is that the new-model Best Picture slate will likely end up representing a smaller portion of Academy members than the previous one. The beauty of the old system, which redistributed the votes of those members whose top choices hadn’t made the cut, is that nearly every ballot wound up contributing to the final list of nominees. Even if a member’s vote eventually went to, say, his fifth-favorite film, he still exerted a measure of influence on the outcome — encouraging for voters whose ballots are dominated by less Oscar-friendly fare.

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  • Discussing the theology of ‘The Tree of Life’

    Fox Searchlight is really outdoing itself on “The Tree of Life.” When the studio picked up the title last year, I knew it was in caring hands. But I never really expected such pristine handling every step of the way.

    Tonight Searchlight held bi-coastal panel discussions with religious and non-religious leaders to discuss differing perspectives and interpretations of the theological themes within the film. “Insights, Inspirations & Impact” was the name of the program, and I was on hand for the Landmark Theatre discussion in West L.A. this evening.

    The panelists included Sister Rose Pacatte of the Pauline Center for Media Studies, Dr. Robert K. Johnston of the Fuller Theological Seminary and author of “Reel Spirituality: Theology and Film in Dialogue”; Rabbi David Wolpe of the Sinai Temple (a bit of a celebrity in his own right); Scott Young, executive director of the University Religious Conference at UCLA; Jihad Turk, director of religious affairs at the Islamic Center for Southern California; and Jim Hosney, Professor of Literature at the American Film Institute. The panel was moderated by spiritual author Erwin Raphael McManus.

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  • CONTEST: Win a ‘Tree of Life’ poster

    I’ve had this poster for Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life” sitting in a tube in the office for weeks now. Since I don’t really have space for it on the wall, and seeing as it’s a bit fresh given the on-going roll-out of the film in theaters, I thought I’d offer it up in a new contest.

    “Tone poem” is a term often used to describe Malick’s work, so I thought we’d go with another haiku contest (as always, courtesy of Sasha Stone at Awards Daily who does them often). So offer up your best Malick-themed haiku (5, 7, 5 syllables, remember) and the cream of the crop wins. You can do something built around his work or around the film itself, up to you.

    Let’s give this, oh, until the end of the week. So midnight (PT) Friday is the cut-off. Ready, set, GO!

    [Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures]

  • ‘A Dangerous Method’ UK trailer

    Yesterday, news dropped of the Venice Film Festival’s opening film; now, with the first look at David Cronenberg’s Lido-bound latest (courtesy of Empire), the autumn festival season is starting to feel alarmingly close. Given the hot cast and the highbrow material, many have been pegging this as a likely Oscar player, despite the fact that Cronenberg (even in period dress) has never caught the Academy’s fancy. My personal hope is that the film is as Oscar-unfriendly as possible — after two accomplished but straightforward genre spins, I’d love to see the director tap into his kinky side again. As is my usual practice these days, I’m not watching the trailer, so I’ll just have to wait and see. You, however, can share your thoughts below. Click the image below to take a look or watch an embed after the jump.

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  • Beatty got back

    Usually, the news that someone is about to write, direct, produce and star in some film of no clear description for Paramount wouldn’t seem particularly worthy of notice until the parties involved release a few more details.

    But when the “someone” in question is 74 year-old Warren Beatty, the one-time Hollywood monarch whose name hasn’t appeared on screen since 2001 (as an ensemble member of all-star embarrassment “Town and Country”), it’s hard not to get curious.

    With Beatty not having steered a film of his own since 1998’s “Bulworth” — the fascinating but frustratingly scattershot political satire that never found a place in the popular imagination, despite netting him a writing Oscar nod and arguably featuring Halle Berry’s strongest performance — there’s likely a generation or two with little concept of what an industry force the man was across four decades. (Perhaps more enduring, on the pop-culture scale, is his reputation as Hollywood’s most storied lothario, though Annette Bening put a stop that 20 years ago.)

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  • Clooney’s ‘Ides of March’ to open Venice fest

    Once again this year, Guy will be covering the Venice Film Festival while I’m up in the Colorado mountains catching this and that at Telluride. Today, via Variety, the former’s opening night film has been announced:

    George Clooney’s “The Ides of March” has been tapped as the opening film of the 68th Venice Film Festival on Aug. 31. Fest hasn’t made an official announcement but a source not authorized to speak for the event confirmed the selection Monday. Sony’s dated the political thriller for an Oct. 7 limited release.

    Clooney directed from a script he co-wrote with Grant Heslov. He also stars in the film, which is based on the Broadway play “Farragut North,” written by Beau Willmon.

    It goes without saying, this one could be a big player on the circuit this year. Which reminds me, mark your calendars because July 4 I’ll finally dip my pen in the prediction ink this year with a new column and reassessment of the Contenders section.

    [Photo: Columbia Pictures]

  • ‘Lion King’ Father’s Day PSA

    The film will be re-released theatrically in 3D September 16 with an October 4 Blu-ray and DVD Special Edition close behind (trailer after the jump). Meanwhile, speaking of today, I figure I’ll shout-out a two-year-old list to commemorate.

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  • Weinsteins announce release dates for winter bait

    Harvey Weinstein has never been one to put much faith in the length of Academy voters’ memories, so as usual, he’s favoring a late-year release plan for his presumed awards contenders — the prospects of which I was discussing only the other day.

