To preempt the inevitable, no, probably not worth a separate post, but I caught up with SNL on the DVR last night and it made me laugh:
Category: Daily
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9/30 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Blind-siding Christians with ‘Secretariat,’ chatting up Gibney and Reznor, Armond strikes
• David Poland sits down with “Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer” director Alex Gibney. [Movie City News]• On the innovative marketing strategy of “Freakonomics.” [New York Times]
• Xan Brooks and Henry Barnes talk “Made in Dagenham” director Nigel Cole and actress Rosamund Pike. [The Guardian]
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Harrison Ford to receive Santa Barbara’s Kirk Douglas Award
The press release, in part:In recognition of his contributions to the world of film, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival is honored to present the fifth annual KIRK DOUGLAS AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN FILM to the legendary Academy Award-nominated actor/producer Harrison Ford…
“I’m delighted to give this award to Harrison Ford,” commented Kirk Douglas. “It’s always a pleasure to honor these young actors who do so well.”
Ford’s impressive body of work contains 43 feature films, 12 of which have each grossed over $100 million, as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
Ford’s upcoming film Morning Glory is slated to be released November 12, 2010. Set in the hilarious and dysfunctional world of morning television, Ford plays legendary TV anchor Mike Pomeroy, who is brought on to save a failing news show where he comes into conflict with his co-anchor Colleen Peck (Diane Keaton). Ford will also star alongside Daniel Craig in the upcoming film Cowboys and Aliens, directed by Jon Favreau.
[Photo: Top News]
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Italy and Spain enter foreign Oscar race
With the official (though not necessarily final) deadline for submissions just two days away, there’s been a flood of new additions to the list in the past few days, including two big guns that were holding out on us — Italy and Spain. (Check out our updated list, now up to 55 titles, here.)Among those who follow this race, all eyes were on Italy’s selection, and not just because the country still holds the record for most wins in the category. (The Italians’ fortunes have dipped rather in recent years, however: since “Life is Beautiful” triumphed in 1998, they’ve managed only a single unsuccessful nod.) With a shortlist of 10 contenders to choose from, it was difficult to predict which way the Italian selectors might lean.
Many Oscar-watchers assumed that the high-profile Tilda Swinton starrer “I Am Love” would get picked, but that was always unlikely: far less well-received in its home country than in English-speaking territories, chances are the film’s stylistic excesses wouldn’t have been to the Academy’s taste either.
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Duvall, Bening latest honorees for Hollywood fest
The press release, in part:The 14th Annual Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Awards, presented by Starz, are pleased to announce that Academy Award-nominated actress Annette Bening will be honored with the “Hollywood Actress Award” and Oscar-winning actor Robert Duvall will receive the “Hollywood Actor Award” at the festival’s Hollywood Awards Gala Ceremony.
“It is a privilege to honor and to celebrate Annette Bening’s and Robert Duvall’s extraordinary talent as well as remarkable work and to recognize their outstanding acting achievements,” said Carlos de Abreu, Founder of the Hollywood Awards Gala.
The gala ceremony will take place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills on October 25, 2010.
Once again, the full list honorees thus far after the jump.
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Arthur Penn (1922-2010)
I had a bad feeling that after Gloria Stuart and Sally Menke we were bound to get a third (as it always happens), and so we have. Arthur Penn has passed away a day after his 88th birthday. He’s obviously best known for helming 1968’s “Bonnie and Clyde,” which changed the face of American cinema at a time captured brilliantly in Mark Harris’s “Pictures at a Revolution,” but there were other gems along the way like “Mickey One,” “Little Big Man” and “The Missouri Breaks.” Not to mention trailblazing work on the small screen (specifically during the 1960 presidential debates) and on the stage. He will be missed.
After the break, John F. Kennedy’s closing statements from the October 21, 1960 presidential debate, which Penn directed.
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9/29 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Franco’s poem picks, Bender remembers Menke, Reznor and Ross at a steal
• James Franco, also starring in “Howl” this year, selects his favorite poems. [Vulture]• In remembering film editor Sally Menke, Lawrence Bender discusses the “Hi, Sally” Tarantino tradition. [Arts Beat]
• Anne Thompson talks, well, a whole bunch of stuff with a busy Guillermo Del Toro. [Thompson on Hollywood]
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London fest honors Boyle, announces award shortlist
The 2010 London Film Festival only kicks off in two weeks’ time, but with press screenings having started on Monday, I’m already feeling the festival spirit. (Those of you who follow my Twitter feed may have noticed some 140-character reviews trickling through.)Without a major world premiere like “Frost/Nixon” or “Fantastic Mr. Fox” in this year’s lineup, the LFF looks to be a more local affair than recent editions, but they’re still luring in big-name visitors — some of them with the promise of more awards hardware.
Today, LFF organizers revealed the 11-film shortlist for the festival’s second annual Best Film award, which will be determined by the eminently classy jury of president Patricia Clarkson, Sandy Powell, Gabriel Byrne and Shekhar Kapur. (Should be a cushier judging assignment for Kapur than his Cannes juror stint earlier this year.)
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Bardem on his role in González Iñárritu’s “masterpiece”
Following Mexico’s submission of “Biutiful” to the Academy yesterday, I wrote that I’m sceptical about the film’s chances of nabbing a Best Foreign Language Film nod — but if Roadside Attractions really put some welly into their campaign, a Best Actor nomination for Javier Bardem is looking quite conceivable.As a contender, the performance comes with some obvious handicaps. The actors’ branch can be resistant to foreign-language work at the best of times — not least in the Best Actor category, where no non-English performance has been nominated since Roberto Benigni’s 1998 win — and the grim, oblique film won’t be to the taste of many voters.
