In Contention

Category: Daily

  • Bonafide hustler makin’ my name…

    I really…REALLY want to see “Slumdog Millionaire” again.  But for now, I’ll settle for this:

  • Oliver Stone on Bill Maher

    Boy, Oliver Stone is a terrible television interview.  Don’t get me wrong, I could listen to him wax on all day long.  He’s usually at his best when he taps into that weird, oblivious monologue (listen to the director’s commentary of “JFK” for thorough evidence of this).  But anyway, it’s nice to see him out there peddling “W.” at the right places, namely, “Real Time with Bill Maher.”  The best bit is when he says Bush “probably would have died” if he went to Vietnam.

    Check it out:

  • U.S. critics wild for ‘Happy’

    Wow. I was expecting a warm Stateside reception for Mike Leigh’s “Happy-Go-Lucky,” but even so, this is exceptional. For those who place stock in such things, the film’s Metacritic score is sitting at 82, but more importantly, some top critics have fallen hard for this one.

    If the film’s awards hopes seemed to be slipping oh-so-slightly following a respectable but somewhat muted festival showing last month, these reviews should give it a second wind. Sally Hawkins, in particular, should gain traction in a crowded Best Actress field with amazing notices like this one from Stephanie Zacharek:

    Poppy’s cheerfulness isn’t a shield against reality … And that’s where both the boldness and the delicacy of Sally Hawkins’ performance come in. This is the finest performance of the year — though it’s only October, I can’t believe I’ll see anything better … Here, Leigh has given her the challenge of a lifetime — the kind of role an actress can play at just one point in her life — and she more than meets it.

    Zacharek is no less ecstatic on the film itself:

    It takes more than ambition, and more than money, to make an intimate masterpiece like Mike Leigh’s “Happy-Go-Lucky,” a picture so seemingly light that it might be hours (or even days) before you realize how deep and rich it really is … Leigh and his actors work mysterious magic in “Happy-Go-Lucky.” This is a movie about hitting the groove of everyday life and, nearly miraculously, getting music out of it.

    (more…)

  • WEEKLY WRAP: Rudin bails, Brolin buzz, original scores

    And this, as they say, is the week that was:

    • In the biggest news of the week, Scott Rudin has washed his hands of the whole “The Reader” fiasco by taking his name off the film. What now?

    • Lots happening on the music front this week, with Universal offering a taste of the scores for “Changeling” and “Frost/Nixon,” while elsewhere, the surprisingly rich score for “W.” was revealed.

    • Carrying on the musical theme, we nabbed an interview with “Appaloosa” composer Jeff Beal.

    • This week’s Off the Carpet column contemplated the marked social currency of this year’s contenders.

    • Following its NYFF screening, “Changeling” got a rough ride from the blogosphere.

    • Josh Brolin has been all over the place this week, speaking out about that Shreveport incident, while his “W.” performance gathers positive buzz. Meanwhile, rumor has it that he’s down for “Jonah Hex.”

    • EW looks to revisit history (i.e. gloat over the Academy’s mistakes) with its Oscar revote.

    • A look at the sometimes troubled relationship between Hollywood and Philip Roth.

    • Continuing Tech Support’s preview of the crafts categories, this week was the costume designers’ turn.

    • And finally, is Alfred Hitchcock overrated? Join the debate here.

  • International ‘Revolutionary Road’ trailer

    Can be found here.  Can’t embed it for some reason, though.  Lots of interesting composition in those images.

  • Studios can solicit with music CDs once again

    A press release from the Academy indicates new rules for the music branch.  It seems campaigners will be allowed to send CDs directly to voters, a change from recent regulations that forced members to vote based on their reaction to track usage in the context of a film.

    Last year, the AMPAS tried a “bake-off” scenario, where voters had to come view film clips showcasing the musical numbers in order to vote on the Best Original Song category.  But attendance was apparently too low and the Academy is buckling once again (Gold Derby’s Tom O’Neil points this out here).

    The real issue this raises is the typically lax sense of responsibility within the Academy.  These cpeople can’t even be bothered to view the content in its intended form, therefore, they don’t take their roles as Academy members seriously.  Quite frankly, it’s sickening, and hardly news, but it’s also a whole other can of worms.

