In Contention

Category: Daily

  • Honorary Oscared and Thalberged

  • Getting the family back together

    In case you weren’t aware, @TheAcademy is Tweeting the Governors Awards experience.  Here’s an epic reunion:

  • Towne toasts Arndt’s success

    I had the loveliest time last night at a reception in honor of “Toy Story 3” writer Michael Arndt hosted by the great Robert Towne.  The night began to wrap up and with nearly all guests having left, things segued to the hotel bar as USA Today’s Anthony Breznican, director Lee Unkrich, composer Michael Giacchino, Arndt and I ended up hunkered down talking the night away.

    It’s a conversation that remains happily off the record, but spending a solid hour or two talking with Arndt about the craft and mechanics of screenwriting is something I’ll always cherish.  Firstly, here is a guy (we first met four years ago during the “Little Miss Sunshine” ride) well aware of the luck he’s stumbled into and so modest and borderline embarrassed by his success that you just can’t help but root for him.  But the passion he has for the form is an absolute treat for anyone interested in being a writer.

    Unkrich, meanwhile, has the most undying passion for Stanley Kubrick and, specifically, “The Shining” (his favorite film, and one referenced a number of times in the film).  He flashed a number of photos on his iPhone of collectibles from the film that he’s been accruing as of late (one of them being the axe Jack Nicholson wields in the film’s most famous sequence) and recalled his trip to London’s Stanley Kubrick Archive.

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: ‘Fighter’ bows, Jackman bows out, Best Picture questions

    • David O. Russell’s “The Fighter” unspooled at the AFI Fest. Kris was impressed and later reported from a Q&A with the film’s stars.

    • This week’s Off the Carpet column pondered the presence of money-spinners in this year’s Best Picture race.

    • The Long Shot, meanwhile, wondered if that very race is currently looking a little flimsy.

    • News of Hugh Jackman turning down the gig prompted the annual speculation over who should host the Oscar ceremony.

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  • AFI FEST: ‘Black Swan’ LA premiere wraps things up

    Last night was closing night of the 2010 AFI Fest, and they put a bow on things by offering up the Los Angeles premiere of AFI alum Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan.” I decided to head over to the Chinese Theatre to give it another look.  At this stage in the season, Telluride feel like ages ago and it’s nice to saddle up back to a film like this after you’ve seen and therefore know what you’re getting into.

    Aronofsky offered his usual self-deprecating patter before hand, introducing stars Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder and Natalie Portman, as well as producer Scott Franklin.  He noted that the Chinese is his “favorite theater in the world” and that he can recall visiting Los Angeles as a kid and catching a film with his parents.  When he attended the AFI, he would always head over to the theater (which isn’t far from campus) to see new releases every weekend.

    He was pumped for Sylvester Stallone to be in the house and went through the expected thank yous before unleashing the film on yet another unsuspecting crowd, and from my vantage, it seemed to go over well.  One person outside the theater afterward was heard saying, “I don’t even know what emotion to feel right now.”

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  • Listen to Pharrell’s ‘Despicable Me’ from ‘Despicable Me’

    This track is probably a bit of a long shot in this year’s race for Best Original Song, but, well, it’s awesome.

    Hip-hop artist Pharrell Williams (who goes by simply “Pharrell”) contributed the original tracks to Universal’s summer animated effort “Despicable Me.” They give the film a smooth, rhythmic vibe and go a long way toward the film’s overall personality, too.  In that sense, they really should be considered some of the best song contributions to a film this year.

    The title track, “Despicable Me,” plays over an opening sequence that introduces the audience to the central character, villain-turned-softy Gru.  It’s a key sequence given what we see unfold, as it establishes Gru as diabolical in a quick series of devilish moments with the character.  I imagine when voters are sitting there watching the songs in context, going through clip after clip, this one could stick out as particularly humorous.

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  • 11/12 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: ‘Burlesque’ brouhaha, ‘How Do You Know’ concedes cuts for PG-13, box office and Oscar

    • Anthony D’Alessandro on how box office impacts Oscar players. [Thompson on Hollywood]

    • Kim Masters writes up the juicy story of on-set fighting that marked the production of “Burlesque.” [Hollywood Reporter]

    • Christy Grosz on awards season buzz momentum built on the festival circuit. [The Envelope]

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  • ‘Harry Potter’ reviews… like they matter

    “No need for him to take it so seriously,” replied reader KevinK when I Twitter-linked Guardian critic Xan Brooks’s sharp dismissal of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1” last night, one in a mixed wave of reviews flooding the net following the film’s London premiere.

