In Contention

Category: Daily

  • Detroit critics go for ‘Slumdog,’ Tomei neck-and-neck with Cruz with sixth win

    (Updated to amend tally error on my part.)

    I know I declared a moratorium on these until the dust settles, but I stumbled onto the list of winners for the Detroit Film Critics Society while compiling the master list and didn’t see them reported elsehwere yet, so here you go.  This list is significant to me, though, because Marisa Tomei has officially pulled up right along side of Penelope Cruz, winning her sixth critical kudo.  SAG sure is looking silly for that slight.

    The winners, via the DFCS website (nominees were announced Tuesday):

    Best Picture: “Slumdog Millionaire”
    Best Director: Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”
    Best Actor: Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”
    Best Actress: Kate Winslet, “Revolutionary Road”
    Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”
    Best Supporting Actress: Marisa Tomei, “The Wrestler”
    Best Ensemble: “Frost/Nixon”
    Best Newcomer: Martin McDonough, writer/director, “In Bruges”

  • EXCLUSIVE: Marisa Tomei featurette

    (The exclusive on this runs out on Monday, so you’ll probably find the video in a few other spots.  So I figured I’d revert to YouTube, since I can’t get my Flash embedding to work and the Quicktime file takes a lot of bandwidth.  Enjoy.)

    Marisa Tomei has put together a nice career renaissance as of late.  A few crucial spots on TV’s “Rescue Me” and a brilliant turn in last year’s “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” made for nice appetizers to her wonderful and more widely accepted work in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler,” leading to a stretch of accolades that, fingers crossed, will soon lead to an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.  She’s fared well so far this season, taking down a trio of awards in one day earlier this week and giving “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” star Penélope Cruz a run for her precursor money in the process.

    Fox Searchlight has been kind enough to give In Contention a first look at the following featurette, a discussion with Tomei about her vision of her character, Pam (a.k.a. Cassidy), a new, more tangible spin on the classic “hooker (er, stripper) with the heart of gold” archetype and one that the actress elevates to meaningful heights throughout.  Despite a SAG snub yesterday morning, I think she could still be on course for a tip of the Oscar hat next month, and taking a look at this video, it’s easy to see why she deserves it.

  • Josh Brolin/Netflix announcement?

    This just arrived in the ole’ inbox.  I have no idea what this is all about unless I’ve missed the boat somewhere along the line here, but my interest is certainly piqued:

    WHO: Josh Brolin, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, and Film Independent’s Dawn Hudson.

    WHAT: Josh Brolin, Netflix, and Film Independent to announce an exciting endeavor that will inspire the indie art house audience and movie lovers everywhere.

    WHEN: Thursday, January 8, 2009; Press check-in: 9:00am; Press conference start: 9:30am

    WHERE: W Los Angeles – Westwood, Studio 1 and 2; 930 Hilgard Avenue; Los Angeles, CA 90024

  • Best in show: the year in superlatives

    Cate Blanchett in The Curious Case of Benjamin ButtonThe year is slowly coming to a close, and after this week’s year-in-review pieces, I’m happy to see so much healthy and spirited discussion on my humble picks for the year’s best films.  Today I’m wrapping all of that up with a list of superlatives, some of them in your usual categories, the staples, some of them in a couple of, oh, let’s call it “fun” arenas that I like to mix in year in and year out.

    I should note, however, that Nathaniel Rogers at The Film Experience is the king at this stuff.  His annual “Film Bitch Awards” are a must-read.  Here’s last year’s set.

    So with that, let’s get into the awards.  I used to call these the “In Contention Awards,” but I don’t think that’s fair anymore now that we have a slew of contributors.  So I’ll let them speak to their favorites at their leisure.  These reflect my views of the season and mine only.  You know the Best Picture champ, of course, but beyond that, I hope you enjoy the rundown.  Just keep the (inevitable) disagreement friendly:

    Best Picture
    “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight Pictures/Warner Bros. Pictures)

    Best Director
    Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”

    Best Actor
    Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”

    Best Actress
    Cate Blanchett, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

    Best Supporting Actor
    Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”

    Best Supporting Actress
    Samantha Morton, “Synecdoche, New York”

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  • Two years on

    Considering it’s written by the editor-in-chief of the foremost entertainment news publication in Hollywood, Peter Bart’s Variety blog continues (for this reader, at least) to be a disconcertingly slipshod affair. That his pieces frequently appear so rushed and second-hand is enough cause for concern without throwing elementary factual errors into the mix.