    Here’s a bit from the release:

    For 2008, CDs of eligible scores may be distributed to voting members of the Music Branch anytime prior to the nominations announcement on Thursday, January 22, 2009. Following the announcement, the nominated scores may be distributed to all voting members of the Academy. In both cases, each music track must be titled, include the name of the composer(s) and be identical to the music used in the finished film. The CD may contain only music written by the eligible composer(s). Music written by other composers, licensed music or music that is otherwise ineligible for award consideration is not permitted.

    CDs of nominated songs also may be distributed to all voting members, following the same guidelines as for nominated scores. Distribution of eligible songs prior to the nominations announcement is not permitted, though as a result of a rule change announced in June, the Academy itself will be sending DVDs containing film clips featuring the songs to Music Branch members during the nominations balloting phase. The DVDs will contain the same clips to be screened at the annual voting event at which branch members may cast their nominations ballot in person.

    More at the Academy’s official site.

  • ‘Batman Unmasked’ on The History Channel

    Christian Bale in The Dark KnightThis is exactly the kind of thing “The Dark Knight” needs to tap into a genuine conversation about the film’s — and Batman’s — relevance in the zeitgeist.  I’ve been watching The History Channel’s “Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of the Dark Knight” this afternoon, and for a Bat-nut like me, it’s the ultimate geek-out opportunity.

    The entire 60-minute program is available over at YouTube.  It’s aired on television twice today and I don’t know when it will run again, but it’s all kinds of fascinating.  It takes a look at the character’s progression from 70-year-old roots through expansion on the psychological nature of the character in the 1980s and how that history is commented upon in Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight.”

    The most intriguing part for me comes around the 08:15 mark of the clip below.  I didn’t know this, but apparently much of Nolan’s vision for Bruce Wayne stemmed from a comparison to Theodore Roosevelt.  Check it out:

    There are, of course, interviews with filmmakers, actors and DC higher-ups, but there are plenty of doctors, professors and psychologists thrown in for good measure.  Talk about a treat.  I just wish more footage from “The Dark Knight” was used in the program, though they do get around to discussing the Joker in great detail amid a summation of the Bat’s rogues gallery of villainy.

    Anyway, I’d love to see more stuff like this hit the tube.  Or more features digging for this kind of thing in print rather than soliciting general soundbytes about Ledger’s performance or the box office intake of the film.  “The Dark Knight” is an important movie event on many levels this year, and it goes pretty deep.

  • New ‘Defiance’ trailer lands at Variety

    On the heels of the new one-sheet for Edward Zwick’s “Defiance,” we see today that Variety has nabbed an exclusive look at the new trailer.  Check it out:

  • 10/10 Oscarweb Round-up

    Rob Brown in The Express• Peter Knegt talks to “Ashes of Time Redux” director Wong Kair-Wai. [indieWIRE]

    • Steven Zeitchick — who started a lot of the Rudin/Weinstein mess by printing gossip — writes up the “Rudin walks away” story with no mention of Patrick Goldstein’s breaking the news. [The Hollywood Reporter]

    • Goldstein, meanwhile, gets some quality time with Jim Brown about “The Express.” [The Big Picture]

    • Karina Longworth ponders the generational divide on “Che.” [Spout Blog]

  • EXCLUSIVE: New ‘Defiance’ poster

    We just acquired the sweet new one-sheet for Edward Zwick’s “Defiance.”  Maybe cashing in on a little of that Bond love for Daniel Craig this season, this poster is certainly more appealing than the previous art work:

    Paramount Vantage's Defiance

  • Scott Rudin takes his name off ‘The Reader,’ walks away

    Scott RudinUPDATE (9:58 p.m.): Thanks to one of our readers for pointing out that “The Reader” has been removed from The Weinstein Company’s official site.  Could it mean that Weinstein will fold after all?  Could the pain of getting a publicity team in place, dealing with Rudin’s all-in public play and general bad buzz make TWC see the light and move the film to 2009?  We’ll see…

    EARLIER: I love Scott Rudin.  All along, throughout this whole nasty affair, I have hoped he would prove his balls are bigger than Harvey’s and I think he’s done that now.