    Kevin is both right and wrong. Right, in that the Harry Potter films, with their mostly unvarying construction and vast built-in audience, are the definition of critic-proof; whether attack or defending the films, by this point in the franchise, any critic will find himself preaching to the choir. Wrong, in that any pop-culture phenomenon on this scale merits serious discussion; the fans certainly take the films seriously, so it behoves a good critic to offer more than a rote “if you liked the others…” response.

    No one is going to need a critic to help them decide whether or not to see “Deathly Hallows,” so as this behemoth of a series draws to a close, one may as well use the review space to start debating the films’ legacy.

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  • Taking questions for Oscar Talk

    Better late than never.  Maybe this can fill up with enough interesting queries before tomorrow morning’s recording session.  Have at it.

  • “I’m known for being happy… time to move away from that.”

    Apropos of nothing — apart from the fact that she’ll be hitting US screens in “Made in Dagenham” next week — but I hadn’t seen this 2009 Sally Hawkins skit before, and it gave me yet another reason to adore the sparky Brit. Great seeing her in a more deadpan comic mode, and I love the hint of relish as she mutters, “I beat Meryl Streep.” The “director,” by the way, is Richard Ayoade, set to make a splash in 2011 when his appealing, Weinstein-backed debut feature “Submarine” (also starring Hawkins) hits screens. (Thanks to Nick for the link.)

  • Gwyneth Paltrow performs ‘Country Strong’ at CMAs, only one original song will be submitted from ‘Tangled’

    A little event dropped at last night’s Country Music Association Awards: Gwyneth Paltrow took to the stage to perform “Country Strong,” the title track from the upcoming Screen Gems release, with a little help from country star Vince Gill.

    I haven’t seen the film yet, but depending on how the original songs are used in the film, we could be looking at a nominee in, say, “Me and Tennessee” or “Coming Home.”  I’ve been going back and forth on something from that or something from “Burlesque,” both Screen Gems releases.  But I’ve felt compelled to list two tracks from “Tangled” all this time.  Turns out we can nix the idea of multiple songs making it from that Disney effort, though.

    One nugget I turned up during my interview with composer Alan Menken this afternoon is that only one song from the film — “I See the Light” — will be submitted for Oscar consideration.  It was a collective decision, and the reason, he freely admitted, was calculation.

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  • AFI FEST: Audience and Jury Awards announced

    I haven’t been able to do much at AFI Fest this year, but a last-minute decision to see “Eraserhead” and a secret bow for “The Fighter” have been rewarding experiences. And I believe I’ll take in the LA premiere of “Black Swan” tonight as well.

    I’m heading out the door or else I’d do more than simply cut and paste this release, but alas, the news should be conveyed:

    LOS ANGELES, CA, November 11, 2010 — AFI FEST 2010 presented by Audi announced today the four feature and two short films that are the recipients of this year’s Audience and Jury Awards. The films will screen again today at Mann Chinese 6 Theatres. Admission is available to AFI FEST 2010 passholders and the general public via the Rush Line, which begins forming one hour before each film’s scheduled screening start time. For showtimes, visit AFI.com/AFIFEST.

    The rest of the release after the jump.

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  • Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Jack McGee talk ‘The Fighter’ at first industry screening

    David O. Russell’s “The Fighter” may have had its first public screening Tuesday as an AFI Fest “secret” event (with plenty of press in attendance), but last night’s SAG nominating committee screening on the Paramount lot has been on the calendar for most the past week.  Naturally, it was a packed house, which can be owed in part to the presence of the film’s cast for a post-screening Q&A.

    I came late just for the Q&A, which was moderated by Deadline’s Pete Hammond.  Melissa Leo couldn’t be there due to a filming conflict in New Orleans but she passed along her apologies in an email Hammond read to applause from the crowd.  Much of the discussion naturally circled around performances, given the audience, and Hammond again made the (valid) point that the film is a character piece more than a “boxing movie.”

    Mark Wahlberg talked plenty about the film’s long journey to the screen, the fact that he had to spring for it himself as producer in order to get it made and his long-time relationship with Micky Ward (who he’s known since he was a teenager).  Rather than take the cheap route with a Toronto shoot, Wahlberg was adamant that the film be shot in Lowell, Massachusetts, the story’s setting, because the environment is such a character in and of itself.

