In Contention

Category: Daily

  • Guess again

    Meryl Streep in It's ComplicatedI realized yesterday I hadn’t updated my own Oscar predictions since July, so a spring-clean was in order. I should really wait for the end of Toronto, but I’m off on vacation on Saturday, so there’s no time like the present.

    Needless to say, a lot can change in two months — particularly when those two months include the start of the festival season. Back in July, “Shutter Island” was still a fall release, Colin Firth wasn’t even on my radar and I still expected “Up in the Air” to be a minor-key adaptation of a minor-key novel. It was a more innocent time.

    As always, if you want sensible, well-reasoned, informed predictions, you’re better off looking to your right.

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  • France enters ‘A Prophet’ in Oscar race

    Tahar Rahim in A ProphetNews has just come in that France has selected Jacques Audiard’s critically lauded prison drama “A Prophet” as their official entry in the Best Foreign Language Film competition. (Thanks to reader Ali for the tip.)

    The film was chosen by a panel including actress Jeanne Moreau, Cannes festival director Thierry Frémaux and filmmakers Jean-Jacques Annaud, Costa-Gavras and Régis Wargnier. Classy.

    The choice comes as no surprise whatsoever: many have regarded it as a virtual fait accompli since the film’s sensational debut in Cannes, where it won the runner-up Grand Prix. (It will, of course, once more face its Cannes conqueror, “The White Ribbon,” in the Oscar race.)

    Meanwhile, for the last two years running, the French have gone with comparatively edgy Cannes winners as their Oscar ponies (“The Class” was nominated, “Persepolis” infamously snubbed), so the selection of “A Prophet” continues that pattern.

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  • Foreign film watch: Finland, Serbia … and Cyndi Lauper

    Cyndi LauperThree more to add to the growing pile of official Best Foreign Language Film submissions:

    Finland (a nominee in 2002 for Aki Kaurismaki’s “The Man Without a Past”) has opted for Klaus Hero’s “Letters to Father Jacob,” a reportedly gentle drama about a paroled murderer who finds redemption working as a secretary to a blind rural priest.

    Sounds Academy-friendly so far; Variety’s rave review, which lauds director and cast alike for making “something fresh and heartrending out of predictable material,” further suggests this could be one to keep an eye on.

    Serbia, still seeking a first nomination in the category, has decided to appeal to American sensibilities by picking the partially New York-set “Here and There,” which follows the trials of an American saxophonist and a Serbian immigrant, each struggling to get by in the other’s country. (Is there enough non-English dialogue to qualify?)

    Well-received at the Tribeca fest earlier this year — Variety makes a charitable comparison to “The Visitor” — where it won a pair of awards including Best New Filmmaker for director Darko Lungulov, it also has the unusual distinction of featuring Cyndi Lauper and her real-life husband in the cast.

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  • Michael Moore does Leno

    Speaking of which, thoughts on the new show?

  • Could ‘Mother and Child’ corner the female vote?

    Mother and ChildOne of the surprises of the TIFF coverage I’ve read so far has been the notably enthusiastic reception for Rodrigo Garcia’s “Mother and Child.” It’s a film I confess hadn’t been on my radar at all until now, despite my high regard for Garcia’s quiet, character-oriented work in film and especially television.

    “Mother and Child” seems to further carve his cinematic niche of tasteful, female-focused ensemble dramas, so I was expecting the same kind of warm, if slightly reserved, critical reaction that greeted “Nine Lives” and his underrated debut “Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at Her,” but so far, “Mother and Child” seems to be aiming higher than that.

    Jeff Wells was eager to be first on Monday, gushing that it was “a super-sensitive, perfectly acted and exquisitely written adult drama” and “a Best Picture contender — guaranteed, hands down, take it to the bank.” He then rather spoiled his own party by later admitting that he’d skipped the film’s last half-hour, which he later found wanting — but still generally stands by the film.

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  • New ‘Wild Things’ poster, character banners

    The “Where the Wild Things Are” marketers continue to demonstrate their chronic inability to put a foot wrong. Cinematical has unveiled another superb poster, this time for the IMAX release, and a further four character banners.