    Patrick Goldstein is reporting that the producer has taken his name off of Stephen Daldry’s “The Reader,” which was suddenly jerked into the 2008 Oscar season by Weinstein Company honcho Harvey Weinstein, a move read by most in the industry as a gluttonous attempt at securing some Oscar glory this year.  With “Revolutionary Road” and “Doubt” already at the center of the season’s buzz cycle, the last thing Rudin needed, or wanted, was to have to split his attention a third way — let alone a way that would have been abandoned by its own star as well.

    Yes, it’s true.  Kate Winslet would not have hawked “The Reader” against her husband, Sam Mendes’s “Revolutionary Road” (in which she also stars).  Director Stephen Daldry himself had to respond diplomatically to the entire charade of Rudin and Weinstein kissing and making up in public, only to have before-the-fact private emails spread across the net by an industrious blogger.

    I’ve made my opinion of this fiasco known, and I definitely don’t think I was alone.  In fact, I know I wasn’t.  Weinstein scrambled to put together a publicity team but likely found a lot of road blocks, and to Rudin, it had to have been a painful march toward the inevitable:

    “The Reader,” produced by Alan Smithee.

    Goldstein reports:

    In recent days, negotiations had apparently taken a turn for the worse. Upset with Weinstein and worried that many of his long-standing talent relationships would be harmed, Rudin decided to separate himself from the project. Daldry remains contractually obligated to complete the film, though it’s uncertain of how he will complete the film without Rudin, a longtime collaborator with both Daldry and David Hare, who were the creative team on “The Hours.”

    And the closer, which says it all:

    Whatever the root cause, this is another body blow to “The Reader,” which loses a strong producer who is always a major force during awards season. Rudin will continue as producer of two other year-end pictures, “Revolutionary Road” and “Doubt.”

    Personally, I’m just glad Goldstein got this scoop and not Nikki Finke.

  • TRUTH

  • Josh Brolin and Jonah Hex

    Jonah HexJeffrey Wells conveys the sentiments of a single source, /Film marks it as reportage and suddenly it’s considered a done deal that Josh Brolin has signed on to star in “Jonah Hex.”  It all may well be true, mind you  It probably is.  But this is the kind of thing that web masters don’t understand when high profile institutions like Variety hold off on linking to them until people are actually on the record.

    ANYWAY, I’m a step removed from Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor.  Friends of a friend, so to speak.  Watched a few UFC fights with the chaps.  Good guys.  But I’ve heard zip.  If it’s true, it’s definitely a better choice than Thomas Jane would have been (gossip passed along in June).  It would also be a ballsy play for Brolin to make a hard left turn out of prestige and into the realm of genre once more with the directors of “Crank” at the helm.  But I like him for Hex.

    It’s no secret that I’m game for just about any western at this stage.  But “Jonah Hex” represents, along with “The Lone Ranger,” a branching out into typicality for the genre.  Rather than the prestige pet project here or there, we’re starting to see pop culture reflexivity, and that means a lot for the future of spurs and saddles on the big screen.  When (and if) these films start making money, studios will more and more loosen their resistance against making these films.

    But back to “Hex,” if you don’t read the DC Comics book, I certainly recommend it.  It was resurrected a few years back into a new series that is up to about #36 right now (I’ve got the full set), and rather than arcing major stories, it’s generally a one-story-per-issue kind of thing, self-contained, very pulpy, pure awesomeness.  Give it a look.

    Here is what Wells heard:

    I’m told that the deal is sealed for Josh Brolin to star in Jonah Hex, based on the graphic novel and directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor (Crank, Game) and to be funded and released by Warner Bros. Brolin’s rep is not only denying this but claiming Brolin is “not attached,” but a voice is telling me to consider the word of a friend who tells me the deal was locked down last night.

  • Better, but too many words…

    Universal Pictures\' Frost/Nixon

  • Josh Brolin talks ‘W.’

