In Contention

Category: Daily

  • Josh Brolin goes on the record about the Shreveport arrest

    Josh BrolinThis is the juiciest scoop Jeff Wells has had in a long time.  While interviewing Josh Brolin at yesterday’s “W.” junket, he got the actor on the record regarding that arrest in Shreveport earlier in the summer.  You remember, back when poor Jeffrey Wright got the business end of a taser and allegedly had to deal with some racist bullshit as a prologue?

    Anyway, here is what Brolin had to say:

    Not to be too maudlin or morbid. But I’ve been around the police my whole life. I have so many policeman friends and police woman friends, and I’ve never never, ever, ever seen anything like it. All the time I was in jail I could think, the whole time…okay, they’ve arrested us knowing that their economy, part of their economy is based on the film industry. Okay, that’s one…knowing this is wrong. Secondly, they know we have some leverage. With the press, with this…they know we have some rebuttal, something, some reaction. They know that.

    Then I thought every person that goes through here…they have nothing, they have nothing, they’re forgotten. So I wonder how many people have been abused by this system? So then I started researching . They had a kid who died from a taser, 21 year old kid. Almost 300 people have died in the last five years. From tasers? It’s unbelievable, man, and the fact that they resorted to that when there was no violence?

    Heavy.  Kudos to Jeff for getting the goods, though it seems Brolin was willing to hand it over on a silver platter to the first guy who dug a little.  He also mentions that the supposed video phone recording of the incident does, in fact, exist, and that it will be released soon enough.

    Word.

  • 10/8 Oscarweb Round-up

    Angelina Jolie in Changeling• Tom O’Neil wonders if Bill Maher can cure his Emmy drought with an Oscar instead. [Gold Derby]

    • Patrick Goldstein calls ‘W.’ a “mess,” confirming my worst fears… [The Big Picture]

    • Erica Abeel corners Mike Leigh at the New York fest. [indieWIRE]

    • Bill Murray talks “City of Ember,” his divorce. [Associated Press]

    • Stephen Holden thinks “Changeling” and “The Wrestler” are “shameless Oscar bait.” [New York Times]

    • Oscar-winner Faye Dunaway talks to Xan Brooks about her work in a new indie. [The Guardian]

    • Tom Wilkinson, the actor who does it all. [USA Today]

    • Jeffrey Wells continues to pass along the good “Milk” word second hand. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Variety’s Peter bart is blogging again after a week’s drought.  Call off the search party. [Peter Bart]

    • Glenn Kenny paid to see “An American Carol.” [Some Came Running]

  • Featured content

    We’re geting a little more fancy with the featured content gallery I’m sure you’ve all noticed at the top of the site.  It seems to be working fine in Firefox and Safari but I haven’t checked IE.  If there are any issues, let us know.

  • ‘Harvey’ on the radar

    Some of our keen-eyed readers may have noticed my review on these pages of the Dustin Hoffman-Emma Thompson starrer, “Last Chance Harvey,” earlier today. The film, another feather in the cap for hard-working new outfit Overture Films, is due for a late December release, just in time for viable awards consideration.

    We’ve temporarily taken the review down for practical reasons, but it will be re-posted soon enough. For now, I’m at liberty to tell you that it’s a charming, understated sleeper whose full-wattage star power makes it a genuine prospect in the acting categories. Assuming the film opts for the comedy/musical route at the Golden Globes, Hoffman and Thompson seem virtual shoo-ins for nominations, while Hoffman could really make a run in the Oscar race for Best Actor — this is his most substantial, endearing portrayal in some time.

    We’ll have more on the film soon. Keep an eye out.

  • You name the list

    If you haven’t noticed by now, we’ve been running weekly lists here at In Contention.  They were sporadic for a few months, but I recently decided to make them a mainstay, and we’re going to try to put a little more “umph” into the feature than you tend to find across the web.

    We’ve already run lists of the top 10 performances you’re underestimating, the top 10 films of 1999 and the top 10 Paul Newman performances, but in lieu of an actual list today (we’ve got a few on deck), I wanted to throw it out to the readership for some guidance further down the road.

    What sorts of lists would you like to see?  The kookier the better.