    But his most recent post, on the difficult certain directors experience in following up breakout successes, contained this groaner:

    What ever happened to that loveable husband-and-wife team of Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton who gave us “Little Miss Sunshine” four years ago?

    Uh, two years ago, Mr Bart. Hardly the longest hiatus in filmmaking history — least of all for indie-oriented filmmakers who have a prolific commercials career, and may need time to gather up funding for a project. It’s pretty well-known that Faris and Dayton have been planning an adaptation of Tom Perrotta’s brilliant novel “The Abstinence Teacher” (not the easiest sell in the world) since 2006, and have been working extensively with Perrotta on the script.

    These things don’t happen overnight — why the impatience? (Bart also manages a sideswipe at “The Lives of Others” director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, saying he’s “stalled” since his film came out two years ago, apparently an eternity in Bart’s mind.)

    Anyway, the main point of Bart’s post is to say that “The Abstinence Teacher” is set to start rolling for Warner Brothers in early 2009, which is obviously good news. While I found “Little Miss Sunshine” a little too pat for my liking, Dayton and Faris’ jagged visual sensibility and droll line in humour should be a perfect match for Perrotta’s incisive, wickedly funny study of a high school sex-ed teacher at war with a rigidly conservative suburban community. In tone and texture, it sits roughly halfway between Perrotta’s other two novels-turned-films, “Election” and “Little Children,” which bodes well for the new project.

    Something to look forward to. If you don’t mind a little wait, that is.

  • Best Foreign Language Film: an alternative ballot

    Last month, I played devil’s advocate a little with the Best Documentary Feature category, suggesting five less-discussed titles from the shortlist of contenders as a potential counter to the dizzying advance of the clear frontrunner, “Man on Wire” — not as a slight on the film, which is terrific, but in the interests of diversity.

    Now, as we near the end of a busy first phase of precursors, I feel the need to make a similar effort in the Best Foreign Language Film category. It’s not that the names being mentioned as frontrunners for the Oscar aren’t worthy — oft-mentioned titles like “Gomorrah,” “The Class” and “Waltz With Bashir” are more than credible contenders, with the former two among my favourite films of the year. (More on that in a couple of days.) But we all know the Academy can frequently choose to ignore the obvious in this category — and with that in mind, I’d like to point out a few interesting directions in which they can go.

    The critics certainly aren’t helping them out, after all. Excellent film that it is, “Let the Right One In” has stomped all over the precursors almost as comprehensively as “Man on Wire” has: a consensus that strikes me as both surprising and a little disappointing, given what a rich and varied year it’s been for non-American cinema. Share the wealth a little, guys. However, the fact that the Swedish vampire film is ineligible for the Oscar means the Academy’s foreign-language committee is being given very few pointers at this stage.

    So, in the interests of rectifying that, I offer an alternative ballot: four under-the-radar titles from the 67-strong shortlist of foreign-language contenders that the voters would do well to consider. There are no doubt more — I’m drawing from the pool of contenders that I’ve actually seen — but any one of these would be a most worthy, and welcome, surprise:

    “TONY MANERO” (Chile): Pablo Larrain’s wicked little festival favourite first caught my eye at the London fest in October, and has crawled progressively deeper under my skin ever since. A tightly conceived and wholly unique hybrid of black comedy, serial-killer thriller and socio-political study, it takes its title from the character played by John Travolta in “Saturday Night Fever,” a figure worshipped to a disturbing degree by the film’s own protagonist, Raul, a socially inept lowlife eking out a bleak existence in 1978 Santiago, Chile.

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  • Oh dear

    The annihilation of “Seven Pounds” continues apace, with a crucifying NYT review from A.O. Scott:

    Frankly, though, I don’t see how any review could really spoil what may be among the most transcendently, eye-poppingly, call-your-friend-ranting-in-the-middle-of-the-night-just-to-go-over-it-one-more-time crazily awful motion pictures ever made. I would tell you to go out and see it for yourself, but you might take that as a recommendation rather than a plea for corroboration. Did I really see what I thought I saw?