  • 10/9 Oscarweb Round-up

    Julianne Moore in Blindness• Dave Karger not only thinks Ralph Fiennes is in the supporting actor race for “The Duchess,” he thinks he is Heath Ledger’s main competition. [Oscar Watch]

    • Eight documentary shorts have been short-listed by AMPAS. [Oscars.org]

    • Jeffrey Wells reports that Lionsgate Films is pissing off Portland area critics by not screening “W.” for them (on the heels of a similar situation with “Appaloosa”). [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Patrick Kevin Day talks to César Charlone about the look of “Blindness.” [Los Angeles Times]

    • Steven Zeitchick thinks “W.” might be a victim of its own timeliness. [Risky Biz Blog]

    • On the heels of a similar query about Kristin Scott Thomas’s chances, Tom O’Neil wonders if Frank Langella can take the Oscar and the Tony in the same year. [Gold Derby]

    • Analyzing “The Scene” from Steve McQueen’s Hunger,” including a record-breaking 17-and-a-half-minute shot. [The Times]

    • 10 underrated Bill Murray roles (totally agree on most of them). [Spout Blog]

  • More buzz for Brolin

    The mixed notices for Oliver Stone’s “W.” — some of which seem to be simultaneously admiring and bewildered — make it quite clear that the film isn’t going to be a player in the top categories. But we pretty much knew that all along.

    Josh Brolin’s performance, however, is another story altogether. After the stunning breakthrough that he’s had in the past year, playing an incumbent president — and a widely-loathed one at that — in a film by an off-the-boil director might not have seemed the safest career move.

    But the gamble appears to have paid off: whatever the ultimate fate of the film, Brolin’s interpretation of Bush has been widely hailed as a courageous and accomplished addition to an increasingly interesting filmography. Naturally, Oscar talk is swirling, and Screen International’s review minces no words on the matter:

    A wonderfully brash and fearless performance … If the film itself fails to figure in the year-end awards shortlists, Brolin must surely be considered a likely best actor nominee. Wholly immersing himself in the part, he doesn’t imitate the president so much as breathe human complexity into him. Rudderless and restless as a young man, Brolin nonetheless plays him as a likeable enough fellow, a harmless jock, attractive to women and tortured by his father’s expectations. As a president, Brolin plays him as a man of some intelligence, even if his arrogance and machismo are on full ugly display.

    (more…)

  • Forget Timberline Lodge — try the Stanley

    Inside the Stanley Hotel/Film points us today to a Fantastic Fest tie-in at Timberline Lodge, the hotel where Stanley Kubrick filmed his Stephen King adaptation “The Shining.”  There will be a party, some dinner, and of course, an overnight stay at the creepy establishment.

    That’s all well and good, but forget the Timberline.  I say try your hand at a night in the Stanley Hotel out in Estes Park, Colorado.  That’s the place that gave King his inspiration for the book, a supposedly haunted hotel founded by Freelan O. Stanley (of Stanley Steamer fame).  The guy built this place way out west when his wife began to come down with health issues.  Doctors said the air and altitude of the setting would be good for her.

    King stayed there back in the 1970s in — you guessed it — room 237.  That room is said to be frequented by the spirit of an old maid who will set your clothes aside nice and neat while you’re out hiking or skiing or what have you.  You’ll come back to the room and your shoes will be put in the closet, your shirts stowed in dresser drawers, etc.

    Stars tend to frequent room 237.  Back in 1994, Jim Carrey stayed in the unit while filming “Dumb and Dumber” (Estes Park was used for the Aspen scenes).  He supposedly came down in the middle of the night and told the desk person, “I don’t care where you put me but you have to get me out of that room.”  I’ve heard he won’t really talk about what happened in there.

    Hey — this is what the tour guides tell you.  Don’t shoot the messenger.

    But seriously, the Stanley is a creepy place.  They even did a Ghost Hunters episode there.  Apparently the fourth floor has the most paranormal activity, and there are lots of kids’ spirits hanging around the place, tugging at shirt tales, playing jacks, etc.  The location is surreal as well, looking out over the Rockies with a vast open space out in front of the hotel.  The Rocky Mountain National Park entrance is maybe four miles away, so it’s a choice spot.

    If you can handle it.  Mwahahahahahaha.