  • Adapting Philip Roth

    Cover of The Dying Animal by Philip RothPhilip Roth is author of 25 novels and other works of non-fiction.  Revered in America, he has won every major American literature prize, including the National Book Foundation’s Award for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters in 2002.  Despite his literary success, his films have had a difficult journey to the silver screen.

    I joined the long line of Roth fans that were disappointed with Robert Benton’s adaptation of “The Human Stain,” the 2000 novel that received the National Book Award for the best work of American fiction. It was an extraordinary book and perhaps Roth’s finest. And I believed that it would translate nicely onto the silver screen. While the novel weaved in and out of the past and present, the transitions weren’t so frequent that it would create a problem for the screenwriter, Nicholas Meyer (Oscar-nominated for “The Seven-Per-Cent Solution.”

    Benton was able to attach an exceptional cast that included Anthony Hopkins, Nicole Kidman, Ed Harris and Gary Sinise. But when the film bombed with critics and audiences alike, it was quickly pulled from mainstream movie houses and relegated to small boutique theaters, and for short periods of time. It made only $5.3 million against a production budget of $30 million.

    Mr. Roth’s work has been adapted again by Mr. Meyer this year. Taking the pages of “The Dying Animal” and turning them into the film “Elegy,” Mr. Meyer and the film’s director, Isabelle Coixet have managed to create a finer adaptation of the text, and a far better film.

    (more…)

  • Memo: Uh, the Best Actress race is VERY heated

    Kate Beckinsale in Nothing But the TruthAs a few commenters have been discussing elsewhere, it seems that some supposedly attentive Oscar bloggers figure 2008 to be a weak year for the lead actress race.  We’ve been calling it the most competitive derby in years around these parts for quite a while now, so the notion that anyone would find it to be thin is perplexing to say the least.

    Well, I’m happy today to see that Pete Hammond is on our bandwagon, writing the following at his Notes on a Season blog:

    This year, however, it is already clear that the race, for all intents and purposes, is backloaded with the most imposing and competitive list of genuine best actress possibilities in many years.

    A tsunami is coming, and [Melissa] Leo and [Penélope] Cruz are getting out of the way by taking their best shot now, hoping it’s enough to stay alive when the big storm of contenders hits shore.

    He then launches into a laundry list of contenders, all of them thoroughly covered before.

    We’re currently banking on Kristin Scott Thomas, Angelina Jolie, Kate Winslet and Meryl Streep around these parts.  Those are four slots that seem secure.  After that, it’s a toss-up between Anne Hathaway, Melissa Leo, Penélope Cruz, Michelle Williams and Sally Hawkins in the indie sector.  If it’s not an indie performance the AMPAS wants to recognize, they’ll have high-budget fare to choose from in Cate Blanchett and Nicole Kidman.

    I’m sticking with Kidman for now.  Makes as much sense as any other contender.

    Have your say. Who are you predicting for Best Actress right now?

  • Doesn’t really matter

    All the harping going on about “Waltz with Bashir” getting screwed out of the Best Documentary Feature category is really beside the point.  This branch is as backwards as the foreign film branch sometimes and I highly doubt the high-concept film would have made it into contention in the first place.

  • Karger, too

    Over at Oscar Watch:

    Universal Pictures has already set up its awards site, and a little clicking around uncovers something very interesting: The studio apparently has decided to campaign for both Frank Langella and Michael Sheen as Best Actor for Frost/Nixon, instead of placing one of them in the Best Supporting Actor race so they wouldn’t have to compete against each other.

    Seriously, folks, do a little MORE clicking around.  This has not been news for four months.  What gives?

  • ‘Toy Story 2’ meets ‘The Dark Knight’

    Kind of awesome:

  • 10/7 Oscarweb Round-up

    Kat Dennings and Michael Cera in Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist• David Poland writes up a mini-reaction to “W.”  Yours truly will get a crack this morning. [The Hot Blog]

    • Jeffrey Wells, meanwhile, can’t wait to see it. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Jeremy Piven in “Speed the Plow?”  Best…casting…ever? [The Daily Beast]

    • Yet another article wondering how “Body of Lies” will fare in the ghetto of Irag war cinema. [Risky Biz Blog]

    • Robert Deutsch gets some face time with Clint Eastwood. [USA Today]

