In Contention

Category: Daily

  • 2/12 Oscarweb Round-up

    (from left) Afa the Wild Samoan and Mickey Rourke on the set of The Wrestler(Kind of quiet out there…)

    • David Carr addresses the “some stars won’t walk the red carpet” talk, slams fashionistas as being “pilot fish on a big whale.”  Ooooooohhhhh. [The Carpetbagger]

    • Rebecca Ascher-Walsh talks to double nominee Kate Winslet. [The Envelope]

    • Dave Karger says it’s Harvey vs. Miramax in the ladies’ acting fields. [Entertainment Weekly]

    • Sasha Stone goes deep with “WALL-E” helmer Andrew Stanton. [Awards Daily]

    • David S. Cohen writes up “The Wrestler”‘s unsung hero: trainer Afa “the Wild Samoan.” [Variety]

    • Patrick Goldstein responds to the week’s “Reader” slams. [The Big Picture]

  • Start from scratch, Academy

    I do love a good rant about the Academy Awards. And Ryan Gilbey is, for my money, one of the sharpest, most entertaining film writers around these days. So it figures that a Gilbey-written attack on the Oscars, in the lefty political mag the New Statesman, should make for good reading.

    Gilbey cheerfully admits that he “hates” the Oscars, even as they fascinate him by “systematically disparag(ing) the creativity and alchemy of filmmaking.” And as in David Denby’s own recent rant, he dislikes all of this year’s Best Picture contenders save for “Milk,” though he still thinks Gus Van Sant’s film “pales beside” the likes of “WALL-E.” (I particularly like the accuracy with which he skewers “Frost/Nixon,” arguing that it is “built like a sitcom — every joke has its payoff in the following shot.” Bingo.)

    But he also offers some ideas for how to fix the supposedly broken machine that is the Oscars. And while some of them are typically playful and even perverse (ban Ron Howard and Meryl Streep from future nominations, he pleads), some of them (to me, at least) really make a lot of sense. I particularly like his two-birds-with-one-stone approach to rectifying the embarrassing foreign-language situation, starting by abolishing the Foreign Film category altogether:

    Scrap the only award specially designed to allow a sliver of glory to fall on cinema from other cultures. Why? Well, it’s patronising, for a start. Not quite as bad as the Best British Film Bafta, I’ll grant you, but still only a hair away from being termed The Special Needs Award For Hopeless Cases. It’s nothing short of insulting to see Laurent Cantet’s The Class and Ari Folman’s Waltz With Bashir consigned to this subsidiary category when there is more accomplishment in one frame of those films than in the entirety of most of this year’s Best Picture contenders. An awards system that does not consider The Class good enough to compete with Frost/Nixon or Slumdog Millionaire deserves to be a laughing stock.

    So how will foreign-language films get a look-in? Call it positive discrimination or affirmative action, but from now on, the total number of Best Picture nominees should be raised to six, of which two must come from non-English-speaking countries. There is simply no other way to redress the balance than to force Academy voters to consider films that are not being screened at the local mall. Let’s put The Reader up against Waltz With Bashir and then we’ll see some real tears from Kate Winslet.

    Good stuff. The rest here.

  • Is this a new strategy?

    I’ve been flipping back and forth between Leno and Letterman and so far I’ve seen four Oscar TV spots: two for “The Reader,” one for “Slumdog Millionaire” and one for “The Wrestler.”  Instead of the usual 30 second trailers, there is interview footage edited in.  Rourke from “The Wrestler,” Boyle from “Slumdog” and besting the lot, Daldry, Winslet AND Hare (dropping the names of Pollack and Minghella) for “The Reader.”

    Is this a new strategy?  I can’t seem to recall late night television buys in recent Oscar past, but I certainly don’t recall commercials such as this, bringing the talent out in the open so formally.  It’s kind of brilliant, really.  Now instead of watching Amy Adams giggle about how unprepared she is for her wedding, you’ll be treated to other interviews during the advertising break that you weren’t expecting at all.

    Adams is a good call for this moment, especially being in a race some perceive as wide open and others say is ripe for her taking.  But all things considered, Rourke could have brought it all home with an appearance here instead of in late December for the film’s release.

    Or does it all…really not matter?