    Where the Wild Things Are

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  • Jason Reitman in a gondola

    I had to hand it to /Film‘s Peter Sciretta in Telluride, who got a few minutes with “Up in the Air” director Jason Reitman right after I did. His and FirstShowing‘s Alex Billington’s idea: interview Reitman in a gondola.  Get it? — up in the air.

    Anyway, Reitman’s a good sport and clearly had a good time here.  It’s worth a look.  Peter is taking donations for a tripod:

  • TORONTO: Michael Caine, ‘Harry Brown’ and Oscar

    Michael Caine in Harry BrownMichael Caine has won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor twice, the first time for his performance in Woody Allen’s “Hannah and Her Sisters,”and the second for Lasse Hallström’s “The Cider House Rules.”  Among others, he ousted Tom Cruises’s brilliant performance in “Magnolia” with the latter.

    Beloved within the business, Caine is considered an old war horse who has made as many bad movies as he has good ones (I think I’m being very fair), and it is my belief the Academy would like nothing more than to finally recognize his work as a leading man. He has been nominated in the past for “Alfie,” “Slueth,” “Educating Rita” and “The Quiet American,” but he’s never won in the category.

    Let me be clear: SO WHAT?

    The man has two Academy Awards on his mantle — two — while many other actors are still waiting for their first (and in some cases, many still await their first nod).  Why is it that every time Caine makes a film that is reasonably good and he offers a typically fine performance, people start talking Oscar? Personally, if I were Caine, I would find it a tad demeaning.

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  • ‘The Men Who Stare at Goats’ poster

    The Men Who Stare At Goats

    (Courtesy: Yahoo! Movies)

  • 9/16 Web Round-up

    (from left) Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze in Point Break• Keanu Reeves on Patrick Swayze: “He was a beautiful person, an artist.” [People]

    • Peter Bart salutes John Calley for landing an honorary Oscar but highlights the producer’s roller coaster career. [BF Deal Memo]

    • Peter Knegt talks to the beautiful Anna Kendrick about butterflies going into the “Up in the Air” shoot. [indieWIRE]

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  • Kidman, Alfredson get ‘Danish Girl’ on track

    Nicole KidmanSay what you like about Nicole Kidman, but the lady’s taste in directors is beyond reproach. Fresh from having imaginatively recruited John Cameron Mitchell to guide her pet project “Rabbit Hole,” she’s teaming up with another arthouse maverick looking to cross over — Tomas Alfredson of “Let the Right One In” fame.

    Alfredson will direct Kidman in “The Danish Girl,” another project the actress has been nurturing for some time, but one that seemed to have stalled for a while. I’ve been intrigued by this one ever since it first popped up on the radar, offering as it does a major thesping opportunity for the actress.

    Kidman will play Einar Wegener, the male Danish artist who in 1931 underwent the world’s first sex-change operation. (The film will, however, be proceeding without Charlize Theron, who was earlier attached to play Wegener’s wife. Pity, that — sounded like a plum role for her, too.)

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  • One blogger’s word over another

    Colin FirthI must say, when I saw and loved Tom Ford’s “A Single Man” at Venice last week, I obviously picked up on the awards possibilities for Colin Firth’s career-best work. Hard not to.

    What I didn’t quite anticipate is that it would be the talk of Toronto only a few days later. It’s encouraging to see such a niche film garnering so much attention. That’s what Harvey Weinstein will do for ya.

    So, is Colin Firth decisively in the Oscar pack? Well, it depends who you choose to listen to. Anne Thompson says a big “hell yeah”:

    Firth, who just turned 39 [sic], is a slam dunk for his first Oscar nomination. While the actor has delivered in many strong roles over the years, including BAFTA-nominated performances in Pride and Prejudice and Bridget Jones Diary, he’s never single-handedly carried a movie like this.

    David Poland, meanwhile, offers an equally emphatic “hell no”:

    Colin Firth is excellent … It’s the kind of performance in the kind of movie that could draw an Oscar nod in the thin list of actress contenders each year. But Best Actor is a 1000 to 1 shot. In fact, Julianne Moore has a better shot at Supporting, which might be why The Weinsteins bought the film.