    Thanks to Coming Soon’s Ed Douglas for pointing out the newly announced release dates for his holiday-season prestige slate. You won’t be surprised to hear that it’s November and December down the line: “My Week With Marilyn” is first to go forth on November 4, followed by “The Artist” on November 23, “Coriolanus” on December 2, “W.E.” on December 9 and “The Iron Lady” on December 16.

    You can read as much or as little into this schedule as you like, though it’s worth noting that none of them are bowing as late as last year’s Weinstein Company property “Blue Valentine,” the perilously tardy post-Christmas release of which was widely blamed for a meager awards showing — with more time for glowing critical buzz to build, Ryan Gosling and writer-director Derek Cianfrance could arguably have stood a better chance of joining Michelle Williams in the nominee circle.

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  • New AMPAS invitees include Sorkin, Hooper… and Beyoncé

    The annual announcement of the new members invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — the latest batch of industry pros we get to blame for next year’s Oscar results — is a moment that always prompts as much satisfied head-nodding as bewildered head-scratching.

    The latter action isn’t always in response to unworthy choices (though I imagine many will deem the inclusion of, say, relatively unproven comedian-turned-movie-star Russell Brand premature), but more to the tardiness of others: every year, I find myself surprised that so-and-so wasn’t already a member. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the first time they’ve been asked — not everyone accepts the invitation.

    I’m surprised, for example, that one of this year’s most esteemed Oscar champs, screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, is only now being brought into the fold. He’s one of a number of 2010 winners on this year’s list of 178 newcomers, including directors Tom Hooper and Susanne Bier, documentarian Charles Ferguson, writer David Seidler, editor Angus Wall, short filmmaker Luke Matheny and “The King’s Speech” producers Iain Canning and Gareth Unwin. A host of this year’s nominees are also joining, among them actors Jesse Eisenberg, Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes and Jacki Weaver, as well as female writer-directors Lisa Cholodenko and Debra Granik.

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  • Tell us what you thought of ‘Green Lantern’

    I gave Martin Campbell’s “Green Lantern” a big fat pass this week, while the rest of the critical establishment was busy tearing it down. (Guy joined their ranks with a take 180 degrees from mine.) I still think there is a lot of reaching for negativity in many of these assessments, but as the steam from the Hyperbole Express begins to clear the loading platform, I’d love to hear what the readership thought of the film, which hits theaters tonight at midnight screenings. (I may even give it another look because I’m interested in the largely hailed 3D conversion.) Sound off with your thoughts in the comments section below when you get around to seeing it this weekend.

  • Hero takes a fall

    In coming up with an idle, pop-related title for this post, I was faced with two choices: the one I eventually went with, or “We don’t need another hero.” I decided against the latter — partly because I’m sure other writers have already exhausted it, partly because The Bangles can always do with another shout-out — but in This Our Summer of the Superhero, it’d certainly be apt. With “Green Lantern” following “Thor,” “X-Men: First Class” and, earlier, its troublesome near-namesake “The Green Hornet” on the 2011 release schedule, and with “Captain America” still to come, casual moviegoers could be forgiven for wondering if their local multiplex has been part-colonized by ComicCon.

    It stands to reason that with so many darts being thrown at the same aesthetic and commercial target, some will hit their mark more squarely than others. If “Thor” managed to widely surpass expectations, the law of averages decrees that at least one of its Spandex-clad rivals will likely fail to meet them — or at least live down to expectations that had already been lowered. Critically, at least, it seems “Green Lantern” is taking that bullet: Kris may have appreciated Martin Campbell’s revival of one of the DC library’s dustier properties, but the first wave of reviews has been largely dismissive, with even the film’s vastly expensive effects work taking a beating from both high-end print critics and more genre-friendly bloggers like Drew McWeeny.

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  • Sony Classics picks up Cronenberg’s ‘Dangerous Method’

    Anyone else ready for Michael Fassbender to have a big fat coming out party this year? The press release, in part:

    Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they have acquired the US Rights to David Cronenberg’s A DANGEROUS METHOD from UK based Hanway Films. The film, produced by Jeremy Thomas (THE LAST EMPEROR, SEXY BEAST), stars Viggo Mortenson, Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender, and Vincent Cassel. The film is currently in post-production…

    Seduced by the challenge of an impossible case, the driven Dr. Jung (Michael Fassbender) takes the unbalanced yet beautiful Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley) as his patient in A DANGEROUS METHOD. Jung’s weapon is the method of his master, the renowned Sigmund Freud. Both men fall under Sabina’s spell.

    “David Cronenberg and Jeremy Thomas have made a film that not only has an impeccable cast and crew working at the height of their talents but tells one of the most fascinating love triangles of the twentieth century. The American public will enthusiastically embrace this picture. We are delighted to be in business again with Jeremy and David,” states Sony Pictures Classics.

    [Photo: Sony Pictures Classics]

  • ‘Moneyball’ trailer

    Yesterday there was an Entertainment Tonight sneak peek at the trailer for Bennett Miller’s “Moneyball,” based on the best-selling book with a screenplay by Steve Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin and starring Brad Pitt and Philip Seymour Hoffman. It has all the pieces to make it LOOK like an awards play, but it’s still to be seen if it reaches those heights. The full version of the trailer has dropped via Yahoo! Movies. Check it out by clicking the image below or watch an embed after the jump.

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