(It’s interesting that Roadside face a similar challenge, minus the language barrier, to secure a nod for their Best Actress hopeful Jennifer Lawrence. They certainly haven’t picked the cuddliest of ponies.)
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The Cain and Abel of ‘Social Network’
As much as the film ticks certain prestige-film boxes — hell, it’s a socially conscious biopic from a respected, Oscar-nominated filmmaker — I still find myself doing something of a double-take when I hear “The Social Network” referred to as the Best Picture contender to beat. When was the last time a film so steeped in contemporary youth culture found itself in that position? (And no, “Slumdog Millionaire” does not count.)Complementing the film’s preoccupation with a relatively recent chapter of pop culture is a bold stroke of new-generation casting: its three male principals are all under 30, and not yet tapped by the wand of major movie stardom.
The long-ubiquitous Justin Timberlake aside, it’s not hard to imagine some older Academy members puzzling over their screeners: “Who are these kids?” (Then again, those same folks might also be wondering what the hell Facebook is. It’s only mental scenes like this that give me pause when considering its awards prospects.)
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Malick’s ‘Thin Red Line’ shines on Criterion Blu
If you’re sitting there right now, reading these words, killing time, nothing much to do this afternoon, do yourself a favor — go out and buy the new Criterion Blu-ray release of Terrence Malick’s “The Thin Red Line.”I’ve been delighting in this top 10 all-timer all week, probably my most anticipated home video release since, oh, “Batman” hit VHS during the holidays in 1989? Naturally, there is no on-screen involvement from Malick, but there is plenty to explore.
First, let’s start with the film itself. John Toll’s gorgeous, mesmerizing photography pops with crystal clarity as, finally, his work on the film gets the treatment it deserves. The sound is also striking (though let me know if I’m the only one who notices it pop in suddenly over the title screen), the mix of elements and Hans Zimmer’s score truly immersive.
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Richard Tillman does Bill Maher
Brother of Pat Tillman, subject of the documentary “The Tillman Story.” From the September 24 episode of “Real Time,” a fantastic interview (and if I heard Maher correctly, his only appearance to promote the film):
By the way, from the same episode (despite the error in plot description):
New Rule: If they’re going to make a historical epic full of British actors in period costumes about Queen Elizabeth II helping her father get over his speech impediment, why bother having the Oscars at all? You win. Unless someone in America is making a movie where Meryl Streep teaches Anne Frank how to box, we give up.
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Bye Sally
This is just the most awful news to wake up to. Truly tragic, a blow right from left field.Film editor Sally Menke, long-time friend and collaborator with Quentin Tarantino who helped craft his films into some of the most memorable pieces of cinema ever, has passed away today at the far-too-young age of 56. Menke was hiking yesterday in Griffith Park. Her body was found around 2:15 am this morning and though a cause of death has not been confirmed, it appears yesterday’s record-breaking heat wave (temperatures got up to 113 degrees in downtown) could be the culprit.
This is just terrible, but (and again, the heat isn’t a confirmed factor yet), it raises a truly serious issue. Take care of yourself in this kind of weather. A talented contributor to the art form that makes everyone reading these words tick is gone and for what?
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9/28 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Stuart passes, Zuckerberg gets a comic book, ‘Back to the Future’ celebrates an anniversary
• Gloria Stuart dies at 100. [Associated Press]• Mark Zuckerberg: the comic book. [Hollywood Reporter]
• AMC Theatres will take 40 cities across the U.S. “Back to the Future” for the film’s 25th anniversary. [Script to Screen]
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‘Biutiful’ enters foreign Oscar race
The list of submissions for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar has been fairly short on widely-known auteur names thus far, so expect a lot of awards-watchers to zero in on Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “Biutiful,” which has just been announced as Mexico’s official entry in the race.As with “Pan’s Labyrinth” four years ago, the country has opted for a high-profile Spanish co-production — set and filmed in Barcelona with a Spanish cast — with the Cannes seal of approval.
Given its name appeal, and the likely accompanying push for star Javier Bardem in the Best Actor category, many might see “Biutiful” as a slam-dunk for a nomination, but I remain less sure. (Even if Bardem does pull through, it could still miss in the foreign race — see “Volver” in 2006.) The film is a relentlessly downbeat and occasionally inscrutable slog that has so far inspired as much critical scorn as admiration — it won’t enjoy the same hip cache that helped Iñárritu to a nomination here 10 years ago for the more universally liked “Amores Perros.”
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No column today
Five and a half hours in the car from San Francisco, DMV nightmares, a premiere I may or may not make it to this evening (oh, and a fantasy football weekend dependent on more than a few miracles tonight). Suffice it to say, I don’t think I’ll be getting around to a column this afternoon, and even if I did, I’m not sure I’d have all that much to say (and certainly wouldn’t expect to change much on the charts; though note a few changes have been made throughout the week, which will be addressed in the sidebar soon). We’ll let it marinate an extra week. At least I had a stunning new “True Grit” trailer waiting for me when I got back to this 114 degree weather. I’ll stand by that Roger Deakins prediction, thanks very much.
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‘True Grit’ teaser trailer
Well, they held out on us for long enough, but we have finally been afforded a glimpse of the year’s last major awards hopeful. It’s short, sweet and pleasingly oblique — but you only need watch the first few seconds to know we’re in for something a bit more substantial than the creaky 1969 oater that won John Wayne his gold-watch Oscar. At this teaser stage, they’re still keeping Jeff Bridges’s expectation-laden performance under wraps, showcasing newcomer Hailee Steinfeld instead — and she evidently has a lot to chew on. Meanwhile, whatever the fate of the film, it looks like we can write DP Roger Deakins’s umpteenth nom down in ink. Click on the image to check out the trailer via Apple, or watch the embed after the jump.