    Ouch. With a Metacritic score hovering at 35, do we have our annual fallen-prestige-film Razzie contender right here? Memo to Gabriele Muccino: return to Italy, strip things back and make another “The Last Kiss” to remind people why Hollywood was excited to have you in the first place.

  • Things

    As soon as I make it to my destination (the journey has been an epic one…for me to poop on!), I’ll finally get the final post of my week in review up, a list of superlatives in a variety of categories.  And Monday, the Oscar column will be back up and running with fresh charts.  Yes, it looks like Cate Blanchett has fallen away (despite a BFCA nomination that frankly still means something).  To my mind, it’s a bit shocking, and I think many will agre with me once you guys see the film in a few weeks.  But it is what it is.  The lead actress reace has been a cat fight this year.  But otherwise, everything is pretty much steady going, nothing sticking out as particularly disruptive to the season’s progression.

  • What movie were you watching?

    The last-minute switcheroo suggests, perhaps unintentionally, that Rachel is less a martyr to the cause than a schemer looking to cover her tracks. The muddying of her motives might be truer to life, but it obliterates the movie’s tidy morality play and leaves us wondering whether the bad guys had the right idea after all.

    The wrong-headed closer to Sam Adams’s dubious review of Rod Lurie’s “Nothing But the Truth.”  Under 500 words?  In the L.A. Times?  Seriously?

  • 12/19 Oscarweb Round-up

    Richard Jenkins(This is your “don’t fly Continental — EVER” edition of the In Contention Oscarweb Round-up, brought to you live from Houston’s George Bush International Airport, a.k.a. Satan’s womb.)

    • Jeff Wells actually thinks there were “stunners” in yesterday’s SAG announcement. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • David Poland talks with a chin-up Baz Luhrmann. [The Hot Blog]

    • Dave Karger and Tom O’Neil dish the season as it stands. [Gold Derby]

    • Rebecca Cathcart gets into the “Who would accept for Heath?” question. [The Carpetbagger]

    • Daniel Day-Lewis tops a UK list of the year’s greatest lines. [Daily Telegraph]

    • Peter Knegt sits down with the newly SAGed Richard Jenkins. [indieWIRE]

    • Kira Cochran talks to Kate Winslet about her 2008 one-two punch. [The Guardian]

    • Patrick Goldstein kicks “Revolutionary Road” while it’s down, but let’s face it — he’s right. [The Big Picture]

    • Anne Thompson on the weird Jeremy Piven news, which, I’m shamed to say, first came across my bow last night on Inside Edition as I sat in a poor excuse for a comped hotel room. [Thompson on Hollywood]

  • All in the family: a note on the SAG nods

    I know I shouldn’t get upset. As Sasha Stone over at Awards Daily repeatedly intones, when it comes to awards analysis, “the trick is not minding.” You should coolly observe the trends, learn from them and be guided always by your head rather than your heart.

    But damn it, I’m only human. I can’t help getting invested in certain contenders. And I don’t mind admitting that I was utterly dismayed by this morning’s thoroughly unadventurous and, worse yet, insular set of SAG nominations. Did the voters really carefully consider all the possible options before putting pen to ballot paper? Did they really take time to decide which of the year’s performances and ensembles most moved and challenged them? Or did they simply reel off the five names in each category that they’ve heard the most about, and think are most likely to feature in the Oscar race?

    Maybe the answer to the first two questions is “yes.” But I doubt it. I find it hard to imagine that any actor adequately attuned to their own craft could consider all the female supporting performances of the year and somehow decide that Amy Adams’ performance in “Doubt” was more rich and complex than what Rosemarie DeWItt achieved in “Rachel Getting Married,” or Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler.”

    I don’t believe (or at least I don’t want to believe) that actors who supposedly have some experience of ensemble work can fail to notice that the ensembles of “Synecdoche, New York,” “The Dark Knight,” “Happy-Go-Lucky,” “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” or even “Rachel Getting Married” are denser, more intricate and infinitely more integrated than those of “Frost/Nixon” or “Doubt.”