  • What the techies think

    There’s an interesting article in Popular Mechanics, in which several industry experts offer their own predictions in a number of technical categories. Like Kris’ earlier post about the DPs’ thumbs-up to “Slumdog Millionaire,” it offers a perspective on the race that can widely differ from that of critics, audiences and even the Academy itself.

    I’ve often wondered just how differently the tech winners would turn out if they were voted on by the individual branches rather than the entire Academy membership. I think it’s likely that Emmanuel Lubezki would have a cinematography Oscar for “Children of Men,” for example, or perhaps the costume design gong wouldn’t always go to the film with the most opulent threads.

    Here, sound mixer Richard Van Dyke and sound editor Brian Riordan both name “WALL-E” the clear winner in their respective fields, with the latter simply remarking, “If you mute ‘WALL-E,’ you don’t have a movie … if you mute ‘Slumdog’ for five minutes, it’s still amazing.” Both men approve of the work in “Slumdog,” while Van Dyke has some qualms with the mixing in “The Dark Knight.”

    There’s an interesting conclusion in the makeup category, where artist Barney Burman’s personal standout is “Hellboy II,” though he rather surprisingly predicts that the general membership will lean towards “The Dark Knight,” given how powerfully the makeup job supported Heath Ledger’s performance.

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  • Christopher Nolan’s next film: ‘Inception’

    Christopher NolanAs expected, Christopher Nolan’s next film will not be a sequel to “The Dark Knight.”  He will instead go into production on “Inception,” described in the breaking Hollywood Reporter story as “a contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind.”  Here are the usual kisses from the studio:

    “Chris Nolan is a visionary filmmaker who continually raises the bar with each movie he makes,” Warner Bros. Pictures Group president Jeff Robinov said. “We are thrilled to be collaborating again with him and Emma on this exciting new motion picture.”

    Sadly we don’t have any information at the moment, but hey, I’m excited.  Nolan took a break from the Caped Crusader after “Batman Begins” to focus on the Christopher Priest adaptation “The Prestige,” a film that took a while to grow on me.  But it certainly gave the director a chance to take a deep breath before diving back into Batman, and really, if that’s what it takes to get a film like “The Dark Knight” out of him, I welcome “Inception” with open arms.

  • Does ‘Frozen River’ have one more trick up its sleeve?

    (from left) Misty Upham and Melissa Leo in Frozen RiverOn Monday’s edition of NPR’s “All Things Considered,” reporter Nate DiMeo spotlights the “Cinderella story” of Courtney Hunt’s “Frozen River,” which turned up a rather surprising original screenplay nomination two-and-a-half weeks ago.

    Originating out of Sundance in early 2008, the film is one of a handful that can be “very high quality, but not very obvious to sell or to market,” says Sony Pictures Classics honcho Michael Barker in the piece.  But, as DiMeo points out, “Frozen River” is “the type of film that Barker and his team have honed awards season after awards season.”

    Interestingly enough, I’ve begun to hear a lot of chatter in favor of Hunt’s film turning up one more surprise: on Oscar night.  While most of us are debating whether Best Picture nominee “Milk” or animated critics favorite “WALL-E” will win in the original screenplay category, there are those who think Hunt could eek out a victory, a show of support for independent filmmaking to be sure.  There is also talk of Kate Winslet’s “assured” victory in the lead actress category not being all that assured at all, and that Melissa Leo has become a difficult choice to argue against.

    Barker “had a plan and an instinct on this,” Hunt says in the DiMeo piece.  “I thought once I got into Sundance and sold the movie, I was a big shot.  Well, it turns out I wasn’t as much of a big shot as I thought I was.”

    Barker notes that “for the longest time, we were the only film that the Academy members had in their hands to watch.”  Screeners of the film went out at the beginning of September, DiMeo reminds, “before it could be buried under a pile of ‘Benjamin Button’ and ‘Dark Knight’ screeners.  Sony Pictures Classics had scheduled the DVD release for right around now to take advantage of a potential nomination.  And now orders are up.”

    The studio’s goal is “for the film to have the longest life possible,” Barker says, “and ‘Frozen River’ is probably a textbook example.”

    Might it also be a textbook example of catching the Oscar frontrunners off guard?  It’s quite possible.

    Also check out Sasha Stone’s interview with Hunt from earlier in the week if you missed it, as well as Liane Hansen’s chat with Leo from November, right around the time of the film’s release.

  • If it ain’t broke…

    A change is as good as a feast. I’m the last person to deny that. And for the most part, I’ve been down with the changes to this year’s Oscarcast promised by producers Bill Condon and Laurence Mark.

    I’m on the record as saying I think Hugh Jackman is an inspired gamble as a choice of host. And while I’m concerned that Queen Latifah singing along to the “In Memoriam” montage has the makings of an all-out kitschfest, I’m nonetheless interested to see how it plays out.

    But there’s one change, one that a number of people still don’t seem to be aware of, that I’m not happy with at all. And that’s dispensing with the tradition (of the past couple of decades) of having last year’s winners present this year’s acting awards. As Susan Wloszczyna wrote in her interview with the pair a few weeks back:

    Instead of lining up last year’s winners and stars with upcoming movies to tout, Condon and Mark are reaching out to those names associated with a 2008 movie. And there will be a few blasts from Hollywood’s past, too.

    (more…)

  • Top lensers praise ‘Slumdog’ cinematography

    Slumdog MillionaireOver at Variety, Robert Koehler has put together a survey of sorts of some of the industry’s top DPs to gauge their reaction to the year’s work behind the camera.  It could be a nice hint toward what the ASC will chose as the year’s best lensing, and judging by Koehler’s results, Anthony Dod Mantle’s “cherry on top of a career” efforts on “Slumdog Millionaire” gets the gold star.

    It’s really quite an achievement.  Even though I’ve long been on the record in favor of Wally Pfister’s innovations on “The Dark Knight,” I have to say Dogme 95 veteran Mantle broke unexpected new ground in Danny Boyle’s film.  In lieu of an Oscar win for the highly deserving Pfister, I would be very content to hear Mantle’s name called.

    Here’s a taste from Koehler’s survey:

    Mantle’s “Slumdog” was “the biggest technical achievement of the year,” says [Roger] Deakins, “because even though part of the film was shot on a 2K digital camera and part on 35mm, my eye could never detect the difference…it was quite a feat to maintain a consistent quality of image throughout.”

    Adds [Janusz] Kaminski: “I like cinematography that feels alive, and Anthony’s work felt that way for me. The shooting got the sense of the Mumbai streets, the reality of the gameshow, the nostalgia of the romance.”

    Goldblatt agrees, noting that “Slumdog” was “a very adventurous mix of media, fun and beautiful and very courageous. I’ve worked in India as a photographer and know how tough it is there, so I was quite impressed with the results.”

    McGarvey “loved how Anthony thought about how the various formats he shot in would serve each milieu in the story, so that the images never patronized the characters. It was such a ride.”

    Koehler then goes on to say Claudio Miranda’s gorgeous work on “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” was close behind in his unscientific poll, followed by Pfister, who McGarvey says “can work on the grandest of scales but can also be terrestrial, and is able to provide an anchor to fantastical situations — a talent he shares with (director) Chris Nolan.”

    I was happy to see Maryse Alberti (“The Wrestler”) and Hoyte Van Hoytema (“Let the Right One In”) also mentioned, but hey, you’ve heard that kind of stuff out of me in this space over and over again. It’s nice to see the trades pumping up their crafts coverage, since no one seems to be willing to give them the proper attention this time of year beyond the expected outlets (American Cinematographer, Below the Line, etc.).

    For a crash course in the year’s best cinematography, have a look at our Top 10 Shots of 2008 column from last month, laced with insights from an esteemed crop of lensers.

  • Brolin, Hopkins to star in Woody Allen’s latest

    This one just landed in the ole’ inbox.  Might as well pass it on:

    Academy Award nominee Josh Brolin and Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins are the first to be cast in Woody Allen’s latest untitled film. A return to Europe for Allen, the new film shoots in London this summer and reteams the director with financer, Mediapro, the Spain-based company which also funded “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.” Letty Aronson, Steve Tenenbaum and Jaume Roures are producers on the film. Additional cast members will be announced shortly.

    Sony Pictures Classics recently acquired Allen’s next completed film, “Whatever Works,” which will have a June 23rd theatrical release this summer.

    Oddly vague, as usual.  Is Allen ever going to slow down?

  • POLL: Who deserves it? — BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

    Should I even bother posting this one?  Tell us in the sidebar.  You all know my pick. ;)

  • How did ‘Man on Wire’ become the favorite in a field of superior documentary features?

    Man on WireIt often seems that when there isn’t an obvious, populist pick in the Academy’s documentary feature category (such as “Bowling for Columbine,” “March of the Penguins” or “An Inconvenient Truth”), the field is rife for an upset.  Last year a number of awards watchers were sure that either “No End in Sight” or “Sicko” would walk away the winner, while maybe five of us new the power of “Taxi to the Dark Side” would prevail.  “Born Into Brothels” caught a few by surprise in a year that a great many thought would see “Super Size Me” take the gold.

    “Murder on a Sunday Morning” over “Children Underground,” “One Day in September” over “Buena Vista Social Club,” it seems there is always something of a surprise waiting to happen here, and I think it’s because the groupthink always takes such a vigorous hold in a category with little precursor clues as to what the actual film industry thinks of the field.

    This year, it’s a foregone conclusion that the critically acclaimed “Man on Wire” will win the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.  The film has nearly swept the circuit.  Only “Trouble the Water” (also nominated) and Guy Maddin’s “My Winnipeg” have popped up with this critics organization or that.  But I submit that, not only is “Man on Wire” quite vulnerable, but it may be the least likely of the nominated docs to win the Oscar in a little less than two weeks’ time.

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  • Is Amy Adams a threat after all?

    Tariq Khan thinks so. Tom O’Neil reports that the Fox News pundit is predicting a major upset by the “Doubt” star, largely on the basis of what he perceives as “soft support” for frontrunner Penelope Cruz.

    Before you dismiss his ideas completely, it’s worth pointing out that his track record is pretty strong — he foresaw Kate Winslet’s category switch for “The Reader,” and apparently predicted all of last year’s winners correctly. Here, Khan constructs detailed arguments both against Cruz and for Adams, including this fairly astute point:

    (Adams) has the largest role in this category. As I explained above, size does matter. Adams is the only one in this category with a semi-leading role. She has plenty of dialogue and good dramatic scene work, managing to more than hold her own while acting opposite Meryl Streep for much of the film. Don’t think that voters won’t take that into account. And while the much talked about brief performance by Viola Davis might have a greater impact, many will feel that it’s just too brief to deserve an Oscar. Even veteran Ruby Dee lost for her small role in “American Gangster” last year, despite winning the SAG award just a few weeks earlier. If Dee couldn’t win, there’s probably no way that Davis can.

    Other factors listed in Adams’ favour include the possibility that voters may wish to convert one of “Doubt”‘s four acting nods into a win, Adams’ exceptional personal likeability and her significant box-office clout. Against Cruz, he cites her Globe and SAG losses (though I’m not sure I’d count those, given this year’s odd Winslet scenario), her limited screentime (not to mention her delayed appearance) and the Academy’s apparent indifference to “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” itself. (Not on his list, but a factor in my mind, is that Cruz looks set to have a big 2009, and may well be an even stronger contender for next year’s honours.)

    (more…)

  • ‘Basterds’ trailer

    The official trailer has been unleashed — still not looking forward to it.  And really, enough of the ego: “You haven’t seen war until you’ve seen it through the eyes of Quentin Tarantino.”  Ugh:

  • A promising start for ‘Chéri’

    If it isn’t quite the unanimous chorus of approval one might have hoped for, there’s still enough praise for Stephen Frears’ latest film “Chéri,” which premiered in Berlin last night, to mark it as a potential 2009 contender in several areas — among them, Best Actress for Michelle Pfeiffer’s much-anticipated return to dramatic roles. (Thanks, of course, to the ever-diligent Nat Rogers for the heads-up.)

    The Hollywood Reporter’s Kirk Honeycutt is absolutely besotted with the film, gushing that there is “no false moment or off-key note” in the entire production:

    Stephen Frears never makes the same movie twice. What he does do though is make thoroughly professional and immensely entertaining stories that pay particular attention to characters, their flaws, emotions and deepest desires. In “Cheri,” he has another dandy. Whether it will travel as far as his last film, “The Queen,” is hard to say, but with a radiant Michelle Pfeiffer as his heroine, “Cheri” could well be another breakout hit.

    The chemistry between Pfeiffer and (Rupert) Friend is positively combustible. One feels the hunger in each, the rising physical passion and emotional vulnerability in two people who, if asked, would scorn love as a human weakness. The film is in English, of course, but it can’t escape a certain Frenchness: Those who would mock love are done in by love.

    There is also, predictably, much praise lavished on the film’s scrumptious-looking tech credits, with top honours going to Alexandre Desplat’s “nostalgic, romantic, melancholy score.”

    (more…)

  • 2/11 Oscarweb Round-up

    Hugh Jackman• The first Oscar promo pic of Hugh Jackman. [Just Jared]

    • David Steinberg writes up Johnny Carson’s Oscar hosting legacy. [Los Angeles Times Magazine]

    • David Carr ponders the lead actress race. [The Carpetbagger]

    • Tom O’Neil conveys a case for Amy Adams in “Doubt.” [Gold Derby]

    • Dave Karger needs Oscar campaigns to get out of the way in order to enjoy “The Reader.” [Entertainment Weekly]

    • Mark Olsen chats with “Doubt” star Philip Seymour Hoffman. [The Envelope]

    • Michael Ordoña, meanwhile, gets some face time with Marisa Tomei. [The Envelope]

    • Christopher Campbell goes all in for “Milk”‘s original screenplay. [Spout Blog]

    • Maria Puente reports on the interior design of Oscar’s green room. [USA Today]

    • Anne Thompson spotlights the magazine rack’s Oscar issues. [Thompson on Hollywood]

  • Hugh Jackman finally talks his Oscar hosting gig

    Hugh JackmanIn the first interview I’ve come across where he talks at length about his upcoming Oscar emcee gig, Hugh Jackman talks to ABC’s OntheRedCarpet.com about memories watching Johnny Carson and Billy Crystal hosting the show, plans for a “twist” in the natural order of things and his overall philosophy on the job at hand.  It’s a fascinating four-and-a-half minute video well worth a look (and listen).

    Here are some highlights:

    It’s one of those nights where it seems the whole world takes the night off and enjoys the show.  What I was most excited about was, and I don’t want to give anything away, but there’s a twist this year.  I feel like I’m part of something new, part of a new initiative, a new era.  It feels like [Oscarcast producers Laurence Mark and Bill Condon] are guiding me in a way that will make the show fun and quicker.

    We say “host” here, but in my country we would call it an “emcee” or a “master of ceremonies.”  Your job is to ensure that everyone has the best time possible and has a great night.  I don’t feel the show should be about the host.  My role is to keep the night flowing, fun, to keep it inclusive.  I have a game plan, I have a number of stuff written and things like that but at the same time I think it’s also important as the host to be ready to go with whatever happens.  I think my experience in theater is no matter what you’re doing, you want to give people that sense that anything can happen, and let’s face it, at the Oscars, anything can.

    Check out the video here.

  • Digging into the Oscar nominated documentary shorts

    The Conscience of Nhem EnLast week I pored through the animated and live action short films that find themselves in Oscar contention this year in order to help give a leg up in your Oscar pools.  Over the weekend, I decided to take a good, long look at the nominated documentary shorts, which rarely find any coverage this time of year.  I can’t be the only that gets tired of taking blind stabs at who’ll win in this category, so here’s what I turned up…

    There are four nominees in the category, as usual.  And two of the films are strikingly similar in tone and subject matter, doubly so in the face of the year’s likely Oscar sweeper, “Slumdog Millionaire.”

    Megan Mylan’s “Smile Pinki” covers pro bono palate lip surgery in rural India, but it isn’t that dissimilar from any number of 60-minute infomercials you’ve come across on television.  Also, Oscar.com’s brief synopsis of the film suggests more drama than actually exists.  It could win for being a heart-warming affair because it really is the story of newfound hope in the social lives of young children, but I found it a bit derivative.

    Irene Taylor Brodskey’s “The Final Inch,” however, is a much more intriguing look at the country, following the work of volunteers mobilizing efforts (the largest non-military army in history) to eradicate polio in the slums of India.  From a cultural standpoint, it is at times quite fascinating.  Some families refuse the “medical wisdom” of the West in favor of faith in their God, leaving a very simple vaccination process ignored and many young children crippled at an early age for no good reason.

    (more…)

  • POLL: Who deserves it? — BEST ART DIRECTION

    You know the drill — tell us in the sidebar poll.  This is the last of the tech categories.