In Contention

Category: Daily

  • Jackman turns down Oscar hosting gig

    With the season now unshakeably upon us, it’s time to dust off the annual conversation topic of who should host the upcoming Academy Awards ceremony. I am prompted to do so, of course, by Deadline’s recent scoop that 2009 host Hugh Jackman — the first choice of new Oscarcast producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer — has turned down the gig, owing to a scheduling conflict with the shooting of of “Wolverine 2.”

    Many will be disappointed by this news, given that the Jackman-hosted telecast was one of the better-received of recent years. As one of its few detractors, I’ll admit to feeling relieved: Jackman’s song-and-dance schtick was amiable enough, but he lacked the comic zeal I prefer in an Oscar host.

    To be fair, the balance between comic and cuddly is a difficult one to strike at the Oscars. There’s ample room for error on either side of the beloved Billy Crystal school of sweet-and-sour satire: Jackman played it too safe for my liking, but neither do I want to see an encore of Chris Rock’s hostile, room-cooling barbs. The Academy Awards, as much as we might like to mock them, are effectively the industry’s prom night, and the tone should be appropriately celebratory.

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  • Boyle does Fallon

    Nothing overly insightful. Lots of “whoa, dude” silliness from Fallon. But anyway:

  • ‘The Ghost Writer’ leads European Film Award noms

    Dear European Film Award nominating members,

    You seem to have suffered some form of collective amnesia in recalling the last 12 months of European cinema. So much so that you had to resort to nominating an Argentinian-Spanish co-production (that, let’s face it, everyone thinks of as Argentinian) as one of the continent’s finest this year, despite mentioning it in no other categories.

    Allow me to help you. The following are all European films superior to the six you shortlisted in your top category: “Another Year,” “The Illusionist,” “How I Ended This Summer,” “Kawasaki’s Rose,” “White Material,” “Dogtooth,” “Certified Copy,” “Mysteries of Lisbon,” “Four Lions,” “The Mouth of the Wolf,” and so on. And hey, I’m not that high on “I Am Love” either, but are you really saying nothing at all stuck out about it to you? (You only have four cinematography nominees, by the way. Just a thought.)

    (More thoughts, and the full list of nominees, after the cut.)

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  • Jill Clayburgh (1944-2010)

    It’s odd to think that younger readers may principally recognize Jill Clayburgh, the New York City-born actress who passed away yesterday after a long battle with leukemia, from her Emmy-nominated role in TV’s “Nip/Tuck” — where she played Bobbi Broderick, a vengeful victim of unsuccessful liposuction, done in the hope of securing a job ahead of younger, thinner rivals.

    It was a sharp, upsetting performance, all the more haunting because it was easy to imagine Bobbi as the soured middle-aged self of Erica Benton, the unaffected, sexually liberated divorcée she played, to career-making effect, in Paul Mazursky’s 1978 romantic dramedy “An Unmarried Woman.”

    The film is rarely spoken of today, but Clayburgh’s immense performance, balancing sweetly goofy comedy with stabs of untempered pain and anger, was something of a feminist touchstone for the depiction of “real” women in American cinema — she won Best Actress at Cannes for her efforts, and was nominated for an Oscar that unwisely went to Jane Fonda instead.

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: ‘127 Hours’ dissent, BIFA nods, interviews

    • Guy didn’t much care for “127 Hours.” That got you talking.

    • Happily, Kris did, and got talking to director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Simon Beaufoy.

    • The British Independent Film Award nominations threw some surprises into the mix, handing scads of noms to “The King’s Speech”… and “Kick-Ass.”

    • Chad’s Life Without Oscar column eased into the late 1980s, showcasing one films on either side of the Hollywood border.

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  • Go see ‘Four Lions’

    It struck me when I put up those two “tell us what you thought” posts this afternoon that I should probably dedicate some space to the film opening this week that deserves a look above all else.

    Chris Morris’s “Four Lions” opens in limited release this weekend after debuting at Sundance in January and playing this or that festival throughout the year.  It is the first release from Drafthouse Films, a distribution wing developed out of Austin’s famed Alamo Drafthouse theater.  And it’s a devilish delight.

    I finally saw the film last night after missing it at every turn.  Yes, the film is funny.  But the humor and commentary cut so precisely that it has to be considered one of the great satires, perhaps in league with seminal efforts like “Network” or “MASH.” Interestingly, it’s not television news or warfare that Morris is sending up, but rather, an intriguing blend of the two.

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  • Tell us what you thought of ‘Megamind’

    DreamWorks Animation’s “Megamind” is opening wide today, so maybe more of you will be able to see it and comment. I’ve had my say (including a back and forth with Anne about the film on Oscar Talk this morning). But I’d be interested to hear what you all think. Once (or if) you see it, cut loose with your thoughts in the comments section below.

  • Tell us what you thought of ‘127 Hours’

    I think it’s safe to say we’ve offered plenty on Danny Boyle’s “127 Hours” as of late. Here are my thoughts from Telluride and Guy’s totally different take from London fest. The film opens in limited release today and I’m eager to hear some reader thoughts, so cut loose with your reaction in the comments section below once you see it.  (It opens wide on November 19 so feel free to re-visit this thread then.)

  • The return of GoldDerby.com

    Tom O’Neil has officially taken Gold Derby back.  The LA Times will still sell advertising at a percentage, but the site is Tom’s once again and today the site launched with a handsome new design.

