In Contention

Category: Daily

  • Food for thought

    “We wanted the look of Public Enemies to have a high level of realism, not an over period feel…Among the historical aspects are a lot of action, romance and drama, and Michael [Mann] and I talked about achieving an immediate feel.  One thing you can do with a digital camera that you can’t do with film is shoot with a 360-degree, or no, shutter…We tested that with gun-muzzle flashes from the machine guns and some flares that we planned to use to light a few scenes, and the 360-degree shutter had a really great look in those situations.”

    Dante Spinotti, talking to Jay Holben in this month’s issue of American Cinematographer magazine.  The article isn’t online yet but the magazine is on the rack, so pick it up, give it a look.

  • R.I.P. Karl Malden

    Too many films to recount, too many great pieces of acting to list.  “On the Waterfront,” “Baby Doll,” “Cheyenne Autumn,” an impressive TV streak in “Streets of San Francisco.”  I’ll always remember “Streetcar.”  He was 97.  Now that’s a life.

  • Tell us what you thought of ‘Public Enemies’

    Johnny Depp in Public Enemies

    I think we all know what most movie-goers — well, those who won’t be lining Fox’s pockets at “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” — are going to see this week, so while I’ve offered my thoughts in full, and even dedicated an installment of The Lists to the film’s director and his eye for talent, it’s time to deliver your thoughts.  I imagine people are beginning to make their way out of matinees by now, so head on back here once you’ve seen “Public Enemies” and tell us what you thought.

  • TCM gets in the gangster mood

    Manhattan MelodramaSpeaking of John Dillinger’s final hours, it’s worth pointing out that TCM will be showing a slew of classic gangster titles tonight, including the Clark Gable starrer “Manhattan Melodrama,” which was the last film Dillinger would ever see.  Mann makes considerable thematic use of the film in “Public Enemies,” as noted by critic F.X. Feeney in an exchange with Jeffrey Wells two days ago:

    “I will admit La Cotillard takes the coupe du monde in [Mann’s female characters’] honors, but then she is not only great in herself but that magnificent hall-of-mirrors moment when Dillinger contemplates her angelic double, Myrna Loy, in ‘Manhattan Melodrama.’ It seems to me that here, Mann grandly contradicts the old saw that men’s ‘immortal dreams of women’ are ‘unattainable.’ From where Dillinger sits, that dream has been attained quite fully, thank-you-very-much. A ticklish mystery, this.”

    In addition to “Manhattan Melodrama,” TCM will be showing “Fog Over Frisco,” “G-Men” and the 2008 documentary “The Public Enemies: The Golden Age of Gangster Film.”  Set your DVRs.

  • Vishnevetsky’s dispatches from the set of ‘Public Enemies’

    Johnny Depp on the set of Public Enemies“Public Enemies,” opening nationwide today, is the first film to bring Michael Mann back to his native Chicago since his feature filmmaking debut, 1981’s “Thief.”  Fellow Midwesterner Ignatiy Vishnevetsky was on the set for a few days in the summer of 2008 and has been collecting his thoughts over at The Auteurs’ Notebook.  It’s a gem of a feature for Mann enthusiasts.

    Vishnevetsky digs into the man and his aesthetic motives, pondering this or that on-set particular and drawing connections to Mann’s portfolio throughout.  Most of the entries seem to have been written from the location shoot of John Dillinger’s (Johnny Depp) FBI slaying outside Chicago’s Biograph Theatre.

    Watching the gun-down happen over and over again in real time as takes are refined and repeated, Vishnevetsky spends considerable time in part one analyzing Mann’s approach, observing, taking it all in.  Color me incredibly envious.

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  • 7/1 Web Round-up

    Michelle Pfeiffer• Drew McWeeny catches up to “In the Realm of the Senses” 23 years later on Criterion Blu. [HitFix]

    • Anna Pickard breaks down the “Funny People” trailer. [The Guardian]

    • Steve Weintraub chats with “Big Bang Theory” star Jim Parsons at the Saturn Awards.  (It’s one of my favorite sit-coms, so I thought I’d share.) [Collider]

    • So you’ve been asking yourself, “What does a producer do, anyway?”  Here’s a primer. [indieWIRE]

    • So if you live in Glascow, you can finally watch Monty Python’s “Life of Brian” in a cinema. [The Independent]

    • Deborah Landis, designer of the red jacket Michael Jackson wore in “Thriller.” [Speakeasy]

    • Dan Zak catches up with “Chéri” star Michelle Pfeiffer at 51. [Washington Post]

    • The 25 sexiest movies ever.  Eh. [Entertainment Weekly]

  • ‘Precious’ poster #2

    I think it’s safe to say Lionsgate is winning the one-sheet war this year.  You’ll recall the first teaser, which dropped mid-Cannes.  Now, courtesy of HitFix, we get this:

    Precious

  • Steven Soderbergh’s ‘The Informant!’ gets a trailer

    Could be softball fun or could be an ace up WB’s sleeve. Matt Damon looks outstanding.  First time since “Moulin Rouge!” that a movie title features an exclamation point?:

  • The Academy opens the doors to 134 new members

    Seth RogenThe headline says it all.  After bringing in 105 new members last year, the Academy has just announced a new list of 134 names to join their ranks.