    • More on EW’s Oscar revote. [Pop Watch]

    • In honor of “Nick and Norah’s Playlist,” 10 favorite “one night out” movies. [Vulture]

    • Christopher Campbell thinks Sony Classics should aim for Best Animated Feature Film with “Waltz with Bashir,” over Best Foreign Language Film.  Why not both? [Spout Blog]

  • Miramax Highlights goes live

    Miramax Films\' Happy-Go-LuckyFirst Paramount Vantage, then Universal, and now Miramax Films.  Studios are leaping into the online FYC phase of campaigns this season.  MiramaxHilights.com is showcasing three modest enterprises for contention: John Patrick Shanley’s “Doubt,” Mike Leigh’s “Happy-Go-Lucky” (with a new poster I haven’t seen yet) and “Fernando Mereilles’s “Blindness.”

    There isn’t anything available for each film yet.  No screenplays or score downloads.  I assume that will come in time, as will category placements.  The biggest question mark for these films in that arena is whether Philip Seymour Hoffman is pushed as a lead or supporting actor in “Doubt.”  My guess is still the latter.

    Thanks to reader Jacob for the tip.

  • Weiser on the prescience of ‘Wall Street’

    Michael Douglas in Wall StreetBuried in the pages of the Los Angeles Times’ entertainment section over the weekend was this intriguing op-ed from “W.” screenwriter Stanley Weiser.  But it wasn’t his upcoming George W. Bush biopic he had on the mind, it was 1987’s “Wall Street,” which Weiser co-wrote with Oliver Stone.

    It’s a real coup for the Times, if you ask me.  It’s interesting to read through the short story of how the film came to pass, the “read ‘Crime and Punishment’ over the weekend” stuff from Stone is classic.  But it’s the sad note of responsibility in Weiser’s words, the feeling that he may have helped create little Gordon Gekkos the world over.

    Here’s a look:

    Gekko’s character was written to create an engaging, charming, but deceitful and brutal being. I have nevertheless run into quite a number of younger people, who upon discovering that I co-wrote the film, wax rhapsodic about it . . . but often for the wrong reasons.

    A typical example would be a business executive or a younger studio development person spouting something that goes like this: “The movie changed my life. Once I saw it I knew that I wanted to get into such and such business. I wanted to be like Gordon Gekko.”

    The flattery is disarming and ego-stoking, but then neurons fire and alarm bells go off. “You have succeeded with this movie, but you’ve also failed. You gave these people hope to become greater asses than they may already be.”

    Read the rest here.  And a bit of nostalgic “fun” (here as well):

  • EW’s Oscar revote

    Entertainment Weekly Oscar revoteFrom Thompson on Hollywood:

    Entertainment Weekly wants Hollywood to rewrite Oscar history by giving the film industry a chance to revise the Oscar history books. It’s called “Recall the Gold.”

    On October 6, EW is inviting more than 7,000 Hollywood insiders to participate in an extensive survey to re-vote on past Oscar races. EW wants to test which movies truly stand the test of time. With the benefit of hindsight, did the right films and performances win over the past 25 years? To look at 2003, will Robert Begnini still beat Tom Hanks? Will Shakespeare in Love still beat Saving Private Ryan? Will Gwenyth Paltrow still beat Cate Blanchett?

    Alright, let me stop it right here and get this out of the way: a nice diversion, nothing else.  Not to poo-poo the experiment, because it’s a fun idea, but the buzz and manipulation of a given Oscar season is in the same league as the manipulation that comes from loud fans and film-goers who think this film deserved to win over that and scream about it for years after the fact.  Nothing like this can happen in a vacuum, so let’s not consider an “Oscar revote” anything more than it actually is.

    And when you see that EW editor Sean Smith’s idea was inspired by the “Brokeback Mountain” loss to “Crash,” it becomes a little more irritating, in my book.  Let it go, folks.

    More:

    Monday EW is mailing out their official “Recall The Gold” ballot inviting the industry to vote in six major categories for five given years spaced five years apart–2003, 1998, 1993, 1988, and 1983–five, ten, fifteen, twenty and twenty-five years ago…

    “We built it from scratch,” says Smith. EW reporters and editors scrolled through their rollidexes. They added everyone who had ever been nominated or won an Oscar, and crew members of films that grossed over $100 million. They looked at the news reports of Hollywood people who had been added to the Oscar ranks in recent years. They culled creative directories for execs, producers, publicists, editors, costume designers, art directors, directors, cinematographers, writers, animators, sound mixers, composers–all the categories covered by the Academy.