    There are already a few pieces of content in place right now, like an “Oscar Outrages” segment with Kathy Griffin and an editorial pleading the case for Julianne Moore in supporting for “The Kids Are All Right.” He’s also brought back the expert picks section, which was really the first of its ilk before The Envelope’s Buzzmeter and Movie City News’s Gurus o’ Gold came along.  Our own Guy Lodge is one of the prognosticative pundits.

    As always, the site will not only focus on film awards but also music, television and theater kudos as well.  There’s still a lot of filling in to do but it’s off to a nice start.  We wish him the best.  Check out GoldDerby.com for more.

  • Listen to Dido and A.R. Rahman’s ‘If I Rise’ from ‘127 Hours’

    Two years ago composer A.R. Rahman managed to sweep the music categories at the Academy Awards.  One of only two nominations “Slumdog Millionaire” didn’t translate into an Oscar was original song “O…Saya” — because the film’s other key track, “Jai Ho,” won instead.

    This year Rahman is back in the mix with the vibrant score for Danny Boyle’s “127 Hours,” and specifically, the original song “If I Rise.”  Dido provides the vocals on the song, which plays sporadically at key moments during the film’s climax and finally plays in full over the closing credits.

    At the end of the day, this could be a formidable contender in the race for Best Original Song.  It’s well-placed in the film and that will go over well when voters sit down and watch all of the contenders in context.  At the very least, that’s enough for the track seriously threaten a nomination.

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  • ‘The Town’ DVD release aimed for prime Oscar frame

    Reader Graysmith alerted me to this yesterday, but it’s worth passing along. Ben Affleck’s “The Town” will be making its way to DVD and Blu-ray on December 17. The film was released in theaters September 17. That makes it three months to the day between release and home video, and to say the least, an incredibly short window.

    I remember Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland” having an even shorter window (March 5 theatrical, June 1 home video), but this is more significant because clearly Warner Bros. is angling for prime exposure right in the middle of Oscar season.  And that mid-December stretch is key, bringing the Golden Globe nominations on the 14th and the SAG nominations on the 16th.

    “Inception,” meanwhile, will be hitting stores December 7, so get ready for the buzz to swing back around on both films.

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  • 11/5 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Boyle on ‘127 Hours’ faintings, best in animated villainy, lead actresses must suffer

    • Steve Pond gets Danny Boyle’s thoughts on this rash of faintings at screenings of “127 Hours.” [The Odds]

    • Sasha Stone calls 2010 (so far) one of the best years for film in recent history. [Awards Daily]

    • “Megamind” gets Josh Wigler thinking about the best animated villains of all time. [MTV Movies Blog]

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  • ‘The Way Back’ trailer

    Back-to-back trailers today.  A few weeks back we got a look at Peter Weir’s “The Way Back” via the UK trailer.  The poster hit recently.  Today, Yahoo! Movies has the domestic trailer for the film, which has the proper energy, I think.  Check it out by clicking the image below or watch an embed after the jump.

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  • ‘The Illusionist’ trailer

    Fresh on the heels of a domestic one-sheet for the film, today we get a look at the domestic trailer for Sylvain Chomet’s “The Illusionist.” You get a nice listen to the score (which deserves an Oscar nod it will not likely get).  Check it out via Apple by clicking the image below or watch an embed after the jump.

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  • Drama at ‘127 Hours’ premiere

    I ended up missing last night’s premiere of “127 Hours” but man do I wish I had been there.  Because these fainting spells are turning into a traveling roadshow experience for the film.  First Telluride (where I was skeptical it was anything more than altitude sickness), then Toronto, now the Academy on Wilshire.  Maybe they should just start having medics on stand-by.

    The incident is being reported as a “diabetic seizure” and apparently came during a not-all-that-intense moment in the film.  Gregory Ellwood wrote it up last night.  The Hollywood Reporter and David Poland chimed in today.  I was reading about it in real time via Steven Zeitchik’s Tweets.  Bizarre.

    Apparently the film got a standing ovation, as of course it would.  Premieres are cake for a film like this.  Bummer I couldn’t make it but, onto the next.  Check back later today for an interview with the film’s director and writer Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy.

    [Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures]

  • The (new) Hollywood Reporter’s actress roundtable

    Featuring Annette Bening, Helena Bonham Carter, Natalie POrtman, Nicole Kidman, Hilary Swank and Amy Adams:

  • 11/4 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Sit-down with Swinton, ‘Megamind’ using social gaming, Elise on ‘For Colored Girls’

    • Pete Hammond talks “I Am Love” with dark horse Best Actress contender Tilda Swinton. [Deadline]

    • How DreamWorks Animation is using social gaming to boost “Megamind.” [Hollywood Reporter]

    • Meet the characters of “Morning Glory.” [MakingOf]

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  • ‘The Tree of Life’ gets a poster… and a synopsis

    The pieces are gradually — very gradually — falling into place for Terrence Malick’s endlessly delayed “The Tree of Life.” First, new adoptive parent Fox Searchlight revealed a US release date of May 27, 2011. Now, courtesy of Collider, we have our first glimpse, albeit not of the finest quality, of a sales poster for the film. A bit of a half-and-halfer, as far as I’m concerned: the image is stark yet subtle, but the clunky typography carries a fan-made look to it.

    In addition to the poster, the studious Collider folks have also dug up a synopsis — one that’s been kicking around for a while, I hear — for those itching to know what the hell the film is actually about. It carries a spoiler warning, so I can’t say I’ve read it myself, but it’s also included after the jump if you feel so inclined. Now the only remaining question is: when, are where, are we finally going to clap eyes on it? Sundance, Berlin, Cannes, or none of the above?

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