    Actors include Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Jeffrey Wright (woo-hoo!), James McAvoy, Casey Affleck (who should have been brought in after his 2007 nomination), James Franco, Michael Cera and Seth Rogen, as well as, of course, all of the first-time nominees from last year’s season.  I was rather surprised to see Brendan Gleeson only now getting the invite.

    A big huzzah to director Rod Lurie, who made the cut in the directors branch, along with last year’s big winner Danny Boyle and animator Henry Selick, among others.  And another tip of the hat to Clint Mansell (robbed blind for his “Fountain” score two years ago), who joined the composers’ ranks along with Peter Gabriel (another guy I figured would have been in long ago) and last year’s winner in both music categories, A.R. Rahman.

    Neither here nor there, since now we’re getting to inside baseball, but a big shout-out to Paramount’s Megan Colligan, who was allowed passage in the public relations arena.

    Check out the full list after the jump.

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  • Stumping for Molina in ‘An Education’

    Alfred Molina in An EducationI’m late to the table in some sense given that Lone Sherfig’s “An Education” dazzled audiences five months ago at the Sundance Film Festival.  But after catching the film last night, I was left with one mission: spread the word on Alfred Molina.

    Most of the end-of-year awards talk will surely surround Carey Mulligan’s absolutely peerless and incredibly refined leading performance, as well it should.  She won’t need much of a boost into the Oscar race when people get a load of what she has to offer here.  But I’m circling the wagons for Molina, whose portrayal of a concerned father of the era is, not to put too fine a point on it, the work of a master.

    Molina has no showy moment.  He has nothing you would say represents a classic “Oscar clip.”  But truly, when has he?  This is an actor, still without proper recognition from the Academy, who has delivered time after time, from “Boogie Nights” to “Frida” (his one brush with the derby) to “The Hoax” and even blockbuster fare such as “Spider-Man 2.”  And in “An Education,” he’s at the top of his game.  I was more affected by his subtle additions to the film than I expected and that, I’d say, is the hallmark of an accomplished supporting performance.

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  • Woody does Paris

    Goldie Hawn and Woody Allen in Everyone Says I Love YouAmong the many things I love about Woody Allen — his staying power, his eye for talent, more masterpieces than I can count on two hands — is the fact that whenever anyone refers to “the untitled Woody Allen project,” one usually has to ask which one they mean. His unfailing film-a-year work ethic means there are generally at least two upcoming Allen films floating in the general conversation.

    So, while we’re all aware that his next film after the Big Apple homecoming of “Whatever Works” will be a return to his recently beloved gray skies of London, with Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins and Freida Pinto in the mix, some details have already emerged of his next project after that one.

    Screen International reports that Woody’s 2011 project will see him continuing his European sojourn, this time with a romantic drama set in Paris. Spanish production outfit Mediapro revealed the information, though a script has yet to be completed.

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  • Mixing Autobots with Decepticons

    Transformers: Revenge of the FallenWhile “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” tears up the box office while simultaneously rubbing the critical fraternity wrong, some of us can’t help but wonder how the money will effect its performance in the technical categories (a concentrated focus of In Contention in Gerard Kennedy’s seasonal Tech Support columns) come year’s end.

    Tom O’Neil is pondering the film’s potential for winning kudos both at the Oscars and the Razzies, which could be an ironic twist for the film.  But no matter how you feel about the film from a critical view, there is no denying the craft on display below the line.

    Most especially, the sound editing and mix is absolutely state of the art.  Nothing compares.  The intricacies of the soundtrack, the balance of heavy metal and tinny particulars, all of it is absolutely award-worthy.  That it is such a dense mix without overwhelming the senses is, I think, a real testament to the work of mixers Gary Summers and Greg P. Russell.

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  • 6/30 Web Round-up

    Sacha Baron Cohen in Bruno• Paul Dergarabedian bangs the Oscar gong for…”Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince?” [Hollywood.com]

    • Kim Voynar wraps up the LA Film Fest. [Movie City News]

    • Claudia Eller calls out Hollywood’s A-list for under-performing at the box office this summer while no-name productions have prevailed. [Los Angeles Times]

    • Brad Brevet kicks the tires on his Oscar coverage. [Rope of Silicon]

    • A whole bunch of words on Hollywood’s creative lull, this time concerning a slew of familiar characters. [USA Today]

    • ‘Brüno’ and Universal pull back the curtain. [The Big Picture]

    • David Poland, meanwhile, video reviews the flick. [The Hot Blog]

    • In honor of Stephen Frears’ “Chéri,” the top 10 “cougars” in films. [Spout Blog]

  • POLL: How do you feel about the Academy’s decision to expand the Best Picture category to 10 nominees?

    It’s been such a busy day I neglected to mention our newst poll, which has been in the sidebar there since last night.  The headline says it all, so be heard.  And if you haven’t already done so in the latest Off the Carpet column, tell us why you say “yay” or “nay” in the comments section below.

  • McWeeny on Ponyo

    Frankie Jonas (voice) in PonyoYesterday was confession time as I got into my own disconnect with the cinema of Hayao Miyazaki, a brand well-respected and certainly cherished the world over but somehow lost on me.  His work “nevertheless represents an imagination that…is a welcome dose of creativity in a business sorely lacking it year after year,” I wrote.

    With that in mind, the following passage from Drew McWeeny’s Motion/Captured review of the film, which closed the LA Film Fest last night, struck me right between the eyes.  I don’t have kids, mind you, but I hear what McWeeny is saying.

    And while we’re on the subject, I like that Drew has made his work such a personal endeavor.  I was at the screening he attended.  His son, Toshi, was right behind me and you could sense his engagement.  So maybe I’m reading it with more of an insider’s take than everyone else will, but that doesn’t affect the truth of his sentiments.

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  • Steve Lopez’s would-be Jackson column

    Steve Lopez as Vromans in PasadenaSpeaking of David Carr, he points us (via his must-follow Twitter page) to a Ventura County Star story today concerning Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez’s recent keynote address for the National Society of Newspaper Columnists.  The part that caught my eye was a segment dedicated to Lopez’s description of his Michael Jackson column, had he decided to write one.

    I heard Lopez speak a little more than a year ago, when he was promoting his then-forthcoming book “The Soloist” (the story of his relationship with Nathaniel Anthony Ayers that was translated to the screen earlier this year with Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx in starring roles).  He spins a good yarn with the best of them.

    Anyway, Lopez’s piece would have begun in Iraq, when he was covering the Gulf War in 1991 and attempted to gain access to Saddam Hussein’s nearby summer palace.  He took two photographers with him and went as far as they could go, Lopez says.  When soldiers approached them with machine guns and began grilling the three journalists about their thoughts on George Bush and Saddam Hussein, however, one of the photographers started to make too many waves.

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  • The Bagger’s take on Oscar’s shake-up

    David CarrDavid Carr’s Media Equation column at The New York Times today is the most well-reasoned, knowledgeable take on the Academy’s recent Best Picture shake-up yet.  He covers some of the same points I brought up in my Off the Carpet column this morning, but thankfully, he offers something of a rebuttal to the Nikki Finkes of the world who somehow think the studios pushed this decision through.

    News flash: this was horribly depressing news for more than a few in the industry last week.  As Carr shrewdly notes, “[t]he people criticizing the studios for watering down their moment of glory have the wrong villain.”

    Unfortunately, a passing comment concerning Bill Condon’s suggestion that the Academy take the category to 10 paints him as someone to blame, but he was merely doing his post-mortem duties, offering up some ideas to make the telecast better.  Plus, I’ve heard conflicting takes as to whether Condon initiated the idea or whether the Academy had been tinkering with it before he came to the table.  But one shocking truth lies in all that contradictory rubble: there were people on the committee unaware of their own history who were shocked that the category ever included 10 nominees.  Sad but true.

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  • Troubling mixed reaction to ‘Enemies’ afoot

    (from left) Marion Cotillard and Johnny Depp in Public EnemiesIt’s not like we didn’t see a divided take coming on Michael Mann’s latest, but the reviews that are trickling in, updated frequently over at Rotten Tomatoes, are troubling indeed.

    And I have to say, when Rex Reed is one of the few champions of an artistically daring film, what is the world coming to?  David Denby, for instance, has missed the boat to a certain extent, though he certainly finds much to praise.  But this:

    The movie is structured around repeated scenes of wounded men (agents as well as criminals) dying as they look into the eyes of their friends. Yet some of the dying men are barely known to us, and the device, though beautifully staged in each case, doesn’t have the power it should have had. The movie is emotionally neutered.

    Eh, to each his own.