    EW made one HUGE change. They invited top film (not TV) agents, who are not permitted to belong to the Academy, to join the list of Oscar revoters. And Smith thinks his list may skew slightly younger than the Academy’s. “We’re not trying to duplicate the Academy,” he says. “What do people working in the film industry think about these Oscar-winning movies now?”

    So, they added more people with agendas to the voting pool.  Nice.  Click the ballot image above for a larger image.  And read the rest of Thompson’s story here.

  • Bloggers dish ‘Changeling,’ O’Neil surprised by Sheen’s lead push

    Michael Sheen in Frost/NixonGold Derby’s Tom O’Neil corralled a bunch of Oscar bloggers over the weekend to discuss his topic of choice: Angelina Jolie’s Oscar chances for “Changeling” after an AMPAS funk for the last few years. I decided to abstain, since I won’t be seeing the film until next week and would prefer not to spin my wheels with the rest, but it’s a nice back and forth. Give it a look here.

    O’Neil is also somehow surprised that Michael Sheen is being pushed as a lead for Universal’s “Frost/Nixon,” a fact we’ve been peddling around here for months.  Here’s his reasoning against the move:

    Yes, sure, they both really are leads, with Sheen actually having more face time and lines of dialogue to speak as British talk-show host David Frost compared to Langella as the disgraced U.S. president he infamously interviewed on TV in 1977: Richard Nixon.

    That means nothing at the Oscars. Denzel Washington had less screen time and dialogue than “Training Day” costar Ethan Hawke, but won in lead while Hawke had to settle for a losing nomination in supporting. Forest Whitaker won best actor over “The Last King of Scotland” costar James McAvoy, who had more screen time and dialogue too, but was placed in the supporting slot where he wasn’t even nominated.

    Welcome to four months ago.  But all kidding aside, I don’t think “Frost/Nixon” is in the same vein as these films.  Sure, Langella dominated on the stage, but I’m hearing that the film is more about Frost than Peter Morgan’s play.  Our own John Foote wrote a few weeks back that it is “one of those “Amadeus” situations where one performance cannot exist without the other,” and I agree with that assessment.

    Additionally, people close to the film have been thumping the lead drum for Sheen since the early summer, so they certainly think they have a shot.  I have refused to move Sheen from our chart of 10 lead actor contenders because I could honestly see both men finding room, despite the crowded field.

    What do you guys think?  Is it crazy for Universal to ignore the supporting field for Sheen or can you just not put these things in neat little boxes?

  • Foreign and doc predix

    FYI, the predictions for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Documentary Feature have been added to the sidebar. No charts for these categories, as they aren’t given to the shift and slide in buzz like the rest. You just take a stab and go with it. These seem to make sense for now, but I’ll probably make some changes down the line.

  • ‘Reader’ still

    Reader David sent this into us over the weekend (apparently elsewhere as well).  I’m just now able to get it up, so if you haven’t seen it yet:

    Kate Winslet in The Reader

  • 10/6 Oscarweb Round-up

    Toby Jones• Choire Sicha talks to Ellen Burstyn about “W.” and her new memoir. [Los Angeles Times]

    • A year later, Jeffrey Wells still very much hearts “Things We Lost in the Fire.” [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Peter Knegt profiles “Rachel Getting Married” screenwriter Jenny Lumet. [indieWIRE]

    • David Gritten corners the Coen brothers across the pond. [Daily Telegraph]

    • John Anderson details the Iraq war film as risky business with Ridley Scott tackling the subject in “Body of Lies.” [New York Times]

    • Doing more press for the Brits than Stateside these days, Oliver Stone chats it up with Oliver Burkeman. [The Guardian]

    • The diversity that is character actor Toby Jones. [Los Angeles Times]

    • Steve Daly talks with a Bill Maher-less Larry Charles. [Entertainment Weekly]

    • More fuel for the “‘Gran Torino’ is Eastwood’s last performance” fire. [Reuters]