    A great ensemble is about more than the prestige of the names within it. You’d expect actors to understand that, and last year’s off-the-wall nominations for “Hairspray” and “3:10 to Yuma” suggested that maybe, just maybe, they did. This year, however, was back to business as usual, as they turn their highest and most unique award into yet another Best Picture-emulating copycat list.

    (More thoughts, and predictions, after the cut.)

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  • ‘Slumdog,’ ‘Hunger,’ ‘Happy’ rule London crix nods

    Sorry for following up on this so long after Kris’ teaser… what can I say? It’s Christmas party central round these parts.

    Anyway, the London Film Critics’ Circle Awards are a bit of an odd duck in the kudos calendar, but not an uninteresting one. They tend to try to have their cake and eat it — honouring both British and international achievements in categories that seem segregated at first glance, but actually aren’t. So this year, you’ll see Danny Boyle crop up in both the Director of the Year and British Director of the Year fields. The same goes for Kate Winslet in the actress races. (They also hedge their bets there, nominating her jointly for “Revolutionary Road” and “The Reader.”)

    Meanwhile, only one screenwriting category exists, while only British actors are singled out for supporting honours. Which is why non-British supporting players like Heath Ledger and Penelope Cruz are competing in the Actor and Actress of the Year categories, respectively — so don’t get too excited about that. (Meanwhile, the Brit supporting categories are a real stretch… I mean, Toby Jones?)

    If you’re confused, I don’t blame you. It’s a haphazard system, but nonetheless, when you dig through the nominations there’s some real gold to be found. The nod for Tilda Swinton’s extraordinary work in Eric Zoncka’s “Julia” is truly inspired, while one has to applaud the anti-herd mentality that leads to such inclusions as Josh Brolin for “W.” or Terence Davies in the British Director category. Compared to the dull-as-dishwater SAG nominees foisted upon us this morning, at least there’s a little initiative at play here.

    More commentary, and a full list of nominees, after the cut.

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  • Jet plane

    I’m off to the airport now for a trip back east, where I’ll (thankfully) be out of La-La-Land’s grip for a solid two weeks.  Guy will keep things going here on the ground while I’m in the air (I just noticed “WALL-E” and “The Wrestler” landed Best Picture nominations with the London film critics while Heath Ledger was nominated as a lead — more on that to come).  But in the meantime, a question: Is the “featured content” gallery more trouble than it’s worth?  I’m quite aware of the slow load, the pictures cascading down the page for a bit before snapping into place.  Some have said it’s not a big deal, others have an issue with it.  I’m working on something that will keep that from happening, maybe something simpler, but as is, is it a hindrance to the site?  I’d love your feedback on that.

  • Chicago crix join the ‘WALL-E’ wagon

    I know we issued a moratorium on regional critics’ awards the other day, but the Chicago Film Critics Association is semi-significant, and we did report on their nominations, so in the interests of closure, here are the winners.

    I must say, I’m starting to feel the heat for a “WALL-E” Best Picture nomination — could it displace “The Dark Knight” for the populist vote? I think so. Meanwhile, I’m really getting the feeling that Anne Hathaway could emerge as the Best Actress winner at the end of the day. I have no idea what would justify such an outcome, but that’s my hunch.

    Of course, I had these inklings before I saw these winners — which aren”t that relevant anyway — but it chimes in neatly enough, so I thought I’d throw ’em out there.

    Best Picture: “WALL-E”
    Best Director: Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”
    Best Actor: Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”
    Best Actress: Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”
    Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”
    Best Supporting Actress: Kate Winslet, “The Reader”
    Best Original Screenplay: Andrew Stanton and Jim Reardon, “WALL-E”
    Best Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy, “Slumdog Millionaire”
    Best Foreign Language Film: “Let the Right One In”
    Best Documentary: “Man On Wire”
    Best Animated Feature: “WALL-E”
    Best Cinematography: Wally Pfister, “The Dark Knight”
    Best Original Score: Thomas Newman, “WALL-E”
    Most Promising Performer: Dev Patel, “Slumdog Millionaire”
    Most Promising Director: Tomas Alfredson, “Let the Right One In”

  • The costume design of ‘Benjamin Button’

    Costume design sketch from The Curious Case of Benjamin ButtonParamount Pictures has put together a brilliant little FYC site for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” that I’m just now getting around to, fit with the usual bells and whistles: downloadable screenplay, score samples (God Alexandre Desplat’s work is gorgeous), clips and interviews, etc.  You can enter the site by clicking on the ad at the top of the page here.