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  • Fassbender’s 2011 gets busier with McQueen’s ‘Shame’

    I’m lousy at keeping track of pre-production news, so if you’d asked me an hour ago what British artist-turned-filmmaker Steve McQueen was tackling for his sophomore feature, I’d have answered, “Oh, I know — that Fela Kuti biopic starring Chiwetel Ejiofor.” And I’d have been wrong.

    The more clued-up folks at The Playlist report that McQueen’s next project, “Shame,” begins shooting in January and will actually reteam him with the star of his vastly acclaimed debut “Hunger,” Michael Fassbender. As you know, we love “Hunger” rather dearly here at InContention, so this is exciting news, made more interesting by the fact that it’s McQueen’s first venture into fictional narrative. Here’s the selling blurb:

    Brandon (Fassbender) is a 30-something man living in New York who is unable to manage his sex life. After his wayward younger sister moves into his apartment, Brandon’s world spirals out of control… Shame is a compelling and timely examination of the nature of need, how we live our lives and the experiences that shape us.

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  • 11/11 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: R.I.P. Dino, screenwriters round table, Gonzalez Inarritu makes the press rounds

    • Legendary producer Dino De Laurentiis dies at 91. [Reuters]

    • Screenwriters round table with Aaron Sorkin, Simon Beaufoy, Michael Arndt, John Wells, Todd Phillips and David Lindsay-Abaire. [Hollywood Reporter]

    • Todd Gilchrist talks to “Conviction” director Tony Goldwyn about capturing reality and avoiding the “Oscar Bait” curse. [Speakeasy]

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  • Carrey speaks out against homophobic bullying

    I admit I haven’t yet got round to seeing the fact-inspired, gay-themed comedy “I Love You, Phillip Morris,” despite it having opened in the UK way back in the youthful glory days of March. (US audiences still have to wait another three weeks.) Reaction from my fellow Brit critics was politely tepid, and I largely forgot about the film until Kris’s highly enthusiastic response re-piqued my interest last month.

    Whether “Phillip Morris” — in which Jim Carrey plays a closeted con man who falls for his prison cellmate — works or not, its long-delayed (the film bowed at Sundance 2009, remember) US presence is welcome.

    In addition to following “The Kids Are All Right” in edging homosexual romance into the mainstream, the film’s publicity run also employs Carrey’s to drive home social messages that, however obvious to most of us, still bear repeating.

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  • Alan Menken gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

    Monday we featured the original song “I See the Light” from Disney’s “Tangled” as part of our “listen to” series.  The original music for the track, and for the film, was composed by Alan Menken, who it’s safe to say, has been there, done that with Oscar.  (His eight statues are a record for living recipients.)

    I’ll be sitting down with Menken to talk “Tangled” and his illustrious career tomorrow afternoon, but it’s worth noting today that he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  Fittingly, the ceremony took place out in front of The El Capitan Theatre, where a number of Disney classics screen throughout the year, many of them featuring Menken’s work.  (Not long ago there was a sing-along version of “The Little Mermaid.” I was so there.)

    So congratulations to him for getting this recognition (however political such things may be).  It’s a bit surprising that the guy who wrote tunes like “Kiss the Girl,” “Under the Sea,” “Be Our Guest,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “A Whole New World,” etc., etc. didn’t have his own slice of the Walk.  Well, now he does.

    [Photo: Broadway World]

  • Affleck on working with Malick

    I’ll be posting an interview with Ben Affleck later this afternoon, but as I transcribed and put the pieces in place, it became clear to me that including much on the new Terrence Malick film would be pushing it length-wise.  I didn’t want to keep it all to myself, however, so I thought I’d share Affleck’s brief thoughts on working with a legend down in Oklahoma:

    All I can say is the guy is definitely really private and I don’t want to betray any of that.  Some people don’t mind but he’s not a guy who likes publicity.  What I will say is that it’s for sure a master class.  I’ve worked with a lot of different directors and have always tried to look for something to learn from everybody.

    You don’t have to look with Terry.  Everything you’re hearing and listening to it feels like, ‘God, I never thought of that’ or ‘I wouldn’t have done that’ or ‘I’ve never seen it that way.’  It’s like the best class you had in college or something, where it’s so wonderful to be there, it feels like you’re opening up your mind to see the world in different ways.  And I’ve probably learned more from him now because I’ve directed two movies and I understand sort of the context, I guess.

    More after the jump.

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