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  • Foreign film watch: Spain snubs Almodóvar again

    Penelope Cruz and Pedro Almodovar on the set of Broken EmbracesKeeping up our watch on the Best Foreign Language Film race, one of the category’s regular players, Spain, has come one step closer to making its official submission — having revealed the final three films in contention for the spot.

    Some will be surprised that Pedro Almodóvar’s “Broken Embraces” — the year’s most globally-discussed Spanish production by a long shot — isn’t on the list. They shouldn’t be. Contrary to what some may expect, Almodóvar and the Spanish Academy selectors have an on-and-off relationship.

    Five of the auteur’s films have previously been submitted for the award — though only two (“Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” and “All About My Mother”) were ultimately nominated. The latter, of course, won the 1999 race. But Almodóvar has been prominently sidelined before — as in 2002, when the selectors unwisely decided against submitting “Talk to Her,” the film that eventually won the director a screenplay Oscar in spite of the snub. (D’oh!)

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  • SAG to honor Betty White

    Betty White87 year-old Betty White has been named as next year’s recipent of the Screen Actors’ Guild’s lifetime achievement gong, which apparently honors both career achievement and humanitarian work. (Are both those two factors always prerequisites? Just asking.)

    Anyway, you go, Rose … you’ll be 88 when you collect the prize, lest we forget. Thank you for being a friend, etc, etc. Here’s the press statement by SAG head Alan Rosenberg:

    “Whether creating some of television’s most indelible characters, plunging into film roles with joyous gusto or perfecting the art of the quip as a television panelists and host, Betty White has entertained audiences with her impeccable comic timing and remarkable with for more than 60 years.

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  • Weinsteins grab ‘A Single Man’

    Colin Firth in A Single ManI meant to get to this earlier, but sometimes, you know, real life gets in the way.  Anyway, the big news of the day is that The Weinstein Company has snapped up the U.S. distribution rights to Tom Ford’s stunning debut “A Single Man,” with plans for a 2009 Oscar-qualifying run, marking the first really newsworthy deal of the Toronto fest.

    This is just the kind of fate I hoped might await the film when I saw it last week at the Venice Film Festival. It’s a delicate, esoteric piece that needs the attentive handling of a smaller outfit — but, at the same time, has significant, clearly designated awards prospects that need some savvy campaigning to help realize. I can’t see a better fit for this film than the Weinsteins, frankly.

    The long and short of it is that you can firmly pencil Colin Firth in on your list of Best Actor prospects. It’s a prominent, immensely moving performance that, following his recent win in Venice, should gain critical traction in what looks like an unusually lean field so far. Add the fact that Firth is a popular, well-established star still looking for his defining career role — for critics, at least; for the female public, he’ll always be Mr. Darcy — and the Weinsteins’ campaigning muscle, and he’s firmly in the mix.

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  • Final ‘Christmas Carol’ poster

    A Christmas Carol

    (Courtesy: Cinematical)

  • ‘Me and Orson Welles’ and its new lease on life

    (from left) Zac Efron and Christian McKay in Me and Orson WellesLast year when Richard Linklater’s “Me and Orson Welles” landed at the Toronto film fest, as you know, it seemed a bona fide awards prospect for Christian McKay but likely to be picked up by a distributor if nothing else.  Until a few weeks ago, the film didn’t have a pick-up, but the Frankenstein strategy is an unusual approach that Parick Goldstein thinks could be the beginnings of a new paradigm:

    …for me, the reemergence of “Me and Orson Welles,” accompanied by a tie-in with a major studio DVD release and a revenue-sharing deal with a major theatrical exhibitor, offers a fascinating glimpse into the future of independent cinema. If the film finds an audience later this year, it could provide a template for success for the untold thousands of films that play film festivals around the world but never find any real theatrical distribution. If there is a real lesson behind this film’s new lease on life, it is that in today’s overcrowded marketplace, it takes a village — a village of like-minded, entrepreneurial talents — to nurture a film that appeals to a specialized audience.

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  • Reitman/Thompson/Telluride

    Here’s a great chat between Anne Thompson and “Up in the Air” director Jason Reitman from Telluride (literally five minutes before I sat down to talk with him for my interview).  Part one here, part two after the jump:

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