    I always look for proper care and consideration for the crafts of this film or that each season.  It’s our mandate, as long-time readers know, that those names get the same exposure as the biggest of stars.  Paramount Vantage always does a nice job of that with its Vantage Guilds website, but more and more, other studios are following Vantage’s example.

    For instance, on the “Button” site, there is a nice little gallery of costume design sketches from Jacqueline West’s portfolio, with screen test photos to go along with the ultimate look of the apparel in the film.  It gives you a nice cross section of the work and a look at its journey from the hypothetical to the tangible.

    And indeed, West’s work on the film is quite lovely, a much more thorough and certainly more varried array of threads than you might expect.  Cate Blanchett’s red dress from a key scene in the film has popped up in at least one Q&A.  Director David Fincher used some CGI nit-picking to amp up the red and add to the experience of the scene’s emotional beats.  But that’s not to take away from what West has done, which is outfit a hell of an epic with a beautiful wardrobe that walks the line between reality and fantasy nicely and understands that dichotomy, one that lies at the heart of the film.

  • ‘Doubt’ leads with five SAG noms

    Amy Adams in Doubt(Apologies for the delay getting these up this morning.  I had technical difficulties signing in and had to scoot shortly after the announcement.  Here are the belated nominees with commentary.)

    The Screen Actors Guild didn’t have much up its sleeve this morning for its heavily anticipated nominations announcement.  No left-field zingers, no “3:10 to Yuma” or “Station Agent” surprises, just a slick rundown of the season’s favorites so far.

    Looking deeper into the categories, we can point to a number of things.  The fact that “Doubt” leads the way is no surprise, since all four principles from the cast were nominated and, therefore, the film landed a nod for Best Ensemble.  But praise for the acting, even if that represents the biggest branch of the Academy, isn’t necessarily enough.  Will the other branches be on board for this as a “film,” or will they simply see it for what it is: a photographed play with no creative bridge to the screen?

    Dev Patel’s nomination for Best Supporting Actor is the boost he needed for Oscar, though it should be noted that the SAG likes to nominate younger actors.  Dakota Fanning, Jamie Bell, etc.  Also, it’s worth noting that Taraji P. Henson received three nominations this morning, two for her performance in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (supporting actress and ensemble) and one as part of the “Boston Legal” ensemble on the TV side of things.  Congratulations to one sweetheart of a girl.

    The absence of Sally Hawkins is a bit distressing, however.  Especially when you consider the fact that the actress categories tend to go five-for-five with the Academy.  That could of course change this year as both fields are more competitive than usual, but seemingly a sure-thing after her critics awards bonanza, it seems the lovely Hawkins is back on the bubble.

    “Revolutionary Road” is, sad to say, officially on life-support, if the night nurse hasn’t already tripped on the chord and yanked it from the wall entirely.  One nomination for Kate Winslet, nothing for Leonardo DiCaprio, nothing for the brilliant Michael Shannon.  The industry doesn’t seem to be responding to this film.  So I think the likely five have finally slid into place, and “Doubt” remains the spoiler.

    The nominees after the jump.

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  • 12/18 Oscarweb Round-up

    Rosario Dawson• Ken Turan proves how really out of touch he is.  [Los Angeles Times]

    • David Poland defends “Seven Pounds” two years after being in the tank for Gabriele Muccino and “The Pursuit of Happyness.” [The Hot Blog]

    • Wow.  And it’s not even April Fool’s Day. [The Sun]

    • David Carr responds to the uber-cool special edition “Dark Knight” soundtrack. [The Carpetbagger]

    • Dave Karger sits down with the cast of “Doubt.” [Entertainment Weekly]

    • Another list of the year’s worst.  Mine tomorrow. [Daily Telegraph]

    • What, no byline?  Anyway, SOMEONE chatted it up with the lovely Rosario Dawson. [Los Angeles Times]

    • Christopher Campbell runs down the worst 5 Oscar hosts. [Spout Blog]

  • Top ten things Jim Carrey will always say ‘yes’ to

    What can I say? I kinda want to see this flick: